our Lord and Master The manner of Temptation in each Case was not different being in each Case effected by inward Suggestion For we must not suppose that the Devil visibly appeared to our Lord and spake to him face to face to have proposed his alluring Temptations without any disguise would more have prejudiced the Efficacy of them than all the specious Arguments wherewith he recommended them could have enforced them He tempted Christ by insinuating secretly into his mind such Thoughts as these that since he was Conscious to himself of his Power of working Miracles he had better satisfie his Hunger by turning the Stones into Bread than endure it any longer in awaiting the ordinary Providence of God that to leap off the Pinacle of the Temple and to be seen to be carried safe in the Air would contribute very much to raise his Glory and Fame among Men and that if he would employ that Power of Miracles which he had received from God for the Conversion of the World to the Conquest of it it would be no hard Matter in a short time to gain all the Kingdoms of the Earth and the Glory of them Thus the Devil tempted our Lord and thus he continueth to tempt us with this only difference that our Lord by his excellent Wisdom knew that all those Suggestions proceeded from that wicked Spirit and we when we are tempted by him are wont to ascribe those evil Motions which we then find within our selves to any thing rather than the Suggestion of evil Spirits For since these Suggestions are usually specious Arguments of the extraordinary Pleasure or Profit to be found in sin Men are apt to ascribe all this to the Excellency of their Understanding which as they imagine raiseth them beyond the trifling superstition of religious Fools who are content to forfeit the chief Satisfactions of this Life for fear of offending they know not whom and suffering they know not what or to their own extraordinary Sagacity whereby they alone can discern what is the true Happiness of Man or perhaps reconcile all these sins wherein they delight to their Pretences of future Happiness When indeed pious Men know no less than they what are the specious Arguments recommending sinful Pleasures and by what Methods they may be best enhanced but they will not entertain themselves with such Considerations and if suggested to them presently do remove them not only because by Attention to them they are endangered to be allured or betrayed to Consent to them but also because voluntarily to continue such thoughts in the mind and dwell upon them is a sin since this includes a Connivence of the Will not restraining the Imagination from such impure Ideas and is commonly attended with a sort of Complacency which wanteth nothing but a fit occasion to put the pleasing sin in Practice So then the most secure method of eluding the Temptations of the Devil is to decline his suggestions immediately to remove even the first Thoughts of them and divert the Soul to some lawful Object But because the imagination of Man may be so strongly excited by some violent Object or Impression that it shall not be even in the Power of the Soul to suppress it for some considerable time as we see in violent Passions which can no more be allayed by one Act of Dissent in the Will than a tempestuous Sea be calmed in one minute therefore it will be necessary to provide Remedies against such Adventures And the most effectual is that prescribed by our Saviour Matth. V. 29. 30. If thy right Eye offend thee pluck it out and cast it from thee And if thy right hand offend thee cut it off and cast it from thee c. That is if by the Enjoyment of any otherwise indifferent Object thou find thy self often betrayed to an unlawful use of it or to any other sin deprive thy self even of that lawful Pleasure rather than for the sake of that expose thy Soul to the Danger of total Destruction and thereby forfeit not only that apparent but even all real Satisfactions If by any pleasing Objects of sight thou art apt to be tempted to unlawful Desires by a prudent Caution debar thy self even of those otherwise lawful Pleasures which thou mightest receive from that noble Faculty If grateful Objects of touch do often excite such vehement Passions in thee as cannot be satisfied without the Commission of sin renounce even all lawful Pleasures which thou mightest receive from thence If thou canst not look upon a Woman without lusting after her suffer not thy Eyes to gaze upon her If thou canst not engage in Company without being tempted to Drunkenness deny thy self so dangerous a Satisfaction and so in all other Cases A most Divine Counsel and excellently fitted to defeat the Temptations of the Devil or the Propensity of our own Nature to sin Every Man may discover in himself a Proneness to some particular sin beyond others of which evil Spirits make their advantage and most frequently assault Men by inciting them to the Commission of it Here a Man should be chiefly careful and rather than suffer himself to be led into it dread even the Approaches of it suspect even his lawful Enjoyments of that Object to which the sin relates and if all this Circumspection prevents not the returns of his unlawful Passions as oft as the Object is renewed to renounce even all lawful use of it at least until those Passions can be so far allayed that the Soul can again entertain the Object without any Danger of sin But the most frequent Case remaineth yet to be provided for that is when the Idea produced by the Object or by the suggestion of the Devil is so violent that it cannot be removed by a single Dissent of the Will and notwithstanding all the forementioned rules of Caution is either by our own Negligence or by the subtilty of our Adversary or both actually produced Here it is that the Efficacy of Temptations chiefly appears the Devil is vigilant and unwearied in the prosecution of his Designs attacks us on all