A Century of Sermons, Sermon 2
THE SECOND SERMON UPON THE Deſcent of the Holy Ghoſt.
ACTS ii. 2.
And ſuddenly there came a ſound from heaven, as of a ruſhing mighty wind, and filled all the houſe where they were ſitting.
THE Feaſt of Chriſts Reſurrection, and the Feaſt of Whitſunday or coming of the Holy Ghoſt are diſtant one from another fifty days in ſpace of time, but are as near to themſelves as the bark unto the tree in real ſubſtance, and in ſpiritual conjunction. In the Reſurrection the ſtrength of Hell was weakened for us: In the deſcending of the Holy Ghoſt the vertue of Heaven was made powerful in us. In the firſt the doors of the Grave were unlock'd, that we might not be held in death: In the other the windows of heaven were opened, that we might be partakers of the life to come. The Reſurrection reduceth the ſoul into the body again, which was diſſolved by the ſin of Adam: The coming of the Holy Ghoſt doth again reduce grace into the Soul when original Juſtice had been taken from it by the ſame mans tranſgreſſion. Theſe are parallell'd in primo gradu, and the compariſon may reach a little further to our preſent buſineſs, that there was a great noiſe cauſed at Chriſts riſing, For behold there was an Earthquake, Mat. xxviii. 2. And loe as great a noiſe from above at the coming of the Holy Ghoſt, for behold there came a ſound from heaven, as of a ruſhing mighty wind. Theſe two honourable Feaſts having ſuch near relation, I have found out moſt principal Texts for them both this year out of the ſame Chapter for Eaſter day, Ver. 24. whom God hath raiſed up, having looſed the pains of death: For Whitſunday in that notable portion of the ſtory which I have read unto you. And I told you upon the laſt great ſolemnity, that Whitſunday was principally ordained for this end, to make Eaſter day famous over all the world.
But the principal fruits of this day are three, if we may comprehend an Ocean of graces in ſo ſmall a number. In the zeal of our Prayers we paſſed them over in the Morning Collect; and that Collect extracted them from the Epiſtle and Goſpel appointed. Thus you may perceive that the Service of the Church of England is the treaſure of my obſervations. The Collect runs upon theſe three Points, Teaching, Illumination, Conſolation. God which upon this day hath taught the hearts of thy faithful people, for heavenly Doctrine began to be made common to all the world from this day. Yet many hear the Word, but moſt unprofitably; therefore it follows, that God hath ſent us the light of his holy Spirit to have a right judgment in all things. And many have the benefit of true Doctrine, and the help of Illumination, but with much ſorrow and perſecution, therefore the Holy Ghoſt came down alſo, that we might rejoyce in his holy comfort. Thus far the contents of that ſhort Prayer have helpt me. The Goſpel for the day runs altogether upon the laſt branch, upon Conſolation, I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter. The Epiſtle falls upon the two former, upon Doctrine and Illumination, and that in two ſenſible miracles. For Doctrine, that a ſound came from heaven as of a mighty wind, to foreſhew, that the ſound of the Word ſhould go forth into all Lands; for Illumination, that cloven tongues appeared, and ſate upon them as it were of fire. The noiſe was as a Trumpet to wake the World; the firy Tongues as ſo many lights to let them ſee their viſitation. Thus the Holy Ghoſt is preſented to both the ſenſes, to the Ear, as to the ſenſe of faith; to the Eye, as to the ſenſe of love. The Ear is the ground of the Word and Doctrine, and that gives the firſt admittance to Faith; and therefore the Holy Ghoſt began his operation there, according to my Text, and that in theſe particulars to be conſidered: 1. That God cauſed a ſound to be heard upon the deſcending of the Holy Spirit. 2. The manner of the ſound is reſembled to a Wind. 3. To a ſudden wind. 4. To a ruſhing mighty wind. 5. It was from heaven. 6. It filled all the houſe where they were ſitting. All theſe particulars are worthy of my labour, and your attention.
