A Century of Sermons, Sermon 4
THE FOURTH SERMON UPON Our Saviours Tentation.
MAT. iv. 1, 2.
Then was Jeſus led up of the Spirit into the Wilderneſs to be tempted of the Devil.
And when he had faſted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards an hungry.
MAny things were rightly applied by him, that compared the ſucceſs of the Children of Iſrael, upon their entrance into the Land of Canaan, with the circumſtances of this combate between Chriſt and Satan. 1. the Iſraelites were miraculouſly brought through the Red Sea; ſo the firſt glorious Apparition of our Saviour, which went immediately before this buſineſs, was the Baptiſm which he received of John in Jordan. 2. The Iſraelites paſs from the Red Sea into a great and ſolitary Wilderneſs: So our Saviour was led after his Baptiſm into the greateſt Wilderneſs of Judaea, a place uninhabited by man, for he was with the wild beaſts, Mar. i. 13. Then the Iſraelites were in great diſtreſs for foot, hungry and thirſty, their ſoul fainted in them: And Chriſt had nothing to eat in that place, he faſted forty days, and forty nights, and was afterward an hungry. 4. As the Iſraelites were pined with hunger, ſo they had bloudy Wars with all the Nations of Canaan, many a time have they fought againſt me might Iſrael then ſay: So many a time did the Legions of Hell attempt me, might our Lord and Saviour ſay, yea, many times did the powers of darkneſs compaſs me about, but they have not prevailed againſt me. On the one ſide here was firſt the Red Sea, then a journey into the Wilderneſs, then ſcarcity of Food, then War and fighting: So on the other ſide, here was firſt a Baptiſm, then a ſequeſtring into the Wilderneſs, then a long Faſt, and then a long conflict with the Prince of Devils.
Moreover, the men of Iſrael did appear in that forlorn and deſpicable faſhion before the Canaanites, that they were much ſcorn'd and vilified (ſo God provided) we ſeemed in their ſight but as Graſhoppers ſaid, Caleb and Joſuah; this drew the Kings of Canaan forth to beat them back, and ſo were overwhelmed in their own pride and cruelty. Thus in all points did our Saviour deal with Satan, the Eternal wiſdom againſt the wiſdom of the Serpent. He flies into the Wilderneſs as one abandoned of the World, there he continues in great neceſſity, as one whom none would ſuccour; not a morſel of food ſupplied him by God or man; Adverſarium non virtutis jactatione, ſed infirmitatis oſtentione provocat; thus he provokes, and draws Satan out againſt himſelf, not by a boaſting challenge, but by the appearance of much infirmity. No mans counſel at hand to comfort him, for he was in the Wilderneſs; nothing to ſtrengthen his feebleſs, for he was faſting and hungry, much abated in the vigour of his body. Chriſtus non ſolùm provocat, ſed velut arma miniſtrat hoſti, ſays St. Auſtin, this might ſeem as if he did lend his enemie weapons to overcome him. But what the Apoſtle ſaid of himſelf through the grace of Chriſt, Chriſt might more truly ſay of himſelf by his own power, When I am weak I am ſtrong, as will appear in the ſequel. This is premiſed, to let you know, that the preſent matter which I have in hand conſiſts herein, to unfold with what outward infirmity Chriſt addreſſed himſelf to this terrible bickering with the Devil; and that in four Points: 1. From the place, it was the Wilderneſs; the greater ſolitude, the more dangerous the tentation. 2. He was faſting; the more feeble the body, the more flat and dull are the operations of the Spirits. 3. The continuance of the faſting was as great as ever was read, Forty days and forty nights; a large while to get nothing for bodily ſuſtenance. 4. The conſequent is, he was afterwards an hungry: Though the divine power had underpropt nature a long time, yet nature was now left to it ſelf, ſtill the more advantage for the enemy.
This Wilderneſs, whatſoever it was for a barren deſolate place, it deſerves my labour to ſurvey it, becauſe it received this gueſt for forty days, our Lord and Saviour. A worthleſs, and therefore a nameleſs piece of ground, unprofitable to bring ſtore into the Barn, but profitable to yield ſome pious meditations. Some devout Chriſtians who lov'd to viſit thoſe Countries and Regions, which Chriſt frequented, have given it a name, which it holds in Coſmographical deſcriptions to this day, Quarantena, quaranta implying no more than Chriſts continuance there for forty days. There are other ſmall Deſarts in Paleſtina, the Deſart of Maon, the Deſart of Ziph, the Deſart of Judaea, this was diſtinguiſhed from all theſe by being called the great Deſart, where there was no habitation. They that retired thither, unleſs they brought their proviſion, muſt reſolve to keep a faſt. At this day our faithful relators ſay, nothing grows upon the ground but a few Dates, and Chriſt was there at ſuch a time when the trees did bear nothing. His Baptiſm at Jordan is calculated to fall out at Twelfth-tide, and his departure into the Wilderneſs being next after his Baptiſm, thoſe forty days were in the Months of January and February, when, above all other ſeaſons, the Trees of the field, a few excepted, have not ſo much as Leaves to hang upon them. The Devil could not have offered the firſt tentation in the Cities, or Villages, or in the fruitful grounds neighbouring to any habitation, a bare Heath, that yielded nothing but Flints, did occaſion this Propoſition, Command that theſe ſtones be made bread.
