Twenty-Six Sermons, Sermon 4
A Lent-SERMON Preached before the KING, At WHITE-HALL, February 16. 1620. SERMON IV.
1 Tim. 3.16.
And without controverſie, great is the myſtery of Godlineſs: God was manifeſt in the Fleſh, juſtified in the Spirit, ſeen of Angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into Glory.
THis is no Text for an Houre-glaſſe: if God would afford me Ezekiah's ſigne, Ut revertatur umbra, 2 Reg. 20.9. Joſh. 10.11.that the ſhadow might go backward upon the Dial; or Joſhuah's ſigne, Ut ſiſtat Sol, That the Sun might ſtand ſtill all the day, this were text enough to employ all the day, and all the dayes of our life. The Lent, which we begin now, is a full Tythe of the year; but the houre which we begin now, is not a full tythe of this day, and therefore we ſhould not grudge all that: But payment of Tythes is growne matter of controverſie; and we, by our Text, are directed onelyonly upon matter without controverſie: And without controverſie, &c.
Here is the compaſs, that the eſſential Word of God, the Son of God Chriſt Jeſus, went: He was God, humbled in the fleſh; he was Man, received into glory. Here is the compaſſe that the written Word of God, went, the Bible; that begun in Moſes, in darkneſſe, in the Chaos; and it ends in Saint John, in clearneſſe, in a Revelation. Here is the compaſs of all time, as time was diſtributed in the Creation, Veſpere & mane; darkneſſe, and then light: the Evening and Morning made the Day; Myſtery and Manifeſtation make the Text.
The Doctrine of the preſent Seaſon, is Mortification, Humiliation; and the experience of the preſent Place, where we ſtand now in Court, is, that the glory of the perſons, in whoſe preſence we ſtand, occaſions Humility in us; the more glorious they are, the humbler we are; and therefore to conſider Chriſt, as he is received into glory, is as much the way of our Humiliation and Mortification, as to conſider him in his Paſſion, in his exinanition: At leaſt, how ſmall account ſhould we make of thoſe things which we ſuffer for Chriſt in this world, when we ſee in this Text, that in the deſcribing the Hiſtory of Chriſt from his Incarnation to his Aſcenſion, the Holy Ghoſt pretermits, never mentions, never ſeems to conſider the Paſſion of Chriſt; as though all that he had ſuffered for man, were nothing in reſpect of that he would ſuffer, if the juſtice of God had required any heavier ſatisfaction. The Text then is a ſufficient Inſtruction to Timothy, to whom this Epiſtle is ſent, and to us, to whom it is ſent too, that thereby we might know how to behave our ſelves in the Houſe of God, which is the Church of God, the pillar and ground of Truth; as is ſaid in the verſe immediately before the Text, to which the Text hath relation: we know how to behave our ſelves in the Church, if we know in the Text that ſuch a Myſtery of godlineſſe there is, and know what it is. Our parts therefore, are but two; Myſtery and Manifeſtation. In the firſt, the Apoſtle proceeds thus: Firſt, he recommends to us ſuch Doctrine as is without controverſie: and truly there is enough of that to ſave any ſoule, that hath not a minde to wrangle it ſelf into Hell. And then he ſayes, that this Godlineſſe, though it be without controverſie, yet it is a Myſtery, a Secret; not preſent, not obvious, not diſcernable with every eye: It is a Myſtery, and a great Myſtery; not the greateſt, but yet great, that is, great enough; he that knowes that, needs no more. And then, for the ſecond part, which is the manifeſtation of the Myſtery, we ſhall look upon that by all thoſe beams, which ſhine out in this Text, Abortu ad Meridium, from Chriſts Eaſt to his Noon, from his firſt manifeſting in the fleſh, to his receiving into glory.
Part I.Firſt then, he propoſes Doctrine without controverſie: for, Quod ſimpliciter predicatur, Auguſtine.credendum; quod ſubtiliter diſputatur, intelligendum eſt. That which Chriſt hath plainly delivered, is the exerciſe of my Faith; that which other men have curiouſly diſputed, is the exerciſe of my underſtanding: If I underſtand not their curious diſputations; perchance I ſhall not be eſteemed in this world; but if I believe not Chriſts plain Doctrine, I am ſure I ſhall not be ſaved in the next. It is true, that Chriſt reprehends them often, Quia non intellexerunt, but what? Scripturas, legem: becauſe they underſtood not the Scriptures, which they were bound to believe. It is ſome negligence not to read a Proclamation from the King; it is a contempt, to tranſgreſſe it; but to deny the power from which it is derived, is treaſon. Not to labour to underſtand the Scriptures, is to ſlight God; but not to believe them, is to give God the lye: he makes God a lyer,1 John 5.10. if he believe not the Record that God gave of his Son. When I come to heaven, I ſhall not need to ask of S. John's Angel, nor of his Elders, Ubi Prophetae, ubi Apoſtoli, ubi Evangeliſtae; where are the Prophets, where are the Evangeliſts, where are the Apoſtles; for, I am ſure I ſhall ſee them there: But perchance I may be put to ask S. Paul's queſtion, Ubi Scribae? ubi Sapientes? 1 Cor. 1.20.where are the Scribes? where are the Wiſe men? where are the Diſputers of the world? perchance I may miſſe a great many of them there. It is the Text that ſaves us; the interlineary gloſſes, and the marginal notes, and the variae lectiones, controverſies and perplexities, undo us: the Will, the Teſtament of God, enriches us; the Schedules, the Codicils of men, begger us: becauſe the Serpent was ſubtiller then any,Gen. 3.1. 