Two Sermons Preached Before King Charles on Genesis 1:26, Text 2 – Title page 3
Geneſis 1.26.
And God ſaid, Let us make man in our image, after our likeneſſe.
BY fair occaſion from theſe words, we propoſed to you the whole compaſſe of mans voyage, from his launching forth in this world, to his anchoring in the next; from his hoyſing ſail here, to his ſtriking ſail there: in which compaſſe we deſigned to you his foure quarters: firſt, his Eaſt, where he muſt begin, the fundamentall knowledge of the Trinitie (for that we found to be the ſpecification & diſtinctive character of a Chriſtian) where, though that be ſo, we ſhewed you alſo, why we were not called Trinitarians, but Chriſtians: and we ſhewed you the advantage that man hath, in laying hold upon God in theſe ſeverall notions; That the prodigall ſonne hath an indulgent father; that the decayed father hath an abundant ſonne; that the dejected ſpirit hath a Spirit of comfort to fly to in heaven. And as we ſhewed you from S. Paul, that it was an Atheiſme to be no Chriſtian: (Without God, ſayes he, as long as without Chriſt) ſo we lamented the ſlackneſſe of Chriſtians, that they did not ſeriouſly and particularly conſider the perſons of the Trinitie, and eſpecially the holy Ghoſt, in their particular actions: And then we came to that conſideration, whether this doctrine were eſtabliſhed, or directly inſinuated, in this plurall word of our text, Faciamus, Let us make man: and we found that doctrine to be here, and here firſt, of any place in the Bible: and finding God to ſpeak in the plurall, we accepted (for a time) that interpretation which ſome had made thereof, That God ſpake in the perſon of a Soveraigne Prince, and therefore (as they do) in the plurall, We: And thereby having eſtabliſhed reverence to Princes, we claymed, in Gods behalf, the ſame reverence to him; that men would demean themſelves here, when God is ſpoken to in prayer, as reverently as when they ſpeak to the King. But afterwards we found God to ſpeak here not onelyonly as our King, but as our Maker, as God himſelf, and God in councel, Faciamus: And we applied thereunto the difference of our reſpect to a perſon of that honourable rank, when we came before him at the councel-table, and when we came to him at his own table; and thereby advanced the ſeriouſneſſe of this conſideration, God in the Trinitie. And farther we ſailed not with our Eaſtern winde. Our Weſt we conſidered in the next word, Hominem; That, though we were made by the whole Trinitie, yet the whole Trinitie made us but men, and men in this name of our text, Adam; and Adam is but earth: and that is our Weſt, our declination, our Sun-ſet. We paſſed over the foure names, by which man is ordinarily expreſſed in the ſcriptures; and we found neceſſary miſerie in three of them; and poſſible, nay, likely miſerie in the fourth, in the beſt name. We inſiſted upon the name of our text, Adam, earth; and had ſome uſe of theſe notes; firſt, That if I were but earth, God was pleaſed to be the potter; If I but a ſheep, he a ſhepherd; If I but a cottage, he a builder: So he work upon me, let me be what he will. We noted, that God made us earth, not aire, not fire; that man hath bodily and worldly duties to perform, and is not all ſpirit in this life. Devotion is his ſoul: but he hath a bodie of diſcretion & uſefulneſſe to inveſt in ſome calling. We noted too, that in being earth we are equall: we tried that equalitie, firſt in the root, in Adam; there if any man will be nobler earth then I, he muſt have more originall ſinne then I: for that was all Adams patrimonie, all that he could give. And we tried this equalitie in another furnace, in the grave; where there is no means to diſtinguiſh royall from plebeian, nor catholick from hereticall duſt. And laſtly we noted, that this our earth was red; & conſidered in what reſpect it was red, even in Gods hands; but found that in the bloud-redneſſe of ſinne, God had no hand; but ſinne, and deſtructions for ſinne, were wholly from our ſelves: which conſideration we ended with this, that there was Macula alba, a white ſpot of leproſie, as well as a red: and we found the overvaluation of our own puritie, and the uncharitable condemnation of all that differ from us, to be that white ſpot. And ſo farre we ſailed with that Weſtern winde, & are come to our third point in this our compaſſe, our North.
In this point, III. Part. Aquilo.the North, we place our firſt comfort. The North is not alwayes the comfortableſt clime; nor is the North alwayes a type of happineſſe in the ſcriptures. Many times God threatens ſtorms from the North: but even in thoſe Northern ſtorms, we conſider their action, that they ſcatter, they diſſipate thoſe clouds which were gathered, and ſo induce a ſerenitie. Job 37.22.And ſo fair weather comes from the North. The conſideration of our Weſt, our low eſtate, that we are but earth, but red earth, died red by our ſelves; and that imaginary white, which appeares ſo to us, is but a white of leproſie: this Weſt inwraps us in heavie clouds of murmuring in this life, that we cannot live ſo freely as beaſts do; and in clouds of deſperation for the next life, that we cannot die ſo abſolutely as beaſts do. We die all our lives; and yet we live after our deaths: Theſe are our clouds; & then the North ſhakes theſe clouds. Prov. 25.13.The North-winde driveth away the rain, ſayes Solomon. There is a North in our text, that drives all theſe tears from our eyes. Cant. 4.16.Chriſt calls upon the North as well as the South, to blow upon his garden, and to diffuſe the perfumes thereof. Adverſitie, as well as proſperitie, opens the bountie of God unto us; and oftentimes better. But that is not the benefit of the North, in our preſent conſideration: but this is it, that firſt our Sunne ſets in the Weſt. The Eaſtern dignitie which we received in our firſt creation, as we were the work of the whole Trinitie, falls under a Weſtern cloud, that that Trinitie made us but earth. And then blows our North, and ſcatters this cloud; that this earth hath a nobler form then any other part or limbe of the world: for we are made by a fairer pattern, by a nobler image, by a higher likeneſſe. Faciamus; Though we make but a man, Let us make him in our image, after our likeneſſe.
The varietie which the holy Ghoſt uſes here in the pen of Moſes, hath given occaſion to divers, to raiſe divers obſervations upon theſe words, which ſeem divers, Image and Likeneſſe; as alſo in the varietie of the phraſe: for it is thus conceived and layed, In our image; and then, After our likeneſſe. I know it is a good rule that Damaſcen gives, Parva non ſunt parva, ex quibus magna proveniunt; Nothing is to be neglected, as little, from which great things may ariſe: If the conſequence may be great, the thing muſt not be thought little. No Jod in the ſcripture ſhall periſh; therefore no Jod is ſuperfluous: if it were ſuperfluous, it might periſh. Words, and leſſe particles then words, have buſied the whole Church.
