Eighty Sermons, Whitsunday · Sermon 36
SERM. XXXVI. Preached upon Whitſunday.
JOHN 16.8, 9, 10, 11.
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of ſin, and of righteouſneſſe, and of judgement.
Of ſin, becauſe ye belceve not on me.
Of righteouſneſſe, becauſe I goe to my Father, and ye ſee me no more.
Of judgement, becauſe the Prince of this world is judged.
OUr Panis quotidianus, Our daily bread, is that Iuge ſacrificium, That daily ſacrifice of meditating upon God; Our Panis hodiernus, This dayes bread, is to meditate upon the holy Ghoſt. To day if ye will heare his voice, to day ye are with him in Paradiſe; For, whereſoever the holy Ghoſt is,Luk. 23.43. he creates a Paradiſe. The day is not paſt yet; As our Saviour ſaid to Peter, Hodie, in nocte hac, Mar. 14.10.This day, even in this night thou ſhalt deny me, ſo, Hodie in nocte hac, Even now, though evening, the day-ſpring from on high viſits you,Eſay 38.8. God carries back the ſhadow of your Sun-dyall, as to Hezechias; And now God brings you to the beginning of this day, if now you take knowledge, that he is come, who, when he comes, Reproves the world of ſin, &c.
The ſolemnity of the day requires,Diviſio. and the method of the words offers for our firſt conſideration, the Perſon; who is not named in our text, but deſigned by a moſt emphaticall denotation, Ille, He, He who is all, and doth all. But the word hath relation to a name, proper to the holy Ghoſt: for, in the verſe immediatly preceding, our Saviour tels his diſciples, That he will ſend them the Comforter. So, forbearing all other myſterious conſiderations of the holy Ghoſt, we receive him in that notion, and function in which Chriſt ſends him, The Comforter. And therefore, in this capacity, as The Comforter, we muſt conſider his action, Arguet, He ſhall reprove; Reprove, and yet Comfort; nay, therefore comfort, becauſe reprove: And then the ſubject of his action, Mundum, The world, the whole world; no part left unreproved, yet no part left without comfort: And after that, what he reproves the world of; That multiplies; Of ſin, of righteouſneſſe, of judgement. Can there be comfort in reproofe for ſin? Or can there lie a reproofe upon righteouſneſſe, or upon judgement? Very juſtly; Though the evidence ſeem at firſt, as ſtrange as the crime; for, though that be good evidence againſt the ſin of the world, That they beleeve not in Chriſt, (Of ſin, becauſe ye beleeve not on me) yet to be Reproved of righteouſneſſe, becauſe Chriſt goes to his Father, and they ſee him no more, And to be Reproved of judgement, becauſe the Prince of this world is judged, this ſeemes ſtrange, and yet this muſt be done, and done to our comfort; For, this muſt be done, Cum venerit, Then when the holy Ghoſt, and he in that function, as the Comforter, is come, is preſent, is working.
Beloved, Reproofes upon others without charity, rather to defame them, then amend them, Reproofes upon thy ſelfe, without ſhewing mercy to thine own ſoule, diffidences, and jealouſies, and ſuſpitions of God, either that he hated thee before thy ſin, or hates thee irremediably, irreconciliably, irrecoverably, irreparably for thy ſin, Theſe are Reproofes, but they are Abſente ſpiritu, In the abſence of the holy Ghoſt, before he comes, or when he is gone; When he comes, and ſtayes, He ſhall reprove, and reprove all the world, and all the world of thoſe errours, ſin, and righteouſneſſe, and judgement, and thoſe errours upon thoſe evidences, Of ſin, becauſe ye beleeve not on me, &c. But, in all this proceeding he ſhall never deveſt the nature of a Comforter; In that capacity he is ſent, in that he comes, and works. I doubt I ſhall ſee an end of my houre, and your patience, before I ſhall have paſſed thoſe branches, which appertaine moſt properly to the celebration of this day, the Perſon, the Comforter, his action, Reproofe, the ſubject thereof, the world, and the Time, Cum venerit, When he comes. The inditement, of what the accuſation is, and the evidence, how it is proved, may exerciſe your devotion at other times.Acts 2.2. This day, the holy Ghoſt is ſaid to have come ſuddenly, and therefore in that pace we proceed, and make haſte to the conſideration of the Perſon, Ille, When he, He the holy Ghoſt, the Comforter, is come.
Ille, Spiritus ſanctus. Gen. 3.15.Ille alone, He, is an emphaticall denotation; for to this purpoſe Ille and Ipſe is all one; And then, you know the Emphaſis of that Ipſe; Ipſe conteret, He or It ſhall bruiſe the Serpents head, denotes the Meſſias, though there be no Meſſias named: This Ipſe is ſo emphaticall a denotation, as that the Church of Rome, and the Church of God ſtrives for it; for they will needs reade it Ipſa, and ſo refer our ſalvation, in the bruiſing of the Serpents head, to the Virgin Mary; we refer it according to the truth of the doctrine, and of the letter, to Chriſt himſelfe, and therefore reade it Ipſe, He. If there were no more but that in David, Pſal. 100.3. Rom. 8.16.It is He that hath made us, every man would conclude, that that He is God. And if S. Paul had ſaid Ipſe alone, and not Ipſe ſpiritus, That He, and not He the Spirit beares witneſſe with our ſpirit, every ſpirit would have underſtood this to be the holy Spirit, the holy Ghoſt. If in our text there had been no more, but ſuch a denotation of a perſon that ſhould ſpeak to the hearts of all the world, that that Ille, that He would proceed thus, we muſt neceſſarily have ſeen an Almighty power in that denotation; But becauſe that denotation might have carried terrour in it, being taken alone, therefore we are not left to that, but have a relation to a former name, and ſpecification of the holy Ghoſt, The Comforter.
