Exposition of the Apostles Creed, Part 3 · Sermon 30
The Sealing of the Spirit.
Cant. 8.6.
Set me as a Seal upon thy heart, as a Seal upon thy Arme.
HERE we hear of a Suit preferr'd, and at first sight we know not by whom, or to whom; but certainly by one in love, in that he requests the heart and hand to be at his devotion. And indeed if ever there were one in love, it was he who made this Suit, with which passion he was so strangely transported,Cant. 2.5. & 5.8. that he was sick of it again, and dyed for it. Do you desire to hear the manner of his death? Then call to minde a bloody sweat, a whip, a Cross, a Spear, Gall, Vineger, Darkness, and an Earth-quake; and you may know who it was that was in love: Earth could not afford a man that would undergo this for his friend, and therefore Heaven sent down the Son of God to undergo all this for his enemies.Rom. 5.10. Pity then it is, that he should have any thing denied him, that would spare neither heart nor hand to save both: And yet how hardly we grant either, the many Denials, the several Requests, the sweet Intercourses which pass in this Book betwixt Christ and his Church, do most evidently declare. I have now named unto you by whom the Suit, (in the Judgement of the Fathers, and best of the Modern Expositors) is prefer…'d, no less person than the Son of God. 'Twere a shame to deny him any thing, and yet how unwillingly do we come off? One while he is fain to complai…, a…other while to expostulate, now and then to chide; most frequently present his Beloved with Gifts and Favours, that no way might be unattempted …o w…n her aff…ction.
It were too tedious to recite all these. In the Verse before, he puts her in mind of a wonderful mercy, that when he saw her in a very bad condition, yet then he lov'd her: He spyed her under the Apple-Tree, upon which grew the forbidden fruit; then her Mother brought her forth, there she brought thee forth that bare thee; and yet, saith he, I raised thee up under the Apple-Tree, even when thou wert under guilt of disobedience, for eating the fruit of this Tree; I prevented thee with my love, and raised thee with my grace, that thou might'st be mine. The words then carry the same sense with those in Ezekiel, And when I passed by, Ezek. 16.6.and saw thee polluted in thy own blood, I said unto …hee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.
In this Verse then being raised, he justly prescribes her a work, that she be industrious, and co-operate with the Spirit of God: For when once God by his preventing grace hath stirred the soul, and raised it from its natural condition; then the free consent, and co-operation of the soul with grace, and help of the Spirit is expected; seasonable it is to make such a motion as this, to which, if we will not be ungrateful, we are bound to yield, Set me as a Seal, &c. In which words consider,
1. A Request; or if you will, an Order, or Injunction. Pone, Set.
2. The Object, or Person whom you are to put. Me, My Name, my Honour, my Service.
3. The Manner how he desires to be set. As a Seal.
4. The two places where he desires to be set. Intus & Foris; within and without.
1. Upon the heart within. Set me on thy heart.
2. Upon the Arme without. Set me on thine A me.
You see what an ample Harvest I have of a little Corn; in the gathering whereof, if I a little exceed my houre, impute it to the fulness of the ears; and my zeal to importune you, that so earnest a Lover should speed in his Suit. 'Tis for obedience to the Spirit I move,2 Cor. 6.1. Isa. 1.19. and that you receive not any more the grace of God in vain: But that you shew your selves a willing and ob…dient people; as ready to yield to his request, as he is to make it, which he doth in this word
1. Pone me. Set me.
Since God here desires to be set upon the heart, considered it would be, whether, or how far, and which way it is in our power to yield to this request. For it were but in vain to call for the Duty, which no man hath any power to perform.
That grace is necessary to this work, I know not any man denies: For the natural man perceives not the things of God; he discerns them not,1 Cor. 2.14. he relisheth them not; and what reason perceives not, assents not to, approves not, that the will can never choose, and be delighted with. If ever there b… …ny such motion in it, it must come from an higher cause, which because without any motive in us, it proceeds freely from it, we call grace, which is the special assistance of the Spirit moving, preventing, exciting, and so powerfully working upon the will of man that it may yield; discern first that what is proposed is true, and then freely elect it, because it is good.
Whether this action of the Spirit be Proper, immediate, Physical; or whether it be Metaphorical and Moral only, by which God doth dispose and perswade the heart to yield, let others determine. Thus much must be confessed, that God offers no violence to the will of man, but sweetly moves by external and internal means.
1. Before that a man can yield to the motions of the Spirit, there is ab extra, without, ordinarily the Word and the Gospel propounded unto him by the Ministry of the Church, in which there is contained many Threats, Promises, Exhortations, Reproofs, Punishments, Rewards: For God doth not use by I know not what Enthusiasms, and strange Raptures, to convert men, and make them set him as a Seal upon their heart. His u…ual course is to do it by the pub…ication of his Will; and therefore Saint Paul, who was a spiritual Father to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. 4.15.puts them in mind, that he had begotten them, but tha… it was through the Gospel; the preaching of the Gospel was the means he used to do it.
