A century of sermons upon several remarkable subjects preached by the Right Reverend Father in God, John Hacket, late Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry ; published by Thomas Plume ...

THE SECOND SERMON UPON THE Descent of the Holy Ghost. (Book 2)

ACTS ii. 2.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and filled all the house where they were sitting.

THE Feast of Christs Resurrection, and the Feast of Whitsunday or coming of the Holy Ghost are distant one from another fifty days in space of time, but are as near to themselves as the bark un∣to the tree in real substance, and in spiritual conjunction. In the Resurrection the strength of Hell was weakened for us: In the descending of the Holy Ghost the vertue of Heaven was made powerful in us. In the first the doors of the Grave were un∣lock'd, that we might not be held in death: In the other the windows of heaven were opened, that we might be partakers of the life to come. The Resurrection reduceth the soul into the body again, which was dissolved by the sin of Adam: The coming of the Holy Ghost doth again reduce grace into the Soul when original Justice had been taken from it by the same mans transgression. These are parallell'd in primo gradu, and the comparison may reach a little further to our present business, that there was a great noise caused at Christs rising, For behold there was an Earthquake, Mat. xxviii. 2. And loe as great a noise from above at the coming of the Holy Ghost, for behold there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. These two honourable Feasts having such near relation, I have found out most principal Texts for them both this year out of the same Chapter for Easter day, Ver. 24. whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: For Whitsunday in that notable portion of the story which I have read unto you. And I told you upon the last great solemnity, that Whitsunday was principally ordained for this end, to make Easter day famous over all the world.

But the principal fruits of this day are three, if we may comprehend an Ocean of graces in so small a number. In the zeal of our Prayers we passed them over in the Morning Collect; and that Collect extracted them from the Epistle and Gospel appointed. Thus you may perceive that the Service of the Church of England is the treasure of my observations. The Collect runs upon these three Points, Teach∣ing, Illumination, Consolation. God which upon this day hath taught the hearts of thy faith∣ful people, for heavenly Doctrine began to be made common to all the world from this day. Yet many hear the Word, but most unprofitably; therefore it follows, that God hath sent us the light of his holy Spirit to have a right judgment in all things. And many have the benefit of true Doctrine, and the help of Illumination, but with much sorrow and persecution, therefore the Holy Ghost came down also, that we might rejoyce in his holy comfort. Thus far the contents of that short Prayer have

helpt me. The Gospel for the day runs altogether upon the last branch, upon Con∣solation, I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter. The Epistle falls upon the two former, upon Doctrine and Illumination, and that in two sensible miracles. For Doctrine, that a sound came from heaven as of a mighty wind, to foreshew, that the sound of the Word should go forth into all Lands; for Illumination, that cloven tongues appeared, and sate upon them as it were of fire. The noise was as a Trum∣pet to wake the World; the firy Tongues as so many lights to let them see their visitation. Thus the Holy Ghost is presented to both the senses, to the Ear, as to the sense of faith; to the Eye, as to the sense of love. The Ear is the ground of the Word and Doctrine, and that gives the first admittance to Faith; and there∣fore the Holy Ghost began his operation there, according to my Text, and that in these particulars to be considered: 1. That God caused a sound to be heard upon the descending of the Holy Spirit. 2. The manner of the sound is resembled to a Wind. 3. To a sudden wind. 4. To a rushing mighty wind. 5. It was from heaven. 6. It filled all the house where they were sitting. All these particulars are worthy of my labour, and your attention.

