but never think or speak of them with the least Delight or Satisfaction for this in God's Account is a new Commission of them and lays under an Additional Guilt 62 Now the next day that followed the day of the preparation the chief Priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate 63 Saying Sir we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive After three days I will rise again 64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say unto the people he is risen from the dead so the last errour shall be worse than the first 65 Pilate said unto them Ye have a watch go your way make it as sure as you can 66 So they went and made the sepulchre sure sealing the stone and setting a watch This last Paragraph of the Chapter acquaints us with the Endeavours that the Murtherers of Christ used to prevent his foretold Resurrection They ask and obtain of Pilate that his Sepulchre may be strongly guarded till the Third Day was past and over when probably they intended to have exposed his dead Body to the view of the People and accordingly a threefold Guard is set about the Grave the Stone the Seal and the Watch concluding that Christ was safe enough either for rising or stealing The Stone making the Grave sure the Seal making the Stone sure and the Watch or Band of Soldiers making all sure The Stone being sealed with the publick Seal no Person might meddle with it upon pain of Death Where Note 1. The wonderful Wisdom the over-ruling Power and Providence of God by this excessive Care and extraordinary Diligence the High Priests hoped to prevent our Saviour's Resurrection but the Truth and Belief of it was hereby confirmed to all the World How much Evidence had Christ's Resurrection wanted if the High Priests and Elders had not been thus maliciously industrious to prevent his rising Learn 2. That the Endeavours used to obstruct our Lord's Resurrection have render'd it more certain and undoubted had not all this Care and Caution been used by his Enemies the Grounds of our Faith had not been so strong so evident and so clear It was very happy that the Jews were thus jealous and suspicious thus careful and distrustful for otherwise the World had never received so full and perfect an Evidence of Christ's Resurrection as now whereon all our Comfort and Salvation doth depend Verily their solicitous Care to suppress our Redeemer's Resurrection has render'd it more conspicuous and freed it from all Suspicion of Forgery CHAP. XXVIII This last Chapter of St. Matthew contains the History of our Saviour's Resurrection and gives us an Account of what he did on Earth between the time of his Triumphant Resurrection and his Glorious Ascension 1 IN the end of the sabbath as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre The Lord of Life was buried upon the Friday in the Evening of that Day on which he was crucified and his holy Body rested in the silent Grave the next Day and a part of the Morning the Day following Thus he arose again the Third Day neither sooner nor later not sooner lest the Truth of his Death should have been question'd that he did not die at all and not later lest the Faith of his Disciples should have fail'd And accordingly when the Sabbath was past and it dawned towards the first Day of the Week in the Morning very early before Day Mary Magdalen and other devout Women go to visit the holy Sepulchre intending with their Spices and Odours farther to imbalm our Lord's Body But Observe Altho' the Hearts of these good Women did burn with an Ardent Love and Zeal to their Crucified Lord yet the commanded Duties of the Sabbath are not omitted by them they stay till the Sabbath is ended and then early in the Morning they go with Odours in their Hands to perfume his Sacred Corps fearing neither the Darkness of the Night nor the Presence of the Watchmen How great a Tribute of Respect and Honour is due and payable to these Women for their Magnanimity and Courage They follow'd Christ when his Disciples left him they accompanied him to his Cross and follow'd his Hearse to the Grave when none of his Disciples durst appear Learn hence That Courage is the special and peculiar Gift of God and where God gives Courage it is not in Man to make afraid 2 And behold there was a great earthquake for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it 3 His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men Observe here 1. With what Pomp and Triumph doth our Lord arise The Earth that quaked before at his Crucifixion quakes now again at his Resurrection it quak'd then at the Dissolution now at the Reunion of his Humane Nature to tell the World that the God of Nature then suffer'd and now conquer'd Observe 2. How an Angel is imploy'd in Christ's Resurrection He rolls away the Stone But could not Christ have risen then without the Angel's Help Yes sure he that raised himself surely could have removed the Stone But God thinks fit to send an Officer from Heaven to open the Prison Door of the Grave and by setting our Surety at Liberty proclaims our Debt to the Divine Justice fully satisfied Besides it was fit that the Angels who had been Witnesses of our Saviour's Passion should also be Witnesses of his Resurrection Observe 3. How unable the Keepers of the Grave were to bear the Sight and Presence of the Angel they shake for Fear and became as dead Men. Angels being pure and perfect Spirits Man is not able to bear the Sight of an Angel no not in Humane Shape without Terror and Affrightment and if the Sight of an Angel be so dreadful what is the Sight of God himself 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women Fear not ye for I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified 6 He is not here for he is risen as he said come see the place where the Lord lay 7 And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead and behold he goeth before you into Galilee there shall ye see him lo I have told you Observe here 1. Our Lord's Resurrection asserted and declar'd He is risen God never intended that the darling of his Soul should be lost in an obscure Sepulchre he is not here says the Angel that is in the Grave where you laid him where you left him Death has lost its Prey and the Grave has lost her Guest Observe 2. It is not said He is not here for he is raised but he is risen The Word imports the active Power of
their Sins and his Sociable Disposition Loosness and Luxury Learn hence 1. That the faithful and zealous Ministers of GOD let their Temper and Converse be what it will cannot please the Enemies of Religion and the Haters of the Power of Godliness neither John's Austerity nor Christ's Familiarity would gain upon the Pharisees It is our Duty in the Course of our Ministry to seek to please all Men for their Good But after all our Endeavours to please all we shall please but very few but if God and Conscience be of the Number of those Few we are Safe and Happy Obs 2. That it has been the old Policy of the Devil that he might hinder the Success of the Gospel to fill the Minds of Persons with an Invincible Prejudice against the Ministers and Dispensers of the Gospel Obs 3. That after all the Scandalous Reproaches cast upon Religion and the Ministers of it such as are Wisdom's Children wise and good Men will justifie Religion that is Approve it in their Judgments Honour it in their Discourses and Adorn it in their Lives Wisdom is justified of her Children 20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done because they repented not 21 Wo unto thee Chorazin wo unto thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes 22 But I say unto you It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you Our Saviour having gone thro' the Cities of Galilee Preaching the Doctrine of Repentance and Confirming his Doctrine with Miracles and finding multitudes after all his Endeavours remaining in their Impenitency he proceeds to upbraid them severely for that their Contempt of Gospel-Grace Then began he to upbraid the Cities c. Where Observe 1. The Cities upbraided Chorazin Bethsaida and Capernaum in their Pulpits he daily Preacht and those Places were the Theatres upon which his Miracles were wrought other Cities only heard these saw but where he Preached most he Prevailed least Like some Fisher-men he catcht least in his own Pond Obs 2. What he upbraids them for not for Disrespect to his Person but for Disobedience to his Doctrine Because they repented not The great Design of Christ both in the Doctrine which he preached and in the Miracles which he wrought was to bring Men to Repentance that is to forsake their Sins and Live well Obs 3. Whom he upbraids them with Tyre and Sidon Sodom and Gomorrah Nations rude and barbarous out of the Pale of the Church ignorant of a Saviour and of the Way of Salvation by him Therefore instead of Wooing them he denounces Woes against them Learn That the higher a People rise under the Means the lower they fall if they miscarry They that have been nearest to Conversion and yet not converted shall have the greatest Condemnation when they are judged Capernaum's Sentence shall exceed Sodom's for Severity because she exceeded Sodom in the Enjoyment of Means and Mercy 23 And thou Capernaum which art exalted unto heaven shalt be brought down to hell for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day This City lying under greater Guilt than the rest Christ names it by it self without the rest nay he doth not only name it but notifie it as being lifted up to Heaven by Signal Favours and Priviledges namely Christ's Presence Chnst's Preaching and Miracles Obs 1. Capernaum's Priviledge injoyed tho' a poor obsecure Place in it self yet she was by the Person Ministry and Miracles of Christ lifted up to Heaven Learn thence That Gospel-Ordinances and Church-Priviledges enjoyed are a mighty Honour and Advancement to the poorest Persons and obscurest Places Obs 2. An heavy Doom denounced Thou shalt be brought down to Hell that is thy Condition shall be as sad as that of the worst of Men for thy Non-proficiency under the Means injoyed Learn thence That Gospel-Ordinances and Church-Priviledges injoyed but not improved provoke Almighty God to inflict the sorest of Judgments upon a People Thou Capernaum exalted to Heaven shalt be brought down to Hell 24 But I say unto you That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee Observe here 1. That there shall be a Day of Judgment 2. That in the Day of Judgment some Sinners shall fare worse than others there are Degrees of Punishment among the Damned 3. That the worst of Heathens who never heard of a Saviour nor ever had an Offer of Salvation by him shall fare better in the Day of Judgment than those that continue impenitent under the Gospel CHRIST here avouches that Capernaum's Sentence shall exceed Sodom's for Severity 25 At that time Jesus answered and said I thank thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes 26 Even so Father for so it seemed good in thy sight In these Verses our Saviour glorifies his Father for the wise and free Dispensation of his Gospel-Grace to the meanest and most ignorant whilst the Great and Learned Men of the World undervalued and despised it Learn 1. That till GOD reveals himself his Nature and Will no Man can know either what he is or what he requires Thou hast revealed 2. That the Wise Men of the World have in all Ages despised the Mysteries of the Gospel and have therefore been Judicially given up by GOD to their own wilful Blindness Thou hast hid these things from the Wise and Prudent 3. That the most Ignorant and most Humble not the most Learned and most Proud do stand ready to receive and embrace the Gospel-Revelation Thou hast revealed them unto Babes 4. That this is no less pleasing to Christ than it is the Pleasure of the Father Even so Father as it seemed good in thy sight As if Christ had said Father thy Election and Choice pleases me as being the Choice and Good Pleasure of thy Wisdom 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father and no man knoweth the Son but the Father neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him In this Verse our Saviour opens his Commission and declares 1. His Authority that all Power is committed to Him as Mediator from God the Father 2. His Office to reveal his Father's Mind and Will to a Lost World No Man knoweth the Father but the Son That is the Essence and Nature of the Father the Will and Counsel of the Father only as the Son reveals them Learn That all our Saving Knowledge of God is in and thro' Jesus Christ he as the Great Prophet of his Church reveals the Mind and Will of GOD unto us for our Salvation and no Saving Knowledge without him 28 Come unto me all ye