In the Councel of Epheſus, where Biſhops in a great number excommunicated Biſhops in a greater; Biſhop againſt Biſhop, and Patriarch againſt Patriarch; in which caſe, when both parties had made ſtrong parties in Court, and the Emperour forbore to declare himſelf on either ſide for a time, he was told, that he refuſed to aſſent to that which 6000 Biſhops had agreed in: the ſtrife was but for a word, whether the bleſſed Virgin might be called Deipara, The mother of God; for Chriſtipara, The mother of Chriſt; which Chriſt all agree to be God. Neſtorius and all his partie agreed with Cyril, that ſhe might be. In the Councel of Calcedon, the difference was not ſo great, as for a word compoſed of ſyllables. It was but for a ſyllable, whether Ex or In. The heretiques condemned then, confeſſed Chriſt to be Ex duabus naturis, to be compoſed of two natures, at firſt; but not to be In duabus naturis, not to conſiſt of two natures after. And for that In, they were thruſt out. In the Councel of Nice, it was not ſo much as a ſyllable made of letters; for it was but for one letter; whether Homoouſion, or Homöuſion, was the iſſue. Where the queſtion hath not been of divers words, nor ſyllables, nor letters, but onelyonly of the place of words, what tempeſtuous differences have riſen! How much hath ſola ſides and ſides ſola changed the caſe! Nay, where there hath been no quarrell for precedencie, for tranſpoſing of words, or ſyllables, or letters, where there hath not been ſo much as a letter in queſtion, how much doth an accent varie a ſenſe! An interrogation or no interrogation, will make it directly contrarie. All Chriſtian expoſitours reade thoſe words of Cain, My ſinne is greater then can be pardoned, Gen. 4.13.poſitively; and ſo they are evident words of deſperation. The Jews reade them with an interrogation, Are my ſinnes greater then can be pardoned? and ſo they are words of compunction and repentance. The prophet Micheas ſayes, Mich. 5.3.that Bethlehem is a ſmall place: Matth. 2.6.The Evangeliſt S. Matthew ſayes, No ſmall place. An interrogation in Micheas mouth reconciles it; Art thou a ſmall place? amounts to that, Thou art not. Sounds, voices, words, muſt not be neglected: for Chriſts forerunner, John Baptiſt, qualified himſelf no otherwiſe; he was but a voice: and Chriſt himſelf is Verbum; The Word is the name even of the Sonne of God. No doubt but States-men & Magiſtrates finde often the danger of having ſuffered ſmall abuſes to paſſe uncorrected. We that ſee State-buſineſſe but in the glaſſe of ſtorie, and cannot be ſhut out of chronicles, ſee there, upon what little objects the eye and the jealouſie of the State is oftentimes forced to bend it ſelf. We know in whoſe times in Rome a man might not weep, he might not ſigh, he might not look pale, he might not be ſick, but it was informed againſt, as a diſcontent, as a murmuring againſt the preſent government, and an inclination to change. And truely many times, upon Damaſcens true ground, though not alwayes well applied, Parva non ſunt parva; Nothing may be thought little, when the conſequence may prove great. In our own ſphere, in the Church, we are ſure it is ſo; great inconveniences grew upon ſmall tolerations. Therefore in that buſineſſe, which occaſioned all that trouble which we mentioned before, in the Councel of Epheſus, when S. Cyril wrote to the Clergie of his dioceſſe about it, at firſt he ſayes, Praeſtiterat abſtinere, It had been better theſe queſtions had not been raiſed: but (ſayes he) Si his nugis nos adoriantur, If they vex us with theſe impertinences, theſe trifles: And yet theſe, which were but trifles at firſt, came to occaſion Councels; and then to divide Councel againſt Councel; and then to force the Emperour to take away the power of both Councels, and govern in Councel by his Vicar generall, a ſecular Lord ſent from Court. And therefore did ſome of the Ancients (particularly Philaſtrius) crie down ſome opinions for hereſies, which were not matters of faith, but of philoſophie; and even in philoſophie truely held by them who were condemned for hereticks, and miſtaken by their Judges that condemned them. Little things were called in queſtion, leſt great things ſhould paſſe unqueſtioned: and ſome of theſe upon Damaſcens true ground (ſtill true in rule, but not alwayes in the application) Parva non ſunt parva; Nothing may be thought little, where the conſequence may prove great. Deſcend we from thoſe great ſpheres, the State and the Church, into a leſſer, that is, the conſcience of particular men, and conſider the danger of expoſing thoſe vines to little foxes; Cant. 2.15.of leaving ſmall ſinnes unconſidered, unrepented, uncorrected. In that gliſtering circle in the firmament, which we call the Galaxie, the milkie-way, there is not one ſtarre of any of the ſix great magnitudes, which Aſtronomers proceed upon, belonging to that circle: it is a glorious circle, and poſſeſſeth a great part of heaven; and yet is all of ſo little ſtarres as have no name, no knowledge taken of them: So certainly are there many Saints in heaven, that ſhine as ſtarres, and yet are not of thoſe great magnitudes, to have been Patriarchs, or Prophets, or Apostles, or Martyrs, or Doctours, or Virgins; but good & bleſſed ſouls, that have religiouſly performed the duties of inferiour callings, and no more. And as certainly are there many ſouls tormented in hell, that never ſinned ſinne of any of the great magnitudes, Idolatry, Adultery, Murder, or the like; but inconſiderately have ſlid, and inſenſibly continued in the practiſe and habit of leſſer ſinnes. But parva non ſunt parva; Nothing may be thought little, where the conſequence may prove great. Matth. 12.36.When our Saviour ſayes, That we ſhall give an account for every idle word in the day of judgement, what great hills of little ſands will oppreſſe us then! And if ſubſtances of ſinne were removed, yet what circumſtances of ſinne would condemne us! If idle words have this weight, there can be no word thought idle in the Scriptures: And therefore I blame not in any, I decline not in mine own practiſe, the making uſe of the varietie and copiouſneſſe of the holy Ghoſt, who is ever abundant, and yet never ſuperfluous in expreſſing his purpoſe in change of words. And ſo no doubt we might do now in obſerving a difference between theſe words in our text, Image, and Likeneſſe; and between theſe two forms of expreſſing it, In our image, and, After our likeneſſe. This might be done. But that that muſt be done, will poſſeſſe all our time; that is, to declare (taking the two for this time to be but a farther illuſtration of one another; Image and Likeneſſe, to our preſent purpoſe, to be all one) what this image and this likeneſſe imports; and how this North ſcatters our former cloud; what our advantage is, that we are made to an image, to a pattern; and our obligation to ſet a pattern before us in all our actions.
