MIRACLE OF MIRACLES.

NOTE.

'A Miracle of Miracles' originally appeared as a thin 4to, in 1638. The titlepage is given below of the second edition (1656). It was appended to the Commentary upon 2 Corinthians chap. iv. See note Vol. IV., page 308. Cf. Memoir, G. Vol. I. pp. cxxv. for remarks of Fuller.

A
MIRACLE

OF

MIRACLES:

OR,

Christ in our Nature.

Wherein is contained

The Wonderfull Conception, Birth, and Life of Christ, who in the fulnesse of time became man to satisfie divine Justice and to make reconciliation between God and Man.

Preached to the honourable Society of Grayes Inne, by that godly and faithfull Minister of Jesus Christ, Richard Sibbes, D.D.

Phil. 2. 5.

He made himselfe of no reputation, and took upon him the
forme of a servant, and was made in the likenesse of men.

LONDON,

Printed by W. H. for John Rothwell, at the Sign
of the Beare and Fountaine in Cheapside, 1656.

ย

MIRACLE OF MIRACLES.

(FIRST SERMON.)

The Lord himself shall give a sign; behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.—ISAIAH VII. 14.

THE Jews at this time were in a distressed condition, by reason of the siege of two kings, Resin and Pekah: the one the king of Syria, the other the king of Israel. Whereupon the prophet labours to comfort them, and tells them that these two kings were but as two fire-brands, that should waste and consume themselves, and then go out. For confirmation thereof, because he saw the heart both of king and people astonished, he biddeth them ask a sign of things in heaven or earth.' No, saith king Ahaz, ‘I will not tempt God;' and making religion his pretence against religion, being a most wilful and wicked man, would not.

For he had framed an altar according to the altar which he had seen at Damascus, neglecting God's altar at Jerusalem as too plain and homely. Man, unsubdued by the Spirit of God, admires the devices of men, and the fabric of his own brain.

And though this king was so fearful, that his heart, and the rest of their hearts, were 'as the leaves in the forest,' shaking, and trembling, and quaking at the presence of their enemies, and though he was surprised with fear and horror, seeing God his enemy, and himself God's enemy, and that God intended him no good, yet he would go on in his own superstitious course, having some secret confidence in league and affinity with other kings that were superstitious like himself. This, by the way.

We may learn by this wretched king, that those that are least fearful before danger are most basely fearful in danger. He that was so confident and wilful out of danger, in danger, his heart was as the leaves of the forest.' For a wicked man in danger hath no hope from God, and therefore is incapable of any intercourse with him. He will trust the devil and his instruments, led with a superstitious* spirit, rather than God: as this king had more confidence in the king of Syria, that was his enemy, and so shewed himself after, than in God. It is the nature of flesh and blood, being not sanctified by God, to trust in this means and that means, this carnal help and that carnal help, 'a reed of Egypt,' yea, the devil and lies, rather than to God himself.

The prophet, in an holy indignation for the refusing of a sign to confirm

* Cf. Acts xvii. 22.-G.

1

his faith that these kings should not do the church harm, breaketh forth thus: Know, O house of David, 'is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?' God offers you a sign out of his love, and you dislike and contemn his blessed bounty. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.' What is that? A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.'

From the inference, we may see the conflict between the infinite goodness of God and the inflexible stubbornness of man; God's goodness striving with man's badness. When they would have no sign, yet God will give them a sign. His goodness overcometh and out-wrestleth in the contention man's sinful strivings, his mercy prevails against man's malice.

To come to the text itself. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.' It was not so much a sign for the present, as a promise of a miraculous benefit, which was to be presented almost eight hundred years after the prophet spake these words, even the incarnation of Christ, a miracle of miracles, a benefit of benefits, and the cause of all benefits. He fetcheth comfort against the present distress from a benefit to come. And to shew how this can be a ground of comfort at this time of distress, 'that a virgin shall conceive,' we must know that 'Christ was the Lamb slain from the beginning of the world,' Rev. xiii. 8. All the godly of the Jews knew it well enough, the Messiah being all their comfort. They knew that he was yesterday and to-day, and shall be the same for ever.' The church had in all times comfort from Christ. Profuit antequam fuit: he did good before he was exhibited in the world.

You

And thus the prophet applies the comfort to the house of David: 'A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, who shall be of the family of David.' And therefore the house of David shall not be extinct and dissolved. The reason is strong. of the house of David are in fear that your kingdom and nation shall be destroyed; but know that the Messiah must come of a virgin, and of the house of David. And considering this mus certainly come to pass, why do ye fear, ye house of David?

Again, it hath force of a reason thus. The promise of our Messiah is the grand promise of all, and the cause of all promises; for all promises made to the church, are either promises of Christ himself, or promises in him and for his sake, because he takes all promises from God, and conveyeth them, and maketh them good to us. God maketh them, and performeth them in Christ and for Christ.

Now the reason stands thus, if God will give a Messiah, that shall be the son of a virgin,' and 'Emmanuel,' certainly he will give you deliverance. He that will do the greater will do the less. What is the deliverance you desire to the promised deliverance from hell and damnation, and to the benefit by the Messiah, which you profess to hope for and believe?

The apostle himself, Rom. ii. 8, reasons thus: 'God, that spared not his own Son, but gave him to death for us all, how shall not he with him give us all things? If God will give Christ to be Emmanuel and incarnate, he will not stand upon any other inferior promises or mercies whatsoever. Obj. But you will say, this promise was to come; and how could this confirm their faith for the present, that they should not be destroyed ?

