A Century of Sermons, Sermon 6 – Half title 2
THE SIXTH SERMON UPON THE Baptiſm of our Saviour.
MAT. iii. 17.
And loe a voice from heaven, ſaying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleaſed.
SPeak O Heaven, and hearken O Earth unto the word of the Lord. The Earth muſt keep ſilence, and give ear, when God is his own Orator himſelf, and utters his pleaſure with his own voice. As it is uſual, when ſome great Palace is raiſing fron the Foundation, that the Maſter of the Poſſeſſion will lay the firſt ſtone with his own hands: So the Church being to be built up again in the New Teſtament, not upon the foundation of Works, but upon Faith; not upon Moſes, but upon Jeſus Chriſt; Loe the mighty God publiſheth the firſt tidings of reconciliation from his own mouth, and himſelf, in the Prophet Iſaiahs Phraſe, doth lay in Sion a chief corner ſtone, elect, and precious; for the Foundation which ſuſtains the whole body of the Saints, is no other but ſuch as is contained in that brief Proclamation which I have read unto you, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleaſed. Some of the Fathers very aptly call the Text Gods ample teſtimonial given to his Son, that the world might receive him gladly, being about to preach the glad tidings of ſalvation. Moſes, you know, would not offer himſelf to the Children of Iſrael, to be the means that ſhould releaſe them from Pharaohs bondage, before he had a token of Credence, who did ſend him to the People, and the Lord ſaid unto him, Thou ſhalt ſay I am hath ſent me unto you. So our High Prieſt and anointed Saviour would keep that form, to have a clear teſtificate to commend him to the World. Now a Dove was but a dumb ſhew, and might be interpreted many ways, wherefore an articulate, and a majeſtical voice was heard from heaven, which would pierce the ears of all that were gathered together, and could not be miſtaken.
In that nature therefore as a Teſtimonial given to him, that was now about to be the great Preacher of righteouſneſs, I will divide the Text: 1. The Perſon that did bear witneſs, it is the Father. 2. The manner how he teſtified to the honour of his Son, by a voice, Loe a voice. 3. The authority of that voice which was every way to be accepted, becauſe it was from heaven. 4. The Perſon to whom the witneſs is born, to a Son, This is my Son. 5. What is witneſſed of him in reſpect of himſelf, that he was beloved, This is my beloved. 6. What is witneſſed of him in reſpect of our conſolation, that he is filius complacentiae, in whom, and through whom the Father is well pleaſed: That is to ſay, not only beloved in himſelf, but procures us to be beloved likewiſe for his ſake; for all that by Baptiſm have put on Chriſt, are unto God as Chriſt himſelf is, Filii, dilecti, complacentes; Sons, beloved, well pleaſing. So the Text is our Saviours Teſtimonial, and our own Conſolation. And loe a voice, &c.
The Father is become a witneſs to glorifie his Son, that is the firſt conſideration to be made upon my Text. The Spirit hath done his part before, now the voice the Father is come to perfect this great ſolemnity; and ſo the juſtice of God agrees with his own Law,Deut. xvii. Ex ore duorum, aut trium teſtium; Out of the mouth of two or three witneſſes every word ſhall be eſtabliſhed; was ever any truth ſo ſtrongly confirmed, ſo undeniably maintained, that the Father which made all things ſhould ratifie it ſenſibly in the audience of men? Never was it heard of, but only in this caſe, which is the top of all truth, that Jeſus was the Son of God. Other truths we are well perſwaded of, which come from the light of reaſon, or from the teſtimony of man; yet reaſon may be blind, and man may err, but it is impoſſible that God ſhould lie, Heb. vi. And admit it to be good (for who can controul it?) that the Prophets and Apoſtles were inſpired from God, ſo that the contents which they have written are certain and infallible; then his divine wiſdom which gave them that inſtinct whatſoever he utters immediately from himſelf it may well ſtand upon compariſons, that it is much more infallible. So St. Hierom diſtinguiſheth between that truth which is increate, and which is infuſed and participate that the truth of the Saints is called a lie in reſpect of that verity which abideth in the Father, 1 Tim. vi. 16.Yea, let God be true and every man a liar; in which words, ſays he, it is implied, that God alone is true, even as he alone is ſaid to have immortality; for although he hath communicated immortality to Angels and to the ſouls of men, yet it is not their own immortality, but his love and favour to give it to them. So the Prophets and holy men were inſpired with true knowledge, yet it was not their own truth, but his illumination.