That there came a sound from heaven at the mission of the Holy Ghost is the first thing remarkable. A sound first to call in them that were without. Secondly, To demonstrate the Office of them that were within. As the chiming of Bells calls us together to Church, so an audible sound from heaven was a warning to the Jews to flock to that place where the Apostles were gathered together. The Master of the Feast in the Gospel sent forth his Servants, and invited the Guests, and bad them be told what preparation he had made for their coming; so the men of Jerusalem had as sensible an invitation to draw them to the great Feast of the Gospel, as if a Canon had been discharged in their Ear. Or if they were yet unprepared to taste of such Manna as fell from heaven into their lap, yet the Lords doings were so palpable be∣fore them, that their consciences must be extremely stupified with malice, if they made an ill interpretation of others that were then filled from above with the great power of God. And indeed Oecumenius says that the sound did pierce the ears of all that were in the City, that such as were curious to know the reason might come and see, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that the open manifestation of the miracle might preserve it from calumny. But you will say, it did not gain the good opinion of the Jews; for all the gift of Tongues had such a forerunner, not vox clamantis, but sonus intonantis, not the voice of a Crier, but a peal of thunder to bring it into the world, yet the people did disgrace it with a vile imputation of drunkenness. True, it proved as ill as could be expected; but says St. Chrysostome, if they said the Apostles were full of new Wine, when these signs concurred, what would they have said without them? The most graceful and melodious sounds in the world are lost to deaf men; and though a clamour, and a cry from heaven were come down, as it is in my Text, yet it moved not those that, like the deaf Adder,* 1.1 had stopped their ears. The Serpent in that place is called in the Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, by Antiphrasis, or the contrary, because it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 an unperswaded Creature, all Art and Charming is spent in vain, it will not listen, it will not mitigate its venomous wrath; and so the Translator Apollinarius says upon it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that when the Adder is mischievously angry, for the time of his violent anger, and while that lasts, he is stark deaf, though he can hear by nature. So such as are 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Tit. i. 16. Disobedient, and reprobate to every good work, though they have the sense of hearing by nature, yet when they are violently set upon infidelity and stubbornness, they give no more attention to the sound that comes from heaven than do the stones of the Temple. When Stephen preached so divinely to the Jews, that the heavens opened in the time of his Sermon, Acts vii. 56. as if way had been made for the Angels and Saints to be his Auditors; even then, when the gates of heaven stood wide open at the grace of his words, they, that should have given him best attention, stopped their ears and ran upon him. But the sin of them that will not hear let it lie upon their own head; they cannot say but there hath been a Trumpet among them to awake them from the sleep of sin. The sound which God hath sent forth is shrill and loud to call in those that are without, And he that hath ears, &c.

But secondly, the Spirit came in a very audible sound, to declare what a door of utterance should be opened from thenceforth to the Messengers of Christ, That their sound should go out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the World, Rom. x. 18. The Gospel preached to every creature under heaven, Col. i. 23. How

many were in that lamentable condition like the Disciples at Ephesus, that had not so much as heard whether there were an Holy Ghost? Angels themselves began to be Preachers, when a door of entrance was opened, that the Word should run swift∣ly throughout all the world, when good tidings were diffusive, great joy unto all people.* 1.2 The sound came flying upon the wings of the wind, that there was neither Speech nor Language upon the earth but their voices were heard among them. The Law made a great din when it was published, there came thunder with it, and the noise of a Trumpet louder and louder.* 1.3 Yet this noise was spread in the Desart of Sinai, in a desolate and uninhabited Region: But this sound, which hapned when the Gospel was authorized to be preached in every Nation, it had au∣dience in the most populous place of all Judaea, in the City of Jerusalem: As who should say, it was a communicable sound which should be received into the Imperi∣al Cities of all Kingdoms. I draw this only observation from it to your holy pra∣ctice, that the Lord loveth fragorem vocis, not a whispering silence, but an exalted voice, a loud exclamation to praise him. Open confession of Gods name is an effect individually connex'd with a true lively faith, so says David, Psal. cxvi. I believed, and therefore I spake. There are three things hateful to God which jar against it: 1. Hypocritical profession, when the protestation of the mouth is not rooted in the heart. 2. Abnegation of the Faith, whether they deny the truth for fear, or for resolved Apostasie. 3. There is another way to sin against the confession of the Faith, and that is, malum silentium, not to glorifie God openly in our profession, when it concerns his honour; in whose person the Psalmist speaks, I kept silence, yea, even from good words, but it was pain; nay, it will be pain and grief unto them. St. Paul complains of those Christians that were of Rome in his days, that none would open∣ly declare themselves of his side in the time of persecution, At my first answer none stood with me,* 1.4 but all forsook me, I pray God it may not be laid to their charge, 1 Tim. iv. 16. The Lord would not have it lurk only in the secrets of our breast, that we are Christs Disciples, but that it should resound abroad to his glory, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And let Gods service be performed on all sides, on the Priests part, and on the peoples, with fervor and strength of voice, like the sound of many wa∣ters. You may pray tacitly in the heart, but sure the holy Spirit came not from hea∣ven like a vehement sound, to teach you to fumble in the mouth, and scarce to open your lips when you are in Prayer. Prayer is a calling upon God, Call upon me in the time of trouble, Psal. l. Nay, a roaring for very disquietness of heart, says the same Prophet in another place. Our humble Petitions are called Vituli labiorum, Heb. xiii. Their lips will offer their sacrifice aloud, if the true incense of zeal do burn with∣in; for our Saviour says, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A troubled soul, I grant it, sometimes cannot utter it self; sometimes a dumb∣born Prayer is very powerful, as Hannah the Mother of Samuel is the great instance of it; but in the ordinary way, assuredly the more strength of voice we put to our Supplications, the more we shake off the drowsiness of the flesh, the more we stir up the grace of the holy Spirit, which loves that the Eccho and chearful sounds of the voice should ascend up to heaven.

