Eighty Sermons, Whitsunday · Sermon 34
SERM. XXXIV. Preached upon Whitſunday.
ROM. 8.16.
The Spirit it ſelfe beareth witneſſe with our ſpirit, that we are the children of God.
I Take theſe words, to take occaſion by them, to ſay ſomething of the holy Ghoſt: Our order propoſed at firſt, requires it, and our Text affords it. Since we ſpeak by Him, let us love to ſpeak of Him, and to ſpeak for Him: but in both, to ſpeak with Him, that is, ſo, as he hath ſpoken of himſelfe to us in the Scriptures. God will be viſited, but he will not be importuned; He will be looked upon, but he will not be pryed into. A man may flatter the beſt man; If he do not beleeve himſelf, when he ſpeaks well of another, and when he praiſes him, though that which he ſayes of him be true, yet he flatters; So an Atheiſt, that temporiſes, and ſerves the company, and ſeemes to aſſent, flatters. A man may flatter the Saints in heaven, if he attribute to them that which is not theirs; and ſo a Papiſt flatters. A man may flatter God himſelf; If upon pretence of magnifying Gods mercy, he will ſay with Origen, That God at laſt will have mercy upon the devill, he flatters. So, though God be our buſineſſe, we may be too buſie with God; and though God be infinite, we may go beyond God, when we conceive, or ſpeak otherwiſe of God, then God hath revealed unto us. By his own light therefore we ſhall look upon him; and with that reverence, and modeſty, that That Spirit may beare witneſſe to our ſpirit, that we are the children of God.
That which we ſhall ſay of theſe words,Diviſio. will beſt be conceived, and retained beſt, if we handle them thus; That whereas Chriſt hath bidden us to judge our ſelves, that we be not judged, to admit a triall here, leſt we incurre a condemnation hereafter, This text is a good part of that triall, of that judiciall proceeding. For, here are firſt, two perſons that are able to ſay much, The Spirit it ſelf, and Our ſpirit; And ſecondly, their office, their ſervice, They beare witneſſe; And thirdly, their teſtimony, That we are the children of God; And theſe will be our three parts. The firſt will have two branches, becauſe there are two perſons, The Spirit, and Our ſpirit; And the ſecond, two branches, They witneſſe, and They witneſſe together, for ſo the word is; And the third alſo two branches, They teſtifie of us, their teſtimony concernes us, and they teſtifie well of us, That we are the children of God. The perſons are withour exception, the Spirit of God cannot be deceived, and the ſpirit of man will not deceive himſelf: Their proceeding is Legall, and faire, they do not libell, they do not whiſper, they do not calumniate; They teſtifie, and they agree in their teſtimony: And laſtly, the caſe is not argued ſo, as amongſt practiſers at the Law, that thereby, by the light of that they may after give Counſell to another in the like, but the teſtimony concernes our ſelves, it is our own caſe, The verdict upon the teſtimony of the Spirit, and our ſpirit, is upon our ſelves, whatſoever it bee; And, bleſſed be the Father, in the Son, by the Holy Ghoſt, The verdict is, That we are the children of God. The Spirit beareth, &c.
Firſt then,1 Part. a ſlackneſſe, a ſupineneſſe, in conſideration of the divers ſignifications of this word Spirit, hath occaſioned divers errours, when the word hath been intended in one ſenſe, and taken in another. All the ſignifications will fall into theſe foure, for theſe foure are very large; It is ſpoken of God, or of Angels, or of men, or of inferiour creatures. And firſt, of God, it is ſpoken ſometimes Eſſentially, ſometimes Perſonally. God is a Spirit, Iohn 4.24. Eſay 31.3.and they that worſhip him, muſt worſhip him in ſpirit and truth. So alſo, The Aegyptians are men, and not God, and their horſes fleſh, and not ſpirit; For, if they were God, they were Spirit. So, God altogether, and conſidered in his Eſſence, is a Spirit: but when the word Spir it is ſpoken, not eſſentially of all, but perſonally of one, then that word deſigneth Spiritum ſonctum, The holy Ghoſt: Goe and baptize, Mar. 28.19.In the name of the Father, and Sonne, & Spiritus ſancti, and the holy Ghoſt. And as of God, ſo of Angels alſo it is ſpoken in two reſpects; of good Angels, Sent farth to miniſter for them, Heb. 1.14. 1 King 22.22. Hoſea 4.12. Eſay 19.3.that ſhall be heires of ſalvation, And evill Angels, The lying Spirit, that would deceive the King by the Prophet; The Spirit of Whoredome, ſpirituall whoredome, when the people ask counſell of their ſtocks, And Spiritus vertiginis, The ſpirit of giddineſſe, of perverſities, (as we tranſlate it) which the Lord doth mingle amongſt the people, in his judgement. Of man alſo, is this word Spirit, ſpoken two wayes; The Spirit is ſometimes the ſoule,Pſal. 31.5. Into thy hands I commend my Spirit, ſometimes it ſignifies thoſe animall ſpirits, which conſerve us in ſtrength, and vigour, The poyſon of Gods arrowes drinketh up my ſpirit; And alſo,Job. 6.4. Luke 1.47. the ſuperiour faculties of the ſoule in a regenerate man, as there, My ſoule doth magnifie the Lord, and my ſpirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour, And then laſtly, of inferiour creatures it is taken two wayes too, of living creatures, The God of the ſpirits of all fleſh; Numb. 16.22. Ezek. 1.21.and of creatures without life, (other then a metaphoricall life) as of the winde often, and of Ezckiels wheeles, The Spirit of life was in the wheeles. Now in this firſt Branch of this firſt Part of our Text, it is not of Angels, nor of men, nor of other creatures, but of God, and not of God Eſſentially, but Perſonally, that is, of the Holy Ghoſt.
