A Century of Sermons, Sermon 2

A Century of Sermons · Sermon 2

p. 771THE SECOND SERMON UPON ENOCH.

GEN. V. 24.

And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

WHen I lately commended before you what a rich example of piety and perfection Enoch was, perhaps you thought this was wanting to make up the ful ſum, how he ſhut up his days in the love and favour of God. To make a bleſſed end is the Crown of all other praiſe that goes before it. foreign,Lib. 1. Eth. c. 11. ſays Ariſtotle; Let us look towards the concluſion of a mans days, as Solons rule was, and ſo pronounce him happy. But I can follow no ſuch order in this ſubject which I have to handle. What paſſage Enoch had out of this world I can relate, but that he finiſhed this life I cannot ſay it. His years are numbred before my Text like other mens, three hundred ſixty five, juſt as many years as there be days in an uſual year after the motion of the Sun; not that this reckoning is the term of his life, but the term of that time that he converſed with men; As Tertullian gloſſeth upon St. Pauls words, I am crucified with Chriſt; How crucified, and yet live? Per emendationem vitae, non per interitum ſubſtantia; by the reformation of his life, not by the loſs of his life: So Enoch had a period when he left to be with men, Per emendationem vitae, non per interitum ſubſtantia; By an exaltation to a better life, not by the corruption of his body.

As the men of Iſrael would not let Jonathan ſuffer death, though Saul had given Sentence againſt him. What (ſay they) ſhall Jonathan die that hath wrought ſuch great ſalvation in Iſrael? So when the Spirit of the Lord had teſtified what a Prophet Enoch was, a perfect obedient that abhorred Will-worſhip, a ſtiff maintainer of Gods part againſt the Devil, and all his Inſtruments, foreign, a friend, a familiar acquaintance, a walker with God. Upon this teſtimony Mercy oppoſeth Juſtice, and though the Lord had ſaid to Adam, and to all that were in his loyns, Duſt thou art, and to duſt thou ſhalt return: What ſays Mercy, ſhall Enoch die an example of repentance to all Generations? So the ſtroke of death was diverted that he ſaw not the Grave, and Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. The partition which I framed upon the whole Verſe was on this wiſe, firſt, how uncorrupt Enoch was in his ways, he walked with God; and ſecondly, that he did not ſee corruption. And this ſecond Point, which is reſerved for this hours labour, is to be handled in two ſeveral heads; the former I will call Enoch's paſſage out of this world, He was not; The latter his repoſure in another world, For God took him. His place was left empty among the Patriarchs below, and he filled a room among the Thrones and Angels above. Upon theſe two I ſhall handle many particular Doctrines before you.

p. 772And he was not; a conciſe phraſe, you ſee, and brevity will breed obſcurity, eſpecially put this unto it, that it is a form of ſpeech which is not uſed again in this ſenſe, to my remembrance, in all the Scripture. But the ſenſe is made plain by St. Paul, Heb. xi. 5. By Faith Enoch was tranſlated, that he ſhould not ſee death; He had a paſſage out of this world without any diſſolution of the ſoul from the body. In the ſame body that he pleaſed God, ſays Irenaeus, he was tranſlated, being never uncloathed of the fleſh that he might put on immortality. That this truth may be carried the clearer I will debate it a little with them that oppoſe it, and with them that qualifie it. Some of the Hebrew Rabbines as I find them quoted, becauſe they conſult not with the authority of the New Teſtament think they are not convicted by the Old Teſtament, but that they may conclude, how Enoch died, and was taken away in an early Age, (as thoſe times went) much ſooner than his Forefathers: As if this Verſe did rather bemoan him for his untimely departure, than renown him for ſome glorious favour which did befal him. The phraſe indeed, if we look no farther, will bear it, both in ſacred and in heathen Writings, to ſay of one departed, fuit, he was, but is not; this was called foreign, a fair way of language to avoid an unpleaſing word. Yet the phraſe doth not always ſtand in that ſenſe, but hath a double acception, and both in one verſe, that you may the better carry it away, Gen. xlii. 36. Jacob there bemoans himſelf for the waat of two Children, Joſeph is not, and Simeon is not; the one he took to be dead indeed, the other to be in faſt hold, and taken from his eyes: removed where he could not come at him, as Enoch was, but no more. So the Chaldee Paraphraſe explains the meaning of Jacob, Joſeph non ſupereſt, & Simeon non eſt hic. Joſeph is quite loſt, and Simeon is not here. The phraſe then accords very well with that place of the Hebrews, by faith Enoch was tranſlanted, that he ſaw not death: And my Text muſt incline to that expoſition for two reaſons: Firſt, that the Lord took him, ſtands for a conſequent that he was pleaſed in him; it is the reward as you would ſay, that he walked with God, not that there is a neceſſary and perpetual coherency in it, that whoſoever walks with God ſhould be exalted into Paradiſe, and not ſee corruption, but Enochs righteouſneſs by a priviledge of favour was ſo requited; a favour then being underſtood in thoſe words, it cannot be the ſentence of death upon him, it is impoſſible. Secondly, in this Chapter the laſt word that the Holy Ghoſt gives of Adam is, Et mortuus eſt, and he died, ſo of Seth, ſo of Enos, ſo of Cainan, ſo of all the Anteceſſors of Enoch; wherefore unleſs Enoch had ſome other iſſue out of this world diverſe from the reſt (which was by tranſlation without death) why ſhould it be ſaid of him ſo differently from all others, he was not, for the Lord took him?

