07. Why Did Jesus Conceal Himself?
Why Did Jesus Conceal Himself?
Quest. But why doth Christ thus conceal himself in regard of his fuller manifestation?
It is partly to try and exercise our faith and other graces; and therefore God doth seem to withdraw himself in the sense of his love.
1. To see whether we can live by faith, or whether we be altogether addicted to sense, as the world is, who live altogether by sense, and not by faith.
2. He would have our patience tried to the utmost. He would have ’patience have its perfect work,’ Jas 1:4. She had much patience to endure all this. But her patience had not a perfect work till Christ spake.
3. Christ will stir up and quicken zeal and fervency in his children; and therefore he seemed to deny the woman of Canaan, Mat 15:21, seq., and Mark 7:27-28; first, he giveth no answer but an harsh answer, ’A dog.’ And she works upon it: ’Though I am a dog, yet dogs have crumbs.’ All which denial was only to stir up zeal and earnestness. And therefore though Christ doth not manifest himself to us at first, yet it is to stir up zeal and affection to seek after him more earnestly. A notable passage there is of this, Song of Solomon 3:1-6. The soul sought Christ, and sought long, and sought in the use of all means; but at length she waited, and in waiting she found him.
4. Christ doth this to set a better price upon his presence when he comes; to make his presence highly valued when he doth discover himself. Desiderata diu magis placent: things long desired please more sweetly. And things, when wanted, are ingratiated to us, as warmth after cold, and meat after hunger; and so in every particular of this life. And therefore God, to set a greater price on his presence, and that he would be held more strongly when he doth reveal himself, he defers a long time. That is one reason why he did defer revealing himself to Mary, that she might have the more sweet contentment in him when he did reveal himself, as indeed she had. Long deferring of a thing doth but enlarge the soul. Want enlargeth the desire and capacity of the soul, so doth love. Now, when we want that we love, that emptieth the soul marvellously much; it mortifieth affection. When God keeps off a long time, and we see it is God only must do it, then the affection is taken off from earthly things, and the heart enlarged to God by love, and the want of the thing we love. And therefore we set a price on the thing, so that we are wonderfully pleasing to God. It is very beneficial to ourselves. What lost Mary by it? So shall we lose nothing. We have it at last more abundantly. We have it as a mighty favour. Mary taketh this as a new blessing altogether. When things are kept long from us, and God only must discover, when the heart is kept from second causes, the heart is enlarged. Certainly this comes from God, and God should have all the glory of it. God is wise; and therefore makes us to stay a long time for that we do desire.
We all of us are in Mary’s case in a spiritual sense. Some times or other we miss Christ, I mean the sweet sense of Christ. Lay this down for a rule, that Christians ought to walk in sweet communion with God and Christ, and that it ought to be the life of a Christian to maintain the communion that Christ hath vouchsafed between us and himself. Then, certainly, we lose Christ wonderfully; and not against our minds, but willingly, by our own slighting of him, and by our own undervaluing of him, or by our negligence or presumption. Christ, though he be low, yet he is great, and he will have us to know his greatness. There must be communion with due respect. One way or other we deprive ourselves of the sense and sweetness of communion with Christ. What must we do, then? We must do as the woman did: turn over every stone; use all kind of means; leave not one till we find him; and when all means are used, wait still. Persevere in waiting, as Peter speaks. Believers, wait; hold out in waiting, for Christ in his time will come. He cannot hold long. As Joseph did suppress his love and affection for politic ends a great while, Gen 45:3, but his pity towards his brethren was such that his bowels would not suffer him to conceal himself longer; his passion was above his policy: ’I am Joseph.’ And so let us in the use of all things seek Christ and the sweet sense of his love, which is better than life itself. And, indeed, what is all without Christ? Christ is so full of compassion, he will not long suffer us to be prolonged, but will at length satisfy the hungry soul, Psa 63:5. How many promises have we to this end!
