And "we have received (saith the apostle), not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are given to us of God; which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost doth teach." This is that which the prophets mean by those books written full within and without; which books were so often delivered them to eat, not because God fed them with ink and paper, but to teach us, that so oft as he employed them in this heavenly work, they neither spake nor wrote any word of their own, but uttered syllable by syllable, as the Spirit put it into their mouths, no otherwise than the harp or the lute doth give a souud, according to the discretion of his hands that holdeth and striketh it with skill. The difference is only this: an instrument, whether it be a pipe or harp, maketh a distinction in the times and sounds, which distinction is well perceived of the hearer, the instrument itself understandeth not what is piped or harped. The prophets and holy men of God not so: "I opened my mouth (saith Ezekiel), and God reached me a scroll, saying, Son of man cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this I give thee; I ate it, and it was sweet in my mouth as honey," saith the prophet; (Ezekiel iii.) yea, sweeter, I am persuaded, than either honey or the honey-comb. For herein they were not like harps or lutes, but they felt, they felt the power and strength of their own words. When they spake of our peace, every corner of their hearts was filled with joy. When they prophesied of mourning, lamentations, and woes to fall upon us, they wept in the bitterness and indignation of spirit, the arm of the Lord being mighty and strong upon them. 5. On this manner were all the prophecies of Holy Scripture. Which prophecies, although they contain nothing which is not profitable for our instruction; yet as one star differeth from another in glory, so every word of prophecy hath a treasure of matter in it but all matters are not of like importance, as all treasures are not of equal price; the chief and principal matter of prophecy is the promise of righteousness, peace, holiness, glory, victory, immortality, unto "every soul which believeth that Jesus is Christ, of the Jew first, and of the gentile." Now because the doctrine of salvation to be looked for by faith in him, who was in outward appearance, as it had been, a man forsaken of God; in him, who was numbered, judged, and condemned with the wicked; in him, whom men did see buffeted on the face, scoffed at by the soldiers, scourged by tormentors, hanged on the cross, pierced to the heart; in him, whom the eyes of many witnesses did behold, when the anguish of his soul enforced him to roar, as if his heart had rent in say, sunder," O my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" I because the doctrine of salvation by him, is a thing improbable to a natural man, that whether we preach to the gentile, or to the Jew, the one condemneth our faith as madness, the other as blasphemy; therefore, to establish and confirm the certainty of this saving truth in the hearts of men, the Lord, together with their preachings whom he sent immediately from himself to reveal these things unto the world, mingled prophecies of things, both civil and ecclesiastical, which were to come in every age, from time to time, till the very last of the latter days, that by those things, wherein we see daily their words fulfilled and done, we might have strong consolation in the hope of things which are not seen, because they have revealed as well the one as the other. For when many things are spoken of before in Scripture, whereof we see first one thing accomplished, and then another, and so a third, perceive we not plainly, that God doth nothing else but lead us along by the hand, till he hath settled us upon the rock of an assured hope, that not one jot or tittle of his word shall pass, till all be fulfilled? It is not therefore said in vain, that these godless wicked ones 66 were spoken of before." ceiveth not 6. But by whom? By them whose words, if men or angels from heaven gainsay, they are accursed; by them, whom whosoever despiseth, "despiseth not them but me," saith Christ. If any man therefore doth love the Lord Jesus, (and woe worth him that loveth not the Lord Jesus!) hereby we may know that he loveth him indeed, if he despise not the things that are spoken of by his apostles, whom many have despised, even for the baseness and simpleness of their persons. For it is the property of fleshly and carnal A natural men to honour and dishonour, credit and discredit, the words and man perdeeds of every man, according to that he wanteth or hath without. heavenly "If a man of gorgeous apparel come amongst us," (James ii.) al- things. though he be a thief or a murderer, (for there are thieves and murderers in gorgeous apparel,) be his heart whatsoever, if his coat be of purple or velvet, or tissue, every one riseth up, and all the reverend solemnities we can use are too little. But the man that serveth God, is contemned and despised amongst us for his poverty. Herod speaketh in judgment, and the people cry out, "The voice of God, and not of man." Paul preacheth Christ, they (Acts xii. 17.) term him a trifler. Hearken, beloved, "hath not God chosen the poor of this world, that they should be rich in faith?" (James ii. 5.) Hath he not chosen the refuse of the world to be heirs of his kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him? Hath he not chosen the off-scourings of men to be the lights of the We must not halt between two opinions. world, and the apostles of Jesus Christ? Men unlearned, yet how fully replenished with understanding? Few in number, yet how great in power? Contemptible in show, yet in spirit how strong ? how wonderful? "I would feign learn the mystery of the eternal generation of the Son of God," saith Hilary. Whom shall I seek? Shall I get me to the schools of the Grecians? Why, I have read, "Ubi sapiens? ubi scriba? ubi conquisitor hujus sæculi?" These wise men in the world must needs be dumb in this, because they have rejected the wisdom of God. Shall I beseech the scribes and interpreters of the law to become my teachers? How can they know this, sith they are offended at the cross of Christ? It is death for me to be ignorant of the unsearchable mystery of the Son of God; of which mystery, notwithstanding, I should have been ignorant, but that a poor fisherman, unknown, unlearned, new come from his boat, with his clothes wringing wet, hath opened his mouth, and taught me, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." These poor silly creatures have made us rich in the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ. 