Sermon LXXXV — Historical footnotes

6. There is a something in the words of that man who was blind, which may cause perplexity, and peradventure make many who understand them not aright despair. For he said amongst the rest of his words, the same man whose eyes were opened, “We know that God heareth not sinners.” What shall we do, if God heareth not sinners? Dare we pray to God if He heareth not sinners? Give me one who may pray: lo, here is One to hear. Give me one who may pray, sift thoroughly the human race from the imperfect to the perfect. Mount up from the spring to the summer; for this we have just chanted. “Thou hast made summer and spring;” that is, “Those who are already spiritual, and those who are still carnal hast Thou made;” for so the Son Himself saith, “Thine Eyes have seen My imperfect being.” That which is imperfect in My Body, Thine Eyes have seen. And what then? Have they who are imperfect hope? Undoubtedly they have. Hear what follows; “And in Thy Book shall all be written.” But perhaps, Brethren, the spiritual pray and are heard, because they are not sinners? What then must the carnal do? What must they do? Shall they perish? Shall they not pray to God? God forbid! Give me that publican in the Gospel. Come, thou publican, stand forth, show thy hope, that the weak may not lose hope. For behold the publican went up with the Pharisee to pray, and with face cast down upon the ground, standing afar off, beating his breast, he said, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner. And he went down justified rather than the Pharisee.” Said he true or false, who said, “Be merciful to me a sinner”? If he said true, he was a sinner; yet was he heard and justified. What then is that, that thou whose eyes the Lord opened didst say, “We know that God heareth not sinners”? Lo, God doth hear sinners. But wash thou thy inferior face, let that be done in thy heart, which hath been done in thy face; and thou wilt see that God doth hear sinners. The imagination of thine heart hath deceived thee. There is still something for Him to do to thee. We see that this man was cast out of the synagogue; Jesus heard of it, came to him, and said to him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” And He said, “Who is He, Lord, that I should believe on Him?” He saw, and did not see; he saw with the eyes, but as yet with the heart he saw not. The Lord said to him, “Thou both seest Him,” that is, with the eyes; “and He that talketh with thee is He. He then fell down, and worshipped Him.” Then washed he the face of his heart.

4. “But,” says he, “the Father commands, that the Son may execute.” Carnal indeed is thy conceit, but without prejudice to the truth, I grant it to you. Lo, the Father commands, the Son obeys; is the Son therefore not of the same Nature, because the One commands, and the Other obeys? Give me two men, father and son; they are two men: he that commands is a man; he that obeys is a man; he that commands and he that obeys have one and the same nature. Does not he that commands, beget a son of his own nature? Does he who obeys, by obeying lose his nature? Now take for the present, as you thus take two men, the Father commanding, the Son obeying, yet God and God. But the first two together are two men, the Latter together is but One God; this is a divine miracle. Meanwhile if you would that with you I acknowledge the obedience, do you first with me acknowledge the Nature. The Father begat That which Himself is. If the Father begat ought else than what Himself is, He did not beget a true Son. The Father saith to the Son, “From the womb before the day-star, I begat Thee.” What is, “before the day-star”? By the day-star times are signified. So then before times, before all that is called “before;” before all that is not, or before all that is. For the Gospel does not say, “In the beginning God made the Word;” as it is said, “In the beginning God made the Heaven and the earth;” or, “In the beginning was the Word born;” or, “In the beginning God begat the Word.” But what says it? “He was, He was, He was.” You hear, “He was;” believe. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So often do ye hear, “Was:” seek not for time, for that He always “was.” He then who always was, and was always with the Son, for that God is able to beget without thee; He said to the Son, “From the womb before the day-star I begat Thee.” What is from the womb? Had God a womb? Shall we imagine that God was fashioned with bodily members? God forbid! And why said He, “From the womb,” but that it might be understood that He begat Him of His Own Substance? So then from the womb came forth That which Himself was who begat. For if He who begat was one thing, and another came forth out of the womb; it were a monster, not a Son.

