Eighty Sermons, penitential psalms · Sermon 64
SERM. LXIV. Preached upon the Penitentiall Pſalmes.
PSAL. 51.7.
Purge me with Hyſſope, and I ſhall be cleane; waſh me, and I ſhall bewhiter then ſnow.
IN the Records of the growth, and propagation of the Chriſtian Church, The Eccleſiaſticall Story, we have a relation of one Pambo, an unlearned, but devout, and humble Ermit, who being informed of another man, more learned then himſelfe, that profeſſed the underſtanding, and teaching of the Book of Pſalmes, ſought him out, and applied himſelfe to him, to be his Diſciple. And taking his firſt leſſon caſually, at the firſt verſe of the thirty ninth Pſalme, I will take heed to my wayes, that I ſin not with my tongue, He went away with that leſſon, with a promiſe to returne againe when he was perfect in that. And when he diſcontinued ſo long, that his Maſter, ſometimes occaſionally lighting upon him, accuſed him of this ſlackneſſe, for almoſt twenty yeares together he made ſeverall excuſes, but at laſt profeſſed, that at the end of thoſe twenty yeares, he was not yet perfect in his firſt leſſon, in that one verſe, I will take heed to my wayes, that I ſinne not with my tongue. Now, that which made this leſſon hard unto him, was, that it employed all his diligence, and his watchfulneſſe upon future things; to examine and debate all his actions, and all his words; for, elſe he did not take heed to his wayes; at leaſt, not ſo, as that hee would not ſin with his tongue. But if he had begun with this leſſon, with this Pſalme, which is but a calling to our memory that which is paſt, The ſinfull employment of that time, which is gone, and ſhall not returne, The ſinfull heats of our youth, which, ſince we wanted remorſefull teares to quench them, even the ſin it ſelfe, and the exceſſe thereof hath overcome, and allayed in us, ſinfull omiſſions, ſinfull actions, and habits, and all thoſe tranſitory paſſages, in which the Apoſtle ſhewes us, our prodigality, our unthriftineſſe, our ill bargaine, when he askes us that queſtion of Confuſion,Rom. 6.21. What fruit had you then in thoſe things, whereof ye are now aſhamed? If he had begun his firſt leſſon at this, with the preſenting of all his paſſed ſins, in the ſight of the Father, and in the Mediation and merit of the Sonne, he would have been ſonner perfect in that leſſon, and would have found himſelfe, even by laying open his diſeaſe, ſo purged with Hyſſop as that he ſhould have been cleane, and ſo waſhed, as that he ſhould have been whiter then ſnow. For, Repentance of ſins paſt is nothing but an Audit, a caſting up of our accounts, a conſideration, a ſurvey, how it ſtands between God and our ſoule. And yet, as many men run out of plentifull eſtates, onelyonly becauſe they are loath to ſee a liſt of their debts, to take knowledge how much they are behind hand, or to contract their expenſes: ſo we run out of a whole and rich inheritance, the Kingdome of heaven, we profuſe and poure out even our own ſoule, rather then we will caſt our eye upon that which is paſt, rather then we will preſent a liſt of our ſpirituall debts to God, or diſcover our diſeaſe to that Phyſician, who onelyonly can Purge us with hyſſope, that we may be cleane, and waſh us, that wee may be whiter then ſnow.
In the words we ſhall conſider the Perſon,Diviſio. and the Action, who petitions, and what he asks. Both are twofold; for, the perſons are two, the Phyſitian and the Patient, God and David, Doe thou purge me, doe thou waſh me; and the Action is twofold, Purgabis, doe thou purge me, and Lavabis, doe thou waſh me. In which laſt part, and in the firſt branch thereof, wee ſhall ſee firſt, the Action it ſelfe, Purgabis, Thou ſhalt purge mee, and what that imports; And then the meanes, Purgabis hyſſopo, Thou ſhalt purge me with hyſſope, what that implies; and then the effect, Mundaber, I ſhall bee made cleane, and what that comprehends. And in the other branch of that ſecond part, Lavabis, Thou ſhalt waſh me, wee ſhall alſo looke upon the Action on Gods part, Lavabis, Thou ſhalt waſh mee, and the Effect on our part, Dealbabor, I ſhall be white, and the Degree, the Extent, the Exaltation of that Emundation, that Dealbation, that Cleanſing, ſupra nivem, I ſhall be whiter then ſnow. And then we ſhall conclude all with that conſideration, That though in the firſt part, we finde two perſons in action; for God works, but man prayes that God would worke, yet in the other part, the worke it ſelfe; Though the worke bee divers, a purging, and then a waſhing of the ſoule, the whole worke is Gods alone: David doth not ſay, no man can ſay, Doe thou purge me, and then, I will waſh my ſelfe; nor doe thou make the Medicine, and I will bring the Hyſſope; nor doe thou but waſh mee, begin the worke, and I will goe forward with it, and perfit it, and make my ſelfe whiter then ſnow; but the intire worke is his, who onelyonly can infuſe the deſire, and onelyonly accompliſh that deſire, who onelyonly gives the will, and the ability to ſecond, and execute that will, He, He purges me, or I am ſtill a veſſell of peccant humors; His, His is the hyſſope, or there is Mors in olla, Death in the cup; He, He waſhes me, or I am ſtill in my blood; He, He exalts that cleanneſſe, which his, his waſhing hath indued, or I returne againe to that red earth, which I brought out of Adams bowels; Therefore Doe thou purge mee with Hyſſope, and I ſhall be cleane; Do thou waſh me, and I ſhalbe whiter then ſnow.