Origen ſayes, Anteceſſores noſtri, The Ancients before him had made this note, That where we finde the word Spirit without any addition, it is alwayes intended of the Holy Ghoſt. Before him, and after him, they ſtuck much to that note; for S. Hierome makes it too, and produces many examples thereof; but yet it will not hold in all. Didymus of Alexandria, though borne blinde, in this light ſaw light, and writ ſo of the Holy Ghoſt, as S. Hierome thought that work worthy of his Tranſlation; And hee gives this note, That whereſoever the Apoſtles intend the Holy Ghoſt, they adde to the word Spirit, Sanctus, Holy Spirit, or at leaſt the Article The, The Spirit. And this note hath good uſe too, but yet it is not univerſally true. If we ſupply theſe notes with this, That whenſoever any ſuch thing is ſaid of the Spirit, as cannot conſiſt with the Divine nature, there it is not meant of the Holy Ghoſt, but of his gifts, or of his working; (as, when it is ſaid, The Holy Ghoſt was not yet, (for his perſon was alwayes) And where it is ſaid,Iohn 7.39. 1 The fl. 5.19. Quench not the Holy Ghoſt (for the Holy Ghoſt himſelfe cannot be quenched) we have enough for our preſent purpoſe. Here, it is Spirit without any addition, and therefore fitteſt to bee taken for the Holy Ghoſt; And it is Spirit, with that emphaticall article, The, The Spirit, and in that reſpect alſo fitteſt to be ſo taken. And though it be fitteſt to underſtand the Holy Ghoſt here, not of his perſon, but his operation, yet it gives juſt occaſion to looke piouſly, and to conſider modeſtly, who, and what this perſon is, that doth thus worke upon us. And to that purpoſe, we ſhall touch upon foure things: Firſt, His Univerſality, He is All, He is God; Secondly, His Singularity, He is One, One Perſon; Thirdly, His roote from whence he proceeded, Father and Son; And fourthly, His growth; his emanation, his manner of proceeding; for our order propoſed at firſt, leading us now to ſpeak of this third perſon of the Trinity, it will be almoſt neceſſary, to ſtop a little upon each of theſe.
Firſt then, the Spirit mentioned here, the Holy Ghoſt is God, and if ſo,Deus. equall to Father and Son, and all that is God. He is God, becauſe the Eſſentiall name of God is attributed to him; He is called Jehovah; Iebovah ſayes to Eſay, Goe and tell this people, Eſay 6.9. Acts 28.29.&c. And S. Paul making uſe of theſe words, in the Acts, he ſayes, Well ſpake the Holy Ghoſt, by the Prophet Eſay. The Eſſentiall name of God is attributed to him, and the Eſſentiall Attributes of God. He is Eternall; ſo is none but God; where we heare of the making of every thing elſe, in the generall Creation, we heare that the Spirit of God moved, Gen. 1.2.but never that the Spirit was made. He is every where; ſo is none but God;Pſal. 139.7. 1 Cor. 2.10. whither ſhall Igoe from thy Spirit? He knowes all things; ſo doth none but God; The Spirit ſearcheth all things, yca the deep things of God. He hath the name of God, the Attributes of God, and he does the works of God. Is our Creator, our Maker, God?Iob 33.4. The Spirit of God hath mademe. Is he that can change the whole Creation, and frame of nature, in doing miracles, God? The Spirit lead the Iſraelites miraculouſly through the wilderneſſe. Eſay 63.14. Eſay 48.16.Will the calling and the ſending of the Prophets, ſhew him to be God? The Lord God, and his Spirit hath ſent me. Is it argument enough for his God-head,Eſay 61.1. Luke 4.18. that he ſent Chriſt himſelfe? Chriſt himſelfe applies to himſelfe that, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and hath anointed me to preach. Acts 1.16. Iohn 16.13.He foretold future things, The Holy Ghoſt by the mouth of David ſpoke before, ſayes S. Peter. He eſtabliſhes preſent things, The Spirit of truth guides into all truth. And he does this, by wayes proper onelyonly to God; for, our illumination is his, He ſhall receive of me, Ver. 14. 1 Cor. 6.11. Iohn 3.5. Iohn 16.8.(ſayes Chriſt) and ſhew it you. Our Juſtification is his; Ye are juſtified, in the name of the Lord Ieſus, by the Spirit of God. Our regeneration is his; There is a neceſſity of being borne againe of Water, and the Spirit. The holy ſenſe of our naturall wretchedneſſe is his; For, It is he, that reproves the world of Sin, of Righteouſneſſe, of Iudgement. The ſenſe oftrue comfort is his;Acts 9.31. The Churches were multiplied in the comforts of the Holy Ghoſt. All from the Creation to the Reſurrection, and the Reſurrection it ſelfe, is his;Rom. 8.11. The Spirit of him that raiſed Ieſus from the dead, ſhall quicken your mortall bodies, by the ſame Spirit. 2 Cor. 1.22. Eph. 1.13. Iohn 4.14. Mat. 3.11. Zach. 12.10. Heb. 1.9. Rom. 8.26.He is Arrha, The earneſt that God gives to them now, to whom he will give all hereafter. He is Sigillum, that ſeale of our evidence, You are ſealed with that holy Spirit of promiſe. He is the water, which whoſoever drinks, ſhall never thirſt, when Chriſt hath given it; And he is that fire, with which Chriſt baptizes, who baptizes with fire, and with the Holy Ghoſt. He is Spiritus precum, The Spirit of grace, and ſupplication; And he is Oleum laetitiae, The oyle of gladneſſe, that anoints us, when we have prayed. He is our Advocate, He maketh interceſsion for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered; And when our groanings under the calamities of this world, are uttered without remedy, he is that Paracletus, Iohn 16.7.The Comforter, who when Chriſt himſelfe ſeemes to be gone from us, comes to us; who is, (as Tertullian expreſſes it, elegantly enough, but not largely enough) Dei Villicus, & Vicaria vis Chriſti, The Vice-gerent of Chriſt, and the Steward of God; but he is more, much more, infinitely more, for he is God himſelfe. All that which S. Iohn intends, in the ſeaven Spirits, which are about the Throne, is in this One, in this onelyonly Spirit,Auguſt. 1 Cor. 12.4. who is Vnicus & ſeptiformis, ſolus & multiplex; One and yet ſeaven, that is infinite; for, Though there be diverſity of gifts, yet there is but one Spirit. He is God, becauſe the eſſentiall name of God is his; Therefore let us call upon his name: And becauſe the Attributes of God are his; Therefore let us attribute to him, All Might, Majeſty, Dominion, Power, and Glory: And he is God, becauſe the Works of God are his;1 Cor. 6.17. Therefore let us co-operate, and work with this Spirit, and we ſhall be the ſame Spirit with him.
