A Century of Sermons, Sermon 6
THE SIXTH SERMON UPON THE INCARNATION.
LUKE ii. 11.
For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Chriſt the Lord.
THE Angel hath made a brief Sermon upon a great occaſion. The occaſion is the Incarnation of our Lord: and who can be ſo copious upon that ſubject as the Myſtery requires? yet the Sermon which the Angel preacheth, is neither a whole Chapter, nor a whole Goſpel, but three verſes of a Goſpel. In the multitude of words a great deal is loſt unto the hearer: the good application of a little, whatſoever we think, will yield the beſt fruits of increaſe. But for ſuch divine joy as is here proclaimed, it was fit to roul it up in a ſmall pill, and to miniſter it to the audience in a little quantity. How is it poſſible for frail fleſh to ſubſiſt, and not to be diſſolv'd for gladneſs, if the Angel had continued his tidings with ſuch matter as he begun? a Saviour is born; unto you a Saviour is born; no petty redeemer, but the Lord ſtrong and mighty, a Saviour which is Chriſt the Lord. O it was provident care, after the Shepherds had heard a little, to tell them no more at once, but rather to ſend them away into the City, that they might ſee the reſt. After Iſrael had ſhaken off the Chaldean ſlavery, and the Lord had turned the captivity of Sion, David knew not how to expreſs their aſtoniſht joy, but thus, they were like unto them that dream: as Livie ſays of the Grecians, when the Romans that conquer'd them ſent them unexpected liberty, Mirabundi velut ſomni ſpeciem arbitrabantur, they received the tidings, as if it had been a pleaſing dream, and themſelves ſcarce awake. So our ſins have ſo much diſcomforted our hearts, that our ſpirits are confus'd, and faint, if we receive all the comfort that God ſends at once, like a ſtrong perfume the ſweetneſs overcomes our ſence. Here's one line for a copy, and enough to be taken out at one time, Ʋnto you is born this day, &c.
The Text cannot be divided into equal parts, for here is one word among them, which not only in this place, but whereſoever you find it, it is like Saul, higher by head and ſhoulders then all the reſt. As Painters and Guilders write the names of God in glaſs, or upon the walls with many rays, and flaming beams to beautifie it round about, ſo the name of Saviour is the great word in my Text; and all that is added beſide in other circumſtances is a trail of golden beams to beautifie it. Firſt then with reverend lips, and circumciſed ears let us begin with the joyful tidings of a Saviour. 2. Here's our participation of him in his Nature, natus, he is born, and made like unto us. 3. It is honourable to be made like us, but it is beneficial to be made for us; and natus vobis, unto you is born a Saviour. 4. Is not the uſe of his Birth ſuperannuated, the virtue of it long ſince expir'd? no, 'tis freſh and new; as a man is moſt active when he begins firſt to run, hodie natus, he is born this day. 5. Is he not like the King in the Goſpel who journeyed into a far Country, extra orbem ſoliſque vias, quite out of the way in another world? no, the circumſtance of place points his dwelling to be near, in civitate David, he is born in the City of David. 6. Perhaps to make him man is to quite unmake him; ſhall we find him able to ſubdue our enemies, and ſave us, ſince he hath taken upon him the condition of humane fragility? yes, the laſt words ſpeak his excellency and power, for he is Chriſtus Dominus, ſuch a Saviour as is Chriſt the Lord, for unto you is born this day in the City of David, &c.
The beginning of our days work is from that word, which magnifies him that is the word of God above all things; for he is a Saviour. Time was when the children of Iſrael had rather Moſes ſhould ſpeak unto them than God: Speak thou with us, and we will hear, but let not God ſpeak with us leſt we dye, Exod. xx. 19. Now let Iſrael ſay, let not Moſes ſpeak with us, nor the Law, for then we ſhall ſurely die. Above all tongues let the Angel ſpeak with us, that proclaims a Saviour, and we ſhall ſurely live. If all comfort in the world were forgotten, nothing but darkneſs, and weeping, and captivity over all the earth, yet here's a word which is enough to turn all that ſorrow into gladneſs, yea, to turn Hell it ſelf into Heaven; This day is born unto you a Saviour: it comprehends all other names of Grace, and bleſſing; as Manna is ſaid to have all kind of ſapors in it to pleaſe the taſte. When you have call'd him the glaſs in which we ſee all truth, the fountain in which we taſte all ſweetneſs, the ark in which all precious things are laid up, the pearl which is worth all other riches, the flower of Jeſſe which hath the ſavour of life unto life, the bread that ſatisfieth all hunger, the medicine that healeth all ſickneſs, the light that diſpelleth all darkneſs; when you have run over all theſe, and as many more glorious titles as you can lay on, this one word is above them, and you may pick them all out of theſe ſyllables, a Saviour which is Chriſt the Lord. Abraham could endure to live in a ſtrange Land, nay, he could endure to want his only Son Iſaac if God pleas'd: Elias could want his bodily ſuſtenance for forty days: John Baptiſt could want the comfort of all ſociety in the Wilderneſs: Peter could leave all he had and want his ſubſtance: Paul could live in bonds and want his liberty: Paphnutius could want his eyes, yea, the Martyrs for Chriſts ſake could want their lives; but they could not be without the redemption of their ſoul, they could not want a Saviour.
