Eighty Sermons, penitential psalms · Sermon 62
SERM. LXII. Preached upon the Penitentiall Pſalmes.
PSAL. 32.9.
Be not as the Horſe, or the Mule, who have no underſtanding; whoſe mouth muſt be held in with bit and bridle, leſt they come neere unto thee.
AS God, above whom there is nothing, lookes downewards to us; So except we, below whom there is nothing that belongs to us, looke upward toward him, we ſhall never meet. And therefore God foreſeeing ſuch a deſcent in man, as might make him incapable, and put him out of diſtance of the rich promiſes of this Pſalme, in this Text hee forewarnes him, of ſuch a Deſcent, ſuch a dejection, ſuch a diminution of himſelfe.Diviſio. And firſt hee forbids a Deſcent generally into a lower nature; Nolite fieri, Be not made at all, not made any other, then God hath made you. God would have man, who was his Medal at firſt, (when God ſtamped and imprinted his Image in him) And was Gods Robe, and garment at laſt, (when Chriſt Jeſus inveſted and put on our Nature) God would have this man preſerve this Dignity, Nolite fieri, Be not made any new thing. Secondly, he forbids him a Deſcent, into certaine particular depravations, and deteriorations of our Nature, in thoſe qualities, which are intimated and ſpecified, in the nature and diſpoſition of thoſe two beaſts, The Horſe, and the Mule, Nolite fieri ſiout Equus & Mulus, Be not as the Horſe, or the Mule. But principally, for that which is in the third place, Quia non intellectus, Not becauſe they have no faith, but becauſe they have no underſtanding, for then, it is impoſſible that ever they ſhould have faith; And ſo it is a reaſon proportioned to our Reaſon; Do not ſo, for it will vitiate, it will annihilate your underſtanding, your reaſon, and then what are you, for ſupernaturall, or for naturall knowledge? But then there is another reaſon proportioned to the ſenſe, that this Declination of ours, into theſe inferiour natures, brings God to a neceſſity to bit, and bridle, and curbe us, that is, to inflict afflictions upon us; And then that reaſon is aggravated by the greateſt waight that can be laid upon it, That God will inflict all theſe puniſhments upon theſe perverſe men, metamorphoſed into theſe Beaſts, not onelyonly Ne approximent, That they may not come neare Gods Servants, to do them harme, (which ſeemes indeed to be the moſt literall ſenſe of the word) But, (as ſome of our Expoſitors have found reaſon to interpret them) Ne approximent, That they ſhall not come neare him; not neare God in the ſervice of his Church, to do themſelves any good; his Corrections ſhall harden them, and remove them farther from him, and from all benefit by his Ordinances.
Firſt then God armes him with a pre-increpation upon Deſcent, Nolite fieri, Deſcenſus.Goe no leſſe, be not made lower. The firſt ſin that ever was, was an aſcending, a climing too high; when the pureſt Underſtandings of all, The Angels, fell by their aſcending; when Lucifer was tumbled downe, by his Similis ero Altiſsimo, I will be like the moſt High, Eſay 14.14.then he tried upon them, who were next to him in Dignity, upon Man, how that clambring would worke upon him. He preſents to man, the ſame ladder; He infuſes into man the ſame Ambition, and as he fell with a Similis ero Altiſsimo, I will be like the moſt High, So he overthrew man, with an Eritis ſicut Dii, Ye ſhall be as Gods. It ſeemes this fall hath broake the neck of Mans ambition, and now we dare not be ſo like God, as we ſhould be. Ever ſince this fall, man is ſo far from affecting higher places, then his nature is capable of, that he is ſtill groveling upon the ground, and participates, and imitates, and expreſſes more of the nature of the Beaſt then of his owne. There is no creature but man that degenerates willingly from his naturall Dignity; Thoſe degrees of goodneſſe, which God imprinted in them at firſt, they preſerve ſtill; As God ſaw they were good then, ſo he may ſee they are good ſtill; They have kept their Talent; They have not bought nor ſold; They have not gained nor loſt; They are not departed from their native and naturall dignity, by any thing that they have done. But of Man, it ſeemes, God was diſtruſtfull from the beginning; He did not pronounce upon Mans Creation, (as he did upon the other Creatures) that He was good; becauſe his goodneſſe was a contingent thing, and conſiſted in the future uſe of his free will. For that faculty and power of the will,Dionyſ. is Virtus transformativa; by it we change our ſelves into that we love moſt, and we are come to love thoſe things moſt, which are below us. As God ſaid to the Earth, (and it was enough to ſay ſo) Germinet terra juxta genus ſuum, Gen. 1.Let the Earth bring forth according to her kinde; Ambro.So, Vive juxta genus tuum, ſayes S. Ambroſe to Man, Live according to thy kinde; Non adulteres genus tuum, doe not abaſe, doe not allay, doe not betray, do not abaſtardiſe that noble kinde, that noble nature, which God hath imparted to thee, imprinted in thee.
