Eighty Sermons, Candlemas · Sermon 9
SERMON IX. Preached upon Candlemas day.
ROM. 13.7.
Render therefore to all men their dues.
The Text being part of the Epiſtle of that day, that yeare.
THe largeneſſe of this ſhort Text conſiſts in that word, Therefore; therefore becauſe you have been ſo particularly taught your particular duties, therefore perform them, therefore practiſe them, Reddite omnibus debita, Render therefore to every man his due. The Philoſopher might ſeem to have contracted as large a law, into a few words, in his ſuum cuique, as the Holy Ghoſt had done in his Reddite omnibus, if it were not for this, Therefore; for that carries our conſideration over the whole Epiſtle. This Epiſtle particularizing all duties, which appertaine ad pietatem erga Deum, to our religious worſhip of God, ad charitatem erga proximum, to charitable offices towards one another, and ad ſanctimoniam propriam, to a ſanctification and holineſſe of life in our ſelves. You have ſeen a liſt of your debts, ſayes the Apoſtle, (and that men deeply endebted are loath to doe) you have ſeen what you owe God, what you owe your ſelves, and what you owe the world, Reddite ergo omnibus debita, be therefore behinde hand with none of theſe, but render unto all their dues: For, our debts here are not reſtrained to thoſe that are mentioned in the following part of this verſe, Tribute, and Cuſtome, and Feare, and Honour, but it is the knot that ties up all, and this Text in this verſe, is the ſame that begins the next verſe alſo; Reddite debita omnibus, Render to all men their dues, and Nemini quicquam debeas, Owe nothing to any man, is all one: It is farther then many uſe to come, to know what they owe; ſince I have brought you ſo far, ſayes our Apoſtle, Render to all men their dues.
It is one degree of thrift,Diviſio. (but for the moſt part it comes late) to bring our debts into as few hands as we can. Our debt here we cannot bring into fewer then theſe three, to God, to our Neighbour, to our ſelves. Conſider our debts to God, to be our ſins, and ſo we dare not come to a reckoning with him, but we diſcharge our ſelves intirely upon our ſurety, our Saviour Chriſt Jeſus: but yet of that debt we muſt pay an acknowledgement, an intereſt (as it were) of praiſe, for all that we have, and of prayer for all that we would have, and theſe are our debts to God. Conſider our debts to man, and our creditors are perſons above us, and perſons below us, ſuperiours, and inferiours; and to ſuperiours (who are the perſons of whom this Text, or this verſe, is moſt literally intended) we are debtors firſt in matter of ſubſtance, expreſſed here, in thoſe words Tribute, and Cuſtome; and in matter of ceremony, expreſſed here, in thoſe words, Feare, and Honour. And to our inferiours, we are debtors for counſell to direct them, and for reliefe in compaſſion of their ſufferings. And then to come to our third ſort of creditors, to our ſelves, we owe our ſelves ſome debts which are to be tendred at noone, which are to be paid in our beſt ſtrength and proſperity, in the courſe of our lives; and ſome which are to be tendred at night, at our Sun-ſet, at our deaths: Reddite ergo omnibus, Render therefore to all their dues. For your firſt debt, to God, we bring you to Church; this is no place to arreſt in; but yet the Spirit of God calls upon you for thoſe debts, praiſe him in his holy place, and pray to him in his houſe, which is the houſe of prayer. For your debts of the ſecond kinde, to other men, for thoſe to ſuperiours, we ſend you to Court; for thoſe to inferiours, we ſend you to Hoſpitals, and priſons; and though Courts and priſons be ill paying places, yet pay you your debts of ſubſtance, and of ceremony, of tribute, and of honour, at Court; and your debt of counſell and relief to thoſe that need them, in the darkeſt corners. And for you third kinde of debts, debts to your ſelves, make eaven with your ſelves all the way in your lives, leſt your payment prove too heavy, and you break, and your hearts breake, when you come to ſee that you cannot doe that upon your death-bed: Reddite omnibus, Render to all, to God, to man, to your ſelves, their dues.
To begin then with our beginning, our debts to God;1 Part. Deo. if we take that definition of of debts, which ariſes out of the ſound of the word, Debere eſt de alio habere, a man owes all that which he hath received of another, we are debtors of all that we have, and all that we are, to God; our well being, and our very being is from him. If we take that definition of debt, Debere eſt Iure aliquo teneri ad dandum aut faciendum aliquid, To owe, is to be bound by ſome Law, to give ſomething, or to doe ſomething to ſome perſon; The Law of Nature in our hearts, the Law of the Creature in our eyes, the Law of the Word in our eares, provokes us to give and to doe ſomething to that God, who hath given and done all to us; and more then giving or doing, hath ſuffered ſo much for us. What then is the paiment which we are to make? Firſt, Glory, Praiſe: For, in all his works,Laus. God ſtill propoſed to himſelfe, his Glory. Thoſe men who will needs be of Gods Cabinet Counſell, and pronounce what God did firſt, what was his firſt Decree, and the firſt clauſe in that Decree, thoſe men who will needs know, and then publiſh Gods ſecrets, (And, by the way, that, which ſometimes it may concerne us to know, yet it may be a Libell to publiſh it) Thoſe myſteries, which, for the oppoſing and countermining ſtubborne, and perverſe Hereſies, it may concerne us, in Councels and Synods, and other fit places, to argue, and to cleare, it may be an injury to God, and againſt his Crowne, and Dignity, in breaking the peace of the Church, to publiſh and divulge to every popular auditory, and every itching eare, and thereby perplexe the conſciences of weak men, or offer contentious men, that which is their food, and delight, diſputation; Theſe men, I ſay, though they differ, in their order, whether Gods Decree of Reprobation and Salvation, were before his Decree of Creation, (for ſome place it before, and ſome after) yet all, on all ſides agree in this, That Gods firſt purpoſe was his owne glory; that was his firſt Decree, by what degrees ſoever he proceeded to the execution of that Decree. And ſo in the great and incomprehenſible work of our Salvation, when that was uttered in the mouth of Angels to the Shepheards, that Ambaſſage began with a Gloria in excelſis, There was Peace upon earth, and there was good will towards men, but firſt there was Glory to God on high. And though to correct Hereticall and Schiſmaticall men, amongſt whom, ſome would expreſſe themſelves in Gods ſervice, in one manner, and ſome in another, to the endangering of Doctrine, and to the confuſion of Order, and thereupon ſome would ſay, in the Church-Service, Gloria Patri, in Filio, per Spiritum Sanctum, Glory be to the Father, in the Son, by the Holy Ghoſt; And ſome Gloria Patri per Filium, Glory be to the Father by the Son; And ſome Gloria Patri, & Filio, per Spiritum Sanctum, Glory be to the Father, and the Son, by the Holy Ghoſt; Though to prevent the danger of theſe divers formes of ſervice, the Church came to determine