mandment. At the beginning of the sinner's sin, God bends his bow, and whets his arrows, and at last he shoots; but if there were no sin in me, God had no mark to shoot at; for God hates ho me, nor anything that he hath ruade. And further we carry hot your consideration upon thls first Lranch of our first part, natural]y man bath this logic, to conclude, where God strikes, God is angry; when God is angry, he wi]l strike; but God never strikes in such anger, but with relation to sin. These men of Malta, natural men, did so, and erred hot in so doing; they erred when they came to particulars, to hasty and inconsiderate applications, for that is uncharitableness, and constitutes our second branch of this part. When one of the consuls of Rome, Caninius, died the saine day that he was marie consul, Cicero would needs pass a jest upon that accident, and say, The state had had a vigilant consul of Caninius, a watchful consul, because he never slept in ail his consulship; for he died belote he -,vent to bed. But this -,vas justly thought a ïault in Cicero, for calamities are hot the subject of jests; they are hot so casual things. But yet, though they corne from a sure hand, they are not always evidences of God's displeasure upon that man upon whom they fall. That ",vas tho issue between Job and his friendsS; they relied upon that, pursued that which they had laid down, l?emember, whoever yerished being innocent, or wkere were the riyhteous eut off. Job relied upon that, pursued that whieh he had laid down; If I iustify mysdf, my own words shall eondemn me"; (self-justification is a self-eondenmation)IfIsa I am yetfeet, that also shall prove me perverse, say Job (no man is so far from purity and perfection, as he that thinks himself perfect and pure,) but yet, says ho there, Tho«gt I were perfect, this is one thing, and therefore I say it, God destroyeth the perfect and wicked. God's outward proceeding with a man in this world, is no evidence to anotller, what he intends him in the next. In no case. In no case, (on this side of revelation) for the world to corne. Till I be a judge of that man's person and actions, and being his judge bave clear evidence, and be not misled by rumours ïrom others, by passion, and prejudices in myself, I must pass no judgment upon him, in this t Job. iv. 7. Job ix. 20.
world, nor say, this fell upon him for this crime. But whats over my capacity be, or whatsoever the evidence, I must suspeud my judgment for the world to corne. Therefore says the apostle, Ju@e otMny bore te timon: vhen is the time When I aih nmde jude, nd vhen I have clea evidence, thon is the time to pss my judent tbr this world; but for final condemnation in the world m corne, the apostle expresses himseff tly in that place, Judge notMng bre te ti, until e Lord corne, .o bot .ig brinff fo liffht te Mdden rhino, of rkne**, and manoEt the un,el, of the eart. It was a wise and a pious counsel that Gamaliel gve tt state', Ab»tite, Forbear a while, give God s-room, give him his latitude, and you may find, that you miook at fir %r God bath divers ends in inflicting cMamities, and ho that judges hastily, may soon miske God's purpo. It is a markblo expressing which tho Holy Ghost bas put into tho mouth of aomi, Çall hot nw Aaomi, says she there; aomi is lo,ely, and loving, ad beMved; But call me 3Iara, says she, Mar is bitterness: But why so$ For, says she, The Almighty hath dealt e biturly with me: bitfly, and very bitterly. But yet so ho bath "with many that ho loves fl well. If is truc, says aomi, but there is more i my co than so; TeAlmiçAtyath aicUd me, and the Lord ath te, tfied again,t me; Testified, there is my misery; that is, done CHOU#, giron evidence enoug for others to believe, and fo ground a judet upon it, that ho hth abandoned me utterly, forsaken me for over. Yet God meant well fo Haomi for all this testifieation, and howsoever others might misinteret God's proceeding with ber. That ostracism which was practised amongst the Athenians, and that petali, m which was practised amongst the Syracusans, by which laws, the most eminent, and excellent persons in those ates were baished, hot for any crime imputed to them, nor for any popular practices set o foot by them, but fo conserve parity, and equMity in that smte, this o»tracim, this etalism, was hot without good use in those governments. If God will lay heviest calamities upon the best men, if God will exorcise an o»tracis»z, a petalism in his state, who shall search into his arcana imperii, into the secrets of his government. who shall ask a reason of his actions. who shall doubt of a good end in all his ways. Our Saviour Christ bath shut up that way of rash j udgment upon such occasions, when he says,,$'uppose ye, tat those Galileans u'hom Hrod dew, or tose eiyteen men u'om te fall of the tocer of,$71oam slew, rere yreater sinners tan the test »? It is hot satily, itis not charitably coneluded. And therefore he carries their thoughts as far on the other side, that he that suffered a calamity, was hOt only hot the greatest, but no sinner; for so Christ says, eitIer hatk this man sinned, nor his parente11; (speaking of the man that was born blind). Not that he, or his parents had not sinned; but that that calamity,vas not laid upon him, in contemplation of any sin, but only for an occasion of tho manifestation of Chrisçs divinity, in the miraeulous recovery of that blind man. Therefore says Luther excellently, and elegantly, on jndicandum de crce, secundum orwdicamentum uantitatis, sed relationis; We must hot judge of a calamity, by the predieament of quantity, how great that calamity is, but by the predicament of relation, to what God refers that calamity, and,vhat he intends in it; For, ])eus dtionem ])eus, (as t. Hierome reads that place TM) God is the God of reenye, and, ])eus dtionum libere ayit, This God of revenge, revenges at his own liberty, when, nd where, and how it pleases him. And therefore, as we are bound to ]nake good construetions of those correetions that God lays upon us, so are we fo make good interpretations of those judgments which he casts upon others. First, for ourselves, that which is said in St. Matthew, That at the day of judyment shall appear in hearen, the siyn of the 'on of man , is frequently, ordinarily received by the fathers, to be intended of the cross; That before Christ himself appear, his sign, the cross shall appear in the clouds. Now, this is not literally so, in the text, nor is it necessarily dedueed, but ordinarily by the ancients it is so accepted, and though the sign of the Son of man, may be some other thing, yet of this sign, the cross, there may be this good application, that when God affords thee, this manifes- o Luke xiii. 2. John ix 3. Plm xciil. I. Matt. xxlv. 30.
SER. XLVI.J UPON THE DK, ° OF ST. PAUL'S CONVEBS|ONo 341 festation o hls cross in the çaiciçation o those crosses and calamlties that he suffered here, when thou hast this sin of the Son of man upon thee, conclude to thyse that the Son o man Christ Jesus is coming towards thee; and as thou ht the sign, thou shalt bave the subance as thou hast his cross, thou shalt bave his glory. For this is that which the apole intends; Unto y s yre, (hot laid upon you as a punishment, but given you as a benefit) hot only to bdiee in Christ, bt to r for Christ '. Vhere, the apostle seems to mak« out crosses kind of ssurnc«, well as out fith; for so he armes, Not ontg fo bdiee, but to »er; for, howsoever faith be full evidence, yet out suffering is a new seM even upon tht faith. And an evident seul, a conspicuous, glorious seM. Quid gloriuo, quam collegam Christi in passione factura fidsse»? Vhat can be more glorious, than have been ruade a colleague, a paner vith Christ in his suffefings, and to have fulfilled his ffefings in my flesh. For that is the highest degree, which we tan ke in Christ's school, as St. Denys the Areopagite exprses it, A Deo doctus, non solum divina discit, sed dirina atitur, (xvhich we may well translate, or accommote thus,) He that is thoroughly taught by Christ, does not only believe ail that Christ sys, but conforms him to all that Christ did, and is ready to surfer as Christ suffered. Truly, if it were poesible to fear any defect of joy in heaven, ail that could fMI into my fear would be but this, that in heaven I tan no longer express my love by suffering for my G, for my Saviour. A greater joy cannot enter into my heart than this, to suffit for him that suffered for me. As God saw that way prosper in the hands of AbsMom, be sent for Joab, and Joab came uot «, he came hot when he sent a second time, but vhen he sent meengers to burn up his corn, then Joab came, and then he complied th Absalom, and seconded and aceomplished his desires: so God cMls us in his o outward ordinahees, and, a second time in his temporal blessings, and we corne hot; but we eome the sooner, if he burn out corn, if he draw us by aicting us. Now, we are able to argue thus in out o ces, and in out own behMfs, as when a vehement calamity lies upon me, I tan Phi. i. 29. » Can. « 2 Sain. v. 30.
