for he may be in divers places; but the angel concludes us in this for, he cannot be here, for he is risen; because he is risen, he cannot be here in the sepulchre, so, as that you may embalm his body, because he is ascended, he cannot be here, here in the sacrament, so, as you may break or eat that body. But is there such a comfort exhibited in this surrexit, he is risen, as may recompense the discomfort that arises from the non est hic, that he is not here? Abundantly, superabundantly there is; in these two channels and derivations of comfort; first, that he in whom we had placed our comfort, and our hope, is, by this his rising, declared to be the Son of God. God hath fulfilled his promise, in that he hath raised Jesus from the dead, as it is written in the second Psalm", says St. Paul in his sermon at Antioch. Now, what is written in that Psalm, which St. Paul cites there, to our present purpose? This; Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. But is not this hodie genui, this this day's begetting intended rather of the eternal filiation and generation of the Son of God, than of this day's work, the resurrection? Those words of that Psalm may well admit that interpretation, and so many have taken them. But, with St. Hilary, most of the ancients have applied them to the resurrection, as the application of St. Paul himself directly binds us to do, that the hodie genui, this day's generation, is this day's manifestation that Christ was the Son of God. Calvin enlarges it farther; that every declaration of the Son by the Father, is a generation of the Son so his baptism, and the voice then, so his transfiguration, and the voice then, were each of them, a hodie genui, a generation of the Son that day. But especially (says Calvin) do those words of the Psalm belong to this day, because the resurrection was the most evident actual declaration that Christ was the Son of God, for, He was declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead", says the apostle expressly. But how? Wherein was he declared? There were others that were raised from the dead by prophets in the Old Testament, by Christ and his apostles in the New, and yet not thereby declared to be such sons of God, essential sons; no nor any sons of God, not 44 Acts xiii. 33. 45 Matt. iii. 17. 46 6 Matt. xvii. 3. 47 Rom. i. 4. sons by adoption; for we are not sure that all those that were miraculously raised from the dead, were effectually saved at last. Therefore the comfort in our case is in that word of the angel, surrexit, he is risen; for so all our translators, and expositors do constantly carry it, not in a suscitatus (as all the rest are) that he was raised, but in this surrexit, he is risen, risen of himself. For so he testifies of himself, Destroy this Temple, and in three days, ego suscitabo, I will raise it up again"; not that the Father should, but that he would; so also ego pono, and ego sumo, says Christ, I lay down, and I take again my soul"; not that it is given, or taken by another. And therefore Gregory Nyssen suspects, that for the infirmity of the then hearers, the apostles thought it scarce safe, to express it often in that phrase, he rose, or he raised himself, and therefore, for the most part, return to the suscitatus est, that he was raised, lest weak hearers might be scandalized with that, that a dead man had raised himself of his own power. And therefore the angel in this place enlarges the comfort to these devout women, in a full measure, when he opens himself in that word surrexit, he is risen, risen of himself. This then is one piece of our evidence, and the foundation of all, that we cannot be deceived, because he, in whom we trust, is, by this his own rising, declared to be the Son of God; and another, and a powerful comfort is this, that he being risen for our justification 50, we are also risen in him. He that raised the Lord Jesus, shall raise us up also by the same Jesus. He shall; there is our assurance; but that is not all; for there is a con-resuscitavit, he hath quickened us together, and raised us together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places; not together with one another, but together with Christ. There is our comfort collected from this surrexit, he is risen, equivalent to the discomfort of the non est hic, he is not here; that this his rising declares him to be the Son of God, who therefore can, and will, and to be that Jesus, an actual Redeemer, and therefore hath already raised us. To what? To that renovation, to that new creation, which is so excellently expressed by Severianus, as makes us sorry we 48 John ii. 19. 49 John x. 17. 50 Rom. iv. 25. 52 Ephes. ii. 6. have no more of his; Mutatur ordo rerum, The whole frame and course of nature is changed; Sepulchrum non mortuum, sed mortem decorat, The grave, (now, since Christ's resurrection, and ours in him) does not bury the dead man, but death himself; my bell tolls for death, and my bell rings out for death, and not for me that die; for I live, even in death; but death dies in me, and hath no more power over me. I was crucified with Christ upon Friday, says Chrysologus, Et hodie resurgo, To-day I rose with him again; Et gloria resurrec tionis sepelivit injuriam morientis, The ingloriousness of having been buried in the dust, is recompensed in the glory I rise to, Liber inter mortuos; that which David says, and, (by St. Augustine's application) of Christ, is true of me too; Christ was, and I am Liber inter mortuos, Free amongst the dead, undetainable in the state of death. For, says St. Peter, It was not possible he should be holden of it. Not possible for Christ, because of the prediction of so many prophets, whose words had an infallibility in them; not possible especially, because