Eighty Sermons, Whitsunday · Sermon 32
SERM. XXXII. Preached upon Whitſunday.
1 COR. 12.3.
Alſo no man can ſay, that Ieſus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghoſt.
WE read that in the Tribe of Benjamin, Iudg. 20.16.which is, by interpretation Filius dextrae, The Son of the right hand, there were ſeven hundred left-handed Men, that could ſling ſtones at a haires breadth, and not faile. S. Paul was of that Tribe; and though he were from the beginning, in the purpoſe of God, Filius dextrae, A man ordained to be a dextrous Inſtrument of his glory, yet he was for a time a left-handed man, and tooke ſiniſter wayes, and in thoſe wayes, a good markman, a laborious and exquiſite perſecutor of Gods Church; And therefore it is, that Tertullian ſayes of him, Paulum mihi etiam Geneſis olim repromiſit, I had a promiſe of Paul in Moſes; Gen 49.Then, when Moſes ſaid, Iacob bleſſed Benjamin thus, Benjamin ſhall ravin as a Wolfe, In the morning he ſhall devoure the prey, and at night he ſhall divide the ſpoilc, that is, At the beginning Paul ſhall ſcatter the flocke of Chriſt, but at laſt, he ſhall gather, and re-unite the Nations to his ſervice:Acts 9.1. Chryſoſt. As he had breathed threatnings, and ſlaughter againſt the Diſciples of the Lord, ſo he became Os orbi ſufficiens, A mouth loud enough for all the world to heare: And as he had drawne and ſucked the blood of Chriſts myſticall body, the Church, ſo, in that proportion that God enabled him to, he recompenſed that damage,Coloſ. 1.14. by effuſion of his owne blood, He fulfilled the ſufferings of Chriſt, in his fleſh, as himſelfe ſaies, to the Coloſsians; And then he bequeathed to all poſterity theſe Epiſtles, which are, as S. Auguſtine cals them, Vbera Eccleſia, The Paps, the Breaſts, the Udders of the Church,Numb. 13.24. And which are, as that cluſter of Grapes of the Land of Canaan, which was borne by two; for here, every couple, every paire, may have their load, Jew and Gentile, Learned and Ignorant, Man and Wife, Maſter and Servant, Father and Children, Prince and People, Counſaile and Client, how diſtinct ſoever they thinke their callings to be towards the world, yet here every paire muſt equally ſubmit their necks to this ſweet and eaſie yoake, of confeſſing Jeſus to be the Lord, and acknowledging that Confeſſion to proceed from the working of the Holy Ghoſt, for No man can ſay, that Ieſus is the Lord, without the Holy Ghoſt.
In which words,Diviſio. theſe ſhall be the three things, that we will conſider now; firſt, The generall impotency of man, in ſpirituall duties, Nemo poteſt, no man can do this, no man can doe any thing; ſecondly, How, and what thoſe ſpirituall duties are expreſſed to be, It is a profeſſion of Jeſus to be the Lord, to ſay it, to declare it; And thirdly, the meanes of repairing this naturall impotency, and rectifying this naturall obliquity in man, That man by the Holy Ghoſt may be enabled to do this ſpirituall duty, to profeſſe ſincerely Jeſus to be the Lord. In the firſt we ſhall ſee firſt, the univerſality of this flood, the generality of our loſſe in Adam, Nemo, none, not one, hath any, any power; which notes their blaſphemy, that exempt any perſon from the infection of ſin: And ſecondly, we ſhall ſee the impotency, the infirmity where it lies, It is in homine, no man; which notes their blaſphemy, that ſay, Man may be ſaved by his naturall faculties, as he is man: And thirdly, by juſt occaſion of that word, Poteſt, he can, he is able, we ſhall ſee alſo the lazineſſe of man, which, though he can doe nothing effectually and primarily, yet he does not ſo much as he might doe; And in thoſe three, we ſhall determine our firſt part. In the ſecond, what this ſpirituall duty, wherein we are all ſo impotent, is, It is firſt, an outward act, a profeſſion; not that an outward act is enough, but that the inward affection alone is not enough neither; To thinke it, to beleeve it, is not enough, but we muſt ſay it, profeſſe it: And what? why, firſt, That Jeſus is; not only aſſent to the hiſtory, and matter of fact, that Jeſus was, and did all that is reported, and recorded of him, but that he is ſtill that which he pretended to be; Caeſar is not Caeſar ſtill, nor Alexander, Alexander; But Jeſus is Jeſus ſtill, and ſhall be for ever. This we muſt profeſſe, That he is; And then, That he is the Lord; He was not ſent hither as the greateſt of the Prophets, nor as the greateſt of the Prieſts; His worke conſiſts not only in having preached to us, and inſtructed us, nor in having ſacrificed himſelfe, thereby to be an example to us, to walk in thoſe wayes after him; but he is Lord, he purchaſed a Dominion, he bought us with his Blood, He is Lord; And laſtly, he is The Lord, not only the Lord Paramount, the higheſt Lord, but The Lord, the only Lord, no other hath a Lordſhip in our ſoules, no other hath any part in the ſaving of them, but he: And ſo far we muſt neceſſarily enlarge our ſecond conſideration. And in the third part, which is, That this cannot be done but by the holy Ghoſt, we ſhall ſee, that in that But, is firſt implyed an excluſion of all means but one; And therefore that one muſt neceſſarily be hard to be compaſſed, The knowledge and diſcerning of the holy Ghoſt, is a difficult thing; And yet, as this But hath an excluſion of all meanes but one, ſo it hath an incluſion, an admiſſion, an allowance of that one, It is a neceſſary duty; nothing can effect it, but the having of the holy Ghoſt, and therefore the holy Ghoſt may be had: And in thoſe two points, The hardneſſe of it, And the poſſibility of it, will our laſt conſideration be employed.
