Works Volume 4, Sermon 10
SERMON X.
JOHN VII.48.
Have any of the Phariſees believed on him?
IT is obſervable from Hiſtory with what difficulty Religion attempts to propagate, and eſtabliſh it ſelf with the many: what Countenance and encouragement it hath required from thoſe things which are moſt ſpecious, and pompous in the World: how it hath been fain to keep its dependencies and correſpondencies, and ſubmit to the poor condition of ſuſtaining it ſelf by thoſe beggarly helps which the World and the fleſh will afford it. Two main Pillars which it relies on, are Power and Learning, the Camp and the Schools, or in a word, authority of great ones, and countenance of Scholars; the one to force and extort obedience, the other to inſinuate belief and aſſent; the firſt to raviſh, the ſecond to perſwade. One inſtance for all: if we would plant Chriſtianity in Turky, we muſt firſt invade and conquer them, and then convince them of their follies: which about an hundred years ago Cleonard propoſed to moſt Courts of Chriſtendom, (and to that end himſelf ſtudied Arabick) that Princes would join their ſtrength, and Scholars their Brains, and all ſurprize them in their own land and language, at once beſiege the Turk and his Alcoran, put him to the Sword, and his Religion to the touchſtone; command him to Chriſtianity with an high hand, and then to ſhew him the reaſonableneſs of our commands. Thus alſo may we complain, but not wonder, that the Reformation gets ground ſo ſlow in Chriſtendom, becauſe the Forces and potent Abettors of the Papacy, ſecure them from being led captive to Chriſt; as long as the Pope is riveted ſo faſt in his Chair, and as long as the Rulers take part with him, there ſhall be no doubt of the truth of their Religion; unleſs it pleaſe God to back our arguments with ſteel, and to raiſe up Kings and Emperours to be our Champions, we may queſtion, but never confute his ſupremacy. Let us come with all the power and Rhetorick of Paul and Barnabas, all the demonſtrations of reaſon and ſpirit, yet as long as they have ſuch Topicks againſt us, as the authority of the Rulers and Phariſees, we may diſpute out our hearts, and preach out our Lungs, and gain no Proſelytes: all that we ſhall get, is but a ſcoffe and a Curſe, a Sarcaſm and an Anathema, in the words next after my Text, This people which know not the law, are curſed, there is no heed to be taken to ſuch poor contemptible Fellows.Ver. 49. To bring all home to the buſineſs of the Text, Let Chriſt come with all the enforcement, and violence and conviction of his Spirit, ſublimity of his Speech and Miracles, all the power of Rhetorick, and Rhetorick of his power, ſo that all that ſee or hear, bear witneſs that never man ſpake as this man, yet all this ſhall be accounted but a deluſion, but an inchantment of ſome ſeduced Wretches, unleſs the great men, or deep Scholars will be pleaſed to Countenance them. And 'tis much to be feared, they are otherwiſe poſſeſſed, and rather than this ſhall not be followed, Chriſt ſhall be left alone; rather than they ſhall ſpeak in vain, the Word it ſelf ſhall be put to ſilence:v. 32. v. 46. and if they which were appointed to take and bring him to judgment, ſhall be caught by him they came to apprehend, and turn their accuſations into reverence, the Phariſees will not be without their reply, they are Doctors in the Law, and therefore for a need, can be their own Advocates: Then anſwered the Phariſees,v. 47, 48. are ye alſo deceived, have any of the Rulers or Phariſees believed on him?
Concerning the infidelity of the rulers in my Text, as being not ſo directly appliable to my audience, I ſhall forbear to ſpeak. My Diſcourſe ſhall retire it ſelf to the Phariſee, as being a Profeſſor of learning, brought up at the Ʋniverſity in Jeruſalem, and God grant, his vices and infidelity be not alſo Academical.
The words we ſhall divide not into ſeveral parts but conſiderations, and read them either as ſpoken by the Phariſee, or recorded by the Evangeliſt. In the firſt, we have the foreign, the rational force of them, as they are part of an argument, that they which believed in Chriſt, were deceived, ſub hâc formâ; he that would judge of the truth of his life, is to look which way the greateſt Scholars are affected; and then, though in that caſe it concluded fallaciouſly, yet the argument was probable, and the point worth our diſcuſſion; that the judgment of learning and learned men, is much to be heeded in matters of Religion.
In the ſecond we have the foreign and foreign, the rational ſenſe of the words being reſolved, as affirmative interrogations are wont, into a negative Propoſition, Have any, &c. The Phariſees did not believe on him, i. e. the greateſt Scholars are not always the beſt Chriſtians. And firſt of the firſt, the authority of learning and learned men in matters of Religion, noted from the logical force of the words, Have any, &c.