Firſt then,1. Part. for our firſt part, wee conſider the perſons. Of theſe God is the firſt; Eſay ſpoke boldly, Deus.ſaith the Apoſtle, when hee ſaid, God is found by them that ſeeke him not; But ſtill we continue in that humble boldneſſe,Rom. 10.20. to ſay, God is beſt found, when we ſeeke him, and obſerve him in his operation upon us. God gives audiences, and admits acceſſes in his ſolemne and publike and out-roomes, in his Ordinances: In his Cabinet, in his Bedchamber, in his unrevealed purpoſes, wee muſt not preſſe upon him. It was ill taken in the Roman State, when men enquired in Arcana Imperii, the ſecrets of State, by what wayes, and meanes, publike buſineſſes were carried: Private men were to reſt in the generall effects, peace, and protection, and Juſtice, and the like, and to enquire no more; But to enquire in Arcana Domus, what was done in the Bed-chamber, was criminall, capitall, inexcuſable. We muſt abſtaine from enquiring De modo, how ſuch or ſuch things are done in many points, in which it is neceſſary to us to know that ſuch things are done: As the maner of Chriſts preſence in the Sacrament, and the maner of Chriſts deſcent into Hell, for theſe are Arcana Imperii, ſecrets of State, for the maner is ſecret, though the thing bee evident in the Scriptures. But the entring into Gods unrevealed, and boſome-purpoſes, are Arcana domus, a man is as farre from a poſſibility of attaining the knowledge, as from an excuſe for offering at it. That curioſity will bring a man to that blaſphemy of Alfonſus King of Caſtile, the great Aſtronomer, who ſaid, That if hee had beene of Gods Counſell in the creation of the world, hee could have directed him to have done many things better then he did. They that looke too farre into Gods unrevealed purpoſes, are ſeldome content with that that they thinke God hath done; but ſtray either into an uncharitable condemning of other men, or into a jealous, a ſuſpitious, a deſperate condemning of themſelves. Here, in this firſt branch of this firſt part, wee ſeeke God, and becauſe we ſeeke him, where he hath promiſed to be, we are ſure to find him; Becauſe we joyne with David, in an humble confeſſion of our ſins, the Lord joyns us with David, in a fruition of himſelfe. And more of that firſt Perſon, God himſelfe, we ſay not, but paſſe to the other, to the petitioner, to the penitent, to the patient, to David himſelfe.
His example is ſo comprehenſive, ſo generall, that as a well made,David. and well placed Picture in a Gallery looks upon all that ſtand in ſeverall places of the Gallery, in ſeverall lines, in ſeverall angles, ſo doth Davids hiſtory concerne and embrace all. For his Perſon includes all ſtates, betweene a ſhepherd and a King, and his ſinne includes all ſinne, between firſt Omiſſions, and complications of Habits of ſin upon ſin: So that as S. Baſil ſaid, hee needed no other Booke, for all ſpirituall uſes, but the Pſalmes, ſo wee need no other Example to diſcover to us the ſlippery wayes into ſin, or the penitentiall wayes out of ſin, then the Author of that Booke, David. From his Example then, we firſt deduce this, That in the war-fare of this life, there are no Emeriti milites; none of that diſcipline, that after certaine yeares ſpent in the warres, a man ſhould returne to eaſe, and honour, and ſecurity, at home. A man is not delivered from the tentation of Ambition, by having overcome the heats and concupiſcences of his youth; nor from the tentation of Covetouſneſſe in his age, by having eſcaped ambition, and contented himſelfe with a meane ſtation in his middle yeares. David, whom neither a ſudden growth into ſuch degrees of greatneſſe, as could not have fallen into his thought, or wiſh before, nor the perſecution of Saul, which might have enraged him to a perſonall revenge, conſidering how many advantages, and occaſions hee might have made ſhift to thinke that God had put into his hands, to execute that revenge; David, whom neither the concourſe and application of the people, who tooke knowledge of him, as of a riſing Sun, nor the intereſt and neareneſſe in the love and heart of Ionathan the Kings Son, which fals ſeldome upon a new, and a popular man; David, whom not that higheſt place, to which God had brought him, in making him King, nor that addition even to that higheſt place, that he made him Succeſſor to a King of whom the State was weary; (for, as the Panegyrique ſayes, Oneroſum eſt ſuccedere bono principi, It is a heavy thing, and binds a Prince to a great diligence, to come immediately after one, whom his ſubjects loved, So had David an eaſe, in comming after one, with whom the Kingdome was diſcontented) David, whom this ſudden preferment, and perſecutions, and popularity, did not ſo ſhake, but that wee may ſay of him, as it is ſaid of Iob, That in all this height, David did not ſin, nor in all theſe afflictions, He did not charge God fooliſhly; Though he had many victories, he came not to a Triumph; but him, whom an Army, and an armed Giant, Goliah, neare hand, could not hurt, a weaker perſon, and naked, and farre off, overthrowes and ruines.
It is therefore but an imperfect comfort for any man to ſay, I have overcome tentations to great ſins, and my ſins have beene but of infirmity, not of malice. For herein, more then in any other contemplation appeares the greatneſſe, both of thy danger, and of thy tranſgreſſion. For, conſider what a dangerous, and ſlippery ſtation thou art in, if after a victory over Giants, thou mayeſt be overcome by Pigmees; If after thy ſoule hath beene Canon proofe againſt ſtrong tentations, ſhe be ſlaine at laſt by a Piſtoll; And, after ſhe hath ſwom over a tempeſtuous Sea, ſhee drowne at laſt, in a ſhallow and ſtanding ditch. And as it ſhowes the greatneſſe of thy danger, ſo it aggravates the greatneſſe of thy fault; That after thou haſt had the experience, that by a good husbanding of thoſe degrees of grace, which God hath afforded thee, thou haſt beene able to ſtand out the great batteries of ſtrong tentations, and ſeeſt by that, that thou art much more able to withſtand tentations to leſſer ſins, if thou wilt, yet by diſarming thy ſelfe, by deveſting thy gariſons, by diſcontinuing thy watches, meerely by inconſideration, thou ſelleſt thy ſoule for nothing, for little pleaſure, little profit, thou fruſtrateſt thy Saviour of that purchaſe, which he bought with his precious blood, and thou enricheſt the Devils treaſure as much, with thy ſingle money, thy frequent ſmall ſins, as another hath done with his talent; for, as God was well pleaſed with the widowes two farthings, ſo is the Devill well pleaſed, with the negligent mans leſſer ſins. O who can be confident in his footing, or in his hold, when David, that held out ſo long, fell, and if we conſider but himſelfe, irrecoverably, where the tempter was weake, and afar off?
De longè vidit illam in qua captus eſt. Berſeba was far off; Mulier longè, libido prope, Auguſt.but Davids diſpoſition was in his owne boſome. Yet David came not up into the Teras, with any purpoſe or inclination to that ſin. Here was no ſuch plotting as in his ſon Hammons caſe, to get his ſiſter Tamar, by diſſembling himſelfe to be ſick, to his lodging. That man poſt-dates his ſin, and begins his reckning too late, that dates his ſin at that houre, when he commits that ſin. You muſt not reckon in ſin, from the Nativity, but the Conception; when you conceived that ſin in your purpoſe, then you ſinned that ſin, and in every letter, in every diſcourſe, in every preſent, in every wiſh, in every dreame, that conduces to that ſin, or riſes from that ſin, you ſin it over, and over againe, before you come to the committing of it, and ſo your ſin is an old, an inveterate ſin, before it bee borne, and that which you call the firſt, is not the hundredth time, that you have ſinned that ſinne.
