Twenty-Six Sermons, Sermon 8
A SERMON Preached to the Houſhold at WHITE-HALL,Serm. 8. April 30. 1626. SERMON VIII.
MATTH. 9.13.
I am not come to call the righteous, but ſinners to repentance.
SOme things the ſeveral Evangeliſts record ſeverally, one, and no more. S. Matthew, and none but S. Matthew, 1.14.records Joſephs jealouſie and ſuſpicion, that his wife Mary had been in a fault, before her marriage; And then his temper withall, not frequent in that diſtemper of jealouſie, not to exhibit her to open infamy for that fault; And yet his holy diſcretion too, Not to live with a woman faulty that way, but to take ſome other occaſion, and to put her away privily: In which, we have three elements of a wiſe husband; firſt, not to be utterly without all jealouſie and providence, and ſo expoſe his wife to all tryals, and tentations, And yet not to be too apprehenſive and credulous, and ſo expoſe her to diſhonour and infamy; but yet not to be ſo indulgent to her faults, when they were true faults, as by his connivence, and living with her, to make her faults, his: And all this we have out of that which S. Matthew records, and none but he. S. Mark, and none but S. Mark records, that ſtory,7.31. of Chriſts recovering a dumb man, and almoſt deaf, of both infirmities: In which, when we ſee, that our Saviour Chriſt, though he could have recover'd that man with a word, with a touch, with a thought, yet was pleas'd to enlarge himſelf in all thoſe ceremonial circumſtances, of impoſition of hands, of piercing his ears with his fingers, of wetting his tongue with ſpittle, and ſome others, we might thereby be inſtructed, not to under-value ſuch ceremonies as have been inſtituted in the Church, for the awakening of mens conſideration, and the exalting of their devotion; though thoſe ceremonies, primarily, naturally, originally, fundamentally, and meerly in themſelves, be not abſolutely and eſſentially neceſſary: And this we have from that which is recorded by S. Mark, 2.42.and none but him. S. Luke, and none but S. Luke, records the hiſtory of Mary and Joſeph's loſing of Chriſt: in which we ſee, how good and holy perſons may loſe Chriſt; and how long? They had loſt him, and were a whole day without miſſing him: A man may be without Chriſt, and his Spirit, and lie long in an ignorance and ſenſleſneſs of that loſs: And then, where did they loſe him? Even in Jeruſalem, in the holy City: even in this holy place, and now in this holy exerciſe, you loſe Chriſt, if either any other reſpect then his glory, brought you hither; or your mindes ſtray out of theſe walls, now you are here. But when they ſought him, and ſought him ſorrowing, and ſought him in the Temple, then they found him: If in a holy ſadneſs and penitence, you ſeek him here, in his Houſe, in his Ordinance, here he is always at home, here you may always finde him. And this we have out of that which S. Luke reports, and none but he. S. John, 2.11.and none but S. John, records the ſtory of Chriſts miraculous changing of water into wine, at the marriage in Cana: In which, we ſee, both that Chriſt honour'd the ſtate of Marriage, with his perſonal preſence, and alſo that he afforded his ſervants ſo plentiful a uſe of his creatures, as that he was pleaſed to come to a miraculous ſupply of wine, rather then they ſhould want it. Some things are ſeverally recorded by the ſeveral Evangeliſts, as all theſe; and then ſome things are recorded by all four; as John Baptist's humility, and lowe valuation of himſelf, in reſpect of Chriſt; which he expreſſes in that phraſe, That he was not worthy to carry his ſhooes. The Holy Ghoſt had a care, that this ſhould be repeated to us by all four, That the beſt endeavours of Gods beſt ſervants, are unprofitable, unavailable in themſelves, otherwiſe then as Gods gracious acceptation inanimates them, and as he puts his hand to that plough which they drive or draw. Now our Text hath neither this ſingularity, nor this univerſality; it is neither in one onelyonly, nor in all the Evangeliſts: but it hath (as they ſpeak in the Law) an interpretative univerſality, a preſumptive univerſality: for that which hath a plurality of voices, is ſaid to have all; and this Text hath ſo; for three of the four Evangeliſts have recorded this Text: onelyonly S. John, who doth eſpecially extend himſelf about the divine nature of Chriſt, pretermits it; but all the reſt, who inſiſt more upon his aſſuming our nature, and working our ſalvation in that, the Holy Ghoſt hath recorded, and repeated this proteſtation of our Saviour's, I came to call not the righteous, but ſinners to repentance.
Which words, being ſpoken by Chriſt,Diviſio. upon occaſion of the Phariſees murmuring at his admitting of Publicans and ſinners to the Table with him, at that feaſt which S. Matthew made him, at his houſe, ſoon after his calling to the Apoſtleſhip, direct our conſideration upon the whole ſtory, and do, not afford but require, not admit but invite this Diſtribution; That, firſt, we conſider the occaſion of the words, and then the words themſelves: for of theſe twins is this Text pregnant, and quick, and eaſily deliver'd. In the firſt, we ſhall ſee the pertinencie of Chriſts anſwer; and in the ſecond, the doctrine thereof: In the firſt, how fit it was for them; in the other, how neceſſary for us: Firſt, the Hiſtorical part, which was occaſional; and then the Catechiſtical part, which is doctrinal. And in the firſt of theſe, the Hiſtorical and Occaſional part, we ſhall ſee, firſt, That Chriſt by his perſonal preſence juſtified Feaſting, ſomewhat more then was meerly neceſſary, for ſociety, and chearful converſation: He juſtified feaſting, and feaſting in an Apoſtles houſe: though a Church-man, and an Exemplar-man, he was not depriv'd of a plentiful uſe of Gods creatures, nor of the chearfulneſs of converſation. And then he juſtified feaſting in the company of Publicans and ſinners; intimating therein, that we muſt not be in things of ordinary converſation, over-curious, over-inquiſitive of other mens manners: for whatſoever their manners be, a good man need not take harm by them, and he may do good amongſt them. And then laſtly, we ſhall ſee the calumny that the Phariſees caſt upon Chriſt for this, and the iniquity of that calumny, both in the manner, and in the matter thereof. And in theſe Branches we ſhall determine that firſt, The Hiſtorical, the Occaſional part: And in the ſecond, The Catechiſtical and Doctrinal, (I came to call not the righteous, but ſinners to repentance) we ſhall paſs by theſe ſteps: firſt, we ſhall ſee the Actions; venit, he came; that is, firſt, venit actu: whereas he came by promiſe, even in Paradiſe; and by frequent ratification, in all the Prophets; now he is really, actually come; venit, he is come, we look for no other after him; we joyn no other, Angels nor Saints, with him: venit, he is actually come; and then, venit ſponte, he is come freely, and of his good-will; we aſſigne, we imagine no cauſe in us, that ſhould invite him to come, but humbly acknowledge all to have proceeded from his own goodneſs: and that's the Action, He came. And then the Errand, and purpoſe for which he came, is vocare, he came to call: It is not, Occurrere, That he came to meet them, who were upon the way before; for no man had either diſpoſition in himſelf, or faculty in himſelf, neither will nor power to riſe and meet him, no nor ſo much as to wiſh that Chriſt would call him, till he did call him: He came not occurrere, to meet us; but yet he came not cogere, to compel us, to force us, but onelyonly vocare, to call us, by his Word, and Sacraments, and Ordinances, and lead us ſo; and that's his errand, and purpoſe in coming. And from that, we ſhall come to the perſons upon whom his coming works: where we have firſt a Negative, a fearful thing in Chriſts lips; and then an Affirmative, a bleſſed ſeal in his mouth: firſt, an Excluſive, a fearful baniſhment out of his Ark; and then an Incluſive, a bleſſed naturalization in his Kingdom: Non justos, I came to call, not the righteous, but ſinners. And then laſtly, we have, not as before, his general intention and purpoſe, To call; but the particular effect & operation of this calling upon the godly, it brings them to repentance. Chriſt does not call us to a ſatisfaction of Gods juſtice, by our ſelves; that's impoſſible to us: it is not ad ſatisfactionem; but then it is not adgloriam, he does not call us to an immediate poſſeſſion of glory, without doing any thing before; but it is ad Reſipiſcentiam; I came to call, not the righteous, but ſinners, to Repentance. And ſo have you the whole frame mark'd out, which we ſhall ſet up; and the whole compaſs deſign'd, which we ſhall walk in: In which, though the pieces may ſeem many, yet they do ſo naturally flow out of one another, that they may eaſily enter into your underſtanding; and ſo naturally depend upon one another, that they may eaſily lay hold upon your memory.