Ans. I answer, In regard of his taking our nature, he was 'to come,' yet Christ was always with his church before. They understood him in the 'manna;' he was the angel of the covenant.' They that were

spiritually wise amongst the Jews, understood that he was the rock that went before them.

And again, it is usual in Scripture to give signs from things to come, as Isa. xxxvii. 30, 'The next year thou shalt eat that which groweth of itself,' &c., because where faith is, it maketh things to come' all one as if they were present.

And so we should make this use of the grand promises of Christ to comfort us against all petty matters and wants whatsoever. And to reason with the holy apostle, God spared not his only begotten Son, but gave him to death.' He hath given Christ, and will he not give things needful? Hath he given the greater, and will he stand with thee for the less? This is a blessed kind of reasoning. And so to reason from other grand things promised. God shall raise my body out of the dust and the grave, and cannot he raise my body out of sickness, and my state out of trouble? Cannot he raise the church out of misery? So saith St Paul, 2 Cor. i. 9, 'God that raised Christ, restored me again, that had received the sentence of death.' When we receive sentence of death in our persons, look to him that raised Christ from the dead, and to the grand promises to come. They before Christ comforted themselves in times of all distress by the grand promise of Christ 'to come.' But now the Messiah is come. And which may much more strengthen our faith, he hath suffered, and given his body to death for us; and therefore, why doubt we of God's good will in any petty matters whatsoever.

To come to the words more particularly, 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,' &c.

You have diverse articles of our faith in these few words. As Christ's conception by the Holy Ghost, his being born of the Virgin Mary,' &c. You have here the human nature of Christ, ‘A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.' And the divine nature of Christ, his name shall be called Emmanuel, which signifieth also his office, 'God with us' by nature, and God with us by office, to set God and us at one. So you have divers points of divinity couched in the words, which I will only open suitable to the occasion.

'Behold.' This is the usual beacon set up, the usual harbinger to require our attendance* in all matters concerning Christ. And it hath a threefold force here. Behold,' as being a thing presented to the eye of faith. He mounteth over all the interim between the promise and the accomplishment, for faith knoweth no difference of times.

2. And then, it is to raise attention. Behold;' it is a matter of great

concernment.

3. And not only attention, but likewise admiration.† 'Behold,' a strange and admirable thing. For what stranger thing is there than that a virgin should conceive, that a virgin should be a mother, and that God should become man.

We had need of strong grace to apprehend these strange things. And therefore God hath provided a grace suitable, above reason, and above nature, and that is faith. Reason mocketh at this. The devil knoweth it and envieth it. The angels know, and wonder at it. The soul itself, without a grace suitable to the admirableness of the thing, can never apprehend it. And therefore, well may it be said, 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.'

'Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear.' And why a virgin? When God is to be born, it is fit for a virgin to be the mother. Christ was not * That is, 'attention.'-G. †That is, 'wonder.'-G.

to come by the ordinary way of propagation. He was to come from Adam, but not by Adam; for he was to be sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Because he was indeed to be a sacrifice, and he must be without spot or sin himself, that was to offer himself for the sins of others. Therefore the foundation and ground of his nature must be pure and clean; and that is the foundation of all the purity of his life and conversation, and therefore a virgin.

This was typified in Aaron's rod, which budded though it had no root. No juice could come from a dry stick, yet by an almighty power the rod did bud. And so Moses's bush. It burned and did not consume. And that God that caused those things, caused a virgin to be a mother.

He enters into the womb of a virgin without any defilement at all, considering the Holy Ghost, from the Father and the Son, did purge and purify and sanctify that mass whereof the blessed body of our Saviour was made. The virgin afforded the matter, but the wise framer was the Holy Ghost. She was passive, the Holy Ghost was the agent.

Now, when did the virgin conceive? When upon the angel's coming to her and telling her that she was greatly beloved,' and that she should conceive; she assented, 'Be it so as the Lord hath spoken,' Luke i. 38. When she assented to the word, presently Christ was conceived; her faith and her womb conceived together. When her heart did conceive the truth of the promise, and yielded assent thereunto, her womb conceived at the same time also.

Obs. From hence learn something for ourselves: It had been to little purpose though a virgin conceived Christ, unless Christ had been conceived “likewise in her heart. And there is no benefit by virtue of this conception to others, but to such as conceive Christ in their hearts also.

To which end our hearts must be in some measure made virgin hearts, pure hearts, hearts fit to receive Christ.

We must assent to promises of pardon and of life everlasting: 'Be it as the Lord saith.' A Christian is a Christian, and Christ liveth in his heart, at the time of the assenting to the promise. So that if you ask, When doth Christ first live in a Christian's heart? I answer, then, when the heart yieldeth a firm assent to the gracious promises made in Christ for the pardoning of sins and acceptation to the favour of God, and title and interest to life everlasting. For faith is the birth of the heart.

Christ was conceived in the womb of an humble and believing virgin. So that heart that will conceive Christ aright, must be a humble and believing heart humble, to deny himself in all things; and believing, to go out of itself to the promises of God in Christ. When God by his Spirit hath brought our hearts to be humble and believing, to go out of themselves and believe in him, rest upon him and his promises, then Christ is conceived in our heart.

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.' Here is the birth of Christ as well as the conception. Christ must not only be conceived in the womb, but also brought forth, because God must be manifested in the flesh; as St Paul saith, Great is the mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh,' 1 Tim. iii. 16. If he had only been conceived, and not brought forth, he had not been manifested. He was to do all things that befitted a Mediator.

And therefore he went along with us in all the passages of our lives. He was conceived as we are, remained in the womb so many months, born as we are born, brought into the light as we are; away therefore with idle, monkish devices and fond conceits, that affirm the contrary!