Eighty Sermons, Trinity Sunday · Sermon 41
SERM. XLI. Preached upon Trinity-Sunday.
PSAL. 2.12.
Kiſſe the Son, leſt he be angry.
WHether we ſhall call it a repeating againe in us, of that which God had done before to Iſrael, or call it a performing of that in us, which God promiſed by way of Propheſie to Iſrael, that is certainely afforded to us by God, which is ſpoken by the Prophet of Iſrael,Hoſ. 11.4. God doth draw us with the cords of a man, and with bands of love: with the cords of a man, the man Chriſt Jeſus, the Son of God, and with the bands of love, the band and ſeale of love, a holy kiſſe, Kiſſe the Son, leſt he be angry. No man comes to God, except the Father draw him; The Father draws no man, but by the Son; and the Son receives none, but by love, and this cement and glue, of a zealous and a reverentiall love, a holy kiſſe; Kiſſe the Son, &c.
The parts upon which, for the enlightning of your underſtandings,Diviſio. and aſſiſtance of your memories, we ſhall inſiſt, are two: firſt our duty, then our danger; The firſt is an expreſſion of love, Kiſſe the Son; the ſecond is an impreſſion of feare, leſt he be angry. In the firſt we ſhall proceed thus: we ſhall conſider firſt The object of this love, the Perſon, the ſecond Perſon in the Trinity, The Son; The rather, becauſe that conſideration will cleare the Tranſlation; for, in no one place of Scripture, do Tranſlations differ more, then in this Text; and the Roman Tranſlation and ours differ ſo much, as that they have but Apprehendite diſciplinam, Embrace knowledge, where we have, (as you heard) Kiſſe the Son. From the Perſon, The Son, we ſhall paſſe to the act, Oſculamini, Kiſſe the Son; In which we ſhall ſee, That ſince this is an act, which licentious men have depraved, (carnal men doe it, and treacherous men doe it; Iudas (and not onelyonly Iudas) have betrayed by a kiſſe) and yet God commands this, and expreſſes love in this, Every thing that hath, or may be abuſed, muſt not therefore be abandoned; the turning of a thing out of the way, is not a taking of that thing away, but good things deflected to ill uſes, by ſome, may be by others reduced to their firſt goodneſſe. And then in a third branch of this firſt part, we ſhall conſider, and magnifie the goodneſſe of God, that hath brought us into this diſtance, that we may Kiſſe the Son, that the expreſſing of this love lies in our hands, and that, whereas the love of the Church, in the Old Teſtament, even in the Canticle, went no farther but to the Oſculetur me, O that he would kiſſe me with the kiſſes of his mouth! now,Cant. 1.1. in the Chriſtian Church, and in the viſitation of a Chriſtian ſoule, he hath invited us, enabled us to kiſſe him, for he is preſentially amongſt us: And this will lead us to conclude that firſt part, with an earneſt perſwaſion, and exhortation to kiſſe the Son, with all thoſe affections, which we ſhall there finde to be expreſſed in the Scriptures, in that teſtimony of true love, a holy kiſſe. But then, leſt that perſwaſion by love ſhould not be effectuall, and powerfull enough to us, we ſhall deſcend from that duty, to the danger, from love, to feare, Leſt he be angry; And therein ſee firſt, that God, who is love, can be angry; And then, that this God who is angry here, is the Son of God, He that hath done ſo much for us, and therefore in Juſtice may be angry; He that is our Judge, and therefore in reaſon, we are to feare his anger: And then, in a third branch, we ſhall ſee, how eaſily this anger departs, a kiſſe removes it, Do it, leſt he be angry; And then laſtly, we ſhall inquire, what does anger him; and there conſider, That as we attribute power to the Father, and ſo, ſins againſt power (the undervaluing of Gods power in the Magiſtrate over us, or the abuſing of Gods power, in our ſelves, over others) were ſins againſt the Father; ſo wiſedome being the attribute of the Sonne, ignorance, which is ſo far under wiſedome, and curioſity, which carries us beyond wiſedome, will be ſinnes againſt the Sonne.
Our firſt branch in our firſt part,1 Part. Perſona, Filius. directs us upon him, who is firſt and laſt, and yeſterday and to day, and the ſame for ever; The Son of God, Oſculamini filium, Kiſſe the Sonne. Where the Tranſlations differ as much, as in any one paſſage. The Chalde paraphraſe (which is, for the moſt part, good evidence) and the tranſlation of the Septuagint, (which adds much weight) and the currant of the Fathers (which is of importance too) doe all reade this place, Apprehendite diſciplinam, Embrace knowledge, and not Oſculamini filium, Kiſſe the ſonne. Of the later men in the Roman Church, divers read it as we do, Oſculamini, and ſome farther, Amplectimini, Embrace the ſonne. Amongſt the Jews, Rab. Solomon reads it, Armanini diſciplina, Arme your ſelves with knowledge; And another moderne man, reads it, Oſculamini pactum, Kiſſe the Covenant; And, Adorate frumentum, Adore the Corne, and thereby carries it from the pacification of Chriſt in heaven, to the adoration of the bread in the Sacrament. Clearly, and without exception, even from Bellarmine himſelfe, according to the Originall Hebrew, it ought to be read, as we reade it, Kiſſe the Sonne. Now very many, very learned, and very zealous men of our times, have been very vehement againſt that Tranſlation of the Roman Church, though it be ſtrengthned, by the Chalde, by the Septuagint, and by the Fathers, in this place. The reaſon of the vehemence in this place, is not becauſe that ſenſe, which that tranſlation preſents, may not be admitted; no, nor that it does not reach home, to that which is intended in ours, Kiſſe the Sonne: for, ſince the doctrine of the Sonne of God, had been eſtabliſhed in the verſes before, to ſay now, Apprehendite diſciplinam, lay hold upon that Doctrine; That doctrine which was delivered before, is, in effect the ſame thing, as, Kiſſe the Sonne. So Luther, when he takes, and follows that tranſlation of that Church, ſayes, Noſtra tranſlatio, ad verbum, nihil eſt, ad ſenſum propriiſsima; That tranſlation, if we conſider the very words only, is far from the Originall, but if we regard the ſenſe, it is moſt proper. And ſo alſo Calvin admits; Take it which way you will, Idem manet ſenſus, Pellican.the ſenſe is all one. And therefore another Author in the Reformation ſays, In re dubia, malim vetuſtiſsimo interpreti crederc, ſince upon the whole matter it is doubtfull, or indifferent, I would not depart, ſayes he, from that Tranſlation, which is moſt ancient.