Part I. Ambroſe.Firſt then, our firſt Branch in the firſt Part, is, That Chriſt jufied Feaſting, feſtival and chearful converſation. For, as S. Ambroſe ſays, Fruſtra feciſſet; God, who made the world primarily for his own glory, had made Light in vain, if he had made no creatures to ſee, and to be ſeen by that light, wherein he might receive glory: ſo, fruſtra feciſſet, God, who intended ſecondarily mans good in the Creation, had made creatures to no purpoſe, if he had not allow'd Man a uſe, and an enjoying of thoſe creatures. Our Mythologiſts, who think they have conveyed a great deal of Moral doctrine in their Poetical Fables, (and ſo, indeed they have) had miſtaken the matter much, when they make it one of the torments of hell, to ſtand in a freſh River, and not be permitted to drink; and amongſt pleaſant fruits, and not to be ſuffered to eat; if God requir'd ſuch a forbearing, ſuch an abſtemiouſneſs in Man, as that being ſet to rule and govern the creatures, he might not uſe and enjoy them: Priviledges are loſt, by abuſing; but ſo they are, by not uſing too. Of thoſe three Opinions, which have all paſs'd through good Authors, Whether, before the Floud had impaired and corrupted the herbs and fruits of the earth, men did eat fleſh or no; of which, the firſt is abſolutely Negative, both in matter of law, and in matter of fact, No man might, no man did; and the ſecond is directly contrary to this, Affirmative in both, All men might, all men did; and the third goes a Middle way, It was always lawful, and all men might, but ſober and temperate men did forbear, and not do it: of theſe three, though the later have prevail'd with thoſe Authors, and be the common opinion; yet the later part of that later opinion, would very hardly fall into proof, That all their ſober and temperate men did forbear this eating of fleſh, or any lawful uſe of Gods creatures. God himſelf took his portion in this world ſo, in meat and drink, in his manifold ſacrifices; and God himſelf gave himſelf in this world ſo, in bread and wine, in the bleſſed Sacrament of his body and his bloud: And the very joys of heaven after the Reſurrection, are convey'd to us alſo, in the Marriage-ſupper of the Lamb. That menſa laqueus, which is in the Pſalm, is a curſe:69.22. Let their table be made a ſnare, let their plenty and proſperity be an occaſion of ſin to them, that's a malediction: but for that menſa propoſitionum, The table of Shew-bread,Num. 4.7. where thoſe bleſſings which God had given to man, were brought again, and preſented in his ſight, upon that table; the loaves were great in quantity, and many in number, and often renew'd: God gives plentifully, richly, and will be ſerv'd ſo himſelf. In all thoſe feſtivals, amongſt the Jews, which were of Gods immediate inſtitution, as the Paſſover, and Pentecoſt, and the Trumpets, and Tabernacles, and the reſt, you ſhall often meet in the Scriptures, theſe two phraſes, Humiliabitis animas; and then, Laetaberis coram Domino: firſt, upon that day, you ſhall humble your ſouls, (that you have, Levit. 16.29. and very often) and then, upon that day, You ſhall rejoyce before the Lord; (and that you have, Deut. 16.11. and very often beſides.) Now ſome Interpreters have applied theſe two phraſes to the two days; That upon the Eve we ſhould humble our ſouls in Faſting, and upon the Day rejoyce before the Lord in a feſtival chearfulneſs: but both belong to the Day it ſelf; that firſt we ſhould humble our ſouls, as we do now, in theſe holy Convocations; and then return, and rejoyce before the Lord, in a chearful uſe of his creatures, our ſelves, and then ſend out a portion to them that want, as it is expreſly enjoyn'd in that feaſt, Nehem. 8.10. and in that, Eſth. 9.22. where their feaſting is as literally commanded, as their giving to the poor. And beſides thoſe Stationary and Anniverſary Feaſtings, which were of Gods immediate inſtitution, And that Feaſt which was of the Churches inſtitution after, in the time of the Macchabees, which was the Encoenia, The Dedication of the Temple; the Jews at this day, in their Diſperſion, obſerve a yearly Feaſt, which they call Festum Letitiae, The feaſt of Rejoycing, in a feſtival thankfulneſs to God, that he hath brought the year about, and afforded them the uſe of the Law, another year. When Chriſt came to Jairus houſe, and commanded away the Muſick, and all the Funeral-ſolemnities, it was not becauſe he diſallowed thoſe ſolemnities, but becauſe he knew there was no Funeral to be ſolemniz'd in that place, to which he came with an infallible purpoſe to raiſe that maid which was dead. Civil recreations, offices of ſociety and mutual entertainment, and chearful converſation; and ſuch a uſe of Gods creatures, as may teſtifie him to be a God, not of the valleys onelyonly, but of the mountains too, not a God of neceſſity onelyonly, but of plenty too; Chriſt juſtified by his perſonal preſence at a Feaſt; which was our firſt: and then, at a Feaſt in an Apoſtles houſe; which is our ſecond circumſtance.
