Parents Blessed are they that are persecuted for Righteousness sake for their is the Kingdom of Heaven He adds further to his Disciples Blessed are ye when Men shall hate you and persecute you for my sake and load you with Injuries and Reproaches Rejoyce then for great is your reward reserved in Heaven And after he hath thus shewn that there is no happiness in this Life but in the contempt of Riches Honour and Pleasures and in the love of Religion Peace and Mercy Purity of heart and Patience by which we may render our selves worthy of that Eternal Life which God hath reserved in Heaven for us He pronounces a Wo against Riches against those who live in Plenty Mirth and Worldly Honours because they that place their Happiness in all these things shall one day find that their Pleasures Honours Comforts and Plenty shall end in Eternal Wailing and Sorrow XVI What are the Truths which Jesus Christ teacheth in this Sermon upon the Mount Matt. 5 13-48 Lu. 16 27-36 He next teacheth his Apostles that they were the Salt and Light of the World to reform their corrupt Manners and to illuminate their darkneâ— Minds that they ought therefore to be Pure and Holy themselves and not to omit any occasion of dispersing the Light of their Doctrin because they are set on a Candlestick i. e. preferred to the Ministry of the Gospel for that end That he came not to destroy the Law of Moses but to fulfil it and to bring it to its utmost perfection by teaching his Disciples a Righteousness far more compleat and excellent than that of the Scribes and Pharisees and without which no Man can be saved Indeed the Old Law forbids several Sins and regulated the exterior Actions But the New Law which Jesus Christ gives in this Discourse aims at the Reformation of the Heart and to suppress Sin in its very Source and Original For it was said to the Jews in the Law Thou shalt not kill But Jesus Christ commands every Man to curb in his Anger and not to utter the least affront or abuse of his Brother and if there be any differences not to offer any Sacrifice to God before they are reconciled The Law forbids Adultery Jesus forbids with the same strictness all Lascivious Glances and commands Men to pluck out the right Eye in which they are i. e. to deprive themselves of that pleasure of the Sight which excites irregular desires in the Heart The Law commands us to avoid Perjury Jesus Christ will not allow us to Swear at all and Teaches us that when we are obliged to confirm our Words with an Oath that very Oath tho' not sinful in it self yet proceeds from a bad Cause viz. as St. Austin says from the Custom of Lying and dealing falsly so much used among Men that they dare not trust to their bare Words The Law regulates Revenge and requires that the punishment do not exceed the Offence on which it is inflicted But Jesus Christ is so far from allowing us to revenge our selves that on the contrary he teacheth us not to resist evil not to go to Law but to give to those that ask and to yield our Cheek to those that smite us i. e. to bear all things rather than lose Charity The Jews believed that the Obligation we have to Love our Neighbour did hinder us from hating our Enemies But Jesus Christ will have us to love those that Hate us and to do good to those that Persecute us that we may excell the Heathens in well-doing and imitate Himself who makes his Sun to rise upon the Evil as well as upon the Good and so deserve the Honourable Title of the Children of God From Sins he passes to Good actions and to make them pure Mat. 6 1-34 he teacheth us to purify the Motives and causes of them shewing us that the Intention is such to the outward Actions as the Eye is to the whole Body and that they are pure or sinful according as the Intention is good or Evil after the same manner as the Body is either Light or in Darkness as the Eye is either Clear or Blind Wherefore he teaches us that we must not perform our good Works as Alms Prayers or Fasting that we may be praised of Men but of God who will reward them He lays down rules for Prayer that it should be made with a full Trust in the Divine Bounty with perseverance and with a mind full of Peace and Love to our Brethren knowing that he that will neither give to nor pardon others deserves neither the Mercies nor Pardon he petitions of God He makes the force and excellency of a Prayer not to consist in a multitude of Words as if God had need of our Words to manifest our Wants to him and that we may know what we may desire and request of God he hath taught us to pray after this manner Our Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us and Lead us not into Temptation but deliver us from evil Amen In the next place he endeavours to make the Souls of his Disciples contemn the good things of this World by teaching them not to lay up Treasures upon Earth but in Heaven where neither Thief nor any other danger is to be feared that they cannot love God and Mamon i. e. Riches at the same time and that instead of being sollicitous for the necessaries of this Life since God who nourisheth the Fowls and adorns the Lillies will not cease to take care of Man who is far more precious in his sight than Flowers or Beasts We should first seek the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof above all other things and then we may hope that God will give us all other things as an Overplus of favour to us He forbids rash Censures and Judgments Matt. 7 1-29 Lu. 6 37-42 and condemns those Hypocrites who cannot see the Beam which groweth in their own Eyes but would cast out the Mote out of their Brothers Eye He teaches them to distribute Holy things prudently saying We must not cast Pearl before Swine He summs up our whole Duty to our Neighbours in this short Precept Whatsoever ye would that Men should do unto you do ye even so to them He assures us That the way which leads to Life is streight but that which leads to Hell is bread and many there be that go in it He teacheth us to beware of false Prophets who come in sheeps-cloathing yet are ravening Wolves That we must not Judge of them by their Words but by their Works And altho' they may do some Miracles yet God will reject them one day as a People he never knew In the same manner will he also treat all those who content themselves to say Lord
by the Reader who will think them rather too few than too many But considering that unless we well understand the design of our Saviours coming into the World we cannot read the History of his Life with any real advantage for since he did spake and suffered nothing but with a tendency to that end we can never have a true notion of them unless we know the true motive and the end which he himself aimed at I judged it necessary to propound a short History of the Fall of Man and the Wounds which Men have received by it before I present them with the Medicine to heal them and teach them in a few words the happiness of that Estate wherein God Created them the lamentable Miseries into which they have faln by Sin and the means which Gods infinite goodness makes use of to save them The Discovery of these Miseries will make them more desirous to know what Christ hath done to deliver them and by how much they perceive themselves more obnoxious to Gods Justice by so much they will the more eagerly lay hold upon Jesus by Faith to save them from it II. Mans Creation and Fall by Sin When God created the Heaven and the Earth in six days he being desirous not only to provide a Governour for all his Corporeal Creatures but to put some other Beings into the places of the faln Angels in Heaven Created a Man and Woman whom he called Adam and Eve which signifies the Mother of all Living God formed them in his own Image i. e. gave them an Immortal Soul endowed them with abilities to know and love him which are two of the most noble Actions of the Rational Creature which make up the whole Life and happiness of God which is to know and love himself from all Eternity Wherefore he filled their Minds with Knowledge and their Will with Love He Created them perfect and upright their Souls in perfect