Amongſt other acts of Gods Providence and wiſe Oeconomy of all things, there is not one more obſervable than the ſucceſſion of his Church, and diſpenſation of his moſt precious gifts attending it; you ſhall not in any age find the flouriſhing of learning ſever'd from the profeſſion of Religion; and the propoſition ſhall be granted without exception; Gods people were always the learnedſt part of the World. Before the Flood, we are not ſo confident as to define and ſet down the ſtudies and proficiency in all kinds of knowledge amongſt thoſe long-liv'd ancients; how far ſoever they went, belongs little to us. The Deluge made a great chaſm betwixt us, and 'twould be hard for the livelieſt Eyes to pierce at ſuch diſtance through ſo much Water; let thoſe who fancy the two Pillars, Joſeph. lib. 1. cap. 4.in which all learning was engraven, the one of brick, the other of marble, to prevent the malice either of Fire or Water, pleaſe themſelves with the Fable, and ſeem to have deduc'd all arts from Adam. Thus far 'tis agreed on, that in thoſe times every Father being both a Prieſt and a King in his own Family, beſtowed on his Son all knowledge both ſecular and ſacred which himſelf had attained to: Adam by tradition inſtructing Seth, Bell. Jud. l. 2. c. 4.and Seth Enoch in all knowledge as well as righteouſneſs. For 'tis Joſephus his obſervation, that whileſt Cain and his Progeny employed themſelves about wicked and illiberal inventions, groveling upon the Earth, Seth and his bore up their thoughts as well as Eyes towards Heaven, and obſerved the courſe and diſcipline of the Stars: wherein it was eaſy to be exquiſite, every mans age ſhewing him the ſeveral conjunctions and oppoſitions, and other appearances of the luminaries, and ſo needing no Succeſſors to perfect his obſervations. Hence Philo calls Abraham foreign, and ſays his knowledge in Aſtronomy led him to the notice of a Deity, and that his ſublime ſpeculation gave him the name of Abram a high exalted Father, before his Faith had given the better Compellation of Abraham, Father of many Nations: hence from him, 1. Chaldaea, 2. Aegypt, 3. Greece, came all to the skill they brag of; ſo that Proclus made a good conjecture, that the Wiſdom of the Chaldaeans was, foreign, a gift of ſome of the gods, it coming from Abraham who was both a Friend, and in a manner an acquaintance of the true God, and far ancienter and wiſer than any of their falſe. In ſumm, all learning as well as religion was pure and claſſical only among the Hebrews, as may appear by Moſes in his foreign, the only true natural Philoſophy that ever came into the World: ſo that even Longinus, which took the ſtory of the Creation to be a Fable,foreign. yet commends Moſes his expreſſion of it, Let there be light, and there was light] for a Speech admirably ſuited to a God; for the greateſt foreign or ſublimity that any Rhetorician could ſtrain for. And Demetrius Phalareus commends the Pentateuch to Ptolomy foreign,… 1. …. 2…6. &c. as the moſt Philoſophical, accurate diſcourſe he had ever heard of. And if by chance any ſcraps or ſhreds of knowledge were ever ſcattered among the Gentiles, they certainly fell from the Chaldaeans table: from whence in time the poor beggarly World gathered ſuch Baskets-ful, that they began to feed full, and be in good likeing, and take upon them to be richer than their Benefactors, and Athens at laſt begins to ſet up as the only Ʋniverſity in the World. But 'tis Austins obſervation, that 'twas in reſpect of Chriſt, and for the propagation of the Church, that learning was ever ſuffered to travel out of Jewry. Chriſt was to be preached and received among the Gentiles, and therefore they muſt be civiliz'd before-hand, leſt ſuch holy things being caſt abruptly before ſwine, ſhould only have been trampled on: or as Moſes his Books falling among the Poets, have been only diſtorted into Fables, turned alſo into Prodigies, Metamorphoſes, and Mythical Divinity. Cum enim prophetae, &c. Ʋnder Abraham and Moſes, whileſt the learning and the Sermons of the Prophets were for Iſraels uſe, the Heathen World was as ignorant as irreligious, but about Romulus his time, when the Prophecies of Chriſt which belonged alſo to the Gentiles, were no longer whiſpered, but proclaimed by the mouth of Hoſea, Amos, Iſaiah, Micah, and Jonas from the reign of Ʋzziah, to Hezekiah Kings of Judah, then alſo began learning to flouriſh abroad among the Nations, to dilate it ſelf over the World: Greece began to hearken after wiſdom, and brag of its foreign, Thales and the like, ut fontes divinae & humanae ſapientiae pariter erupiſſe videantur. That then ſecular knowledge might dare to ſhed it ſelf among the Nations, when Chriſt began to be revealed, the expectation of the Gentiles. 'Twere an infinite diſcourſe to preſent unto you the like proceedings through all Ages, the continual marriages, the Combinations, and never any divorce betwixt Learning and Religion. The Fathers before mentioned are large in drawing it down to our hands in tables of collateral deſcent throughout all generations; and I hope the preſent ſtate of the World will ſufficiently avouch it. For what is all the beggarly skill of the Arabians in Phyſicks and the Mathematicks, all the Cabaliſms of the Jews; in ſumm, all the rather folly than wiſdom, that either Aſia, or Africa, pretend to? what hath all the World beſide that dare look a Chriſtian in the face? I doubt not but this corner of Europe where we live, may challenge and put to ſhame, nay upbraid the ignorance of the learnedſt Mahometan, and be able to afford ſome Champions which ſhall grapple with the talleſt Giant, with the proudeſt Son of Anak that Italy can boaſt of. I will hope and pray, and again dare to hope, that as all Europe hath not more moderation and purity of Religion than this Kingdom, ſo it never had a more learned Clergy; never more incouragement for learning from Religion; never more advantages to religion from learning. But all this while we hover in the air, we keep upon the wing, and talk only foreign, at large and in Theſi: we muſt deſcend lower to the foreign and hypotheſis here; where heed is to be taken to the Phariſee, to the Doctor in my Text. The Diſciples were but Fiſhermen and Mechanicks, illiterate enough, and yet a word of theirs ſhall more ſway mine aſſent, and rule my faith, than the proudeſt dictates out of Moſes Chair. And thus indeed are we now adays ready to repoſe as much truſt in the Shop as in the Schools, and rely more on the authority of one Lay-Profeſſor, than the ſageſt Elders in theirs or our Iſrael. Learning is accounted but an oſtentatious complement of young Scholars, that will never bring the Paſtor or his Flock the nearer to the way toward Heaven. But to recal our judgments to a milder temper, we are to learn from Clemens, that although the Wiſdom of God, and Doctrine of the Goſpel be foreign, able to maintain, and fence, and authorize it ſelf, yet even Philoſophy and ſecular learning is of uſe, nay neceſſity to defeat the treacheries and ſophiſms, and ſtratagems of the Adverſary: And although the truth of Scripture be the bread we live on, the main ſta…f and ſtay of our ſubſiſtence; yet this exoterical learning, foreign, as Sophronius calls them, this foreign of the Schools muſt be ſerved in foreign, as cates and dainties to make up the Banquet; nay they are not only for ſuperfluity, but ſolid and material uſes. 'Twas a cuſtom of old, ſaith Dionyſius Halic. to build Cities foreign, never far from ſome Hill, or Mountain,l. 1. p. 9. that beſide the natural ſtrength, the hold from the foundation, they may receive ſome ſecurity and ſafeguard from ſo ſtout and tall a Neighbour: thus will it ſtand us upon, ſo to build our Faith upon a Rock, th… we may alſo have ſome ſhelter near us to fence and fortify our Fabrick, when the wind or tempeſ… ſhall ariſe. Had not Peter indeed and the reſt at Chriſts call left their ignorance with their nets, and trades: had they not been made Scholars as well as Diſciples, all trades promiſcuouſly might juſtly have challenged and invaded the Pulpit, and no man denied to preach, that was able to believe. Bu… you are to know that their calling was an inſpiration, they were furniſh't with gifts as well as graces; and whatever other learning they wanted, ſure I am they were the greateſt Linguiſts in the World. Yea, the power and convincing force of argument, which the Heathen obſerved in Peter, made them get the Oracles to proclaim that he had learnt Magick from his Maſter.Auguſt. de civ Dei, l. 18. c. 53. To drive the whole buſineſs to an iſſue in brief, take it in ſome few Propoſitions.
