Moses Self-Denial, Treatise · Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
SECT. 1.
That nobilitie of birth,Point. 1. and all honours and delights whatſoever, are to be denyed for Chriſt.
IT muſt bee granted, that nobility of birth in it ſelfe is a bleſſing of God: The children of nobles have an honourable mention in Scripture, Eccle. 10. 7. Bleſſed art thou O land, when thy King is the ſonne of Nobles. The chiefe, the nobles in Iſrael, are called the renowned in the congregation, Numb. 1. 16. and Iſay 5. 13. that which is tranſlated honorable men, is in the originall their glory, and ſo by Arias Montanus, gloria ejus. The Nobility are the glory of a kingdome, and Iude. 8. where ſome are ſaid to ſpeake evill of dignities, the word is glories, foreign. Men in eminent places are, or ſhould be, the glory of those places, and of the whole countrey where they live. Soule-nobility is the chiefe, yet I will not ſay the ſole nobility; naturall nobility muſt have its due reſpect. It was a ſpeech of Jonadab to Amnon, 2 Sam. 13. 4. Why art thou, being a Kings ſonne, ſoleane from day to day? As if to be a Kings ſon, were enough to alay any ſorrow, to make any condition full of joy & content: ſeemeth it a ſmall matter (ſaies David) 1. Sam. 18. 13. to bee a Kings ſonne in law? but to bee borne of the Kings of the earth is accounted more, this is the higheſt nobility; that which is under it, birth from other great men of the earth is honourable likwiſe.
This puts great thoughts into mens hearts, this is a honour in which men doe much glory,Mihi Deorum immortalium munus & primum videtur & maximum in lucem ſtatim faelicem venire. Panegyr. Conſt. yet this Moſes might have had in the account of the world, but hee refuſeth it; for God even this is to bee denyed. It was too high an expreſſion, ſavouring of flattery, that an orator making an oration, in the praiſe of Conſtantine the great, had, the firſt and greateſt gift of heaven, was to be borne happie, & as ſoone to be in the liſts of felicity as of nature, meaning the happines of a noble birth: but though this be too much, yet we acknowledge it amongſt outward priviledges, not to be one of the meaneſt, but yet not ſo great, but that there is infinite reaſon it ſhould be denied in the cauſe of Chriſt.
For firſt,1. though there bee ſomething in it, yet there is not much, not ſo much as any ſhould thinke it too great a thing to lay downe for God.
For firſt,Reaſ. 1. it is no ſuch thing, but that the greateſt enemies of God, hated of him, and caſt out for ever from him have had it as well as others; what a ſucceſſion of Princes and Dukes came from the loynes of Eſau? there reigned eight Kings in Edom, before there was a King over the children of Iſrael; yea before the government of Moſes, and they flouriſhed till the dayes of Obadiah, no leſſe then twelve hundred yeares, yea they lived to ſee the ruine of the ſecond Temple, as wee finde it related by Joſephus: Ioſeph. de belle Iudaico. lib. 7. cap. 22.whatſoever is common to wicked men, Gods enemies, ſurely it hath no great excellency in it, neither ſhould it be in high eſteeme with us. That is obſervable that we finde, Deut. 2. 12. and ver. 22. 23. where the Lord would teach Iſrael not to inſult upon their outward conqueſts: hee gives this reaſon, becauſe they were ſuch as hee had given to others before them, who were wicked. In Seir, ſaies the text, The Horims dwelt before time, and the ſonnes of Eſau poſſeſſed them, and deſtroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their ſteade, as Iſrael did unto the land of his poſſeſſion: [as Iſrael did] Iſrael had not yet poſſeſſed, but this is ſpoke prophetically, as it was afterwards in the dayes of Ioſhua; as if God ſhould ſay, This is a favour indeede towards you, to make you conquerours over your enemies, to give their countries into your poſſeſſion, this is an honour put upon you, but it is no other favour, no higher honour, then wicked prophane Eſau hath had before you, therefore you have no great cauſe to bee puffed up with it. That which the Lord ſaith here of conqueſt, is true of parentage, of riches, of honour, of al outward excellencies, they are indeede favours of the Lord, but no ſuch excellent things, but that they have beene made common to the enemies of the Lord; and therefore there is great reaſon that our hearts ſhould not bee puffed up with them, but ſit looſe from them.
