which thou hast showed unto thy sercant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands.

We have passed through all the branches, of that which we proposed for the first part, the confession of his own unworthiness. We found a second part implied in this word, for; which was, that this acknowledgment of his proceeded not out of formality and custom, or stupidity, and dejection, but out of debatement, and consideration and reason; and then we found that reason deduced and derived into these two great branches, what his former state had been, With my staff I passed over this Jordan, and what his present state was, I am become two bands, for the reason in general, he that does any spiritual duty even towards God, in praising, and magnifying him, and not upon good reason, this man flatters God; not that he can say more good, than is always true of God; but towards God, as well as towards man, it is true, that he that speaks more good than himself believes to be true, he flatters, how true soever it be that he speaks. Such praise shall be counted as a curse, and such oil breaks a man's head'. Those sceptic philosophers, that doubted of all, though they affirmed nothing, yet they denied nothing neither, but they saw no reason in the opinions of others.

Those sceptic Christians, that doubt whether God have any particular providence, any care of particular actions, those which doubt whether the history of Christ be true, or no, those doubting men, that conform themselves outwardly with us, because that may be true, that we profess, for anything they know, there may be a Christ, and they might be the worse, for anything they know, if they left him out, they might prove worse, and in the meantime they enjoy temporal peace, and benefit of the laws by this outward profession of theirs, those men that sacrifice to Christ Jesus only, ne noceat, lest if there be such a God, they should lose him for want of a sacrifice, that worship Christ Jesus with a reservation, of the pretended God, that if he prove God at last, they have done their part, if he do not, yet they are never the worse, these men, who if they come to church, think themselves safe enough, but they are deceived; the Militant, and the Triumphant church is all one church, but above in the Triumphant

15 Prov. xxvii. 14.

church, there are other churchwardens, than here, and though he come to do the outward acts of religion, if he do it without a religious heart they know him to be a recusant, for all his coming to church here, he shall be excommunicate in the Triumphant there. He praises not God, he prays not to God, he worships him not, whatsoever he does, if he have not considered it, debated it, concluded it, to be rightly done, and necessarily done. If he think anything else better done, this is not well done.

Jacob had concluded it out of the contemplation of his former, and present state; first he had been banished from his country; I came over Jordan, herein he was a figure of Christ; he received a blessing from his father, and presently he must go into banishment; Christ received presents and adoration from the Magi of the East, and presently he submits himself to a banishment in Egypt, for the danger that Herod intended. Christ's banishment, as it could not be less than four years, so it could not be more than seven; Jacob's was twenty, a banishment, and a long banishment. Banishment is the first punishment executed upon man; he was banished out of paradise; and it is the last punishment, that we shall be redeemed from, when we shall be received entirely body and soul, into our country, into heaven. It is true our life in this world is not called a banishment any where in the Scripture: but a pilgrimage, a peregrination, a travel; but peregrinatio cum ignominia conjuncta, exilium; he that leaves his country because he was ashamed, or afraid to return to it, or to stay in it, is a banished man. Briefly for Jacob's case here, St. Bernard expresses it well in his own, Est commune exilium, There is one banishment common to us all, in corpore peregrinamur a Domino, we travel out of our country at least; but, Accessit et speciale, quod me pene inpatientem reddit quod cogar vivere sine vobis, This was a particular misery, in his banishment, that Jacob must live from his father, and mother, and from that country, where he was to have the fruits, and effects of that blessing which he had got.

He came away then, and he came away poor: in baculo with a staff; God expresses sometimes abundance, and strength, in baculo, in that word. Oftentimes he calls plenty, by that name, the staff of bread. But Jacob's is no metaphorical staff, it is a

Christ spoke this

real staff, the companion, and the support of a poor travelling man. When Christ enjoins his apostles to an exact poverty, for one journey, which they were to despatch quickly, St. Matthew expresses his commandment thus, Possess no monies, nor two coats, nor a shoe, nor a staff: St. Mark expresses the same commandment thus, Take none of those with you, except a staff only. The fathers go about to reconcile this, by taking staff in both places figuratively; that the staff forbidden in Matthew, should be potestas puniendi, the power of correcting which the apostle speaks of, Numquid vultis veniam in virga1? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love? and that the staff allowed in Mark, is potestas consolandi, the power of comforting which David speaks of, Virga tua, et baculus tuus, ipsa me consolata sunt, Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me". but once, but in his language, the Syriac, he spoke it in a word that hath two significations, shebat, is both baculus defensorius, and baculus sustentatorius. A staff of sustentation, and a staff of defence; God that spoke in Christ's Syriac, spoke in the evangelists' Greek too; and both belong to us; and both the evangelists intending the use of the staff, and not the staff itself, St. Matthew in that word forbids any staff, of violence or defence, St. Mark allows a staff of sustentation, and support; and such a staff, and no more had Jacob, a staff to sustain him upon his way. Hath this then been thy state with Jacob, that thou hast not only been without the staff of bread, plenty, and abundance of temporal blessings, but without the staff of defence, that when the world hath snarled and barked at thee, and that thou wouldest justly have beaten a dog, yet thou couldst not find a staff, thou hast no means to right thyself; yet he hath not left thee without a staff of support, a staff to try how deep the waters be, that thou art to wade through, that is, thy Christian constancy, and thy Christian discretion: use that staff eright, and as Christ, who sent his apostles without any staff of defence once, afterward gave them leave to carry swords 18, so at his pleasure, and in his measure, he will make thy staff, a sword, by giving thee means to defend thyself, and others over whom he will give thee charge, and jurisdiction in exalting thee.