God appointed Moſes to make all that he made, by a pattern. God himſelf made all that he made, according to a pattern. God had depoſited and laid up in himſelf certain forms, patterns, Ideas of every thing that he made. He made nothing, of which he had not preconceived the form, and predetermined in himſelf, I will make it thus. And when he had made any thing, he ſaw it was good; Good, becauſe it anſwered the pattern, the image; Good, be…uſe it was like to that. And therefore though of other creatures God pronounced they were good, becauſe they were preſently like their pattern, that is, like that form which was in him for them: yet of man, he forbore to ſay that he was good; becauſe his conformitie to his pattern was to appeare after in his ſubſequent actions. Now as God made man after another pattern, and therefore we have a dignitie above all, that we had another manner of creation then the reſt: ſo have we a comfort above all, that we have another manner of adminiſtration then the reſt. God exerciſes another manner of providence upon man, then upon other creatures. Matth. 10.29.A ſparrow falls not without God, ſayes Chriſt: yet no doubt God works otherwiſe in the fall of eminent perſons, then in the fall of ſparrows; for ye are of more value then many ſparrows, ſayes Chriſt there of every man: & ſome men ſingle, are of more value then many men. God doth not thank the ant, for her induſtrie and good husbandrie in providing for her ſelf. God doth not reward the foxes, Judg. 15.4.for concurring with Samſon in his revenge. God doth not fee the lion, 1. King. 13.24which was his executioner upon the Prophet which had diſobeyed his commandment; 2. King. 2.24.nor thoſe few ſhe-bears, which ſlew the petulant children who had calumniated and reproached Eliſha. God doth not fee them before, nor thank them after, nor take knowledge of their ſervice: But for thoſe men that ſerved Gods execution upon the idolaters of the golden calf, Exod. 32.25.it is pronounced in their behalf, that therein they conſecrated themſelves unto God; and for that ſervice God made that Tribe, the Tribe of Levi, his portion, his clergie, Gen. 22.16.his conſecrated Tribe: So, Quia feciſti hoc, ſayes God to Abraham, By my ſelf I have ſworn, becauſe thou haſt done this thing, and haſt not withheld thy ſonne, thine onelyonly ſonne: that in bleſsing I will bleſſe thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thee. 2. Pet. 2.22.So neither is God angrie with the dog that turns to his vomit; nor with the ſow, that after her waſhing wallows in the mire. But of man in that caſe he ſayes, Hebr. 6.4.It is impoſsible for thoſe who were once enlightned, if they fall away, to renew themſelves again by repentance. The creatures live under his law, but a law impoſed thus, This they ſhall do, this they muſt do: Man lives under another manner of law, This you ſhall do, that is, This you ſhould do, This I would have you do. And, Fac hoc, Do this, and you ſhall live; diſobey, and you ſhall die: but yet the choice is yours; chooſe you this day life or death. So that this is Gods adminiſtration in the creature, that he hath imprinted in them an inſtinct, and ſo he hath ſomething to preſerve in them: In man, his adminiſtration is this, that he hath imprinted in him a facultie of will and election, and hath ſomething to reward in him. That inſtinct in the creature God leaves to the naturall working thereof in it ſelf: but the freewill of man God viſits & aſſiſts with his grace, to do ſupernaturall things. When the creature doth an extraordinarie action above the nature thereof (as when Balaams aſſe ſpake) the creature exerciſes no facultie, no will in it ſelf; but God forced it to that it did. When man doth any thing conducing to ſupernaturall ends, though the work be Gods, the will of man is not meerly paſſive. The will of man is but Gods agent; but ſtill an agent it is, and an agent in another manner then the tongue of the beaſt. For the will conſidered as a will (and grace never deſtroyes nature; nor, though it make a dead will a live will, or an ill will a good will, doth it make the will no will) might refuſe or omit that it does. So that becauſe we are created by another pattern, we are governed by another law, and another providence.
Go thou then the ſame way. If God wrought by a pattern, and writ by a copie, and proceeded by a precedent; do thou ſo too. Never ſay, There is no Church without errour; therefore I will be bound by none, but frame a Church of mine own, or be a Church to my ſelf. What greater injuſtice then to propoſe no image, no pattern to thy ſelf to imitate; and yet propoſe thy ſelf for a pattern, for an image to be adored? Thou wilt have ſingular opinions, and ſingular wayes, differing from all other men: and yet all that are not of thy opinion, muſt be hereticks; and all reprobates, that go not thy wayes. Propoſe good patterns to thy ſelf, and thereby become a fit pattern for others. God (we ſee) was the firſt that made images; and he was the firſt that forbad them: he made them for imitation; he forbad them, in danger of adoration. For, what a baſeneſſe, what a madneſſe of the ſoul is it, to worſhip that which is no better, nay, not ſo good as it ſelf! Worſhip belongs to the beſt: know then thy diſtance and thy period, how farre to go, and where to ſtop. Diſhonour not God by an image, in worſhipping it; and yet benefit thy ſelf by it in following it: There is no more danger out of a picture, then out of a hiſtorie, if thou intend no more in either then example. Though thou have a Weſt, a dark and a ſad condition, that thou art but earth, a man of infirmities, and ill-counſelled in thy ſelf: yet thou haſt here a North, that ſcatters and diſpells theſe clouds, that God propoſes to thee in his Scriptures; and otherwiſe, images, patterns of good and holy men to go by. But beyond this North, this aſſiſtance of good examples of men, thou haſt a South, a Meridionall height, by which thou ſeeſt thine image, thy pattern, to be no copie, no other man, but the originall it ſelf, God himſelf: Faciamus ad noſtram; Let us make man in our image, after our likeneſſe.
