Eighty Sermons, Easter · Sermon 21
SERMON XXI. The firſt Sermon upon this Text, Preached at S. Pauls, in the Evening, upon Eaſter-day. 1626.
1 COR. 15.29.
Elſe what ſhall they do that are baptized for dead? If the dead riſe not at all, why are they then baptized for dead?
O Dit Dominus qui feſtum Domini unum putat diem, ſayes Origen; God hates that man that thinks any of his Holy dayes laſt but one day; That is, that never thinks of a Reſurrection, but upon Eaſter-day. I have therefore propoſed words unto you, which will not be determined this day; That ſo, when at any other time, we return to the handling of then, we may alſo return to the meditation of the Reſurrection. To which we may beſt give a beginning this day, in which we celebrate the Reſurrection of our Lord and Saviour Chriſt Jeſus: A…d in his one Reſurrection, all thoſe ſeverall kinds of Reſurrections which appertain unto us, becauſe howſoever theſe words have received divers good expoſitions from divers good Expoſitors, and received one perverſe expoſition from our adverſaries in the Romane Church, who have detorted and deflected them, to the maintenance of their Purgatory, yet all agree, that theſe words are an argument for the Reſurrection, and therefore proper to this day. And yet this day we ſhall not ſo much inquire, wherein, and in what ſenſe the words are an argument of the Reſurrection, as enjoy the aſſurance that they are ſo; not ſo much diſtribute the Text into an explication of the particular words (which is, as the Mintage and Coyning of gold into ſeverall leſſer pieces) as to lay up the whole wedge, and ingot of Gold all at once in you, that is, the precious aſſurance of your glorious Reſurrection.
In eſtabliſhing whereof, we ſhall this day, make but this ſhort paſſage,Diviſio. by theſe two ſteps: Glory in the end, And Grace in the way; The Glory of our bodies, in the laſt Reſurrection then, And the Grace upon our ſouls, in their preſent Reſurrection now. For as we do not dig for gold meerly and only for treaſure, but to diſpenſe and iſſue it alſo, for preſent proviſion and uſe, not only for the future, but for the preſent too; So we doe not gather the doctrine of the Reſurrection only for that dignity which the body ſhall receive in the Triumphant, but alſo for the conſolation which thereby our ſoules may receive in the Militant Church. And therefore, as in our firſt part, which will be, By what meanes the knowledge and aſſurance of the Reſurrection of the body accrues to us, we ſhall ſee, that though it be preſented by Reaſon before, and illuſtrated by Reaſon after, yet the roote and foundation thereof is in Faith; though Reaſon may chafe the wax, yet Faith imprints the ſeale, (for the Reſurrection is not a concluſion out of naturall Reaſon, but it is an article of ſupernaturall Faith; and though you aſſent to me now, ſpeaking of the Reſurrection, yet that is not out of my Logick, nor out of my Rhetorique, but out of that Character, and Ordinance which God hath imprinted in me, in the power and efficacy whereof, I ſpeak unto you, as often as I ſpeak out of this place.) As, I ſay we determine our firſt part in this, How the aſſurance of this Reſurrection accrues to us, ſo when we deſcend to our ſecond part, That is the conſolation which we receive whileſt we are In via, here upon our way in this world, out of the contemplation of that Reſurrection to glory, which we ſhall have In patria, at home in heaven, and how theſe two Reſurrections are arguments and evidences of one another, we ſhall look upon ſome correſpondencies, and reſemblances between naturall death, and ſpirituall death by ſin, and between the glorious Reſurrection of the body, and the gracious Reſurrection of the ſoule, that ſo having brought bodily death and bodily Reſurrection, and ſpirituall death and ſpirituall Reſurrection, by their compariſon into your conſideration, you may anon depart ſomewhat the better edified in both, and ſo enjoy your preſent Reſurrection of the ſoule, by Grace, with more certainty, and expect the future Reſurrection of the body to glory, with the more alacrity and chearfulneſſe.
Though therefore we may hereafter take juſt occaſion of entring into a war,1. Part. in vindicating and redeeming theſe words, ſeaſed and ſeduced by our adverſaries, to teſtifie for their Purgatory, yet this day being a day of peace and reconciliation with God and man, we begin with peace, with that wherein all agree, That theſe words (Elſe what ſhall they do that are baptized for dead? If the dead riſe not at all, why are they baptized for dead?) muſt neceſſarily receive ſuch an Expoſition, as muſt be an argument for the Reſurrection; This baptiſme pro mortuis, for dead, muſt be ſuch a baptiſme as muſt prove that, the Reſurrection. For, that the Apoſtle repeats twice in theſe few words; Elſe, (ſayes he) that is, if there be no Reſurrection, why are men thus baptized? And again, if the dead riſe not, why are men thus baptized? Indeed the whole Chapter is a continuall argument for the Reſurrection; from the beginning thereof to the 35. ver. he handles the An ſit, whether there be a Reſurrection, or no; For, if that be denyed, or doubted in the roote, in the perſon of Chriſt, whether he be riſen or no, the whole frame of our religion fals, and every man will be apt (and juſtly apt) to ask that queſtion which the Indian King asked, when he had been catechized ſo far in the articles of our Chriſtian religion, as to come to the ſuffered, and crucified, and dead, and buried, impatient of proceeding any farther, and ſo loſing the conſolation of the Reſurrection, he asked only, Is your God dead, and buried? then let me return to the worſhip of the Sun, for I am ſure the Sun will not die; If Chriſt be dead and buried, that is, continue in the ſtate of death, and of the grave, without a Reſurrection, where ſhall a Chriſtian look for life? Therefore the Apoſtle handles, and eſtabliſhes that firſt, that aſſurance, A Reſurrection there is.
From thence he raiſes and purſues a ſecond queſtion De modo; But ſome man will ſay, ſayes he, How are the dead raiſed up, and with what body come they forth? And in theſe queſtions, De modo, there is more exerciſe of reaſon and of diſcourſe: for, many times, The matter is matter of faith, when the manner is not ſo, but conſiderable, and triable by reaſon; Many times, for the matter, we are all bound, and bound upon ſalvation, to think alike; But for the manner, we may think diverſly, without forfeiture of ſalvation, or impeachment of diſcretion; For, he is not preſently an indiſcreet man, that differs in opinion from another man that is diſcreet, in things that fall under opinion. Abſit ſuperſtito, Ge…ſonhoc eſt ſuperflua religio, ſayes a moderate man of the Romane Church; This is truly ſuperſtition, to bring more under the neceſſity of being beleeved, then God hath brought in his Scriptures; ſuperfluous religion, ſayes he, is ſuperſtition; Remove that, and then (as he addes there) Contradictoria, quorum utrum que probabile, credi poſſunt, Where two contrary opinions are both probable, they may be embraced, and beleeved by two men, and thoſe two be both learned, and diſcreet, and pious, and zealous men. And this conſideration ſhould keep men from that precipitation, of imprinting the odious and ſcandalous names of Sects, or Sectaries upon other men who may differ from them, and from others with them, in ſome opinions. Probability leads me in my aſſent, and I think thus; Let me allow another man his probability too, and let him think his way, in things that are not fundamentall. They that do not beleeve alike, in all circumſtances of the manner of the Reſurrection, may all, by Gods goodneſſe, meet there, and have their parts in the glory thereof, if their own uncharitableneſſe do not hinder them: And he that may have been in the right opinion, may ſooner miſſe heaven, then he that was in the wrong, if he come uncharitably to condemne or contemne the other: for, in ſuch caſes, humility, and love of peace, may, in the ſight of God, excuſe and recompence many errours, and miſtakings.
