A Century of Sermons, Sermon 10
THE TENTH SERMON UPON THE INCARNATION.
LUKE ii. 29, 30.
Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant depart in peace according to thy word; For mine eyes have ſeen thy Salvation.
OUr Text the laſt year for the ſolemnization of this day was, Bleſſed is the Womb that bare thee, and the Paps which thou haſt ſucked. Our Text this year makes good the words of our Saviour, Bleſſed are the eyes which ſee that which ye ſee. For ſo the devout Simeon magnifies his own happineſs that the Incarnation of Chriſt fell out in his days, and that his eyes had ſeen his ſalvation. To give him ſuck was more than to look upon him, to bear him in the Womb far more noble than to dandle him in the Arms, therefore this Text doth follow the other, as the leſſer happineſs comes behind the greater. Yet if you regard it as a teſtimony among thoſe Witneſſes that confeſt Chriſt was come into the world, it is either equal to the firſt, or next unto the beſt. I bear more reverence to the Thrones that ſtand before the face of God than to compare him with the Angels, foreign, &c. they are immortal, and cannot ſee death; Simeon had one foot in the grave, and begg'd to depart in peace. If they ſpeak from heaven they command us to believe them, he was a frail man, obnoxious to paſſions, and though he ſpake as the Spirit gave him utterance he could no more than perſwade. Without all controverſie therefore the teſtimony of Angels, ſo far as I have laid it forth, is much more excellent. Yet will you come now to other Collations, the Angel preacht his hodie natus, this day a Saviour is born, to a few, and to the meaneſt of the Laity, to certain Shepherds. Simeon teſtified that the ſalvation of God was come unto Iſrael before the beſt of the Prieſts, in the audience of all thoſe that were met together in the Temple, and ſo his ſaying would go much farther than the Angels when perſons of ſuch authority and eſtimation received them from his mouth. The Angels ſeem'd to reſtrain the fruit of Chriſts birth to the Jews only, vobis natus, this day is born unto you: The Prophetical Ejaculations of this old Patriarch impart him to all, to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Iſrael. With all others that witneſſed of this day thus far I will contend, whether they were the Shepherds, or the Wiſe men of the Eaſt, they were bleſſed inſtruments of Gods honour, yet the Scripture hath not given us their names, nor yet deſcribed them by any ſanctified property; but Simeon is named, and his vertues are remembred, he was a juſt man, and a devout, and he lookt for the conſolation of Iſrael. The reſt were like to live, and vigorous of body, ſome could endure to watch over their flocks all night, ſome could travel from far Countries in the depth of Winter, neither of them probably near their end, this man was full of days, ready to give up the Ghoſt, ready to give up his accounts to God, and to anſwer for every idle word, and at the laſt gaſp, when it was no time to diſſemble, he preacht that the Babe whom he then embraced was Chriſt the Lord. He preacht it; nay, he ſang it likewiſe, in a more joyful ſtrain than any Witneſs that had gone before him (except the Angels) his words in his own language (which we have not) were Metrical and Poetical, ſays Maldonat, the whole tradition of the Church is ſo univerſal for it, that Calvin, who uſeth to condeſcend to no terms but ſuch as are found in Scripture, is content to call it the Song of Simeon. If you alledge, that the Magnificat of the bleſſed Virgin was a triumphal holy Song, and likewiſe the Benedictus of Zachary, I will not gainſay it, ſo I rejoyn, which is true, that they were ſung in private houſes, this is the firſt Hymn or Anthem in all the New Teſtament which was ſung in the Publick Temple. Finally, That I be not tedious in my Proem, this Song, whereof my Text is a Moyty; was uttered with ſuch a divine gravity, that at this teſtimony, and at no other, it is ſaid, that Joſeph and his Mother marvailed at theſe things which were ſpoken of him, ver. 33 in this Chapter.
But to make that which they wondred at eaſie to be underſtood, there are theſe two general parts of my Text, Occidens and Oriens, a Star ſetting, and the Sun riſing, Simeon departing this world and Chriſt approaching. Therefore the firſt verſe is Epicedium, a Dirge for a Funeral, Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant depart in peace according to thy word: The ſecond verſe is Genethliacon, a Congratulation of a Nativity, For mine eyes have ſeen thy Salvation. Simeon would be gone becauſe Chriſt was come; marvelous ſtrange indeed, for if ever this world were worth the living in, it was when He did live upon the earth, in the form of a man. To ſift therefore the agreeableneſs of thoſe two parts attend to theſe particulars: Firſt, Here is a Supplicant the ſervant of the Lord, Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant. Secondly, The Petition of his ſoul, to depart. Thirdly, The time which he ſets, Now, Lord now— Fourthly, he pleads that he was well prepared to depart, for his heart was in peace, Lord now— Fifthly, the aſſurance in which he truſted that God would grant him his deſire, for it was according to his word. Sixthly, and principally, Here is the reaſon upon which he framed his deſire why he would depart, he had ſeen that which his ſoul waited for before it flitted away, For mine eyes have ſeen thy Salvation. You ſhall now hear the income of theſe, if you will attend them.
