Exposition of the Apostles Creed, Part 2 · Sermon 19
John 19.5.
foreign, Behold the Man!
In this Sermon are set forth those Duties required of us in Relation to the Passion.
GOod counsel from an enemy may safely be followed. Pilate, an enemy to Christ, gives it, and he spake to his enemies the malicious Jews,Leo. de pass. ser. 8. but his intent in it was good; for he would have moved compassion in them upon the sight; from his mouth I borrow it, and deliver it to you, you that bear Christs name, and glory to be his friends; I hope then, it will stir in you that, which it could not do in them, compassion and compunction; Behold the Man!
Behold the man! why? that you'l say we have done already sufficiently two or three dayes one after another, six hours together; beheld him we have in his passion, beheld him in the causes of it; what need we look upon him any more? 'Twas but a sad spectacle, and we care not much to trouble our selves with it. Well, whether you care or no, troubled you must be again with it; the Prophet will have it so. Respicient, e. i. re-aspicient, Zach. 12.10.they must look back and again on him they have peirced; an eye must be cast back thither; the Apostle also enjoyns it, foreign, Consider ye, 'tis an Auditors word,Heb▪ 12.3. sit down and recoken, and cast up your accounts, what, how great, to what end his sufferings were.
An injunction most reasonable;Herodian. Luc. 13.32. for even Nature it self inclines us to this act, to look upon a man in misery; the Priest and the Levite, thar would not relieve, yet came to look upon the wounded man. And I remember Chrysostome lays this charge among others to the rich man,Chrys. hom. de Lazar. that though Lazarus lay daily at his gate, where he could not go in nor out, but he must see his sores, yet he would not so much as afford him one good look; he hath not then the bowels of a man, who will not look upon a man in distress.
Thus much I am perswaded you will not stand with Christ for; and yet I may say truly, there be among us, who have not afforded him that; not a look, not looking to this place, where this sad spectacle hath been presented. God grant, that when at the last gaspe they shall look for a good look from him, they look not in vain; He no more look to them, than they have done to him; turn his back upon them, as they have turned upon him. 'Tis to you, who have been present at this sad sight, that I especially erect this Beacon on a hill, and call you to consider seriously, what you came out for to see; not a reed shaken with the winde, not a man clothed in soft raiment, but a man,Mat. 11.7, 8. nay more than a man, the Son of God, your Saviour, your Christ, by whose name you are called, in whose name you glory, dying a bloody, painful, scandalous, an accursed death.
Saint Luke calls the passion foreign: matter then it is to be of our contemplation, not so much for the eye to see, or the ear to hear, as for the heart to think on. Behold the man then, for in him you shall behold a world of good sights, a provocative to many good Duties.
1. A sight to Pity.
2. And a sight to Love.
3. A sight on which to Trust.
4. And a sight in which to Hope.
5. A sight to provoke tears.
6. And a sight to move Revenge.
7. A sight for imitation.
8. And a sight to call for Retribution.
So many excellent contemplations may we have, upon the serious consideration of this sight. I have shewed you in gross what you are to behold; will you now that I open the Parcels? to that end I know you are come; and to content you, or rather indeed to mend you, I shall not think much to do it, and thus I begin.
1. Ecce & compatere. Behold and suffer with him.
Look into his Body, you may easily do it; his stripes are as Lattices, and his wounds as so many windows to let in your eyes; mark and note well, how our friends do open their dores unto us that we may come in; their Garners, that we fill our sacks; their Cellars that we taste their wine; their purses to lend us mony; but did you yet ever hear of a friend, that would open his whole heart to another man? No, no: No friend is so dear, nor no heart so clear, that hides not some secret; for the heart is a depth, and no man can know it; onelyonly the Son of God is he, that to his friends denyed nothing, hides no secret from them that was fit for them to know; shuts no door against them; is well content, that they should see all, all that was in his bowels. Clavus penetrans factus est mihi clavis reserans. Bern. ser. 61. in Cant.The nails and spear-head serve as keys to unlock his heart; enter in then and look into the palms of his hands, where he hath engraven you.Isa. 49.16. Joh. 14.13. Look through the door of his side, 'tis open, where he means to hide you; you may see if you please, his bowels of loving-kingdness, and heart of compassion, moving, and stirring, and yearning upon you; and will not your bowels move and stir? can you for very humanity be less than compassionate toward him?Isa. 16.11. Jer. 22.18. Pity him at least, make your hearts sound as a harpe, and every string bring to the ear, Ah Lord, ah his Glory; and yet alas, what good can you do him, if you do pity him? what stripe can you hinder? what wound can you close? what blood can you staunch? or what comfort can you add? And yet this he looks for, this he calls for. He looks if there be any to be sad with him,Psal. 69.20. Psal. 142.4. he looks if there be any man who will bring a towel and wipe off his blood; any balm and oyl to supple his wounds, any man that will bathe his injuries with tears, and bury his body in a compassionate heart; some few he sees, and he sees too too few, and this is it which puts him in a passion still.
