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A30241 CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, or, Christs prayer before his passion explicated, and both practically and polemically improved by Anthony Burgess ... Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664. 1656 (1656) Wing B5651; ESTC R13734 964,431 860

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of it is so great that be cannot let it go as Psa 51. a Praier made by David when overwhelmed in his Spirit by the guilt of sinne How often doth he repeat though in different words a Petition for pardon That God would have mercy on him That he would wash him purge him and blot out his sinnes This he nameth twice for till he had obtained this pardon there was no living for him He could take no pleasure in houses friends yea in his kingdom and all outward prosperity so that the necessity of it makes him again and again repeat his praier for it and thus our Saviour when he was upon those agonies and extremities he praieth Father if it be possible let this cup passe away and the Text saith he went thrice and said the same words Mat. 26.44 Here the necessity of that Praier he praied for made him say the same words for as the same earth or the same Sun we are not weary of because of the necessity of it Thus neither is it to be accounted a vain tautology when again and again we pray for that without which we cannot be 2. When the matter is excellent then it may be repeated again because by often striking the same stroak at last the Instrument enters sometimes a sudden transient passage doth not touch the heart and so the excellency of it is not discerned but when once or twice it is spoken then it may affect It 's a Rule Pulchrasunt his dicenda we cannot see the worth of a Jewell at the first sight and hence it is that there are some sentences of choice and excellent vertue that our Saviour himself would use more then once Such as that Many are called but few are chosen and some Parables also are twice spoken to by our Saviour yea that Psalm which describeth the grievous pollution of every man by nature The Apostle Rom. 3. doth repeat at large it being such an excellent choice Truth that every one is to be affected with and till that foundation be laid there cannot be any esteem or prizing of Christ 3. When the affections are very fervent and zealous then it cannot but they will expresse the same thing again It 's not want of matter but height of affection and zeal that makes the tongue utter the same thing twice as Gal. 4.6 it 's said The Spirit of God is sent into our hearts whereby we cry Abba Father Here is an Ingemination we cry Father Father and why so the Spirit of God doth so kindle and inflame the heart that it 's so sweetly and passionately affected that as he said pro dulcedine vix labris expedire possit he is unwilling to let this hony out of his mouth As Peter when he was in the Transfiguration said It 's good to be here So the heart of a godly man thus filialized by the holy Ghost cannot but utter the same dear relation over and over It 's usuall with the Hebrews when they would expresse their earnest affection and desire to a thing to double it and when Esau was in that great extremity and desired Jacobs pottage he crieth out Give me of thy red pottage as it 's in the Original The heart that is strongly affected and zealously drawn out is not contented with once naming of that which he so much desireth so that commonly cold and customary praiers have no ingeminations 4. Repetition of the same matter may be when he would by faith perswade our heart of the certainty of the thing we pray for Thus that crying Abba Father did not only argue zeal but assurance and certainty They were so fully perswaded that they were bold to speak it again and again and so also it 's a Rule among the Hebrews to expresse the certainty of a thing by the ingemination of it Thus dying thou shalt die So when it 's said Amen and Amen that repetition is to shew their affection that they would have it so or that it is so and thus indeed those Petitions which God sets home with certainty upon the heart they are again and again mentioned The Lord will do them yea he hath done them Lastly There may be a repetition of some Petitions especially in publique Praier when the matter doth greatly concern us and so it 's such as we ought to be deeply affected with for as it is with Preaching that matter which doth greatly concern the hearer it 's lawful to mention it over and over again as the Apostle Peter did think fit to write the very same things which he had formerly delivered as also the Apostle Jude in his Epistle did So it is in publique praier such sinnes as we would have the Congregation sensible of in their confessions such duties as we would have them diligently perform it 's useful in praier to mention these more then once for how dull and distracted are our thoughts how hard and sencelesse are they So that like Moses his rock till we be stricken over and over again water cannot come forth like the Shunamites dead childe Till we be often rubbed over there cannot come any spiritual heat into us Do not then alwaies look for new matter but rather desire thy heart may be affected with that which is old sometimes It 's a great sinne in all that they endeavour not to have their hearts affected in publique praier in our Congregations we should all be like so many Jacobs wrastling with God We should be like so many Hezekiahs or Jonahs crying out of the Whales belly but oh how few when God takes notice doth he finde that have spiritual mourning hearts some sleeping some roving some weary and wishing it over But you will say though this indeed prove that sometimes a doubling of the same Petition may be usefull yet may there not be idle bablings and sinfull repetitions in the same Praier May there not be such Tautologies as may be offensive and distastful to a godly heart Yes certainly And this is expresly forbidden Mat. 6.7 a notable place Vse not vain repetitious 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Some derive it from that foolish man the Poet speaks of a Shepherd called Battus sub illis montibus inquit erant erant sub montibus illis Others more probably from the Hebrew word baetta that signifies to pour out froth a blatero and so Hesychius expounds it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 empty words of any sence or matter when there are many words and no true grave matter Therefore our Saviour cals it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 much speaking not that he condemneth long praiers but to make many words without sence or the affection of the heart Hesychius expounds it also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unseasonable and unbeseeming So that then are Repetitions forbidden by our Saviour 1. When they arise either from want of judgement to prepare good matter or a dry sencelesse heart For Praier is a stream and if there be not fulnesse in
