Eighty Sermons, Candlemas · Sermon 12
SERMON XII. Preached upon Candlemas day.
MAT. 5.2.
Bleſſed are the pure in heart, for they ſhall ſee God.
THe Church, which is the Daughter of God, and Spouſe of Chriſt, celebrates this day, the Purification of the bleſſed Virgin, the Mother of God: And ſhe celebrates this day by the name, vulgarly, of Candlemas day. It is dies luminarium, the day of lights; The Church took the occaſion of doing ſo, from the Gentiles; At this time of the yeare, about the beginning of February, they celebrated the feaſt of Februus, which is their Pluto; And, becauſe that was the God of darkneſſe, they ſolemnized it, with a multiplicity of Lights. The Church of God, in the outward and ceremoniall part of his worſhip, did not diſdain the ceremonies of the Gentiles; Men who are ſo ſevere, as to condemne, and to remove from the Church, whatſoever was in uſe amongſt the Gentiles before, may, before they are aware, become Surveyors, and Controllers upon Chriſt himſelf, in the inſtitution of his greateſt ſeales: for Baptiſme, which is the Sacrament of purification by waſhing in water, and the very Sacrament of the Supper it ſelf, religious eating, and drinking in the Temple, were in uſe amongſt the Gentiles too. It is a perverſe way, rather to aboliſh Things and Names, (for vehement zeale will work upon Names as well as Things) becauſe they have been abuſed, then to reduce them to their right uſe. We dealt in the reformation of Religion, as Chriſt did in the inſtitution thereof; He found ceremonies amongſt the Gentiles, and he took them in, not becauſe he found them there, but becauſe the Gentiles had received them from the Jews, as they had their waſhings, and their religious meetings to eat and drink in the Temple, from the Jews Paſſeover. Chriſt borrowed nothing of the Gentiles, but he took his own where he found it: Thoſe ceremonies, which himſelf had inſtituted in the firſt Church of the Jews, and the Gentiles had purloined, and prophaned, and corrupted after, he returned to a good uſe againe. And ſo did we in the Reformation, in ſome ceremonies which had been of uſe in the Primitive Church, and depraved and corrupted in the Romane. For the ſolemnizing of this Day, Candlemas-day, when the Church did admit Candles into the Church, as the Gentiles did, it was not upon the reaſon of the Gentiles, who worſhipped therein the God of darkneſſe, Februus, Pluto; but becauſe he who was the light of the world, was this day preſented and brought into the Temple, the Church admitted lights. The Church would ſignifie, that as we are to walk in the light, ſo we are to receive our light from the Church, and to receive Chriſt, and our knowledge of him, ſo as Chriſt hath notified himſelf to us. So it is a day of purification to us, and a day of lights, and ſo our Text fits the Day, Bleſſed are the pure in heart, for they ſhall ſee God.
In theſe words we ſhall conſider firſt,Diviſie. Qui ſint, who they are, that are brought into conſideration, that are put into the balance, and they are mundi corde, ſuch as are pure of heart; And ſecondly, Quid ſint, what they come to be, and it is Beati, bleſſed are the pure in heart; And laſtly, Vnde, from whence this bleſſedneſſe accrews and ariſes unto them, and in what it conſiſts, and that is, Videbunt Deum, bleſſed are the pure in heart, for they ſhall ſee God. Gen. 6.5.Ask me wherein theſe men differ from other men, and it is in this main difference, Mundi corde, that whereas every imagination of the thought of mans heart, is only evill continually, They are pure of heart. Ask me what they get by that, They get this main purchaſe, Beati, That which all the books of all the Philoſophers could never teach them ſo much as what it was, that is true Bleſſedneſſe; That their pocket book, their Manuall, their boſome book, their conſcience, doth not only ſhew them, but give them, not only declare it to them, but poſſeſſe them of it. Ask me how long this Bleſſedneſſe ſhall laſt, becauſe all thoſe Bleſſedneſſes which Philoſophers have imagined, as honour, and health, and profit, and pleaſure, and the like, have evaporated and vaniſhed away, this ſhall laſt for ever; Videbunt Deum, they ſhall ſee God, and they ſhall no more ſee an end of their ſeeing God, then an end of his being God: Bleſſed are the pure in heart, for they ſhall ſee God.
Theſe then are our three parts; firſt the Price, mundities cordis, cleanneſſe, and cleanneſſe of heart; Secondly, the Purchaſe, Beati, Bleſſedneſſe, and preſent poſſeſſion of bleſſedneſſe, Bleſſed are they; And then thirdly, the Habendum, the term, Everlaſtingneſſe, becauſe it conſiſts in the enjoying of him who is everlaſting, They ſhall ſee God. Theſe ariſe out of the Text; but from whence ariſes the Text it ſelfe? The Text it ſelf is a piece of a Sermon, of that bleſſed Sermon of our Saviours, which is called the Sermon of Beatitudes. So that we ſhall make it a part apart, to conſider the Sermon from which this Text is taken, before we dilate the Text it ſelf into a Sermon: for there will ariſe ſome uſefull obſervations, out of theſe three doubts, firſt Quae concio, what this Sermon it ſelf was; and then Quibus, to what Auditory it was preached; And laſtly, Quomodo, in what manner Chriſt preached this Sermon: And theſe three, the Sermon, the Auditory, the diſpoſition of the Preacher, will alſo be three branches of this, which we ſhall make our firſt part, before we come to the other three of the Text it ſelf.
Firſt then, there is this doubt made of this Sermon altogether,1 Part. whether this Sermon which S. Matthew records here, be the ſame Sermon which S. Luke mentions in his ſixth Chapter, or whether they were preached at ſeverall times; The greater part of the ancients (but yet not all) take them to be ſeverall Sermons; The greater part of the later men (and yet not all neither) take them to be but one and the ſame Sermon. If it be ſo, if both be but one Sermon, this may be juſtly conſidered, that ſince S. Luke remembers but a few paſſages, and a few parts of that Sermon, in reſpect of S. Matthew, (for S. Matthews relation is large and particular, and S. Lukes more briefe and ſummary) they that come to heare Sermons, and would make benefit by them, by a ſubſequent meditation, muſt not think themſelves fruſtrated of their purpoſes, if they do not underſtand all, or not remember all the Sermon. Scarce any Sermon is ſo preached, or ſo intended, as that all works upon all, or all belongs unto all. The Lord and his Spirit puts into the Preachers mouth, a judgement againſt oppreſſion, againſt extortion, againſt uſury, and he utters that judgement. But perchance thou haſt no lands to rack tenants, no office to grinde ſuitors, no mony to devoure a debtor by uſury, and ſo that paſſage of the Sermon, bent againſt oppreſſion, or extortion, or uſury, concernes not thee, affects not thee. But next to thee there may ſit an oppreſſor, or extortioner, or uſurer, and he needed that, and by Gods grace receives benefit by that, which found nothing to work upon in thee. And then thy turn comes after, and God ſpeaks to thy ſoul, in a diſcovery of thoſe ſins to which thou art enclined; and then he gives thy neighbour (who was pinched, and brought to a remorſe before) that refreſhing which thou hadſt before, that is, a thankfull acknowledgement, that though he be ſubject to other ſins, yet God hath preſerved him from that particular.
