Christian Reconcilement, Sermon
CHRISTIAN RECONCILEMENT.
Rom. 5. 11.
Wee joy in God through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, by whom wee have now received the atonement.
WHEN St. Paul wrote to the Saints at Rome, there was a ball of contention (as t'were) throwen betwixt the Iewe and the Gentile. And howſoever they were converted as true proſelytes to the Doctrine of Chriſt, yet did they burne with jealouſy one towards another, and receive the goſpell with ſtrife and envy, and ſharpe conteſts of mutuall reproach, and fervent emulation (a fault to much uſed in theſe our Dayes, both in the expreſſions and impreſſions of many Chriſtians, though interdicted by St. Paul to the Epheſians, and condemned by St. James in the very brethren, with a note and character of foreign and foreign which is meer bitterneſſe, the gaul and wormewood of crabbed Zeale and corrupt affections.) The Iew boaſted of his ſtock, the Gentile of his Wiſedome, the Iew of his priviledges, the Gentile of his Endowments; the Iew deſpiſed the Gentile as a wild olive, the Gentile deſpiſed the Iew as a withered branch cut off from the right olive; the Iew deſpiſed the Gentile as a ſtranger from the Covenant, the Gentile deſpiſed the Iew as one deſpiſed of God and rejected of him for murdering his only Son, and crucifying the Lord of glory.
But as it is ſaid of Neſtor, an antient Counſellor of the Grecians.
—Neſtor Componere lites
Inter Peliden feſtinat & inter Atriden;
So doth the Apoſtle uſe all diligence, to repreſſe the animoſity of their carnall ſpirits, and to reduce both to love and unity, patience and humility, ſhewing plainly that all were debters unto God, and that none had cauſe to boaſt of themſelves, firſt by reaſon of their naturall condition they were ſubject unto wrath; then by reaſon of their ſpirituall renovation they were juſtified by faith, not of merit but of grace, free grace, rich grace, the grace of God through faith in Chriſt Jeſus. All which is copiouſly delivered in the precedent Chapters, and compendiouſly gathered in the latter verſes, whereof my Text is a briefe Synopſis
Wee joy in God through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, by whom wee have now received the atonement.
Wee joy in tribulation, becauſe it tends unto hope: wee joy in hope becauſe it ends in glory, as the precedent Words doe rightly inſinuate. But the top of our joy and the crown of our rejoycing is God alone, pacified by his Sonne in the wood of his Croſſe, the blood of his Croſſe: who indeed is foreign, and foreign (as Theophylact ſpeakes) the author of joy, the author of reſt, the author of glory, the author of righteouſneſſe. Have our conflicts abounded, and have not our Comforts abounded? Have our tryals abounded, and have not our triumphs abounded? Yea doubtleſſe, as the ſufferings of Chriſt abound in us, ſo doth our conſolation abound through Chriſt Jeſus. And wee never had more Cauſe to rejoyce, than now wee have in the Day of our peace, the bleſſed re-union of God with us, the heavenly redintegration of his infinite love and mercifull Kindneſſe.
Wee joy in God through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, by whom wee have now received the atonement.
Theſe words are exceeding jubilar, and not unſuitable with the preſent time, which is dies palmarum, or (as wee terme it) Palme-Sunday, a Day of ſpreading garments, unfolding graces, diſcovering holyneſſe, ſinging praiſes, and crying Hoſanna in the higheſt, bleſſed is hee that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hoſanna in the higheſt: not with green bowes of Pagan wildneſſe, but with palme branches of faith and godlyneſſe: which St. John will have to be moſt flouriſhing and victorious, with foreign, this is the victory which overcometh the World, even your faith, the 5th and the 4th of his 1. Ep. You may compare them to the Song of Mary, when ſhe cryed, My Soul doth magnify the Lord, and my ſpirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour. There ſeemes at once, to bee foreign and foreign, on the Lords part foreign, on our part foreign: on the Lords part grace, on our part glory, on the Lords part goodneſſe, on our part gladneſſe, with a ſober kind of raviſhment and ſpirituall Extaſy.
Wee joy in God through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, by whom wee have now received the atonement.
1. That which I ſhall firſt obſerve is the grace and benefit of humane reconcilement. [Wee have received the atonement.]
Secondly the meanes or conveyance, and that is [our Lord Jeſus Chriſt:]
Laſt of all the reſult or extraction, which is delight and glory, exultation and jucundity, together with the circumſtance of time, or rather indeed the inſtance of time, not future but preſent, not in expectation but fruition, now wee are reconciled, and now wee are comforted, ſince the death of Chriſt and the power of his riſing:
Wee joy in God, through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, by whom wee have now received the atonement.
All theſe have their implicite theſes, and may be eaſily reſolved into enuntiative poſitions, one, That man is reconciled unto God.
Another: Chriſt is the author of this reconcilement.
A third, Wee ought to joy in God alone, through Chriſt our Mediator and Advocate. But I proceed after the method I have delivered, and ſhall begin with my firſt obſervation, which is the grace and benefit of humane reconcilement, foreign, wee have received the atonement.
Man is an empty thing, and hath nought in himſelfe, but what he doth receive, nec quid, nec quale, nec quantum, as the Logicians ſpeak of their foreign or rather indeed like that antient chaos which Moſes would have to be foreign and foreign in the firſt of Geneſis, without forme and beauty, a meer ſolitude and vacuity, in ſo much that a Heathen could ſay, as well in reſpect of men as of their actions. O Curas hominum, & quantum eſt in rebus inane?
