it But St. Hierome, and others with him, take these words, in a good sense; to be the cherubim, and palms, and such other representations, as God himself had ordained in their temple; and that the commination falls upon this, that in some cases, it may be some want, to be without some pictures in the church. So far as they may conduce to a reverend adoring of the place, so far as they may conduce to a familiar instructing of unlettered people, may be a loss to lack them. For, so much Calvin, out of his religious wisdom, is content to acknowledge, Fateor, ut res se habet hodie", &c. I confess, as the case stands now, (says he, speaking of the beginning of the Reformation) there are many that could not be without those books, (as he calls those pictures) because then they had no other way of instruction; but, that that might be supplied, if those things which were delivered in picture, to their eyes, were delivered in sermons to their ears. And this is true, that where there is a frequent preaching, there is no necessity of pictures; but will not every man add this, that if the true use of pictures be preached unto them, there is no danger of an abuse; and so, as remembrancers of that which hath been taught in the pulpit, they may be retained; and that was one office of the Holy Ghost himself, that he should bring to their remembrance those things, which had been formerly taught them. And since, by being taught the right use of these pictures, in our preaching, no man amongst us is any more inclined, or endangered to worship a picture in a wall or window of the church, than if he saw it in a gallery, were it only for a reverent adorning of the place, they may be retained here, as they are in the greatest part of the reformed church, and in all that, is properly Protestant. And though the injunctions of our church", declare the sense of those times, concerning images, yet they are wisely and godly conceived; for the second is, that they shall not extol images, (which is not, that they shall not set them up) but, (as it followeth) they shall declare the abuse thereof. And wheh in the twenty-third injunction, it is said, that they shall utterly extinct, and destroy, (amongst other things) pictures, yet it is limited to such things, and such pictures, as are monuments of 44 Institut. i. 11. § 7. VOL. V. 451 Eliz. 1559. N feigned miracles; and that injunction reaches as well to pictures in private houses, as in churches, and forbids nothing in the church, that might be retained in the house. For those pernicious errors, which the Roman church hath multiplied in this point, not only to make images of men, which never were, but to make those images of men, very men, to make their images speak, and move, and weep, and bleed; to make images of God who was never seen, and to make those images of God, very gods; to make their images do daily miracles; to transfer the honour due to God, to the image, and then to encumber themselves with such ridiculous riddles, and scornful distinctions, as they do, for justifying unjustifiable, unexcusable, uncolourable enormities, Væ idololatris, woe to such advancers of images, as would throw down Christ, rather than his image: but Væ iconoclastis too, woe to such peremptory abhorrers of pictures, and to such uncharitable condemners of all those who admit any use of them, as had rather throw down a church, than let a picture stand. Laying hold upon St. Hierome's exposition, that falls within the va, the commination of this text, to be without those sacrifices, those ephods, those images, as they are outward helps of devotion. And, laying hold, not upon St. Hierome, but upon Christ himself, who is the God of love, and peace, and unity, yet falls under a heavy, and insupportable va, to violate the peace of the church, for things which concern it not fundamentally. Problematical things are our silver, but fundamental, our gold; problematical our sweat, but fundamental our blood. If our adversaries would be bought in, with our silver, with our sweat, we should not be difficult in meeting them half way, in things, in their nature, indifferent. But if we must pay our gold, our blood, our fundamental points of religion, for their friendship, a fortune, a, liberty, a wife, a child, a father, a friend, a master, a neighbour, a benefactor, a kingdom, a church, a world, is not worth a drachm of this gold, a drop of this blood. Neither will that man, who is truly rooted in this foundation, redeem an impoverishing, an imprisoning, a disinheriting, a confining, an excommunicating, a deposing, with a drachm of this gold, with a drop of this blood, the fundamental articles of our religion. Blessed be that God, who, as he is without change or colour of change, hath kept us without change, or colour of change, in all our foundations; and he in his time bring our adversaries to such a moderation as becomes them, who do truly desire, that the church may be truly Catholic, one flock, in one fold, under one Shepherd, though Fot all of one colour, of one practice in all outward and disciplinarian points. Amen. SERMON CXXIII. A SERMON PREACHED IN ST. PAUL'S IN THE EVANING, PROVERBS XIV. 31. He that oppresseth the poor, reproacheth his Maker, but he that honoureth him, hath mercy on the poor. Part of the first Lesson, for that Eveniny Prayer. THESE are such words, as if we were to consider the words only, might make a grammar lecture, and a logic