Eighty Sermons, Whitsunday · Sermon 30
SERMON XXX. Preached upon Whitſunday. Part of the Goſpell of the Day.
JOHN 14.20.
At that day ſhall ye know, That I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
THe two Volumes of the Scriptures are juſtly, and properly called two Teſtaments, for they are Teſtatio Mentis, The atteſtation, the declaration of the will and pleaſure of God, how it pleaſed him to be ſerved under the Law, and how in the ſtate of the Goſpell. But to ſpeake according to the ordinary acceptation of the word, the Teſtament, that is, The laſt Will of Chriſt Jeſus, is this ſpeech, this declaration of his, to his Apoſtles, of which this text is a part. For, it was ſpoken, as at his Death-bed, his laſt Supper: And it was before his Agony in the garden, ſo that (if we ſhould conſider him as a meere man) there was no inordinateneſſe, no irregularity in his affection; It was teſtified with ſufficient witneſſes, and it was ſealed in blood, in the Inſtitution of the Sacrament. By this Wil then, as a rich, and abundant,Ver. 3. and liberall Teſtator, having given them ſo great a Legacy, as a place in the kingdome of heaven, yet he adds a codicill, he gives more, he gives them the evidence by which they ſhould maintain their right to that kingdome, that is, the teſtimony of the Spirit, The Comforter, the Holy Ghoſt, whom he promiſes to ſend to them;Ver. 16. And ſtill more and more abundant, he promiſes them, that that aſſurance of their right ſhall not be taken from them, till he himſelf return again to give them an everlaſting poſſeſſion, That he may receive us unto himſelf, and that where he is, we may alſo be. The main Legacy,Ver. 3. the body of the gift is before: That which is given in this Text, is part of that evidence by which it appeares to us that we have right, and by which that right is maintained, and that is knowledge, that knowledge which we have of our intereſt in God, and his kingdome here; At that day ye ſhall know, &c.
And in the giving of this, we ſhall conſider, firſt, the Legacy it ſelf, this knowledge, Cognoſcetis, Ye ſhall know; And ſecondly, the time when this Legacy grows due to us, In illo die, At that day ye ſhall know; And thirdly, how much of this treaſure is deviſed to us, what portion of this heavenly knowledge is bequeathed to us, and that is in three great ſummes, in three great myſteries; Firſt, ye ſhall know the myſtery of the Trinity, of diſtinct perſons in the Godhead; Ego in patre, That I am in my Father; And then the myſtery of the Incarnation of God, who took our fleſh, Vos in me, That you are in me; And laſtly, the myſtery and working of our Redemption, in our Sanctification, Ego in vobis, That Chriſt (by his Spirit, the Holy Ghoſt) is in us.
Nequitia animae ignoratio, ſayes Triſmegiſtus; 1. Part. Cognoſcetis.He doth not ſay it is the infirmity of the ſoule, or the impotency of the ſoule, but the iniquity, the wickedneſſe of the ſoule conſiſts in this, that we are ignorant of thoſe wayes, and thoſe ends, upon which we ſhould direct, and by which we ſhould govern our purpoſes: And if ignorance be the corruption, and diſſolution, certainly knowledge is the redintegration, and conſolidation of the ſoule. From this corruption, from this ignorance God delivered his people at firſt, in ſome meaſure, by the Law; that is, he gave them thereby a way to get out of this ignorance; he put them to Schoole; Lex Paedagogus, ſayes the Apoſtle, The Law was their School-maſter. But in the ſtate of the Goſpell, in the ſhedding of the beames, of the ſtreames of his grace in the blood of Chriſt Jeſus we are graduats, and have proceeded ſo far, as to a manifeſtation of things already done, and ſo our faith is brought in a great part, to conſiſt in matter of fact, and that which was but matter of prophecy to them (in the old Teſtament, they knew not when it ſhould be done) to us in the New, is matter of Hiſtory, and we know when it was done: In the old times God led his people, ſometimes with clouds, ſometimes with fire, ſome lights they had, but ſome hidings, ſome withdrawings of thoſe lights too, the myſteries of their ſalvation were not fully revealed unto them: To us, all is holy fire, all is evident light, all is in the Epiphany, in the manifeſtation of Chriſt, and in the preſence of the Holy Ghoſt, who is delivered over to us, to remain with us, VſUs que ad conſummationem, Till the end of the world. God hath buried & hidden from us the body of Moſes; he hath removed that cloud, that vaile, the ceremony, the letter of the Law. Yea he hath hidden that which benighted us more, and kept us in more ignorance of him, our infinite ſins, which are clouds of witneſſes to our Conſciences, he hath hidden them in the wounds of his Son our Saviour, ſo that there remaines nothing but clearneſſe, evident clearneſſe; The Goſpell being brought to us all, in that Chriſt is actually and really come, and Chriſt being brought to me, in that he is appliable in the Church to every particular ſoule; ſo that this Legacy that is given in this text, is not only in a poſſibility, and in a probability, and in a veriſimilitude, but in an aſſurance, and in an infallibility, in a knowledge, we know it is thus, and thus.
