A Century of Sermons, Sermon 5
THE FIFTH SERMON UPON THE Deſcent of the Holy Ghoſt.
ACTS ii. 12, 13.
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, ſaying one to another, what meaneth this? Others mocking, ſaid, theſe men are full of new wine.
MEntion being made in the former part of this Chapter what effects the Miſſion of the Holy Ghoſt as upon this day wrought in the Apoſtles, the next thing, which is diſcloſed in theſe two verſes, is, what entertainment it found in the World. What entertainment ſhould it find, but joy and gladneſs, and thankſgiving! it was a ſhower of grace that fell from Heaven, and every drop of it more valuable than an Orient Pearl, which made the whole earth, barren and unfruitful before, ſpring out with ſpiritual increaſe, that from thenceforth the Wombs of Mothers ſhould not bring out men but Saints. It was not as upon the ſixth day of the week in the Creation of the World, that God did breath into man the breath of Life; but upon this firſt day of the week he breathed into his Church the breath of Righteouſneſs, and filled it with the ſeeds of future Glory. From the Feaſt of the Paſſover the Jews were to number ſeven weeks, and then they kept a moſt ſolemn day, called the Feaſt of Weeks, or the Feaſt of Pentecoſt; that's this very day: inſtituted to recognize how at that time they came out of Egypt from the Bondage of Pharaoh, and received the Law, which was delivered upon Mount Horeb. But to expunge the memory of that occaſion, God did ſuperinduct a far greater bleſſing upon this Feſtival day, and poured out his Spirit in a bountiful and miraculous manner upon his Diſciples at Jeruſalem. Was there a ſeaſon appointed to congratulate the deliverance of the Jews from the Captivity of the Body? and doth not this Mercy exalt it ſelf above the other, that they are ſealed with the Holy Spirit of promiſe, to be enfranchiſed from the ſlavery of Sin and the Devil? Was the remembrance of the Law a perpetual rejoycing, though it were a killing Letter? and is it not ten thouſand times more comfortable to receive the power of the Holy Ghoſt which enabled them to keep the Law? Did they take it kindly and chearfully to receive the Law written in Tables of Stone? And is not the change a great deal better on this day, to have it written in the fleſhly Tables of their Heart? Then the Lord gave them but one Talent, and they made but ſmall multiplication of it, nay they were the Servants in the Parable; and who but they, that bound it up, and buried it in a Napkin? Lo here are five Talents delivered unto us, a greater Sum than ever the Children of Men received before: And anſwer me now in equity what entertainment the Miſſion of the Holy Ghoſt ſhould receive in the World? Not to deceive your expectation with many words, the caſe is thus. The beſt of the Jews that came to the God-ſpeed of this days work, profeſt ignorance, and knew not what to make of it; the worſt of them exhaled envy and rancour out of their malignant minds, and jeared at it: And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, &c. The parts muſt needs ariſe to theſe two heads, Grande miraculum, Grande ludibrium: Firſt a great Miracle, for it wrought theſe three things; firſt Amazement, they were all amazed; ſecondly Doubt, they were in doubt; thirdly earneſt Search and Inquiſition, for they ſaid one to another, what meaneth this. But though the greater part were thus affected, and therefore it is ſaid they were all amazed, meaning the greater number, yet divers turn'd it to mockery, and ſaid, theſe men are full of new wine.
Firſt the ſending of the Holy Ghoſt was conſtrued to be a great Miracle, by all that ſaw the effects of it in the Apoſtles, and in the beginning it is expreſt by a paſſion that took away their reaſon for a time, foreign. they were amazed, then it troubled their reaſon, they doubted; and finally it exerciſed their reaſon, for they asked after it. Amazement is a word to expreſs the higheſt and moſt ſudden admiration that can take a man; when aſtoniſhment doth ſeize upon the faculties of the mind, and bind them up for a little ſpace, that they have no power to exerciſe themſelves, as if they were Planet-blaſted. The Latin word Attonitus is he that is ſcared with a ſudden clap of thunder, ſo that he is ſtupified for a while: but the Greek word in my Text foreign goes further, for the right ſignification is, they were beſide themſelves, or they were in an extaſie. So our Saviour's Kinſmen being themſelves out of their wits with ignorance, thought that our Saviour was tranſported, when he preached the Goſpel, and knew not what he ſaid; therefore their opinion was foreign, he is beſide himſelf, Mark. iii. 21. Ecſtatici qui non ſunt in poteſtate mentis, they that are amazed have not their mind preſent for the time, it is dizied and confounded; ſo that this Miracle wrought upon the Jews after the higheſt pitch of admiration. Let us interpret it to the beſt, that joy did overcome them to ſee the riches of all goodneſs poured out upon the Sons of men. Their Forefathers were aſtoniſht with fear at the delivery of the Law, and they are aſtoniſht with joy at the coming of the Holy Ghoſt. The Gift it ſelf, the Perſons that received it, the Operation which it did exerciſe in them to ſpeak the glory of God in all Tongues and Languages, all are tranſcendently wonderful, that the wit of a natural man eſpecially is not able to comprehend them.