It is not much that David contributed to this ſin on his part: He is onelyonly noted in the Text, to have beene negligent in the publique buſineſſe, and to have given himſelfe too much eaſe in this particular,2 Sam. 11. that he lay in bed all day; When it was evening, David aroſe out of his bed, and walked upon the Teras. And it is true, that the juſtice of God is ſubtile, as ſearching, as unſearchable; and oftentimes puniſhes ſins of Omiſſion, with other ſins, Actuall ſins, and makes their lazineſſe, who are ſlack in doing that they ſhould, an occaſion of doing that they ſhould not.
It was not much that Bathſheba contributed to this tentation, on her part. The Vulgat Edition of the Roman Church, hath made her caſe ſomewhat the worſe, by a miſtranſlation, Ex adverſo ſuper ſolarium ſuum, as though ſhe had beene waſhing her ſelfe, upon her owne Teras, and in the eye of the Court; whereas indeed, it is no more, but that David ſaw her, he upon his Teras, not her upon hers. For her waſhing, it may well be collected out of the fourth verſe, that it was a Legall waſhing, to which ſhee was bound by the Leviticall Law, being a purification after her naturall infirmity, and which it had beene a ſin in her, to have omitted. But had it beene a waſhing of Refreſhing, or of Delicacy, even that was never imputed to Suſanna for a fault, that ſhe waſhed in a Garden, and in the day, and employed not onelyonly ſope, but other ingredients and materials, of more delicacy, in that waſhing.
Certainly the limits of adorning and beautifying the body are not ſo narrow, ſo ſtrict, as by ſome ſowre men they are ſometimes conceived to be. Differences of Ranks, of Ages, of Nations, of Cuſtomes, make great differences in the enlarging, or contracting of theſe limits, in adorning the body; and that may come neare ſin at ſome time, and in ſome places, which is not ſo alwaies, nor every where. Amongſt the women there, the Jewiſh women, it was ſo generall a thing to helpe themſelves with aromaticall Oyles, and liniments, as that that which is ſaid by the Prophets poore Widow, to the Prophet Eliſha, 2 King. 4That ſhe had nothing in the houſe but a pot of Oyle, is very properly by ſome collected from the Originall word, that it was not Oyle for meate, but Oyle for unction, aromaticall Oyle, Oyle to make her looke better; ſhe was but poore, but a Widow, but a Prophets Widow, (and likely to be the poorer for that) yet ſhe left not that. We ſee that even thoſe women, whom the Kings were to take for their Wives, and not for Miſtreſſes, (which is but a later name for Concubines) had a certaine, and a long time aſſigned to be prepared by theſe aromaticall unctions, and liniments for beauty. Neither do thoſe that conſider, that when Abraham was afraid to loſe his wife Sara in Egypt, and that every man that ſaw her, would fall in love with her, Sara was then above threeſcore; And when the King Abimelech did fall in love with her, and take her from Abraham, ſhe was foureſcore and ten, they doe not aſſigne this preſervation of her complexion, and habitude to any other thing, then the uſe of thoſe unctions, and liniments, which were ordinary to that Nation. But yet though the extent and limit of this adorning the body, may be larger then ſome auſtere perſons will allow, yet it is not ſo large, as that it ſhould be limited onelyonly, by the intention and purpoſe of them that doe it; So that if they that beautifie themſelves, meane no harme in it, therefore there ſhould be no harme in it; for, except they could as well provide, that others ſhould take no harme, as that they ſhould meane no harme, they may participate of the fault. And ſince we finde ſuch an impoſſibility in rectifying and governing our owne ſenſes, (we cannot take our owne eye, nor ſtop our owne eare, when we would) it is an unneceſſary, and inſupportable burden, to put upon our ſcore, all the laſcivious glances, and the licentious wiſhes of other perſons, occaſioned by us, in over-adorning our ſelves.
And this may well have beene Bathſhebaes fault, That though ſhe did not bathe with a purpoſe to be ſeene, yet ſhe did not enough to provide againſt the infirmity of others. It had therefore been well if David had riſen earlier, to attend the affaires of the State; And it had been well, if Bathſheba had bathed within doores, and with more caution; but yet theſe errors alone, we ſhould not be apt to condemne in ſuch perſons, except by Gods permitting greater ſins to follow upon theſe, we were taught, that even ſuch things, as ſeeme to us in their nature to be indifferent, have degrees of naturall and eſſentiall ill in them, which muſt be avoyded, even in the probability, nay even in the poſſibility that they may produce ſin.
And as from this Example, we draw that Concluſion, That ſins, which are but the Children of indifferent actions, become the Parents of great ſins; which is the induſtry of ſin, to exalt it ſelfe, and (as it were) ennoble it ſelfe, above the ſtocke, from which it was derived, The next ſin will needs be a better ſin then the laſt: So have we alſo from David this Concluſion, that this generation of ſin is infinite; infinite in number, infinite in duration; So infinite both waies, as that Luther (who ſeldome checks himſelfe in any vehement expreſſion) could not forbeare to ſay, Si Nathan non veniſſet, If Nathan had not come to David, David had proceeded to the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt. O how impoſſible a thing is it then, for us to condition and capitulate with God, or with our owne Nature, and ſay to him, or to our ſelves, We will ſin thus long and no longer, Thus far, and no farther, this ſin, and no more; when not onelyonly the frailty of man, but even the juſtice of God provokes us (though not as Author, or cauſe of ſin) to commit more and more ſins, after wee have entangled and enwrapped our ſelves in former! Who can doubt, but that in this yeares ſpace, in which David continued in his ſin, but that he did ordinarily all the externall acts of the religious Worſhip of God? who can doubt but that he performed all the Legall Sacrifices, and all the Ceremoniall Rites? Yea, we ſee, that when Nathan put Davids caſe in another name, of a rich man that had taken away a poore mans onelyonly ſheepe, David was not onelyonly juſt, but he was vehement in the execution of Juſtice; Hee was, ſaies the text, exceeding wroth, and ſaid, As the Lord liveth, that man ſhall dye; But yet, for all this externall Religion, for all this Civill juſtice in matter of government, no mention of any repentance in all this time. How little a thing then is it, nay how great a thing, that is, how great an aggravating of thy ſin, if thou thinke to bribe God with a Sabboth, or with an almes; And, as a criminall perſon would faine come to Sanctuary, not becauſe it is a conſecrated place, but becauſe it reſcues him from the Magiſtrate, So thou comeſt to Chuch, not becauſe God is here, but that thy being here may redeeme thee from the imputation of prophaneneſſe. At laſt Nathan came; David did not ſend for him, but God ſent him; But yet David laid hold upon Gods purpoſe in him. And he confeſſes to God, he confeſſes to the Prophet, he confeſſes to the whole Church; for, before he pleads for mercy in the body of the Pſalme, in the title of the Pſalme, which is as Canonicall Scripture, as the Pſalme it ſelfe, hee confeſſes himſelfe plainly, A Pſalme of David, when the Prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathſheba.