For the firſt branch of the firſt part, The generality, that reaches to us all,1. Part. Generalitas. and to us all over; to all our perſons, and to all our faculties; Perdidimus per peccatum, bonum poſsibilitatis, ſayes S. Auguſtine, We have loſt our poſſeſſion, and our poſſibility of recovering, by Adams ſin. Adam at his beſt had but a poſſibility of ſtanding; we are fallen from that, and from all poſſibility of riſing by any power derived from him: We have not only by this fall broke our armes, or our legs, but our necks; not our ſelves, not any other man can raiſe us; Every thing hath in it, as Phyſitians uſe to call it, Naturale Balſamum, A naturall Balſamum, which, if any wound or hurt which that creature hath received, be kept clean from extrinſique putrefaction, will heale of it ſelf. We are ſo far from that naturall Balſamum, as that we have a naturall poyſon in us, Originall ſin: for that, originall ſin, (as it hath relation to God, as all ſin is a violating of God) God being the God of mercy, and the God of life, becauſe it deprives us of both thoſe, of mercy, and of life, in oppoſition to mercy,Epheſ. 2.3. Rom. 5.12. it is called anger and wrath (We are all by nature the children of wrath) And in oppoſition to life, it is called death, Death enters by ſin, and death is gone over all men; And as originall ſin hath relation to our ſouls, It is called that indeleble foulneſſe, and uncleanneſſe which God diſcovers in us all,Jer. 2.22. (Though thou waſh thee with nitre, and take thee much ſope, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, ſaith the Lord) And which every man findes in himſelf, as Iob did, If I waſh my ſelf in Snow-water, Job 9.and purge my hands never ſo cleane, yet mine own clothes ſhall make me filthy. As it hath relation to our bodies, ſo it is not only called Lex carnis, A law which the fleſh cannot diſobey, And Lex in membris, A law written and imprinted naturally in our bodies, and inſeparably inherent there, but it is a law that hath got Poſſe comitatus, All our ſtrength, and munition into her own hands, all our powers, and faculties to execute her purpoſes againſt us, and (as the Apoſtle expreſſes it fully) Hath force in our members, to bring forth fruits unto death.Rom. 7.5.
Conſider our originall weakneſſe, as God lookes upon it, ſo it is inexcuſable ſin; conſider it, as our ſoules ſuffer by it, ſo it is an indeleble foulneſſe; conſider it as our bodies contribute to it, and harbour it, and retain it, and ſo it is an unquenchable fire, and a brand of hell it ſelf; It hath baniſhed me out of my ſelf, It is no more I that do any thing, but ſin that dwelleth in me: It doth not only dwell, but reign in theſe mortall bodies; not only reign, but tyrannize, and lead us captives under the law of ſin, which is in our members. Ver. 23.So that we have utterly loſt Bonum poſsibilitatis, for as men, we are out of all poſſibility, not only of that victorious, and triumphant gratulation and acclamation to our ſelves, as for a delivery, I thank God through Ieſus Chriſt, but we cannot come to that ſenſe of our miſery,Ver. ult. as to cry out in the Apoſtles words, immediately preceding, O wretched man that I am, who ſhall deliver me from the body of this death?
Now as this death hath invaded every part and faculty of man, underſtanding, and will, and all, (for though originall ſin ſeem to be contracted without our will, yet Sicut omnium natura, ita omnium voluntates fuere originaliter in Adam, ſayes S. Auguſtine, As the whole nature of mankinde, and ſo of every particular man, was in Adam, ſo alſo were the faculties, and ſo the will of every particular man in him) ſo this death hath invaded every particular man; Death went over all men, for as much as all men had ſinned. And therefore they that do blaſphemouſly exempt ſome perſons from ſin, they ſet them not above the Law, but without the Law: They out-law them, in taking from them the benefit of the new Law, the Goſpel, and of the author of that Law, Chriſt Jeſus, who came a Phyſitian to the ſick, and was ſent only to ſave ſinners; for them that are none, it is well that they need no Redeemer, for if they did, they could have no part in ours, for he came only to redeem ſinners, and they are none. God brought his Son out of Aegypt, not out of Goſhen in Aegypt; not out of a priviledged place in Aegypt, but out of Aegypt; God brought his Son Chriſt Jeſus out of the Virgin Mary without ſin, but he brought not her ſo, out of her mother. If they might be beleeved that the bleſſed Virgin, and Iohn Baptiſt, and the Prophet Ieremy were without all ſin, they would goe about at laſt to make us beleeve, that Ignatius were ſo too. For us, in the higheſt of our ſanctification, ſtill let us preſſe with that, Dimitte nobis debita noſtra, O Lord forgive us our treſpaſſes, and confeſſe that we needed forgiveneſſe, even for the ſins which we have not done; Dimiſſa fateor, & quae mea ſponte feci, & quae te duce, non feci, ſayes S. Auguſtine, I confeſſe I need thy mercy, both for the ſins which I have done, and for thoſe, which if thy grace had not reſtrained me, I ſhould have done. And therefore if another think he hath ſcaped thoſe ſins that I have committed,Auguſt. Non me derideat ab eo medico aegrum ſanari, à quoei praeſtitum ne aegrotaret; Let him not deſpiſe me, who am recovered, ſince it is the ſame phyſitian who hath wrought upon us both, though by a diverſe method, for he hath preſerved him, and he hath recovered me: for, for himſelfe, we ſay ſtill with the ſame Father, Perdiderat bonum poſsibilitatis, As well he as I, had loſt all poſſibility of ſtanding, or riſing after our fall.
