Sermon XXXIX. On the Chariots of Pharao and the Captains of his Host

"To My company of horsemen, in Pharao's chariots, have I likened thee, O My love."

"To My company of horsemen, in Pharao's chariots, have I likened thee, O My love." From these words, my brethren, I gladly infer, in the first place, that the patriarchs of old were a type of the Church, and had foreshadowed to them the sacraments of our redemption. Thus, in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, that astounding miracle, whereby the sea rendered the people of the Lord the double service of affording them a passage and wreaking vengeance on their enemies, evidently prefigured the grace of baptism, by which our souls are saved and our sins submerged. "All," says the Apostle, "were under the cloud, and all were baptised in the cloud and in the sea." But in the first place it is necessary, according to my custom, to show the sequence of the words, and the connection between the foregoing and the following. Then I shall proceed, if I can, to draw from them some consoling truths which may be useful for our moral instruction. The Bridegroom, therefore, after checking the presumption of His Spouse with a harsh and cutting reproof, lest she should abandon herself to excessive sadness, now recalls to her mind some of the favours she has already received, and promises others not yet enjoyed. He even calls her "beautiful" and His "love." As if He should say, "Do not think, O My love, that it is from any feeling of dislike or ill-will I have spoken to thee with such severity. For in the gifts with which I have honoured and adorned thee, thou hast received evident proofs of My regard. Nor have I now any intention to take them back, but rather to add other and more precious favours." Or we may fancy Him speaking thus, "Do not take it ill, My cherished Spouse, that thou hast not obtained thy present request, because thou hast already received many favours of Me and shalt receive still greater, provided thou continuest faithful in My love." So much for the verbal sequence.

Now, let us see, my brethren, what are those gifts referred to by the Bridegroom, as having been bestowed by Him upon His Spouse. The first is that He has likened her to His company of horsemen in the chariots of Pharao. This He did by delivering her from the yoke of sin, and destroying in her all "the works of the flesh," just as the chosen people were set free from the servitude of Egypt, all Pharao's chariots being overthrown and submerged. That in truth was the greatest of mercies. And if, like the Apostle, "I should have a mind to glory" in it, "I shall not be foolish; for I will say the truth" — that "unless the Lord had been my Helper, my soul had almost dwelt in hell." I am not ungrateful; I am not unmindful. "The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever." So much have I in common with the Spouse. As for the rest, she, by an incommunicable privilege, has been raised, after her deliverance, to the rank and dignity of His only beloved, and, as the Spouse of the Lord, has been adorned with beauty, but for the present only in her cheeks and neck. Moreover, she has been promised necklaces for ornaments, and they are to be of gold to make the gift more precious, and inlaid with silver to enhance their beauty. Who can help admiring the wonderful order in which these favours are bestowed? First, she is mercifully liberated; secondly, she is condescendingly loved; thirdly, she is kindly cleansed and purified; lastly she receives a promise of the most magnificent ornaments.

I have no doubt, my brethren, that some amongst you can already recognise in their own spiritual histories the realities which I am endeavouring to express in words, and, instructed by their own inner experience, anticipate in their thoughts the slowness of my remarks. Nevertheless, remembering what the Psalmist says, "The declaration of Thy words giveth light, and giveth understanding to little ones," I think it worth while, for the sake of these "little ones," to explain what I have been saying somewhat more fully. "For the Spirit of wisdom is benevolent," and is pleased with the benevolent and diligent instructor, who strives his best to satisfy the educated and intelligent, without neglecting to bend to the capacity of others less gifted. Again, as you know, Wisdom Itself, says "They that explain Me shall have life everlasting," and I am unwilling to lose that reward. And besides, even in matters that seem to be plain enough, mysteries may sometimes lie concealed, a more careful discussion of which will not be without profit even to such as are endowed with superior intelligence and quickness of apprehension.

Let us now examine the similitudes of Pharao and his host and of the Lord's "company of horsemen." The comparison is not between the two armies, but only taken from them. For "what fellowship hath light with darkness? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?" But there is an evident analogy or ground for comparison between a holy and spiritual soul and the "horsemen" of the Lord, and between Pharao and Lucifer, and between the host of Egypt and the host of hell. Nor will you wonder, my brethren, that one soul is likened to a multitude of horsemen, if you bear in mind how many battalions of the virtues may be marshalled in a single soul, provided she -has real sanctity, what orderly disposition she exhibits in her affections, what perfect discipline in her morals, what effective engines of war in her prayers, what energy in her actions, what power to inspire terror in her zeal, what constancy in her combats with the enemy, and, finally, what frequency in the succession of her triumphs. So, in a following verse, the Spouse, or the holy soul, is represented to be "terrible as an army set in array." And again we read, "What shalt thou see in the Sulamitess but the companies of camps?" But if this explanation fails to satisfy you, remember that the holy soul is never without a bodyguard — so to speak — of angels, who are jealous of her "with the jealousy of God," desirous to preserve her for the Bridegroom and to "present her as a chaste virgin to Christ." And let no one say in his heart, "Where are these protecting angels? Who has ever seen them?" For the Prophet Eliseus saw them, and by prayer obtained for his servant Giezi that he, also, should see them. If, then, you do not see them, it is because you are neither prophets nor the servants of a prophet. They were also seen by the Patriarch Jacob, when he exclaimed, "These are the camps of God." And by the Doctor of nations, who said, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?"