For the eſtabliſhment of Chriſts divinity,Eſay 9.6. Chriſt is called The mighty God; for his relation to us, he hath divers names. As we were all In maſſa damnata, Forfeited, loſt, he is Redemptor, Eſay 59.20.A Redeemer, for that that is paſt, The Redeemer ſhall come to Sion, ſayes the Prophet,Job 19.2. and ſo Iob ſaw His Redeemer, one that ſhould redeem him from thoſe miſeries that oppreſſed him. As Chriſt was pleaſed to provide for the future, ſo he is, Salvator, Mat. 1.21.A Saviour, Therefore the Angel gave him that name Ieſus, For he ſhall ſave his people from their ſins. So, becauſe to this purpoſe Chriſt conſiſts of two natures, God and man, he is called our Mediator,1 Tim. 2.5. There is one Mediator between God and man, the man Chriſt Ieſus. Becauſe he preſents thoſe merits which are his, as ours, and in our behalfe, he is called an Advocate,1 John 2.1. Rom. 2.6. Acts 10.42. 1 Cor. 12.3. If any man ſin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Ieſus Chriſt the righteous. And becauſe every man is to expect according to his actions, he is called the Judge, We teſtifie that it is he, that is ordained of God to bee the Iudge of quick and dead. Now, for Chriſts firſt name, which is the roote of all, which is, The mighty God, No man can ſay that Ieſus is the Lord, but by the holy Ghoſt; And there is our firſt comfort, in knowing that Chriſt is God; for, he were an Intruder for that which is paſt, no Redeemer, he were a weak Saviour for the future, an inſufficient Mediator, a ſilenced Advocate, and a Judge that might be miſinformed, if he were not God. And though he were God, he might be all theſe to my diſcomfort, if there were not a holy Ghoſt to make all theſe offices comfortable unto me. To be a Redeemer and not a Saviour, is but to pay my debts, and leave me nothing to live on. To be a Mediator, a perſon capable by his compoſition of two natures, to intercede between God and man, and not to be my Advocate, is but to be a good Counſellor, but not of counſell with me; To be a Judge of quick and dead, and to proceed out of outward evidence, and not out of his boſome mercy, is but an acceleration of my conviction; I were better lie in Priſon ſtill, then appeare at that Aſſize; better lye in the duſt of the grave for ever, then come to that judgement. But, as there is Mens in anima, There is a minde in the ſoule, and every man hath a ſoule, but every man hath not a minde, that is, a Conſideration, an Actuation, an Application of the faculties of the ſoule to particulars; ſo there is Spiritus in Spiritu, a Holy Ghoſt in all the holy offices of Chriſt, which offices, being, in a great part, directed upon the whole world, are made comfortable to me, by being, by this holy Spirit, turned upon me, and appropriated to me; for ſo, even that name of Chriſt, which might moſt make me afraid,…. The name of Judge, becomes a comfort to me. To this purpoſe does S. Baeſil call the holy Ghoſt, Verbum Dei, quia interpres filii: The Son of God is the word of God, becauſe he manifeſts the Father, and the Holy Ghoſt is the word of God, becauſe he applies the Son.Eſay 62.11. Chriſt comes with that loud Proclamation, Ecce auditum fecit, Behold the Lord hath proclaimed it, to the end of the world, Ecce Salvator, and Ecce Merces, Behold his Salvation, Behold thy Reward, (This is his publication in the manifeſt Ordinances of the Church) And then the Holy Ghoſt whiſpers to thy ſoule, as thou ſtandeſt in the Congregation, in that voyce that he promiſes, Sibilabo populum meum, I will hiſſe,Zach. 10.8. I will whiſper to my people by ſoft and inward inſpirations. Chriſt came to tell us all, That to as many as received him, he gave power to become the Sons of God, Iohn 1.12.The Holy Ghoſt comes to tell thee, that thou art one of them. The Holy Ghoſt is therefore Legatus, and Legatum Chriſti, He is Chriſts Ambaſſadour ſent unto us, and he is his Legacy bequeathed unto us by his Will; his Will made of force by his death, and proved by his Aſcenſion.
Now, when thoſe dayes were come, that the Bridegroome was to bee taken from them, Chriſt Jeſus to be removed from their perſonall ſight, and converſation, and therefore even the children of the mariage Chamber were to mourne, and faſt; Mat. 9.15. Cant.when that Church that mourned, and lamented his abſence, when ſhe was but his Spouſe, muſt neceſſarily mourn now in a more vehement manner, when ſhe was to be, (in ſome ſenſe) his Widow; when that Shepheard was not onelyonly to be ſmitten, and ſo the flock diſperſed, Mat. 26.21.(this was done in his paſſion) but he was to be taken away, in his Aſcenſion; what a powerfull Comforter had that need to be, that ſhould be able to recompence the abſence of Chriſt Jeſus himſelfe, and to infuſe comfort into his Orphans, the children of his mariage Chamber, into his Widow, the deſolate, and diſconſolate Church, into his flock, his amazed, his diſtreſſed, and, (as we may, properly enough, ſay in this caſe) his beheaded Apoſtles and Diſciples? Quantus ergo Deus, qui dat Deum? Aug.Leſſe then God could not miniſter this comfort; How great a God is he, that ſends a God to comfort us? and how powerfull a Comforter hee, who is not onelyonly ſent by God, but is God? Therefore does the Apoſtle inlarge, and dilate, and delight his ſoule upon this comfort, Bleſſed be God, 2 Cor. 1.3.even the Father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any affliction, by that comfort, wherewith our ſelves are comforted of God. The Apoſtle was loath to depart from the word, Comfort; And therefore, as God, becauſe he could ſweare by no greater, Heb. 6.13.ſware by himſelfe, So, becauſe there is no ſtronger adjuration, then the comfort it ſelfe, to move you to accept this comfort, as the Apoſtle did, ſo we intreat you by that, If there be any conſolation in Chriſt, if any comfort of love, if any fellow ſhip of the Spirit, if any bowels, Phil. 2.1.and merciemercy, Lay hold upon this true comfort, the comming of the Holy Ghoſt, and ſay to all the deceitfull comforts of this world, not onelyonly Vanè conſolati eſt is, Zach. 10.2. Job 16.2.Your comforts are frivolous, but Oneroſi conſolatores, Your comforts are burdenſome; there is not onelyonly a diſappointing of hopes, but an aggravating of ſin, in entertaining the comforts of this world. As Barnabas, that is, Filius conſolationis, The ſon of conſolation, that he might bee capable of this comfort, deveſted himſelfe of all worldly poſſeſſions, ſo, as ſuch ſons,Acts 4.36. Suck and be ſatisfied, at the breaſts of this conſolation, that you may milke out, Eſay 66.11. Ver. 13.and be delighted with the abundance of his glory; And as one whom his mother comforteth, ſo will I comfort you, and you ſhall be comforted in Ieruſalem. Heaven is Glory, and heaven is Joy; we cannot tell which moſt; we cannot ſeparate them; and this comfort is joy in the Holy Ghoſt. This makes all Iobs ſtates alike; as rich in the firſt Chapter of his Booke, where all is ſuddenly loſt, as in the laſt, where all is abundantly reſtored. This Conſolation from the Holy Ghoſt makes my mid-night noone, mine Executionera Phyſitian, a ſtake and pile of Fagots, a Bone-fire of triumph; this conſolation makes a Satyr, and Slander, and Libell againſt me, a Panegyrique, and an Elogy in my praiſe; It makes a Tolle an Ave, a Va an Euge, a Crucifige an Hoſanna; It makes my death-bed, a mariagebed, And my Paſſing-Bell, an Epithalamion. In this notion therefore we receive this Perſon, and in this notion we conſider his proceeding, Ille, He, He the Comforter, ſhall reprove.