He is God,Perſona. That was our firſt ſtep, and our ſecond is, that he is a diſtinct Perſon in the God-head. He is not Virtus à Deo in homine exaltata, Not the higheſt and powerfulleſt working of God in man; Not Afflatus Divinus, The breathing of God into the ſoule of man; Theſe are low expreſſions; for they are all but Dona, Chariſmata, The gifts of the Holy Ghoſt, not the Holy Ghoſt himſelfe: But he is a diſtinct perſon, as the taking of the ſhape of a Dove, and the ſhape of fiery tongues doe declare, which are acts of a diſtinct perſon. It is not the Power of the King, that ſignes a pardon, but his Perſon. When the power of the Government was in two Perſons, in the two Conſuls at Rome, yet the ſeverall acts were done by their ſeverall Perſons. Wilt thou ask me, What needs theſe three Perſons? Is there any thing in the three Perſons, that is not in the one God? Yes, The Father, the Son, the Holy Ghoſt, fals not in the bare conſideration of that one God. Wilt thou ſay, What if they doe not? What lack we if we have one Almighty God? Though that God had no Son, nor they two, no Holy Ghoſt? We lacked our redemption; we lacked all our direction; wee lacked the revealed will of God, the Scriptures; we have not God, if we have him not, as he hath delivered himſelfe; and he hath done that in the Scriptures; and we imbrace him, as we finde him there; and we finde him there, to be one God in three Perſons, and the Holy Ghoſt to bee one of thoſe three; and in them we reſt.
He is one;Ex filio. but one that proceeds from two, from the Father, and from the Son. Some in the Greek Church, in later times, denied the proceeding of the Holy Ghoſt from the Son; but this was eſpecially a jealouſie in termes; They thought that to make him proceed from two, were to make duo principia, two roots, two beginnings from whence the Holy Ghoſt ſhould proceed, and that might not be admitted, for the Father, and the Son are but one cauſe of the Holy Ghoſt, (if we may uſe that word, Cauſe, in this my ſtery.) And therefore it is as ſuſpiciouſly, and as dangerouſly ſaid by the Maſter of the Sentences, and by the later Schoole, That the Holy Ghoſt proceeds Minùs Principaliter, Not ſo radically from the Son, as from the Father; for, in this action, The Father and the Son are but one roote, and the Holy Ghoſt equally from both: In the generation of the Son, the Father is in order before the Son, but in the proceſſion of the holy Ghoſt, he is not ſo. He is from both; for where he is firſt named, he is called Spiritus Elohim, The Spirit of Gods, in the plurall. In this Chapter, in the ninth verſe,Gen. 1.2. he is the Spirit of the Son, If any man have not the Spirit of Chriſt, he is none of his; And ſo in the Apoſtle, God hath ſent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. God ſent him, and Chriſt ſent him,Gal. 4.6. Iohn 16.17. Iohn 20.22. If I depart, I will ſend the Comforter unto you. He ſent him after he went, and he gave him when he was here, He breathed upon his Apoſtles, and ſaid, Receive ye the holy Ghoſt. So he is of both.
But by what manner comes he from them? By proceeding.Proceſſio. That is a very generall word; for, Creation is proceeding, and ſo is Generation too: Creatures proceed from God, and ſo doth God the Son proceed from God the Father; what is this proceeding of the holy Ghoſt, that is not Creation, nor Generation?Nazianz. Exponant cur & quomodo Spiritus pulſat in arteriis, & tum in proceſsionem Spiritus ſancti inquirant: When they are able clearly, and with full ſatisfaction to tell themſelves how and from whence that ſpirit proceeds, which beats in their pulſe, let them inquire how this Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Sonne. And let them think till they be mad, and ſpeak till they behoarce, and reade till they be blind, and write till they be lame, they muſt end with S. Auguſtine, Diſtinguere inter Proceſsioncm, & Generationem, neſcio, non valeo, non ſufficio, I cannot diſtinguiſh, I cannot aſſigne a difference between this Generation, and this Proceeding. We uſe to ſay, they differ principio, That the Son is from the Father alone, the holy Ghoſt from both: but when this is ſaid, that muſt be ſaid too, That both Father and Son are but one beginning. We uſe to ſay, They differ ordine, becauſe the Son is the ſecond, and the holy Ghoſt the third perſon; but the ſecond was not before the third in time, nor is above him in dignity.
There is proceſsio corporalis, ſuch a bodily proceeding, as that that which proceeds is utterly another thing then that from which it proceeds: frogs proceed (perchance) of ayre, and miſe of duſt, and worms of carkaſſes; and they reſemble not that ayre, that duſt, thoſe carkaſſes that produced them. There is alſo proceſsio Metaphyſica, when thoughts proceed out of the minde; but thoſe thoughts remaine ſtill in the mind within, and have no ſeparate ſubſiſtence in themſelves: And then there is proceſsio Hyperphyſica, which is this which we ſeek and finde in our ſoules, but not in our tongues, a proceeding of the holy Ghoſt ſo from Father and Son, as that he remaines a ſubſiſtence alone, a diſtinct perſon of himſelfe. This is as far as the Schoole can reach, Ortu, qui relationis eſt, non eſt àſe; Actu, qui perſonae eſt, per ſe ſubſiſtit: Conſider him in his proceeding, ſo he muſt neceſſarily have a relation to another, Conſider him actually in his perſon, ſo he ſubſiſts of himſelfe. And De modo, for the manner of his proceeding, we need, we can ſay but this, As the Son proceeds per modu intellectus, (ſo as the mind of man conceives a thought) ſo the holy Ghoſt proceeds per modum voluntatis; when the mind hath produced a thought, that mind, and that diſcourſe and ratiocination produce a will; firſt our underſtanding is ſetled, and that underſtanding leads our will. And nearer then this (though God knows this be far off) we cannot goe, to the proceeding of the holy Ghoſt.
