[77. B.]

228 By humility, the Centurion received our Lord in his heart.

SERM. man will not acknowledge himself to be man, that is, will not XXVII. acknowledge himself to be mortal, will not acknowledge himself to be frail, will not acknowledge himself to be a sinner, will not acknowledge himself to be sick, that so at least as sick he may seek the physician; but what is more perilous still, he fancies himself in sound health.

viii.

11, 17. &c.

12. So then for this reason that people did not come to him, that is by reason of pride; and the natural branches are said to be broken off from the olive tree, that is from that I creato people founded' by the Patriarchs; in other words, the Jews are for their punishment justly barren through the spirit of pride; and the wild olive is grafted into that olive tree. The wild olive tree is the people of the Gentiles. So says the Rom. Apostle, that the wild olive tree is grafted into the good olive tree, but the natural branches are broken off. Because of pride they were broken off: and the wild olive tree grafted in because of humility. This humility did the woman shew forth when she said, Truth, Lord, "I am a dog, I desire only the crumbs." In this humility also did the Centurion please Him; who when he desired that his servant might be healed Matt. 8, by the Lord, and the Lord said, I will come and heal him, 7. &c. answered, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof. He did not receive Him into his house, but he had received Him already in his heart. The more humble, the more capacious, and the more full. For the hills drive back the water, but the valleys are filled by it. And what then, what said the Lord to those who followed Him after that he had said, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof? Verily I say unto you, I have not found 80 great faith, no, not in Israel; that is, in that people to whom I came, I have not found so great faith. And whence great? Great from being the least, that is, great from humility. I have not found so great faith; like a grain of mustard seed, which by how much smaller it is, by so much the more burning is it. Therefore did the Lord at once graft the wild olive into the good olive tree. He did it then when He said, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Riches of this life, poverty; true riches, not to need them. 229

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13. Lastly, mark what follows. Therefore (that is, because SERM. I have not found so great faith in Israel, that is, so great [77. B.] humility with faith;) Therefore I say unto you, that many ver. 11. shall come from the cast and west, and shall sit down with ix. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Shall sit, that is, " shall rest." For we must not form notions of carnal banquets there, or desire any such thing in that kingdom, as to change not vices for virtues, but only to make an exchange of vices. For it is one thing to desire the kingdom of heaven for the sake of wisdom and life eternal; another, for the sake of earthly felicity, as though there we should have it in more abundant and greater measure. If thou think to be rich in that kingdom, thou dost not cut off, but only changest desire; and yet rich thou wilt really be, and in none other place but there wilt thou be rich; for here thy want gathers together the abundance of things. Why have rich men much? Because they want much. A greater want heaps together as it were greater means; there want itself shall die. Then thou shalt be truly rich, when thou shalt be in want of nothing. For now thou art not surely rich, and an Angel poor, who has not horses, and carriages, and servants. Why? Because he does not want any of these because in proportion to his greater strength, is his want the less. Therefore there there are riches, and the true riches. Figure not to yourselves then banquets of this earth in that place. For the banquets of this world are daily medicines; they are necessary for a kind of sickness we have, wherewith we are born. This sickness every one is sensible of, when the hour for refreshment is passed. Wouldest thou see how great a sickness this is, that as an acute fever would be fatal in seven days? Do not fancy thyself then to be in health. Immortality will be health. For this present is only one long sickness. Because thou dost support thy disease by daily medicines; thou fanciest thyself in health; take away the medicines, and then see what thou canst do.

14. For from the moment we are born, we must needs be dying. This disease must needs bring us to death. This indeed physicians say when they examine their patients. For instance, "This man has the dropsy, he is dying; this disease

X.

XXVII.

1 ele

phan

tiosus.

230

Life, one long death: need of humility to all.

SERM. cannot be cured. This man has the leprosy': this disease [77. B.] too cannot be cured. He is in a consumption. Who can cure this? He must needs die, he must perish." See, the physician has now pronounced that he is in a consumption; that he cannot but die; and yet sometimes the dropsical patient does not die of his disease, and the leprous does not die of his, nor the consumptive patient of his; but now it is absolutely necessary that every one who is born should die of this. He dies of it, he cannot do otherwise. This the physician and the unskilled both pronounce upon; and though he die somewhat more slowly, does he on that account not die? Where then is there true health, except where there is true immortality? But if it be true immortality, and no corruption, no wasting, what need will there be there of nourishment? Therefore, when you hear it said, Matt. 8, They shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; get not your body, but your soul in order. There shalt thou be 2interior filled; and this inner man has its proper food. In relation Matt. 5, to it is it said, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. And so truly filled shall they be that they shall hunger no more.