Protected, therefore, by angelic ministrations, and attended wherever she goes by a troop of heavenly spirits, the holy soul may justly be likened to the horsemen of the Lord, those, namely, who, of old, assisted by a stupendous miracle of divine power, triumphed over the chariots of Pharao. For if you examine the matter carefully, you will find repeated in her conflict with the invisible Pharao all the glorious achievements which rendered the victory of the Red Sea so illustrious and wonderful. The single difference is one which makes the soul's triumph only all the more magnificent, since what the people of God accomplished in type and material figure has been spiritually fulfilled in her. Does it not appear to you a more valiant and glorious feat to vanquish the devil than to overcome King Pharao, to defeat the powers of the air than to overthrow the chariots of Egypt? In the one case the struggle was with flesh and blood, in the other the "wrestling" was "against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places." Let us together draw out and study the comparison in all its details. On the one side is the chosen people delivered from Egypt, on the other a soul rescued from the world; there Pharao is defeated, here it is Lucifer; there the chariots of the tyrant are overthrown, here are extinguished earthly and "carnal desires which war against the soul"; there the fight is carried on amid floods of briny water, here amid floods of bitter tears. And I can fancy the demons, whenever they happen upon a faithful soul, crying out like the Egyptians of old, "Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them against us." Do you wish me now to designate by their proper names some of the captains of Pharao's host, and to describe some of the chariots, so that by adopting the method which I shall employ, you may be able to find out and identify all the others for yourselves? I tell you, then, that one of the mightiest princes of the spiritual and invisible Pharao is called Malice, another is named Luxury, and a third Avarice. These govern their several provinces with dependence on the king, who defines for each the limits of his jurisdiction. Thus Malice has dominion over the whole territory of injury and outrage. Luxury presides over uncleanness and the sins of the flesh. To Avarice it has been given to rule the wide areas of rapine and fraud.

Attend now whilst I explain what manner of chariots Pharao has furnished his princes with for the pursuit of the people of God. The chariot of Malice moves upon four wheels, which are called Cruelty, Impatience, Audacity, and Impudence. For this chariot is extremely "swift to shed blood," and is neither stopped by innocence, nor retarded by patience, nor restrained by fear, nor held back by shame. It is drawn by two very mettlesome horses, ever ready to rush forward to all kinds of destruction and slaughter, and their names are Earthly Power and Worldly Pomp. For this four-wheeled car of Malice moves with the greatest velocity when, on the one hand, it is yoked to power adequate to the accomplishment of his malevolent purposes, and, on the other, has the pomp and glory of popular favour to applaud his most criminal deeds. So that we see fulfilled in it the words of the Psalmist, "For the sinner is praised in the desires of his heart, and the unjust man is blessed." "And again, another Scripture sar in," "This is your hour and the power of darkness." The horses are in charge of two charioteers, Pride and Envy, the former driving Pomp and the latter Power. For he who has allowed his heart within to swell with self-conceit shall soon be carried away swiftly by the love of satanical pomp. But the man that is firmly established in himself, who is prudently self -restrained, gravely modest, solidly humble, chastely whole, such a man is in no danger of being blown lightly about by the wind of vanity. In the same way, does it not seem to you that Envy rides upon the horse of Power and urges him onward by pricking his flanks with the two spurs of Jealousy, by which I mean the apprehension of death or decline, and the dread of deposition? For the fear of having soon to yield place to a successor is quite distinct from the fear of an invading usurper. Such then are the goads wherewith the horse of Power is driven forward. And that is all I find to say about the chariot of Malice.

