The Christian Life Volume 5, Discourse 2 · Floating text
In the Name of Iesus then let me demand of you, what can you plead for your selves why that fearful Doom which he hath pronounced against you, should not be pass'd upon you?
Why, Lord, we knew that thou wer't an austere Man, that thou would'st exact of us to the utmost Punctilio, and that if ever we fail'd in the least Circumstance of our Duty thou would'st immediately let loose thy implacable Vengeance upon us, and this utterly disheartned us from thy Service considering how impossible it was for us to please thee.
Ah wretched Creatures! can you have the Face to charge me with Rigour and Severity, who have had so many notorious Experiments of the Sweetness of my Nature, and Tenderness of my Affections towards you? What one Action was I ever guilty of in all my Conversation among you that could give you the least Suspicion that ever I would prove an austere Master to you, or that I would not be ready to construe you in the most favourable Sense, and to pity and pardon you wheresoever you were excusable? Did I ever give you any Occasion to think that I was of a peevish or captious Nature, apt to be provoked with Trifles? Yea, had you not all the Reason in the World to conclude from the Sweetness of my Temper that I would be always ready to consider your Infirmities, and pity your Weaknesses, and judge you by the Measures of a Friend? And do you now pretend that it was the Dread of my Severity that disheartned you from my Service?
But, Lord, the Laws which thou gavest us were so intolerably burthensom that neither we nor our Fore-fathers were able to bear them: We would willingly have obeyed thee if it had been possible, but when we saw thy Burthen exceeded our Strength, we concluded it was in vain for us to attempt the bearing it.
O ungrateful Rebels! dare ye accuse me of Tyranny when you know in your own Consciences I never imposed any Law upon you but what had a necessary Tendency to your Happiness, and was so far in its own Nature from being a Burthen to you, that it commanded nothing but what would have been an Ease and Refreshment? And if you can but produce any one of my Commands that obliged you to any thing but to be kind to your selves, or convince me that I could have enjoyned less upon you without being less kind or merciful to you, I will freely admit of your Plea as just, and immediately pardon all your Disobediences against me. But when all my Laws are Instances of my Love to you, and Expressions of my Zeal for your Welfare, who but such Monsters of Ingratitude as your selves would ever have charged me with Tyranny and Oppression?
But, Lord, thou knowest we are fickle and mutable Creatures; and though we did heartily resolve that we would never revolt from thy Service, yet through the many Temptations that perpetually sollicited us, we were at last seduced into a Rebellion against thee: And though when we reflected upon what we had done, we were full of Sorrow and Remorse, and wish'd from our Souls that we had never done it; yet then, being desperate of Mercy, and past all Hopes of Pardon, we concluded that it was too late to repent, or to think of returning to our Duty again.
Ah unworthy Wretches! with what Confidence can you impute the Continuation of your Rebellion against me to your Despair of ever finding Mercy at my hands, when you know in your own Consciences that I died to procure Forgiveness for you, and that by my Death I obtained an Act of Indemnity and Oblivion for all that would come in, and return to their Duty upon the Proclamation of my Gospel? When you cannot but know that I tender'd you your Pardon sealed with my own Blood, and courted you to accept of it; and though time after time you scornfully refused and rejected it, yet in hope that at last you might be prevailed with, you know how long I waited upon you even till you had tired out my Patience, and I saw there was no Remedy? And do you now charge your not returning to your Duty upon your Hoplesness of Pardon for your former Rebellions?
'Tis true, Lord, we cannot deny but thou didst offer us Pardon; but, alas, it was upon an impossible Condition, even upon a hearty Repentance, and a thorough Reformation, which thou knewest we were not then able to perform. For by a long Custom of Rebellion against thee, we had contracted so many inveterate evil Habits, which had so weaken'd and debilitated our Powers, that we were no more able to reform and amend our selves than the Leopard is to change his Spots, or the Aethiopian his Skin: To what Purpose then should we attempt Impossibilities, or set our selves to wrestle with Difficulties which we knew we were never able to surmount?
But pray, how did you know that it was impossible for you to repent when by all the Arguments I used with you, I could never persuade you to make Trial of it? You know in your own Consciences that there are many things that you could do; you could have betaken your selves to a serious Consideration of the Duties and Motives of Religion; you could have attended, and abstained at least from the outward Acts of Sin, and humbly implored my Grace and Assistance; and that to encourage you to do this, and what else was in your Power, I gave you the most ample Assurance in the World that I would back and enforce your Endeavours with the Aids of my Grace, and in despite of all opposition crown them with Success. So that though by your own single Strength indeed you could never have effected your Repentance, yet it was far from being impossible to you, since you knew that by doing what was in your power, you should infallibly oblige me to enable you to do all the rest.
But, blessed Lord, what Encouragement had we to repent and return to our Duty? for if we had done it, we must have bid adieu for ever to all those Pleasures and Delights by which we were invited and detained in the Service of our Lusts; and Thou offered'st us nothing in exchange for them, but only Sighs and Tears, with other ungrateful Rigours of a bitter and severe Repentance. How then canst thou blame our Disobedience against thee, when we had so many inviting Temptations to it, and so little Encouragement to the contrary?
O prodigious Impudence! with what Face can you assert such a notorious Falshood when you know in your own Consciences that besides all those Pleasures that are connatural to my Service, and which do vastly exceed all the Pleasures of Sin, I laid an immortal Crown at your Feet, and faithfully promised you that if you would but spend a short Life in my Service, I would at the End of it receive you into that blissful State where you should be happy beyond all your Wishes, and to the utmost Capacity of your Nature; where you should live with God and Angels in the most rapturous Exercise of everlasting Love and Joy, which one would have thought had been sufficient to recompence you for those silly Pleasures for whose sake you deserted me and my Service. But since you have trampled upon all my Offers, and would by no means be perswaded by all those mighty Tenders I have made you, Go ye deservedly cursed into ever—
Hold, Lord, we beseech thee, and before thou passest thy irrevocable Doom upon us, hear this last Petition we shall make for our selves: We now confess that we are fully convinc'd (and O that we had understood it sooner!) what infinite Reason we had to adhere to thee and thy Service. It is our Misery that these things were not sooner discover'd to us, or at least that they were not so clearly discovered as to convince and perswade us. Had we but known what we now know, we would never have deserted thee as we did; and therefore we beseech thee have Pity upon our Ignorance, and impute not to our Wills the Faults of our Vnderstandings, which are not in our Power to remedy.
Why, is this the utmost that you can plead for your selves? Have I not told you all these things before-hand as plainly as Words could express them? Have I not instituted an Order of Men in my Church to explain these things to you, and to put you in mind of them? So that whatever you pretend, you could not but know and understand them; or if you did not, it was because you would not. And if you would wilfully shut your Eyes against the Light, it was your own Fault that you did not see, and you may thank your selves for the Consequents of it. I plainly told you where your Wickedness would end, and unless you were wilfully blind you could not but see what the Event of your Sin would prove, even while you were committing it; and you know in your own Consciences that this fearful Doom, which now you deprecate, you were fairly warned of when you might have easily avoided it by a timely Submission but you would not. And seeing you would be so mad as to reject Heaven when it lay before you, and leap into Hell with your Eyes open, your Blood be upon your own Heads. For I have tried all the Arts of Love, and Methods of Kindness to reclaim you; and since you have render'd them all ineffectual, what remains but that you depart from me, like accursed Wretches as you are, into that everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels.
And now, I beseech you, do not your own Consciences consent to the Justice and Righteousness of this Procedure? Is there any tolerable Plea you can urge at the Judgment-Seat of Iesus Christ which here hath not been fully answered? And if so, how inexcusable shall we be when we come to plead our own Cause in the great Assembly of Spirits? For when these Aggravations of our Disobedience shall be laid open, our Guilt will appear so foul and monstrous that we shall doubtless be condemned by the unanimous Vote of all the Reasonable World; and as soon as the great Judge hath pass'd his Sentence upon us, our own Consciences will be forc'd to eccho, Iust and righteous art thou, O Lord, in all thy Ways. Wherefore as we would not be found inexcusably guilty when we come to plead for our Lives before the Tribunal of our Saviour, let us all be perswaded to return to his Service, and faithfully to continue in it, that so instead of Go ye cursed, we may hear from his Mouth that welcome Approbation, Well done good and profitable Servants, enter into the Ioy of your Master.
