A Century of Sermons, Sermon 3
THE THIRD SERMON UPON The Transfiguration.
LUKE ix. 31, 32.
Who appeared in glory, and ſpake of his deceaſe, which he ſhould accompliſh at Hieruſalem.
But Peter, and they that were with him, were heavy with ſleep, and when they were awake they ſaw his glory, and the two men that ſtood with him.
WHen I compare many parcels of Sacred Scripture, and many fictions of the Heathen together which are of great ſimilitude; I perceive that Satan intended to diſcredit the holy Writ by deviſing Fables ſo like to the ſacred truth. I do verily think their Deucalion and his floud, was taken from the ſtory of our Noah and his Deluge: Their Hippolytus refuſing the tentations of Phedra, and yet accuſed by her for a Rape, is our Joſeph after the ſame manner impeached by his luſtful Miſtreſs: Their Hercules is our Joſhuah: Their Bellerophon carrying Letters to cut his own throat is our Ʋrias ſo betrayed by David: Their Niſus of Megara and his fatal purple hair cut off by Scylla is our Sampſon and his locks cut off by Dalilah. So their infamous tranſmutations of their Gods into Bulls, and Swans, and a thouſand lying ſhapes were publiſht by the Devil to make the Transfiguration of our Saviour ſuſpected. Shame upon ſuch groſs Figments, which can no way darken the manifold light of the Goſpel, ſo palpably counterfeit that they need no refutation. As Irenaeus paſſed his cenſure upon them,Iren. lib. 1. cap. 35. Victoria eſt ſententiae veſtrae manifeſtatio, it was victory enough to the Chriſtian cauſe to tell and relate their abſurd opinions.
But in reference to the Metamorphoſes of thoſe Idol Gods St. Peter juſtifies the truth of our Saviours Transfiguration thus: We have not cunningly deviſed Fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, but were eye witneſſes of his Majeſty, 2. Pet. i. 16. The Heathen write how their Gods were changed upon earth, but to their ſhame and ignominy: The Son of God was changed miraculouſly upon earth, but into a body of reſplendent glory. When God was come down to men upon earth, the Heaven did ſeem to come down upon earth to God. When the Greek Emperour John Palaeologus was drawn into Italy by Pope Eugenius the forth to be preſent in the Florentine Council, Binnius Florenti…. Concil. p. 1.the City of Venice entertained him ſo magnificently with their Streets all guilded, and their Boats and Galleys as rich as their Streets that the Greeks in aſtoniſhment at the bravery cried out, foreign, the Earth was become a Heaven for that day. I have met with no parcel of a Story in my reading more fit to be applied to this occaſion. When Mount Thabor did harbour our Lord, and our Lord did gliſter with beatifical brightneſs, and the Saints above did come thither in their Princely array, and the very clouds did look more white than Lillies, and the voice of the Father ſpake more pleaſing than the ſweeteſt Muſick, This is my well beloved Son. I may juſtly cry out, the Earth was become an Heaven for that day. All things elſe in the Goſpel are intermixed with much humility, this one Treatiſe lifts up my ſtile, and makes me ſay, Paulò majora canamus; This piece which I ſpred before you is nothing but Triumph, and Majeſty, and Glory.
Unto theſe words which I have read unto you I am proceeded in this ſubject, and by ſo much as I have read in theſe two Verſes St. Luke hath more than the other two Evangeliſts, to wit, that Moſes and Elias talked about Chriſts ſufferings in Jeruſalem; and that Peter, James, and John were aſleep, and waking of a ſudden were ſtartled at the tranſmutation. I have ſpoke ſeverally the laſt day in what bodies Moſes and Elias did appear, now I proceed to theſe perſons that appear; And becauſe I muſt not break the joynts of an Hiſtory I take the parts whole thus: Firſt, With what fitneſs theſe two were preſented rather than any other for celeſtial witneſſes, Moſes and Elias. Secondly, What they meant by this communication to ſpeak of his Paſſion, and Sufferings, They ſpake of his deceaſe which he ſhould accompliſh at Jeruſalem. Thirdly, That the earthly Witneſſes Peter, James, and John were aſleep at the beginning of this Miracle. But Peter, and they that were with him were heavie with ſleep. Fourthly, The miſts of drowzineſs were diſpelled, they did awake, and then they ſaw the Viſion, and as the next Verſe will prove it, they heard the conference. To theſe do you give Attention, and I my Expoſition.
