sees wherefore and for what end thou art come to that meeting whether it be to feede thine eares and to take delectation in hearing of new things or to take pastime to see and be seene or to eschew the shame of the world or whether thou commest to reape profite and to be edified of that thou hearest and to get life of that Crosse and death of Christ for therein stands thy life and this should be the end of thy meeting with Gods children Thâ—n seeing the eye of the Lord is set on euery soule therefore it becomes euery one of vs to striue to approue our heartes to the Lord so that euery one of vs may saye to the Lord for this ende am I come O Lord to be partaker of the fruit of the death of Iesus Christ Woe to them who come for another cause or sinistrous respect and come not to be edified for the Gospell shall neuer be a worde of life to them but a sauour of death vnto death If it worke not life in thee and if the Spirit worke not life by the preaching of the Crosse it shall be the power of death to thy soule Brethren we haue heare the first part Now we haue to speake of the second part The taking of His bodie downe from the Crosse before His buriall The taking downe of the body of the Lord Iesus Christ the Lord of lords comes of a râ—quest made to Pilate and made not by His friends but by His enemies I see this this miserable people of the Iewes were spoyled of all power as they had no power to hang any so they had no power to take any downe from the Crosse or from the gallowes without the leaue of the Magistrate they were spoyled of all power by the judgement of God therefore they behooued to haue recourse to Pilate they were slaues yet they would not acknowledge the true King of glorie who might haue made them free I see heere a commendable thing in the Romane policie As it was not lawfull to hang any without the command and licence of the Magistrate so they who were hanged might not be taken without the licence of the Iudge There sould nothing be done to a guiltie person but by the authoritie of the Iudge God in His judiciall Law gaue not only Lawes concerning the lifting of men vpon the crosse but also of y e taking down of them froÌ„ the crosse It is wel to be marked who it is that giues the aduise that the Lord with the other two should bee taken downe from the crosse to put an ende both to their paine and their ignominie It is not one of His disciples it is not Peter nor Iohn nor Matthew they are not so bold they durst not presume it No it was His enemies that crucified Him that interponed their request for Him Was this a benefite they did to Him Certainely this was a benefite they did to Him to take Him downe from the crosse yet they doe it not to benefite Him for any pitie they had on Him for they thought that Hee was liuing but the Lord had giuen vp the Ghost When thy friendes will not make a suite for thee the Lord will raise vp thine enemies to doe thee good He cannot only make thy friend doe thee good but thy foe also If thou bee the Lordes He can make them who would wish thee woe to doe thee good if thou be the Lords the fire the water and the sworde which otherwise would deuoure thee shall benefite thee the Lord against all mens expectation shall doe thee good if thou bee the Lords thou shalt not want reliefe Now what was the summe of their request They besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken downe That is that they might bee put out of paine and that they might make an end of them for they thought they were quicke Now whether this request was vpon a custome vsed amongst them or not the Text declares not but it seemes except the feast of the Passeouer had interueened that same time that they would not haue bene carefull of them but would haue suffered them to hang whilst they had yeelded vp y e Ghost The other two were quicke in paine when the Lord yeelded vp the spirit I note this When thy enemies doe thee a good turne they doe it neuer of loue These might haue dispatched the Lorde and the two Thieues with lesse paine than to haue broken their thies They had taken their liues sooner from them if they had beaten out their braines So when thy enemie benefites thee and does thee anie good turne bee sure he does it not of purpose to doe thee good as we coÌ„monly speake If he giue thee a bit he will giue thee a buffet with it Soure and bitter is the benefite of the enemie Indeede it is true that the Lord who makes all thinges to worke for the best to them that loues Him will dispose their doings otherwise and make them to worke thy good And therefore haue thine eye set vpon the Lord and He shall make the malice and bitternesse of thine enemie to turne to thy comfort There is another thing to bee marked The Lord had ordained that there should not bee one bone broken of CHRIST and so it was fore-tolde Nowe will yee see the force of the word and prouidence of God The force of the worde and prouidence of God appeares the more clearelie by this opposition which is made to His ordinance The Iewes requested to haue His bones broken and Pilate gaue commandement to breake them But is there any bone broken notwithstanding their sute and Pilates commandement No not one This lets vs see That if God haue ordained said any thing it lies not in the hands of any man to disanull it If God shall say There shall not be one bone of my anointed broken great Caesar and al the Kings of the earth the king of Spaine and the Pope and all their adherents shall not be able to doe the contrary So in the middest of all feare and danger let vs depende vpon the prouidence of God and saye Lord if thou hast saide otherwise than these mens intentions are I will not bee affraide for them I know they are not able to do any thing without thy prouidence and so Lord I leane onely on thy prouidence and am content with thy will So in these miserable dayes we are to leane to God and to depende on His prouidence and wee shall see the vaine enterprises of men vanish away like smoake and we shall see the wicked to bee made spectacles to all the worlde Let vs see what moued the IEVVES to make this request Was it pittie that mooued them No They had no pittie of Him Was it obedience to the commandement of God who commaÌ„ded that an hanged man should be cut down y t same day because he was accursed Deu. 21.22.23 No it was a vaine
preaching No not an Angell hath power to set thine heart on fire So thou that hast this burning thou mayest saye that the Lorde Iesus is present in thine heart But marke this We see in these men that our eyes are so blind that we cannot discerne the Lord so long as we liue here we cannot get full sight but we are in a strife if the heart shall say The Lord is here the flesh will say He is not here so that we hing here betwixt hope and despaire But when Hee once manifestes Himselfe in glorie then that burning which we felt in this life that sense which we then felt shall bee brought to our remembrance Thinke not that thou shalt loose that sense No Thou shalt take it vp with thee to the Heauen and we shall say one to another Remember yee not what burning wee had when wee spake and hearde of CHRIST in the earth Then it behooued this LORDE to haue beene then with vs in the earth So the remembrance of that joye which thou felt in the vvorlde shall bee a part of thy joye which thou shalt haue in the Heauens in the life to come Therefore get much joye here and laye it vp in store in thine heart goe on in feeling and I promise thee in the Name of GOD it shall neuer depart but it shall euer augment and enlarge thy joye and glorie in the life to come No as the worde of GOD which is the immortall seede of GOD euanishes not so neither shall the effect of the worde euer euanish Then euer striue to get a sense of the working of this worde in thine heart Nowe a worde and so I shall ende Yee woulde thinke this a sober conclusion As wee walked by the waye when hee spâ—â—e to vs our hearts burned therefore it was he that spake with vs So they concluded that it must bee his Spirit onelie which settes the heart on fire May we not in like manner conclude At the preaching of Paule the Spirite settes the heart on fire therefore Paul is Christ This is a false conclusion And I answere to this That if these men had felt no more but a common feeling in an ordinarie measure their argument had not beene good But they had another feeling than can be at the preaching of a man for no doubt vvith the vvorde Hee sent His Spirite to vvorke in them extraordinarilie And I put it out of question They had such a vvonderfull feeling as they coulde neuer haue had at the preaching of anie man vvhosoeuer So their conclusion is sure Seeing as Hee spake Hee breathed His Spirite vpon vs Hee must bee CHRIST It is a vvonder of them vvho haue gotten GODS SPIRITE howe they vvill discerne of GODS SPIRITE in others And manie are beguiled for fault of this SPIRITE There is verie much spoken of our feeling at the PREACHING And vvhat serues all They call it a fire for the Spirite which raises that feeling is like a fire and therefore He is compared to a fire Matth. 3.11 And a fire hath euer an vp-burning and if thou haue true feeling thine heart shall bee set on fire that fire is mightie will burne vp the drosse of thy saluation which is in thy foule heart No speake not of feeling except thou be regenerate Thou that art an Harlot speake not of feeling except thou feele it burne vp thine harlotrie And thou that art a murtherer saye not that thou hast a feeling and if it burne not vp thy bloodie heart So I charge thee before God heare not one worde except thou findest that Spirit to burne vp thy corruption thou tellest mee that thou feelest and yet thou remainest an harlot fye vpon thine harlotrie let not that word come out of thy mouth Againe as the fire of Gods Spirit burnes vp the drosse of thy corruption so it will inflame thy loue to God it will inflame thine heart and all the power of the soule to the loue of GOD and righteousnesse so that it vvill binde thine heart to God as the Apostle sayes The loue of God constraineth me so that thou wouldest bee content to die to liue with Him and to pleasure Him thou wouldest not care to liue or to die and what more as a fire is nourished with some matter that is meete for burning so this fire once kindled in our soules is nourished and fed by the continuall presence of GOD in IESVS CHRIST and that precious oyle of the Holy Spirit Further a flame tendes alwayes vpward and it will lift an heauie thing that falles downe vpon it ye see a traine of powder will blow vp an house Wee are heauie by nature and loadned with sinne yet that fire of loue will raise thee vp and place thee with the Lord whom thou louest and thine heart will bee lifted vp to Him There is neuer one that loues IESVS in the Earth but they are dwelling with Him in the Heauen and shall enjoy that presence euerlastingly So yee see what it is to haue the heart set on fire till we meete with our LORD and then our heartes shall haue the full fruition of His presence for euer To this IESVS with the Father and Holy Spirit be glorie for euermore AMEN THE XL. LECTVRE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST MARKE CHAP. XVI verse 13 And they went and tolde it to the remnant neither beleeued they them verse 14 Finally hee appeared vnto the eleuen as they sate together and reproched them for their vnbeliefe and hardnesse of heart because they beleeued not them which had seene Him beeing risen vp againe LVKE CHAP. XXIII verse 33 And they rose up the same houre and returned to Ierusalem and found the eleuen gathered together and them that were with them verse 34 Which saide The Lord is risen indeede and hath appeared to Simon verse 35 Then they tolde what things were done in the way and how Hee was knowen of them in breaking of bread verse 36 And as they spake these things Iesus Himselfe stood in the middes of them and said vnto them Peace be to you IHON CHAP. XX. verse 19 The same day then at night which was the first day of the weeke and when the doores were shut where the disciples were assembled for feare of the Iewes came Iesus and stood in the middes and said to them Peace be vnto you WEE haue heard Beloued in Christ these dayes past of the conference which was betwixt Christ and these two Disciples who were going to Emmaus Christ reproued theÌ„ sharplie because they thought that Christ being crucified all hope of Redemption was past Next He instructed them affirming that it behooued Him to suffer and by suffering to enter into His glorie This His doctrine which Hee prooued by manie Testimonies of Scripture beginning at Moses and from Moses Hee comes to the Prophets interpreting vnto them what they had spoken concerning Christ concerning His Passion and concerning His glorie after His Passion for the preaching of
Apostles which sets out vnto vs the glorious Majestie of God and His properties His power His mercie His Iustice His wisdome c. is by infinite degrees inferior to the Majestie which it describes vnto vs that the Spirit of God paintes Him not throughly fully in His essence nature and in His owne perfection as He is No but in painting Him out Hee attempers His stile to our infirmitie weaknesse that we may vnderstand beleeue for there can be no words so high so sublime so glorious inuented or deuised by any that can bee sufficient to expresse that Majestie which is incōprehensible infinite Alwayes seeing the Holy Spirit hath set down so much in the Scripture concerning that glorious incomprehensible Majestie of God His worship as is sufficient for our Saluation let vs therewith be content and not curiously seeke for any more and while we read or heare the Scriptures let vs earnestly craue at God that He would worke faith in our soules that we may beleeue that Iesus is that Christ the Sonne of God that in beleeuing we may haue life Saluation through Him To whome with the Father and the Holy Spirit be all praise honour and glory for euermore AMEN THE LIII LECTVRE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST MATTH CHAP. XXVIII verse 16 Then the eleuen disciples went into Galile into a mountaine where Jesus had appointed them verse 17 And when they sawe Him they worshipped Him but some doubted verse 18 And Jesus came and spake vnto them saying All power is giuen vnto Me in heauen and in earth verse 19 Goe therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Sonne and the holy Ghost MARKE CHAP. XVI verse 15 And Hee saide vnto them Goe yee into all the world and preach the Gospell to euery creature WELBELOVED Brethren these dayes bypast we followed out the Historie of the Resurrection of the Lord and of His manifolde appearings vnto sundrie but especially vnto His Disciples as they are set down by the Euangelist John who insists more largely in describing His appearings to His Disciples than any of y e rest as God gaue the grace the last day wee ended his Gospell spake last of the conclusion thereof now it rests that we follow out so much as remaines of the Historie of the resurrectiō as it is set down by y e rest of y e Euangelists for Iohn wrote his Euāgel after all y e rest omitted purposely such things as were written by y e rest willing vs to addresse our selues to y e rest of y e Euangelists that there we might read follow out y e rest of y e Historie of CHRIST vvhich hee left off And so vvee are this day to enter into the description of another appearing of CHRIST after His Resurrection as it is set downe by Matthew Marke This appearing of the Lord seemes to be the ninth in number for the first was to Marie Magdalene The second to other women The thirde to two disciples as they wēt to Emmaus The fourth was to Simō Peter The fift to Iames Then three seuerall times Hee appeared to His disciples being gathered together as ye heard out of Iohn So this is y e ninth appearing wherin it is likely that He shewes Himselfe not only to the eleuen disciples being met together but also to a great number of brethren being together with them For this seemes to be y t appearing wherof th'Apostle Paul makes mention 1. Cor. 15 6. where he says Hee was seene of more than fiue hundreth brethren at once In this appearing there are sundry thinges to bee considered As the circumstances of time and place the disciples worshipping of Him when they sawe Him the doubting of some of them His communicatiō with the disciples sending them out with a commission to preach to all Nations Appearantly this is that meeting which the Lord in His appearing to the women enjoyned to the Apostles for by the women Hee gaue th'Apostles a direction to meete Him in Galilie Matth. chap. 28. vers 10. According to this direction it is said The eleuen disciples went into Galilie vnto a Mountaine where Iesus had appointed them So the place vvas in that Mountaine of Galilie wherein the Lord had appointed them to meete The time is not particularly mentioned yet it is likelie that as the Lord gaue a direction concerning the place so did Hee also concerning the time of their meeting Then this whole meeting the time the place and all is according to the direction and appointment of the Lord. Now as they keep this meeting vpō hope to see the Lord according to His promise so they are not disappointed of their hope The Lord is as good as His promise He shewes Himselfe present vnto thē Marke the lesson The Lord who has appointed ordained y e meetings assemblies of His owne has promised to be amongst them when they are gathered together He disappoints thē not of His promise but shewes Himselfe to be present with thē This y e disciples foūd by experience whē they met together by His appointment y e Lord shewes Himselfe present vnto thē This same haue al y e godly foūd in al ages y e faithful find it this day in their meetings for albeit He shew not Himselfe present after a bodilie manner as here He did to His disciples yet He is present yea no lesse present with His owne now than He was then but He is now present after a spirituall manner and the faithfull find His presence to be no lesse powerfull effectuall now than it was then for frō whence comes this vnspeakeable joy comfort and peace of conscience which the faithfull find in their meetings but from the presence of Iesus for except the Lord Iesus were present in our soules by His Spirite it were not possible that wee could finde such a powerfull working and such sweete motions and alterations in them Vaine and foolish men who are touched with no sense of sin disdaines scornes the meetings of the Saincts they thinke them all to be but fectlesse for y e feshiō they think they feed vpō fantasies But y e faithful find by experience that the presence of Christ in their meetinges is so powerfull comfortable as no tongue can vtter nor the heart of man is able to conceiue And thou y t contemnest and scornest these meetings thou shalt find one day by sorrowful experiēce of how great comforts thou hast depriued thy selfe And if thy conscience were once wakened with the sense of sinne thou wouldest finde that there were no joy nor comfort to thy soule but by these meetings Then thou wouldest haue greater pleasure to frequēt these meetings thā euer thou hadst to eat or drink when thou werest hungry and drie Now when y e Lord appeares to them what doe they what is their behauiour It is saide When
LECTVRES VPON THE HISTORY OF THE PASSION RESVRRECTION AND ASCENSION OF OVR LORD IESVS CHRIST Beginning at the eighteenth Chapter of the Gospell according to S. IOHN and from the 16. verse of the 19. Chapter thereof containing a perfect Harmonie of all the foure Euangelists for the better vnderstanding of all the Circumstances of the LORDS death and Resurrection PREACHED BY THAT reuerend and faithfull seruant of God M r. ROBERT ROLLOCKE sometime Minister of the Euangell of IESVS CHRIST and Rector of the Colledge of EDINBVRGH EDINBVRGH Printed by ANDRO HART ANNO 1616. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL THEIR MOST LOVING FREIND IN THE LORD MASTER WILLIAM SCOT OF ELI Grace in this life and Euerlasting Glorie in the life to come RIght worshipfull albeit that the true knowledge of Christ crucified of all other be the most worthie and excellent albeit that in him be the only and full matter of mans gloriation yet few there be who striue to know him as they should and to make him the matter of their reioycing For to speake nothing of the Gentiles who count the preaching of Christ crucified to be foolishnesse or of the Iewes who count it a stumbling blocke 1. Cor. 1 23. or of the Turkes who will not acknowledge him to be their Redeemer euen they who haue bene baptized in Christ professe outwardly his word true doctrine if they remaine in nature be not preuēted by the spirit of adoption whereby they may see their owne miserie their sinnes the terrours of the wrath of God for sinne in the meane time that they professe Christ they in heart scorne the Crosse of Christ his woundes and his blood they account the knowledge thereof of litle value yea they will preferre to it the knowledge of any thing here beneath and they will seeke the matter of their gloriatiō not in it but either in themselues or els into the creatures of God which in themselues are but transitorious shadowes The naturall man will neuer thinke that he can finde greater things in Christ crucified than he will finde if he obtaine the obiect which most he desires likes and longs for The ambitious man will not thinke that he can get greater honour than to be called the sonne of a King or Emperour he will not refuse with Moses to be called the sonne of Pharaoes daughter that he may be called the sonne of God Heb. 11.24 The sensuall man cannot thinke that he can find any greater pleasure than in his sinfull lust he will neuer chuse rather to suffer aduersitie with the people of God than to enioy the pleasures of sinne The couetous man can neuer thinke that any greater happines can be than here on earth to haue gold siluer and treasures he will neuer with Moses esteeme the rebuke of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt Only that man whom God preuents by his Spirit and calles effectually frō the kingdome of darknes to the kingdome of light wil account duely of the Crosse of Christ will say with the Apostle God forbid that I should reioyce but in the crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ Gal. 6.14 and I decreed not to know any thing saue Iesus Christ him crucified 1. Cor. 2.2 that man will call it the supereminent knowledge of Iesus Christ Philip. 3.8 he only will make Christ crucified to be the matter of his gloriation for he will see that God in him as in a store-house hath placed all treasures that in him dwells the fulnesse of the Godhead bodely Col. 2.9 he will thirst to be woompled in the wounds of Iesus and washed in the blood of Iesus yea that man will see that God hath manifested in Christ our Sauiour and in his death and resurrection his glorious properties more clearly than in the worke of our creation or any other of his workes whatsouer for he is called the brightnesse of the glorie the engraued forme of the person of the Father the Image of the inuisible God Heb. 1.3 and that man will see that there is nothing which the soule of man inlakes stands in neede of or can desire but he will finde it in Christ. Wouldst thou see the glorious properties of God consider first his power albeit in the worke of creation his power appeared to be incomprehensible omnipotent when by his word he formed all things of nothing called these things that are not and made them to be yet in the worke of the Redemptiō he manifested greater power for notwithstanding Sathan the power of darknesse the sinnes of the Elect which Iesus bare death and the graue were against him yet powerfully he raised Iesus from death Eph. 1.19 there is a great power and whereas in the Creation he formed to Adam a spous out of his owne ribbe in the Redemption he formed the Church of God out of the blood of Christ there he gaue life in commanding that to be which was not here he giues life not by life but by death by the death euen of his owne Sonne Albeit in the worke of Creation great and more than wonderfull doth his wisdome appeare in making this glorious and beautifull fabricke in making all things euen contraries to agree in such an harmonie yet in the worke of Redemption God by finding out a way which no creature neither man nor Angell could inuent how that iustice and mercie could stand together hath shewed greater wisdome his wisdome is such that the Angels admires and desires to looke in it 1. Pet. 1.22 Albeit great anger wrath did the Lord vtter many times against sinners as in the olde world by the Flood and on Sodome Gomorrhe by raining from heauen brimstone and fire he destroyed man woman young olde rich and poore without exception yet more clearely was his anger against sinne seene when for the sinnes of the Elect he spared not his own wel beloued Son on whō they were laid but made his wrath so fearfully to pursue him that he cried My soule is very heauie euē vnto the death Marc. 14.34 and My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Matt. 27.46 And albeit great loue did the Lord shew toward men gaue many testimonies therof in giuing them life breath all things Act. 17.25 in making his sun to shine on them his raine to fal on them giuing them fruitfull seasons filling their hearts with food gladnesse Act. 14.17 yet neuer such loue shewed he as when he sent the Son of God to be the Sonne of man that the sonnes of mē might be made the sonnes of God againe and when he made him to die that men might liue Herein sayes Ioh. 4.10 is loue not that we loued God but that he loued vs and sent his Sonne to be a reconciliation for our sinnes here only is an incontrollable testimonie of an undoubted loue and if ye will duly consider all the rest of Gods glorious properties ye shall