2 Cor. 2.3. he would diſpute and comment upon Gods Law, and ſo deceiv'd by his ſubtilty. The Word of God is Biblia, it is not Bibliotheca; a Book, a Bible, not a Library. And all that book is not written in Balthazars character; in a Mene, Tekel, Upharſim, that we muſt call in Aſtrologers, and Caldeans, and Southſayers, to interpret it. That which was written ſo, as that it could not be underſtood, was written, ſayes the text there, with the fingers of mans hand; It is the hand of man that induces obſcurities; the hand of God hath written ſo, a man may runne, and read; walk in the duties of his calling here, and attend the ſalvation of his ſoul too. He that believes Chriſt, and Mahomet, indifferently, hath not propoſed the right end: he that believes the Word of God, and traditions, indifferently, hath not propoſed the right way. In any Conveyance, if any thing be interlin'd, the interlining muſt be as well teſtified, & have the ſame witneſſes upon the Endorſment, as the conveyance it ſelf had. When there are traditions in the Church (as declaratory traditions there are) they muſt have the ſame witneſſes, they muſt be grounded upon the Word of God: for there onelyonly is truth without controverſie. Pilate ask'd Chriſt, Quid veritas, what was truth;John 18.38. and he might have known, if he would have ſtaid; but, exicit, ſayes the Text there, He went out, out to the Jewes; and there he could not finde it, there he never thought of it more. Ask of Chriſt ſpeaking in his Word, there you ſhall know; produce the Record, the Scripture,Jude 1.3. and there is Communis ſalus; I wrote unto you of the common Salvation: What's that? Semel tradita ſides, ſayes that Apoſtle there: The Faith which was once delivered to the Saints: where ſemel is not aliquando; once, is not once upon a time, I cannot tell when; but ſemel is ſimul, once is at once: The Goſpel was delivered all together, and not by Poſtſcripts. Thus it is, If we go to the Record, to the Scripture: and thus it is, if we ask a Judge (I do not ſay, The Judge, but A Judge) for, the Fathers are a Judge; a Judge is a Judge, though there lie an appeal from him. And will not the Fathers ſay ſo too? Quod ubique, quod ſemper; that's common ſalvation, which hath bound the Communion of Saints; that which all Churches alwayes have thought and taught to be neceſſary to ſalvation. Ask the Record, ask that Judge, and it will be ſo; and it will be ſo, if you ask the Counſel on the other ſide. Ask the Council of Trent it ſelf, and the Idolaters of that Council will not ſay, that our Church affirmes any Errour; neither can they ſay, that we leave any truth unaffirmed, which the Primitive Church affirm'd to be neceſſary to ſalvation. For thoſe things which the Schoole hath drawn into diſputation ſince, as their form is, in the beginning of every queſtion, to ſay, Videtur quod non, one would think it were otherwiſe; if when they have ſaid all, I return to the beginning again, Videtur quod non, I think it is otherwiſe ſtill. Muſt I be damned? The evidence for my ſalvation is my Credo, not their Probo; And if I muſt get Heaven by a Syllogiſm,John 10.29. my Major is Credo in Deum patrem, I believe in God the Father; for, Pater major, the Father is greater then all: And my Minor ſhall be, Credo in Deum Filium, I believe in God the Son, Qui exivit de patre, he came from God; And my Concluſion, which muſt proceed from Major & Minor, ſhall be Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, I believe in the Holy Ghoſt, who proceeds from Father and Son: And this Syllogiſme brought me into the Militant Church in my Baptiſme, and this will carry me into the Triumphant, in my Tranſmigration; for, doctrine of Salvation is matter without controverſie.
Myſter.But yet, as clear as it is, it is a Myſtery, a Secret; not that I cannot ſee it, but that I cannot ſee it with any eyes that I can bring:Mat. 16.16. not with the eye of Nature: Fleſh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, ſayes Chriſt to Peter: not with the eye of Learning; Thou haſt hid theſe things from the wiſe, ſayes Chriſt to his Father: not with the eye of State, that whereſoever I ſee a good Government, I ſhould preſume a good Religion; for, we do not admit the Church of Rome, and yet we doe admire the Court of Rome: nor with the eye of a private ſence;2 Pet. 1.20. for no prophecy of any Scripture; for, Quod non niſi inſtinctu Dei ſcitur, prophetia eſt; that which I cannot underſtand by reaſon, but by eſpeciall aſſiſtance from God, all that is Prophecy.) No Scripture is of private interpretation. I ſee not this myſtery by the eye of Nature, of Learning, of State, of mine own private ſence; but I ſee it by the eye of the Church, by the light of Faith, that's true; but yet organically, inſtrumentally, by the eye of the Church. And this Church is that which propoſes to me all that is neceſſay to my ſalvation, in the Word, and ſeals all to me in the Sacraments. If another man ſee, or think he ſees more then I; if by the help of his Optick glaſſes, or perchance but by his imagination, he ſee a ſtar or two more in any conſtellation then I do; yet that ſtarre becomes none of the conſtellation; it addes no limb, no member to the conſtellation, that was perfect before: ſo, if other men ſee that ſome additional and traditional things may adde to the dignity of the Church, let them ſay it conduces to the well-being, not to the very being; to the exiſtence, not to the eſſence of the Church; for that's onelyonly things neceſſary to ſalvation. And this myſtery is, Faith in a pure conſcience:1 Tim. 3.9. for that's the ſame thing that is called Godlineſs in this text: and it is to profeſs the Goſpel of Chriſt Jeſus ſincerely, and intirely; to have a conſcience teſtifying to himſelf, that he hath contributed nothing to the diminution of it, that he labours to live by it, that he hopes to die in it, that he feares not to die for it. This is Myſterium, opertum, & apertum, 2 Cor. 4.3. Col. 1.26.hid from thoſe that are loſt, but manifeſted to his Saints: It is a Myſtery, & a great Myſtery; that's next: not that there is not a greater;Magnum. for the Myſtery of Iniquity is greater then the Myſtery of Godlineſs: Compare Creeds to Creeds, and the new Creed of the Trent Council, is greater by many Articles then the Apoſtles Creed is. Compare Oathes to Oathes; and Berengarians old Oath in the Roman Church, that he muſt ſweare to the Frangitur & teritur, that he broke the fleſh of Chriſt with his teeth, and ground it with his jawes; and the new Oath of the Council of Trent, that he muſt ſweare that all thoſe ſubtill Schoole-points, determined there, in which a man might have believed the contrary a few dayes before, and yet have been a good Roman Catholick too, are