A Century of Sermons, Sermon 10
THE TENTH SERMON UPON Our Saviours Tentation.
MAT. iv. 5.
Then the Devil taketh him up into the holy City, and ſetteth him on a Pinacle of the Temple.
AT this Verſe Satan fenceth againſt Chriſt with a new weapon, and after the tentation of the Wilderneſs Now follows the tentation of the Pinacle, wherein Chriſt fulfilled that Doctrine in the Goſpel, He that will compel thee to go with him one mile, go with him twain; for it was no preſumption in our Lord to go with him from one trial to another becauſe he was ſure he ſhould outgo him.Plutarch in vit. Flam. As the Romans ſaid of Hannibal their enemy, that he was a perpetual fire, Cui nihil deerat, niſi qui eum excitaret, that would inſtantly flame if any man would ſtir him up: So neither loſs nor victory will make the Devil ſit down with peace; he is a perpetual fire to kindle ſin in man, that wants nothing but an occaſion to ſtir him up. When he could do no good by his firſt Patent, taking away all that Job had, he comes and ſues for a new Commiſſion, that he might touch his fleſh and bone: Semblably, when his firſt onſet took no effect, and could not penetrate our Saviour, to make him ſatiate his hunger by unlawful means, now he deals with him in a moſt different way, whether he would be taken with pride and vain-glory. He that will not deſpair of his Fathers Providence but that he ſhall be fed, will he then preſume of his protection, that in the midſt of the greateſt dangers he ſhall be preſerved?
Let not the Pontificians take my ſimilitude in ill part, for I ſhall ſpeak no more than the truth. As they have particular ways to raviſh all mens affections, and to fit each humour, that every fancy may be ſatisfied, and every appetite find what to feed on; they have the dignity of a Cardinal to allure the magnificent mind, the humility of a Capuchin to agree with a deſpiſer of the world: Employment enough for the ſtirring metal'd ſpirit of a Jeſuite, and eaſe enough for the ſullen reſtive diſpoſition of a Monk, a Cloyſter of Virgins for the chaſte, a ſtreet of Curtezans for the diſſolute. So Satan will be with ſome in the deſart Wilderneſs, with others in the populous City: Practiſeth with one man upon his hunger and poverty, with another upon his ambition; no retiring place ſo low but he hath an Engine to uſe in that,Oratio. pro M. Caelio. no Pinacle ſo high but he can reach at that. Cum triſtibus ſeverè, cum remiſſis jucundè, as the Orator did point out Cataline for a Devil incarnate; he can ſigh with them that want, but to make them murmur: laugh with them that are merry, but to make them voluptuous and exceed; fly as low as you will, and as high as you will. Which alteration you ſhall find between that tentation which is paſt already and that which is now begun; Then the Devil taketh him up into the holy City, and ſetteth him on a Pinacle of the Temple; In which words are to be noted four things; Ordo, Modus, Locus communis, Locus proprius. Firſt, The order of theſe tentations, that this is the immediate, and next tentation to the former, for then the Devil took him. Secondly, The manner is by aſſumption, foreign, he took him up. 3. The more common place to which he took him, it was to the holy City Jeruſalem. 4. Here is the peculiar and proper place, he ſetteth him on a Pinacle of the Temple. Theſe are the parts of that Argument which at this time lies before us.
Now this is the reaſon why I make the order of theſe tentations one, and the firſt part of the Text at this time, becauſe St. Luke puts this tentation in the laſt part, which St. Matthew accounts the ſecond; and this which St. Matthew reckons for the ſecond St. Luke refers it laſt. For after Chriſt had refuſed the motion to make bread of ſtones, it follows according to St. Luke, The Devil took him up into an high Mountain, and ſhewed him all the Kingdoms of the world in a moment of time; but our Evangeliſt gives his Narration the accent of time, Tunc aſſumpſit, then he took him up into the holy City. Becauſe therefore St. Matthew ſhews the Connexion of order, it is believed generally that he hath the perfect conſequence of the ſtory. One ſays, that in ſome old Copies of the Greeks St. Luke concurs paſſage by paſſage with St. Matthew. Janſenius, a learned Author, it ſeems, had found ſome ſuch thing, and I believe ſo had St. Ambroſe, for whereas he wrote Commentaries purpoſely upon St. Luke, yet he keeps no other order but the ſelf-ſame which is found in St. Matthew. Howſoever this is no jar or contradiction between the holy Writers, but a variety which begets many good Meditations when we think upon it.
Firſt, Aquinas did thus excogitate upon it,3. Pars. qu. 41. Quandoque ex inani gloria venitur ad cupiditatem, quandoque ex cupiditate ad inanem gloriam. The tentation upon the Pinacle was directed to beget vain-glory, the tentation upon the Mountain tended to beget immoderate coveting of worldly things. Now for theſe two there is no choice in the precedency, for ſometimes vain-glory would ſupport it ſelf by coveting in exceſs, and ſometimes a covetous affection drives a man into the itch of glory.