But the Scripture doth not leave at this, that there came a sound from heaven, it goes further, and tells us the manner of the sound, that it was like unto that noise which is caused by a vehement wind. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as if the wind had blown, but it was but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 as if it were; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, says Oecumenius, that you might not imagine the holy Spirit to be a corporeal breathing, like the vapo∣rous substance of the wind, therefore the quasi is very significant, that it had but the similitude of the wind. Yet it is very inquirable, why like that more than any thing else? If we had been left to guess what sound it was, why might not we have imagined it to be the purling of some soft streams? Or the humming of Bees about their Hive? Or the voice of harpers playing with their harps, Rev. xiv. 2. None of those it was, but as the fragor of the wind. And when God declares his vertue in some sensible object, you must perswade your reason there is some great relation between the sign and the thing signified. Did not our Saviour illustrate un∣to Nicodemus our Regeneration, or new Birth from the blasts of the air? Joh. iii. 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, and knowest not whence it cometh, or whither it goeth, so is every one that is born of the Spi∣rit. Yet more feelingly; when he did infuse into his Apostles the power of the Holy Ghost, bequeathing them that great Sacerdotal priviledge, Whosesoever sins ye

remit, they are remitted, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained; Was it not conveyed by blowing upon them like the wind, by insufflation? Joh. xx. 22. He breathed on them, and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost. Now I will tell you to∣gether where both the mystery, and the use of it do consist.

First, As the breath which we send forth comes from the warmth of our Lungs, and of our bowels within, so the Spirit proceedeth from the substantial love of the Father, and of the Son. What was the meaning then of that sensible expiration? But that as the breath which he vented out came from his Humane Nature, so the Holy Ghost which he breathed on his Disciples came from his Divine Nature. And this must follow, to give it you by the way, that Christ is very God, for who but God can communicate the Holy Ghost? For it was Gods Promise, that He, and none but He, would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, Isa. xliv. And it stands as well proved that the Holy Ghost is God, for the prime and supreme power to remit sins is the Holy Ghosts he was given to the Disciples for that end, and none can forgive sins but God alone. Secondly, Christ communicated his spiritual gifts by breathing; to shew that he, even the same Lord, was the Author both of our temporal and eternal life. For in the Creation the Lord breathed into mans nostrils the breath of life, Gen. ii. 7. But this life shall pass away, and the body shall crumble into dust. Why, behold the breath of the Lord will go forth again to cause a joy∣ful Resurrection, as it is in the Prophets vision of the dry bones, Ezek. xxxvil. 5. Thus saith the Lord unto these bones, Behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. Yet if this body, wherein sin reigns, and inclines it only to dead works, were not quickned by grace, better it might be for us that we had never been born, therefore the life of Sanctification was begun in the Church, as it were with a gentle gust of wind, when Christ breathed on his own, and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. So you see this outward sign of insufflation was constantly used, at our Creation, at our Resurrection, at our Sanctification, to shew how it is the same God that worketh all in all. Yet St. Ambrose comes in with a third Meditation upon it: Says he,* 1.5 God did give man a living soul at first by breathing or inspiration, to let him see he did not only give him a temporal or carnal vivification, but grace and sanctity to live for ever. But when man had lost this primitive grace and original righteousness, it was fit to let us know that such losses could be repaired by none but Christ, therefore Christ breathed again upon man, to demonstrate that he was the re∣storer of those immortal blessings, which exceed our merits, and pass all under∣standing.