God directs the tongue of his Miniſters, as he doth his ſhowres of rain: They fall upon the face of a large compaſſe of earth, when as all that earth did not need that rain. The whole Congregation is, oftentimes, in common entendment, conformable, and well ſetled in all matters of Doctrine, and all matters of Diſcipline. And yet God directs us ſometimes to extend our diſcourſe (perchance with a zeale and a vehemence, which may ſeem unneceſſary, and impertinent, becauſe all in the Church are preſumed to be of one minde) in the proofe of our doctrine againſt Papiſts, or of our diſcipline againſt Nonconformitans. For, Gods eye ſees, in what ſeat there ſits, or in what corner there ſtands ſome one man that wavers in matters of Doctrine, and enclines to hearken after a Seducer, a Jeſuit, or a Semi-Jeſuit, a practiſing Papiſt, or a Seſqui-Jeſuit, a Jeſuited Lady; And Gods eye ſees in what ſeat there ſits, or in what corner there ſtands ſome weak ſoul that is ſcandalized, with ſome Ceremony, or part of our Diſcipline, and in danger of falling from the unity of the Church: And for the refreſhing of that one ſpan of ground, God lets fall a whole ſhowre of rain; for the rectifying of that one ſoul, God poures out the Meditations of the Preacher, into ſuch a ſubject, as perchance doth little concern the reſt of the Congregation. S. Matthew relates Chriſts Sermon at large, and S. Luke but briefly, and yet S. Luke remembers ſome things that S. Matthew had left out. If thou remember not all that was preſented to thy faith, all the Citations of places of Scriptures, nor all that was preſented to thy reaſon, all the deducements, and inferences of the Schooles, nor all that was preſented to thy ſpirituall delight, all the ſentences of ornament produced out of the Fathers, yet if thou remember that which concerned thy ſin, and thy ſoul, if thou meditate upon that, apply that, thou haſt brought away all the Sermon, all that was intended by the Holy Ghoſt to be preached to thee. And if thou have done ſo, as at a donative at a Coronation, or other ſolemnity, when mony is throwne among the people, though thou light but upon one ſhilling of that money, thou canſt not think that all the reſt is loſt, but that ſome others are the richer for it, though thou beeſt not; ſo if thou remember, or apply, or underſtand but one part of the Sermon, doe not think all the reſt to have been idly, or unneceſſarily, or impertinently ſpoken, for thou broughteſt a feaver, and haſt had thy Julips, another brought a fainting, and a diffident ſpirit, and muſt have his Cordials.
Thus then, if S. Lukes Sermon be the ſame that S. Matthews was, we ſee by S. Lukes manner of repeating it, That a Sermon may be well remembred, and well applyed, though all the parts thereof be not ſo. And then, if theſe were divers Sermons, and ſo preached by Chriſt, at ſeverall times, there ariſes alſo this conſideration, That Chriſt did not, and therefore we need not forbeare to preach the ſame particular Doctrines, or to handle the ſame particular points, which we, or others, in that place, have handled before: A preachers end is not a gathering of fame to himſelfe, but a gathering of ſoules to God; and his way is not novelty, but edification. If we conſider the Sermon in Saint Matthew, and the Sermon in S. Luke, the purpoſe and the ſcope of both, the matter and the forme of both, the body and the parts of both, the phraſe and the language of both, is for the moſt part the ſame, and yet Chriſt forbore not to preach it twice.
This excuſes no mans ignorance, that is not able to preach ſeaſonably, and to break, and diſtribute the bread of life according to the emergent neceſſities of that Congregation, at that time; Nor it excuſes no mans lazineſſe, that will not employ his whole time upon his calling; Nor any mans vain-glory, and oſtentation, who having made a Pye of Plums, without meat, offers it to ſale in every Market, and having made an Oration of Flowres, and Figures, and Phraſes without ſtrength, ſings it over in every Pulpit: It excuſes no mans ignorance, nor lazineſſe, nor vain-glory, but yet it reproaches their itching and curious eares, to whom any repetition of the ſame things is irk ſome and faſtidious. You may have heard an anſwer of an Epigrammatiſt applyable to this purpoſe; When he read his Epigrams in an Auditory, one of the hearers ſtopped him, and ſaid, Did not I heare an Epigram to this purpoſe from you, laſt yeare? Yes, ſayes he, it is like you did; but is not that vice ſtill in you this yeare, which laſt yeares Epigram reprehended? If your curioſity bring you to ſay to any Preacher, Did not I heare this Point thus handled in your Sermon, laſt yeare? Yes, muſt he ſay, and ſo you muſt next yeare againe, till it appeare in your amendment, that you did heare it. The Devill maintaines a Warre good cheap, if he may fight with the ſame ſword, and we may not defend with the ſame buckler; If he can tempt a Son with his Fathers covetouſneſſe, and a Daughter with her Mothers wantonneſſe, if he need not vary the ſin, nor the tentation, muſt wee vary our Doctrine? This is indeed to put new Wine into old veſſels, new Doctrine into eares,Cant. 7.13. and hearts not disburdened of old ſins. We ſay, as the Spouſe ſayes, Vetera & nova, we prepare old and new, all that may any way ſerve your holy taſte, and conduce to your ſpirituall nouriſhment; And he is not a Preacher ſufficiently learned, that muſt of neceſſity preach the ſame things againe, but he is not a Preacher ſufficiently diſcreet neither, that for beares any thing therefore, becauſe himſelfe, or another in that place, hath handled that before. Chriſt himſelfe varied his Sermon very little, if this in S. Matthew, and that in S. Luke, were divers Sermons.
The ſecond doubt which is made about this Sermon, and which miniſters to us occaſion of another kinde of obſervations,Quibus. is the Auditory, to whom Chriſt preached this Sermon. For firſt, as this Euangeliſt reports it, it ſeemes to have been Concio ad Clerum, a Sermon Preached to them who had taken Degrees in Chriſts Schoole, and followed him,V. 1. and not ad populum, to the promiſcuous, and vulgar people; for he ſayes, That Chriſt ſeeing the multitude, went up into a mountaine, and thither his Diſciples came, and to them he Preached. And then, as S. Luke reports, though the Sermon ſeeme principally to be directed to the Diſciples, yet it was in the preſence and hearing of all; for he ſayes, Chriſt came downe, and ſtood in the plaine, and a great multitude of people about him. Luke 6.17.Both muſt be done; we muſt preach in the Mountaine, and preach in the plaine too; preach to the learned, and preach to the ſimple too; preach to the Court, and preach to the Country too. OnelyOnly when we preach in the mountaine, they in the plaine muſt not calumniate us, and ſay, This man goes up to Jeruſalem, he will be heard by none but Princes, and great perſons, as though it were out of affectation, and not in diſcharge of our duty, that we doe preach there: And when we preach on the plaine, they of the mountaine muſt not ſay, This man may ſerve for a meane Auditory, for a ſimple Congregation, for a Country Church, as though the ſitting of our ſelves to the capacity, and the edification of ſuch perſons, were out of ignorance, or lazineſſe, and not a performance of our duties, as well as the other. Chriſt preached on the mountaine, and he preached in the plaine; he hath his Church in both; and they that preach in both, or either, for his glory, and not their owne vain-glory, have his Example for their Action.
