A Century of Sermons, Sermon 2
THE SECOND SERMON UPON THE PASSION.
JOHN. xix. 34.
But one of the Souldiers with a Spear pierced his ſide, and forthwith came there out Bloud and Water.
WE cannot meddle with any part of our Saviours Body this day but we ſhall touch a wound; and the greateſt of them all without controverſie is this in my Text.Jo. 20 27 Thomas might put a finger in where the nails had entred; but where the Spear had opened his ſide Chriſt bad him thruſt in his hand. Of Evils be ſure to chooſe the leaſt, as David did; but of Bleſſings, ſuch were all the wounds of Chriſts Paſſion, wiſdom without art will lead our meditations to the greateſt:Gen. 14.10. And as Lot choſe the Plain of Jordan to dwell there before all the Land of Canaan beſides, becauſe it had variety of Springs of waters: ſo this wound was the moiſteſt, and had the moſt plentiful iſſue of all the five, it guſhed out into two ſtreams of blood and water. I have not found ſuch a paſſage in the Meditations of the Ancients, that they came to drink at the hands or feet of Chriſt, although the bloud trickled down from them alſo.Chryſ. homil. in Matt. foreign. But it is uſual with them in their Allegories to ſpeak unto their Soul, as if they laid their mouth unto the ſide of our Lord, and did draw at it for the Fountain of everlaſting life. Did they ſuppoſe, ſaid I, that they laid their lips there? Nay Bernard could not ſatisfie his deſire,Serm. 30. in Cantica. till he found a way to lay his heart upon the place; and at length thus he hit upon it: he believed as he had received, that this Souldiers Spear entred at the right ſide of our Saviour. Now ſays he, that Eliſha ſtretcht his living Body upon the dead Corps of the Child to raiſe it again to life: it is a figure that Chriſt ſhould apply his Body to our body, which is dead in ſin, that it might live unto God; his mouth which bled with buffeting, upon our mouth that hath been full of deceit and bitterneſs; his brows enameld with the pricks of thorns, upon our heads which have contrived miſchief and malice; his hands which were riveted with nails, upon ours, that they may be waſht in innocency; his feet upon ours, that have trod in the crooked ways of the Serpent: then the Orifice of this Wound, laying his right ſide to our left, ſhall ly directly upon our heart, and cure that part which diſperſeth iniquity to all the body.
The other three Evangeliſts, exact in moſt circumſtances of the Paſſion, have all omitted this violence done to the dead Body of Chriſt. ſurely had they wrote like meer men, you might have thought the long ſtory of theſe ſufferings to be ſo lamentable, that they could not for very compaſſion draw it quite out to an end. John ſays in the next verſe, that he ſaw it done, and that he knows he ſpeaks the truth. Amatus, & amans vulnera Domini, the beloved Diſciple that loved the wounds of his Maſter, and would not let one of them be unrecorded: this is the laſt wound that the Son of God received, and therefore it is recorded by the laſt Evangeliſt. The whole Story is comprized in this one verſe, and it will yield us theſe two points; the malice of the living, and the bleſſing that came from the dead. The malicious action conteins four circumſtances. 1. Who was that evil perſon who did offer ignominy to the Body of Chriſt, one of the Souldiers. 2. What was the violence he offered, he pierced him with a ſpear. 3. Upon what part of his Body this fury did light, upon his ſide. 4. When he ſmote him: you ſhall find by the thirtieth verſe when he had given up the ghoſt. In the ſecond general branch, which is the bleſſing that came from the dead, there is the myſtical opening of the Fountain of life, wherein I conſider firſt the two ſtreams ſeverally, Bloud and Water. 2. Their Conjunction, Bloud and Water together. 3. Their Order, firſt Bloud and then Water. 4. The Readineſs of the Fountain that guſhed out, the ſtream could not be ſtopped, no not for a minute, forthwith there came out Bloud and Water. Of theſe in their order.
Ʋnus militum, one of the Souldiers did a deſpiteful fact upon the Body of Chriſt. The Romans having the whole Nation of the Jews under their ſubjection at this time, did gratifie them notwithſtanding in many things to prevent rebellion; and to ſatisfie their Law, which forbids their dead to hang upon a tree after Sun-ſet, leſt the Land ſhould be defiled. Pilate gave them leave to take away the Bodies this day crucified from the Croſs. Wherefore to diſpatch the Malefactors, that they might be taken down, two Thieves had their legs broken, in whom there was life remaining. It ſeems the chief Centurion would not be more rigid than the Law, to do any further deſpite to Chriſt when he was dead already; (yet the cracking of his bones to ſplinters was the chief thing the Jews intended) but one of the Souldiers foreign,Chryſoſt. certainly ſays the Father for a fee to pleaſe the people, thruſt a ſpear into his ſide. I doubt me that thoſe who delighted in war bore no good will unto our Saviour. His birth was deſtinated by providence unto the days of peace: his Name was the Prince of Peace, his Doctrin was utterly againſt the Sword, qui gladium ſumpſerit gladio ferietur; now ſee what comes of it when he is faln into the hands of Souldiers. Joab and the mighty men of the Camp were all for Adoniah, and all againſt Solomon. Adoniah was like to live in the field as his Father David had done, but Solomon's hand muſt ſpill no blood, that it may build up a Temple. The Emperor Probus let a word of meekneſs ſlip from him,Vopiſcus. equus naſcetur ad pacem, he hoped to have horſes brought up to do ſervice in peace, and not in war, and the Captains of the Hoſt cut ſhort his dayes: and ſo it far'd with the great Preacher of Peace. Chriſt had as good be guarded by one of the Phariſees, as by one of the Souldiers: As Ariſtotle ſaid of Bees and Swallows, Nec feri ſunt generis, nec manſueti; they were neither reckoned among thoſe creatures that were wild, nor thoſe that were tame, but of a middle ſort: Such was the condition of theſe Spear-men, ſomewhat ruder than civil men, ſomewhat tamer than Savages, but violent in their diſpoſition as they are pleaſed or provoked.