The Supplicant ſtiles himſelf the Servant of the Lord, In Pſal. cxv.and he that can ſay ſo much for himſelf may ſpeak with boldneſs, for the Lord will deal well with his ſervant according to his word, Pſal. cxix. 35. Magna humilitas, ſed magna ſimul dignitas, ſays St. Hierom; It is great humility to confeſs ones ſelf a Servant, but it is no little dignity to profeſs ones ſelf ſuch a Servant, to be the Servant of God, and not the Servant of men by vile obſequiouſneſs, nor the Servant of a mans own Paſſions by luſt and ſenſuality, nor the Servant of ſin by giving place unto the Devil, this is a freedom that excells all other liberty. To ſerve the Lord, Optabilius eſt quàm regnare, nedum liberum eſſe, ſays Philo, it is to be preferred before a Kingdom, how much more before that, which the world calls freedom from ſervitude. And yet I deny not but the bondage of them that ſerved God faithfully under the Law was very great, they were enthraled to Ceremonies about Meats, about Apparel, touching Marriages, touching Obſervation of days, touching the very labour of the Cattel in the field, and what not; It was a burden, as the Apoſtles teſtifie, which neither they nor their Fathers were able to bear; yet there was ſweetneſs in all this, becauſe it was done for the Lords ſake, though the task had been ſtricter. David did well ſet forth the condition of the Law, unto what great bondage it did captivate a man, in theſe words, Behold, O Lord, how that I am thy ſervant, I am thy ſervant, Pſal. cxvi. 14.and the ſon of thine handmaid, a ſervant in extremity of thraldom, and therefore it was repeated a Servant born, for partus ſequitur ventrem, he muſt needs be ſo that was the Son of an handmaid; he was born to be circumciſed, and to be a debtor to the whole Law. Such were all they that boaſted themſelves to be the only freemen in the world, becauſe they were the Sons of Abraham. Nay, Simeon was not only ſuch a Servant, as I have hitherto deſcribed, bridled under the Pedagogy of Moſes Law, but out of the relative terms of my Text I will ſhew that he was in greater ſubjection and aw; for how doth he call the Lord here? Not foreign, but foreign is a Lord that had power of life and death over his Vaſſal, you ſhall not find it uſed again in all the four Evangeliſts. foreign; ſays Favorinus; foreign is the Lord of a bondman, foreign of a freeman, that is an hired ſervant. I have plaid the Critick enough; ſuch ſervants, thoſe foreign were anciently called ſo, not becauſe they were paid for their labour which they did undergo in drudgery, but becauſe they were taken by hoſtility, and their lives were forfeited to the Conquerour, who had power to ſlay them, yet ſpared them, and reſigned them up into their hands that would lay down a ranſom for them. So Simeon confeſſeth that God had the power of life and death over him; when he might have killed him, out of his clemency he ſpared him. Behold a Servant then (and ſuch as he was ſuch were all the Jews) a man under the yoke of the Law, and under the power of death. But behold as this day the Deliverer was born, and did quite change the copy of our ſervice. Chriſt as God did put the Church under the ſervitude of the Law, but being made man he hath exempted us to the liberty of the Goſpel; and though we ſhall all die, through that ſentence which cannot be repealed, yet if we believe that he hath given himſelf a ranſom for us, and live unto righteouſneſs, we ſhall not die unto condemnation.
But that you may know what kind of ſervants they are that retain to that family whereof God takes the care and adminiſtration, mind the character of Simeon, which the Holy Ghoſt gives him in the verſes preceding my Text; for his Calling it is obſcurely paſt over thus, there was a man in Jeruſalem. Galatinus ſays out of the Rabbins that one Simeon the juſt, was the Maſter of the great Doctor Gamaliel, and that may very well light upon this Simeon. Much hath been urged to prove him to be a Prieſt, but to no purpoſe. Salmeron and Tolet alledge, that when a child came to be preſented to the Lord, the Prieſt took the child out of the arms of his Mother, and did not reſtore him again till he was redeemed for five Shekles of Silver according to the Law, Num. xviii. but how will they prove that a Child might not light into the arms of ſome other incidentally, as well as into the arms of the Prieſt? Yea, but Simeon bleſſed Joſeph and Mary, ver. 34. that is a Sacerdotal action. Nay, not always; old Jacob bleſſed Pharaoh, and every Prophet is an inſtrument of Benediction. At the laſt heave, ſays Tolet, it is an old tradition of the Church to paint him in a Prieſtly Veſture; an hard refuge, when they refer us for a proof to Pictures, and not to the Word of God. Whether the Prieſthood or the Layty may challenge him for theirs I know not; one thing I know, that he was a juſt man, and waited for the conſolation of Iſrael; a pious holy Father, a frequenter of the Temple, a man uncompounded with the world, but this was his righteouſneſs, that he lookt for the bleſſed off-ſpring God and man, whom the Lord would ſend to redeem his Saints. You will ſay, perhaps, did not all the Jews expect the Meſſias? What did he more than other men? Why, herein he did exceed them, that they did not look for ſuch benefits from the Meſſias as Simeon did, ſuch ſpiritual refreſhment for the ſoul and for the ſpirit. Then, the common ſort of people lookt for Chriſt afar off, he lookt for him juſt at that time, near at hand. As Joſeph of Arimathea is ſaid to look for the Kingdom of God, that is, to ſee Chriſt incarnate even then, in the fulneſs of time, Luke xxiii. 51. Again, others waited for Chriſt, but careleſly without any earneſt affection,De Verb. Apoſt. Serm. 3. Simeon even languiſht with longing, and did paſſionately deſire it. St. Auſtin ſays, that he did continually pray for the coming of Chriſt, and often repeated that of David, Pſal. lxxxv. Shew us thy mercy O Lord, and grant us thy ſalvation, and then God anſwered him, that he would fulfill his hearts deſire. Nicephorus tells us a vagrant ſtory, that Simeon was reading thoſe words, Iſa. vii. Behold a Virgin ſhall conceive a Son, Lib. 1. hiſt. c. 12.and being ſollicitous what that place ſhould mean, an Angel appeared, and told him he ſhould not die till he had ſeen that Babe with his eyes of whom Iſaiah Propheſied. This is certain, the Holy Ghoſt had given him ſome great aſſurance of it. The Spirit was foreign, ver. 25. not foreign, not only in him, but upon him, which ſignifies extraordinary aſſiſtance, as when it is ſaid, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Iſa. lxi. You ſee now with what endowments of heavenly graces Simeon was enricht, before he called himſelf the ſervant of the Lord. His modeſty would give himſelf no better title, yet our Saviour ſpeaks better things of thoſe that believed, Henceforth I call you not ſervants, for the ſervant knoweth not what his Lord doth, but I have called you friends, &c. Joh. xv. 15. It is not the meaning, that we ſhall ever out-grow the name of ſervant, for even at the day of judgment, in the time of our reward, it ſhall be ſaid, Well done good and faithful ſervant. But here it is, we are all ſervants by debt and nature, the Goſpel ſtiles us friends by Covenant and Compoſition. Before Chriſt was revealed God dealt with them of the Synagogue as with ſervants, he did not reveal the myſteries of the Trinity, of the Incarnation, of the coming of the Holy Ghoſt; if he did reveal them to the Prophets, it was ex privilegio, not ratione ſtatus, it was by ſpecial priviledge, not by common publication; that which was a ſecret among ſome few is now vulgar to all. God hath diſcloſed his hidden treaſures to us as unto friends. He was their Lord, ſo he is ours, but he is alſo our Father. They were his ſervants, and ſo are we; but the intereſt we have in Chriſt, that hath taken our nature upon him; hath made us more than ſervants, and exalted us to be his friends.