That there came a ſound from heaven at the miſſion of the Holy Ghoſt is the firſt thing remarkable. A ſound firſt to call in them that were without. Secondly, To demonſtrate the Office of them that were within. As the chiming of Bells calls us together to Church, ſo an audible ſound from heaven was a warning to the Jews to flock to that place where the Apoſtles were gathered together. The Maſter of the Feaſt in the Goſpel ſent forth his Servants, and invited the Gueſts, and bad them be told what preparation he had made for their coming; ſo the men of Jeruſalem had as ſenſible an invitation to draw them to the great Feaſt of the Goſpel, as if a Canon had been diſcharged in their Ear. Or if they were yet unprepared to taſte of ſuch Manna as fell from heaven into their lap, yet the Lords doings were ſo palpable before them, that their conſciences muſt be extremely ſtupified with malice, if they made an ill interpretation of others that were then filled from above with the great power of God. And indeed Oecumenius ſays that the ſound did pierce the ears of all that were in the City, that ſuch as were curious to know the reaſon might come and ſee, foreign, that the open manifeſtation of the miracle might preſerve it from calumny. But you will ſay, it did not gain the good opinion of the Jews; for all the gift of Tongues had ſuch a forerunner, not vox clamantis, but ſonus intonantis, not the voice of a Crier, but a peal of thunder to bring it into the world, yet the people did diſgrace it with a vile imputation of drunkenneſs. True, it proved as ill as could be expected; but ſays St. Chryſoſtome, if they ſaid the Apoſtles were full of new Wine, when theſe ſigns concurred, what would they have ſaid without them? The moſt graceful and melodious ſounds in the world are loſt to deaf men; and though a clamour, and a cry from heaven were come down, as it is in my Text, yet it moved not thoſe that, like the deaf Adder,Pſal. 58.4. had ſtopped their ears. The Serpent in that place is called in the Greek foreign, by Antiphraſis, or the contrary, becauſe it is foreign an unperſwaded Creature, all Art and Charming is ſpent in vain, it will not liſten, it will not mitigate its venomous wrath; and ſo the Tranſlator Apollinarius ſays upon it, foreign, that when the Adder is miſchievouſly angry, for the time of his violent anger, and while that laſts, he is ſtark deaf, though he can hear by nature. So ſuch as are foreign, Tit. i. 16. Diſobedient, and reprobate to every good work, though they have the ſenſe of hearing by nature, yet when they are violently ſet upon infidelity and ſtubbornneſs, they give no more attention to the ſound that comes from heaven than do the ſtones of the Temple. When Stephen preached ſo divinely to the Jews, that the heavens opened in the time of his Sermon, Acts vii. 56. as if way had been made for the Angels and Saints to be his Auditors; even then, when the gates of heaven ſtood wide open at the grace of his words, they, that ſhould have given him beſt attention, ſtopped their ears and ran upon him. But the ſin of them that will not hear let it lie upon their own head; they cannot ſay but there hath been a Trumpet among them to awake them from the ſleep of ſin. The ſound which God hath ſent forth is ſhrill and loud to call in thoſe that are without, And he that hath ears, &c.
But ſecondly, the Spirit came in a very audible ſound, to declare what a door of utterance ſhould be opened from thenceforth to the Meſſengers of Chriſt, That their ſound ſhould go out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the World, Rom. x. 18. The Goſpel preached to every creature under heaven, Col. i. 23. How many were in that lamentable condition like the Diſciples at Epheſus, that had not ſo much as heard whether there were an Holy Ghoſt? Angels themſelves began to be Preachers, when a door of entrance was opened, that the Word ſhould run ſwiftly throughout all the world, when good tidings were diffuſive, great joy unto all people.Pſal. 193. The ſound came flying upon the wings of the wind, that there was neither Speech nor Language upon the earth but their voices were heard among them. The Law made a great din when it was publiſhed, there came thunder with it, and the noiſe of a Trumpet louder and louder.Exod. 19.19. Yet this noiſe was ſpread in the Deſart of Sinai, in a deſolate and uninhabited Region: But this ſound, which hapned when the Goſpel was authorized to be preached in every Nation, it had audience in the moſt populous place of all Judaea, in the City of Jeruſalem: As who ſhould ſay, it was a communicable ſound which ſhould be received into the Imperial Cities of all Kingdoms. I draw this only obſervation from it to your holy practice, that the Lord loveth fragorem vocis, not a whiſpering ſilence, but an exalted voice, a loud exclamation to praiſe him. Open confeſſion of Gods name is an effect individually connex'd with a true lively faith, ſo ſays David, Pſal. cxvi. I believed, and therefore I ſpake. There are three things hateful to God which jar againſt it: 1. Hypocritical profeſſion, when the proteſtation of the mouth is not rooted in the heart. 