A true sense of Want either Bodily or Spiritual will cause a Soul to cry to Christ with earnestness and importunity Observe 3. The great Compassion and Condescension of Christ towards this blind Man he stood still he called him and enlightned his Eyes 4. Before Christ would restore the blind Man to sight he must sensibly complain of the want of sight and cry unto him for it Christ knows all his Creatures Wants but takes no notice of them till they make them known to him by Prayer Observe 5. How much Christ magnifies Faith what he attributes to it and how he rewards the least Exercise of it Jesus said thy faith hath saved thee Christ himself was the efficient Cause of the blind mans Healing but he exerted this Divine Power upon the Exercise of the blind Mans Faith and accordingly says Thy Faith hath saved thee 6. Note in what way and manner the Blind Man doth express his Thankfulness to Christ for his recovered Sight he followed him glorifying God Mercy received from Christ is then well Improved when it engages us to follow Christ this should be the Effect of all Salvations wrought for us he praiseth God best that serveth him most the Life of Thankfulness consists in the Thankfulness of the Life CHAP. XIX 1 AND Jesus entered and passed through Jericho 2 And behold there was a man named Zacheus which was the chief among the Publicans and he was rich This History which relates the Calling and Conversion of Zacheus the Publican is ushered in with a Note of Wonder Behold there was a man named Zacheus It is both great and good News to hear of a Soul Converted unto God especially such a remarkable Sinner as Zacheus was for 1. he was by Profession a Publican a Calling that carried Extortion in its Face and bad defiance to his Conversion yet behold from the Toll Booth is Zacheus called to be a Disciple and Matthew an Apostle such is the Freeness of Divine Grace that it often calls the greatest sinners and Triumphs in their powerful Conversion 2. He was a Chief Publican and probably one of the chief of Sinners yet behold him among the chief of Saints Lord What Penitent need despair of thy Mercy when he sees a Publican nay the chief of Publicans gone to Heaven 3. It is added as a farther Circumstance That he was Rich his Trade was not a greater obstacle to his Conversion than his Wealth not that there is any malignity in Riches considered in themselves but they become a snare through the Corruption of our Natures Zacheus had not been so famous a Convert if he had not been Rich if more Difficulty yet was there more Glory in the Conversion of rich Zacheus To all these might be added a fourth Circumstance namely that Zacheus was Converted in his old Age after a long Habit of sin contracted Such instances tho' few has God left upon Record in Scripture Abraham and Manasses in the Old Testament Zacheus and Paul in the New 3 And he ran before and sought to see Jesus who he was and could not for the Press because he was little of stature 4 And he climbed up into a Sycamore Tree to see him for he was to pass that way Zacheus desired to see Jesus this was a sight that few rich Men desire to see the sight of Cesar's Face upon their Coyn is more pleasing to them then to see the Face of Christ in his Ordinances yet it was not Faith but Fancy and Curiosity that made Zacheus climb the Sycamore to see Jesus but the Curiosity of the Eye gave occasion for the belief of the Heart he that desires to see Jesus is in the way to enjoy him 't is good to be near the place where Christ is whatever Principle bring us thither 5 And when Jesus came to the place he looked up and saw him and said unto him Zacheus make haste and come down for to day I must abide at thy House 6 And he made haste and came down and received him joyfully What an instance is here of Christ's preventing Grace and Mercy Zacheus climbs up into the Sycamore to see Jesus Jesus first sees him little did Zacheus think that Jesus should cast up his Eyes to him Christ's Looks are Converting Looks there went a Divine Power along with them to change the Heart of him whom he look'd upon he that could heal a Disease by the Hem of his Garment could change an Heart with the glance of his Eye Observe farther Christ doth not only Note but Name Zacheus He bids him come down for he must abide at his house What a sweet Familiarity was here tho' the distance be infinitely great betwixt our Saviour and our selves yet he treats us not with a Majestick Stateliness but with a gracious Affability Some Note That Zacheus was the first Man we read of to whose House Christ invited himself Observe Lastly With what speed Zacheus hastens down and with what Alacrity he entertains our Saviour Curiosity carried him up but Love brings him down and he entertains Christ joyfully but alas it was but for a few Hours Lord How great is the Happiness of that Man that Receives and Entertains thee not for a Day or a Year or for Millions of Years but for Everlasting Ages Oh let us welcome thee into our Hearts by Faith whilst we are here on Earth and then thou wilt make us welcome with thy self Everlastingly in thy Kingdom 7 And when they saw it they all murmured saying That he was gone to be a Guest with a Man that is a sinner That is the Pharisees who were there were highly discontented that Christ went to a Publican's House whom they look'd upon as the worst of Men their Eye was Evil because Christ's was good Whither should the Physician go but to the Sick the whole need him not 8 And Zacheus stood and said unto the Lord Behold Lord half of my Goods I give to the poor and if I have taken any thing from any Man by false accusation I restore him four-fold Two things are here Observable the greatness of his Charity and the justness of his Restitution As to his Charity Observe 1. The freeness of it not I lend but I give 2. The readiness of it not I will but I do give 3. The justness and honesty of it my Goods not my Spoyls what is my own and not rent from others by Rapine or Extortion 4. The largeness and extensiveness of this Charity half of my Goods not an inconsiderable pittance 5. The fitness of his Charity to the Poor not to the rich not to his rich Heirs but to his poor Neighbours Again as his Charity was large so his Restitution was just as he gave half to the Poor so he Restored fourfold to the wronged What an evidence was here of a true Penitent Confession and Satisfaction are both found with him 9 And Jesus said unto him This day is Salvation come unto this house forasmuch as
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell Obs here the following Particulars 1. An unwarrantable Fear condemned and that is the sinful servile slavish Fear of impotent Man Fear not him that can kill the Body 2. An holy awful and prudential Fear of the Omnipotent God commended Fear him that is able to kill both Body and Soul 3. The Persons that this Duty of Fear is recommended to and bound upon Christ's own Disciples yea his Ministers and Ambassadors they both may and ought to fear him not only for his Greatness and Goodness but upon the account of his Punitive Justice as Being able to cast both Soul and Body into Hell Such a Fear is not only Lawful but Laudable not only commendable but commanded and well becomes the Servants of God themselves 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbred 31 Fear ye not therefore ye are of more value than many sparrows Obs here 1. The Doctrine which our Saviour Preaches to his Disciples and that is the Doctrine of Divine Providence which concerns it self for the meanest Creatures even the Birds of the Air and the Hairs of our Heads do fall within the compass of God's Protecting Care 2. Here is the Use which our Saviour makes of this Doctrine namely to fortifie the Spirits of his Disciples against all distrustful Fears and distracting Cares Learn That the Consideration of the Divine Care and Gracious Providence of GOD over us and ours ought to antidote our Spirits against all distrustful Fears whatsoever If an Hair from the Head falls not to the Ground without a Providence much less shall the Head it self if the very Excrements of the Body such are the Hair be taken Care of by God surely the more noble Parts of the Body and especially the noblest Part of our selves our Souls shall fall under his particular Regard 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven Obs here 1. That not to confess Christ in his Account is to deny him and to deny him is to be ashamed of him 2. That whosoever shall deny disown or be ashamed of Christ either in his Person in his Gospel or in his Members for any Fear or Favour of Man shall with Shame be disowned and eternally rejected by Him at the Dreadful Judgment of the Great Day CHRIST may be Denied three ways Doctrinally by an Erroneous and Heretical Judgment Verbally by Oral Expressions Vitally by a Wicked and Unholy Life But Wo to that Soul that denies CHRIST any of these Ways 34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth I came not to send peace but a sword 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter in law against her mother in law 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own houshold We must distinguish here betwixt the Intentional Aim of Christ's Coming and the Accidental Event of it His Intentional Aim was to propagate and promote Peace in the World but thro' the Corruption of Man's Nature the Accidental Event of his Coming is War and Division Not that these are the genuine and natural Fruits of the Gospel but Occasional and Accidental only Note That the Preaching of the Gospel and setting up the Kingdom of Christ in the World tho' it be not the Natural Cause yet it is the Accidental Occasion of all that War and Tumult of all that Distraction and Confusion which the World abounds with 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me 38 And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it Our Saviour by these Expressions doth not condemn Natural Love and Affection either to our Relations or our own Lives but only regulates and directs it and shews that our first and chief Love must be bestowed upon Himself We may have tender and relenting Affections towards our dear Relations but then the Consideration of CHRIST's Truth and Religion must take Place of these nay of Life it self nay when these come in Competition we are to regard them no more than if they were the Objects of our Hatred Luk. 14.26 If a Man hate not his Father c. Learn hence That all the Disciples of Christ should be ready and willing whenever God calls them to it to quit all their Temporal Interests and Enjoyments even Life it self and to submit to any Temporal Inconvenience even Death it self And all this willingly chearfully and patiently rather than disown their Relation to Christ and quit the Profession of his Truth and Religion 2. That such as for Secular Interest and the Preservation of Temporal Life do renounce their Profession of Christ and his Religion they do not only greatly hazard their Temporal Life but expose their Eternal Life to the greatest Danger He that findeth his Life shall lose it c. 40 He that receiveth you receiveth me and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward Here in the close of the Chapter our Blessed Saviour encourages his Apostles to Faithfulness in their Office by assuring them that he should reckon and esteem all the Kindness shewn to them as done unto himself And to encourage the World to be kind to his Disciples and Ministers he assures them that even a Cup of cold Water should meet with a liberal Reward How cold is their Charity who deny a Cup of cold Water to the Ministers and Disciples of Christ Learn 1. That there is some special and eminent Reward due to the Faithful Prophets of GOD above other Men. 2. That he that shall entertain a Prophet and do any good Office for him under that Name that is for his Office-sake shall be Partaker of that Reward 3. That the least Office of Love and Respect of Kindness and Charity which we shew to any of the Ministers or Members of Jesus Christ for his sake Christ accounts it as done unto himself and it shall be rewarded by himself CHAP. XI 1 AND it came to pass