This word, that is here tranſlated To reprove, Arguere, Arguet.hath a double uſe and ſignification in the Scriptures. Firſt to reprehend, to rebuke, to correct, with Authority, with Severity; So David, Ne in furore arguas me, O Lord rebuke me not in thine dnger: Pſal. 6.1.And ſecondly, to convince, to prove, to make a thing evident, by undeniable inferences, and neceſſary conſequences; So, in the inſtructions of Gods Miniſters, the firſt is To reprove, 2 Ti…and then To rebuke; So that reproving is an act of a milder ſenſe, then rebuking is.Augu… S. Auguſtine interprets theſe words twice in his Works; and in the firſt place he followes the firſt ſignification of the word, That the Holy Ghoſt ſhould proceed, when he came, by power, by ſeverity againſt the world. But though that ſenſe will ſtand well with the firſt act of this Reproofe, (That he ſhall Reprove, that is, reprehend the world of ſin) yet it will not ſeeme ſo properly ſaid, To reprehend the world of Righteouſneſſe, or of Judgement; for how is Righteonſneſſe, and Judgement the ſubject of reprehenſion? Therefore S. Auguſtine himſelfe in the other place, where he handles theſe words, imbraces the ſecond ſenſe, Hoc eſt arguere mundum, oſtendere vera eſſe, quae non credidit; This is to reprove the world, to convince the world of her errours, and miſtakings; And ſo (ſcarce any excepted) doe all the Ancient Expoſitors take it, according to that, All things are reproved of the light, Epheſ. 5.13.and ſo made manifeſt; The light does not reprehend them, not rebuke them, not chide, not upbraid them; but to declare them, to manifeſt them, to make the world ſee clearely what they are, this is to reprove.
That reproving then,Elenchus. which is warrantable by the Holy Ghoſt, is not a ſharp increpation, a bitter proceeding, proceeding onelyonly out of power, and authority, but by inlightning, and informing, and convincing the underſtanding. The ſignification of this word, which the Holy Ghoſt uſes here for reproofe, Elenchos, is beſt deduced, and manifeſted to us, by the Philoſopher who had ſo much uſe of the word, who expreſſes it thus, Elenchus eſt Syllogiſmus contra contraria opinantem; A reproofe, is a proofe, a proofe by way of argument, againſt another man, who holds a contrary opinion. All the pieces muſt be laid together: For, firſt it muſt be againſt an opinion, and then an opinion contrary to truth, and then ſuch an opinion held, inſiſted upon, maintained, and after all this, the reproofe muſt lie in argument, not in force, not in violence.
Firſt it muſt come ſo farre,Opinio. as to be an opinion; which is a middle ſtation, betweene ignorance, and knowledge; for knowledge excludes all doubting, all heſitation; opinion does not ſo; but opinion excludes indifferency, and equanimity; I am rather inclined to one ſide then another,Lactant. Bernard. when I am of either opinion. Id opinatur quiſque quod neſcit: A man may have an opinion that a thing is ſo, and yet not know it. S. Bernard propoſes three wayes for our apprehending Divine things; firſt, underſtanding, which relies upon reaſon; faith, which relies upon ſupreme Authority; and opinion, which relies upon probability, and veriſimilitude. Now there may ariſe in ſome man, ſome miſtakings, ſome miſ-apprehenſions of the ſenſe of a place of Scripture, there may ariſe ſome ſcruple in a caſe of conſcience, there may ariſe ſome inclinations to ſome perſon, of whoſe integrity and ability I have otherwiſe had experience, there may ariſe ſome Paradoxicall imaginations in my ſelfe, and yet theſe never attaine to the ſetledneſſe of an opinion, but they float in the fancy, and are but waking dreames; and ſuch imaginations, and fancies, and dreames, receive too much honour in the things, and too much favour in the perſons, if they be reproved, or queſtioned, or condemned, or diſputed againſt. For, often times, even a condemnation nouriſhes the pride of the author of an opinion; and beſides, begets a dangerous compaſſion, in ſpectators and hearers; and then, from pitying his preſſures and ſufferings, who is condemned, men come out of that pity, to excuſe his opinions; and from excuſing them, to incline towards them; And ſo that which was but ſtraw at firſt, by being thus blown by vehement diſputation, ſets fire upon timber, and drawes men of more learning and authority to ſide, and mingle themſelves in theſe impertinencies. Every fancy ſhould not be ſo much as reproved, diſputed againſt, or called in queſtion.
As it muſt not be only a fancy,Contra. an imagination, but an opinion, (in which, though there be not a Certò, yet there is a Potiùs, Though I be not ſure, yet I doe rather thinke it) ſo we conſider Contraria opinantem, That it muſt be an opinion contrary to ſomething that we are ſure of; that is, to ſome received article, or to ſome evident religious duty; contrary to religion, as religion is matter of faith, or as religion is matter of obedience, to lawfull Authority. Though fancies grow to be opinions, that men come to thinke they have reaſons for their opinions, and to know they have other men on their ſide, in thoſe opinions; yet, as long as theſe are but opinions of a little too much, or a little too little, in matter of Ceremony and Circumſtance, as long as they are but deflectings, and deviations upon collaterall matters, no foundation ſhaked, no corner-ſtone diſplaced, as long as they are but preteritions, not contradictions, but omiſſions, not uſurpations, they are not worthy of a reproofe, of a conviction, and there may be more danger then profit in bringing them into an over-vehement agitation. Thoſe men whoſe end is ſchiſme, and ſedition, and diſtraction, are brought ſo neare their owne ends, and the accompliſhment of their owne deſires, if they can draw other men together by the eares: As ſome have all they deſire, if they can make other men drunke, ſo have theſe if they can make ſober men wrangle.