all, in that one, Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoſt, yet we ſee out of the formes of the Heretiques themſelves, ſtill ſo farre as they conceived the Godhead to extend, ſo farre they extended Glory, in that holy acclamation; thoſe who beleeved not the Son to be God, or the Holy Ghoſt not to be God, left out Glory, when they came to their Perſons; but to him that is God, in all confeſſions, Glory appertains. Now Glory is, Clara cum laude notitia, ſayes S. Ambroſe: It is an evident knowledge, and acknowledgement of God, by which, others come to know him too; which acknowledgement is well called a recognition, for it is a ſecond, a ruminated, a reflected knowledge: Beaſts doe remember, but they doe not remember that they remember; they doe not reflect upon it, which is that that conſtitutes memory: Every carnall and naturall man knowes God, but the acknowledgement, the recognition, the manifeſtation of the greatneſſe and goodneſſe of God, accompanied with praiſe of him for that, this appertaines to the godly man, and this conſtitutes glory. If God have delivered me from a ſickneſſe, and I doe not glorifie him for that, that is, make others know his goodneſſe to me, my ſickneſſe is but changed to a ſpirituall apoplexy, to a lethargy, to a ſtupefaction. If God have delivered us from deſtruction in the bowels of the Sea, in an Invaſion, and from deſtruction in the bowels of the earth, in the Powder-treaſon, and we grow faint in the publication of our thanks for this deliverance, our puniſhment is but aggravated, for we ſhall be deſtroyed both for thoſe old ſins which induced thoſe attempts of thoſe deſtructions, and for this later and greater ſin, of forgetting thoſe deliverances; God requires nothing elſe; but he requires that, Glory and Praiſe. And that booke of the Scriptures, of which, S. Baſil ſayes, That if all the other parts of Scripture could periſh, yet out of that booke alone, we might have enough for all uſes, for Catechizing, for Preaching, for Diſputing; That whole Booke, which containes all ſubjects that appertaine to Religion, is called altogether Sepher Tehillim, The Booke of praiſes, for all our Religion is Praiſe. And of that Book every particular Pſalme is appointed by the Church, and continued at leaſt for a thouſand and two hundred yeares, to be ſhut up with that humble and glorious acclamation. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoſt; O that men would therefore praiſe the Lord, and declare the wonderfull works that he doth for the ſons of men! Nil quiſquam debet niſi quod turpe eſt, non reddere, ſayes the Law: It is Turpe, an infamous and ignominious thing, not to pay debt; And, infamous and ignominious, are heavy and reproachfull words in the Law; and the Goſpell would adde to that Turpe, Impium: It is not onelyonly an infamous but an impious, an irreligious thing, not to pay debts. As in debts, the State, and the Judge is my ſecurity, they undertake I ſhall be paid, or they execute Judgement; ſo, conſider our ſelves as Chriſtians, God is my ſecurity, and he will puniſh where I am defrauded. Either thou oweſt God nothing, (And then, if thou owe him nothing, from whom, or from what hath ſheſtollen that face, that is faire; or he that eſtate, that is rich; or that office, that commands others; or that learning, and thoſe orders and commiſſion, that preaches to others; or they their ſoules, that underſtand me now? If you owe nothing, from whom had you all theſe, all this?) Or if thou doſt owe, Turpe eſt, Impium eſt, It is an unworthy, it is an unhoneſt, it is an irreligious thing, not to pay him, in that money, which his owne Spirit mints, and coynes in thee, and of his owne bullion too, praiſe and thanksgiving. Not to pay him then, when he himſelfe gives thee the money that muſt pay him, the Spirit of Thankfulneſſe, falls under all the reproaches, that Law or Goſpell can inflict in any names. How many men have we ſeene molder and crumble away great eſtates, and yet pay no debts? It is all our caſes: What Poems, and what Orations we make, how induſtrious, and witty we are, to over-praiſe men, and never give God his due praiſe? Nay how often is the Pulpit it ſelfe, made the ſhop, and the Theatre of praiſe upon preſent men, and God left out? How often is that called a Sermon, that ſpeakes more of Great men,Pſal. 148.2. then of our great God? Laudate eum omnes Augeli ejus, laudate eum omnes virtutes ejus; David calls upon the Angels, and all the Hoſt of Heaven, to praiſe God, and in the Romane Church, they will employ willingly all their praiſe upon the Angels, and the Hoſt of Heaven it ſelfe; and this is not reddere debitum; here is mony enough ſpent, but no debt paid; praiſe enough given, but not to the true God.Ver. 10. Laudate eum ligna fructifera, & univerſa pecora, & volucres pennatae, ſayes David there; David calls upon fruits, and fowle, and cattle to praiſe God, and we praiſe, and ſet forth our lands, and fruits, and fowle, and cattle, with all Hyperbolicall praiſes; and this is not reddere debitum, no paiment of a debt, where it is due. Laudate eum juvenes, & ſenes, & virgines, ſayes David too; He calls upon old men, and young men, and virgins, to praiſe the Lord, and we ſpend all our praiſes, upon young men, which are growing up in favour, or upon old men, who have the government in their hands, or upon maidens, towards whom our affections have tranſported us, and all this is no paiment of the debt of praiſe. Laudate eum Reges terrae, Principes & omnes Iudices; V. 11.He calls upon Kings, and Judges, and Magiſtrates to praiſe God, and we employ all our praiſe upon the actions of thoſe perſons themſelves. Beloved, God cannot be flattered, he cannot be over-praiſed, we can ſpeake nothing Hyperbolically of God: But he cannot be mocked neither; He will not be told, I have praiſed thee, in praiſing thy creature, which is thine Image; would that diſcharge any of my debt to a Merchant, to tell him, that I had beſtowed as much, or more mony then my debt, upon his picture? Though Princes, and Judges, and Magiſtrates be pictures, and Images of God, though beauty, and riches, and honour, and power, and favour, be, in a proportion, ſo too, yet, as I bought not that Merchants picture, becauſe it was his, or for love of him, but becauſe it was a good peece, and of a good Maſters hand, and a good houſe-ornament; ſo though I ſpend my nights, and dayes, and thoughts, and ſpirits, and words, and preaching, and writing, upon Princes, and Judges, and Magiſtrates, and perſons of eſtimation, and their praiſe, yet my intention determines in that uſe which I have of their favour, and reſpects not the glory of God in them; and when I have ſpent my ſelfe to the laſt farthing, my lungs to the laſt breath, my wit to the laſt Metaphore, my tongue to the laſt ſyllable, I have not paid a farthing of my debt to God; I have not praiſed him, but I have praiſed them, till not only my ſelfe, but even they, whom I have ſo miſpraiſed, are the worſe in the ſight of God, for my over-praiſing; I have flattered them, and they have taken occaſion by that, to thinke that their faults are not diſcerned, and ſo they have proceeded in them.
