and the first temptation presented to him Now all the power and army of Hell is let loose all the machinations of the bottomless pit put in practise against the second Adam but all to no purpose he stands like a rock unmoved in his righteousness and obedience and by such a death destroys him that had the power over death the Devil II. As the Dâ—â—â—l must be conquered so God must be satisfied And as Christs obedience did the one work so it did the other Obedience was the debt of Adam and mankind and by disobedience they had forfeited their Bonds Then comes this great Undertaker and will satisfie the debt with full interest yea and measure heaped and running over Does not the Apostle speak thus much Rom. V. from vers 12. forward particularly at vers 19. By the disobedience of one man many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous Nor was this all that mans debt must be paid but Gods honour lay at stake too and that must be vindicated God had created man his noblest creature that he might glorifie and honour his Creator by his obedience Satan brings him to disobey his Creator and to obey him How might Satan here triumph and the honour of God lie in the dust I have mastered the chief Creation of God might Satan boast and made him that carried the badge and livery of his image now to carry mine I have frustrated the end and honour of the Creator and now all is mine own How sad a time were those three hours or thereabouts that passed betwixt the Fall of Adam and the promise of Christ Adam in darkness and not the least glimpse of promise or comfort Satan triumphing and poor manking and Gods honour trampled underfoot But then the Sun of righteousness arose in the promise that the seed of the woman should break the head of the Serpent And shall this uncircumcised Philistin thus deâ—ie the honour and armies of the living God saith Christ shall Satan thus carry the day against man and against God I will pay obedience that shall fully satisfie to the vindication of Gods honour to confound Satan and to the payment of mans debt to his reinstating and recovery And that was it that he paid consummatively in his Obedience to the death and in it and to the shedding of his blood Of which to speak in the full dimensions of the height depth length bredth of it what tongue can suffice what time can serve T is a Theme the glorified Saints deservedly sing of to all Eternity I shall speak in little of that which can never be extolled enough these two things only I. That he died merely out of obedience The Apostle tells us in Phil. II. 8. He became obedient to the death the death of the Cross. And what can ye name that brought him thither but Obedience Christs dead body imagine lies before you Call together a whole College of Phisitians to diffect it and to tell you what it was of which he died And their Verdict will be Of nothing but Love to man and Obedience to God For Principles of death he had none in his nature And the reason of his death lay not in any mortality of his body as it does in ourâ— but in the willingness of his mind Nor was his death his wages of sin as it is ours Rom. VI. ult but it was his choise and delight Luke XII 50. I have a baptism to be baptised withal and how am I straitned till it be accomplished Ask the first Adam why he sinned when he had no principles of sin in him and the true answer must be Because he would sin And so ask the second Adam why he died when he had no principles of death in him his answer must be to the like tenor He would lay down his life because he would be obedient to the death He came purposely into the World that he might dye Behold I tell you a mystery Christ came purposely into the World that he might dye and so never did Man but himself never will man do but himself True that every Man that comes into the World must dye but never Man came purposely that he might dye but only He. And he saith no less than that he did so Joh. XII 27. Father save me from this hour but for this cause came I to this hour And John XVIII 37. For this cause came I into this World to bear witness to the Truth Even to bear witness to the Truth to Death and Martyrdom II. Now add to all this the dignity of his Person who performed this Obedience that he was God as well as Man That as he offered himself according to his Manhood so he offered himself by the Eternal Spirit or as he was God as this Apostle saith Chap. IX 14. And now his obedience his holiness that he shewed in his death is infinite And what need we say more So that lay all the disobedience of all men in the World on an heap as the dead frogs in Egypt were laid on heaps that they made the land to stink again yet here is an Obedience that out-vies them all For though they be infinite in number as to mans numbring yet lay them all together they are finite upon this account because committed by creatures finite But here is an Obedience a holiness paid down by him that is infinite And now Satan where is thy Triumph Thou broughtest the first Adam to fail of perfect Obedience that he should have paid his Creator and here the second Adam hath paid him for it infinite Obedience And what hast thou now gained Therefore to take account from whence comes that infinite Virtue of Christs blood and death that the Scripture so much and so deservedly extols and magnifies Because as the Evangelist â—aith Out of his side came water and blood so out of his wounds came obedience and blood holiness and blood righteousness and blood and that obedience holiness righteousness infinite because he that paid it down and performed it was infinite And now judge whether it may not very properly be said That Christ was sanctified by his own blood As Aaron was sanctified for his Priesthood by his Unction and Garments Christ was consecrated fitted capacitated by his infinite obedience and righteousness which he shewed to the death and in it to be an High Priest able to save to the uttermost all those that come to him For first as in reference to himself it is said by this Apostle that he was raised from the dead by the blood of the Covenant Chap. XIII 20. And it was not possible but he should be raised for when he had performed such obedience and righteousness as in it was infinite in its validity subdued Satan in its alsufficiency satisfied the justice of God it was impossible that he should be held of death which is the wages of sin and disobedience And as he was thus raised by
they would argue from this reason God finished creating in Principio in the beginning therefore he creates not a Soul now I answer He finished creating genere specierum the kinds of all species but not Species generum the Species of all kinds When he brought Frogs and Lice on Egypt it was a creation of the things but the kind was created from the beginning The same must be said of Souls Let Christs Soul be the instance Was the Soul of the Messias created at the beginning If so what did it all the while till it was united to the Body Where was it What did it Was Christs Soul ever not acting for the good of his people As soon as ever it was put into the Body it began the work of Redemption viz. Christ there sanctifying our Nature by the Union of the humane nature to the Divine His Soul is now in Heaven in the work of mediation for his people It is hard to think that his Soul should be almost four thousand years in being and doing nothing for mens Salvation And we cannot call Christ Christ till he be compleated in our nature Soul and Body So that Christs Soul as ours was infused by immediate Creation in the Body which Body was prepared in the womb for the receiving of it So that though he was not like to us in regard of his begetting in the womb yet he was like in the Union of his Soul to his Body there For II. Christ had a Soul like ours in all things sin excepted It is a question Whether all Souls are equal There is some colour for it Psal. XXXIII 15. Hesashioneth their hearts alike And thence some argue the equality of Souls But I answer 1. That place may be taken thus That God alike is the Creator of all Souls rich and poor wise and foolish 2. It is undoubted all Souls are alike in regard of the ' Essentials of Souls they are all intellectual Spiritual immortal and in regard of their Essential faculties Whether they are alike as to the use and excellency of those faculties I shall not dispute Doubtless Christs Soul was the most excellent and yet like ours in all things that simply relate to the Essence of Souls or the humane nature I need not speak of the Essentials of a Soul he had the Infirmities of a humane Soul viz. those that in themselves are sinless I might so apply that Matth. VIII 17. Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses He was subject to grief in Soul Matth. XXVI 38. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My Soul is exceeding sorrowful To fear Heb. V. 7. In that he feared Joh. XI 33. He groned in spirit and was troubled These are natural infirmities or affections to humane Souls Adam might have had these in innocency if occasion offered The Apostle makes comfortable use of this likeness of Christs Soul to ours Heb. IV. 15. For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin And so may a Christian in sadness fear hunger persecution he may refuge to a High Priest that himself was sensible what these things were Non ignara mali c. Oh! what access hath God given to sinners Not only to one in their own nature but that partook of the very infirmities of nature Except sin Name but one that he had not A poor man dying assaulted with Satan fearing pains How comfortably may he refuge to Christ who by experience knew all these III. He was like other Souls in the manner of his departure out of the body and going to another World And this I shall speak to in three Particulars I. Although the reason of Christs death was different from the reason of the death of all other men yet the nature and definition of Christs death agrees withal Though the conception and birth of Christ was different from all others yet the nature of his death was not different the manner of dying indeed differed That in Heb. IX penult reacht Christ as well as others it was appointed for him to dye though upon a far different reason from what other men dye It is worth observing that Christs death was published and pronounced of before the death of Adam was denounced against him In Gen. III. 15. the death of Christ is mentioned in vers 19. the Death of Adam Which speaks that Christ died not of the Plague of mortality of which Adam and all his posterity dye but that his death was upon another kind of account Though Christ the second Adam was incomparably above the first in his innocence in regard of the Perfection of his nature and Person yet in regard of the certainty of Death as I may say he was beneath him For the excellency of his nature so far beyond him that whereas Adam was without sin Christ was without possibility of sinning But for certainty of dying so far otherwise that whereas Adam might not have dyed Christ could not but dye Socinians say Adam was created mortal because he was in a possibility to dye and because he died whereas indeed actually he was created immortal not as yet having any seeds or principles of mortality in his nature sin not being yet come there Christ was so much more without principles of mortality in him as that whereas Adam was sinless He could not sin and yet as I may say he had the principles of dying in him but not so much in his body as mind not in any failing of nature but in the holy bent of his own Will Death was not to him the wages of sin as it is to others nor to end sinning as it is to others but from clear contrary principles viz. Love to Man and Obedience to God The Death of Adam and of all other Men proceeded from disobedience the Death of Christ only from obedience The Death of Adam because he loved not himself nor his seed the death of Christ because he loved his people more than himself So that as to the reason of the death of Christ Jordan was driven back the stream ran a clean contrary way to the reason why other men dye and yet as to the nature and definition of his dying it agreed with the nature of the dying of other men For II. Define death What is it It is the separation of Soul from Body Mortal thou must once find this definition to be most true The Soul that that inliveneth the Body that gives it freshness of colour warmth life and motion when the Soul is departed all these are gone and the Body dead Here is the difference twixt death and a swoon or trance God shewed in Enoch and Elias what he would have done if man had continued innocent viz. Have translated Body and Soul to glory But when sin came in death came in and Soul and Body must be parted the Body to corruption the Soul into the World of
the first Chap. 1. 17. That in the Gospel is revealed the Righteousness of God justifying as in the Law was revealed his righteousness or justice condemning and that from faith of immediate innixion upon God as was Adams before his fall and as was that which the Jews owned in God to faith in the righteousness of another namely Christ. This way of justification he proveth first by shewing how far all men both by nature and action are from possibility of being justified of or by themselves which he cleareth by the horrid sinfulness of the Heathen Chap. 1. a large proof of which might be read at Rome at that very instant and little less sinfulness of the Jews though they had the Law Chap. 2. 3. and therefore concludeth Chap. 3. 30. that God justifieth the circumcision by faith and not by works as they stood upon it and the uncircumcision through faith for all their works that had been so abominable and that seemed so contrary to justification In Chap. 4. he taketh up the example of Abraham whom the Jews reputed most highly justified by his works for they had this saying of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abraham performed all the Law every whit but he proveth that he found nothing by his own works but by believing he found all In Chap. 5. he proves the imputation of Christs righteousness for Justification by the parallel of the imputation of Adams sin for condemnation Not at all intending to assert that as many as were condemned by Adam were freed from that condemnation by the death of Christ but purposely and only to prove the one imputation by the other It was a strange doctrine in the ears of a Jew to hear of being justified by the righteousness of another therefore he proves it by the like mens being condemned for and by the unrighteousness of another Two close couched passages clear what he aimeth at The first is in ver 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Wherefore as by one man sin entred into the World c. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As properly requireth a So to follow it as you may observe it doth in ver 15. 18 19. but here there is no such thing expressed therefore it is so to be understood and the Apostles words to be construed to this sense Wherefore it is or the case is here as it was in Adam as by one man sin entred into the World c. there imputation so here The second is ver 18. in the Original verbatim thus As by the transgression of one upon all men to condemnation so by the righteousness of one upon all men to justification of life What upon all men Our Translation hath added some words to clear the sense but the shortness of the Apostles style doth better clear his intent namely to intimate imputation as speaking to this purpose As by the transgression of one there was that that redounded to all to condemnation so by the righteousness of one there is that that redoundeth to all to justification of life And to clear that he meaneth not that all that were condemned by Adams Fall were redeemed by Christ he at once sheweth the descent of Original sin and the descent of it for all the death and righteousness of Christ Quae tamen profuerunt antequam fuerunt Ver. 13. For till the Law sin was in the World but sin is not imputed where there is no Law Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses By what Law was sin sin and did death reign when the Law was not yet given Namely by that Law that was given to Adam and he brake the guilt of which violation descends to all Having to the end of the fifth Chapter stated and proved Justification by faith in Chap 6 7 8. he speaks of the state of persons justified which though they be not without sin yet their state compared with Adams even whilst he was sinless it is far better then his He invested in a created finite changeable humane righteousness they in the righteousness of God uncreate infinite unchangeable He having the principles of his holiness and righteousness in his own nature they theirs conveyed from Christ He having neither Christ nor the Spirit but left to himself and his natural purity they having both See Chap. 8. 1 2 9 10 c. At the nineteenth verse of Chap. 8. he begins upon the second mystery that he hath to treat upon the calling of the Gentiles whom he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The whole Creation or Every Creature by which title they also are called Mark 16. 15. Colos. 1. 23. and he shews how they were subject to vanity of Idolatry and the delusions of the devil but must in time be delivered from this bondage for which deliverance they now groaned and not they only but they of the Jews also which had received the first-fruits of the Spirit longed for their coming in waiting for the adoption that is the redemption of their whole body for the Church of the Jews was but the child-like body and accordingly their Ordinances were according to child-like age of the Church but the stature of the fulness of Christs mystical Body was in the bringing in of the Gentiles Being to handle this great point of the Calling of the Gentiles and Rejection of the jews he begins at the bottom at the great doctrine of Predestination which he handles from ver 29. of Chap. 8. to Chap. 9. 24. and then he falls upon the other That Israel stumbled at Messias and fell seeking indeed after righteousness but not his but their own and that they are cast away but not all A remnant to be saved that belonged to the Election of Grace As it was in the time when the World was Heathen some of them that belonged to the Election came in and were proselyted to the worship of the true God so some of these while all the rest of their Nation lie in unbelief And in this unbelief must they lie till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in and then all Gods Israel is compleated The most that he salutes in the last Chapter appear to have been of the Jewish Nation and the most of them though now at Rome yet some time to have been of Pauls company and acquaintance in some other place The expulsion of the Jews out of Rome by Claudius Decree might very well bring many of them into his converse as well as it did Priscilla and Aquila whom he names first among them Epenetus was one of his own converts of Achaia Mary had bestowed much labour on him yet he hitherto had never been near Rome He that would dispute the point of the first planter of the Gospel at Rome might do well to make the first muster of his thoughts here And whereas the Apostle speaks of the faith of the Roman Church as spoken of throughout the World Chap. 1. ver 8. it is very questionable whether he
