earth, from treading upon other men's, to a lying down in your own graves. And yet that is not your last citation, there is a fifth. In the grave, John Baptist does, and we must attend a fifth citation, from the grave to a judgment. The first citation hither to church, was served by example of other men, you saw them come, and came. The second citation here, in the church, was served by the preacher, you heard him and believed. The third, from hence, is served by the law, and by the magistrate, they bind you to embrace a profession, and a calling, and you do so. The fourth, which is from thence, from this, to the next world, is served by nature in death, he touches you, and you sink. This fifth to judgment shall be by an angel, by an archangel, by the Lord himself, The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rises. This citation is not served by a bell, that tolls to bring you hither; not by a man that speaks to instruct you here; not by a law, that compels you to live orderly in the world; not by a bell, that rings out to lay thee in thy grave; but by the great shout of the Lord descending from heaven, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, to raise the dead in Christ. It is not the aperire fores, that the Levites have charge to open these doors every day to you", that you may come in, (that is your first citation, hither) it is not the Domine labia mea aperies, that God opens our mouth, the mouth of the preacher, to work upon you, (that is your second citation, here) it is not that aperimus saccos, the opening of your sack of corn, and finding that, and your money too, that is, your trading in this world, in a calling, (that is your third citation, from hence) nor it is not the aperuit terra os suum, that the earth opens her mouth, and swallows all in the grave, (that is your fourth citation from thence) it is none of these apertions, these openings; but it is the aperta monumenta, the grave itself shall be open again; and aperti calis, the heavens shall be open, and I shall see the Son of man, the Son of God, and not see him at that distance, that Stephen saw him there, but see him, and 30 1 Thes. iv. 16. 31 2 Chron. ix. 27. 32 Psalm Li. 15. 35 Matt. xxvii. 52. 33 Gen. xLiii. 21. 36 Acts vii. 56. sit down with him. I shall rise from the dead, from the dark station, from the prostration, from the prosternation of death, and never miss the sun, which shall then be put out, for I shall see the Son of God, the sun of glory, and shine myself, as that sun shines. I shall rise from the grave, and never miss this city, which shall be no where, for I shall see the city of God, the new Jerusalem. I shall look up, and never wonder when it will be day, for the angel will tell me that Time shall be no more37, and I shall see, and see cheerfully that last day, the day of judgment, which shall have no night, never end, and be united to the Ancient of Days 3, to God himself, who had no morning, never began. There I shall bear witness for Christ, in ascribing the salvation of the whole world, to him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, and Christ shall bear witness for me, in ascribing his righteousness unto me, and in delivering me into his Father's hands, with the same tenderness as he delivered up his own soul, and in making me, who am a greater sinner, than they who crucified him on earth for me, as innocent and as righteous as his glorious self, in the kingdom of heaven. And these occasions of advancing your devotion and edification, from these two branches of this part, first, the fitness of John Baptist to be sent, and then his actual sending, by so divers callings and citations in him, appliable, as you have seen, to us. More will be ministered, in due time, out of the last part, and the two branches of that; first, why this light required any witness, and then, what witness John Baptist gave to this light. But those, because they lead us not to the celebration of any particular festival, (as these two former parts have done, to Christmas and Midsummer) I may have leave to present to you at any other time. At this time let us only beg of God a blessing upon this that hath been said, &c. 37 Rev. x. 6. 38 Dan. vii. 9. 94 SERMON CXIX. PREACHED AT ST. PAUL'S, 13th OCTOBER, 1622. JOHN i. 8. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light, THIS is the third time that I have entertained you (in a business of this nature, intended for God's service, and your edification, I must not say, troubled you) with this text. I begun it at Christmas, and in that dark time of the year told you who, and what was this light which John Baptist is denied to be. I I pursued it at Midsummer, and upon his own day, insisted upon the person of John Baptist, who, though he were not this light, was sent to bear witness of this light. And the third consideration. which (as I told you then) was not tied nor affected to any particular festival, you shall (by God's grace) have now, the office of John Baptist's testimony; and in that, these two parts; first, a problematical part, why so evident a thing as light, and such a light, that light, required testimony of man: and then a dogmatical part, what testimony this man gives of this light. And in the first of these we shall make these two steps, first, why any testimony at all, then why, after so many others, this of John. First then God made light first, ut innotescerent omnia', that man might glorify God in seeing the creature, and him in it; for, frustra fecisset, (says the same father) it had been to no purpose to have a world, and no light. But though light discover and manifest everything else to us, and itself too, if all be well disposed, yet, in the fifth verse of this chapter, there is reason enough given, why this light in our text, requires testimony; that is, the light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not; and therefore, Propter non intelligentes, propter incredulos, propter infirmos, sol lucernas quærit; For their sakes that are weak in their understanding, and not enlightened in that faculty, the Gentiles; for their sakes who are weak in their faith, "Augustine. 