sides successively if he be repulsed at one Post he assaults us at another and never gives over till he gaineth entrance Here is the chief Conflict of a Christian when the Suggestion of evils Spirits exciteth his Imagination when his Passions are raised by this Conception when his sensual Appetite grows impetuous opposeth the Directions of Reason and requireth blindly to be satisfied The repugnancy of this to the rational Faculties of the Soul giveth the Devil opportunity to assault us and success in it This proceeds no farther than the bare satisfaction of Sense it lyeth grovelling on the Earth looks not up to Heaven nor discerns any future Hopes therein common with Beasts who pursue the Enjoyment of present Objects without any regard to Futurity This continually inciteth a Man to enjoy the Object which is set before him without enquiring whether it be allowed or forbidden
the Miscarriage of either if it concerns matters of Obedience to himself or of ordinary Duty In which case it is no less Fatal or Criminal to pervert the Understanding than to corrupt the Will and then to plead Ignorance or a mistaken Conscience will be no more allowed than to plead Drunkenness for Crimes committed in that absence of right Reason There is not in all History a more enormous Sin to be found than the Infidelity of the Jews and the Crucifixion of their Messias by them none so severely branded in Scripture or punished with so remarkable a Judgment in this Life Yet our Saviour hanging on the Cross declared that those his Persecutors knew not what they did And altho' he then out of the abundance of his Charity interceded for their Pardon yet the Justice of God would not grant it much less continue to them the former Favours of Heaven And such would have been the visible and publick Preaching of Christ after his Resurrection Farther the Honour of God was engaged herein nor was it agreeable to the Divine Majesty that the Person of Christ after his Resurrection should be exposed to the publick view of the Nation of the Jews Reason did require and all the Prophets had foretold that the Messias should pass through a double State that is of Humiliation and Glory In his State of Humiliation before his Death he had undergone all the Miseries Ignominies and Calamities to which humane Nature is subject He was pressed with the want of the Necessaries of Life was afflicted with the Insults Provocations and Injuries of the Jews was delivered up into the Hands of wicked Men to be treated at their Pleasure To these meritorious Sufferings was to ensue a State of Glory wherein Christ should be placed far above the Rank and the Power of mortal Men should be exempted from the infirmities of Nature and enter upon an everlasting Kingdom This State of Exaltation was begun in his Resurrection perfected by his Ascension and continued without interruption to all Ages It was not then agreeable to the Divine Honour that the Sacred Body of the ever Blessed Jesus now exalted to a State of Glory should be again subjected to the Attempts and Persecution of the Jews That it should be exposed to the rage of Men and reduced to his former mean Condition Yet all this could not have been avoided if Christ had appeared publickly among the People after his Resurrection The same Hatred and Persecution would have returned unless he had pleased by a Miracle to rescue his Body from their Attempts A Miracle indeed was no less easie to his Almighty Power than any other ordinary Operation Yet the Honour of God is concerned not to work Miracles but for great Reasons and the Impiety of that People deserved not to have a Miracle conferred on them Or had Christ appeared openly among them even altho he could have been secured from their Persecution it must either have been in his former meek and humble Habit and as such they would have despised him or what they greedily expected as a glorious Prince armed with Power and temporal Greatness and that was contrary to his Design who declared his Kingdom not to be of this World Nor in this respect only was the publick appearing of Christ after his Resurrection contrary to his Design for which he came into the World To have then publickly manifested himself for this purpose to have removed the incredulity of the Jews and convinced them of the Truth of his Mission would have been to have continued his Prophetical Office after his Crucifixion For therein did his Prophetical or Ministerial Office consist in declaring the Will of God in preaching of Repentance in converting of Sinners This Office was to expire with his Life and after his Resurrection his State of Glory and therewith his Regal Office was to commence Upon which account himself when ready to expire upon the Cross said It is finished All the parts of his Ministerial Office were now fully compleated not to be personally renewed again He had performed all that the Divine Wisdom had determined to be effected by him in Person towards the Conversion and Salvation of the World the rest he was to commit to his Apostles and their Successours Himself was no longer to remain in the form of a Servant which he had taken on him but entring upon his Kingdom to govern that Church which he by his former Preaching and Death had founded I proceed to the second Proposition namely II. That even if Christ after his Resurection had appeared and conversed Publickly it would yet have failed to produce an universal Conviction and remove all Doubts This is undeniably manifest in respect of our selves for whom we are most concerned and of all Ages subsequent to that time For allowing that the whole Nation of the Jews had been ocular Witnesses of the Resurrection of Christ yet all other Persons both of that and all succeeding Ages would have had no other Proof than what we now have that is the Testimony of those who saw him after his Resurrection All others even in that case would have