Here we conſider firſt, where the image is; IIII Part. Meridies.and then, what it doth: firſt, in what part of man God hath imprinted this his image; and then, what this image conferres and derives upon man, what it works in man. And as when we ſeek God in his eſſence, we are adviſed to proceed by negatives (God is not mortall, not paſsible:) ſo when we ſeek the image of God in man, we begin with a negative, This image is not his Bodie. Tertullian declined to think it was; nay, Tertullian inclined others to think ſo; for he is the firſt that is noted to have been the authour of that opinion that God had a bodie: yet S. Auguſtine excuſes Tertullian for hereſie: Becauſe (ſayes he) Tertullian might mean, That it was ſo ſure that there is a God; and that God was a certain, though not a finite eſſence; that God was ſo farre from being nothing, as that he had rather a bodie. Becauſe it was poſſible to give a good interpretation of Tertullian, that charitable Father would excuſe him of hereſie. I would S. Auguſtines charitie might prevail with them that pretend to be Auguſtinianiſsimi, and to adore him ſo much in the Romane Church, not to caſt the name of Hereſie upon every probleme, nor the name of Heretick upon every inquirer of truth. S. Auguſtine would deliver Tertullian from hereſie, in a point concerning God; and they will condemne us of hereſie, in every point that may be drawn to concern, not the Church, but the Court of Rome; not their doctrine, but their profit. Malo de miſericordia Deo rationem reddere, quàm de crudelitate; I ſhall better anſwer God for my mildeneſſe, then for my ſeveritie. And though anger towards a brother, or a Racha, or a Fool, will bear an action; yet he ſhall recover leſſe againſt me at that barre, whom I have called weak, or miſſe-led (as I muſt neceſſarily call many in the Romane Church) then he whom I have paſſionately and peremptorily called heretick: for I dare call an opinion hereſie for the matter, a great while before I dare call the man that holds it an heretick: for that conſiſts much in the manner. It muſt be matter of faith, before the matter be hereſie; but there muſt be pertinacie after convenient inſtruction, before the man be an heretick. But how excuſable ſoever Tertullian be herein, in S. Auguſtines charitie, there was a whole ſect of hereticks an hundred yeares after Tertullian, the Audiani, who over literally taking thoſe places of Scripture, where God is ſaid to have hands, and feet, and eyes, and eares, beleeved God to have a bodie like ours; and accordingly interpreted this text, that in that image, and that likeneſſe, a bodily likeneſſe, conſiſted this image of God in man. And yet even theſe men, theſe Audians, Epiphanius (who firſt took knowledge of them) calls but ſchiſmaticks, not hereticks: ſo loth is charitie to ſay the worſt of any. Yet we muſt remember them of the Romane perſwaſion, that they come too neare giving God a bodie in their pictures of God the Father: and they bring the bodie of God, that bodie which God the Sonne hath aſſumed, the bodie of Chriſt, too neare in their Tranſſubſtantiation: not too neare our faith (for ſo it cannot be brought too neare to our ſenſe, ſo it is as really there as we are there) not too neare in the ubi; for ſo it is there, there, that is, in that place to which the Sacrament extends it ſelf: for the Sacrament extends as well to heaven, from whence it fetches grace, as to the table from whence it delivers bread and wine: but too neare in modo; for it comes not thither that way. We muſt neceſſarily complain, that they make religion too bodily a thing. Our Saviour Chriſt corrected Marie Magdalenes zeal, where ſhe flew to him in a perſonall devotion; and ſaid, John 20.17.Touch me not, for I am not yet aſcended to my Father. Fix your meditations upon Chriſt Jeſus, ſo as he is now at the right hand of his Father in heaven, and entangle not your ſelves ſo with controverſies about his bodie, as to loſe reall charitie for imaginarie zeal; nor enlarge your ſelves ſo farre in the pictures and images of his bodie, as to worſhip them more then him. As Damaſcen ſayes of God, that he is Superprincipale principium, A beginning before any beginning we can conceive; and praeterea aeternitas, an eternitie infinitely elder then any eternity we can imagine: ſo he is ſuperſpiritualis Spiritus, ſuch a Superſpirit, as that the ſoul of man, and the ſubſtance of angels, is but a bodie compared to this Spirit. God hath no bodie, though Tertullian diſputed it, though the Audians preached it, though the Papiſts paint it: and therefore this image of God is not in the body of man that way.
Nor that way neither which ſome others have aſſigned, That God, who hath no bodie as God, yet in the creation did aſſume that form which man hath now, and ſo made man in his image, that is, in that form which he had then aſſumed. Some of the ancients thought ſo; and ſome other men of great eſtimation in the Romane Church have thought ſo too. In particular, Oleaſter, a great officer in the Inquiſition of Spain. But great inquirers into other men, are eaſie neglecters of themſelves. The image of God is not in mans bodie this way.
Nor that third way which others have imagined, that is, that when God ſaid, Let us make man after our likeneſſe, God had reſpect to that form, which in the fulneſſe of time his Sonne was to take upon him upon earth. Let us make him now (ſayes God) at firſt, like that which I intend hereafter my Sonne ſhall be: for though this were ſpoken before the fall of man, and ſo before any occaſion of decreeing the ſending of Chriſt; yet in the School a great part of great men adhere to that opinion, That God from all eternitie had a purpoſe, that his Sonne ſhould become man in this world, though Adam had not fallen; Non ut medicus, ſed ut Dominus, ad nobilitandum genus humanum, ſay they: Though Chriſt had not come as a Redeemer, if man had not needed him by ſinne, but had kept his firſt ſtate; yet as a Prince, that deſired to heap honour upon him whom he loves, to do man an honour by his aſſuming that nature, Chriſt (ſay they) ſhould have come: and to that image, that form which he was to take then, was man made in this text, ſay theſe imaginers. But (alas!) how much better were wit and learning beſtowed, to prove to the Gentiles that a Chriſt muſt come (that they beleeve not) to prove to the Jews, that the Chriſt is come (that they beleeve not) to prove to our own conſciences, that the ſame Chriſt may come again this minute to judgement (we live as though we beleeved not that) then to have filled the world, and torn the Church with frivolous diſputations, Whether Chriſt ſhould have come if Adam had not fallen! Wo unto fomentours of frivolous diſputations. None of theſe wayes: not becauſe God hath a bodie, not becauſe God aſſumed a bodie; not becauſe it was intended that Chriſt ſhould be born, before it was intended that man ſhould be made, is this image of God in the bodie of man: nor hath it in any other relation reſpect to the bodie; but, as we ſay in the School, arguitivè, and ſignificativé; that becauſe God hath given man a bodie of a noblerform then any other creature, we inferre, and argue, and conclude from thence, that God is otherwiſe repreſented in man then in any other creature: and ſo farre is this image of God in the bodie above that in the creatures, that as you ſee ſome pictures, to which the very tables are jewels; ſome watches, to which the very caſes are jewels; and therefore they have outward caſes too; and ſo the picture and the watch are in that outward caſe, of what meaner ſtuff ſoever that be: ſo is this image in this bodie, as in an outward caſe, ſo as that you may not injure nor enfeeble this bodie, neither by ſinfull intemperance and licentiouſneſſe, nor by inordinate faſtings or other diſciplines of imaginarie merits, while the bodie is alive; for the image of God is in it: nor defraud the body of decent buriall and due ſolemnities after death; for the image of God is to return to it. But yet the bodie is but the outward caſe, and God looks not for the gilding, or enamelling, or painting of that; but requires the labour and coſt therein to be beſtowed upon the table it ſelf, in which this image is immediately, that is, the ſoul: and that is truely the ubi, the place where this image is. And there remains onelyonly now the operation thereof, how this image of God in the ſoul of man works.
