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
have Holes and the Birds of the Air have Nests but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his Head As if he had said He must be a Man more regardless of his own Interest and more couragious than can easily be imagined that will choose to follow a Man who is so far from enriching his Disciples that he hath not the least earthly Conveniences for himself Luke 9 57-62 Matth. 8.21 22. But though he thus rejected the Scribe he treated one of his Disciples after another manner for he commanded him to follow him but this Disciple desiring Leave to bury his Father first he answers him Follow me and let the Dead bury their Dead i. e. let those that seek not Life and Immortality as you do bury the Dead but as for you go and preach the Kingdom of God He teaches him by this Answer That the Preaching of the Gospel is a thing more important than paying our Respects to Men which may be performed by all sorts of Persons Those Persons whose Soul is dead in Trespasses and Sins may bury those whose Body is dead but every Man is not fit to preach the Gospel Men must be Holy to exercise that Ministry and being called by God ought to prefer it before all things S. Luke 9.61 62. Luke speaks of a Third Person who being desirous to follow Christ begged to go and bid them first adieu that were at his House and dispose of his Goods Jesus saith to him Whosoever having laid his Hand to the Plough looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God By which Answer I understand That he that will earnestly labour for Salvation ought to mind nothing else but that nor perplex himself with other things VI. Jesus Christ appeaseth a Tempest About the Evening Jesus entred into the Ship Mark 4 35-41 to pass over to the other Side of the Lake of Gennesareth He had with him his Disciples who who had sent away the Multitude but yet there were some of the Multitude that getting into some small Ships which were ready at Hand followed him As they sailed Matth. 8 24-27 there arose a great Storm of Wind and so great a Tempest that the Waves beat with Violence into the Ship where Jesus was and filled it with Water As for himself he suffered himself to fall a-sleep on purpose to try the Faith of his Disciples and therefore slept in the hinder part of the Ship upon a Pillow till his Disciples seeing themselves in great Danger went to him and awaked him Saying Master carest thou not that we perish Lord save us Luke 8 22-25 He saith unto them Why are ye so fearful O ye of little Faith Then he arose and rebuked the Winds and the Tempest and commanded the Water to be still and immediately the Wind ceased and the Lake was calm Jesus then again reproves them for having so little Faith saying to them Where is your Faith and Why are you so fearful But they as also those who were in the other Ships were filled with Fear and Astonishment and said one to another What manner of Man is this who commandeth even the Winds and the Sea and they obey him VII Jesus Christ frees Two Men possessed with Devils Matth 8 28-34 Mark 5 1-20 Luke 8 26-40 Jesus and his Disciples landed in the Country of the Gergesens or Gergashites Deut. 7.1 which lies on the East-side of the Lake which they had passed and as soon as Jesus was come out of the Ship there came to him Two Men possessed with Devils crying out What have we to do with thee Jesus thou Son of God Art thou come to torment us before our Time These Two Men had their Dwelling among the Tombs and were so exceeding fierce that no Man could pass by that way S. Mark and S. Luke speak but of one of them whose Possession they describe more exactly either because he was most tormented by the Devils or because he was the most remarkable of the Two or because his Cure was most admired and talked of for he had been possessed a long time and had neither Cloaths nor Habitation but abode Day and Night in the Mountains and in the Tombs crying and cutting himself with Stones And though he had often been loaded with Chains and had his Feet fettered yet he had always broken the Fetters and Chains And the Devils then carried him into the Wilderness insomuch that no Man could ever tame him This Man saw Jesus Christ a far off and he with his Companion ran to him and the Devil that spake by his Mouth prayed the Son of God not to torment him by commanding him as he had done to go out of the Man possessed Nevertheless Jesus commanded him to go out of the Man and at the same Time asked him his Name he answered That he was called Legion because many Devils had entred into that miserable Man And since it is one of their greatest Torments to be restrained from doing Mischief to Men they earnestly implored Jesus Christ not to command them to go into the Deep but to permit them if he cast them out of these Two Possessed to enter into an Herd of Swine which was feeding not far from that Place upon the Mountains the Son of God granted them what they desired and by delivering these Hogs into their Power he teacheth us 1. That he may dispose of all we have as he pleaseth because we have nothing but what we receive from him 2. That the Devil hath no Power neither over us nor our Goods any farther than God permitteth him 3. That such is the Hatred and Rage of the Devil against Men that he would torment them for ever either in their Persons or Estates and would do all he could to satiate his Fury did not God set Bounds to it as he pleaseth This appears evidently to us from what happened to these Swine for as soon as Jesus permitted them to enter into them they made them all run violently upon the Rocks and from thence cast themselves head-long into the Lake where about 2000 of them were drowned The Keepers of the Swine went immediately into the Cities and Towns round about to carry the News of this Accident and they brought a great Number of People to the place where Jesus was to be fully satisfied of the Truth of their Relation Here they found the Man out of whom Jesus had cast the Legion of Devils sitting at Jesus's Feet cloathed and in his right Mind and as quiet and calm as he had been furious and mad before And those who had been Eye-witnesses of it told them all the Circumstances of his Cure and they were greatly afraid Then came all the City of Gadara to Jesus and could not look upon him but with much Horror They had a great Veneration for him who had so absolute an Authority over the Devils but were afraid of the Man who had driven their Swine into