Isa. 53.3.He may well to this day complain as he did by one Prophet, that men hid their faces from him, that they esteemed him not; and ask as he did by another,Lam. 1.12. Have you no regard? Is it nothing to you? shall I shed all these tears? pour forth all this blood, and sweat, and bleed and dye thus ignominiously, thus painfully for you, and will you not think upon it, not pity me for it, have no esteem, no regard? You may if you please, see me by the inspection of my heart (easie it is to do it, for patent vulnera, patent viscera, my heart is as open as my wounds) see me I say you may,Isa. 53.3. not only virum dolorum, a man of sorrows, but virum amorum, a man composed of love, who out of meer love would suffer all this for you; and will you not so much as regard it? not esteem it? not pity me for it.
Were ye members of my Body as you do pretend, you could not chuse but suffer with me; for can any one member of the body suffer, and the rest not suffer with it? Can the head be in pain, and the foot, and the hand,1 Cor. 12.26. and the arm at ease? I could not be so, when you were diseased; I could not be at rest in heaven, till I had put my self into pain to ease you; and will you not put your selves to a little pain to ease me? 'Tis but your compassion as yet I call for, for your regard; your consideration onelyonly of my sorrows, you may easily grant that, it will cost you nothing; Oh let me have that, That however, if no more.
How should these earthy and rocky hearts of ours rend in peices and shake at such powerful words! why are not our faces covered with blackness,Joel 2.6. Isa. 24.11. and all our joy turned to a threne? What more brutish than the unreasonable creatures? and yet they heard his complaints, and saw what he suffered, and afforded what compassion they could; the Sun felt his sorrows, and shrunk in his light,Mat. 27.45, 51, &c. Leo de pass. ser. 2. & ser. 6. the earth heard his cryes, and trembled at them. The stones, the hard cold stones felt it seems his pain, and cleft asunder; the graves and dead bodies his lamentable moans, and opened to hear them; and shall man then, for whose good all this was done, thus much suffered, have a heart more hard than these rocks? more insensible than these inanimate creatures? shall they? For very shame sympathize and suffer with him, and melt into compassion that he should be thus bruised, thus broken for your sake;Isa. 53.5. You may post off all this hard usage to Pilate, to Herod, to the souldiers, to the Jews; but there is not a sinner in this place, who gave him not a blow. Behold then the man, and be compassionate at least.
5. Ecce & dilige.
But I call you not onelyonly to a weak and infirm pity of our Saviours sorrows; in the next place, Behold the man, and love him; compassion doth well, but love doth better;Luc. 23.47. a tender-hearted enemy may afford him that (may be a Centurion, when he said, Doubtless, this was a just man) but a friend onelyonly this. You pretend, that you are his friends, let him then have love from you.
Love him? why who can do less? 'twere strange if we should not return love for love; he loved first, cast an affection upon us when we were strangers;Eph. 2.17. Rom. 5.10. strangers onelyonly? so perhaps his affection might be paralleld; it was when we were enemies; enemies so stubborn, that we stood out in rebellion, so poor,Ezek. 16.5. that we were exposed to the loathing of our persons, so contemptible, that no eye pittied us; and yet when we were such, he cast his skirt over us,Vers. 8. and made that the tim… of love.