1. There is not ſo great a dependence betwixt learning and religion in particular perſons, as we have obſerved to be in Ages and Countries: ſo that though plenty of knowledge be a ſymptom or judiciary ſign, that that Church where it flouriſhes is the true Church of God, yet it is no neceſſary argument, that that man where it in ſpecial reſides is the ſincereſt Chriſtian; for upon theſe terms is the wiſeſt man, the Scribe, the diſputer of the World, the loudeſt braggers of Jews or Grecians are found guilty of ſpiritual ignorance, 1 Cor. 1. as the laſt part of our Diſcourſe ſhall make evident.
2. Matters of Faith are not Ʋltimò reſolubilia in principia rationis, therefore not to be reſolved any farther than the Scriptures; they are not to beg authority from any other Science; for this is the true Metaphyſicks, foreign, the miſtreſs and commandreſs of all other knowledges, which muſt perpetually do their homage to it, as Servants always to attend and confirm its Propoſals, never to contradict it, as Ariſtotle hath it, Met. 2.2.
3. Though Faith depend not upon reaſon, though it ſubſiſt entirely upon its own bottom, and is then moſt purely Faith when it relies not on reaſon, and adheres wholly to the foreign of Gods word, yet doth the concurrence, and agreement, and evidence of reaſon add much to the clearneſs, and beauty, and ſplendor of it: takes away all fears and jealouſies, and ſuſpicious ſurmiſings out of the underſtanding, and beſtows a reſolution and conſtancy on it. For Faith, though in reſpect of its ground, Gods word, it be moſt infallible, yet in its own nature is, as the Philoſopher defines it, a kind of opinion, and in our humane frailty ſubject to demurs, and doubts, and panick terrors, for fear it be falſe grounded, and therefore Ariſtotle ſaith of it, that it differs from knowledge foreign, as a ſickly man from a ſtrong, 'tis very weak and aguiſh, ſubject to ſweats, and colds, and hourly diſtempers: whereas the evidence and aſſurance of ſenſe and reaſon added to it, beſtows a full health and ſtrength upon it, an foreign, a perfect ſtate that it ſhall never be forced or frighted out of. In brief, where reaſon gives its ſuffrage, it unvails Faith, and to adherence ſuper-adds evidence, and teaches us to feel, and touch, and handle what before we did believe; to gripe, and hold, and even poſſeſs what before we apprehended: and theſe are believers in a manner elevated above an Earthly condition, initiated to the ſtate which is all Viſion,Heb. iiii.13. where every thing is beheld foreign, naked and diſplay'd, as the entrals of a Creature cut down the back; or with open face beholding as in a glaſs, 2 Cor. iii.28.2 Cor. iii.28.
4. There be ſome difficulties in Religion at which an illiterate underſtanding will be ſtruck in a maze; ſome depths of myſtery where an Elephant can ſcarce tread Water, a Lamb muſt not hope to wade. Many above the apprehenſions of the moſt capacious brain, where reaſon being not able to expreſs, muſt be content to ſhadow, and deſcribe in ſome rude lines what it cannot perform in pourtraicture: and here, I ſay, learning, though it cannot reach, yet can heave up and point at; profit, though not perfect us, help us to ſome images and reſemblances, to conceive that which we cannot fully comprehend: ſo ſaith Philoponus, will Mathematical abſtractions facilitate the ſimplicity of Gods Eſſence to our underſtandings, the lucid nature of the Sun expreſs the brightneſs of his glory, and the myſterious numbers of the Pythagoreans, repreſent the Trinity to our phanſies. And thus doth Zoroaſtes in Patricius, Philoſophari de Deo, ſubdue, as it were, divinity to reaſon, and raiſe up reaſon to join iſſue with divinity, and by his foreign, that paternal depth made of three threes, compriſe all the ſecrets of the Godhead. But beſides theſe ſecrets of the upper Cabinet, theſe ſupernatural depths, there are others ſecundae altitudinis, l. 1. p. 11.and as Halicar. calls thoſe which are above the reach of all but Philoſophers, foreign, and Ariſtotle foreign, natural miracles, which none but Scholars can attain to. And theſe I hope ſhall never be diſcuſt upon a Shop-board, or enter into any brain that is not before well ballaſt with weight and ſubſtance at the bottom: I need not name them to you, you may know them by this, that when they come into an empty brain, they breed Winds, and turn all into vertigoes and dizzineſs. There be yet farther lights of a third magnitude, which yet every one hath not Eyes to gaze on, and of this condition are almoſt all the ſpeculations in divinity; nay the ordinarieſt truth in a Catechiſm can ſcarce be forced into a vulgar underſtanding; his brain is not ſet that way, and many of our ſubtileſt Worldlings have miſtaken the Virgin Mary for an Angel, and the Apoſtles Creed, where only they find mention of her, for a prayer: and then you cannot imagine what ſtead a little learning would ſtand theſe men in, what even Miracles 'twould work upon them.
