Fifty Sermons, Sermons · Sermon 35
SERMON XXXV.
Preached February 21. 1611.
MATTHEVV 21. 44.
Whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grinde him to powder.
ALmighty God made us for his glory, and his glory is not the glory of a Tyrant, to destroy us, but his glory is in our happinesse. He put us in a faire way towards that happinesse in nature, in our creation, that way would have brought us to heaven, but then we fell, and (if we consider our selves onelyonly) irrecoverably. He put us after into another way, over thorny hedges and ploughed Lands, through the difficulties and incumbrances of all the Ceremoniall Law; there was no way to heaven then, but that; after that, he brought us a crosse way, by the Crosse of Jesus Christ, and the application of his Gospell, and that is our way now. If we compare the way of nature, and our way, we went out of the way at the Townes end, as soone as we were in it, we were out of it. Adam dyed as soone as he lived, and fell as soone as he was set on foote; If we compare the way of the Law, and ours, the Jewes and the Christians, their Synagogue was but as Gods farme,Verse 33. our Church is as his dwelling house; to them locavit vineam, he let out his Vine to husbandmen, and then peregrè profectus, he went into a farre Countrey, he promised a Messias, but deferred his coming a long time; but to us Dabitur Regnum, a Kingdome is given; the Vineyard is changed into a Kingdome, here is a good improvement, and the Lease into an absolute deed of gift, here is a good inlargement of the Terme. He gives, therefore he will not take away againe. He gives a Kingdome, therefore there is a fulnesse and all-sufficiency in the gift; and he does not go into any farre Countrey, but stayes with us, to governe us, usque ad consummationem, till the end of the world; here therefore God takes all into his owne hands, and he comes to dwell upon us himself, to which purpose he ploughs up our hearts,1. C…r. 3. 9. and he builds upon us; Vos Dei agricultura, & Dei aedificium, Ye are Gods husbandry, and Gods building: Now of this, this husbandry God speaks familiarly and parabolicaly many times in Scriptures: of this building particularly and principally in this place, where having intimated unto us the severall benefits we have received from Christ Jesus in that appellation, as he is a stone; he tells us also our dangers in mis-behaving our selves towards it, Whosoever shall fall on this &c.
Christ then is a stone, and we may run into two dangers: first, we may fall upon this stone, and then this stone may fall upon us; but yet we have a great deale of comfort presented to us, in that Christ is presented to us as a stone, for there we shall finde him, first, to be the foundation stone, nothing can stand which is not built upon Christ; Secondly, to be Lapis Angularis, a corner stone, that unites things most dis-united; and then to be Lapis Iacob, the stone that Iacob slept upon; fourthly, to be Lapis Davidis, the stone that David flew Golih withall; And lastly, to be Lapis Petra, such a stone as is a Rock, and such a Rock as no Waters nor Stormes can remove or shake, these are benefits: Christ Jesus is a stone, no firmnesse but in him; a fundamentall stone, no building but on him; a corner stone, no piecing nor reconciliation, but in him; and Iacobs stone, no rest, no tranquillity, but in him; and Davids stone, no anger, no revenge, but in him; and a rocky stone, no defence against troubles and tribulations, but in him; And upon this stone we fall and are broken, and this stone may fall on us, and grinde us to powder.