the word of God and by that Spirit as ye would see life and if yee put it out the Lord shall make you as senslesse as a beast They cried both but Pilate cries Judge ye him They crie crucifie him Pilate cries I find no fault in him worthy of death What euer be Pilates part who was a judge what euer was the part of the Iewes the accusers the Lord hath His part also in it and hee appointes it by His eternall decree the houre was come and Hee will haue His onely begotten Sonne to die for the sinnes of the world and He will be glorified in His death at this houre and He will not haue Him to die as one worthie of death in Himselfe but like an innocent in the sight of the world Now looke to this wisdome that his innocencie should appeare He will haue the Iudge protesting His innocencie oftentimes before He should die On the other part Hee will haue the conscience of the High Priests scraped out and He will haue them getting His blood if the High Priests conscience had beene wakned Iesus had not died at this time for the sinnes of the worlde and therefore to the ende that He should die He hardened the hearts of the accusers When any innocent man suffers and chiâ—fly for Christ the Lord hath disposed the worlde so that Hee hath made some to testifie of the innocencie of the Martyres and some hath Hee hardened to seeke the blood of the Martyres that He might be glorified Looke to Daniel Darius had a conscience of his innocencie but the Princes had hardened hearts Daniel 6.1 Looke when Paul was accused the Romane Gouernours Lysias Felix and Festus had a conscience of the innocencie of Paul but the High Priestes persecutes Him to the death When a malefactor sufferes the Lord will not vse this manner of doing He will not haue the Iudge to testifie the mans innocencie where there is none but he willl let him die and suffer like a murtherer an oppressour or a blasphemer as he is in very deed hee will haue Iudge accusers and all men conspire together to take awaye such pestes from the earth Therefore if there were no more but this if wee must die it should moue vs to die in a good cause and the best cause is the cause of Iesus Christ Take heede that thou suffer not like a nocent and guiltie person but like an innocent so thy death shall be glorious it is a paine to die and a greater paine to die for an euill cause Now the Priests answere Wee haue a lawe and according to our lawe Hee merites the death they challenge not a lawe to crucifie Him or any power to punish Him capitallie for all power of this was taken away from them by the Romanes yet for all this they forget not the right of their lawe That the blasphemer should die the death according to this lawe they affirme Him worthie of death So Brethren What euer Pilate can doe or say to mitigate and to asswage their malice speake what he can speake they continue in hardnes against Christ looke what blindes them The word of God that should make them to see it it blindes them and they vse it to their blinding All the things in the world yea the best thinges the very word of God serues to wicked men for nothing els but for their farder induration the more they seee the blinder they are they will read but the more they reade the blinder are they for why they abuse the word they will not make it a rule to direct their affections and actions but they abuse it to their fantasie makes a slaue of it Looke to the Papists this day they abuse the old and new Testaments they make them to serue their appetites they interpret expone and applie the word as they please they make the word of God the author of their lies I affirme that the word of God doth nothing to the Papists but blinde them it had bene good for them that they had neuer seene heard nor read the Scripture of God Write on say on this shall bee verified one day but let vs consider their reasoning The lawe ordaines that the blasphemer shall die the death but so it is that this man is a blasphemer for Hee hath made himselfe the Sonne of God therefore He should die y e death If ye looke the ground the general No maÌ„ can find fault with it for it is set downe in y e Law Leuit 24.14 but come to the applicatioÌ„ where they subsume Iesus is a blasphemer there they faile for Iesus was is and shall be that only begotteÌ„ Son of God therefore the conclusion is false that Hee ought to die the death So yee see the generall is true but the assumption and the conclusion is a lye In wicked men yee shall finde this that no man will laye downe fairer generalles out of the worde of God than they no man will doe that better but come on to the application there they goe astraye they applie not right but they applie either to this affection or that As for example The murtherer should die the death if there be an hatred in them against the man they will applie it vnto him but by the contrarie if hee bee a kinsman or a friende they will say this man is no murtherer howbeit hee bee as great a murtherer as Barabbas was and therfore he should not die Take heed to thine heart and thinke it not enough to knowe the generall to bee true but take heede to thine heart and to the affections thereof that they maye bee sanctified and chiefely thou who art a Iudge looke that thine heart bee free of hatred and of peruerse loue or else thy loue thine hatred and thy peruerse affections shall bee poyson to thee and shall blinde thee and shall make thee pronounce false judgement For what auailes knowledge what auailes it thee to haue a great light in thine head either thorowe nature or yet thorowe the worde of God if thou wantest reformation and sanctification to thine affections all is for nothing True Christianitie stands in the reformation of the heart and without this all the knowledge in the Scripture shall poyson thee to the death for except thou be reformed it had bene better for thee that thou hadst bene ignorant and neuer seene the Scripture Nowe to goe forwarde When they haue answered Pilate hee continues and it is said when he heard that that man was the Sonne of God if hee had a conscience before now he hath a greater conscience Euen as whatsoeuer Pilate can speake to the hie priests did no more but hardeÌ„ them on so all the wordes they vse to put out his conscience stirres it vp and wakens it the more Indeede they sought by all meanes to blotte out his conscience And all the doing of a consciencelesse man is to blinde thee and put out thy conscience like as his
dash themselues on the sworde to deuoure them It is a miserable thing to want the light of the soule so the Iewes saw not with whome they had to doe they had no conscience as Pilate had and therefore beeing through malice and appetite of reuenge incensed against the Lord Iesus blindfolded they regard not what imprecations they vtter for they saw not Hell or els if these Iewes had a light of conscience they did so rashly against Iesus with knowledge which is most likely theÌ„ it followes that they were marueilous malitious as ignorance is hardie so is malitiousnesse more hardie albeit such a man should see yet against the light his malice will make him to runne ouer the bellie of his conscience Yee knowe the voyces of prophane men Ere I were not reuenged of him I had rather be in Hell this commeth of malitiousnesse to get the soule spirit within him satisfied but if thou felt one twitch of Hell thou wouldest recant these wordes for it would cause thee shoute and squeele hiddeously I incline to this judgement that this wicked action is more to be ascribed to malice than ignorance the Iewes and the High Priestes had the word of God and the Prophets whereby they might haue knowne the Messias When I read of the Prophets that speake of induration in the time of Iesus Christ I say it hath come of an hardnesse and induration of heart And when I see the wordes of the Apostles that say O stiffe necked people I thinke that they put their owne fingers in their eyes that they should not see The Lord saue vs from malitiousnesse and namely from such malitiousnesse as is not without knowledge when a man sees and will pull out his eyes Compare the Iewes with Pilate now Pilate sinneth hee kâ—lled himselfe in the end and the Lord made his owne hands to be his burrio No doubt he sinned who can excuse him he sinned malitiously he had a conscience goes against it malitiously But Brethren to speake the trueth it was not so much malice that pushed him forward as great infirmitie and feare for first he feares to be accused of treason against Cesar it was no maruell to such a man to feare who had no God but Cesar â—hen hee saw appearance of great tumult to rise amongst the Iewes What necessitie was laide on them to haue the blood of the innocent So I see nothing in them but malice if it were but in this respect that the sinne of the Iewes weigheth downe the sinne of Pilate and their damnation is a thousand times greater What had this man He had nothing but nature The contrauension of the light of nature will neuer make vp the sinne against the Holy Ghost which gets no mercie but come to them They had the light of nature and the light that commeth from Heauen they had the worde of GOD amongst them they contraueened an heauenly light that came downe from Heauen and was wrought into their heartes by the Spirit Steuen sayes in the 7. Chapter and 51. verse of the Actes of the Apostles Yee haue alwayes resisted the Holy Ghost as did your fathers so doe you that is not a naturall light but a light that came from aboue There were some of these men who sinned malitiously against the Holy Spirit What maruell was it then that they got no grace to repent for of all sinnes the sinne against the Holy Spirit is the most dangerous they that commit this sinne haue no grace to repent therefore no mercy to them the Lord strikes their soules with impenitencie so that soule is euerlastingly hardened and so beeing strucken with impenitencie they got neuer grace to say God bee mercifull to me Seeing then their sinne against Christ was so great seeing it was not so much of ignorance as of malice it was not only against the light of nature but also against the illumination of the Holy Spirit what maruell was it that such a terrible Iudgement ouertooke them as neuer lighted on any nation The Iewes found this innocent blood in experience laide to their charge Ioseph that saw all these thinges with his eyes writeth what heauie vengeance and judgement fell vpon Jerusalem the Iewes for he testifies that there was slaine at the siege of Ierusalem eleuen hundreth thousand beside ninetie thousand that were tane captiues thereafter the towne was lamentably destroyed and sacked So the blood of the innocent neuer left them these y t remaine yet feele the judgement of the blood of the innocent for according as they desired y t His blood should be vpon them their posteritie so the wrath of God came vpon them to the vttermost 1. Thess 2.16 It is a wonder that a Iew should be safe if ye heare of a Iew to be conuerted thinke it to be a great mercie Now to apply this shortly to vs if it were but this terrible example of vengeance which folowed the Iewes it should terrifie to the end of the world all soules to take on the blood of the innocent take on one take on all if thou takest on the blood of one seruant of God thou shalt take on all the innocent blood from Abel to that man whom thou hast slaine Fye vpon foule butchers who are more meete to be butchers dogges than men What care they to wash their handes in innocent blood But I say to thee if euer thou gettest grace it is a wonder fye vpon the butchers of Scotland No if the Lord would waken thy conscience to torment thee present to thee the sight of Him of whose blood thou hast shed it would bee so terrible that it would make thee to curse the time that euer thou did it one day fearefully without comfort it will torment thee when will these bloodie men leaue off y e sheading of innocent blood in this bloodie barbarous nation oâ— all nations it is the most barbarous and bloodie Aboue all things dip not thine hands in the blood of Iesus Christ Thou who sheadest innocent blood is a persecuter of the seruants of Iesus Christ and who resistest the trueth thou wilt say If thou hadst bene in Christs dayes thou wouldst not haue coÌ„sented to His death but thou who sayest so if thou hadst fallen in these dayes thou hadst malitiously bene partaker of the death of Christ hadst put handes in Him thou wantest nothing but time I will tell you who is it that sheds the blood of Iesus Christ takes His blood on them what euer he or she be that will resist this knowne trueth of Iesus Christ and persecute the professours thereof I affirme they are as guiltie of the blood of Christ as the Iewes the High Priests were and that same blood shall bee laide to their charge in the great daye of the Lord Read ye not in the Epistle to the Hebrewes Chap. 6. and 10. of them who haue repined haue begun to cast off that
places of the Newe Testament as namely 2. COR. 12.4 where PAVL speakes of his rauishing to Paradise and also REVEL 2.7 But to leaue the vvordes and to come to the meaning This Paradise signifies none other thing but that House of the Father in the which is manie mansions as wee saide in the foureteenth Chapter Nowe woulde yee knowe the place of it PAVL saies It is farre aboue these visible heauens where Christ himselfe ascended EPHES. 4.10 It is the place of the Throne of that Majestie of that Glorie and of that euerlasting rest of the Kirke of Iesus Christ and of His Sainctes where they shall rest in a wonderfull glorie euerlastinglie The vvorde is borrowed from that Paradise that Parke of pleasure in the vvhich ADAM and EVAH vvere planted to liue in a vvonderfull pleasure for euer if they had stoode vvithout sinne But to come to the matter First in this answere that the Lord makes to the penitent Thiefe yee may see a vvonderfull readinesse in Christ to heare the petition of a miserable sinner for hee hath scarcely spoken the worde when the Lord makes an answere and no maruell for Hee that preuentes thee with grace ere thou thinkest of grace Hee will followe after with grace Hee who giues grace to begge grace Hee will giue a gracious answere ROMAN 8.26 The Spirite of GOD interceadeth for vs with sighes vnspeakeable That is the first grace Then hee subjoynes The Lord who searcheth the heart knoweth the sense and meaning of his owne Spirite There is the seconde grace Thou shalt not so soone open thy mouth to speake to Him with the Spirite but Hee shall as soone heare thy vvorde thou shalt not so soone haue a meaning but it shall as soone touch the heart of the Lorde as it touches thine heart because it is not thy spirite but the Lordes Spirite who speakes in thee So all the difficultie and hardnesse is to gette the first grace to praye there is no difficultie of the next And there are wonderous fewe vvho gettes this grace to begge to sigh to sobb c. yea where one hath it ten wantes it and when this is once gotten the other followes of its owne will for if thou askest spirituall graces of necessitie thou shalt gette thy petition graunted And if wee aske earthly thinges either shall wee gette our petition or else the Lord once shall shewe vs why Hee will not graunt it and so wee shall haue contentment to vndertake His will and shall heartily thanke Him There is more yet in this answere Besides this easinesse to heare marke an abounding mercie and exceeding liberalitie of the Lord passing aboue the petition The Thiefe onely prayed the Lord to remember him when He came in His Kingdome The Lord aunsweres Beholde euen I giue thee more than thou requirest for thou shalt be with me this day in Paradise so thou needest not to feare that I forget thee The Thiefe seekes but a little thing the Lord giues him more than hee can seeke the hande of the Lorde is not so scarce Wilt thou seeke a litle thing the Lord shall giue a thousand times more than thou canst seeke the Lord hath neither scant nor want Brethren the glory which we shall finde one day shall bee greater than we can looke or hope for in this world No things Heauenlie which He shall giue surmountes further aboue our capacitie than the Heauen does aboue the Earth Yea if thou speakest of earthlie things findes not many by experiēce that they get such an estate in the world as they would neuer haue looked or hoped for I sought but life saies Dauid Psal 21. 5 yet the Lord gaue me to be a king that is He gaue me not only a priuate obscure life but a glorious life in the sight of the people Besides this easinesse and liberalitie of the Lord to grant to a poore man aboue that that he durst presume He prescribes no time but this same day I know not if he durst haue bene so bold as to haue sought such a time that same day Marke further here a wonderfull power in the Lord at that time when Hee was in a most vile and ignominious death which was the image of Hell to pull a man quicke on the Crosse to breake Him on a Crosse The Lord is weakned the Iewes thought more of the dirt they trode on than of Iesus yet ye see what a wonderfull power which strikes out from Him to the thiefe this is the power of a King This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise What Emperour durst speake this Yea He vtters the power of GOD Himselfe This promise is proper to GOD only to promise participation of that heauenly Kingdome What Angell durst doe this None but the eternall and immortall GOD. It is true the LORD Iesus whilst as Hee hang vpon the Crosse was wonderfully weakned and that glorious Godhead that dwelt in the humane Nature kept it selfe closse for a time and held in the beames of His glorie for a time within that vaile of His bodie for if Hee had not kept closse that Glorie of His Godhead the world could not haue crucified Him yet He kept Him not so closse but in the Crosse Hee manifests Himselfe Hee does the part of a King and fought a fiercer battell than all the Kings in the world Hee fought against all the enemies and in the ende Hee triumphes in that Crosse as in a Chariote and leades them all as thieues before Him And if there were no more to shewe that Hee was a King than this hastie conuersion of the thiefe it may tell you if Christ had such a power whilst as Hee hang in such weaknesse on the Crosse What power hath He now when He is in the Heauen exalted in the Throne of glorie If it bee so that wee feele not CHRIST powerfull in vs to life as the thiefe felt Blame not IESVS as if Hee wanted power sufficient nowe in glorie who had such power in His humilitie but blame thy selfe Thou wants that which the thiefe had thou wants Faith in Christ glorified the thiefe may shame thee who beleeued in Him whē He was in extreame ignominie Then to end all this y t hath bin spokē of this answere in a word Seeing y e Lord of lords y e Lord Iesus is so readie Neuer was there King so ready to heare a subject as Iesus is if thou werest the vilest bodie that goes a Thiefe a Harlot c. yet if thou wilt saye this Lord remember on mee and giue mee a part of thy Kingdome if thou prayest to Him from a penitent heart with confidence and assurance I promise vnto thee Heauen and Earth shall goe together ere thou vvantest thine asking Seeing our Lord Iesus is so liberall then seeke more than enough more than a Kingdome and thou shalt get more The only cause why we want is in vs we haue no hearts to seeke it And last Seeing He is so
fourth part they called the ninth houre This much for the diuision of the daye and night after the fashion of the Iewes To apply this to our purpose In this Historie of the Passion of Iesus Christ yee shall finde mention of all these foure partes of the first the third sixt and ninth In the first houre or in the morning the LORD IESVS was led into the Common-Hall to Pilate to bee accused His accusation continued the first three houres and much of the third houre or second quarter as wee counted it His accusation continued about the space of fiue houres Then alitle after the sixt houre in the ende of the thirde houre as IOHN in his nineteene Chapter sayes The doome and sentence of damnation was giuen out against the Lord In the same third houre as MARKE in his fourteenth Chapter sayes The Lord Iesus was crucified so that He was both condemned crucified in the end of the third houre So betweene eleuen and twelue a short space passed betweene the sentence of damnation and the execution In the sixt houre which was the thirde part of their day yee see there falles out a fearfull and terrible darknesse on the face of the earth and according to our account the darknesse remaines from twelue houres to three in the afternoone the space of three houres for so long hang the Lord vpon the Crosse Then yee haue mention here of the ninth houre the fourth part of their day The Lord then vttered His complaint to His Father My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee This is according to our account when it was three after noone and hastily after this Hee yeeldes His blessed Spirit in the hands of His Father So the Lord Iesus died and yeelded the Spirit betweene three and foure houres afternoone Now this shortly for the better vnderstanding of the Historie Nowe to speake of this wonder and darknesse His heauenly Father would testifie by this darknesse that whilst His glorious Son was humbled on that vile ignominious Crosse as Paul to the Philippians 2. sayes Whilst as He was weakned and made of no reputation at this time His Father would testifie not onely of His innocencie as Hee was man but also of His glorie as He was God In humbling of Him the Father would glorifie Him But will yee looke to the Sunne and the senslesse creatures of Heauen and Earth the very Sunne and senslesse creatures would testifie that they were addebted vnto that glorious Creator they would testifie that sorrowe that they had that the Lord of glorie should suffer such an ignominious death The senslesse creatures were moued the Sunne gloomes hides his face at that wicked action the earth shiuers and quakes readie to swallow vp and deuoure those miserable persons and the Sunne and the senslesse creatures beginne to teach that senslesse and hardened people with whom they had to doe Not with a man but with the Lord of glorie but teach what they would teach heere is a miserable example of induration this miserable people for all this darknesse was not moued they would not turne So Brethren see what it is once to be giuen to a reprobate sense if the LORD giue thee vp to a reprobate sense the earth shall not be so senslesse as thou and though the earth should stand vp and teach thee thou shalt not heare nor see what it sayes Of all judgements that falles on the soule this reprobate sense is the heauiest and most dangerous and if thou continuest in it it were a thousand times better for thee when thou werest made a man or a woman to haue bene made a stocke or a stone for if there be not a wakning in time out of so dead a sleepe ere euer thou beware the wrath of God from Heâ—uen shall ouertake thee when thou criest peace then shall the wrath come thou shalt not get leasure to thinke of mercie The Lord waken this senslesse generation for there was neuer a generation more senslesse than this generation is notwithstanding of so many voyces sounding not only voyces of men but of the heauen the earth and senslesse creatures I will speake sparingly of this darkning and as the Philosopher calles it the ecclipse of the Sunne for it serues not much to edification Onely thus far that yee may see the greatnesse of the wonder and that ye may wonder at the Lord Iesus hanging on the Crosse This Ecclipse was not naturall for the naturall Ecclipse of the Sunne falles out when the Moone is in the changing at the which time there is a concurse and conjunction betweene the two Planets the Sunne and the Moone The Moone goes vnder the Sunne and takes away a great part of the light of the Sunne from the Earth But this Ecclipse falles out in the full moone The Law commanded the Passeouer to be celebrate in the moneth of March the fourteenth day of their moneth in the which time the Sunne and the Moone are as far asunder as they can be the one beeing in the one side of the Heauen the other on the other side so that betweene them the whole Globe of the Earth is cast in But in this Ecclipse against Nature the Moone which was now opposite to the Sunne turnes her suddenly about and comes vnder the Sunne and hides the sight thereof and brings on a terrible darknesse on the world So that as yee will read in prophane writings during that darknesse the starres were seene at the Noonetide as at Midnight And to be short it is written that the Philosophers in Athens marking this Ecclipse endeuoured to search the cause of it could not finde out the naturall cause and one Dionisius Areopagita saide It behooued to be that either the God of Nature suffered or els the worlde should suddenly be dissolued and be lied not The Lord Iesus the GOD of Nature suffered and they raised vp an Altar then and wrote on it To the vnknowne God whereof ye read in the Actes 17. This for the wonder Nowe let vs come to that that fell out in the ninth houre that is our three houres afternoone Marke This serues for our edification ye heard the Lord Iesus was in extreame agonie and anguishe in His soule and also Hee suffered great paine in His bodie yet all was nothing to that extreame bitternesse that Hee felt in His soule when as Hee hung on the Crosse Nowe in this agonie Hee vtters this voyce with a crie Eli Eli lamasabachthani that is My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee These are the first wordes of the XXII PSALME for Dauid beeing the Type of Christ and feeling that vexation of spirit in some measure which Christ felt out of measure hee cryes out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me This place these words minister occasion vnto vs to speake of the inward conflict passion that Iesus had in His soule And that yee maye vnderstande this matter the better I
shall rehearse vnto you the vvhole Passion of IESVS CHRIST in as fewe vvordes as I can Then the whole life of Iesus Christ whilest Hee was in this vvorlde vvas a continuall suffering of the burthen of our sinnes that Hee bare and that obedience to His Father required that not onely in His life-time shoulde Hee doe for our saluation but chiefely it required that the Mediator shoulde die All that Hee did had beene nothing worth to vs and if Hee had not died for as the Apostle sayeth HEBR. CHAP. IX VERS XXII No remission of sinnes without blood Thinke not that euer thy sinnes shall bee forgiuen thee without the shedding of the blood of Iesus Christ And either thou must die or haue part in the death of the Mediator The ende of His suffering was the perfect abolishing and vndoing of the sinnes of the Elect as yee may reade in the ninth CHAPTER to the HEBREVVES Now marke againe This perfect abolishing and vndoing of our sinnes required a perfect passion and suffering of the Mediator Whether ye looke to the time it required a perfect time or will yee looke to the greatnesse of it it required an infinite quantitie of greatnesse for if it had not bene perfect in time and quantitie thou hadst neuer beene redeamed Brethren that yee maye the better vnderstande the vvhole Passion of IESVS CHRIST I shall point out vnto you the vvhole manner of His sufferinges For why shoulde vvee not knowe this Our life standes in His death Hee suffered all for vs. And I see thorowe out the Scripture the vvhole sufferinges of Christ maye bee drawne to these three sortes The first is The Lord Iesus suffered temptations Secondlie The Lord Iesus suffered shame and ignominie the GOD of glorie suffered shame Howe agree these two together Shame and Glorie The thirde the LORD IESVS suffered paine and that verie grieuous paine in soule and bodie I shall goe thorowe all these three kinds of suffering shortlie and so I shall make an ende And first to speake of these temptations shortlie I call the temptations that the LORD suffered those tryalles of Him by the Deuill His enemie for hee let Him neuer rest and woefull was that battell that Hee had with him on the Crosse and His temptations by the ministers of the Deuill in the worlde who solicitated Him to leaue His GOD euen such temptations as wee are subject to in this worlde onelie except sinne for Hee knewe no sinne there vvas not one spotte of sinne in that holie One and so Hee was not subject to these foule motions inwarde temptations as we are who dare not face the Sunne nor the Moone And wherefore suffered Hee all these temptations Euen for thy cause the ende of all His suffering was that Hee might succour all them who were tempted either in bodie or soule HEBR. Chap. 2. vers 18. Art thou tempted if thou canst haue recourse to Him who was tempted for thy sake Hee will pittie thee As Hee suffered and was tempted so by His suffering Hee hath learned to pittie thee Hee who neuer hath tasted of miserie hee cannot pittie the miserable bodie And therefore when thou art tempted goe to CHRIST and saye LORD thou wast tempted as I am therefore now helpe and succour mee Thus farre for the first sort of Christes sufferinges The seconde sort was His shame and ignominie that open ignominie that He suffered especiallie on the Crosse Whether ye looke to His accusation they accused that most innocent One as a vile sinner or whether ye looke to all these false Testimonies that were brought against Him or yet whether yee looke to the tauntes and mockinges that Hee suffered and to that spitting on His face and blasphemies vpon the Crosse In all these yee shall sâ—e that shame He suffered for our sinnes The Apostle ROMAN Chap. 15. vers 3. saies Iesus Christ when hee was in the worlde hee spared not nor hee pleased not himselfe as wee doe but as it is written The rebukes of them which rebuke thee fell on me All these despites thou shouldest haue suffered but the LORDE Hee translated them vpon Himselfe O the shame that the sinner shoulde haue suffered and if the LORD IESVS had not taken it off the backe of the sinner and laid it on His owne backe Come to the last sort Thou who wouldest bee freed of paine either in bodie or soule Marke the paine of the Lord lay holde on it and apply it to thy soule for otherwise Nothing shall remaine for thee but paine euerlastingly all the kingdomes of the worlde shall not saue thee Then the last sort was paine and dolour in body and paine and dolour in soule but in the soule chiefly Looke to the time of it from His first conception to His last breath scarcely was the Lord well borne when thorow the persecution of Herode the Tyranne His mother was compelled to flee with Him to Egypt from that time He was vnder continuall affliction whilst as Hee entered into the thirtie yeere of His age when Hee takes vpon Him the part of a Mediator for mankinde from this foorth for Hee liued after this space three yeeres and an halfe His paine grew and increased in body and soule and ay nearer the last houre His displeasure and paine grew the more Now Brethren we shall speake shortly of these paines and dolours that the Lord suffered in the time of these three yeeres and an halfe for the Gospell makes mention of that suffering during this space the Lord Iesus is in continuall paine both of body and soule not in body onely but chiefly in the soule His paine during this time is chiefly that inwarde anguish all His paine was for our sinnes if yee compare the soule and the body together the soule is ten times worse and more sinfull than the bodie the soule is nothing but a sinke of sinne all sinne proceedes out of that stinking puddle of the soule The body hath no life in it but that which it hath of the soule and therefore seeing the Lord offered Him to suffer for our sinnes Hee behooued to suffer chiefly in the soule What shall I say of the impudent Papists who maintaine this doctrine that the Lord suffered not that inward paine of the soule O! that they dare be so bolde as to auouch such doctrine against the manifest wordes of the Holy Spirit They knowe not what sinne is They knowe not what is the greatnesse of the euill of sinne or the Iustice of GOD and lastly they know not what is the mercie of IESVS CHRIST In a worde I proclaime both before GOD and His Angels the Pope and his shauelings are open enemies to the Crosse of CHRIST if it were but in this that they take away the chiefe part of His suffering Bee thou a Papist if thou continuest in that fantasie thou shalt neuer haue no part nor portion of His suffering Concerning the suffering of His bodie and of that ignominious death of
