Eighty Sermons, Lent · Sermon 17
SERMON XVII. Preached at VVhite-hall, March 4. 1624.
MAT. 19.17.
And he ſaid unto him, Why calleſt thou me Good? There is none Good but One; that is, God.
THat which God commanded by his Word, to be done at ſome times (that we ſhould humble our ſoules by faſting) the ſame God tommands by his Church, to be done now: In the Scriptures you have Praeceptum, The thing it ſelf, What; In the Church, you have the Nunt, The time, When. The Scriptures are Gods Voyce; The Church is his Eccho; a redoubling, a repeating of ſome particular ſyllables, and accents of the ſame voice. And as we harken with ſome earneſtneſſe, and ſome admiration at an Eccho, when perchance we doe not underſtand the voice that occaſioned that Eccho; ſo doe the obedient children of God apply themſelves to the Eccho of his Church, when perchance otherwiſe, they would leſſe underſtand the voice of God, in his Scriptures, if that voice were not ſo redoubled unto them. This faſting then, thus enjoyned by God, for the generall, in his Word, and thus limited to this Time, for the particular, in his Church, is indeed but a continuation of a great Feaſt: Where, the firſt courſe (that which we begin to ſerve in now) is Manna, food of Angels, plentifull, frequent preaching; but the ſecond courſe, is the very body and blood of Chriſt Jeſus, ſhed for us, and given to us, in that bleſſed Sacrament, of which himſelfe makes us worthy receivers at that time. Now, as the end of all bodily eating, is Aſſimilation, that after all other concoctions, that meat may be made Idem corpus, the ſame body that I am; ſo the end of all ſpirituall eating, is Aſſimilation too, That after all Hearing, and all Receiving, I may be made Idem ſpiritus cum Domino, the ſame ſpirit, that my God is: for, though it be good to Heare, good to Receive, good to Meditate, yet, (if we ſpeake effectually, and conſummatively) why call we theſe good? there is nothing good but One, that is, Aſſimilation to God; In which perfect and conſummative ſenſe, Chriſt ſaies to this Man, in this Text, Why calleſt thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God.
The words are part of a Dialogue, of a Conference, betweene Chriſt,Diviſio. and a man who propoſed a queſtion to him; to whom Chriſt makes an anſwer by way of another queſtion, Why calleſt thou me good, &c. In the words, and by occaſion of them, we conſider the Text, the Context, and the Pretext: Not as three equall parts of the Building; but the Context, as the ſituation and Proſpect of the houſe, The Pretext, as the Acceſſe and entrance to the houſe, And then the Text it ſelfe, as the Houſe it ſelfe, as the body of the building: In a word, In the Text, the Words; In the Context, the Occaſion of the words; In the Pretext, the Pretence, the purpoſe, the diſpoſition of him who gave the occaſion.
We begin with the Context;1 Part. Context. the ſituation, the proſpect; how it ſtands, how it is butted, how it is bounded; to what it relates, with what it is connected. And in that, we are no farther curious, but onelyonly to note this, that the Text ſtands in that Story, where a man comes to Chriſt, inquires the way to Heaven, beleeves himſelfe to be in that way already, and (when he heares of nothing, but keeping the Commandements) beleeves himſelfe to be fargone in that way; But when he is told alſo, that there belongs to it a departing with his Riches, his beloved Riches, he breakes off the conference, he ſeparates himſelfe from Chriſt; for, (ſaies the Story) This Man had great poſſeſsions. And to this purpoſe, (to ſeparate us from Chriſt) the pooreſt amongſt us, hath great poſſeſſions. He corners of the ſtreets, as well as he that ſits upon carpets, in the Region of perfumes, he that is ground and trod to durt, with obloquie, and contempt, as well as he that is built up every day, a ſtory and ſtory higher with additions of Honour, Every man hath ſome ſuch poſſeſſions as poſſeſſe him, ſome ſuch affections as weigh downe Chriſt Jeſus, and ſeparate him from Him, rather then from thoſe affections, thoſe poſſeſſions. Scarce any ſinner but comes ſometimes to Chriſt, in the language of the man in this Text, Good Maſter what good thing ſhall I do, that I may have eternall life? And if Chriſt would go no farther with ſuch men, but to ſay to the Adulterer, Do not thou give thy money to uſury; no more to the penurious Uſurer, but, Do not thou waſt thy ſelfe in ſuperfluous and expenſive feaſting; If Chriſt would proceed no farther, but to ſay to the needy perſon, that had no money, Do not thou buy preferment; or to the ambitious perſon that ſoares up after all, Do not thou forſake thy ſelfe, deject thy ſelfe, undervalue thy ſelfe, In all theſe caſes, the Adulterer and the Uſurer, The needy and the ambitious man, would all ſay with the man in the Text, All theſe things have we done from our youth. But when Chriſt proceeds to a Vade, & vende, to depart with their poſſeſſions, that which they poſſeſſe, that which poſſeſſes them, this changes the caſe.