true, and true de fide; ſo true, as that he cannot be ſaved now, except he believe them to be ſo: the Berengarians Oath, and the Trent-oath, have much more difficulty in them, then to ſwear, that K. James is lawful King in all his Dominions, & therefore exempt from all forreign juriſdiction over him. There is a Myſtery of Iniquity, declared in a Creed of Iniquity, & in an Oath of Iniquity, greater then the Myſtery of Godlineſs: but yet this is great, that is, great enough; he needs no more, that hath this, ſaith with a pure conſcience: he need not go up to heaven for more, not to a Vice-god, to an infallible Biſhop of Rome; Deut. 30.12.he need not go over-ſea for more, ſayes Moſes there; not to the hills, beyond-ſea, nor to the lake beyond-ſea: for God hath given him his ſtation in a Church, where this Myſtery is ſufficiently declared and explicated. The Myſtery of Iniquity may be great, for it hath wrought a great while.2 Theſ. 2.7. Jam operatur, ſayes the Apoſtle in his time; the Myſtery of iniquity doth already work, and it is likely to work ſtill: It is but a little while ſince we ſaw it work under ground, in the vault. But if (as hath been lately, royally, and religiouſly intimated to us all) their inſolency have ſo far infatuated them,In Parliam. as to think themſelves at an end of their work, and promiſe themſelves a holy-day, our aſſurance is in this, Pater operatur adhuc, & ego operor, Joh. 5.17.ſayes Chriſt: My Father works yet, and I work: and if amongſt us the Father work, and the Son work; for all the vain hopes of ſome, and the vain feares of others, the Myſtery of godlineſs will ſtand and grow.
Part II.Now, how far this Myſtery, this great Myſtery, this Myſtery without controverſie is revealed in this Text, we are to look by the ſeverall beames thereof; of which, the firſt is, Manifeſtatus in carne, God was manifeſted in the fleſh. Coeli enarrant, ſayes David, The heavens declare the glory of God; Pſal. 19.2.and that ſhould be the harmony of the Spheares. Inviſibilia conſpiciuntur, ſayes Saint Paul, Inviſible things of God are ſeen in the viſible; Rom. 1.20.and that ſhould be the proſpect of this world. The knowledge of God was manifeſted often in the Prophets; he foretold, therefore he foreſaw. His Wiſdome was manifeſted often, in fruſtrating all Councels of all Achitophels againſt him. And his power was manifeſted often: In the water; conſider it at leaſt in the Red ſea, and in Pharaoh, if you will bring it no nearer home; And in the Fire, conſider it at leaſt in the fiery Furnace, if you will bring it no nearer home. His Knowledge, his Wiſdome, his Power, his Mercy, his Juſtice, all his Attributes are alwayes manifeſted in all his works. But, Deus in carne, that the perſon of God, God himſelf, ſhould be manifeſted, and manifeſted in our fleſh,Areopag. Ineffabile omni ſermoni, omni ignotum intelligentiae, ipſe Angelorum primati non agnitum. And if the Primate of the Angels, the higheſt orders of them that ſtand in Gods ſight, know it not; if no underſtanding were able to conceive it, that had all the refinings and concoction, that ſtudy, and ſpeculation, and zeal to be vir deſideriorum (as the Angel ſaid to Daniel) a man that deſired to dwell upon the meditation of his God, could give; muſt not I, who always come with Moſes uncircumciſed lips, not to ſpeak perſwaſively; and alwayes with Jeremies defect, Puer ſum, neſcio loqui, not to ſpeak plainly; come now with Zachary's dumbneſs, not to ſpeak at all in this Myſtery? But hearkning to that which he who onelyonly knew this Myſtery, hath ſaid, Verbum Caro factum eſt, The word was made fleſh; And Deus manifeſtatus in carne, God was manifeſted in the fleſh; reſt my ſelf in his Word, and pray you in Chriſts ſtead to doe ſo too, in this, and all Myſteries of your Religion, to reſt upon the onelyonly Word of God: for in this particular, it is nor miſ-grounded,Fulgent. nor miſ-collected by him that ſayes, Omnes pene errores, almoſt all Errours have proceeded out of this, that this great Myſtery, that God was manifeſted in the fleſh, Aut non omnino, aut non ſicuti eſt creditum; is either not at all, or not aright believed. The Jews believe it not at all; and to them Tertullian ſayes enough:Tertul. Since out of their Prophets they confeſs, that when the Meſsias ſhall be manifeſted, they muſt for a time ſuffer many calamities in this world; if their Meſsias ſhould be manifeſted now (ſayes he) what could they ſuffer? They ſay they muſt ſuffer baniſhment; Et ubi diſperſio gentis, quae jam extorris? whither ſhall that Nation be baniſh'd, which is already in baniſhment and diſperſion? Redde ſtatum Judaeis, let the Jews ſhew me a State, a Kingdom, a Common-wealth, a Government, Magistrates, Judicatures, Merchandiſe, and Armies; let them ſhew ſomething to looſe for a Meſsias, and then let them look for a Meſsias. The Jewes are within the non omnino, they believe not this Myſtery at all: And then, for the non ſicut est, for the not believing it aright, as the old Valentinians are renewed in the Anabaptiſts (for both deny that Chriſt took fleſh of the Virgin) ſo the old Manichaeans are not renewed, but exceeded in the Tranſubſtantiators: for they ſaid the body of Chriſt was left in one place, in the Sun; theſe ſay, it is upon as many Tables, and in as many Boxes as they will. But whether the manifeſtation of God in the fleſh were referred to the Incarnation of Chriſt; or to his Declaration, when the wiſe men of the Eaſt came to ſee him at Bethleem; whether when it was done, or when it was declared to be done, hath admitted a queſtion, becauſe the Weſtern Church hath call'd that day of their coming to him, the Epiphany; and Epiphany is Manifeſtation. Then therefore is God manifeſted to us, when, as theſe wiſe men offer'd their Myrrhe and Frankincenſe, we offer the Sacrifice of Prayer; and as they offer'd their Gold, we offer our temporall wealth for the glory of Chriſt Jeſus: And when the love of him corrects in thee the intemperances of adorning thy fleſh, of pampering thy fleſh, of obeying thy fleſh, then eſpecially is this Epiphany, God is manifeſted in the fleſh, in thy fleſh.