Then he came from heaven to make suite to our souls, and he was resolved to speed his suit, or to spend all he had. A man hath nothing more precious than his blood, and that he would spend to espouse us; his love to us,Isa. 49.16. made him receive those wounds; we may read our names written in the palms of his hands, the nails were the pen, the blood the inke,Joh. 3.16. with which he writ in capital letters; Sic Deus dilexit, So God loved; for if you aske me how much,Joh. 15.15. Rom. 1.17. Rom. 9.23. Joh. 20.17. Col. 1.24. Rom. 8.16. Jam. 2.5. I cannot tell; strangely I am sure; Nimium, I am certain; Christ so loved his enemies, that he made them his friends; so loved sinners, that he would make them just men; so the children of wrath, that he would make them vessels of mercy; so loved servants of sin, that he would make them his brethren; so the limbs of darkness, that he would make them members of his own body; so poor beggars, that he would make them his sons and heirs; heirs of a kingdom, heirs of the kingdom of heaven; you may wonder at it, as I do, but reason I can give you none, but sic dilexit, So he loved, and that's all.
But good God, how coldly do we answer his love! his was, so he loved; but ours, so so, very faint God wot; more fervent to any pleasure, to any profit, than to him. My brethren, this should not be, and for Christs sake, let it be so no more; such is his love, that he will forget what is past, if you will but love him hereafter; stand not with him for so little, give it freely, give it him heartily, and thank him that he will accept of so little; a shame it were to receive so great a benefit as Redemption at his hands, and not love him; too much neglect to look upon such bitter wounds, and unheard of sorrows, and not love him, that would be for us thus wounded.
Lovest thou me? saith our Saviour to Peter, and he askes again, Lovest thou me? Joh. 21.15, 16, 17.and yet again he askes, Lovest thou me? The good man was sorry that the question should be thrice put to him, and returns a kind of passionate answer, Lord, Vers. 17.thou knowest that I love thee. Methinks I discern in your faces, that if I should propose the same question to you, What? Love ye your Saviour? Love ye the Lord Jesus? …ove ye the Son of God, who dyed for you? You would all, with one voice reply, Ay, the Lord knows we all love him. Well then, I hope it is so, and therefore Ile make no more question of it, but take it for granted that you do love him; I will onelyonly therefore make this motion, that by your life you testifie your love, and by your works justifie your love, and that this your love may continue, that you incrrease in it, and love him more, and then alls well. Not a word more of this then.
3. Ecce & Crede. Behold and Believe.
That he loved us, is out of all question; for else he never would have given his soul a sacrifice for us; and so much we are bound to Believe, and rely on. And therefore once more Behold the man, and believe in him.
They who were smitten with the fiery serpents, had no other way to save their lives,Numb. 21.9. than by beholding the brazen serpent, erected on the top of a pole. To him as many as turned and looked, saved their lives. Those serpents are rotten, their stings pulled out, and the pole is taken down, nay the brass it self is become Nehushtan. But there is a fieryer serpent alive, that stings us still, the devil that old serpent, and his sting in sin; Art thou then with this wounded to death?Joh. 3.14, 15. Ecce & crede, look up man and Belive, Belive and Live; behold with the eyes of Faith this Antytipe of that Type exalted on the Cross, and save thy life.
Never let the greatest of thy spiritual enemies affright thee; for this man went up to the cross and conquered them; let not the long list of thy sins amaze thee;Col. 2.14. for he took the handwriting and nailed it banner wise to the wood. Before the person of this judge thou must appear; but for thy comfort, Ecce Homo, Joh. 20.28.Behold the judge is thy Saviour, Thomas was never bold and confident till he saw the wounds in his hands, and the hole in his side; then he believes, then he professeth openly, My Lord and my God; these he retains, these he will bring with him to judgement, that thou maist creep into his side and hide thy self in his wounds till the wrath of God be overpast.Mat. 24.30. Look up, and behold the sign of the Son of man in the clouds; the Cross on which he suffered exalted in Triumph, a terror to Infidels, an Asylum to all Believers, to which because they always did fly and trust, they cannot perish.