The Prophet Iſaiah hath foretold that the heaven and earth ſhould joyn their ſtrength together to make a Saviour, Iſa. xlv. 8. Drop down the heavens from above, and let the earth open, and let them bring forth ſalvation, that's the effect: and the 15. verſe ſpeaks of the perſon, O God of Iſrael the Saviour. The heavens muſt drop down from above, and the earth muſt open and concur beneath, the whole univerſe muſt be put together, the Divine Nature and the Humane, tantae molis erat, to make a Saviour. To confuſe the Jews with this place. I have read of a learned Scribe of theirs, one Rabbi Accados, who wrote thus before the coming of Chriſt, that the Meſſias ſhould come into the world to ſave men, and the Gentiles ſhould call him Jeſus, or the Saviour of the world. Indeed the Gentiles did not only do ſo after our Saviours aſcenſion into Heaven, being taught unto it by the Apoſtolical preaching, but in the time of Idolatry, which is very ſtrange. Tully ſays in the 4. Oration againſt Verres, that he ſaw an Image at Syracuſe in Sicily with this Inſcription upon it, foreign, a Saviour, and he admires at the ſtrong ſignificancy of the word, Hoc quantum eſt magnum eſt, ut latine exprimi uno verbo non poſſit, to give ſalvation or to be a Saviour is ſuch an appellative, that all the Latine tongue was not furniſhed with a word to ſet it forth. But what if their language could have fit it? that's nothing unleſs the ſoul do unite it to it ſelf, and write it upon the tables of the heart. But that the name may not be an empty ſound to us as it was to them, conſider theſe three things. 1. With what honour it was impos'd. 2. What excellency it includes. 3. What reverence it deſerves.
For the firſt of theſe, an honour in the impoſition of a name will ever ſtick by the perſon, and the origen hereof came from the chiefeſt, that is above all, Phil. ii. 9. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. It was ever of old in the right of the Father to give a name unto his child: Zachary when he could not ſpeak call'd for writing tables to appoint the name of John the Baptiſt; therefore Chriſt having no Father on earth, his Father gave him a name from Heaven. His Father gave it, but he did commit it to the truſt of an Angel to bring it; for the Angel was the firſt that ever mention'd it to Joſeph the huſband of Mary in a dream. Thou ſhalt call his name Jeſus, for he ſhall ſave his people from their ſins, Matth. i. 21. God gave it, the Angel brought it, and men did aſſign it the eighth day when he was circumciſed, his name was called Jeſus, which was ſo named of the Angel before he was conceived in the Womb. Hereupon Bernard caſts in two obſervations. 1. It appears in St. Matthew that the Angel called him Jeſus before he was born, yea, before he was conceived, Luke i. 31. it was Gabriels meſſage to Mary, Thou ſhalt conceive in thy Womb, and bring forth a Son, and ſhalt call his name Jeſus. Men called him ſo after he was born, and circumciſed, Idem quippe & Angeli ſalvator & hominis, hominis ab incarnatione, Angeli ab initio creaturae: for the ſame Lord is the Saviour both of Angels and Men; of Angels before he was born, from the beginning of the world; of Men in the fulneſs of time after he was born: That is, the ſecond perſon in Trinity being the eternal Son of the Father, did confirm the good Angels in grace, that they ſhould never fall; and the ſame perſon incarnate, being the Mediator of God and Man, did redeem the Elect, that they ſhould riſe again from their ſins, and reign with him in glory. 2. The complete impoſition of the name was at his circumciſion, when he firſt ſhed his Blood, as if his Death had been foretold, as ſoon as he was born; it would coſt him blood, not a few drops of the foreskin, but the very blood of the heart to be called Jeſus. In Circumciſion he was called a Saviour, at his Paſſion the word Jeſus was wrote upon the Croſs: then his enemies confeſt he was a Saviour, In circumciſione non fuit actu perfecto, ſed deſtinatione ſalvator; in Circumciſion it was told by deſtination what he ſhould be, and incompleatly, and by inchoation what he was. It was a ſign of ſervitude, and of taking the guilt of ſin to be Circumciſed; it was a ſign of ignominy, and reproach to be Crucified: but this name exalted him, and defended him againſt the bad opinion of the world, when he was called at the one time in the Temple, and entitled on the Croſs at the other, Jeſus of Nazareth the King of the Jews. To drive this point no longer about the honour of the impoſition of the name, this is the ſum; Angels and Men had their ſeveral ſhares in the dignity to give this attribute to our Lord, but the name was grounded in his own nature of exceeding mercy, and in his office of reconciliation; therefore God alone could give him this name: Innatum eſt ei nomen hoc, non inditum ab humana, aut Angelica natura, ſays Bernard, the name was bred with him, and not impoſed by men or Angels.
