the Kings Evil the King toucheth and God healeth so it was in the Cures which were wrought by them Jesus Christ maketh thee whole Acts 9.34 saith St. Peter to Aeneas when he cured him of the Palsie And speaking of that great Cure which he wrought upon a man who had been a creeple from his Mothers womb whom he made not only to stand up but to walk and leap he was so far from arrogating that power to himself that he disclaimed it in the presence of them that were the Spectators of it Acts 3.12 Why look ye so earnestly upon us as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk And in the next Chapter at the 10th Verse Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom ye crucified whom God raised from the dead even by him doth this man stand here before you whole These and many more Miracles which he wrought by them to confirm that word which he sent them to preach were so necessary at that time when it was a new Doctrine not only different from all the Religions that were then in the world but in many things contrary to the most of them that as there was no Religion that was so universally receiv'd and so stedfastly retain'd so it is not credible that it could have prevail'd so mightily if he had not mightily assisted them And the word which they preach'd was thereby so confirm'd not only to them of that Generation but to all succeeding Generations to the end of the world that there was not that need of such manifestations of his presence when it was become the faith of the World which there was when it was a new and strange Doctrine But when he saith I am with you alway even unto the end of the world we may perceive that he spake not only of his presence with them and with those of that Generation among all Nations who are long since departed out of the world but of some that are still and will be to the end of the world Now if he spake this of his Church among all Nations which he hath built upon the foundation which he laid by them it is a point of so great importance that the not observing it hath been the cause of the greatest mischiefs that ever have befaln the Church of Christ I mean that great Controversie about a Visible Head to rule and govern this great Body of the Church which hath not only disturb'd that peace and unity which he hath so expressly so earnestly and so frequently commended to it and corrupted the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints by an addition of many things as Articles of Faith which are but matters of Dispute and many of them not so much as Theological Truths but likewise perverted much of the Devotion and depraved the true Worship with Invocation and Adoration of other Advocates and Patrons which are not with us Now that these Words I am with you were spoken by Christ to his Apostles not only of his presence with them but with those of all Nations whom he sent them to Teach and to Baptize is evident by their own acknowledgment who ascribe the success of their Ministery to the working of his Grace upon the Hearts of them that heard them And the several Epistles of St. Paul in which he commends the Churches to which he wrote to the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with these or the like Words in the beginning of them Grace be to you and Peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ And these or the like Words in the end of them The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all are very good evidences of his presence with them The seven Churches of Asia which were represented to St. John in the Vision of the seven Golden Candlesticks and Christ walking in the mid'st of them and speaking of his Knowledge not only of their Works but of their Hearts and Affections in the three first Chapters of the Revelation of St. John are very sufficient to make good proof of his presence with them And though these come not home to the Text in which he speaks of his presence with them to the end of the World there be other Texts of Scripture in which he speaks of his presence in all times not only with great Churches but with little ones For there cannot be a less Church than that of which he saith Mat. 18.20 Where two or three are gathered together in my Name there am I in the midst of them And in the fifth Verse of the same Chapter he speaks of his presence not only with two or three but with every one of those little ones that believe in him How and in what manner he is with them is a point so much above the comprehension of our understanding that we must say of it as the Psalmist saith of the presence of God with all men everywhere and at all times Psal 139.5 Such knowledge is too wonderful and excellent for me I cannot attain unto it But we must not deny that which is evident because we cannot comprehend that which is difficult And the truth of this is so evident in the Scriptures which are the Rule of our Faith that we must either believe it or deny the authority of the Scriptures and renounce our Christianity For the Scriptures speak expresly and clearly of the exercise of his Regal and Priestly Office by himself from the time of his Ascension into Heaven to the end of the World with that power of which he saith in the Verse but one before my Text All power is given to me in Heaven and in Earth With that authority of which he saith Joh. 5.22 23. The Father hath committed all Judgment unto the Son that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father with that Administration of all things by him of which he saith Mat. 11.27 All things are delivered to me of my Father And with that presence by which he is so sensible of our infirmities that he is touched with a feeling of them Hebr. 4.15 upon which it follows in the next Verse Let us therefore come boldly unto the Throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need There is hardly any point that is so frequently set forth with so great variety of so significant and elegant Expressions as this of his presence with his whole Church and all the Members of it in all places and at all times He is with them as a Shepherd with his Flock over which he watcheth as a Lord or Master in his own House in which he dwells and which he Rules and Governs as a Husband with his Wife whom he loves and cherisheth as a Head with that Body which lives and grows by that influence which it receives from
