A Century of Sermons, Sermon 5
THE FIFTH SERMON UPON THE Baptiſm of our Saviour.
MAT. iii. 16.
And loe the heavens were opened unto him, and he ſaw the Spirit of God deſcending like a Dove, and lighting upon him.
AS Moſes ſaid unto himſelf when he ſaw the ſplendor of a bright fire in the buſh, ſo do I ſay unto you, Let us now turn aſide, and ſee this great ſight: Great in the Object, great in the Perſons, and great in the Myſteries. Great in the Object to be ſeen, for loe the heavens were opened. And what mean traſh was that which Satan did offer to the view of our Saviour, in reſpect of this, all the Kingdoms of the world made viſible in the twinckling of an eye? Great in the Perſons to be underſtood in their ſeveral apparitions, for theſe are the great Eſtates that rule the world; God the Son manifeſted at the Baptiſm of water; God the Holy Ghoſt to be diſcerned in the ſenſible ſhape of a Dove; and God the Father, whoſe glory was heard in the voice, This is my well beloved Son. This is no uſual matter, it muſt be ſome extraordinary ſolemnity which is graced by the full concourſe of the Trinity. I find it ſo once at the Creation, Gen. i. and I find it at this time when Chriſt is baptized. Man was created a brittle veſſel for the Potters uſe, without a Metaphor, the ſervant of his Lord; and to let him know to whom he owes his Creation, every fountain of life is recited in the Story: The Father, the Word which was in the beginning, and the Spirit which moved upon the face of the waters. But in the New Teſtament we riſe up higher from the ſtate of Servants, and become the Sons of our heavenly Father; and that we may know to whom we owe our adoption and grace, once again in this place Chriſt comes to Jordan, the Holy Ghoſt deſcends in the bodily ſhape of a Dove, and the Father utters himſelf in a voice from heaven.
Now for the myſteries, I am bold to ſay, the Church is capable of no greater than are here contained. Firſt, Here are all the cauſes and inſtruments of our Salvation implied: The Sacraments, which are the Seals of righteouſneſs; the word taught, which begets faith; and the Spirit which moves upon them, and puts life into them both. The Father is in the Word, the Son ſanctifieth the Sacrament, and the influence which bleſſeth them both unto us is the Dove, which reſted upon that ſacred head, unto whom all the members are fitly compacted. And beſides all theſe primary cauſes and inſtrumental helps of ſalvation, here is an Epitomy of all thoſe benefits which the Mediatorſhip of Chriſt will procure unto us. The Heavens, which were ſhut before, ſet open to receive us; the Spirit of Sanctification to be poured out upon us; and that God will be pleaſed in us through his only beloved Son. To recapitulate theſe things premiſed briefly, the Myſteries are ſo great, as none ſo ſuperlative: The Perſons manifeſted infinitely glorious, as none ſo excellent; the Object ſo delightful to the eye of the ſoul, as none ſo amiable. And loe the heavens were opened unto him, &c. Of three immortal benefits, which our Redeemer hath procured for us, this Text contains a couple, and both declared in no ordinary faſhion, but by the wonderful power of God. Firſt, Here is a wonder wrought above, Loe the heavens were opened unto him. Secondly, Here is another wonder come down below to the world beneath: And he ſaw the Spirit of God deſcending like a Dove, and lighting upon him. Theſe are the two members of the Text, the firſt part whereof is opened already; (for how could we unlock that hidden Myſtery, unleſs the Key of David had unbarred it?) And loe the heavens, &c.
Take notice in the firſt part of the Text, that here is a word of invitement to draw our eyes upon it, Loe the heavens were opened. Nature hath made man with that erection of face to look upward, that he muſt often view the heavens; but the ſight is never clear enough, without abundance of grace, to ſee them open. Wherefore without the advantage of the ſecond Miracle in the Text, we ſhould never be capable to conceive the firſt; Chriſt procures the Dove to deſcend, he makes the holy Spirit light among his Saints; and then our eyes which were bedarkned before ſhall be ready to look up and perceive, Loe the heavens were opened. In this order I ſhall briefly diſcourſe upon it: 1. What is meant by the heavens ſtanding open. 2. What did procure and obtain it. 3. How this Miracle fell out to glorifie Chriſt. 4. What joy and comfort it implies to all thoſe that are of the houſhold of our Saviour.
The firſt inquiry is to this purpoſe, what is meant and expreſt by the heavens ſtanding open. We do but grope in the dark for ſuch notions as this, and mens opinions are divided into five ſeveral conjectures.
Firſt, When the true glory of the heavens is made viſible to the eye of a man upon earth, God imparting, and revealing to the ſenſes of his body a taſte of that happineſs, which is laid up for them that fear him. So Stephen was raviſht with ſuch a ſight, and cried out, I ſee the heavens opened, Acts vii. 56.and the Son of man ſtanding on the right hand of God. It is not needful to ſay that the parts of heaven were ſet open like a window to let him look in; but as it is concluded in faireſt probability, Oculus ejus porrectus fuit uſque ad coelum empyreum; The glance of his eye was endowed with vertue to penetrate through the clouds, and through the ſpheres unto the Throne of God. This acception doth no way agree with my Text; for the heavens are ſaid to be opened in this Scripture, that all the multitude might behold the miracle; but you muſt not think it was given to them all, good and bad, to pry as far as to the higheſt, and moſt ſecret Ark of glory above.