This was our firſt branch,Quid homo poteſt. The univerſall impotency; And our ſecond is, That this is In homine, In man, no man (as man) can make this profeſſion, That Ieſus is the Lord: and therefore, we conſider firſt, wherein, and how far man is diſabled. In every Age, ſome men have attributed to the power of nature, more then a naturall man can doe, and yet no man doth ſo much as a naturall man might doe. For the over-valuing of nature, and her power, there are impreſſions in the Fathers themſelves, which (whether miſ-underſtood by the Readers, or by the Authors) have led and prevailed much. When Iuſtin Martyr ſayes, Ratio pro fide Graecis & Barbaris, That rectified reaſon did the ſame office in the Gentiles, as faith did in the Chriſtians; when Clement ſayes, Philoſophia per ſeſe juſti. ficavit Graecos, That the Gentiles to whom the Law and Goſpell was not communicated, were juſtified by their Philoſophy; when Chryſoſtome ſayes, Satis fuit Gentibus abſtinuiſſe ab Idololatria, It was ſufficient for the Gentiles, if they did not worſhip falſe gods, though they underſtood not the true; when S. Auguſtine ſayes, Rectè facis, nihil quaerere ampliùs, quàm quod docet ratio, He doth well that ſeeks no farther, then his reaſon leads them, theſe impreſſions in the Fathers have tranſported later men farther; ſo far, as that Andradius in the Romane Church, ſaves all honeſt Philoſophers, that lived morally well without Chriſt: And Toſtatus takes all impediments out of their way, That originall ſin is abſolutely remitted to them, In prima bona operatione in charitate, In their firſt good morall work that they do. So that they are in an eaſier way then we, who are but Chriſtians; for in the opinion of Toſtatus himſelfe, and that whole Church, we cannot be delivered from originall ſin, but by baptiſme; nothing leſſe then a Sacrament would deliver us from originall ſin, and any good worke ſhall deliver any of the Gentiles ſo diſpoſed.
In all ages, in all Churches, there have been men, who have been Ingrati gratiae, as S. Auguſtine calls them, that have been unthanfull to the grace of God, and attributed that to nature,Act. 17.26. which belonged to grace. But we have an univerſall concluſion, God hath made of one blood all mankinde, And no man can adopt himſelfe into the family of God; man is excluded, and all power in man, and all aſſiſtance from man; neither your owne reaſon, nor the reaſon of your Maſters, whom you relie upon, can raiſe you to this knowledge: for,Eſay 31.3. Aegyptus homo, non Deus, The Egyptians are men, and not Gods, and their horſes are fleſh, and not ſpirit; and when the Lord ſhall ſtretch out his hand, the helper ſhall fall, and he that is holpen ſhall fall, and they ſhall fall together. The Atheiſt and all his Philoſophy, Helper and hee that is Holpen, Horſe and Man, Nature and Art, Reaſon mounted and advanced upon Learning, ſhall never be able to leap over, or breake thorough this wall, No man, no naturall man can doe any thing towards a ſupernaturall work.
This was our ſecond Branch,Quid homo facit. That too much is ordinarily attributed by man to man, And our third is, That too little is done by any man, and that is worſe then the other. When Nebuchadnezzar had made his Image of gold of ſixtie Cubits, it had been a madneſſe in him, not to have celebrated the Dedication thereof, with all the pomp, and ſolemnity that he did: To have gone ſo farre, and not to have made it ſerve his farther uſes, had been a ſtrange impertinence. So is it a ſtrange contemplation, to ſee a man ſet up a golden Image, to attribute even Divinity to our nature, and to imagine it to be able to doe, whatſoever the grace of God can doe, and yet with this Angelicall nature, with this celeſtiall ſoule, to contribute leſſe to the glory of God, then an Ant, or a plant, or a ſtone. As the counſell of the Philoſopher Epictetus directs thee, if thou take any new action in hand, conſider what Socrates would doe in that caſe; that is, diſpoſe thy ſelfe therein, according to the example, and precedent of ſome wiſe man: So if thou wilt take this new action in hand, (that which is new, but ſhould be ordinary unto thee) if thou wilt take a view of thy ſins that are paſt, doe but conſider, if ever thou didſt any ſin, which Socrates, or Seneca would not have forborne. And whatſoever thou ſeeſt another can doe, by the power of that reaſon, and that perſwaſion which thou art able to miniſter, who art not able to infuſe faith, nor inſpire grace into him, but muſt work by thy reaſon, and upon his reaſon, why ſhouldeſt not thou be as powerfull upon thy ſelfe, and as ſtrong in thine owne behalfe, and obey that counſell from thy ſelfe, which thou thinkeſt another man mad, if he doe not obey, when thou giveſt it? Why ſhouldeſt thou pretend Reaſon, why another ſhould forbeare any particular ſin, and not preſent that Reaſon to thy ſelfe, or not obey it? To love the Scriptures of God better then any other booke; to love the houſe of God better then any other Court; to love the Communion of Saints better then any other Converſation; to ſtudy to know the revealed will of God, rather then the ſecrets of any Princes; to conſider the direct purpoſes of God againſt his enemies, rather then the ſiniſter ſupplantations of pretenders to places in Court; briefly to Reade, to Heare, to Beleeve the Bible, is a worke within the ability of nature, within the power of a morall man.
