When God hath made himself one body with me, by his assuming this nature, and made me one spirit with himselfa1, and that by so high a way, as making me partaker of the divine nature, so that now, in Christ Jesus, he and I are one, this were solutio Jesus, a tearing in pieces, a dissolving of Jesus, in the worst kind that could be imagined, if I should tear myself from Jesus, or by any jealousy or suspicion of his mercy, or any horror in my own sins, come to think myself to be none of his, none of him. Who ever comes into a church to denounce an excommunication against himself? And shall any sad soul come hither, to gather arguments, from our preaching, to excommunicate itself, or to pronounce an impossibility upon her own salvation? God did a new thing, says Moses, a strange thing, a thing never done before, when the earth opened her mouth, and Dathan, and Abiram went down quick into the pit. Wilt thou do a stranger thing than that? To tear open the jaws of earth, and hell, and cast thyself actually and really into it, out of a mis-imagination, that God hath cast thee into it before? Wilt thou force God to second thy irreligious melancholy, and to condemn thee at last, because thou hadst precondemned thyself, and renounced his mercy? Wilt thou say with Cain, My sin is greater than can be pardoned? This is concisio potestatis, a cutting off the power of God, and treason against the Father, whose attribute is power. Wilt thou say, God never meant to save me? this is concisio sapientiæ, a cutting off the wisdom of God, to think, that God intended himself glory in a kingdom, and would not have that kingdom peopled, and this is treason against the Son, whose attribute is wisdom? Wilt thou shall never find comfort in praying, in preaching, in receiving? This is concisio consolationis, the cutting off consolation, and treason against the Holy Ghost, whose office is comfort. No man violates the power of the Father, the wisdom of the Son, the goodness of the Holy Ghost, so much as he, who thinks himself out of their reach, or the latitude of their working. Rachel wept for her children, and would not be comforted; but why? Because they were not. If her children had been but gone for a

211 Cor. vi. 17. 23 Numb. xvi, 30.

22 2 Peter i. 4.

24 Matt. ii. 18.

I

time from her, or but sick with her, Rachel would have been comforted; but, they were not. Is that thy case? Is not thy soul, a soul still? It may have gone from thee, in sins of inconsideration; it may be sick within thee, in sins of habit and custom; but is not thy soul, a soul still? And hath God made any species larger than himself? is there more soul, than there is God, more sin than mercy? Truly Origen was more excusable, more pardonable, if he did believe, that the devil might possibly be saved, than that man, that believes that himself must necessarily be damned. And therefore, videte concisionem, beware of cutting off thy spirit from this spirit of comfort; take heed of shredding God's general promises, into so narrow propositions, as that they will not reach home to thee, cover thee, invest thee; beware of such distinctions, and such sub-divisions, as may make the way to heaven too narrow for thee, or the gate of heaven too straight for thee. It is true, one drop of my Saviour's blood would save me, if I had but that; one tear from my Saviour's eye, if I had but that; but he hath none that hath not all; a drop, a tear, would wash away an adultery, a murder, but less than the whole sea of both, will not wash away a wanton look, an angry word. God would have all, and gives all to all. And for God's sake, let God be as good as he will;

as merciful, and Christ came to

as large, as liberal, and as general as he will. save sinners; thou art sure thou art one of them; at what time soever a sinner repents, he shall be heard; be sure to be one of them too. Believe that God in Christ proposes conditions to thee; endeavour the performing, repent the not performing of those conditions, and be that the issue between God and thy soul; and lest thou end in this concision, the concision of the Spirit, beware of the other two concisions, of the body, and of the garment, by which only, all heavenly succours are appliable to thee.

137

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 Levi; 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, I 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