blast of outward accidents sometimes this way and sometimes the quite contrary in good company and after some pathetick exhortations doing well and then crossing all again when a new temptation to sin solicits him Sure such men as can believe thus fansy heaven a void and empty space where company is wanting and imagine our Saviour cares not who comes thither so it be but filled They live as if all the regions above the glorious Paradise of God were but so much waste ground which needs a Colony of Planters it matters not of what quality they are so it be but inhabited O vile thoughts that can imagine God wants the company of such as care not for him and that Heaven which threw out the Angels that sinned will entertain those who joyn with them in their foul rebellion It is a wonderful grace that he will invite us on any terms to his most blessed society We doe him no kindness but our selves in seeking his heavenly Kingdom Into which if we will not enter at such a gate as he sets open we shall be shut out and perish in our perverse ingratitude or foolish presumption Consider I beseech you what do all these WITNESSES say concerning the way to it Do they not tell us that streight is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life vii Matt. 14. that we must strive to enter xiii Luke 24. and that there shall in no wise enter into the holy city any thing that defileth xxi Rev. 27. and that without holiness no man shall see the Lord xii Hebr. 14. Which we must therefore excite our selves by his promises to perfect in the fear of God having cleansed our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit 2 Cor. vii 1. And giving all diligence adde to our faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity For so an entrance shall be ministred to us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. i. 5 6 7 11. Examine every one of them and they will tell you as much The FATHER by a voice from heaven bids us hear his Son who says Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven vii Matt. 21. And the WORD saith Blessed are they that doe his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the citâ— xxii Rev. 14. Wherefore as the HOLY Gâ—OST saith To day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts iii. Heb. 7 8. This was its language of old and it was poured also on the Apostles that repentance and remission of sins might be preached in our Saviour's name among all nations xxiv Luk. 47 49. Which is the end also of our being washed with WATER in his name for we are baptized into his death and therefore ought to reckon our selves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortall body that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof vi Rom. 3 11 12. For his BLOUD was shed that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works ii Tit. 14. For which end also he was raised from the dead by the Eternall SPIRIT that he might bless us in turning every one of us from his iniquities iii. Act. 26. And therefore this the APOSTLES say and testifie in the Lord that we henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk iv Eph. 17. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness He therefore that despiseth despiseth not man but God saith St. Paul who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit 1 Thess iv 7 8. And if I should now send you to inquire and ask for the old paths as Jeremiah speaks would you find that the ancient Christians knew any other way to bliss then this Did they who while they were in the flesh lived not according to it who being upon earth had their conversation in heaven whose lives excelled the best laws and statutes of their severall countries which they strictly obeyed who loved all though persecuted by all who blessed when they were cursed honoured those that treated them despitefully did good to those who punished them as evill doers * Vid pl. apud Juâ—â—in Mart. Epist ad Dâ—ognet p. 497. c. did these men I say believe that Heaven might be wone onely by their prayers or by perpetuall disputing about that Religion which they did not practise How come we then to have so great a fondness for our selves as to think that we shall carry that by the name and the profession of Christianity which they could not get without so much labour and to have such cheap thoughts of the Crown of glory as to imagine it will bow and come down to those idle wishes unto which there is nothing so mean in this world but scorns to stoop That one thought is sufficient to convince us what we have to doe to be happy I need not send you so far as those elder times go but to your selves and enquire how you doe in the affairs of this world Sure men never got their estates with so little care as they hope to get Heaven Ask a man why he follows his business so close and he will tell you that an estate is not got by wishing that a family cannot be provided for by lying in bed or sitting by the fire-side that there are opportunities which must be narrowly watcht and cheats which are not easily discovered And yet to see the imprudence and inconsiderateness of Mankind The same person thinks to go to Heaven and possess all the treasures there by his Prayers alone though cold too and but little observed or by a lame Repentance which wants its effects nay by a death-bed groan a few forced tears and promises never performed by some short snatches of Religion a careless behaviour and an unwatchfull life He minds no occasion of doing or receiving good is indifferent whether he lay hold of opportunities and good seasons seldom thinks of the place whither he would go denies himself nothing to which he hath a mind bridles no appetite curbs no passion nay will be drunk for company and swear rather then be thought such a coward as to stand in awe of God or to want the breeding of a Gentleman and in brief doth not half so much upon the account of Eternall Life as many a man does for a single-peny What a strange dulness is this to imagine that all ends which we aim at must be compassed by means proportionable to their greatness but onely the very greatest and last End of all The Souldier gets not
the voice spake of him alone and none else there being no body but He to be seen by his Disciples when it came forth from the presence of God So you read in all the Evangelists that the cloud which appeared over-shadowed them viz. Moses and Elias whereupon the Disciples were afraid as S. Luke tells us ix 34. as they that is Moses and Elias entred â—â—to the cloud imagining it is like that it would approach nearer and spread it self over them who dreaded to enter into it as they saw those two persons did But there was no danger it only parted Moses and Elias from Jesus and left him alone and then came the voice out of that cloud where Moses and Elias were with God giving their assent to what it said This is my beloved Son hear him Him I say Non Mosen jam Eliam as Tertullian * L. 4. adv Marc. C. 22. I now observe interprets it Not Moses and Elias who were shown as his language is in the prerogative of brightness and then dismissed as being now discharged both of their office and of their honour Thus I have briefly explained the second Testimony which God the Father gave him in the audience of three of his Disciples who had a vision also at the same time of the glory wherein he was to shine after his departure out of this world To which testimony our Saviour would not have those Disciples as yet to add theirs but to keep this as a secret till he was risen again from the dead xvii Matth. 