In Domo Apost.The Apoſtle then had a houſe, and means to keep a houſe, and to make occaſional Feaſts in his houſe, though he had bound himſelf to ſerve Chriſt in ſo near a place as an Apoſtle. The profeſſion of Chriſts ſervice, in the Miniſtery, does not take from any man, the uſe of Gods creatures, nor chearfulneſs of converſation. As ſome of the other Apoſtles are ſaid to have followed Chriſt, relictis retibus, They left their nets, and followed him; and yet upon occaſion, they did at times return to their nets and fiſhing after that; for Chriſt found them at their nets, after his reſurrection: ſo S. Matthew followed Chriſt, as S. Luke expreſſes it; Relictis omnibus, 5.28.He left all, and followed Christ; but not ſo abſolutely all,Baſil. as S. Baſil ſeems to take it, Adeo ut non ſolum lucra, ſed & ipſa pericula contempſerit, that he did not onelyonly neglect the gain of his place, but the danger of diſpleaſure by ſuch a leaving of his Place: for S. Matthew was a Publicane, and ſo a publike Officer, and an Accountant to the State: But though he did ſo far leave all, as that nothing retarded him from an immediate following of Chriſt; yet, no doubt but he returned after, to the ſetling of his Office, and the rectifying of his Accounts. When God ſees it neceſſary or behoveful for a man to leave all his worldly ſtate, that he may follow him, God tells him ſo; he gives him ſuch a meaſure of light by his Spirit, as lets him ſee, it is Gods will; and then, to that man, that is a full commandment, and bindes him to do it, and not onelyonly an Evangelical counſel, as they call it, which leaves him at liberty, to do it, or leave it undone: Chriſt ſaw how much was neceſſary to that young man in the Goſpel, and therefore to him he ſaid, Vade & vende, Go and ſell all that thou hast, and then follow me: And this was a commandment to that man, though it be not a general commandment to all; upon Matthew Chriſt laid no ſuch commandment, but onelyonly ſaid to him, Sequere me, Follow me; and he did ſo; but yet not ſo deveſt himſelf of his worldly eſtate, as that he had not a houſe, and means to keep a houſe, and that plentifully, after this. When Eliah us'd that holy faſcination upon Eliſha, 1 Reg. 19.19.(we may not, I think, call it a faſcination; faſcination, I think, hath never a good ſenſe) but when Eliah uſed that holy Charm and Incantation upon him, to ſpread his Mantle over him, and to draw him with that, as with a net, after him; yet after Eliſha had thus receiv'd a character of Orders, after this impoſition of hands in the ſpreading of the Mantle, after he had this new filiation, by which he was the ſon of the Prophet, yet Eliſha went home, and feaſted his friends after this. So Matthew begun his Apoſtleſhip with a feaſt; and though he, in modeſtie forbear ſaying ſo, S. Luke, 5.29.who reports the ſtory, ſays that it was a great feast. He begun with a great, but ended with a greater: for, (if we have S. Matthews hiſtory rightly deliver'd to us) when he was at the greateſt feaſt which this world can preſent, when he was receiving and adminiſtring the bleſſed Sacrament, in that action, was he himſelf ſerv'd up as a diſh to the table of the Lamb, and added to the number of the Martyrs then; and died for that Saviour of his, whoſe death for him, he did then celebrate. This then was feſtum Ablactationis; Abraham made a great feast, Gen. 21.8.that day that Iſaac was weaned: Here was Matthew wean'd ab uteribus mundi, from the breſts of this world; and he made a feaſt, a feaſt that was a Type of a Tyye, a previſion of a viſion,Act. 10. of that viſion which S. Peter had after, of a ſheet, with all kinde of meats clean and unclean in it: for at this Table was the clean and unſpotted Lamb, Chriſt Jeſus himſelf; and at the ſame Table, thoſe ſpotted and unclean Goats, the Publicans and ſinners; which is our third, and next circumſtance, He juſtified feaſting, feaſting in an Apoſtles houſe, feaſting with Publicans and ſinners.
Is there then any converſation with notorious ſinners juſtifiable, excuſable?Cum publicanis. We ſee when S. Paul came to be of that High Commiſſion, to judge of notorious ſinners, how he proceeded: he deliver'd Alexander and Hymenaeus to Satan; and there, ſurely,1 Tim. 1.20. he did not mean that any man ſhould keep them company. What was their fault? It was but one Heretical point; a great one indeed; for they denied the Reſurrection; and for this, the Apoſtle (as it is alſo ſaid there) ſends them to Satan, that they might learn not to blaſpheme: And may there not be thus much intimated in that, That a man may learn more blaſphemy with ſome men, then with Satan himſelf? That may be true: but the ſending and delivering to Satan, is the excluding of that man from the Kingdom, that is, from the viſible Church of Chriſt, by a juſt Excommunication: for, all without the Church, is Satans juriſdiction. Of which fearful ſtate,Nyſſen. Gregory Nyſſene ſpeaks pathetically; Si haberet oculos anima, If thy ſoul had eyes, to ſee ſouls, Oſtenderem tibi, tibi ſegregato, I would ſhew thee, thee who haſt wilfully incurr'd, and doſt rebelliouſly continue under an Excommunication rightly grounded, duely proceeded in, and juſtly denounced; I would ſhew thee the picture of a man burning in Hell, for that's thy picture, ſays that Father, to that man; Non Epiſcopalis arrogantiae exiſtimes, ſays he, Think it not a paſſionate act of an inſolent Biſhop; Caepit in Lege, confirmatur in Gratia, God began it in the Law, and confirm'd it in the Goſpel; and where it is juſtly grounded, and duely proceeded in, it is a fearful thing to be deliver'd over to Satan by excommunication; and S. Paul is ſo far from converſing with an Heretick in one point, as that he proceeds ſo far with him, as to deliver him to Satan.
Nay, for a fault much leſs then this, not oppoſed againſt God, as Hereſie, but againſt Natural Honeſty, the Apoſtle proceeds as far,1 Cor. 5.5. in Inceſt; Gather you, ſays he, with my ſpirit, and the power of the Lord Jeſus, to deliver that inceſtuous man to Satan. Nay, in leſs faults then that,v. 11. he forbids Converſation; If a fornicator, if a drunkard, if a covetous perſon, with him eat not. Nay; for that which is leſs then theſe,2 Theſ. 3.6, 14. he is as ſevere; We command ye, Brethren, in the Name of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that you withdraw your ſelves from every brother that walketh diſorderly. Where, Calvin thinks, (and, I think, aright, and many others muſt think ſo too; for a Jeſuite thinks ſo, as well as Calvin) that the Apoſtle by the word diſorderly, Cornel. Lapid.does not mean perſons that live in any courſe of notorious ſin; but by diſorderly, he means Ignavos, Inutiles, idle and unprofitable perſons; perſons of no uſe to the Church, or to the State: that whereas this is Ordo Divinus, the order that God hath eſtabliſhed in this world, that every man ſhould embrace a Calling, and walk therein; they who do not ſo, pervert Gods order: and they are S. Pauls diſorderly perſons.