The caſe then being thus, that that ſenſe may be admitted, and admitted ſo as that it eſtabliſh the ſame doctrine that ours does, why are our late men ſo very vehement againſt it? Truly, upon very juſt reaſon: for, when thoſe former reverent men were ſo moderate as to admit that tranſlation in this place; The Church of Rome, had not then put ſuch a ſanctity, ſuch a reverence, ſuch a ſingularity, and preheminence, and ſupremacy, ſuch a Noli me tangere, upon that Tranſlation; It had the eſtimation then of a very reverend Tranſlation, and compared with any other Tranſlations, then the beſt. But when in the Councell of Trent they came to make it as Authenticall, to prefer it before the Originals themſelves, to decide all matters of Controverſie by it alone, and to make the doing ſo, matter of faith, and hereſie, in any thing to depart from that Tranſlation, then came theſe later men juſtly to charge it with thoſe errors, wherein, by their own confeſſions, it hath departed from the Originall; Not that theſe men meant to diſcredit that Tranſlation ſo, as that it ſhould not ſtill retain the eſtimation of a good and uſefull Tranſlation, but to avoyd that danger, that it ſhould be made matter of faith, to be bound to one Tranſlation; or that any Tranſlation ſhould be preferred before the Originall. And ſo truly it is, in many other things, beſides the tranſlation. They ſay S. Peter was at Rome; and all moderate men went along with them; S. Peter was at Rome. But when upon S. Peters perſonall being at Rome, they came to build their univerſall ſupremacy over all the Church, and ſo to erect matter of faith upon matter of fact, then later men came to deny, that it could be proved out of Scripture, that Peter was at Rome; So the Ancients ſpoke of many Sacraments, ſo they did of Purgatory, ſo they did of many things controverted now; when as they, then, never ſuſpected that ſo impious a fenſe would have been put upon their words, nor thoſe opinions and doctrines ſo miſchievouſly advanced, as they have been ſince. If they would have let their tranſlation have remained ſuch a tranſlation, we would not have declined it; ſince they will have all tryals made by it, we rather accept the Originall; and that is in this place, Oſculamini filium, Kiſſe the Son.
The perſon then (which was our firſt Conſideration) is the Sonne; Oſculamini.The teſtimony of our love to this perſon, is this Kiſſe, Oſculamini: where we ſee, that God cals upon us, and enjoyns unto us, ſuch an outward act, as hath been diverſly depraved, and vitiated before amongſt men. God gives no countenance to that diſtempered humor, to that diſtorted rule; It hath been ill uſed, and therefore it may not be uſed. Sacred and ſecular Stories abound with examples of the treacherous Kiſſe; Let the Scriptures be our limits. Ioabs complement with Amaſa; Art thou in health, my brother? ended in this;2 Sam. 20.9. He took him with the right hand, as to kiſſe him, and killed him. Enlarge your thoughts a little upon Iudas caſe; Iudas was of thoſe, who had taſted of the word of God,Heb. 6.5. and the powers of the world to come; He had lived in the Converſation, in the Paedagogy, in the Diſcipline of Chriſt; yet he ſold Chriſt; and ſold him at a low price, as every man that is ſo unprovident, as to offer a thing to ſale, ſhall do; and he ſtayed not till they came to him, with, What will you take for your Maſter? but he went to them, with, What will you give me for Chriſt? yet Chriſt admits him, admits him to ſupper, and after all this, cals him friend; for, after all this, Chriſt had done two, perchance three offices of a friend to Iudas; He waſhed his feet; and, perchance, he gave him the Sacrament with the reſt; and by aſſigning the ſop for a particular mark, he let him ſee, that he knew he was a traytor, which might have been inough to have reclaimed him, It did not; but he proceeded in his treaſon, and in the moſt miſchievous and treacherous performing of it, tobetray him with a kiſſe; He gave them a ſigne, whomſoever I ſhall kiſſe, the ſame is he: Mat. 26.48.Dat ſignum oſculi, cum veneno Diaboli, ſayes Hierome, He kiſſes with a biting kiſſe, and conveys treaſon in a teſtimony of love. It is an Apophthegme of Luthers, Mali tyranni, haeretiei pejores, falſi fratres peſsimi: A perſecutor is ill; but he that perſwades me to any thing, which might ſubmit me to the perſecutors rage, is worſe; but he that hath perſwaded me, and then betrays me, is worſt of all.Mic. 7.6. Act. 20.30. When all that happens, when a mans enemies are the men of his own houſe, when amongſt our ſelves men ariſe, and draw away the Diſciples, remember that Iudas defamed this kiſſe before, he kiſſed his Maſter, and ſo betrayed him. Homo ſum, & inter homines vivo, ſayes S. Auguſtine, I am but a man my ſelfe, and I look but for men to live amongſt; Nec mihi arrogare audeo, meliorem domum meam, quam Arca Noah, I cannot hope to have my houſe clearer than Noahs Arke, and there, in eight, there was one ill; nor then Iacobs houſe, and there the Sonne went up to the Fathers bed; nor then Davids, and there the brother forced the ſiſter; nor then Chriſts, and there Iudas betrayed his Maſter, and with a kiſſe: which alone does ſo aggravate the fact, as that for the atrocity and hainouſneſſe thereof, three of the Evangeliſts remember that circumſtance, That he betrayed him with a kiſſe; and as though it might ſeeme impoſſible, incredible to man, that it could be ſo, S. Iohn pretermits that circumſtance, That it was done with a kiſſe.
