But what is the reason ? ' Touch me not;/o/- 1 am not yet ascended to my Father.' That seemeth to be a strong reason. But it seemeth to be a contrary reason. Touch me not now, when my body is present ; but touch me when I am gone, and removed out of sight of all flesh. Touch me not now, when thou mayest touch me ; and touch me when there is an impossibiUty of touching me. This is seemingly strange. But indeed there is no contrariety in it : ' Touch me not ; for I am not yet ascended to the Father.'
There is a double meaning of the words. First of all, ' Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended,' &c. Thou needest not clasp and cling about me, as if I would stay no more with you below ; ' I am not yet ascended to the Father.' There will be time enough afterwards. For the word * touch,' in the original, doth not signify merely to touch, but clasp, asso- ciate, join, and solder with a thing (/).§ The Scripture speaking of the evil man, you shall not touch him ; that is, not make him one with him. The devil shall not take him from Christ and make him one with himself. It is a strange word in the original : ' Thou claspest about me, thou dost more than touch me, thou clingest to me and wilt not leave me, as if I would go presently to the Father ; but I am not yet ascended to the Father.' That is one part of the meaning.
* That is, ' wicked.' — G. f In margin here, ' Externa Deo placere nequeunt.' — G. X In margin here, ^ Arduum et difficile est in fide vivere.' — G.
§ In margin here, ' Non solum significat tangere, sed adhwrere, conglutinari, Isa. lii. 11, 2 Cor. vi. 17. A tabernaculo impiorum hominum reccdite, Num. xvi. 27.' — G.
480 A HEAVENLY CONFERENCE.
But there is a fartlicr than that, ' I am not yet ascended to the Father ; touch me not.' That is, it is another manner of touch that I look for — better for thee, and in some regard for me — to touch me by the hand of faith when I am ascended to the Father. Then touch me, and take thy full of touching me. But for the present I am not ascended ; I have not done all ; I have not manifested myself to my disciples in full. When I am ascended, all is done, and then there is place for touch. And that I take is meant here, I am not yet ascended to the Father. Thou thinkest I have done all that is to be done, but thou art deceived. I must ascend to the Father, and when I am there I expect to be touched after another manner, after a gracious, spiritual manner, which is by faith ; as Augus- tine saith well, ' Send up thy faith to heaven, and then thou touchcst Christ.' * As he said in the sacrament, ' Quid paras clentem et ventrem ? Crede, et manducasti : What dost thou prepare thy teeth and stomach for ? Believe, and thou hast eaten' {;/). So the best communion with Christ is to believe, till we come to heaven to have eternal communion with him. This touch will do thee little good, and it pleaseth me as little. When I am ascended to the Father, then touch me at the full. So you see what Christ meaneth.
The life of a Christian here, and the manner of the dispensation of Christ here, is by promise, and by his Spirit ; that we should live by faith, and not by sense. The life of sight is reserved for another world, when we are fitted for it. She was not fit for a life of sense, but was to expect the Holy Ghost from heaven ; to be filled with that, and then to be filled with faith and \o\e ; and then to have an holj^ communion with him in heaven. But ' I am not yet ascended.' Thus you see the meaning, ' Touch me not.'
There be two reasons of Christ's prohibition.
1. Her respects icere too carnal and ordinary, considering he was in the state of glory. And then,
2. For that there ivill be time enough. Do not stand embracing of me, there is a greater work for thee to do. Christ preferred the great work of giving notice to his disciples of his resurrection, before the office of respect and service to himself. Go about a duty, that I more regard a great deal : * Go, tell my brethren I ascend,' &c. So that every part of the text yields satisfaction to that prohibition.
' Go,' saith he, ' to my brethren.' I have another work for thee to do, ' Touch me not.' Thou clasps about me as if thou hadst nothing to do. There is another work to do that pleaseth me better, and more fit for thee : to comfort them that are in distress, my poor brethren and disciples. And therefore ' go to my brethren, and say unto them.' So that Christ prefers a work of charity to his poor disciples before a work of compliment to his own person. She chngeth about him ; but ' this is not it I would have.' Those poor souls are mourning and disconsolate for me, as if I were clean taken away ; go to them, and prevent their farther sorrow.