2 Reg. 4.34.The Shunamites son revived not, untill the Prophet put his own mouth on the childs mouth, his hands upon the childs hands, and his eyes upon the childs eyes, and stretched himself upon him, then the flesh waxed warm, he neez'd and came again. Dead we are, and if we mean to live to everlasting life, we must by faith set our eyes upon the cross of Christ, apply our defiled hands to his bleeding side, set our wicked feet to his wounded feet, joyn our sinful heart to his wounded heart; in a word put our fingers in his side, even dive and plunge our whole man in his wounds, sorrows, paines, shame, curse, and blood; for then we shall finde our hearts to wax warm within us, and our fainting spirits will come againe.Luk. 24.32. The hand of faith will do all this. And we may be bold to do it. What he said to Thomas, he said to all, Reach hither thy hand. You heard but now what his love was. None greater than to lay down his life: None equal to lay it down for his enemies.Joh. 15.13. Upon the abundance of his love then be bold to approach, to trust; credible it is not that he will deny you any thing fit for him to give, for you to have, who hath given his life, for you.
Ecce homo, Behold all the gestures and postures of this man are such, as if he would invite a poor sinner to trust in him. His hands on the Cross are stretch'd out to receive thee, his head bow'd down to kiss thee, his side open to hide thee, his tongue at liberty, and with that he begs a pardon for thee, Father forgive them. His eyes indeed are sad and heavy and dejected,Luk. 23.34. but that sadness and heaviness is, because men have hard hearts, and will not believe; not believe him when he calls,Mat. 11.28. Mark 5.36. Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy-laden, and I will refresh you. Away then with this infidelity, Believe only, and thou shalt be safe.
4. Ecce & Spera, Behold the man and hope.
For when the eye of faith shall see so much in him, what is it not that the eye of Hope may not look for from him? He that came from heaven to dye for our sakes, must needs raise our hopes that he will do much for us.
He came to proclaime the great Jubilee. Luk. 4.18.Whatsoever then servants or debtors could hope for at the Jubilee, that we may hope for from him. When this great yeare of Jubilee came, there was a Remission and a Restitution. A remission; for then all bonds were freely given up, all prisons set open, and all prisoners for debt discharg'd, all servants and bondmen set free.Lev. 25. A restitution or reinvestiture; for then all estates formerly mortgaged, forfeited, or any wayes alien'd, were restored to the first owners in as ample manner, as ever they had or held them at any time before.
Behold then his side and his heart opened, and see a Gate of Hope set wide open to you. Expect from him what either servant, prisoner, or debtor could look for at the yeare of Jubilee.
1. Liberty from the slavery and bondage of sinne; so that as a Lord he shall no more command you to drudge in his service, and then reward you with bitterness of soul.
2. Remission from all the punishments due to such drudges, the Vials of Gods wrath here, and the wrath to come.
3. A restitution to what by sinne we had forfeited; to wit, our present, and our future felicity. As then we love our own good, wisdome will advise us to behold the man by whom we hope, and must hope to receive all that can make us happy.
But the hope of the hypocrite shall perish, it shall be cut off, Job 8.13, 14.'tis but like a spiders house, a little shog breaks it. If we will have our hope strong, we must have the Valley of Achor for our door of hope.Hos. 2.15. Josh. 7.24. The Valley of Achor was a Valley of trouble, of mourning for Achans Sacriledge; and there if we begin, o…r hope will be the better confirmed, and much the sounder; and therefore once more,
5. Ecce homo, & resipisce, Behold the man and repent.
Behold and weep. I look not now for your tears of compassion, those I call'd for before. They are the tears of compunction which I now would have drop from your hearts and eyes for those sinnes of yours, which brought Christ to the Cross. It behoves you to look upon sinne with another eye than most do.Prov. 14.9. Fooles make a mock of sinne, but wise men consider that the Sonne of God was made a mock for sinne. That can be no sight matter which brought the Sonne of God from heaven, made him a man, made him a servant, made him a curse, brought him to the whip, to the Cross, to Death.