equally wanted the Demonstration of Sense and must have depended upon the Relation of others So that all the certainty which any can have of Matters seen and related by others we have unless we imagine that five hundred cannot as certainly judge of a plain Matter of Fact as so many millions And even if so many millions had seen it we should not have expected that every one should severally commit it to writing and so testifie it to us we must still have relied upon the Testimony of some few Historians and that in this case we have So that notwithstanding the number of ocular Witnesses was then confined to five hundred we who were not Blessed with that Sight have the same Evidence of it as if all the Members of Mankind then living had seen it Whatever force therefore the Objection might have in that Age it hath none in ours We have sufficient Arguments offered to us to prove the Truth of it equal and even Superiour to those upon which we believe the Truth of any Matter of Fact which our selves did not see And if we reject these Arguments it is not probable that even Demonstration would move us if it could be had For whatever Men may pretend in excuse of their Infidelity it is most certain that he who will not believe what is proposed to him upon reasonable altho ' but probable Motives will not even yield to Demonstration if the Truth proposed opposeth his Lusts and Passions And this indeed is the true cause of all those Doubts which unreasonable Men produce in defence of their unbelief It would be too gross and shameless to assign the true Cause and alledge that they will not submit to the Yoke of Religion because it checks their Vices restrains their Lusts forbids the Gratification of many beloved Passions They
more having more largely treated of it in my Discourse upon Easter-day which I will not repeat The Nineteenth SERMON Preach'd on June 1st 1690. At LAMBETH CHAPEL Mark XVI 19. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them he was received up into Heaven and sat on the right hand of God WE lately celebrated the Memory of the Ascension of our Lord and the Offices of our Church direct us to employ our thoughts upon it in this intermediate time between that and Whitsunday To do this we are not only induced by that near Relation which it bears to Christ who by it took his last Farewel of his Disciples and entred upon the Possession of his Kingdom but also by those eminent Benefits which the whole Church received from it the Gift of the Holy Ghost the Confirmation of Faith and the increase of Hope In Discoursing of it I will confine my self to these three Considerations I. The necessity and convenience of the Ascension of Christ. II. The Truth of it III. The Advantages and Benefits which we receive by it I. That it was necessary our Lord should leave the Earth and ascend into Heaven himself often declared and in Joh. XVI 7. gives the Primary Reason of it Nevertheless I tell you the truth it is convenient for you that I go away for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you but if I depart I will send him unto you The Mission of the Comforter that is the Holy Ghost was absolutely necessary and the necessity of it confessed by the Disciples of Christ yet could not this be effected untill Christ should ascend into Heaven It was convenient for the Apostles that the Comforter should be sent as by whom they received a most invincible Confirmation of their Faith and their Hopes What greater Consolation can be imagined to Disciples afflicted for the Departure of their beloved Lord than to receive such an infallible Assurance of his Being placed in Power and Glory in Heaven as did arise from the eminent Operations of Divine Power brought down by the Holy Ghost at his Intercession What stronger Confirmation of their Faith could they receive than that the Promises of their Master concerning a Comforter were effected which demonstrated the Truth of all he had said the actual Possession of that Glory which was vailed in the Infirmities of his humane Nature while he conversed upon Earth and the Prevalency of his Intercession with God the Father in their behalf What more could be desired to assure them of the continuance of their Masters Love after his Departure or to enable them successfully to discharge that Office of converting an unbelieving World which was imposed on them than that such Gifts should be conferred on them as were never before vouchsafed unto Mankind the knowledge of all Tongues the Faculty of speaking Eloquently and Boldly and the Power of working Miracles All these Reasons made it convenient and desirable to the Apostles that the Comforter should be sent unto them To the whole Church this was much more necessary which without that Mission could never have had Existence being founded and maintained by those Divine Gifts and Influences which were derived from thence Yet neither could the Apostles nor the Church have been Blessed with this so necessary so often Promised and so much to be desired Mission of the Holy Ghost had not our Lord first ascended into Heaven and there by his Power and Intercession have procured it The Comforter as he was to be the Advocate the Deputy to plead the Cause of Christ on Earth could not naturally take place but in his Absence and the very Mission of him as it was an Act of Regal Power could not be administred by Christ until he had taken Possession of his Kingdom which commenced at his Ascension into Heaven Nor is this the only Reason which made it convenient for the Church that our Lord should remove his visible Presence from us but the Possibility at least the increase of Man's Reward did depend upon it The Design of the coming of the Messias so long expected was known and confessed to be to restore the lost Happiness of Mankind to redeem them from their former Misery and to advance them to a State of Glory In prosecution of