9. It was fit for the Father alone to speak now from whom they were to learn what Jesus was that being fully satisfied they might be the better able to speak of him then upon their own knowledge who had been eye and ear-witnesses of the honour and glory which he received from God the Father when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And this voice S. Peter I told you openly avers 2 i. 17 18. he and others heard when they were with him in the holy mount But if any one should be so suspicious and distrustful as to think that the Testimony of three persons is not sufficient to beget belief in us of such a wonderful thing as this is that God declared Jesus to be his Son though there is no just reason to doubt of any thing that is established out of the mouth of but two good witnesses yet such was the condescension of God the Father Almighty that he was pleased a little before our Saviours decease which Moses and Elias spake of to give his testimony to him again and to declare this more publickly which was shortly to be proclaimed in all the world III. For this Third voice which the Father was pleased to send from Heaven to bear witness to him was not heard by so few as two or three but by a great multitude of people which makes our belief of this Truth to rely still upon surer grounds For you read in the xii John 1 2 c. that a great company of people having heard what a miracle our Saviour had wrought upon Lazarus whom he raised from the dead a little before at a neighbouring town flockt out of Jerusalem to meet him as he was coming thither to the seast of the Passeover And being convinced that he was that King of Israel whom the Lord by his Prophets had promised to send in his name they met him with Palms of joy and triumph in their hands and with the loudest acclamations of praise in their mouths spreading their garments also in the way as other Evangelists tell us to do him the greater honour and wishing him all prosperity in his new Kingdom In this croud or among the rest of the people who were come to worship at the feast there were certain Greeks as you read ver 20. who were desirous to see Jesus whom the multitude thus magnified and it is likely wish'd to have some proof given them that he was such a person as fame reported him Now the first thing our Saviour answers to those who presented them to him which must be diligently noted is that ere long He should be glorified But first he must take the Cross in his way and then the glory he should attain thereby would be exceeding great for his death would produce most precious fruit and be the means of enlarging his Kingdom and bringing innumerable such Gentiles as these were unto God ver 23 24. And thereupon He perswades his Disciples ver 25 26. to adventure their lives according to his example for the good of mankind which would redound also very much to their own honour As they might see already in Moses and Elias who appeared S. Chrysostom thinks for this end among others to strengthen and encourage their Christian resolution in their sufferings * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom. 56. in Matth. but should be more fully satisfied when they saw him ascend to that glory after his sufferings of which they had beheld but a shadow when those two illustrious persons came to wait upon him A difficult work indeed it was at the thoughts of which He himself could not but be something sad ver 27. and wisht according to the inclinations of Nature there were some other way if God pleased to deliver mankind But since he had sent him into the world for this end that he should lay down his life for our Redemption he resolves presently to submit to God and desires only this one thing of him ver 28. Father glorifie thy Name As much as to say I know thou art my FATHER and since it is thy pleasure to which I will always submit behold I offer my self now to be an instrument of thy glory by my passion as I have been hitherto by my preaching and the works thou hast done by my hands I am content to receive the glory which I expect and just now told my Disciples I shall receive in this way of humble suffering thy will and pleasure I am desirous thou shouldest first be glorified and if my death will serve that end I am ready to part with my life for I know thou wilt be much more glorified by my Resurrection and Ascension to Heaven There is no reasonable doubt to be made of the truth of this interpretation for they glorifie God most remarkably who die for the testimony of the Truth xxi John 19. It is a great honour to him that they love him more than their lives and will take his word for their recompense in an invisible world This our Saviour himself calls Gods being glorified in him xiii John 31. and therefore I make no question he desires here that his Fathers Name may be glorified by the same means Now to this humble request of his God the Father replies by a voice from Heaven saying I have both glorified it and will glorifie
and whereby he justified himself against all accusers This was his warrant to this he appeals upon all occasions that He saw Jesus in the way to Damascus And he had great reason to stick to it for he knew that no body could shame him by so much as pretending that he lied and that there was no such thing as this apparition of Jesus to him He had his companions in his journey to be witnesses of the Miraculous glory which on a sudden surprised them as well as him xxvi Acts 15. They heard then the voice of some body discoursing with him though they did not distinctly hear the words It became presently notorious every where for this thing as he tells Agrippa ver 26. was not done in a corner but openly and at noon-day to the astonishment of divers persons who attended him And it left a sensible effect upon his body and upon his mind He could neither see nor eat nor drink for three days In which space he saw a vision of a man named Ananias coming to him and bidding him receive his sight All which proved true and together with his sight he received a new spirit whereby he confounded the Jews at Damascus For they could not deny all this and yet were loth to believe in Jesus They were amazed to hear him preached by a man who they knew was come thither with a quite contrary intent ix 21. They could not but ask what is the matter whence comes this marvellous change Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this Name in Jerusalem And is not that the business for which he came hither to bring them bound unto the chief Priests What ailes him now that he thus justifies them and condemns himself And there is no doubt but to answer such Questions he took the opportunity to tell them what he had seen and what he had heard for so Ananias charged him xxii 15. He did not keep this as a secret it was not carried in privacy but presently divulged that all might inquire if they pleased into the circumstances of the fact Which was so strange that as it amazed and confounded them at Damascus so King Agrippa ' knew not what to say to it but was almost perswaded to be a Christian xxvi Acts 28. No man of sence could think that a person of his education and learning would venture the loss of his ease of his reputation of all the preferment he had and of all that he might justly hope for from the Sanhedrim without the least expectation of any gain unless of that only which Jesus could give him if he had not been fully assured it was no delusion when he presented himself to him as the Lord of glory Much less could any man imagine that a person of his vertue and unblameable life under the Law and of such strange piety and perfect contempt of all worldly things after his receiving Christianity would feign and devise such a story by which if it were false he could get nothing in the other world and if it were true he could get nothing in this Nothing but misery trouble infamy and reproach which attended him every where and never left him till it had brought him to a shameful death If you will but consider what he quitted for Christ's sake after he had thus appeared to him and how the world treated him when he became a preacher of this Gospel as you find it described by himself in several Epistles particularly iii. Philip. 8. 