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SERMON CXXI.

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL'S.

2 CORINTHIANS V. 20.

We pray ye in Christ's stead, Be ye reconciled to God.

IN bestowing of benefits, there are some circumstances, that vitiate and deprave the nature of the benefit, as when a man gives only in contemplation of retribution, for then he is not dator, but mercator, this is not a giving, but a merchandising, a permutation, or when he is cyminibilis dator, (as our canons speak) one that gives mint and cumin, so small things, and in so small proportions, as only keeps him alive that receives, and so Ipsum quod dat, perit, et vitam producit ad miseriam, that that is given is lost, and he that receives it, is but continued in misery, and so the benefit, hath almost the nature of an injury, because but for that poor benefit, he might have got out of this life. And then there are circumstances, that do absolutely annihilate a benefit, amongst which, one is, if the giver take so express, so direct, so public knowledge of the wants of the receiver, as that he shall be more ashamed by it, than refreshed with it; for in many courses of life, it does more deject a man, in his own heart, and in the opinion of others too, and more retard him in any preferment, to be known to be poor, than to be so indeed; and he that gives so, does not only make him that receives, his debtor, but his prisoner, for he takes away his liberty of applying himself to others, who might be more beneficial to him, than he that captivated, and ensnared him, with that small benefit. And therefore many times in the Scripture, the phrase is such in doing a courtesy, as though the receiver had done it, in accepting it; so when Jacob made a present to his brother Esau, I beseech thee, says he, to take my blessing that I may find favour in thy sight'; so he compelled him to take it. So when Christ recommends here to his people, the great, and inestimable benefit in our text, reconciliation to God, he delivers that benefit of all

1 Gen. xxxiii. 10.

those accidents, or circumstances, that might vitiate it; and amongst those, of this, that we should not be confounded with the notice taken of our poverty, and indigence; for he proceeds with man, as though man might be of some use to him, and with whom it were fit for him to hold good correspondence, he sends to him by ambassadors, (as it is in the words immediately before the text) and by those ambassadors he prays him, that he would accept the benefit of reconciliation. To us, who are his creatures, and therefore might be turned and wound by his general providence, without employment of any particular messengers, he sends particular messengers; to us that are his enemies, and fitter to receive denunciations of a war, by a herald, than a message by ambassadors, he sends ambassadors; to us, who are indeed rebels, and not enemies, and therefore rather to be reduced and reclaimed by executioners, than by commissioners, he sends commissioners, not to article, not to capitulate, but to pray, and to entreat, and not to entreat us to accept God's reconciliation to us, but, as though God needed us, to entreat us to be reconciled to him; We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

In these words, our parts will be three: our office towards you; yours towards us; and the negotiation itself, reconciliation to God. In each of these three, there is a rederivation into three branches for, in the two first (besides the matter) there are two kinds of persons, we and you, the priest and the people (we pray you). And in the last there are two kinds of persons too, you and God; Be ye reconciled to God. But because all these kinds of persons, God, and we, and you, fall frequently into our consideration, there is the less necessity laid upon us to handle them, as distinct branches, otherwise than as they fall into the negotiation itself. Therefore we shall determine ourselves in these three first, our office towards you, and our stipulation and contract with you, we pray you; we come not as lords or commanders over you, but in humble, in submissive manner, we pray you. And then your respect to us, because in what manner soever we come, we come in Christ's stead, and though dimly, yet represent him. And lastly, the blessed effect of this our humility to you, and this your respect to us, reconciliation to

God. Humility in us, because we are sent to the poorest soul; respect in you, because we are sent to represent the highest king, work in you this reconciliation to God, and it is a text well handled; practice makes any sermon a good sermon.

First, then, for our office towards you, because you may be apt to say, You take too much upon you, you sons of Leri; we the sons of Levi, open unto you our commission, and we pursue but that we profess, that we are sent but to pray, but to entreat you; and we accompany it with an outward declaration, we stand bare, and you sit covered. When greater power seems to be given us, of treading upon dragons and scorpions, of binding and loosing, of casting out devils, and the like, we confess these are powers over sins, over devils that do, or endeavour to possess you, not over you, for to you we are sent to pray and entreat you. Though God sent Jeremy with that large commission, Behold this day, Í have set thee over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to pluck up, and to root out, to destroy and to throw down; and though many of the prophets had their commissions drawn by that precedent, we claim not that, we distinguish between the extraordinary commission of the prophet, and the ordinary commission of the priest, we admit a great difference between them, and are far from taking upon us, all that the prophet might have done; which is an error, of which the church of Rome, and some other over-zealous congregations have been equally guilty, and equally opposed monarchy and sovereignty, by assuming to themselves, in an ordinary power, whatsoever God, upon extraordinary occasions, was pleased to give for the present, to his extraordinary instruments the prophets; our commission is to pray, and to entreat you. Though upon those words, Ascendunt Salvatores in Montem Sion, There shall arise Saviours in Mount Sion, in the church of God, St. Hierome saith, That as Christ being the light of the world, called his apostles the light of the world too; so, Ipse Salvator apostolos voluit esse Salvatores, The Saviour of the world communicates to us the name of Saviours of the world too, yet howsoever instrumentally and ministerially that glorious name of Saviour may be afforded to us, though to a high hill, though to that Mount Sion, we are led by a low way, by the