of his Knowledge as in the Sacrifices fire and salt were ever joyned 5. The fifth days work was of fishes to play in the Seas and the souls to flie toward Heaven So the fifth step in a new creature is to live and rejoyce in a Sea of troubles and to flie by prayer and contemplation to Heaven 6. On the sixth day God makes man and all these things performed man is a new creature To reckon them altogether then as S. Peter does his golden chain of vertues 2 Pet. 1. Add to your light of Knowledge the firmament of Faith to your Faith Seas of repentant Tears to your Tears the fruitful Trees of good Works to your good Works the hot Sunshine of Zeal to your Zeal the winged souls of Prayer and Contemplation Et ecce omnia facta sunt nova Behold you are become a new Creature As the Bible begins so it ends with a new Creation of a new Heaven and a new Earth and a new Paradise and a new Tree of Life Apoc. 21. unto all which O thou whom my soul loveth say come CHAP. XLVII Of the fall of Adam THE fall of Adam was the death of himself the death of us and the death of Cypriano di valter Christ. At his fall were three offenders three offences and persons offended Three offenders Satan Adam Eve three offences Ignorance weakness and malice three persons offended Father Son and Holy Ghost Eve sinned of Ignorance and so sinned against the Son the God of knowledge and she was forgiven and so S. Paul sinned and was forgiven 1 Tim. 1. 13. Adam sinned of weakness and so sinned against the Father the God of power and he was pardoned and so S. Peter sinned and he was pardoned Matth. 26. But Satan sinned of set malice and so sinned against the Holy Ghost the God of love and he was not forgiven For he that speaketh against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven Mark 3. 29. And in Gods censuring of these three Gen. 3. He questioneth Adam and Evah before he sentenceth because he had mercy for them nay more he promiseth Christ before he inflict punishment but for the Serpent he never questioned because he would shew him no mercy God left Adam to his own free-will and suffered him to fall quia sciebat se c. because he knew how to turn that fall of his to his salvation When Lazarus died Christ was not there that the raising of Lazarus by Christ might be the more glorious So when Adam fell as I may say so God would not be there for he left Adam to his own free-will that the repairing of Adam through Christ might be the more glorious Hereupon one sings O foelix lapsus Unhappy was the fall of Adam since by his fall we all fell but yet happy was that unhappy fall since it must be recured by Christ. Joseph suffered his brother Simeon to go into prison for a while that at last he might bring him out with greater comfort So God suffered Adam to go into Satans Newgate for a while that at last he might bring him out with greater comfort The day thou eatest hereof thou shalt dye there is the prison And the man took and eat there Adam goes into prison The seed of the woman shall break the head of the Serpent there Joseph delivers Simeon out of prison God brings man out of Hell through Christ. Whereupon a Doctor in admiration questions utrum mirabilius homines justos creare an injustos justificare whether is more admirable that God created man righteous or that he justified man when he had made himself unrighteous Whether was more miraculous for God to make man of nothing or to repair him from worse than nothing Wonderful he was in both in his first and his second creation for Justificatio est secunda hominis creatio mans Justification is his new creation CHAP. XLVIII Ophitae Evia SOme Hereticks in Epiphanius think themselves beholden to the Devil for his pains that he took to overthrow Adam for they used to worship a Serpent because say they he brought knowledge into the world Clemens Alexandrinus doth partly think this conceit was got among the Heathens who at their Feasts of Bacchus used to carry a Serpent as it were in procession and to cry Evia Evia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. And Evia saith Clemens if it be asperated Hevia it signifies in the Hebrew Tongue a female Serpent Where the good man calls the Chaldec Tongue the Hebrew For in the Hebrew I do not find such a word for a Serpent But all the Chaldee translations of the Bible in the third of Genesis and diverse other places do use the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hivia for a Serpent which I take to be the word he means CHAP. XLIX Of the Greek Translation of the fifth of Genesis HOW the Septuagint does add hundreds of years to mens ages before and after the Flood few Scholars but they know This bred the difference of computation of the times while some followed the Hebrew some the Greek Hence came two notorious doubts About Methuselah living after the Flood who died a month or two before And of Sem his death before Abrahams birth who lived as long after Abraham came to Canaan as Abraham was old when he came thither viz. seventy five years And so might well be Melchizedek The Greeks had a great deal of stir where to put Methushelah all the Flood-time for fear of drowning At last some laid him on the top of Noahs Ark and there he was all that watry year The Jews lay Og the Giant there also as the Chaldee Paraphrast upon the fourteenth of Genesis ridiculously observeth Whose words for your fuller sport I will not spare to set down The thirteenth verse be renders thus in Chaldee And Og came who was left of those that died in the Flood for he rode upon the Ark and was as a covering upon it and was nourished with Noahs victuals but he was not preserved for his own sake or merit but that the inhabitants of the world might see the power of the Lord and say Did not the Gyants in old time rebel against the Lord of the world and he destroyed them from the earth yet assoon as these Kings make war behold Og is with them Og saith with himself I will go and shew Abraham Lots case that he is taken prisoner that so he may come to rescue him and may himself fall into their hands He goes and comes to him about the Passover day and finds him making unleavened cakes then he told Abraham the Hebrew c. Thus far the Chaldee of whose conceits here and in one thousand of places more and so of his Nation the Jews I know not whether to say Risum or fletum teneatis amici But to return to my purpose The Greek The Chaldee Paraphrase of Jonathan does also mistake in the age of Mathuselah but I think it only false Printing
became our Redeemer as in the beginning of time he had been our Maker Compare this with ver 14. Ver. 1. Ver. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the beginning was the word The word was made flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Was with God Dwelt among us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. The word was God Was made flesh and we beheld c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was the word There is no great necessity for us to make any very curious enquiry whence our Evangelist should borrow this title when in the History of the Creation we find it so often repeated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And God said It is observ'd almost by all that have of late undertaken a Commentary upon this Evangelist that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word of the Lord doth very frequently occur amongst the Targumists which may something enlighten the matter now before us a a a a a a Exod. XIX 17. And Moses brought the people out of the Camp 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to meet the word of the Lord. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the word of the Lord accepted the face of Job b b b b b b Job XLII 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the word of the Lord shall laugh them to scorn c c c c c c Psal. II. 4. They believed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the name of his word d d d d d d Psal. CVI. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And my word spared them e e e e e e Ezek. XX. 57. To add no more Gen. XXVI 3. Instead of I will be with thee the Targum hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and my word shall be thine help So Gen. XXXIX 2. And the Lord was with Joseph Targ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the word of the Lord was Joseph's helper And so all along that kind of phrase is most familiar amongst them Though this must be also confest that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth sometimes signifie nothing else but I Thou He and is frequently apply'd to men too So Job VII 8. Thine eyes are upon me Targ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Again Job XXVII 3. My breath is in me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Targ. II Chron. XVI 3. There is a league between me and thee Targ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chap. XXIII 16. He made a Covenant between him and between all the people and between the King Targ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I observe that in Zach. VII 12. the Targumist renders 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by his spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by his word if at least that may in strictness be so render'd for by what hath been newly alledg'd it seems that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be translated the Lord by himself or the Lord himself I observe further that the Greek Interpreters having mistaken the vowels of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Habbak III. 2. have render'd it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before his face shall go a word when it should have been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the meaning of the Prophet there is before his face went the Pestilence VERS IV. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In him was life THE Evangelist proceeds from the Creation by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word to the redemption of the world by the same word He had declar'd how this word had given to all creatures their first being v. 3. All things were made by him And he now sheweth how he restor'd life to man when he lay dead in trespasses and sins Adam call'd his wives name Hevah Life Gen. III. 20. The Greek reads 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Adam called his wifes name life He call'd her life who had brought in death because he had now tasted a better life in the promise of the womans seed To which it is very probable our Evangelist had some reference in this place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the life was the light of men Life through Christ was light arising in the darkness of mans fall and sin a light by which all believers were to walk St. John seems in this clause to oppose the life and light exhibited in the Gospel to that life and light which the Jews boasted of in their Law They expected life from the works of the Law and they knew no greater light than that of the Law which therefore they extoll with infinite boasts and praises which they give it Take one instance for all a a a a a a Bereshith rabba Sect. 3. God said let there be light R. Simeon saith light is written there five times according to the five parts of the Law i. e. the Pentateuch and God said let there be light according to the Book of Genesis wherein God busying himself made the world And there was light according to the Book of Exodus wherein the Israelites came out of darkness into light And God saw the light that it was good according to the Book of Leviticus which is filled with rites and ceremonies And God divided betwixt the light and the darkness according to the Book of Numbers which divided betwixt those that went out of Egypt and those that enter'd into the land And God called the light day according to the Book of Deuteronomy which is replenished with manifold traditions A Gloss this is upon light full of darkness indeed VERS V. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the light shineth in darkness THIS light of promise and life by Christ shined in the darkness of all the cloudy types and shadows under the Law and obscurity of the Prophets And those dark things comprehended it not i. e. did not so cloud and suppress it but it would break out nor yet so comprehended it but that there was an absolute necessity there should a greater light appear I do so much the rather incline to such a Paraphrase upon this place because I observe the Evangelist here treateth of the ways and means by which Christ made himself known to the world before his great manifestation in the flesh First in the promise of life ver 4. Next by Types and Prophecies and lastly by John Baptist. VERS IX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which lighteth every man that cometh into the world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. All the men that are in the world g g g g g g Hieros Sanhedr fol. 26. 3. Doth not the Sun rise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon all that come into the world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All that come into the world are not able to make one fly h h h h h h Ibid. fol. 25. 4. In the beginning of the year 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All that come into the world present themselves before the Lord i i i i i i Rosh Hashanah cap. 1. hal 1. There are numberless examples of this kind The sense
stature of Christs mystical body the Church which was growing up from generation to generation and now when the Gentiles came in their full conflux was come to its full consistency and manhood And of the same body is his meaning in that obscure and much mistaken place Rom. VIII 23. And not only they i. e. the whole creation or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every creature which means no other thing than the Gentile or Heathen World not only they grone to come into the Evangelical liberty of the children of God but we also of the Jewish Nation who have the first fruits of the Spirit grone within our selves waiting for the redemption to wit the adoption of our body we wait for the redeeming and adopting of the Gentiles to make up our mystical body To the same sence is the meaning of the same Apostle in that also mistaken place Heb. XI ult That they without us should not be perfect He little means that they that believed before the coming of Christ were not perfectly saved as the Papists from thence would prove their Limbo But his meaning is they without us were not the perfect body of Christ but we under the Gospel came in to make that up nor they so perfect in the Doctrine of Salvation as under the revealing of the Gospel at our coming in So that this is the first thing That Christ saw good to bring his Church through various administrations II. Secondly Though the manner of administration were thus various yet the way of Salvation in them all but one and the same viz. by Faith in Christ as the Apostle plainly evidenceth in the Chapter just now cited Heb. XI As the brazen Oxen under the Laver their faces looked several ways but their hinder parts met in one centre under the Laver so these Administrations indeed looked divers ways without Law with Law with Prophets without Prophets without Gospel with Gospel yet agreed in all one and the same centre Faith in Jesus Christ. I have a large field before me to shew that all the holy ones that lived and died before Christ were saved by believing in Christ. But I shall confine my self to observe this by a rule of contraries namely thus It is something to be wondred at that in our reckoning the various administrations under which Christ brought his Church to glory we may not number the firstborn administration that was in the World and which one would think was the likeliest way to have brought to Heaven and that was the state of innocency But this we must except from the general rule and leave it quite out He that will observe shall find that Christ descended most of younger brothers and answerably Salvation descended not from this elder brother in Gods administration that state of innocency but something else had the birth-right Ruben lost it and it descended to Joseph It was never Gods intent to bring men to Salvation by the way of innocence in which Adam was created This appears plain enough by the Issue Nay did God bring the holy Angels to Salvation by the way of the perfection of their nature in which they were created Meerly being in Heaven doth not denominate Salvation The Angels that fell were there and it proved but little Heaven to them And merely beholding God face to face doth not denominate Salvation for we have no cause to think but the Angels that fell had beheld his face as well as they that stood but this is Salvation to behold him as he is and to be like unto him I Joh. III. 2. Like him not in infinity omnipotency ubiquity but like him in holiness holy as he is holy Now though Adam was like unto him by Creation being formed in his Image and the Angels like unto him by Creation as eminently also carrying the same Image yet herein both come short of that Image that doth consummate the Saints and Angels in glory viz. that though they were perfectly holy by Creation yet they were not unchangeably holy for unchangeableness was not to be found in created nature And what the holy Man in the book of Job saith concerning Wisdom we may say concerning immutability Where is unchangeableness to be found and where is the place of immutability The Sea saith it is not in me and the Earth saith it is not in me Men say it is not in us the Angels say it is not in us but the Truth saith it is only in God Therefore to bring Men and Angels into the Estate of Glory that set Infinity aside they should be like unto God perfectly holy and unchangeably holy as God is holy eternally holy as God is holy it was needful not to leave them bottomed only upon the excellency of their created natures be that never so excellent but to ingraff and as I may say incorporate them even into the unchangeable God himself the Lord Christ. The Saints in glory are unchangeable how Both in nature and affection their estate unchangeable yea their very thoughts which were so unfixed and fluid become unchangeable They are so infinitely ravished with the beauty and love of God in beholding him as he is that they cannot turn the least thought away or aside from him And they are so ingraffed and united into Christ that the corruptibleness of them being now laid aside they are become unchangeable as Christ himself is unchangeable The Angels that fell wanted this uniting so that though they beheld the face of God yet their hearts turned away from him because they had no other uniting to God then what lay in their own created holiness which was changeable and soon changed So that I say God never intended to bring man to Salvation by the way of created innocency because he intends to glorifie grace and not nature and to bottom all that were to be saved upon Christ and not on themselves It may seem strange that Adam when his wife had brought in sin and death into the World should name her Eve life whereas before he had only named her Woman Call me not Naomi but call me Marah might she very well have said unto him Call me not life but call me death and misery for I have been the unhappy introducer of both But Adam had now heard of Christ he had received his promise and laid hold on it and found a better life now by him than before And to this refers that in Joh. 1. 4. In him was life and that life was the light of men In the verse next before he had said All things were made by him and without him was nothing made that was Then had all living things that were created their life from him What need he then to add in him was life Namely because he intends that life in Christ that we are speaking of Which life he saith was the light of men And the light shone in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not Life in Christ held out in the promise to
there is sin unto death than that there should be any sin that is not unto death as our Apostle saith there is in the words immediately going before these that I have chosen In these that I have chosen you see there are two clauses and out of either of them arise two Questions Out of the former I. What sin it is the Apostle means And II. Why he titles it by such a name A sin unto death Out of the latter I. Why he forbideth to pray for it And II. Why he forbideth not to pray for it I mean why he speaketh not out in down right terms I say that he should not pray for it but says only I say not that he should The Rhemists Popish Expositors upon the place will answer you even all these questions with a breath if you will but take their words and little more than their bare word must you expect for the proof and confirmation of what they tell you 1. They will tell you that the sin our Apostle means is any sin whatsoever that any one lives in unrepentant all his time 2. They will tell you that it is titled A sin unto death because he lives in it till his death and so dies in it 3. They will tell you that the Apostle by not praying for him means not praying for him when he is dead but he that sins not a sin unto death that is that lives not in his sin till he die but repents of it before for him you must pray after his death For that the place is most properly or only meant of praying for the departed say they this convinced that neither the Church nor any man is debarred here from praying for any sinner while living nor for remission of any sin in this life And so they go on When I read these mens Annotations on this Scripture they often mind me of Benhadads servants with ropes about their necks catching at any word that fell from the King of Israels mouth that might be for any advantage to their forlorn and lost cause and condition These mens Popish cause hath had the rope about its neck now a long time and been in a lost and forlorn case and I cannot tell whether I should laugh or frown to see what pitiful shift and shameful scrambling they make for it by catching at any word or syllable in the Scripture or Fathers and wresting and twisting and twining it to any seeming or colourable advantage to their condemned cause to save it from execution Certainly they are at a very hard pinch for proof of praying for the dead when they make such a scraping in this portion of Scripture to rake it out thence whereas the words are as far from meaning the living praying for the dead as the dead praying for the living And at the very same game they be in their notes upon our Saviours words concerning the sin against the Holy Ghost that it shall never be forgiven in this World nor in the World to come Matth. XII 32. Their note is that some sins may be remitted in the next life and consequently this proves Purgatory As the poor frantick distracted wretch at Athens that fed and pleased himself with this fancy that every ship that came into the Port was his ship that all the goods that came into the Town were his goods whilst he himself in the mean time was miserably poor naked and ready to famish so these men think every verse in Scripture brings in something to their stock every saying of the Fathers something to their bank whilst in the mean while their pitiful cause walks starven and poor and blind and naked and stands in need of all things The sin against the Holy Ghost indeed is distinct and something different from this sin unto death that our Apostle speaketh of yet since there is such a particular sin against the Holy Ghost that is so deadly why should not these men think that sin in the Text that carries so deadly a name is a particular sin likewise It is true indeed that a sin in which a man continues unrepenting until his death and in which he dies may very justly be called A sin to death that is a sin until his death and it will prove A sin to death eternal but that the Apostle means here a particular sin and that he estimates it not by its length but by its weight not by how long the party continues in it but by how grievous the sin is in it self will appear as we go along partly by discovery of the reason of the title he puts upon it and partly by discovery of the very sin it self that is here intended But before we begin with the discovery of the reason of the title let us a little look first into the meaning of those words of our Saviour Joh. XX. 22. He breathed on them and saith unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted to them and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained Do not the Apostles here receive a new power or priviledge or guift which Christ had not imparted to them before Else why such an action as he had never used toward them before so breathing on them The common acceptation of these words whose soever sins ye remit or retain are remitted or retained is to make them to mean the same thing with what ye bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven c. But besides that the expressions are of a vast difference why if Christ had given them the very same power in those words that he doth in these why should he repeat it especially why should he use such a solemn and unusual rite toward them to breath upon them He had given them power of miracles and healing and casting out Devils before without breathing upon them He had given them power of binding and loosing that is of establishing or abolishing the rites and Laws of Moses for so the Phrase in the common acceptation of the Nation did only signifie and this he did without breathing upon them Therefore certainly in this his new action and these his new words as I may call them he gives them some new power and that in two kinds 1. In his breathing upon them and bidding them receive the Holy Ghost he gives the Holy Ghost to give again or he gives them power by the imposition of their hands to bestow the Holy Ghost as the sacred Story tells you the Apostle did and none but the Apostles could do And 2. In his words whose soever sins ye remit or retain he gives them a punitive or executive double power viz. To strike desperate or incorrigible and horrid transgressors with some corporal punishment or stroke or else to give them up to Satan to be tortured and scourged in body and vexed and disquieted in mind Where had Peter his warrant to strike Ananias and Sapphira with death but from these words And Paul