A name ſo royally impos'd muſt include a great deal of excellency, that's the next point.Acts xviii. 15. Gallio the Deputy of Achaia was a great ſcorner of Religion, and becauſe Paul magnified Chriſt, and the Jews blaſphemed him, Gallio ſaid it was a controverſie of words, and names, and he would not meddle with it; it was not worth the while. The name of Chriſt was beyond Gallio's reach to judge upon it. David makes a great account of that which he did villifie, Thou haſt magnified thy name, and thy word above all things, Pſal. cxxxvii. The names of God, Jehovah are his names as a Creator, and yet to be magnified above all things; but the name of Jeſus adds above his power of creation, his goodneſs of ſaving and redemption, Nihil naſci profuit, niſi redimi profuiſſet, it had been unbeneficial to be created, unleſs we had been happily redeemed: His Words, his Actions, his Miracles, his Prayers, his Sacraments, his Sufferings all did ſmell of the Saviour. Take him from his Infancy to his Death, among his Diſciples and among the Publicans, among the Jews, or among the Gentiles, he was all Saviour.
The Jews were under the condition of thraldom at this time when Chriſt was born, under the thraldom of their enemies; and the tidings of a Saviour was ſweet news at ſuch a ſeaſon: yet the Shepherds could not ſo miſtake that an Infant born but that day could go out with their hoſts to ſubdue their enemies. No perſon upon earth hath ſuch need of a Saviour as a ſinner, whether it be peace or war, Pandora's box of miſchiefs; all the miſeries that can be named are the juſt reward of a ſinner: therefore the Angel doth not ſpecifie to the Shepherds, from what calamities he ſhould redeem them; and be called a Saviour indefinitely and abſolutely from all. A few particulars would but derogate from the honour of his ſalvation, he ſweeps away all evil at once, like a Spiders web, ab omni malo, he ſaves us from the whole maſs of evil, a Saviour which is Chriſt the Lord, Jer. xxiii. 7. It ſhall no more be ſaid the Lord Liveth, which brought up the children of Iſrael out of the Land of Egypt, but the Lord liveth which brought the houſe of Iſrael from the North Country, the land of Chaldaea. Alas, both theſe are eaſie redemptions, to that which calls him Jeſus in the New Teſtament; the Lord liveth who ſaveth his people from their ſins: there begins his mercy at that point, to break the heavy yoke of ſin from our necks, to repreſs the dominion of the fleſh rebelling againſt the ſpirit, to take away earthly deſires from our will, and affections; in a word, to clear us in Gods Court, that our iniquities may no more be imputed to us, Who loved us, and waſhed us from our ſins in his own blood, Revel. i. 5. 2. He is a Saviour that delivers us from the ſting and puniſhment of ſin, which is death: He deſtroyed our death by dying on the Croſs, and repaired our life again by his own Reſurrection. 3. He is a Saviour that delivereth us from the power of Satan, that although the enemy tempt and oppoſe vehemently, yet he ſhould not overcome his Saints. Now is the judgment of this world, now ſhall the Prince of this world be caſt forth, John xii. 32. and ſo caſt forth that he ſhall never renew his tyranny again, For through death Chrſt did deſtroy him that had the power of death, the Devil, Heb. ii. 14. 4. He is a Saviour that frees us from the wrath of God: and when we were enemies we were reconciled unto God by the death of his Son, Rom. v. From ſin, from death, from Satan, from the wrath of God. Theſe are the four heads of our Redemption, and theſe are the excellencies included in the name of Saviour.
After theſe things thus declared, methinks the third point ſhould fall in directly without any contradiction: Methinks of our ſelves without bidding men ſhould ſtrive to do abundant reverence at the hearing of this word, a Jeſus, a Saviour which is Chriſt the Lord. We have not that feeling of our ſins which we ought to have, nor of the wrath of God; for if we had, we would hear this name with greater joyfulneſs: but the deſtruction is not near enough to affect us, Hell and damnation are not repreſented before our face: if thoſe things were ſo nigh, that we did feel their horror, we would not captiouſly gainſay that Ceremony of the Church, to vail the head, and bend the knee, and to proſtrate our ſelves to the earth, in giving honour to Chriſt for our ſalvation. Both the Saints in heaven, and the Faithful on earth, and the Dead departed under the earth, all theſe hath God ordained to bow the knee at the name of his Son Jeſus, Phil. ii. 10. Indeed to do it toties quoties, at every repetition of the name is not neceſſarily inferr'd from thence perhaps; ſay it be no more than a pious Inſtitution of the Church, to keep us in a faithful remembrance that we do not forget it; yet a dutiful Child will hearken to the voice of the Church, and not wave her Authority and neglect it; as if the Spirit of God had not directed her to preſcribe outward things in a decent manner to the ſetting forth of Gods glory. Iſaiah could not ſpeak of a Saviour in the Old Teſtament, but this comes in, Ʋnto me ſhall every knee bow, and every tongue ſhall ſwear, Iſa. xlv. 23. and leſt the world might ſuppoſe, they may be bold and ſawcy with a merciful Saviour, St. Paul admoniſheth how that Saviour ſhall be a Judge, Rom. xiv. 11. We ſhall all ſtand before the Judgment-ſeat of Chriſt; for it is written, As I live ſaith the Lord, every knee ſhall bow to me, and every tongue ſhall confeſs to God. Beloved now ye are in Gods Temple, judgment you neither ſee nor fear; but imagin with me, the Lord were coming in the clouds, every mans innumerable ſins laid open before him to condemn him, in this diſtraction of amazement is there any thing to put life into your terrified ſouls, but the name of a Saviour? then let an Angel preach before you, There is no name under heaven by which you can be ſaved, but only the name of Jeſus. Tell me from your own heart what you think if in that caſe your head would not uncover, your knee bend, yea, your face grovel upon the earth; confeſs this and amend your ſtubbornneſs: it is nothing but the forgetfulneſs of deſtruction which makes ye ſo unregardful to do reverence at the name of ſalvation. One thing more, and I ſhall have ſaid enough to this, Zanchy and others allow that ſoon after the firſt 300 years it was a cuſtom ungain-ſaid in that ancient Orthodox Church, to put S. Paul's item in practice; and more than that, to bend and uncover at the name of Jeſus, and this done, to let the Arrians ſee, that all worſhip and honour was due to the eternal Son of God. Though I truſt there be now no Arrians among us, is it not fit to hold the Ceremony, that we may keep ſimple, and perverſe men from being Arrians? Princes do not uſe to loſe any part of the honour which was once given them upon any occaſion, and will not God look to have that honour maintain'd which was once laudibly aſcrib'd vntounto him by all mens confeſſion? he cannot grow leſs to have his honour impair'd, howſoever there may be a mutability in occaſions. I will end with St. Auſtins words, Hoc nomen ſalvatoris mei in ipſo adhuc lacte matris cor meum pie biberat, my heart did drink in this name of Saviour with piety and reverence, even from my Mothers breaſts. So much for the honour of impoſition, the benefit of application, and that worſhip of reverence which is due to be done at the name of Saviour.