First in the metaphor,Lapis. that Christ is called a stone, the firmnesse is expressed: Forasmuch as he loved his owne which were in the world, In finem dilexit eos, sayes St. Iohn, He loved them to the end; and not to any particular end,Ioh. 13. for any use of this owne,Cyrill. but to their end; Qui erant in mundo, sayes Cyrill, ad distinctionem Angelorum, he loved them in the world, and not Angels; he loved not onelyonly them who were in a confirmed estate of mutuall loving him too, but even them who were themselves conceived in sinne, and then conceived all their purposes in sinne too, them who could have no cleansing but in his blood, and when they were cleansed in his blood,Iob 27. their owne clothes would defile them againe, them who by nature are not able to love him at all, and when by grace they are brought to love him, can expresse their love no other way, but to be glad that he was betrayed, and scourged, and scorned, and nayled, and crucified; and to be glad, that if all this were not already done, it might be done yet, to long, and wish, that if Christ were not crucified, he might be crucified now, (which is a strange manner of expressing love) those men he loved, and loved unto the end; Men and not Angels; and then men, Ad distinctionem mortuorum, sayes Chrysostome, not onelyonly the Patriarchs, who were departed out of the world, who had loved him so well, as to take his word for their salvation, and had lived and dyed in the faithfull contemplation of a future promise, which they never saw performed; but those who were partakers of the performance of all those promises, those into the midst of whom he came in person, those upon whom he wrought with his piercing Doctrine, and his powerfull miracles, those who for all this loved not him, he loved: Et in finem, he loved them to the end: It is much that he should love them in fine, at their end, that he should looke graciously on them at last, that when their sunne sets, their eyes faint, his sunne of grace should arise, and his East be brought to their West, that then in the shadow of death, the Lord of life should quicken and inanimate their hearts: that when their last bell tolls, and calls them to their first Judgement, (and first and last Judgement to this purpose is all one) the passing bell, and Angels trump sound all but one note, Surgite qui dormitis in pulvere, Arise ye that sleepe in the dust, which is the voyce of the Angels, and Surgite qui vigilatis in plumis, Arise ye that cannot sleepe in feathers, for the pangs of death, which is the voyce of the bell, is but one voyce; for God at the generall Judgement, shall never reverse any particular Judgement, formerly given; that God should then come to the beds side, ad sibilandum populum suum, as the Prophet Ezekiel speaks, to hisse softly for his childe, to speake comfortably in his eare, to whisper gently to his departing soule, and to drowne and overcome with this soft Musick of his, all the danger of the Angels Trumpets, all the horror of the ringing Bell, all the cryes, and vociferations of a distressed, and distracted, and scattering family, yea all the accusations of his owne conscience, and all the triumphant acclamations of the Devill himselfe; that God should love a man thus in fine, at his end, and returne to him then, though he had suffered him to go astray from him before, it is a great testimony of an unspeakable love: but his love is not onelyonly in fine, at the end, but in finem, to the end, all the way to the end. He leaves them not uncalled at first, he leaves them not unaccompanied in the way, he leaves them not unrecompensed at the last, that God who is Almighty, Alpha and Omega, first and last, that God is also love it selfe, and therefore this love is Alpha and Omega, first and last too; Consider Christs proceeding with Peter in the ship,Matth. 14. 14. in the storme; first he suffered him to be in some danger, but then he visites him with that strong assurance, Noli timere, Be not afraid, it is I, any testimony of his presence rectifies all. This puts Peter into that spirituall knowledge and confidence, Iube me venire, Lord bid me come to thee; he hath a desire to be with Christ, but yet stayes his bidding; he puts not himselfe into an unnecessary danger, without a commandment; Christ bids him, and Peter comes, but yet, though Christ were in his sight, and even in the actuall exercise of his love to him, yet as soone as he saw a gust, a storme, timuit, he was afraid, and Christ letteth him feare, and letteth him sinke, and letteth him crie; But he directeth his feare, and his crie to the right end. Domine salvum me fac, Lord save me, and thereupon he stretcheth out his hand and saved him: God doth not raise his children to honour, and great estates, and then leave them, and expose them to be subjects, and exercises of the malice of others, nor he doth not make them mightie, and then leave them, ut glorietur in malo qui potens est, that he should thinke it a glory to be able to do harm. He doth not impoverish and dishonour his children, and then leave them; leave them unsensible of that Doctrine, that patience is as great a blessing as aboundance: God giveth not his children health, and then leaveth them to a boldnesse in surfetting; nor beauty, and leave them to a confidence of opening themselves to all sollicitations; nor valour, and then leaveth them to a spirit of quarrelsomnesse: God maketh no patterns of his works, no modells of his houses, he maketh whole pieces, he maketh perfect houses, he putteth his children into good wayes, and he directeth and protecteth them in those wayes: For this is the constancy and the perseverance of the love of Christ Jesus, as he is called in this Text a stone. To come to the particular benefits;Fundamentalis. 