brethren and his mother and standing without sent unto him calling him 32 And the multitude sat about him and they said unto him Behold thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee 33 And he answered them saying Who is my mother or my brethren 34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him and said Behold my mother and my brethren 35 For whosoever shall do the will of God the same is my brother and my sister and mother Obs here 1. The Truth and Verity of Christ's Humane Nature he had Affinity and Consanguinity with Men Persons near in Blood to him by the Mother's side called here his Brethren that is his Kinsmen Obs 2. That the Mother of Christ tho' she was a Blessed and Holy Woman yet was she not free from Sin but Failings and Infirmities are found with her It was a Fault to interrupt our Saviour unseasonably at this time when he was preaching to the People The like we see in her at other times Luke 2.48 and John 2.3 No Saint here on Earth ever was in a State of Sinless Perfection Blessed be God we are hastning to such a State Obs 3. That Christ did not neglect his Holy Mother or disregard his poor Kindred and Relations but only shewed that he preferred his Father's Work and Business before their Company and Acquaintance at this time Obs 4. How exceeding dear obedient Christians are to Jesus Christ he preferrs his Spiritual Kindred before his Natural Alliance by Faith is more valued by our Saviour than Alliance by Blood To bear Christ in the Heart is a greater Honour than to bear him in the Womb. Blessed be God this great and gracious Priviledge is not denied us even now Altho' we cannot see Christ yet love him we may His Bodily Presence cannot be enjoyed by us but his Spiritual Presence is not denied us Tho' Christ be not ours in House in Arms in Affinity in Consanguinity yet in Heart in Faith in Love in Service he is or may be ours Verily Spiritual Regeneration bringeth Men into a more honourable Relation to Christ than Natural Generation ever did CHAP. IV. 1 ANd he began again to teach by the sea-side and there was gathered unto him a great multitude so that he entered into a ship and sat in the sea and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land 2 And he taught them many things by parables and said unto them in his doctrine The foregoing Chapter acquainted us with the Blasphemous Slander which the Scribes and Pharisees cast upon our Blessed Saviour accusing him for casting out Devils by the Help of the Devil This they did no doubt to discredit his Person and hinder his Ministry yet for all this the People follow him in great Multitudes more than ever to hear him and be instructed by him Thence Learn That all the Power and Malice of Satan and wicked Men shall not be able to suppress the Gospel or hinder the free Course of it yea the more it is opposed the more it shall prevail the more the Scribes and Pharisees disgraced our Saviour and vilified his Doctrine the more the People followed him in Troops to be Partakers of his Ministry Obs 2. The Place where our Lord now preached in a Ship Not that he declined the Temple or the Synagogue when he had Opportunity but in the want of them Christ thought an House a Mountain a Ship no unmeet Place to preach in It is not the Place that sanctifies the Ordinance but the Ordinance that sanctifies the Place Obs 3. Our Saviour's Gesture in preaching he sat it being the Custom of the Jewish Church so to do Mat. 23.2 The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses Chair Learn thence That in indifferent Rites and Orders touching the outward Worship of God we are to conform our selves to the Laudable Custom and Practice of the Church in which we live and whereof we are Members Thus did our Saviour and so ought we Obs 4. The manner of our Lord 's Preaching it was by Parables and Similitudes which was an antient way of Instruction among the Jews and a very convincing way working upon Men's Minds Memories and Affections all at once making the Mind attentive the Memory retentive and the Auditors inquisitive after the Interpretation of the Parable Some are of Opinion that our Saviour's Parables were suited to his Hearers Imployments and accordingly many of his Hearers being Husbandmen he resembles his Doctrine to Seed sown in the Field For thus he speaks 3 Hearken Behold there went out a sower to sow 4 And it came to pass as he sowed some fell by the way side and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up 5 And some fell on stony ground where it had not much earth and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched and because it had no root it withered away 7 And some fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choaked it and it yielded no fruit 8 And other fell on good ground and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased and brought forth some thirty some sixty and some an hundred 9 And he said unto them He that hath ears to hear let him hear Several things are here Observable As 1. How Christ begins and ends the Parable with an Admonition to diligent and serious Attention Hearken says Christ ver 3. and he that hath Ears to hear let him hear v. 9. This shews us at once the People's Backwardness and Negligence in applying their Minds to hear and receive the Word of God and also shews the Minister's Duty to excite and stir up their People's Diligence and Attention in hearing God's Word Obs 2. What is the general Scope and Design of this Parable Namely To shew that there are four several sorts of Hearers of God's Word and but one good one but one sort only hear to a saving Advantage Now as to the Matter of the Parable Note 1. The Sower is Christ and his Apostles He the principal Sower they the Subordinate Seedsmen Christ sows his own Field his Ministers sow his Field He sows his own Seed they his Seed Wo unto us if we sow our own Seed not Christ's Note 2. The Seed sown the Word of God fabulous Legends and unwritten Traditions which the Seedsmen of the Church of Rome sow these are not Seed but Chaff or their own Seed and not Christ's Our Lord's Field must be all sown with his own Seed with no mixt Grain Learn 1. That the Word preach'd is like Seed sown in the Furrows of the Field As Seed has as a fructifying Virtue in it by which it encreases and brings forth more of its own kind so has the Word of God a quickning Power to regenerate and make alive dead Souls 2. Learn from this Parable That the Seed of the Word where it is most plentifully sown is not alike fruitful Seed doth not thrive
hinder the influences of the Sun from cherishing it the like ill effects have Worldly Affections and desires in the Soul of Man rendring the Seed of the Word unfruitful But the good Christian hears the Word attentively keeps it retentively believes it steadfastly applies it particularly practises it universally and brings forth Fruit perseveringly Learn hence 1. That no Hearers are in Christ's Account good Hearers of the Word but such as bring forth Fruit answerably to their Hearing 2. That a Person may be a good hearer of the Word in Christ's Account if he bring forth the best Fruit he can tho' not in so great a Proportion as others do as some Ground brings forth Thirty some sixty some an hundred fold in like manner do all the sincere Hearers of the Word they all bring forth fruit tho' not all alike all in sincerity tho' not all Equally and none to Perfection 16 No man when he hath lighted a Candle covereth it with a Vessel or putteth it under a bed but setteth it on a Candlestick that they which enter in may see the light 17 For nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest neither any thing hid that shall not be made known and come abroad 18 Take heed therefore how you hear for whosoever hath to him shall be given and whosoever hath not from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have In these words Christ declares his End and Design in Revealing unto his Disciples the foregoing Parable and why he communicated to them the Light of Scripture Knowledge and Gospel Mysteries