We ſhall therefore conſider this knowledge, firſt, as it is oppoſed to ignorance, ſecondly, as it is oppoſed to inconſideration, and thirdly, as it is oppoſed to conclealing, to ſmothering: Firſt, we muſt have it, and then we muſt know that we have it, and after that we muſt publiſh it, and declare it, ſo that others may know that we know it. Now,Ignorantia. as there is a profitable, a wholeſome, a learned ignorance, which is a modeſt, and a reverent abſtinence from ſearching into thoſe ſecrets which God hath not revealed in his word, (whereupon S. Auguſtine ſayes uſefully, Libenter ignoremus, quae ignorare nos vult Deus, Let not us deſire to know that which God hath no will to reveale) So alſo there is an unprofitable, an infectious, indeed an ignorant knowledge, which puffes, and ſwels us up: that, of which the Prophet ſayes, Stultus factus eſt omnis homo, à ſcientia; Jer. 12.Every mans knowledge makes him a foole, when it makes him undervalue, and deſpiſe another. And this is one ſtrange and incurable effect of this opinion of wit and knowledge, that whereas every man murmurs, and ſayes to himſelf, ſuch a man hath more land then I, more money then I, more cuſtome, more practiſe then I, (when perchance, in truth it is not ſo) yet every man thinks, that he hath more wit, more knowledge then all the world beſide, when, God knows, it is very far from being ſo. When the Prophet in that place, cals this confident beleever in his own wiſdome, Foole, he hath therein faſtned upon him a name of the greateſt reproach to man, which the Holy Ghoſt, in the mouth of a Prophet, could chooſe; As it appeares beſt in thoſe gradations which Chriſt makes,Mat. 5.22. where, Whoſoever is angry, is made culpable of judgement, whoſoever ſayes Racha, (that is, expreſſes his anger in any contumelious ſpeech) is ſubject to a Councell, but whoſoever ſhall ſay, Foole, ſhall be worthy to be puniſhed in hell fire. For, by calling him Foole, ſayes S. Chryſoſtome there, he takes from him that underſtanding, by which he is a man, and ſo, ſayes he, deſpoiles him of all intereſt in the creature, in this life, and all intereſt in God, in the life to come. It is the deepeſt indignation, the higheſt abomination that Iob in his anguiſh conceived,Iob 19. Stulti deſpiciebant me, They that are but fooles themſelves, deſpiſed me; And after that again, They are the children of fooles, and yet I am their ſong, and their talk: And in that compariſon which God himſelf inſtituted, and propoſed in Deuteronomie, They have moved me to jealouſie, Deut. 30.with that which is not God, and I will move them to jealouſie, with thoſe who are no people, I will provoke them to anger with a fooliſh Nation, God intimates ſo much, That a Foole is no more a man, then an Idoll is a God.
Now this fooliſhneſſe which we ſpeak of, againſt which God gives us this Legacy of knowledge, is not that bluntneſſe, that dulneſſe, that narrowneſſe of underſtanding, which is oppoſed to ſharpneſſe of wit, or readineſſe of expreſſing, and delivering any matter, for very many very devout and godly men, lack that ſharpneſſe, and that readineſſe, and yet have a good portion of ſpirituall wiſdome, and knowledge. Neither is this fooliſhneſſe, that weakneſſe, or inability, to amaſſe and gather together particulars, as they have fallen out in former times, and in our times, and thereby to judge of future occurrences by former precedents, (which is the wiſdome of States-men, and of civill contemplation, to build up a body of knowledge, from reading ſtories, or obſerving actions) for this wiſdome Solomon cals vanity, and vexation; Nor is this fooliſhneſſe, that precipitation, that over-earneſtneſſe, that animoſity, that heat which ſome men have, and which is oppoſed to diſcretion; for ſometimes zeale it ſelf hath ſuch a heat, and ſuch a precipitation in it, and yet that zeale may not be abſolutely condemned, but may be ſometimes of ſome uſe; The dull man, the weak man, the haſty man is not this foole,Prov. 28. but (as the Wiſeman, who knew beſt, hath told us,) The foole is he that truſteth in his own heart. And therefore, againſt this fooliſhneſſe of truſting in our own hearts, of confiding, and relying upon our own plots and devices, and from ſacrificing to our own nets, (as the Prophet Habakkuk ſpeaks) from this attributing of all to our own induſtry, from this ignorance, that all bleſſings, ſpirituall and temporall too, proceed from God, and from God only, and from God manifeſted in Chriſt, and from Chriſt explicated in the Scriptures, and from the Scriptures applyed in the Church, (which is the ſumme of all religion) God hath given us this Legacy of knowledge, Cognoſcetis, At that day you ſhall know, as knowledge is oppoſed to ignorance.
As it is oppoſed to inconſideration,Inconſideratio. it is a great work that it doth too: for, as God hath made himſelf like man in many things, in taking upon him, in Scriptures, our lineaments and proportion, our affections and paſſions, our apparell and garments, ſo hath God made himſelf like man, in this alſo, that as man doth, ſo he alſo takes it worſe to be neglected, then to be really injured; Some of our ſins do not offend God ſo much, as our inconſideration, a ſtupid paſſing him over, as though that we did, that which we had, that which we were, appertained not to him, had no emanation from him, no dependance upon him. As God ſayes in the Prophet, of lame, and blemiſhed, and unperfect Sacrifices, Offer it unto any of your Princes, and ſee if they will accept it at your hands; So I ſay to them that paſſe their lives thus inconſiderately, Offer that to any of your Princes, any of your Superiours; Dares an officer that receives inſtructions from his Prince, when he leaves his commandements unperformed, ſay, I never thought of it? Dares a Subject, a Servant, a Son ſay ſo?