2 PREACHED IN THE VEN|N( [tER. XLV| plead out of God's preceden, and out of his method be able te say, This will net lt: David w net ten yea in banishment, bt he enjoyed the kingdom foy : God will recompenoe my hours of sorrow, with days of joy; if the calamity be both vehement and lon, yet I can say th his bleed servant Augtine, Et cure blandis pater , et pater es cure cwdls, I feel the hand of a father upon mv when thou stroke me, and when thou stre me, I foel tho hand of doEciam, cwdis peream, I know thy meaning when thou strokest me, it is, lest I should faint under thy hand, and I know thy meaning when thou strik me, it is, lest I shod net know thy hand; If the wëight, and continuation of this calamity testify against me, (as 'aomi id) that is, givo others occion te think, and te speak iH of me, as of a man, for somo secret sins, foaken of God, stiH azianzen's refuge is my refuge, Hec mihi ntor, This is my meditation, 8i fala objicit convitiator, con ainyit, If that which mine enemy says of me, ho fahe, it concerns net me, he cannot mean me, it is net I that he ea of, I ara no such man; And then,,$i vera dicit, If that which he be true, it be net te bo true, then when ho id it, but truo when I did it; and therefore I mu blame myse for doing, net m for speaking it; If I tan arme th in no o case, and mine o beha, and net suect God's absence fm me, because he lays calaties upon me, let me be ao charitable towards another, and net conclude iH, upon accidents; for there is nothing 1, out of which, G, and s godly man cannot draw good. en John Huss w at the stake te be burnt, his eye xed npon a poor plain country feHow, whom he obseed te be bier than the test, and te run oener, te fetch more and more fagots te bu him, and he said thereupon no more but ts, 0 sanca simlicitast 0 holy simpcityt He meant that that man, being then under an inncible iorance, misled by that zeal, thought he did God serce in bning h. ut such an interetation 1 hardly be appliable any of these hasty and ineonsiderate judges of other men, that give y te their o pason for zeal, and uncharitableness are incompatible things; zeal and uncharitableness cannot consi together: 7 2 Sm. v. 4.
SEP.. XLV|.] UPON THE DA" OF ST. PAI;L't$ CONVERSION. 363 and there was evident uncharitableness in these men of Malta's proceeding, when, because the viper seized his hand, they condemned him for a murderer. It is truc, they saw a concurrence of circumstances, and that is always more weighty, than single evidenee. They saw a man who had been near drowning; yet he escaped that. They saw he had gathered a bundle of sticks, in which the viper was enwrapped, and yet did him no harm when it was in his hand; he escaped that. And then they saw that viper dart itself out of the tire again, and of all the company fasten upon that man. ]Vhat should they think of that man. In God's naine, vhat they would, te tho advancement of God's glory. They might justly have thought that God was working upon that ma.n, and had somo great work te de upon that man. ]Ve put no stop te zeal; we only tell you, vhere zeal determines; where unch- ritableness enters, zeal goes out, and passion counterfeits that zeal. God seeks no glory out of the uncharitable condemning of another man. And then, in this proceeding of these men, we justly note the slipperiness, the precipitation, the bottomlessness of uncharitableness, in judgrnent; they could consist nowhere, till they charged him with murder, Surel9 he is a murderer. Many crimes there were, and those cpital, and such as would have induced death, on this side of murder, but they stopped at none, till they came te the worst. And truly it is casy te be observed, in the ways of this world, that when men have once conceived an uncharitble opinion against another man, they are apt te believe frein others, apt te imagine in themselves any kind of ill, of that man; sometimes se much, and se falsely, as makes even that which is truc, the less credible. For, when passionate men will load a man with all, sad and equitable men begin te doubt whether any be truo; and a malefactor escapes sometimes by being overcharged. But I more net out of mine own sphere; my sphere is your edification, upon this centre, the proceeding of these men of Malta with St. Paul; upon them, and upon you I look directly, and I look only, without any glance, any reflection upoll any other object. And thereforo having said enough of those two branches which constitute our first part, that te argue out of God's judmlents, his displeasure, is natural, but then that natural logic shod determine in thc zeal of advancing God's glory, and hOt stray into an uncharitale condemning of particular persons, b cause in this uncharitableness there is such a slipperiness, such a precipitation, such a bottomlessness, as that these hasty censurers could stop nowhere till they came to thc highest charge; having said enough of this, we pass, in our order, to out second part, to that which they did; when they changed their minds, They chanyed their minds, and said he was a.qo& In this second paoe we consider first, the ineongruity of depending upon anything in this world; for aH will change. Men haro eonsidered usefully the ineongruity of building the Tower of Babel, in this, that to have erected a tower that should havc carried that height that they intended in that, the whde body of the earth, the whole globe, and substance thereof would hot have served for a basis, for a foundation to that tower. If ail the tituber of ail the forests in the world, ail the quarries of stones, ail the mines of lead and iron had been laid together, nay if ail the earth and sea had been petrified, and ruade one stone, ail would hot have served for a basis, for a tbundation of that tower; from whenee then must they have had their materials for ail the superedifications So to establish a trust, a confidence, sueh an acquiescenee as a man may rely upon, ail this world aflbrds not a basis, a foundation; for everhing in this world is fluid, and transitory, and sandy, and ail dependance, ail auranee built upon this world, is but a building upon snd; ail will change. It is true, that a fait reputation, a goed opinion of men, is, though hot a foundation to build upon, yet a fait stone in the building, and such a stone, as every man bound to provide himself of. For, for the most paa, most men are sueh, as most men take them to be %min omnes, nemo nesfoEeHit; Ail the wodd never joined fo deceive one man, nor was ever any one man able to deeeive ail the world. Contemptu tmw contemnuntur et irtutes, was so well said by Tacitus, as it is pity St. Augustine said it not; They that negleet the good opinion of others, negleet those viues that should produee that goed opinion. Therefore St. Hierome protests to abhor that Paratum de trivio, as ho ealls it, That vulga that street, that dunghill language, »atis mihi, as sEa. XLV[.] ceO TaS var Or ST. CAVes oeveOS. 845 long as mine own conscience reçroaches me of nothing, I care hot what ail the world ys. We mt care what the world sa)'s, and study that they may say 'ell of us. But when they do, though this be fair stone in the wa]], it is no foundation to build upon, for, tl ca9e teir minds. Vho dol our text does hot tell us who; the sto does hot tell us, of what quality and condition these men of Malta were, 'ho are here id to hare chaçqed their minds. Likeliest they are to bave been of the vulgar, the ordinary, the inferior of people, because they are likeliest to bave flocked and gathered together upon this occasion of Paul's shipwreck upon that island. And that kind of people are always justly thought to be mo subject to this levity, to chanye their minds. The greatest poet lays the eatest levity and change that tan be laid, to this kind of people; that is, I contraria, That they change eve from one extreme to another;,Sinditnr incertum studia i» contrarla rl-.qus. Vhere that poet does hot only mean, that the pple will be of divers opinions from one another; for, for the most part they are uot so; for the most pa they tlfink, and wish, and love, and hate together; and they do ail by example, as others do, an,l upon no other reason, but therefore, because others do. Seither w tht poet ever bound up by his words, that he should say b contraria, because a milder, or more modified wor«l would hot stand in his verse; but he said it, bause it is really truc, the pple will change into contra opinions; and whereas an angel itself cannot pass from ea to west, from extreme to extreme, without touching upon the way between, the people will pass from extreme to extreme, without any raidie opinion; last minute's murderer, is this minute's god, and in an instant, Paul, whom they sent to be judged in hell, is ruade a judge in heaven. The people will change. I the multit«de of eofle is the binfs honour; and therefore Joab ruade that prayer in the behalf of David, The Lord thy God add tnto thy eole, how many soever they be, a hundredfold ». But when David came to nber his people with a confidence in their number, God took away the ground of that confidence, and lessened their number seventy thoand in three days. Therefore as David cod say, I will hot s Prov. v. 28. 2 Sain. xxiv. 3.
be afraid OE ten thousand en ", so he should say, I wi not confide in ten thoand men, though multiplied; for they will change, and af such an ebb, the popular man will lie, as a whale upon the sn, deseed by the ride. We find in the Roman story, many examples (paicularly in Commodus" time, upon Cleander, principM gentleman of his chamber) of severe executions upon men that have coued the people, though in a way of charity, and ging them coin in a time of dearth, or upon like occasions. There is danger in getting them, occasioned by jealousy of others, there is diculty in holding them, by occasion of levity in themselves; therefore we must say with the prophet, Cursed be the man, that trusteth in man, and mketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord ". For they, the people, cill change their mid. But yet OEere is nothing in out text, that binds us to fix this levity upon the people only. The text does hot say, That there was none of the princes of the people, no eommanders, no magistrates present at this accident, and paners in this levity. either is it likely, but that in sueh place as Malta, an island, some persons of quality and eommand resided about the eoast, to reeeive and to give intelligence, and directions upon all emergent occasions of danger, and that some sueh were present at this accident, and gave their voiee both ways, in the exclamation, and in the acclamation, That he was a murderer, and that he was a yod. For, they cill change their minda; all, high as well as low, will change. A good statesman Polybius says, That the people are naturally as the sea; naturally smooth, and ealm, and still, and even; but then naturally apt to be moved by influences of superior bodies; and so the people apt to change by them who llavv a power over their affections, or a power over their wills. So says he, the sea is apt to be moved by storms and tempests; and so, the people are apt to change with rumours and windy por. So, the sea is moved, so the people are ehanged, sys Polybius. But Polybius might bave earried his politic eonsideration higher than the sea, to the air too; and applied it higher than to the people, to greater persons; for the air is shaked and transportvd with vapours and exhalations, as mueh the sea PI, iii, 6. tt Jet. xvii, 5.
