Eighty Sermons, prebend · Sermon 65
SERM. LXV. Preached at S. Pauls, May 8. 1625.
PSAL. 62.9.
Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; To bee laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter then vanity.
WE conſider the dignity of the Booke of Pſalmes, either in the whole body together, or in the particular limmes and diſtribution thereof. Of the whole Body,Baſil. it may be enough to tell you that which S. Baſil ſaith, That if all the other bookes of Scripture could periſh, there remained enough in the booke of Pſalmes for the ſupply of all: And therefore he cals it Amuletum ad profligandum daemonem; Any Pſalme is Exorciſme enough to expell any Devill, Charme enough to remove any tentation, Enchantment enough to eaſe, nay to ſweeten any tribulation. It is abundantly enough that our Saviour Chriſt himſelfe cites the Pſalmes, not onelyonly as Canonicall Scripture, but as a particular, and entire, and noble limme of that Body; All muſt be fulfilled of me, (ſaith he) which is written in the Law, Luk. 24.44.in the Prophets, and in the Pſalmes. The Law alone was the Sadduces Scripture, they received no more: The Law and the Prophets were (eſpecially) the Scribes Scripture, they interpreted that: The Chriſtians Scripture, in the Old Teſtament, is eſpecially the Pſalmes. For (except the Prophecy of Eſay be admitted into the compariſon) no booke of the Old Teſtament is ſo like a Goſpel, ſo particular in all things concerning Chriſt, as the Pſalmes.
So hath the Booke of Pſalmes an eſpeciall dignity in the intire Body, all together. It hath ſo alſo in divers diſtributions thereof into parts. For even amongſt the Jewes themſelves, thoſe fifteen Pſalmes which follow immediatly and ſucceſſively after the 119. Pſalme, were eſpecially diſtinguiſhed, and dignified by the name of Graduall Pſalmes; Whether becauſe they were ſung upon the Degrees and ſtaires aſcending to the Altar, Or becauſe hee that read them in the Temple, aſcended into a higher and more eminent place to reade them, Or becauſe the word Graduall implies a degree of excellency in the Pſalmes themſelves, I diſpute not; But a difference thoſe fifteen Pſalmes ever had above the reſt, in the Jewiſh and in the Chriſtian Church too. So alſo hath there beene a particular dignity aſcribed to thoſe ſeven Pſalmes, which we have ever called the Penitentiall Pſalmes; Of which S. Auguſtine had ſo much reſpect,Auguſt. as that he commanded them to be written in a great Letter, and hung about the curtaines of his Death-bed within, that hee might give up the ghoſt in contemplation, and meditation of thoſe ſeven Pſalmes. And it hath beene traditionally received, and recommended by good Authors, that that Hymne, Matt. 26.30.which Chriſt and his Apoſtles are ſaid to have ſung after the Inſtitution and celebration of the Sacrament, was a Hymne compoſed of thoſe ſix Pſalmes, which we call the Allelujah Pſalmes, immediatly preceding the hundred and nineteenth.
So then, in the whole Body, and in ſome particular limmes of the Body, the Church of God hath had an eſpeciall conſideration of the booke of Pſalmes. This Church in which we all ſtand now, and in which my ſelfe, by particular obligation ſerve, hath done ſo too. In this Church, by ancient Conſtitutions, it is ordained, That the whole booke of Pſalmes ſhould every day, day by day bee rehearſed by us, who make the Body of this Church, in the eares of Almighty God. And therefore every Prebendary of this Church, is by thoſe Conſtitutions bound every day to praiſe God in thoſe five Pſalmes which are appointed for his Prebend. And of thoſe five Pſalmes which belong to mee, this, out of which I have read you this Text, is the firſt. And, by Gods grace, (upon like occaſions) I ſhall here handle ſome part of every one of the other foure Pſalmes, for ſome teſtimony, that thoſe my five Pſalmes returne often into my meditation, which I alſo aſſure my ſelfe of the reſt of my brethren, who are under the ſame obligation in this Church.
For this whole Pſalme,Pſalmus integer. which is under our preſent conſideration, as Athanaſius amongſt all the Fathers, was moſt curious, and moſt particular, and exquiſite, in obſerving the purpoſe, and uſe of every particular Pſalm, (for to that purpoſe, he goes through them all, in this maner; If thou wilt encourage men to a love, and purſuit of goodneſſe, ſay the firſt Pſalme, and 31. and 140, &c. If thou wilt convince the Jewes, ſay the ſecond Pſalme; If thou wilt praiſe God for things paſt, ſay this, and this, And this, and this if thou wilt pray for future things) ſo for this Pſalme, which we have in hand, he obſerves in it a ſummary abridgement of all; For of this Pſalme he ſayes in generall, Adverſus inſidiantes, Againſt all attempts upon thy body, thy ſtate, thy ſoule, thy fame, tentations, tribulations, machinations, defamations, ſay this Pſalme. As he ſaith before, that in the booke of Pſalmes, every man may diſcerne motus animi ſui, his owne finfull inclinations expreſſed, and arme himſelfe againſt himſelfe; ſo in this Pſalme, he may arme himſelfe againſt all other adverſaries of any kinde. And therefore as the ſame Father entitles one Sermon of his, Contr a omnes haereſes, A Sermon for the convincing of all Hereſies, in which ſhort Sermon he meddles not much with particular hereſies, but onelyonly eſtabliſhes the truth of Chriſts Perſon in both natures, which is indeed enough againſt all Hereſies, and in which (that is the conſubſtantiality of Chriſt with the Father, God of God) this Father Athanaſius, hath enlarged himſelfe more then the reſt (inſomuch, that thoſe heretiques which grow ſo faſt, in theſe our dayes, The Socinians, (who deny the Godhead of Chriſt) are more vexed with that Father, then with any other, and call him for Athanaſius, Sathanaſius) As he cals that Sermon, a Sermon againſt all Hereſies, ſo he preſents this Pſalme againſt all Tentations, and Tribulations; Not that therein David puts himſelfe to waigh particular tentations, and tribulations, but that he puts every man, in every triall, to put himſelfe wholly upon God, and to know, that if man cannot helpe him in this world, nothing can; And, for man, Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; To be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter then vanity.