St. John tells us, wee have received Grace for grace, or grace upon grace: one grace brings in another; and one grace brings in another; and one grace drawes in another, neither is it mans wiſedome, but Gods bounty that leadeth to repentance, charity, meekeneſſe, humility and whatſoever is praiſe worthy; moſt agreable to that of Bernard, Quaevis ſcintillula in corde accenſa, &c. The leaſt ſparke of holy fire, kindled in the breaſt of any Creature muſt needs ariſe from the love of God, and the infinite grace of his eternall providence. Wee receive life in our creation, ſtrength in our being, knowledge in ſtudy, comfort in miſery, patience in trouble, help in adverſity, foreign, the ſame hand that framed us muſt preſerve us, neither can wee any more releive our ſelves, then wee could at firſt make our ſelves, as Juſtin Martyr has obſerved in his Apology for Chriſtians. Formation, conſervation, reformation, conſummation are glorious acts but from the Lord, as fruits of the divine goodneſſe; not branches of humane impotence, which the Apoſtle has compriſed in a word foreign Our ſufficiency is from God, in the 2d to the Corinthians.
But among all the favours that have been beſtowed upon us, that of reconcilement is moſt pretious, whereby wee are made friends unto God, ſtronger then our enemyes, Lords over the Creature, and aequall with the Angells, that warte on his throne, ſtand in his preſence, delight in his worſhip, and rejoyce to doe him ſervice.
St. Origen is ſo charitable, as to extend his mercy to the Divells, and would have them to be ſaved after a thouſand Years compleatly ended: howbeit, we know the worme dyeth not, and their fire never goeth out, as wee gather from the words of our Saviour, in that finall doome, and fatall ſentence, foreign, depart from mee, yee curſed into everlaſting fire, provided for the Divell and his Angels, Mat. 25. 48.
As for the hoſt of bleſſed Angels, that kept their ſtation; they are not ſaid to be truly reconciled, becauſe they never departed from their obedience: yet are they confirmed by the mediation of Chriſt, and ſeem to have a two fold advancement: one in reſpect of their knowledge, becauſe they look into the myſtery of our ſalvation: another in reſpect of their joy, becauſe they delight in the worke of our Converſion. That which makes the Scruple touching their reconcilement, is taken from St Paul, in the Iſt Chapt. of his Ep: to the Coloſſians, where he notes of Chriſt, that he ſate at peace with the blood of his Croſſe, foreign, things on Earth and things on Heaven. All which is moſt unqueſtionable, & ought to be underſtood of the holy Angells, not in relation to God, but in relation to man; not as they are reconciled unto him, but as they are reconciled unto us, and united more firmely with us under one head which is Chriſt Jeſus. And therefore; if you conſider the words of the Text, it is not ſaid, they but we, not all but ſome, We the Saints of God, wee the Sonns of God.
—Queis meliore luto finxit praecordia Titan.
Choſen freely, drawen ſweetly, renewed by his word, quickned by his Spirit: WEE have received the grace of divine love, and heavenly atonement,
Before the Apoſtacy of our father Adam, there was a ſweet harmony betwixt God and man, but as ſoon, as hee fell, and had tranſgreſſed, he ran away, and was caſt forth of Paradiſe; at what time there was a breach made, and wee became (as the Apoſtle notes) foreign: not only ſtrangers and aliens but foes & enemies to the Lord of glory; ſuch as deſpiſe his grace, and deſpight his goodneſſe, with the infinite provocations of enormous impieties. We grieve him and hee forſakes us: We reſiſt him & hee abandons us from the brightneſſe of his face, and the glory of his preſence. For Sin is abominable to God, neither can his pure eyes endure to behold the filthineſſe of our Corruptions, whereupon ſaith Iſaiah, Your iniquities have ſeparated betwixt God and you. Hee did ſo love us, that nothing could take him of and make him leave us but our ſins: Hee did ſo hate Sinne, that nothing could bring him on, and make him love us againe but his Son: his dear Sonne, his only Sonne, the death of his Sonne, the oblation of his Sonne, who gave himſelfe for us an offering and a ſacrifice unto God, of a ſweet ſmell and pleaſant odour foreign Your iniquities have made a ſeparation betwixt God and you in the 59th of his prophecy.
It was for ſinne, that hee left Iſrael, and it was for ſin that he caſt the Angells down from Heaven: It was for ſinne that he drowned the old World, and it was for ſinne, that hee deſtroyed the workes of his creation: Though at firſt hee took pleaſure in them, and ſaid of every thing (which hee made,) foreign it was good, very good the firſt and the laſt of Geneſis.
This was our Condition in the ſad times of humane defection, and thus wee ſtood at a diſtance, I will not ſay a defiance with the Lord of hoſts and the God of ſpirits. But ſince the partition wall is broken down, and there is an entrance made into the holy place; wee have obtained mercy and are received into favour. The heat is of, the fire is quencht, wrath is alaid, the ſtrife is ended: and he that was moſt wrong'd, is moſt deſirous to bee reconciled. Whilſt the Angels of God are made the Embaſſadors of peace, and do openly proclaime tidings of good will unto men upon earth. As James ſaid of Abraham, that hee was termed the friend of God, ſo wee may ſay of all beleivers, the Sonns of Abraham, the generations of his Children. They are foreign and foreign, lovers of God and beloved of him. God is their freind, and they are Gods freinds, by the new Covenant of eternall righteousneſſe, in the diſpenſation of Chriſt, and merit of his obedience. For, as when two men fall out, a third coming between, makes them freinds and brings them to an amicable condition: ſo Chriſt being in the nature of God and man, hath united both and made them one, as well in love as in perſon, by the ſweet interpoſition of his mediatory function.