This then is The Spirit, The third perſon in the Trinity, but the firſt perſon in our Text,Spiritus noſter. The other is our ſpirit, The Spirit beareth witneſſe with our ſpirit. I told you before, that amongſt the manifold acceptations of the word ſpirit, as it hath relation particularly to man, it is either the ſoul it ſelf, or the vitall ſpirits, (the thin and active parts of the bloud) or the ſuperiour faculties of the ſoul, in a regenerate man; & that is our ſpirit in this place. So S. Paul diſtinguiſhes ſoul and ſpirit,Heb. 4.12. The word of God pierces to the dividing aſunder ſoule and ſpirit; where The ſoule is that which inanimates the body, and enables the organs of the ſenſes to ſee and heare; The ſpirit is that which enables the ſoule to ſee God, and to heare his Goſpel. The ſamephraſe hath the ſame uſe in another place,1 Theſ. 5.25. Calvin. I pray God your ſpirit, and ſoule, and body may be preſerved blameleſſe: Where it is not ſo abſurdly ſaid, (though a very great man call it an abſurd expoſition) That the ſoule, Anima, is that, qua animales homines, (as the Apoſtle calls them) that by which men are men, naturall men, carnall men, And the ſpirit is the ſpirit of Regeneration, by which man is a new creature, a ſpirituall man, But that, that Expoſitor himſelfe hath ſaid enough to our preſent purpoſe, The ſoule is the ſeat of Affections, The ſpirit is rectified Reaſon. It is true, this Reaſon is the Soveraigne, theſe Affections are the Officers, this Body is the Executioner: Reaſon authorizes, Affections command, the Body executes: And when we conceive in our mind, deſire in our heart, performe in our body nothing that diſpleaſes God, then have we had benefit of S. Pauls prayer, That in body, and ſoule, and ſpirit we may be blameleſſe. In ſumme, we need ſeek no farther for a word to expreſſe this ſpirit, but that which is familiar to us, The Conſcience: Rem. 9.1.A rectified conſcience is this ſpirit; My conſcience bearing me witneſſe, ſayes the Apoſtle: And ſo we have both the perſons in this judiciall proceeding; The Spirit is the holy Ghoſt; Our ſpirit is our Conſcience: And now their office is to teſtifie, to beare witneſſe, which is our ſecond generall part, The Spirit bears witneſſe, &c.
To be a witneſſe,2 Part. is not an unworthy office for the holy Ghoſt himſelfe: Heretiques in their peſtilent doctrines, Tyrans in their bloody perſecutions, call God himſelfe ſo often, ſo far into queſtion, as that he needs ſtrong and pregnant teſtimony to acquit him. Firſt, againſt Heretiques, we ſee the whole Scripture is but a Teſtament; and Teſtamentum is Teſtatio ment is, it is but an atteſtation, a proofe what the will of God is: And therefore when Tertullian deprehended himſelfe to have ſlipped into another word, and to have called the Bible Inſtrumentum, he retracts and corrects himſelfe thus, Magìs uſui eſt dicere Teſtamentum quàm Inſtrumentum, It is more proper to call the Scripture a Teſtament, then a Conveyance or Covenant: All the Bible is Teſtament, Atteſtation, Declaration, Proofe,Apoc. 11.2. Evidence of the will of God to man. And thoſe two witneſſes ſpoken of in the Revelation, are very conveniently, very probably interpreted to be the two Teſtaments; And to the Scriptures Chriſt himſelfe refers the Jews,Iohn 5.39. Search them, for they beare witneſſe of me. The word of God written by the holy Ghoſt is a witneſſe, and ſo the holy Ghoſt is a witneſſe againſt Heretiques. Againſt Tyrans and Perſecuters, the office of a witneſſe is an honourable office too; for that which we call more paſſionately, and more gloriouſly Martyrdome, is but Teſtimony; A Martyr is nothing but a Witneſſe. He that pledges Chriſt in his own wine, in his own cup, in bloud; He that waſhes away his ſins in a ſecond Baptiſme, and hath found a lawfull way of Re-baptizing, even in bloud; He that waters the Prophets ploughing, and the Apoſtles ſowing with bloud; He that can be content to bleed as long as a Tyran can foame, or an Executioner ſweat; He that is pickled, nay embalmed in bloud, ſalted with fire, and preſerved in his owne aſhes; He that (to contract all, nay to enlarge beyond all) ſuffers in the Inquiſition, when his body is upon the rack, when the rags are in his throat, when the boots are upon his legs, when the ſplinters are under his nailes, if in thoſe agonies he have the vigour to ſay, I ſuffer this to ſhew what my Saviour ſuffered, muſt yet make this difference, He ſuffered as a Saviour, I ſuffer but as a witneſſe. But yet to him that ſuffers as a Martyr, as a witneſſe, a crowne is reſerved; It is a happy and a harmonious meeting in Stephens martyrdome; Proto-martyr, and Stephanus; that the firſt Martyr for Chriſt ſhould have a Crown in his name. Such a bleſſed meeting there is in Ioaſh his Coronation, Poſuit ſuper eum Diadema & Teſtimonium, 2 King. 11.12.They put the Crowne upon his head, and the Teſtimony; that is, The Law, which teſtified, That as he had the Crowne from God, ſo he had it with a witneſſe, with an obligation, that his Government, his life, and (if need were) his death ſhould teſtifie his zeale to him that gave him that Crowne.