The Lord did not pick twain out of ſo great an hoſt of bleſſed Spirits to ſtand upon Mount Thabor, but that there was ſome hability, and fitneſs in their perſons rather than in any other. And the firſt mark eminently ſtampt upon them for this work is this, The Law and Prophets do equally and concordiouſly bear witneſs to Chriſt. Moſes the firſt handler and publiſher of the Law; The Law and Prophets.Elias the greateſt by far of all the Prophets, O Elias, how waſt thou honoured in thy wondrous deeds? And who may glory like unto thee? Ecclus. xlviii. 4. As the Kings Coin is ſtampt on both ſides; ſo the Goſpel like a piece of currant Metal is engraven on the one ſide with the ancient teſtimony of the Law, on the other ſide with the ſtrong Predictions of the Prophets. Says Philip to Nathanael, We have found him, of whom Moſes in the Law, and the Prophets did write, Jeſus of Nazareth the Son of Joſeph, Joh. i. 45. But Peter might go further, and ſay, We have ſeen him attended, and waited on by Moſes and the Prophets. The Law, and the Prophets, and the Goſpel make good Muſick, when they are three parts of one ſong, but if you make ſeveral Airs, or ſeveral Ditties of them you mar all good harmony. We ſee Moſes and the Son of God together, ſays St. Ambroſe; ſo often as we read that portion of St. Matthew, Thou ſhalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy ſoul, and with all thy might. We ſee Elias and the Son of God together ſo often as we read that deſire inflamed to maintain Gods honour, I have been very zealous for the Lord of hoſts, 1 Kings xix. 8. That zeal made Elias faſt forty days, and eat nothing: And Chriſt doth anſwer it again, The zeal of thine houſe hath eaten me up. O how amiable it is to unite Moſes, and the Prophets, and the grace of Chriſt all together, to look upon them in one proſpect, to enterline the Old Teſtament with the New. But if you part Moſes from the Prophets, or the Prophets from Moſes, or both from Chriſt, you ſhall not find any glory in them. The Samaritans received no Scripture but the Books of Moſes: The Jews receive none but Moſes, and the Prophets: The Chriſtian puts them all together, and ſo Moſes and Elias appear with Chriſt in glory. And although many things are very difficult to be underſtood in the Old Teſtament; in ſome places we do ſee Moſes plainly, in ſome places he is hard to be underſtood; yet this Miracle gives us comfort, that in the holy Hill of God, in the glorification of heaven, there we ſhall ſee Moſes and Elias, all that is wrote in the Law and the Prophets very clearly, and that one jot or tittle is not periſhed which the Penmen of holy Writ did foretell ſhould come to paſs. For example, in Exod. xx. 19. the Children of Iſrael cry out to Moſes, Speak thou with us, and we will hear, but let not God ſpeak with us leaſt we die. To this demand God makes a full and explicite anſwer, Deut. xviii. 18. They have well ſpoken, I will raiſe them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, they ſhall hear him. Here is a middle way difficult to be underſtood, neither would God ſpeak, unto them in thunder to terrifie them, and Moſes could not abide always to be their Speaker, as they would have it, but a Prophet ſhould come like unto Moſes, like unto him in humane nature, but far more admirable in grace and power. Why, behold this dark myſtery is expounded at this Transfiguration,Tol…t. Annot. 63. in hoc caput. for Moſes is brought to confeſs of Chriſt, this is the Prophet ſpoken of like unto me, whom you are bound to hear. For the glory which was ſeen now, the affrightment which took the Diſciples, the bright cloud which overſhadowed the place, all theſe hapned now, even as it was at Mount Sinah, call to mind what Covenant was then made, and how this is the time to fulfil it. Thus you ſee how Chriſts glory makes the Law and the Prophets intelligible, which is the firſt reaſon why Moſes and Elias did appear in glory.
Secondly, Theſe are they that had undergone many ſorrows upon earth for the defence of their God, and after much tribulation did win the crown of life, in whoſe faces the Diſciples might behold, that through fire and water, through croſs and calamity, through ignominy and diſhonour we muſt enter into glory. None ſo famous for expoſing their lives to all dangers as Moſes and Elias. There was but a Bulruſh between Moſes and death when he was ſet afloat to be drowned in his tender infancy. And if Jezebel and all her Gods could cut Elias throat, ſhe ſwore he ſhould not have a day to live, 1 Kings xix. 2. What ſharp encounters had the one with Pharaoh? What diſmal threatnings did the other denounce againſt Ahab? The one was driven out rudely and violently from the preſence of Pharaoh: The other baniſhed himſelf into the Wilderneſs, and could not be found for three years. Here were a fit couple, that could ſhew their long Pedigrees of afflictions to be called the Sons of God. Theſe were fit indeed to preach of Chriſts Croſs, and of his ſufferings at Jeruſalem. They that ſuffered much might aptly and confidently commend the ſufferings of the body to the Diſciples: Si vis me flere dolendum eſt primùm ipſi tibi. And here John and James the two ambitious brethren might ſee of what condition it behoved thoſe men to be who in our Saviours Kingdom ſhould ſit the one at his right hand, the other at his left. What had they done for their Lords ſake as yet, when they askt that bold demand, but to walk with him in Judea, to travel from place to place ſafe enough in their own Country? Once indeed they were ſcared with a great tempeſt upon the Lake of Genezaret, which might have faln out upon any other occaſion, and then they cry out deſperately, Lord ſave us we periſh. But upon their haughty demand Chriſt askt them, Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? It was a cup of wormwood and tribulation, ſuch as Moſes and Elias drank of to the very lees, and thoſe are they that appear with him in glory; thoſe are they that ſit in his Kingdom, the one at his right hand, the other at his left. Their countenances have been ſad, now they ſmile for ever; they have worn ſackcloath and aſhes, and mingled their drink with weeping, now they appear bedeck'd with Majeſty. For if none might enter into King Ahaſuerus Gate cloathed with ſackcloath, Eſth. iv. 2. Then much more all that are deigned the preſence of the King of heaven ſhall ſhine triumphantly in glory.
