BOOK 5. THE MESSAGE.
CHAPTER 1.
5.1.6. Of Christ's whipping the buyers and sellers out of the Temple.
Of Christ's whipping the buyers and sellers out of the Temple.
Concerning Christ's whipping the buyers and sellers out of the temple; we read in the gospel, "that the Jews passover being at hand, Jesus went up to Jerusalem," John ii. 15. Thither if we follow him, the first place that we find him in, is the temple, whereby the occasion of the national assembly was an opportune scene for Christ's transactions of his Father's business. In that temple Christ first espies a mart; there were divers merchants, and exchangers of money, that brought beasts thither to be sold for sacrifice against that great solemnity, at the sight of which Jesus being moved with zeal and indignation, he makes a whip of cords, and according to the custom of the zealots of the nation, he takes upon him the office of a private infliction of punishment; he drives them all out of the temple, he overthrows the accounting tables, and commands them that sold the doves to take them from thence: and being required to give a sign of this fact, he only foretells the resurrection of his body after three days death, expressing it in the metaphor of the temple, which was never rightly understood till it was accomplished.
In this heroical act, we may see how Christ is carried on with a zeal for God, insomuch as that it brings to mind that saying of the Psalmist, Psal. lxix. 9. "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;" a metaphor taken from men that receive nourishment, which after its several concoctions is assimilated into the nature of them that receive it. Zeal doth not totally surprise us in what concerns God: in our zeal we do so mind the things of God, as if we minded nothing else. To what dangers, hazards and censures did Christ here in the exercise of the zeal expose himself? His eminent zeal appears: --
1. In the weakness of his means whereby he did both attempt, and effect the work; we find him not armed with any weapons, that might carry dread and terror with them, at most but with a whip made of a few small cords, which probably were scattered by the drovers which came thither to sell their cattle.
2. In the strength that the opposite power did hold out, which makes the encounter so much the more dangerous; as,
(a). A garrison of soldiers ready at hand to appease occasional tumults, (Chem. in loc.).
(b). The temper of those men's spirits with whom the business was; they were men set upon gain, the world's god.
(c). The great confluence of the people, it being the most solemn mart of the passover; oh! what a zeal was this, that neither the weakness of the means on the one side to effect it, nor the greatness of the power on the other side to hinder it, did at all dismay him, or cause him to desist: seem he never so weak, or be they never so strong, he whips them out of the temple, and bids them be gone.
This action of Christ fulfils that prophecy of Malachi, Mal. iii. 1, 2, 3. "The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple; but who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like refiner's fire, and fuller's soap, and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold, and as silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness."
From the main we may observe, that "a persuasion of Christ's presence in our church assemblies is a special means or motive to bring all into order."
But what is this presence of Christ in church assemblies? If by Christ's presence we mean his bodily presence: it is true, that Christ in his humanity, whipped the buyers and sellers out of the temple of Jerusalem; then in his manhood he was upon earth, and accordingly he vouchsafed his bodily presence to their assemblies, and public places; but now his manhood is in heaven, and "the heavens must contain him till the times of restitution of all things," Acts iii. 21. Now, therefore we cannot expect his bodily presence, unless we will maintain the doctrine of transubstantiation, or of consubstantiation; which far be it from us.
1. If by Christ's presence we mean his spiritual presence, then the question is, What is this spiritual presence of Christ? For, if we say it is his presence as he is God, I should then quere, how God is said to be present with men in one place more than another! God in his essence is fully every where, and inclusively no where; heaven is his throne, and earth is his footstool; and yet, not earth, nor heaven, nor the heaven of heavens is able to contain him: whiles we speak spiritually of Christ's presence in the assemblies of his people, we cannot mean his universal presence, but his especial presence; and therefore as yet I suppose, we have not the meaning of it.
2. If by Christ's presence we mean the presence of his Spirit, either in himself, or especially in his workings, stirrings, actings, and movings in our spirit, I should then subscribe; only I think this is not all that is included in his especial presence. True it is, that when Christ was upon earth, he told his disciples that he must go away; for if he went not away, the comforter would not come unto them, "But if I depart (said he) I will send him unto you," John xvi. 7. And accordingly when that church assembly was convened at Pentecost, God sent the holy Ghost, much people being then gathered at Jerusalem; that it might be divulged to all the world. To all the assemblies of the saints, Christ promised his Spirit though not always in a visible manner, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, (saith Christ) there I am in the midst of them," Matth. viii. 20. Christ in his Spirit is in the midst of us, stirring and moving in our spirits: or the spirit of unity is with united spirits. O he is a sweet Spirit, a Spirit of love, and concord, and peace, and glory; and therefore. Where should he be but with those that make harmony upon earth? He is with them, and amongst them, and in them, 1 Cor. iii. 16. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you! And worketh in you?"
3. If by Christ's presence we mean, the presence of his angels, I shall then say, we have said enough; as a king is said to be where his court is, where his train or retinue are, so Christ, the King of kings, is there especially present, where the heavenly guard, the blessed angels keep their secret station and rendezvous wheresoever it is. Now, that this is Christ's special presence, it will appear in sundry texts.
