A Century of Sermons, Sermon 2
THE SECOND SERMON UPON
GAL. iv. 26.
Jeruſalem which is above is free, which is the Mother of us all.
ST. Paul in his Apology, which he made againſt thoſe that did detract from him at Corinth, confeſſed that he was rude in ſpeech. And St. Hierom ſays, Paulum nequaquam de humilitate, Ep. 151. ad Algaſiam.ſed de conſcientiae veritate dixiſſe; That is, he wrote it in the earneſtneſs of truth, and not in the ſubmiſſion of humility. St. Auſtin ſays,Lib. 4. Doct. Chriſtianae. c. 7. he did but grant his obtrectators their own falſe opinion in that ſaying, for he had the genius of a moſt perſwaſive Oratour, and ſpake with the tongue of an Angel. Theſe paſſages may be reconciled. For verily he did for the moſt part go the beaten way of the Spirit of God, and handled heavenly things in a plain ſtile. For the Gentiles ſought after wiſdom, but ſince by wiſdom they knew not God, it pleaſed God by the fooliſhneſs of Preaching to ſave them that believe. Yet St. Auſtin had his eyes open, that he did eſpy very elegant and moſt graceful amplifications here and there in his Epiſtles, as occaſion did demand that he ſhould dip his Quill in Eloquence. We are at home for an inſtance in this Text. An Allegory (of all other Tropes in Rhetorick) is no little Bud, but the faireſt flower, and moſt blown in their Garden. This Figure the Apoſtle makes uſe of, as he profeſſeth, verſ. 24. and runs upon it very copiouſly to ſet the Synagogue and the Chriſtian Church, the Old and New Teſtament in compariſon one againſt another. He carries it before him from the ſituation of two Mountains, Sinah in the Deſart of Arabia, Sion in the Holy Land, which two Hills became very famous by accident, Sinah for the Law, Sion for the Goſpel. He proſecutes the Trope from Iſhmael the Son of the Bondwoman, who was aliened from his Fathers houſe, and from Iſaac the Son of Sarah, who was the Heir of the Promiſe. And all this is curious and inlac'd like Moſaick work, with moſt artificial correſpondencies. Thus Solomon delivered the Inſtitutions of an honeſt life in plain and conciſe Proverbs, but when he wrote upon the beauty of the Church he altered his ſtile into a polite and myſtical Song. And our Apoſtle doth frequently utter the things belonging to Juſtice and Temperance in lowly and vulgar forms of ſpeech, but when he goes about to deſcribe the rights and graces of the Church, then Paulò majora, he is quite another man, and handles that ſubject with many gradations of eloquence.
Witneſs my Text, as in part I have unfolded it already, which is a flower growing upon the ſtalk of this Allegory, which I diſcuſs the oftner to keep the Precept which David gives, Pſal. xlviii. Walk about Sion, and go round about her, tell the Towers thereof, mark well her Bulwarks, and conſider her Palaces. The Sion in that Pſalm is the Jeruſalem in my Text, which conſiſts of no ordinary Bays of building, but all of ſumptuous Architecture. There is never a word in this Text but is either a Tower, a Bulwark, or a Palace of Jeruſalem. Mark them well, go round about them, ſays the Pſalmiſt. Her Towers riſe up in ſtate, for Jeruſalem is above, ſhe hath Bulwarks of ſafety, for we are made free therein by the bloud of Chriſt. Her Palaces are of large containment, for ſhe is the Mother of us all. Out of ſix words in the verſe, I formerly conſidered ſix attributes of honour that belong to that Church which Chriſt hath purchaſed with his bloud, foreign. 1. She is a Jeruſalem, a viſible fair City, there is her external Communion. 2. A Jeruſalem above, that is its internal Sanctity. 3. A Jeruſalem that is free, which is her moſt proper Chriſtian Badge, and ſupernal Redemption. 4. A Mother, that is her fruitfulneſs. 5. The Mother of us, which imports a Brotherly Unity. 6. The Mother of us all, which expreſſeth the univerſality. I have told and numbred the Towers of it, and in a former day I proceeded to Jeruſalem above; Now I will mark her Bulwarks, and conſider her Palaces, that ſhe is free, and the mother of us all.
Jeruſalem which is above is free. The precedent praiſe of the Church adheres unto this word for the conſummation thereof. If there be any that take upon them to belong to the New Jeruſalem, and to the City which is above, let them ſhew the Copy of their Freedom, that they are not led by the Spirit of Bondage, but by the Spirit of Adoption. There may be a plauſible converſation of life in them that are out of the Pale of Jeruſalem. For Moral Vertues do not belong to Chriſtian men as Chriſtians; but they pertain to them as men, ſays Hooker. There may be fair manifeſts of ſanctity and the contempt of the world in their outward carriage, whoſe heart is not above. The ſower moroſity of the Phariſees would make you believe they renounced all vanities. Peſtilent Hereticks have exceeded (that I may not ſay excelled) in works of mortification. Pelagius was of a demure honeſty, Vir ut audio non parvo profectu Chriſtianus, ſays St. Auſtin. Severus Sulpitius ſays of Priſcillian, he was noted for many laudable parts of mind and body, in faſting, in humility, in contentation. So Anthimus, and others. Doth not this ſhew as if it were all for the world above? And yet they had neither part nor lot in that matter. The Reaſon, becauſe they had ſome bondage in them, they were under a Captivity which they had not ſhaken off. They had not liberale ingenium, ſo that the laſt enquiry, who belong to that Jeruſalem above, is upon this queſtion, Whether the truth hath made them free? Joh. viii. 52. For Jeruſalem that is above is free. It is a word that comprehends in it much favour, and much duty. And it ſhall paſs under my hand with this examination: 1. What this freedom is? 2. How we got it. 3. How we muſt uſe it.
