princes had; and as he hath immortalitatem propriam sibi, filium sibi similem, (as it was said of Constantine,) a peculiar immortality, not to die, because he shall live in his son; so in the fulness of time, and in the accomplishment of God's purposes upon him, may he have the happiness of the other immortality, and peacefully surrender all his crowns in exchange of one, a crown of immortal glory, which the Lord the righteous Judge lay up for him against that day.

To conclude all, and to go the right way from things which we see, to things which we see not, by consideration of the king, to the contemplation of God; since God hath made us his tenants of this world, we are bound, not only to pay our rents, (spiritual duties and services towards him,) but we are bound to reparations too, to contribute our help to society, and such external duties as belong to the maintenance of this world, in which Almighty God hath chosen to be glorified. If we have these two, pureness of heart, and grace of lips, then we do these two; we pay our rent, and we keep the world in reparation; and we shall pass through all those steps and gradations, which St. Ambrose harmoniously, melodiously expresses, to be servi per timorem, to be the servants of God, and live in his fear; to be mercenarii per laborem, to be the workmen of God, and labour in his vineyard; to be filii per lavacrum, to be the sons of God, and preserve that inheritance which was sealed to us at first, in baptism; and last of all, amici per virtutem, by the good use of his gifts, the King of kings shall be our friend. That which he said to his apostles, his Spirit shall say to our spirit here, and seal it to us for a covenant of salt, an everlasting, an irrevocable covenant, Henceforth call I you not servants, but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father, have I made known unto you104. And the fruition of this friendship, which neither slackens in all our life, nor ends at our death, the Lord of life, for the death of his most innocent Son, afford to us all. Amen.

104 John xv. 14.

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SERMON CLIV.

PREACHED Aat the spitAL, UPON EASTER MONDAY, 1622.

2 CORINTHIANS iv. 6.

For God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ.

THE first book of the Bible, begins with the beginning; In principio, says Moses, in Genesis; In the beginning God created heaven and earth and can there be anything prius principio, before the beginning? Before this beginning, there is. The last book of the Bible, (in the order as they were written) the Gospel of St. John, begins with the same word too; In principio, says St. John; In the beginning was the Word: and here, novissimum primum, the last beginning is the first; St. John's beginning, before Moses; Moses speaking but of the creature, and St. John of the Creator; and of the Creator, before he took that name, before he came to the act of creation; as, the Word was with God, and was God from all eternity. Our present text is an epitome of both those beginnings of the first beginning, the creation, when God commanded light to shine out of darkness: and of the other beginning, which is indeed the first, of him, in whose face we shall have the knowledge of the glory of God, Christ Jesus.

The first book of the Bible, is a revelation, and so is the last, in the order as they stand, a revelation too. To declare a production of all things out of nothing, (which is Moses' work ;) that when I do not know, and care not whether I know or no, what so contemptible a creature as an ant is made of, but yet would fain know what so vast, and so considerable a thing as an elephant is made of; I care not for a mustard-seed, but I would fain know what a cedar is made of: I can leave out the consideration of the whole earth, but would be glad to know what the heavens, and the glorious bodies in the heavens, sun, moon and stars are made of; I shall have but one answer from Moses for all, that all my elephants, and cedars, and the heavens that I

consider, were made of nothing; that a cloud is as nobly born, as the sun in the heavens; and a beggar, as nobly as the king upon earth; if we consider the great grand-father of them all, to be nothing to produce light of darkness thus, is a revelation, a manifestation of that, which, till then, was not: this Moses does. St. John's is a revelation too: a manifestation of that state, which shall be, and be for ever, after all those which were produced of nothing, shall be returned and resolved to nothing again; the glorious state of the everlasting Jerusalem, the kingdom of heaven. Now this text is a revelation of both these revelations : the first state, that which Moses reveals, was too dark for man to see; for it was nothing: the other, that which St. John reveals, is too bright, too dazzling for man to look upon; for it is no one limited, determined object, but all at once, glory, and the fear and fountain of all glory, the face of Christ Jesus.

The Holy Ghost hath showed us both these, severally in Moses, and in St. John, and both together in St. Paul, in this text: where, as the sun stands in the midst of the heavens, and shows us both the creatures that are below it, upon earth, and the creatures that are above it, the stars in heaven; so St. Paul, as he is made an apostle of the Gentiles, stands in the midst of this text, (God hath shined in our hearts:) ours, as we are apostolical ministers of the Gospel; and he shows us the greatness of God, in the creation which was before, when God commanded light out of darkness; and the goodness of God which shall be hereafter, when he shall give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ Jesus.