They muſt be Opinions, not fancies, and they muſt have a contrariety,Tenenda. an oppoſition to certaine truths, and then they muſt be held, perſiſted in, before it be fit to give a reproofe, either by calling in queſtion, or by confutation. As ſome men are ſaid to have told a lye ſo often, as that at laſt, they beleeve it themſelves, ſo a man admits ſometimes an opinion to lodge ſo long, as that Tranſit in intellectum, It faſtens upon his underſtanding,Bernard. and that that he did but think before, now he ſeems to himſelf to know it, and he beleeves it. And then, Fides ſi habet haeſitationem, infirma eſt, Idem.As that faith that admits a ſcruple is weake, and ſo, without ſcruple he comes peremptorily to beleeve it. But ſo, Opinio ſi habet aſſertionem, temeraria eſt, When that which is but an opinion comes to be publiſhed and avowed for a certaine, and a neceſſary truth, then it becomes dangerous; And that growes apace; for ſcarcely does any man beleeve an opinion to be true, but he hath a certaine appetite and itch to infuſe it into others too.
Now when theſe pieces meet, when theſe atomes make up a body, a body of Error,Syllogiſmus. that it come to an Opinion, a halfe-aſſurance, and that in ſome thing contrary to foundations, and that it be held ſtiffely, publiquely perſiſted in, then enters this reproofe; but yet even then reproofe is but Syllogiſmus, it is but an argument, it is but convincing, it is not deſtroying; it is not an Inquiſition, a priſon, a ſword, an axe, a halter, a fire; It is a ſyllogiſme, not a ſyllogiſme, whoſe major is this, Others, your Anceſtors beleeved it, and the minor this, We that are your Superiours beleeve it, Ergo you muſt, or elſe be baniſht or burnt. With ſuch ſyllogiſmes the Arians abounded, where they prevailed in the Primitive Church, and this is the Logique of the Inquiſition of Rome. But our ſyllogiſme muſt be a ſyllogiſme within our Authors definition, when out of ſome things which are agreed on all ſides, other things that are controverted, are made evident and manifeſt. Hell is preſented to us by fire, but fire without light: Heaven by light, and light without any ill effect of fire in it. Where there is nothing but an Accuſer, (perchance not that) and fire, citation and excommunication, here is Satan, (who is an Accuſer, but an inviſible one) and here is Hell it ſelfe, a deviliſh and a darke proceeding. But when they, to whom this reproofe belongs, take Chriſts way, not to tread out ſmoaking flaxe, that a poore ſoule, miſ-led by ignorant zeale, and ſo eaſily combuſtible and apt to take fire, be not troden downe with too much power, and paſſion, when they doe not breake a bruiſed reed, that is, not terrifie a diſtracted conſcience, which perchance a long ill converſation with ſchiſmaticall company, and a ſpirituall melancholy, and over-tender ſenſe of ſin hath caſt too low before, then does this reproofe worke aright, when it is brought in with light before fire, with convenient inſtruction, and not haſty condemnation.
We may well call this Viam Chriſti, and Viam Spiritus ſancti, Chriſts way, and the Holy Ghoſts way, for he had need be a very good Chriſtian, and a very ſanctified man, that can walke in that way; Perfectorum eſt, nihil in peccatore odiſſe praeter peccata: Auguſt.He that hates nothing in an Heretique, or in a Schiſmatique, but the Schiſme, or the Hereſie, He that ſets bounds to that ſea, and hath ſaid to his affections, and humane paſſions, Stay there, go no farther, hath got far in the ſteps of Chriſtian perfection. The ſlipperineſſe, the precipitation is ſo great on the other ſide, that commonly we begin to hate the perſon firſt, and then grow glad, when he growes guilty of any thing worthy our hate; and we make God himſelfe the Devils inſtrument, when we pretend zeale to his ſervice, in theſe reproofes and corrections, and ſerve onelyonly our owne impotent paſſion, and inordinate ambition. For therein Plerumque cum tibi videris odiſſe inimicum, fratrem odiſti, Auguſt.& neſcis; Thou thinkeſt or pretend…t to hate an enemy, and hateſt thine owne brother, and knoweſt it not; Thou knoweſt not, conſidereſt not, that he, by good uſage and inſtruction, might have beene made thy Brother, a fellow-member in the Viſible Church, by outward conformity, and in the Inviſible too, by inward.Cyprian. Etiam fictilia vaſa confringere, Domino ſoli conceſſum, If thou be a veſſell of gold or ſilver, and that other of clay, thou of a cleere, and rectified, he of a darke and perverted underſtanding, yet even veſſels of clay are onelyonly in the power of that Potters hand that made them, or bought them, to breake, and no bodies elſe: Still, as long as it is poſſible, proceed we with the moderation of that bleſſed Father, Sic peccata Haereticorum compeſce, ut ſint quos poeniteat peccaſſe, Auguſt.Take not away the ſubject of the error, (the perverſeneſſe of the man) ſo, as that thou take away the ſubject of repentance, the man himſelfe; If thou require fruit, leave a tree; If thou wouldſt have him repent, take not away his life, ſayes he. We ſee the leaſurely pace that Gods Juſtice walks in:Dan 4.24. When Daniel had told Nebuchadnezzar his danger, yea the Decree of God upon him, (as hee cals it) yet he told him a way how to revoke it; by workes of mercy to the poore, and breaking off his ſinnes; And after all this, hee had a yeares ſpace to conſider himſelfe,Dan 26. before the judgement was executed upon him.
