A Century of Sermons, Sermon 1
THE FIRST SERMON UPON THE Baptiſm of our Saviour.
MAT. iii. 13.
Then cometh Jeſus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him.
YOU ſhall hear a Story beginning at this Verſe, and ſo ending with the Chapter, how chriſt did enter into his Office of Mediatorſhip, and how he began to make himſelf known to be the Promiſed Seed, who ſhould reconcile God and Men together. It was, as I have read unto you, at a ſolemn Baptiſm which he received from the hand of John. A happy beginning for us men, and for our Salvation; and a Baptiſm as uſeful for the ſpiritual li…e of all Chriſtians as the Air conduceth to our natural conſervation. For as the ſame Air, which God created in the beginning, is the breath which our Fore-fathers did draw, and which ſuſtains us, and ſhall ſerve the Generations of men which are yet unborn: So the Baptiſm of our Saviour it purged all true believers, that have gone before us, it cleanſeth us according to our Faith; and ſhall work the ſame good work upon our childrens children for ever. It ſtands us under the Goſpel inſtead of the ſame comfort which the Rainbow afforded unto the old world. The Rainbow is a reflexion of the Sun-beams in a watry cloud, and was ordained as a ſign of pacification, that Gods anger ſhould no more ſtrive with man. Such a Rainbow was Chriſt Jeſus; (and therefore it encompaſſeth his Throne round about Apoc. 4.) look upon him, not ſtanding majeſtically in a cloud above, but wading like an humble ſervant into the waters of Jordan beneath; look upon him how he ſanctifies that Element, which was once a means to drown the World, and now is made a means to ſave it, look upon him in that poſture, as a Rainbow in the water, and you may read Gods ſure Covenant made with his whole Church, that his anger is pacified in his well beloved Son, and that he will be gracious with his Inheritance.
A brave beginning, and worthy to be the firſt work of his Mediatorſhip; which is enough to ſay it will be moſt worthy your beſt attention. Theodorus in Ariſtotle would never play a part in any hiſtrionical ſport, unleſs he might be the firſt that came upon the ſtage. He thought the firſt entrance in any perſon made the deepeſt impreſſion in the Spectators. And ſurely a good onſet is no ſmall grace to all that follows. The firſt-born were ſanctified to the Lord.Gen. viii. 21. God ſmelt a ſweet ſavour out of the firſt Sacrifice that Noah offered unto him; a diſtinct mark is ſet upon the firſt miracle which our Saviour wrought at Cana in Galilee by turning water into wine. And this, being the firſt work of his Prophetical Office, is tranſcendently obſervable, that he came from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. Which verſe is but the preparatory to that which follows, and therefore it affords no more than three circumſtances of the main matter, which lies behind at ver. 16. Firſt, It refers us to inquire into the circumſtance of time. Then cometh Jeſus from Galilee; ſurely it was ſome very fit ſeaſon and opportunity. Secondly, After what manner he would be baptized; with the Baptiſm of John; it will be neceſſary therefore to examine the dignity of Johns Baptiſm. Thirdly, The place muſt not be omitted, which was the fortunate ſeat where this work was done, not in Galilee, but in Jordan, Then cometh Jeſus from Galilee to Jordan, &c.
For the firſt of theſe, we need not divine, or follow conjectures of our own invention, how ſeaſonable it was for the Son of God to declare himſelf juſt at this preſent to be the Meſſias that would ſave his people; three reaſons may be drawn out of expreſs Scripture, and we can have no better. 1. You may read in this Chapter, the men of Judea, and all Jeruſalem round about, were baptized in Jordan confeſſing their ſins; John preacht the doctrine of Repentance before them, and wrought great compunction of heart in many that heard him; they were afflicted for their ſins, and grieved for the days that were paſt; Then did the Son of God preſent himſelf to be baptized in Jordan: In the midſt of their contrition, when their ſouls were filled with the deſire of grace, Then ſaid I, loe I come. Poor People, they began to know themſelves in what miſerable condition they were, even ſick unto death; and when their bowels did yearn, O is there none to deliver us? Then ſteps in the peace of heaven and earth, as who ſhould ſay, Is it I that you look for? Is there any beſide me that can cure your miſeries? Obſerve, my beloved, how pat the comfort of Salvation comes in after true repentance. David ſaid unto Nathan,2 Sam. xii. 13. I have ſinned againſt the Lord; and Nathan ſaid unto David in the ſame line, The Lord alſo hath put away thy Sin. As ſoon as ever Stephen was beſmeared with the bloud of Martyrdom, then he ſaw the heavens opened, and Chriſt ſtanding at the right hand of God: And Repentance comes but thus ſhort of Martyrdom, that it fetcheth bloud from the ſoul, and killeth the old man with his concupiſcence. When tears of godly ſorrow trickle down, or at ſuch time as compunction hath a bleeding heart within, though the eyes be dry without, then it hath an imaginary viſion, that it ſees the Son of God making interceſſion for us to his Father, and beckoning with his right hand to our wounded conſcience that we ſhould be comforted. No man can ever ſay he languiſht long in deſire to obtain Gods grace, and could not find it. Let Mary Magdalen weep, and wring her hands, that Chriſt is taken away, and if ſhe turn about, glad woman, ſhe ſhall perceive how near he is unto her. He was born indeed at Bethlehem, Angelis cantantibus, when the Angels of heaven did ſing for joy: But being loſt as it were to the knowledge of the world for a long ſpace, at the end of thirty years he manifeſts himſelf again hominibus plorantibus, when men were broken in heart with Mortification and Repentance at the preaching of John, Then cometh Jeſus from Galilee, &c.
