Fifty sermons preached at the parish-church of St. Mary Magdalene Milk-street, London, and elsewhere whereof twenty on the Lords Prayer / by ... Anthony Farindon ... ; the third and last volume, not till now printed ; to which is adjoyned two sermons preached by a friend of the authors, upon his being silenced.

The Eight and Twentieth SERMON. PART II. (Book 28)

MATTH. XXII. 11, 12.

And when the King came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding-garment:

And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither, not ha∣ving a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

THE wedding-garment we made up as you have heard, out of our Saviours wardrobe, of Innocency and San∣ctity, of Faith and Charity, and whatsoever else was praise-worthy. The glory of it struck our eyes, the beauty of it awak't our affections, the necessity of it rowsed our desires. We may now proceed, and see, in the next place, Though it were a rich robe and glori∣ous; a comely wear, to adorn us; a coat of mail, to de∣fend us; though it were better stay at home than appear before the King without it; yet one there was that thought it not worth the putting on. To the feast he goes, in he rushes, and down he sits, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, in outward ap∣pearance, a guest as well disposed as any of the company; but what he was 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in the heart, as the Apostle speaks, and within, no discovery was made till the King came in; and then there was. Then discalceatur, he is stripped, and flung off the stage. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, his visour and mask of godliness, as St. Paul calls it, falls off; and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as St. Pe∣ter calls it, the cloak of his evil intents, is pluckt off. He is made a specta∣cle to men and Angels; who cannot but confess that tenebrae exteriores, a dark dungeon, is a fitter place for such a guest than a Kings table. The King with but one cast of his eye marks him out, and singles him from the rest: And, for his welcom thither, he hears, Quomodo intrasti huc? is strictly questioned how he came there.

But we may say, It was well yet the King spyed but one, amongst such a multitude but one to be thrust out of doors, the rest to sit down, and taste of his dainties. ONE is no number: and that the streets and high-wayes and hedges should yield so many good guests, and send but one who might justly be questioned, but one who might be excepted against, certainly it cannot but stagger our belief, and question not only the story of the Para∣ble, but the mythologie. But one naked guest in the Princes bride-cham∣ber? that is, (will you have it plainly?) but one bad Christian in

the Church? The Moral is of less probability than the Parable.

Sure more than one there was. Unus dicitur, plures intelliguntur, saith Augustine, contra Donat, but one mentioned; yet more implyed. This UNUS here is nomen multitudinis; This One is a name of Multitude; This One, for ought we know, is GAD, an host, more than all the company be∣sides. The Epiphonema, the last clause and shutting up of the Parable war∣rants as much; MULTI VOCATI, Many invited to the feast, but few found worthy, few accepted. Origen helps us out: Omnes mali sunt unius gene∣ris, saith he: All the wicked in the Church are of one kind, a generation of vi∣pers, vipers all. What the Apostle speaks of Christs members, is true of the Devils limbs; They are many, and yet but one. To the same place they tend, though they take divers paths. Though they look several wayes, like Samsons foxes, yet tyed they are fast to the same fire-brands, which will burn-up the whole harvest. As the Congregation of the first born, which are written in heaven, have the bond of peace to collect and tye them all in one, to make them populum adunatum, as Cyprian speaketh, an united peo∣ple; so the first-born of Satan have catenam peccati, the Devils chain, to link them together. Though Pride swell one, and Despair contract ano∣ther; though Ambition lift-up one, and Anger fling-down another, yet in malo they agree, in evil they are brethren. There is a communion of Saints; and Why not a communion of Devils?

Now out of this thus much we learn, That all that come to the Kings feast are not welcome guests: Some may be askt how they came in thither? All that give-up their names to Christ are not true Christians: some are 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, but ill-lovers of Christ. They love him rather for the loaves then the miracle; love him not as Christ, but for some by-end or respect, for their credit, or conveniencie. Like the guest here, they will not stay behind, but be as forward as the best. To the Feast they will, though by their rude behaviour it appears how little they set by either the Feast or the King himself. I say, Amongst the company of guests some are to be que∣stioned: In the Church of God some there are who are no true members of Christ. St. Augustine, when he had divided all the world into two Cities, of Good, and of Bad, saith, Perplexae sunt admodum istae duae civitates in hoc soeculo: These two Cities are much entangled and perplexed, that in this world we can hardly distinguish them, or their citizens. But ultimo judi∣cio dirimentur, at the day of judgment, at the entrance of the King, they shall both have their proper Arms and Scutcheons. We judge, but according to the appearance, and our eyes pierce no further. But the Kings eyes are ten * 1.1 thousand times brighter than the Sun: and uno intuitu, at one view, he dis∣cerns in this medly and mixture, and makes a separation between those who must sit down at his Table, and those who must be cast-out into utter darkness. Here, as it is in the Gospel, a multitude throng Christ, and press upon him; and there seems to be a kind of competition and holy emulation who shall be neerest to him. Every man is a true member of the Church, and thinks no less: We defie him who doth but doubt of it. And this we see; we see every man in post, and hastning to the Kings Court. But tan∣gentem quaerit Rex, non prementem; Christ liketh better of our touch than our assault. Faith comes behind, and keeps a distance, and doth but touch: and upon the very touch Christ himself turns round, and demands, not who throng'd him, but who touched him: This touch behind, this fearful touch of Faith, is more available than the sawcy forwardness, than the noyse and stir of the multitude who are ready to over-whelm him. What talk we of our care and haste in coming? of our courteous entertainment of his messen∣gers? of our attendance in the Princes bride-chamber? Blandimenta sunt ista, non officia: These are but complements, and fair language. Nudo nihil