Thus the holy Ghoſt himſelfe is a witneſſe againſt Heretiques in the word; and thoſe men who are full of the holy Ghoſt, (as Stephen was) are witneſſes againſt perſecution, in action, in paſſion. At this time, and by occaſion of theſe words, we conſider principally the firſt, The teſtification of the holy Ghoſt himſelfe; and therein we conſider thus much more, That a witneſſe ever teſtifies of ſome matter of fact, of ſomething done before; The holy Ghoſt, the Spirit here, (as we ſhall ſee anon) witneſſes that we are the children of God. Now if a Witneſſe prove that I am a Tenant to ſuch Land, or Lord of it, I doe not become Lord nor Tenant by this Witneſſe, but his teſtimony proves that I was ſo before. I have therefore a former right to be the child of God, that is, The eternall Election of God in Chriſt Jeſus. Chriſt Jeſus could as well have diſobeyed his Father, and ſaid, I will not goe, or diſappointed his Father, and ſaid, I will not goe yet, as he could have diſ-furniſhed his Father, and ſaid, He would not redeem me. The holy Ghoſt bears witneſſe, that is, he pleads, he produces that eternall Decree for my Election. And upon ſuch Evidence ſhall I give ſentence againſt my ſelfe?Chryſoſt. Si teſtaretur Angelus, vel Archangelus, poſſet quiſquam addubitare? I ſhould not doubt the teſtimony of an Angel, or Archangel, and yet Angels and Archangels, all ſorts of Angels were deceivers in the Serpent. And therefore the Apoſtle preſents it (though impoſſible in it ſelfe) as a thing that might fall into our miſ-apprehenſion:Gal. 1.8. If we, (that is, the Apoſtles) or if an Angel from heaven preach any other Goſpel, Anathema ſit, let him be accurſed. But Quando Deus teſtatur, quis locus relinquitur dubitationi? when God teſtifies to me, it is a rebellious ſin to doubt: And therefore how hyperbolically ſoever S. Paul argue there, If Apoſtles, If Angels teach the contrary, teach falſe Doctrine, it never entred into his argument (though an argument ab Impoſsibili) to ſay, If God ſhould teach, or teſtifie falſe doctrine. Though then there be a former evidence for my being the child of God, a Decree in heaven, yet it is not enough that there is ſuch a Record, but it muſt be produced, it muſt be pleaded, it muſt be teſtified to be that, it muſt have the witneſſe of the Spirit, and by that, Innoteſcit, though it doe not become my Election then, it makes my election appeare then, and though it be not Introductory, it is Declaratory. The Root is in the Decree, the firſt fruits are in the teſtimony of the Spirit; but even that ſpirit will not be teſtis ſingularis, he will not be heard alone, and ſingle, but it is Cum ſpiritu noſtro, The Spirit teſtifies with our ſpirit, &c.
The holy Ghoſt will fulfill his owne law, In ore duorum, In the mouth of two witneſſes. Cum ſpiriou noſtro.Sometimes our ſpirit bears witneſſe of ſomethings appertaining to the next world, without the teſtimony of the holy Ghoſt. Tertullian in that excellent Book of his, De teſtimonio Animae. Of the teſtimony which the ſoule of man gives of it ſelfe to it ſelfe, where he ſpeaks of the ſoule of a naturall, an unregenerate man, gives us juſt occaſion to ſtop a little upon that conſideration. If, ſayes he, we for our Religion produce your own Authors againſt you, (he ſpeaks to naturall men, ſecular Philoſophers) and ſhew you out of them, what Paſſions, what Vices even they impute to thoſe whom you have made your Gods, then you ſay, they were but Poetae vani, Thoſe Authors were but vaine, and frivolous Poets: But when thoſe Authors ſpeake any thing which ſound againſt our Religion, then they are Philoſophers, and reverend and claſſique Authors. And therefore, ſayes he, I will draw no witneſſe from them, Perverſae foelicitatis, quibus in falſo potiùs creditur, quàm in vero, Becauſe they have this perverſe, this left-handed happineſſe, to be beleeved when they lye, better then when they ſay true. Novum teſtimonium adduco, ſaies he; I wayve all them, and I call upon a new witneſſe: A witneſſe, Omni literaturi notius, More legible then any Character, then any text hand, for it is the intimation of mine owne ſoule, and conſcience; and Omni Editione vulgatius, More publique, more conſpicuous then any Edition, any impreſſion of any Author, for Editions may be called in, but who can call in the teſtimony of his owne ſoule? He proceeds, Te ſimplicem, & Idioticum compello, I require but a ſimple, an unlearned ſoule, Qualem te habent, qui te ſolam habent, Such a ſoule, as that man hath, who hath nothing but a ſoule, no learning; Imperitia tua mibiopus eſt, quoniam aliquantulae peritiae tuae nemo credit; I ſhall have the more uſe of thy teſtimony, the more ignorant thou art, for, in ſuch caſes, Art is ſuſpicious, and from them who are able to prove any thing, we beleeve nothing; And therefore, ſaies he, Nolo Academiis, bibliothecis inſtructam, I call not a ſoule made in an Univerſity, or nurſed in a Library, but let this ſoule come now, as it came to me in my Mothers wombe, an inartificiall, an unexperienced ſoule; And then, (to contract Tertullians Contemplation) he proceeds to ſhew the notions of the Chriſtian Religion, which are in ſuch a ſoule naturally, and which his ſpirit, that is, his rectified reaſon, rectified but by nature, is able to infuſe into him. And certainly, ſome of that, which is proved by the teſtimony mentioned in this text, is proved by the teſtimony of our owne naturall ſoule, in that Poet whom the Apoſtle cites, that ſaid, Genus ejus, We are the off-ſpring of God.Acts 17.28.