better till he came to a perfect sight Then the Son of God sent him to his own House forbidding him to tell any Man what had happened unto him X. S. Peter confesseth That Jesus Christ is the Son of God Matth. 16 13-20 Mark 8 27-30 Luke 9 18-20 Jesus went from thence with his Disciples and ascending up towards the Head of Jordan he went into the Towns adjoyning to Caesarea Philippi a City situate upon the same River on the South-Side of Galilee By the Way he asked them What Men said of him They answered him That some took him for John the Baptist others for Elias others for Jeremiah and lastly others for one of the old Prophets risen from the Dead But saith he to them whom say ye that I am Peter answered and said Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God Whereupon Jesus saith unto him Blessed art thou Simon Son of Jonas for Flesh and Blood hath not revealed this that thou hast said unto thee but my Father which is in Heaven And I also say unto thee That thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it And I will give unto thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven XI Jesus foretels his Death to his Disciples Matth. 16 20-28 Mark 8 30-38 Luke 9.21 22. Jesus after this Discourse forbids his Disciples to publish it that he was the Son of God and then begins to tell them what he must suffer as he was the Son of Man He declares unto them That he must go to Jerusalem and be there disowned by the Jewish Governours Chief Priests and Scribes suffer many Cruelties and Indignities from them be put to Death and raised again the Third Day Peter who by reason of the great Love he had for his Lord and Master could not endure to hear this Discourse took him aside and reproved him saying God forbid that such Things should befal thee Lord. But Jesus rebuking him for giving him such Council which though it testified much carnal Love and Affection to him did so plainly oppose the Sacred Purpose of God in redeeming Man said unto him before all his Disciples Depart from me Satan for thou art an Offence to me for thou savourest not the things of God All this was transacted privately between Jesus Christ and his Disciples but he called the People Luke 9 23-27 and began to preach before them all those Truths which Peter did not understand when he discouraged him from suffering Death for he asserted it publickly That if any Man will follow him he must bear his Cross all his Days That to lay down his Life for him and the Gospel is the only way to be saved and to seek salvation any other way is to destroy himself and that he gets nothing by the World that loses his own Soul That he shall hereafter come in his Glory and render to every Man according to his Works and then he will disown them before his Father who have been ashamed of him and his Word before Men And he adds That there are some among his present Hearers who shall not dye till they see him in his Kingdom and in the Greatness of his Glory XII Jesus Christ is transfigured on the Mountain The Promise Matt. 17 1-13 Mark 9 1-13 which Jesus made in the last Words he partly performed within Eight Days after for he took Peter and James and John privately and led them into a very high Mountain where he went to Prayers and while he was at Prayers his Face became as radiant and shining as the Sun Luke 9 28-36 and his Garments as bright as the Light appeared as white as Snow The Three Apostles in the mean while were asleep but when they awoke they saw their Master Transfigured i. e. clear another Man from what they had seen him before for they saw him in that Glory in which he had promised to discover himself to some of them and they beheld also with him Two Men full of Majesty who talked with him concerning that Death which he should suffer at Jerusalem They knew that these Two Men were Moses and Elias and when they were about going from Jesus Peter that he might detain them with them said unto his Master Lord it is good for us to be here and if thou pleasest let us make Three Tabernacles One for thee and One for Moses and One for Elias But as he was thus speaking scarce knowing what he said in his Transport as the Gospel observes a bright Cloud over-shadowed them and there came a Voice out of the Cloud which spake these Words This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear him This Cloud and Voice filled the Three Disciples with so great Fear that they fell on their Faces to the Earth But Jesus came to them and comforted them and raised them up Then they lifted up their Eyes and looking round about they saw no Man save Jesus only As they were coming down from the Mountain he commanded them to tell no Man what they had seen till the Son of Man be risen from the Dead They obeyed this Command but did not understand the Last Words and they disputed among themselves about the Meaning of this Expression Vntil the Son of Man be risen from the Dead The Disciples having seen Elias with him in the Mount took an occasion to ask him Why the Scribes and the Pharisees did assert That that Prophet was to come before the Messias Jesus answered them That Elias shall indeed come and shall be rejected and evil-intreated as well as the Son of Man yea he adds That he is already come and that the Jews have done what they list to him and so will they make the Son of Man suffer as they have done his Fore-runner This Answer plainly discovered to the Apostles That the last Elias of whom he had spoken was John the Baptist who had gone before the first coming of Jesus Christ in the Spirit and Power of Elias as Elias himself in Person should go before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ XIII Jesus heals a young Man Lunatick and Dumb. The next Day Jesus being come to the Place Matth. 17 14-21 Mark 9 14-29 Luke 9.37 -42. where the rest of the Apostles were he met a great multitude of Men and the Scribes questioning with them As for the People as soon as they saw the Son of God they ran to him and saluted him being full of Admiration and Joy Jesus then asked the Scribes What was the occasion and Subject of your Dispute but at the same Time came a certain Man to him having broke through the Press and kneeling down at his Feet prayed him to have Pity on his only Son whom he had brought unto him because