1 Cor. iv 9 10 11 c. 2 Cor. vi 4 5 c. xi 23 24 c. you will soon be satisfied that he was more in his wits than either to invent this story or publish it without strong assurance of its truth He was as sure that he saw the Lord Jesus in his glory and heard the voice of his mouth as every body else that knew him was sure he had been a blasphemer of him and a persecutor of his servants And therefore whatsoever it cost him he would be obedient to that Heavenly Vision And having a Ministry from him as he speaks in the 2 Cor. iv 1 2 3. according as he had received mercy so he accounted it a very great favour to become one of his Ministers he did not faint nor discharge his office sluggishly Nor did he think of making up his losses by this new profession of preaching the Gospel but abhorred such a dishonest thought and utterly renounced all such base and shameful arts though never so secretly managed and covered over with never such specious pretences He did not walk in craftiness nor appear other than he really was Much less would he to please any men handle the word of God deceitfully either by concealing any thing that was true or by mixing any false stories of his own inventing No by plain truth he commended himself to every mans conscience as in the presence of that God who is the avenger of all fraud and imposture And therefore he justly concludes that if any man did not receive these things nor think them evident enough it was because he deserved to perish for the love he bore to some naughty affection or other which would not let him submit to Jesus For it was him the Apostles preached ver 5. not themselves they did not do their own business but his only whom they proclaimed to be the Lord and themselves no more but his servants nay the servants of all Christian people for his sake But I must no longer follow the story of this great man who became so strong in the Lord and in the power of his might after He had from Heaven appeared and spoken to him that as nothing could daunt him so nothing could hinder the sucecess of his labours He became the most eminent servant of the Lord Jesus and prevailed so mightily against all the opposition which the Devil or men raised to frustrate his endeavours that he gives thanks to God in the second Chapter of that Epistle ver 14. Who always caused him to triumph in Christ and made manifest the odour of his knowledge by him in every place All his travels and long journeys proved in the issue as if they had been but the carrying of him about in a triumphal Chariot to make him a glorious spectacle in all those places as the Syriack translates it where in spite of all that the most powerful cruelty and rage could do he was still victorious and brought divers Souls into a chearful subjection to his Master Christ Jesus III. Who was pleased last of all but more frequently than to any other to show himself after he went to Heaven to this very Apostle whose words I am expounding his beloved Disciple S. John By whom he comforts and encourages all other Christians to continue stedfast in their Religion and to take their share with him in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ Who many ways declared to him
testimony of my self because I do but repeat the very same thing which the Father hath said before me For though alone as I have confessed heretofore my testimony of my self is worth nothing and cannot challenge belief yet added unto so high a testimony as his it ought to be duly regarded and accepted But besides this I must add another consideration of great moment Which is that the Testimony of the WORD concerning himself now that he is in the Heavens is of great validity even singly considered though it had no such authority alone when he was upon the Earth For during his stay here on Earth it could not appear by his bare saying so that he was the Son of God the King of Israel because he was in a poor mean and low condition altogether unlike a King And therefore if the Father and the Spirit had not testified so much none could have believed on him But when he was in the Heavens then what he said of himself carried great authority and power with it because he could not say those words to any one but he must appear as a King in glory There were things as well as words to speak for him At the same time that he bare witness of himself they to whom he spake must needs see the truth of his Testimony by the royal state and majesty wherein they beheld him If the question should be whether a person be alive his own appearing in Court would be the best testimony that could be given of it If whether such a one be a King his sitting upon his Throne with his Crown on his head in his royal Palace and his Ministers round about him would be the surest evidence that could be desired to put it out of doubt In this case therefore where the question is whether Jesus be the Son of God or no there cannot be expected a better resolution of it than his own witness to himself by appearing upon the Throne of his Glory There several persons of unblemished credit beheld him and had the confidence to venture their lives upon the certain knowledge they had that they were not deceived From thence he spake to them and directed them to speak and carry his messages to others that they might believe on the Name of the Son of God And let it but be remembred which I noted at the beginning that we are now examining those witnesses which speak from Heaven and not those which speak on the Earth and then you will soon discern that these testimonies of the WORD though concerning himself ought to be received with great reverence and to be judged very full and powerful to prove Jesus to be the Son of God Especially since besides his own word for it we have also the word of the Father who several times called him his Son and that before he took this honour to himself A PRAYER LET all mankind therefore honour thee O blessed Jesus even as they honour the Father Be thou adored every where upon Earth with the same reverence and love wherewith all the Angels in Heaven worship thee whom they and we acknowledge to be the LORD the WORD of God the Wisdom of the Father the bright morning Star the Light of the World the Prince of Life the Heir of all things the KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS God blessed for ever Thou art the King of glory O Christ Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father The Beginner and the Finisher of our Faith the Judge of the World the Author of Eternal Salvation unto all them that obey thee O how happy are they that know thee and stedfastly believe in thee and sincerely love thee and heartily obey thee and have a good hope that thou wilt bless them and imploy thy power for their promotion to that glory wherein thou reignest I rejoyce to hear thee say that thou who wast dead art alive for evermore Amen and hast the keys of Hell and of Death I thank thee for appearing so often to assure our Souls that thou sittest at the right hand of God and hast all power in Heaven and in Earth Great is the consolation which thou hast given us by the sight of that Glory wherein thy first Martyr beheld thee ready to succour all thy faithful servants Marvellous was thy work O Lord for which all thy Church will for ever praise thee in calling S. Paul to be an Apostle separated unto the Gospel of God Adored be thy glorious Majesty which appeared to him for this purpose to make him a Minister and a Witness of what he saw and heard that he might go and open the eyes of the Gentiles to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in thee O how full of comfort is that Revelation which thou hast made of thy self to thy servant John Who received the brightest discoveries of thy glory in Heaven when he was in the most desolate condition upon Earth who beheld thy care over thy Church and thy conquests over thine enemies thy Priestly and thy Royal power to the perpetual joy of those that love thee and the terror of all those that oppose thee O blessed Jesus far be it from any of us in the least to contradict thy will who art so highly advanced far above all principality and power and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come May every Christian Soul be so sensibly affected with the belief of thy Glory as to prostrate it self before thee and say with the same spirit that thy blessed Apostle S. Paul did when thou appearedst unto him Lord what wilt thou have me to do May that ardent love burn in every one of our breasts towards thee and towards one another which was in thy beloved Disciple who bare record of thee and testified to us these things And may none of us prove so false and unkind as to leave our first love but our work and charity and service and faith and patience may be ever commended by thee and the last be more than the first Then shall we be able with a chearful countenance to look up unto thee and to think of thy majesty and glory with exultation and triumph and not with terror and amazement of spirit We will joy in thy strength O Lord and in thy salvation how greatly shall we rejoyce We will rejoyce even in the midst of tribulation and though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil but stedfastly looking up unto Heaven call upon thee O Lord Jesus and beseech thee to receive our Spirit Into thy hands be they recommended both now and ever with most earnest desires and hope that thou wilt help thy servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious bloud and make them to be