6. There is a something in the words of that man who was blind, which may cause perplexity, and peradventure make many who understand them not aright despair. For he said amongst the rest of his words, the same man whose eyes were opened, “We know that God heareth not sinners.” What shall we do, if God heareth not sinners? Dare we pray to God if He heareth not sinners? Give me one who may pray: lo, here is One to hear. Give me one who may pray, sift thoroughly the human race from the imperfect to the perfect. Mount up from the spring to the summer; for this we have just chanted. “Thou hast made summer and spring;” that is, “Those who are already spiritual, and those who are still carnal hast Thou made;” for so the Son Himself saith, “Thine Eyes have seen My imperfect being.” That which is imperfect in My Body, Thine Eyes have seen. And what then? Have they who are imperfect hope? Undoubtedly they have. Hear what follows; “And in Thy Book shall all be written.” But perhaps, Brethren, the spiritual pray and are heard, because they are not sinners? What then must the carnal do? What must they do? Shall they perish? Shall they not pray to God? God forbid! Give me that publican in the Gospel. Come, thou publican, stand forth, show thy hope, that the weak may not lose hope. For behold the publican went up with the Pharisee to pray, and with face cast down upon the ground, standing afar off, beating his breast, he said, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner. And he went down justified rather than the Pharisee.” Said he true or false, who said, “Be merciful to me a sinner”? If he said true, he was a sinner; yet was he heard and justified. What then is that, that thou whose eyes the Lord opened didst say, “We know that God heareth not sinners”? Lo, God doth hear sinners. But wash thou thy inferior face, let that be done in thy heart, which hath been done in thy face; and thou wilt see that God doth hear sinners. The imagination of thine heart hath deceived thee. There is still something for Him to do to thee. We see that this man was cast out of the synagogue; Jesus heard of it, came to him, and said to him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” And He said, “Who is He, Lord, that I should believe on Him?” He saw, and did not see; he saw with the eyes, but as yet with the heart he saw not. The Lord said to him, “Thou both seest Him,” that is, with the eyes; “and He that talketh with thee is He. He then fell down, and worshipped Him.” Then washed he the face of his heart.

6. There is a something in the words of that man who was blind, which may cause perplexity, and peradventure make many who understand them not aright despair. For he said amongst the rest of his words, the same man whose eyes were opened, “We know that God heareth not sinners.” What shall we do, if God heareth not sinners? Dare we pray to God if He heareth not sinners? Give me one who may pray: lo, here is One to hear. Give me one who may pray, sift thoroughly the human race from the imperfect to the perfect. Mount up from the spring to the summer; for this we have just chanted. “Thou hast made summer and spring;” that is, “Those who are already spiritual, and those who are still carnal hast Thou made;” for so the Son Himself saith, “Thine Eyes have seen My imperfect being.” That which is imperfect in My Body, Thine Eyes have seen. And what then? Have they who are imperfect hope? Undoubtedly they have. Hear what follows; “And in Thy Book shall all be written.” But perhaps, Brethren, the spiritual pray and are heard, because they are not sinners? What then must the carnal do? What must they do? Shall they perish? Shall they not pray to God? God forbid! Give me that publican in the Gospel. Come, thou publican, stand forth, show thy hope, that the weak may not lose hope. For behold the publican went up with the Pharisee to pray, and with face cast down upon the ground, standing afar off, beating his breast, he said, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner. And he went down justified rather than the Pharisee.” Said he true or false, who said, “Be merciful to me a sinner”? If he said true, he was a sinner; yet was he heard and justified. What then is that, that thou whose eyes the Lord opened didst say, “We know that God heareth not sinners”? Lo, God doth hear sinners. But wash thou thy inferior face, let that be done in thy heart, which hath been done in thy face; and thou wilt see that God doth hear sinners. The imagination of thine heart hath deceived thee. There is still something for Him to do to thee. We see that this man was cast out of the synagogue; Jesus heard of it, came to him, and said to him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” And He said, “Who is He, Lord, that I should believe on Him?” He saw, and did not see; he saw with the eyes, but as yet with the heart he saw not. The Lord said to him, “Thou both seest Him,” that is, with the eyes; “and He that talketh with thee is He. He then fell down, and worshipped Him.” Then washed he the face of his heart.