Secondly,Reaſ. 2. there is no ſuch great matter in it, becauſe the birth of the greateſt is defiled with ſinne, in the guilt and uncleanneſſe of it, as well as the birth of the meaneſt: the moſt noble blood upon earth is tainted with high treaſon againſt the God of Heaven: whatſoever your birth bee from men, yet you are borne a child of wrath, an enemy to God, loathſome and abominable before him, an heyre of hell. When God would humble the Iewes who gloried much in their birth, hee ſhewes them the uncleanneſſe, De parentibus illis venio qui ante me fecerunt damnatā quam natum Bern. in Medit. cap. 2.the baſeneſſe of it, in that expreſsion, Ezek. 16. your father is an Amorite, and your mother an Hittite. I come of thoſe parents, ſaies Bernard, by whom I was a damned creature before I was borne: your birth is ſuch, what ever it bee in regard of outward greatneſſe, as if there bee not a ſecond birth, it had beene better for you that you had never beene borne, or rather that you had beene of the generation of Dragons, or the off-ſpring of Vipers.
Thirdly, ſuppoſe it were not defiled,Reaſ. 3. yet it is an exceeding poore and meane thing in the eyes of God: it may bee ſomething before men, but before God it is nothing, for God is no reſpecter of perſons: ſo much a man is worth,Tantus quiſque eſt, quantus est apud Deum▪ as hee is worth in Gods eſteeme: when you come to appeare before God, you muſt ſtand amongſt the reſt without any note of diſtinction of what houſe you came. That which Pelicane a German Divine ſaid concerning his learning,Melchior Adam in vita ejus. may bee ſaid of all honour of birth. When I appeare before God, ſaies he, I ſhall not appeare as a Doctor, but as an ordinary chriſtian: ſo you ſhall not appeare as noble men when you come before God, but as other ordinary men. I pray tell me,Dic quaeſo quid genus eſt? nihil aliud certe quam verbi ſonitus ab omni re deſtitutus quod in extremo illo die probe ſcietis. Chryſ. in Mat. 18. Hom. 59. ſaies Chryſoſtome, what is kindred?Dic quaeſo quid genus eſt? nihil aliud certe quā verbi ſonitus ab omni re destitutus quod in extremo illo die probè ſcietis. Chry. in Mat. 18 Hom. 59. it is nothing but the ſound of a word, an emptie thing, which in the laſt day you ſhall know very well. That is obſervable which wee have, Exod. 30. 15. when God requires a price for the ranſome of the ſoules of his people, all muſt give halfe a ſhekell, the rich ſhall not give more, and the poore ſhall not give leſſe: when they give an offering to the Lord, to make an atonement for their ſoules, God doth not value the rich more then the poore, nor the noble more then the man of meane birth.
Fourthly,4. it is not much in the eſteeme of men neither, who are wiſe, and rationall: hence it is obſerved by ſome, that wee never reade of any in ſcripture but three, who ſolemnized their birth dayes,Nam genus & proavos et quae non ſecimus ipſi vix ea nostra voco. and they were Pharaoh, Jeroboam, and Herod, by which they gather how little the glory that came from parentage was eſteemed; he that boaſts of his pedigree boaſts of anothers. Seneca in his foure and fortieth Epiſtle writing to a knight of Rome who was preferred for his valour, but yet of meane parentage, for which he ſeemed to bee troubled, Seneca cites him a notable ſpeech of Plato: Nemiuem regem non ex ſervis eſſe oriundum, neminem ſervii non ex regibu… omnia ista longa varietas miscuit & ſurſum deorſum fortuna verſavit. Sen. Epiſt. 44.there is no King but is raiſed from thoſe which were ſervants; there is no ſervant but had ſome of his anceſtors Kings. Rehoboam was of a fooliſh childiſh ſpirit, though above forty yeares old, and yet he came from Solomon the wiſeſt upon the earth. Nabal, whoſe name was a foole, whoſe diſpoſition was accordingly, who was of a ſordid churliſh ſpirit, yet hee came from Caleb, a man of a moſt choiſe & excellent ſpirit: 1 Sam. 25. 3. Jonathan that was that idole Prieſt we reade of, Jud. 18. 