Secondly, Sometimes the heavens are ſaid to be opened, Non reſeratione elementorum, ſed ſpiritualibus oculis, ſays St. Hierom, not by a real apparition in the heavens, but the intellectual fancy travels in child-birth with a divine paſſion, and it ſeems to be opened to our ſoul when it is wrapt as it were with an extaſie ſent from God. So Ezekiel, being raviſht from himſelf in the Spirit, ſaw the heavens opened, and the viſions of God. In like manner Paul was wrapt up into the third heavens, and ſaw unutterable ſtrange things, but he could not reſolve himſelf whether he were in the body when he ſaw them. This is intellectual Viſion, which cannot agree with my Text, for the rarity of the wonder is, that divine things became obvious to men in a viſible manifeſtation, the Son of God in the fleſh, the Holy Ghoſt in the ſhape of a Dove, the voice of the Father brought ſenſibly to the ear: Then ſurely this apparition of the heaven opened came not ſecretly to the underſtanding, but openly to the eye of man.
They that go the third way bind themſelves to the plain Letter of the Scripture, that ſome part of the heaven was drawn open like a Curtain, that a proſpect of glory might be ſeen, to enamour the ſoul of all Spectators. Others reject it, and ſay, that it were ſuperfluous to make a rupture in the heaven, if not impoſſible. Thou haſt molted the heavens, and founded them like braſs, Job xxxvii. Suppoſe that true in the Literal ſenſe, it follows that it is therefore inviolable to be broken aſunder by any natural cauſe, howſoever God can crack their ſolidity, and rent them aſunder. Yet hear with what ſubtilty it is pleaded that this were ſuperfluous; for Heaven is a Diaphanous body, you may ſee through it; we behold the Sun, and fixed Stars ſo many thouſand thouſand cubits diſtant from us above the Spheres, why then ſhould the junctures of the Orbs be opened to ſhew an Object, when they are more tranſparent than the air? But admit the heaven is opened, what ſhall fill the Hiatus or vacuity? All the Element of fire and air would not ſuffice to repleniſh a breach from the concave of the Moon to the higheſt Orb. You muſt not ſay the ſpace is left void; Vacuum was never heard of in nature, beſides, unleſs the ſpace of the rupture were filled up, no ſpecies could be conveyed unto the eye to make an Object viſible. For when ſome Philoſophers delivered, that if it were not for the interpoſition of the Element of Air a Fly might be ſeen as far as heaven: Ariſtotle ſhews their error, that, if it were not for the medium of the air, no man could ſee a Milſtone at the diſtance of an inch. Theſe reaſons according to nature are undeniable, that the heavens need not be really opened to diſcover any thing above; but if God would have it ſo, to make it a complete evident ſign, that by our Saviours mediation the heavens ſhall open and receive our bodies hereafter into glory, then is it frivolous in man to diſpute that it muſt be ſuperfluous.
Fourthly, Lira, when he had ſtudied upon it, how the heaven was opened, ſays it was no more, but that the Air was diſparted by a great glance of lightning. The Heathen indeed called that the opening of the heaven, Ruptoque polo micat igneus aether. Silius.It was a lightning from heaven that caſt Saul upon his face unto the ground, Acts ix. 3. And among other terrors of Gods Majeſty, David rehearſeth this, Pſal. xviii. 13. The Lord thundred from heaven, his lightnings gave ſhine unto the world, the earth ſaw it and was afraid. By the rule of theſe inſtances this opinion ſhould be diſcarded; becauſe this opening of the heaven was ſweet and amiable to the beholders, no ways terrible; yet ſince it is obvious in heathen Writings, eſpecially among their Poets, to allow ſome flaſhes of bright lightning for fortunate and auſpicious, therefore I do not diſprove, nor yet greedily embrace this conjecture.
Fifthly, The Air is ſo often taken for the loweſt heaven as nothing more uſual; he rained Manna upon them, and gave them food from heaven, Pſal. lxxviii. 25. And when the Deluge did drown the world, it is ſaid when the Air poured forth rain, that the windows of heaven were opened, Gen. vii. 11. Wherefore a mutation in the Air above might be a repreſentment in this place that the heavens were opened; as thus, a fair and delightful paſſage might ſeem to be ſpread abroad by the condenſation, or thickning together of the upper part of the Air, making it a ſhining body; and by the rarefaction of the lower part of the Air, through which the object might be conveyed with much grace and beauty to the beholders. Now out of theſe three laſt conjectures how the heavens were opened chooſe ye which ye will: The firſt is literal, but full of difficulty; the ſecond not improbable; the laſt without exception, and above all the reſt moſt uſual.