prosunt: These fig-leaves will not cover us. If the wedding-garment be not on, better stay at home than come: Better not come than be thrust out. Better a great deal dwell at Tyre and Sidon, than be Infidels at Chorazin. What? come we to a marriage-feast without a wedding-garment? Yet we see many so come, with their old cloaths; and torn apparrel, with the works of darkness not cast off, but hanging still fast about them: so that though they be there, we may make a stand, and doubt whether they be guests or no. We may doubt whether all be Christians in Christendome, whether all in the Church be parts and members of the Church. Did I say we might doubt Ecclesiam in Ecclesia quaerere? Why? no doubt Guests they are. They were invited to the wedding, and so guests; They are in the company of those who were called to the feast, and so of that Church and Congregation. All this they may be, even guests cum privilegio; they may partake of all Church-prerogatives, be washed in Christs laver, fre∣quent his house, sit-down at his table, and yet for all this be questioned, nay be thrust out of doors, and cast into utter darkness.

The Cardinal maketh it a controversie, and methinks a needless one, Whether magni & manifesti peccatores, great and open sinners, and repro∣bates, be not members of the true Church. And it is the Heresie forsooth of Wickliff, Hus and Calvin to deny it. Novum crimen, Cai Caesar! Shall I say, a new heresie, and till of late unheard of? No; a plain truth it is, and St. Augustine long since cryed it up with an Absit; Absit ut monstra illa in membris illius Columbae computentur; Lib. 2. contra Crescon. Don. God forbid that these monsters should be reputed members of that innocent Dove? Can we conceive Christs body with dry arms and dead parts? and the City of God to be inhabited by devils? Or is it possible Christs members should be thrown into hell? Indeed let the Church be, as he makes and presents it, visibilis & palpabilis, a Church that may be seen and felt. Let her have a body, as well as a soul, as St. Augustine gives her: And then members they are, but not intrinsecùs, and in occulto intus, as St. Augustine speaks, not intrinsecally, in that Collection of Saints; not veritate finis, as himself confesseth, to that end and purpose they are called; Nominals, not Reals; numero, non merito; in number, not in weight; equivocal mem∣bers; as we call a painted hand a Hand, and a dead man a Man. But we had rather let the Cardinal tell us what members they are. Capilli sunt, ungues, mali humores; they are his own words. The true Christian is pla∣ced in the body as an Eye, or an Ear, or a Hand, or a Foot: But the wicked, what are they? Even as the Hair, or Nayls, or bad Humors in the body: Cives non cives, such members of Christs Church as Traitours are of a Common-wealth, as Cataline and Cethegus were at Rome; members that would eat-out the very bowels of their body, and subvert Church and Christ and all.

But we will not funem contentionis ducere, as Tertullian speaks, tease∣out the controversie too far. Upon the upshot we shall find that we are fallen upon that fallacy which by the Logicians is called Ignoratio elen∣chi. We fight in a mist, and mistake the question quite. Let us joyn issue, agree upon the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the matter in hand, let the face of the Church be the same, and not vary and change colour in our alteration, and the questi∣on is stated, the controversie at an end. For it is agreed upon on all hands, That Christ hath a Floor to be purged; That there are Tares amongst his Wheat; That at the marriage of the Kings Sons, though the guests perceive it not, the King when he comes will spy some one or other that hath not on his wedding-garment; That in the Church of God mali miscentur bonis, the Evil are mingled with the Good, to file them to an edge and brightness, saith Gregory. Call them Guests, Friends, Christians, Members of the Church;

give them what titles you please: syllabae non salvant; Heaven we may gain by violence, but not by spells and inchantment. Names and titles will not save us. Write the Devil, saith Bede, calculo candido, in a fair chara∣cter, in white silver letters, yet he is a Devil still, and his signification is Darkness. Write out an Aegyptians name with chalk, yet who will say an Aethiopian is white? Paint Thersites in Achilles's armor, will it stile him valiant? A lame commendation it is to be a Christian in a picture; to have a name only that we live, to give-up no more than our names to Christ, and take no more from him than his; to come into the Church by the water of Baptism, and to go-out by a deluge of sin. A poor comfort, to be the Kings guest, and be questioned; intrare ut exeamus, to enter into his courts, and then be turned out of doors. This is the cafe of the Guest here, who in a throng was as good as the best, as well apparelled, as well prepared as any; but coram Deo, in the Kings eyes, naked and miserable; and is therefore questioned, Quomodo HUC INTRASTI? How camest thou in hither? Which is our next Part.