lecture, and a rhetoric and ethic, a philosophy lecture too; and of these four elements might a better sermon than you are like to hear now, be well made. Indeed they are words of a large, of an extensive comprehension. And because all the words of the Word of God, are, in a great measure, so, that invites me to stop a little, as upon a short first part before the rest, or as upon a long entry into the rest, to consider, not only the powerfulness of the matter, but the sweetness and elegancy of the words of the Word of God in general, before I descend to the particular words of this texbut He that oppresseth the poor, &c. We may justly accommodate those words of Moses, to God the Father, What God is there in heaven, or in earth, that con do according to thy works1? And those words of Jeremy, to God the Son, Behold, and see, if there be any sorrow, like unto my 1 Deut. iii. 24. sorrow; and those to the Holy Ghost which are in Esay, Loquimini, ad cor, Speak to the heart, speak comfortably to my people3, and those of St. John too, A voice of thunder, and after, A voice of seven thunders talking with me: for who can do, like the Father, who can suffer like the Son, who can speak like the Holy Ghost? Eloquia Domini, eloquia casta, saith David, The words of the Lord are chaste words, sincere, pure words, no dross, no profaneness, no such alloy mingled with them; for, as it followeth there, They are as silver tried and purified seren times in the fire. They are as that silver, that is so tried, and they are as that fire that trieth it. It is castum, a pure word in itself, and then it is powerful upon the hearer too; Ignitum eloquium tuum vehementer, saith he, Thy word hath the vehement operation of fire; and therefore, thy servant loveth it well, as it followeth there'; therefore, because it pierces; but therefore especially, because it carrieth a sweetness with it. For the sting of the serpent pierces; and the tooth of the viper pierces, but they carry venenosam salivam, a venomous and mischievous liquor with them. But Dulcia faucibus super mel, Thy words are sweeter to my mouth, than honey; than honey itself. For, Verba composita, saith Solomon, chosen words, studied, premeditated words, pleasing words, (so we translate it) are as a honey-comb'. Now, in the honey-comb, the honey is collected and gathered, and dispensed, and distributed from the honey-comb, and of this honeycomb is wax, wax apt for sealing, derived too. The distribution of this honey to the congregation, the sealing of this honey to the conscience, is in the outward ordinance of God, and in the labour of the minister, and his conscionable fitting of himself for so great a service. But the honey-comb is not the honey, the gifts of the man, is not the Holy Ghost. Jacob laid this blessing non his son Naphtali, Dabit eloquia pulchritudinis 1o; That he fehould be a well-spoken, and a persuasive man. For, of a defect in this kind, Moses complained, and so did Esay, and Jeremy did so too, when they were to be employed in God's service, Moses that he was of uncircumcised, Esay that he was of unclean lips, and Jeremy that he was a child, and could not speak; and therefore this was a blessing upon Naphtali, that he should be a well-spoken, and persuasive man. For so Moses, after God had farther enabled him, saith, Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; hear O earth, the words of my mouth, my mouth, saith Moses'; the minister of God, that cometh with convenient gifts, and due preparation, may speak such things, as earth, and heaven itself may be content to hear. For, when St. Paul saith, That to the principalities, and powers in heavenly places, the manifold wisdom of God, is made known by the church, that is, by the ministry, and service of the church, and by that which is done here, we may congruously and piously believe, that even those principalities and powers in heavenly places, the angels of heaven do hear our sermons, and hearken how the glory of God is communicated, and accepted, and propagated through the congregation; and as they rejoice at the conversion of a sinner, so rejoice also at the means of their conversion, the powerful, and the congruous preaching of the word of God. And therefore, let no man, though an angel of the church, though an archangel of the church, bishop or archbishop, refuse to hear a man of inferior place, or inferior parts to himself; neither let any man be discouraged by the fewness or meanness of his hearers: for, as the apostle saith, with relation to Abraham, Entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares, so, preach to all, and that seat that thou thinkest empty, may have angels in it to them is the manifold wisdom of God made known by the church, and angels are here; here, for the augmentation of their own joy, in their fresh knowledge of the propagation of the kingdom of God, in this congregation, and they are here, for their accusation that are not here, but frivolously and causelessly absent, or negligently, absently present, if they be here. Therefore Moses might say, Give hear O ye heavens, though it be but I, that speak; and he might add, as he doth there, My doctrine shall drop as the rain, and my speech shall distil as the dew. And why? Because I will publish the name of the Lord, saith Moses there; because I will deliver the messages of my God to his people. : 11 Deut. xxxii. 1. 12 Ephes. iii. 10. 13 Heb. xiii. 2, |