2. Now certain inward effects there are, which often follow upon the outward means well prepared, and truly applied, such as are Illumination, or a light of knowledge in the understanding which was not there before; a certainty of that knowledge; to which there succeeds a smiting of the heart, a remorse of conscience, a fear of punishment, and yet some hope of pardon: Which, where the grace of God is effectual, perswade to Mortification, to Renovation, to Sanctification; to come out of the Kingdom of darkness, and to be translated into the Kingdom of his dear Son: Colos. 1.13.For the Word of God is quick and lively, and stirs in the heart of man not yet justified, striking him even with fear and sorrow.Acts 2.37. Acts 24.26. They who were present at Peters Sermon, were pricked to the heart. And when Saint Paul preached before Felix, he trembled.
Man then is to be considered in a two-fold instant. The first is, when the Spirit of God by the foresaid means begins this work, sets upon the heart, and stirs it to Faith and Repentance. The other instant is, when there is an actual conversion, a new heart created; when men being born again, are ingrafted into Christ, and brought into the number of Justified Persons.
Let man be considered in the first instant of his uprising, and most certain it is that his very wisdom is enmity to God. Rom. 8.7.His wisdom, his best thoughts are so far from yielding, that they encline him another way; they are not only contrary, but enmity: For Christ Jesus is a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Gentiles: 1 Cor. 1.23.Natural reason of it self will never teach a man to be a Christian.
But now let a man be again considered in another instant, when he hath laid to heart what hath been proposed; when he is warmed with …he Word, turned from an heart of stone, Ezek. 36.26.to a heart of flesh, melted, and made tender: and then it receives a new condition, that it both can, and will co-operate with Gods Spirit, and freely move it self to those works which are acceptable to him. Thus have I heard an instrument of Musick set first in tune, answer unto the melodious touch of a skilful hand, filling the ear with a pleasing Aire, which before the just extension of the strings by an ungrateful dissonancy did very much displease.
I know not any sound Divine, who doth so conceive of the will of man, as if it were Inanime Organon, a sensless Block: For non corrumpitur quoad radicem agendi, but quoad terminum. The principle of action lies yet in the root, and the power to will in it is not lost, but the Application of it to this supernatural object. In wh…t comes within the compass of reason it is free, and hath, being assisted by a general grace, abil…ty to desire it, and apply it self to it. As for that which is of a higher pitch, when it is once raised by a special grace (as it is where the means are powerfully propounded) it may desire: Then petit terminum, then it almes at the right end, and freely wills the means that conduce to that end; like unto a Clock, it may be out of tune; or as a disordered compass point upon any Rumbe: But when some cunning Workman hath mended the wheels of the one, or else some knowing Pilot hath touched anew the Needle of the other; that gives a true notice of the houre, this of the Pole. Thus it is with the will of man, before God hath by the foresaid means mended it; omne bonum salutare est ultra spharam activitatis; all that good which tends to his eternal salvation and happiness, is beyond his sphere and power of activity; but when this Divine hand hath touch'd it, and set it in order, the fault is our own, if we point not right to heaven. Else how should God jud…e the world in righteousness, justly reward some for making right use of his Talents, and as justly condemn others for wrapping up, and hiding his money in a Napkin!Bern. Omnes nos causamur nobis deesse gratiam, sed justius forsitan gratia queratur de nobis. Usual it is with men to complain that they want grace, but I fear that the grace of God hath more just reason to complain of men; for would they but answer to the outward and inward calls of grace, Lo, here I am, What wilt thou have me to do? Acts 9.6.find they should, that the grace of God would assist and help them on to attain the end. Even the very Heathens have this grace offered them,Rom. 1.20. that by the things which they see, they may beh…ld his Eternal Power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse: So that if they would enquire farther, and improve this grace, they might come to a farther knowledge, glorifie him as God; and learn, since they do it not, he must needs be offended with them, and then again must be pacified and reconciled. This consideration would set them upon an enquiry how this were to be done, and at last finding that all their invented means were notable to do it, they would fix upon that which alone could; and Christian Religion alone teacheth the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; And this grace upon whose heart it works powerfully,
1. First, Ex nolente facit volentem; of a stubbo…n, rebellious person, it makes him one of his willing people; for God judges no man worthy of salvation, whom he hath not made formerly willing to accept of it upon those conditions he hath propounded it. To which so long as man remains a stubborn, wilful, and perverse beast, he is unapt; therefore the grace of God removes this great impediment of unwillingness, and stirs him up willingly and freely to desire it.
2. For this grace of God offers no force to the will of man; but it makes it move in its natural course, and co-operate with it. Hence the Spouse in the Canticles prays in this form, Draw me, and we will run after thee; Cant. 1.as if she had said, I will not, I cannot run alone; but I desire that thou O Lord wouldst vouchsafe to run along with me, then we will run both al…ng together. Thou first giving me strength to run, moving and directing every step I take, and I willingly consenting to be drawn along, and moving with thee: This Saint Paul expresseth in himself most evidently; By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace in me was not in vain, 1 Cor. 15.10.for I laboured more than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God in me. He acknowledgeth that it was the grace of God that drew him; of a stubborn Persecutor, made him … willing Apostle; that stirr'd him up, he followed, he laboured, he ran along; but he ran not alone, nor laboured alone, but both ran together; the grace of God with him: So that that happens to a man raised by grace, that fell out to Ezekiels Cherubims and Wheels; They went every one strait forward; whe…her the Spirit was to go, Ezek. 1.12, 20.they went: And th… Wheels were lifted up over against them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the Wheels; when those went, these went; and when those stood still, these stood still; and when those were l…fted up from the Earth, 21.the Wheels were lifted up over against them. The motion of Cherubs and Wheels was from the Spirit; but being moved, then they move and go both together sweetly, kindly, freely.