The King is moved at the sight of the guests; and one of them he que∣stions. Affections are commotions, saith the Philosopher. They make an earth-quake in us: they move us to speak oftentimes what otherwise we would not. Commonly then the language is violent and peremptory; not in cold terms, and by way of a plain declaration of our mind, but by a sudden and abrupt interrogation. Thus in Fear, What shall I do? saith the Steward, in Love; How fair art thou, oh my beloved? saith Christ to * 1.2 his Church: in Anger; Who made thee a judge? say the to Moses; in * 1.3 Admiration; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, saith the Apostles of the Tem∣ple, * 1.4 What stones, and what buildings are these. And here the King comes∣in, one would think, to welcome his guests; but upon the sight of an un∣pleasing object he is moved; spying one there who had not on a wedding-gar∣ment, he is quick and round with him. He says not, It is not well done to come naked: If you will taste of my dainties, you must bring your garment with you: but, How cam'st thou in hither?

But what moved the King? What raised the storm? May we not set up a Quare against the Kings Quomodo? May we not ask why the King asketh how he came thither: How came he thither? Why? he was invited to come, he was sent for, and intreated kindly to come; and he had been very unadvised if he had stayed behind. We know it cost some their lives; slain they were that refused. Quomodo in the dining-room is a strange que∣stion: * 1.5 but a cold welcome, to invite a guest, and then ask him how he came thither.

But this King we know is never angry without cause: He is not as Man, * 1.6 that he should lye; is not as some men are, qui irascuntur quia irascuntur, who are angry because they are angry, whose Anger runneth round in a circle, and begins and ends in it self. Much less is God angry to shew his power, and to make his Anger the herald of his Autoritie; as it is ob∣servable in some men who have crept into some place and power, more than they merited; Angry they will be, angry they must be, if it be but to shew what mischief they can do, what wonders they can work with a frown. No; this King non nisi laesus irascitur; If he be angry, he is pro∣voked: If he be moved, there is cause for it. And here is good cause indeed; we have toucht upon it before. It is not in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, his being there; it is in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, his not having on a wedding-garment. This moved the King; this forced him to his 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, to his harsh interroga∣tion; this call'd up the tempest, the wind, a wind that blows out of the Divels treasury. O quale spectaculum malus in Ecclesia! Oh what a hor∣rid spectacle is an ill-apparelled, an unprepared at a wedding in the bride-chamber,

a bad Christian in the Church of God. God cannot come near him, but a tempest is moved round about him. At the very sight of him he begins to ask questions, he is at QUOMODO streight. And we can∣not easily say whether it be QUOMODO exprobrantis, or indignantis, or dolentis, or admirantis, or accusantis. Indeed it includes all: For by way of upbraiding, in grief and anger, full of admiration at so strange neglect, the King proceeds against the Guest ex formula, formally and legally, as we use in our Courts of Justice. Quomodo huc intrasti? it is stilus curiae, the set-form he useth at that great day of Judicature, at that day of wrath and retribution. It is a plain inditement: Quomodo huc intrasti? is the bill of accusation; and non habens vestem nuptialem, the main article.

We have now brought this Guest to his tryal, and must plead against him. Therefore we will resolve this Question (for so a Question may be resolved) into a Syllogisme. And here the conclusion is primae veritatis, very evident, No man ought to come thus torn and ragged into the Kings court; No man to come to this marriage-feast without a wedding-garment; No exe∣crable thing to be in Israel, no wicked profane person in the Church. A very principle in Divinity, one would think, undenyable, unquestionable, and which needs no demonstration. Saul amongst the Prophets is not so absur'd and strange a sight as Judas amongst the Disciples of Christ, or an Infidel a∣mongst Christians. I say, a principle it is in Divinity, No coming to Christ without Faith and Charity. But 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Such is the unrea∣sonableness of Sin and Impiety, that it denyeth principles, corrups and per∣verts the Gospel, rejects the truth, gives the lye to Scripture, contradicts Christ, and would overthrow the whole body of Christian policie. The guest here no doubt knew the Kings coat and colours, what garments he was to come in: But in an obstinate rudeness he thinks them not worth the wear∣ing. To the King he goes in his old rags, to the feast with his rebellion and ingratitude about him. How camest thou in hither? Why ask we him the question: He is condemned already. Let the next Verse take hold of him, TOLLE, ET LIGA, Take him away, bind him hand and foot, cast him into utter darkness.

But we must follow the Kings method here. The King, we see, doth not punish before he questions; nor doth he question without reason. There is a QUARE to this QUOMODO, a Why to this How, Why he came thither, and, How he came thither. Upon just calculation we shall find there be many arguments and unavoidable reasons against him, why he should not thus have come. And we draw them first from the Persons; the Person inviting, a King; and the Persons invited, no Kings, I am sure, but beggars rather, poor and maimed, taken out of the high-wayes and streets, places of no refuge or shelter. And these lead us to the rest; the invitation, graci∣ous, and by an honorable way, his servants; the Feast, a royal feast; the Place, the Bridegroom's chamber; lastly, the Garment, an honorable wear taken out of the Kings own wardrobe.