to strike Elymas with blindness and to deliver Hymenaeus and Alexander unto Satan but from that Apostolick power which Christ granted to the Apostles in these words Well might not these sins very well be called sins unto death that were overtaken with such deadly and dreadful penalties Was not that sin a sin unto death that was to be retained as retaining is set in di rectopposition to remitting Thus may we bring the subjectum quaestionis into a farnarrower compass than the Rhemists bring it who do bewray their ignorance one way that they may serve their own turn another their ignorance of the proper original of the Phrase sin unto death that they may serve their turn about praying for the dead The greatest difficulties of the Scripture lie in the Language for unlock the Language and Phrases and the difficulty is gone And therefore they that take upon them to preach by the spirit and to expound the Scripture by the spirit let them either unlock to me the Hebrew Phrases in the Old Testament and the Greek in the New that are difficult and obscure or else they do nothing Now to attain to the meaning of such dark and doubtful Phrases the way is not so proper to put on them a sense of our own as to consider what sense they might take them in to whom and among whom the things were spoken and written in their common Speech If it were well considered how the Jewish Nation understood binding and loosing in their Schools and in their common Speech we should never need to mint such senses of our own to put upon the Phrase it would so be done to our hands Such an obscure Phrase is that of our Saviours about the sin against the Holy Ghost that it shall never be forgiven neither in this life nor c. And the collection that the Rhemists make upon it may seem very Logical for in that he saith that sin shall not be forgiven in the World to come doth it not argue that some other sins are then forgiven But this is their own sense and Logick it is not our Saviours Now how should we know our Saviours sense By considering how they would understand it to whom the words were spoken in their common acceptation and Language viz. they would soon understand it to be a direct facing and confuting of their foolish opinion concerning forgiveness of blasphemy against God which was that repentance and the day of expiation expiated a third part of the sin corporal punishment inflicted by the Magistrate expiated another third part but death did quite wipe it clean out for say they it is written This sin shall not be purged from you till you die which argues that it was purged by death No saith our Saviour neither in this life either by repentance nor day of expiation nor corporal punishment nor pardon in the life to come by the purging and wiping out of death Such an obscure Phrase is this before us A sin unto deâ—th and it seems a fair sense which the Rhemists have put upon it of their own viz. that it should mean A sin a man liâ—es in till he die But this is their own sense it is not the Apostles Now how should we know the Apostles sense By considering how they understood this Phrase in their common Language to whom he wrote And how was that Take it up by this Observation That in the Jewish Schools and Nation and Language this was a most frequent and ordinary saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If a man do such or such a thing as should not be done ignorantly he is to bring a sin offering and that attones for him But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if he do it wilfully he is bound over to cutting off And in this they speak but the words of the Law in Numb XV. 27 28. If any soul sin through ignorance he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering And the Priest shall make an attonement for him that sinneth ignorantly But the soul that doth ought presumptuously whether he be born in the Land or a Stranger the same hath reproached the Lord That soul shall be cut off from among his people Now what is meant by cutting off If you ask some they will put a sense of their own upon the Phrase and tell you it means a cutting off or separating a person from the Congregation and publick Assemblies by Excommunication But ask the Jews to and among whom the thing was spoken what it means in their common speech and acceptation and they will tell you cutting off means 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Death by the hand of Heaven Death or destruction by the hand of God Interpreting the matter to this purpose that if a person sinned wilfully and presumptuously there was no sin offering allowed in that case but the party so offending fell immediately under liableness to divine vengance to be destroied or cut off by the hand of Heaven And this interpretation of the Phrase of cutting off the Apostle Paul doth justifie in that passage Heb. X. 26. If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin but a certain fearful looking for of judgment c. That Text of Moses lots out the family of the Achan that we are speaking of the sin unto death and this Text of the Apostle takes him by the poll and tells what sin it is It tells you what sin it is viz. Sinning wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth It limits to you why it is called a sin unto death because there is no other way upon the committing of it but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation And it gives you some intimation why no praying for it because no sacrifice for it Before we come to speak upon the words we have some cause to muse and mourn over them As it is said Origen wept over that passage of the Psalmist that after his Apostasie stung him in Psal. L. 16 17. But unto the wicked God said what hast thou to do to declare my statutes or that thou shouldest take my Covenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest instruction and casteth my words behind thee If there be no sacrifice for sin but a fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation when we have sinned wilfully after we have once received the knowledge of the truth Men and brethren what shall we do Take the truth in the sense that may help most to favour us for the Gospel as it means there indeed And take sinning wilfully for as exclusive a term as you can to shut and exclude us out of the guilt here intended yet who can say but he hath sinned wilfully since he received the knowledge of the Gospel over and over If I should take Jeremiahs course in his fifth Chapter and vers 4. and forward sending first to the poor or inferior rank and ask
sin unto death viz. that brought to an immediate liableness to cutting off by divine vengeance Now this was a sin of presumption and despising the Word of God as Moses explains what that presumptuous sinning is in a high degree which as the Apostle tells in the same Chapter that it was a treading under foot the Son of God c. Therefore it is no wonder if with Paul there be no Sacrifice for it and with this Apostle no praying for it But why does not this our Apostle speak out and say I say he should not pray for it but says only I do not say that he should Let me lay to this expression that passage of our Saviour Matth. XVIII 17. If he neglect to hear the Church let him be to thee as a Heathen or a Publican By which our Saviour doth not excommunicate such a one out of the Church for he saith not let him be to the Church but thee as a Heathen But he dischargeth and acquitteth the party injured from those duties and offices which he ought otherwise to him as a brother Our Apostles expression is much like to the same tenor He takes care of the Consciences of the people of God as well as he sheweth the two conditions of the sinner he speaketh of There were some that might be in a strait what to do in this case They were commanded by their Lord and Master to pray for their enemies these enemies of theirs were become so like their Father the Devil that it might pose their Consciences whetheâ— they should pray for them or no. Therefore this divine Apostle useth a happy temper that he will lay no charge on them that are so pinched to pray for them nor indeed forbid those to pray for them that are more inlarged for undoubtedly the indifferent expression of the Apostle as I may call it seems plainly to carry with it such a consideration Ye see here in the Text a deadly wounded wretch like Amasa II Sam. XX. wallowing in his own blood if you call in Moses and Paul to give their Coroners verdict concerning the manner and cause of his death from those Texts of theirs that we have cited they will tell you that he is felo de se that he destroied himself and they will tell you that it was by wilful sinning after the knowledge of the truth wilful sinning against the Word of God That sin is the more desperately deadly by how much it is the more desperately wilful Hos. V. 11. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment because he willingly walked after the Commandment One would think it should be because he did not willingly walk after the Commandment but by Commandment is meant the idolatrous Commandment of Jeroboam the Statutes of Omri and Ephraim was broken in pieces because he walked after them and broke the more because he walked after them willingly If the motions of sin which are by the Law do work in them to bring forth fruit unto death as the Apostle says Rom. VII 5. much more the motions of sin which are clean against the Law I must confess I do not understand the irritating or provoking power of the Law which some collect from this place for to me it is without doubt that the meaning of the Apostle is The motions of sin that were by the Law mistaken not efficiently for such was the Judgment of the Jews concerning the Law viz. That it did restrain only the outward action but regarded not the internal motion and so the Apostle seems to give some hint of his own mistake a while of the Law about the point of lust Now if the fruit of those motions of sin which are by the mistake of the Law be so deadly how must the actings of sin which are against the known Law wilfully committed be much more deadly Among the grains shall I call them or the talent weights that are cast into the scales to make sin weigh exceeding sinful this adds not the least aggravation if it do not indeed the greatest that it was done knowingly and wilfully And therefore in that cousen german sin to this we are speaking of for to me they are clearly distinct the sin against the Holy Ghost the grievousness of it in comparison of sinning against the Son lies not in regard of the persons sinned against as if the Holy Ghost were a nobler person than the Son but in regard of the manner of sinning the Son they knew not in so much humility and so blasphemed him out of ignorance but they saw the apparent evidence of the Holy Ghost in the miracles they saw and yet blasphemed him wilfully This dies the sins of wicked men of so deep a dye above the sins of the Saints of God because those sin with whole propensity of mind these of infirmity and against their wills And I cannot but remember the determination of St. Austin in a point of this nature About chaste Christian matrons and virgins that were ravished by the enemy when he broke into the City he determines well that they were not defiled though they were defiled their minds pure though the body polluted and he concludes Duo fuerunt ast unus adulterium commisit there were two in the action but one of them in the adultery And that here one sinned wilfully the other had no mind to the sin at all This then if there were nothing else doth sufficiently aggravate the grievousness of wilful sinning that it carries the very image and superscription of the sin of the Devil it is as it were flesh and bone of his bone and sin of his sin very Devil of very Devil Does any ask me what was that sin of the Devil It has been conceived by many that it was such a Pride as made him aspire to be equal with God or above him to set his Throne even with God or to unthrone him and to this purpose have those words been applied Esa. XIV 12 13. How art thou fallen from Heaven O Lucifer son of the morning c. For thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into Heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God c. I will be like the most High Which words indeed mean only the arrogance and haughtiness of the proud King of Babylon Does any one then ask me what was the sin of the Devil I should answer desperate malicing the honour and happiness of man in which God had placed him and desperate despising and scorning of that charge and command that God had laid upon Angels concerning man that they should attend him and keep him in all his ways And both these desperately wilful for he could sin at no lower rate for he could not sin of ignorance being an Angel and an Angel could have no tempter to sin but himself I shall not go about to define or circumscribe exactly the bounds wherin to conclude wilful sinning I shall not confine this evil spirit with any circle
him from death and was heard in that he feared It lies upon glorified Saints in one part of it viz. Thanksgiving It is so a Duty for the unholiest that though they sin in their prayers yet they sin worse if they pray not Your prayers are not sin as to the Act but because of other things External adoration is absolutely required to be given to God by all his creatures and if that be not yielded they doubtless sin This the wicked man when he prays gives to God They mistake foul that say Pray not till the Spirit move you Truth saith Pray because Duty requires you and in doing your duty wait for the Spirit 3. It is a Duty that makes out and sanctifies all our duties As 1 Tim. IV. 5. Every creature of God is sanctified by the Word of God and Prayer So is every religious duty that we perform What is our hearing reading meditation if we pray not that God would sanctifie it and make it beneficial to holy ends and purposes to us 4. We had need to pray in reference to our Duty lest God turn us out of all and own us not for Tenants because we pay not our Rent You read in XXX Exod. 12. c. That every Israelite was to give half a shekel for the Redemption of his Soul the rich was not to give more nor the poor less This Christ himself paid Matth. XVII 24. c. Prayer is that half shekel to us The rich can give no more and the poor hath this to give viz. To make our humble acknowledgments to God for our lives and our comforts This is the greatest owning of our homage and none is so poor as to be without it The words that signifie Prayer speak this viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Judging our selves and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Depending upon grace We hold all upon grace The acknowledgment of this is the payment of our Homage to our Creator Would you comfortably enjoy your Houses Lands Studies Comforts pay your Rent Pray Pray Pray See what becomes of them that pay not this Homage Jerem. X. 25. Pour out thy sury upon the Heathen that know thee not and upon the Families that call not on thy Name Secondly We had need pray because of our wants This is the only way for our supply II. This is the bucket to draw our Water Ask and you shall have Call upon me in the time of trouble and I will deliver thee Yea though God know our wants we must pray for the supply of them That is a strange motive to prayer in Matth. VI. 8. Your heavenly Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask them What need then is there to tell them If he will give he will give whether we ask or ask not Yes pray for what ye stand in need of though ye are sure of the grant of those things Daniel prayed for the restoration of the Captivity which he knew certain David for the pardon of his sin which he knew God would pardon And that for these reasons First God will have his Homage T is reason Elias should have his cake first that provides meal for the maintenance of the whole family 1 Kings XVII 13. Secondly We pray not to shew God our wants as if he were ignorant of them but to shew that we are sensible of them and to signifie that we know he only is able to supply them Saints are called poor because they know their wants and know they live on Gods Alms. See Rev. III. 17 18. Because thou sayest I am rich and encreased with goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked I counsil thee to buy of me gold tryed in the fire that thou mayest be rich c. God would that this Church of Laodicca should know her wants and buy by prayer the supply of them Thirdly I may add We had need to pray because of our advantage and benefit yea though we receive not particularly what we pray for Though as Psal. XXII 2. We cry in the day time and God heareth not and in the night season we take no rest Though God seem as in Psal. LXXXVIII 14. to cast off our Soul and hide his face from us yet we had need to pray still because we still want and if we never receive particularly what we pray for yet these benefits we shall reap by our prayers 1. We keep up and refresh our communion with God Constant prayer hath this advantage that it suffereth not God to forget us Lord why hast thou forgotten me saith David Prayer permits not God to forget no more than a Mother can forget a crying child He that prays is Gods Remembrancer and gives him no rest 2. The more we pray the better God will know our faces at the day of judgment I know you not shall Christ say to some why They never looked towards him Psal. XIV 2 3. The Lord looked down from Heaven to see if there were any that did understand and seek God They are all gone aside c. And I. Esay 4. There t is said of wicked men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that they are estranged backward or turned backward To these methinks the great Judge will say another day Ye were always strangers to me such as turned their backs upon me I could never see your face and therefore verily I know you not But on the contrary he that now confesses Christ and makes himself known to him by prayers and humble addresses he will know and confess him at the day of Judgment 3. The more we pray the more the heart is in Heaven and with God So that Prayer it self is a blessed benefit Phil. III. 20. Our Conversation is in Heaven This of all other Conversations is the heavenly Conversation As Christ when he prayed was transfigured Luke IX 29. So in prayer the Christians heart is changed the soul is winged and mounts up till it gets hold of God as Jacob had him in his arms when he prayed 4. Time will come that all our prayers and tears shall meet us God puts our tears in his Bottle God reserves our prayers not one of them is left and we shall in time receive the fruit of them In 1 Kings VIII 59. There Solomon prays Let these my words wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night that he maintain the cause of his Servant c. Prayers are nigh unto God And thus I have finished the first Observation viz. That we had need to pray I come to the second II. That we had need to be taught to pray There is no doing spiritual work but according to the Patern in the Mount God prescribed Forms As at the offering of the first-fruits of the Land of Canaan XXVI Deut. 3 4. c. Thou shalt go unto the Priest that shall be in those days and