2. Abnegation of the Faith, whether they deny the truth for fear, or for reſolved Apoſtaſie. 3. There is another way to ſin againſt the confeſſion of the Faith, and that is, malum ſilentium, not to glorifie God openly in our profeſſion, when it concerns his honour; in whoſe perſon the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks, I kept ſilence, yea, even from good words, but it was pain; nay, it will be pain and grief unto them. St. Paul complains of thoſe Chriſtians that were of Rome in his days, that none would openly declare themſelves of his ſide in the time of perſecution, At my firſt anſwer none ſtood with me, Rom. 10.10.but all forſook me, I pray God it may not be laid to their charge, 1 Tim. iv. 16. The Lord would not have it lurk only in the ſecrets of our breaſt, that we are Chriſts Diſciples, but that it ſhould reſound abroad to his glory, for with the heart man believeth unto righteouſneſs, and with the mouth confeſſion is made unto ſalvation. And let Gods ſervice be performed on all ſides, on the Prieſts part, and on the peoples, with fervor and ſtrength of voice, like the ſound of many waters. You may pray tacitly in the heart, but ſure the holy Spirit came not from heaven like a vehement ſound, to teach you to fumble in the mouth, and ſcarce to open your lips when you are in Prayer. Prayer is a calling upon God, Call upon me in the time of trouble, Pſal. l. Nay, a roaring for very diſquietneſs of heart, ſays the ſame Prophet in another place. Our humble Petitions are called Vituli labiorum, Heb. xiii. Their lips will offer their ſacrifice aloud, if the true incenſe of zeal do burn within; for our Saviour ſays, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth ſpeaketh. A troubled ſoul, I grant it, ſometimes cannot utter it ſelf; ſometimes a dumbborn Prayer is very powerful, as Hannah the Mother of Samuel is the great inſtance of it; but in the ordinary way, aſſuredly the more ſtrength of voice we put to our Supplications, the more we ſhake off the drowſineſs of the fleſh, the more we ſtir up the grace of the holy Spirit, which loves that the Eccho and chearful ſounds of the voice ſhould aſcend up to heaven.
But the Scripture doth not leave at this, that there came a ſound from heaven, it goes further, and tells us the manner of the ſound, that it was like unto that noiſe which is cauſed by a vehement wind. foreign, as if the wind had blown, but it was but foreign as if it were; foreign, ſays Oecumenius, that you might not imagine the holy Spirit to be a corporeal breathing, like the vaporous ſubſtance of the wind, therefore the quaſi is very ſignificant, that it had but the ſimilitude of the wind. Yet it is very inquirable, why like that more than any thing elſe? If we had been left to gueſs what ſound it was, why might not we have imagined it to be the purling of ſome ſoft ſtreams? Or the humming of Bees about their Hive? Or the voice of harpers playing with their harps, Rev. xiv. 2. None of thoſe it was, but as the fragor of the wind. And when God declares his vertue in ſome ſenſible object, you muſt perſwade your reaſon there is ſome great relation between the ſign and the thing ſignified. Did not our Saviour illuſtrate unto Nicodemus our Regeneration, or new Birth from the blaſts of the air? Joh. iii. 8. The wind bloweth where it liſteth, and thou heareſt the voice thereof, and knoweſt not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth, ſo is every one that is born of the Spirit. Yet more feelingly; when he did infuſe into his Apoſtles the power of the Holy Ghoſt, bequeathing them that great Sacerdotal priviledge, Whoſeſoever ſins ye remit, they are remitted, and whoſeſoever ſins ye retain, they are retained; Was it not conveyed by blowing upon them like the wind, by inſufflation? Joh. xx. 22. He breathed on them, and ſaith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghoſt. Now I will tell you together where both the myſtery, and the uſe of it do conſiſt.
