Works of Joseph Hall, Sermon 1 – Title page 25
THE PASSION SERMON.
IOH. 19. VER. 30.
When Ieſus therefore had receiued the Vineger, he ſaid, It is finiſhed; and bowing the head, he gaue vp the ghoſt.
THE bitter and yet victorious paſſion of the Sonne of God, (Right Honourable and beloued Chriſtians) as it was the ſtrangeſt thing that euer befell the earth; ſo is both of moſt ſoueraigne vſe, and lookes for the moſt frequent and carefull meditation. It is one of thoſe things, which was once done, that it might bee thought of for euer. EueryEvery day therefore muſt bee the Good-Friday of a Chriſtian: who, with that great Doctor of the Gentiles, muſt deſire to know nothing but Ieſus Chriſt, and him crucified.
There is no branch or circumſtance in this wonderfull buſineſſe, which yeelds not infinite matter of diſcourſe. According to the ſolemnitie of this time and place, I hauehave choſen to commend vntounto your Chriſtian attention, our Sauiours Farewell to Nature (for his reuiuing was aboue it) in his laſt word, in his laſt act. His laſt word, It is finiſhed; his laſt act, He gaue vp the Ghoſt. That which hee ſaid, hee did. If there bee any theame that may challenge and command our eares and hearts, this is it: for behold, the ſweeteſt word that euer Chriſt ſpake, and the moſt meritorious act that euer he did, are met together, in this his laſt breath. In the one yee ſhall ſee him triumphing; yeelding in the other, yet ſo as he ouercomes. Imagine therefore, that you ſaw Chriſt Ieſus, in this day of his paſſion (who is eueryevery day here crucified before your eyes) aduanced vponupon the Chariot of his Croſſe; and now, after a weary conflict, cheerefully ouer-looking the deſpight and ſhame of men, the wrath of his Father, the Law, ſinne, death, hell, which all he gaſping at his foot: and then you ſhall conceiue, with what ſpirit he ſaith, Conſummatum eſt, It is finiſhed. What is finiſhed? Shortly; All the propheſies that were of him; All legall obſeruations, that prefigured him; his owne ſufferings; our ſaluation. The propheſies are accompliſht, the ceremonies aboliſht, his ſufferings ended, our ſaluation wrought: theſe foure heads ſhall limit this firſt part of my ſpeech; onelyonly let them finde and leaue you attentiue.
Euen this very word is propheſied of; All things that are written of mee hauehave an end, ſaith Chriſt. What end? This, it is finiſhed. This very end hath his end here. What therefore is finiſhed? Not this prediction onelyonly of his laſt draught, as Auguſtine: that were too particular. Let our Sauiour himſelfe ſay, All things that are written of mee by the Prophets. It is a ſure and conuertible rule; Nothing was done by Chriſt, which was not foretold: Nothing was euer foretold by the Prophets of Chriſt, which was not done. It would take vp a life to compare the Prophets and Euangeliſts,☜ ☞ Eſay 7.14. Matth. 1.23. Michah 5.2. Matth. 2.6. Eſay 11.1. Matth. 2.15. Ieremie 31.15. Matth. 2.18. Iudg. 13.5. Matth. 2. vlt. Eſay 40.3. Matth. 3.2. Eſay 9.1. Matth. 4.15. Leuit. 14.4. Matth. 8.4. Eſay 53.4. Matth. 8.17. Eſay 61.1. Matth. 11.4. Eſay 42.1. Matth. 12.17. Ionah 1.17. Matth. 12.40. Eſay 6.9. Matth. 13.14. Pſalm. 78.2. Matth. 13.35. Eſay 35.5, 6. Matth. 15.30. Eſay 62.11. Matth. 21.5. Zach. 9.9. Matth. Ibidem. Ieremie 7.11. Matth. 21.13. Pſalm. 8.2. Matth. 21.16. Eſay 5.8. Matth. 21.33. Pſal. 118.22. Matth. 21.44. Pſal. 110.1. Matth. 22.44. Eſay 3.14. Matth. 21.44. Pſal. 41.9. Matth. 26.31. Eſay 53.10. Matth. 26.54. Zach. 13.7. Matth. 26.31. Lam. 4.20. Matth. 26.56. Eſay 50.6. Matth. 26.67. Zach. 11.13. Matth. 27.9. Pſalm. 22.18. Matth. 27.35. Pſalm. 22.2. Matth. 27.46. Pſalm. 69.22. Matth. 27.48. the predictions and the hiſtory, and largely to diſcourſe how the one foretels, and the other anſwers: let it ſuffice to looke at them running. Of all the Euangeliſts, Saint Matthew hath beene moſt ſtudious, in making theſe references and correſpondences; with whom, the burden or vnderſong of eueryevery euent, is ſtill (vt impleretur) That it might bee fulfilled. Thus hath he noted (if I hauehave reckoned them aright) two and thirtie ſeuerall propheſies concerning Chriſt, fulfilled in his birth, life, death.
To which, S. Iohn adds many more. Our ſpeech muſt bee directed to his Paſſion: Omitting the reſt, let vsus inſiſt in thoſe.
He muſt be apprehended: it was fore-propheſied; The Anointed of the Lord was taken in their nets, ſaith Ieremie: but how? he muſt be ſold: for what? thirty ſiluer peeces; and what muſt thoſe doe? buy a field: all foretold; And they tooke thirty ſiluer peeces, the price of him that was valued, and gaue them for the Potters field, ſaith Zacharie (miſwritten Ieremie, by one letter miſtaken in the abbreuiation.) By whom? That childe of perdition, that the Scripture might bee fulfilled. Which was hee? It is foretold; He that eateth bread with me, ſaith the Pſalmiſt. And what ſhall his Diſciples doe? Runne away: ſo ſaith the propheſie: I will ſmite the ſhepherd, and the ſheepe ſhall bee ſcattered, ſaith Zacharie. What ſhall bee done to him? Hee muſt be ſcourged and ſpet vponupon: behold, not thoſe filthy excrements could hauehave light vponupon his ſacred face, without a propheſie; I hid not my face from ſhame and ſpetting, ſaith Eſay. What ſhall bee the iſſue? In ſhort, he ſhall be led to death: it is the propheſie, The Meſsias ſhall bee ſlaine, ſaith Daniel: what death? He muſt be lift vp; Like as Moſes lift vp the Serpent in the wilderneſſe, ſo ſhall the Sonne of man bee lift vp. Chryſoſtome ſaith well, that ſome actions are parables; ſo may I ſay, ſome actions are propheſies, ſuch are all types of Chriſt, and this with the formoſt. Lift vp, whither? to the Croſſe: it is the propheſie, hanging vponupon a tree, ſaith Moſes: how lift vp? nailed to it: ſo is the propheſie, Foderunt manus, They hauehave pierced my hands and my feet, ſaith the Pſalmiſt: With what companie? Two theeues: With the wicked was hee numbred, ſaith Eſay: Where? Without the gates, ſaith the propheſie: What becomes of his garments? They cannot ſo much as caſt the dice for his coat, but it is propheſied: They diuided my garments, and on my veſtures caſt lots, ſaith the Pſalmiſt. Hee muſt die then on the Croſſe: but how? voluntarily. Not a bone of him ſhall be broken: what hinders it? loe, there he hangs, as it were neglected, and at mercy; yet all the raging Iewes, no, all the Deuils in hell cannot ſtir one bone in his bleſſed bodie: It was propheſied in the Eaſter-Lamb, and it muſt bee fulfilled in him that is the true Paſſeouer, in ſpight of fiends and men: how then? hee muſt be thruſt in the ſide: behold, not the very ſpeare could touch his precious ſide being dead, but it muſt be guided by a propheſie; They ſhall ſee him whom they hauehave thruſt thorow, ſaith Zacharie: what ſhall he ſay the while? not his very words but are fore-ſpoken: his complaint, Eli Eli lammaſabactani, as the Chalde, or foreign as the Hebrew; Pſalm. 22.2. his reſignation: In manus tuas, Into thy hands I commend my ſpirit, Pſal. 31.5. his requeſt, Father forgiue them: Hee prayed for the tranſgreſſors, ſaith Eſay. And now when hee ſaw all theſe propheſies were fulfilled, knowing that one remained, he ſaid, I thirſt. Domine, quid ſitis? ſaith one, O Lord, what thirſteſt thou for? A ſtrange hearing, that a man, yea that GOD and MAN dying, ſhould complaine of thirſt.
Could hee endure the ſcorching flames of the wrath of his Father, the curſe of our ſinnes, thoſe tortures of bodie, thoſe horrours of ſoule, and doth he ſhrinke at his thirſt? No, no: he could hauehave borne his drought, he could not beare the Scripture not fulfilled. It was not neceſſitie of nature, but the neceſſitie of his Fathers decree, that drew forth this word, I thirſt. They offered it before, he refuſed it: Whether it were an ordinarie potion for the condemned to haſten death (as in the ſtorie of M. Anthonie which is the moſt receiued conſtruction) or whether it were that Iewiſh potion, whereof the Rabbines ſpeake; whoſe tradition was, that the malefactor to be executed,Sit mors mea in remiſſion…m omnium miquitatū mearum. Vt vſus rationis tollatur. ſhould after ſome good counſell from two of their Teachers, be taught to ſay; Let my death be to the remiſsion of all my ſinnes; and then that he ſhould hauehave giuen him a boule of mixt wine, with a graine of Frankincenſe, to bereaue him both of reaſon and paine.