When then the Spouse desires to be drawn, she desires not to be compell'd; she begs not that such a force be offered her, that may take away the liberty of her will; but only that there might be impressed in her a vehement inclination, a supernatural ability, by which she might be strongly, but yet kindly drawn; for trahit sua quem{que} voluptas; a man is said to be drawn to that, to which in desire, and with content he inclines. A father holds forth an Apple to his childe; or a Shepherd a great Bough to a sheep, and by it draws him unto him; which yet is done without any violence at all, because the desire of both encline to it: So Christ and his Promises draw us unto him; not upon any co-action, not by any necessity; but with great content, and delight, and pleasure; and if there be a…y violence, or constraint at all in it, it is not offer'd to the will, first moved by God, but to the Divel, to the World, to the Flesh, to our Pleasures, to our Profits, which labour to turn us from God, and hinder us to run together with his Spirit; which is the sense of that speech of our Saviour, the Kingd…m of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force: Matth. 11.12.For they are not called violent, because against their wills they suffer violence; but because willingly, and out of election, they offer violence to their sins, and to all that might entice them to those sins, which might hinder them from their Crown in heaven.
Out of that which hath been said, easie it is to collect why God useth so many Exhortations, so many Suits to that man, that he may be heard and admitted; as in this place, Set me as a Seal. For,
1. The Almighty by these requests or injunctions, would affect man with the sense of his duty, that he himself is the great Lord that may command, and Man his Servant and Vassal that ought to be commanded, however since he is pleased so far to condescend, as to request, that he be not denied, especially giving such reasons for it, which will melt any ingenuous heart.
2. That since his heart without this impression or seal, is but a counterfeit,Isa. 58.4. and the hand a fist of iniquity, that he would not resist the means to better both; but that when he speaks outwardly by his Word, he may be heard; and when inwardly by his Spirit, by sweet, secret, and gentle motions, he be not delayed, and put off: Two things are necessary, doceri & juvari, to be taught, to be help't; God hath done both; taught us by his Word, help't us by his Spirit; nor externally, nor internally is he wanting to us; to consent lies in us.
Take these Exhortations then as spoken to those who are not yet effectually called, and so they are necessary to teach them their debt and duty; what they are by nature, and what God desires they should be. By nature without any seal of goodness at all, and now God desires they would receive his image; but take them as spoken to men already sealed, and so it is good advice, that they grieve not his Spirit, Ephes. 4 30.when he comes to set his Seal upon them; but that they be content he be set upon their heart as an undelible Character and Seal, that may not at any time be defac'd or broken.
I shall yet more fully open unto you my meaning. You see here he brings the Seale, as ready to do his office; Grace he offers, if you will. Let not us then refuse, or be unwilling to be sealed; it were our part to invite him; now that he is come, and makes a request to us, it were a base ingratitude to delay him, or shift him off. An argument rather it were of an honest heart to dispose our selves, and work out souls as wax against his coming. If your heart be hard and obdurate, as good offer him a flint to seale, which can take no print. If your hand be wicked, as good offer him a Deed to seale that is sealed already, and therefore incapaple of this holy impression. A willing, a soft heart, and an honest hand is the matter alone upon which he desires to be set. Refuse him in these, and you offer unto him an indignity.
Shall I but minde you of that Seale which he hath set upon you already? the very Natural Law which he stamp'd in yours and all mens hearts, is the inscription of this Seale, Do as you would be done to. Ask not then,Psal. 4.7. as they in the Psalm, Who will shew us any good; for signatum est, the light of his countenance is sealed upon us. For Moral actions we have light enough from the Lamp of Reason, provided we can but keep this print fair; foreign, the things of the Law may be done by vertue of this Seal.Rom. 2.14. And a shame it is, that most heathens preserve this Seal fairer than many Christians.
Again, on the hand we have a Seale of his also. For there is in every man a Natural dexrerity to this or that profession; in one to the plough, in another to the book, in him to the sword, in that man to the shop, which the Lacedemonians were wont to try in their children by putting several sorts of instruments into their hands, and look what the childe made choise of, to that profession they put him.
Would men then but follow ducem Naturam, men would be better skilful in all professions Arts and Trades. For this profession and ingenuity in Nature is a Seale of the Spirit. And well it were that parents would observe it, and as their children are bent and enclined, so to endeavour to have it set upon the hand. There would much disorder in the life of man, and many inconveniencies be amended by it.
This by the way. For there be higher matters he calls for by his Pone me. It is your Sanctification, it is your Conversion, which because it cannot be done without him, let every one of us pray Veni Creator, Come holy Ghost; Oh thou sweet breath of God, breath upon my heart, that I may be able to fulfil this thy desire. It was the desire of the Spouse, and we shall do well to joyn with her, Arise O North, and come O South, Cant. 4.16.and blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow forth. All those inward pangs, all godly meditations, all grave exhortations, all pathetical Sermons, all good books that ever ye looked into, are but sweet gales of this winde, by which ye drive on gently toward heaven. You never saw a dropping eye, or a bedew'd cheeke for him, but when the winde sate in this corner. First, there was a flavit Spiritus, then a flevit Maria. The Spirit first blew, and the blast begot this showre.