the Crosse wee haue bene speaking Only nowe I shall point out the ground whereupon the sufferings of the LORD arises First they rise of that naturall infirmitie He was an infirme man without sinne He hungred as we doe He thirsted as we and through trauelling Hee rested neuer daye nor night and sojourned through the world Hee wearied as we doe Then another ground was that sadnesse and heauinesse of the soule Hee was in a continuall sadnesse there was neuer so sad a man as He was we read that He did weepe but we neuer read that Hee did laugh And thinke not that when the soule is in heauinesse that the bodie can bee well And last His suffering proceeded of a violent dealing against Him and nayling Him on the Crosse vvho vvas so violently handled as the LORD of glory was I leaue this and vve vvill speake of the dolours which Hee suffered in His soule First the LORD IESVS whilst as Hee trauelled vp and downe amongst His people Hee vvas in a continuall displeasure When Hee looked vpon that obstinate people Hee was sad vvhen Hee entred in Ierusalem Hee vvepes and sayes Ierusalem Ierusalem faine would J haue gathered you as a henne gathereth her birdes vnder her wings but thou wouldest not The moste speciall griefe that the LORD suffered in His soule was that vvhich Luke in his tvventieth tvvo Chapter names an agonie that is an anguish in the soule and an heauie paine proceeding from a battell that Hee had in His soule it proceeded from the wrestling with the wrath of GOD and infinite wrath vvith Hell and the povvers of it vvith death not temporall but euerlastingly Novve this agonie Hee vtters in the Garden when Hee sayes My soule is heauie on all sides euen to the death That vvorde was expressed out of that bitter anguish that Hee had in His soule whilst He spake so To speake of the time of it I am of that minde that it vvas not only when Hee vvas in the Garden but before in the twelfth Chapter of Iohn vvhen Hee vvas speaking to His disciples Hee sayes My soule is troubled And Hee turnes Him to His Father and Hee sayes Father saue mee from this houre yet the nearer He drew to death it grew greater and greater it was greater in the Garden than it was of before but now on the Crosse when Hee saide My God my God why hast thou forsaken Mee it was the greatest of all I will speake something of this I will certifie you the speciall vnderstanding of the suffering of Iesus Christ stands in the knowing of this inward agonie which IESVS CHRIST had in His soule and if yee knovve not this yee know nothing of His suffering it is true that no tongue is able to tell it No all the tongues of Angels the heart of man nor Angell is not able to conceiue the greatnesse of it The wordes of the Scriptures expresse not the greatnesse of the anguish but so far foorth as the LORD will giue mee the grace I will speake somewhat of it In the wordes that the Spirit vses in the Scripture yee shall finde this The LORD suffers a torment in His soule then yee shall see in the wordes an exceeding greatnesse of the anguish in the soule and lastly yee shall see in the wordes of the Spirit not only that He suffered anguish in the soule and the greatnesse of it but the very degrees and partes of it particularly First goe to the olde Testament in the fiftieth and third Chapter and fifth verse of the prophecie of Esay hath these wordes It pleased the LORD IEHOVAH to breake Him the wordes importes not only the breaking of the body but also of the soule Then in the hundreth and sixteene Psalme and at the fifth verse Dauid who was a type of CHRIST sayes The sorrowes of death haue compassed Mee and the anguish of Hell hath ouertaken Mee These wordes importe not onely a bodily suffering but they importe an anguish in the soule Come to the Newe Testament Matthew in his twentieth and sixt Chapter My soule is heauie and compassed to the death Wouldest thou haue the greatnesse of it Hee sayes On all sides And whereto Euen to the death not of the temporall death but euen to the death of the soule Then Luke in his twentieth and two Chapter sayes Hee was in an agonie Hee was in anguish Hee was wrestling With whome was this His disciples were away from Him There vvas no man vvith Him It vvas vvith the wrath of the Father from Heauen with a vvrath vnspeakable Peter 2. Actes sayes GOD raysed Him vp from death and raysed Him the doloures of death beeing loosed He could not bee retained vvith them The vvordes in their owne language is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and signifies extreame dolour like as a woman hath in bearing her birth The Spirite of GOD vseth to expresse the paine of the Hell in the soule by a similitude of a vvoman vvho trauelleth in birth for of all paines in the bodie it is the greatest and sorest and yee that haue felt it yee knowe that yee could not liue if it continued with you 1. THESSALON CHAP. 5. VERS 3. Hee settes downe the paine of Hell by that similitude When they shall saye Peace then shall come the suddaine doloure vpon them like a woman trauelling then shall they not escape And MARKE CHAP. 14. VERS 33. comes on more particularlie and saies Not onelie hee had a paine in the soule but also hee settes downe the degrees of the paine The natiue Language is moste proper 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Hee beganne to bee astonished and then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hee beganne to bee in a grieuous and extreame anguishe When the vvrath beganne to presse downe the soule then the anguishe arose and the extreamitie of paine But I leaue the opening vp of all thess vvordes vntill the next occasion and so to ende As vvee speake of the suffering of CHRIST So I beseech GOD to open our soules and our heartes to feele it For there is no life but in His suffering And the LORDE giue vs grace that our heartes maye take fast holde of his sadnesse and dolour to our joye euerlasting To this LORDE bee Honour and Praise for euermore AMEN THE XX. LECTVRE OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST MATTH CHAP. XXVII verse 46 And about the ninth houre IESVS cryed with a loude voyce saying ELI ELI LAMASABACHTHANI that is My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee THE last daye welbeloued in Christ vpon occasion offered in this place wee began to rehearse ouer all the whole Passion of Christ and vvee brought the matter to that agonie and that inwarde anguish of the soule which the Lord suffered beside all the outward passions of His bodie especially during the time of three yeeres and an halfe to wit the time in the which Hee bare openly the office of a Mediator betwixt God and man Nowe as the Lord will giue vs grace by
to helpe the part that is distressed Euen so it was with the LORD for when for our sinnes Hee was vnderlying the wrath of that Omnipotent Iudge all the faculties of His soule His vnderstanding His memorie c left all their functions that all might concurre to helpe Him in that common agonie Well Brethren if yee would see Hell yee haue here the viue image of it The reprobate after that at the first they are astonished vvith the sudden vvrath as they continue in Hell their dolour and paine shall euer be augmented the vvrath shall still lye vpon them like a mountaine tumbling on them and pressing them euer in soule body so that they remaine euer in this euerlasting paine Christ made an end of it but if thou be a reprobate this anguish shall neuer leaue thee Oh! that the vvorld vvill not knovv this and once pause on it vvould they then thinke ye runne to all mischiefe as they doe And if once thou be cast into Hell mountaines of dolour and heapes of vvrath shall be heaped on thee for euermore These are tvvo parts of that Hell that the Lord suffers novv vvould yee haue the thirde part I remit you to the 5. Chapter to the Hebrewes vvhere there Paul sayes that the Lord vvhen Hee prayed in the dayes of His flesh vvith strong cries and vvith teares Hee vvas heard He had a terrible feare beside the present paine He vvas in a feare of a greater danger to insue If thou goest to Hell once beside the present paine that thou shalt be in And O the vveight of that paine that shall be on thee thou shalt euer haue a terrible feare of a greater paine to fall on thee y e paine of Hell is not ended in a moment but y u shalt finde the paine gâ—ovving euerlastingly a mountaine of vvrath shall come after another as y e vvaues of the sea follovving one another It is a sore matter to be in this paine euerlastingly Now we haue heard the first ground out of the wordes of the Holy Spirit Come to the second ground When He was in the agonie He vtters such effects that they who saw Him and heard that pitifull voyce might easily see what anguish Hee had in the soule He falles out in a prayer Father take away this cuppe that is the cuppe of thy wrath wherein He vtters a forgetfulnesse of our redemption the dolour so increases vpon Him that Hee prayes with greater intention with teares and with strong cries and with weeping Hell will cause thee to mourne and compell thee to squeele and houle like a dogge laugh not it will cause thee to gnash thy teeth if thou be cast in vtter darknesse yet as He prayes the wrath increases that He did sweate blood and the droppes of blood fell from His face to the ground What man read ye of or heard yee euer of or euer shall that was in such a feare in such a torment that for the feare of the torment he did sweat blood So that ye see that the Lord was in such anguish as neuer a man was Were any of the Martyres in such a feare or such an anguish as this No no Then as Hee vtters His agonie in prayer so Hee vtters it in many heauie and bitter complaints Iohn 12. When hee is speaking of His glorification suddenly He breakes off and sayes My soule is troubled what shall I say and then Hee turned Him to His Father and sayes Saue mee from this houre and last Hee sayes My soule is heavie on all sides euen to the death But of all complaints this that Hee vtters on the Crosse My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee is the most heauie and it proceedes from the most bitter anguish of the soule Nowe the Lord grant that this complaint may saue vs from that complaint of the reprobate that they shall vtter in Hell No question these words vtter a forsaking of Him and that Hee was deserted for a time He was left off without all comfort in the world Of all joy that He was wount to haue all joy was taken from Him They import not a diuulsion of the Godhead from the manhead the glorious Godhead dwelt in the Lord Iesus whilst as He hang on the Crosse GOD neuer left Him at any time after that once the Sonne of God tooke to Himselfe our flesh Hee left it neuer no not on the Crosse nor in the graue Hee left it neuer nor neuer shall but the Godhead kept it selfe so closse in Christ the man that it would let Him haue no joy whilst He should pay that ransom to the vttermost farthing whereby the justice of God was satisfied for our sinnes And this is the thing He complaines on Yet whilst He sayes My God my God He lets vs see Hee despaires not but in the meane time whilst Hee was left He cleauâ—th to God hath His confidence in His God the Deuill and all the world cannot separate Him from His GOD that dwelt within Him Confidence in God will ofttimes be in the godly without feeling of joy albeit that Spirit will not be out of their soules The Spirit will minister no joy to them yet the poore soule will neuer leaue off to put confidence in God Well this complaint tells vs that Iesus Christ was deserted for a time to saue vs who should haue bene reprobates for euer But there is a great difference betweene Iesus Christ and the reprobate Indeede they agree in this that both He and they are left comforâ—lâ—sse He vttered a great complaint so they shall complaine and houle And as He cried and wept so shall they But here is the difference He was for a time in a manner reprobate they shall bee made reprobates for euer Hee complained for a time but they shall complaine for euer He ceases not to put His confidence in God the reprobate shall haue no confidence but as God shall leaue them so shall they leaue God as God shall turne His backe on them so shall they turne their backe on God This is a sore matter Then Iesus Hee vttered this complaint My God my God They shall not say My God why hast thou left mee but shall crie alas for euer God hath left me for euer and cast me off from His presence for euer This speech My God is a speech of confidence and He cleaues to God in His heart they shall shoute and cry GOD hath left mee for euermore cast me off This for the two grounds come to the third ground that is our owne feeling for if thou feelest not all thy knowledge auailes not a straw Paul to the Phillippians Chapter 3. sayes He counted all things to be but losse and dung that he might knowe Him that is Iesus Christ TheÌ„ he sets down the parts of this knowledge that I may know Him the vertue of His resurrectioÌ„ the coÌ„munion of His Passions be made conformable to His death
blindnesse of y e Iewes y t cannot know Him to be the Mediator but after that once a man be giuen to a reprobate sense he will say the Sun in y e noone-tide is but darknes The Gospel is hid sayes Paul 2. Cor. 4.4 to them who perish if thou see not beleeue not y e Gospell thou hast an earnest pennie in thy bosome y t thy damnatioÌ„ is sealed vp Thus farre for His thirst they gaue Him a drinke There is a vessell full of vineger This was a custome that they vsed they had a drinke beside them who were crucified Some thinke it was for this end that the paine might be stanched There is a drinke of vineger standing beside the Lord but I knowe not if they gaue such a sowre drinke to the thieues So this vessell standing beside one of them steps to it in scorne and takes a water sponge and puts it on a reede and puts it to His head he got litle thanke for his worke I take this giuing of this drinke to the Lord at this time to haue proceeded from bitter malice The wrath of His Father was begun to be asswaged yet the wrath of the Iewes could not be asswaged There is none end of the malice of the Iewes so long as breath is in Him they neuer cease to rage against Him WheÌ„ He was dead they persecute Him wheÌ„ He was in glorie they thought to shame Him WheÌ„ y e Lord looses y e raines of y e deuill of wicked men to chastise his own they run headlongs to wracke His Church y e Lord seekes but chastisemeÌ„t they seek wrack of body soule he y t knowes not this he knowes nothing if these persecuters got their will they would not only seeke y e wracke of y e body but also of y e soule What doth y e Lord for this when y e Lord hath pulled in their raines Hee takes y e scourge casts it in y e fire because they run far beyond their coÌ„mission This shal be y e end of their miserable soules O y t damnation y t shal ouertake them when y e Lord hath chastened vs by them they shal be cast in y e fire for euer Refuses y e Lord y e drinke indeede before He was raised vp on y e Crosse He tasted of this but would not drinke but He beeing on the Crosse it is said He dranke it It may by that after such a troublesome labour that His drought was so great that Hee was glad to drinke any liquour Alwayes this I know except the Lord had had a thirst of thy saluation Hee had not drunken it The thirst of thy saluation made Him as Hee dranke out the cuppe of the wrath of His Father So to drinke out this bitter cuppe that was propined to Him out of the bitternesse of their heartes Hee dranke out the wrath of God and the wrath of man that thou shouldest drinke the water of Life I say remember vpon that drinke that Iesus dranke when thou drinkest delicious drinkes it is not thy money that buyes the wine except it be bought with the precious blood of Iesus not a piece of bread or any thing pertaines to thee if it bee not bought with the blood of Iesus to them who are sanctified all thing is sanctified if thou be not in Him thou shalt bee accused as a violent possessour of all things in y t great day Now I goe to the next voyce when He hath drunkeÌ„ He saies Jt is sinished that is y t wearisome worke is now put to an end now the ransom is payed now the work of RedemptioÌ„ is ended Brethren that yee may vnderstand this The Lord when He was in the Garden had two workes The first was to buy Heauen to conquere life to vs The second to put vs in possession of it The first worke He beganne it in the first moment of His conception and continues still from that time to that moment He gaue vp the Spirit to the Father Now that worke beeing ended He proclaimes on the Crosse cries out in the audience of them all Consummatum est it is finished Now that wearisome worke is ended the deare worke is ended Heauen and life and righteousnesse is conquered to the worlde for euer This is the summe of the Gospel the worke of our Redemption is ended this is all our preaching Heauen life glorie is conquered againe to the lost world Thou needest not to giue one pennie out of thy purse for Heauen Cursed are they from the High Heauen to the low Hell that open their mouth to say Thou must pay some of that ransom out of thy purse Woe to the Papistes who will stand vp say Thou must pay some part of that ransome wo to that foule mouth that dare be so bold to open it and say pay thou a part of that ransome with thy money seeing that Iesus Christ hath proclaimed that all is finished bought by His blood woe vengeance and euerlasting damnation shall light on the Pope and all the Papistes that dare open their mouthes to speake such presumptuous wordes Yet there is another worke remaining which is to put vs in possession of Heauen and He began this at His resurrection and He holdes it on yâ—t and shall continue it vnto His comming againe And at that day of His comming yee shall heare Him crying All is ended not on His Crosse but in glory and all the Angels and all the Sainctes shall crie All is ended Glorie to him who hath ended all no more shall bee Looke downe to His heart and to the sense from whence this voyce arose wheÌ„ He saies this ye shall find that Iesus felt the wrath of His Father asswaged Before Hee was in an agony now Hee feeles the agony to cease where before He fouÌ„d no joy now joy returnes On the sense of all these thinges falles out this voyce All is ended WheÌ„ I looke to this I thinke I see y e image of a godly Sainct dying for the godly are like to him in death and life Before the last moment they are in a battell and suddenly they will say I haue gotten the victorie in Iesus and theÌ„ last they will yeeld vp the spirit Come to the last voyce It is a voyce of joy I am of that opinion that before the Lord yeelded vp the ghost the agony left him and that joy that had left him returned againe and made him to vtter joyfull words The Euangelists say He cryed with a loud voyce What voyce this is Luke expresses Father into thine hands I recommend my spirit All that were standing about might haue heard him vttering this powerfull voyce Now ye would wonder that a man immediatly yeelding vp his spirit should haue such a strong voyce Ye see men and women in death their voyce will faile them some will not haue any voyce and some not any signe some if they get that grace to speake
yet it will be a weake voyce because the strength of nature failes Yet Iesus all the day before vttered not so shrill a voyce So it must follow that naturall strength was not failed in Iesus Christ and that by the strength of nature hee might haue liued long for the other two liued long and were not dead till they came and brake their legges Iesus died against nature neither was hee broken as they were What followes of this Iesus Christ in that same moment that he yeelded the spirit hee had a power aboue nature and a diuine power against nature which puts out the life and if he had power against nature to put out his life hee vttered before the Iewes that they had no power to put out his life and that hee had a power to keepe his life if it had pleased him And that is it which he saies None takes my life from mee but I laye it downe and I take it vp againe Yee will heare that when worde came to Pilate that IESVS was dead hee wondered and all the world wondered at this yeelding vp of the spirit And by this the Lord would shewe that hee was not a common man hee would shewe that he was God either to keepe his life or to put it out at his pleasure Hee saies Father into thine handes I commende my spirite These wordes are farre from this My God my God why hast c. for those words proceeded of great sadnesse mixed with confidence but of no joye but these wordes Father into thine handes c. as they proceeded of confidence so they proceeded of a wonderfull joye No doubt at this time hee feeles that sweete hande of the Father dealing with him moste sweetelie not as the reprobate Alas the hande of the Lorde in justice striking the soule of the reprobate looses it from the bodie with the sense of extreame wrath But the Lord feeles the hande of the Father loosing his soule from the bodie with sweetnesse And all they who die in CHRIST will feele the Father loosing the soule with sweetnesse as these last wordes vtter Looke to the Martyres they neuer vtter the first voyce My God my God c. No but the second Father into thine handes I commende my spirite because they find joye in torment Steuen the first Martyr vttered the second voyce ACTS CHAP. VII VERS 59. And the rest of the Martyres followed him which testifies plainelie that this was a voyce of joye that IESVS vttered But marke the wordes of CHRIST yee see that euerie man and vvoman beside the bodie they haue a spirite and more beautifull and farre more precious of substance than the bodie and yet it lodges in an house of claye and in an earthlie Tabernacle Next there will bee a separation of the soule and the bodie Thou thinkest euer to liue but whether thou wilt or thou wilt not thy soule shall bee separate from the bodie and then the bodie shall die Shall thy soule die No if thou bee in CHRIST the Father shall take thy soule Nowe againe Brethren see how carefull the Lord is of his soule at the poinct of death If Iesus who had no sinne is so carefull of his soule I pray thee who art a sinfull bodie how carefull shouldest thou bee thereof It must liue either in Heauen or in Hell if the Lord cryed so loude that the earth quaked again till the Temple rent asunder wilt not thou a sinfull creature bee carefull of thy soule A man should haue care of the soule at all times but chiefly at the houre of the separation for at that time the Deuill is busie to deuour thee and the golfe of Hell to swallowe thee vp Then looke how carefull thou shouldest be in following the example of Iesus to recommend the soule into the handes of the Father and looke how carefull thou art to render the soule into the handes of the Father the Father shall be as carefull to loose the soule if thou bee in Iesus Christ to conuoy it with Him to rest for euermore in His blessed bosome The LORD giue vs grace to commende our soules into the hands of that faithfull keeper in the houre of death and that wee maye finde Him readie to receiue and conuoye them with Him to that euerlasting rest purchased to vs through Christ To whom with the Father and the blessed Spirit be praise for euermore AMEN THE XXII LECTVRE OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST MATTH CHAP. XXVII verse 50 Then Jesus cryed againe with a loud voyce and yeelded vp the ghost verse 51 And beholde the vaile of the Temple was rent in twaine from the top to the bottome and the earth did quake and the stones were clouen verse 52 And the graues did open themselues and many bodies of the Saincts which slept arose verse 53 And came out of the graues after his resurrection and went into the holie Citie and appeared vnto manie verse 54 When the Centurion and they that were with him watching Iesus saw the earthquake and the things that were done they feared greatly saying Truely this was the Sonne of God MARKE CHAP. XV. verse 37 And Iesus cryed with a loude voyce and gaue vp the ghost verse 38 And the vaile of the Temple was rent in twaine from the top to the bottome verse 39 Now when the Centurion who stood ouer against him saw that he thus crying gaue vp the ghost he said Truely this man was the Son of God LVKE CHAP. XXIII verse 46 And Iesus cryed with a loude voyce and saide Father into thine handes I commende my spirite And when hee had thus said hee gaue vp the ghost verse 47 Now when the Centurion sawe what was done hee glorified God saying Of a suretie this man was just verse 48 And all the people that came together to that sight beholding the things that were done smote their breasts and returned IOHN CHAP. XIX verse 30 Now when Iesus had receiued of the vineger hee said It is finished and bowed his head and gaue vp the ghost WEE heard the last daye vvelbeloued Brethren the sundrie voyces and speaches vvhich Iesus Christ vvhilest Hee hung quicke on the Crosse and vvas nayled thorow handes and feete vttered in the audience of the vvhole people The first two voyces vvere the voyces of pittie and mercie The one of mercie to one of the Thieues that vvas crucified vvith Him Verily saies the Lord this day shalt thou bee with mee in Paradise The other of pittie to His owne Mother vvho stood by looking on Him when as Hee hung vpon the Crosse in extreame paine recommending her to IOHN His welbeloued Disciple Other two voyces were voyces of sadnesse and heauinesse of heart The one an heauie complaint to His Father My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee The other proceeding from an extreame drought that came of that sense of wrath and paine which Hee felt during the time that Hee hung vpon the Crosse I thirst The last two