Wherefore the Church by way of external teſtimony was ever the beſt approved, and moſt faithful witneſs of Chriſt: yet this teſtimony, ſo much beneath his Perſon, were unauthorized and fruitleſs, but that it is always governed by the inward Spirit of the Father. Aquinas in a certain Sermon upon the Pentecoſt hath drawn up thoſe things which bear witneſs of Chriſt into a certain number; and that the verdict is given from twelve the moſt principal things in the world. God the Father in this Proclamation, God the Son in his own Confeſſion, God the Holy Ghoſt in the Dove-like Apparition, the Angels at his Nativity, the Saints that roſe from the dead, the Miracles which he wrought, the Heaven which was darkned at his Paſſion, the Fire when he ſent the Comforter in that Element upon his Diſciples, the Air when he commanded the winds to be ſtill, the water when he made the Seas to be calm, the Earth when it ſhook and quak'd at his Reſurrection; and laſtly, Hell it ſelf, when the Devils did acknowledge him, calling him Jeſus of Nazareth, and ſaying, We know thee who thou art. But above all, this teſtimony in my Text enforceth credence upon us more than any other, as St. Ambroſe thinks, Si dubitatur de filio, paterno non creditur teſtimonio? If there be any ſpice of unbelief in your heart, run hither to take it out; for will you not take the Fathers word for the excellency of his Son, that this is the Sacrifice in whom he is well pleaſed? Shew us thy Father, ſays Philip, and it ſufficeth, Joh. xiv. 8. Much more reſolutely might the Church ſay, Let us hear thy Father and it ſufficeth. We ask no ſurer warrant to confirm our faith: For as Abraham anſwered the rich man concerning his brethren that did not believe, If they hear not Moſes, and the Prophets, neither will they be perſwaded though one aroſe from the dead: So I may ſay to all that receive not the faith, If they will not believe the Father, in whom all the treaſures of knowledge are hidden, then they may queſtion if there be light in the Heavens, perſpicuity in the Air, life in their own ſouls, every thing that fleſh and bloud can alledge muſt be dark and doubtful to their capacity. God ſpoke from above through the air, and it received his voice; and when he ſpeaks in our hearts ſhall not we receive his teſtimony? Thus St. Ambroſe in a ſweet ſtrain upon it, Credidit mundus in Elementis, credat in hominibus; credidit in exanimis, credat in viventibus; credidit in mutis, credat in loquentibus. The rude Elements of the world were taught to admit the doctrine of Faith, then much more let men embrace it; inanimate things took the Symphony from the Fathers mouth, let things which live much more receive it; the dumb things of nature were taught to embrace the voice; let thoſe things which have tongues much more praiſe God for glorifying his Son. To the upſhot of the Point I add this, and have done: John Baptiſt did bear witneſs to our Saviour, but his witneſs was too mean for ſo great a Perſon; Quo ad nos, in regard of our apprehenſion, the teſtimony and approbation of holy men is a great matter: but in regard of the honour of Chriſt, it was fit that the Father who is coequal ſhould teſtifie of the Son, and ſo doth the Son of the Father, which is excellently knit up in one Text, Joh. v. 32. There is another that beareth witneſs of me, and I know that the witneſs which he witneſſeth of me is true. So by the voice of the Father we know the excellency of the Son, and by the preaching of the Son we know the truth of the Father: This is their mutual teſtimony.
In the ſecond place the manner follows, how the Father teſtified to the honour of his Son, and that is by a voice. Every Creature whether it live, or whether it be inanimate, every ſeaſon of the year, every bleſſing for our uſe that the earth brings forth, though it be dumb yet I am not aſhamed to ſay, that it ſpeaks aloud, how there is a God that made us, and preſerved us. To this purpoſe St. Paul ſpake to the Lycaonians, Actc xiv. 17. The living God left not himſelf without witneſs, in that he gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful ſeaſons, filling our hearts with food and gladneſs. Since therefore all the Elements continually are dumb witneſſes of the glory of God, how eaſie is it for the Father Almighty to put a tongue into the air, and make it ſpeak. I will not argue upon the ſtrict terms of Logick, how this can be called a voice, being not uttered by the Throat, and Palate, and other Inſtruments of a rational Creature; God is a tranſcendent above all the Arts in the world, and many things proceeding from him are not to be examined by ſuch rules; this I may definitively ſay, it was ſonus articulatus, an articulate intelligible ſound of words, as if it had come from the tongue of man. And I would paſs by this Point, but that two things come in my way: 1. How properly the Father is known by a voice. 2. How well it expreſſeth the comforts of the Goſpel.