Firſt, As the breath which we ſend forth comes from the warmth of our Lungs, and of our bowels within, ſo the Spirit proceedeth from the ſubſtantial love of the Father, and of the Son. What was the meaning then of that ſenſible expiration? But that as the breath which he vented out came from his Humane Nature, ſo the Holy Ghoſt which he breathed on his Diſciples came from his Divine Nature. And this muſt follow, to give it you by the way, that Chriſt is very God, for who but God can communicate the Holy Ghoſt? For it was Gods Promiſe, that He, and none but He, would pour out his Spirit upon all fleſh, Iſa. xliv. And it ſtands as well proved that the Holy Ghoſt is God, for the prime and ſupreme power to remit ſins is the Holy Ghoſts he was given to the Diſciples for that end, and none can forgive ſins but God alone. Secondly, Chriſt communicated his ſpiritual gifts by breathing; to ſhew that he, even the ſame Lord, was the Author both of our temporal and eternal life. For in the Creation the Lord breathed into mans noſtrils the breath of life, Gen. ii. 7. But this life ſhall paſs away, and the body ſhall crumble into duſt. Why, behold the breath of the Lord will go forth again to cauſe a joyful Reſurrection, as it is in the Prophets viſion of the dry bones, Ezek. xxxvil. 5. Thus ſaith the Lord unto theſe bones, Behold I will cauſe breath to enter into you, and ye ſhall live. Yet if this body, wherein ſin reigns, and inclines it only to dead works, were not quickned by grace, better it might be for us that we had never been born, therefore the life of Sanctification was begun in the Church, as it were with a gentle guſt of wind, when Chriſt breathed on his own, and ſaid, Receive ye the Holy Ghoſt. So you ſee this outward ſign of inſufflation was conſtantly uſed, at our Creation, at our Reſurrection, at our Sanctification, to ſhew how it is the ſame God that worketh all in all. Yet St. Ambroſe comes in with a third Meditation upon it: Says he,Serm. 10. in Pſal. 118. God did give man a living ſoul at firſt by breathing or inſpiration, to let him ſee he did not only give him a temporal or carnal vivification, but grace and ſanctity to live for ever. But when man had loſt this primitive grace and original righteouſneſs, it was fit to let us know that ſuch loſſes could be repaired by none but Chriſt, therefore Chriſt breathed again upon man, to demonſtrate that he was the reſtorer of thoſe immortal bleſſings, which exceed our merits, and paſs all underſtanding.
But when Chriſt was aſcended up on high, the Spirit could not be infuſed immediately from the breath of his mouth, but, in Analogy to it, it came into the place where the Apoſtles were gathered together like the murmuring wind, or the breath of heaven. As Solomon fore-told it in his Poetical Ode, Cant. iv. 16. Awake O North wind, and come thou South, blow upon my Garden, that the Spices thereof may flow out. And here again I ſhall paſs through ſome humane Compariſons to the illuſtration of moſt divine Myſteries. Firſt, of all Elementary Creatures the Wind is the moſt active thing in the world, nothing ſo quick and active as it, Ʋſque adeo agit ut niſi agat non ſit; when it is not active it is not at all, no ſtirring of the air no wind. So it is with the Spirit of faith and love, the very being of it conſiſts in being operative. What ſhall I do to inherit eternal life? foreign ſays St. Chryſoſtome, it impels the heart to be never out of motion in ſome ſpiritual exerciſe. Either the Tongue is praying, or the Ear is hearing, or the Heart is meditating, or the Hand is giving, or the Soul is thirſting for remiſſion of ſins. When the Spirit beats not in the Pulſes, there is no ſpirit in the body, it is a dead Carkaſs; and in whomſoever there is a ceſſation from all good works, you may ſay it juſtly that there the Holy Ghoſt is extinguiſhed; there is no difference between a ſtanding Puddle, and a dead Sea. And cozen not your ſelves with a vain confidence, that albeit you be altogether barren and unprofitable, no fruit of Sanctification budding from you, yet Semen Dei manet, the ſap may be in the root, the vertue in the Seed-corn, though it do not put out. Theſe may-bees are pitiful Anchors of hope, and miſerable comforters. Will you ſay the wind is up when there is a ſtill Serena, no puff of air moving? Then think as little that God dwells in that breſt where there are no tokens of Sanctification. Secondly,De temp. Serm. 188. I have it from St. Auſtin, Flatus ille à carnali palea corda mundabit; The Wind is the advantage of the Husbandman to winnow Chaff from Wheat, and where the Spirit blows upon the conſcience it will purge it from all dead works. The cares of this world, the thought of getting Riches, anxieties for honours and advancements, theſe overſpread the life of a natural man left to the ways of carnal reaſon; but as ſoon as ever we begin to ſift and diſcuſs theſe cogitations by the doctrine of the Spirit, they vaniſh and diſperſe, Tradam protervis in mare Creticum portare ventis; they are light and empty of true goodneſs, and ſo are blown away to the Father of errors and deluſions,Hom. de ſpir. ſanct. to the Devil himſelf from whence they came. Thirdly, Says St. Chryſoſtome, Suppoſe a Ship be well appointed with Pilot, Mariners, Sails, Cables, Anchors, and all convenient appurtenances, to what uſe will all this ſerve if the winds ſtir not? So let there be profound Judgment, quick Invention, neat Eloquence, and all the graces of Art in a man, theſe will not bring a man one whit onward in his Voyage, to the haven of happineſs, to the kingdom of glory, unleſs the ſweet gales of the Spirit carry him forward, thoſe are the wings of the Dove upon which the Soul ſhall fly away and be at reſt. Another Author, taken for St. Chryſoſtome, Author. imperf. operis homil. 10.writing upon St. Matthew, compoſeth it thus, As the ground doth not fructifie by rain alone, but there is a prolificous vertue in the winds, which blows upon the fields, and makes the Spring to ſprout: So it is not our Doctrine alone which converts your Souls, though it diſtill like the ſoft drops of rain upon the earth, but benediction of inward grace that goes with the word breaths ſalvation upon our heart. The Letter may kill, but the Spirit quickneth, and in our Evangelical Prieſthood we are Miniſters, not of the Letter alone, but of the Spirit alſo. Qui inſtat praecepto praecurrit auxilio; the words of Leo, which I take to be ſolid truth in this Point; when God preſſeth us with the outward inſtruction of his Word. He impreſſeth the ſecret operation of his Spirit to make it fructifie.