De corona militis.Yet I am not of Tertullian's mind, to fall out with the whole Profeſſion of Chivalry for one Miſcreants ſake that pierced my Saviours ſide, or for four at the moſt, as ſome ſay, that ſcourged him. Quis requieſcet ſuper lonco, quo perfoſſum eſt Chriſti latus? for by that reaſon we ſhould fall out with the Prieſts and High-Prieſts too, who were deeper intereſted in the buſineſs than the Souldiers: The Sons of Aaron were his firſt Enemies: as you would ſay Hereticks and corrupt Teachers, that ſow Tares among the Wheat, were the firſt Adverſaries againſt the Church of Chriſt. The Military men were his laſt Enemies, they that wounded him in my Text, and belyed the truth of his Reſurrection afterward, watching at the Sepulcher. So the Battels of uſurping Princes put on peſtilently to be the laſt ruin of the Church; Caeſaris milites, Caeſar's Souldiers, ſuch as theſe were his Souldiers that would be an Univerſal Monarch, the Caeſar over all the Princes of the earth. Some Expoſitors out of their reſpects to the honour of a Martial life, would have this perſon to be ne unus militum, no Souldier at all rightly called, but by abuſe and uſurpation: and I think you will ſay they ſpeak reaſon when I tell you why. When Hannibal was Maſter of the field againſt the Romans, a People of Italy called Brutiani revolted to the Conquerors ſide: But fortune turn'd, and the time came that the Romans had clear'd the Coaſt of the Carthaginians, Gell. noct. … Atti…. lib. 10. cap. 3.and could take revenge of their Enemies at home, then they neither would let thoſe Brutiani live ſo happily as in Peace, nor ſo honourably as to bear Arms in War, but took them along with their Camp, and made them Lictores & Lorarii, that is baſe Inſtruments for correction and execution of Malefactors: ſo that by good conjecture this was but unus è Brutianis, an Executioner, and not a Souldier, but as he lived in the Camp. Now where villany was bred in the bone, and the condition of the man was to be like Satanas emiſſus ad vexandum orbem, appointed to vex all that came into his hands, what could be expected, but that he ſhould thruſt his Spear into the bowels of an Innocent. As it was ſaid of Maximinus the Tyrant, who was born a Barbarian both by Father and Mother: in quo fuit conſcientia degeneris animi; he did not apply himſelf to good, becauſe his conſcience always told him that his original was baſe and degenerous.
Let him be as bad as we would have him, or as good as the Text calls him, he was as we are in one thing, a Gentile, and not a Jew, a Gentile that did malice Chriſt. The diviſions of both thoſe two great Houſes did concur to theſe cruel and dolorous ſufferings; that both in their Poſterity to the worlds end might think themſelves indebted to expiate ſo great an offence: both had an intereſt in theſe bloody paſſions, proſecuting our Saviours death; ut qui pro perſecutoribus oraret, Gentiles non excluderet, ſays Origen, That ſince he prayed for his Perſecutors, the Gentiles, who were at one end of his Perſecutions might be partakers of his Prayers. And the counterfet Goſpel of Nicodemus tells us what ſucceſs this Gentile had upon our Saviours moſt potent Interceſſion and Prayer for his Enemies. For this Longinus, that name his new Godfathers have given him, having loſt the uſe of one eye long before a little ſprinkling of this bloud did light upon it, and reſtore it again. The miracles and the grace of God made him a Chriſtian, and finally a conſtant profeſſion of him that was crucified made him a glorious Martyr: Whether the Story be true or falſe I diſpute not;Super 15. Matth. this Author knew that there was a poſſibility we might believe it: For 'tis true that St. Hierom ſaid upon the converſion of many Publicans and Harlots, Chriſtus eſt ſuccinum ad congregandas ſibi ſtipulas & paleas; many who had copious vices were drawn unto Chriſt, as the Coral and the Jet draw chaff and ſtraws, and things of the leaſt moment about them.
Men and Brethren, to this day Chriſt is crucified, to this day Armed men and Souldiers bend their fury againſt the Church of Chriſt, are about his Croſs. For as the Philoſopher ſaid that an ill man was the worſt of all Beaſts, foreign, for he was arm'd with wit and reaſon to do injuſtice. So every ſinner is not ſo ſtrong as a Souldier to hurt, nor furniſht with ability to be ſo bad as he would be, he wants a ſpear to thruſt Chriſt into the ſide: as Iſaiah ſaid of the Army of Senacharib, which threatned ſore againſt the Temple of the Lord, but fell ſhort of their purpoſe. The Children are come to the birth, and are not able to bring forth. But when I ſee Power and Authority make the worſt uſe of it to oppreſs: when I ſee a pregnant Wit ſet it ſelf to ſcoff and libel: when I hear Eloquence whet her tongue to plead againſt the innocent, alas, ſay I, this is robuſta iniquitas, this impiety is armed with a Spear, the weapons of malice are girt about it, my Saviour and his poor Members are ſure to ſmart for it: Says the Prophet Ezekiel chap. xxxii. they ſhall go down to Hell with their Weapons of War, that is with their violent and powerful ſins. Tranſgreſſors we may be, Souldiers that fight againſt Heaven I hope we will never be. Caſt away the weapons of Satan, and put on the armour of light. I have done with the Perſon, I come to the Violence offered, lanceâ fodit, he pierced him with a Spear.
The hand of Jereboam which was ſtretched out againſt the man of God dried up,1 K. 13.4. Lib. 4. c. 7. and withered: the hand of the Emperor Valens ſhook with an extreme Palſie, and could not ſubſcribe to the Baniſhment of Baſil the Great, ſays Theodoret; but the hand of the Perſecutor, which aimed at the Body of Chriſt himſelf, that was ſtedfaſt, no infirmity in it, no ſinew ſhrunk. Let theſe go their way, ſays Chriſt of his Diſciples, when they were all taken together in the Garden; let not theſe be apprehended: the Shepherd rather than the Sheep, the Maſter than the Servants;Aeneid. 9. Super Pſal. 33. In me convertite ferrum; whoſoever eſcapes, his own fleſh ſhall never flinch at torment. St. Auſtin asks why his deareſt fleſh was pierced, and deſpitefully mangled, but according to the Scriptures, not a bone of him was broken; quia oſſa ſunt electi, & eorum virtutes, his fleſh was the Sacrifice which muſt be offered upon the Altar of the Croſs; but his Elect and their Virtues are underſtood by his bones, and whatſoever betides himſelf; yet his Elect, that is his bones, muſt not be broken. In the Similitude of the Vine, whereunto our Saviour is compared more than once,De Paſſio. Domini. Bernard hath thus continued the Allegory; that in Circumciſion he was vitis praeciſa, a Vine that was pruned; and though a little cut, yet no ſubſtantial part was wounded. In the captious queſtions of the Phariſees when they felt his mind, whether he held it lawful to give Tribute unto Caeſar, or not, and the like; there he was Vitis circumfoſſa, a Vine which was under-digged. But when ſubtil queſtions proved too weak to undermine his Wiſdom, then he was Vitis perfoſſa, the laſt malice was to bore the Vine quite through the heart, that it might utterly wither away, and reflouriſh no more. Weak inventions, and the devices of them that knew not the Scripture, nor the power of God, for it was impoſſible that he ſhould be held of death. He laugheth at the ſhaking of a Spear, as Job ſays of Leviathan.