In Ioabs treachery, in Iudas treaſon, is the kiſſe defamed, and in the carnall and licentious abuſe of it, it is every day depraved. They miſtake the matter much, that thinke all adultery is below the girdle: A man darrs out an adultery with his eye, in a wanton look; and he wraps up adultery with his fingers, in a wanton letter; and he breaths in an adultery with his lips, in a wanton kiſſe. But though this act of love, be ſo defamed both wayes, by treachery, by licentiouſnes, yet God chooſes this Metaphore, he bids us kiſſe the Sonne. It is a true, and an uſefull Rule, That ill men have been Types of Chriſt,Hieron. Ep. 131. G. Sanctius. 2 Sam. 11. n. 29. and ill actions figures of good: Much more, may things not ill in themſelves, though deflected and detorted to ill, be reſtored to good againe; and therfore doth God, in more then this one place, expect our love in a kiſſe; for, if we be truly in love with him, it will be a holy and an acceptable Metaphore unto us, els it will have a carnall and a faſtidious taſte. Fruſtra ad legendum amoris carmen, qui non amat, accedit: Bernar.He that comes to read Solomons Love ſong, and loves not him upon whom that Song is directed, will rather endanger, then profit himſelfe by that reading: Non capit ignitum eloquium frigidum pectus: Idem.A heart frozen and congealed with the love of this world, is not capable, not ſenſible of the fires of the holy Ghoſt;Idem. Graecè loquentes non intelligit, qui Graecè non novit, & lingua amoris ei, qui non amat, barbara; As Greek it ſelfe is barbarous to him that underſtands not Greek, ſo is the language of love, and the kiſſe which the holy Ghoſt ſpeaks of here, to him that alwayes groveleth, and holds his face upon the earth.
Treachery often, but licentiouſneſſe more, hath depraved this ſeale of love; and yet, Vt nos ad amplexus ſacri amoris accendat, Gregor.uſque ad turpis amoris noſtri verba ſe inclinat; God ſtoops even to the words of our foule and unchaſt love, that thereby he might raiſe us to the heavenly love of himſelfe,Idem. and his Son. Cavendum, ne machina quae ponitur ut levet, ipſa aggrevet: Take thou heed, that that ladder, or that engine which God hath given to raiſe thee, doe not load thee, oppreſſe thee, caſt thee downe: Take heed leſt thoſe phraſes of love and kiſſes which ſhould raiſe thee to him, do not bury thee in the memory and contemplation of ſinfull love,Idem. and of licentious kiſſes. Palea tegit frumentum; palea jumentorum, frumentum hominum: There is corne under the chaffe; and though the chaffe and ſtraw be for cattell, there is corne for men too: There is a heavenly love, under theſe ordinary phraſes; the ordinary phraſe belongs to ordinary men; the heavenly love and the ſpirituall kiſſe, to them who affect an union to God, and him whom he ſent, his Son Chriſt Jeſus. S. Paul abhors not good and applyable ſentences, becauſe ſome ſecular Poets had ſaid them before; nor hath the Chriſtian Church abhorred the Temples of the Gentiles, becauſe they were profaned before with idolatrous ſacrifices. I do not conceive how that Jeſuit Serarius ſhould conceive any ſuch great joy,In Joſ. 6. q. 40. as he ſayes he did, when he came to a Church-porch, and ſaw an old ſtatue of Iupiter, and another of Hercules, holding two baſins of holy water; when Iupiter and Hercules were made to doe Chriſtians ſuch ſervices, the Jeſuit is over-joyed. His Iupiter and his Hercules might well enough have been ſpared in the Chriſtian Church, but why ſome ſuch things as have beene abuſed in the Roman Church, may not be preſerved in, or reduced to their right uſe here, I conceive not; as well as (in a proportion) this outward teſtimony of inward love, though defamed by treachery, though depraved by licentiouſneſſe, is exacted at our hands by God himſelfe, towards his Son, Kiſſe the Son, leſt he be angry.
For all Ioabs and Iudas treaſon,Propinquitas. and carnall lovers licentiouſneſſe, kiſſe thou the Sonne, and be glad that the Sonne hath brought thee, in the Chriſtian Church, within that diſtance, as that thou mayeſt kiſſe him. The neareſt that the Synagogue, or that the Spouſe of Chriſt not yet married came to,Cant. 11.1. was, Oſculetur me, Let him kiſſe me with the kiſſes of his mouth. It was but a kiſſing of his hand, when he reached them out their ſpirituall food by others; It was a mariage, but a mariage by a proxie; The perſonall mariage, the conſummation of the mariage was in the comming of Chriſt, in eſtabliſhing a reall preſence of himſelfe in the Church. Praecepta Dei oſcula ſunt, ſayes Gregory; In every thing that God ſayes to us, he kiſſes us; Sed per Prophetas & Miniſtros, alieno ore nos oſculatur, He kiſſed us by another mans mouth, when he ſpoke by the mouth of the Prophets; but now that he ſpeaks by his owne Son,Exod. 6.12. it is by himſelfe. Even his ſervant Moſes himſelf was of uncircumciſed lips, and with the uncircumciſed there was no mariage. Even his ſervant Eſay was of uncleane lips, Eſay 6.5. Jer. 1.6.and with the uncleane there was no mariage: Even his ſervant Ieremie was oris infantilis, he was a child and could not ſpeake, and with children, in infancie, there is no mariage: But in Chriſt, God hath abundantly performed that ſupply promiſed to Moſes, there, Aaron thy brother ſhall be thy Prophet; Chriſt himſelfe ſhall come and ſpeake to thee, and returne and ſpeak for thee: In Chriſt, the Seraphim hath brought that live coale from the Altar, and touched Eſayes lips, and ſo ſpoken lively, and clearly to our ſoules; In Chriſt, God hath done that which he ſaid to Ieremy, Feare not, I am with thee; for in this Immanuel, God and man, Chriſt Jeſus, God is with us.