1 Cor. 3. the first is that he is lapis fundamentalis, a foundation stone; for other foundation can no man lay then that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now where Saint Augustine saith, (as he doth in two or three places) that this place of Saint Pauls to the Corinthians, is one of these places of which Saint Peter saith Quaedam difficilia, There are some things in Saint Paul hard to be understood: Saint Augustines meaning is, that the difficulty is in the next words, how any man should build hay or stubble upon so good a foundation as Christ, how any man that pretendeth to live in Christ, should live ill, for in the other there can be no difficulty, how Christ Jesus to a Christian, should be the onelyonly foundation: And therefore to place salvation or damnation in such an absolute Decree of God, as should have no relation to the fall of man, or reparation in a Redeemer; this is to remove this stone out of the foundation, for a Christian may be well content to beginne at Christ: If any man therefore have laid any other foundation to his Faith, or any other foundation to his Actions, possession of great places, alliance in great Families, strong parties in Courts, obligation upon dependants, acclamations of people; if he have laid any other foundations for pleasure, and contentment, care of health, and complexion, appliablenesse in conversation, delightfulnesse in discourses, cheerefulnesse in disportings, interchanging of secrets, and such other small wares of Courts and Cities as these are: whosoever hath laid such foundations as these, must proceed as that Generall did, who when he received a besieged Towne to mercy, upon condition that in signe of subjection they should suffer him to take off one row of stones from their walls, he tooke away the lowest row, the foundation, and so ruined and demolished the whole walls of the Citie: So must he that hath these false foundations, (that is, these habits) divest the habite, roote out the lowest stone, that is, the generall, and radicall inclination to these disorders: For he shall never be able to watch and resist every particular temptation, if he trust onelyonly to his Morall Constancy; No, nor if he place Christ for the roofe to cover all his sinnes, when he hath done them; his mercy worketh by way of pardon after, not by way of Non obstante, and priviledge to doe a sinne before hand; but before hand we must have the foundation in our eye; when we undertake any particular Action, in the beginning, we must looke how that will suite with the foundation, with Christ; for there is his first place, to be Lapis fundamentalis.
And then,Angularis. after we have considered him, first, in the foundation (as we are all Christians) he growes to be Lapis Angularis, the Corner stone, to unite those Christians, which seem to be of divers ways, divers aspects, divers professions together; as wee consider him in the foundation, there he is the root of faith, As we consider him in the Corner,Esay 28. there hee is the root of charity, In Esay hee is both together, A sure foundation and a Corner stone, as he was in the place of Esay, Lapis probatus, I will lay in Sion a tryed stone;118. and in the Psalm, Lapis reprobatus, a stone that the builders refused, In this consideration, he is Lapis approbatus, a stone approved by all sides, that unites all things together: Consider first, what divers things he unites in his own person; That he should be the sonne of a woman, and yet no sonne of man, That the sonne of a woman should be the sonne of God, that mans sinfull nature, and innocency should meet together, a man that should not sinne, that Gods nature and mortality should meet together, a God that must die; Briefly, that he should doe and suffer so many things impossible as man, impossible as God. Thus hee was a Corner stone, that brought together natures, naturally incompatible. Thus he was Lapis Angularis, a Corner stone in his Person, Consider him in his Offices, as a Redeemer, as a Mediatour, and so, hee hath united God to man; yea, rebellious man to jealous God: Hee is such a Corner stone, as hath united heaven, and earth, Jerusalem and Babylon together.
Thus in his Person, and thus in his Offices, Consider him in his power, and hee is such a Corner stone, as that hee is the God of Peace, and Love, and Union, and Concord. Such a Corner stone as is able to unite, and reconcile (as it did in Abrahams house) a Wife, and a Concubine in one bed, a covetous Father, and a wastfull Sonne in one family, a severe Magistrate, and a licentious people in one City, an absolute Prince, and a jealous People in one Kingdome, Law, and Conscience in one Government, Scripture, and tradition in one Church. If we would but make Christ Jesus and his peace, the life and soule of all our actions, and all our purposes; if we would mingle that sweetnesse and supplenesse which he loves, and which he is, in all our undertakings; if in all controversies, booke controversies, and sword controversies, we would fit them to him, and see how neere they would meet in him, that is, how neere we might come to be friends, and yet both sides be good Christians; then wee placed this stone in his second right place, who as hee is a Corner stone reconciling God and man in his owne Person, and a Corner stone in reconciling God and mankinde in his Office, so hee desires to bee a Corner stone in reconciling man and man, and setling peace among our selves, not for worldly ends, but for this respect, that wee might all meet in him to love one another, not because wee made a stronger party by that love, not because wee made a sweeter conversation by that love, but because wee met closer in the bosome of Christ Jesus; where wee must at last either rest altogether eternally, or bee altogether eternally throwne out, or bee eternally separated and divorced from one another.