Secondly, All ſins are not equal, yet there are ſome capital ſins that in ſeveral reſpects are of an equal deformity between themſelves, and then they take their turn in holy Scripture, one interchangeably to be ſet before the other. Murder and Adultery, Adultery and Murder are flagrant crimes, and in ſome compariſons one is the greater treſpaſs againſt our brother, in ſome compariſons the other. Thou ſhalt do no murder, thou ſhalt not commit adultery, ſo Moſes ranged them in the Law to the Jews. Thou ſhalt not commit Adultery, thou ſhalt not kill Rom. xiii. 9. So St, Paul diſpoſeth them writing to the Gentiles. Indeed in the Hebrew, Murder is firſt forbidden, for being is ſimply better than well-being; but in the 70 Tranſlation Adultery is firſt forbidden, for comparatively well-being is better than being. St. Matthew therefore following the Hebrew ſays Chriſt did thus rehearſe the Commandments to the young man; Thou ſhalt not kill, thou ſhalt not commit Adultery, Mat. xix. 18. St. Luke following the 72. cites our Saviour ſaying to the ſame man, Do not commit Adultery, do not kill, Luk. xviii. 20. So Pride in ſome caſes is worſe than Covetouſneſs, and therefore our Evangeliſt entreats firſt upon the tentation to Pride; in ſome caſes Covetouſneſs is worſe than Pride, and ſo the other Evangeliſt writes firſt of that tentation which inſtigated unto Covetouſneſs.
Thirdly, St. Luke laid thoſe two tentations together which were commenced in the Wilderneſs and Mountains, and then with leſs confuſion to the Readers apprehenſion ſpeaks of that which fell out in the City, and upon the Temple.Toſtat. in 4. Mat. qu. 31. Many times the Scripture by anticipation brings in the hiſtory of a thing before the preciſe time wherein it was done, as Mat. xxvii. In the deſcription of our Saviours Paſſion this accident is brought in, that many dead bodies of the Saints aroſe, and appeared in the holy City to many, and yet it came not to paſs upon the Paſſion day, but when Chriſt was riſen from the dead. This Maxim is of good direction to the wiſe that can underſtand it. Ordo artificialis in narratione rerum ſaepe eſt utilior ad intelligendum quàm ordo naturalis. To tranſpoſe things in an hiſtory artificially is many times better for our underſtanding than the plain natural order. But this tentation, as it is ſorted in St. Matthew, is well placed both by the natural truth of the hiſtory, and by the artificial method of it. And thus much briefly to make this Point even between theſe two moſt divine Evangeliſts.
I put on to the next thing, which is moſt ſtrange in this tentation, and verily to be admired, the manner of it, to which Chriſt did ſubmit himſelf, it is by Aſſumption, by carriage through the air, Then the Devil taketh him up into the holy City. It was a good Spirit which led him into the Wilderneſs to the exerciſes of Faſting, and Prayer, and Contemplation, the very ſame which ſate upon his head at Baptiſm in the ſhape of a Dove. Now here is another Spirit retaining to the contrary faction, who is ready not only to lead him, but even to carry him through the Air to the moſt conſpicuous Turret in all the City of Jeruſalem. Some of the ancient and pure ſtock of Writers were ſo loath to preach this Doctrine in the Church, that Satan did bear up Chriſt between Heaven and Earth for fear of offending weak ones, that they made other conſtructions of it which will no abide the teſt. St. Cyprian expounds it as if all this had been done by Viſion and Imagination: But will Cyprian ſay, that Chriſt was urged to caſt himſelf down to the ground putativè, not really, but in imagination? Or will he grant that our glorious Champion did vanquiſh his Adverſary but in fancy and opinion? Exilis eſſet Chriſti victoria; Then Chriſt had but little to boaſt of, and the Scripture would never have recorded this act as the moſt famous of all victories. Beſide theſe, many other Interpreters in a more rational way confeſs this was a conflict truly and apparently fought, and that the Devil really took him up, Pedibus ductum, non volantem; he went along from the Wilderneſs up to the top of the Pinacle on his feet upon the Devils provocation. And this opinion they maintain upon the meaning of the Verb foreign, which is ſometimes Simpliciter aſſumere, not Aſſumptum transferre; barely to take along in company, not to tranſport or tranſpoſe in the taking, as Chriſt took up Peter, and James, and John into the Mountain where he was transfigured, that is, he made them his Aſſociates, but their own feet did bear them. The Verb indeed will bear both ſignifications, and more fit a great deal that in this place it ſhould bear the latter, and not the former. For firſt, the great Wilderneſs, which is generally allowed for the place where our Saviour was tempted is diſtant from Jerusalem a journey of two days, ſuppoſing all the way ſhould be trod on foot; now all the three tentations were diſpatch'd in part of one, for Chriſt faſted forty days and no longer, and the Tempter did not ſettle to his work till upon the end of the Faſt. Secondly, If Chriſt had gone up ſtairs to the top of the Temple, what means the Scripture to ſay that the Devil ſet him on a Pinacle? Or thirdly, with what authority or favour did our Lord get up unto the top of that holy place, ſince none but the Prieſts came ſo far as into the Temple or ſanctuary, and the people were admitted no further than the outward Porch? Fourthly, If there had been ſtairs to aſcend to the Pinacle, and Chriſt had paſs'd up that way, then there had been no colour for this preſumptuous Propoſition, Caſt thy ſelf down, &c. the anſwer had been very obvious, no, I will return back the ſame way I came. I forſake this opinion therefore, becauſe it cannot be defended againſt theſe objections, that Chriſt did only go along with Satan to the holy City.