In Eſchines mouth, when he repeated them, they ſay, even Demoſthenes Orations were flat, and taſtleſſe things; Compare the Prophets with the Son, and even the promiſes of God,2 King. 4.34. in them, are faint and dilute things. Eliſhaes ſtaffe in the hand of Gehazi his ſervant, would not recover the Shunamites dead child; but when Eliſha himſelfe came, and put his mouth upon the childs mouth, that did: In the mouth of Chriſts former ſervants there was a preparation, but effect, and conſummation in his owne mouth. In the Old Teſtament. at firſt, God kiſſed man, and ſo breathed the breath of life, and made him a man; In the New Teſtament Chriſt kiſſed man, he breathed the breath of everlaſting life, the holy Ghoſt, into his Apoſtles, and ſo made the man a bleſſed man. Love is as ſtrong as death; Cant. 8.6.As in death there is a tranſmigration of the ſoule, ſo in this ſpirituall love, and this expreſſing of it, by this kiſſe, there is a transfuſion of the ſoule too: And as we find in Gellius a Poëm of Platoes, where he ſayes, he knew one ſo extremely paſſionate, Vt parùm affuit quin moreretur in oſculo, much more is it true in this heavenly union, expreſſed in this kiſſe, as S. Ambroſe delivers it, Per oſculum adhaeret anima Deo, et transfunditur ſpiritus oſculantis, In this kiſſe, where Righteouſneſſe and peace have kiſſed each other, In this perſon, where the Divine and the humane nature have kiſſed each other,Pſal. 85.10. In this Chriſtian Church, where Grace and Sacraments, viſible and inviſible meanes of ſalvation, have kiſſed each other, Love is as ſtrong as death; my ſoule is united to my Saviour, now in my life, as in death, and I am already made one ſpirit with him: and whatſoever death can doe, this kiſſe, this union can doe, that is, give me a preſent, an immediate poſſeſſion of the kingdome of heaven: And as the moſt mountainous parts of this kingdome are as well within the kingdome as a garden, ſo in the midſt of the calamities and incommodities of this life, I am ſtill in the kingdome of heaven. In the Old Teſtament, it was but a contract, but per verba de futuro, Sponſabo, I will marry thee; Hoſ. 2.19. Mat. 9.15.but now that Chriſt is come, the Bride-groome is with us for ever, and the children of the Bridechamber cannot mourne.
Now, by this, we are ſlid into our fourth and laſt branch of our firſt part,Exhortatic. The perſwaſion to come to this holy kiſſe, though defamed by treachery, though depraved by licentiouſneſſe, ſince God invites us to it, by ſo many good uſes thereof in his Word. It is an imputation laid upon Nero, That Neque adveniens, neqùe profiſciſcens, That whether comming or going he never kiſſed any: And Chriſt himſelfe imputes it to Simon, as a neglect of him, That when he came into his houſe, he did not kiſſe him.Luke 7.45. Auguſt. This then was in uſe, firſt among kinsfolks; In illa ſimplicitate antiquorum, propinqui propinquos oſculabantur: In thoſe innocent and harmleſſe times, perſons neare in bloud did kiſſe one another: And in that right, and not onelyonly as a ſtranger, Iacob kiſſed Rachel, Gen. 29.12.and told her how near of kin he was to her. There is no perſon ſo neare of kin to thee, as Chriſt Jeſus: Chriſt Jeſus thy Father as he created thee, and thy brother as he took thy nature: Thy Father as he provided an inheritance for thee, and thy brother as he divided this inheritance with thee, and as he dyed to give thee poſſeſſion of that inheritance: He that is Nutritius, thy Foſter-father who hath nurſed thee in his houſe, in the Chriſtian Church, and thy Twin-brother, ſo like thee, as that his Father, and thine in him, ſhall not know you from one another, but mingle your conditions ſo, as that he ſhall find thy ſins in him, and his righteouſneſſe in thee; Oſculamini Filium, Kiſſe this Son as thy kinſman.
This kiſſe was alſo in uſe, as Symbolum ſubjectionis, A recognition of ſoveraignty or power; Pharaoh ſayes to Ioſeph, Thou ſhalt be over my houſe,Gen. 41.40. and according to thy word ſhall all my people be ruled; there the Originall is, All my people ſhall kiſſe thy face. This is the Lord Paramount, the Soveraigne Lord of all; The Lord Jeſus; Ieſus, Phil. 2.10. Mat. 28.18.at whoſe name every knee muſt bow, in heaven, in earth, and in hell; Ieſus, into whoſe hands all power in heaven and in earth is given; Ieſus, who hath opened a way to our Appeal; from all powers upon earth, Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the ſoule; Ieſus, Mat. 10.28.who is the Lion and the Lambe too, powerfull upon others, acceſſible unto thee; Oſculamini Filium, Kiſſe this Son, as he is thy Soveraigne.