Now beloved, this knowledge, as it is oppoſed to inconſideration, is in this, that God by breeding us in the viſible Church, multiplies unto us ſo many helps and aſſiſtances in the word preached, in the Sacraments, in other Sacramentall, and Rituall, and Ceremoniall things, which are auxiliary, ſubſidiary reliefes, and refreſhings to our conſideration, as that it is almoſt impoſſible to fall into this inconſideration. Here God ſhewes this inconſiderate man, his book of creatures, which he may run and reade; that is, he may go forward in his vocation, and yet ſee that every creature calls him to a conſideration of God. Every Ant that he ſees, askes him, Where had I this providence, and induſtry? Every flowre that he ſees, asks him, Where had I this beauty, this fragrancy, this medicinall vertue in me? Every creature calls him to conſider, what great things God hath done in little ſubjects. But God opens to him alſo, here in his Church, his Booke of Scriptures, and in that Book, every word cries out to him; every mercifull promiſe cries to him, Why am I here, to meet thee, to wait upon thee, to performe Gods purpoſe towards thee, if thou never conſider me, never apply me to thy ſelfe? Every judgement of his anger cryes out, Why am I here, if thou reſpect me not. if thou make not thy profit, of performing thoſe conditions, which are annexed to thoſe judgements, and which thou mighteſt performe, if thou wouldeſt conſider it? Yea, here God opens another book to him, his manuall, his boſome, his pocket book, his Vade Mecum, the Abridgement of all Nature, and all Law, his owne heart, and conſcience: And this booke, though he ſhut it up, and claſp it never ſo hard, yet it will ſometimes burſt open of it ſelfe; though he interline it with other ſtudies, and knowledges, yet the Text it ſelfe, in the book it ſelfe, the teſtimonies of the conſcience, will ſhine through and appeare: Though he load it, and choak it with Commentaries and queſtions, that is, perplexe it with Circumſtances, and Diſputations, yet the matter it ſelfe, which is imprinted there, will preſent it ſelfe: yea, though he teare ſome leaves out of the Book, that is, wilfully, yea ſtudiouſly forget ſome ſins that he hath done, and diſcontinue the reading of this book, the ſurvay and conſideration of his conſcience, for ſome time, yet he cannot loſe, he cannot caſt away this book, that is ſo in him, as that it is himſelfe, and evermore calls upon him, to deliver him from this inconſideration, by this open and plentifull Library, which he carries about him. Conſider, beloved, the great danger of this inconſideration, by remembring, That even that onelyonly perfect man, Chriſt Jeſus, who had that great way of making him a perfect man, as that he was perfect God too, even in that act of deepeſt devotion, in his prayer in the garden, by permitting himſelfe, out of that humane infirmity, which he was pleaſed to admit in himſelfe, (though farre from ſin) to paſſe one petition in that prayer, without a debated and conſidered will, in his Tranſeat Calix, If it be poſsible, let this Cup paſſe, hee was put to a re-conſideration, and to correct his Prayer, Veruntamen, Yet not my will, but thine bee done. And if then our beſt acts of praying, and hearing, need ſuch an exact conſideration, conſider the richneſſe, and benefit of this Legacy, knowledge, as this knowledge is oppoſed to inconſideration.
It is alſo oppoſed to concealing and ſmothering;Occultatio. It muſt be publiſhed to the benefit of others. Paulùm ſepultae diſtat inertiae celata virtus, ſayes the Poet; Vertue that is never produced into action, is ſcarce worthy of that name. For that is it, which the Apoſtle, in his Epiſtle to that Church, which was in Philemons houſe,Philem. 6. doth ſo much praiſe God for, That the fellowſhip of thy faith may be made fruitfull, and that whatſoever good thing is in you through Ieſus Chriſt, may be knowne: That according to the nature of goodneſſe, and to the roote of goodneſſe, God himſelfe, this knowledge of God may be communicated, and transfuſed, and ſhed, and ſpred, and derived, and digeſted upon others. And therefore certainly, as the Philoſopher ſaid of civill actions, Etiam ſimulare Philoſophiam, Philoſophia eſt, That it was ſome degree of wiſedome, to be able to ſeeme wiſe; ſo, though it be no degree of religion, to ſeeme religious, yet even that may be a way of reducing others, and perchance themſelves: when a man makes a publique, an outward ſhew of being religious, by comming ordinarily to Church, and doing thoſe outward duties, though this be hypocriſie in him, yet ſometimes other men receive profit by his example, and are religious in earneſt, and, ſometimes, Appropinquat & neſcit, (as S. Auguſtine confeſſes that it was his caſe, when he came out of curioſity, and not out of devotion, to heare S. Ambroſe preach) what reſpect ſoever brought that man hither, yet when God findes him here, in his houſe, he takes hold of his conſcience, and ſhewes himſelfe to him, though he came not to ſee him. And if God doe thus produce good out of the hypocrite, and work good in him, much more will he provide a plentifull harveſt, by their labours, who having received this knowledge from God, aſſiſt their weaker brethren, both by the Example of their lives, and the comfort of their Doctrine.