Now I may ſay I have built up the Tower in my Text, the ſtrong Tower of David our chief defence; that which remains is but the raiſing of the Walls, to compaſs it about: And you remember what we muſt deal with next, he comes ſo near unto us that he participates of our nature, Salvator natus, he is a Saviour that is born: born might the Shepherds ſay? what an Infant whoſe mouth was not yet opened, ſo that an Angel ſpake for him? can this be that wonderful one ye talk of, that ſhall deliver us? Ecce venit equitans, that had been more probable to be believ'd; behold he cometh riding, though it were in deſpicable humility, Beheld he cometh riding upon an aſs, and upon a colt the foal of an aſs: But to be born an Infant, though it were his diminution, it was our glory and exaltation. He was born and made like unto us in all things, ſin only excepted; not to give us a natural life, ſuch as he took after our image, but to make us partakers of his Divine Excellency, that as we have carried the image of the earthly, we might carry the image of the heavenly. We rejoyce at the birth of our own children; the Pſalmiſt calls them arrows in our quiver, as if they were the might of our ſtrength: Yet alas for their birth it would be unto nothing but eternal ſorrow, unleſs it were for the Incarnation of this Infant in my Text, we might curſe the day wherein we were born, with Job, and wiſh the day quite blotted out with Jeremy, but that we caſt off our former birth as it were, and begin our life again at Baptiſm in the name of our Saviour.
How wiſely the Almighty doth fold one work in another, and one counſel in another to perfect the body of the Saints, is paſt our finding out. Yet it is ſweet to enquire into the method of our ſalvation, and to ask after this myſtery among others, why the Son of God would deſtroy ſin in the nature of man? and why he would be born in the ſimilitude of corruptible fleſh, to gain for us an immortal inheritance? I muſt prefer St. Paul's reaſon in the firſt place, becauſe it is direct Scripture, Heb. iv. 15. We have not an High Prieſt, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without ſin. So that Chriſt as he was God of the ſubſtance of the Father, begotten before the worlds, he knew our miſery and infirmity; but as he was man of the ſubſtance of his Mother, born in the world, ſo did he feel our afflictions, and compaſſionate our infirmities: He knoweth whereof we be made, and remembreth that we are but duſt. When the bones of the poor cleave to the skin in time of famine and ſcarcity, when the blood waxeth wan and pale with ſickneſs, when the body is under the torments of a tyrant, in theſe extremities we may fly to Chriſt with boldneſs, and plead unto his mercies. O our Saviour that wert incarnate, thou thy ſelf didſt take a corruptible body into the unity of thy perſon, the chaſtiſement of our peace was upon thy fleſh; thou knoweſt what we are able to ſuffer, thou knoweſt our weakneſs and our frailty.
As for other cauſes why he would be conceiv'd in the womb of a mortal woman, and be born to be a Saviour, I will briefly go along with Damaſcen, who reduceth them to theſe four heads, that God might demonſtrate the goodneſs of his Love, his Juſtice, his Wiſdom, and his power.
1. To the firſt of theſe the heathen ſpake ſomewhat, but knew not well what they ſaid, Amor Deum gubernat, amoris omne regnum eſt. Love did rule God himſelf, love ſwayed all things in the world: We know and admire the meaning, that the love of the Son turn'd the enmity of the Father into peace; it turn'd threatnings into forgiveneſs, and death into life. Poiſe every thing in a right ſcale, and mark the heavy weight of our undeſervings, and the nature of man might ſtink in Gods noſtrils, which had ſo much offended him to believe a Serpent; nay, to believe the Devil in a Serpent rather then the lively Oracle of his own mouth: Yet love took away that diſtaſtefulneſs, which the whole Trinity had conceiv'd againſt ſinful fleſh; and the ſecond Perſon became fleſh for our ſakes, and was made ſin for our ſakes; by imputation that we might be made ſons, and righteous before God, nay, that we might be made the righteouſneſs of God, Rom. v. The Athenians were proud of Pompey's love, that he would write his name a Citizen of their City: for a princely perſon to accept a freedom in a mean Corporation is no little kindneſs; how much more doth it aggravate the love of Chriſt to come from heaven, and be made a Citizen of this vile earth, to be born after a more vile condition than the moſt abject of the people.