There are ſome ſins ſo rooted, ſo riveted in men, ſo incorporated, ſo conſubſtantiated in the ſoule, by habituall cuſtome, as that thoſe ſins have contracted the nature of Ancient poſſeſſions. As men call Manners by their names, ſo ſins have taken names from men, and from places; Simon Magus gave the name to a ſin, and ſo did gehazi, and Sodom did ſo: There are ſins that run in Names, in Families, in Blood; Hereditary ſins, entailed ſins; and men do almoſt prove their Gentry by thoſe ſins, and are ſcarce beleeved to be rightly borne, if they have not thoſe ſins; Theſe are great poſſeſſions, and men do much more eaſily part with Chriſt, then with theſe ſins. But then there are leſſe ſins, light ſins, vanities; and yet even theſe come to poſſeſſe us, and ſeparate us from Chriſt. How many men negiect this ordinary meanes of their Salvation, the comming to theſe Exerciſes, not becauſe their undoing lyes on it, or their diſcountenancing; but meerely out of levity, of vanity, of nothing; they know not what to do elſe, and yet do not this. You heare of one man that was drowned in a veſſell of Wine; but how many thouſands in ordinary water? And he was no more drowned in that precious liquor, then they in that common water. A gad of ſteele does no more choake a man, then a feather, then a haire; Men periſh with whiſpering ſins, nay with ſilent ſins, ſins that never tell the conſcience they are ſins, as often as with crying ſins: And in hell there ſhall meet as many men, that never thought what was ſin, as that ſpent all their thoughts in the compaſſing of ſin; as many, who in a ſlack in conſideration, never caſt a thought upon that place, as that by ſearing their conſcience, overcame the ſenſe and feare of the place. Great ſins are great poſſeſſions; but levities and vanities poſſeſſe us too; and men had rather part with Chriſt, then with any poſſeſſions; which is all we will note out of this firſt part, The Context, the ſituation, and proſpect of the houſe, the coherence and connexion of the Text.
The ſecond part,2 Part. Pretext. is the pretext; that is the pretenſe, the purpoſe, the diſpoſition of him that moved this queſtion to Chriſt, and occaſioned this anſwer. Upon which we make this ſtop, becauſe it hath been variouſly apprehended by the Expoſitors; for ſome think he came in an humble diſpoſition to learn of Chriſt, and others think he came in a Phariſaicall confidence in himſelf, with which Epiphanius firſt, and then S. Ierome charge him. But in ſuch doubtful caſes in other mens actions, when it appeares not evidently, whether it were well, or ill done, where the balance is eaven, alwayes put you in your charity, and that will turne the ſcale the beſt way. Things which are in themſelves, but miſ-interpretable, doe not you preſently miſ-interpret, you allow ſome graines to your gold, before you call it light: allow ſome infirmities to any man, before you call him ill. For this man in the Text, venit, ſayes this Euangeliſt, he came to Chriſt, he came of himſelfe. S. Peter himſelf came not ſo. S. Peter came not, till his brother Andrew brought him: none of the twelve Apoſtles came to Chriſt ſo, they came not, till Chriſt called them: Here, we heare of no calling, no inviting, no mention of any motion towards him, no intimation of any intimation to him, and yet he came. Bleſſed are they that come to Chriſt Jeſus, before any collaterall reſpects draw them, before the Laws compell them, before calamities drive them to him: He onelyonly comes hither, that comes voluntarily, and is glad he is here; He that comes ſo, as that he had rather he were away, is not here. Venit, ſayes our Euangeliſt, of this man: And then, ſayes S. Mark, Mark. 10.17.handling the ſame ſtory, Venit procurrens, He came running. nicodemus came not ſo, Nicodemus durſt not avow his comming; and therefore he came creeping, and he came ſoftly, and he came ſeldome, and he came by night.
Bleſſed are they who make haſte to Chriſt, and publiſh their zeale to the encouragement of others: For, let no man promiſe himſelf a religious conſtancy in the time of his triall, that doth not his part in eſtabliſhing the religious conſtancy of other men. Of all proofes, Demonſtration is the powerfulleſt: when I have juſt reaſon to think my ſuperious would have it thus, this is Muſique to my ſoul; When I heare them ſay they would have it thus, this is Rhetorique to my ſoule; When I ſee their Laws enjoyne it to be thus, this is Logick to my ſoul; but when I ſee them actually, really, clearely, conſtantly do thus, this is a Demonſtration to my ſoule, and Demonſtration is the powerfulleſt proofe: The eloquence of inferiours is in words, the eloquence of ſuperiours is in action.
He came to Chriſt; hee ran to him; and when he was come, as S. Mark relates it, He fell upon his knees to Chriſt. He ſtood not then Phariſaically upon his own legs, his own merits, though he had been a diligent obſerver of the Commandements before. Bleſſed are they, who bring the teſtimony of a forme zeale to Gods ſervice, and yet make that no excuſe for their preſent, or future ſlackneſſt; The benefit of our former goodneſſe is, that that enables us to be the better ſtill: for, as all example is powerfull upon us, ſo our own example moſt of all; in this caſe we are moſt immediately bound by ourſelves; ſtill to be ſo good, as we our ſelves have been before: There was a time when I was nothing; but there ſhall never be any time, when I ſhall be nothing; and therefore I am moſt to reſpect the future. The good ſervices that a man hath done to God by pen, or ſword, are wings, and they exalt him if he would go forward; but they are waights and depreſſe him, and aggravate his condemnation, if his preſumption upon the merit of thoſe former ſervices, retard him for the future. This man had done well, but he ſtood not upon that; he kneeled to Chriſt, and he ſaid to him, Magiſter bone, Good maſter. He was no ignorant man, and yet he acknowledged that he had ſomewhat more to learn of Chriſt, then he knew yet. Bleſſed are they that inanimate all their knowledge, conſummate all in Chriſt Jeſus. The Univerſity is a Paradiſe, Rivers of knowledge are there, Arts and Sciences flow from thence. Counſell Tables are Horti concluſi, (as it is ſaid in the Canticles) Gardens that are walled in, and they are Fontes ſignati, Wells that are ſealed up; bottomleſſe depths of unſearchable Counſels there. But thoſe Aquae quietudinum, which the Prophet ſpeaks of, The waters of reſt, they flow à magiſtro bono, from this good maſter, and flow into him again; All knowledge that begins not, and ends not with his glory, is but a giddy, but a vertiginous circle, but an elaborate and exquiſite ignorance. He would learn of him, and what? Quid boni faciam, What good thing ſhall I do? Bleſſed are they that bring their knowledge into practiſe; and bleſſed again, that crown their former practiſe with future perſeverance.