The Gift it ſelf in the firſt place is ſo celeſtial, that the Lord himſelf is not more wonderful in all his works than in ſending the Holy Ghoſt; ſo hidden from the knowledg of the world, ſo rare to be found, ſo beneficial to mankind, that he that marvels not at it is himſelf a Miracle. Are you amazed at things which are ſecret and very abſtruſe in their nature? none more cloſe and unperceivable than this. As the wind paſſeth by, and is not perceived, ſo God breaths the Spirit of grace into the Soul and is not diſcerned; there it ſanctifies, there it reforms, there it changeth the mind, and yet we cannot underſtand what manner of quality it is: a thing of no appearance, and yet of infinite efficacy. Our ſenſes are the Cinque-ports of all humane knowledg, if any thing come into us, either it muſt enter by thoſe paſſages, or we have no means to know how it ſhould enter without thoſe paſſages: But when we feel the agitation of grace in our heart nothing is left us but to ſay, Lord, how cameſt thou hither? We know not which way thou cameſt. The Jews were ſealed outwardly in the Body with the Mark of Circumciſion, whereby every man knew his Brother; but our Mark is privily imprinted upon the Soul, the Holy Spirit, whereby we are ſealed unto the day of Redemption, whereby God only knoweth his Elect. God knows it, the Conſcience of the faithful feels, but if we go about to conſider what manner of Eſſence or Influence it is, it will amaze us that we cannot underſtand it. Again, do you wonder at things which are rarely found? then marvel to ſee how ſparingly the Grace of God doth grow upon the Earth. To whom hath the Arm of the Lord been revealed? and who hath believed our Report? The Sun illuminates half the World at once with his Light, and leaves the other half in Darkneſs: but the tenth part of the Sons of Men are not beautified with the Light of Grace; nay the ſixth part of the Earth hath not heard whether there be an Holy Ghoſt. It ſtrikes me with Admiration, how ſo many do want the Heavenly Calling; for the Ravens and the Sparrows do not want the comfort of their daily Food, Naturas rerum minimarum non deſtituit Deus, the ſmalleſt things that be God doth not leave them deſtitute: yet there are Millions of men and women that continue in a barbarous and unrepented life. So that it turns to be the Subject of Admiration to find out thoſe few that are the ſmall Remnant of Jacob. Chriſt himſelf marvelled at the faith of the Centurion, a Commander and ſo ſubmiſſive, a Gentile and ſo devout; an Example ſeldom ſeen, and the Lord did marvel at it. So he lifted up his voice in Acclamation to the Canaanitiſh womans praiſe, O woman, great is thy faith; a denied Supplicant and ſo conſtant, a diſgraced Supplicant and ſo patient. Seldom doth the Grace of God inhabit where it proves ſo well: But O love the Saints, and magnifie God in their good ſucceſs. Such as ſerve God truly in ſpirit are no uſual ſight: therefore the coming down of the Holy Ghoſt was matter of Amazement. But above all, the Effects and Benefits of it are ſo beneficial to mankind, that it amounts to the higheſt admiration. It opens unto us the meaning of the Scriptures, without which the Eunuch may read, but he knows not the interpretation: it teacheth us to pray with zeal and faith, without which our words are but babling: it makes us hear the Word of God to our edifying and ſalvation, without which it is loſt in ſtony or thorny ground: it puts the taſt of Chriſts Body and Bloud into our mouths when we receive the Sacrament, without which we eat and drink our own damnation: it comforts us, though we find the horror of ſin in our conſcience, and tribulation in the world, without which the vengeance of God, and the wrath of man would overwhelm us: it ſeaſons our actions with piety and obedience, without which nothing that we can do, but is corrupted with the root of bitterneſs: it intenerates the moſt ſtony Hearts, it hath civilized the moſt barbarous Nations, it hath brought in Nurture and the Uſe of Laws and Diſcipline among them that lived by nothing but rapine and robbery: it hath made the Fleſh of Man, which was a Cage of uncleanneſs to be the Temple of God. Upon whomſoever the Spirit of Grace doth reſt, the Lycaonians may ſay of them without offence, Gods are come down unto us in the likeneſs of Men. You may juſtly extol it with a boundleſs Praiſe, and a boundleſs Praiſe muſt needs cloſe in with an Extaſie of admiration. You would bleſs your ſelves with wonder to ſee a mighty Cure wrought upon the Body by the Finger of God, a Cure above nature: and is it not more aſtoniſhable to ſee a ſupernatural Cure wrought upon the deſperate Diſeaſes and Diſtempers of the Soul. If one that is born blind be made to ſee, O then they cry out, Never was the like ſeen from the beginning of the world. Conſider your ſelves I pray you in the better part, are we not by nature blind, and ignorant, groping in darkneſs, and cannot find a true ſtep to Heaven? The