Hitherto I have held your attentions to the Supplicant, now the Petition of his ſoul comes in order, that he may depart. The Servant had a burden that oppreſt him, a frail and a corruptible body, and he deſires the Lord to eaſe him of it, and to take it from him. For ſo St. Ambroſe and the Syrian Paraphraſt read the word optatively Dimitte, O take me away from hence, and let me depart. And they that ſay it is dimittis for dimittes, the Preſent Tenſe for the Future, bring it up to the ſame ſenſe, Lord thou wilt now let thy ſervant depart (ſo Origen and St. Cyprian read it) for the Hebrews uſe to make their Petitions in the future time, as thou ſhalt hear my prayer in an acceptable time, which is a fit form of words to ask in faith, and not to waver, as St. James ſays; but the word here is Metaphorical in the original, foreign, as you would ſay in the native term, Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant be unlooſed, De bono mortis, lib. 2.as horſes are taken from the Plough, and ſet up to reſt, when they have drawn till Evening and are weary; or to ſignifie, ſays St. Ambroſe, that neceſſity compelled him to ſtay here, Ideo dimitti poſcit, quaſi à vinculis quibuſdam, ad libertatem feſtinaret, therefore he deſires to be let looſe, as if he had been enthraled like ſome Captive, and now would ſhake off his bonds and attain his liberty. This earth is not our Country, therefore though we have an inbred deſire to have the union of the body and ſoul maintained, yet our willingneſs inclines to be uncloathed of the body, rather than not go from hence, when we are full of days. Quis peregre conſtitutus non prepararet in patriam regredi? ſays St. Cyprian, that man were unnatural that affected to be a ſtranger, and had rather travel always than ſettle himſelf at home in peace; revolve in your memory the words of juſt men in holy Scripture, and you ſhall find that this is common to them all, to mourn and ſigh becauſe their pilgrimage was prolonged, Wo is me that I am conſtrained to live with Meſech, ſays David. Who ſhall deliver me from the body of this death? Says St. Paul. It is enough Lord, take away my life, I am not better than my Fathers, ſays Elias. While the body was a Palace, the ſoul was content to ſtay in it, now it is become a filthy priſon no wonder if it deſires to be gone.
Let not Simeons Nunc dimittis, nor this Doctrine be miſtaken, every mans willingneſs to leave this world, and to die is not commended from hence, but when it is joyned with patience, and good internal motives, eſpecially when we find an aptneſs and good preparation in our ſelves, that when we go from hence we ſhall be joyned to the Lord. There is no worſe ſign in ſome that God is departed from them than when they are ſullen and froward with their life, and care not which way they break violently out of the world ſo they may depart. Seneca could ſay, Mori velle non tantum fortis; & patiens, ſet etiam faſtidioſus poteſt; that is, not only ſtout men are reſolved to die, and ſuch as are fortified againſt fear, but the diſcontented that cannot bear his croſs, had rather loſe himſelf than his peeviſhneſs; good and bad upon ſeveral reaſons are contented both to die and to live,Tract. 9. in Ep. Johan. Sunt homines qui cum patientiâ moriuntur, ſunt autem quidam perfecti qui cum patientiâ vivunt, ſays St. Auſtin. There are ſome holy men that exerciſe their patience to be content to die, there are ſome perfect men that exerciſe their patience to be content to live; therefore the motives that induced Simeon to this muſt be ſifted to make him an inoffenſive, nay a profitable example. Salmeron the Jeſuit follows a moſt capricious invention, that this reverend Sire, importuned God to put a period to his days as ſoon as Chriſt was born, that he might be the firſt Nuncio to the Fathers that were in limbo, and certifie them that the Meſſias was come into the world, who would exalt them from that lowly condition in which they were held, and conduct their ſouls into the Kingdom of heaven. This is ſo extravagant, that I give it you to note the man, and the far-fetcht way of their expoſitions. The true reaſon is, that this cygnea cantio, this farewel Song of his hath taught us, that there is no terror in going to the Grave; no ſting in death, ſince God appeared before us, and became man, to deliver our ſouls from the nethermoſt hell, and to make our bodies like to his own moſt glorious body. They that know not what their condition may be in the next world muſt needs think of death with an heavie heart, and ſigh and wring their hands when they feel it approaching. He that could ſee Chriſt no otherwiſe than through the dark miſts of the Law, did count it ſomewhat an irkſom thing to go out of the land of the living; it was a good King of Judah that chattered like a Swallow when Iſaiah told him he ſhould live no longer. But it is incredible to humane reaſon how it encourageth a faithful man to meet his death with chearfulneſs, becauſe, though not in our own bodies, yet in the Apoſtles and others we have ſeen, we have heard, and our hands have handled the word of life, and that we know there is plentious redemption for us in Chriſt our Saviour. Simeon knew the inſtant of his diſſolution was at hand, and yet he ſang away the remainder of his life with joy; as who ſhould ſay, Egredere ô anima; fly away my ſoul, fly away like a dove and take thy reſt, for now I ſee that the promiſes of grace and mercy are true; here is Chriſt thy Saviour in thy hands, thine eyes do ſee, thine arms do ſupport thy Salvation; though thou departeſt thou ſhalt not go from him, for he is man on earth to comfort thee, and God in heaven to glorifie thee. This is it which did animate Simeon to ſay, Lord let me depart, and therefore as the Patriarches in the time of the Law deſired length of days upon earth that they might live to ſee the Meſſias, ſo let us deſire a joyful departure to be with him for evermore.