Mundi moles liber eſt, Baſil.This whole world is one Booke; And is it not a barbarous thing, when all the whole booke beſides remains intire, to deface that leafe in which the Authors picture, the Image of God is expreſſed, as it is in man? God brought man into the world, as the King goes in ſtate, Lords, and Earles, and perſons of other ranks before him. So God ſent out light, and Firmament, and Earth, and Sea, and Sunne, and Moone, to give a dignity to mans proceſſion; and onelyonly Man himſelfe diſorders all, and that by diſplacing himſelfe, by loſing his place. The Heavens and Earth were finiſhed, Et omnis exercitus eorum, Gen. 2.1.ſayes Moſes, All the Hoſt thereof; and all this whole Army preſerves that Diſcipline, onelyonly the Generall that ſhould governe them, miſ-governs himſelfe. And whereas we ſee that Tygers and Wolves, Beaſts of annoyance, doe ſtill keepe their places and natures in the world; and ſo doe Herbs and Plants, even thoſe which are in their nature offenſive and deadly,Ambroſe. (for Alia eſui, alia uſui, Some herbs are made to eat, ſome to adorne, ſome to ſupply in Phyſick) whileſt we diſpute in Schools, whether if it were poſſible for Man to doe ſo, it were lawfull for him to deſtroy any one ſpecies of Gods Creatures, though it were but the ſpecies of Toads and Spiders, (becauſe this were a taking away one linke of Gods chaine, one Note of his harmony) we have taken away that which is the Jewel at the chaine, that which is the burden of the Song, Man himſelfe. Partus ſequitur ventrem; We verifie the Law treacherouſly, miſchievouſly; we all follow our Mother, we grovell upon the earth, whoſe children we are, and being made like our Father,Pſal. 8.4. in his Image, we neglect him. What is Man that thou art mindfull of him, and the ſonne of Man, that thou viſiteſt him? David admires not ſo much mans littleneſſe in that place, as his greatneſſe; He is a little lower then Angels; A little lower then God, ſayes our former Tranſlation; agreeably enough to the word, and in a good ſenſe too; Gods Lievtenant, his Vice-gerent over all Creatures; Thou haſt made him to have Dominion over the works of thy hands; (and Dominion is a great, it is a ſupreme eſtate) And thou haſt put all things under his feet; (as it follows there) And yet we have forfeited this Juriſdiction, this Dominion, and more, our owne Eſſence; we are not onelyonly inferior to the Beaſts, and under their annoyance, but we are our ſelves become Beaſts. Conſider the dignitie of thy ſoule, which onelyonly, of all other Creatures is capable, ſuſciptible of Grace; If God would beſtow grace any where els, no creature could receive it but thou. Thou art ſo neceſſary to God, as that God had no utterance, no exerciſe, no employment for his grace and mercy, but for thee. And if thou make thy ſelfe incapable of this mercy and this grace, of which nothing but thou is capable, then thou deſtroyeſt thy nature. And remember then, that as in the Kingdome of Heaven, in thoſe orders which we conceive to be in thoſe glorious Spirits, there is no falling from a higher to a lower order, a Cherubim or Seraphim does not fall, and ſo become an Archangel, or an Angel, but thoſe of that place that fell, fell into the bottomleſſe pit; So, if thou depart from thy nature, from that ſuſciptibleneſſe, that capacity of receiving Grace, if thou degenerate ſo from a Man to a Beaſt, thou ſhalt not reſt there in the ſtate and nature of a Beaſt, whoſe ſoule breaths out to nothing, and vaniſhes with the life, thou ſhalt not be ſo happy, but thy better nature will remain, in deſpite of thee, thine everlaſting ſoule muſt ſuffer everlaſting torment.
Now as many men when they ſee a greater piece of coyne then ordinary,2 Part. they doe not preſently know the value of it, though they know it to be ſilver, but thoſe leſſer coyns which are in currant uſe, and come to their hands every day, they know at firſt ſight; ſo becauſe this ſtamp, this impreſſion of the image of God in Man, is not well and clearly underſtood by every Man, neither this deſcent and departing from the dignity thereof, being delivered but in generall, (Nolite fieri, Be yee made like nothing els) Therefore the Holy Ghoſt brings us here to the conſideration of ſome leſſer pieces, things which are alwayes within diſtance and apprehenſion, alwayes in our eye, (Nolite fieri ſicut, Deſcend not to the qualities of the Horſe and the Mule. Though (as God ſummed up his temporall bleſſings to the Jews, in that totall, Et profeciſti in regnum, Ezek. 16.13.Thou didſt proſper into a Kingdome) He may alſo ſumme up his ſpirituall bleſſings to us in this, Et profeciſti in Eccleſiam, & in Eccleſiam credentium, (for there is Eccleſia malignantium, Odivi Eccleſiam malignantium, ſayes David, Pſal. 26.5.I have hated the Congregation of evill doers) I have brought thee firſt from the Nations, from the Common, into a viſible Church, And then from Babylon, from that Church of confuſion, that makes the word of God and the word of Man equall, into an Orthodox and ſincere Church, yet our ſinnes have caſt us Infra Gentes, and Infra Babylonem, Below all theſe againe. For, for the Gentils,Rom. 2.14. The Gentils which have not the law, doe by nature the things contained in the law; wee that have the helpe of the Law and Goſpel too, doe not. And for Rome, the example of our Reformation, and their own ſhame, contracted thereby, hath wrought upon the Church of Rome it ſelfe; They are the better for the Reformation, (in frequent Catechizing and preaching) and we are not. Compare us with the Gentils, and we ſhall fall under that increpation of the Apoſtle, There is ſuch fornication amongst you, 1 Cor. 5.1.as is not once named amongst the Gentils: We commit thoſe things which they forbeare to ſpeake of. Compare us with Rome, and I feare that will belong to us, which God ſayes and ſweares in the Prophet, As I live, ſaith the Lord, Sodome thy ſiſter hath not done as thou haſt done.Ezek. 16.48.
Where, by the way, be pleaſed to note, that God calls eyen Samaria, and Sodome, ſiſters of Jeruſalem; there is a fraternity grounded in charity, which nothing muſt deveſt; If Sodome and Jeruſalem were Siſters, Babylon and we may be ſo…; uterin ſiſters of one wombe, (for there is but one Baptiſme) though fornication it ſelfe, (and fornication, in the ſpirituall ſenſe of the Scriptures, hath a heavy ſignification, and reaches even to Idolatry) have made that Church, as ſome thinke, ſcarce capable of the name of a Church, yet Sodome is a ſiſter.