Spirit is eyes unto the underſtanding, it makes us walk in marvelous light, ſo that we ſhall not daſh our foot againſt the ſtones and ruins of tentations: which of theſe two is the greater Miracle? To caſt out a Devil from him that is poſſeſſed would make the Earth ring of the mighty virtue: Doth not Grace caſt out a Legion of Devils from the Soul. To skip over all other inſtances but one, no Miracle which Fame did publiſh with a lowder Trumpet than to raiſe the Dead, chiefly to raiſe up Lazarus that had been four days dead. Why, a continuance in ſin is the death of the Soul, and no Paradox it is to ſay it is an immortal death. Yet Chriſt rolls away the ſtone of impenitence under which it is buried, looſeth our hands and feet which were bound with the cords of Satan, calls us forth from the Grave of Cuſtom, renews our ſpirit, and makes us live unto holineſs: and you being dead in ſins and treſpaſſes hath he quickned, Coloſ. ii. 13. So you ſee how hard it is to know the Spirit, how rare to find it (for totus mundus in maligno poſitus) how copious and infinite in his Effects and Benefits; it is above our capacity to meaſure it, and moſt worthy of amazement to admire it.
Now as we know the Gift of the Holy Ghoſt better than theſe Jews, ſo it is the more admirable to us, by how much we know it the better: but the perſons of the Apoſtles were better known to the Jews than to us: and that circumſtance they fell upon, as a ſtrange thing which they could not dive into, why the Lord did put ſo great a Treaſure into ſuch homely Veſſels. There was not a Moſes among them, skill'd in all the Learning of the Egyptians; not a Joſhua in all the cluſter that could lead a Battel; not a Samuel that had worn a Linnen Ephod from his childhood before the Lord; not a Rabbi, not a Phariſee, not one of polite Education. It is that which confounded the Multitude at the 7. verſe,; Behold, are not all theſe which ſpeak Galilaeans. There was ſome reverence done to them in that Character; they might have ſaid, are not all theſe Fiſhermen, Publicans, and Ideots? Truly if there were nothing elſe, theſe very Apoſtles were enough to prove the Majeſty of God: 'tis ſtrange to work good upon any of us all; our will is knotty timber, our heart hollow and unſound: what can the Workman make of ſuch ſtuff? but to commit the Talents of the Holy Ghoſt to ſuch as theſe, and to make them the Bankers from whom we ſhould borrow the ſtock of the Church, this is his exploit alone, who can make a graine of muſtard ſeed diſpread into a tree, that the Fouls of the air may build their neſts in it. Lord what are we that thou haſt given ſuch power unto men? But Lord what art thou, that haſt given ſuch power to moſt homely and ſimple men? O Lord how excellent is thy name in all the world? Thou that out of the mouths of babes and ſucklings haſt ordained praiſe, and put the Eloquence of the earth to ſilence by ſuch unlookt-for Inſtruments. Theſe were no men of ſpirit, active, and ſtirring in the world, ſuch buſie heads would never be fortunate to propagate the Goſpel of peace. Again, they were of no honourable Order; the Spirit had more uſe of humility than of dignity. Inſpirat non inflat, as one ſaid very well, it inſpired them, it did not puff them up. To be ſhort, they were not of the Scribes and Doctors that were Proficients in Arts and Learning, that the work of God might diſperſe the greater amazement through ſuch who were noted for ignorance and infirmity. Yet they were not ſent forth like Ideots and Fiſhermen, that knew nothing but their Mechanical trade, but were endued with power from on high to teach the Myſtery of Godlineſs in all the Tongues that could be ſpoken. Which is the next provocation to tranſport them with wonder, as we read it, ver. 9. How hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
It will ask travel and pains through the whole life of a man to be cunning in two or three Tongues; good Linguiſts know what ſtudy it coſts them to come to a Grammatical excellency in a few Languages, much more to a voluble pronunciation of them. But to preach Chriſt Jeſus in all the borders of the earth required more diſpatch than to begin to get the elements of learning; therefore by a ſhorter cut God gives them an inſpiration to ſpeak all Tongues in a moment, and to preach the true ſenſe of the Scripture in all thoſe Tongues, Sentire quae velint, & loqui quae ſentiant; they had words to cloath their matter as they pleaſed, and they had matter to utter as well as words. Quid voveat dulci nutricula maejus alumno, quàm ſapere & fari quae ſentiat? They needed no more abilities than wiſdom to know the mind of God, and a tongue to declare their wiſdom. As in the beginning, when God created the Heaven and the Earth, he ſpake what he pleaſed and it was done; Let there be light, and there was light: Let there be a Sea, and there was a Sea. So in the firſt foundations of the Church it was no more, but let there be a revelation of the myſteries