To make the like uſe of the other difficulty,Quomedo. ariſing out of the ſeverall relation of this Sermon, which is Quomodo, in what manner, in what poſition of body Chriſt preached this Sermon, by this Euangeliſt it ſeemes that Chriſt preached ſitting, and by the other,V. 1. Luke 6.17. that he preached ſtanding. Now, for the moſt part, Chriſt did preach ſitting. When he preached in the Synagogue of Nazareth, and took that Text, out of Eſay, Luk. 4.16.The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, &c. He ſtood up to reade, (ſayes the ſtory) and then he cloſed the Booke, and ſate downe to preach. So alſo when he came downe from the Mount of Olives into the Temple, he ſate downe there and taught them. And ſo Chriſt himſelfe profeſſes,John 8.2. that it was his ordinary cuſtome to doe; For, when they came to apprehend him, he ſaid, Are ye come out, as againſt a Thiefe? I ſate dayly with you, teaching in the Temple, Mat. 26.55.and ye laid no hold on me. And according to this cuſtome of his, they who came to great place, and dignity in …e Church, did ordinarily preach ſitting too; and therefore their Churches were called Cathedrall, becauſe they preached ſitting in chaires.
Why then will ſuch men, as in all actious of Divine Service, pretend to limit every thing preciſely to the patterne of Chriſt himſelf, to doe juſt as he did, and no otherwiſe, why will they admit any other poſition of the body, in preaching, then ſitting, ſince, ut plurimùm, at leaſt, for the moſt part, Chriſt did preach ſitting? Or if Chriſt did both ſit, and ſtand, why will they not acknowledge, that all poſitions of the body, that are reverent, are indifferent in themſelves, in the ſervice of God; and being ſo, why will they not admit that poſition of the body, which being indifferent in it ſelfe, is by the juſt command of lawfull authority, made neceſſary to them, that is, kneeling at the Sacrament? They who reſuſe it, pretend but two Reaſons; Firſt, becauſe Chriſt at the inſtitution thereof, did not uſe that poſition of kneeling, but ſitting; Secondly, becauſe they might ſcandalize others, or enter a falſe beleefe into others, who ſhould ſee them kneele, that they kneeled in ſuch adoration thereof, as the Papiſts doe.
But for the firſt, who referre all (in their deſire) to the practiſe of Chriſt himſelfe herein, it cannot be a cleare caſe, In what poſition of body Chriſt did inſtitute this Sacrament. There was at that time, a civill Supper, the ordinary houſhold Supper, and there was a legall Supper, the eating of the Paſſeover, and then this Sacramentall Supper, of a new inſtitution; And it is cleare, that Chriſt did not continue one poſition all this while, but he aroſe and did ſome actions between; Neither could that poſition of body, which they uſed at the Table, for their civill Supper, and naturall refection, be properly called a ſitting, for it was rather a lying, a reclining, a leaning upon a bed; And let it be exactly a ſitting, and let that ſitting run through all the three Suppers, yet how will that poſition of ſitting, juſtifie that Canon, which hath paſſed in a Synod amongſt out neighbours, Liberum eſt ſtando, ſedendo, eundo, coenam celebrare, non autem geniculando? Harmoma Synod. Belg. de Coena. Art. 8.How will ſtanding, or walking, be any more maintainable then kneeling, by Chriſts example? and yet they ſay, ſitting, or walking, or ſtanding, they may receive, but kneeling they muſt not: But this, I preſume that particular Synod did not declare by way of Doctrine, to binde other Churches, but enjoyned a Diſcipline for their owne.
Now, for the danger of ſcandalizing others, all that come to Church, and are of our profeſſion in Religion, are ſufficiently catechized, and informed of the reaſon of our kneeling, and that we are therein farre from the Adoration of the Romane Practiſe. It is a complaint often made, and often to be repeated, that one of the greateſt illuſions, and impoſtures of the Romane Church, is, That the Book-Doctrine, of their learned men, and the ordinary practice of their people agree not. They know the people doe commit Idolatry, in their manner of adoring the Bread in the Sacrament, and they never preach againſt this error of the people, nor tell them wherein that Idolatry lies; It is true, that in their Bookes of Controverſies, which the people could not underſtand, if they might reade them, nor may reade them, if they could underſtand them, in thoſe bookes they proceed upon ſafer grounds; There they ſay, that when a man adores the Sacrament, he muſt be ſure, that he carry not his thoughts upon any thing that he ſees, not onelyonly not upon Bread and Wine, (for, that they muſt not beleeve to be there, whatſoever they ſee or taſte) but not upon thoſe ſpecies and apparences of Bread and Wine, which they ſeem to ſee, but he muſt carry all his thoughts upon the perſon of Chriſt, who is there, though he ſee him not; for, otherwiſe, ſay they, if he ſhould adore that which he ſees, he ſhould commit Idolatry. Now, if the people were acquainted with this Doctrine, and could poſſibly obſerve it, the danger were not ſo great, in that Adoration of the Sacrament. Much leſſe is there in our kneeling, who, as we acknowledge, that God is preſent every where, yet otherwiſe preſent to us, when we throw our ſelves downe before him in devotion, and prayer in our Chamber, then he is in the Market, or in the ſtreet, and otherwiſe in the Congregation, at Publike prayer, then at private prayer in our Chamber; ſo weacknowledge, that he is otherwiſe preſent at the Sacrament, then at any other act of Divine Service. That which Chriſts Example left indifferent, the Authority of that Church, in which God hath given thee thy ſtation, may make neceſſary to thee; Though not abſolutely neceſſary, and Ratione medii, that none can be ſaved that doe not kneele at the Sacrament, therefore becauſe they doe not kneele, yet neceſſary Ratione praecepti, as it is enjoyned by lawfull authority, and to reſiſt lawfull authority, is a diſobedience, that may endanger any mans ſalvation.
Now from this Sermon,2. Part. which gave us our Text, we paſſe to the Text, which muſt give us our Sermon, the particular Branches of the Text it ſelfe, which we propoſed at firſt, for our ſecond part. And there, our firſt is, Qui ſint, who they be, that are brought into conſideration, Mundi corde, thoſe that are pure of heart; firſt pure, and then, pure of heart. In the pureſt times of the Primitive Church, there crept in falſe opinions of purity; we finde two ſorts of Puritanes then; The Cathariſts, and the Cathari; the Cathariſts were purifying Puritanes, and the Cathari were purified Puritanes: The firſt thought no creatures pure for mans uſe, till they were ſanctified by them; and thereupon they induced certain charmes, and formes of Purification, too deteſtable to be named amongſt Chriſtians. And then the Cathari, the purified Puritanes thought no men pure but themſelves, and themſelves ſo pure, as that they left out that petition out of the Lords prayer, Dimitte nobis, forgive us our treſpaſſes, for they thought they had treſpaſſed in nothing.