So then our ſpirit beares witneſſe ſometimes when the Spirit does not; that is, Nature teſtifies ſome things, without addition of particular grace: And then the Spirit, the Holy Ghoſt oftentimes teſtifies, when ours does not: How often ſtands he at the doore, and knocks? How often ſpreads he his wings, to gather us, as a Hen her chickens? How often preſents he to us the power of God in the mouth of the Preacher, and we beare witneſſe to one another of the wit and of the eloquence of the Preacher, and no more? How often he bears witneſſe, that ſuch an action is odious in the ſight of God, and our ſpirit beares witneſſe, that it is acceptable, profitable, honourable in the ſight of man? How often he beares witneſſe, for Gods Judgements, and our ſpirit depoſes for mercy, by preſumption, and how often he teſtifies for mercy, and our ſpirit ſweares for Judgement, in deſperation? But when the Spirit, and our ſpirit agree in their teſtimony, That he hath ſpoke comfortably to my ſoule, and my ſoule hath apprehended comfort by that ſpeech, That, (to uſe Chriſts ſimilitude) He hath piped, and we have danced, He hath ſhewed me my Saviour, and my Spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour, He depoſes for the Decree of my Election, and I depoſe for the ſeales and marks of that Decree, Theſe two witneſſes, The Spirit, and My ſpirit, induce a third witneſſe, the world it ſelfe, to teſtifie that which is the teſtimony of this text, That I am the child of God. And ſo we paſſe from the two former parts, The perſons, The Spirit, and our ſpirit, And their office, to witneſſe, and to agree in their witneſſe, and we are fallen into our third part, The Teſtimony it ſelfe, That we are the Children of God.
This part hath alſo two branches;3. Part. Firſt, That the Teſtimony concernes our ſelves, We are; And then, That that which we are is this, We are the Children of God. And in the firſt branch, there will be two twiggs, two ſub-conſiderations; 1 Wee, A perſonall appropriation of the grace of God to our ſelves, 2 We are, we are now, a preſent poſſeſſion of thoſe Graces. Firſt, conſider we the Conſolation in the particle of appropriation, Wee. In the great Ant-hill of the whole world, I am an Ant; I have my part in the Creation, I am a Creature; But there are ignoble Creatures. God comes nearer; In the great field of clay, of red earth, that man was made of, & mankind, I am a clod; I am a man, I have my part in the Humanity; But Man was worſe then annihilated again. When ſatan in that ſerpent was come, as Hercules with his club into a potters ſhop, and had broke all the veſſels, deſtroyed all mankind, And the gracious promiſe of a Meſſias to redeeme all mankind, was ſhed and ſpread upon all, I had my drop of that dew of Heaven, my ſparke of that fire of heaven, in the univerſall promiſe, in which I was involved; But this promiſe was appropriated after, in a particular Covenant, to one people, to the Jewes, to the ſeed of Abraham. But for all that I have my portion there; for all that profeſſe Chriſt Jeſus are by a ſpirituall engrafting, and tranſmigration, and tranſplantation, in and of that ſtock, and that ſeed of Abraham; and I am one of thoſe. But then, of thoſe who doe profeſſe Chriſt Jeſus, ſome grovell ſtill in the ſuperſtitions they were fallen into, and ſome are raiſed, by Gods good grace, out of them; and I am one of thoſe; God hath afforded me my ſtation, in that Church, which is departed from Babylon.
Now, all this while, my ſoule is in a cheerefull progreſſe; when I conſider what God did for Goſhen in Egypt, for a little parke in the midſt of a foreſt; what he did for Jury, in the midſt of enemies, as a ſhire that ſhould ſtand out againſt a Kingdome round about it: How many Sancerraes he hath delivered from famins, how many Genevaes from plots, and machinations againſt her; all this while my ſoule is in a progreſſe: But I am at home, when I conſider Buls of excommunications, and ſolicitations of Rebellions, and piſtols, and poyſons, and the diſcoveries of thoſe; There is our Nos, We, teſtimonies that we are in the favour, and care of God; We, our Nation, we, our Church; There I am at home; but I am in my Cabinet at home, when I conſider, what God hath done for me, and my ſoule; There is the Ego, the particular, the individuall, I. This appropriation is the conſolation, We are; But who are they? or how are we of them? Teſtimonium eſt clamor ipſe, ſayes S. Chryſoſtome to our great advantage, Even this, that we are able to cry Abba, Ver. 15.Father, by the Spirit of Adoption, is this teſtimony, that we are his Children; if we can truly do that, that teſtifies for us. The Spirit teſtifies two wayes; Directly, expreſly, perſonally,Luke 5.20. as in that, Man, thy ſins are forgiven thee, And ſo to David by Nathan, Tranſtulit, The Lord hath taken away thy ſin; And then he teſtifies, Per indicia, by conſtant marks, and infallible evidences. We are not to looke for the firſt, for it is a kind of Revelation, nor are we to doubt of the ſecond, for the marks are infallible. And therefore, as S. Auguſtine ſaid of the Maniches, concerning the Scriptures, Inſani ſunt adverſus Antidotum, quo ſani eſſe poſſunt, They are enraged againſt that, which onelyonly can cure them of their rage, that was, the Scriptures; ſo there are men, which will ſtill be in ignorance of that which might cure them of their ignorance, becauſe they will not labour to finde in themſelves, the marks and ſeales of thoſe who are ordained to ſalvation, they will needs thinke, that no man can have any ſuch teſtimony.