voyces vvere of joye for it appeares well that before the Lord gaue vp the ghost comfort and joye returned to Him againe And I am of this mind that there are none who are Gods owne but before their departure out of this life sooner or later they will get a sense of that joye which they are to passe vnto immediatelie The first voyce of joye was All is ended As though Hee vvoulde saye This wâ—â—ke is done and ended and nowe the ransome of the redemption of man is payed to the least farthing Nowe the last voyce vvas vvhen Hee vvas immediatelie readie to render vp His spirite into the handes of the Father sayes with a feeling of joy in the heart Into thine hands Father J commend my Spirit Now this day we haue to speake by His grace First of His death and the yeelding vp of His Spirit Next of those wonders that fell out immediatly after the Lord had rendered the Spirit and thirdly we haue to speake how the multitude were mooued when they sawe these wonders Novve as concerning His death the words are but few Iohn sayes When Hee had spoken and cried with a loude voyce Hee bowed downe His head and He rendered His Spirit The wordes are to be marked Hee renders His Spirit first as it were Hee tooke His soule in His owne Hande and deliuered it in the handes of the Father desiring Him to keepe it well to the day of His glorious resurrection for Brethren this is the difference betweene the godly vngodly in their death as they differ and are vnlike to other in their life so especially in their death The vngodly cast away the soule and life and cares not where it goes but woe is to them that doe so they will neuer take vp such a life againe when they haue cast it awaye not regarding where it goes to but thinking lightly of it No let no man nor woman cast away this life or dislodge this soule lightly if the soule goe from thee lightly and thou carest not for it better it were for thee neuer to haue had a life a soule or a body But againe Brethren The Lord Iesus as all His lifetime Hee is carefull for the soule that is lodged in an earthly tabernacle so chiefly in the moment when it is to fllit The godly they will not let the soule flit out of the body vntill they know that the hand of the Lord is sweetly loosing the soule to keepe it vntill the day of their glorious resurrection Brethren it would be well marked There is not one of the foure Euangelists Matthew Marke Luke or Iohn but they note very precisely the death of the Lord and the yeelding vp of His Spirit As for the circumstances that fell out in His Passion some will note one thing and leaue another As for example These voyces that He vtters on the Crosse not one of the Euangelists hath them all some hath one and some another But when it comes to the yeelding of the Spirit they all in one harmonie note The Lord gaue vp the Spirit This is a thing not to be passed by nor to be lightly looked on and it lets vs see the death of our Sauiour the separation of His soule from His body is so substantiall and so needfull a thing both to Him to haue suffered and vs to knowe that except the Lord had suffered the death all the crucifying of Him inwardly outwardly all the rest of His suffering had auailed vs nothing the ransome of our sinnes had not bene payed for that was the curse that was laide vpon vs to pull our soule from our bodie and as it was needfull that He should suffer the death for vs so it is needfull to euery one of vs to knowe this that my Sauiour died and His soule was really separated from His body it is needfull that thou haue euermore the Lord Iesus crucified before thee and know that the soule was separated from His blessed body for grace and remission of sinnes is conquered thorow the death of the Mediatour if thou hast not Faith of the death of the Mediatour it is vnpossible that thou canst beleeue that thy soule shall come to Heauen The Apost Heb. 9. hath a notable comparison hee sayes When a man hath made a Testament and his legacie wherein hee leaues such inheritance to any man his Testament can neuer bee sure nor ratified before the man be dead and if he ratifie not the Testament with his death it cannot bee sure for the man in this life may alter the Testament But after that once he die there it stands it cannot be reuoked Euen so sayes the Apostle The Heire of the world Iesus Christ hath made a Testament and such one as neuer man made leauing such goods and heritage to His Saints as neuer man left euen that heauenly Heritage that exceeding Glorie Now sayes the Apostle If the Heire of the World Iesus Christ had not sealed vp His Testament by His blood it had neuer beene sure but His death interueening and closing it then the Testament is sure all the world is not able to alter one jote of it to adde or diminish it Woe be to him that will adde any thing to the Testament of Iesus Christ he is counted a villaine who will adde to a mans Testament Wilt thou adde or diminish any thing at thy pleasure from the Testament of Iesus Christ This Newe Testament is the best Testament that euer was Let Worldlings bee content with the Testaments of their forefathers yet count thou nothing at all except thou get a part of the legacie left in His Testament Woe bee to thee albeit thou get Eaâ—ledomes and Kingdomes and great possessions left to thee by the Testament of thy forefathers if thou gettest not this Testament Well Brethren this Testament can not be ratified but by the blood of the Testator How can I beleeue it except I know that He died and that the soule was as verily separated from the body as euer the soule of man was so when I consider the death of my Sauiour who hath made such a Testament I am so farre from that to bee offended at that shamefull death that the death is the ground of my saluation and that in His death is all my glorie the assurance of my life is in the assurance of His death and His ignominie and shame is my glorie Now thus farre for the death of the Lord Iesus Now come to the consideration of these wonders that fell out immediately as He gaue vp the Ghost The Vaile of the Temple rent asunder from the toppe to the bottome The earth quaked Such things neuer fell out in all the deathes of men in the world No not in the deathes of all the Kings in the world The stones were clouen the graues of the dead did open These are the foure wonders that are noted to haue fallen out immediatly when the Lord gaue vp the Ghost Brethren
the Lord is remembring His mercie and teaches them by wonders to looke yet if they will take a lesson to repent of all the indignitie that they had done Hee threatens them with the one hand and offers mercie with the other to see if they will repent This is the dealing of the Lord Hee warnes them and He sayes Yet I will not swallow thee vp with the earth and I will not let the rockes tumble downe on thee to deuoure thee yet repent for there is gâ—ace for thee if thou turnest Brethren no man shall goe to Hell without aduertisement to stand to the end that if thou wilt not repent when the Lord begins to put hand in thee and to rent thee thy mouth may be closed that thou canst not say Lord I got no warning all excuses shall be put away Alas will not men learne for all this shaking of the mountaines Lord shake these hearts of ours the Lord be merciful to all sinful soules to senslesse creatures lest wheÌ„ they shall cry Peace all things are sure enough theÌ„ sudden iudgement approach the wrath come ouertake them Now come to y e last thing I shall end Are there none y t are moued at all at these wonders Amongst so many hundreths thousands is there not one moued yes there are some moued who are these are the high Priests moued No not a whit is there any of y e rest of y e order of y e Priests moued Not They continue blinde and dumbe Are the Pharises and the Scribes or the Elders mooued No They are not mooued but the more they heare their heartes are the more hardened Who are then mooued at these vvonders It is an Ethnicke bodie a Captaine of men of vvarre vnder PILATE and a Pagane vvho neuer once knewe GOD yet vvhen hee sees this and hearde the voyces hee saies Of a suretie this man was just And more hee saies Truely this was the Sonne of GOD. Is there anie moe Yes A bande of men of vvarre Not of the IEVVES but such as had liued on robberie vvithout the feare of GOD they feared greatly and saide also Truely this man was the Son of GOD. Who of the IEVVES is mooued Not the Scribes and the Pharises and the rest of the Order they are nothing moued but the sillie multitude vvho cryed before Crucifie him nowe they goe home smiting on their breastes and crying vvoe to them for that dayes labour but there vvas neuer a motion in the Priestes or in anie of the Princes or Pharises or Scribes It is a vvonderfull thing to see that they vvho had judgement and vnderstanding and who had read all the prophecies of the MESSIAS to come gotte no sense yet a sillie multitude gettes some sight and sense Woulde yee knowe and poinct out a senselesse creature vvho vvill not bee mooued neither by vvorke nor vvorde It is such a man as hath this vvorldly wisedome Such a man as hath knowledge and yet does against his knowledge and conscience for all that these Priestes and Pharises did vvas both against knowledge and conscience They repined against the Holy Spirit and against their conscience they crucifie Iesus Whosoeuer thou art who opponest thee to the brightnes of the Gospell thou crucifiest the Lord of glory and as it shal be layed to the charge of the high Priests and Pharises and of Pilate and Herode in that Great daye that they crucified IESVS CHRIST So it shall bee layed to thy charge and thou shalt bee as guiltie of His blood as they Woe to that soule which vvill resist that word and the Holy Spirite Woe shall bee to the great men in this land vvho against conscience conspires against CHRIST Religion and their natiue Countrey for vvrath and vengeance remaineth for them if they leaue not off this vnhappie course The King of SPAINE and all their associates shall not bee able to holde vengeance off them that shall one daye bee heaped vpon their heads The LORD saue vs from induration and neuer suffer vs to repine against Light nor to scrape it out of our soule and conscience I see heere further The LORD gettes moe friendes in His death than in His life The Centurion and the men of vvarre they curse the time that euer they vvere employed in that seruice The multitude vvho bad crucifie Him thorowe blindnesse and ignorance nowe they repent the time that euer they did it and they returne homewardes knocking vpon their breastes That immaculate Lambe that precious Sacrifice hanging thus on the Crosse Hee cast such a sweete smell on the earth and on the people that they vvho vvere His enemies goe awaye mourning This falles out often times in the Martyres for some people goes out with them who woulde eate them and yet the LORD IESVS makes their death to cast such a sweete smell that it is effectuall to mooue manie thousandes to mourne and to bee conuerted So that it is founde to bee true that the bloode of the Martyres is the seede of the Kirke And they who woulde haue swallowed them before in their death pitties them and become their friendes thorowe the sweete smell which they felt comming from their death and would goe home mourning that euer they were enemies vnto them and were instrumentes of their death Therefore let the enemies of the trueth persecute the Sainctes of GOD and His Trueth with Fire and Sworde as they please They shall gette no vantage and they shall not gette this Light quenched for there shall such a sweete smell arise out of the ashes of the Sainctes which in despight of the enemies farre moe shall bee wonne to IESVS CHRIST by their death than euer was wonne to Him by their life To Him therefore vvith the Father and the Holie Spirite bee all Honour Praise and Glorie for euermore AMEN THE XXIII LECTVRE OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST MATTH CHAP. XXVII verse 55 And many women were there beholding him afarre off who had followed Iesus from Galile ministring vnto him verse 56 Among whom was Marie Magdalene and Marie the Mother of Iames and Ioses and the mother of Zebedeus sonnes MARKE CHAP. XV. verse 40 There were also women who behelde afarre off among whome was Marie Magdalene and Marie the Mother of James the lesse and of Ioses and Salome verse 41 Who also when Hee was in Galile followed Him and ministred vnto Him and manie other women who came vp with Him vnto Hierusalem LVKE CHAP. XXIII verse 49 And all his acquaintance stoode afarre off and the women that followed him from Galile beholding these thinges IOHN CHAP. XIX verse 31 The Iewes then because it was the Preparation that the bodies shoulde not remaine vpon the Crosse on the Sabbath daye for that Sabbath was an high dayâ— besought Pilate that their legges might bee broken and that they might bee taken downe WEE haue heard these dayes past beloued Brethren in Christ what was the part of the whole
superstition that moued them they were to celebrate the Passâ—ouer and this was the day of their preparation they were preparing them by crucifying the innocent the Lorde of glorie Was this an holy preparation This was the Fryday and the morne was the Paâ—che Iohn sayes that was an high day or a great Sabbath because they kept two holy dayes together both their owne ordinarie Sabbath and the extraordinarie Passeouer and this they did contrarie to the ordinance of GOD for they should haue celebrated the Passeouer on Thurseday as the LORD did for He celebrated it that night that He was betrayed by Iudas and led away captiue by the Iewes So they did cast in the two Holy dayes together according to their custome for when y e Passeouer fell to bee on Thurseday they vsed to delay it vntill the Satterday which was their Sabbath day lest y t if these feasts which are so neare other had bene both kept the people should haue wearied and if Christ the other had not bene taken downe thaâ— y t Holy exercise wold haue bin defiled So they thought if they had bin taken down from the crosse and put away they had bene holy eneugh And vpon that same pretence when they were to accuse Christ they would not enter in the common Hall lest they should haue beene polluted They were Hypocrites they polluted the world and defiled the earth that they tread on A polluted body who hath no sanctification in Christ there is nothing that he touches meat or drinke yea the earth he walkes on but he defiles all yet these foule Hypocrites thought that if Iesus who sanctifies the Sabbath and sanctifies the heart had beene taken away they had beene holie eneugh An Hypocrite is a foule body defiles all that he handles All his religion is outward standing in bodily exercises and when he hath polluted all yea the very earth he treades on he will say Handle not touch not taste not that will pollute thee Coloss 2.21 There is his religion When the foule body defiles the aire the earth the Heauen hee bids thee touch it not lest it defile thee when he defiles all that he touches Nowe they get the request granted them and gets a commandement of Pilate and so The men of warre came forward and brake the legges of the one first and then they came to the other and brake his also They brake both their legges with great paine and torment Now will ye see these 2 thieues they are like in their death both are crucified in end both their thighes are brokeÌ„ yet for al this the one of them is a vessell of glorie and he had a promise of glorie and an assurance of it in his heart the other had none So Brethren take heede though the death of the wicked and the godlie bee alike yet they are not alike in condition Iudge not of mens estate by the outwarde miserie measure not Heauen and Hell by the outwarde death The Elect and the wicked will be oft times alike in death and oft times the Elect will die in the greatest torments Who suffered more painefull deathes than the Martyres did Beware that thou say as the Papistes who are enemies to Christ say They teach albeit that in Iesus Christ thy sinne be forgiuen yet the paine is not forgiuen and they say that the paine that the godly suffer in death is a satisfaction for sinne They say that the paine of the penitent thiefe was the punishment of his sinne but they lie and the Lord shall justifie it The Elect suffer no paine for sinne torment them as they will burne them scalde them all is but a mercifull chastisement and death to them is a faire port to Heauen He makes darknesse to be light to His owne Well this for the execution of the two thieues They come to the Lord to see whether He was dead or not they are not rash they finde Him dead they finde no sponke of life in Him therefore they offer not to breake His thighes See how the word and prouidence of God takes effect The Lord had said One bone of Him should not be broken and therefore to preueene the breaking the Lord miraculously tooke the Spirit from His Sonne His death was miraculous as ye heard before by the strength of nature He might haue liued longer as that great and mightie voyce which he vttered last testifies and so His sudden death was a meane to performe the Lordes ordinance Hee would vse this as the ordinarie meane to execute the eternall decree of the Father It is a follie to thee to say thou wilt depend on the prouidence of God and in the meane time to leaue off meanes for by so doing thou temptest God who as He hath ordained the ende so He hath also ordained the meanes to the end As for example If thou wouldest goe to Heauen thou must vse the meanes the hearing of the word c. Yet many will contemne the meanes and yet bragge they are assured to come to Heauen they will contemne the preaching which is the instrument that God vses But I say to thee thou deceiuest thy selfe for I denounce if thou werest an Emperour thou shalt neuer see Heauen nor life who contemnest that meane and instrument which the Lord hath ordained to bee vsed to bring thee to Heauen which is the preaching of His trueth Now Brethren ye see here the testimonie of the death of Christ giuen by the buâ—rioes they preach His death as though they had said Marke all people This Iesus whom we haue crucified is dead and therefore in token that this is true wee will not breake His bones after that comes another burrio a man of warre and giues the last witnesse Hee smites Him with a speare so that out of the wound gushed out blood and water As though the knaue had said I shall let you see that Hee is dead that there is no life in Him and so hee smites Him to the heart with a speare The Lord would haue the death of the Lord testified sundrie wayes for thy comfort for the most shamefull thing that euer was is death except it be sanctified it is the greatest miserie that can come to man if thou gettest no remedie against it for that death of the body is a port to that death euerlasting It is no childrens play to haue the soule dislodged No it was an ignominie to the Lord of glorie to be holden vnder the bands of death and to be tread vnder the feete of death yet the Father will haue His death testified sundrie wayes First Hee will haue it testified with a cry when He cried with a loude voyce Father into thine hands I commend my Spirit Next Hee will haue the burrioes to testifie His death and then He will haue a speare thrust to His heart to testifie His death besides the testimonie that all the creatures gaue of His death Is this for nothing No for suppose
with great weight and manie graue wordes Wee haue hearde before sundrie testimonies of His death The Lord in the last wordes Hee testifies of His owne death when Hee cryes Father into thine handes I commende my spirite All those wonders from the Heauen testified that the Lorde had giuen vp the ghoste His Heauenlie Father made the Burreoes and the men of warre to testifie that Hee was dead and to preach it to all the people about Now IOHN comes in last and with many words and wordes of great weight testifies that the Lorde gaue vp the ghoste What meanes all this Ye see there is not any thing in all the historie testified by so many testimonies The Spirit of God labours not to perswade vs of any thing in all His Passion so much as that He died and to certifie this that Hee was pearced with a speare To leaue the Heresies which fell in the worlde concerning the death of Christ for it was much to perswade the world of it they would not beleeue that IESVS died truelie All these testimonies lets vs see such a necessitie to bee in the death of IESVS that except the LORD had died as truelie as euer man died Hee coulde not haue beene our Redeemer And except Hee had died truelie wee coulde neuer haue beleeued to haue beene saued by Him Except I knowe as truelie as euer I knewe any thing in the worlde that my Redeemer died for mee I woulde neuer goe seeke life out of His death Indeed a wanton sinner who is ladeÌ„ with sin feeles not the weight thereof so loÌ„g as his coÌ„science is sleeping that he feeles not y e burreo sees not y t fearfull wrath that caÌ„not be quenched without bloode that terrible justice of God y t cannot be satisfied but by death will count little of the death of Christ It is alike to him whether He had died or no so loÌ„g as thou sleepest al is alike but after the coÌ„scieÌ„ce is wakened the Lord once let thee feele the weight of thy sinnes wherewith thou art ladned No if thou diddest but feele the weight of an euill thought thou wouldest groane as fast as if the mountaines and rockes were tumbled on thee and then thou wouldâ—st thinke no life nor saluation for thee but Hell and damnation if thou gottest not a Sauiour for thee and if thou feelest that Iustice of God and the terrours of Hell before thee the sight of the death of Iesus would be the most joyfull and comfortable sight that euer thou sawest and all thy joy glorie would be in that death of Christ Paul sayes Gal. 6.14 Far be it from me that I should reâ—oyce in any thing but in the death of Christ he fouÌ„d all his life to be in that death 1. Cor. 2.2 he sayes When I came amongst you to speake of the death of Christ to you who knew not what it meant a vaine companie they were who delited in vaine oratorie I would not begin to clawe your itching eares but I decreed to know nothing but Iesus Christ and Him crucified Nowe Brethren besides this In these wordes that IOHN sets downe and 〈◊〉 the which hee aggreadges his testimonie marke another lesson Will ye see from whence our Faith comes from whence comes our Faith from whence flowes it IOHN sayes And he that saw it bare record and his recorde is true and he knoweth that hee saith true that they should beleeue From whence then comes Faith in this death it comes by hearing Faith is of hearing of a testimonie and recorde and if thou hearest not a record thou shalt not beleeue and if thou beleeuest not thou shalt neuer see Heauen And if thou contemnest the recorde I giue thee this doome thou shalt neuer see Heauen with thine eyes if thou werest a King So Faith is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit by a recorde and witnesse bearing So ere thou gettest Faith some witnesse must stand vp and beare recorde The Lord must send out some witnesse to cry and preach but what witnesses must these be IOHN sayes He that saw these things hath testified of them The witnesses must be seeing witnesses it must be Iohn and such as saw Him and felt Him with their handes Then who must bee the witnesses They must be the Apostles that were conuersant in this world with Iesus Christ who heard Him preach and saw Him vvorke vvonders and savv Him dead and savv Him crucified and savve Him pierced thorovv the side They must be the first witnesses But more Brethren Is it enough that they savve Him with their bodily eye No Iohn addes more that hee vvas persvvaded that his testimonie was true The vvitnesses as they testifie that vvhich they savve so they must beleeue it vvith their heartes There were great multitudes hundreths thousands vvho heard Him touched Him and savv Him crucified and some of them crucified Him too yet none of these are made vvitnesses to preach to the vvorld but the Apostles vvho savv and beleeued these are set vp as witnâ—sses in y e world that all should beleeue TheÌ„ the first ground of thy Faith is the very eye of the Apostles their sight and sense The next ground is Faith in the heartes of the Apostles And if yee will say to me Why beleeue ye the Gospell of Iohn and the Gospell of Matthew and the Epistles of Paul c. I answere because these were men who heard and saw Christ and I will say more I beleeue them because they beleeued in their heartes that thing which they saw and goe before not onely by sight of the body but also by Faith in the heart When yee heare these recordes albeit the men be not liuing yet we haue that same thing that they wrote and that which they themselues beleeued I beseech you consider them and passe not ouer lightly when yee reade of Iohn or Paul or the rest I beseech you passe not lightly seeing the ground of thy Faith is not onely their sight but the sense of their heartes and Faith ye who would read with judgement trauell to goe into the heart to seeke that Faith into the heart and that joy and that sadnesse that they felt and pray LORD seeing these men vtter a feeling of these things that they saw and which they wrote touch mine heart and giue me thine Holy Spirit that I may attaine to the sense and feeling of these things If ye would haue a testimonie of this beholde what PAVL sayes in the second Epistle to the Corinthians the fourth Chapter and fourteenth verse I beleeue that I my selfe shall gloriously rise and then he brings in Dauids wordes J beleeued and therefore I spake Alwayes looke that in reading we striue to haue a feeling and sense in our heart of that which we read otherwise we make no fruit of our reading we speake like parrats wee know not what we speake I say to thee if the word of grace rise not from the
the pointes of his Iustice it behoued Him to suffer all the points of Iustice vnder the earthly judge Pontius Pilate in His condemnation in His taking from the crosse in His burial this was all to the intent that thou mightest be fully freed from all the points of the Iustice of GOD for whatsoeuer thing He either did or suffered it was for thy cause There is another thing here that would not be passed by There is no question but it comes of the Prouidence of God that this body is neither reaued away by violence nor stollen away by slight but the taking away comes of a speciall request◠no question this matter was so dispensed that the death of Iesus should bee made notable and come to the eares of Pilate and all other men the death was to be made notable to the world likewise the buriall was to be made notable to the end that His glorious resurrection might be made knowne to the world These are the two pillars of our Faith the death of Christ and His resurrection these are the two points that the deuill and the Heretiques haue from time to time striuen to hew and cut downe that they should not appeare to the world because they are the chiefe pillars of our Faith but honour glory be to the Lord who of His grace hath kept these pillars constantly in His Church in despite of the deuill all his instrumēts Now the God of Heauen grant vs grace to take holde on His death and glorious resurrection that through His death and resurrection we may bee raised from death to newnesse of life here that hereafter wee may reigne in glory with Him To whome with the Father and the Holy Spirite bee all honour praise and glorie world without end AMEN THE XXVI LECTVRE OF THE BVRIALL OF CHRIST MARKE CHAP. XV. verse 44 And Pilate marueiled if hee were alreadie dead and called vnto him the Centurion and asked of him whether hee had beene any while dead verse 45 And when hee know the trueth of the Centurion hee gaue the bodie to Ioseph verse 46 Who bought a linnen cloth and tooke him downe and wrapped him in the linnen cloth c. IOHN CHAP. XIX verse 38 And after these things Ioseph of Arimathea who was a disciple of Iesus but secretly for feare of the Iewes besought Pilate that hee might take downe the body of Iesus And Pilate gaue him licence Hee came then and tooke Iesus bodie verse 39 And there came also Nicodemus who first came to Iesus by night and brought of myrrhe and aloes mingled together about an hundreth pound verse 40 Then tooke they the bodie of Iesus and wrapped it in linnen clothes with the odours as the manner of the Iewes is to burie THE last day welbeloued in Iesus Christ wee entered into the History of the Buriall of the Lord Iesus and wee hearde that the Buriall came by a request made to Pilate the Romane Deputie for the time The request maker was one IOSEPH Hee is set down and described by all the foure EVANGELISTES in all his properties Hee was a man of ARIMATHEA a Towne in IVRIE Hee vvas a rich man and also an honourable and graue Counseller Then as concerning the qualities of his person Hee was a good and an vpright man who liued vprightlie in the worlde and yet hee had a further respect than vnto this life for he waited constantlie for the Kingdome of God And therefore when Christ came into the worlde and tooke vpon Him that great office of the Mediator betwixt GOD and man hee enters into His schoole and became His Disciple howbeit for feare of the IEVVES hee durst not manifest himselfe but lurked secretlie for a time euen to this time that it came to the Buriall of the bodie of Iesus and then hee shewes himselfe to bee a Disciple of Christ In that Councell which was against the Lorde hee vvas a Counseller but hee vvoulde neither giue counsell nor consent to the condemning and slaying of CHRIST Thus much yee hearde before concerning this man and his properties Then wee hearde howe hee goes forwarde boldlie to Pilate to seeke the Lordes bodie Hee lurked before so long as Iesus was in the worlde working such wonders as neuer man wrought speaking with such a grace as neuer man spake with But nowe when Hee is dead hee comes out boldlie and goes to Pilate and hee manifestes himselfe To let vs see that IESVS in His death had greater force to drawe the soules of men vnto Him than Hee had in His life for from that death there came so sweete and sensible a smell to the soules of sinners that it drewe the soules of sinners vnto Him Namelie the heart of this man IOSEPH So that hee comes out boldlie as saide is and hee goes to PILATE and requestes him to giue him the bodie of IESVS to bee buried Thus farre vvee hearde the last daye Nowe this daye wee haue PILATES answere to IOSEPHS request PILATE wonders that He was dead so soone and for the more certaintie hee calles a Centurion and askes him if Hee was dead alreadie The Centurion affirmes that Hee was dead alreadie PILATE grantes the request After this we come to the maner of His Buriall Wee shall goe forward as time shall suffer God shall giue vs grace Pilate wonders that hee was so soone dead This wondering of Pilate no question imports that the death of Iesus was extraordinary It was not after the common fashion of men y t were crucified for men who were crucified they vsed to hing long on the Crosse before they yeelded the spirit dayes nights and in end ere they yeelded the spirite the life was taken from them by violence They were broken on the Crosse So Pilate hearing that the Lorde was so soone dead hee wondered as at an extraordinarie thing There are sundrie thinges that testifie that death of Iesus to haue beene extraordinary as first That mighty and loude voyce crying which the Lord vttered on the Crosse immediately before He yeelded the spirit for who will giue a loud crie at the yeelding of his spirit for at the poinct of death when nature failes it is a rare thing to finde a man to haue a voyce or a word Next The yeelding of His spirit so suddenly whē by the power of nature He might haue liued longer Last This wondering of Pilate testifies That His death was extraordinarie that there was a power in Iesus which controlled nature When nature would haue kept life the diuine power puts it out In a word This wondering testifies That the death of Iesus was the death of God the death of a man but God in the man glorious and blessed for euermore Now it is said Pilate vnderstood of the Centurion that Iesus was dead when hee granted the request of Ioseph and gaue the bodie to him to bee buried First I see Pilate is a good Iustitier the Romane Iustice was