Thirdly, The objects of Moſes and Elias ſtanding conſpicuouſly before the face of theſe three men would inſtill into them the imitation of their holy life, and impectorate to them thoſe good examples, whereby they themſelves ſhould become mirrours and examples to after Ages. Their Juſtice, their Prayers, their Temperance, their Conſtancy to true Religion, their hatred of Idolatry all theſe were texted in their face; all their noble acts were remembred by ſeeing them, foreign, ſays Chryſoſtome. The hiſtory of the Saints warms out hearts within us to read it: Hiſtoriae ſacrae inſpectio, eſt quaſi compendium reſurrectionis ante oculos habere, ſays one. To entertain our time in reading the Sacred Hiſtory, is to caſt our eyes upon a model of the Reſurrection: But to be brought in place where there was an ocular Apparition of Moſes and Elias, was to gain both a model of their Reſurrection, and a Chronicle of their Hiſtory. It is a good thing to call the dead into conſultation with the living; where God promiſeth to ſend the former and the latter rain to the earth,Deut. xi. 14. many apply it myſtically to this purpoſe. The Examples of the Patriarchs and Prophets well digeſted into our uſe are the firſt ſhowers of rain, or the dew of the morning: The Examples of Chriſt, and his Apoſtles, and ſuch as have ſhined like burning lights ſince their days are the latter rain, or the dew of the Evening; but theſe drop down one after another, and fill the Church with ſpiritual encreaſe. No obſervation more appertinent than this, which I find attributed to St. Hierom. Moſes was firſt inſpired to write the Book of Geneſis, which contains the acts of the old World, before he publiſhed Exodus, which contains the Law. A fair method which came from heaven, Firſt inſtructed to write the Hiſtory of Antiquity before he Penn'd a Pandect of Laws for the uſe of Poſterity; leſt he ſhould raſhly proceed to teach the Children before he had wiſely learnt the Examples of the Fathers. I will ſet my reſt upon this Text of Scripture, that there is not a pithier Precept in all the Sacred Volume, Deut. xxxii. 7. Remember the days of old, conſider the years of many generations; ask thy Father and he will ſhew thee, thy Elders and they will tell thee. It is a very ſatisfying thing when a truth comes to us by a good deſcent, as the Poet bragg'd of his ſtories, Quae Phoebo pater omnipotens, mihi Phoebus Apollo. God did inſpire Moſes and Elias to know what ſufferings his Son ſhould undergo at Jeruſalem; they preach'd it before the Diſciples, the Diſciples to their Scholars, they to the next, and ſo from Generation to Generation it is an Heir-loom to the lateſt Poſterity. Alta myſteria per majores ad alios debent devenire; Let great myſteries be devolved from the mouths of famous forerunners, ſuch as Moſes and Elias. The Devil himſelf was aſhamed of upſtarts when they came to be broachers of their own fancies, Jeſus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye? Sometime it is as hard to know who were the broachers of new Doctrine as to underſtand the Doctrine it ſelf. As Tiberius ſcoft at a conceited Roman, proud enough,Tacit. Annal. Civit. but of no good Parentage, Curtius Rufus videtur mihi ex ſe natus; Curtius Rufus did beget himſelf, he had no Progenitors. So ignominious it is to preſs any thing for current which is a brat of yeſterdays invention, and doth not bear a paſs from the example of our fore-fathers. Beware of novel Doctrines, and obſerve it when you will, if they do not beget new Vices; as a Mill-ſtone new-peck'd fills the meal it grinds with more gravel than one that is ſmooth with uſe. Therefore gather ſuch Manna as fell very early in the Morning. Enquire for the old, I mean for the oldeſt way, but habete ſalem, be ſure it be ſalted with Apoſtolical Doctrine, and then it will not be tainted with corruption. That we might not only fetch our Examples ſo far as the Apoſtles, but a reach beyond them likewiſe, here were two old Sires of great authority and veneration that came to Mount Thabor, Moſes and Elias.
Fourthly, I had occaſion the laſt day to make a difference between theſe two Saints thus far, that the body of the one was always living, the body of the other, that is of Moſes, came from the dead, which is an improvement to the truth of that Article of our Creed, that Chriſt ſhall bring all to judgment, both the quick and dead before him; The dead in Chriſt ſhall riſe firſt: 1 Theſ. 4.17.Then we which are alive, and remain ſhall be caught up together with them in the clouds. How many applications may be deduced from thence likewiſe, that the dead and the living came to teach, that Chriſt ſhould die upon the Croſs, and live again unto the glory of the Father? Or thus; to teach us Mortification, and Vivification, that we ſhould die unto ſin, and live unto God. But referring your memories back to that which is paſt, I ſtay my ſelf upon this Notion, that Moſes and Elias come from the other world unto this, to let us ſee, and that it is undeniably true, that there is a life remaining after this is ended, and of a much happier condition, a life of glory. It is the complaint of them who diſpute ſtifly for their own infidelity, Nullus de mortuis reſurgit; None come from the dead to teach us that are living; but ſince we mean the Apparitions of them that ſhould come from the other world, they ſhould ſay, none come from the living to us, who in compariſon to them may be called the dead. But to anſwer to the meaning of the objection, words may be reformed with eaſe. Have none been ſent with tidings to us from the habitation of the other world? Yes, twice apparently to go no farther. At the firſt bout Moſes and Elias from Mount Thabor; at the ſecond bout a witneſs without all exception, our bleſſed Saviour, who roſe the the third day from the dead, continued forty days upon earth teaching the things of the life to come, until the time even now at hand, that he aſcended into glory. After that powerful Teſtimony, which they have given, what can be ſaid more? If all our dead Friends ſhould be returned unto us, they could add nothing to that which they have teſtified, and to that which the faithful witneſs in heaven hath ſignified in holy Scripture, I mean the Spirit of God.