The third opinion, which being opened and inlarged, will much better ſhew the miſchief and ſubtilty of this tentation, is thus, Then Satan did tranſport our Lord from the Deſart, wherein he faſted, to the higheſt Battlements of the Sanctuary. This will appear hard at the firſt to the infirmity of ſome Auditors. So Gregory did ſuppoſe it would trouble ſome when he wrote the truth, Aures humanae audire expaveſcant; Some mens ears for a while will be unwilling to hear it till the ſcruples be removed: But when you ſhall underſtand how much the patience, the wiſdom, the power of Chriſt did ſurmount hereby, how at every turn he over-reacht Satan in his own contrivances, you will grant the Expoſition to be ſound, delightful, and profitable. Mark, I beſeech you, doth it appear a thing not to be aſſented unto, that Chriſt would fly through the Air with Beelzebub the greateſt enemy of God? That ſeems uncouth, but this will allay the horror of it. Remember Satan was permitted at this time to uſe all his engines to provoke our Saviour to ſin, if Chriſt had refuſed him to cut a paſſage through the Air with him as far as the principal Pinacle of the Temple, it would have left him confident that our Lord durſt not hazard himſelf to that tentation. Let him do the beſt he can or he will never confeſs himſelf utterly conquered, Nemo victus eſt quandiu pugnare vult. No body is quite beaten as long as he offers to fight again; and if he were not beaten at all his own weapons, the wicked Fiend would ſay he had not loſt all his glory. Origen therefore brings in the Devil to ſay, you have well anſwered about my Propoſition for making bread of ſtones, but will your courage ſerve you to go with me to the higheſt Tower of the Temple? And then in his phraſe Chriſt anſwers, Duc quò vis, tenta ut placet, Gregor. hom. 16. in Evang.ſuſtineo quae ſuggeſſeris; Come your ways, I will not ſtay behind, ſee I am ready for you at all ſuggeſtions. What, ready to be put into his hands and be carried? Even ſo ſays Gregory, it was his Fathers will, and his own patience and humility; Quid mirum eſt ſi ſe permiſit ab illo duci, qui ſe pertulit ab ejus membris crucifigi? It is nothing ſtrange to adventure himſelf to be taken up by Satan, knowing by his own power and vertue his paſſage ſhould be ſafe, when as none will deny but he ſuffered himſelf to be led to Caiaphas, to Pilate, to Herod, to Mount Golgotha by thoſe that were the members of the Divel to be buffeted, to be ſcourged, to be crucified. Now this opinion certainly ſeems not rigid to the underſtanding Auditor; and yet to mollifie it more St. Chryſoſtome and many his learned followers ſay, this miſcreant came not to Chriſt in his own moſt ugly Diabolical ſhape, but was now tranſformed into ſuch a glorious humane ſhape, as the Angels of light were wont to aſſume when they came from God. And upon this fair appearance he cloſeth with him. The Angels of God are your guard and cuſtody, and loe I am an Angel of light that will conduct you with all diligence and tenderneſs. This is the firſt deception which Satan ſwallowed, he thought he was ſo perfectly trasfigured, that Chriſt did not know him, like the Aſs in the Fable, having put on a Lions skin, he thought the Countrymen would not know him by his long ears: but our Saviour let his enemy play with his new diſguiſe as if he paſs'd without diſcovery. O how eaſie it is for the ſharpeſt wit, when it would be wiſer than God, to be more ignorant than a beaſt! God did open the eyes of Balaams Aſs to know a true Angel; then, what ſhould hinder the Son of God to know a counterfeit?
But ſecondly, Is not this a matter to be ſtumbled at? To be taken up, and born away, implies a kind of power and ſuperiority in him that beareth another, for his vertue muſt exceed the others. As the Angel had authority over Philip, when he lifted him ſuddenly from Gaza in the Deſart to Azotus, Acts viii. And Habakkuk was in ſubjection to that Angel, who took him up by the hair of the head, and carried him into Babylon. Beloved, All ſuch tranſportations are not alike; ſome earthly bodies indeed are removed miraculouſly and violently from one place to another, conferring no vertue of their own to the motion, but ſuffer themſelves to be moved by ſome ſpiritual efficacy applied unto them, as in the fore-named inſtances of Habakkuk and Philip, and in Paul who was wrapt up, he knew not how, into the third heavens. Again, ſome bodies make uſe of another thing to bear them, as a Chariot, or any Inſtrument, ſo the Pſalmiſt ſays of God himſelf, that he came flying upon the wings of the wind; and in this ſenſe St. Auſtin juſtifies, that Chriſt was neither violently nor imperiouſly carried by Satan, but moved himſelf by his own vertue, and let the Devil aſſiſt as an Inſtrument. Says the Father, In Pſal. xci.Si dicas meliores ſunt: qui portant quam qui portantur, ergo jumenta meliora ſunt hominibus. If you litigate that the bearer is better than him that is born, then you ſhall confeſs that the beaſt is better than the man that rides him. And in this circumſtance likewiſe Satan was egregiouſly cozened to his exceeding contumely; for when Chriſt permitted himſelf to be lifted up from the earth, it ſeemed to Satan that it was his ſtrength and power which carried him away, and though much unwilling to be caught up in that wiſe, yet being an impotent man he could not help it. Thus the evil Spirit was deluded, to aſcribe that to his own power that came to paſs by the hand of God. Like the Fly in the Fable ſitting upon the Axeltree of the Cart, when it was moved apace, took it to it ſelf that the Cart was driven ſo faſt, and cries out, ſee what a duſt I make. So this evil Angel either took up Chriſt in his hands in that body which he had aſſumed, and thought it was in his power to ſtay him from falling; or as ſpiritual ſubſtances in ſome mens Philoſophy can move a corporeal thing by emanation of vertue which goes from them, though they do not touch it, as the intelligences move the heavens, and ſo Satan not touching Chriſt at all might think it was his force and efficacy that ſnatcht him up from the earth to a Pinacle of the Temple. But the former way is more likely, as if he would ſhew him how the Text of David was literally meant, He ſhall give his Angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they ſhall bear thee up. Beloved, as the Divel did arrogate that he took up Chriſt on high by his own force and arm, yet it was nothing ſo: In like manner he thinks that all thoſe hold their tenure of him who are exalted by wicked means, he took them up to a Pinacle of the Temple, he raiſed them up to civil honour. Indeed, wicked perſons live as if they owed their ſervice rather to Satan than to God for their preferment; but it is the Lord that ſets both good and bad in the ſeat of dignity, the powers that be they are from God. For this cauſe I have raiſed thee up, he ſpake it to wicked Pharaoh, that I might make my power known in thee. Let mighty ones therefore remember they are Gods liege men, and not the Devils. And they that riſe up like ſmoke from hell fire, like ſmoke they ſhall vaniſh into nothing.
