we are still subject to relapses, and to looking back; Memento uroris Lot, Ipsa in loco manet, transeuntes monet, she is fixed to a place, that she might settle those, that are not fixed; Ut quid in statuam salis conversa, si non homines, ut sapiant, condiat? to teach us the danger of looking back, till we be fixed, she is fixed. When the prophet Elijah was at the door of desperation, an angel touched him, and said, Up, and eat"; and there was bread, and water provided, and he did eat; but he slept again; and we have some of those excitations, and we come, and eat, and drink, even the body and blood of Christ, but we sleep again, we do not perfect the work. Our rest here then, is never without a fear of losing it: this is our best state, To fear lest at any time, by forsaking the promise of entering into his rest, we should seem to be deprived. The apostle disputes not, (neither do I) whether we can be deprived or not; but he assures us, that we may fall back so far, as that to the church, and to our own consciences we may seem to be deprived; and that is argument enough, that here is no rest. To end all, though there be no rest in all this world, no not in our sanctification here, yet this being a consolation, there must be rest somewhere; and it is, In superna civitate, unde amicus non exit, qua inimicus non intrat“, In that city, in that Jerusalem, where there shall never enter any man whom we do not love, nor any go from us whom we do love. Which though we have not yet, yet we shall have: for upon those words, (because I live, ye shall live also") St. Augustine says, that because his resurrection was to follow so soon, Christ takes the present word, because I do live. But because their life was not to be had here, he says, Vivetis, you shall live, in heaven; not vivitis; for here we do not live. So, as in Adam we all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, says the apostle: all our deaths are here, present now; now we die; our quickening is reserved for heaven, that is future. And therefore let us attend that rest, as patiently as we do the things of this world, and not doubt of it therefore, because we see it not yet: even in this world we consider invisible things, more than visible; Vidimus 43 Augustine. 46 Augustine. 441 Kings xix, 5. 45 Hebr. iv. 1. pelagus, non autem mercedem", The merchant sees the tempestuous sea, when he does not see the commodities, which he goes for: Videmus terram, non autem messem, The husbandman sees the earth, and his labour, when he sees no harvest; and for these hopes, that there will be a gain to the merchant, and a harvest to the labourer, Naturæ fidimus, we rely upon creatures; for our resurrection, fidejussorem habemus coronatum; not nature, not sea, nor land, is our surety, but our surety is one, who is already crowned, with that resurrection. Num in hominibus terra degenerat, quæ omnia regenerat, says St. Ambrose, will the earth, that gives a new life to all creatures, fail in us, and hold us in an everlasting winter, without a spring, and a resurrection? Certainly no; but if we be content so to depart into the womb of the earth, our grave, as that we know that, to be but the entry into glory, as we depart contentedly, so we shall arise gloriously to that place, where our eternal rest shall be, though here there be not our rest; for he that shoots an arrow at a mark, yet means to put that arrow into his quiver again; and God that glorifies himself, in laying down our bodies in the grave, means also to glorify them, in reassuming them to himself, at the last day. SERMON XCII. PREACHED AT LINCOLN'S INN, PREPARING THEM TO BUILD THEIR CHAPEL. GENESIS XXviii. 16, 17. Then Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware. And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. In these verses Jacob is a surveyor; he considers a fit place for the house of God; and in the very next verse, he is a builder, he erects Bethel, the house of God itself. All was but a drowsi ness, but a sleep, till he came to this consideration; as soon as he awoke, he took knowledge of a fit place; as soon as he found the place, he went about the work. But to that we shall not come yet. But this text, being a preparation for the building of a house to God, though such a house as Jacob built then, require no contribution, yet because such churches, as we build now, do, we shall first say a little of that great virtue of charity; and then somewhat of that virtue, as it is exercised by advancing the house of God, and his outward worship; and thirdly we shall consider Jacob's steps, and proceedings, in this action of his. This virtue then, charity, is it, that conducts us in this life, and accompanies us in the next. In heaven, where we shall know God, there may be no use of faith; in heaven, where we shall see God, there may be no use of hope; but in heaven, where God the Father, and the Son, love one another in the Holy Ghost, the bond of charity shall everlastingly unite us together. But charitas in patria, and charitas in via, differ in this, that there we shall love one another because we shall not need one another, for we shall all be full; here the exercise of our charity is, because we do stand in need of one another. Dives et pauper duo sunt sibi contraria; sed iterum duo sunt sibi necessaria'; Rich, and poor are contrary to one another, but yet both necessary to one another; they are both necessary to one