5. 'Tis but neceſſity and exigence of nature that thoſe which are the weak ſhould apply themſelves for help and directions to thoſe that are ſtronger; the Child in a Cradle muſt be put to a Nurſe, which may give it ſuck till it be able to eat, and for a while bear it in her arms, that it may be taught to go. There be in nature, ſaith Ariſtotle in his Mechan. many wants; ſhe performs not all our needs, and therefore Engines were invented to ſupply defects. Thus is Art a Machina or invention, foreign, to furniſh us with thoſe abilities which nature was a niggard in: and therefore to deprive our ſelves of this guidance when it is offered, is foreign, to put out an eye of his, that hath but one in all, Ariſt. Rhet. l. 1. c. 7.which was of old a great aggravation to the injury in the Rhetor. indeed to leave our ſelves deſperately blind. foreign, in Iambl. In matters of Religion we muſt not ſo much as ſpeak, nay, not think without a Candle, we ſhall want the guidance of ſome Teacher to direct every ſuch word out of our mouths or thought into our hearts. An ignorant man muſt not have leave ſo much as to meditate on God without a guide; for he is mad, ſay the Philoſophers, and then every thought of his will be a kind of delirium or phrenzy.Clem. p. 56. Dion Hal. l. 1. p. 6. 'Tis the law of nature, ſaith the Hiſtorian, foreign, that ſuperiours ſhould have a kind of ſovereignty over all that are inferiour to them, a magiſterium and command over them, to rule and order them; and this ſuperiority and ſovereignty hath the learned Paſtor, or generally the Scholar over all ignorant men, be they never ſo rich or potent; and whoſoever denies or ſcorns thus to obey, I ſay not, is to be ſlain (as the Law was in the ancient Wars) foreign, without an aſſizes;Ibid. p. 533. but to be condemned of much peeviſhneſs and more ſtupidity, and his puniſhment is, Let him fall into his own hands, i. e. be ruled by a fool or mad man.
6. Much of the ſpeculative part of Religion may be had from a Phariſee as well as a Diſciple. Chriſt himſelf bears witneſs of him, that he was Orthodox in matters concerning the Law: They ſit in Moſes Chair, and therefore whatſoever they bid you, that obſerve and do, Mat. xxiii.3. They err indeed in preſcribing their additions to duty, as divine command, but the chief obliquity was in their lives: they were Hereticks, nay Apoſtates from their Doctrine, and therefore do not after their works, for they ſay and do not, verſe 4. If I am reſolved of ſuch a mans abilities in learning, but ſee him a ſcandalous Liver, I will borrow of his gifts, and pray God to encreaſe his graces. In matters of ſpiritual joy and ſorrow, I will, if I can, be counſelled by an heart which once was broken, that I may ſee how he recovered, and repair my breaches by a pattern; and yet even theſe things may be learnt from him which never had them, but in his ſpeculation; as the Phyſician may cure a Diſeaſe, though himſelf was never ſick of it. But for the ordinary Theories of Religion, I will have patience to receive inſtructions from any one, and not examine his practices, but in modeſty, and in ſubmiſſion, and humility receive the Law at his mouth. But all this with caution, foreign, as to a guide not a Monarch of my Faith; rule he ſhall my belief, but not tyrannize over it. I will aſſent to my teacher till I can diſprove him, but adhere, and anchor, and fix my ſelf on the Scripture.
7. In matters of ſuperſtruction, where Scripture lays the foundation, but interpreters, i. e. private ſpirits build upon it, ſome gold, ſome ſtubble, &c. and I cannot judge or diſcern which is firmlieſt rooted on the foundation; I will take the Philoſophers Counſel in the firſt of his Rhetor. and obſerve either foreign or foreign, be guided either by the ancienteſt, if they have ſhewed themſelves in the cauſe, or elſe men alive, which be beſt reputed of for integrity and judgment: I ſhall ſcarce truſt the honeſteſt man you can commend to me, unleſs I have ſome knowledge of his parts; nor the learned'ſt you can cry up, unleſs I can believe ſomewhat in his ſincerity.
8. All the contradictions and new ways of my own brain, oppoſite or wide from the current of the learned, I muſt ſuſpect for a work of my own phanſie, not entitle them to Gods ſpirit in me. Verebar omnia opera mea, ſaith Job, whatever a man can call his own, he muſt be very cautious and jealous over it. For 'tis no leſs than atheiſm which the ſcorners of the laſt age are to fall upon by walking after their own luſts, 2 Pet. iii.3. And thus was the Phariſees practice here, who makes uſe of his own authority to deny Chriſt; 'twas the Phariſees that ſaid, Have any of the Phariſees believed on him? There is not a more dangerous Mother of Hereſies in the midſt of Piety, than this one, that our phanſy firſt aſſures us that we have the ſpirit, and then that every phanſie of ours is Theopneuſt, the work of the ſpirit. There are a multitude of deceits got altogether here; 1. We make every idle perſwaſion of our own the evidence of Gods Spirit, then we join infallibility to the perſon, being confident of the gift; then we make every breath of our Noſtrils, and flame that can break out of our hearts an immediate effect of the ſpirit and fire which hath ſpiritually enlivened us, and then we are ſure it is authentical; and all this while we never examine either the ground or deductions from it, but take all upon truſt from that everlaſting deceiver our own heart, which we ought to ſit upon and judge of by proofs and witneſſes, by comparing it with other mens dictates, probably as godly, perhaps more learned, but certainly more impartial Judges of thee, than thou canſt be of thy ſelf.