So I have ſhewed it was not in the power of Satan to carry our Lord whither he would, but Chriſt ſuffered this Aſſumption of Satans out of patience, not out of infirmity, and ſuffered himſelf to be lifted up on the Croſs, and at laſt he came to the third Aſſumption to be received up into glory. There is a third thing remains to be ſatisfied, which every one will expect, what a gazing ſight would this be, for all the Region over which Chriſt did fly, and for the populous City of Jeruſalem? It muſt needs be an object upon which all men would caſt their eyes; and why is it not more ſpoken of in the Goſpel, and objected to our Saviour by his enemies? It is no ſolid anſwer to ſay it hapned in the night, and none were aware of it: For the tentation which follows muſt needs be done in the clear light, when he ſhewed the Son of God all the Kingdoms and glory of the world in the twinkling of an eye. The true anſwer is, that Satan was more over-reach'd in this ſurmiſe than in all the reſt. For he thought by this hovering aloft in the Air to make Chriſt a ſpectacle to all the world, that men might think him ſome Inchantor or Magician by riding above in the clouds; in the mean time, ſays St. Chryſoſtome, Chriſt made himſelf inviſible, that he was ſeen of no man, the Devil being no way privy to it that he did abide inviſible. So, Joh. viii. ult. the Jews took up ſtones to caſt at Chriſt, but he hid himſelf, and went out of the Temple, going through the midſt of them; what was this to hide himſelf, and to go through the midſt of them? But to paſs through the throng inviſible, as among others Euthymius noteth.
No point of cozenage and ſorcery was practiſed more of old by the Impes of Satan than theſe flyings aloft, theſe aereal ſupervolitations to the wonder of the world. Nero Caeſar was given much to Incantations, and to experiments above nature,Sueton. Parag. 12. eſpecially in this kind. Suetonius ſays, that one of his Flatterers would undertake to fly up to heaven at his command, but got a tumbling caſt for his labour, inſomuch that ſome of the parties bloud did light upon Nero himſelf as he ſate to behold this new ſight in the Theater. I will not ſay that this was Simon the Sorcerer, ſpoken of, Acts viii. becauſe he in the Theater did perſonate Icarus in ſport, but Simons was a ſolemn undertaking to confute the Doctrine of Peter and Paul by flying up to heaven. So it is in the book called Clemens his Conſtitutions, that this child of the Devil began to take his flight up on high openly before all the people of Rome, Baron. ann. 68, Parag. 16, 17.and at the inſtant Prayers of the Apoſtle Peter he fell down headlong and brake his legs. Becauſe that Book is juſtly ſuſpected for an adulterate work, Arnobius, who wrote in the Reign of Diocleſian to all the Gentiles, ſays as much, Curſum Simonis Magi nominato Chriſto evanuiſſe; The flight of Simon Magus was croſs'd in the name of Jeſus Chriſt. This was grown ſo common either by Mathematical engines, or by Witchcraft,Juvenal. that every Impoſtor did begin to profeſs it, Graeculus eſuriens in Coelum juſſeris ibit, ſays the Satyriſt. The Prince of the Air thought to amuſe the world, and to do ſtupendious works in his own Territories; but he that ſits on high ſhall laugh them to ſcorn, the Lord ſhall have them in deriſion. Theſe are but fooliſh Antiques, and Mimicks of the proper ſending up of our ſpirit to God, by deſiring to be diſſolved and to be with Chriſt by having our converſation in heaven, and delighting in thoſe joys which are laid up for the Saints, and by fervent Prayer which carries up the heart to God upon the wings of Zeal and Innocency; ſo the Pſalm mentions, how a man may raiſe himſelf even unto the top of the holy City, which is the new Jeruſalem, in heaven, My ſoul flyeth unto the Lord before the morning watch, I ſay before the morning watch. And ſo much for the ſecond general Point, the manner of this tentation, which was by Aſſumption, Then the Devil taketh him up, &c.