I durſt be confident in this latter; the rather for that S. Marke calls this draught, foreign, Myrrh-wine, mingled (as is like) with other ingredients. And Montanus agrees with me in the end, Ad ſtuporem & mentis alienationem: A faſhion which Galatine obſerues out of the Sannedrim, to bee grounded vponupon Prou. 31.6. GiueGive ſtrong drinke to him that is ready to periſh. I leaue it modeſtly in the middeſt; let the learneder iudge. Whatſoeuer it were, he would not die till he had complained of thirſt, and in his thirſt taſted it. Neither would he hauehave thirſted for, or taſted any but this bitter draught; that the Scripture might be fulfilled; They gaue mee vineger to drinke: And loe, now Conſummatum eſt; All is finiſhed.
If there be any Iew amongſt you, that like one of Iohns vnſeaſonable Diſciples, ſhall aske, Art thou he, or ſhall we looke for another? hee hath his anſwer; Yee men of Iſrael, why ſtand you gazing and gaping for another Meſſias? In this alone, all the Propheſies are finiſhed; and of him alone, all was propheſied, that was finiſhed. Pauls old rule holds ſtill, To the Iewes a ſtumbling blocke; and that more ancient curſe of Dauid, Let their table bee made a ſnare: And Steuens two brands ſticke ſtill in the fleſh of theſe wretched men: One in their necke, ſtiffe-necked; the other in their heart, vncircumciſed; foreign.the one, Obſtinacie; the other, Vnbeleefe: ſtiffe necks indeed, that will not ſtoope and relent with the yoke of ſixteene hundred yeeres iudgement and ſeruilitie; vncircumciſed hearts, the filme of whoſe vnbeleefe, would not be cut off with ſo infinite conuictions. Oh mad and miſerable Nation: let them ſhew vsus one propheſie that is not fulfilled, let them ſhew vsus one other in whom all the propheſies can be fulfilled, and we will mix pittie with our hate: If they cannot, and yet reſiſt, their doome is paſt; Thoſe mine enemies, that would not hauehave me to reigne ouer them, bring them hither, and ſlay them before me. So let thine enemies periſh, O Lord.
But what goe I ſo far? Euen amongſt vsus (to our ſhame) this riotous age hath bred a monſtrous generation (I pray God I be not now in ſome of your boſomes,Aug ad Hit. D…m volunt & Iudaei eſſe & Chriſtiani, nec Iudae: ſunt, nec Chriſtiani. that heare me this day) compounded, much like to the Turkiſh religion, of one part, Chriſtian; another, Iew; a third, worldling; a fourth, Atheiſt: a Chriſtians face, a Iewes heart, a worldlings life; and therefore Atheous in the whole; that acknowledge a God, and know him not; that profeſſe a Chriſt, but doubt of him; yea, beleeue him not: The foole hath ſaid in his heart, There is no Chriſt. What ſhall I ſay of theſe men? They are worſe than deuils: that yeelding ſpirit could ſay, Ieſus I know: and theſe miſcreants are ſtill in the old tune of that tempting deuill; Situ es filius Dei, If thou bee the Chriſt. Oh God, that after ſo cleare a Goſpell, ſo many miraculous confirmations, ſo many thouſand martyrdomes, ſo many glorious victories of truth, ſo many open confeſſions of Angels, men, deuils, friends, enemies; ſuch conſpirations of heauen and earth, ſuch vniuerſall conteſtations of all Ages and people; there ſhould be left any ſparke of this damnable infidelitie in the falſe hearts of men. Behold then, yee deſpiſers, and wonder, and vaniſh away: Whom hauehave all the Prophets foretold? or what hauehave the propheſies of ſo many hundreds, yea thouſands of yeeres, foreſaid, that is not with this word finiſhed? who could foretell theſe things, but the Spirit of God? who could accompliſh them, but the Sonne of God? Hee ſpake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, ſaith Zacharie: he hath ſpoken, and he hath done; one true God in both: none other ſpirit could foreſay theſe things ſhould be done; none other power could doe theſe things, thus fore-ſhewed: this word therefore can fit none but the mouth of God our Sauiour, It is finiſhed. Wee know whom wee hauehave beleeued; Thou art the Chriſt the Sonne of the liuing God. Let him that loues not the Lord Ieſus be accurſed to the death.
Thus the propheſies are finiſhed: Of the legall obſeruations, with more breuitie. Chriſt is the end of the Law: What Law? Ceremoniall, Morall. Of the Morall; it was kept perfectly by himſelfe, ſatisfied fully for vsus: Of the Ceremoniall; it was referred to him, obſerued of him, fulfilled in him, aboliſht by him. There were nothing more eaſie, than to ſhew you how all thoſe Iewiſh Ceremonies lookt at Chriſt; how Circumciſion,foreign. Paſſeouer, the Tabernacle, both outer and inner, the Temple, the Lauer, both the Altars, the Tables of Shew-bread, the Candleſticks, the Vaile, the Holy of Holies, the Arke, the Propitiatorie, the pot of Manna, Aarons Rod, the High Prieſt, his Order & Line, his Habits, his Inaugurations, his Waſhings, his Anointings, his Sprinklings, Offerings, the ſacrifices, foreign, and what-euer Iewiſh Rite; had their vertue from Chriſt, relation to him, and their end in him. This was then their laſt gaſpe; for, now ſtraight they died with Chriſt, now the vaile of the Temple rent: As Auſten well notes out of Matthewes order;Ex quo apparet, tunc ſciſſiam eſſe, cum Cirillus emiſit ſpiritam. It tore then, when Chriſts laſt breath paſſed. That conceit of Theophilact is wittie; that as the Iewes were wont to rend their garments, when they heard blaſphemie: ſo the Temple not enduring theſe execrable blaſphemies againſt the Sonne of God, tore his vaile in peeces. But this is not all: the vaile rent, is the obligation of the rituall Law canceled; the way into the heauenly Sanctuarie opened; the ſhadow giuing roome to the ſubſtance: in a word, it doth that which Chriſt ſaith, Conſummatum eſt. Euen now then the law of Ceremonies died: It had a long and ſolemne buriall,Ceremoniae ficut defancta corpora neceſſariorum efficijs deducenda erant ad ſepulturā, non ſimulatè, ſed religioſe, nec deſcrenda continuò. Auguſtin. Ego è contrario loqua…, & reclamante mundo lib…râ voce pronunciem, ceremonas Iudaeorum pernici…ſa… eſſ…, & mortiferas, & quicun que eas obſ…ruau…r…t, ſiue ex Iudaeis ſiu… ex Gentibus, in barathrum diaboli deuolutum. Hier. Quiſ que is nunc ea celebrare voluerit, tanquam ſopitos cineres erucus, non erit pius, &c. as Auguſtine ſaith well; perhaps figured in Moſes, who died not lingeringly, but was thirty dayes mourned for: what meanes the Church of Rome to digge them vp, now rotten in their graues? and that, not as they had beeene buried, but ſowen, with a plenteous increaſe; yea, with the inuerted vſurie of too many of you Citizens; ten for one. It is a graue and deepe cenſure of that reſolute Hierome; Ego è contrario loquar, &c. I ſay, ſaith he, and in ſpight of all the world dare maintaine, that now the Iewiſh ceremonies are pernitious and deadly; and whoſoeuer ſhall obſerue them, whether hee be Iew or Gentile, in barathrum Diaboli deuolutum; Shall frie in Hell for it. Still Altars? ſtill Prieſt? ſacrifices ſtill? ſtill waſhings? ſtill vnctions? ſprinkling, ſhauing, purifying? ſtill all, and more than all? Let them heare but Auguſtines cenſure, Quiſquis nunc, &c. Whoſoeuer ſhall now vſe them, as it were raking them vp out of their duſt; hee ſhall not bee Pius deductor corporis, ſed impius ſepulturae violator; an impious and ſacrilegious wretch, that ranſacks the quiet tombes of the dead.
I ſay not that all Ceremonies are dead; but the Law of Ceremonies, and of Iewiſh. It is a ſound diſtinction of them, that profound Peter Martyr hath in his Epiſtle, to that worthy Martyr, Father, Biſhop Hooper: Some are typicall, fore-ſignifying Chriſt to come: ſome, of order and decencie, thoſe are abrogated, not theſe: the Iewes had a faſhion of propheſying in the Churches; ſo the Chriſtians from them, as Ambroſe: the Iewes had an eminent pulpit of wood; ſo wee: they gaue names at their Circumciſion; ſo wee at Baptiſme: they ſung Pſalmes, melodiouſly in Churches; ſo doe we: they paid and receiued tithes; ſo doe wee: they wrapt their dead in linnen with odors; ſo wee: the Iewes had ſureties at their admiſſion into the Church; ſo wee: theſe inſtances might be infinite: the Spouſe of Chriſt cannot bee without her laces, and chaines, and borders. Chriſt came not to diſſolue order. But thou O Lord, how long? how long ſhall thy poore Church finde her ornaments, her ſorrowes? and ſee the deare ſonnes of her wombe, bleeding about theſe apples of ſtrife: let mee ſo name them not for their value (euen ſmall things, when they are commanded, looke for no ſmall reſpect) but for their euent: the enemie is at the gates of our Syracuſe; how long will wee ſuffer our ſelues, taken vp with angles and circles in the duſt: yee Men, Brethren, and Fathers, helpe, for Gods ſake put to your hands to the quenching of this common flame: the one ſide by humilitie and obedience; the other, by compaſſion; both, by prayers and teares: who am I, that I ſhould reuiue to you the ſweet ſpirit of that diuine Auguſtine, who when hee heard and ſaw the bitter contentions betwixt two graue and famous Diuines, Ierome and Ruffine; Heu mihi, ſaith he, qui vos alicubi fi…al inuenire non poſſum; Alas that I ſhould neuer finde you two together, how I would fall at your feet, how I would embrace them, and weepe vponupon them, and beſeech you, either of you for other, and each for himſelfe, both of you for the Church of God, but eſpecially, for the weake, for whom Chriſt died, who not without their owne great danger, ſee you two fighting in this Theatre of the world. Yet let me doe what he ſaid he would doe; begge for peace, as for life: by your filiall pietie to the Church of God, whoſe ruines follow vponupon our diuiſions; by your louelove of Gods truth; by the graces of that one bleſſed Spirit, whereby we are all informed and quickned; by the precious bloud of that Sonne of God, which this day, and this houre, was ſhed for our redemption, bee inclined to peace and louelove: and though our braines be different, yet let our hearts be one. It was, as I heard, the dying ſpeech of our late reuerend, worthy and gratious Dioceſan; Modo me moriente viuat ac floreat Eccleſia; Oh, yet if, when I am dead, the Church may liue and flouriſh.