namely that they may communicate it to others and not keep it close unto themselves even as the Candle in an house diffuses and disperses its light to all that come within the reach of it Such as are enlightned by God in any measure with the Knowledge and Understanding of his Word ought not to conceal and hide this Knowledge within themselves but Communicate it to others and improve it for the good and benefit of others Observe also the Argument which our Saviour makes use of to quicken his Disciples to communicate their Knowledge and improve the Grace they had received for the good and advantage of others To him that hath shall be given that is such as improve their spiritual Gifts shall have them encreased such as improve them not shall have them blasted Learn hence that there is no such way to thrive in Grace and encrease in Gifts as to exercise and improve them he that hides his Talent forfeits it is in danger of loosing it and also of being punished for not improving of it Observe Lastly How our Lord shuts up this Parable of the Sower and the Seed with a cautionary direction to all his Auditors to take heed how they hear the Word Take heed therefore how you hear Such as would profit by hearing the Word must diligently attend to the matter of the Doctrine which they hear and also to the manner how they hear such is the majesty and authority of the person that speaks to us in the Word such is the sublimity and spirituality of the matter and so great is our danger if we miscarry under the Word that it nearly concerns us to take heed both what we hear whom we hear and how we hear 19 Then came to him his mother and his Brethren and could not come at him for the press 20 And it was told him by certain which said thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to see thee 21 And he answered and said unto them My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it Two things are here Observable 1. The Truth and Verity of Christ's Humane Nature He had affinity and consanguinity with men persons near in Blood to him by the Mothers side called here his Kinsmen Observe 2. That Christ's Spiritual Kindred were much dearer to him then his natural Allyance by Faith is more valued by Christ then allyance by Blood to bear Christ in the heart is a greater honour then to carry him in the Womb. Blessed be God this great and gracious Priviledge is not denyed us even now Altho ' we cannot see Christ yet love him we may his bodily Presence cannot be enjoy'd by us but his spiritual Presence is not denied to us Tho' Christ be not ours in House in Arms in Affinity and Consanguinity yet in Heart in Faith in Love and Service he is or may be ours Verily spiritual Regeneration bringeth men into a more honourable Relation to Christ then natural Generation ever did Oh how dear are Obedient Christians to Christ he prefers them in esteem before those of his own Flesh and Blood My brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it 22 Now it came to pass on a certain day that he went into a ship with his Disciples and he said unto them let us go over unto the other side of the Lake and they lanched forth 23 But as they sailed he fell asleep and there came down a storm of wind on the Lake and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy 24 And they came to him and awoke him saying Master Master we perish Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water and they ceased and there was a calm 25 And he said unto them where is your Faith and they being afraid wondered saying one to another what manner of man is this for he commandeth even the winds and waters and they obey him Here Observe 1. Our Saviour and his Disciples no sooner put forth to Sea but difficulty attends them and danger over-takes them a Tempest arose and that Ship was covered with Waves which Christ himself was in with his Disciples Learn thence That the presence of Christ it self doth not exempt his Disciples and Followers from trouble and danger Here is a great Tempest about the Disciples Ears tho' Christ himself was in their Company Observe 2. The Posture our Saviour was in when this Tempest arose being wearied with the Labours of the day he was laid down to sleep thereby shewing himself to be truly and really Man and that he not only took upon him the humane Nature but the infirmities of that Nature also he was subject to pain and weariness to hunger and Thirst Obs 3. The Disciples application made to Christ they awake him with a sad out-cry Master Master we perish here was Faith mixed with Humane frailty They believed that he could save them but being asleep they concluded he must be awaked before he could save them Whereas tho' his Humane nature was asleep yet his Divine Nature neither slumbered nor slept Learn hence That the prevalency of Fear in a time of great and imminent Danger tho' it may evidence weakness of Faith yet is it no Evidence of a total want of Faith in the midst of the Disciples fears they believed Christ's Power and Ability to save them Master
without desiring to speak with thee 48 But he answered and said unto him that told him Who is my mother and who are my brethren 49 And he stretched forth his hand towards his disciples and said Behold my mother and my brethren 50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven the same is my brother and sister and mother Observe here 1. The Verity of Christ's Humane Nature he had Affinity and Consanguinity with Men Persons near in Blood to him called his Brethren that is his Cosin-Germans 2. That the Holy Virgin her self was not wholly free from Failings and Infirmities for here she does untimely and unseasonably interrupt our Saviour when Preaching to the People and imployed about his Father's Business 3. That Christ did not neglect his Holy Mother nor disregard his near Relations but shewed that he preferr'd his Father's Service before them 4. Learn How dear Believers are to Jesus Christ he preferrs his Spiritual Kindred before his Natural Alliance in Faith and Spiritual Relation to Christ is much nearer and dearer than Alliance by Blood To bear Christ in the Heart is much better than to bear him in the Womb. Blessed be God this greatest Priviledge is not denied to us even now Tho' see Christ we cannot yet love him we may his Bodily Presence cannot be enjoyed by us but his Spiritual Presence is not denied us Tho' Christ be not ours in House in Arms in Affinity in Consanguinity yet in Heart in Faith in Love and Service he is or may be Ours Verily Spiritual Regeneration brings Men into a more Honourable Relation to Christ than Natural Generation ever did Whosoever shall do the Will of my Father he is my Brother Sister and Mother CHAP. XIII 1 THE same day went Jesus out of the house and sat by the sea-side 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him so that he went into a ship and sat and the whole multitude stood on the shoar 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables saying The foregoing Chapter gave us an Account of an Awakening Sermon preached by our Saviour to the Pharisees In this Chapter we are acquainted with the Continuance of his Preaching to the Multitude Where three things are Observable 1. Our Lord's Assiduity and unwearied Diligence in Preaching of the Gospel for this Sermon was made the same Day with that in the former Chapter Vers 1. The same Day went Jesus out and sat by the Sea-side A good Pattern for the Preachers of the Gospel to follow How ashamed may we be to Preach Once a Week when our Lord Preacht Twice a Day Obs 2. The Place our Lord Preacht in a Ship not that he declined the Temple or the Synagogue when he had the Opportunity but in the want of them Christ thought an House a Mountain a Ship no unmeet Place to Preach in It is not the Place that Sanctifies the Ordinance but the Ordinance that Sanctifies the Place Obs 3. The Manner of our Lord 's Preaching it was by Parables and Similitudes Which was an Ancient Way of Instruction among the Jews and a very Convincing Way working upon Mens Minds Memories and