The firſt emergent obſervation from hence is noted in the interlineal gloſs, Tunc maximè inſtat Diabolus ad tentandum, cum viderit ſolitarios; The Adverſary doth eſpecially take hold of a man to tempt him upon a melancholy ſolitarineſs; beware of thoſe ſad oppreſſing thoughts, which a man loves to keep to himſelf alone; take adviſe of them, whoſe judgment can direct you, and whoſe charity can comfort you. When you feel inſtigations of iniquity grow upon you, the chief thing which Satan deſires is▪ that you would ſmother them, and not reveal them, that you would break off converſation from all your friends, and avoid Society. He knows his advantages, when he gets a man into a wilderneſs, I mean, a melancholy retirement. foreign, ſays Euripides; one hand can fight but weakly. As a Dear that is ſtruck knows by inſtinct what a danger it is to be ſingle, and therefore will heard himſelf if he can; ſo do not ſeparate your ſelf from the face of men upon tentation, that is the way to betray your ſoul, but unite your force againſt the Tempter by mixing your ſelf with good men, and praiſe the Lord, as David ſaid, in the great Congregation. Quae facilitas? Quae ſecuritas? Lib. de amicit.Quae jucunditas eſt habere cum quo aequè audeas loqui ut tibi? As I read it in a certain work that carries St. Auſtins name; What felicity? What ſecurity? What hearts eaſe it is to talk to another with as good confidence as thou wouldſt unto thy ſelf? Two are better than one, as Solomon ſhews it in a threefold ſimilitude: 1.Eccl. iv. 10. If one fall dangerouſly into a pit, a good companion will lend him his hand to raiſe him; he that is alone hath not another to help him up. 2. If two lie together they have heat, St. Hierom makes an Allegory of it between David and Abiſag, Frigidiores ferventiorum ſocietate in virtute incaleſcent; They that are colder in Piety will be warmed by their Society that are more fervent in charity. 3. If one prevail againſt one, two ſhall help him; united force is a ſtrong ſafegard, 2 Sam. x. 11. Joab divided the battel between him and Abiſhai his brother. Says Joab to Abiſhai, If the Syrians be too ſtrong for me, then thou ſhalt help me; but if the children of Ammon be too ſtrong for thee, then I will help thee. Thus judgment will order the battel in our ſpiritual warfare, I will not truſt to my ſelf alone, leſt tentation preſs me ſore, but I will have ſuccours at need. We are not like Eagles, which never flie in a fluſh, but one by one, becauſe no bird is ſo ſtrong that it can prey upon it: But we are compared to ſheep, that muſt be led to the Paſtures in a flock, and take heed of ſtragling.
This Doctrine is no way repugnant to that which I ſhall deliver by and by, that it is profitable to abandon the contagion of the wicked world: neither do I diſreſpect thoſe tractates of the Fathers, which extol the benefit, that ſome have found, by retiring for a while in to an Hermitage, or the Cell of an Anchorite. A few examples of ſome admirable men, that have ſped well in that fortune, ought not to be a leading Card, that it ſhould be a condition of life to which weak ones ſhould be exhorted. What was good in a very few, in times paſt, ſays one with a good diſtinction, it was Secundum preeminentiam gratiae, non ſecundum congruentiam naturae; It ſorted well with the pre-eminence of the extraordinary grace which they had, but it was not agreeable to the ordinary complexion of humane nature. A man ſequeſtred into a Deſart and Solitude, as he cannot always have his affections intent upon Prayer, and divine Meditations, ſo his vacant idle hours, which muſt be very many, will proffer him innumerable imaginations of the worſt condition. Grant, ſays Chryſologus, that for many hours he think of God, yet for almoſt as many he hath nothing to think of but himſelf, Si nihil excellens in ſeipſo reperit, triſtatur de ſeipſo cogitando; when he finds little good in himſelf worth his cogitations, it will put a diſcomfortable ſadneſs into his mind to offend the ſoul: But I could retort in this Argument as Tully did in ſuch another caſe; ſays he to ſome Idolaters, who defended the Deity of Neptune, you ſay many ſea-men came ſafe to Land that called upon Neptune, but let me ſee how many were drown'd for all their calling upon Neptune. So ſome have made a Catalogue of thoſe good deſpiſers of the world, that ſerved God excellently in the ſolitary Wilderneſs: But let me ſee all their names that took the Hermites Staff and Weeds upon them, and fell into a remedileſs melancholy, and loſt their wits, and their comfort with the deluſions of the Devil. It may do well with ſome for a while, it is not to be continued, if they fancy ſtrange Apparitions to themſelves, and have hard ſtrugling with the Tempter. Ariſtotle could ſay,Lib. 3. Pol. c. 7. a man that is evil is not fit company for himſelf. Some ſtrong working fancies, though they could retire where the Devil could not find them out, yet they carry their own Tempter about them, they carry fire within them, therefore it is not ſolitude that will help ſuch, but a commerce with wiſe and diſcreet men, and ſuch ſtirring negotiations as will ſcarce give their fancy leave to be vacant to it ſelf, and to be idle. Bonaventure hath one diſtinction full of good matter:Lorinus in cap. 4. Eccleſ. Mala eſt ſolitudo per inopiam dilectionis, miſera per defectum conſolationis, honeſta per quietem contemplationis; To eſchew Society for want of brotherly love and charity is very wicked: To eſchew Society for want of comfort in Chriſt is very miſerable; but to take up a ſolitary retirement ſometimes for quiet contemplation is holy and delectable. But he that knows himſelf obnoxious to tentations, and affects ſolitude and privateneſs, is Daemon ſolitarius, as Aquinas calls a Monk that goes abroad without his Mate, and his infirmity is much too weak to encounter that great Adverſary, who ſought out Chriſt in the Wilderneſs.