And after this showre how sweet Gods garden smells! fluunt aromata ejus, the spices thereof flow forth; Not a tree which is not loaden with its fruits, nor a root which shoots not into a flowre, as ambitious to send a sweet savour into the nostrils of the Almighty. The foreign, or strong savour of sinne ascends no more to offend him, but instead thereof sweet words and good works alway follow upon this winde, this showre.
Even in the most hopeful garden till this winde blow, the plants seeme to be dead and withered as in the down-look of winter, the herb Grace of Charity, Faith, Humility, Obedience, put not forth one whit. But upon the rising of this gracious gale, the fruits of the spirit begin to knit; and if it blow long, and continue, you shall see Ver erit aeternum, the garden will be in its prime and glory. Faith loaden with good works, humility pressed to the earth with her burden of patience, obedience and charity bear their expected fruits, not one enspired vertue sterile or barren.
But thus it befals them alone who are diligent to observe when this winde blows. For the Spirit, that stirs up in thee good motions to day, will not alwayes strive with thee.Jo. 3 8. This winde bloweth when and where it listeth, and therefore it is uncertain whether thou shalt have the like impressions. Or if they be granted,Prov. 1.24. it will be with more difficulty; for as God hath called, and thou hast not answered, so shalt thou call and cry and not be heard.
Willingly then, thankfully receive the blasts of this winde; suffer no inspiration to passe without some special notice taken of it,Isa. 40.31. and then thou shalt change thy strength, humanam in divinam, that of a man into a divine power. For these helps of divine grace are the enabling of our natural faculties, sent by God for that purpose, that we may more easily prosecute all religious acts. That light of Gods will sealed upon our understanding, is but the beginning of Faith, Meditation, Contemplation, by which the minde being moved, with content believes, meditates, contemplates divine Mysteries. The breath of the holy Ghost into the will, is an introduction of our hope and love, devotion and desires, with which the Will being exceedingly delighted, never rests till they be in a light flame. The Embers satisfie not, till the fire burn out.
As in a Quire, the Chaunter begins the Te Deum, We praise thee O God, and then the whole Quire comes in, and joyns with him: So when we make melody to God in our hearts, it is God by his Spirit and his holy inspirations, that begins these religious acts;Ephes. 5.19. but yet it is done to that end, that we should joyne with him, and continue in these praises to the God of Jacob.
The more too blame they then, that lay all the work upon God, and put not their own shoulder to the wheele, as if the Spirit of Christ were to do all, and they nothing at all. His part he hath done, when he hath outwardly called you by his Word, inwardly spoke to you by his Spirit. Refuse him not then in his motions. Go on cheerfully and steadily in in your devotions, rise with his name in your mouths, work with his name engraven upon your hands, close up your day with his name in your lips, lye down with his name on your hearts, so shall you show that in some part you have yielded to his request, and are ready to yield to the rest; which was it is, I shall now acquaint you, by occasion of this Pronoune Me.
Pone me. Set me.
It was well observed by a quick-sighted man, that there was much Divinity couched in Pronounes. Without doubt it is so here, for the weight of the sentence lies upon it. For let Heart or Hand have what seale they will, never so specious, never so learned, if He and his Character be not stamped th…re, it will not be accepted. Accepted said I? nay it will be odious.
The Gods of the Heathens were good fellows, they would easily endure to entercommune with each other in their Sacrifices. One Saliar verse would content Mars and Hercules. The same Temple was dedicated to the Dioscuri. Strabo lib. 12.The Eleusinian Mysteries were sacred to Bacchus and Ceres. Not to trouble you with more examples, we read of an Altar erected Diis Deabusque omnibus, To all the Gods and Goddess…s without distinction. But with the God we serve it is not so: He …s a jealous God, he will have the soul that becomes his,Josh. 24.19. to be sealed to his use, and his alone. No other may challenge any property in it, and therefore he calls to you here, Set me.
A…d there is great justice and equity in this request; for whose image and superscription b…re your heart at first? was it not Gods? was it not first stamped with righteousness and holiness? As therefore our Saviour replied to the Pharisees that shewed him Caesars Coyne that bore his image and superscription, Give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar:Matth. 22.20. so also I can as easily satisfie any man that should doubt why he should set God upon his heart, that in common justice and equity he is bound to do it: For whose image and superscription doth it now bear, if he be a Christian? Is it not Gods? Let then God have the things that belong to God, no less than Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. This Argument I am sure was good at the first coynage, when the heart was first Minted; and if it be weak now, 'tis our shame that have blurr'd out the image of God from our hearts, and set upon them some other counterfeit impression, as if on purpose he should not claim his own. The Bu…lion indeed is Gods, but many among us have Coyned it in the Divels Name; otherwise how comes it to pass that so many Atheists, and profane persons, so many Sacrilegists, and false and blasphemous Swearers, &c. labour daily at the Mint?