The ſphere then of this Intelligence, the gallerie for this picture, the arch for this ſtatue, the table and frame and ſhrine for this image of God, is inwardly and immediately the ſoul of man: not immediately ſo, as that the ſoul of man is a part of the eſſence of God; for ſo eſſentially Chriſt onelyonly is the image of God. S. Auguſtine at firſt thought ſo; Putabam te, Deus, corpus lucidum, & me fruſtum de illo corpore: I took thee, O God (ſayes that Father) to be a globe of fire, and my ſoul to be a ſpark of that fire; thee to be a bodie of light, and my ſoul to be a beam of that light. But S. Auguſtine doth not onelyonly retract that in himſelf, but diſpute againſt it in the Manichees. But this image is in our ſoul, as the ſoul is the wax, and this image the ſeal. The compariſon is S. Cyrils; and he addes well, that no ſeal but that which printed the wax at firſt, can fit that wax, and fill that impreſſion after: no image, but the image of God, can fit our ſoul; every other ſeal is too narrow, too ſhallow for it. The magiſtrate is ſealed with the Lion; the Wolf will not fit that ſeal: the magiſtrate hath a power in his hand, but not oppreſſion. Princes are ſealed with the Crown; the Mitre will not fit that ſeal. Powerfully and graciouſly they protect the Church, and are ſupream heads of the Church; but they miniſter not the Sacraments of the Church: they give preferments, but they give not the capacitie of preferments: they give order who ſhall have, but they have not Orders by which they are enabled to have that they have. Men of inferiour and laborious callings in the world are ſealed with the Croſſe; a Roſe, or a bunch of Grapes will not anſwer that ſeal: eaſe and plentie in age muſt not be looked for without croſſes, and labour, and induſtrie in youth. All men, Prince and people, Clergie and Magiſtrate, are ſealed with the image of God, with a conformitie to him; and worldly ſeals will not anſwer that, nor fill up that ſeal. We ſhould wonder to ſee a mother in the midſt of many ſweet children, paſſing her time in making babies and puppets for her own delight. We ſhould wonder to ſee a man, whoſe chambers and galleries were full of curious maſter-pieces, thruſt in a villagefayre, to look upon ſixpenie pictures & threefarthing prints. We have all the image of God at home; and we all make babies, fancies of honour in our ambitions. The maſter-piece is our own, in our own boſome; and we thruſt in countrey-fayres, that is, we endure the diſtempers of any unſeaſonable weather, in night-journeys and watchings; we endure the oppoſitions, and ſcorns, and triumphs of a rivall and competitour, that ſeeks with us, and ſhares with us. We endure the guiltineſſe and reproach of having deceived the truſt which a confident friend repoſes in us, and ſolicite his wife or daughter. We endure the decay of fortune, of bodie, of ſoul, of honour, to poſſeſſe lovers pictures; pictures that are not originals, not made by that hand of God, Nature; but artificiall beauties: and for that bodie we give a ſoul; and for that drug which might have been bought where they bought it, for a ſhilling, we give an eſtate. The image of God is more worth then all ſubſtances; and we give it for colours, for dreams, for ſhadows.
But the better to prevent the loſſe, let us conſider the having of this image; in what reſpect, in what operation this image is in our ſoul: for whether this image be in thoſe faculties, which we have in Nature; or in thoſe qualifications which we have in Grace; or in thoſe ſuper-illuſtrations, which the bleſſed ſhall have in Glorie, hath exerciſed the contemplation of many. Properly this image is in nature; in the naturall reaſon, and other faculties of the immortall ſoul of man; for thereupon doth S. Bernard ſay, Imago Dei uri poteſt in gehenna, non exuri; till the ſoul be burnt to aſhes, to nothing (which cannot be done, no not in hell) the image of God cannot be burnt out of the ſoul; for it is radically, primarily in the very ſoul it ſelf: and whether that ſoul be infuſed into the elect, or reprobate, that image is in that ſoul: as farre as he hath a ſoul by nature, he hath the image of God by nature in it. But then the ſeal is deeper cut, or harder preſſed, or better preſerved in ſome then in others, and in ſome other conſiderations then meerly naturall: therefore we may conſider man, who was made here to the image of God, and of God in three perſons, to have been made ſo in Gods intendment three wayes: Man had this image in Nature, and doth deface it; he hath it alſo in Grace here, and ſo doth refreſh it; and he ſhall have it in Glorie hereafter, and that ſhall fix it, eſtabliſh it. And in every of theſe three, in this Trinitie in man, Nature, Grace, and Glorie, man hath not onelyonly the image of God, but the image of all the perſons of the Trinitie, in every of his three capacities. He hath the image of the Father, the image of the Sonne, the image of the holy Ghoſt, in nature; and all theſe alſo in grace; and all theſe in glorie too. How all theſe are in all, I cannot hope to handle particularly, not though I were upon the firſt grain of our ſand, upon the firſt dram of your patience, upon the firſt flaſh of my ſtrength: But a cleare repeating of theſe many branches, that theſe things are thus, that all the perſons of the heavenly Trinitie are (in their image) in every branch of this humane Trinitie in man, may (at leaſt muſt) ſuffice.
In nature then, man, that is, the ſoul of man, hath this image of God; of God, conſidered in his unitie, entirely, altogether in this, that this ſoul is made of nothing, proceeds of nothing. All other creatures are made of that preexiſtent matter which God had made before; ſo were our bodies too, but our ſouls of nothing: now not to be made at all, is to be God himſelf; onelyonly God himſelf was never made. But to be made of nothing, to have no other parent but God, no other element but the breath of God, no other inſtrument but the purpoſe of God, this is to be the image of God; for this is neareſt to God himſelf (who was never made at all) to be made of nothing. And then man (conſidered in nature) is otherwiſe the neareſt repreſentation of God too: for the ſteps which we conſider, are foure; Firſt, Eſſe, Being; for ſome things have onelyonly a being, and no life, as ſtones: Secondly, Vivere, Living; for ſome things have life, and no ſenſe, as plants: and then thirdly, Sentire, Senſe; for ſome things have ſenſe, and no underſtanding; which underſtanding and reaſon man hath with his being, and life, and ſenſe; and ſo is in a nearer ſtation to God, then any creature, and a livelier image of him (who is the root of being) then all they; becauſe man onelyonly hath all the declarations of beings. Nay, if we conſider Gods eternitie, the ſoul of man hath ſuch an image of that, as that, though man had a beginning, which the originall, the eternall God himſelf had not; yet man ſhall no more have an end, then the originall, the eternall God himſelf ſhall have. And this image of eternitie, this poſt-meridian, this after-noon eternitie, that is, this perpetuitie and after-everlaſtingneſſe is in man, meerly as a naturall man, without any conſideration of grace: for the reprobate can no more die, that is, come to nothing, then the elect. It is but of the naturall man that Theodoret ſayes, A King built a citie, and erected his ſtatue in the middest of that citie; that is, God made man, and imprinted his image in his ſoul. How will this King take it (ſayes that Father) to have this ſtatue thrown down? Every man doth ſo, if he do not exalt his naturall faculties, if he do not hearken to the law written in his heart, if he do not run, as Plato, or as Socrates, in the wayes of vertuous actions; he throws down the ſtatue of this King, he defaces the image of God. How would this King take it (ſayes he) if any other ſtatue, eſpecially the ſtatue of his enemie ſhould be ſet up in his place? Every man doth ſo too, that embraces falſe opinions in matter of doctrine, or falſe appearances of happineſſe in matter of converſation; for theſe a naturall man may avoid in many caſes, without that addition of Grace which is offered to us as Chriſtians. That compariſon of other creatures to man, which is intimated in Job, is intended but of the naturall man. There ſpeaking of Behemoth, that is, of the greateſt of creatures, he ſayes in our Tranſlation that He is the chief of the wayes of God: S. Hierom hath it, Principium; Job 40.19.and others before him, Initium viarum Dei; that when God went the progreſſe over the world in the creation thereof, he did but begin, he did but ſet out at Behemoth, at the beſt of all ſuch creatures; He. All they were but Initium viarum, The beginning of the wayes of God: but, Finis viarum, the end of his journey, and the eve, the veſpers of his Sabbath, was the making of man, even of the naturall man. Behemoth and the other creatures were veſtigia, ſayes the School. In them we may ſee where God hath gone; for all being is from God and ſo every thing that hath a being, hath filiationem veſtigii, a teſtimonie of Gods having paſſed that way, and called in there: but man hath filiationem imaginis, an expreſſion of his image; and doth the office of an image or picture, to bring him whom it repreſents, the more lively to our memories. Gods abridgement of the whole world was man; reabridge man into his leaſt volume, in pura naturalia, as he is but meer man, and ſo he hath the image of God in his ſoul.