III. I come now to the last Proposition in the Text, viz. And we beheld his Glory, the Glory as of the only Son of the Father. In handling of which I shall do these two Things:
1. Explain to you what this Glory of the Word was which the Apostle tells us they beheld.
2. Shew you that it was the Glory as of the only begotten Son of the Father.
1. What was that Glory of the Word, which the Apostle tells us they beheld? I answer in general, By this Glory here must be understood something that is resemblant, to the Glory of his dwelling in the Tabernacle; because, as I have already shewed you, the Apostle seems plainly to refer to it, in that he doth not only tell us that the Word tabernacled among us, which alludes to his Tabernacling among the Iews; but he also tells us, that they saw his Glory, which alludes to that Glory of the Lord which the Iews beheld in that ancient Tabernacle. Since therefore the Apostle mentions this Glory of the Word Incarnate, by way of Allusion to the Glory of his Divine Presence in the Tabernacle, it must necessarily bear some Resemblance or Proportion to it; because else it would be no proper Allusion. The best Way therefore for us to discover what this Glory of Christ was which they beheld, is to consider wherein the Glory of the Divine Presence in the Tabernacle did chiefly discover it self; and that, you shall find was in these four Things: First, In a bright and luminous Appearance. Secondly, In exerting of an extraordinary Power. Thirdly, In giving Laws and Oracles. Fourthly, In sensible Significations of its own immaculate Sanctity and Purity. And in Proportion and Correspondence to these, the Glory of the Word Incarnate also must consist in these four Things:
1st. In the visible Splendor and Brightness with which his Person was arrayed at his Baptism, and more especially at his Transfiguration.
2 dly. In those great and stupendous Miracles that he wrought in the Course of his Ministry.
3dly. In the incomparable Purity and Goodness of his Life.
4thly. In the surpassing Excellency, and Divinity of his Doctrine.
1st. That Glory of the Word which St. Iohn and the Apostles beheld, consisted in that visible Splendor and Brightness with which his Person was arrayed at his Baptism, and more especially at his Transfiguration; in Resemblance to that visible Splendor and Brightness in which he appeared in the Mosaick Tabernacle, where it is frequently said that the Glory of the Lord abode and appeared; as you may see Exod. 24. 16. & 40. 34. Which Glory it's evident discovered its self in an extraordinary visible Splendor that shone forth from between the Cherubims, and diffused it self thence all over that sacred Habitation. And accordingly in Ezek. 43. 2. it is said, that the Glory of the God of Israel came from the Way of the East, and the Earth shone with his Glory; which denotes that it was extraordinary bright and luminous since the Earth shone with the very Reflection of it. And in this same glorious Splendor was Christ arrayed first at his Baptism, and afterwards at his Transfiguration. For at his Baptism it is said, that the Heavens were open'd unto him, and that he saw the Spirit of God descending like a Dove, and lighting upon him, Matth. 3. 16. where by the Holy Ghost's descending like a Dove, it is not necessary we should understand his descending in the Shape or Form of a Dove, but that in some glorious Form or Appearance he descended in the same manner as a Dove descends; and therefore St. Luke expresses it thus, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily Shape like a Dove upon him, Luke 3. 22. that is, he descended in some very glorious and visible Appearance, in the same Manner as Doves are wont to descend when they come down from the Skies, and pitch upon the Earth. But what that Shape was in which he appeared, is not here expressed; but that which seems to be most probable is this, that the Holy Ghost assuming a Body of Light, or surrounded as it were with a Guard of Angels appearing in luminous Forms, came down from above just as a Dove with his Wings spread forth is observed to do, and lighted upon our Saviour's Head; and the Reason why I think so, is this, both because where-ever any mention is made of God's, or the Holy Ghost's appearing in an indefinite Form, it is always in a Body of Light and visible Splendor, of which I have given you sundry Instances; and also because it seems to have been a very early Tradition in the Church that it was in a very glorious Appearance of Light that the Holy Ghost came down upon our Saviour: And therefore in the Gospel of the Nazarens, as Grotius observes, it's said that upon the Holy Ghost's Descent, foreign, immediately a great Light shone round about the Place; and Iustin Martyr, speaking of our Saviour's Baptism, saith expresly, foreign, that there was a Fire lighted in the River Iordan; that is, the Water, immediately after he was baptized in it, seemed to be all on fire by the Reflection of that bright and flaming Appearance in which the Holy Ghost descended upon him; so that while he wore this Crown of visible Light, his Head, as the Painters are wont to express it, was circled round with the Rays of that Glory in which he was wont to appear from between the Cherubims. And this Glory of his was questionless seen by many of the Apostles, who were sundry of them Disciples to Iohn the Baptist, and so many reasonably be supposed to be present at the Baptism of our Saviour.
And as for his Transfiguration upon Mount Tabor, it is said, that upon it his Face did shine as the Sun, and that his Raiment was white as the Light; or as St. Luke expresses it, foreign; that is, his Raiment was like the Whiteness of a Flash of Lightning, Luke 9. 29. So that from Head to Foot he was all inrobed in a visible Glory, and covered with all that Brightness, and dazling Splendor in which he was wont to appear in the Tabernacle of Moses. And accordingly you have mention made of a Cloud that over-shadowed the three Disciples, whilst Iesus remained in his Transfiguration, which is exactly agreeable with that Cloud that covered the Tabernacle of Moses, whilst the Glory of the Lord filled it, as you may see Exod. 40. 34. And that this glorious Transfiguration was a Part of that Glory of the Word which St. Iohn here says they beheld, is evident, because himself was one of the three Disciples that were Eye-Witnesses of this glorious Scene, and it is expresly said of him and his Brethren, that they saw his Glory, and the two Men that stood with him, Luke 9. 32.
2dly. This Glory which they saw consisted in those great and stupendous Miracles that he wrought in the Course of his Ministry, in Proportion to that extraordinary Power in which the Glory of the Divine Presence discovered it self in the Tabernacle of Moses. For thus we find that it was from the Tabernacle that God exerted all that miraculous Power by which he punished the Rebellions of the Iews, and wrought those miraculous Deliverances for them. 'Twas from the Tabernacle that he commanded the Earth to open, and swallow up Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, and that he sent forth that devouring Fire which consumed their Two hundred and fifty Accomplices. 'Twas from the Tabernacle that he smote the false Spies with the Plague, and sent forth an Army of fiery Serpents to destroy the murmuring Israelites. 'Twas by his Presence in the Tabernacle that he conducted them through the Wilderness, and drave their Enemies before them; that he divided the River Iordan to open them a Passage into Canaan, and made the Walls of Iericho to fall flat at the Blasts of a few Rams-horns. And upon the Account of this Miraculous Power which he exerted from the Tabernacle, the Ark that was contained in it, and was the special Seat of his Presence, is called the Ark of his strength, Ps. 132. 8. and God is said to send them help from his Sanctuary, and to strengthen them out of Sion, where the Ark was reposited in the Sanctuary of the Temple, Ps. 20. 2. Thus also those Words are to be understood, Ps. 80. 2. Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up thy strength, and come and help us; because the Ark, from whence God was wont to put forth his Strength in saving of that People, marched immediately before these three Tribes. And this was very well understood both by the Israelites and the Philistines; for when the Philistines had overthrown them, they desired that the Ark of the Lord might be fetched out of Shiloh, that so when it came among them it might save them out of the Hands of their Enemies, 1 Sam. 4. 3. And when the Philistines understood that the Ark was brought into their Camp, they were sore afraid, and cryed out, God is come into the Camp: Wo unto us; who shall deliver us out of the hands of these mighty Gods? These are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the Plagues in the Wilderness, v. 7, 8. From whence it is evident that they both look'd upon the Tabernacle as the Seat of God's miraculous Power, and this miraculous Power is called the Glory of God; for thus when the Ark was taken by the Philistines, it is said that God delivered his Strength into Captivity, and his Glory into the Enemies hand, Ps. 78. 61. and his Glory, and the Miracles that he wrought from the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, are mentioned as Synonimous Terms, Numb. 14. 22. Because all these Men have seen my Glory, and my Miracles which I did in Egypt, and in the Wilderness, &c. So that it's evident, that he exerted his miraculous Power from the Tabernacle, and that this miraculous Power was his Glory.