And now I turn to another inquiry, why Chriſt abode in the Wilderneſs, and at this time, ſo immediately before he did firſt preach the Goſpel in Judaea? The time was now expired of his ſubjection to his Parents, and it could be no way convenient he ſhould return unto them again, when he was now to begin the work of him that ſent him, to preach the kingdom of heaven throughout all Judaea. But had he entred into any City or Village, his enemies would have ſaid his meſſage was deviſed by men, ſome ſubtil conſpiracy had ſet him on, therefore the furtheſt from all ſuſpicion was to ſequeſter his Perſon into the Wilderneſs. Moſes was forty days in the Mount alone before he brought the Tables from God. John the Baptiſt had abandoned the company of men, and lived many years in uncouth places almoſt like a Savage before he preacht the doctrine of repentance. A new form of Religion came forth with more admiration from thoſe unknown ſolitudes, and would be more ſteadily believed that it came from God, and not from man. And it is not a thing to be attributed to the blind chance of fortune, but to the wiſeſt providence of God, that Chriſt was in ſolitudine, diſparted from all other company, and left to himſelf alone, when he fought our battels againſt the Adverſary of our Salvation. I have trodden the Wine-preſs alone, and of the people there was none with me, Iſa. lxiii. 3. In his Transfiguration Moſes and Elias did appear in glory with him, but ſhortly they vaniſht, and he was left alone. In his Agony in the Garden he went up to pray apart by himſelf; Peter, James, and John, that were with him were ſo heavie that they could not chooſe but ſleep: And well might they ſleep for any thing they had to do in that buſineſs, the whole work of the Mediatorſhip lay only upon his ſhoulders; neither Angel, nor Saint could ſuſtain the leſt part to be his Coadjutor. This was a conflict in a place which none frequented, that it might be ſaid of ſome of his noble works, all ſhall believe, yet none did ſee. Singulariter inſpectorem, adjutoremque Deum volunt habere haec certamina, ſays St. Cyprian; None but God muſt behold him, none but God did aſſiſt him in this Duel. There are ſome works of Chriſt, ſay the Schoolmen, which are not neceſſary to be ſeen of all,Abulen. in cap. 4. Mat. qu. 6. yet it was expedient that ſome witneſſes ſhould be preſent at them, becauſe they were done to make the World believe in him; and himſelf ſaid, The works which I do openly, they teſtifie of me. Thoſe Miracles which did demonſtrate his power had ever ſome Spectators; ſome ſaw how he gave up the Ghoſt upon the Croſs, how he was riſen from the dead, how he aſcended into heaven; therefore St. Luke ſays,Luk. i. 2. he received his Goſpel from them that were eye-witneſſes of the Word. But there are things, which eſpecially tend to Moral Doctrine and Inſtruction, as that he prayed all night alone, that he was tempted alone in the Wilderneſs, and faſted forty days, it concerned not ſuch things to be ſeen of any, but to be barely related by the Evangeliſts, that we might believe them, and uſe them to the information of our life upon fit occaſion. But I reduce all to this Head, The ſolitude of the Wilderneſs did beſt befit him in this work, becauſe he began, continued, and ended the work of the Mediatorſhip by himſelf, and by no other aſſiſtance.
Where ſome of the Fathers have given Chriſts Humility large praiſe, to baniſh himſelf as it were for a time into the Wilderneſs, I will follow them likewiſe in their obſervation. The immediate Miracle which went before was the deſcending of the Holy Ghoſt upon him in the ſhape of a Dove, and the voice from heaven, This is my beloved Son; If Chriſt would have proſecuted the honour which the people would have given him upon theſe wonderful Signs, he might have rode to Jeruſalem in triumph, and been received with an univerſal admiration; but he choſe rather to decline the Exclamations and Hoſanna's of the City, and retired into the Wilderneſs. Adam in horto ſuperbus, Chriſtus in deſerto humilis; Much better it is to be humble with Chriſt in a barren Deſart, than to be proud with Adam in a delicious Paradiſe. This miſerable ſolitude was not capable of the provocations of thoſe ſins that Eden was; this was a Land of penury, where Satan was overcome; that was a garden of abundance, where he got the victory. And by how much that Paradiſe was too glorious a dwelling for the Sons of men, therefore they were driven out: So this deſolate Wilderneſs was too mean a receptacle for the Son of God; for St. Mark debaſeth it with this deſcription, That the wild beaſts frequented it. And perchance the tamer, and more tractable company than the Scribes and Phariſees, and the Rulers of the People; thoſe beaſts proved more innocent and harmleſs to him, and at laſt he was fain to tell the men of the Land, that they were metamorphoſed into beaſts, and into the worſt kind of all, O ye Generations of vipers, &c. Son of man, ſays God to Ezekil, thou dwelleſt among Scorpions: But Son of God thou didſt die, and wert crucified among Scorpions; he changed for the worſer company when he came from the beaſts in the champion fields to the Phariſees in Jeruſalem. But to what a diminution of his excellency did Chriſt deſcend? To what a low fall from that glory which was due unto him? To be caſt out from among the company of Angels, into a deſart to be a companion of beaſts. He, before whom thouſand thouſands are ſaid to miniſter, and ten thouſand thouſands are ſaid to ſtand before him, Dan. vii. 10. Inſtead of this Royal Train, none but the ſavage cattel compaſs him round about. His humility is the expiation of our pride, he conſorts with beaſts that we may have fellowſhip with Angels; He lives peaceably with Wolves and Tygers, to obtain grace for us, through the merit of his obedience, that our brutiſh affections may be ſubject to reaſon, and to the Law of God. So St. Hierom made me bold with this Allegory, Tunc beſtiae nobiſcum ſunt, cum caro non concupiſcit adverſus ſpiritum; Then we and the beaſts live quietly together, when the Fleſh doth not covet againſt the Spirit.