This then being ſo, that the Holy Ghoſt by S. Paul, ſeparates not onelyonly from all ſpiritual Communion, but from all civil Converſation, all notorious ſinners, and diſorderly perſons, how deſcends Chriſt to this facility, and eaſineſs of converſation with Publicans and Sinners? For, (to ſpeak a word by the way, of the Office of a Publican) though Cuſtomes, and Tributes, and Impoſitions were due to the Kings of Jewry, due in natural right, and due in legal right,1.17. fixed and eſtabliſhed by that Law in Samuel; and ſo the Farmers of thoſe Cuſtomes, and Collectors of thoſe Tributes, in that reſpect not to be blamed, or ill thought of; and though in the Roman State, (under whoſe Government, at this time the Jews were) the Office of a Publican were an honourable Office,Cicero. (for ſo that great Stateſman and Orator tells us, Flos Equitum Romanorum, Ornamentum Civitatis, Firmamentum Reipub. Men of the beſt Families and Extraction in the State, Men of the beſt Credit and Reputation in the State, Men of the beſt Revenues and Poſſeſſion in the State, were Publicans; yet when the Romans govern'd Jewry as a Province, and that theſe honourable Roman Publicans forbore to execute that Office in thoſe remote parts, and making under-Farmers there, for the better advancing of that ſervice, employed the Jews themſelves, who beſt underſtood the ways and the perſons: theſe Jews became more cruel and heavy to their Brethren, in theſe Exactions, then any ſtrangers; and ſo, and juſtly, the moſt odious perſons amongſt them: and then why would Chriſt afford this converſation to theſe, and ſuch as theſe, to Publicans and ſinners? Chriſt was in himſelf a Diſpenſation upon any Law, becauſe he was the Law-maker. But here he proceeded not in that capacity; he took no benefit of any Diſpenſation; he fulfilled the intention and purpoſe of the Law; for the Laws therefore forbad converſation with ſinners, leſt a man ſhould take infection by ſuch converſation:Exod. 34. ſo the Jews were forbidden to eat with the Gentiles; but it was, leſt in eating with the Gentiles, they might eat of things ſacrificed to Idols: ſo they were forbidden converſation with leprous perſons,Num. 5. leſt by ſuch converſation the diſeaſe ſhould be propagated; but where the danger of infection ceas'd, all converſation might be open; and Chriſt was always far enough from taking any infection, by any converſation with any ſinner. He might apply himſelf to them, becauſe he could take no harm by them; but he did it eſpecially, that he might do good upon them. Some forbear the company of ſinners, out of a ſingularity, and pride in their own purity, and ſay, with thoſe in Eſay, Stand by thy ſelf, come not near me, 65.5.for I am holyer then thou. But, Bonus non eſt, qui Malos tolerare non poteſt, ſays S. Auguſt. upon thoſe words, Lilium inter ſpinas, Cant. 2.2.That Chriſt was a Lilie, though he grew amongſt Thorns. A Lilie is not the leſs a Lilie, nor the worſe, nor the darker a Lilie, becauſe it grows amongſt Thorns. That man is not ſo good as he ſhould be, that cannot maintain his own integrity, and continue good; or that cannot maintain his charity, though others continue bad. It was S. Paul's way, I am made all things to all men, that I might ſave ſome. 1 Cor. 9.22.And in that place, which we mentioned before,1 Cor. 5.11. where the Apoſtle names the perſons, whom we are to forbear, amongſt them, he names Idolators; and, as he does the reſt, he calls even thoſe Idolators, Brethren; If any that is called a Brother, be an Idolator, &c. In caſes where we are ſafe from danger of infection, (and it lies much in our ſelves, to ſave our ſelves from infection) even ſome kind of Idolators, are left by S. Paul under the name of Brethren; and ſome brotherly, and neighbourly, and pious Offices, belong to them, for all that. Theſe faults muſt arm me to avoid all danger from them, but not extinguiſh all charity towards them. And therefore it was an unjuſt calumny in the Phariſees, to impute this for a fault to Chriſt, that he applyed himſelf to theſe men; which is the next and laſt Circumſtance in this firſt part, The Calumny of theſe Phariſees.
Now in the manner of this Calumny,Calumnia. there was a great deal of iniquity, and a great deal in the matter: For, for the manner; That which they ſay of Chriſt, they ſay not to Chriſt himſelf, but they whiſper it to his ſervants, to his Diſciples. A Legal and Juridical Accuſation, is juſtifiable, maintainable, becauſe it is the proper way for remedy: a private reprehenſion done with diſcretion, and moderation, ſhould be acceptable too; but a privy whiſpering is always Phariſaical. The Devil, himſelf, though he be a Lyon, yet he is a roaring Lyon; a man may hear him: but for a privy Whiſperer, we ſhall onelyonly hear of him. And in their plot there was more miſchief; for, when Chriſts Diſciples plucked ears of Corn,Matth. 12. upon the ſabbath, the Phariſees ſaid nothing to thoſe Diſciples, but they come to their Maſter, to Chriſt, and they tell him of it: Here, when Chriſt eats and drinks with theſe ſinners, they never ſay any thing to Chriſt himſelf, but they go to his ſervants, and they tell him of it. By privy whiſperings and calumnies, they would aliene Chriſt from his Diſciples, and his Diſciples from him; the King from his Subjects by ſome tales, and the Subject from the King by other: and they took this for the ſhorteſt way to diſgrace both their preaching, to diſcredit both their lives; to defame Chriſt for a Wine-bibber, and a looſe Companion, and to defame his Diſciples for prophane men, and Sabbath-breakers:Gregor. for, Cujus vita deſpicitur, reſtat ut ejus predicatio contemnatur, is an infallible inference and conſequence made by S. Gregory; Diſcredit a mans life, and you diſgrace his Preaching: Lay imputations upon the perſon, and that will evacuate and fruſtrate all his preaching; for whether it be in the corruption of our nature, or whether it be in the nature of the thing it ſelf, ſo it is, if I believe the Preacher to be an ill man, I ſhall not be much the better for his good Sermons.