Secondly, The auſterity of Johns life, and the divinity of his preaching did amuze the world, therefore the Prieſts and Levites ſent to him from Jeruſalem, to know if he were the Chriſt, Joh. i. 19. And another Evangeliſt ſays, all the people were in ſuſpence in their hearts, whether John were the Chriſt, Luke iii. 15. Now at this inſtant, that the ſervant might no longer rob the Maſter of his honour, but that the truth might be revealed, if they would embrace it, then he came moſt opportunely from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. St. Cyril gives this delightful ſimilitude upon it. John Baptiſt was the Lucifer, or morning Star that ran his courſe before our Saviour. Now, as the Sun makes his approach in our Hemiſphere before this Star is ſet in the Weſt, and obſcures that leſſer light with his own glory: So Chriſt did not lie hid untill his fore-runner had done baptizing, and were gone out of the world; but when he ſhined moſt in the great opinion of all men, then a greater than John advanceth himſelf, and obſcures him for ever. How willingly, how chearfully was the Baptiſt contented? My joy, ſays he, is fulfilled, that he muſt increaſe, Joh. iii. 30.and I muſt decreaſe. The word bodes no ſuch thing, as if he ſhould decreaſe in ſanctity, or in the favour of God; but it was his joy that he ſhould grow leſs in the opinion of the world; that the Church would begin to know the true Meſſias to be the Bridegroom, H…ming. in 3 cap. Joh.and that he was no more than the Friend of the Bridegroom. It is pretty which ſome obſerve, how the birth of John fell out at Mid-ſummer, when the days grow ſhorter and ſhorter: Contrariwiſe, the Nativity of Chriſt happens in that month, when the Sun approacheth, and the days grow longer and longer. So the glory of John was in the waine, and declined to leſs and leſs eſtimation in reſpect of Chriſt; but he that is the brightneſs of the Fathers glory aſcends higher and higher, the earth ſhall know him more and more while the Sun and Moon endure.
Collect this obſervation to the uſe of your own life (my beloved) Decreſc…t homo, …reſcat Deus; Let man be diminiſhed, and brought low; let God ariſe, and be exalted. It was not a little decreaſing that Paul ſtood upon, but wiſht himſelf Anathema for his brethren, ſo God might be glorified. And ſurely, if the bleſſed Virgin, and the Saints departed have any perceiving, what religious honour is done unto them by ſome ſuperſtitious devotaries, which belongs to none but to the Eternal Majeſty on high, I doubt not but it is their uſual ſupplication, O Lord take this honour from us, and lay it upon thy ſelf. God raiſeth up Prophets in his Church, not to make them eminent, but that himſelf may be magnified. This no doubt was a rule well grounded in John Baptiſt, whoſe heart was as humble as his Rayment, and when it was bruted abroad that he was the Meſſias, it vext his righteous ſoul, and deſired nothing more than that the true Lamb of God would appear that taketh away the ſins of the world. He had his wiſh, when the Son of glory diſcloſed himſelf at Jordan. Yet it was not an errour, but rather a praiſe in John, that he was taken for the beſt that ever lived, becauſe of his conſpicuous Piety, for Chriſt himſelf. It was not a crime in Peter, that ſuch Saint-like reverence appear'd in him, that Cornelius, being aſtoniſht, fell down to worſhip him. It was not to be blamed in Paul and Barnabas, that they carried themſelves among the Lycaonians above the ordinary condition of men, inſomuch that they called Paul Mercurius, and Barnabas Iupiter. St. Chryſoſtom extols them for it, ſays he, Let every Apoſtolical man imitate their ſanctity, that they may appear to be better than corruptible fleſh, and to live like Angels in this wicked world. So Paul behaved himſelf among the Galathians, Gal. iv. 14.that they received him as an Angel, yea, even as Chriſt Jeſus. But when it came to a foul miſtake, that the men of Lycaonia would have done ſacrifice to them, the Apoſtles were grievouſly offended, they rent their cloaths, and ran among the people, declaring themſelves to be men who came to teach the world that they muſt not rob God of his honour. I am aſhamed to read ſuch bald excuſes made for Francis, the firſt Fri…r of his order, that he permitted ſome to fall down, and do him divine adoration, for they did not worſhip him, but God that was in him. Is that ſufficient? Then it had not been intollerable in Alexander to require divine honours to his perſon as he was Gods Vice-gerent in his Monarchy. Curtius lib. 8.Yet one Hermolaus an heathen in the ſtory of Curtius, exprobrates him that he was violently made away, becauſe he would be worſhipt as a God. Some would defend the Frier forenamed by the example of Daniel, Dan. ii. 46. when he had expounded Nebuchadnezzars dream, the King fell on his face and worſhipt Daniel, and commanded that they ſhould offer an Oblation and ſweet Odours unto him. But doth Daniel any more than recite what was bidden to be done? Do you find the Kings command was obeyed in this? Certainly Daniel did never conſent, but forbad it, and had other honours done unto him, to ſit in the Kings Gate, and to be ruler of his Provinces. Believe it therefore, that man muſt not defile himſelf by touching Gods glory; too much of that weigt lay upon Johns ſhoulders when he was taken to be the Chriſt, and to take that opinion from the Creature to the Creator, Then came our bleſſed Lord from Galilee to Jordan.