2. It is not ſo proper to ſay God did love us by Chriſt, for God is love, and in himſelf, and for his own goodneſs ſake he could not but love the work of his hands; but this is the true and proper underſtanding of it, that notwithſtanding his love to his own juſtice through the merit of our Saviours humility he forgave us our ſins; therefore his love toward mankind, and his love toward his juſtice went hand in hand, and could not be parted. He ſatisfied the vehemency of his love toward ſinful man, that he gave his Son to be born of a Virgin, and to become our Mediator: he ſatisfied the love he hath to his own Juſtice, and the hatred he hath againſt ſin, when he did impoſe this office of a Mediator upon his beloved Son, not without ſhedding of blood. Juſtice cried out it was meet mercy ſhould not rule all; Adam and his poſterity ought to dye, or who will anſwer for them? not an Angel or Spirit, and therefore not the Son of God as he is God; for God is a Spirit. Meet it is every one ſhould bear his own burden: the nature that ſinned let it bear the curſe of its own ſin. Mans nature had ſinned, mans nature ought to ſuffer; but that which our nature ſhould bear, our nature by a fit adequation of recompence could not bear. Our ſufferings were not enough to ſatisfie the wrath of God due to ſin. The Son of God is a moſt valuable perſon, but not paſſible: man is paſſible but not valuable: the one nature ought to ſuffer but could not, the other could ſuffer but ought not. That he might be liable to all contempt he was born a Saviour and made a child, that he might be able to pay the price; he was perfect God as well as perfect man, a Saviour which is Chriſt the Lord.
3. Love and Juſtice are mightily declared, that a Saviour was born, and the eternal Wiſdom of the Father comes in for her part to be magnified. It is beyond our underſtanding to ſay nay, but that the Father might have made a creature fit to ſatisfie his Juſtice, to have clearly paid the price of our Redemption, and ſo to have ſpared his Son: yea, but wiſdom interpos'd, it was not fit that man ſhould owe his redemption to any other, than to whom he owed his creation; for the value of that benefit would compel us to love our Redeemer, better than our Creator. So Bernard, Plus nos ad charitatem excitat redemptio quam creatio; Therefore God would not ſo diſpoſe the myſtery of our ſouls health, that occaſion ſhould be given to love an Angel or Saint, better than himſelf the King of Glory. The Son that ſits at his right hand by whom he made the worlds, let him reſtore all things, and the bleſſing of our Creation, Redemption, and all other good gifts ſhall meet in one center. This is pretii difficilimi decentiſſima ſolutio, ſay the Schoolmen, a moſt convenient payment of a moſt difficult ranſom.
4. The boundleſs power, and infinite virtue of the Godhead, I confidently pronounce it, did never appear ſo much in any other work, as when a Saviour was born. He that knew no beginning, but was from all eternity, to begin to be a man; he that ſpeaks to the world in thunder to cry in a cradle, Verbum infans: he that decketh himſelf with light as with a garment to be wrapt in ſwadling clouts, he that opens his hand, and filleth all things with plenteouſneſs to ſuck for a few drops of milk at a womans breaſts, we are able to anſwer nothing to this, but with the Angel to cry out, Rev. v. 12. Dominion and power to the Lamb, and to him that ſitteth on the throne for evermore. And ſo far of the ſecond point.
The next word to be conſider'd in the Text is like the fleſh-hook which the Prieſt had to draw a portion of the Sacrifice unto himſelf, To you a Saviour is born, ſays the Angel, Vobis natus, the good turn ſhall be yours, the bleſſing yours, you ought to be affected with joy at this wonderous work, for he is your Saviour. Tell the Shepherds that a Saviour is born, and they cannot but underſtand he is de nobis, like unto us in nature; but tell them, unto you a Saviour is born, that's a great deal more than they underſtand that he is born for their redemption. It is honourable to be made like us, but advantageous in the higheſt degree that he was made for us. Let us work upon this mine, and here we ſhall find the precious mettal, fit to pay the price of our debts to God in our ſteed when we were bankrupts.
Firſt, we learn from hence, he was born to you, and not unto himſelf; to your glory, to his own abaſement, and exinanition: for his own part he was begotten of God before all times, ſo noble a Nativity, that when the Father bringeth in the firſt-begotten into the world, he ſaith, And let all the Angels of God worſhip him, Heb. i. 6. Therefore for himſelf he needed no other birth to be born at all, eſpecially to be thus baſely born in the manger of a ſtable. He took a body as it were ſown in diſhonour, that we might reap the harveſt, and be magnified: Likewiſe he is called a Saviour, not in reſpect of his own perſon; indeed he was his own deſtroyer, and our Saviour, when the High Prieſts ſervants ſought to lay hold of him in the Garden; neither doth he go about to eſcape, or to deny himſelf: but whom ſeek ye? I am he. No man would put himſelf into the hands of barbarous enemies that meant to be his own Saviour: all the ſalvation that he brought with him lookt another way, Titus ii. 14. Who gave himſelf for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity.
