A Century of Sermons, Sermon 4
THE FOURTH SERMON UPON THE PASSION.
JOHN iii. 14.
And as Moſes lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderneſs, even ſo muſt the Son of man be lifted up.
THough King Hezekiah deſtroyed the ſubſtance of the brazen Serpent to avoid peril of Idolatry, yet Chriſt hath renewed the memory of it in this Text. Neither was it fit that the remembrance of it ſhould die, becauſe it repreſented the death of him by whom we live for ever. The Diſciple to whom our Saviour directed theſe words was Nicodemus, foreign, a Ruler, a primary man, ver. 1. the beſt in quality of all the Jews that had yet come to Chriſt to be taught. The Text, I am ſure, is not grown leſs than it was, but ſtill it is fit to be preacht of before a Ruler. Rulers are illuſtrious in their outward ſplendor and Titles: Let them uſe them nobly, and he that is greater than they will make them greater. But Chriſt calls Nicodemus to a new way of honour, to be all glorious within, and tells him copiouſly that this is to be atchieved two ways. Firſt, By regeneration of holineſs, he muſt become a new man, he muſt be born again, he muſt be born of the Spirit, or he cannot ſee the Kingdom of God, ver. 4, 5. Secondly, By Juſtification, through Remiſſion of ſins in the bloud of a Saviour, and of this my Text ſpeaks magnificently, as Moſes, &c. So that Nicodemus the Ruler hath no readier way to amplifie his honour than to be acquainted with the Paſſion of our Lord: And no way more direct to underſtand that ſalutiferous Paſſion than to poſſeſs his imagination with the figure of the Serpent which was erected in the Wilderneſs.
Chriſt could have taught him the myſtery of his death in another Type, and a little more ancient, the immolation of the Paſchal Lamb. But firſt Nicodemus took good liking to our Saviour from his Miracles, No man can do theſe miracles that thou doſt except God be with him, ver. 2. Now the mactation of the Paſchal Lamb had nothing in it, but that which was ordinary in the external work; but the uſe of the brazen Serpent was a mighty miracle. Secondly, As many Lambs were killed as there were houſholds to eat them, whereas there was but one Serpent made; which comes nearer to the juſt reſemblance, that the Son of God by his one Oblation of himſelf once offered up, made a ſufficient ſatisfaction for the ſins of the world. Thirdly, The Lamb was preſented as other Viands are in a diſh: The Serpent was ſet up aloft as an Enſign, a clearer pattern of the exaltation of the Croſs. Fourthly, In the conſumption of the Lamb God did embalm the memory of his great mercy, and keep it freſh how he paſſed over the houſes of the Iſraelites, and did not kill them, as he killed the Egyptians: But the Serpent was ſet up for the cure of thoſe that were bitten with Serpents. In the former Type the people were ſound and whole, in the latter Type they were ſtung and ſick, and they that are whole do not perceive ſo well that they have need of the Phyſician as they that are ſick. Laſtly, He that did feed on the Paſchal Lamb did eat by faith: And he that look'd on the Serpent did ſee by faith. But though faith is the evidence of things not ſeen, yet the eye is more of kin to faith than the …aſte, becauſe it is foreign, a bodily mind, as the Heathen ſaid, and our moſt heavenly ſenſe. In a word, there were many other Figures of Chriſts ſufferings, but not any ſo plain as this for the uſe and application of it, that none but true believers can be ſaved by his ſufferings.
To the full ſatisfaction therefore of that which is concerned upon this day, here you have Chriſt upon his Croſs two ways, both in the Old and in the New Teſtament: For the Old Teſtament, in the beſt and moſt exact Figure; for the New Teſtament, in a direct and literal prediction. The figure contains theſe parts, firſt the ſymbolical thing, a Serpent. Secondly, The poſture of it, it was lifted up. Thirdly, The place, in the Wilderneſs. Fourthly, The end for which, Sicut Moſes, as Moſes lifted it up. The Prediction of the New Teſtament is to fulfil the Figure: And that denotes 1. The Perſon, the Son of Man. 2. His inglorious glory, muſt be lifted up. 3. Here is a ſic for the former ſicut, a correſpondence with the manner and the end of the Figure, ſo muſt the Son of Man be lifted up.
Firſt, Here is Chriſt crucified in the Old Teſtament in a ſymbolical ſign, which is a Serpent. When his body hung upon the Croſs it was foreign, as St. Luke calls it, a ſight for all the People to look upon that were preſent; for outwardly it was the deed of wicked men. But there was profundum crucis, as St. Auſtin obſerves, part of the accurſed Tree was under ground for the ſtronger faſtning; the end and uſe of it, which came from God, which is diſcovered to them that ſearch by faith, is thus in a ſhort ſum, a remedy againſt that puniſhment which our ſins had deſerved; therefore to make a compleat ſurvey of this Serpent, firſt we muſt look upon it for our ſins ſake; ſecondly, for our puniſhment; and thirdly, for our remedy. And firſt by the object of the Serpent we ſee ſin in the Author: Satan is traduced openly in this memorial for that Tempter that perſwaded our firſt Parents to eat of the forbidden fruit. It is his contumely to ſee himſelf diſguiſed in ſo baſe a creature; as God would not permit him to come in the form of a better creature, but in this vile ſhape to do the office of a murderer, ſo he is expoſed to all Ages in the pourtract of that ſhape, that his pride may ſee it ſelf in a vaſte diſtance of declenſion: an Angel in Creation, a deſpicable worm in his own miſchievous Aſſumption. But as St. Athanaſius doth well obſerve, there was a Serpent the Inſtrument, and there was the Devil the Ingeneer, two ſeveral natures compacted in ſome ſort into one perſon, and joyning in one ſtratagem to caſt man out of Paradiſe; So God and man, two natures in one perſon, met together in our Redeemer to reduce us unto the favour of God, and to repoſſeſs us in a better Paradiſe. And as the Language of ſin was firſt taught through the mouth of a Serpent in the Garden of Eden; ſo that it may never be forgotten, it is continued in the dumb ſhew of a Serpent