better disposition; and the duty, that is, to relieve him, with things necessary for that state: and for the second part, we must stop upon those steps laid down at first, of which the first was, That God takes nothing for nothing, he gives a reward. When God took that great proportion of sheep and oxen out of his subjects' goods in the state of Israel, for sacrifice, that proportion which would have kept divers kings' houses, and would have victualled divers navies, perchance no man could say, I have this, or this benefit, for this, or this sacrifice; but yet could any man say, God hath taken a sacrifice for nothing? Where we have peace, and justice, and protection, can any man say, he gives any thing for nothing? When God says, If I were hungry, I would not tell thee", that's not intended, which Tertullian says, Scriptum est, Deus non esuriet nec sitiet, It is written, God shall neither hunger nor thirst, (for, first, Tertullian's memory failed him, there is no such sentence in all the Scripture, as he cites there; and then God does hunger and thirst, in this sense, in the members of his mystical body,) neither is that only intended in that place of the Psalm (though Cassiodore take it so) that if God in his poor saints, were hungry, he could provide them, without telling thee; but it is, If I were hungry, I need not tell thee; for The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, and they that dwell therein 22. God does not always bind himself to declare his hunger, his thirst, his pressing occasions, to use the goods of his subjects, but as the Lord gives, so the Lord takes, where and when he will: but yet, as God transfuses a measure of this right and power of taking, into them, of whom he hath said, you are God's, so he transfuses his goodness too, which is in himself, that he takes nothing for nothing; he promises here a reward, and a reward arising from the enemy, which puts a greater encouragement upon us, to do it; super caput ejus, In so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

God is the Lord of hosts, and in this text, he makes the seat of the war in the enemy's country, and enriches his servants ex manubiis, out of the spoil of the enemy; In caput ejus, It shall fall upon his head. Though all men that go to the war, go not

21 Psalm L. 12.

VOL. III.

2 Psalm xxiv. 1.

I

upon those just reasons deliberated before in themselves, which are, the defence of a just cause, the obedience to a lawful commandment, yet of those that do go without those conscientious deliberations, none goes therefore, because he may have room in an hospital, or relief by a pension, when he comes home lame, but because he may get something, by going into a fat country, and against a rich enemy; though honour may seem to feed upon blows, and dangers, men go cheerfully against an enemy, from whom something is to be got; for profit is a good salve to knocks, a good cerecloth to bruises, and a good balsamum to wounds. God therefore here raises the reward out of the enemy, feed him, and thou shalt gain by it. But yet the profit that God promises by the enemy here, is rather that we shall gain a soul, than any temporal gain; rather that we shall make that enemy a better man, than that we shall make him a weaker enemy: God respects his spiritual good, as we shall see in that phrase, which is our last branch, Congeres carbones, Thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

It is true that St. Chrysostom (and not he alone) takes this phrase to imply a revenge: that God's judgments shall be the more vehement upon such ungrateful persons, et terrebuntur beneficiis, the good turns that thou hast done to them, shall be a scourge and a terror to their consciences. This sense is not inconvenient; but it is too narrow: the Holy Ghost hath taken so large a metaphor, as implies more than that. It implies the divers offices, and effects of fire; all this; that if he have any gold, any pure metal in him; this fire of this kindness, will purge out the dross, and there is a friend made. If he be nothing but straw and stubble, combustible still, still ready to take fire against thee, this fire which God's breath shall blow, will consume him, and burn him out, and there is an enemy marred: if he have any tenderness any way, this fire will mollify him towards thee; Nimis durus animus, says St. Augustine, He is a very hard-hearted man, qui si ultro dilectionem non vult impendere, etiam nolit rependere, who, though he will not requite thy love, yet will not acknowledge it. If he be wax, he melts with this fire; and if he be clay, he hardens with it, and then thou wilt arm thyself against that

pellet. Thus much good, God intends to the enemy, in this phrase, that it is, Pia vindicta si resipiscant, We have taken a blessed revenge upon our enemies, if our charitable applying of ourselves to them, may bring then to apply themselves to God, and to glorify him: Si benefaciendo cicuremus, says St. Hierome, If we can tame a wild beast by sitting up with him, and reduce an enemy by offices of friendship, it is well. So much good God intends him in this phrase, and so much good he intends us, that, si non incendant, if these coals do not purge him, si non injiciant pudorem, if they do not kindle a shame in him, to have offended one that hath deserved so well, yet this fire gives thee light to see him clearly, and to run away from him, and to assure thee, that he, whom so many benefits cannot reconcile, is irreconcilable".

SERMON LXIV.

PREACHED ON CANDLEMAS DAY.