The King came-in: That is the first. A working word, full of efficacy, able to becalm a storm, to allay a tumult, to quench rebellion. It is the KING. The very word strikes revenge thorough us, and remembers us of our duty and allegiance. The Stoick tells us, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, All duties are measured by relations. And of all relations the first and highest is that of a Subject to a King. If I be a King, where is my honour? saith God And if God saith it, who is King of Kings, not to fall down is Treason; to neglect him, Rebellion; and Rebellion is Witchcraft; and Witchcraft implies a compact with the Devil, the enemy of God and all Goodness: And such a league is Treason. Where Nazianzene tells us that Christ is a King; he adds withall, Ecquis hoc nomen incassum audierit?

Shall any hear or take this name in vain? Is God our King? Then every word of his must be our motion, and drive us about. If he say, Come, we must come; and if he say, Go, we must go; and if he say, Do this, we must do it. Now his word is CUSTODI VESTIMENTA, That we should keep our garments, and look what apparel we come in. If when the Devil hath stript us, or hath put upon us strange apparel, upon I know * 1.7 not what presumption we approach God's courts, it is a slight; and a Slight is Treason. It is a plain NOLUMUS HUNC REGNARE, We will not that this King should raign over us. We will not admit of his absolute power, that he shall enjoyn us what apparel he please, and entertain us upon conditions. If we may not break our fast with God, and surfet at the Devils Table; if we may not come to his feast with the Devils livery; then nolumus hunc regnare, we groan under him as under a cruel Tyrant, we cast-off our allegiance, and un-king him; his requests and his commands, his letters and his proclamations, his counsels and his precepts, all are hard and harsh sayings; who can bear them? And now tell me, Is not this to de∣cree for Satan, to prefer Sin before Grace, and the Devil before God, and in a strange contempt to declare the precedencie for our adversary? Is not this, in Clemen's phrase, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉; to make God contemptible? Sure this argument à personâ will reach home, and warrant us to meet the Guest with a Quomodo, and ask him the question, How he dareth thus come to a King? It makes up the Imprimis against him, and brings him in guilty of no less crime then Treason and Rebellion.

But we may exalt this consideration, and re-inforce the argument, by transferring the QUOMODO from the person of the King to the Guest, QUOMODO TU? how camest Thou in hither? Thou my liege-servant and sworn subject? For we know, though Gods kingdome be as large as the whole Universe, though God be King of all the Earth, yet his name is great in Israel. His throne is in the Church. In our PATER NOSTER we begin as Sons, and call God Father; but we end as Subjects, and ac∣knowledge the kingdome to be His. Again, QUOMODO TU? How camest Thou in hither? Thou, who hast given thy name to Christ, and wast a Christian, when thou couldst not name Christ: Thou, who shouldst shed thy bloud for him, yet trampled on his, and, as much as in thee lyeth, crucifie him afresh? This is circumstantia aggravans, a circumstance that hath weight in it, talent-weight. For the Grammarian will tell us, Plus est prodere quàm oppugnare, to Betray is more than to defie, and a Traytor worse than an open Enemy. That Malice which whispers in a corner, or worketh in a vault, is more dangerous than that which is proclaimed by the drum. Judas was worse than the Jews, his Kiss more piercing than the Spear, and this Guest here more bloudy than those Murderers. It was * 1.8 a charitable wariness and a wary charity in that holy Father St. Augustine to suspend his censure, and not suddenly to give sentence against a Heretick whose conversation was pious. Whether were more damnable, a bad Ca∣tholick or a just Heretick, he would not by any means determine. But Aquinas layeth it down for a positive truth, Graviùs peccat fidelis quàm infidelis propter Sacramenta fidei, quibus contumeliam facit. The same sin makes a deeper dye in a Christian then in an Infidel, and leaves a stain not only on the person, but also on his Profession, and flings contu∣mely on the very Sacraments of Faith; whereas in an Infidel it hath not so deadly an effect, but is veiled and shadowed by Ignorance, and borrows an excuse from Infidelity it self. For Ignorance is circumstantia allevians, a lessning circumstance, and doth abate and take off from the sinfulness of Sin. Which maketh our Saviour give sentence against Capernaum even for * 1.9 Sodom it self. Though Sin be Sin in all, yet the person doth aggravate, and

extend, and multiply it. Oh the paradox of our misery! Our Christia∣nity shall accuse us, and our Happiness undo us. At the day of judgment it shall be easier for a miscreant Turk, than for a bad Christian, and the King be more terrible to this Guest here, than to a stranger.