This is then our firſt debt to God, glory and praiſe, which is, (as we ſaid out of S. Ambroſe) a manifeſtation of Gods bleſſing to us: for it is not towards God as it is towards great perſons, under whom we have riſen, that we ſhould be afraid to let the world know, how rich we are, leſt they that raiſed us, ſhould borrow of us, or draw us into bands for them: God requires nothing but the glory, the manifeſtation, that by knowing what he hath done for thee, others may know what to hope, and what to pray for, at his hands: In our debts to God, the noverint univerſi, is the quietus eſt, our publiſhing of them, to his praiſe and glory, is his acquittance and diſcharge for them.
Our other debt to God is Prayer, for that alſo is due to him, and him onelyonly; For,Oratio. Auguſt. Si quod petendum eſt petis, ſed non à quo petendum eſt, impius es: If we direct our prayers to any, even for temporall things, as to the Authors of thoſe benefits, we may poure out as many prayers, as would have paid that debt, if they had been rightly placed, but yet by ſuch a paiment, our debt is growne a debt of a higher nature, a ſin. This is a circumſtance, nay, an eſſentiall difference peculiar to our debts to God, that we doe not pay them, except we contract more; we grow beſt out of debt, by growing farther in debt; by praying for more, we pay our former debt. Domus med Domus Orationis, my houſe, ſaies God, is a houſe of prayer; for this uſe, and purpoſe, he built himſelfe a houſe upon earth; He had praiſe and glory in heaven before, but for Prayer he erected a houſe here, his Church. All the world is his Exchequer, he gives in all; from every creature, from Heaven, and Sea, and Land, and all the inhabitants of all them, wereceive benefits; But the Church is his Court of Requeſts, there he receives our petitions, there we receive his anſwers.
It is true that neither is that houſe onelyonly for prayer, nor prayer onelyonly for that houſe: Chriſt, in his perſon, conſecrated that place, the Temple, by Preaching too: And for prayer elſewhere, Chriſt did much accuſtome himſelfe to private prayer: But in him, who was truly Head of the Church, the whole Church was; Chriſt alone, was a Congregation, he was the Catholique Church. But when we meet in Gods houſe, though, by occaſion, there be no Sermon, yet if we meet to pray, we pay our debt, we doe our duty; ſo doe we not, if we meet at a Sermon, without prayer. The Church is the houſe of prayer, ſo, as that upon occaſion, preaching may be left out, but never a houſe of preaching, ſo, as that Prayer may be left out. And for the debt of prayer, God will not be paid, with money of our owne coyning, (with ſudden, extemporall, inconſiderate prayer) but with currant money, that beares the Kings Image, and inſcription; The Church of God, by his Ordinance, hath fet his ſtampe, upon a Liturgie and Service, for his houſe. Audit Deus in corde cogitantis, quod nec ipſe audit, qui cogitat, ſayes S. Bernard: God heares the very firſt motions of a mans heart, which, that man, till he proceed to a farther conſideration, doth not heare, not feele, not deprehend in himſelfe.