Salutation to the blessed Virgin is after this manner recited in the Alcoran in the next Chapter to that before named O Mary God sends thee a good Messenger by his WORD which is out of himself His Name is Messias or Jesus Christ the Son of Mary powerful in this present World and in the World to come Where the forenamed Paraphrast says he was powerful in the present World by Prophecy and in the World to come by Intercession and Celestial preparation He should have added also what he said before that he was powerful here by that which is properly called power the healing Diseases opening blind Mens eyes and such like works of wonders the Divine Majesty resting on him and abiding in him in so glorious a manner that he might properly be called the Temple of God For whatsoever demonstrations there were of Gods presence in the Tabernacle of Moses or in the Temple of Solomon which were alike filled with the glory of the Lord xl Exod. 34 35. 2 Chron. v. 13 14. the very same tokens there were of his presence in our Saviour Nay it is easie to show that he manifested himself in all his glorious Attributes more in our Saviours Person than ever he did in either of those places And it will be such an evident demonstration of the truth I am asserting and give such light to this testimony of the Holy-Ghost who appeared in that excellent Majesty which descended on him that I think it will be worth my pains to make good the Parallel in some instances I. And first you may observe that from the holy place in the Tabernacle God declared his mind and will and made known to his People what he would have done There God told Moses he would meet and commune with him of all things which he would give him in commandment to the Children of Israel xxv Exod. 22. And we are told the manner of it vii Num. 89. When he was gone into the Tabernacle he heard the voice of one speaking to him from off the Mercy seat that was upon the Ark from between the two Cherubims From thence God gave out to Moses his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Apostle calls them iii. Rom. 2. Oracles or such words of direction and command as were necessary for the good Government and preservation of his People whose Laws Statutes and Judgments came from the holy Oracle in the Sanctuary of God This was a marvellous favour of Heaven to them though nothing comparable to the manifestation of the wisdome and counsel and will of God by our blessed Saviour Who not only revealed his Mind more clearly and abundantly thereby showing he is the Temple of God but told us such things as never came from the former holy place things which eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither did they enter into the heart of man to conceive He was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or WORD of GOD in this sence as well as any other because he acquaints us with Gods mind and declares to all Mankind his sacred will and as from an holy Oracle utters things secret from the foundation of the World For the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth i. Joh. 14. The word full relates to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the WORD in the beginning of the Verse the other part of the Verse being inserted between in a Parenthesis and carries this sence in it that Jesus being fully acquainted with all the gracious counsels of God concerning Men hath declared them to us and made us also acquainted with them He was so full of truth that he calls himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the truth it self xiv Joh. 6. No man hath seen God at any time the onely begotten Son he hath declared him i. 18. That is he hath made God visible to us he as an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expounder or interpreter of anothers mind hath opened to us all his secrets concerning our Salvation and thereby declared that he is no less than the Wisdom of God When he appeared in the World then Wisdome built her self an house as Solomon speaks ix Prov. 1. Which words * Orat. 3. contra Arrian Athanasius not unfitly accommodates to our Lord Christ Whose body is the house of Wisdome And a most holy house the dwelling place of God from whence he hath revealed himself not to so few as one Nation but to all the World whom if they would open their eyes he hath illuminated with his Wisdome R. Bechai I remember will have the Ark from whence Moses heard God speaking to him to be called in their Language by the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as much as to say because of the light which was there Which he will have to be the Law preserved in the Ark which was the Light of Israel And just thus writes S. John concerning this WORD of God 1.4 In him was life and the life was the light of men That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World v. 9. For so Jesus proclaimed himself saying viii 12. I am the LIGHT of the World And such a Light he was that all the wisdome which was discovered before from the Sanctuary of God was but Clouds and darkness in compare with that which was made manifest by our Saviour The best knowledge they had was covered and wrapt up in types and figures till God appeared in Jesus and rent those clouds in pieces by the brightness of his beams They had but such a confused apprehension of things in former times that S. Paul compares this discovery of God in Christ to the breaking forth of light out of the rude Chaos in the beginning of the world 2 Corinth iv 6. For God who commanded light to shine out of darkness i. Gen. 2 3. hath shined in our hearts the hearts of the Apostles to give the light of the knowledge of the GLORY OF GOD in the face of Jesus Christ Some flashes of which light and majesty of God in him came from his face not long after he entred into the World When he was but a Childe they wondred at his wisdome and were astonished at his understanding and answers ii Luk. 47. But when he was grown up and the Holy Ghost came down from Heaven upon him like the Glory of the Lord which filled the Tabernacle and Temple then his Wisdome appeared the more illustriously And was the more amazing because they knew he was not trained up in the Schools of Learning nor had any better breeding than a Carpenter's shop could give him For so his Countrymen say in S. Mark vi 2 3. Is not this the Carpenter the Son of Mary How comes he by these things and what wisdome is this which is given unto him They were astonished at his Doctrine and as S. Luke tells us iv 22. Wondred at the gracious words which proceeded out of his