first witnesse of His Resurrection Hee will not haue a man to be witnesse but an Angell Then He is carefull to whome this Angel should tell His Resurrection He will not haue him testifying it to the men of warre He wil not haue pearles casten before svvine but to the vvomen The LORD is carefull of the place vvhere His doctrine should be taught He vvill haue the vvomen to goe to the graue to the ende they should receiue the doctrine of Resurrection the better that by the emptinesse of the graue the Angell might the better demonstrate that the LORD was risen Thinke yee novv that the LORD hath casten off that care He had then That care He had of the person of the Preacher of the person to vvhome He sends Him of the place of preaching No that same LORD hath the same care yet and He vvill loue them vvell to vvhome He concredites His glorious Euangell He loues them vvell vvhom He lets attentiuely and carefully heare His glorious Gospell and the LORD hath a care vvhere a man may most commodiously speake for edification and vvhere men vvomen may heare Christ pointed out commodiously This for the thing they savv vvhat follovves The sillie vvomen are terrified as the guard of the men of vvarre vvere terrified I see then in the person of these vvomen the presence of GOD is terrible to the godly and more I see vvhen men and vvomen are seeking Iesus Christ the first sight they get of Him is terrible The ground of this is not only that terrible Majestie that no creature can bee able to looke on and why should not all flesh stoupe at the presence of that glorious GOD but this is not the onely ground but because in the most godly man or vvoman there is a remanent corruption therefore they are afraide at the presence of GOD. Feelest thou it not now thou shalt feele it ere thou go This remanent corruption can not abide the sight of that glory a spot of vncleannesse cannot stand in the presence of that Holy Majestie yet I see a greater difference betweene the women and the guard for the men of warre vvere terrified to the death but so vvere not the vvomē Where fro came this difference betweene the vvomen and the Guarde That Guarde vvas but a companie of prophane bodies vvithout God vvithout grace vvithout faith vvithout hope vvithout loue vvas full of sinne of an euill conscience But the vvomen suppose they were sinfull had partly an euill conscience for where sin is there is part of an euill cōscience yet in a part they were purged frō sin thorow the death of Iesus Christ they had their conscience sprinkled with His blood as that euill cōscience terrified them so that good consciēce held them vp Suppose so long as we remain in this body we cānot be quit free of sin corruption ye well is y e soule y t in the blood of Iesus findes their sins forgiuen them for suppose it be terrified yet it wil not despaire Now I come to the speach of the Angell to the women The Angell seeing thē terrified he speaks and encourages them first and saies to them Feare yee not and then he begins to testifie of the Resurrection of Christ last he giues them a commandement to tell the Disciples First hee saies to the women Feare not He spake not such a word to the Guarde but let them lye still till they gathered their spirites and rose vp and ran home for for all the world they durst not tarrie there There is another difference betweene the godlie and the wicked When the Lorde hath casten the wicked down He will not giue them a word to comfort them but will let them lye still Woe to them nothing within them to raise them vp no faith no hope no part of good consciēce they are full of sin nothing without them no the Lord shall not vouchsafe a good word on them He will neither giue thē an inward nor an outward comfort and at the latter day the Lord shall speak one joyfull word to them but He will say Goe your way ye cursed companie to be tormented with the Deuill and his angels Woe to the estate of them y t shal be foūd out of Iesus Christ Albeit y t now these things sound not in thy eares now thinkest Heauē Hell to be but matters of jests yet one day though thou be a king thou shalt find these things to be earnest thou shalt wish whē thou wast made a mā or a womā thou hadst bin made a stock or stone But by the contrary The Lord holds vp y e godly not only inwardly by a piece of good cōscience but also by outward means He speaks comfortablie to them And He will say to them by His Ministers Feare not Marke further He will not only holde them vp but that same thing y t terrified the wicked He will make it to cōfort them He makes this same Angell that terrified the men of vvarre to comfort and encourage them More than this Hee will not onely free and relieue them from terrour but He will poure in joye And no question this worde had a powerfull force to raise them vp comfort thē And then besides this He ministers joye by telling them of y t glorious resurrection So not only feare is put away but the glorious Resurrection of Iesus Christ is tolde them whereof there arises an vnspeakeable joye Well Brethren albeit we feele not this joy for the present yet hold still thy eare heare on continually howbeit with pain for it thou get grace to hold still thy eare heare I promise thee in the name of God thou shalt get such a joye in the ende as shall make thee to thinke all thy paine to be nothing Now one word ere I end Mark how the Lord prepares His own to heare these tidings He will not haue them to come with a light disposition of heart as wee vse to doe without any sight premeditation of sin misery Thou wilt come in not once think thou hast neede of the preaching of the glorious Resurrection of Christ But look the preparation of these women Ere euer the Lord will haue the Angel speaking one word Hee will haue them terrified no question they were exceedinglie affraid As euer thou wouldest look for joy thine heart must be prepared with terrour in some measure castē down ere euer the Lord speake one cōfortable word to thee And therfore let no man take hardily with the terrours of the word This is the first Thē the next poinct of preparation is Whē thou art casten downe ere He begin to speak to thee the glad tidings of saluation He will raise thee vp He will say to thee who art casten down thorow the sense of thy sin Be not terrified but be of good comfort And if the Lords spirit accōpany this word it will
I thinke no man nor woman should doubt why these women preached this Resurrection The LORD giues them a spâ—ciall direction first from GOD then from His Angell and this commission might satisfie so that the Apostles were bound to receiue this commission that vvas ordained by the LORD of Heauen I marke this lesson There is neither man nor woman can speake in the Name of the Lord except they be sent So sayes Paul to the Romanes tenth Chapter and fifteenth verse None can preach except he be sent How can one preach CHRIST and if hee be not sent by CHRIST daâ—e a knaue stand vp in the middest of a cittie or towne and make a proclamation in the name of the Prince and not haue a warrand and darest thou stand vp and speake in the Name of the great GOD of Heauen and haue no warrand Indeede it is the LORD who knowes who is sent if thou werest neuer so admitted and warranded by the Church the Lord in that great day shall neuer count of thy preaching except thou haue a vvarrand in thy conscience Will Hee put His worde in the mouth of euery knaue No that is a grace to call IESVS the LORD No thou canst not call IESVS the Lord except thou haue the Spirit of Iesus as the Apostle sayes in the first Epistle to the Corinthians the twelfth Chapter and third verse So whether wee bee Ministers or others who speake of IESVS we should looke that that Spirit be in the heart to direct vs when we speake I marke next it was not enough to haue seene this resurrection and neuer to haue spoken one worde of it No Hee commands them to testifie to the Apostles and the Apostles got this commandement to preach it againe for the Gospell is not a candle to put vnder a bushell but to holde it vp and shewe it to the worlde for it is the life and the light of the worlde PAVL sayes to Timothie in his second Epistle the second Chapter first verse That that thou hast heard of mee before many witnesses the same deliuer thou to faithfull men which shall be able to teach others also No it is not to be concredite to euery knaue it is too precious a jewell to deliuer to knaues let them deliuer it to them that are able to teach others let the first deliuer to the second and the second to the third and the third to the fourth and the fourth to the fifth and so let it euer sound in the world Woe to that soule that impedes the course of the glorious Gospell for what can there be vvhere it is not teached but death No this Gospell is a stumbling blocke to the world Tell them sayes the Angell Hee vvill meete them in Galile for Iurie denied mee No would CHRIST say I will not appoint to meete with them in Ierusalem for Ierusalem is not worthie of mee but I will meete them in Galile and so they met with Him as ye shall see hereafter by Gods grace Then I see that all these tithings that tell vs of things that are not seene hath euery one of them a promise joyned with them y t we shall see them come to passe Beleeue thou that He hath suffered and thou shalt see that He hath suffered and beleeue that He is in glorie thou shalt see Him in glorie We savv Him not vvith our bodily eyes but we haue that blessing which the LORD pronounced to Thomas Iohn Chapter 20. verse 29. Blessed are they which neuer saw mee and yet doe beleeue in mee Now blessed for euer shall that soule be that neuer savv the LORD and yet beleeues in Him and I speake to thee a sore vvorde if thou beleeuest not vntill thou see Him thou shalt neuer see Him if thou beleeuest not that He died vntill thou see that Hee died thou shalt nâ—uer see Him but to thy damnation Hope vnder hope and against Hope Brethren many are the impediments that will stay vs so that wee will say I vvill neuer see Him I heare much speaking of Heauen but alas I feare I shall neuer see it I heare much spoken of life but alas I feare I shall neuer see life And these are the tentations of the most godly men and women of this vvorld yet against all these tentations beleeue Gods promises and hope for life for PAVL sayes in the Epistle to the Romanes the fifth Chapter and the fifth verse Faith brings foorth experience and Hope makes not ashamed because the loue of God is shed abroad in our hearts aboundantly by the holy Ghost which is giuen vnto vs. No let none of these tentations hinder vs that thing that holdes backe the infidels shall worke for the best to thee that fearest the Lord if thou fearest the Lord I promise thee in y e name of GOD all these tentations shall further thee and thou shalt bee partaker of Life Now a word and I shall ende He signets seales vp that which he hath told I haue tolde you it saies he as he would say It is true that I haue tolde you and I vvill seale it to be true and ye shâ—ll find it to be true therefore doubt not So our lesson is this WheÌ„soeuer thou commest to testifie to the people of God in paine of thy life looke thou speake nothing but that which God biddes thee speake and that thou mayest saye in conclusion This is true that I haue saide and that this is true I vvill byde by it and seale it vp vvith my blood The Angell had no blood but if thou be not of that minde to shedde thy blood thou art but a deceiuer This is a great boldnesse to seale to seale it vp with thy blood but if thou haue it not sealed vp in thine heart thou shalt neuer seale it vp with thy blood and vvhen it comes to the sealing thou shalt steale away No it is a great vvord to say vvith the Prophet Dauid I beleeued and therefore I spake Looke thou speake nothing to the people of God but that which thou striuest to beleeue Howe is this assurance gotten And vvill euerie vvanton man get this assurance to stande and seale it vp vvith his blood No except thou striue night and day to get the Lorde in thy presence and not to haue anie joye but in His presence thou shalt neuer haue this assurance Then howe is it kept The Lord hath appointed reading Take heede to thy reading saies Paul to Timothie in his first Epistle the fourth CHAPTER and 13. vers and giue thy selfe to meditation and shâ—we thy knowledge in that that thou hast read and get not a knowledge onelie but a sense to speake to others Reading bringes knowledge and meditation bringes feeling and last is prayer And if it bee the duetie of all men to praye then especiallie the Minister is bounde to praye both for himselfe and for them also to vvhome hee is sent So in a vvorde Reade meditate and
heades and they had more of that vvorldlie and fleshlie vvit than of that Heauenlie vvit and this drewe them to this securitie This is the nature of the Regenerate Suppose the Regenerate in this vvorlde compt in some measure of the crosse of Christ and of the power of God yet in the best of them there is some lacke some infirmities and vvantes and they will thinke sometime the preaching of the Crosse and Resurrection of Christ to bee but vanitie and a dreame of vviues as IOHN PETER MATTHEVV and the rest of the Apostles did for none of them vvoulde beleeue this That CHRIST vvas risen Wee vvill thinke that there is some great follie in these tidinges I vvill tell you my nature and the nature of the best man or vvoman but vvhen vve shall see That joyfull Morning as DAVID calles it then vvee shall saye vvith SARAH THE LORDE hath made mee nowe to laugh indeede Shee scorned vvhen shee hearde saye shee shoulde conceaue and beare a childe shee thought shee coulde not beare a childe and nowe vvhen shee sees it come to passe shee saies The LORDE makes mee to laugh indeede And so shall vvee saye one daye that thing vvhich vvee thought but jestes then wee shall saye I see this nowe that I coulde not beleeue vvell enough nowe I see it is true indeede So then in despite of all naturall vvit striue to gette an hope aboue hope and then shalt thou greatlie vvonder at that sight and maruell foreuer that there could be such a joy Now blessed is that man or that woman that gets a taste of it here for they shall be assured of it for euer But to goe forward I see that it auailes not much to speake to a sleeping person that is loadned with sin and feeles it not that is the worst estate in the worlde neuer to groane vnder this mortalitie vnder this burthen of death They can neuer say with the Apostle Miserable man that I am who shall deliuer me from this body of death And if yee speake to these persons of the Resurrection death of Christ it auaileth nothing to them What did the Apostles They thought it but a scorne if the Apostles thought so what wilt thou doe that sleepest in thy murther in thine adulterie in thy theft in thine oppression If the Apostles slept how wilt thou sleepe a sleeping sinner must bee once wakened as PAVL sayes in the Epistle to the Romanes the first Chapter and eighteenth verse The wrath of God is manifest from the Heauen against all the vnrighteousnesse of men And I say the wrath and the vengeance of GOD is manifest vpon the sleeping sinner and death comes on him that neuer shall haue an end But PAVL in the Epistle to the Romanes the third CHAPTER and the twentie and one VERSE hee comes on with other tithings and sayes That the righteousnesse of GOD through faith in Jesus Christ is made manifest to them that beleeue And I will say to thee that Iesus is come into the world and died for thee if thou beleeuest thou shalt be freed of that burthen of sinne and wrath and vvhen a man heares this he will thinke it the sweetest tithings that euer he heard for the sinner will finde life in that death and that blood will sprinckle his conscience as the Apostle sayes to the Hebrewes and thou wilt finde a wonderfull joy vvhen thy sinnes are remitted in Christ of all joyes vnder the Heauen this is the greatest The preaching of Christ auailes to none but to him who findes his soule loadned with sinne Now one word and so I shall ende I see in the Apostles and in their great infirmitie the great prouidence of GOD they will neither beleeue nor misbeleeue but by His Prouidence what euer vvas their part in it the worke was good of a good purpose The LORD will not haue them to beleeue the testimonie of the first companie nor yet of the second companie of women No no He vvill not haue them to beleeue vntill they see it with their eyes and feele it with their handes and ere they passe out to others He vvill speake to them and let them see that they may be perswaded that it was true I alwayes tell you this It is not a small thing to testifie of the Resurrection of Christ to preach His Passion and Resurrection and wilt thou of a light knowledge preach it No beware thou speake this or that vpon a report Of all men that speakes in this earth or is sent with a commission a Minister hath most neede to beware what hee speakes Speake hee of the Passion or Resurrection of CHRIST ere euer hee speake let him get a sight of Him suppose not vvith the bodily eyes lay hold on Him by Faith in thine heart Thinke it not enough to be an hearing witnesse but a seeing witnesse and vvhen thou hast gotten that persvvasion with vvhat confidence vvilt thou speake of His death thou wilt speake with such euidencie that the high heartes of men shall be humbled finding such weight in thy wordes The LORD giue vs grace that vvhen vve stand vp to speake of the Resurrection of CHRIST to others vvee may haue the perswasion of it in our ovvne heartes and that vve may finde His gracious Spirit working in vs and as vvee speake of Heauen and these joyes to others so vvee may finde some joy beginne in our owne hearts heere that after this life is ended we may reigne with Him in glorie for euer with CHRIST To whome with the Father and the Holy Spirit be all honour praise and glorie for euermore AMEN THE XXXII LECTVRE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST LVKE CHAP. XXIIII verse 12 Then arose Peter and ranne vnto the sepulchre and looked in and sawe the linnen clothes layed by themselues and departed wondering in himselfe at that which was come to passe IOHN CHAP. XX. verse 3 Peter therefore went foorth and the other disciple and they came vnto the sepulchre verse 4 So they ranne both together but the other disciple did out-runne Peter and came first to the sepulchre verse 5 And hee stouped downe and sawe the linnen clothes lying yet went hee not in verse 6 Then came Simon Peter following him and went into the sepulchre and sawe the linnen clothes lie verse 7 And the kerchiefe that was vpon his head not lying with the linnen clothes but wrapped together in a place by it selfe verse 8 Then went in also the other disciple who came first to the sepulchre and hee sawe it and beleeued verse 9 For as yet they knewe not the Scripture That hee must rise againe from the dead verse 10 And the disciples went awaye againe vnto their owne home WE haue heard these dayes past beloued in the Lord Iesus of the two companies of women that went out of Hierusalem towarde the graue of the Lorde early in the morning The one company that came first wherein was Marie Magd. and Marie the mother of
from morning till euening we should vvonder at that God and his works at that mighty GOD whom the Prophet calles Deum admirabilem To goe forward The Lord who knew all things for all thinges are naked to His eyes He knew better what was done than Cleopas did yet Hee will not take vpon Him that Hee knevv He misknowes them and He askes What are these things Marke it Brethren Hee got a rough and sharpe answere before and yet Hee leaues not off Hee will not leaue them but Hee beares vvith their infirmities and novv Hee giues another pull to the heart deales againe vvith them that they should povvre out their sadnesse and griefe to Him No if thou pertainest to the Lorde Hee vvill not leaue thee for an hard meeting suppose thou dravvest abacke Hee vvill giue thee another pull Albeit wee be vnfaithfull sayes the Apostle yet the Lord abideth faithfull Change as thou wilt the Lord shall neuer change but remaine ay constant in mercie to His ovvne till they be perfected and crovvned vvith glorie Then Cleopas seeing him to bee troubled with a stranger at the last hee must tell the vvordes that he and his companion vvere speaking as they vvent on the way Marke this lesson Repine as thou vvilt when the Lord dravves thee at the last thou must yeeld But vvhat is the cause that any sinners vvill yeelde vvhen the Lord dravves Euen the secret operation of His Holy Spirit and if he that drew them by the vvorde had not a secret power and operation by His Spirit in their hearts they vvould neuer haue yeelded Albeit the LORD vvould prooue them by speech and language albeit Hee vvould exhort them admonish them threaten them yea and scourge them to come to Him and vvell is the soule albeit it be scourged yea if it vvere harled thorovv the middes of Hell if it were thorow neuer so great difficulties in the world if once it get grace to come to Him yet none outward thing will make vs to come to Him it is the inward draught of His Spirit that makes vs to come to Him and drawes vs by the eye by the eare and by the hand if He take vs not by the hand we can neuer come to Him It is saide in the 2. Chapter to the Romanes and the 4. verse Hee drawes the reprobate and calles them but all that calling is but outwarde Hee vvill scourge them and dravv them outwardly but Hee neuer puts the feeling of His holy Spirit in their heartes and so they can neuer come to Him therefore whē the Lord is outvvardly drawing and calling thee say alwayes this Lord draw thou mine heart inwardly by thine Holy Spirit or els it will bee long ere it come to thee if all the sicknesses all crosses troubles scourges judgements that can bee and all this preaching that I heare will neuer cause mee come to thee except thou draw mine heart Now to come to the vvords that Cleopas speakes there is none of them but they vvould be marked he beginnes and rehearses to Him the vvhole summe of these things that hee and his companion had bene speaking and he propones them summarily he sayes All the things we haue spoken was Concerning Iesus of Nazareth Alas fewe of vs take pleasure to talke of Him therefore when the Lord comes takes thee by the hand looke thou mayest say Lord I haue bene talking of thee in some measure for as sure as the Lord laid to His eare to heare what Cleopas and his companion talked as sure He layes to His eare to heare vvhat thou speakest Then vvhen he hath tolde the generall hee lets the stranger know what a man Iesus vvas and then he telles shortly what had befallen him these two dayes and after he speakes of the effects that it had wrought in his heart and in the heartes of His disciples to wit that He was no Redeemer This is the whole conference I shall goe thorovv this conference as God shall giue the grace and as time shall permit First in describing of Him hee calles Him Iesus of Nazareth That was the stile hee gaue Him Marke it The first thing that hee speakes to Him is an vntrueth he calles Him Iesus of Nazareth No doubt he thought He had beene borne at Nazareth suppose they had the Prophecie that Hee should be borne at Bethlehem in Iuda Micah Chapters verse 2. and that He vvas borne there The ground of this errour that vvas amongst the Iewes vvas because of Ioseph and Marie dwelt at Nazareth and Iesus was brought vp there with them that false rumor spred that Ioseph vvas His father and that He was borne there but He was not borne there I grant it is true that after His resurrection Peter in the Actes and the Apostles themselues called Him Iesus of Nazareth as Cleopas here calles Him Iesus of Nazareth Also Paul in the twentie sixe Chapter of the Actes of the Apostles and the ninth verse calles Him Iesus of Nazareth but neither Peter nor Paul spake this of ignorance as if Hee had bene borne there but because they to vvhome they spake knewe Him best vnder that name they submitted themselues to their capacitie But as for Cleopas he knevve no better for he thought indeede that Iesus had bene borne at Nazareth so the first word he speakes is plaine vntrueth so yee see what it is to judge vvith the multitude The Papists will send thee to beleeue that which the multitude beleeues and makes the multitude a token of the true Church but thou shalt be beguiled with the multitude and if thou follovvest them because they walke in the broad vvay thou shalt perish vvith them Next consider His description Hee calles Him Vir Propheta Indeede He failed not in this stile Hee was a man and was a man indeede blood and bone as we are yet there is a defect in this vvord Cleopas knewe no more but that He vvas a man hee knew not that He was GOD and man in one person It is true Peter in the 2. of the Actes calles Him Vir Propheta yet hee knew Hee was the Sonne of GOD blessed for euer so as in the first wordes there is an vntrueth so in the next wordes there is a defect I marke this to let you see the ignorance that was in them before the LORD ascended to the Heauen It was a wonder that they who walked so long with Him should haue beene so ignorant the third time he calles Him A Prophet Indeede He was such a Prophet as was neuer before nor after Him yet there is a fault here he giues Him the greatest stile he thought Hee had but Hee had farre greater stiles for Hee is not a Prophet onely but also a Mediatour King and High Priest Then hee comes on and hee telles what a Prophet Hee was saying that Hee was powerfull in word and deede Nowe would to GOD we could speake of Him in loue with this poore man