BEI. XLV|. 1 UPON THE D.Y OF ST. PAULS CONVERSION. 47 with winds and storms; and eat men as much changed with ambitions in themselves, and flatteries from others, as inferior poeple witH influences, and impressions from them. Ail change their minds; high, as well as low, will chane. But I ara te Lord; I cae t . I, and only I hve that immunity, immutability; and therefore, says God there, Y sons Jacob arc ot coumd; therefore, because I, I who cannot change bave loved you; for they, who depend upon their love, who tan change, are in a wof condition. And that involves ail; all tan, ail will, ail do change, high and low. Therefore, If is boer to tru in the Lord, than to pttt oEdence in man '. What man Any man. It is bater fo trust in the Lord, tn to put cofldence in pritces". Vhich David thought woah the repeating; for he says if again, Ptt wt yo«r trust in prin '. Not that you may hot trust their royal wos, and graeious promises fo you; not that you may hot tst their courtsels, and executions of those counsels, and the distribution of your eontributions for those executions; hOt that you may hot trust the managing of affairs of state in their hands, thout jealous inquisitions, or suspicious mis-interpretations of their actions. In these you must trust princes, and those great persons whom princes trust; but when these great persons are in the balance with God, there they weigh a little, le men. Nay, as David hath ranked and dispod them, le; for thus he conveys that consideration,,çttrely men of low dçaree are anity"; that is sure enough; there is little doubt of that: men of low degree ean profit us nothing; they cannot pretend or promise to do good; but then ys David there, ]len (hlyk de#ree are a fie; they pretend a power, and a purpose to do us good, and then disappoint us. Many times men cannot, many times men will hot; neither tan we final in any but God himself, a constant power, and a constant will, upon which we may rely: the naen of Malta, of what rank soever they were, did; ail mon, low and high, will change their minds. Neither haro these men of Malta (consider them in what quality you will) so much honour afforded them, in the original, f. . 6. PI. cxfi. 8. Ver. 9. P. cx. 3. Pst. . 9.
as our translation hath giron them. We say, Tey canyed teir nind; the original says only this, Tey canyed, and no more. Alas, they, we, mon of this world, worms of this dunghill, whether basilisks or blind-worms, whether scarabs or silk-worms, whether high or low in the world, have no ninds to change. The Platonic philosophers did hot only aeknowledge aninam in ho- nine, a soul in man, but mentem in anima, a mind in the soul of man. They meant by the mind, the supefior faculties of the soul, and we noyer corne to exorcise them. Mon and women call one another ineonstant, and accuse one another of having ehanged their minds, when, God knows, they have but ehanged the objeet of their eye, and seen a botter white or red. An old naan loves hot the saine sports that ho did when ho was young, nor a siek man the saine meats that ho did when ho was well: but these mon bave hot ehanged their minds; the old man hath changed his faney, and the siek man his taste; neither his mind. The mind implies eonsideration, deliberation, conclusion upon promises; and we noyer conae to that; we noyer put the soul home; we noyer bond the sol up to her height; we noyer i»ut ber to a trial what she is able to do towards diseerning a temptation, what towards resisting a temptation, what towards repenting a temptation; we noyer put ber to trial what she is able to do by ber natural faculties, whether by them she cannot be as good as a Plato, or a Socrates, who had no more but those natural faculties; what by virtue of God's general grace, which is that providence, in which ho enwraps ail his creatures, whether by that she cannot know her God, as well as the ox knows his crib, and the stork her est; what by virtue of those particular graces, which God offers her in his private inspirations at home, and in his public ordinances here, whether by those she cannot be as good an hour hence, as she is now: and as good a day after, as that dy she receives the sacrament; we noyer put the soul home, we noyer bond the soul up to her height; and the extent of the soul is this mind. When David speaks of the people, ho says, Tey rnayine a cain,iny'; it goes no farther, than to the fancy, to the imagination; it noyer cornes so near the mind, as consideration, reflection, examination, they only imagine, ïancy a vain thing, s: Pal. il. 2.
ss. XLVr.] WON TH VA'," Or ST. AVI.'S CO¢V.RSXO.. 39 which is bnt a wking dream, t'or the t'ancy is the seat, the scene, the theatre oi" dreams. Vhen Davld speaks there oi" greatcr persons it carries it farther than so, but yet hOt to the mind; The rulers ta'e couael, says David; but hOt of the mind, not of reetified and religious reasou; but, Th.ey tali'e couttael together, says he; that is, of one another; they sit still and hearken what the rest will do, and they vill do accordingly. Nov, this is but a herding, it is hot an union; this is for the most part, a following of affections, and passions, which are the inferior servants of the soul, and uot of that, which we understand here by the mind, the deliberate resolutions, and executions of the superior facultie» thereof. Tey cated, says our text; hot their minds; there is no evidence, no appear_ance, that they exercised any, that they had any; but they changed their passions, lay, they have not so mueh honour, as that afforded theln in the original; for it is hot They chaçaed, but They were chaçqed, passively; lllen subject to the transportation of passion, do nothing of themselves, but are merely passi-e; and being possessed with a spirit of fear, or a spirit of ambition, as those spirits more them, in a minute their yea is nay, their smile is a frown, their light is darkness, their good is evil, their murderer is a god. These men of Malta ehanged, hOt their minds, but their passions, and so did hot change advisedly, but passionately were ehanged, and in that distemper, they said, He ia a yod. In this hasty acclamation of theirs, He ia a od, we are eome to that whieh was out principal intention in this part, That as man hath in him a natural logie, but that strays into fal]aeies, in uncharitable judgnlents, so man bath in hinl a natural religion, but that strays into idolatry, and superstition. The nlen of Malta were but mere natnral men, and yët were so far from denying God, as that they multiplied gods to themselves. The soul of man brings with if, into the body, a sense and an aeknowledgment of God; neither ean ail the abnses that the body purs upon the soul, whilst they dwell together, (whieh are infinite) divest that acknowledgment, or extinguish that sense of God in the soul. And therefore by what several names soex'er the old heathen philosophers called their gods, still they nleant all the
0 vil..Acnln IN THIi IVENIN{] [SEIo XLVIo saine God. Chrysippus presented God to the world, in the notion and al)prehension of Divina e«sita, That a certain divine necessity which lay upon eveything, that everything must necessarily be thus and thus done, that that necessity was God; and this, others bave called by another naine, destiny. Zeno presented God to the wor|d, in the notion and apprehension of I)ivina l«x; That it was not a constraint, a necessity, but a divine law, an ordinance, and sett|ed course t'or the administration of ail things; and this law was Zenos God; and this, others bave called by another naine, ature. The Brachmans, whch are the priests in the East, they present God, in the notion and apprehension of Dirina lux, That light is God; in which, they express themselves, hot to mean the tire, (which some natural men worshipped for God) nor the sun, (-hich was worshipped by more)but by their light, they mean that light, by xvhich man is enabled to see into the next world; and this we may xvell ca]] by a better naine, for it is/race. But still Chrysippus by his divine necessity, which is destiny, and Zeno by his divine ]aw, which is nature, and the Brachmans by their divine liht, which is /race, (thou/h they make the oporations of God, God) yet they ail intend in those divers names, the saine power. The natural man knows God. But then, to the natura] man, .ho is hot on]y finite, and determined in a compass, but narrow in his compass, not only not bottomless, but shallow in his comprehensions, to this natura], this finite, and narrow, and sha]low man, no burden is so insupportable, no consideration so inextricable, no secret so inscrutable, no conception so incredible, as to conceive one infinite God, that shou]d do ail things a]one, without any more/ods. That that power that establishes counse]s, that things may be carried in a constancy, and yet permits contingencies, that things shal] rail out casual]y, that the God of certainty, and the God of contingency shou]d be ail one God, that that God that settles peace, should yet make wars, and in the day of batt]e, should be both upon that side that does, and that side that is overcome, that the concluered God, and the victorious God, should be both one God, that that God who is ail goodness in himself, shou]d yet bave his hand in every iii action, this the natural man cannot die, not comprehend. And therefore the natural man cases himself, and thinks ho cases God, by dividing the burden, and laying his partieular necessities upon partieular gods. Henee came those enormous multiplieations of gods; Hesiod's thirty thousand gods, and three hundred Jupiters. Hence came it that they brought their ehildren into the world under one goal, and then put them to nurse, and then to sehool, and then to occupations and professions under other several gods. Henee came their Vayitanu», a god that must take eare that ehildren do hot burst with crying; and their Fabulanus, a god that must take este, that ehildren do hot stammer in speaking; henee came their telinus, and their Potinu»; a god tbat must teaeh them to go, and a god that must teaeh them to drink. So far, as that they came to make Febrem deam, to erect temples and altars to diases, to age, to death itself; and so, al1 those punishments, whieh out truc God laid upon man for sin, all out infirmities, they ruade gods. So far is the natural man from denying God, as tbat he multiplies them. But yet never did these natural men, the Gentiles ascribe so much to taeir gods, (except some very few of them) as they of the Roman persuasion may seem to do to their saints. For they linfited their devotions, and sacrifices, and supplications, in some certain and determined things, and those, for the most part, in this world; but in the loman church, they all ask all of ail, for they ask even things pertaining to the next world. And as they make their saints verier gods, tban the Gentiles do theirs, in asking greater things at their hands, so bave they more of them. For, if there be not yet more saints celebrated by name, than will make up Hesiod's thirty thousand, yet they bave more, in tais respect, that of Hesiod's thirty thousand, one nation worshipped one, another another thousand; in the Roman church, M1 worship all. And howsoever it be for the number, yet, saith one, we may lire to sec the number of Hesiod's thirty thousand equalled, and exceeded; for, if the Jesuits, who bave got twooftheir order into the consistory, (they bave bad two cardinals) and two of their order i nto heaven, (they have had two saints canonized) if they eould get one of their order into the chair, one pope; as we read of one general that knighted his whole army at once; so such a pope may canonize his whole order, and then Hesiod's thirty thousand would be literally fulfilled.