He that attributes more to nature, he that allowes her any ability of diſpoſing her ſelfe before hand, without prevention of grace, or concurrence and co-operation after, without continuall aſſiſtance of particular graces, he ſets up an Idoll, and magnifies nature beyond that which appertaines unto her. But he that goes not ſo farre as this, That the reaſon of man, and his naturall faculties, are the Inſtruments and Organs that God works in by his grace, howſoever he may in diſcourſe and in argument exalt nature, howſoever he may ſo give too much to her, yet he does not ſo much with her, as he might doe: He hath made her a Giant, and then, as though he were afraid of her, hee runs away from her: He will not doe that which is in his power, and yet he thinks it is in his power to repent when he liſts, and when he liſts to apply the merits of Chriſt to himſelfe, and to doe all thoſe duties which are implyed in our next Part, To ſay that Ieſus is the Lord.
In this, our firſt duty is an outward act, Dicere, to profeſſe Chriſt Jeſus.2. Part. Dicere. Rom. 1.16. Luke 9.26. Non erubeſco, ſayes S. Paul, I am not aſhamed of the Goſpel of Chriſt Ieſus, for it is the power of God unto ſalvation: And, Qui erubuerit, ſayes Chriſt, Whoſoever ſhall be aſhamed of me, and of my word, of him ſhall the Son of Man be aſhamed, when he ſhall come in glory. This is a neceſſary duty, but is it the duty of this place? for here it is not non vult, but non poteſt; not that he is loath to profeſſe Jeſus, but that he is not able to doe it. We ſee that ſome could ſay that, and ſay it aloud, preach it, and yet without the Holy Ghoſt; Some (ſayes the Apoſtle) preach Chriſt through envy and ſtrife, Philem. 15.ſuppoſing to adde more afflictions unto my bands. Which may well be, that ſome Jews and Gentiles, to exaſperate the State againſt Paul, fained themſelves alſo to be converted to his religion, becauſe when they had made him odious by drawing off others, they who pretended to have been drawen by him, could alwayes ſave themſelves with recanting, and renouncing their new profeſſion: So they could ſay Dominum Ieſum, That Ieſus was the Lord, and never meane it. And of thoſe twelve whom Chriſt choſe to preach, Iudas was one, of whom Chriſt ſayes,John 6.70. Have I not choſen you twelve, and one of you is a devill? So that this devill Iudas, and that devill that made him a devill, the devill himſelf, could ſay as much as this, Ieſus I know, Acts 19.15. Luke 4.41.and Paul I know; They ſaid it, they cryed it, Thou art the Chriſt, the Son of God, and that inceſſantly, Till Ieſus rebuked them, and ſuffered them not to ſay, That they knew him to be The Chriſt.
But beſides that, even this confeſſing of Chriſt, is not Sine omni impulſu Spiritus ſancti, Altogether without any motion of the holy Ghoſt (for the holy Ghoſt, even in theſe caſes, had a purpoſe to draw teſtimonies for Chriſt, out of the mouthes of his adverſaries) this is not the profeſſing required here; When Tiberius had a purpoſe to canonize Chriſt Jeſus, and to admit him into the number of the Romane Gods, and to make him beholden to him for that honour, he therefore propoſed it to the Senate, that ſo that honour, which Jeſus ſhould have, might bee derived from him, And when the Senate had an inclination of themſelves to have done Chriſt that honour, but yet forbore it, becauſe the intimation came not from themſelves, but from the Emperour, who ſtill wrought and gained upon their priviledges, neither of theſe, though they meant collaterally and obliquely to doe Chriſt an honour, neither of them did ſay Ieſum Dominum, that is, profeſſe Jeſus, ſo as is intended here, for they had their owne ends, and their own honors principally in Contemplation.
There is firſt an open profeſſion of the tongue required; And therefore the Holy Ghoſt deſcended in fiery tongues, Et lingua propria Spiritui Sancto, ſayes S. Gregory, The tongue is the fitteſt Inſtrument for the Holy Ghoſt to worke upon, and to worke by; Qui magnam habet cognationem cum Verbo, ſayes he, The Son of God is the Word, and the Holy Ghoſt proceeds from him, And becauſe that faith that unites us to God, is expreſſed in the tongue, howſoever the heart be the center in which the Holy Ghoſt reſts, the tongue is the Spheare, in which he moves: And therefore, ſayes S. Cyril, as God ſet the Cherubim with a fiery ſword, to keep us out of Paradiſe, ſo he hath ſet the Holy Ghoſt in fiery tongues to let us in againe. As long as Iohn Baptiſt was unborne, Zachary was dumbe; when hee was borne, Zachary ſpoke; Chriſt is not borne in us, we are not regenerate in him, if we delight not to ſpeake of his wondrous mercyes, and infinite goodneſſe to the ſons of men; as ſoone as he is borne in us, his Spirit ſpeakes in us, and by us; in which, our firſt profeſſion is Ieſum eſſe, That Jeſus is, That there is a Jeſus.