The vulgar Tranſlation reads my Text miles aperuit, that the Souldier opened his ſide, as if the gate of Paradiſe was now ſet open, which was ſhut before againſt the Sons of men. We read not foreign, he opened, but foreign he pierced him. He made a Schiſm in the body of Chriſt, and divided one part of it from the other. O labour for the unity of the Church, decline Faction, as you would ſhun a Serpent in the path. Every diviſion pierceth through the skin of my Saviour, through the ſide into the heart.Judg. 5. For the diviſions of Reuben are great thoughts of heart. But Fodit lanceâ, ſo St. Hierom reads. He digged into him with a Spear, a word of Huſbandry and fructification. The Plowers plowed upon my back, and made long furrows,Haimo Lorinus. Pſa. 21 meaning the ſcourging that he ſuffered. Sputis ſicut fimo impinguatus. His face was laid over with Spittle as tilth is ſpread to fatten the Land. He was drencht in bloud like a field that is watered with wholſom ſprings. They digg'd into his body like as the ground is turned up to make it fruitful. They digged, and there they found a Treaſury which had been long hid, the ſalvation of the Gentiles, ſays the Father. Hieron.That you may ſee Abner a great Prince in Iſrael in the hands of Joab, who ſmote him into the fifth rib, here is Chriſt wounded with the ſame kind of cruelty, his ſide was pierced with a Spear.
I have told you what it is to be a Souldier in Arms againſt God, and what it is to open and divide the fleſh of the Son of God, but what ſins are their Spears that are bent againſt his breaſt? Producta peccata, ſins of long cuſtom and continuance, extenſive impieties, ſuch as St. Paul calls the old man, when a ſin waxeth upon us like the gray hairs of our age,1 Sam. 24. that is a long Spear in Satans Artillery. When Saul did firſt malign at David he caſt a Javelin at him, Jaculum Saulis, that was but ſhort and a haſty fit of anger, but when he would never ceaſe to perſecute the man of Gods right hand, then you ſhall read of Haſta Saulis, a Spear which David took from the head of Saul. Inveterate malice which will not be reconciled, it is Homers foreign, I may ſay a Spear of ſuch a length that one end is above ground, and the point in Hell. one fit of Intemperance in Noah, one Oath in Joſeph, one Superſtiſion in John when he fell down before the Angel, theſe have their turn, and they return no more. Happy Saints which daſht the Babyloniſh Children againſt the wall. But there is a ſin which doubles in the mouth of the ſinner like that of the Edomites againſt Sion, Down with it, down with it unto the ground. Like Crucifige, crucifige, Crucifie, crucifie him, as if once would not ſerve the turn. And there is a treble ſin like St. Peters denial three times over. And there is iniquity of four links as Amos ſaid, For three tranſgreſſions, and for four I will not turn away my wrath from Damaſcus, ſaith the Lord. Seven Devils went out of Mary Magdalen. Ten times the heart of Pharaoh was hardned. Our Saviour puts the caſe, if one man offend another, Septuagies ſepties, Seventy times ſeven times. There are ſins like the ſtaff of Goliah's Spear,Serm. 8. de Paſſ. Dom. as big as a Weavers Beam. I will tell you what other ſins Leo likens unto Spears, and ſo I will finiſh this Point. In vain, ſays he, did the Jews keep their own hands from violence, in vain do they think that they made not the wound, becauſe a Souldier digged his ſide. Qui venenata vocum ſpicula, & letalia verborum tela jaciebant; Their teeth were Spears and Arrows, and their tongue a ſharp Sword. They ſhot reproachful ſpeeches like ſhafts of death as out of a well drawn bow; all blaſphemers that revile the Saints are as guilty of this wound as the Souldier that pierced his ſide with a Spear.
I muſt now ſpeak of that part of his body whereon the Spear did light; and to uſe the Fathers Elegancy, Venimus ad cor dulciſſimum Ieſu, & bonum eſt nobis eſſe hic; We are come even unto the place where the heart of Jeſus lies, and it is good for us to be here. O ſacred Paſſion! O deareſt wound! This is a breach for the righteous to enter in,Gen. 28.17. This is none other, as Jacob ſaid, but the gate of heaven. Why did the Watchmen ſmite thee, as the Spouſe ſaid? What did direct their arm to touch that place? How durſt an uncircumciſed Souldier dare to enter upon thy heart, even upon the Holy of Holies? Literally all this was done leſt they had not finiſhed their work of damnation. For no mortal wound had been given to our Saviour before, as ſome think, and therefore when Joſeph came to beg the body for burial,Mar xv. 44. Pilate marvelled if he were dead already; the Jews miſtruſted ſome deluſion, and to be ſure to diſpatch him, a Souldier was ſuborned to thruſt a Spear into his ſide. As who ſhould ſay, he talked when he was alive of going to his Father, and that from thenceforth we ſhould ſee him in power and great glory; no matter whither he go ſo we be rid of him, as Baſſianus ſaid of his brother Geta, Sit divus frater meus, dum non ſit vivus. Spatian.Strike him to the heart, and then let God deliver him if he will have him. Delilah enquired diligently of Samſon where his ſtrength lay, that ſhe might maim that part of the body, and leave him weak like another man: So theſe implacable enemies ranſacked every part of the body to let out life. If life be in the bloud of man, the bloud was exhauſted many ways. If life be in the brains, as others ſay, the Crown of thorns was ſufficint to offend them; If life be in the heart, there it ſhould have no refuge, for one of the Souldiers pierced his ſide with a Spear.