Our freedom conſiſts in a manumiſſion from a four fold ſervitude: 1. We are delivered from the Yoke of Ceremonies, called the bondage of the Elements of this World, in this Chapter, verſe 4. 2. We are moſt free for the New Covenants ſake, which is made with us. For ſalvation is not offered us through the Works of the Law, but through the Promiſe of grace. We Brethren, as Iſaac was, are Children of promiſe, verſe 28. 3. We have not received the Spirit of Bondage to fear, but the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry Abba Father, Rom. viii. 25. foreign, ſays Theophylact upon my Text, the Goſpel exhorts us gently, it doth not affright us tyrannouſly. 4. The rewards of the New Teſtament are not momentary things, ſuch as the Law propounded, but heavenly. foreign ſays the ſame Author, we are not ſervants that do our duty for viſible wages. And all theſe together make the copy of a perfect freedom. He that is under rudiments, is under age: he that is bound to the works of the Law, is under condemnation: He that is curbed by threatnings, is under thraldom: He that looks for momentary things from God, is under baſe afflictions: From all theſe Chriſt hath exempted us by the Goſpel,Verſ. 25. which is called the perfect Law of liberty, Jam. i. in this complete ſort our Jeruſalem which is above is free.
Firſt, To be exempted from the incumbrance of well nigh a Million of Levitical Ceremonies will not appear ſo gracious a benefit as it is, unleſs we take a great deal of leiſure to mark it. Never was any people ſo Paedagogically handled as the Jews were. The obſervation of the greateſt part of their days was calculated, their meats were ſtinted, their bread was preſcribed. They had Ordinances upon their Garments, preciſe rules for the fruits that grew in the field, directions for their building, appointment for their Apparel: Not ſo much but the very cutting of their hair was ſubject to a Commandment. What ſtrict Orders againſt Pollution? What nice receits to cleanſe pollution? What tedious Traditions in their Oblations and Sacrifices? What Punctilioes to be nicely kept in all the diſcharges of their Religion? In Secular affairs they could do nothing wherein their ſoul delighted: In Sacred affairs it was impoſſible for them to perform every thing which Moſes enjoyned. God knew how much addicted they were to their own inventions, therefore he leaves them nothing either holy or profane to be managed by their own diſcretion, but are quite rejected as unworthy to judge of the ſmalleſt matters; and they had their hands full of theſe petty duties, to leave no room to extraneous Superſtitions. Tertulliam adds, Et Deus operoſis officiis dedolaret; God did plain and ſmooth the ruggedneſs of their nature with many trials of obedience. Yet though their number was ſo great and cumberſom, their weight had been more eaſie, if they had been plain and perſpicuous; but the people underwent much geare, and I think not one among an hundred did know the ſignification. The ſubſtance of Religion was ſo darkly involved in the Types, that happy was that Prophet, or Prophets Son that could crack the ſhel to eat the kernel. Who of the Vulgar rank could penetrate into the moral ſignification of thoſe vices which were forbidden in the unclean Creatures? Ʋt homines mundarentur pecora culpatu ſunt, ſays Tertullian; The Law did ſeem to loath ſome beaſts, that we might know what God did love. Was not the Salvation in Chriſt propounded to them in Signes? And his death reſembled in a Bullock ſlain at the Altar? And what ſmall comfort was there in that Pardon which was not intelligible to the poor Offendor? Luther ſays well upon my Text, that mans knowledge is unſhackled, it is at liberty, when he diſcerns the naked truth in it ſelf. Cognitio eſt ancilla quando ſubjecta eſt velaminibus figurarum; Our Wiſdom is made a bondwoman, ſubject to the captivity of Ignorance, when it ſees nothing but in the dark Glaſs of typical Obumbrations. Thanks be to God that we are Scholars of the New Teſtament. We are called to the manifeſtation of faith and love in Chriſt, that we do not grope in darkneſs, but walk in light, for the Goſpel is like a Glade which is cut through the grove of ancient Ceremonies. Let me ſpeak to this point once more: Beſide their exceſs in number, and their cloudy obſcurity, there were unpleaſing remembrances in them, ſome that ſeemed to be myſteries of grace, were likewiſe myſtical Exprobrations, and therefore referred by good Expoſitors to the hand-writing of Ordinances which is againſt us, Col. ii. 14. For Ceremonies, take them not as Sacraments, or Circumſtances of Evangelical Service, but as Yokes of the Law, Nihil aliud erant quàm miſeriae humanae publica profeſſio; They were imprints of humane miſery, not Expiations,Beza. but Confeſſions of our iniquity. Circumciſion it accuſed the Iſraelites that they were born in ſin: Their frequent waſhings did teſtifie that there was filthineſs in the Object: The life of the Sacrifice ſpilt upon the ground pronounced him guilty of death that brought it to the Lord. I go no further, becauſe I would be compendious; and I have ſaid enough for this diſcovery, that the Law of Ordinances was our Adverſary. But thanks be to that Saviour who blotted out the hand-writing, payed the grand debt which we did owe, and diſcharged the intereſt likewiſe, when he evacuated the Levitical Ceremonies, which is the firſt mark of the freedom of Jeruſalem.