16 1 Cor. iv. xxi.

17 Psalm xxiii. 4.

18 Luke xxii. 36.

But herein in doing so, God assists thee with the staff of others; with the favour and support of other men; Jacob was first in baculo, and in suo, nothing but a staff; no staff but his own; truly his own for we call other staffs ours, which are not ours, My people ask counsel of their stocks, and their staff teacheth them"; that is, they have made their own wisdom, their own plots, their own industry, their staff; upon which they should not rely, and so we trust to a broken staff of reed, on which, if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it2o, when God hath given thee a staff of thine own, a leading staff, a competency, a conveniency to lead thee through the difficulties, and encumbrances of this world, if thou put a pike into thy staff, murmuring at thine own, envying superiors, oppressing inferiors, then this piked staff is not thy staff, nor God's staff, but it is baculus inimici hominis; and the envious man in the Gospel, is the devil. If God have made thy staff to blossom, and bear ripe fruit in a night, enriched thee, preferred thee a pace, this is not thy staff; it is a mace, and a mark of thy office, that he hath made thee his steward of those blessings. To end this, a man's own staff, truly, properly, is nothing but his own natural faculties: nature is ours, but grace is not ours; and he that is left to this staff of his own, for heaven, is as ill provided, as Jacob was, for this world, when he was left to his own staff at Jordan, when he was banished; and banished in poverty, and banished alone.

Thus far we have seen Jacob in his low estate; now we bring him to his happiness: in which it is always one degree to make haste; and so we will; all is comprised in this that is, was present. Now I am two bands, now; it was first now, quando revertitur, now when he returned to his country, for he was come very near it, when he speaks of Jordan, as though he stood by it, I came over this Jordan. It is hard to say, whether the returning to a blessing, formerly possessed, and lost for a while, be not a greater pleasure, than the coming to a new one. It is St. Augustine's observation, that that land, which is so often called the land of promise, was their land from the beginning, from the beginning Sem, of whom they came, dwelt there: and though God restored them by a miraculous power, to their possession, yet still 20 2 Kings xviii. 21.

19 Hosea iv. 12.

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it was a returning and so the blessing is evermore expressed; a return from Egypt, a return from Babylon; and a return from their present dispersion is that, which comforts them still, Christ himself had this apprehension, Clarifica me, Glorify me thou Father, with that glory, which I had with thee before the world was". Certainly our best assurance of salvation, is but a returning to our first state, in the decree of God for our election; when we can consider, our interest, in that decree we return. Our best state in this life, is but a returning, to the purity, which we had in our baptism; whosoever surprises himself in the act or in the remorse of any sin that he is fallen into, would think himself in a blessed state, if he could bring his conscience to that peace again, which he remembers, he had the last time he made up his accounts to God, and had his discharge sealed in the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ Jesus. Cleanse thyself often therefore, and accustom thy soul to that peace, that thou mayest still, when thou fallest into sin, have such a state in thy memory, as thou mayest have a desire to return to and the Spirit of God shall still return to thee, who lovest to receive it, and at last thy spirit, shall return to him that gave it, and gave his own Spirit for it.

Jacob's happiness appears first now, quando revertitur; and now, quando jubente Domino, now, when he returned, and now when he returned upon God's bidding, God had said unto him, Turn again into the land of thy fathers, and I will be with thee, think no step to be directly made towards preferment, if thou have not heard God's voice directing the way. Stare in usque; stand upon the ways, and inquire not of thy fathers, but of the God of thy fathers, which way thou shalt go: for God's voice may be heard in every action, if we will stand still a little, and hearken to it. Remember evermore, that applica ephod; where David comes to ask counsel of the Lord, he said to Abiathar, Applica ephod; Bring the ephod; and there David asks, Shall I follow this company, shall I overtake them? When thou doubtest of anything, applica ephod, take this book of God: if, to thine understanding, that reach not home punctually to thy

21 John xvii. 5.

? Eccles. xii. 7.

23 Gen. xxxi. 3.

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1 Sam. xxx. 7.