And, that, as we have donc, in the multiplication of their gods, so, in their superstition to their ereated gods, we may also observe a congruity, a eonformity, a concurrence between the heathen and the 1-{onlan religion; as the heathen east such all intimidation, such an infatuation, hOt only UpOll the people, but upon the princes too, as that in the story of the Egyptian kings we find, that whensoever any of their priests signified unto any of their kings, that it was the pleasure of his god, that he should leave that kingdom, md eonm up to him, that king did always without any contradiction, any hesitation, kill-himself; so are they eome so near to this in the I{olllall ehureh, as that, though they ealmOt infatuate sueh princes, as they are weary of, to kill themselves, yet when they are weary of princes, they eau infittuate other men, to those assassinates, of whieh our neighbour kingdom hath felt the bIoxv more than once, and we the off'er, aud the plotting more than many rimes. That that I drive to, in this consideration, is this, That sinee lllan is naturally apt to multiply gods to himself, we do with all Christian diligence shut up ourselves iii the belief and worship of onr one and only God; without adlnitting any more mediators, or intercessors, or advocates, in any of those modifications or distinctions, with which the later lllell have painted and disguised the religion of 1Lome, to nlake thenl the more passab]e, and without making any one step towards meeting thcm, in their superstitious errors, but adhere entirely to our only Advocate, and Icdiator, and Intercessor Christ Jesus; for he does no more need an assistant, in any of those offices, than in his office of Redeemer, or Saviour; and thcrefore, as they require no fellowredeemer, no fellow-saviour, so neither let us adroit any feIlowadvocate, fellov-mediator, filIow-intercessor in heaven. For why may hot that reason hold all the year, which they assign in the Roman church, for their forbearance of prayers to auy saint, upon certain days. Upon Good-friday, and Easter-day, and VVhit-sunday, say they, we must not pray to any saint, no not to the blessed Virgin, Quia Christus, et A'Tiritus A'act.us, sunt tune te»oris, sremi, et uMci advocati: beeause upon those days, Garantus in Rubr. Missal. par. i. tir. Lx. § Il.
Christ, and the Ho]y Ghost, are our principal, nay upon those days, out only advocates. And are Christ, and the Holy Ghost out of office a week after Easter, or after Vhitsuntide. Sinee man is natnrally apt to multiply gods, let us be Christianly diligent, to conelude ourselves in one. And then, since man is also naturally apt fo stray into a supersfifious worship of God, let us be Christianly diligent, to preelude ail ways, that may lead us into that temptation, or incline us towards superstition. In which I do hot intend, that we should decline ail such things, as had been superstitiously abused, in a superstitious church; but, lu ail such things, as being in their owunature indifferent, are, by a just commandmeu of lawful authority, become more than indifferent (uecessary) to us, though not necessitate medii, et ecessitate proecepti, (for, though salvation eonsist hot in eeremonies, obedienee doth, and salvafion eonsists mueh in obédience) that in all sueh things, w always inform ourselves of the right use of those thiugs iii their first institution, of their abuse with whieh they have been depraved in the Roman ehureh, and of the good use whieh is ruade of them in ours. That beeause pietures have been adored, we do hot abhor a pieture; nor sit at the sael-ament, beeause idolatry bath been eommitted tu kneeling. That ehureh, whieh they eall Lutheran, hath retaiued more of these eeremonies, than ours bath doue; aud ours lllOre than that whieh they eall Calvinist; but both the Lutheran, and ours, without dauger, beeause, in both places, we ar diligent to preaeh to the people the right use of these indiffereut things. For this is a true way of shutting ont superstition, hot always to abolish the thing itself, beeause in the right use thereof, the spiritual profit, and edifieation may exeeed th danger, but by preaehiug, and ail eonveuient ways of instruction, fo deliver people out of that ignorance, whieh possesses people in the Roman eaptivit.v. From whieh namral inclination of man, we raise this, bv way of conclusion of ail, that sinee man is lmturally apt to multiply gods to himself, and naturally apt to worship his gods supersfitiously, sinee there is a proneness to many gods, and to superstition, in nature, there cannot be so unuatural a thing, no sueh monster in nature, or against nature, as an atheist, that believes rOi,o ||o A no od. Fo', when we, we that are Christians, have reçroached this atleist, thus far, our way, Canst thou hot helieve one God such a debility, such a nullity in thy faith, as hot to believe one God we require no lnore, and canst thou hot do that, hot one wlen we, we that are Christians, have reproached him so far, the natural man ofwhose company he will pretend to be, will reproach hinl so mucll farther, as to say, Canst thou hot believe one Gode Ve, we who pmceed by the saine light that thou dost, believe a thousaud. So that the natural man is as ready, readicr than the Christian, to excommuuicate the athei; for, the athcist that denies all gods, does much more oppose the natm'al man, that believes a thound, than the Christian that believes but one. Poor intricated soul riddling, perplexed, labya'inthical soul! thou couldt no say, That thou believest hot in God, if there were no God; thou couldst hot believe in God, ifthere were no God; if there were no God, thou couldst not speak, thou couldst hot think, llOt a word, llOt a thought, no hot against God; thou couldst hot blaspheme the naine of God, thou couldst not swea', if there were no God: ir, ail thv thculties, however depraved, and perverted l»y thee, are 5'oto him; and except filOU callst seriouslv believe, that thou a't lmthing, thou canst hot believe that there is no God. If I should ask thee ata tmgedy, where thou shouldst see him that had drawu 1,1ood, lie weltering, and surrounded in his own b]ood, Is the'e a God now if thou couldst answer me, these are but inventions, and reprentations of nlcll, and I believe a God never the mo'e for this ¢ if I should ask thee at semn, where thon shouldst llear the judgments of God trmally denounced, and executed, re-denounced, and applied to present occasious, ]s there a God now If thou couldst answer me, o, these are but inventious of state, to SUl)l)le and regulate congregations, and keel» peol,lc in order, and I believe a God never the more fo" this; be as confident as thou canst, in company; for company is the atheist's sanctuary; I respite thee llOt till the day of judgment, when I may see thee upon thy knees, upon thy face, begging of the hills, that thcy would fall down and cover thee tom the tierce wrath of G0d, to ask thee then, Is there a God now I 'espite thee hOt 611 the day of thine o death,
R. XLVI.] UPON TllE DAY OF ST. PAULS8 CONVEISION. when thou shalt have evidence enough, that there is a God, though no other evidence, but to find a devil, and evidence enough, that there is a heaven, though no other evidence, but to lbel hell; to ask thee then, Is there a God now . I respite thee but , few hours, but six bours, but till miduight. Vake then; and then dark, and alone, hear God ask thee then, remember thut I asked thee now, fs there a God. and if tbou darest, say no. And then, as there is an universal atheist, an atheis over all the world, that believes no God, sois he also an atheist; over all the Christiaa world, that believes hot Christ. That which the apostle says to tbe Ephesians, Abs¢lw Christo, absque l)eo, As long as you were without Christ, you were witho«t God, is spoken (at least) fo all that have heard Christ preached; hot to believe God, so, as God hath exhibited, and manifested himself, in Son Christ Jesus, is, in St. PauFs acceptation of that word, atheism: and St. Paul, and he that speaks in St. Paul, is too good a grammarian, too reat a critic for thêe to dispute against. And then, as there is an univêrsal atheist, he that denies God, and a more particular atheist, he that denies Crist; so in a narrower, and)'et large sense of the word, thêre s an actual atheist, a practical atheist, who thongh he do pretend to make God, and Go(! in Christ the object of his faith, yet does not nmke Christ, and Christ in the Holy Ghost, that is, Christ working in the ordinances of his church, the rule and pattern of his actions, but lires so, as no man can believe that he believês in God. This universal atheist, that believes no God, the heavens, and ail the powers therein, shall condemn at tho last day; the particdar atheist, that believes no Christ, the glorious company of the apostles, that established the church of Christ, shall condemn at that day; and the practical atheist, the ungodly li'er, the noble army of martyrs, hat did, and suffered so much for Christ, shall then coudemn. And condemn him, hot only as the most impious thing, but as the most inhuman; hot only as the most ungodly, but as the most unnatural thing: for an atheist is hot only a devil in religion, but a monster in nature; hot only elemented and composed of heresies in the church, but of paradoxes, and absurdities in the world; natural men, the men of Malta, even barbarians, though subject to levity and changing their 2),2 minds, ye mke this thdr st act.fter their ehaue, to contitute a god, thouh in another extreme, yet in an evident and absolute averseness from atheism; Tey ¢an.aed teir mind, and s«id, e was « yod. And be this enough for the explication of the words, and their application, and complication to the celebra, tion of the day. The God of heaven rectif-¢ us in us our natural logic; that in ail his judgments we glorify God, without unchiritable condemning other men. The God of heaven sanctify to us our natural religion, that it bc never quenched nor damped in us, never blown out by atheism, nor blown up by an idolatrous multiplying of false, or a superstitious worship of our true God. Thc God of heaven preser,'e us in safety, by the power of the Father; in saving knowledge, by the wisdom of the Son; and in a peaceful unit)- of affections, by the love and goodness of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, bien and brethren, I ara a Pharisee, and the son of a Pharisee; of the hope and resurrection of the dead I ara called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was divided.