Audiunt male viventes, & quaerunt ſibi patrocinia peccandi; Wee heare of Davids ſin,Auguſt. and wee juſtifie our ſins by him; Si David, cur non & ego? If David went in to a Bathſheba, why may not I? That Father tels you why, Qui facit, quia David fecit, id facit, quod David non fecit, He that does that, becauſe David did it, does not doe that which David did; Quia nullum exemplum propoſuit, For David did not juſtifie his ſin, by any precedent example; So that he that ſins as David did, yet ſins worſe then David did; and hee that continues as unſenſible of his ſin, as David was, is more unſenſible then David was; Quia ad te mittitur ipſe David, For God ſends Nathan to thee,Auguſt. with David in his hand; He ſends you the Receit, his invitations to Repentance, in his Scriptures, and he ſends you a Probatum eſt, a perſonall teſtimony how this Phyſicke hath wrought upon another, upon David.
And ſo having in this firſt Part, which is the Conſideration of the perſons in our Text, God and David, brought them by Nathans mediation, together, conſider wee alſo, for a concluſion of this Part, the perſonall applications, that David ſcatters himſelfe upon none but God, Tu me, and hee repeats it, doe Thou purge mee, doe Thou waſh mee.
Damaſcen hath a Sermon of the Aſſumption of the bleſſed Virgin, which whole Sermon is but a Dialogue, in which Eve acts the firſt part, and the bleſſed Virgin another;Tu. It is but a Dialogue, yet it is a Sermon. If I ſhould inſiſt upon this Dialogue, between God and David, Tu me, Tu me, Doe thou worke upon me, it would not be the leſſe a profitable part of a Sermon for that. For firſt, when we heare David in an anhelation and panting after the mercy of God, cry out, Domine Tu, Lord doe thou that that is to be done, doe Thou purge, doe Thou waſh, and may have heard God, (thereby to excite us to the uſe of his meanes) ſay, Purget natura, purget lex, I have infuſed into thee a light and a law of nature, and exalted that light and that law, by a more particular law and a clearer light then that, by which thou knoweſt what is ſin, and knoweſt that in a ſinfull ſtate thou canſt not be acceptable to me, Purget natura, purget lex, let the light of nature, or of the law purge thee, and rectifie thy ſelfe by that; Doe but as much for thy ſelfe, as ſome naturall men, ſome Socrates, ſome Plato hath done, we may heare David reply, Domine Tu, Lord put me not over to the catechizing of Nature, nor to the Pedagogie of the Law, but take me into thine owne hands, do Thou, Thou, that is to be done upon me. When we heare God ſay, Purget Eccleſia, I have eſtabliſhed a Church, ſettled conſtant Ordinances, for the purging and waſhing of ſouls there; Purget Eccleſia, Let the Church purge thee, we may heare David reply, Domine Tu, Alas Lord, how many come to that Bath, and goe foule out of it? how many heare Sermons, and receive Sacraments, and when they returne, returne to their vomit? Domine Tu, Lord, except the power of thy Spirit make thine Ordinance effectuall upon me, even this thy Jordan will leave me in my leproſie, and exalt my leproſie, even this Sermon, this Sacrament will aggravate my ſin. If we heare God ſay, Shall I purge thee? Doeſt thou know what thou askeſt, what my method in purging is, That if I purge, I ſhall purge thee with fire, with ſeaven fires, with tribulations, nay, with tentations, with temporall, nay, with ſpirituall calamities, with wounds in thy fortune, wounds in thine honor, wounds in thy conſcience, yet we may heare David reply,Joſh. 24.16. Tu Domine; As the people ſaid to Ioſhuah, God forbid we ſhould forſake the Lord, we will ſerve the Lord; And when Ioſhuah ſaid, You cannot ſerve the Lord, for he is a jealous God; and if yee turne from him, he will turne and doe you hurt, and conſame you after he hath done you good; The people replyed, Nay, but we will ſerve the Lord; ſo whatſoever God threatens David of afflictions and tribulations, and purgings in fire, we may heare David reply, Nay but Lord, doe Thou doe it, do it how Thou wilt, but doe Thou do it: Thy corroſives are better then others ſomentations; Thy bitterneſſes ſweeter then others honey; Thy fires are but lukewarme fires, nay, they have nothing of fire in them, but light to direct me in my way; And thy very frowns are but as trenches cut out, as lanes that leade me to thy grave, or Rivers or Channels, that lead me to the ſea of thy bloud. Let me go upon Crouches, ſo I go to Heaven; Lay what waight thou wilt even upon my foule, that that be heavy, and heavy unto death, ſo I may have a cheerfull tranſmigration then. Domine Tu, Lord doe thou doe it, and I ſhall not wiſh it mended.