And now to come to another portion of the Text, it agrees very accurately with the nature of that ſupernal gift which God infuſeth into his Saints, that the Spirit came with a ſudden flaw of wind. And I am very willing to make that collection of it, which divers have done before me, Datur haec gratia ex improviſo, & ſine meritis; Grace is a bleſſing that comes unlook'd for, unawares, nay, it is impoſſible for an unconverted man to ſay, now I am prepared for it, now I expect it, now my heart is ready to receive it; for there is no good preparation for grace in the ſoul of man till ſome portion of it have entred before. Natural diſpoſitions cannot attain to bring in ſupernatural grace. Therefore the firſt influx and admiſſion of it muſt needs be ſudden and unawares. As you can make no rules for the Wind, why it ſhould blow South to day, and North to morrow, why from this Point of heaven at ſuch a ſeaſon rather than from another: So there is no aim to be taken how this or that man was firſt partaker of the heavenly light, which is thus couched in our Saviours words, The kingdom of God cometh not with obſervation, neither ſhall they ſay loe here, or loe there, for the Kingdom of God is within you, Luk. xvii. 20. For what obſervation can we make, or through what tokens can we collect, that God will begin to draw a ſinner unto him? Will you ſay he lives juſtly, and chaſtely? If they were Chriſtian juſtice and chaſtity the ſeed of the Spirit was in his heart before: If they be but moral conformities, he is ſtill the Child of wrath, and thoſe laudable actions were but ſins, or imperfections with a good gloſs. Will you ſay they deſire and pray for the holy Spirit, and therefore this illumination comes not ſuddenly, but with invitation? O but ſays the Arauſican Council, which handled this Point of the grace of God more copiouſly and Orthodoxly than ever any Council did, the utterance, nay, the very thought of every good Prayer, it is inſtilled by the divine irradiation of Gods help, and the Holy Ghoſt is called the Spirit of Prayer; and if any man ſay, that the grace of God is beſtowed upon our Prayer and Invocation, and that grace did not firſt enable us to make that Prayer, he contradicts the Prophet Iſaiah, Iſa. 65.1.and the Apoſtle Paul, who both have theſe ſame words, I am ſought of them that asked not for me, I am found of them that ſought me not. Thus that Council, whereby you hear, that we, whoſe nature is rank corruption, do not prepare and diſpoſe the way to attract the bleſſing of heaven upon us by little and little, upon congruity of Gods favour; it comes ſuddenly and unawares, when we leaſt deſerve it.
It muſt not be let alone without this addition to it, which is S. Ambroſe his deſcant on it, Neſcit tarda molimina ſpiritus ſancti gratia; the ſpirit of purity and renovation is quick and ſudden in the work of converſion, he doth not linger, and mature his good effects by ſoft leiſure; he doth not creep like a ſnail, or as a Father of our own Church ſays, like a Serpent, Serpentis eſt repere. Commonly motions that come from the old Serpent the Devil creep upon us, and men grow bold in iniquity by degrees, Nemo repentè fit peſſimus was the old Proverb, but where the Lord loveth, the man whom he chooſeth, he doth in an inſtant take away his ſtony heart, and give him an heart of fleſh: And as the Reſurrection of the dead ſhall be in an inſtant, ſo in an inſtant he tranſlates him from death to life. It is done with ſuch diſpatch and celerity, that the gift of Propheſie, nay, of Sanctification is called but the touch of the lips. Says the Angel to Iſaiah upon the living coal which he brought from the Altar, This hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy ſin purged, Iſa. vi, 7. The loyal Iſraelites that feared God and the King are called a band of men whoſe hearts God had touched, 1 Sam. x. 26. O admirable workman, ſays Gregory, Mox ut tetigeret mentem docet ſolùmque tetigiſſe eſt docuiſſe; Homil. 30. in Evang.He doth but touch and teach, and the mind is reformed in a moment, as ſoon as ever the finger of his Spirit is laid upon it. An Apoſtolical Spirit came ſuddenly upon St. Matthew, penitent reſtitution upon Zaccheus, confeſſion and grace upon the Thief on the Croſs. The Eunuch made haſte to believe, and as ſoon as he believed, he would be baptized of Philip at the next water he came to, and go no further. Men muſt not neglect preſent motions of grace, though ſuddenly riſing in them. Now the Lord moves my heart, and now at the firſt touch I will obey the Spirit. This is a brave and a pious reſolution: But if you let the grace of God knock at door once and twice and do not open, it is to be feared that you will grow deaf after a while, and never hear it. Modo & modò non habebant modum; Anon, and to morrow, and hereafter at more leiſure, and as Feſtus ſaid to Paul, Go thy way for this time, when I have a convenient ſeaſon I will call for thee; theſe are not words of good manners to ſo great a King as the King of heaven. Can Impenitancy, or continuance in evil be good at any time? Then break it off at the firſt pang and throw that the Conſcience ſuffers for it. The Spirit is a ſudden wind, he deceives his own ſoul that continues in a long conſumption of any ſin, and thinks to be helpt out of it by a lingring remedy.