another; but the poor man is the more necessary; because though one man might be rich, though no man were poor, yet he could have no exercise of his charity, he could send none of his riches to heaven, to help him there, except there were some poor here. He that is too fat, would fain divest some of that, though he could give that to no other man, that lacked it; and shall not he that is wantonly pampered, nay, who is heavily laden, and incumbered with temporal abundances, be content to discharge himself of some of that, wherewith he is over-freighted, upon those poor souls, whom God hath not made poor for any sin of theirs, or of their fathers, but only to present rich men exercise of their charity, and occasions of testifying their love to Christ; who having given himself, to convey salvation upon thee, if that conveyance may be sealed to thee, by giving a little of thine 'Augustine, own, is it not an easy purchase? When a poor wretch begs of thee, and thou givest, thou dost but justice, it is his. But when he begs of God for thee, and God gives thee, this is mercy; this was none of thine. When we shall come to our redde rationem villicationis, to give an account of our stewardship, when we shall not measure our inheritance by acres, but all heaven shall be ours, and we shall follow the Lamb, wheresoever he goes, when our estate, and term shall not be limited by years, and lives, but, as we shall be in the presence of the Ancient of Days, so our days shall be so far equal to his, as that they shall be without end; then will our great merchants, great practisers, great purchasers, great contractors, find another language, another style, than they have been accustomed to here. There no man shall be called a prodigal, but only the covetous man; only he that hath been too diligent a keeper, shall appear to have been an unthrift, and to have wasted his best treasure, the price of the blood of Christ Jesus, his own soul. There no man shall be called good security, but he that hath made sure his salvation. No man shall be called a subsidy man, but he that hath relieved Christ Jesus, in his sick, and hungry members. No man shall be called a wise steward, but he that hath made friends of the wicked mammon; nor provident merchant, but he that sold all to buy the pearl; nor a great officer, but he that desires to be a door-keeper in the kingdom of heaven. Now every man hath a key to this door of heaven: every man hath some means to open it; every man hath an oil to anoint this key, and make it turn easily; he may go with more ease to heaven, than he doth to hell. Every man hath some means to pour this oil of gladness and comfort into another's heart; no man can say, Quid retribuam tibi Domine; Lord what have I to give thee? for every man hath something to give God: money, or labour, or counsel, or prayers: every man can give; and he gives to God, who gives to them that need it, for his sake. Come not to that expostulation, when did we see thee hungry, or sick, or imprisoned, and did not minister? Nor to that, Quid retribuam, What can I give, that lack myself? lest God come also to that silence, and weariness of asking at thy hands, to say, as he says in the Psalm, If I be hungry, I will not tell thee; that though he have given thee abundance, though he lack himself in his children, yet he will not tell thee, he will not ask at thy hands, he will not enlighten thine understanding, he will not awaken thy charity, he will not give thee any occasion of doing good, with that which he hath given thee. But God hath given thee a key: yea as he says to the church of Philadelphia, Behold I set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it'. Thou hast a gate into heaven in thyself; if thou beest not sensible of other men's poverties, and distresses, yet Miserere animæ tuæ, Have mercy on thine own soul; thou hast a poor guest, an inmate, a sojourner, within these mud walls, this corrupt body of thine; be merciful and compassionate to that soul; clothe that soul, which is striped and left naked of all her original righteousness; feed that soul, which thou hast starved; purge that soul, which thou hast infected; warm, and thaw that soul, which thou hast frozen with indevotion; cool, and quench that soul, which thou hast inflamed with licentiousness; miserere animæ tuæ, begin with thine own soul; be charitable to thyself first, and thou wilt remember, that God hath made of one blood, all mankind, and thou wilt find out thyself, in every other poor man, and thou wilt find Christ Jesus himself in them all. Now of those divers gates, which God opens in this life, those divers exercises of charity, the particular which we are occasioned to speak of here, is not the clothing, nor feeding of Christ, but the housing of him, the providing Christ a house, a dwelling; whether this were the very place, where Solomon's temple was after built, is perplexedly, and perchance, impertinently controverted by many; but howsoever, here was the house of God, and here was the gate of heaven. It is true, God may be devoutly worshipped anywhere; In omni loco dominations ejus benedic anima mea Domino; In all places of his dominion, my soul shall praise the Lord, says David. It is not only a concurring of men, a meeting of so many bodies, that makes a church; if thy soul and body be met together, an humble preparation of the mind, and a reverent disposition of the body, if 2 Rev. iii. 8. |