that was ſet up in the Wilderneſs. Secondly, By the object of the Serpent we ſee ſin in the infection and contagion of it. It is the biting of an Adder, not perilous only to that part which is wounded, but diſpreading all over, even to the vital parts of the body. Every drop of bloud ſoaks in the malignity of that which is next unto it till there be no ſoundneſs remaining: So one part of our body being tainted with the poiſon of ſin traduceth its corruption to another; if the ear be tickled with filthy talk, the loins will be unchaſte: If the eye be wanton, the heart will ſuffer and wax impure: If the body pride it without, the ſoul cannot be humble within; every ſenſe and faculty about us is a gangrene to another, and if you give up one member you give up all to be inſtruments of uncleanneſs. There is yet more contagion in the tooth of the Serpent, by committing one tranſgreſſion you are at the brink of the pit to fall into another; the ſecond offence makes the way ſmooth and ſlippery for the third. Peccatum quod per poenitentiam non deletur mox ſuo pondere ad aliud trahit, ſays Gregory; Every ſin that meets not with the Antidote of Repentance hath an operative and a venemous nature to fetch in another evil ſpirit like unto it ſelf. An high mind carries us to wrath, and wrath to revenge, and revenge to malice, and malice to murder. Thus it runs on like a ſpark in the ſtubble; and unleſs grace extinguiſheth it, it is as unquenchable as the fire of hell. Beſide, there is yet another Serpentine and peſtilentious derivation in the works of darkneſs; one ſinner is a thouſand ſinners more in the dangerouſneſs of his Leproſie; one Abſalom is an hoſt of Rebels; one Ring-leader is a ſhole of Hereticks; one Jeroboam is a Kingdom full of Idolaters; one inceſtuous perſon endangered the whole Church of Corinth with fornication, ſays St. Paul; and he was the occaſion of his Proverb, That a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. A drop of Poiſon mars a glaſs of Nectar; Serpunt vitia, & in proximum quemque tranſiliunt, & contactu nocent, ſays Seneca. Stand far off from thoſe that are impious, they have a catching diſeaſe about them, there is an infectious exhalation tranſpaſſant from man to man, becauſe the firſt ſin was the biting of a Serpent. Thirdly, By the object of the Serpent we not only ſee the Author of all ſin, and the infectious venom of it, but likewiſe a cunning craftineſs which Satan hath entailed to the myſtery of iniquity, lying in wait whom he may deceive.Eph 4.14. There is nothing that will lurk more ſubtilly to do an ill turn than ſome ſort of Serpents, or ſteal an opportunity more warily. Then why ſhould not all plots and miſchievous arts of cunning be as hateful as an hiſſing Adder? Nay, why not as odious as Beelzebub himſelf the Prince of Devils? Some ſuch there are, that have their ſharpneſs of wit from no better founder than the old Dragon, that have no meaſure in their diſſimulation, no truſt in their word, no fidelity in their oath, no remorſe, no diſtinction in conſcience whom they ruine; and theſe are counted uſeful, and fit for employment. I do not altogether blame the Turks for reputing natural Ideots to be Saints. I am ſure they are Saints in compariſon with ſuch cunning Merchants: But a true Chriſtian is ſomewhat compounded out of the better part of them both, as it is Rom. xvi. 19. I would have you wiſe unto that which is good, and ſimple concerning evil. This is foreign, ſays Nazianzen inoffenſiveneſs tempered with much intelligence. The ſimplicity of the Dove mitigating the ſubtilty of the Serpent. To ſay all in a little, Sin is ſupported by Stratagems, but Juſtice by grave knowledge. Therefore love wiſdom becauſe it comes from God: Practiſe innocency becauſe it comes from Chriſt: Hate ſubtilty becauſe it is the badge of the Serpent, abhor miſchief, it is the work of the Devil.
This is for the general, we all ſee what ſin is in the Image of the Serpent. More particularly, the Iſraelites ſaw their own ſin in that ſpectacle wherewith they provoked the Lord, Num. xxi. 4. The people were not turned aſide from the promiſed Land, but were wearied with a long journey, and in their bitterneſs they ſpake againſt God and Moſes; They that ſerve God for temporal things will quickly murmur when they want reſt and eaſe: If the ground be not ſoft under their feet they think it tedious though it ſhould bring them to heaven. Beſide, they loathed Manna; it was too light for their hot ſtomachs, and it did not ſatisfie. Somewhat elſe they would have, yet they could not tell what themſelves: As they that are not contented with the bread that comes down from heaven ſhall be gnawn with the worm of ſuperſtition, that will never give them quiet, but theſe are the hints that provoked them to ſpeak againſt God. A little painfulneſs was repined at as a great deal of miſery; and a great benefit was repined at as but a little favour. Now they that whet their tongues like Serpents, was it not meet they ſhould be ſtung with Serpents? They that ſpat Poiſon againſt their Maker, did they not deſerve a poiſonous caſtigation? Or will they dare to murmur any more when they ſee their puniſhment caſt in braſs, and abiding for a durable monument? If we murmur againſt him whom we are bound to praiſe and love, is not that diſloyalty? So did the Iſraelites. If we murmur at ſmall evils that may be tolerated, is not that impatiency? So did the Iſraelites. If we murmur at good things, for which we ſhould rather give thanks, if we murmur at Manna, the precious nouriſhment of the ſoul, is not that abominable ingratitude? So did the Iſraelites. And what ſhould this ſin be likened to but an Aſpe, or a Viper? No Serpent is ſo much a Serpent as a grumbling ſpirit, that is ever murmuring at God and Moſes. And this is the firſt uſe of the Brazen Serpent, to turn unto it as a book wherein we read our ſins. Peccatum peccati cognitione curatur. For the firſt cure to be applied unto ſin is to make a recognition of it with an humble and a contrite ſpirit, ſo did the trueſt Penitent and the greateſt ſinner King David, I know my tranſgreſſions, Pſal. 1.3.and my ſin is always againſt me.