7. Remember therefore that which is spoken of by the apostles; whose words if the children of this world do not regard, is it any marvel! They are the apostles of our Lord Jesus; not of their Lord, but of ours. It is true which one hath said in a certain place, "Apostolicam fidem sæculi homo non capit,” A man sworn to the world is not capable of that faith which the apostles do teach. What mean the children of this world then to tread in the courts of our God? What should your bodies do at Bethel, whose hearts are at Bethaven? The god of this world, whom ye serve, hath provided apostles and teachers for you, Chaldeans, wizards, soothsayers, astrologers, and such-like; hear them. Tell not us that will sacrifice to the Lord our God, if ye will sacrifice to ye Ashtaroth or Melcom; that ye will read our Scriptures, if we will listen to your traditions; that if ye may have a mass by permission, we shall have a communion with good leave and liking; that ye will admit the things that are spoken of by the apostles of our Lord Jesus, if your Lord and Master may have his ordinances observed, and his statutes kept. Solomon took it (as he well might) for an evident proof, that she did not bear a motherly affection to her child, which yielded to have it cut in divers parts. He cannot love the Lord Jesus with his heart, which lendeth one ear to his apostles, and another to false apostles; which can brook to see a mingle-mangle of religion and superstition, ministers and massingpriests, light and darkness, truth and error, traditions and Scrip tures. No, we have no Lord but Jesus; no doctrine but the gospel; no teachers but his apostles. Were it reason to require at the hand of an English subject, obedience to the laws and edicts of the Spaniards? I do marvel, that any man, bearing the name of a servant, of the servants of Jesus Christ, will go about to draw us from our allegiance. We are his sworn subjects; it is not lawful for us to hear the things that are not told us by his apostles. They have told us, that "in the last days there shall be mockers," therefore we believe it; "Credimus quia legimus," we are so persuaded, because we read it must be so. If we did not read it, we would not teach it: "Nam quæ libro legis non continentur, ea nec nosse decemus," saith Hilary; Those things that are not written in the book of the law, we ought not so much as to be acquainted with them. "Remember the words, which were spoken of before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ." the last time. 8. The third thing to be considered in the description of these Mockers in men, of whom we speak, is the time wherein they should be manifested to the world. They told you "there should be mockers in the last time." Noah, at the commandment of God, built an ark, and there were in it beasts of all sorts, clean and unclean. A husbandman planteth a vineyard, and looketh for grapes, but when they come to the gathering, behold, together with grapes, there are found also wild grapes. A rich man prepareth a great supper, and biddeth many; but when he sitteth him down, he findeth amongst his friends here and there a man whom he knoweth not. This hath been the state of the church since the beginning. God always hath mingled his saints with faithless and godless persons, as it were the clean with the unclean, grapes with sour grapes, his friends and children with aliens and strangers. Marvel not then, if in the last days also, ye see the men with whom you live and walk arm in arm, laugh at your religion, and blaspheme that glorious name whereof you are called. Thus it was in the days of the patriarchs and prophets, and are we better than our fathers? Albeit we suppose that the blessed apostles, in foreshewing what manner of men were set out for the last days, meant to note a calamity special and peculiar to the ages and generations which were to come. As if he should have said, As God hath appointed a time of seed for the sower, and a time of harvest for him that reapeth; as he hath given unto every herb and every tree his own fruit, and his own season, not the season nor the fruit of another (for no man looketh to gather figs in the winter, because the summer is the season for them; nor grapes of thistles, because grapes are the fruit of the vine:) so the same. God hath appointed sundry for Mockers, every generation of men, other men for other times, and for the last times the worst men, as may appear by their properties; which is the fourth point to be considered of in this description. 9. They told you that there should be mockers: he meaneth men that shall use religion as a cloak, to put off and on as the weather serveth; such as shall, with Herod, hear the preaching of John Baptist to-day, and to-morrow condescend to have him beheaded; or with the other Herod, say they will worship Christ, when they purpose a massacre in their hearts; kiss Christ with Judas, and betray Christ with Judas. These are mockers. For Ishmael, the son of Hagar, laughed at Isaac, which was heir of the promise: so shall these men laugh at you as the maddest people under the sun, if ye be like Moses, chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, and why? God hath not given them eyes to see, nor hearts to conceive, that exceeding recompense of your reward. The promises of salvation made to you, are matters wherein they can take no pleasure, even as Ishmael took no pleasure in that promise wherein God had said unto Abraham, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called;" because the promise concerned not him, but Isaac. They are termed for their impiety towards God, mockers; and for the impurity of their life and conversation, "walkers after their own ungodly lusts." St. Peter, in his second epistle, and third chapter, soundeth the very depth of their impiety; shewing first, how they shall not shame at the length to profess themselves profane and irreligious, by flat denying the gospel of Jesus Christ, and deriding the sweet and comfortable promises of his appearing. Secondly, that they shall not only be deriders of all religion, but also disputers against God, using truth to subvert the truth; yea, Scriptures themselves to disprove Scriptures. Being in this sort mockers, they must needs be also followers of their own ungodly lusts. Being atheists in persuasion, can they chuse but be beasts in conversation? For why remove they quite from them the fear of God? Why take they such pains to abandon and put out from their hearts all sense, all taste, all feeling of religion? But only to this end and purpose, that they may without inward remorse and grudging of conscience, give over themselves to all uncleanness. Surely, the state of these worse than men is more lamentable than is the condition of pagans and Turks. pagans and For at the bare beholding of heaven and earth the infidel's heart by and by doth give him, that there is an eternal, infinite, immortal, and ever-living God, whose hands have fashioned and framed the world; he knoweth that every house is builded of some man, though he see not the man which built the house; and he consi Mockers infidels. |