Yet be adviſed that we do not claim more immunity by this Chatter than is granted, (for that is ordinary to ſtretch out the name of liberty, like cheveril Leather, to what length we pleaſe) ſome have aſſumed that they have good ground to blow up all our Modern Ceremonies with this Mine, becauſe Jeruſalem is free from the yoke of Ordinances. It is true, our Jeruſalem is free, and therefore we are free, (for partus ſequitur ventrem) the Church appoints her own Orders of decency now, and is not appointed, nothing is impoſed upon it with bond of neceſſary and perpetual obſervation, the principality is upon her ſhoulders to make her Children ſubmit to her prudent Conſtitutions. But if particular men might challenge intereſt in this freedom, as if they had ſcope to ſerve God with what order and comlineſs they pleaſed, this were an uproar and not a freedom, and a looſeneſs like that of mad men when they have broke their Chains. Certainly, the liberty which God hath granted in ſetting our feet at large from theſe things with which the Prieſthood of Aaron was charged, it was to accommodate us with great grace and favour, but if this ſhould repel the bringing in of thoſe Ceremonies, which are means to beget the greater veneration of Religion, the bounty of God, which cannot be, would turn to a prejudice, his bleſſing to a croſs, and ſuch as love the welfare of Sion might cry out, O Lord we are oppreſſed with liberty. Touching the ſubſtance of divine Worſhip it is written with Gods own finger in holy Scripture, we muſt not add unto it. Only God is pleaſed to try our judgment, how we will adminiſter it in the particular faſhion. His Worſhip is the Bread of Life ſent down from heaven, and not invented upon earth, but for the manner of his Worſhip, foreign as Clemens ſays of humane Philoſophy, it is like the ſauce in which the bread is dipt to make it ſavoury, to this conditement Jeruſalem is allowed to put her skil, providing for comlineſs and honeſty as a wiſe diſpenſer of the myſteries of God. Was ever any thing of moment tranſacted without ſome graceful ſolemnity? Or is man ſo governed by the Spirit, that he can lift himſelf up to Heaven ſufficiently by interiour Meditation? I forget not that ſome will ſay, yea the Body alſo ſerveth God by the tongue. And I allow it for an excellent way to warm our zeal with the loud voice of prayer. But this warmth will quickly cool, unleſs ſome devout actions concur together: and deeds are far more durable in the fancy than the memory of ſpeech; either to teach the underſtanding ſomewhat which it ought to conſider, or to move the heart to due reverence and regard, which it ought to have in the performance of ſacred matters. Here let the new Jeruſalem act her part, this is her liberty, to enjoyn ſuch Ceremonies for the eye, as may prepare the heart the better to feel the power of the grace of God, and to preſcribe ſuch viſible ſigns, as will leave a deeper print behind them than bare exhortation. I will add that by this power bequeathed to the Church, ſome Jewiſh Ceremonies may be reteined, as far as the ſtate of the things will bear, if they be followed only for outward order, and not returning to that obſtinately which muſt be diſannulled, becauſe Chriſt is come in the fleſh. I confeſs that Spiritual Worſhip is beſt,Joh. 4.4. for it is moſt correſpondent to his nature whom we worſhip, God is a Spirit, and they that worſhip him muſt worſhip him in ſpirit. This is the reaſon that he ſays he hates Incenſe, and effuſion of bloud at his Altar, ſuch kind of ſervice hath no aſſimilation with him who is incorporeal, give him the Sacrifices of righteouſneſs, of prayers and mercy, and thankſgiving, qui corpus non eſt umbram non habet. Approach not to him with ſhadows, for he is a Spirit, and not a Body; yet in reſpect of us, though not of himſelf, he entertains the lowlineſs of bodily Worſhip, as it hath a conveniency and conjunction with our nature. The Lord is a Spirit, and he even he alone gives law how he will be worſhipped in ſpirit; but we that worſhip him are bodily creatures, and Jeruſalem our Mother hath indulgence to appoint all external adminiſtrations of holineſs.