The Person, ye see, is a main circumstance; a King to be slighted, and his Guest to slight him, his Subject to contemn him: A high contempt. But, in the next place, the Invitation will heighten it. Tantus tanti tantillum; That a King should invite a Beggar, send his servants to intreat him to a feast, and that at the marriage of his son, makes the benefit a wonder, and the neglect as strange, and that all should be thought but a parable, no hi∣story; no history ever yielding the like example. For what is this Man, that he should thus be honor'd? or what is this King, that he should invite him? Was he bound by any prae-contract or prae-obligation? Did his ju∣stice or his honor lye upon it? or could he not feast without him? We can∣not conceive thus of the King. No; He might have left this man in the streets and high-wayes, amongst the poor, the blind, and the maimed, naked to every storm and tempest, open to the violence and shock of every tempta∣tion, amongst men as impotent as himself, not able to succour him, not able to succour themselves. But 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, saith St. James, of his own will, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, * 1.10 according to the good pleasure of his will, he sends for * 1.11 him; messengers are dispatcht; and they bespeak him in the same form they do the rest, Come unto the marriage. But this may be but a complement, and no more. And there are that make little more of it. What say we then to Go, compell them to come in. This, I hope, is in earnest: And this * 1.12 he did. His invitation was so hearty, his beseechings so vehement, his request so serious, that it might seem to be violence, and did bear the shew of a compulsion. Not that God compels any, or necessitates them to that end he intends, as some conceive; Who, because all power is his, will needs have him shew it all in every purpose, so irresistibly, as if that of the Bap∣tist were true in the letter that God out of stones did raise up children unto Abraham. For as he is powerful, and can do all things, so he is wise too, and sweetly disposeth all things, accomplishing his will by those means he in his eternal wisdom knows best; using indeed his power, but not violence; working effectually upon our souls, that we do not actually resist; per suavi∣ductionem, say the Schools, leading us powerfully, but sweetly, to that end his prae-determinate will hath set down. When he invites us to his Church militant, mittit servos, he sends his servants: and when he establisheth and buildeth us up for his Church triumphant, mittit servos, he useth that means also: He instructs, he corrects, he exhorts, he commands, he threatens, and he promiseth: He is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, saith Clemens, vari∣ous and manifold in his operation. There is lightning with his thunder, coun∣sel in his threats, light with his fire, discipline in his tryals, hony with his gall, and his most bitter prescripts are not only sweet, but cordials. Now all these will make it an invitation at least; and if we rightly weigh them, lay them in the ballance, and they will put it out of all doubt that this Invitation was serious; that the King sent for the man ad convivium, non ad notam; not to commit him, as some phansie, but to entertain him; not to a censure, but to a banquet; to have made him a guest, not a specta∣cle. We cannot then (to press this argument) but lay the blame on the Guest, and implead him of perverse obstinacy. His neck was stiff; no perswasions could bow him: his heart was adamant; no love, no fear could soften it. And withal we must acknowledge that Faith and Charity are a useful wear, without which Gods purpose to us is frustrate, and his love lost; without which we come to his table, and are not fed; without which his earnest beseechings, his bowels, his compassion, his promises, his

threatnings, all are in vain. And further we carry not this considera∣tion.

The Invitation leads us to the Feast. (And that is our next point.) 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as the Father calls it, a splendid and magnificent feast; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, a delicious banquet; COENA MAGNA, that great Supper, with an emphasis; in which the bread is Manna, and the Manna everlasting; the water Wine, and the wine Nectar; in which the cates are Antidotes, and the Antidotes pleasant; the Food is Physick, and the Physick restora∣tive; where He that makes the feast is the Feast, and he that feeds thee is thy Bread. This is the Feast. And the King hath spread and prepared his table, that we should taste and see how gracious he is. For, as God made Light first, that he might make his other creatures in the light; so St. Au∣gustine: and he made that first, ut cernerentur quae fecerat, so St. Ambrose; that the creatures might see one another: for frustrà essent si non viderentur, saith the Father, they had been to no purpose if there had not been light to discover them: Even so the King here hath made ready his dinner, pre∣pared his viands, that we should taste how sweet they are. If they be not tasted, they are not dainties; and if it be not digested, it is not a Feast. And as by Light we see God in his creatures, so by Faith we taste him in his benefits. If there be no Light, his creatures are in vain: and if no Faith, his Feast is lost; Is the King deluded, who is the very formal object of our Faith. Facit multorum insidelitas ut non omnibus nascatur qui omni∣bus natus est, saith St. Ambrose. Christ is born to all, is a true proposition. Infidelity only makes it heretical. Joy to all people, the Angels song, a true ditty; Infidelity drops on it, and so it is false prickt. The Feast here is a publick feast; the want of a Garment only, Nakedness and Unbelief, thrust the guest out of doors; and so to him the feast is no feast, the meat is no food, the wine is no drink, and heaven is no paradise. Now to be a guest, and spoil the feast; to have leave to sit down, and not be prepared to eat; to make Manna unpleasant, and Christ himself unsavory; is a foul rudeness and a rude ingratitude: But then if to take away the relish from a feast be so, what is it to poyson it? If this Manna by the Guests negli∣gence breed worms, and stink; if he make his Physick his bane, and Life it self deadly; what thunder will be loud enough? what QUOMODO, what Interrogation will serve to accuse him? QUOMODO HUC, How came he hither, ad coenam Agni, Leoninis dentibus? to the Supper of the Lamb, with Lyons teeth? nay, viperinis dentibus, with viperous Ingrati∣tude and Infidelity, to poyson the very fountain of life? Oh the want of a Garment, Nakedness, and Disobedience to the Gospel, what mischief it works! It not only depriveth of a benefit, but makes a benefit a punish∣ment. It turns my bread into stone, and my wine into wormwood, and this wormwood into poyson; It makes the Gospel as killing as the Law, Christ an adversary, and Jesus a destroyer. And further we need not press this argument, but carry our meditations to the next, the circum∣stance of the Place. It was Sponsi thalamus, the Bridegrooms Bed-cham∣ber.