is an Hebrew and Christ a Greek Word and signify both of them Anointed the Jews calling him so because they expected He should be a great King consecrated to God by a special Unction of which the Anointing of their Kings and Prophets was but a Figure Four thousand Years being at last expired and spent in waiting for him the Time appointed by God and foretold by the Prophets for the Deliverance of Mankind came The Roman Empire enjoyed a profound Peace under the Reign of Augustus and the Jews were governed by Herod whom the Romans had made King over them being some Years before become subject to their Power This Government by a Foreign Prince was an Evident Sign that the Coming of the Messiah drew near according to the Prophesy of Jacob Gen. 49.10 The Scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a Law-giver from between his Feet until Shiloh he that is sent do come This was the Time which God from all Eternity had prefixed for the Execution of his gracious Design That Jesus Christ the Saviour both of the Jews and Gentiles should be born in Judea and by him hath he accomplish'd the great Work of Man's Salvation in such a manner as the Gospel relates and which we are about to give an account of in this History of which I shall make Four Parts containing so many Periods of our Saviour's Life and shew what passed I. From the Conception of John the Baptist to his entrance upon his Ministry II. In the first Two Years of his Preaching III. In the Third Year of his Ministry IV. From his triumphant going up to Jerusalem to his Ascension into Heaven BOOK I. An Account of what passed from the Conception of John the Baptist to the Entrance of Jesus Christ upon his Ministerial Function I. The Conception of S. John the Baptist Book I. Luke 1 5-22 THere was among the Jews a certain Priest named Zacharias who with his Wife Elizabeth kept all the Commandments of the Lord blameless They were both of them very old and God that he might at length reward their Patience and contentedness in a signal manner having given them no Child but laid upon them the Disgrace of Barrenness which at that Time was accounted a great Curse inflicted by God It came to pass as Zachary ministred in the Temple according to his Course and offered the Incense commanded by the Law to God the Angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him from God That he should have a Son whom he should call John That this his Son should be great in the Sight of God and be filled with the Holy Spirit from his Mother's Womb That he should convert many Israelites from their Sins and should go before the Lord in the Spirit and Power of Elias preparing his Ways for him and disposing p. 5 The Anunciation of the Blessed Virgin Men to receive him Zachary doubting of the Truth of these Promises answered the Angel How shall I be assured of the Truth of thy Words for I am Old and my Wife is well stricken in Years The Angel reproving his Unbelief told him That from that Moment he should be dumb and not be able to speak till the Things which he had spoken of should come to pass And in that very instant he lost his Speech and the People who could not understand him but by Signs perceived by his Silence that he had seen a Vision The Days of his Ministration being accomplish'd he returned to his own House at Hebron Luke 1 23-25 a City in the Tribe of Judah and God performed that which he had foretold by the Angel for Elizabeth conceived and hid her self Five Months that she might between God and herself raise in her Heart a more perfect Sense of his Favour in taking away from her the Reproach of Barrenness and giving her a Son of whom she might hope for so great things II. The Conception of Jesus Christ. Six Months after the Conception of Elizabeth the same Angel Luke 1 26-38 which had foretold the Birth of S. John to Zachary was sent by God into a City of Galilee called Nazareth to foretel the Nativity of Jesus Christ to her who was chosen from all Eternity to be his Mother It was an Holy Virgin of the House of David named Mary who was espoused to a Man of the same Family called Joseph and living in perfect Chastity had her Spouse for a faithful Witness and Guardian of her Purity The Angel being come to her said Hail O thou that art highly favoured the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among Women Her Modesty raised in her a great Disturbance at the unusual Appearance of the Angel and she was surprized at this kind of Salutation But the Angel bid her not be troubled telling her That she should have a Son who should be great and be called the Son of the Most High to whom God would give the Throne of his Father David i. e. an Eternal Kingdom and that she should call his Name Jesus which signifies a Saviour She reflecting upon her way of living with Holy Joseph and not understanding how she could preserve her Virginity and yet become a Mother said unto the Angel How shall this be seeing I know not a Man The Angel answered her That this Holy Child which shall be called the Son of God shall be born by the invisible Operation of the Holy Ghost and to shew her that God to whom nothing is impossible would work this great Miracle in her by his Almighty Power he tells her what had befallen her Cousin Elizabeth who having been barren for many Years was Six Months since with Child Being satisfied by this Instance that she might bear a Child and yet continue a Virgin she humbly submitted her self to the appointment of God and said to the Angel Behold the Handmaid of the Lord be it unto me according to thy Word Then the Angel departed from her but the Holy Spirit wrought this great Mystery in her for which she had been fitted and disposed a great while before by the plentiful effusion of his Graces She conceived the Son of God the Second Person of the Holy Trinity who was incarnate i. e. became Man by taking on him a Body and Soul like us in the Womb of this chast and humble Virgin III. The Visitation of the Holy Virgin As soon as Mary had heard that her Cousin was with Child she went with haste to see her Luke 1. 39-55 and entring into her House saluted her which when Elizabeth heard she felt the Infant leaping in her Womb for Joy and being filled with the Holy Ghost she spake out with a loud Voice and said Blessed art thou among Women and blessed is the Fruit of thy Womb How great a Felicity is this to me that the Mother of my Lord should come unto me And having inform'd the Virgin That her Child leaped in her Womb she added Blessed art thou because thou