submission to God and their Body to their Soul There was no darkness or trouble in their minds because God was their Light and Peace and nothing in there Bodies which might make them ashamed because there was nothing disorderly for which reason it is that the Holy Scripture saith That they were Naked Gen. 2.25 and were not ashamed In this Holy and Happy Estate they had a sound Judgment and perfect freedom of Will furnished with all Graces necessary to do that good which God required of them and to purchase that Glory which should be the reward of their Virtue which is to have a clear Vision of God They knew so much of God as Creatures are capable of and if they made a good use of this knowledge upon Earth they should be Translated to the full fruition of God in Heaven Their Innocency exempted them from Death and all other Evils which are the effects of Sin And their privileges were not only for themselves but their Posterity to whom they should communicate not only their Nature but Innocency and all the priviledges of it For the continuance of all these Temporal favours and obtaining that eternal happiness which he hath promised them God required nothing but an entire submission to his Will which that he might have tryal of he gave them a Command to abstain from the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil which was in the midst of Paradise threatning them with Death if they dared to Touch it Nothing was more easy than the observation of this Commandment but they kept it not long for the Devil envying their Happiness came to Eve under the Shape of a Serpent perswading her to Eat the Fruit which was forbidden and telling her that they should be so far from dying that they shall become as Gods By these promises she suffered her self to be seduced eat of the Fruit and gave it to her Husband who thro' a wicked Compliance made himself guilty of the Womans Sin As soon as they had thus broken the Command of their God they were made sensible of their Fault by the fearful Change in themselves for they perceived they were Naked and were filled with confusion because they felt in their Bodies the disorderly Motions of their Concupiscence God shewed himself to them no longer as a Father whose presence was their Joy and Happiness but as an offended Lord who reproved their disobedience and as a severe Judge to punish their Rebellion He Condemned the Man to Toil and Drudgery for his necessary Food the Woman to Pains in Child-bearing and drave them both out of the Terrestrial Paradise in which he had placed them he subjected them to all the miseries of this Life and passed the sentence of Death upon them which he had threatned condemning them not only to a Temporal Death of the Body but to the Second Death which is more terrible than the former the Death of the Soul which is to Live eternally with the Devils in Hell and be banished from the only cause and foundation of all Happiness God A just punishment saith St. Austin for their fault in disobeying so easy a Law of so great a God! All the Race of Adam being corrupted in him as in their Fountain and Root by his Sin was also lyable to the same punishment for as if he had continued in his Innocency all his Posterity had inherited it by their Birth and all the Advantages of it after the same manner since he hath sinned all Men naturally inherit his Crimes and all the Plagues which are consequent upon it This is the Sin which we call Original because we are guilty of it from our Original and Birth and this is the Sin which brings upon us all those Evils which we feel either in our Souls or Bodies for the darkness of the Understanding the corruption of the Heart the proneness of the Will to Evil and Opposition to Good the disorderly Motions of Concupiscence the turbulency of our Passions the excessive Love of our selves forgetfulness and Aversion to God all the Sins which we commit Hunger Thirst Weariness Griefs Death and Lastly Eternal Damnation are the sad Consequences and just punishments of this Sin which we come into the World with and which make us as St. Paul saith the Children of the Wrath of God Eph. 2.3 III. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ Out of the miserable condition into which Man had plunged himself and Posterity by Sin there was no way of Recovery had not God in his infinite Mercy been pleased to find out a way which none else could do He had compassion on his Creatures and contrived this means to save them the Word i. e. the Son of God the Second Person of the Holy Trinity was made Incarnate assuming a Body and Soul like us and united to his Divinity in his own person the Humane Nature which he intended to redeem He became Man still being God and took upon him all the weaknesses and Infirmities of Man Sin and Ignorance only excepted He undertook
not sufficient for us to cast our Eyes upon him who is the true Light of Men for he hath discovered the Way that leads to eternal Happiness not to those who only take some Pleasure in knowing his admirable Works but to those who follow him by a faithful Imitation of his Example Before we know what Jesus Christ hath done and taught upon Earth we are like Travellers who journey in the Night and wander they know not whither because they cannot tell their Way but by reading the Life of Christ We are like the same Travellers who as soon as Day breaks perceive their Errors and return again into the right Way He came from Heaven to shew us the way thither and to bring us out of the Paths that lead down to Hell He goes before us himself that we may not wander or lose our Way nor take any other Way but that in which he leads us He assures us that all other Ways but that in which he goes lead down to Death wherefore we must read his Life to make it a Rule and Exemplar of ours that all our Conversation being a lively Expression of his we may say with the Apostle It is not I that live Gal. 2.20 but Christ that liveth in me But it is not sufficient to read the Life of Christ if we desire to profit by it but we must meditate upon it and apply all that we read because this is the only way to make the right Use and Advantage of our Reading We need lose no part of the History of the Son of God for as he did nothing but for our Salvation so there is no circumstance of his Life which we cannot gather some Advantage to our selves from if we consider upon it with serious Attention It will then be worth our while to take every Part of it into Examination and see what Benefit we may reap from it and what Motions and Affections it may excite in us for the reading of the Life of Christ must needs sometimes instruct us sometimes shame us sometimes comfort us and sometimes encourage us and sometimes inspire us with Love Thankfulness Reverence Joy Grief Hope or Fear according to the different Objects which it presents to our Observation All the Life of Jesus Christ is made up of Miracles Discourses Actions and Sufferings He wrought so many Miracles to prove his Divinity and to relieve either the Miseries or Necessities of those who either wanted or desired his Help We may make an Advantage of these by supposing our selves to be in the Number of those who saw them and for whose sake they were done The Eye-Witnesses of them believed in him admired and adored him and became his Disciples Let us do the same when we read what they saw adore Christ acknowledge him for our God believe in his Godhead and devote our selves entirely to his Service since we can never honour him as our God but by obeying and loving him And in the same manner let us apply all the Miracles he did for the Relief of others needs He healed no bodily Diseases but what were a Figure of the Spiritual Distempers of our Souls Sin is our Leprosy our Deafness our Blindness our Palsy our Death let us do the same to obtain Health of our Souls that we read the diseased Persons did for their Bodies to obtain Cure let us present our selves before Jesus and say with the Leper Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean and with the blind Man Open mine Eyes that I may see and so of