Vr consider ordinarily in the Old Testament, God the Father; and in the Gospels, God the Son; and in this book, the Acts, and in the Epistles, and the rest, God the Holy Ghost, that is, Goal in the government and administration of his church, as well in the ordinary nfinistry and constant callings therein, as in the extraordinary use of general councils; of which, we bave the model, and platform, and precedent in the fifteenth chapter of this book. The book is noted to bave above twenty sermons of the sEa. x[,w[.] coxv,[o. op st. »,u,. 857 apostles; and yet the book is not called the sermons, the preaching of the apostles, but the practice, the Acts of the Apostles. Out actions, if they be good, speak louder than out serinons. Out preaching is out speech, out good lire is out eloquence. Preaching celcbrates the Sabbath, but good lire mkes the whole week Sabbath that is, savour of test in the noEtrils of God, as it i8 said of 'oah's sacrifice , when he came out of the Ark. The book is called the Acts of the Apostle8; but says St. Chrysostom, and St. Hierome too, ]t lllght be called the Acts of St. Paul, so nlUCh more is it conversnt about him, thau ail the re8t. In which respect, t this time of the year, and in the8e days, when the church comnlemorates the conversion of St. Pau] I have, for divers year8 succe8sively in this place, deternfined my8elf upon this hook. Ouce upon the very act of his conversiolh in those words, b.tI,,bu/, u'y perecutest to me? Once upon his valedictiou to his Ephesians at Miletus, in those words, c I kno« that ail ye.all see my Jàce o more; and once upon the eseape ff'oto the viper's teeth, and the viperous tongue8 of those ineonstatt and clamorous beholder8, who first rashlv cricd out, II« [ a mur, brer, and ten canged teir minds, and said, I1« is « od. And now, for the service of your dev tions, an,l the advaneement of your edification, 1 have laid my nleditations upon thi, his stratagcm, and just avoiding of an mjust judgulent, II'ken PaM p«rcelr, d that one lmrt cere add«cees, «ud the otker Ph«rlsees, &e. In handling of whk'h words, beeause they have oeeasioned disputation, and a problem, whether this that Paul did, were well donc, to raise dissension atnont his judges, we shall stop first upon that eonsideration, that all the aetions of holy inen, of ast]es in the h'ew Testament, of patriarehs in the Old, are hot to be drawn into example and eonsequenee for others, no nor ahvays to be exeused and justified in them that did them; all actions of holy inen, are not holy; that is first. And seeondly, we shall eonsider this aetion of St. Paul, in some eireunstanees that invest it, and in some effeets that it produeed in out text, as dissension amongst his judges, and so a reprieving, or rather putting off of the trial tbr that rime; and these will determino » Gen, viii,
58 PREACllED ON" TIlE [Elt. XLVll. out second consideration. And in a third, we shall lodge ail these in ourselves, and make it out ovn case, and find that we hve ail Sadducees and Pharisees in out own bosoms, (contrary affections in out own hearts) and find an advautae in putting these home-Sadducees, and home-Pharisees, these contrary affections in out on bosoms, in colluctation, and opposition aainst one another, that they do hot combine, and unite themselves to out farther disadvantae a civil waï, is in this case, out wav to peace; when one sinful aflèction crosses another, we scape better, than when ail join. without any resistance. And in these three, first the eneral how we are to estimate ail actions, and then the particular, what we are to t|fink of St. Paul's action, and ltly the individunl, how we are to direct and reulate out own actions, we shall determine ail. First then thouh it be a saïer way, to suspect an action to be sin that is not than to presume an action to be no sin, that is so, yet that rule holds better in om'selves, than in other men for, in judn the actions of other men, out suspicion mav soon stray into an uncharitable misinterpretation, and we may sin il! condemning that in another, which was no sin in him that did it. But, in truth. Transilire lineam, To depart from the direct and straight line, is sin, as vell on the right hand. as on the left; and the devil makes his advantages upon the over-tender, and scrupulous conscience, as well as tq»on the over-confident, and obdurate; and manv men have erred as much, in justif.ving some actions of holy men, as in calumniating, or miscondenming of others. If we had hot es-idence in Scripture, that Abraham received that commandment from God, who could justit) Abraham's proceeding with his son Isaac. And theretbre who shall he afraid to call xNoah's drunkenness, and his indecent 1.ring in his tent, or Lot's di'unkenness, and his iterated incest with his daughters, or his inconsiderate offer to prostitute his daughters to the Sodomites, or to call David's complicated and multiplied sin, a sin. "Vheu the church celebrates Samson's death, thngh he killed himself, it is upon a tendér and holy sttpposition, that he might do this not without some instinct and inspiration front the Spirit of God. But howsoever the church interprets such actions, it is a dangerous and a fallacious way, for any private man to
.s. XLVn.] co.sv,sms OF St. .CL. 59 argue so, the Spit of God diected this man in many actions thcefore lu ail and dangerous to conclude at action to be good, either beeause he that did it had a ood purpose in doin it, or because me ood effects poceeded from it. Bonum 8che, are the two horses tbat nmst car T us to heaven; to do ood things, and to do them well; to popose good ends, and to go by ood ways to those ood ends. The midwives lie in the behalf of the Isaelites childen was fie, and sin, howsoever God, out of hs own goodness, found sometlfing in thei piety, to reward. I should hot venture to say, as he said nor to say tbat he said we]], when Moses said, Dele me, ç(/ire th ir sin, or blot me out f thy Book; nor w]len St. Paul said, Anathema pro fr«tribu», I eouM wi,h that myee'were elmrated fi'om Christ fr my brethren . I would hot, I eould hot without sin, be content that my naine should be blotted out of the Book of Lire, or tbat I should be separated from Christ, though ail the wovl,l beside were to ho blotted out, and separated, if I staved in. The henefit that we are to make of the errors of holy lnen, is hot that, that man did this, therefore I may doit: but this, God suflbred that holv man to rail, and vet loved that good soul well, God hath hot flmrefore cast me away, though he bave suffered me to fall too. Bread is man's best sustenance, yet there may be a dangerous surfeit of bread; charitv is the bread that the soul lires by; vet there mav be u surfeit of charity; I mav mislead myself shrewdly, if I say, Surely my father is a od man, my toaster good mal, my pastor a good man, men that hare the testimony of God's love, by his manifold blessings upon them; and therefi»re I mav be bold to do whatsoever I see them do. Be perf}ct, even a your F«ther which is in hearen, is pefect', is the example tbat Christ gives you. Be ye fi, llowers of me, as I ara OEChrist , is the example that the apostle gives you. Good examples are good assistanees; but no example of man is suffieient to eonstitute n certain and constant hale; ail the actions of the holiest man are hot holy. Henee appears the vanity and impemineney of that ealumny, with whieh our adverries of the Roman persuasion labour to « Exod. x. 32. om. . 3. Iatt. v. 48. ! Cor. .!.