this Design if we consider either the Wisdom of God or the Nature of Man it could not but be expected that this Happiness should be affixed to certain Rules consequent to certain Conditions to be performed by Man not indifferently bestowed on all nor yet on any without Respect to their peculiar Merits The Application of it was to be directed and determined according to the right use of Reason and Free-will in every Man The whole of this consists in Obedience to the Laws of God and one great Branch of it in assenting to his Authority and believing all his Revelations And as an Assent to all the Revelations of God made at all times was the Duty of Man so more especially an Assent to those last and most considerable Revelations made by his own Son incarnate was required of Man and was farther intended to qualifie him for the Reception of that super-natural Happiness which was by him to be conveyed unto the World Since no greater Evidence of a right use of Reason and Veneration of the Divine Majesty could be offered than to inquire after to Assent to and obey the Revelations communicated by him It would be tedious and unnecessary to repeat those great Commendations of this eminent Act of right Reason call'd Faith and those many Promises of Reward annexed to it which may be found in the Scripture But from the whole it appeareth that this was to be the principal Condition of the Justification and therein of the Happiness of Man That this Act therefore might be the more Illustrious and might be Crowned with a more noble Reward it was convenient that Christ should withdraw his visible Presence from the World and therein give way to the Operation of Faith which is the Evidence of things not seen Had Christ continued for ever upon Earth in that glorious Majesty which was to take place after his Resurrection had he presented to the Senses of every Man sensible Demonstrations of his Divine Power in that Case to have believed on him would have been no more praise worthy no more meritorious than to assent to the ordinary Reports of Sense Who ever pretended to have acquired Merit by believing an Axiom of Mathematical Demonstrations Or who ever thought it an Argument of a true and just â—anagement of the Will and Understanding to believe that one Colour differeth from another or that the Sun doth shine These things strike our Senses and force a Belief whether we will or no in this Case to offend while the Soul enjoys its Reason and the Body the Organs of Sense is not so much as possible To have believed the Divinity of Christ while the Sense of an illustrious
Miracle wrought by him was yet present to confess he came in the Flesh while his Body was yet visible to acknowledge his Resurrection from the Dead when the Senses of every Man proclaimed no less all this would have been so slight an Argument of the right use of Reason so little deserving any Commendation or Reward that it would be no more than the necessary result of the Faculties and even not in the Power of the Will to avoid But when the Object is removed from the Sense and yet discovered by Reason when the Eye doth not see what the Affections still embrace when the Soul ceaseth not to hope upon probable and just Motives what it never received by Demonstration of Sense this is indeed a noble Act of right Reason worthy of a spiritual Being and worthy of a Divine Reward And such a Reward hath our Lord annexed to it pronouncing Joh. XX. 29. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed This Blessedness Christ by his Ascension hath communicated to the whole Church which without that had wanted the Qualification of a rational and well grounded Faith to acquire the Favour of God Further the Ascension of our Lord and therein his Exaltation to the supreme Degree of Glory was in Justice due to his precedent meritorious Sufferings which are therefore assigned as the cause of his Exaltation by St. Paul Phil. II. He made himself of no Reputation and took upon him the form of a Servant c. wherefore God also hath highly exalted him c. The Humility manifested by him in his Incarnation in the whole Course of his Life and in his Passion infinitely surpassed all the Examples of former times That the Son of God should vouchsafe to descend from his Seat of Glory in Heaven to leave the Bosom of the Father and cloath himself with the Infirmities of humane Nature that in this Nature he should not take upon him the Majesty of a Prince nor so much as allow himself the ordinary Satisfactions and Pleasures of it but live an afflicted Life and die a shameful Death and all this for his own Creatures who far from deserving such a Favour from him had rebelled against him from their Creation would lay violent hands upon themselves and continue their Contempt of his Authority till the Dissolution of all things this was such an extraordinary Humiliation that none other but the Son of God could have effected And therefore was in Justice to be Crowned with such a Reward as none but the Son of God could receive namely that that Body which had been thus depressed should be raised above all Creatures should be placed above Angels and Archangels should be advanced to the immediate Presence of God should for ever remain united to the Divine Nature and therewith be translated into the principal Seat and Throne of the Deity that is into Heaven Lastly To name no more Reasons it was necessary for Christ to ascend into Heaven that so he might fulfill all righteousness perform all which the ancient Prophets had foretold of the Messias or he had denounced of himself It was long since Typified by the Ceremonies used by the High Priest among the Jews in the Day of Propitiation which represented the Final Attonement to be made by Christ for the Sins of the World It was commanded by God that the High Priest should enter but once every year into the Holy of Holies that is upon that Day