A Hundred Sermons on Revelation, Sermons · Sermon 27
¶ Here is liuely deſcribed the Lambe in the throne of God, receiuing the boke of the hand of him that ſitteth and opening it. The .xxvij. Sermon.
AND one of the Elders ſayd vntounto me, wepe not: Beholde the Lion, whiche is of the tribe of Iuda, ye roote of Dauid, hath obteyned to open the boke, to lowſe the ſeuen ſeales therof. And I behelde, and lo, in the middes of the ſeate, and of the foure beaſtes, and in the middes of the Elders, ſtode a lābe as though he had bene killed, whiche had ſeuen hornes, and ſeuen eies, which are the ſeuen ſpirites of God, ſent into all the worlde, and he came & toke the boke out of the right hand of him that ſate on the Throne.
By Chriſt all thinges are gouerned.Foraſmuch as Iohn had wept, that no man was worthy ſo muche as to loke on the boke of him that ſate on the ſeate, muche leſſe to open it: One of the .xxiiii. Elders comforteth hym. His name is not expreſſed, wherfore it ſemeth to be required both vaynely and curiouſly. Notwithſtanding there be ſome of the expoſitours, which ſuppoſe hym to be the patriarch Iacob: Verely for that ſhortly after his oracle or prophecie is recited. And ſo the authour deſcendeth in a moſte goodly order vntounto the deſcription alſo of the ſonne of God, by whome the celeſtial father, as al the ſcripture eueryevery where approueth, gouerneth al thinges. Hitherto hath he deſcribed hym that ſitteth on the ſeate, and before that the holy ghoſte. Wherfore theſe are holſome and moſte profitable doctrines for the churche, wherby the true faith is confirmed.
The comfort of this elder, and verely the heauenly & moſt Godly doctrine tendeth to this ende, that we ſhould vnderſtande, that all the complaintes, weping, grudging, and the ſondry tourmoylinges of our minde, can not be quenched, appeaſed & quieted, vnleſſe we ſee and beleue, that to Chriſt (as here is moſte playnely and manifeſtly ſet forth) is geuen of the father al power in heauen and in earthe: and therfore to be conſtituted like as the only redemer, ſo alſo the head, Prince, and gouernour of al, whiche vnderunder the ſeale of fayth and veritie, ſhoulde gouerne all thinges that are by God his prouidence ordeyned, and euen now diſpiſeth them, and reuealeth vntounto vsus ſo muche of God his iudgmentes as do ſuffice vsus. This if we beleue with a faythful and ſyncere minde, we ſhal hauehave quiet conſciences in al the workes of God, euē ſuche as are harde to indure, and ſeme to ſome men moſt vnreaſonable. For we know that he by whome all thinges are gouerned, is of our nature and kinde, yea euē our owne brother: and ſuch verely as fauoureth vsus with al his harte, hath ſuffered death for vsus, and loueth nothynge better in all the world than man: Moreouer whiche hath ouercomen death, ſonne, the Deuil and Hell, and hath ouercomen them for vsus. Who wil nowe than ſuſpecte his gouernement, permiſſion or operation? Thou haſte a brother in the Princes Courte, whome thou arte aſſured to fauour thee from the botome of his harte: thou heareſt ſaye, howe he hathe geuen vntounto him of the Prince the gouernement and iudgement of the whole countrie, woldeſt thou ſticke or be lothe to ſubmitte thy ſelfe vntounto him? naye rather thou doeſt truſte and hope to obteyne any thing of thy brother.
Therefore let vsus remembre,The kingdome and power is geuen to Chriſt. howe the Scripture not here only, but eueryevery where doeth teache, that Ieſus Chriſte the Sonne of God, and in dede of the ſame ſubſtaunce with vsus after his humanitie, in diyng for vsus, to hauehave deſerued to hauehave a name geuen him, whiche is aboue all names, and that althinges ſhoulde be ſubiecte to his gouernment, what ſo euer be in the worlde viſible or inuiſible. For ſo S. Iohn teſtifieth in the .1. Chapter. And S. Paul alſo to the philipp. 2. Coloſſ. 1. and to the Hebrewes the .1. Chapter. He is ſayed at this preſent to hauehave ouercomen or obteyned to open the boke, and lowſe the Seales therof. Therfore by the knoweledge of him, and through faith in him, we obteyne, that with a ioyefull minde we maye loke vponupon the boke, the iudgementes and all the workes of God, and quietly and patiently to beare the openyng therof, and gouernment of al together. &c.