example of our blessed Saviour himself; and since there was an oportuit pati, laid upon him, there may well be an oportet obsecrare laid upon us; since his way was to be dumb, ours may well be to utter no other voice but prayers; since he bled, we may well sweat in his service, for the salvation of your souls. If therefore ourselves, who are sent, be under contempt, or under persecution, if the sword of the tongue, or the sword of the tyrant be drawn against us, against all these, arma nostra, preces et fletus*, we defend with no other shield, we return with no other sword, but tears and prayers, and blessing of them that curse us. Yea, if he that sent us suffer in us, if we see you denounce a war against him, nay, triumph over him, and provoke him to anger, and because he shows no anger, conclude out of his patience, an impotency, that because he doth not, he cannot, when you scourge him, and scoff him, and spit in his face, and crucify him, and practice every day all the Jews did to him once, as though that were your pattern, and your business were to exceed your pattern, and crucify your Saviour worse than they did, by tearing and mangling his body, now glorified, by your blasphemous oaths, and execrable imprecations, when we see all this, arma nostra preces et fletus, we can defend ourselves, nor him, no other way, we present to you our tears, and our prayers, his tears, and his prayers that sent us, and if you will not be reduced with these, our commission is at an end. I bring not a star-chamber with me up into the pulpit, to punish a forgery, if you counterfeit a zeal in coming hither now; nor an exchequer, to punish usurious contracts, though made in the church; nor a high commission, to punish incontinences, if they be promoted by wanton interchange of looks, in this place. Only by my prayers, which he hath promised to accompany and prosper in his service, I can diffuse his overshadowing Spirit over all the corners of this congregation, and pray that publican, that stands below afar off, and dares not lift up his eyes to heaven, to receive a cheerful confidence, that his sins are forgiven him; and pray that Pharisee, that stands above, and only thanks God, that he is not like other men, to believe himself to be, if not a rebellious, yet an unprofitable servant. I can only tell them, that neither of them is in the

4
⚫ Ambrose.

right way of reconciliation to God, Nec qui impugnant gratiam, nec qui superbe gratias agunt, neither he who by a diffidence hinders the working of God's grace, nor he that thanks God in such a fashion, as though all that he had received, were not of mere mercy, but between a debt and a benefit, and that he had either merited before, or paid God after, in pious works, for all, and for more than he hath received at God's hand.

Scarce anywhere hath the Holy Ghost taken a word of larger signification, than here; for, as though it were hard, even to him, to express the humility which we are to use, rather than lose any soul for which Christ hath dyed, he hath taught us this obsecration, this praying, this entreating in our text, in a word, by which the Septuagint, the first translators into Greek, express divers affections, and all within the compass of this obsecramus, we pray you. Some of them we shall present to you.

Those translators use that word for napal. Napal is ruere, postrare, to throw down, to deject ourselves, to admit any undervalue, any exinanition, any evacuation of ourselves, so we may advance this great work. I fell down before the Lord, says Moses of himself; and Abraham fell upon his face, says Moses of him, and in no sense is this word oftener used, by them, than in this humiliation. But yet, as it signifies to need the favour of another, so does it also to be favourable, and merciful to another; for so also, the same translators use this word for chanan, which is to oblige and bind a man by benefits, or to have compassion upon him; Have pity upon me, hace pity upon me, O ye my friends, for the hand of God hath touched me; there is our word repeated. So that, whether we profess to you, that as physicians must consider excrements, so we must consider sin, the leprosy, the pestilence, the ordure of the soul, there is our dejection of ourselves, or make you see your poverty and indigence, and that that can be no way supplied, but by those means, which God conveys by us, both ways we are within our word, obsecramus, we pray you, we entreat you.

They use this word also for calah, and calah is dolere, to grieve within ourselves, for the affliction of another; but it signifies also vulnerare, to wound, and afflict another; for so it is said in this 6 Job xix. 21.

Augustine.