And consonantly hereunto it was from the Tabernacle of Humane Nature wherein he dwelt, that the Eternal Word exerted that miraculous Power whereby he cured the Sick, calmed the Sea, and raised the Dead, vanquished the Devils, and wrought all his miraculous Works, which were so many and so great that they ravished his Friends with Joy to behold them, and struck Terror and Amazement into his Enemies; for so it is said, that they were all amazed at the mighty Power of God that was in him, Luke 9. 43. And that when they saw how the Devils trembled, and fled before him, they marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel, Matth. 9. 33. So that by their own Confession, that miraculous Power which he exerted in the Tabernacle of Humane Nature did far exceed that miraculous Power which he exercised in the Tabernacle of Moses. And this miraculous Power of his is also expresly called his Glory, Ioh. 2. 11. This beginning of Miracles did Iesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his Glory, and his Disciples believed on him. So that as his miraculous Power was called his Glory when he tabernacled among the Iews, so it was also when he tabernacled in Humane Nature, and so by consequence this also was a Part of that Glory of his which his Apostles saw while he dwelt among them.
3dly. This Glory which they saw consisted also in the surpassing Excellency and Divinity of his Doctrine, agreeably to that Expression of his glorious Presence in the Old abernacle, viz. his giving Laws and Oracles to the Israelites. For thus we find that God told Moses, that he would meet him in the Tabernacle, and commune with him of all things, which he would give him in Commandment to the Children of Israel, Exod. 25. 22. And, Numb. 7. 89. you have the manner of his Communing with them described; for when Moses, saith he, went into the Tabernacle, he heard the Voice of one speaking unto him from off the Mercy-Seat that was upon the Ark, from between the two Cherubims. For Christ, as I have formerly shewed you, being the civil Prince or Sovereign of the Iews, the Cherubims were the Throne upon which he sat, and from whence he gave Laws and Directions for the Administration of the Affairs of his Kingdom: And accordingly he is said to dwell between the Cherubims, Ps. 99. 1. and to ride upon the Cherubims, 2 Sam. 22. 11. and the Sanctuary wherein the Cherubims were seated, is expresly called the Throne of the Lord, Ierem. 17. 12. because here it was that he sat in all his Majesty, and gave forth his Laws and Ordinances to the Kingdom of Israel. And this was an eminent Expression of the Glory of his Presence among them, because hereby he asserted his Sovereign Authority, and did publickly challenge to himself that Right to his glorious Power which from all Eternity was inherent in him. And hence the Apostle calls the giving those Divine Laws and Oracles a glorious Ministration, and plainly asserts it to be an Instance of the Glory of the Divine Shechinah, or Presence in the Tabernacle, when he grants that the Ministration of Death written and engraven in stone, was glorious, yea and that Ministration to be Glory in the Abstract, 2 Cor. 3. 7, 9.
And in Correspondence hereunto did the Divine Word, when he tabernacled in our Natures, give forth Divine Laws and Oracles to the World; all which are yet remaining among us, and do contain in them the Substance of our Holy Religion; which being so divine and godlike, and altogether composed of the purest Laws, and most Heavenly Doctrines, is a most proper Instance of that Glory of the Eternal Word which the Apostles beheld, tho' not with the Eyes of their Bodies, yet with those of their Minds. For what can be more glorious in the Eye of Reason than those illustrious Discoveries which he hath made to us in his Gospel of the Nature of God, and the Duty of Man, and the immortal Recompences of the World to come, in which he hath so far exceeded whatsoever Humane Wisdom was able to discover of them, that all the Philosophy that ever was before him must confess it self eclipsed and out-shone by him, and all the Philosophy that ever succeeded him, hath been forced to derive and borrow Light from him: And accordingly we find his Gospel, in which his Doctrines are contained, stiled by the Name of the glorious Gospel, 2 Cor. 4. 4. which in Comparison with those dark and confused Discoveries which the World had formerly made, the Apostle resembles to the first breaking forth of the Light out of the rude and obscure Chaos, 2 Cor. 4. 6. For God, saith he, who commanded the Light to shine out of Darkness, hath shined into our Hearts, to give the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God, in the Face of Iesus Christ: where, by the Face of-Iesus Christ, the Apostle seems plainly to allude to that Divine Glory and Luster with which Moses's Face shone when he came down from seeing the Glory of God, Exod. 33. 29. So that his Meaning is this, that as the Children of Israel with their bodily Eyes saw the Glory of God shining upon the Face of Moses, so they, the Disciples and Apostles of our Saviour, had far more clearly beheld with the Eyes of their Minds the Divine Glory displayed in his Doctrine and Ministry.
4thly. And lastly, This Glory of the Eternal Word which they saw, consisted also in the incomparable Sanctity and Purity of his Life, semblably to that Expression of his glorious Presence in the Old Tabernacle, viz. the sensible Significations he gave of the immaculate Purity and Holiness of his Nature. For by those outward Cleansings of all Things and Persons that did any ways belong to the Tabernacle, or did at any time approach it, he did openly represent and signify the Purity and Sanctity of his own Nature, which being infinitely separated from all manner of Impurity and Vncleanness, cannot endure that any thing that is filthy or impure should approach it. For thus we read that the Tabernacle it self, and all the Vtensils of it, were to be purified and sanctified with Oyl before the Entrance of the Shechinah, or Divine Presence: So also the High Priest, the Priests, and the People were to be cleansed and purified before they were suffered to approach the Holy Habitation; and if at any time they had contracted any of those legal Uncleannesses that are specified in the Law of Moses, they were to be excluded from the Communion of the Congregation, and from all the Exercises of Publick Worship and Devotion, till they were cleansed and purified again: The Intent of all which was to signify to that People how irreconcilable his Nature was to all Impurity and Wickedness, that it could not admit of the Neighbourhood of any Evil, nor dwell within any Lines of Communication with it; for this is expressed in the very Reason why these Legal Purifications are so strictly required: For I the Lord your God, am holy, Levit. 19. 2. For I the Lord which sanctify you, am holy, Levit. 21. 8. Plainly intimating that the Intent and Reason of all those Ceremonial Purifications, was to signify to that dull and stupid People the immaculate Holiness and Purity of his own Nature, which is so infinitely removed from any thing that is impure and unholy, that he could neither communicate with, nor endure the Approaches of it. And in this 'tis evident he placed a great Part of the Glory of his Majestatical Presence in the Tabernacle, since a great part of that Religion which he there instituted was intended to signify the Glory of his Holiness to them; and accordingly he is described to be glorious in Holiness, Exod. 15. 11.