him What could be said to the comfort of such a bleeding soul Should a soul wounded with these words of the Apostle cry out as that Prophet in another case My bowels my bowels I am pained at the very heart my liver is cut through as with a javelin to hear that there is no sacrifice for sin that sinneth wilfully after receiving the Knowledge of the Truth and I have sinned so of and so wilfully against that Knowledge and Truth as I have done What plaister What lenitive could be applied to allay the aking smart and torture of so sad a cut As our Saviour of the smarting and cutting days of affliction before the ruine of Jerusalem Except those days should be shortned no flesh should be saved So if there were no allay to the foreness of such a stroke and case what flesh could but perish But there is some allay and that is this That the Apostle speaks not of that common willing or wilful sinning to which who is not incident at one time or other in one degree or other But of a willing wilful total apostatizing and revolting from the Truth and Gospel once professed and received If you observe in the Epistles of the Apostles and in the story of the New Testament you will find that the very topping up of the wickedness of the Jewish Nation and of their perdition was this that as the unbelieving part of the Nation continued enemies to Christ and his Gospel so those that had believed did by infinite numbers and drovâ—s revolt and apostatize from what they had belived and became if possible worse enemies than the others and drew as many of the believing Gentiles as they could into the same Apostasie and condemnation with themselves I might evidence this by instances heaps upon heaps And hardly any one of the Apostolick Epistles but it is so plain in it that he that runs may read it I shall only give you three passages instead of scores that might be given First Weigh that 1 Joh. II. 18. Little children it is the last time and as ye have heard that Antichrist should come even now there are many Antichrists And who were they vers 17. They went out from us but were not of us Once Professors and following the Apostles now revolting and fallen from them once Disciples and now Apostates and Antichrists Secondly Who can pass that of the Apostle without serious observing 2 Tim. I. 15. This thou knowest that all they which are in Asia are turned away from me A sad Apostasie Ah poor Paul all turned away from thee Where now hast thou any friend Nay rather Ah poor souls ah unhappy souls that turned away from S. Paul and the blessed Gospel that he brought with him Thirdly And that for all How sadly does our Saviour foretel this in the Parable of the Devil cast out of the possessed but comes again with seven other spirits worse than himself and repossesses And observe the cadence at Matth. XII 45. Even so shall it be also with this wicked generation The Application is easie Of such Apostasie it is the Apostle speaks at vers 26. where he calls it wilful sinning after receiving the knowledge of the Truth And of such an Apostate he speaks in this verse when he saith He hath trod underfoot the Son of God and counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing Many think that the Apostle speaks here of the sin against the Holy Ghost I am sure he speaks of that sin unto death of which the Apostle John hath mention 1 Joh. V. 16. Not but that the sin against the Holy Ghost is a sin unto death but the sin unto death may be distinguisht from the sin against the Holy Ghost in this respect that the Scribes and Pharisees whom our Saviour layeth under the guilt of sinning against the Holy Ghost never received the knowledge of the Truth and acknowledgment of the Gospel But this wretch that sins this sin unto death had received that knowledge but was apostatized and revolted from it Their Apostasie or falling back from the Truth was into a two fold gulf Some fell to horrible Libertinism to abuse the liberty of the Gospel to eat things sacrificed to Idols and to commit fornication Of which you have intimation in several places of the Epistles and particularly in Revel II. 15. But the most general Apostatizing was from the true liberty of the Gospel to the slavery of Judaism again to seek justification by the works of the Law Against this you find the Apostle speaking copiously almost in all the Epistles and particularly S. Paul the pen-man of this Epistle For I make no doubt at all to ascribe it to him sets himself purposely to stay the Hebrews to whom he writes from staggering and falling in such Apostasie And you may observe how in the whole current of his discourse he bends himself to shew that those Mosaick ceremonies and services by which they thought and looked to be justified and saved were but shaddows that did but signifie greater things to come but shaddows that were but for a time and were to fade away The same subject that he is upon at this portion of Scripture he is handling in Chap. VI. 4 5 6. Where we may have an exposition of some words or passages in our Text. Receiving the knowledge of the Truth he calls there Being inlightned tasting of the heavenly gift of the good Word of God of the powers of the World to come Sinning wilfully here is falling away there with him and the fate and punishment of such a wretch here is no sacrifice for sin there in few words it is impossible to renew them again to repentance His wickedness in this verse is threefold and his judgment in the verses before threefold also I. He hath trodden under foot the Son of God For as the Apostasie generally was from the grace of the Gospel to seek to be justified by their own works then what need of Christ at all What value is he of to such wretches any more than the mire under their feet As S. Paul Act. XIV was first accounted a God then presently stoned So these wretches used Christ not much unlike First They professed him embraced him looked to be justified and saved by him presently they looked to be justified by the works of the Law and cast away Christ and scornfully trample upon him as a thing altogether useless II. He accounted the blood of the Covenant a thing unholy or a thing common as the Greek word most strictly signifies Not so holy not so valuable as the blood of Goats and Calves For that blood was shed for something but this wretch makes Christs blood shed for nothing And indeed what was his blood shed for if men can justifie and save themselves III. He hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace Or hath reproached despised the Spirit of grace and the grace of the Spirit he is now
The Wicked one in opposition to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Holy one As the unclean Spirit is opposed to the holy Spirit so the wicked to the holy As the Children of God and the Children of the Devil are opposed vers 10. so here in regard of their nature There are some therefore that define the Devil by what is most contrary to God 1. He is become contrary As Christ and Belial light and darkness 2 Cor. VI. 14 15. In what Not in regard of his essential subsistence as he is a spirit intellectual immortal nor in regard only of want of righteousness and holiness but in regard of the bent of his will As in our selves we may read too much of the Devil in that respect that our Wills run so contrary to Gods No contrary to that that will be contrary as Hannibal was to the Romans For 2. He sets himself to be contrary He is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that opposeth His contrariety is resolved and wilful In the first Fall he set himself up against God to be head He despised his charge and would head the creature against him And he continually fights against Gods Will and ways See those two things vers 10. which distinguish the Children of God and of the Devil Love and Righteousness the same make the distinction between God and the Devil God loves Man He hates him God loves Righteousness He opposeth it He stands up against Christ. There are two Heads in the world Christ and the Devil and he by his own pride and putting on Secondly He is the Wicked one as he is the Father of Wickedness As Joh. VIII 44 Ye are of your Father the Devil and the Lusts of your Father ye will do Ask who begat wicked works the answer must be The Devil 1. He is Father of his own wickedness He is his own Tempter and begat his sin within himself Whereas Adam had something ab extra from without that tempted him 2. He is the Father of others wickedness vers 8. He that committeth sin is of the Devil He was the Father of the first Sin How might Adam have stood if not tempted by one above him He could not have believed a Creature could be against God but believed him one that was as a Messenger from God as Angels were He is the Father of all sins He hath concurrence to every sin we commit A general concurrence by poison infused into our Nature As sin hath a general concurrence to death so the Devil hath such a concurrence to sin And such a particular concurrence as we cannot say any sin is without him As no grace is without the spirit I shall not speak of his presence with all his influence with all Thirdly He is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Wicked one in that he is perfectly wicked That is perfect Cui nihil addi potest vel detrahi To which nothing can be added or taken away So God is perfect and so is the Saints Happiness in Glory perfect happiness The Devil can be no more wicked or less as God can be no more or less good In Satans first sin he could sin no more than he did nor against more light nor could his sin be of more pride and malice He knew he should be damned if he fell yet he sinned and fell His continual sinning cannot be more than it is he cannot have more hate of God than he hath For he hates every thing that is like God or likes him And that not because God damned him but because God is God above him Nor can he be less wicked For an Angel cannot sin at a less rate than the deepest willfulness and malice cannot be tempted deceived ignorant wants not power to stand And thus we see how the Devil is the Wicked one Now II. We come to the Description that is given of Cain and that is twofold viz. by his extraction he was of that wicked one And by his action And slew his Brother I. Let us consider him with relation to his Extraction He was of that wicked one Such a phrase you have Joh. VIII 44. mentioned before You are of your Father the Devil It may be Questioned Whether all in an unregenerate state may be said alike to be of the Devil They are all Children of wrath Eph. II. 2. Whether are they all alike Children of the Devil I Answer 1. All are alike guilty and Children of corruption Sin is come over all One hath as much original guilt as another Because Adams whole sin is on all as Christs whole righteousness is on His. 2. One hath as much sinfulness and depravation of nature as another Abel as much as Cain For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God Rom. III. 23. Because all alike from Adam 3. All Children of wrath alike Eph. II. 2. That is First Quoad meritum in respect of merit Secondly Quoad indignationem Dei in peccatum in respect of Gods indignation against sin But not Quoad aeternam iram in respect of Eternal wrath 4. All slaves to Satan alike which that expression doth suppose where it is said That we are delivered out of the power of darkness But all are not under the claim of Satan alike The Elect have God claiming something in them even before they escape from the bondage of Satan As Israel in Egypt before their redemption God had a claim to them Therefore Men are not said to be of the Devil but where the visible acting is according to the Devil So in the place quoted already Joh. VIII 44. Ye are of your Father the Devil and the Works of your Father ye will do 1 Joh. III. 8. He that committeth sin is of the Devil And in the Text Cain was of that wicked one and slew his Brother So the Pharisees were of the seed of the Serpent Elymas was the Child of the Devil And from hence I lay down this Doctrine That wicked mens wicked actings shew they be of the wicked one See vers 8. Cain had pious education taught to sacrifice His Parents could tell him more of God and the Devil than almost any since He made an outward profession for he brought his Sacrifice to God Yet his works manifested him to be of the wicked one So wicked ones by their wicked actings shew that they belong to the Wicked One. They are of him That is 1. Of his Kingdom and pay a subjection to it 2. Of his Spirit 3. Of his Acting And this brings us to the next particular Viz. II. To consider Cain with relation to his action He slew his Brother He was of that wicked one and slew his Brother Here we may observe three things obiter by the way First That malice and murther is justly referred to the first Murtherer As Joh. VIII 44. Ye are of your Father the Devil and the lusts of your Father ye will do he was a murtherer from the beginning Ye would murther me because
14. for Trachonitus r. Trachonitis l. 57. for 23. r. c. 33. p. 452. l. ult for fonte Abila r. fonte Abila p. 446 447. in the top should be Luke Chap. 2. p. 454. Luke 3. for Matth. p. 742. for Cainite read Canaanite A Map of CANAAN According to D r. Lightfoot A Chronicle of the Times AND THE ORDER OF THE TEXTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT WHEREIN The Books Chapters Psalms Stories Prophecies c. are reduced into their proper order and taken up in the proper places in which the natural Method and genuine Series of the Chronology requireth them to be taken in WITH Reason given of dislocations where they come And many remarkable Notes and Observations given all along for the better understanding of the Text the difficulties of the Chronicle declared the differences occurring in the relating of Stories reconciled and exceeding many Scruples and Obscurities in the Old Testament explained The Book of GENESIS CHAP. I. Days of the Creation I THE ALMIGHTY TRINITY 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 having dwelt from all eternity in and with it self when it saw good to communicate it self did in the beginning of the being of things create Heaven and Earth the two parts of the World of nothing in a moment Verse 1. The earth newly created lay covered all over with water and there was darkness through the world in that vast vacuity that was between the face of that great deep which covered the earth and the clouds or cataracts of Heaven which were the inferior part of Heaven and were created in the same instant with the Heavens full of water and the Heavens in the instant of their creation were set a * * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 moving by the Spirit that garnished them in a constant and continued motion and with their motion the course of nature began and the clock of time was set a going Verse 2. Twelve hours was there universal darkness through all the world and then was light created in this upper Horizon and there it inlightned twelve hours more and then flitted away as the light of the Sun now doth to the other Hemisphere and thus was the measure and work of the first day Verse 3 4 5. Days of the Creation II The air spread out through that great space that was betwixt the waters that covered the Earth and the waters that were in the cataracts of Heaven and as the light did remove the universal darkness so doth this spreading out of the air remove the emptiness and vacuity and this was the work of the second day but of this days work it is not said That God saw it good as it is said of the others because the partition and separation of all waters is not fully perfected till the next day Vers. 6 7 8. Days of the Creation III The waters that covered the Earth are brought into their channels and the dry land appearing is stored with trees and plants on this days work it is twice said That God saw it good once for the full and intire separation of the waters and again for the fructification of the ground Vers. 9 10 11 12 13. Days of the Creation IV When the light at the close of the third day was departed from this Horizon the Moon and Stars began to appear in the Sky and in the morning the Sun rose in the East and began his course and so this visible host of Heaven was the work of the fourth day The invisible host of Angels was in most probability created in the very same instant with the Heavens themselves Vers. 14 15 16 17 18 19. Days of the Creation V Fowle and fish and * * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Crocodiles Hippopotames c. Amphibia created and the first blessing of generation pronounced upon them Vers. 20 21 22 23. Days of the Creation VI With Chap. I. from Vers. 24. to the end read Chap. II. from Vers. 4. to the end Beasts created and all manner of creeping things of the clean sorts of beasts there were seven created of every kind three couple for breed and the odd one for Adams sacrifice upon his fall which God foresaw Adam created in holiness and righteousness and high honor and happiness Dominion is given to him over all the creatures which is more clearly evidenced to him in that they are brought to him to receive their names from him which by the great wisdom that was in him he giveth them even at the first sight agreeable to their natures among them all he seeth no mate meet for himself but he observeth them all fitly mated one to another and so becometh the more sensible of his own being mateless therefore the Lord provideth a fellow meet for him even out of his own body having cast Adam the mean while into a trance God marrieth them together puts them in the garden and gives them a command Now fell the Angels for they seeing the honor and happiness in which man was created and set and the Lord giving the Angels themselves a charge concerning him to keep him in his ways and to be ministring spirits to him for his good some of them spited this his honor and happiness and despised this their charge and ingagement and so through pride against the command of God and for envy at the felicity of man they fell CHAP. III. THese Angels that were now become Devils through spite at man had no comfort at all left them in their fall but this miserable and mischievous one to bring man into the same condemnation with them For the effecting of this they lose no time but attempt it by tempting him in his wife the weaker vessel she not yet knowing that there were any Devils at all but well knowing that God had allotted her and her husband the custody of Angels mistook the Devil that spake in a Serpent for a good Angel and so was deceived by him and sinned and drew her husband into the same transgression with her this was about high noon the time of eating And in this lost condition into which Adam and Eve had now brought themselves did they lie comfortless till towards the cool of the day or three a clock afternoon Then cometh God to censure them but first promiseth Christ to be a Redeemer to them and a destroyer of Satan Curseth the earth that they might not fix their minds on things below doometh them to labour misery and mortality that they might look for rest in Heaven Adam layeth hold on the promise and in faith therein nameth his wife Eve or Life God teacheth him the rite of sacrifice and with the skins of the sacrificed beasts cloatheth them and expelleth them out of Eden and so fell Adam on the day that he was created and brought in death and so the first thing that dyeth in the world is a sacrifice or Christ in a figure CHAP. II. Ver. 1 2 3. At the end of the third Chapter in order of
time and story come in the three first Verses of the second Chapter and the story lyeth thus Dayes of the Creation VII GOD having thus created all things * * * Read ver 2. For on the seventh day God had ended his work otherwise there may be a doubt upon it whether God created not something on the seventh day This the lxx Saw and therefore they translate it different from the Original word And God ended his works on the sixth day in six days and man having thus fallen and heard of Christ and of death and eternal life and other like things on the sixth day the Lord ordaineth the seventh day for a Sabbath or holy rest and Adam spendeth it in holy duties and in meditation of holy things The mention of the institution of the Sabbath is laid in the beginning of the second Chapter though the very time and place of that story be not till after the end of the third 1. Because the holy Ghost would dispatch the whole story of the first week or seven days of the world together without interposition of any other particular story 2. Because he would shew that Adam should have kept the Sabbath though he had never sinned And therefore the mention of the Sabbath is before the mention of his sin CHAP. IV. THE exact times of the stories of the fourth Chapter are not to be determined and therefore they must be left to be taken up by conjecture in the times of the fifth as they are cast into the following table and so conjecturally also must we measure out the parallel and collateral times of the generations of Cain and Seth that are either named here or hereafter to the floud Cain and Abel born twins yet the one the seed of the Serpent and the other of the Woman In Cain was legible the poyson that Satan had breathed into fallen man and in Abel the breathing of grace into the elect and a figure of the death of Christ. God fireth Abels sacrifice from heaven but despiseth Cains yet readeth to him the first doctrine of repentance That if he did well he should certainly be accepted and though he did not well yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a sin-offering lieth at the door if he repented there was hope of pardon Thus as God had read the first lecture of faith to Adam in the promise of Christ Chap. 3. 15. so doth he the first lecture of repentance to Cain under the doctrine of * * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 very commonly taken for a sin offering and the sacrifices were constantly brought to the Tabernacle door a sin-offering But Cain despiseth his own mercy is unmerciful to his brother and is denied mercy from the Lord. He beggeth for death that he might be shut out of that sad condition to which God hath doomed him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now therefore let it be that any one that findeth me may kill me but this God denieth him and reserve th him to a longlife that he might reserve him to long misery Lamech a branch of this root bringeth into the world the abomination of Polygamie or of having more wives at once than one for which God smiteth him with horrour of conscience that he himself might be a witness against that sin that he had introduced and he censureth himself for a more deplorate and desperate wretch than Cain For that Cain had slain but one man and had only destroyed his body but he himself had destroyed both young and old by his cursed example which was now so currently followed and entertained in the world that ere long it was a special forwarder of its destruction that if Cain was to be avenged seven-fold Lamech deserved seventy and seven-fold In this stock of Cain also began Idolatry and worshipping the creature instead of the Creator blessed for ever and in a mournfull feeling of this dishonour done to God by it Seth calls his Son that was born to him in those times Enosh or sorrowfull because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then began profaness in calling upon the name of the Lord. Noah in 2 Pet. 2. 5. seemeth to be called the eighth in reference to these times namely the eighth in succession from Enosh in whose times the world began to be profane CHAP. V. THis fifth Chapter measureth the time and age of the world between the Creation and the Flood which was 1655. years compleat Being cast into a Table it will not only shew the currency but the concurrency of those times or how those Patriarchs whose times it measureth lived one with another The Reader will not need any rules for the explaining of the Table his own Arithmetick will soon shew him what use to make of it The first Age of the World From the Creation to the Flood This space is called Early in the morning Mat. 2. Hilar. in loc Ten Fathers before the Flood  Adam hath Cain and Abel and loseth them both Gen. 4. unhappy in his children the greatest earthly happiness that he may think of Heaven the more 130 130 Seth born in original sin Gen. 5. 2 3. a holy man and father of all men after the Flood Numb 24. 17. to shew all men born in that estate 235 235 105 Enosh born corruption in Religion by Idolatry begun Gen. 4. 25. Enosh therefore so named Sorrowful 325 325 195 90 Kainan born A mourner for the corruption of the times 395 395 265 160 70 Mahalaleel born A praiser of the Lord. 460 460 330 225 135 65 Jared born when there is still a descending from evil to worse 622 622 492 387 297 227 162 Enoch born and Dedicated to God the seventh from Adam Jude 14. 687 687 557 452 362 292 227 65 Methushelah born his very name foretold the Flood The lease of the world is only for his life 874 874 744 639 549 479 414 252 187 Lamech born A man smitten with grief for the present corruption and future punishment 930 930 800 695 605 535 470 308 243 56 Adam dieth having lived 1000. years within 70. Now 70 years a whole age Psal. 90. 10. 987  857 752 662 592 527 365 300 113 57 Enoch translated next after Adams death mortality taught in that immortality in this 1042 Enoch the seventh from Adam in the holy line of Seth prophecâ—ed against the wickedness that Lamech the seventh from Adam in the cursed line of Cain had brought in 912 807 717 647 582 Enoch lived as many years as there be days in a year via 365. and finished his course like a Sun on earth 355 168 112 55 Seth dieth 1056   821 731 661 596  369 182 126 69 14 Noah born a comforter 1140   905 815 745 680  453 266 210 153 98 84 Enosh dieth 1235    910 840 775  548 361 305 248 193 179 95 Kainan dieth 1290     895 830  603 416 360 303 248 234 150 55