others Let us think that Jesus requires the same Faith for the cure of our Souls that he did of those he healed of their Bodily Distempers and let us look upon that Thankfulness Faith Love and other Passions of those who were miraculously cured as a Pattern of those Affections which we ought to have for the Graces we have received The Discourses of Jesus Christ ought to be read with great Reverence which consists in believing and practising what he teacheth He is the Truth and nothing but Truth can save us and we shall be judged by that which he hath taught We must hear him as his Disciples and be won by his Words We must discover our Ignorance to him that he may inform us and our Ways that he may amend them This must be done in applying every Word of Jesus Christ and examining our selves by it that we may condemn our selves if we find our selves out of the Way which he hath taught and we may reform our Practice by it And if there be any thing obscure in his Discourses let us make our Prayers to him to enlighten our Understandings in the Knowledge of it if it be necessary to Salvation practising those Truths in the mean Time that are plain and worthy of our Observation To profit by the Actions of Jesus Christ we must look upon them as the Rule and Pattern of our Conversations He would have us admire his Miracles but imitate his Actions for this Reason it is that he commands us to learn of him not to cure the Blind or raise the Dead Matth. 11.30 but to be meek and lowly in Heart When he commanded the Leper to tell no Man of the Cure he had wrought on him and fled from the People who would have made him a King we should learn to avoid Vain-glory and Ambition from him We should read the Actions of the Son of God with Design of conforming our selves to them when we see him washing his Apostles Feet putting on the same Humility which we see in him and when we see him eating with Sinners learn the same Charity In fine let us study the Affections of Jesus and conform our selves to them love nothing but what he loves and contemn the same Things he despised He hated Sin he despised Riches Honour and Pleasures he loved and sought the Glory of his Father and all his Care was to obey and please him for which end he refused not to undergo Poverty Affronts Disgrace Grief Sorrow yea Death itself These are the things he would have us learn from him and this is what we should think upon and imitate Nor is the Advantage less which we may gather from reading the Sufferings of Jesus Christ We must look upon them as we have already said as voluntary and it is good to consider them with relation to the Two Ends for which he suffered 1. For our Satisfaction 2. For our Instruction 1. He suffered to satisfy Justice for our Sins and endured the Punishment of our Offences to deliver us from eternal Torments The Consideration of this Action ought to excite in us â— Love to Jesus Christ who endured so much to give us a Proof of his Love to us 2. Hatred and Abhorrence of him which could not be expected but by the Sufferings and Death of God himself with relation to the Second End for which Christ suffered which was our Instruction We ought to make
Hundred Thousand Men for Forty Years together with Manna that fell from Heaven Canst thou do any thing greater than Moses did Jesus answered them verily I say unto you Moses did not give you the true Bread from Heaven but 't is my Father that giveth it and this Bread is he that came down from Heaven and giveth Life unto the World They said unto him Lord give us this Bread for ever He answered them I am the Bread of Life he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst By which words we are to understand That Jesus is the spiritual Food of those Souls that eat him believing on him by a lively Faith which works by Love and by thus eating him they obtain that happy Life with which they shall be fully and eternally satisfied Then he adds that altho' they had seen and been witnesses of so many Miracles which he had done yet they did not believe on him and by reason of their Infidelity they should lose the great advantage which all those which his Father should bring unto him should enjoy viz. to be raised up at the Last Day and inherit eternal Life Nevertheless the Jews murmured against him saying Is not this the Son of Joseph Do not we know his Father and Mother Why then doth he tell us that he came down from Heaven Jesus was so far from mollifying or recanting these Truths tho' they were offended at them that on the contrary he confirms them more strongly and having proved from Scripture that they should be taught of God that all whom his Father teacheth shall come unto him and that they themselves did not come unto him because they did not understand the Voice of him that sent him He tells them again that he is the Bread of Life that the Manna did not keep them from dying who eat of it but his flesh was the true Bread that came down from Heaven which giveth Life to all that eat of it These last words made them the more averse to him and they disputed among themselves how he could give them his Flesh to eat Nevertheless he pursued his Discourse and tells them that his flesh is meat indeed and his blood is drink indeed that they have no Life in them if they eat not his Flesh and drink his Blood and that he that feeds on them shall be raised up at the Last Day and obtain eternal Life Lastly he teaches them what great effects his Body should work in the Souls of all those that receive it worthily saying to them He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him and he shall live by me as I live by my Father which hath sent me These sublime Truths which he taught in the Synagogue at Capernaum offended many of the Jews yea several of his Disciples having hard them said These words are very heard and unintelligible who can patiently hear such Doctrin as this much less believe it But they understood them in a literal which were meant in a Spiritual sense only They thought saith St. Austin that if they eat his flesh they must cut it in pieces as the flesh which is sold in the Market is They were not sensible that besides the manner of eating Jesus Christ by Faith they might also really eat him in the Eucharist under the Figure of Bread a way wherein there is nothing affrighting But instead of believing all that he who was the Truth it self said unto them by attending to his Explication of what they did not understand they were offended at his Speech and withdrawing themselves from following him would be his Disciples no longer The Apostles were wiser than these deserters for Jesus having said unto them Will ye also leave me Peter answered for them all Lord to whom should we go thou hast the words of Eternal Life and we believe and know that thou art the Christ the Son of God Nevertheless among these Twelve which adhered so firmly to him there was one which should afterwards betray him which was Judas Iscariot Jesus knowing it foretold the Infidelity and Treachery of that Apostle saying Have not I chosen you Twelve And yet one of you is a Devil and a Wicked Traytor IV. The Pharisees complain that his Apostles did eat with un-washed Hands Jo. 6.4 The Passover was nigh at hand when Jesus multiplyed the Bread and made the former Discourse It appears by this Relation of St. John that he went not up to Jerusalem to Solemnize that Feast according to the Custom for that Evangelist says that after this he remained in Galilee not daring to go into Judea because the Jews sought to put him to Death Then the Scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem came unto him Matt. 1â— 1 -20. Mar. 7.1 -23. and having observed that his Disciples did not scruple to eat their Meat with unwashen Hands they complained of them to him Not that there was any commandment of the Law enjoyning them to wash their Hands before they eat but the Pharisees had annexed several Humane Traditions to the Law which they were more exact in the observance of than the Law it self For this reason it was that they said unto Jesus Why do thy Disciples break the