But when Christ was ascended up on high, the Spirit could not be infused imme∣diately from the breath of his mouth, but, in Analogy to it, it came into the place where the Apostles were gathered together like the murmuring wind, or the breath of heaven. As Solomon fore-told it in his Poetical Ode, Cant. iv. 16. Awake O North wind, and come thou South, blow upon my Garden, that the Spices thereof may flow out. And here again I shall pass through some humane Comparisons to the illustration of most divine Mysteries. First, of all Elementary Creatures the Wind is the most active thing in the world, nothing so quick and active as it, Ʋsque adeo agit ut nisi agat non sit; when it is not active it is not at all, no stirring of the air no wind. So it is with the Spirit of faith and love, the very being of it consists in being opera∣tive. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 says St. Chrysostome, it impels the heart to be never out of motion in some spiritual exercise. Either the Tongue is praying, or the Ear is hearing, or the Heart is meditating, or the Hand is giving, or the Soul is thirsting for remission of sins. When the Spirit beats not in the Pulses, there is no spirit in the body, it is a dead Carkass; and in whomsoever there is a cessation from all good works, you may say it justly that there the Holy Ghost is extinguished; there is no difference be∣tween a standing Puddle, and a dead Sea. And cozen not your selves with a vain confidence, that albeit you be altogether barren and unprofitable, no fruit of San∣ctification budding from you, yet Semen Dei manet, the sap may be in the root, the vertue in the Seed-corn, though it do not put out. These may-bees are pitiful An∣chors of hope, and miserable comforters. Will you say the wind is up when there is a still Serena, no puff of air moving? Then think as little that God dwells in that brest where there are no tokens of Sanctification. Secondly,* 1.6 I have it from St. Au∣stin, Flatus ille à carnali palea corda mundabit; The Wind is the advantage of the Husbandman to winnow Chaff from Wheat, and where the Spirit blows upon the conscience it will purge it from all dead works. The cares of this world, the

thought of getting Riches, anxieties for honours and advancements, these over∣spread the life of a natural man left to the ways of carnal reason; but as soon as ever we begin to sift and discuss these cogitations by the doctrine of the Spirit, they vanish and disperse, Tradam protervis in mare Creticum portare ventis; they are light and empty of true goodness, and so are blown away to the Father of errors and delusions,* 1.7 to the Devil himself from whence they came. Thirdly, Says St. Chry∣sostome, Suppose a Ship be well appointed with Pilot, Mariners, Sails, Cables, An∣chors, and all convenient appurtenances, to what use will all this serve if the winds stir not? So let there be profound Judgment, quick Invention, neat Elo∣quence, and all the graces of Art in a man, these will not bring a man one whit on∣ward in his Voyage, to the haven of happiness, to the kingdom of glory, unless the sweet gales of the Spirit carry him forward, those are the wings of the Dove upon which the Soul shall fly away and be at rest. Another Author, taken for St. Chrysostome,* 1.8 writing upon St. Matthew, composeth it thus, As the ground doth not fructifie by rain alone, but there is a prolificous vertue in the winds, which blows upon the fields, and makes the Spring to sprout: So it is not our Doctrine alone which converts your Souls, though it distill like the soft drops of rain upon the earth, but benediction of inward grace that goes with the word breaths salva∣tion upon our heart. The Letter may kill, but the Spirit quickneth, and in our Evangelical Priesthood we are Ministers, not of the Letter alone, but of the Spirit also. Qui instat praecepto praecurrit auxilio; the words of Leo, which I take to be solid truth in this Point; when God presseth us with the outward instructi∣on of his Word. He impresseth the secret operation of his Spirit to make it fructifie.