A moſt gallaunt & ful deſcriptiō of Chriſt.But to the intente we maye iudge more rightly of Chriſt gouernour of all, although he hath already deſcribed him right liuely: yet now he procedeth to paincte him out in his, that is to ſaye, moſte godly and goodly coulours, that we ſhould not be nothing affrayed of his gouernement, nother that we ſhould not with quiet mindes moſt willingly ſubmitte our ſelues wholy to his gouernment.
Firſt is ſayed, that a Lion of the tribe of Iuda hath ouercomen:Chriſte a lion of the tribe of Iuda. to wit that ſame Chriſt of oures: to hauehave ouercomen the Deuill, ſinne, death, the world, hell, and al power of the aduerſarie. And he ouercame in diyng, and ſo atchieued the high dignitie, and was made Lorde of all. The Deuil is alſo called a Lion of S. Peter. Salomon and the Prophetes call tirannes Lions.1. Peter. 5. Our Authour therfore calleth Chriſt a lion, not of the common ſorte, but of the tribe of Iuda. For he alludeth to the prophecie of the patriarch Iacob, whiche is in the .49. of Geneſ. he prophecieth there that Schilo ſhal come, with plentie and good lucke, whiche like a lion that hath taken his praye, nether is there any manne that can driue him from it, can defende thoſe that be his, whom he hath caught out of the dragōs clawes, ſo that no hoſtile power dare ones hiſſe againſt him. Chriſt therfore is declared a victour or cō querour greateſt,Chriſte is only moſte inuincible. moſt mightie, and moſt inuincible. Which belongeth to him alone. Yet ſhal you finde Kings, which are eueryevery houre ouercomen of wicked luſtes, whiche wil ſuffer them ſelues to be called, inuincible. Briefly, this firſt note in the deſcription of Chriſt, ſheweth yt Ieſus Chriſt gouernour of al, is yt very ſame, whom the patriarches & prophetes hauehave prophecied to come into the world, a prince moſt inuincible.
Secōdly Chriſt is called the rote of Dauid, wherin he appereth to hauehave alluded to that ſaiyng of Eſaye in the .11.Chriſte the roote of Dauid. chap. Than ſhal a budde come forth of the ſtocke of Ieſſe, & a flour ſhal aſcende out of the rootes therof. Namely Marie the daughter of Dauid, of whom that moſt ſacred floure Chriſt ſprang & came, was the ſtocke of Ieſſe. And of the very rotes of Dauid, or of the virgin, I meane of the moſt true humane nature, Ieſus Chriſt was borne very man into the worlde. For he toke no where the Aungelles nature, but the ſede of Abraham. He is therfore our brother,Hebr. 2. of the ſame ſubſtaunce with vsus, after his humanitie. Theſe things do comfort vsus exceadingly, and confute heretikes moſt ſtrongly: which faine that Chriſte hath not a very humane body. We hauehave more herof in the .1. of Matth. and .1.2.3. of Luke. Chriſte is in ye mids of ye ſeate.After it is expreſly ſpoken of the ſame our lorde, that he is in the middes of the Throne, in the middes of the .iiii. beaſtes, and in the middes of the .xxiiii. Elders: and is therfore exēpted out of the nōbre of creatures, out of the numbre of Aungelles, and out of the numbre of Sainctes. For he is greater than theſe, to wit of the ſame ſubſtaunce with the father, in glory & power equal. For the father is in the middes of the Throne, from thence procedeth the holy ghoſt: euen there is founde alſo now the lambe Chriſt, not only very man, but alſo very God.Chriſt is very God. And is a diſtincte perſon. For the bleſſed Trinitie knoweth not any cōfuſiō. The father is God, the ſonne is God, the holy ghoſt is God: yet are al three but one God, the father in his ſubſiſtence, the ſonne in his, and the holy ghoſt in his, not makyng three Gods, but three proprieties and perſones in one indiuiſible and eternal eſſence. And