Look upon all the revenges that God took upon sinne before, they were light to this. Before they were upon men that deserv'd it, grievous sinners, Sodomites, Gen. 19. Exod. 14. Rom. 3.25. Luk. 12.45.Eg…ptians, Idolaters, &c. but now upon an innocent person. Before but on Vassals, but now the revenge was taken on his Sonne; before on enemies, now on his Beloved; before such was his patience, that he seem'd to have foreign, a kind of truce with sinners; so much, that the worst servant in the house boasted of it, My master defers his coming. But now there was nor foreign, nor foreign, nor delay, nor passing over sin, but foreign, a clear demonstration of his Justice.
Take then a view of the Son of God in his bruises, and you will easily judge of the odious nature of iniquity. Our corrupt consciences are apt to make a heinous sinne,Gen. 19.20. like Zoar, a little one. But let it be consider'd in the death and passion of Christ, whereof it was the cause, and it will appeare in its right shape, odious to us, because odious to God; since that being displeased for sinne, nothing could please him but the Blood, the Bruises, the Paines, the Death of his only deare Sonne; and for no other reason,Heb. 7.25. but because he would appear, pay for, and make intercession for sinners.
2. Which also should put us in minde to bewaile them, and do what we can to be rid of them. 'Tis the fashion of men, with bitter Invectives to prosecute the Jews as a bloody hard-hearted people, that they should crucifie this innocent person; but all this while they forget themselves. Were it laid to heart, that not Judas betray'd him, but the whole world; not Annas and Caiaphas scoffed and derided him, but every man and woman that lived before and since; not the people then only buffeted him, and spet in his face, but all the living; that not Pilate deliver'd him, and the Jews crucified him, but every individual childe of Adam; this, this would no question cause the most Marble heart to mollifie, and melt into teares of repentant sorrow.
And till it come to this, we with our rods do but smite a Rock. Streams of water will never flow, till this be laid to heart. With this stroke when Peter fell upon the Jews,Acts 2.36, 23. Ye have murdered and crucified the Son of God, then they fell upon their hearts: so that his words pierced their souls, as the Spear had done his;Ver. 41. the effect was, three thousand of th…m were converted. I see I want St. Peters tongue; could I thunder and lighten as he did, I would hope to make you tremble, and pierce your hearts for piercing him. However 'tis the blow I meane to give; Never look strange at it, behold I …e…l it to your faces before all this Congregation, Ye have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Cor. 2.8.You know how loth I am to impeach any of you. Had not your father Adam done it, I had not discovered your nakedness; but it were cruelty to teach you otherwise, and might bring your blood upon me. Guilty you are all;Luk. 23.28. and my end in accusing you, is, that if you cannot be brought to weep for him, yet that you be mov'd to weep for your selves; That your hearts prick, and shoot, and ake, 'tis well; but it will never be done as it should be, till they bleed for the blood of the Son of God shed for you and by you.
The Prophecy is extant, Th y shall see him whom they have pierced, Zach. 12.10.and mourne. Mourne! not in an ordinary manner, but as he that mourns for his only Son; they shall be in bitterness, as one that is in bitterness for his first born: Such grief and bitterness was like to follow upon the sad thought, that they had pierc'd him. Be not then so Stoically void of sense, but mourn to consider how thy sins have pierc'd and stricken through the heart of thy Surety, thy Master, thy Maker; Groan and say,
O good God, what a spectacle is this thou settest before my eyes! I, even I am guilty; I have deserved those blows; And whence comes this exchange, that thy blessed Sonne is in my room! that I deserving to die, this innocent Lamb is made the Sacrifice! Wretch that I am, how have I forgotten my self! how thee! Oh pour forth thy holy Spirit, that I may judge my self as base before thy eyes, and my own, as thou wert esteem'd base, and vilified in the eyes of the Jews for my sake.
3. Lastly, Forget it not, Consumm…tum est, All is finished. John 19.20.That storm which fell upon the Lord of glory, is still'd and quieted. Judas hath done his work, the Scribes and Pharisees, Elders and people have wreak'd their malice upon him; Pilate and Herod have crucified him; and from the Cross he is ascended to his Throne; and wi…l you not yet suffer the Son of God to be at rest? do you yet go about to fetch him out of his seat, and the second time naile him to the Cross! I feare to say it; and I had not said it, had not the Spirit of God said it before me,Heb. 6.6. Those that wilfully and obstinately live in presumptuous and malicious sins, do crucifie to themselves again the Son of God, and put him to an open shame.