Laſtly, If the word of God ſpeak diſtinctly and clearly, enforce, as here by miracles done before, all men to their aſtoniſhment and redargution, then will I not ſtay my belief to wait on or follow the learnedſt man in the world: when Chriſt himſelf ſpeaks to my Eyes, the proudeſt, eminenteſt Phariſee in Earth or Hell, nay if any of their Sect have crowded into Heaven, ſhall not be able to charm my Ear, or lay any clog upon my underſtanding. So that you ſee the Phariſees argument in that caſe was ſophiſtical, (the matter being ſo plain to them that they needed no advice, His works bore witneſs of him, John v.36.) yet in the general it holds probable, and learning remains a good guide ſtill, though an ill Maſter in matters of Religion, foreign, the firſt thing we undertook to demonſtrate.
And this we ſhould draw down yet lower to our practice, and that variouſly, but that almoſt every Propoſition inſiſted on, hath in part ſpoken to your affections, and ſo prevented ſtore of uſes. This only muſt not be omitted; For Scholars, to learn to ſet a value on their precious bleſſing which God hath vouchſafed them above all the World beſide; to bleſs God infinitely that they underſtand and conceive what they are commanded to believe: this I am ſure of, there is not a greater and more bleſſed priviledge, beſides Gods ſpirit, which our humane condition is capable of, than this of learning, and ſpecially divine knowledge, of which Ariſtotle himſelf witneſſeth, foreign, none i… better than it. As long as we have no evidence or demonſtration from that (which yet it moſt nearly concerns us to rely upon) we cannot enjoy without an immediate ſupernatural irradiation, a tranquillity and conſiſtency of ſpirit, we cannot peremptorily have reſolved our ſelves that we have built upon the rock: every temptation proves a diſcouragement to us, many horrours take hold of us, and ſometimes we muſt needs fall to that low ebb, not far from deſpair, which the Apoſtles were in, Luke xxiv.22. We had truſted, but now we know not what to think of it, that this was he that ſhould have redeemed Iſrael. But to ſee all the Articles of my Faith ratified and confirmed to my underſtanding, to ſee the greateſt treaſure and inheritance in the World, ſealed and delivered to me in my hand, written in a Character and Language that I am perfectly skilled in; O what a comfort is this to a Chriſtian Soul! O what a fulneſs of joy, to have all the myſteries of my Salvation tranſcribed out of the Book of the Lord, and written in my heart, where I can turn and ſurvey, and make uſe of them, as much and as often as I will! Nay, where I have them without Book, though there were neither Father nor Bible in the World▪ able out of my own ſtock to give an account, nay, a reaſon of my faith before the perverſeſt Papiſt, Heathen or Devil. This ſerves me inſtead of having lived, and converſed, and been acquainted with Chriſt. By this I have my fingers put into the print of the nails, and my hands thruſt into his ſide, and am as ſure as ever Thomas was; I ſee him as palpably as he that handled him, that he is my Lord and my God.
'Twas obſerved by the Philoſopher as an *f. art▪act generally practiſed among Tyrants, to prohibit all Schools and means of learning and education in the Commonwealth, foreign, to ſuffer neither learning, nor Schools, nor common meetings, that men being kept blind might be ſure to obey, and tyrannical commands through ignorance be miſtaken for fair Government. And thus did Julian interdict the Chriſtians all manner of literature, and chiefly Philoſophy, for fear, ſaith Nazianzen, they ſhould be able to grapple with the Heathen, Stelite…t.and cut off Goliah's Head with his own Weapon. The continuance of theſe arts of ſpiritual Tyranny, you may obſerve in the preſcribed ſtupidity and commanded ignorance of the laity through all Italy. All which muſt call for a ſuperlative meaſure of thanks, to be expreſt, not in our tongues and hearts only, but in our lives and actions; from us I ſay, who have obtained not only a knowledge of his laws, but almoſt a Viſion of his ſecrets, and for as much as concerns our eternal bliſs, do even ſee things as they were acted, having already comprehended in our reaſon, (not only in our Faith) the moſt impoſſible things in nature; the bredth, and length, and depth and height of the conceived, incarnate, and crucified God: and if all that, will not ſerve our turn, but we muſt preſs into his Cabinet-ſecrets, invade the Book of Life, and overſee, and divulge to all men abſcondita Domini Dei noſtri, then are Gods mercies unworthily repaid by us, and thoſe indulgences which were to beſtow civility upon the World, have only taught us to be more rude. In ſumm, the realleſt thanks we can perform to God for this ineſtimable prize, is modeſtly and ſoftly to make uſe of it, 1. To the confirming of others Faith, and 2. to the expreſſing of our own. For 1. he is the deepeſt Scholar, ſaith the Philoſopher, foreign.who is foreign, beſt able to teach other men what himſelf conceives: and then 2. he hath the habit moſt radicated, who hath preſt it down into his heart, and there ſow'd a Seed which ſhall encreaſe and fructify, and ſpread, and flouriſh, laden with the fruits of a lively Faith. He is the trueſt Scholar that hath fed upon learning, that hath nouriſhed and grown, and walked, and lived in the ſtrength of it. And till I ſee you thrive and beſtir your ſelves like Chriſtians, I ſhall never envy your learning: the Phariſees were great Scholars, well ſeen in the Prophets, and 'tis much to be ſuſpected, could not chooſe but find Chriſt there, and acknowledge him by his Miracles; they ſaw him plain enough, and yet not a man would believe on him; My ſecond part, The greateſt Scholars are not always the beſt Chriſtians.