This is the peeviſhneſs of our humane Wiſdom, yea, rather of our humane folly, to earn for tidings from the dead, as if a Spirit departed could declare any thing more evidently than the Book of God which is the ſure Oracle of life? This was Sauls practiſe, neglect Samuel when he was alive, and ſeek after him when he was dead. What ſays the Prophet, Should not a people ſeek unto their God? Should the living repair to the dead? Nay, rather to the Law, and to the Teſtimony, Iſa. viii. 19.Ad Antioch. qu. 35. Among the works of Athanaſius I find (though he be not the Author of the queſtions to Antiochus) a diſcourſe full of reaſon, why God would not permit the ſoul of any of thoſe that departed from hence to return back unto us again, and to declare the ſtate of things in Hell unto us. For what peſtilent errors would ariſe from thence to ſeduce us? Devils would transform themſelves into the ſhapes of men that were deceaſed, pretend that they were riſen from the dead (for what will not the Father of lies feign?) and ſo ſpread in any falſe Doctrines, or incite us to many barbarous actions, to our endleſs error and deſtruction. And admit they be not Phantaſms, and deluſions, but the very men, yet all men are liars, but God is truth. I told you what a Nec…omancer Saul was in the Old Teſtament, he would believe nothing unleſs a Prophet roſe from the grave to teach him, there is another as good as himſelf in the New Teſtament, and not another Pattern in all the Scripture to my remembrance, Luke xvi. 27. The rich man in Hell urged Abraham to ſend Lazarus to admoniſh his Brethren of their wicked life; Abraham refers him to Moſes and the Prophets. He that could not teach himſelf when he was alive, would teach Abraham himſelf being in Hell, Nay, Father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
The mind is compoſed with quietneſs to hear the living; the Apparitions of dead men, beſide the ſuſpicion of deluſion, would fill us with gaſtly horror, and it were impoſſible we ſhould be fit Scholars to learn, if ſuch ſtrong perturbations of fear ſhould be upon us. How much better hath God ordained for our ſecurity, and tranquility, that the Prieſts lips ſhould preſerve knowledge? I know, if God ſhall ſee it fit to have us diſciplined by ſuch means, he can ſtir up the Spirits of the Faithful departed to come among us: So after Chriſts Reſurrection many dead bodies of Saints which ſlept aroſe,Mat. 27.52. and came out of the Graves, and went into the holy City, and appeared unto many. This was not upon a ſmall matter, but upon a brave and a renowned occaſion: But for the Spirits of damnation, they are tied in chains of darkneſs, there is no repaſſage for them, and it makes more to ſtrengthen our belief, that never any did return from Hell to tell us their woeful tale, than if any ſhould return. It is among the ſevere penalties of damnation that there is no indulgence for the ſmalleſt reſpite to come out of it. The Heathen put that truth into this Fable. Horat. lib. 1. Epiſt. Ep. 1.The Lion asked the Fox, why he never came to viſit him when he was ſick: Says the Fox, becauſe I can trace many beaſts by the print of their foot that have gone toward your Den, Sir Lion, but I cannot ſee the print of one foot that ever came back: Quia me veſtigia terrent omnia te advorſum ſpectantia, nulla retrorſum. So there is a beaten, and a broad road that leads the Reprobate to Hell, but you do not find the print of one hoof that ever came back. When I have given you my judgment about Apparitions of the dead either deſcending from Heaven, or aſcending from Hell, I muſt tell you in the third place, I have met with a thouſand ſtories in Pontifician Writings concerning ſome that have had repaſſage from Purgatory to their familiars upon earth. Notwithſtanding the reverence I bear to Gregory the Great, I cannot refrain to ſay, He was much to blame to begin ſuch fictions upon his credulity; others have been more to blame that have increaſed ſuch Legends; and they are moſt to be derided that believe them. O miſerable Theology, if thy Tenents muſt be confirmed by ſick mens dreams, and dead mens phantaſtical apparitions! To end this Point, and the firſt general part of my Text together, a thouſand guiles and deceits may entrap them that build any thing upon dead mens news; but this Apparition of Moſes and Elias was warrantable from all deluſion, becauſe they ſtood by Chriſt, and becauſe of their communication, which was Prophetical; I come to ſpeak of that in the ſecond place, They ſpake of his deceaſe, &c. Upon which ſubject theſe particulars ſhall be ſuccinctly handled: 1. That the Croſs of Chriſt is all in all, and before any thing in the world to be ſpoken of. 2. It was ſpoken of even in the midſt of this Apparition of glory. 3. Moſes and Elias came purpoſely to ſpeak of it. 4. They ſpake of it in no diſconſolatory phraſe, but much to our comfort, that it was a deceaſe. 5. They ſpake of it compleatly in all circumſtances that it was to be accompliſhed. 6. They deſigned out the place where all the Prophets had been ſlain before, and where the Sacrifices were ſlain every day in the Temple, And ſpake of the deceaſe which he ſhould accompliſh at Jeruſalem.