They have a third ſtate of Puritanes above theſe, in the Romane Church; where they ſay that a man come to ſuch a ſtate of purity in this life, as that he ſhall be abſtracted, not onelyonly a paſsionibus, from all inordinateneſſe of affections and paſſions, but a phantaſmatibus, from apprehending any thing by thoſe lazy degrees of the ſenſes, and the phantaſie, and diſcourſe, and reading, and meditation, and converſation, but they ſhall come to ſuch a familiarity with God, as that they ſhall know all by immediate Revelation; They meane, (and, indeed, ſome of them ſay) that a man come to that purity in this life, as that in this life, hee ſhall bee in poſſeſſion of that very Beatificall viſion, which is the ſtate of glory in heaven; In which purity, they ſay alſo, that a man may not onelyonly be empty of all ſin, but he may be too full of Gods preſence, overfraighted with his grace, ſo farre, that (as they make Philip Nerius, the Founder of their laſt Order, their example) they ſhall be put to that exclamation, Recede à me Domine, O Lord depart farther from me, and withdraw ſome of this grace, which thou poureſt upon me.
And then beſides theſe three imaginary and illuſory purities, The Cathariſts that think no things pure, The Cathari that think no men pure but themſelves, and the Super-cathari, in the Romane Church, that think theſe men as pure, as the Saints, who are in poſſeſſion of the ſight of God in heaven, there is a true purity, which will not ſerve our turns, which is a partiall purity, that pureneſſe, that cleanneſſe, that innocency, to which David ſo often referres himſelf, in his religious and humble expoſtulations with God, Iudge me, and deale with me, according to my righteouſneſſe, and mine innocency, and cleanneſſe of heart, and hands, ſaies David; that is, as I am innocent, and guiltleſſe, in that particular, which Saul imputes to me, and perſecutes me for. For, this pureneſſe, which is this marke of the Saints of God, is not partiall, but univerſall; it is not a fig-leafe, that covers one ſpot of nakedneſſe, but an intire garment, a cleanneſſe in all our actions.
We ſay ſometimes, and not altogether improperly, that a man walks cleane, if in a foule way, he contract but a few ſpots of dirt; but yet this is not an abſolute cleanneſſe. A houſe is not cleane, except Cobwebs be ſwept downe; A man is not cleane, except he remove the lighteſt and ſlighteſt occaſions of provocation. It is the ſpeech of the greateſt to the greateſt, of Chriſt to the Church, Capite vulpeculas, Take us the little Foxes, for they devoure the Vine. It is not a cropping, a pilling, a retarding of the growth of the Vine that is threatned, but a devouring, though but from little Foxes. It is not ſo deſperate a ſtate, to have thy ſoule attempted by that Lion, that ſeekes whom he may devoure, (for then, in great and apparant ſinnes, thou wilt be occaſioned to call upon the Lion of the tribe of Juda, to thine aſſiſtance) as it is to have thy ſoule eaten up by vermin, by the cuſtome and habit of ſmall ſinnes. God puniſhed the Egyptians with little things, with Haileſtones, and Froggs, and Graſhoppers; and Pharaohs Conjurers, that counterfaited all Moſes greater workes, failed in the leaſt, in the making of lice. A man may ſtand a great tentation, and ſatisfie himſelfe in that, and thinke he hath done enough in the way of ſpirituall valour, and then fall as irrecoverably under the cuſtome of ſmall. I were as good lie under a milſtone, as under a hill of ſand; for howſoever I might have blowne away every graine of ſand, if I had watched it, as it fell, yet when it is a hill, I cannot blow it, nor ſhove it away: and when I ſhall thinke to ſay to God, I have done no great ſins, God ſhall not proceed with me, by waight, but by meaſure, nor aske how much, but how long I have ſinned.
And though I may have done thus much towards this purity, as that, for a good time, I have diſcontinued my ſin, yet if my heart be ſtill ſet upon the delight, and enjoying of that which was got by my former ſins, though I be not that dog that returnes to his vomit, yet I am ſtill that Sow, that wallowes in her mire; though I doe not thruſt my hands into new dirt, yet the old dirt is ſtill baked upon my hands; though mine owne cloathes doe not defile me againe, as Iob ſpeakes,Iob. 2.22. (though I do not relapſe to the practiſe of mine old ſin) yet I have none of Ieremies Nitre, and Sope, none of Iobs Snow-water, to waſh me cleane, except I come to Reſtitution. As long as the heart is ſet upon things ſinfully got, thou ſinneſt over thoſe yeares ſins, every day: thou art not come to the purity of this text, for it is pure, and pure in heart.
But can any man come to that pureneſſe? to have a heart pure from all fouleneſſe?Corde. Iob 14.4. Prov. 20. can a man be borne ſo? Who can bring a cleane thing out of filthineſſe, is Iobs unanſwerable queſtion? can any man make it cleane, of himſelfe? Who can ſay, I have made cleane my heart? is Solomons unanſwerable queſtion. Beloved, when ſuch queſtions as theſe, are asked in the Scriptures, How can? who can doe this? Sometimes they import an abſolute impoſſibility, It cannot be done by any meanes; And ſometimes they import but a difficulty, It can hardly be done, it can be done but ſome one way. When the Prophet ſaies, Quid proderit ſculptile? What good can an Idoll, or an Idolatrous Religion do us? Habak. 2.It ſhall not helpe us in ſoule, in reputation, in preferment, it will deceive us every way, it is abſolutely impoſſible, that an Idoll, or an Idolatrous Religion ſhould doe us any good. But then when David ſaies, Domine quis habitabit, Lord who ſhall aſcend to thy Tabernacle, Pſal. 15.2.and dwell in thy holy hil? David does not mean that there is no poſſibility of aſcending thither, or dwelling there, though it be hard clambring thither, & hard holding there; And therefore when the Prophet ſaies, Quis ſapiens, & intelliget haec, Hoſ. 14.8.Who is ſo wiſe as to finde out this way, he places this cleanneſſe, which we inquire after, in Wiſdome. What is Wiſdome? we may content our ſelves, with that old definition of Wiſdome, that it is Rerum humanarum, & divinarum ſcientia; The Wiſdome that accompliſhes this cleanneſſe, is the knowledge, the right valuation of this world, and of the next; To be able to compare the joyes of heaven, and the pleaſures of this world, and the gaine of the one, with the loſſe of the other, this is the way to this cleaneneſſe of the heart; becauſe that heart that conſiders, and examines, what it takes in, will take in no foule, no infectious thing.1 Theſ. 4.7. God hath not called us to uncleanneſſe, but to holineſſe, ſaies the Apoſtle. If we be in the waies of uncleanneſſe, God hath not called us thither: We may ſlip into them, by the infirmity of our nature; or we may run into them by a cuſtome of ſin; wee may bee drawne into them, by the inordinateneſſe of our affections; or we may be driven into them, by feare of loſing the favour of thoſe great Perſons, upon whom we depend, and ſo accompany, or aſſiſt them in their ſins.