Having then received Christ for the foundation stone,Lapis Iacob. (wee beleeve aright) and for the Corner stone (we interpret charitably the opinions, and actions of other men) The next is, that hee bee Lapis Iacob, a stone of rest and security to our selves. When Iacob was in his journey, hee tooke a stone, and that stone was his pillow,Gen. 28. upon that hee slept all night, &c. resting upon that stone, hee saw the Ladder that reached from heaven to earth; it is much to have this egresse and regresse to God, to have a sense of being gone from him, and a desire and meanes of returning to him; when wee doe fall into particular sinnes, it is well if wee can take hold of the first step of this Ladder, with that hand of David,Psal. 47. 20. Domine respice in Testamentum, O Lord, consider thy Covenant, if wee can remember God of his Covenant, to his people, and to their seed, it is well; it is more, if wee can clamber a step higher on this ladder to a Domine labia mea aperies, if we come to open our lips in a true confession of our wretched condition and of those sinnes by which we have forfeited our interest in that Covenant, it is more; and more then that too,Esay 16. 9. if we come to that inebriabo me lacrymis, if we overflow and make our selves drunke with teares, in a true sense, and sorrow for those sinnes, still it is more; And more then all this, if we can expostulate with God in an Vsque quo Domine, How long,Psal. 13. 2. O Lord, shall I take counsell in my self, having wearinesse in my heart? These steps, these gradations towards God, do well; warre is a degree of peace, as it is the way of peace; and these colluctations and wrestlings with God, bring a man to peace with him; But then is a man upon this stone of Iacob, when in a faire, and even, and constant religious course of life, he enters into his sheets every night, as though his neighbours next day were to shrowd and wind him in those sheets; he shuts up his eyes every night, as though his Executors had closed them; and lies downe every night, not as though his man were to call him up next morning, or to the next dayes sport, or businesse, but as though the Angels were to call him to the resurrection; And this is our third benefit, as Christ is a stone, we have security and peace of conscience in him.
The next is,Lapis David. That he is Lapis David, the stone with which David slew Goliah, and with which we may overcome all our enemies; Sicut baculus crucis, ita lapis Christi habuit typum; Davids sling was a type of the Crosse,August. and the stone was a type of Christ, we will chuse to insist upon spirituall enemies, sinnes; And this is that stone that enables the weakest man to overthrow the strongest sinne, if he proceed as David did: David sayes to Goliah, Thou comest to me with a speare and a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the God of the hosts of Israel, whom thou hast railed upon,) 1 Sam 14. 15.if thou watch the approach of any sinne, any giant sinne that transports thee most; if thou apprehend it to rayle against the Lord of Hosts, (that is, that there is a loud and active blasphemy against God, in every sinne) if thou discerne it to come with a sword, or a speare, (that is, perswasions of advancement if thou do it, or threatings of dishonour, if thou do it not,) if it come with a shield, (that is, with promises to cover and palliate it, though thou do it,) If then this David, Gregory.(thy attempted soule) can put his hand into his bag (as David did) (for quid cor hominis nisi sacculus Dei? a mans heart is that bag in which God layes up all good directions) if he can but take into his consideration his Jesus, his Christ, and sling one of his works, his words, his commandments, his merits, This Goliah, this Giant sinne, will fall to the ground, and then, as it is said of David, that he slew him when he had no sword in his hand, and yet in the next verse, that he tooke his sword and slew him with that: so even by the consideration of what my Lord hath done for me, I shall give that sinne the first deaths wound, and then I shall kill him with his owne sword, that is, his owne abomination, his owne foulenesse shall make me detest him. If I dare but looke my sinne in the face, if I dare tell him, I come in the name of the Lord, August.if I consider my sinne, I shall triumph over it, Et dabit certan… victoriam qui dedit certandi audaciam, That God that gave me courage to fight, will give me strength to overcome.
The last benefit which we consider in Christ,Lapis, Petra. as he is a stone, is, That he is Petra, a Rock;Num. 20. The Rock gave water to the Israelites in the wildernesse; and he gave them honey out of the stone,Deut. 32. 13. and oyle out of the hard Rock: Now when Saint Paul sayes, That our Fathers dranke of the same Rock as we, he adds that the same Rock was Christ;1. Cor. 10 So that all Temporall, and all Spirituall blessings to us, and to the Fathers, were all conferred upon us in Christ; but we consider not now any miraculous production from the Rock, but that which is naturall to the Rock; that it is a firme defence to us in all tempests, in all afflictions, in all tribulations; and therefore, La…date Dominum habitatores petrae, sayes the Prophet, You that are inhabitants of this Rock, you that dwell in Christ,Esay 42. 11. and Christ in you, you that dwell in this Rock, Prayse ye the Lord, blesse him, and magnifie him for ever. If a sonne should aske bread of his father, will he give him a stone, was Christs question? Yes, O blessed Father, we aske no other answer to our petition, no better satisfaction to our necessity, then when we say, Da nobis panem, Give us this day our daily bread, that thou give us this Stone, this Rock, thy self in thy Church, for our direction, thy self in the Sacrament, for our refection; what hardnesse soever we finde there, what corrections soever we receive there, all shall be easie of digestion, and good nourishment to us… Thy holy spirit of patience shall command, That these stones be made bread; And we shall finde more juice, more marrow in these stones, in these afflictions, then worldly men shall do in the softnesse of their oyle, in the sweetnesse of their honey, in the cheerefulnesse of their wine; for as Christ is our foundation, we beleeve in him, and as he is our corner-stone, we are at peace with the world in him; as he is Iacobs stone, giving us peace in our selves and Davids stone, giving us victory over our enemies, so he is a Rock of stone, (no affliction, no tribulation shal shake us.) And so we have passed through all the benefits proposed to be considered in this first part, As Christ is a stone.