And now to come to another portion of the Text, it agrees very accurately with the nature of that supernal gift which God infuseth into his Saints, that the Spirit came with a sudden flaw of wind. And I am very willing to make that col∣lection of it, which divers have done before me, Datur haec gratia ex improviso, & sine meritis; Grace is a blessing that comes unlook'd for, unawares, nay, it is im∣possible for an unconverted man to say, now I am prepared for it, now I expect it, now my heart is ready to receive it; for there is no good preparation for grace in the soul of man till some portion of it have entred before. Natural dispositions can∣not attain to bring in supernatural grace. Therefore the first influx and admission of it must needs be sudden and unawares. As you can make no rules for the Wind, why it should blow South to day, and North to morrow, why from this Point of heaven at such a season rather than from another: So there is no aim to be taken how this or that man was first partaker of the heavenly light, which is thus couched in our Saviours words, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall they say loe here, or loe there, for the Kingdom of God is within you, Luk. xvii. 20. For what observa∣tion can we make, or through what tokens can we collect, that God will begin to draw a sinner unto him? Will you say he lives justly, and chastely? If they were Christian justice and chastity the seed of the Spirit was in his heart before: If they be but moral conformities, he is still the Child of wrath, and those laudable acti∣ons were but sins, or imperfections with a good gloss. Will you say they desire and pray for the holy Spirit, and therefore this illumination comes not suddenly, but with invitation? O but says the Arausican Council, which handled this Point of the grace of God more copiously and Orthodoxly than ever any Council did, the utte∣rance, nay, the very thought of every good Prayer, it is instilled by the divine irradiation of Gods help, and the Holy Ghost is called the Spirit of Prayer; and if any man say, that the grace of God is bestowed upon our Prayer and Invocation, and that grace did not first enable us to make that Prayer, he contradicts the Pro∣phet Isaiah,* 1.9 and the Apostle Paul, who both have these same words, I am sought of them that asked not for me, I am found of them that sought me not. Thus that Council, where∣by you hear, that we, whose nature is rank corruption, do not prepare and dis∣pose the way to attract the blessing of heaven upon us by little and little, upon congruity of Gods favour; it comes suddenly and unawares, when we least de∣serve it.

It must not be let alone without this addition to it, which is S. Ambrose his descant on it, Nescit tarda molimina spiritus sancti gratia; the spirit of purity and renovation is quick and sudden in the work of conversion, he doth not linger, and mature his good effects by soft leisure; he doth not creep like a snail, or as a Father of our own Church says, like a Serpent, Serpentis est repere. Commonly motions that come

from the old Serpent the Devil creep upon us, and men grow bold in iniquity by degrees, Nemo repentè fit pessimus was the old Proverb, but where the Lord loveth, the man whom he chooseth, he doth in an instant take away his stony heart, and give him an heart of flesh: And as the Resurrection of the dead shall be in an in∣stant, so in an instant he translates him from death to life. It is done with such di∣spatch and celerity, that the gift of Prophesie, nay, of Sanctification is called but the touch of the lips. Says the Angel to Isaiah upon the living coal which he brought from the Altar, This hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged, Isa. vi, 7. The loyal Israelites that feared God and the King are called a band of men whose hearts God had touched, 1 Sam. x. 26. O admirable workman, says Grego∣ry, Mox ut tetigeret mentem docet solùmque tetigisse est docuisse;* 1.10 He doth but touch and teach, and the mind is reformed in a moment, as soon as ever the finger of his Spirit is laid upon it. An Apostolical Spirit came suddenly upon St. Matthew, pe∣nitent restitution upon Zaccheus, confession and grace upon the Thief on the Cross. The Eunuch made haste to believe, and as soon as he believed, he would be baptized of Philip at the next water he came to, and go no further. Men must not neglect present motions of grace, though suddenly rising in them. Now the Lord moves my heart, and now at the first touch I will obey the Spirit. This is a brave and a pious reso∣lution: But if you let the grace of God knock at door once and twice and do not open, it is to be feared that you will grow deaf after a while, and never hear it. Modo & modò non habebant modum; Anon, and to morrow, and hereafter at more leisure, and as Festus said to Paul, Go thy way for this time, when I have a convenient season I will call for thee; these are not words of good manners to so great a King as the King of heaven. Can Impenitancy, or continuance in evil be good at any time? Then break it off at the first pang and throw that the Conscience suffers for it. The Spirit is a sudden wind, he deceives his own soul that continues in a long consumption of any sin, and thinks to be helpt out of it by a lingring remedy.