What a ſpirit was here? what a ſpeech? how worthy neuer to die? how worthy of a ſoule ſo neere to his heauen? how worthy of ſo happy a ſucceſſion? Yee whom God hath made inheritors of this bleſſed care, who doe no leſſe long for the proſperitie of Sion, liue you to effect what hee did but liue to wiſh; all peace with our ſelues, and warre with none but Rome and Hell. And if there bee any wayward Separatiſt, whoſe ſoule profeſſeth to hate peace; I feare to tell him Pauls meſſage, yet I muſt:Si tu pacem ſugis, ego te ab Eccleſia fugere mando. Would to God thoſe were cut off that trouble you. How cut off? As good Theodoſius ſaid to Demophilus, a contentious Prelate; Si tu pacem fugis, &c. If thou flie peace, I will make thee flie the Church. Alas, they doe flie it: that which ſhould be therir puniſhment, they make their contentment; how are they worthy of pittie? As Optatus of his Donatiſts, they are Brethren, might be companions, and will not. Oh wilfull men; whither doe they runne? from one Chriſt to another? Is Chriſt diuided? we hauehave him, thankes be to our good God, and we heare him daily; and whither ſhall we goe from thee? thou haſt the words of eternall life.
Thus the Ceremonies are finiſhed: now heare the end of his ſufferings, with like patience and deuotion: his death is here included; it was ſo neere, that he ſpake of it as done; and when it was done, all was done. How eaſie is it to loſe our ſelues in this diſcourſe! how hard not to be ouerwhelmed with matter of wonder; and to finde either beginning or end! his ſufferings found an end, our thoughts cannot. Lo, with this word, he is happily waded out of thoſe deeps of ſorrowes, whereof our conceits can finde no bottome: yet let vsus, with Peter, gird our coat, and caſt our ſelues a little into this ſea.
All his life was but a perpetuall Paſſion: In that he became man, he ſuffered more than wee can doe, either while we are men, or when we ceaſe to be men; he humbled,foreign. yea, he emptied himſelfe. We, when we ceaſe to be here, are cloathed vponupon, 2 Cor. 5. Wee both winne by our being, and gaine by our loſſe; he loſt, by taking our more or leſſe to himſelfe, that is, manhood. For, though euer as God, I and my Father are one: yet as man, My Father is greater than I. That man ſhould be turned into a beaſt, into a worme, into duſt, into nothing; is not ſo great a diſparagement, as that God ſhould become man: and yet it is not finiſhed; it is but begun. But what man? If, as the abſolute Monarch of the world, hee had commanded the vaſſalage of all Emperors and Princes, and had trod on nothing but Crownes and Scepters, and the necks of Kings, and bidden all the Potentates of the earth to attend his traine; this had carried ſome port with it; ſutable to the heroicall Maieſtie of Gods Sonne. No ſuch matter: here is neither Forme nor Beautie; vnleſſe perhaps (foreign) the forme of a ſeruant: you hauehave made me to ſerue, with your ſinnes. Behold, hee is a man to God; a ſeruant to man; and, be it ſpoken with holy reuerence, a drudge to his ſeruants. Hee is deſpiſed and reiected of men; yea (as himſelfe, of himſelfe) a worme, and no man, the ſhame of men, and contempt of the people. Who is the King of glory? Pſal. 24.10.the Lord of Hoaſts, he is the King of glory. Set theſe two together; the King of glory; the ſhame of men: the more honour, the more abaſement. Looke backe to his Cradle: there you finde him rejected of the Bethlemites; borne and laid, alas, how homely, how vnworthily; ſought for by Herod, exiled to Aegypt, obſcurely brought vp in the Cottage of a poore Foſter-Father, tranſported and tempted by Sathan, derided of his kindred, blaſphemouſly traduced by the Iewes, pinched with hunger, reſtleſſe, harbourleſſe, ſorrowfull, perſecuted by the Elders, and Phariſes, ſold by his owne ſeruant, apprehended, arraigned, ſcourged, condemned, and yet it is not finiſhed. Let vsus, with that Diſciple, follow him a farre off; and paſſing ouer all his contemptuous vſage in the way, ſee him brought to his Croſſe. Still the further we looke, the more wonder: eueryevery thing adds to this ignominie of ſuffering, and triumph of ouer-comming. Where was it?foreign. Act 26.27. not in a corner, as Paul ſaith to Feſtus, but in Ieruſalem, the eye, the heart of the world. Obſcuritie abateth ſhame: publique notice heightens it: Before all Iſrael and before this Sunne, ſaith God to Dauid, when he would thorowly ſhame him: In Ieruſalem, which he had honoured with his preſence, taught with his preachings, aſtoniſht with his miracles, bewayled with his teares; O Ieruſalem, Ieruſalem, how oft would I, and thou wouldeſt not: O yet, if in this thy day. Crueltie and vnkindneſſe, after good deſert, afflict ſo much more, as our merit hath beene greater. Whereabouts? without the gates: in Caluarie, among the ſtinking bones of execrable Malefactors. Before, the glory of the place bred ſhame; now the vileneſſe of it. When? but in the Paſſeouer; a time of greateſt frequence, and concourſe of all Iewes and Proſelytes: An holy time, when they ſhould receiue the figure, they reiect the ſubſtance: when they ſhould kill and eat the Sacramentall Lambe, in faith, in thankfulneſſe, they kill the Lambe of God, our true Paſſeouer, in crueltie and contempt. With whom? The qualitie of our companie, either increaſes or leſſens ſhame. In the midſt of theeues (ſaith one) as the Prince of theeues:& In …edio latronū tanquam latronū immaniſſimus. Luth…r. there was no guile in his mouth, much leſſe in his hands: yet behold he that thought it no robberie to be equall with God, is made equall to robbers and murderers; yea ſuperiour in euill. What ſuffered he? As all lifes are not alike pleaſant, ſo all deaths are not equally fearefull. There is not more difference betwixt ſome life and death, than betwixt one death and another. See the Apoſtles gradation: He was made obedient to the death, euen the death of the Croſſe. The Croſſe, a lingring, tormenting, ignominious death. The Iewes had foure kindes of death for malefactors; the towell, the ſword, fire, ſtones; each of theſe aboue other in extremitie. Strangling with the towell, they accounted eaſieſt: the ſword worſe than the towell; the fire worſe than the ſword: ſtoning worſe than the fire: but this Romane death was worſt of all. Curſed is eueryevery one that hangeth on a Tree. Yet (as Ierome well) hee is not therefore accurſed, becauſe he hangeth; but therefore he hangeth, becauſe he is accurſed. He was made (foreign) a Curſe for vsus. The curſe was more than the ſhame: yet the ſhame is vnſpeakable; and yet not more than the paine. Yet all that die the ſame death, are not equally miſerable: the very theeues fared better in their death than hee. I heare of no irriſion, no inſcription, no taunts, no inſultation on them: they had nothing but paine to encounter, he paine and ſcorne. An ingenuous and noble Nature, can worſe brooke this than the other; any thing rather than diſdainfulneſſe and deriſion: eſpecially, from a baſe enemie. I remember that learned Father begins Iſraels affliction, with Iſmaels perſecuting laughter. The Iewes, the Souldiers, yea, the very Theeues flouted him, and triumpht ouer his miſery; his bloud cannot ſatisfie them, without his reproach. Which of his ſenſes now was not a window to let-in ſorrow? his eyes ſaw the teares of his Mother and friends, the vnthankfull demeanure of Mankinde, the cruell deſpight of his enemies: his eares heard the reuilings and blaſphemies of the multitude; and (whether the place were noyſome to his ſent) his touch felt the nayles, his taſte the gall. Looke vp, O all yee beholders, looke vponupon this pretious bodie, and ſee what part yee can finde free. That head which is adored and trembled at by the Angelicall ſpirits, is all raked and harrowed with thornes:Caput Angelicis ſpiritibus tremebundum ſpinis corenatur, &c. that face, of whom it is ſaid; Thou art fairer than the children of men, is all beſmeared with the filthy ſpettle of the Iewes, and furrowed with his teares; thoſe eyes, clearer than the Sunne, are darkned with the ſhadow of death; thoſe eares that heare the heauenly conſorts of Angels, now are filled with the curſed ſpeakings and ſcoffs of wretched men: thoſe lips that ſpake as neuer man ſpake, that command the ſpirits both of light and darkneſſe, are ſcornfully wet with vinegar and gall: thoſe feet that trample on all the powers of hell (his enemies are made his footſtoole) are now nayled to the footſtoole of the Croſſe: thoſe hands that freely ſway the ſcepter of the heauens, now carry the reede of reproach, and are nayled to the tree of reproach: that whole bodie, which was conceiued by the Holy-Ghoſt, was all ſcourged, wounded, mangled: this is the out-ſide of his ſufferings. Was his heart free? Oh no: the inner part or ſoule of this paine, which was vnſeene, is as far beyond theſe outward and ſenſible, as the ſoule is beyond the bodie; Gods wrath beyond the malice of men: theſe were but louelove-tricks to what his ſoule endured. O all yee that paſſe by the way, behold and ſee, if there bee any ſorrow like to my ſorrow: Alas, Lord, what can we ſee of thy ſorrowes? wee cannot conceiue ſo much as the hainouſnes and deſert of one of thoſe ſinnes which thou bareſt: wee can no more ſee thy paine, than wee could vndergoe it; onelyonly this wee ſee, that what the infinite ſinnes, of almoſt infinite men, committed againſt an infinite Maieſtie, deſerued in infinite continuance; all this thou in the ſhort time of thy Paſſion haſt ſuſtained. Wee may behold and ſee; but all the glorious ſpirits in Heauen cannot looke into the depth of this