'Tis obſervable in the temper of men, that the cowardly are moſt inquiſitive, their fears and jealouſies make them very careful to foreſee any danger, and yet for the moſt part, they have not ſpirit enough to encounter, and they are ſo ſtupid and ſluggiſh, that they will not get out of its way when they have foreſeen it: the ſame baſeneſs and timorouſneſs makes them a ſort of men moſt diligent at a diſtance to avoid, and near hand moſt negligent to prevent. Thus in Dan. iv.5. Nebuchadnezzar dreams and is affrighted, and a Proclamation is made for all the Wiſdom of the World to come in and conſult and ſit upon it, and give their verdict for the interpretation of the Dream; and when he had at laſt got the knowledge of it by Daniel, that his fears were not in vain, that the greateſt judgment that ever was heard of, was within a twelve Month to fall on him, then, as though he had been a Beaſt before his time, without all underſtanding, he goes and crowns himſelf for his ſlaughter. Juſt when, according to the Prophecy, he was to ſuffer, then was he walking in his pride; whileſt he was ignorant, he was ſenſible of his danger, and now he ſees it before his Eyes, he is moſt prodigiouſly blind. At the end of twelve months, when his ruine was at hand, ver. 29. he walked in the Palace of the Kingdom of Babylon, and the King ſpake and ſaid, Is not this great Babylon that I have built, &c. In brief, he that was moſt earneſt to underſtand the Dream, is moſt negligent of the event of it, and makes no other uſe of his knowledge of God's Will, but only more knowingly and wilfully to contemn it. And this generally is the ſtate of corrupt nature, to keep a diſtance and a bay betwixt our knowledge and our wills, and when a truth hath fully conquer'd and got poſſeſſion of our underſtanding, then to begin to fortify moſt ſtrongly, that the other Caſtle of the Soul, the affections may yet remain impregnable. Thus will the Devil be content to have the Out-works and the Watch-Tower taken, ſo he may be ſure to keep his treaſure within from danger: and will give us leave to be as great Scholars as himſelf, ſo we will continue as prophane. And ſo we are like enough to do for all our knowledge: for Wiſdom, ſaith Ariſtotle, is terminated in it ſelf, foreign, it neither looks after, nor produces any practical good, ſaith Andronicus, foreign, nay there is no dependence betwixt knowing and doing: as he that hath read and ſtudied the foreign, may perhaps be never the better Wraſtler, nor the skilfulleſt Phyſician the more healthy: experience and tryal muſt perfect the one, and a good temperature conſtitute the other. A young man may be a good Naturaliſt, a good Geometer, nay a wiſe man, becauſe he may underſtand foreign, wonders, depths, nay Divine matters, but hee'l never be foreign, prudent or actually vertuous, i. e. a good Moraliſt: foreign,Eth. 6.8. moral precepts they cannot be ſaid to believe, they have not entred ſo far, they float only in their memories, they have them by heart, they ſay them over by rote, as Children do their Catechiſm, or Plato's Scholars (ſaith Plutarch) his depths of Philoſophy: they now recite them only, and ſhall then underſtand them, when they come of Age, when they are ſtayed enough to look into the meaning of them, and make uſe of them in their practice. The Mathematicks, ſaith Ariſtotle, 2 M…t. 2.have nothing to do with the end or chief good that men look after: never any man brought good or bad, better or worſe, into a demonſtration; there's no conſultation or election there, only plain downright diagrams, neceſſary convictions of the underſtanding. And therefore for theſe meer ſpeculations, which hover only in the brain, the youngeſt Wit is nimbleſt; for foreign,foreign. Ethic. 6.13. ſharpneſs of apprehenſion, is a ſprightfulneſs of the mind, and is there livelieſt, where there be moſt ſpirits: but prudence and active vertue requires an habituate temper of paſſions, a ſtayedneſs of the mind, and long tryal and experience of its own ſtrength, a conſtancy to continue in vertue, in ſpight of all foreign allurements or inward diſtempers. And the ground of all this is, that thoſe things that moſt incumber the Will and keep us from practice, do nothing clog or ſtop the underſtanding;Ethic. 6.5. ſenſuality or pleaſure hinders us not from knowing foreign, &c. that a Triangle hath three angles equal to two right ones, and the like. Nay the moſt inſolent tyrannizing paſſions which domineer over us, which keep us in awe, and never ſuffer us to ſtir, or move, or walk, or do any thing that is good, will yet give us leave to underſtand as much as we would wiſh; they have only fettered our hands and feet, have not blinded our Eyes; as one ſhut up in the Tower from the converſation of men, may be yet the greateſt proficient in ſpeculation; The affections being more groſs and corporeous (from thence called the heels of the Soul) and ſo eaſily chained and fettered; but the underſtanding moſt pure and ſpiritual, and therefore uncapable of ſhackles: nay, is many times moſt free and active, when the will is moſt dead and ſluggiſh. And this may be the natural reaſon that even Ariſtotle may teach us, why the greateſt Scholars, are not always the beſt Chriſtians: the Phariſees well read in the Prophets, yet backwardeſt to believe, becauſe faith which conſtitutes a Chriſtian, is a ſpiritual prudence, as 'tis beſt defined, and therefore is not appropriate to the underſtanding: but if they be ſeveral faculties, is rather ſeated in the Will; the objects of Faith being not meerly ſpeculative, but always apprehended and aſſented to, ſub ratione boni, foreign, &c. Ethic. 6.7.as being the moſt unvaluable bleſſings which ever we deſired of the Lord, or can require. The ſpeculative part of divine wiſdom may make us foreign, intelligent ſpirits, nay poſſibly do it in the worſt notion, render us Devils. Real practical knowledge, only prudence, will make Angels, miniſtring ſpirits unto God, teach us to live and be better than we did. So then, in the firſt place, learning doth neither make nor ſuppoſe men Chriſtians: Nay ſecondly, it doth per accidens many times hinder, put a rub in our way, and keep us from being Chriſtians. Philoponus and Syneſius (Miracles of learning) were therefore hardeſt to be converted, they were ſo poſſeſt and engaged in Peripatetical Philoſophy; that however they might be perſwaded to the Trinity, they will not believe the Reſurrection. 'Twas too plain a contradiction to philoſophical reaſon, ever to enter theirs. Thus in the 1 Cor. i.21.1 Cor. i.21. the World by wiſdom knew not God: they ſo relyed on their reaſon, and truſted in it for all truths, that they concluded every thing impoſſible, that would not concur with their old Principles. But this reſiſtance which reaſon makes, is not ſo ſtrong, but that it may eaſily be ſuppreſt; and therefore Syneſius was made a Biſhop, before he explicitly believed the reſurrection, becauſe they were confident, that he which had forſaken all other errors, would not long continue perverſe in this, and ſo good a Chriſtian in other things, foreign, could not chooſe but be illuminated in time, in ſo neceſſary a point of Faith: and indeed ſo it happened in them both.