The next contemplation upon this brazen Image is not immediately to ſtep from ſin unto the remedy, for the vengeance due unto ſin is to be conſidered between them both. Behold the bitter pain which Chriſt endured upon the Croſs, and it accuſeth us that the diſobedience was monſtrous, which muſt be expiated with ſo much ſorrow. Quàm gravis ſit peccati conditio prodit remedii magnitudo, ſays St. Auſtin; How great the guiltineſs of ſin was appears in the magnitude of the remedy. And no leſs it is apparent how inſufferable that wrath was which we eſcaped, becauſe he ſuſtained ſo much wrath that bore it in our ſtead. Note the malediction which we had merited in the maledictive death which our Saviour did undergo, and then it will be a pleaſant thing to go to heaven as it were by the gates of hell: But there is nothing more dangerous than deliverance out of danger, if we forget the jeopardy. I will bring this clearly out of the matter we have in hand. The Creatures that annoyed the Iſraelites were Serpents: For a ſerpentine ſin deſerved a ſerpentine puniſhment: I will ſend the teeth of beaſts upon them, with the poiſon of the Serpents of the duſt, Deut. xxxiii. 24. The teeth of other beaſts might have procured a diſmal ſlaughter, but becauſe a Serpent was accurſed above every beaſt of the field, the wounds that they made did ſuperadd unto death the meditation of a curſe, and that their judgment was compounded with malediction. And this was proſecuted in the figure, that the brazen Serpent was lifted upon a pole to keep in mind that ſting of the Law, Curſed is every one that hangeth on a tree. Therefore you cannot deny that this is a looking-glaſs of Juſtice before we come to mercy. As Chriſt crucified is a type of condemnation to unbelievers, but a ſacrifice of ſalvation to thoſe that truſt in his Redemption. Oleaſter ſays that the firſt Epithet that God gave to this Figure was to call it a Fiery Serpent, Num. xxi. 8. becauſe a fire of Coals did continually burn within it, that firſt it might ſtrike dread and horror into all that ſaw it before it healed the impotent. The fire of hell was annexed to that grace and bleſſing which came from heaven, as if the ſword of juſtice had been put up in the Scabbard of mercy, but they were never aſunder. Loſe not your ſelf in applying mercy, and nothing but mercy to your conſcience leſt it befall you as it doth with a Bee that is drowned in its own honey: But correct preſumption and confidence by converting to ſome remarkable objects of indignation. When Achan that troubled the Land was executed, They raiſed over him a great heap of ſtones unto this day, ſays the Holy Ghoſt, Joſh. vii. 26. God doth not ſuffer grievous puniſhments to vaniſh as ſhadows, but he makes them continue as Pillars for Ages to come. Burial did not aboliſh the memorial of his treſpaſs, as it was engraven upon the Monument of an Egyptian King that went down with much ſorrow to his grave, becauſe of his ſacriledge, In me quis intuens pius eſto; He that looks upon my Sepulchre let him learn to be religious. You read of Lots Wife in the ſame Goſpel where you read of Mary Magdalen, of her Pillar of ſalt as well as of the others box of Ointment. There ſhe ſtood congealed in the open field, and never went down to the dead that ſhe might be always in the remembrance of the living: So the Brazen Serpent did exhibit thoſe mortal Serpents which annoyed Iſrael in their journey. Like to like. And this the Lords of the Philiſtines had heard of, and did imitate it, 1 Sam. vi. 4. For they ſent home the Ark with a treſpaſs-offering, five golden Emerods, the very figures of the diſeaſes wherewith they were chaſtiſed. I know no pattern that could lead them into that fancy, but only this in my Text. The right uſe of it, whether the Philiſtines knew it or no I am uncertain, is this: That when a puniſhment is exemplified in a figure, and reſembled to the life, it is a deprecation that God would with-hold it from us, and mitigate his wrath, but ſo that we cannot be ignorant that his Arrow is ſtill in his Bow, and he hath not removed away his hand, but is ready to ſend his Army of Serpents again, if we return unto our ſins.
And now according to the exact method of mortification, having done our duty to ſet our ſins and our puniſhment before us, we may look towards the Serpent as a remedy: And it ſhall come to paſs that every one that looketh upon it ſhall live, Num. xxi. 8. A welcom ſign to that poor People of the old Law; the delights of the Synagogue for which they lifted up their hands to Heaven were length of days, health, and ſound habit of body, poor acceſſories of a tranſitory happineſs; they reſted in ſuch favours more than in better things that concerned their Spirit and their Soul; wherein they ſucceed them that value the benefit of their Phyſician above the bleſſing of their Biſhop. But God did time it with them according to their imperfection, and gave them a new Salve for a new Malady, that their fleſh might rejoyce in the living God. The Land by which they paſſed was full of noxious Vermin; Who led thee through the Wilderneſs, wherein were firy Serpents and Scorpions, Deutr. viii. 15. If God had kept them from the teeth of this venemous brood, …equid erit pretii, ſhould he have gotten any thank for his protection? affliction unfelt is unregarded: It was better to have ſome ſenſe of a wound, that they might know what a Deliverer was in the experience of a Cure. Or if Dictamnu…, and the ſecret vertue of other herbs had relieved them (as Moſes was skilled in all that Science) the work of Nature, and not the God of Nature had been magnified. But Diſcorides ſays, that an hot venom, namely that of the Dipſas and Cauſon, are incurable, therefore in a deſperate caſe, when all ſecondary cauſes were unprofitable, nothing but a Miracle made them whole that were diſeaſed. And that which was moſt abhorr'd, a Serpent was hanged up, as if it were not enough to be cured, but they triumpht over that which annoyed them: Out of their miſchief came the mitigation of their pain, as cunning Leaches confect Treakle out of Vipers, and Oil of Scorpions out of Scorpions: a Serpent was the Inſtrument both of death and life; for it is God that kills and makes alive again; as a Whale devoured Jonas, and a Whale caſt him alive upon the ſhoar. Again here was no application per contactum, to the green Sore, which is the ordinary courſe of Chirurgery, not ſo much as an Unguent beſmeared upon the ſubſtance of the Serpent, the new device of Ʋnguentum armarium, not ſo much as the touch of Moſes hand upon the part ill affected, as many of the Strumoſi are toucht this day by God in the finger of the King: No more was requir'd of them that languiſht, but to beſtow the caſt of their eye upon the Figure, that God only might have the glory in the Medicinal operation; For he that turned himſelf toward it was not ſaved by the thing which he ſaw, but by thee O God the Saviour of all, Wiſd. xvi. 6. Yet more ſtrange, the Remedy having no congruity with the relief of the Diſeaſe, God did ſupply the efficacy; but this was like ſpittle and clay upon the eyes of the blind man, fitter to make him blind than to make him ſee. Rabbi Joſeph ſays (I ſay it upon his credit) that to look upon poliſht Braſs, is preſent death to him that is bitten with a firy Serpent. To reconcile theſe enmities in nature, to make antipathies afford friendſhip, to turn deſtruction to be preſervative, to overcome one death by another, it doth not only lighten my thoughts to the incomprehenſible power of our Creator, but it breaks me off from this object before I am aware, to conſider Chriſt and his Paſſion, wherein theſe effects are gloriouſly conſpicuous: he is the Serpent lifted up in the Wilderneſs.