QUOMODO HUC, How he came hither thus ill apparalled, he may well be askt the question. The Orator tells us, magna vis loci, That the circumstance of Place carries with it a command, and forbids rudeness and uncivility. To dance in the market-place, to sport it in a charnel-house, to wanton it at the altar, is a soloecisme in behaviour: To do a thing 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, saith Basil, without respect to the place it is done in, is a great ab∣surdity. DE NON TEMERANDIS ECCLESIIS, That holy places should not be profaned, is a good Title, a whip to drive profaneness out of the Temple. Now this place here is holy, the Princes Bride-chamber,

the Church of God. What should any do here then without a Garment? To come to the Lords Feast, and behave our selves as if we were at the De∣vils table; To be profane in Bethel, and Devils in the House of God; To be in the light, and walk as children of darkness; I know not what to stile it: But certainly we may set a QUOMODO upon it, and ask this Guest how he came hither? For as this place is sanctus, holy, so is it terribilis al∣so, a dreadful place, as Jacob speaketh. The presence of God, of his An∣gels, * 1.13 of his elect, maketh the Church, as Solomon speaks, terrible as an ar∣mie * 1.14 with banners. Now in this army not to sight; in this order to break rank; where I should be terrible, to be afraid; where I should conquer, to run away; is a strange forgetfulness, a forgetfulness of the ground where∣on I stand: St. Paul calls it a walking disorderly, and a plain despising of * 1.15 the Church of God. Such a place should have such apparel; a Bride-cham∣ber, a wedding-garment. For without this garment no staying in the cham∣ber. Want of Faith bringeth an Anathema with it, and shuts out of the Church without an excommunication. And so the Guest here doth not on∣ly depretiare ecclesiam, as Tertullian speaketh, slight the Bride-chamber, undervalue the Church, but may be further challenged for letting slip the opportunity of his own welfare. Not cloathing of the poor is one of the articles against them on the left hand: And being in the room, and not tasting of the feast, will thrust this Guest out of doors into utter darkness. Good God! what an incongruous thing is it to be made a prisoner in the Princes Bride-chamber? to be clog'd with fetters in a place of liberty? to gather stones where we might take-up Diamonds? to be drowned in the Ark? to dye in our Physicians arms, with our cordials about us? to go per portam coeli in gehennam, through the gates of paradise into hell-fire? The very Place, the Church, is a great motive, a remembrance unto us that we put on our best apparel. But if we come thither, naked and unprepared, then it will be a terrible argument against us.

We pass from the Place, to our last circumstance, the Garment it self, ta∣ken out I told you, of the Kings own wardrobe. For as God presents unto us our happiness under most sweet allurements, and calls it a Feast, so he tenders unto us the means of our happiness in the name of a Garment; a garment, not of Sack-cloth, but a wedding-garment; not tunica molesta, a garment to torture us, a garment of shame, but an honorable wear, that we should be as willing to put it on as our own cloths. Let us view the mate∣rials of it, and we shall find it worth our wearing. Made-up it is not of the hairs of Beasts, or the labour of the Silk-worm, but è visceribus Jesu Christi, out of the very bowels of the Kings Son. His bowels were torn, his flesh harrowed, his bloud shed. What? to make us a Feast to sit down at. It is true: But withal to weave us a garment to wear. Clavus pene∣trans factus est mihi clavus reserans, saith St. Bernard; The Spear that o∣pened his side is made a Key to open his bowels and compassion, the materi∣als of this Garment; a Key to open his Wardrobe, as well as his Bed-cham∣ber. Wilt thou make a Feast of Christ? Thou must make a Garment of him too. Wilt thou feed on him? Thou must put him on also as the Apostle speaks. For we cannot imagine that our Salvation is finis adaequatus, the * 1.16 sole end of Christs sufferings. That we should be partakers of his glory, * 1.17 that is one end indeed, the very Feast: but there is another, that we should * 1.18 be partakers of his divine nature, that is the Garment. Called to glory and * 1.19 vertue. Not to vertue without glory: that were against the Goodness of the King: Nor to Glory without virtue: that were against his Justice. Take our Election: We are chosen to obedience through sanctification of the Spirit. * 1.20 Take our Redemption: We are delivered, that we might serve him with∣out * 1.21 fear. Take our Calling: We are called unto holiness. In all our passa∣ges, * 1.22