as to carry the Shooes of him that was coming after him ver 27. and that his Doctrine as you have heard iii. 31. was of the Earth flat and low in comparison with the words that Jesus should speak who he told them plainly was the Christ the Son of God but as for himself he confessed and denied not but confessed that is repeated it more than once and affirmed constantly I am not the Christ What reason was there then why both they that heard his testimony of Jesus and they that sent these messengers to make enquiry should not believe him since all this was so known a truth His Father Zacharias was a Priest whom they could not but reverence more than to imagine he studied to deceive especially since he was noted for a righteous man walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless And John himself was a Nazarite one whose head was never troubled with the fumes of Wine or of strong drink i. Luke 15. and bred up likewise in the Desarts or Wilderness of Judea i. Luke 80. after a plain and simple fashion where he was like to learn no craft or guile If any body should take the confidence to fancy that there might be a compact between Jesus and him to cry up and speak great things of one another He is confuted by the plain story of both their lives I have told you how far Jesus was from seeking his own glory and John Baptist was a man of such confessed sanctity and severe vertue that none then could suspect him of such a guilt Besides that it is manifest they never had seen one another at least John had no knowledge of our Saviour until He came to be baptized of him when he immediately proclaimed him to be that person whom he had magnified so much and told them should be preferred above himself before he had any such acquaintance with him And it is not unfit to be remembred that even before he was born John Baptist leaped in his Mothers womb when the blessed Virgin came to visit her as if he had then begun to confess him to be the LORD as his Mother calls him i. Luke 41 43. and to rejoyce to be a WITNESS unto so great a person For a conclusion of this let the place be noted where Jesus came to be baptized of John and where he gave so ample a testimony to him For from thence we shall draw something which will help to settle this belief in us that Jesus is the Son of God It was at BETHABARA beyond Jordan as S. John has recorded i. John 28. There the Priests and Levites who were deputed by the Sanhedrim or great Council at Jerusalem to go and examine him received their Answer from him again and again that he was not the CHRIST For there he was baptizing and there Jesus came to receive his baptism for as he was speaking those words which you read ver 27. and saying he was not worthy to loose the latchet of his Shooes Jesus came from Galilee as S. Matthew writes iii. 13. to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him Now this Name BETHABARA signifies the place of passage or going over 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beth in their language being an house or place and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abara a passing over from one place unto another and therefore in all likelihood hereabouts the children of Israel went over this River Jordan when they entred upon the land of Canaan This was the place of their passage when God brought them out of the Wilderness to their desired possession and so had the name of Bethabara affixed to it in memory of so great a blessing Now Jesus being baptized at that very place where Joshua or Jesus as he is called iv Hebr. 8. conducted the children of Israel over that River unto their rest and receiving there such a testimony both from God the Father and likewise from John the Prophet of the highest It was a notable sign and token joyned with those two that this person called Jesus also was He that should lead them into the Heavenly rest and be the Captain of their Salvation And the Holy Ghost descending also in this very place upon him here he was anointed to be the Guide the Leader and Conductor of God's people that is as we render the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. Acts 31. a PRINCE and a Saviour who should put them in possession of the greatest blessings As Moses laid his hands on â—â—shua near this place which we may reasonably conjecture from xxxiv Deut. 9. and made him the Ruler and Governour of that Nation so here did God himself give all things into the hands of Jesus by the Holy Ghost coming down upon his head appointing constituting and ordaining him to be the Royal Prophet who should bring all the world to his obedience And it is observable that to this place our Saviour a great while after returned again and there made his residence when the Pharisees sought to kill him x. John 40. I cannot but think that this Evangelist would have us learn something from his so particular remembrance of this place both at our Saviours baptism and at his return again into the Country beyond Jordan For it is not their manner to mention such circumstances in so short a History as this is without some considerable reason Now as we have guessed at the cause of his being baptized and receiving the testimony of John at Bethabara so it is likely the reason why our Saviour went hither again and here abode was that he might call to the peoples mind what had been done here formerly the Testimony which John received from God concerning him and the Testimony which thereupon John gave to them of him at this remarkable place For he knew those things which were done at Bethabara had a great force in them to work a much better disposition in the people than was in the murderous hearts of those at Jerusalem and to move them to become his Disciples According to which supposition you read in the very next words x. John 41 42. that many resorting to him began to discourse among themselves concerning John and of what he had spoken concerning our Saviour for which we can find no occasion but the place and perhaps our Saviours putting them in mind what had been said and done here and that many believed on him THERE The word there is to be remarked for it tells us that these Disciples were won to Jesus at that place where John at first baptized They remembred it is probable what he had said how he told them that he saw the Holy Ghost here descend and remain upon him and that this was he whom he had spoken of before who was greater than himself and that he saw and bare record that this is the Son of God And they likewise now beheld some miracles wrought by our Saviour whereas John wrought none which
the raising of Lazarus which had drawn many of the Jews to him and he promises shortly to make it appear more brightly by raising up Jesus from the dead which would draw also many such Gentiles as these to believe on his name To conclude this that which the above named Jewish writer pretends in favour of Moses that he appeared and did his wonders in an age when the world was full of wisdom and knowledge is a great deal truer of our blessed Saviour For as he rightly notes * Sepher Cosri Par. 1. Sect. 63. that Learning still went along with the Monarchies so it never was at a greater height than in the greatest Empire that of the Romans and in the highest pitch of that Empire when our Saviour appeared Upon which account there cannot be any suspicion of fraud in this or the rest of our Saviours miracles which were not wrought in an ignorant age nor in an obscure and barbarous Nation nor in some blind corner of the Country but openly near a famous City for Bethany was hard by Jerusalem where there were professors of wisdom and in a time when men could easily distinguish between a real miracle and a mere delusion This therefore ought to have opened their eyes to see who he was whose miraculous works they could not but see And it is justly mentioned to their eternal reproach in the conclusion of this story xii John 37. that though he had done so many miracles before them yet they believed not on him For they could not with any colour ascribe them to any power but that of Gods who hereby told them what the voice from Heaven told him that this was his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased II. And truly there can no good reason be given which is the second thing that I told you should be considered why the Apostles should spend so great a part of the short History they have left of his Life