So we may ſlip, and run, and be drawne, and be driven, but we are not called, not called by God, into any ſin; not called by any Decree of God; not by any profeſſion or calling; not by any complexion, or conſtitution, to a neceſſity of committing any ſin; All ſin is from our ſelves: But if we be in the waies of holineſſe, it is God that call'd us thither, we have not brought our ſelves. God calls us by his Ordinance, and Miniſtery in the Church; But when God hath call'd us thither, we may ſee, what he expects from us, by that which the Apoſtle ſaies,2 Cor. 7.1. Let us cleanſe our ſelves from all filthineſſe; that is, let us employ that faculty, that is in our ſelves, let us be appliable and ſupple, eaſie and ductile, in thoſe waies, to which God hath called us. Since God, by breeding us in the Chriſtian Church, and in the knowledge of his word, by putting that balance into our hand, to try heavenly, and earthly things, by which we may diſtinguiſh Lepram à non lepra, what is a leprous and ſinfull, what is an indifferent, and cleane action, let us be content to put the ware, and the waights into the balance, that is, to bring all objects, and all actions to a conſideration, and to an examination, by that tryall, before wee ſet our hearts upon them: for God leaves no man, with whom he hath proceeded ſo far, as to breed him in the Chriſtian Church, without a power to doe that, to diſcerne his owne actions, if he do not winke.
Upon thoſe word,Gen. 26.18. Iſaac digged the Wels of water, which they had digged in the daies of Abraham, Homil. 13. in Gen.and the Philiſtims had ſtopped, Origen extends this power far, though not very confidently; Fortè in uniuſcuiuſque noſtrûm anima, ſaies he; perchance in every one of our ſoules, there is this Well of the water of Life, and this power to open it: whether Origens Noſtrûm, our ſoule, be intended by him of us, as we are men, or of us, as wee are Chriſtians, I pronounce not; but divide it; In all us, as we are naturall men, there is this Well of water of Life, Abraham digged it at firſt, The Father of the faithfull our heavenly Abraham, infuſed it into us all at firſt in Adam, from whom, as wee have the Image of God, though defaced, ſo we have this Well of water though ſtopped up; But then the Philiſtims having ſtopped this well, (Satan by ſinne having barred it up) the power of opening it againe is not in the naturall man; but Iſaac diggs them againe, Iſaac who is Filius laetitiae, the Son of Joy, our Iſaac, our Jeſus, he opens them againe, to all that receive him according to his Ordinance in his Church, he hath given this power, of keeping open in themſelves, this Well of Life, theſe meanes of Salvation: Peccata tua alios inducunt colores, ſaies Origen in the ſame place; Thy ſinnes cover the Image of God with other Images, Images of Beauty, of Honour, of Pleaſure, ſo that ſometimes thou doſt not diſcerne the Image of God, in thy ſoule, but yet there it is: ſometimes thou filleſt this Well with other waters, with teares of hypocriſie, to deceive, or teares of lamentation for worldly croſſes, but yet ſuch a Well, ſuch a power to aſſiſt thine owne ſalvation, there is in thee: Mulier drachmam invenit, non extrinſecus, ſed in dome; The Woman who had loſt her peece of ſilver, found it not without doores, but within; It was In domo mundata, when her houſe was made cleane, but it was within the houſe, and within her owne houſe. Make cleane thy houſe, by the aſſiſtances, which Chriſt affords thee in his Church, and thou ſhalt never faile finding of that within thee, which ſhall ſave thee: Not that it growes in thee naturally, or that thou canſt produce it of thy ſelfe, but that God hath bound himſelfe by his holy Covenant, to perfect his work, in every man, that works with him. So then in repenting of former ſins, in breaking off the practiſe of thoſe ſins, in reſtoring whatſoever was gotten by thoſe ſins, in precluding all relapſes, by a diligent ſurvay and examination of particular actions, this is this cleanneſſe, this purity of heart, which conſtitutes our firſt branch of this part; And the ſecond is the Purchaſe, what we get by it, which is Bleſſedneſſe, Bleſſed are the pure in heart.
In this,Beatue. we make two ſteps, Bleſſedneſſe, and the preſent poſſeſſion of this Bleſſedneſſe. Now, to this purpoſe, it is a good Rule that S. Bernard gives, and a good way that he goes: Cui quaeque res ſapiunt prout ſunt, is ſapiens eſt, ſaies he: He that taſts, and apprehends all things in their proper and naturall taſt, he that takes all things aright as they are, Is ſapiens eſt, nothing diſtaſts him, nothing alters him, he is wiſe. If he take the riches of this world to be in their nature, indifferent, neither good, nor bad in themſelves, but to receive their denomination in their uſe, If he take long life to be naturally an effect of a good conſtitution, and temperament of the body, and a good husbanding of that temper by temperance, If he take ſickneſſe to be a declination and diſorder thereof, and ſo other calamities to be the declination of their power, or their favour, in whoſe protection hee truſted, then he takes all theſe things, prout ſunt, as they are, in their right taſt, and Is ſapiens eſt, he that takes things ſo, is morally wiſe. But thus far, S. Bernard does but tell us, Quis ſapiens, who is wiſe; but then, Cui ipſa ſapientia ſapit, prout eſt, is beatus, He that taſts this Wiſdome it ſelfe aright, he onelyonly is Bleſſed. Now to taſte this morall Wiſedome aright, to make the right uſe of that, is to direct all that knowledge upon heavenly things. To underſtand the wretchedneſſe of this world, is to be wiſe, but to make this wiſedome apprehend a happineſſe in the next world, that is to be bleſſed. If I can digeſt the want of Riches, the want of Health, the want of Reputation, out of this conſideration, that good men want theſe, as well as bad, this is morall Wiſedome, and a naturall man may be as wiſe, herein, as I. But if I can make this Wiſedome carry me to a higher contemplation, That God hath caſt theſe wants upon me, to draw me the more eaſily to him, and to ſee, that in all likelihood, my diſpoſition being conſidered, more wealth, more health, more preferment would have retarded me, and ſlackned my pace in his ſervice, then this Wiſdome, that is, this uſe of this morall Wiſdome, hath made me bleſſed; and to this Bleſſedneſſe, a naturall man cannot come.
This Bleſſedneſſe then, is Congeries bonorum, A concurrence, a confluence, an accumulation of all that is Good; And he that is Mundus corde, pure of heart, ſafe in a rectified conſcience, hath that. Not that every thing, that hath Aliquam rationem boni, any tincture, or name of Good in it, (as Riches, and Health, and Honour) muſt neceſſarily fall upon every man, that is, good, and pure of heart; (for, for the moſt part, ſuch men want theſe more then any other men.) But becauſe even thoſe things, which have in them, Aliquam rationem mali, ſome tincture, and name of ill, (as ſickneſſe of body, or vexation of ſpirit) ſhall be good to them, becauſe they ſhall advance them in their way to God; therefore are they bleſſed, as Bleſſedneſſe is Congeries bonorum, the accumulation of all that is good, becauſe nothing can put on the nature of ill, to them. And though Bleſſedneſſe ſeeme to be but an expectative, a reverſion reſerved to the next life, yet ſo bleſſed are they in this teſtimony of a rectified conſcience, which is this purity of heart, as that they have this bleſſedneſſe in a preſent poſſeſſion, Bleſſed are the pure in heart; they are now, they are already Bleſſed.
