VIII. SERM. that ark, and that Christ, which He did not thus deliver. The Turks having conquered and torn out of the Christians' hands the places of the birth and passion of Christ, did after this way of logic infer that God had judged the cause for Mahomet against Christ; and Trajan could ask the primitive martyr Ignatius", Et nos non tibi videmur Oεopópoι, &c., Have not we as much of God in us as you, who prosper by the help of our deities against our enemies? Let me purloin or borrow this heathen piece out of your hands, and I shall be able to give you an ancienter piece in exchange for it, a thorough Christian resolution of abiding by God, of approving ourselves to Heaven, and to our own breasts, whatsoever it costs us, of venturing the ermine's fate,—the very hunter's hand, rather than foul her body,—the pati, et mori posse, the passive as well as the active courage, which will bear us up through all difficulties, bring us days of refreshment here, or else provide us anthems in the midst of flames, a paradise of comfort here, and of joys hereafter: and let this serve for the exemplifying the point in hand, the fitness of our Apostle's discourse to Felix's state. Jonah iii. 8.] I might do it again by telling you of the dreadful majesty [Is. lvi. 7; that dwells in this house, the designation of it to be a house of prayer to all people, a place of crying mightily to the Lord at such times as these; should I let loose a whole hour on this theme in this place, it would be but too perfect a parallel of St. Paul's discourse of chastity before Felix, which in any reason ought to set many of my auditors a trembling, but it seems we have not yet sufferings enough to do so: and there is one particular behind that will rescue you from this uneasy subject, the manner of St. Paul's handling this theme, by way of reasoning. "And when he reasoned," &c. The importance of this reasoning I shall but name to you, which I conceive to be, 1. The proposing to a very heathen's consideration the equity and reasonableness that there should be a judgment to come * [Τραϊανὸς εἶπεν· καὶ τίς ἐστιν Θεοφόρος; Ἰγνάτιος ἀπεκρίνατο ὁ Χριστὸν ἔχων ἐν στέρνοις. Τραϊανὸς εἶπεν ἡμεῖς οὖν σοι δοκοῦμεν κατὰ νοῦν μὴ ἔχειν Θεοὺς, οἷς καὶ χρώμεθα συμμάχοις πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους ; Ἰγνάτιος εἶπεν· τὰ δαιμόνια τῶν ἐθνῶν Θεοὺς προσαγορεύεις to recompense the unjust and πλανώμενος· εἷς γὰρ ἔστιν Θεὸς, ὁ ποιή- VIII. incontinent person. And 2. The charging home to each sERM. sinner's heart, the extreme unreasonableness, that for so poor advantages as either of those sins bring in to any man, he should think fit to venture that dismal payment in another world. a And now my brethren, to conclude this reasoning, and your task of patience together, when you are likely to have so little excuse in perishing, so no colour of reason for so wild an option, of choosing death in the error of your ways, when you must be so out of countenance when you come to that place of darkness, so unable to give an account to any fiend that meets you, why you should cast away all the treasures in the world for that so sad a purchase, and act that really which the Rabbins feign of the child Moses, prefer the coal of fire before the ingot of gold, chop it into your mouths, and so singe your tongue, not to make you stammer with him, but howl with Dives for ever after, and not get one drop to quench the tip of that tongue, which is so sadly tormented in those flames; when, I say, you are likely to come so excuseless to your torments, so unpitied, and so scorned, so without all honour in your sufferings, as having but your petitions granted you, advanced to your vengeance as to your preferment, optantibus ipsis, whilst heaven was looked on as a troublesome impertinent suitor, and you would not be happy, only because you would not; O remember then the disciples' farewell, when they gave over the Jews and turned to the Gentiles, "Behold, you despisers, [Acts xiii. and wonder, and perish;" but before you do so, if it be possi- 41.] ble give one vital spring, and if but for Pythagoras's' aioxúveo σavτòv, for the reverence, if not the charity, for the honour and awe you owe to your own souls, if not to save them, yet to save your credits in the world, to manifest that you are not such abject fools, retract your choice, call back [Quelques Rabbins enseignent que cette difficulté de parler étoit venue à Möise, de ce qu'à l'âge de trois ans, été présenté au Roi d' Egypte, et les Devins s'écriant que la vie de cet enfant seroit fatale au pays, on convint qu' on éprouveroit son esprit, en lui présentant une pierre précieuse, et un charbon; que s' il choisissoit la pierre précieuse, on le feroit mourir; que s' il prenoit le charbon, on le laisseroit b [Pythag. Carm. Aur. v. 12.] VIII. SERM. the hostages you have given to Satan, and set out on a more rational, more justifiable voyage. You have heard of the rich Spaniard that had put all his estate