I proceed, the time which he ſets for the accompliſhment of his Petition is preſently, or at that inſtant, Now, Lord now let, &c. Nunc, ante hâc non item. As who ſhould ſay, if I had been ſummoned to leave my ſtation before this day came, my ſoul had been in bitterneſs, and I had been gathered to my Fathers in ſorrow, but now my Pilgrimage hath been prolonged till I am full of happineſs, now I am fledg'd with all my feathers to fly away, for what will ſatisfie him upon earth whom the ſight of a Saviour will not ſatisfie? This Nunc, this welcom inſtant it is circumſtanced with two things eſpecially to be obſerved, the old age of Simeon, and the miſeries of thoſe times wherin he lived; The context of the Scripture hath not expreſly deſcribed him by old age, yet that's collected out of the words, that he ſhould not ſee death till he had ſeen the Lords Chriſt, meaning ſure that he was far ſtricken in years, and yet not mellow enough to drop off from the tree till the Nativity of Jeſus was fulfilled, and he a witneſs of it; neither would it ſound well out of the mouth of any that were not rich in ſilver hairs, Let me now depart in peace: Obſerve therefore that he had waited long before the time came that Chriſt appeared, he might ſay with David, Expectando expectavi, He lookt many a long look before he beheld his Saviour. And this is the nature of Gods Promiſes, they are ſeldom accompliſhed till his faith hath been throughly tried to whom they are made, and that he doth even languiſh with expectation. Some will ſay perhaps, O I have waited long, this will never fall out as God hath promiſed. Nay, the more like to be becauſe you have waited; every long put off will have his foreign, and you ſhall ſay at laſt, though I was a murmurer and repined, yet now I ſee that the Lord is faithful, and will not deceive his ſervants; the glaſs of Simeons life was almoſt run out to the laſt ſand before the Virgin brought forth her Son, but days were added to his days, that the words of the Pſalmiſt might be verified in him, With long life will I ſatisfie him, and ſhew him my ſalvation.
Secondly, Simeon reſerved himſelf for joyful days to ſee the glory and the ſalvation of Iſrael, but even to this now, whereof he ſpake in my Text, he had ſeen as much miſery and infelicity as ever had befaln any poor Kingdom in the world. But though he ſaw all things moſt contrary to the Promiſes of God, ſtill he truſted to ſee the day ſtar ſhine, and thoſe clouds to be blown over, and having a ſtedfaſt hope even againſt hope, the moſt high came down from above and comforted his people. Who would not have been weary before this time of the former days? Their Kingdom was given to ſtrangers; and the Romans that hated them were Lords over them; their Scepter was departed to Herod an Idumean: their Tributes were ſo grievous, that the poor Virgin Mother, being ready to lie down, was compelled to take a journey to be taxed; their Religion was ſo prophaned, that the Phariſees made the Commandments of God in vain through their Traditions; the High Prieſthood, which had been ſo admirable in the ſight of God and man, was conferr'd by favour and corruption upon the baſeſt of the people; The Temple was defiled with Images contrary to the Law, and ſuch as reſiſted it, their bloud was ſhed like water on every ſide of Jeruſalem. Notwithſtanding theſe diſmal days this reverend Sire was contented to live in all this affliction, he did patiently bear the calamities of the Church and Kingdom, and ſtaid the good time when Chriſt ſhould come to help all. This was the ſeaſon, he knew it according to the Prophets; and ſeeing ſo proſperous a ſign ariſe, which aſſured that the happineſs which had befaln his Nation did far exceed their precedent miſeries, he was willing now to bring his weather-beaten Veſſel into the Haven. I know what the conceit of the moſt will be upon it, that when troubles were paſt, and conſolation newly manifeſting it ſelf in his Horizon, it were more proper to ſay, Vah vivere etiam nunc lubet, O let me live,Terent. in Adelph. and add many years unto me, for mine eyes have ſeen thy ſalvation; but was this a time to bid the world farewel, and to ſay, now let me depart? Indeed this were a ſtrong objection if he had been obnoxious to ſelf-love: But allowing that which muſt be granted, that a good man judgeth himſelf moſt fortunate in the publick happineſs of others, no wonder if Simeons deſires were crowned with all that his heart could wiſh, and was content to make a full ſtop there, when he ſaw that all Jeruſalem, and all his kindred and poſterity were in the ready way to be filled with the ſalvation of the Lord. I have no approved Author whom I dare cite unto you, how long this aged Iſraelite did live after our Saviour was born and preſented in the Temple. Nicephorus ſays he went immediately from that place to his own home, and took his reſt for ever: but this I gather from it, a devout man is or ſhould be always at theſe terms with God, Nunc dimittis, I am not faſtned to this world