So I have corrected the great error of thoſe Hebrew Doctors, who would lay Enochs honour in the duſt. But I ſuppoſe the general Expoſition of the Jews was right, and according to St. Pauls doctrine. For Paul wrote to the Hebrews that he ſaw not death, knowing the tradition was commonly ſo received among them, and the Chaldee Paraphraſt, who lived ſtraight after Chriſt, was of the ſame judgment: beſide one of great note among them ſays he was diſarrayed of the foundation corporal, and cloathed with the foundation ſpiritual: which words, I conceive, do jump with thoſe, who oppoſe not the Scripture, that he ſaw not death, far be it from them, but they have a qualification for the meaning of it, that death is taken two ways, moſt properly for the ſeparation of one eſſential part of man from the other, the body from the ſoul; a loath to depart it is, a moſt unwelcom diſſolution, a puniſhment upon the ſin of our firſt Father, which was remitted to Enoch; improperly it is no more but the ſeparation or extinction of corruptible qualities from the ſoul and body; one whom I named even now called it the diſarraying of a man from the foundation corporal; and ſo Enoch was purified, altered, made quite another man in the very moment that he was wrapt up to heaven. This evacuation of corruptible qualities from the fleſh is called death by ſome very good Authors in our own Church; and ſo Procopius much more ancient than they, Mirabili modo mortis defunctus eſt & ad vitam coeleſtem tranſlatus; it was a rare and admirable kind of death he ſuffered, being caught up into the clouds to live with God for ever. Their judgment is right, that he was diſarrayed of all malignant qualities, ſin and mortality which belong to the ſoul or body. But I wonder they ſhould call theſe by the name of death; for it was no otherwiſe with Enoch than it ſhall be with all men and women whom Chriſt ſhall find upon earth at his ſecond coming. St. Paul ſays they ſhall not die, but they ſhall be changed; that changing is no death, for change and death are membra dividentia in the Apoſtle, and cannot be confounded.

p. 773Now I have brought you out of all incumbrances of wrong opinions to the clear truth. Enoch was not. How? He ceaſed not abſolutely to live, but he ceaſed to live any longer in a corruptible Tabernacle; he prevailed above the ſentence which was pronounced againſt Adam by the Judge of quick and dead, Duſt thou art, and unto duſt ſhalt thou return. Mortality came from diſobedience againſt the Commandment, neither is it poſſible for any mere man to attain to ſuch a meaſure of obedience as to deſerve immortality; do not imagine this holy Saint was without ſin ſo that death could claim no dominion over him. St. Chryſoſtome, who ſpeaks much for Enoch, how the Lord rewarded his integrity with incorruption, ſays no more, but that he received Gods Law, not that he kept it inviolably, foreign, God kept him alive that received the Commandment, that received it willingly, and with an earneſt heart to keep it. But how was that Statute diſpenſed with, you will ſay, it is appointed to men once to die, and after that comes judgment? Heb. ix. 27. An eaſie diſpenſation will ſerve for that, for it was no otherwiſe with this man than it ſhall be with all the earth at the laſt day, when the Inhabitants of the world ſhall not be uncloathed of skin and bone, but be changed into an incorruptible perfection in the twinkling of an eye. But that you may not wonder at Enochs caſe, as if juſtice had connived and forgot it ſelf, remember this rule in St. James, There is one Lawgiver who is able to ſave, and to deſtroy, Jam. iv. 12. Mark that, there are Judges conſtituted under the Law, and it is not in them to ſave life where the Letter of the Law condemns, for the Law governs them, and not they the Law; but there is a regent and principal authority, whoſe clemency is above the Law. That ſpeech of Senecaes is as trivial as any Proverb, Occidere contra legem nemo non poteſt, ſervare nemo praeter te; Every Varlet can kill a Citizen againſt the Law, none but the Supreme Magiſtrate can ſave a Citizen againſt the Law. You ſee then by what rectitude of juſtice Enoch might be exempted from death, albeit we were all ſentenced to become duſt and clay out of which we were made, becauſe God is the moſt ſupreme independent Judge of all the world, and may mitigate the ſeverity of his own decrees. Why ſhould not his mercy preſerve where it will? And if he will preſerve who can deſtroy? Is there any curſe but he can turn it into a bleſſing? Where the Lord pleaſeth to ſweeten a bitter cup, Poverty ſhall not be grievous, nor ignominy diſhonourable, nor ſickneſs painful, nor life mortal. A thouſand fell before this Patriarch, and ten thouſand at his right hand, but he was impaſſible, and did not die, He was not, for the Lord took him.