This knowledge then,2. Part. In die. which to work the intended effect in us, is thus oppoſed to ignorance, and to inconſideration, and to concealing, (which were the pieces that conſtitute our firſt Part) in the ſecond Part, which is the time when this Legacy accrues to us, is to be given us, In die illo, at that day, At that day ſhall yee know, &c. It is the illumination, the illuſtration of our hearts, and therefore well referred to the Day; The word it ſelfe affords cheerefulneſſe. For when God inflicted that great plague, to kill all the firſt-borne in Aegypt,Exod. 12. Luke 20. that was done at Midnight: And when God would intimate both deaths at once, ſpirituall, and temporall, he ſayes, O foole, this night they will fetch away thy ſoule. Againſt all ſupply of knowledge, he cals him foole; and againſt all ſenſe of comfort in the day, he threatens night.
It was In die, Illo.and In die illo, in the day, and at a certaine day, and at a ſhort day. For, after Chriſt had made his Will at this ſupper, & given ſtrength to his Will, by his death, and proved his Will by his Reſurrection, and left the Church poſſeſt of his eſtate, by his Aſcenſion, within ten dayes after that, he poured out this Legacy of knowledge. For, though ſome take this day mentioned in the Text,Calvin. to be Tanqnam unius diei tenor, à dato Spiritu, ad Reſurrectionem; from the firſt giving of the Holy Ghoſt, to the Reſurrection; And others take this day, Oſiand.to bee from his Reſurrection, to the end of his ſecond Converſation upon earth, till his Aſcenſion; and S. Auguſtine referre it, Ad perfectam viſionem in Coelis, to the perfect fruition of the ſight of God in Heaven, yet the moſt uſefull, and beſt followed acceptation is, This Day of the comming of the Holy Ghoſt.
That day we celebrate this day; and we can never finde the Chriſtian Church (ſo farre as we can judge by the evidence of Story) to have been without this feſtivall day. The reaſon of all Feſtivals in the Church, was, and is, Ne volumine temporum, ingrata ſubrepat oblivio, Auguſt.Leſt after many ages involved, and wrapped up in one another, Gods particular benefits ſhould bee involved, and wrapped up in unthankfulneſſe. And the benefits received this day, were ſuch, as ſhould never be forgotten: for, without this day, all the reſt had been evacuated, and uneffectuall: If the Apoſtles by the comming of the Holy Ghoſt had not been eſtabliſhed in an infallibility in themſelves, and in an ability, to deale with all Nations, by the benefit of tongues, the benefit of Chriſts paſſion had not been derived upon all Nations. And therefore, to This day, and to Eaſterday, all publike Baptiſmes, in the Primitive Church, were reſerved; None were baptized (except in caſes of neceſſity) but upon one of theſe two dayes: for, as there is an Exaltation, a Reſurrection given us in Baptiſme, repreſented by Eaſter; ſo there belongs to us a confirmation, an eſtabliſhing of grace, and the increaſe thereof, repreſented in Pentecoſt, in the comming of the Holy Ghoſt. As the Jews had an Eaſter in the memory of their deliverance from Aegypt, and a Pentecoſt in the memory of the Law given at Mout Sinai; So at Eaſter we celebrate the memory of that glorious Paſſeover, when Chriſt paſſed from the grave, and hell, in his Reſurrection, and at this Feaſt of Pentecoſt we celebrate his giving of the Law to all Nations, and his inveſting and poſſeſſing himſelfe of his Kingdome, the Church: for this is Feſtum Adoptionis, as S. Chryſoſtome cals it; The cheerefull feaſt of our Adoption, in which, the Holy Ghoſt convaying the Son of God to us, enables us to be the Sons of God, and to cry Abba, Father.
This then is that day,Acts 2. when the Apoſtles being with one accord, and in one place, (that is, in one faith, and in one profeſſion of that faith, not onelyonly without Hereſie, but without Schiſme too) the Holy Ghoſt as a mighty winde, filled them all, and gave them utterance; As a winde, to note a powerfull working; And he filled them, to note the abundance; And he gave them utterance, to inferre that which we ſpoke of before, The Communication of that knowledge, which they had received, to others. This was that Spirit, whom it concerned the Apoſtles ſo much to have, as that Chriſt himſelfe muſt goe from them, to ſend him to them; If I goe not away, ſayes Chriſt, the Comforter will not come to you. How great a comfort muſt this neceſſarily be, which muſt ſo abundantly recompence the loſſe of ſuch a comfort; as the preſence of Chriſt was? This is that Spirit, who though hee were to be ſent by the Father, and ſent by the Son, yet he comes not as a Meſſenger from a Superiour, for hee was alwaies equall to Father and Son: But the Father ſent him, and the Son ſent him, as a tree ſends forth bloſſomes, and as thoſe bloſſomes ſend forth a ſweet ſmell, and as the Sun ſends forth beames, by an emanation from it ſelfe; He is Spiritus quem nemo interpretari poteſt, ſayes S. Chryſoſtome; hee hath him not, that doth not ſee he hath him, nor is any man without him, who, in a rectified conſcience, thinks he hath him: Illo Prophetae illuſtrantur, Illo idiotae condiuntur, ſayes the ſame Father, The Prophets, as high as their calling was, ſaw nothing without this Spirit, and with this Spirit, a ſimple man underſtands the Prophets. And therefore doth S. Baſil attribute that to the Holy Ghoſt, which ſeemes to be peculiar to the Son; he cals him Verbum Dei, becauſe ſayes he, Spiritus interpres Filii, ſicut Filius Patris, As the Son hath revealed to us the will of the Father, and ſo is the Word of God to us, ſo the Holy Ghoſt applies the promiſes, and the merits of the Son to us, and ſo is the Word of God to us too, and enables us to come to God, in that voyce of his bleſſed Servant, S. Auguſtine, O Deus, ſecretiſsime, & patentiſsime, Though nothing be more myſterious then the knowledge of God in the Trinity, yet nothing is more manifeſt unto us, then, by the light of this perſon, the Holy Ghoſt, ſo much of both the other Perſons, as is neceſſary for our Salvation, is.