It is no ſmall eaſe, as I have ſhewed it, to be diſingaged from the incumbrance of the old Ceremonies, but that which comes next in order is ſo eſſential to our happineſs, that from thence we may ſay truly, and from nothing elſe, the Lord turned the captivity of Sion. The time is paſt when ſalvation was offered to them turned the captivity of Sion. The time is paſt when ſalvation was offered to them that did the works of the Law (O thoſe were days of bitterneſs and deſperation!) the Covenant is renewed unto us in another form through the promiſe of mercy to them that believe in Jeſus Chriſt. Now Sin, that great Tyrant, ſhall have no dominion over us, for we are not under the Law, but under Grace, Rom. vi 14. Mark the two Covenants, and the ſevere exaction in the one, and the mild temperature of the other: the one comes bluſtering like the whirlwind, and breaks down Mountains before it; the other is the ſtill voice which beats ſweetly upon the ear of Elias; the one hath nothing but dayes of trouble and reproach, the other is a continual Jubilee of reſt and peace. The Law may be compared to thoſe wretched men that work at the Oar in a Gally, they ſtrein their ſinews and their ſtrength to plow the waves, and yet they meet with ſuch ſtrong tempeſts, that they cannot recover the Haven: but the Goſpel is a Ship whoſe ſails are ſpread with faith and hope and the winds of mercy blow them fairly on, that the Paſſengers are carried as in a dream to the Port with ſpeed and tranquillity. Hear them both ſpeak Rom. x. 5. for that's the cleareſt Scripture, I take it, for their diſtinction. The righteouſneſs of the Law ſaith, the man that doth theſe things ſhall live by them, but the righteouſneſs which is by faith ſpeaketh on this wiſe, if thou ſhalt confeſs the Lord Jeſus thou ſhalt be ſaved. The man that doth theſe things ſhall live; but the Lord looked down from Heaven, and found no ſuch man upon all the earth. Be the imperfections in our manners that are not ſcandalouſly culpable, yet the law hath not pardon for them: that which muſt be weighed in Gods Balance it muſt not want a ſcruple. Correct the wandring of your eye, bridle your tongue, watch your heart, …r ſervent in prayer, be vigilant againſt tentations, yet there is that repugnancy to the Law, that unrulineſs in this body of death, that the evil which you would not you ſhall do, and then the Law turns to be that Adverſary in St. Matthew which delivers you over to the Tormentor, till you have paid the utmoſt farthing. This was not only a bondage under a churliſh Nabal, that would not be ſatisfied with ſuch diligence as a Servant could perform, but the condition of a beaſt, whoſe qualities cannot excuſe him totally, but that ſometimes he ſhall be ſpurred and beaten: Yet none were ever born that can impeach the Law of rigour, no not in the equity of humane reaſon, if you will examine them from firſt to laſt; it will come but into the Margent of our Enditement, that our actions have not been ſo pure, and holy, and fervent, as the bounty of the Divine goodneſs towards us requires; turpitudes of life, abominable deſires of the heart, bruitiſh intemperance, ſcalding malice, unclean paſſions will fill up our accuſations. O what a perturbation, what unquietneſs of conſciences, what a hell of fear it is, to know that our Arraignment is juſt, and to have nothing but the Law, that inexorable letter of condemnation to comfort us? Imus, imus praecipites, we ſhould feel our ſelves tumbling down, and ſee no bottom. Sin is ſo ponderous, that if the Ship had not been lightned of Jonas it had ſunk: the Heaven could not hold the Devil and his Angels from falling; the Earth could not ſupport Core and Dathan: but it is more maſſy and leaden upon the conſcience than in all the Elements. What need I to tell you that God did give the Law in an angry form upon Mount Horeb, or that he delivered it to Moſes a Servant to bring to note the bondage of the Letter. I have looked back enough to this, let me bring you from this Ergaſtulum, this Priſon of Works, into the Courts of Gods Houſe, into Jeruſalem above which is free.
Jeruſalem at the time when this Epiſtle was written to the Galatians was in bondage two ways, in Civil ſervitude under the Romans, in Legal ſervitude under Moſes. a miſerable caſe that they ſhould not feel the oppreſſion they were in under Moſes, car'd not for a Deliverer; nay did as much as in them lay to curſe their Deliverer: Chriſt that came to ſet them free they uſed him as a Servant, in crucem ſervus, they crucified him, which was a moſt ſervile puniſhment. Thus their ſtupidneſs in their bondage did make for our freedom, and thereby was conſummated the Covenant of Faith, that we might believe in him who died to be a propitiation for our ſins. O what a pleaſant condition it is, what a free, what a Princely ſtate of life, to wait upon Gods mercy, and to be ſubject to the Ordinance of Faith. Upon it depend Pardon, Forgiveneſs, Reconciliation, Grace, Adoption of Saints, the Inheritance, the Kingdom, the Promiſe of everlaſting life. With how much diffidence did the Lawgiver intercede in the behalf of Iſrael, Forgive the ſin of the people, if not, blot me out of the book of life. To ſupplicate forgiveneſs is a meſſage ſent from Faith, but the Law plucks it back with this diſtruſtful Omen, if not, if there be no hope, then is my confuſion before me for ever. This is noted in the Generation of Iſmael the Son of the Bond-woman. Says Sarah to Abraham, Go in to Hagar, it may be I may obtain children by her. This is the Law which deſpairs and doubts, whether God will be gracious: but Faith never ſpeaks ſo faintly, looks for no denial how unworthy ſoever to obtein its Petitions; Publicans invite Chriſt home, Adultereſſes waſh his feet, Thieves recommend themſelves to be received into his Kingdom, and all this not becauſe they are free from the Law, but from the Covenant of it, which is the bondage of the Law. Had their conſcience miſdeemed that they muſt be ſaved by Works, they had run away like Bond-men from an auſtere Lord, their tongue had been tied that it durſt not wag: but light ſhining in their hearts revealed unto them that Jeruſalem was free, that the Inheritance came by the Promiſe of Grace; they flock unto him who is the Mediatour of a better Covenant, who vindicates his Portion from the bands of Sin, and Death, and Hell, and hath given power to his Miniſters to bring thoſe that ſeek for mercy out of the priſon and ſervitude of Satan; for whatſoever they looſe upon Earth ſhall be looſened in Heaven. Hold here, and ſtir not from this rock; put not the point to diſputation, but to inward examination, how you look to be freed from the fire of Hell when you ſhall ſtand before the Judgment Seat of God. Will you truſt to inherent righteouſneſs, and ſay it will be well for me, this good I have done? Or to the imputed juſtice of Chriſt, which is true and perfect juſtice, and pleaſeth the eyes of God? O there is no ground can be laid for peace and ſalvation, but in his righteouſneſs that juſtifieth a ſinner. They that carp at this, take them from their ſentences and quodlibets, and ſearch what they ſay in their Books of Devotions, Manuals of Prayer, Graduals of love and repentance, Meditations of Death, then nothing comes from them but O Lord deliver us, O Saviour redeem us, O Son of God remember not that which is paſt; then they never fly to the bloudy Altar of the Law, but to the Sanctuary of the Goſpel. In a word, whoſoever refers his juſtification in any part to a legal righteouſneſs is yet in bondage, but Jeruſalem which is above is free.