Becauſe the Septuagint Tranſlators concur with St. Paul in one reading, it is due to my Text to let it be known how they have enlarged this conciſe phraſe, And he was not in their words is foreign, He was not found. And Clemens the Scholar of St. Peter and Paul, foreign, it was not found that he ever died. He appeared not, and yet the Lord killed him not; ſo the Chaldee Paraphraſe. For as St. Jerom ſaid figuratively of the ſweet end that Nepotian made, that he did Migrare non mori. And St. Bernard as much of Hubertus, that he did Abire non obire. Thoſe pious men might rather be ſaid to have gone a journey out of the way than have died; ſo very properly, and without a Metaphor, it was true of Enoch, that he did not die, but was retired out of the way, where he could not be found. It ſeems he was much ſought for, as certainly good men will quickly be miſſed. Antigonum refodio, as the honeſt mans ſaying was, he would have ſcrap'd the juſt King Antigonus out of his Grave when he was departed. Though Elias was manifeſtly taken away into heaven, yet the Sons of the Prophets beſought Eliſha that fifty ſtrong men might go ſeek him, leſt the Spirit of the Lord had caſt him upon ſome Mountain, or into ſome Valley. I could not blame them to wiſh they might find him again. So ſays one upon that inquiſition was made for Elias, Enochus cum raperetur fortaſſe diu inquiſitus fuit; It may be Enoch was much inquired for in many places after God had took him. Selneccerus ſays, that the Lord exalted him up into the clouds, Coram totâ Eccleſiâ & praecipuis Patriarchis; a great Congregation of men, and the chief Patriarchs looking upon it. Bolducus the Capuchin more particularly (yet both altogether uncertainly uſing their own divinations) Tulit eum Deus in nube in quâ apparebat miniſtranti; God took him away in a cloud wherein he appeared as Enoch miniſtred unto him in the time of Sacrifice. If this were done before a throng of Witneſſes, they might think it no more than a rapture for a little time, as Paul was taken up into the third heavens for a ſmall ſpace, and afterward reſtored to the Church. They might ſearch, and hope to enjoy him again, but he was not found; the more was p. 774their loſs that they wanted him, the more was his happineſs, that he was quite gone, and wanted nothing. But Luther is of opinion, that he was retired alone to walk with God in Prayer, and ſweet Meditations, and then the Lord lifted him away to the habitations of the bleſſed, when none were privy to it. Seth and all the other Fathers of the Church knew not what was become of him, his Son Methaſalem and his Family look'd for him with ſad hearts, as Joſeph and Mary ſought for Jeſus ſorrowing; no doubt they ſuſpected the malice of the Cai…ites, they thought he was ſlain, like innocent Abel, and privily buried. Perhaps it was not revealed in a long time after what was become of him. But as the Romans were highly diſcontented with the loſs of Romulus their Founder, and would not be ſatisfied till Proculus ſwore he ſaw him carried away into Heaven: So when the Patriarchs had ſate down ſorrowing becauſe they found not the very Gem of the Church, the righteous man Enoch, it made their gladneſs the greater when they knew the Lord had tranſlated him alive into Paradiſe.