Never startle at it! in the Apostles time there were those that did it; and there be those that do it now, that crucifie him afresh. Every notorious habitual enormity indulg'd to against conscience, is a Thorn, and a Naile, and a Spear yet to wound him. The List of particulars I give you not in; it is needless, since your own Counsellor can with a wet finger bring to your memory a long Catalogue of Perjury, Murders, Sacriledge, Rebellion, Injustice, Oppression (I want a Nomenclator to say the rest) acted, countenanced, defended, justified. And is not this to crucifie again the Son of God? is not this to put him to an open shame? If it be not, I confess I understand not the Apostle; but if it be, then Behold the man, and mourne.
Too much it is to anger him; Too unkinde a part to provoke and grieve him. Of what pitch is this sin to crucifie and shame him! I want a name to call it by. 'Tis not that irremissible sin against the Holy Ghost, but it is next to it.
Crucifie him, you'l say? He is in heaven, farre out of the reach of wicked men, how then can this be done? And so he was, when the Apostle wrote to the Hebrews, and yet there were those that did it then, and therefore there may be those that do it now. For they may crucifice, that is, do what lies in their power to crucifie him. That they do it not, no thank to them; were he in their reach, I little doubt, that they, who under colour of his Name justifie those former ugly, heinous wickedness, would not stick to crucifie him; And with him the endeavor is all. To do what man can, habetur pro facto, with him is reckoned as done, though the fact follow not. I finde in the Gospel from our Saviours mouth,Mat. 5.28. That he who looks after a woman to lust afer her, hath committed adultery with her in his heart; the woman in the mean time remaining chaste, as never thinking on such a matter: Then it one party may be an Adulterer, and the other not Adulterated; why not in the like sort, one crucifie, and yet the other not crucified? This manner of speech then well serves,Tertul. contra Marcion. lib 2. ad exaggerandam peccati maliciam, to aggravate some sins, and shew the malice of some sinners, that do on their part all they can do, to fret, to grieve God, to crucifie his Christ; and that's all one upon his account, as …f they did it.
Go on then you prophane wretches, proceed in your wayes you rebellious and debauch'd wretches, cause his Name to be blasphemed among the Gentiles; but then stand forth and hear your doom; 'tis a heavy sentence, and therefore I shall reade it to you out of the Apostle, There remaines no more Sacrifice for sinne, Rom. 2.24. Hebrews 10.26, 27, 28, 29.but a certain fearful looking for of judgement, and fiery indignation which shall devoure the Adversaries. He that despised Moses Law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment shall he be worthy, who hath troden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace?
Tell me, are you in love with crucifying now? have you any more mind to that? Well, if you have, I will shew you upon what you shall spend your malice. You carry an enemy about you, your own flesh; instead of crucifying Christ,Gal. 5.24. fall to crucifie it; and by the sword of the Spirit every day give it a blow, and wound it even to death. For again,
6. Ecce homo, & ulciscere, Behold the man, and be Reveng'd.
Men that throughly grieve for an injury offer'd, are withal quickly moved to take revenge on him that offer'd the wrong: Such a kind of affection should be in you; be reveng'd on sin that did Christ all the wrong. Deal by it, as it did by him. That Crucified, Mortified, and Buried him: Return like for like; Crucifie, Mortifie, and Bury it. Crucifying is a lingring death; put it to as much paine as you can; let it be dying all your life-time. Nail it fast down hand and foot, that it move not in you; thrust it through with the Sword of the Spirit, and wound the suggestions and provocations it offers to death.Rom. 8.13. Col. 3.5. Mortifie your earthly members, saith St. Paul; they kill'd Christ, and will not you kill them?
Wholly mortified I know they will not be, but deaded they may be very much; for dead God counts them, when they reign not in you, weare no Crowns, sit not on Thrones, beare no Swords, hold no Councils, create no Laws, nor yet rule by Ordinances. In a word, mortified you are, when you carry no affection, no sign of love to that evil which sometimes you do.