Thus they were injurious in the manner of their calumny; they were ſo too in the matter, to calumniate him therefore, becauſe he applyed himſelf to ſinners. The Wiſe-man in Eccleſiaſticus inſtitutes his meditation thus:11.12. There is one that hath great need of help, full of poverty, yet the eye of the Lord looked upon him for good, and ſet him up from his low eſtate, ſo that many that ſaw it, marvelled at it. Many marvelled, but none reproached the Lord, chid the Lord, calumniated the Lord, for doing ſo. And if the Lord will look upon a ſinner, and raiſe that bedrid man; if he will look with that eye, that pierces deeper then the eye of heaven, the Sun, (and yet with a look of that eye, the womb of the earth conceives) if he will look with that eye, that conveys more warmth then the eye of the Oſtrich, (and yet with a look of that eye, that Bird is ſaid to hatch her young ones, without ſitting) that eye that melted Peter into water, and made him flow towards Chriſt; and ratified Matthew into air, and made him flee towards Chriſt; if that eye vouchſafe to look upon a Publican, and redeem a Goſhen out of an Egypt, hatch a ſoul out of a carnal man, produce a ſaint out of a ſinner, ſhall we marvel at the matter? marvel ſo, as to doubt Gods power? ſhall any thing be impoſſible to God? or ſhall we marvel at the manner, at any way by which Chriſt ſhall be pleaſed to convey his mercy?Chryſolog. Miraris eum peccatorum vinum bibere, qui pro peccatoribus ſanguinem fudit? ſhall we wonder that Chriſt would live with ſinners, who was content to die for ſinners? Wonder that he would eat the bread and Wine of ſinners, that gave ſinners his own fleſh to eat, and his own blood to drink? Or if we do wonder at this, (as, indeed, nothing is more wonderful) yet let us not calumniate, let us not miſ-interpret any way, that he ſhall be pleaſed to take, to derive his mercy to any man: but,Clem. Alex. (to uſe Clement of Alexandria's compariſon) as we tread upon many herbs negligently in the field, but when we ſee them in an Apothecaries ſhop, we begin to think that there is ſome vertue in them; ſo howſoever we have a perfect hatred, and a religious deſpite againſt a ſinner, as a ſinner; yet if Chriſt Jeſus ſhall have been pleaſed to have come to his door, and to have ſtood, and knock'd, and enter'd, and ſup'd, and brought his diſh, and made himſelf that diſh, and ſeal'd a reconciliation to that ſinner, in admitting him to that Table, to that Communion, let us forget the Name of Publican, the Vices of any particular profeſſion; and forget the name of ſinner, the hiſtory of any mans former life; and be glad to meet that man now in the arms, and to grow up with that man now in the bowels of Chriſt Jeſus; ſince Chriſt doth now begin to make that man his, but now declares to us, that he hath been his, from all eternity: For in the Book of Life, the name of Mary Magdalen was as ſoon recorded, for all her incontinency, as the name of the bleſſed Virgin, for all her integrity; and the name of St. Paul who drew his ſword againſt Chriſt, as ſoon as St. Peter, who drew his in defence of him: for the Book of life was not written ſucceſſively, word after word, line after line, but delivered as a Print, all together. There the greateſt ſinners were as ſoon recorded, as the moſt righteous; and here Chriſt comes to call, not the righteous at all, but onelyonly ſinners to repentance. And ſo we have done with thoſe pieces which conſtitute our firſt part; Chriſt by his perſonal preſence juſtified feaſting, and feaſting in an Apoſtles houſe, and feaſting with Publicans and ſinners, though the Phariſees calumniated him, malitiouſly in the manner, injuriouſly in the matter; and we paſs to our other part; from the Hiſtorical and Occaſional, to the Catechiſtical, the Doctrinal Part.
The other Part, the Occaſion, the Connexion was of the Text;Part II. and we cannot ſay properly that this Part, the anſwer is in the Text; for, indeed, the Text is in it: the Text it ſelf is but a piece of that Anſwer, which Chriſt gives to theſe Calumniators. Firſt, Chriſt does afford an Anſwer even to Calumniators; for that is very often neceſſary:Reſpondet Calumniae. not onelyonly becauſe otherwiſe a Calumniator would triumph, but becauſe otherwiſe a calumny would not appear to be a calumy. A calumny is fix'd upon the fame of a good man; he in a holy ſcorn, and religious negligence, pretermits it; and after, long after, the generation of thoſe vipers come to ſay, In all this time, who ever denyed it? A ſeaſonable and a ſober anſwer interrupts the preſcription of a calumny, diſcontinues the continual claim of a calumny, diſappoints and avoids that Fine which the calumny levied, to bar all poſterity, if no man ariſe to make an anſwer. Truely, there are ſome paſſages in the Legend of Pope Joan, which I am not very apt to believe; yet, it is ſhrewd evidence, that in ſo many hundreds of years, ſix or ſeven, no man in that Church ſhould ſay any thing againſt it: I would they had been pleas'd to have ſaid ſomething, ſomewhat ſooner: for if there were ſlander mingled in the ſtory, (and if there be, it muſt be their own Authors that have mingled it) yet ſlander it ſelf ſhould not be neglected. Chriſt does not neglect it; he juſtifies his converſation with theſe ſinners: and he gives anſwers proportionable to the men, with whom he dealt. Firſt, becauſe the Phariſees pretended a knowledge and zeal to the Scriptures,Oſe 6.6. he anſwers out of the Scriptures, out of the Prophet, Miſericordiam volo, Mercy is better then ſacrifice; and an Evangelical deſire to do good upon ſinners, better then a Legal inhibition to come near them. And Chriſt ſeems to have been ſo full of this ſaying of Oſe, as that he ſays it here, where the Phariſees calumniate him to his diſciples; and when they calumniate the diſciples about the ſabbath, he ſays it there too. He anſwers out of Scriptures, becauſe they pretend a zeal to them; and then becauſe the Phariſees were learned, and rational men, he anſwers out of Reaſon too, The whole have no need of the Phyſician: I come in the quality of a Phyſician, and therefore apply my ſelf to the ſick. For, we read of many blinde and lame, and deaf and dumb, and dead perſons, that came or were brought to Chriſt to be recovered; but we never read of any man, who being then in a good ſtate of health, came to Chriſt to deſire that he might be preſerv'd in that ſtate: The whole never think of a Phyſician; and therefore Chriſt, who came in that quality, applied himſelf to them that needed. And that he might give full ſatisfaction, even to Calumniators, every way, as he anſwer'd them out of Scriptures, and out of Reaſon; ſo becauſe the Phariſees were States-men too, and led by Precedents and Records, he anſwers out of the tenour and letter of his Commiſſion and Inſtructions, (which is that part of his anſwer that falls moſt directly into our Text) Veni vocare, I came to call not the righteous, but ſinners to repentance.
Firſt then, venit, he came, he is come: venit actu; he came in promiſe, often ratified before:Venit Actu. now there is no more room for John Baptist's queſtion, Tune ille, Art thou he that ſhould come, or must we look for another? For another coming of the ſame Meſſias, we do look, but not for another Meſſias; we look for none after him, no poſt-Meſſias; we joyn none, Saints nor Angels, with him, no ſub-Meſſias, no vice-Meſſias. The Jews may as well call the hiſtory of the Floud Prophetical, and ask when the world ſhall be drown'd according to that Prophecie; or the hiſtory of their deliverance from Babylon Prophetical, and ask when they ſhall return from thence to Jeruſalem, according to that Prophecie, as ſeek for a Meſſias now amongſt their Prophets, ſo long after all things being perform'd in Chriſt, which were propheſied of the Meſſias; Chriſt hath ſo fully made Prophecie Hiſtory.