Upon the firſt the School doth diſtinguiſh, Efficientia vocis erat à totâ Trinitate, declaratio ſpectat ad ſolum patrem; Every effect belongs equally to the whole Trinity, therefore this voice was as well the work of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt, Tom. 6. cont. Serm. Arian. c. 13.as it was of the Father: For ſo St. Auſtin beat down the blaſphemy of the Arians, who taught that the Father gave ſome honour to the Son which he had not; nay, ſays he, Ille tranſeuntium verborum ſonus non ſine filio factus eſt, alioquin non omnia per ipſum facta ſunt; That tranſient voice, which was intended to glorifie the Son, was made by the Son, otherwiſe the Scriptures had not ſaid, All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. But though the efficiency of the voice be common to every Perſon of the Trinity, yet the ſignification of it was appropriated to the Father, for he ſaid the word, and by it he made the worlds; he ſpake and all things were created. The Lord ſaid indeed, let the Firmament be made, let the light be made, and all things elſe, not by oral prolocution, but by the Decree of his holy will, and as one ſaid, Facilius eſt Deo facere, quam nobis dicere; God can ſooner make all things viſible and inviſible than we ſpeak of it; therefore the Phraſe runs, as if all things were exiſtent at the uttering of a word. And I know not if any ſimilitude do ſpeak that ineffable myſtery of the Holy Trinity better than this, from the manifeſt pronunciation of a ſpeech, wherein are theſe three things together, which cannot be parted. The voice begets a word ſpoken, and there is truth in that word which was ſpoken by the voice: So the Father is the Voice, the Son is the Word, the Spirit proceeding from them both is the Truth; and theſe three are all one and undivided. So you ſee why the Father is reſembled in the ſignification of a voice.
I muſt adjoyn alſo how well this doth expreſs the comforts of a Goſpel. The Law was a dead Letter, litera occidit, by the ſtrength of ſin it killed us all, becauſe we were not able to perform it. The Goſpel is viva vox, a quickning living voice, ſuch a one as quickned Lazarus, when he was four days in the Grave. The Law was heard in Trumpet and Thunder upon Mount Sinai. Now comes a ſtill voice, ſuch a one as would not ſcare a Dove away, now comes Muſick from heaven, now comes obſecro vos, that fair ſpoken language of the Apoſtles, I beſeech ye brethren. This is ſuch a winning allicient voice, that the words that proceed from it are rather kiſſes than words; therefore the Church, ſpeaking to the praiſe of the Goſpels ſweetneſs, begins the ſong on this wiſe, Cant. i. Let him kiſs me with the kiſſes of his mouth. The firſt time that ever we read of Gods voice in the Old Teſtament, you ſhall hear what Adam ſays upon it, Gen. iii. 10. I heard thy voice in the Garden, and I was afraid. But at the firſt time that you read of Gods voice in the New Teſtament it is made ſmooth, and ſoft to our ear, with This is my beloved, and here I am well pleaſed. What elſe to be concluded from hence? But that an evidence, and manifeſtation of faith ſhall be diſcovered to all men: As when one telleth his mind to his Friend, not by meſſengers, or by Script, but face to face; Thou ſpakeſt ſometimes in dreams and viſions to thy people: But ſays the Lord, I will ſpeak with my Servant Moſes mouth to mouth, Num. xii. 8. So by the revelation of the Goſpel we are all become as precious to God as Moſes was, and the Lord talketh with us as one doth with his friend face to face. And with all ſuccinctneſs that is the ſum of the ſecond Point.
Neither muſt I inſiſt long upon the third thing noted, which is the great Authority that this voice doth carry, becauſe it came from heaven; and Loe a voice from heaven. The Oracles of the Gentiles were wont to come out of hollow Caves and Rocks. The Law of the Hebrews was delivered from the top of a ſmoaking hill: but as Judges and great Magiſtrates were wont to publiſh their Laws from their Throne of State, ſo doth God deliver the Law of Faith from Heaven; and that Firmament above it is the Throne of God. When the Earth opens it is to ſwallow Chore, Dathan, and Abiron: When the Heaven opens it is to pour out conſolation. The Goſpel reckons up three times that the Lord ſpake from heaven above, and at each time it had the ſame Theme to magnifie the Saviour of the World: The firſt time at his Baptiſm, the ſecond time at his Transfiguration, the third time anon before his Paſſion, when the Son begg'd earneſtly, Father glorifie thy name; the Father anſwers him, I have glorified it, and I will glorifie it again, Joh. xii. 28. And that you may be aſſured how that celeſtial voice continues to ſpeak unto us in the accent of comfort, John tells us he heard a voice from heaven, ſaying, Bleſſed are the dead which die in the Lord, Rev. xiv. 13. Bode no evil with your tongue to any, ſince the Lord out of his habitation ſpeaks nothing but love and benediction towards us. The voice of God is an open heaven, but as for the curſer and reviler his throat is an open ſepulchre.