Now I proceed. The benefit of it, that he paſſed into heaven without death, is tw…fold, Quoad alios, quoad ipſum, partly in regard of others, partly in regard of him…lf. In regard of others, what greater conſolation upon the proof did befall the Church in that Age than from hence, that there was an apparent inſtance that after this life God had prepared another for his Saints. Theſe are the very words of life, Non ſolùm in verbo ſed in facto; God did not only give a promiſe, but took this man away as a real pawn of his favour, that Death ſhould be ſwallowed up in victory. Two things had hapned which ſhook the world with much fear: Firſt, that Abel, who had offered a good and a pleaſing Sacrifice, ſhould be ſlain by Cain: Is this the reward of the Righteous? Shall Sinners always have the upper hand? Hold ye contented ſays God, do not ye ſee that Enoch is accounted worthy to decline Fate and Mortality, becauſe he was found obedient and juſt in the ſight of God? Put Abels perſecution in one ſcale, Enochs glorification in another, and you will find how equally the lives of the Saints are mixt with afflictions and conſolations. The other diſcomfort was, that Adam the Father of all fl…ſh was dead before their eyes, and this ſtruck wonderful terrour into their hearts, till their fears were mitigated in the Aſſumption of Enoch. For he that aſſumed body and ſoul together into heaven, for power he was able, and for mercy very willing, though he marred the bodies of his Children with corruption, to repair them again. There was Seth the fifth Patriarch above Enoch then living, far ſtricken in years, and every day looking for his diſſolution, within fifty years after he was carried to the grave like a timely fruit dropping from the tree. What a comfort it was unto him to ſee a Son of his own loins caught up alive into the Manſions of Beatitude? As who ſhould ſay, at laſt ſuch honour have all his Saints. Such as love to put forth curious queſtions demand why Adams eyes were ſhut, that he never ſaw this bleſſing (for it fell out 150. years after his death) why he alone of all the good Patriarchs was excluded from this common conſolation? It is ingenuiouſly anſwered, that he had as much comfort as that came to proper to himſelf, for he received the very words of the Covenant out of Gods mouth, The Seed of the woman ſhall bruiſe the Serpents head; No man elſe was ſo happy to have the living Oracle of the Lords voice ſound in his ears, that Chriſt ſhould prevail againſt the enmity of the Devil. Therefore to ſee or hear of the rapture of Enoch was not neceſſary for him, but for all others it was that had not heard the primitive conſolation. Can you imagine but it kindled great deſires in all them that believed, to fly away like a bird unto the hills, and to poſſeſs that requium which Enoch enjoyed? Did not their hearts burn within them to ſee that glory which one of their Brethren and Kindred enjoyed? How much more ſhould the ſame mind be in us to be with Chriſt? Who is foreign, the way-maker unto life, who is gone before to prepare a place for us. No Enoch, no Abel is our pattern, but Chriſt himſelf hath ſhewn us by his own Aſcenſion, how our thoughts ſhould aſcend upward, to ſit at the right hand of God for evermore.

Hitherto I have declared that Enochs rapture was a comfort to all true believers againſt the terrours of death; but I do not ſay, as ſome do, that the Reſurrection of the body was any way exemplified in this mans tranſlation. The Scripture hath left it out among the Arguments of the Reſurrection, and the beſt inſtances are thoſe which are applied by the Holy Ghoſt. As our Saviour propounds the Prophet Jonas, who was three days and three nights in the belly of the Whale, and came forth alive. St. Paul proves it to the Romans by this Argument, If you have the Spirit p. 775of him that raiſed up Jeſus from the dead, he will alſo quicken your mortal bodies. As if he had ſaid, being it is the ſame Spirit it will produce the ſame effects. And he perſwades it to the Corinthians with many ſtrong demonſtrations, this is the principal, if Chriſt be riſen from the dead, then are we alſo aſſured of our Reſurrection; for it is not poſſible that the head ſhould live, and we that are his members remain in death. Theſe are Apoſtolical reaſons, and we are not ſent to learn this Leſſon from the rapture of Enoch or Elias. For indeed thoſe enſampies belong to another purpoſe, to that refining of the mortal body, and not putting off of the fleſh, which ſhall befall them that ſhall be found alive at the great day of the Lord. The Myſtery which was opened to the Theſſalonians, The dead in Chriſt ſhall riſe firſt, then we which are alive, and remain, ſhall be caught up together with them in the clouds; So ſays Tertullian, Enoch and Elias never ſlept with their Fathers,Lib. de Reſur. Quare documenta ſunt futurae integritatis; therefore they ſhew that body and ſoul ſhall be indiſſoluble (which he calls integrity) in them that ſhall be the laſt Generation of the world. And Irenaeus, Lib. 5.The tranſlation of Enoch makes it manifeſt that theſe groſs bodies of ours ſhall be no impediment to meet the Lord in the clouds: For as the hand of God which made man of the duſt of the earth put him into Paradiſe, ſo the ſame hand (though he be ſtill but duſt and earth) can exalt him to a better Paradiſe. And that exaltation, though it prove not the Reſurrection ſo abſolutely, yet directly it proves that the body is fit and capable to be carried away with the ſoul into the Kingdom of God.

Thus far upon the benefit quoad alios, which redounded unto others from meditating upon this ſtory, that Enoch was not, and the Lord took him. I muſt joyn a little to this of the benefit quoad ipſum, how commodious and good it was to himſelf, for two reſpects. I told you in my laſt Sermon that inſtead of walking with God, the Jeruſalem Targum reads it, and Enoch laboured in the truth before the Lord; he was an aſſiduous Teacher of the wicked world to reclaim them from their vices, a Prophet that ſpent himſelf and his ſtrength like a candle to give light to others; all the impediment was, that it is an hard matter to gain credit to good Doctrine from them that are hardned in their ſins, and it is a great honour from God to the Labourer in his harveſt when ſcornful men do not deſpiſe his Meſſage. Therefore to win authority to Enochs Propheſies, the Lord did as it were ſtretch out his arm from heaven, and take him away in the Palm of his hand, this was a ſure ſeal indeed to all people that his Doctrine was given by divine inſpiration. Many falſe Prophets have commended their vain impoſtures to the world, giving out that they would aſcend to Heaven, and talk familiarly about thoſe things which they had delivered; ſo Simon Magus made oſtentation of himſelf to the Romans; Mahumet promiſed as much unto the Thracians: that which they forged, but never came to paſs, was fulfilled in the true Prophet Enoch, his doctrine was glorified with this miracle, that he was caught up into heaven.