They ſay,Sumus. It is true, there is a bleſſed comfort, in this appropriation, if we could be ſure of it; They may; we are; we are already in poſſeſſion of it. The marks of our ſpirituall filiation, are leſſe ſubject to error, then of temporall. Shall the Mothers honeſty be the Evidence? Alas, we have ſome ſuch examples of their falſhood, as will diſcredit any argument, built meerely upon their truth. He is like the Father; Is that the evidence? Imagination may imprint thoſe Characters: He hath his land; A ſuppoſititious child may have that. Spirituall marks are not ſo fallible as theſe: They have ſo much in them, as creates even a knowledge,1 Iohn 3.2. Iohn 5.19. Now we are the Sons of God, and we know that we ſhall be like him; And we know, that we are of God. Is all this but a conjecturall knowledge, but a morall certitude? No tincture of faith in it? Can I acquire, and muſt I bring Certitudinem fidei, an aſſurance out of faith, That a Councell cannot erre; And then, ſuch another faithfull aſſurance, That the Councell of Trent was a true councell; And then another, That the Councell of Trent did truly and duly proceed in all wayes eſſentiall to the truth of a Councell, in conſtituting their Decree againſt this doctrine? And may I not bring this aſſurance of faith to S. Paul, and S. Iohn when they ſay the contrary? Is not S. Pauls ſumus, and S. Iohns ſcimus, as good a ground for our faith, as the ſervile and mercenary voices of a herd of new penſionary Biſhops, ſhovelled together at Trent for that purpoſe, are for the contrary?
A particular Biſhop in the Romane Church, cites an univerſall Biſhop,Catarinus. a Pope himſelfe in this point, and he ſayes well, Legem credendi ſtatuit lex ſupplicandi, Whatſoever we may pray for, we may, we muſt beleeve Certitudine fidei, With an aſſurance of faith; If I may pray, and ſay Pater noſter, if I may call God Father, I may beleeve with a faithfull aſſurance, that I am the childe of God. Stet invicta Pauli ſententia, Idem.Let the Apoſtles doctrine, ſayes that Biſhop, remain unſhaked; Et velut ſagitta, ſayes he, This doctrine, as an arrow ſhot at them, will put out their eyes that think to ſee beyond S. Paul. It is true, ſayes that Biſhop, there are differences, Inter Catholicos, Amongſt Catholiques themſelves in this point; And then, why do they charge us, whom they defame, by the name of Heretiques, with beginning this doctrine, which was amongſt themſelves before we were at all, if they did date us aright? Atteſtatur ſpiritus, & ei damus fidem, & inde certi ſumus, ſayes that Biſhop: The holy Ghoſt beares witneſſe, and our ſpirit with him, and thereby we are ſure: but, ſayes he, they will needs make a doubt whether this be a knowledge out of faith; which doubt, ſayes he, Secum fert abſurditatem, There is an abſurdity, a contradiction in the very doubt: Ex Spiritu ſancto, & humana? Is it a knowledge from the holy Ghoſt, and is it not a divine knowledge then? But, ſay they, (as that Biſhop preſſes their objections) The holy Ghoſt doth not make them know, that it is the holy Ghoſt that aſſures them; This is, ſayes he, as abſurd as the other; For, Niſi ſe teſtantem inſinuet, non teſtatur, Except he make them diſcern, that he is a witneſſe, he is no witneſſe to them: He ends it thus, Suſtinere coguntur quod excidit; and that is indeed their caſe, in very many things controverted; Then when it conduced to their advantage in argument, or to their profit in purſe, ſuch and ſuch things fell from them, and now that oppoſition is made againſt ſuch ſayings of theirs, their profit lyes at ſtake, and their reputation too, to make good, and to maintain that which they have once, how undiſcreetly ſoever, ſaid. Some of their ſevereſt later men, even of their Jeſuits, acknowledges that we may know ourſelves to be the children of God, with as good a knowledge, as that there is a Rome, or a Conſtantinople, And ſuch an aſſurance as delivers them from all feare that they ſhall fall away;Vegas, Pererius. and is not this more then that aſſurance which we take to our ſelves? We give no ſuch aſſurance as may occaſion ſecurity, or ſlackneſſe in the ſervice of God, and they give ſuch an aſſurance as may remove all feare and ſuſpition of falling from God.
It was truly good counſell in S. Gregory, when, writing to one of the Empreſſes bedchamber, a religious Lady of his own name, who had written to him, that ſhe ſhould never leave importuning him, till he ſent her word, that he had received a revelation from God that ſhe was ſaved: for, ſayes he, Rem difficilem poſtulas, & inutilem, It is a hard matter you require, and an impertinent, and uſeleſſe matter: for I am not a man worthy to receive revelations, and beſides, ſuch a revelation as you require, might make you too ſecure: And Mater negligentiae ſolet eſſe ſecuritas, (ſayes he) Such a ſecurity might make you negligent in thoſe duties which ſhould make ſure your ſalvation. S. Auguſtine felt the witneſſe of The Spirit, but not of his ſpirit, when he ſtood out ſo many ſolicitations of the holy Ghoſt, and deferred, and put off the outward meanes, his Baptiſme. In that ſtate, when he had a diſpoſition to Baptiſme, he ſayes of himſelfe, Inferbui exultando, ſed inhorrui timendo; Still I had a fervent joy in me, becauſe I ſaw the way to thee, and intended to put my ſelfe into that way, but yet, becauſe I was not yet in it, I had a trembling, a jealouſie, a ſuſpition of my ſelf. Inſinuati ſunt mihi in profundo nutus tui, In that halfe darkneſſe, in that twi-light I diſcerned thine eye to be upon me; Et gaudens in fide, laudavi nomen tuum, And this, ſayes he, created a kinde of faith, a confidence in me, and this induced an inward joy, and that produced a praiſing of thy goodneſſe, Sed ea fides ſecurum me non eſſe ſinebat, But all this did not imprint, and eſtabliſh that ſecurity, that aſſurance which I found as ſoon as I came to the outward ſeales, and marks, and teſtimonies of thine inſeparable preſence with me, in thy Baptiſme, and other Ordinances. S. Bernard puts the marks of as much aſſurance, as we teach, in theſe words of our Saviour, Surge, tolle grabatum, & ambula, Ariſe, Take up thy bed, and walk. Surge ad divina, Raiſe thy thoughts upon the next world; Tolle corpus, ut non te ferat, ſed tu illud, Take up thy body, bring thy body into thy power, that thou govern it, and not it thee; And then, Ambula, non retroſpicias, Walk on, proceed forward, and looke not backe with a delight upon thy former ſins:Remigius. And a great deale an elder man then Bernard, expreſſes it well, Bene viventibus perhibet teſtimonium, quòd jam ſumus filii Dei, To him that lives according to a right faith, the Spirit teſtifies that he is now the childe of God, Et quòd talia faciendo, perſeverabimus in ea filiatione, He carries this teſtimony thus much farther, That if we endeavour to continue in that courſe, we ſhall continue in that ſtate, of being the children of God, and never be caſt off, never diſinherited. Herein is our aſſurance, an election there is; The Spirit beares witneſſe to our ſpirit, that it is ours; We teſtifie this in a holy life; and the Church of God, and the whole world joynes in this teſtimony, That we are the children of God; which is our laſt branch, and concluſion of all.