Some few perſons are culled out here, for all that ſhall be ſhielded under the buckler of this Saviour; unto you a Saviour is born, ſays the Angel, ſpeaking only to the Shepherds; that's becauſe no more were in the way: But to as many as read theſe words, and mark them, the word ſpeaks continually, and is never ſilent; the meſſage is as properly brought to you as ever it was to the Shepherds, to you a Saviour is born. The Prophet Iſaiah allows him to all the Sons of Adam, that will lay claim unto him, unto us a Child it born, and unto us a Son is given, Iſa. ix. 6. 'Tis a kind expreſſion to rejoyce at the good news of another mans proſperity, 'tis incident to a ſweet nature to do ſo: And indeed if Angels were ſo enlightned with the gladſomneſs of our benefit, that when they had ſaid it over, they could not chooſe but ſing it alſo in the verſes after my Text, Cum de aliena gratia Angeli exultent, quae noſtra eſt ſtupiditas? If the bleſſed Cherubims exult for the grace that we find in Gods eyes, what ſtupidneſs is in us, if our hearts do not triumph for gladneſs? for the benefit flows unto us, and not unto the Angels. The Devils fretted and roared out againſt Chriſt, becauſe he came into the world for mans ſake, and not for their deliverance. Quid nobis & tibi? What have we to do with thee Jeſus thou Son of God? we renounce thee, Mat. viii. 29. The evil ſpirits rage that he is not theirs, the good Spirits of God rejoyce that his Father hath made him all ours, being ſecure of their own glorious eſtate; they triumph that we ſhall be exalted to the fellowſhip of their happineſs.
Well then, to you he is born, not only to the Shepherds, but incluſive to all men; ſo you have heard in the former verſe, his birth was gaudium omni populo, joy to all people; only they are excluded that exclude themſelves by infidelity. Facit multorum infidelitas ut non omnibus naſceretur, qui omnibus natus eſt, ſays St. Ambroſe, the infidelity of many (now infidelity is properly imputed to thoſe within the Church, who had the means to believe and did not) the infidelity of many is a bar, that the Incarnation of Chriſt pertains not to all men, although he was born for all men. Every man therefore muſt ſtrive ſo to love Chriſt, and to keep his Commandements, that he may feel the joy of this day particularly enter into his heart, and the Spirit teſtifying to his ſpirit, unto me a Saviour is born. foreign, ſay the Greeks, it comes of the poſſeſſive, foreign Tuus, a Saviour reſtoreth every man to himſelf; for a ſinner is loſt not only to God, and the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven, but he is loſt to himſelf, and to the comfort of a good conſcience, until Chriſt reſtore him again to joy and peace within his own heart, that he may ſay to himſelf as Philip did to Nathanael, John i. 41.I have found him of whom Moſes in the Law and the Prophets did write, Jeſus of Nazareth, &c. Oportet uti noſtro in utilitatem noſtram, & de ſervatore ſalutem operari, ſays Bernard. Let us make our profit from that which is our own, and let every man collect his own ſalvation from his own Saviour, To you that fear my name ſhall the Sun of righteouſneſs ariſe, with healing in his wings, Mal. iv. 2. The Sun enlightens half the world at once, yet none diſcern colours by the light but they that open their eyes; and a Saviour is born unto us all, which is Chriſt the Lord: but enclaſp him in thine heart as old Simeon did in his arms, and then thou mayſt ſing his Nunc Dimittis, or Mary's Magnificat, My ſpirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour.
The fourth thing to be conſider'd, is, what early tidings the Shepherds had of our Saviours birth, hodie natus, I do not tell it to you, ſays the Angel, after a month, or after a week, go to Bethlehem and ſearch, and ye ſhall find this is the firſt day that his Mother bore him, This day is born unto you in the City of David, &c. Before the bleſſed ſeed was promiſed, for a long while ye have had a ſtate in reverſion, that Chriſt ſhould come in the fleſh to ſave his people from their ſins; now the act is accompliſhed, ye have a ſtate in being, enter upon your happineſs and poſſeſs it, reckon from henceforth that you have your joy in hand, this day the great deliverer hath taken up a poor Palace in the City of David. According to a natural computation of days we forget the nights, though an Infant be brought forth in the ſtill hours of darkneſs; yet from thenceforth we call it the Birth-day, and not the birth-night of ſuch an Infant, In ſuch accompts (I know not how) we ſpeak of nothing but day, for that's the Dialect of the Kingdom of Heaven, where there is day for ever, and no darkneſs. So the Shepherds kept watch over their flocks by night, and after the firſt hour the morning began, as the general conjecture runs, our Saviour was born; yet ſince a natural day comprehends darkneſs as well as light, the Angel was pleas'd to ſay, This day he is born. This is literal and to the plain meaning; yet I refrain not their alluſions altogether, that ſay, the darkneſs was remov'd away by that radiant glory which ſhone round about the Angels, and that the night was as clear in thoſe parts, as if the Sun had riſen upon the earth: therefore upon the comfort of that miraculous illumination the meſſenger ſays, This day is born unto you. And David by ſome men is made to ſpeak to this alluſion, Pſal. cxxxviii. The night is as clear as the day; which was true, ſay they, at our Saviours Incarnation. Others take their liberty to gueſs, that good tidings make the night be called day, and ſad tidings make the day be called night. Heavy misfortunes indeed have fallen out in the night, for the moſt part. Sennacheribi great hoſt ſlain in the night, Thou fool this night thy ſoul ſhall be taken from thee: a threatning to the rich Epicure, yet it holds not always: But if Chriſt be the day-ſtar, and his Birth turns night into day, it will become us as the Apoſtle ſays to walk as children of the light.
