Discourses on Divers Texts of Scripture, Discourses 1 · Sermon 11
S. MARK 11. 17.Mar. 11. 17.
Is it not written, My House shall be called a House of Prayer, [foreign] to all [the] Nations?
THey are the words of our Blessed Saviour, when he cast the Buyers and Sellers and Money-changers out of the Temple, and forbad to carry any vessels thorow it: Concerning which story, it is worth observation, that our Saviour, whilest he was upon earth, never exercised any Kingly, or coactive Jurisdiction, but in vindicating his Fathers house from prophanation; and this he did two severall times; once at the first Passeover after he began his Prophesie, whereof you may read Iohn 2. And now again at his last Passeover, when he came to give his soul a sacrifice for sin. This is that, which Saint Mark relates in this place, as do also two other of the Euangelists, Saint Matthew and Saint Luke. The vindication of Gods House from Prophanation (how little account soever we are wont to make thereof) was with our blessed Saviour the Alpha and Omega, the first and last of his care; Vbi incipit, ibi desinit. The consideration of which, how momentous it is, I leave to your selves to judge: Thus much by way of Preface.
Now for understanding of the words I have chosen, I will divide my discourse into a Question, and an Observation. The Question is; In what part of the Temple this Market was kept? A thing not commonly enquired after by Expositors, much lesse defined. The Observation, That this fact of our Saviour more particularly concerns us of the Gentiles, then we take notice of. For the first, (in what part of the Temple this was done) The Jews Religion, and scrupulosity to keep their Temple from prophanation, was such, as might seem to make this story incredible. Those who were so chary, that no uncircumcised or unclean person should come therein; who trod the pavement thereof with so much religious observance and curiosity, who would not suffer (as Iosephus relates) any other building, no not the Palace of Agrippa their King, to have any prospect into it, lost it should be polluted with a prophane look; how unlikely is it, they should endure it to be made a place of buying, selling, and bartering; yea, a Market for sheep, and Oxen, as Iohn 2. it is expresly said to have been? Neither will it serve the turn, to excuse it, by saying, it was to furnish such as came thither with offerings: For the sheep, and oxen, whilst they were yet to be bought to that purpose, were not sacred, but prophane, and so not to come within the sacred limits: You see the difficulty. But I answer, that this market was kept in the third, or Gentiles Court, which was the outmost of the Temple: For the Temple, in our Saviours time, had three Courts, each surrounding one another. First, the inmost or Priests Court, wherein stood the Temple, and the Altar of burnt offering: Into this none but the Priests, and Levites came. Secondly, the middle or great Court, which surrounded that of the Priests: whereinto the Jews of all sorts, and circumcised Proselytes came to worship. Without this was a third Court for the Gentiles, which surrounded the Israelites Court, as that did the Court of the Priests: The two first they accounted sacred; calling them foreign; into which therefore none might enter, but such as were circumcised and clean, according to the Law. The third was without the sacred limits, and so accounted prophane and common; which may be learned out of Iosephus, who Lib. 6. de Bello Iudaico. ca. 6.tels us of certain little pillars, or columns, placed by the Lorica, or Septum, which severed this Court from the rest, whereon was inscribed in Greek (and Latin) foreign That no stranger passe within the sacred limits; foreign, saith he, foreign The second part of the Temple was called Holy, as implying that the outmost was not so. Into this Court therefore, which had no legall sanctity, and was without the sacred limits, the Gentiles were admitted, and had their station, together with such of the Jews, as were in their uncleannesse; further they might not go. By Gentiles here I mean such, which though uncircumcised, yet worshipped the God of Israel, and were called foreign.
In this Court therefore the Jews made no scruple of doing prophane and secular acts, being in their opinion no better then a common place. Nay, it is very probable, that to shew their despiciency of the poor Gentiles (according to that in the Apocalypse, foreign, without are Dogs) and to pride themselves in their prerogative and discretion from them, they affected to have such acts there done. And hence it came to passe, that they permitted a Market of Oxen and Sheep, Doves and other bartery, to be kept there, for the use of the Temple, and those who came thither to worship. And thus the poor Gentiles, or foreign, were stabled amongst Oxen, Sheep, and stals of Money-changers, and in that tumultuous place fain to offer up their devotions and prayers unto the most high God, whom they had chosen.