Affections making the Mind attentive the Memory retentive and the Auditors inquisitive after the Interpretation of the Parable Some are of Opinion that our Saviour's Parables were suited to his Hearers Employments some of whom being Husbandmen he resembles his Doctrine to Seed sown in the Field For thus he speaks 3 Behold a sower went forth to sow 4 And when he sowed some seeds fell by the way-side and the fowls came and devoured them up 5 Some fell upon stony places where they had not much earth and forthwith they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth 6 And when the sun was up they were scorched and because they had not root they withered away 7 And some fell among thorns and the thorns sprung up and choaked them 8 But other fell into good ground and brought forth fruit some an hundred fold some sixty fold some thirty fold 9 Who hath ears to hear let him hear The Scope of this Parable is to shew that there are Four several Sorts of Hearers of the Word but One Sort only that Hear to a Saving Advantage And to shew us the Cause of the different Success of the Word Preacht Here Observe 1. The Sower Christ and his Apostles he the prime and principal Sower they the secondary and subordinate Seedsmen Christ sows his own Field his Ministers sow his Field he sows his own Seed they sow his Seed Wo unto us if we sow our own Seed and not Christ's Obs 2. The Seed sown the Word of God Fabulous Legends and Unwritten Traditions which the Seeds-Men of the Church of Rome sow these are not Seed but Chaff or their own Seed not Christ's Our Lord's Field must be sown with his own Seed not with mixt Grain Learn 1. That the Word of God preacht is like Seed sown in the Furrows of the Field As Seed has a Fructifying Virtue in it by which it increases and brings forth more of it 's own kind so has the Word of God a Quickning Power to regenerate and make alive dead Souls Learn 2. That the Seed of the Word where it is most plentifully sown is not alike Fruitful As Seed doth not thrive in all Ground alike so neither doth the Word fructifie alike in the Hearts of Men There is a Difference both from the Nature of the Soil and from the Influence of the Spirit Learn 3. That the Cause of the Word's Unfruitfulness is very different and not the same in all In some 't is the Policy of Satan that Bird of Prey which follows God's Plough steals away the Precious Seed in others 't is a hard Heart of Unbelief in others the Cares of the World like Thorns choak the Word overgrow the Good Seed draw away the Moisture of the Earth and the Heart of the Soil and hinders the Influences of the Sun The far greater part of Hearers are fruitless and unprofitable Hearers Learn 4. That the best Ground doth not bring forth Fruit alike some good Ground brings forth more and some less Some thirty some sixty and some an hundred fold In like manner a Person may be a profitable Hearer of the Word altho' he doth not bring forth so great a Proportion of Fruit as others provided he brings forth as much as he can 10 And the disciples came and said unto him Why speakest thou unto them in parables 11 He answered and said unto them Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but to them it is not given Here we have the Disciples Question and our Saviour's Answer Their Question is Why speakest thou to the People in Parables which they do not understand They cannot see the Soul of thy Meaning thro' the Body of thy Parables Christ answers To you my Disciples and such as you are who love
is a Priest to God and may enter the Holy of Holies by the Blood of Jesus But Lord What are we the better for this Great and Gracious freedom of Access to Thee if we want Hearts to prize and to improve our Priviledge 11 And there appeared unto him an Angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the Altar of Incense Whilst Zachary was praying to God an Angel appears to Zachary when we are nearest God the Good Angels are nighest us they are most with us when we are most with him The presence of Angels with us is no Novelty but their Apparition to us is so They are always with us but rarely seen by us Let our Faith see them whom our Senses cannot discern Their assumed Shapes do not make them more present but only more visible Obs 2. The place as well as the time where the Angel appeared in the Temple and at the Altar and on the right side of the Altar of Incense As the Holy Angels are always present with us in our Devotions so especially in Religious Assemblies as in all places so most of all in God's House They rejoyce to be with us whilst we are with God but they turn their Faces from us when we go about our Sins 12 And when Zacharias saw him he was troubled and fear fell upon him It was partly the suddenness partly the unexpectedness and partly the Glory of the Apparition that affrighted this Good Man Glorious and sudden Apparations do affright even the holiest and best of Men. We cannot bear the sight and presence of an Angel without Consternation and Fear in this our frail and sinful State Oh happy hour when mortality and Sin being taken out of our Natures we shall not only behold the Glorified Angels without fear but the Glorious God with Delight and Love Lord let me now see Thee by Faith hereafter by sight Sit in alio Seculo non in Hoc visio tua merces mea 13 But the Angel said unto him fear not Zacharias for thy prayer is heard and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son and thou shalt call his name John Observe here 1. How Apprehensive this good Angel was of Zachary's Surprizing fear and encourages him against it The Holy Angels tho' they do not express it in words yet they pity our frailties and suggest Comfort to us The Evil Angels if they might would kill us with Terrour The good Angels labour altogether for our Tranquility and cheerfulness The Angel said unto him fear not Obs 2. the Comfortable words spoken by the Angel to Zacharias Thy prayer is heard and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a Son No doubt Zachary and Elizabeth had often prayed for a Child and now God sends them one when they least expected it Learn hence That sometimes God gives in a Mercy to us when we least expect it yea when we have given over looking for it No doubt this was the Case here Zachary and Elizabeth being both well stricken in Age. Obs 3. the Name which the Angel directs Zachary to give his Son Thou shalt call his name John which signifies Gracious because he was to open the Kingdom of Grace and to preach the Grace of the Gospel through Jesus Christ The giving of significant names to Children has been an ancient and pious practice Names which either carried a Remembrance of Duty or of Mercy 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness and many shall rejoice at his birth 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mothers womb 16 And many of the Children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Here the Angel declares to Zachary what kind of Son should be born unto him even one of eminent Endowments and designed for extraordinary Services The proof of Children makes them either the Blessings or Crosses of their parents What greater comfort could Zachary desire in a child then is here promised to him 1. he hears of a Son that should bring joy to himself and many others even to all that did expect the coming of the Messias whose fore-runner the Baptist was 2. That he should be great in the sight of the Lord that is a Person of great Eminency and great Usefulness in the Church A Person of great Riches and Reputation is great in the sight of Men but the Man of great ability and usefulness the Man of great Integrity and Serviceableness he is truly great in the sight of the Lord. They are little Men in the sight of the Lord that live in the World to little purposes who do little Service for God and bring little Honour and Glory to him But the Man that does all the possible Service he can for God and the utmost Good that he is capable of doing to all Mankind he is a person great in the sight of the Lord and such was the Holy Baptist 3. It is foretold that he should drink neither Wine nor strong drink that is that he should be a very Temperate and Abstemious Person living after the manner of the Nazarites tho' he was not separated by any Vow of his own or his Parents but by the special designation and appointment of God only It was forbidden the Priests under the Law to drink either Wine or strong Drink upon pain of Death during the time of their Ministration Levit. 