It is some degree of thankfulnesse,2 Part. to stand long in the contemplation of the benefit which we have received, and therefore we have insisted thus long upon the first part. But it is a degree of spirituall wisdome too, to make haste to the consideration of our dangers, and therefore we come now to them, Wee may fall upon this stone, and be broken. This stone may fall upon us, and grinde us to powder, and in the first of these, we may consider, Quid cadere, what the falling upon this stone is: and secondly, Quid frangi, what it is to broken upon it: and then thirdly, the latitude of this unusquisque, that whosoever fals so, is so broken; first then, because Christ loves us to the end, therefore will we never put him to it, never trouble him till then; as the wiseman sayd of Manna, Wisd. 16. 24.that it had abundance of all pleasure in it, and was meat for all tasts, that is, (as Expositors interpret it) that Manna tasted to every one, like that which every one liked best: so this stone Christ Jesus, hath abundance of all qualities of stone in it, and is all the way such a stone to every man, as he desires it should be. Unto you that beleeve saith, Saint Peter, it is a precious stone, but unto the disobedient, a stone to stumble at: for if a man walke in a gallery, where windowes, and tables, and statues, are all of marble, yet if he walke in the darke, or blindfold, or carelesly, he may breake his face as dangerously against that rich stone, as if it were but brick; So though a man walke in the true Church of God, in that Jerusalem which is described in the Revelation, the foundation, the gates, the walls, all precious stone, yet if a man bring a mis-belief, a mis-conceipt, that all this religion is but a part of civill government and order; if a man be scandalized, at that humility, that patience, that poverty, that lowlinesse of spirit which the Christian Religion inclines us unto; if he will say, Si Rex Israel, If Christ will be King, let him come downe from the Crosse, and then we will beleeve in him, let him deliver his Church from all crosses, first, of doctrine, and then of persecution, and then we will beleeve him to be King; if we will say, Nolumus hunc regnare, we will admit Christ, but we will not admit him to reign over us, to be King; if he will be content with a Consulship, with a Collegueship, that he & the world may joyn in the government, that we may give the week to the world, and the Sabbath to him, that we may give the day of the Sabbath to him and the night to our licentiousnesse, that of the day we may give the forenoon to him, and the afternoon to our pleasures, if this will serve Christ, we are content to admit him, but Nolumus regnare, we will none of that absolute power, that whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we doe, we must be troubled to thinke on him, and respect his glory in every thing. If he will say, Praecepit Angelis, God hath given us in charge to his Angels, and therefore we need not to look to our own ways, He hath locked us up safely, and lodged us softly under an eternall election, and therefore we are sure of salvation, if he will walke thus blindely, violently, wilfully, negligently in the true Church, though he walke amongst the Saphires, and Pearls, and Chrysolytes, which are mentioned there, that is, in the outward communion and fellowship of Gods Saints, yet he may bruise and break, and batter himselfe, as much against these stones, as against the stone Gods of the heathen, or the stone Idols of the Papists; for first, the place of this falling upon this stone, is the true Church; Qui jacet in terra, he that is already upon the ground, in no Church, can fall no lower, till he fall to hell; but he whom God hath brought into his true Church, if he come to a confident security, that he is safe enough in these outward acts of Religion, he falls, though it be upon this stone, he erreth, though in the true Church. This is the place then, the true Church; the falling it selfe (as farre as will fall into our time of consideration now) is a falling into some particular sinne, but not such as quenches our faith; wee fall so, as we may rise againe. Saint Hierome expresseth it so,Hierome. Qui cadit, & tamen credit, he that falls, but yet beleeves, that fals and hath a sense of his fall, reservatur per paenitentiam ad salutem, that man is reserved by Gods purpose, to come by repentance, to salvation; for this man that fals there, fals not so desperately, as that he feeles nothing between hell and him, nothing to stop at, nothing to check him by the way, Cadit super, he falls upon some thing; nor he falls not upon flowers, to wallow and tumble in his sinne, nor upon feathers, to rest and sleep in his sinne, nor into a cooling river, to disport, and refresh, and strengthen himself in his sinne; but he falls upon a stone, where he may receive a bruise, a pain upon his fall, a remorse of that sinne he is fallen into: And in this fall, our infirmitie appears three wayes: The first is Impingere in lapidem, To stumble, for though he be upon the right stone in the true Religion, and have light enough,Esa. 50. 