It is this Covenant of Faith that turneth away the captivity of Jacob. Now under the Diſcipline of Faith the Spirit attracts us by love and meek perſwaſions, it doth not threaten and bend the fiſt at us as the Law did; and that's the third part of bondage which our Jeruſalem hath eſcaped, it is not awed with compulſion and fear, but it follows the direction of the Spirit with gladneſs, which is the next ſtep to the ſtate of Angels. It is not good for a Child to be too much ſcar'd by Praeceptors and Governours; ſuch nipping weather is an enemy to a flouriſhing Spring. Then imagine what a ſhivering Ague it was to the Iſraelites (Sons of God, but not yet come to age, as St. Paul deſcribes them) to ſtruggle with ſo many auſtere Statutes as Moſes gave them. Scourgings, loſs of eyes, loſs of limbs, burning, ſtoning, forfeiting the life of a man for the treſpaſs of a beaſt, loſing the right hand for a caſualty, a moral man, that knew not the ſtrictneſs of Gods Judgments would ſay for a trifle. Add unto theſe ſo many pollutions circumſtantial, natural that could not be helpt, to be expiated with continual coſt and labour; add above all theſe that noiſe of Malediction, louder than thunder, Curſed is he that doth not continue in all the words of this Law to do them; amidſt theſe terrours that came ſo thick, as they were good to bridle ſtubbornneſs, ſo, many generous reſolutions of the mind, that would have put forth, muſt needs be ſuffocated. The Angel of God, when he came with a meſſage from heaven, and would have it intelligently received, likely he began with this Preface, Fear not. Nay, God did deliver this People from the fear of Pharaoh and his Hoſt, before ever he would give them a Law to ſerve him. Men that are held to their Taſque by minacies, Magis aguntur, quàm agunt. He that doth a thing out of love is carried to it by an internal complacency, he is a ſelf mover, and the action is his own: he that goes forward to his Taſque, becauſe the ſcourge is behind him, the action is not his own, raptatur ad obſequium, his will rows againſt the ſtream, but the Tide is ſo ſtrong that it carries him with it by Coaction. And that harveſt of obedience which is reapt with the Sickle of ſtern dominion and threatning, when all is done it is not worth the bringing into the barn. For it keeps a man that he dares not break out into a ſcandalous tranſgreſſion of the Law. Is not that all? The External Act is ſmooth and conformable to juſtice. But what reformation is there all that while in the heart? It is not fear but love which takes upon it to cure the concupiſcence which is in the mind. If there be no better School-maſter than fear, the body may worſhip God alone, and the mind remain an Idolater. A longer declaration of this there needs not. We all know that a Palſie of fear will ſhake Judgment out of the wit. The Oratour that pleaded upon peril of his life, Lugdunenſem rhetor dicturus ad aram; he would pronounce but badly, and ſurely much of the imperfections of the Jews may be imputed to this, that the Law did ſubject them to the Spirit of Bondage.