10.9 And the Ministers of Christ under the Gospel are forbidden to be lovers of Wine 1 Tim. 3.3 4. He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost from his Mothers Womb That is he shall be furnished abundantly with the extraordinary Gifts and sanctifying Graces of the Holy Spirit which shall very early appear to be in him and upon him 5. His High and Honourable Office is declared That he should go before the Messiah as his Harbinger and Fore-runner with the same Spirit of Zeal and Courage against Sin which was found in the old Prophet Elias whom he did so nearly resemble 6. The great Success of his Ministry is foretold namely That he should turn the hearts of the Fathers to the Children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just That is the Hearts of the Jews to the Gentiles say some that he should bring Men say others even the most disobedient and rebellious Pharisees and Sadduces Publicans and Sinners unto Repentance and to the minding of Justice and Righteousness and all moral duties and thus he made ready a people for the Lord. By fitting men to receive Christ upon his own Terms and Conditions namely Faith and Repentance From the whole Note That those whom Almighty God designs for eminent Usefulness in
as before Conversion Disesteemed him do afterwards kindly and respectfully Entertain him Matthew toucht with a sense of Christ's Rich Love makes him a Royal Feast Obs farther How at this Feast many Publicanes and Sinners were present of Matthew's Acquaintance no doubt and probably invited by him that they might also see Christ and be Partakers of the same Grace with him Whence we Learn That Grace teaches a Man to desire and seek the Conversion of others and such as are truly brought home to Christ themselves will study and endeavour to bring in all their Acquaintance to Christ also 11 And when the Pharisees saw it they said unto his disciples Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners See here what a Grief it is to Wicked Men to see others brought in to Christ the Wicked Pharisees murmur repine and envy instead of admiring Christ's Condescension and adoring his Divine Goodness They censure him for conversing with Sinners but Christ tells them in the following Verses that he converst with them as their Physician not as their Companion 12 But when Jesus heard that he said unto them They that be whole need not a physician but they that are sick 13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth I will have mercy and not sacrifice for I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance As if our Lord had said With whom should the Physician converse but with his Sick Patients Now I am come into the World to do the Office of a kind Physician unto Men surely then I am to take all Opportunities to Help and Heal them They that are Sick need the Physician but for you Pharisees who are whole and well in your own Opinion and swell'd with a Conceit of your own Righteousness I have no Hopes of doing any Good upon you for such as think themselves whole desire no Physician 's Help Learn hence 1. That Sin is the Soul's Malady its Spiritual Disease and Sickness 2. That Christ is the Physician appointed by God for the Cure and Healing of this Disease and Malady 3. That there are Multitudes Spiritually Sick who yet think themselves sound and whole 4. That only such as are sensible of their Spiritual Sickness are Subjects capable of Cure and the Persons whom Christ is an Healing Physician to They that are whole need not the Physician but they that are sick 14 Then came to him the disciples of John saying Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft but thy disciples fast not 15 And Jesus said unto them Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them but the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them and then shall they fast 16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment and the rent is made worse 17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles else the bottles break and the wine runneth out and the bottles perish but they put new wine into new bottles and both are preserved The Pharisees themselves had a Contention with our Saviour in the foregoing Verses here they set on the Disciples of John to contend with him about Fasting alledging that the Disciples of John fasted often Christ's Disciples not at all Our Saviour owns it that his Disciples did not fast at present for two Reasons 1. Because it was Vnsuitable to them 2. Because it was Intolerable for them It was Vnsuitable to them because of Christ's Bodily Presence with them this made it a time of Joy and Feasting not of Mourning and Fasting While Christ the Bridegroom is with them they must feast and rejoyce when removed from them there will be Cause enough to fast and mourn Christ is the Bridegroom and his Church the Bride which he has Espoused and Married to himself and whilest his Spouse did enjoy his Bodily Presence with her it was a Day of Joy and Rejoycing to her and Mourning and Fasting was improper for her Again This Discipline of Fasting was at present Intolerable for the Disciples for they were raw green and tender and could no more bear the Severities of Religion at present than an old Garment could bear a piece of new stiff Cloth to be set into it which will make the Rent worse if the Garment comes to a stretch or no more than old Bottles can keep new Wine Thus says Christ My Disciples are young and green tender and weak newly converted they cannot bear the Severer Exercises of Religion presently but when I am ascended into Heaven I will send down my Holy Spirit which shall enable them to all the Duties which the Gospel injoyns Hence we may Gather That Young Converts till grown up to some Consistency in Grace must not be put upon the Severer Exercises of Religion but handled with that Tenderness and Gentleness which becomes the mild and merciful Dispensation of the Gospel Our Saviour here commends Prudence to his Ministers that they put not their People upon Duties beyond their Strength but consult their Progress in Christianity and the Proficiency they have made in Religion and treat them accordingly 18 While he spake these things unto them behold there came a certain ruler and worshipped him saying My daughter is even now dead but come and lay thy hand upon her and she shall live 19 And Jesus arose and followed him and so did his disciples The humble Posture in which this Man came unto Christ namely falling at his Foot and worshipping him which was not only a Sign of tender Affection towards his Daughter but an Evidence of his Faith in our Blessed Saviour yet his confining Christ's Power to his Bodily Presence and to the Touch of his Hand was a Token of the Weakness of his Faith Come says he and lay thy Hand upon her and she shall live As if Christ could not have Cured her without either coming to her or laying his Hand upon her Note here That altho' all that come to Christ are not alike strong in Faith yet our Blessed Redeemer refuses none that come unto him with a sincere Faith tho' in much weakness of Faith Jesus arose and followed him 20 And behold a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years came behind him and touched the hem of his garment 21 For she said within her self If I may but touch his garment I shall be whole 22 But Jesus turned him about and when he saw her he said Daughter be of good comfort thy faith hath made thee whole And the woman was made whole from that hour Whilst Christ is on his way to the Ruler's House a diseased Woman comes behind him touches his Garment and is instantly Healed The Virtue lay not in her Finger but in her Faith or rather in Christ which her Faith Instrumentally drew forth Obs here How Faith oft-times meets with a sweeter Welcom than it could expect This