But there are other more dangerous engins, more inſidious courſes which learning uſes to ſupplant or undermine belief; other ſtratagems to keep us out of the way, to anticipate all our deſires or inclinations, or thoughts that way-ward: and theſe are ſpiritual pride, and ſelf-content. Men are ſo elevated in height of contemplation, ſo well pleaſed, ſo fully ſatisfied in the pleaſures and delights of it, that the firſt ſort ſcorn to ſubmit or humble themſelves to the poverty and diſparagement of believing in Chriſt; the ſecond are never at leaſure to think of it. For the firſt, ſpiritual pride, 'tis ſet down as a reaſon that the natural man receives not the things of the ſpirit, 1 Cor. ii.14. receives them not, i. e. will not take them, will not accept of them, though they are freely given him; for they are fooliſhneſs unto him, i. e. ſo his proud brain reputes them. The pride of Worldly wiſdom extremely ſcorns the fooliſhneſs of Chriſt, and conſequently, is infinitely oppoſite to Faith, which is wrought by ſpecial humility.
Secondly, for ſelf-content: foreign, ſaith Heraclitus in Heſych. Wiſe men need no friends, they are able to ſubſiſt by themſelves without any help: they will have an happineſs of their own making, and ſcorn to be beholding to Chriſt for a new Inheritance, they are already ſo fully poſſeſt of all manner of contents. Let any man whiſper them of the joys of the new Jeruſalem, of the Interceſſor that hath ſaved, of the way thither and made it paſſable, of all the priviledges and promiſes of our adoption, they will hear them foreign, as old wives fables; they have the fortunate Iſlands too, their exacteſt tranquillity and ſerenity of mind in a perpetual contemplation, and all the golden Apples in Paradiſe ſhall not tempt or allarm them out of it. 'Tis ſtrange to ſee when ſuch a man is called, what a do there is to get him out of his Dream, to hale him out of his ſtudy to the Church, how ſleepy, and drowſy, and lethargical he is, in matters of Religion: how ſoon a little devotion hath tired him out, that could have pored over a Book inceſſantly all his life long, and never thought thus to have been interdicted the delights of humane learning, thus to have been pluckt and torn from the embraces of his Athenian Idol. His converſion is much unlike another mans: that which calls others into compaſs, ſeems to let him looſe, thruſt him abroad into the World, teaches him to look more like a man than ever he meant, makes him a member of the Common-wealth, that was formerly but an Anchoret, and forces him to walk and run the way of Gods commandments, that had once decreed himſelf to a Chair for ever. In brief, there is as little hopes of one that indulges himſelf, and gives himſelf up to the pride and contents of any kind of learning, of him that terminates knowledge either in it ſelf, or elſe in the oſtentation of it, as of any other that is captiv'd to any one ſingle worldly or fleſhly kind of voluptuouſneſs. This of the brain, in ſpight of the Philoſopher, is an intemperance, as well as that of the throat and palate, and more dangerous, becauſe leſs ſuſpected, and ſeldomer declaimed againſt; and from this Epicuriſm, eſpecially of the Soul, good Lord deliver us.
Not to heap up reaſons of this too manifeſt a truth, (would God it were not ſo undeniable) take but this one more, of the unſufficiency of learning never ſo well uſed, to make a man a Chriſtian. Let all the knowledge in the World, prophane and ſacred, all the force and reaſon that all Ages ever bragg'd of, let it concur in one brain, and ſwell the head as big as his was in the Poem that travell'd of Minerva: let all Scriptures and Fathers join their power and efficacy, and they ſhall never by their ſimple activity produce a ſaving faith in any one; all the miracles they can work, are only on the underſtanding, the will diſtinctly taken, is above their ſphear or compaſs: or if their faculties are not diſtinguiſht, and to will is preſent with me, Rom. vii.18. as well as to underſtand▪ yet they can produce only an abſolute ſimple general will, that is, an aſſent and approbation of the abſolute goodneſs of the thing propoſed, not a reſolute will to abandon all other Worldly purpoſes to perform that which I will. Knowledge and right apprehenſion of things may convince me firſt of the Hiſtory, that all that is ſpoken of, or by Chriſt, is true, and then, of the expedience to apply all his merits to my Soul; but when I ſee, all this cannot be done without paying a price, without undoing my ſelf, without pawning all that I have, my learning, my wealth, my delights, my whole worldly being, without ſelf-denial, then the general aſſent, that abſolute will, is grown chill and dead; we are ſtill (whatever we believe) but Infidels; all the Articles of the Creed thus aſſented to, are not enough to make us …hriſtians. So that the iſſue of all is, all knowledge in the World cannot make us deny our ſelves, and therefore all knowledge in the World, is not able to produce belief; only the ſpirit muſt breath this power into us, of breathing out our ſelves, he muſt preſs our Breaſts, and ſtifle, and ſtrangle us; we muſt give up the natural ghoſt, he muſt force out our Earthly Breath out of our Earthly Bodies, or elſe we ſhall not be enlivened by his ſpiritual. Thus have you reaſons of the common divorce betwixt knowledge and faith, *f. firſt.i. e. the no manner of dependence betwixt them in nature. Secondly, the open reſiſtence in ſome points betwixt reaſon and Scripture. Thirdly, the more ſecret reluctancies betwixt the pride and contents of learning and the ſpirit. And laſtly, the inſufficiency of all natural knowledge, and tranſcendency of ſpiritual, ſo that he cannot know them, becauſe they are ſpiritually diſcern…d. I ſhould now in very charity releaſe you, but that there is one word behind of moſt important neceſſity to a Sermon, and that is of Application.
