Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

36

the apostle" and Splendidissimum in se quisque habet speculum Every man hath a glass, a crystal, into which, though he cannot call up this spirit (for the Spirit of God breathes where it pleases him) yet he can see this spirit, if he be there, in that glass: every man hath a glass in himself, where he may see himself, and the image of God, says that father, and see how like he is to that. To dare to reflect upon myself, and to search all the corners of mine own conscience, whether I have rightly used this law of liberty; and neither been bold before a sin, upon presumption of an easy; nor diffident after, upon suspicion of an impossible reconciliation to my God: this is evangelical liberty.

So then (to end all) though it be a law of liberty, because it gives us better means of prevention before, and of restitution after, than the natural man, or the Jew had; yet we consider, that it is this law of liberty, this law that hath afforded us these good helps, by which we shall be judged; and so, though our case be better than theirs, because we have this law of liberty, which they wanted, yet our case grows heavier than theirs, if we use it not aright. The Jews shall be under a heavier condemnation than the natural man, because they had more liberty, that is, more means of avoiding sin, than the natural man had; and, upon the same reason, the Christian under a heavier condemnation than either, because he shall be judged by this law of liberty.

What judgment then gives this law? This; Qui non crediderit, damnabitur; and so says this law in the law-maker's mouth, He that believes not, shall be damned. And as no less light than faith itself, can show you what faith is, what it is to believe; so no less time than damnation shall last, can show you what damnation is for the very form of damnation is the everlastingness of it; and, Qui non crediderit, He that believeth not shall be damned: there is no commutation of penance, nor beheading after a sentence of a more ignominious death, in that court. Dost thou believe that thou dost believe? Yet this law takes not that answer: this law of liberty takes the liberty to look farther; through faith into works; for, so says the law in the mouth of the Law-maker; To whom much is given, of him much

35 2 Cor. iii. 17.

36 Leo.

37 Mark xvi. 16.

shall be required3. Hast thou considered every new title of honour, and every new addition of office, every new step into higher places, to have laid new duties, and new obligations upon thee? Hast thou doubled the hours of thy prayers, when thy preferments are doubled; and increased thine alms, according as thy revenues are increased? Hast thou done something, done much in this kind? This law will not be answered so; this law of liberty takes the liberty to call upon thee for all. Here also the law says in the mouth of the Law-maker, If thou have agreed with many adversaries, says Christ, (let that be, if thou have satisfied many duties) (for duties are adversaries, that is, temptations upon us) yet, as long as thou hast one adversary, agree with that adversary quickly in the way"; leave no duty undischarged, or unrepented in this life. Beloved, we have well delivered ourselves of the fear of purgatory; none of us fear that: but another mistaking hath overtaken us, and we flatter ourselves with another danger, that is, compensation, that by doing well in one place, our ill-doing in another is recompensed: an ill officer looks to be saved, because he is a good husband to his wife, a good father to his children, a good master to his servants; and he thinks he hath three to one for his salvation. But, as nature requires the qualities of every element which thou art composed of; so this law of liberty calls upon thee for the exercise of all those virtues, that appertain to every particular place thou holdest: this liberty, this law of liberty takes; it binds thee to believe Christ, all Christ; God's Christ, as he was the eternal Son of the Father, God of God; our Christ, as he was made man for our salvation; and thy Christ, as his blessed Spirit, in this his ordinance, applies him to thee, and offers him into thine arms this minute. And then, to know, that he looks for a retribution from thee, in that measure, in which he hath dealt with thee; much for much; and for several kinds of good, according to those several good things, which he hath done for thee. And, if thou be first defective in these, and then defective in laying hold upon him, who is the propitiation and satisfaction for thy defects in these, this law of liberty returns to her liberty to pronounce, and the Judge to his liberty to execute that sentence, damnaberis,

[blocks in formation]