But of you Brethren I hope better things, and that you will readily yield to this request, that you will set him on your hearts and hands; which when you do, you must remember to set him in his Law and his Gospel too; for in these his face appears most gloriously in righteousness and true holiness; and therefore he commands by Solomon, that these be bound upon thy fingers, Prov. 7.3.and written upon the Table of thy heart. Upon thy fingers to work by, and upon the Table of thy heart to love by; nothing is to come into thy heart and hand, which is not consonant and agreeable to this Law; for as all money receives estimation and value from the Kings Seal that is upon it; so all our works receive their worth and respect from that conformity which they carry to the Law of God.
And when you are perswaded to set Gods Law there, set it as a Seal: Writing may do much, but Sealing is far better. Any Writing that is framed by pen and ink, is done by succession of parts, and many instants of time; letter is written after letter, line after line; now a little, and then a little; and possible it is that a Writing be cancell'd, and the letters razed out; but a Seal sets the whole print in the self-same instant, all's done at once, and with the same hand; a man is not long about it; and being done, it remains in the Wax. And thus the Law of God should be stamped upon us, readily, universally, totally, constantly. All the Law, without omission of any part; for a man must not give himself a Dispensation, or seek for an indulgence for any precept. The will to obey, must be total together at once, as a Seal impressed upon the heart, and ready as occasion requires: For in respect of execution it is written by parcels, or piece-meal, the precepts being to be fulfilled as particular occurrences require; but as the impression of a Seal is durable, and lasts long; so the obedience to the Law must be constant; walk we must in it all the dayes of our life.
And if our consciences can truly testifie that thus we have set him, we have an assurance that we are sealed by his Spirit, because this ready, universal, and constant obedience flows not from any principle of the flesh; of which we ought to be ambitious ind…ed, since this is the Seal that makes up all, and without which nothing is to us Authentical;Rom. 8.16. for except the Spirit of God testifies with our spirit, the ransome, the redemption, the purchase that Christ made for us, is but like a Deed fair drawn without a Seal, which you know till the Seal be added, is of no validity.
Necessary then it is, that we set, or to speak more properly, suffer the Holy Ghost to be set on our hearts and hands, if we mean comfortab… to enjoy the promises of God, and benefits of Christ. His Person we cannot set there, but his graces we may: Charity and Goodness are in him as in the Prototype and Original Seal, and ought to be in us as in the Wax; increated in him, created in us; and yet so in us, as if they carried a lively impression of that stamp by which they were framed; whence, saith the Apostle, the love of God is shed abroad in your hearts by the Holy Ghost, Rom. 5.5.which is given unto us.
To collect all, the summe is, that we set the Father, Son and Holy Ghost upon our hearts; that we set him there, and him alone, and no other God; that we set his Law and his Gospel there as a Seal readily, totally, constantly, which will be assurances that we have the benefits of Christ conveyed to us under Hand and Seal. 'Tis his desire that it should be so; not set any way, or in a slight manner, as a face in water-colours; but as a Signet impressed, put case in hard Wax which is lasting; his request is, which sets me on the next point,
3. Set me as a Seal.
There be four Uses or Ends of a Seal or Signet.
1. It serves for Propriety.
2. For difference.
3. For Memory.
4. For Security. All which wayes we ought to set Christ as a Seal upon us.
1. For Propriety, that thereby we may be known to be his. We sign with our Seal, and mark those things we call our's, and in which we will not have another man to claim an interest. Shop-men seal their Wares, Sheep-masters their own Flock;Martial. and it was an old custome to mark their slaves with their own Signet; the servan… that would not leave his Master, must be bored through the ear. Exod. 21.6.Those Jewes who did over-weakly renounce their God by the irreligious Edict of the Egyptian King, were by his command to be signed with an Ivy Branch,Macc. 3.2, 21. burn't into their bodies, in the honour of god Bacchus, to whose Protection and Worship they by their revolt had yielded: For it was the custome of the Heathen, either with a hot Iron to burn into their bodies, or else with a Needles point to punch into their flesh the Names or Pictures of those Deities to whose Devotions, and Heathenish Ceremonies they were addicted.
Quid quod sacrandas accipit sphragitidas?
Prudent. foreign. Hymn. 10Acus minutas ingerunt fornacibus,
His membra pergunt urere ut igniverint.
Quamcun{que} partem corporis fervens nota
Stigmarit, hanc sic consecratam praedicant.
Whether this were not the manner that Baal's Priests cut themselves with Knives and Launcers,Vegetius. Aretius. Leges Arcadii & Honorii. cap. de Fabricensibus. Chrysost. Hom. 3. in 2 Cor. let others judge. What should I tell you that the R… man Souldiers had the Names of the Emperours burned into their hands; In allusion to which the Golden-mouth'd father, foreign, &c. As the Mark and Seal is put upon the Souldiers, so the Holy Ghost is put upon the Faithful; that so if you desert your Rank, you may be discovered, and noted by all.
Certain it is, that the Souldiers who were to fight under the God of heaven,Rev. 13.16.7.2.14.1. and the God of this world, and the Beast, received the mark of the Beast in their right hand, and in their foreheads; The other, the Seal of the living God, which was his Name written in their foreheads.