But be ſhee as far degenerate as ſhe can, our ſin hath made a deſcent below them that are below us. It hath caſt us below the Inhabitants of the Earth, Beaſts, and below the Earth it ſelfe, even to Hell; for we make this life, which is the place of repentance, the place of obſtinacy and obduration; and obduration is Hell. Yea, it hath caſt us below the Devill himſelfe; our ſtate is, in this, worſe then theirs; They ſinned before God had given them any expreſſe law; and before God had made any examples, or taken any revenge upon any ſinners; But we ſin after a manifeſt law, and after they, and many others have been made our examples. They were never reſtored, we have been reſtored often; They proceed in their obſtinacy, when God caſts them from him, we proceed even when God calls us to him; They againſt God which turnes from them, and is glorified in their deſtruction, we againſt him that comes to us, and emptied and humbled himſelfe to the ſhame, to the ſcorne, to the paine, to the death of the Croſſe for us. Theſe be the lamentable deſcents of ſinne: But the particular deſcent to which this text doth purpoſely bend it ſelfe, is, That as God ſaid at beginning, in contempt, and in deriſion, Ecce Adam, quaſi unus ex nobis, Behold, Man is become as one of us; So now,Gen. 3.22. Bernard. (as S. Bernard makes the note) the Horſe and Mule may ſay, Quaſi unus ex nobis, Behold, Man is become as one of us; and, Nolite fieri, ſayes God in our text, Be not as the Horſe or the Mule.
According to the ſeverall natures of theſe two Beaſts,Equus & Mulus. the Fathers, and other Expoſitors have made ſeverall interpretations; at leaſt, ſeverall Alluſions. They conſider the Horſe and the Mule, to admit any Rider, any burden, without diſcretion or difference, without debatement or conſideration; They never aske whether their rider be noble or baſe, nor whether their load be gold for the treaſure, or roots for the market. And thoſe Expoſitors finde the ſame indifferency in an habituall ſinner, to any kinde of ſinne: whether he ſin for pleaſure, or ſin for profit, or ſin but for company, ſtill he ſins. They conſider the Mule to be engendred of two kinds, two ſpecies, and yet to beget, to produce neither, but to be alwayes barren; And they finde us to be compoſed of a double, a heavenly, and earthly nature, and thereby bound to duties of both kinds, towards God, and towards men, but to be defective and barren in both. They conſider in the Mule, that one of his Parents being more ignoble then the other, he is likeſt the worſt, He hath more of the Aſſe then of the Horſe in him; And they finde in us, that all our actions, and thoughts, taſte more of the ignobler part of earth then of heaven. S. Hierome thinks fierceneſſe and raſhneſſe to be preſented in the Horſe, and ſloth in the Mule. And S. Auguſtine carries theſe two qualities farre; He thinks that in this fierceneſſe of the Horſe, the Gentiles are repreſented, which ran farre from the knowledge of Chriſtianity; And by the lazineſſe of the Mule, the Jews, who came nothing ſo faſt, as they were invited by their former helps, to the imbracing thereof. They have gone farre in theſe alluſions, and applications; and they might have gone as farre farther as it had pleaſed them; They have Sea-roome enough, that will compare a Beaſt, and a Sinner together; and they ſhall finde many times, in the way, the Beaſt the better Man.
Here we may contract it beſt,Gregor. if we underſtand Pride by the Horſe, and Luſt by the Mule; for, though both theſe, pride and luſt, might have been repreſented in the horſe, which is, (as the Philoſopher notes) Animal, poſt hominem, ſalaciſsimum, The moſt intemperate, and luſtful of all creatures, but man, (ſtill man, for this infamous prerogative, muſt be excepted) and though the Scriptures preſent that ſin,Jer. 5.8. Luſt, by the horſe, (They roſe in the morning like fed horſes, and every man neighed after his neighbours wife) (and therefore S. Hierome delights himſelfe with that curious note,In Hoſ. 3. Numb. 5.12. That when a man brings his wife to that triall and conviction of jealouſie, the offering that the man brings is Barley, Horſeprovender in thoſe parts, ſayes S. Hierome) though both ſins, pride and luſt, might be taxed in the horſe, yet pride is proper to him, and luſt to the mule, both becauſe the mule is Carne virgo, Hieron.but Mente impudicus, which is one high degree of luſt, to have a luſtfull deſire in an impotent body, And then, he is engendred by unnaturall mixture, which is another high degree of the ſame ſin. And theſe two vices we take to be preſented here, as the two principall enemies, the two chiefe corrupters of mankinde; pride to be the principall ſpirituall ſin, and luſt, the principall that works upon the body. To avoid both, conſider we both in both theſe beaſts.
It is not much controverted in the Schooles,Superbia. but that the firſt ſin of the Angels was Pride. But becauſe (as we ſaid before) the danger of man is more in ſinking down, then in climbing up, in dejecting, then in raiſing himſelfe, we muſt therefore remember, that it is not pride,Auguſt. to deſire to be better. Angeli quaeſiverunt id, ad quod perveniſſent, ſi ſtetiſſent. The Angels ſin was pride; but their pride conſiſted not in aſpiring to the beſt degrees that their nature was capable of: but in this, that they would come to that ſtate, by other meanes then were ordained for it. It could not poſſibly fall within ſo pure, and cleare underſtandings, as the Angels were, to think that they could be God; that God could be multiplied; That they who knew themſelves to be but new made, could think, not only that they were not made, but that they made all things elſe; To think that they were God, is impoſſible, this could not fall into them, though they would be Similes Altiſsimo, Like the moſt High. But this was their pride, and in this they would be like the moſt High, That whereas God ſubſiſted in his Eſſence of himſelfe, for thoſe degrees of perfection, which appertained to them, they would have them of themſelves; They would ſtand in their perfection, without any turning towards God, without any farther aſſiſtance from him; by themſelves, and not by meanes ordained for them. This is the pride that is forbidden man; not that he think well of himſelfe, In genere ſuo, That hee value aright the dignity of his nature, in the Creation thereof according to the Image of God, and the infinite improvement that that nature received, in being aſſumed by the Son of God; This is not pride, but not to acknowledge that all this dignity in nature, and all that it conduces to, that is, grace here, and glory hereafter, is not onelyonly infuſed by God at firſt, but ſuſtained by God ſtill, and that nothing in the beginning, or way, or end, is of our ſelves, this is pride.