with the love of it, I have ſet my houſe in order, I have thrown away the ſuperfluity of my ſins, I am ready to give up my Stewardſhip when my Maſter will take my accounts; I have bid adieu to all impediments, Lord receive me when it is thy will and pleaſure. foreign. Pythagoras his Symbole, to have our fardles ready truſt up to be gone. Again, reaſon good he ſhould ask of God to cloſe his eyes, for they could never do him ſuch good ſervice any more, as they did at that inſtant, when they ſaw that mighty God in the viſible form of a little Infant. The ſuperſtition and the barbariſms of the Turks being ſo well known, I do aſſent to ſome ſtories reported of them, which may ſeem incredible to civil Nations. I inſtance in this particular, that when ſome of their Zealots have made a Pilgrimage to Mecha to do their Adorations to the Tomb of Mahomet, they preſently draw hot burning ſteel before their eyes to put them out, that they may never ſee any other ſpectacle, after they have been honoured to ſee that Monument of their Prophet: Far better a gread deal, and without ſuperſtition might Simeon ſay, mine eyes have ſeen thy ſalvation, O Jehovah, now draw their curtains before them, that they may never hereafter ſee the iniquities of men. To touch the point yet more to the quick, there were ſome things to come to paſs, which Simeon foreſaw in his Prophetical ſpirit, and he choſe rather to die than to be preſent at them. God himſelf, I may ſay it with humility, could do no greater favour to the world, than to ſend us his Son, and to give him a body. The world on the contrary, I ſpeak it with horror, could offer no greater deſpight to God, than to reproach his Son, and to crucifie him. Therefore this Saint begs, that ſince he had ſeen Jeſus in the boſom of his Mother, and in his own arms, he might not live to ſee him hanging between two Thieves; as if he had ſaid, O let me not ſurvive to ſee the infidelity of mine own Nation: O let me not live to ſee him crown'd with thorns. Laſtly, A mans native Country can never deſerve ſo ill, but he will wiſh it ſubſiſtence, that it may not utterly be ruined: and albeit the ſins of Jeruſalem would call for vengeance and deſolation upon it, this loving Patriot deſired to be called out of the way, that he might not ſee her made an heap of ſtones. As the Hiſtorian ſays that Anaſtaſius a good Biſhop of Rome gave up his breath with a broken heart immediately before the Goths had ſackt that imperial City, Ne orbis caput ſub tali Epiſcopo truncaretur. So Simeon ſaw that the ſins of the Jews were not yet come to the worſt, but that their hardneſs of heart, rejecting Chriſt, would draw more grievous judgments upon them; therefore he deſired, while matters were not yet come to their extremity, now he might depart in peace.
I know 'tis trivial with every raſh ſpirit that is diſcontented with his fortune to ſay, emori cupio, like Clitipho in the Scene, I would I were out of the world; but it is a good corrective ſpeech of the old mans, Prius quaeſo diſce quid ſit vivere, Terent. in Heauton.learn firſt to live as you ought; and ſo had Simeon done, for in the fourth part of my Text he pleads that he was prepared to die in peace, Lord now, &c. It cannot be conceiv'd of him, ſince we muſt allow the beſt men ſome grains of infirmity, but that his heart had been oppreſſed with many recurrent thoughts, between that long ſpace that God did firſt make the promiſe unto him, unto the actual birth of Chriſt: never did any Father expect the return of his only Son after twice ſeven years travail from month to month, from day to day, as he did watch the advent of the Lord continually, when he ſhould be preſented in the Temple: and ſurely it is likely that Hanna and divers more had heard from Simeons mouth what the Lord had revealed unto him, and that his credit ſuffered a little with good people, as if he had deluded them: for the riff raff, if ſuch a thing were come to their ear, no marvail if they taunted him that he was a lying Prophet, and that he was poſſeſſed with a ſpirit of wicked divination: Theſe aſſaults from without, and the revolvings of his heart from within did make his conſcience boil like a troubled Sea, becauſe that gracious Oracle which he had received was not yet to come to paſs, nor like to be fulfilled in the ſhort remainder of his days, ſince his candle was burnt to the ſocket; wherefore at the firſt glimpſe that he viewed the holy one of God in ſwadling clouts, this ejaculation ſtarts from him, as if his joy had burſt the veſſel, like new liquors that ſwell'd within it; as who ſhould ſay, I began to be troubled, I began to diſtruſt, I was afraid that thy promiſes would fail; and by ſo much the more I was afraid of death: now come what will come, I am ſecure and confirm'd, my heart is quiet, my Faith is built upon a rock, Lord, now, &c. juſt as old Jacob was ready to die for gladneſs, when he ſaw that Joſeph was alive; ſays he, now let me die, ſince I have ſeen thy face, becauſe thou art yet alive, Gen. xlvi. 30.