The description of the suddenness hath not been unuseful you see, and we shall collect as much from that which follows, that it was Flatus veniens, & vehe∣mens, a rushing mighty wind. Methinks I see the Spirit of God set out here in his manifold strength and efficacy. Is there any thing in it self so thin and poor as a puff of Air? It is neither Iron, nor Brass, nor Bones, and yet what strange effects it works? Turns up Oaks and Cedars by the roots, breaks the Ships of the Sea in pieces, casts down Bulwarks and Fortresses; so Epiphanius received it from some good hand, that God overthrew the Tower of Babel with a violent wind. So the principles of the Spirit seem to be very mean and foolishness to flesh and bloud; the Instruments in which it wrought homely illiterate Fishermen; yet the learn∣ing of five Synagogues, putting their wits together, was not able to resist the wis∣dom, and the Spirit by which Stephen spake, Acts vi. 10. It brings down strong Holds and high Imaginations; it brings into Captivity every exalting thought to the obedience of Christ; Wisdom, Learning, Might, Majesty,* 1.11 all have stoopt before it. As the Scripture says often that the Spirit came mightily upon Samson, and then his Foes were sure to fall before him; so it rusheth upon some holy men with a gallant heroick zeal, and then all the subtilties of Satan are not able to make a part against it. No Fear can dismay them, no Persecution can make them hide their head, no Favour. or Reward make them swerve from a good con∣science, no Discipline so strict that they will not undertake for the love of Christ. The Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force, Mat. xi. 12. The Kingdom of heaven was among the Jews, but Rapuit regnum coelorum Centurio; The Centurion did as it were invade it, and take it from them, for upon his confession our Saviour said, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.

Neither is it only expedient to make it manifest that the Spirit is strong and mighty, like a stiff vehement wind in actu exercito, in the power of it which the Saints of God have to exercise to others, but also in actu primo informante, when it enters into the heart of them whom God converts, it comes with a mighty force, and will not be gainsaid with the opposition of our rebellious nature. Neque resi∣stere ultra potest, cui velle resistere sublatum est, says a Reverend Father of our own Church; that is, neither shall our vicious nature resist the mighty working of Gods con∣verting grace, since the first thing that such grace works is to conquer our per∣verseness in resisting. I do not say but our will hath always a liberty and indiffe∣rency in it to do, or not do: To chuse or refuse; but the act to resist is suspended

for that time by the grace of God, and though resistency be never taken away in this life, but is ever smothered and couchant in the bitter root of our corruption, yet according to the efficacious and sweet motion of grace, God disposeth that it shall not come out into act. It is not therefore the power to resist which is taken away, for then the will were violenced, and nature quite transformed, whereas grace is the perfection, not the abolition or destruction of nature; It is only the actual resistency which is stopt. Most excellently Prosper, Hanc abundantiorem grati∣am ita credimus potentem, ut negemus violentam; There is a special abundant grace which is the Lot of that remnant which shall be saved, and this we believe that it hath powerful success upon the will, but makes no violent, that is irresistible, en∣trance. But it carries all the affections with it with a most urgent, undeniable, per∣swasive force; it ravisheth a man from himself, he feels himself as it were com∣pelled in spight of Tyrants, in spight of death to confess the truth, We cannot but speak the things which we have heard and seen, Acts iv. 20. Nihil imperiosius side. The Spirit of God hath a most imperious authority over the soul where it will dwell, a smooth tongue in an eloquent man will win much upon his hearers, and draw them far, but the Spirit of God is a commanding principle; a rushing mighty wind, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, says Oecumenius, this is a sign of abundance of vehemence, it is the breath of God whose might is invincible.