Venit actu, He is really, perſonally, actually come;Venit ſponte. and then venit ſponte, he is come freely, and of his own meer goodneſs: How freely? Come, and not ſent? Yes, he was ſent: God ſo loved the world, as that he gave his onelyonly begotten Son for it; There was enough done to magnifie the mercy of the Father, in ſending him. How freely then? Come and not brought? Yes, he was brought: The holy Ghost overſhadowed the bleſſed virgin, and ſo he was conceiv'd: there was enough done to magnifie the goodneſs of the holy Ghoſt in bringing him. He came to his priſon, he abhorr'd not the Virgins womb; and not without a Mittimus; he was ſent: He came to the Execution; and not without a deſire of Reprieve, in his Tranſeat Calix, If it be poſsible, let this cup paſs from me; and yet venit ſponte, he came freely, voluntarily, of his own goodneſs. No more then he could have been left out at the Creation, and the world made without him, could he have been ſent into this world, without his own hand to the Warrant, or have been left out at the decree of his ſending. As when he was come, no man could have taken away his ſoul, if he had not laid it down; ſo, (if we might ſo ſpeak) no God, no perſon in the Trinity, could have ſent him, if he had not been willing to come. Venit actu, he is come; there's our comfort: venit ſponte, he came freely; there's his goodneſs. And ſo you have the Action, Venit, He came.
The next is his Errand, his Purpoſe, what he came to do,Vocare. Venit vocare, He came to call. It is not vocatus, That Chriſt came, when we call'd upon him to come: Man had no power, no will, no not a faculty to wiſh that Chriſt would have come,Non occurrere. till Chriſt did come, and call him. For, it is not Veni occurrere, That Chriſt came to meet them who were upon the way before: Man had no pre-diſpoſition in Nature, to invite God to come to him.August. Quid peto, ut venias in me, qui non eſſem ſi non eſſes in me? How ſhould I pray at firſt, that God would come into me, when as I could not onelyonly not have the ſpirit of prayer, but not the ſpirit of life, and being, except God were in me already? Where was I, when Chriſt call'd me out of my Raggs, nay out of my Ordure, and waſh'd me in the Sacramental water of Baptiſm, and made me a Chriſtian ſo? Where was I, when in the loyns of my ſinful parents, and in the unclean act of generation, Chriſt call'd me into the Covenant, and made me the childe of Chriſtian parents? Could I call upon him, to do either of theſe for me? Or if I may ſeem to have made any ſtep towards Baptiſm, becauſe I was within the Covenant; or towards the Covenant, becauſe I was of Chriſtian parents: yet where was I, when God call'd me, when I was not, as though I had been, in the Eternal Decree of my Election? What ſaid I for my ſelf, or what ſaid any other for me then, when neither I, nor they had any being? God is found of them that ſought him not: Non venit occurrere, He came not to meet them who were, of themſelves, ſet out before.
Non Cogere.But then, non venit cogere, He came not to force and compel them, who would not be brought into the way: Chriſt ſaves no man againſt his will. There is a word crept into the later School, that deludes many a man; they call it Irreſistibility; and they would have it mean, that when God would have a man, he will lay hold upon him, by ſuch a power of grace, as no perverſneſs of that man, can poſſibly reſiſt. There is ſome truth in the thing, ſoberly underſtood: for the grace of God is more powerful then any reſiſtance of any man or devil. But leave the word, where it was hatcht, in the School, and bring it not home, not into practice: for he that ſtays his converſion upon that, God, at one time or other, will lay hold upon me by ſuch a power of Grace, as I ſhall not be able to reſiſt, may ſtay, till Chriſt come again, to preach to the ſpirits that are in priſon. 1 Pet. 3.19.Chriſt beats his Drum, but he does not Preſs men; Chriſt is ſerv'd with Voluntaries. There is a Compelle intrare, Luk. 14.23.A forcing of men to come in, and fill the houſe, and furniſh the ſupper: but that was an extraordinary commiſſion, and in a caſe of Neceſſity: Our ordinary commiſſion is, Ite, praedicate; Go, and preach the Goſpel, and bring men in ſo: it is not, Compelle intrare, Force men to come in: it is not, Draw the Sword, kindle the Fire, winde up the Rack: for, when it was come to that,Mat. 22.10. that men were forc'd to come in, (as that Parabolical ſtory is reported in this Evangeliſt) the houſe was fill'd, and the ſupper was furniſht, (the Church was fill'd, and the Communion-table frequented) but it was with good and bad too: for men that are forc'd to come hither, they are not much the better in themſelves, nor we much the better aſſur'd of their Religion, for that: Force and violence, pecuniary and bloudy Laws, are not the right way to bring men to Religion, in caſes where there is nothing in conſideration, but Religion meerly. 'Tis true, there is a Compellite Manere, that hath all juſtice in it; when men have been baptiz'd, and bred in a Church, and embrac'd the profeſſion of a Religion, ſo as that their allegiance is complicated with their Religion, then it is proper by ſuch Laws to compel them to remain and continue in that Religion; for in the Apoſtacy, and Defection of ſuch men, the State hath a detriment, as well as the Church; and therefore the temporal ſword may be drawn as well as the ſpiritual; which is the caſe between thoſe of the Romiſh perſwaſion, and us: their Laws work directly upon our Religion; they draw blood meerly for that, ours work directly upon their allegiance, and puniſh only where pretence of Religion colours a Defection in allegiance. But Chriſts end being meerly ſpiritual, to conſtitute a Church, Non venit Occurrere, as he came not to meet man, man was not ſo forward; ſo he came not to compel man, to deal upon any that was ſo backward; for, Venit vocare, He came to call.
Now, this calling, implies a voice, as well as a Word;Veni vocare. it is by the Word; but nor by the Word read at home, though that be a pious exerciſe; nor by the word ſubmitted to private interpretation; but by the Word preached, according to his Ordinance, and under the Great Seal, of his bleſſing upon his Ordinance. So that preaching is this calling; and therefore, as if Chriſt do appear to any man, in the power of a miracle, or in a private inſpiration, yet he appears but in weakneſs, as in an infancy, till he ſpeak, till he bring a man to the hearing of his voice, in a ſetled Church, and in the Ordinance of preaching: ſo how long ſoever Chriſt have dwelt in any State, or any Church, if he grow ſpeechleſs, he is departing; if there be a diſcontinuing, or ſlackning of preaching, there is a danger of looſing Chriſt. Adam was not made in Paradiſe, but brought thither, call'd thither: the ſons of Adam are not born in the Church, but call'd thither by Baptiſm; Non Naſcimur ſed re-naſcimur Chriſtiani; August.No man is born a Chriſtian, but call'd into that ſtate by regeneration. And therefore, as the Conſummation of our happineſs is in that, that we ſhall be call'd at laſt, into the Kingdom of Glory, in the Venite Benedicti, Come ye bleſſed, and enter into your Maſters joy: ſo is it a bleſſed Inchoation of that happineſs, that we are called into the Kingdom of Grace, and made partakers of his Word and Sacraments, and other Ordinances by the way. And ſo you have his Action, and Errand, He came, and, came to call.