Man may, and muſt think that God hath given him the Subjicite, and Dominamini, A Majeſticall Character even in his perſon, to ſubdue and governe all the creatures in the world; That he hath given him a nature, already above all other creatures, and a nature capable of a better then his owne is yet;2 Pet. 1.4. 1 John 3.9. Acts 17.28. 1 Cor. 6.17. Dan. 3.17. (for, By his precious promiſes we are made partakers of the Divine nature) We are made Semen Dei, The ſeed of God, borne of God; Genus Dei, The off-ſpring of God; Idem Spiritus cum Domino, The ſame Spirit with the Lord; He the ſame fleſh with us, and we the ſame ſpirit with him. In Gods ſervants, to have ſaid to Nebuchadnezzar, Our God is able to deliver us, and he will deliver us; but, if he doe not, yet we will not ſerve thy Gods: In the Martyrs of the Primitive Church, to have contemned torments, and tormentors with perſonall ſcornes and affronts: In all calamities and adverſities of this life, to rely upon that aſſurance, I have a better ſubſtance in me then any man can hurt, I have a better inheritance prepared for me, then any man can take from me, I am called to Triumph, and I goe to receive a Crown of Immortality, theſe high contemplations of Kingdomes, and Triumphs, and Crowns, are not pride; To know a better ſtate, and deſire it, is not pride; for pride is onelyonly in taking wrong wayes to it. So that, to think we can come to this by our own ſtrength, without Gods inward working a beliefe, or to think that we can believe out of Plato, where we may find a God, but without a Chriſt, or come to be good men out of Plutarch or Seneca, without a Church and Sacraments, to purſue the truth it ſelfe by any other way then he hath laid open to us, this is pride, and the pride of the Angels.
Now there is alſo a pride, which is the Horſes pride, converſant upon earthly things; To deſire Riches, and Honour, and Preferment in this world, is not pride; for they have all good uſes in Gods ſervice; but to deſire theſe by corrupt meanes, or to ill ends, to get them by ſupplantation of others, or for oppreſſion of others, this is pride, and a Beſtiall pride. And this proud man is elegantly expreſſed in the Horſe;Job 39.19. The horſe rejoyceth in his ſtrength, he goes forth to meet the armed man, he mocks at feare, he turnes upon the ſword, and he ſwallowes the ground. The River is mine, ſayes Pharaoh, Ezek. 29.3.and I have made it for my ſefl: They take all, and they miſtake all; That which is but lent them for uſe, they think theirs; (The River is mine) That which God gave them, they think of their own getting; (I made it) And that which God placed upon them, as his Stewards for the good of others, they appropriate to themſelves; (I have made it for my ſelf) But when time is, Job 39.21. Zech. 12.4. Job 39.27.God mounteth on high, and he mocks the horſe and the rider. In that day, I will ſmite every horſe with aſtoniſhment, and his rider with madneſſe. The horſe beleeveth not that it is the ſound of the Trumpet; When the Trumpet ſounds to us in our laſt Bell, (for the laſt Bell that carries us out of this world, and the Trumpet that cals us to the next, is all one voyce to us, for we heare nothing between) the worldly man ſhall not beleeve that it is the ſound of the Trumpet, he ſhall not know it, not take knowledge of it, but paſſe away unſenſible of his own condition.
So then is Pride well repreſented in the Horſe; and ſo is the other, Luſt,Mulus. licentiouſneſſe in the Mule. For, beſides that reaſon of aſſimilation, that it deſires, and cannot, and that reaſon, that it preſents unnaturall and promiſcuous luſt, for this reaſon is that vice well repreſented in that Beaſt, becauſe it is ſo apt to beare any burdens. For, certainly, no man is ſo inclinable to ſubmit himſelfe to any burden of labour, of danger, of coſt, of diſhonour, of law, of ſickneſſe, as the licentious man is; He refuſes none, to come to his ends. Neither is there any tree ſo loaded with boughs, any one ſin that hath ſo many branches, ſo many ſpecies as this. Shedding of blood we can limit in murder, and manſlaughter, and a few more; and other ſins in as few names. In this ſin of luſt, the ſexe, the quality, the diſtance, the manner, and a great many other circumſtances, create new names to the ſin, and make it a ſin of another kinde. And as the ſin is a Mule, to beare all theſe loads, ſo the ſinner in this kind is ſo too, and (as we finde an example in the Nephew of a Pope) delights to take as many loads of this ſin upon him, as he could; to vary, and to multiply the kindes of this ſin in one act, He would not ſatisfie his luſt by a fornication, or adultery, or inceſt, (theſe were vulgar) but upon his own ſex; and that not upon an ordinary perſon, but in their account, upon a Prince; And he, a ſpirituall Prince, A Cardinall; And all this, not by ſolicitation, but by force: for thus he compiled his ſins, He raviſhed a Cardinall. This is the ſin, in which men pack up as much ſin as they can, and as though it were a ſhame to have too little, they belie their own pack, they bragge of ſins in this kinde, which they never did, as S. Auguſtine with a holy and penitent ingenuity confeſſes of himſelfe.
This ſin then, (though one great miſchiefe in it be, that for the moſt part, it deſtroyes two together, (the Devill will have his creatures come to his Arke by couples too, two and two together) yet this ſin we are able to commit without a companion, upon our own bodies, yea without bodies; (in the weakneſſe of our bodies our mindes can ſin this ſin) This which the Wiſe-man cals a pit, The mouth of a ſtrange woman is as a deep pit, Prov. 22.14.he with whom the Lord is angry, ſhall fall therein. And therefore he that purſues that ſin, is called to a double ſad conſideration, both that he angers the Lord in committing that ſinne then; And that the Lord was angry with him before for ſome other ſinne, and for a puniſhment of that former ſin, God ſuffered him to fall into this. And it is truely a fearefull condition, when God puniſhes ſin by ſin; other corrections bring us to a peace with God; He will not be angry for ever, he will not puniſh twice, when hee hath puniſhed a ſin, he hath done: But when he puniſhes ſin by ſinne, wee are not thereby the nearer to a peace or reconciliation by that puniſhment, for ſtill there is a new ſin that continues us in his diſpleaſure. Puniſh me O Lord, with all thy ſcourges, with poverty, with ſickneſſe, with diſhonour, with loſſe of parents, and children, but with that rod of wyre, with that ſcorpion, to puniſh ſin with ſinne, Lord ſcourge me not, for then how ſhall I enter into thy reſt?