doth hereby more clearly open that mystery of God in Christ than if he had spoken only of believing himself or only of believing the Father 2. There are some that conceive that he speaketh of believing him that sent him rather than of believing him himself that by this humble reference of all to God he might make his speech more accceptable to the hearers 3. Compare this passage with Exod. 20. 19. and Deut. 18. 16 17 18. His expression of passing from death to life seemeth to refer either to the doom upon Adams not hearkening to the voice of God thou shalt die the death or to the codition under which every man is left by the Law namely under a curse from which hearkning to the voice of the Gospel is deliverance Or it may be it is spoken in some parallel to the case of the man healed for he by hearkening to the Word of Christ received health of body so whosoever heareth his Word obtains life of the Soul And thus doth Christ still make good the word that he had spoken to the man for a dispensation with the Sabbath and argueth that he might do such a thing because he was to give the Law and Word of the New Testament as the Father had done of the Old and sheweth that though violation of the Sabbath deserved and had been punished with death yet obedience to his Word and Command was discharge and a passing from death to life Vers. 25. The hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voyce of the Son of God c. 1. These words are most generally understood as aiming at those dead that Christ raised by his voyce or word to life again as saying to Jairus daughter Talitha Kumi to the widdows son of Naim Young man arise and to Lazarus Lazarus come forth And being taken in such a relation the connexion of them to the words going immediately before lyeth thus Christ had spoken there of his spiritual reviving whosoever should believe his Word and here he either produceth a proof and evidence of what he had there spoken or else alledgeth it as another wonder and virtue of his power that by his voyce he would raise those that were bodily deceased And he ascribeth this reviving to the hearing of his voyce partly because he had ascribed the spiritual reviving to the hearing of his Word and partly to distinguish his rasing of those dead from the raising of those that were revived under the Old Testament for they were not raised by a word but by other applications 1 King 17. 21. 2 King 4. 34. 13. 21. 2. It was the opinion of the Jews that there should be a resurrection in the days of Messias The Chaldee Paraphrast glosseth Hos. 6. 2. thus He will revive us in the days of consolation Luke 2. 25. which are to come in the day of the Resurrection of the dead And Hos. 14. 8. thus They shall be gathered out of their captivity they shall sit under the shadow of their Messias and the dead shall revive and good shall be multiplyed on the Earth And Esay 49. 9. I give thee for a Covenant to the people to raise the righteous that lye in the dust And Kimchi on Esay 26. 19. The Holy blessed God will raise the dead at the time of deliverance And in Jer. 23. 20. In that he saith Ye shall consider it and not They shall consider it it intimateth the Resurrection of the dead in the days of the Messias And on Ezek. 37. It may be God shewed Ezekiel the vision of the dead bones reviving to signifie to him that he would raise the dead of Israel at the time of deliverance that they also might see the deliverance Ab. Ezr. in Dan. 12. 2. The righteous that dyed in the captivity shall revive when the Redeemer cometh c. And this was so far the opinion of the Nation that they understood the term The World to come of the state of glory and yet of the days of Messias as shall be shewed when we meet with that phrase Now there was a Resurrection in the days of the Messias accordingly not only of those three that have been named but also of divers Saints whose graves were opened and bodies arose Mat. 27. 52. And if the words that we have in hand be applyed to the raising of dead in a bodily sense they may most properly be pointed to that Resurrection which was so parellel to the expectation of the Jews and Christ asscribing such a matter to himself doth prove himself to be the Messias even they and their own opinion being Judges 3. But the raising of the dead is taken in Scripture also in a borrowed sense namely for the reviving and quickning of those that were dead in trespasses and sins c. as Ephes. 2. 1. And that sense doth seem more agreeable to this place because our Saviour in the verse before doth apparently speak of such spiritual reviving The calling in of the Gentiles to the Gospel is called a Resurrection in divers places of the Scripture as Esa. 26. 19. Thy dead men shall live together with my Body they shall rise awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust for thy dew is as the dew of herbs and the Earth shall cast out her dead What dead these are that were to rise with Christs body from the dead is not so much intimated in that passage of the Evangelist The bodies of divers Saints arose Matth. 27. 52. as in that saying of our Saviour There shall no sign be given them but the sign of Jonah the Prophet By which he doth not only signifie his own death and Resurrection but he doth also gall the Jews with an intimation of the calling of the Gentiles upon his Resurrection as the Ninivites were called upon Jonahs Resurrection out of the grave of the Whales belly And that dew of his that should inliven men as the dew doth herbs is the dew of the Doctrine of the Gospel as Deut. 32. 2. And so likewise Hos. 6. 2. speaketh to the very same tenor of Christs raising the dead in a spiritual sense upon his own Resurrection which was on the third day And so is the Resurrection in Ezek. 37. plainly expounded in that very chapter to be in a spiritual sense and so the Apostle construes it Rom. 11. 15. Amd the calling of the Gentiles is styled the first Resurrection Rev. 20. 5. c. That Christ meaneth the dead and the raising of the dead in this sense in this place might be argued upon these observations 1. Because throughout his speech hitherto and some steps further the scope of his discourse is namely to prove his all powerful rule and disposal of the affairs under the Gospel equal to what the Father had under the Law of which the calling of the Gentiles was one of the most eminent and remarkable 2. Because as was said before his very last words preceding were of passing
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 History Family c. Page 415. Marg. Δ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what the coine when the time it was collected Page 240 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not Justifications but Ordinances 406 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The mighty One c. 399 Ε. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taken either as Adverb or Verb what it denotes Page 640 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not the same with ' 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 239 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 namely on the second and fifth days of the week following 291 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth often carry the sense of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 513 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the New Testament doth constantly refer to place and not to time 518 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 put casually 495 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whence derived Page 662 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He is beside himself he is faint he is in a rapture c. 229 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 priviledge dignity or Licence p. 396. Marg. Further opened 509 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what it constantly signifies 258 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports a look of pity and compassion 414 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used for lawful undertaking 391 Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 variously used 755 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the name of the Minister in the Synagogue 611 612 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John 5. 29. ye search not imparatively 664 684 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a word of an high activity and motion 399. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whence derived and for what intent 423 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John 1. 26. must be rendred in its Preterperfect signification 481 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it expresseth Pharaoh and his Servants trouble upon their dreams 398. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which the Seventy translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 401 Marg. Θ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fighting with wild Beasts in the Theatre Page 299 Ι 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 private Men of inferior Rank and unskilful Page 761 Κ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in order referring to foregoing writers or to following matter Page 391. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 used in two differing senses 424. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Bed because they used to eat sitting on Beds 539. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 money-changers what they were 550 551 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what 213 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 refers to Men of Rank or Degree 392. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deaf and Dumb. 410 Λ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Josephus will open the use of the word in the Gospel Page 268 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denotes a price paid 422 Îœ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is always in Scripture taken in the worst sense for such as use Magical and unlawful Arts. Page 205 431. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may signifie both Bearing of Witness and being Martyred for the Truth 517 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what kind of Measure at large 544 to 547 Î. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 silver Temples what Page 305 Ο. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Does not always point out a particular Thing or Person Page 525 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 conversing together with one accord why so often used in one place 750 Î . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Page 733 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Traditions of the highest Form yet nothing worth in comparison of Scripture 391. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is said to be ever used in an ill sense 418 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for to all men 272 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies in Scripture style the certainty of things done and of the belief that they were so 391. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 beyond and not besides 527 528 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Holy Ghost wind 562 563. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The wicked one for the Romans 424 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Matth. 4. 5. what p. 1070. * Wing of the Temple 1073. * Σ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what Page 222 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 often used in both Numbers whence derived 606. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 often used in both Numbers whence derived 606. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wine or any thing that makes one drunk 398. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Porch cloyster walks c. p. 661. Rather a Cloyster than a Porch 1060 1061. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at first a creditable term but afterward a term of disgrace 449. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 salvation or deliverance 420. Marg. Τ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The state of a low and poor condition Page 414 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what 1084. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Setting a part to holy use Baptism and Martyrdom 399. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Dining Room and why so called 539. Marg. Φ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 translates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shoshebin any singular Friend whatsoever but peculiarly the special Friend and Attendant of a Bridegroom Page 585 586 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be musseled spoke of Satan 636. Marg. Χ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Grace how used Page 519 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 improperly rendred 291 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies the upper Garment 449. Marg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for no more delay 245 Ω. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As properly requireth a so to follow it Page 314 THE Fourth TABLE or Alphabetical Index is of Things or Principal Matters contained in the First Volume A. AARON his Birth and Character Page 24 His fault for which he was debarred the Entrance into Canaan Page 36 Abbreviatures used by the Jews and others some Examples p. 1017 Abel and Cain were Twins born at the same time p. 693 Abilene Whence its Name and what Country p. 451 Abimelech the common Title of the Kings of the Philistines as Pharaoh of the Egyptians p. 423 Abraham his Birth Travels and Conquests p. 11 12. The Three Persons in the Trinity in the shape of Men dine with him p. 13. And ate the first flesh that is mentioned to have been eaten in Scripture p. 695. How he saw Christs day p. 13. He had a double Title to Canaan by Promise and by Victory p. 694 Abstinence of the Baptist and Christ was for the honour and advancement of the Gospel which they were to preach 502 503 Acceptable year of the Lord put for the Gospel Day or Age beginning with the Ministry and Baptism of John 450 Accusation wicked and foolish 797 Acra the Mount was within Jerusalem 1049. * Adam's fall its Nature Comparison Consequence and Reparation 1022 Adultress was to be put to death but yet her Husband had a power to connive at her if he took her not in the fact 419 Adultery how punished 243 244 248 Aeneas a Name found in the Jewish Writers 284 Aenon what place and where situate 583 Aethiopia one in Arabia another in
of them according to the quinque-lateral form 668. Porters Their distribution and office their attendance were on doors gates guards c. 918 919. Possessed of the devil so often mentioned in the Gospel what they were p. 639. Christ only did dispossess them they were of two sorts p. 639 640. To be Bodily possessed was the saddest earthly misery could befal a man 640. Prayers are to be made for all and not as the Jews only for themselves and their own Nation p. 309. Prayers were made after the Phylacteries in the Morning p. 946 c. Hypocritical Prayers reproved by Christ. 1024. Praying was immediately performed after Baptism they who were Baptized coming out of the Water presently addressed themselves to Prayer 479. Preachers in the Synagogue were Priests and Levites or any other Learned men as well as they some of which had been Proselites and Mechanicks but these were first usually though not always ordained 612. Preaching whether inconsistent with Baptizing Paul saying that he came not to baptize but to preach the Gospel 217. Preaching in a Mount why used by Christ. p. 257. Preaching among the Jews was performed sitting 619. Predictions strange 820. Presidents or Overseers over the times of Service the Doors the Guards the Singers the Symbal Musick the Lots the Birds the Seals or Tickets the Drink-offerings the Sick the Waters the making of the Shew-bread Incence Vail and the Garments for the Priests what 903 904. Presidents of the Sanhedrim their Names and something of their History from the time of the Captivity 2007. Priest Christ was a Great Priest when and how p. 239. The Priest that was to burn the Red Cow was to be put apart seven days and where the place 2024. * Priesthood why changed from one House to another p. 51. It was valued by the Jews above all other things even above the Commandments of God 574. Priests and Levites how distinguished p. 89. There was a Consistory of them in the Temple to take care of the Affairs thereof and no further to act p. 281. They which were so busie in the Acts of the Apostles against Christianity were of the Sanhedrim p. 282. Their Courses in which they were to attend on the Temple Service p. 401 to 406. They were exceeding many p. 406. Some of them were a Guard to a King p. 406. They entred their Office at the age of thirty years p. 486. They could not cure the Leprosie but Christ did yet he was tender of their reputation p. 648. Their several Ranks p. 903. These were the Consistory of Priests p. 903. There were 24 Courses of them at what age they entered The manner of their Instalment p. 915. How cast into 24 Courses p. 916. According to their Division so were their Degree how they served p. 917. They were put for Heads of the Families of the Priests or chief of the 24 Courses c. 438 439 Priests Those that had blemishes ate of the Holy Things and served in the Wood-room by searching if any of the Wood for Sacrifices was Worm-eaten p. 1093. * Their Court and Desks prescribed p. 2025 to 2029. * what their Garments before and after the Law 2049. * Princes put for the Great Men of the Sanhedrim 1063. * Priority amongst the Disciples contested for at a most unseasonable hour p. 271. compared with p. 250 Prodigality what 849 850 Prodigies Very many before a great destruction in England and before the destruction of Rome and of Jerusalem and Persecution of the Primitive Christians 329 334 359 Professors of the Gospel were called Disciples Believers the Church devout Men Brethren and among the unbelieving Jews in scorn the Seat of the Nazarites at last Christians p. 871. Esseans were no Christians notwithstanding some affirm it 871 872 Prophaneness what 862 863. Prophesie and Tongues were the Gifts of the Holy Ghost p. 281. why they were given p. 281. Prophesie and Inspiration ceased when the Scriptures were finished p. 357 358. It had long ceased before John the Baptists time but began to revive with him p. 423. Text. Marg. It is put by it self in the Scriptures in Chapters as well as Books notwithstanding they were not so delivered p. 121. It had been in the Church ever since the fall of Adam Miracles but since Moses was in the Wilderness p. 701 702. Both ceased after the days of Zachary and Malachy p. 701 702. Prophesie from the death of Moses to the rising of Samuel was very rare 758 Prophet Christ was a Great Prophet when and how 239 Prophets one of the Titles of the Gospel Ministers p. 223. Prophets and Teachers were distinct Functions yet sometimes went together p. 288. The Scrutiny or judging of a Prophet belonged only to the Sanhedrim p. 321. The Law and the Prophets put for all the Old Testament and how p. 533 534. Any one that came in the Spirit of a Prophet had permission to Preach but all such were tryed whether true or false Hence it was that our Saviour and Paul c. had liberty to Preach in every Synagogue p. 613. How to know their Original 999 Prophets The four last Prophets viz. Ezra Haggai Zacchariah and Malachi are all said to dye in one year 2066 2068. * Proselites were admitted into the Jewish Church by Baptism 209 210. Proverbs of Solomon mentioned in Prov. 25. 1. were found in the Temple in an old Manuscript 106 Providence of God much seen in bringing good out of evil 48 Psalms of Degrees why so called p. 111. The Jews have a Rule that every Psalm that bears not the name of the Author of it in the Title is to be reputed of his making who was last named in the Title before but the Holy Ghost seems to intimate that David was the Author of all those that have no Author mentioned in the Title p. 761. The Book of Psalms Harmonized with the five Books of Moses 1019 Publicans what they were p. 230 231. Their Office at first was creditable but afterwards disgraceful p. 461 462. there were two sorts of them 660 Publick Prayers what 944 Pulpit of Wood in the middle of the Temple where the Minister of the Congregation stood p. 205. There was one also in the Court of the Women 973. Pulpits what 2027 * Punishing offences ought to have three causes 415. Marg. Purifyings were of four sorts in the days of Christ 585. Q. QUuadrans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what sort of measure p. 546 Quotations Allegations or Citations when taken out of the Old Testament by the New are sometimes two Places couched together as if they were one yet maketh it sure that the first is always that very Place which it taketh upon it to quote though the second be another p. 451. One place of Scripture quoting or citing another doth sometimes change the Words to fit the occasion 498. R. RAb Rabban Rabbi Titles given the Learned Jews came but in use a little before the Birth of Christ what they denote p.