Now this was a mixt benefit, equally ſhared between him, and thoſe that were his Diſciples, the other uſe and conveniency is wholly his own, that God took him away long before he came to the age of his Forefathers, that he might ſuffer no more under the afflictions of thoſe wicked times. For as St. Auſtin ſays of Lot, In Praefat. Pſal 69.Ps 69that he lived in peace, and he lived in perſecution among the Sodomites, in external peace, but their abominable ſins were the perſecution of Lot; ſo Enoch might live in dignity and renown, yet his righteous ſoul was vexed from day to day with the unlawful deeds of the Sons of Cain. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes becauſe men keep not thy Law, ſays David. Pſal. 119.136.Ps 119:136What life can be ſweet to a good man where the Lord of life is blaſphemed, and thoſe that are deareſt to him ſuffer reproach, and are diſeſteemed? What an irkſom thing is the world to a good man where moſt things he ſees are thorns to his eyes, and the third part at leaſt of that he hears is a grating and ſcandal to his ears? Iniquorum vita juſti aures & oculos non delectando, Lib 1. Mor. c. 7.ſed feriendo tangit, ſays Gregory; the life and actions of Reprobates muſt fall upon the ſenſes of conſcionable men, nor to delight them, but to excruciate them. And is not a quiet egreſs out of this world a moſt deſirable thing, to be a Saint joyfully received among Saints, rather than be a Saint maligned among Devils? As Priam ſaid of his Son Hector, that he ſeemed to be deſcended of ſome God, rather than of a man, foreign, ſo Enoch was fit to be joyned to God and Angels, rather than to converſe with rebellious children. He was one of that liſt of whom St. Paul ſays the world was not worthy, Heb. xi. 38. Which words Theophylact puts into this ſenſe, make a price and eſtimation of all things in this world beneath, collect p. 776them into one ſum, and ſuch a devout ſoul as Enoch is more worth than all of it. The ſins of the earth are moſt vexatious, the momentary things which we enjoy moſt vile and unprecious, what ſhould detain a good man here with any delight or complacency? The ſooner Enoch was ſnatcht away from thoſe things, the more dear he was to the Lord his good deliverer.

I have yet another benefit of this tranſlation to communicate unto you, not as a certain concluſion, but as a conjecture of ſome good Authors out of Wiſd. iv. 10, 11. He pleaſed God, and was beloved of him, ſo that living among ſinners he was tranſlated, yea, ſpeedily was he taken away, leſt wickedneſs ſhould alter his underſtanding, or deceit beguile his ſoul. If this place aim at Enoch, as very learned ones modern and ancient will have it, and our laſt Tranſlation doth ſo direct us in the Margin; then one ſpecial favour done to him to be ſpeedily ſnatcht away was that he might not ſlide back from that perfection to which he had attained. So St. Ambroſe comforts himſelf for the loſs of his brother Satyrus, that the Lord did abbreviate his days, to ſtop him from incurring thoſe ſins which he might have committed. I will not go far in this Doctrine, becauſe a man that launcheth into it may quickly be toſſed upon the waves of endleſs opinions. Conditional poſſible events are known of God, not only conjecturally, but certainly; and it is laid up in the ſtore-houſe of Gods infinite wiſdom (which man ſhall never know) whether a faithful man chopt off in the middle of his Age, was prevented of more good deeds,Auguſt. Ep. 107. conclus. 7. & 9. or more bad, if he had finiſhed his courſe. Among twelve Concluſions, which St. Auſtin heapt together to confute Vitalis of Carthage, two of them are moſt fit to keep our knowledge within the bounds of Sobriety: The one is, that we ſhall all ſtand before the Tribunal of God, and every man ſhall receive according to that which he hath done in his own body, Non ſecundum ea quae geſturus fuerit, ſi diutius viveret, ſive bonum, ſive malum; Not according to thoſe things which they might have done in the body, whether good or evil. Secondly, We know bleſſed are the dead that die in the Lord, Nec ad eos pertinere quicquid acturi fuerant, ſi tempore diuturniore vixiſſent; neither ſhall it prejudice their bleſſedneſs, whatſoever foul acts they might have committed upon longer ſpace of life. I draw it up to this concluſion; It is beyond our intelligence to conceive how many iniquities Enoch eſcaped by his ſudden rapture: but it is eaſie to conceive, that he was not preſent at many publick miſeries and calamities which he muſt have beheld with a grieved heart. As King Joſias out of Gods great favour was prevented by an untimely death never to ſee the Captivity of Judah. Epiſt. 16.St. Jerom ſays, that Anaſtaſius, a good Biſhop of Rome, was newly dead before Rome was ſack'd by the Goths, Ne orbis caput ſub tali Epiſcopo truncaretur, that the Imperial Seat of the world might not be diſhonoured before his eyes. Merciful men are taken away, ſays the Prophet Iſaiah, none conſidering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come, Iſa. lvii. 2.