It was in uſe likewiſe In diſceſſu, friends parting kiſſed;Gen. 31.15. Act. 20.37. Laban roſe up early in the morning, and kiſſed his ſons and his daughters, and departed: And at Pauls departing, they fell on his neck, and wept, and kiſſed him. When thou departeſt to thy worldly buſineſſes, to thy ſix dayes labour, kiſſe him, take leave of him, and remember that all that while thou art gone upon his errand, and though thou worke for thy family, and for thy poſterity, yet thou workeſt in his vineyard, and doſt his worke.
They kiſſed too In reditu; Eſau ran to meet his brother, and fell on his neck and kiſſed him. Gen. 33.4.When thou returneſt to his houſe, after thy ſix dayes labour, to celebrate his Sabbath, kiſſe him there, and be able to give him ſome good account, from Sabbath to Sabbath, from week to week, of thy ſtewardſhip, and thou wilt never be bankrupt.
They kiſſed in reconciliation; David kiſſed Abſalon. 2 Sam. 14.33.If thou have not diſcharged thy ſtewardſhip well, Reſtore to man who is damnified therein, Confeſſe to God who hath ſuffered in that ſin, Reconcile thy ſelfe to him, and kiſſe him in the Sacrament, in the ſeale of Reconciliation.
They kiſſed in a religious reverence even of falſe gods; I have, ſayes God, 2 King. 19 18.ſeaven thouſand knees that have not bowed unto Baal, and mouths that have not kiſſed him. Let every one of us kiſſe the true God, in keeping his knees from bowing to a falſe, his lips from aſſenting, his hands from ſubſcribing to an Idolatrous worſhip. And, as they kiſſed In Symbolum concordiae, Rom. 16.16.(which was another uſe thereof; Salute one another with a holy kiſſe) upon which cuſtome, Iuſtin Martyr ſayes, Oſculum ante Euchariſtiam, before the Communion, the Congregation kiſſed, to teſtifie their unity in faith in him, to whom they were then Sacramentally to be united, as well as Spiritually, And Tertullian calls it Oſculum ſignaculum Orationis, Becauſe they ended their publique Prayers with that ſeale of unity and concord, Let every Congregation kiſſe him ſo; at every meeting to ſeale to him a new band, a new vow that they will never break, in departing from any part of his true worſhip.Luke 7.38. And to that purpoſe kiſſe his feet, as Mary Magdalen did: Specioſi pedes Euangelizantium; Let his feet, his Miniſters, in whom he comes, be acceptable unto you; and love that, upon which himſelfe ſtands, The Ordinance which he hath eſtabliſhed for your ſalvation.
Kiſſe the Son, that is, imbrace him, depend upon him all theſe wayes; As thy kinſman, As thy Soveraigne, At thy going, At thy comming; At thy Reconciliation, in the truth of religion in thy ſelfe, in a peaceable unity with the Church, in a reverent eſtimation of thoſe men, and thoſe meanes, whom he ſends. Kiſſe him, and be not aſhamed of kiſſing him;Cant. 8.1. It is that, which the Spouſe deſired, I would kiſſe thee, & not be deſpiſed. If thou be deſpiſed for loving Chriſt in his Goſpel, remember that when David was thought baſe, for dancing before the Arke, his way was to be more baſe. If thou be thought frivolous for thruſting in at Service, in the fore-noone, bee more frivolous, and come againe in the after-noone:Gregor. Tanto major requies, quanto ab amore Ieſu nulla requies: The more thou troubleſt thy ſelfe, or art troubled by others for Chriſt, the more peace thou haſt in Chriſt.
We deſcend now to our ſecond Part,2 Part. from the duty to the danger, from the expreſſing of love to the impreſſion of feare, Kiſſe the Son, leſt he be angry: And firſt that anger and love, are not incompatible, that anger conſiſts with love: God is immutable, and, God is love, and yet God can be angry. God ſtops a little upon ſcorne, in the fourth verſe of this Pſalme, When the Kings of the earth take counſell againſt his anointed, he laughs them to ſcorne, he hath them in diriſion. But it ends not in a jeſt; He ſhall ſpeake to them in his wrath, and vexe them in his ſore diſpleaſure; And that is not all; He ſhall breake them with a rod of iron, and daſh them in pieces like a Potters veſſell.
Lactantius reprehends juſtly two errors, and propoſes a godly middle way in the Doctrine of the anger of God. Some ſay, ſayes he, that onelyonly favour, and gentleneſſe can be attributed to God, Quia illaeſibilis, He himſelfe cannot be hurt, and then why ſhould he be angry? And this is, ſayes he, Favorabilis & popularis oratio, It is a popular and an acceptable propoſition, God cannot be angry, doe what you will, you cannot anger him, for he is all gentleneſſe. Others, ſayes Lactantius, take both anger, and gentleneſſe from God, and ſay he is affected neither way: And this is, ſayes he well, Conſtantior error, An error that will better hold together, better conſiſt in it ſelfe, and be better ſtood to; for they are inſeparable things; whoſoever does love the good, does hate the bad: and therefore if there be no anger, there is no love in God; but that cannot be ſaid. And therefore, ſayes he, we muſt not argue thus, Becauſe there is no anger in God, therefore there is no love; for that indeed would follow, if the firſt were true; But becauſe there is love in God, therefore there is anger: And ſo he concludes thus, This is Cardo Religionis, This is the hinge upon which all Religion, all the Worſhip of God turnes and moves, Si nihil praeſtat colenti non debetur cultus, nec metus ſi non iraſcitur non cobenti; If God gave me nothing for my love, I ſhould not love him, nor feare him if he were not angry at my diſpleaſing him. It is argument enough againſt the Epicures, (againſt whom principally hee argues) Si non curat, non habet poteſtatem: If God take no care of humane actions, he hath no power; for it is impoſſible to thinke, that hee hath power, and uſes it not; An idle God is as impoſſible an imagination, as an impotent God, or an ignorant God. Anger, as it is a paſſion that troubles, and diſorders, and diſcompoſes a man, ſo it is not in God, but anger as it is a ſenſible diſcerning of foes from friends, and of things that conduce, or diſconduce to his glory, ſo it is in God. In a word, Hilarie hath expreſſed it well, Poena patientis, ir a decernentis, Mans ſuffering is God anger; when God inflicts ſuch puniſhments, as a King juſtly incenſed would doe, then God is thus angry.