This was his diſpoſition that came; His, though he were a youn man; (for ſo he is ſaid to be, in the 22. ver.) and yong men are not ofter ſo forward in ſuch wayes. I remember one of the Panegyriques celebrates & magnifies one of the Romane Emperors for? is, that he would marry when he was yong; that he would ſo ſoon confine and limit his pleaſures, ſo ſoon determine his affections in one perſon. When a young man comes to Chriſt, Chriſt receives him with an extraordinary welcome; well intimated though he were yong; and he came though he wre Vnus è principibus, (for ſo he is qualified in S. Luke) A principall man, a great man; as we tranſlate it, One of the Rulers: Luke 18.18.for ſo he is a reall and a perſonall anſwer and inſtance to that ſcornfull queſtion of the Phariſees, Nunquid è principibus, Do any of the Rulers, any great men, beleeve in Chriſt? It is true that the Holy Ghoſt doth ſay,1 Cor. 1.26. Non multi nobiles, few noble men come to heaven. Not out of Panigorola, the Biſhop of Aſti, his reaſon, Pauci quia pauci, There cannot come many noble men to heaven, becauſe there are not many upon earth; for many times there are many. In calme and peaceable times, the large favours of indulgent Princes, in active and ſtirring times, the merit and the fortune of forward men, do often enlarge the number. But ſuch is often the corrupt inordinateneſſe of greatneſſe, that it only carries them ſo much beyond other men, but not ſo much nearer to God; It only ſets men at a farther, not God at a nearer diſtance to them; but becauſe they are come to be called gods, they think they have no farther to go to God, but to themſelves. But God is the God of the Mountains, 1 King. 20.28. Eſay 40.12.as well as of the Valleyes: Great and ſmall are equall, and equally nothing in his ſight: for, when all the world is In pugillo, in Gods fiſt, (as the Prophet ſpeaks) who can ſay then, This is the Ant, this is the Elephant? Our converſation ſhould be in heaven; and if we look upon the men of this world, as from heaven, as if we looked upon this world it ſelf, from thence, the hils would be no hils, but all one flat and equall plain; ſo are all men, one kinde of duſt. Records of nobility are only from the book of Life, and your preferment is your intereſt in a place at the right hand of God. But yet, when thoſe men whom God hath raiſed in this world, take him in their armes, and raiſe him too, though God cannot be exalted above himſelf, yet he is content to call this a raiſing, and to thank them for it. Therefore when this man, a man of this rank came to him,Mar. 10.21. Ieſus beheld him, ſayes the Goſpell, and he loved him, and he ſaid, one thing thou lackeſt; God knows, he lacked many things; but becauſe he had that one, zeale to him, Chriſt doth not reproach to him his other defects: God pardons great men many errors, for that one good affection, a generall zeale to his glory, and his cauſe.
His diſpoſition then, (though it have ſeemed ſuſpitious, and queſtionable to ſome) was ſo good, as that it hath afforded us theſe good conſiderations. If it were not ſo good as theſe circumſtances promiſe, yet it affords us another as good conſideration, That how bad ſoever it were, Chriſt Jeſus refuſed him not, when he came to him. When he enquired of Chriſt after ſalvation, Chriſt doth not ſay, There is no ſalvation for thee, thou Viper, thou Hypocrite, thou Phariſee, I have locked an iron doore of predeſtination between ſalvation and thee; when he enquired of him, what he ſhould do to be ſure of heaven, Chriſt doth not ſay, There is no ſuch art, no ſuch way, no ſuch aſſurance here; but you muſt look into the eternall decree of Election firſt, and ſee whether that ſtand for you or no: But Chriſt teaches him the true method of this art: for, when he ſayes to him, Why calleſt thou me good? There is none good but God, he only directs him in the way to that end, which he did indeed, or pretended to ſeek. And this direction of his, this method is our third part; In which, (having already ſeen in the firſt, the Context) the ſituation and proſpect of the houſe, that is, the coherence and occaſion of the words, And in the ſecond, (the Pretext) the acceſſe and entrance to the houſe, that is, the pretenſe and purpoſe of him that occaſioned the words, you may now be pleaſed to look farther into the houſe it ſelf, and to ſee how that is built; that is, by what method Chriſt builds up, and edifies this new diſciple of his; which is the principall ſcope and intention of the Text, and that, to which all the reſt did ſomewhat neceſſarily prepare the way.