One part of my Text was Enochs paſſage out of this world, I have done with that: The other part is his repoſure in a better world, in theſe words, For the Lord took him. The Poets have their obſcene Fables de raptu Ganimedis & Proſerpinae, the raviſhing of Ganimedes and Proſerpina, rather than the raptures by their God Jupiter. Somewhat they imitate now and then out of holy Scripture, but they quite abuſe it. To give their Fictions no longer the looking on, I come to thoſe two queſtions that are much ſearched into, perhaps too much; The former demands to what place Enoch was taken, the latter debates whether ever he ſhall return again. If it were profitable to know theſe things exactly the Scriptures had revealed it, therefore to enquire into them preſſingly is curioſity, to determine them reſolutely is preſumption,Homil. 29. but to take a little ſay of them will be profitable for inſtruction. For the firſt queſtion, Whither God took him? St. Cyprian, St. Chryſoſtome, and Gregory the Great lay their hand upon their mouth, and will ſay nothing to it. The Scholaſtical Doctors began to define it firſt without all reſervation of modeſty, proceeding to an Affirmative Sentence, that he was ſequeſtred to Limbus Patrum, or Paradiſe, and to a Negative Sentence, that the Heavens did not receive him. When ſome of them tell us that he was repoſed in Paradiſe, it is not worth the examination, for they will not tell us what they mean. It cannot be that Terreſtrial Paradiſe out of which Adam was baniſht, it cannot be that, for the Floud prevailed above all the earth to waſte and ſpoil it. And for figurative ſignifications of the word they are endleſs, who can interpret them? But will you know the truth upon Eccleſ. xliv. 16. The Vulgar Latine, of ſuch authentick credit with them, hath cogg'd in the word Paradiſe, Enoch pleaſed the Lord, and was tranſlated into Paradiſe. The Arabick Verſion, I p. 777hear, upon the eleventh of the Hebrews hath uſed St. Pauls Text ſo, and inſerted the word Paradiſe into it. Yet there is no ſuch ſyllable in the 72, or in the Greek Text of the Son of Syrach, that is all one to them; where it ſerves their turn they make uſe of the Greek Copies before the Hebrew, and of the Latine before the Greek; the Roman Church can dignifie what Language it pleaſeth. But enough of this, it is a meer Latine errour, which firſt ſeduced the Schoolmen to write, that Enoch was tranſlated into Paradiſe.

Touching Limbus Patrum their Doctrine is more clear and explicite, that it is a place below the earth, called in large ſenſe foreign or Hell, a receptacle of the ſouls of thoſe holy ones and good believers, that died before Chriſt aſcended into heaven where they were at reſt and peace, but enjoyed not the preſence of God. And this they expound to be that boſom of Abraham, whither the Angels carried the ſoul of Lazarus. The latter inſtance, I ſuppoſe, is enough to confute the former, for the rich man looked up, and ſaw Abraham and Lazarus in the high places above him, a great gulf of exceeding diſtance being between them, therefore it could be no ſuch Limbus, as they dream of, in the Confines or Suburbs of hell. And St. Auſtin daſht this opinion long ſince with an Argument not to be anſwered,Epiſt. 57. I have ſearched the Scriptures, ſays he, and could never find that Hades or Hell was taken in good part; therefore to make a place of reſt, and joyful habitation to be the fourth and beſt degree of hell, as all their Authors take it, is beyond his underſtanding.

But why not Enoch aſſumed into ſome part of heaven? Their reaſon for that? The Scripture ſays plainly, that Elias was carried up to heaven, 2 King 2.122 Kgs 2:12not becauſe any quiet Habitation may be called Heaven in reſpect of this world of miſery, but foraſmuch as verily he did change Earth for Heaven, and therein is made a Type of Chriſts Aſcenſion, as Jonas the Prophet was a Type of his Reſurrection. So St. Ambroſe (I ſhould have remembred it before) upon the Funerals of Valentinian, allows Abrahams boſom to be the houſe of God above the Firmament. Certainly St. Paul would never have uſed that diſtinction, Whether in the body, or out of the body he knew not, if it had been impoſſible for the body of man to be exalted into the third Heavens. As Core and Dathan were ſwallowed quick into Hell, body and ſoul, for their great Rebellion, ſo Enoch and Elias were carried quick into heaven, body and ſoul, for their great obedience. The Greek Church keeps the Feaſt of Elias upon the twentieth of July, ſays Metaphraſtes in his Catalogue. All that Lapide the Jeſuit ſays unto it is, that Elias his name is honoured upon that day by the Greek Church, but he is not worſhiped or invocated on that day, becauſe he is not in Heaven. I know not whether the Jeſuit ſay truth in that, becauſe I never ſaw the work of Metaphraſtes, but if the Greek Church neither make Prayers unto him, nor give him religious honour, I am ſure they are the wiſer, and the farther from the Roman Superſtition. They have one queſtion among the Schoolmen maintained pro and con with bitter contentions (ſo God afflicts their wits that reſiſt the truth) upon their ſuppoſition that Enoch and Elias are not yet in Patriâ & termino, not yet come to the conſummation of their days, not yet in the receptacles of heaven, but in ſome other place, whither they be ſtill in proficiency of holineſs, waxing better and better, as when they lived upon earth; for then, ſay thoſe Doctors, this abſurdity would follow, they ſhould exceed the Merits of the Bleſſed Virgin and all the Saints, their ſtock of good Works ſhould run on in infinitum; I think they are afraid they might prove ſuch excellent ſervants that God ſhould ſcarce be able to requite them.