holy Persons are not polluted by the Sins of such For to the Pure all things are Pure 21 And as they did eat he said Verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me What an astonishing Word was this One of you my Disciples shall betray me Can any Church on Earth expect Purity in all its Members when Christ's own Family of Twelve had a Traitor and a Devil in it Yet tho' it was very sad to hear that one should betray him it was Matter of Joy that it was but One One Hypocrite in a Congregation is too much but there is cause of rejoicing if there be no more But why did not Christ name Judas and say Thou art he that shalt betray me Doubtless to draw him to Repentance and to prevent giving Judas any Provocation Lord how sad is it for such as pretend Friendship to Christ and call themselves of his Family and Acquaintance who eat of his Bread and yet lift up the Heel against him 22 And they were exceeding sorrowful and began every one of them to say unto him Lord is it I Observe here 1. The Disciples Sorrow and next the Effect of that Sorrow Their Sorrow was as well it might exceeding great Well might innocent Disciples be overwhelm'd with Sorrow to hear that their Master should dye that he should dye by Treason that the Traitor should be one of themselves But tho' their Sorrow was great yet was the Effect of their Sorrow very good it wrought in them an holy Suspicion of themselves and caused every one to search himself and say Master is it I Thence Learn That it is possible for such secret Wickedness to lurk in our Hearts as we never suspected which Time and Temptation may draw forth in such a manner as we could not believe and therefore it is both wise and holy to suspect our selves and be often saying Lord is it I There is no better Preservative from Sin than to be jealous over our selves with a godly Jealousie Observe farther That tho' the Disciples Fear and Sorrow made them jealous and suspicious yet was it of themselves not of one another nay not of Judas himself Every one said Master is it I Not Master is it Judas Learn hence That true Sincerity and Christian Charity will make us more suspicious of our selves than of any other Person whatsoever It always hopes the best of others and fears the worst concerning our selves 23 And he answered and said He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish the same shall betray me 24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him but wo unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed it had been good for that man if he had not been born 25 Then Judas which betrayed him answered and said Master is it I He said unto him Thou hast said Here our Saviour acquaints his Disciples who it was that had designed his Death even he that dipped with him in the Dish or he to whom he gave the Sop. Observe The Traitor whom Christ less loved he has the Sop given to him the other Disciples whom Christ lov'd better had no such particular Boon Outward good Things are not always given to the Children of Men in Love but are sometimes bestowed in Displeasure there is no measuring Christ's Affection by Temporal Blessings no concluding either Love or Hatred by these things Observe farther how Judas could sit still and hear the Threats of Judgment denounced against himself without Concern he hears Christ say Wo to the Man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed and is no more blank'd than Innocence it self Resolved Sinners run on desperately in their wicked Courses and with open Eyes see and meet their own Destruction and are neither dismayed at it nor concerned about it Observe farther That this shameless Man had the Impudence to say to Christ Master is it I Our Saviour gives him a direct Affirmation Thou hast said Did not Judas think we blush and cast down his guilty Eyes and let fall his droâ—ping dead at so gauling an Intimation Nothing less Lord how does Obâ—urâ—cy in Sin steel the Brow and make it uncapable of all relenting Impressions Observe Lastly How Christ preferrs Non-Entity before Damnation It had been better for that Man he had never been born A Temporal miserable Being is not worse than no Being but an Eternal miserable Being is worse than no Being at all Eternal Misery is much worse than Non-Entity It had been better for Judas he had not been born than to commit such a Sin and lye under such Wrath and that everlasting Oh better to have no Being than not to have a Being in Christ 26 And as they were eating Jesus took bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it to the disciples and said Take eat this is my body 27 And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it 28 For this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins 29 But I say unto you I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom 30 And when they had sung an hymn they went out into the mount of Olives Immediately after the Celebration of the Passover follows the Institution of the Lord's Supper In which Observe 1. The Author of this new Sacrament Jesus took Bread Note thence That to institute a Sacrament is Christ's sole Prerogative it is the Churches Duty to celebrate the Sacraments but she has Power to make none This belongs only to Christ Observe 2. The Time of the Institution the Night before his Passion The Night before he was betrayed Jesus took Bread Learn thence That it is very necessary when Sufferings are approaching to have Recourse to the Table of the Lord which affords both an Antidote against Fear and is Restorative to Faith Observe here 3. The Sacramental Elements Bread and Wine Bread representing his Body and Wine his Blood Observe 4. The Ministerial Actions the Breaking of the Bread and the Blessing of the Cup. As to the Bread Jesus took it that is set it apart from common Use and separated it for Holy Ends and Purposes He blessed it that is prayed for a Blessing upon it and brake it thereby shadowing forth his Body broken upon the Cross And he gave it to his Disciples saving This broken Bread signifies my Body suddenly to be broken upon the Cross for your Redemption and Salvation Do this in Remembrance of me and of my Death As to the Cup Christ having set it apart by Prayer and Thanksgiving he commands his Disciples to drink all of it and subjoins a Reason for it For This is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for Remission of Sins That is The Wine in this Cup represents the shedding of my Blood by which the new Covenant betwixt God
rest in preaching and did with greater Zeal and Power sound forth the Doctrine of the Gospel like Thunder 20 And the multitude cometh together again so that they could not so much as eat bread 21 And when his friends heard of it they went out to lay hold on him for they said He is beside himself 22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said He hath Beelzebub and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils 23 And he called them unto him and said unto them in parables How can Satan cast out Satan 24 And if a kingdom be divided against it self that kingdom cannot stand 25 And if a house be divided against it self that house cannot stand 26 And if Satan rise up against himself and be divided he cannot stand but hath an end 27 No man can enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods except he will first bind the strong man and then he will spoil his house 28 Verily I say unto you All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the holy Ghost hath never forgiveness but is in danger of eternal damnation 30 Because they said He hath an unclean spirit Observe here 1. How truly our Lord's Word was verified John 4.34 My Meat is to do the Will of him that sent me for he and his Apostles going into an House to refresh themselves in their Hunger the People press'd upon him so fast to hear the Word