Being paſt the firſt conſideration, what is meant by the opening of the heavens, which I acknowledge is not clear from all uncertainty, the next Point, I am ſure, is moſt certain, what did procure ſuch a Miracle, that the glory from heaven did appear to men upon earth, for it is evidently certified, Luk. iii. 21. Jeſus being baptized, Jam. v. 18.and praying, the heaven was opened. Elias ſhut up the heaven by the word of the Lord, and he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain unto the earth. If the ſupplication of the Servant was in ſuch force with the Maſter, then how forcible muſt the Prayer of the Son be, of the well beloved Son before his Father? He ſhall not only bring down the rain upon us like Elias, but the waters above the heavens to fall down upon our heads all the ſearching graces of the Holy Ghoſt. But from each of thoſe examples you may ſee what part of Religion that is which is clavis coeli, the Key to open the gate of heaven, it is Prayer: For how ſhould God open the heaven to you if you will not open your lips to God? I return to the pattern of Elias, whoſe words were commendatory to cloſe, or uncloſe the skie, according as he made interceſſion to God. Well did Eliſha entitle him the Chariot of Iſrael, and the horſemen thereof, Quia magis juvabat Iſraelem oratione & zelo, quàm magna curruum, & equitum multitudo: Out of the Chaldee Paraphraſe, for his Prayer and Zeal did ſtand Iſrael in better ſtead than a multitude of horſemen and Chariots. Obſerve with me two things moſt remarkable in his Prayer, and then think if he were not a man like to prevail in his interceſſions.1 Kin. xviii. 42.43. 1. He caſt himſelf down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, as if by that ſtrange, humble, miſerable geſture he would compel God to hear him. 2. He roſe from his Prayers, and fell to them again ſeven times and no leſs, and never made an end till his Servant told him he ſaw a little cloud riſing out of the ſea. He that will give over for ſeven times ſeven repulſes, and will not be importunate with the Lord, it were pity his deſires ſhould be ſucceſsful. Such conſtant, ſuch contrite devotion, how can it chooſe but pierce the clouds? The High Prieſt went once a year into the Holy of Holies with the perfume of Incenſe. What is Incenſe but Prayer? What is the Holy of Holies but the Kingdom of heaven? O that you would believe (which I am ſure you ought to do) that no part of Piety is ſo beneficial to the ſoul as Prayer. You will remember my ſaying perhaps, when you are upon the bed of your laſt ſickneſs, that Prayer is the Key to open the gate of heaven, that Prayer is that addreſs of the ſoul with which God appointed we ſhould draw near unto him. Now I know the moſt of you had rather ſpend your pains another way: but at that laſt hour of anxiety, unleſs God forſake you for your ſins, your heart will be intent upon nothing but upon zealous Prayer. It is but a circumſtance drawn into my Text from another Evangeliſt, therefore I will paſs it by with Bedes obſervation, that Prayer is an active and a paſſive Benediction; it draws God to us, and by the ſame motion draws us to God; as if a ſhip lay at Anchor toſt upon the waves, you may pluck the Cable with your hands, and think to hale the ſhip to you, but the Cable being of ſtronger tack will pluck you to the Ship. The Prophet Iſaiah in his Prayers was confident he could not be denied, therefore he cries out, O that thou wouldſt burſt the heavens, Iſa. lxiv. 1.O Lord and come down: Our High-Prieſt Jeſus offered the ſweet odours of his Prayers unto his Father, and loe the heavens were opened unto him.
The ſecond conſideration of the firſt Point is ended, but I would you would diligently begin to practiſe it. Thirdly, I ſhall recite it before you, how this Miracle fell out to glorifie Chriſt. Therefore the Text ſays, Loe the heavens were opened to him; opened manifeſtly for the view of all beholders that were preſent; but opened unto him, becauſe it was meant for his inauguration, to honour his Mediatorſhip, who came to redeem mankind from the curſe of endleſs death and captivity. Therefore imagine not, as if the whole heavens did ſeem unveiled to diſcover all their glory, but only ſo much of the Firmament did ſpangle like a Canopy advanced in ſtate over our Saviours head, as might betoken his Celeſtial Dignity. The Father at this Baptiſm proclaimed him from above to be his well beloved Son; and to make us underſtand that his love, where it lights, conſiſts not in ſweet words of affection only, he did attire the Air in moſt Princely beauty to honour his well-beloved, in whom he was well pleaſed. Contrariwiſe, at the Paſſion of Chriſt the Sun denied his light to the earth, and the Regions above did never look ſo terrible as then with black clouds and darkneſs, for he carried the malediction of us all upon him, and it was a day of wrath and vengeance, when God took puniſhment upon all iniquity. We read of no Angel that was near to behold him at that dolorous hour upon the Croſs; belike it was a ſight ſo ingrate and pitiful to behold, that they withdrew themſelves; but at the triumph of his Baptiſm, it is not mine, but St. Auſtins opinion, that the heavens,Serm. 37. which reach as far as the habitation of all bleſſed ſpirits, were opened, Ʋt in coeleſtibus eſſet miraculum, de his quae agebantur in terris; that the Angels might take this amiable ſpectacle into their view of thoſe things that were done upon earth; for would it not raviſh the Powers of Heaven to peep into this Myſtery, that the Son of God ſhould ſtoop ſo low in the River Jordan? That a mortal man ſhould hold up his hand above his head to baptize him▪ When Iſrael came out of Egypt, and the houſe of Jacob from the Babyloniſh bondage, the deliverance was ſo gladſom to the Land of Canaan, to receive her ancient Inhabitants again, that the Mountains skipped like Rams, and the little Hills like young Sheep. When the Apoſtles prayed among them that were converted, and had received the Holy Ghoſt, the place was ſhaken where they were aſſembled, as if the ground could have cleft for joy, Acts iv. 31. Then could the Heavens contain to burſt themſelves for joy when Chriſt was initiated into his Royal Office? The Earth was obſequious to the honour of ſuch as were earthly; the Heavens did honour Chriſt at his Baptiſm; for the ſecond man was from the heaven heavenly.