The holy City is the Locus communis, the place largely taken to which he was carried out of the Wilderneſs, and that is the ground to work upon for the third general Obſervation of the Text. This muſt needs be the Periphraſis of Jeruſalem, becauſe God had a Temple no where elſe but there; and St. Luke hath ſpared this Periphraſis, and named the place, he took him to Jeruſalem, and ſet him on a Pinacle of the Temple. The eminent honour which this place had for many Sacred and Political Priviledges made Satan deſire to contaminate it with the greateſt ſins, as with the Martyrdom of the Saints with the hypocriſie of the Phariſees, with ſundry other crimes; and with this preſumptuous precipitation, if he could have drawn Chriſt unto it. In Pſalm cxxii there are three things which made very much to the praiſe of it: 1. It was a City compact together, the ſtrongeſt Tower of defence in all the Kingdom. 2. There ſate the Thrones of Judgment, even the Thrones of the houſe of David. And 3. Thither went the Tribes up to give thanks to the name of the Lord, ſo that for Fortitude, for Civil Juſtice, and for the uſe of Religion, for being an holy City it was foreign, the very eye of the Land of Canaan. But eſpecially the name of Jeruſalem in holy Scripture is rather the name of Gods Church, than of a place which contained material building, and therefore very aptly called the holy City. Nay, there is not one word beſide in all the Book of God, which contains the whole threefold eſtate of the Church that I can remember, namely, both the Synagogue under the Law, and the Goſpel under Grace, and the bleſſed Communion of the Saints in heaven. For Jeruſalem, as the Grammarians note, is a Noun of the dual number, to ſignifie both the Militant part on earth, and the Triumphant part in heaven of them that are ſanctified, and joyned to Chriſt the head. No place ſo pregnant as Gal. iv. 25. where St. Paul ſhews a double Jeruſalem upon Earth, the Synagogue, and the Goſpel; Jeruſalem which now is, ſays the Apoſtle, which deſired to be under the Law, under the rudiments of Moſes, was in bondage with her Children; but Jeruſalem which is above, not meaning the Choirs of Angels in heaven, but the Church Apoſtolical which is watered with the dew of heaven from above, That is free, which is the mother of us all. Here are two Jeruſalems, one above another, the Antitype above the Type, the Subſtance above the Shadow, the Son of God exhibited in the fleſh above the Figures and Sacrifices of the Levitical Prieſthood. But in both reſpects it was called the holy City. For as concerning the Law of Ceremonies, there was no other place but it where they were purely exhibited to God; and as concerning the New Teſtament, or Faith in Chriſt, there it began, Repentance and Salvation were preached unto all Nations, beginning at Jeruſalem. And for this relative holineſs which that City had by being the chief and moſt ancient Seat of the Oracles of God even Heaven did borrow a name from Earth, and hath not deſpiſed to be called the upper Jeruſalem; St. John ſays, when the old Elements of the world did paſs away, there was a new Heaven and a new Earth, and he ſaw the New Jeruſalem coming down from God, prepared as a Bride for her Husband, Rev. xxi. 1. For theſe cauſes it had Nomen ſuper omne nomen; A name above all names among all the dwellings upon earth, even as Chriſt had a name above all names among the Sons of men.
But as the Serpent did find a way to come into Paradiſe, ſo he reſorted to this holy City. It is his joy to make that a Cage of unclean birds which was the Sanctuary of God: It is his induſtry to ſow Tares in the midſt of Wheat; it is his envy to make an evil Leproſie riſe up in thoſe Walls where Chriſts name is praiſed; it is his paſtime to pollute the holy City, that the Lord may abhor it. And this was eaſily brought about by the Devil; Jeruſalem hath run his own fortune: Gods honour did abide in it for a while, and after a while it became an hiſſing to all the Earth. Once there was no other place in all the world that was holy, there was no other Metropolis, no other Sanctuary, all the habitations of the earth beſide were Idolatrous, therefore from that ancient purity, wherein it excelled alone, it is called Sancta, an holy City. The former renown did ſo remain upon it, then when it had been guilty of the bloud of all the Prophets, and had crucified Chriſt himſelf, yet after all this the Spirit of God lets it retain a name fitter for its ancient Sanctity than for its preſent Iniquity, Many dead bodies of the Saints aroſe, and came into the holy City and appeared unto many. Alas! now it is neither holy, nor yet a City, but firſt a Theater upon which all wickedneſs was acted, and then an heap of ruines. Although after the change of many names which it hath ſuffered, Adrichomius ſays, that the Turks in their Language call it the holy City to this day. How well doth this parallel the ſtate of the Roman Pontificat at this day? We are often told, (and the oftner the leſs reaſon) here did the Apoſtles Peter and Paul preach, and ſuffer Martyrdom; here have thirty faithful Biſhops ſucceſſively ſuffered for the name of Chriſt; here have the Arrian, the Neſtorian, the Pelagian Hereſies been refuted, this is the holy City. Yes, as Jeruſalem is ſo entitled for the pure Worſhip of God which was once profeſſed there, not for the preſent faith and ſincerity, all places have admitted impurity and corruption; for it was denounced to man that the whole Earth and every part of it ſhould bring forth thorns and thiſtles unto him. All Kingdoms and Cities have their periods, and ſhall have them, to ſhew that Gods Kingdom only is perpetual: All Nurſeries and Seminaries of Faith have had their full Tides and their Ebbings their times of Grace, and their averſions from it, to ſhew that truth is only eſtabliſhed in the heavens. And I doubt not, but after the revolution of thoſe years and days, which God hath prefixed in his ſecret knowledge, it will be more eaſie for our Poſterity than it is for us, upon great alterations that happen in all places, to prove, that where the Papacy now reigns it ſuffers the ſame fate with Jeruſalem, was, but is not the holy City.