10. yet Impingimus meredie, as the Prophet saith, even at noon we stumble; we have much more light, by Christ being come, then the Jewes had, but we are sorry we have it: when Christ hath said to us for our better understanding of the Law, He that looketh and lusteth hath committed Adultery, He that coveteth hath stollen, He that is angry hath murdered, we stumble at this, and we are scandalized with it; and we thinke that other Religions are gentler, and that Christ hath dealt hardly with us, and we had rather Christ had not said so, we had rather he had left us to our libertie and discretion, to looke, and court, and to give a way to our passions, as we should finde it most conduce to our ease, and to our ends. And this is Impingere, to stumble, not to goe on in an equall and even pace, not to doe the will of God cheerefully. And a second degree is calcitrare, to kick, to spurre at this stone; that is, to bring some particular sinne, and some particular Law into comparison: To debate thus, if I doe not this now, I shall never have such a time; if I slip this, I shall never have the like opportunitie; if I will be a foole now, I shall be a begger all my life: and for the Law of God that is against it, there is but a little evill for a great deale of good; and there is a great deale of time to recover and repent that little evill. Now to remove a stone which was a landmarke, and to hide and cover that stone, was all one fault in the Law; to hide the will of God from our owne Consciences with excuses and extenuatious, this is, calcitrare, as much as we can to spurn the stone, the landmarke out of the way; but the fulnesse and accomplishment of this is in the third word of the Text, Cadere, to fall; he falls as a piece of money falls into a river; we heare it fall, and we see it sink, and by and by we see it deeper, and at last we see it not at all: So no man falleth at first into any sinne, but he heares his own fall. There is a tendernesse in every Conscience at the beginning, at the entrance into a sinne, and he discerneth a while the degrees of sinking too: but at last he is out of his owne sight, till he meete this stone; (this stone is Christ) that is, till he meete some hard reprehension, some hard passage of a Sermon, some hard judgement in a Prophet, some crosse in the World, some thing from the mouth, or some thing from the hand of God, that breaks him: He falls upon the stone and is broken.
So that to be broken upon this stone,Frangi. is to come to this sense, that though our integrity be lost, that we be no more whole and intire vessells, yet there are meanes of piecing us again: Though we be not vessells of Innocency, (for who is so?) (and for that enter not into judgement with thy servants O Lord) yet we may be vessells of repentance acceptable to God, and usefull to his service: for when any thing falls upon a stone, the harme that it suffereth, is not alwayes (or not onelyonly) according to the proportion of the hardnesse of that which it fell upon, but according to the heighth that it falleth from, and according to that violence that it is throwne with: If their fall who fall by sinnes of infirmitie, should referre onelyonly to the stone they fall upon, (the Majestie of God being wounded and violated in every sinne) every sinner would be broken to pieces, and ground to powder: But if they fall not from too far a distance, if they have lived within any nearnesse, any consideration of God, if they have not fallen with violence, taken heart and force in the way, grown perfect in the practise of their sinne, if they fall upon this stone, that is, sinne, and yet stoppe at Christ, after the sinne, this stone shall breake them; that is, breake their force, and confidence, breake their presumption, and security, but yet it shall leave enough in them, for the Holy Ghost to unite to his Service; yea, even the sinne it self, cooperabitur in bonum, Rom. 8. 28.as the Apostle saith, the very fall it selfe shall be an occasion of his rising: And therefore though Saint Augustine seeme to venture farre, it is not too farre, when he saith, Audeo dicere, it is boldly said, and yet I must say it, utile est ut caderem in aliquod manifestum peccatum; A sinner falleth to his advantage, that falleth into some such sinne, as by being manifested to the World, manifesteth his owne sinnefull state, to his owne sinnefull Conscience too: It is well for that man that falleth so, as that he may thereby looke the better to his footing ever after;Bernard. Dicit Domino Susceptor meus es tu, sayes St. Bernard, That man hath a new Title to God, a new name for God; all creatures (as St. Bernard inlarges this meditation) can say, Creator meus es tu, Lord thou art my Creator; all living creatures can say, Pastor meus es tu, Thou art my shepheard, Thou givest me meat in due season; all men can say, Redemptor meus es tu, thou art my Redeemer; but onelyonly he which is fallen, and fallen upon this stone, can say, Susceptor meus es tu, only he which hath been overcome by a temptation, and is restored, can say, Lord thou hast supported me, thou hast recollected my shivers, and reunited me; onelyonly to him hath this stone expressed, both abilities of stone; first to breake him with a sense of his sin, and then to give him peace and rest upon it.