Surſum corda. The tidings of Salvation come not from beneath, they hover above our head; therefore lift up your heart, lift up your underſtanding, and you will eaſily perceive that every part of ſacred Scripture is a voice from heaven. I know unleſs the inward teſtimony of the Spirit prevail upon your ſoul, and induce it to believe, all external Arguments from the judgment of the Church in all Ages, from harmony of truth, from fulfilling of Propheſies, and whatſoever elſe will be inſufficient to perſwade you. Yet if any thing more than other will puzzle the refractory it is this, that in every part and ſcope it ſounds like a voice from heaven, far otherwiſe than the books of humane learning. That which drives our labours and ſtudies only to the glory of God, that which propounds no other reward but the fruition of God, that which talks of no acts and monuments but ſuch as belong to God, this muſt be divine, and from above, Nec vox hominem ſonat; Surely it muſt be a voice from heaven. But do the Heathen thus in any of thoſe three parts of their Sciences, either in their Moral Inſtitutions, or Natural Diſquiſitions, or Hiſtorical Narrations? In their Hiſtories they write to honour men, in their Philoſophy to know the World, in their Moral and Politick Axioms to make a juſt and a noble Patriot for his Country. No Tract throughout all mans wit and learning but only in the ſacred Scriptures like a voice from heaven. Perhaps here and there a Sentence of theirs may ſoar aloft: but as Kites flie high, yet ſtill look down to the Carion upon the Dunghil: So the ſtile of the Heathen may riſe up in ſome things as it were in the clouds; but from thence they look down how they may be famous, and popular. And that is no better than a blaſt of vanity; ſure it is no voice from heaven.
Beloved, this is a moſt illuſtrious opening of the Goſpel, that the heavens aſſumed a tongue, and began to ſpeak; wherefore it is for good reaſon that our Saviour had that diction ſo often in his mouth, He that hath ears to hear let him hear. Let me be bold to add, he that hath a tongue to confeſs let him praiſe the Lord. As we delight to have the Lord ſpeak to us, ſo it delighteth the Lord to have us ſpeak to him. And as the Father did vouchſafe to ſend his voice from heaven to earth, ſo let our lips be full of Prayers that we may ſend our voice from earth to heaven. God is not an Eccho, nothing but empty voice; we read of his face, and his preſence, and his right hand, at which there are pleaſures for evermore. And as Abſalon, though he were a diſloyal Son, yet he did wiſhly deſire to ſtand before his Father: Says he to Joab, wherefore am I come from Gerar to Jeruſalem if I may not ſee the Kings face? So the rebounding of the voice from heaven is to enflame our affections that we may ſee his face in heaven. So ſhall it be their fair lot and inheritance who are Fìlii, dilecti, complacentes, Sons, Beloved, in whom he is well pleaſed. Theſe are the Teſtimonials due to Chriſt, and flowing from Chriſt to us, which now I come to handle.
The fourth annotation is the Perſon to whom the witneſs is born, the Eternal Father witneſſeth to his Eternal Son, Thou art my Son. The beſt way to know ſo much concerning the eternal Generation of Chriſt as ſufficeth for a good Chriſtian is to ſpeak little of it. Among the Gods there is none like unto thee O Lord, ſays David, & among the Sons of God none like unto that Son who is the only begotten Son in the boſom of the Father, Joh. i. 18. Other Sons, I will declare by and by, are adopted by his grace, Sons not begotten but by denomination of good liking, as it is Mat. v. 9. Bleſſed are the peace-makers, for they ſhall be called the children of God; but Chriſt is the only begotten, being of the ſame ſubſtance with the Father, for ſurely that doth rightly explicate the Phraſe, to be in the boſom of the Father; not as the Arians would evade it, that to be in the boſom, was to be the well-beloved of the Father. God loved the world, and moſt dearly ſuch as believed, yet where do ye read that ſuch are ſaid to be in his boſom? It is a word, by St. Chryſoſtoms expoſition,Homil 14. in Johan. which agrees to Chriſt alone, wrapping up much ſenſe as it were in a Syllable, that he is of the ſame ſubſtance, the ſame power, the ſame knowledge with his Father, lying in his boſom, and participant of all his ſecrets. Sinus eſt divinitatis arcanum, Tolet. Annot. 54.in quo eſt filius; That boſom is the ſecret eſſence of the Father, by which he made all things, and knows all things, and there is the Son. To be called a Father after the manner of men reſts upon three things: 1. That the Son have his being from part of his ſubſtance that begets him; then a Picture cannot be ſaid to be the Son, but the work of him that draws it. 2. Father and Son muſt be of the ſame nature and ſpecies; then the Heaven is not the Father of Flies and Gnats,Salmer. tom. 4. tract. 24. though the heat of the Sun begets them. 3. It muſt be a living thing that begets another living thing in its own likeneſs; then fire is not the father of fire, though one ſpark kindles another. But God begets a Son without theſe conditions and exceptions; for his Son is not ſuch another, but conſubſtantial. Not a part divided from the Fathers ſubſtance to make him, but of the ſame ſubſtance with the Father. Yet there is another ground of difference laid down by St. Auſtin, Serm. de Temp. 38.that among us it hapneth to a man to be a Father and is contingent: But in God it is no hapning accidental thing. The Father was always a Father, and the Son was always a Son. Ad ſe Deus, ad filium Pater.And though he be a Father by a relative notion, and not according to his ſubſtance, yet nothing is ſaid to be in God by accident, as if he were mutable. That peculiarity of a Son in Chriſt diſtinguiſht from us is beſt ſet down by St. Paul with leaſt curioſity, Rom. viii. 32. God ſpared not, foreign, Filio proprio non pepercit, we read he ſpared not his own Son. That Tranſlation doth not altogether ſatisfie me, for at the third verſe of the ſame Chapter we read, God ſent, foreign, his own Son in the ſimilitude of ſinful fleſh; but foreign is more emphatical, he ſpared not his own proper Son. Therefore though we be truly called Sons, yet not ſo properly as Chriſt.