they are indeed but a small number but notwithstanding that they should not be afraid since it is their Fathers good will to give them the Kingdom He tells them further that they should always be in a readiness to appear before God who will come at an Hour when they least expect him as Servants who watch all Night waiting for the return of their Master from the Wedding That being made Stewards of Gods House to distribute to his People the Food of his Word they should discharge their Duty faithfully not doing as the Foolish Steward who seeing his Lord to delay his coming consumed the Goods he had been Trusted withal in Debaucheries made use of his Authority to abuse his fellow Servants and deserved for his irregular Management to be cast with Hypocrites and Unbelievers into that place of Torment where there is nothing but wailing and gnashing of Teeth That since the Son of Man will come in a Day and Hour which they know not of to require an Account of their Management they should always watch as a Master of an House would do if he knew what Night the Thief would come to Rob and Plunder his House That knowing the Will of their Master they are so much the more to blame if they do not obey it and the more they are trusted withall the greater their account will be And we see that elsewhere he gives them this important Instruction Luke 17.10 That after that they had done all that they are commanded they should be so far from being proud of it that they ought to look upon themselves as unprofitable Servants and acknowledge that they have done no more than what they are obliged to do He advises them to be very careful in discharging their Ministry faithfully because in so doing they shall be dealt well withall by all the World whereas on the contrary he came to bring division upon Earth so that the Persons of the same Family shall be at enmity with one another some desiring to follow Jesus Christ others Persecuting those that adhere to him Lastly he tells them that he came to kindle a Fire upon Earth and that he had a Baptism to be Baptized with This Baptism is no other according to the Fathers than his Death and many understand by the Fire he came to kindle in the World that Love which the Holy Spirit would infuse into Mens Souls to inflame them devoutly with the Love of God XXIX Jesus shews the necessity of Repentance At the same time came certain Persons to tell Jesus Luke 13 1-10 that Pilate the Governour of Judea had slain certain Galileans as they were sacrificing so that their Blood was mingled with their Sacrifices Whereupon Jesus asks them whether they thought that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because God had left them to suffer such cruel usage from Men He tells that it was not reasonable to think so but that the conclusion that they ought to make from that accident is this That unless they repented they should all come to as sad and untimely ends as those miserable Men. The same application he tells them they ought to make of the Death of those Eighteen upon whom the Tower of Siloam fell and crushed them to Death And that he might engage them to make a good use of the time that God gives them to compleat their Repentance in for their Crimes He compares them to a barren Fig-tree which the owner of the Vineyard would have had cut down but deferred it because the Gardiner desired to try by dunging and digging of it to make it Fruitful and if it still remained barren then to cut it down XXX Jesus cureth a Woman bowed together Jesus using always to Teach in the Synagogues on the Sabboth days Luke 13 11-17 there came thither a Woman possessed with a Devil who had been afflicted so Eighteen Years and so much bowed together that she could not look up He called her and laying his Hand upon her said unto her Woman thou art freed from thy infirmity and at the same instant she was restored and glorified God for her Cure The Ruler of the Synagogue being angry that Jesus had done this Miracle on the Sabboth Day said unto the People That there are Six Days in every Week allowed by God for labour in them let them come and be healed and not on the Sabboth Day which is a Day of Rest But Jesus answering him demanded of these Hypocrites Whether it were not as lawful to deliver from the Bonds of the Devil on the Sabboth Day a Daughter of Abraham whom he had kept a Captive Eighteen Years as it was for them to unloose his Ox or his Ass upon the same Day and lead them from their Stable to Watering This silenced his Adversaries while the People were astonished at his Actions which were so wonderful and made him so glorious XXXI The Jews go about again to Stone him John 10.22.42 A little after this happened the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple which was kept in Winter Two Months after the Feast of Tabernacles and by consequent towards the Beginning of December Jesus came to Jerusalem at this Feast and walked in a Porch of the Temple called Solomon's Porch till the Jews came about him and said unto him How long wilt thou hold our Soul in Suspence by thy obscure Expressions concerning thy self If thou art the Christ tell us plainly He answered them I have already told you and ye believe not the Works which I do in my Father's Name they bear Witness of me but ye believe not because ye are not of my Sheep And to shew them how great losers they are by not being of his Sheep he adds That his Sheep hear his Voice and follow him that he will give them Eternal Life and they shall never perish because no Man can pull them out of his Father's Hands nor his because he and his Father are one Upon this the Jews went about again to stone him but Jesus aked them For which of those many good Works which they had seen him do would they use him so cruelly They answered him That they did it not for a good Work but because he being a Man made himself a God He then proves to them by their own Scriptures That Men are sometimes called Gods so that he was not guilty of Blasphemy in giving himself that Name who was the only Son of God sent by his Father which he proved by so great a Number of Miracles as God had enabled him to do among them All this did not appease their Fury and Rage against him but they sought how they might take him but he escaped out of their Hands because his Hour was not yet come and having passed over Jordan he went along the Bank of the River to Bethabara the Place where John at first baptized and there he abode Hither he was followed by a great number of People