We conſider in the words,Diviſie. The maner, and the matter, How it is ſpoken, And what is ſaid. For the firſt, the maner, this is not abſolutely ſpoken, but comparatively, not peremptorily, but reſpectively, not ſimply, but with relation. The Holy Ghoſt, in Davids mouth, doth not ſay, That man can give no aſſiſtance to man; That man may looke for no helpe from man; But, that God is alwayes ſo preſent, and ſo all-ſufficient, that wee need not doubt of him, nor rely upon any other, otherwiſe then as an inſtrument of his. For that which he had ſpread over all the verſes of the Pſalme before, he ſummes up in the verſe immediatly before the Text, Truſt in God at all times, for hee is a refuge for us; and then, hee ſtrengthens that with this, What would yee prefer before God, or joyne with God? man? what man? Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; To be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter then vanity.
Which words being our ſecond part, open to us theſe ſteps: Firſt, that other Doctrins, morall or civill Inſtructions may be delivered to us poſſibly, and probably, and likely, and credibly, and under the like termes, and modifications, but this in our Text, is Aſſuredly, undoubtedly, undeniably, irrefragably, Surely men of low degree, &c. For howſoever when they two are compared together, with one another, it may admit diſcourſe and diſputation, whether men of high degree, or of low degree doe moſt violate the lawes of God; that is, whether proſperity or adverſity make men moſt obnoxious to ſin, yet, when they come to bee compared, not with one another, but both with God, this aſſeveration, this ſurely reaches to both; Surely, The man of low degree is vanity, and, as Surely, The man of high degree is a lie. And though this may ſeeme to leave ſome roome, for men of middle ranks, and fortunes, and places, That there is a mediocrity, that might give an aſſurance, and an eſtabliſhment, yet there is no ſuch thing in this caſe, for (as ſurely ſtill) to be laid in the balance, they are all, (not all of low, and all of high degree, all rich, and all poore, but) All, of all conditions, altogether lighter then vanity.
Now, all this doth not deſtroy, not extinguiſh, not annihilate that affection in man, of hope, and truſt, and confidence in any thing; but it rectifies that hope, and truſt, and confidence, and directs it upon the right object: Truſt not in fleſh, but in ſpirituall things, That wee neither bend our hopes downeward, to infernall ſpirits, to ſeeke help in Witches; nor miſ-carry it upward, to ſeeke it in Saints, or Angels, but fix it in him, who is nearer us then our owne ſoules, our bleſſed, and gracious, and powerfull God, who in this one Pſalme is preſented unto us, by ſo many names of aſſurance and confidence, My expectation, my ſalvation, my rocke, my defence, my glory, my ſtrength, my refuge, and the reſt.
Firſt then theſe words, Surely men of low degree, and men of high degree are vanity, 1 Part. Quid home erga Deum.are not abſolutely, ſimple, unconditionally ſpoken; Man is not nothing: Nay, it is ſo farre from that, as that there is nothing but man. As, though there may bee many other creatures living, which were not derived from Eve, and yet Eve is called Mater viventium, Gen. 3.20.The Mother of all that live, becauſe the life of none but man, is conſidered; ſo there bee ſo many other Creatures, and Chriſt ſends his Apoſtles to preach, Omni Creaturae, Marke 16.15.to every creature, yet he meanes none but Man. All that God did in making all other creatures, in all the other dayes, was but a laying in of Materials; The ſetting up of the work was in the making of Man. God had a picture of himſelfe from all eternity; from all eternity, the Sonne of God was the Image of the inviſible God; Coloſ. 1.15.But then God would have one picture, which ſhould bee the picture of Father, Sonne, and Holy Ghoſt too, and ſo made man to the Image of the whole Trinity. As the Apoſtle argues, Cui dixit, To whom did God ever ſay, This day have I begotten thee, but to Chriſt? ſo we ſay,Heb. 1.5. for the dignity of man, Cui dixit, of what creature did God ever ſay, Faciamus, Let us, us make it, All, all, the Perſons together, and to imploy, and exerciſe, not onelyonly Power, but Counſaile in the making of that Creature? Nay, when man was at worſt, he was at a high price; man being fallen, yet then, in that undervalue, he coſt God his own and onelyonly Son, before he could have him. Neither became the Son of God capable of redeeming man, by any leſſe, or any other way, then by becomming man. The Redeemer muſt be better then he whom he is to redeeme; and yet, he muſt abaſe himſelfe to as low a nature as his; to his nature; elſe he could not redeeme him. God was aliened from man, and yet God muſt become man, to recover man.