that he regards not the satisfying of his Hunger but applies himself to instruct the People Lord how exemplary was thy Zeal and Diligence in preaching the everlasting Gospel to a lost World As it is instructive to may it be imitated and followed by all thy Ambassadors Obs 2. The rash Censure of our Saviour's Friends that is his Kinsmen concerning this Action in neglecting to eat Bread and suffering the Multitude thus unseasonably to press upon him They conclude he is besides himself Out of his right Mind and accordingly went out to lay hold upon him Learn hence 1. That the forward Zeal and Diligence of Christ and his Ministers in preaching the Gospel is accounted Madness and Frenzy by a Blind World But they may say with the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.13 If we be besides our selves it is unto God But who were the Persons that thus look'd upon our Saviour as besides himself Verily his own Kindred and Relations according to the Flesh Learn thence That oft-times the Servants of God meet with the strongest Temptations from and are most discouraged and molested by such as are their nearest Relations by Blood or Alliance This is a great Trial to find our Relations setting us back instead of helping us forward in the ways of Religion but we must bear it patiently knowing that not only others of God's Children but Jesus Christ his own and only Son did experience this Trial. Observe 3. The malicious and wicked Slander which the Scribes endeavoured to fix upon our Blessed Saviour namely That he was possest of the Devil and by Familiarity with him and Help from him cast forth Devils out of others Good God! how was thine own and only Son the Holy and Innocent Jesus censured slandered and falsly accused of the worst of Crimes of Gluttony of Blasphemy of Sorcery Can any of thy Children expect Freedom from the Persecution of the Tongue when Innocency it self could not protect thy Holy Son from Slander and false Accusation Obs 4. Our Saviour's Answer and just Apology for himself in which are contained 1. A Confutation of their Calumny and Slander 2. A Reprehension of the Scribes for the same 1. To confute this Slander our Saviour by several Arguments shews how absurd and unlikely it is that the Devil should cast out himself and any ways oppose or seek to destroy his own Kingdom As if our Saviour had said Is it likely that Satan would â—end me his Power to use it against himself Surely Satan will do nothing to weaken his own Interest or shake the Pillars of his own Kingdom Now if I have received my Power from Satan for destroying him and his Kingdom Then is Satan like a Family divided within it self and like a Kingdom divided against it self which can never stand but be brought to Desolation Our Saviour having sufficiently shewn that he did not work his Miracles by the Power of the Devil he next informs them from whence he had that Power even from God himself and accordingly he compares Satan to a strong Man well-armed with Weapons to defend his House and he compares himself clothed with Divine Power to one that is stronger than the strong Man So that the Argument runs thus The Devil is very strong and powerful and there is no Power but God's only that is stronger than his If then says Christ I were not assisted with a Divine Power I could never cast out this strong Man who reigns in the Bodies and Souls of Men as in his House for it must be a stronger than the strong Man that shall bind Satan and who is he but the God of Strength Learn hence That Christ's Divine Power is only Superiour to Satan's Strength He only can vanquish and over-rule him at his Pleasure and drive him out of that Possession which he holds either in the Bodies or in the Souls of Men. Obs 5. The Charge which our Saviour brings against the Scribes and Pharisees for Blaspheming his Divine Power in working Miracles He charges them with sinning the unpardonable Sin against the Holy Ghost All Sin and Blasphemy shall be forgiven but he that shall Blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never Forgiveness As if Christ had said All the Reproaches which you cast upon me as Man are pardonable as when you check me with the Poverty and Meaness of my Birth when you censure me for a Wine-bibber a Glutton a Friend and Companion of Sinners and the like unjust Crimes But when you Blaspheme that Divine Power by which all my Miracles are wrought and contrary to the Convictions of your own enlightned Minds maliciously ascribe all my Miracles to the Power of the Devil which were wrought indeed by the Power of the Holy Ghost this makes your Condition not only dangerous but desperate because you resist the last Remedy and oppose the best Means for your Conviction For what can be done more to convince you that I am the true and promised Messiah than to work so many Miracles before your Eyes to that Purpose Now if when you see these you will say it is not the Spirit of God that works these but the Power of the Devil as if Satan would conspire against himself and seek the Ruin of his own Kingdom there is no Way or Means left to convince you but you will continue in your Obstinacy and malicious Opposition to Truth to your unutterable and inevitable Condemnation 31 There came then his
give Entertainment to them and their Doctrine They were to denounce the Judgments of God against such Contemners by shaking off the Dust of their Feet for a Testimony against them Thence Learn That the Contempt of God's Ministers and especially of their Ministry and Doctrine is an odious and execrable Sin detested by God and which ought to be abhorred by Man Shake off the Dust of your Feet This Action was Emblematical signifying that Almighty God would in like manner shake them off as the vilest Dust Learn 2dly That where-ever the Word is preached it is for a Testimony either a Testimony for or against a People For if the Dust of a Minister's Feet bear Witness against the Despisers of the Gospel their Sermons much more Observe Lastly The dreadful Judgment denounced by our Saviour against the Contemners of the Apostle's Doctrine Verily it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that City Where Note 1. That there shall be a Day of Judgment 2. That in the Day of Judgment some Sinners shall fare worse than others 3. That of all Sinners the Condition of such will be saddest at the Day of Judgment who having lived under the Gospel have died after all in Impenitency and Infidelity Verily I say unto you it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than c. 14 And king Herod heard of him for his name was spread abroad and he said That John the Baptist was risen from the dead and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him 15 Others said That it is Elias And others said That it is a prophet or as one of the prophets 16 But when Herod heard thereof he said It is John whom I beheaded he is risen from the dead 17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John and bound him in prison for Herodias sake his brother Philip's wife for he had married her 18 For John had said unto Herod It is not lawful for thee to have thy brothers wife 19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him and would have killed him but she could not 20 For Herod feared John knowing that he was a just man and an holy and observed him and when he heard him he did many things and heard him gladly 21 And when a convenient day was come that Herod on his birth day made a supper to his lords high captains and chief estates of Galilee 22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in and danced and pleased Herod and them that sat with him the king said unto the damsel Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt and I will give it thee 23 And he sware unto her Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me I will give it thee unto the half of my kingdom 24 And she went forth and said unto her mother What shall I ask And she said The head of John the Baptist 25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king and asked