Now there is in this part this circumstance, Quicunque Quicunque.cadit, whosoever falleth; where the quicunque is unusquisque, whosoever falls, that is, whosoever he be, he falls; Quo…odo de coelo cecidisti Luciter? says the Prophet,Esay 14. 12. the Prophet wonders how Lucifer could fall, having nothing to tempt him (for so many of the Antiens interpret that place of the fall of the Angels, and when the Angels fell, there were no other creatures made,) but Quid est homo aut filius hominis? since the Father of man, Adam, could not, how shall the sonnes of him, that inherit his weaknesse, and contract more, and contribute their temptations to one another, hope to stand? Adam fell, and he fell à longè, farre off, for he could see no stone to fall upon, for when he fell, there was no such Messias, no such meanes of reparation proposed, nor promised when he fell, as now to us; The blessed Virgin, and the forerunner of Christ, Iohn Baptist, fell too, but they fell propè, neerer hand, they fell but a little way, for they had this stone (Christ Jesus) in a personall presence, and their faith was alwaies awake in them; but yet he, and she, and they all fell into some sinne. Quicunque cadit is unusquisque cadit, whosoever falls, is, whosoever he be, he falls, and whosoever falls, (as we said before) is broken; If he fall upon something, and fall not to an infinite depth; If he fall not upon a soft place, to a delight in sinne, but upon a stone, and this stone, (no harder, sharper, ruggedder then this, not into a diffidence, or distrust in Gods mercy) he that falls so, and is broken so, that comes to a remorsefull, to a broken, and a contrite heart, he is broken to his advantage, left to a possibility, yea brought to a neerenesse of being pieced againe, by the Word, by the Sacraments, and other medicinall institutions of Christ in his Church.
We must end onelyonly with touching upon the third part,3 Part. upon whom this stone falls, it will grinde him to powder; where we shall onelyonly tell you first, Quid conteri, what this grinding is; and then, Quid cadere, what the falling of this stone is; And briefly this grinding to powder, is to be brought to that desperate and irrecoverable estate in sinne, as that no medicinall correction from God, no breaking, no bowing, no melting, no moulding can bring him to any good fashion; when God can worke no cure, do no good upon us by breaking us; not by breaking us in our health, for we will attribute that to weaknesse of stomach, to surfeit, to indigestion; not by breaking us in our states, for we will impute that to falshood in servants, to oppression of great adversaries, to inquity of Judges; not by breaking us in our honour, for we will accuse for that, factions, and practises, and supplantation in Court; when God cannot breake us with his corrections, but that we will attribute them to some naturall, to some accidentall causes, and never thinke of Gods judgements, which are the true cause of these afflictions; when God cannot breake us by breaking our backs, by laying on heavy loads of calamities upon us, nor by breaking our hearts, by putting us into a sad, and heavy, and fruitlesse sorrow and melancholy for these worldly losses, then he comes to breake us by breaking our necks, by casting us into the bottomlesse pit, and falling upon us there, in this wrath and indignation, Comminuam eos in pulverem, sayth he,Psal. 15. 42. I will beate them as small as dust before the winde, and tread them as flat as clay in the streets,Esay 30. 14. the breaking thereof shall be like the breaking of a Potters vessell, which is broken without any pity. (No pity from God, no mercy, neither shall any man pity them, no compassion, no sorrow:) And in the breaking thereof, saith the Prophet, there is not found a sheard to take fire at the hearth, nor to take water at the pit: that is, they shall be incapable of any beam of grace in themselves from heaven, or any spark of zeale in themselves, (not a sheard to fetch fire at the hearth) and incapable of any drop of Christs blood from heaven, or of any teare of contrition in themselves, not a sheard to fetch water at the pit,Ierem. 19. 11. I will breake them as a Potters vessell, quod non potest instaurari, says God in Ieremy, There shall be no possible meanes (of those means which God hath ordained in his Church) to recompact them againe, no voice of Gods word to draw them, no threatnings of Gods judgements shall drive them, no censures of Gods Church shall fit them, no Sacrament shall cement and glue them to Christs body againe; In temporall blessings, he shall be unthankfull, in temporall afflictions, he shall be obdurate: And these two shall serve, as the upper and nether stone of a mill, to grinde this reprobate sinner to powder.