God joyned man in Commiſſion with himſelfe, upon his Creation,Gen. 1.28. in the Replete and Dominamini, when he gave Man power to poſſeſſe the Earth, and ſubdue the Creature; And God hath made man ſo equall to himſelfe, as not onelyonly to have a ſoule endleſſe and immortall, as God himſelfe, (though not endleſſe and immortall as himſelfe, yet endleſſe and immortall as himſelfe too, though not immortall the ſame way, (for Gods immortality is of himſelfe) yet as certainly, and as infallibly Immortall as he) but God hath not onelyonly given man ſuch an immortall ſoule, but a body that ſhall put on Incorruption and Immortality too, which he hath given to none of the Angels. In ſo much, that howſoever it be, whether an Angel may wiſh it ſelfe an Archangel, or an Archangel wiſh it ſelfe a Cherubin; yet man cannot deliberately wiſh himſelfe an Angel, becauſe he ſhould loſe by that wiſh, and lacke that glory, which he ſhall have in his body. We ſhall be like the Angels, ſayes Chriſt; In that wherein we can be like them,Marke 12.25. we ſhall be like them, in the exalting and refining of the faculties of our ſoules; But they ſhall never attaine to be like us in our glorified bodies. Neither hath God onelyonly reſerved this treaſure and dignity of man to the next world, but even here he hath made him filium Dei, Luke 6.35.The Sonne of God,1 Joh. 3.9. 2 Pet. 1.4. and Semen Dei, The ſeed of God, and Conſortem divinae naturae, Partaker of the divine Nature, and Deos ipſos, Gods themſelves, for Ille dixit Dii eſtis, he hath ſaid we are Gods. So that, as though the glory of heaven were too much for God alone, God hath called up man thither, in the aſcenſion of his Sonne, to partake thereof; and as though one God were not enough for the adminiſtration of this world, God hath multiplied gods here upon Earth, and imparted, communicated, not onelyonly his power to every Magiſtrate, but the Divine nature to every ſanctified man. David asks that queſtion with a holy wonder, Quid eſt homo? What is man that God is ſo mindfull of him? But I may have his leave, and the holy Ghoſts, to ſay, ſince God is ſo mindfull of him, ſince God hath ſet his minde upon him, What is not man? Man is all.
Since we conſider men in the place that they hold, and value them according to thoſe places, and aske not how they got thither, when we ſee Man made The Love of the Father, The Price of the Sonne, The Temple of the Holy Ghoſt, The Signet upon Gods hand, The Apple of Gods eye, Abſolutely, unconditionally we cannot annihilate man, not evacuate, not evaporate, not extenuate man to the levity, to the vanity, to the nullity of this Text (Surely men altogether, high and low, are lighter then vanity.) For, man is not onelyonly a contributary Creature, but a totall Creature; He does not onelyonly make one, but he is all; He is not a piece of the world, but the world it ſelfe; and next to the glory of God, the reaſon why there is a world.
But we muſt not determine this conſideration here, That man is ſomething, a great thing,Quid home erga hominem. a noble Creature, if we refer him to his end, to his intereſt in God, to his reverſion in heaven; But when we conſider man in his way, man amongſt men, man is not nothing, not unable to aſſiſt man, not unfit to be relyed upon by man; for, even in that reſpect alſo, God hath made Hominem homini Deum, He hath made one man able to doe the offices of God to another, in procuring his regeneration here, and advancing his ſalvation hereafter;Obad. 21. As he ſayes, Saviours ſhall come up on Mount Sion; which is the Church. Neither hath God determined that power of aſſiſting others, in the Character of Prieſthood onelyonly, (that the Prieſt ſhould be a god, that is, doe the offices and the work of God to the people, by delivering ſalvation unto them) but he hath alſo made the Prince, and the ſecular Magiſtrate, a god, that is able to doe the offices, and the works of God, not onelyonly to the people, but to the Prieſt himſelfe, to ſuſtaine him, yea, and to countenance, and favour, and protect him too, in the execution and exerciſe of his prieſtly office; As we ſee in the firſt plantation of thoſe two great Cedars, The Secular, and the Eccleſiaſticall Power, (which, that they might alwayes agree like brethren, God planted at firſt in thoſe two brethren, Moſes and Aaron) There, though Moſes were the temporall, and Aaron the ſpirituall Magiſtrate,Exod. 7.1. yet God ſayes to Moſes, I have made thee a God to Pharaoh, (but not onelyonly to Pharaoh) but Aaron thy brother ſhall be thy Prophet; for, (as he had ſaid before) Thou ſhalt be to him in ſtead of a God. Exod. 4.16.So uſefull, ſo neceſſary is man to man, as that the Prieſt, who is of God, incorporated in God, ſubſiſts alſo by man; for,Iſidor. Principes hujus ſeculi rationem reddituri ſunt, The Princes of this world muſt give God an account, Propter Eccleſiam, quam à Chriſto tuendam ſuſceperunt, for that Church, which Chriſt hath committed to their protection. In ſpirituall difficulties, and for ſpirituall duties, God ſends us to the Prieſt; but to ſuch a Prieſt as is a man; and (as our comfort is expreſſed) A Prieſt which was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, Heb. 4.15.and was in all points tempted like as we are: for the buſineſſes of this world, Rights, and Titles, and Proprieties,Deut. 16.18. and Poſſeſſions, God ſends us ſtill to the Judge; (Iudges and officers ſhalt thou make in all thy gates) Judges to try between man and man; And the ſword in battaile tryes between State and State, Prince and Prince; And therefore God commands and directs the levying of men to that purpoſe, in many places of the hiſtory of his people;Judg. 6. particularly God appoints Gideon to take a certaine proportion of the army, a certaine number of Souldiers.Exod. 32.26. And in another place, there goes out a preſſe for Souldiers from Moſes mouth; He preſſes them upon their holy allegeance to God, when he ſayes, Who is on the Lords ſide, let him come unto me. So, in infirmities, in ſickneſſes of the body,Jer. 8.22. we aske with the Prophet, Is there no balme in Gilead? Is there no Phyſitian there? God does not reprove Aſa for ſeeking of helpe of the Phyſitians;2 Chro. 16.12. but the increpation lyes onelyonly upon this, That he ſought to the Phyſitian, and not to the Lord. God ſends man to the Prieſt, to the Prince, to the Judge, to the Phyſitian, to the Souldier, and ſo, (in other places) to the Merchant, and to cunning Artificers, (as in the building of the Temple) that all that man needs might be communicated to man by man.