And after theſe, of the Matter, of the Manner of the Reſurrection, the Apoſtle proceeds to a third queſtion, of their ſtate and condition, whom Chriſt ſhall finde alive upon Earth, at his ſecond comming; and of them he ſayes onelyonly this, Ecce, myſterium vobis dico, Behold, I tell you a myſtery, a ſecret, we ſhall not all ſleep, that is, not dye ſo, as that we ſhall reſt any time in the grave, but we ſhall all be changed, that is, receive ſuch an immutation, as that we ſhall have a ſudden diſſolution of body and ſoul, which is a true death, and a ſudden re-union of body and ſoule, which is a true reſurrection, in an inſtant, in the twinkling of an eye. Thus carefull, and thus particular is the Apoſtle, that the knowledge of the reſurrection might be derived unto us.
Now of theſe three queſtions, which he raiſes and purſues; firſt, whether there be a Reſurrection, then what manner of Reſurrection, and then what kinde of Reſu rrection they ſhall have that live to the day of Judgement, our Text enters into the firſt; For, for the firſt, That a reſurrection there is, the Apoſtle opens ſeverall Topiques, to prove it; One is, from our Head, and Patterne, and Example, Chriſt Jeſus: For ſo he argues firſt, If the dead be not raiſed, then Chriſt is not raiſed; As ſure as the head is,V. 16. ſo ſure the body is raiſed. And then another Topique, from whence he produces arguments, is, the abſurd conſequences, and illations, that would follow, if there were no reſurrection. Of that kinde one is, Nos miſerrimi, If in this life onelyonly we have hops in Chriſt, V. 19.we are of all men the moſt miſerable; Why? becauſe in this life we ſuffer perſecution for this profeſſion. And another is, Edamus & bibamus, Let us eate and drinke, for to morrow wee ſhall dye; V. 32.What needs this abſtinence, and this ſevere denying our ſelves, the conveniencies of this life, if all end in this life? And laſtly, in the ſame kinde, followes this Text, Si omnino mortui non excitentur, If the dead riſe not at all, why are they baptized for dead? And by all theſe wayes doth the Apoſtle convay this knowledge of the Reſurrection.
But would all theſe wayes ſerve?Reſurrectio, myſterium. would all this ſatisfie that Inquiſition which wee have brought, how this aſſurance of the Reſurrection accrues to us? Would any of theſe reaſons, or would all theſe reaſons convince a man, who were not at all prepoſſeſſed, and preoccupated with a beliefe of the reſurrection, with an aſſurance thereof? The reſurrection was alwaies a myſtery in it ſelfe; Sacrum ſecretum, a holy ſecret, and above the ſearch of reaſon. For there are ſecrets and myſteries of two kindes, as the Schoole preſents them; ſome things are ſo, Quia quaedam interpoſita, Becauſe, though the thing be near enough unto me, yet ſomthing is interpoſed between me, and it, and ſo I cannot ſee it: And ſomethings are ſo, Quia longè ſepoſita, becauſe they are at ſo remote a diſtance, as that, though nothing be interpoſed, yet my ſight cannot extend to them. In the firſt ſenſe, the Sacraments are myſteries, becauſe though the grace therein bee neare mee, yet there is Velamen interpoſitum, there is viſible figure, a ſenſible ſigne, and ſeale, between me, and that grace, which is exhibited to me in the Sacrament: In the ſecond ſenſe, the reſurrection is a myſtery, becauſe it is ſo farre removed, as that it concernes our ſtate and condition in the next world; For man ſleepeth, and riſeth not; Job. 14.12.hee ſhall not wake againe, nor be raiſed from his ſleep, till the heavens be no more; that is, not till the diſſolution of all.
So then, the knowledge of the reſurrection in it ſelfe, is a myſtery,Reſurrectio Chriſts, myſterium. removed out of the Spheare, and latitude of reaſon; And, (to conſider this remoteneſſe farther) though the knowledge of Chriſt Reſurrection, be nearer us, then our owne, (for firſt we know his, becauſe from his we argue and conclude our owne, as the Apoſtle inſtitutes his argument, If the dead riſe not, Chriſt is not riſen) yet even the Reſurrection of Chriſt,V. 16. was ſo far from being cleare and obvious to the beſt, and the beſt illumined underſtandings, as that, though Chriſt himſelfe had ſpoken often of his Reſurrection, to his Diſciples, and Apoſtles, yet they did not clearly, throughly, (ſcarce at all) underſtand his Reſurrection. When Chriſt ſaid to the Jews promiſcuouſly, Solvite Templum hoc, Deſtroy this Temple, and in three dayes I will raiſe it; I wonder not that they, blinded with their own malice, diſcerned no reſurrection in that ſaying, but applied it to that Temple, which was forty ſixe yeares in building; For, till the reſurrection was really accompliſhed, and actually performed, the Apoſtles themſelves underſtood not the Reſurrection. Then, when Chriſt was riſen from the dead, and that thoſe two great Apoſtles, Peter, and Iohn, had been at the Sepulchre, and received from thence ſo much evidence, as convinced them, and prevailed upon them, then, and not till then, they began to underſtand the reſurrection; for, John 22.9.till then, (ſayes the Text expreſly there) they knew not the Scriptures, that he muſt riſe from the dead.
And truly,Etiam poſt Reſurrectionem. if we take a holy liberty, (as piouſly we may) to conſider Chriſts bodily actions after his reſurrection, they were not ſuch, as without admitting any oppoſition, might induce a neceſſity of confeſſing a reſurrection. For, though he exhibited himſelf to their eyes to be ſeene, and to their eares to be heard, and to their fingers to be felt, though he eate with them, and did many other actions of a living body, yet, as the Angels in the old Teſtament, did the like actions, in thoſe bodies which they had aſſumed; ſo might Chriſt have done all theſe, in ſuch a body, though that which was buried in the Sepulchre, had had no reſurrection.
It is true, that Chriſt confirmed his Reſurrection, Multis argumentis, as the vulgat reads that place;Acts 1.3. with many infallible tokens, ſayes our former Tranſlation, with many infallible proofes, ſayes our later; But ſtill all theſe arguments, and tokens, and proofes wrought by way of confirmation, ſomething was otherwiſe imprinted in them, and eſtabliſhed by a former apprehenſion of faith, and theſe arguments, and tokens, and proofes confirmed it. For, the reaſons for the reſurrection, doe not convince a naturall man at all, neither doe they ſo convince a Chriſtian, but that there is more left to his faith, and he beleeves ſomething beyond and above his reaſon.