MATTHEW ix. 2.

And Jesus seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, My son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

In these words, and by occasion of them, we shall present to you these two general considerations; first upon what occasion Christ did that which he did, and then what it was that he did. And in the first, we shall see first some occasions that were remote, but yet conduce to the miracle itself; some circumstances of time, and place, and some such dispositions, and then the more immediate occasion, the disposition of those persons who presented this sick man to Christ; and there we shall see first, that Faith was the occasion of all, for without faith it is impossible to please God, and without pleasing of God, it is impossible to have remission of sins. It was fides, and fides illorum, their faith, all their faith: for, though in the faith of others there be an assistance, yet with

23

Origen.

24 Aben Ezra. Levi Gherson.

out a personal faith in himself, no man of ripe age comes so far, as to the forgiveness of sins; and then, this faith of them all, was fides visa, a faith that was seen; Christ saw their faith, and he saw it as man, it was a faith expressed, and declared in actions: and yet, when all was done, it is but cum vidit, it is not quia vidit, Christ did it when he saw, not because he saw their faith, that was not the principle and primary cause of his mercy, for the mercy of God is all, and above all; it is the effect and it is the cause too, there is no cause of his mercy, but his mercy. And when we come in the second part, to consider what in his mercy he did, we shall see first, that he establishes him, and comforts him with a gracious acceptation, with that gracious appellation, Fili, Son: he doth not disavow him, he doth not disinherit him; and then, he doth not wound him, whom God had stricken; he doth not flay him, whom God had scourged; he doth not salt him, whom God had flayed; he doth not add affliction to affliction, he doth not shake, but settle that faith which he had with more, confide fili, my son, be of good cheer; and then he seals all with that assurance, dimittuntur peccata, thy sins are forgiven thee; in which, first he catechises this patient, and gives him all these lessons, first that he gives before we ask, for he that was brought, they who brought him had asked nothing in his behalf, when Christ unasked, enlarged himself towards them, dat prius, God gives before we ask, that is first; and then dat meliora, God gives better things than we ask, all that all they meant to ask, was but bodily health, and Christ gave him spiritual; and the third lesson was, that sin was the cause of bodily sickness, and that therefore he ought to have sought his spiritual recovery before his bodily health: and then, after he had thus rectified him, by this catechism, implied in those few words, Thy sins are forgiven thee, he takes occasion by this act, to rectify the bystanders too, which were the Pharisees, who did not believe Christ to be God: for, for proof of that, first he takes knowledge of their inward thoughts, not expressed by any act or word, which none but God could do; and then he restores the patient to bodily health, only by his word, without any natural means applied, which none but God could do neither. And into fewer particulars than these, this pregnant and abundant text is not easily contracted.

First then to begin with the branches of the first part, of which the first was, to consider some, somewhat more remote circumstances, and occasions conducing to this miracle, we cannot avoid the making of some use of the time, when it was done: it was done, when Christ had dispossessed those two men of furious, and raging devils, amongst the Gergesenes; at what time, because Christ had been an occasion of drowning their herd of swine, the whole city came out to meet him, but not with a thankful reverence, and acclamation, but their procession was, to beseech him to depart out of their coasts': they had rather have had their legion of devils still, than have lost their hogs; and since Christ's presence was an occasion of impairing their temporal substance, they were glad to be rid of him.

We need not put on spectacles to search maps for this land of the Gergesenes; God knows we dwell in it; Non quærimus Jesum propter Jesum, (which was a prophetical complaint by St. Augustine) we love the profession of Christ only so far, as that profession conduces to our temporal ends. We seek him not at the cross; there most of his friends left him; but we are content to embrace him, where the kings of the East bring him presents of gold, and myrrh, and frankincense, that we may participate of those we seek him not in the hundred and thirtieth Psalm, where, though there be plenty, yet it is but copiosa redemptio, plentiful redemption, plenty of that that comes not yet; but in the twenty-fourth Psalm we are glad to meet him, where he proclaims Domini terra, et plenitudo ejus, The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, that our portion therein may be plenteous: we care not for him in St. Peter's hospital, where he excuses himself, Aurum et argentum non habeo, Silver and gold have I none: but in the prophet Haggai's exchequer we do, where he makes that claim, Aurum meum, All the gold and all the silver is mine. Scarce any son is Protestant enough, to stand out a rebuke of his father, or any servant of his master, or any officer of his prince, if that father, or master, or prince would be, or would have him be a Papist; but, as though the different forms of religion, were but the fashions of the garment, and not the stuff, we put on, and we put off religion, as we would do a livery, to testify our respect

1 Mark v. 17.