Now here, our caſe is heavier; It is not this Great, and Almighty,Filius. and Majeſticall God, that may be angry; that is like enough; But even the Son, whom we muſt kiſſe, may be angry: It is not a perſon whom we conſider meerly as God, but as man; Nay, not as man neither, but a worme, and no man, and he may be angry, and angry to our ruine. But is it he? Is it the Son, that is intended here? Ask the Romane Tranſlation, and it is not he: There it is, Ne iraſcatur Dominus, Leſt the Lord be angry; But the Record, the Originall will be againſt them: Though it were ſo, The Lord, it might be He, the Sonne, but it is not the Lord, but muſt neceſſarily bee the Sonne; The Son may, the Son will be angry with us. If he could be angry, why did he not ſhew it to the Devill that tempted him, to the Jews that crucified him? God bleſſe us from ſuch an anger, as works upon the Devill, in a deſperate unſenſibleneſſe of any mercy, from any trade in that Sea, which environs the whole world, and makes all that, one Iland, where onelyonly the Devill can be no Merchant, The bottomeleſſe Sea of his blood; And God bleſſe us from ſuch an anger, as works upon the Jews, in an obduration, and the puniſhment of it, a diſperſion: Are ye ſure David was not angry with Shimei, becauſe he reprieved him for a time? Are ye ſure the Son is not angry now, becauſe ye periſh not yet? Doe you not ſay, A fruit is periſhed, if it be bruiſed in one place? Is not your Religion periſhed, if Locuſts and Eare-wigges have eaten into it, though they have not eaten it up? Is not your Religion periſhed, if irreligion and prophaneneſſe be entred into your manners, into your lives, though Religion have ſome motion in our ordinary meetings, and publique exerciſes here?
The Son is Caput, and Corpus, as S. Auguſtine ſayes often, Chriſt, and the Church of Chriſt, are Chriſt; And, Quis enumeret omnia, quibus corpus Chriſti iraſcitur? ſayes the ſame Father; Who can reckon how many wayes, this Chriſt, this body of Chriſt, the Church, is conſtrained to expreſſe anger? How many Excommunications, how many Cenſures, how many Suſpenſions, how many Irregularities, how many Penances, and Commutations of Penances, is the body of Chriſt, the Church, forced to inflict upon ſinners? And how heavy would theſe be to us, if we did not waigh them with the waights of fleſh in the Shambles, or of Iron in the Shop; if we did not conſider them only in their temporall damage, how little an excommunication took from us of our goods, or worldly ſubſtance, and not how much it ſhut up the ordinary and outward meanes of our ſalvation. When the anger of the Body, the Church, is thus heavy, what is the anger of the Head, of Chriſt himſelfe, who is Judge in his owne cauſe? When an unjuſt judgement was executed upon him, how was the frame of nature ſhaked in Eclipſes, in Earth-quakes, in renting of the Temple, and cleaving the Monuments of the dead: When his pleaſure is to execute a juſt judgement upon a Nation, upon a Church, upon a Man, in the infatuation of Princes, in the recidivation of the Clergy, in the conſternation of particular conſciences, Quis ſtabit? who ſhall be able to ſtand in that Judgement? Kiſſe the Son leſt he be angry; But when he is angry, he will not kiſſe you, nor be kiſſed by you, but throw you into unquenchable fire, if you be cold, and if you be luke-warme, ſpit you out of his mouth, remove you from the benefit and comfort of his Word.
This is the anger of God, that reaches to all the world; and the anger of the Son,Oſculum amovet. that comes home to us; and all this is removed with this holy and ſpirituall kiſſe: Oſculamini Filium, Kiſſe the Son leſt he be angry, implies this, If ye kiſſe him, he will not bee angry. What this kiſſe is, we have ſeene all the way; It is to hang at his lips, for the Rule of our life, To depend upon his Word for our Religion, and to ſuccour our ſelves, by the promiſes of his Goſpel, in all our calamities, and not to provoke him to farther judgements, by a perverſe and froward uſe of thoſe judgements which he hath laid upon us: As it is, in this point towards man, it is towards God too; Nihil manſuetudine violentius, There is not ſo violent a thing as gentleneſſe, ſo forcible, ſo powerfull upon man,Chryſoſt. or upon God. This is ſuch a ſaying, as one would think he that ſaid it, ſhould be ready to retract, by the multiplicity of examples to the contrary every day. Such Rules as this, He that puts up one wrong invites and calls for another, will ſhake Chryſoſtomes Rule ſhrewdly, Nihil manſuetudine violentius, That no battery is ſo ſtrong againſt an enemy, as gentleneſſe. Say, if you will, Nihilmelius, There is no better thing then gentleneſſe, and we can make up that with a Comment, that is, nothing better for ſome purpoſes; Say, if you will, Nihil frugalius, There is not a thriftier thing then gentleneſſe, It ſaves charges, to ſuffer, It is a more expenſive thing to revenge then to ſuffer, whether we conſider expenſe of ſoule, or body, or fortune; And, (by the way) that, which we uſe to adde in this account, opinion, reputation, that which we call Honour, is none of the Elements of which man is made; It may be the ayre, that the Bird flies in, It may be the water, that the Fiſh ſwimmes in, but it is none of the Elements that man is made of, for thoſe are onelyonly ſoule, and body, and fortune. Say alſo, if you will, Nihil accommodatius, Nothing conformes us more to our great patterne Chriſt Jeſus, then mildneſſe, then gentleneſſe, for that is our leſſon from him, Diſcite à me, quiamitis, Learne of me, for I am meeke.