And the content which this holy Prophet took in embracing the Meſſias, who had been ſo long waited for, could not be better expreſt than thus, that his ſoul was ready to take leave of the world in peace: for as bread imports all manner of ſuſtenance in the phraſe of the Hebrews, ſo peace in their ſignification imports all manner of good that is deſirable, health, plenty, honour, ſafety, tranquility of conſcience, comfort in the Holy Ghoſt, all ſorts of proſperity, heavenly and earthly are no more but peace in their acception: therefore the interpretations what Simeon would have are many, and all agreeable to pious analogy. Firſt, Euthymius expounds it of the peace of his thoughts, that he did fluctuate before, and hang in ſuſpence what God would do; but when Chriſt was born he was reſolv'd againſt all the ſlights and cavillations of Satan, that the Lord was juſt in all his ſayings, and holy in all his works. There may be ſecurity in a bad man, I will not deny him that carnal priviledge, who refreſheth himſelf with the comforts of this life, but there can be no ſtability in him, no ſetledneſs againſt diſtraction and fluctuation, unleſs by much meditation he do ſet Chriſt before his eyes, as if he were born in him, and endeavour to Incarnate the promiſes of the word in his ſoul by Faith, as the bleſſed Virgin gave fleſh to the eternal word by bearing him in her womb. Secondly, Others interpret this peace, de pace intrepiditatis, he did not fear to be diſſolved, though his decayed body lay even under the ſtroke of death,Pſal. iv. 9. he ſaw nothing why he ſhould flinch, but that he might ſay with David, I will lay me down in peace, and take my reſt. Before a Saviour was granted to mankind death was death, and Hell to boot; now it is but a ſleep without all diſturbance, a repoſe without all annoyance, a releaſement out of bonds, a tranſmigration to felicity: He therefore that will not die in peace knowing that Chriſt ſtands at the right hand of God to make interceſſion for him, and to purchaſe in his behalf inſtead of a tranſitory eſtate a far abundant exceeding weight of glory, the fault is his own, Vitam in manibus fero, mori non timeo. A ſtrange darkneſs is before the eyes of unbelieving impenitent men at their laſt gaſp, their conſcience knows not how to anſwer that objection which it makes to it ſelf, Quae nunc abibis in loca? My ſoul whither art thou going? in what woe or ſorrow ſhalt thou be entertained hereafter? Thus Cain was dejected, Every one that findeth me will ſlay me, Gen. iv. 14. Thus Nabals daſtardly ſpirit fainted, and nothing brought him to death but the fear of death. His ſordid, churliſh, inhoſpitable life here, and the reſt of his undeſervings repreſented nothing but horrors to entertain him in the life to come. Sed quis eſt iſte qui de hoc ſeculo recedit in pace, niſi is qui intelligit Deus erat in Chriſto mundum reconcilians ſibi, ſays St. Auſtin: But who is the man that gathers up his feet into his bed ſweet and placidly, as old Jacob did, and dies in peace? but he that felt the conſolation within him that God was in Chriſt reconciling the world unto himſelf. Thirdly, The ſenſe holds very well to interpret it de pace gaudii, he ſhould be gathered to the dead in great joy, becauſe the troubles and thraldoms of his Nation ſhould no more diſquiet him. For who could doubt of the deliverance of Iſrael when he was born, that was the Redeemer of all deliverers? This is that emplaiſter of which Iſaiah Propheſied that it ſhould lenifie all their ſores, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, ſaith our God, ſpeak ye comfortably to Jeruſalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accompliſhed, that her iniquity is pardoned, Iſa. xl. 1. And again, the Lord ſhall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waſt places, he will make her Wilderneſs like Eden, and her Deſart like the Garden of the Lord, joy and gladneſs ſhall be found therein, thankſgiving, and the voice of melody, Iſa. li. 3. what a quick-ſighted faith had Simeon that he could ſee ſo far into Chriſt, upon what part of him did he caſt his eye, that he could find ſuch a Champion in a little Infant wrapt in ſwadling clothes? O what an heavenly light there ſhines before faith, that the old man could eſpy in this little Bethlehemite, that he ſhould turn their captivity like the rivers in the South? there was nothing to behold externally in Chriſt, but contempt, and weakneſs, and poverty in thoſe days: who will diſtruſt his protection now, when there is nothing to be viewed about him but Power, and Fortitude, and Majeſty? O that men ſhould be afraid to periſh even in the preſence, nay even in the hand of ſuch a Saviour! He that is yet to ſeek for the peace of joy, though death were at the door, let him conſume in his own infidelity. Fourthly, He had purchas'd peace before his departure, becauſe he had as much as could be askt; his heart was ſatiated wirh good things: a very greedy avarice had been in him, if he could have askt any more. And ſo Theophylact gloſſeth very judiciouſly upon my Text, foreign, he that hath gained the ſum and ſubſtance of all his hopes and petitions, he may juſtly ſay that he can bid adieu to this world in peace. So God promiſed to Abraham, Gen. xv. 15. thou ſhalt be buried in a good old age, and thou ſhalt go to thy Fathers in peace, that is, thy deſire ſhall be filled brim full, and meaſure running over; nothing that thou canſt ask in Faith but I will give it thee. So Simeon poſſeſſed the complement of all felicity, he had ſo much that he could deſire no more: for he that hath given us his Son, will he not with him likewiſe giuegive us all things? And take this to your uſe from hence, that a wiſhing heart which is ever thirſting for more, ſtrugling for ſome addition, and yet ſome more to that, cannot be ſaid to be in peace, no more than an Hydropical man that thirſts for drink continually can be ſaid to be in health. Creſcit indulgens ſibi dirus hydrops, the ſatiating of one concupiſcence begets another, and that's like a mill-horſe in a circle, that you can never ſay he is at his journeys end. Therefore if you mean to be at eaſe, and not to be wrackt with care, let to morrow care for it ſelf. Fifthly, And ſo to give this point its laſt allowance; Origen and Irenaeus interpret my Text of that peace which Chriſt came to make between God and man. St. Paul ſays that when we were darkened in our underſtanding, walking in the luſt of our own mind we were enemies with God: and alas we are ſure to come by the worſt of that enmity; for who is able to ſuſtain his diſpleaſure: and it was no petty enmity, but God did abhor us, and provide all manner of ſcourges to plague us both in this world, and in that which is to come. No creatures which are noted for antipathies do ſhun one another at more diſtance than God doth abhor an impure ſoul; and they are not ſacrifices of Beaſts that could make an attonement for us: they were not Angels that could deprecate the Divine wrath, and reconcile us, they were glad to bring the tidings that an Eternal Son of an Eternal Father had done that good office for us, Glory be to God on high, and in earth peace; it could never be well ſung but at this Incarnation, and therefore it could never be well ſaid but at his Incarnation, Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant, &c.