that had litle knowledge indeede in this stile hee would let vs see that there was neuer such an one in worde nor worke neuer one wrought such miracles as Hee did and neuer man spake as Hee did as His owne very enemies testified of Him Iohn Chapter 7. yet will yee measure it with the knowledge of the man there is a defect here also he thoght He had bene like the rest of the Prophets who prophecied not by their owne spirit but by the Spirit of IESVS yet was hee ignorant that IESVS spake and wrought all by His owne Spirit Why should vvee not knovve these thinges This is the difference betweene CHRIST and all the Prophets all these Prophets and Moyses himselfe were but seruants they spake neuer a vvord by their spirit but by the Spirit of CHRIST as Peter speakes in the first Epistle Spake Moses Esay or Ezechiell in their owne name Dare any Minister speake in his owne name No not vnder paine of his life but IESVS is called the LORD of the house In the Epistle to the Hebrewes the third Chapter Hee spake by His owne Spirit and these preachings were preached by His owne Spirit and He spake by His owne authoritie as yee may reade in the seuenth Chapter of Matthew An Herauld if Hee speakes in his name should be hanged but the King himselfe will speake in his owne name the LORD spake in His owne Name but the Prophets spake not in their owne name reade these Prophecies They say there Thus saith the LORD but ye shall finde thus when Christ comes Hee sayes Amen amen dico vobis Verilie verilie J say vnto you in mine owne Name and authoritie and not in my Fathers only This Cleopas knew not but counted Him a Prophet like others albeit more excellent than others Cleopas thought Hee was potent by the Spirit of GOD and so by another but hee knew not that He spake in His owne Name and by His owne authoritie beeing equall with the Father Nowe to be short hee sayes Hee was mightie before GOD and the whole people That is to say He had the approbation of the LORD from the Heauen and what euer He spake the LORD approoued it what euer Hee did His Father approoued it Then againe He did neuer an action but with the approbation of the people But it would be asked How approoued they Him seeing they persecuted Him scorned Him and crucified Him I answere Albeit that neither by word nor deede the Iewes nor the High Priestes had approoued Him yet the conscience of the same High Priests and Iewes approoued Him and bare witnesse to them that Hee was GOD so that sometimes they were compelled to say Neuer man spake as Hee did Iohn Chapter 6. verse 46. and sometimes againe since the world beganne was it not heard that anie man opened the eyes of one that was borne blinde Iohn Chapter 9. verse 32. So that all that they did to Him was against conscience I regarde not what thou doest to mee if thou be bound in conscience to testifie that that is true which I speake and that is good which I do for in that day thou who speakest against thy conscience shalt not haue one worde to speake thy conscience shall bind vp thy mouth so this is well said that Hee had the approbation both of GOD and man but hee thought Hee had this approbation as one of the Prophets suppose in a greater measure But looke the first Chapter to the Hebrewes and the fifth verse For vnto which of the Angels saide hee at anie time let bee Prophets Thou art my Sonne this daye haue I begotten thee Then hee knew not that he had that approbation of that God who dwelt in him God in him approoued him Roman Chap. 1. vers 4. it is saide Hee was declared mightilie to bee the Sonne of GOD. And 1. Timothie Chap. 3. vers 16. Hee was justified by the Spirite And againe it is saide Actes Chap. 2. vers 22. Jesus of Nazareth a man approoued of God among you with great workes and wonders and signes which God did by him in the middest of you Cleopas knewe little of this Nowe Brethren wee haue examined his wordes and yee see heere a great ignorance In the first wordes an vntrueth and yee see in all the wordes following there is some want And to whome is it that hee preaches Hee preaches Christ to Christ and hee describes the Lorde to the Lorde and yet the Lorde heares him patientlie Yee will not beleeue how Hee vvill heare thy babbling if in thine heart thou haue a loue to GOD suppose thou babble Hee will heare thee and if thou speake vvith loue suppose thou canst not praye as other men and women can Babble on to Him and speake on with a good heart Hee vvill no more reject thee than Hee did Cleopas Hee is aye like to Himselfe For what is all our language to Him but a babbling yea all our knowledge is but babbling So suppose wee haue not knowledge nor a tongue to speake yet let vs not leaue off to speake in loue with our hearts and Hee shall heare vs and giue vs a comfortable answere Nowe I counted neuer so much of knowledge as of an heart which loueth God Keepe an heart to thy God come with faith and loue to thy God and thou wilt not thinke how Hee vvill delight in thee if vvee come vvith loue to the Lord then vvee come boldlie to the Throne of grace And vvhy Because vvee come not in our owne righteousnesse or in our owne perfection vvee appeare onelie in the merites of IESVS CHRIST And suppose thou babble and be ignorant yet if thou appeare in Him thou art full of knowledge for His knowledge the Lorde countes to bee thine O vvhat is it to bee in Christ Hee vvho hath Christ hath all though hee vvere neuer so vveake hee is strong in Him My power sayes the Lord is perfect in infirmitie And therefore sayes Paul I will glorie in my infirmitie that the power of God may be seene in mee 2. Cor. 12. Now a word and so I ende Cleopas beginnes to tell vvhat vvas befallen to such a personage vvho vvas mightie in vvord and deede yet for all this they handled Him most vnworthily of any man Our Priestes and rulers as PILATE first they condemned Him to the death without a cause and next they haue crucified Him if ye consider well the words yee vvill finde that Hee speakes to them with a vvonderfull indignation as if He had said albeit He was such a man and so great a man in all respects yet they condemned Him without a cause and then they crucified Him And vvhat indignitie vvas this for as the Apostle sayes Albeit He vvas the LORD of glorie yet most shamefully they crucified Him 1. Cor. Chapter second and the eight verse Well take vp this in His wordes What euer is done against Christ it is an indignitie if vve knew that Majestie wee offend
the eye of the soule for the eye of our soule is but bleered there vvas neuer such a bleered eye in the body as in the soule the fault then is in the canker and vile disposition of the soule of man This is their change at the sight of Christ they are blinded in minde and troubled in heart What does the Lorde Le ts Hee them be le ts Hee them ly in that blindnesse and terrour No He departs not but trauells to change them ouer againe in mind heart and affection it is the worde of Iesus onely that is able to alter and change the heart of man and that euill disposition and blindnesse which is there when all the affections of the heart are out of order it is the worde of Christ onely that hath povver to change them all the Angells in Heauen and all the men in the Earth vvill not bee able to put thine heart in order if it bee troubled Therefore he or she that hath blind terrours let them resort to the hearing of the word of God I saye to thee if thou disdainest this worde and if thou seekest to this man or seekest to that man or seekest to Angels thou shalt neuer get rest nor reliefe in thy trouble So it is the word of Iesus Christ that must giue light and consolation But what sort of word must this be Must it be a soft a gentle and calme vvord to the eare No vvhen the minde hath blinded it selfe and vvhen the affections are out of order shee must bee tamed the affections are hammered and throwne downe because the pride of the soule reaches vp to Heauen to reason against God 2. Epistle to the Corinthians Chapter 10. verse 4 5. Therefore she must be subdued by sharpe threatning and sad speeches to hammer her downe So the Lord sayes Why are yee troubled Why let yee vaine fantasies arise in your heartes No doubt these words had power to represse and hammer dovvne the misordered vanities in their heartes then the disordered affections must be compelled to bee in order not by faire vvords but by threatning and saying away to your order they must bee beaten and strucken downe Let no man deceiue himselfe thinking that he should alwayes heare soft and gentle words No that vvill neuer make a change in the soule Come to the words Wherefore doe doubts arise in your heartes In the vvordes the Lord lets you see how the minde blindes her selfe when a spirituall object is set before it the vvord Ascending that is vsed lets vs see that first of all a small cogitation enters in and then it growes to a mountaine When she sees an heauenly object God or the word or Christ in the which God or Christ is seene assoone as this heauenly object is laid before the eye of the minde she begins to reason she gets not the blenck so soone but assoone she reasones and the discourse arises vp like a mountaine so that the light of the Spirit shall bee taken out of her eye and shall make such conclusions that shall rise vp and stand like mountaines and blinde her and if shee hath any sight pull it out of her as yee see sometimes when the Sunne vvill be shining bright vvithin a short time a cloude vvill arise from belovv and vvill take away the light of the Sunne Euen so from the reason of man arise doubtes like a foome all thy reason is but stinking foome and it will stand vp like a foule blacke smooke betvvixt thee and God Rom. 1.21 Reade yee not what the Apostle sayes The Gentiles and Philosophers beginning at reason put out the blencke that they had of God and in their wisdome they became madde fooles This day the Papists and their Doctours haue blinded themselues vvith vaine Philosophie and vvith their thornie questions they haue drowned Christ and so obscured Him that Hee could not bee seene to the worlde and they drowne themselues in their ovvne dung Let all men then take this lesson When the vvorde of the LORD is offered to thee Bee not too curious Bevvare of thy learning beware of thy reasoning leane not too much to it that it stand not vp betweene thee and GOD and blinde thee let not cogitations arise When it comes to the Scripture reason Why not but with sobernesse with a soule desirous to learne with prayer with calling on that Spirit No light in that word but by that Spirit of light who dited the Scriptures If thou gettest that Spirit then light shall be offered and giuen to thee but if thou vanishest in thy minde and followest thy wit except thou castest away thy reasoning reade not one worde I forbid thee to reade one worde of the Scriptures lest thou aggreadge thy damnation Now I goe forward When thus way by checking Hee hath beaten downe the imaginations reasonings and cogitations that sublimely rose out of the minde and when by an angrie worde Hee hath beaten downe the affections which were out of order nowe in gentlenesse Hee beginnes to teach and instruct them and He teaches them two things First that He is a bodie Secondly that He is not a Spirit and that He is that same CHRIST that same man that same bodie and none other that before His Passion haunted with them teached them and wrought miracles in their presence Hee teaches them by a familiar argument First by the sight Beholde sayes He mine hands and my feete He holdes vp His handes not His handes onely but also the markes of the wounds of His hands He lets them see His feete and the print of the nailes Next Handle Mee sayes He if ye will not see feele What better argument would yee haue than to feele flesh blood and bones Next Hee prooues that Hee was no Spirit but a man with the body of a man A spirit or an Angell hath not body flesh and bones but so it is I haue them Ergo I am no spirit This is a sensible argument and see how Hee dimittes that glorious body to their eyes and to their hands to bee seene to bee touched that He might make them to beleeue albeit Faith be a spirituall worke in the soule yet it is wrought and confirmed in the soule by the eye by sight by the hand by touching This place lets vs see how damnable is the doctrine of the Papistes who would haue vs to beleeue that in the Supper of IESVS CHRIST there is a locall and bodily presence of CHRISTS body and that the whole bodie is there and that the blood is there drunken by thee and the body is eaten by thee after a bodily manner with the mouth of thy bodie and not sacramentally and spiritually How dare these deceiuers of the world these vile knaues affirme that they eate the body of IESVS CHRIST and puts it in their vile mouthes What reasonable man can be perswaded of it Will they teach me as CHRIST teached His disciples will they let mee see visibly vvith mine eye
confirmed To goe forwarde with the proposition of the argument vvhen He sayes It behoued all these things to come to passe He propones it not simply but whilst He telles it He secretly rebukes them Heard ye not of this before Are not these the words which I spake to you while I was yet with you Why haue ye novv forgote them seeing not long since I tolde you them I finde in the disciples of Christ a very great ignorance at the first Thinke ye that any of them knew one word of this notwithstanding they vvere foretolde in Moses in the Prophets and in the Psalmes No not a worde then vvith this ignorance I see a great forgetfulnesse albeit they knew not should they not haue remembred what their Lorde saide to them before His Passion and yet when they see Him suffer and see His Resurrection this cannot waken their memorie to say My Lord tolde me this therefore I will beleeue in them thou mayest see thy nature howe ignorant and forgetfull thou art by nature let thee ly still albeit thou werest Peter or Paul or the best of them let thee sleeepe on thou shalt die sleeping if these disciples had not beene wakened they had died this is the great and speciall mercie of God that He shewes to His own He wil let them fall in a slumber ly a while in ignorance but incontinently He will come giue them a putte with sharpnesse mercie waken them Thou who refusest sharpnes O that sharpe wakening that shall abide thee Therefore assoone as the Minister of God cries vnto thee O Catiue sleepest thou death and damnation abides thee if thou wakenest not but if thou wilt waken in time thou shalt finde mercy pray vnto the Lord that thou mayest be wakened for if thou wakenest not in time heauie shall the judgement be that shall ouertake thee wofull shall thy wakening be and the dolour that shall come on thee as the paine of a woman in trauell Our men for all our crying will not bee wakened but if they continue sleeping they shall goe to Hell Nowe to come to the assumption These things are written of mee that I should die and rise againe and no doubt when Hee telles this to them He falles out in a discourse of the Scriptures alleadging testimonies out of Moses the Prophets the Psalmes as the words following declare But to proceed Is the Lord content to alleadge the Scriptures simply Does He no more Marke it well as Hee alleadges and opened the Scriptures vnto them So Hee opens their minde and vnderstanding that they might vnderstand the Scriptures Would ye haue an effectuall preaching there is an effectuall preaching when these two goe together when the Scriptures are opened and the Lord puts in His hande and opens the heart and the dead soule that is sleeping to vnderstand that piece of Scripture which is opened Would yee haue the difference betweene the preaching of Christe and the preaching of His seruants all their preaching is nothing in respect of His Moses the Prophets and all the Apostles are nothing to Him when He preached that same LORD that spake had power in His owne hande and made His owne Spirite to open the heart neuer a preacher had that that the Lord Iesus had He had His owne Spirit to giue vnto His owne when Hee spake His owne word the preachers haue not that Spirit to giue but referres it vnto the Lord 1. Cor. 13.5.6.7 Paul sayes to the Corinthians who esteemed much of Paul O vaine men Paul is nothing he only plants Apollos is nothing he wateres but it is God that giues the increase if he blessed not the labour of Paul or of any other preacher all were lost labour if the Lord giue not His Spirit with the word man teaches in vaine In the 16. of the Actes verse 14. When Paul is preaching we read not that any are conuerted for all his preaching but only one woman Lydia happie Lydia When Paul preached it is not said that Paul opened her heart but that the Lorde opened her heart Paul deliuered the doctrine but the Lorde and not Paul had the Spirite to giue vvith the preaching therefore vvhen yee heare and come to heare euer crie Lorde open mine heart No creature no Minister none Angell yea all the Angels of Heauen will not open the heart of a sinner Crie for that Spirite that He would open thine heart that thou mayest feede vpon that food of life Nowe consider at what time it is that the mindes of the disciples are opened to vnderstand It was euen when Hee is exponing the Scriptures then their mindes are opened and at none other time to let you see in despite of the worlde that there is none opening of the heart none illumination of the Spirit but by this word by the hearing and by the reading of this worde Away with these fantasticke reuelations of the Anabaptistes awaye with the Pope and the crue of His shauelings who affirme that the Spirit will be effectuall at the preaching of his vnwritten verities at the dreames and fantasies of men which is not only not found in the Scripture but also is altogether contrarie and repugnant to the Scripture I pronounce let them heare albeit it were a thousand yeere the Spirite of Iesus shall abhorre that trash and peltrie Set me vp the Pope to preach these vanities to thee I denounce thy minde shall not be opened that Spirit shal neuer come to open the mindes neither of them who preach nor yet their mindes who heare them Goe vnto Rome sit and heare and lend thine eare to a flattering societie of their Clergie heare them on thy soule shall the more be blinded the more thou hearest the Spirit of Christ will only accompanie His owne word Looke what is our nature in the Disciples of CHRIST knowest thou it not their mindes were blinded sound sleeping while the Lord opened them They knew not what Moyses said or what the Prophets spake of Christ while the Lord opened their vnderstanding Nothing in nature but euill nothing but blindnesse in the mind Away with the Papist and his freewill fye on thee that thinkest thy selfe better than thou art fye on thee that knowest not thy naturall blindnesse and deadnesse thou wilt come and speake of thy Free-will and of the light of thy minde thou wilt saye that thou hast a Free-will to encline to heauenly things be not deceiued with the conceite of this engine naturall quicknesse Indeede in humane thinges a man will haue a great quicknesse and sharpnesse but bring him to the Scriptures of God to Moyses to the Prophets Apostles he is as blind as a Moldewarpe as fond as a foole the greater naturall wit and quicknesse that thou hast a sore thing the greater excecation and foolishnesse in spirituall things speake to the naturall man of the Scripture of all the fooles in this world he is the greatest the more
and how farre his nature is repugnant to that calling wee will thinke that of all things in the world it is most hard and most painefull It is an hard thing indeede to bring a man out of nature and make him a Christian but it is farre harder to make a man a teacher of Christians and a disposer of the treasures of grace and of the secrets of God Nowe when I beginne to consider what should haue mooued the Lord to haue chosen such persons and so vnmeete for such an high calling I thinke this chiefly hath beene it that when the Apostles went out to preach Repentance and Remission of sinnes to others and to exhort all persons howe grieuouslie so euer they had sinned to come and to seeke mercie in Christ they might propone themselues as examples of the superaboundant mercie of God and that they in their Ministerie might declare and make manifest the gentlenesse and long suffering of God towardes all men euen the greatest sinners in the worlde and that by the proofe and experience that they found in their owne person of the mercie of God in calling them and placing them in that high calling who before vvere so miserable wretches and so vpon their owne experience they might the more easily perswade euen the most miserable sinners to seeke for mercie and grace in Christ When Paul preaches Where sinne aboundes there grace and mercie superaboundes if hee had not found this by experience and had not stoode for example hereof hee would not so easily haue perswaded sinners of the exceeding greatnesse of the mercie of God But to goe forward Because this direction that He giues them and this Ministerie He calles them to was very painfull and troublesome and so they might haue taken hardly with it therefore in the words following the Lord goes about to encourage them to vndertake it and to discharge it chearfully the Argument is of great force Beholde sayes He I will send the promise of my Father vpon you that is I will send vnto you the Holy Spirit Himselfe with Him His extraordinarie giftes and graces as the gift of prophecie of working of miracles of tongues and such other that ye may bee the more able to discharge this calling and to performe the worke I send you for Hee calles this the promise of His Father because the Father long before by His Prophetes promised at the comming of the Messias to send His Spirite in great abundance vpon them that beleeue Yee may read this promise in sundrie places of the Olde Testament but chiefly in the 2. Chapter of the prophecie of Ioel and the 28. verse In the last dayes I will powre out my Spirit vpon all flesh and your sonnes and your daughters shall prophecie your olde men shall dreame dreames and your young men shall see visions and also vpon the seruants and vpon the maides will I powre my Spirit c. And of the accomplishment of this promise ye may read in the 2. Chapter of the Actes of the Apostles Out of this place wee may marke first That the things which the Father promised of olde to His Church the Sonne in the appointed time accomplished them the Father promised of olde the Spirit and His graces the Sonne in the fulnesse of time sendes the Spirit and His graces and giues them to His Church and for this cause the Spirit and His giftes that is giuen to euery faithfull man is called the measure of the gife of Christ Ephes Chapter 4. verse 7. And thereafter in that same Chapter ver 11. the Apostle sayes That Christ to the end He might fill all things Hee gaue some to bee Apostles some Prophets and some Euangelists and some Pastours and Teachers that is He gaue all sorts of gifts vnto His Church that He might fulfill the promise of His Father and all these giftes and graces that we see are now in the Church from whome came they but only from the Lord Iesus This leadeâ— vs to an higher ground that the Sonne hath receiued of the Father all graces and all the giftes of the Holy Spirit together with the Holy Spirit Himselfe the Father hath giuen all first to the Sonne and not to vs for the Father loues the Sonne and hath giuen all thinges into His hand Ioh. 3.35 And In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdome knowledge Coloss Chapter 2. verse 3. Yet there is an higher cause of this to wit that the Sonne only hath merited the Holy Spirit with the fulnesse of all His graces No man euer merited any of them for who can merite them but hee who first receiued them The Lord Iesus receiued them first wee haue none but as He giues vs Hee merited and purchased them to vs with no lesse price than with the ransome of His owne blood Now wouldest thou know how all these graces that the Lord hath boughâ— with such a deare price are communicated to thee and made thine I will tell thee Not by any merite of thine own for thou couldest merite nothing at the Lordes handes but Hell and damnation but it is of the free grace and liberalitie of the Father and the Sonne that they are made thine it is of this grace that out of His fulnesse we receiue grace for grace When the Apostle Coloss Chapter 2. verse 9. hath saide In Him dwelles all the fulnesse of the Godhead bodily thereafter he subjoynes And ye are compleete in Him as if hee had saide All this fulnesse is made yours of free grace whilst as by Faith yee take holde of Him Consider the wonderfull bountifulnesse and liberalitie of the Sonne to thee who giues thee these graces freely that Hee bought so dearely and purchased with such a worthie price Yee know sayes the Apostle the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ that He beeing rich for your sakes became poore that ye through His pouertie might be made rich 2. Cor. 8.9 Now ere I go forward I marke another lesson that the Spirit of God pointes out clearely in these words for our instruction for when the Lord sayes I will send you the promise of my Father vpon you that is the Holy Spirit with His graces He lets vs see that without His Spirit His presence and assistance a Minister cannot be able to doe any thing well in His calling but that in the discharge of euery part of His calling hee must bee assisted by the Spirit The Apostle Paul when hee is telling what good successe his preaching had among the Gentiles he takes not the praise thereof to himselfe but he ascribes all to the presence of Christ by His Spirit I dare not sayes he speake of any thing which Christe hath not wrought by mee to make the Gentiles obedient in word and deede Rom. 15.18 It is not with a Minister as it is with a man in the ciuile policie No there is a great difference for in the ciuile policie a man by his naturall giftes by his wisdome
and quicknesse of his wit may doe some things without the speciall assistance of the Spirit of Christ but in the Church no man can doe any thing without the presence of the Spirit the man that hath not the Spirit and His graces in some measure is altogether vnprofitable and vnmeete for the Lordes worke for this cause the Lorde makes a speciall promise of this Spirit to them whome He places in His seruice because their calling and function in all respects is spirituall Looke to experience and ye will finde the trueth of this promise There is not a faithfull Minister but in some measure hee hath the Spirit of God to bee powerfull with him in his calling in such sort that not himselfe only but others also who see and heare him will sensiblie perceiue and take it vp The Apostle Paul found sensibly the Spirit of God to be powerfull with him in his labouring in the Ministerie when hee sayes It was not I that laboured but the grace of God which is with me 1 Cor. Chapter 15. verse 10. And againe when he sayes That hee laboured and stroue according to His working which worketh in him mightily Col. Chapter 1. verse 29. And on the other part when hee sayes to the Corinthians Yee see the experience of Christ that speakes in me which toward you is not weake but is mightie in you 2 Cor. Chap. 13. verse 3. he importes that as he himselfe found the power of the Spirit within him so they to whome he preached found it by His Spirit But I insist not to bring in particular places for if we consider well the Epistles of Paul vvee will finde many sentences testifying to vs that not only he himselfe found the power of the Spirit in his Ministerie and the life of Iesus working mightely in him in the middes of his infirmities yea euen in death it selfe 2. Cor. Chapter 4. verse 8. but also that same power was manifest vnto them that heard him Naturall men thinke all is but scorne that is spoken of the Spirit and of His power in the preaching of the Gospell they laugh at it as if there were no such thing but the faithfull man findes that it is not for nought that Christ promised His Spirit to them whom Hee sends as also that vvithout that Spirit no grace could haue bene wrought in their soules Now in the last wordes of this Text to assure them the more that they should receiue this Holy Spirit that was promised the Lord commands them That they goe not out of Ierusalem but that they tarie there vntill they be endued with power from on high that is Vntill they haue receiued this Spirit that He promised to send vnto them So in a manner for their further assurance He prescribes to them a particular time within the which they should receiue the Holie Ghost The Lord commonly when Hee makes a promise of anie thing to His owne Hee will giue them some waâ—rand to confirme and assure them vntill Hee fullie performe His promise for because He knowes our weaknesse and infirmitie He giues vs as it were an earnest pennie to strengthen our Faith and Hope vntill He pay the whole summe to vs for such is our weaknâ—sse that albeit vve haue no more wee cannot bee able long to depend vpon His naked word It is true indeede that the Lord sometime for the triall of the Faith of His owne will charge them to rest vpon His bare and naked word only to beleeue His promise Hee will giue no furâ—her assurance as likewise for a season it may bee that they depend vpon His bare word but it is as true that this cannot continue long for except as by Faith they depend vpon the worde so also they haue some feeling and foretasting of the thing promised and some earnestpennie and securitie to assure them of the obtaining of the promise their Faith will faile and decay So weake are we in Faith so ready are we to mistrust that we cannot stand nor continue except wee bee vnderpropped and vpholden by some speciall warrand from God Now to end One thing further may be marked in these words The Lorde discharges the Apostles to goe out of Ierusalem vntill they haue gotten tâ—is Holy Spirite that Hee promised them The lesson is A Minister should not couet to goe to the worlde to preach the Gospell vntill the time hee bee assured that the Holie Spirit accompanies him and his trauells for if the Apostles themselues might not goe out to preach vntill the Spirit were sent vnto them it is a foolish thing for any man after them to presume to doe it But alas it is a thing greatly to be lamented in this age that there are so fewe that waite vntill they be accompanied with the Holy Spirit in their Ministerie and that so many goe rashly to vndertake such an high calling Many vpon a conceite that they haue of their naturall giftes their wisdome their quicknesse ingine memorie eloquence and such other giftes will start vp to the pulpet and preach confidently to the people in the Name of Iesus But the Lorde in His just Iudgement not only withdrawes all blessing from their labours but also heapâ—s shame and ignominie vpon them and makes it manifest to the world that He sent them not but they ranne vnsent But thou who wouldest haue a good conscience who wouldest haue the Lord to blesse thy trauells in His Ministerie presume not too farre of thy naturall giftes how great so euer they be but waite vpon the Lordes leasure vntill Hee preuent thee with His Spirit and endue thee with power from on hie and in the meane time be crying earnestly for the presence of that Spirit who when Hee comes will open thine heart and loose thy mouth to speake with boldnesse and freedome in the Name of Iesus To whome with the Father and that blessed Spirit be all praise and honour for euermore AMEN THE XLV LECTVRE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST IHON CHAP. XX. verse 21 Then said Iesus to them againe Peace be vnto you as my Father sent me so send â— you verse 22 And when He had saide that He breathed on them and saide vnto them Receiue the Holy Ghost verse 23 Whosoeuer sinnnes ye remit they are remitted vnto them and whosoeuer sinnes ye reteine they are reteined HITHERTO beloued Brethren in Christ wee haue insisted in the opening vp of that Sermon that the Lorde vttered to His Apostles in His fift appearing after His Resurrection as it is set down by the Euangelist Luke wherein first He lets them see that it behooued Him to suffer and to rise againe from the death because it was so foretolde of Him and that it behooued Repentance Remission of sinnes to be preached in His Name to all Nations beginning at Jerusalem Next He giues them a direction to goe out to the world to be witnesses and preachers of these things albeit they were altogether vnmeet and vnsufficient and had