Tradition of the Elders in not washing their Hands when they eat their Food Jesus asked them again Why do you your selves transgress the Law of the Lord by following your Traditions As for example Why do you perswade Children to think that they do a Work acceptable to God in giving him Offerings altho' they suffer their Father and Mother to be in want thus making them to prefer an Humane Tradition before the Commandment of God which injoyns Children so expresly to Honour and Support those from whom they have received Life Then he shews them that notwithstanding all their Ceremonial observances they wore the Hypocrites of whom God speaks by the Prophet Isaias This People honoureth me with their Lips Isai 29.13 but their Heart is far from me Lastly he calls to the People and saith unto them with a loud Voice Hear ye this and understand my sayings Nothing from without a Man entring into his Body can defile him but that which cometh out of the Man defileth the Man Upon this his Disciples came unto him and told him that the Pharisees were offended at his Words But he answered them Every Plant that my Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up Let them alone they are blind leaders of such as are as blind as themselves with whom they shall fall into the Ditch and so perish eternally together Then he went into an House and his Disciples desired him to explain to them his meaning in those Words Nothing that entreth into a Man defileth the Man but that which cometh out of the Man defileth the Man He unfolded the Parable to them and taught them that every thing that entreth into the Body
his Table but could not obtain that Piece of Charity from this hard-hearted Miser whose Dogs were more merciful than he for they came and licked his Sores and so by their healing Tongues did what they could to cure his Disease At length they both dyed but their End was as different as their Lives had been for the Poor Man was carried by the Angels into Abraham's Bosom i. e. into a Place of Happiness appointed for the Souls of the Saints the Rich Man also dyed and was buried in his Body but his Soul was carried into Hell From hence he beholding the Happiness of the Beggar whom he had contemned cryed out Father Abraham have Mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the Tip of his Finger in Water and cool my Tongue for I suffer inexpressible Torments in this Flame But the Holy Patriarch told him that it was impossible by reason of the vast distance between them to grant his Request so it was just that he who had endured so much Grief and Sorrow in his Life-time should receive Comfort and Happiness after his Death but as for himself who had surfeited with the Delights and Pleasures of this Life that he should suffer Thirst and Torments in another World The Rich Man perceiving that there was no Mercy to be hoped for for himself thought of his Five Brethren which yet lived in the same Luxury and Riot and prayed Abraham to send them Word by Lazarus of the miserable Condition he was in that by his Example they might grow wiser and repent But he answered them That they have Moses and the Prophets and if they neglected to hear them they would not give Credit to a Dead Man though raised on purpose to warn them of their Duty XXXVIII Jesus Christ shews the inseparable Conjunction of Married Persons and highly commends Virginity Matth. 19 3-12 Mar. 10 2-12 Luke 16.18 These Truths silenced but could not convert the Pharisees they still hated him and sought all occasions to ensnare him in his Talk and for this Reason they put this Question to him Is it lawful for a Man to put away his Wife for every Cause as he pleaseth Jesus answered them by propounding first another Question What did Moses in the Law command They replyed That Moses in the Law allowed them to put away their Wives giving them a Writing to testify their Divorcement But Jesus refers them to the first Institution of Marriage by God himself saying That Man and Woman are so straitly united that they ought to be looked upon as one Flesh only And then goes on and says What God hath thus joyned together let no Man put asunder They still insist upon the Permission which Moses had given them but he answered them That Moses allowed it only for the hardness of their Hearts for from the Beginning it was not so and that whosoever puts away his Wife unless in the Case of Adultery and marries another hath committed Adultery and whosoever marrieth the Woman so divorced is also guilty of Adultery His Disciples when they came into the House consulted him about the same Thing and he gave them the same Answer from whence they made this Conclusion That it is not good to marry Whereupon he says to them True it is that Virginity is the best Estate for Men but it is above the Reach of Man unless it be of some few whom either Nature hath befriended or human Force hath rendred incapable of Marriage or their ardent Desire of Heaven hath obliged to live in voluntary and entire Chastity And since all Men are not capable of so great a Vertue he concludes with these Words He that is able to receive it let him receive it i. e. He that hath this Gift of Chastity bestowed on him let him live in it XXXIX Jesus speaks of his Kingdom and of his Coming and teaches them That they must pray always Another Time the Pharisees Luke 17 20-37 who waited for the coming of the Messiah and who had drawn up a Romantick Scheme to themselves That the Messiah should reign in their Country with great Pomp and Majesty and should raise himself above all the Kings of the World demanded of him When the Kingdom of God should come He answered them That it should not appear with outward Splendor and Pomp nor be confined to any particular Place but that it was already come and was within them i. e. that his Kingdom was Spiritual and was to be set up in their Hearts by Justice and Charity From hence he takes occasion to tell his Disciples That the Time will come when they shall desire to enjoy his Presence but one Day but shall not see him more That he shall come hereafter as a Flash of Lightning i. e. suddenly and gloriously but he must first suffer many things and be rejected of the Jews And that as it was in the Days of Noah Men eat and drank and married not thinking upon the Flood which came suddenly upon them and destroyed them and as the Fire from Heaven fell unexpectedly upon the Inhabitants of Sodom so shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man All our Thoughts must then be employed in contriving to save our selves without looking behind us either to pity or save others remembring Lot's Wife who looking back contrary to the Command of the Angel was changed into a Pillar of Salt Luke 18 1-8 He teaches them also at the same Time That we must not be weary of Prayer and to shew of how great Advantage it is to pray always and with Perseverance he delivers this Parable of a certain Widow who having a wicked Man for her Judge who would not do her Justice constrained him by her Importunities to vindicate her Wrongs By which Example he demonstrates to us That God who is Just will certainly revenge his Elect which cry unto him Day and Night and will deliver them soon out of the Oppression they suffer But since such a Faith as is necessary to support us continually in so excellent a Duty is very rare and unusual he adds in a kind of an Astonishment Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh shall he find Faith upon Earth There will will be few that will hold out to the End XL. He teaches Men to be humble Jesus Luke 18 9-14 that he might shew Humility in Prayer to be as necessary as Perseverance and so instruct his more attentive Disciples as well as beat down the Pride of the Pharisees who thought themselves Righteous and being full of vain Confidence in their own false Sanctity contemned all others propounds to them this Parable Two Men went up to the Temple to pray the One a Pharisee and the Other a Publican the former stood and prayed after this manner God I thank thee that I am not as other Men are Thieves Vnjust Adulterers or even as this Publican I fast twice in the Week and give Tythes of all that I