The next, is the perſons upon whom he works, whom he calls;Non Juſtos. where we have firſt the Negative, the Excluſive, Non Justos, Not the righteous. In which, Grego: Nyſſene, is ſo tender,G. Nyſſen. ſo compaſſionate, ſo loath, that this Negative ſhould fall upon any man, that any man ſhould be excluded from poſſibility of ſalvation, as that he carries it wholly upon Angels: Chriſt took not the nature of Angels, Chriſt came not to call Angels: But this Excluſion falls upon men; What men? upon the righteous: Who are they? We have two Expoſitions, both of Jeſuites, both good; I mean the Expoſitions, not the Jeſuites: they differ ſomewhat; for, though the Jeſuites agree well enough, too well, in State-buſineſs, in Courts, (how Kings ſhall be depos'd, and how maſſacred; how Kingdoms ſhall be deluded with Diſpenſations, and how invaded with Forces, they agree well enough) yet in Schools, and in Expoſitions,Maldonat. Mat. 18.12. they differ, as well as others. The firſt, Maldonat, he ſays, That as in that parable, where Chriſt ſays, that the good ſhepherd left the ninety nine ſheep, that had kept their pastures, and went to ſeek that one, which was ſtrayed, he did not mean, that there is but one ſheep of a hundred, that does go aſtray; but that if that were the caſe, he would go to ſeek that one: ſo when Chriſt ſays here, he came not to call the righteous, he does not mean that there were any righteous; but if the world were full of righteous men, ſo that he might make up the number of his Elect, and fill up the rooms of the fallen Angels, out of them; yet he would come to call ſinners too.Barradas. The other Jeſuite Barradas, (not altogether Barrabas) he ſays, Chriſt ſaid, Non Juſtos, Not the righteous, becauſe if there had been any righteous, he needed not to have come: according to that of S. Aug. Si homo non periiſſet, Auguſt.filius hominis non veniſſet; If Man had not fallen, and lain irrecoverably under that fall, the Son of God had not come to ſuffer the ſhame, and the pain of the Croſs: ſo that they differ but in this; If there had been any righteous, Chriſt needed not to have come; and though there had been righteous men, yet he would have come; but in this, they, and all agree,Rom. 8.30. that there were none righteous. None? Why, whom he predeſtinated, thoſe he called; and were not they whom he predeſtinated, and elected to ſalvation, righteous? Even the Elect themſelves have not a conſtant righteouſneſs in this world: ſuch a righteouſneſs, as does always denominate them, ſo, as that they can always ſay to their own conſcience, or ſo as the Church can always ſay of them, This is a righteous man: No, nor ſo, as that God, who looks upon a ſinner with the eyes of the Church, and conſiders a ſinner, with the heart and ſenſe of the Church, and ſpeaks of him with the tongue of the Church, can ſay of him, then, when he is under unrepented ſin, This man is righteous: howſoever, if he look upon him, in that Decree which lies in his boſom, and by which he hath infallibly ordain'd him to ſalvation, he may ſay ſo. No man here, though Elect, hath an equal and conſtant righteouſneſs; nay, no man hath any ſuch righteouſneſs of his own, as can ſave him; for howſoever it be made his, by that Application, or Imputation, yet the righteouſneſs that ſaves him, is the very righteouſneſs of Chriſt himſelf.Hilarie. S. Hilaries Queſtion then, hath a full Anſwer, Erant quibus non erat neceſſe ut ventret? Were there any that needed not Chriſts coming? No; there were none; who then are theſe righteous? we anſwer with S. Chryſost. and S. Hiero. and S. Ambroſe, and all the ſtream of the Fathers; They are Juſti ſua Justitia, thoſe who thought themſelves righteous; thoſe who relyed upon their own righteouſneſs; thoſe who miſtook their righteouſneſs, as the Laodiceans did their riches; they ſaid, They were rich, and had need of nothing; Apoc. 3.17.and they were wretched, and miſerable, and poor, and blind, and naked. So, theſe men, being ignorant of Gods righteouſneſs, Rom. 10.3.and going about to eſtabliſh a righteouſneſs of their own, have not ſubmitted themſelves to the righteouſneſs of God; that is, depend wholly upon the righteouſneſs of Chriſt. He calls it Suam, their righteouſneſs, becauſe they thought they had a righteouſneſs of their own; either in the faculties of Nature, or in the exaltation of thoſe faculties by the help of the Law: And he calls it Suam, their righteouſneſs, becauſe they thought none had it but they. And upon this Pelagian righteouſneſs, it thought Nature ſufficient without Grace; or upon this righteouſneſs of the Cathari, the Puritans in the Primitive Church, that thought the Grace which they had received ſufficient, and that upon that ſtock they were ſafe, and become impeccable, and therefore left out of the Lords Prayer, that Petition, Dimitte nobis, Forgive us our treſpaſſes; upon this Pelagian righteouſneſs, and this Puritan righteouſneſs, Chriſt does not work. He left out the righteous, not that there were any ſuch, but ſuch as thought themſelves ſo; and he took in ſinners, not all effectually, that were ſimply ſo, but ſuch as the ſenſe of their ſins, and the miſerable ſtate that that occaſioned, brought to an acknowledgement, that they were ſo; Non Juſtos, ſed peccatores.Peccatores.