Now, when he was manifested in the fleſh, Juſtificat. in ſpirit. Rom. 8.3.it behooved him to be juſtified in the ſpirit; for he came in ſimilitudinem carnis peccati: they took him for a ſinner, and they ſaw him converſe with ſinners: for any thing they could ſee, it might have been Caro peccati, ſinfull fleſh; and they ſaw enough to make them ſure that it was Caro mortis, mortall fleſh. Though he were Panis de coelo, Bread from Heaven, yet himſelf was hungry; and though he were fons perennis, an everlaſting ſpring, yet himſelf was thirſty; though he were Deus totius conſolationis, the God of all comfort,2 Cor. 13. yet his ſoul was heavy unto death; and though he were Dominus vitae, the Lord of Life, yet Death had dominion over him. When therefore Chriſt was manifeſted in the fleſh, fleſh ſubject to Death, Death, which was the reward of Sin; and would take upon him to forgive ſins; it behooved him to be extraordinarily juſtified, extraordinarily declared to the world: and ſo he was; he was juſtified in Spiritu, in the Spirit; firſt, in Spiritu Sancto, in the Spirit, in the Holy Ghoſt; both when the Holy Ghoſt was ſent to him, and when the Holy Ghoſt was ſent by him, from him. The Holy Ghoſt was ſent to him in his Baptiſme, and he tarried upon him: Chriſt was not, a Chriſtian is not juſtified by one acceſſe, one viſitation, one approach of the Holy Ghoſt; not by one religious act: it is a permanency, a perſeverance that juſtifies: that fooliſhneſs, and that faſcination (as the Apoſtle calls it) that Witchcraft which he imputes to the Galatians, is not ſo worn out, but that there are fooliſh and bewitched Galatians ſtill, that begun in the Spirit, and will be made perfect in the Fleſh; that receiv'd their Chriſtianity in one Church, and attend a confirmation, a better ſtate, in a worſe. Chriſt was juſtified by the Holy Ghoſt, when the Holy Ghoſt came to him: ſo he was, when he came from him, at Pentecoſt, upon his Apoſtles; and then he came in Tongues, and fiery Tongues. Chriſt was not, a Chriſtian is not juſtified in ſilence, but in declarations and open profeſſions; in tongues: and not in dark and ambiguous ſpeeches, nor infinite and retractable ſpeeches, but in fiery tongues; fiery, that is, fervent; fiery, that is, clear. He was juſtified ſo, a Spiritu Sancto; and ſo he was, a Spiritu ſuo, by his own Spirit: not onelyonly in that proteſtation of his, Who can accuſe me of any ſin? for S. Paul could ſay that he was unreproachable in the ſight of men, and yet he could not chuſe but ſay, Quorum ego maximus; that he was the greateſt ſinner of all men. I were a miſerable man, if I could accuſe Chriſt of no ſin; if I could not prove all my ſins his, I were under a heavy condemnation. But that which we intend by his being juſtified, a ſpiritu ſuo, by his own ſpirit, is, not by the teſtimony that he gave of himſelf; but by that Spirit, that God-head, that dwelt bodily in him, and declared him, and juſtified him in that high power and practiſe of Miracles. When Chriſt came into this world, as if he had come a day before any day, a day before Moſes his in principio, before there was any creature (for when Chriſt came, there was creatures that could exerciſe any natural faculty in oppoſition to his purpoſes) when Nature his Vicegerent gave up her ſword to his hands; when the Sea ſhut up her ſelfe like Marble, and bore him; and the Earth opened her ſelfe like a book, to deliver out her dead, to wait upon him; when the winds, in the midſt of their own roaring, could heare his voyce; and Death it ſelf, in putrid and corrupt carkaſes, could heare his voice; & when his own body, whom his own ſoul had left & abandoned, was not abandoned by this Spirit, by this Godhead (for the Deity departed not from the dead body of Chriſt) then was Chriſt eſpecially juſtified by this Spirit, in whoſe power he raiſed himſelf from the dead; he was juſtified in Spiritu Sancto, and in ſpiritu ſuo; two witneſſes were enough for him. Adde a third for thy ſelf, & justificetur in Spiritu tuo, let him be juſtified in thy ſpirit: God is ſafe enough in himſelf, and yet it was a good declaratory addition, that the Publicans juſtified God:Luke 7.29. Mat. 2.19. Wiſdom is ſafe enough of her ſelf, and yet Wiſdome is juſtified of her children: Chriſt is ſufficiently juſtified; but juſtificetur in Spiritu tuo, in thy ſpirit. To ſay, If I conſider the Talmud, Chriſt may as well be the Meſsias, as any whom the Jews place their marks upon; if I conſider the Alchoran, Chriſt is like enough to be a better Prophet then Mahomet; if I conſider the Arguments of the Arrians, Chriſt may be the Son of God for all that; if I conſider the Church of Rome, and ours, he is as likely to manifeſt himſelf in his own Word here, as there in their word; to ſay but ſo, Chriſt may be God for any thing I know: this is but to baile him, not to juſtifie him; not to quit him, but to put him over to the Seſſions, to the great Seſſions, where he ſhall juſtifie himſelf; but none of them, who do not juſtifie him, teſtifie for him, in ſpiritu ſuo, ſincerely in their ſouls: nay, that's not enough: to juſtifie is an act of declaration;1 Cor. 2.2. and no man knowes what is in man, but the ſpirit of man: and therefore he that leaves any outward thing undone, that belongs to his calling, for Chriſt, is ſo far from having juſtified Chriſt, as that at the laſt day, he ſhall meet his voice with them that cried Crucifie him, and with theirs that cried, Not Chriſt, but Barabbas: if thou doubt in thy heart, if thou diſguiſe in thine actions, non juſtificatur in ſpiritu tuo, Chriſt is not juſtified in thy ſpirit; and that's it which concernes thee moſt.