Now I come to fill up the laſt thing conſiderable in this Miracle, what joy and comfort the opening of the heavens affords to all them that believe in Jeſus. The heavens were opened, the Dove deſcended, a voice from above proclaimed the good will of the Father; to rejoyce our hearts, that the immortal Laver of Baptiſm is able to caſt all thoſe bleſſings upon us; not that all thoſe were not in Chriſt, and due to him before the Sacrament. For did he then begin to have the Spirit reſt upon him who is of the ſame eternal ſubſtance with the Spirit? Or was that the firſt time when the heavens were opened to him, of whom it is ſaid of old, Heaven is my ſeat, and Earth is my foot ſtool? Nor did his Father then begin to call him Son; for we read in the book of the Pſalms, Thou art my Son, this day, that is from all eternity, I have begotten thee. When God ſpake, and anſwered our Saviours Prayer from Heaven, Chriſt turns to the Jews, ſaying, This voice came not for me, but for your ſakes, Joh. xii. 30. Likewiſe, he might expound upon the opening of the heaven, this was not for me, but for your ſakes. Reſtincta eſt aquis baptiſmi romphaea flammatilis quae claudit paradiſum, ſays Ratbertus. A fiery flaming Sword debarr'd the way into Paradiſe by Gods appointment, which flame is myſtically quenched in the Baptiſm of our bleſſed Mediator; and now, as if the Angel had ſaid, I will ſtop the way into Paradiſe no more, the Heavens were opened. And if Marriage be called honourable, inaſmuch as he vouchſafed his Preſence at a Marriage at Cana in Galilee; then Baptiſm is moſt honourable and bleſſed, becauſe he was more than preſent at it. He came in his own perſon from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized; To what purpoſe ſhould this Scripture ſay, Loe or behold the heavens were opened? Unleſs it were a continual opening from that time to this, how could we behold it? If open, and immediately ſhut again, it were not ſo proper to ſay unto us, behold. But if they always ſtand open by the meritorious Redemption of Chriſt, then it is an apt Phraſe to ſay, Behold the Heavens were opened unto the worlds end. The Schoolmen collect a threefold opening of the heaven in holy Scripture, and every way through the power and act of Chriſt. Says Ales, In baptiſmo aperta eſt coeli janua per figuram, in paſſione per meritum, in aſcenſione per effectum. 1. The gates of heaven were opened at this Baptiſm; as in a Type or Figure that they ſhould be opened, and God will certainly make good whatſoever he did but ſhadow in a Figure. 2. They were opened at the ſhedding of his bloud upon the Croſs, as by thoſe means, which did meritoriouſly procure the opening: Therefore we ſing in the Te Deum, When thou hadſt overcome the ſharpneſs of death, thou didſt open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. 3. They were opened effectually, when his own glorious body entred in once into the moſt Holy of Holies, when the heads of the everlaſting doors were lifted up at the day of his Aſcenſion; And where the head doth ſit at the right hand of God, the Members of the body, having their ſins waſhed clean away, ſhall reign alſo.