Now you that are babes in Chriſt, like young ones in the neſt, implumes pulli, hatcht under the wings of Chriſt, untill you be fledg'd with feathers of Gold; Behold the tender affection of a true Pelican, hath drawn moſt precious bloud from his breaſt to revive his young ones. And all you that will enter into the Ark, and be ſaved from the wrath to come, behold a door is opened in the ſide that you may enter in. You that want, and have any thing to wiſh, this is the beautiful gate of the Temple, lie down here, and ask your Alms. One ſaid of our Saviours hands,Lorinus Pſal. 145.1. Non poſſunt claudi ad beneficia, quia in cruce fixae & apertae ſunt; Benefits muſt drop from them, they cannot keep cloſe becauſe they were opened upon the Croſs: So in his ſide a gate is made that will never be cloſed againſt thee. Thomas found it open, and ſo ſhall I. You have heard of the Marriage of the Lamb, Apoc. 19.7.and that his Beloved hath made her ſelf ready. Behold the time when he made a Wife unto himſelf, and when the Marriage was celebrated. For as Adam was caſt into an heavy ſleep, and then God opened his ſide, and made woman out of the man while he ſlept. So, ſays St. Auſtin, Chriſt bowed down his head, as if he did but nod,Tractat; in Johan. 120. and ſleep upon the Croſs; the ſide of the Bridegroom was then opened, that with bloud and water he might make a Spouſe unto himſelf, which is the body of his Church. Thou haſt raviſhed my heart my Siſter, my Spouſe, ſays Chriſt,Cant. 4.9. Septuag. foreign thou haſt raviſhed my heart; as if we had not robb'd him of his bloud, but of his very heart, ſo infinitely is he enamoured upon the ſalvation of his Saints. Vulneraſti cor meum, that interpretation goes current with the Fathers, thou haſt wounded my heart my Siſter, my Spouſe, thou haſt wounded my heart. Twice wounded you ſee: His enemies did wound him, and ſo did his Beloved. There is a carnal wound, which was done by the violence of the Souldier, there is a ſpiritual wound which he ſuffers for compaſſion of his Elect. Woe worth their malice that rent the wound in his fleſh; bleſſed be his own mercies which made a ſpiritual wound of love in his heart.
Why was thy ſide wounded, O mirrour of ſufferance, when head, and feet, and hands, and every part of thy body had ſuffered before? Me thinks He anſwers, becauſe he would teach us throughly to crucifie the old man in our ſinful fleſh. It is not enough to look to thy feet, and thy paths: It is not enough to ſet a watch before thy lips, to make a Covenant with thine eyes. Open thy heart, dive into the depth of it, there thou ſhalt find the root of evil and concupiſcence.Homil. foreign. St. Baſil reaſons ſeriouſly, why our Saviour in his Sermon on the Mount, Mat. v. was more earneſt to repreſs the inward corruption of concupiſcence in the heart than the outward diſordered actions. As for outward ſin, ſays the Father, it cannot be done without attendance of circumſtances, opportunity, and time of execution, and yoke-fellows to draw on iniquity with Cartropes, and bodily labour. But the evil thought of the heart is ſtill born without noiſe, it is conceived with leſs labour than breathing, it is fruitful at all ſeaſons, it betrays not a demure look; then it boots not to crucifie, and afflict, and ſubdue the whole body, unleſs the grace of God pierce into the bottom of our heart. But let me ask again, (and it is ſweet to queſtion it) Why was thy ſide wounded O bleſſed Jeſus? Was it not to ſhew that thou didſt not love us in tongue, and in word only, but at the very heart? John the Diſciple did but lean upon his breaſt, and yet he carries the title away from them all, Diſcipulus amatus, the Diſciple whom he loved. The breaſt was ſhut when John did lean upon it; now his ſide is opened, his Elect may go into his very bowels; and ſee how he loved them. The Uſe is proper for the place we are in, for the world ſlanders the Court much, or elſe there is more proteſtation of good will than ſound affection among you. Court holy water is an ancient by-word, your conſciences know beſt whether you deſerve it, God and his Chriſt have given you a moſt notable example to amend it: It was not enough for our Saviour to ſtretch out his hands, as if he would embrace us; nor yet to pray earneſtly, and forgive us, but to ſhew what the love of a Chriſtian ſhould be to a Chriſtian, he ſuffered the precious Casket to be broken open, and let us ſee his heart.
Yea, I will ask but this once, why was thy ſide pierced and opened O ſweet Redeemer? Was it to ſet up a mark for our devotion? That we may lay our mouth ſpiritually at it,Chryſ. John Homil. and ſuck at the fountain of eternal life? Thomas touched it with his hand, and it proved to him foreign ▪ a demonſtration for belief: O taſte and try how ſweet the Lord is. Let us be called dogs, ſuch dogs as the Canaanitiſh woman was, full of faith, ſo we may lick theſe wounds as the dogs did the ſores of Lazarus. Socrat. lib. 1. c. ….Conſtantine the Emperour kiſſed the hollow pit of Paphnuſius eye, kiſſed it often, which had been plucked out for the profeſſion of the Goſpel. The Jaylor waſhed the ſtripes of Paul and Silas. The wounds of them that ſuffer for the name of Chriſt are the wounds of Chriſt himſelf; let them be more honourable to us than the moſt unſpotted beauty in the world. To end this Point. We read of bleſſed ſouls under the throne of God, Apoc. 6.9.there they are ſafe and happy; we read of Lazarus in Abrahams boſome,Bernard in hymnis. there he found refreſhment. But I, even I, ſays Bernard, will direct my ſoul unto this gaping wound, thither it ſhall fly, I will take my aim at it; Hora mortis meus ſlatus intret Ieſu tuum latus. A door it is, but a narrow door, caſt away the ſuperfluity of ſin, and the immoderate care for things of this world. Theſe are great burdens upon our back, and a Camel cannot enter in at the ſide of Chriſt; but eſpecially, they that look to paſs through a raw and a tender part, muſt not have the thorns of malice about them leſt they tear and offend the wound of Chriſt. It is a wound of love, and by antipathy would bleed afreſh if the malicious ſhould approach unto it.