Take heed of such a temper of soul, as cares not whether we find Christ or no. Oh take heed of that! If we will seek him, seek him as Mary. She sought him early in the morning; she brake her sleep and sought him with tears. If anything be to be sought with tears, it is Christ and communion with him. She sought him instantly and constantly. She sought him so, that no impediment could hinder her, she was so full of grief and love.* She sought him with her whole heart, she waited in seeking. That is the way to find Christ. Seek him early, in our younger times, in the morning of our years. Oh that we could seek Christ as we seek our pleasures. We should find more pleasure in Christ than in all the pleasures of the world, if we could persuade our base hearts so much. Seek him above all other things. Awake with this resolution in our hearts, to find Christ, never to be quiet till we may say with some comfort, ’I am Christ’s, and Christ is mine.’ When we have him, we have all. Seek him with tears, at length we are sure to find him. He hath bound himself, that if we knock he will open; and if we seek we shall find: if we seek wisdom early with our whole hearts, entirely, sincerely. Seek Christ for Christ, and then we shall be sure to find him, as she did. Thus seek him in the word and sacraments, wherein he discovers himself familiarly. Seek him in the temple—’Christ was found in the temple,’ Luk 2:46—and then we shall be sure to find him both here and hereafter. Specially we shall find him in our hearts. You see how familiarly he comes to us in the word, speaks to us by a man like ourselves. And how familiarly by the sacrament, by common bread and common wine, sanctified to do great matters above nature, to strengthen faith. He cometh to us through our faces, into our souls in the sacrament. He cometh to us, through our ears in hearing the word, through our sight in seeing the bread broken. He comes by familiar things, and by a familiar manner of conveying, as if he should name every one, ’I come to thee, and give thee my body.’ Think with ourselves, Now Christ cometh to me; when the minister reacheth the bread and comes to me, think of heavenly bread, and of the gift of Christ to me by means. And can he do it more familiarly? Is it not as if he would say, ’Mary’? And that is the excellency of the sacrament. It conveyeth Christ to all the saints, and to every one in particular, as if he named every one. And what an encouragement is this to answer again, to open our hearts to receive him, together with the elements! to embrace Christ, join with Christ, and then to keep him when we have him! Do not lose him. He will not be so dealt withal. Remember the covenant we have made to him. I beseech you, let these sweet considerations of Christ dwell in us, and work on every one of our hearts. If they do good on us here on earth, if we by faith lay hold on him, and have intercourse with him, what will it be in the day of judgment! How comfortable will it be to hear him say to every one in particular, ’Come thou, and thou, stand on my right hand, sit and judge the world with me?’ 1Co 6:2. Doth he know our names now on earth, and giveth to every one particularly by himself, if we come worthily? and will not he know us then? Oh, that is far more worth than the world’s good, to know us then and to call us by our names! Therefore, I beseech you, be acquainted with Christ. Have intercourse, all we can, with him in the word and sacraments, and never rest till we find this sweet result in the use of the means, ’that he is ours, and we are his.’
Take heed therefore in these times, desperately addicted to formality and popery. I say, take heed, we do depend not upon any outward thing, but look to Christ in all his ordinances, look to the Spirit. All God’s children, the church of the first-born, they are θεοδίδακτος, such as are ’taught of God.’ Who can take away the opposite disposition of man’s nature to goodness, but God by his Spirit? Who can shine into the soul, and quicken the soul, but Christ by his Spirit? Who is above the heart and conscience, but Christ by his Spirit? Therefore take heed of formality; submit your hearts to the great prophet of the church, that Moses speaketh of, Deu 18:18, who shall be the great teacher of the church; lift up our hearts to him, that he would teach our hearts, and remove the natural disposition that is in us; that he would ’take off the veil from our hearts,’ and teach not only what to do, but teach the very doing of them. Teach us to hate what is ill, teach us to believe, and to resist all Satan’s temptations. Who can teach but the great teacher, whose chair is in heaven? Therefore take heed of depending on formal things. Lift your hearts to God, that he would join his teaching with all other teachings. This cannot be too much stood upon. I beseech you, therefore, take it to heart.
Give me leave, therefore, to add a few things more. If Christ speaketh in general to Mary, she answereth in general; and when he speaks aloof to her, she answereth aloof to him, afar off, and never gave him a direct answer, till he gave a direct word to her. When he said, ’Mary,’ she gave him a direct answer, ’Rabboni;’ not before. I beseech you, therefore, let us not rest in general promises and the general graces, that be so much stood on by some, that God hath a like respect to all. Trust not to that. We must not enter into his secrets, but let us obey his precepts and commandments. And withal remember this, when we hear of a general mercy and commandment for all nations to believe, and that Christ came to save a world of sinners, alas! what is that to me, unless thou by thy Holy Spirit speakest to my soul, and sayest in particular, ’I am thy salvation,’ and speakest familiarly to my soul? Generals are in some degrees comfortable. But if I find not particular interest by the witness of thy Holy Spirit to my soul, if thou sayest not to my soul, ’I am thine, and thou art mine,’ all is to little purpose. Therefore in the desires of our souls in prayer, let us desire the Lord to reveal himself in particular. We trust too much in generals. God is merciful, and Christ came to redeem the world. They be truths, and good foundations for to found faith upon, but they will not do the deed, till by daily prayer we seek to the Lord, that he would in a particular manner reveal himself to us. This doth Paul pray for, Eph 1:17, ’that God would vouchsafe to them the Spirit of revelation.’ And this is the office of the Holy Spirit. His special office is, to reveal to every one in particular his estate and condition God-ward. The Holy Ghost knoweth the secrets in the breast of God, and in our own hearts.* Now the Holy Ghost can reveal the particular love that lieth in God’s breast to our particular souls. And therefore we should desire God, that the Holy Spirit may be sent to seal to us our particular salvation, and never be quiet till we be sealed in particular assurance, that we be they whom Christ came to save. This we ought to labour for. If we labour for it, we shall have it some time or other, for God loveth to be familiar with his children. He loveth not to be strange to them, if they seek his love, but to reveal himself first or last. And few seek it, but God revealeth himself by his Spirit to them before they die; if he doth not, they are sure of it in heaven. And therefore they that be against particulars, they are enemies to their own salvation. Mary regarded not, while Christ spake of generals, but when he came to particulars, then ’Rabboni,’ and not before.