If any ſhall deſire to be further ſatisfyed concerning the nature of this atonement and ſhall ſay to me of this ſpirituall Manna, as the Iſraelites did of their corporall Manna, which fell in the Wilderneſſe, full of pleaſure and delectable ſweetneſſe foreign What is this? or how doe you Conceive it to be underſtood? Wee are ready to pronounce with learned Zanchius, that it is renovatio, &c. a reinveſting of man with priſtine holyneſſe, or a reducing of man to that former intereſt wee had with God in Chriſt Jeſus, from the ſtate of wrath to the ſtate of peace, from the ſtate of bondage to the ſtate of liberty, from the ſtate of fear to the ſtate of aſſurance, from the ſtate of miſery to the ſtate of mercy, that we may draw neer with boldneſſe to that heavenly throne, and having received that ſpirit of adoption, cry Abba, father, foreign, Rom. 8. as Sonnes and heirs, heirs of God and coheires with Chriſt, in the ſweet fruition of an everlaſting Kingdome. The diſlike and antipathy, the variance and the enmitie which tranſgreſſion wrought, being quite aboliſhed and obliterated by the precious blood of that paſchall Lambe, ſprinkled upon the door poſts of our hearts and conſciences. For to ſpeake in the Words of Salvian, Crimen noſtrum diſcrimen graviſsimum, Our greateſt danger is from ſin. That being cleanſed, wee are preſerved, nor only ſo, but graced and honoured, embraced and dignify'd with ſignal ornaments of love and kindneſſe, by ring and by robe, as they are diſtinctly mentioned by St Luke the Evangeliſt, in that comfortable ſtory of the prodigalls Converſion. Hence it is the Apoſtle doth ſo much boaſt of a holy Communion which the ſaints have with the Father and the Son, Our fellowſhip, ſaith he, and that with an Emphaſis, truely, Our fellowſhip is with the Father and the Son, in the 1ſt and 3d of his Firſt Epiſt. That as he is one with the Father, ſo wee may be one with him, of one heart, of one mind, of one deſire, of one judgment, of one building, one Temple, one body, one ſpirit, which indeed is the height of comfort, and doth moſt eminently repreſent the wonderfull excellency of Chriſtian atonement.
St Bernard mentions divers unions in a tract of his ſtiled, Varij Sermones, naturall, carnall, virtuall, morall, perſonall, ſubſtantiall, and the like. Naturall between the Soul and the body, they are one man; Carnal between the Man and the Woman, they are one Fleſh; Virtuall in the Conſent of our affections, they are one harmony; morall in the Conjunction of brethren, they are one Society: perſonall with the divinity and humanity, they are one Chriſt; ſubſtantiall in the deep myſtery of the bleſſed Trinity, They are are our God, our Lord, of whom, and by whom, and through whom all things were made. As for the union in the Text it is ſpirituall, whereby wee are not only transformed in our ſelves, and tranſported out of our ſelves, but engrafted in Chriſt, and made one Spirit with him, as it is directly avowed by the Doctor of the Gentiles in the 6 Chapt. and 17. verſe of the 1 Ep. to the Corinth. foreign, he that is joyned with the Lord, is one Spirit with him, acted by one Spirit, raiſed by one Spirit, ſanctified by one Spirit, governed by one Spirit, the holy ghoſt moving as it were upon the whole body of the Church, and having a gracious influence from the head of Chriſt to the hearts of men, and the ſecreteſt juncture of his deareſt members, For when Chriſt was gone, he ſent down a fire on the Earth, a Veſtal fire, a ſacred fire, a bleſſed fire, a holy fire; I mean the Comforter, which is the love of God, that hee might keep us to to himſelfe, and abide with us for ever.
I could fix upon ſuch a meditation as this, and dwell in the contemplation of divine peace, that great atonement, that bleſſed atonement, the atonement with an Emphaſis, the atonement with an excellence that cleares the minde, and cheares the ſpirit with unimaginable comfort, dulcor ejus abſorbet conſcientiam, ſaith that elegant father the ſweeteneſſe thereof ſwallowes up my thoughts, and puts me into a frame of jubilar exceſſe. O that it were no leſſe with men, than with God, and that wee might ſee a perfect reconcilement in every condition, like that of the diſciples who mett together foreign, as the Text hath it, with one mind, in one place in the 2. and 1. of the Acts of Apoſt. But this is more to be prayed for, than can eaſily be expected in Maſſa and in Meribba, at the Waters of ſtrife, amidſt the diviſions of many brethren. And yet it is a ſhame, that Chriſt ſhould dye to make our peace, and we ſhould live to make debate amongſt our ſelves: ſtriving and ſtrugling, like Iacob and Eſau in the wombe, and bowels of Church and Country, not as true Iſraelites, but as vaine Iſhmaelites, or generations of the Patriarch Dan, who was ſaid to be Coluber in viâ, a Snake in the path, and a Serpent in the way Gen. 49. The Lord grant, that at length we may be able to ſay in a generall ſenſe, a ſenſe morall, a ſenſe politicall, a ſenſe naturall, a ſenſe eccleſiaſticall foreign, wee have received the atonoment, for the honour of God, the peace of Sion, and the great Security of this Land and Nation.