thou wilt be cast into that prison, where thou must pay the last farthing; thou must; for Christ dies not there, and therefore there they must lie, till there come such another ransom as Christ; nay, a greater ransom than Christ was, for Christ paid no debts in that prison. This then is the Christian's case, and this is the abridgment of his religion; Sic loquimini, sic facite; to speak aright, and to do aright; to profess the truth, and not be afraid nor ashamed of that; and to live according to that profession for, no man can make God the author of sin; but that man comes as near it as he can, that makes God's religion a cloak for his sin. To this God proceeds not merely and only by commandment, but by persuasion too; and, though he be not bound to do so, yet he does give a reason. The reason is, because he must give account of both; both of actions, and of words; of both we shall be judged, but judged by a law; a law which excludes, on God's part, any secret ill purpose upon us, if we keep his law; a law which excludes, on our part, all pretence of ignorance; for no man can plead ignorance of a law. And then, a law of liberty; of liberty to God: for God was not bound to save a man, because he made him; but of his own goodness, he vouchsafed him a law, by which he may be saved; a law of liberty to us: so that there is no epicurism, to do what we list; no such liberty as makes us libertines; for then there were no law; nor Stoicism, nor fatality, that constrains us to do that we would not do, for then there were no liberty. But the Gospel is such a law of liberty, as delivers us, upon whom it works, from the necessity of falling into the bondage of sin before, and from the impossibility of recovering after, if we be fallen into that bondage. And this is liberty enough; and of this liberty, our blessed God give us the right use, for his Son Christ Jesus' sake, by the operation of that Holy Ghost, that proceeds from both. Amen.

415

SERMON CXXXV.

A LENT SERMON PREached before the KING, AT WHITE-
HALL, FEBRUARY 16, 1620.

1 TIMOTHY iii. 16.

And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

THIS is no text for an hour-glass: if God would afford me Hezekiah's sign, Ut revertatur umbra', that the shadow might go backward upon the dial; or Joshua's sign, Ut sistat sol, that the sun might stand still all the day, this were text enough to employ all the day, and all the days of our life. The Lent, which we begin now, is a full tithe of the year; but the hour which we begin now, is not a full tithe of this day, and therefore we should not grudge all that: but payment of tithes is grown matter of controversy; and we, by our text, are directed only upon matter without controversy: And without controversy, &c.

Here is the compass, that the essential Word of God, the Son of God Christ Jesus, went: he was God, humbled in the flesh; he was Man, received into glory. Here is the compass that the written Word of God, went, the Bible; that begun in Moses, in darkness, in the chaos; and it ends in St. John, in clearness, in a revelation. Here is the compass of all time, as time was distributed in the creation, Vespere et mane; Darkness, and then light the evening and morning made the day; mystery and manifestation made the text.

The doctrine of the present season, is mortification, humiliation; and the experience of the present place, where we stand now in court, is, that the glory of the persons, in whose presence we stand, occasions humility in us; the more glorious they are, the humbler we are; and therefore to consider Christ, as he is received into glory, is as much the way of our humiliation and mortification, as to consider him in his passion, in his exinanition; at least, how small account should we make of those things 2 Josh. x. 11.

1 2 Kings xx. 9.

12/21

which we suffer for Christ in this world, when we see in this text, that in the describing the history of Christ from his incarnation to his ascension, the Holy Ghost pretermits, never mentions, never seems to consider the passion of Christ; as though all that he had suffered for man, were nothing in respect of that he would suffer, if the justice of God had required any heavier satisfaction. The text then is a sufficient instruction to Timothy, to whom this epistle is sent, and to us, to whom it is sent too, that thereby we might know how to behave ourselves in the house of God, which is the church of God, the pillar and ground of truth; as is said in the verse immediately before the text, to which the text hath relation: we know how to behave ourselves in the church, if we know in the text that such a mystery of godliness there is, and know what it is. Our parts, therefore, are but two; mystery and manifestation. In the first, the apostle proceeds thus: first, he recommends to us such doctrine as is without controversy: and truly there is enough of that to save any soul, that hath not a mind to wrangle itself into hell. then he says, that this godliness, though it be without controversy, yet it is a mystery, a secret; not present, not obvious, not discernible with every eye: it is a mystery, and a great mystery; not the greatest, but yet great, that is, great enough; he that knows that, needs no more. And then, for the second part, which is the manifestation of the mystery, we shall look upon that by all those beams, which shine out in this text, ab ortu ad meridiem, from Christ's east to his noon, from his first manifesting in the flesh, to his receiving into glory.

And

First then, he proposes doctrine without controversy: for, Quod simpliciter predicatur, credendum; quod subtilitur disputatur, intelligendum est. That which Christ hath plainly delivered, is the exercise of my faith; that which other men have curiously disputed, is the exercise of my understanding: if I understand not their curious disputations, perchance I shall not be esteemed in this world; but if I believe not Christ's plain doctrine, I am sure I shall not be saved in the next. It is true, that Christ reprehends them often, Quia non intellexerunt, but what? Scripturas, legem: because they understood not the

[blocks in formation]
« AnteriorContinuar »