others in the middle-age of it and others shall enter at the end of the World There are some that begin to live well in their Infancy others in their Youth others in their Riper-age and some are not converted till just before their Death But so great is the Mercy and Goodness of God that they shall all go to Heaven and shall be rewarded for their Good Works which they have done since their Conversion with the Beatifick Vision of God himself But we ought well to consider upon these Words Many are called but few are chosen that we may not content our selves to be in the Church into which God hath called us but may be diligent 1 Pet. 2-10 as St. Peter teaches us To make our calling and election sure by Good Works and to fit our selves for the Kingdom promised to the Elect. XLIV Jesus raiseth Lazarus from the Dead As Jesus was thus instructing his Disciples on this side Jordan the two Sisters abovementioned John 11 1-45 Martha and Mary sent him word of the sickness of their Brother Lazarus by certain Messengers who spake to him in these words Lord He whom thou Lovest is sick for indeed he loved these Persons and therefore having heard this News he said This sickness is not unto Death but is only inflicted on him to gain Glory to God and that the Son of God may be Glorified thereby Nevertheless he tarryed two days still in the same place and then said to his Apostles Let us go into Judea for Bethany where the House of Lazarus and his two Sisters was was in Judea about two Miles distant from Jerusalem to which he must go by crossing the River Jordan The Apostles said unto him Master The Jews there were lately about to Stone thee and dost thou think of venturing among them again He answers them That he must discharge his Ministry while God gives him Time and Opportunity let what dangers will stand in the way And then he adds Our Friend Lazarus sleepeth but I will go to awake him His Disciples understanding his words literally said unto him Lord if he sleep he will grow well Then he told them plainly That Lazarus was Dead and that for the kindness he had for them he was glad that he was not present with him to prevent his Death because that which he intended to do for him would be of great use to increase and confirm their Faith Thomas one of the Twelve seeing his Master resolv'd to go into Judea said to his fellow Disciples Let us also go with him It is indeed dangerous but we ought rather to dy with him than forsake him or leave him so they accompanyed him They got not to Bethany till Lazarus had been Buryed Four Days and when they came to the House of Martha and Mary they found many Jews there which were come to comfort the two Sisters for the Death of their Brother Martha hearing that Jesus was coming went a little way out of the Town to meet him and said unto him Lord if thou hadst been here my Brother had not dyed But I know that even now God will grant thee whatsoever thou askest of him Jesus answered her Thy Brother shall rise again She replyed I know that he shall rise again at the last Day Jesus says again I am the Resurrection and the Life i. e. I am able to raise the Dead to Life at any time as well now as hereafter he that believeth in me as thy Brother did altho' he be dead shall if I please live again and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never dye if I please to preserve him Believest thou this She answered him Yea Lord I believe that thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God which should come into the World After this Discourse she went and called her Sister to tell her privately that the Master was come and asked after her Mary arose immediately and went to Jesus out of the Town to the place where Martha met him The Jews who were with her when she arose to go to the Son of God seeing her go out so hastily followed her thinking that she went to the Grave of her Brother to Weep there As soon as she came to Jesus she fell down at his Feet and said unto him Weeping Lord if thou hadst been here my Brother had not Dyed Her Tears and Sorrow accompanyed with the Lamentations of the Jews that came with her affected the Son of God so that he groaned in himself and was troubled i. e. he stirred up in his own heart a Voluntary Motion of Compassion and Tenderness which appeared outwardly by the same signs which discover the involuntary passions and affections of Men. Hereupon he demanded where they had Buryed him they said unto him Lord come and see He went along with them Weeping which made some of the Jews to say See how he loved him while others said Could not this Man who openeth the Eyes of the Blind have prevented Lazarus 's Death Jesus still shewing the same disturbance of mind came to the Grave which was a Pit with a Stone lay'd at the Mouth of it He commanded them to take away the Stone but Martha told him that the Dead Man by this time stank because he had been Buryed Four Days But he answered Did not I tell you that if ye would believe ye should see the Glory of God magnified in raising him from the Dead They then removed the Stone and Jesus lifting up his Eyes to Heaven said these words Father I thank thee that thou hast heard me always As for me I know that thou always hearest me and thy Power is present with me but this I say because of the People which is about me that they may believe when they see thy Power granted to me by my Prayer that thou hast sent me Having spoken these words he cryed with a loud Voice Lazarus come forth And immediately the Dead Man came forth having his Hands and his Feet bound with grave Cloaths and his Head wrapped about with a Napkin Jesus then bid them loose him and several of the Jews who came to see the two Sisters believed on him having been Eye-witnesses of this Miracle XLV The Jews hold a Council against Jesus John 11 46-54 As soon as Jesus had wrought this Miracle some who saw it went to tell the Pharisees of it who were his Mortal Enemies Whereupon they immediately called a Council with the High-Priests and said Why do we lose time and do nothing This Man doth many Miracles and if we let him thus alone all Men will believe him to be the Messias and the Romans fearing lest he should set up for a King and withdraw the People from Obedience to them will come and destroy our City and Nation Caiphas who was High Priest that Year said unto them Ye understand nothing nor consider that it is better to put one Man to Death to secure all the People than that
lost none Then he resigned himself to the power of his Enemies who layd Hands on him and took him His Disciples seeing this asked him Whether they should make use of the Sword to defend him and Peter drawing his Smote Malchus one of the High-Priests Servants and cut off his right Ear. But Jesus commanded his Disciples to be quiet and Touching Malchus's Ear healed it saying to Peter Put up thy Sword into the Sheath for all that use the Sword shall perish by the Sword Shall not I drink the Cup which my Father hath given me to drink of Think ye not that I am able to pray to my Father and he shall send me immediately more than Twelve Legions of Angels But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that so it must be Then he speaks to them who came to take him and saith Ye are come Armed with Swords and Staves to take me as if I were a Thief I conversed every day among you and taught in the Temple Why did you not apprehend me then But this is your Hour and the Power of Darkness and the Scriptures must be fulfilled Then all his Disciples forsook him and fled only one Young Man followed him having nothing but a Linnen Garment upon him but the Soldiers laying hold upon him he left his Linnen Garment and fled from them Naked XXXI Jesus is Carryed to Caiphas's Palace Matth. 