You have heard of the ſupplicant, and of his petition, and the time which he ſets, and his good preparation of peace, to go from hence and to be with the Lord. After this it is ſeaſonable to ſpeak of the aſſurance in which he truſted, that God would grant him his deſire; for he askt nothing extravagantly, and without warrant, but it was ſecundum verbum tuum, according to thy word: and that word upon which he might ſtedfaſtly build, is, ver. 26. it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghoſt, that he ſhould not ſee death, till he had ſeen the Lord's Chriſt revealed unto him. But perhaps you will ſay, why might it not be his own imagination that deluded him, and no revelation from God? We indeed that walk in the ordinary courſe of Grace, may be cozened, like Enthuſiaſts, and think that our own doating fancies are inſpirations from Heaven. But Prophets that had extraordinary illuminations were able to diſtinguiſh between brain-ſick notions, and the word of God when it ſpake within them. And Simeon, you will mark it when I tell it you, had a double, and a double portion of the Spirit. In the laſt days, ſays Joel, Your old men ſhall dream dreams, and your young men ſhall ſee viſions. Theſe are different graces for ſeveral perſons, only in this Prophet, they concurr'd both. He had the old mans dream to reveal unto him that he ſhould not die till Chriſt was manifeſted: and he had the young mans viſion to accompliſh his happineſs, His eyes did ſee his ſalvation. No doubt then he had ſufficient means to prove in himſelf that it was the word of God, that is, the word of the Holy Ghoſt, from whom he received that Oracle: and hence St. Athanaſius doth learnedly prove the divinity of the Holy Ghoſt. And the plenty of this point will contribute this eſpecially unto us, that it is preſumption to expect any thing to be granted us, without warrant and promiſe received from the word of God. That's the Organ or Tongue by which the Holy Ghoſt ſpeaks with us; and he that puts himſelf upon any hazardous action, without encouragement from it to bring him off with ſafety, he makes a ſnare to bring himſelf to deſtruction. Satan durſt not be ſo impudent to tempt our Saviour, to fall down from a pinacle of the Temple, without pretence of authority from the Pſalm, that He ſhall give his Angels charge over thee; and therefore we juſtly exclaim againſt Monaſtical Vows of perpetual Chaſtity; and we ſee how frequently they apoſtate from their Vow, and wallow in all luſt and uncleanneſs; becauſe it is no where written, if any one will take this yoke upon him, I will aſſiſt him, and make it light. It is a miſerable thing to have no other ſtaff to lean upon then the word of men, though they call themſelves the Church; for the children of men are deceitful upon the weights, they are altogether lighter than vanity it ſelf. To draw this Doctrine ſtreight and even upon the Text, 1. Many will alledge Simeons example, and ſay they could willingly die if they might ſee this or that come to paſs. Pray obſerve that ſuch as theſe ſeldom or never ſee their deſire come to paſs, becauſe they fabricate vain hopes to themſelves without the word of the Lord. 2. When that which they long'd for doth come to paſs, they are content to redeem it with any Phyſick or coſt that they may not die for all their bragging; like the woman in the Fable that was miſerably poor, and gathering ſticks for her fire, and herbs for her ſuſtenance; being vexed with extreme want, ſhe burſts out into this frowardneſs, O that death would come to me. Says the Fable, death did come to her to know what ſhe would have, Help me up with my bundle of ſticks, ſays ſhe, I have nothing elſe to ſay to you. But this is the ſum of this point, all our petitions are but avaritious craving, or unchriſtian preſumption, unleſs we ſay, Lord let it be according to thy word.