None of theſe deſcants, which I have drawn from the beſt antiquity, upon Chriſts removing into the Wilderneſs, but were fit to be noted. I have my own ſhare to caſt in, that herein Chriſt was a lively exhibition of the Type of the Scape Goat, of which you ſhall read a ſtrange Ceremony, Lev. xvi. 20. The High Prieſt was not to come at all times into the holy place within the Vail, no more than once a year. Firſt, he was to offer a Bullock for a ſin-offering for himſelf; then he was to preſent two Kids of the Goats before the Lord at the door of the Tabernacle, according as the lot fell, the one Goat was ſlain, and his bloud ſprinkled within the Vail: As for the other, this Ceremony was appointed; Aaron put both his hands upon the head of the live Goat, and did confeſs all the iniquities of the children of Iſrael over him, and did put them upon the head of the Goat; and the Goat did bear away their Iniquities into a Land not inhabited, and he was let go into the Wilderneſs. The Learned in their beſt conjectures do expound it after this ſort in an Allegory: By the Goat which was ſlain and ſacrificed they underſtand the Humane Nature of Chriſt, (for Chriſt ſuffered only in his fleſh:) By the Scape-goat they underſtand his Divine Nature, (for according to his Divinity he could not die, he could not be crucified) and yet it was the infinite value of that nature that bore away all our Iniquities: For as God could not ſuffer for ſin, ſo man alone could not ſatisfie for ſin. Thus by very good Analogy our Saviour Chriſt is the Scape-goat, upon whoſe head we laid all our ſins. And the better to give light to this Myſtery, he was really ſent into the Wilderneſs, in my Text, to put us in mind, that the Goat which was ſent away into a Land uninhabited was a Type of him; and therefore St. Mark ſpeaks of a violent expulſion, Expulit eum in deſertum; The Spirit did drive him into the Wilderneſs.
A little ſpoken concerning theſe Typical ſhadows will quickly riſe to enough. I come to that Doctrine, which is apteſt to conclude the firſt general part of my Text, how Chriſt made himſelf often a ſtranger to this world, and ſhewed it by retiring unto unfrequented places;Maldon. Quaſi in mundo extra mundum ageret, ſays one, as if he minded another world much more when he lived in this. His fleſh was not ill pampered, or fatned for ſin, and yet he faſted: His integrity was untaintable, ill examples could not ſeduce him, the viciouſneſs of the age could not infect him, yet he drew back ſometimes from thoſe ſcandalous contagions, as if he had ſaid to one of us, or to every one of us, give thy ſoul ſuch reſpite ſometimes, that it may abandon all earthly cares for a time, and have leiſure to talk with God. As Chriſt invites his Church from the empeſtring of multitudes of people, and ſecular buſineſſes, Come my beloved, let us go forth into the field, let us lodge in the Villages. Cant. vii. 11. We had need of longer Vacations than Terms, more reſt to ſerve God than ſtirring days to enrich our ſelves; that we may ask God forgiveneſs at leiſure for the ſins which we did commit in our buſineſs. Come ye apart into a deſart place, and reſt awhile, ſays our Saviour to his Diſciples, Mar. vi. 31. All cannot receive this ſaying, you will ſay, all have not the way and opportunity to retire themſelves bodily from the conflux of the world; but there is a way for every man that his mind may pluck it ſelf out of the throng, and adhere to God. So St. Cyprian bears off all objections from this exhortation, Etſi omnes diverſorium non excipiat loci, animi tamen omnino neceſſaria eſt ſolitudo; All men cannot caſt the World behind their back, and go alone into remote places, but it is neceſſary for the heart of every man to ſay often, my God and I am alone together, I am ſolitary with him often in the midſt of troubles.