Our Saviour Chriſt thus undertaking the farther rectifying of this thus diſpoſed diſciple,3. Part. by a faire method leads him to the true end; Good ends, and by good wayes, conſummate goodneſſe. Now Chriſts anſwer to this man is diverſly read: We reade it, (as you have heard) why calleſt thou me good? The vulgat Edition in the Romane Church, reads it thus, Quid me interrogas de bono? Why doſt thou queſtion me concerning goodneſſe? Which is true? That which anſwers the Originall; and it can admit no queſtion, but that ours doth ſo. But yet, Origen, to be ſure, in his eighth Tractate upon this Goſpell, reads it both wayes: And S. Auguſtine, in his 63. Chap. of the ſecond book De conſenſu Evangeliſt arum, thinks it may very well be beleeved, that Chriſt did ſay both: That when this man called him good maſter, Chriſt ſaid then, There was none good but God; and that when this man asked him, what good thing he ſhould do, then Chriſt ſaid, Why doſt thou ask me, me whom thou thinkeſt to be but a meere man, what is goodneſſe? There is none good but God; If thou look to underſtand goodneſſe from man, thou muſt look out ſuch a man as is God too. So that this was Chriſts method, by theſe holy inſinuations, by theſe approaches, and degrees, to bring this man to a knowledge, that he was very God, and ſo the Meſſias that was expected. Nihil eſt falſitas, Auguſt.niſi cum eſſe putatur, quod non eſt: All error conſiſts in this, that we take things to be leſſe or more, other then they are. Chriſt was pleaſed to redeem this man from this error, and bring him to know truly what he was, that he was God. Chriſt therefore doth not rebuke this man, by any denying that he himſelf was good; for Chriſt doth aſſume that addition to himſelf, I am the good Shepheard. Neither doth God forbid, that thoſe good parts which are in men, ſhould be celebrated with condigne praiſe. We ſee that God, as ſoon as he ſaw that any thing was good, he ſaid ſo, he uttered it, he declared it, firſt of the Light, and then of other creatures: God would be no author, no example of ſmothering the due praiſe of good actions. For, ſurely that man hath no zeale to goodneſſe in himſelf, that affords no praiſe to goodneſſe in other men.
But Chriſts purpoſe was alſo, that this praiſe, this recognition, this teſtimony of his goodneſſe, might be carried higher, and referred to the only true author of it, to God. So the Prieſts and the Elders come to Iudith, and they ſay to her,Judith 15.8. Thou art the exaltation of Jeruſalem, thou art the great glory of Iſrael, thou art the rejoycing of our Nation, thou haſt done all theſe things by thy hand; And all this was true of Iudith, and due to Iudith; and ſuch recognitions, and ſuch acclamations God requires of ſuch people, as have received ſuch benefits by ſuch inſtruments: For as there is Treaſon, and petty-treaſon, ſo there is Sacriledge, and petty-ſacriledge; and petty-ſacriledge is to rob Princes and great perſons of their juſt praiſe. But then, as we muſt confer this upon them, ſo muſt they, and we, and all transfer all upon God: for ſo Iudith proceeds there, with her Prieſts and Elders, Begin unto my God, with Timbrels, ſing unto the Lord with Cymbals, exalt him, and call upon his name. So likewiſe Elizabeth magnifies the bleſſed Virgin Mary, Bleſſed art thou amongst women: And this was true of her, and due to her;Luke 1.42. and ſhe takes it to her ſelf, when ſhe ſayes there, From henceforth all Generations ſhall call me bleſſed; but firſt, ſhe had carried it higher, to the higheſt, My ſoule doth magnifie the Lord, and my ſpirit doth rejoyce in God my Saviour. In a word, Chriſt forbids not this man to call him good, but he directs him to know in what capacity that attribute of goodneſſe belonged to him, as he was God: That when this man beleeved before that Chriſt was good, and learnt from him now, that none was good but God, he might by a farther concoction, a farther rumination, a farther meditation of this, come in due time to know that Chriſt was God; And this was his Method.
Now this leads us into two rich and fragrant fields; this ſets us upon the two Hemiſpheares of the world; the Weſtern Hemiſpheare, the land of Gold, and Treaſure, and the Eaſtern Hemiſpheare, the land of Spices and Perfumes; for this puts us upon both theſe conſiderations, firſt, That nothing is Eſſentially good, but God, (and there is the land of Gold, centricall Gold, viſcerall Gold, gremiall Gold, Gold in the Matrice and womb of God, that is, Eſſentiall goodneſſe in God himſelf) and then upon this conſideration too, That this Eſſentiall goodneſſe of God is ſo diffuſive, ſo ſpreading, as that there is nothing in the world, that doth not participate of that goodneſſe; and there is the land of Spices and Perfumes, the dilatation of Gods goodneſſe. So that now both theſe propoſitions are true, Firſt, That there is nothing in this world good, and then this alſo, That there is nothing ill: As, amongſt the Fathers, it is in a good ſenſe, as truly ſaid, Deus non eſt Ens, Deus non eſt ſubſtantia, God is no Eſſence, God is no ſubſtance, (for feare of impriſoning God in a predicament) as it is ſaid by others of the Fathers, that there is no other Eſſence, no other Subſtance but God.