And now I ſhall end my Sermon in that point, wherein Simeon deſired to end his life; it is the reaſon upon which he ſtood why he would depart, becauſe he had ſeen that which his ſoul waited for before it flitted away, For mine eyes have ſeen thy ſalvation, which is to this effect, the Redeemer is come, let my fetters therefore be broken off; my joy is exceſſive and ſuperlative, this frail fleſh cannot contain it: The new Wine is poured in, O let the old bottles break. Thou haſt granted me more than ever thou didſt grant to any Prophet upon earth; therefore exalt me to thy Saints in heaven. For all the Prophets could get no more than this anſwer, that a Virgin ſhould conceive, Immanuel, that is God with us, ſhould be born, and their poſterity ſhould not fail to behold him in after ages; but ſays St. Paul, all theſe died in Faith, not having received the promiſes themſelves, but having ſeen them afar off, Heb. xi. 13. Now this Patriarch did far exceed all the Prophets, that he ſaw the Meſſias with his own eyes, and none other. And mark the Pleonaſmus, not contented to have ſaid, I have ſeen thy ſalvation: He doth denote the aſſurance of the act that he was not deceived, hiſce oculis vidi, I have ſeen him with mine eyes: it is the very Jeſus that ſhall ſave the world, I cannot be deluded, as Ʋlyſſes ſpeaks to Circe in Homer that ſhe ſhould re-transform his aſſociates,Lib. 1. c. 12. foreign, diſtinguiſhing true ſight from phantaſtical. Nicephorus, a moſt corrupt Hiſtorian, hath a tale by himſelf, that Simeon was ſo far ſtricken in years that he had been long blind, and as ſoon as ever this heavenly babe was brought near unto him he recovered his ſight; and therefore he magnifies God that his eyes were reſtored to ſee the object of all objects, the bleſſed Child Incarnate: and is it likely that St. Luke would have concealed ſuch a miracle; if it had been true? and would God have let us receive it from ſo corrupt an hand as Nicephorus? The Scripture ſays, ver. 27. of this Chapter, He came by the Spirit into the Temple; not that he was led like a blind man. There are ſome conjectures that rove at random likewiſe, by what means he ſhould diſcern ſuch Divine glory in our Saviour. Admit there were other Infants preſented in the Temple at the ſame time, how did he perceive that this was the Son of the moſt high, rather than any of the reſt? I find one Author ſhoot his bolt, that a celeſtial ſplendor came down from Heaven, and ſhone round about the Child. I find another Author more ſuperſtitious than this, that the Bleſſed Virgin was compaſt about with a cloud of glorious light in the place where ſhe ſtood; and ſo that honour ſhould terminate it ſelf upon her, and not upon Chriſt. This is to trifle in a moſt ſerious matter, for certainly the ſuggeſtion of the Holy Ghoſt within him was enough to direct him, without any external cognizance: and therefore Nyſſen ſays well, Bleſſed were the eyes both of his ſoul and body: his bodily eyes did ſee the happieſt ſight in heaven and earth, but the eyes of his ſoul did reſpect that which is inviſible.
His bodily eyes did ſee God made of a woman, an object more beautiful and eſtimable then even Paradiſe it ſelf, when Adam ſaw it at the beſt. Nay more beautiful than the whole Revelation which S. John ſaw in heaven, excepting Chriſt himſelf, whom he ſaw upon his throne. Abraham would have given his portion in the promiſed land to have ſeen him, David his Kingdom, Solomon his revenews of Ophir; and therefore no wonder if Simeon triumph in it, that the eyes of his body had ſeen him. But what the eyes of his ſoul did pierce into, is magnum auctarium, an huge addition. They did ſee his ſalvation, and ſalvation cannot be comprehended but by a lively and an effectual Faith. They did ſee foreign, cornu ſalutis, as old Zachary calls it, in whom God had repoſed all the ſtock and treaſure of ſalvation. But why thy ſalvation? and not rather ours? had it not been more proper to ſay, mine eyes have ſeen mine, or our ſalvation? There is no difference in effect, one ſaying is as proper as the other, ſalutare tuum, for he is the Son of God, the gift of God to us, the holy One conceived by the Holy Ghoſt, and in thoſe notions Gods ſalvation, as David ſays, the Lord hath made known his ſalvation, Pſal. xcviii. 2. Again, ſalutare noſtrum, for he came to redeem us, and to give himſelf a ranſom for us, and ſo he is our ſalvation. As if Simeon had ſaid, this is he after whom Jacobs heart panted, Gen. xlix. 18. I have waited for thy ſalvation, O Lord. This is he of whom Iſaiah foretold, All the ends of the earth ſhall ſee the ſalvation of our God, chap. lii. 10. He comes with much impotency and weakneſs, to be preſented in the Temple, and to be redeemed after the cuſtom of the Law, with five ſhekels of ſilver, but he will redeem us both from the bondage of the Law, and from the bondage of ſin, with the five wounds of his body. If ſuch ſalvation as this were only to be glanced upon perfunctorily, this ſage Iſraelite would have been contented to have ſeen him, and reſted there; but foraſmuch as we muſt incorporate our Saviour in our ſouls, and endeavour that there be a real union 'twixt Chriſt and us: therefore in the verſe before my Text, Simeon took up our Saviour into his arms, and St. John makes that a great myſtery of his own, and his brethrens happineſs, that their hands had handled the word of life. Quod Simeon ulnis geſtavit nos fide geſtemus, he doth bear us up always in his hands, let us bear him and enclaſp him in our Faith,Homil. 15. and ſay as Iſrael did, I will not let thee go till thou haſt bleſſed me, ſays Origen. Was it ſo beneficial to a poor woman to touch the hem of Chriſts garment in the Goſpel, then how profitable will it be to hold him cloſe in our embraces as this Father did? And as Maldonat ſays very truly, Non credentis eſt modo ſed amantis, complectimur quos amamus. This doth not only betoken Faith, but exceeding love; we hug them in our arms whom we have in dear eſtimation, we catch them in our arms, as if we would grow together: ſo if we love the Lord ſincerely, we are one with him, and he with us; we dwell in him, and he in us. This amplexus arctiſſimus, and he that loves not our Lord Jeſus, let him be accurſed. Chiefly at this time in the holy Sacrament we ſee him upon the Lords Table, we take him in our hands, we incorporate him in our ſouls by a lively faith; and at his myſtical preſence in theſe Elements let us ſay as it is reported of a Religious Votary called Maria Aegyptiaca, when Zozimus the Abbat gave her the Bread of Life upon her ſick bed, ſhe beheld the Sacrament wiſhly, which is the ſeal of all Chriſts mercies towards us, and brake out into this ſong of Simeon, Lord now letteſt thou thy ſervant depart in peace, for mine eyes have ſeen thy ſalvation. Amen.