God hath made man a ſociable creature, if the contagion of the world doth not make him unſociable. Who can live with patience or comfort, where he ſees the Creator of Heaven and Earth diſhonoured daily? No reverence in the lips of children, but ſwearing and prophanation: No faithfulneſs in mens words, but deceit and guile: The truſt of Guardians turn'd to ſupplantation; the league of Friendſhip turn'd to treachery; the bond of Wedlock ſo impiouſly, ſo often wronged in Adultery. Whom can the Living truſt for righteous dealing? Whom can the dying truſt for an upright Executor? What good man doth not feel the paſſions of Lot within himſelf at the recital of theſe things? His ſoul vext with the filthy converſation of the Sodomites, and therefore from thence he was glad to fly, and retire to Zoar. This made the Prophet Jeremy complain, O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the Cities and dwell in the Rock, Chap. xlviii. 28. Fuge ſeculi mare, & naufragium non timebis, ſays St. Ambroſe; Sail away into ſome little ſtreams, and leave that Ocean of ungodlineſs, which is in the moſt frequented places, and ye ſhall not fear Shipwrack. St. Baſil extols it in the height of Gorgias the Martyr his praiſe, that he left his native ſoil, and all ſociety, and made the deſolate woods his habitation. foreign, he deteſted the buyers and ſellers; the forſwearers and liars. I told you before that Eremitical ſolitarineſs was much in danger of tentation, but one anſwers it, better fight ſingle againſt Satan, one to one in the Wilderneſs, than fight againſt Satan and wicked men, who will entice you to ſin as faſt as Satan. Therefore let them take out my Leſſon, and eſchew the frequent Societies of populous places, who find the Contagion of peſtilent multitudes rub ſome ruſt upon them, and infect their integrity. It is not the place, but the corruptions of the place, which the meditations of the Fathers gathered out of my Text, do lead you to abandon; therefore the words of our Saviour ſhall ſtand in the laſt place to ſhut up this Point, Joh. xvii. 15. I pray not that thou ſhouldſt take them, that is the Diſciples, out of the world, but that thou ſhouldſt keep them from the evil. So much for the circumſtance of the place.
My Sermon thus far hath been upon the Wilderneſs; againſt the handling of the next Point it is fit to ask, What went we forth into the Wilderneſs to ſee? Why, to behold Chriſt faſting before he fought with the Devil: Though that is not all he did there, (for there is much more behind) yet this is enough to make it worth our labour, Eſurivit panis, ſicut defecit via, ſicut vulnerata eſt ſanitas, ſicut mortua eſt vita, Auguſt. in Evang. Job. Serm. 41.ſays St. Auſtin; By the ſame wonderful diſpenſation that the way of life was weary, health it ſelf was wounded, life it ſelf died, by the ſame diſpenſation the bread of life faſted, and was afterwards an hungry. A ſanctified faſt hath two religious ends in it, foreign, as St. Paul ſays, 1. To chaſtiſe our own body, and to take revenge upon it. 2. To put it into a good temperature for the minds ſake. Neither of theſe cauſes could be ſet before Chriſt in this long faſt, for his Fleſh had never rebelled againſt the Spirit; neither was there any inordinateneſs in his natural conſtitution which could be corrected by temperance.Muſculus in hunc locum. Some therefore hold an opinion that Chriſt went not into the Wilderneſs to faſt, that fell out ſo indeed, and was a neceſſary acceſſory, becauſe there was no food to be had. You know the people ran after Chriſt into theſe ſpacious fields to hear Chriſt preach, and not to faſt with him, yet there they continued three days faſting, and had nothing to eat, until four thouſands were fed miraculouſly with five loaves, and two fiſhes. In like manner Moſes went not up into the Mount to faſt, but to receive the Tables: and truly this opinion is not to be contemned; for St. Mark remembers that he was in the Wilderneſs tempted of Satan, and quite omits his faſting. This is preſt the more zealouſly by ſome, and with ſufficient probability, to ſhew upon what weak foundation they build, who fetch it from hence, that Chriſt obſerved the faſt of forty days, on purpoſe to conſtitute a yearly Lent in the Church for ever, or a Quadrageſimal faſt, for if it were by accident that Chriſt faſted here, that can be no conſtitution of his intendment. Nor indeed did he appoint any ſuch thing, as I will ſhew in juſt time. Yet I concur not in the main ſentence with thoſe Authors; for it ſeems to me, this was purpoſed by Chriſt to go into the Deſart and ſpend his time in Prayer and Faſting: Now was the conflict at hand, now was the firſt inſtitution and undertaking of the greateſt matter in the world, the ſalvation of mankind, and could not begin with a better Praeludium than an extraordinary Faſt. In this I will be directed by the interlineal gloſs, Jejunat ut tentetur, tentatur quia jejunat; He did faſt that he might provoke tentations againſt himſelf, and he did provoke tentations becauſe he faſted.
For the better explication of the cauſes why he was pleaſed to faſt, I will lay down the diſtinction of Chriſts will, as I find it conſidered in the School three ways: Sicut ratio eſt unibilis corpori, ſicut eſt omnino conformis Deitati, & ratione membrorum. 1. The ſoul is united to the body, and for that union ſake the will deſireth the good of the whole man. 2. God and man were united in Chriſt into one perſon, therefore his will was ſubject in all things to the divine Law and pleaſure. 3. He was the head of the body, which is the Church, and therefore his will did graciouſly affect the proſperity of his members. In theſe three reſpects there are ſo many cauſes of moment why Jeſus faſted: 1. Becauſe it is profitable to conſerve the whole man againſt tentations. 2. It was the divine pleaſure to provoke the Devil to give the onſet, by macerating and enfeebling his body, and Satans foil was the greater, becauſe he was the challenger. 3. He had regard unto his members, to avenge himſelf on the Tempter by the victory of temperance, who brought ſin into the world through our firſt Parents by the ſin of Gluttony. Other cauſes I leave behind for refutation.