Thus they entangle themſelves in endleſs ſtrifes to keep Enoch out of Heaven, and with him all thoſe ſouls that died in the Faith before our Saviour gave up the Ghoſt, and upon affected miſconſtruction of thoſe Texts, that Chriſt was the firſt fruits of them that ſleep, that no man hath aſcended into heaven, but he that firſt deſcended, the Son of man that is in heaven. To explain my ſelf, and ſatisfie them, remember our Saviours words, that there are divers manſions in his Fathers houſe, that is, divers Stories of glory in his Fathers houſe built one above another; there are outward Courts of glory, and inward Chambers. Now it is not to be denied, but that Enoch, and all the ſouls of all the juſt men of the Old Teſtament were in ſome quarterings of Heaven, as in their proper place, and in a ſtate of happineſs and ſalvation, which is figuratively called heaven, yet I do not ſay but Chriſt did open a door unto them to bring them nearer to the Viſion of God in the higheſt heavens, when himſelf did enter into glory. The ſouls of good men deceaſed were ever in the hand of God, but not ever p. 778in like diſtance to the joyes of God. They were in Heaven before Chriſt aſcended, but not in ſuch an Heaven as they poſſeſs now after he aſcended. Their Lot was Heaven from the beginning, but their inheritance is augmented, that Verſe in our Morning Hymn looks this way, I take it, when thou hadſt overcome, &c. But of St. Pauls meaning to jump with this Doctrine I am very confident, Heb. ix. 8. The way into the holieſt of all was not yet mode manifeſt, while as the firſt Tabernacle was yet ſtanding. That I may leave no objections behind me to ſtumble you, the main ſcruple is, that the Scripture ſpeaks as if Chriſt had made the firſt paſſage into Heaven in his own perſon, which muſt be interpreted of the higheſt heavens, where the bleſſed ſhall remain for ever; no man was admitted there, not the body nor the ſoul of man, till he that was God and man in one perſon went in firſt, and by his own merits and interceſſion gave acceſs unto his brethren. I ſettle in my own belief upon this anſwer, not for want of two other anſwers, and both of them probable. The one, that before ever Chriſt took fleſh, virtually, and meritoriouſly he opened the Kingdom of heaven to all Believers. Ab origine mundi operata eſt Chriſti foreign, the Miniſtry of Chriſt had all effects and operations of grace and goodneſs from the beginning of the world. The other anſwer is, no man hath aſcended into heaven but Chriſt, but Enoch, Elias, and thoſe that roſe out of their graves, and appeared in the holy City, theſe were tranſlated into heaven; foreign negatur, non foreign, as one diſtinguiſheth. To aſcend is to exalt himſelf by his own power, to be tranſlated is to be carried away by the power of God. Homil. 29.So Gregory ſays upon Elias his triumphant departure out of this world, Ligitur in curru aſcendiſſe, quia homo purus adiutorio indiget alieno; He is deſcribed to be mounted in a Chariot, for it is not in man to reach up to heaven without divine aſſiſtance. Wherefore I conclude this Point, that nothing is repugnant to the dignity and priority of Chriſt, but that Enoch was carried away to heaven in the hand of God.