The fourth and laſt circumſtance of the Souldiers violence is now to be ſcanned that pierced ejus latus, Chriſts ſide when he had given up the Ghoſt. A carkeſs bereft of life is no more a man, but the image of a man. Now, as ſome have expreſt their malice againſt their enemies Image, when his perſon was out of their reach, as the Antiochians brake the Statues of the Empreſs Pulcheria for anger:Theod. lib. 5. c. foreign. So the Souldier runs his Spear at an Image, at a ſhadow, at the cold body of him who was ſtiff and dead. A ſtout Souldier I wiſs, ſuch a one as Ariſtophanes gibed at, foreign,foreign. he dare kill none but him that is ſlain already. For with whom doth this Champion fight? The divine nature of Chriſt is uncapable of a wound negatively, unleſs he confounded the natures of our Saviour with Eutyches, and thought the Son of God to be paſſive, to have been ſcourged and crucified. Which opinion when one of his Sectaries would have propounded to Philarchus an Orthodox man:Theodorus Anagnos. lib. 2. Philarchus did thus ingeniouſly put him off, and told him that he had haſte of other buſineſs and could not intend him, for even hard before he had received Letters that Michael the Archangel was dead. That is a Fable, replies the Eutychian, an Archangel is not ſubject to frailty and mortality. Is not an Angel, replies Philarchus? And would you perſwade me that the Deity of Chriſt is mutable and obnoxious to change? Ejus latus then did not concern the nature of God; and for the nature of man the part being bereaft of a ſoul, as well he might have ſmote his Spear upon the trunk of the Croſs.
Well might Iſaiah ſay that he was a Lamb dumb before the Shearers, could any Lamb be more dumb? His teeth were ſet, his mouth cloſed up, as the world thought, for ever, and yet is Chriſt in the hands of the Shearer. I will ſcourge him, ſays Pilate, and let him go. What Pilate? Think you that ſuch Adverſaries will be anſwered with a ſcourging? Though you crucifie him they will not let him go. Who knows what immanity had been ſhewn if Joſeph had not haſted to take down the body? The living, it was wont to be ſaid, the living are they at whom malice ſhoots, and not the dead, Livor poſt fata quieſcit. Nay ſuch as could never obtain a good report from the world, while they lived among us, fame hath renowned them when they were laid in their graves: As Theodoret ſaid of St. Chryſoſtom, foreign He was more deſired after his death than when he dayly lived among them. Our Saviour was not ſo lucky; his Perſecutors are the ſame firſt and laſt, both while he breaths, and when his Soul was departed: in his Examination they change his Raiment, and put a Reed in his hand, and then they mock him. As he was drawing on, and at the laſt gaſp of life, they ſay he call'd upon Elias, as if he had prayed to Saints, and then they mockt him: and when he bowed down his head like fruit which is mellow ripe, and droping off from the Tree, then a Souldier thruſt a Spear into his ſide. Moſt ſavage men, they ſport themſelves with that fleſh which is the eternal glory of our nature.
And what cauſe was in it that Chriſt would ſuffer this after paſſion? what fruit was there of ſuch a Wound? for the School-men ſay, the Church was not redeemed with the bloud which came out of this Wound, neither was it waſhed clean with this water, quia poſt mortem non eſt locus meriti; after the Epilogue of his bloudy Agony, that he cried out all was finiſhed, no part of his Paſſion, ſay they, was meritorious. What need we ſubſcribe to ſo much curioſity? but the fruit even of this Wound was threefold. Firſt to ſhew that Chriſt doth compaſſionate, and hath a fellow-feeling with the Members of his Church unto the ends of the World. Think you that he never was wounded ſince he was taken down from the Croſs; yes, he was a Lamb ſlain from the beginning of the World, and is a Lamb that will be wounded unto the ends of the World. Why did you not feed me, and cloath me you uncharitable? Matth. xxv. Why do you perſecute me Saul? Acts ix. he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye, Zach. ii. O what a tender thing it is, not only to be in the body, but in the very eye of Chriſt, in the apple of his eye? are not the bowels as tender as the eye; perchance more tender.In imagine ejus excuſâ. Therefore a Chriſtian Poet ſaid of Savanorola the Martyr, that Chriſt did beg to have his own Bowels ſav'd, that they might not be conſumed with fire. Parcite, ſunt iſto viſcera noſtra rogo. 2. If they have called the Maſter Beelzebub, what will they call the Servants? if they have ignominiouſly abuſed the dead Body of Chriſt, then certainly Tyrants will diſhonour the dead Bodies of his Servants. But what were Wicklif, or Bucer, or Fagius, the worſe for it? We that live feel the indignity done unto them ſays St. Auſtin, De cura pro mort. Cicer. Tuſ. lib. 2.but they have no feeling of it themſelves: no paſſion affecteth the dead for this diſgrace: but we are they that are affected with compaſſion. Lyſimachus in Tully threatned Theodorus to crucifie him, and to let his body rot upon the Tree; meâ nihil refert, humi ne an ſublimis putreſcam, ſays Theodorus; a poor revenge, what is it to me, whether my body rot under ground, or above ground? If Heathen men were ſo reſolute, that accounted the body quite loſt, then will we be much more couragious, whoſe Saviour was ſo deſpitefully handled in times paſt, and who have hope of the Reſurrection in times to come. 3. The art of patience and ſufferance it is inſtar omnium, none ſo uſeful as it to them who muſt take up the Croſs: would you be ready for the fiery Trial as Paul was, when he was wrapt up into the third Heavens; whether in the body, or out of the body he knew not? would you paſs by your torment in the fleſh, as Chriſt did this wound which he never felt: Conſepeliamur cum Chriſto, let us die with Chriſt, let us be buried with Chriſt, Coloſ. ii. 12. If two ſleep together they have heat, ſays Solomon, but how can he be warm that is alone. True, ſays St. Ambroſe, ſi duo dormiant, if you ſleep with Chriſt,Ep. 16. your faith will be warm, your courage warm: Frigidus eſt qui non moritur cum Chriſto, he ſhall be bitten with froſt, he ſhall be nipt with every ſtorm that doth not ſleep, that doth not die with Chriſt. Give me any other reaſon if you can,Bernard de Paſſ. Dom. why the Martyrs went oftner to death with Pſalms in their mouths, than with tears in their eyes, but becauſe they were dead unto the World. And what is it to them that are dead, though a Souldier thruſt a Spear into their ſide?