But I haſten to my Second obſervation, from the grace to the meanes, from the benefit to the Conveyance, and that is Dominus Ieſus Chriſtus, our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. Not Moſes or Aaron, not an Angell or Cherubim, nor any creature of higheſt order, but God alone through Chriſt his Son: Jeſus Chriſt, our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, (as wee read in the Words of my Apoſtle.) He is a Lord for his Dominion, a Jeſus for his ſalvation a Chriſt for the dignity of his threefold unction. A Lord that doth rule us, a Jeſus that hath freed us, a Chriſt that ſhall anoint us, with grace holyneſſe, joy and gladneſſe, to the rich enheritance of immortall bleſſedneſſe.
Give me leave then to put you in mind of a notable ſaying which I have from St Ambroſe, vulnus accepit, unguentum effudit, hee took a ſore wound in his naturall body, he powred forth a Soveraign balm in his myſticall body: a Soveraigne balme, a pretious ointment, that hath cured our ſores, and healed our infirmities, to all well-pleaſing, and good acceptance with the God of all comfort and Father of mercies.
Indeed wee have foreign, a Word of reconcilement, and foreign, the miniſtry of reconciliation: but the Worke is his, the power is his, the merit is his, the performance is his, that made both one, by virtue of his paſſion. We are ſerviceable, and inſtrumentall, as ſuppliant Orators, and ſubordinate cooperators in ſo great a buſineſſe. Hee is the root, and the ground, the ſpring and the fountaine of that celeſtiall agreement, and heavenly compoſition. Whereupon ſaith John, We have an Advocate with the Father, Jeſus Chriſt the righteous, and he is the reconciliation for our ſinnes. As for Paul, he is moſt cleare, with a foreign, God hath reconciled us to himſelfe through Jeſus Chriſt. And againe, foreign. God is in Chriſt, reconciling the world unto himſelfe, 2 Cor. 5. 18, 19.
How then is it that in the ſame place, we are deſired to be reconciled unto God, we pray you in Chriſts ſteed, that yee be reconciled unto God? Have we ſtrength enough to do it our ſelves? and are we able to make our owne peace? This ſeemes to contradict the ſeries of the Text, and to derogate from the honour of an abſolute mediatour. Yet if we diſtinguiſh the manner, 'twill be no hard matter to reconcile the Scripture. Chriſt did it fundamentally, we conformably: Chriſt authentically and radically, we obſequiouſly and readily, with deſires anſwerable and hearty being drawne and converted in the ſound of his word and power of his Goſpell, in the ſmell of his garments, and the ſavour of his oyntments. Inſomuch that what he wrought by the wonderfull humiliation of his temporall oeconomy, we muſt apply it to our hearts and conſciences by faith, repentance, charity, obedience, invocation, adoration, the frequent exerciſes of the holy Sacraments, and the religious obſervation of divine ordinances, which were given us for no other end, but that we may draw neere unto God as loving children.
Let men pleaſe themſelves never ſo much with their ſeverall Idols, whether Corporall or ſpirituall, among the dead, or among the living: there is no creature in heaven or in earth, in the center of the one, or circle of the other that can bring us to God but only Chriſt Jeſus; The Angell of the Covenant, the firſt borne of every creature, the great high prieſt, that took the cenſer of his fleſh, and laid upon it the burning coales of divine love, and offered up the ſweet incenſe of a pure heart and a gracious ſpirit. Is he not the way and the doore? the way in whom we go? the doore by whom we enter? As no man comes to the ſonne, unleſſe the father draw him: ſo no man comes to the father, unleſſe the ſonne doth bring him. Abraham is ignorant, and Iſrael knowes us not, as we read in that Evangelicall prophet.
—Nec defenſoribus iſtis
Tempus eget—
For behold Chriſt is here, cloathed with our fleſh; that he may inveſt us with his righteouſneſſe, and preſent us to the father, holy and unblameable, without ſpot in his ſight: a greater then Moſes, a greater then Aaron, a greater then Elias, a greater then Solamon, or any prophet, ſince the world began. And therefore God muſt needs be angry, if we do not kiſſe the Sonne, his deare Sonne, his beloved Sonne, in whom alone he is well pleaſed, and by whom alone we are truly reconciled: kiſſe the mouth of his word, and pretious oracles: kiſſe the hand of his power, and wondrous miracles, kiſſe the feet of his juſtice and ſure mercies, his ſure mercies and ſteadfaſt promiſes that ſtand as the Sunne, and continue as the Moone for ever in the heavens. Theſe we muſt kiſſe, and theſe we muſt embrace, looking towards Jeſus, the author and finiſher of our courſe: if ever we mean to have God our friend or the light of his countenance to ſhine upon us.
It was for Joſeph's ſake, that his brethren were ſo courteouſly received: and it is for Chriſts ſake that we are ſo graciouſly reconciled. He came into the world as Joſeph came into Egypt, for the good and the benefit, for the protection and the liberty, the help and the comfort, the proviſion and the ſafety of all his brethren. And therefore Auguſtine will have him to be a figure of Chriſt, with a typum geſſit ſalvatoris, in one of his ſermons inſcribed, de tempore: both alike ſold, both a like ſpoyled, one throwne into a pit, another into a grave; one caſt into a dungeon, another into hell by a voluntary condeſcention; though exalted at length that he might ſave us, as well from death as from derth, the derth of his word, and the death of our ſoules, in that burning lake of intollerable woe, and inſupportable miſery. And therefore ſaith Bernard, mortem pertulit, at mortem ſuſtulit, he ſuffered death, but he aboliſhed death, and deſtroyed him that had the power of death with his owne weapon.