Well, to ſeek further into this Point, the Tempter did deviſe rather to pollute Chriſt than the City of God, to which he brought him, yet certainly thither he brought him, becauſe that place did ſerve his turn better than the ſolitary Deſart. Our Saviours own Kindred were ambitious to have him manifeſted, Shew thy ſelf unto the world; and this was the very Pin which Satan did drive at, that Chriſt would affect to be gaz'd upon and admi…ed, Digito monſtrari & dicier hic eſt; to be pointed at for the mighty Prophet, upon whom the Spirit deſcended at Jordan in the ſight of all the people. What went you out into the wilderneſs to ſee? There is nothing to be ſeen in the Wilderneſs, that is no place for pride to do its work in: But come to Jeruſalem, and there are thouſands of ſpectators to take notice of a Prophet. This is the nature of vain-glory to mingle it ſelf in a populous throng, where it may be obſerved, Ut pueri Junonis avem: For all other ſins are a little kept back either with fear or modeſty; but pride were not like it ſelf if it could bluſh or be diſmayed. The Adulterer is a ſinner in ſecret; the Covetous extorts with ſlights and cunning; the Slanderer is like the Peſtilence that flies in the dark, Alia vitia fugiunt à Deo, ſola ſuperbia ſe opponit; All other ſins keep out of the way, as well as they can, but pride is not aſhamed to be manifeſted, nay, it loves to have witneſſes of its folly and inſolency. Jehu would have all men know what a notable Reformer of Religion he was grown, Come ſee the Zeal which I have. Haman would have it ſeen through all the ſtreets how much he was honoured by King Ahaſuerus. What man would buy honour ſo dear but to be known in place and authority? Who would be at ſuch coſtly cha…ge for bravery of Apparel but to make oſtentation of it before company? St. Luke intimates, Acts xxv. 23. that Agrippa and Bernice came forth foreign, with a great appearance, and much pomp, as if they had rather come to ſhew their Train and Magnificence than to hear Pauls Sermon. A mighty crime, and a great indignity againſt God, and yet I fear as common as the highway, for ſome ſpecious perſons to come to Church, and make a gariſh luſtre of their pride rather than to do the work of a good Chriſtian in devotion to Prayer, and attention to the Sermon. This is that Itch which Satan hath rubb'd upon ſelf-admiring pride, ſometime to be gaz'd upon at one place, ſometime at another, by the Court, by the Theater, by the Congregation aſſembled to praiſe God, by the whole City, if it be poſſible, as it was purpoſed in this Tentation. But the more publication Pride makes of it ſelf, the more ſcandal is given, the more ſcandal the more guiltineſs, and the more guiltineſs the greater condemnation. Satan loves theſe open, theſe flaming ſins, that weak ones may run to them like Moths to the light of a Candle, and be touch'd and ſcorch'd with coming near them. There was a ſin driven to the head,2 Sam. ii. 22. when Abſalon went in to his Fathers Concubines in the ſight of all Iſrael, having a Tent ſpread upon the houſe top: Or that of Rabſhakeh, to blaſpheme, not in private, or before few perſons, or in an unknown Language, but in the audience of an whole Hoſt; there is more Atheiſm, more hardneſs of heart in ſuch publick flagitiouſneſs. Beware of ſuch preſumptuous ſins where a cloud of Witneſſes will not quell our conſcience. It was open and ſcandalous pride to which the Devil thought to bring our Saviour when he brought him to be a gazing ſtock to all Jeruſalem.
Beloved, Ye learn from hence, that ſince the Tempter choſe the populous City for the fitteſt place to ingender pride, therefore the cure of Pride is retirement; he that can contain himſelf from being much ſeen, and can avoid the conflux of multitudes, hath proceeded far to get the victory of vain glory: But if ever Satan were buſie to prevent that good remedy in this Kingdom, he beſtirs himſelf in theſe days. Alas! the Country hath no ſhews and ſpectacles to draw the ſilken people together, no Viſitants to reſort from houſe to houſe, no ſuch Arts and Objects to corrupt Modeſty and Chaſtity as elſewhere: Nay, what if this cunning Angel thruſt in this exception, in the ſimple ſmall Hamlets of the Country, you ſhall have a Sermon but once a week on the Lords day very plainly delivered; here you may run to Lectures and Exerciſes elaborately ſtudied everyday, and almoſt every hour of the day, therefore leave theſe melancholy deſolate Habitations of the Country, and come up to the holy City. And if this populous Ninive, wherein ſo many Jonaſes preach Repentance every day, had made as many vertuous as it hath ſpilt and marred, I would think Satan had no plot in it to drive up all our Gentry to this common receptacle, but ſince experience confeſſeth how publickly, how privately infectious the place is, I muſt infer, no tentation hath been more pernicious to the whole Kingdom than to bring up ſo many Families from the innocent Wilderneſs to this holy City. Hic homines fiunt; after they have reſorted hither ſome few Terms, having no buſineſs to paſs away their hours but upon the meditation of all kind of vanities, very often they return home with new Oaths and little Faith, with new Faſhions and little Humility, with new Complements and little Friendſhip, with new rules of Houſe-keeping and little Hoſpitality: Not to forget likewiſe to their ſhame, with a new face and much skill in waſhing and painting; with new diſeaſes and much unwholſomneſs. Seneca, an auſtere man, who was bound by attendance on the Court to live continually in the City of Rome, accuſed himſelf thus, Nunquam mores quos extuli refero; I never bring home ſuch good conditions in this corrupt City as I carry abroad: I would Chriſtians could perceive ſuch evil fruits growing upon them but as well as an Heathen did. I would not be ſo ſharp in this Theme, but that I ſee the very bane of all vertue grow from hence, that ſo many of the beſt quality neſtle in theſe infectious parts of the Realm, having no employment, but abounding with eaſe and idleneſs; and yet ſo much new building, ſo much room is made to receive them. As the Greek Epigram plaid upon Hermogenes, whoſe noſe was bigger than the reſt of his face, that it was no good Language to ſay the noſe of his face, but the face of his noſe; ſo it is now grown more proper Engliſh to ſay, the City of the Suburbs than to ſay the Suburbs of the City. But that which is now almoſt impoſſible to be mended, I leave it to be lamented; for certainly when ſo many flock together only to ſee and to be ſeen, the Devil muſt needs hold a Fair among them to utter his worſt ware of Pride in great abundance, for which reaſon he brought out Saviour out of the Wilderneſs into the holy City: and ſo much for the third part.