This is to profeſſe with Eſay, Ieſus. Eſay 4.2.That he is Germen Iehovae, The Bud of the Lord, The Bloſſome of God himſelfe; for this Profeſſion is a two-edged ſword; for it wounds the Arians on one ſide, That Jeſus is Jehovah, (becauſe that is the name that ſignifies the very Eſſence of God) And then it wounds the Jews on the other ſide, becauſe if Jeſus be Germen Iehovae, The Bud, the Bloſſome, the Off-ſpring of God, then there is a plurality of Perſons, Father and Son in the God-head. So that it is a Compendiary and Summary Abridgement, and Catechiſme of all our Religion, to profeſſe that Jeſus is, for that is a profeſſion of his everlaſting Eſſence, that is, his God-head. It hath been denyed that he was ſuch as he was pretended to be, that is, borne of a Virgin; for the firſt Heretiques of all, Gerinthus, and Ebion, who occaſioned S. Iohns Goſpel, affirmed him to be a meere man, made by ordinary generation, between Ioſeph and Mary. It hath been denyed, that he was ſuch a man, as thoſe Heretiques allowed him to bee, for Apelles his Hereſie was, That he made himſelfe a Body out of the Elements, as hee came downe from Heaven, through them. It hath been denyed, that he had any Body at all; Cerdon and Marcion ſaid, That he lived and dyed, but in Phantaſmate, in apparance, and onelyonly in a forme and ſhape of a Body aſſumed; but, in truth, no Body, that did live or dye, but did onelyonly appeare, and vaniſh. It hath beene denyed that that Body which hee had, though a true and a naturall Body did ſuffer, for Baſilides ſaid, That when he was led to Execution, and that on the way, the Croſſe was laid upon Simon of Cyren, Chriſt caſt a miſt before their eyes, by which they tooke Simon for him, and crucified Simon, Chriſt having withdrawne himſelfe inviſibly from them, as at other times he had done. It hath been denyed, (though he had a true Body, and ſuffered truly therein) that he hath any Body now in Heaven, or ſhall returne with any, for hee that ſaid hee made his Body of the Elements as hee came downe from Heaven, ſayes alſo that hee reſolved that Body into thoſe Elements againe, at his returne. It hath beene denyed, That hee was, That he is, That he ſhall be; but this Profeſſion, that Jeſus is, includes all, for, He of whom that is alwayes true, Eſt, He is, He is Eternall, and He that is Eternall, is God: This is therefore a Profeſſion of the God-head of Chriſt Jeſus.
Now,Dominus; A Lord. in the next, as we profeſſe him to be Dominus, A Lord, we profeſſe him to be God and man, we behold him as he is a mixt perſon, and ſo made fit to be the Meſſias, the Anointed high Prieſt, King of that Church, which he hath purchaſed with his blood, And the anointed King of that Kingdome which he hath conquered with his Croſſe. As he is Germen Iehovae, The off-ſpring of Jehovah, ſo he muſt neceſſarily be Jehovah; & that is the name, which is evermore tranſlated The Lord; So alſo as he is Jehovah, which is the fountaine of all Eſſence and of all Beeing, ſo he is Lord, by his intereſt, and his concurrence, in our Creation; It is a devoute exerciſe of the ſoule, to conſider, how abſolute a Lord he is, by this Title of Creation; If the King give a man a Creation by a new Title, the King found before in that man, ſome vertuous and fit diſpoſition, ſome preparation, ſome object, ſome ſubject of his favour. The King gives Creations to men, whom the Univerſities, or other Societies had prepared; They Created perſons whom other lower Schooles had prepared; At loweſt, he that deales upon him firſt, finds a man, begotten and prepared by Parents, upon whom he may worke. But remember thy Creator, that called thee, when thou waſt not, as though thou hadſt beene, and brought thee out of nothing; which is a condition (if we may call it a condition, to be nothing, not to be) farther removed from Heaven, then hell it ſelfe: Who is the Lord of life, and breathed this life into thee, and ſweares by that eternall life, which he is, that he would have this life of thine immortall, As I live, ſaith the Lord, I would not the death of a ſinner.
This Contemplation of Jeſus, as a Lord, by Creating us, is a devout, and an humble Contemplation; but to contemplate him as Lord by Redeeming us, and breeding us in a Church, where that Redemption is applied to us, this is a devout, and a glorious Contemplation. As he is Lord over that which his Father gave him, (his Father gave him all power in Heaven and in earth, and Omne Iudicium, His Father put all Judgement into his hands, all judiciary and all military power was his; He was Lord Judge, and Lord of Hoſts) As he is Lord over his owne purchaſe, Quod acquiſivit ſanguine, Acts 20.28.That Church which he purchaſed with his owne blood: So he is more then the Heretiques of our time have made him, That he was but ſent as a principall Prophet to explaine the Law, and make that cleare to us in a Goſpel; Or as a Prieſt, to ſacrifice himſelfe, but not for a Ranſome, not for a Satisfaction, but onelyonly for a lively example, thereby to incline us to ſuffer for Gods glory, and for the edification of one another. If we call him Dominum, A Lord, we call him Meſsiam, Vnctum, Regem, anointed with the oyle of gladneſſe by the Holy Ghoſt, to bee a cheerefull conquerour of the world, and the grave, and ſin, and hell, and anointed in his owne blood, to be a Lord in the adminiſtration of that Church, which he hath ſo purchaſed. This is to ſay that Jeſus is a Lord; To profeſſe that he is a perſon ſo qualified, in his being compoſed of God and Man, that he was able to give ſufficient for the whole world, and did give it, and ſo is Lord of it.