To begin with that which is the leading Leſſon, whether Moſes and Elias directed their words to Chriſt, or to his Diſciples is uncertain, if they communed with Chriſt, as with more probability they did, yet their talk was ſo audible and diſtinct, that the Diſciples heard it, a Leſſon at which they were alwayes ready to ſtop their ears; yet now it is beaten into them line after line with many repetitions, that the Croſs of Chriſt is all in all, and before any thing elſe in the world to be ſpoken of. Theſe two Saints who were enlightned with all knowledge befitting their glorified eſtate, could have uttered lofty diſcourſes about the Trinity, about the higheſt Heavens, about the diſtinctions of Angelical Offices, and the like; but they underſtood themſelves and us ſo well, that this is the Epitome of all ſaving knowledg, the Deceaſe which Chriſt ſhould accompliſh at Jeruſalem: 'tis that which will open Heaven, 'tis that which will glorifie us, 'tis that which will exalt us to the ſociety of Angels, and nothing elſe. O let my heart dwel often upon the wounds of my Saviour for the profit of my Soul, rather than upon all the eloquence and wit in the world. There is more to be learnt by meditating upon his Paſſion ſeriouſly and devoutly one day, than by ripping up all other needleſs queſtions through the whole year:
Si Chriſtum diſcis ſatis eſt ſi caetera neſcis;
Si Chriſtum neſcis nihil eſt ſi caetera diſcis,
Says the Old Verſe: If you have learnt Chriſt crucified for thy ſins, do not bewail thy ignorance, ſimple Soul, though thou knoweſt no more; if thou haſt not learnt his ſufferings, and that with his ſtripes thou art healed, bewail thy knowledg, great Maſter of Arts and Sciences, though, except that one thing, thou haſt learned all. And what though you fix your ſpeculations upon Chriſt himſelf? yet all is in vain that you can preach of Chriſt, until you ſet your notions afloat upon his blood, and ſail down to this out of all, that he was crucified for our tranſgreſſions. If you be not enemies to his Croſs, you will eaſily agree with the truth of the whole Goſpel; if you do not agree with his Croſs, as with the only cauſe by which we obtain ſalvation, you will be an enemy to all the truth of the Goſpel. Turn this key right, that we are juſtified from our ſins by his blood ſhedding, and all is open: wrench the door with any other key, as if we would pick open the lock of Heaven gates with our own ſufferings and righteouſneſs, and all is ſhut. Surely St. Paul did pattern his preaching by this Copy of Moſes and Elias, 1 Cor. ii. 2. I determined not to know any thing among you, ſaving Jeſus Chriſt and him crucified.
Secondly, Yes indeed, this was fit communication for Paul, to impart nothing elſe to the Corinthians, who did abound with the Greek Philoſophy, and eloquence; and it ſorted the better to ſpeak of nothing but the ſorrows of our Lord, while fears and perſecutions, and death did daily environ them; but in my next Obſervation it ſhall appear, that this diſcourſe was well choſen, rather than any other at the Transfiguration of glory: here was nothing upon the Mountain but celeſtial joy, and in the height of this joy no other talk to entertain the time but about a Croſs, and about a woful tribulation. If our ſorrow be not enlightned with ſome joy, it will turn to a melancholick deſperation; ſo if our joy be not dampt with the ſadneſs, and ſeriouſneſs of ſome ſorrow, it will fly out into exceſs and preſumption. The Graecians did not allow their frisking Lydian Muſick to be playd without the gravity of the Dorique Inſtruments, which they called in one name foreign. So David tun'd this mixture upon his Harp, Pſal. ii. 11. Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoyce unto him with reverence. Surely Peter and the other Apoſtles thought they were paſt all the bitter ſtorms and frowns of the world, where the place whereon they ſtood was more bedeckt with beauty than ever they had read of Paradice, as if God had rained down Heaven upon Earth; their mind was filled with this ſaying, and their lips in the next verſe ſpake nothing leſs; Give us the Kingdom which is prepared for us, give us the fruition of thy glory. Nay hold, and take this before, Priùs de calice cogitate quàm de regno; Drink of my cup before you reign in my Kingdom, hear Moſes and Elias preach of my Croſs before you be enthronized among the Elders to ſing praiſes unto the Lamb for evermore. But was this a gratulatory Oration fit for the Prophets to make to Chriſt? in the brightneſs of his Excellency did He love to hear of this above any thing that He ſhould die an ignominious death at Jeruſalem? yes it was as the moſt pleaſant thing to our Saviour, and none ſo acceptable to be ſpoken of. When a poor woman annointed his head with ointment in the houſe of Simon the Leper, he defends her for it againſt the indignation of his Diſciples, ſays He, In that ſhe poured this ointment on my body, ſhe did it for my Burial. Mat. 26.1….I have a Baptiſm to be baptized with, and how I am ſtraitned till it be accompliſhed, Luke xii. 50. never was ſuch haſte made to any place as he made to Mount Calvarie, there paſt but a little time from midnight to midday betwixt his Attachment, his Arraignment, and his Execution, as if his feet had ſtood upon thorns, until his head were crowned with them. The content he took in thoſe torments is thus laid forth in St. Paul, who for the joy that was ſet before him endured the Croſs, Heb. xii. 2. A certain Author makes an elegant compariſon between that triumph when Chriſt rode upon an Aſs to Jeruſalem, and between this triumph of the Transfiguration on Mount Thabor. G…anatenſis.Infeſto palmarum illacrymat conſiderans mala noſtra, in hoc feſto mirabiliter exultat recolens mala ſua. Though he was then received with Palm branches, and ſhoutings, yet he wept upon Jeruſalem to conſider their ſins: at this Feaſt he is all glorious, and rejoyceth for our ſakes to hear the commemoration of his own ſorrows.