I have done with the firſt general Part conteining four Circumſtances of the Malice of the living. Now let us lay our mouth to the ſacred Stream, the bleſſing which iſſued from the dead, forthwith came thereout bloud and water. This is the Honey-comb that came out of the Carkaſs of Samſon's Lion▪ this is it, even the price of our ſins, which is the bloud of the Lamb. At Evening you ſay it will be fair weather, for the sky is red, as you ſhall find it prognoſticated, Matth. xvi.Qu. Evang. lib. 1. How is it made red? or how doth the day grow clear? rubet coelum Chriſti ſanguine, ſays St. Auſtin, our Redeemer hath dipt his bloud upon the Sky, as upon the door poſts, Exod. xii. and then the day is clear, the Sun of conſolation ſhines upon us.Levit. 4.…. When an Offering for ſin was offered up, the Prieſt was commanded to dip his finger in bloud, and to ſprinkle it ſeven times before the Lord, ſepties ſanguis, no leſs would ſerve the turn: and think you that Chriſt did fail in this perfect number? no not once, if you will count it. 1. He was circumciſed, and there was bloud. 2. He ſweat in the Garden not without drops of bloud. 3. He was buffetted upon the mouth, that muſt needs draw bloud: Then the ſcourgings upon his back, the thorns platted upon his head, the nails driven into his feet and hands; thoſe three likewiſe could not be without great effuſion of bloud. At the ſeventh and laſt time a Souldier thruſt a Spear into his ſide, and then came forth a ſtream of bloud. The heart of man hath entangled it ſelf with ſeven deadly ſins, like the Woman of Samaria, ſeven had taken her to wife: according to the number of the capital ſins, ſeven times did Chriſt lay down the price of a Ranſom, ſeven times the bloud was ſprinkled before the Lord: but when I ſay ſeven, I do not exclude many more, it is numerus finitus pro infinito. The rich man in the Goſpel beſought Father Abraham, that he would ſend Lazarus with his finger dipt in water to cool his tongue. There was a foul miſtake in the Petition, to ask for water, why not rather for bloud? 'tis bloud that quencheth the fire, which without it is unquenchable.
And yet there is ſome uſe of water. O the uſe of it is excellent and unvaluable, therefore water alſo came from the ſide of Jeſus. It is a wonder that this dolorous Paſſion of our Lord did not call for fire to rain upon Jeruſalem, as it fell down upon Sodom and Gomorrah; which leſt it ſhould be, here was a pipe of water opened to quench the wrath of God. Four great Rivers were little enough to water the Garden of Eden, this little Spout is enough to water all the World: for when all other Interpretations fail us, the Stream that bubbled out of the ſide of Chriſt is the water above the Heavens; all Iſrael drank of the Rock in the Wilderneſs, every Soul which was a thirſt drank. What a copious deflux was that? So all the Iſrael of God may drink of the ſpiritual Rock, his Spring is no leſs abundant, and that ſpiritual Rock is Chriſt: A ſpiritual Rock did Paul ſay? he was uſed no better than if he had been a very Rock of Stone.Exod. 17. As Moſes ſtruck the Rock with his Staff, ſo was the Body of Chriſt with a Spear, and water guſhed out apace. Now at ſeveral times there was a threefold paſſage of water in our Saviour, ſudoris, lacrymarum, lateris, the one when he ſweat in the Garden; the ſecond was the diſtillation of tears, and the third was this Fountain which was opened in his ſide. Put the ſeven Iſſues of bloud, and the three Iſſues of water together, and here are ten Drink-offerings according to the number of the Ten Commandments which we have broken.
Divinity is nothing elſe but a Tractate of admiration; and lo a Miracle, the laſt of Chriſt's Miracles before he was buried: as the firſt Miracle which he wrought was by the Element of Water at Cana in Galilee, ſo his laſt Miracle was in Water which came out of his ſide: for that this was no natural Iſſue they know full well that have tried Diſſections and Anatomies. And where did you ever read that an Apoſtle urged the truth of that which he recited ſo far, that he knew his record was true, and that the thing was done that we might believe; I ſay where did you ever meet with ſuch a Proteſtation in the Bible, if the thing entreated of were not a Miracle? The ſweat was miraculous in the Garden, the bloud was miraculous which ſtreamed afreſh from the dead body, ſo was this guſh of water from his ſide moſt ſupernatural: whether ſome inward part of Chriſt was reſolved into this Element of a ſudden, or whether it was newly created for the purpoſe, let them diſpute it, who love to ſeek that which they can never find. But I am ſure the water was miraculous; and far be it from us to think that it was not water, as ſome have doubted, but a ſpumeous phlegmatick humour. As Chriſt himſelf is truth, and not appearance, ſo this humour had not the name and appearance only, but the eſſence of water. There are three that bear record on earth, ſays St. John, the Spirit, the Water, and Blood; the Spirit which he gave up when he groan'd his laſt, and that was a true Spirit; the Bloud that drill'd down from him, and that was true Bloud; the Water that leakt out of his ſide, and that was very Water. So much of the two Streams ſeverally conſidered; now I come to the Conjunction, Bloud and Water.
For his love could bring forth no leſs than Twins, ſanguis & aqua: if he would undergo the Law, was it not ſufficient that he was circumciſed and wounded in the fleſh? but he was baptized alſo in Jordan, there was ſatisfaction both by Bloud and Water. When he ſuffered the ſharp Agony in the Garden, water alone had been a ſign of a terrible conflict with his Father, but there trickled from him bloud and water. When the whip did tear his fleſh, and the thorns enter into the quick, many do modeſtly ſuppoſe that He mingled tears with bloud; and then at every paſſion there was bloud and water. John Baptiſt was the Forerunner of the Bridegroom, he came only in water; the Martyrs were the friends of the Bridegroom, they came in bloud: Chriſt is the Bridegroom himſelf, and he came in bloud and water. When the Spouſe was asked what a one her Well-beloved was, Cantic. 4. ſhe anſwered he was white and ruddy; white in water, and ruddy in bloud: not by water alone, ſays our Apoſtle, Ep. 1. chap. 5. that had made but half a Mediator; but by water and bloud. Sanguis ejus ſuper nos was the cry of the miſcreant people, they condemned him in bloud. Pilate pronounced the Sentence, but waſhed his hands at it; he condemned him in water. Let them behold whom they have pierced, ſays Zachary: let his Judg and Accuſers behold their fact in one,Zach. 12.10. in bloud and water.