deserued no such thing at His hand because they were ashamed of Him and fled away at His Passion yet He honoures them with this high calling then to encourage them the more chearfully to vndertake this calling He promises to send vnto them the Holy Spirit who was before promised to them by the Father to accompanie them and their trauells And last that they might haue the greater securitie and assurance to receiue this Spirit He giues them a commandement not to depart from Ierusalem vntill they finde His promise performed vnto them and vntill they were endued vvith power from on high Thus farre vve haue heard out of Luke of this Sermon Now in this Text that vve haue read Iohn followes out cheifly y e latter part of the Lord concerning the sending out of the Apostles and he insistes therein more largely and particularly than Luke does marking especially the things that vvere omitted by Luke for he vvrote after him First in these vvordes vve haue set downe a preface to prepare their heartes the better to receiue the vvorde which Hee vvas to speake vnto them thereafter vvee haue the preaching wherin first He sends out the Apostles to preach the Gospel Next He confirmes them partly by giuing them the Holy Spirit partly by arming them with power and authoritie But to come to the words Iohn sayes that before He sent them out He said againe to them Peace be vnto you Before at the first meeting with them this was His salutation Peace be vnto you Now He repeates these wordes againe Wherefore is this It was to prepare their heartes to receiue the more reuerently and attentiuely and with the greater comfort these things that Hee was to speake to them concerning their charge to preach in His Name to the world The man that would receiue the word of the Lord especially the Gospell of peace and consolation must haue His heart prepared with the assurance of peace for the message of peace and consolation requires First that the soule be prepared with peace to the end it may receiue the word with peace and joy for except the soule haue some perswasion of peace it can finde no comfort and if we receiue the message of peace with a perswasion of peace and vvith a joy in the soule then the more vvee heare the greater shall our comfort bee the more shall vvee drinke in that joy of the Holy Spirit The messengers of peace should follow this example of the Lord When they are to preach the Gospell of peace they should prepare their heartes that by foretelling that all their message and the worde that they are to speake tendes to peace and likewise they who come to heare shoulde haue their heartes prepared vvith some sense of peace and joye but such a joye as followes vpon sorrow for sinne and a sense of their owne miserie and vvhich euer is accompanied with true Repentance for there is no true joye of a Christian man in this life but that which is conjoyned with Repentance and sorrow for sinne Nowe vvhen the Lorde hath prepared their heartes vvith this preface of peace Hee comes to the Sermon and first Hee giues them a direction to goe out to preach the Gospell As my Father sayes he sent me so send I you Wee haue spoken some thing alreadie of this sending out of the Apostles in opening vp of the Lordes wordes as they are set downe by Luke and therefore heere I shall be the shorter in speaking of it Yee see the Lorde sets downe this sending of the Apostles by vvay of comparison with His owne sending I sent you euen as the Father sent mee This comparison importes first that the Sonne only vvas sent immediatly by the Father the Sonne only hath gotten this honour to be sent immediatly by the Father The Apostle sayes Christ tooke not this honour to Himselfe to bee High Priest but Hee that saide vnto Him Thou art My Sonne this day haue I begotten Thee gaue it Him Heb. 5.5 And the Father by sending the Sonne immediatly Himselfe gaue Him all power to send all others so that all others are sent by the Sonne albeit not all after one manner for some are sent by Him immediatly as the Prophets Apostles some mediatly as the Pastors the Teachers Indeede I grant The Prophets and Apostles were sent also by the Father but they were sent mediatly by the Father immediatly by the Sonne therefore Paul vses to call Himselfe The Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God the Father whereby he meanes that immediatly he was sent by the Sonne mediatly by the Father the Sonne sent the Prophets and Apostles immediatly therefore it is said when He ascended vp to Heauen He gaue some to be Apostles and some to be Prophets Eph. 4.11 Next this comparison importes that the office of the Apostleship is not only lawful but also that it is furnished with authority for Christ who sent His Apostles was first sent by His Father not only had Hee a lawful calling but He had it with authority euen so all true Pastors Teachers in the Church haue not only a lawful calling to preach the Gospell but also authoritie joyned with their calling because they are sent by the Sonne for it was the Sonne that gaue some to be Pastors some Teachers Eph 4.11 for albeit true Pastors in y e Church be called by y e ministerie of mē yet they are sent by the Son therfore men haue their authoritie frō Him for in a maner they represent His person as the Son represented the person of His Father was His ambassadour to the worlde so they are ambassadours of the Sonne and must represent His person Men in this Lande despise the Ministers of the Gospell and count most vilely of them in respect of the basenesse of their persons but they shoulde consider it is not with men but with God Christ Himselfe whose ambassadours they are that they haue adoe the obedience or disobedience and contempt of the Pastour redounds directly to the Sonne and the Father and the Sonne counts it to be done to Himselfe and to the Father for He sayes He that heares you heares me and he that despises you despises me and he that despises me despises Him that sent me Luke 10.15 Thirdly this comparison lets vs see who they are that haue a lawfull calling in the Church not euery one that hath a pretence and shew of outwarde calling but only they vvho are called by them vvho vvere sent themselues before And therefore these only are lawfull Pastours who haue bene called by the Presbyterie and fellowship of the Elders who themselues before had a lawfull calling The people and flocke haue no power to call a man to the Ministerie they may indeede nominate and present a man and giue their consent but the calling and admission of a man to the function of the Ministerie belonges only to the Eldership and
Pastours vvho before vvere called themselues But to goe forward When He hath charged them to goe out to preach the Gospell because it was a very weightie and painfull charge therefore He encourages and strengthenes them the more willingly to vndertake it First by bestowing vpon them the Holy Spirit and His graces Next by arming them with power and authoritie To come to the first it is said When Hee had saide this Hee breathed on them and saide vnto them Receiue the Holy Ghost In giuing to them the Holy Spirit He vses an outward and visible signe Hee breathes vpon them for this breathing vpon them was not the sending and giuing of the Holy Spirit it selfe but it was an outward signe and Sacrament to represent to signifie and assure them of the giuing of the Holy Spirit the outward breathing vpon them was a signe of the inward breathing of the Holy Spirit vpon their soules and a signe verie fit and conuenient to expresse the thing signified for the wind serues very well to represent the Holy Spirit and is vsed for that same purpose by the Lorde Himselfe Ioh. 3 8. Thâ— wind blâ—wes where it listeth c. But it would be marked that the Lord vses not only the bare and naked signe No that could haue profited them very litle but to the signe He joynes words telling the meaning of it He sayes Receiue the Holy Ghost For the Lorde in all Sacraments vses commonly to joyne the word to the Sacrament As in Baptisme and the Lords Supper to the end that not only Hee may declare and open vp the meaning of the signe but also to worke and confirme Faith in mens heartes that so the Sacrament may be powerfull and effectuall in them for the outward signe alone is not able to worke Faith in the soule but it is the word chiefly that workes Faith the worde is the life of the Sacrament and therefore except the word be joyned with the outward signe it cannot bee a true and effectuall Sacrament Nowe it is to be considered that this breathing of the Lord vpon His Apostles was not a thing that Hee would haue to bee kept ordinarily in His Church but it is an extraordinarie signe vsed extraordinarily by the Lorde in the sending out of extraordinarie men the Apostles to an extraordinary calling whereby the Lord at that time endued them with extraordinarie graces necessarie for that great calling And therefore foolish and damnable is the practise of the Pope his Cardinalls and his Bishops which they vse in sending out their shauelings into the world for when they admit them with their vile and stinking mouths they breath vpon them and say Receiue the Holy Ghost filthily abusing this action of the Lord as if it lay in their hands with their breathing to giue the Holy Spirit whereas the Lord hath reserued this power to Himselfe alone and communicates it not to any man they are but counterfaiters of such things as the Lord will not haue to bee counterfeited for this His action in all pointes was extraordinarie and therefore ought not to be vsed ordinarily but I leaue them to their owne vanitie A question may bee heere mooued How agrees this doing of Christ on His Disciples and giuing them the Holy Ghost recorded here by Iohn with the wordes that we heard before out of the Gospell of Luke where the Lord sayes Beholde I doe send the promise of my Father vpon you but tarie in Ierusalem vntill ye be endued with power from on high Which wordes importe that at this fift appearing to His Disciples which is one with this that John recordes He gaue them not the Holy Ghost but only promised to send Hâ—m to them I answere Both these places agree well enough together for in Luke the Lord promised to send His Spirit with His graces in a full measure vpon them which promise indeed hee performed on the daye of the Pentecosts when they beeing gathered together there appeared vnto them clouen tongues like fiâ—e and sate vpon each one of them and they were all miraculously filled with the Holy Ghost Act. 2.1 But the Lord heere only giues them the Holy Ghost and His graces in a small measure to be as it were a beginning of that full accomplishment which they were to receiue in the daye of the Pentecoste for wee may not thinke that the Holie Spirit and all His graces were giuen fully and compleetely to the Apostles at one time No but they were giuen piece and piece by degrees for first they got the fruites of the Spirit when the Lorde was conuersant with them in the flesh in the dayes of His infirmitie Next after He rose from the death they receiued them in a greater measure as we may see in this place of Iohn and last after the Lordes ascension Hee powred downe in abundance His Spirit with all His graces according as He had promised to them Luke 24.49 and was long before foretolde by Ioel Chap. 2. verse 28. But why would Hee not giue them the Holy Spirit and His graces in a full measure at the first Because there behooued to be a certaine proportion and correspondence betweene the Head and the members the Lord Iesus was their Head they were members of His body so long as He was not fully glorified Himselfe it was no reason that they should haue receiued the fulnesse of grace but when He was fully glorified He filled them abundantly with grace Ephes 4.10 The Lord now glorified in the Heauens hath store and abundance of grace to giue to His Church but our heartes are not prepared to receiue grace wee offend Him continually with our sinnes and grieue His Holy Spirit for this is the last age of the world wherein sinne aboundes and thâ—refore that vve are not so skant of grace the fault is not in the Lorde there is no scarcitie nor want of grace with Him but the fault is in our selues who entertaine sinne in our heartes whereby wee banish grace out of them and makes the Spirit who should be our Comforter to be a witnesse against vs in that great day of the Lord. Now after that the Lord hath encouraged His Apostles by giuing them His Holy Spirit and His graces in the words following to make them the more willing He armes them with power and auâ—hoâ—itie before He send them out He sayes Whosoeuer siâ—nes ye remit thâ—y are remitted vnto them and whosoeuer sinnes ye retaine they are reteined As if Hee had said to them I will not send you out powerlesse with a fectlesse worde in your mouth but to the end ye may the better discharge your commission I enarme you with power I will giue you power to binde and loose to forgiue sinnes and retaine sinnes The Lord sendes none out to his warfare till first Hee furnish them with weapons and armour But what weapons are they Euen spirituall weapons Paul sayes The weapons of our warfare are not carnall but mightie through
that we ought to beleeue that the Scripture is the word of God and that this or that is the true interpretation thereof because the Church sayes so so they make the testimonie of the Church to bee the chiefe and almost the only Argument that should mooue men to beleeue that the Scripture is authenticke and the word of God and that this or that is the true and proper interpretation of any place of Scripture for these are their common speeches The Church is aboue the Scripture the Church is of greater authority than the Scripture without the authority of y e Church no man is obliged to beleeue that y e Scripture is thâ— word of God the Church is y e supreme Iudge of y e right interpretation of the Scripture many such others But by the contrarie Wee affirme that the chiefe and principall Iudge and witnesse both of the Scripture that is the worde of God and also of the true interpretation of the Scripture is the Holy Spirit because He only is able to perswade mens heartes He only is able so to testifie that He can mooue them to beleeue Hee only is able to open the vnderstanding of men to make them to vnderstand and take vp the right meaning of the Scripture Then will the Papist object Yee make the Spirit that is giuen to a priuate man to be the Iudge and witnesse of the authentike Scripture and the interpretation thereof and it is an absurde thing to preferre the Spirit speaking by the authoritie of any priuate man to the authoritie of the Church I answere It followes not that we make the Spirit of a priuate man to bee Iudge either of the one or of the other because we affirme that the Spirit who is Iudge speakes in the Scripture and by the Scripture and by the Scripture as by the moste powerfull and effectuall meane mooues men to beleeue and therefore that this Spirit who is Iudge is not the Spirit of a priuate man but the Spirit of the Scripture it selfe for this Spirit by the Scripture teaches vs that the Scripture is auâ—henticke and that it is the worde of God and againe this same Spirit by the Scripture teaches vs that this or that is the proper meaning of the Scripture for the principall voyce of the Holy Spirit whereby He speakes to vs is the Scripture which this day is to vs in stead of the vine voyce of God Himselfe and ought to bee esteemed and embraced of vs as if God Himselfe spake to vs out of Heauen As for the voyce of the Church when I speake of the Church I meane not the Romane Church for she is but an adulterous Church and falsely clames to her selfe the name of a Church but I speake of the true Church militant it is not the chiefe meane whereby the Holy Spirit vses to perswade men but it is an inferiour meane of lesse importance than the Scripture neither hath it that force to make men to beleeue that the Scripture hath But to leaue this and to returne to the incredulitie of Thomas not only he beleeues not but hee vtters great stubburnesse in refusing to beleeue not only was hee incredulous but also malitious neither did hee beleeue neither was he willing to beleeue for he sayes Except I see in His handes the print of the nailes and put my finger in the print of the nailes and put mine hande into His side I will not beleeue it he would not beleeue except hee sawe Him except hee saw His hands and His feete except hee saw the print of the nailes where with His hands and His feete were pierced and except he had put his hand in the wound of His side which one of the souldiers had pierced with a speare We may heere see his stubburnesse and obstinacie that was joyned with his incredulitie incredulitie is commonly accompanied with obstinacie and stubburnesse in such sort that when the way is laide before vs and the doore opened whereby vvâ—e may escape out of this bondage of sinne and thraldome of darknesse wherein wee are kept captiues yet wee refuse to goe out of that bondage and rather striues more and more to thrall our selues to sinne and to holde our selues in the bands of darknesse This contumacie and stubburnesse in sinne is that poyson and that gall of bitternesse that Sathan hath spued into the heartes of all the children of Adam and this is that band of iniquitie whereby as by a strong chaine we are ledde boâ—nd as miserable catiues vnto eternall condemnation except we be relieued from it by the mercie of God in Iesus Christ Peter perceiuing the impietie and deuilish practises of Simon Magus he takes vp this to be the ground and fountaine of all when he sayes I see that thou art in the gall of bitternesse and in the bands of iniquitie The Lord saue vs and free vs from this miserable bondage wherein we are by nature yet if we consider more narrowly the wordes of Thomas we shall finde that not only was hee incredulous not only was hee stubburne but also proud and arrogant and contemned and despised all the rest in respect of himselfe esteeming himselfe onely to bee wise and the rest to be fooles scorning their witnessing and report as a fable not worthie of credite and a vaine dreame An incredulous man that beleeueth not the trueth is not only stubburne and obstinate in his incredulitie but also he swelles in pride and seemes in his owne conceite to be only wise contemning others as fooles hee will count the preaching of the Crosse of Christ and of His Resurrection to bee but plaine follie hee will count them that beleeue the doctrine of the Crosse and Resurrection of Christ to be fantasticke and doated fooles and yet in very deede of all the fooles of the worlde they themselues are the greatest although they bee counted wonders in the worlde for their naturall wisdome Therefore the Apostle sayes in the first Epistle to the Corinthians the third Chapter and the eighteenth verse If any man amongst you seeme to bee wise in this world let him bee a foole that hee may be wise hee sayes not if any man among you be wise for he that hath not the wisdome of God and is not wise in Christ he hath no wisdome he is but a very foole but hee sayes If any man seeme to bee wise in this worlde let him bee a foole that hee may be wise that is let him renounce and forsake all carnall and worldly wisdome which is enimitie against God Rom. Chapter 8. verse 7. and can no more stand with the wisdome of GOD than darknesse with light yet it would be marked that Thomas sayes not simply and absolutely that in no câ—ce he would beleeue that Christ was risen againe but hee sayes Except I see in His handes the print of the nailes c. The wordes are conditionall importing that in some cace and vpon some conditions hee would
who art a faithfull Christian hast cause to rejoyce that the LORD so oft times appeared to His Disciples for it was for thy cause for the helping and confirming of thy weake Faith that Hee appeared so oft that so thy joye may bee the more full Now I goe forward vnto the circumstance of the persons to vvhom the Lord appeared There vvere seuen of the Disciples gathered together for hee sayes There were together Simon Peter and Thomas who was called Didimus and Nathanael of Cana in Galilie and the two sonnes of Zebedeus and two other Disciples No question it vvas not by fortune or chance or rashly that so manie of the Disciples met together at this time but it vvas by the determinate counsell and prouidence of GOD that they vvere assembled together to the ende that hee might manifâ—st and exhibite himselfe vnto them beeing assembled together When the Lord hath a purpose to communicate his graces and benefites in a great measure hee vses commonlie to call together a number of his owne in one place that hee may communicate his graces the more liberally vnto them beeing assembled together for he giues not his great graces nor vouchsafeth not his glorious presence so much to priuate persons alone as hee does to a companie of the Sainctes assembled together it is to them chiefelie that hee manifestes himselfe When the Lord was purposed to bestowe the holie Spirite what does hee hee gathers the whole number of the Apostles together in one place vpon the daye of the Pentecoste and then hee sendes vpon them all the holie Spirite in the forme of fierie and clouen tongues as wee reade in the seconde Chapter of the Actes and the thirde verse Our owne experience may bee a sufficient proofe vnto vs of this for when finde we the Spirit of God to worke moste powerfullie and the graces of God moste aboundantlie to bee bestowed vpon vs not when wee are our selfe alone but when we are assembled together with y e Saincts to exercise the meanes of grace to heare the worde to offer vp our prayers together vnto God and to be partakers of the SacrameÌ„ts And therefore if thou wouldest haue the Spirite of GOD present with thee and looke for anie grace despise not the fellowship contemne not the assemblie of the Lordes Sainctes Now amongst the rest that are here counted out we see Thomas is reckoned to be one The first time that the Lord appeared to his Disciples assembled together the doore beeing shut THOMAS was not present but the seconde time that the LORD appeared vnto them hee vvas present vvith them Now in this thirde appearing of the Lord to his Disciples he is also present vvith them This example of THOMAS letteth vs see that a man vvho is gone astraye and hath wandred out of the way after that once the Lord mercifully takes him by the hand and sets him in the way of grace that he will be carefull constantly to walke into that way with the rest of the faithfull who are walking in that way he will be loath to separate himselfe from their societie after that once the Lord beginnes freely to giue grace He ceases neuer to heape grace vpon grace while grace be crowned with glorie for it is true that the Apostle sayes That Hee who hath begunne the good worke in vs will performe it vnto the day of Jesus Christ Phil. 1.6 And our Sauiour sayes To euery man that hath it shall be giuen and he shall haue abundance So happie is the man in whom the Lord hath once begunne to worke for He will neuer leaue him while He performe His worke in him Now when they are met together what is their exercise They goe to the fishing the occasion of this exercise comes of Peter hee purposed to separate himselfe from the rest and therefore hee sayes vnto them J goe a fishing The rest cannot bee content to sunder from him but they offer their companie to him and they say We also will goe with thee What made Thomas and the rest of the Disciples so vnwillingly to sunder from Peter and what made euery one of them so desirous to enjoye the companie of another Was this by chance or fortoun No but it was by the speciall prouidence of GOD that same prouidence that before gathered them together now keepes and retaines them together in such sort that albeit some of them were of purpose to haue sundred themselues from the rest yet the rest will not sunder from them The Lord will keepe them together that Hee may communicate vnto them such grace as Hee would not bestowe vpon them beeing sundered one from another He shewes Himselfe He vouchsafes His presence in them to their exceeding joy and comfort beeing now together whereas if they had bene separated if Peter had gone one way Thomas another and the rest the third it is not likely that the Lord would haue manifested Himselfe vnto them But how is this that the Disciples of the Lord who were ordained and appointed by the Lorde Himselfe to an higher calling to the Apostleship to be witnesses and preachers to the world of these things which they saw and heard of Him goe to the fishing Might they leaue that high calling and take themselues to so base and contemptible an exercise I answere that heerein they doe nothing amisse for albeit they were appointed and designed by the Lord to be Apostles yet in effect they were not as yet Apostles they had not entered to that calling neither were they meete for it vntill the time that they were endued with power from on high and before they had receiued the Holy Spirit in the forme of firie and clouen tongues in the day of the Pentecoste And further what fault was it albeit they had entred to their office of the Apostleship that they should bee exercised in an honest and lawfull occupation and should worke with their handes as we read of the Apostle Paul vvho in sundrie places professes that he laboured with his owne hands for his liuing Read 1. Cor. 4.12 1. Thess 2.9 2 Thess 3.8 Now when they agree to remaine together They went their way and entred into a ship straightway and they goe to take fish and to seeke bodily food for themselues but the Lord in the meane time is calling them to a better thing euen to see the Lord and to enjoy His gracious presence which was a great deale better than all their fishing and all that they could haue gained by that exercise and Peter after that once he knew that it was the LORD which spake to them counted more of His presence than of all the huge and great number of fishes that were inclosed within the nette for hee leaues them all after that once he knew that it was the Lord that spake and shewed Himselfe present vnto them yea he castes himselfe into the Sea and hazardes his life to the end he may come speedily and soone vnto the Lord.