saying I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist 26 And the king was exceeding sorry yet for his oaths sake and for their sakes which sat with him he would not reject her 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought and he went and beheaded him in the prison 28 And brought his head in a charger and gave it to the damsel and the damsel gave it to her mother 29 And when his disciples heard of it they came and took up his corps and laid it in a tomb The History of John the Baptist's Death is here recorded by this Evangelist as St. Matthew had done before Ch. 14.1 2. here we have these Particulars farther observable 1. The Character and Description of a zealous and faithful Minister He is one that deals plainly and durst tell the greatest Persons of their Faults Herod tho' a King is reproved by the Baptist for his Incest in taking his Brother's Wife The Crown and Scepter of Herod could not daunt the faithful Messenger of God There ought to meet in the Ministers of God both Courage and Impartiality Courage in fearing no Faces Impartiality in sparing no Sins Obs 2. Who it was that commanded the Baptist to be beheaded It was Herod the King whom he had reproved How sad is it when Kings who should be Nursing-fathers to the Church do prove the bloody Butchers of the Prophets of God The severest Persecutions which the Prophets of God have fallen under are usually occasioned by their telling great Men of their Crimes Men in Power are impatient of Reproof and imagine that their Authority gives them a License to transgress Obs 3. The time of the Baptist's Death It was upon Herod 's Birth-Day It was an ancient Custom among the Eastern Kings to celebrate their Birth Days Pharaoh did so Gen. 40. and Herod here but both with Blood yet these personal Stains do not make the Practice unlawful when we solemnize our Birth-Days with Thankfulness to our Creator and Preserver and recommend our selves by Prayer to his Gracious Providence and Protection for the Remainder of our Days This is an Act of Piety and Religion But Herod's Birth-Day was kept with Revelling with Feasting with Musick and Dancing All which were made sinful to him by the Circumstances which did attend it Great Men's Feasts and Frolicks are too often the Season and Occasion of much Sin Obs 4. The Instigators and Promoters of the Holy Baptist's Death Herodias and her Daughter Lord How deadly is the Malice of Soulâ— debauched with Lust Imprisonment would not satisfie them they must have his Blood Resolute Sinners who are mad upon their Lusts run furiously upon their Opposers and resolve to bear down all Opposition they meet with in the Gratification of their unlawful Desires Obs 5. With what great Reluctancy Herod consented to this Villany The King was exceeding sorry Wicked Men oft-times sin with a troubled and disturbeâ— Conscience there is a mighty Struggle betwixt their Reason and their Lusts but at last they master their Consciences and choose rather to gratifie their Lusts than to obey their Reason So did Herod here for notwithstanding his Sorrow he commands the Fact he sent and beheaded John in the Prison Obs 6. The Motives and Inducements which prevail'd with Herod to behead this Holy Man 1. The Conscience of his Oath Nevertheless for his Oath sake See his Hypocrisie he made Scruple of a rash Oath who made no Scruple of real Murther See here not only the Folly but great Impiety of rash Vows especially in ignorant Persons who think themselves obliged by them Whereas it is their Duty first to repent of them and then to break them as fast as they can St. Chrysostom says Herod might have spared the Baptist's Head and yet have kept his Oath to Herodias for he sware to give her only half of his Kingdom and his Head was worth more than his
acquaints us with another Miracle which our Saviour wrought in walking upon the Sea to his Disciples and herein we have Observable 1. His sending his Disciples to Sea he constrained them to go into a Ship not compelling them against their Wills but commanding them to take Ship and go before him No doubt the Disciples were loth to this unwilling to leave him and to go without him for they that have once tasted the Sweetness of Christ's Company and Acquaintance are hardly and difficultly drawn away from him Obs 2. Christ having dismist his Disciples and the Company retires into a Mountain to pray to teach us that when we address our selves to God in Duty to take all Helps Furtherances and Advantages for the doing of our Duty We must dismiss the Multitude before we address to God in Prayer we must send away the Multitude of worldly Cares worldly Thoughts worldly Concerns and Business when we would wait upon God in Duty Obs 3. The great Danger the Disciples were in and the Difficulties they were to encounter with They were in the midst of the Sea tossed with the Waves and the Winds were contrary and which was saddest of all Christ was absent The Wisdom of God sometimes suffers his Children and People not only to be distressed but greatly distressed with a variety of Distresses Obs 4. The seasonable Succour and Relief which Christ afforded his Disciples In the fourth Watch he came unto them walking upon the Waters It was not a stormy and tempestuous Sea that could separate betwixt him and them he that waded thro' a Sea of Blood and a Sea of Wrath to save his People will walk upon a Sea of Waters to succour and relieve them And the time was the fourth Watch about Four in the Morning when they had been many Hours conflicting with the Waves and in great Danger of their Lives To Teach us that Christ sometimes lengthens out the Trials of his Children before he delivers them but when they come to an Extremity that is the Season of his Succour Obs 5. How the Disciples took their Deliverer for their Destroyer When they saw Christ they cried out Their Fears were highest when their Deliverer and Deliverance was nearest God may be coming with Salvation and Deliverance to his People when they for the present cannot discern it Obs 6. When the Disciples were in the suddest Condition one word from Christ revives them it is a sufficient support in all our Afflictions to hear Christ's Voice speaking to us and to enjoy his favourable Presence with us Say but Oh Saviour it is I and then let Evils do their worst That one word it is I is sufficient to allay all Storms and to calm a Thousand Tempests Obs Lastly What Influence and Effect this Miracle had upon the Disciples They were sore amazed and beyond measure astonished they wonder at the ceasing of the Winds and calming of the Seas but they had forgotten the Miracles of the Loaves which was a great Stupidity and Dulness in them and argued Hardness of Heart and want of Consideration in them Learn thence That there is much Stupidity of Mind and Hardness of Heart remaining unmortified in the best of Saints whilst here in an imperfect State the work of Grace and Sanctification is but imperfect here 53 And when they had passed over they came into the land of Genesareth and drew to the shore 54 And when they were come out of the ship straightway they knew him 55 And ran thorow that whole region round about and began to carry about in beds those that were sick where they heard he was 56 And whithersoever he entered into villages or cities or country they laid the sick in the streets and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment and as many as touched him were made whole Here Observe 1. The unwearied Diligence and Industry of our Saviour in going about to do good He no sooner landeth but goeth to Genesareth and healeth their Sick It was the Great Business and Constant Employment of our Saviour's Life to Travel from Place to Place that he might he Useful and Beneficial to Mankind He went to those that could not and to those that would not come to him Obs 2. The People of Genesareth's Charity to their Sick Neighbours they send abroad to let all the Country know that Christ the great Physician was come amongst them There is a Duty of Love and Mercy which we owe