in relating his miraculous works if they had not both known them to be evident and notorious things which all the Country could witness and likewise esteemed them mighty demonstrations that he was the Son of God Why else are they so large in describing his cures of several sorts with the manner of them if they were not sure that they could not be contradicted and if they did not desire they should be carefully heeded and concluded likewise that if they were men would acknowledge him to be the CHRIST whom God had sanctified and sent into the world to declare his will to them Which belief if it were once rooted deeply in their hearts the Apostles knew very well would irresistibly constrain them to be obedient to him in every thing This is that which gives his words such authority which makes them sink into our hearts and possesses them of our very Souls and turns all other opinions and perswasions which are inconsistent with them out of doors a belief that our Creator speaks unto us by his mouth They were well aware that it was no easie thing to perswade the world of this but that men might justly doubt of so strange a report For there is such a vast distance between God and us as the Jews make that Gentile King Cosar discourse in the foremention'd Book called after his Name that a man will be apt to think the Majesty of Heaven will not enter into such familiarity and friendship with flesh and bloud as to talk with them Before we can believe this says He we must see prodigies and miracles and behold the course of nature inverted by such astonishing works as can be done by none but him that created all things And it is well if after all this the mind of man will rest satisfied that the Lord of the World the Lord of the Sun and Moon and Stars the Lord of Angels as well as all inferiour Creatures will have society with such vile clay such contemptible dirt as we are And therefore as the Jew in that Discourse with him declares how God demonstrated his presence with Moses by mighty miracles seen by all the people and by their enemies too which were the fittest argument for God to use far beyond the little reasonings and disputings of Philosophers even so the Apostles prove to us that God was in our Saviour and that we ought to believe what he says of himself or concerning us by enumerating many of the mighty wonders which he did in the midst of the people wonders that amazed all beholders and of which they could give no account but that God was with him and spake by him as his Son else he could not have done those things which so much exceeded all the power of Creatures nay all that his own power had wrought for the honour of his servant Moses It was unreasonable that they should in those days ask any greater tokens of a Divine authority and when they did our Saviour told them they should have none but the sign of the Prophet Jonas that is his Resurrection of which I shall speak presently And it is as unreasonable in us now to expect any thing should be better attested than this truth That our Saviour did all those things which the Apostles have recorded We have them reported from those that saw them and that had all opportunities to examine them from those that beheld more of them than they could number men of great fidelity and admirable vertue men that had no interest so great as this to declare the truth for the good of mankind whatsoever they lost by it Unless we will demand that Christ should come again in every Age and also work his wonders in every Nation in every place before every particular mans eyes we can have no better assurance than we have of these things Now how absurdly unreasonable is he who will not be satisfied without such a new descent of our blessed Saviour from Heaven continually repeated and unless he may see him crucified afresh before his eyes For men may as well disbelieve that part of the story as all the rest and require that they may see all those barbarous cruelties and indignities which we read of acted over again upon our Saviour perpetually to the end of the World The very mention of which as it is horrible so should it be done it would destroy the very nature of faith which is the receiving of something upon report And that is one sure way of conveying the notice of things to us which we could not otherwise know And things so made known if the Witnesses be good are accounted by all mankind to be as sufficient a ground to proceed upon in the most considerable actions of humane life as the knowledge of them by seeing feeling and by the rest of our senses is Let us therefore receive the Testimony of the Apostles of our Lord seeing there is no exception as you may hear more before I have done that lies against their
forth and witness against them and say if he could whom they had wronged but of whom they had expected any gratuity for all their kindness to them That was all that Samuel said Whose Oxe or Ass have I taken whom have I defrauded whom have I oppressed or of whose hand have I received any bribe and I will restore it you 1. xii 3. And Moses in that great rebellion against him xvi Num. 15. thinks it sufficient to purge himself in the same manner saying I have not taken one Asse from them nor hurt one of them But S. Paul makes a more noble protestation saying I have COVETED no mans silver or gold or apparel Yea you your selves know that these hands have ministred unto my necessities and to them that were with me xx Act. 33 34. Here was Vertue which made him so far even from desiring any thing of others that he chose by his own hard labour to be both his own benefactor and his Families And what he affirms of himself he also tells us was the pious inclination of several of his Companions such as Silvanus and Timotheus Whose exhortation the Thessalonians knew was not of deceit nor of uncleanness nor of guile for they studied not to please men but God Unto whom they appeal as their Witness that they never used any flattering words nor sought to inrich themselves or to advance their own glory as you read 1 Thess ii 3 4 5. And they were witnesses he adds vers 10. as well as God how holily and justly and unblameably yea how lovingly as it follows vers 11. they behaved themselves among them Now what should tempt such pious Men who so much despised worldly goods and sought not to get any credit to themselves to preach that Jesus was the Son of God if they had not been very sure of this truth which was the constant matter of their Sermons throughout the World Is it likely that such Men should feign a story of things which they never heard nor saw that all their talk of voices from Heaven and Miracles and appearances of Jesus to them after he was dead were only devices and contrivances of their own brain For what end I beseech you should they invent them If their tongues were so well hung and they were so eloquent as to hope to perswade the world to be of their mind it had been wisdome to have imployed them more for their own gain and advantage and not to have preached such a strange and unprofitable Doctrine as this of the crucified Jesus There were far easier tasks to undertake than this and which would have turn'd to a better account here on earth and therefore they who had so much with as to invent would have let this alone had they not known it to be both sure and undoubted and also worthy of all their pains to reveal it that this crucified Jesus was the Son of God But besides this it ought to be considered that from the very beginning our Saviour had taught them to be content with a mean and poor kind of life when he sent them forth to preach in Judaea Go says he x. Matth. 