ſuffering. Doe but looke yet a little into the paſſions of this his Paſſion: for, by the manner of his ſufferings, we ſhall beſt ſee, what he ſuffered. Wiſe and reſolute men doe not complaine of a little; holy Martyrs hauehave beene racked, and would not be looſed; what ſhall we ſay, if the author of their ſtrength, God and Man, bewray paſſions? what would hauehave ouerwhelmed men, would not hauehave made him ſhrinke; and what made him complaine, could neuer hauehave beene ſuſtained by men. What ſhall we then thinke, if hee were affrighted with terrors, perplexed with ſorrowes; and diſtracted with both theſe? And lo, he was all theſe: for, firſt, here was an amazed feare; for millions of men to deſpaire; was not ſo much as for him to feare: and yet it was no ſlight feare: he began (foreign) to be aſtoniſhed with terror; Which in the dayes of his fleſh, offered vp prayers and ſupplications, with ſtrong cries and teares, to him that was able to helpe him, and was heard in that hee feared. Neuer was man ſo afraid of the torments of Hell, as Chriſt (ſtanding in our roome) of his Fathers wrath. Feare is ſtill ſutable to apprehenſion. Neuer man could ſo perfectly apprehend this cauſe of feare; he felt the chaſtiſements of our peace, yea, the curſe of our ſins; and therefore might well ſay with DAVID; I ſuffer thy terrors with a troubled minde; yea with IOB; The arrowes of God are in mee, and the terrors of God fight againſt me. With feare, there was a dejecting ſorrow (foreign) My ſoule is on all ſides heauy to the death: his ſtrong cryes, his many teares,foreign. are witneſſes of this Paſſion: hee had formerly ſhed teares of pittie, and teares of louelove, but now of anguiſh: hee had before ſent forth cries of merciemercy; neuer of complaint till now: when the Sonne of God weepes and cries, what ſhall wee ſay or thinke? yet further, betwixt both theſe and his louelove what a conflict was there? It is not amiſſe diſtinguiſhed, that he was alwayes in Agone; but now in foreign, in a ſtruggling paſſion of mixed griefe. Behold, this field was not without ſweat and bloud; yea, a ſweat of bloud. Oh what Man or Angell can conceiue the taking of that heart, that without all outward violence, meerely, out of the extremitie of his owne Paſſion, bled (through the fleſh and skin) not ſome faint deaw, but ſolid drops of blood? No thornes, no nailes, fetcht blood from him, with ſo much paine as his owne thoughts: hee ſaw the fierce wrath of his Father, and therefore feared: hee ſaw the heauie burden of our ſinnes to be vndertaken; and thereupon, beſides feare, iuſtly grieued; hee ſaw the neceſſitie of our eternall damnation, if he ſuffered not: if hee did ſuffer, of our redemption; and therefore his louelove incountred both griefe and feare. In it ſelfe, hee would not drinke of that cup. In reſpect of our good; and his decree, he would and did; and while hee thus ſtriueth, hee ſweats and bleeds. There was neuer ſuch a combat, neuer ſuch a bloodſhed, and yet it is not finiſhed; I dare not ſay with ſome Schoolemen, that the ſorrow of his Paſſion, was not ſo great as the ſorrow of his compaſſion: yet that was ſurely exceeding great. To ſee the vngratious careleſneſſe of mankinde, the ſlender fruit of his ſufferings, the ſorrowes of his Mother, Diſciples, friends; to fore-ſee, from the watch tower of his Croſſe, the future temptations of his children, deſolations of his Church; all theſe muſt needes ſtrike deepe into a tender heart. Theſe hee ſtill ſees and pitties, but without paſſion; then hee ſuffered in ſeeing them.
Can we yet ſay any more? Lo, all theſe ſufferings are aggrauated by his fulneſſe of knowledge, and want of comfort: for, he did not ſhut his eyes, as one ſaith, when hee drunke this cup: he ſaw how dreggiſh, and knew how bitter it was. Sudden euils afflict, if not leſſe, ſhorter. He fore-ſaw, and fore-ſaid, euerie particular he ſhould ſuffer: ſo long as he fore-ſaw, he ſuffered: the expectation of euill, is not leſſe then the ſenſe: to looke long for good, is a puniſhment; but for euill, is a torment. No paſſion workes vponupon an vnknowne obiect: as no louelove, ſo no feare is of what we know not. Hence men feare not Hell, becauſe they fore-ſee it not: if wee could ſee that pit open before wee come at it, it would make vsus tremble at our ſins, and our knees to knocke together, as Baltazars; and perhaps, without faith, to runne madde at the horror of iudgement. He ſaw the burden of all particular ſinnes to be laid vponupon him; eueryevery dramme of his Fathers wrath, was meaſured out to him, ere he toucht this potion; this cup was full, and hee knew that it muſt be wring'd, not a drop left: it muſt be finiſhed. Oh yet, if as he foreſaw all his ſorrowes, ſo he could hauehave ſeene ſome mixture of refreſhing. But I found none to comfort me, no, none to pittie me. And yet it is a poore comfort that ariſes from pittie. Euen ſo, O Lord, thou treadeſt this wine-preſſe alone; none to accompanie, none to aſſiſt thee. I remember Ruffinus in his Eccleſiaſticall ſtorie reports, that one Theodorus a Martyr, told him, that when he was hanging ten houres vponupon the rack for religion vnderunder Iulians perſecution, his ioynts diſtended and diſtorted, his body exquiſitely tortured with change of Executioners;Vt nulla vnquā aetas ſunilem meminerit. ſo as neuer age (ſaith he) could remember the like: he felt no paine at all, but continued indeed, all the while in the ſight of all men, ſinging & ſmiling: for there ſtood a comely young man by him on his Iibbet (an Angell rather, in forme of a man) which with a cleane towell, ſtill wip't off his ſweat, and powred coole water vponupon his racked limbs; wherewith he was ſo refreſhed, that it grieued him to bee let downe. Euen the greateſt torments are eaſie, when they hauehave anſwerable comforts: but a wounded and comfortleſſe ſpirit, who can beare? If yet but the ſame meſſenger of God, might hauehave attended his Croſſe, that appeared in his agony; and might hauehave giuen eaſe to their Lord, as he did to his ſeruant. And yet, what can the Angels helpe, where God will ſmite? Againſt the violence of men, againſt the furie of Satan, they hauehave preuailed in the cauſe of God, for men: they dare not, they cannot comfort, where God will afflict. When our Sauiour had beene wreſtling with Satan in the end of his Lent, then they appeared to him, and ſerued; but now, while about the ſame time, he is wreſtling with the wrath of his Father for vsus, not an Angell dare be ſeene to looke out of the windowes of heauen to releeue him. For men, much leſſe could they, if they would; but what did they? Miſerable comforters are ye all: the Souldiers, they ſtript him, ſcorned him with his purple, crowne, reed, ſpat on him, ſmote him; the paſſengers, they reuiled him; and inſulting, vagging their heads and hands at him, Hey thou that deſtoyeſt the Temple come downe, &c. The Elders and Scribes; alas, they hauehave bought his bloud, ſuborned witneſſes, incenſed Pilot, preferred Barrabbas, vndertooke the guilt of his death, cried out, Crucifia, Crucifie. He thou that ſauedſt others. His Diſciples, alas, they forſooke him, one of them forſweares him, another runnes away naked, rather then he will ſtay and confeſſe him. His mother and other friends they looke on indeed, and ſorrow with him; but to his diſcomfort. Where the griefe is extreme, and reſpects neere, partnerſhip doth but increaſe ſorrow. Paul chides his louelove: What doe you weeping and breaking my heart? The teares of thoſe we louelove, doe either ſlacken our hearts, or wound them. Who then ſhall comfort him? himſelfe? Sometimes our owne thoughts finde a way to ſuccour vsus, vnknowne to others; no, not himſelfe. Doubtleſſe (as Aquinas) the influence of the higher part of the ſoule, was reſtrained from the aid of the inferiour: My ſoule is filled with euils, Pſalm. 87.4. Who then? his Father? here, here was his hope: If the Lord had not helpen me, my ſoule had almoſt dwels in ſilence: I and my Father are one. But now (alas) he, euen hee, deliuers him into the hands of his enemies; when he hath done, turnes his backe vponupon him as a ſtranger; yea, hee woundeth him as an enemy. The Lord would breake him, Eſay 53.10. yet any thing is light to the ſoule, whiles the comforts of God ſuſtaine it: who can diſmay, where God will releeue? But here, My God, my God, Why haſt thou forſaken me? What a word was here, to come from the mouth of the Sonne of God? My Diſciples are men, weake and fearefull; no maruell if they forſake mee. The Iewes are themſelues, cruell and obſtinate. Men are men, graceleſſe and vnthankfull. Deuils are, according to their nature, ſpightfull and malicious. All theſe doe but their kinde; and let them doe it: but thou, O Father, thou that haſt ſaid; This is my welbeloued Sonne, in whom I am well pleaſed: thou of whom I hauehave ſaid, It is my Father that glorifies mee; what? forſaken me? Not onelyonly brought me to this ſhame, ſmitten me, vnregarded mee; but as it were, forgotten, yea forſaken me? What euen mee, my Father? How many of thy conſtant ſeruants hauehave ſuffered heauy things: yet in the multitudes of the ſorrowes of their hearts, thy preſence and comforts hauehave refreſhed their ſoules. Haſt thou releeued them, and doſt thou forſake me? me, thine onelyonly, deare, naturall, eternall Sonne? O ye heauens and earth, how could you ſtand, whiles the maker of you thus complained? Ye ſtood: but partaking after a ſort of his Paſſion: the earth trembled and ſhooke, her rocks tore, her graues opened, the heauens withdrew their light, as not daring to behold this ſad and fearefull ſpectacle.