Hebron very many things are said by very many men The City was called Hebron that is A Consociation perhaps from the Pairs there buried Abraham Isaac and Jacob and their wives Not a few believe Adam was buried there in like manner some that he was buried once and buried again e e e e e e Idem fol. 5. 1. Adam said say they after my death they will come perhaps and taking my bones will worship them but I will hide my Coffin very deep in the Earth in a Cave within a Cave It is therefore called The Cave Macpelah or the doubled Cave CHAP. L. Of the Cities of Refuge HEBRON the most eminent among them excites us to remember the rest a a a a a a Bab. Maccoth fol. 9. 2. The Rabbines deliver this Moses separated three Cities of refuge beyond Jordan and against them Josua separated three Cities in the land of Canaan And these were placed by one another just as two ranks of Vines are in a Vinyard Hebron in Judea against Bezer in the Wilderness Shechem in Mount Ephraim against Ramoth in Gilead Cadesh in Mount Nephthali against Golan in Basan And these three were so equally disposed that there was so much space from the South coast of the land of Israel to Hebron as there was from Hebron to Schechem and as much from Hebron to Shechem as from Shechem to Cadesh and as much from Shechem to Cadesh as from Cadesh to the North coast of the land b b b b b b Maimon in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cap. 8. It was the Sanhedrins business to make the ways to those Cities convenient by enlarging them and by removing every stop against which one might either stumble or dash his foot No hillock or river was allowed to be in the way over which there was not a bridge and the way leading thither was at least two and thirty cubits broad And every double way or in the parting of the ways was written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Refuge Refuge lest he that fled thither might mistake the way c c c c c c Maccoth fol. 11. 1. The Mothers of the high Priest used to feed and cloth those that for murder were shut up in the Cities of Refuge that they might not pray for the death of their sons since the Fugitive was to be restored to his Country and Friends at the death of the high Priest but if he died before in the City of Refuge his bones were to be restored after the death of the high Priest d d d d d d Maimon in the place above The Jews dream that in the days of the Messias three other Cities are to be added to those six which are mentioned in the Holy Scripture and they to be among the Kenites the Kenezites and the Kadmonites Let them dream on e e e e e e Bab. Sanhedr fol. 18. 2. Let him that kills the high Priest by a sudden chance fly to a City of Refuge but let him never return thence Compare these words with the State of the Jews killing Christ. CHAP. LI. Beth-lehem THE Jews are very silent of this City nor do I remember that I have read any thing in them concerning it besides those things which are produced out of the Old Testament this only excepted that the a a a a a a Beracoth fol. 5. 1. Jerusalem Gemarists do confess that the Messias was born there before their times b b b b b b Just. Martyr Apol. 2. pag. 75 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bethlehem is a certain Town in the land of the Jews thirty five furlongs distant from Jerusalem and that toward the South The Father of the Ecclesiastical Annals citing these words of Eusebius c c c c c c Euseb. Eccles. hist. lib. 4. cap. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. thus renders them in Latine d d d d d d Baron Annal. ad annum Christ. 137. Jam vero cum decimo octavo anno imperii Hadriani bellum juxta urbem Beth-lehem nuncupatam quae erat rerum omnium praesidiis munitissima neque adeo longe a Civitate Hierosolymarum sita vehementius accenderetur c. But now when in the eighteenth year of the Empire of Adrian the war was more vehemently kindled near the Town called Beth-lehem which was very well fortified with all manner of defence nor was seated far from the City of Jerusalem c. The Interpreter of Eusebius renders 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beth-thera not illy however it be not rendered according to the letter Perhaps 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 crept into the word instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the carelesness of the Coppiers But by what liberty the other should render it Beth-lehem let himself see Eusebius doth certainly treat of the City 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Betar it is vulgarly written Bitter of the destruction of which the Jews relate very many things with lamentation which certainly is scarcely to be reckoned the same with Bethlehem The same Father of the Annals adds that Beth-lehem from the times of Adrian to the times of Constantine was profaned by the Temple of Adonis for the asserting of which he cites these words of Paulinus Hadrianus supposing that he should destroy the Christian Faith by offering injury to the place in the place of the Passion dedicated the Image of Jupiter and profaned Beth-lehem with the Temple of Adonis As also like words of Hierome yet he confesses the contrary seems to be in Origen against Celsus and that more true For Hadrian had no quarrel with the Christians and Christianity but with the Jews that cursedly rebelled against him CHAP. LII Betar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 OF this City there is a deep silence in the Holy Scriptures but a most clamorous noise in the Talmudic Writings It is vulgarly written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Betar and rendred by Christians Bitter or Bither but I find it written in the Jerusalem Talmud pretty often in the same page a a a a a a Hieros Taanith fol. 68. 4. 69. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be read as it seems 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beth-Tar and casting away the first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thau which is very usual in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be-Tar The House of the Inquirer Wherefore say they was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beth-Tar laid waste Because it lighted candles after the destruction of the Temple And why did it light candles Because the Councellors 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at Jerusalem dwelt in the midst of the City And when they saw any going up to Jerusalem they said to him We hear of you that you are ambitious to be made a Captain or a Councellor but he answered There is no such thing in my mind We hear of you that you are about to sell your wealth But he answered Nor did this come into my mind Then would one of
doubt IT is not ill rendred How long dost thou suspend our mind although not an exact Translation according to the letter But what kind of doubt and suspension of mind was this Was it that they hoped this Jesus was the Messiah or that they rather feared he was so It seems they rather feared than hoped it For whereas they looked for a Messias that should prove a mighty Conquerour should deliver the people from the Heathen yoke and should crown himself with all earthly glory and saw Jesus infinite degrees below such pomp yet by his miracles giving such fair specimens of the Messias they could not but hang in great suspence whether such a Messiah were to be wished for or no. VERS XXXI 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then the Iews took up stones again THE Blasphemer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by judicial process of the Sanhedrin was to be stoned which process they would imitate here without judgment l l l l l l Sanhedr cap. 7. hal 1. These are the criminals that must be stoned He that lieth with his own Mother or with the Wife of his Father He that Blasphemes or commits Idolatry Now however the Rabbins differed in the definition of Blasphemy or a Blasphemer yet this all of them agreed in as unquestionable Blasphemy that which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denies the foundation This they firmly believed Jesus did and none could perswade them to the contrary when he affirmed I and my Father are one A miserable besotted Nation who above all persons or things wished and looked for the Messiah and yet was perfectly ignorant what kind of a Messiah he should be VERS XXXV 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. If he called them Gods c. THE Jews interpret those words of the Psalmist I have said ye are Gods to a most ridiculous sense m m m m m m Avodah Zarah fol. 5. 1. unless our Fathers had sinned we had never come into the world as it is written I have said ye are Gods and the Children of the most high But ye have corrupted your doings therefore ye shall dye like men And a little after Israel had not received the Law only that the Angel of death might not rule over them as it is said I have said ye are Gods but ye have corrupted your doings therefore ye shall dye like men The sense is if those who stood before Mount Sinai had not sinned in the matter of the Golden Calf they had not begot Children nor had been subject to death but had been like the Angels So the Gloss. If our Fathers had not sinned by the Golden Calf we had never come into the world for they would have been like the Angels and had never begot Children The Psalmist indeed speaks of the Magistracy to whom the word of God hath arrived by an express dispensation and diploma ordaining and deputing them to the Government as the whole web and contexture of the Psalm doth abundantly shew But if we apply the words as if they were spoken by our Saviour according to the common Interpretation received amongst them they fitly argue thus If he said they were Angels or Gods to whom the Law and word of God came on Mount Sinai as you conceive is it any Blasphemy in me then whom God in a peculiar manner hath sanctified and sent into the world that I might declare his word and will if I say that I am the Son of God VERS XL. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where Iohn at first Baptized THAT is Bethabarah For the Evangelist speaks according to his own History Which to the judicious Reader needs no proof CHAP. XI VERS I. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lazarus SO in the Jerusalem Talmud 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 R. Lazar for R. Eleazar For in the Hierusalem dialect it is not unusual in some words that begin with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aleph to cut off that letter As. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What saith the Master for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bar Ba for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bar abba 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be R. Bon for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be R. Abon So very frequently 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lazar for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eleazar a a a a a a Taanith fol. 68. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 R. Lazar Ben R. Jose b b b b b b Chagigah fol. 78 4. 80. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 R. Lazar Ben Jacob. c c c c c c Kiddushin fol. 60. 2. R. Lazar the Disciple of R. Chajia Rubba Who also are sometimes called by their name not abbreviated d d d d d d Sotah f. 23. R. Eleazar ben Jacob. * * * * * * Ibid. f. 20. 2. R. Eleazar ben Jose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Martha This name of Martha is very frequent in the Talmudick Authors e e e e e e Hieros Schab fol. 3. 4. Isaac bar Samuel bar Martha f f f f f f Bab. Javamoth f. 120. 1. Abba bar Martha the same with Abba bar Minjomi g g g g g g Ibid. cap. 6. hal 4. Joshua ben Gamla married 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Martha the Daughter of Baithus She was a very rich Widow h h h h h h Juchas fol. 57. 2. She is called also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mary the Daughter of Baithus with this story of her i i i i i i Eâ—hah rabbâ—bathi fol. 67. 2. Mary the Daughter of Baithus whom Joshua ben Gamla married he being preferred by the King to the High Priestood She had a mind upon a certain day of expiation to see how her Husband performed his office So they laid Tapestry all along from the door of her own House to the Temple that her foot might not touch the ground R. Eleazar ben R. Zadok saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So let me see the consolation of Israel as I saw her bound to the tails of Arabian Horses by the hair of her head and forced to run from Jerusalem to Lydda I could not but repeat that Versicle the tender and delicate Woman in thee c. Deuter. XXVIII 56. k k k k k k Succah fol. 52. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Martha the Daughter of Baisuth whether Baisuth and Baithus were convertible or whether it was a mistake of the Transcriber let him that thinks fit make the enquiry whose Son was a mighty strong man among the Priests VERS II. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It was Mary which anointed c. THAT is Which had anointed the Lord formerly For I. It is fit the Aorist should have its full force Whoever will not grant this let him give a reason why Bethany which was Lazarus his Town should not be called by his name but said the Town of Mary and her Sister Martha Was it not because those names had been
exercise his power and strength to the utmost of what he either could or would because he knew his Champion Christ was strong enough not only to bear his assaults but to overcome them III. He was to overcome not by his Divine power for how easie a matter were it for an omnipotent God to conquer the most potent created Being but his victory must be obtain'd by his obedience his righteousness and his holiness IV. Here then was the rise of that trouble and agony of Christs soul that he was presently to grapple with the utmost rage of the Devil the Divine power in the mean time suspending its activity and leaving him to manage the conflict with those weapons of obedience and righteousness only It was about this therefore that that petition of our Saviour and the answer from Heaven was concern'd which may be gather'd from what follows ver 31. Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out Now is my soul troubled saith he and what shall I say It is not convenient for me to desire to be saved from this hour for for this very purpose did I come that therefore which I would beg of thee O Father is that thou wouldst glorifie thy name thy promise thy decree against the Devil lest he should boast and insult The answer from Heaven to this prayer is I have already glorify'd my name in that victory thou formerly obtainedst over his temptations in the wilderness and I will glorifie my name again in the victory thou shalt have in this combat also Luk. IV. 13. When the Devil had ended all his temptations he departed from him for a season He went away baffled then but now he returns more insolent and much more to be conquer'd And thus now the third time by a witness and voice from Heaven was the Messiah honoured according to his Kingly office As he had been according to his Priestly office when he enter'd upon his Ministry at his Baptism Mat. III. 17. and according to his Prophetick office when he was declar'd to be him that was to be heard Mat. XVII 5. compared with Deut. XVIII 15. VERS XXXI 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Prince of this world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Prince of this world a sort of phrase much us'd by the Jewish Writers and what they mean by it we may gather from such passages as these l l l l l l Sanbedr fol. 94. 1. When God was about to make Hezekiah the Messiah 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Prince of the world to him O eternal Lord perform the desire of this just one Where the Gloss is The Prince of this world is the Angel into whose hands the whole world is delivered Who this should be the Masters tell out m m m m m m Bemidb. rabâ— fol. 277. 4. When the Law was deliver'd God brought the Angel of death and said unto him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The whole world is in thy power excepting this Nation only the Israelites which I have chosen for my self R. Eliezer the Son of R. Jose the Galilean saith The Angel of death said before the Holy blessed God I am made in the world in vain The Holy blessed God answered and said I have created thee that thou shouldst overlook 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Nations of the world excepting this Nation over which thou hast no power l l l l l l Beresh rabb fol. 86. 4. If the Nations of the world should conspire against Israel the Holy blessed God saith to them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 your Prince could not stand before Jacob c. Now the name of the Angel of Death amongst them is Samael m m m m m m Targ. Jonath in Gen. III. 6. And the Woman saw 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Samael the Angel of death and she was afraid c. The places are infinite where this name occurs amongst the Rabbins and they account him the Prince of the Devils n n n n n n Ellâ—h haddâ—bharin rabba fol. 302. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The wicked Angel Samael is the Prince of all Satans The Angel of death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He who hath the power of death that is the Devil Heb. II. 14. They call indeed Beelzebul the Prince of the Devils Matth. XII but that is under a very peculiar notion as I have shown in that place They conceive it to be Samael that deceived Eve So the Targumist before And so Pirke R. Eliezer o o o o o o Cap. 13. The Serpent what things soever he did and what words soever he uttered he did and uttered all from the suggestion of Samael Some of them conceive that it is he that wrastled with Jacob. Hence that which we have quoted already The Holy blessed God saith to the Nations of the World your Prince could not stand before him Your Prince that is the Prince of the Nations whom the Rabbins talk of as appearing to Jacob 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the shape of Archilatro or a chief Robber And R. Chaninah bar Chama saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he was the Prince of Esau i. e. the Prince of Edom. Now the Prince of Edom was Samael p p p p p p Gloss in Maccoth fol. 12. 1. They have a fiction that the seventy Nations of the world were committed to the government of so many Angels they will hardly allow the Gentiles any good ones which opinion the Greek Version favours in Deut. XXXII 8. When the most high divided the Nations into seventy say they when he separated the Sons of Adam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He set the bounds of the Nations according to the number of the Angels of God Over these Princes they conceive one Monarch above them all and that is Samael the Angel of Death the Arch-Devil Our Saviour therefore speaks after their common way when he calls the Devil the Prince of this World and the meaning of the phrase is made the more plain if we set it in opposition to that Prince whose Kingdom is not of this world that is the Prince of the world to come Consult Heb. II. 5. How far that Prince of the Nations of the world had exercised his tyranny amongst the Gentiles leading them captive into Sin and Perdition needs no explaining Our Saviour therefore observing at this time some of the Greek that is the Gentiles pressing hard to see him he joyfully declares that the time is coming on apace wherein this Prince must be unseated from his throne and tyranny And I when I shall be lifted up upon the cross and by my death shall destroy him who hath the power of Death then will I draw all Nations out of his dominion and power after me VERS XXXIV 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We have heard out of the Law OUT of the Law that is as the phrase is opposed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the words
But read and read again the whole story Act. XIX and there is not a syllable of any wrong that Paul at that time endured in his person VERS XXXVI 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Fool. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 would the Talmudists say Sot mad man g g g g g g Gloss. In Taanith fol. 1â— 1. Rabban Jochanan ben Zaccai answered the Baithuseans denying also the Resurrection of the dead and said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Fools whence did this happen to you c. VERS XLV 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so it is written c. OF the former no doubt is made for it is written Gen. XI 7. But where is the latter Throughout the whole sacred book thence the Jews speak so many things and so great of the Spirit of Messias and of Messias quickning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The last Adam was made a quickning Spirit Job XIX 25. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand in the latter day upon the earth Job seems to me in this place in the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to speak in the same sense with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The last Adam Of the former Adam it was said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return And I know saith Job that my Redeemer liveth and he shall arise from the dust another or a latter and I shall see the Lord made of the same flesh that I am of c. Intimating the Incarnation of the Messiah 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A quickning Spirit The Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters Gen. I. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is the Spirit of King Messias So the Jews speak very frequently And also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Messias shall quicken those that dwell in the dust It cannot be past over without Observation by what authority Paul applies those words of Psal. XCII Thou Lord in the beginning hast founded the earth c. to the Messias Heb. I. 10. to prove his Deity and dignity But thou art deceived O Paul would a Hebrew say These words are to be applied to God the Father not to the Messias The Apostle hath what to reply from the very confession of the Jewish Nation You acknowledge that Spirit which was present at and president over the Creation was the Spirit of the Messias It ought not also be past by without observation that Adam receiving from him the promise of Christ and believing it named his wife Chava that is Life So the Seventy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And Adam called his wives name Life Gen. III. 20. What Is she called life that brought in death But Adam perceived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The last Adam exhibited to him in the Promise to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A quickning Spirit and had brought in a better life of the Soul and at length should bring in a better of the body Hence is that Joh. I. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In him was life VERS XLVII 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The second man is the Lord. GEn. IV. 1. Eve conceived and brought forth Cain and said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have possessed or obtained 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A man the Lord that is That the Lord himself should become man For let me so turn it depending upon these reasons I. That this Interpretation is without any manner of wresting the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yea it is according to its most proper signification and use II. That without doubt Eve had respect to the promise of Christ when she named her son as Adam had respect to the promise in the denomination of Eve VERS LV. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. O death where is thy c. HOs XIII 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Seventy read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where is thy revenge O Death And thus speaks Aben Ezra There are some which invert the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will be as though it were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where And very truly as it is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vers 10. Where is thy King Where the Chaldee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Not I will be thy King but Where is thy King So that the Greek Interpreters and the Apostle after them translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where properly and truly The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Prophet is rendred by the Targumist and the Rabbins to signifie A Word but some as Kimchi acknowledges understand it to signifie The Plague and that upon good ground because the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Destruction is joyned with it as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Destruction and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Plague are joyned together Psal XCI Where see the Targum and R. Solomon and compare the Greek Interpreters with them CHAP. XVI VERS I. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now concerning the Collection for the Saints UNLESS I am much deceived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Jerusalem Writers denotes in the like sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Collection for the wise men They have this story a a a a a a Hoâ—aioth fol. 48. 1. R. Eliezer R. Josua and R. Akiba went up to Chelath of Antioch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Employed in the Collection for the wise Men. One Abba Judah was there who performed the Law with a good Eye Being now reduced to poverty when he saw the Rabbins he was dejected He went home with a sad countenance His wife said to him Why doth thy countenance languish He answered The Rabbins are come and I know not what to do She said to him You have one field left Go and sell half of it and give to them Which he did And when they were departed he went to plow in the half of his field and found a great treasure c. I produce this the more willingly that it may be observed that collections were made among the Jews in forrain Nations for the poor Rabbins dwelling in Judea in the same manner as they were made among Christians in forrain Nations for the poor Jews converted to Christianity in Judea VERS II. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 On the first day of the Week 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the first of the Sabbath would the Talmudists say I. That day was every where celebrated for the Christian Sabbath and which is not to be past over without observing as far as appears from Scripture there is no where any dispute of that matter There was controversie concerning circumcision and other points of the Jewish Religion whether they were to be retained or not retained but no where as we read concerning the changing of the Sabbath There were indeed some Jews converted to the Gospel who as in some other things they retained a smatch of their old Judaism so they did in the observation of days Rom. XIV 5. Gal. IV. 10. but yet not rejecting or neglecting the