Chriſt had all this teſtimony more, Viſus ab Angelis, Viſus ab Angelis.he was ſeen of Angels: which is, not onelyonly viſited by Angels, ſerv'd by Angels; waited upon by Angels: ſo he was, and he was ſo in every paſſage, in every ſtep. An Angel told his mother, that he ſhould be born: and an Angel told the Shepherd, that he was born; and that which directed the wiſe men of the Eaſt where to finde him, when he was born, is alſo believed by ſome of the Ancients, to have been an Angel in the likeneſs of a Star. When he was tempted by the Devil, Angels came and miniſtred to him,Mat. 4.2. but the Devil had left him before; his own power,Luke 22.43. had diſſipated his. In his Agony in the Garden, an Angel came from heaven to ſtrengthen him; but he had recovered before, and was come to his Veruntamen, Not my will, but thine be done. He told Peter, Mat. 26.53.he could have more then twelve legions of Angels to aſſiſt him; but he would not have the aſſiſtance of his own ſword: he denies not that which the Devil ſayes, that the Angels had in charge, that he ſhould not daſh his foot againſt a ſtone; Mat. 4.6.but they had an eaſie ſervice of it; for his foot never daſht, never ſtumbled, never tripp'd in any way. As ſoon as any ſtone lay in his way, an Angel removed it:Mat. 28.2. He rolled away the ſtone from the ſepulchre. There the Angel teſtified to the women that ſought him, not onelyonly that he was not there, (that was a poor comfort) but where he was: He is gone into Galilee, and there you ſhall finde him. There alſo the Angel teſtified to the men of Galilee; that look'd after him, not onelyonly that he was gone up (that was but a poor comfort) but that he ſhould come again.Acts 1.2. The ſame Jeſus ſhall ſo come as he went. There in Heaven, they perform that ſervice, whileſt he ſtayes there,Heb. 1.6. which they are call'd upon to do: Let all the Angels of God worſhip him; and in judgement, when the Son of man ſhall come in his glory, all the holy Angels ſhall be with him: in every point of that great compaſs, in every arch, in every ſection of that great circle, of which no man knowes the Diameter, how long it ſhall be from Chriſts firſt coming to his ſecond, viſus ab Angelis, he was ſeen, he was viſited, he was waited upon by the Angels. But there is more intended in this, then ſo.
Chriſt was ſeen of the Angels, otherwiſe now, then ever before: ſomething was reveal'd to the Angels themſelves concerning Chriſt, which they knew not before; at leaſt, not ſo as they knew it now. For, all the Angels do not alwayes know all things: if they had, there would have been no diſſention, no ſtrife, no difference between the two Angels;Dan. 10. the Angel of Perſia would not have withſtood the other Angel 21 dayes; neither would have reſiſted Gods purpoſe, if both had known it; S. Dionyſe, who conſiders the names, and natures, and places, and apprehenſions of Angels, moſt of any, obſerves of the higheſt orders of Angels, Ordin. ſupremi ad Jeſu aſpectum haeſitabant; the higheſt of the higheſt orders of Angels, were amaz'd at Chriſts coming up in the Fleſh; it was a new and unexpected thing to ſee Chriſt come thither, in that manner. There they ſay with amazement, Quis iſte? Iſa. 63.1Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? And Chriſt anſwers there, Ego, it is I, I that ſpeak in righteouſneſs, I that am mighty to ſave. The Angels reply, Wherefore are thy garments red, like him that treadeth the wine-preſs? and Chriſt gives them ſatisfaction, calcavi; You miſtake not the matter, I have trodden the wine-preſs; and calcavi ſolus, I have trodden the wine-preſs alone, and of the people there was none with me. The Angels then knew not this, not all this, not all the particulars of this, The myſtery of Chriſts Incarnation for the Redemption of Man: the Angels knew it in generall; for, it was commune quoddam principium; it was the generall mark, to which all their ſervice, as they were miniſtring ſpirits, was directed. But for particulars, as amongſt the Prophets, ſome of the later underſtood more then the former (I underſtand more then the ancients, Pſal. 119.100.ſayes David) and the Apoſtles underſtood more then the Prophets, even of thoſe things which they had propheſied,Epheſ. 3.6. (this Myſtery in other ages was not made known, as it is now revealed unto the holy Apoſtles;) ſo the Angels are come to know ſome things of Chriſt, ſince Chriſt came, in another manner then before.Epheſ. 