The reſurrection in it ſelf,Reſurrectio noſtra, myſterium. Chriſts Reſurrection, though it be clearer then ours, Chriſts Reſurrection, even after it was actually accompliſhed, was ſtill a myſtery, out of the compaſſe of reaſon; And then, as it was above our reaſon, ſo, howſoever it be out proofe, and our patterne for our reſurrection, yet it is above our imitation. For our reſurrection ſhall not be like his. Omnes alii ſuſcitati, Chriſtus ſolus reſurrexit, ſayes S. Bernard; All we ſhall be raiſed from the dead, onelyonly Chriſt aroſe from the dead. We ſhall be raiſed by a power working upon us, he roſe by a power inherent, and reſident in himſelfe. And yet, though in this reſpect, our reſurrection be more open to the proofe of reaſon, then the reſurrection of Chriſt, (for that which hath leaſt miracle in it, is moſt open to reaſon; and therefore a naturall man would eaſilier beleeve that God might raiſe a dead man, then that a dead man ſhould be God, and ſo able to raiſe himſelfe, which was Chriſts caſe, for the God-head of Chriſt was as much united to his dead body in the grave, as it was to his ſoule in Paradiſe, or to his whole perſon conſiſting of body and ſoule, before, or after his death and reſurrection) Though, in this reſpect, I ſay, our reſurrection be more open to reaſon, becauſe it hath leſſe of the miracle in it, yet when we come to aſſigne reaſons, even for our reſurrection, (as we ſee Athanagoras hath undertaken, with a great deale of wit, and learning, and confidence, in his Apology for the Chriſtians, to the Emperour, within 155. yeares after Chriſt; and the Schoole-men make account, that they have brought it nearer to the underſtanding, nay even to the very ſenſe, by producing ſome ſuch things, as even in nature, doe not only reſemble, but (as they apprehend) evict a reſurrection) yet when all is done, and all the reaſons of Athenogaras, and the Schoole, and of S. Paul himſelfe, are waighed, they determine all in this, that they are faire, and pregnant, and convenient illuſtrations of that which was beleeved before; and that they have force, and power to encline to an aſſent, and to create and beget ſuch a probability, as a diſcreet, and ſad, and conſtant man might reſt in, and ſubmit to. But yet, we ſhall finde alſo, that though no man may ſpeak a word, or conceive a thought againſt the reſurrection, becauſe for the matter, we are abſolutely and expreſly concluded by the Scriptures, yet a man may ſpeak probably, and dangerouſly againſt any particulur argument, that is produced for the reſurrection. We beleeve it immediately, intirely, cheafully, undiſputably, becauſe we ſee it expreſly delivered by the Holy Ghoſt; And we embrace thankfully, that ſweetneſſe, and that fulneſſe of that bleſſed Spirit, that as he laies an obligation upon our faith, by delivering the article poſitively to us, ſo he is alſo pleaſed to accompany that Article, with reaſons and arguments proportionable to our reaſon and underſtanding: for though thoſe reaſons do not ſo conclude us, as that nothing might be ſaid to the contrary, or nothing doubted after, yet the Holy Ghoſt having firſt begotten the faith of this Article, Per ea augeſcit fides, & pingueſcit, (as Luther ſpeaks in another caſe) By thoſe reaſons and arguments, and illuſtrations, that faith is nouriſhed and maintained in a good habitude and conſtitution.
And of that kind are all the reaſons brought by S. Paul here;Argumentae Apoſtols. The matter is poſitively delivered by him, and ſo apprehended by us, and his reaſons (as we ſaid before) iſſue out of two Topiques; Be pleaſed to looke upon both. The firſt is our patterne, Chriſt Jeſus: He is riſen, therefore we ſhall. In which, though I have a faire illuſtration and conſolation in that, The Head is riſen, therefore the Body ſhall, yet this reaches not to make my Reſurrection like his, for I ſhall not riſe as he did. And then from his other Topique, his reaſons riſe thus: If there be no Reſurrection, we that ſuffer thus much for the prefeſſion of Chriſt, are the miſerableſt men in the world. Why ſo? have not all Philoſophers had Scholars, and all Heretiques Diſciples, and all great Men flatterers, and every private man affections? And hath there not been as much ſuffered by occaſion of theſe, as S. Paul argues upon here, and yet no imagination, no expectation of a reſurrection? Leave out the conſideration of Philoſophers, many of which ſuffered more then the Turks doe, and yet the Turks ſuffer infinitely more, in their Mortifications, then the Papiſts doe; Leave out the Heretiques, which were ſo hungry of ſuffering, that if they could not provoke others to kill them, they would kill themſelves; Leave out the preſſures of our own affections, and concupiſcencies, and yet the covetous man is in a continuall ſtarving, and the licentious man in a continuall Conſumption; Take onelyonly into your conſideration, the miſerable vexation of the flatterer, and humourer, and dependant upon great perſons, that their time is not their owne, nor their words their owne; their joyes are not their owne, nay their ſorrowes are not their owne; they might not ſmile if they would, nor they may not ſigh when they would, they muſt doe all according to anothers mind, and yet they muſt not know his minde; conſider this, and you cannot ſay, but that there is as much ſuffered in the world, as this upon which S. Paul argues, by them who place not their conſolation, nor their retribution in the hope of a reſurrection. He argues farther, Edamus & bibamus, If there be no reſurrection, let us diſſolve our ſelves into the pleaſures of this world, and enjoy them; Why ſo too? Have we not ſtories full of exemplar men, that might be our patterns for ſobriety, and continency, and denying themſelves the ſweetneſſes of this life, and yet never placed Conſolation, nor Retribution upon a Reſurrection? Would not S. Pauls own Pondus gloriae, That there is an exceeding waight of eternall glory attending our afflictions, ſerve our turne, though that were determined in the ſalvation of the ſoule, though there were no reſurrection of the body? It is ſtrongly and wiſely ſaid by Aquinas, Derogant fidei Chriſtianae rationes non cogentes; To offer reaſons for any Article of faith, which will not convince a man therein, derogates from the dignity of that Article. Therefore we muſt conſider S. Pauls reaſons as they were intended; to Chriſtians, that had received the Article of the Reſurrection into their faith before; And then, as God gave Adam a body immediately from himſelf, but then maintained and nouriſhed that body by other meanes; ſo the holy Ghoſt by S. Paul gives the article of the Reſurrection to our faith poſitively, and then enables us to declare to our own conſciences, and to other mens underſtandings, that we beleeve no impoſſible thing, in beleeving the Reſurrection: for as it is the candle that lights me, but yet I take a lanthorne to defend that candle from the wind; ſo my faith aſſures me of the Reſurrection, but theſe reaſons and illuſtrations aſſiſt that faith. And ſo we have done with our firſt part, How this aſſurance accrues unto us, and paſſe in order to the other, The conſolation which we have from this reſurrection of the body, not onelyonly in it ſelfe, but as it gives us a ſenſe of the ſpirituall reſurrection of our ſoules from ſinne, by Grace.