to hinder him from the Love of God the Believer hath Sin the World the Flesh the Devil nay Deum Visum iratum God himself when he seems to be angry yet he loves God through all these Whereas Adam fell in the first opposition 3. A Believers obedience is more excellent than Adam did or could perform Adam had no hindrance nay he was not in a condition of passive obedience A Believer obeys through poverty sadness pains nay to death it self Thus Having the Spirit speaks not perfection yet at last brings to perfection in Heaven Adam begun in perfection and grew imperfect Holiness begins and sojourns in imperfection here and ends in perfection hereafter VII Having the Spirit speaks having it for ever XIII Joh. 1. Having loved his own which were in the World he loved them unto the end The falls of them that have the Spirit as for example of Peter of David speaks not the loss of the Spirit nor the weakness of the Spirit but only the Spirits disposing Every sickness is not loss of life so every fall is not the loss of the Spirit I might illustrate this from the Spirits acting in ruling and guiding the course of nature The Spirit as Creator preserves the Universe in its being and order How In that he hath set rules in the course of nature that there should be such seasons such productions such causes to produce such effects that warmth and nearness of the Sun should cause Spring and Summer and so contra And the Spirit sits above all and gives influence So when Nature is inverted that there happen winter-weather in Summer and contra Summer-weather in Winter the Spirit is not departed from his work nor is he become weak but so disposes and that after his own Rule viz. Northern cold winds and rain to breed cold though in Summer thick cloudy air and sky warmth even in Winter So though he fails of the Rule set in regard of the seasons yet not of the Rule set of such causes producing such effects So the Spirit hath set a Rule in Course in the work of Grace that such cause produce such effect that it should be Summer or Winter with the Christian as the Sun of Righteousness is near or far off And in Winter we have not lost the Sun though he be not so near Now when the Course of Grace is inverted and man falls the Spirit is not lost but this is according to the Rule set of causes and effects care of mens ways to produce growth and comfort neglect thereof to produce failings But yet the Spirit is not quite gone from his work VIII Having the Spirit speaks not having the gift of Prophesie As some did not distinguish before concerning the Indowments of the Spirit so do others not distinguish here or at least confound Hence some will say I believe therefore I have the Spirit of prophesie Of all men I believe least they have the Spirit that boast of it But to this I shall only say two things First Did the very holiness of Christs person necessarily indue him with the Spirit of Prophesie If so then what need had he of the gift of the Spirit It is said of John Luke I. 15. That he should be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mothers womb But it is not said so of Christ. Nor was John Baptist filled with the Holy Ghost in that sense Secondly These are of so different natures that one is not the cause of the other 1. The Spirit of Sanctification is only to help our infirmities c. the Spirit of Prophesie not 2. The Spirit of Sanctification is beneficial to the person in order to his Salvation the other not 3. The Spirit of Sanctification only proves good the other may be the occasion of evil S. Pauls revelations were in danger to puff him up 2 Cor. XII 7. Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the Revelations there was given unto me a thorn in the flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet me 4. The Spirit of Sanctification changeth the heart the other not 5. It goeth through the whole soul the other not And thus I have done with the eight Observations I named which may serve as good directions for our understanding what it is to have the Spirit and what is the nature of his operations I might add more As First One may have the Spirit and not know it Secondly One may have a great measure of the Spirit and yet doubt whether he have it at all Thirdly The Spirit is not had upon courtesie of mans will but by the over-powering of Gods grace Fourthly The chief way of the working of the Spirit is to work Faith and Love and to build up Christians by Faith and Love A SERMON PREACHED AT S. MARIES Cambridge June 24. 1660. 1 COR. XIV 26. How is it then Brethren When ye come together every one of you hath a Psalm hath a Doctrine hath a Tongue hath a Revelation hath an Interpretation let all things be done to edifying THE last time I spoke of one abuse in the Publick Assembly of this Church of Corinth and that was misjudging and misreceiving the Holy Sacrament Here in the Text is another disorder and confusedness in the exercise of the Publick Ministry from what arising uncertain but certainly ending in non-edification as the Apostle intimates by the conclusion of the verse Such confusion indeed in their business that we know not where to find them and indeed the Chapter is very hard very hard either to find out what it was they did or what it is the Apostle would have them do or whence proceeded that enormity that he doth correct We will inquire after it the best we can and keep as near as we can to the words of the Text. In it are three parts I. What to do in a certain case How is it then Brethren II. The case propounded When ye come together every one of you hath a Psalm hath a Doctrine a Tongue hath a Revelation hath an Interpretation III. The Determination given Let all things be done to edifying I. What to do in a certain case 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a School-phrase and if I be not much deceived the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a word used infinitely in the Talmud and in Tanchum of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word occurs a thousand times It means most commonly What is to be done in this case or May such a thing be done Either will serve here Every one hath a Psalm hath a Doctrine hath a Tongue c. What is to be done in this case Or may we do thus and keep to this Custom The Apostle resolves the case in the end of the Verse Let all things be done to edifying And so vers 15. compared with vers 14. If I pray in an unknown Tongue my spirit prayeth but my understanding is unfruitful And then comes on 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What is
He preserves indeed man and beast as the Psalmist tells us and so he is preserved as beasts are preserved But he owns not God in his preservation no more than they A man that rightly owns his dependence upon God commits himself to God by prayer beseeching him to take him to his care and charge Thus the Saints of God have ever put themselves under his wings I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be feared and so shall I be saved from mine enemies This was Davids way to be in safety and preservation continually And it is according to Gods direction Psal. L. 15. Call upon me in the time of trouble and I will deliver thee So Jacob commits himself to Gods protection when he is going for Syria by prayer and a vow Gen. XXVIII 20. If God will be with me and keep me in the way that I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on c. And such another copy you have of Jabez 1 Chron. IV. 9. And Jabez called upon the Lord God of Israel saying O that thou wouldst bless me indeed and inlarg my coast and that thine hand might be with me and that thou wouldst keep me from evil that it may not grieve me And God granted him that which he requested This is the way to engage God to our preservation when we thus cast our selves upon him and implore his care of us II. They that own their dependence upon God for preservation and protection put thâ—mselves under his protection in the way of his protection Do you think that Gods mâ—rciful protâ—â—â—â—on dwells every where and that a man may promise himself to meet with it every where in an Idol Temple a Whorehouse leud company He that walks in a wicked course of life can he expect Gods merciful providence will meet with him here The Apostle tells us how to put our selves under Gods protection 1 Pet. IV. 19. to commit the keeping of our souls to him in well doing And David long before Psal. XXXVII 3. Do good and verily thou shalt be fâ—d Keep in his ways and he will keep thee be doing his work and he will take care of thee But canst thou expect his protection and care when thou art in the ways of the Devil and doing the work of the Devil A Christian should alway be doing of that as that he may lawfully and warrantably beg Gods blessing upon him while he is doing it Joyn prayer and well doing together and thou art sure to speed well III. He that owns his dependence upon God aims that his preservation be to the service of him that preserves him As he owns that he lives upon God so he aims to live to him This use of Gods preserving providence Jacob aimed at Gen. XXVIII 21. If God will be with me and keep me in this way c. so that I come again to my Fathers house in peace then shall the Lord be my God And David Psal. CXVI 8 9. For thou hast delivered my soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living And it pinched Job that he should any way have failed of it Job VII 20. I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O! thou preserver of men Hast thou preserved me and do I sin against thee contrary to the end I should have aimed at under thy preservation Reason and the very light of nature may argue to such a purpose that in all equity and justice he that is maintained by God should be serviceable to God We look for service of our servants and beasts and all the reason in the World God should have it from Men. IV. He that owns his dependence upon God observes Gods constant preserving providence and counts nothing in preserving providence small No sin is to be accounted little because it is against a great God and no good providence is little because it is exercised towards sinful men A true owner of his dependence upon God looks upon Gods preserving mercy towards him through this double multiplying glass his own brittleness and his own unworthiness that God should preserve a thing so brittle and so ill deserving And thus I have considered the end of this offering viz. To be an acknowledgment to God of their dependence on him for their lives and to implore his care and good providence towards them for their preservation Now in the second place we come to consider II. The quantity of this sum Half a shekel What But half a shekel for the best man in Israel Why The price of a servant was thirty whole shekels and is the rate of the best freeman in Israel but at a poor half shekel Exod. XXI 32. If an Ox push a man servant or maid servant that they die the owner of the Ox must give to their Master thirty shekels of silver for the price or value of his servant he had lost And so our Saviour was sold at the price of a servant viz. thirty pieces of silver a poor price to value him at and you may think it not a rich price to value the best man of Israel but at half a shekel when the poorest servant was valued at thirty whole ones Do you not observe the difference That was the price of a Servant twixt man and man this the rate of men twixt Man and God A servant might well be worth thirty shekels to his Master as being able to be profitable to him But what can poor sinful man be profitable to God Even an Ox or an Asse may be of a good handsom price twixt man and man because they may be profitable to man but what can man be profitable to God It is Eliphaz question Job XXII 2. Can a man be profitable to God as a wise man may be profitable to himself You find oft in Scripture mention of the Children of Belial the word signifies Unprofitable but it means an Idol a God that cannot profit and whom it is no profit to serve Our God is not such he is not an unprofitable Master it is profit to serve him but when we have done all we can we have cause to say We are unprofitable If we should be valued by God according as we can be profitable to God as we value our cattel according as they are profitable to us at what rate should he set us At a grain of dust and a dram of ashes at a puff of vapour and a blast of wind at the rate of a moth and the price of a worm at the value of nothing and lighter than vanity this is the proper weight we carry upon the ballance if we be weighed as we are indeed in our selves Therefore never complain that God rates men so low as but half a shekel wonder rather that he rates or values them so high nay that he sets any value upon them at all For Lord what is man that thou
shews they are hard set when they must make Caiaphas a copy after whom to write the Infallibility of their Papal chair But they gazed so much upon the chair when they wrote this Note that they clean looked off the Book and Text they had before them For had they looked well upon that that would have given them a more proper reason of his prophesying and indeed the proper reason of it namely not so much because he was High Priest as because he was High Priest that year This he spake not of himself but being High Priest that year High Priest that year Why He had been High Priest several years before So Luke tells us Chap. III. that he was High Priest when Christ was baptized three years and an half ago and Josephus tells us as much and more and of his being High Priest after this year also And therefore why that circumstance added He was High Priest that year To speak the proper reason of his prophesying First I might say That was the year nay even the hour of the last gasp of the High Priesthood It prophesied and instantly breathed out its last There is much dispute upon those words of Paul Act. XXIII 5. which our English renders I wist not Brethren that he was the High Priest If I should render it I knew not that there is an High Priest I am sure it hath warrant enough of the Original Greek and warrant enough of the truth of the thing it self Did not the High Priesthood dye and cease and was no more when the great High Priest of Souls died and by death made expiation for his people If you will allow the other Priesthood and the employment of it to live still after the death of Christ and his sacrifice offered by the eternal Spirit till the fall of Jerusalem and dissolution of the Temple yet can you find nothing that the High Priest had then to do that it should survive any longer after Christ was sacrificed The other Priesthood had something to do besides what was most plainly typical in it and referred to the death of Christ as sacrificing and sprinkling of blood did For they had to offer the first fruits of the people for their Thankfulness to purifie women after child-birth to present the first born to the Lord c. But the distinctive work of the High Priest in diversity from the other Priesthood was on the day of Expiation to go within the Vail into the most holy place with blood and make an Attonement Which when Christ had done through the Vail of his flesh through his own blood as the Apostle tells us Heb. X. 20. what had the High Priesthood to do any more To this peculiarly related that which occurred at the death of the great High Priest Matth. XXVII 15. The vail of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom Which when you come narrowly to examine you will find to be the vail that hung between the holy and most holy place Which the Jews in their writings call by a Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This was the vail that the High Priest turned aside as we do hangings at a door to go into the room And he went into the most holy place only once a year But now it is rent in pieces no such distinction or separation thenceforward to be had and no such work of the High Priest to be done any more So that if we take these words of Paul to the sense I mentioned viz. I knew not Brethren that there is now any High Priest or any High Priesthood at all that Function is long ago laid in the dust it was spoken like a Paul boldly and as one that very well understood and could well distinguish twixt substance and shadow and how long those Ordinances of that Oeconomy were to last and when to decay And if accordingly we take that circumstance in the Text He prophesied as being High Priest that year in the sense I mentioned namely that last year of the being and life of the High Priesthood it gives a story not much unlike that of the son of King Crâ—sus Who when he had been dumb from the birth and never spake word at last seeing in a battel an enemy ready to run his Father through he forced his Tongue so as that he broke the string of silence and cryed out O man do not kill Croesus So the High Priesthood having been dumb from Prophesying for above four hundred years together and never spoken one Prophetick word when now the King is ready to be slain its Tongue is loosed in Caiaphas and prophesieth of the Redemption of all the Israel of God and presently expireth But Secondly That year was the great year of pouring down the Spirit of Prophesie and Revelation as in Act. II. the great year of sealing Vision and Prophesie as in Dan. IX And then it is the less wonder if this dog get some crumbs that fell from that plentiful table of the children and some droppings from that abundant dew that fell upon the Fleece of Gedeon Something like the case of Eldad and Medad but they were better men Numb XI 26. that in that great pouring out of the Spirit there had their share though they were not in the company of those that were assembled at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation And thus was the case with Caiaphas as it was with Balaam that wretch inspired till then by the Devil but then by God Who went purposely to curse Israel but God so overpowered and turned the stream that he could not but bless them So this wretch inspired with malice from the Devil to plot and compass the death of Christ is now also inspired by the Spirit of Prophesie to foretel his death and to proclaim it Redemption to his people A very strange passage that while he was sinning against the Holy Ghost he prophesied by the Holy Ghost and that in those very words that he spake against Christ to destroy him he should prophesie of Christs death and Redemption to magnifie it So can the Spirit of God overpower the Hearts and Tongues and actions of Men to serve the design of his own glory And this is that that I shall speak to I might observe obiter how great diversity there is twixt the Spirit of Prophesie and Revelation and the Spirit of grace and holiness The same Spirit indeed is the Author of both but there is so much diversity in the thing wrought that a Balaam a Caiaphas have the Spirit of Prophesie who are as far from having the Spirit of Sanctification as the East is from the West Hell from Heaven A mistake hath taken the Spirits of too many to account this good Language and Divinity I am a believer converted sanctified therefore I have the Spirit of Revelation and I can preach and expound Scripture by that Spirit little considering the vast diversity of the gift of Prophesie