But now beloved,Voluntas perverſa. all that we have ſaid, or can be ſaid to this purpoſe, conduces but to this, That though this reproof, which the Holy Ghoſt leads us to, be rather in convincing the underſtanding by argument, and other perſwaſions then by extending our power to the deſtruction of the perſon, yet this hath a modification, how it muſt be, and a determination where it muſt end, for, there are caſes in which we may, we muſt go farther. For, for the underſtanding, we know how to worke upon that; we know what arguments have prevayled upon us, with what arguments we have prevailed upon others, and thoſe we can uſe: ſo far, Vt nihil habeant contra, & ſi non aſſentiantur, That though they will not be of our minde, yet they ſhall have nothing to ſay againſt it. So far we can go upon that faculty, the underſtanding. But the will of man is ſo irregular, ſo unlimited a thing, as that no man hath a bridle upon anothers will, no man can undertake nor promiſe for that; no Creature hath that faculty but man, yet no man underſtands that faculty. It hath beene the exerciſe of a thouſand wits, it hath beene the ſubject, yea the knot and perplexity of a thouſand diſputations, to find out, what it is that determines, that concludes the will of man ſo, as that it aſſents thereunto. For, if that were abſolutely true which ſome have ſaid, (and yet perchance that is as far as any have gone) that Vltimus actus intellectus eſt voluntas, That the laſt act of the Underſtanding is the Will, then all our labour were ſtill to worke upon the Underſtanding, and when that were rectified, the Will muſt follow. But it is not ſo; As we feele in our ſelves that we doe many ſins, which our underſtanding, and the ſoule of our underſtanding, our conſcience, tels us we ſhould not doe, ſo we ſee many others perſiſt in errors, after manifeſt convincing, after all reproofe which can be directed upon the underſtanding.
When therefore thoſe errors which are to be reproved, are in that faculty, which is not ſubject to this reproofe by argument, in a perverted will, becauſe this wilfull ſtubbornneſſe is alwaies accompanied with pride, with ſingularity, with faction, with ſchiſme, with ſedition, we muſt remember the way which the Holy Ghoſt hath directed us in,Eccleſ. 10.16. If the iron be blunt, we muſt either put to more ſtrength, or whet the edge. Now, when the fault is in the perverſeneſſe of the will, we can put to no more ſtrength, no argument ſerves to overcome that; And therefore the holy Ghoſt hath admitted another way, To whet the iron; Gal. 5.12.And in that way does the Apoſtle ſay, Vtinam abſcindantur, I would they were even cut off which trouble you. There is an incorrigibility, in which, when the reproofe cannot lead the will, it muſt draw blood; which is, where pretences of Religion are made, and Treaſons, and Rebellions, and Invaſions, and Maſſacres of people, and Aſſaſinates of Princes practiſed. And this is a reproofe (which, as we ſhall ſee of the reſt in the following branches is) from the Holy Ghoſt, in his function in this text, as he is a Comforter; This therefore is our comfort, That our Church was never negligent in reproving the Adverſary, but hath from time to time ſtrenuouſly and confidently maintained her truths againſt all oppoſitions, to the ſatisfying of any underſtanding, though not to the reducing of ſome perverſe wils. So Gregor: de Valentia profeſſes of our arguments, I confeſſe theſe reaſons would conclude my underſtanding, Niſi didiciſſem captivare intellectum meum ad intellectum Eccleſiae, But that I have learnt to captivate my underſtanding to the underſtanding of the Church, and, ſay what they will, to beleeve as the Church of Rome beleeves; which is Maldonats profeſſion too, upon divers of Calvins arguments, This argument would prevaile upon me, but that he was an Heretique that found it. So that here is our comfort, we have gone ſo far in this way of Reproofe, Vt nihil habeant contra, etſi nobiſcum non ſentiant. This is our comfort, that as ſome of the greateſt Divines in forraine parts, ſo alſo, in our Church at home, ſome of the greateſt Prelates, who have beene traduced to favour Rome, have written the moſt ſolidly and effectually againſt the hereſies of Rome of any other. But it muſt be a comfort upon them that are reproved. And this is their comfort, that the State never drew drop of blood for Religion; But then, this is our comfort ſtill, that where their perverſneſſe ſhall endanger either Church or State, both the State and Church may, by the holy Ghoſts direction, and will return to thoſe means which God allows them for their preſervation, that is, To whet the edge of the Iron, in execution of the laws. And ſo we paſſe from our ſecond conſideration, The Action, Reproofe, to the ſubject of Reproofe, The world, He ſhall reprove the world.
It is no wonder that this word Mundus ſhould have a larger ſignification then other words, for it containes all, embraces, comprehends all: But there is no word in Scripture,Mundus. that hath not only not ſo large, but ſo diverſe a ſignification, for it ſignifies things contrary to one another. It ſignifies commonly, and primarily, the whole frame of the world; and more particularly all mankinde; and oftentimes only wicked men; and ſometimes only good men, As Dilexit mundum, God loved the world, John 3.16. John 4.42. Rom. 11.15.And Hic eſt verè ſalvator mundi, This is the Chriſt, the Saviour of the world; And Reconciliatio mundi, The caſting away of the Iews, is the reconciliation of the world: The Jews were a part of the world, but not of this world. Now in every ſenſe, the world may well be ſaid to bee ſubject to the reproofe of God, as reproof is a rebuke: for He rebuked the winde, Luk. 8.14. Pſal. 106.17. Gen. 3.17. Pſal. 105.14.and it was quiet; And, He rebuked the red Sea, and it was dryed up; He rebuked the earth bitterly in that Maledicta terra, for Adams puniſhment, Curſed be the ground for thy ſake; And for the nobleſt part of earth, man, and the nobleſt part of men, Kings, He rebuked even Kings for their ſakes, and ſaid, Touch not mine anointed. But this is not the rebuke of our Text; for ours is a rebuke of comfort, even to them that are rebuked; Whereas the angry rebuke of God carries heavy effects with it. Increpat, & fugiunt, Eſay 17.13.God ſhall rebuke them, and they ſhall flie far off; He ſhall chide them out of his preſence, and they ſhall never return to it. Increpaſti ſuperbos, & maledicti iſti: Thou haſt rebuked the proud, Pſal. 119.21.and thy rebuke hath wrought upon them as a Malediction, not phyſick, but poyſon; As it is in another Pſalme, Increpaſti, & periit, Thou haſt rebuked them, and they periſhed. Pſal. 9.6.In theſe caſes, there is a working of the holy Ghoſt; and that, as the holy Ghoſt is a Comforter; for it is a comfort to them, for whoſe deliverances God executes theſe judgements upon others, that they are executed; but we conſider a rebuke, a reproofe that miniſters comfort even to them upon whom it fals; and ſo in that ſenſe, we ſhall ſee that this Comforter reproves the world, in all thoſe ſignifications of the world which wee named before.