the Preciousness of it but for the Abundance of it a little doth not make a Treasure And also for the Continuance of it tho' it be perpetually overflowing in the Life yet doth the Heart continue full this Treasure of Original Corruption in Man's Nature it may be drawn low in this Life by Sanctifying Grace but it can never be drawn dry 2. Here is a Good Treasure of Grace discovered in a Sanctified and Renewed Man which is the Source and Spring from whence all Gracious Actions do proceed and flow For as the Heart of Man by Nature is the Fountain from whence all Sin springs so the Heart renewed by Grace is the Source and Spring from whence all Gracious Actions do proceed and flow 36 But I say unto you That every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment There are Two Sorts of Words for which we must be Judged Sinful Words and Idle Words Sinful Words are Blasphemous Words Censorious Words Lying and Slandering Words Idle Words are such as favour nothing of Wisdom or Piety that have no tendency to make Men either Wiser or Better How light soever Men make of their Words now yet in GOD's Balance another Day they will be found to weigh very heavy 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned Observe here The Argument which our Saviour uses to move us to Watchfulness over our Words By our Words we shall be justified not Meritoriously but Declaratively Good Words declare Goodness in our selves and we shall be declared Good to others by our Words if our Words and Actions do correspond and agree with one another Death and Life are in the Power of the Tongue That is according to the right or wrong Using of the Tongue we may judge and gather whether Men are Dead or Alive as to God and bound for Heaven or Hell 38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered saying Master we would see a sign from thee 39 But he answered and said to them An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth 41 The men of Niniveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonas and behold a greater than Jonas is here 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it for she came from the uttermost parts of earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold a greater than Solomon is here Observe here 1. The Request which the Pharisees make to Christ Master we would see a Sign from thee But had not Christ shewed them signs enough already What were all the Miracles wrought in their sight but convincing Signs that he was the true Messias but Infidelity mixt with Obstinacy is never satisfied Obs 2. Our Saviour's Answer to the Pharisees Request he tells them that they should have one Sign more to wit that of his Resurrection from the Dead For as Jonas lay buried Three Days in the Whale's Belly and was then wonderfully restored So should and did our Saviour continue in the Grave part of Three Natural Days and then rise again Obs 3. How CHRIST declares the Inexcusableness of their State who would not be convinced by the former Miracles he had wrought that he was the true Messiah nor yet be brought to Believe in him by this last Sign or Miracle of his Resurrection The Ninivites shall condemn the Pharisees They repented at the Preaching of Jonas but these would not be convinced by the Preaching and Miracles of JESUS The Queen of Sheba also who came from the South to hear and admire the Wisdom of Solomon shall rise up in Judgment against those that reject CHRIST who is the Wisdom of the Father and the Doctrine delivered by him which was the Power of God and the Wisdom of God Learn That the Sins of Infidelity and Impenitency are exceedingly heightned and their Guilt aggravated from the Means afforded by God to bring a People to Faith and Obedience The Sin of the Pharisees in Rejecting Christ's Miracles and Ministry was by far greater than that of the Ninevites had they rejected Jonas his Message and Ministry sent by God amongst them 43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man he walketh through dry places seeking rest and findeth none 44 Then he saith I will return into my house from whence I came out and when he is come he findeth it empty swept and garnished 45 Then goeth he and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation The Design and Scope of this Parable is to shew that the Pharisees by rejecting the Gospel and refusing to Believe in Christ were in a seven-fold worse Condition than if the Gospel had never been Preacht to them and a Saviour had never came among them because by our Saviour's Ministry Satan was in some sort cast out But for rejecting Christ and his Grace Satan had got a seven-fold stronger Possession of them now than before From this Parable Learn 1. That Satan is an Unclean Spirit he has lost his Original Purity his Holy Nature in which he was created and is become universally filthy in himself no Means being allowed him by God for the purging of his filthy and unclean Nature Nay he is a perfect Enemy to Purity and Holiness maligning all that love it and would promote it 2. That Satan is a restless and unquiet Spirit being cast out of Heaven he can rest no where when he is either gone out of a Man thro' Policy or cast out of a Man by Power he has no Content or Satisfaction till he returns into a filthy Heart where he delights to be as the Swine in miry places 3. That wicked and prophane Sinners have this unclean Spirit dwelling in them their Hearts are Satan's House and Habitation and the Lusts of Pride and Unbelief Malice and Revenge Envy and Hypocrisie these are the Garnishings of Satan's House Man's Heart was God's House by Creation 't is now Satan's by Usurpation and Judiciary Tradition 4. That Satan by the Preaching of the Gospel may seem to go out of Persons and they become sober and civilized yet may he return to his old Habitation And the last end of that Man may be worse than the beginning 46 While he yet talked to the people behold his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak with him 47 Then one said unto him Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand
And they had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas 17 Therefore when they were gathered together Pilate said unto them Whom will ye that I release unto you Barabbas or Jesus which is called Christ 18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him Now at the Feast that is at the Feast of the Passover which by way of Eminency is called the Feast the Governour used to release a Prisoner possibly by way of Memorial of their Deliverance out of Egypt accordingly Pilate makes a Motion to them that Christ may be the Prisoner set at Liberty in Honour of their Feast for he was sensible that what they did was out of Envy and Malice As Covetousness sold Christ so Envy deliver'd him Envy is a killing and murthering Passion Envy slayeth the silly one Job 5.2 That is it slays the silly Person who harbours this pestilent Lust in his Bosom and is like a Fire in his Bones continually preying upon him causing him to pine away and dye miserably because another lives happily To envy another Man's Prosperity is an Argument of the worst Simplicity Yea farther as Envy slayeth the silly one so it prompts and provokes the Sinner to seek the slaying of simple and innocent ones Envy wishes the envied Person out of the way yea out of the World and if need be will not only wish it but lend a lift towards it too Witness the Chief Priests here whose Envy was so conspicuous that Pilate himself takes notice of it and says He knew that for Envy they had delivered him 19 When he was set down on the judgment-seat his wife sent unto him saying Have thou nothing to do with that just man for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him There are several sorts or kinds of Dreams Natural Moral Diabolical and Divine The Question is what kind of Dream this was Not Natural all agree some think it was Diabolical and that Satan hoped thereby to prevent the Work of Man's Redemption by the Death of Christ But if so why had not Pilate the Dream rather than his Wife Probably this Dream was from God for even our very Dreams are order'd by God our sleeping as well as our waking times are in God's Hand Learn hence How wonderfully the Wisdom and Power of God is seen in this Woman's Testimony which she gave to the Innocency of our Saviour When all his Disciples were fled from him when none of his Friends durst speak a Word for him God raises up a Woman a Stranger a Pagan to give Evidence of his Innocency And it is Observable That at our Saviour's Trial not one Mouth was opened to plead or speak a Word for him in Defence of Innocency it self but only Pilate's and his Wife 's they both pronounce him Righteous tho' they were Gentiles and Pagans whilst his own Kindred and Countrymen the Jews thirst after his Righteous and Innocent Blood 20 But the chief priests and elders perswaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus 21 The governour answered and said unto them Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you They said Barabbas 22 Pilate said unto them What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ They all say unto him Let him be crucified 23 And the governour said Why what evil hath he done but they cried out the more saying Let him be crucified Observe here 1. How exceedingly unwilling and averse Pilate was to be the Instrument of our Saviour's Death one while he bids the Jews take him themselves and judge him according to their Law Another while he offers to save Christ in Honour of their Feast when by Custom he was to release a Prisoner and this Prisoner he desired might be Jesus When this would not satisfie he expostulates with them about our Saviour's Innocency what Evil has he done Nay St. Luke says Ch. 23. That Pilate came forth three times and professed that he found no Fault in him Yet tho' Pilate was satisfied the Jews would not be deny'd Thence Learn That wicked Men and Hypocrites within the visible Church may be guilty of such Tremendous Acts of Wickedness as the Conscience of Infidels and Pagans without the Church may boggle at and protest against Pilate a Pagan absolves Christ whilst hypocritical Jews which had heard his Doctrine and seen his Miracles do condemn him But Obs 2. Who influenced the main Body of the Jews to desire Barabbas and to destroy Jesus It was the chief Priests and Elders they perswaded the Multitude Wo to the People when their Guides and Leaders are corrupt for then they shall be tempted by wicked Counsel And wo unto them much more if they follow their wicked and pernicious Counsels Thus did the Jews follow their Guides the chief Priests till they had preserv'd Barabbas and destroy'd Jesus 24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing but that rather a tumult was made he took water and washed his hands before the multitude saying I am innocent of the blood of this just person see ye to it Two Things are here Observable in Pilate's washing of his Hands 1. By this Action he pronounces our Saviour's Innocency and was willing thereby to testifie his own that he did not consent to our Saviour's Death washing the Hands being an usual Ceremony in Protestation of a Person 's Innocency But 2. It was great Folly and Fondness in Pilate to think that washing of his Hands did or could free him from the Guilt of innocent Blood Oh Pilate thou hadst need rub hard if thou meanest to scoure from thy Soul the Guilt of that Crimson Sin which thou hast committed thy Guilt cleaves so close unto thee that nothing can expiate it but the Blood which thou hast spilt neither was it any Excuse of Pilate's Sin that what he did was to please the People and to gratifie their Importunity It is a fond Apology for Sins when Persons pretend that they were not committed with their own Consent but at others Instigation and Importunity 25 Then answered all the people and said His blood be on us and on our children That is Let the Guilt and Punishment of this Blood rest upon us and our Posterity A most horrid and impious Imprecation the dreadful Effects of it began to come upon them Forty Years after in the Destruction of Jerusalem and has rested and remained upon their Posterity to this Day near Seventeen Hundred Years the Jews being Vagabonds over the Earth abhorred by all Nations wheresoever they come This ought to be a Terror and 〈◊〉 Warning to all Persons that they avoid all cursed Imprecations and wicked Wishes upon themselves or others Wo to such as wish Damnation to themselves Pox and Plague upon others how if God says Amen and ratifie in Heaven thy cursed Imprecations made on Earth as he did this of the wicked Jews His Blood be on us and on our Children Yet what they with a wicked Mind