And this is the condition of this ſinne; for, He with whom the Lord is angry, ſhall fall into it. 2 Sam. 12.And when he is fallen, he ſhall not underſtand his ſtate, but thinke himſelfe well; For Nathan preſents Davids ſinne to him, in a parable of a feaſt, of an entertainment of a ſtranger: He taſtes no ſowrneſſe, no bitterneſſe in it; not becauſe there is none, but becauſe a carkaſſe, a man already ſlain cannot feele a new wound; A man dead in the habit of a ſinne, hath no ſenſe of it: This ſinne of which S. Auguſtin, who had beene overcome by it, and was afraid that his caſe was a common caſe, ſaith in the perſon of all, Continua pugna, victoria rara; In a defenſive warre, where we are put to a continuall reſiſtance, it is hard comming to a victory; what hope then where there is no reſiſtance, no defence, but a ſpontaneous and voluntary opening our ſelves to all provocations, yea provoking of provocations by high diet, a tempting of tentations by expoſing our ſelves to dangerous company,Gen. 19.10. when as the Angels who were ſafe enough in themſelves, yet withdrew themſelves from the uncleanneſſe of the Sodomits. This ſinne will not be overcome but by a league,Iob 31.1. Iobs league, Pepigi foedus, I have made a covenant with mine eyes, why then ſhould I think upon a maid? Since I have bound my ſenſes, why ſhould my mind be at liberty to ſinne? This league ſhould bind both; I have taken a promiſe of mine eyes, that they will not betray me by wanton glaunces, by carying me to dangerous objects, why ſhould not I keepe covnant with them? why ſhould my thoughts be ſcattered upon ſuch tentations? The league muſt be kept on both parts, the mind and the ſenſes; wee muſt not entertain tentations from without, we muſt not create them within. Eloquia Domini caſta, The words of the Lord are chaſte words, Pſal. 12.7.pure words, and ſo muſt all the talke, and converſation of him, that loves God, be. And then, Caſtificate animas veſtras, you muſt ſee that you keepe your minds pure and chaſte.1 Pet. 1.22. If we have not both chaſte minds, and chaſt bodies, we ſhall have neither; And then follows the excommunication: S. Auguſtine ſaith, That according to moſt probability, there were no Mules in the Arke; but undiſputably there are no Mules in the Church, in the triumphant Church, none of our metaphoricall Mules there:1 Cor. 6.8. The Apoſtle hath put it beyond a Problem, Bee not deceived, neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate perſons ſhall inherit the Kingdome of heaven, there is the fearefull excommunication: And therefore Nolite fieri ſicut, Be not made like the Horſe or the Mule, in pride, or wantonneſſe eſpecially, Quia non Intellectus, becauſe then you loſe your underſtanding, and ſo become abſolutely irrecoverable, and leave God nothing to worke upon: For the underſtanding of man is the field which God ſowes, and the tree in which he engraffes faith it ſelfe; and therefore take heed of ſuch a deſcent, as induces the loſſe of the underſtanding, and that is the caſe here, (and our next conſideration) Non Intellectus, They have no underſtanding.
This faculty of the underſtanding in man is not alwayes well underſtood by men.Intellectus. The whole Pſalme is a Pſalme to rectifie the underſtanding; It is in the title thereof, Davids Inſtruction: ver. 8.And that office God undertakes in the verſe before our Text, I will inſtruct thee, which is in ſome Latin Copies, Faciam te intelligere, I will make thee underſtand, and in others, (the vulgat) Intellectum tibi dabo, I will give thee underſtanding; Now though this Inſtruction, and this Vnderſtanding, which is intended in the Title, and ſpecified in the former verſe, bee not the ſame Vnderſtanding as this in our Text, (for this is but of that naturall faculty of man,Ioh. 1.9. wherewith God enlightneth every man that commeth into the world, till hee make himſelfe like the horſe or the mule) the other is God ſuperedification upon this, thoſe other ſuper-naturall Graces, which God produces out of the underſtanding, or infuſes into the underſtanding; yet this Vnderſtanding in our Text, though it be but the naturall faculty, is a conſiderable thing, and hath, in part, the nature of materials for God to worke upon. That Inſtruction which is the ſubject of the whole Pſalem, is that ſaving Doctrine, That there is no bleſſedneſſe but in the remiſsion of ſinnes. That David eſtabliſhes for his foundation in the firſt verſe, and would ſay nothing till he had ſaid that. But then, though this remiſſion of ſinnes (which onelyonly conſtitutes Bleſſedneſſe) proceed meerely from the goodneſſe of God, yet that goodneſſe of God, as it excites primarily, ſo it works ſtill upon that act of man, penitent confeſſion, Notum feci, I acknowledged my ſinne, and Dixi confitebor, I prepared my ſelfe to confeſſe my ſinne,ver. 5. and thou forgaveſt all.