A Similitude of great humiliation: Non ſolum per hominem, ſed etiam per pecudem eſt figuratus, ſays St. Auſtin; the mighty one by whom the Worlds were made did not only take the form of a Man, but is diſguiſed in the figure of a Beaſt; and among Beaſts, if any be more filthy than another, we all know it is a Serpent: Yet thus much we muſt abate in him from the nature of that peſtiferous brute, foreign, ſays Nazianzen, it had the ſhape, but not the poiſon of a Serpent: God ſending his own Son in the likeneſs of ſinful fleſh, but no more than in the likeneſs, and condemned ſin in the fleſh, becauſe no iniquity was found in him: all that came out of his mouth was an antidote, and not a venom: His Maligners call'd him Carpenter in ſcorn, they could not call him Sinner; dicunt habet daemonium, non dicunt habet peccatum; they ſlandered him and ſaid he had a Devil, but their tongues would not let them lie, nor permit them to ſay he was a Tranſgreſſor: a Dove was not more innocent than this Serpent. No Hereſie methinks is more incredible, if St. Auſtin had not faithfully reported it, than that of the Ophitae, who kept a Serpent under the Altar, to creep out, and lick their Oblations which they brought to God, as if a noxious Dragon were a ſeemly imitation of this Image in my Text, that had no offence in it. What agreement was there between poiſon and no poiſon? Nay, between that which wounded, and that which healed? Between a Deſtroyer and a Saviour? It muſt be harmleſs at leaſt which ſtood in his ſtead that came not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be ſaved. And indeed, the beſt that we can ſay of the Figure is, That it was harmleſs, and no very Serpent: But it were dotage to ſuppoſe that the material thing had any ſecret vertue of reſtauration, no more than the Figure of the Croſs upon the poſt-fact is operative, a ſuperſtition which our Church hath juſtly diſclaimed. He ſent forth his word and he healed them, ſays David; it was Gods Word and Promiſe that cured them, and not the brazen Element. But Chriſt conteined remedy in himſelf, and in his all-ſufficient Sacrifice; For the Son of righteouſneſs did ariſe with healing in his wings, Mal. iv. 2. What hath he not healed if we will lay the plaiſters of his Paſſion to our ſins? By his Poverty he hath condemned Covetouſneſs; by his charitable Prayers for his enemies implacable malice; by the price for which the holy One was bought and ſold Sacriledge; by his Crown of thorns Ambition; by the humility of his Croſs Pride; by his Gall and Vinegar Luxury; by his Patience Impatience; by his infinite Love, Envy; all his torments were preſervatives againſt poiſon, every part of him is ſanity. And that not only becauſe this Figure was unvenomed, but chiefly becauſe it was a dead lump, and not a living Serpent, Mortuus ſerpens vivos ſuperabat, ſays Macarius; The living Serpents were charmed by the dead one, that they had no power to kill. The bloud of Chriſt purgeth us from our ſins, and his death was our victory againſt death that we might live for ever. It was well done of Nicodemus to ſpare no coſt to imbalm his body: It was piouſly done of Mary Magdalen to pour her precious Ointment upon his head againſt the day of his burial; for therein we became the ſavour of life unto life, and his Funeral was our immortality. As Samſon found his honey comb in the Carkaſs of the Lion, ſo the Church finds ſweetneſs in the bitterneſs of his Paſſion. Caiaphas did not feel the vigour of his own Propheſie, it ſlipt from his tongue, and not from his heart, That it was expedient that one man ſhould die for the ſins of the people. His Succeſſors contradict it obſtinately to this day, and controul it thus: How can he ſave us that is crucified? I return them an anſwer from my Text, How could a dead lump of Braſs expel their poiſon that were wounded? If they depended upon a thing inanimate for the life of their body, wherefore do they not attend the myſtery, that they muſt depend upon a Saviour put to death for the life of their Soul? Attenditur ſerpens ut nihil valeat ſerpens, attenditur mors ut nihil valeat mors, ſays St. Auſtin. The Jews look'd upon a Serpent to be freed from Serpents; and Chriſtians look upon death to be delivered from death. There is one analogy more to be collected out of the unity of the Figure. One Serpent was lifted up for the general preſervation of all the Camp of Iſrael. Not twelve diſtinct ones according to the number of their Tribes, and much leſs no uncertain multiplication according to the number of their Families. Nulla ſalus ſine unitate; The hope of health and remedy is founded in unity. Our Gods are not Plural, our Redeemers are not many; they that have divers Saviours have never a Saviour. They that have tutelary Martyrs for almoſt every Church, and Patron Saints diſtinctly for every Kingdom, they have ſo many Serpents lifted up, and they look ſo many ways that their wounds ſtink, and are corrupt through their fooliſhneſs, and they proſper no way. We have one head to which the body is knit; one Shepherd to guide the Flock; one corner ſtone in the building; one Serpent in the Wilderneſs; One Mediator between God and man, the man Jeſus Chriſt. An infinite vertue can admit of no co-partnerſhip. I tremble at their infidelity that frame Scholaſtical Caſes out of their own brain, how others are ſubſervient to the Son of God in the work of our Redemption. But he ſays, I have trod the wine-preſs alone, and of the people there was none with me, Iſa. lxiii. 3. Whether an Iſraelite chanced to be ſtung in the head, or in the face; whether upon the breaſt, or in the lower parts of the body; one Serpent upon the Pole was enough to heal all. So we have ſins original and actual; of commiſſion and omiſſion; of ignorance, infirmity, and preſumption; of thought, word, and deed; Ʋndique morſus; we are ſtung from the crown of the head to the ſoul of the foot.2 Cor. 5.15. But as all are dead, ſo one died for all, that they which live ſhould not live unto themſelves, but unto him that died for us, and roſe again.