The Earth never opened in holy Scripture but upon ſome Curſe for the deſtruction of man: The Heavens never opened, but that ſome mighty Bleſſing might diſtil down upon us, the probatum whereof is in the ſecond general part of my Text, for the firſt Miracle, which we have handled, did but make way unto the ſecond: And after the heavens were opened, he ſaw the Spirit of God deſcending like a Dove, and lighting upon him. That John Baptiſt had this Miracle ſo clearly in his eye that he ſaw the Spirit of God, I find it not ſo material to the buſineſs of the Text as to inſiſt much upon it. For although ſome obſerve upon it, that the firſt Witneſs that preach'd of the Son of God is conceited to be the firſt Witneſs that ſaw the Holy Ghoſt; yet the Miracle hapned not ſo much for Johns ſake, as to lead the whole multitude into a right apprehenſion, that Jeſus was that holy One which came into the world for the redemption of Iſrael. John was born of a barren woman, his Garments very ſtrange and uncouth, no better than the skins of Camels clapt about him as they were flay'd from the beaſt, his auſterity of life ſtupendious, his Preaching powerful, high in eſtimation, ſo that all the Regions round about came to him to be baptized; this drew them to conceit that none could come into the world to be compared with John. But Columba columbam docuit; the Dove taught the Dove, the Spirit taught the Church who was the Chriſt the Saviour of mankind, by the deſcending of the Dove. That which I will ſpeak to this Point briefly ſhall be brancht out into a threefold inquiry: 1. Whether this were a living bird, or no more than the figurative Apparition of a Dove. 2. How aptly the Spirit came in one figure upon Chriſt: in another of fire and cloven tongues at the day of Pentecoſt upon the Apoſtles. 3. That the figure of a Dove doth ſweetly admoniſh us of the properties of the Holy Ghoſt.
What manner of Dove this was is not a queſtion of ſuch doubtful reſolution as the former, how the heavens were opened, for treading in the path of the Scripture, as I adjudge it, we may find the truth. For three Evangeliſts ſay that the Spirit did ſit upon him, foreign, as it were a Dove; then add St. Luke unto it, that the Dove came in foreign, in a bodily ſhape, and theſe put together, me ſeems, do ſtrongly prove two things: 1. That it was not viva columba, a Pigeon out of the Dove-Coats with a living ſoul, for to notifie that there was but the outward faſhion, and reſemblance of ſuch a bird; in three Goſpels we read it was but quaſi columba, like a Dove. And yet that you may not take it to be mere Phenomenon, a ſhadow to perſwade the eye, having no ſubſtance in truth, St. Luke hath not omitted that it was a bodily ſhape, Verae effigies columbae, a body created for this ſervice, having the true lineaments of a Dove. To make both theſe opinions good by ſeveral illuſtrations. And firſt what need it to be of the true Species of Doves? Was not miraculous Omnipotency as much ſeen, to frame ſuch a ſhape out of the Elements at an inſtant, and to put motion in it, to deſcend upon the head of Chriſt, as if it had been a very foul? It was a work which could not be effected but by the infinite and incomprehenſible Trinity. For the Dove was a repreſentation of the Holy Ghoſt, Aug. de Temper. Serm. 37.the voice which came from heaven did ſpeak the Father only, the humane nature was united only to the Perſon of the Son, but the Dove, the voice, the humane nature, were the works of the whole Trinity, which coequally works all effects in the world. You may fully conceive what natural compoſition this Dove had by thoſe bodily ſhapes wherein the Angels or God appeared of old to the Patriarchs, they were not actuated by a ſoul, but moved about by God or his Angels for the preſent turn, as a Ship is by the Pilot. When their Errand was diſpatcht the body vaniſht away into air: So the uſe of this Miracle being accompliſhed at Jordan, the Dove was no more ſeen, but inſtantly reſolved into Elements. Beſides, that which came down upon the Diſciples at Whitſontide was a cloven tongue like as of fire; did ever any man ſay it was fire indeed? So this Apparition upon the head of Chriſt was like a Dove. But for what purpoſe or neceſſity ſhould it be a Dove indeed? For Chriſt was man indeed, becauſe he took upon him the nature of man to redeem it; therefore the reaſon is forcible that the Holy Ghoſt ſhould not come down in a Dove indeed, becauſe he took not upon him the nature of a Dove to redeem it.
Secondly, I gathered from St. Luke though it had not the life of a Dove, yet it had lineaments and compacture of true ſubſtance like a Dove. Chriſt came among us bodily in the fleſh, wherefore, ſays St. Auſtin, to ſhew that the aſſumption of a corporeal nature did not make an inequality of perſons in the Godhead; a voice was heard from heaven in the Perſon of the Father, as if it had proceeded from the inſtruments of the body, and a bodily Dove did deſcend from heaven in the Perſon as it were of the Holy Ghoſt. Likewiſe the coming down is the motion of a body. The Spirit is every where, and cannot deſcend to any place, which was not filled with his preſence from the beginning of the world, but in hôc ſigno, in this bodily ſhape,Luk. x. 18. and effigie he came down. And mark, Beloved, the Devil is Spiritus cadens, I ſaw Satan fall like lightning, down he tumbles to the nethermoſt Pit, and all that follow him; but the Holy Ghoſt deſcends like an humble Spirit, according as our Saviour bids us place our ſelves at the Feaſt, Go and ſit down in the loweſt room; Luk. xiv. 10.but litterally deſcenſion is infallibly the motion of a body. And otherwiſe the wonder had herein conſiſted, not that ſuch a Dove was ſeen, but that ſuch a ſtrange ſpectacle appeared to John, and to all the multitude, which was not to be ſeen. John did ſee the object, it did not phantaſtically in a ſhadow deceive him, as if he ſaw it. And it is a touch worthy to be obſerved by the way, that my Text ſays he ſaw the Spirit, which is a clear Metonimy of the ſign for the thing ſignified, for in truth he ſaw no more than the outward ſign of the Spirit. To call the holy Spirit by the attribute of the Dove is a Sacramental ſignification, not an eſſential mutation, juſt ſuch a form of ſpeech as when Chriſt brake bread at his Laſt Supper, and ſaid unto his Diſciples, This is my body.