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sometimes applied to those powers and principalities of the Kingdome of darknesse 2. You have the extent of this power by the universality of the Object over all flesh Flesh is usuall put Synechdochically for man to denote his fragility and meannesse 3. There is the manner of the obtaining this power It is given him Before we gather our doctrine Let us Theologically explicate this Text Christ saith he hath all power given him From whence three corrupt Opinions have been by some in a seeming way established 1. The blasphemous doctrine of the Arians What Christ hath say they is given him Therefore he is Deus constitutus Deus creatus Deus datus not Deus natus how can he be of the same nature with God who hath all he hath given him in time But this is answered first If Christ speak here of his divine nature then though not as God yet as the second person he is of the Father and so not in time But from all Eternity had with his person all those divine properties communicated unto him for therefore he is called the Sonne because begotten of the Father But secondly If the Text speak not of his nature but the office or reward rather of his Mediatorship then that power and glory which is here said to be given him may well be understood of that Mediatory power and honour God vouchsafed to him and although by reason of the personal Union all honour and glory was due to him yet God had so ordered it that he should not have the manifestation of it till he had suffered and run through the whole course of his active and passive obedience Therefore many understand this power here said to be given Christ only in respect of manifestation for in Scripture-language Haec aliquid dicitur fieri quando incipit patefieri as God said This day have I begotten thee Act. 13.33 upon Christs Resurrection because then he was truly manifested to be the Sonne of God 2 Another party riseth up and squeezes bloud instead of milk Those Lutherans that are called Ubiquitarians because they hold that the humane nature of Christ is every where saying that the properties of the divine nature are communicated to the humane Thus because it 's said All power is given Christ therefore they conclude the humane nature of Christ is omnipotent omniscient omnipresent But this is to argue fallaciously from the abstract to the concrete For suppose this be an infinite power that is here spoken of it only followeth that it 's given to Christ in the concrete to be omnipotent not to his humane nature in the abstract Christ is made omnipotent his humane nature is not 3. Some Papists but not all from this expression gather that the right of all temporal dominion was here given to Christ and from hence would gather that because the Pope is Christs Vicar therefore he succeedeth him in this power and so can dispose of all Kingdoms and Nations as he pleaseth But the most learned of the Papists say This power over all flesh is restrained to the matter in hand viz. to gather and preserve his Church and at last to save it otherwise Christ would not have said to the man who desired him to divide the Inheritance Who made me a Judge Luk. 12.14 For if men had not yet if God had he had a full call to exercise such a temporall jurisdiction as Valentia the Jesuite well urgeth The Text thus vindicated let us observe this Doctrine That Christ hath power over all men There is no man so great so powerful nor no company of men nor all the men joyned together in the world can exempt themselves from that power Christ hath over them We have one or two Parallel places that confirm this Mat. 28.18 All power is given me in heaven and earth There the Subject is more large not only all flesh but all spirits Mat. 11.27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father There also the subject is more large not only all persons but all things as Heb. 2. All things are said to be made subject to him Before we come to mention what acts there are which declare this power of Christ we must lay down severall particulars to clear the nature of this power And First When it s said that Christ hath power over all men that is not to be understood restrictly or exclusively as if his dominion was only over men No you heard it was in heaven as well as earth yea and in hell also Phil. 2. Every thing under the Earth was to bow to him The devils are wholly in subjection to him We reade of his power over the unclean spirits casting them out against their wils from the possessed insomuch that they could not enter into the Swine without his permission Oh this part of Christs power that he hath conquered the devils hath them all in subjection should be no mean part of a Christians comfort for who is thy greatest Enemy Who is likeliest ●o undo thee not man but devils In their temptations how greatly are the godly in danger of being swallowed by them but Christ hath power over them he bids them go our leave of tempting and they dare not or cannot come again yea the good Angels those thousands and ten thousands of ministring spirits they are wholly at his beck No servant will sooner stir at our beck then the host of Angels will at his word Therefore Heb. 1. when Christ is coming into the world The Angels are bid to worship him So then here is a glorious power indeed which reacheth not only to men but to devils to Angels oh how happy are the Children of God who have this Christ for their Saviour that is cloathed with so much power If our eyes were opened with the Prophets Servant we should see more were with us then against us And then all things the inanimate and animate creatures are under his power The Disciples wondred at it when they said What manner of man is this whom the windes and Seas obey Mat. 8.27 So that this power of Christ is farre more comprehensive then this Text expresseth for Christ only speaks of men because he instanceth in that part of power whereby he giveth eternall life to those that beleeve and such are only men Secondly We are to know That though all power be given to Christ yet the administration and exercise of it is by his spirit called therefore the Spirit of Christ by that he convinceth by that he converteth by that he comforteth Insomuch that Christ told his Disciples It was expedient he should bodily depart from them but he would send the Comforter to them Joh. 15.26 so that not the Pope but the Spirit of God is Vicarius Christs in Christs stead Hence it is that all the same glorious and spirituall effects in the Scripture are sometimes attributed to the Father sometimes to