3(0 IItEACHED ON "rHE [.'-;ER. XLVI|o oppress us, that those points in which we depart from them, cannot be well established, because therein we depart froln tho fathers; as though there were no condenmation to them, that pretended a perpetual adhering to the fathers, nor salvation fo tlaem, who snspected anv father of any mistaking. And they have thought that one thing enough, to discredit, and blast, and annihilate that great and useful labour, which the centuriators, the Magdeburgenses, took in compiling the ecclesiastical story, that in evcry age as they pass, those attthors bave laid out a particular section, a particular chapter, )e wris patrum, to note file mistakings of the fathers in every age; this they think a criminal and a heinous thing, cnough fo discredit the whole work; as though there wel'e ever in any age, anv tïatller, that mistook nothing, or that it were blasl,hemy against the Holy Ghost, to note such a inistaking. And yet, if those l,lessed fitthers, now in possession of heaven, be well affected with our cclebratiug, or iii, with our negleeting their works, certainlv they find nluch Illore cause fo comp]ain of out adversaries, than of us. Never any in the Reformation bath spoken so lightl.v, linS, so heavily; so negligently, ha.v, so diligently, so studiously in diminution of tbe fathers, as they have donc. One of the first Jesuits proceeds with modesty and ingenuity, and.vet says, Quolibet cctas anti- OEuitati detMit , Every age hath been apt to ascribe much to the ancient fathers; 1toc autem asserimus, says he, Juniores doctores Fer.¢lffcaciores, This we nmst necessarily acknowledge, that our later Inen have seen farther than the elder fathers did. llis fellow- Jesmt goes farther; 1Ioc omnes dieu»t, sed wn i)robant r, says he, speaking of one person in the genealogy of Christ, this the fathers say, says he, and later men too; Cati,olics, and heretics; all: but noue of them prove it; he will hot take their words, not file whole ehurch's, though they all agree. But a bishop of as lnuch estimation and authoritv in the Couneil of Trent, as any', goes much farther; being pressed with St. Augustine's opinion, he says, '¥c nos tantillum moreat 1 u.qustints, Let it never trouble us, whieh wav St. Augustine goes; Hoc enim illi]geculiare, says he, tt alium errorem exFuynans, alteri asam Frwbeat, for this is inseparable front St. Augustine, That out of an earnestness to destroy one error, he v,'ill establish another. Nor doth that bishop impute that distemper only to St. Augustine, but to St. Hierome too; of him he says, Itg medio Tositus certamine, ardore Jeriendi advertarios, premit et socios, St. Ilieronle lays about him, and rather than miss his enemy, he wouuds his friends aiso. But ail that might better be borne than this, TtoTiter err(o'unt pattes, The fathers fell tbully into errors; and this, l)etter than that, L'orum opinio, opinio bcereticorttm, The fathers (liflr hot ri'oto the hereties, concur with the heretics. Who iu the Retbrmation hath charged the fathers so far. And yet Baronius hath. If they did aot oppress us with this eahmluy of neglectitg, or ultdervaluing the fathers, we should hot make out recourse to this way of recriminatiou; for, (lod knows, if it be modestly done, aud with the revereuce, in mauy respects, dtm to them, it is no fault to say tlle ththers feil into some faults. Yet, it is rather our adversaries" observation thali ours, That ail the ancicnt fathers were Chiliasts, Millenarians, aud luaintaiued that error of a thousand years" temporal happiness Ul,«m this earth, between the resurrectiou, aud oui" actnal and eternal possession of heavcn; it is their observation rather than ours, That ail the aucient ththers denied the dead a fi'uition of the sight of God, till the day of judgment; it is theirs rather thau ours, That all the Greek fathers, and some of the Latin, assigned God's forekuowledge of man's works, to be the cause of his prêdc»tination. It is their note, That for the first six hundred years, the geueral opinion, aud general practice of the church was, to give the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, to infats newly baptized, as a thing necessary to their salvation. They have uoted, that the opinion of the ancient fathers was contrary to the preseut opinion in the chureh of Rome, concerning the conception of the blessed Virgin without original Sitl. These notes and imputations arise front their authors, and hot ri'oto ours, attd they bave told it us, rather than we them. Itdeed neither we nor thev can dissemble the mistakings of t]le fathers. The fathers themselres wou]d not hare. them dis- embled. De me, says St. ltierome, ubicunqne «le meo sê»st lo9«to', arguer me q«ffifbet, For my part, where.-_oever 1 deliver but mine oxvn opinion, evrv m:t h.th his lbertv to correct me. Itis true, St. Augustine does ca]l Julian the Pelagia to the fathers; but if is to vindicate and redeem the fathers from those calunmies which Ju]ian had laid upou them, that thev were lultitt«do cwcort«t, a herd, a swarm of blind guides, and followers of one another, and that they were Cospifatio Terditort«m, damned conspiratol's against the truth. To set the fathers in their truc light, and to restore them to their lustre and dignity, and to make Julian confe what reverend persons they were, St. Augustine calls him fo the consideration of tlle fathers, but hOt fo try matters of faith by them alone. For,,i«pie«tiam sibi adimit, tt [ sbw jt«dicio m,çorum i eta l,robat', that man divests himself of ail discretion, who, without examination, captivates his understanding to the fathers. It is ingenuously said by one of their later writers, (if he would but give us leave to say so toe),ççqt«amr«r patres, tanuam d,«ces, on ta»quam dombws ", Let us follow the fathers fides, not as lords over out understandings, as counsellors, not as commanders. It is too nmch to say of any father that which phorus says of St. Chrysostom, In iYits peride arque in Del verbis qt«iesco, I ara as sale in Chrysostom's words, as in the word of God; that is too much. ]t is too much to sav of any father that which Sophronius says of Leo, that his epistles were Divim &.ript«ra, t,tqr«a»t ex ore P«tri rob«ta, et.fitdame«tt«m.fldei, That he received the epistles that Leo writ, as holy writ, as written by St. Peter hinself, and as the foundatiou of his fath; that is too much. It is too much to say of St. Peter himself that which Chrysologus says, That he is Immobile.f«»dametum salutis, The ilmnovable fouudation of our salvation, et mediator wster apttd Det«m, the mediator of man to God. Their Jesuit Azorius gives us a od caution hereiu; he says It is a good and sale way, in ail emergent doubts, to go-el'n ourselves per comwunem opbffonm, bv the common opinion, by that, in which most authors agree; but says he, how shall we kuow which is the common opinion Since, hOt only that is the common opinion in one age, that is not so in another, (the conllion opinion vas in the primitive church, that the blessed Virgin was con- Lacntim. ¢Cajet.
ceived in original sin. the common opinion now, is that she was hot) but if we consider the saine age, that is the common opinion in one pace, in one country, which is hot so in another place, at the saine time; that Jesuit puts his example in the wor»hip of the cro of Christ, and says, That, at this day, in Germany and in France it is the common opinion, and Catho]ic divinity, that Xapet%, Divine worhip, is hOt due to the cross of Christ; in ]taly and in Spain it is the common opinion, ad Catholic divinity, that it is dte. Now, how shall he overn himself, that is unlearned, and hot able to try, which i the common opinion Or how shall the ]em'nedest of all govern himself if he bave occasion to trvel, but to change his divinity, as often as he changes his coin, and when he turns his Dutch dollars into pistolets, to go out of Germany, iuto Spin, tnrn his devotion, and his religious worship according to the clime$ To end this consideration, the holy ratriarchs in the Old Testament, were holy men, though they strayed into some sinful actions; the holy ththers in the primitive chnrch, were holy men, though they strayed into some crroneous opinions; but neither are the holiest men's actions always holy, nor the soundest father's opinions always sound. And therefore the question bath been hOt impertinently moved, whether this that St. Paul did here, were justifiably done, WIw, cltet l,e perceiïed tltat one ptrt were,Sktdducees, and te ot]er Par]sees, c. And so we are corne to our second part, from the consideration of actions in general, to this particular action of St. Paul. In this second part we make three steps. First, we shall consider, what council, what court this was, before whom St. Paul was convented, (IIe cried ot in te cotwiL says the text) wheflter thcy were his competent judges, and so he bound to a clear, and direct proceeding with them; and secondly, what his end and purpose was, that he proposed to himself; which was to divide the judges, and so to put off his trial to another day; for, when he had said that (says the text) that that he had to say, Tlere arose a dissension, and the muhitude, AI1, both judges, and spectators, and witnesses, were dieided; and then ]astly, by what way he went to this end; which was by a double protestation, first that, 2[t,t and bretltret, I cm a Phorisee; and then that, ortie ope end reauretion te dead, I am ecdled in First then, for the emnpeteuey of his judges, whether a man b examined belote a eompetent judge or no, he may hot lie: we ean put no case, in which it may be lawful for any man to lie fo any man; hot to a midnight, nor to a noon thief, that breaks my house, or assaults my person, I mav nt lie. And though many bave put names of disguise, as equivoeations, and reservations, yet they are ail ehildren of the saine father, the father of lies, tho devil, and of the sanie bmod of viper, they are lies. To an ineompetent judge, if I be interrogated, I must speak truth, if I speak; but to a eompetet judge, I must speak: with the ineompetent I nmy not be fal»e, but with the eompetent, I may hot be silent. Çertainly, that stauding mute af the bar. whieh, of late rimes hath prevailed upon many ditempered wretehes, is, in itselt so partieularlv a sin, as that I shouhl hot venture to absolve anv such person, nor to admhfister the saerament to him, hov earnestly soever he desired it at Iris death, how penitently soever he eontçssed ail his other sine, exeept he repented in partieular, that sin, of having stood rente and retsed a just trial, and would be then content to submit hilnself to it, if that thvour nfight possibly af that rime be aflbrded him. To au incoml»etent judge I must hOt lie, but I lnay be silent, to a COml)etent I must answer. Cnsider we tben the competency of St. Paul's judges, what this council, this court was. It was that COUlcil, which is so oen in the New Testament called «vvdptov, and in out translation, the comcil. The Jews Fpeak much of their Zex orals, their oral, their traditional law; that is, That exposition of the law, which, say they, Moses received from the mouth of God, without writing, in that fortv days' conversation which he had xvith God, in thc Mount; for, it is not probable, say they, that hIoses should spend foy days in that, which another man would bave done in one or two, that is, in receiving only that law which is written: but he received an exposition too, and delivered that to Joshua, and he to the principal men, and according to that exposition, they proceeded in judgment, in this council, in this their s/nedrion. Which council having had the first institution thereof, where God said to hloses, G«tt" ne seren me of te