He hath it as God is conſidered in his unitie; for as God is, the ſoul of man is, indiviſibly, impartibly, one entire. And he hath it alſo as God is notified to us in a Trinitie: for as there are three perſons in the eſſence of God; ſo are there three faculties in the ſoul of man. The attributes, and ſome kinde of ſpeculation of the perſons in the Trinitie, are, power to the Father, wiſdome to the Sonne, and goodneſſe to the holy Ghoſt. And the three faculties of the ſoul have the images of theſe three: the Ʋnderſtanding is the image of the Father, that is, Power; for no man exerciſes power, no man can govern well, without underſtanding the natures & diſpoſitions of them whom he governs: and therefore in this conſiſts the power which man hath over the creature, that man underſtands the nature of every creature; for ſo Adam did when he named every creature according to the nature thereof: and by this advantage of our underſtanding them, and comprehending them, we maſter them; and ſo, Obliviſcuntur quod natae ſunt, ſayes S. Ambroſe: the lion, the bear, the elephant, have forgot what they were born to; Induuntur quod jubentur, they inveſt and put on ſuch a diſpoſition and ſuch a nature as we enjoyn them & appoint them: Serviunt ut famuli (as that Father purſues it elegantly) and, Verberantur ut timidi; they wait upon us as ſervants, who, if they underſtood us, as well as we underſtand them, might be our maſters; and they receive correction from us, as though they were afraid of us, when, if they underſtood us, they would know that we were not able to ſtand in the teeth of the lion, the horn of the bull, in the heels of the horſe; and, Adjuvantur ut infirmi, they counterfeit a weakneſſe, that they might be beholding to us for help; and they are content to thank us, if we afford them reſt, or any food, who, if they underſtood us as well as we do them, might tear our meat out of our throats; nay, tear out our throats for their meat. So then in this firſt naturall facultie of the ſoul, the Ʋnderſtanding, ſtands the image of the firſt perſon, the Father, Power.
And in the ſecond facultie, which is the Will, is the image, the attribute of the ſecond perſon, the Sonne, which is Wiſdome: for wiſdome is not ſo much in knowing, in underſtanding, as in electing, in chooſing, in aſſenting. No man needs go out of himſelf, nor beyond his own legend, and the hiſtorie of his own actions for examples of that, That many times we know better, and chooſe ill wayes. Wiſdome is in chooſing or aſſenting.
And then in the third facultie of the ſoul, the Memorie, is the image of the third perſon, the holy Ghoſt, that is, Goodneſſe. For to remember, to recollect our former underſtanding, and our former aſſenting, ſo farre as to do them, to crown them with action, that is true goodneſſe. The office that Chriſt aſſignes to the holy Ghoſt, and the goodneſſe which he promiſeth in his behalf is this, that he ſhall bring former things to our remembrance. John 14.26.The wiſe man places all goodneſſe in this facultie, the Memorie: properly nothing can fall into the Memorie, but that which is paſt; and yet he ſayes, Whatſoever thou takeſt in hand, Ecclus 7.36.remember the end, and thou ſhalt never do amiſſe. The end cannot be yet come, and yet we are bid to remember that. Viſus per omnes ſenſus recurrit, ſayes S. Auguſtine: as all ſenſes are called ſight in the Scriptures (for there is Guſtate Dominum, and Audite, and Palpate; Taſte the Lord, and Heare the Lord, and Feel the Lord; and ſtill the Videte is added, Taſte and ſee the Lord) ſo all goodneſſe is in remembring; all goodneſſe (which is the image of the holy Ghoſt) is in bringing our underſtanding and our aſſenting into action. Certainly (beloved) if a man were like the King but in countenance, and in proportion, he himſelf would think ſomewhat better of himſelf, and others would be the leſſe apt to put ſcorns or injuries upon him, then if he had a vulgar and courſe aſpect: with thoſe who have the image of the Kings power (the Magiſtrate) the image of his wiſdome (the Councel) the image of his goodneſſe (the Clergie) it ſhould be ſo too; there is a reſpect due to the image of the King in all that have it. Now in all theſe reſpects, man, the meer naturall man, hath the image of the King of kings; and therefore reſpect that image in thy ſelf, and exalt thy naturall faculties, emulate thoſe men, and be aſhamed to be outgone by thoſe men who had no light but nature. Make thine underſtanding, and thy will, and thy memorie (though but naturall faculties) ſerviceable to thy God, and auxiliarie & ſubſidiarie for thy ſalvation: for though they be not naturally inſtruments of grace, yet naturally they are ſuſceptible of grace, and have ſo much in their nature, as that by grace they may be made inſtruments of grace, which no facultie in any creature but man can be. And do not think that becauſe a naturall man cannot do all, he hath nothing to do for himſelf.
This then is the image of God in man, the firſt way, in Nature; and moſt literally this is the intention of the text. Man was this image thus; and the room furniſhed with this image, was paradiſe: but there is a better room then that paradiſe for the ſecond image (the image of God in man by Grace) that is, the Chriſtian Church: for though for the moſt part this text be underſtood de naturalibus, of our naturall faculties; yet Origen, and not onelyonly ſuch allegoricall expoſitours, but Saint Baſil, and Niſſen, and Ambroſe, and others, who are literall enough, aſſigne this image of God to conſiſt in the gifts of Gods grace, exhibited to us here in the Church. A Chriſtian then in that ſecond capacitie, as a Chriſtian, and not onelyonly as a Man, hath this image of God, of God firſt conſidered entirely. And thoſe expreſſions of this impreſſion, thoſe repreſentations of this image of God in a Chriſtian by grace, which the Apoſtles have exhibited to us, that we are the ſonnes of God, the ſeed of God, the off-ſpring of God, and partakers of the divine nature, (which are high and glorious exaltations) are enlarged and exalted by Damaſcen to a further height, when he ſayes, Sicut Dens homo, ità ego Deus; As God is man, ſo I am God, ſayes Damaſcen; I, taking in the whole mankinde (for ſo Damaſcen takes it out of Nazianzen; and he ſayes, Sicut verbum caro, ità caro verbum; As God was made man, man may become God) but eſpecially I; I, as I am wrought upon by grace in Chriſt Jeſus. So a Chriſtian is made the image of God entirely. To which expreſſion S. Cyril alſo comes neare, when he calls a Chriſtian Deiformem hominem, man in the form of God; which is a myſterious and a bleſſed metamorphoſis and transfiguration: that, whereas it was the greateſt treſpaſſe of the greateſt treſpaſſer in the world, Iſa. 14.14.the devil, to ſay, Similis ero Altiſsimis, I will be like the Higheſt; it would be as great a treſpaſſe in me not to be like the Higheſt, not to conform my ſelf to God, by the uſe of his grace in the Chriſtian Church. And whereas the humiliation of my Saviour is in all things to be imitated by me, yet herein I am bound to depart from his humiliation; Phil. 2.6, 7.that, whereas he being in the form of God, took the form of a ſervant; I, being in the form of a ſervant, may (nay, muſt) take upon me the form of God, in being Deiformis homo, a man made in Chriſt, the image of God. So have I the image of God entirely in his unitie, becauſe I profeſſe that faith which is but one faith, Epheſ. 4.5.and under the ſeal of that Baptiſme which is but one Baptiſme. And then, as of this one God, ſo I have alſo the image of the ſeverall perſons of the Trinitie, in this capacitie as I am a Chriſtian, more then in my naturall faculties.