Firſt then, there is nothing good but God: neither can I conceive any thing in God, that concerns me ſo much as his goodneſſe; for, by that I know him, and for that I love him. I know him by that, for, as Damaſcen ſayes, primarium Dei nomen, Bonitas; Gods firſt name, that is, the firſt way by which God notified him ſelf to man, was Goodneſs; for out of his goodneſſe he made him. His name of Jehova we admire with a reverence; but we cannot expreſſe that name: not only not in the ſignification of it, but not conſidently, not aſſuredly in the ſound thereof; we are not ſure that we ſhould call it Jehova; not ſure that any man did call it Jehova a hundred yeares agoe. But,Auguſt. ineffabili dulcedine teneor cum audio, Bonus Dominus; I am, not tranſported with aſtoniſhment, as at his name of Jehova, but repleniſhed with all ſweetneſſe, eſtabliſhed with all ſoundneſſe, when I hear of my God in that name, my good God. By that I know him, and for that I love him: For, the object of my underſtanding is truth; but the object of my love, my affection, my deſire, is goodneſſe. If my underſtanding be defective, in many caſes, faith will ſupply it; if I beleeve it, I am as well ſatisfied, as if I knew it; but nothing ſupplies, nor fills, nor ſatiſfies the deſire of man, on this ſide of God; Every man hath ſomething to love, and deſire, till he determine it in God; becauſe God only hath Imminuibi lem bonitatem, as they render Dyoniſius the Areopagite, an inexhauſtible goodneſſe; a ſea that no land can ſuck in, a land that no ſea can ſwallow up, a forreſt that no fire can waſte, a fire that no water can quench.Aug. He is ſo good, goodneſſe ſo, as that he is Cauſa bonorum, & quae in nos, & quae in nobis, the cauſe of all good either received by us, or conceived in us; of all, either prepared externally for us,Idem. or produced internally in us. In a word, he is Bonum caetera bona colorans, & amabilia reddens, it is his goodneſſe, that gilds and enamels all the good perſons, or good actions in this world. There is none good but God; and quale bonum ille, ſayes that Father, what kinde of goodneſſe God is, this doth ſufficiently declare, Quòd nulli ab co recedenti bene ſit, That no man that ever went from him, went by good way, or came to good end; There is none good but God; there is centricall, viſcerall, gremiall gold, goodneſſe in the roote, in the tree of goodneſſe, God.
Now, Arbor bona, bonos fructus, ſayes Chriſt; If the tree be good, the fruit is good too. The tree is God; What are the fruits of this tree? What are the off-ſpring of God? S. Ambr. tells us, Angeli & homines, & virtutes eorum; Angels and men, and the good parts, and good actions of Angels and men, are the fruit of this tree, they grow from God. Angels, as they fell, Adam, as he fell, the ſins of Angels and men, are not fruits of this tree, they grow not radically, not primarily from God. Nihil in ſe habet Deus ſemi-plenum, ſaies Damaſcen: God is no half-god, no fragmentary God; he is an intire God, and not made of remnants; not good only ſo, as that he hath no roome for ill in himſelf, but good ſo too, as that he hath no roome for any ill will towards any man; no mans damnation, no mans ſin, growes radically from this tree. When God had made all, ſayes Tertullian, he bleſſed all; Maledicere non norat, quia nec malefacere, ſaies he: God could no more meane ill, then doe ill; God can no more make me ſin, then ſin himſelf. It is the foole that ſaies, There is no God, ſaies David; And it is the other foole, ſayes S. Baſil, that ſaies, God produces any ill; par precii ſcelus, quia negat Deum bonum; It is as impiouſly done, to deny God to be intirely good, as to deny him to be God. For, we ſee the Manichees, and the Marcionites, and ſuch other Heretiques in the Primitive Church, would rather admit, and conſtitute two Gods, a good God, and a bad God, then be drawn to think, that he that was the good God indeed, could produce any ill of himſelf, or meane any ill to any man, that had done none.
And therefore even from Plato himſelf, ſome Chriſtians might learn more moderation in expreſſing themſelves in this point; Plato ſayes, Creavit quia bonus, therefore did God create us, that he might be good to us; and then he addes, Bono nunquam ineſt invidia, certainly that God, that made us out of his goodneſſe, does not now envy us that goodneſſe which he hath communicated to us; certainly he does not wiſh us worſe, that ſo he might more juſtly damne us, and therefore compell us, by any poſitive decree, to ſin, to juſtifie his deſire of damning us: Much leſſe did this good God hate us, or meane ill to us, before he made us, and made us only therefore, that he might have glory in our deſtruction. There is nothing good but God, there is nothing but goodneſſe in God.