As the world is the whole frame of the world, God hath put into it a reproofe,Mundus magnus. a rebuke, leſt it ſhould ſeem eternall, which is, a ſenſible decay and age in the whole frame of the world, and every piece thereof. The ſeaſons of the yeare irregular and diſtempered; the Sun fainter, and languiſhing; men leſſe in ſtature, and ſhorter-lived. No addition, but only every yeare, new ſorts, new ſpecies of wormes, and flies, and ſickneſſes, which argue more and more putrefaction of which they are engendred. And the Angels of heaven, which did ſo familiarly converſe with men in the beginning of the world, though they may not be doubted to perform to us ſtill their miniſteriall aſſiſtances, yet they ſeem ſo far to have deſerted this world, as that they do not appeare to us, as they did to thoſe our Fathers. S. Cyprian obſerved this in his time, when writing to Demetrianus, Cyprian.who imputed all thoſe calamities which afflicted the world then, to the impiety of the Chriſtians who would not joyne with them in the worſhip of their gods, Cyprian went no farther for the cauſe of theſe calamities, but Ad ſeneſcentem mundum, To the age and impotency of the whole world; And therefore, ſayes he, Imputent ſenes Chriſtianis, quòd minùs valeant in ſenectutem; Old men were beſt accuſe Chriſtians, that they are more ſickly in their age, then they were in their youth; Is the fault in our religion, or in their decay? Canos in pueris videmus, nec aetas in ſenectute deſinit, ſed incipit à ſenectute; We ſee gray haires in children, and we do not die old, and yet we are borne old. Leſt the world (as the world ſignifies the whole frame of the world) ſhould glorifie it ſelfe, or flatter, and abuſe us with an opinion of eternity, we may admit uſefully (though we do not conclude peremptorily) this obſervation to be true, that there is a reproofe, a rebuke born in it, a ſenſible decay and mortality of the whole world.
But is this a reproofe agreeable to our Text? A reproofe that carries comfort with it?Conſolatio. Rom. 8.19. Comfort to the world it ſelfe, that it is not eternall? Truly it is; As S. Paul hath moſt pathetically expreſſed it; The creature (that is, the world) is in anearneſt expectation, The creature waiteth, The whole creation groaneth, and travelleth in pain. Therefore the creature (that is, the world) receives a perfect comfort, in being delivered at laſt, and an inchoative comfort, in knowing now, that it ſhall be delivered; From what? From ſubjection to vanity, Ver. 20. & 21.from the bondage of corruption; That whereas the world is now ſubject to mutability and corruption, at the Reſurrection it ſhall no longer be ſo, but in that meaſure, and in that degree which it is capable of,Ver. 21. It ſhall enter into the glorious liberty of the children of God, that is, be as free from corruption, or change in that ſtate, wherein it ſhall be glorified,Eſay 30.26. 2 Pet. 3.13. as the Saints ſhall be in the glory of their ſtate; for, The light of the Moon ſhall be as the light of the Sun, and the light of the Sun ſhall be ſevenfold; And there ſhall be new heavens, and new earth; Which is a ſtate, that this world could not attaine to, if it were eternally to laſt, in that condition, in which it is now, a condition ſubject to vanity, impotency, corruption, and therefore there is a comfort in this reproofe, even to this world, That it is not eternall; This world is the happier for that.
As the world,Mundus, homines. Mat. 18.7. in a ſecond ſenſe, ſignifies all the men of the world, (ſo it is, Wo unto the world, becauſe of offences) There is a reproofe born in every man; which reproofe is an uncontrollable ſenſe, and an unreſiſtible remorſe, and chiding of himſelfe inwardly, when he is about to ſin, and a horrour of the Majeſty of God, whom, when he is alone, he is forced (and forced by himſelfe) to feare, and to beleeve, though he would fain make the world beleeve, that he did not beleeve in God, but lived at peace, and ſubſiſted of himſelfe, without being beholding to God. For, as in nature, heavy things will aſcend, and light deſcend rather then admit a vacuity, ſo in religion, the devill will get into Gods roome, rather then the heart of man ſhall be without the opinion of God; There is no Atheiſt; They that oppoſe the true, do yet worſhip a falſe god; and hee that ſayes there is no God, doth for all that, ſet up ſome God to himſelfe. Every man hath this reproofe borne in him, that he doth ill, that he offends a God, that he breaks a law when he ſins.Conſolatio. And this reproofe is a reproofe within our Text, for it hath this comfort with it, That howſoever ſome men labour to overcome the naturall tenderneſſe of the conſcience, and ſo triumph over their own ruine, and rejoyce when they can ſleep, and wake again without any noiſe in their conſcience, or ſenſe of ſin, yet, in truth this candle cannot be blowne out, this remorſe cannot be overcome; But were it not a greater comfort to me if I could overcome it? No. For though this remorſe (which is but a naturall impreſſion, and common to all men) be not grace, yet this remorſe, which is the naturall reproofe of the ſoule, is that, that grace works upon. Grace doth not ordinarily work upon the ſtifneſſe of the ſoule, upon the ſilence, upon the frowardneſſe, upon the averſneſſe of the ſoule, but when the ſoule is ſoupled and mellowed, and feels this reproofe, this remorſe in it ſelf, that reproofe, that remorſe becomes as the matter, and grace enters as the form, that becomes the body, and grace becomes the ſoule; and that is the comfort of this naturall reproofe of the world, that is, of every man: Firſt, that it will not be quenched in it ſelfe, and then, that ordinarily it induces a nobler light then it ſelfe, which is effectuall and true Repentance.