when with the Blood of the Sacrifice he passed thro' the Tabernacle and the parts of it into that place It was a received Opinion among the Jews that the Holy of Holies represented the Heaven of Heavens and the Tabernacle this visible World From which Opinion joyned with the legal Ceremonies of that day it appeared as the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews argueth IX 11 12. That the High Priest of the good things to come by a greater and more perfect Tabernacle not made with hands was to enter into the holy place having obtained eternal Redemption for us That he should lay down his Life as an Expiatory Sacrifice for the Sins of the People and being slain should pass thro' all the Stages of this World here below and ascending into the highest Heavens the Throne of the Divine Majesty should there present his Blood Blood of that inestimable value as need not be shed and presented every year but as he once appeared in the lower World to put away sin by the Sacrifice of himself so once for all he ascended into the higher Heavens not to appear again until he shall come in the Clouds with Majesty and great Glory to judge the quick and Dead The same was fortold by the Prophet David Psal. LXVIII 18. and from thence urged by St. Paul Ephes. IV. 8. Thou hast ascended up on high into Heaven as it is in the common Acceptation of the Original word thou hast led Captivity Captive thou hast received Gifts for Men. A Prophesie which notwithstanding all the Pretences of the Jews can neither be applied to Moses nor to Joshua nor to David himself nor to any illustrious Conqueror of that Nation who never ascended into Heaven but to Christ alone who really and bodily ascended into the highest Heaven unto the Throne of the Majesty of God By his Death and Resurrection he subdued Sin Death Hell and the Devil and in his Ascension visibly triumphed over them and led them Captive When that Body which by the Sacrifice of it self had destroyed Sin was in Reward of that meritorious Suffering advanced into Heaven there to be continually present with God when that Body which had been subjected to Death and afterwards was raised from it received now a certain Proof of its Immortality was raised into Heaven where is no place of Corruption left when the Captain of Man's Salvation visibly ascended unto the eternal Place of Happiness having first Promised to draw all his faithful Followers after him and from whence he dispensed the precious and glorious Gifts of the Holy Ghost to the Sons of Men. If these Prophesies and Types foretelling and prefiguring the Ascension of the Messias should seem obscure yet it cannot be denied that the Messias was to receive a glorious Kingdom This we are well assured the Nature of our Lords Office the Design of his Coming the Dignity of his Person permitted him not to receive on Earth and therefore it was necessary he should ascend into Heaven there to take Possession of it It had been a mean Reward to his Humility Patience and Sufferings preceding his Resurrection to have been advanced to a temporal Kingdom to be dignified with a Reward common oft-times to the worst of Men. The greatness of this World was inconsistent with his Design the Pleasures of it were contemned by him and that Divinity which was no longer to be clouded or depressed but to shine forth in its full Lustre could find no fit Habitation upon Earth which in
his only begotten Son into the World He had before employed sufficient means of procuring universal Happiness to Mankind He had given to Man in his first Creation a distinct Knowledge of Good and Evil left to him indeed the Liberty of Choice but deterred him from the Choice of Evil as well by the Dictates of his own Conscience as by the Denunciation of extreme Punishment which should attend it When notwithstanding all this Man embraced the Evil God in his abundant Mercy provided an Expiation for this sin which in after Ages should be accomplished by the Incarnation of his own Son Upon this he pardoned the sin of Man received him to Mercy and made him capable of eternal Happiness That this intended Happiness might not be frustrated by the disobedience of Men he allured them by Promises directed them by his Laws taught them by his Prophets and supported their Faith by the Expectation of a Messias or a Saviour to come So that upon the Incarnation of Christ is founded not only the Mercy the Grace and Bounty of God to the Christian Church but also all Acts of Goodness and Favour vouchsafed to Mankind since the fall of Adam All these were conferred for the sake of him who in time should take humane Nature upon him and therein make full satisfaction for the Sins of Men. The Benefit indeed was from the beginning of the World but then the Divine Glory became chiefly manifest when this Mystery was fulfilled when the Son of God was manifested in the Flesh. Before it lay hid in the secret Purposes of God but was now declared to the whole World Before the Divine Glory which should hence arise was darkly foretold in Types and Prophesies but now set in a full Light Now were all subsequent Ages obliged to magnifie God for the accomplishment of that Mystery in due time which had so long been the Hopes of preceding Ages and was the Happiness of both Further the Wisdom of God in contriving and effecting the Incarnation of his Son was most illustrious If Wisdom be taken for Excellency of Knowledge what greater Argument can be desired of the Divine Wisdom than that it foresaw this great Event so long before foretold it and all the Circumstances of it in the same manner as they were effected Or if Wisdom which is the truer Notion of it be understood to be the prudent direction of means to obtain any end proposed we can no longer doubt of the perfection of the Divine Wisdom when we consider the Blessing of this Day When Mankind had committed that foul Apostacy in their Fore-father