Now, it is not onelyonly to the Apoſtles, that the Holy Ghoſt is deſcended this day, but, as S. Chryſoſtom ſaies of the Annunciation, Non ad unam tantùm animam, It is not onelyonly to one Perſon, that the Angel ſaid then, The Holy Ghoſt ſhall come upon thee, and overſhadow thee, but, ſayes he, that Holy Ghoſt hath ſaid, Super omnem, Ioel 2.I will poure out my ſelfe upon all men, ſo I ſay of this day, This day, if you be all in this place, (concentred, united here in one Faith, and one Religion) If you be of one accord, (that is, in perfect charity) The Holy Ghoſt ſhall fill you all (according to your meaſure, and his purpoſe) and give you utterance, in your lives and converſations. Qui ita vacat orationibus, Origen.ut dignus fiat illo vehementi Spiritu, ſemper habet diem Pentecoſtes: He that-loves the exerciſe of prayer ſo earneſtly, as that in prayer he feeles this vehemence of the Holy Ghoſt, that man dwels in an everlaſting Whitſunday: for ſo he does, he hath it alwayes, that ever had it aright: Oditeos Deus, qui unam putant diem, feſtum Domini; God hates that man, ſaies Origen alſo, that celebrates any Holy-day of his, but one day: that never thinks of the Incarnation of Chriſt, but upon Chriſtmas-day, nor upon his Paſſion, and Reſurrection, but upon Eaſter, and Good-friday. If you deale ſo with your ſoules, as with your bodies, and as you cloath your ſelves with your beſt habits to day, but returne againe to your ordinary apparell to morrow: ſo for this day, or this houre, you deveſt the thought of your ſins, but returne after to your vomit, you have not celebrated this day of Pentecoſt; you have not beene truly in this place, for your hearts have beene viſiting your profits, or pleaſures; you have not beene here with one accord, you have not truly and ſincerely joyned with the Communion of Saints; Chriſt hath ſent no Comforter to you this day, neither will he ſend any, till you be better prepared for him. But if you have brought your ſins hither in your memory, and leave them here in the blood of your Saviour, alwaies flowing in his Church, and ready to receive them, if you be come to that heavenly knowledge, that there is no comfort but in him, and in him abundant conſolation, then you are this day capable of this great Legacy, this knowledge, which is all the Chriſtian Religion, That Chriſt is in the Father, and you in him, and he in you.
We are now come to our third part, Our portion in this Legacy,3 Part. the meaſure of the knowledge of theſe myſteries, which we are to receive: of which, S. Chryſoſtome ſayes well, Scientiae magnum argumentum eſt, nolle omnia ſcire, It is a good argument, that that man knowes much, who deſires not to know all; In purſuing true knowledge, he is gone a good way, that knowes where to give over. When that great Manichean Felix would needs prove to S. Auguſtine, that Manes was the holy Ghoſt, becauſe it was ſaid that the holy Ghoſt ſhould teach all truths, and that Manes did ſo, becauſe he taught many things that they were ignorant of before, concerning the frame, and motion, and nature of the heavens and their ſtars, S. Auguſtine anſwered, Spiritus ſanctus facit Chriſtianos, non Mathematicos, The Holy Ghoſt makes us Chriſtians, not Mathematicians. If any man thinke, by having his ſtation at Court, that it is enough for him to have ſtudied that one booke, and that if in that booke, The knowledge of the Court, he be come to an apprehenſion, by what meanes and perſons buſineſſes are likelieſt to be carried, If he by his foreſight have provided perſpective glaſſes, to ſee objects a far off, and can make Almanacks for next yeare, and tell how matters will fall out then, and thinke that ſo he hath received his portion, as much knowledge as he needs, Spiritus ſanctus facit Chriſtianos, non Politicos, He muſt remember that the Holy Ghoſt makes Chriſtians, and not Politians. So if a man have a good foundation of a fortune from his Parents, and thinke that all his ſtudy muſt be, to proceed in that, and ſtill to adde a Cyphar more to his accounts, to make tens, hundreds, and hundreds, thouſands, Spiritus ſanctus facit Chriſtianos, non Arithmeticos, The Holy Ghoſt makes Chriſtians, and not ſuch Arithmeticians. If men who deſire a change in Religion, and yet thinke it a great wiſdome, to diſguiſe that deſire, and to temporiſe, leſt they ſhould be made leſſe able to effect their purpoſes, if they ſhould manifeſt themſelves; but yet hope to ſee that tranſmutation of Religion, from that copper, which they eſteeme ours to be, to that gold, which, (perchance for the venality thereof) they eſteeme theirs: If others, who are alſo working in the fire, (though not in the fire of envy and of powder, yet in the fire of an indiſcreet zeale, and though they pretend not to change the ſubſtance of the metall, the body of our Religion, yet they labour to blow away much of the ceremony, and circumſtances, which are Vehicula, and Adminicula, if not Habitacula Religionis, They