But David would be any thing, though it were but a door-keeper, to be in the houſe of the Lord, ſo let us be ſtiled which way ſoever the Sons of God, and it ſufficeth. Behold what manner of love the Father hath beſtowed upon us, that we ſhould be called the Sons of God. And tu es Filius, ſay the Fathers upon my Text,1 Joh. iii. 2. comports that the captivity and ſervitude of the Old Law is changed into the liberty of Sons. Adoptio eſt ſimilitudo filiationis naturalis; Adoption makes him that was not born a Son be taken into the ſimilitude of a Son. And we have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear (that was the condition of the Law) but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry Abba Father. What an Ocean of comfort breaks into our ſoul upon this Meditation? Five thouſand Cubits higher than all the comforts of this world, as the waters in the time of Noah are ſaid to be fifteen Cubits higher than the talleſt Mountains. For firſt, If we be Sons of God, Chriſt will not refuſe us to call us Brethren. Yea, when he was riſen from the dead in his glory, he ſent Mary Magdalen to his Diſciples, ſaying, Go tell my Brethren. Secondly, To be exalted to be a Son doth enfranchiſe us to take the inheritance of the Kingdom of heaven; For if Sons, then heirs, heirs of God, and joynt heirs with Chriſt, Rom. viii. 17. Thirdly, If Sons, it is a great word, but I ſpeak it by authority of Scripture, then we are Gods, Pſal. lxxxii. 6. I have ſaid ye are Gods, and ye all are children of the moſt higheſt. For God made his Son participant of our infirmity, that by the merit of his humiliation we might be made participants of his Divinity. And, beſides Conſolation, great names are great Engagements. O what a ſtrict exerciſe of holineſs and obedience lies upon his ſoul that will be called the child of God? Noli degenerare a praecelſis cogitationibus filiorum Dei; Degenerate in nothing beneath that high cogitation, how thou art become the Son of the moſt high. Should I that am made partaker of divine Parentage ſurfet my body with meats and drunkenneſs? Why, it is loathſom in a Swine. Should I ſatisfie my luſt promiſcuouſly againſt the bond of Matrimony? Why, it is odious in a Dog. Or ſhould the Sons of light lay ſnares in the dark to malice and deſpite the innocent? O it is deteſtable in the Devil. Be not a fooliſh Son to diſhonour your heavenly Father. It is obſerved in many of the noble Romans, Cato, Scaurus, Cicero, Antoninus, how they were unhappy in nothing ſo much as that they had Poſterity; for their vicious branches blemiſh'd the glory of the root from which they ſprung: So a diſſolute Chriſtian makes that venerable name of Father come into contempt and reproach. Mallem videre de malis editum, quàm de bonis lapſum, as Caſſianus ſaid; It were better for a Reprobate that his Father were an Amorite, and his Mother an Hittite, than to be a ſtain to the heavenly Parentage when he is called to be a Son of God. It was the motive which St. Auſtin preſſed from the example of the Heathen, if Varro was not aſhamed to encourage valiant men to think themſelves deſcended from Jupiter and Hercules, or ſome other heathen Puppit, though they belied their knowledge, that the fancy of coming from ſuch Progenitors might provoke them to great Atchievements: Then a Chriſtian is engaged to all manner of Divine, and very Heroical works of godlineſs, when his heart ſhall prompt him with this remembrance, be not a blemiſh to the glory of thy Father in Heaven.
So much for that part of the Teſtimony, Chriſt is the eternal Son of God, and by him we are called to adoption of Sons. Now the Spirit could not ſtay here, but proceeds to glorifie him further, This is my beloved Son. This is my beloved, and thou art my beloved, we read it both ways in ſeveral Evangeliſts, Ne uno modo dictum minùs intelligatur, De Conſenſ. Evang. c. 14.ſays St. Auſtin; that the words expreſſed two manner of ways might be more clearly intelligible. Thou art my beloved Son, and this is my beloved Son do admoniſh us two things out of this diverſity, both that the Father is highly pleaſed in his Son, and that in him he is well pleaſed with us for his Sons ſake. For he hath accepted us in the beloved, foreign, Eph. i. 6. This title of beloved is three ways agreeable to Chriſt: 1. Super omnes dilectus eſt à patre; That above all things he is beloved of the Father; an infinite love muſt needs reſult upon the begetting of an infinite wiſdom. Amor Deum gubernat, amoris omne regnum eſt, the heathen were wont to ſing it, and knew no reaſon for it; but we know why, that God himſelf was ruled by love, love ſwayed all things in the world. God himſelf is ruled by love, that is, the Father is intreated by the merits of his Son to break the yoak of his own juſtice from off our necks, and hath put the dominion of life and death into his hands, that at the name of Jeſus every knee ſhould bow; as if he chiefly delighted in the honour of his Son. The Schoolmen acutely aſſign him the preheminence of the Father, above all things with this diſtinction, that he was Dilectus quia filius, not Filius quia dilectus, Beloved, becauſe he was a Son, and not made a Son becauſe he was beloved, which is the condition of them that are adopted.