yet such weak Christians perhaps when a Trial comes shall stand their Ground when stronger run away We read of none of the Apostles at Christ's Funeral Fear had chased them away tho' they profess'd a Readiness to die with Christ But Joseph and Nicodemus appear boldly for him Let it be a Caution to strong Christians neither to glory in themselves nor to glory over the weak If God desert the strong and assist the weak the feeble shall be as David and the strong as Tow. Obs 3. The Mourners that followed the Hearse namely the Women that follow'd him out of Galilee and particularly the Two Maries a very poor Train of Mourners a few sorrowful Women Others are attended to their Graves by their Relations and Friends but Christ's Disciples were all scattered and afraid to own him either dying or dead Our Blessed Lord affected no Pomp or Gallantry in his Life and it was no ways suitable either to the End or Manner of his Death Humiliation was designed in his Death and his Burial was the lowest degree of his Humiliation Obs 4. The Grave or Sepulchre in which they buried him it was in a Garden As by the Sin of the first Adam we were driven out of the Garden of Pleasure the Earthly Paradice so by the Sufferings of the second Adam who lay buried in a Garden we may hope for an Entrance into the Heavenly Paradice It was in a Sepulchre hew'd out of a Rock that so his Enemies might have no Occasion to cavil and say that his Disciples stole him away by secret Holes or unseen Passages under Ground And it was in a new Sepulchre in which never any Man was laid lest his Adversaries should say it was some other that was risen or that he rose from the Dead by touching some other Corps Obs 5. The Manner of our Lord's Funeral hastily openly decently It was done in haste by reason of the Streights of Time the Preparation for the Passover caused them to be very expeditious the Sabbath was approaching and they lay all Business aside to prepare for that Learn thence How much it is our Duty to dispatch our Worldly Business as early as we can towards the end of the Week that we may be the better prepared to sanctifie the Lord's Day if we live to enjoy it We ought to remember that Day before it come and to sanctifie it when it is come Again our Lord was buried openly as well as hastily all Persons had Liberty to be Spectators that none might object there was any Fraud or Deceit used in or about his Burial He was also interr'd decently his Body wrapt in fine Linnen and perfum'd with Odours according to the Jewish Custom which used not to unbowel but embalm their Dead Obs 6. The Reason why our Lord was buried seeing he was to rise again in as short a time as other Men lye by the Walls and had his dead Body remain'd a Thousand Years unburied it could have seen no Corruption having never been tainted with Sin Sin is the Cause of the Body's Corruption 't is Sin that makes our Body stink worse than Carrion when they are dead A Funeral then was not necessary for Christ's Body upon the same Accounts that it is necessary for ours But 1. He was buried to declare the Certainty of his Death and the Reality of his Resurrection and for this Reason did God's Providence order it that he should be embalm'd to cut off all Pretensions For in this kind of embalming his Mouth his Ears and his Nostrils were all fill'd with Spices and Odours so that there could be no Latent Principle of Life in him being thus buried then declares him to be certainly dead 2. He was buried to fulfill the Types and Prophecies that went before concerning him Jonas being Three Days and Three Nights in the Belly of the Whale was a Type of Christ's being Three Days and Three Nights in the Heart of the Earth and the Prophet Esay 53.9 had declar'd the manner of his Funeral long before he was born He made his Grave with the Wicked and with the Rich in his Death Pointing by that Expression at this Tomb of Joseph's who was a rich Man and the Scriptures cannot be broken 3. He was buried to compleat his Humiliation They have brought me to the Dust of Death says David a Type of Christ This was the lowest Step he could possibly descend in his abased state lower he could not be laid and so low his blessed Head must be laid else he had not been humbled to the lowest 4. He went into the Grave that he might conquer Death in its own Territories and Dominions Christ's Victory over the Grave causes his Saints to triumph and sing Oh Grave where is thy Destruction Our blessed Lord has perfum'd the Bed of the Grave by his own lying in it so that a Pillow of Down is not so soft to a Believer's Head as a Pillow of Dust Observe Lastly what Use the Doctrine of our Lord's Burial may be unto us 1. For Instruction here we see the amazing Depths of our Lord's Humiliation From what to what his Love brought him even from the Bosom of his Father to the Bosom of the Grave Now the Depth of his Humiliation shews us the Fulness and Sufficiency of his Satisfaction as well as the Heinousness of our Transgression 2. For Consolation against the Fears of Death and the Grave The Grave received Christ but could not retain him Death swallow'd him up as the Fish did Jonas but quickly vomitted him up again so shall it fare with Christ mystical as it did with Christ Personal the Grave could not long keep him it shall not for ever keep us as his Body rested in Hope so shall ours also and tho' they see Corruption which he did not yet shall they not always lye under the Power of Corruption In a Word Christ's lying in the Grave has chang'd and alter'd the Nature of the Grave it was a Prison before a Bed of Rest now a loathsome Grave before a perfumed Bed now He whose Head is in Heaven need not fear to put his Foot into the Grave Awake and sing thou that dwellest in the Dust for the Enmity of the Grave is slain by Christ 3. For Imitation let us study and endeavour to be buried with Christ in respect of our Sins I mean Rom. 6.4 Buried with him into Death Our Sins should be as a dead Body in several Respects Are dead Bodies removed out of the Society of Men so should our Sins be removed far from us Do dead Bodies in the Grave spend and consume away by little and little So should our Sins daily Will dead Bodies grow every Day more and more loathsome to others So should our Sins be to our selves Do dead Bodies wax out of Memory and are quite forgotten So should our Sins in respect of any Delight that we take in remembring of them We should always remember our Sins to our Humiliation
Knowledge within themselves but communicate it to others and imploy it for the Good and Benefit of others Obs 2. The Cautionary Direction given by Christ to his Disciples To take heed how they hear the Word Such as would profit by hearing of the Word must diligently attend to the Matter of the Doctrine which they hear and also to the manner how they hear Such is the Majesty and Authority of the Person that speaks to us in the Word such is the Sublimity and Spirituality of the Matter and so great is our Danger if we miscarry under the Word that it nearly concerns us to take heed both what we hear and how we hear Obs 3. The Argument which our Saviour makes use of to quicken his Disciples to communicate the Knowledge and improve the Grace they had received for the Good and Benefit of others To him that hath shall be given That is Such as improve their Spiritual Gifts shall have them encreased such as improve them not shall have them blasted Learn hence That the best Course we can take to encrease and thrive in Grace is to exercise and improve it He that hides his Talent doth not only forfeit it but is in danger of being punished severely for the Non-improvement of it 26 And he said So is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed into the ground 27 And should sleep and rise night and day and the seed should spring and grow up he knoweth not how 28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of her self first the blade then the ear after that the full corn in the ear 29 But when the fruit is brought forth immediately he puteth in the sickle because the harvest is come This Parable of our Saviour's is an instructive Lesson to the Ministers of the Gospel faithfully to do their Parts in sowing the Seed of the Word amongst their People and then not to be over-solicitous about the Event but to leave the Issue to God nor to be discouraged tho' the Fruit of their Labour doth not presently appear Accordingly Christ propounds the laborious Husbandman to his Minister's Imitation As the Husbandman when he has prudently and painfully cast his Seed into the Ground is not Anxiously disquieted but goes to Bed and rests in hope and at length the Corn springs up first the Blade next the Ear then the Grain In like manner let the Ministers of God do their Duty without Discouragement In the Morning sow their Seed and in the Evening not withhold their Hand And altho' the Seed sowen doth not appear presently it may be not in our Days but seems rotten among the Clods yet may it appear afterwards with a plentiful Encrease when our own Heads are laid among the Clods verifying that Saying of our Saviour One soweth and another reapeth Learn hence 1. That the Ministry of the Word is the ordinary the necessary and the principal Means which God has appointed for sowing the Seeds of Grace in the Hearts of his People So is the Kingdom of God as if a Man should cast Seed into the Ground 2. That the Virtue and Efficacy of the Word preached doth not depend upon the Parts of a Man but upon the Power of God The Seed springeth up he knoweth not how Learn 3. That the Word of God sincerely preached may be successful tho' it be not presently successful the Seed sown in one Minister's Days may spring up in another's Happy we if as God's Husbandmen we be imployed in Plowing Sowing or Reaping our Lord will reward us Secundum laborem non fructum Not according to our Success but according to our Endeavours The Care and Endeavour is ours but the Blessing and Success is God's 30 And he said Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God or with what comparison shall we compare it 31 It is like a grain of mustard-seed which when it is sown in the earth is less than all the seeds that be in the earth 32 But when it is sown it groweth up and becometh greater than all herbs and shooteth out great branches so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it 33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them as they were able to hear it 34 But without a parable spake he not unto them and when they were alone he expounded all things to his disciples The Design of our Saviour in this Parable is to shew how the Gospel Church from small and little from unlikely and contemptible Beginnings should spread and encrease fructifie and grow up like as Mustard-Seed one of the smallest of Grains grows up to a considerable Tallness Even so Christ foretels that the Gospel should spread and encrease