There is a Natural, there is a Civil, there is a Moral death; this last now I speak of. Every notable change of life from worse to better, is this Moral death. Happy we were, could we arrive to that perfection to dye as Christ, foreign, once only; that at once there could be an utter ejection of sins dominion, and a continual persisting in what we well begin.
I can do no less than presume that these sorrows of our Saviour have so set your hearts upon revenge, that at this time you are resolv'd to commit murder. Methinks I see every man mov'd with Phinehaz zeal, arm'd like a Souldier with a Speare in his hand, and a sword to hew asunder this Agag. Arise O Christian Souldier,Num. 25.8. 1 Sam. 15.33. Judg. 6.12. kill and slay; the Lord be with thee, thou valiant man; run through this Moabitish woman, kill this same Amalekite; let not thine eye pity, kill and spare not, spare not any, not so much as thy bosome sin, for that was it that especially kill'd thy Lord. Take heed that it live not again; for if it revive, thou art but a dead man. It is of the Hydra's race, of a Serpentine brood; It will revive when the head is off, and stirre and wriggle when it is hewn in pieces. Be wise therefore, take an advantage of every wound thou givest; and being deaded, tumble it into the grave, every day cast some mould upon it, roule a stone to the mouth of the Cave, that it never rise up any more. Christ was buryed for it, bury thou it for Christs sake. To this Revenge it is that the Scripture exhorts, when it adviseth us to crucifie the old man, to mortifie our fleshly members; Rom. 6.4.and the rather, because we are buried with Christ in Baptism. He then doth but prate, not believe, that Christ was Crucified, Dead, and Buried, who lives willingly and maliciously in a…y known sin.
Return O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon thee. Cant. 6.13.This Shulamite is Christ; upon him you have look'd this whole houre, and what needs he turn or return any more? Is there any more in him yet to be seen? Yes that there is. Return with me yet once again, long you shall not stay, and I will tell you what you shall more see in this my Shulamite.
7. Ecce homo & imitare, Behold the man, and follow him.
You shall see in him such a pattern and example to follow, that if all other Idea's and Draughts of vertues and goodness were broken to pieces and burnt, they may be found combin'd in him. Hence it is,Rom. 8.29. 1 Joh. 2.6. Phil. 2.5. that the Apostles who trode in his steps, so often call upon us to be like the Image of Gods Son, to conform our selves and lives to his, to learn of him, to walk as he walk'd, and bear such a mind as he did.
1. To be like him in Faith, who in that instant of his Dereliction, yet clasps both his armes about his Father with My God, my God. Similiter & vos. Go and do you likewise. In trouble, sorrows, in life, in death,Mat. 27.46. hold fast with both hands the promises of God by a true and a lively Faith; Never let him go, keep your hold still, even beyond feeling, beyond Hope. Resolve with Jacob, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.Gen. 32.26.
2. Be like to him in patience; for when he was reviled, he reviled not againe. Similiter & vos. Go and do thou likewise.1 Pet. 2.23. Rom. 12.19. Mat. 15.25. Patiently beare those wrongs and injuries which are offer'd to thee, because thou belongst to him. Revenge not thy self, but referr thy wrongs foreign, to his Court above. It is well for the Disciple if he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord.
3. Be like unto him in Humility.Phil. 2.7. He humbled himself to the forme of a servant, to the form of an ill servant, to the form of a ridiculous servant; Nay, us{que} ad mortem crucis, to the death of the Cross. Similit…r & vos, Verse 8. Verse 5. 1 Cor. 4.6. 2 Cor. 12.6, 7.Go and do thou likewise. Let the same mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus. Be humble, exalt not your selves above that which is fit. Nihil grande de vobis sentite. Think not magnifically of your selves. Despise not your poor brethren, who are made of as good mettle as your selves; earth and ashes every mothers Son; and shall earth and ashes exalt it self in the presence of an humble God?