Firſt, I ſay, it gives us a leſſon to faſt, and withdraw the ordinary ſuſtenance from the body, when we perceive our ſelves in likelihood to encounter ſome temptation. King Jehoſaphat had a great battle to fight with the Ammonites, and before the conflict he ſet himſelf to ſeek the Lord, and proclaimed a Faſt throughout all Judah, 2 Chron. xx. 3. So did Eſther when ſhe undertook the great danger to go in to Ahaſuerus againſt the Law, to intercede for the deliverance of the whole Nation of the Jews, ſhe would not venture upon ſo great a peril unleſs all the Jews would faſt three whole days before the Lord, and neither eat nor drink, Eſt. iv. 16. What ſhould I ſay more out of many examples? Ezra ſuſpecting what great oppoſition he ſhould find to re-edifie the Temple of the Lord, he proclaimed a Faſt, that all the People might afflict themſelves before God, Ezra viii. 21. And St. Baſil, a great Practiſer of this doctrine, as any was in the world, which is better than a Teacher, bid all his Scholars take it upon his word, that Sobriety was the beſt Antidote in the world to expel the venom of the Devil. This holy Father was ſo good a ſpiritual Phyſician, that the Church had not a better ſince his time, I think, to preſcribe a good diet for the ſoul. Adam went out of Paradiſe with a full ſtomack, poor Lazarus went faſting to heaven, ſcarce fraught with the crums of the rich mans Table. Moſes did faſt upon Sinah for forty days when he talked with God: But the People, who in the mean time did commit Idolatry, ſate down to eat, and to drink, and roſe up to play. Daniel refuſed the meat and drink allowed him from the Kings Table, foreign, to honour his temperance and faſting, the very Lions, into whoſe Den he was caſt, were taught to faſt and hunger, and not to eat up Daniel, who was thrown before them to be a prey unto their teeth. Thus far he.
If you ask me wherein we honour God, in what part it may be referred to his glorie, to deny all manner of ſuſtenance to our ſelves for a time. Beloved, thus it ſtands, that we acknowledge our ſelves in fact, not in word only, to be unworthy of all thoſe good gifts, with which he hath repleniſht the earth, that we deſerve no longer to be fed with his liberality, and ſo we humble our ſelves before Almighty God, confeſſing we deſerve not, with the little Whelps, to pick up the crums under his Table; and deſiring that they who deject themſelves under his mighty power, may not be trodden down by Satan and his Miniſters of perdition. Moreover, take away Oyl from the Lamp, and the flame will go out by little and little; and ſurely hunger and thirſt, and afflicting the body, joyned with prayer and repentance, ſhall obtain this mercy, that the violence of Voluptuouſneſs and Luxury ſhall be abated in our ſinful fleſh. Not that a Faſt is acceptable to God of it ſelf, without other good offices of Religion, but being well accompanied with Prayer and godly ſorrow (for as the Apoſtle ſpeaketh, Bodily exerciſe profiteth nothing of it ſelf;) it diſpoſeth and inclineth us to mortification and chaſtity. In times of old, abſtinence and faſting more than ordinary were held a ſpecial part of their praiſe that did practice them. It is the character of Anna, the religious widow, how ſhe continued in prayers and faſtings, Luk. ii. And our Saviour himſelf teacheth how to faſt, and propoſeth a reward to them that did it well, and not for oſtentation and hypocriſie, Mat. 6. There Chriſt taught it, and here he did it; this is the true demonſtration of the Spirit, Cum dixit quid faciendum ſit, probat faciendo. As the old bird will fly forth ſometimes, not upon neceſſity, but to teach her young ones to fly after: So Chriſt faſted in the Wilderneſs, not to gather ſtrength by that means in his own perſon againſt the Devil, but to teach his young ones as well as they could to fly, or flutter after him, and he tells us there is a kind of Devil which will not be caſt out but by prayer and faſting, Mar. ix. 29. If any man put in a croſs, ſaying, How can Faſting have a defenſive force in it againſt temptation, ſince almoſt all Writers ſay upon weighty conſiderations, Chriſt had not been tempted but that he faſted? I anſwer, Our caſe and this are far unlike: Satan durſt not aſſail Chriſt ſo long as he doubted him to be the eternal Son of God, but upon his faſting and hunger he took boldneſs to joyn iſſue with him, becauſe he falſly collected from thoſe ſigns he was but the Son of man. Neither do I deliver unto you, that he will not tempt ſuch as faſt and pray, (for I have taught already how envy drives him on, that where there is abundance of ſanctity, there will be abundance of tentation) but I do deliver, that Faſting and Prayer ſhall have proſperous ſucceſs to overcome temptations. So Aquinas, Si non profuit jejunium ut non tenteris, tamen profuit ut à tentationibus non vincaris. I do not promiſe you peace from tentations, though you faſt often religiouſly before God, but I promiſe you victory.