It is the Spirit of the New Teſtament which turns us about, and ſets us free from the ſuperciliouſneſs of the Law, and it would have us pleaſe the Lord for his mercies ſake, and out of the ſenſe of his goodneſs it exhorts us that our ſervice ſhould grow out of his favours, and our duty out of his bounty and benefits, ſo ſhall there be alacrity and readineſs in the ſoul to all manner of vertue, as well as paſſive obſequiouſneſs in the body. The Schoolmen obſerve it rightly, that filial fear, which is the freedom and ingenuity of obedience riſeth out of the love of God; but ſervile fear, which is a plain captivity of Spirit, riſeth out of the love of our ſelves. The Servant who goes through his Taſque that he may not ſuffer correction, would do as much as may keep his skin whole, that is for love of himſelf: A Son that honoureth his Father, and rejoyceth to hear his voice, ſeeks his Fathers glory that he may receive of his glory, and this is purely out of the love of God. No wonder therefore if this hath redounded to far more fruits than ever the tree of the Law did bear, which was pelted and beaten. For, as one hath noted it well, Gods Church hath increaſed more by the love of God than by the terrour which he ſent in the old time; but when perſecutions were rife, it increaſed more by the terrours of men than by their love. The uſe of it is, that we ſerve God, as thoſe that are paſt the Spirit of bondage, reverently with fear, and chearfully without fear. Faith is the great promoter of reverential fear, and breeds in us an awe of Gods Majeſty, and a dread of his glory, as the Cherubins do cover their faces with their wings before him. This is clean and pure, refined in the flame of love, cauſed neither by ſin nor puniſhment, but it reflects upon the baſeneſs of our own ſubſtance, the Creature compares its own vileneſs with the infinite excellency of the Creator, and ſo approacheth with all due diſtance of humility. But Faith again cools the inflammation of ſervile fear with the water of Baptiſm, wherein we were ſprinkled with the bloud of Chriſt. It teacheth us to decline offences with all care and ſtudy, not to eſcape puniſhment, but out of gratitude to him who hath done ſo great things for us. It ingenders an ardent ſollicitouſneſs to be unblameable, not becauſe the wrath of the Lord is terrible when he is diſpleaſed, but becauſe his Mercy and Redemption deſerve to be recompenced with all manner of obedience. Labour for that integrity which is expected from one that is free from ſin, but a ſervant to righteouſneſs. Such a one would do no unjuſt thing though he ſaw his Pardon ſealed with his fleſhly eyes, and were as ſurely confirmed in ſtate of Salvation as an Angel of light. Juſtus non eſt ſub lege, ſed voluntas ejus eſt in lege, ſays St. Auſtin; He alludes to the Latine reading of the firſt Pſalm, a juſt man is not under the Law, that is a ſtrein of ſervitude: but his will is in the Law, there he finds equity and ſincerity, he loves them for themſelves: The minacles and caſtigations of it are without Law, of which he takes no notice, becauſe his will is within. Vopiſcus ſays, that after the death of Aurelian for ſix months there was an Interregnum, no new Elect was agreed upon, the People had no Prince to curb them, no Tribune of whom they ſtood in awe, yet there was no outrage committed, Nam quod eſt in vit â optimum ſe quiſque timebat; Every man was afraid to offend himſelf, and his own conſcience. Theſe are voces libero homine dignae, theſe are the Praiſes of more ingenuous men than ever Heathens could be: It may be an Impreza for a perfect Chriſtian, he doth no evil out of this generous reſolution, for that he loves God within him, not becauſe he fears the world without him. Out of Evangelical aſſurance, though the ſecond coming of Chriſt ſhall be with ſuch a ſtrange concuſſion that Heaven and Earth will ſtagger and burn for it, yet a well-armed Chriſtian hath digeſted the dread, and wiſheth for that day when the whole Creature ſhall be delivered from bondage; it is his Exclamation, Come Lord Jeſus, come quickly. Conſider in what an agony the whole Camp of the Iſraelites was when the Law was proclaimed with Thunder and Tempeſts upon Mount Sinah; it will be ſtrange to one of thoſe to hear a good Diſciple call earneſtly for that day which will be ſo full of darkneſs and gloomineſs. This is indeed the principal Criſis that we have ſhaken off the Spirit of bondage. Non probatur perfecta caritas, niſi cum ceperit ille dies deſiderari; There is no perfect love, and by conſequent no plenary excuſſion of ſervitude till we are earneſt in that wiſh, that the day of Chriſt were near at hand. If not that terrour, no, not that doth pinch us, then Jeruſalem above is free.
Yet ſtay for one qualification more, which will make the Angels to congratulate us our freedom if we obſerve that Proviſo in our Charter; nay, which will pleaſe God ſo well, that he will not only make us Citizens, who were Bondmen before, but Rulers over ten Cities, as it is in the Parable, that is, account not of the good of this world as the Jew did, but commit your Heart and your Treaſure to the Inheritance which is above: They that run far into the thought to proſper in the increment of this earth, they cannot decline from being ſervants to the times, to occaſions, to ignobleneſs, to the manners of iniquity. Lift up your hearts unto the Lord with an evangelical abrenunciation of the world, and fling theſe fetters away, for there is no ſuch thraldom as that of baſe affections. To ſerve a ſin is worſe than to ſerve a man, by how much a man is better than a ſin. There are ſome of our Interpreters who have ſtated this Point not without injury to the Synagogue, and the modern Jews have cauſe to diſavow the imputation of mere carnal men, as if God did ſet before them no more than the recompence of this lifes proſperity. The Anabaptiſts teach that the Faithful before Chriſt did only taſte of the ſweetneſs of temporal bleſſings, without any hope of eternal happineſs; a Cenſure fitter for beaſts that are well paſtured, than for a man, whoſe ſoul doth naturally heave him up to immortality; chiefly it is an opinion moſt derogatory to ſuch men whoſe Fathers did talk with God face to face. Beſides theſe, Aquinas and his Scholars methinks lay out our difference but rudely, Temporalia promittuntur in Veteri Teſtamento, ſpiritualia in Novo; The Old Teſtament proffers Temporal bleſſings, and the New Teſtament Spiritual. That were, I confeſs, the right livery at which a Bondman did ſtand, foreign, ſays the heathen Proverb; Give the Servant that grinds at the Mill an allowance of food to ſuſtain him, and you owe him no more. But if the Text of the Old Teſtament do move only in the circumference of this world, and of this life, it would ſcarce make good Philoſophy, how much leſs would it never paſs for the Touchſtone of pure Divinity? Therefore without ſcandal to the old Jeruſalem, or partiality to the New, the odds between us are theſe. The Commonwealth of Iſrael had the ſure promiſe made unto them of heavenly joy, together with a pleaſant portion upon earth, if they ſerved the Lord. The ſame Kingdom of heaven is more clearly promiſed to us, but with afflictions and perſecutions upon earth. Their Jeruſalem was in bondage, becauſe it kept the Law upon carnal Articles, that it might flouriſh, and be free. Our Jeruſalem is free becauſe it will confeſs Chriſt, though the more it confeſs him the more it ſhould be in danger of bondage and impriſonment. They were for preſent delight, and heaven hereafter: we are for preſent miſery, and heaven for ever.