it For the whole Catholick Church in all places of the World and at all times to the end of the World is but one Flock of which he is not only the Chief Shepherd 1 Pet. 5.4 as St. Peter calleth him but the onely Joh. 10.16 Other Sheep I have which are not of this Fold them also I must bring and they shall hear my Voice and there shall be one Fold and one Shepherd For though he hath appointed other Shepherds under him he is the Shepherd of those Shepherds and as they are called Shepherds with reference to them whom he hath appointed them to feed so they are called Sheep when they are mentioned with him So he calleth his Apostles Mat. 10.16 Behold I send you forth as Sheep in the midst of Wolves And Mat. 26.31 All ye shall be offended because of me this night for it is written I will smite the Shepherd and the Sheep of the Flock shall be scattered abroad There is no Shepherd so vigilant over his Flock for he never Slumbers nor Sleeps nor so conversant with it Joh. 10.14 I am the good Shepherd and know my Sheep and am known of mine Nor so able and ready to see that none of them be lost through any want of care in him at the 28 Verse of the same Chapter They shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand To the same purpose is the Metaphor of a Lord or Master of a great House in which he dwells and which he rules and governs All that are of the Houshold of Faith are of his Houshold and Family whom he rules and governs by his Word and Spirit whom he feeds at his Table and supplies them with all things which he knows to be needfull or expedient for them There is no Lord or Master that is so conversant in his own House for he is never from Home I am with you alway saith he I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Hebr. 13.5 Nor so much Lord and Master of it Hebr. 3.5.6 Moses verily was faithful in all his House as a Servant for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after but Christ as a Son over his own House whose House are we if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoycing of the hope firm unto the end Moses was but in the House Christ is over the House Moses was but in the House as a Servant but Christ as the Son over his own House And the Servant abideth not in the House for ever Joh. 8.35 but the Son abideth for ever The Metaphor of a Man and his Wife whom he loves and cherisheth is a very significant and elegant expression of that Vnion and Communion which is between Christ and his Church For that which God saith of the one in the literal sense Gen. 2.24 A man shall leave his Father and his Mother and shall cleave unto his Wife and they shall be one Flesh St. Paul applies to Christ and his Church in the mystical sense Eph. 5.32 This is a great mystery But I speak concerning Christ and the Church But as there is no Metaphor so frequently used to this purpose as that of the Head and the Body so there is none that is so fully applyed to signifie that influence which he hath upon all the Members and that which he hath upon every one of them according to their several offices For as the Body consists of many Members which being fitly joined and compacted together among themselves and with the Head live and grow up together in one Body by virtue of that influence which the Head hath upon them all So this great Body of the Church which consists of many Members fitly joined together one with the other and all of them with him who is the Head of that Body is made partaker of that Faith and Love by which they all live and grow up together in Unity among themselves and with him Col. 2.19 He is the Head from which all the Body by Joints and Bands having nourishment ministred and knit together encreaseth with the encrease of God And as the Body hath many Members and all the Members have not the same Office but the influence which the Head hath upon them all doth not only make them all Partakers of the same Spirit of Life by which they live but likewise of that power and virtue by which they all perform their several Offices as the Eye doth not only live but see the Ear hear and all the Members perform that Office which they have in the Body so it is in this great Body of the Church as it is very well and fully expressed by St. Paul Eph. 4.11 where having spoken in the former Verse of the Ascension of Christ into Heaven that he might fill all things he useth this Metaphor of a Head and a Body to signifie how he filleth all things now after his Ascension into Heaven He gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the Work of the Ministry for the edifying of the Body of Christ till we all come in the Vnity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ that we henceforth be no more Children tossed to and fro and carried about with every Wind of Doctrin by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive but speaking the Truth in Love may grow up into him in all things which is the Head even Christ from whom the whole Body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplyeth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the Body unto the edifying of it self in love And in the first Chapter of the same Epistle we have an elegant expression of the height to which he is exalted at the 20 Verse God hath set him at his own right Hand in Heavenly places far above all Principality and Power and Might and Dominion and every name that is named not only in this World but also in that which is to come And that we might not think that his Exaltation to so great a height hath made a separation between him and his Church on Earth he saith in the next Verse God hath put all things under his Feet and gave him to be the Head over all things to the Church which is his Body the fulness in him that filleth all in all Now this may suffice to let us see how little need there is of another Head to Rule and Govern this great Body of the Church for if it be the fulness of him that filleth all in all there can be no need of a Coadjutor and if he be with it alway to the end of the World there can be no need of a Successor It is not with him as