The attribute of the firſt perſon, the Father, is Power: and none but a Chriſtian hath power over thoſe great tyrants of the world, Sinne, Satan, Death, and Hell. For thus my power accrues and grows unto me: firſt, Poſſum judicare, 1. Cor. 6.5.I have a power to judge; a judiciarie, a diſcretive power, a power to diſcern between a naturall accident and a judgement of God, and will never call a judgement an accident; and between an ordinarie occaſion of converſion, & a temptation of Satan: Poſſum judicare. And then, Poſſum reſiſtere, Eph. 6.13.which is another act of power: when I finde it to be a temptation, I am able to reſiſt it. And Poſſum ſtare (which is another) I am able not onelyonly to withſtand, but to ſtand out this battell of temptations to the end. And then, Poſſum capere; that which Chriſt propoſes for a triall of his diſciples, He that is able to receive it, Matt. 19.12.let him receive it: I ſhall have power to receive the gift of continencie againſt all temptations of that kinde. Bring it to the higheſt act of power, that with which Chriſt tried his ſtrongeſt Apoſtles; Poſſum bibere calicem, Matt. 20.22.I ſhall be able to drink of Chriſts cup, even to drink his bloud, and be the more innocent for that; and to poure out my bloud, and be the ſtronger for that. Phil. 4.13.In Chriſto omnia poſſum; there is the fulneſſe of power: In Chriſt I can do all things; I can want, or I can abound; I can live, or I can die. And yet there is an extenſion of power beyond all this, in this, Non poſſum peccare; 1 John 3.9.being born of God in Chriſt, I cannot ſinne. This that ſeems to have a name of impotence, Non poſſum, I cannot, is the fulleſt omnipotence of all: I cannot ſinne; not ſinne to death, not ſinne with a deſire to ſinne, not ſinne with a delight in ſinne; but that temptation that overthrows another, I can reſiſt; or that ſinne which being done, caſts another into deſperation, I can repent. And ſo I have the image of the firſt perſon, the Father, in Power.
The image of the ſecond perſon, whoſe attribute is Wiſdome, I have in this, that wiſdome being the knowledge of this world and the next, I embrace nothing in this world, but as it leads me to the next: for thus my wiſdome, my knowledge grows: firſt, 2. Tim. 1.12.Scio cui credidi, I know whom I have beleeved; I have not miſlayed my foundation; my foundation is Chriſt: and then, Scio non moriturum; my foundation cannot ſink: Rom. 6.9.I know that Chriſt being raiſed from the dead, Rom. 8.27.dies no more: again, Scio quod deſideret ſpiritus; I know what my ſpirit, enlightened by the Spirit of God, deſires: I am not tranſported with illuſions and ſingularities of private ſpirits. And as in the attribute of Power we found an Omnipotence in a Chriſtian; ſo in this there is an Omniſcience. 1. Cor. 8.1.Scimus quia omnem ſcientiam habemus; there is all together: We know that we have all knowledge; for all S. Pauls univerſall knowledge was but this, 1. Cor. 2.2.Jeſum cruciſixum: I determined not to know any thing, ſave Jeſus Chriſt, and him cruciſied. And then the way by which he would proceed and take degrees in this wiſdome, 1. Cor. 1.21.was, ſtultitia praedicandi, the way that God had ordained: When the world by wiſdome knew not God, it pleaſed God by the fooliſhneſſe of preaching to ſave them that beleeve. Theſe then are the ſteps of Chriſtian wiſdome: my foundation is Chriſt; of Chriſt I enquire no more but fundamentall doctrines, him crucified; and this I apply to my ſelf by his ordinance of preaching. And in this wiſdome I have the image of the ſecond perſon.
And then of the third alſo in this, that, his attribute being goodneſſe, I, as a true Chriſtian, call nothing good, that conduceth not to the glorie of God in Chriſt Jeſus; nor any thing ill, that draws me not from him. Thus I have an expreſſe image of his goodneſſe, that Omnia cooperantur in bonum; Rom. 8.28.all things work together for my good, if I love God. I ſhall thank my fever, bleſſe my povertie, praiſe my oppreſſour; nay, thank, and bleſſe, and praiſe even ſome ſinne of mine, which by the conſequences of that ſinne, which may be ſhame, or loſſe, or weakneſſe, may bring me to a happie ſenſe of all my former ſinnes; and ſhall finde it to have been a good fever, a good povertie, a good oppreſſion, yea, a good ſinne. Vertit in bonum, ſayes Joſeph to his brethren; You thought evil, Gen. 50.20but God meant it unto good: and I ſhall have the benefit of my ſinne, according to his tranſmutation; that is, though I meant ill in that ſinne, I ſhall have the good that God meant in it. Amos 3.6.There is no evil in the citie, but the Lord doth it: but if the Lord do it, it cannot be evil to me. I beleeve that I ſhall ſee bona Dei, the goodneſſe of the Lord in the land of the living; Pſal. 27.13.that is, in heaven: but David ſpeaks alſo of ſignum in bonum; Shew me a token of good: and God will ſhew me a preſent token of future good, an inward infallibilitie, that this very calamitie ſhall be beneficiall and advantageous unto me: and ſo as in nature I have the image of God in my whole ſoul, and of all the three perſons in the three faculties thereof; the underſtanding, the will, and the memorie: ſo in grace, in the Chriſtian Church, I have the ſame images of the power of the Father, of the wiſdome of the Sonne, of the goodneſſe of the holy Ghoſt, in my Chriſtian profeſſion. And all this we ſhall have in a better place then paradiſe (where we conſidered it in nature) and a better place then the Church, as it is militant (where we conſidered it in grace) that is, in the kingdome of heaven (where we conſidered this image in glorie) which is our laſt word.