26 57-68 Mark 14 53-65 Luke 22 54-65 John 18 12-14 They that had taken Jesus bound him and led him first to Annas who was Father-in-Law to Caiaphas and Annas sent him back again to Caiaphas who was High-Priest that Year and who had told the Jews that it was expedient that one Man should dye for all the People At his House all the Priests Scribes and Elders were met who asked him concerning his Disciples and his Doctrin Jesus answered them I speak publickly to all the People I always Taught in the Synagogue and in the Temple where all the Jews assemble for Worship and in secret have I said nothing Why do ye ask me Ask them that heard me they know what I have Taught At these words one of the Officers which were there smote him on the Cheek saying Answerest thou the High-Priest so Jesus replyed If I have spoken amiss shew me the Evil I have spoken but if I have spoken well why smitest thou me In the mean time the whole Council sought false Witness against Jesus to put him to Death but could find none strong enough altho' several Witnesses came and Testified several Things At last came Two who accused him for saying That he would destroy the Temple and re-build another in three Days which should not be like the First made by Mans Hands But this Testimony was not sufficient Nevertheless Caiphas rising up in the middle of the Assembly said to Jesus Answerest thou nothing to that which these Men Testify against thee But because he made no Answer to this Question he put another to him in which they all joyned If thou art the Christ tell us plainly He answered them If I tell you you will not believe and if I ask you a Question ye will not Answer me nor let me go But hereafter the Son of Man shall sit on the Right Hand of the Power of God Whereupon they replyed Art thou the Son of God And he said unto them Ye have said that I am The High-Priest himself asked him also the same Question and adjured him by the living God to tell them Whether he were the Christ the Son of God Jesus repeated the Answer Thou hast said it I am He and added That they shall one day see him coming upon the Clouds of Heaven and sitting at the Right Hand of God The High-Priest hearing this rent his Cloaths saying He hath Blasphemed what need we any further Witness Ye have heard the Blasphemy your selves what do you judge of it They answered That he is worthy of Death and they condemn'd him immediately Then they did spit in his Face Smote him in derision blinded his Eyes and some gave him blows with their Fists saying in Mockery O Christ Prophecy who it is that smote thee To these insulting Speeches they added many other abuses and Blasphemies XXXII Peter denyeth Jesus Christ Matth. 26 69-75 Mark 14 66-72 Luke 22 54-62 John 18 25-27 VVhile Jesus passed the Night with the High-Priest being Treated in so outrageous a manner the People of the House and those that took him were below in the Hall when they had made a Fire and warmed themselves Peter also warmed himself with them for following his Master afar off to see what would befal him he met with a Disciple who was known to Caiphas's Family and had desired the Maid-Servant that kept the Door to let him into the Hall A short time after coming to the place where the Servants were warming themselves the same Servant saw Peter sitting at the Fire with the other Servants and looking seriously upon him knew him and said aloud This Man was also with Jesus of Nazareth And after said to himself Art not thou one of his Disciples But he denyed before them all and answered her Woman I know him not I am none of his Disciples nor do I know what thou sayest After this he went out of the Palace into the Porch and the Cock Crew As he was going out another Servant seeing him said to those that stood by This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth Peter returned and seated himself near the Fire where some asked him If he were one of Jesus's Disciples But he denyed it a Second time and swore that he knew him not About an Hour after another Officer of the High-Priests and Malchus's Kinsman whose Ear Peter had cut off bodly asserted pointing to Peter that he was a Galilean and one of Jesus 's followers and speaking to him said Wast not thou with this Man in the Garden Others also coming in at the same instant said to him Thou art certainly one of his company for thy very speech discovers it sufficiently that thou art a Galilean Then Peter deny'd it a Third Time with cursing and swearing and said with solemn protestations I know not what thou speakest of to me nor what ye say And immediately the Cock Crow'd again a Second Time Jesus then looking upon Peter brought to his mind what he had foretold of him and presently he went out and Wept bitterly for his Sin St. Austin observes that Jesus being above Stairs bound and in the Hands of his Enemies could not with his Bodily Eyes see his Disciple who was below in the Hall so that this Aspect which the Evangelist speaks of was an Aspect of Mercy and a secret Motion of Grace which open'd St. Peters Eyes to discover his own fault and which mollified his Heart to make him atone for his Sins by his Tears XXXIII The Despair of Judas In the Morning they that had condemned Jesus to Death having
because they knew it was their Master And Jesus having taken the Bread gave it them and likewise the Fish XLIX Jesus commits the care of his Sheep to St. Peter When they had eaten Jesus said to Peter Simon John 21 15-23 Son of Jonas Lovest thou me more than these do He answered him Yea Lord thou knowest I love thee Jesus saith unto him Feed my Lambs He asked him again a Second time Simon Son of Jonas Lovest thou me Yea Lord answered Peter thou knowest that I Love thee Jesus says again Feed my Lambs Jesus again the Third time put the same Question to him Peter was troubled that his Master seem'd to doubt of his Love and answered him Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I Love thee Our Saviour having made him thus make some amends for his Sin in denying him Thrice by giving a Triple Testimony of his Love committed the Care of his Sheep to him i. e. the Souls of his People saying to him again Feed my Sheep He adds Verily Verily I say unto thee when thou wast Young thou girdedst thy self and went whither thou pleasest but when thou shalt be Old thou shalt stretch forth thy Hands and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldst not The Gospel saith that Jesus signified by these Words by what Death Peter should glorify God and they did indeed concur in the Martyrdom of this Apostle whom Tradition teacheth us to have been Crucified as his Master was Euseb Eccles Hist. lib. 2. c. 25. After this Jesus commanded Peter to follow him and Peter turning him seeth John the Beloved Disciple of Jesus following him and seeing him he saith unto Jesus Lord what shall become of this Man But Jesus checks his Curiosity by tclling him that he ought not to trouble himself with what shall befall others and orders him to mind nothing but to follow him And speaking of John he sayeth to him I will that he tarry till I come Or according to other Editions If I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee These words seemed to intimate to the Apostles that John should not dye But this Evangelist who wrote these things himself observes that Jesus did not say that he should not dye and History indeed tells us That he is Dead But the sense of these Words of the Son of God perhaps signifies that that Disciple should continue as he was to his Death i. e. he should not dye a Violent Death as Peter should or that he should Live till the Destruction of Jerusalem for these words Vntil I come may signify according to the usual Language of Scripture Vntil I come to take him out of the World by Death Or till I come to punish and Chastize this People St. John did really live till after the Destruction of Jerusalem and dyed at last of his Natural Death L. Jesus Instructed the Apostles The Son of God shewed himself several times more to his Apostles during the Forty days Matth. 