7.9 10. preach and say the Kingdom of God is at hand Freely you have received freely give Provide neither gold nor silver nor so much as a brass token in your purses nor scrip for your Journey neither two Coats neither shoes nor yet staves For the Workman is worthy of his Meat and eat such things as they set before you That is be not curious and doubt not of it God will provide for you Was it likely that men thus bred to so great plainness simplicity contentedness and dependence on God should go about to abuse the world with false stories Nay before they came to him their education and way of life was so low and poor that they were the unfittest men in the world to devise and make Romances if they should have had a mind to it This was the very thing the Heathens objected to them that they were illiterate not trained up in study but got their living many of them Piscatorio artificio as they speak in Lactantius by the trade and labour of fishing Of which He makes this advantage very justly in his reply to them Abfuit ergo ab his fingendi voluntas * Lib. 3. Inslit c. 3. c. You must needs confess therefore that these Men had not the inclination nor the craft to contrive and feign such a story as this because they were so rude Or what unlearned Man is there that can devise things so coherent and that sute so well one with another since even the most excellent of all your Philosophers as we see plainly have involved themselves in many contradictions and spoken things contrary and repugnant to what they have elsewhere delivered For this is the nature of lies that they never hang well together One end of the tale is wont to discover the falseness of the other But what they deliver undique quadrat perfectly agrees with it self from top to bottom because it is true and no device of their own And then he adds which is the greatest evidence that can be of their honesty they could not invent this for the sake of any thing in this world and without some such respect what should incline them to invent it for as much as they both taught and followed that course of life which regarded not sensual pleasures and undervalued those things which the world admires and cries up for goods and likewise they dyed for the Faith which was not the effect of a rash and sudden fit of zeal for they knew very well and foretold they should dye upon this account and they also resolvedly suffered the most cruel and sharpest torments that could be devised before they dyed and they took it all patiently nay gave God thanks that they were counted worthy to suffer for the Name of Jesus But this belongs to the Testimony of their BLOUD To which before I proceed let me observe that the Apostles were not only men of great knowledge in the things of God and very innocent and holy in their lives but they were men extraordinarily qualified in both those regards and therefore are the more to be believed in what they say they saw or heard For what Philosopher ever spake so plainly and clearly of all things that concern the amendment of Mankind or gave them such hopes in the World to come without which it was not likely they should amend as these poor Fishermen did They wanted nothing but their eloquence which they purposely avoided because they would have naked truth prevail by its own force and by the power of God and not by those ornaments and dressings which had been so often imployed to commend falshood to the World Setting this aside there was no comparison between the Doctrine of the Apostles and that which had been formerly published They comprehended in a few plain and
xvii Rev. 5 6. that the mother of harlots that one City Babylon was even drunk with the BLOUD of the Saints and with the BLOUD of the MARTYRS of Jesus A Sea of BLOUD flowed from their veins to cover the Earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord for whose cause they suffered themselves to be slain as so many innocent sheep that make no resistance This gave them the name of MARTYRS in English WITNESSES because they were beheaded for the WITNESS of Jesus and for the Word of God xx Rev. 4. that is they constantly affirmed him to be the LORD and chose rather to die and seal it with their BLOUD than not preach this Truth for which S. John also was now an Exile in a desolate place 1 Rev. 9. What was it think you that made them thus hot and eager to be the most miserable of all mankind to despoil themselves of all the comforts of life and to endure perpetually the pains of death From what cause was it that their bloud thus boiled in their veins and they were so zealously forward to have it let out It could be nothing but only this that they loved Jesus ardently and were extremely desirous if he thâ—ught it best to die in his service knowing that he would hear the cry of their bloud and reward them abundantly for all their sufferings S John beheld the Souls of those who were slain for the Word of â—od and the TESTIMONY which they held under the Alâ—ar vi Rev. 9. which signifies that they were sacrifices to God when they witnessed thus unto Jesus For by Souls in the language of the old Scriptures is often meant the Bloud i. e. the life which here was represented at the fooâ— of the Altar where the bloud of the acrifice used to be poured out They died in an holy cause they were very well assured and should be an offering well pleasing and of a sweet savour unto God else they would never have thus willingly offered their throats to the sacrificing knife of their bloudy persecutors No when it came to that they would have confest the truth sure if they had not preached it before A few of their sufferings would have taught them more wit than to lose their heads for the testimony of Jesus if they had not been verily perswaded they were in the right and ought to be his WITNESSES even with their bloud The scoffs of the Heathen would have been very reasonable if they had not dealt sincerely and been certain their Testimony was the Truth Who were wont to say as we read in Minutius Nec resurgitis miseri nec interim vivitis Miserable wretches you do but fancy you shall rise again and in the mean time you do not live You are hungry and pale and enjoy none of the pleasures of life and have no hope of being better you are dead To which he replies after a long demonstration of the evidence they had of what they believed Ita beati resurgimus futuri contemplatione jam vivimus So you see we shall rise again to blessedness and we live now in the blissful contemplation of it Yea they not only lived but they rejoyced and more than that they gloried in tribulations Which they could not have done had not their integrity been as great as this confidence and their sincere intentions upheld and supported their boldness Which was the greater you may be sure because as they bare witness to Jesus so God bare WITNESS to them as you read expresly ii Heb. 4. both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his will whereby he testified to them that they were honest men and did not cunningly follow devised fables when they made known to men the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were as the professed eye-witnesses of his Majesty Which is the next thing to be considered III. Hitherto I have only proved that they had all things necessary to make them credible witnesses being void of guile and such as could not be reasonably supposed to be mere inventors of what they preached Men who both knew what they said and did not speak contrary to their knowledge Nay men of eminent knowledge sanctity and zeal which made them more than common witnesses But still they were only humane Witnesses not divine nor could all this put it quite out of doubt and give a full assurance that what they said was true but only that they thought it to be true and were not likely to be deceived And therefore that they and those who heard their testimony might be sure and have infallible proofs as S. Lukes words are that they were not deceived and that the faith which relied upon their testimony might be Divine there followed the Witness of the SPIRIT which accompanied them as it had done our Saviour together with the Witness of the HOLY GHOST which he had promised to send them that they might be his Witnesses in all the world This was an undoubted evidence that they were men sent of God upon this message to preach Jesus and testifie that he was the Lord of all This made the faith of those who heard and believed them to be more than