Secondly, Chriſt is Paterni amoris erga nos argumentum, the proof of Gods exceeding love to us; for ſo God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who ſo believeth in him ſhould not periſh, but have life everlaſting; ſo he loved it, that there is no meaſure or ſimilitude to compare it. The gradations of Bernard, by which he draws up our ſoul higher and higher to meditate upon the divine love are theſe: 1. Prius nos dilexit, it were fit the Lord ſhould be ſought unto by ſuch underlings as we are, yet he began in way of affection, and prevented us, well contented if we would correſpond, and anſwer his offer. 2. Tantillos dilexit, he loved us, and ordained to make us a people, when as yet we were not. 3. Tales, he loved us again in his beſt beloved when we had defiled our creation. 4. Tantus, O the immenſeneſs of his love, he that is greater than the Heavens ſaid unto us poor duſt and aſhes, let me be your Saviour. 5. Tantum dilexit, ſo conſtant was the paſſion of his love, that it brought him to the Paſſion of the Croſs. 6. Tam gratis, of his own free love without merits foreſeen in us to deſerve it, he bequeathed unto us an immortal inheritance, this is the purchaſe of that well-beloved, in whom he cannot but be well pleaſed. As in the breſtplate of Aaron there was holineſs written to the Lord, that the people might be accepted, when he offered incenſe for them; ſo the love of God is written with the pen of a Diamond in his Son never to be blotted out, that looking upon him we might find grace and favour to be received into glory.
Thirdly, Chriſt is beloved, becauſe he was obedient in all things; we are all children of wrath that have rebelled againſt our Father. God looked down from heaven to ſee if any would ſeek after him, and we are all gone out of the way, they were all become abominable uſque ad unum, and that one was Chriſt. This voice prevents that infidelity which ſome might imagine upon his Paſſion; for they that lookt with fleſhly eyes might think he was one rejected and forſaken of God, they might think him under the frown and malediction of his Father, for it is written, Curſed is every one that hangeth upon a tree; but howſoever in the repreſentation of our ſins the Sun may diſcolour him, and make him look black, yet he is fair O daughters of Jeruſalem, and though we be prodigals that have waſted our Fathers goods, and miſ-imployed the portion of his grace, yet the voice from heaven ſhall never be proved a liar concerning Chriſt, This is my beloved Son. Behold my beloved in whom my ſoul is well pleaſed, Mat. xii. 18. God is love, and if the Son take the name from the Father, may he not rightly be called the Beloved? If I be a Maſter, ſays our God, where is my fear? If I be a Father where is my honour? And may he not add, If I be the love of the Church, where is the love to requite it? For without love we may keep all the reſt to our ſelves. If we fear him without love,Bern. Serm. 83. Cant. it is abject and ſervil; if we honour him without love, it is flattery. Love made the world of viſible creatures: and it muſt make the new world of Saints and Angels. Truly did one ſay that the Emblem of a pious heart was, Carbo ignitus divini amoris flammâ abſorptus; A firy coal waſting away all the groſs and earthy parts of it with the flame of divine love. Were never any tears better beſtowed than one I read of in ancient times, whoſe eyes did ſhed drops to ſee Gods glory ſcandalouſly abuſed by thoſe that lived about him; and being asked, What ailed him to grieve ſo much for other mens ſins? It was his wonted anſwer, Quia amor non amatur; Lap. in 1 Ep. J…h. c. 4.becauſe love it ſelf was not beloved again. For if you loved me, ſays Chriſt, yo wo ld keep my Commandments. Intimate love thinks nothing too much, and too tedious to be done for the beloved; yea, it thinks nothing too bitter to be ſuffered, no more did Chriſt for his Church. The Spouſe doth interlace it among her love-delights, that ſhe ſhould ſuffer for the Lord, ſo it is figuratively couched, Cant. i. 13.Serm. 43▪ in Cant. My love is a bundle of Myrrh to me. Says Bernard, Myrrha amara & aſpera, &c. Myrrh is rugged and bitter, yet of ſweet fragrancy: So tribulation is harſh, but ſweet for Chriſts ſake. And again, Faſciculus Myrrhae dilectus mihi; My Beloved is faſciculus, but a little bundle of Myrrh, but a little corraſive of affliction whatſoever we ſuffer, Quia leve prae amore ipſius ducat, quicquid aſperi immineat. If our affection be ſtrong and entire to God a great deal of ſorrow is nothing, it is but a little bundle; for I reckon that the ſorrows of this life are not worthy the glory that ſhall be revealed. Give me a reſolute will ready to do all that God bids: Give me a contented heart, ready to endure all that God impoſeth, and then as thou ſhalt be an heir with Chriſt in the inheritance of heaven, ſo thou ſhalt ſhare with him in his ſweeteſt title upon earth, Thou art my beloved Son, &c.