We are aſſured then of a Reſurrection, and we ſee how that aſſurance growes.2. Part. But of what? Of all, Body and ſoule too; For, Quod cadit, reſurgit, ſayes S. Hierome, All that is falne, receives a reſurrection; and that is ſuppoſitum, ſayes the Schoole, that is, The perſon, the whole man, not taken in pieces, ſoule alone, or body alone, but both. For as Damaſcen expreſſes the ſame that S. Hierome intends, Reſurrectio eſt ejus quod cecidit iterata ſurrectio, The Reſurrection is a new riſing of that which fell; and Man fell. A man is not ſaved, a ſinner is not redeemed, I am not received into heaven, if my body be left out; The ſoule and the body concurred to the making of a ſinner, and body and ſoule muſt concur to the making of a Saint. So it is in the laſt Reſurrection, ſo it is in the firſt, which we conſider now, by Grace from ſin; And therefore we receive into compariſon, Triplicem caſum, a threefold fall, and a threefold reſurrection, as in the naturall and bodily death, ſo in the ſpirituall death of the ſoule alſo: For firſt, in naturall death, there is Caſus in ſeparationem, The man, the perſon falls into a ſeparation, a divorce of body and ſoul; and the reſurrection from this fall is by Re-union, the ſoule and body are re-united at the laſt day. A ſecond fall in naturall death, is Caſus in diſſolutionem, The dead body falls by putrifaction into a diſſolution, into atoms and graines of duſt; and the reſurrection from this fall, is by Re-efformation: God ſhall re-compact and re-compile thoſe atoms and graines of duſt, into that Body, which was before: And then a third fall in naturall death, is Caſus in Diſperſionem, This man being falne into a divorce of body and ſoule, this body being falne into a diſſolution of duſt, this duſt falls into a diſperſion, and is ſcattered unſenſibly, undiſcernibly upon the face of the earth; and the reſurrection from this death, is by way of Re-collection; God ſhall recall and re-collect all theſe Atoms, and grains of duſt, and re-compact that body, and re-unite that ſoule, and ſo that reſurrection is accompliſhed: And theſe three falls, Into a Divorce, into a Separation, into a Diſperſion; And theſe three Reſurrections, By Re-union, by Re-efformation, by Re-collecting, we ſhall alſo finde in our preſent ſtate, The ſpirituall death of the ſoule by ſinne.
Firſt then,Caſus in ſeparationem. the firſt fall in the ſpirituall death, is the divorce of body and ſoule; That whereas God hath made the body to be the Organ of the ſoule, and the ſoule to be the breath of that Organ, and bound them to a mutuall relation to one another, Man ſometimes withdrawes the ſoule from the body, by neglecting the duties of this life, for imaginary ſpeculations; and oftner withdrawes the body from the ſoule, which ſhould be ſubject to the ſoule, but does maintain a war; and ſhould be a wife to the ſoule, and does ſtand out in a divorce.
Now the Reſurrection,Reſurrectie a caſu in ſeparationem. from this firſt fall into a Divorce, is, ſeriouſly and wiſely, that is, both piouſly and civilly to conſider, that Man is not a ſoule alone, but a body too; That man is not placed in this world onelyonly for ſpeculation; He is not ſent into this world to live out of it, but to live in it; Adam was not put into Paradiſe, onelyonly in that Paradiſe to contemplate the future Paradiſe, but to dreſſe and to keep the preſent; God did not breathe a ſoule towards him, but into him; Not in an obſeſſion, but a poſſeſſion; Not to travaile for knowledge abroad, but to direct him by counſell at home; Not for extaſies, but for an inherence; for when it was come to that, in S. Paul, we ſee it is called a rapture, he was not in his proper ſtation, nor his proper motion; He was tranſported into the third heaven: but as long as we are in our dwelling upon earth, though we muſt love God with all our ſoule, yet it is not with our ſoule alone; Our body alſo muſt teſtifie and expreſſe our love, not onelyonly in a reverentiall humiliation thereof, in the diſpoſitions, and poſtures, and motions, and actions of the body, when we preſent our ſelves at Gods Service, in his houſe, but in the diſcharge of our bodily duties, and the ſociable offices of our callings, towards one another: Not to run away from that Service of God, by hiding our ſelves in a ſuperſtitious Monaſtery, or in a ſecular Monaſtery, in our owne houſe, by an unprofitable retiredneſſe, and abſenting our ſelves from the neceſſary buſineſſes of this world: Not to avoid a Calling, by taking none: Not to make void a Calling, by neglecting the due offices thereof. In a word, To underſtand, and to performe in the beſt meaſure we can, the duties of the body and of the ſoule, this is the reſurrection from the firſt fall, The fall into a divorce of body and ſoule. And for the advancing of this knowledge, and the facilitating of this performance of theſe duties, be pleaſed a little to ſtop upon the conſideration of both, both of Spirituall and Divine, and then of ſecular and ſociable duties, ſo far as concerns this ſubject in hand.
Firſt for the duties of the ſoule,Officium animae. God was never out of Chriſts ſight; He was alwaies with him, alwaies within him, alwaies he himſelf; yet Chriſt, at ſome times, applyed himſelf in a nearer diſtance, and ſtricter way of prayer to God then at other times. Chriſts whole life was a continuall abſtinence, a perpetuall ſobriety, yet Chriſt propoſed, and proportioned a certaine time, and a certaine number of dayes for a particular faſt, upon particular occaſion. This is the harmony, this is the reſurrection of a Chriſtian, in this reſpect, That his ſoule be alwayes ſo fixed upon God, as that he doe nothing but with relation to his glory principally, and habitually; That he think of God, at all times, but that, beſides that, he ſepoſe ſome times, to think of nothing but God: That he pray continually, ſo far, as to ſay nothing, to wiſh nothing, that he would not be content God ſhould heare, but that, beſides that, he ſepoſe certaine fixed times for private prayer in his chamber, and for publique prayer in the Congregation. For, though it be no where expreſly written, that Chriſt did pray in the Congregation, or in company, yet, all that Chriſt did, is not written; and it is written, that he went often into the Temples, and into the Synagogues; and it is written, that even the Phariſee, and the Publican, that went to thoſe places, went thither to pray. But howſoever, Chriſt was never ſo alone, but that if he were not in the Church, the Church was in him; All Chriſtians were in him, as all Men were in Adam.
This then is our firſt Reſurrection, for the duty that belongs to the ſoule,Officium corporis. That the ſoule doe at all times think upon God, and at ſome times think upon nothing but him; And for that, which in this reſpect belongs to the body, That we neither enlarge, and pamper it ſo, nor ſo adorne and paint it, as though the ſoule required a ſpacious, and ſpecious palace to dwell in. Of that exceſſe, Porphyrie, who loved not Chriſt nor Chriſtians, ſaid well, out of meer Morality, That this enormous fatning and enlarging our bodies by exceſſive diet, was but a ſhoveling of more and more fat earth upon our ſoules to bury them deeper: Dum corpus augemus, mortaliores efficimur, ſayes he, The more we grow, the more mortall we make our ſelves, and the greater ſacrifice we provide for death, when we gather ſo much fleſh: with that elegancy ſpeaks he, ſpeaking out of Nature, and with this ſimplicity and homelineſſe ſpeaks S. Hierom, ſpeaking out of Grace, Qui Chriſtum deſiderat, & illo pane veſcitur, de quàm precieſis cibis ſtercus conficiat, non quaerit, He that can relliſh Chriſt, and feed upon that Bread of life, will not be ſo diligent to make precious dung, and curious excrements, to ſpend his purſe, or his wit, in that, which being taken into him, muſt paſſe by ſo ignoble a way from him.