How abuſively then doe men call the things of this world, Goods? They may as well call them (ſo they do in their hearts) Gods, as Goods; for there is none good but God. But how much more abuſively do they force the world, that call them Bona quia beant, Goods becauſe they make us good, bleſſed, happy? In which ſenſe, Seneca uſes the word ſhrewdly, Inſolens malum beata uxor, a good wife, a bleſſed wife, ſayes he, that is, a wife that brings a great eſtate, is an inſolent miſchiefe. If we doe but caſt our eye upon that title in the Law, Bonorum, and De bonis, of Goods, we ſhall eaſily ſee, what poor things they make ſhift to cal Goods. And if we conſider (if it deſerve a conſideration) how great a difference their Lawyers make (Baldus makes that, and others with him) between Bonorum poſſeſsio, and poſſeſsio bonorum, that one ſhould amount to a right and propriety in the goods, and the other but to a ſequeſtration of ſuch goods, we may eaſily ſee, that they can ſcarce tell what to call, or where to place ſuch Goods. Health, and ſtrength, and ſtature, and comelineſſe, muſt be called Goods, though but of the body; The body it ſelf is in the ſubſtance it ſelf, but duſt; theſe are but the accidents of that duſt, and yet they muſt be Goods. Land, and Money, & honor muſt be called Goods, though but of fortune; Fortune her ſelf, is but ſuch an Idol, as that S. Aug. was aſhamed ever to have named her in his works, and therefore repents it in his Retractations; her ſelf is but an Idol, and an Idol is nothing theſe, but the accidents of that nothing, and yet they muſt be Goods. Are they ſuch Goods, as make him neceſſarily good that hath them? Or ſuch, as no man can be good, that is without them? How many men make themſelves miſerable, becauſe they want theſe Goods? And how many men have been made miſerable by others, becauſe they had them? Except thou ſee the face of God upon all thy money, as well as the face of the King, the hand of God to all thy Patents, as well as the hand of the King, Gods Amen, as well as the Kings fiat, to all thy creatiōs, all theſe reach not to the title of Goods, for there is none good but God.
Nothing in this world; not if thou couldſt have it all; carry it higher, to the higheſt, to heaven; heaven it ſelf were not good, without God. For, in the Schoole, very many and very great men, have thought and taught, That the humane nature of Chriſt, though united Hypoſtatically to the Divine Nature, was not meerly by that Union, impeccable, but might have ſinned, if beſides that Union, God had not infuſed, and ſuper-induced other graces, of which other graces, the Beatificall viſion, the preſent ſight of the face and Eſſence of God, was one: Becauſe, (ſay they) Chriſt had from his Conception, in his Humane Nature, that Beatificall Viſion of God, which we ſhall have in the ſtate of Glory, therefore he could not ſin. This Beatificall Viſion, ſay they, which Chriſt had here, and which, (as they ſuppoſe, and not improbably, in the problematicall way of the Schoole) God, of his abſolute power, might have with-held, and yet the Hypoſtaticall Union have remained perfect; (for, ſay they, the two Natures, Humane & Divine, might have been ſo united, and yet the Humane not have ſo ſeen the Divine) This Beatificall Viſion, this ſight of God, was the Cauſe, or Seal, or Conſummation of Chriſts Perfection, and impeccability in his Humane Nature. Much more is this Beatificall Viſion, this ſight of God in Heaven, the Cauſe or Conſummation of all the joyes and glory which we ſhall receive in that place: for howſoever they diſpute, whether that kinde of Bleſſedneſſe conſiſt in ſeeing God, formaliter, or cauſaliter, that is, whether I ſhall ſee all things in God, as in a glaſſe, in which the ſpecies of all things are, or whether I ſhall ſee all things, by God, as by the benefit of a light, which ſhall diſcover all things to me, yet they all agree, (though they differ de modo, of the manner, how) that howſoever it be, the ſubſtance of the Bleſſedneſſe is in this, that I ſhall ſee God: Bleſſed are the pure in heart, ſayes Chriſt, for they ſhall ſee God; If they ſhould not ſee God, they were not bleſſed. And therefore they who place children that die unbaptiſed, in a roome, where though they feele no torment, yet they ſhall never ſee God, durſt never call that roome a part of heaven, but of hell rather; Though there be no torment, yet, if they ſee not God, it is hell. There is nothing good in this life, nothing in the next, without God, that is, without ſight and fruition of the face, and preſence of God; which is that, which S. Auguſtine intends, when he ſayes, Secutio Dei eſt appetitus Beatitatis, conſecutio Beatitas; our looking towards God, is the way to Bleſſedneſſe, but Bleſſedneſſe it ſelf is only the ſight of God himſelf.
That therefore thou maiſt begin thy heaven here, put thy ſelf in the ſight of God, put God in thy ſight, in every particular action. We cannot come to the body of the Sun, but we can uſe the light of the Sun many waies: we cannot come to God himſelf here, but yet here we can ſee him by many manifeſtations: ſo many, as that S. Auguſtine, in his 20. Chapt. De moribus Eccleſiae Catholicae, hath collected aright places of Scripture, where every one of our ſenſes is called a Seeing; there is a Guſtate & videte, and audite, and palpate; taſting, and hearing, and feeling, and all, to this purpoſe, are called ſeeing; In all our ſenſes, in our faculties, we may ſee God if we will: God ſees us at midnight; he ſees us, then, when we had rather he looked off. If we ſee him ſo, it is a bleſſed interview. How would he that were come abroad at mid-night, to doe a miſchiefe, ſneak away, if he ſaw the watch? what a damp muſt it neceſſarily caſt upon any ſinner, in the neareſt approach to his ſin, if he can ſee God? See him before thou ſinneſt; then he looks lovingly: After the ſin, remember how fain Adam would have hid himſelf from God: He that goes one ſtep out of Gods ſight, is loath to come into it againe: If you will ſit at the right hand of God hereafter, you muſt walk with God here; So Abraham, ſo Enoch walked with God, Gen. 5.25.and God took him. God knowes, God takes not every man that dies: God ſayes to the rich ſecure man, Foole, this night they ſhall fetch away thy ſoule; but he does not tell him who. That then you be no ſtrangers to God then, ſee him now; and remember, that his laſt judgement is expreſſed in that word, Neſcio vos, I know you not; not to be known by God, is damnation; and God knows no man there, with whom he was not acquainted here. There is none good but God; the fruition of that God, is in ſeeing him; The way to ſee him there, is to look towards him here. And ſo we have gone as far as the firſt of our two propoſitions carried us, That in this world there is nothing good.