And then when we heare David ſay, Domine Me, Lord purge Me, waſh Me, and returne foure times in this ſhort Text, to that perſonall appropriation of Gods worke upon himſelfe, Purge Me, that I may be cleane, waſh Me, that I may be whiter then ſnow, if we heare God ſay (as the language of his mercy is, for the moſt part, generall) As the Sea is above the Earth, ſo is the blood of my Son above all ſin; Congregations of three thouſand, and of five thouſand were purged and waſhed, converted and baptized at particular Sermons of S. Peter, whole legions of Souldiers, that conſiſted of thouſands, were purged in their owne blood, and became Martyrs in one day. There is enough done to worke upon all; Examples enow given to guide all; we may heare David reply, Domine Me, Nay but Lord, I doe not heare Peter preach, I live not in a time, or in a place, where Crownes of Martyrdome are diſtributed, nor am I ſure my Conſtancy would make me capable of it if I did, Lord I know, that a thouſand of theſe worlds were not worth one drop of thy blood, and yet I know, that if there had been but one ſome diſtreſſed, and that ſoule diſtreſſed but with one ſin, thou wouldeſt have ſpent the laſt drop of that blood for that ſoule; Bleſſed be thy Name, for having wrapped me up in thy generall Covenants, and made me partaker of thy generall Ordinances, but yet Lord, looke more particularly upon me, and appropriate thy ſelfe to me, to me, not onelyonly as thy Creature, as a man, as a Chriſtian, but as I am I, as I am this ſinner that confeſſes now, and as I am this penitent that begs thy mercy now. And now, Beloved, we have ſaid ſo much towards enough of the perſons, God and David; The acceſſe of David to God, and the appropriation of God to David, as that we may well paſſe to our other generall part, the petitions which David in his own and our behalfe makes to God, Purge me with Hyſſop, and I ſhall be cleane, waſh me, and I ſhall be whiter then ſnow.
In this,2 Part. Purgabis. the firſt is a great worke, That which we tranſlate, Purge me. And yet how ſoone David is come to it? It is his firſt period. The paſſage of a Spirit is very quick, but it is not immediate; Not from extreame to extreame, but by paſſing the way between. The Evill ſpirit paſſes not ſo; no good ſoule was ever made very ill in an inſtant, no, nor ſo ſoone as ſome ill have been made good: No man can give me Examples of men ſo ſoone perverted, as I can of men converted. It is not in the power of the Devill to doe ſo much harme, as God can doe good; Nay, we may be bold to ſay, it is not in the will, not in the deſire of the Devill to doe ſo much harme, as God would doe good; for illneſſe is not in the nature of the Devill; The Devill was naturally good, made, created good. His firſt illneſſe was but a defection from that goodneſſe; and his preſent illneſſe is but a puniſhment for that defection; but God is good, goodneſſe in his nature, eſſentially, eternally good; and therefore the good motions of the Spirit of God worke otherwiſe upon us, then the tentations of the evill Spirit doe. How ſoone, and to what a height came David here? He makes his Petition, his firſt Petition with that confidence, as that it hath ſcarce the nature of a Petition: for it is in the Originall, Thou wilt purge me, Thou wilt waſh me, Thou hadſt a gracious will, and purpoſe to doe it, before thou didſt infuſe the will and the deſire in me to petition it. Nay, this word may well be tranſlated not onelyonly Thou wilt, but by the other denotation of the future, Thou ſhalt, Thou ſhalt purge me, Thou ſhalt waſh me, Lord I doe but remember thee of thy debt, of that which thy gracious promiſe hath made thy debt, to ſhew mercy to every penitent ſinner. And then, as the word implies confidence, and acceleration, infallibility, and expedition too, That as ſoone as I can aske, I am ſure to be heard; ſo does it imply a totality, an intireneſſe, a fulneſſe in the worke; for the roote of the word is Peccare, to ſin, for purging is a purging of peccant humors; but in this Conjugation in that language, it hath a privative ſignification, and literally ſignifies Expeccabis; and if in our language, that were a word in uſe, it might be tranſlated, Thou ſhalt un-ſin me; that is, look upon me as a man that had never ſinned, as a man inveſted in the innocency of thy Sonne, who knew no ſin. David gives no man rule nor example of other aſſurance in God, then in the remiſſion of ſins: Not that any precontract or Election makes our ſins no ſins, or makes our ſins no hindrances in our way to ſalvation, or that we are in Gods favour at that time when we ſin, nor returned to his favour before we repent our ſin; It is onelyonly this expeccation, this unſinning, this taking away of ſins formerly committed, that reſtores me; And that is not done with nothing; David aſſignes, propoſes a meanes, by which he looks for it, Hyſſop, Thou ſhalt purge me with Hyſſop.
The Fathers taking the words as they found them, and faſtning with a ſpirituall delight,Hyſſopo. as their devout cuſtome was, their Meditations upon the figurative and Metaphoricall phraſe of purging by Hyſſop, have found purgative vertues in that plant, and made uſefull and ſpirituall applications thereof, for the purging of our ſoules from ſin. In this doe S. Ambroſe, and Auguſtine, and Hierome agree, that Hyſſop hath vertue in it proper for the lungs, in which part, as it is the furnace of breath, they place the ſeat of pride and oppoſition againſt the Truth, making their uſe of that which is ſaid of Saul, Acts 9.That he breathed out threatnings and ſlaughter againſt the Diſciples of the Lord. And by this interpretation, Davids diſeaſe that he muſt be purged of, ſhould be pride. But except, as the Schoolemen, when they have tyred themſelves in ſeeking out the name of the ſin of the Angels, are content at laſt for their eaſe to call it Pride, both becauſe they thought they need goe no farther, for, where pride is, other ſins will certainly accompany it; and becauſe they extended the name of Pride to all refuſals and reſiſtances of the will of God, and ſo pride, in effect, includes all ſin; Except, I ſay, the Fathers take Pride in ſo large a ſenſe as that they would not preſcribe Hyſſop to purge Davids lungs, for his diſeaſe lay not properly there; They muſt have purged his liver, the ſeate of blood, the ſeat of concupiſcence; They muſt have purged his whole ſubſtance, for the diſtemper was gone over all. And to this rectifying of his blood, by the application of better blood, and David relation in this place.