in all our approaches to happiness, an eye is to be had to the Garment as well as to the Feast: For though every step to heaven be a type of our e∣ternal station there, and our Garment of Grace a fair representation of our robe of Glory; yet is not every step Heaven, nor Grace Glory. Christ, as he is the Foundation to build upon, so is the Way to walk in. As he is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the price of our redemption, so he became so 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that he might be a patern of sanctity for us to take-out and follow, that we may be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, holy and unblamable. The Gar∣ment is the condition, and certainly no hard one. For it is facilis & para∣bilis, easie to be procured. Difficultatis patrocinium praeteximus segnitiei: If thou think it hard to work or wear it, it is because the fashion likes thee not. We may boldly say, Nothing makes Christianity more difficult than the conceit that it is difficult. We should more freely run the ways of Gods commandments, if we did not laborem singere in praecepto, too oft imagine a Lyon in the way. What need we any further witness? The guests that came with this man shall rise-up in judgment against him. It was as hard for them to procure or wear the Garment, and yet they did not complain of the condition.

Thus have we pleaded against this unprovident Guest, drawn articles out of this Interrogation, and set a QUOMODO upon each several cir∣cumstance: QUOMODO, How, to a King? How, a Subject, a Beggar to a King? How, being so graciously invited? How, to such a Feast? How, to such Place? Lastly, QUOMODO INVESTIS, How, without a gar∣ment, so fit a garment, so glorious a garment? How camest thou in hither, not having on this wedding-garment? All these Motives, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the greatest and most winning, able to rowse up Stupidity it self, able to awake our most dull and dead affections; the Majesty of a King to awe him, his Invitation to win him, the Feast to delight him, the Place to entice him, the Garment to affect him; a King to awake his Fear, the Invitation to kindle his Love, the Feast to raise his Desire, the Place his Admiration, and the Garment his Diligence: And yet see, not any of these, not all these, could move him; but to the King he is irreverent, to the Invitation stub∣born, to the Feast contumelious, at the Place prophane, and the Garment he esteemed not. All these, Irreverence, Ingratitude, Stubbornness, Pro∣faneness, Neglect, Contempt, Rebellion, meeting and concentring them∣selves in a disobedient and unbelieving heart, are represented unto us under Nakedness and the Want of a Garment. And indeed this is all. Peccatum infidelitatis, quae tenentur omnia peccata, saith Aquinas: Infidelity is the a∣bridgment and summary of all. For if the Gospel be hid to me, I am in darkness, and cannot discern the King from a common person, nor his In∣vitation from a complement, nor his Feast from husks, nor his Table from the table of Devils, nor Bethel from Bethaven. And therefore our Savi∣our sayes, If I had not come and spoken to them, they should have had no sin. * 1.23 St. Augustines gloss is, Magnum aliquod peccatum sub generali nomine vult intelligi, That this general name of Sin did include some great sin, some sin paramount: And that sin is Infidelity. This makes the Gospel as killing as the Law, and the bloud of Christ as vocal and loud for vengeance as that of Abel. The Infidelity of the guest was far worse than that of a stranger.

We see here it brought the King to his QUOMODO, to question the Guest, and to silence him with a question, so to question him that he was to seek for an answer. Of whose Silence we shall say no more at this time but what St. Ambrose spake of AMA; It was negotiosum silentium, a busie, vocal silence. Conscientia loquebatur, ubi vox non audiebatur; His Consci∣ence cryed aloud against him, when Shame and Sorrow had shut up his lips. But he is placed here in this parable for an ensample to us on whom the ends

of the world are come; that, if we will not be muzzled and tongue-tyed, if we will have no 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, no linguarium, no muzzle to shut up our lips and stop our mouths at the coming of this great King, at that great day of Judica∣ture, we be careful now to keep our garments, to reverence the King, to run when he calls, to make haste when he invites, to delight in the Feast, to fall down in his Courts, and to worship in the beauty of holiness.