And thirdly it muſt not be forgotten, how Moſes and Elias were thoſe choſen Orators which ſpake of his deceaſe that he ſhould accompliſh at Jeruſalem: all that was myſtical in the Types and Shadows of Moſes Law, all that was darkly delivered in the deep ſtyle of the Prophets concerning this paſſion is explained againſt the teeth of the Jews; Moſes, and Elias came to interpret themſelves. Moſes, ſay the Fathers, ſaw what medicine and healing was in the croſs, when he lift up the brazen Serpent in the Wilderneſs to cure the people that were ſtung and wounded: and Prudentius in a ſweet verſifying way, that Moſes learnt how all ſpiritual foes, Death, Satan, Sin, and Hell ſhould be vanquiſht by the Croſs, when by the ſtretching out of his hands the Amalekites were deſtroyed in Battel by the Children of Iſrael, Paſſis in altum brachiis, ſublimis Amalech premit crucis quod inſtar tum fuit. Again, they make the ſame Commentation upon Elias, that he laid his body upon the Childs body, his hands upon the Childs hands, which he brought to life again, even as Chriſt did ſtretch himſelf out upon the Croſs, and hath quickned us being dead in our ſins, having forgiven us all our treſpaſſes, Coloſ. ii. 13. and not us only, who have been born ſince the time that his blood was actually ſhed; but all thoſe who lived with the Fathers under the Law, and from the beginning of the world, who did believe to eſcape eternal death by the blood of that Sacrifice which ſhould be offered up upon the Tree of malediction. A ſtrange Medicament, that the drops of this ſacred bloud ſhould cure ſo many millions before it ſelf was extant. If an Herbalaſt ſay he will make a Panacaea, a rare juice of ſalutiferous roots the next year, can it cure this Spring? yet the Remedy of the Croſs which came to paſs in after ages, did as well cure the faithful in the former, as in the latter world ('tis never too ſoon to believe and ſeek after Chriſt, never too late to believe and repent.) Moſes and Elias are Proxies for all thoſe who died before the coming of Chriſt, that it was beneficial and pleaſant to them to have this communication, that He ſhould die at Jeruſalem: Libenter exules de reditu in patriam loquuntur: by our own juſt demerits, and by the ſin contracted in our firſt Parents, Moſes and Elias, and all the Sons of Adam were juſtly exiled from the joys of Paradiſe; but do thou ſuffer O Lamb of God, and thou wilt open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. Tell me if it were not joyful to baniſhed men to ſpeak of thoſe means which ſhould reſtore them to a Kingdom. This was the laſt thing that their Soul did meditate upon earth; upon the meditation of his paſſion, they, (as we alſo ought to do) did ſhut up their laſt breath; and this is the firſt thing which they have to ſay when God did grant them tongues to ſpeak in the Reſurrection: Diſcamus ea in terris, …p. …d Paulinum.quorum ſcientia nobis perſeveret in coelis, ſays St. Hierom: Let us learn ſuch good leſſons here upon earth, whoſe knowledg may remain with us hereafter in the Kingdom of Heaven. Here it is remorſeful (fit it ſhould be ſo) to think of his agony and paſſion, becauſe our ſins are before us, thoſe very Judaſſes which betrayed him; in the ſociety of Angels the caſe is altered, there it is no ſad diſcourſe to ſpeak of it, for the guiltineſs of our ſins doth no more infeſt our memory, every thing that the Lord willeth is pleaſant and acceptable to us; therefore in my fourth Notation, Moſes and Elias ſpeak of Chriſts ſufferings in no diſconſolatory phraſe, but much to our comfort, that it was a deceaſe, and ſpake of his deceaſe, which he ſhould accompliſh at Jeruſalem.