The Apoſtles found it an hard matter to ſend the Church of Chriſt from Jewiſh Ceremonies, they could not make a bank in their days, but that ſome broke over, as in the Church of Galatia. No marvel, ſince the dregs thereof are not purged out to this day. Circumciſion is ſtill reteined among the Abyſſines, ſays Damianus Goez. Aarons ſupreme Pontifical Authority is but tranſmigrated into the Papacy: Some have been ſcrupulous in choice of meats but lately, as if Moſes did yet predominate. Many are more ſtrict than wiſe in numbring and keeping the hours of Sabbatical reſt. We that are here I hope are all very ready to condemn this Judaiſm; and yet God knows the moſt of us are Jews in a greater concernment than we are aware of. If we ſerve for heaven it is well, but I am ſure we are the more ſervile that it may be well with us upon earth. We ask for the dew of heaven, but we make earneſt poſtulations for the fatneſs of the earth; we are content to be ſhod with the preparation of the Goſpel, but not ſo well contented as if it be our fortune to wear the ſpurs of dignity. Theſe are the tricks of a Jew, of an uncircumciſed Jew, his heart is not circumciſed from ambition and vanity. This is Gehazi's Leproſie which cleaves to baſe minds, my Maſter is in heavenly raptures, and contemns riches, As the Lord lives I will run after him, and take ſomewhat. Run, and let the Devil ſcorn you for your pains. Doth Job ſerve God for nought? To be Sanctified, to be Juſtified, to have the gifts of the Holy Ghoſt, to receive ſpiritual Conſolation, to be the friends of God, this is the portion which comes unto us, and for which our Covenant is called the Goſpel of glory. For tribulations (which did not accord with the Jewiſh Oeconomy) if they be not above our ſtrength, we muſt not only expect them, but rather invite them, then avoid them. Ʋre, ſeca, hic ne parcas Domine, ut in aeternum parcas. Prove me, chaſtiſe me, bruize me like ſweet Gum, till thou beeſt pleaſed with my ſavour, pitty me not in theſe momentary afflictions, that thou mayeſt ſpare me for ever. As the ſoul is free from the priſon of the body when it is diſſolved in death, ſo it is moſt free from the faeces and earthineſs of the body, when it is not wedded to the deſire of tranſitory things, Muſhrooms that have no ſavour, when we have enjoyed them but a day. Briefly, Jewiſh ſervility is an unbeliever like St. Thomas, Niſi mittam digitum; Let me touch, let me feel, let me graſp my handful or it is in vain to obey the Lord; Chriſtian liberty is ingenuous, and heroical, it hath ſwum out of this dead Sea, in whoſe mud the unregenerate do ſtick, and if the Lord will give us himſelf, let Ziba take all. The greater is our freedom becauſe we know we need not the aids of fortune. I have heard that a Cardinal being elected to be Pope, his former State is rifled, becauſe his new dignity will ſupply him in abundance: Juſt ſo when the Spirit comforts us that we are called to a Crown of glory, (pardon the ſimilitude, it is no worſe than as Chriſt hath compared himſelf to a Thief that comes in the night) but our confidence of our new Election to that Inheritance, makes us eaſie to part with that, which others keep for a while, and leave it in a moment. And thus when freedom hath ſtruck inward to our affections, pardon us if we ſpeak deſpicably of the Jews, for our Jeruſalem alone is free.
The whole Charter of Jeruſalems freedom is diſpatcht. Though the hour were to begin again, I would not ſtick at the next queſtion, how we came by it? We all know the procurer, and what he did to gain it for us, it is a flower that grew out of the bloud of Chriſt. We were not protected, as Joſhuahs Spies were, by a common woman, nor ſet at large, as Samaria was, by the tidings of Lepers, our Deliverer is more honourable to us than our freedom, the Son of God was made a Servant, that we Servants might become Sons. As God made nothing in nature but by his Son, by him he made the Worlds, ſo he did nothing for the reſtauration of the World without him. He is all in all. He hath freed us from the bondage of ſhadows by taking a body: From the Covenant of Works by ſatisfying his Fathers Juſtice: From the dread of fear by the ſweetneſs of his Mercy: From the ſordid deſire of earthly things by the operation of his holy Spirit. The purchaſe of our Freedom was carried in this ſort, ſo that the Jeſuit à Lapide borrowed a fit name to call it by, you know from whom, foreign. the gift of a King, of David our King. Imagine by a Proſopopaea that you ſaw the Devil, and Sin, and death defying us in the ſame words that Goliah did the Camp of Iſrael, If you be able to fight with us, and to kill us, we will be your Servants,1 Sam. 17.9. but if we prevail againſt you, then you ſhall be our ſervants, and ſerve us. Then David our Champion ſlew theſe Giants of Gath in our quarrel, and from thenceforth we are foreign, his purchaſed people, as St. Peter ſays. St. Auſtin ſays,1 Pet. 2.9. that by nature we were Pharaohs bondmen, that is, Satans, and when we forſook him, and fled away to ſerve God in the Wilderneſs, he followed after us, but no further than the Red Sea. Quid eſt mare rubrum? Ʋſque ad fontem Chriſti cruce & ſanguine conſecratum. What is the Red Sea that divided us from him? The Fountain of Baptiſm conſecrated to ſave us by the Croſs and Bloud of Chriſt. Bernard alludes to the words of Jacob, and ſays that the Church is that portion which Chriſt won from the Amorite with his Sword, and with his Bow, Gladio praedicationis, arcu incarnationis; With the Sword of his Doctrine, with the Bow of his incarnation, where the ſhaft and the ſtring make but one Inſtrument, as his Godhead and Manhood make but one Perſon. Thus he hath ſnatcht us from our Enemies that were made Lords over us, and from the hard bondage wherein we were made to ſerve Iſa. xiv. 3.