3.10. And this may be that which S. Paul intends, when he ſayes, that he was made a Miniſter of the Goſpel, To the intent, that now, unto principalities and powers, in heavenly places, might be known by the Church, the manifold wiſdome of God. And S. Peter alſo ſpeaking of the adminiſtration of the Church,1 Pet. 1.12. expreſſes it ſo, That the Angels deſire to look into it. Which is not onelyonly that which S. Auguſtine ſayes,Aug. Innotuit a ſeculis per Eccleſiam Angelis, That the Angels ſaw the myſtery of the Chriſtian Religion, from before all beginnings, and that by the Church, Quia ipſa Eccleſia illis, in Deo apparuit; Becauſe they ſaw in God the future Church, from before all beginnings; but even in the propagation and adminiſtration of the Church, they ſee many things now, which diſtinctly, effectually, experimentally, as they do now, they could not ſee before. And ſo, to this purpoſe, Viſus in nobis, Chriſt is ſeen by the Angels, in us and our converſation now. Spectaculum ſumus, ſayes the Apoſtle;1 Cor. 4.9. We are made a ſpectacle to men and angels. The word is there Theatrum, and ſo S. Hierom reads it:Hierom. And therefore let us be careful to play thoſe parts well, which even the Angels deſire to ſee well acted. Let him that finds himſelf to be the honeſter man by thinking ſo, think in the name of God, that he hath a particular tutelar Angel, that will do him no harm to think ſo: And let him that thinks not ſo, yet think, that ſo far as conduces to the ſupport of Gods children, and to the joy of the Angels themſelves, and to the glory of God; the Angels do ſee mens particular actions: and then, if thou wouldſt not ſollicite a womans chaſtity, if her ſervant were by to teſtifie it; nor calumniate an abſent perſon in the Kings ear, if his friends were by to teſtifie it; if thou canſt ſlumber in thy ſelf, that main conſideration, That the eye of God is always open, and always upon thee; yet have a little religious civility, and holy reſpect, even to thoſe Angels that ſee thee: That thoſe Angels which ſee Chriſt Jeſus now, ſate down in glory at the right hand of his Father; all ſweat wip'd from his Browes, and all teares from his Eyes; all his Stripes heal'd, all his Blood ſtanch'd, all his Wounds ſhut up, and all his Beauty returned there; when they look down hither, to ſee the ſame Chriſt in thee, may not ſee him ſcourged again, wounded, torn and mangled again, in thy blaſphemings, nor crucified again in thy irreligious converſation: Viſus ab Angelis, he was ſeen of the Angels, in himſelf, whileſt he was here: and he is ſeen in his Saints upon earth, by Angels now; and ſhall be ſo to the end of the world: Which Saints he hath gathered from the Gentiles: which is the next branch;Praedicat. Gentib. Pſal. 85.10. Predicatus gentibus, he was preached to the Gentiles.
Mercy and truth meet together, ſays David: every where in Gods proceedings, they meet together; but no where cloſer, then in calling the Gentiles. Jeſus Chriſt was made a Miniſter of the Circumciſion for the truth of God:Rom. 15.8. wherein conſiſted that truth? to confirm the promiſes made unto the fathers, ſays the Apoſtle there, and that's to the Jews: but was Chriſt a Miniſter of the Circumciſion onelyonly for that, onelyonly for the truth? No: Truth and Mercy meet together, as it followes there; and that the Gentiles might glorifie God for his mercy. The Jewes were a holy Nation;Gal. 2.15. that was their addition; Gens Sancta; but the addition of the Gentiles, was peccatores, ſinners: we are Jewes by nature, and not of the Gentiles, ſinners, ſayes S. Paul: He that touch'd the Jewes, touch'd the apple of Gods eye; And for their ſakes, God rebuk'd Kings, and ſaid, Touch not mine Anoynted: but upon the Gentiles, not onelyonly dereliction, but indignation, and conſternation, and devaſtation, and extermination, every where interminated, inflicted every where, and every where multiplied: The Jewes had all kinde of aſſurance and ties upon God; both Law, and Cuſtome; they both preſcribed in God, and God had bound himſelf to them by particular conveyance; by a conveyance written in their fleſh,Iſa. 49. in Circumciſion; and the counterpane written in his fleſh; I have graven thy name in the palmes of my hands: Eph. 2.12.But for the Gentiles, they had none of this aſſurance: When they were without Chriſt (ſayes the Apoſtle) having no hope (that is, no covenant to ground a hope upon) ye were without God in this world. To contemplate God himſelf, and not in Chriſt, is to be without God. And then, for Chriſt to be preached to ſuch as theſe, to make this Sun to ſet at noon to the Jewes, & riſe at midnight to the Antipodes, to the Gentiles, this was ſuch an abundant, ſuch a ſuperabundant mercy, as might ſeem almoſt to be above the bargain, above the contract, between Chriſt and his Father; more then was conditioned and decreed for the price of his Blood, and the reward of his Death: for when God ſaid, I will declare my decree; That is, what I intended to give him, which is expreſſed thus,Pſal. 2. I will ſet him my King upon my holy hill of Sion; which ſeemes to concern the Jewes onelyonly: God addes then, Poſtula a me, petition to me, make a new ſuit to me; & dabo tibi gentes: I will give thee not onelyonly the Jewes, but the Gentiles for thine inheritatnce: And therefore laetentur gentes, Pſal. 97.1.ſayes David, Let the Gentiles rejoyce; and we in them, that Chriſt hath asked us at his Fathers hand, and received us: And Laetentur inſulae, ſayes that Prophet too, Let the Iſlands rejoyce; and we in them, that he hath raiſed us out of the Sea, out of the ocean ſea, that over-flowed all the world with ignorance; and out of the Mediterranean Sea, that hath flowed into ſo many other lands; the ſea of Rome, the ſea of Superſtition.