But our blessed Saviour, who came to redeem, not the Jews onelyonly, but the Gentiles also, and to make them a principall part of his fold, would not suffer them to be thus neglected, but in this act of his gave them a praeludium of his further favour intended toward them, and he that was to vindicate their souls from death, and take away the partition-wall between them and the Jews, first vindicates their Oratory from prophanation; alledging for his warrant this place of the Prophet Esay, My House shall be called a House of Prayer, foreign He did not say, My Fathers House is holy: For the Jews would soon have replied, That the Gentiles Court was without the sacred limits; But, It is written, saith he, My House shall be called a House of Prayer for all the Nations, Ergo, the place of prayer for all Nations is a part of my Fathers House. If my Fathers House, then holy, and not to be thus prophaned. For whatsoever is his, is holy; Relative Holinesse being nothing else but the peculiarity a thing hath to God-ward.
Though therefore the Gentiles Court had no sanctity of legall distinction, yet had it the sanctity of such peculiarity, and therefore not to be used as a common place. The illation proceeds by way of conversion; My House shall be called the House of Prayer 1 Kings 8. 41. 42.to all Nations, or People; Ergo, The House of Prayer for all Nations is my Fathers House. And the emphasis lies in the words, foreign, which our Translators were not so well advised of, when following Beza too close, they render the words thus; My House shall be called of all Nations the House of Prayer, as if the Dative Case here [foreign] were not acquisitive, but (as it is sometimes with passive verbs) in stead of the Ablative of the agent for foreign. Which sense is clear from the scope and purpose of the place, whence it is taken, as he that compares them will easily see, and I shall make fully to appear in the next part of my discourse, which I tendred by the name of an Observation.
Which was, that this fact of our Saviour more particularly concerns us of the Gentiles, then we take notice of. Namely, we are taught thereby, what reverent esteem we ought to have of our Gentile Oratories and Churches, howsoever not endued with such legall sanctity, in every respect, as was the Temple of the Jews; yet Houses of prayer as well as theirs. This observation will be made good by a threefold Consideration: First, of the story, as I have related it. Secondly, from the Text here alledged, for warrant thereof. And thirdly, from the circumstance of time. For the story, I have shewed it was acted in the Gentiles Court, and not in those of the Jews: It cannot therefore be alledged, that this was a place of legall sanctity: For according to legall sanctity, it was held by the Jews as common: onelyonly it was the place for the Gentiles to worship the God of Israel in; and seems to have been proper to the second Temple: the Gentiles in the first worshipping without at the Temple door in the holy Mountain onelyonly. Secondly, the place alledged to avow the fact speaks expresly of Gentile worshippers, not in the words foreign onelyonly, but in the whole body of the context: Hear the Prophet speak, Isa. cap. 56. vers. 7, 8. and then judge; The sons of the stranger, that joyn themselves to the Lord to serve him, and to love the Name of the Lord to be his servants; every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my Covenant, (namely, that I alone shall be his God) even them will I bring to my holy Mountain, and make them joyfull in my House of Prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices accepted upon mine Altar. Then follow the words of Text; For my House shall be called (shall be; it is an Hebraism) a House of Prayer, for all People.
What is this but a Description of the foreign, or Gentile worshippers? And this place alone makes good all that I have said before, That this vindication was of the Gentiles Court: Otherwise the allegation of this Scripture had been impertinent; for the Gentiles of whom the Prophet speaks, worshipped in no place but this. Hence also appears to what purpose our Euangelist expressed the words, foreign, namely, as that which shewed, wherein the force of the accommodation to this occasion lay; which the rest of the Euangelists omitted, as referring to the place of the Prophet, whence it was taken; those who heard it being not ignorant of whom the Prophet spake. Thirdly, the circumstance of time argues the same thing; if we consider, that this was done but a few dayes before our Saviour suffered; to wit, when he came to his last Passeover: How unseasonable had it been to vindicate the violation of legall and typicall sanctity, which within so few dayes after he was utterly to abolish by his Crosse, unlesse he had meant thereby, to leave his Church a lasting lesson, what reverence and respect he would have accounted due to such places, as this was which he vindicated?