That ſoule, that is accuſtomed to direct her ſelfe to God, upon every occaſion, that, as a flowre at Sun-riſing, conceives a ſenſe of God, in every beame of his, and ſpreads and dilates it ſelfe towards him, in a thankfulneſſe, in every ſmall bleſſing that he ſheds upon her; that ſoule, that as a flowre at the Suns declining, contracts and gathers in, and ſhuts up her ſelfe, as though ſhe had received a blow, when ſoever ſhe heares her Saviour wounded by a oath, or blaſphemy, or execration; that ſoule, who, whatſoever ſtring be ſtrucken in her, baſe or treble, her high or her low eſtate, is ever tun'd toward God, that ſoule prayes ſometimes when it does not know that it prayes. I heare that man name God, and aske him what ſaid you, and perchance he cannot tell; but I remember, that he caſts forth ſome of thoſe ejaculationes animae, (as S. Auguſt: calls them) ſome of thoſe darts of a devout ſoule, which, though they have not particular deliberations, and be not formall prayers, yet they are the indicia, pregnant evidences and bleſſed fruits of a religious cuſtome; much more is it true, which S. Bernard ſaies there, of them, Deus audit, God heares that voice of the heart, which the heart it ſelfe heares not, that is, at firſt conſiders not. Thoſe occaſionall and tranſitory prayers, and thoſe fixed and ſtationary prayers, for which, many times, we binde our ſelves to private prayer at ſuch a time, are payments of this debt, in ſuch peeces, and in ſuch ſummes, as God, no doubt, accepts at our hands. But yet the ſolemne dayes of payment, are the Sabbaths of the Lord, and the place of this payment, is the houſe of the Lord, where, as Tertullian expreſſes it, Agmine facto, we muſter our forces together, and beſiege God; that is, not taking up every tatter'd fellow, every ſudden ragge or fragment of ſpeech, that riſes from our tongue, or our affections, but muſtering up thoſe words, which the Church hath levied for that ſervice, in the Confeſſions, and Abſolutions, and Collects, and Litanies of the Church, we pay this debt, and we receive our acquittance. Firſt, we muſt be ſure to pray, where we may be ſure to ſpeed, and onelyonly God can give. It is a ſtrange thing, ſaies Iuſtin Martyr, to pray to Eſculapius or to Apollo for health, as Gods thereof, Qui apud Chironem medicinā didicerunt; when they who pray to them, may know, to whom thoſe gods were beholden for all their medicines, and of whom they learnt all their phyſick: why ſhould they not rather pray to their Maſters, then to them? why ſhould Apollo, Chiroes ſcholar, and not Chiro, Apollo's Maſter, be the god of phyſick? why ſhould I pray to S. George for victory, when I may goe to the Lord of Hoſts, Almighty God himſelfe; or conſult with a Seargeant, or Corporall, when I may goe to the Generall? Or to another Saint for peace, when I may goe to the Prince of peace Chriſt Jeſus? Why ſhould I pray to Saint Nicolas for a faire paſſage at Sea, when he that rebuked the ſtorme, is nearer me then S. Nicolas? why ſhould I pray to S. Antony for my hoggs, when he that gave the devill leave to drowne the Gergeſens whole heard of hoggs, did not do that by S. Antonies leave, nor by putting a caveat or prae-non-obſtante in his monopoly of preſerving hoggs? I know not where to finde S. Petronilla when I have an ague, nor S. Apollonia, when I have the tooth-ache, nor S. Liberius, when I have the ſtone: I know not whether they can heare me in Heaven, or no; Our Adverſaries will not ſay, that all Saints in Heaven heare all that is ſaid on earth: I know not whether they be in Heaven, or no: our Adverſaries will not ſay, that the Pope may not erre, in a matter of fact, and ſo may canonize a Traytor for a Saint: I know not whether thoſe Saints were ever upon earth or no; our Adverſaries will not ſay, that all their Legends were really, hiſtorically true, but that many of them, are holy, but yet ſymbolicall inventions, to figure out not what was truly done before, but what wee ſhould endeavour to doe now. I know my Redeemer liveth, and I know where he is; and no man knowes, where he is not. He is our Creditor, to him we muſt pray. But for what? we may finde in ſome reſpects a better modell of prayer in heathen, and unchriſtian Rome, then in ſuperſtitious Rome. There wee finde their prayer to have beene, Aut innocentiam des nobis, aut maturam poenitentiam; preſerve us O Lord, in an innocencie, or afford us a ſpeedy repentance: And as we finde that there was in that State a publique Officer, Conditor precum, that made their Collects, and prayers for publique uſe, ſo wee finde in their prayers, that which may make us aſham'd; At firſt, for many yeares, their prayer was, Vt res populi Romani ampliores facerent, that their Gods would enlarge their State; after that, it was, Vt res perpetuò incolumes ſervarent, that their Gods would preſerve, and eſtabliſh them, in that State; And after, Vota nuncupata, ſi res eo ſtetiſſent ſtatu; They vowed their ſervice, and their ſacrifice to God, upon condition that he ſhould keepe them alwaies in that State, and not otherwiſe. So far therefore they may be our example, that they contented themſelves with a competency, but not, that they made themſelves Judges of that competency. We come to Gods houſe to pay a debt, and our debt is, to confeſſe that we can have from none but him, nor deſire from him any more, then he is pleaſed to give.
We come now to our ſecond ſort of Creditors,2 Part. to whom wee are commanded to render their dues; to men: And of them, to our Superiors firſt, and then to our Inferiors. For, that with which, the Apoſtle enters into this Chapter, Omnis anima, Let every ſoule be ſubject to the higher powers, S. Chryſoſtome applies Ad Prophetam, & Euangeliſtam, though he were a Prophet; or an Euangeliſt; S. Bernard, Ad Epiſcopum, & Archiepiſcopum, though a Biſhop, or Archbiſhop, (for, though they be as ſpirituall meteors betweene Heaven, and earth, and ſtand betweene God and us, yet they are ſubject to that juriſdiction, which God hath given man over man, though they were in an extraordinary calling, (the Prophets were ſo) yet they were ſubject to an ordinary juriſdiction;) And Theophylact, and Theodoret both, apply it ad Monachum & Fratrem, to Monks and Friers; though they ſeeme to be gone out of the world, yet to this entendment, of being ſubject to higher powers, they are all within the world, no Cloyſter, no Cathedrall Church, no profeſſion, no dignity is a ſanctuary, a priviledged place from the payment of this debt. Here is a Quo warranto to be brought againſt all, and what exception can bee pleaded to this Omnis anima, let every ſoule be ſubject? The Anabaptiſt would not pay this debt, hee acknowledges no Magiſtrate, and yet Iohn Baptiſt did, who ſubmitted himſelfe to Herod; The Jeſuit will not pay this debt, he acknowledges no ſecular Magiſtrate, and yet Chriſt Jeſus did, who ſubmitted himſelfe to Pilate; Nemo ſecularior Pilato, cui adſtitit Dominus judicandus, ſaies S. Bernard, there was never a more ſecular Judge then Pilate, and yet the Lord of life was judg'd to death by him.