Nations and Countries becoming Christian Hence Learn That how small Beginnings soever the Gospel had in its first Plantation yet by the fructifying Blessing of God it has had and shall have a wonderful Encrease 35 And the same day when the even was come he saith unto them Let us pass over unto the other side 36 And when they had sent away the multitude they took him even as he was in the ship and there were also with him other little ships 37 And there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow and they awake him and say unto him Master carest thou not that we perish 39 And he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea Peace be still and the wind ceased and there was a great calm 40 And he said unto them Why are ye so fearful how is it that you have no faith 41 And they feared exceedingly and said one to another What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him Observe here 1. Our Saviour and his Disciples no sooner put forth to Sea but Dangers attend and Difficulties do accompany them a Tempest arose and that Ship was covered with Waves which Christ himself was in with his Disciples Learn thence That the Presence of Christ it self doth not exempt his Disciples and Followers from Trouble and Danger Here is a great Tempest about the Disciples Ears tho' Christ himself was in their Company Obs 2. The Posture our Saviour was in when this Tempest arose he being wearied with the Labours of the Day was laid down upon a Pillow to sleep at Night thereby shewing himself to be truly and really Man and that as he took upon him our Humane Nature so he assumed the Infirmities of our Nature also as Weariness and Pain Hunger and Thirst Obs 3. The Disciples Application made to Christ they awake him with a sad outcry Master carest thou not that we perish Here was Faith mixt with Humane Frailty They believed that he could save them but being asleep they conclude he must be awaked before they can be saved by him whereas tho' his Humane
Jewish Doctors Obstinacy and Unbelief filled their minds with an invincible prejudice against Christ so that neither the Miracles wrought by him in his Life or at his Death could convince them that Christ was any thing better than an Impostor and Deceiver None are so blind as those who through malicious obstinacy and inveterate prejudice will not see Observe 3. Who of Christ's Friends were witness of his Death they are the Women that followed him and ministred unto him not one of his dear Disciples dare come near him except St. John who stood by the Cross with the Virgin Mary Oh! what a shame was this for the Apostles to be absent from a Spectacle upon which the Salvation of the whole World did depend and what an honour was this to the Female Sex in general and to these holy Women in particular that they had the Courage to follow Christ to his Cross when all his Disciples forsook him and fled God can make timerous and fearful Women bold and couragious Confessors of his Truth and fortify them against the fears of his Suffering contrary to the natural timerousness of their Temper these Women wait upon Christ's Cross when Apostles fligh and durst not come nigh it 42 And now when the Even was come because it was the preparation that is the day before the Sabbath 43 Joseph of Arimathea an Honourable Counsellor which also waited for the Kingdom of God came and went in boldly unto Pilate and craved the Body of Jesus 44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead and calling unto him the Centurion he asked him whither he had been any while dead 45 And when he knew it of the Centurion he gave the Body to Joseph 46 And he brought fine Linnen and took him down and wrapped him in Linnen and laid him in a Sepulchre which was hewn out of a Rock and rolled a stone unto the door of the Sepulchre 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Joses beheld where he was laid The Circumstances of our Lord's Funeral and Honourable Interment in the Grave are here Recorded by the Evangelist such a Funeral as never was since Graves were first digged Where Observe 1. Our Lord's Body must be Begg'd before it could be Bury'd the dead Bodies of Malefactors being in the Power and at the Disposal of the Judge Pilate grants it and accordingly the dead Body is taken down wrapped in fine Linnen and prepared for the Sepulchre Observe 2. The Person that bestows this Honourable Buryal upon our Saviour Joseph of Arimathea a Disciple no doubt though he did not make a publick and open Profession a Worthy though a Close Disciple Grace doth not always make a publick and open shew where it is as there is much Secret Riches in the Bowels of the Earth which no Eye ever saw so there is much Grace in the Hearts of some Christians that the Eye of the World takes little Notice of Some gracious Persons cannot put forward and discover themselves in Discourse as others and yet such weak Christians as the World counts them perhaps shall stand their Ground when stronger run away We read of none of the Apostles at Christ's Funeral fear had Chased them away but Joseph of Arimathea appears boldly if God strengthen the Weak and leave the strong to the prevalency of their own Fears The weak shall be as David and the strong as Tow. Observe 3. The Mourners that followed our Saviour's Hearse Namely the Women which came out of Galilee and particularly the two Mary's a very poor train of Mourners the Apostles were all scattered and afraid to own their Lord and Master either Dying or Dead And as our Lord affected no Pomp nor Gallantry in his Life so Funeral Pomp had been no way suitable either to the End or Manner of his Death Humiliation was designed in his death and his Buryal was the lowest Degree of his Humiliation and therefore might not be Pompous Observe 4. The Grave or Sepulchre in which our Lord was Buryed it was in a Sepulchre hewn out of a Rock in a new Sepulchre in a new Sepulchre in a Garden 1. Our Lord was Buryed in a Garden As by the sin of the first Adam we were driven out of the Garden of Pleasure the Earthly Paradise so by the Sufferings of the Second Adam who lay Buryed in a Garden we may hope for Entrance into the Heavenly Paradise 2. It was in a Sepulchre hewn out of a Rock that so his Enemies might have no occasion to cavil and say that his Disciples stole him away by secret holes or un seen passages under Ground 3. It was in a new Sepulchre in which never any Man was laid lest his Adversaries should say it was some other that was Risen who was Buryed there before him or that he Arose from the Dead by touching some other Corpse Observe 5. The Manner of our Lord's Funeral it was hasty open and decent it was performed in haste by reason of the streights of Time the Sabbath was Approaching and they lay all Business aside to prepare for that Learn hence How much it is our Duty to dispatch our Worldly Business as early as we can towards the End of the Week that we may be the better prepared to Sanctify the Lord's day if we live to enjoy it Hence it is that we are called upon to Remember that day before it comes and to Sanctify it when it is come Again our Lord was Buryed openly as well as hastily all Persons had Liberty to be Spectators lest any should object that there was deceit and fraud used in or about our Saviours Buryal yet was he also Interr'd Decently his Holy Body being wrapped in fine Linnen and perfumed with Spices according to the Jewish Custom Observe 6. The Reasons why our Lord was Buryed seeing he was to Rise again in as short a time as other Men lye by the Walls and had his dead Body remained a Thousand Years un-buryed it could have seen no Corruption having never been tainted with sin sin is the Cause of the Bodies Corruption 't is sin that makes our Bodies stink worse than Carrion when they are dead A Funeral then was not necessary for Christ's Body upon the same Accounts that it is necessary for ours But 1. Our Lord was Buryed to declare the certainty of his Death and the Reality of his Resurrection and for this Reason did God's Providence Order it that he should be Embalmed to cut off all Pretensions for in this kind of Embalming his Mouth his Ears and his Nostrils were all filled with Odours and Spices so that there could be no latent principle of Life in him he being thus Buryed then did demonstrate him to be certainly Dead 2. Christ was Buryed to fulfil the Types and Prophecies that went before concerning him Jonas being three days and three nights in the Belly of the Whale was a Type of Christ's being three days and three nights in the Heart of the Earth
yea the Prophet Isa Chap. 53.9 Declared our Lord's Funeral and the Manner of it long before he was born he made his Grave with the wicked and with the Rich in his Death pointing by that Expression at this Tomb of Joseph's who was a Rich Man and laid him in the Tomb designed for himself 3. He was Buryed to compleat his Humiliation They have brought me to the Dust of Death says David a Type of Christ This was the lowest step he could possibly descend in his abased State lower he could not be laid and so low his blessed Head must be laid else he had not been Humbled to the lowest degree of Humiliation 4. Christ went into the Grave that he might Conquer Death in its own Territories and Dominions His Victory over the Grave causes his Saints to Triumph and Sing Oh Grave where is thy Destruction Our dear Redeemer has perfumed the Bed of the Grave by his own lying in it so that a Pillow of down is not so soft to a Believer's Head as a pillow of Dust Observe Lastly Of what use the Doctrine of our Lord's Buryal may be unto us his Disciples and Followers 1. For Instruction Here we see the amazing Depths of our Lord's Humiliation from what and to what his Love brought him even from the Bosom of his Father to the Bosom of the Grave Oh how doth the depth of his Humiliation shew us the Sufficiency of his Satisfaction and therewith the Heinousness of our Transgression 2. For Consolation against the fears of Death and the Grave the Grave Received Christ but could not Retain him Death swallowed him up as the Fish did Jonas but quickly Vomited him up again and so shall it fare with Christ Mystical as it did with Christ Personal as it was done to the Head so shall it be done to the Members the Grave could not long keep him it shall not always keep us as his Body Rested in Hope so shall ours also and although we see Corruption yet shall we not always lye under the Power of Corruption in short Christ's lying in the Grave has Changed and Alter'd the Nature of the Grave it was a Prison before a Bed of Rest now a Loathsom Grave before a perfumed Bed now he whose Head is in Heaven need not fear to put his Feet into the Grave Awake and sing thou that dwellest in the Dust for the enmity of the Grave is slain by Christ 3. For our imitation Let us study and endeavour to be Buryed with Christ in respect of our sins I mean Rom. 6.4 Buryed with him into Death Our sins should be as a dead Body in several Respects Are dead Bodies removed out of the Society of Men so should our sins be removed far from us Do dead Bodies in the Grave spend and consume by Degrees so should our sins daily Will Dead Bodies grow every day more and more Loathsome to others so should our sins be to our selves Do dead Bodies wax out of Memory and are quite Forgotten so should our sins also in respect of any delight that we take in the remembring of them we should always Remember our Sins to our Humiliation but never think or speak of them with the least Delight or Satisfaction for this in God's Account is a new Commission of them and lays us under an aggravated Guilt and Condemnation CHAP. XVI This last Chapter of St. Mark 's Gospel contains the History of our Saviours Resurrection and gives us an Account of what he did upon Earth between the Time of his Triumphant Resurrection and his Glorious Ascension 1 AND when the Sabbath was past Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of James and Salome had brought sweet Spices that they might come and anoint him 2 And very early in the Morning in the first day of the week they came unto the Sepulchre at the Rising