To what purpose you'le say is all this? Attend, and you shall now hear. Whether we acknowledge God for our Shepherd, as good sheep; or take him for our Master, as good servants; or give up our Names to him, as sincere Worshippers; or Lastly, fight on his side, as valiant Souldiers; fit it is we, should carry his Mark, and bear his Seal. By this we shall be known to be hi…; by it, he to be ours; the world may take notice that we are in it, not of it; the flesh, though we dwell with it, yet we owe it no servicc; the Divel, that we fight not for him, but against him; for we have given up our Names to another General, taken his Seal upon us, by which we are become his.
2. For in the next place, this Seal serves for a difference; we never were more like white paper, than when we were wrapped in our first Clouts; at that time it pleased God to make us his by Baptisme, and set his Seal upon us; by which th…n three no table differences were made of a Christian from another man: For then he professed his Faith, by which he is distinguished from an Infidel; then he renounced the Divel, the World, the Flesh, by which he is distinguished from a profane person; then he became a childe of God, by which he is distinct from a childe of wrath. 'Tis the desire then of our Saviour, that we being born again, profess the true Faith, whereby we shall be of the Orthodox; be regenerate, and born anew of water, and of the Spirit, John 3.5.by which we shall be heirs of the Kingdom; briefly sanctified throughout, 1 Thess. 5.23.by which we shall be known from common men. This Seal then set upon us, will make a plain distinction of an honest and true Christian from an Infidel, Heretick, Atheist, Hypocrite, Lewd Liver, a Reprobate Person.
3. Now least we should forget our Profession, and with it our Duty; the Seal will serve to call to remembrance what we promised, when we became his. For the Holy Ghost, who sets the Seal, will be our Remembrancer; as our Master promised, He shall bring all things to your remembrance: John 14.26.Anciently some did engrave upon a Seal the Portraicture of their best Beloved. Ecce video amicam tuam Callidore. Call. Ʋbi ea est? Pseud. In Cera cubat. Plaut. Pseud.And Epicurus's Scholars were wont to bear their Masters Picture enchased in a Signet. Others by pricking the skin with Needles,Pliny. and rubbing it over with the Juice of some Herb, whose Tincture will never out,Sands tra. did brand their arms to keep in memory each other. A custome much used among the Mores and Arabs to this day; but among both as an Antidote against Oblivion.
Wise men have thought it alwayes a strong Bar against sin, to have always in our memory some man, whose imaginary presence might keep us in awe.Seneca Ep. 11. Take Cato; or if he be too harsh and stern, choose one of a sober mettal, whose gravity of life and speech thou lovest; his mind and countenance carry with thee, set him alwayes before thine eyes, either as a pattern, or a witness. If fancied remembrances of other mens eyes be so available to awake shamefastness, that so the boldness of sin may be stayed ere it look abroad; of what force should the memory of him whom we profess to love, by whose Name we glory to be call'd, whose eyes without slumbering or slee…ing watch over us; lastly, by whose Spirit we are sealed to the day of Redemption, be to with-hold us from unworthy actions? set therefore Christ upon thy heart to remember him; and good reason, for he bears the Seals of his love to thy soul in his side, and on his hands still; every minute he looks upon the marks, that those sharp Nails, and Spear delv'd into his innocent body; forget him not then, because he forgets not thee; remember him in the same way he remembers thee; as he did, and doth keep the Seals of his love upon his heart, and his hands; so do thou again set him by thy love, as a Seal upon thine, which keeps the stamp that is once engraven upon it.
4. For certainty; thou shalt gain by it; for erit in Custodiam; he will protect thee under his Wings,Psal. 91.4. and thou shalt be safe under his feathers, safer than Chickens under the Wings of the Hen. We seal up our Letters, Caskets Closets, Jewels, which we would secure from others eyes and fingers: Quae pretiosa sunt non uno sigillo obsignamus. The malicious Jewes, that they might make sure work as they thought, with our Saviours body, importuned Pilate to seal the stone. Matth. 27.66. Dan. 6.17. Lips. Exc. 2. in Tacit. Annal. 2.And Daniels Accusers never thought they had him safe enough, till they pr…cured the King to s…al with his own Signet the Den of Lyons. Yea, I read, that the more miserable Romans were wont to seal up their Bottles of choice Wine from their liquorish servants with an Iron Seal, contriv'd with a Key, which they wore alwayes for that purpose.
There's nothing in the World needs more wary keeping than mans heart; 'tis Gods richest and choicest Magazin: Here the inestimable treasure of Faith is stored; in it is the gold of patience laid up, which being tried in the fire of affliction, admis of no dross; here are all those Jewels of the Holy Ghost treasured, Joy, Peace, Love, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Go…dness, Meekness, Gal. 5.22.Temperance; nay, Christ himself, and the Holy Ghost, are said to dwell in our hearts; Matth. 13.19.into which Closet that old Thief, the Divel, sometimes by violence, sometimes by cunning, endeavours to break in; fain he would be fingring some of Gods Treasure, and longs to rob us of one vertue or other. How necessary then is it, that our hearts be sealed with our Masters Seal, that is the Magazin of so great riches, that is threatned to be robbed by so potent an enemy! For to what purpose were it to lay up so great Treasure, and leave the door wide open? Lock it up then, and all's too little; seal it too; the Divel will be afraid to make his assaults, when he shall see Gods Seal, his Law, his Gospel, his Son, his Spirit upon it; when the Divel found Judas unsealed,John 13.2. He put into the heart of the Traytour to betray his Master.