Sweet Jeſu! who ſhall declare the ſtrange procurement of our gracious reconcilement in that rare Conjunction of both natures, by the power of the Godhead, by the patience of the man-hood, by the majeſty of the one, by the humility of the other? This enabled thee to beare, that to overcome; this to endure, that to ſatisfy; this to deſcend and lay downe thy life, that to aſcend and take it up againe, that we may be advanced above thoſe angelicall Thrones, and ſit together with thee in heavenly places. St Chryſoſtome is aſtoniſhed with it, and cries out foreign; how comes this work, this great work to be acted and accompliſhed? And therefore I will not take upon me to deſcribe the manner of it, further then I have direction from the Apoſtle, who gives you a twofold explication in the 1 Chap. of the Epiſt. to the Colloſ. that he doth reconcile us foreign, in the body of his fleſh through death: and that he doth reconcile us foreign, with the blood of his croſſe: where you have death and blood, and a Croſſe. In death there is miſery, in blood there is cruelty, in a croſſe there is ſhame and notorious infamy. All which meet together like three fatall ſiſters in Conjunction, for ill to Chriſt, for good to us, the aggravation of his puniſhments, the inſtauration of our nature; that we may be joyned with the Saints above, and gathered into the boſome of our heavenly father; foreign, in the body of his fleſh through death, and that with blood, the blood of his Croſſe; the blood of his croſſe that hath drowned our iniquities, the blood of his croſſe that hath purged our Conſciences, the blood of his Croſſe that hath deſtroyed our enemies, the blood of his Croſſe that hath juſtified our perſons, the blood of his Croſſe that hath quenched the violence of that flaming ſword that hung at the gate of our celeſtiall paradiſe, to keep us back from the ſight of God, and the bleſſed Communion of his glorious Angells. Inſomuch that Auguſtine ſpeaking of Satan hath theſe words victus in patibulo qui vicerat in par adiſo, He is now overcome in the blood of his Croſſe, that did firſt overcome in the garden of paradiſe.
The Apoſtle affirmes we are bought with a price. I confeſſe we are reconciled with a price, a great price, the price of blood, whilſt the chaſtiſement of our peace was laid upon him, and his ſtripes were our healing; for it coſt him deare, and whatſoever he got for us, he purchaſed at a very high rate; our peace with his owne travell, our freedome with his owne bondage, our favour with his owne diſgrace, our comfort with his owne puniſhment, our welcome and reception with his owne contempt and dereliction, a ſtrange dereliction, a grievious dereliction, that made him cry, and lift up his voyce, with anguiſh of heart and agony of Spirit, Eli, Eli, lammaſabachthani, my God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me?
Now me thinkes, I ſtand amazed at the love of God that hath reconciled us with the death of his Sonne, the bitter death of his only begotten Son, at the love of Chriſt that hath reconciled us with his blood, the voluntary effuſion of his owne moſt pretious blood. What ſhall he not do for us, now we are made friends and righteous, that did ſo much for us being enemies and ſinners, dabit tibi bona ſua qui pertulit mala tua, ſaith learned Auguſtine. He muſt needs beſtow his reſt upon us that hath taken his burdens upon himſelfe.
The truth is, his death is available unto life, his life is available unto glory, his death plucks us out of Satans hands, his life puts us into Gods hand, and the protection of his majeſty. We are abſolved by his death, we ſhall be advanced by his life, we are ſaved by his death, we ſhall be kept by his life never to depart from the obedience of his truth, when he ſhall have bound us to himſelfe with everlaſting mercy, in a three-fold cord of faith, hope, and charity,
—Quem nec ſatanae ir a nec ignis, Nec ferrum potuit, nec edax abolexe vetuſtas.
as the Poet hath it in another ſenſe, which no force ſhall be able to break, no age to conſume, no power to diſſolve, nor yet the gates of hell ever to prevaile againſt.
It is recorded of St Bernard, in his life Guilielmus, when Satan came to him in his ſickneſſe, and thought to drive him to deſpaire with remembrance of his ſinnes, that he was much troubled at firſt, but afterwards gathering ſtrength, ſaid unto him, non ſum aignus &c. I confeſſe, I am not worthy of my ſelfe, neither can I expect to enter heaven by any righteouſneſſe of my owne, but Chriſt hath a double right unto that glorious kingdome, one of inheritance by the father, another of purchaſe by his paſſion. That of inheritance he keeps to himſelfe, and reſts in it; that of purchaſe he gives to me, and I lay hold on it with faith and confidence. At theſe words the enemie was confounded and vaniſhed away: but the holy father was much comforted, and triumph't exceedingly in the merits of his Saviour. By this we learne to caſt our ſelves upon God for eternall ſafety, with a perfect abdication of humane infirmity; and may juſtly Condemne the vanity of ſuch as go from the Sunne to the Moone, from the lord to our lady, from the fountaine of living waters, to the broken ciſterne of humane emptineſſe, and from the protection of our Saviour, to the mediation of any creature, from the temple of God to the temple of idols, from the ſacrifice of Chriſt and the ſatisfaction of his death, to the ſhrines of Diana, or the rotten ſepulchers of the moſt holy Martyrs. Theſe I might argue, and theſe I might condemne, but that indeed they are not ſo much to be refuted with care and deliberation, as to be exploded with ſcorne and deriſion.