The other that remains, is, That there is nothing ill; that this goodneſſe of God is ſo ſpread over all, (all actions, all perſons) as that there is nothing ill. Seneca, whom Tertullian calls ſtill Senecam noſtram, our Seneca, that is, that Chriſtian Seneca, as though he had read that of S Paul, (between whom and him, it hath been thought, there paſſed Epiſtles) Quid habes, quod non accepiſti? what haſt thou, that thou haſt not received from God? and meant to ſay more then that, ſayes quid non dedit? what is there, that were good for thee, that God hath not given thee? And he, whom they call ſo often Platonem Hebraeorum, the Jews Plato, that is, Philo Iudaeus, ſayes well, Nihil boni ſterile creavit Deus; God hath made nothing, in which he hath not imprinted, and from which he hath not produced ſome good: He follows it ſo far, (and juſtly) as to ſay, that God does good, where that good does no good: He takes his examples from Gods raining in the Sea; that rain does no good in the Sea: And from Gods producing freſh ſprings in the deſart Land, where, not only no beaſts come to drink, but where the very ſalt tide overflows the freſh ſpring. He might have added an example from Paradiſe, that God would plant ſuch a garden, for ſo few houres; that God would provide man ſuch a dwelling, when he knew he would not dwell a day in it. And he might have added an example from the Light too; That God would create light, and ſay it was good, then when it could be good for nothing, for there was nothing made to ſee it, nor to be ſeen by it: ſo forward, ſo early was God, in diffuſing his goodneſſe. Of every particular thing. God ſaid it was good, and of all together, that it was very good; there was, there is nothing ill. For, when it is ordinarily inquired in the Schoole, whether any thing be eſſentially good, it is ſafely anſwered there, that if by eſſentially we mean independantly, ſo good as that it can ſubſiſt of it ſelf, without dependance upon, or relation to any other thing, ſo there is nothing eſſentially good: But if by eſſentially good, we mean that whoſe eſſence, and beeing is good, ſo every thing is eſſentially good. And therefore when the Manichees preſſed S. Auguſt. with that, Vnde malum? If there be not an ill God, as wel as a good, unde malum, from whom, or from whence proceed all that ill that is in the world? S. Aug. ſaies, Vnde malum? Quid malum? From whence comes evill? Why, what is there, that you can call evill? I know no ſuch thing; ſo that, if there be ſuch a God, that God hath no creature. For, as poiſons conduce to Phyſick, and diſcord to Muſick, ſo thoſe two kinds of evill, into which we contract all others, are of good uſe, that is, malum poenae, the evill of puniſhment, affliction, adverſity, and malum culpae, even ſin it ſelfe, from which, the puniſhment flowes.
Be pleaſed to ſtop a little, upon each of theſe. Firſt, malum poenae, affliction, poverty, ſickneſſe, impriſonment, baniſhment, and ſuch, are not evill. The blood of Chriſt Jeſus only is my cordiall; that reſtores me, repaires me; but affliction is my Phyſick; that purges, that cleanſes me. Hoſtiliter ſe opponit medicus, ſaies Tertullian, The Phyſitian comes in like an enemy, with a knife to launce, with fire to cauterize, but opponit ſe morbo, he is but an enemy to the diſeaſe, he means the patient no harm; no more does God to me, in all his medicinall corrections. But how if theſe afflictions hang long upon me? If they do ſo, that is Aegrotantium animarum diaeta; Clem. Alex.God enters into another courſe of Phyſick, and finds it better for me to ſpend my diſeaſe by a diet; and long ſickneſſes are ſuch diets: God will recover my ſoul by a conſumption of the body, and eſtabliſh everlaſting health, by long ſickneſſe. Howſoever, let Gods corrections go as high as they can go in this world, Etſi novum videtur, quod dicere volo, ſaies Origen, dicam tamen; Though it be ſtrange that I will ſay, I wil ſay it, Etiam bonitas Dei eſt, qui dicitur faror ejus; That which we cal the anger of God, the wrath of God, the fury of God, is the goodneſſe of God. Correct me not O Lord, in thy wrath, ſaies David; but, rather then leave me uncorrected, correct me any way. We call God, Juſt, and we call him Mercifull, according to our preſent taſte of God, and uſe of God,Civil. Alex. Cum unicam habeat affectionem Deus, nempe bonitatem, when as God hath but one affection in himſelf, that is, goodneſſe, nor but one purpoſe upon us, that is, to doe us good.