where as Chriſt is mentioned to be in the middes of the beaſtes, and in the middes of Elders: he is doubtles ſignified after the diuine nature to be eueryevery where, to be the life and preſeruation of all creatures, alſo in the middes of his choſen, and of his Church. Therfore like as we beleue Ieſus Chriſt to be very mā, ſo let vsus alſo beleue him to be very God, of the ſame ſubſtaunce with God the father. Therfore let Seruiet periſhe with Arrius and Mahomet, and as many as denie Chriſt to be the ſonne of God, coequal with the father in al thinges. Furthermore he is now alſo called a lambe,Chriſt is a lambe. not that he is a ſhepe of nature, but for that by a lambe is prefigured the innocent redemer of the worlde, and the only holeſome ſacrifice of all faithfull. A lambe is a token of innocencie, and from the beginning appointed for ſacrifices. Abel offered vp a Lambe, after the lawe was offered a dayly ſacrifice, in the morning a lambe, and at euening a lambe. For chriſt is the expiation of them, whiche were in the beginning of the world, and which in the ende ſhalbe. The Paſchall lambe in the .12. of Exodus. Whoſe bloud prohibited the Aungel diſtroier from the houſes and tentes, repreſented the figure of Chriſt, by whoſe preciouſe bloud we are reconciled to God. This expoſitiō of the Paſchal lambe S. Peter him ſelf in the .1. Pet. 1. and S. Paull in the .1. to the Corinth. 5. hauehave brought. Eſaye accordeth with them in the .53. chapter. And ſo expounded by the Apoſtle S. Philip in the 8. of the Actes. Finally S. Iohn Baptiſt, whiche with the fingar ſtretched out and poinctyng to Chriſt, exclamed: beholde the Lambe of God, whyche taketh awaye the ſinnes of the world. Let vsus therfore beleue, that ye ſame Ieſus Chriſt, vntounto whom al power is geuē of the father, to be our deliuerer, our expiation, reconciliation, innocencie, ſanctification, iuſtification and euerlaſtyng ſaluation: as he whom we ſhal heare in the xiii. chapt. to hauehave bē ſlayne from the beginning of the world, for ſo much as his only death, & one oblation made from the beginning of the world, and continually to the worlds ende, doeth ſanctifie al thoſe that are ſanctified Which the Apoſtle alſo affirmeth in the .10. to the Hebrewes.
Howebeit this lambe or ſauiour of the worlde is ſayed to ſtand in the middes of the throne, verely for that now he executeth thoffice of a catholicke kinge, and prieſt & gouernour, beynge alwayes ready and prepared to ſaue. So S. Stephen alſo in the .7. of the Actes ſeeth him ſtanding. Or els in other places we reade that Chriſt ſitteth on the right hande of the father. To the which this place gayne ſaieth not, conſidering that to ſitte, is bothe to reſt and to reigne.
Moreouer this our Lambe appereth in the Throne of the diuine maieſtie,The lamb appeareth as ſlayne. as if he were killed: not for that he was not ſlayne in dede, and dead (for that ſame is a little after exceſſed moſte exactely) but for that he remayned not in deathe, but the thirde daye roſe agayne from the dead, to thende he mighte ſo declare him ſelfe to be the life, and reſurrection of the faythful. Or verely, for that after his humanitie he is red to be ſlayne, after his deitie to be immortall, and ſubiecte to no reproche. Wherfore in the old lawe the one of the goates in the 16. of Leuitic. is ſlayne: but the other is not killed but by the worke of a man herunto appoynted is led forthe into the deſerte. Neuertheles there is of the expoſitours, which expounde it thus: he is ſayed as though he were ſlaine, for aſmuche as after S. Chriſoſtome and S. Auſten he hath reſerued as yet the ſeares of the woundes of his death in token of his victory. &c.