This then S. Hierome delivers to be the Inſtruction of the Pſalme, Hominem, Hieron.non propriis meritis, ſed Dei gratia, poſſe ſalvari, ſi confiteatur admiſſa; That man of himſelfe is irrecoverable, But yet there is a way opened to ſalvation in Chriſt Jeſus: But this way is onelyonly open to them, who enter by Confeſſion. And though S. Hierome, and S. Auguſtin differ often in the expoſition of the Pſalmes, yet here they ſpeake almoſt the ſame words. The Inſtruction of this Pſalme is, Intelligentia, qua intelligitur, non meritis operum, Auguſt.ſed gratia Dei hominem liberari, confitentem ſua peccata, That no man is ſaved by his owne merits, That any man may bee ſaved by the mercy of God in the merits of Chriſt, That no man attaines this mercy, but by confeſſion of his ſinnes: And that that rule, In ore duorum aut trium, may have the largeſt fulneſſe, adde wee a third witneſſe, Intellectus eſt, Gregor.This is the Inſtruction that David promiſes, Nemo ante fidem, Let no man preſume of merits, before faith; But in all this they all three agree, Every man muſt know, that hee may bee ſaved, And that by his owne merits hee cannot, And laſtly, that the merits of Chriſt are applied to no man, that doth nothing for himſelfe. Quid eſt Intellectus? Auguſt.ſaith he againe, What is this underſtanding? It is, ſaith he, no more but this, Vt non jactes opera ante fidem, Never to take confidence in works, otherwiſe then as they are rooted in faith: For (as hee enlarges this Meditation) if thou ſhouldſt ſee a man pull at an Oare, till his eye-ſtrings, and ſinews, and muſcles broke, and thou ſhouldſt aske him, whither he rowed; If thou ſhouldſt ſee a man runne himſelfe out of breath, and ſhouldſt aske him whither hee ranne; If thou ſhouldſt ſee him dig till his backe broke, and ſhouldſt aske him, what he ſought, And any of theſe ſhould anſwer thee, they could not tell, wouldſt not thou thinke them mad? So are all Diſciplines, all Mortifications, all whippings, all ſtarvings, all works of Piety, and of Charity madneſſe, if they have any other root then faith, any other title or dignity, then effects and fruits of a preceding reconciliation to God. Multi pagani, ſaith he,Idem. There are many Infidels that refuſe to bee made Chriſtians, becauſe they are ſo good already; Sibi ſufficiunt de ſua bona vita; They are the worſe for being ſo good, and they thinke they need no faith, but are rich enough in their morall honeſty. And there are Chriſtians, that are the worſe for thinking and beleeving that it is enough to Beleeve. It is not faith to beleeve in groſſe, that I ſhall be ſaved, but I muſt beleeve, that I ſhall be ſaved by him that died for me. If I conſider that, I cannot chuſe but love him too; And if I love him, I ſhall doe his will; Ama & operaberis, Idem.whomſoever thou loveſt, thou wilt doe what thou canſt to pleaſe him. Da mihi vacantem amorem; I would bee glad to ſee an idle love, that that man, that loved any thing in this world, ſhould not labour to compaſſe that that he loved: But purga amorem, ſaith hee, I doe not forbid thee loving, (it is a noble affection) but purge and purifie thy love; Aquam fluentem in cloacam converte in hortum; Turne that water which hath ſerved thy ſtables, and ſewers before, into thy gardens: Turne thoſe teares which thou haſt ſpent upon thy love, or thy loſſes, upon thy ſinnes, and the diſpleaſure of thy God, and Quales impetus habebas ad mundum, habebis ad Creatorem mundi, Thoſe paſſions which tranſported thee upon the creature, will eſtabliſh thee upon the Creator.
The Inſtruction then of the whole Pſalme, is peace with God, in the merits of Chriſt, declared in a holy life; which being the ſumme of all our Chriſtian profeſſion, is farre beyond this Vnderſtanding in our Text, (They have no underſtanding) but yet upon this Underſtanding God raiſes that great building, and therefore wee take this faculty, The Vnderſtanding, into a more particular conſideration. Here is the danger, He that at ripe yeares hath no underſtanding, hath no grace, A little underſtanding may have much grace; but he that hath none of the former, can have none of this. God therefore brings us to the conſideration, not of the greateſt, but of the firſt thing; not of his ſuperedifications, but of his foundations, our underſtanding, our reaſon. For, though Animalis homo, The naturall man perceiveth not the things that be of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 2.14.yet let him bee what man he will, Naturall or Supernaturall, hee muſt bee a man, that muſt probare ſpiritum, prove and diſcerne the ſpirit; let him have as much more as you will, it is requiſite hee have ſo much reaſon, and underſtanding, as to perceive the maine points of Religion; not that he muſt neceſſarily have a naturall explicite reaſon for every Article of faith, but it were fit he had reaſon to prove, that thoſe Articles need not reaſon to prove them. If I beleeve upon the Authority of my Teacher, or of the Church, or of the Scripture, very expedient it were to have reaſon to prove to my ſelfe that theſe Authorities are certaine, and irrefragable. And therefore, Caeteris animalibus, ſe ignorare, natura eſt, homini vitium, If a Horſe or a Mule underſtand not it ſelfe, it is never the worſe Horſe nor Mule, for it is borne with that ignorance; But if man, having opportunities, both in reſpect of his parts and calling, to be better inſtructed, either by a negligent and lazy and implicite relying upon the opinion of others, doe but lay himſelfe downe as a leafe upon the water, to be carried along with the tide, or by a wilfull drowſineſſe, and ſecurity in his ſins, have given over the debatement, the diſcuſſing, the underſtanding of the maine of his beliefe, and of his life, if either he keepe not his underſtanding awake, or over-watch it, if he doe nothing with it, or employ it too buſily, too fervently, too eagerly upon the world, I would it were true of them, Facti ſicut, you are like the Horſe, and the Mule; but Vtinam eſſetis, I would you were ſo well, as the Horſe, and the Mule, who, though they have no underſtanding, have no forfeiture, no loſſe, no abuſe of underſtanding to anſwer for.