of the Sun The Lord of Life was Buryed on the Fryday in the Evening of that Day on which he was Crucified and his Holy Body Rested in the silent Grave all the next day and some part of the day following Thus rose he again the third day neither sooner nor later not sooner lest the truth of his Death should have been questioned that he did not dye at all and not later lest the Faith of his Disciples should have failed Accordingly when the Sabbath was past Mary Magdalene getting the other Women together she and they set out before day to visit the Holy Sepulchre and about Sun-rising they get to it intending with their Spices and Odours farther to Embalm their Lord's Body Here Observe 1. That although the Hearts of these Holy Women did burn with an ardent Zeal and Affection to their Crucified Lord yet the Commanded Duties of the Sabbath are not omitted by them they keep close and silently spend that Holy Day in a Mixture of Grief and Hope A good Pattern of Sabbath-Sanctification and worthy of our Christian imitation Observe 2. These Holy Women go but not empty-handed She that had bestowed a costly Alabaster upon Christ whilst alive has prepared no less precious Odours for him now dead thereby paying their last Homage to our Saviour's Corpse But what need of Odours to Persume a Body which could not see Corruption True his Holy Body did not want them but the Love and Affection of his Friends could not with-hold them Observe 3. How great a Tribute of Respect and Honour is due and payable to the Memory of these Holy Women for their great Magnanimity and Courage They followed Christ when his Cowardly Disciples left him they accompanied him to his Cross they followed his Hearse to the Grave when his Disciples durst not appear and now very early in the Morning they go to Visit his Sepulchre fearing neither the Darkness of the Night nor the presence of the Watch-men Learn hence That Courage is the special Gift of God and if he gives it to the feebler Sex even to Timorous and fearful Women it is not in the power of Men to make them afraid 3 And they said among themselves Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the Sepulchre 4 And when they looked they saw that the Stone was Rolled away for it was very great 5 And entring into the Sepulchre they saw a young Man sitting on the right side cloathed in a long white Garment and they were afraid 6 And he saith unto them Be not affrighted ye seek Jesus of Nazareth which was Crucified he is Risen he is not here behold the place where they laid him 7 But go your way tell his Disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee there shall ye see him as he said unto you 8 And they went out quickly and fled from the Sepulchre for they trembled and were amazed neither said they any thing to any Man for they were afraid Observe here 1. With what Pomp and Triumph doth our Lord Arise An Angel is sent from Heaven to roll away the Stone But
up your Heads for your Redemption draweth nigh The sense is this As soon as ye shall see the Roman Army appear before the City of Jerusalem called by St. Matthew and St. Mark The abomination of Desolation that is the Army which is such an abomination to you and the occasion of such Desolation wherever it goes then let every one that values his own Safety fly as far and as fast as he can as Lot fled from the Flames of Sodom and be glad if by flight he can save his Life tho' he loses all besides Learn thence That when Almighty God is pouring forth his Fury upon a sinful People it is both lawful and a necessary Duty by flight to endeavour to shelter our selves from the approaching Calamity and Desolation When ye see Jerusalem compassed with Armies flee to the Mountains Observe farther the dreadful Relation that our Saviour here gives of those Desolating Calamities which were coming upon Jerusalem partly from the Roman Army without and partly from the Seditions and Factions of the Zealots within who committed such outrages and slaughters that there were no less than an Hundred thousand Jews slain and Ninety seven thousand taken Prisoners They that bought our Saviour for Thirty Pence were now themselves sold Thirty for a Penny Now did the Temple it self become a Sacrifice a whole Burnt-offering and was consumed to Ashes Observe Lastly What Encouragement Christ gives to all his Faithful Disciples and Followers he bids them look up and lift up their Heads when these Calamities came upon others look up with Confidence and Joy for your Redemption Salvation and Deliverance then approacheth God had a Remnant which he designed should survive that Destruction to be an Holy Seed these are called upon to look up with chearfulness and joy when the hearts of others were failing them for fear And thus shall it be at the General Day of Judgment of which Jerusalem's Visitation was a Type Lord how will the Glory and Terror of that Day dazzle the Eyes and terrify the Hearts of all the Enemies of Christ but delight the Eyes and rejoyce the Heart of all that love and fear him that serve and obey him then may the friends of Christ look up and lift up their heads for their full Redemption draweth nigh 29 And he spake to them a Parable Behold the Fig-tree and all the Trees 30 When they now shoot forth ye see and know of your selves that Summer is now nigh at hand 31 So likewise ye when ye see these things come to pass know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand 32 Verily I say unto you This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled 33 Heaven and Earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away In these words our Saviour declares the certainty of his Coming to visit Jerusalem for all her barbarous and bloody Cruelty towards himself his Prophets and Apostles he is pleased to set forth this by the Similitude of the Fig-Tree whose beginning to bud declares the Summer at hand thus our Saviour tells them that when they should see the Fore-mentioned Signs they might conclude the Destruction of their City and Temple to be nigh at hand and accordingly some of that Generation then Living did see these Predictions Fulfilled Learn that God is no less punctual in the Execution of his Threatnings upon Incorrigible Sinners then he is faithful in the performance of his promises towards his own People The Truth and Veracity of God is as much concerned to execute his Threatnings as it is to fulfil his Promises 34 And take heed to your selves lest at any time your Hearts be over-charged with Surfeiting and Drunkenness and the cares of this Life and so that day come upon you unawares 35 For as a snare it shall come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole Earth 36 Watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man Here our Lord cautions his Disciples against such a Distemper and Indisposition of Mind as may render them unfit and unready for his Coming and Appearance and to take heed of two dangerous Sins namely Voluptuousness and Earthly-mindedness which above any other Sins will indispose us for the Duty of Watchfulness There is a three-fold Reason why our Saviour fore-warns us of these Sins with Reference to the Day of Judgment 1. Because they are peccata praecurrentia certain prognosticks of the Day of Judgment approaching as it was in the Days of Noah so shall the coming of the Son of Man be 2. Because they are peccata Accelerantia they do not only fore-tell but hasten the Coming of Christ to see the World drowned in voluptuousness and earthly-mindedness in security and sensuality is not only a Sign to fore-tell but a sin that hastens Judgment and pulls down Vengeance upon a wicked World 3 Christ bids us beware of these Sins with reference to the Day of Judgment because these Sins they are derisioria judicii they beget in Men a prophane Spirit of Scoffing and Deriding at the Notices of Christ's appearing to Judgment 2 Pet. 3.3 In the last days there shall come Scoffers walking after their own Lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming Our Saviour having thus warn'd them of these Sins he next exhorts them to Watchfulness Watch ye therefore for as a snare that day will come upon you that is very suddenly and very unexpectedly a snare has a threefold Property to catch suddenly to hold surely to destroy certainly Our Lord 's coming to Jerusalem was very unexpected and his coming to us by Death and Judgment will steal upon us if we be not watchful Watch we then for our Lord will come at what hour he will come cannot certainly be known there is no time in which we can promise or assure our selves that our Lord will not come the time of our whole Life is little enough to prepare for his Coming Our Preparation for will be no acceleration or hastning of our Lord 's Coming And oh how dreadful will his Coming be if we be found off our Watch and altogether unready for his Appearance Appear we must in Judgment but shall not be able to stand in the Judgment see Christ we shall as a Judge but not behold him as a Redeemer 37 And in the day-time he was Teaching in the Temple and at Night he went out and abode in the Mount called the Mount of Olives 38 And all the people came early in the Morning to him in the Temple for to hear him Our Lord had exhorted his Disciples in the fore-going Verses to Diligence and Prayer here he sets an Example of both before them Busying himself in God's Service all the day and at Night spending much time in Prayer in the Day-time he was in the Temple Preaching in the Evening he was on the Mount of
ye dead and come to Judgment Observe lastly How readily obedient Lazarus was to the Call and Command of Christ He that was dead came forth and if Lazarus did thus instantly start up at the Voice of Christ in the Day of his Humiliation how shall the dead be rouzed up out of their Graves by that Voice which will shake the powers of Heaven and move the Foundations of the Earth in the Day of his Glorification Question But where was Lazarus his Soul all this while that he was dead if in Heaven was it not a wrong to him to come from thence If not doth it not prove that the Soul sleeps as well as the Body Ans Souls go not to Heaven by Necessitation as the Fire naturally and necessarily ascends upward But are disposed of by God as the supream Governour those that have served him go to Heaven and those that have served the Devil to Hell and those that are not yet judged to either place but are to live presently again upon Earth as Lazarus was are reserved by God accordingly whether shut up in the Body as in a Swound or whether kept in the Custody and Hands of an Angel not far from the Body waiting his pleasure either to restore it to the Body or to return it to its proper place of Bliss or Misery The Scripture has not told us whether and it would be too great Curiosity to inquire and greater presumption to determine 45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him 46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done 47 ¶ Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council and said What do we for this man doeth many miracles 48 If we let him thus alone all men will believe on him and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation Observe here 1. The different Effects which this Miracle had upon those Jews who were present at the raising of Lazarus Some of them believed on Christ but others persisting in their Unbelief went to the Pharisees and informed against him Notwithstanding all the Evidence which our Saviour gave of his being the Messias by the Miracles which he wrought yet many rejected him and refused to believe in him to their unutterable and inevitable Condemnation Obs 2. How greatly disturbed the Pharisees were upon the Account of our Saviour's Miracles Knowing how proper an Argument they were to convince Men they concluded that if Christ were suffered to go on and work Miracles he would draw all Men after him Learn thence That Jesus proved himself to be the true Messias by the Miracles which he wrought his Enemies themselves being Judges For we find here the worst of our Saviour's Enemies were afraid of his Miracles that by them he would