The fartheſt that any of the Philoſophers went in the diſcovery of Bleſſedneſſe,Nunc. was but to come to that, Nemo ante obitum, to pronounce that no man could be called Bleſſed before his death; not that they had found what kind of better Bleſſedneſſe they went to after their death, but that ſtill till death they were ſhure, every man was ſubject to new miſeries, and interruptions of any thing which they could have called Bleſſedneſſe. The Chriſtian Philoſophy goes farther; It ſhowes us a perfecter Bleſſedneſſe then they conceived for the next life, and it imparts that Bleſſedneſſe to this life alſo: The pure in heart are bleſſed already, not onelyonly comparatively, that they are in a better way of Bleſſedneſſe, then others are, but actually in a preſent poſſeſſion of it: for this world and the next world, are not, to the pure in heart, two houſes, but two roomes, a Gallery to paſſe thorough, and a Lodging to reſt in, in the ſame Houſe, which are both under one roofe, Chriſt Jeſus; The Militant and the Triumphant, are not two Churches, but this the Porch, and that the Chancell of the ſame Church, which are under one Head, Chriſt Jeſus; ſo the Joy, and the ſenſe of Salvation, which the pure in heart have here, is not a joy ſevered from the Joy of Heaven, but a Joy that begins in us here, and continues, and accompanies us thither, and there flowes on, and dilates it ſelfe to an infinite expanſion, (ſo, as if you ſhould touch one corne of powder in a traine, and that traine ſhould carry fire into a whole City, from the beginning it was one and the ſame fire) though the fulneſs of the glory therof be reſerved to that which is expreſſed in the laſt branch, Videbunt Deum, They ſhall ſee God; for, as S. Bernard notes, when the Church is highlieſt extolled for her Beauty, yet it is but Pulcherrima inter mulieres, The faireſt amongst women, that is, ſaies he, Inter animas terrenas, non autem inter Angelicas beatitudines, She is not compared with her owne ſtate in Heaven, ſhe ſhall have a better ſtate in that State, then ſhe hath here; So when Iohn Baptiſts Office is highlieſt extolled, that he is called The greateſt Prophet, it is but Inter natos mulierum, Amongſt the ſons of women, he is not compared with the Son of God. So this Bleſſedneſſe appropriated to the pure in heart, gives a preſent aſſurance of future joy, and a preſent inchoation of that now, though the plenary conſummation thereof be reſpited, till we ſee God.
And firſt videbunt & non contremiſcent; Videbunt Deum.This is a Bleſſedneſſe, they ſhall ſee God, and be glad to ſee him; ſee him in Judgement, and be able to ſtand in Judgement in his ſight; They ſhall ſee him, and never trouble the hils to fall upon them, nor call the mountains to cover them; upon them he ſhall not ſteal as a thiefe in the night, but becauſe he hath uſed to ſtand at their doore, and knock, and enter, they ſhall look for his comming, and be glad of it. Firſt they come to a true valuation of this world, in S. Pauls Omnia ſtercora, Phil. 3.8.I count all things but Dung, but loſſe, for the excellency of the knowledge of Chriſt Ieſus my Lord; When they have found the true value of worldly things, they will come to ſomething worth the getting, they will come to S. Pauls way of Gain, Mors lucrum, that to die is gain and advantage: Phil. 1.21.When they know that, they will conceive a religious covetouſneſſe of that, and ſo come to S. Pauls Cupio diſſolvi, to deſire to be diſſolved, and to be with Chriſt: When they have entertained that Deſire, they will declare it, make a petition, a ſuite for it, with a Veni Domine Ieſu, Come Lord Ieſu, come quickly; and they ſhall have a holy and modeſt, but yet an infallible aſſurance of this anſwer to their petition; Venite benedicti, Come ye bleſſed of my Father, inherite the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundations of the world; Mat. 26.34.So Videbunt & non contremiſcent, by this acquainting themſelves, and accuſtoming themſelves to his preſence, in all their actions, and meditations in this life, they ſhall ſee him, and be glad to ſee him, even in Judgement, in the next.
But the ſeeing of God principally intended in this place, is that Viſio beatifica, to ſee God ſo, as that that very ſeeing makes the ſeer Bleſſed, They are Bleſſed therefore, becauſe they ſee him; And that is videre Eſſentiam, to ſee the very Eſſence and nature of God. For, that we ſhall ſee God in his Eſſence, is evident enough by that place of the Apoſtle,1 John 3.2. Now we are the Sons of God, (that is, now by this purity of heart, and teſtimony of a rectified conſcience, we are ſo) And it doth not yet appeare what we ſhall be, (that is, there are degrees of glory reſerved for us, that yet do not appeare to our underſtanding, we cannot conceive them) But we know, that when he ſhall appeare, we ſhall be like him, (that is, receive incorruption and glory in our bodies, as he hath done) And then the reaſon given there, of that, is, For we ſhall ſee him, ſicuti eſt, as he is, in his Eſſence; All our Beatification, and Glorification in our bodies conſiſts in this, that we ſhall ſee him ſicuti eſt, 1 Cor. 13.12.as he is, in his Eſſence. Then ſayes S. Paul, I ſhall know, even as I am knowne, Eſſentially. But whether then, in the reſurrection, and glorification of the body, God in his Eſſence be to be ſeen with thoſe eyes which the body ſhall then have, is yet, and hath been long a queſtion. The Scripture goes no farther, then to S. Iohns Sicuti eſt, I ſhall ſee him as he is, and to S. Pauls Cognoſcam, I ſhall know him as I am knowne; but with what eyes I ſhall ſee him, (without any perplexing curioſities) we will look a little into the Fathers, and into the School, and conclude ſo, as may beſt advance our edification.
For the Fathers, it may be ſufficient to inſiſt upon S. Auguſtine; not becauſe he is alwayes to be preferred before all, but becauſe in this point, he hath beſt collected all that were before him, and is beſt followed of all that come after. S. Auguſtine had written againſt a Biſhop who was of the Sect of the Anthropomorphits, whoſe Hereſie was that God had a Body; and in oppoſition of him, S. Auguſtine had ſaid, Iſtius corporis oculos nec videre Deum, nec viſuros, That God was ſo far from having a Body, that our bodily eyes, howſoever glorified, ſhould never ſee God. In that Treatiſe S. Auguſtine had been very bitter againſt that Biſhop, and being warned of it, in another Epiſtle to another Biſhop, Fortunatianus, he repents, and retracts his bitterneſſe, but his opinion, his doctrine, That our bodily eyes ſhould never ſee God, S. Auguſtine never retracted. He profeſſes ingenuouſly, Longè tolerabilius corpori arrogare, quàm Deo derogare, That he could be more eaſily brought to attribute ſo much too much to the body of man, as to ſay that with theſe bodily eyes he ſhould ſee God, then to derogate ſo much from God, as to ſay that he had a body that might be ſeen; but becauſe he ſaw that one might follow on the other, he denyed both, and did no more beleeve that mans eyes ſhould ſee God, then that God had a body to be ſeen.