The fleſh that God hath given us, is affliction enough; but the fleſh that the devill gives us, is affliction upon affliction; and to that, there belongs a woe. Per tenuitatem aſsimilamur Deo, ſaies the ſame Author; The attenuation, the ſlenderneſſe, the deliverance of the body from the encumbrance of much fleſh, gives us ſome aſſimilation, ſome conformity to God, and his Angels; The leſſe fleſh we carry, the liker we are to them, who have none: That is ſtill, the leſſe fleſh of our owne making: for, for that fleſh, which God, and his inſtrument, Nature, hath given us, in what meaſure, or proportion ſoever, that does not oppreſſe us, to this purpoſe, neither ſhall that be laid to our charge; but the fleſh that we have built up by curious diet, by meats of provocation, and witty ſawces, or by a ſlothfull and drowſie negligence of the works of our calling. All fleſh is ſinfull fleſh; ſinfull ſo, as that it is the mother of ſin, it occaſions ſin, naturall fleſh is ſo; But this artificiall fleſh of our owne making, is ſinfull ſo, as that it is alſo the daughter of ſin; It is, indeed, the puniſhment of former ſins, and the occaſion of future.
The ſoule then requires not ſo large, ſo vaſt a houſe of ſinfull fleſh, to dwell in:Macerationes corporis. But yet on the other ſide, we may not by inordinate abſtinencies, by indiſcreet faſtings, by inhumane flagellations, by unnaturall macerations, and ſuch Diſciplines, as God doth not command, nor authorize, ſo wither, and ſhrinke, and contract the body, as though the ſoule were ſent into it, as into a priſon, or into fetters, and manacles, to wring, and pinch, and torture it. Nihil intereſt, ſaies S. Hierome, It is all one whether thou kill thy ſelfe at one blow, or be long in doing it, if thou do it. All one, whether thou fall upon thine own ſword, or ſterve thy ſelfe with ſuch a faſting, as thou diſcerneſt to induce that effect: for, ſaies he, Deſcendit a dignitate viri, & not as inſaniae incurrit. He departs from that dignity, which God hath imprinted in man, in giving him the uſe, and the dominion over his creatures, and he gives the world juſt occaſion to thinke him mad; And, as Tertullian adds; Reſpuit datorem, qui datum deſerit, He that does not uſe a benefit, reproaches the Benefactor, and he is ungratefull to God, that does not accept at his hands the uſe of his bleſſings. Therefore is it accepted as a good interpretation, which is made of Chriſts determining his faſt in forty daies, Ne ſui homicida videretur, Leſt if he continued it longer, he might have ſeemed to have killed himſelfe, by being the author of his owne death; And ſo do they interpret aright his Eſuriit, That then he began to be hungry, that he began to languiſh, to faint, to finde a detriment in his body; for elſe, a faſting when a man is not hungry, is no faſting; but then he gave over faſting, when he found the ſtate of his body empaired by faſting.
And therefore thoſe mad doctrines, (ſo S. Hierom cals them, Notas inſaniae habent) yea thoſe deviliſh doctrines, (ſo S. Paul cals them) that forbid certaine meats, and that make un-commanded macerations of the body, meritorious, that upon a ſuppoſititious ſtory, of an Ermit that lived 22. yeares,Abbasll ſperg. without eating any thing at all, And upon an impertinent example of their S. Francis, that kept three Lents in the yeare, which they extoll, and magnifie in S. Francis, and S. Hierom condemned, and deteſted in the Montaniſts, who did ſo too, have built up thoſe Carthuſian Rules, That though it appeare that that, and nothing but that, would ſave the patients life, yet he may not eat fleſh, that is a Carthuſian, And have brought into eſtimation thoſe Apocryphall and baſtardly Canons which they father upon the Apoſtles, That a man muſt rather ſterve, then receive food from the hand of a perſon excommunicate, or otherwiſe detected of any mortall ſin; And that all that can be done with the almes of ſuch a perſon, is, that it be ſpent in wood and coales and other fuell, that ſo, (as the ſubtile philoſophy of their Canon is) it may be burnt, and conſumed by fire; for, to ſave a mans life, it muſt not be ſpent upon meat or drink, or ſuch ſuſtentation: Theſe Doctrines are not the Doctrines of this Reſurrection, by which, man conſidered in Compoſito, as he conſiſts of ſoule and body, by a ſober and temperate life, makes his body obſequious, and ſerviceable to his ſoule, but yet leaves his ſoule a body to worke in, and an Organ to praiſe God upon, both in a devout humiliation of his body, in Gods ſervice, and in a bodily performance of the duties of ſome calling; for this is our firſt Reſurrection A caſu ſeparationis, from having falne into a ſeparation of body and ſoule, for they muſt ſerve God joyntly together, becauſe God having joyned them, man may not ſeparate them, but as God ſhall re-unite them at the laſt Reſurrection, ſo muſt we, in our Reſurrections in this life; And farther we extend not this Reſurrection, from this ſeparation, this divorce.
The ſecond fall of man in naturall death,Caſus in diſſolutionem. is Caſus in diſſolutionem, The man being fallen into a divorce of ſoule and body, the body fals by putrefaction into a diſſolution of duſt; and the Reſurrection from this fall, is, a re-efformation, when God ſhall recompact that duſt into that body. This fall, and this reſurrection we have in our ſpirituall death too: for we fall into daily cuſtomes, and continuall habits of thoſe ſins, and we become not onelyonly as that Lazarus in the parable, to have ſores upon us, but as that Lazarus in the Goſpell, that was dead; Domine jam faetemus, & quatriduani ſumus, Lord we ſtinke in thy noſtrils, and we have beene buried foure dayes; All the foure changes of our life, Infancy, Youth, Middle Age, and Old, have beene ſpent and worne out in a continuall, and uninterrupted courſe of ſin. In which, we ſhall beſt conſider our fall, and beſt prepare our Reſurrection, by looking from whence we are fallen, and by what ſteps; and they are three.
Firſt,Nardus noſtra. Cant. 1.12. Perdidimus nardum noſtrā, We have loſt the ſweet ſavour of our own Spikenard; for ſo the Spouſe ſaies, Nardus mea dedit odorem ſuum: My Spikenard hath given forth her ſweet ſavour. There was a time, when we had a Spikenard, and a ſweet ſavour of our own, when our own Naturall faculties, in that ſtate as God infuſed them, in Adam, had a power to apprehend, and lay hold upon the graces of God. Man hath a reaſonable ſoule capable of Gods grace, ſo hath no creature but man; man hath naturall faculties, which may be employed by God in his ſervice, ſo hath no creature but man. OnelyOnly man was made ſo, as that he might be better; whereas all other creatures were but to conſiſt in that degree of goodneſſe, in which they entred. Miſerable fall! Only man was made to mend, and only man does grow worſe; Only man was made capable of a ſpirituall ſoveraignty, and only man hath enthralled, and mancipated himſelfe to a ſpirituall ſlavery. And Perdidimus poſsibilitatem boni, Auguſt.We have loſt that good and all poſſibility of recovering it, by our ſelves, in loſing Nardum noſtram, The ſavour of our Spikenard, the life, and vigour of our naturall faculties, to ſupernaturall uſes. For though the ſoule be Forma hominis, it is but Materia Dei; The ſoule may be the forme of man, for without that, Man is but a carcaſſe; But the ſoule is but the matter upon which God works; for, except our ſoule receive another ſoule, and be inanimated with Grace, even the ſoule it ſelfe, is but a carcaſſe. And for this, we have loſt Nardum noſtram, The odour, the verdure, the vigour of thoſe powers, in poſſeſſion whereof God put us into this world. But there is a ſtep in our fall, lower then this.