And agreeably hereunto did the Eternal Word, when he tabernacled in our Natures, signify to the World the unspotted Purity of his Nature by that incomparable Example of Holiness which he gave in his Life and Conversation among us. For whereas before he express'd his Holiness by Mystical Types and Ceremonial Observances, he hath now signified it by a Life full of Virtue and Goodness, and a Conversation exactly conformable to the eternal Rules of Righteousness. For, as a Creature in respect of his Humanity, he never failed in the least Punctilio of that Duty, Homage, and Devotion which he owed to the most High God his Creator; as a Man, he never swerved either in his Passions or Appetites from the strictest Rules of Sobriety and Temperance; as a Member of Humane Society, he never was guilty of an unrighteous Action either towards his Superiors, Inferiors, or Equals; but all his Life was a walking Monument of Goodness, and his whole Conversation a most perfect Transcript of those Divine and Heavenly Laws which he gave to the World. So that he was all glorious without as well as within, his Practice being a living Comment and Paraphrase upon that immaculate Purity and Holiness which is the Glory of his Divine Nature. This therefore was doubtless a Part of that Glory which the Apostles beheld in the Eternal Word, even that immaculate Sanctity and Holiness of which he gave so many glorious Significations in the whole Course of his Conversation: And accordingly we find this his Purity and Holiness described by the Name of the Glory of the Lord, 2 Cor. 3. 18. But we all with open face, beholding as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the same Image, from Glory to Glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord: Where it's plain that by the Glory of the Lord, must be meant his Holiness; because it is into the Image of that that we are transformed. So that the meaning of the Words is this, we all beholding the Holiness of Christ, which is his Glory, in the Glass of his Doctrine and incomparable Example, are transformed into the Likeness of it; and do gradually pass on from one Degree of this Glory of his Holiness to another, under the Conduct and Assistance of the Spirit of Christ.
And so I have done with the first thing proposed, which was to shew you what that Glory of Christ was which the Apostle here tells us they beheld.
2. I now proceed to the second Branch of my Discourse, which was to shew you that this was the Glory as of the only begotten Son of the Father: But before we proceed to the Proof of it, it will be necessary to explain this Phrase, foreign the Glory as of the only begotten Son. Which Word, foreign, or as, is in Scripture taken two Ways, sometimes as a Note of Similitude or Comparison; so Mat. 6. 10, Thy Will be done in Earth, foreign. as it is in Heaven; that is, like as it is in Heaven; and if we take it in this Sense, then the Meaning of the Words must be this, And we beheld his Glory which was like unto the Glory of the only begotten Son of the Father; that is, like unto that Glory in which the only begotten Son was wont to appear when he dwelt in the Tabernacle, and conversed with the ancient Patriarchs. And in this Sense I have shewed you already how it was as the Glory of the only begotten Son, by shewing you the great Agreement and Similitude there was between the Glory of Christ when he dwelt in the Tabernacle of Moses, and in the Tabernacle of our Nature. And when I consider how plainly this Text doth allude to the Shechinah or Divine Presence of the Word in that ancient Tabernacle, I am very much induced to think that we ought not to exclude this Sense of it, namely, that as he dwelt in the Tabernacle of our Nature, like as he dwelt in the Tabernacle of Moses; so that Glory of his which they beheld in the Tabernacle of our Nature, was like unto that Glory in which he appeared in the ancient Tabernacle.
But then this Word foreign, is sometimes also taken for a Note of Confirmation. So Psal. 73. 1. foreign, Truly God is good to Israel. And thus St. Chrysostome understands it here, foreign, &c. It is not a Note of Similitude and Comparison, but of Confirmation and unquestionable Distinction; as if the Evangelist had said, we saw his Glory, such as became and was fit for the only begotten and truly natural Son of God. For my Part, I see no Reason why the Words may not be fairly understood in both Senses, since they are no Ways opposite to, nor inconsistent with one another; and if so, then this must be the Meaning of the Words; We beheld his Glory which was like unto that Glory in which the only begotten Son appeared in the old Tabernacle, and which was such as was every Way becoming the only begotten Son to appear in. The first of which Senses I have proved to you already, that the Glory of Christ in the Tabernacle of our Natures was like unto his Glory in the Tabernacle of Moses; and therefore now I shall only prove the second, that it was such as became and was every Way worthy of the only begotten Son of the Father; and this I doubt not will plainly appear by considering the several Particulars of it.
1st. That visible Splendor and Brightness in which he appeared at his Baptism and Transfiguration, was such as became him, and was worthy of him. For in all Probability, that Splendor consisted of Angelical Beings, clothed in bright and luminous Bodies; because, as I have formerly proved to you, that Brightness in which he appeared upon the Mount, and which he displayed from between the Cherubims, was nothing else but those Angels of Light, or ministring Spirits which he made to appear as Flames of Fire round about him; and therefore that Train of Angels whom Esay saw filling the Temple, Esay 6. 1. Our Saviour calls the Glory of the Lord, Jo. 12. 41. that is, that visible Glory in which the Lord appear'd from between the Cherubims. And if that visible Glory consisted in a Train of Angels appearing in glorious Forms, then there is no doubt but that visible Glory of our Saviour at his Baptism and Transfiguration was the same; since, as I have already shewed you, it is described by the same Name, and in the same Manner of Appearance; and if so, how well did it become the only begotten Son to be surrounded with the illustrious Guards of his Father's Court, and attended on with those high-born Spirits, whose Office it is to minister before the Throne of the most High? For never was the most glorious Potentate upon Earth, attended with such a splendid Train and Retinue, the meanest of which was far more illustrious than the greatest and most high-born Monarch in the World. So that as the most High God did, by a Voice from Heaven, both at his Baptism and Transfiguration, declare him to be his beloved Son; so by the glorious Train of Attendants he sent him, he manifested the Truth of his Declaration; for we must needs suppose him to be the Son of the most High, when we see the most glorious Beings in all the Creation, so willingly submit themselves to his Service and Attendance: And when we see the most High adorning his Outside with the luminous Bodies of Angels, we may reasonably conclude that there was a Divinity within, and that the Iewel was God, because the Casket was Angels. But whatsoever this glorious Splendor was in which he was clothed at his Baptism and Transfiguration, it was apparently such as very well became the only begotten Son, not only because, as the Philosopher saith, that if God would ever take upon him a Body, it would be certainly Light, which is a Vestment most suitable to his Glory and Majesty; but also because that miraculous Splendor was an infallible Token of the Presence of the Divinity in him; for it never was but where God was present; and therefore it is called the Glory of God, it being the inseparable Concomitant of his more peculiar Residence. For thus, as I have shewed you upon the Mount and in the Tabernacle, it was a visible Demonstration of the special Presence of the invisible God, and wheresoever in all the Old Testament, any Mention is made of its Appearance, you shall find that there God himself did peculiarly reside: And therefore it is not to be imagined that God would have communicated to our Saviour, this inseparable Token of his own Presence, unless the Divinity had resided in him. For Iesus Christ was the only Person upon whom this visible Glory descended; never did the Hand of Heaven put such a Robe and Diadem of Glory upon any Person in the World, as this which our Saviour wore at his Baptism and Transfiguration, which plainly denotes that he was the only Person in whom the Divinity was substantially united, and did essentially dwell. So that as this visible Glory was a certain Token of God's peculiar Residence in the Tabernacle and Temple, so it was also of his special Presence in Christ; for the History of his Baptism tells us, that it did not only make a transient Appearance, but that it remained on him, signifying that the Divinity, whose Presence was denoted by it, had made him his Habitation and Place of constant Abode. For though that visible Glory after some Time disappeared and went off from him, yet the Thing signified by it, viz. the Divine Presence, always remained in him; for by that outward Glory he was clearly manifested to be the Holy One of God, the Tabernacle and Sanctuary in which God was, and where he had taken up his Residence for ever, that his Humane Nature was that sacred Temple where the Divinity intended to dwell, and from whence for the future he would deliver all his Oracles, and communicate all his Blessings to Mankind. So that in this Respect this visible Glory was such as highly became the only begotten Son, because it plainly denoted that the Fulness of the God-head dwelt bodily in him, and had chosen him for his Habitation for ever; and therefore Iohn Baptist tells us, that though he knew him not, yet this God had revealed to him, VponUpon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear Record that this was the Son of God, Joh. 1. 33, 34. where you may observe, that though it was revealed to him only that he was the Person that should baptize with the Holy Ghost, upon whom the Spirit descended, yet he bare Record also that this Person was the Son of God, rationally concluding that this visible Glory, which was such an infallible Token of the special Presence of the Divinity, was never to be communicated to any but the Son of God. And it is very observable, that at both these Times, when our Saviour was arrayed in this glorious Splendor, he is declared by a Voice from Heaven to be the Son of God, it being the Father's Intention at once to manifest him to be his Son both by Word and Deed; and at the same time, when he declared him to be his Son, to array him in such a Glory as became the Dignity of his Person.