they saw Him they worshipped Him What made them to fall downe and worship Him What sawe they into Him No question they sawe in Him a glorious Majestie By all appearance at this time He has shewed himselfe in greater glory than Hee did of before So beholding His glorie on the one part and their owne vnworthinesse on the other as Hee approaches vnto them they humblie fall downne and worship Him This their behauiour teaches vs that wheresoeuer the Lord of Glorie is present there He should be worshipped and adored His presence requires adoration Seest thou the Lord present with thee Then in humilitie fall downe and worshippe Him But thou wilt saye I cannot see Him how then can I adore Him Th'Apostles saw His glorious presence with their eyes therefore they ought to haue worshipped Him but as for vs who liue in these dayes after His ascension to Heauen we see Him not and therefore how can wee worship Him But I answere thee It is true thou seest Him not nowe vvith the eyes of thy bodie but thou seest Him with the eyes of thy soule thou seest Him with the eyes of faith thou seest Him in the vvorde and Sacraments first crucified and then glorified And if thou wilt not worship Him when thou seest Him here present in the worde and Sacraments thou wouldest not haue worshipped Him if thou haddest seene Him with the eyes of thy body face to face These profane bodies vvho vvill not vvorship Him nowe vvhen they see Him present in the mirrour of the Gospell they vvill neuer gette leaue to worship Him in the Kingdome of Heauen Thinkest thou not that the Lord is seene present in His word What meanes Paul then vvhen he sayes that an vnlearned man comming into the meetinges of the faithfull where manie are prophecying finding himselfe rebuked and judged of all and the secrets of his heart made manâ—fest that hee will fall downe on his face and worshippe GOD and saye plainlie That GOD is among them indeede 1. Corinth Chap. 14. vers 24. and 25. What sees the vnlearned man among them that makes him to fall down and giue such a confession No question but the glorious light of the GOSPELL shines into his soule and Christ offers Himselfe present to bee seene by the eye of faith The faithfull this daye by experience finde in their meetings this same presence of the Lord And therefore it becomes vs in all our meetinges euer to vvorshippe the Lord and to sit vvith feare and reuerence to heare the worde and to prepare our heartes to receiue the Holie Spirite whome the Lord promises and offers with the preaching of the worde to all His Chosen Againe this their behauiour teaches vs what force and power there is in the glorious presence of Christ Iesus His presence is powerfull to humble and bowe both the bodie and soule of the creature This made Paul to saye that at the Name of IESVS euerie knee should bowe both of thinges in Heauen and thinges in earth and thinges vnder the earth Philipp chap. 2. vers 20. For that sublimitie and highnesse vvhereunto the Father hath exalted Him is so effectuall and powerfull in all creatures and of all sortes that either sweetlie willinglie it mooues them to worship Him in all humilitie or else it breakes bruises them with fearcenesse and violence and compels out perforce obedience of them The sight and sense of this sublimitie and highnesse makes the blessed Angels in Heauen in all reuerence to worshippe Him The sense of this sublimitie makes the Sainctes on earth when either they speake or heare of Him reuerentlie and in humilitie to bow both their bodies and their soules vnto Him And by the contrarie The sight and sense of this same sublimitie raises vp in the Deuill and his angelles such horroures and dread as cannot bee expressed The sense of this sublimitie makes the wicked howe proude and jollie soeuer they bee in their owne conceite oft times when they heare of Him to quake and tremble The Euangelist Matthew notes That notwithstanding of their worshipping of Him yet some of them doubted But who were these that doubted Euen some of these who before worshipped Him And what mooued them to doubt Apparantly that same that before moued them to worship Him moues them also now to doubt to wit that extraordinary vnaccustomed majesty and glory wherein Iesus appeared to them which scarcely they could haue deemed to bee so great wonderfull And certainly the glory of the Lord sitting this day in the HeaueÌ„s at the right hand of the Father is so exceeding great woÌ„derfull that if it were permitted to vs to behold it as it is with our bodily eyes such is y e corruption of our nature we could not but doubt whether He were y e Christ who vvas so far humbled abased in y e earth of whom we heard before in y e Gospel Beside this cause y e difficulty to belieue this article of the ResurrectioÌ„ of y e dead seemes likewise to haue furthered their doubting for indeed amoÌ„g al y e articles of our belief there is none more coÌ„trary to nature nor harder to belieue thaÌ„ this article of y e ResurrectioÌ„ of our bodies froÌ„ y e dead Nature can neuer be perswaded y t a dead body y t has bin a prey to worms is resolued in dust ashes can rise vp againe to life But as of all articles there is none harder to be belieued so there is none more necessary to saluatioÌ„ nor none that brings greater consolation And therefore the Lord that vve might haue the more full assurance and perswasion thereof tooke great paines vpon Himselfe and for the space of fourtie dayes Hee remained vpon the earth after His Resurrection and sundry times shewed Himselfe to His Disciples and manie other of the Faithfull that all occasion of doubting might bee remooued and so their joye and comfort might bee the greater Nowe this doubting of the Disciples lets vs see vvhat is the disposition of the heartes of the Godlie euen in their best exercises For euen their best exercises are euer accompanied vvith a piece of doubting of vvant of infirmitie c. their vvorshipping of GOD is vvith doubting their prayer is vvith infirmitie and vvauering of the minde their meditation falles from GOD and spirituall things to carnall and earthly things their hearing of the word is euer with some piece of loathing their Faith is mixed with infidelitie so that before they can come to any great measure of grace they must striue and wrestle through many infirmities and ouercome many difficulties and tentations so that the best man euen in his best workes hath no matter of rejoycing if the Lord would enter in judgement with him Yee haue heard the disciples behauiour now look how the Lord meetes them First He drawes nearer to them and then He enters in communing with them for it is said Iesus came and spake vnto them He
approached to them partly that Hee might take away all occasion of doubting from them partly that with the greater profite and commoditie He might instruct them and that His teaching might be the more powerfull and fruitfull for no question while He drawes nearer to them with His body offers Himselfe to be seene more clearly with y e bodily eyes in y e meane time He drawes nearer to them inwardly joynes Himselfe by His Spirit more powerfully and familiarly to their soules for this is the accustomed dealing of the Lord when by the word He is purposed to be effectuall and powerfull in the soule of any man He drawes neare them by His Spirit whereas by the contrarie when Hee is not of purpose to be effectuall by his word in the heart He approaches not inwardly to the soule but He holds Himselfe a farre off and giues them only a shew of His power and glory outwardly a farre off Now followes the Lords cōmuning with His Disciples wherein He giues them a commission to goe out and preach to the world baptizing them that beleeue But before He giues them this commission by way of preface He sets down the ground of this commission to wit that power and authoritie which He had for sayes He All power is giuen vnto me in heauen and in earth for it was necessary that the Apostles should be enformed of this His power and authoritie which He had giuen Him to the end that knowing that infinite power whereupon their commission and Apostleship was grounded they might the more chearefully and willingly with free heartes and open mouthes discharge their commission message beeing assured that they had Him who was Lord of Heauen and Earth to be their protectour maintainer Marke this Brethren This Ministerie of the Gospell albeit it be but a sort of seruice in the Church of God it is no Lordship and albeit men count very basely of it and esteeme it of all callings in the world to be the most vile and contemptible yet it is grounded vpon such a power as farre surpasses all the power of all the Kings and Monarches of the earth and it is the Lordes will that both the Ministers themselues and likewise the people that heares them haue their eyes fixed and be exercised continually in the contemplation and consideration of that incomprehensible and infinite power whereupon this Ministrie is grounded to the end that both the Ministers may the more chearfully and couragiously discharge their calling and also the people that heare them be not offended nor stumble at the basenesse of this outward forme of the ministerie not measuring the Majestie and glory of the Gospell preached vnto them by the outward shew and forme which they see but by the infinite and incomprehensible power of the Lord whereupon it is grounded Next it is to bee marked that Hee sayes All power is giuen me not in heauen only but also in earth He joynes them both together and that for the comfort of His Apostles whom Hee was to send out and of the Ministers who were to follow them to the end of the world for when He sayes that all power was giuen to Him in the earth it serues to encourage the Apostles and all Ministers in the Church faithfully and chearefully to discharge their calling so long as they remaine heere in the earth and grounding and anchoring themselues vpon that infinite power which the Lord Iesus hath vpon the earth to striue and fight couragiously and boldly against the assaults of Sathan against the allurements of sinne against the feare and terrour of trouble and persecution against the manners and behauiour of this vnthankfull world as assured that His almightie power in the earth shall guarde defend them in their calling so long as the Lord hath a worke adoe with them Againe when Hee sayes that all power was giuen to Him in Heauen it serues to comfort the Apostles Ministers vpon the hope of a reward that after they haue discharged their dutie in their calling after they haue striuen against all difficulties hath ouercome all tentations at last they should waite for the Kingdome of Heauen where they shall rest from their labours enjoy the presence of their Lord King for euer 1 Cor. 15.19 Jf in this life only we haue hope in Christ of all men we are the most miserable By the which words He meanes if the power of Iesus Christ whereupon wee repose anchore our selues extended no further than within the bounds of this present life then our estate condition of all men were most miserable yet ere we leaue these words it is to be considered what maner of power this is whereof he speakes whereupon their Apostleship is groūded that ye may vnderstand this the better ye must consider that there is a twofold power in the Lord Iesus the Sonne of God the first is heritably the other purchased The first He hath as the Sonne of God equall with the Father before the foundations of the world were laide of this He speakes in His Prayer to His Father before His Passion Father glorifie me with thine owne selfe with that glory which I had with thee before the world was Ioh. 17.5 The other the Sonne of God Iesus Christ purchased to Himselfe for our cause when Hee made Himselfe of no reputation and tooke on Him the forme of a seruant humbled Himselfe and became obedient to the death euen to the death of the Crosse for the Lord then exalted Him highly and gaue Him a Name aboue euery Name that at the Name of Iesus euery knee should bow both of things in heauen and things in earth and things vnder the earth Philip. 2.6 Heere the Apostle speakes of that power which Hee as a Mediatour acquired by His perfect obedience in all things and of this acquired power it is which the Lord speakes in this place for frō this power which He purchased to Himselfe by His obedience in our flesh proceedes the Gospel from this power proceedes the Ministerie in the Church from this power proceedes Saluation to the world for that heritāble power which the Sonne of God had with the Father from all eternitie without the manhead of Christ and His acquired power by His obedience would neuer serue to bring life Saluation to sinners Nowe to come to the sending out of the Apostles Hee sayes Goe therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them In these wordes Hee giues them their commission and committes vnto them the Ministerie and office of the Apostleship commanding them to goe foorth to all Nations to teach and baptize them for the Lord sets downe here distinctly three points of their calling First y t they should goe foorth to all Nations of the world not holding themselues within y e narrow boūds of y e land of Iudea as they did before Next y t they should preach y e Gospel thirdly y t they should baptize
Father the Sonne and the Holy Spirit Indeed it is true that God was knowne in the Trinitie of persons in some sorte by the Fathers who liued vnder the Old Testament before Christs manifestation in the fleshe but the knowledge which they had was obscure and confused in respect of that knowledge which IESVS brought into the worlde at His comming but chiefely this distinct knowledge of the three persons of the Godhead was manifested after Christes Resurrection from the dead and His Glorification for Christ glorified is chiefely the image of the vnuisible God and the brightnesse of His glorie and the engrauen forme of His person And from Christ glorified especially proceedes th' effectuall operation of the Holy Spirit in the soules of His Elect. All tendes to this To let you see that the cleare and distinct knowledge of the Godhead in the Trinitie of the persons proceeded chiefely from the Kingdome of Christ and from His glory Nowe to this God one in essence in three persons The Father the Sonne and the Holie Spirit be all praise honour and glorie for euermore Amen THE LIV. LECTVRE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST MATTH CHAP. XXVIII verse 20 Teaching them to obserue all things whatsoeuer I haue commanded you and loe I am with you alway vntill the ende of the world Amen MARKE CHAP. XVI verse 16 He that shall beleeue and bee baptized shall bee saued but hee that will not beleeue shall bee damned verse 17 And these tokens shall follow them that beleeue In my Name they shall cast out deuils and shall speake with new tongues verse 18 And shall take away serpentes and if they shall drinke anie deadlie thing it shall not hurt them they shall lay their handes on the sicke and they shall recouer THE last daye Welbeloued Brethren in Christ we began to speake of the nine appearings of the Lord to the Disciples as it is set downe by Matthew and Marke Hee appeared to them in a Mountaine of Galilie vvhere Hee had appointed them to meete Him Wee hearde vvhat vvas the Disciples behauiour The sight of that glorious Majestie made them to fall downe and worship Him yet in the meane time some of them doubted and therefore the LORDE to confirme them drawes neare vnto them and enters into communication with them and in His communing first Hee telles what power and authoritie was giuen Him both in Heauen and earth to the ende Hee might mooue them the more willinglie and chearefullie to vndertake the office of the Apostleship Then when Hee has layed downe this power as a ground of their office and Ministerie Hee sendes them out in the worlde charging them first to goe to all Nations Next to preach to euery creature And thirdly To baptize in the Name and authority of the Father the Sonne and the Holy Spirit Nowe in these wordes first Hee telles them what doctrine they shoulde teach to the worlde then hee makes them a threefolde promise The first is of life and saluation to then that beleeue and are baptised The seconde is a promise of th'extraordinarie and miraculous giftes of the Holie Spirite The thirde is a promise of His owne glorious and powerfull presence with them in discharging of their calling that not for a season but to continue to th' ende of the vvorlde Then in the first wordes which vve haue read He telles them what they should teach not al things not euery thing that they pleased themselues but He sayes Teach them to obserue all thinges whatsoeuer J haue commanded you So Hee restraines the doctrine that they should teach vnto the world vnto that doctrine which Hee Himselfe first had taught them In the 14. Chapter of John vers 26. after Hee has first promised the Holie Spirit to teach His Apostles all thinges then Hee telles vvhat Hee meanes by All these thinges which His Spirite should teach and Hee boundes them and restraines them to that doctrine which Hee Himselfe had taught them before For sayes Hee hee shall bring all thinges to your remembrance which I haue tolde you Euen so here Hee restraines the preaching of th'Apostles to these thinges vvhich Hee Himselfe had taught them So marke this lesson The doctrine of Iesus Christ which Hee deliuered the time that Hee liued in the vvorlde and had His conuersation among men is the grounde the rule and the measure of all true doctrine The Spirit of the Lord Iesus vvhome Hee left behinde Him to bee His vicegerent in th' earth kept preciselie this rule Hee taught not so much as one sentence in substance but that vvhich CHRIST had taught before Th'Apostles vvhome Hee sent out into the worlde declined not one jote from this rule for they taught the vvorlde nothing but that vvhich the Holie Spirite had furnished and suggested vnto them before and that Spirite taught them nothing but that vvhich IESVS had taught them before So that the doctrine of the H. Spirit th'Apostles come all wholly from Iesus as th' only doctor teacher of His Kirke of whom the Father said in His baptisme trāsfiguratiō Heare him So it should be w t ministers and Teachers of the Church to the end of the world they should make Christes doctrine to bee the rule of all their doctrine they should teach nothing but that which Christ teached before them the faithfull Ministers of Christ in all ages haue striuen to doe so they confirmed all their doctrine so farre as they could to the doctrine of Christ Indeede it is true through processe of time corrupt men entred in the Church who respected not God nor His glory nor the well and saluation of men but their owne honour their owne lusts and their bellie who taught the world not the doctrine of Christ the way of life but their own fantasies dreames and traditions Wee may see this lamentable experience this day in the kingdome of the Antichrist What teaches the Pope and his Clergie to the world Not the word of God Not the doctrine of Christ Not that doctrine which the Holy Spirit furnished to the Apostles not that vvhich the Apostles haue left in register this day they make not that to be the rule of their preaching but they teach their owne vanities deuised by themselues they teach mens traditions they teach vnwritten verities as they call them vvhich are for the moste parte altogether repugnant to the doctrine of Christ The Lord saue vs from their doctrine vvherewith they poyson the world and bring men to perdition Now as the Pastors are obliged to teach nothing but the doctrine of Christ so are the people bound to heare and receiue none other doctrine but the doctrine of Christ and for this cause they shoulde pray earnestly for the Holy Spirit who is promised to His owne to illuminate their mindes and to giue them the gift of discretion to discerne spirits as also they should be diligently exercised in reading and considering the Olde and New Testament the writtings of the