So that ſtill, ſimply, abſolutely, unconditionally, we cannot ſay, Surely men, men altogether, high or low, or meane, all are leſſe then vanity. And ſurely they that pervert and detort ſuch words as theſe, to ſuch a uſe, and argue from thence, Man is nothing, no more then a worme or a fly, and therefore what needs this ſolemne conſideration of mans actions, it is all one what he does, for all his actions, and himſelfe too are nothing; They doe this but to juſtifie or excuſe their own lazineſſe in this world, in paſſing on their time, without taking any Calling, embracing any profeſſion, contributing any thing to the ſpirituall edification, or temporall ſuſtentation of other men. But take the words, as the Holy Ghoſt intends them, comparatively, what man compared with God, or what man conſidered without God, can doe any thing for others, or for himſelfe? When the Apoſtle ſayes, That all the world is but dung, when the Prophet ſayes,Phil. 3.8. Eſay 40.15. 2 Cor. 12.11. 1 Cor. 1.21. That all the Nations of the world are leſſe then nothing, when the Apoſtle ſayes even of himſelfe, that he is nothing, all this is nothing in compariſon of that expreſſion in the ſame Apoſtle, That even the preaching of the Goſpel is fooliſhneſſe, That that which is the favour of life unto life, Gods owne Ordinance, Preaching, is but fooliſhneſſe; Let it be a Paul that plants, and an Apollo that waters, if God give not increaſe, all is but frivolouſneſſe, but fooliſhneſſe; And therefore boldly, confidently, uncontroulably we may proceed to the propoſitions of our Text, which conſtitute our ſecond part, Man, any man, every man, all men, collectively, diſtributively, conſidered ſo, (comparatiuely with God, or privatively without God) is but a lie, but vanity, leſſe then vanity.
To make our beſt uſe of the words,2 Part. Surely. (as our tranſlation exhibits them) we make our entrance, with this word of confidence, and infallibility, which onelyonly becomes the holy Ghoſt, in his aſſeverations, and in which he eſtabliſhes the propoſitions following; Surely, ſurely men of low degree, and as ſurely, men of high, and, ſurely ſtill all men together, are lighter then vanity. Men deliver their aſſertions otherwiſe modified, and under other qualifications. They obtrude to us miraculous doctrines of Tranſubſtantiation, and the like, upon a poſſibility onelyonly; It may be done, ſay they, It is poſſible, God can doe it. But that is far from the aſſuredneſſe of the Holy Ghoſt, Surely it is ſo;Chryſoft. for Aſylum hareticorum, eſt omnipotentia Dei, is excellently ſaid, and by more then one of the Fathers, The omnipotence of God is the Sanctuary of Heretiques, Thither they fly, to countenance any ſuch error; This God can doe, why ſhould you not beleeve it? Men proceed in their aſſeverations farther then ſo, from this poſſibility to a probability; It will abide argument, it hath been diſputed in the Schoole, and therefore is probable; why ſhould not you beleeve it? And ſo they offer us the doctrine of the immaculate conception of the bleſſed Virgin without Originall ſinne; But this probability reaches not to this aſſuredneſſe of our text, ſurely. They will goe farther then this probability, to a veriſimilitude, it is more then meerly poſſible, more then fairly probable, it is likely to be ſo; ſome of the ancient Fathers have thought ſo; and then, why ſhould not you beleeve it? and ſo they offer us prayer for the dead. Farther then this veriſimilitude they goe too; They goe to a Piè creditur, It may be piouſly beleeved, and it is fit to beleeve it, becauſe it may aſſiſt and exalt devotion to thinke ſo; And then why ſhould you not beleeve it? And ſo they offer us the worſhip of Images and Reliques … But ſtill, all this comes ſhort of our aſſuredneſſe, Surely, undoubtedly, undiſputably it is ſo.
And when the Romane Church would needs counter …it the language of the Holy Ghoſt, and pronounce this ſureneſſe upon ſo many new Articles in the Councell of Trent, it hath not proſpered well with them; for we all know, they have repented that forwardneſſe ſince, and wiſhed they had not determined ſo many particulars to be matter of fait… becauſe after ſuch a determination by a Councell, they have bound themſelves not to recede from thoſe doctrines, how unmaintenable ſoever they be in themſelves, or how inconvenient ſoever they fall out to be to them. And therefore we ſee, that in all the ſolicitations that can be uſed, even by Princes, to whom they are moſt affected, they will not come now to pronounce ſo ſurely, to determine ſo poſitively upon divers points that reſt yet in perplexity amongſt them. Which hath rayſed ſo many commotions in the kingdome of Spaine, and put more then one of their later Kings, to ſend divers Ambaſſages to Rome, to ſolicite a cleare declaration in that point, but could never, nor can yet attaine it, that is, The immaculate conception of the bleſſed Virgin without Originall ſinne. So alſo, for the obligation that the lawes of ſecular Magiſtrates lay upon the Conſcience, ſo alſo for the Concurrence of Grace, and Free-will, and divers others; in which they will not be drawne to this, Surely, to determine and declare of either ſide; for, indeed that is the language of the Holy Ghoſt.
It hath been obſerved amongſt Philoſophers, that Plato ſpeaks probably, and Ariſtotle poſitively; Platoes way is, It may be thus, and Ariſtotles, It muſt be thus. The like hath been noted amongſt Divines, between Calvin, and Melanchton; Calvin will ſay, Videtur, It ſeemes to be thus, Melanchton, It can be no otherwiſe but thus. But the beſt men are but Problematicall, OnelyOnly the Holy Ghoſt is Dogmaticall; OnelyOnly he ſubſcribes this ſurely, and onelyonly he ſeales with Infallibility. Our dealings are appointed to be in yea, yea,2 Cor. 1.20. Rev. 3.14. and nay, nay, and no farther; But all the promiſes of God are yea, and Amen, that is, ſurely, verily; for that is his Name; Theſe things ſaith The Amen, He that is Amen. And it is not (I hope) an impertinent note, That that Euangeliſt S. Iohn, who conſiders the Divinity of Chriſt, more then the other Euangeliſts doe, does evermore, conſtantly, without any change, double that which was Chriſts ordinary aſſeveration, Amen. As oft as the other Euangeliſts mention it in Chriſts mouth, ſtill they expreſſe it with one Amen, verily I ſay; S. Iohn alwayes, Amen, Amen, verily, verily, it is thus and thus. The nearer we come to the conſideration of God, the farther we are removed from all contingencies, and all inclination to Error, and the more is this Amen, verily, ſurely, multiplied and eſtabliſhed unto us.