To this end let us consider, that God, who made us after his own image, cannot endure to see our souls naked, or clad with rags: and to be clothed with rags is Nakedness. Disobedience is Nakedness: by this our first pa∣rents were bereaved of the image of God, deprived of their glory, and made subject to shame. Idolatry is Nakedness. Moses saw that the people were * 1.24 naked after they had worshipped the molten calf. So Hypocrisie, which is a mask and disguise, is Nakedness: Thou sayest thou art rich; but art poor and naked. There is no shame in the world but this, to be found naked. Let us therefore cast off the cloke of Hypocrisie and Dissimulation, and put-on the robe of Sincerity. God desireth truth in the inward parts, in the hidden parts, * 1.25 at the heart-root, in the secret and closed parts. And then if it do eructare se in superficiem, as Tertullian speaketh, evaporate and breath it self forth in the outward man, and make every part and member of us a weapon and instrument of righteousness, then it doth adorn and beautifie us indeed, and God looks upon it as a glorious ornament, and upon us as guest, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Without this, though we enlarge our phylacteries never so much, though we have HOLINESS written in our foreheads, all will be but like Bellerophon's letters; We may take them for a pass-port or letters of commendation, but in them our doom and our condemnation is written. We are condemned by our wilfull neglect and contempt of the marriage-feast as by our own confession, so condemned as that nothing re∣maineth but sentence and execution. If it had been mine enemy, saith David, * 1.26 I could have born it: But it was thou my familiar friend. If it were one who never had heard of the Feast; one of the Heathen, who knew not the name of the King; the neglect would not have been so foul. The times of their * 1.27 ignorance God wincked at, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, saw as if he saw not; he did not threaten eternal death, as he doth now under the Gospel: but now he commandeth e∣very man every where to repent, to fit and prepare himself for this great Feast. And if we do not so, we are the worse Christians by being so much Christi∣ans, more guilty for our profession, in more danger then Infidels in that we are not so, and more unpardonable for our belief. Irascitur Deus contume∣liis misericordiae suae; God is never more angry then when his Mercy is a∣bused, and his Grace turned into wantonness. Let us then look-up to the Au∣thor * 1.28 and Finisher of our faith; Hear his voice, follow his direction: I coun∣sel * 1.29 thee, saith he, to buy of me white rayment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. And we may buy of him with∣out * 1.30 money or money-worth. The Apostle saith, Both he who sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified are all of one. Now Christ sanctifieth us by his doctrine and example. And as he was conceived by the holy Ghost, so are we made new creatures and clothed with the wedding garment by the vertue and power of the same Spirit. And then Christ will not be ashamed of us, not ashamed to call us Brethren, when, as brethren, we wear the same apparel. When he seeth our garment entire, the same in every part, universal, uniform, like it self throughout, the whole of the same thread; not here a piece of silk, and there a menstruous rag; not obedience to this command, because it fitteth our humour, and disobedience to another, because it sit∣teth too close, and is troublesome to flesh and bloud; When he seeth us not bow in the house of Rimmon, because our master doth so; not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, beat and wound our conscience, for fear of those higher Powers

who else will beat us with many stripes; When he seeth not our Faith enfeeb∣led by our Trust in uncertain Riches, nor our Charity cooled by those tenta∣tions that blow from that treasury, nor our Hope swallowed-up in victory by our Ambition; When he seeth our Garment made by that patern which himself shewed, shining, not like the Pharisees fringed garments, but like the pure fine linnen of the Saints, well woven with spiritual wisdom, and well worn with care and diligence; When he seeth us, according to the Greek proverb, yea according to his own charge, Quem mater amictum dedit solicitè custodire, to * 1.31 keep that garment with which God our Father and the Church our Mother hath clothed us in the day of our mariage, that garment for the making where∣of He himself afforded materials, and that è visceribus suis, out of his own bow∣els; When he seeth this, I say, he will change our wedding-garment, into a robe of glory. Coming thus apparalled like guests, we may have 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, confidence and boldness towards God. Then shall our mouths be filled with laughter, and our tongues with joy. Then shall we not, as he here, be speach∣less, but speak unto the King, and the King will speak unto us. We shall speak to him as Children, Abba, Father; as Subjects, Let thy Kingdom come; as Servants, Master, it is good for us to be here. And the King's Son shall speak for us, Behold I, and the children which thou hast given me. The Feast shall speak for us; even the Bloud of Jesus shall speak good things for us. And * 1.32 the Garment shall speak for us; our plea of Faith shall be more eloquent and powerful then the tongues of Men and of Angels. And our plea shall be answered, not with a QUOMODO, but with an EUGE, Well done, my good and faithful guests. Your wedding-garment is on: Sit-down at my table, sit-down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with all the Patriarchs, and with all the Apostles, and with the whole Church, in the kingdom of heaven. Which happiness God grant unto us through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Eccl. 23. 19.
• * 1.2

  Luke 16.
• * 1.3

  Acts 6.
• * 1.4

  Mark 13. 1.
• * 1.5

  v. 7.
• * 1.6

  Numb. 23. 19.
• * 1.7

  Zeph. 1. 8.
• * 1.8

  v. 7.
• * 1.9

  Matth. 11. 23.
• * 1.10

  James 1. 18.
• * 1.11

  Ephes. 1. 5.
• * 1.12

  Luke 14. 23.
• * 1.13

  Gen. 28. 17.
• * 1.14

  Cant. 6 4. 10.
• * 1.15

  2 Thess. 3. 6, 11. 1 Cor. 11. 22.
• * 1.16

  Rom. 13. 14.
• * 1.17

  1 Pet. 5. 1.
• * 1.18

  2 Pet. 1. 4.
• * 1.19

  2 Pet. 1. 3.
• * 1.20

  1 Pet. 1. 2.
• * 1.21

  Luke 1. 74.
• * 1.22

  1 Thes. 4. 7.
• * 1.23

  John 15. 22.
• * 1.24

  Gen. 3. 7. Exod. 32. 25. Ezek. 16. 8. Hos. 2. 3. Rev. 3. 17.
• * 1.25

  Psal. 51. 6.
• * 1.26

  Psal. 55. 12, ••3
• * 1.27

  Acts 17. 30.
• * 1.28

  Heb. 12. 2.
• * 1.29

  Rev. 3. 18.
• * 1.30

  Isa. 55. 1. Heb. 2. 11.
• * 1.31

  Rev. 16. 15.
• * 1.32

  Hebr. 2. 13.