Curioſity hath gone too far in one queſtion touching this part of my Text, why this late day was eſteemed moſt expedient in Gods wiſdom to ſend his Son in the fleſh; four thouſand years had almoſt expir'd, ſince the ſeed of the Woman was promiſed to bruiſe the Serpents head: and yet no ſooner then hodie, ſay they, that will ſearch in to all cauſes: the Angel ſaid to day; but why he came punctually on that day, or in that year, he did not learn the Shepherds; nay, I ſpeak it with modeſty, I do not think he could teach himſelf: Therefore I recoil back from that nicety, and lay down my doctrine in this large leſſon, it was expedient that many revolutions of years ſhould run out from the promiſe of Chriſts Birth, unto the actual accompliſhment. 1. So great a matter was worthy much expectation, and many predictions of the Prophets. So St. Auſtin, Quanto major Judex veniebat, Tractat. in Jo 31.tanto praeconum ſeries longior praecedere debebat, the greater the Judge that was to come, the greater troop of Harbingers and Apparitors ſhould go before him. 2. His Incarnation is fitted to the fulneſs of time, becauſe it falls out equally to try their Faith, that ſhould believe in Chriſt to come; and to try their Faith who ought to believe that he is come, that he is dead, and riſen again, and aſcended into glory. 3. Between the time of Adams diſobedience, and the Birth of the Lamb of God, a long ſpace of years doth interlope, that man might have time enough to ſee, and feel his miſery, before the medicine was made to apply unto his ſore. 4. God is pleas'd to confer great honour upon our humane nature, at three extreme diſtances; in the beginning of the world, toward the midſt of it, and in the end of all things. In the firſt creation God made man after his own Image, ſo began our excellencies; then he made his own Son in the ſimilitude of man, a long diſtance went between theſe two. Hereafter at the period of all things we are ſure to have a glorified body, and that our mortal ſhall put on immortality. Now Chriſts Incarnation comes in the midſt, becauſe he is the center of all Gods mercies towards us. 5. The Jews, whom Chriſt above all others calls his own, (He came unto his own, &c.) they did ſuſtain at this time, and for ſome years had ſuſtain'd a bondage under the Roman Conqueſt (perhaps it is our Saviours pleaſure that a great part of the Church ſhall be under a Romiſh thraldom againſt his ſecond coming.) But this bondage was bitter to the Jews, even at this day, when Chriſt was born, Caeſars taxes were very grievous: (for Mary being ready to lie down, was compell'd to come to Bethlehem to be taxed) now in this day of oppreſſion, when the Jews, I believe, thought the yoke of captivity to be more intolerable than their ſins, and that they wiſht for a victorious champion to fight for them, then did God ſend them a greater Saviour than they wiſht, or lookt for; not to acquit them from the Roman Dominion, but from the pit of Hell. And this is all that can be modeſtly conjectured about the opportunity of time, &c.
This day is born unto you, and as near as we can obſerve the courſe of the year by Aſtronomical skill this was the very day; yet it is not that hodie of which the Angel ſpake unto the Shepherds: then is not this part of the Text utterly unappliable to us? no beloved, but appliable to us alſo in the neareſt degree: for as we ſay of the ſin of Adam, Actu tranſiit, manet reatus, the act paſt away at the firſt, but the guilt remains upon his poſterity: ſo our Saviour was born upon one particular day which is paſt, but the merit and virtue of it is never paſt, but abides for ever. Wherefore to them that make the right uſe of this bleſſing, St. Paul ſays, it is out of date at no time, but now is the acceptable time (now, when you will your ſelf) now is the day of ſalvation. The Prophet Iſaiah ſays the joy of this birth it like the joy of men in harveſt; that's for the univerſality of all thoſe that belong unto the field; but for the extenſion of time it is not for the ſeaſon of harveſt alone; but for all the year,Bern. Serm. 6. in Nativ. not gaudium in annum, but gaudium in ſempiternum. Not an harveſt joy for the plenty of one year: but this is the bread of life, whoſe plenty rejoyceth the eartn unto all ages. It is as good news upon any day, as it was upon one day, ſays Bernard, that Chriſt is born. That day comes always anew to them that are renewed in the ſpirit of their mind; and he is born every day to them, in whoſe hearts he lives by Faith.