And this negative opinion of his, S. Auguſtine builds upon S. Ambroſe, and upon S. Hierome too, who ſeem to deny that the Angels themſelves ſee the Eſſence of God; and upon Athanaſius, who, againſt the Arrians opinion, That God the Father only was inviſible, but the Son, (who was not equall to the Father) and the Holy Ghoſt, (who was not equall to the Son) might be ſeen, argues and maintains, that the whole Trinity is equall in it ſelf, and equally inviſible to us. So doth he alſo aſſiſt himſelf with that of Nazianzen, Quando Deus viſus, ſalva ſua inviſibilitate viſus, howſoever God be ſaid to have been ſeen, it is ſaid in ſome ſuch ſenſe, as that even then when he was ſeen, he was inviſible. He might have added Chryſoſtomes teſtimony too, Ipſum quod Deus eſt, nec Angeli viderunt, nec Archangeli; Neither Angel nor Archangel did ever ſee that Nature, which is the very Eſſence of God: And he might have added Areopagita too, who expreſſes it with equall elegancy and vehemency, Dei nec ſententia eſt, nec ratio, nec opinio, nec ſenſus, nec phantaſia: If we bring the very Nature and Eſſence of God into queſtion, we can give no judgement upon it, (non ſententia) we can make no probable diſcourſe of it, (non ratio) we can frame no likely opinion, or conjecture in it, (non opinio) we cannot prepare our ſelves with any thing which hath fallen under our ſenſes, (non ſenſus) nor with any thing which we can bring ſtudiouſly, or which can fall caſually into our fancy, or imagination, (non phantaſia.) And upon the whole matter, and all the evidence, he joynes in this verdict with S. Hierome, Tunc cernitur, cum inviſibilis creditur; God is beſt ſeen by us, when we confeſſe that he cannot be ſeen of us. S. Auguſtine denies not, That our eyes ſhall be ſpirituall eyes, but in what proportion ſpirituall, or to what particular uſe ſpirituall, he will not pretend to know: Vtrum in ſimplicitatem ſpiritus cedat, it a ut totus homo jam ſit ſpiritus, whether the body of man ſhall be ſo attenuated and rarified, as that the whole man ſhall become ſpirit, Aut animam adjuvet corpus ad videndum, whether the body ſhall contribute and aſſiſt the faculties of the ſoul, as in this life it doth, Fateor me non alicubi legiſſe, quod exiſtimarem ſufficere, ad docendum, aut ad diſcendum, ſayes that bleſſed and ſober Father, I confeſſe I never read any thing that I thought ſufficient to rectifie mine own judgement, much leſſe to change anothers: But to all thoſe places of Scripture, which are to this purpoſe, That the Angels ſee the face of God, and that we ſhall be like the Angels, and ſee God face to face, he anſwers well, Facies Dei ea eſt, qua Deus innoteſcit nobis, That is the face of God to us all, by which God is known and manifeſted to us; in which ſenſe, Reaſon is the face of God to the naturall man, the Law to the Jew, and the Goſpell to us; and ſuch a ſight of God, doth no more put ſuch a power of ſeeing in our bodily eyes, then it puts a face upon God: We ſhall ſee God face to face, and yet God ſhall have no face to be ſeen, nor we bodily eyes to ſee him by: For, Non legi, That, I have not read, ſayes he; This, ſayes he, I have read, Regi incorruptibili, & inviſibili, VntoUnto the King eternall, immortall, inviſible, &c. Neither dare I, ſayes S. Auguſtine, 1 Tim. 1.17.ſever thoſe things which the Spirit of God hath joyned, Vt dicam incorruptibilem quidem in ſaecula ſaeculorum, inviſibilem autem in hoc ſaeculo, I dare not ſay that God is immortall in this world, and in the next world too, but inviſible in this world only, and viſible in the next, for the Holy Ghoſt hath pronounced him inviſible, as far as immortall.
Si rogas, ſayes he, if you preſſe me, Cannot God then be ſeen? Yes, I confeſſe he can. If you ask me, how? Cum vult, & ſicuti vult, He may be ſeen when he will, and how he will. If you purſue it, can he not be ſeen in his Eſſence? yes, he can; If you proceed farther, and ask me how again? I can ſay no more, ſayes he, then Chriſt ſayes, Erimus ſicut Angeli, we ſhall be like the Angels, and we ſhall ſee God, ſo as the Angels do, but they ſee him not with bodily eyes, nor as an object, which is that that S. Ambroſe, and S. Hicrome, and S. Chryſoſtome intend, when they deny that the Angels ſee the Eſſence of God, that is, they ſee him not otherwiſe then by underſtanding him. All agree in this reſolution, Solus Deus videt cor, & ſolum cor videt Deum, Only God can ſee the heart of man and only the heart of man can ſee God: For, in this world, our bodily eyes do not ſee bodies, they ſee but colours and dimenſions, they ſee not bodies; much leſſe ſhall our eyes, though ſpirituall, ſee ſpirits in heaven; leaſt of all, that Spirit, in compariſon of of whom, Angels, and our ſpirits are but groſſe bodies.
So far the Fathers leade us towards a determination herein; and thus far the School; Nulla viſio naturalis in terris; Here, in this life, neither the eyes, nor the minde of the moſt ſubtile, and moſt ſanctified man can ſee the Eſſence of God: Nulla viſio corporalis in coelis, The bodily eyes of no man, in the higheſt ſtare of glorification in heaven, can ſee the Eſſence of God: Nulla viſio comprehenſiva omnino, That faculty of man, which ſhall ſee the Eſſence of God in heaven, yet ſhall not comprehend that Eſſence; for to comprehend, is not to know a thing, as well as I can know it, but to know it as well as that thing can be knowen; and ſo only God himſelf can ſee, and know, that is, comprehend God.
To end all, in the whole body of the Scriptures we have no light, that our bodily eyes ſhall be ſo enlightned in the Reſurrection,Job 19.26. as to ſee the Eſſence of God; For, when Iob ſayes, In carne mea, In my fleſh I ſhall ſee God, and Oculi mei videbunt, Mine eyes ſhall ſee God, (if theſe words muſt neceſſarily be underſtood of the laſt Reſurrection, which ſome Expoſitors deny, and Calvin in particular, underſtands them of a particular reſurrection from that calamity which lay upon Iob at that time, and of his confidence that God would raiſe him again, even in this life) yet howſoever, and to which reſurrection ſoever you refer them, the words muſt be underſtood thus, In my fleſh, that is, when my ſoule ſhall re-aſſume this fleſh in the Reſurrection, In that fleſh I ſhall ſee God; he doth not ſay, That fleſh ſhall, but Hee, in that fleſh, ſhall. So when hee adds Oculi mei, Mine eyes ſhall do it, he intends Oculos internos, of which the Apoſtle ſpeaks, The eyes of your underſtanding being enlightned. Epheſ. 1.18.So then, a faculty to ſee him ſo, in his Eſſence, with bodily eyes, we finde not in Scripture; But yet in the Scriptures we do finde, that we ſhall ſee him ſo, Sicuti eſt, As he is, in his Eſſence; How? It is a ſafe anſwer which S. Auguſtine gives in all ſuch queſtions, Meliùs affirmamus, de quibus minimè dubitamus, Only thoſe things are ſafely affirmed, and reſolved, which admit no doubt: This hath never admitted any doubt, but that our ſoule, and her faculties ſhall be ſo exalted in that ſtate of glory, as that in thoſe internall faculties of the ſoul, ſo exalted, we ſhall ſee the very Eſſence of God, which no meaſure of the light of grace, communicated to any, the moſt fanctified man here, doth effect, but only the light of glory there ſhall. And therefore this being cleare, that in the faculties of our ſoules we ſhall ſee him, Reſtat ut de illa viſione ſecundum interiorem hominem certiſsimi ſimus, ſayes that bleſſed and ſober Father, As our reaſon is ſatisfied that the Saints in heaven ſhall ſee God ſo, ſo let our conſciences be ſatisfied, that we have an intereſt in that ſtate, and that we in particular ſhall come to that ſight of God; Et cor mundum ad illam viſionem praeparemus, Let us not abuſe our ſelves with falſe aſſurances, nor reſt in any other, then this, that we have made clean, and pure our very hearts, for only ſuch ſhall ſee God. Omnis meridies diluculum habuit, (as the ſame Father continues this Meditation) The brighteſt non had a faint twi-light, and break of day; The ſight of God which we ſhall have in heaven, muſt have a Diluculum, a break of day here; If we will ſee his face there, we muſt ſee it in ſome beames here: And to that purpoſe, Viſus per omnes ſenſus recurrit, (as S. Auguſtine hath collected out of ſeverall places of Scripture) Every ſenſe is called ſight, for there is Odora & vide, and Guſta & vide, Taſte and See how ſweet, and Smell and See what a ſavour of life the Lord is;Apoc. 1.12. Luke 24.39. So S. Iohn turned about, To ſee a voice, There Hearing was Sight; And ſo our Saviour Chriſt ſayes, Palpate & videte, and there Feeling is Seeing. All things concur to this Seeing, and therefore in all the works of your ſenſes, and in all your other faculties, See ye the Lord; Heare him in his word, and ſo ſee him; Speak to him in your prayers, and ſo ſee him; Touch him in his Sacrament, and ſo ſee him; Preſent holy and religious actions unto him, and ſo ſee him.