But thirdly there is another way that some conjecture at the vehemency of the Wind, and that was to strike terrour. Into whom you will say? In some sort, says Calvin, into the Disciples themselves that received the Holy Ghost. Thus he most judiciously, Nunquam ad recipiendam Dei gratiam ritè sumus comparati, nisi domitâ priùs carnis confidentiâ; That is, we are never fitly disposed to receive the grace of God, untill our carnal pride and security be beaten down, and humbled. Some roaring terrible wind of judgment, and the expectation of hell fire, if we repent not, must shake us soundly. Or else we will fall asleep in our sins, and wallow in wantonness with the slumbering soft noise of mercy. As the Spring of the year, wherein all things grow, begins roughly with March, and ends sweetly with May, so Renovation and New-birth it begins austerely with the angry Pedagogie and Di∣scipline of the Law, with consternation in a troubled Spirit, then begin the fruits of the Spirit to spring up, but it proceeds to gladness and rejoycing, and to peace in Christ. First, the strong Wind passed by Elias, that rent the Mountains, and brake the Rocks in pieces, then an Earthquake, and a fire, and after the fire a still small voice. The Angels coming to the Blessed Virgin had first fear and astonishment in it, then greeting and salutation. So the Wind that came at the Feast of Whitsontide did first roar and terrifie them that were gathered together, afterwards it was as Oyl that comforted,* 1.12 and as new Wine that maketh glad the heart. So says Bernard upon the conclusion of it, Tranquillus Deus tranquillat omnia, & quietum aspicere qui∣escere est. God is peace, and sets all at peace, and to behold him in whom our soul rests is to rest for ever. But others say, for all the mightiness of the Wind it is not expressed that any fear did fall upon the Apostles, the vehemency of the sound was to corroberate the Apostles, and to let them know there were blasts in store to cast down their enemies. Such as repelled the Darts of Maximinus the Tirant into his own face, when he gave battel to the Christians: Such as hath dispersed the invincible Navies of our Enemies, Et conjurati veniunt in classica venti. Christ descended gently as the rain into the Fleece of Wool, in the days of his exina∣nition. He shall not cry, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street, Isa. xlii. 2. But now he is exalted into glory, and hath the rule put into his hand, he will thunder and break forth in strong violence against his enemies.

Thus far you have heard that the Holy Ghost came sensibly and audibly to the Ear like a sound, the similitude of that sound was the noise of the Wind, the At∣tributes of it two, sudden and mighty, and yet these two Points are undispatcht, the terminus à quo, it came from heaven; and the terminus ad quem, it filled the house where they were sitting. But briefly. The first of these moves much to one thing that is handled before, that there is vehement strength in the grace of God because it comes from heaven;* 1.13 says the great Counsellor Gamaliel, If this work be of men it will come to nought, but if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it. The Winds naturally arise out of the Caves of the earth, they steame from beneath, and blow laterally from one Coast to another: So are worldly graceless devices, all unsanctified counsels, they blow from beneath, from the Forge of Satan, the principles are drawn from Ambition, Hatred, Emulation, Treachery, and have an oblique collateral motion,

which is profound dissimulation: But the root of grace is above in heaven, and grows down to the earth; it fetcheth all its drifts from Peace, from Religion, from Charity, from the Sanctuary, from the Glory of God. Strip all your politick projects from their fair pretences, and see the ground and foundation upon which they rest, and you will find them to be hollow and putrified vapours. Again, slight not the harmless ways and simplicity of good men, for if you could discover their conscience as God doth, you would find their scope and aim to be celestial. And no∣thing comes from heaven but with this purpose, to convert our earthly inclinations into heavenly directions.