Now for the material part out of which this Figure was carved, it was not wrought in ſtone. The Law was written in Tables of ſtone, but grace and mercy are of another complexion. It was not Silver or Gold (though they in ſome ſort are moſt correſpondent in nature with Serpents, for they are the bane of godlineſs and juſtice) but we were not redeemed with corruptible things, as Silver and Gold, but with the precious bloud of Chriſt, as of a Lamb undefiled. It was erected in the ſtrong and durable ſubſtance of Braſs: For one Generation paſſeth away, and another cometh, but the vertue of Chriſts Croſs is perpetual, and endures for ever. It is not my excogitation, but Iſidors, In ſerpente mortuus, in aere aeternus; Dead as the Serpent upon the Pole, but durable as the Braſs, becauſe the benefit of his death continues always. Therefore his bloud is called, The bloud of the everlaſting Covenant, Heb. xiii. 20. Sooner ſhall all the brazen Pillars and Monuments upon earth be reſolved into duſt than one jot of this Covenant ſhould be violated; the merit of his Paſſion makes interceſſion for us continually before his Father, and never ceaſeth. Behold our Pardon is engraven in Braſs, never to be blotted out, it is too ſtrong to be diſſolved. I look not upon that which is fluxive and changeable, but upon a propitiation in Braſs: Yet not upon the Altar of Braſs leſt the Iſraelites ſhould think that their own Sacrifices of Sheep and Oxen did help them, but upon the Serpent of Braſs, to let them perceive that it was the Sacrifice of Chriſt that healed them. Beſide, could a Statue of Braſs endure more injuries than were laid upon the tender body of our Saviour? Could an Anvile ſuſtain more ſtripes and blows? When Job began to ſink under the preſſure of his afflictions, ſays he, Is my ſtrength the ſtrength of ſtones? Or is my fleſh of braſs? He was a man that had the courage to ſuffer much, yet he had not a brazen body; infirmity made him ſink, and wiſh for death; but Chriſt endured for our ſakes as a man of braſs. I pray God we have not hearts of ſteel that do not conſider it. Above all the Prophets Iſidore doth well to call Jeremy foreign, the moſt paſſive of them all; therefore God ordained him to be the dungeon of miſery in theſe words, Behold I have made thee this day as an iron Pillar, and a brazen Wall, Jer. i. 18. So Chriſt endured the mercileſs wrath of his perſecutors, as if he had been ſcourged and crucified not in fleſh and bloud, but in braſs or iron. What a raging heat there is in a furnace of braſs? So Chriſt complains in his Agony as if he had been a molten furnace, Lam. iii. 13. From above hath he ſent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth againſt them. Therefore God appointed Moſes to make a fiery Serpent, Num. xxi. 8. It ſeems the Serpent was like a Cenſor of braſs, and the fire of Incenſe was put into it, that it might be a ſweet ſavour unto the Lord, aſcending up with the prayers of the Congregation. Or what is fitter to expreſs the two natures of God and Man in one perſon than braſs when it gloes with fire? The Humane body without, and the fire of the Divinity within, theſe are the Ingredients of that Mediatour who bruiſed the head of the old Serpent, took away our reproach, and aboliſhed our Iniquities. Therefore the fire was as neceſſary for our uſe as the Braſs, the Braſs that is the Manhood to ſuffer, but the Fire that is the Godhead to make the ſufferings of infinite price and ineſtimable value. But that which we tranſlate, as the ſeventy two have guided us, a fiery Serpent, is Saraph in the Original, which if it ſignifie fire it is Coeleſtial fire, for from thence comes the word Seraphim the higheſt order of Angels, who are inflamed with the zeal of charity. O how much of that fire was in the Serpent that healed us? What a Grove of love was in his heart, which no eye nor thought can penetrate? Who could have paſſed through ſo many thorns, and nails, ſo many ſcoffs and deriſions but that his love was like fire that could not be quenched. Lord, if thou hadſt not loved me, thou hadſt not been born for me: But if thou hadſt not loved me more than thy ſelf, thou hadſt not died for me, thy humility bore all; thy patience overcame all; but love ſate at the Helm of the Ship, and that commands all. O thou ſweet Tyrant, ſays Nazianzen, how ſtrong are thy fetters with which thou tieſt the Son of God? And ſo I have done with the Serpent for his own frame and compoſition, for the preſent uſe of it, and for the Myſtery. I come to the Poſture, it was exaltation, for Moſes lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderneſs.
For elſe how could ſix hundred thouſand men and more have recurrence unto it in their neceſſity to look upon it if it had not been lifted up? Juſtin Martyr, who had reaſon to be skilful in theſe things being a Samaritan by birth, ſays that Moſes having faſtned the Serpent to along Pole, erected it upon the top of the Tabernacle, and then the remoteſt perſon might eaſily glance upon it; for every Tribe keeping the diſtance of two thouſand Cubits, that is an Engliſh mile, from the Tabernacle, Joſh. iii. 4. and the doors of all their Tents opening inwards towards the Tabernacle, their eye-lids could not open but they muſt ſee that object, which was the Maſt of the Ship, or the Spire of the Steeple upon the Church of the Tabernacle. Others conſider it as an Enſign, or Banner, as if God had prepared to fight for Iſrael againſt the ſpiritual wickedneſſes in high places. But if we fall into the ſlumber of Metaphors we ſhall meet with nothing but dreams. It was diſpoſed by the moſt High, that the remedy to which the people were bidden to look ſhould be exalted, that the interiour thoughts of the heart might fly to God for ſuccour, after the preſident of the exteriour contemplation. Iſrael might ſtoop to the earth to gather Manna for the ſuſtentation of their body; but they muſt look towards heaven for their preſervation, and to be delivered from death and hell. I ſee nothing but corruption under me; ſalvation and immortality are on high above me.