When we ſay Ieſus eſt, That Jeſus is, There we confeſſe his eternity, and therein,Dominus. The Lord. his Godhead: when we ſay Ieſus Dominus, that he is a Lord, therein we confeſſe a dominion which he hath purchaſed; And when we ſay Ieſum Dominum, ſo, as that we profeſſe him to be the Lord, Then we confeſſe a vigilancy, a ſuperintendency, a reſidence, and a permanency of Chriſt, in his Dominion, in his Church, to the worlds end. If he be the Lord, in his Church, there is no other that rules with him, there is no other that rules for him. The temporall Magiſtrate is not ſo Lord, as that Chriſt and he are Collegues, or fellow-Conſuls, that if he command againſt Chriſt, he ſhould be as ſoone obeyed as Chriſt; for a Magiſtrate is a Lord, and Chriſt is the Lord, a Magiſtrate is a Lord to us, but Chriſt is the Lord to him, and to us, and to all, None rules with him, none rules for him; Chriſt needs no Vicar, he is no non-reſident; He is nearer to all particular Churches at Gods right hand; then the Biſhop of Rome, at his left. Direct lines, direct beames does alwaies warme better, and produce their effects more powerfully, then oblique beames doe; The influence of Chriſt Jeſus directly from Heaven upon the Church, hath a truer operation, then the oblique and collaterall reflections from Rome: Chriſt is not ſo far off, by being above the Clouds, as the Biſhop of Rome is, by being beyond the Hils. Dicimus Dominum Ieſum, we ſay that Jeſus is the Lord, and we refuſe all power upon earth, that will be Lord with him, as though he needed a Coadjutor, or Lord for him, as though he were abſent from us.
To conclude this ſecond part, To ſay that Ieſus is the Lord, is to confeſſe him to bee God from everlaſting, and to have beene made man in the fulneſſe of time, and to governe ſtill that Church, which he hath purchaſed with his blood, and that therefore hee lookes that we direct all our particular actions to his glory. For this voice, wherein thou ſaieſt Dominus Ieſus, The Lord Ieſus, muſt be, as the voyce of the Seraphim in Eſay, Eſay 6.2.thrice repeated, Sanctus, ſanctus, ſanctus, Holy, holy, holy; our hearts muſt ſay it, and our tongue, and our hands too, or elſe we have not ſaid it. For when a man will make Jeſus his companion, and be ſometimes with him, and ſometimes with the world, and not direct all things principally towards him; when he will make Jeſus his ſervant, that is, proceed in all things, upon the ſtrength of his outward profeſſion, upon the colour, and pretence, and advantage of Religion, and devotion, would this man be thought to have ſaid Ieſum Dominum, Luke 6.46.That Ieſus is the Lord? Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and doe not the things I ſpeake to you? ſaies Chriſt; Chriſt places a tongue in the hands; Actions ſpeake; and Omni tuba clarior per opera Demonſtratio, ſayes S. Chryſoſtome, There is not onelyonly a tongue, but a Trumpet, in every good worke. When Chriſt ſees a diſpoſition in his hearers, to doe according unto their profeſſing,Iohn 13.14. then only he gives allowance to that that they ſay, Dicitis me Dominum, & bene dicitis, You call me Lord, and you doe well in doing ſo, doe ye therefore, as I have done to you. To call him Lord, is to contemplate his Kingdome of power, to feele his Kingdome of grace, to wiſh his Kingdome of glory. It is not a Domine uſque quò, Iohn 11.21.Lord how long before the Conſummation come, as though we were weary of our warfare: It not a Domine ſi fuiſſes, Lord if thou hadſt beene here, our brother had not died, as Martha ſaid of Lazarus, as though, as ſoon as we ſuffer any worldly calamity, we ſhould thinke Chriſt to be abſent from us, in his power, or in his care of us; It is not a Domine vis mandemus, Luke 9.54.Lord wilt thou that we command fire from Heaven to conſume theſe Samaritans, as though we would ſerve the Lord no longer, then he would revenge his owne and our quarrel; for, (that we may come to our laſt part) to that fiery queſtion of the Apoſtles, Chriſt anſwered, You know not of what ſpirit you are; It is not the Spirit of God, it is not the Holy Ghoſt, which makes you call Jeſus the Lord onelyonly to ſerve your own ends, and purpoſes; and No man can ſay, that Ieſus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghoſt.