We cannot enlarge this conſideration to all our Creditors, in theſe debts,Princeps. not to all Superiors, naturall, as Parents, and civill, as Magiſtrates, and Eccleſiaſticall, as Prelates, and that which is mixt of all, matrimoniall, from the wife to the husband, and therefore we contract it to the roote of all, the Soveraigne; And to him we conſider firſt a Reall,Realis. and ſubſtantiall, and then a circumſtantiall and ceremoniall debt. The ſubſtantiall debt is paid in a faithfull, in a ready and chearfull paying of thoſe debts, thoſe Tributes, and Cuſtomes, (as the Apoſtle cals them here) which belong to the King, and he that makes no conſcience in defrauding the publique, he that withholds part of this debt, whenſoever he can, he would pay that which he payes, in counterfait money, if he durſt: hee that deceives, becauſe he ſees he can ſcape with that deceit, he would coyne too, if he ſaw too, that he could ſcape for that coyning. A principall reaſon that makes coyning and adulterating of money capitall in all ſtates, is not ſo much becauſe hee that coynes uſurpes the Princes authority, (for every coyner is not a pretender to the Crowne) nor becauſe he diminiſhes the Princes majeſty, (for what is the Prince the worſe in that his face is ſtamped by another in baſe mettall, then when that is done by himſelfe, or when his face is graved in any ſtone that is not precious?) as becauſe he that coynes, injuries the publique: and no man injuries the publique more, then he, who defrauds him, who is Gods ſteward for the publique, the King. In matter of cloathes and apparell, God wrought a miracle in private mens caſes, in continuing and enlarging the children of Iſraels cloathes in the wilderneſſe: In matter of meat he wrought a miracle in private mens behalfe too, in feeding ſo many, with ſo few loafes, and fiſhes; and ſo he did for drinke too, in a miraculous providing of wine at the Marriage; for, meat, and drink, and cloathes are things neceſſary for every man: But becauſe money is not ſo, if theſe other things may otherwiſe be had, (as ſome nations have lived, by permutation of commodities, without money) therefore God never wrought a miracle in matter of money, in any private mans caſe; But becauſe money is the moſt neceſſary of all, to the publique, to the Prince, therefore he wrought a miracle for that; and for that, onelyonly then, when that money was to be employed upon tribute to Caeſar;Mat. 17.27. no miracle in matter of money but for tribute. As it is a ſigne of ſubjection to ſee a man ſtand bare headed, ſo it may be a declination towards a worſe condition, to ſee a State bare headed, to ſee the Prince, the Head, kept bare, by being either defrauded of that which is ordinarily due to him, or denied that which becomes alſo due in the payment, though it were extraordinarily given in the grant. But I am not here, to deale upon affections, but conſciences, and but ſo far upon them, in this point, as they finde themſelves in a rectified, and well examined conſcience, to have beene enemies to the publique, by having defrauded that, by any meanes, of that which was truly due to it. And to bring that into conſideration, which is little conſidered, that as it is a greater ſinne to defraud the publique, then to defraud any private perſon, ſo doth the aſſiſting of the publique lay a greater obligation upon us, then the aſſiſting of any other, by private almes.
The other debt from us to men,Ceremonialis. and of them to Superiours, and of them principally to the Soveraigne, we called ceremoniall; And the Apoſtle, in that which followes in this verſe, referres chiefely to that, in thoſe words, Feare, and Honour, for it conſiſts eſpecially in thoſe things, wherein, by outward reverence, we contribute to the maintenance, and upholding of the dignity of the Prince; and of theſe outward ceremoniall things hath God alwaies profeſſed himſelfe to be moſt jealous. And, (if I miſtake not, as I may eaſily doe, in things ſo far removed out of my way) when in your judiciall proceedings in criminall cauſes, you make the greateſt offences to be againſt the Crowne and Dignity, in the firſt, (the Crowne) you intend the eſſentiall part, and in the other, (the Dignity) the ceremoniall, the Honour, and Reverence, and Reputation of the Prince. God gave his very Eſſence to his Son, he was very God of very God; But when this Son of his became man, that which God ſayes in generall, my Honour will I give to no man, reaches ſo far to the Son of God himſelfe, as that the honour due to God, is not to be given to the body, not to the manhood of Chriſt Jeſus himſelfe. How very great a part of the Law of God was ceremoniall? and how very heavy puniſhments were ordained for the breakers even of thoſe Ceremonies?Coloſ. 2.17. Melancton. The Sabbaths themſelves, S. Paul puts amongſt Ceremonies: And that man, who aſſiſted the Reformation of Religion, with as much learning, and modeſty, as any, defines the Commandment of the Sabbath well, to be Morale praeceptum, de Ceremoniali, That though the Commandment be morall, and binde all men for ever, yet that which is commanded in that morall Commandement, is in it ſelfe Ceremoniall; for, indeed, all that which we call by the generall name of Religion, as it is the outward worſhip of God, is Ceremoniall, and there is nothing more morall, then that ſome ceremoniall things there muſt be. Now, as theſe Ceremoniall things are due to God himſelfe, ſo are they to them, to whom God hath imparted his name, in ſaying they are Gods. Wee ſhall not read in any ſecular or prophane ſtory, of greater humility and reverence in ſubjects to their Princes, then in the booke of God, to the Kings there. What phraſes of abjecting themſelves, in reſpect of the Prince, can exceed Davids humble expreſſing of himſelfe to Saul? Or Daniels magnifying the King, when he cals him King of Kings? And certainly ſome of the beſt, and moſt religious of Chriſtian Emperors tooke to themſelves ſo great Titles, in their ſtile, as can be excuſed no other way, but becauſe their Predeceſſors had done ſo, there lay a neceſſity upon them, to keepe this ceremoniall reſpect and dignity, at the ſame heighth, becauſe upon the Ceremoniall, much of the Eſſentiall depends too. And therefore God pierces to the roote, to the heart, when he forbids an irreverent, or unreſpective thought of the Prince,Eccleſ. 10.20. for, ſaies he, Thoſe that have wings, ſhall declare the matter; God imployes ſo many Informers, as Angels; It is not an office unworthy of the Angels of Heaven, much leſſe of any other Angels of the Church, (no, not though it be delivered by way of confeſſion) to diſcover any diſloyall purpoſes; though in other caſes, by our owne Canons, that ſeale of Confeſſion lay juſtly a ſtrong obligation upon us, and God gives Angels an ability, a faculty, which in their nature they have not, that is, to know thoughts, for this purpoſe, for the diſcovery of ſuch irreverent, and diſloyall hearts. Angels doe not know thoughts naturally, yet to this purpoſe they ſhall know thoughts, ſaies God. Morall men ſhould not diſcover the ſecrets of friends, we ſhould not diſcover the things we receive in confeſſion; but when it comes to matter of diſloyalty, all morall ſeales, and all Eccleſiaſticall ſeales loſe their obligation.