Oh deare Chriſtians, how ſhould theſe earthen and rocky hearts of ours ſhake, and rend in peeces at this Meditation? how ſhould our faces be couered with darkneſſe, and our ioy be turned into heauineſſe? All theſe voices and teares, and ſweats, and pangs are for vsus; yea from vsus. Shall the Sonne of God thus ſmart for our ſinnes, yea with our ſinnes, and ſhall not we grieue for our owne? ſhall he weepe to vsus in this Market-place, and ſhall not we mourne? Nay, ſhall he ſweat and bleed for vsus, and ſhall not we weepe for our ſelues? Shall he thus lamentably ſhrieke out, vnderunder his Fathers wrath, and ſhall not we tremble? Shall the heauens and earth ſuffer with him, and we ſuffer nothing? I call you not to a weake and idle pitty of our glorious Sauiour: to what purpoſe? His iniury was out glory. No, no; Ye daughters of Ieruſalem, weepe not for me, but weepe for your ſelues: for our ſinnes, that hauehave done this; not for his ſorrow that ſuffered it: not for his pangs, that were; but for our owne, that ſhould hauehave beene, and (if wee repent not) ſhall be. Oh how grieuous, how deadly are our ſinnes, that coſt the Sonne of God (beſides bloud) ſo much torment? how farre are our ſoules gone, that could not be ranſomed with an eaſier price? that tooke ſo much of this infinite Redeemer of men, God and man, how can it chuſe but ſwallow vp and confound thy ſoule, which is but finite and ſinfull? If thy ſoule had beene in his ſoules ſtead, what had become of it? it ſhall be, if his were not inſtead of thine. This weight that lies thus heauy on the Sonne of God, and wrung from him theſe teares, ſweat, bloud, and theſe vnconceiueable grones of his afflicted ſpirit, how ſhould it chuſe but preſſe downe thy ſoule to the bottome of hell? and ſo it will doe: if he hauehave not ſuffered it for thee, thou muſt and ſhalt ſuffer it for thy ſelfe. Goe now thou lewd man, and make thy ſelfe merry with thy ſins; laugh at the vncleanneſſes, or bloudineſſe of thy youth: thou little knoweſt the price of a ſinne; thy ſoule ſhall doe, thy Sauiour did when he cryed out, to the amazement of Angels, and horror of men, My God, my God, Why haſt thou forſaken me? But now no more of this; It is finiſhed: the greater conflict, the more happy victory. Well doth he finde and feele of his Father, what his type ſaid before, He will not chide alwaies, nor keepe his anger for euer. It is fearefull; but in him, ſhort: eternall to ſinners; ſhort to his Sonne, in whom the God-head dwelt bodily. Behold; this ſtorme, wherewith all the powers of the world were ſhaken, is now ouer. The Elders, Phariſes, Iudas, the ſouldiers, Prieſts, witneſſes, Iudges, theeues, executioners, deuils, hauehave all tired themſelues in vaine, with their owne malice; and he triumphs ouer them all, vponupon the throne of his Croſſe: his enemies are vanquiſht, his Father ſatisfied, his ſoule with this word at reſt and glory; It is finiſhed. Now there is no more betraying, agonies, arraignments, ſcourgings, ſcoffing, crucifying, conflicts, terrors; all is finiſhed. Alas, beloued, and will we not let the Sonne of God be at reſt? doe we now againe goe about to fetch him out of his glory, to ſcorne and crucifie him? I feare to ſay it: Gods ſpirit dare and doth; They crucifie againe to themſelues the Sonne of God, and make a mocke of him. To themſelues, not in himſelfe: that they cannot, it is no thanke to them; they would doe it. See and conſider: the notoriouſly-ſinfull conuerſations of thoſe, that ſhould be Chriſtians, offer violence vntounto our glorified Sauiour, they ſtretch their hands to heauen, and pull him down from his throne, to his Croſſe: they teare him with thornes, pierce him with nailes, load him with reproches. Thou hateſt the Iewes, ſpitteſt at the name of Iudas, raileſt on Pilate, condemneſt the cruell butchers of Chriſt; yet, thou canſt blaſpheme, and ſweare him quite ouer, curſe, ſwagger, lye, oppreſſe, boyle with luſt, ſcoffe, riot, and liueſt like a debauched man; yea like an humane Beaſt; yea like an vncleane Deuill. Cry Hoſanna as long as thou wilt; thou art a Pilate, a Iew, a Iudas, an Executioner of the Lord of life; and ſo much greater ſhall thy iudgement bee, by how much thy light and his glory is more. Oh, beloued, is it not enough that hee dyed once for vsus? Were thoſe paines ſo light, that we ſhould eueryevery day redouble them? Is this the entertainment that ſo gracious a Sauiour hath deſerued of vsus by dying? Is this the recompence of that infinite louelove of his, that thou ſhouldeſt thus cruelly vex and wound him with thy ſinnes? EueryEvery of our ſinnes is a thorne, and nayle, and ſpeare to him: while thou powreſt downe thy drunken carowſes, thou giueſt thy Sauiour a potion of gall; while thou deſpiſeſt his poore ſeruants, thou ſpetteſt on his face: while thou putteſt on thy proud dreſſes, and lifteſt vp thy vaine heart with high conceits, thou ſetteſt a Crowne of thornes on his head: while thou wringeſt and oppreſſeſt his poore children, thou whippeſt him, and draweſt bloud of his hands and feet. Thou hypocrite; how dareſt thou offer to receiue the Sacrament of God, with that hand, which is thus imbrued with the bloud of him whom thou receiueſt? In eueryevery Ordinary, thy prophane tongue walkes, in the diſgrace of the religious and conſcionable. Thou makeſt no ſcruple of thine owne ſinnes, and ſcorneſt thoſe that doe: Not to be wicked, is crime enough. Heare him that ſaith, Saul, Saul, Why perſecuteſt thou me? Saul ſtrikes at Damaſcus; Chriſt ſuffers in Heauen. Thou ſtrikeſt; Chriſt Ieſus ſmarteth, and will reuenge. Theſe are the [foreign] afterings of Chriſts ſufferings: In himſelfe it is finiſhed; in his members it is not, till the world bee finiſhed. Wee muſt toile, and groane, and bleed, that we may raigne: if he had not done ſo, It had not beene finiſhed. This is our warfare; this is the region of our ſorrow & death. Now are wee ſet vponupon the ſandy pauement of our Theatre, and are marched with all ſorts of euils; euill men, euill ſpirits, euill accidents; and (which is worſt) our owne euill hearts; temptations, croſſes, perſecutions, ſickneſſes, wants, infamies, death; all theſe muſt in our courſes, bee encountred by the Law of our profeſſion. What ſhould we doe but ſtriue and ſuffer, as our Generall hath done, that we may raigne as he doth, and once triumph in our Conſummatum eſt? God and his Angels ſit vponupon the ſcaffolds of heauen, and behold vsus: our Crowne is ready: our day of deliuerance ſhall come; yea our redemption is neere, when all teares ſhall be wip't from our eyes; and we that hauehave ſowne in teares, ſhall reape in ioy. In the meane time, let vsus poſſeſſe our ſoules not in patience only, but in comfort: let vsus adore and magnifie our Sauiour in his ſufferings, and imitate him in our owne: our ſorrowes ſhall hauehave an end, our ioyes ſhall not: our paines ſhall ſoone be finiſhed; our glory ſhall be finiſhed, but neuer ended.
Thus his ſufferings are finiſhed; now together with them, mans ſaluation. Who knowes not, that man had made himſelfe a deepe debter, a bankrupt, an outlaw to God? Our ſinnes are our debts; and by ſinnes, death. Now, in this word and act, our ſinnes are diſcharged, death endured, and therefore we cleared: the debt is paid, the ſcore is croſſed, the Creditor ſatisfied, the debters acquitted, and ſince there was no other quarrell, ſaued: we are all ſicke, and that mortally: ſinne is the diſeaſe of the ſoule: Quot vitia, tot febres, ſaith Chryſoſtome; ſo many ſinnes, ſo many feuers, and thoſe peſtilent. What wonder is it, that we hauehave ſo much plague, while wee hauehave ſo much ſinne? Our Sauiour is the Phyſician: The whole need not the Phyſician, but the ſicke: wherein? He healeth all our infirmities: hee healeth them after a miraculous manner, not by giuing vsus receits, but by taking our receits for vsus. A wonderfull Phyſician; a wonderfull courſe of cure: One while he would cure vsus by abſtinence; our ſuperfluitie, by his fortie dayes emptineſſe, according to that old rule; Hunger cures the diſeaſes of gluttony: Another while, by exerciſe: He went vp and downe from Citie to Citie, and in the day was preaching in the Temple; in the night praying in the mount. Then, by diet; Take, eat, this is my body: and, Let this cup paſſe. After that yet, by ſweat; ſuch a ſweat as neuer was, a bloudy one: yet more, by inciſion; they pierced his hands, feet, ſide: and yet againe by potion; a bitter potion, of vineger and gall. And laſtly, which is both the ſtrangeſt and ſtrongeſt receit of all, by dying: Which died for vsus, that whether we wake or ſleepe, 1 Th…ff. 5.10.we ſhould liue together with him. We need no more, we can goe no further; there can be no more phyſicke of this kinde: there are cordials after theſe, of his Reſurrection and Aſcenſion; no more penall receits. By this bloud wee hauehave redemption, Epheſ. 1.7. Iuſtification, Rom. 3.24. Reconciliation, Coloſ. 1.20. Sanctification, 1 Pet. 1.2. Entrance into glory, Heb. 10.19. Is it not now finiſhed? Woe were vsus if he had left but one mite of ſatisfaction vponupon our ſcore, to be diſcharged by our ſoules: and woe be to them that derogate from Chriſt, that they may charge themſelues; that botch vp theſe all-ſufficiently meritorious ſufferings of Chriſt, as imperfect, with the ſuperfluities of fleſh and bloud. Maledictus homo, qui ſpem ponit in homine. We may not with patience ſee Chriſt wrong'd by his falſe friends: As that heroicall Luther ſaid in the like;Maledictum ſilentium quod hic conninet. Curſed be that ſilence that here forbeareth. To be ſhort, here be two iniuries intolerable; both giuegive Chriſt the lie vponupon his Croſſe: It is finiſhed. No: ſomewhat remaines: the fault is diſcharged, not the puniſhment. Of puniſhments, the eternall is quit, not the temporall. It is finiſhed by Chriſt: No, there wants yet much; the ſatisfaction of Saints applied by this Vicar; adde mens ſufferings vntounto Chriſts, then the treaſure is full; till then, It is not finiſhed.