For this Part,3 Part. Difficultas. we propoſed onelyonly two Conſiderations, firſt that this But, excluding all meanes but one, that one muſt therefore neceſſarily be difficult, and ſecondly that that But, admitting one meanes, that one muſt therefore neceſſarily be poſſible; ſo that there is a difficulty, but yet a poſſibility in having this working by the Holy Ghoſt. For the firſt, of thoſe hereticall words of Fanſtus the Manichaean, That in the Trinity, the Father dwelt In illa luce inacceſsibili, In that light which none can attaine to, And the Son of God dwelt in this created light, whoſe fountaine and roote is the Planet of the Sun, And the Holy Ghoſt dwelt in the Aire, and other parts illumined by the Sun, we may make this good uſe, that for the knowledge of the Holy Ghoſt, wee have not ſo preſent, ſo evident light in reaſon, as for the knowledge of the other bleſſed Perſons of the glorious Trinity. For, for the Son, becauſe he aſſumed our nature, and lived and dyed with us, we conceive certaine bodily impreſſions, and notions of him; and then naturally, and neceſſarily, as ſoon as we heare of a Son, we conceive a Father too. But the knowledge of the Holy Ghoſt is not ſo evident, neither doe we bend our thoughts upon the conſideration of the Holy Ghoſt, ſo much as we ought to doe. The Arians enwrapped him in double clouds of darkneſſe, when they called him Creaturam Creaturae; That Chriſt himſelfe, from whom (ſay they) the Holy Ghoſt had his Creation, was but a Creature, and not God, and ſo the Holy Ghoſt, the Creature of a Creature. And Maximus ille Gigas, (as Saint Bernard cals Plato) That Giant in all kinde of Learning, Plato, never ſtopped at any knowledge, till he came to conſider the holy Ghoſt: Vnum inveni, quod cuncta operatur, I have (ſaies Plato) found One, who made all things; Et unum per quod cuncta efficiuntur, And I have found another, by whom all things were made; Tertium autem non potui invenire, A Third, beſides thoſe two, I could never finde.
Though all the myſteries of the Trinity be things equally eaſie to faith, when God infuſes that, yet to our reaſon, (even as reaſon ſerves faith, and preſents things to that) things are not ſo equall, but that S. Baſil himſelfe ſaw, that the eternall generation of the Son, was too hard for Reaſon; but yet it is in the proceeding of the Holy Ghoſt, that he clearely profeſſes his ignorance: Si cuncta putarem noſtra cogitatione poſſe comprehendi, vererer fortè ignorantiam profiteri, If I thought that all things might bee knowne by man, I ſhould bee as much afraid, and aſhamed, as another man, to be ignorant; but, ſaies he, ſince we all ſee, that there are many things whereof we are ignorant, Cur non de Spiritu ſancto, abſ que rubore, ignorantiam faterer? Why ſhould I be aſhamed to confeſſe mine ignorance in many things concerning the Holy Ghoſt?
There is then a difficulty, no leſſe then an impoſſibility,Poſſibilitas. in ſearching after the Holy Ghoſt, but it is in thoſe things which appertain not to us; But in others, there is a poſſibility, a facility and eaſineſſe. For, there are two proceſſions of the holy Ghoſt, Aeterna, and Temporaria, his proceeding from the Father, and the Son, and his proceeding into us. The firſt we ſhall never underſtand, if we reade all the books of the world, The other we ſhall not chooſe but underſtand, if we ſtudy our own conſciences. In the firſt, the darkneſſe, and difficulty is recompenced in this, That though it be hard to finde any thing, yet it is but little that we are to ſeek; It is only to finde that there is a holy Ghoſt, proceeding from Father, and Son; for in ſearching farther, the danger is noted by S. Baſil, to be thus great, Qui quomodo interrogas, & ubi ut in loco, & quando ut in tempore, interrogabis; If thou give thy curioſity the liberty to ask How the holy Ghoſt proceeded, thou wilt ask where it was done, as though there were ſeverall roomes, and diſtinct places, in that which is infinite, And thou wilt ask when it was done, as though there were pieces of time, in that which is eternall: Et quaeres, non ut fidem, ſed ut infidelitatem invenias, (which is excellently added by that Father) The end of thy enquiring will not be, that thou mighteſt finde any thing to eſtabliſh thy beliefe, but to finde ſomething that might excuſe thine unbeliefe; All thy curious queſtions are not in hope that thou ſhalt receive ſatisfaction, but in hope that the weakneſſe of the anſwer may juſtifie thy infidelity.
Thus it is, if we will be over curious in the firſt, the eternall proceeding of the Holy Ghoſt. In the other, the proceeding of the holy Ghoſt into us, we are to conſider, that as in our naturall perſons, the body and ſoul do not make a perfect man, except they be united, except our ſpirits (which are the active part of the blood) do fit this body, and ſoule for one anothers working;; So, though the body of our religion may ſeem to be determined in theſe two, our Creation, which is commonly attributed to the Father, Tanquam fonti Deitatis, As the fountaine of the Godhead, (for Chriſt is God of God) And our Redemption, which belongs to the Son, yet for this body there is a ſpirit, that is, the holy Ghoſt, that takes this man, upon whom the Father hath wrought by Creation, and the Son included within his Redemption, and he works in him a Vocation, a Juſtification, and a ſanctification, and leads him from that Eſſe, which the Father gave him in the Creation, And that Bene eſſe which he hath in being admitted into the body of his Son, the viſible Church, and Congregation, to an Optimè eſſe, to that perfection, which is an aſſurance of the inhabitation of this Spirit in him, and an inchoation of eternall bleſſedneſſe here, by a heavenly and ſanctified converſation, without which Spirit No man can ſay, that Ieſus is the Lord, becauſe he is not otherwiſe in a perfect obedience to him, if he embrace not the means ordained by him in his Church.
So that this Spirit diſpoſes, and diſpenſes, diſtributes, and diſperſes, and orders all the power of the Father, and all the wiſdome of the Son, and all the graces of God. It is a Center to all; So S. Bernard ſayes upon thoſe words of the Apoſtle, We approve our ſelves as the Miniſters of God; But by what? By watching, by faſting, by ſuffering, by the holy Ghoſt, by love unfained. Vide, tanquam omnia ordinantem, quomodo in medio virtutum, ſicut cor in medio corporis, conſtituit Spiritum Sanctum: As the heart is in the midſt of the body, ſo between theſe vertues of faſting and ſuffering before, and love unfained after, the Apoſtle places the holy Ghoſt, who only gives life and ſoule to all Morall, and all Theologicall vertues. And as S. Bernard obſerves that in particular men, ſo doth S. Auguſtine of the whole Church; Quod in corpore noſtro anima, id in corpore Chriſti, Eccleſia, Spiritus Sanctus; That office which the ſoule performes to our body, the holy Ghoſt performes in the body of Chriſt, which is the Church.