As the world, in a third ſenſe,Mundus, mali. Heb. 11.7. 2 Pet. 2.5. ſignifies only the wicked world (ſo it is, Noah in preparing an Ark, condemned the world; And ſo, God ſpared not the old world) That world, the world of the wicked ſuffer many reproofes, many rebukes in their hearts, which they will not diſcover, becauſe they envy God that glory. We reade of divers great actors in the firſt perſecutions of the Chriſtians, who being fearefully tormented in body and ſoule, at their deaths, took care only, that the Chriſtians might not know what they ſuffered, leſt they ſhould receive comfort, and their God glory therein. Certainly Herod would have been more affected, if he had thought that we ſhould have knowne how his pride was puniſhed with thoſe ſudden wormes,Acts 12.23. then with the puniſhment it ſelfe. This is a ſelf-reproofe; even in this, though he will not ſuffer it to break out to the edification of others, there is ſome kinde of chiding himſelf for ſome thing miſ-done. But is there any comfort in this reproofe?Conſolatio. Truly, beloved, I can hardly ſpeak comfortably of ſuch a man, after he is dead, that dyes in ſuch a diſ-affection, loath that God ſhould receive glory, or his ſervants edification by theſe judgements. But even with ſuch a man, if I aſſiſted at his death-bed, I would proceed with a hope to infuſe comfort, even from that diſ-affection of his: As long as I ſaw him in any acknowledgement (though a negligent, nay though a malignant, a deſpitefull acknowledgement) of God, as long as I found him loath that God ſhould receive glory, even from that loathneſſe, from that reproofe, from that acknowledgement, That there is a God to whom glory is due, I would hope to draw him to glorifie that God before his laſt gaſp; My zeale ſhould laſt as long as his wives officiouſneſſe, or his childrens, or friends, or ſervants obſequiouſneſſe, or the ſolicitude of his Phyſitians ſhould; as long as there were breath, they would miniſter ſome help; as long as there were any ſenſe of God, I would hope to do ſome good. And ſo much comfort may ariſe even out of this reproofe of the world, as the world is only the wicked world.
In the laſt ſenſe, the world ſignifies the Saints, the Elect, the good men of the world,Mundus, ſancti. John 14.31. John 17.21. beleeving and perſevering men. Of thoſe Chriſt ſayes, The world ſhall know that I love the Father; And, That the world may beleeve that thou haſt ſent me. And this world, that is, the godlieſt of this world, have many reproofes, many corrections upon them. That outwardly they are the prey of the wicked, and inwardly have that Stimulum carnis, which is the devils Solicitor, and round about them they ſee nothing but profanation of his word, miſ-imployment of his works, his creatures, miſ-conſtructions of his actions, his judgements, blaſphemy of his name, negligence and under-valuation of his Sacraments, violation of his Sabbaths, and holy convocations. O what a bitter reproofe, what a manifeſt evidence of the infirmity, nay of the malignity of man, is this, (if it be put home, and throughly conſidered) That even the goodneſſe of man gets to no higher a degree, but to have been the occaſion of the greateſt ill, the greateſt cruelty that ever was done, the crucifying of the Lord of life! The better a man is, the more he concurred towards being the cauſe of Chriſts death; which is a ſtrange, but a true and a pious conſideration. Dilexit mundum, He loved the world, and he came to ſave the world; That is, moſt eſpecially, and effectually, thoſe that ſhould beleeve in him, in the world, and live according to that beliefe, and die according to that life. If there had been no ſuch, Chriſt had not died, never been crucified. So that impenitent men, miſ-beleeving men have not put Chriſt to death, but it is we, we whom he loves, we that love him, that have crucified him.
In what rank then, of oppoſition againſt Chriſt, ſhall we place our ſins, ſince even our faith and good works have been ſo farre the cauſe why Chriſt died, that, but for the ſalvation of ſuch men, Beleevers, Workers, Perſeverers, Chriſt had not died? This then is the reproofe of the world, that is, of the Saints of God in the world,Pſal. 84.10. that though I had rather be a doore-keeper in the houſe of my God, I muſt dwell in the tents of wickedneſſe, That though my zeale conſume me, becauſe mine enemies have forgotten thy words, Pſal. 119.138.I muſt ſtay amongſt them that have forgotten thy words; But this, and all other reproofes, that ariſe in the godly, (that we may ſtill keep up that conſideration, that he that reproves us, is The Comforter) have this comfort in them, that theſe faults that I indure in others, God hath either pardoned in me, or kept from me: and that though this world be wicked, yet when I ſhall come to the next world, I ſhall finde Noah, that had been drunk; and Lot, Gen. 9.21. Gen. 19.33. Numb. 11.11.that had been inceſtuous; and Moſes, that murmured at Gods proceedings; and Iob, and Ieremy, and Ionas, impatient, even to imprecations againſt themſelves; Chriſts owne Diſciples ambitious of worldly preferment; his Apoſtles forſaking him, his great Apoſtle forſwearing him; And Mary Magdalen that had been, I know not what ſinner; and David that had been all; I leave none ſo ill in this world, but I may carry one that was, or finde ſome that had been as ill as they, in heaven; and that blood of Chriſt Jeſus, which hath brought them thither, is offered to them that are here, who may be ſucceſſors in their repentance, as they are in their ſins. And ſo have you all intended for the Perſon, the Comforter, and the Action, Reproofe, and the Subject, the World; remaines only (that for which there remaines but a little time) the Time, Cum venerit, When the Comforter comes he will proceed thus.