The deſcription of the ſuddenneſs hath not been unuſeful you ſee, and we ſhall collect as much from that which follows, that it was Flatus veniens, & vehemens, a ruſhing mighty wind. Methinks I ſee the Spirit of God ſet out here in his manifold ſtrength and efficacy. Is there any thing in it ſelf ſo thin and poor as a puff of Air? It is neither Iron, nor Braſs, nor Bones, and yet what ſtrange effects it works? Turns up Oaks and Cedars by the roots, breaks the Ships of the Sea in pieces, caſts down Bulwarks and Fortreſſes; ſo Epiphanius received it from ſome good hand, that God overthrew the Tower of Babel with a violent wind. So the principles of the Spirit ſeem to be very mean and fooliſhneſs to fleſh and bloud; the Inſtruments in which it wrought homely illiterate Fiſhermen; yet the learning of five Synagogues, putting their wits together, was not able to reſiſt the wiſdom, and the Spirit by which Stephen ſpake, Acts vi. 10. It brings down ſtrong Holds and high Imaginations; it brings into Captivity every exalting thought to the obedience of Chriſt; Wiſdom, Learning, Might, Majeſty,2 Cor 10.5. all have ſtoopt before it. As the Scripture ſays often that the Spirit came mightily upon Samſon, and then his Foes were ſure to fall before him; ſo it ruſheth upon ſome holy men with a gallant heroick zeal, and then all the ſubtilties of Satan are not able to make a part againſt it. No Fear can diſmay them, no Perſecution can make them hide their head, no Favour. or Reward make them ſwerve from a good conſcience, no Diſcipline ſo ſtrict that they will not undertake for the love of Chriſt. The Kingdom of heaven ſuffereth violence, and the violent take it by force, Mat. xi. 12. The Kingdom of heaven was among the Jews, but Rapuit regnum coelorum Centurio; The Centurion did as it were invade it, and take it from them, for upon his confeſſion our Saviour ſaid, I have not found ſo great faith, no not in Iſrael.
Neither is it only expedient to make it manifeſt that the Spirit is ſtrong and mighty, like a ſtiff vehement wind in actu exercito, in the power of it which the Saints of God have to exerciſe to others, but alſo in actu primo informante, when it enters into the heart of them whom God converts, it comes with a mighty force, and will not be gainſaid with the oppoſition of our rebellious nature. Neque reſiſtere ultra poteſt, cui velle reſiſtere ſublatum eſt, ſays a Reverend Father of our own Church; that is, neither ſhall our vicious nature reſiſt the mighty working of Gods converting grace, ſince the firſt thing that ſuch grace works is to conquer our perverſeneſs in reſiſting. I do not ſay but our will hath always a liberty and indifferency in it to do, or not do: To chuſe or refuſe; but the act to reſiſt is ſuſpended for that time by the grace of God, and though reſiſtency be never taken away in this life, but is ever ſmothered and couchant in the bitter root of our corruption, yet according to the efficacious and ſweet motion of grace, God diſpoſeth that it ſhall not come out into act. It is not therefore the power to reſiſt which is taken away, for then the will were violenced, and nature quite transformed, whereas grace is the perfection, not the abolition or deſtruction of nature; It is only the actual reſiſtency which is ſtopt. Moſt excellently Proſper, Hanc abundantiorem gratiam ita credimus potentem, ut negemus violentam; There is a ſpecial abundant grace which is the Lot of that remnant which ſhall be ſaved, and this we believe that it hath powerful ſucceſs upon the will, but makes no violent, that is irreſiſtible, entrance. But it carries all the affections with it with a moſt urgent, undeniable, perſwaſive force; it raviſheth a man from himſelf, he feels himſelf as it were compelled in ſpight of Tyrants, in ſpight of death to confeſs the truth, We cannot but ſpeak the things which we have heard and ſeen, Acts iv. 20. Nihil imperioſius ſide. The Spirit of God hath a moſt imperious authority over the ſoul where it will dwell, a ſmooth tongue in an eloquent man will win much upon his hearers, and draw them far, but the Spirit of God is a commanding principle; a ruſhing mighty wind, foreign, ſays Oecumenius, this is a ſign of abundance of vehemence, it is the breath of God whoſe might is invincible.