It is in doctrines and opinions, as it is in deſignes and purpoſes; Goe to, (ſayes the Prophet, by way of reprehenſion) Goe to, you that ſay, we will goe to ſuch a City, and trade thus and thus there, &c. So, goe to, you that pronounce upon every invention, and Tradition of your own, a Quicunque vult ſalvus eſſe, Whoſoever will be ſaved, muſt beleeve this, and clogge every problematicall propoſition with an Anathema, Curſed be he, Excommunicated he that thinks the contrary to this; Goe to you, that make matters of faith of the paſſions of men. So alſo, goe to you that proceed and continue in your ſinnes, and ſay, Surely I ſhall have time enough to repent hereafter. Goe to you that in a ſpirituall and irreligious melancholy and diffidence in Gods mercy, ſay, Surely the Lord hath locked up his mercy from me, ſurely I ſhall never ſee that Sunne more, never receive, never feele beame of his mercy more, but paſſe through this darkneſſe into a worſe. This word, ſurely, in ſuch caſes, in ſuch ſenſes, is not your mothers tongue, not the language of the Chriſtian Church. She teaches you, to condition all in Chriſt; In him you are enabled to doe all things, and without him nothing. But abſolutely, unconditionally, this ſurely is appropriated to the propoſitions, to the aſſertions of God himſelfe; And ſome of thoſe follow in this text.
Now that which the Holy Ghoſt preſents here upon this aſſuredneſſe,Comparatio Divitis & Pauperis. is, That men of low degree are vanity, and that men of high degree are a lie; Theſe are both ſure, and alike ſure. It is true that it conſtitutes a Probleme, that it admits a Diſcourſe, it will abide a debatement, whether men of high degree, or of low degree be worſt; whether riches or poverty, (both conſidered in a great meaſure, very rich, and very poore) Proſperity or Adverſity occaſion moſt ſinnes. Though God call upon us in every leafe of the Scripture, to pity the poore, and relieve the poore, and ground his laſt Judgement upon our works of mercy,Mat. 25.34. (Becauſe you have fed and clothed the poore, inherit the kingdome) yet, as the rich and the poore ſtand before us now, (as it were in Judgement) as we inquire and heare evidence, which ſtato… moſt obnoxious, and open to moſt ſinnes, we embrace, and apply to our ſelves that law,Exod. 23.3. Levit. 19.15. Thou ſhalt not countenance a poore man in his cauſe; And (as it is repeated) Thou ſhalt not reſpect the perſon of the poore in Iudgement.
There is then a poverty, which, without all queſtion, is the direct way to heaven; but that is ſpirituall;Mat. 5.3. Bleſſed are the poore in ſpirit. This poverty is humility, it is not beggary. A rich man may have it, and a beggar may be without it. The Wiſeman found not this poverty,Ecclus 25.2. (not humility) in every poore man. He found three ſorts of men, whom his ſoule hated; And one of the three, was a poore man that is proud. And when the Prophet ſaid of Jeruſalem in her afflictions,Eſay 51.21. Paupercula es & ebria, Thou art poore, and miſerable, and yet drunke, though (as he addes there) it were not with wine, (which is now, in our dayes an ordinary refuge of men of all ſorts, in all ſadneſſes and croſſes to relieve themſelves upon wine and ſtrong drinke, which are indeed ſtrong illuſions) yet, though Jeruſalems drunkenneſſe were not with wine, it was worſe; It was a ſtaggering, a vertiginouſneſſe, an ignorance, a blindneſſe, a not diſcerning the wayes to God; which is the worſt drunkenneſſe, and fals often upon the poore and afflicted, That their poverty and affliction ſtaggers them, and damps them in their recourſe to God, ſo far, as that they know not, That they are miſerable, and wretched, and poore, and blinde, Revel. 3.17.and raked. The Holy Ghoſt alwaies makes the danger of the poore great, as well as of the rich. The rich mans wealth is his ſtrong City. There is his fault, his confidence in that;Pro. 10.15. But Pavor pauperum, The deſtruction of the poore is his poverty; There is his fault, Deſperation under it. Solomon preſents them, as equally dangerous, Give me neither poverty, nor riches. Pro. 30.8. Ruth. 3.10.So does Booz to Ruth, Bleſſed be thou of the Lord, my daughter, in as much as thou followedſt not young men, whether poore, or rich. That which Booz intended there, Incontinency, and all vices that ariſe immediately out of the corruption of nature, and are not induced by other circumſtances, have as much inclination from poverty, as from riches. May we not ſay, more? I doubt we may. He muſt be a very ſanctified man, whom extreame poverty, and other afflictions, doe not decline towards a jealouſie, and a ſuſpicion, and a diſtruſting of God; And then, the ſins that bend towards deſperation, are ſo much more dangerous, then thoſe that bend towards preſumption, that he that preſumes, hath ſtill mercy in his contemplation, He does not thinke, that he needs no mercy, but that mercy is eaſily had; He beleeves there is mercy, he doubts not of that; But the deſpairing man imagines a cruelty, an unmercifulneſſe in God, and deſtroyes the very nature of God himſelfe. Riches is the Metaphor, in which, the Holy Ghoſt hath delighted to expreſſe God and Heaven to us; Deſpiſe not the riches of his goodneſſe, ſayes the Apoſtle; And againe,Rom. 2.4.11.33. Epheſ. 3.8. ver. 16. O the depth of the riches of his wiſdome; And ſo, after, The unſearchable riches of Chriſt; And for the conſummation of all, The riches of his Glory, Gods goodneſſe towards us in generall, our Religion in the way, his Grace here, his Glory hereafter, are all repreſented to us in Riches. With poverty God ordinarily accompanies his comminations; he threatens feebleneſſe, and warre, and captivity, and poverty every where, but he never threatens men with riches.