I told you of the Miracle before; now I will tell you of the Myſtery of this work, or rather of the Myſteries, for they are more than one:Tract. in Jo. 120. Tolet. omnia. aperuit oſtium miles unde Sacramenta Eccleſiae manârunt, that's St. Auſtins obſervation; the door was opened, and the Sacraments of the Church iſſued out: What all of them? it ſeems he knew of no more: the Sacraments of the Church came forth with Bloud and Water: For as the Romaniſts make Bread ſerve the people by a Synechdoche for the whole Supper of the Lord, ſo Bloud by a Synechdoche in this place ſtands for all that Sacrament. There was Divinity even in the cold ſtream that flow'd from the ſide of Chriſt, and it ſpeaks like the bloud of Abel; as if he had ſaid, away with your Paſchal Lamb, ceaſe hereafter the circumciſion of the fleſh; bloud and water ſhall take place now, I deliver them to be your Sacraments: you ſhall be born again by water, and you ſhall be fed with that Cup which is the New Teſtament in my bloud: but why bloud? and wherefore water ſays St. Ambroſe? Lib. 4. de Sacra.this queſtion will bring on a ſecond Myſtery, aqua ut emundaret, ſanguis ut redimeret: wretched Babes we were brought forth into this world, as Eliſha brought the Aramites blind into the midſt of Samaria among their Enemies. Shall I ſmite them, my Father? ſhall I ſmite them, ſays the King of Iſrael? O no, ſays Eliſha, uſe them friendly, and ſet bread and water before them. Thus I ſay we were born obſtinati ad peccatum, deſtinati ad judicium, polluted with iniquity, bound over to condemnation. Shall I ſmite them ſays Juſtice now I have them here? ſhall I conſume them at once? O no ſays our bleſſed Maſter, I will waſh away their pollutions with water, and make them white as ſnow: I will redeem them from condemnation, and lay down bloud for bloud. Here is a ſtrain of curteſie far higher than that of Eliſha's, not bread and water, but water and bloud. Moſes was ſent to deliver Iſrael out of captivity, he was tractus ex aquis, as his name tells us, ſav'd out of a River where he was caſt to be drown'd; he came by water: but the deliverance ſtuck a long time, and could not go forward, Moſes's Miracles, Aarons Eloquence, the Plagues upon Pharaoh, all could do no good, until the door-poſts were ſmitten with the bloud of the Lamb. Firſt Moſes in water, and then the Lamb in bloud: their Redemption was made perfect in bloud and water. And theſe two ſtreams at the laſt caſt were enough to drown an Hereſie, which Chriſt knew would ſpring up like a Tare among the Wheat. That's the third Myſtery. Marcion he foreſaw would doubt of the truth of his body, whether his ſubſtance was fleſh of our fleſh, and bone of our bone, or but an airy phantaſtique I know not what: Nay ſurely it had an elementary compoſition, for here was water; and it had the compoſition of the humors, for here was bloud:Aquin. 3. P. 9.167. ſo Aquinas and the School Divines conſider it, even for this cauſe as a fountain of providence, that for conviction of Hereſie his ſide was pierced, and &c.
But while I conſider theſe two Bleſſings as they are Miracles and Myſteries, ſo they are extra nos, coming from Chriſt, but not coming to us: but upon ſome application you ſhall find them intra nos, lying at every mans conſcience: Firſt, that which was bloud and water in Chriſt muſt be tears of much anguiſh for your ſins in you, and true compunction of heart. I do not ask for a ſullen grief in Nabal, which ſmothers the heart in deſperation, and cannot vent it ſelf in a weeping eye. I do not ask for the weeping eye of a Crocodile, which is not commanded by the compunction of the heart: that were like Gideons Fleece, which was wet when the Floor was dry; but I ask for Mary Magdalens eye melting into tears, and for Davids ſinful heart melting in his breaſt like wax; the one is the root, and the other the fruit of repentance, bloud and water: Quicquid Chriſtus in corpore, mater ſuſtinuit in corde, every ſtroke that did fall upon the body of Chriſt did light upon the heart of the bleſſed Virgin Mary. So who can think upon that which ſhe did ſuffer, but muſt ſuffer as much as ſhe did think? my pride, my gluttony, my wantonneſs, my blaſphemy, my oppreſſion, my prophanneſs; what have you done? do you know whom you have kill'd? O no, Father forgive them. My ſins knew not what they did: now they weep for it, now they are prickt in heart, and that's my bloud and water.
Secondly that which was bloud and water in Chriſt, what is it more in us? amor erga Deum caritas erga proximum; it ſhall be in me a provocation toward the fulfilling of the whole Law, to love God and my Neighbour. St. Paul ſpeaks of a reſiſtance unto blood; and who is he that is dearer unto me than my bloud but my Redeemer Chriſt? Our Saviour ſpeaks of giving my Alms away; or if I have nothing elſe in ſtore, let me give but a Cup of cold water, for his names ſake, and it ſhall not loſe a reward. And who are they that muſt have my water, my alms, yea a plentiful gift from my hands? it is my Brother, my Neighbour; or if you will love him better for God's ſake than for your own ſake, he is one of the Members of Chriſt: Martyrdom is welcom for Chriſts ſake, my love ſhall expreſs it ſelf in any good office for my Brothers ſake, Martyrdom and Charity are my bloud and water.
Thirdly, and ſo you ſhall have your full doſes of theſe two ſtreams: ſanguis valet contra iram, aqua contra libidinem. Remember this laſt Application: all our ſenſual and brutiſh affections are drawn into two heads by Philoſophy, the iraſcible part, which is rectified by patience and endurance of evil, and the concupiſcible part which is rectified by abſteining from that which is an apparent, and a deceitful good: if your ſtomach fret within you, and malign at tribulation when the Croſs of Chriſt is laid upon you, prick the angry vein to ſave the Soul, let out the bloud of an impatient heart: if your appetite be intemperate, your concupiſcence effeminate, dry up the body by faſting, parch it even like a Bottle that is hung in the ſmoke. Venus orta mari; drain out thoſe ſuperfluous ſtreams that ſurcharge the body: ſufferance of evil, and abſtinence from the baits of pleaſures, theſe are my bloud and water. And ſo much touching the Conjunction of theſe two ſtreams. Now I come in a word to the Order, firſt bloud, and then water.