possess But the Publican on the other side standing afar off durst not so much as lift up his Eyes to Heaven but smote upon his Breast saying My God be merciful to me who am a Sinner Whereupon Jesus adds I declare unto you That this Man returned Home justified rather than the other for he that exalteth himself shall be abased but who so humbleth himself shall be exalted XLI Jesus blesseth certain Infants Then some of the Jews brought their Children to Jesus that he might lay his Hands upon them Matth. 19 13-15 Mark 19 13-16 Luke 18 15-17 and pray for them His Disciples rebuking those that brought them unto him spake roughly to them but Jesus being displeased at this Action reproved them and bid them to suffer little Children to come unto him because the Kingdom of Heaven is made up of such and if we will gain an entrance into it we must become little Children i. e. humble so commending a spiritual Infancy which consists in an Holy Simplicity and sincere Humility After this he takes these little Children up in his Arms and having Blessed them by laying his Hands upon them He departed from thence to go some whither else XLII He tells them how hard it is for a Rich Man to be saved Matth. 19.16 â— 30. Mark 10 17-30 Luke 18 18-30 As Jesus was in his Journey a Young Noble-Man who was very Rich ran unto him and kneeling down to him said Good Master What good thing must I do that I may inherit Eternal Life Jesus answered him Why callest thou me good There is none but God who is good i. e. who is good of himself being perfect and essential Goodness the Original of all Goodness for all the Goodness in the Creatures in only an Efflux and participation of the infinite Goodness of God This Young Man commended an Humane and Finite Goodness in Jesus only and it seems that the Son of God refusing the Title of Good Master and answering that there was none Good but God only would Teach him to acknowledge a Divine and Soveraign Goodness in Himself Afterward he says in Answer to his Question That if he will obtain Eternal Life he must keep the Commandments And because this Young Man asked him which of these Commandments he ought to keep he said unto him Thou knowest the Commandments of the Law Do not kill Do not commit Adultery Do not Steal Do not bear false Witness Defraud not Honour thy Father and thy Mother And Love thy Neighbour as thy Self The Young Man answered All these things have I observed from my Youth What yet have I to do Then Jesus beholding him loved him but this Love which he had for the Young Man did not hinder him from Teaching him a Truth which he could not entertain for he said unto him One thing lackest thou yet If thou wilt be perfect Go and sell all that thou hast and give it to the Poor and thou shalt have Treasure in Heaven and then come and follow me But this Lord who had a great Estate not being able to accept of his Advice and forsake all went away sad Then Jesus who saw him troubled looking round about him said unto his Disciples Verily I say unto you It is very hard for a Rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven And because they were much amazed at these Words he repeated the same Truth again to them in these Words Little Children How hard is it for them that trust in their Riches to enter into the Kingdom of God It is easier for a Camel to go through the Eye of a Needle This last assertion encreased the astonishment of the Apostles who said one to another Who then can be saved But Jesus removed their admiration by telling them that that which is impossible with Men is possible with God who can change the Heart and make Rich Men to leave all to follow Christ and gain Heaven Then said Peter unto him As for us thou seest That we have left all and followed thee What reward shall we receive Jesus answered him That at the Resurrection when the Son of Man shall sit upon the Throne of his Glory they shall sit by him on Thrones judging all the People of Israel And he further tells them that not only they But whosoever shall forsake his House or Kindred or Lands for His and the Gospels sake shall receive in this World an hundredfold Houses and Kindsfolk and Lands with Persecutionâ— and in the World to come Life Eternal By which he means that God who will reward his Elect in another World will give them in this such comforts as are necessary to support them in their afflictions and will find them such Friends as shall by their Christian Charity be as serviceable to them as their nearest Kindred and shall supply the want of all they have forsaken or lost for his sake to them XLIII Jesus explains how they that are first shall be last in the Kingdom of God Mrtth. 19.30 Matth. 20 1-16 The Apostles might well be surprized at the Promise which Jesus had made them That he would set them on Thrones to Judge their whole Nation especially since they had been always so little esteemed among the Jews From this passion the Son of God seems very desirous to free them by repeating to them again the words which he had before used upon another occasion That many of those that should have been first shall be last and many that should have been last shall be first Which Truth that he might throughly explain it to them he propounds a Parable and saith That the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a Man who having sent some Labourers with whom he had agreed for Wages early in the Morning into his Vineyard did also send others at the Ninth Third and Eleventh Hours promising to give them as much as was reasonable for their Labour In the Evening he called all these Men to him and beginning with those who came came last he gave them the same Wages which he had promised to those whom he had hired in the Morning but these last expecting to receive somewhat more than the other murmured against him for giving them as much as he agreed with them for But the Master of the Vineyard proves that he had done them no wrong because he had payd them what was due to them and as for the rest it was Lawful to give them what he pleased From hence the Son of God concludes So the last shall be first and the first shall be last for many are called but few are chosen This is all the explication which our Lord gives us of this Parable but the Fathers understand by the Kingdom of God and the Vineyard into which he calls Men to Labour for the reward which he hath promised by an Holy Life the Church And this reward is nothing but himself Some entred at the beginning of the World into this Vineyard