Ordinary poverty, (that is a difficulty, with all their labors, and induſtry to ſuſtaine their family, and the neceſſary duties of their place) is a ſhrewd, and a ſlippery tentation. But for that ſtreet-beggery, which is become a Calling, (for Parents bring up their children to it, nay they doe almoſt take prentiſes to it, ſome expert beggers teach others what they ſhall ſay, how they ſhall looke, how they ſhall lie, how they ſhall cry) for theſe, whom our lawes call Incorrigible, I muſt ſay of them (in a juſt accommodation of our Saviours words, It is not meet to take the childrens bread, Matt. 25.26.and to caſt it to dogs) It is not meet, that this vermin ſhould devoure any of that, which belongs to them who are truely poore. Neither is there any meaſure, any proportion of riches, that expoſes man naturally to ſo much ſin, as this kinde of beggery doth. Rich men forget, or neglect the duties of their Baptiſme; but of theſe, how many are there, that were never baptized? Rich men ſleepe out Sermons, but theſe never come to Church: Rich men are negligent in the practiſe, but theſe are ignorant in all knowledge.
It would require a longer diſquiſition, then I can afford to it now, whether Riches, or Poverty (conſidered in leſſer proportions, ordinary riches, ordinary poverty) open us to more, and worſe ſins; But conſider them in the higheſt and in the loweſt, abundant riches, beggerly poverty, and it will ſcarce admit doubt, but that the incorrigible vagabond is farther from all wayes of goodneſſe, then the corrupteſt rich man is. And therefore labour wee all earneſtly in the wayes of ſome lawfull calling, that we may have our portion of this world by good meanes. For firſt, the advantages of doing good to others in a reall reliefe of their wants, is in the rich onelyonly, whereas the beſt way of a good poore man, to doe good to others, is but an exemplary patience, to catechize others by his ſuffering; And then, all degrees of poverty are dangerous and ſlippery, even to a murmuring againſt God, or an invading of the poſſeſſions, and goods of other men, but eſpecially the loweſt, the deſperate degree of beggery, and then eſpecially, when we cannot ſay it is inflicted by the hand of God, but contracted by our owne lazineſſe, or our owne waſtfulneſſe.
This is a problematicall, a diſputable caſe, Whether riches or poverty occaſion moſt ſins. And becauſe on both ſides there ariſe good doctrines of edification,Men of low degree. I have thus far willingly ſtopped upon that diſputable conſideration. But now, that which wee receive here, upon Davids, upon the Holy Ghoſts ſecurity, Surely it is thus, It is ſurely ſo, is this, That we ſhall be deceived, if we put our truſt in men; for, what ſort of men would we truſt? Surely men of low degree are vanity. And this, if it be taken of particular men, needs no proving, no illuſtrating, no remembring. Every man ſees and acknowledges, that to rely upon a man of no power, of no place, no blood, no fortune, no friends, no favour, is a vanity, Surely men of low degree are vanity. The firſt younger brother that was borne in the world, becauſe he was leſſe then another, is called by the very name of vanity; The eldeſt brother Cain ſignifies poſſeſsion, but Abel is vanity.
But take it of a whole body of ſuch men, Men of low degree, and it is ſo too; the Applauſe of the people is vanity, Popularity is vanity. At how deare a rate doth that man buy the peoples affections, that payes his owne head for their hats? How cheaply doth he ſell his Princes favour, that hath nothing for it, but the peoples breath? And what age doth not ſee ſome examples of ſo ill merchants of their owne honours and lives too? How many men, upon confidence of that flattering gale of winde, the breath and applauſe of the people, have taken in their anchors, (that is, departed from their true, and ſafe hold, The right of the Law, and the favour of the Prince) and as ſoone as they hoyſed their ſailes, (that is, entred into any by-action) have found the wind in their teeth, that is, Thoſe people whom they truſted in, armed againſt them. And as it is in Civill, and Secular, ſo it is in Eccleſiaſticall, and Spirituall things too. How many men, by a popular hunting after the applauſe of the people, in their manner of preaching, and humouring them in their diſtempers, have made themſelves incapable of preferment in the Church where they tooke their Orders, and preached themſelves into a neceſſity of running away into forraine parts, that are receptacles of ſeditious and ſchiſmaticall Separatiſts, and have been put there, to learne ſome trade, and become Artificers for their ſuſtentation? The ſame people that welcommed Chriſt, from the Mount of Olives, into Jeruſalem,Matt. 21.9. upon Sunday, with their Hoſannaes to the Sonne of David, upon Friday mocked him in Jeruſalem, with their Haile King of the Iewes, and blew him out of Jeruſalem to Golgotha, with the peſtilent breath, with the tempeſtuous whirlwind of their Crucifige's. And of them,Matt. 10.25. who have called the Maſter Beelzebub, what ſhall any ſervant looke for? Surely men of low degree are vanity.