draw all Men after him If we let him alone all Men will believe on him Obs 3. What was the Ground of the Pharisees fear if they let Christ go on to work Miracles that he would have so many Followers as would Alarm the Romans and awaken their Jealousie and cause them to come upon them with an Army to deprive them of the little Liberty they indulged them and take away their Place and Nation Their Place that is their Place of Worship the Temple And their Nation that is bring the whole Body of the Jewish Nation to utter Destruction Learn hence How all the Enemies and Opposers of Christ and his Kingdom do endeavour to colour their Quarrel with some specious Pretences that they may hide the odiousness of their Practices from the Eye of the World and may not be openly seen to fight against God Thus the Pharisees here persecute our Saviour not as the Messias though the Miracles he wrought were a sufficient Evidence that he was such but as one who would bring Ruine upon their Nation If we let him alone the Romans will come and take away both our Place and Nation 49 And one of them named Caiaphas being the high-priest that same year said unto them Ye know nothing at all 50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not 51 And this spake he not of himself but being high-priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation 52 And not for that nation only but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad The foregoing Verses acquainted us with the Apprehension which the chief Priests had of the Necessity of taking away the Life of our blessed Saviour Lest the Romans should take away both their Place and Nation Now here in these Verses Caiaphas the High-Priest delivers his Opinion for the preventing of this danger he tells the rest that they ought not to boggle at the Matter but come to a positive and peremptory Resolution to provide for the Publick Safety Right or Wrong and that it is great Folly to prefer one Man's Life though never so innocent before a Nations Welfare a most wicked and devilish Speech as a Judge he regarded not what was lawful but as a wicked Politician he consulted what was expedient he declares that one Man though never so good and holy though never so just and innocent had better dye than a whole Nation suffer Whereas it is in any case unlawful to do Evil that Good may come Learn hence That although it be the Duty of all Persons to pray for and endeavour after the publick Welfare of a Church and Nation whereof they are Members yet it is altogether unlawful to promote the greatest National Good by wicked and unlawful Means Observe further How God over-ruled the Tongue of Caiaphas beyond his own intention prophetically to foretel that great good which by our Saviour's death should redound to the World And that the Fruit and Benefit of his death should not only extend to the Jews but to the Gentiles also and that he should gather into one Body or Church all that truly believe in him though far and wide dispersed upon the Face of the Earth Hence learn 1. That the Spirit of Prophecy did sometimes fall upon very bad Men and God has been pleased to reveal some part of his Mind to the worst of Men. Thus Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezar had in their Dreams a Revelation from God what things he intended to do Learn 2. That it is consistent with the Holiness of God sometimes to make use of the Tongues of the worst of Men to publish and declare his Will Caiaphas here though a vile and wicked Man was influenced by God to prophesie and speak an Oracle Almighty God may when he please employ wicked Men this way without any prejudice to his Holiness This Caiaphas spake not of himself but being High-Priest he prophesied that Jesus should dye for that Nation 53 Then from that day forth
sufficient both for their Conviction and Condemnation The word that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day Observe 4. The Argument and Reason which our Saviour produces to prove that the Word of God and the Doctrine of the Gospel slighted and rejected should condemn Sinners at the great Day Namely From the Divine Authority of his Doctrine for albeit his Doctrine was his own as he was true God yet as Man and as Mediatour it was not his own but the Father's which sent him so that his Word and Doctrine being Divine and the Father 's as well as his for he did not speak of himself that is of himself alone and without the Father it is sufficient to Judge and Condemn all the rejecters and despisers of it Learn hence 1. That tho' the Doctrine of the Gospel be Christ's own as he is truly and really God yet it was not his own as meer Man exclusive of the Father who is one God with him and who gave him a Commission and Instructions as Mediatour to Preach and Publish the glad tidings of the Gospel for says he I have not spoken of my self but the Father which sent me gave me a Commandment 2. That the Doctrine which Christ delivered by command from the Father doth point out the way to Eternal Life and will bring lost Sinners thereunto if they sincerely believe it and obey it I know that his Commandment is Life everlasting 3. That therefore Sinners who reject the Doctrine of Christ contained in the Gospel do highly Dishonour Offend and Affront both the Father and Son and bring upon themselves a just and righteous judgment and expose themselves to unutterable and inevitable condemnation The word that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last Day CHAP. XIII 1 NOW before the feast of the passover when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father having loved his own which were in the world he loved them unto the end 2 And supper being ended the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simons son to betray him 3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he was come from God and went to God In this Chapter is Recorded the History of our Saviour's washing his Disciples Feet an Action full of Humility and Condescension and propounded to his followers Imitation The Circumstance of Time is here noted when this Act was done Namely At the Feast of the Passover when the time of our Saviour's departure was at hand and having constantly and immutably loved his own he expresses the permanency of his Love towards them to the end by this Action of his in washing their Feet Here Note How Christ chose the Time of the Jewish Passover to suffer in that he might prove himself to be the substance of that Type that he was the true Pascal Lamb who by the Sacrifice of his Death did attone Divine displeasure and taketh away the Sins of the World Observe 2. The means which the Wisdom of God permitted to bring the Lord of Life to his Ignominious Death And that was the Treason and perfidiousness of one of his own Disciples Judas Iscariot Where Observe 1. The person betraying Judas Judas a Professor Judas a Preacher Judas an Apostle being one of the Twelve whom Christ had chosen out of all the World to be his dearest Friend Can we wonder to find Friends unfriendly or unfaithful towards us when our Saviour had a Traytor in his own House Observe 2. The heinousness of Judas Sin in betraying Christ he betrayed Christ Jesus a Man Christ Jesus his Master Christ Jesus his Maker the first was Murther the second Treason Lord It is no strange or uncommon thing for the vilest of Sins and most horrid impieties to be acted by persons making the most eminent profession of thy holy Religion Observe 3. What hand the Devil had in the Sufferings of our Saviour He put it into Judas's heart to betray Christ that is he did suggest and inject such thoughts into his mind which Judas instantly closed with The Devil being a Spirit has a quick access to our Spirits and can instill his suggestions into them as Christ did breath upon his Disciples and they received the Holy Ghost and were filled with the Spirit so Satan breaths filthy suggestions into the Spirits of Men and fills them with all manner of wickedness even with the Spirit of Hell it self The Devil put it into Judas heart to betray him 4 He riseth from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself 5 After that he poureth water into a bason and began to wash the disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded Observe here The admirable humility and great self-denial of our Lord and Master he arises from Supper whilst his Disciples sate still and he that came in the form of a Servant performs all the offices of the meanest Servant to his Disciples he lays aside his upper Garments he girds himself with a Towel pours Water into a Bason and begins to wash and wipe their Feet which lay out behind them as they leaned at the Table all which was a most servile imployment Learn hence That the wonderful humility of Jesus Christ inclined him to do the meanest offices of Service unto his People even to become a Servant to them in the Day of his Humiliation and tho' now glorified in Heaven he retains the same Compassionate Heart towards them as when here on Earth 6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter and Peter saith unto him Lord dost thou wash my feet 7 Jesus answered and said unto him What I do thou knowest not now but thou shalt know hereafter 8 Peter saith unto him Thou shalt never wash my feet Jesus answered him If I wash thee not thou hast no part with me 9 Simon Peter saith unto him Lord not my feet onely but also my hands and my head 10 Jesus saith to him He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet but is clean every whit and ye are clean but not all 11 For he knew who should betray him therefore said he ye are not all clean Observe here 1. How Simon Peter refuses to admit of such a condescending act from Christ his Lord and Master as the washing of his Feet Lord Thou shalt never wash my Feet it is a sinful humility to refuse the offered favours of Christ because we are unworthy to receive them Tho' we are not worthy of Christ and of his Love yet Christ is worthy of us and of our Faith Observe 2. Our Saviour's Reply to Peter's refusal 1. He tells him that there was more in it than the bare act of washing did at first sight import and that he should know hereafter what he did not understand now What I do thou knowest not now but thou shalt know hereafter
follow me afterwards 37 Peter said unto him Lord Why cannot I follow thee now I will lay down my life for thy sake 38 Jesus answered him Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake Verily verily I say unto thee the cock shall no crow till thou hast denied me thrice Here we find Peter reflecting upon what our Saviour had said just before v. 33. Whither I go ye cannot come he is inquisitive to know of Christ whither he went Our Lord tells him that for the present he could not follow him but should hereafter he was not as yet strong enough to suffer for him as he should and did afterwards St. Peter grieved at this rashly resolves to follow him tho' he should die for his sake Christ advises him not to be over-confident of his own strength and standing for he should deny him Thrice within the Time of Cock-crowing Observe here 1. How that fond Conceit which our Lord's Disciples had of his Temporal Kingdom here in this World did abide and continue with them to the very last for when Christ spake of leaving them by Ascending into Heaven Peter understands him of a removal that was Earthly from one place to another whereas Christ intended it of a removal from Earth to Heaven The Opinion that the Messiah was to be a Temporal Prince and that his Kingdom should be of this World was so deeply rooted in the Minds of the Jews that they stumbled at it fatally and Christ's own Disciples had so drunk in the notion that they wonder to hear Christ say that he is going from them and that whither he goes they cannot come Observe 2. That Christ's Disciples shall certainly follow their Master afterwards and be for ever with the Lord but they must wait their Lord's time and finish their Lord's work they must patiently wait for their Change and not peevishly wish for it for tho' they do not follow Christ presently to Heaven they shall