Two qualities ſtriue for the firſt place in theſe two opinions; impiety and abſurdity: I know not whether to preferre. For impiety; here is God taxed of iniuſtice, vnmercifulneſſe, inſufficiency, falſhood. Of iniuſtice, that he forgiues a ſinne, and yet puniſhes for that which he hath forgiuen: vnmercifulneſſe, that he forgiues not while he forgiues, but doth it by halues: inſufficiency, that his ranſome muſt be ſupplied by men: falſhood, in that hee ſaith, It is finiſhed, when it is not. For abſurdity; how groſſe and monſtrous are theſe poſitions? that at once the ſame ſinne ſhould be remitted and retained; that there ſhould bee a puniſhment, where there is no fault; that what could ſtrike off our eternall puniſhment, did not wipe off the temporall; that hee which paid our pounds, ſtickes at our farthings; that God will retaine what man may diſcharge; that it is, and it is not finiſhed.
If there be any opinions, whoſe mention confutes them, theſe are they. None can be more vaine, none had more need of ſolidity: for, this prop beares vp, alone, the weight of all thoſe millions of indulgences, which Rom. creates and ſels to the world. That Strumpet would well-neere go naked, if this were not. Theſe ſpirituall Treaſures fetcht in the Temporall: which yet our reuerend and learned Fulke, iuſtly cals a moſt blaſphemous and beggerly principle: It brings in whole cheſts, yea mines of gold, like the Popes Indies; and hath not ſo much as a ragge of proofe to couer it, whether of Antiquitie, of Reaſon, of Scripture. Not of Antiquity: for theſe Iubily proclamations beganne but about three hundred yeeres agoe. Not of Reaſon:Negotiatores te…ae ſunt ipſi Sacerdotes, qui vendunt orationes & miſſas prodenarijs, facientes domum orationis, Apot…ecam negotiationis. In Reue. l. 10. p. 5. how ſhould one meere man pay for another, diſpenſe with another, to another, by another? Not of Scripture, which hath flatly ſaid, The bloud of Ieſus Chriſt his Sonne, purgeth vsus from all ſinne: and yet I remember, that acute Sadeel hath taught me, that this practiſe is according to Scripture: what Scripture? Hee caſt the money-changers out of the Temple; and ſaid, Yee hauehave made my houſe a denne of theeues. Which alſo Ioachim their propheticall Abbot, well applies to this purpoſe. Some modeſt Doctors of Lonan would faine hauehave minced this Antichriſtian blaſphemy; who began to teach, that the paſſions of the Saints are not ſo by Indulgences applied, that they become true ſatisfactions; but that they only ſerue to moue God, by the ſight of them, to apply vntounto vsus Chriſts ſatisfaction. But theſe meale-mouth'd Diuines were ſoone charm'd;Bellar. lib. 1. de Indulgent. foure ſeuerall Popes (as their Cardinall confeſſeth) fell vponupon the necke of them, & their opinion; Leo the tenth, Pius the fift, Gregory the thirteenth, and Clemens the ſixt: and with their furious Buls bellow out threats againſt them, and toſſe them in the aire for Heretickes, and teach them vponupon paine of a curſe, to ſpeake home with Bellarmine, Paſsionibus ſanctorum expiari delicta: and ſtraight, Applicari nobis ſanctorum paſsiones ad redimend as poenas, quas propeccatis Deo debemus: That by the ſufferings of Saints, our ſinnes are expiated; and that, by them applied, wee are redeemed from thoſe puniſhments, which we yet owe to God. Blaſphemy, worthy the tearing of garments: How is it finiſhed by Chriſt, if men muſt ſupply? Oh bleſſed Sauiour, was eueryevery drop of thy bloud enough to redeeme a world, and doe we yet need the helpe of men? How art thou a perfect Sauiour, if our brethren alſo muſt be our Redeemers? Oh yee bleſſed Saints, how would you abhorre this ſacrilegious glorie? and with thoſe holy Apoſtles, yea, that glorious Angell, ſay, Vide ne feceris: and with thoſe wiſe Virgins; Leſt there will not bee enough for vsus, and you, goe to them that ſell, and buy for your ſelues. For vsus, we enuie not their multitude: let them hauehave as many Sauiours as Saints, and as many Saints as men; wee know with Ambroſe, Chriſti paſsio adiutore non eguit; Chriſts paſsion needs no helper: and therefore, with that worthy Martyr, dare ſay, None but Chriſt, none but Chriſt. Let our ſoules die, if he cannot ſaue them; let them not feare their death or torment, if he hauehave finiſhed. Heare this, thou languiſhing and afflicted ſoule: There is not one of thy ſins but it is paid for; not one of thy debts in the ſcroll of God, but it is croſſed; not one farthing of all thine infinite ranſome is vnpaid. Alas, thy ſinnes (thou ſayeſt) are euer before thee, and Gods indignation, goes ſtill ouer thee, and thou goeſt mourning all the day long, and with that patterne of diſtreſſe, crieſt out in the bitternes of thy ſoule, I hauehave ſinned, what ſhall I doe to thee, O thou preſeruer of men? What ſhouldſt thou doe? Turne and beleeue. Now thou art ſtung in thy conſcience with this fiery Serpent, looke vp with the eyes of faith to this brazen Serpent, Chriſt Ieſus, and be healed. Behold, his head is humbly bowed down in a gracious reſpect to thee; his arms are ſtretched out louingly to embrace thee; yea, his precious ſide is open to receiue thee, and his tongue interprets all theſe to thee for thine endleſſe comfort; It is finiſhed. There is no more accuſation, iudgment, death, hel for thee: all theſe are no more to thee, than if they were not. Who ſhall condemne? It is Chriſt which is dead. I know how ready eueryevery man is to reach forth his hand to this dole of grace, and how angry to be beaten from this dore of mercy. We are all eaſily perſwaded to hope well, becauſe wee louelove our ſelues well: Which of all vsus in this great congregation, takes exceptions to himſelfe, and thinkes, I know there is no want in my Sauiour; there is want in me. He hath finiſhed, but I beleeue not, I repent not. EueryEvery preſumptuous and hard heart ſo catches at Chriſt, as if he had finiſht for all, as if he had broken downe the gates of hell, and looſed the bands of death, and had made forgiuenes as common as life: Proſperitas ſtultorum perdit eos, ſaith wiſe Salomon; Eaſe ſlaieth the fooliſh, and the proſperitie of fooles deſtroyeth them; yea, the confidence of proſperity. Thou ſaieſt, God is mercifull, thy Sauiour bounteous, his paſſion abſolute: all theſe, and yet thou maieſt be condemned. Mercifull, not vniuſt; bountifull, not lauiſh; abſolutely ſufficient for all, not effectuall to all. Whatſoeuer God is, what art thou? Here is the doubt: Thou ſaieſt well; Chriſt is the good Shepheard. Wherein? He giues his life: but for whom? for his ſheepe. What is this to thee? While thou art ſecure, prophane, impenitent, thou art a Wolfe or a Goat: My ſheepe heare my voyce: what is his voice, but his precepts? Where is thine obedience to his commandements? If thou wilt not heare his Law, neuer harken to his Goſpell. Here is no more mercy for thee, than if there were no Sauiour. He hath finiſhed, for thoſe in whom he hath begunne: if thou hauehave no beginnings of grace as yet, hope not for euer finiſhing of ſaluation: Come to me all ye that are heauy laden, ſaith Chriſt: thou ſhalt get nothing, if thou come when he calls thee not. Thou art not called, and canſt not be refreſhed, vnleſſe thou be laden, not with ſinne (this alone keepes thee away from God) but with conſcience of ſinne: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not deſpiſe. Is thy heart wounded with thy ſinne? doth griefe and hatred ſtriue within thee, whether ſhall be more? Are the deſires of thy ſoule with God? Doeſt thou long for holineſſe, complaine of thy imperfections, ſtruggle againſt thy corruptions? Thou art the man, feare not, It is finiſhed. That Law which thou wouldeſt hauehave kept, and couldeſt not, thy Sauiour could, and did keepe for thee: that ſaluation which thou couldeſt neuer worke-out alone (alas, poore impotent creatures, what can we doe towards heauen without him, which cannot moue on earth but in him?) hee alone for thee hath finiſhed. Looke vp therefore boldly to the throne of God, and vponupon the truth of thy repentance and faith, know that there is no quarrell againſt thee in heauen, nothing but peace and ioy. All is finiſhed. He would be ſpitted on, that he might waſh thee; he would be couered with ſcornefull robes that thy ſinnes might be couered; he would bee whipped, that thy ſoule might not be ſcourged eternally; he would thirſt, that thy ſoule might be ſatisfied; he would beare all his Fathers wrath, that thou mighteſt beare none; he would yeeld to death, that thou mighteſt neuer taſte of it; hee would bee in ſenſe for a time as forſaken of his Father, that thou mighteſt be receiued for euer.