Adam when succeeding Generations were found no less Rebellious the Laws of God violated and his Exhortations slighted what seeming hope of Salvation could remain to Man To have pardoned all these Sins simply and without any Condition was indeed possible to God but neither consistent with his Honour nor his Justice He was Lord and Judge of the whole Creation and as such could not pass by the Sins of Men without inflicting any Punishment upon them He had threatned to punish them and then his Veracity obliged him to do it Again the Sins of Men were of such Guilt as could not be expiated by a slight Punishment being offences against an infinite Majesty who called for proportionable Punishment on the Offenders If they were indeed inflicted the whole Mass of Mankind inasmuch as all had sinned was for ever miserable If they were not inflicted the Denunciations of Punishment made by God would appear vain his Office of Judge must be disowned and his Justice called in Question In this seeming impossibility of reconciling the Salvation of Man to the Justice of God the Divine Wisdom decreed to effect it by sending the ever Blessed Jesus into the World who being partaker of the Divine Nature should take humane Flesh upon him and in that undergo the Punishment due to the Sins of Men. This Mystery after many Ages was this Day made manifest and therewith the supreme Perfection of the Divine Wisdom Lastly The Power of God did never receive a more evident Demonstration and that in effecting all those Circumstances which were long before foretold concerning the Birth of Christ. These Circumstances having been so often repeated by the Prophets to the Jews and so much enquired after by them as nearly concerning them were so fully known to them so earnestly expected by them that the completion of them must of necessity become the clearest and the strongest Argument of the Divine Power which ever was exhibited As first That the Messias should be Born of a pure Virgin a Circumstance which should effectually declare both the Dignity of the Person to be Born and the Power of him who should produce it Which should never be conferred upon any other Member of Mankind and could be effected by no other than the Author and the Lord of Nature who at first formed all things out of nothing and ever after directed them as himself pleased That the Mother of our Lord was indeed a Virgin could not ordinarily appear to the Jews yet this they were fully assured of by the Prophets that the Messias should be born of a Virgin And that the Prophesie took place in Jesus God provided abundant Arguments to convince them as the Apparition and the Testimony of Angels the Miracles afterwards ensuing to the Affirmation of his Disciples the Testimony of Joseph accounted by all a good and a just Man and he assured so by a Message from Heaven As to the Circumstance of place it was foretold that Christ should be born in Bethlehem To effect this the Divine Power directed the Mind of Augustus Caesar to command an universal Tax at that very time a thing before not known in the Roman Empire that so the Mother of Christ going from Nazareth where she dwelt to Bethlehem the place whither the Descendants of David resorted to be Taxed might be delivered of her Son in the place long since foretold As for the time Jacob moved by the Holy Ghost had Prophesied That when the Scepter should fail from Judah then should Shiloh or Messias come And at this time the Divine Providence so ordered that Herod had obtained the Kingdom who was the first that being not a Jew obtained that Government Daniel had foretold that after seventy Weeks of Years that is seventy times seven Years Messias should be cut off for the sins of the people And exactly thirty three Years before the Expiration of this time our Lord was born who is known to have suffered in the thirty third Year of his Age. All these Completions of ancient Prophesies concerning the Messias in the Person of Jesus are so many infallible Proofs of the Almighty Power of God who can dispose of Times and Seasons of the Hearts of Men and the Kingdoms of the World and can assuredly bring to pass whatsoever himself proposeth The Consideration of this Almighty Power contributes greatly to the Divine Glory when
Scripture is faid to be the footstool of God Upon all these Reasons it was necessary just and convenient that Christ should ascend into Heaven II. And that he really did ascend thither which was the 2d Head proposed evidently appeared from the History of his Ascension recorded in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles That Body of Christ which the Apostles had felt and handled that with which they had conversed for forty days together that whereof they were assured by many infallible Proofs that it was no other than the material Body of Christ which hung upon the Cross and was laid in the Grave which was united to the Soul again and had performed all manner of vital Actions that very Body they saw ascend into Heaven For that Jesus who had rose again and conversed with them who had led them out of Jerusalem and was visible and present to them till the very moment of his Ascension as he was yet speaking with them was parted from them and carried up into Heaven as we read Luk. XXIV Which refutes the Opinion of those ancient Hereticks who taught that Christ ascended in Spirit only having first put off and returned to the several Elements that Body which he had received from them Again that Body which the Apostles saw and felt to be locally present with them upon Earth they saw soon after to be really removed from the Earth and carried into Heaven For as it is related in the sacred History When he had spoken unto the Disciples and blessed them which being performed by laying his hands upon them testified his real and corporeal Presence with them in that moment in the next moment even while he