The uſe I ſhall make of this doctrine is a ſhort expoſtulation out of St Auguſtine, with à quanta iniquitas? quanta perverſitas &c? If the peace of our ſoules, and the reconcilement of our natures be the price of blood, the blood of Chriſt, the true Sonne of the everliving God: what a pravity, what injuſtice, what a phrenſy, what a madneſſe is it, to ſell againe thoſe ſoules unto the Divell for a little gaine, a little pleaſure, a little ſmoke, a little honour, or any the like ſhadow of outward meanes and temporall felicity, which God hath purchaſed to himſelfe with extreame paine, and infinite miſery?
The Argument which the Apoſtle frames is moſt conſiderable, and worthy of obſervation, yee are bought with a price, and are not your owne. Your bodies are his, your ſoules are his, that did emancipate and ſet them free from the ſtrong mans hand and danger of the enemy: his by creation, his by redemption, his in making, his in reconciling, and therefore he muſt be glorified in both, and loved of both, that we may delight in him, and he delight in us, that we may rejoyce in him, and he may rejoyce in us with joy unſpeakable and full of glory. For if it be life eternall to know God, what is it to love God? and to have the gracious returnes of love from him againe? Without controverſy; it is the fulneſſe of joy, and the marrow of bliſſe: as rivers of oyle, and floods of peace, whereof the Angels drink moſt plenteouſly, and are continually refreſht. And therefore ſaith Chryſoſtome, foreign, To love God and to be loved of God, with the ſweet reciprocation of mutuall dilection is more then a Kingdome to the Saints; the Kingdome of glory, the Kingdome of heaven.
My deare brethren, I beſeech you with the Apoſtle, or rather I charge you with King Salomon, by the hinds and by the roes, by the mercies of God and bowels of Chriſt Jeſus, by the obedience of his life, by the power of his death, by his Word and by his Goſpel, by his Sacraments, and by his ordinances, by the blood which he ſhed for you, and by the Spirit which he ſent to you, that he might lead you into all truth, and make you partakers of a pretious inheritance amongſt the Saints in glory,
Cuſtodite animas & nulli credite raſo.
keep your ſoules with all diligence, and let nothing draw you from the love of Chriſt Jeſus, cleave to the Lord with all perſeverance, and what God hath joyned let no man ſever. In vaine do we renew the league of divine friendſhip, if we do not hold it inviolably, without provocation of great offence. The fathers would have Caudam hoſtiae, as well as Caput hoſtiae, both head and rump to be offered, no leſſe in ſpirituall ſacrifices, then heretofore in the juſt performance of legall obſervances. The pretious robe of Chriſtian holineſſe ought to be like the embroydered Coat of the Patriarch Joſeph, which is ſaid to be talaris, downe to the feet and below the ancles: that we may adhere conſtantly to the Lord, and finiſh our Courſe in the perfection of holineſſe. It is a great intereſt we have in God by meanes of this preſent union; labour to improve it, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit; whereby yee are not only joyn'd and coupled, but Sealed and confirmed unto the time of your redemption. Chriſt ſaies, yee are made whole, ſinne no more, leſt a worſe thing come unto you. I ſay, yee are made friends, ſinne no more, leſt a worſe thing come unto you, when the houſe of your Soule, and tabernacle of your Conſcience being ſwept and garniſht, may draw many uncleane ſpirits in, and the end prove worſe, then your beginning. Are yee not waſht? are yee not cleanſed? are yee not reconciled? are yee not juſtified? are yee not cured? are yee not healed? are yee not renewed? are yee not ſanctified, in the name of the Lord Jeſus; and by the Spirit of our God? Chriſt hath obtained for you the remiſſion of your ſinnes, and Chriſt hath put on you the garment of his righteouſneſſe, that yee may find grace in the ſight of God, and be adopted into the family of his deareſt children, with all the Company of his elect Angels. Beware then of relapſing into ſinne, and take heed there be not found among you a heart of unbeliefe, to depart from the living God. O let not the poyſon of ſinne, abide in you, becauſe the love of God hath abounded towards you: but hate it as a Serpent, and embrace him that hath taken away the ſting. Avoyd it as a Syren, and hold what you have, that no man take away your Crowne, the Crowne of your life, the Crowne of your rejoycing, whereby we are enabled to cry with the Apoſtle, and to ſing triumphantly, with joy in God through our Lord Jeſus, by whom we have now received the atonement.
And ſo I come to my laſt obſervation, The reſult or extraction, of delight and glory, exultation and jucundity. Which indeed is pleaſing and may ſerve for application of all that hath been ſpoken, In Deogloriamur, we joy in God.