That laying to our hearts the important documents of the Text, our righteouſneſs and faith may exceed that o… the Phariſees, Mat. v.20. our preaching and walking may be like that of Chriſts, in power, and as having authority, and not as the Scribes, Mat. vii.29. and we not content with a floating knowledge in the Brain, do preſs and ſink it down into our inferiour faculties, our ſenſes and affections, till it ariſe in a full Harveſt of fruitful, diligently working Faith. It was Zenophanes his phanſy, foreign, and that God was all Eyes and all Ears, but breathed not, there was no uſe of that in him; and ſo is it with us, who are always exerciſing our knowledge, powers to ſee and hear what e're is poſſible; but for any breath of life in us, any motion of the ſpirit, we have no uſe of it: it is not worth valuing or taking notice of, nothing ſo vulgar and contemptible in them that have it, nothing of which we examine our ſelves ſo ſlightly, of which we are ſo eaſily miſtaken, ſo willingly deceived, and nothing that we will be content to have ſo ſmall a meaſure of. A little of it ſoon tires as out, 'tis too thin aery diet for us to live upon, we cannot hold out long on it; like the Iſraelites, ſoon ſatiated with their bread from Heaven, nothing comparable to their old food that Nilus yielded them, Numb. xi.5. We remember the fiſh that we did eat in Egypt, but now our Soul is dryed away, there is nothing but this Manna before our Eyes, as if that were not worth the gathering.
Pythagoras could ſay, that if any one were to be choſen to pray for the people, to be made a Prieſt, he muſt be a vertuous man, foreign. in Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. p. 61. p. 107. p. 164. p. 157.becauſe the Gods would take more heed to his words: and again, that many things might be permitted the people, which ſhould be interdicted preachers. It was th… confirmation of his precepts by his life, and practice, foreign, that made Italy, foreign, all the Country his School, and all that ever heard him his Diſciples. Nothing will give ſuch authority to our Doctrine, or ſet ſuch a value on our calling, as a religious Converſation. He that takes ſuch a Journey, as that into Holy Orders, muſt go on, foreign according to his 15 Sym…olum, muſt not return to his former ſins as well as trade, ſaith Iamblichus: the falling into one of our youthful Vices, is truly a diſordering of our ſelves, and a kind of plucking our hands from the Plow. A Phyſician, ſaith Hippocrates, muſt have colour and be in fleſh, foreign, of a good promiſing healthy complexion, and then men will gueſs him a man of skill, otherwiſe the patient will bid the Phyſician heal himſelf, and having by his ill look a prejudice againſt his Phyſick, his phanſy will much hinder its working. You need no application; He again will tell you, that the profeſſion ſuffers not ſo much by any thing as by raſh cenſures, and unworthy Profeſſors. In brief, our very knowledge will be ſet at nought, and our gifts ſcoffed at, if our lives do not demonſtrate that we are Chriſtians as well as Scholars. No man will be much more godly for hearing Seneca talk of Providence, nor be affected with bare words, unleſs he ſee them armed and backt with power of him that utters them. Conſider but this one thing, and withal, that my Doctrine is become a Proverb, and he is a proud man that can firſt draw it upon a Scholar, his learning and his clergy make him never the more religious. O let our whole care and carriage, and the deareſt of our endeavours, ſtrive and prevail to croſs the Proverb, and ſtop the mouth of the raſheſt declamer. That Comedy of Ariſtophanes took beſt, which was all ſpent in laughing at Socrates, foreign.and in him involved and abuſed the whole condition of learning; though through Alcibiades his Faction it miſcarried and miſt its applauſe once or twice, yet when men were left to their humour, 'twas admired and cried up extremely. Learning hath ſtill ſome honourable Favourers which keep others in awe with their Countenance; but otherwiſe, nothing more agreeable to the people, than Comedies or Satyrs, or Sarcaſms dealt out againſt the Ʋniverſities: let us be ſure that we act no parts in them our ſelves, nor perform them before they are acted. Let us endeavour that theirs may be only pronunciations, a ſtory of our faults as preſented in a Scene, but never truly grounded in any of our actions. One wo we are ſecure and ſafe from,Luke vi.26. Wo be to you when all men ſhall ſpeak well of you] we have many good Friends that will not let this Curſe light on us. O let us deliver our ſelves from that Catalogue of woes which were all denounced againſt the Phariſees for many Vices, all contained in this accompliſht piece, … ſay but do not, Mat. xxiii.4. And ſeeing all our intellectual excellencies cannot aſſure, or bribe, or woo Gods ſpirit to overſhadow us, and conceive Chriſt, and bring forth true and ſaying F…ith in us; let all the reſt of our ſtudies be ordered in a new courſe; let us change both our method and our Tutor, and having hitherto learnt God from our ſelves, let us be better adviſed, and learn our ſelves from God. Let us all ſtudy all learning from the Spring or Fountain, and make him our inſtructer, who is the only Author worth our underſtanding, and admit of no Interpreter on him but himſelf. The knowledge of God ſhall be our Viſion in Heaven, O let it be our ſpeculation on Earth. Let it fill every conceit or phanſie that we at any time adventure on. It is foreign, the laſt work in which all the promiſes, all our poſſible deſigns are accompliſhed: O let us in part anticipate that final revelation of him, leſt ſo ſudden and ſo full a brightneſs of glory be too excellent for the Eyes of a Saint: and labour to comprehend here, where the whole comfort of our life is, what we ſhall then poſſeſs. And if all the ſtretches, and *f. wracking.cracking, and torturing of our Souls will prevail, the diſſolving of all our ſpirits, nay, the ſighing out of our laſt breath will do any thing, let us join all this, even that God hath given us, in this real ſervice to our ſelves, and expire whilſt we are about it, in praying, and beſeeching, and importuning, and offering violence to that bleſſed ſpirit, that he will fully enlighten and enflame us here with zeal as well as knowledge; that he will fill us with his grace here, and accompliſh us with his glory hereafter.
Now to him that hath elected us, hath created us, and redeemed us, &c.