And let this superficial inspection satisfie for the term and place whence the sound came, it came from heaven. The end of our work is the consideration of the place where it staid and lighted, It filled all the house where they were sitting. If you expect to have it treated of how the blast of the Spirit did fill the house, I must put you off to the fourth verse of this Chapter, where it is recorded of the Apostles, that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and better speak of it touching men than touching the Room of an house, that Christ is the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Moreover, if you look for any touch upon the House it self, remember I told you such Tradi∣tions for it last year as I found in Antiquity, but with this modest conclusion, that the Point was not material, and all humane Records are uncertain. This we may, and must build upon, that it was an upper Room of some dwelling in Jerusalem, Acts i. 13. and of large capacity we are sure to contain at least one hundred and twenty persons, ver. 15. Perhaps also of sufficient bigness to hold those three thousand that were converted, ver. 41. of this Chapter. To that other Circumstance also, that the men and women are said to be sitting in the house when this blessing came down upon them. I have little to add, I love reverence of gesture with all my soul; yet I love not to be so nice as some, that hold it so necessary for the Apostles to be humbled on their knees, when the grace of God fell on them, that they say the meaning of the Text is not sitting but kneeling, howsoever the words go, and that to sit signifies not the posture of their body, but their habitation. I confess and believe, if they had lookt for the Comforter at that moment, they would have cast themselves down upon the ground when the Majesty of God was in the place, and I perswade my self they did instantly kneel and give thanks, as soon as they perceived what migh∣ty work God had wrought upon them: But remember they were taken suddenly, and unawares, in some honest communication no doubt. And being so unprovided, why might not Christ begin this Miracle while they were sitting, as well as Christ appear from heaven to Paul as he was riding, or God appear unto Moses while he was keeping sheep? Excellently Cajetan, Non horreo sessionem corporalem, cum nihil indecens inducat; I am not scrupulous or troubled at their sitting, as long as it was done with no obstinate, irreverent, disobedient affection. O but the Roman Missal for this day hath this Hymn, Orantibus Discipulis Deum venisse nunciat. While they were at their prayers, they mean kneeling, the sound gave them warning that the Holy Ghost was come. Well, this case is quickly resolved, their Hymn is mistaken, and let them mend their Missal and not mend the Scripture.

Is there any thing more to be extracted out of this last Point? One thing, and that is all. It is a remarkable note of a most acute Father of our own Church. Thus: This Wind filled not all the Country, or all Jerusalem, but that house where they sate. Nay, says he, and very truly, that Room only of the house where they were assembled. One Room for an whole house is a frequent Synechdoche. Natural Winds breath over many places at once, but this Wind blew electivè, by choise and discre∣tion. The Spirit blows upon certain places where it will, and upon certain persons, and they shall plainly feel it, and others about them not a whit. It is a peculiar wind, appropriate to the place where the Apostles are, that is the Church, else where to seek it is but folly, the place it bloweth in is Sion. This is the Divinity of that great Scholar Bishop Andrews, that the Spirit hath not cast an universal diffusion over all the world, but it blows by election and choise, that is at Gods good will and pleasure, upon that place only where Christ hath his Church. For what use can they make, or have they ever made of the Spirit, to whom the name of Christ and salvation in his bloud was never revealed? The purpose of giving the Holy Ghost is to make the Seed of the Word fruitful in our hearts, that we may believe the Gospel, that we may live holily according to the profession of our Faith, and that through faith, which must work by love if it be true faith, we may be saved. AMEN.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Psal. 58.4.
• * 1.2

  Psal. 193.
• * 1.3

  Exod. 19.19.
• * 1.4

  Rom. 10.10.
• * 1.5

  Serm. 10. in Psal. 118.
• * 1.6

  De temp. Serm. 188.
• * 1.7

  Hom. de spir. sanct.
• * 1.8

  Author. im∣perf. operis homil. 10.
• * 1.9

  Isa. 65.1.
• * 1.10

  Homil. 30. in Evang.
• * 1.11

  2 Cor 10.5.
• * 1.12

  Bern. Serm. 23. in Cant.
• * 1.13

  Acts 5.39.