The laſt part of the Teſtimony comes now to my hand to be be diſpatch'd, that Chriſt is Filius complacentiae, in whom and through whom the Father is well pleaſed. O delicious words! fit to be uttered by a voice from heaven, and at the appearance of the Holy Gboſt; Partem aliquam venti Divum referatis ad aures. We have delighted our hearts in the former Treatiſes to conſider that from Servants we are become Sons; from a People juſtly hated we are become beloved; but to whom do we owe all this? Surely, as Mary and Martha ſaid to Chriſt, If thou hadſt been here my brother Lazarus had not died; So may we turn it, and ſay, if thou hadſt not been here, we had all died in our ſins. Therefore the voice points upon him, that we may take notice how he is worth the knowing, Hic eſt quem quaerimus, hic eſt. This is he that hath turned anger into reconciliation, and enmity into peace. As who ſhould ſay, I was once pleaſed at the making of the firſt Adam, and I ſaid all was very good; for he was endued with original righteouſneſs, that he might have done all things well: How much better am I pleaſed with the ſecond Adam, who hath done all things well? and though it repented me afterward that I made man my Son, yet now I am pleaſed with all that repent for my Sons ſake. Therefore thou art he for whoſe ſake I will give heaven to them who have deſerved the nethermoſt Hell, thou art he by whom I have ordained to execute my pleaſure to ſave the world. To whom therefore do we owe our Salvation? Or what moved our Father which is in heaven to elect us to the fruition of his glory? If you will have an anſwer both clear according to Scripture, and befitting our own humility, it is foreign, the good pleaſure of the Father, whoſe will is the true and only cauſe that can be given for the happineſs of all things that ſhall enjoy him who hath predeſtinated us to himſelf unto the adoption of Sons by Jeſus Chriſt according to the good pleaſure of his will, Eph. i. 6. To aſcribe our Election to any thing diſcerned in our ſelves, as I apprehend it, ſhakes the foundation of the Goſpel, which in every paſſage makes Salvation the free gift of God by grace in Chriſt. But Chriſt is both the exemplary, the final, and the meritorious cauſe of our Salvation; The exemplary, for whom he did foreknow, he alſo did predeſtinate to be conformed to the Image of his Son,Aquin. 3. Pa. qu. 23. ar. 4. Rom. viii. 23. From whence Aquinas fetcheth it, that Chriſt is the true Pattern by which we are predeſtinated, reſpecting the manner by which we obtain that infinite good, which is by mere grace: For as the humane nature was united to the Godhead by no precedent merits, ſo by his mere good pleaſure, without any thing precedent in us to attract him we ſhall be united to his glory. 2. He is the final cauſe, of our Election; for to what end are we beloved? To what end pluckt out of the jaws of Hell like a brand out of the fire? But that he might be glorified among his Brethren. God ordained his Son to be head of the Church, and then he gave unto him a portion to be members of his body. Wherefore the Church moſt aptly is called foreign, the fulneſs of him that filleth all in all, Eph. i. ult. As if Chriſt had not eſteemed his own glory to be full and perfect without us. But 3. He muſt alſo be acknowledged the meritorious cauſe of our Salvation: For God ſo loved the good of his Creature, that he did not forget to ſee his own juſtice ſatisfied by the obedience and death of Chriſt, which ſatisfaction the Father lookt upon as the meritorious cauſe that we ſhould be ordained to adoption of Sons. God lookt upon the ranſom of this Sacrifice when he did predeſtinate us to Salvation, which ſurely is the ſenſe of this voice, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleaſed.
Therefore this clauſe of my Text was St. Pauls warrant for ſo much as he wrote to the Coloſſians. Chap. i. 20. It pleaſed the Father to reconcile all things unto himſelf by him; by him, I ſay, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. The ſelf-ſame three things which are conſiderable in my Text, and not yet opened are here likewiſe in their proper notions: 1. That peculiarly above other Perſons of Trinity the Father is ſaid to be pleaſed with us, and the Father reconciled. 2. That it is aſſigned to the Office of the Son by it ſelf to pleaſe and reconcile. 3. That the Father is pleaſed in all things both in heaven and earth by the reconciliation of the Son; curſorily of each. For the firſt; ſtill the Scripture ſpeaks that the Sacrifice placatory was offered up to the Father, that he might draw us to himſelf, who were aliens, and caſtaways; When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, Rom. v. 10. Believe it that every ſin is committed againſt the whole divine Majeſty; and as every perſon in Trinity was diſhonoured in the offence, ſo we have need of pacification with all in the reconcilement. But that the Scripture makes us rather take notice how the Father is reconciled unto us there are two reaſons: One that the Father is the Fountain of all Divinity, the firſt perſon in order againſt whom we ſin; yet we ſin againſt all. So the firſt Perſon in order that is reconciled unto us, yet we are reconciled to all. 2. Though every work belonging to the Church be the conjunct act of the Trinity, yet there are proper Offices belonging to ſeveral Perſons to make our conceit more methodical: So we know it by the phraſe of Scripture, that it is proper to the Father to receive us into grace, proper to the Son to pay the price of our redemption, and proper to the Holy Ghoſt to ſeal it to our hearts, and to beget aſſurance in us.