I proceed to that which follows, how aptly the Spirit came in one figure at this time upon Chriſt, in another of fire and cloven tongues at this day of Pentecoſt upon the Apoſtles. If I would rake old Hereſies out of their dead embers to refute them, here I had occaſion. The Arians extorted from hence, that Chriſt did receive the mighty gift of Sanctification at this Baptiſm, and other admirable graces of the Spirit, which he had not before. If they were worth the refuting, I could tell them, Joh. i. 14. As ſoon as ever the Word was made fleſh, and dwelt among us, he was full of grace and truth. On the contrary, the Macedonian Hereticks, men of corrupt minds, did make a difference of dignity between Chriſt and the Holy Ghoſt; as the body of a man was more excellent, which belonged to Chriſt, than the body of a Dove, wherin the Spirit ſate upon him. Then belike if an Angel ſhould come in the ſhape of a man, or of an Eagle, which is more glorious than a Dove, he ſhould alſo have the preheminence. But the blindneſs of the error came from hence; that they did not diſtinguiſh how Chriſt took upon him the nature of a man, but the Holy Ghoſt did not aſſume the nature of a Dove. Let theſe blaſphemies go, let them rot and conſume with the Authors which invented them; the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all one, in Glory equal, in Majeſty coeternal. Upon occaſion of Baptiſm the Maſter ſent forth his Diſciples, ſaying, Go, and baptize all Nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt. Can I paſs by the ſurpaſſing wit of St. Auſtin upon that place? Non in nominibus, ſed in nomine patris, Tract. 6 in Job an.& ubi unum nomen eſt, ibi unus Deus; Not in the names, but in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt. Where there is but one name and no more, there is but one God, and no more; As in like argument St. Paul, Gal. iii. 16. Now to Abraham and his ſeed were the Promiſes made, he ſaith not and to ſeeds, as of many, but as of one, and to thy ſeed, which is Chriſt.
Let me return into my own path which I am to beat, that Chriſt had one ſign of the Holy Ghoſt coming down upon him, and the Apoſtles had another: Upon which diverſity thus I find the Fathers exerciſing their wits in ſeveral meditations.
Firſt, The Spirit ſate upon our Saviours head in the ſhape of an whole entire creature, in no other figure but a tongue upon the Apoſtles, which is no more than a little part of the body,Salmeron. tom. 4. pa, 1. tract. 7. Moral. lib. 2. c. 41. for we receive the grace of God by ſcantlings, and pittances, and ſmall meaſures, the whole Spirit flowed into Chriſt in all abundance. In like manner Gregory ſhews the odds between his fulneſs and ours, in Analogy between the head and other members of the body. A body hath the ſenſe of touching only and no more, the head is the continent of all the five ſenſes; Ita membra ſuperni capitis in quibuſdam virtutibus emicant, ipſum caput in cunctis virtutibus flagret. So the Saints have ſeveral gifts and ornaments divided among them, ſome in one kind, ſome in another; but the head of the Church hath all, flouriſheth with all thoſe vertues united in himſelf, which are parted among his members.
Secondly, The tongues of holy men, and Prophets did often promiſe grace and reconciliation to the world; and therefore a tongue did ſit upon them, as it were a Creſt of Armory; a Dove, when time was, did actually exhibit that God was pacified,Gen. viii. 11. and appeaſed when he had been wroth: I mean the Dove which returned to the Ark with a dry Olive branch in her mouth, in token that the waters were dried up, and that Noah and his Family might come forth with ſafety. Therefore a Dove moſt properly did belong to Chriſt. Moſt properly I ſay, but more tranſcendently,Homil. 13. in Mat. ſays St. Chryſoſtom now than ever. The firſt Dove did comfort the world, foreign, that puniſhment was taken away; this Dove is a ſacred pledge that grace and bleſſings ſhall be beſtowed upon us. Now it appeared not to bring one man and his family ſafe into the poſſeſſion of the earth; but to bring all Believers ſafe into the poſſeſſion of heaven.
Thirdly, The Spirit came not to Chriſt in fire, for he was full of Zeal; nor yet in the ſhape of a tongue,1 King. xix. 12. Maldonat. Mat. xi. 29. for full of grace were his lips; But diſcite quia mitis, learn of me, becauſe I am meek and gentle; therefore, ſays Bernard, the Dove came to teſtifie the placidneſs of the Lamb. Quod agnus in animalibus, columba in avibus: ſuch as the Lamb is among the beaſts of the field, ſuch is the Dove among the fouls of the air.Calvinus. Fire is ſtern, and formidable, Chriſt would have none of that; that which ſorts with conſolation to recreate a trembling conſcience was his peculiar choice, therefore the third Perſon deſcended like a Dove, and ſate upon him.