Now laſtly hear the peculiar and proper place to which he took him, and ſetteth him on a Pinacle of the Temple; there are many queſtions even out of Architecture moved upon theſe words, ſo officious are all Arts, as it becomes them, to ſhew their skill upon the holy Scripture. But briefly there are three opinions upon this word foreign, which we tranſlate a Pinacle, what part of the Temple it was, and of what Faſhion. Remigius would have it a Seat where the Doctors preached, jetted out like a Pergalo, and called in Latine Podium; perhaps it was caſt out in the faſhion of a wing, and therefore called foreign, as the Roman Orators ſpake to the people pro roſtris, out of a Seat made like the Beak of a Ship, and therefore called roſtra. Queſtionleſs the ordinary gloſs followed Remigius in this fancy, for it delivers, that the Devil took him up to a place which had been often infected with vain-glory, In Cathedrâ doctorum multos deceperat inanis gloria; many of the Phariſaical Doctors, who ſate in the Chair of Moſes to teach the people, loved the praiſe of men more than the praiſe of God, and were infected with vain-glory. But this opinion will quickly vaniſh when it is rationally oppoſed. For the Pulpit out of which Solomon prayed, and left it for the uſe of teaching, was but five Cubits high above the people, and it was within the outward part of the Temple, and it was fit to be no higher that the voice of the Teacher might come clearly to the Auditory. But ſurely the place from whence our Saviour was egg'd to take his leap was an exceeding Altitude. And I find that the height of the Temple was one hundred and twenty Cubits, 2 Chron. iii. 4. There is no probability that their Rabbins ſate ſo far aloft above their Auditory to preach unto them. I think the ſecond Temple wanted ſixty of that till Herod finiſhed it with Altitude and Glory. Others having look'd upon exact delineations of the Temple deliver that the Roof of the Temple was built flat after the manner of all the Jewiſh buildings; and as all private houſes were commanded by the Law to have a Battlement about them, to keep them from danger that walk'd upon the top of the Tarras, ſo the Temple had a Battlement about it adorned in ſeveral ſpaces, which perhaps were made like Wings, and call'd foreign or Pinacles. How thoſe Battlements were capable for Chriſt to ſtand upon they deſcribe not, but I am ſure, according to Joſephus, Lib. 6. Bel. Judai. 6.no man could ſet his foot upon the flat Roof of the Temple, Quod aureis verubus horrebat acutiſſimis ne ab inſidentibus avibus pollueretur, ſays he; it was ſtuck thick with gilded Spires as ſharp as Needles, that the birds of the Air might not mewte upon it, and defile it. We Chriſtians dare do all unſeemlineſs againſt the Walls of our Churches, no reverence of the place will deter us; but the Jews were ſo careful, that they would not endure the Fowls of the Air ſhould lay their dung upon the top of the Sanctuary. Thirdly, others draw out Models of the Temple, having at each corner lofty Spires, higher than all the reſt. I know not whether David alludes to them when he ſpeaks of Poliſhed corners of the Temple, Pſal. cxliv. 12. and upon one of theſe, I think, in beſt propriety of phraſe and matter Jeſus was placed, as upon an Altitude conſpicuous to all the City, though, as I told you before, our Saviour declin'd that intention of Satans, and made himſelf inviſible.