of the Goſpel, and there was a Revelation: Let there be Tongues, and there were Tongues: Let there be a fountain opened in Jeruſalem whoſe ſeveral ſpouts may water all the quarters of the world, and it was ſo in the twinkling of an eye. If God himſelf had come from heaven in his own Majeſty, his Almighty Word could not have been clearer than in this miracle. Such as have an incredulous grudge in their minds, an Ague that will never leave ſome carnal hearts, they are troubled with a longing when they hear of this, O that we had lived in thoſe days, when the arm of power from on high was made ſo manifeſt. We take things up as the long revolutions of time have committed them to us, but we live not in the days of wonder, we ſee nothing for us by this ſtrange omnipotency. Beloved, if there were a new Goſpel to be preached, we ſhould have new Tongues, as the Apoſtles had, to publiſh it; but the truth hath been preached round about the world to all Nations, the continuance is old, therefore why ſhould new Wine of new Miracles be put into old bottles? Then it was meet, I mean on the firſt Whitſunday, that the Gentiles ſhould underſtand, that way was made to call them to Salvation, which could not be confirmed better than to hear the Croſs of Jeſus Chriſt publiſhed in ſo many forein Dialects, and that the Prediction of the Pſalm is fulfilled,Pſal. 193, 4… His ſound is gone forth into all the earth, and his Word unto the ends of the world, there is neither Speech nor Language but their voice is heard among them. Now it is confeſſed that it is accompliſhed, and were not a miracle a moſt unneceſſary, and ſupernumerary thing to confirm it? Hold you content that the Spirit is yet upon your tongues, the ſeal is printed upon them, to pray to God, to bleſs one another, to comfort one another. If any thing will amaze a man in theſe days it is the bitterneſs, the murmuring, the ſwearing, the lying, the ſlandering of the tongue; that we ſhould do God more diſhonour with one tongue than the Apoſtles did him honour with twenty.
So much for that Paſſion which took away the reaſon of them that were preſent for a time, foreign, they were in an extaſie, they were amazed. Now follows that which troubled their reaſon, and exerciſed their reaſon; I will put them both in one, they hang ſo cloſe together. They were in doubt, ſaying one to another, What meaneth this? Doubting is the unquietneſs of the mind, which proceeds from ignorance: It flutters about like Noahs Dove, and knows not where to ſet its foot; they wanted the Anchor of faith to faſten them to ſome certain reſolution, for as yet they knew not the Scriptures of the Prophet Joel, to which St. Peter directed them, Ver. 17. It ſhall come to paſs in the laſt days, ſaith God, I will pour out of my ſpirit upon all fleſh. Doubtfulneſs is the fruit of carnal wiſdom, it holds to nothing ſtedfaſtly, it hath more faces than Janus, looking every way, and on every ſide, and hath as many thoughts as there be minutes in the hour; and it is impoſſible it ſhould be fix'd until it pitch upon ſome clear Text of Scripture, and ſay, this is the truth, I build upon it, for ſo it is written in the Word of God. The benefit of the holy Spirit deſcending as this day upon the Church was to bring us out of the windings, and crooked Lanes of doubting, and reduce all opinions to one ſetled concluſion, that there was no ſalvation to be found but in the meritorious Paſſion of Jeſus Chriſt. The Academicks of Greece were ſo far from any certainty of knowledge, that it was the perfection of their learning to doubt of every thing. Whereupon an Egyptian Prieſt reproved them for that puerility, foreign, you that call your ſelves Wiſe men of Greece, you are always Children: what God was, what Beatitude was, what the Soul was, what the ſtate of men in the next world was, nay, what Vertue was, ſo many Philoſophers ſo many minds: As faſt as one built an opinion, another pulled it down with his objections, doubt was both the pleaſure and the torment of their wits. It is the Chriſtian faith alone, rooted in us by the operation of the holy Spirit, never to be ſhaken or removed, which delivers us from all diffidence and inconſtancy of doubts. The more miſerable is the condition of our times, wherein wanton wits make Problems and Diſputations of divers Points of Divinity, which were embraced before by all the Worthies of the Church from the begining of Reformation. Had we no Scriptures before? Or no helps of learning to expound them? Or no illumination of the Spirit to know the ſenſe of them? Or is this the Age of new Revelations? To doubt of that which hath been in a good frame ſo long muſt needs put Unity into Multiplicity, Charity into Diſcord, Peace into War, and Faith into Infidelity. But upon the firſt Introduction of Chriſtian Religion, at the firſt Miſſion of the Holy Ghoſt, humane infirmity had ſome leave to doubt, that it might learn; ſo theſe dubitants ſaid one to another, What meaneth this?