The chariot of Luxury also runs upon four wheels of subservient vices, namely, Gluttony, Carnal Desire, Love of Fine Dress, and the Enervation begotten of languor and sloth. It, too, has its pair of horses to draw it, which are Prosperity in life and Abundance of earthly goods. These are driven by the charioteers, Lazy Languor and False Security; for abundance is the ruin of the lazy, and according to Scripture, "The prosperity of fools shall destroy them," no doubt because it renders them falsely secure. "For when they shall say, peace and security, then shall sudden destruction come upon them." The charioteers of Luxury have neither whips nor spurs, nor anything at all of that kind; but they use a kind of parasol[^1] to protect them from the sun, and a kind of fan for exciting a refreshing breeze. This parasol is nothing else than Dissimulation, which, in a metaphorical sense, makes a shade for the mind, and shelters it from the heat of care and worry. Now, it is characteristic of soft and effeminate souls to put aside even necessary and urgent cares, and to conceal themselves in the shadow of Dissimulation, lest they should feel the burning heat of solicitude. The fan bears the name of Profuse Liberality, and the wind that they produce is the balmy breeze of Adulation. For sensual souls affect prodigality, desirous to purchase for gold the light wind produced by the lips of flatterers. So much for the chariot of Lust.

Prince Avarice, similarly, has four wheels to his car. They are the vices of Pusillanimity, Inhumanity, Contempt of God, and Forgetfulness of Death. The horses that draw him are Obstinacy and Rapacity; and the two are managed by one driver, who is called Greed of Gain. For Avarice is singular in this, that he is content with one servant, his niggardliness not suffering him to employ any more. But his single driver displays admirable promptitude and tireless zeal in the execution of every order, using the rousing whips of Passion for Acquiring and Fear of Losing to stimulate the horses that draw him.

Besides those I have mentioned, there are many other princes under the king of Egypt, who have likewise their own chariot s for the service of their master. For instance, there is Pride, who is one of his greatest captains, and Impiety, the enemy of the true faith, who holds high rank in Pharao's palace and kingdom; whilst of nobles and knights of inferior degree the army of Egypt contains a countless multitude, whose names and offices and arm? and equipments I leave you to discover for yourselves by your own meditations, for it will furnish profitable employment for your minds. It is therefore in the strength of these captains and their chariots that the invisible Pharao, like a cruel tyrant, vents his fury on the servants of the Lord, to the utmost of his power, rushing wilh rage upon them from every direction, and, even in our own day, is still pursuing the Israelites as they try to escape out of Egypt. The chosen people, on the other hand, have neither chariots in which to ride, nor arms wherewith to defend themselves; nevertheless, with no other protection but the Hand of the Lord, they can exclaim with confidence, "Let us sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously magnified, and horse and rider He hath thrown into the sea." And, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses; but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God." But perhaps I have now said enough on the comparison drawn from the horsemen of the Lord and the chariots of Pharao.¹

After using this similitude, the Bridegroom addresses the Spouse as His "love." He indeed was her Lover, even before her deliverance from the bondage of sin; for had He not loved her He certainly would not have set her free. But it was in consequence of the benefit of emancipation that she became His love, that is to say, filled with His love. Listen to herself bearing testimony to this truth, "not as though we had loved God, but because He hath first loved us." I now ask you, my brethren, to recall to mind the marriage of Moses to the daughter of the Madianite Raguel, and to recognise in that a foreshadowing of the spiritual union of Christ and the penitent soul. I also ask you to say, if you can, what it is you find most pleasant and consoling in your meditations on that sweetest of mys-teries, whether the gracious condescension of the Word, or the inconceivable exaltation of the soul, or finally, the amazing confidence of the sinner. Moses was unable to render fair Sephoia's swarthy complexion. But what he could not do for the Madianitess, Christ can and does accomplish for the soul He espouses. Hence we read in the following verse, "Thy cheeks are beautiful ar the turtle dove's." But I reserve this for another sermon, so that we may always partake with eager appetites of the good things set before us on the Bridegroom's table, and then pour out our souls unto the praise and glory of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Who is over all things, God blessed for ever. Amen. [^1]: Conopeum — κωνωπεῖον from κώνωψ — a gnat — was the name given to a fine gauze net used in Egypt as a protection against gnats or mosquitos. The English word, canopy, is evidently derived from it. — (Translator.)

Footnotes

1. It is not impossible that the author of Pilgrim's Progress was indebted to this fine allegory for some suggestions in the composition of his masterpiece. Dr. Stebbing, in a note to his edition of Bunyan, admits that honest John was by no means as original as people generally suppose, and actually modelled his best-known work on a translation of a French production, entitled Les trois Ptterinages. Now, the author of this book was a Cistercian monk, one Guillaume de Guiileville, who died in 1360, in the abbey of Chalis. He must therefore have been familiar with the writings of his great Patron, and doubtless derived therefrom his inspiration. — (Translator.) ↩