Tranſlate our meditations from the ſign to the thing ſignified, and a Serpent elevated upon a Pole was Chriſt hanging upon the Croſs. It is his own expoſition, Joh. xii. 32. And I if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me. This he ſaid ſignifying what death he ſhould die. He calls not that moſt ruful death his ignominy, or his confuſion, or his humiliation, but a lifting up, a promotion, an exaltation. Can you deviſe a more chearful word for ſo ſad a buſineſs? Three ways he was lifted up, Ʋt victima, ut victor, ut mediator. In the manner of his death as a Sacrifice; in the triumph over death, as a Conquerour; in his glorification, to ſit at the right hand of God as a Mediator. Firſt, The manner of his death was ordained that he ſhould hang upon a tree, wherein pain, and reproach, and malediction might fall together like ſo many bitter waters in one torrent. The magnitude of the pain refers unto numberleſs conſiderations. Begin from hence, that his body was weak and enfeebled with Agonies, with watchings, with ſcourgings, with bearing his Croſs; then this torn and bruiſed body was ſtript naked, ſo that his raw wounds took air, and their ſmart was much augmented. After this began the execution, his feet and hands were pierced with nails, where the quickeſt ſenſe of the body doth moſt reſent offence; his Nerves and Arteries were crackt and diſtended; his body hanging upon its own weight; his arms were pluckt out to his little eaſe, and great vexation, further than their natural longitude: But the further they were ſtretcht the greater Emblem it was that he was ready to embrace us. His feet were pluckt down, and faſtened to a Pedeſtal, to let us know he will not go from us till we depart from him. The concurrence of ſo much torment parch'd the roof of his mouth, and made him thirſt, and that thirſt of his cannot be quenched but by our faith and repentance which is liquidated with tears: All theſe concurring forced his life from him that he gave up the Ghoſt. But tantò mirabilior reſurrectio, quantò mors certior. Since his death was ſo certain, that none could chooſe but know; his Reſurrection is more triumphant, that none can chooſe but admire it. And as the pain was exceſſive, ſo the ignominy of that death was ſuperlative. Pone crucem ſervo; To hang on a Croſs was a death for ſervants, not for Freemen and Citizens. Paul, a Citizen of Rome, was beheaded; Peter, one reputed a vile perſon, was crucified. It was the deſtiny of none but ſlaves, till Conſtantine in honour to our Saviour did utterly forbid it to all Malefactors. Yet he whoſe ſervice is perfect freedom endured it, that he might abrogate the thraldom of ſin by the chaſtiſement of bondage, and lead captivity captive. Add unto all this the malediction of that death, for curſed is every one that hangeth on a tree. Yet Chriſt avoided to be ſlain among the Infants of Bethlem; he would not be caſt down the ſteep Mountain in Galilee; nor be ſtoned by the Phariſees; but to expiate the firſt ſin by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, he was exalted on a tree like the Serpent in the wilderneſs. And there is ſomewhat of obſervation in it, that he ſuffered in an elevation between heaven and earth, to purge the Region of the Air from the infeſtation of the Devil.In Pſal. 148. Who was Damnatus ad acrem tanquam ad carcerem, ſays St. Auſtin, thrown out of heaven to remain in the air as in a priſon, and therefore called by St. Paul, The Prince of the power of the air, Eph. ii. 2. Nay, Heſiod the Heathen Poet came to this knowledge (by what tradition I know not) that wicked ſpirits, enemies to mankind, were diffuſed over that Element. Therefore Jeſus dying upon the Croſs gave up the Ghoſt in the air that he might cleanſe the air from thoſe flying Serpents, that is from Diabolical infeſtations, ſays St. Athanaſius.Lib. de. Incar. verbi.
Secondly, He was mounted upon his Croſs as a Conquerour over that which was trodden down and trampled under feet; wherein he ſeemed to be condemned he condemned the world; wherein he took infirmity upon him, he ſhewed invincible fortitude; wherein he ſuffered death he overcame the power of Death; From that fatal Tree which the Jews prepared for an indelible ignominy, Potentia redemptoris ſecit gradum ad gloriam, ſays Leo; The puiſſance of the Redeemer made it a degree unto glory. The Devil ſtirred up all ſorts of men againſt him, his Diſciples to deny him, the Jews to accuſe him, the Souldiers to crucifie him, the Paſſengers to blaſpheme him. The more oppoſition the greater was the triumph. For the Pſalmiſt makes it a Song of Jubilee, They came about me like bees, and are extinct as the fire among the thorns Let me give it a ſimile from another feaſt coincident this year upon the day of the Paſſion. The Patron entitled to the noble Order of the Garter ſits victoriouſly on horſe-back, and the Dragon is beaten under his feet, and caſt upon his back: So our Champion rides in triumph upon the Croſs, and his enemy fell before him: For Chriſt was viſibly crucified, but the Devil inviſibly, ſays Origen. When our Saviour was transfigured, and appeared in glory, then Moſes and Elias ſpake of his deceaſe which he ſhould accompliſh at Jeruſalem, Luk. ix. 31. As if there were no fitter time to ſpeak of his death than in that clarification, becauſe his death was the purchaſe of glory, in that abaſement he was exalted, and did exalt us that believe in him in that machine, and craned us up by his Croſs to heaven. And therefore he promiſed unto the penitent Thief when he was upon the Croſs the joyes of Paradiſe, becauſe his Croſs did open Paradiſe to all believers. Two things are notorious marks, that this kind of death, ſo vile in appearance, was a conſtructive exaltation. Firſt, that the imperial Enſign of the Roman Army in the days of Conſtantine the Great was caſt into the figure of a Croſs, known in ancient Authors by that obſolete word laborum, it was a victorious auſpice to have the flag of the Croſs, which was never overcome, to fly before them. Then it came to be extolled even to the top of the Crown of Kings: A locis ſuppliciorum fecit tranſitum ad coronas Imperatorum, ſays St. Auſtin. Once it was infamous for a ſign of a ſervile death, now it is tranſlated as it were from Golgotha unto the Crowns of Emperours. Fructus arborem exaltat, jam honor eſt non horror; The fruit that hung upon the tree hath taken away all ignominy from the tree, now the horror of it is changed into a Trophee of honour. As the Serpent was lifted up, ſo there was power, and exaltation, and victory in the ſacrifice of our Saviour.