Thirdly, This Adverb of time Then, it points to the Age of Chriſt, he began to be about thirty years of age, Luk. iii. 23. Then, and not before, did this Star of brightneſs make his appearance, Then came Jeſus, &c. He was made like unto us in all things, ſin only excepted; for elſe we can give no reaſon, why he would ſtay to fulfil the perfect age of man before he would take in hand the work of his Mediatorſhip. A decorum is uſually kept among us, that a man is not called to the adminiſtration of great buſineſs before his perſon carries ſome authority in it by the gravity of his years: And therefore our bleſſed Saviour, that his enemies might not calumniate, or deſpiſe him for a novice, put forth himſelf at that maturity of age which is commonly well allowed for manlineſs, and wiſdom. Not that there wanted perfection, and ability in him, even in his ſwadling clouts, and Cradle, to do more than any mortal man could bring to paſs; far be it from us to conceit him otherwiſe. The Union of the Godhead, as ſoon as he was conceived in the womb, gave him more power and underſtanding than ever inhabited in any other fleſh: And therefore the Prophet Jeremy ſpeaking how he ſhould be incloſed in a Virgins womb, hath dropt out ſuch a word, that many of the Fathers catch hold of it for an Emphaſis, Jer. xxxi. 22. A woman ſhall compaſs a man; Circumdabit vir…m, non infantem; though ſhe bore an Infant, yet in his Infant-age nothing was defective in him, but did exceedingly ſuper-abound all which could be required in man. Therefore at twelve years of age he made all the Doctors of the Temple aſtoniſht at the queſtions he propounded; but from that time, to the age of thirty, he drew in his head, and in the fulneſs of ripe years he came to be baptized in Jordan. Dion accounts it an happineſs in Trajan, that he began to govern the Roman Empire in his ſtaid years,Dim in Aug. Hiſt. (I think he was then forty years old) Ʋt neque per juventutem quicquam temere aggrederetur, neque per ſenectutem langueſceret; that he was neither raſh in execution by the heat of youth, nor ſlow and timorous by the infirmity of age. But the ſacred ſtory of the Scripture will give us inſtances that accord more aptly with our Saviour. Joſeph was thirty years old when he began to govern Egypt, Gen. xli. 46.as who ſhoul ſay he was in the flower of abilities. Joſeph rul'd in another mans right,2 Sam. v. 4. David, the beſt King of Iſrael, in his own; and he was thirty years old when be began to reign in Judah.
But becauſe our Saviour offered himſelf to be known in my Text, not in his Kingly, but in his Prieſtly Office, to be baptized for the waſhing away of our ſins, therefore the the beſt application will be to find the manner and cuſtom of the Prieſts in the old Law; and then for your ſatisfaction, conſult with the fourth of Numbers: and it is ten times expreſt in that Chapter that the Levites were to wait upon the work of the Tabernacle from thirty years upward, and not before; and at that very age Chriſt came to the waters of Jordan to be anointed an high Prieſt for ever after the order of Melchiſedech. From this example ſome Canons have iſſued out in ancient Councils, that none ſhould take the Orders of a Prieſt before this age wherein our Saviour began to preach. Afterward ſome years were abated for taking Prieſthood, yet peremptorily it was defin'd (and never recalled, that I know, by any other Council) that none ſhould be allowed for a Biſhop under the age of thirty: So the Church of England hath appointed and commanded in the Book of Ordination of Prieſts, and Conſecration of Biſhops, which Book is confirm'd and ratified by Act of Parliament; and yet it is ſometimes diſpenſed withal in Rome, that Children may hold the Title of the richeſt Archbiſhoprick in the world; Viderit utilitas, judge whether it be meant for the honour of God, O…. in ſanct. lum.or for the profit of man. Nazianzen urgeth it ſtiffly, that the meaſure of this age of Chriſt is to be reſpected in every man before he negotiate in ſacred Function to teach the Word of God. Gregory collects the ſame from my Text,De Curá. Paſ…. p. 3. c. 36 Perfectae vitae gratiam non niſi perfectâ aetate praedicavit; He taught his Diſciples how to obtain the perfect life of glory when himſelf was gone on in his race to the perfect life of nature;Lib. 7. Reg. Ep. 112. and like a good Maſter-builder, he directs Novices, as St. Paul calls them, 1 Tim. iii. 6. to forbear a while, and to give place to well-ſeaſon'd Timber to make Pillars for the Church of God. I have heard of a more ſatyrical ſimilitude, but a very true one, that the Kine, which gave milk, drew the Ark to Bethſhemeſh, and the young Calves were ſhut up in their Stalls at home. I could not but give this inſtruction by the way, taken from the complete age wherein our Saviour began to execute his Prieſtly Office.