Fourthly, A mitigating word to lenify a harſh ſound of a moſt dreadful thing. The Heathen men did love to do, and to ſpeak couragiouſly, and yet they who know no worſe by death than that it was the ceſſation of our being, or the diſſolution of Soul and Body, did deſcribe it by the moſt judicious Pen that ever wrote among them, to be foreign, of terrors the moſt terrible, what if they had known the Scriptures, that God ſpake in his anger, that it is the wages of ſin, and unleſs mercy prevent judgment, that it is a departure into endleſs miſery. But get up courage again O frail mortality, the Son of God through death hath overcome death, the Serpent hath loſt his ſting. As willingly as a Paſſenger deceaſeth, or departeth from a ſtrange place to his own home, with ſuch quietneſs and compoſed ſatisfaction of mind we go from hence for ever, where we ſhall have an abiding City. Be not unfurniſht for a ſudden journey if God call, but ſay with Simeon, Lord I am ready to depart in peace. Tully ſaid, that a worthy man in a good old age made no more than an exit, or a deceaſe out of a Theater with a plaudite. The Scripture varies the name of death in good words; foreign, a tranquil reſt, Bleſſed are they that die in the Lord, they reſt from their labours; foreign, a ſound ſleep, our brother Lazarus ſleepeth, Jo. xi. Sometimes it hath the title of an exaltation; As Moſes lifted up the brazen Serpent in the wilderneſs, ſo ſhall the Son of man be lifted up. And my Text names it foreign a deceaſe: as the Prophet hath called that Book which entreats of the Children of Iſrael's departure out of Egypt, Exodus, their deceaſe out of that Country of captivity and ſlavery: ſo if your ſoul cleave not too much to the duſt of the earth, death is no Bugbear, no quivering meditation, but foreign, as joyful a deceaſe to us, as that was to them, a departure out of bondage and miſery. O what death can be dreaded ſince Moſes and Elias ſpake ſo mildly of the death of Chriſt? Had his daies been cut off without all pain, ſorrow, or ignominy, take the Propoſition thus barely without amplification of his wounds and ſufferings: mortuus eſt pro peccatoribus, he died for ſinners, the juſt for the unjuſt; who could ſufficiently eſtimate the dear price of his payment, or the miſerable contract of our debt? Mortiferum fuit, quod non niſi morte Chriſti ſanari potuit, the wound of ſin in our Soul was very mortal, which made the Immortal die to cure it. Lord, it is not one Soul in every man, nor ten thouſand underſtandings and cogitations in that Soul which can caſt up the eſtimation of that matchleſs benefit: How much more when Chriſts death is diſpread into a full deſcription of all circumſtances; the longeſt Goſpels by ſeven parts in all the Church Service are read upon the Paſſion; and yet more muſt be conceiv'd than can be wrote of it in the largeſt Folio. Yet I will print that Breviary of St. Paul in my memory to read it day and night, Galat. iii. 13. Chriſt hath redeemed us from the curſe of the Law, being made a curſe for us: for it is written, curſed is every one that hangeth on a tree. But that eternal life which he purchaſed to us thereby hath candied over the bitterneſs of death, and it is called by a ſoft, gentle word, a deceaſe; and ſpake of his deceaſe which he ſhould accompliſh, &c.
Fifthly, If, as I intend to ſpeak in the fifth place, all the circumſtances of his death were opened; Peter and the reſt did hear what manner of deceaſe it was. There were many Pikes to be paſſed through, a complete order of afflictions to be undergon, and accompliſht; Fat Bulls of Baſan have compaſſed me on every ſide. His miſeries ſtood round about him, and Gods predeterminate counſel was the circle, there was no moving out, till every enemy had ſpent his ſpight upon him: ſo many ſtripes and wounds foretold in ſeveral Pſalms, ſo many ſharp pangs and doleances commemorated in ſeveral Chapters, and he could not give up the ghoſt till all theſe things were come about, and every jot of the Scripture fulfilled. St. John hath ſet this down with the accurate wiſdom of the Holy Ghoſt to be admired, Joh. xx. 28. Chriſt hanging upon the Croſs had power to lay down his life at any minute at the firſt twitch of pain, and though wearineſs and the agony of ſweat, and the torments he ſuſtained made him very dry, yet he could have died in that thirſt, and never call'd for drink. But after all things in the Scripture were fulfilled, one verſe of David was unſatisfied, They gave me vinegar to drink, Pſal. lxix. 2. therefore He cries out I thirſt, and having received no better than vinegar, he bears teſtimony, that then all Prophecies about his Paſſion were ended really and in truth, his word was conſummatum eſt, all was finiſht: and at that ſtop he bowed his head, and gave up the Ghoſt: Inclinavit caput, as if he had ſaid, I have held out thus long againſt the fury of man, now I willingly die, I will hold out no longer againſt the truth of God. Very wittily the Author of the Queſtions to Antiochus, whom I cited before, all enemies were come about our Saviour on the Croſs, and had the foil,Qu. 76. only death hovered aloof, and durſt not approach; ideo Chriſtus inclinato capite vocavit eam, antequam inclinaret caput propiùs accedere verebatur; therefore when all things were accompliſht Chriſt nodded with his head; and called death unto him, which durſt not approach unſeaſonably before He bowed down his head. How ſweet it is to ſleep in death, when we have accompliſht all things that are acceptable to God? even ſo Chriſt did not deceaſe till he had finiſht all things which were due to his Father; and then this world could not claim him a minute longer; but woe and bitterneſs ſhall be in that mans end, who hath been troubled about many things in this; but in no one thing that is good can ſhew a diſpatch; much more how far is He from ſaying with St. Paul, I have finiſhed my courſe, hence forth is laid up for me a Crown of life. Sow your Seed, ripen your Harveſt, that it may be gathered into the Barn. Let not your conſcience begin to lament about the laſt hour, and ſay I have promiſed repentance to the Lord, I have promiſed works of mercy to the poor, I have promiſed reconciliation to my Brother: theſe fruitleſs words will come in judgment againſt me, for I have accompliſhed nothing.