All the ſacrifices of Expiation of ſin, in the old Law, were done by blood, and that blood was ſprinckled upon the people, by an inſtrument made of a certain plant, which becauſe the word in Hebrew is Ezob, for the nearneſſe of the ſound, and for the indifferency of the matter, (for it imports us nothing to know, of what plant that Aſpergillum, that Blood-ſprinckler was made) the Interpreters have ever uſed in all languages to call this word Hyſſop. And though we know no proper word for Hyſſop in Hebrew, (for when they finde not a word in the Bible, the Hebrew Rabbins will acknowledge no Hebrew word for any thing) yet the other languages deduced from the Hebrew, Syriaque, and Arabique, have clearly another word for Hyſſop, Zuſ; And the Hebrew Rabbins think this word of our text, Ezob, to ſignifie any of three or foure plants, rather then our Hyſſop. But be the plant what it will, the forme and the uſe of that Blood-ſprinkler is manifeſt.Exod. 12. Levit. 14. In the inſtitution of the Paſſeover, Take a bunch of Hyſſop, and dip it in blood. In the cleanſing of the Leper, there was to be the blood of a ſparrow, and then Cedar wood, and ſcarlet lace, and Hyſſop: And about that Cedar ſtick, they bound this Hyſſop with this lace, and ſo made this inſtrument to ſprinkle blood. And ſo the name of the Hyſſop, becauſe it did the principall office, was after given to the whole Inſtrument; all the ſprinkler was called an Hyſſop; As we ſee when they reached up a ſponge of vinegar to Chriſt upon the Croſſe,Ioh. 19.29. They put it, ſayes the text, upon Hyſſop, that is, upon an Hyſſop; not upon an Hyſſop ſtalke, (as the old tranſlation had it) for no Hyſſop hath ſuch a ſtalke, but they called ſuch ſticks of Cedar, as ordinarily ſerved for the ſprinkling of blood, Hyſſops. And whether this were ſuch a Cedar ſtick, or ſome other ſuch thing,Mat. 27.48. fit to reach up that ſpunge to Chriſt, we cannot ſay. For S. Matthew calls that, that S. Iohn calls an Hyſſop, a Reed.
This then was Davids petition here; firſt, That hee might have the blood of Chriſt Jeſus applied and ſprinkled upon him; David thought of no election, hee looked for no ſanctification, but in the blood of Chriſt Jeſus. And then he deſired this blood to be applied to him, by that Hyſſope, by that Blood-ſprinkler, which was ordained by God, for the uſe of the Church. Home-infuſions, and inward inſpirations of grace, are powerfull ſeales of Gods love; but all this is but the Privy ſeale, David deſired to bring it to the Great ſeale, the publike Ordinance of the Church. In a caſe of neceſſity God gave his children Manna and Quailes;Ioſh. 5. In caſes of neceſſity God allowes Sermons, and Sacraments at home; But as ſoone as ever they came to the Land of promiſe, the ſame day both Manna and Quailes ceaſed: God hath given us a free and publike paſſage of his Word, and Sacraments, the diet and the ordinary food of our ſouls, and he purges us with that Hyſſope, with the application of his promiſes, with the abſolution of our ſins, with a redintegration into his myſticall body, by the ſeales of reconciliation. And this reconciliation to God, by the blood of Chriſt, applied in the Ordinances of the Church, is that which David begs for his cleanſing, and is the laſt circumſtance of this branch, Purge me with Hyſſope, and I ſhall be cleane.
This Cleanſing then implies that,Cleanſing. which wee commonly call the enwrapping in the Covenant, the breeding in the viſible Church, when God takes a Nation out of the Common, and encloſes it, empailes it for his more peculiar uſe, when God withdrawes us from the impoſſibility, under which the Gentiles ſterve, who heare not Chriſt preached, to live within the ſound of his voyce, and within the reach of our ſpirituall food, the Word and Sacraments. It is that ſtate, which the holy Ghoſt ſo elegantly expreſſes and enlarges,Ezek. 16. That God found Jeruſalem, Her father an Amorite, and her mother an Hittite, none of the ſeed of the faithfull in her; that he found her in Canaan, not ſo much as in a place of true profeſſion; that he found her in her blood, and her navell uncut, ſtill incorporated in her former ſtock; And, The time was a time of love, ſayes God, and I covered thy nakedneſſe, and ſware unto thee, and entred into a covenant with thee, and thou becameſt mine. Will you ſay, this could not be the ſubject of Davids petition, this could not bee the cleanſing that he begged at Gods hand, to bee brought into that Covenant, to bee a member of that Church? for hee was in poſſeſſion of that before. Beloved, how many are borne in this Covenant, and baptized, and catechized in it, and yet fall away? How many have taught, and wrought, and thought in their owne conſcience that they did well, in defence of the Covenant, and yet fell away? And from how many places, which gave light to others, hath God removed the Candleſtick, and left themſelves in darkneſſe?Pſal. 84.8. Though David ſay, A day in thy Courts is better then a thouſand, (then a thouſand any where elſe) yet he expreſſes his deſire, That hee might continue in that happineſſe all the dayes of his life; It is as fearefull a thing to be removed from the meanes of ſalvation, as never to have had them.
This then is Cleanſing, To be continued in the diſtance, and working of the meanes of cleanſing, that he may alwayes grow under the dew, and breath in the ayre of Gods grace exhibited in his Ordinance. Amongſt the Jewes there were many uncleanneſſes, which did not amount to ſin: They reckon in the Ceremoniall law, at leaſt fifty kinds of uncleanneſſes, from which if they neglected to cleanſe themſelves, by thoſe ceremonies which were appropriated to them, then thoſe uncleanneſſes became ſins, and they were put to their ſacrifices, before they could be diſcharged of them. Many levities, many omiſſions, many acts of infirmity might be prevented by conſideration before, or cleanſed by conſideration now, if we did truly value the preſent grace, that is alwayes offered us in theſe the Ordinances of God. What ſin can I be guilty of, that is without example of mercy, in that Goſpel which is preached to me here? But if you will not accept it, when God offers it, you can never have it ſo good cheape, becauſe hereafter you ſhall have this preſent ſin, of refuſing that offer of grace, added to your burthen.Ezek. 24.13. Becauſe I have purged thee, & thou waſt not purged, thou ſhalt not be purged any more, til I have cauſed my fury to light upon thee. But ſhall we be purged then? Then, when his fury in any calamity hath lighted upon us? Is not this donec, this untill, ſuch a donec, as donec faciam, Till I make thine cnemies thy footſtoole: Such a donec as the donec peperit, ſhee was a Virgin, Till ſhee brought forth her firſt ſonne? Is it not an everlaſting donec? That we ſhall not be purged till Gods Judgements fall upon us, nor then neither: Phyſicke may be miniſtred too late to worke, and Judgements may fall too late, to ſouple or entender the ſoule: For as wee may die with that Phyſick in our ſtomach, ſo may we be carried to the laſt Judgement, with that former Judgement upon our ſhoulders. And therefore our later Tranſlation hath expreſſed it more fully, Not that that fury ſhall light, but ſhall reſt upon us.