2dly. The great and stupendous Miracles that he wrought were such as became his only begotten Son. 'Tis true, it cannot be denied but several Miracles have been wrought by meer Men, they being authorized by God, and assisted by his Almighty Power; but so many and so great as our Saviour wrought were never performed by any Mortal. For as to the Number of them, they were more than ever were wrought by Moses and all the Prophets together; for, besides those that are recorded, which were all performed within the Space of four Years at most, St. Iohn tells us, that he wrought so many that the World could not contain the Records of them, Ioh. 21. 25. which though it be an Hyperbolical Expression, yet denotes thus much at least, that the Number of them was so great that they were almost innumerable. And as to the Greatness of them, they did apparently exceed all that ever were wrought before in the World. For he did not only raise the Dead, but he raised himself also after he had been barbarously murdered by his Enemies. He made the Winds and Sea obey him, and with the Word of his Mouth vanquished the Devils, and drave them from their Habitations, and forc'd them against their Wills, and their Interest to acknowledge him to be the Son of God. And whereas the Miracles of Moses and the Prophets were most of them noxious, they being Acts of Divine Vengeance upon the Wicked and Vngodly, and consequently more apt to terrify than to oblige those that beheld them; the Miracles of our Saviour were all of them Expressions of his unfeigned Love and Good-Will to the World. For among all that vast Number of wondrous Works that he wrought, there is not one to be found by which any Man was ever prejudiced, unless it was his dismissing the Devils into the Swine of the Gadarens, which without all doubt he did in Kindness and Goodwill to the Owners; who being so cruel to themselves as to prefer their Swine before their Saviour, it was great Charity and Mercy to deprive them of that which was so apparent a Hindrance to their Enjoyment of a far greater Good. So that all his wondrous Works were nothing but Acts of Kindness and Beneficence; for he went about doing Good, curing all that were possessed with the Devil, and healing all manner of Diseases. And whereas none of those that wrought Miracles before him could ever pretend to perform them by any immanent Power of their own, but had only a transient Power given them for the present Miracle, which they either obtained from God upon their Prayers and Supplications, or was given by God for the Execution of his own Will and Command; the blessed Iesus had this Power subjected and abiding in him, so that he could exert it when, and where, and as often as he pleased; and whether he were absent or present, with the Word of his Mouth he could do what he would; yea, and many times he performed his wondrous Works without any Word or Sign intervening, even by a silent Virtue proceeding from that miraculous Power with which he was endued; and of all his Miracles there is only one which he performed upon Prayer and Supplication to his Father, and that was his raising Lazarus from the Dead, the Reason of which he himself gives, Ioh. 11. 42. Because of the People which stand by, that they may believe that thou hast sent me: Intimating that he did not offer up this Prayer to his Father with design to obtain of him any new Power of working Miracles, which he was already endued with in an abundant measure; but that hereby I might signify to the People how acceptable I am to thee, and let them see that I do all my Works in thy Name. And that he had this Power, is evident in that he did so plentifully communicate it to his Apostles and Followers, which neither Moses nor the Prophets were ever able to do. For thus, Luke 10. 19. he expresly tells his Seventy Disciples, Behold, I give you power to tread on Serpents and Scorpions; and so also when he dismissed his Twelve Apostles into Iudea, Matth. 10. 8. he bids them, Go, heal the Sick, cleanse the Lepers, raise the Dead, cast out Devils; for freely ye have received, saith he, and therefore freely give. From all which it is apparent how far the miraculous Works of our Saviour did exceed all those that ever were done before him; and being so great and excellent, so far transcending all that ever was done by any Mortal, they plainly demonstrated him to be the Son of God, and very well became the Dignity of his Person. For how could he have done all these mighty Things by a Power immanent in himself, had he not been the Son of an Omnipotent Father? And in what more becoming Way could he have expressed that Omnipotent Power which he derived from his Father, than in those astonishing Miracles of Love which he wrought in the World?
3dly. The excellent and divine Doctrine which he taught was such as became the only begotten Son. For certainly if we consider the excellent Frame and Contrivance of the Christian Religion, we cannot but confess it to be most Divine and Godlike, most worthy of that infinite Wisdom and Goodness from whence it was derived. For Religion in general is the means of advancing Rational Beings to that Perfection and Happiness for which the great Creator hath designed and intended them; and certainly never was there any Religion in the World more adapted to advance this noble Design of God than that which our Saviour hath taught: For as for its Agenda, what it requires to be done, they all consist in acting reasonably, and according to the Dignity of our Nature, in thinking, speaking, and practising; in loving and hating, desiring and delighting, hoping and fearing, as becomes Reasonable Beings placed in our Condition and Circumstances; and do require nothing of us but that we should regulate our Practice by the Rules of Right Reason, and direct all our Faculties and Affections to their proper Ends and Objects; and when we come to this Pitch, always to think that which is most reasonable, and always to practise what we think so, then we are advanced to the topmost Round of our Prefection, in which is founded the utmost Happiness we are capable of: So that in all the Course of our Christian Practice we are in a direct Progression and Tendency towards our Perfection and Happiness. And as for the Credenda of Christianity, the Doctrines it requires us to believe, they are all of them pregnant with the most strong and vehement Motives to engage us to the Practice of what it enjoins; Motives that have such a Potent, I had almost said Omnipotent Force in them, that 'tis impossible for any Man heartily to believe, and throughly to weigh and consider them, and not be effectually perswaded by them! Since therefore it was so highly convenient that the Son of God in Person should come down from Heaven among us, that so the Dignity of his Person might give Authority to that Religion by which the World was to be governed; and since he did come down upon this honourable Errand, it was impossible for him to have taught any Doctrine that could more effectually have promoted the great End of Religion, or more fully expressed his infinite Wisdom, and Goodness, and Zeal for the Welfare of the Souls of Men, than that which is contained in the Christian Religion, which is every way so adapted to make Men good and happy, so accommodated to the Nature and Condition of Mankind, that there is nothing could better become the only begotten Son to teach in the World, or that could be more worthy of all those infinite Perfections that are lodged in his Nature, and do speak him to be the most genuine Off-spring of the most High. For so excellent was his Doctrine, that his very Enemies were astonished at the Wisdom that was given him, Mark 6. 2, 3. and wondered at the gracious Words that proceeded out of his Mouth, Luke 4. 22. Well therefore might he say of himself, I am the Light of the World, he that followeth me shall not walk in Darkness, but shall have the Light of Life, Ioh. 8. 12.