Saul had a Jonathan, David an Abſalon, and Paul himſelfe a beloved Timothy, and a deare Philemon; wherein they took much pleaſure and delight. But God alone is the joy of our hearts, and the Solace of our Spirits, that hath called us to his eternall glory through Chriſt Jeſus. And doubtleſſe we may very well joy in God, that enjoy ſo much from God, in temporall mercies, ſpirituall graces, outward benedictions, and inward refections, that fill our ſoules with marrow and fatneſſe. For to ſpeak in the words of Salomon, The winter is paſt, the ſhowers are gone, the ſinging of Birds is come, and the flowers appeare in our land: Choyce flowers of grace and peace, truth and righteouſneſſe, whereof we may compoſe foreign, (as St Chryſoſtome ſpeaks) a thouſand garlands of divine celebrities, and tripudiant gratulations. He that turned water into wine before his death, turned blood into wine, at his death; the blood of his Croſſe into the wine of gladneſſe, the blood of his paſſion into the wine of conſolation: A ſweet wine, a pleaſant wine, the mulſum of grace, and the muſtum of his Spirit, (for ſo I promiſe you, St Bernard termes it,) reſerved for the marriage of the lambe, and kept as twere in the wine cellars of the King: that we may be cheared and wholy forget the vanities of the world, the pleaſures of ſinne, the luſts of the fleſh, and the lures of Satan.
For indeed, he is the right object of humane Comfort, moſt abſolute and compleat, moſt adequate and perfect, that can ſatisfy the heart of man, and fill every corner of that winding Labyrinth with delicious Content. We joy in him, and we joy of him, in him for the grace of preſent adoption, of him for the hope of future exaltation to our ſelves and to our brethren: In him ſimply, as he is God in himſelfe, of infinite power and incomprehenſible majeſty, in him reſpectively as he is God to us of infinite goodneſſe, and unſpeakable mercy; In him as a God, in him as a Father, in him as a Lord, in him as a Saviour, that we are his, and that he is ours, by the gracious ſtipulations of Evangelicall promiſes, Our God and our Father, our Lord and our Saviour, the Author of peace and everlaſting tranquillity, the donor of life and immortall glory; which makes the ſpouſe rejoyce with melody, and ſing with jubilee, my beloved is mine, and I am his. He feedeth among the lilies, the white Soules and pure Conſciences of men Sanctified with the Spirit of holineſſe.
Aeneas Sylvius uſed to ſay (as tis recorded in his life by Platina) nullum gaudium ſine virtute ſolidum, there Could be no ſollid joy without the exerciſe of virture. Had it been ſaid without the love of God in Jeſus Chriſt, it had been ſpoken moſt divinely. Some joy in their ſtrength but that is Carnall, ſome joy in their wiſdome but that is imperfect, ſome joy in their treaſure but that is deceitfull, ſome joy in their greatneſſe and honour but that is inconſtant and ſometimes mutable, and therefore we joy in God that are endeared to him, and have received the benefit of divine atonement. Our heart doth rejoyce, and our fleſh doth rejoyce in God, the living God, that makes us a rejoycing, and Creates us a very joy, through Chriſt his Sonne, and the powerfull working of his Continuall interceſſion.
The originall word foreign, is moſt emphaticall, and impleyes a kind of joy more then ordinary, even geſtient gladneſſe, and triumphant glory: I know not whether I ſhould call it an exultation, or an inſultation, becauſe it makes us inſult over the adverſary, and triumph over the enemy, laughing at his deſtruction, and expoſing him openly, as the Graecian did, of whom the verſe goes,
Ter circum Iliacos raptaverat Hectoramuros,
for by this, we do not only joy in God, but we joy over that which may anoy our ſoules, and trample on it with deriſion and contempt. Not unlike our bleſſed Saviour, when he bruiſed the head of the Serpent, and brake the head of the Leviathan in the midſt of the waters; ſporting with him that ſported therein, with the ſtaffe of his Croſſe, and the rod of his power, his eternall power and God-head, Rom. 1. Who then ſhall lay any thing to our charg? It is God that juſtifieth, who ſhall condemne? It is Chriſt that died. yea rather which is riſen againe, and ſits at the right hand of God, and makes interceſſion for us, as we have it in that brave challenge, graciouſly ſet downe, and couragiouſly ſent forth by that Champion of God, and trumpet of the Goſpel, the Doctor of the Gentiles, and veſſell of election, in plaine ſcorne and open defence of ſpirituall wickedneſſe in higheſt places.
We joy in God, we joy over death, we joy in God, we joy over ſinne, we joy in God, we joy over the grave, we joy in God, we joy and crow, (as it were) over hell and Satan, with all the powers of that infernall kingdome, and may ſafely tread upon Serpents and Scorpions, (as the Apoſtles did) without hurt and danger, in the name of Chriſt, and ſtrength of our redeemer, that hath ſet up his croſſe, as a glorious Trophy in the midſt of the Nation, to the everlaſting reproach and eternall confuſion of the Dragon and his angels. Of this we have both an embleme and example: an Embleme in the woman that was cloathed with the Sun, and had the Moon under her feet: an example in the Apoſtle when he brake forth into that triumphant foreign, Oh death where is thy ſting? O grave where is thy victory? The ſting of death is ſinne, and the ſtrength of ſinne is the law: but thanks be to God who hath given us victory through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. And therefore ſaith God by the mouth of his Servant, Qui gloriatur, in me glorietur; let him that glorieth, glory in me, that he underſtandeth me, and that he knoweth me, who ſheweth mercy, and judgment, and righteouſneſſe upon the earth, Jer. 9.