Now bid thy ſoule returne to her reſt, and enioyne it Dauids taske: Praiſe the Lord, O my ſoule; and, What ſhall I render to the Lord for all his benefits? I will take the cup of ſaluation, and call vponupon the Name of the Lord. And, as rauiſht from thy ſelfe with the ſweet apprehenſion of this mercy, call all the other creatures to the fellowſhip of this ioy, with that diuine Eſay: Reioyce, O yee heauens, for the Lord hath done it: ſhout ye lower parts of the earth, burſt forth into praiſes yee mountaines: for the Lord hath redeemed Iacob, and will bee glorified in Iſrael. And euen now begin that heauenly Song, which ſhall neuer end with thoſe glorified Saints; Praiſe, and honour, and glory, and power, be to Him that ſitteth vponupon the Throne, and to the Lambe for euermore.
Thus our ſpeech of Chriſts laſt word is finiſhed. His laſt act accompanied his words: our ſpeech muſt follow it. Let it not want your deuout and carefull attention; He bowed and gaue vp the ghoſt.
The Croſſe was a ſlow death, and had more paine than ſpeed; whence a ſecond violence muſt diſpatch the crucified: their bones muſt be broken, that their hearts might breake. Our Sauiour ſtayes not deaths leiſure, but willingly and couragiouſly meets him in the way; and like a Champion that ſcornes to be ouercome, yea, knowes hee cannot be, yeeldeth in the middeſt of his ſtrength, that he might by dying, vanquiſh death. Hee bowed and gaue vp: Not bowing, becauſe he had giuen vp, but becauſe he would. Hee cryed with a loud voyce, ſaith Matthew. Nature was ſtrong, he might hauehave liued; but he gaue vp the ghoſt, and would die, to ſhew himſelfe Lord of life and death. Oh wondrous example! hee that gaue life to his enemies, gaue vp his owne: he giues them to liue, that perſecute and hate him; and himſelfe will die the whiles for thoſe that hate him. Hee bowed and gaue vp: not they; they might crowne his head, they could not bow it: they might vex his ſpirit, not take it away: they could not doe that without leaue; this they could not doe, becauſe they had no leaue. Hee alone would bow his head, and giuegive vp his ghoſt: I hauehave power to lay downe my life. Man gaue him not his life; man could not bereaue it. No man takes it from mee. Alas, who could? The High Prieſts forces, when they came againſt him armed, he ſaid but, I am he, they flee, and fall backward. How eaſie a breath diſperſt his enemies? whom hee might as eaſily hauehave bidden the earth, yea, hell to ſwallow, or fire from heauen to deuoure. Who commanded the Deuils and they obeyed, could not hauehave beene attached by men: he muſt giuegive not onelyonly leaue, but power to apprehend himſelfe, elſe they had not liued to take him: hee is laid hold of, Peter fights: Put vp, ſaith Chriſt; Thinkeſt thou that I cannot pray to my Father, and hee will giuegive me more than twelue Legions of Angels? What an Army were here? more then threeſcore and twelue thouſand Angels, and eueryevery Angell able to ſubdue a world of men: he could, but would not be reſcued; he is led by his owne power, not by his enemies; and ſtands now before Pilate, like the ſcorne of men; crowned, robbed, ſcourged, with an Ecce homo; Yet thou couldſt hauehave no power againſt me, vnleſſe it were giuen thee from aboue.
Behold, he himſelfe muſt giuegive Pilate power againſt himſelfe,Quod emittitur voluntarium eſt: quod am…tur aeceſſarium. Ambr. elſe he could not be condemned: he will be condemned, lifted vp, nailed; yet no death without himſelfe. Hee ſhall giuegive his ſoule an offering for ſinne. Eſay 53.10. No action, that ſauours of conſtraint, can be meritorious: he would deſerue, therefore he would ſuffer and die: Hee bowed his head, and gaue vp the ghoſt. O gracious and bountifull Sauiour: hee might hauehave kept his ſoule within his teeth, in ſpight of all the world; the weakneſſe of God is ſtronger than men: and if he had but ſpoken the word, the heauens and earth ſhould hauehave vaniſht away before him: but hee would not. Behold, when hee ſaw, that impotent man could not take away his ſoule, he gaue it vp, and would die, that we might liue. See here a Sauiour, that can contemne his owne life for ours; and cares not to be diſſolued in himſelfe, that we might be vnited to his Father. Skin for skin, ſaith the Deuill, and all that hee hath, a man will giuegive for his life. Loe here, to proue Sathan a lyer, skinne and life and all hath Chriſt Ieſus giuen for vsus. Wee are beſotted with the earth, and make baſe ſhifts to liue; one with a maimed bodie, another with a periured ſoule, a third with a rotten name: and how many had rather neglect their ſoule than their life, and will rather renounce and curſe God, than die? It is a ſhame to tell; Many of vsus Chriſtians doat vponupon life, and tremble at death; and ſhew our ſelues fooles in our exceſſe of louelove, cowards in our feare. Peter denies Chriſt thrice, and forſweares him; Marcellinus twice caſts graines of incenſe into the Idols fire; Ecebolius turnes thrice; Spira reuolts and deſpaires: Oh let mee liue, ſaith the fearefull ſoule. Whither doeſt thou reſerue thy ſelfe, thou weake and timorous creature? or what wouldeſt thou doe with thy ſelfe? Thou haſt not thus learned Chriſt: he died voluntarily for thee, thou wilt not be forced to die for him: he gaue vp the ghoſt for thee; thou wilt not let others take it from thee for him, thou wilt not let him take it for himſelfe.
When I looke backe to the firſt Chriſtians, and compare their zealous contempt of death with our backwardneſſe; I am at once amazed and aſhamed: I ſee there euen women (the feebler ſex) running with their little ones in their armes, for the preferment of Martyrdome, and ambitiouſly ſtriuing for the next blow. I ſee holy and tender Virgins, chuſing rather a ſore and ſhamefull death, than honourable Eſpouſals. I heare the bleſſed Martyrs,Quod ſi venire nolucrint, ego vim faciam vt d…orer. intreating their tyrants and tormentors for the honour of dying. Ignatius, amongſt the reſt, fearing leſt the beaſts will not deuoure him; and vowing the firſt violence to them, that he might bee diſpatched. And what leſſe courage was there in our memorable and glorious fore-fathers of the laſt of this age? and doe we, their cold and feeble off-ſpring, looke pale at the face of a faire and naturall death; abhorre the violent, though for Chriſt? Alas, how hauehave we gathered ruſt with our long peace? Our vnwillingneſſe is from inconſideration, from diſtruſt. Looke but vp to Chriſt Ieſus vponupon his Croſſe, and ſee him bowing his head, and breathing out his ſoule, and theſe feares ſhall vaniſh: he died, and wouldeſt thou liue? hee gaue vp the ghoſt, and wouldeſt thou keepe it? whom wouldeſt thou follow, if not thy Redeemer? If thou die not, if not willingly, thou goeſt contrary to him, and ſhalt neuer meet him.Si per ſingules di…s pro …o moreremur, qui nos dlexit, non ſic debitum exolueremus. Chryſ. Though thou ſhouldeſt eueryevery day die a death, for him, thou couldeſt neuer requite his one death: and doeſt thou ſticke at one? EueryEvery word hath his force, both to him and thee: he died, which is Lord of life, and commander of death; thou art but a tenant of life, a ſubiect of death: and yet it was not a dying, but a giuing vp; not of a vaniſhing and airy breath, but of a ſpirituall ſoule, which after ſeparation, hath an entire life in it ſelfe. Hee gaue vp the Ghoſt: hee died, that hath both ouercome, and ſanctified, and ſweetned death. What feareſt thou? Hee hath pull'd out the ſting and malignity of death: If thou bee a Chriſtian, carry it in thy boſome, it hurts thee not. Dareſt thou not truſt thy Redeemer? If hee had not died, Death had beene a Tyrant: now hee is a ſlaue. O Death where is thy ſting? O Graue where is thy victory? Yet the Spirit of God ſaith not, hee died, but gaue vp the ghoſt. The very Heathen Poet ſaith; Hee durſt not ſay, that a good man dies. It is worth the noting (me thinkes) that when Saint Luke would deſcribe to vsus the death of Annanias and Sapphir…, hee ſaith (foreign) hee expired: but when Saint Iohn would deſcribe Chriſts death, hee ſaith, foreign, He gaue vp the ghoſt: How? How gaue he it vp, and whither? So, as after a ſort he retained it: his ſoule parted from his body; his Godhead was neuer diſtracted either from ſoule or body: this vnion is not in nature, but in perſon. If the natures of Chriſt could be diuided, each would hauehave his ſubſiſtence; ſo there ſhould be more perſons. God forbid, one of the natures thereof may hauehave a ſeparation in it ſelfe: the ſoule from the body: one nature cannot bee ſeparate from other, or either nature from the perſon. If you cannot conceiue, wonder: the Sonne of God hath wedded vntounto himſelfe our humanity, without all poſſibility of diuorce; the body hangs on the Croſſe, the ſoule is yeelded, the Godhead is … vnited to them both; acknowledges, ſuſtaines them both. The ſoule in his agony foules not the preſence of the Godhead; the body vponupon the Croſſe …les not the preſence of the ſoule. Yet as the Fathers of Chalcedon ſay truly, (foreign) indiuiſibly, inſeparably