4thly. And lastly, The incomparable Sanctity and Purity of his Life was such as very well became the only begotten Son. For as it was highly convenient that he should come down into the World, and in his own Person teach us that Religion by which he intended to govern us, that thereby he might stamp it with a more awful Authority; so to render it more successful, it was no less convenient that he should come down in our Natures, that therein he might be capable of practising what he taught us, and setting us an Example of what he would have us to do, that so we might see that he enjoined nothing upon us but what was practicable, and what did become the most glorious Person that ever did assume our Natures; that thereby we might be encouraged to our Duty, and animated with a noble Emulation of treading in his blessed Footsteps. Since therefore all this was so highly convenient, and the Son of God in Compliance with this Convenience did actually assume our Nature, it was impossible for him to lead a Life that better comported with this Design of his Incarnation, or better became the Dignity and Excellency of his Person than he did. For now that he was become a Man, he was obliged to act suitably to his Nature; and should he have done any thing that was unsuitable to the State and Circumstances of his Nature, he would not have acted becoming himself. So that it was highly convenient that he should become a Man, and being a Man it was indispensably necessary that he should live like a wise and a good Man in the Condition and Relations wherein he was placed, and nothing could be more worthy of or becoming him, than so to do, though he was still the only begotten Son of the Father. For it is the Glory of God himself that he always acts most reasonably according to the State and Relations of a God; and therefore when God becomes Man by assuming our Nature to his own, it is his Glory to act most reasonably in the State and Relations of a Man. And thus did the blessed Iesus do in the whole Course of his Conversation upon Earth; for his Life was a most exact Pattern of all humane Virtues, in which all that is ornamental to humane Nature was represented in its fairest Colours: There you may see a fair Example of the most ardent Love to, and constant Dependance upon God, of the most profound Humility, and perfect Resignation to his Heavenly Will. There you may behold the Moderation of Humane Passions and Appetites set forth to the Life, and fairly delineated in all its most exquisite Perfections; in a word, there you will find Loyalty and Submission to Superiors, Fidelity and Iustice to Equals, Courtesy, and Candor, and Condescention to Inferiors, universal Love, and an unbounded Charity to all practised to the Height and Exactness; and which way soever you turn your Eyes on this fair Monument of Virtues, you can discover nothing but what is lovely and adorable, and infinitely becoming the only begotten Son of the Father.
Having thus explained and demonstrated the Proposition to you, I shall conclude with these four Inferences from this four-fold Glory of the Word which they saw.
1. They saw the glorious Splendor which invested his Person at his Baptism and Transfiguration: From whence I infer his Deputation from the most High God, and Father of all Things, to be his Representative and Vice-Roy in the Christian Church. For this visible Glory with which he was invested, was always the peculiar Character of the immediate Representative of God; and therefore by way of Appropriation it is called the Glory of God, and the Glory of the Lord; and wheresoever God, as Supream Monarch and Governor, is represented as residing and taking up his Royal Habitation, there you always find him displaying himself in this visible Glory and Splendor. Thus when by the Eternal Word he was represented among the Iews as their supreme Lord and Governor, he always manifested his Majestick Presence among them by some bright and shining Appearance; the first Instance of which was his Appearance to Moses from out of the burning Bush upon Mount Sinai, where he first acted under God the Father as Sovereign King of Israel in commissioning Moses to be their Captain and Leader out of Egypt; for here it is said, that he appeared in a flame of fire, Exod. 3. 2. that is, in a visible Glory that resembled the Brightness of a Flame of Fire. For this Mountain he had chosen for the Seat and Throne of his Majestical Residence, from whence he intended to give Laws to Israel, and to exert his Royal Dominion over them; and therefore here he appears in that visible Glory which was always the Character of the divine King, and immediate Representative of God to that People. And indeed if that be true which Iosephus tells us, this Mountain was looked upon as the Habitation of God long before ever Moses came thither; for therefore, says Iosephus, did Moses drive his Father Iethro's Flock thither to feed, because of all other Places it most abounded with Pasture,Jos. Antiq. l. 2. p. 60. foreign; that is, because it was famed that God dwelt there, which was the Reason that the Shepherds never durst to drive their Flocks thither, because of the Sacredness of the Place. And if this Report were true, then it seems this Mountain was the Seat of the Royal Residence of the Eternal Word before ever Moses came thither, and consequently the Glory and Brightness in which Moses saw him appear, was nothing but the Display of his Majestick Presence which did there make its ordinary Abode. But whether that be true or false, it's most plain and apparent that wheresoever he appeared as the King of Israel, or Representative of God to them, he always clothed himself in a visible Glory and Splendor. Thus he appeared to them in a Pillar of Fire, that is, in a most bright and luminous Form, when he conducted them thro' the Red-Sea, and the Wilderness; and when he came down upon Mount Sinai to give the Law to them, it's said that the Glory in which they beheld him was like devouring fire, Exod. 24. 17. that is, it was unspeakably bright and refulgent, even like that of a most intense and vehement Fire; and in all this radiant Glory did he display himself from between the Cherubims when he removed from the Mountain, and chose the Tabernacle for the Seat of his future Residence and Royal Abode. Thus wheresoever he appeared in his Kingly Majesty as the publick Representative of his Father, this visible Glory is always made mention of, as that which was the peculiar Character of his Presence and Person. 'Tis true, 'tis recorded of Moses that when he came down from the Vision upon the Mount, his Face shone so brightly that the Israelites were not able to approach him; which seems to argue that this visible Glory was not so peculiar to the Eternal Words as his Father's Representative, as we would have it, since we plainly see it was common to Moses with him. But this doth no ways destroy our Assertion; because it's plain that that Glory which covered the Face of Moses, was all derived from the Glory of the Eternal Word, with whom for forty Days he had conversed in the Mount. For Moses being sent down as an Apostle to the Iews to promulgate those Laws to them which he had received upon the Mount, the Eternal Word, to convince the unbelieving Iews that he had sent him, reflects upon his Face some Rays of Glory from that Sphere of Light in which he appeared to and conversed with him, that that might be an ocular Demonstration to them that Moses came from him, and was commissioned by him to preach and promulgate his Laws to them. So that Moses his Glory being derived from the Word, declared him to be his Apostle and Minister; even as the Glory of the Word being derived from the Father, declared him to be his Representative and Vice-Roy; so that from its shining upon the Face of Moses, it by no means follows that this visible Glory is not the peculiar Character of God's immediate Representative; because that which shone upon his Face was only the Parhelius or Reflection of the visible Glory of him who was God's immediate Representative. For so the Earth also is said to shine with the Glory of the God of Israel, Ezek. 43. 2. and as the Glory with which it shone was not the Glory of the Earth, but the Glory of the God of Israel; so neither was that Glory upon the Face of Moses the Glory of Moses, but the Glory of that divine Person, with whom he had conversed, derived to, and reflected upon him; and it being still the proper Glory of that divine Person, may very well be said to be the peculiar Character of his being the immediate Representative of God, notwithstanding it reflected from him upon Moses; especially considering that this reflected Glory upon Moses his Face was to be an Evidence to the Iews that he came down to them as an Apostle from the Eternal Word with Authority to publish, and declare his Laws to them. For if this derivative Splendor was an Evidence that Moses came down as an Apostle from that divine Person on the Mount, then the original Splendor of that divine Person whence it was derived and reflected, was at least an equal Evidence that he came down upon the Mount as the Apostle, and immediate Representative of the most High God himself.