Many of thoſe that flock'd about the Apoſtles, and were amazed at the Tongues wherewith they ſpake, are called devout men, ver. 5. of this Chapter, ſo it ſeems becauſe they deſire to come out of their doubting by framing ſuch a queſtion whereby they might learn what the power of God did intend. Ita cum ſtupore admirari Dei opera convenit, ut ſimul accedat intelligendi ſtudium, ſays Calvin; ſo wonder at the works of God, that withal you expreſs a deſire to underſtand them: foreign, ſays the Proverb, propound doubts with this modeſt ſubmiſſion, that wiſe men may expound them unto you. The error was that they asked one another, the blind enquired of the blind which was the way out of the wood, the ignorant conferred with the ignorant, ſuch as God had not revealed himſelf unto argue the Point among themſelves, and they omit the Apoſtles who were in place, and could beſt reſolve them. When the people will be their own Teachers, and never conſult with them who are Gods Interpreters and Embaſſadors by their calling, will not St. Pauls Prediction be fulfilled upon them? Deſiring to be Teachers, they underſtand not what they ſay, nor whereof they affirm, 1 Tim. i. 7. Though their Counſellors were not the wiſeſt, a riff raff multitude of all ſorts, foreign, ſays Oecumenius, a mixture of hot and weak heads, yet their queſtion tended to an occaſion of knowledge, What meaneth this? Juſt ſo their Fore-fathers, when they ſaw the Manna which fell from heaven, asked one of another, Manhu, as we have it in the Margin of our Bibles, What is this? Exod. xvi. 15. I will anſwer for both parts as Moſes did, both for that which rained from heaven then for the ſuſtenance of their bodies, and for this which was poured out for the bleſſing of our ſouls, this is the bread which the Lord hath given you from heaven. But Beza reads this queſtion potentially, Quid hoc rei eſſe poſſit? What will this come to hereafter? Theſe unlearned men are furniſhed with abilities to talk with all the world. It is not a ſeed or two which they have got, but they received a ſtrange gift from God above in the whole ſheaf. What will the Lord bring to paſs from theſe beginnings? That was well conſidered: For God doth not work ſecundum ultimum potentiae; all that he can do at once. He began with an handful of men, and the Church increaſed to as many as the Stars in heaven for multitude: He gave them a Cup of new wine at this Feaſt, he did not leave till they had a copious Vintage, and the Preſſes overflowed with liquor of eternal life: In one day he made this truth exalt it ſelf above the oppoſition of the Jews, in a few Ages he made it too ſtrong for all the contradiction of the Heathen. When Luther, and a few that harkened to him, began to burniſh true and Orthodox Doctrine from the Rubbiſh of Popery, the adjacent Kingdoms that heard of it looked for ſmall propagation. But they that yearned in their bowels to ſee the expulſion of ſuperſtition, expected a large progreſs from that ſmall beginning. Their hope was upon this queſtion, Quid hoc rei eſſe poſſit? What will this come to? It is Gods manner to work himſelf mighty honour out of ſmall appearance. And although the advancement of Religion is hindred abroad (and I would it were not ſtopt at home) the Jews are obſtinate, Mahumetans are prepotent Adverſaries, the Heathen are wilfully addicted to worſhip ſtrange Gods, yet the leaven of the Spirit hath not loſt its vertue, it will, in thoſe ſeaſons which God hath appointed, breath through the whole lump. And ſtill my heart attends to the efficacy of the Goſpel which may be kept back, it cannot be ſuppreſſed, what will this come to before the end of the world?