But thirdly there is another way that ſome conjecture at the vehemency of the Wind, and that was to ſtrike terrour. Into whom you will ſay? In ſome ſort, ſays Calvin, into the Diſciples themſelves that received the Holy Ghoſt. Thus he moſt judiciouſly, Nunquam ad recipiendam Dei gratiam ritè ſumus comparati, niſi domitâ priùs carnis confidentiâ; That is, we are never fitly diſpoſed to receive the grace of God, untill our carnal pride and ſecurity be beaten down, and humbled. Some roaring terrible wind of judgment, and the expectation of hell fire, if we repent not, muſt ſhake us ſoundly. Or elſe we will fall aſleep in our ſins, and wallow in wantonneſs with the ſlumbering ſoft noiſe of mercy. As the Spring of the year, wherein all things grow, begins roughly with March, and ends ſweetly with May, ſo Renovation and New-birth it begins auſterely with the angry Pedagogie and Diſcipline of the Law, with conſternation in a troubled Spirit, then begin the fruits of the Spirit to ſpring up, but it proceeds to gladneſs and rejoycing, and to peace in Chriſt. Firſt, the ſtrong Wind paſſed by Elias, that rent the Mountains, and brake the Rocks in pieces, then an Earthquake, and a fire, and after the fire a ſtill ſmall voice. The Angels coming to the Bleſſed Virgin had firſt fear and aſtoniſhment in it, then greeting and ſalutation. So the Wind that came at the Feaſt of Whitſontide did firſt roar and terrifie them that were gathered together, afterwards it was as Oyl that comforted,Bern. Serm. 23. in Cant. and as new Wine that maketh glad the heart. So ſays Bernard upon the concluſion of it, Tranquillus Deus tranquillat omnia, & quietum aſpicere quieſcere eſt. God is peace, and ſets all at peace, and to behold him in whom our ſoul reſts is to reſt for ever. But others ſay, for all the mightineſs of the Wind it is not expreſſed that any fear did fall upon the Apoſtles, the vehemency of the ſound was to corroberate the Apoſtles, and to let them know there were blaſts in ſtore to caſt down their enemies. Such as repelled the Darts of Maximinus the Tirant into his own face, when he gave battel to the Chriſtians: Such as hath diſperſed the invincible Navies of our Enemies, Et conjurati veniunt in claſſica venti. Chriſt deſcended gently as the rain into the Fleece of Wool, in the days of his exinanition. He ſhall not cry, nor cauſe his voice to be heard in the ſtreet, Iſa. xlii. 2. But now he is exalted into glory, and hath the rule put into his hand, he will thunder and break forth in ſtrong violence againſt his enemies.
Thus far you have heard that the Holy Ghoſt came ſenſibly and audibly to the Ear like a ſound, the ſimilitude of that ſound was the noiſe of the Wind, the Attributes of it two, ſudden and mighty, and yet theſe two Points are undiſpatcht, the terminus à quo, it came from heaven; and the terminus ad quem, it filled the houſe where they were ſitting. But briefly. The firſt of theſe moves much to one thing that is handled before, that there is vehement ſtrength in the grace of God becauſe it comes from heaven;Acts 5.39. ſays the great Counſellor Gamaliel, If this work be of men it will come to nought, but if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it. The Winds naturally ariſe out of the Caves of the earth, they ſteame from beneath, and blow laterally from one Coaſt to another: So are worldly graceleſs devices, all unſanctified counſels, they blow from beneath, from the Forge of Satan, the principles are drawn from Ambition, Hatred, Emulation, Treachery, and have an oblique collateral motion, which is profound diſſimulation: But the root of grace is above in heaven, and grows down to the earth; it fetcheth all its drifts from Peace, from Religion, from Charity, from the Sanctuary, from the Glory of God. Strip all your politick projects from their fair pretences, and ſee the ground and foundation upon which they reſt, and you will find them to be hollow and putrified vapours. Again, ſlight not the harmleſs ways and ſimplicity of good men, for if you could diſcover their conſcience as God doth, you would find their ſcope and aim to be celeſtial. And nothing comes from heaven but with this purpoſe, to convert our earthly inclinations into heavenly directions.