We have not only loſt Nardum noſtram, Vnguentum Domini.The uſe of our own faculties, in originall ſin, But we have loſt alſo Vnguentum Domini, The ſweet ſavour, and the holy perfume of that oyntment which the Lord hath poured out upon us. For,Cant. 1.3. as the Spouſe ſayes in the ſame Chapter, Oleum effuſum nomen ejus, His name is an oyntment poured out upon us; The name of Chriſt hath been ſhed upon us all in our baptiſme, and that hath made us Chriſtians; And the merits and promiſes of Chriſt have been ſhed upon us all, in the preaching of his word, and that hath declared us to be Chriſtians; The oyntment is ſuper caput, ſuper barbam, ſuper oram veſtimenti, as David ſpeaks; It is fallen upon the Head, Pſal. 133.2.we have had, and have religious Princes; And upon the Beard, the Beard of Aaron, we have had, and have (no Time, no Church ever more, ever ſo much) a religious Clergy, vigilancy in the Superiour, laboriouſneſſe in the Inferiour Clergy; And it is fallen upon the Skirts of the garment, the love, the deſire, the hunger of hearing is fallen upon the loweſt, and upon all our Congregations, Oleum effuſum nomen ejus, his Name, and his Ordinance is poured out upon us all; but, as the Spouſe ſayes there, Adoleſcentulae dilexerunt te, Only the virgins have loved thee; And where are thoſe Virgins? which of us have preſerved that virginity, that integrity? which of us hath not married himſelfe to ſome particular ſin? which of us hath not multiplied his fornications, and yet is not ſatisfied? we have all loſt Nardum noſtram, that which we had at firſt in Adam, and that which hath been offered us ſince in Chriſt. And this is our ſecond ſtep in this fall; But there is a lower then this.
We come to loſe Odorem agri, The ſweet ſavour of the field it ſelf.Oder agri. Gen. 27.27. As Iſaac ſaid of his Son, The ſmell of my Son is as the ſmell of a field which the Lord hath bleſſed, So the Lord of heaven, as he ſmelt a ſavour of Reſt from the Sacrifice of Noah, may have ſmelt from us the ſavour of medicinall hearbes, of Remorſe, and Repentance, and Contrition, and Deteſtation of former ſins, And the ſavour of odoriferous, and fragrant, and aromaticall hearbes, works worthy of Repentance, amendment of life, edification of others, and zeale to his glory, and yet we may relapſe into former ſins, or fall into new, and come to ſavour only of the earth, in a worldly covetouſneſſe, or to ſavour of the fleſh, in a licentious filthineſſe; We may have received the good ſeed, and dured for a while, as S. Matthew expreſſes Chriſts words; Received it, and Beleeved it for a while, as S. Luke expreſſes them,Mat. 13.18. Luke 8.13. and then depart from the goodneſſe which Gods grace had formerly wrought in us, and from the Grace of God it ſelfe.
Now to this lamentable ſtate, belong thoſe fearefull words of the Apoſtle, That for a man that ſins thus, there remaineth no more ſacrifice; And thoſe alſo, in another place,Heb. 10.2. Heb. 6.4. That for ſuch a man it is impoſsible, impoſsible to be renewed. Some of the Fathers, out of a holy tenderneſſe, and compaſſion, have mollified this impoſsibile with a difficile; It is impoſſible, ſay they, that is, it is very hard; very hard for him that hath been in Gods ſervice, and is run away, to return to it again. For, as Tertullian ſayes elegantly in that caſe, Iudicatò pronunciavit, That ſinner, ſayes he, hath proceeded ſolemnly, and judicially, and hath heard what both ſides could ſay, what grace could ſay, and what ſin, what God could ſay, and what Satan, and now he hath decreed the cauſe againſt Grace and againſt God, and declared the other ſide to be in the right, becauſe he hath applyed himſelf to the other ſide. But there is more in this Impoſsibile, then Difficile: It is not only hard, but truly impoſſible: So, as it is impoſsible for God to lie, (ſo the Apoſtle ſpeaks) ſo as it is impoſsible to take away ſin by the blood of Buls and Goats, (ſo he ſpeakes) ſo as it is impoſsible to pleaſe God without faith, (ſo he ſpeaks) ſo impoſsible is it for this man to be renewed. Cap. 6. Cap. 10. Cap. 11.Impoſsibile eſt, non ſperes quod impoſsibile, ſayes Chryſoſtome, It is impoſſible, never hope for that which is impoſſible. For (as that Father exalts this impoſſibility) Non dixit, non decet, non prodeſt, non licet; God hath not ſaid, it becomes not the majeſty, and the conſtancy of my proceedings to renew ſuch a man; he ſayes not ſo, non decet; He doth not ſay, it conduces not to my ends, nor to my manner of government, it would not be good for the publique, for the Church, for the reſt of my ſervants, who might be ſcandalized if I ſhould exact ſo much as I doe at their hands, and renew ſuch a man; He ſayes not ſo, non prodeſt; He doth not ſay, non licet; I cannot do it in juſtice, it cannot conſiſt with my Laws, and my Edicts, by which I have proclaimed, That with the froward I will grow froward, and harden their hearts that oppoſe themſelves againſt me; He doth not ſay ſo, non licet; for to all theſe (it ſtands not with my wayes, non decet; or it conduces not to my ends, non prodeſt; or it conſiſts not with my juſtice, non licet) mercy would ſtill preſent diſpenſations; but it is expreſly, directly impoſsibile, impoſſible.
It is true, that the hardneſſe of this ſaying, put the Fathers to hard Expoſitions. The greater part by much, of them who finde themſelves put to a neceſſity of admitting an impoſſibility, (for as I told you before, ſome of them mollifie and ſouple the impoſſibility into a difficulty) place the impoſſibility in this, That it is impoſſible for ſuch a man to be renewed by baptiſme, as he was renewed before: for in thoſe Primitive times, though they excluded not children, yet the greateſt part of them who were baptized, were ſuch as underſtood their caſe, perſons of diſcretion, ſuch as had ſpent many months, many times many yeares, in ſtudying and in practiſing the Chriſtian religion, and then were baptized; and if theſe men (ſay thoſe Fathers) fell after this, it was impoſſible to be renewed that way, impoſſible that they ſhould have a ſecond baptiſme: And it is ſcarce mannerly, ſcarce ſafe to depart from ſo many as meet in this interpretation of this impoſſibility; for they all intend that which S. Chryſoſtome expreſſes moſt plainly, Dixit impoſsibile, ut in deſperationem induceret; The Apoſtle ſayes it is impoſſible, that he might bring us before hand into a kinde of deſperation; A deſperation of this kinde, That there was abſolutely no hope of a poſſibility of renewing, as they were renewed before, that is, by baptiſme.