There is a rub caſt in my way by the Anabaptiſts, which I muſt remove, and ſo conclude this Point; an exception againſt the Baptiſm of Infants, becauſe our Saviour was baptized in his manly ſtature. Nay, rather this collection is to be warranted, that the children of faithful Parents are to be baptized in infancy, even as Chriſt was circumciſed an infant the eighth day: And if any be converted to the Faith in their grown years, it is not too late to come to that Sacrament, for the waſhing away of their ſins, becauſe Chriſt himſelf, and many multitudes of elder people were baptized of John. Surely Circumciſion in the old Law doth ſo expreſly anſwer to Baptiſm in the Goſpel, both being the firſt ſeals of the righteouſneſs of faith, that it ſtands uncontroulable, that little ones are to be baptized as well as they were circumcized; and the Ordinance of Circumciſion being once appointed to belong to Infants, the Holy Ghoſt hath ſpared the labour to appoint any other age for the Baptiſm of Chriſtian Children, as if no reaſonable man could make a queſtion of it. And as all Iſrael that came out of Egypt men, women, and children were baptized, that is, had the figure of Baptiſm in the Cloud, and in the Sea through which they marcht and eſcapt the purſuit of Pharoah; ſo in Chriſt there is neither Jew nor Gentile, Bond nor Free, Male nor Female, Young nor Old, no difference of Nations, Age, or Sex, but all are baptized unto the Remiſſion of ſins.
Our Saviour ſuffered his diſciples to doubt ſomewhat concerning Infants for our better reſolution; for when they rebuked ſuch as brought Babes unto him, Jeſus called them, and ſaid, Suffer little Children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of ſuch is the Kingdom of God. Suffer them to come? why, we cannot put them into Chriſts arms, where he ſits in glory, how ſhall they come unto him then, unleſs we preſent them in the Sacrament? Beſides, that which follows preſſeth further, Theirs is the kingdom of heaven; it is not theirs by ſuch right as the Angels hold their place in heaven, becauſe they are free from ſin. And how can it be theirs, ſince they are dead in Adam, unleſs it be theirs by the ſeal of ſome Covenant? And that is the Fountain of Regeneration. I call them regenerate in that Fountain; for as Chriſt bleſſed them when he took them up in his own arms, ſo he bleſſeth them in our arms; and if they be bleſt, they are regenerate. And ſo likewiſe they are made believers, but after what ſort they believe I know not. St. Auſtin hath two opinions:Serm. 10. de verb. Apoſt. The firſt on this wiſe, Accommodat mater Eccleſia aliorum pedes ut veniant, aliorum cor …t credant, &c. The Church our mother helps babes with other folks feet to bring them to the Font, with other mens hearts to believe, with other mens tongues to confeſs the truth, ſo he means they are called Believers by the faith of the Congregation till they come to age to know Chriſt themſelves. His other opinion grants, that Infants themſelves are believers, even as faith is in men that ſleep, who do not perceive it. Aqua forinſecus exhibet ſacramentum gratiae, Epiſt. 23.ſpiritus ſanctus intrinſecus operatur beneficium gratiae; The water ſprinkles them with the outward Sacrament of grace, and the Spirit breaths upon them the inward bleſſing of grace. I ſee no cauſe why we may not apprehend this, and aſſent unto it: 1.Auguſt. Ep. 57. It is as eaſie to apprehend they have a faith which they cannot uſe, as to know they have an intellectual reaſon which they cannot employ. And to facilitate our aſſent, one urgeth it modeſtly thus, it was paſſing ſtrange that John ſhould leap at the preſence of our Saviour in his mothers womb; and though it were an extraordinary caſe,Chemnit. Ex. Trid. Concil. Seſs. 8. yet it demonſtrates that the Holy Ghoſt can inhabit in a babe that is yet unborn, or newly brought forth into the world. Chooſe ye which of theſe opinions you will, or chooſe ye neither, and only be contented to believe concerning little ones, that theirs is the Kingdom of heaven, and therefore they ought to be baptized, for unleſs ye be born again of water and the holy Spirit ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven. That is the ſtop of the firſt general Point, the circumſtance of time: 1. Then, when the people were full of repentance, and did yearn for grace. 2. Then, when they began to conceit too much of John that he was the Chriſt. 3. Then, when our Saviour was of the ripe age of Prieſthood, and had ſeen thirty years in the world, Then came, &c.
It is time now to draw forward to the next general circumſtance, after what manner our Saviour would be baptized; with the Baptiſm of John. The Point is full of much matter, even as Jordan it ſelf in the time of harveſt: But I will obey the limits of the hour, and handle two things briefly, making my ſelf your debter for the reſt as God ſhall give occaſion to pay it. I frame therefore two queſtions on this ſort: 1. Upon what ground John did begin this new ceremony of Baptiſm never heard of before? 2. What was the dignity, or, if you will call it ſo, what was the vertue of Johns Baptiſm? I addreſs my ſelf to the former. To bring a new inſtitution into the Church, nay, to bring in a new Sacrament of repentance for remiſſion of ſins, this was more ſtrange than if a new ſtar had appeared in the Firmament. What a confidence was in this great Prophet to call all Judea, and the Regions round about unto him to receive Baptiſm? And yet no print or footſteep in all the Law of Moſes where ſuch a Ceremony was commanded. Nay, if they had mark'd it, it was to break the ſtaff of the Law of Moſes, for upon the entertainment of a new Ceremony never heard of before, it did betoken that old Rites and Cuſtoms were in their declination, and near unto aboliſhing. Beſides, is it not very ſtrange, that the learned Prieſts, the wrangling Phariſees, the ignorant people, all with an unanimous conſent ſhould ſubmit themſelves to this new Ordinance, and yet ſuch an Ordinance as was confirmed by no miracle from heaven (for John wrought no miracle) the true wonder was that ſo many thouſands ſhould flock after him to be baptized without a miracle.