Thus far we have converſed with them that were much affected with the miracle that God beſtowed, as on this day, an Ocean of the Holy Ghoſt upon a ſmall Aſſembly of Saints. Now you ſhall hear that there was an ignoble off-ſcum of the people, that made but a mockery of it, Others mocking, ſaid, theſe men are full of new wine. St. Baſil ſays they were the Phariſees that made this deriſion of Gods power. In a bad action, where none are named, the Phariſees above all others deſerve to be ſuſpected. Their whole life was hypocriſie, and what is that but a mockery of God, and a Stage-play to perſonate holineſs. Oecumenius ſays they were the Plebeians, as the moſt ignorant are the greateſt Taunters, flouting agrees beſt with foolery and baſe breeding. For certain they were Jews, for Peter turns his ſpeech unto them, ver. 14. Ye men of Judaea, and he confutes them with the teſtimony of the Prophet Joel, ver. 16. and that Propheſie was only in the hands of the Jews, a ſcoffing Nation, and now it is returned upon their own head. For it is even to be pitied that they are hooted at, and derided publickly as they walk in the ſtreets, in all Kingdoms where they have purchaſed to themſelves an habitation. How often did they gibe at our Saviour and his Miracles? As when he ſaid that Jairus daughter was not dead, but ſlept, they laught him to ſcorn. When he preach'd that plain and evident Doctrine, that men cannot ſerve God and Mammon, the Phariſees, who were covetous, derided him, Luk. xvi. 14. And that you may know the Servants were uſed no worſe than the Maſter, they called our Saviour a Wine-bibber, Luk. vii. 34. And you may be ſure at ſuch a great occaſion as this, the devil would keep his wont, and do all deſpight to the Spirit of grace, and ſtrive to put off the incomprehenſible work of God with a jeſt, Theſe men are full of new Wine. So that as ſoon as God ſent firy Tongues from heaven upon his Apoſtles, the Devil likewiſe raiſed up firy Tongues from Hell, and put them in the mouth of his Apoſtles. Envy and deſpitefulneſs cares not what reproach it puts upon good men, though there be neither ſenſe nor probability to make it credible. That is right foreign, the word which is here uſed, to vent any thing againſt the credit of holy perſons, whether it be right or wrong. It was impoſſible they ſhould perſwade it in any one that they were overtaken with new Wine; for there is no ſuch liquor to be had in May, not till September at the ſooneſt. But ſlanders uſe to rove at random: And new wine, ſay the Greeks, will ſooner intoxicate than old, foreign. But what ſign was there to make the objection credible that the Apoſtles were drunken? Did their tongues falter? Were their eyes red? Was the Geſture fooliſh? I know no man but Carthuſian who goes about to invent a ſign which ſhould put the Jews into that unlikely ſuſpicion, that as the face of Steven, when he was full of the Holy Ghoſt, did ſhine with brightneſs, ſo the countenances of the Diſciples had a ſplendour and ruddineſs in them with the fire of the tongues which ſate upon their heads, which made the raſh Gazers conceive that they were inflamed with drink. As the countenances of many that are moſt ſober, being red with the heat of the Liver, make the uncharitable ſurmiſe that they are intemperate; ſo I remember a ſtory, that Caſſius, Biſhop of Narnia, was deſpiſed by King Toteila, becauſe he was high coloured, whereas Caſſius was moſt abſtemious, but high coloured by natural infirmity. Another thing concurred, that it was the Feaſt day of Pentecoſt, wherein the Jews were wont to rejoyce, yet it was not their wont to ſolemnize the day with Feaſting till the morning Sacrifice was offered up, and that time was not yet come. Therefore St. Peter anſwers, That theſe men were not drunken, for it was but the third hour of the day. They that are ſcandalous in the ſin of drunkenneſs uſe not to be gone ſo ſoon.1 Theſ. 5.6. They that are drunken are drunken in the night, ſays St. Paul, that is moſt uſual. Although ſome do ſpend the whole night in quaffing untill the morning, In lucem ſemper Acerra bibit. Some prevent the riſing of the Sun, and are ſcarce ſober one hour of the day; whoſe ſouls lie under the Prophets woe, Woe unto them that riſe up early in the morning to follow ſtrong drink, Iſa. v. 11. But Peter did not ſtrive to make an invincible refutation of their ſlander, becauſe their ſcurrility was ſo improbable and ridiculous, and a defence which is over-anxious makes a good cauſe ſuſpicious. Had the accuſation been true, it had deſerved a ſcorn, as Noah was derided when he was drunken. The drunkard makes himſelf an Ape for Boys to ſport with his brutiſhneſs; a natural fool is not ſuch an object for deriſion and laughter: So that paſſively it is true what Solomon ſays, Wine is a mocker, Prov. xx. 1. It expoſeth it ſelf to the flouting of vain perſons here, and ſhall reap the ſcorn of God hereafter.
But ſays St. Cyril, the wickedneſs of man ſhall turn to the praiſe of God, and this ſlander of the Jews ſhall expound ſome Propheſies of Scripture, and the myſtery of the Holy Ghoſt. It is granted, ſays the Father, the Apoſtles on this day were full of new Wine, Novum verè erat illud vinum, novi Teſtamenti gratia; that is, it is the grace of the New Teſtament which makes glad the heart of man. Inebriabuntur pinguedine domus …uae; the Vulgar Latine keeps that word, Pſal. xxxvi. 8. we read, They ſhall be abundantly ſatisfied with the fatneſs of thy houſe, and thou ſhalt make them drink of the river of thy pleaſures. And again, Cant. v. 1. I have drunk my wine with my milk, meaning both the comfort and the nouriſhment of the Goſpel, O friends drink, yea, drink abundantly O beloved. To this pertains another Pſalm of David, xxv. 5. Thou prepareſt a table before me in the preſence of mine enemies, thou anointeſt my head with oyl, my Cup runneth over. Here is the oyl of the Spirit, here is the Table of the Lord, here is the Cup of Chriſts bloud, an overflowing Cup, ſufficient to ſave a thouſand worlds. This Cup is that which raviſheth our Souls, and carries up our Spirit to Heaven to partake of the body and bloud of Chriſt when we come to his holy Table; this is Sobria ebrietas, non madens vino, ſed ardens Deo; This is a ſober drunkenneſs, an inflammation, not with Wine, but with the love of the Lord Jeſus. Happy were theſe Apoſtles that were drunken with drinking of him, who ſays, I am the Vine, and ye are the branches. But here is the difference between the meaning of theſe Scoffers, and the meaning of thoſe that make it an heavenly myſtery, he that is drunken with Wine looks like an incarnate Devil, he that is drunken with the Spirit looks like an incarnate Angel.