And let this ſuperficial inſpection ſatisfie for the term and place whence the ſound came, it came from heaven. The end of our work is the conſideration of the place where it ſtaid and lighted, It filled all the houſe where they were ſitting. If you expect to have it treated of how the blaſt of the Spirit did fill the houſe, I muſt put you off to the fourth verſe of this Chapter, where it is recorded of the Apoſtles, that they were all filled with the Holy Ghoſt, and better ſpeak of it touching men than touching the Room of an houſe, that Chriſt is the fulneſs of him that filleth all in all. Moreover, if you look for any touch upon the Houſe it ſelf, remember I told you ſuch Traditions for it laſt year as I found in Antiquity, but with this modeſt concluſion, that the Point was not material, and all humane Records are uncertain. This we may, and muſt build upon, that it was an upper Room of ſome dwelling in Jeruſalem, Acts i. 13. and of large capacity we are ſure to contain at leaſt one hundred and twenty perſons, ver. 15. Perhaps alſo of ſufficient bigneſs to hold thoſe three thouſand that were converted, ver. 41. of this Chapter. To that other Circumſtance alſo, that the men and women are ſaid to be ſitting in the houſe when this bleſſing came down upon them. I have little to add, I love reverence of geſture with all my ſoul; yet I love not to be ſo nice as ſome, that hold it ſo neceſſary for the Apoſtles to be humbled on their knees, when the grace of God fell on them, that they ſay the meaning of the Text is not ſitting but kneeling, howſoever the words go, and that to ſit ſignifies not the poſture of their body, but their habitation. I confeſs and believe, if they had lookt for the Comforter at that moment, they would have caſt themſelves down upon the ground when the Majeſty of God was in the place, and I perſwade my ſelf they did inſtantly kneel and give thanks, as ſoon as they perceived what mighty work God had wrought upon them: But remember they were taken ſuddenly, and unawares, in ſome honeſt communication no doubt. And being ſo unprovided, why might not Chriſt begin this Miracle while they were ſitting, as well as Chriſt appear from heaven to Paul as he was riding, or God appear unto Moſes while he was keeping ſheep? Excellently Cajetan, Non horreo ſeſſionem corporalem, cum nihil indecens inducat; I am not ſcrupulous or troubled at their ſitting, as long as it was done with no obſtinate, irreverent, diſobedient affection. O but the Roman Miſſal for this day hath this Hymn, Orantibus Diſcipulis Deum veniſſe nunciat. While they were at their prayers, they mean kneeling, the ſound gave them warning that the Holy Ghoſt was come. Well, this caſe is quickly reſolved, their Hymn is miſtaken, and let them mend their Miſſal and not mend the Scripture.
Is there any thing more to be extracted out of this laſt Point? One thing, and that is all. It is a remarkable note of a moſt acute Father of our own Church. Thus: This Wind filled not all the Country, or all Jeruſalem, but that houſe where they ſate. Nay, ſays he, and very truly, that Room only of the houſe where they were aſſembled. One Room for an whole houſe is a frequent Synechdoche. Natural Winds breath over many places at once, but this Wind blew electivè, by choiſe and diſcretion. The Spirit blows upon certain places where it will, and upon certain perſons, and they ſhall plainly feel it, and others about them not a whit. It is a peculiar wind, appropriate to the place where the Apoſtles are, that is the Church, elſe where to ſeek it is but folly, the place it bloweth in is Sion. This is the Divinity of that great Scholar Biſhop Andrews, that the Spirit hath not caſt an univerſal diffuſion over all the world, but it blows by election and choiſe, that is at Gods good will and pleaſure, upon that place only where Chriſt hath his Church. For what uſe can they make, or have they ever made of the Spirit, to whom the name of Chriſt and ſalvation in his bloud was never revealed? The purpoſe of giving the Holy Ghoſt is to make the Seed of the Word fruitful in our hearts, that we may believe the Goſpel, that we may live holily according to the profeſſion of our Faith, and that through faith, which muſt work by love if it be true faith, we may be ſaved. AMEN.