The foote of this account, the totall ſumme of this Ceremoniall debt to Superiors, is, that due reſpect be given to every man, in his place; for when young men thinke it the onelyonly argument of a good ſpirit, to behave themſelves fellowly, and frowardly to great perſons, thoſe greater perſons in time, take away their reſpect from Princes, and at laſt, (for in the chain of order, every link depends upon one another) God loſes the reſpect and honour due to him; private men leſſen their reſpect of Magiſtrates, and Magiſtrates of Princes, and Princes and all, of God. And therefore, that which S. Chryſoſtome ſayes of the higheſt rank, Non putes Chriſtian a philoſophiae dignitatem laedi, reaches to all ſorts, Let no man think that he departs from the dignity of a Chriſtian, in attributing to every man that which appertains to the dignity of his place. I ſpeak not all this, as though a man ſhould loſe the ſubſtance for the ceremony, that that man, whoſe place it is to adviſe and counſell, ſhould be ſo ceremonious with his ſuperiour, as to concurre with him in the allowance of all his errors. Caput meum conquaſſatum eſt (it is an expoſtulation of S. Bernards) My head is bruiſed, corrupted, putrified, (he ſpeakes it of his head, his ſuperiour, a Biſhop) Et jam ſanguine ebulliente, putaverim eſſe tegendum, now my head runs downe with blood, can I think to cover it? Quicquid appoſuero, cruentabitur, whatſoever I lay to it will be bloody too; if I diſſemble, or cover his faults, his blood will fall upon me, and I ſhall have part of his ſins. Every wife hath a ſuperiour at home, ſo hath every childe, and every ſervant, and every man a ſuperjour ſome where, in ſome reſpect, that is, in a ſpirituall reſpect: for ſo, not only the King, but the higheſt ſpirituall perſon hath a ſuperiour for abſolution. And to this ſuperiour reſpectively, every man owes a ceremoniall reſpect, as a debt, though this debt be not ſo far, as to accompany him, or to encourage him in his ill purpoſes, for that is too high a ceremony, and too tranſcendent a complement, to be damned for his ſake, by concurring with my ſuperiour in his ſins. And then, they whoſe office it is to direct, even their ſuperiours, by their counſell, (as that office may in caſes belong to a wife, to a childe, to a ſervant, as Iob profeſſes it was in his family) have alſo a ceremoniall duty in that duty, which is, to doe even that, with ſweetneſſe, with reſpect, with reverence. It was a better rule in ſo high a buſineſſe, then a man would look for at a Friars hands, which S. Bernard hath, Abſ que prudentia & benevolentia, non ſunt perfecta conſilia: No man is a good Counſellor, for all his wiſdome, and for all his liberty of ſpeech, except he love the perſon whom he counſels: If he do not wiſh him well, as well as tell him his faults, he is rather a Satyriſt, and a Calumniator, and ſeeks to vent his own wiſdome, and to exerciſe his authority, then a good Counſellor. And therefore, ſayes that Father, before Chriſt took Peter into that high place, he asked him, and asked him thrice, Amas me? Loveſt thou me? He would be ſure of his love to him firſt, before he preferred him; Vix in multitudine hominum, unum reperio, in utra que gratia conſummatum, ſayes he ſtill: Not one man amongſt a thouſand, that is both able to give counſell to great perſons, and then doth that office out of love to that perſon, but rather to let others ſee his ability in himſelf, or his authority and power over that perſon, and ſo upon pretence of counſelling, opens his weakneſſes to the knowledge, and to the contempt of other men; as Davids wife, when he had danced (as ſhe thought) undecently before the Ark, ſpoke freely enough, with liberty enough, but it was with ſcorn, and contempt: And this is in no ſort any payment of this ceremoniall debt, which is, (that the foundations, and the ſubſtance being preſerved, that is, the glory of God, and morall, and religious truths being kept inviolate) to think, and ſay, and doe, thoſe things which may conduce to the eſtimation, and dignity of his ſuperiour.
Now this hath led us to our other liſt of humane creditors, that is, our inferiours,Inferiores. and to render to them alſo their dues; for, to them we ſaid at beginning, there was due, counſell, if they were weak in underſtanding; and there was due, reliefe, if they were weak in their fortunes. For the firſt, there are ſome perſons in ſo high place in this world, as that they can owe nothing to any temporall ſuperiour, for they have none: But there is none ſo low in this world, but he hath ſome lower then he is, to pay this debt of counſell and adviſe to: at leaſt the debt of prayer for him, if he will not receive the debt of counſell to him. But in this place (for haſte) we contract our ſelves to the debt of reliefe to the poore: Amongſt whom, we may conſider one ſort of poore whom we our ſelves have made poore, and damnified, and then our debt is Reſtitution, and another ſort, whom God, for reaſons unknowne to us hath made poore, and there our debt is Almes. For the firſt of theſe (thoſe whom thou haſt damnified and made poore) thou needſt not come to the Apoſtles queſtion of the blinde man, Did this man ſin or his parents, that he is born blinde? Did this man waſte himſelfe in houſe-keeping, or in play, or in wantonneſſe, that he is become poore? Neither he ſinned, nor his parents, ſayes Chriſt; neither exceſſe, nor play, nor wantonneſſe hath undone this man, but thy prevarication in his cauſe, thy extortion, thy oppreſſion: And now he ſtarves, and thou hunteſt after a popular reputation of a good houſe-keeper with his meate; now he freezes in nakedneſſe, and thy train ſhines in liveries out of his Wardrobe; every Conſtable is ready to lay hold upon him for a rogue, and thy ſon is Knighted with his mony. Sileat licèt fama, non ſilet fames, ſayes good and holy Bernard, fame may be ſilent, but famine will not: perchance the world knowes not this, or is weary of ſpeaking of it, but thoſe poore wretches that ſtarve by thy oppreſſion, know it, and cry out in his hearing, where thine own conſcience accompanies them, and cryes out with them againſt thee. Pay this debt, this debt of reſtitution, and pay it quickly; for nothing periſhes, nothing decayes an eſtate more, nothing conſumes, nothing enfeebles a ſoule more, then to let a great debt run on long.