Yet the truth is, that the moſt ſtrict defenders of their own Law, and the beſt Interpreters of it did not gainſay the new uſe of Baptiſm as unlawful, for the Phariſees ſent unto John, and asked him, Why baptiſeſt thou if thou be not that Chriſt, nor Elias, nor that Prophet? They do not quarrel the Ordinance of Baptiſm, but what authority John had to baptize. Two things are to be obſerved out of the forenamed Text for our ſatisfaction: One, that it was not belonging to the Office of any Prieſt or Prophet in the Old Teſtament to baptize unto remiſſion of ſins. Another thing is, that the Jews expected the waſhing of water to cleanſe them from their ſins under the Kingdom of Chriſt, as S.Hierom thinks they collected it, Iſa. iv. 4. The Lord ſhall waſh away the filth of the daughters of Sion; as who ſhould ſay, Circumciſion was a ſeal upon Male children only, the water of regeneration under Chriſt ſhall belong to Females alſo. Again, Ezekiel, ſpeaking of the bleſſings that ſhall abound in Chriſt, Chap. xxxvi. 25. ſeems clearly to expreſs this new Sacrament, Then will I ſprinkle clean water upon you; and ye ſhall be clean from all your filthineſs. Moreover, I cannot ſay whether the Rabbies of deep learning had the knowledge to underſtand that their Forefathers were by a figure baptized in the red Sea, and in the Cloud which went along with them in the Wilderneſs. So St. Paul expounded it by the Spirit of God. But the Phariſees, and it ſeems all the people were perſwaded that when the Meſſias came they ſhould be baptized for the remiſſion of their ſins, either by himſelf, or by ſome great Prophet who ſhould be his Aſſociate. Therefore if John were the Chriſt, they confeſs he may baptize, or if he were Elias, he might baptize. For Malachy foretold, Chap. iv. 5. Behold, I will ſend Eliah the Prophet before the coming of the great, and dreadful day of the Lord. Or if he were that Prophet he might baptize; not any Prophet inſpired from God, that is not the meaning, but the ſame whom Moſes ſpeaks of, Deut. xviii. 15. The Lord thy God will raiſe up unto thee a Prophet from the midſt of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye ſhall hearken. The Jews had no particular name for this Prophet, the plain meaning is, that Prophet is Chriſt himſelf. Now Johns anſwer to the Phariſees was twofold, what he was not, and what he was. He denies that he was the Chriſt, or Elias himſelf who ſhall come perhaps before Chriſt as an Apparitor at the day of Judgment, or that Prophet. Then they object that he muſt not baptize, nothing muſt be innovated in the Church without divine authority, but they wilfully forgat what he ſaid he was, The voice of a Crier to prepare the ways of the Lord; why co jure, as the fore-runner of Chriſts Kingdom, he betokened a new work was beginning, and a new Ceremony of grace appointed, and he baptized as many as came to Jordan, and did confeſs their ſins, Praecurſionis ordinem ſervavit naſcendo, baptiſando, ſays Gregory; he ſhewed himſelf to be Chriſts Harbinger that went before him in Birth, in Preaching, and in Baptiſm.
Now ye ſee by what priviledge John did quite alter the old Moſaical Rites, and began to baptize; and I cannot omit how graciouſly by theſe means God did turn their ſuperſtition into a bleſſing. To begin with the heathen, who perceived in natural cauſes that water gives growth to Plants, and Seeds, and fecundity to all things, but they forgat God who made it a fruitful part of nature, and conceited that there was ſomewhat divine in that Element more than in any other; not could they be contented to reſt upon that, which every man knows, that a clean river would waſh the duſt and ſweat from their body,Perſius Sat. 2. but were ſo fooliſh to ſouze themſelves every morning thrice over head and ears in ſome pure Fountain, as if it had ſome inherent vertue to cleanſe the filthineſs of their ſouls. The Phariſees, being more ſuperſtitious in their generation than any other Jews, followed the heathen cloſe, Mar. vii. 3. They eat not except they waſh often: if they come from Market, except they waſh, they eate not; and therefore they quarrel ſome of the Diſciples that they eat with defiled, that is, with unwaſhen hands. Defiled hands, in the original, are common hands, for whatſoever was commonly touched by them and the Gentiles they called it defiled; and in ſuſpicion they might touch meat, or veſſels, or apparel which was unclean by the Law, they waſhed often to purge themſelves from that defilement. This is well illuſtrated, Joh. ii. where we read that at the marriage in Cana of Galilee there were ready ſtanding ſix water-pots of ſtone after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three Firkins a piece; theſe have reference to that Phariſaical tradition of waſhing often leſt they ſhould be defiled. Now mark how God obſerves both the heathen and the Phariſees in their own weakneſs, and out of that which they made a vain tradition he makes a gracious Sacrament.Conf. Hamp. Court. p. 69. A good Author cites out of the Rabbins, that the Jews had added over and above Moſes his inſtitution of the Paſſeover, firſt theſe words in eating the ſower herbs with the Lamb, Take and eat theſe in remembrance of our deliverance from bondage. And likewiſe they gave a cup of Wine one to another with theſe words, Take and drink this in remembrance of the ſame, &c. And from hence, according to a Cuſtom of their own, our Saviour did break bread, and give wine, and uſe the ſame words in his holy Supper. Thus both the Sacraments, to pleaſe them the better, had their original from ſome of their own Ordinances; but caſt in a new mold; ſo the heathen Temples were changed to be houſes of Prayer. The Croſs, which was no better than their Gallows, is made a ſignificant and laudable Ceremony in Chriſtian Baptiſm. And laſtly, Their ſuperſtitious bathings were turn'd by John, and confirm'd by Chriſt to be an immortal Laver. This I hope ſatisfies the firſt queſtion, how this Inſtitution of Baptiſm began, being never heard of untill the days of John.