There was then a great mercy in that, Predicatus gentibus, Creditus Mundo.that he was preached to the Gentiles; but the great power is in the next, Creditus mundo, that he was believed in the world. We have a Calling in our Church; that makes us Preachers: and we have Canons in our Church; that makes us preach: and we bring a Duty, and finde favour; that makes us preach here: There is a power here, that makes bills of Preachers: But in whoſe power is it to make bills of Believers? Oportet accedentem credere, ſayes S. Paul, Heb. 11.6.He that comes hither ſhould believe before he comes: But, Benedictus ſis egrediens, ſayes Moſes, Deut. 28.6.God bleſſe you with the power of believing, when you go from hence: where S. James ſayes,1.22. You deceive your ſelves, if you be hearers, and not doers; How far do you deceive your ſelves, if you come not half way, if you be hearers, and not believers? Tiberius, who ſpoke all upon diſguiſes, took it ill, if he were believed: he that was crucified under Tiberius, who alwayes ſpeaks clearly, takes it worſe, if he be not believed; for, he hath reduced all to the Tantummodo crede, onelyonly believe, and thou art ſafe: if we take it higher or lower; either above, in hearing onelyonly, or below, in working onelyonly, we may miſſe. It is not enough to hear Sermons; it is not enough to live a morall honeſt life; but take it in the midſt, and that extends to all; for there is no believing without hearing, nor working without believing. Be pleaſed to conſider this great work of believing, in the matter, what it was that was to be believed: That that Jeſus, whoſe age they knew, muſt be antidated ſo far, as that they muſt believe him to be elder then Abraham: That that Jeſus, whoſe Father and Mother, and Brothers and Siſters, they knew, muſt be believed to be of another Family, and to have a Father in another place; and yet he to be as old as his Father; And to have another proceeding from him, and yet he to be no older then that perſon who proceeded from him: That that Jeſus, whom they knew to be that Carpenters Son, and knew his work, muſt be believ'd to have ſet up a frame, that reached to heaven, out of which no man could, and in which any man might be ſaved: was it not as eaſie to believe, that thoſe teares which they ſaw upon his cheeks, were Pearles; that thoſe drops of Blood, which they ſaw upon his back, were Rubies: That that ſpittle, which they ſaw upon his face, was ennamel: that thoſe hands which they ſaw buffet him, were reached out to place him in a Throne: And that that Voyce which they heard cry, Crucifige, Crucifie him, was a Vivat Rex, Long live Jeſus of Nazareth King of the Jewes; As to believe, that from that man, that worm, and no man, ingloriouſly traduced as a Conjurer, ingloriouſly apprehended as a Thief, ingloriouſly executed a Traytor; they ſhould look for glory, and all glory, and everlaſting glory? And from that melancholick man, who was never ſeen to laugh in all his life, and whoſe ſoul was heavy unto death; they ſhould look for joy, and all joy, and everlaſting joy: And for ſalvation, and everlaſting ſalvation from him, who could not ſave himſelf from the Ignominy, from the Torment, from the Death of the Croſſe? If any State, if any Convocation, if any wiſe Man had been to make a Religion, a Goſpel; would he not have propoſed a more probable, a more credible Goſpel, to mans reaſon, then this? Be pleaſed to conſider it in the manner too: it muſt be believed by preaching, by the fooliſhneſs of preaching, ſayes the Apoſtle; by a few men, that could give no ſtrength to it; by ignorant men, that could give no reaſon for it; by poor men, that could give no penſions, nor preferments in it: That this ſhould be believed, and believed thus, and believed by the world, the world that knew him not; He was in the word, and the world knew him not: Joh. 1.10.the world that hated them, who would make them know him;15.19. 1 Joh. 5.19. I have choſen you, ſayes Chriſt, and therefore the world hateth you: That then when Mundus totus in maligno poſitus, the world, and all the world, not onelyonly was, but was laid in malignity and oppoſition againſt Chriſt; That then the world, and all the world, the world of Ignorance, and the world of Pride, ſhould believe the Goſpel; that then the Nicodemus, the learned and the powerfull man of the world, ſhould ſtand out no longer, but to that one Probleme, Quomodo, How can a man be born again that is old; and preſently believe, that a man might be born again even at the laſt gaſp: That then they which followed him, ſhould ſtand no longer upon their durus ſermo, that it was a hard ſaying, that they muſt eat his Fleſh, and drink his Blood, and preſently believe that there was no ſalvation, except they did eat and drink that Fleſh and Blood: That Mary Magdelene, who was not onelyonly tempted (is there any that is not ſo?) but overcom with the temptations (and how many are ſo!) and poſſeſſed, and poſſeſſed with ſeven Devils, ſhould preſently hearken after the powerfull charm of the Goſpel, and preſently believe that ſhe ſhould be welcom into his arms, after all her proſtitutions: that the world, this world, all this world, ſhould believe this,Rom. 11.33. and believe it thus; This was the Apoſtles Altitudo divitiarum, the depth of the riches of Gods wiſdom:Epheſ. 3.18. And this is his Longitudo, and Latitudo, the breadth, and length, and heighth, and depth, which no man can comprehend. Theudas roſe up, dicens ſe eſſe aliquem, Act. 5.36.he ſaid he was ſome body; and he prov'd no body. Simon Magus roſe up, Dicens ſe eſſe aliquem magnum, ſaying, he was ſome great body; and he prov'd as little. Chriſt Jeſus roſe up, and ſaid himſelf not to be ſome body, nor ſome great body; but that there was no body elſe, no other name given under Heaven, whereby we ſhould be ſaved; and was believ'd. And therefore, if any man think to deſtroy this generall, by making himſelf a wofull inſtance to the contrary; Chriſt is not believ'd in all the world, for I never believ'd in Chriſt; ſo poore an objection, requires no more anſwer, but that that will ſtill be true in the generall; Man is a reaſonable creature, though he be an unreaſonable man.