And in the same manner we find that the Word Incarnate did give Evidence to the Commission of his Christian Apostles; for upon the Day of Pentecost, when they were assembled together, it is said that there appeared unto them cloven Tongues like as of fire, and sat upon every one of them, Acts 2. 3. that is, there were several Flashes, or Beams of Glory which like bright Flames of Fire, did cleave asunder in many Places according to the natural Motion of Flames, of which every Part as it extends it self in Length grows more Spire-like or Pyremidal, and so divides from the Part next to it; and upon the Head of every one of the Apostles, did one of these divided Flames of Glory rest in the Form of a Tongue, which like a Flame grows sharper and sharper towards the Top: For thus the Hebrew Idiom for a Flame of Fire uses the Tongue of Fire, because of the Resemblance that is between them, Isa. 5. 24. So that as the Eternal Word did evidence to the Iews the Apostleship of Moses by that visible Glory which he reflected on his Face, so did the Word Incarnate evidence to the Christian Church the Apostleship of the Twelve by this visible Glory which he derived upon them. For now, according to Iohn the Baptist's Prediction of him, he baptized them with the Holy Ghost, and with Fire, Luke 3. 16. that is, by the outward Sign of that visible Glory which rested like Fire upon them, he solemnly initiated them into their Apostleship, and declared them to be the Heralds of his Will to the World. And as this visible Glory with which he baptized them, was an Evidence of their being sent from, and commissionated by him to bear his Authority, and represent his Person; so that visible Glory with which he was baptized from Heaven, first in the River Iordan, and afterwards upon Mount Tabor, was an undoubted Evidence that he was sent from above to be his Father's Representative in the Church: For if their shining with his Glory was an Evidence of their being invested with his Authority, then his shining with his Father's Glory must be an equal Evidence of his being invested with the Authority of his Father. And as this visible Glory was always the peculiar Character of God's immediate Representative, and the Royal Crown and Robes as it were with which the most High adorned him at his Inaguration, and Investment with his own Kingly Authority; so St. Peter expresly tells Cornelius and his Company, that God had anointed him with the Holy Ghost, and with Power, Acts 10. 13. that is, by that outward Sign of the visible Glory in which the Holy Ghost descended upon him, he had invested him with Regal Power, and deputed and declared him to be King of the Church. And this in all probability was the Reason why he forbad his Disciples to declare his Transfiguration till after his Resurrection from the Dead, Mark 9. 9. because he knew that if they did, the Iews would not believe it, but would maliciously interpret it to be a false Pretence of his to the Title of God's immediate Representative and Vice-Roy, that visible Glory in which he appeared being the proper Character of that divine King by whom the most High God had formerly governed them; and therefore in all the History of his Life you find he did industriously avoid openly to avow his Regal Authority, and only insinuates it by Consequences and obscure Intimations. For so violently were they prejudiced against his being their King upon the account of his obscure Parentage, and mean Condition, that he could not but foresee how unseasonable it would yet be publickly to own his Regal Authority, and consequently the Glory of his Transfiguration which did so apparently infer it; till by more miraculous Effects, and particularly by his Resurrection from the Dead, he had sufficiently proved and demonstrated it; and then he openly declares without any Reserve, that all Power was given him in Heaven and Earth, Matth. 28. 18. Since therefore it is so apparent by this Characteristical Glory, in which his Person was inrobed, and which the Apostle assures us they saw him invested with, we have all the Reason in the World to conclude that the most High God hath deputed him to be King and Lord of the Church. For when the Apostle tells us that they saw this visible Glory which shone upon him at his Baptism and Transfiguration, he doth as good as say that they saw all the Solemnity of his divine Coronation, that they beheld the most High God circling his Brows with the Royal Diadem, and investing his sacred Body with the Imperial Robes of the great King of the World. So that if it be true what St. Iohn says, that they did see this Glory, (as we have all the Reason in the World to conclude it is, because he offered to seal his Testimony of it with his Blood, and the other two that saw it with him actually did so) then we cannot but acknowledge the blessed Iesus to be our King, to whose divine Authority we are bound to pay the lowest Homage and Obedience; and that whensoever we wilfully transgress his Laws, we do openly rebel against our most rightful Sovereign, to whose Service we are bound by all possible Ties and Obligations.
2. They saw the Glory of that miraculous Power which he exerted in the Course of his Ministry; from whence I infer the Credibility of the Christian Religion: Fo… the many stupendous Miracles that he wrought, were a most plain and unquestionable Evidence of a Divine Power residing in him, and accompanying his Ministry. For never were there so many miraculous Effects produced, either before or since, in the World, by the most renowned Workers of Miracles that ever were; and all that hath been done by the most famous Magicians, that are recorded in History, were but like the little Tricks and Delusions of Iugglers, compared with the wondrous Works of our Saviour; and yet 'tis apparent that his Education had been most plain and simple, that he never had been instructed in any Mathematical Science, or mystical Rites, or in any other Art of performing Wonders, either by Humane Wit or Diabolical Assistance; but was bred up under the Care of his poor honest Parents, who were forced to earn their Bread with the Sweat of their Brows, and so in all Probability was trained up in his Father's Profession, that so by his daily Labour he might be able to contribute to the Charge of his Maintenance. And yet 'tis plain, this home-bred Person sometimes, only by speaking of a Word, sometimes meerly by the Touch of his Hand, sometimes by a silent Virtue proceeding from him without any outward Sign intervening, did more and far greater Wonders in three or four Years Time, than all the most skilful Physicians, Magicians, and Mathematicians could ever do either before or after him. Now how was it possible that ever such a Person should ever have accomplished such great and mighty Things as he did, had he not been endued with Power from above? And if he was endued with such a Power, what greater Evidence can we desire of the Truth and Divinity of his Doctrine? For it is not supposable that the God of Truth would have endued our Saviour with this miraculous Power, had that Doctrine been false which he sought to confirm by it; because in so doing he would have openly patronized a Cheat, and designedly contributed to the Propagation of an Imposture which is utterly inconsistent with his Truth and Veracity: So that now the Truth of Christianity finally resolves into the Veracity of God, which is the Foundation of all the Certainty in the World. For admitting that God can either deceive or be deceived, we do not know but our Faculties may be constantly imposed upon, and then there is nothing in Nature that we can be certain of: So that if it be true, as St. Iohn here testifies, that they did see the Glory of our Saviour's Miracles, that is a most undeniable Evidence of the Truth and Divinity of his Doctrine; and that they did see it, I think is as evident: For it is not imaginable that any single Man would openly testifie a known Lye without some Temptation inducing him thereunto; much less that so many Hundreds of Persons as the Eye-Witnesses of our Saviour's Miracles were, should conspire to cheat the World, not only when they had no Temptation to it, but when they had all the Reason in the World against it; for they saw their Master suffer a shameful Death before their Eyes, by which they might easily divine what their own Fate would be if they persevered to preach up his Miracles and Doctrine, which they could not resolve to do without bidding Adieu to all their temporal Hopes, and ingaging themselves to undergo all the Miseries and Calamities in the World; and if they testified what they knew to be false, they transgressed the Rule of their own Religion, and thereby forfeited all their Hopes of a blessed Immortality in the Life to come. And can it be imagined that so many Men should at the same Time so unanimously agree to report and testifie the Miracles of a Man whom they had lately seen crucified before their Eyes, when they knew in their own Consciences, that it was all a meer Forgery, and could not but foresee, that by persisting in it, they should incur an inevitable Ruin in this Life, and an eternal Damnation in the Life to come? Was there ever such a desperate Piece of Madness heard of from the Beginning of the World to this Day? And yet this monstrous Thing, which is by a thousand Times more incredible than any thing in the Christian Religion, we must not only imagin may be, but believe that it really was; or else confess that St. Iohn says true here, that they did see the Glory of his Miracles, which is so undoubted an Evidence of the Truth of his Doctrine. Wherefore since we are compassed about with such a Cloud of Witnesses, let us by a lively and vigorous Faith adhere to the Truth of our holy Religion, and then we shall find it quick and mighty through God, to the casting down the strong Holds of our vicious Habits, and implanting in us all those divine Dispositions which are necessary to qualifie us for those endless Joys which our blessed Lord hath promised to, and prepared for us.