is the Godhead, with both of theſe, ſtill and euer, one and the ſame perſon. The Paſſion of Chriſt (as Auguſtine) was the ſleepe of his Diuinity: ſo I may ſay, The death of Chriſt was the ſleepe of his humanitie. If hee ſleepe, hee ſhall doe well, ſaid that Diſciple, of Lazarus. Death was too weake to diſſolue the eternall bonds of this heauenly coniunction. Let not vsus Chriſtians goe too much by ſenſe; wee may bee firmely knit to God, and not feele it: thou canſt not hope to be ſo neere thy God, as Chriſt was, vnited perſonally: thou canſt not feare, that God ſhould ſeeme more abſent from thee,Quantumcun que te d…ieceris, ha…i…ior non eris Chriſto. Hieron. than he did from his own Son: yet was he ſtill one with both body and ſoule, when they were diuided from themſelues; when he was abſent to ſenſe, he was preſent to faith; when abſent in viſion, yet in vnion one and the ſame: ſo will he be to thy ſoule, when hee is at worſt. Hee is thine, and thou are his: if thy hold ſeeme looſened, his is not. When temptations will not let thee ſee him, he ſees thee, and poſſeſſes thee; onelyonly beleeue thou againſt ſenſe, aboue hope; and though he kill thee, yet truſt in him. Whither gaue he it vp? Himſelfe expreſſes; Father into thy hands; And, This day ſhalt thou be with mee in Paradiſe. It is iuſtice to reſtore whence wee receiue; Into thy hands. Hee knew where it ſhould be both ſafe and happy: True; he might bee bold (thou ſayeſt) as the Sonne with the Father. The ſeruants hauehave done ſo; Dauid before him, Stephen after him. And leſt we ſhould not thinke it our common right; Father (ſaith hee) I will that thoſe thou haſt giuen mee, may bee with mee, euen where I am: he wils it, therefore it muſt bee. It is not preſumption, but faith, to charge God with thy ſpirit; neither can there euer be any beleeuing ſoule ſo meane, that he ſhould refuſe it; all the feare is in thy ſelfe: how canſt thou truſt thy iewell with a ſtranger? What ſudden familiarity is this? God hath beene with thee, and gone by thee, thou haſt not ſaluted him: and now in all the haſte, thou bequeatheſt thy ſoule to him: On what acquaintance? How deſperate is this careleſneſſe? If thou hauehave but a little money, whether thou keepe it, thou layeſt it vp in thy Temple of truſt; or whether thou let it, thou art ſure of good aſſurance, ſound bonds. If but a little land, how carefully doeſt thou make firme conueiances to thy deſired heires? If goods, thy Will hath taken ſecure order, who ſhall enioy them: Wee need not teach you Citizens to make ſure worke for your eſtates. If children, thou diſpoſeſt of them in trades, with portions: onelyonly of thy ſoule (which is thy ſelfe) thou knoweſt not what ſhall become. The world muſt hauehave it no more; thy ſelfe wouldeſt keepe it, but thou knoweſt thou canſt not: Sathan would hauehave it, & thou knoweſt not whether he ſhall thou wouldeſt hauehave God hauehave it, and thou knoweſt not whether he will: yea, thy heart is now ready with Pharaoh to ſay, Who is the Lord? O the fearefull and miſerable eſtate of that man, that muſt part with his ſoule, he knowes not whither: which if thou wouldeſt auoid, (as this very warning ſhall iudge thee if thou doe not) be acquainted with God in thy life, that thou mayeſt make him the Guardian of thy ſoule in thy death. Giuen vp it muſt needs be, but to him that hath gouerned it: if thou hauehave giuen it to Sathan in thy life, how canſt thou hope God will in thy death entertaine it? Did you not hate me, and expell mee out of my fathers houſe? how then come yee to mee now in this time of your tribulation, ſaid Iephta to the men of Gilead. No, no, either giuegive vp thy ſoule to God while he cals for it in his word, in the prouocations of his louelove, in his afflictions, in the holy motion of his ſpirit to thine: or elſe when thou wouldeſt giuegive it, he will none of it, but as a Iudge to deliuer it to the Tormentor.
What ſhould God doe with an vncleane, drunken, prophane, proud, couetous ſoule? Without holineſſe, it is no ſeeing of God. Depart from me, ye wicked, I know ye not: Goe to the gods you hauehave ſerued. See how God is euen with men: they had, in the time of the Goſpell; ſaid to the holy name of Iſrael, Depart from vsus; now in the time of iudgement, he ſaith to them, Depart from me: They would not know God when they might: now God will not know them when they would.
Now therefore (beloued) if thou wouldſt not hauehave God ſcorne the offer of thy death-bed, fit thy ſoule for him in thy health; furniſh it with grace; iniure it to a ſweet conuerſation with the God of heauen: then mayeſt thou boldly giuegive it vp, and hee ſhall as gratiouſly receiue it, yea fetch it by his Angels to his glory.
Hee gaue vp the ghoſt. We muſt doe as he did: not all with the ſame ſucceſſe. Giuing vp, ſuppoſes a receiuing, a returning. This inmate that we hauehave in our boſome is ſent to lodge here for a time, may not dwell here alwayes. The …ight of this tenure is the Lords, not ours: As hee ſaid of the hatcher; It is but lent, it muſt be reſtored: It is ours to keepe, his to diſpoſe and require. See and conſider both our priuilege and charge. It is not with vsus as with bruit creatures: wee hauehave a liuing ghoſt to informe vsus, which yet is not ours, (and alas, what is ours, if our ſoules be not?) but muſt be giuen vp to him that gaue it.
Why doe wee liue as thoſe that tooke no keepe of ſo glorious a gueſt? as thoſe that ſhould neuer part with it, as thoſe that thinke it giuen them to ſpend, not to returne with a reckoning?
If thou hadſt no ſoule, if a mortall one, if thine owne, if neuer to bee required, how couldſt thou liue but ſenſually? Oh remember but who thou art, what thou haſt, and whither thou muſt; and thou ſhalt liue like thy ſelfe, while thou art, and giuegive vp thy ghoſt confidently, when thou ſhalt ceaſe to be. Neither is there here more certainty of our departure, than comfort. Carry this with thee to thy death-bed, and ſee if it can refreſh thee, when all the world cannot giuegive thee one dram of comfort. Our ſpirit is our deareſt riches: if wee ſhould loſe it, here were iuſt cauſe of griefe. Howle and lament, if thou thinkeſt thy ſoule periſheth: it is not forfeited, but ſurrendered. How ſafely doth our ſoule paſſe thorow the gates of death, without any impeachment, while it is in the hand of the Almighty? Woe were vsus, if he did not keepe it while we hauehave it; much more when wee reſtore it. We giuegive it vp to the ſame hands that created, infuſed, redeemed, renewed; that doe protect, preſerue, eſtabliſh, and will crowne it: I know whom I hauehave beleeued, and am perſwaded that hee is able to keepe that which I hauehave committed to him againſt that day. O ſecure and happy eſtate of the godly: O bleſſed exchange of our condition: while our ſoule dwels in our breaſt, how is it ſubiect to infinite miſeries, diſtempered with paſſions, charged with ſinne, vexed with tentations? aboue, none of theſe, how ſhould it be otherwiſe? This is our pilgrimage, that our home: this our wilderneſſe, that our land of promiſe: this our bondage, that our kingdome: our impotency cauſeth this our ſorrow.
When our ſoule is once giuen vp, what euill ſhall reach vntounto heauen, and wreſtle with the Almighty? Our lothneſſe to giuegive vp, comes from our ignorance and infidelity. No man goes vnwillingly to a certaine preferment. I deſire to bee diſſolued, ſaith Paul; I hauehave ſerued thee, I hauehave beleeued thee, and now I come to thee, ſaith Luther. The voyce of Saints, not of men. If thine heart can ſay thus, thou ſhalt not need to intreat with old Hilari…, Egredere mea anima, egredere, quid times? Goe thy wayes forth my ſoule, goe forth, what feareſt thou? but it ſhall flie vp alone cheerefully from thee, and giuegive vp it ſelfe into the armes of God, as a faithfull Creator and Redeemer. This earth is not the element of thy ſoule, it is not where it ſhould be: It ſhall be no leſſe thine, when it is more the owners. Thinke now ſeriouſly of this point; Gods Angell is abroad, and ſtrikes on all ſides; we know not which of our turnes ſhall be the next: we are ſure, we carry deaths enow within vsus. If we bee ready, our day cannot come too ſoone. Stirre vp thy ſoule to an heauenly cheerefulneſſe, like thy Sauiour: Know but whither thou art going; and thou canſt not but, with diuine Paul; Vt contra. Nullam animam recipio quae me …olente ſeparatur à corp…re. Hierō.ſay from our Sauiours mouth, euen in this ſenſe: It is a more bleſſed thing to giuegive, than to receiue. God cannot abide an vnwilling gueſt: giuegive vp that ſpirit to him, which he hath giuen thee; and he will both receiue what thou giueſt, and giuegive it thee againe, with that glory and happineſſe, which can neuer be conceiued, and ſhall neuer bee ended. Euen ſo LORD IESVS come quickly.
Gloria in excelſis Deo.
THE IMPRESE OF GOD.
IN TWO SERMONS PREACHED AT THE COVRT.
In the Yeeres
1611.
1612.
By IOS. HALL.
SIC ELEVABITVR FILIVS HOMINIS
Io 3.
ANCHORA FIDEI:
LONDON, Printed for THOMAS PAVIER, MILES FLESHER, and John Haviland. 1624.