follow him afterwards Observe 3. The greatness of St. Peters's self-confidence I will lay down my Life for thy sake Good Man He resolved honestly but too too much in his own strength Little Oh little did he think what a Feather he should be in the wind of Temptation if once God left him to the power and prevalency of his own fears The holiest of Men knows not his own strength till Temptation brings him to the Trial. Observe Lastly How detestable St. Peters's Presumption and Self-Confidence was to Christ and how fatal and pernicious to himself Wilt thou lay down thy Life for my sake As if Christ had said Peter Thou sayest more than thou can'st do Thine own strength will fail thee and thy Self-Confidence deceive thee I know thy Heart better than thou dost thy self and I foresee that before the Cock crows thou wilt deny me thrice Thence Learn That none are so near falling as those that are most confident of their own standing CHAP. XIV 1 LEt not your heart be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me 2 In my Fathers house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self that where I am there ye may be also 4 And whither I go ye know and the way ye know Our blessed Saviour in the foregoing Chapter having acquainted his Disciples with his approaching Death by the Treachery of Judas their Hearts were thereupon over-whelmed with Grief and Trouble Accordingly in this Chapter by sundry Arguments he comforts his Disciples against the perplexity of their fears and sorrows 1. Observe How Christ addresses himself to his Disciples in a very endearing and Affectionate manner Let not your hearts be troubled Whence learn 1. That the Best and Holiest of God's Children and Servants whilest here in an imperfect state are subject to desponding disquieting and distrustful fears 2. That no work is more delightful to our Saviour than to comfort the troubled and perplexed Spirits of his Servants Observe 2. The Remedy which Christ prescribes for the calming their present fears and for arming them against future troubles and that is Faith in the Father and himself Ye believe in God believe also in me Here learn 1. That God is the supream object of Faith his unchangeable love and faithfulness with his infinite Power in the accomplishing of his promises is the security of Believers Learn 2. That Christ as Mediatour between God and guilty Creatures is the immediate object of our Faith Learn 3. That Christ being the true and proper object of our Faith is a proof of his being truly and really God Christ doth here assert his own Deity in the substance of the Command in making himself an object of Faith in Conjunction with God the Father Ye believe in God believe also in me Observe Next the Arguments of Consolation which Christ propounds for the support of his Disciples under the sorrow which they had conceived for his approaching departure 1. He tells them That Heaven whither he was now going was his Father's House a place of happiness not designed for himself alone but for many more to enjoy a perpetual rest and abode in as in everlasting Mansions in my Father's House are many mansions Heaven is God's House in which he will freely converse with his Domesticks his Children and Servants and they shall enjoy full glory there as in a quiet and capacious habitation A second ground of Comfort is that he assures them he will come again and receive them to himself that they may live together with him in the Heavenly Mansions This promise Christ makes good to his Saints partly at the day of their Death and perfectly at the day of Judgment when he shall make one errand for all and take up all his Children to himself and make them compleatly happy both in Soul and Body with himself Learn hence That tho' Christ has removed his Bodily presence from his Friends on Earth yet his love to them is not ceased nor will he rest satisfied till he and they meet again Eternally to solace themselves in each others Company I will come again and receive you to my self that where I am there you may be also A Third Argument for Consolation is That notwithstanding Christ was to leave them yet they knew whither he went Namely To Heaven and which was the way thither Whither I go ye know and the way ye know It contributes much to the Comfort of Believers as to know God and Heaven so to know the way that leads thither that so they may be armed against all the difficulties of that way 5 Thomas saith unto him Lord we know not whither thou goest and how can we know the way 6 Jesus saith unto him I am the way and the truth and the life no man cometh unto the Father but by me Observe here 1. How Thomas and probably
That is Thou sparest none but tellest all Men of their Faults XIX In his Vniversal Obedience to his Father's Will and chearful Submission to his Father's Pleasure He obeyed the Will of his Father Universally Voluntarily Sincerely and with a single Eye at his Glory perseveringly and to the End and as he was so must we be faithful to the Death if ever we expect the Crown of Life And in like manner did he submit to the Will of his Providence Father not as I will but as thou wilt not my will but thine be done O let us keep this Example continually before us and every day obey the will of God's Precept universally And submit to the Will of his Providence very chearfully this is Heaven on Earth XX. In his Love and Practice of Universal Holiness both in Heart and Life He was Holy in his Nature Holy in his Principle and Motives Holy in his Aim and Ends he was perfectly Holy precisely Holy uniformly Holy exemplarily Holy he delighted only in holy Persons and holy Things it concerns us to imitate him herein if ever we expect to be where he is Heaven is the habitation of Holiness the company is Holy the imployment Holy the enjoyments Holy no unclean Thing can enter into Heaven or could be Happy in Heaven Heaven is rather a Nature than a place 'T is not the place of Heaven can make us Happy but the Disposition and Temper of our Minds in Heaven without Conformity to the Nature of God there can be no Communion with him nor Delight in him what a discourteous Courtesie would it be to turn a filthy Swine into a Garden of curious Flowers to lodge it in a Bed of sweet Perfumes to bath it in a clear and Crystal Fountain Alas its unclean Temper and sordid Inclinations would rather choose to lie down in a Kennel and to wallow in the Mire its proper Element Thus unsuitable would Heaven be that place of greatest Happiness be the greatest Vneasiness to an unholy Heart Let us then Pray and Endeavour that the Temper of our Minds and the Actions of our Lives may be a lively Transcript of the Mind and Life of the Holy Jesus that we may be like him in Purity and Holiness in Justice and Righteousness in Patience and Meekness in Charity and Universal Goodness That as he was we may be in the World Holy Humble Harmless Heavenly Minded glorifying God on Earth that we may be glorified with him and by him in his Eternal Kingdom Yet before I close this Exhortation to an Imitation of Jesus I must subjoin this cautionary Direction Take heed that you do not so imitate Christ for your Pattern as to disown him for your Priest This is the dangerous Error of those who affirm that the great End of Christ's Death was to give the World an Example of Patience Humility Meekness and the fore-mentioned Christian Graces and that his Sufferings were Exemplary but not properly Satisfactory We acknowledge that Christ's giving us an Example was one End of his coming into the World and Dying for us but not the great End A Subordinate End but not the Vltimate God preserve us from the Contagion of this growing Error other Errors only scratch the Face but this stabs the Heart of the Christian Religion in that it deprives us of the choicest Benefit of Christ's Death namely The Expiation of Sin by a proper Satisfaction to the Justice of God But blessed be God we have not so learned Christ as we are Taught so we Believe that the Holy Jesus by the Sacrifice of his Death has Redeemed us from Death and Hell and Saved us from Wrath to come by a full and adequate payment to Divine Justice and by the Redundancy of his Merit has purchased an Eternal Inheritance for us and as we are Taught and Believe so we Pray Almighty God who hast given thine only Son to be unto us both a Sacrifice for Sin and also an Example of Godly Life Give us Grace that we may always most thankfully receive that his inestimable Benefit and also daily endeavour our selves to follow the blessed Steps of his most Holy Life through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Almighty and everlasting God who of thy tender Love towards Mankind hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our Flesh and to suffer Death upon the Cross that all Mankind should follow the Example of his great Humility Mercifully grant that we may both follow the Example of his Patience and also be made Partakers of his Resurrection through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen FINIS Advertisements BOOKS published by Mr. WILLIAM BURKITT and printed for Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside THE Poor Man's Help and Young Man's Guide Containing I. Doctrinal Instructions for the right Informing of his Judgment II. Practical Directions for the General Course of his Life III. Particular Advices for the Well-managing of every Day With reference to his 1. Natural Actions 2. Civil Imployments 3. Necessary Recreations 4. Religious Duties Particularly I. Prayer Publick in the Congregation Private in the Family Secret in the Closet II. Reading the Holy Scriptures III. Hearing of the Word Preached IV. Receiving of the Lord's Supper Unto which is added An Earnest Exhortation unto all Christians to the Love and Practice of Universal Holiness The Fourth Edition An Argumentative and Practical Discourse of Infant-Baptism In which I. The Lawfulness of Infant-Baptism is Demonstrated II. The Objections against Infant-Baptism are Answered III. The Usefulness of the Ordinance is Asserted IV. The Sinfulness of Re-baptizing Manifested V. The Non-necessity of Dipping Evidenced VI. The Practical Use of Infant-Baptism Urged and Inforced The Second Edition A Sermon at the Funeral of the Reverend Mr. William Gurnall THE Works of the late Reverend and Learned William Bates D. D. In one large Volume in Folio Viz. 1. Of the Existence of God the Immortality of the Soul and the Divinity of the Christian Religion 2. The Harmony of the Divine Attributes 3. The Great Duty of Resignation 4. The Danger of Prosperity 5. Sermons of the Forgiveness of Sins 6. The Sure Trial of Uprightness 7. The Four Last Things viz. Death Judgment Heaven and Hell In which his Book called The Final Happiness of Man is included 8. Of Spiritual Perfection 9. Eleven Sermons on several Occasions 10. A Sermon upon the Death of Queen Mary 11. A Funeral Sermon on Dr. Manton 12. A Funeral Sermon on Dr. Jacomb 13. A Funeral Sermon on Mr. Baxter With his Life 14. A Funeral Sermon on Mr. Clarkson 15. A Funeral Sermon on Mr. Benjamin Ashurst To which are added Two Discourses never before publish'd being exactly taken in Short-hand and Approv'd by the Author in his Life-time viz. 16. A Discourse on Divine Meditation 17. A Discourse on the Fear of God c. With an Alphabetical Table to the Whole As likewise The Author's Effigies curiously Engrav'd by Mr. Robert White from an Original of Sir Godfrey Kneller And some Account of his Life and Character in a Funeral Sermon preach'd by the Reverend Mr. Howe Printed for Johnathan Robinson at the Golden-Lyon in St. Paul's Church-Yard There will be speedily publish'd A Catechetical Course of Sermons for the whole Year Being an Explanation of the Church-Catechism in Fifty Two Distinct Discourses on so many several Texts of Scripture Wherein are Briefly contained the most Necessary Points of Christian Doctrine in Two Volumes in Octavo With an Alphabetical Index to each Volume Recommended Especially for the Use of Families By Peter Newcome M. A. and Vicar of Aldenham in Hertford-shire Printed for John Wyat at the Rose in St. Paul's Church-Yard