28 16-20 Mark 16 15-18 Luke 24 44-49 Acts 1.3 that he abode upon Earth after his Resurrection and he appeared so often saith St. Luke to give them ample Proofs that he was alive and to talk with them of the Kingdom of God And since he had determined to call Men by Preaching to the possession of that Kingdom he gave them necessary instructions to discharge their Functions well He explained to them all that was spoken of himself in the Law of Moses and in the Books of the Prophets and in the Psalms and opened their Understandings to understand the sense of Scripture He shews them that according as it is Written Christ must suffer Death and be raised the Third day and that Repentance and remission of Sins should be preached in all Nations beginning at Jerusalem He Communicates to them the Authority which he had received of his Father and saith to them All power is given to me in Heaven and Earth Go ye therefore into all the World and Preach the Gospel and Instruct all People Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost and Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you He adds That they that believe not shall be Damned and on the contrary They that believe their Word by a lively Faith and are Baptized shall be saved and likewise shall do Miracles Casting out Devils Speaking with Tongues Drinking Poison without getting harm and Healing the Sick by laying their Hands on them Lastly since the Apostles had need of Power and Strength to exercise the Ministry which was entrusted to them he assured them of his protection telling them that he would be with them always to the End of the World and he promised them to endue them with power from above by the Holy Spirit which he would send from Heaven LI. The last Appearance of Jesus Christ Matth. 28 16-18 It is probable that Jesus gave them the greatest part of these Instructions at the Famous Apearance p. 217. The Ascension of Jesus Christ which he made to them upon the Mountain of Galilee where he appointed to meet them Here he promised them before he dyed to shew himself to them And on the day of his Resurrection the Angels and He himself commanded the Holy Women to tell his Disciples that he would meet in Galilee They went thither they saw him as he had promised and they Worshipped him 1 Cor. 15.6 It is credible that all his Disciples met him there as the Apostles and that it is of the Appearance that St. Paul speaks who saith That Jesus appeared to more than Five Hundred Brethren at once The same Apostle tells us that he also appeared to James but doth not relate in what manner Luke 24.49 Acts â—1 4-8 Lastly He shewed himself the Last time to his Apostles at Jerusalem where he commanded them to abide till they should receive the Holy Spirit which he promised them in these words John Baptized with Water but ye shall be Baptized i. e. Washed and Sanctified by the Holy Ghost not many days hence They asked him Lord wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom of Israel He answered them That it is not for them to know the Times and Seasons which God hath put in his own absolute Power But ye shall receive saith he to them the power of the Holy Spirit which shall come down upon you and ye shall be witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the Earth LII The Ascension of Jesus Christ These were the last Words according to S. Luke Mark 16.19 20. Luke 24 50-53 Acts 1 9-12 which Jesus spake upon the Earth if they were spoken immediately before he left his Apostles it was at Bethany whither he led them upon the Day of his Ascension or upon the Mount of Olives From which it appears he ascended as S. Luke relates He
lifted up his Hands to bless his Disciples and as he blessed them he was parted from them who saw him ascend up towards Heaven till a Cloud into which he entred took him out of their Sight They still looked after him with earnestness and as soon as they had lost the Sight of him Two Men cloathed in White presented themselves to them on a suddain and said unto them Ye Men of Galilee why stand ye looking up towards Heaven This Jesus who hath left you and is gone up into Heaven shall come again in the same manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven Then the Apostles ador'd him who had left the Earth to be seated in Heaven at the Right Hand of God i. e. to receive in his Sacred Humanity the Rest and Glory which was the Reward of his Labour and Sufferings They departed full of Joy from the Mount of Olives and returned to Jerusalem where Ten Days after they received the Holy Ghost Then they went and preached every where according as their Master had commanded them and the Lord confirmed the Word which he had put in their Mouth by Miracles LIII The Glorious Life of Jesus Christ in Heaven John 20.30 31. This is a full account of all the Gospel teacheth us of the Life which Jesus Christ lived upon the Earth He did indeed many other Things and wrought a great number of Miracles which are not written these that are written being sufficient for our Salvation if by reading them we believe That Jesus is the Son of God that by Faith we may have Life in his Name This is the Life which he hath promised us and into which he is entred by his Ascension for he told his Apostles That he went to prepare a Place for them John 14.3 And S. Paul assures us That he is entred into Heaven for us as our Fore-runner Heb. 6.19 20. that we may follow him now in Hope which serveth us as an Anchor sure and stedfast in the various Disturbances and Troubles of this Mortal Life As to the Life which Jesus Christ now liveth in Heaven the Gospel tells us That he sits there Mark 16.19 at the Right Hand of God He siteth i. e. is at perfect Ease and Rest having no more Trouble or Sufferings in his Sacred Humanity to which he is united for our Salvation He sitteth at the Right Hand of God i. e. is made equal with the Father being God of like Nature with him and is raised up above all Creatures This Rest Acts 7.56 which Jesus Christ enjoys for himself hinders him not from acting for us and altho he sits at the Right Hand of God S. Stephen saw him there standing indeed since he came to the Earth not only to purchase the Glorification of that Body and Soul which he assumed in the Womb of the Virgin but also to obtain Salvation for all that believe on him If he hath nothing else to do with his Sacred Humanity yet it is his business to intercede for the Salvation of his Saints till they shall come to be Partakers of his Glory He there finishes the great Work of Man's Redemption which he began upon Earth in Heaven Eph. 1.22.4.15 'T is there as Head of the Church as the Apostle calls him he governs it by his Pastors which he hath appointed enlightens it by her Doctors sanctifies it by his Sacraments protects it by the Help of his Grace and quickens it by his Spirit 'T is there that he prays without ceasing for us and we use him as our Advocate to defend our Cause before his Father as our Mediator to offer our Prayers to him and obtain the Mercies and Graces we petition as High Priest and Sacrifice by offering always the same Blood which he poured out upon the Cross once for all for the Salvation of the whole World Hence it was that S. John saw him in Heaven in the Figure of a Lamb slain and laid upon the Altar which is before the Throne of God Rev. 5.6 7. Heb. 4.16 't is there that he sits upon a Throne of Grace and Mercy where we may go in a Time of Need to obtain Pardon of our Sins before he appears upon his Throne of Justice to judge the World 1 Joh. 2.1 Lastly 't is there that he calls us and invites us to consider upon him in his Glory which he hath merited both for himself and us by the Effusion of his Blood that by the Prospect of that Eternal Happiness which he hath prepared for us he may make us contemn all earthly Things and stir us up to follow him in the Way he is gone before us i. e. to imitate the Examples he hath given us in this Mortal Life of which we have related the History in this Book For this Reason it is that S. Paul exhorts us by these Words which include all the Benefit we ought to make of all that is said of the Life of Jesus Christ Heb. 10 19-31 We have freedom to enter with Boldness into the Heavenly Sanctuary by the Blood of Jesus Christ going after him in that new Way which he hath trodden out for us in his own Flesh And since he is in Heaven an High Priest set over the House of