Whether therefore we desire that God should lay any just claim or title to us, or else to be differenced from the Vessels of wrath, or to keep a continual Commemoration of Gods goodness to us; or Lastly, to preserve entire, and untouch'd, the riches of Gods grace with which he hath entrusted us, let us be sure to set him as a Seal, and that
4. Upon the H…art, upon the Arme.
Those are the places we are to receive his seal; poni vult intus & foris; set he must be inwardly and outwardly; upon the heart within, and the arme without; upon the heart by affection, upon the arme by operation; upon the heart by meditation, upon the arme by execution; upon the heart by holiness, upon the arme by righteousness; upon the heart by faith, upon the arme by good works, that so the whole man may be Gods; that so whatsoever is within us, or whatsoever proceeds from us, may have Gods Seal upon it. This request then in sense is the same with the great Commandment, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God; that's for the heart: Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self; Matth. 22.35.that's for the arme or hand.
1. Ʋpon thy heart.
Yet when the day of sealing comes, be sure to proceed by a right method, and set him on the heart first; for that's the part about us he most loves;Prov. 23.26. he requires it of every child of his: My son, give me thy heart; thence the arme must receive the impression: For the seal pleaseth not, which is set upon the arme alone; if it proceed not from the stamp of the heart, then Gregories Rule will be true, Probatio dil…ctionis exhibitio est operis; the work will prove our love, not else: For the work may be fair and splendid, as it was in the Pharisees Al…es and Prayers, and the heart an hypo…rite.
The h…rt then must needs be first s…al'd; because without it be so, not any impress upon the hand will please God: He is α and ω the first and the last; the Original of life and motion, and expects from us that part which …rst lives, and last dies; as if his intent were, or at least we may make that construction of it, that from th… α, the first instant of our lives, to the ω, or last period of them, our heart receive his Seal, and be wholly dedicated to him, to him; and to him alone.
For if it fall out otherwise, complain he will, as sometimes he did by the Prophet, their heart is divided; that is, th…ir heart is not whole with God;Hos. 10.2. for one part they re…erve for his service, the other for somewhat else. But as the same Wax is in vain stamped with different impressions, because the stamp of the one will exceedi…gly deface the impress of the other; so likewise the heart of man is not capable at the same time of diverse Forms; set God there, there will be no room for the World; set the World there, and presently you blur Gods image. The Ark and Dagon, God and Mammon, Jehovah and Baal cannot co-hab…t in one heart; that little Thalamus of the heart is too narrow to receive two such great Princes at once, as the King of heaven, and the god of this World; the Author of Goodness, and that great Ingeneer of Mischief. Whence the Spouse with the chaste heart tells her Beloved, Q…aesivi te in Lectulo, I sought thee! in Lectulo, in a little Pallet, Cant. 3.1.rath…r than in Lecto, a great Bed. Me…hinks in the Phrase there's a kind of Coarctation, and narrowing of the Room, as if the Church (like a good wife) were so scanted for lodging, that she could entertain no other, but her husband in Thalamo cordis, in the Bed-chamber of her heart; let him come and welcome, her heart was enlarged: But if any other, the Bed was strait, that it could not suffice; and the Covering narrow, Isa. 28.20.that one could not wrap himself.
But what if a Friend come, nay an enemy, must he go without lodging? Doth God so take up our hearts, that our Kings, our Parents, our Children, our Neighbours must find no love, no entertainment? no such matter; he that would have us lodge him there, commands us to lodge them too; yea, the more hearty entertainment we give these, the more welcome we make God.
At the rising of the Sun those lesser Lamps of heaven are presently obscur'd; removed they are not from their stations, nor deprived of their light, but only hid from us by a more glorious body; at Night they take their course, and shine again. Thus it is with the love of God sealed upon our heart; the lustre of it ought to be so em…nent, that it seems to obscure and hide the love of man quite; and indeed when these two come in competition, it must shine alone: But after God, then the love of man succeeds, and must shine in good works, as the stars take their turn, and shine when the Sun is set.
Dispose of God first we must; lodge him in the best Chamber, and then after provide for the rest, as attenders, and servitors upon him; if either Neighbour or Friend; or Brother or Sister; or Father or Mother; yea, or the King himself be so ambitious as to thrust into Gods Room, and thrust him out, then they must be ejected as Intruders, and commanded to look for a lodging somewhere else. With God they may come, and be welcome; marry if they be so saucy as to come without him, the door must be shut against them.