11.

venter

6.

15. Therefore did the Lord graff in at once the wild olive tree, when He said, Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; that is, they shall be grafted into the good olive tree. For Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, are the roots of this olive tree; but the children of the kingdom, that is, the unbelieving Jews, shall go away into outer darkness. The natural branches shall be broken off, that the wild olive tree may be grafted in. Now why did the natural branches deserve to be cut off, except for pride? why the wild olive tree to be grafted in, except for humility? Whence also that woman said, Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat 15, 27. of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. And ver. 28. thereupon she hears, O woman, great is thy faith. And so again that centurion, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come Matt. 8, 8. under my roof. Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel. Let us then learn, or let us hold fast, humility. If we have it not yet, let us learn it; if we have it, let us not lose it. If we have it not yet, let us

Matt.

ver. 10.

The Apostles saw Xt's kingdom in the Transfiguration; how. 231

XXVII.

have it, that we may be grafted in; if we have it already, let SERM. us hold it fast, that we may not be cut off.

[77. B.]

SERMON XXVIII. [LXXVIII. BEN.]

On the words of the Gospel, Matt. xvii. " After six days Jesus took Peter, and James, and John his brother, &c."

17, 1.

num

1. WE must now look into and treat of that vision which the Lord shewed on the mount. For it is this of which He had said, Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here Matt. 16, 28. which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man in His kingdom. Then began the passage which has just been read. When He had said this, after six days He took Matt. three disciples, Peter, and James, and John, and went up Luke 9, into a mountain. These three were those some, of whom He 28. had said, There be some here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man in His kingdom. There is no small difficulty here. For that mount was not the whole extent of His kingdom'. What is a mountain to Him Who possesseth' regthe heavens? Which we not only read He doth, but in some compresort see it with the eyes of the heart. He calleth that His hensum kingdom, which in many places He calleth the kingdom of heaven. Now the kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of the saints. For the heavens declare the glory of God. And of these Ps.19,1. heavens it is immediately said in the Psalm, There is no ver. 3. speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their ver. 4. sound is gone out through all the earth, and their words unto the end of the world. Whose words, but of the heavens? And of the Apostles, and all faithful preachers of the word of God. These heavens therefore shall reign together with Him Who made the heavens. Now consider what was done, that this might be made manifest.

2.3.

2. The Lord Jesus Himself shone bright as the sun; His Mat.17, raiment became white as the snow; and Moses and Elias talked with Him. Jesus Himself indeed shone as the sun, signifying that He is the light which lighteth every man that John 1

9.

XXVIII.

1 Cor. 15, 9.

44.

232 Our Lord's raiment, the Church, illumined by Himself, the Sun. SERM. cometh into the world. What this sun is to the eyes of the [78. B.j flesh, that is He to the eyes of the heart; and what that is to the flesh of men, that is He to their hearts. Now His raiment is His Church. For if the raiment be not held together by him who puts it on, it will fall off. Of this raiment, Paul was as it were a sort of last border. For he says himself, I am the least of the Apostles. And in another place, I am the last of the Apostles. Now in a garment the border is the last and least Luke 8, part. Wherefore as that woman which suffered from an issue of blood, when she had touched the Lord's border was made whole, so the Church which came from out of the Gentiles, was made whole by the preaching of Paul. What wonder if the Church is signified by white raiment, when you hear the Is. 1,18. Prophet Isaiah saying, Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow? Moses and Elias, that is, the Law and the Prophets, what avail they, except they converse with the Lord? Except they give witness to the Lord, who would read the Law or the Prophets? Mark how briefly the Apostle Rom. 3, expresses this; For by the Law is the knowledge of sin; but now the righteousness of God without the Law is manifested: behold the sun; being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, behold the shining of the Sun.

20. 21.

Matt. 17, 4.

ver. 5.

3. Peter sees this, and as a man savouring the things of men says, Lord, it is good for us to be here. He had been wearied with the multitude, he had found now the mountain's solitude; there he had Christ the Bread of the soul. What! should he depart thence again to travail and pains, possessed of a holy love to Godward, and thereby of a good conversation? He wished well for himself; and so he added, If Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. To this the Lord made no answer; but notwithstanding Peter was answered. For while he yet spake, a bright cloud came, and overshadowed them. He desired three tabernacles; the heavenly answer shewed him that we have One, which human judgment desired to divide. Christ, the Word of God, the Word of God in the Law, the Word in the Prophets. Why, Peter, dost thou seek to divide them? It were more fitting for thee to join them. Thou seekest three; understand that they are but One. 4. As the cloud then overshadowed them, and in a way