It follows ſecondly, that it belongs to the Office of the Son to make us pleaſing, and to reconcile us to God. There is no other name under heaven but his in which Salvation can be hoped for, Acts iv. 12. for ſhould the Angels, or ſhould men be appointed to ſuch an Office, to knit us into amity again with God, and to reduce us to that eternal concord, who were become open enemies? It could not be: For Angels and men owe as much obedience for their own part as they could perform. Neither ought it to be; for it was not fit that man ſhould owe his Redemption to any other than to whom he owed his Creation: for the value of the benefit would compel us to love our Redeemer better than our Maker. So Bernard, Plus nos ad charitatem excitat redemptio, quam creatio. Therefore God could not ſo diſpoſe for our ſouls that occaſion ſhould be given to love an Angel, or Saint better than himſelf the King of glory. The Son that ſits at his right hand is the Perſon in whom he is well pleaſed, who thought it no robbery to be equal with God: He alone was fit for this diſpenſation, who by an exceeding myſtery did receive and accept the Sacrifice of reconciliation as God offended in his divine nature, and yet did offer up that Sacrifice to the divine nature being the Mediator God-Man.
The cloſe of all is ſweet like the reſt that the Father is pleaſed in all things both in heaven and earth by the reconciliation of his Son. Reconciliation is the knitting up of Friends into amity again, and reducing them to concord that were enemies. Then how can it fitly be ſaid, that God is reconciled with his Sons, whom he loved from everlaſting? Says Beda to it, Deus miro modo quando nos oderat diligebat; He loved us according to that nature which he had made, and hated us according to that ſin which we had made. Neither is the Father ſo ſaid to be reconciled to us upon earth, as if he loved us at any time now when before he did not;Thom. 3. Pa. qu. 49. ar. 4. Sed quia per hanc reconciliationem ſublata eſt omnis odii cauſa, ſays Aquinas; but becauſe by this act of reconciliation all cauſe of anger and diſpleaſure was taken away, I mean our ſins were covered, and the righteouſneſs of Chriſt imputed to us.
And as the Angels miniſter to us, ſo let me miniſter one ſpeculation about them to the Text. God is pleaſed in Chriſt both with things in earth, and with things in heaven. No queſtion but Chriſt is head of the Angels, as well as of men, for they, as well as other members, receive direction from Chriſt, and are illuminated by him, ſo that an influence is poured on them from Chriſt, as members take from the head, but as one diſtinguiſheth judiciouſly, Influens in Angelis, Penottus lib. 6. c. 5.non eſt finis incarnationis, ſed quiddam incarnationem conſequens; It was not put into the ends why he was incarnate to infuſe vertue into the Angels, but it is a gracious conſequent which fell out upon it. This perhaps will not be doubted of. But how can it be ſaid, that he did reconcile unto himſelf things in heaven, that is, the Angels by the bloud of Chriſt? They had never made any rupture with the friendſhip of God, as men had, and could they be reconciled? Certainly the word Reconciliation properly taken is only agreeable to us, who were Sons of wrath, but are become elect and precious through Chriſt. But Analogically it is truly ſaid,Davenant. in Col. i. 20. the Angels were reconciled in Chriſt, becauſe he obtained for them to be confirmed in grace, and to be ſo eſtabliſhed in the divine favour, that it was impoſſible any breach or rupture ſhould come between, therefore this eſtabliſhment in grace to them is the ſame that reconciliation to us. That beatifical and glorious eternal life which the Angels have with God is a reward far above the merit of any Creature: Therefore Angels are admitted into that glory not by condignity, but as they challenge Chriſt for their head, and themſelves members of his triumphant body. Paul therefore adjures Timothy before God, and the elect Angels. There is no election either of Angels or men but with reſpect unto Chriſt; and the good Angels are called the Sons of God, Job xxxviii. not as begotten of him (for Chriſt is the only natural Son, as I have ſaid before) but becauſe they are adopted through Chriſt, therefore this is the beloved Son in whom with Men and Angels God is well pleaſed. But to us eſpecially this benefit is extended, who were perfect enemies, but being juſtified by faith we have peace with God through Jeſus Chriſt our Lord. AMEN.
XXI SERMONS UPON THE TENTATION OF OUR SAVIOUR.