And therefore ſince the holy Ghoſt is thus neceſſary, and thus neare, as at the Creation the whole Trinity was intimated in that plurall word, Elohim, creavit Dii, but no perſon of the Trinity is diſtinctly named in the Creation, but the holy Ghoſt, The Spirit of God moved upon the waters, As the holy Ghoſt was firſt conveyed to our knowledge in the Creation, ſo in our Regeneration, by which we are new creatures, though our Creation, and our Redemption be religious ſubjects of our continuall meditation, yet let us be ſure to hold this that is neareſt us, to keep a neare, a familiar, and daily acquaintance, and converſation with the holy Ghoſt, and to be watchfull to cheriſh his light, and working in us. Homines docent quaerere, ſolus ipſe, qui docet invenire, habere, frui; Bernard.Men can teach us wayes how to finde ſomethings; The Pilot how to finde a Land, The Aſtronomer how to finde a Star; Men can teach us wayes how to finde God, The naturall man in the book of creatures, The Morall man in an exemplar life, The Jew in the Law, The Chriſtian in generall in the Goſpell, But Solus ipſe, qui docet invenire, habere, frui, Only the holy Ghoſt enables us to finde God ſo, as to make him ours, and to enjoy him.1 Cor. 2.14. Firſt you muſt get more light then nature gives, for, The naturall man perceiveth not the things of the Spirit: When that light is ſo mended, that you have ſome ſparkes of faith,Iud. 19. you muſt alſo leave the works of the fleſh, For, Fleſhly men have not the Spirit: When the Spirit offers it ſelf in approaches, Reſiſt it not, as Stephen accuſes them to have done,Epheſ. 4.32. Act. 7. When it hath prevailed, and ſealed you to God, Grieve not the holy Spirit, by whom ye are ſealed unto Redemption. For this preventing the Spirit, by truſting to nature, and morality, this infecting the Spirit, by living ill in a good profeſſion, this grieving of the Spirit,1 Theſ. 5. by neglecting his operations, induces the laſt deſperate work of Quenching the Spirit, which is a ſmothering, a ſuffocating of that light, by a finall obduration.
Spiritus ubi vult ſpirat, Iohn 3.8.ſayes our Saviour Chriſt; which S. Auguſtine, (and indeed moſt of the Fathers) interpret of the holy Ghoſt, and not of the winde, though it may alſo properly enough admit that interpretation too. But The holy Ghoſt, ſayes he, breathes where it pleaſes him; Et vocem ejus audis, ſayes Chriſt, You heare the voice of the holy Ghoſt; for, (ſayes S. Auguſtine upon thoſe words of Chriſt) Sonat pſalmus, vox eſt Spiritus ſancti, When you heare a Pſalme ſung, you heare the voice of the holy Ghoſt; Sonat Euangelium, ſonat ſermo Divinus, You heare the Goſpell read, you heare a Sermon preached, ſtill you heare the voice of the holy Ghoſt; And yet, as Chriſt ſayes in that place, Neſcis unde venit, Thou knoweſt not from whence that voice comes, Thou canſt finde nothing in thy ſelf, why the holy Ghoſt ſhould delight to entertain thee, and hold diſcourſe with thee, in ſo familiar, and ſo frequent, and ſo importunate a ſpeaking to thee; Neſcis unde venit, Thou knoweſt not from whence all this goodneſſe comes, but meerly from his goodneſs; So alſo, as Chriſt adds there, Neſcis quò vadat, Thou knoweſt not whither it goes, how long it will laſt and goe with thee. If thou carry him to darke and foule corners, if thou carry him back to thoſe ſins, of which, ſince he began to ſpeake to thee, at this time, thou haſt felt ſome remorſe, ſome deteſtation, he will not goe with thee, he will give thee over. But as long as he, The Spirit of God, by your cheriſhing of him, ſtaies with you, when Jeſus ſhall ſay to you, (in your conſciences) Quid vos dicitis? Whom doe you ſay that I am? You can ſay Ieſus Dominus, We ſay, we profeſſe, That thou art Ieſus, and that Ieſus is the Lord: If he proceed, Si Dominus, ubi timor? If I be Lord, where is my feare? You ſhall ſhew your feare of him, even in your confidence in him, In timore Domini, fiducia fortitudinis, In the feare of the Lord, is an aſſured ſtrength: You ſhall not only ſay Ieſum Dominum, profeſſe Jeſus to be the Lord, but Veni Domine Ieſu, You ſhall invite, and ſolicite Jeſus to a ſpeedy judgement, and be able, in his right, to ſtand upright in that judgement. This you have, if you have this Spirit; and you may have this Spirit,Acts 10. if you reſiſt it not, now; For, As when Peter ſpake, the holy Ghoſt fell upon all that heard, So in the Miniſtery of his weaker inſtruments, he conveyes, and diffuſes, and ſeales his gifts upon all, which come well diſpoſed to the receiving of him, in his Ordinance.