are, though not the very fuell, yet the bellowes of Religion) If theſe men, I ſay, of either kinde, They who call all differing from themſelves, Error, and all error damnable; or they, who, as Tertullian expreſſes their humour, and indiſpoſition prophetically, Qui vocant proſtrationem Diſciplinae, ſimplicitatem, which call the aboliſhing and extermination of all Diſcipline and Ceremony, pureneſſe and holineſſe; If they thinke they have received their portion of this legacie, their meaſure of true knowledge, in labouring onelyonly to accuſe, and reforme, and refine others, Spiritus ſanctus facit Chriſtianos, non Chymiſtas, The holy Ghoſt makes men Chriſtians, and not Alchymiſts. To contract this, If a man know wayes enow to diſguiſe all his ſins, If no Exchequer take hold of his uſurious contracts, no High Commiſſion of his licentiouſneſſe, no Star-chamber of his miſdemeanors, If he will not to ſleepe, till he can hold up his eyes no longer, for feare his ſins ſhould meet him in his bed, and vexe his conſcience there, If he will not come to the Sacrament, but at that time of the yeare, when Laws compel him, or good company invite him, or other civill reſpects and reaſons provoke him, If he have avoydances, to hide his ſins from others, and from himſelf too, by ſuch diſguiſings, This is all but Deceptio viſus, a blinding of his owne internall eyes, and Spirtus ſanctus facit Chriſtianos, non Circulatores, The Holy Ghoſt makes men Chriſtians, and not Jugglers.
This knowledge then which we ſpeake of, is to know the end and the way, Heaven and Chriſt, The Kingdome to which he is gone, and the meanes which he hath taught us to follow. Now, in all our wayes, in all our journies, a moderate pace brings a man moſt ſurely to his journies end, and ſo doth a ſober knowledge in matters of Divinity, and in the myſteries of Religion. And therefore the Fathers ſay, that this comming of the Holy Ghoſt upon the Apoſtles, this day, though it were a vehement comming, did not give them all kinde of knowledge, a knowledge of particular Arts, and Sciences; But he gave them knowledge enough for their preſent worke, and withall a faithfull confidence, that if at any time, they ſhould have to doe, with learned Heathens, with Philoſophers, the Holy Ghoſt would either inſtantly furniſh them, with ſuch knowledge, as they had not before, (as wee ſee in many relations in the Eccleſiaſticall Story, That men ſpoke upon the ſudden, in divers caſes, otherwiſe, then in any reaſon their education could promiſe or afford) or elſe he would blunt the ſharpneſſe of the Adverſaries weapons, and caſt a damp upon their underſtandings, as wee ſee he did in the Councell of Nice, when after many diſputations, amongſt the great Men of great eſtimation, the weakeſt Man in the Councell roſe up, and he, o… whom his owne party were afraid, leſt his diſcourſe ſhould diſadvantage the cauſe, overthrew, and converted, that great Advocate, and defender of Arius, whom all the reſt could never ſhake; for though this man ſaid no more then other men had ſaid, yet God at this time diſpoſed the underſtanding, and the abilities of the Adverſaries, otherwiſe then before; ſometimes God will have glory, in arming his friends, ſometimes in diſarming his enemies, ſometimes in exalting our abilities, and ſometimes in evacuating or enfeebling theirs.
And ſo, as the Apoſtles were, as many of us, as celebrate this day, as they did, are filled with the Holy Ghoſt, that is, with ſo much knowledge, as is neceſſary to Gods purpoſe in us. Enough for our ſelves, if we be private men, and enough for others, if wee have charge of others: private men ſhall have knowledge enough where to ſeeke for more, and the Prieſt ſhall have enough to communicate his knowledge to others. And though this knowledge were delivered to the Apoſtles, as from a print, from a ſtampe, all at once, and to us, but as by writing, letter after letter, ſyllable after ſyllable, by Catechiſmes, chiſmes, and Sermons, yet both are ſuch knowledges, as are ſufficient for each. As the glory of heaven ſhall fall upon us all, and though we be not all of equall meaſure, and capacity, yet we ſhall be equally full of that glory; ſo the way to that glory, this knowledge, ſhall be manifeſt to us all, and infallible to us all, though we do not all know alike; The ſimpleſt ſoul that heares me, ſhall know the way of his ſalvation, as well as the greateſt of thoſe Fathers, whom he heares me cite; And upon us all (ſo diſpoſed) the holy Ghoſt ſhall fall, as he did here, in fire, and In tongues; In fire, to inflame us in a religious zeal, and in Tongues, to utter that in confeſſion, and in profeſſion, that is, to glorifie God, both in our words, and in our actions. This then is our portion in this Legacy, A ſober ſeeking after thoſe points of knowledge which are neceſſary for our ſalvation, and theſe, in this text, Chriſt derived into theſe three, That I am in my Father, That you are in me, That I am in you.