of the union of the Divine nature: not possible for me neither, because God hath afforded me the marks of his election, and thereby made me par- ( taker of the Divine nature too. But yet these things might, perchance, not fall into the consideration of these women; they did not; but they might, they should have done; for, as the angel tells them here, Christ had told them of this before; sicut dixit, he is risen, as he said. Even the angel himself refers himself to the word, sicut dixit; the angel himself desires not to be believed, but as he grounds himself upon the word, sicut dixit. Let therefore no angel of the church, not that super-archangel of the Roman church, proceed upon an ipse dixit, upon his own pectoral word, and determination, for the angel here refers us to the sicut dixit, the former word. God will be content that we doubt, and suspend our assent to any revelation, if it do not concern some duty delivered in Scripture before; and to any miracle, if it do not conduce to the proof of something commanded in Scripture before. Sicut dixit, is an angelical issue, as he said. But, how often soever Christ had spoken of this resurrection 55 2 Pet. i. 4. 53 Psal. LXXXviii. 5. 54 Acts ii. 24. For all that is to others, these women might be ignorant of it. said, even by Christ himself, is not said to all; nor is all written for all, that is written by the Holy Ghost. No man must suspect that he knows not enough for salvation, if he understand not all places of Scripture. But yet these women could not well be ignorant of this, because being disciples and followers of Christ, though Christ had never spoken of the resurrection to them, they were likely to have heard of it from them, to whom Christ had spoken of it. It was Cleophas's question to Christ, (though he knew him not then to be so, when they went together to Emmaus) Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem? That is, hast thou been at Jerusalem, and is this, the death of Christ, strange to thee? So may we say to any that professes Christianity, art thou in the Christian church, and is this, the resurrection of Christ, strange to thee? Are there any amongst us, that thrust to forenoon's, and afternoon's sermons, that pant after high, and un-understandable doctrines, of the secret purposes of God, and know not this, the fundamental points of doctrine? Even these women's ignorance, though they were in the number of the disciples of Christ, makes us afraid, that some such there may be; and therefore blessed be they that have set on foot that blessed way of catechizing, that after great professions, we may not be ignorant of small things. These things these women might have learnt of others, who were to instruct them. But for their better assurance, the angel tells them here, that Christ himself had told them of this before; Remember, says he, how Christ spoke to you whilst he was with you in Galilee". We observe, that Christ spoke to his disciples, of his resurrection, five times in the Gospel; now, these women could not be present at any of the five but one, which was the third; and, before that, it is evident that they had applied themselves to Christ, and ministered unto him. The angel then remembers them, what Christ said to them there. It was this; The son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and crucified, and the third day, rise again”; and they remembered his words, says the text there; then they remembered them, when they heard of them again; but not till then. Which gives me just occasion to note first the perverse tenderness, and the supercilious, and fastidious delicacy of those men, that can abide no repetitions, nor endure to hear anything which they have heard before; when as even these things which Christ himself had preached to these women, in Galilee, had been lost, if this angel had not preached them over again to them at Jeru salem; Remember how he spake to you, says he to them. And why shouldst thou be loath to hear those things which thou hast heard before, when, till thou heardest them again, thou didst not know, that is, not consider that ever thou hadst heard them? So have we here also just occasion to note their impertinent curiosity, who though the sense be never so well observed, call everything a falsification, if the place be not rightly ciphered, or the word exactly cited; and magnify one another for great text-men, though they understand no text, because they cite book, and chapter, and verse, and words aright; whereas in this place, the angel refers the women to Christ's words, and they remember that Christ spake those words, and yet if we compare the places, (that where Christ speaks the words, and that where the angel repeats them) though the sense be entirely the same, yet the words are not altogether so. Thus the angel erects them in the consternation; remember what was promised, that in three days he would rise; the third day is come, and he is risen, as he said; and, that your senses may be exercised as well as your faith, Come and see the place, where the Lord lay. Even the angel calls Christ Lord; and his Lord; for, the Lord, (and the angel calls him so) is Lord of all, of men, and angels. When God brings his Son into the world, (says the apostle) he says, let all the angels of God worship him. And when God carries his Son out of the world, by the way of the cross, they have just cause to worship him too, for, By the blood of his cross are all things reconciled to God, both things in earth, and things in heaveno1, men and angels. Therefore did an angel minister to Christ before he was, in the annunciation to his blessed mother, that he should be; and an angel to his imaginary father Joseph, before he was VOL. I. 60 Heb. i. 6. 61 Coloss. i. 20. |