66 IEACn» ON THE [nER. XLVlI. judicatur; So, Testimonium dicit, et «le eo dicltur, He may go from the beneh, and be a witnenn against any man, and he may be put from the beneh, and any man's witness be reeeived against him. But then of the king, itis an expres.]y raid, of rhin eouneil, in that Talmud, Nec judicat, nec judicatur, The king sits in judgment upon no man, lent his presenee should intimidate an aeeused person, or draw the other judges from their own opinion to his; much less eau the king be judged by any; _'ec testimonium dicit, tec de eo dicitur, The king descends hot tobe . witness against any man, neither can any man be a witness against him. It was therefore mischievously, and seditiously, and treacherously, and traitorously, and (in one comprehensive word) papistically argued by Baronius, that this couucil was above the king. But above ail other persons it was; in some cases, in file whole botly of the council; for, matters of religion, innovations in points of doctrine, imputatious upon great persons in the church, were hot to be judged bv any selected COlmnittee, but by the whole council, the entire body, the seventy; pecuniary matters, and matters of detïm,.ation, might be determined by a committee of any three; matters that induced bodily punishments, though it were but fla.ellation, but, whipping matter, hot under a committee of twentv-three. But so were ail persons, and all causes distributed, as that that court, that cotmcil had cognizance of ail. So that then St. Paul was belote a competent and a proper judge, and therefore bound to answer did he that. That is our next disquisitiou, and out second consideration in this part, his end, his purpose in 1,roceeding as he did. His end was to dissolve the council for the present. He saw a tunmltuary proceeding; ibr. as the text says, he was fain fo cr. out in te council, before he could be heard. He saw the president of the council. Ananias the high priest, so ill-aflicted towards him, as that he commanded him extra-judicially to be smitten. He saw a great part of his judges, and spectators, amongst whom were the witnesses, to be his declared enemies. He saw that if he proceeded to a trial then, he perished infallibly, irrecoverably, and therefore desired to put off the trial for that time. He did hot deny nor decline the jurisdiction of that court; he had o
8ERo XLVII.] CONVEItSlON OF ST° PAUL. 367 eye to any foreign prince, nor prelate: there are amongst us that do so; that deny that they can be traitors, though they commit treason, because they are subjects to a foreign bishop, and hot to their natural king; St. Paul did not do so. He did hot calumniate nor traduce the proceedings of tlmt court nor put into the people ill opinions of their superiors, by lying aspersions upon them; there are that do so; St. Paul did hot. But his end and purpose was only to put off the trial for that time, till he might be received to a more sober, and ca]m, and e(lUitab]e hearing. And this certainly was no ill eud, so his way were good. VChat was flat . That is out next, out third and last consideration in this part. His way was by a two-fold protestation; the first this, x]le and bretren, I ara a Pharisee. The Pharisees were a sect anmngst the Jews, who are ordinarily conceired to bave received their naine from divisiou, from separation, from departing ri'oto that liberty, which other men did take, to a stricter form of lire. Of which, anmngst many others, St. Hierome gives us this evidence, that the Pharisees would fringe their long robes with thorns, that so they might cut, and tear, and mangle their heels and legs as they went, in the sight of the people. Ontward mortification and austerity was a specious thing, and of great estimation amongst the Jews: you may see that in John Baptist: who was as much followed, and admired for that, as Christ for his miracles, though.Iohu B,ptist did no miracles. For extraordinary austerity is a continual miracle. As St. Hierome says of chastity, H«,bet serrata p«dlcitia mart!/rlum sutm, Chastity is a continual martyrdom; so to surrender a man's self to a continual hunger, and thirst, and col& and watching, and forbearing all which all others enjoy, a continual mortification is a continual miracle. This ruade the Pharisees gracious and acceptable to the people: therefore St. Paul doth hot make his protestation here only so, That he had bee» as touchi.q the law, a Ph«rlsee , uor as he makes it in this book, After te strlctest sect " o«r reli.aio, I lired a P)arisee ', that is, heretofore I did, but now, after his conversion, and after his apostolical commission, he makes it,/1/e ad brethre». I ara a Parisee. « Phil. iii. 5. Acts xxvi. 5.
368 VR:Ac»:u o.,¢ u [ss. XLW[. Beloved, there are some things in which ail religions agrce; the worship of God, the ho]iness of life; and therefore, if when I udy this ho]iness of ]ife, and fast, and pray, and submit myself to discreet, and medicinal mortifications, for the subduing of my body, any man will say, this is papistical, Papists do this, it is a blessed protestation, and no man is the less a Protesnt, nor the worse Protestant for making it, men and brethren, I ara a Papist, that is, I will çst and pray as much as auy Papist, and enaLle mvself for the service of my God, as seriously, as sedulously, as ]aboriusly as auy Papit. So, if when I startle and ara aflècted at a Llasphemous oath. as at a wouud uuon my Saviour if when I avoid the conversation of those men, that profane the Lord's day, any other will say to me, This is puritanical, Puritans do this, it is a blessed protestation, and no man is the le»s a Protesnt, nor the worse a Protestant for makiu it. len and brethren, I ara a Puritan, that is, I will endeavo to be pure, as mv Father in heaven is pure, as far as anv Puritan. 'ow of these Pharisees, who were bv these means so popar, the numbers ere very reat. The Sadducees, who also were of an exemplary holiness in some thins, but in many and impornt thius of dierent opinlons even in matters of religion, from aU other men, were hot so many in numLer, but they were men of better quality and place in thc state, than, for the most part, the Pharisees were. And as they were more potent, and able to do more mischief, so had they more declare themselves to be bent against the apostles, than the Pharisees had done. In the fourth chapter of thi book ", The Priets ad the (no mention of Pharisees) came «pon P«t«r and John, beiq rieed, that they preachd, throah J«su. the reurrection the «lead. And so again, The h(qh prient rose «, a#d ail they that ere with hin, hich is (says that text expressly) the sect the,Sad«luce, and were fillêd with indignation '. And some collect out of a place in Eusebi, that this Anauias, who w high priest at this rime, and had declared his ill affection to St. Paul, ( you heard before) was a Sadducee: but I think those words of Eusebius will hot bear, at let, hOt enforce that, nor be well applied to ts Ananias. Howsoever, St. Pa had just cauoe to « Ver. 2. » Ac v. 17.
sa. xvL] covaso. o» ST. P.W.. 69 corne to this protestation,! m a Parisee, and in so doing he can be obnoxious to nothin; if he be as sale in his other proteoeation, ail is well, fir te ope and resurrectiw ortie dead, a I call«d h» 7vestion.; consider we that. It is trne, that he was hot, at this time, called in question, directly and cxpressly for te esurrectiw,; yo may see, where he was apprehended, that it was for teackiy ayainst thatpeole, and a9ainst that law, and agaist that tenp& . So tha, he vas indiced upon pretenee of sedition, and profanation of the temple. And thefore, when S. Paul savs here, I an called iz questio r preachizz9 the Resttrrectioz, he means this, If I had no prehed the resurreetion, I should never have been ealled in question, nor should be, if I xvould forbear preaching the resurrtion; no man persecutes me, no man appears againsg me, bug only they tha deny ho resurrection; the Saddueees did deny it; the Pharisees did believe it; and therefore this was likely and a laxçul way to divide hem, and to gain time, with sueh E purpose, (so far) as David had, when he prayed, 0 Lord, diride their to9ues t. For it is nog always unlawful o sow diseord, and to kindlo dissension among men; for men may agree oo well, to ill purposes. So bave ye then seen, that though ig be hOt safe to eonelude, St. Paul, or any holy man did this, therefo I may do ig, (which was our fit par yet in this whieh St. Paul did here, there was nohing that may nog be justified in him, and imigated by us, (which was out sond pa) remains only the third, which is ghe accommodation of this fo out present rimes, and the appropriation hereof o ourselves, and making i or OW cas. The world is fll of Sadducees, and Pharisoes, and the truc church of God, arrained by both. The Sadducees were the greater men, tho Pharsees were the reater nmer; so they aro still. The adduoees denled te resurrectio, ad açels, spirits; so they do still. For those Sadducees, whom we consider now, in this pa, are mere carnal men; men that bave hot only no spirit of God in them, but no sou], no spirit of their own; mere atheists. And this carnality, this atheism, this Saddueism is seen in some countries to prevail most upon great 0 Acts xxi. 2. t Psal. Lv. 9. YOL. 11. 2 B persons, (the Sadducees were great persons) upon persons that abound in the possessions, and offices, and honours of this world; for they that bave most of this world, for the most part, think ]east of the next. These are out present Saddcees and then the Pharisee bath his naine from Paras,,vhich is division, separation; but Calvin derives the naine (hot inconveniently) from Paras/z, which is exposition, explication. We embrace both extractions, and acceptations of the,vord, both separation and ca'position; for the Pharisee whom we consider now, in this part, is hi that is seæarated from us, (there it is Plaras, separation) and separated by following private expositions, (there it is Parash, exposition) with a contempt of all antiquity; and hot only an under-va]uation, but a detestation of ail opinions but his own, and his, whom he hath set up for his idol. And as the Sadducee (out great and worldly man) is all carnal, all body, and believes no spirit: so our Pharisee is so super-spiritual, as that ho believes, that is, considers nobody; he imagines such a purification, sueh an angelifieation, such a deification in this lire, as though the heavenly Jerusalem were descended already, or that God had given man but that one eommandment, Love God abore all, and not a second to, Lofe th!! nei,.dbour as thysel: Out Sadducees will have all body, out Phansees all soul, and God hath ruade us of both, and given us offices proper to each. Now of both these, the present Saddttcee, the carnal atheist, and the present Pharisee, the separatist, that overvalues himself, and bids us stand further ofl there are two kinds. For, for the atheist, there is David's atheist, and St. Paul's atheist David's, that ascribes all to nature, and says in is eart, TIwre s o God; that will call no sudden death, nor extraordinary puuishment upon any enormous sinner, judment of God, nor any such deliveranee of his servants, a miracle from God, but ail is nature, or ail is accident, and would have been so, though there had been no God: this is nature's Saddueee, David's atheist; and then St. Paul's atheist is he, who though he do believe in God, yet doth not believe God in Christ; for so St. Paul says to the Ephesians, tbsçue Cltrito, absçue Deo, If ye bo " Psal. xiv. 2.