But if they be poore of Gods making,Eleemoſyna. and not of thine (as they are to thee, if thou know not why, or how they are become poore) (for though God have inflicted poverty upon them for their ſins, that is a ſecret between God and them, that which God hath revealed to thee, is their poverty, and not their ſins) then thou oweſt them a debt of almes, though not reſtitution: though thou have nothing in thy hands which was theirs, yet thou haſt ſomething which ſhould be theirs; nothing perchance which thou haſt taken from them, but ſomething certainly which thou haſt received from God for them; and in that ſenſe S. Bernard ſayes truly, in the behalfe, and in the perſon of the poore, to waſtfull men, Noſtrum eſt quod effunditis, you are prodigall, there is one fault; but then you are prodigall of that which is not your own, but ours, and that is a greater; and then we whoſe goods you waſt, are poore and miſerable, and that is the greateſt fault of all. Nobis crudeliter ſubtrahitur, quod inaniter expenditis, whatſoever you ſpend wantonly and vainly upon your ſelves, or ſinfully upon others, is cruelly and bloodily drawen out of our bowels, and worſe then ſo, ſacrilegiouſly too, becauſe we are the Temples of the Holy Ghoſt: If not properly taken away becauſe we had it not, yet unjuſtly and cruelly with-held and kept away, becauſe we ſhould have it, ſay thoſe poore ſoules to theſe waſtfull prodigalls in that devout and perſwaſive mouth of S. Bernard. Here is a double miſery, of which you, you that are prodigals are authors, Vos vanitando peritis, nos ſpoliando perimitis, In this prodigality you waſte your ſelves, even your ſoules, and you rob us; you leave us naked in the cold, and you caſt your ſelves into dark and tormenting fire. So that whether they be poore of Gods making, or poore of your making, Reddite debitum, pay the debt you owe, to the one by almes, to the other by reſtitution.
We deſcend now to our laſt creditors,3. Part. Nos. our ſelves. It is a good rule of S. Bernard, Qui ad ſui menſuram proximum diligit, ſeipſum diligere norit, ſince we are commanded to love our neighbour, as our ſelves, we muſt be ſure to love our ſelves ſo as we ſhould doe, or elſe we proceed by a wrong, and a crooked rule. So to give ſome gueſſe of our ability, and of our willingneſſe, to pay our debts to God, and our debts to man, we muſt conſider what we owe,Rom. 1.14. and how we pay our ſelves. Thou art a debtor (as S. Paul ſayes of himſelfe) to the Greek, and to the Barbarian, to the wiſe, and to the unwiſe; And thou thy ſelfe art amongſt ſome of theſe; wiſe and learned in the beſt art, though thou know not a letter, rich and mighty in the beſt treaſure, though thou poſſeſſe not a penny, if thou pay theſe debts duly, (for as God tels us we may buy without money, ſo we may pay debts without money) and then ignorant and unlettered, in the midſt of thy library and languages, and poore and beggarly in the midſt of thy coffers and rentals, if thou call not thy ſelfe to this account, for his debt to himſelfe alone, is debt enough to oppreſſe any man. Solus mihi ſervandus, ſayes S. Bernard, I am Biſhop over no man but my ſelfe, I have no larger Dioceſſe then mine own perſon, no mans debts to pay but mine own, nor any man to pay them to, but to my ſelfe, Solus tamen mihi ſum ſcandalo, yet I am ſcandalized in my ſelfe, I have brought an ill name upon my ſelfe, to be an ill pay maſter to mine own ſoul; Solus taedio, though I have no creditor to diſappoint but my ſelfe, yet I am growen a gedious, and dilatory man to my ſelf, I have taken longer and longer daies with my ſelfe, and ſtill put off my repentances, from ſickneſſe to ſickneſſe, Solus taedio; ſolus oneri, I am a burden to my ſelfe, I have over-burdened my ſelf even with collaterall ſecurity, with entring into new bands, with new vows upon my repentances, new contracts, new ſtipulations, new proteſtations to my God, which I have forfeited alſo, ſolus oneri; and ſolus periculo, I am become a dangerous man to my ſelfe, I dare not truſt my ſelf alone, though I abſtain from my former ſinfull company, yet cuſtome of ſinne hath made me a tentation to my ſelf, and I ſin where no tentation offers it ſelf: Solus mihi ſervandus, I have no body to ſave, ſayes S. Bernard in his Cloiſter, but my ſelf, and I cannot doe that, but I damne my ſelf alone.