Thirdly, As the Son of God was conquerant in death, ſo he was glorified after death. He humbled himſelf to death, even to the death of the Croſs: wherefore God hath highly exalted him. By his Croſs and Paſſion he hath entred into heaven, there to ſit at the right hand of the Majeſty for ever. Now he is exalted in his Reſurrection death hath no more dominion over him; now his name is bleſſed and hallowed, as the balm from which our ſalvation diſtilleth; now his Kingdom is enlarged from Sea to Sea, and the uttermoſt parts of the earth are his poſſeſſion. Now his people are gathered unto him to magnifie and praiſe him; all Kings ſhall fall down before him, all Nations ſhall do him ſervice. Theſe are the ſucceſs and the conſequents of his humiliation. Therefore as you would not envy his greatneſs in his Reſurrection, ſo do not deſpiſe the meanneſs of his Paſſion. Serm. 10. de Temp.Non te pigeat videre ſerpentem in ligno pendentem, ſi vis videre regem in ſolio regnantem, ſays St. Auſtin; be not troubled to ſee him lifted up upon a Pole like the brazen Serpent, if you deſire to ſee him ſit upon his Throne as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Ought not Chriſt to ſuffer theſe things, and ſo to enter into his glory? And let this confirm our faith, and make us willing to be conformable to his ſufferings. The afflictive way, nay, the deſtructive way of perſecution is the advancement of a Chriſtian; to be pluckt down is to be lifted up; Through many tribulations we muſt enter into the Kingdom of God, Acts xiv. 22. As ſome did ſwim to ſhore upon planks in that ſhipwrack wherein St. Paul was a companion, Acts xxvii. ſo being all of us in the common naufrage of ſin, none are more ſafe than they that ſwim out upon the Croſs which God hath laid upon them. If we muſt bid farewel to temporal proſperity, let us ſee what Pearls of patience and repentance we can find, as Job did, in the dunghil of ſorrow and miſery: If Tempeſts blow ſtronger and ſtronger let us ſtrive, with Elias, to go up to heaven in the whirlwind, what we want in the Church Militant, continue ſtedfaſt in the truth and it will be ſupplied in the Church Triumphant. But in what eſtate ſoever you are, be lifted up from the earth, and let your affections be above. Let not Satan get the upper ground, and make advantage of it againſt us beneath. Is he in the air? Then ſhall my heart be in heaven. Is he upon an exceeding high mountain in his tentations? Then will I fly up to the Sanctuary of the Lord upon the wings of a Dove. For the Mountain of the Lords houſe is eſtabliſhed in the top of the mountains, Iſa. ii. 2. Would he have me look upon the Kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them? No, I will look upon him who deſpiſed glory, and hath purchaſed honour by his opprobry, upon him who was lifted up like the Serpent in the wilderneſs.
Draw near now, and come unto that place where this miracle was acted. It was a waſte in the borders of Edom, a nameleſs and a barren piece of ground, unprofitable to bring ſtore into the barn, but profitable to yield ſome pious meditations, it is the wilderneſs. There was no place that received Iſrael where ſome memory or monument of Gods mighty hand was not left behind, in Egypt, in the Red Sea, in Moab, in Baſan, in the Wilderneſs. But this laſt put them to the greateſt trial, it was ilium malorum; ſorrows that met them ſingle elſewhere, ruſht all upon them in the Wilderneſs. There they ſuffered war and wearineſs; thirſt and hunger; plagues and mortality. And though they called for redreſs they had none, only they had a cure for the biting of the fiery Serpents: So in this Pilgrimage upon earth all manner of offences and afflictions are familiar unto us; and though we faſt and pray they ſhall not be taken from us. No man muſt look for comfort, or plenty, or pleaſure in a Wilderneſs. Let it ſuffice for all, that we have a remedy againſt the venom of the Serpent, againſt the deadly ſting of ſin. For if any man ſin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jeſus Chriſt the righteous, and he is our propitiation; not that we ſhould not be afflicted, but that we ſhould not periſh, but have everlaſting life. I will make one queſtion to the Point, that I may give many anſwers. Wherefore was ſo great a deliverance obſcured in the Wilderneſs, where the world could take no notice of it? As the Diſciples preſſed our Saviour to go into Judea that men might ſee his works. If thou do theſe things ſhew thy ſelf to the world, Joh. vii. 4. So had it not been better that the moſt frequented Cities had been ſpectators of this wonderful power of healing? And was not the Wilderneſs a little too ſecret for the fame and publication of it? I anſwer firſt, that is not the vogue and acclamation of the world that the God of ſanctity aims at, but the faith of the Elect. The fewer that ſaw theſe wonders, the happier for them that believe and never ſaw them. Many works of the Lord are not neceſſary to be ſeen of all, but to be believed of all: and for the greateſt myſteries all muſt believe though the eye did not, nay, though it cannot ſee them.