1 Ambrose. that come, and hear, and receive light, but believe not; for their sakes that are perverse in their manners, and course of life, that hear, and believe, but practise not, sol lucernas quærit, this light requires testimony. There may be light then and we not know it, because we are asleep; and asleep so, as Jairus's daughter was, of whom Christ says, The maid is not dead but asleep3. The maid was absolutely dead; but because he meant forthwith to raise her, he calls it a sleep. The Gentiles, in their ignorance, are dead; we, in our corrupt nature, dead, as dead as they, we cannot hear the voice, we cannot see the light; without God's subsequent grace, the Christian can no more proceed, than the Gentile can begin without his preventing grace. But, because amongst us, he hath established the Gospel, and in the ministry and dispensation thereof, ordinary means for the conveyance of his farther grace, we now are but asleep and may wake. A sudden light brought into a room doth awaken some men; but yet a noise does it better, and a shaking, and a pinching. The exalting of natural faculties, and good moral life, inward inspirations, and private meditations, conferences, reading, and the life do awaken some; but the testimony of the messenger of God, the preacher, crying according to God's ordinance, shaking the soul, troubling the conscience, and pinching the bowels, by denouncing of God's judgments, these bear witness of the light, when otherwise men would sleep it out; and so propter non intelligentes, for those that lie in the suds of nature, and cannot, or of negligence, and will not come to hear, sol lucernas, this light requires testi mony. These testimonies, God's ordinances, may have wakened a man, yet he may wink, and covet darkness, and grow weary of instruction, and angry at increpation; and, as the eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight', so the ear of this fastidious and impatient man, longeth for the end of the sermon, or the end of that point in the sermon, which is a thorn to his conscience; but as if a man wink in a clear day, he shall for all that discern light through his eyelids, but not light enough to keep him from stumbling: so the most perverse man that is, either in faith or manners, that winks against the light of nature, or light of the 3 Matt. ix. 24. 4 Job xxiv. 15. law, or light of grace exhibited in the Christian church, the most determined atheist that is, discerns through all his stubbornness, though not light enough to rectify him, to save him, yet enough to condemn him, though not enough to enable him, to read his own name in the book of life, yet so much, as makes him afraid to read his own story by, and to make up his own audit and account with God. And doth not this light to this man need testimony, that as he does see, it is a light, so he might see, that there is warmth and nourishment in this light, and so, as well see the way to God by that light, as to see by it, that there is a God; and, this he may, if he do not sleep nor wink; that is, not forbear coming hither, nor resist the grace of God, always offered here, when he is here. Propter incredulos, for their sakes, who though they do hear, hear not to believe, sol lucernas, this light requires testimony; and it does so too, propter infirmos, for their sakes, who though they do hear, and believe, yet do not practise. If he neither sleep nor wink, neither forbear, nor resist, yet how often may you surprise and deprehend a man, whom you think directly to look upon such an object, yet if you ask him the quality or colour of it, he will tell you, he saw it not! That man sees as little with staring, as the other with winking. His eye hath seen, but it hath returned nothing to the common sense. We may pore upon books, stare upon preachers, yet if we reflect nothing, nothing upon our conversation, we shall still remain under the increpation and malediction of St. Paul', out of Esay, Seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive; seeing and hearing shall but aggravate our condemnation, and it shall be easier at the day of judgment, for the deaf and the blind that never saw sacrament, never heard sermon, than for us, who have frequented both, propter infirmos, for their sakes, whose strength though it serve to bring them hither, and to believe here, doth not serve them to proceed to practice, sol lucernas, this light requires testimony. Yet, if we be neither dead, nor asleep, nor wink, nor look negligently, but do come to some degrees of holiness in practice for a time, yet if at any time, we put ourselves in such a position and distance from this light, as that we suffer dark thick bodies 5 Acts xxviii. 26. |