The dignity of Johns Baptiſm is now to be examined: It is grown, like many things more, to be full of difficulty becauſe of mens contentions, and without diſcuſſion of theſe three things it cannot be underſtood: 1, What is the vertue of a Sacrament. 2. That Johns Baptiſm had the ſame ſubſtantial vertue with the Baptiſm of Chriſt that it now hath. 3. That in ſome reſpects (both Baptiſms being one and the ſame) the Baptiſm of Chriſt doth exceed the Baptiſm of John.
Sacraments are thus diſtinguiſhed, into ſuch as went before the fall of Adam, Armin. Theſ. 60.and ſuch as went after. Before the Fall there was one Sacrament, and no more, that was the Tree of Life, ordained to be a ſign of the Covenant of Works. After the Fall God did not make a Covenant of Works, but of Grace with man, and ever ſince the Sacraments are Covenants of Grace, and ſeals of the ſame: And they of the Old Teſtament betoken the Covenant promiſed to our Fore-fathers, they of the New Teſtament do imply the Covenant performed. Let me diſtinguiſh again, that in the Old Teſtament all the Sacrifices, and a great part of the ſhadows and Types are ſometimes in the Fathers called Sacraments, becauſe they had a ſignification of Chriſt to come; but Circumciſion and the Paſchal Lamb they only had the Promiſe of Grace and Reconciliation annexed unto them: which is a great deal more than bare ſignification. Rom. 4.11.And as St. Paul ſpeaks honourably of Circumciſion, that it was a Seal of the righteouſneſs of Faith, ſo our Church thinks it not fit to ſpeak contemptibly of the faith of the righteous men under the Law, nor of thoſe viſible ſigns which God appointed to eſtabliſh his Promiſe unto them, but we make them equal in efficacy with Baptiſm and the Lords Supper. That according as their faith did apply the Promiſe unto them, their Sacraments were as profitable for Salvation as ours. Only theſe are Circumſtantial differences: 1. That our Sacraments are meerly ſpiritual, which betoken nothing of this world: The Jews Sacraments had ſomewhat in them both, which belong'd to the body as well as to the ſoul; for Abraham received the ſign of Circumciſion that he ſhould be the Father of many Nations; and the Paſchal Lamb was a remembrance that they came out of Egypt, out of the houſe of bondage. 2. As the light of Faith is brighter with us, the meaſure of the Spirit more abundant, ſo our Sacraments are juſtly ſaid to to be, Virtute majora, more efficacious becauſe we are endued with better means of application. 3. Our Sacraments are actu faciliora, to waſh and be clean, and to eat bread and drink wine, are performed with more facility than the cutting the foreskin of Infants, or the ſlaying of a Lamb to eat it with ſower herbs. 4. Take all the Types and Sacrifices of the Jews together, which were an heavy burden becauſe of their multitude, then our Sacraments are numero pauciora, we have but twain, and ſo their number is not troubleſom. Theſe are accidental differences; but otherwiſe,Tractat. 45. in Jo. as St. Auſtin ſaid of Manna, that it was to them, as the Lords Supper is to us, In ſignis diverſis fides eadem; the Elements were divers, but ſuch as begot the ſame faith, and are tokens of the ſame Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and beget the ſame Salvation.