Fourthly, The tongues, wherein the Apoſtles received the grace of God, were cloven and divided, not to ſignifie a rent, and a diviſion, Linguarum diſtantiae non ſunt ſchiſmata, but becauſe there is a diverſity, and a diſpreading about of the gifts of God. Then comes down one ſingle Dove, to honour Unity: Spiritus ſanctus diviſus in linguis, unitus in columbâ, Tract 6. in Johan.ſays St. Auſtin, it was pride which cauſed that diverſity of tongues; it was the Holy Ghoſt, through the humility of Chriſt, which ſanctified that diverſity. Quod turris diſſociaverat, Gen. xi. 7.Eccleſia collegit. Babel the Tower of pride ſcattered the world, the Church, Eph. iv. 3.which is the Tower of humility, gathers the world together. But the Dove was the Enſign of our Saviours Kingdom ſtanding for the unity of the Spirit, which is the bond of peace.
Fifthly, The Holy Ghoſt was made manifeſt to the Chruch, firſt in a Dove at the feaſt of Chriſts Baptiſm, afterward in fire at the Feaſt of Whitſontide, to betoken it is the ſame Spirit which requires innocency in the Saints, but would not have them forget Zeal. Ne dolum habeas in columba demonſtratum eſt, ne ſimplicitas frigida remaneat in igne demonſtratum eſt. Guile and circumvention are to be baniſht from Chriſtianity, if the Dove ſit upon your head it will inſtill ſimplicity; but ſimplicity may be chil, and faint in a good cauſe, therefore if a Pillar of fire ſit upon your head it will infuſe fervency. There was no fire wanting in Stephen the Martyr when he did aſperſe the Jews with all manner of diſdainful reproaches, becauſe they were ſtiff-necked, and uncircumciſed in heart. There was no Dove-like ſimplicity wanting, becauſe he prayed for them that ſtoned him. And ſo far of the ſecond point how aptly the Spirit came like a Dove upon Chriſt at his Baptiſm, in cloven tongues and in fire upon the Apoſtles at the Feaſt of Whitſontide.
The concluſion of the Text reſts now upon this Point, that the figure of the Dove ſweetly doth admoniſh us concerning many properties of the Holy Ghoſt. It ſate upon Chriſts head, not to enrich him with any heavenly treaſure which he wanted before, but to derive the manifold iſſues of ſanctification into our heart. Solus injuriis ſe ſubdidit Dominus, ſed ſolus gratiam non quaeſivit, ſays St. Ambroſe; all manner of ignominies, and buffetings, all manner of injuries upon the Croſs our Lord and Saviour took them to himſelf alone, but the coming down of the Spirit that he took not to himſelf alone; I will pray unto the Father, and he will ſend you another Comforter. Open your heart wide therefore, and this Dove will fill it. A dumb creature ye know, and may ſignifie many things, and becauſe I am perſwaded the Holy Ghoſt came down in that ſhape which had the largeſt number of ſignifications for the advancement of piety, therefore I will hold me to my task to collect all that are profitable, and omit none. And becauſe it bears a ſimilitude which will increaſe into many applications, I will enter upon that occaſion; firſt therefore it is animal foecundum, it is a bird of a moſt teaming fertility, and whether any bird that flies doth breed oftner I am not certain, I believe not many; ſuch fecundity there is always in a lively faith: Like the trees of Eden, always bearing fruit, never without ſome good work; either the tongue is praying, or the ear is hearing, or the heart is meditating, or the eye is weeping, or the hand is giving, or the ſoul is thirſting for remiſſion of ſins; and every pious action is like a Pomgranate in Aarons garment full of kernels, to betoken it will ſeed farther, and ſpread in infinitum. This is faiths fertility, therefore the Spirit harboured himſelf in the ſhape of a Dove.
Secondly, The Gall is the drought of cholerical matter in mans body, out of that diſtemper proceed anger, revenge, and malice, but the Dove hath no gall, or if Ariſtotle hath obſerved it better than others, ſo ſmall a one that it can ſcarce be perceived: So the Spirit loves to inhabit in a mild and gentle ſoul without wrath and fury. The wrath of man worketh not the will of God, for his will is mercy and forgiveneſs. The Dove will intreat for Miriam as Moſes did, and ſheild off the revenge of David from Nabals folly as Abigail did; and crave pardon of Philemon for his fugitive ſervant Oneſiphorus, as Paul did, The bruiſed reed ſhall not be broken, and the ſmoaking flax ſhall not be quenched; therefore when James and John called for fire from heaven upon the Samaratans their check was,Luk. xi 55. Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of, as who ſhould ſay, ye have forgot the coming down of the Dove.