This ſecond general part ſticks only at the laſt word, the Place where Chriſt ſhould ſuffer is deſigned by Moſes and Elias, they ſpake of his deceaſe, which he ſhould accompliſh at Jeruſalem. Jeruſalem indeed was grown to be the Scaffold upon which the beſt blood on earth had been ſpilt for many ages. It cannot be that a Prophet ſhould periſh out of Jeruſalem, Luke xiii. 13. and Chriſt did them no wrong, when he taxt them with that officious cruelty, that they laboured to draw the execution of all the Prophets to themſelves. Nor yet is the meaning ſo univerſal, that all the Martyrs had periſht within their Walls: The greater part did, and enow to diſhonour all the daily Sacrifices which they offered up in the Temple, when they polluted themſelves with the Sacrifices of the Saints. True indeed that Jeremy the Prophet, as Epiphanius relates, ſuffered in Egypt, Ezechiel in Chaldaea. Jezebel in her time put to death many excellent men in Samaria, and Herod, as Joſephus ſays, cut off John Baptiſts head at the Caſtle of Macheranta in the utmoſt confines of Galilee. But Jeruſalem was become the Gulf which had ſwallowed more holy blood than all other places. And I mark it in St. Paul, when Agabus told St. Paul by the ſpirit, that he ſhould be bound in chains, and ſhortly after die for the confeſſion of the faith, as yet God had not revealed that he muſt go to Rome, and teſtifie his name there; but Paul makes haſte to Jeruſalem, as if he would meet death in the face in that great Metropolis, which was ſo infamous for many Martyrdoms. Well, this is that City which had ſo incurr'd the anger of the Lord, that he ſuffered it to fill up the meaſure of all iniquity, and be odious to all Generations for crucifying the Lord of Life. Yet the Praepoſition foreign we have fitly tranſlated at Jeruſalem; For Chriſt did not ſuffer within the City, but without the Gates. I will take my thread from St. Paul to lead me in this way,Heb. 13. from the 11. to the end of the 13. verſe. The bodies of thoſe Beaſts whoſe blood is brought into the Sanctuary by the High Prieſt for ſin, are burnt without the Camp: Wherefore Jeſus alſo, that he might ſanctifie the people with his own blood ſuffered without the Gate. Let us go forth thereforce unto him without the Camp, bearing his reproach. Of thoſe Beaſts with whoſe blood the Sanctuary was expiated, and their fleſh burnt without the Camp, you may read Levit. xvi. 27. They that ſerv'd at the Tabernacle had no portion in this Sacrifice. So Chriſt was carried out of the City to ſuffer, and they that ſtill retain the yoke of Ceremonies upon their neck have no part in him. He ſuffered near to Jeruſalem; he came unto his own, but they caſt him forth. He ſuffered not in the Temple, Serm. 9. de Paſs.for ſays Leo, Crux Chriſti mundi eſt ara non templi, Chriſts Croſs was an Altar, of which the whole world ſhould partake, and not that Temple only. Nay, to go further, He was crucified out of the Privileges of that Jewiſh City, to betoken that the bleſſing of his Paſſion would light upon the Gentiles. The uſe which the Apoſtle makes is, as he went forth of Jeruſalem, ſo let us go forth of the Camp to God. Extra urbem, extra mundum ſequamur Chriſtum; let us leave our Pleaſures, our Riches, our Country, our Life, and this whole World, when it is requiſite to do God honour by thoſe means. Quid eſt egredi ad eum, videlicet communicemus cum eo paſſiones, ſayes St. Chryſoſtom, What is it to go out to him, but to follow the example of his patience, humility, and ſufferings: then we ſhall go out from our ſins, and come into his glory. And ſo much briefly for every part of that Communication which Moſes and Elias had in the Mount: They ſpake of his deceaſe which He ſhould accompliſh at Jeruſalem.
There is a whole verſe yet remaining to be excuſſed, which I read unto you. I would not be prevented, but to ſpeak of that which follows entirely by it ſelf, yet I will ſo handle this with a ſhort Paraphraſe, that I may not be tedious. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with ſleep. This is right man and his regardleſneſs; God ſhines in his works, the Law and the Prophets preach daily, and yet men ſleep: No, nor the ſtrong out-cries and exclamations of our Saviour in prayer could keep them awake. Lord, if thou ſhouldſt not make interceſſion for us with ſtrong cries and groans unutterable, when we ſlumber, and regard not our own miſery, what endleſs woe would fall upon us? but here's the difference between Moſes and Elias immortalized in their body, they talk divinely, and between the beſt men Peter and the Apoſtles in their corruptible nature, they are but drowſie lumps of fleſh: So it ought to be, to impreſs this humility into our heart, quod Apoſtoli dormiunt ignaviae eſt, quid ipſis contigit ſpectaculum felicitatis Dei gratiae. It is our own idleneſs that makes us ſleep: and when we ſlept in death, it was Gods mere mercy, no merit of ours, that ſent us happineſs and glory: it is not our vigilancy or our induſtry that can attain to ſuch excellent things, but by Gods grace and clemency.
Yet we muſt not think to fold onr arms together, and ſleep out our time with Solomons Sluggard, and yet be made happy; we muſt awake from ſin before we receive the hope and comfort of that future glory in this life, and we muſt awake from death before we can ſee God and his glory face to face hereafter. O that we could awake from the ſluggiſhneſs of the fleſh, and open our eyes illuminated by faith, then we ſhould ſee many admirable myſteries, which now paſs away from our knowledg, and we never ſeek them out. Wake thou that ſleepeſt, ſtand up from the dead, and Chriſt ſhall give thee light. There is an eye-ſalve of Prayer, and humility, and long-ſuffering in theſe dayes of trial, to diſpel the miſts of darkneſs which obſcure our faith, and when we awake up after thy likeneſs, O bleſſed Jeſus we ſhall be ſatisfied with it. AMEN.