Davids heart was towards Abſalon, 2 Sam. 14.ſayes that Story: Ioab ſaw that, and, as every man will be forward to further perſons growing in favour, (for ſo it ſhould be done to him, whom the King will honour) Ioah plotted and effected Abſalons return, but yet Abſalon ſaw not the Kings face in two yeares. Beloved in Chriſt Jeſus, the heart of your gracious God is ſet upon you; and we his ſervants have told you ſo, and brought you thus neare him, into his Court, into his houſe, into the Church, but yet we cannot get you to ſee his face, to come to that tenderneſſe of conſcience, as to remember and conſider, that all your moſt ſecret actions are done in his ſight and his preſence; Caeſars face, and Caeſars inſcription you can ſee; The face of the Prince in his coyne you can riſe before the Sun to ſee, and ſit up till mid-night to ſee; but if you do not ſee the face of God upon every piece of that mony too, all that mony is counterfeit; If Chriſt have not brought that fiſh to the hook,Mat. 17.25. that brings the mony in the mouth, (as he did to Peter) that mony is ill fiſhed for; If nouriſhing of ſuits, and love of contention amongſt others, for your own gain have brought it,… 12.14. … 24.3. it is out of the way of that counſell, Follow peace with all men, and holineſſe, without which no man ſhall ſee God. This is the generation of them that ſeeke him, that ſeek thy face, O Iacob; Innocens manibus, & mundus corde, either ſuch an innocence, as never fouled the hands, or ſuch an innocency as hath waſhed them cleane againe, ſuch an innocency as hath kept you from corrupt getting, or ſuch an innocency as hath reſtored us, by reſtoring that, which was corruptly got. It is teſtified of Solomon, 1 King. 10.24.That he exceeded all the Kings of the Earth, for Wiſedome, and for Riches, and all the Earth ſought the face of Solomon; A greater then Solomon is here, for Wiſedome, and Riches; your wiſedome is fooliſhneſſe, and your riches beggery, if you ſee not the face of this Solomon; If either you have ſtudied, or practiſed, or judged, when his back is towards you, that is, if you have not done all, as in his preſence. You are in his preſence now; goe not out of it, when you goe from hence. Amor rerum terrenarum, viſcus pennarum ſpiritualium; Auguſt.God hath given you the wings of Doves, and the eyes of Eagles to ſee him now, in this place; If in returning from this place, you returne to your former wayes of pleaſure or profit, this is a breaking of thoſe Doves wings, and a cieling of thoſe Eagles eyes. Coge cor tuum cogitare divina, compelle, urge, ſayes that Father; Here, in the Church, thou canſt not chuſe but ſee God, and raiſe thy heart towards him: But when thou art returned to thy ſeverall diſtractions, that vanities ſhall pull thine eyes, and obtrectation, and libellous defamation of others ſhall pull thine eares, and profit ſhall pull thy hands, then Coge, compelle, urge. force and compell thy heart, and preſſe, even in that thruſt of tentations, to ſee God. What God is in his Eſſence, or what our ſight of the Eſſence of God ſhall be in the next world, diſpute not too curiouſly, determine nor too peremptorily; Cogitans de Deo, ſi finiviſti, Deus non eſt, is excellently ſaid by S. Auguſtine: If thou begin to think, what the Eſſence of God is, and canſt bring that thought to an end, thou haſt miſtaken it; whenſoever thou canſt ſay, Deus eſt, this is God, or God is this, non eſt Deus, that is not God, God is not that, for he is more, infinitely more then that. But, non potes dicere, Deus eſt, thou art not able to ſay, This is God, God is this; Saltem dicas, hoc Deus non eſt; Be able to ſay, This is not God, God is not this: The belly is not God; Mammon is not God; Mauzzim, the God of Forces, Oppreſſion, is not God; Belphegor, Licentiouſneſſe, is not God: Howſoever God ſees me, to my confuſion, yet I doe not ſee God, when I am ſacrificing to theſe, which are not Gods.
Let us begin at that which is neareſt us, within us, pureneſſe of heart, and from thence receive the teſtimony of Gods Privy Seale, the impreſſion of his Spirit, that we are Bleſſed; and that leads us to the Great Seale, the full fruition of all; we ſhall ſee God, there, where he ſhall make us drink of the Rivers of his pleaſures; There is fulneſſe, plenty;Pſal. 36.8. but leſt it ſhould be a Feaſt of one day, or of a few, as it is ſaid, they are rivers, ſo it is added, with thee is the Fountaine of life; An abundant river, to convay, and a perpetuall ſpring, to feed, and continue that river: And then, wherein appeares all this? In this, for in thy light we ſhall ſee light; In ſeeing God, we ſhall ſee all that concernes us, and ſee it alwayes; No night to determine that day, no cloud to overcaſt it. We end all, with S. Auguſtines devout exclamation, Deus bone, qui erunt illi oculi! Glorious God, what kinde of eyes ſhall they be! Quam decori! quam ſereni! How bright eyes, and how well ſet! Quam valentes! quam conſtantes! How ſtrong eyes, and how durable! Quid arbitremur? quid aeſtimemus? quid loquemur? What quality, what value, what name ſhall we give to thoſe eyes? Occurrunt verba quotidiana & ſordidata viliſsimis rebus; I would ſay ſomething of the beauty and glory of theſe eyes, and can finde no words, but ſuch, as I my ſelfe have miſ-uſed in lower things. Our beſt expreſſing of it, is to expreſſe a deſire to come to it, for there onelyonly we ſhall learne what to call it. That ſo, we may goe the Apoſtles way, to his end, That being made free from ſinne, Rom. 6.22and become ſervants to God, wee may have our fruit unto holineſſe, and then, the End, life everlaſting.