Thirdly, The harmleſneſs of that bird is notable, it hath neither beak nor talons to tyrannize over ſmaller Creatures, Sine armis extra, ſine felle intus; the ſmalleſt flies or gnats may hum about it and take no harm; for it devours nothing wherein there is life. There is not, I dare pronounce it, a more Saint-like ornament in any Chriſtian than a Dove-like innocency. Devour not one another by greedy gaining, by racking oppreſſion, by ſtrict advantages, by extortion, by treacherous blind informations. He that wrongfully fleeceth his neighbour of all his ſubſtance to increaſe his own ſtore, would eat the fleſh likewiſe from his brothers arm like a ſavage Cannibal if he wanted ſuſtenance. The ſpoyls which you have robb'd from others, perhaps they ſhall be found upon thy back at the dreadful hour of judgment; but wil our Saviour ſay, thou didſt not learn this thou extortioner from the Dove that ſate upon me.
Fourthly, The Dove feeds cleanly, not upon Carrion like Vultures, Corvi de morte paſcuntur; Crows peck upon dead carkaſſes, but it picks up grains of corn, and the pureſt fruits of the field. Me thinks in this propertie I ſee the Spirit invite us to the Table of the Lord; What corn-food ſo pure as that which our Saviour brake, and gave to his Diſciples ſaying, Take eat, this is my body. Non hoc corpus quod crucifigetur, &c. not, as St. Auſtin gloſſeth, my very body which ſhall be crucified, and my very bloud which ſhall be ſpilt, that was the groſs underſtanding of the ſapernaits, to think our Saviour meant his fleſhly body. The Dove is no devourer of that fleſhly body of Chriſt, which he aſſumed from the Virgin Mary, but it ſatisfies its ſpiritual hunger with thoſe pure crums of bread which are the Sacrament of his body.
Fifthly, It is impoſſible to teach a Dove to ſing a chearful tune, for nature hath ingrafted in it a ſolemn mourning; Gemitus pro cantu; and it is the Spirit that puts compunction into our ſpirit with groans unutterable. Sometime hang up the Harps of mirth, and ſit down and weep. You never read that God will honour your joy in his eternal remembrance; you are ſure he will not forget your mourning, ſays David, Pſal. lvi. 8. Thou telleſt my ſlittings, put my tears into thy bottle, are not theſe things noted in thy book? Yea, not only doth he bear them in mind, and keep them in regiſter, but, if ſome Interpreters erre not, he wears them upon his head, Cant. v. 2▪ My head is filled with dew, ſays Chriſt, and my locks with the drops of the night; as if he wore our tears, ſays the Paraphraſt, like drops of Pearl upon his head. Dry eyes, and unrelenting hearts are the curſe of God, Ezek. xxiv. 23. Ye ſhall not mourn, nor weep, but ye ſhall pine away for your iniquities.
Sixthly, The Holy Ghoſt uſeth the wings of Angels, the wings of the wind, the wings of the Dove, a bird of ſtrong flight, for the Spirit is ſwift in operation, what he doth he doth it quickly, Neſcit tarda molimina. Abraham ran forth to meet the Angels that drew to his Tent, Sarah made ready quickly three meaſures of fine meal. Abrahams young man ran to the Herd to fetch a Calf tender and good, Nemo piger eſt in domo charitatis; in a charitable Hoſpital family every man haſtened to a good work, as if he had flown like a Dove. Was not Paul a brave wing'd Apoſtle, that traverſed much of Aſia, and preacht the Goſpel in every place from Jeruſalem to Illyricum?
Seventhly, The Doves eyes are fixt upon the Rivers of waters, Cant. v. 12. ſome ſay out of vigilancy, to eſpy therein the gliding of the Kite that flies above, and to ſave it ſelf: So the ſpiritual man looks backward to the firſt waters wherein he was dipt, to the Vow which he made in Baptiſm. There he remembers his Garment was made white, and he muſt not ſtain it; for foreign, is not only to waſh away filth, but to give tincture or colour to that which is died: So in Baptiſm the foul ſpots of iniquity are taken forth, and by ſanctification a clear gloſs is ſet upon our ſoul. It was the exhortation of old at Baptiſm, Accipe veſtem candidam immaculatam, &c. Take this white garment pure and undefiled (it was their Ceremony to put on ſuch) and keep it undefiled againſt the day of the Lord. Et grege de niveo gaudia paſtor habet, ſays Lactantius; The Shepherd rejoyceth to ſee the fleeces of his Lambs fair and unſpotted. Theſe are pennae deargentatae, as the Pſalmiſt ſays, the Doves wings are ſilver wings, and if they be bright Silver here, it will be changed into a better Metal hereafter, a Crown of Gold, whoſe wings are ſilver wings, and the feathers of Gold.
Laſtly, As it was toucht before, in the days of Noah the Dove was a preſager of a better world to come, and in this Text likewiſe it is Nuncia futuri ſeculi, the happy annuntiate that there is a better world to come when theſe evil days of ſin and miſery are ended.Eph. i. 13. So we are ſealed with the holy Spirit of Promiſe, which is the earneſt of our inheritance; the Spirit is a pledge of that poſſeſſion which is purchaſed for us in the Kingdom of heaven, whither he bring us, &c.