30. yet he was Moſes his grandchild, Cerſhoms ſonne. Honour is but a ſhaddow, and therefore it neede bee of ſomething that is our owne; riches, places of dignitie, titles of honour put upon anceſtors by Princes are accounted now the greateſt nobility, and this deſcendes to the honour of children; but that nobility which theſe things now put upon men, heretofore Martyrdome was eſteemed to doe: and therefore amongſt Chriſtians, in the primitive times, children were wont to glory in their parentage as noble, if they had beene Martyrs:Alius, patrem, inquit, habeo Martyrem; Alij ſuae familie viros obijciunt: frigida ſunt iſta verba. Nihil nobis aliorum virtus prodeſſe valet. Ariſtippus. but yet Chryſoſtome in his third ſermon upon Lazarus labours to take off men from glorying in this, becauſe it was not their owne; he ſaies it is a frigid, empty, vaine boaſting to boaſt of this, and gives this reaſon; for the vertue of others cannot perfect us. It is not from whence a man comes, that is his true glory, but what he is, and what good he does. It was the expreſſion of a heathen, that he regarded no more his wicked children that came from him, then hee would vermine that came from his body: if we be wicked, wee may be a diſgrace to our anceſtours, they can be no honour to us. Auguſtus Caeſar had three daughters, who were lewd,Tres vomi ca… & carcinomata. utinam coelebs vixiſſem, aut orb…s periſſem. and hee uſed to call them his three ulcers and cankers, and was wont to cry out, oh that I had lived unmarried, or had died without children. Although gold comes from the earth none deſpiſeth it, and although though droſſe and ruſt comes from the gold, none regards it; the vertuous coming from meane parentage are honorable, and the vitious coming from noble parentage are contemptible. This is the firſt argument, that there is not much in nobility of birth, that it ſhould be counted too great a thing to be laid downe for God.
But ſecondly,2. ſuppoſe there be ſome great matter in it, yet God is infinitely worthy that it ſhould bee laid downe for his honour: if there were ten thouſand times more honour in it then indeede there is, yet the denying of all were not a ſufficient teſtimony of that reſpect you owe to the great and glorious God. God is worthy that all the Kings, Princes, Potentates, great ones of the earth, ſhould come and bow, and lye downe flat before him, abaſed in his preſence, that they ſhould all bring their Crownes, and pompe, and dignities, and caſt them downe at his feete, as Revel. 4. 10, 11. the foure and twenty Elders fell downe before him who ſate upon the throne, and worſhipped him that liveth for ever, and caſt their crownes before the throne, ſaying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power, &c. Such infinite diſtance there is betwixt the excellency and greatneſſe of the Lord, and all the nobles of the world, that it is a wonderfull favour of God to them, that if he doe but appeare to them, they may live before him; it is their honour that their lives may bee preſerved when God makes knowne his glory,3. as Exod. 24. 10, 11. And they ſaw the God of Iſrael, &c. and upon the nobles of the children of Iſrael hee laid not his hand, that is, to deſtroy them, but they were ſuffered to live in his ſight.
Thirdly, as God is worthy in regard of his infinite excellency, ſo it is due to him; becauſe whatſoever excellency & honour there is in the nobility of your birth,*Longelateque dilatata eſt magnificentia veſtra ſupraterram, ſed audite conſilium, ſtudete quod in vobis est hanc gloriam ad illum referre à quo eſt, ſi non vultis eam perdere, aut certè perdi ab ea. Ber. Epist. 207. it is he that hath made the difference betweene men: the rainebow is but a common vapour, it is the ſunne that gilds it, that enamels it with ſo many colours; wee are but a vapour, it is the Lord that hath ſhined upon us and our fathers houſe, and hath put more beauty, more luſtre upon us, then upon other vapours. I may ſay in this reſpect, as Saint Paul ſaith in another caſe; who makes thee to differ? was not the lump of all mankind in the hand of the Lord, as the clay in the hand of the Potter, to make one to this outward honour, and another to meanneſſe & baſeneſſe as he pleaſeth: hee might have ſo ordered things, as wee might have beene, not onelyonly of the moſt beggerly, and miſerable broode, but might have beene begotten a toade, or a ſerpent, or any other the vileſt creature that liveth upon the earth: that honour wee have, God hath put upon us, and therefore it is his, the glory of it is infinitely due unto him.