Give me leave then to put you in mind of thoſe everlaſting joyes, which ſhall never be taken from you, not of meat and of drinke, not of harp and viol, in the luxury of the greateſt feaſts, but of God and of Chriſt, the Word and his Spirit, Quo nihil ſpecioſius, quo nihil pretioſius, in the ſweet language of that incomparable Father: then which nothing is more amiable and ſpecious for grace and beauty, nothing more admirable and pretious for ſubſtance and value, leſt it be ſaid of you, as it was of the Phariſees, Luk. 7. 32. Cantavimus, & non Saltaſtis, we have Piped unto you, but ye have not Danced, we have Sung unto you, but yee have not rejoyced; you may peradventure have joyed in the pleaſant noiſe of muſicall inſtruments, yee have not rejoyced at the Word of God, and ſound of his Goſpell, in ſober dances of Spirituall rejoycings: with this he is pleaſed, with that he is grieved: in this he is glorified, in that he is diſhonoured, and ſometimes mightily blaſphemed.
I will not deny, but that we may rejoyce in the outward comforts of humane life, and take pleaſure in the very creature, joy in health, joy in beauty, joy in wealth, joy in ſafety, joy in Arts and Sciences, Tongues and Languages, friends and favours, priviledges and preferments, the gifts of nature and the graces of the Spirit, whereby we are enabled to promote the honour of God and benefit of his Servants. In theſe we may rejoyce, in theſe we may triumph, as they are bleſſings of our heavenly Father and pledges of his love: ſo it be with a twofold Caution and reſpect: the one of thankfulneſſe, in the right acknowledgment of divine bounty, from whence they come; the other of ſubordination in the reall intendment of divine glory, whereunto they runne. For that is finis debitus, as Aquinas ſpeaks, and ought to be the maine aime of our beſt faculties and moſt eminent perfections. In this ſenſe we interpret the words of St Paul, and are to underſtand that deprecation of the Apoſtle; God forbid I ſhould rejoyce in any thing, but the Croſſe of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt: not primarily and wholy, but conditionally and moderately in order to Chriſt and the advancement of his glory.
And therefore, as Ariſtotle ſaid, when they brought him two ſorts of wine, the one from Rhodes, the other from Lesbos, with alluſion to his Scholars, Menedemus and Theophraſtus foreign &c. That of Rhodes is good, but this of Lesbos is the ſweeter: So do I profeſſe of earthly joy and heavenly joy, corporall joy and ſpirituall joy, the joy of the Creature, and the joy of the Creator: that may be good, this is better, that may be pleaſant, this is ſweeter, that may be uſefull, this is needfull, and ſuch as ought moſt to be deſired.
Faine would I draw you to it, that your hearts may rejoyce, and your joy may be full, when that which is perfect ſhall come, and that which is imperfect ſhall be done away. For in his preſence, there is fulneſſe of joy, and at his right hand there are pleaſures for ever more. But where I faile, let Auguſtine go on, and make ſupply with his gaudete in one of his Sermons de Verbis Domini, Gaudete in Domino, non in ſaeculo: Gaudete in veritate, non in falſitate: Gaudete in ſpe aeternitatis, non in ſtore vanitatis: rejoyce in the Lord, not in the world: rejoyce in the truth, not in falſhood; rejoyce in the hope of life and glory, not in the flower and flouriſh of Pride, and of vanity. All this is ſtrongly enforced by the Word of God, which indeed is mighty in operation, and ſharper then a two edged ſword, to divide betwixt the Soule and the Spirit, the joynts and the marrow, the world and your heart, the earth and your affections. I might ſend you to the Prophet David for ample direction, who writes many Pſalmes of this argument, with a jubilate in Deo, O be joyfull in the Lord, all yee Lands, ſerve the Lord with gladneſſe, and come before his preſence with a ſong: And with a Venite, exultemus in Domino, O Come let us ſing unto the Lord, let us heartily rejoyce in the ſtrength of our Salvation, let us come before his preſence with thanks-giving, and ſhew our ſelves glad in him with Pſalmes. But I ſhall leave you to a ſhorter compendium out of the Apoſtle, Philip. 4. 4. where he gives you a double charge, and bids you rejoyce in the Lord, with an Iterum dico, Againe, I ſay rejoyce: that he may awake you from the dreames of ſecular fancies, and bring you to the joyes of Spirituall extaſies. I ſcarce remember a place in the Volume of this Book, of greater emphaſis, that doth more inſinuate into the heart of men, with a ſweeter Eccho of forcible ingemination, and patheticall inſtruction, then what I laſt ſpake unto, rejoyce in the Lord, and againe I ſay rejoyce.
Therefore I wiſh it may have a deep impreſſion with you, and be as nailes faſtned by the maſters of aſſemblies, never to be removed and forgotten, that yet may affect it, and that it may lift you up, from wordly deſires and earthly Cogitations, as the Spirit did Ezekiel, when it took him by a lock of the haire, and brought him to Jeruſalem, lift you up, and bring you on to Jeruſalem, the viſion of peace, the fruition of bliſſe, the new Jeruſalem, the celeſtiall Jeruſalem; Jeruſalem which is above; the Mother of us all. Where amongſt other ſongs and doxologies of praiſe and thanks-giving we may remember this, and ſing aloud upon our beds, with Patriarches and Prophets; with Apoſtles and Evangeliſts, with Martyrs and Confeſſors, with Saints and Angells, We joy in God through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, by whom we have now received the atonement. Which the Lord Grant for Chriſt his ſake, to whom with the Father and the holy Spirit, three perſons and one God be aſcribed all Power, Majeſty, and Dominion now and for ever, AMEN.
FINIS.
End of the text · John Wall, Christian Reconcilement (1658)