This cleanſing therefore, is that diſpoſition, which God by his grace, infuſes into us, That we ſtand in the congregation, and Communion of Saints, capable of thoſe mercies, which God hath by his Ordinance, annexed to theſe meetings; That we may ſo feele at all times when we come hither, ſuch a working of his Hyſſop, ſuch a benefit of his Ordinance, as that we beleeve all our former ſins to be ſo forgiven, as that if God ſhould tranſlate us now, this minute, to another life, this Doſis of this purging Hyſſop, received now, had ſo wrought, as that we ſhould be aſſuredly tranſlated into the Kingdome of heaven. This cleanſing applies to us thoſe words of our Saviour, My ſonne, be of good cheare, thy ſinnes are forgiven thee; But yet there is a farther degree of cleaneneſſe expreſſed in Chriſts following words, Goe, and ſin no more; And that grace againſt relapſes, the gift of ſanctification, and perſeverance, is that that David askes in his other Petition, Lava me, Waſh me, and I ſhall be whiter then ſnow.
Here we propoſed firſt the action, Lava, Waſh me. This is more then a ſprinkling,Lava. A totall, and intire waſhing; More then being an ordinary partaker of the outward meanes, The Word, and Sacraments; more then a temporary feeling of the benefit thereof in a preſent ſenſe; for it is a building up of habits of religious actions, viſible to others, and it is a holy and firme confidence created in us by the Spirit of God, that we ſhall keepe that building in reparation, and goe forward with it to our lives end. It is a waſhing like Naamans in Jordan, to be iterated ſeaven times, ſeaventy ſeaven times, daily, hourly, all our life; A waſhing begun in Baptiſme, purſued in ſweat, in the induſtry of a lawfull calling, continued in teares, for our deficiencies in the workes of our calling, and perchance to bee conſummated in blood, at our deaths. Not ſuch a waſhing, as the Waſhes have, which are thoſe ſands that are overflowed with the Sea at every Tide, and then lie dry, but ſuch a waſhing as the bottome of the Sea hath, that is alwayes equally wet. It is not a ſtillicidium, a ſpout, a ſhowre, a bucket powred out upon us, when we come to Church, a Sabbath-ſanctification, and no more, but a water that enters into every office of our houſe, and waſhes every action proceeding from every faculty of the ſoule. And this is the waſhing, A continuall ſucceſſion of Grace, working effectually to preſent Habits of religious acts, and conſtituting a holy purpoſe of perſevering in them that induces the Whiteneſſe, the Candor, the Dealbation that David begs here, Lava & Dealbabor.
The purging with Hyſſope, which we ſpoke of before,Dealbabor. which is the benefit which we have by being bred in a true Church, delivers us from that redneſſe, which is in the earth of which wee are made, from that guiltineſſe, which is by our naturall derivation from our Parents imprinted in us; Baptiſme doth much upon that; but that that is not Red, is not therefore White. But this is our caſe: Our firſt colour was white; God made man righteous. Our redneſſe is from Adam, and the more that redneſſe is waſhed off,2 Cor. 7.1. the more we returne to our firſt whiteneſſe; And this which is petitioned here, is a waſhing of ſuch perfection, as cleanſes us Ab omni inquinamento, from all filthineſſe of fleſh and ſpirit. Thoſe inquinamenta, which are ordinary, are firſt in the fleſh, Concupiſcence and Carnality,Gal. 5.19. and thoſe other, of which the Apoſtle ſayes, The works of the fleſh are manifeſt; And in the ſpirit, they are Murmuring, Diffidence in God, and ſuch others. But beſides theſe, as an over-diligent cleanſing of the Body, and additionall beauty of the Body, is inquinamentum carnis, one of S. Pauls filthineſſes upon the fleſh, ſo an over purifying of the ſpirit, in an uncharitable undervaluing of other men, and in a ſchiſmaticall departing from the unity of the Church, is Inquinamentum ſpiritus: Falſe beauties are a foulneſſe of the body, falſe purity is a foulneſſe of the ſpirit. But the waſhing, that wee ſeeke, cleanſes us Ab omni inquinamento, from all foulneſſe of fleſh and ſpirit. All waters will not cleanſe us, nor all fires dry us, ſo as wee may be cleane, ſmoaky fires will not doe that. I will poure cleane water upon you, Ezek. 36.25.and you ſhall be cleane. The Sunne produces ſweat upon us, and it dries us too: Zeale cleanſes us; but it muſt be zeale impermixt as the Sun, not mingled with our ſmoaky, ſooty, factious affections. Some Grammarians have noted, the word Waſhing here, to be derived from a word, that ſignifies a Lambe; we muſt be waſhed in the blood of the Lambe, and we muſt be brought to the whiteneſſe, the candor, the ſimplicity of the Lambe; no man is pure, that thinks no man pure but himſelfe. And this whiteneſſe, which is Sanctification in our ſelves, and charitable interpretation of other men, is exalted here to that Superlative, Super Nivem, Waſh me, and I ſhall be whiter then Snow.
Though your ſins be as Scarlet, Super nivem. Eſay 1.18.they ſhall be as white as ſnow. Eſay was an Euangelicall Prophet, a propheticall Euangeliſt, and ſpeaks ſtill of the ſtate of the Chriſtian Church. There, by the ordinary meanes exhibited there, our Scarlet ſins are made as white as Snow; And the whiteneſſe of Snow, is a whiteneſſe that no art of man can reach to; So Chriſts garments in his Transfiguration are expreſſed to have beene as white as Snow, Marke 9.3.ſo, as no Fuller on earth could white them. Nothing in this world can ſend me home in ſuch a whiteneſſe, no morall counſaile, no morall comfort, no morall conſtancy; as Gods Abſolution by his Miniſter, as the profitable hearing of a Sermon, the worthy receiving of the Sacrament do. This is to be as white as ſnow; In a good ſtate for the preſent. But David begs a whiteneſſe above Snow; for Snow melts, and then it is not white; our preſent Sanctification withers, and we loſe that cheereful verdure, the teſtimony of an upright conſcience; And Snow melted, Snow water, is the coldeſt water of all; Devout men departed from their former fervor are the coldeſt and the moſt irreducible to true zeale, true holineſſe. Therefore David who was metall tried ſeven times in the fire, and deſired to be ſuch gold as might be laid up in Gods Treaſury, might conſider, that in tranſmutation of metals, it is not enough to come to a calcination, or a liquefaction of the metall, (that muſt be done) nor to an Ablution, to ſever droſſe from pure, nor to a Tranſmutation, to make it a better metall, but there muſt be a Fixion, a fettling thereof, ſo that it ſhall not evaporate into nothing, nor returne to his former nature. Therefore he ſaw that he needed not only a liquefaction, a melting into teares, nor only an Ablution, & a Tranſmutation, thoſe he had by this purging and this waſhing, this ſtation in the Church of God, and this preſent Sanctification there, but he needed Fixionem, an eſtabliſhment, which the compariſon of Snow afforded not; That as he had purged him with Hyſſop, and ſo cleanſed him, that is, enwrapped him in the Covenant, and made him a member of the true Church; and there waſhed him ſo, as that he was reſtored to a whiteneſſe, that is, made his Ordinances ſo effectuall upon him, as that then he durſt deliver his ſoule into his hands at that time: So he would exalt that whiteneſſe, above the whiteneſſe of Snow, ſo as nothing might melt it, nothing diſcolour it, but that under the ſeale of his bleſſed Spirit, he might ever dwell in that calme, in that aſſurance, in that acquieſcence, that as he is in a good ſtate this minute, he ſhall be in no worſe, whenſoever God ſhall be pleaſed to tranſlate him.
