Page images
PDF
EPUB

HOM. XXVIII.

For Whitsunday.

HOMILY XXVIII.

The coming down of the Holy Ghost, and the manifold Gifts of the same.

FOR WHITSUNDAY.

BEFORE we come to the declaration of the great and manifold gifts of the Holy Ghost, wherewith the church of God hath been evermore replenished, it shall first be needful briefly to expound unto you, whereof this feast of Pentecost, or Whitsuntide, had its first beginning. You shall therefore understand, that the feast of Pentecost was always kept the fiftieth day after Easter; a great and solemn feast among the Jews, wherein they did celebrate the memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt, and also the memorial of the publishing of the Law, which was given unto them in the mount Sinai upon that day. It was first ordained and commanded to be kept holy, not by any mortal man; but by the mouth of the Lord himself, as we read in Levit. xxiii. and Deut. xvi. The place appointed for the observation thereof was Jerusalem, where was great recourse of people from all parts of the world; as may well appear in the second chapter of the Acts, wherein mention is made of Parthians, Medes, Elamites, inhabiters of Mesopotamia, inhabiters of Jewry, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphilia, and divers other such places, whereby we may also partly gather, what great and royal solemnity was commonly used in that feast. Now as this was given in commandment to the Jews in the old Law, so did our Saviour 16. 3 T

[blocks in formation]

Christ, as it were, confirm the same in the time of the Gospel, ordaining, after a sort, a new Pentecost for his Disciples: namely, when he sent down the Holy Ghost visibly in form of cloven tongues like fire, and gave them power to speak in such sort, that every one might hear them, and also understand them in his own language. Which miracle, that it might be had in perpetual remembrance, the church hath thought good to solemnize and keep holy this day, commonly called Whitsunday. And here is to be noted, that as the Law was given to the Jews in the mount Sinai, the fiftieth day after Easter; so was the preaching of the Gospel, through the mighty power of the Holy Ghost, given to the Apostles in the mount Sion, the fiftieth day after Easter.

1

And hereof this feast hath its name, to be called Pentecost, even of the number of the days. For, as St. Luke writeth in the Acts of the Apostles when fifty days were come to an end, the Disciples being all together with one accord in one place, the Holy Ghost came suddenly among them, and sat upon each of them, like as it had been cloven tongues of fire. Which thing was undoubtedly done, to teach the Apostles, and all other men, that it is he which giveth eloquence and utterance in preaching the Gospel, that it is he which openeth the mouth to declare the mighty works of God, that it is he which engendereth a burning zeal towards God's word, and giveth all men a tongue, yea, a fiery tongue, so that they may boldly and cheerfully profess the truth in the face of the whole world, as Isaiah was endued with this spirit. The Lord,' saith Isaiah, 'give me a learned and a skilful tongue, so that I might know to raise up them that are fallen with the word." The Prophet David cried to have this gift, saying, 'Open thou my lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For our Saviour Christ also in the

1 Cor. x. Isaiah 1. Psal. 1.

I

[blocks in formation]

Gospel saith to his Disciples, 'It is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which is within you. All which testimonies of holy Scripture do sufficiently declare, that the mystery in the tongues betokeneth the preaching of the Gospel, and the open confession of the Christian faith, in all them that are possessed with the Holy Ghost. So that if any man be a dumb Christian, not professing his faith openly, but cloaking and colouring himself for fear of danger in time to come, he giveth men occasion, justly, and with good conscience, to doubt lest he have not the grace of the Holy Ghost within him," because he is tongue-tied, and doth not speak. Thus then have ye heard the first institution of this feast of Pentecost, or Whitsuntide, as well in the old Law among the Jews, as also in the time of the Gospel among the Christians.

Now let us consider what the Holy Ghost is, and how consequently he worketh his miraculous works towards mankind. The Holy Ghost is a spiritual and divine substance, the third Person in the Deity, distinct from the Father and the Son, and yet proceeding from them both: which thing to be true, both the Creed of Athanasius beareth witness, and may be also easily proved by most plain testimonies of God's holy word, When Christ was baptized of John in the river Jordan, we read that the Holy Ghost came down in form of a dove, and that the Father thundered from heaven, saying, 'This is my dear and well-beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' Where note three divers and distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; which all notwithstanding are not three Gods, but one God. Likewise, when Christ did first institute and ordain the Sacrament of Baptism, he sent his Disciples into the whole world, willing them to baptize all nations, in the name of the Father, the

Matt. x. iii. xxviii.

[blocks in formation]

Son, and the Holy Ghost.' And in another place he saith, I will pray unto my Father, and he shall give you another Comforter." Again, When the Comforter shall come, whom I will send from my Father, &c.'. These and such other places of the New Testament do so plainly and evidently confirm the distinction of the Holy Ghost from the other Persons in the Trinity, that no man possibly can doubt thereof, unless he will blaspheme the everlasting truth of God's Word. As for his proper nature and substance, it is altogether one with God the Father, and God the Son, that is to say, spiritual, eternal, uncreated, incomprehensible, almighty; to be short, he is even God and Lord everlasting. Therefore he is called the Spirit of the Father, therefore he is said to proceed from the Father and the Son, and therefore he was equally joined with them in the commission that the Apostles had to baptize all nations, But that this may appear more sensibly to the eyes of all men, it shall be requisite to come to the other part, namely, to the wonderful and heavenly works of the Holy Ghost, which plainly declare unto the world his mighty and divine power. First, it is evident that he did wonderfully govern and direct the hearts of the Patriarchs and Prophets in old time, illuminating their minds with the knowledge of the true Messiah, and giving them utterance to the prophesy of things that should come to pass long time after. For, as St. Peter witnesseth, the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but the holy men of God spake as they were moved inwardly by the Holy Ghost.' And of Zachary the high priest it is said in the Gospel, that he being full of the Holy Ghost, prophesied and praised God." So did also Simeon, Anna, Mary, and divers other, to the great wonder and admiration of all men, Moreover was not the Holy Ghost a mighty worker

John iv. ii. 2 Tet. i. Luke i.

[blocks in formation]

in the conception and the nativity of Christ our Saviour? St Matthew saith, that the blessed Virgin was found with child of the Holy Ghost, before Joseph and she came together. And the angel Gabriel did expressly tell her, that it should come to pass, saying, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee.' A marvellous matter that a woman should conceive and bear a child without the knowledge of man. But where the Holy Ghost worketh, there nothing is impossible, as may further also appear by the inward regeneration and sanctification of mankind. When Christ said to Nicodemus, 'Unless a man be born anew, of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,' he was greatly amazed in his mind, and began to reason with Christ, demanding 'how a man might be born which was old? Can he enter,' saith he, into his mother's womb again, and so be born anew?' Behold a lively pattern of a fleshly and carnal man. He had little or no intelligence of the Holy Ghost, and therefore he goeth bluntly to work, and asketh how this thing was possible to be true: whereas otherwise if he had known the great power of the Holy Ghost in this behalf, that it is he which inwardly worketh the regeneration and new birth of mankind, he would never have marvelled at Christ's words, but would rather take occasion thereby to praise and glorify God. For as there are three several and sundry persons in the Deity; so have they three several and sundry offices proper unto each of them.

[ocr errors]

The Father to create, the Son to redeem, the Holy Ghost to sanctify and regenerate. Whereof the last, the more it is hid from our understanding, the more it ought to move all men to wonder at the secret and mighty working of God's holy Spirit, which is within us. For it is the Holy Ghost, and

Matt. i. Luke i. John iii.

« PreviousContinue »