The firſt of theſe is the knowledge of diſtinction of perſons, and ſo of the Trinity.Ego in Paetre. Trinitas. Principale munus ſcientiae eſt, cognoſcere Trinitatem, ſaith Origen: The principall uſe and office of my knowledge, is to know the Trinity; for, to know an unity in the Godhead, that there is but one God, naturall reaſon ſerves our turn: & to know a creation of the world of nothing, reaſon ſerves us too; we know by reaſon, that either neither of them is infinite, if there be two Gods, (and then neither of them can be God) or if both be infinite, (which is an impoſſibility) one of them is ſuperfluous, becauſe whatſoever is infinite, can alone extend to all. So alſo we can collect infallibly, that if the world were not made of nothing, yet that of which the world ſhall be pretended to have been made of, muſt have been made of nothing, or elſe it muſt be ſomething eternall, and untreated; & whatſoever is ſo, muſt neceſſarily be God it ſelf. To be ſure of thoſe two, an unity in the Godhead, and a creation of the world, I need no Scriptures; but to know this diſtinction of Perſons, That the Son is in the Father, I need the Scriptures, and I need more then the Scriptures, I need this Pentecoſt, this comming, this illuſtration of the holy Ghoſt, to inſpire a right underſtanding of theſe Scriptures into me. For, if this knowledge might be had without Scriptures, why ſhould not the heathen beleeve the Trinity, as well as I, ſince they lack no naturall faculties which Chriſtians have? And if the Scriptures themſelves, without the operation of the holy Ghoſt, ſhould bring this clearneſſe, why ſhould not the Jews and the Arians conform themſelves to this doctrine of the Trinity, as well as I, ſince they accept thoſe Scriptures, out of which I provethe Trinity to mine own cōſcience? We muſt then attend his working in us; we muſt not admit ſuch a vexation of ſpirit, as either to vex our ſpirit, or the Spirit of God; by inquiring farther then he hath been pleaſed to reveale.
If you conſider that Chriſt ſayes here, You ſhall know That I am in the Father, and doth not ſay, You ſhall know How I am in the Father, and this to his Apoſtles themſelves, and to the Apoſtles after they were to be filled with the holy Ghoſt, which ſhould teach them all truth, it will out off many perplexing queſtions, and impertinent anſwers which have been produced for the expreſſing of the manner of this generation, and of the diſtinction of the perſons in the Trinity; you ſhall know That it is, you ſhall not ask How it is. It is enough for a happy ſubject to enjoy the ſweetneſſe of a peaceable government, though he know not Arcana Imperii, The wayes by which the Prince governes; So is it for a Chriſtian to enjoy the working of Gods grace, in a faithfull beleeving the myſteries of Religion, though he inquire not into Gods bed-chamber, nor ſeek into his unrevealed Decrees. It is Odioſa & exitialis vocula, Quomodo, ſayes Luther, A hatefull, a damnable Monoſyllable, How, How God doth this or that: for, if a man come to the boldneſſe of propoſing ſuch a queſtion to himſelf, he will not give over till he finde ſome anſwer: and then, others will not be content with his anſwer, but every man will have a ſeverall one. When the Church fell upon the Quomodo in the Sacrament, How, in what manner the body of Chriſt was there, we ſee what an inconvenient anſwer it fell upon, That it was done by Tranſubſtantiation; That ſatisfied not, (as there was no reaſon it ſhould) And then they fell upon others, In, Sub, and Cum, and none could, none can give ſatisfaction. And ſo alſo have our times, by asking Quomodo, How Chriſt deſcended into Hell, produced ſo many anſwers, as that ſome have thought it no Article at all, ſome have thought that it is all one thing to have deſcended into hell, and to have aſcended into heaven, and that it amounts to no more, then a departing into the ſtate of the dead. But Servate depoſitum, Make much of that knowledge which the holy Ghoſt hath truſted you withall, and beleeve the reſt. No man knows how his ſoul came into him; whether ther by infuſion from God, or by generation from Parents, no man knows ſo, but that ſtrong arguments will be produced on the other ſide; And yet no man doubts but he hath a ſoul. No man knows ſo, as that ſtrong arguments may not be brought on the other ſide, how he ſees, whether by reception of ſpecies from without, or by emiſſion of beames from within; And yet no man doubts whether he ſee or no. The holy Ghoſt ſhall tell you, when he tels you the moſt that ever he ſhall tell you, in that behalf, That the Son is in the Father, but he will not tell you how.
Our ſecond portion in this Legacy of knowledge,Incarnatio. is, That we are in Chriſt; And this is the myſtery of the Incarnation. For ſince the devill had ſo ſurprized us all, as to take mankinde all in one lump, in a corner, in Adams loynes, and poyſoned us all there in the fountain, in the roote, Chriſt, to deliver us as intirely, took all mankinde upon him, and ſo took every one of us, and the nature, and the infirmities, and the ſins, and the puniſhment of every ſingular man. So that the ſame pretence which the devill hath againſt every one of us, you are mine, for you ſinned in Adam, we have alſo for our diſcharge, we are delivered, for we paid our debt in Chriſt Jeſus. In all his tentations, ſend him to look upon the Records of that proceſſe, of Chriſts paſſion, and he ſhall finde there, the names of all the faithfull recorded: That ſuch a day, that day when Chriſt dyed, I, and you, and all that ſhall be ſaved, ſuffered, dyed, and were crucified, and in Chriſt Jeſus ſatisfied God the Father, for thoſe infinite ſins which we had committed: And now, Second death, which is damnation, hath no more title to any of the true members of his myſticall body, then corruption upon naturall, or violent death, could have upon the members of his naturall body.