And then,High degree under the ſame oath, and aſſeveration, Surely, as ſurely as the other, men of high degree are a lie. Doth David meane theſe men, whom he calls a lie, to be any leſſe then thoſe whom hee called vanity? Leſſe then vanity, then emptineſſe, then nothing, nothing can be; And low, and high are to this purpoſe, and in this conſideration, (compared with God, or conſidered without God) equally nothing. He that hath the largeſt patrimony, and ſpace of earth, in the earth, muſt heare me ſay, That all that was nothing; And if he ask, But what was this whole Kingdom, what all Europe, what all the World? It was all, not ſo much as another nothing, but all one and the ſame nothing as thy dunghill was. But yet the Holy Ghoſt hath beene pleaſed to vary the phraſe here, and to call Men of high degree, not vanity, but a lie, becauſe the poore, men of low degree, in their condition promiſe no aſſiſtance, feed not men with hopes, and therefore cannot be ſaid to lie, but in the condition of men of high degree, who are of power, there is a tacit promiſe, a naturall and inherent aſſurance of protection, and aſſiſtance, flowing from them. For, the Magiſtrate cannot ſay, That he never promiſed me Juſtice, never promiſed mee Protection; for in his aſſuming that place, he made me that promiſe. I cannot ſay, that I never promiſed my Pariſh, my ſervice; for in my Induction, I made them that promiſe, and if I performe it not, I am a lie; for ſo this word Chaſab (which we tranſlate a lie) is frequently uſed in the Scriptures, for that which is defective in the duty it ſhould performe; Thou ſhalt bee a ſpring of water, (ſayes God in Eſay) Cujus aquae non mentiuntur, mhoſe waters never lie, Eſay 58.11.that is, never dry, never faile.
So then, when men of high degree doe not performe the duties of their places, then they are a lie of their owne making; And when I over-magnifie them in their place, flatter them, humor them, aſcribe more to them, expect more from them, rely more upon them, then I ſhould, then they are a lie of my making. But whether the lie be theirs, That they feare greater men then themſelves, and ſo prevaricate in their duties; Or the lie be mine, that canonize them and make them my God, they, and I ſhall be diſappointed; for, Surely men of high degree are a lie. But we are upon a Sermon, not upon a Satyr, therefore we paſſe from this.
And,Mediocrity. for all this, there may ſeeme to be roome left for the Middle-ſtate, for a mediocrity; when it is not ſo low as to be made the ſubject of oppreſſion, nor ſo high as to be made the object of ambition, when it is neither expoſed to ſcorne and contempt, nor to envy, and undermining, may we not then truſt upon, not reſt in ſuch a condition? Indeed, this mediocrity ſeemes (and juſtly) the ſafeſt condition; for this, and this onelyonly enjoyes it ſelfe: The lazy man gets not up to it; The ſtirring man ſtayes not at it, but is gone beyond it. From our firſt Themes at Schoole, to our Texts in the Pulpit, we continue our prayſing and perſwading of this mediocrity. A man may have too much of any thing; Anima ſaturata, A full ſoule will tread hony under his ſeete; Prov. 27.7. Ier. 10.14.He may take in knowledge till he be ignorant; Let the Prophet Ieremy give the Rule, Stultus factus eſt omnis homo à ſcientia, Every man becomes a foole by knowledge, by over-weening, and over-valuing his knowledge; And let Adam be the example of this Rule, His eyes were opened by eating the fruit, and he knew ſo much, as he was aſhamed of it; Let the Apoſtle be the Phyſitian, the moderator, Sapere ad ſobrietatem, not to dive into ſecrets,Rom. 12.3. and unrevealed myſteries. There is enough of this doctrine involved in the fable, Acteon ſaw more then he ſhould have ſeene, and periſhed. There is abundantly enough expreſſed in the Oracle of Truth, Vzza was over-zealous in an office that appertained not to him,2 Sam. 6.6. in aſſiſting the Arke, and ſuffered for that.
We may quickly exceed a mediocrity, even in the praiſe of Mediocrity. But all our diligence will ſcarce finde it out. What is mediocrity? Or where is it? In the Hierarchy of the Roman Church they never thought of this mediocrity; They go very high, and very low, but there is no meane ſtation; I meane no denomination of any Order from meanneſſe, from mediocrity. In one degree you finde embroydered ſhooes, for Kings to kiſſe, and in another degree bare feet; we finde an Order of the Society of Ieſus; and that is very high, for, Society implies community, partnerſhip; And we finde low deſcents, Minorits, men leſſe then others, And Minims, leaſt of all men; and lower then all them, Nullans, men that call themſelves, Nothing; And truly, this Order, beſt of all others hath anſwered and juſtified the name, for, very ſoone, they came to nothing. Wee finde all extreames amongſt them, even in their names, but none denominated from this mediocrity.
But to paſſe from names to the thing; indeed what is Mediocrity? where is it? Is it the ſame thing as Competency? But what is competency? or where is that? Is it that which is ſufficient for thy preſent degree? perchance thy preſent degree is not ſufficient for thee; Thy charge perchance, perchance thy parts and abilities, or thy birth and education may require a better degree. God produced plants in Paradiſe therefore, that they might grow; God hath planted us in this world, that we might grow; and he that does not endeavour that by all lawfull meanes, is inexcuſable, as well as he that purſues unlawfull. But, if I come to imagine ſuch a mediocrity, ſuch a competency, ſuch a ſufficiency in my ſelfe, as that I may reſt in that, that I thinke I may ride out all ſtormes, all diſ-favours, that I have enough of mine owne, wealth, health, or morall conſtancy, if any of theſe decay, this is a verier vanity, then truſting in men of low degree, and a verier lye, then men of high degree; for, this is to truſt to our ſelves;Habbak. 1.16. this is a ſacrificing to our owne nets, our owne induſtry, our owne wiſdome, our owne fortune; And of all the Idolatries of the Heathen, who made Gods of every thing they ſaw or imagined, of every thing, in, and betweene Heaven and hell, we reade of no man that ſacrificed to himſelfe. Indeed no man flatters me ſo dangerouſly, as I flatter my ſelfe, no man wounds me ſo deſperately, as I wound my ſelfe; And therefore, ſince this which we call Mediocrity, and Competency is conditioned ſo, that it is enough to ſubſiſt alone, without relation to others, dependency upon others, feare from others, induces a confidence, a relying upon my ſelfe; As, that which we imagine to be the middle region of the ayre, is the coldeſt of all, So this imagined mediocrity, that induces a confidence in our ſelves, is the weakeſt reſt, the coldeſt comfort of all, and makes me a lye to my ſelfe. Therefore may the Prophet well ſpread, and ſafely extend his aſſeveration, his Surely, upon all, high, and low, and meane; Surely to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter then vanity.