I muſt here cut off the circumſtance of time, and becauſe the Sacrament muſt have a time to be celebrated, I will ſpeak but a few words upon the place and conclude. The Angel directs the Shepherds to the City of David, and thither did all the Scribes and High Prieſts direct Herod with full conſent: Bethlehem of Judea was the place where Chriſt muſt be born, for ſo it was ſpoken by the Prophet. Now Bethlehem is that City of David. I know in the Old Teſtament the Tower of Sion is ſometimes called the City of David, a ſtrong fortreſs in Jeruſalem which David built to curb the Jebuſites; but that famous Metropolis of Jeruſalem had nothing to do with this birth: Little Bethlehem is here called the City of David, where David was born. Take notice I pray you that the Angel could have call'd it Bethlehem, to take away all miſtaking; but it makes more to the matter to ſhew that Chriſt came of the houſe and lineage of David, which was foretold, Pſal. cxxxi. Of the fruit of thy body will I ſet upon thy ſeat. And mark how it falls out agreeably, that Joſeph and Mary came to no other Town but this to pay Tribute unto Caeſar: Had they been only of the Tribe of Judah as David was, no nearer allied unto him, they might have gone up to many other Cities, much more famous than this to be taxed: but being of the ſtock of David, and indeed the neareſt living in blood unto him, therefore they go up to no City but to Bethlehem, the City of David. And thus you ſee the Angel conferr'd with the Shepherds in ſuch words as were very proper; they knew the place, it was the next at hand; they knew it belong'd to him that ſhould be the Saviour of his people, who according to the Scriptures belong'd to David by blood, and to the City of David for his Country.
A poor caskenet to contain ſo great a Jewel. Thou Bethlehem, ſays the Prophet Micaiah, the leaſt among the Princes of Judah; yet big enough to contain the Prince of Heaven and Earth. Little Zoar, ſays Lot, and yet Zoar was big enough to receive him and his Children ſafe out of the fire of Sodom. Poor Bethlehem, which had but one Inn for ſtrangers in it all it ſeems, and that of ſmall capacity, which had no room, no by-corner for a woman to be delivered in, but only the manger of the ſtable. Mean Bethlehem, unleſs the Angel had ſpoke it, the Prophet foretold it, and the Star had ſhewed it to the Wiſe men, who would not have gainſaid that the Saviour of all men could be laid in ſuch a Village? The Roman Hiſtorian made a marvail that ſo noble an Emperour as Alexander Severus was, could come out of Syria, Syrus Archiſynagogus, as they call'd him in ſcorn. Behold that Emperour's Lord, comes not only out of Syria, but out of the homelieſt corner in Syria, out of the deſpicable tributary City of David. And as it is in the next verſe, not ſo well born as in the City; but natus in praeſepi, born in a dunghil-ſtable, in Civitate, born in a City? what, a Citizen of this world? no, the words following correct it, he had no room given him among men, but among beaſts, a pilgrim and a foreiner on earth; his Kingdom lay not here.
In a word for all. Joſeph and Mary were a poor couple. Bethlehem, a little City, the ſtable a place of the meaneſt account in all that City, Shepherds of the loweſt condition that were ſent to viſit him: all things were little, and humble about Chriſt at his Birth, that nothing might be proud and inſolent, and vain-glorious about us, if we would be born the Sons of God: but alas how unconformable are we to this lowly faſhion of our Saviour? the Feaſts of many rich men are for pomp, to let as rich as themſelves ſee their munificence, and not for charity to the poor, who ſtand in need of refreſhment. Apparel ſuperlatively coſtly, moſt vain, and moſt effeminate; how generally it is to be ſeen upon all peoples ſhoulders, to what exceſſive bravery is the pride of the whole Kingdom rais'd in leſs than the revolution of thirty years, not only in this luxurious City, but in little Bethlehem, in every village of the field. But I am ſure the coſtly pride of the LandLords apparel ſhall make the poor Tenant humble: Bethlehem the houſe of bread, the poor Farmers grange ſhall be made ſmall enough, with theſe new invented expences. And where men are become lovers of themſelves altogether, not lovers of God, not lovers of the publick weal, not lovers of the poor members of Chriſt; in theſe there is no fruit to be ſeen of true humility. What a revenue it would be to help the needy, if the tenth of Chriſtmas gaming and dicing were beſtowed upon them; yet they that will not give a ſhilling to the hungry are free enough to dice a pound. Perdere norunt, donare neſciunt, Men know how to be looſely waſteful, but not wiſely liberal. Among lawful and good paſtimes of this Feſtival time, it is ſtrange that dicing is crept in among them. The miſcreant Souldiers that crucified Chriſt caſt lots, which ſome interpret to be throwing the Dice for his garments (generally it is ſo painted) more likely therefore to be a ſport for them that keep a Feaſt for joy that Chriſt was crucified, than for joy that Chriſt was born. Beloved, let the greateſt part of your Chriſtmas joy be according to the Angels pattern; firſt aſcribing glory to God, then ſome friendly paſtimes may reſemble peace, and joy on earth; but put off all ſtrife, debate, and envy; ſo you ſhall obſerve good will towards men: but at every turn remember the little City of David, remember humility. Bethlehem honora parvam quae te inducit in paradiſum, ſays Nazianzen. Make honourable eſteem of little Bethlehem, of lowlineſs and humility, and that will bring you into Paradiſe, into the Kingdom of Heaven, where the Lamb of God, this day born in the fleſh, ſits upon the Throne for evermore. Amen.