I will ſtay a little while more, not very long, to ſhew how the mighty gifts poured out upon the Apoſtles on this day was a ſpiritual drunkenneſs. Firſt, exceſs of Wine procures forgetfulneſs of things paſt, ſo the Miſſion of the Holy Ghoſt made them that were converted to Chriſt forget the Ceremonial Law of Moſes; ſaving that little that was tolerated for a time to ſatisfie the weakneſs of the Jews, it was laid aſide as if it were quite dead, and out of remembrance. Thus St. Paul doth as it were make his Shears to paſs between the Old and the New Law, forgetting thoſe things which are behind, and reaching forth unto thoſe things which are before, Phil. iii. 13. Upon that accident that there wanted Wine at the Marriage in Cana, the Gloſs ſays, Vetus legis vinum defecerat in nuptiis Eccleſiae; none of the Wine of the Law remained at the Marriage of the Chriſtian Church, it was tilted and ſpent. Secondly, He that is giddy with wine makes no diſtinction of perſons, knows not his Friends from his Foes: So he that is full of the Spirit renounceth all friendſhip, affinity, parentage in reſpect of the engagements of holineſs and Religion. Per calcatum perge patrem. If thy Mother hold out her Breaſts to entice thee from God, if thy Father ſtop thy way, ſhut thine eyes againſt the one, tread upon the other; make no reſpect of perſons in that cauſe. It is the praiſe, and a moſt magnificent one, which Moſes gives to Levi, Deut. xxxiii. 9. Who ſaid unto his Father, and to his Mother I have not ſeen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children. Thus the mighty working of God works an extaſie in his Servants, that they care not for their neareſt Relations, if they be a bar to the Kingdom of Heaven. And who cares if revilers call it a drunkenneſs of the Spirit? Thirdly, Much Wine gives a great edge to valour and courage, In praelia trudit inermes, it runs into any danger, becauſe it knows not what is danger: but there is nothing of ſuch animoſity, nothing ſo undaunted as the Spirit of God. The righteous is bold as a Lion, ſays Solomon. It muſt needs be that ſtrength is doubled in him becauſe he hath two lives in his heart, this life, and the life to come. What could the world ſay, but that ſome illapſe from heaven was in the breaſt of the Apoſtles, that thoſe miſelli, thoſe neglected worms ſhould overtop the terrors of Councils, of Priſons, of Death, of Devils. Let ſuch as Rabſhekah call it drunkenneſs, it was the boldneſs of the Spirit. Fourthly, Wine is a rejoycer of the heart, Eccluſ. xl. 20. But what joy is comparable to that which is begotten by the infuſion of the Holy Ghoſt? Let the righteous rejoyce and be glad, let them alſo be merry and joyful. A good conſcience, recreated by the Promiſes of God, and aſſurance of forgiveneſs of ſins, is like a volary of ſweet ſinging birds, chirping and carolling within the Soul nothing but the pleaſant notes of heaven, and immortal bleſſedneſs. When we ſing Pſalms of chearfulneſs let Scorners cenſure it for vanity, but it is the new Wine of the Spirit which makes the heart glad. Laſtly, As the airy vapours of wine make a man to broach his ſecrets and reveal them, Arcana recludit, ſo the Holy Ghoſt coming down this day did open the fountain which was ſealed up before; the Myſteries of Gods eternal counſel, brought to paſs in time by the Incarnation of his Son, were made manifeſt to all the world. This was it which confounded the Jews, that were preſent, to hear thoſe abſtruſe things of Godlineſs divulged, and they did not underſtand them. The Spirit made the Apoſtles pour them out, and they could not hold, they were tranſported above natural to ſupernatural reaſon, and they were carried above themſelves, as men even drunken with great Revelations. Upon thoſe words of St. Paul. 2 Cor. v. 13. Whether we be beſide our ſelves it is to God: or whether we be ſober it is for your cauſe; ſays Bernard, Audi ſanctam inſaniam; Feſtus told Paul he was mad, here he profeſſeth little leſs for the Goſpel ſake, he neither ſays that he was ſober, and he doth not contend whether he were beſide himſelf or no. Such as he was, he was for the Church ſake, poſſeſſed of the Spirit, and full of that new Wine, which gave him a tongue of utterance to preach Jeſus Chriſt, to the Jews a ſtumbling block, and to the Gentiles fooliſhneſs.