Secondly, Becauſe the making of this Serpent by Moſes had a typical drift in it to ſet forth Chriſt, we ſhall not ſee him more like himſelf than if we go forth to find him in the Wilderneſs, thither the Spirit led him forth to be tempted, and he fought againſt the Devil ſo ſtrongly in thoſe Liſts, that he vanquiſhed him by his innocency. Adam in horto ſuperbus, Chriſtus in deſerto humilis; Adam was accommodated with too much pleaſure, where the Serpent enticed him, therefore the ſecond Adam pitch'd his battel in a Deſart of a contrary condition. It was a Land uncomfortable for ſolitarineſs, neither fountains nor fruits in it, nothing but penury where Satan was overcome; but it was a garden dreſt and delicate, filled with all manner of ſtore, where he got the victory. But is it not better to be humble with Chriſt in a barren Deſart, than to be proud with Adam in a delicious Paradiſe? Fight againſt the Tempter upon the ſame advantage that our Captain choſe. Meet him not where pleaſures abound: meet him not in the Garden, but in the Wilderneſs. Come my beloved, let us go forth into the field, let us lodge in the Villages, Cant. vii. 11. There is much contagion in the communication with the world, therefore the Beloved is invited rather to ſome harmleſs privacy. Fuge ſeculi mare, & naufragium non timebis, ſays St. Ambroſe. Sail away into ſome little ſtream, leave the Ocean of ungodlineſs, which is in the moſt frequented places, and you ſhall not fear ſhipwrack. Our Saviour made himſelf often a ſtranger unto this world, and retired into a Mountain alone, or into the Wilderneſs, Quaſi in mundo extra mundum ageret; To teach us to live in this world as if we lived without it. When we find our ſelves infected with the converſation of Court or City, it is the Wilderneſs we muſt fly to, a retiring to a private reckoning between God and our ſelves, if we mean to be cured of Serpents. We had need of longer Vacations than Terms; more reſt to pray and repent than ſtirring days to get wealth; that we may ask God forgiveneſs at leiſure for thoſe ſins which we did commit in our buſineſs. Come ye apart into a deſart place, and reſt awhile, ſays our Saviour to his Apoſtles, Mar. vi. 31. All cannot receive this ſaying, you will reply, all have not the opportunity to come out of the croud, ſome there are whoſe worth and dignity keeps them always in action. To theſe I ſay, as our Saviour prayed for his Diſciples, I pray not that thou ſhouldſt take them out of the world, but that thou ſhouldſt keep them from the evil, Joh. xvii. 15. Says St. Cypriaen, Etſi omnes diverſorium non capiat loci, animi tamen omnino neceſſaria eſt ſolitudo; All men cannot, muſt not caſt off care, the Church and Republick cannot ſpare their company, that they ſhould ſequeſter themſelves into remote places. O but let not the heart loſe that happineſs which is denied unto the body. I may be vacant to good meditation in the midſt of troubles. I may ſtand before men, as my Calling requires, and be alone with God. Pious Meditation, which will not mix with any ſecular thing, is like an hermitage to the ſoul: Like a Wilderneſs wherein I have leiſure to look ſtedfaſtly upon that Serpent who is the cure of Serpents, and the Balm of Gilead.
Laſtly, (for the time breaks me off that I muſt conclude) there is no place more open or common in the world than a Wilderneſs. There the Image of the Serpent was fixed, as a publick benefit, which was prohibited to none that would look upon it. They that ſtood nigh, they that were far off, it was indifferent to both if they beheld it ſtedfaſtly. So Chriſt crucified is alike unto all that believe, and call upon him; to Jew, and Gentile; to high and low; to Rich and Poor; to the generations that are paſſed, to us that are further off, and to the Generations that are yet to come. Let it not trouble you that the Brazen Serpent was lifted up in the midſt of the Camp of Iſrael, as if it only ſerved for the Latitude of that Meridian. It fell not to their lot in Canaan, or in Jeruſalem, but in the Wilderneſs, which was every mans ſoil, and every mans poſſeſſion. Therefore the root of Jeſſe is called an Enſign of the people to which the Gentiles ſhall ſeek, Iſa. xi. 12.Serm. …. de Paſſ. All have their part in this Enſign, the banner of our Victory, Chriſt exalted, that will ſeek unto him. Crux Chriſti mundi eſt ara non templi, ſays Leo; The Croſs of Chriſt was an Altar, yet not a private one belonging to the Temple: but publick bleſſing to the whole world. That is the reaſon that he ſuffered not within Jeruſalem but without it, to the end that all men that purifie their hearts by faith may claim a property in his Oblation. Jeſus that he might ſanctifie the people with his own bloud ſuffered without the Gate, Heb. xiii. 11. Therefore let us go forth unto him without the Camp bearing his reproach. Firſt, Let us go forth unto him, and ſeek him out as ſtranger that have no abiding City, but as Travellers that live in Tabernacles, and are paſſing to our own Country through a Wilderneſs. They that have ſet their reſt upon earth, and ſay, here will I dwell, for I have a delight therein, they ſhall never find out the comfort of the Croſs: but uſe this World as a Pilgrim, that would make haſte with good ſpeed out of it, and you ſhall find your Saviour by the way. He is not in the ſecret Chamber, or in the Cloſet, or in the Palace, in none of theſe permanent and enduring habitations, but in the trac of the wayfaring men, that is in the Wilderneſs. And then the Croſs of Chriſt ſtands upon ſuch ground, where there is neither gain nor pleaſure, no more than is to be look'd for in a Wilderneſs: Therefore St. Paul makes this further uſe of it, let us go forth unto him without the Camp bearing his reproaching. Extra caſtra, & extra mundum ejuſque ſplendida exeamus, ſays Theophylact; Leave the pomp, and beauty, and jingling of theſe vain things; if you ſtick to them you muſt periſh with them, for they all ſhall periſh. If you will remain in Sodom, you muſt be deſtroyed in Sodom. Is it not better to go into a Deſart where there is nothing to eat, than to live among belly-gods where there is nothing but Gluttony? Is it not better to repent in Sackcloth than to be profane in Purple? Is it not better to want and ſeek God, than to abound and forget him? Serpens, ſitis, ardor, arenae dulcia virtuti. A well diſciplined Chriſtian praiſeth God for all imcumbrances of adverſity, for the Serpents that fly about him with the ſtings of malice and infamy, for ſickneſs and languor, for pain and wearineſs; he did not look for kinder, or more placid entertainment in a Wilderneſs: But he that looks ſtedfaſtly to the Serpent that is lifted up in the Wilderneſs, to Chriſt Jeſus that ſuffered for the mitigation of our ſorrows, for the cure of our wounds, for the accompliſhment of our joyes, for our victory over death, and for our entrance into life everlaſting. AMEN.