The aſſurance of this grows from the third part of this knowledge,Redemptio. That Chriſt is in us; for that is ſuch a knowledge of Chriſts generall Redemption of mankinde, as that it is alſo an application of it to us in particular. For, for his Incarnation, by which we are in him,Cyril. that may have given a dignity to our humane nature; But Quae beneficiorum magnitudo fuiſſet erganos, ſi hominem ſolummodo, quem aſſumpſerat, ſalvaret? What great benefit (how ever the dignity had been great to all mankinde) had mankinde had, if Chriſt had ſaved no more then that one perſon whom he aſſumed? The largeneſſe and bounty of Chriſt is, to give us of his beſt treaſure, knowledge, and to give us moſt at laſt, To know Chriſt in me. For, to know that he is in his Father, this may ſerve me to convince another, that denies the Trinity; To know that we are in Chriſt, ſo as that he took our nature, this may ſhew me an honour done to us, more then the Angels; But what gets a lame wretch at the poole, how ſoveraign ſoever the water be, if no body put him in? What gets a naked beggar by knowing that a dead man hath left much to pious uſes, if the Executors take no knowledge of him? What get I by my knowledge of Chriſt in the Father, and of us in Chriſt ſo, if I finde not Chriſt in me?
How then is Chriſt in us? Here the queſtion De modo, How it is, is lawfull: for, he hath revealed it to us. It is, by our obedience to his inſpiration, and by our reverent uſe of thoſe viſible meanes, which he hath ordained in his Church, his Word and Sacraments: As our fleſh is in him, by his participation thereof, ſo his fleſh is in us, by our communication thereof; And ſo is his divinity in us, by making us partakers of his divine nature, and by making us one ſpirit with himſelf, which he doth at this Pentecoſt, that is, whenſoever the holy Ghoſt viſits us with his effectuall grace: for this is an union, in which, Chriſt in his purpoſe hath married himſelf to our ſouls, inſeparably, and Sine ſolutione vinculi, Without any intention of divorce on his part: But if we will ſeparate him à menſa & toro, If either we take the bed of licentiouſneſſe, or the board of voluptuouſneſſe, or if when we eat or drink, or ſleep or wake, we do not all to the glory of God, if we ſeparate, he will divorce.
If then we be thus come to this knowledge, let us make Ex ſcientia conſcientiam, Enlarge ſcience into conſcience: for, Conſcientia eſt Syllogiſmus practicus, Conſcience is a Syllogiſme that comes to a concluſion; Then only hath a man true knowledge, when he can conclude in his own conſcience, that his practiſe, and converſation hath expreſſed it. Who will beleeve that we know there is a ditch, and know the danger of falling into it, and drowning in it, if he ſee us run headlong towards it, and fall into it, and continue in it? Who can beleeve, that he that ſeparates himſelf from Chriſt, by continuing in his ſin, hath any knowledge, or ſenſe, or evidence, or teſtimony of Chriſts being in him? As Chriſt proceeds by enlarging thy knowledge, and making thee wiſer and wiſer, ſo enlarge thy teſtimony of it, by growing better and better, and let him that is holy, bee more holy. If thou have paſſed over the firſt heats of the day, the wantonneſſes of youth, and the ſecond heat, the fire of ambition, if theſe be quenched in thee, by preventing venting grace, or by repenting grace, be more and more holy, for thine age will meet another ſin of covetouſneſſe, or of indevotion, that needs as much reſiſtance. God ſtaid not in any leſſe degree of knowledge towards thee, then in bringing himſelfe to thee; Doe not thou ſtay by the way neither; not in the conſideration of God alone, for that Coeli enarrant, all creatures declare it; ſtay not at the Trinity; Every comming to Church, nay thy firſt being brought to Church, at thy Baptiſme, is, and was a profeſſion of that; ſtay not at the Incarnation; That the Devill knowes, and teſtifies; But come to know that Chriſt is in thee, and expreſſe that knowledge in a ſanctified life: For though he be in us all, in the work of his Redemption, ſo as that he hath poured out balme enough in his blood, to ſpread over all mankinde, yet onelyonly he can enjoy the chearfulneſſe of this unction, and the inſeparableneſſe of this union, who, (as S. Auguſtine purſues this contemplation) Habet in memoria, & ſervat in vita, who alwayes remembers that he ſtands in the preſence of Chriſt, and behaves himſelfe worthy of that glorious preſence; Qui habet in Sermonibus, & ſervat in operibus, That hath Chriſt alwaies at his tongues end, and alwaies at his fingers ends, that loves to diſcourſe of him, and to act his diſcourſes; Que habet audiendo, & ſervat faciendo, That heares Gods will here in his houſe, and does his will at home in his owne houſe; Qui habet faciendo, & ſervat perſeverando, who having done well from the beginning, perſevers in well doing to the end, he, and he onelyonly ſhall finde Chriſt in him.