Here then, upon a full enumeration of all parts, the Prophet concludes upon all.Lighter then vanity. If therefore thou have the favour of great ones, the applauſe of the people, confidence in thy ſelfe, in an inſtant, the power of thoſe great ones may be overthrowne, or their favour to thee withdrawne from thee, (and ſo, that bladder is pricked, upon which thou ſwommeſt) The applauſe of the people may be huſhed and ſilenced, (either they would not, or they dare not magnifie thee) And, thine owne conſtancy may be turned into a dejection of ſpirit, and conſternation of all thy faculties. Put all together, (which fals out ſeldome, that any man can do ſo) but if he can do that, (which is the beſt ſtate of man, that can be imagined in this world, that he hath all theſe together, the favour of High and low, and of himſelfe, that is, his owne teſtimony in his conſcience, (though perchance an erring, a miſtaking conſcience) yet, the Prophet had delivered the ſame aſſurance before (even of that ſtate of man, which is rather imagined, then ever poſſeſt) Surely every man, Pſal. 39.5.at his beſt ſtate, is altogether vanity; And here, he adds, lighter then vanity. Vanity is nothing, but there is a condition worſe then nothing. Confidence in the things, or perſons of this world, but moſt of all, a confidence in our ſelves, will bring us at laſt to that ſtate, wherein we would faine be nothing, and cannot. But yet, we have a balance in our text; And all theſe are but put together in one balance. In the other ſcale there is ſomething put to, in compariſon whereof all this world is ſo light. God does not leave our great and noble faculty, and affection of hope, and truſt, and confidence, without ſomething to direct it ſelfe upon, and rectifie it ſelfe in. He does not; for, for that he propoſes himſelfe; The words immediately before the text, are, God is a refuge; and in compariſon of him, To be laid in the balance, Surely they are altogether lighter then vanity.
So then,Deus omnia. Ier. 17.5. it is not enough not to truſt in the fleſh (for, for that, Curſed be man, that truſted in man, or maketh fleſh his arme; Their fleſh cannot ſecure thee, neither is thine owne fleſh braſſe, Iob 6.12. Mat. 16.17.that thou canſt endure the vexations of this world, neither can fleſh and blood reveale unto thee the things of the next world) It is not enough not to truſt in fleſh, but thou muſt truſt in that that is Spirit. And when thou art to direct thy truſt upon him, who is ſpirit, the ſpirit of power, and of conſolation, ſtop not, ſtray not, divert not upon evill ſpirits, to ſeeke advancement, or to ſeeke knowledge from them, nor upon good ſpirits, the glorious Saints of GOD in Heaven, to ſeeke ſalvation from them, nor upon thine owne ſpirit, in an over-valuation of thy purity, or thy merits. For, there is a peſtilent pride in an imaginary humility, and an infectious fouleneſſe in an imaginary purity; but turne onelyonly to the onelyonly inviſible and immortall God, who turnes to thee, in ſo many names and notions of power, and conſolation, in this one Pſalme. In the laſt verſe but one of this Pſalme, David ſayes, God bath ſpoken once, and twice have I heard him. God hath ſaid enough at once; but twice, in this Pſalme, hath he repeated this, in the ſecond, and in the ſixt verſe, He onelyonly is my Rocke, and my Salvation, and my Defence, And, (as it is inlarged in the ſeventh verſe) my Refuge, and my Glory. If my Refuge, what enemy can purſue me? If my Defence, what tentation ſhall wound me? If my Rock, what ſtorme ſhall ſhake me? If my Salvation, what melancholy ſhall deject me? If my Glory, what calumny ſhall defame me?
I muſt not ſtay you now, to infuſe into you, the ſeverall conſolations of theſe ſeverall names, and notions of God towards you. But, goe your ſeverall wayes home, and every ſoule take with him that name, which may miniſter moſt comfort unto him. Let him that is purſued with any particular tentation, inveſt God, as God is a Refuge, a Sanctuary. Let him that is buffeted with the meſſenger of Satan, battered with his owne concupiſcence, receive God, as God is his Defenoe and target. Let him that is ſhaked with perplexities in his underſtanding, or ſcruples in his conſcience, lay hold upon God, as God is his Rock, and his anchor. Let him that hath any diffident jealouſie or ſuſpition of the free and full mercy of God, apprehend God, as God is his Salvation; And him that walks in the ingloriouſneſſe and contempt of this world, contemplate God, as God is his Glory. Any of theſe notions is enough to any man, but God is all theſe, and all elſe, that all ſoules can thinke, to every man. Wee ſhut up both theſe Conſiderations, (man ſhould not,Mic. ult. 5. (that is not all) God ſhould be relied upon) with that of the Prophet, Truſt ye not in a friend, put not your confidence in a guide, keepe the doores of thy mouth from her that lies in thy boſome; (there is the excluſion of truſt in man) and then he adds in the ſeventh verſe, becauſe it ſtands thus betweene man and man, I will looke unto the Lord, I will looke to the God of my Salvation, my God will heare me.