So then, this which we call Malum poenae, Affliction, Adverſity, is not evill; That which occaſions this, Malum culpae, ſin it ſelf, is not evill; not evill ſo, as that it ſhould make us incapable of this diffuſive goodneſſe of God. You know, I preſume, in what ſenſe we ſay in the Schoole, Malum nihil, and Peccatum nihil, that evill is nothing, ſin is nothing; that is, it hath no reality, it is no created ſubſtance, it is but a privation, as a ſhadow is, as ſickneſſe is; ſo it is nothing. It is wittily argued by Boethius, God can do all things; God cannot ſin; Therefore ſin is nothing. But it is ſtrongly argued by S. Auguſtin, If there be any thing naturally evill, it muſt neceſſarily be contrary to that which is naturally good; and that is God. Now, Contraria aequalia, ſaies he; whatſoever things are contrary to one another, are equall to one another; ſo, if we make any thing naturally evill, we ſhall ſlide into the Manichees error, to make an Evill God. So farre doth the Schoole follow this, as that there, one Archbiſhop of Canterbury, out of another, that is, Bradwardin out of Anſelme, pronounces it Haereticum eſſe dicere, Malum eſſe aliquid, To ſay that any thing is naturally evill, is an hereſie.
But if I cannot finde a foundation for my comfort, in this ſubtilty of the Schoole, That ſin is nothing, (no ſuch thing as was created or induced by God, much leſſe forced upon me by him, in any coactive Decree) yet I can raiſe a ſecond ſtep for my conſolation in this, that be ſin what it will in the nature thereof, yet my ſin ſhall conduce and cooperate to my good. So Ioſeph ſaies to his Brethren, You thought evill againſt me, Gen. 51.20.but God meant it unto good: which is not onelyonly good to Ioſeph, who was no partaker in the evill, but good even to them, who meant nothing but evill. And therefore, as Origen ſaid, Etſi novum, Though it be ſtrangely ſaid, yet I ſay it, That Gods anger is good; ſo ſaies S. Auguſtine, Audeo dicere, Though it be boldly ſaid, yet I muſt ſay it, Vtile eſſe cadere in aliquod manifeſtum peccatum, Many ſinners would never have beene ſaved, if they had not committed ſome greater ſin at laſt, then before; for, the puniſhment of that ſin, hath brought them to a remorſe of all their other ſins formerly neglected. If neither of theſe will ſerve my turne, neither that ſin is nothing in it ſelfe, and therefore not put upon me by God, nor that my ſin, having occaſioned my repentance, hath done me good, and eſtabliſhed me in a better ſtate with God, then I was in before that ſin, yet this ſhall fully rectifie me, and aſſure my conſolation, that in a pious ſenſe I may ſay, Chriſt Jeſus is the ſinner, and not I. For, though in the two and twentieth Seſſion of the Councell of Baſil, that propoſition were condemned as ſcandalous, in the mouth of a Biſhop of Nazareth, Auguſtinus de Roma, Chriſtus quotidie peccat, That Chriſt does ſin every day, yet Gregory Nazianzen expreſſes the ſame intention, in equivalent termes, when he ſaies, Quamdiu inobediens ego, tamdiu, quantum ad me attinet, inobediens Chriſtus: As long as I ſin, for ſo much as concernes me, me, who am incorporated in Chriſt, me, who by my true repentance have diſcharged my ſelfe upon Chriſt, Chriſt is the ſinner, even in the ſight, and juſtice of his Father, and not I.
And as this conſideration, That the goodneſſe of God, in Chriſt, is thus ſpread upon all perſons, and all actions, takes me off from my aptneſſe to miſ-interpret other mens actions, not to be haſty to call indifferent things, ſins, not to call hardneſſe of acceſſe in great Perſons, pride, not to call ſociableneſſe of converſation in women, proſtitution, not to call accommodation of Civill buſineſſes in States, prevarication, or dereliction and abandoning of God, and toleration of Religion; as it takes me off from this miſ-interpreting of others; ſo, for my ſelfe, it puts me upon an ability, to chide, and yet to cheare my ſoule, with thoſe words of David, O my Soule, why art thou ſo ſad? why art thou ſo diſquieted within me? Since ſin is nothing, no ſuch thing as is forced upon thee by God, by which thy damnation ſhould be inevitable, or thy reconciliation impoſſible, ſince of what nature ſoever ſin be in it ſelfe, thy ſins being truly repented, have advanced, and emproved thy ſtate in the favour of God, ſince thy ſin, being by that repentance diſcharged upon Chriſt, Chriſt is now the ſinner, and not thou, O my Soule, why art thou ſo ſad? why art thou diſquieted within me? And this conſideration of Gods goodneſſe, thus derived upon me, and made mine in Chriſt, ratifies and eſtabliſhes ſuch a holy confidence in me, as that all the morall conſtancy in the world, is but a bulruſh, to this bulwark; and therefore, we end all, with that hiſtoricall, but yet uſefull note, That that Duke of Burgundy, who was ſirnamed Carolus Audax, Charles the Bold, was Son to that Duke, who was ſirnamed Bonus, The Good Duke; A Good one produced a Bold one: True confidence proceeds onelyonly out of true Goodneſſe: for, The wicked ſhall flye, Prov. 28.1.when no man purſueth, but the righteous are bold as a Lion. This conſtancy, and this confidence, and upon this ground, Holy courage in a holy feare of him, Almighty God infuſe and imprint in you all, for his Son Chriſt Jeſus ſake. And to this glorious Son of God, &c.