But becauſe at this time when the Apoſtle writ, that queſtiō, which troubled the Church ſo much after, in S. Cyprians time, of Rebaptization, was not moved at all, neither doth it appeare, nor is it likely, that any that fell ſo, put his hopes upon renewing by a ſecond baptiſme; there is ſomething elſe in this Impoſſibility then ſo. And that in one word is, That the falling intended here, is not a falling à nardo noſtra, from the ſavour of our own Spikenard, the good uſe of our owne faculties, loſt in Originall ſin, nor a falling Ab unguento Domini, that though the perfume an Incenſe of the name of Chriſt, and the offer of his merits be ſhed upon us here, that doth not reſtrain us from falling into ſome ſins, But this falling is, as it is expreſſed, a falling away, away from Chriſt in all his Ordinances; an undervaluing, a deſpiſing of thoſe meanes which he hath eſtabliſhed for the renewing of a broken ſoule, which is the making a mock of the Son of God, and the treading the blood of the Covenant under foot. When Chriſt hath ordained but one way for the renewing of a ſoul, The conveyance of his merits, in preaching the word, and the ſealing thereof, in applying the Sacraments, to that man that is fallen ſo, as to refuſe that, as it is impoſſible to live, if a man refuſe to eat, Impoſſible to recover, if a man refuſe Phyſick, ſo it is Impoſſible for him to be renewed, becauſe God hath notified to us but one way, and he refuſes that. So this is a true Impoſſibility, and yet limited too; for though it be impoſſible to us, by any meanes imparted to us, or to our diſpenſing, and ſtewardſhip, yet ſhall any thing be impoſſible to God? God forbid; For, even from this death, and this depth there is a Reſurrection.
As from the loſſe of our Spikenard,Roſurrectio. our naturall faculties in originall ſin, we have a reſurrection in baptiſine, And from the loſſe of the oyntment of the Lord, the offer of his Graces, in theſe meetings, and the falling into ſome actuall ſins, for all that aſſiſtance, we have a reſurrection in the other Sacrament; So when we have loſt the ſavour of the field, thoſe degrees of goodneſſe, and holineſſe which we had, and had declared before, when we are fallē from all preſent ſenſe of the means of a reſurrection, yet there may be a reſurrection wrapped up in the good purpoſes of God upon that man, which, unleſſe he will himſelfe, ſhall not be fruſtrated, not evacuated, not diſappointed. Though he have foetorem pro Odore, Eſay 3.24.as the Prophet ſpeaks, That in ſtead of the ſweet ſavour, which his former holy life exhaled and breathed up, he be come now to ſtink in the ſight of the Church, (and howſoever God may have a good ſavour from his own work, from thoſe holy purpoſes which he hath upon him, which lie in Gods boſome, yet from his preſent ſins, and from the preſent teſtimony and evidence that the Church gives againſt him, as a preſent ſinner, he muſt neceſſarily ſtink in the noſtrils of God too) yet, as in the Reſurrection of the body, it ſhall come, when we ſhall not know of it, So when this poore dead, put rified ſoule hath no ſenſe of it, and perchance, little or no diſpoſition towards it, the efficacy of Gods purpoſe ſhall break out, and work in him a reſurrection: And this S. Chryſoſtome takes to be intended in that which is ſaid in the ſame place to the Hebrews, That that earth which drinketh in the rain, Heb. 6.and bringeth forth nothing but Bryers, is Maledicto proxima, neareſt to be accurſed, That man is neareſt to be a Reprobate; But yet, ſayes he, Vides quantam habet conſolationem, We apprehend a bleſſed conſolation in this, That it is ſaid, neare a curſe, neare reprobation, and no worſe; for, Qui propè eſt, procul eſſe potcrit, ſayes he, That ſoule which is but neare deſtruction, may weather that miſchiefe, and grow to be far from it, and out of danger of it.
It is true, this man hath loſt his paratum cor meum; he cannot ſay, his heart is prepared; Pſal. 57.7.that he hath loſt in originall ſin; This man hath loſt his Confirmatum cor meum, Pſal. 112.7.he cannot ſay, his heart is eſt abliſhed; that hath been offered him in theſe exerciſes, but it hath not prevailed upon him. He hath loſt his variis odoribus delectatum cor, Prov. 27.9.the delight which his heart heretofore had in the ſavour of the field, in thoſe good actions, in which formerly he exerciſed himſelf, and now is falne from: But yet there may be cor novum, Pſal. 51.10.a new heart, a heart which is yet in Gods boſome, and ſhall be tranſplanted into his; A dupli…ate, an exemplification of Gods ſecret purpoſe to be manifeſted, and revealed by the Spirit of God, in his good time, upon him. And this may work,Chr…ſoſt. In inſigni & vehementi mutatione, in ſuch an evidence, and demonſtration of it ſelf, as he ſhall know it to be that, becauſe it ſhall not work as a Circumciſion, but as an Exciſion, not as a lopping off, but as a rooting up, not by mending him, but by making him a new creature; He ſhall not grow leſſe riotous then before, for ſo a ſentence in the Star-Chamber, or any other Criminall Court for a riot, might be a reſurrection to him; nor leſſe voluptuous, for ſo, poverty in his Fortune, or inſipidneſſe and taſtleſneſſe in his palate might be a reſurrection to him; Nor leſſe licentious, for ſo age or ſickneſſe, nor leſſe quarrelſome, for ſo blowes, and oppreſſion might be a reſurrection to him. But when in a rectified underſtanding he can but apprehend, that ſuch a reſurrection there may be, nay there is for him; it ſhall grow up to a holy confidence, eſtabliſhed by the ſenſible effects thereof, that he ſhall not onelyonly diſcontinue his former acts, and deveſt his former habits of ſin, but produce acts, and build up habits, contrary to his former habits, and former acts, for this is the reſurrection from this ſecond fall, In diſſolutionem, into the diſſolution of particular ſins.
Now, after all this, there is in naturall death, a third fall, caſus in diſperſionem, In diſperſionem.the man is fallen in ſeparationem, into a divorce of body and ſoule, the body is fallen in diſſolutionem, to putrifaction, and diſſolution in duſt, and then this duſt is fallen in diſperſionem, into a diſperſion, and ſcattering over the earth, as God threatens, Comminuam in pulverem, I will break the wicked as ſmall as duſt, and ſcatter them with the winde; Pſal. 18.For after ſuch a ſcattering, no power, but of God onelyonly can recollect thoſe grains of duſt, and re-compact them into a body, and re-inanimate them into a man. And ſuch a ſtate, ſuch a diſperſion, doth the heart and ſoule of an habituall ſinner undergoe; For,Pro. 17.24. as the eyes of a foole are in the corners of the earth, ſo is the heart and ſoule of a ſinner. The wanton and licentious man, ſighs out his ſoule, weeps out his ſoule, ſweares out his ſoule, in every place, where his luſt, or his cuſtome, or the glory of victory, in overcomming, and deluding, puts him upon ſuch ſolicitations. In the corrupt taker, his ſoul goes out, that it may leave him unſenſible of his ſin, and not trouble him in his corrupt bargaine; and in a corrupt giver, ambitious of preferment, his ſoule goes out with his money, which he loves well, but not ſo well as his preferment: This yeare his ſoule and his money goes out upon one office, and next yeare, more ſoul, and more money upon another; He knowes how his money will come in againe; for they will bring it, that have need of his corruptneſſe in his offices; But where will this man finde his ſoule, thus ſcattered upon every woman corruptly won, upon every office corruptly uſurped, upon every quillet corruptly bought, upon every fee corruptly taken?