(a). When Jacob saw that vision in Bethel, of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, and of the angels of God ascending and descending upon it, Gen. xxviii. 16, 17. "Surely (saith Jacob) the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not; and he was afraid, and said, how dreadful is this place? This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven," He calls it God's house, where God and his holy angels, who are of his household are especially present: and he calls it the gate of heaven, heaven's guild-hall, or court, namely, because of the angels; for the gate, guild-hall, or court, was wont to be the judgment-hall, and the place where kings and senators used to sit, attended by their guard and ministers. The Chaldee addeth, "This is no common or private place, but a place wherein God taketh pleasure; and over against this place is the gate of heaven."
(b). When the Lord descended upon mount Sinai, to give the law; some place the specification of God's presence in the angels, to which purpose are alleged these texts. Acts vii. 35. "Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it;" and again. Gal. iii. 19. "The law was ordained by angels in the hand of a Mediator." Again, the apostle calls the law, Heb. ii. 2. "The word spoken of angels." I have already delivered my thoughts concerning these angels; but some (I say) conclude from hence, That the special presence of the divine Majesty consists in the encamping of his sacred retinue, the blessed angels; for that the Lord of himself, who filleth heaven and earth could not descend, or be in one place more than another. There is yet another text very pertinent to this, Deut. xxxiii. 2. "And he said, the Lord came from Sinai, and arose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of his saints, from his right hand went a fiery law for them:" the words translated, "Ten thousand of his saints," are, in the original, "Ten thousands of sanctity, or holy ten thousands, or holy myriads; which, in my apprehension points to the angels; rather than the saints; and the Psalmist puts it out of question, Psal. lxviii. 17. "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels, the Lord is amongst them, even as in Sinai in the holy place."
(c). After the law given, this presence of God was fixed to the temple, and what that was, Isaiah describes thus, Isa. vi. 1, 2. "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high, and lifted up, and his train filled the temple; about it stood the seraphims; they were God's train, and they filled the temple. And hence David's addresses to God, were said to be in the presence of angels, Psal. cxxxviii. 1,2. "Before the gods will I sing praises to thee, I will worship towards thy holy temple." The septuagint translates it thus, (enantion angellon,) before the angels. I know, in the time of the gospel, we do not so fix God's presence to our temples, or places of public assembling for the worship of his name; but to our church assemblies in such places, why may we not? Were the rudiments of the law worthy of an attendance of angels, and are the churches of the gospel destitute of so glorious a retinue! did the blessed spirits wait upon the types and do they decline the office at the ministration of the substance? Is the nature of man made worse, since the incarnation of the son of God? Or have the angels purchased an exemption from their ministry, since Christ became our brother in the flesh? We have little reason to think so. The apostle treating of a comely and descent demeanour to be observed in church assemblies, and in particular of women's being covered, or veiled, there he enforces it from this presence of angels, 1 Cor. xi. 10. "For this cause ought the women to have a covering on their heads, because of the angels," namely, which are there present. Upon this ground Chrysostom reproves the irreverent behaviour of his auditory, (Chry. hom. 16. in 1 Cor. hom. 15. in Hebr.) "The church (saith he) is not a shop of manufactures, or merchandize, but the place of angels, and of archangels, the court of God, and the image or representation of heaven itself. -- I know thou seest them not, but hear, and know that the angels are every where, and especially in the house of God, where they attend upon their king, and where all is filled with incorporeal powers. By this time I hope we know what is the meaning of Christ's presence in church assemblies: to wit, the presence of his Spirit, and the presence of his angels.
And if it be so, would not a persuasion of this presence of Christ in our church assemblies, be a special means or motive to bring all into order? Sometimes I wonder at the irreverent carriage of some hearers, laughing, talking, prating, sleeping, in our congregations: what, is this a demeanour beseeming the presence of angels, and the Spirit of Christ? Wouldst thou carry thyself thus in the presence of a prince, or of some earthly majesty? (Chrys. ib.) "if thou goest but into a king's palace, (as Chrysostom speaks) thou composest thyself to a comeliness in thy habit, look, gait, and all thy guise; and dost thou laugh?" I may add, dost thou any way carry thyself indecently in God's presence? Some there are that in the very midst of ordinances the devil usually rocks them asleep; but oh! dost thou not fear that thy damnation sleeps not? How justly might Christ come against thee in his wrath, and whip thee out of the temple into hell? Surely we should do well to behave ourselves in such a presence, with the thoughts and apprehensions of heaven about us: our business here is an errand of religion, and God himself is the object of our worship: how then should our actions bear at least some few degrees of a proportionable address to God, and Christ, and the Spirit of Christ? What? Is Christ's presence in his Spirit, and his angels here? Oh! let us walk with God, as Enoch did, Gen. v. 22. Let us do all we do as in the presence of Christ, and his holy angels.
And now was the first passover after Christ's baptism; as it is written, John ii. 13. "And the Jews passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem."
This was the first year of Christ's ministry; whereof the one half was carried on by his prodromus, or forerunner, John the Baptist: and the other half (betwixt his baptism and this first passover, was carried on by himself. And now hath Christ three years to his death. According to the method propounded, I shall come on to the second year, and to his actings therein, in reference to our soul's salvation.