Firſt then the Horſe,Superbus. The proud man, hath no underſtanding; He hath forgot his letters, his Alphabet; how he was ſpelled and put together, and made of body and ſoule. You may as well call him an Anatomiſt, that knowes how to pare a naile, or cut a corne, or him a Surgeon, that knowes how to cut, and curle haire, as allow him underſtanding, that knowes how to gather riches, or how to buy an Office, or how to hurt, and oppreſſe others, when he hath thoſe meanes. That abſurdity, that height of ſtrange ignorance, that the Prophet obſerves in an Idolatrous Image-maker,Eſay 44.16. is in this proud man; He burnes halfe in the fire, and the reſidue he makes a god. He hath ſeene as great eſtates as his, burne to aſhes, as great perſons as himſelfe ruined and deſtroyed, burne out, and vaniſh into ſparks, and ſtinking ſmoake; He hath ſeene halfe his owne time burnt out and waſted, and yet hee dreames of an eternity in himſelfe; He ſayes, I am, and none elſe; hee will not ſay ſo to me in expreſſe words, but does hee not ſay ſo to the whole world, in his manifeſt actions?
The Horſe then,Mulus. The proud man, hath no underſtanding, and the Mule, the licentious man, as little. The Ancients had a purpoſe to expreſſe that, when they placed by their Goddeſſe of Licentiouſneſſe, Venus, A Tortoyſe, A Creature that had no heart; capable of no underſtanding.Gen. 19. And it is better expreſſed in thoſe licentious perſons, who purſued Lots gueſts. Their blindneſſe brought them to an impoſſibility of finding the doore, (They were weary in ſeeking the doore) And if they had found it, they had ſound it ſhut. A man that hath wallowed long in that ſin, when he ſeekes a doore to repentance, he will quickly be weary, for there lie hard conditions upon him; and he is in danger of finding the doore ſo ſhut, as his underſtanding (and that is all his key) cannot open; Hee will make ſhift for reaſons, why he ſhould continue in that ſin, and he will call it ill nature, or falſhood, or breach of promiſe, and inconſtancy, to depart from the Converſation that nouriſhes that ſin. The doore will be ſhut, and his Reaſon cannot, nay his Reaſon would not open it, but rather plead in the ſins behalfe.
Thus far our firſt reaſon hath carried us, Doe it not, leaſt you looſe your underſtanding, The field of that bleſſed ſeed, The tree of that fruitfull graft, The materials for that glorious building, Faith; For, the underſtanding is the receptacle of Faith: But doe it not, the rather, becauſe if ye do it, God will be brought to a neceſſity, In chamo & fraeno maxillas conſtringere, to hold in your mouths with bit and bridle, to come to hard uſage, when as he would faine have you reduced by faire and gentle meanes. But to this way God is often brought; and, by this way of affliction, the cure is ſometimes wrought upon us. S. Auguſtine propoſes to himſelfe a wonder, why the firſt woman was called at firſt,Gen. 2.23. and in her beſt ſtate, but Iſha, Virago, which was a name of diminution, as ſhe was taken from the man, (for Iſha is but a ſhee-man) And then in her worſe ſtate, when ſhe had ſinned,Gen. 3.20. ſhe was called Eva, Mater viventium, The Mother of all living; ſhe had a better name in her worſt eſtate. But this was not in reſpect of her ſin, ſayes that Father, but in reſpect of her puniſhment. Now that ſhe was become mortall by a ſentence of death pronounced upon her, and knew that ſhe muſt dye, and reſolve to duſt, now, ſayes he, there was no danger in her, of growing proud by any glorious title; affliction had tamed her, and rectified her now; and to that purpoſe ſometimes does God bit and bridle us with afflictions, that our corrupt affections might not tranſport us.2 Sam. 14. Wee finde that Abſolom ſent for Ioab; The Kings Son for the Kings ſervant; There was coldneſſe, ſome drineſſe betweene Abſolom, and his Father, Abſolom was under a cloud at Court, and ſo Ioab neglected him, he would not come; Abſolom ſent againe, and againe Ioab refuſed; But then Abſolom ſent his ſervants to burne Ioabs Corne fields, and then Ioab came apace. Affliction and calamity are the bit and the bridle, that God puts into our mouth ſometimes to turne us to him. Behold, we put bits into the horſes mouthes, that they ſhould obey us, Iam. 3.3.and we turne all the body about. And to this belongs that, A whip for the Horſe, a bridle for the Aſſe, and a rod for the fooles back; When we are become fooles, made like the Horſe and Mule, that we have no underſtanding, then God bits and bridles us, he whips and ſcourges us, ſometimes leſt our deſires ſhould miſlead us a wrong way, ſometimes, if they have, to turne us into the right way againe; But here in our text, it is, Ne approximent te, Their mouths muſt be held with bit and bridle, leſt they come neere unto thee.
When God, by their incorrigibility, have given over all care of them,Ne approximent. yet hee takes care of us, of his Servants, of his Church, and he bits and bridles his and our enemies, ſo, as that they ſhall not come neare us, they ſhall not hurt us. So God ſaid to Senacherib, Becauſe thou rageſt againſt me, (God was far enough out of Senacheribs reach,2 King. 19.28. but God accounts his Jeruſalem as Heaven, and his Hezekias as himſelfe) Becauſe thy rage is againſt me, I will put my hooke into thy noſe, and my bridle in thy lips, and will turne thee back, by the way by which thou cameſt. When man is become as the Horſe, proud of his ſtrength, In chamo, et fraeno, God ſhall bit him, and bridle him ſo, as that he ſhall be able to doe no harme; and certainely, the godly have not a greater joy, when they are able to do good to others, then the wicked have ſorrow, when having power in their hands, yet they are not able to execute their miſchievous purpoſes upon them that they hate. Satan was glad of any Commiſſion upon Iob, becauſe God made a hedge about him, and about his houſe, Ne approximaret, That Satan could not come neare him; He was glad God gave him power, to annoy him any way; but ſorry that he exempted his perſon, in that firſt Commiſſion, (OnelyOnly upon himſelfe put not forth thy hand) He was glad that in a ſecond Commiſſion, God did lay open his perſon to his power, but ſorry that he excepted his life,Iob 2.6. (Behold he is in thy hand, but ſave his life.) For, till the wicked come to an utter deſtruction of their enemies, they thinke it no approximation, They are never come neare enough to them. And In chamo, & fraeno, therfore God bits & bridles them, that they ſhal not come neare, not ſo neare, to deſtroy; and certainely, Gods children have not ſo much ſorrow for that which the wicked doe inflict upon them, as the wicked have for that which they cannot inflict upon them; The wicked are more tormented that they can do no more, then the godly are, that they have done ſo much. And this is a comfortable, (and truly, the moſt literall ſenſe of this Ne approximent) Their mouths muſt be held, They muſt, though none can hold them but God, yet God muſt, God himſelfe for his owne glory, and the preſervation of his Church, is reduced to a neceſſity, he muſt, he will hold them in with bit and bridle, leſt they come neare us. But there is a ſadder, and a heavier ſenſe ariſing out of theſe words, as S. Hierom accepts and purſues the words, with which we ſhall end all that belongs to them.