That which thwarts this Doctrine is the diſtinction of the Schoolmen, that the Sacraments ordained in Moſes Law were ſignificancies of Grace, but the Sacraments of Chriſt did exhibit and confer Grace. What means that? Surely, he that did eat the Paſchal Lamb by faith, to him it was ſpiritual nouriſhment, and he that eats the Lords Supper, to him only it is ſpiritual nouriſhment. I can ſee no odds. The late Romiſh Writers diſclaim their groſs opinion maintained long ago, that in men capable of reaſon and knowledge (for we ſet Infants aſide) the taking of the Sacrament ſhould add a benefit to the Receiver, Ex opere operato externo, ſine motu interno, ſays Biel, by the meer outward act, without an inward preparation. This opinion their Cardinal Controverſer diſavows; for he that eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks his own damnation. Then if Faith be requiſite in the Participant, I cannot ſee how one Sacrament exhibits Grace more than another. It is far from my meaning to diminiſh the excellency and vertue of our Sacraments. No, Con. Fauſt. lib. 19. c. 11.I had rather ſet all diſputations aſide, and ſay with St. Auſtin, Quorum vis inenarrabiliter valet plurimum; that is, their power prevails in ſuch a ſort as we cannot utter how it is. Yet this may be ſafely taught, that they are not helping and partial cauſes of Salvation to be joyned in office with the merit of Chriſt, but only Inſtruments ordained to work Salvation by the Promiſe of God, and the application of a lively faith. Origens words expreſs much if I could explain them, Non ſunt juſtitiae, Orig. in Mat. Tract. 25.ſed conditurae juſtitiarum. The Sacraments are not our righteouſneſs, but as ſauce makes meat fit to be eaten, ſo they make righteouſneſs fit to be put upon us. The Word preacht is the power of God to every man that believeth, not as if there were any Magical power in the pronunciation of the Syllables, but becauſe it prepares ye to faith, and is a means by which the Spirit works his efficacy. So the Sacraments, ſetting aſide the merit of Chriſt, and the Sanctification of the Spirit, are not available; but by thoſe Inſtruments the Father hath promiſed to work, the Son to communicate the merit of his Paſſion, and the Holy Ghoſt to ſanctifie us. I am ſure it is no diſparagement to compare him that hath received a Sacrament with the bleſſed Virgin that received our Saviour in her womb; yet when one cried out, Bleſſed is ſhe that bare thee, and the Paps which gave thee ſuck; Yea, ſays Chriſt, Bleſſed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. So the Sacraments are wonderful helps, great trials of obedience, Seales of mercy, increaſers of charity, the beſt comforts of the ſoul in the world; they are all this, I confeſs, if they be received in faith.
So I have ſpoken of the vertue which is in all kind of Sacraments, the next part of my remonſtrance is that the Baptiſm of John hath the ſame vertue with the Baptiſm of Chriſt. Take my reaſons briefly: 1. It was the Baptiſm of Repentance, and Repentance cannot be taught without faith in Chriſt, and Remiſſion of ſins in his bloud; take them two away, and Repentance is but a leſſon of heathen Philiſophy: Put them both together, and is there not all the benefit of Chriſts Baptiſm, faith and forgiveneſs of ſins? Nay, directly, Mar. i. 4. John did preach the Baptiſm of repentance for the remiſſion of ſins. And indeed, no man can ſeparate true repentance from remiſſion of ſins, At what time ſoever a ſinner doth repent him, &c. 2. The ſcope of his Baptiſm was to warn men to fly from the wrath to come: that is the true waſhing of the Spirit. Says he to the Phariſees, when they came to him to Jordan, O ye generation of vipers, who hath warned ye to fly from the wrath to come? 3. Our Saviour fortelling to his Diſciples that the time was coming at the feaſt of Pentecoſt, when they ſhould have a greater bleſſing from heaven than ever they had before, Acts xv. John truly baptized with water, but ye ſhall be baptized with the Holy Ghoſt not many days hence: Then the Diſciples had no other Baptiſm but Johns, untill they were baptized with fire, and ſurely they had a true, and an efficacious baptiſm. So Apollos knew of no other baptiſm but Johns, Acts xviii. 25. and yet we do not find that he was ſprinkled with any other baptiſm. 4. This reaſon is of great weight, if Johns were not the true baptiſm of the Spirit which Chriſt received, then either all we have received a baptiſm divers from our Saviour which were very comfortleſs; or elſe we have not received the baptiſm of the Spirit, which were every whit as comfortleſs. 5. John baptized at the ſame time while the Diſciples of Chriſt did baptize, even till the time that he was ſhut up in priſon by Herod. And this he ought not to have done if his waſhing had been uneffectual; but to have it laid down when a more perfect Sacrament was a foot: Theſe are the reaſons ſufficient, as I ſuppoſe, to prove that the Baptiſm of John had the ſame ſubſtantial vertue with the Baptiſm of Chriſt.