The ſecond part of Chriſts will and pleaſure in this Faſt is ratione membrorum, to do our humane nature honour by temperance, for the reproach which it ſuffered by intemperance, and to triumph over the Devil upon the ſame conditions that he overcame our firſt Parents. There was the Firſt Adam, here was the Second; there was a Paradiſe where the firſt man had ſtore of all things, here was a Wilderneſs where Chriſt had nothing: that diſobedient Son of God eat of that which was forbidden, this moſt obedient Son of God refrained from thoſe things which were lawful. Adam did not eat for need, but for his luſt, he was not an hungry: Chriſt was ſo abſtinent that he would not ſatisfie neceſſity, for he was an hungry. By gluttony we loſt our honour, and fell low to be compared to the beaſts that periſh: But here is one that continued and maintained ſharp hunger againſt all tentations, who in the beginning of this ſtory kept company with the beaſts, but in the end was miniſtred unto by Angels. Uno tanto jejunio univerſam Johannis abſtinentiam ſuperavit, ſays Cajetan; This one faſt, and his conſtant continuance in it, mauger the deviſes of the old Serpent, did exceed all the abſtinence of John the Baptiſt, who for many years fed upon Locuſts and wild honey. For John was abſtinent to himſelf, Chriſt faſted to bring us out of the thraldom of Satan, Aleſ.and for the expiation of our Gluttony. Quaelibet actio Chriſti fuit nobis meritoria, paſſio ejus & meritoria & ſatisfactoria, it is commonly ſaid of the School Divines. The Death and Paſſion of Chriſt did both merit for us before Gods mercy, and ſatisfie for us before his juſtice; but every part of Chriſts obedience, as this faſting among the reſt was meritorious for his members. Such wits as delighted in holy ingenuity, have applied the ſeveral parts of Chriſts merit, and ſufferance, and paſſion unto us in the notions of Phyſick and Chirurgery. Curavit non per diaetam cum jejunavit; per electuarium, quando corpus & ſanguinem dedit in coenâ diſcipulis, &c. He took upon him to cure us by the preſcription of a diet when he faſted: By an Electuary, when he gave his body and bloud to his Diſciples in his laſt Supper: By a Sweat when drops of bloud trickled from him in the Garden: By an Emplaſter, when his face was ſmeared with Spittle: By a bitter potion, when he drank Vinegar upon the Croſs: By cutting and lancination, when his feet and hands were pierced with nails, and his ſide with a Spear. There was no diſeaſe of ſin whereof we were not ſick, there was no kind of cure to be invented which was not practiſed to reſtore us. And ſo much for this exerciſe of faſting, as he made uſe of it for the members of his body.
Thirdly, As his will was always ſubject to his Father, according to that Prayer in the Garden, not my will, but thy will be done, ſo the Divine Nature did ſuggeſt a reaſon to his Humane Nature to faſt, to put a fallacy upon Satan, that he might peremptorily conclude Chriſt was no more than a man, who ſuffered hunger, and ſought for ſomewhat to eat in the Wilderneſs and was not repleniſhed. As if a Lion ſhould put on the skin of a ſilly ſheep, to draw on a ravening Wolf to ſet upon him, and thereupon devour the Wolf who came to be the devourer: So our Saviour walked about the Deſart in the perſon of a ſilly man half famiſh'd, the Tempter was in great ſuſpenſe, and knew not what to think of him, and ſtood ambiguouſly in this Dilemma ſays St. Chryſoſtome: He hath faſted forty days and eat nothing, I dare not meddle with him, this is no man; but after forty days ended he is hungry, and wants food, I will give him the onſet, this is no God. So Jeſus grazing about like a poor ſheep that could find nothing but ſtones for fodder, the Wolf grins upon him, but he proved to be the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Impar congreſſus Achilli; and the wild beaſt of the Foreſt was repelled by him that led captivity captive; the more infirmity pretended on Chriſts part, the more glorious the victory. Fames Domini pia fraus eſt, ne caveat tentare Diabolus, ſays Bonaventure; This faſt and hunger was a pious fraud or ſtratagem laid by God to draw on Satan to tempt his Lord and Maker, and ſo prove him guilty of a moſt foul rebellion.Serm. de Temp. 157. St. Auſtin doth ſo receive this opinion, that he rejects all others; it may be ſaid, ſays he, that faſting came after Baptiſm, even as a good diet is to be kept after health recovered for fear of a relapſe, but that is impertinent, Illius cauſa jejunii non Jordanis tinctio, ſed Diaboli tentatio fuit; This faſt had no reference to the dipping in Jordan, but to cozen Satan, and make him raſhly adventure upon the enſuing tentation. So St. Ambroſe likewiſe, and almoſt all the beſt Authors of the beſt antiquity. It is a fatal requital upon ſome buſie wits, that as they are ſharp and ſore deceivers, ſo when their own turn comes about, they are as ſorrily deceived. Marcus Craſſus was one of the cunningſt flatterers that ever was; and yet no man ſo eaſily,Plut. in vitâ Craſs. and ſo notoriouſly gull'd with flattery. So Satan is the grand Impoſtor of mankind, and yet this grand Impoſture was thruſt upon him, to enter combate with Chriſt, who is invincible and omnipotent. And let cheaters and cunning practiſers beware, that their own ſhot rebound not upon themſelves. God hath a retorſion in ſtore, a fallere fallentem, which will fall upon them in ſpight of ſubtilty and circumſpection. They think they work cloſely, and no harm ſhall happen unto them, I am ſure that David propheſies how certainly they ſhall be ſtew'd in their own ſawce, they are taken in the crafty wilineſs that they imagined for others, in the ſame net that they hid privily is their foot taken. The ways of a Serpent are ſlippery, and treachery ſhall be tript up with treachery: The Lord hath ſpoken it, and the Lord hath done it.