blessed them he parted from them and while they beheld he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight Which proved his Ascension to have been a true proper and local Translation from the parts here below to those above and that at that moment he was indued with a perfectly humane Body whatever glorious Changes it underwent after its Reception into Heaven the Seat of Immortality and Spiritual Beings Other Circumstances deserve to be observed in the History of this Ascension And First Our Lord at his Ascension was pleased to call together many if not all his Disciples and admit them to the sight of it a Favour which was not vouchsafed to them at his Resurrection The Conduct indeed was different but the Reason not unlike in both Cases Both the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ were thenceforth to pass into necessary Articles of Belief to the principal supports of the Faith and Hopes of Mankind both therefore was to be placed beyond all doubt and contradiction by the Attestation of many and credible Witnesses To effect this at his Resurrection it was not necessary that any witnesses should be present since the Actions of Life visibly and in the Presence of many performed by him after his known Crucifixion and Burial abundantly and even demonstratively proved that he was really risen from the Dead They were well assured that some few days before he was truly Dead their Senses assured them that he was now truly alive Whence they might as certainly conclude that he was risen from the Dead as if they had actually seen his Resurrection Whereas in the Case of his Ascension he was to be taken from them no more to be seen by them in this Life no Mortal was thenceforward to see his State of Glory or testifie his Station in Heaven upon which account it was absolutely necessary that his Disciples should be present at his Ascension and be Eye-witnesses of that Action which afterwards they were to testifie and preach to others In the second Place it deserveth to be observed that the Testimony of Angels was added to that of the Apostles Those blessed Spirits far from repining that the Nature of Man in Christ was by his Ascension exalted to a superior Degree of Glory descended from Heaven to bear the glad Tidings of his Arrival there as at his Nativity they had done to proclaim the Descent of the Deity upon Earth For it follows Acts I. 10. Behold two Men stood by them in white Apparel which also said Ye Men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into Heaven This same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven Nor was this Apparition of Angels an empty Pageant or an unnecessary Addition to the Glory of our Lords Ascension By their Ministry and Attendance they demonstrated the Divinity and Dignity of his Person by their Testimony concerning his Ascension they proved the truth of it The Apostles indeed saw him received upon the Clouds they looked up and followed him with their Eyes as far as their sight could reach but that being terminated in the lower Regions and not able to penetrate into the highest Heavens their Sense could not assure them that their Lord was carried thither To evidence therefore the truth of it it remained that God by these ministerial Spirits should declare it to the Disciples These Angels were wont to Minister before and see the face of God in Heaven they were known to come down from thence They testified that Christ had ascended thither from whence they had descended and thereby perfected the Testimony of the Disciples concerning the Ascension of Christ into Heaven whose sight could not reach so far Farther these blessed Spirits not only brought Evidence to the Disciples of the real Ascension of their Master into Heaven but also gave them Comfort and alleviated their sorrow conceiv'd for his Departure by adding those words This same Jesus which ye have seen taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven Elisha had seen his Master Elijah carried up into Heaven yet knowing not certainly how the Divine Goodness would dispose of him and despairing of ever seeing him again he entertained the sight with Grief and in Testimony of it rent his Clothes Nor had the Disciples been free from the same Anxiety without the present Consolations of these Angels When their Lord had before his Death declared to them his Resolution of returning to the Father John XVI they could not dissemble their Grief as himself observeth Verse 6. Because I have said these things unto you sorrow hath filled your heart And immediately before his Ascension still retaining their erroneous Opinion of a temporal Kingdom to be founded by him they had asked him whether he would not at that time restore the Kingdom unto Israel which hopes were totally defeated by his Departure into Heaven Both these occasions of Sorrow therefore the Angels happily do remove in these words They assure them that the Presence of their Master shall not be for ever taken from them but themselves should see him return in the last of days and that they may not imagine his Kingdom to be abolished they