3. They saw the Glory of that divine and incomparable Doctrine which he taught: From whence I infer the Unreasonableness of Mens entertaining mean and contemptible Opinions of the Christian Faith, since it is so excellent in it self that it was a Glory to the Son of God to be the Author of it. We have a sort of Men among us who would fain be accounted the Wits and Virtuoso's of the Age, who pretend to acknowledge a God, and a Providence, and all the Principles of Natural Religion, and yet openly profess a very mean and contemptible Opinion of Christianity, and take all Occasions to represent it as a ridiculous Fiction, fit only to be imposed upon the credulous Vulgar. But I would fain know of these mighty Men of Reason, what plausible Pretence they can urge for this their bold and blasphemous Censure? Is it because Christianity is a Revealed Religion? or, because there is any thing in it that is unworthy of God whom we pretend to be the Revealer of it? or because there wants credible Evidence of its being revealed by him? If they pretend to reject it because 'tis a Revealed Religion, I would beseech them to consider how it could have comported with the Goodness of God never to make any Revelation of his Will to the World, when the Generality of Men were lost in such a Mid-night of Ignorance in respect of Natural Religion; how even the natural Notions of the Deity were corrupted into all manner of Follies and Vanities, and Men had formed Religions not only hateful to God, but nauseous to all that were wise among themselves; and how defective also they were in the best and purest Precepts of Morality, having at last consecrated their Vices, and inthroned them among the Graces of Religion: In which miserable State of Things, it is so far from being unreasonable to expect a Revelation, that 'tis hardly possible to vindicate God's Goodness without supposing it. For should he have for ever left Mankind in this bewilder'd State without Revelation, he would have been more wanting to Man, who is the noblest of all his earthly Creatures, than he is to the most contemptible Animal; for to his meanest Creatures he hath given sufficient Ability to attain the highest End of their Beings, which Mankind can hardly be supposed to have in his corrupt degenerate State, without supposing a new Revelation from Heaven. For we having an innate Notion within us of a Supreme Being above us, that is superlatively good, and endued with all possible Perfection; our natural Reason dictates to us, that to converse with and enjoy him for ever, is the highest Good that we are capable of, and the most suitable to our rational Natures; but by what means we may be reconciled to him in this State of Revolt whereinto we are fallen, and how at length we may arrive to the Enjoyment of him, could never have been sufficiently made known to us in this Maze of Ignorance wherein we were involved, without some divine Revelation: And therefore to suppose Revelation unreasonable in our miserable State and Circumstances, is to suppose it unreasonable for the great and good Governor of the World to furnish his noblest Creature Man with sufficient means to obtain his most excellent End. And if it be acknowledged that there is a Revelation, because it is so highly reasonable that there should be, let us consider which of all the Religions in the World, that pretends to be from God, is most likely to be the Revelation of his Will, and then I doubt not, if we impartially compare them, but our Reason will soon give its Vote for Christianity. If you enquire for this Revelation of the Enthusiastick Poets of the Heathen, how wild and extravagant is that Religion which we find in the Theology of Hesiod, the Hymns of Orpheus, the Odes of Pindar, and the Poems of Homer, Virgil, and Ovid? If you consult the Heathen Oracles of Delphos, Dodona, and Iupiter Hammon, how vain and frivolous, how uncertain and fallacious, are all their Responses? besides that, the Books and Records of them are long since perished and consumed. If you enquire for this Revelation in the Old Roman Theology, which Numa pretended to receive from his Goddess Egeria, that also is lost, being burnt by the Roman Senate, as Valerius Maximus tells us; for that it contained many Things in it not only destructive to the Gods and Religions of other Countries, but also to his own and the Roman Profession. Or shall we confront Christianity with the Alchoran of Mahomet, which he often pretends to have received from God? There we shall find every Page almost abounding with monstrous Cheats and Impostures, the whole being nothing else but a confused Medly of impious and contemptible Fopperies, heaped together by a Triumvirate of Arians, Iews, and Pagans, who were all of them known Impostors in the Ages wherein they lived: So that to confront Christianity with any of these, is to light up a Rush Candle, and resolve to outface the Sun with it. For as for Christianity, 'tis a Religion made up of the most divine and Godlike Institutions; its Precepts being such as are most worthy of God, enjoining nothing but what is either true Godliness, and most generous Morality, or what are the most efficacious Means and Instruments of promoting them. And as for its Doctrine, it partly consists of those Principles of Natural Religion which all wise Men, of whatsoever Nation or Religion, have owned and acknowledged, such as the Existence, Vnity, and Providence of the Godhead, the Immortality of the Soul, and the Rewards and Punishments of another Life, together with the great Day of Accounts, wherein Men shall receive according to what they have done in the Flesh: And even the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which is the profoundest Mystery of all our Religion, hath been owned and professed by the greatest and most famous Philosophers that ever were. And as for those Doctrines that are purely Christian, such as the Birth, and Life, and Death, the Resurrection and Ascension of our Saviour, together with his Sitting at the Right-hand of God, and coming at the last Day to judge the World, they are all of them so excellently contrived to serve the great Ends of Religion, so wonderfully pregnant with Motives and Arguments to engage Men to the greatest Purity and Goodness, that by their own native Beauty, and excellent Contrivance, they manifest themselves to be the Products of a divine Wisdom. So that there can be no reasonable Pretence to contemn Christianity either because it is a Revealed Religion, or because it contains any thing in it that is any ways unworthy of the Revealer: And that there wants not sufficient Evidence to demonstrate it to be the Revelation of God, I have already proved in the former Inference. So that after all the lewd Talk of these confident Men, it's apparent there is not the least Colour of Reason for their impious Censures of Christianity. But alas! it's evident that the Foundation of their Quarrel against it, lies not so much in their Reason, as their Lusts. Christianity lays them under severe Restraints, and will not permit them to be wicked in quiet, which provokes them to arm their Wit, and the little Reason that they have against it; that so having baffled, or rather laughed themselves out of their Religion, they may be left at liberty to play the Fools and Mad-men without Controul or Disturbance. And I make no doubt but if instead of that strict Piety and Virtue which Christianity enjoins, it had but indulged to them the Liberties of the Heathen Religion, so that they could have but acted all their Wickedness with Devotion, sacrificed to the Gods in drunken Bowls, and worshipped in the Arms of a Strumpet, there are no Men in the World would have been more zealous Christians than they. But let no Man be so foolish as to imagine that he can alter the Nature of Things by laughing at them, or that Christianity will cease to be true in Compliance with our wicked Interest and Desires; no, no, Things will be as they are in despite of us, and howsoever we will please to fancy them. And if after all our rude Contempts of Religion, it be found to be true, as I doubt not but it will, we shall be sensible when it is too late that it had been more for our Safety to have play'd before the Mouth of a Cannon while it is spitting Fire, or to have catch'd hold of a Thunderbolt as it comes roaring down from the Clouds, than to have plaid with Religion, and made it the Subject of our impious Scorns and Buffooneries.
4. And lastly; They saw the Glory of his immaculate Holiness and Purity: From whence I infer, that Holiness and true Goodness is the greatest Glory and Honour to humane Nature. For this was the Glory of the Son of God himself when he assumed our Nature, and dwelt among us; and there is nothing more glorious in Christ than his Goodness; and notwithstanding those excellent Doctrines that he preached, those stupendous Miracles that he wrought, and that visible Splendor in which he was inrobed, he had not deserved the Name of a great and glorious Man if he had not been just and charitable, temperate, and humble, and Heavenly-minded, and eminent in all those divine and humane Virtues which are the proper Glory and Ornament of humane Nature. For that which makes a Man more honourable than a meer Animal, and advances us into the next Degree of Beings to Angels, is our Reason, by which alone we border upon the Divinity, and do claim Kindred with the Angelical Natures. That therefore which is truly our Honour and Glory, consists in living according to that Reason by which we are advanced above all sublunary Natures; that is, in governing our Passions and Appetites, Words and Actions, according to those Eternal Rules of Righteousness which Right Reason dictates to us; and if instead of doing thus, we wholly resign up our selves to the Dominion of our brutish and unreasonable Inclinations, we thereby render our selves more despicable and infamous than the most beastly Brutes in all the Creation, and even those Goats, and Wolves, and Swine, and Tygers, whom we resemble in our beastly Manners, could they see our Shame, would doubtlesly hiss at us, and reproach us for greater Beasts than themselves; for they all live up to the best of their Natures, and regularly pursue the highest End for which they were created; whereas we who are Allyed to the noblest of Beings, and are created and designed for the most glorious Ends, do by our base and unreasonable Condescentions shamefully under-value our selves in pursuing no Ends but what are extremely unworthy of us: So that it had been much more for our Honour and Reputation to have assumed the Shape and Nature of Brutes, when we assumed their Manners and Customs; for then our Actions would have very well become us, and neither God nor Men could have justly upbraided us for them. But to lead the Lives of Brutes in the Shape and Nature of Men, is monstrous; 'tis to advance the Beast above the Man, to place our Heels where Nature hath placed our Head, and become our own Reverse and Antipodes.