Lastly,Cadere. this is to be done, by Christs falling upon him, and what is that? I know some Expositors take this to be but the falling of Gods judgements upon him in this world; But in this world there is no grinding to powder, all Gods judgements here, (for any thing that we can know) have the nature of Physick in them, & may, & are wont to cure; & no man is here so absolutely broken in pieces, but that he may be re-united: we chuse therefore to follow the Ancients in this, That the falling of this stone upon this Reprobate, is Christs last & irrecoverable falling upon him, in his last judgment; that when hee shall wish that the Hills might fall and cover him, this stone shall fall, & grinde him to powder; He shall be broken, and he no more found, says the Prophet, yea, he shall be broken and no more sought: No man shall consider him what he is now,Dan. 11. 18. nor remember him what he was before: For, that stone, which in Daniel, Dan. 2.was cut out without hands (which was a figure of Christ, who came without ordinary generation) when that great Image was to be overthrown, broke not an arme or a leg, but brake the whole Image in peeces, and it wrought not onelyonly upon the weak parts, but it brake all, the clay, the iron, the brasse, the silver, the gold; so when this stone fals thus, when Christ comes to judgement, he shall not onelyonly condemn him for his clay, his earthly and covetous sinnes, nor for his iron, his revengefull oppressing, and rustly sinnes, nor for his brasse, his shining, and glittering sinnes, which he hath filed and polished, but he shall fall upon his silver and gold, his religious and precious sinnes, his hypocriticall hearing of Sermons, his singular observing of Sabbaths, his Pharisaicall giving of almes, and as well his subtill counterfeiting of Religion, as his Atheisticall opposing of religion, this stone, Christ himselfe, shall fall upon him, and a showre of other stones shall oppresse him too. Sicut pluit laque…s, Psal. 1…. 6.says David, As God rained springs and snares upon them in this world (abundance of temporall blessings to be occasions of sinne unto them:) So plues grandinem, he shall raine such haile-stones upon them, as shall grinde them to powder; there shall fall upon him the naturall Law, which was written in his heart, and did rebuke him, then when he prepared for a sinne; there shall fall upon him the written Law, which cryed out from the mouthes of the Prophets in these places, to avert him from sinne; there shall fall upon him those sinnes which he hath done, and those sins which he hath not done, if nothing but want of means & opportunity hindred him from doing them; there shall fall upon him those sinnes which he hath done after anothers dehortation, and those, which others have done after his provocation; there the stones of Nineveh shall fall upon him, and of as many Cities as have repented with lesse proportions of mercy and grace, then God afforded him; there the rubbage of Sodom and Gomorrah shall fall upon him, and as many Cities as in their ruine might have been examples to him. All these stones shall fall upon him, and to add weight to all these, Christ Jesus himselfe shall fall upon his conscience, with unanswerable questions,Rev. 2. 11. and grinde his soule to powder. But hee that overcometh, shall not bee hurt by the second death, he that feeles his own fall upon this stone, shall never feel this stone fall upon him, he that comes to a remorse, early, and earnestly after a sinne, and seeks by ordinary meanes, his reconcileation to God in his Church, is in the best state that man can be in now; for howsoever we cannot say that repentance is as happy an estate as Innocency, yet certainly every particular man feels more comfort and spirituall joy, after a true repentance for a sin, then he had in that degree of Innocence which he had before he committed that sinne; and therefore in this case also we may safely repeat those words of Augustine, Audeo dicere, I dare be bold to say, that many a man hath been the better for some sin.
Almighty God, who gives that civill wisdome, to make use of other mens infirmities, give us also this heavenly wisdome, to make use of our own particular sins, that thereby our own wretched conditions in our selves, and our meanes of reparation in Iesus Christ, may be the more manifested unto us; To whom with the blessed Spirit, &c.