understanding immortal substance that is not extinguished by sin nor cannot be by any thing And so when God forbids Murther he doth it with this argument That he that kills a Man destroys one that carries the image of God And yet then the likeness of God in Man Holiness and Righteousness was utterly gone but the image of God in these essential constitutives in soul were still remaining in him Upon that saying of God Whoso sheddeth Mans blood by Man shall his blood be shed for in the image of God made he Man if any Man question Is this meant of every Man in the world Can any doubt it Unless the Murther of some Men were allowed though of others forbidden Upon the very same argument we may urge the love of every man to every man because in the Image of God he created him And if thou canst find any man without the Image of God in his Soul then hate him and spare not But then it will further be Objected Then by this Argument I should love the Devil for he was created in the Image of Cod that is He is a spiritual intellectual immortal substance as well as any mans Soul I Answer He is so indeed but these two things make now the vast difference First He is in a sinful estate utterly irrecoverable And so we cannot say of any soul in the world The Apostle saith of the Angels that fell That God cast them down into Hell upon their Fall 2 Pet. II. They are damned already irrecoverably but you cannot say of any soul in the World absolutely that it cannot be saved Whether all Souls in the World be salvabiles in a savable condition we shall not dispute nor whence their salvability comes if it be so But certainly you and I nor no Man in the world can say of any Man that he cannot be saved True we may truly and justly say that if he continue and dye in such and such sins and wicked courses he cannot be saved But of his soul considered in its bare essence we cannot say so Nay we must pray for his Salvation This then is that that beautifies a Soul and makes it lovely and upon which we are to love every Man because he hath a soul capable of enjoying God and Salvation Shall I hate any Mans soul It may be united to God Hate any Mans body It may be a Temple of the Holy Ghost any Mans Person He may be an Inheritor of Eternal Glory Scorn not poor Joseph for all his rags and imprisonment he may come to sit upon a Throne Despise not poor Lazarus for all his Sores and Tatters he may be carried by Angels into Abraham ' s bosom Secondly Christ dyed for Souls he dyed not for Devils And this is no small demonstration of the Excellency and preciousness of a Soul viz. That the Son of God himself would dye for it It is therefore the Apostles Argument once and again Offend not him for whom Christ dyed Destroy not him for whom Christ dyed Rom. XIV 1 Cor. VIII Darest thou hate him for whom Christ dyed Darest thou wrong him for whom the Son of God would shed his blood A SERMON PREACHED upon GENESIS III. 20. And Adam called his Wives name Eve because she was the Mother of all living ADAMS story is all wonder Dust so raised to become so brave a Creature that Bravery so soon lost so soon repaired and so hughly repaired to a better condition That he is sensible of in the Text therefore he calls his Wives name Eve because Mother to all living He had named her quoad sexum as to her sex Chap. II. 23. Now he gives her another name of distinction Then she was called Woman because she was taken out of Man Now Eve because all living were to come out of her Adam shewed Wisdom in naming the Beasts here he shews that and more viz. Faith and sense of his better Estate She was rather the Mother of Death having done that that brought death into the world but he sensible of a better life to come in by her calls her Eve Life as the word signifies Lay this to that in Joh. I. 4. In him was life speaking of Christ and the life was the light of men Eve was the Mother of all living viz. of Christ and all that live by him So that hence I make this Observation That Adam and Eve believed and obtained life For the proof of this let us view their story I. God saith I will put enmity between thee and the Woman and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel vers 15. Satan had accompanied with them till this Promise came He keeps to them to chear them he perswaded them to hide themselves from the presence of the Lord. But now she sets him at defyance She sees her error The Serpent saith she deceived me grows at enmity with him having now a surer comfort promised to rely upon II. God clothed them with skins vers 21. Which is an evidence that they sacrificed For they had no need of slaying Beasts for any other purpose Flesh they might not eat They were slain for sacrifice and their skins served for clothing Thus Body and Soul were provided for And in these Sacrifices they looked after Christ and saw him in figure The first death in the world was Christs dying in figure Noah knew clean and unclean Beasts and sacrificed This undoubtedly he had learned from the beginning III. Observe that Luk. I. 70. As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets which have been since the world began Hinting that from the very beginning of the world there were Prophets of the Messias Thus Adam was a Prophet of Christ and prophesied of him in the name of Eve signifying life And Eve prophesied of him in the name of Cain Gen. IV. 1. She conceived and bare Cain and said I have gotten a man from the Lord Or I have begotten a man the Lord as the words may be rendred And in the name Seth Gen. IV. 25. She bare a Son and called his name Seth For God saith she hath appointed me another seed IV. The promise of the Messiah was not given to a Castaway It was given to Abraham and David and others that were righteous men V. Religion began to be planted by Adam Cain and Abel brought Sacrifice to God Which shews that Religion had been planted before VI. Christ prevailed against the Serpent from the beginning and had a seed The Church began with Adam Else what confusion would there have been in the world VII The Sabbath was given from the beginning and Adam kept it VIII All Gods dealings with him were to forward Faith in him Such were his Cursing the ground his expelling him out of Eden his enjoyning him Sacrifice and the Sabbath IX Adam is ranked with holy ones Gen. V. These things laid together may be sufficient to prove that Adam and Eve believed
himself to be a jealous God visiting the sins of Idolaters II. A second passage is that about the battel at Gibeah Judg. XX. concerning which let us first take up the words of Deborah Chap. V. 8. For though the history of that war is set many Chapters after the story of Deborah yet was it a great while before her as might be shewed by many evidences if I would stand upon it They chose new gods saith she then was war in the gates Was there a sheild or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel No sooner Idolatry but vengeance no sooner new gods but war in the gates and war with a witness that destroyed forty thousand of Israel and above twenty thousand of Benjamin She speaks but of forty thousand that perished as if no sheild or spear had been among them all whereas in all there fell sixty five thousand But she hints the sad slaughter of Israel which was sent by God and encouraged by him to go against Benjamin and yet when they went to battel they fell forty thousand Strange to be sent by God and yet miscarry to be encouraged by God and yet fall Oh they had chosen new gods and thence this miscarriage The Tribe of Dan had set up Idolatry and all Israel quiet and stir not against it and so become partakers of it But when a Whore hath some unhansom and hard usage at Gibeah then all Israel is suddenly up in arms to revenge her quarrel Zeal for a Whore to revenge her quarrel against Gibeah but not zeal for the Lord to revenge his quarrel against Idolatry And therefore God takes the cause into his own hand and shews himself a jealous God against Idolatry and caused forty thousand to fall in battel though he had sent and encouraged them to it III. A third passage let be that which yet comes more near the Text nay seems not only to come up to it but to go beyond it and that is Exod. XXXII 34. where after the sin of the golden Calf and the Levites slaying three thousand men yet God still hath some anger in store for that sin and saith Nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them When The Jews say That in every scourge and judgment that came upon them there was a remembrance and a lash for the golden Calf And S. Stephen speaks no less or more in Act. VII 41 42. They made a Calf in those days and offered sacrifice unto the Idol c. Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of Heaven c. This speaks God a jealous God against Idolatry and seems to speak that he visits the sins of the Fathers upon the children beyond the third and fourth generation succeeding To which thing we shall speak in course in handling of the words To which now we are come II. Then visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children c. All the question and scruple about the thing is Quo jure Where is Gods justice in this to visit the sins of him that sinned upon him that sinneth not sins of the fathers upon the children who probably were never witting or assenting to the Fathers sin It is Gods strict commandment to men Deut. XXIV 16. The fathers shall not be put to death for the children neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers but every man shall be put to death for his own sin And doth not he go contrary to that rule himself when he visits the sins of the fathers upon the children And it is his proclaiming again Ezek. XVIII 4. Behold all souls are mine as the soul of the father so also the soul of the son is mine the soul that sinneth it shall dye And doth he not warp from that assertion when children are punished for the sins of their Fathers That God should impute the sin of Adam to all his posterity hath been cavilled at in antient times by some Hereticks and in these later some are not well satisfied about the matter and cannot or will not see how God is just in it Visiting sins unto the third and fourth generation sounds something harsh this far more visiting the sin of the first Father upon all generations Shall he condemn millions of millions for the fault they never committed charge upon them the crime they never consented to I shall not stay my discourse upon this The answer is ready in Adam was all mankind in his Covenant was enwrapped all humane nature and the violation of that Covenant was the sin and guilt of whole humane nature But we shall speak to other kind of examples that come nearer to the sense of the words before us And these are of two sorts viz. in reference to the body or outward condition or to the soul or inward First Was not that hard measure as you may think that when Corah Dathan and Abiram the Parents only had sinned that not only they should go down quick into the pit but their houses also and all that appertained to them Numb XVI 32. The like that when Achan only was in the transgression that his sons and daughters and his very cattel should be put to death as well as he Josh. VII 24. Secondly Seems it not hard measure that when that generation at the building of Babel had only sinned against God in that design for setting up Idolatry that not only they should be given up to Idolatry and blindness but the Heathen their posterity to scores of generations The like that when that generation only had sinned in murthering Christ not only they should bear the guilt of his blood but their posterity through so many ages For the unfolding of Gods dealings in these things particularly let me first move this general consideration What care Parents had need to take that they sin not so as to leave sin and guilt and a curse upon their children and posterity Among their cares to leave them well as the word in the world goes i. e. rich to be sure to take this care that while they leave them well they leave them not ill Sin not for thy childrens sake that they smart not for thy faults when thou art gone I mention two sins particularly that may draw misery and entail a curse upon the posterity cursing their children and unconscionably scraping a cursed estate together to leave to their children Now to assert the Justice of God in this case of visiting the iniquity of the fathers c. either for these sins or others whereas it seems a wrong to the children Consider these things I. It is most just with God to punish wicked men in their dearest delights that judgment may come home to them to the quick to take away the delight of their Eyes and Heart that punishment may make them smart in the tenderest part And when Parents are so fond of that part of themselves their children that they will venture soul and body
them Have you not sinned wilfully since you receiv'd the knowledge of the Gospel in your private deportment Or go to the great ones or to them in power dignity and estate and ask them have you not sinned wilfully since you receiv'd the knowledge of the truth in your publick imployment I cannot say what every one or any one may answer but I am sure the fairest way and upon the justest reason for every one to answer were as t is Job VII 20. I have sinned what shall I do to thee O preserver of men I have sinned wilfully what shall I do to thee O thou giver of the Gospel The word the Apostle useth here is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in the best and nearest propriety signifies willingly and so it shreds a lapful of gourds the more into the pot of pottage to make it the more bitter For though some conscience may contend to secure it self against the accusation of sinning wilfully yet who can say but he hath sinned willingly since he received the knowledge of the Gospel and that many a time over The allay shall I say or the smartness of this word is best to be judged by the contrary word which the Greek Interpreters used in the case of Moses we have alledged What he speaks of sinning ignorantly they render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sinning unwillingly and so they oppose unwilling sinning and pâ—esumptuous sinning one against the other And answerably the Apostle using the word but doth most directly oppose unwilling 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that doth most directly oppose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he sheweth plainly that he takes it in the same direct opposition namely to signifie sinning wilfully or presumptuously But what is this particular sin that he doth intend What is that sinning wilfully with him that with our Apostle is a sin unto death Guess it by the story of those times which shews it plain enough that I may not spend more time than is needful about the discovery of it Our Saviour in the end of his parable of the unclean spirit cast out of a man and walking in dry places and because he could find no rest there returning to the place whence he came out with seven other spirits worse than himself and dwelling there hath this sad cadence Even so shall it be also to this wicked generation Matth. XII 45. Ah! unhappy generation the Devil cast out and returning again absent a while himself but returning with seven other Devils worse than himself how great how sad an apostasie doth this intimate in the Jewish Nation from the Gospel which had cast out the unclean spirit for a while from among them Such an Apostasie very deadly and general from the Gospel after they had received the knowledge of it and so evidently recorded in the Apostles Epistles that I need not to recite it and so copiously that I should but tire you with citing places Take but these two or three Gal. I. 6. The Apostle intimates that they were removed and soon removed from him that called them into the grace of Christ. II Tim. I. 15. All Asia which once had been all for Paul were now departed from him II Pet. II. 22. It was happened to some according to the Proverb The Dog is returned to his vomit Such instances are numerous But this was not all The cast out Devil did not only return but seven worse Devils returned with him They did not only Apostatise from the Gospel they had professed but became bitter enemies and persecutors of the Gospel from which they Apostatized This cursed root of gall and wormwood did sprout forth into Hell as cursed branches fruits of Sodom direct revolting to their old Judaism or downright falling into Nicolaitisme the one gainsaying liberty of the Gospel the other turning it into Libertinism The one an enemy to the Gospel because of its Spiritualness the other because of its Holiness The Jewish Nation were so doting upon their Ceremonies and formal manner of Religion and Worship that as you find all along the story of those times in the Acts of the Apostles and their Epistles the unbelieving Jews cried down the Gospel and were bitter enemies to it because it cried down their Ceremonies And many and many of those that had believed Apostatized from it upon the same dotage and became as bitter nay if possible more bitter enemies against them than the other The Nicolaitans stumbled at another block interpreting the liberty of the Gospel and they fell into all loosness and uncleanness to eat things sacrificed to Idols and to commit Fornication and they became as horrid enemies to the Gospel as the other because it taught and perswaded a better course These things lie so clear in Scripture to be observed that I should do but a needless work to insist on them Thus whereas that was a happy wonder of Paul Gal. I. 23. That he now preached the Gospel which he once destroied the contrary is an unhappy monster with these men they now destroy the Gospel which they once professed and it is not unlikely what some of them preached Instances of this are little less copious than the other I shall offer you but two the one foretelling that such a thing should be and the other telling that such a thing was come to pass Act. XX. 29 30. This I know that after my departure shall grievous Wolves enter in among you spoiling the flock Also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things c. To which this ecchoes I Joh. II. 18. Little children it is the last time And as ye have heard that Antichrist should come even so now are their many Antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time They went out from us c. They went out from us There is their Apostasie from the Gospel They are Antichrists there is their enmity against it And by the way learn from the Apostle there how to construe the last times which Phrase occurs so frequently viz. for the last times of the Jewish State and City And I must crave leave to understand that passage concerning the man of sin in II Thes. II. of these very persons and of those very times I read the Romish Antichrist in the Revelations in great Letters but truly I can read none but the Jewish Antichrist in this place This then more peculiarly is the sin our Apostle meaneth here and the Apostle Paul in that place of the Epistle to the Hebrews that I cited as might be shewed out of that and this Epistle if it were needful but I suppose that is not much needful since the thing speaks it self and it is so plain that there could not be a more deadly sin and there was not a more horrid sin in those times than such horrid Apostasie and such horrid enmity Every presumptuous sin in the Text was cited in Moses was a sin unto death in the sense that the Jewish Nation understood a
True indeed the Adults that were baptized confessed their sins but this restrains not baptism to them alone because there are several ends of it applicable to those that know not especially that in the next particular As to the second That Baptism belongs to none but such as are in the Covenant and that it is a seal of our righteousness This phrase is fetched from IV. Rom. 11. And he received the sign of circumcision a seal of the righteousness of the Faith Which place is expounded to mean a seal of the persons righteousness that receives it But to examine this place 1. It is said to be a sign now a sign is to help unbelief and to confirm doctrine Exod. IV. Moses miracles there mentioned were to be signs to make the Israelites believe his message 1 Cor. XIV 22. Tongues are for a sign not to them that believe but to them that believe not And to that purpose is that of our Saviour Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe 2. The Doctrines there delivered are well worth such a Confirmation namely first That a sinner upon his believing in Christ becomes righteous this is the greatest truth Secondly That he becomes righteous by another this was a wonder to the Jews Thirdly That it is by a better righteousness than Adams Fourthly That it is by a righteousness infinite viz. A righteousness that outvies condemning righteousness and that very same righteousness that God gives to Christ. So that the meaning of those words the sign of circumcision a seal of the righteousness of the Faith is that it was a Seal to confirm that great Doctrine So Sacraments are to Seal the truth of God He hath put to his Seal in the Sacrament as a Seal to a Dead confirms the truth of it So that Circumcision is a Seal of the same truth to Esau Judas c. else it loses its nature which is to confirm Gods truth And so the Sacraments are Seals of Gods truth Baptism seals that truth that washing by the blood of Christ cleanseth us from our sins So that though children know not what baptism means yet it hath this nature III. They were all baptized unto Moses i. e. unto his discipline They were circumcised unto God viz. unto true religion Now they are baptized into Moses that is into his Way Baptism is to enter us into the true profession Matth. XXVIII 19. Baptizing them in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost that is into the profession of the true God So in the Name of Jesus that is into his belief and religion Hence also Infants are capable of Baptism as it is a distinctive body that marks us out for Christians And therefore we are said to be all baptized into one body 1 Cor. XII 13. So the children of Israel were circumoised though they were born Israelites that they might be marked for Gods people As to the fourth observable in the Text baptized in the Cloud and in the Sea I cannot now insist on that The Conclusion is that we retain this Sacrament without doubting It carries its warrant in its institution and in its own nature I will leave two directions with you I. Rest not in a negative Religion only II. Let the practise of the Church have authority with you A SERMON PREACHED AT S. MARIES Cambridge Febr. 24. 1655 6. LUKE XI 2. When ye pray say Our Father which art in Heaven THE words are our Saviours And they are a sweet condescention to a pious request in the verse before where Christ praying publickly as it seems among his Disciples one affected with it prays Lord teach us to pray Where was this Disciple at the Sermon in the Mount Matth. VI. 9. where Christ had taught them to pray Was he absent or had he forgot Or did he not rightly understand However it was Christ yields to his request and gives the same directions again here as he had done there There it is After this manner pray ye Here When ye pray say In the Text are two things contained The one is Christs giving a Platform of prayer When ye pray say The other is The form given Our Father which art in Heaven c. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 When leaves us not at liberty but commands us and is of the same import with another saying of our Saviour when he instituted his holy Supper As oft as ye do this do it in remembrance of me Out of the former I Observe two things I. That we had need to pray II. That we had need to be taught to pray Two truths confirmed by three witnesses John this Disciple and Christ. Ask John why he taught his Disciples to pray he will answer these two things viz. because they had need to pray and because they had need to be taught to pray Ask the Disciple why he asked Christ to teach him to pray he will answer so Ask Christ why he taught his Disciples to pray he will answer so also As there are many Comments on these subjects so there is as copious handling them So that I shall not handle them at large but speak to them in a few illustrations and so pass to insist rather on the second viz. The Form it self I. That we had need to pray And that first because of our Duty Secondly Because of our Wants In regard of what we owe to God and in regard of what we expect from him These both draw and drive us Accordingly the Lords Prayer consists of two general parts first we pray in adoration to his Name Kingdom Will in the three first petitions and then for our wants in the last I shall not now speak how Prayer is Adoration of God nor how it is commanded by Scripture on that account I shall only at present shew First That it is a duty and that we had need pray because of our Duty And for ◠that purpose observe 1. It is a Duty written in nature That in Gen. IV. ult Then began men to call upon the Name of the Lord however understood shews it from the beginning Hence the Heathen prayed though they mistook in the manner of praying Matth. VI. 7. 2. It is a Duty for every man and woman in the World to perform All flesh come to thee LXV Psal. 2. And Psal. CL. ult Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. T is a Duty due upon our creature-ship It is the Duty of the holiest men Psal. XXXII 6. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee And of the wickedest also even Magus was to pray to God Act. VIII 22. It is so a Duty for the holiest that it lay upon Adam in innocency It lay upon Christ in the Flesh he prayed both because of his Duty and because of his wants V. Heb. 7. Who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save