The holy Ghoſt could not expreſſe more danger to a man, then when he calls him Filium ſaeculi, Luk. 16.18. Epheſ. 5.6. Acts 13.10.The childe of this world; Nor a worſe diſpoſition, then when he cals him, Filium diffidentiae, The childe of diffidence, and diſtruſt in God; Nor a worſe purſuer of that ill diſpoſition, then when he calls him Filium diaboli, (as S. Peter calls Elymas) The childe of the devill; Nor a worſe poſſeſſing of the devill, then when he calls him Filium perditionis, John 17. Mat. 23.15.The childe of perdition; Nor a worſe execution of all this, then when he calls him Filium gehennae, The childe of hell: The childe of this world, The childe of deſperation, The childe of the devill, The childe of perdition, The childe of hell, is a high expreſſing, a deep aggravating of his damnation; That his damation is not only his purchaſe, as he hath acquired it, but it is his inheritance, he is the childe of damnation. So is it alſo a high exaltation, when the holy Ghoſt draws our Pedegree from any good thing, and calls us the children of that:Iohn 12.36. Mat. 9.15. As, when he cals us Filios lucis, The children of light, that we have ſeen the day-ſtar ariſe, when he cals us Filios ſponſi, The children of the bride-chamber, begot in lawfull marriage upon the true Church, theſe are faire approaches to the higheſt title of all, to be Filii Dei, The children of God; And not children of God, Per filiationem veſtigii, (ſo every creature is a childe of God) by having an Image, and impreſſion of God, in the very Beeing thereof, but children ſo, as that we are heires, and heires ſo, as that we are Co-heires with Chriſt, as it follows in the next verſe, and is implyed in this name, Children of God.
Heires of heaven, which is not a Gavel-kinde, every ſon, every man alike; but it is an univerſall primogeniture, every man full, ſo full, as that every man hath all, in ſuch meaſure, as that there is nothing in heaven, which any man in heaven wants. Heires of the joyes of heaven; Joy in a continuall dilatation of thy heart, to receive augmentation of that which is infinite, in the accumulation of eſſentiall and accidentall joy. Joy in a continuall melting of indiſſoluble bowels, in joyfull, and yet compaſſionate beholding thy Saviour; Rejoycing at thy being there, and almoſt lamenting (in a kinde of affection, which we can call by no name) that thou couldſt not come thither, but by thoſe wounds, which are ſtill wounds, though wounds glorified. Heires of the joy, and heires of the glory of heaven; where if thou look down, and ſee Kings fighting for Crownes, thou canſt look off as eaſily, as from boyes at ſtool-ball for points here; And from Kings triumphing after victories, as eaſily, as a Philoſopher from a Pageant of children here. Where thou ſhalt not be ſubject to any other title of Dominion in others, but Ieſus of Nazareth King of the Iews, nor ambitious of any other title in thy ſelfe, but that which thou poſſeſſeſt, To be the childe of God. Heires of joy, heires of glory, and heires of the eternity of heaven; Where, in the poſſeſſion of this joy, and this glory, The Angels which were there almoſt 6000. yeares before thee, and ſo preſcribe, and thoſe ſoules which ſhall come at Chriſts laſt comming, and ſo enter but then, ſhall not ſurvive thee, but they, and thou, and all, ſhall live as long as he that gives you all that life, as God himſelfe.
Heires to heaven, and co-heires with Chriſt: There is much to be ſaid of that circumſtance; but who ſhall ſay it? I that ſhould ſay it, have ſaid ill of it already, in calling it a Circumſtance. To be co-heires with Chriſt, is that Eſſentiall ſalvation it ſelfe; and to that he intitled us, when after his Reſurrection he ſaid of us,John 20.17. Goe tell my brethren that I am gone. When he was but borne of a woman, and ſubmitted to the law, when in his minority, he was but a Carpenter, and at full age, but a Preacher, when they accuſed him in generall, that he was a Malefactor, or elſe they would not have delivered him,John 18.30. but they knew not the name of his fault, when a fault of ſecular cognizance was objected to him, that he moved ſedition, that he denied tribute, And then a fault of Eccleſiaſticall cognizance, that he ſpoke againſt the Law, and againſt the Temple, when Barrabas a ſeditious murderer was preferred before him, and ſaved, and yet two theeves left to accompany him, in his torment and death, in theſe diminutions of Chriſt, there was no great honour, no great cauſe why any man ſhould have any great deſire to be of his kindred; to be brother, or co-heire to his Croſſe. But if to be his brethren, when he had begun his triumph in his Reſurrection, were a high dignity, what is it to be co-heires with him in heaven, after his Aſcenſion? But theſe are inexpreſſible, unconceivable things; bring it backe to that which is neareſt us; to thoſe ſeales and marks which wee have in this life; That by a holy, a ſanctified paſſage through this life, and out of this life, from our firſt ſeale in Baptiſme, to our laſt ſeale upon our death-bed, The Spirit may beare witneſſe to our ſpirit, that we are the children of God. Amen.