This is that opinion againſt which the Tridentine Council doth thunder forth Anathema: 1. Becauſe it is called the Baptiſm of John, and therefore a mere external Ceremony, which is diſtinguiſht from Chriſts Baptiſm that is accompanied with internal Grace. Beloved, I conceive it was called Johns Baptiſm, not as if it wanted the grace of God from above (for the Phariſees durſt not reply to our Saviours queſtion, that the Baptiſm of John was from heaven, and not from men) but becauſe it began with John; even as the Law of God is called Moſes Law, becauſe Moſes was the firſt Mediator of it. Sacraments are of three ſorts; Praenuntiativa venturi Meſſiae, Some that promiſed a Meſſias to come, as Circumciſion and the Paſchal Lamb; Some that promiſe the Meſſias now a coming, monſtrativa venientis, as the Baptiſm of John; Some that promiſe the Meſſias is come already, annuntiativa exhibiti, Baptiſm and the Lords Supper; theſe meet all in one center of faith, and have the ſame efficacy. 2. It is urged, that John puts a difference between his baptizing and Chriſts: I baptize you with water, he ſhall baptize you with the holy Ghoſt, and with fire. I anſwer with St. Hierom, Ex quo diſcimus,In 4 cap. Iſa. homo tantùm aquam tribuit, Deus ſpiritum ſanctum. From whence we learn that the Miniſtry of man ſuppeditates only water, the power of God ſuppeditates the Holy Ghoſt; wherefore one ſign is not oppoſed to another, but the Miniſtry of man to the authority of Chriſt; otherwiſe it will follow, that now the Holy Ghoſt is given by him that baptizeth. The baptiſm of the Spirit is not another Baptiſm, but an heavenly bleſſing upon the baptiſm of water, and it comprehends all the benefits of the New Teſtament, that is, all the merit of Chriſt. 3. I confeſs this is ſtrongly oppoſed, Acts xix. 3. that ſome Diſciples of Epheſus who were baptized unto the Baptiſm of John were baptized again in the name of the Lord Jeſus; as if Johns waſhing had been a watry Meteor rather than a Baptiſm. Of many anſwers I like but two to this place: Firſt, ſays Lombard, all were not rebaptized whom John had baptized before; the Diſciples were not: for whatſoever ſome Apocryphal ſtories ſay that Chriſt baptized his Mother, St. Peter, yea, and John Baptiſt himſelf; yet the Scripture ſays he baptized no man; but where a ſubſtantial error might be committed or apprehended in Johns Baptiſm, there the parties were re-baptized. Now, it is my own conjecture out of the Text, that theſe men were baptized after our Saviours Paſſion, In nomine venturi Meſſiae, in the name of Chriſt to come, who was come and had ſuffered for mankind, therefore to correct that fundamental error it may be the Diſciples of Epheſus were baptized again. Secondly, I ſee no exceptions at this anſwer, that the Diſciples of Epheſus were only baptized in Johns Baptiſm, and Paul teacheth, that all whom John baptized were baptized in the name of the Lord Jeſus. Therefore, at your leaſure mark the fifth verſe of that Chapter. Act xix. that they are the words of Paul, preaching how John baptized, not the words of St. Luke how they of Epheſus were rebaptized, and that very difficult place is eaſily anſwered. Wherefore it ſtands I am ſure as moſt probable of two opinions, that the Baptiſm of John, to which Chriſt came, is the ſame with the Baptiſm of Chriſt, and as for theſe that curſe our opinion with Anathema, I ſay unto them, Woe unto thoſe that call light darkneſs, and make the truth a lye.
Though ſo ancient Fathers may ſeem to diſſent from me, yet they are not ſo uncharitable to bid Anathema to any in ſo diſputable a point.Lib. 5. Con. Donat. c. 11. I am ſure St. Auſtin having diſputed on both ſides, concludes, he would not ſtrive eagerly with him that ſhould ſay, ſins were remitted in the Baptiſm of John, meaning, it did not eſſentially differ from the Baptiſm of Chriſt; yet I will end with this third obſervation, that in ſome leſs principal reſpects the Baptiſm of Chriſt doth exceed the Baptiſm of John. I will name five diſtinctions:
1. In formâ verborum; John baptized in the name of the Meſſias that came after him, Acts xix. 4. and it was more advantage to teach it to every of the Jews, as he baptized them, one by one, than to proclaim it to the whole multitude: But Chriſt bade his Diſciples chooſe another form, and for that he would not take all honour to himſelf, it muſt be in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt.
2. They differ in amplitudine nationum. John medled with none but ſuch as were within the Regions of Judea, Chriſt bad his Diſciples to except no people, but to waſh all Nations from their ſins.
3. Chriſts Baptiſm tranſcends Johns in varietate perſonarum; for it ſounds not to likelihood that John baptized Infants; they could not confeſs their ſins, nor learn the doctrine of Repentance; nor be taught the coming of the Meſſias, ſuch only came to him: But Chriſts Baptiſm pertains to little ones, and his ſpirit was poured out upon all fleſh, your Sons and Daughters ſhall Propheſie, and your young men ſee viſions.
4. Chriſts Baptiſm hath the upper hand in gradibus efficaciae, the Spirit is more operative in Baptiſm ſince Chriſt did go to his Father to ſend us the Comforter than ever it was before.
5. It is greater than Johns baptiſm in modo neceſſitatis. The Sacraments of the New Teſtament had the ſeeds of life in them from the firſt inſtitution, and they were good to the receiver; but they were not impoſed by neceſſary commandment till the old Law was quite aboliſhed, and that was at the Reſurrection, ſays Leo; or at the fartheſt, in other mens opinions,Leo. Ep. 4. at the feaſt of Pentecoſt. So Johns baptiſm was always good, never neceſſary; Chriſts baptiſm is always good, is, and ever will be neceſſary unto the end of the world.
Theſe are leſs principal differences, the ſubſtance of both being the ſame, for one thing yet remains to be propoſed, that the Baptiſm of John opened the gate unto everlaſting life, as ſome have ſhewed by an Allegorical reaſon taken from the place, where John did baptize Chriſt, in Jordan, ſays this Text (not a private dipping in a Chamber;) and of all other places of Jordan it was Bethabara, Joh. i. 28. which is, being interpreted, Domus tranſitus, the houſe of paſſing over; even in all likelihood where Joſhuah divided Jordan, and paſſed over into the Land of Promiſe, this is the circumſtance of place which I propounded, the fortunate ſeat where this work was done, to betoken that as Joſhuah brought the twelve Tribes at that very ſtanding through the River into that pleaſant Land which was promiſed to Abraham, ſo Jeſus will bring us through the ſprinkling of water into the Kingdom of heaven. AMEN.