Begin therefore to pay theſe debts to thy ſelfe betimes; for, as we told you at beginning, ſome you are to tender at noone, ſome at evening. Even at your noon and warmeſt Sun-ſhine of proſperity, you owe your ſelves a true information, how you came by that proſperity, who gave it you, and why he gave it.Judg. 9.7. Let not the Olive boaſt of her own fatneſſe, nor the Fig-tree of her own ſweetneſſe, nor the Vine of her own fruitfulneſſe, for we were all but Brambles. Let no man ſay, I could not miſſe a fortune, for I have ſtudied all my youth; How many men have ſtudied more nights, then he hath done hours, and ſtudied themſelves blinde, and mad in the Mathematiques, & yet withers in beggery in a corner? Let him never adde, But I ſtudied in a uſefull and gainfull profeſſion; How many have done ſo too, and yet never compaſſed the favour of a Judge? And how many that have had all that, have ſtruck upon a Rock, even at full Sea, and periſhed there? In their Grandfathers & great Grandfathers, in a few generations, whoſoever is greateſt now, muſt ſay, With this ſtaffe came I over Jordan; nay, without any ſtaffe came I over Jordan, for he had in them at firſt, a beginning of nothing. As for ſpiritual happineſſe, Non volentis, nec currentis, ſed miſerentis Dei, It is not in him that would run, nor in him that doth, but only in God that proſpers his courſe; ſo for the things of this world, it is in vain to riſe early, and to lie down late, and to eat the bread of ſorrow, for, niſi Dominus aedificaverit, niſi Dominus cuſtodierit, except the Lord build the houſe, they labour in vaine; except the Lord keep the City, the watchman waketh but in vain. Come not therefore to ſay, I ſtudied more then my fellows, and therefore am richer then my fellows, but ſay, God that gave me my contemplations at firſt, gave me my practice after, and hath given me his bleſſing now. How many men have worn their braines upon other ſtudies, and ſpent their time and themſelves therein? how many men have ſtudied more in thine own profeſſion, and yet, for diffidence in themſelves, or ſome disfavour from others, have not had thy practice? How many men have been equall to thee, in ſtudy, in practice, and in getting too, and yet upon a wanton confidence, that that world would alwayes laſt, or upon the burden of many children, and an expenſive breeding of them, or for other reaſons, which God hath found in his wayes, are left upon the ſand at laſt, in a low fortune? whileſt the Sun ſhines upon thee in all theſe, pay thy ſelf the debt, of knowing whence, and why all this came, for elſe thou canſt not know how much, or how little is thine, nor thou canſt not come to reſtore that which is none of thine, but unjuſtly wrung from others. Pay therefore this debt of ſurveying thine eſtate, and then pay thy ſelfe thine own too, by a chearfull enjoying and uſing that which is truly thine, and doe not deny nor defraud thy ſelfe of thoſe things which are thine, and ſo become a wretched debtor, to thy back, or to thy belly, as though the world had not enough, or God knew not what were enough for thee.
Pay this debt to thy ſelfe of looking into thy debts, of ſurveying, of ſevering, of ſerving thy ſelfe with that which is truly thine, at thy noone, in the beſt of thy fortune, and in the ſtrength of thine underſtanding; that when thou commeſt to pay thy other, thy laſt debt to thy ſelf, which is, to open a doore out of this world, by the diſſolution of body and ſoule, thou have not all thy money to tell over when the Sun is ready to ſet, all the account to make of every bag of money, and of every quillet of land, whoſe it is, and whether it be his that looks for it from thee, or his from whom it was taken by thee; whether it belong to thine heire, that weepes joyfull tears behinde the curtain, or belong to him that weeps true, and bloody teares, in the hole in a priſon. There will come a time, when that land that thou leaveſt ſhall not be his land, when it ſhall be no bodies land, when it ſhall be no land, for the earth muſt periſh; there will be a time when there ſhall be no Mannors; no Acres in the world, and yet there ſhall lie Mannors and Acres upon thy ſoul, when land ſhall be no more, when time ſhall be no more, and thou paſſe away, not into the land of the living, but of eternall death. Then the Accuſer will be ready to interline the ſchedules of thy debts, thy ſins, and infert falſe debts, by abuſing an over-tenderneſſe, which may be in thy conſcience then, in thy laſt ſickneſſe, in thy deathbed: Then he will be ready to adde a cyphar more to thy debts, and make hundreds thouſands, and abuſe the faintneſſe which may be in thy conſcience then, in thy laſt ſickneſſe, in thy death-bed. Then he will be ready to abuſe even thy confidence in God, and bring thee to think, that as a Pirate ventures boldly home, though all that he hath be ſtoln, if he be rich enough to bribe for a pardon; ſo, howſoever thoſe families periſh whom thou haſt ruined, and thoſe whole pariſhes whom thou haſt depopulated, thy ſoule may goe confidently home too, if thou bribe God then, with an Hoſpitall or a Fellowſhip in a Colledge, or a Legacy to any pious uſe in apparance, and in the eye of the world.
Pay thy ſelfe therefore this debt, that is, make up thine account all the way, for when that voyce comes,Luk. 16.2. Redde rationem, Give up an account of thy Stewardſhip, it is not, goe home now, and make up thy account perfect; but now, now deliver up thine account; if it be perfect, it is well, if it be not, here is no longer day, for Iam non poteris villicare, now thou canſt be no lenger Steward, Eſay 38.1.now thou haſt no more to doe with thy ſelfe. Here the voyce is not in the word to Ezekiah, Diſpone domui, put thy houſe in order, for, morieris, thou ſhalt die; For, there God had a gracious purpoſe, to give him a longer terme, but here it is, foole, this night, repetunt, not they ſhall, but they doe fetch away thy ſoule, and then what is become of that To morrow, which thou hadſt imagined and promiſed to thy ſelfe, for the paiment of this debt, of this repentance? Be juſt therefore to thy ſelfe all the way, pay thy ſelfe, and take acquittances of thy ſelfe, all the way, which is onelyonly done under the ſeale, and in the teſtimony of a rectified conſcience. Let thine owne conſcience be thine evidence, and thy Rolls, and not the opinion of others: Non tutum planè, ſed ſtultum, ibi theſaurum tuum recondere, ubi non vales reſumere, cum volueris, ſayes Saint Bernard. It is not providently done, to lock thy treaſure in a cheſt, of which thou haſt no key, and to which thou haſt no acceſſe: Si ponis in os meum jam non in tua, ſed mea poteſtate eſt, ut te laudare, vel tibi derogare poſsim: If thou build thy reputation upon my report, it is now in my power, not in thine, whether thou ſhalt be good or bad, honourable or infamous: Sanum vas, & inconcuſſum, conſcientia, a good conſcience is a ſweet veſſell, and a ſtrong; Quicquid in ea repoſueris, ſervabit vivo, & defuncto reſtituet: Whatſoever thou laieſt up in that, ſhall ſerve thee all thy life, and after; and that ſhall be thine acquittance, and diſcharge, atthy laſt paiment, in manustuas, when thou returneſt thy ſpirit, into his hands that gave it: And then reddidiſti debita omnibus, thou ſhalt have rendred to all their dues, when thou haſt given the King, Honour; the poore, almes; thy ſelfe, peace; and God thy ſoule.