We uſe to note three Advents, three commings of Chriſt.Cum venerit An Advent of Humiliation, when he came in the fleſh; an Advent of glory, when he ſhall come to judgement; and between theſe an Advent of grace, in his gracious working in us, in this life; and this middlemoſt Advent of Chriſt, is the Advent of the Holy Ghoſt, in this text; when Chriſt works in us, the Holy Ghoſt comes to us. And ſo powerfull is his comming, that whereas he that ſent him, Chriſt Jeſus himſelf, Came unto his own, and his own received him not; John 1.11.The Holy Ghoſt never comes to his owne but they receive him; for, onelyonly by receiving him, they are his owne; for, beſides his title of Creation, by which we are all his, with the Father, and the Son, as there is a particular title accrewed to the Son by Redemption, ſo is there to the Holy Ghoſt, of certaine perſons, upon whom he ſheds the comfort of his application. The Holy Ghoſt picks out and chooſes whom he will; Spirat ubi vult; perchance me that ſpeake; perchance him that heares; perchance him that ſhut his eyes yeſter-night, and opened them this morning in the guiltineſſe of ſin, and repents it now: perchance him that hath been in the meditation of an uſurious contract, of an ambitious ſupplantation, of a licentious ſolicitation, ſince he came hither into Gods houſe, and deprehends himſelfe in that ſinfull purpoſe now. This is his Advent, this is his Pentecoſt. As he came this day with a Manifeſtation, ſo, if he come into thee this evening, he comes with a Declaration, a Declaration in operation. Pater meus uſque modo operatur, & ego operor, John 5.17.My Father works even now, and I work, was Chriſts anſwer, when he was accuſed to have broken the Sabbath day; that the Father wrought that day as well as he. So alſo Chriſt aſſignes other reaſons of working upon the Sabbath;Luke 14.5. Cujus Bos, Whoſe Oxe is in danger,Mat. 12.3, 5. and the owner will not relieve him? Nonne legiſtis, Have ye not read how David ate the Shew-bread? And Annon legiſtis, Did not the Prieſts breake the Sabbath, in their ſervice in the Temple? But the Sabbath is the Holy Ghoſts greateſt working day: The Holy Ghoſt works more upon the Sunday, then all the week. In other dayes, he picks and chooſes; but upon theſe dayes of holy Convocation, I am ſurer that God ſpeakes to me,Tertul. then at home, in any private inſpiration. For, as the Congregation beſieges God in publique prayers, Agmine facto, ſo the Holy Ghoſt caſts a net over the whole Congregation, in this Ordinance of preaching, and catches all that break not out.
If he be come into thee, he is come to reprove thee; to make thee reprove thy ſelfe; But doe that, Cum vencrit, when the Holy Ghoſt is come. If thou have beene ſlack in the outward acts of Religion, and findeſt that thou art the worſe thought of amongſt men, for that reſpect, & the more open to ſome penall Laws, for thoſe omiſſions, and for theſe reaſons onelyonly beginneſt to correct, and reprove thy ſelfe, this is a reproofe, Antequam Spiritus vener it, before the Holy Ghoſt is come into thee, or hath breathed upon thee, and inanimated thine actions. If the powerfulneſſe, and the piercing of the mercies of thy Saviour, have ſometimes, in the preaching thereof, entendered and melted thy heart, and yet upon the confidence of the readineſſe, and eaſineſſe of that mercy, thou returne to thy vomit, to the re-purſuite of thoſe halfe-repented ſins, and thinkeſt it time enough to goe forward upon thy death-bed, this is a reproofe Poſtquam abierit Spiritus, After the Holy Ghoſt is departed from thee. If the burden of thy ſins oppreſſe thee, if thou beeſt ready to caſt thy ſelfe from the Pinacle of the Temple, from the participation of the comforts afforded thee in the Abſolution, and Sacraments of the Church, If this appeare to thee in a kinde of humility, and reverence to the Majeſty of God, That thou dareſt not come into his ſight, not to his table, not to ſpeake to him in prayer, whom thou haſt ſo infinitely offended, this is a reproofe, Cum Spiritus Sanctus ſimulatur, when the Holy Ghoſt is counterfaited, when Satan is transformed into an Angel of light, and makes thy diſmayed conſcience beleeve, that that affection, which is truly a higher Treaſon againſt God, then all thy other ſins, (which is, a diffident ſuſpecting of Gods mercy) is ſuch a reverend feare, and trembling as he looks for.
Reprove thy ſelfe; but doe it by convincing, not by a downe-right ſtupefaction of the conſcience; but by a conſideration of the nature of thy ſin, and a contemplation of the infinite proportion between God and thee, and ſo between that ſin and the mercy of God; for, thou canſt not be ſo abſolutely, ſo intirely, ſo eſſentially ſinfull, as God is abſolutely, and intirely, and eſſentially mercifull. Doe what thou canſt, there is ſtill ſome goodneſſe in thee; that nature that God made, is good ſtill: Doe God what hee will, hee cannot ſtrip himſelfe, not deveſt himſelfe of mercy. If thou couldſt doe as much as God can pardon, thou wert a Manichaean God, a God of evill, as infinite as the God of goodneſſe is. Doe it, Cum venerit Spiritus, when the Holy Ghoſt pleads on thy ſide; not cum venerit homo, not when mans reaſon argues for thee, and ſayes, It were injuſtice in God, to puniſh one for another, the ſoule for the body: Much leſſe Cum venerit inimicus homo, when the Devill pleads, and pleads againſt thee, that thy ſins are greater then God can forgive. Reprove any over-bold preſumption, that God cannot forſake thee, with remembring who it was that ſaid, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? Even Chriſt himſelfe could apprehend a dereliction. Reprove any diſtruſt in God, with remembring to whom it was ſaid, Hodiè mecum eris in Paradiſo; Even the thiefe himſelfe, who never ſaw him, never met him, but at both their executions, was carryed up with him, the firſt day of his acquaintance. If either thy cheerefulneſſe, or thy ſadneſſe bee conceived of the Holy Ghoſt, there is a good ground of thy Noli timere, feare neither. So the Angel proceeded with Ioſeph, Feare not to take Mary, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghoſt. Feare not thou, that a chearefulneſſe and alacrity in uſing Gods bleſſings, feare not that a moderate delight in muſique, in converſation, in recreations, ſhall be imputed to thee for a fault, for, it is conceived by the Holy Ghoſt, and is the off-ſpring of a peacefull conſcience. Embrace therefore his working, Qui omnia opera noſtra operatus eſt nobis, Thou, O Lord, haſt wrought all our works in us; Eſay 26.12.And whoſe working none ſhall be able to fruſtrate in us; Operabitur, & quis avertit? Eſay 43.13.I will worke, and who ſhall let it? And as the Son concurred with the Father, and the Holy Ghoſt with the Son, in working in our behalfe, ſo Operemur & nos, let us alſo worke out our Salvation with feare and trembling, by reproving the errors in our underſtanding, and the perverſeneſſes of our converſation, that way, in which the Holy Ghoſt is our guide, by reproving, that is, chiding and convincing the conſcience, but ſtill with comfort, that is, ſtedfaſt application of the merits of Chriſt Jeſus.