4. Be like unto him in love; for he loved us, and gave himself for us; Eph. 5.2. Eph. 3.18, 19.of which love when the Apostle speaks, he presents it with Heigth, and Depth, and Length, and Bredth; those foure dimensions of the Cross, noting to us the exactest love that could be. Similiter & vos, Go and do you likewise. For in love there should be the vertue of the Loadstone to draw like love to it again, Serve one another therefore in love,Luk. 6.35. Eph. 4.2. & 5.2. do good to all men, even to your enemies, for so your love will be like Christs. Almost his last words were, Father, forgive them. And these he would have you forgive,Luk. 23.24. Luk. 6.27, 28. Those who persecute you, and despitefully use you; those that speak all evil of you. There is not on earth a greater sign of a soul throughly setled in the love of Christ, than to be thus minded. Come what will come, saith such a soul, frown or favor, respect or neglect, what I do, I will do; pray even for you that hate me,2 Cor. 12.15. love you that ungratefully use me, although the more I love, the less I am belov'd. This is love like the first Copy and Original.
Thus many several duties the sight of your Saviour will put you in mind of. For it is Grande spectaculum, a wonderful and strange sight, a matter of scorn to an impious Wretch, to a pious soul a grand Mystery. You are now ready to turne your backs; yet ere you depart, for Christs sake I ask one look more.
8. Ecce homo & retribue, Behold the man and be thankful.
A shame it were to be alway receiving, and never restoring: The very earth doth it not; for the rain it drinks in, it returns you grass and fruits. Your fields do it not; for your labor and seed you sow, it returns you use. But I am not now in nature. Men, I know in state of grace would scorne to be compared, I am sure, exceeded by that sluggish element. Bethink then your selves what to give. To give said I? nay, what to return; for it is no gift, it is a due, a debt.
Thankfulness is as due upon the receipt of a benefit, as any money upon a Bond;Psa. 50.15. and therefore God never does us good, but expects that we be thankful. Thus the Indenture runnes, Ego liberabo: Tu glorificabis. I will deliver thee, that is his promise; Thou shalt praise me, there's our duty. Guevam Guevam.hath contracted all the Psalms into two words, Blesse God, and let God blesse. For indeed what do we else from one end of the Psalter to the other, but beg a blessing from him, and bless him for the receipt. Now this is done when we receive the benefit with a chearful and glad heart, take what is done kindly, and acknowledge it for a courtesie, then when we write it not in our hearts as in sand, so lightly that every puff of winde will make it illegible.
Now if ever any benefit ought to be chearfully receiv'd, and engraven with the point of a Diamond, it is this. For in this God made his promise of Liberabo appeare to purpose. Here was deliverance and freedome from sinne, hell, death, wrath; such enemies, that all other are not to be named on the same day with them. Under their paws we were, and from these he hath Redeem'd and deliver'd us. This would be thought on, remembred, Recorded; and so often as we reade over the Record, to have an eye to Glorificabis, that is in the foot of it, that, that also is our duty. A duty not to be detain'd or paid at our pleasure,Thom. Zanch. but due Debito justitiae, by Obligation; Man as well bound in justice to pay it, as God bound by promise to deliver him.
In brief then I shall now teach you how to pay it. Thus it is: As he hath made his soul a Sacrifice for us, so also we dedicate our selves a whole Sacrifice to him; for though the Legal Sacrifices be ceased, yet Christians have yet what to offer. This is done
1. By tendring our prayers, supplications, thanksgivings to him, and in his Name.Ps. 141.2. 1 Tim. 2.1. Phil. 4.18. Heb. 13.15. Ps. 116.13. Ps. 51.19. Ps. 4.5.
2. By relief of his poor members, as occasion requires.
3. By taking the Cup of salvation, and calling on the Name of the Lord.
4. By offering to him a broken and a contrite heart.
5. By offering the Sacrifice of righteousness, and putting our trust in him.
6. In a word, in resigning our selves, soul and bodies to his service.Rom. 12.1. & 6.13.
In the Holocaust all was consumed, and turn'd to smoke, no man having benefit of any part of the Sacrifice: and by it we are taught to make whole offerings, not in part, but wholly to dedicate whatsoever we can call ours to Gods service; yea, and if the Will of our God be so, even to death.
And by it we shall be no losers. Losers? Nay, Gainers every way; for, for the Cross we shall finde a Crown, for torments ease, for trouble peace, for sorrow joy, for this death life: A life not like this to vanish, but which will last and continue for ever and ever. Which God grant, &c.