I have ſet theſe three reaſons why Chriſt faſted in the formoſt rank, becauſe they are warrantable. Brentius, I think, miſtook when he interſerted this for a reaſon: It is a great anxiety, or a great ſickneſs which keeps a man from his meat for a few days; ſo, as he thought, the tentations of Chriſt were ſo violent and horrible, that for forty days he eat nothing. I ſuppoſe, when I come to ſhew, at what time the Devil began his work, I ſhall make it appear, that no tentation was offered to Chriſt until the fortieth day. Howſoever the Author took his aim amiſs; for although we read that our Saviour endured a moſt violent conflict in the garden, when he ſweat drops of bloud in his Prayer, the caſe is not the ſame in this conflict with the Devil. In the Garden he ſtood before his Father, repreſenting himſelf not as the beloved Son in whom the Father was well pleaſed, but under the imputation and malediction of all our ſins, and he ſtruggled with his Fathers juſtice, that he might bear our iniquities in his own body upon the croſs. This was a wreſtling indeed to put all his ſtrength and powers in a heat, and all his ſpirits in an agony. But to beat down the ſuggeſtions of the evil one it put him to no ſollicitouſneſs, or anxiety, never was victory got ſo eaſily. None of thoſe poyſoned darts could ſtick in him, this was the Lamb without ſpot that could commit no ſin, but came to take away the ſins of the world.
This error is eaſily put off, the next opinion is maintained more pertinaciouſly, that this faſting was part of that obedience, by which he merited exaltation of his Father, and in like manner the pennance of faſting is meritorious to the obedient members of his Church. Thus they. I will examine this ſtrictly by ſeveral pieces. Firſt, to enter into a tedious diſputation how, or what Chriſt did merit by his obedience, cannot conſiſt with the time, and it doth not piece well with my Text. But take a little knowledge of it by this ſimilitude; the Angels of heaven have a double operation,Aleſ. one that they ſtand always before the face of our Father which is in heaven, another that they are miniſtring Spirits, and do good offices to the Church upon earth; as they do always ſtand before God, ſo they muſt needs be completely bleſſed, having the ſubſtance of their reward, but as they aſſiſt and help us, ſo they have ſome kind of increaſe, or as it is called accidental addition to their reward: So Chriſt in the union of the two natures could not but ever behold the divine glory, ſo that the fruition of that eternal happineſs was ever conjoyned to him; but inaſmuch as the diſpenſation of our redemption was his continual exerciſe upon earth, ſo that deſerved him ſome additions to his glory, in the glorification of the ſenſible part of mans nature, the ſpeedy reſurrection of the body, his ſpeedy aſcenſion or exaltation into heaven, and as ſome do add, that at the name of Jeſus every knee ſhould bow; or if ſo be theſe things were ſo intrinſecal to the hypoſtatical union, that they could not be parted from it, yet thus it may be well agreed, Mereri eſt de debito facere majus debitum; Theſe things accrued to Chriſt meritoriouſly, becauſe that which was due by the hypoſtatical union was made more due by his humiliation. I add ſecondly, that the great abſtinence and ſweet temperance of our Saviours life was part of his humiliation,Calvinus. but for the forty days wherein he faſted I concur with them that maintain this was no part of his abſtinence. What abſtinence could there be, ſays one, in this miraculous act, when all that while he had no provocation in his appetite to long for meats, no more than the Angels have who taſte no corruptible things? The faculties of nutrition call'd for no ſuſtenance. God repreſſed the appetite, ſays Cajetan, from feeling the provocations of hunger and thirſt, even as he ſuppreſſed the devouring quality of the fire, that it ſhould not burn the three conſtant Saints that were caſt into it.
I make it my third reply, though Chriſts obedience in his humiliation was meritorious, yet there is ſo much diſparity between his obedience and ours, that men can take no meaſure of it. I do not only mean in this difference, which is ſo well known, that he did exactly fulfil all the Law of God, and for our part in many things we ſin all. There is another thing which puts as wide a difference between us, Chriſt obeyed his Father becauſe he would, we becauſe we muſt; He obeyed without any terrour pronounced to compel him, we obey under the commination of hell fire, if we be ſlack in our duty. We are ſervants commanded to our task, he did the works of him that ſent him, as a Prince receives the dignity of a province from his Father, to adminiſter it to his honour, and if he had refuſed it, it could not turn to his prejudice; therefore both Angels and men owe as much obedience for their own part as they can perform; but the diſpenſation of Chriſts humility was not impoſed, but freely undertaken, and by that vertue and title meritorious. In the laſt place therefore, all the effects of Gods will are pleaſing unto him to be done, and ſo it is pleaſing unto God to have us humble our ſouls ſometimes before him with faſting and mourning, but a good duty is wronged when the more rigid defenders of merit of condignity ſay, that there is an equivalency and proportion between the ſtudious keeping of ſome appointed Faſts with other voluntary afflictions, and the reward of eternal life. Is it not enough to ſay that our imperfect obedience pleaſeth God, and ſhall be rewarded according to his own promiſe and free grace? Will it not ſatisfie us to go to heaven by mere mercy, and undeſerved liberality? Beware to gild your works by the name of merit (why ſhould the ungodly make ſuch proud boaſting?) Dip them in the name of free remiſſion of ſins by the bloud of Jeſus Chriſt, and God will give glory to us his adopted Sons becauſe we give all glory to the only begotten Son, who is in the boſom of the Father. AMEN.