Theſe uſes riſe out of an holy and myſtical ſenſe of the words, and that is no thanks to theſe taunting Jews, who being full of malice, a ſin that is worſe than drunkenneſs, burden the Apoſtles that they were full of Wine, or as the Syrian Paraphraſt reads it without mincing, theſe men are drunken. The juſt upright man is laughed to ſcorn, Job xii. 4. Iſaac the Son of Promiſe was ſcoffed at by Iſmael the Profane, Gen. xxi. 9. The Septuagint calls it Iſmaels play, or ſport, Illa luſio erat illuſio, ſays St. Auſtin, it was his paſtime to mock the righteous. Be prepared therefore againſt evil words and reproaches, you muſt have your ſhare of them if your converſation be Chriſtian. Firſt you have a Paracletus which is a ſpirit of comfort to bear them off with patience: Then you have a Paracletus (for that is the word) an Advocate to anſwer againſt the Accuſer of the Brethren, who ſhall diſcover your innocence, Apoc. xii. 10. There is no good action but the Devils claw of ſcornfulneſs is upon it. At our Saviours Reſurrection the Jews made the Apoſtles Thieves, they forſooth had ſtoln away their Maſter by night; and at the coming of the Holy Ghoſt they make them Drunkards. But this was a baptizing with the Holy Ghoſt, not a ſouſing with Wine; it was ſomewhat poured on them, no ſtrong drink poured in them; it was no drunken thing, but rivers of living waters ſpringing up to everlaſting life, and this he ſpake of the Spirit, which they that believed on him ſhould receive, Joh. vii. it is the fountain of the water of life iſſuing from the Throne of God, and of the Lamb, Rev. xxii. So Moſes likened the inſpiration of Propheſie to the dew falling on the herbs, or to the rain poured on the graſs, Deut. xxxii. It is no diſtempering heady liquour, but the Cordial of joy, and the Balm of Gilead.
If then the effuſion of the Spirit was tax'd with drunkenneſs, what do you that think profane perſons have deviſed concerning the Cup of the Sacrament? Horrendum dictu, becauſe it is our Saviours Doctrine by a figurative ſpeech, that the Cup is the New Teſtament in his bloud, the heathen traduced the Chriſtians ſoon after the Apoſtles days, that they killed a Child in their private Feaſts and Sacrifices, and drank his bloud. And a long time it was before the heathen Magiſtrates would be perſwaded, that ſuch as partaked the holy Communion were not murderers. Indeed it is true, though they underſtood it not, that ſuch as partake unworthily are murderers of their own ſouls. But again, if Gods mighty miracle was ſcoft at, when he gave grace to his Apoſtles to preach ſo divinely, what will profane perſons ſay to our weak Doctrine, ſo much inferiour to theirs? Quoties dicimus, toties judicamur, nothing is more ſnatcht at to be made matter of idle talk, and frumping diſcourſe, than that which is delivered in the Pulpit. Take heed, and remember that Michol was barren, who ſcorned ac David, that no Scorner might be begotten of her, ſays St. Ambroſe. But the Devil hath got a new way to bring both Preaching and Praying into contempt. For Preaching let every one practice it that will, and then it will come to paſs I am ſure, if not Muſto pleni, ſpumâ pleni, if they be not full of new wine, they will be full of froth. Says the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. xii. 29. Are all Prophets? Are all Teachers? Are all workers of miracles? It can no more agree that all ſhould be Teachers than that all ſhould be workers of Miracles. As for publick Prayer, the deriders of ſanctity call it not new wine, but they call it worſe, by the name of that homely broth, for which Eſau ſold his birth-right. But as the Prophet ſaid to the calumnious Jews, againſt whom do you ſport yourſelves? Againſt whom do you make a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? Againſt whom do you ſhoot out Arrows, even bitter words? Are ye not children of tranſgreſſion, a ſeed of falſhood? Iſa. lvii. 4. But this is the deriſion which Satan would put upon Religion in this unſanctified, unpeaceable Age. Firſt, take away directly the publick Liturgie of Prayers, that the people may have a little extemporary acquaintance and no more, with that to which they ſay Amen. Next, let every man preach that challengeth he hath the gift, ſorrily God knows, and then he knows that Preaching will come to nothing as well as Prayer. Beware that you let not our great Adverſary ſubvert all Piety and Religion by theſe encroachments; bad men may mock holy Ordinances, but God is not mocked. Fear the Lord, reverence his ways, receive the bleſſings of the Spirit with thankſgiving and praiſe, rule the Tongue to glorifie him that made it, to ſet forth his honour that gives it utterance. AMEN.