Some may ſay to the bloud here, as the Midwife did to Pharez, who ſtriv'd to come into the world before Zarah his Brother, Why didſt thou make a breach? why art thou the firſt? Malice, Beloved is ever full of confuſion, it heeds not where it begins, nor how it proceeds to vengeance: but bleſſings are like fruit taken in their ſeaſon, they deſcend in their order, as in this place by bloud and water. For do but conſider how theſe two were applied even now to the ſeveral vertues of a Chriſtian, and you ſhall find that bloud hath the preeminence, and deſerves the firſt place: for is not compunction of heart better than ſorrowful tears? is not martyrdom for Gods ſake better than charity to our Neighbour? is it not a greater conqueſt to ſuffer evil patiently, than to abſtain from deceitful good? aquâ vocati, ſanguine electi; is not Election better than Vocation? If all theſe Compariſons hold, as I think they do, bloud is preeminent in way of bleſſing above water. 2. Here were the great Legacies paid unto the World, the two Teſtaments upon the death of the Teſtator. The Covenant of the old Teſtament was continued by Sacrifice, renewed by Circumciſion, altogether confirmed by effuſion of bloud. Well, the Covenant of the New Teſtament is eſtabliſhed in Baptiſm, in the Pool of water. O what a comely thing is Order! God kept it in his very death, the Old Law was firſt drawn drie in the Bloud, and the New Law ſucceeds it in the ſtream of Water: and I like his Meditation well that ſaid, our Saviour had firſt uttered out every drop of bloud from his veins, ut nos ad bibendum de aquâ aeternae vitae invitaret, to invite us from thenceforth to drink of the water of everlaſting life.
Lorinus 1 Ep. Joh. cap. 5.Our Romiſh Adverſaries ſtand much upon that which I handle now; for ſay they, if the two Sacraments had been preciſely out of Chriſts ſide, then St. John would have made his Relation thus, A Souldier pierced his ſide, and there came out Water and Bloud: for Baptiſm is our beginning in the Church, our firſt milk, and after that, when we know how to examin our ſelves, as St. Paul ſays, then we come to the Supper of the Lord; juſt ſo as they would have it. Aquinas, a ſure man of their own ſide, compares the Sacraments in this wiſe: Baptiſm is a Sacrament of the greateſt neceſſity of the twain, the Supper of the Lord is of more perfection, though not of ſo much neceſſity. Well then, ſince we muſt aim at perfection, as the Apoſtle ſays, why might not Chriſt give the firſt place to that which makes us perfect, and the ſecond place to that which is firſt in time, but lag in perfection? nay rather than we ſhould make uſe of this Text for no more than a yoke of Sacraments, they will allow it to be a Figure of none but of the Supper of the Lord; for their wine is daſh'd with water in their Chalice, and this Text is the Authority for it, bloud and water. I am ſure the letter of the Scripture is on our ſide, that uſe pure wine in the Euchariſt, de fructu geniminis; I do not read that Chriſt gave his Diſciples ought but wine to drink: I deny not but ſome of the ancient Fathers concur with them; but it is apparent I can make no better excuſe: they forſake the Letter, and build upon an Allegory. He that feeds upon the Letter of the Text feeds upon Manna; he that lives by the Allegorie, feeds upon licious Quails. Iſrael may deſire ſuch curious food, but God was better pleaſed when they were contented with Manna. I have done with the Order
The period of all in a word is the readineſs of the Fountain, which could not be ſtopt for a moment: Forthwith came thereout bloud and water. Love is no delaier, no protractor of time, ready to do good, ſpeedy in execution: good deeds did not hang in our Saviours fingers, as they do with many of us; our hands unclaſp to part with any thing, like a lock that's ruſty, and goes hard, you can ſcarce open it. Abrahams forwardneſs in entertaining the Angels, and the diſpatch that he made, is as much commended as his hoſpitality, Gen. xviii. Abraham, ſays the Text, haſtened to the Tent to Sarah. 2. Sarah made ready quickly three meaſures of fine meal. 3. Abraham ran to the Herd for a tender Calf. 4. Abrahams young man did haſt to dreſs it; nemo piger eſt in domo caritatis, not a ſlothful perſon, not a protractor of time in all the Houſe of Charity. Such expedition did our Saviour make to expreſs his love to the World; he yields up his body in the flower of his age, not a wrinkle in his brow, not a grey hair in his head, he made haſte to ſuffer. Judas, ſays he, what thou doeſt do it quickly; as who ſhould ſay, I know thy heart is againſt me, and that thou wouldeſt ſell me into mine enemies hand, yet for old acquaintance ſake do me the curteſie to protract no time, what thou doeſt do it quickly. There paſt but a little time from midnight to midday betwixt his Attachment, his Arraignment, and his Execution. This was a Paſchal Lamb eaten in haſte, as God gave Moſes in charge, for the Lord will haſten you out of Egypt. And to come to the inſtance in my Text, his joynts were ſtiff and cold, the moiſture of his body congealed, long it would be, I ſhould have thought, before a few drops of liquor could come forth, with much violence and chafing the fleſh. O but the Teſtator was dead, his Sacraments are the Seals of his mercy, wherewith he aſſures his Promiſes unto us, and he would not have the World ſtay one whit for their Legacies, capiat qui capere poteſt, out it guſheth like a torrent, and forthwith came thereout bloud and water.
All you that thirſt for the living God be as ready to drink, as he was to give, elſe we are magis mortui quàm mortuus, as dead as death it ſelf, and paſt recovery. Repent you, but inſtantly; make reſtitution of all things wrongfully gotten, but inſtantly; be reconciled to your enemies, ſtick not at it, but inſtantly; inſtantly I ſay, but continue thoſe inſtants unto your lives end. Our Saviour compared his love towards Jeruſalem to a Hen that gathers her Chickens under her wings: let this Compariſon be the Pattern of our love to Chriſt: You know the Hen muſt not ſit for a ſpurt, and be gone, then her eggs addle, and the Brood is ſpoiled. Take the application unto your conſcience: nouriſh the good motions of Gods ſpirit in your heart, ſit upon them as the Hen doth upon her Brood, that they may quicken in you by a lively faith. We had need to do it; for as Chriſt was ſudden and made haſte to expreſs his love, ſo he is ſudden and will make haſte to judgment. Surely I come quickly, they are the cloſe of our Bible. Even ſo come Lord Jeſus, and prepare us for thy ſecond coming, that we who drink at thy myſtical Wound here, may be ſatisfied with thy goodneſs as out of a River in thy Kingdom of glory. AMEN.