into jewels, how he was ready to run mad with the fancy of thinking what a condition he should be in, if all men next morning should awake wise, that he should become not only the arrantest beggar, but the most ridiculous fool. And believe it, that last trump when it begins to sound, will have the faculty thus to make all men wise, to disabuse, and inspire the whole world with a new sense: those that are in the flames before you, will reproach your madness, count you but bedlams to come thither; poor Dives, if he had but a messenger, would long since have sent you a hideous report and admonition, that whatever it cost you, you should not venture coming to that place of torments; O let St. Paul's reasoning do it to us here, that we make not such piteous bargains, pay not so sad a price for so pure a nothing. us be wise now, that we may be happy eternally; which wisdom, the only way to that happiness, God of His infinite mercy grant us all: to whom, &c. Let H SERMON IX. BEING AN EASTER SERMON AT ST. MARY'S IN OXFORD, A.D. 1644. THE BLESSING INFLUENCE OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. ACTS iii. 26. God having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. IX. Ir were but a cold, unequal oblation to so blessed, so glo- SERM. rious a festivity, to entertain you with the story of the day, to fetch out the napkin and the grave-clothes, to give you that now for news, that every seventh day for sixteen hundred years hath so constantly preached unto you. It is true indeed what Aristotle observes in his unxavixà, that the every-day wonders are the greatest, the perfectest miracles those that by their commonness have lost all their veneration; he speaks it of a circle which is of all things most common, and yet of all things most strange, made up of all contraries, and so the mother of all prodigies in art, of all the engines and machines in the world. And the same might be resolved of this yearly, this weekly revolution, the greatest, but commonest festival in the Christian's calendar, BaoíMooa μépa, "the queen-day," as St. Chrysostom calls it", aye, and that "queen all glorious within," a many saving [Ps. xlv. miracles inclosed in it, and yet this queen of most familiar 13.] condescendings is content to be our every week's prospect, and after all this as glorious still as ever, no gluts, no satieties in such beholdings. init [Aristot. Mechan. Prolog. § 5, ad [See S. Greg. Naz. Orat. xviii. c. 28, ἡ βασίλισσα τῶν ἡμερῶν ἡμέρα. Ορ., tom. i. p. 348, E. The expression does SERM. IX. [Mal. iv. 2.] But supposing this, I must yet tell you one precious gem there is in this jewel, one part of the great business of this day, which is not so commonly taken notice of, and that is the blessing, saving office of the day to us, the benign aspect, the special influence of the rising of Christ on the poor sinner's soul, the use, the benefit of the resurrection; and to discover this unto you, let me with confidence assure you, there is not a vein in this whole mine, a beam in this whole treasure of light, a plume of those "healing wings" of the "Sun of righteousness," a text in this whole book of God, able to stand you in more stead, than this close of St. Peter's sermon: that our justification is more dependent on His resurrection, than His death itself, is sometimes clearly affirmed by St. Paul, Rom.iv.25. “He was delivered up for our offences, and raised again for Rom. viii. our justification." "It is God that justifieth, who is he that [33,] 34. condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen Heb. v. 9. again." And so for salvation itself, " And being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation,” Tedeιwbeìs, being consummate and crowned,—as τελείωσις ἀθλητοῦ is the crowning of martyrs,—or Teλeuwels, being consecrated to His great Melchisedech-priestly office,-as the context enforceth, and Teλecoûσat in the Septuagint imports,-in either sense a denotation of the resurrection of Christ peculiarly; and in this capacity considered, He became the airios σwτnpías, “the Author of our salvation:" but for all this compacted together, and the distinct explication of the manner how all this is wrought by Christ's resurrection, this is a felicity reserved, the peculiar prerogative of this text, brought out now and prepared for you, if you can but have patience till you see it opened. "God having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless," &c. In these words one fundamental difficulty there is, the clearing of which will be the first part of my task, and ground-work of my future discourse; and that is to enquire what is meant by sending Christ to bless, which when we have opened, there will remain but two particulars behind, the time of this sending, and the interpretation of this blessing; the time of this sending after His resurrection, God having raised up, sent Him. The interpretation of this blessing, or wherein it consists, "In turning every one," &c. |