All this Chryſoſtome might ſay; but will he ſay, Nihil violentius, There is not ſo violent, ſo forcible a thing as mildneſſe? That there is no ſuch Bullet, as a Pillow, no ſuch Action, as Paſſion, no ſuch revenge, as ſuffering an injury? Yet, even this is true; Nothing defeats an anger ſo much as patience; nothing reproaches a chiding ſo much as ſilence. Reprehendis iratum? accuſas indignationem? ſayes that Father: Art thou ſorry to ſee a man angry? Cur magis iraſci vis? Why doſt thou adde thy anger to his? Why doſt thou fuell his anger with thine? Quodigni aqua, hoc irae manſuetudo, As water works upon fire, ſo would thy patience upon his anger. S. Ambroſe hath expreſſed it well too, Haec ſunt armajuſti, ut cedendo vincat; This is the warre of the righteous man, to conquer by yeelding.Eſay 36.21. It was Ezechiahs way; when Rabſhakeh reviled, They held their peace, (where, the very phraſe affords us this note, That ſilence is called holding of our peace, we continue our peace beſt by ſilence) They held their peace, ſayes that text, and anſwered him not a word, for the King had commanded them not to anſwer. Why? S. Hierom tels us why; Ne ad majores blaſphemias provocaret; Leſt the multiplying of cholerique words amongſt men, ſhould have occaſioned more blaſphemies againſt God. And as it is thus with man, with God it is thus too; Nothing ſpends his judgements, and his corrections ſo ſoone, as our patience, nothing kindles them, exaſperates them ſo much, as our frowardneſſe, and murmuring. Kiſſe the Son, and he will not be angry; If he be, kiſſe the rod, and he will be angry no longer; love him leſt hee be, feare him when hee is angry: The preſervative is eaſie, and ſo is the reſtorative too: The Balſamum of this kiſſe is all; To ſuck ſpirituall milke out of the left breaſt, as well as out of the right, To finde mercy in his judgements, reparation in his ruines, feaſts in his Lents, joy in his anger. But yet we have reſerved it for our laſt Conſideration, what will make him angry: what ſins are eſpecially directed upon the ſecond Perſon, the Sonne of God, and then wee have done all.
Though thoſe three Attributes of God,Sapientia. Power, and Wiſdome, and Goodneſſe, he all three in all the three Perſons of the Trinity, (for they are all (as we ſay in the Schoole) Coomnipotentes, they have all a joynt-Almightineſſe, a joynt-Wiſdome, and a joynt-Goodneſſe) yet, becauſe the Father is Principium, The roote of all, Independent, not proceeding from any other, as both the other Perſons do, and Power, and Soveraignty beſt reſembles that Independency, therefore we attribute Power to the Father: And becauſe the Son proceeds Per modum intellectus, (which is the phraſe that paſſes through the Fathers, and the Schoole) That as our underſtanding proceeds from our reaſonable ſoule, ſo the ſecond Perſon, the Son, proceeds from the Father, therefore we attribute Wiſdome to the Son: And then, becauſe the Holy Ghoſt is ſaid to proceed Per modum voluntatis, That as our ſoule (as the roote) and our underſtanding, proceeding from that ſoule, produce our will, and the object of our will, is evermore Bonum, that which is good in our apprehenſion, therefore we attribute to the Holy Ghoſt, Goodneſſe. And therefore David formes his prayer,Pſal 51. in that manner, plurally, Miſerere mei Elohim, Be mercifull unto me all, becauſe in his ſin upon Vriah, (which he laments in that Pſalme) he had tranſgreſſed againſt all the three Perſons, in all their Attributes, againſt the Power, and the Wiſdome, and the Goodneſſe of God.
That then which we conſider principally in the Son, is Wiſdome. And truly thoſe very many things, which are ſpoken of Wiſdome, in the Proverbs of Solomon, do, for the moſt part, hold in Chriſt: Chriſt is, for the moſt part, the Wiſdome of that book. And for that book which is called altogether, The book of Wiſdome, Iſidore ſayes, that a Rabbi of the Jews told him, That that book was heretofore in the Canonicall Scripture, and ſo received by the Jews; till after Chriſts Crucifying, when they obſerved, what evident teſtimonies there were in that book for Chriſt, they removed it from the Canon. This I know, is not true; but I remember it therefore, becauſe all aſſiſts us, to conſider Wiſdome in Chriſt, as that does alſo, That the greateſt Temple of the Chriſtians in Conſtantinople, was dedicated in that name, Sophia, to Wiſdome; by implication to Chriſt. And in ſome apparitions, where the Son of God is ſaid to have appeared, he cals himſelf by that name, Sapientiam Dei. He is Wiſdome, therefore, becauſe he reveales the Will of the Father to us; and therefore is no man wiſe, but he that knowes the Father in him. Iſidore makes this difference Inter ſapientem & prudentem, that the firſt, The wiſe man, attends the next world, the laſt, The prudent man, but this world: But wiſdome, even heavenly wiſdome, does not exclude that prudence, though the principall, or rather the ordinary object thereof, be this world. And therefore ſins againſt the ſecond Perſon, are ſins againſt Wiſdome, in either extreame, either in affected and groſſe ignorance, or in overrefined and ſublimed curioſity.
As we place this Ignorance in Practicall things of this world, ſo it is Stupidity; and as we place it in Doctrinall things, of the next world, ſo Ignorance is Implicite Beliefe: And Curioſity, as we place it upon Practical things, is Craft, and upon Doctrinal things, Subtilty; And this Stupidity and this Implicite faith, and then this Craft, and this Subtilty, are ſins directed againſt the Son, who is true and onelyonly Wiſdome.