God let us draw near to him with a truly sincere Heart and full of Faith with a Soul purified from the Filth of an Evil Conscience and a Body preserving the Purity which it hath received from the pure Water of Baptism let us remain firm and stedfast in our Faith and in the Hope of that Glory which he hath promised to us for he is faithful who hath promised And to obtain it let us provoke one another to Love and to good Works and let us encourage our selves so much the more as we see the last Day draweth nigh for if we sin wilfully after we have received the Knowledge of Truth we must expect nothing but the terrible Judgments and the Flame of that Revenging and Rageing Fire which shall consume the Enemies of God He that despised Moses 's Law was condemned to Death without Mercy how much greater Punishment doth he deserve think ye who hath trodden under Foot the Son of God and hath counted the Blood of the Covenant by which we are sanctified an Vnholy and Prophane Thing i. e. who hath profaned by Sin the Blood of Jesus Christ by which he hath been purified in Baptism and who hath abused and affronted the Spirit of Grace for we know him that hath said Vengeance is reserved for me and I know how to repay it It is a terrible Thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God LIV. The Conclusion This Living God which S. Paul speaks of is the very same Person which we have seen in this History dying for the Salvation of Men upon the Cross He was judged but he shall judge us and that by the Rules which he hath given us and the Examples
not believe in Jesus Christ or dare not own it 155. why 16. Gospel is glad Tidings 35. Preached by Christ 40. we must believe it 35. we must leave all for it 137. the Apostles sent to Preach the Gospel in all the World 218. H HEll is called darkness where there is nothing but wailing and gnashing of Teeth 61. the Eternal Fire of Hell 73. the Burial of the Rich Man in Hell 131. Herod The Great King of the Jews troubled at the coming of the Magi 15. pretended to Worship Jesus Ibid. killed the Children of Bethlehem 18. Herod Antipas Son of Herod the Great Marryed his Brothers Wife 31. Imprison'd John the Baptist Ibid. beheaded him 79. believes Jesus Christ to be him Ibid. Jesus calls him Fox 124. bids his Disciples take heed of the Leaven of Herod 91. is brought before him but saith nothing 196. his Officers take Jesus 162. Herodias Herods Brothers Wife hates S. John Baptist 31. made her Daughter to ask his Head of Herod 79. Honour Hypocrites Honour God only with their Lips 81. to be given to Parents 87. Jesus Christ refused Secular Honour 82. Hosanna Given to Christ 152. Humble Humility Jesus Christ is humble 113. shall be exalted 125. Jesus Christ commands it Ibid. and gives us an example of it 201. Hypocrisy Hypocrites Hypocrisy is the Leaven of the Pharisees to be avoided 118. Jesus reproves and curses Hypocrites 116. the unprofitable Servant hath his Portion with Hypocrites 120. I JAmes The greater Son of Zebedee called by Jesus Christ 36. made an Apostle 54. called Boanerges Ibid. a Witness of Christs Transfiguration 93. agony 187. reproved for his indiscreet Zeal 144. and ambition 145. asks Jesus about the Destruction of Jerusalem 166. James The Less made an Apostle 55. the Kinsman of Jesus Christ 74. Jesus Christ appeared to him after his Resurrection 166 Jairus's Daughter raised from the Dead 47. Jerusalem Troubled at the Birth of Jesus Christ 15. kills the Prophets 124. her Destruction 167. Jesus laments it 152. reproved also by him Ibid. Jesus Christ The Son of the most High his Kingdom to have no end 6. the Second Person in the Trinity 7 10. saves his People from their Sins 9. is God and Man 10. the Word of God Ibid. the Wisdom and Power of God 11 the Light and Life of Souls 18. subject to Mary and Joseph 20. encreased in Wisdom and Stature Ibid. came to save the World 29. for Sinners not the Righteous 46. fled from being made a King 87. the Carpenters Son 74. Son of God and David 161. the way to God the Truth and the Life 181. spake nothing of himself 182. is the beloved Son of God 23 94 entred into his glory by dying on the Cross 210. Imposition Of hands for curing 91. for blessing 136. Incarnation Of Jesus Christ 6. God visited Man by the Incarnation 8. Gods promises fulfilled by it 9. the benefits of this Mystery 6 8. Innocents Murdered 19. St. John the Baptist His Nativity foretold by an Angel 4. filled with the Holy Ghost from his Mothers Womb Ibid. great in the sight of God Ibid. his Birth 7. Circumcision 8. a Prophet of the most High dwelt in the Desert Ibid. came to manifest the Light to Men 12. his Preaching and Baptism 20. his answer to those that were sent to him 23. his first Testimony which he gave to Jesus 25. his Second 26. Third Ibid. Fourth 30. St. John The Evangelist Son of Zebedee called by Jesus 36. made an Apostle 54. named Boanerges Ibid. a Witness of Christs Transfiguration 93. and agony in the Garden 187. is reproved for his indiscreet Zeal 144. and ambition 145. and for hindring a Man from casting out Devils in Christs Name 98. the Beloved Disciple 178. who lay on Jesus Breast at Supper and asked who should betray him Ibid. stood at the Foot of the Cross 230. Jesus commended the Holy Virgin to him Ibid. went with Peter to the Sepulchre 207. acknowledged Jesus on the Shore 213. the Apostles thought he should not die 215. Joanna One of the Women that Ministred to Jesus 76. Jonas A Figure of Christ 68. Joseph Espoused to the Virgin of the Family of David 5. 13. a Just Man 9. accounted the Father of Jesus 74. Joseph Of Arâ—mathâ—ca a Jewish Counsellor but a Disciple of Christ 205. begged his Body of Pilate Ibid. Buried it in his own new Tomb 206. Judas The Apostle called also Theudas made an Apostle 55. Brother of James the Less Ibid. asks Christ why he did not reveal himself to the World 182. Judge The Parable of the unjust Judge and Widow 134. Jesus came not to judge but to save the World 29. would not judge in Temporal affairs 118. shall come again to judge the VVorld 168. for which he hath received power of God 57. Judgment Last the Description of it 171. the Time unknown 169. must be prepared for by Watchfulness and Prayer ibid. who shall appear there with Confidence ibid. Just shall be persecuted 166. shall lift up their Heads at the last Day 168. shall shine like the Sun in Heaven 73. shall be placed at the right Hand at the Day of Judgment 171. shall be like the Angels after the Resurrection 163. L. LAw Fulfilled and perfected by Jesus Christ 67. Moses gave the Law but Jesus Christ Grace 25. the difference between the Old and New Law 36 37. all the Law is compriz'd in loving God and our Neighbour 163. the Law continued to John 63. Jesus Christ accused of breaking the Law 51. The Pharisees preferred their Traditions before the Law 154. Lazarus The Brother of Martha and Mary 115. the Friend of Jesus Christ raised from the Dead 142. sat at Table with Jesus at the Feast at Simon 's the Leper 149. the Jews would slay him 150. Lazarus The poor Man the Dogs lick his Sores 131. carried into Abraham's Bosom ibid. Legion Freed by Jesus 43. Lepers The Cure of a Leper 60. of Ten 103. Jesus sups with Simon the Leper 149. a Leper cured by Elisha 75. Life Jesus Christ is the Fountain of Life 12. the Way the Truth and Life 181. the Bread of Life 84. what we must do to obtain Eternal Life 127. Lot His Wife 134. Love of God to Men In sending his Son 29. God loves them that love Jesus Christ 21. hears their Prayers ib. he loves his Elect as Christ 187. Jesus Christ loved Lazarus and his Two Sisters 140. his Love to his Sheep 112. Love of Men to God This is the greatest Commandment 114. much is forgiven to him that loves much 66. he that loves God keeps his Commandments 116. God abides in him that loves him ibid. he that loves Christ rejoyceth in his Glory 182. Jesus's Love for his Father ibid. Love of our Neighbour Is the Second Commandment 114. equal to the First of loving God 163. which are the sum of all the Law ibid. is the Fruit which Christ would have us bear 183. he gave us an Example of