S. Hierom reads theſe words ſo, as that when God hath ſaid, Nolite fieri, Be not as the Horſe or Mule, that have no underſtanding, God hath done, and ſayes no more; and that in the reſt of the words, In chamo & fraeno maxillas eorum conſtringe, (hold in their mouthes with bit and bridle, who come not neare thee) the Church ſpeakes to God; and ſo, this inhibition, Ne approximent, That they come not neare thee, may very well be, That they come not neare God, That God bits and bridles them ſo, afflicts and multiplies afflictions ſo, that even thoſe afflictions drive them farther from God, and ſeale their condemnation in their owne blood. Gods Spirit ſhall fanne them, ſift them; That might do them good;Eſay 30.28. purifie them, cleanſe them; No, it ſhall do them no good; for, (as it follows) God ſhall ſift them with a ſieve of vanity; In vaine, to no purpoſe, without any amendment; And there ſhall be, Fraenum erroris, a bridle in their jawes cauſing them to erre; Their impatient miſ-interpretation of Gods corrections, ſhall turne them upon a wrong way on the left hand, and depart them farther and farther from God. And then,Prov. 29.1. He that being often reproved, hardneth his neck, ſhall ſuddenly be deſtroyed, and that without remedy; ſuddenly, and irrecoverably; ſuddenly, no time given him to deprecate his deſtruction, no reprieve; Irrecoverably,Jere. 11.14. if he had never ſo much time; I will not heare them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. Shall any be able to cry unto God, and not be heard? Yes, to cry, and to cry for their trouble; for all this may be done, and yet no true prayer made, nor right foundation laid; when onelyonly impatience upon affliction extorts, and preſſes, and vents a cry, God will not heare them. No, nor when they are thus diſabled to pray for themſelves, will God heare any other to pray for them. Thrice doth God chide the Prophet Ieremy from that charitable diſpoſition of praying for that people. Lift not up a cry nor prayer for them; Ibid. & 7.16. & 14.11.Not a Cry, by way of remembring me of their preſſures and afflictions, as though that ſhould move me; Not a Prayer, by remembring me of my Covenant of mercy towards them, as though that ſhould binde me. At other times,Ezck. 22.30. God ſought for a man among them, that ſhould make up the hedge, and ſtand in the gap before him for the land, that he might not deſtroy it, but he found none. Here Ieremy offers himſelfe in the gap, and God will not receive him to that Mediatorſhip, to that Interceſſion for that people. When Moſes importuned God for the people, God tells him, for thy ſelfe thou ſhalt be no loſer;Exod. 32.10. whatſoever become of this people; (I will make thee a great Nation) But yet, ſayes God, (Let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot againſt this people, that I may conſume them.) O how contagious and peſtilent are the ſinnes of man, that can thus (if we may ſo ſpeake) infect God himſelfe! How violent, how impetuous, how tempeſtuous are the ſinnes of man, that can thus, (if we may ſo ſpeake) tranſport God himſelfe, and carry him beyond himſelfe! for himſelfe is mercy, and there is no roome for our own prayers, no roome for the prayers of others to open any doore, any pore of mercy to flow out, or to breath out upon us.
Truly, Beloved, it is hard to conceive, how any height of ſin in man ſhould worke thus upon God, as to throw him away, without any purpoſe of re-aſſuming him againe, or any poſſibility of returning to him againe. But to impute that diſtemper to God, that God ſhould thus peremptorily hate Man, thus irreparably deſtroy Man, before he conſidered that Man, as a ſinner, and as a manifold ſinner, and as an obdurate ſinner, nay before he conſidered him, as a Man, as a Creature, that firſt he ſhould mean to damne him, if he had him, and then mean to make him, that he might damne him; this is to impute to God, a ſowrer and worſe affected nature, then falls into any man. Doth any man deſire that his enemy had a ſonne, that he might kill him? Doth any man beget a ſonne therefore, that he might diſ-inherit him? Doth God hate any man therefore, becauſe he will hate him? Deliver me, O Lord, from my ſins, pardon them, and then returne to thy firſt purpoſes upon me; for I am ſure they were good, till I was ill; and my illneſſe came not from thee; but may be ſo multiplied by my ſelfe, as that thou mayeſt bit me and bridle me ſo, as that I ſhall not come near thee, in any of thoſe acceſſes which thou haſt opened in thy Church: Prayer, Preaching, Sacraments, Abſolution, all ſhall be unavailable upon me, ineffectuall to me. And therefore, as God would have us conſerve the dignity of our nature in his Image, and not deſcend to the qualities of theſe Beaſts, Horſe and Mule, ſpecified by the Holy Ghoſt, to repreſent to us thoſe two ſins, which are the wombes and mothers of very many others, Pride and Luſt, (the greateſt ſpirituall, and the greateſt bodily ſin) becauſe thereby we loſe all underſtanding, which is the matter upon which Grace works; ſo would he have us doe it for this alſo, that he might not be put to a neceſſity of bitting and bridling us, of hard uſage towards us, which may turne us as well to Obduration as Contrition, and ſo come to loſe our faith at laſt, as we had done our reaſon and underſtanding before.