Thus it is, when a ſoule is ſcattered upon the daily practiſe of any one predominant, and habituall ſin; but when it is indifferently ſcattered upon all, how much more is it ſo? In him, that ſwallowes ſins in the world, as he would doe meats at a feaſt; paſſes through every diſh, and never askes Phyſitian the nature, the quality, the danger, the offence of any diſh: That baits at every ſin that riſes, and poures himſelfe into every ſinfull mold he meets: That knowes not when he began to ſpend his ſoule, nor where, nor upon what ſin he laid it out; no, nor whether he have, whether ever he had any ſoule, or no; but hath loſt his ſoule ſo long agoe, in ruſty, and in incoherent ſins, (not ſins that produced one another, as in Davids caſe (and yet that is a fearfull ſtate, that concatenation of ſins, that pedegree of ſins) but in ſins which he embraces, meerely out of an eaſineſſe to ſin, and not out of a love, no, nor out of a tentation to that ſin in particular) that in theſe incoherent ſins hath ſo ſcattered his ſoule, as that he hath not ſoule enough left, to ſeek out the reſt. And therefore David makes it the Title of the whole Pſalme, Domine ne diſperdas, O Lord doe not ſcatter us: Pſal. 58.And he begins to expreſſe his ſenſe of Gods Judgements, in the next Pſalme, ſo, O Lord thou haſt caſt us out, thou haſt ſcattered us, turn again unto us; for even from this averſion, there may be converſion, and from this laſt and loweſt fall, a reſurrection. But how?
In the generall reſurrection upon naturall death, God ſhall work upon this diſperſion of our ſcattered duſt, as in the firſt fall, which is the Divorce, by way of Re-union, and in the ſecond, which is Putrifaction, by way of Re-efformation; ſo in this third, which is Diſperſion, by way of Re-collection; where mans buried fleſh hath brought forth graſſe, and that graſſe fed beaſts, and thoſe beaſts fed men, and thoſe men fed other men, God that knowes in which Boxe of his Cabinet all this ſeed Pearle lies, in what corner of the world every atome, every graine of every mans duſt ſleeps, ſhall recollect that duſt, and then recompact that body, and then re-inanimate that man, and that is the accompliſhment of all.
In this reſurrection, from this Dilperſion and ſcattering in ſin, the way is by Recollection too: That this ſinner recollect himſelfe, and his own hiſtory, his own annalls, his own journalls, and call to minde where he loſt his way, and with what tenderneſſe of conſcience, and holy ſtartling he entred into ſome ſins at firſt, in which he is ſeared up now, and whereas his triumph ſhould have been, in a victory over the fleſh, he is come to a triumph in his victory over the ſpirit of God, and glories in having overcome the Holy Ghoſt, and brought his conſcience to an unſenſibleneſſe of ſin: If hee can recollect himſelfe thus, and caſt up his account ſo, If he can ſay to God, Lord, we have ſold our ſelves for nothing, he ſhall heare God ſay to him, as he does there in the Prophet, You have ſold your ſelves for nothing, Eſay 52.3.and you ſhall be redeemed without money. But how is this recollecting wrought?
God hath intimated the way,Ezek. 37. in that viſion to the Prophet Ezekiel: He brings the Prophet into a field of dead bones, and dry bones, ſicca vehementer, (as it is ſaid there) as dry as this duſt which we ſpeak of: And he asks him, fili hominis, thou that art but the ſon of man, and muſt judge humanely, Putaſne vivent oſſa iſta? Doſt thou think that theſe bones can live? The Prophet anſwers, Domine tu noſti, thou Lord, who knoweſt whoſe names are written in the Book of Life, and whoſe are not; whoſe bones are wrapped up in the Decree of thy Election, and whoſe are not, knoweſt whether theſe bones can live, or no; for, but in the efficacy and power of that Decree, they cannot. Yes, they ſhall, ſayes God Almighty; and they ſhall live by this meanes, Dices eis, Thou ſhalt ſay unto them, O ye dry bones, heare the word of the Lord: As dry, as deſperate, as irremediable as they are in themſelves, God ſhall ſend his ſervants unto them, and they ſhall heare them: And, as it is added in that place, Prophetante me, factus ſonitus, & commotio, As I Propheſied, there was a noyſe and a ſhaking; As whilſt Peter ſpake, The Holy Ghoſt fell upon all them that heard the word; So whilſt the Meſſengers of God ſpeak in the preſence of ſuch ſinners, there ſhall be a noyſe, and a commotion, a horrour of their former ſins, a wonder how they could provoke ſo patient, and ſo powerfull a God, a ſinking down under the waight of Gods Judgements, a flying up to the apprehenſion of his mercies, and this noyſe and commotion in their ſoules, ſhall be ſetled with that Goſpell in that Prophet, Dabo ſuper vos nervos, I will lay ſinewes upon you, and will bring up fleſh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath into you, and you ſhall live, and ye ſhall know that I am the Lord; God ſhall reſtore them to life, and more, to ſtrength, and more, to beauty, and comelineſſe, acceptable to himſelfe in Chriſt Jeſus.
Your way is Recollecting; gather your ſelves into the Congregation, and Communion of Saints in theſe places; gather your ſins into your memory, and poure them out in humble confeſſions, to that God, whom they have wounded; Gather the crummes under his Table, lay hold upon the gracious promiſes, which by our Miniſtery he lets fall upon the Congregation now; and gather the ſeales of thoſe promiſes, whenſoever, in a rectified conſcience, his Spirit beares witneſſe with your ſpirit, that you may be worthy receivers of him in his Sacrament; and this recollecting ſhall be your reſurrection.
Beatus qui habet partem, Ap… 20.6ſayes S. Iohn, Bleſſed is he that hath part in the firſt Reſurrection, for on ſuch the ſecond death hath no power. He that riſes to this Judgement of recollecting, and of judging himſelfe, ſhall riſe with a chearfulneſſe, and ſtand with a confidence, when Chriſt Jeſus ſhall come in the ſecond:Au… And, Quando exacturus eſt in ſecundo, quod dedit in primo, when Chriſt ſhall call for an account, in that ſecond judgement, how he hath huſbanded thoſe graces, which he gave him; for the firſt, he ſhall make his poſſeſſion of this firſt reſurrection, his title, and his evidence to the ſecond. When thy body, which hath been ſubject to all kindes of deſtruction here; to the deſtruction of a Flood, in Catarrhs, and Rheums, and Dropſies, and ſuch diſtillations, to the deſtruction of a fire, in Feavers, and Frenzies, and ſuch conflagrations, ſhall be removed ſafely and gloriouſly above all ſuch diſtempers, and malignant impreſſions, and body and ſoule ſo united, as if both were one ſpirit in it ſelfe, and God ſo united to both, as that thou ſhalt be the ſame ſpirit with God. God began the firſt World, but upon two, Adam and Eve: The ſecond world, after the Flood, he began upon a greater ſtock, upon eight reſerved in the Arke; But when he eſtabliſhes the laſt and everlaſting world in the laſt Reſurrection, he ſhall admit ſuch a number, as that none of us who are here now, none that is, or hath, or ſhall be upon the face of the earth, ſhall be denied in that Reſurrection, if he have truly felt this; for Grace accepted, is the infallible earneſt of Glory.