all the Nation should perish Thus did this wretched Man express the cruel Motions of Hatred which he had against Jesus but God delivered by him who thought nothing less the Designs of his Wisdom for the Salvation of Men and honoured his Priesthood in the Person of his High-Priest Prophesying by his Mouth of the Death which the Saviour of the World should suffer to save not only the Jews but also to gather together into one Church the Children of God which are dispersed in all other Nations This advice so took with them that from that time the Priests and Pharisees sought all the ways they could think of to put him to Death and to this end gave order that if any Man knew where he was he should discover him that they might apprehend him But because his hour was not yet come altho ' it drew very near he escaped their Fury for a little time by not appearing in publick but going into a desert place near a City called Ephraim where he abode some time with his Disciples XLVI Jesus is rejected by the Samaritans The Feast of the Passover being the time wherein Jesus Christ was to consummate the great Work of our Redemption by the Sacrifice of his Blood when that Passover drew near Luke 9 51-56 wherein he was to suffer he prepared himself for Death and set forward in his Journey to Jerusalem with a stedfast Countenance signifying the firm Resolution he had taken up to lay down his Life for Men. It seemed good to him to go thro' Samaria but when he came into a City of the Province they would not entertain him because they knew he was going to Jerusalem for there was a great Contest between the Samaritans and Jews about the place where God ought to be Worshipped the first alledging that it was Mount Gerizim and the other the Temple of Jerusalem The reason then why the Inhabitants of this place thro' which Jesus passed rejected him was because he went to Solemnize the Feast and by consequent to Worship in a different place from them The two Sons of Zebedee James and John being incensed at the Injury which they had done to their Master said unto him Lord wilt thou that we command Fire to fall down from Heaven upon them and devour them But the Son of God willing to Teach them that the Spirit of his true Disciples is a Spirit of Love and Charity and not Revenge turned himself to the two Brethren and gave them this sharp reproof Ye know not by what Spirit ye are acted for the Son of Man is not come to destroy mens Lives but to save them And they went to lodge in another Village XLVII Jesus foretells his Death a Third time Matth. 20 17-19 Mark 10 32-34 Luke 18 31-34 This assurance and resolution of the Son of God which appeared even in his Face was not in the Heart of the Apostles who accompanyed him but on the contrary they were seized with terror and amazement and followed him with fear He takes them therefore apart and saith unto them Behold we go up to Jerusalem where all things that are Written concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished For he shall be delivered to to the Chief Priests and Scribes who shall condemn him to Death and deliver him to the Gentiles who shall mock and spitefully entreat him Scourge and crucify him and he shall rise again the Third Day but they understood not this Third Prediction of his Death no more than the Two former and the Gospel assures us That this Discourse was concealed from them so that they knew not the Things that were spoken XLVIII Jesus reproves the Ambition of his Apostles At the same Time Salome the Wife of Zebedee Matth. 20 20-28 Mark 10 35-45 and the Mother of John and James came to him with her Two Sons and worshipped him as if she were about to pray unto him Jesus asked her what she would have and she answered him Command that these my Two Sons may sit the one on thy Right-Hand and the other on thy Left in thy Kingdom He returned her no answer but turning himself to her Children for whom she petitioned he said unto them Ye know not what ye ask Are ye able to drink of the Cup that I must drink of and to be baptized with the Baptism that I must be baptized with By this Cup and Baptism he understood his Death and he asked these Two Brethren Whether they were able to follow him and imitate his Sufferings They answered That they were able Then he tells them That they should indeed drink a part of his Cup but as for the chief Places in his Kingdom they are wholly at the Disposal of his Father to give them to whom he pleaseth As if he had said according to the Explication of the Fathers Do not think that my Kingdom shall be given for Human Motives and Respects it belongs to those for whom my Father hath appointed it and they are such as are qualified for it by their Lives and Sufferings Put your selves therefore into a Posture of Fighting and Conquering and you shall have the Reward which is promised to Conquerors bestowed on you The Ambition of these Two Disciples displeased the other Ten who were very angry with the Two Brethren Jesus who knew their Thoughts being desirous to cure that Pride which made the one ambitious and the other jealous calls them unto him and teaches them That they must not be like the Princes and Grandees of the World who rule with Tyranny over their Subjects but on the contrary he that will be great among them must be Servant of all according to the Example of the Son of Man himself who came not to be waited upon and served but to serve others for their Spiritual Good and redeem Souls by his Death XLIX Jesus lodges at Zaccheus's House Luke 19 1-10 They went on their Journey and came to Jericho In this City there was a certain Man named Zaccheus one of the chief Publicans and very rich who had a very great Desire to see Jesus But because the Multitude hindred him from it being a Man of a small Stature he went before and climbed up into a Sycamore Tree in a Place where he knew he was to pass Jesus accordingly came that way indeed and lifting up his Eyes he saw Zaccheus and said unto him Zaccheus make haste and come down for I must lodge at thy House to Day At this Zaccheus came down immediately and entertained him joyfully while others murmuring against him said He is gone to be a Guest with a Man of a wicked Life But Jesus made it appear by the miraculous Change which he wrought in the Heart of this Publican that he went as a Physician into a diseased Family to cure it for Zaccheus presenting himself before him said to him Lord the half of my Estate I will give unto the Poor and if I have done any