add that he shall return in like manner as they saw him go that is in Power and great Glory as our Lord describeth his coming to Judgment Matth. XIII 26. It will be of little use to inquire into what part of the Heavens the Body of our Lord was translated yet not unfit to observe that our Lord is said to have ascended into those Heavens by which the most glorious Presence of the Divine Majesty is in Scripture expressed Thus it is said of him Ephes. IV. 10. He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all Heavens and Hebr. VII 10. That he was higher than the Heavens and Heb. IX 12. passing into the holy place even into Heaven it self to appear before the Presence of God that is he was advanced to the same state of Glory with God the Father his Body was translated to the place of his more immediate Presence in Heaven which is fully expressed by his sitting at the right hand of God To determine the place whether in the third in the fourth or above the Heavens is rash and unwarrantable But this we may be assured that whatsoever part of Heaven is the immediate residence of the Divine Majesty whatsoever Region is most Holy whatsoever Place is of greatest Dignity in those Celestial Orbs thither Christ ascended and there now Reigns in Glory III. The Advantages which the Church and all the Members of it received from the Ascension of Christ are many and great The first and most eminent Benefit derived from it was the Mission of the Holy Ghost of which I spoke before A Benefit which was indeed more sensible in the Apostolick times when it communicated to many the gift of Tongues the power of working Miracles or a prophetick Spirit but is at this day no less advantageous since by the Influences and Operations of the Holy Ghost the Church is still maintained the Faithful are enabled to perform their Duty and the unfaithful are converted Thus the Ascension of Christ became a lasting Benefit to all his Followers procuring to them those Graces which otherwise could never have been obtained The Ascension of Elijah made one Elisha left a double Portion of his Spirit with one Disciple to be communicated to no other but the Ascension of Christ was of universal Benefit producing blessed Effects which should extend to all Believers and to all Ages A second Benefit of the Ascension of our Lord is the Confirmation of our Faith which from thence received firm Assurance of the truth of his Doctrine and the Divinity of his Person He had proclaimed to the unbelieving Jews as well as to his own Disciples in the VI. of St. John that he would ascend into Heaven What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before After his Resurrection he said unto the Women Go to my brethren and say unto them I ascend unto my Father and your Father It was not therefore unexpected to the Apostles they were acquainted with his Resolutions herein and when they faw effected what he had before foretold them they could no longer doubt that he was the true Messias Thus although the prophetical Office of our Lord expired upon the Cross all his subsequent Actions offered convincing Arguments to Mankind of the truth of his Mission and the certainty of those things he taught No greater Proof of either could be imagined than his Resurrection from the Dead and when to this was added his Ascension into Heaven there was no more place left for doubt Thus the Faith of the Apostles was confirmed by the Ascension of Christ but their Hopes were much more exalted By this glorious Triumph they saw him put into Possession of that ample Power which they so long wished to be assumed by him which might enable him to reward his Followers and effect those Promises which he had made to them In John XIV he had told them there were many Mansions in his Fathers house and that he went before to prepare a place for them intending to receive them afterwards to himself that where he was there they might be also The former part of the Promise they saw to be effected in his Ascension and thence conceived assured Hope that the latter would be accomplished There can be no greater Motive to believe the truth of Prophecies or Promises than to consider the performance of those which went before The same foreknowledge of our Lord which foresaw the Exaltation of himself could as easily foresee the like Reward to be given to his Followers and the same Power which advanced him to the right hand of God could exalt whomsoever he pleased into Heaven So that his Power could not be questioned and his Will therein he had often declared assuring them Joh. XII 32. When I am lifted up from the Earth I will draw all Men unto me Herein the Hopes of all Mankind received increase and strength They had all impatiently wished for Immortality it was easie to believe that their Souls should still exist but their Bodies were equally parts of themselves They were equally concerned for the future Happiness of both yet that either should be hereafter Happy they were assured only by the Revelation of Christ. He affirmed it he promised it he confirmed it by wonderful Signs and Miracles yet it could not but seem strange that Flesh and Blood should inherit the Kingdom of God that such a gross corporeal Being should be admitted to the Society of Angels that Man who was excluded from an Earthly Paradise should be taken up to the immediate Presence of God All this did seem incredible till they saw an Example of it in the Body of Christ which consisting of the same Flesh and Blood partaking of the same Nature was visibly received into Heaven and placed in eternal Happiness By this they were convinced that the like Immortality of their own Bodies was not impossible and while they considered the Promises of Christ and their own Relation to him that he was the first Fruits of humane Nature their forerunner which is entred into Heaven for them the Captain of their Salvation and the Head of their Society they were fully satisfied that it should in time be granted to them since what he foretold of his own Ascension they saw effected since it was but natural to follow their Captain their Head and their Forerunner and with him to be received into the place of their desired Happiness Farther as Christ is our King and our Priest the Benefits which we hope to receive from either of those his Offices received increase by his Ascension into Heaven As King he is thereby invested in the actual Dominion of his Church enabled to bestow upon her all those Graces and extraordinary Assistances which are necessary for her Well-being As our Priest his Intercessions with God the Father in our behalf are made much more prevalent by his personal Presence with him Under the Law the Efficacy of