it is with all Ministerial Officers under him For all Ministerial Offices require the personal service and attendance of men and cannot be supplyed to the end of the World but by a Succession of men The Word must be Preached by the mouths of men the Sacraments must be Administred by the hands of men and because it is appointed for all men once to die Heb. 9.27 there must be a succession of men that as one man dies another man may fill that place that is made void by his death There must be likewise Rulers and Governors under him for the good of Order which is not onely comely but necessary in all Societies or Bodies of Men as well Ecclesiastical as Civil and there must be a Succession of them to supply that defect which would be by reason of their mortality if that care were not taken to prevent it And therefore when he ascended up into Heaven he made provision of such Officers in a continued Succession to the end of the world but he made no provision of a Successor to himself but saith I am with you alway even to the end of the world That which is said of his Priestly Office compar'd with other Priests Heb. 7.23 They truly were many Priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death But this man because he continueth ever hath an unchangeable Priesthood or as it is in the Margin a Priesthood which passeth not from one to another May as truly be said of his Office of an High-priest or Vniversal Bishop compared with other Bishops and Priests they truely are many Bishops and Priests because they are all subject unto death which takes them off and makes way for others to succeed them but he that continues for ever hath no need of a Successor We must not then say or think of him who is ascended into Heaven as the Children of Israel said of Moses when he was gone up to the Mount Make us gods which shall go before us for as for this Moses we wat not what is become of him For though he is ascended not onely above the highest Mountain upon Earth but far above all heavens he is not so departed from us but that he is still with us as a Bishop in his Church as a Shepherd with his Flock as a Master in his House as a Bridegroom with his Spouse as a Head with his Body The great Bishop of our Souls is resident in his Church alway even unto the end of the world That See can never become void which is filled with a Bishop who can never die The great Shepherd of the Flock which he hath purchased with his own blood had not so little care of it as to go his way and commit the oversight of it to a Shepherd who at the best is but as one of his Sheep and might prove a Wolf The Owner of that great House which he hath built for himself had not so little regard to the government of it Matth. 24.48 49. as to leave it to a Servant who might say in his heart My Lord delayeth his coming and begin to smite his fellow-servants That Spouse which he hath betrothed to himself cannot be married to another so long as he lives and can never be a Widow because he lives for ever That great Body Ephes 1.2 13. which is the fulness of him that filleth all in all is but one Body and can have but one Head and though it is not too great a Body for such a Head Col. 1 1â— in whom all fulness dwells it is too great a Body for any other Head but him All others of what rank or quality soever are but Members of his Body and though they have not all the same Office there is none of them that hath the Office of a Head to the whole Body St. Paul knew no other such Head but him for when he saith Rom. 12.4 As we have many members in one body and all the members have not the same office so we being many are one body in Christ What can be more clear than that he knew no other Head with which all the Members are one Body but Christ And when he saith in the next words Every one members one of another what can be more evident than that all others without exception to any one of them every one are not onely Members but Fellow-members not onely Members of him but Members one of another Every Sovereign Christian Prince is a Head of that Church which is in his Dominions as the Head signifies the principal Member in which sense he who takes upon him to be a Head to all Churches may be called the Head of that Church in which he is a Sovereign Prince but as in other Kingdoms he hath no such Sovereignty so he hath no such Headship And as God hath not submitted all the Kingdoms of the World to one King so neither hath Christ submitted all the Churches of the World to one Bishop It was not expedient that he should though that is commonly alledged as an argument to prove that he hath For as St. Augustine saith of the Kingdoms of the World that they are better under the Government of many Kings who are in Amity among themselves than they would be if they were all subject unto one so we may say of all the Churches in the World they were better govern'd at first when they were under the Government of many Bishops who were at unity among themselves than they have been since under the claim of one Bishop to a Superiority and Jurisdiction over them all And of the two an Universal Monarch in the World could not be so great a mischief as an Universal Monarch in the Church might be For if all the Kings and Kingdoms of the World were in subjection to one King and that King should prove a Tyrant all the mischief that could follow could reach no further than the Bodies and Estates of men But if all the Bishops and Churches in the World were in subjection to one Bishop and that one Bishop should prove a Heretick the mischief would reach unto their Souls But this is not all the importance of this Point It serves likewise to let us see how little need we have to apply our selves to the Saints departed from us to offer up our prayers to God or to make our requests known to him much less to ask those things of them which he can give but they cannot For the Saints who are departed from us are not with us And that which is said of Abraham Isa 63.16 Abraham is ignorant of us may as truly be said not onely of many Saints in the Roman Calendar of whom we have no better proof that they are Saints than that they have been Canoniz'd by men who could no more know that they are Saints because they could not know their hearts than we can know that they by whom they have been