Having ſeen the Copy of our Freedom, and knowing how we got it, it is a Leſſon fit to conclude with, that every mans memory may carry that away at the leaſt how we ſhould uſe it. No bleſſing hath been more abuſed than this. Under colour hereof the Galileans would be free from Tribute, the Nicolaitans from the bond of Marriage, the Gnoſticks from all Juſtice and Temperance, the Clerks of the Roman Church from the Courts of the Civil Magiſtrate, and the Anabaptiſts from all Moral Duties. No, ſays St. Peter to all theſe, As free, 1 Pet. 2.16.but not uſing your liberty as a cloak of maliciouſneſs, but as the ſervants of God. It was St. Auſtins by-word, Dilige Deum, & fac quod vis; You are free, therefore love God, and do what you will. If ye love him keep his Commandments: We are not ſo ſoon looſed but we are tied again, both freed and bound at once. Liberando ſervos nos facit, ſays the ſame Father in Joh. viii. We muſt recompence his goodneſs with our imperfect obedience, it is the Law of Gratitude, it is the Bond of Nature. As we commonly ſay, that nothing is more dearly bought, than that which comes by gift, ſo we owe the greater ſervice to him of whom we got our freedom. Nay, we are bound to endure all for his ſake, Neque hoc facit ſtupor ſed amor; nec deeſt dolor, ſed contemnitur, ſays Bernard. We feel the pain as much as they that curſe and rage in their ſufferings, but our love unto Chriſt doth overcome it. A Free-man, that will thrive, follows his Trade as cloſe as any Apprentice, though not by auſtere compulſion: So our Freedom will not make our hands ſlack from working, if we mean to lay up a treaſure in heaven. Every piece of Land, they ſay, holds of ſome Lord, ſo every man retains to ſome Lord, either we ſerve God, or ſin and Satan. If we count it Freedom to take our ſwing in all voluptuouſneſs, pity their frenſie, that can ſtir no where but as their intemperate appetite commands them, and yet miſtake themſelves to live without controul, who are the Vaſſals of the Devil. While they promiſe them liberty, they themſelves are the ſervants of corruption, 2 Pet. i. 19. Tully objects to Clodius that he ſet up the Picture of Liberty in his houſe in the habit of a Strumpet. Says that approved Senator againſt him, Qui meretricibus & voluptatibus inſervit non liber eſt, ſed ſervus; To be under pleaſure is to be under tyranny, and therefore the Statue of a Strumpet did better reſemble ſervitude. But happy are thy ſervants O Lord that ſtand before thee. Deo parere libertas eſt, De beat. v…t. c. 15.you may think that Seneca had conferred with St. Paul when he learnt that Leſſon that the ſervice of God is perfect freedom; who hath made us a Royal Prieſthood, and holy Nation. Says Leo in the ſecond Anniverſary Sermon upon his own Aſſumption to the Papacy, nothing ſo Kingly as a mind ſubject to God, and Ruler of his own paſſions, nothing ſo Prieſtly as to offer up the ſacrifice of a pure conſcience, and the oblation of a broken heart. There were ancient Ceremonies in Baptiſm, as if the party to be baptized came to be inaugurated to a Kingdom, when he profeſſed himſelf a Diſciple of the Goſpel. For it appears in ſome Rituals that they put a Crown of flowers upon the head of the Neophyte, to which the Collect then uſed doth teſtifie, We beſeech thee O King of heaven for this diſſoluble Crown, to give him a Crown of juſtice and good works. The ſame was figured by theſe Ceremonies in confirmation, that is by the unction of their forehead, and by the faſcia, which bound about their temples as a Diadem. All theſe cuſtoms do border upon this phraſe, that our Jeruſalem is every where in the Goſpel called the Kingdom of heaven. God is ſuch a King whom none but Kings do ſerve, none but Melchiſedechs, who are free from ſin, and at once both Servants of righteouſneſs and Kings of righteouſneſs. Dignitate Domini honorata ſit conditio ſervi. He is ſo great a Lord that it is a Lordſhip, nay a Kingdom to ſerve him. In a word, remember that our freedom is a ſtrict obligation to all excellent vertue, that being delivered from the hands of our enemies we may ſerve him without fear in righteouſneſs and holineſs all the days of our life. Lord keep thy Jeruſalem free from the bondage of ſin, that we may not be caſt into the priſon of utter darkneſs. AMEN.