Fourthly, there is no ſuch way to adde glory to your nobility, as to bee willing to uſe it or deny it for God. This proceedes from a noble principle indeede, whereſoever it is. It is nature that cauſes the one kinde of nobility, but it is the grace of God, a ſparkle of the divine nature, a ray of the very glory of God himſelfe, ſhining into the ſoule, that is the cauſe of the other.Gratius ei fuit nomen pietatis quam potestatis. Tertull. Apol. adverſ. gentes. c. 34. Tertullian ſaies of Auguſtus, that the name of piety was more eſteemed of him, then the name of power: and Ierom writing the praiſe of Marcella a noble woman, ſaies of her; that hee will not make mention of her family, nor the honour of her blood,Non praedicabo illuſtrem familiam, alti ſanguinis decus, & ſtemmata per Proconſules et praefectos decurrentia: nihil in illa laudabo niſi quod proprium eſt, & eò nobilius, quòd opibus & nobilitate contempta facta eſt paupertate & humilitate nobilior. Epiſt. ad Principiam virginem. Mircellae Epitaph. what Proconſulls, and other great men ſhe had to her anceſtors; hee ſaies hee will praiſe nothing but what was her owne, and eſpecially he commends her in this, that ſhe was ſo much the more noble, in as much, as riches and nobility being contemned, ſhe was made the more noble in her poverty and humility.
Fifthly, Chriſt was the glory of his father, the luſtre of his glory, the character & engraven forme of his image, the onelyonly begotten Sonne of the Father from all eternity: hee thought it no robbery to be equall with God, he was God bleſſed for ever, and yet how did he empty himſelfe? hee was made a ſcorne, he was called the carpenters ſonne, as one that was contemptible: hee made himſelfe of no reputation, he came in the forme of a ſervant, yea of an evill ſervant that was to be beaten: yea hee was made a curſe, as if he had beene the vileſt of men: and yet this was the glory of Chriſt himſelfe, becauſe it was all for God, and good of ſoules: who is hee then, that knowes any thing of Ieſus Chriſt, that ſhall thinke much to lay downe all the honour of nobility of birth, or any outward dignitie under heaven for him? It is a notable expreſſion that Bernard in a ſermon upon the birth of Chriſt hath:Quid magis indignum, quid deteſtandum amplius, quid gravius puniendum, quam ut videns Deum parvulum factum homo ſe magnificet. Intolerabilis impudentia eſt, ut ubi ſeſe exinanivit majestas, vermiculus infletur & intumeſcat. Bern. ſer. 1. de nativ. what can bee more unworthy? what more deteſtable? what deſerving more grievous puniſhments then that a man ſhould magnifie himſelfe after hee hath ſeene God humbled? it is intolerable impudency, that where majeſty hath emptyed it ſelfe, a worme ſhould bee puffed up and ſwell.
Sixtly,6. if wee be godly God hath honoured us with a higher birth then what wee have by blood from our anceſtors; God hath given us a birth from above, he hath begotten us of the immortall ſeede of his Word, to bee ſonnes and daughters to him, heires, and coheires with Ieſus Chriſt: wee are borne of God, and the glory of this birth ſhould darken the other in our eyes: what great matter is it though the glory of the other bee loſt, ſeeing God hath ſo highly honoured you with this?Nunquam humana opera mirabitur quiſquis ſe cognovexit filium Dei: deijcit ſe de culmine generoſitatis qui admirari aliquid poſt Deum poteſt. Cypr. lib. de ſpecta…. This birth hath great efficacie to raiſe the heart to high and worthy actions: whoſoever knowes himſelfe to bee the ſonne of God, never wonders more at what is humane:Noli degenerare a praecelſis cogitationibus filiorum Dei. ſaies Cyprian, he debaſes himſelfe from the height of true generouſneſſe, who admires at any thing now beſides God himſelfe. This birth you may glory in, and it muſt not bee denyed; for thoſe who are thus borne againe, if they ſhall be affraid or aſhamed to appeare in the waies of godlineſſe, to manifeſt themſelves what they are, they fall to a degree of ſelfe-deniall (if I may ſo call it) beyond this of Moſes, but it is a curſed ſelfe-deniall. Moſes refuſes or denies to be called the ſonne of Pharaohs daughter, they refuſe and deny to be called and accounted the ſons of the everliving God.