To this there be many pretenders, and none so forward to boast of the Seal, as those that have it least; on their backs you shall find the cloathing of the sheep, Matth. 7.15, 22in th…ir mouths, Lord, Lord, the words of servants; their wayes are so close, so subtile, so specious, that without a narrow view, 'tis not easie to discern them from such as are truly sealed; their hearts you cannot see, their hands you may; have an eye then that way, and found it will be by a diligent observation, that though the voyce be Jacobs voyce, yet the hands of Esau, Gen. 27.22.and by that you shall know them: For God enjoyns all his to set him as a Seal, not only on their hearts, but on their hands also, which hypocrites will not do; or if they seem to do at first, that thereby they may get esteem, belief, and authority; yet their end being obtained, the Seal will quickly be wiped off, and their hand will become a fist of iniquity; constant they will not be in well-doing, as God expects in all those that bear his Seal, to be perpetually such outwardly, as they are inwardly, and therefore it is here added,
2. Set me as a Seal upon thy Arme.
I read in Scripture of three parts especially upon which he desires to be set; upon the forehead, heart and hand; upon the fore-head, that we should not be ashamed to confess him; in the heart, that we love him; on the arm or hand, that we be doing good for his sake; to omit the two first, the last is that which God expects here, that we employ the strength of our arm to glorifie him. The Rabbin said well, that God requires two things concerning his Law, Custody and Work; Custody in the heart, Work in the hand; for without this latter,2 Tim. 3.5. we have only a shew of godliness; we act Religion, not practice it.
Now the Practice of Piety is the Book we should all study; for without it our profession is vain, our love feigned; hence Divines define Theology to be a prudential vertue, that is affective, not speculative; practical, and not only contemplative, which warms first the heart, and after moves the arme; in a word, by which we are taught to live to God; in which life, they require not so much the happiness which we shall enjoy in another life, as our honest and vertuous Conversation in this: For he is the best Student in Divinity, qui verba vertit in opera, is not only a Learner, but a Practiser; not so ready to lend his ear to a Sermon, as his hand to act what he hath heard in a Sermon.
And now O all ye that have dedicated your selves to Gods service, examine your lives whether you have set God upon your hearts or no? It were a wrong to me to enter into your bosomes, and knock at those secret Cabinets open only to God and your selves; but if I should, I assure my self it were a hard matter to find a man whose answer would not be, that he had an honest heart to God: But as Samuel replied to Saul, upon his forward answer,1 Sam. 15.13, 14. I have fulfilled the command of the Lord; What then means the bleating of the Sheep and Oxen in my ears? So I may say to the most of men, whose hearts are so ready for God; if your hearts stand so upright to God-ward, whence proceeds those evil thoughts, Mat. 15.18, 19.Murders, Adulteries, Fornications, Thefts, false Testimonies, Slanders that are so rise among you? Do not all these come from within, and defile the man? Would you put out the eyes of Gods Seers, and make them beileve your hearts are dedicated to God, when your hands are thus defiled! Good old meaning Isaac might be gull'd with Jacobs voyce, and Esaus hands; but never think that the eye of God, which never slumbers nor sleeps, Psal. 121.3, 4.will give a blessing to a smooth tongue, and rough hands. If his Name be not engraven upon your hands, as well as pretended to be upon your hearts, ye shall have what Jacob feared, a Curse instead of a Blessing.
The question of the young man was to our Saviour, Good Master what must I do to inherit eternal life? and of the Jaylour to Paul and Silas, Sirs, Matth. 19.16. Acts 16.30. Luke 13.6, 7.What must I do to be saved? They still were for action; they knew well that the Fig-tree which bore green leave…, and no fruit, was in the end deprived of life and leaves too.
For however in Christian Religion faith be the first and principal foundation that must be laid in the heart, whereupon all the rest is stayed and grounded; yet as in other material buildings after the foundation is laid, there remains the greatest cost, care, art, diligence, time and labour in raising of the Walls, disposing of the Rooms, ordering the Lights, setting on the Roof, beautifying and furnishing the Fabrick; even so is it in this spiritual house, in making the man of God perfect and absolute; the foundation and grand work of Faith is quickly laid in the heart; some small time of our life will serve for the learning of the principles of Religion; the greatest part of our dayes and labour must be spent in directing of the hand, and in erecting the whole frame of this spiritual Edifice, and with the furnishing of it with all Christian vertues, and diligent observation of Gods Commandments; without which, our faith is to no more purpose than a foundation without a building, or a Stock or Tree that bears no fruit.
This then is the end of all our Sermons, of all our Exhortations, that you furnish the inner man with all Christian Vertues, and be abundant in the fruits of the Spirit. We can teach, you can learn no more but this, Set God on thy heart, set him on thy hand; this is the summe of the whole Law; for if thou love God, thou wilt give him thy heart; if thou love thy Neighbour, thou wilt lend him thy hand; the end of our Adoption and Redemption is no other: For therefore Christ freed us from our enemies, and gave us a faculty to become the sons of God, that we should serve him in righteousness and holiness, Luke 1.74, 75.have holy hearts, and righteous hands. This is the end of our hope; for the reward in heaven shall be bestowed pro tecto, pro veste, pro frigidâ; Chrysost.because out of the hearty love we have born to God, we have stretched forth our hand to house the stranger, to cloath the naked, to give drink to the thirsty.
God grant therefore that we may so set God upon our hearts by pious meditations, fervour, love; and on our hands by outward Works, and charitable Deeds, that we may receive that blessing that shall one day be pronounced to the Doers of the Law: Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom of God pr…pared for you. Amen.