So that this text, giving light, by which we see, light commanded by God out of darkness; and the object which we are to see, the knowledge of the glory of God; and this object being brought within a convenient distance to be seen in the face of Jesus Christ. And a fit and well-disposed medium being illumined, through which we may see it, God having shined in our hearts, established a ministry of the Gospel: for that purpose, if you bring but eyes, to that which this text brings, light, and object, and distance, and means, then, as St. Basil said of the Book of Psalms, upon an impossible supposition, If all the other books of Scripture could perish, there were enough in that one,

for the catechising of all that did believe, and for the convincing of all that did not so if all the other writings of St. Paul could perish, this text were enough to carry us through the body of divinity, from the cradle of the world, in the creation, when God commanded light out of darkness, to the grave; and beyond the grave of the world, to the last dissolution; and beyond it, when we shall have fully, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ Jesus. Now, whilst I am to speak of all this, which is omne scibile, all, and more than can fall within the comprehension of a natural man; for it is the beginning of this world, and it is the way to the next, and it is the next world itself, I comfort myself at my first setting out, with that of St. Gregory, Purgatas aures, et hominum gratiam nancisci, nonne Dei donum est? I take it for one of God's great blessings to me, if he have given me now an auditory, purgatæ auris, of such spiritual and circumcised ears, as come not to hear that wisdom of words, which may make the cross of Christ of none effect; much less such itching ears, as come to hear popular and seditious calumnies and scandals, and reproaches, cast upon the present state and government. For a man may make a sermon, a satire; he may make a prayer, a libel, if upon colour of preaching, or praying, against toleration of religion, or persecution for religion, he would insinuate, that any such tolerations are prepared for us, or such persecutions threatened against us. But if for speaking the mysteries of your salvation, plainly, sincerely, inelegantly, inartificially; for the gold, and not for the fashion; for the matter, and not for the form, nanciscor populi gratiam, my service may be acceptable to God's people, and available to their edification; nonne Dei donum, shall not I call this a great blessing of God? Beloved, in him, I must; I do. And therefore, because I presume I speak to such, I take to myself, that which follows there, in the same father, that he that speaks to such a people, does not his duty, if he consider not deliberately, Quibus, quando, quantum loquatur; Both to whom, and at what time, and how much he is to speak. I consider the persons; and I consider that the greatest part, by much, are persons born since the reformation of religion, since the death of idolatry in this land; and therefore not naturalized by conversion, by transplantation from

VOL. VI.

L

another religion to this, but born the natural children of this church; and therefore, to such persons, I need not lay hold upon any points of controverted doctrine. I consider also quando, the time; and I consider, that it is now, in these days of Easter, when the greatest part of this auditory, have, or will renew their bands to Christ Jesus in the sacrament of his body, and his blood; that they will rather lose theirs, than lack his: and therefore towards persons, who have testified that disposition in that seal, I need not depart into any vehement, or passionate exhortations to constancy and perseverance, as though there were occasion to doubt it. And I consider lastly, quantum, how much is necessary to be spoken to such a people, so disposed; and therefore, farther than the custom, and solemnity of this day, and place, lays an obligation upon me, I will not extend myself to an unnecessary length; especially, because that which shall be said by me, and by my brethren which come after, and were worthy to come before me, in this place, is to be said to you again, by another, who alone, takes as much pains, as all we, and all you too: hears all, with as much patience as all you; and is to speak of all, with as much, and more labour, than all we. Much therefore for your ease, somewhat for his, a little for mine own, with such succinctness and brevity, as may consist with clearness, and perspicuity, in such manner, and method, as may best enlighten your understandings, and least encumber your memories, I shall open unto you that light, which God commanded out of darkness, and that light by which he hath shined in our hearts; and this light, by which we shall have the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ Jesus.

Our parts therefore in these words, must necessarily be three; three lights. The first, shows us our creation; the second, our vocation; the third, our glorification. In the first, we, who were but, (but what?) but nothing, were made creatures: in the second, we, who were but Gentiles, were made Christians: in the third, we, who were but men, shall be made saints. In the first, God took us, when there was no world: in the second, God sustains us, in an ill world: in the third, God shall crown us, in a glorious and joyful world. In the first, God made us; in the second, God mends us; in the third, God shall perfect us. First,