And ſurely, as the Apoſtle ſays, the gifts of God are without repentance; he took him not away from the ſtate of corruption here to kill him hereafter. As he ſaved him from death once, and tranſlated him, ſo he will keep him from death for ever. I confeſs it is ſtrange to me that the greateſt part of the Fathers ſhould be of another mind, but I confeſs the moſt ancient, and the beſt part of them are of another mind. Juſtin Martyr, Auguſt. de … ad lit lib. 9. c. 6.Tertullian, and ſo downward to St. Auſtin, Vivunt Enoch & Elias, ſed reddituri ut morti debitum ſolverent; Enoch and Elias are alive, but the time is to come that they will return, and pay the debt of nature, and die. Such learned judgments had carried me clear along with them but that the foundation upon which they built was evidently rotten. The obſtreperous Jews, I dare avouch it, laid the firſt ſtone of that error to oppoſe the true Meſſias that came to ſave them; for whereas Malachi concludes the Old Teſtament with a Prediction that the next Prophet after him ſhould be John the Baptiſt, Mal. 4.5.Mal 4:5who ſhould prepare the way unto Chriſt the Lord, behold I will ſend you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The Jewiſh Septuagint would make the world believe that the very Elias ſhould perſonally appear againſt the Apparition of Meſſias, and have cogged in a word to that purpoſe, Behold I will ſend Elijah the Thisbite before the great day of the Lord. Upon this Tryphon the Jew, being put to it learnedly by Juſtin Martyr, falls at laſt into this cavil, for his part he knew not whether the Meſſias were come, or no, but he knew he ſhould have no power or authority till Elias anointed him. What doth Juſtin Martyr reply to this? We have not wanted one Elias already, meaning John the Baptiſt, and we ſhall ſee the true Elias himſelf going before the ſecond coming of Chriſt. Thus the good Fathers of the Chriſtian Church were miſtaken by the fraud of that addition Elias the Thisbite. And ſince they lookt for Elias to come again, they thought it as expedient that Enoch his pew-fellow and aſſociate ſhould joyn with him in the ſame fortune.

Well, this comes not yet home to our Point, for the Jews did not meddle or make with that queſtion whether Elias, and by conſequent Enoch, ſhould die when he came again? No, that was brought in by Chriſtian Diſciples, who were much ſtunned with an hard place in the Revelation, in Chap. xi. The two Witneſſes that ſhould fight with the Beaſt,Ver. 7. and be ſlain by the Beaſt, the two Olive trees, the two Candleſticks ſtanding before the God of the earth. Some ancient Writers have diſtorted this place to Enoch and Elias, that they ſhould preach againſt Antichriſt three years and an half, cloathed in Sackcloth, be ſlain in Jeruſalem, and riſe again in the face of all people before the general Reſurrection. Venerable Bede was the firſt, whom I light upon, that expounds it of the two Teſtaments of the Scripture, p. 779which openly convince all falſe Prophets by the evidence of truth. In this latter Age divers adhere to that expoſition, among the reſt the Learned and Princely Pen of King James of bleſſed memory. I believe many of thoſe excellent Fathers if they had lived in theſe times would have approved the ingenuous collection of a late Writer, how nothing is proved, but that certain men in the laſt days ſhall preach againſt Antichriſt and his Idolatries. Now two Witneſſes are ſpoken of, that is very few, if they be compared with the great numbers of their enemies; but Witneſſes muſt be two at leaſt, according to the Law, therefore by the two Olive trees and two Candleſticks are meant Zorubabel and Joſhua in the Prophet Zachary: By them that have power to ſhut heaven in the days of their Propheſie that it rain not, Elias and Eliſha; by them that have power to turn waters into bloud, and to ſmite them with Plagues when they will, Moſes and Aaron. But none of thoſe are meant definitively, and perſonally, but that the Lord ſhall have powerful Witneſſes to preach againſt falſe Prophets, ſuch as theſe, and not any colour of intimation to bring in Enoch, who is not glanced at in any deſcription of the Text Many Writers, oppoſite unto us, are confident that if any Witneſſes come from Heaven to fight againſt Antichriſt, they ſhall be Moſes, and Elias, and Enoch ſhall continue where he is, for ought they know. Nay, their judgments are ſo various herein, that ſome follow St. Hilary, and ſay, the Witneſſes ſhall be Moſes and Elias. One Hippolytus thruſts in St. John the Evangeliſt, becauſe it is ſaid of him, Thou muſt propheſie again. Some ſay as much for the Prophet Jeremy, becauſe the time of his death is unrecorded, locus eſt & pluribus umbris, it may be we ſhall hear of more hereafter. For they have a wild and large field to run in that will interpret Propheſies unfulfilled. Now if our Adverſaries will be ſo reſolute in their curioſities to define who theſe Witneſſes are, and be angry with them that diſſent from them, they for their part have leſs cauſe to blame them, who will be ſo confident in their Expoſitions about the Beaſt, his number, the City on ſeven hills, &c. For their part they are well requited, though I commend neither, the ſecret things belong to thee O God, the revealed unto us. And it is revealed to us that God took Enoch to himſelf, not that he will return him to us again. But as David ſaid after the departure of his Child, We ſhall go to him, he ſhall not come again to us. And the Lord grant us all an happy paſſage out of this life to live with him for ever. AMEN.

O Lord help thy Servants whom thou haſt redeemed with thy precious bloud, and make us to be numbred with thy Saints in glory everlaſting, through Jeſus Chriſt, &c.