witout Crit, ye re wito«t Go=L For as if is te me absurdity in nature, fo say, There is no sun, and to say, This that you call the sun is hOt the sun, this that shines out upon you, this that produces your fruits, and distinguishes your seasons, is noE the sun: sois it the me atheism, in these days of light, to y, There is no od, and to y, this Christ whom you eall the Son of (od, is hot God, that he in whom God hath manifesd himself, he whom God had marie head of the church, and Judge of the world, is hOt God. This then is out double Sadducee, David's atheist that bdieves hOt God, St. Paul's atheist tha bdieves hot Cist. And as o Sadducee is, so is out Pharisee two-fold also. There is a Pharisee, that by following private expositions, separates himself from out church, principally for mater of government and dioeipline, and inanes a church that shall be deftive in notlling, and does hOt only think himselfto be of that church, but sometimes to be tha church, for none but hitnself is of that persuasion. And there is a Pharisee that dams of such an union, such an identification with God in this lire, as that he understands ail things, hOt by benefit of the senses, and impressions in file fancy and imagination, or by discourse and tiocination, as we poer souls do, but by immediate, and continual inthsions and inspirations from (od himseff; that he loves God, hOt by participation of his successive grace, more and more, as he receives more and more grace, but by a communication of God himself to him, entirely and irrevocably; that he shall be withou/any need, and above ail use of Scriptures, and that the Scriptures shall be no more to him, than a catechism to out eatest dtors; that ail that God commands him to do in this world, is but as an easy walk doxxm a bill; that he can do ail that easily, and as much more, as sha make God beholden to him, and bfing God into his debt, and that he may assign any man to whom God a pay the arrearages due fo him, that is, appoint Goal upon what man he shaH confer the benefit of his works of supererogation; for in such propositions as these, and in such radoxes as these, do the authors in the Roman church delight es Ephes. ri. 12. 2B2 to express and celebrate their Phariical purity, as we find it frequently, abuudantly in theln. In a word, some of out home-Pharisees will say, that there are some, who by benefit of a certain election, cannot sin; that the adulteries and blasphemies of the elect, are hOt sins; but the ]ome-Pharisee will say, that some of them are hot only without sin in themselves, but that they can save others from sin, or the punishment of sin. by tbeir works of supererogation; and that they are so united, so identified with God a|ready, as that they are in possession of the beatifical vision of Goal, and sec him essentially, and as he is, in this lire: (for that Ignatius the father of the Jesuits did so, some of his disciples say ', it is at least probable, if not celoEain) and that they have donc all that they had to do for their own salvation, long ago, and stay in the world now, only to gather treasure for others, and to work out their salvation. So that these mon are in better state in this lire, than the saints are in heaven; thcre, the saints may pray for others, but they cannot merit for others; these men here tan merit for other men, and work out the salvatiol| of others, lay, they may be said in some respect to exceed Christ himself; but Christ did save no man here, but by dying for him; these men save other men, with living well for them, and working out their salvation. These.are our double Sadducees, and our double Pharisees; and now, beloved, if we would go so far in St. Paul's way, as to set this two-fold Saddueee, David's atheist, without God, and St. Paul's atheist, without Crist, against our two-fold Pharisee, our home-Catharist, and our Rome-Catharist, if we would spend all our wit, and all our rime, all our ink, and our gall, in showing them the deformities and iniquities of one another, by out preaehing and writing against them, the truth, and the true church nfight (as St. Paul did in our text) seape the better. But when we (we that diflbr in no- sueh points) tear, and wound, and mangle one another with opprobious contumelies, and odious names of subdivision in relion, our home-Pharisee, and out Rome-Pha, risee, maligners of our discipline, and maligners of our doctrine, gain upon us, and make their advantages of our contentions, and 8andoeus Theolog. par. i. fo. 760.
both the Saddueees, David's atheist that denies God, and St. PauFs atheist that denies Christ, join in a scornful asking us, lVhere is now your God. Are hot we as 'ell that deny him absolutely, as you that profess him with wrangling . ]But stop we the floodgates of this consideratioa; it would melt us into tears. End we all with this, that we h3ve all, ail these, Sadducees and Pharisees in out own bosoms: Sadducees that deny spirits; carn31 apprehensions that are Ept to say, Is your God ail spirit, and hath bodi]y eyes to see sin. Ail spirit, and bath bodily hands to strike tbr sin. ]s your soul ail spirit, and bath a fleshly heart to fear. Ail spirit, and bath sensible sinews to feel a material tire. Vas your God, who is all spirit, wounded when you quarrelled . Or did your soul, which is all spirit, drink when you were drunk. ins oï l)resumption, and carnal confidence are out Sadducêes; and then out Pharisees are oto" sins oï separation, of division, of difSdence and distrust in the mercies of our God; when we are a]»t to say, after a sin, Cares God, who is all spirit, for my elo¢luent prayers, or for my passionate tears. Is the giving of my goods to the poor, or of my body to the tire, anything to God who is ail spirit. My spirit, and nothing but my spirit, nly soul, and nothing but my soul, must satisfy the justice, the anger of God, and be separated from him for ever. My Sadducee, my presumption, suggests, that there is no spirit, no soul to surfer for sin; and my Pharisee, my desperation, suggests, that my soul must perish irremediably, irrecoverably, for every vin that my body commits. Now if I go St. Paul's way, fo put a dissension between these my Sadducees, and my Pharisees, to put a jealousy between my presumption and my desperation, to make my presumption see, that my desperation lies in wait for her; and to consider seriously, that my presumption will end in desperation, I may, as St. Paul did in the text, scape the better for that. But if, without ïarther troubling these Sadducees and these Pharisees, I be content to let them agree, and to divide my life between them, o as that my presumption shall possess all my youth, and desperation mine age, I bave heard my sentence already, Te ed of tld man will be worse t]an Iris beyimiy, hov much soever God be incensed with me, for my presumption at first, he will be
7 CONVEIqSION OF ST. PAUL. [SlZR. XLVII. rnuch more inexorable for my desperation at last. And therefore interrupt the prescription of sin; break off" the correspondence of sin; unjoint the dependency of sin upon sin. Bring every single sin, as soon as thou cornrnittest it, into the presence of thy God, upon those two legs, confession, and detestation, and thou shalt sec, that, as, though an entire island stand firrn in thi ses, yet a single clod of earth cast into the ses, is quickly washed into nothing; so, howsoever thine habitual, and custornary, and concatenated sins, sin enwrapped and cornplicated in sin, sin entrenched and barricadoed in sin, sin screwed up, and rivetted with sin, rnay stand out, and wrestle even with the mercies of God, in the blood of Christ Jesus; yet if thon bring every single sin into the sight of God, it will be but as a clod of earth, but as a grain of dust in the ocean. Keep thy sins then frorn rnutual intelligence; that they do hot second one another, induce occasion, and then support and disguise one another, and theu, neither shaLl the body of sin ever oppress thee, nor the exhalations, and darnps, and vapours of thy sad soul. hang between thee, and the mercies of thy God; but thon shalt lire in the light and serenity of a peaceable conscience here, and die in a fair possibility of a present rnelioration and improvement of that light. Ail thy lire thon shalt be preserved, in an oriental light, an eastern light, a rising and a growing light, the light of grace; and st thy death thou shalt be super-illustrated, with a rneridional light, a south light, the light of glory. And be this enough for the explication, and application of these words, and their complication with the day; for the jnstifying of St. Patd's stratagem in himself, and the exernplifying, and imitation thereof in us. lmen. That God that la the God of peaee, grant us his peaee, and one mind towards one another; that God that is the Lord of Hosts, maintain in us that war, whieh himself hath proelairned, an enmity betxveen the seed of the wornan, and the seed of the serpent, between the truth of God, and the inventions of rnen; that we rnay fight his battles against his enemies without, and fight his battles against our enernies within, out own eorrnpt affections; that we rnay be vietorious here, in ourselves, and over ourselves, and triurnph with him hereafter, in eternal gloD-.