make of the Gifts of his Mercy and that we need fear but one thing which is to hide or not improve the Talent that God hath entrusted us withal XIX A Description of the Last Judgment After these Parables in which Jesus teacheth his Disciples the importance of watching always Matth. 25 31-46 that they may not be surprized by his Second Coming which must needs be very terrible as the Fathers say to those who have not laboured after Salvation in this Life and who suffer Death to overtake them without a due Preparation for eternal Life He then informs them What he will do upon the Earth when he shall come again in his Majesty accompanied with his Angels He tells them That he shall sit on the Throne of his Glory and all Nations of the World being assembled before him he will separate the Righteous from the Wicked as a Shepherd separateth the Sheep from the Goats That he will say to the Righteous on his Right Hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World for I was an hungry and ye gave me Meat thirsty and ye gave me drink naked and ye cloathed me sick and ye visited me imprisoned and ye came unto me to see me These good Men being amazed will then ask him When he suffered these Wants and they thus assisted him And then he will answer them I say unto you that forasmuch as ye did it to any of these least of my Brethren ye did it unto my self Afterward he will say to the Sinners on his Left-hand Depart from me ye cursed into Eternal Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels And he will add That the Cause of their Condemnation is this that they did not afford him Relief in his need not giving to his Brethren Not that Sinners say the Fathers shall not be punished for their other Crimes of which they are found guilty and the Good shall not be rewarded for the other good Works which they have done but by assuring us That he will judge Men according to the Works of Mercy which they have done or omitted He endeavours to teach us That without this vertue all the Good we do will be unprofitable for our Salvation and that there is no Sin which Alms-giving done by the Spirit of God cannot blot out Sinners shall be damned because they have not given Alms as a Sick Man may be said to dye of his Disease because he would not use the Medicine which might cure him These Two Sentences shall be followed with different Executions the Sinners shall go into Eternal Torments prepared for them but the Just shall go up into Heaven to be enstated in Life and Eternal Glory XX. The Jews hold a Council against Jesus Matth. 26 1-5.14-16 Mar. 14.1 2 10 11 Luke 22 1-6 While Jesus was thus instructing his Apostles the Priests and Doctors of the Law were devising all ways to apprehend Jesus by Subtilty and put him to Death He did not hide himself from them because his Hour was come He appeared in the Temple in the Day-Time and the People came together early in the Morning to hear him and at Night he went into the Mount of Olives On Wednesday his Enemies met in the Hall of Caiphas the High Priest and held a Council against him But because they feared the People they sought to seize upon him by Craft and that not on he Feast-Day lest they should cause an Uproar among the People In the mean Time Satan entred the Heart of Judas Iscariot that covetous Apostle who being a Thief kept the Mony of Jesus Christ and inspired him with a detestable Resolution to betray and sell his Master This Traitor therefore goes to the Priests and Rulers and saith unto them What will ye give me and I will deliver him into your Hands This Proposition did please them wonderfully and they promised to give him Thirty Pieces of Silver which comes to about Three Pounds and Fifteen Shillings of our Mony Which Sum he accepted From that Time he sought Opportunity to betray him This Jesus warned his Disciples of Ye know that within Two Days is the Feast of the Passover and the Son of Man shall be delivered up to the Jews to be Crucified XXI What was the Jewish Passover The Passover was the greatest and most solemn of all the Jewish Festivals Exod. 12. and God himself appointed it as a notable Remembrance of the Favours he had done for his People and as a sensible Sign of those that he further intended to do for all Mankind by the Death of his Son The Word Pascha signifies a Passage and if we would understand why this Name was given to that Solemnity we must call to Mind the manner how the Israelites were delivered out of Aegypt and from the Slavery of Pharaoh God that he might oblige that Prince to free his People sent several Plagues upon him and his Kingdom and particularly slew all the First-Born in Aegypt both of Man and Beast But that the Jews might not be involved in this Massacre which was intended only to work their Deliverance they were ordered by Moses from God to do these Things On the Tenth Day of the Moon in March they took every one an He-Lamb according to their Families without Blemish or Spot which they Sacrific'd on the Full-Moon of the same Month at Even and struct the Blood of it upon the Lintel and Two Side-posts of their Houses The same Night they eat the Flesh roasted with Fire in haste with unleavened Bread and bitter Sauces having their Garments guirded and trussed up their Shoes on their Feet and a Staff in their Hands as being ready to depart In this Night which was from the Fourteenth to the Fifteenth Day of the Moon in March God laid this heavy Judgment upon all Aegypt in slaying all the First-born and because he passed over all the Houses of the Israelites which he saw dyed with the Blood of the Lamb which had been sacrificed the Night before he would have this Lamb called by the Name of Pascha or Passover The Aegyptians seeng this Slaughter urged the Jews to be gone themselves who being ready to depart as we have already seen went out of that Country carrying the Dough along with them which they had not Time to leaven In remembrance of this miraculous Deliverance God commanded them to celebrate a great Feast every Year called the Passover that they might have it as a Monument of this Passage of the Lord and he enjoyned them during this Solemnity which was to continue Seven Days That they should eat unleavened Bread and should begin on the Fourteenth Day of the Moon of March in the Evening to Sacrifice and Eat the Lamb in remembrance of their Deliverance out of Aegypt This Evening which began the Feast of Passover was called the First Day of Unleavened Bread and the Name of Passover was given equally to the