There we ſhall have this image of God in perfection: for if Origen could lodge ſuch a conceit, that in heaven at laſt all things ſhould ebbe back into God, as all things flowed from him at firſt; and ſo there ſhould be no other eſſence but God, all ſhould be God, even the devil himſelf: how much more may we conceive an unexpreſſible aſſociation (that is too farre off) an aſſimilation (that is not neare enough) an identification (the School would venture to ſay ſo) with God in that ſtate of glorie! Whereas the ſunne by ſhining upon the moon, makes the moon a planet, a ſtarre as well as it ſelf, which otherwiſe would be but the thickeſt and darkeſt part of that ſphere: ſo thoſe beams of glorie which ſhall iſſue from my God, and fall upon me, ſhall make me (otherwiſe a clod of earth, and worſe, a dark ſoul, a ſpirit of darkneſſe) an angel of light, a ſtarre of glorie, a ſomething that I cannot name now, not imagine now, nor to morrow, nor next yeare; but even in that particular, I ſhall be like God: that as he that asked a day to give a definition of God, the next day asked a week, and then a monethmonth, and then a yeare; ſo undeterminable would my imaginations be, if I ſhould go about to think now, what I ſhall be there: I ſhall be ſo like God, as that the devil himſelf ſhall not know me from God, ſo farre as to finde any more place to faſten a temptation upon me, then upon God; nor to conceive any more hope of my falling from that kingdome, then of Gods being driven out of it: for though I ſhall not be immortall as God, yet I ſhall be as immortall as God. And there is my image of God, of God conſidered all together, and in his unitie in the ſtate of grace.
I ſhall have alſo then the image of all the three perſons of the Trinitie. Power is the Fathers; and a greater power then he exerciſes here, I ſhall have there: here he overcomes enemies, but yet here he hath enemies; there, there are none: here they cannot prevail; there they ſhall not be. So Wiſdome is the image of the Sonne; and there I ſhall have better wiſdome: the ſpirituall wiſdome it ſelf is here: for here our beſt wiſdome is, but to go towards our end; there it is to reſt in our end: here it is to ſeek to be glorified by God; there it is that God may be everlaſtingly glorified by me. The image of the holy Ghoſt is Goodneſſe. Here our goodneſſe is mixt with ſome ill; faith mixt with ſcruples, & good works mixt with a love of praiſe, and hope of better mixt with fear of worſe: there I ſhall have ſincere goodneſſe, goodneſſe impermixt, intemerate and indeterminate goodneſſe; ſo good a place, as no ill accident ſhall annoy it; ſo good companie as no impertinent, no importune perſon ſhall diſorder it; ſo full a goodneſſe, as no evil of ſinne, no evil of puniſhment for former ſins can enter; ſo good a God, as ſhall no more keep us in fear of his anger, nor in need of his merciemercy; but ſhall fill us firſt, and eſtabliſh us in that fulneſſe in the ſame inſtant, and give us a ſatietie that we can wiſh no more, and an infallibilitie that we can loſe none of that, and both at once. Whereas the Cabaliſts expreſſe our neareneſſe to God in that ſtate, in that note, that the name of man and the name of God, ADAM and JEHOVAH, in their numerall letters are equall: ſo I would have leave to expreſſe that inexpreſſible ſtate, ſo farre as to ſay, that if there can be other worlds imagined beſides this that is under our moon, and if there could be other Gods imagined of thoſe worlds, beſides this God to whoſe image we are made, in Nature, in Grace, in Glorie; I had rather be one of theſe Saints in this heaven, then one of thoſe Gods in thoſe other worlds. I ſhall be like the angels in a glorified ſoul, and the angels ſhall not be like me in a glorified bodie.
The holy nobleneſſe and religious ambition that I would imprint in you for attaining of this glorie, makes me diſmiſſe you with this note, for the fear of miſſing that glorie; that, as we have taken juſt occaſion to magnifie the goodneſſe of God towards us, in that he ſpeaks plurally, Faciamus, Let Ʋs, all Ʋs do this; & ſo poures out the bleſſings of the whole Trinitie upon us, in this image of himſelf, in every perſon of the three, and in all theſe three wayes which we have conſidered: ſo when the anger of God is juſtly kindled againſt us, God collects himſelf, ſummons himſelf, aſſembles himſelf, muſters himſelf, and threatens plurally too: for of thoſe foure places in Scripture, in which onelyonly (as we noted before) God ſpeaks of himſelf in a royall plurall, God ſpeaks in anger, and in a preparation to deſtruction, in one of thoſe foure entirely, as entirely he ſpeaks of merciemercy but in one of them, in this text; here he ſayes meerly out of merciemercy, Faciamus, Let Ʋs, Ʋs, all Ʋs, make man: and in the ſame pluralitie, the ſame univerſalitie, he ſayes after, Deſcendamus & confundamus, Gen. 11.7.Let Ʋs, Ʋs, all Ʋs, go down to them and confound them, as meerly out of indignation and anger, as here out of merciemercy. And in the other two places, where God ſpeaks plurally, he ſpeaks not meerly in merciemercy, nor meerly in juſtice in neither; but in both he mingles both: ſo that God carries himſelf ſo equally herein, as that no ſoul, no Church, no State may any more promiſe it ſelf patience in God if it provoke him, then ſuſpect anger in God if we conform our ſelves to him. For from them that ſet themſelves againſt him, God ſhall withdraw his image in all the perſons and all the attributes: the Father ſhall withdraw his power, and we ſhall be enfeebled in our forces; the Sonne his wiſdome, and we ſhall be enfatuated in our counſels; the holy Ghoſt his goodneſſe, and we ſhall be corrupted in our manners, and corrupted in our religion, and be a prey to temporall and ſpirituall enemies, and change the image of God into the image of the beaſt. And as God loves nothing more then the image of himſelf in his Sonne, and then the image of his Sonne Chriſt Jeſus in us; ſo he hates nothing more then the image of Antichriſt in them in whom he had imprinted his Sonnes image; that is, declinations towards Antichriſt, or concurrences with Antichriſt, in them who were born, and baptized, and catechized, & bleſſed in the profeſſion of his truth.
That God, who hath hitherto delivered us from all cauſe or colour of jealouſies or ſuſpicions thereof in them whom he hath placed over us, ſo conform us to his image in a holy life, that ſinnes continued and multiplied by us againſt him, do not ſo provoke him againſt us, that thoſe two great helps, the aſſiduitie of preaching, and the perſonall and exemplarie pietie & conſtancie in our Princes, be not by our ſinnes made unprofitable unto us: for that is the height of Gods malediction upon a nation, when the aſſiduitie of preaching and the example of a religious Prince doth them no good, but aggravates their fault.
FINIS.
A SERMON Upon the xix verſe of the ii Chapter of HOSEA.
By Dr. DONNE DEAN OF PAƲLS.
¶ Printed by the Printers to the Ʋniverſitie of CAMBRIDGE. MDCXXXIIII.