We end all the Pſalmes in our ſervice,Concluſio. thoſe of Praiſe, and thoſe of Prayer too, with a Gloria Patri, Glory be to the Father, &c. For our concluſion of this Prayer in this Pſalme, we have reſerved a Gloria Patri too, This conſideration for the glory of God, that though in the firſt Part, The Perſons, the perſons were varied, God and man, yet in our ſecond Part, where we confider the worke, the whole worke is put into Gods hand, and received from Gods hand. Let God be true, and every man a liar; Let God be ſtrong and every man infirme; Let God give, and man but receive. What man that hath no propriety therein, can take a penny out of another mans houſe, or a roote out of his Garden, but the Law will take hold of him? Hath any man a propriety in Grace? what had he to give for it? Nature? Is Nature equivalent to Grace? No man does refine, and exalt Nature to the height it would beare, but if naturall faculties were exalted to their higheſt, is Nature a fit exchange for Grace? and if it were, is Nature our owne? Why ſhould we be loath to acknowledge to have all our ability of doing good freely from God, and immediately by his grace, when as, even thoſe faculties of Nature, by which we pretend to do the offices of Grace, we have from God himſelfe too? For that queſtion of the Apoſtle involves all, What haſt thou that thou haſt not received? Thy naturall faculties are no more thine owne, then the grace of God is thine owne; I would not be beholden to God for Grace, and I muſt be as much beholden to him for Nature, if Nature do ſupply Grace; Becauſe he hath made thee to be a man, he hath given thee naturall faculties; becauſe he hath vouchſafed thee to be a Chriſtian, he hath given thee meanes of Grace. But, as thy body, conceived in thy Mothers wombe, could not claime a ſoule at Gods hand, nor wiſh a ſoule, no nor know that there was a ſoule to be had: So neither by being a man indued with naturall faculties canſt thou claime grace, or wiſh grace; nay thoſe naturall faculties, if they be not pre-tincted with ſome infuſion of Grace before, cannot make thee know what Grace is, or that Grace is. To a child rightly diſpoſed in the wombe, God does give a ſoule; To a naturall man rightly diſpoſed in his naturall faculties, God does give Grace; But that Soule was not due to that child, nor that grace to that man.
Therefore, (as we ſaid at firſt) David does not bring the Hyſſop, and pray God to make the potion, but, Doe thou purge me with Hyſſop, All is thine owne; There was no pre-exiſtent matter in the world, when God made the world; There is no pre-exiſtent merit in man, when God makes him his. David does not ſay, Do thou waſh me, and I will perfect thy worke; Give me my portion of Grace, and I will trouble thee for no more, but deale upon that ſtocke; But Qui ſanctificatur, ſanctificetur adhuc, Let him that is holy be more holy, but accept his Sanctification from him, of whom he had his Juſtification; and except he can think to glorifie himſelf becauſe he is ſanctified, let him not think to ſanctifie himſelf becauſe he is juſtified; God does all. Yet thus argues S. Auguſtin upon Davids words, Tuus ſum Domine, Lord I am thine, and therefore ſafer then they, that thinke themſelves their owne. Every man can and muſt ſay, I was thine, Thine by Creation; but few can ſay, I am thine, few that have not changed their Maſter. But how was David his ſo eſpecially? ſayes S. Auguſtine: Quia quaeſivi juſtificationes tuas, as it followes there; Becauſe I ſought thy Righteouſneſſe, thy Juſtification. But where did he ſeeke it? Hee ſought it, and he found it in himſelfe. In himſelfe, as himſelfe, there was no good thing to be found, how far ſoever he had ſought: But yet he found a Juſtification, though of Gods whole making, yet in himſelfe.
So then, this is our Act of Recognition, we acknowledge God, and God onelyonly to doe all; But we doe not ſo make him Soveraigne alone, as that we leave his preſence naked, and empty; Nor ſo make him King alone, as that we depopulate his Country, and leave him without Subjects; Nor ſo leave all to Grace, as that the naturall faculties of man do not become the ſervants, and inſtruments of that Grace. Let all, that we all ſeeke, be, who may glorifie God moſt; and we ſhall agree in this, That as the Pelagian wounds the glory of God deepely, in making Naturall faculties joynt-Commiſſioners with Grace, ſo do they diminiſh the glory of God too, if any deny naturall faculties to be the ſubordinate ſervants and inſtruments of Grace; for as Grace could not worke upon man to Salvation, if man had not a faculty of will to worke upon, becauſe without that will man were not man; ſo is this Salvation wrought in the will, by conforming this will of man to the will of God, not by extinguiſhing the will it ſelfe, by any force or conſtraint that God imprints in it by his Grace: God ſaves no man without, or againſt his will. Glory be to God on high, and on earth Peace, and Good will towards men; And to this God of Glory, the Father, and this God of Peace and reconciliation, the Son, and this God of Good will and love amongſt men, the Holy Ghoſt, be aſcribed all praiſe, &c.
PREBEND SERMONS Preached at St. PAULS.
The firſt of the Prebend of Cheſwicks five Pſalmes; which five are appointed for that Prebend; as there are five other, for every other of our thirty Prebendaries.