use but in this Life where we have wants and miseries to relieve and succour before an Action whose benefit is eternal which Mary was about who by hearing the Word of Jesus Christ begins to feed upon the contemplation of that God who is the nourishment of the Blessed Saints and Angels in Heaven But Jesus doth not content himself to teach us to hearken to the Word of God Luke 11.1 -13. by the example of Mary but also he directs us how to speak to God in Prayer for upon a certain day one of his Disciples seeing him at prayer after he had finished said unto him Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his Disciples Whereupon he taught them that excellent Prayer which we have set down in the Abridgment of his Sermon on the Mount and gave them those good rules for Prayer there mentioned XXVII He reproves the Pharisees and Scribes for their Sins Luke 11.27 -54. Matth. 23.4 -39. Mark 12.38 -40. Jesus on a certain day was invited by a Pharisee to Dinner and as soon as he was entred into his House set him down to Meat without washing his Hands first according to the Custom of the Pharisees His Host was much offended at his Carriage and murmured in himself at it till Jesus said unto him You Pharisees are very careful to keep the out-side of your Cups and Platters clean but your inward parts i. e. your heart is full of Rapine Wickedness and Vncleanness and at the same time he teaches them an excellent remedy to purify themselves from all their filth Give Alms and all things shall be clean unto you He objects many other Crimes to these proud Men who affected to be Honoured and Esteemed of all Men as the greatest Saints He discovers their Hypocrisy and severely censures their irregular conversation for he pronounces a Wo against them because they were very fearful of omitting small duties but were not afraid to commit great Sins like those Men who strain at a Gnat and swallow a Camel Because they were very exact in giving the Tenth of their Garden-herbs but neglected the more important Duties of the Law Justice Mercy Faith and the Love of God Because they love to have the uppermost places in all Assemblies and be saluted in the Markets Because under the pretence of their long Prayers they devoured and ruined Widows into whose Houses they insinuated themselves by that means Because they would Travel into all places to convert Infidels to the Jews Religion and afterward make them more worthy of Hell than themselves either by their wicked example teaching them to prophane the True Religion which they had brought them over to or else so scandalizing them by their sinful Lives that they chose to return to that Pagan Worship they had forsaken Because they undertake to Guide and Instruct others but are themselves so Ignorant and Blind as to teach Men that they are obliged to keep their words when they swear by the Gift bestowed upon the Temple or offered on the Altar but are not obliged when they swear by the Temple or Altar themselves He compares them therefore to those Sepulchres which have fine white out-sides but are within full of Dead-mens Bones and Rottenness The Lawyers thought that all these Reproofs equally concerned them wherefore one of them taking upon him to speak to Jesus said to him Master in thus speaking thou disgracest Vs also But he spared them no more than the former but pronounced also a Wo against them because they impose a Yoke upon others which they will not touch with the Tip of their Fingers and that they will neither enter into Heaven themselves not suffer those that would He tells them also by way of reproach that those very Magnificent Ornaments with which they adorned the Sepulchres of the Prophets as a Demonstration of their Abhorrence of the Fact of those Men who were their Murderers were contrary to their design evident Marks of their Approbation of their Crime since by Persecuting those who Preached the Truth to them they imitated their Malice so exactly that they shewed themselves the Children of those who slew the Prophets He concludes after this manner saying to them Fill ye up then the Measure of your Fathers Sin that you may have a share in their punishment And after adds this terrible Threatning Behold I will send you Prophets Wise-men and Scribes and some of them shall ye Kill and Crucify and others of them shall ye Scourge in your Synagogues and Persecute them in your Cities that all the Innocent Blood which hath been shed by your Fathers may fall upon you for I say unto you that God shall call this Nation to an account and will pour cut all this Wrath upon the Men of this Generation As he was thus speaking to them the Scribes and Pharisees began to urge him vehemently and to ensnare him by the various Objections and Questions they put to him but they could get nothing from him for which they could as they designed fix an Accusation upon him XXVIII Jesus gives several Instructions to his Disciples Luke 12.1 -53. In the mean time an Innumerable Multitude of People being gathered about him so that they trod one upon another Jesus admonished his Disciples to beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees which is Hypocrisy and not to fear the Persecutions of Men but to fear God alone and to repose a stedfast confidence in him Then did a certain Man of the Company say unto him Master speak to my Brother to divide the Inheritance fallen to Vs peaceably with me But Jesus desirous to teach Us that 't is every Mans Duty to keep within his own Calling answered him my Friend who made me a Judge or a Divider among you Then he subjoyns Take heed and beware of Covetousness and to insinuate this the more into the Hearts of his Hearers he propounded to them this Parable A certain rich Man being troubled for a place where to lay up the extraordinary plenty which his Land had produced resolved to pull down his Barns and Build bigger and when he had thus secured and layd up his Goods he said within himself that having a sufficient Provision for many Years he had nothing to do but take his ease and be merry But God said to this Man O thou Fool This Night shall thy Soul be required of thee and for whom then hast thou hoarded up these things Such is the condition saith he of him that layeth up Treasure for himself and is not Rich towards God For this reason it is that he teaches his Disciples not to be sollicitous or careful for the things of this Life but to seek the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof and God will give all other things to them That they should be so far from heaping up Riches that they ought to sell all that they have and give it to the Poor that they may have a Treasure in Heaven That