Now when he was thus preached to the Gentiles,Receptus in gloria. and thus believed in the world, that is, meanes thus eſtabliſhed, for believing in him, he had done all that he had to do here, and therefore, Receptus in gloria, he was received into glory: He was received, aſſumed, taken; therefore he did not vaniſh away; he had no airy, no imaginary, no fantaſticall body; he was true man: and then he was received, re-aſſumed, taken again, and ſo was in glory before; and therefore was true God. This which we are fain to call glory, is an inexpreſſible thing, and an incommunicable: Surely I will not give my glory unto another, ſays God, in Iſaiah. 48.11.We finde great Titles attributed to, and aſſumed by Princes, both Spiritual and Temporal: Celſitudo veſtra, & veſtra Majestas, is daily given, and duly given amongſt us: and Sanctitas veſtra, & veſtra beatitudo, is given amongſt others. Aben-Ezra, and ſome other Rabbins miſtake this matter ſo much, as to deny that any perſon in the old Teſtament ever ſpeakes of himſelf in the plural number, Nos, We: 1 Reg. 12.9. & 22.3. 2 Chro. 10.9.That's miſtaken by them; for there are Examples. But it is more miſtaken in practiſe, by the Generals, nay Provincials of ſome Orders of Fryars,In libros Porret. in Mat. &c. when they ſign and ſubſcribe in form and ſtile of Princes, Nos Frater, We Fryar N. &c. It is not hard to name ſome, that have taken to themſelves the addition of Divus in their life-time; a ſtile ſo high, as that Bellarmine denies that it appertains to any Saint in heaven: and yet theſe men have canoniz'd themſelves, without the conſent of Rome; and yet remain'd good Sons of that Mother too: We ſhall finde in ancient ſtiles, that high addition, Eternitas noſtra, Our Eternity: and not onelyonly in ancient, but in our own days, another equal to that, given to a particular Cardinal, Numen Veſtrum, Your Godhead. We find a Letter in Baronius, to a Pope, from a King of Britain (and ſo Baronius leaves it, and does not tell us which Britain; he could have been content to have had it thought ours; but he that hath abridg'd his Book, hath abridg'd his Britain too, there it is Britania minor: Spondamus.But he was a King, and therefore had power, if he fill'd his place; and wiſdom too, if he anſwered his name; for his name was Solomon) and this King we finde reduc'd to this lowneſs, as that he writes to that Biſhop, Adrian 2. in that ſtile, Precor omnipotentiam Dignitatis veſtrae: he gives him the Title of God, Almighty. But two or three years before, he was far from it; then, when he writ, he plac'd his own name above the Popes: but it is a ſlippery declination, if it be not a precipitation, to come at all under him: great Titles have been taken, Ambition goes far; and great given, Flattery goes as far; greater then this in the Text, perchance have; but it hath not fallen within my narrow reading, and obſervation, that ever Prince took, that ever ſubject gave this Title, Gloria noſtra, or veſtra; May it pleaſe your Glory, or, It hath ſeem'd good to our Glory. Glory be to God on high; and glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoſt, and no more. As long as that ſcurff, that leproſie ſticks to every thing in this world, Vanitas, Vanitatum, that all is vanity; can any glory in any thing of this world, be other then vain-glory? What Title of Honour hath any man had in any State, in Court, that ſome priſon in that State hath not had men of that Title in it? Nay, what Title hath any Heraulds Book, that Lucifers Book hath not? Or who can be ſo great in this World, but that as great as he have periſhed in the next? As it is not good for men to eat much honey; Prov. 25.27.ſo, for men to ſearch their own glory, is not glory. Crowns are the Emblems of Glory; and Kings out of their abundant Greatneſs and Goodneſs, derive and diſtribute Crowns to Perſons of Title; and by thoſe Crowns, and thoſe Titles, they are Conſanguinei Regis, the Kings Couſins. Chriſt Jeſus is crowned with glory in Heaven, and he ſheds down Coronets upon you; Honour, and Bleſſings here, that you might be Conſanguinei Regis; contract a ſpiritual Kindred with that King, and be idem Spiritus cum Domino, as inſeparable from his Father, as he himſelf is. The glory of Gods Saints in Heaven, is not ſo much to have a Crown, as to lay down that Crown at the Feet of the Lamb. The glory of good men here upon earth, is not ſo much to have Honour, and Favour, and Fortune, as to employ thoſe Beams of Glory, to his glory that gave them. In our poor calling, God hath given us grace; but grace for grace, as the Apoſtle ſaies, that is, grace to derive, and convey, and ſeal grace to you. To thoſe of higher Rank, God hath given glory; and glory for glory; glory therefore to glorifie him, in a care of his glory. And becauſe he dwells in luce inacceſsibili, in a glorious light which you cannot ſee here; glorifie him in that wherein you may ſee him, in that wherein he hath manifeſted himſelf; glorifie him in his glorious Goſpel: employ your Beams of Glory, Honour, Favour, Fortune, in tranſmitting his Goſpel in the ſame glory to your Children, as you receiv'd it from your Fathers: for in this conſiſts this Myſtery of Godlineſs, which is, Faith with a pure Conſcience: And in this lies your beſt Evidence, That you are already co-aſſumed with Chriſt Jeſus into glory, by having ſo laid an unremoveable hold upon that Kingdom which he hath purchaſed for you, with the ineſtimable price of his incorruptible Blood. To which glorious Son of God, &c.