an humane perswasion because it relied not only on the word of men but upon the testimony of the Spirit of God It might have been a very strong faith without this because the men who reported it were persons of great vertue void of all fraud or worldly design but it could not have been Divine had not this Witness come and joyned its testimony with theirs For they would but have received the testimony of very pious and good men it was no more till the testimony of God himself came in such signs wonders miracles and various gifts as you have heard already and as you read of in many other places They went forth saith S. Mark speaking of all the Apostles and preached every where the Lord working with them and confirming the Word which they preached with signs following xvi 20. All places were filled with wonder as they were with the HOLY GHOST At Jerusalem for instance S. Steven as well as the Apostles full of faith and power did great wonders and miracles among the people vi Acts 8. In Samaria S. Philip preached Christ and the people with one accord gave heed to the things which he spake hearing and seeing the miracles which he did for unclean Spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many that were possessed with them and many taken with palsies and that were lame were healed viii 6 7. And at Thessalonica S. Paul tells them that his Gospel came not in word only but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance And at Iconium both he and Barnabas stai'd a long time speaking boldly in the Lord who gave testimony unto the Word of his grace and granted signs and wonders to be done
men in former times but had not such strength to enforce it Blessed be God should we all say A PRAYER BLessed be God who hath not done so for any people He hath shown us HIMSELF his WORD and the HOLY GHOST Israel hath not seen his Glory so as it shines in our eyes And as for his Power and Might they have not known them no more than the Promises and the Laws whereby he now governs us He hath given us a better Covenant founded upon a better Bloud which hath brought in also a better Hope and is confirmed by a more powerful Spirit Blessed be his Goodness that our eyes read and our ears hear those things which many Prophets and righteous men desired to see and hear but could not see nor hear them For it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto us by them that have preached the Gospel unto us which the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven which things the Angels desire to look into O Bless the Lord with us ye Angels of his that excel in strength praise him and magnifie him for ever O all ye Powers of the Lord bless ye the Lord praise him and magnifie him for ever O ye Spirits and Souls of the righteous bless ye the Lord praise him and magnifie him for ever Praise him all ye Apostles and Prophets praise him all ye Martyrs and Confessors praise him all ye glorious Lights who have made the Gospel of Christ to shine throughout the world Praise the Father Almighty praise his Eternal WORD praise the Holy Ghost who have made our Faith to stand not in the wisdom of men but in the mighty Power of God Praise him for the Incarnation the Life the Death the Resurrection the Ascension and the Glorification of the Lord Jesus who hath given us strong Consolation by that sure and stedfast hope which throughout all these means he hath setled in our hearts O praise him for his marvellous love to us whom he hath called after a glorious manner and by an amazing vertue to the knowledge of Christ by whom his Divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness And make us who are so nearly concerned in this love to be very sensible how great it is which hath not only called us to his Heavenly Kingdom but made us sure and certain by so many Witnesses that Jesus is the Lord of all the King of infinite Majesty Power and Glory Let our Souls never cease to show forth and publish the vertues and powerful operations of him who hath called us into his marvellous light Let our mouths be filled with his praise all the day long who out of the riches of his mercy hath made us who were not his people to be a chosen generation an holy nation a peculiar people to himself O that our Faith may grow exceedingly and be deeply rooted and grounded in our hearts And as it stands upon the surest foundations so we may be built up in it with the most assured confidence and stand unshaken and immoveable in it unto the end And as thou hast differenced us from all other people in the clearness of that Light which lets us see that ours is the most holy Faith so help us by thy grace to distinguish our selves from all others by holding the mystery of Faith in a pure Conscience and by the upright actions of an unblameable life O that the light of Christians may so shine before men that others seeing their good works may glorifie thee our Heavenly Father O that it may disperse the darkness which over-spreads so great a part of the world That all impostures may be discovered and they that live in error may be brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus O that his Dominion may reach from Sea to Sea even unto the worlds end Let them who dwell in the most desert places kneel before him and his enemies lick the dust Let all Kings of the Earth adore him and all Nations do him service Kindle in the hearts of Princes and Nobles an holy ambition to advance his Glory Inspire the hearts of all Bishops and Priests with an ardent zeal for the conversion of Souls And dispose the hearts of those who are in error that they may be apt and ready to receive thy sacred truth Plant thy Gospel where it hath not yet been and replant it where it hath been rooted out And give us grace who have long been thine own vineyard to bring forth plenty of good fruit That our lives may be as holy as our faith and we may convince Jews Turks and all other Infidels that thou art among us and that Jesus whom we worship is the Lord. To him with the Father and the Holy Ghost be Glory and Praise among all mankind and throughout all Ages world without end Amen CHAP. X. Other necessary Vses we are to make of their Testimony THere is no great skill required to see the difference between that Holy Religion which we profess and all others that are entertained in the rest of the World Some we must have and it is as palpable that this is incomparably the most excellent as it is that there is any Religion at all There is no Nation so barbarous but pays some respect and ceremony to use the phrase of Tully when he defines Religion to some Superiour and more excellent Nature which we call Divine Though they are ignorant what kind of God it becomes them to have yet they know a God must be had and must be worshipped Their own mind teaches them this as soon as they cast their eyes upon the admirable frame of the World which all naturally conclude must have had some most wise and mighty Builder But what respect and reverence that is which will be pleasing to him they are very uncertain it is manifest by the various ways they have invented to express their Devotion They all with one consent acknowledge a necessity of a Revelation to instruct them for there is no Nation but pretends to have received some things by the instinct inspiration or apparition of their Gods That which pure natural reason dictates is not to be found simple and unmixt in any Nation under Heaven For if we should stand meerly to that it hath ever resolved that the worship of God consists in the study of Wisdome Justice and all other Vertues Which as they are most eminent in God so he is best pleased with them in us And they that addict themselves to resemble him in this manner are the men that shall obtain his favour There are a number of notable sayings both in Heathen and Christian Writers to this purpose But when all this is said and acknowledged Men will offend against these Rules of Vertue and what shall they do then what will make him satisfaction and procure a reconciliation with him whom they have reason