Furthermore this lambe Chriſt Ieſus our lord hath .vii.The lābe hath ſeuen hornes. hornes, not yt in dede he carieth ſo many hornes like a goate of Iude. An horne, as appereth by Daniel, and by the ſonge of Zacharie in the 1. of Luke, ſignifieth power and kingdome. The .vii. nombre is the nombre of fulnes. It is therfore ſignified that Chriſt is indued with al kinde of power, diuine, humane, imperial, pontifical, roiall, briefly moſte abſolute. In the 13. chapt. we ſhal heare that the beaſte hath taken to him two hornes, as it were of the lambe, whereof I ſhal ſpeake in his place. Daniel in the 7. chapt. And rule, ſayeth he, was geuen him, and honour and kyngedome, that al nations and tounges mighte worſhip him, whoſe rule is an euerlaſtinge rule, which ſhal not periſh nor decaye at any time. Now hath he ſeuen eyes alſo. Theſe he expoundeth, and ſayeth,The lābe hathe .vii. eyes. whiche are the .vii. ſpirites of God, ſente into the whole worlde. I ſhewed you before, that the .vii. ſpirites are called a ſeuenfold ſpirite. Here therfore is ſignified the fulnes of ye ſpirite, which the lord powereth out vponupon al fleſh. Here is ſignified the vniuerſal knowledge of the ſonne, in whoſe ſighte are preſent, what thinges ſo euer are done in heauen and in earth, opēly & priuely. For the ſpirite of Chriſt, that vnmeaſurable force, incomprehenſible and moſt diuine, ſearcheth and pearſeth al thinges, nothinge is hidde from his eyes, whiche viewe the whole world.
And ſuch is Chriſt, as we hauehave hearde deſcribed hitherto,What is ye gouernour of all, and who openeth the ſeales. whome the Patriarches hauehave before ſayed ſhoulde come, a victour and triumphant cōquerour alone verely inuincible, very man of our owne ſubſtaūce, and alſo our very brother, yet very God neuertheleſſe, of the ſame ſubſtaunce with the father and the holy ghoſte, the reconciler, redemer, and the only ſaluatiō of the world: hath ſuffered for vsus, and the ſame riſen agayne from the dead, and aſcended into heauē, hauing al power in heauen and in earth, whiche ſeeth al thinges, cō municateth his ſpirite vntounto men, and is the moſt faithful keper and defender of al mā kinde: This Chriſt Ieſus our lord, came and receiued, he conueyed not or ſtale it away, but toke that boke of the prouidence diuine, of the iudgementes of God, of the vniuerſal, gouernmēt of al things, that he might open, and lowſe the Seales thereof: that is to ſaye, that he might reueale to vsus yt are redemed with his bloud the iudgementes of God, and mighte diſpoſe and order al thinges in heauen and in earth. Therfore ſins we know that the gouernour of al thinges, is geuen to vsus a redemer, Kyng, Biſhop, and our only ſaluation, who will not from hence forth willingly ſubmitte himſelf to his gouernement? And ſeyng we nowe vnderſtande certenly, how that vnderunder the ſeale of faith and veritie al things are done by Chriſt, who dare hereafter more curiouſely inquire of his workes and iudgmentes, vntounto whoſe credite and gouernement we ſhould nowe cōmitte althinges,Howe the ſonne is ſaied to receiue the boke at his fathers hande. in caſe they were in our power? Notwithſtanding we ſhall obſerue, that the ſonne doeth not ſo receyue theſe thinges of the father, that the father is depriued therof. For in the .5. chapt. of S. Iohns Goſpel, the Lorde ſayeth: my father worketh vntounto this time, & I worke, &c. Certes the ſonne is called the worde, mouth, and arme of the father, &c. or that after the humanitie the ſonne mighte ſeme leſſe than the father. For very godly Aretas, where the lambe, ſayeth he, receyued the boke of the right hande of him that ſitteth on the Throne, it muſt be vnderſtande on the behalfe of his humanitie: As alſo that he was ſlayne. For concernyng his deitie, none of all thoſe thinges that maye worthely be ſpoken or thought of God, is ſeuerally aſſigned to three perſones, ſauing the maner of bringyng forth, of him that begetteth and of him that is begotten, and of hym that procedeth, &c.
This deſcription of Chriſt is ſingular, moſte excellent, very euangelicall, and ful of conſolation: and therfore is it chiefly to be layde vp in the botome of our hartes. Where we finde alſo that they were diſceaued in theyr iudgment, which were not affrayde to ſaye, that in this boke, beſides the Apoſtolical maner, fewe thinges were taught of Chriſte, and of our redemption. Let vsus praye vntounto the Lorde, that he would voucheſafe to illumine our mindes. Amen.