The obſervations from hence ſhall be two: Firſt, that the Devil chooſeth the higheſt place he could find; And ſecondly, the moſt divine place of all where to pitch the ground of his tentation. Upon the firſt, I mean not ſo much the local elevation of the place, to which I could add, that Satan loves to aſcend on high, to build up a ſin as high as Babel, and that David was aloft, walking on the houſetop, when he fell into unlawful love with Bathſheba, let this paſs, for as great ſins may be practiſed in the loweſt corners of the earth: but I mean, after the figurative Expoſition of the Fathers; they that have clambered up to ſome high Pinacle of Fortune, they whom God hath made eminent in any gifts of Art or Nature, let them take heed that Satan ſtand not at their right hand to puff them up with Arrogancy. If you deſpiſe thoſe whom you ſee beneath you, whether it be a Pinacle of the Kingdom, or a Pinacle of the Temple upon which you ſtand, remember by that mark that you muſt needs come thither of the Devils ſetting. Many that have deſigns upon promotion think the bird is catcht when they are advanced, they are as ſure as a Ship in the Haven, which need fear no toſſing; when if they underſtood their own condition well, it concerns them to be more vigilant of themſelves, and of their affections than ever. The wilineſs of the Tempter hath made it as hard a thing to moderate a great fortune, Servare modum rebus ſublata ſecundis; as it is to guide a Ship Royal under all the Sails. Therefore St. Auſtin ſaid upon my Text, Non eſt laus ſtetiſſe in pinnaculo, ſed ſtetiſſe & non cecidiſſe; It is no ſuch cunning thing to ſtand upon a Pinacle, but to ſtand ſure and not fall, there is the cunning. The Hiſtorian ſays true, many were thought fit to govern till they were truſted with Government, for this evil Angel hath ſuch inveterate malice againſt all thoſe that bear rule and title, that it is very rare to find a man ſo well affected to Gods glory, to the Church, to the publick good when he ſits at the Stern to govern as when he was a private man. Divers that had true hearts to all good purpoſes when they ſtood upon the ſame level with the common people are quite metamorphoſed by that time they get up to the top of a Pinacle. Satan paſſed them over in the throng, but he joyns cloſe to them when they are exalted. S. Pauls was a rare temper, and to be found but among men of moſt divine graces, that could ſtand ſafe any where, and not pollute his conſcience, I know both how to be abaſed, and how to abound, Phil. iv. 12. God is very abundant in his mercies to endue ſome with that ſpirit, that they are as humble, as juſt, as conſcionable upon a lofty Pinacle as upon the loweſt Pavement. But more uſually thoſe Potentates whom the Scripture records have fallen into the ſnares of deſtruction. Joab was reſolved he could not be great enough without the fall of Abner, nor Naaman but by pretence of Idolatry, nor Sanballat but by hindring the work of the Temple, nor Felix but by Bribery, no nor Nicodemus himſelf but by ſome diſſimulation. If every good Saint hath his Angel Guardian, as certainly every honourable Magiſtrate hath an evil Angel of hoſtility to oppugn him, every high Pinacle hath his Satan.
Laſtly, Obſerve how the wicked One would pollute no common place but the very houſe of God, he ſetteth him on a Pinacle of the Temple. Many times when a City is taken by the enemy, ſome ſtrong Caſtle or Fort holds out which is not won ſo eaſily. The Church is Gods Caſtle, his Tower of defence againſt all ſpiritual iniquities, and Satan would not only take poſſeſſion of the holy City, but of the beſt Fortreſs which God held in it, and brings Chriſt to be tempted upon the top of the Temple. All places are pervious unto him, he is ſhut out of none, you ſhall find him, ſays Chryſoſtome, foreign, in the Exchange of Merchants, upon the Bench of Judges, in the Temple of the Prieſts. And above all places on earth if he make us his inſtruments to defile the holy Temple, Gods glory is put to the greateſt ſcandal and reproach. And this is brought to paſs ſo many ways, that it is plain to ſee there hath been a moſt witty complotter in the treachery. 1. When any Prelate is ſo puft up that he thinks himſelf too great to be a door-keeper in Gods houſe, but will be higher than all the Church, and ſe… on the top of the Pinacle, who ſitting in the Temple of God exalts himſelf above all that is called God. 2. The Temple is defiled by ſetting up Idols in the Courts of our heavenly King, even in the midſt of thee O thou Sanctuary of the Lord. 3. By offering up unclean Sacrifice, either falſe Doctrine, or impious Prayers, or ſuperſtitious Worſhip, or corrupted Sacraments. 4. When men ſet their foot within the ſacred Tabernacle with carnal thoughts, with worldly imaginations, with no zeal or attention. 5. To bring any prophane work, any ſecular buſineſs within thoſe walls which are conſecrated to the name of the Lord. This is that Camel which the Jewiſh Prieſts did ſwallow when they ſtrained at a Gnat. For they told our Saviour that he brake the Sabbath, he did not keep the Law, but they themſelves did licence and allow the prophanation of the Temple, by bringing Merchandize into it, ſelling of Sheep and Oxen, and changing money, and you know how Chriſt revenged it even with anger and indignation. I muſt borrow time to tell you how Chriſt did beſtir himſelf in the reformation of that abuſe more than in any thing elſe throughout all the Goſpel. For firſt he corrected that fault twice over, in the ſecond of St. Johns Goſpel, in the beginning of his Miniſtry, and Mat. xxi. toward the end of his life anon before he ſuffered. You ſee what an obſtinate evil it was which would not be redreſſed for one admonition. 2. When he came to Jeruſalem there were many other faults, flagrant crimes, wherewith the place abounded yet the firſt thing he reformed was the abuſe of the Temple. 3. He would not tolerate the leaſt prophanation, wink at no fault, for he would not permit that any ſhould carry ſo much as a Veſſel through the Temple, Mar. xi. 16. 4. He reformed this treſpaſs, not only by preaching and quoating Scripture againſt it, but by a ſcourge and by violence, by word and deed. And ſurely if words will not ſerve, God will bring blows to maintain the reverence of his houſe that it be not contemned. What a diſſolute carriage it is to ſee a man ſtep into a Church and neither veil his head, nor bend his knee, nor lift up his hands or eyes to heaven? Who dwels there I pray you that you are ſo familiar in the houſe? Could you be more ſaucy in a Tavern, or in a Theater? This is no other but the very gate of heaven. ſays Jacob, when he had but a viſion of God and his Angels. Brethren renounce the Devil, let him not alienate your reverence from that place which God hath ſpecially appointed for the ſaving of your ſoul. Holineſs becometh thine houſe for ever, O holy bleſſed and glorious Trinity. AMEN.