Here then enters our Affirmative, our Incluſive, Who are called; peccatores: for here no man asks the Queſtion of the former Branch: there we asked, Whether there were any righteous? and we found none; here we ask not whether there were any ſinners, for we can finde no others, no not one. He came to call ſinners, and only ſinners; that is, only in that capacity, in that contemplation, as they were ſinners; for of that vain and frivolous opinion, that got in, and got hold in the later School, That Chriſt had come in the fleſh, though Adam had ſtood in his innocence; That though Man had nor needed Chriſt as a Redeemer, yet he would have come to have given to man the greateſt Dignity that Nature might poſſibly receive, which was to be united to the Divine Nature: of this Opinion, one of thoſe Jeſuites whom we named before, Maldonat, who oftentimes making his uſe of whole ſentences of Calvins, ſays in the end, This is a good Expoſition, but that he is an Heretick that makes it. He ſays alſo of this Opinion, That Chriſt had come, though Adam had ſtood; this is an ill Opinion, but that they are Catholicks that have ſaid it. He came for ſinners; for ſinners onelyonly; elſe he had not come: and then he came for all kind of ſinners:Mat. 21.31. for, upon thoſe words of our Saviours, to the High Prieſts and Phariſees, Publicans and Harlots go into the Kingdom of Heaven before you, good Expoſitors note, that in thoſe two Notations, Publicans and Harlots, many ſorts of ſinners are implyed: in the name of Publicans, all ſuch, as by their very profeſſion and calling, are led into tentations, and occaſions of ſin, to which ſome Callings are naturally more expoſed then other, ſuch as can hardly be exerciſed without ſin; and then in the Name of Harlots, and proſtitute Women, ſuch as cannot at all be exerciſed without ſin; whoſe very profeſſion is ſin: and yet for theſe, for the worſt of theſe, for all theſe, there is a voice gone out, Chriſt is come to call ſinners, onelyonly ſinners, all ſinners. Comes he then thus for ſinners? What an advantage had S. Paul then, to be of this Quorum, and the firſt of them; Quorum Ego Maximus, That when Chriſt came to ſave ſinners, he ſhould be the greateſt ſinner, the firſt in that Election? If we ſhould live to ſee that acted,Mat. 24.41. which Chriſt ſpeaks of at the laſt day, Two in the field, the one taken, the other left, ſhould we not wonder to ſee him that were left, lay hold upon him that were taken, and offer to go to Heaven before him, therefore, becauſe he had killed more men in the field, or robbed more men upon the High-way, or ſupplanted more in the Court, or oppreſſed more in the City? to make the multiplicity of his ſins, his title to Heaven? Or, two women grinding at the Mill, one taken, the other left; to ſee her that was left, offer to precede the other into Heaven, therefore, becauſe ſhe had proſtituted her ſelf to more men, then the other had done? Is this S. Pauls Quorum, his Dignity, his Prudency; I muſt be ſaved, becauſe I am the greateſt ſinner? God forbid: God forbid we ſhould preſume upon ſalvation, becauſe we are ſinners; or ſin therefore, that we may be ſurer of ſalvation. S. Pauls title to Heaven, was, not that he was primus peccator, but primus Confeſſor, that he firſt accuſed himſelf, & came to a ſenſe of his miſerable eſtate; for that implies that which is our laſt word, and the effect of Chriſts calling, That whomſoever he calls, or how, or whenſoever, it is ad Reſipiſcentiam, Non ad ſatisfactionem.to repentance. It is not ad ſatisfactionem, Chriſt does not come to call us, to make ſatisfaction to the juſtice of God: he call'd us to a heavy, to an impoſſible account, if he call'd us to that. If the death of Chriſt Jeſus himſelf, be but a ſatisfaction for the puniſhment for my ſins, (for nothing leſs then that could have made that ſatisfaction) what can a temporary Purgatory of days or hours do towards a ſatisfaction? And if the torments of Purgatory it ſelf, ſuſtain'd by my ſelf, be nothing towards a ſatisfaction, what can an Evenings faſt, or an Ave Marie, from my Executor, or my Aſſignee, after I am dead, do towards ſuch a ſatisfaction? Canſt thou ſatisfie the juſtice of God, for all that blood which thou haſt drawn from his Son, in thy blaſphemous Oaths and Execrations; or for all that blood of his, which thou haſt ſpilt upon the ground, upon the Dunghil, in thy unworthy receiving the Sacrament? Canſt thou ſatisfie his juſtice, for having made his Bleſſings the occaſions, and the inſtruments of thy ſins; or for the Dilapidations of his Temple, in having deſtroyed thine own body by thine incontinency, and making that, the ſame fleſh with a Harlot? If he will contend with thee, Job 9.9.thou canſt not anſwer him one of a thouſand: Nay, a thouſand men could not anſwer one ſin of one man.
It is not then Ad ſatisfactionem; but it is not Ad gloriam neither.Non ad Gloriam. Chriſt does not call us to an immediate poſſeſſion of glory, without doing any thing between. Our Glorification was in his intention, as ſoon as our Election: in God who ſees all things at once, both entred at once; but in the Execution of his Decrees here, God carries us by ſteps; he calls us to Repentance. The Farmers of this imaginary ſatisfaction, they that fell it at their own price, in their Indulgencies, have done well, to leave out this Repentance, both in this text in S. Matthew, and where the ſame is related by S. Mark. In both places, they tell us, that Chriſt came to call ſinners, but they do not tell us to what; as though it might be enough to call them to their market, to buy their Indulgencies. The Holy Ghoſt tells us; it is to repentance: Are ye to learn now what that is? He that cannot define Repentance, he that cannot ſpell it, may have it; and he that hath written whole books, great Volumes of it, may be without it. In one word, (one word will not do it, but in two words) it is Averſio, and Converſio; it is a turning from our ſins, and a returning to our God. It is both: for in our Age, in our Sickneſs, in any impotencie towards a ſin, in any ſatiety of a ſin, we turn from our ſin, but we turn not to God; we turn to a ſinful delight in the memory of our ſins, and a ſinful deſire that we might continue in them. So alſo in a ſtorm at ſea, in any imminent calamity, at land, we turn to God, to a Lord, Lord; but at the next calm, and at the next deliverance, we turn to our ſin again. He onelyonly is the true Iſraelite, the true penitent, that hath Nathaniel's mark, In quo non eſt dolus, In whom there is no deceit: For, to ſin, and think God ſees it not, becauſe we confeſs it not; to confeſs it as ſin, and yet continue the practiſe of it; to diſcontinue the practiſe of it, and continue the poſſeſſion of that, which was got by that ſin; all this is deceit, and deſtroys, evacuates, annihilates all Repentance.
To recollect all, and to end all: Chriſt juſtifies feaſting; he feaſts you with himſelf: And feaſting in an Apoſtles houſe, in his own houſe; he feaſts you often here: And he admits Publicans to this feaſt, men whoſe full and open life, in Court, muſt neceſſarily expoſe them, to many hazards of ſin: and the Phariſees, our adverſaries, calumniate us for this; they ſay we admit men too eaſily to the Sacrament; without confeſſion, without contrition, without ſatisfaction. God in heaven knows we do not; leſs, much leſs then they. For Confeſſion, we require publike confeſſion in the Congregation: And in time of Sickneſs, upon the death-bed, we enjoyn private and particular Confeſſion, if the conſcience be oppreſſed: And if any man do think, that that which is neceſſary for him, upon his death-bed, is neceſſary, every time he comes to the Communion, and ſo come to ſuch a confeſſion, if any thing lie upon him, as often as he comes to the Communion, we blame not, we diſſwade not, we diſ-counſel not that tenderneſs of conſcience, and that ſafe proceeding in that good ſoul. For Contrition, we require ſuch a contrition as amounts to a full deteſtation of the ſin, and a full reſolution, not to relapſe into that ſin: and this they do not in the Romane Church, where they have ſoupled and mollified their Contrition into an Attrition. For Satisfaction, we require ſuch a ſatisfaction as Man can make to Man, in goods or fame: and for the ſatisfaction due to God, we require that every man, with a ſober and modeſt, but yet with a confident and infallible aſſurance believe, the ſatisfaction given to God, by Chriſt, for all mankinde, to have been given and accepted for him in particular. This Chriſt, with joy and thankſgiving we acknowledge to be come; to be come actually; we expect no other after him, we joyn no other to him: And come freely, without any neceſſity impos'd by any above him, and without any invitation from us here: Come, not to meet us, who were not able to riſe, without him; but yet not to force us, to ſave us againſt our wills, but come to call us, by his Ordinances in his Church; us, not as we pretend any righteouſneſs of our own, but as we confeſs our ſelves to be ſinners, and ſinners led by this call, to Repentance; which Repentance, is an everlaſting Divorce from our beloved ſin, and an everlaſting Marriage and ſuper-induction of our ever-living God.