Firſt then, A ſtupid and negligent paſſage through this world, as though thou wert no part of it, without embarking thy ſelfe in any calling; To croſſe Gods purpoſe ſo much,Stupiditas. as that, whereas he produced every thing out of nothing, to be ſomething, thou wilt go ſo far back, towards nothing againe, as to be good for nothing, that when as our Lawes call a Calling, an Addition, thou wilt have no Addition, And when (as S. Auguſtine ſaies) Muſca Soli praeferenda, quia vivit, A Fly is a nobler Creature then the Sun, in this reſpect, becauſe a Fly hath life in it ſelfe, and the Sun hath none, ſo any Artificer is a better part of a State, then any retired or contemplative man that embraces no Calling, Theſe chippings of the world, theſe fragmentary and incoherent men, treſpaſſe againſt the Son, againſt the ſecond Perſon, as he is Wiſdome. And ſo doe they in doctrinall things, that ſwallow any particular religion, upon an implicite faith. When Chriſt declared a very forward knowledge, in the Temple, at twelve yeares, with the Doctors, yet he was there, Audiens & interrogans, He heard what they would ſay, and he moved queſtions, to heare what they could ſay; for, Ejuſdem ſcientiae eſt, ſcire quid interroges, quidve reſpondeas, Luke 2.46. Origen.It is a teſtimony of as much knowledge to aske a pertinent queſtion, as to give a pertinent anſwer. But never to have beene able to give anſwer, never to have asked queſtion in matter of Religion, this is ſuch an Impliciteneſſe, and indifferency, as tranſgreſſes againſt the Son of God, who is Wiſdome.
It is ſo too, in the other extreame, Curioſity; And this in Practicall things, is Craft,Curioſitas. in Doctrinall, Subtilty. Craft, is properly and narrowly, To go towards good ends, by ill wayes: And though this be not ſo ill, as when neither ends, nor wayes be good, yet this is ill too. The Civilians uſe to ſay of the Canoniſts, and Caſuiſts, That they conſider nothing but Craſſam aequitatem, fat Equity, downe-right Truths, things obvious and apprehenſible by every naturall man: and to doe but ſo, to be but honeſt men, and no more, they thinke a diminution. To ſtay within the limits of a profeſſion, within the limits of precedents, within the limits of time, is to over-active men contemptible; nothing is wiſdome, till it be exalted to Craft, and got above other men. And ſo it is, with ſome, with many, in Doctrinall things too. To reſt in Poſitive Divinity, and Articles confeſſed by all Churches, To be content with Salvation at laſt, and raiſe no eſtimation, no emulation, no opinion of ſingularity by the way, only to edifie an Auditory, and not to amaze them, onelyonly to bring them to an aſſent, and to a practiſe, and not to an admiration, This is but home-ſpun Divinity, but Country-learning, but Catechiſticall doctrine. Let me know (ſay theſe high-flying men) what God meant to doe with man, before ever God meant to make man: I care not for that Law that Moſes hath written; That every man can read; That he might have received from God, in one day; Let me know the Cabal, that which paſſed betweene God and him, in all the reſt of the forty dayes. I care not for Gods revealed Will, his Acts of Parliament, his publique Proclamations, Let me know his Cabinet Counſailes, his boſome, his pocket diſpatches. Is there not another kinde of Predeſtination, then that which is revealed in Scriptures, which ſeemes to be onelyonly of thoſe that beleeve in Chriſt? May not a man be ſaved, though he doe not, and may not a man bee damned, though he doe performe thoſe Conditions, which ſeeme to make ſure his ſalvation in the Scriptures? Beloved, our Countrey man Holkot, upon the booke of Wiſdome, ſayes well of this Wiſdome, which we muſt ſeeke in the Booke of God: After he hath magnified it in his harmonious manner, (which was the ſtyle of that time) after he had ſaid, Cujus authore nihil ſublimius, That the Author of the Scripture was the higheſt Author, for that was God, Cujus tenore nihil ſolidius, That the aſſurance of the Scripture was the ſafeſt foundation, for it was a Rock, Cujus valore nihil locupletius, That the riches of the Scripture was the beſt treaſure, for it defrayed us in the next World, After he had purſued his way of Elegancy, and called it Munimentum Majeſtatis, That Majeſty and Soveraignty it ſelfe was eſtabliſhed by the Scriptures, and Fundamentum firmitatis, That all true conſtancy was built upon that, and Complementum poteſtatis, That the exerciſe of all power, was to be directed by that, he reſerves the force of all to the laſt, and contracts all to that, Emolumentum proprietatis, The profit which I have, in appropriating the power and the wiſdome of the Scriptures to my ſelfe: All wiſdome is nothing to me, if it be not mine: and I have title to nothing, that is not conveyed to me, by God, in his Scriptures; and in the wiſdome manifeſted to me there, I reſt. I looke upon Gods Decrees, in the execution of thoſe Decrees, and I try whether I be within that Decree of Election, or no, by examining my ſelfe, whether the marks of the Elect be upon me, or no, and ſo I appropriate the wiſdome of the Scripture to my ſelfe. A ſtupid negligence in the practicall things of this World, To do nothing; and an implicite credulity in doctrinall things, To beleeve all; and ſo alſo, a crafty preventing, and circumventing in the Practicall part; and a ſubtile, and perplexing intricacy, in the Doctrinall part; The firſt on this ſide, The other beyond, do both tranſgreſſe from that Wiſdome of God, which is the Sonne, and, in ſuch a reſpect, are ſins, eſpecially againſt the ſecond Perſon in the Trinity.