unto those that are in Affliction and Misery namely To afford them the best Help Relief and Succour we are able both in their inward and outward Afflictions Obs 3. The Suddeness and Certainty of the Cure they touched him and were made whole The Healing Vercue lay not in their Fingers but in their Faith or rather in Christ whom their Faith Apprehended CHAP. VII 1 THen came together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the Scribes which came from Jerusalem 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled that is to say with unwashen hands they found fault 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews except they wash their hands oft eat not holding the tradition of the Elders 4 And when they come from the market except they wash they eat not And many other things there be which they have received to hold as the washing of cups and pots brazen vessels and of tables Then the Pharisees and Scribes asked him Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders but eat bread with unwashen hands 6 He answered and said unto them Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites as it is written This people honoureth me with their lips but their heart is far from me 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men 8 For laying aside the commandment of God ye hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups and many other such like things ye do 9 And he said unto them Full well ye reject the Commandment of God that ye may keep your own tradition 10 For Moses said honour thy father and thy mother and whoso curseth father or mother let him die the death 11. But ye say If a man shall say to his father or mother It is Corban that is to say a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me shall be free 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition which ye have delivered and many such like things ye do The former part of this Chapter acquaints us with a Conference or Disputation which our Saviour had with the Pharisees about their Superstitious Observation of the Jewish Traditions These Traditions were such Rites and Customs as were delivered to them by the Elders and Rulers of the Jewish Church in former times which Traditions they Valued and Regarded
that the Doctrine of the Cross be often preached to us that so being armed with Expectation of Sufferings before they come we may be the less dismayed and disheartned when they come Our Lord 's forewarning his Disciples so frequently of his Death and Sufferings was to fore-arm them with Expectation of his Sufferings and with Preparation for their own Observe farther Who were the Persons that were the instrumental Causes of our Saviour's Death they were both Jews and Gentiles The Son of Man shall be delivered to the chief Priests and they shall deliver him to the Gentiles Learn hence That as both Jews and Gentiles had a hand in the Death and Sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ so are they by Faith capable of an Interest in the Merit of his Death and in the Virtue and Efficacy of his Sufferings Christ offered up his Blood to God on the Behalf of them that shed it 35 And James and John the sons of Zebedee came unto him saying Master we would that thou shouldst do for us whatsoever we shall desire 36 And he said unto them What would ye that I should do for you 37 They said unto him Grant unto us that we may sit one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy glory 38 But Jesus said unto them Ye know not what ye ask can ye drink of the cup that I drink of and be baptized with the baptism that I am paptized with 39 And they said unto him We can And Jesus said unto them Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized 40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared 41 And when the ten heard it they began to be much displeased with James and John Observe here 1. The ambitious Suit and Request of the Two Apostles James and John for Dignity and Superiority Grant that we may sit one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy Glory or in thy Kingdom Where Observe That by Christ's Kingdom and Glory they understood an Earthly Temporal Kingdom for of that sort the Jews did expect the Kingdom of the Messiah should be and the Disciples themselves were tainted with the common Errors Learn hence That Ambition and inordinate Desire of worldly Honour and Dignity is a Sin very natural and incident to the best of Men Who can wonder to see some Sparks of Ambition in the holiest of God's Ministers when Christ's own Apostles were not free from aspiring Thoughts even when they lay in the Bosom of our Saviour Obs 2. Both the Unseasonabless and Unreasonableness of this Request made by James and John Christ speaks of his Sufferings to them and they sue for Dignity and great Places from him In optimis nonnihil est pessimè The Holiest the Wisest and the Best of Men are not wholly free from passionate Infirmities Who could have thought that when our Saviour had been preaching the Doctrine of the Cross to his Disciples that they should at the same time be seeking and suing to him for Secular Dignity and Honour Preheminence and Power But the best of Men are but Men at the best none are in a State of Perfection on this side Heaven Obs 3. Our Saviour's Answer to the Disciple's ambitious Request and the course which he takes to cool their Ambition he tells them they must expect here not Crowns on their Heads but a Cross on their Backs they must first taste of his Sufferings before they partake of his Glory and those that suffer most for Christ shall partake of the highest Dignity and Glory from him Obs 4. The presumptuous Confidence which the Apostles had of their own Strength and Ability for Sufferings Are ye able says Christ to drink of my Cup We are able say the Disciples Alas poor Men when it came to the Trial they all cowardly forsook him and fled Those that are least acquainted with Sufferings are usually the most confident Undertakers See on Matth. 20.22 23. 42 But Jesus calleth them unto him and saith unto them Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them and their great ones exercise authority upon them 43 But so shall it not be amongst you but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all 45 For even the son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many To the end that our Blessed Saviour might effectually quench those unhappy Sparks of Ambition which were kindled in his Apostles Minds He tells them That Supremacy and Dominion belong to secular Princes not to Gospel Ministers who ought to carry themselves with Humility and Condescention one towards another Not that Christ directs to a Parity and Equality amongst his Ministers But only condemns the Affectation of Superiority and the Love of Preheminency Learn hence 1. That the Ministers of Christ ought to be so far from affecting a Domination and Superiority over their Brethren that in Imitation of their Lord and Master they ought to account themselves Fellow-Servants The Son of Man came not to be ministred unto but to minister Obs 2. That such Ministers as do love and affect Preheminence and Superiority are most unfit for it and they deserve it best who seek it least 3. That the Dignity and Honour which the Ministers of Christ should chiefly yea only affect is in another World and the way to be greatest and highest there is to be low and humble mean in our own Eyes and little in our own Esteem See Note on Matth. 20.28 46 And they came to Jericho and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people blind Bartimeus the Son of Timeus sat by the high way side begging 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth he began to cry out and say Jesus thou son of David have Mercy on me 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace but he cried the more a great deal Thou Son of David have mercy on me 49 And Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called and they call the blind man saying unto him Be of good comfort rise he calleth thee 50 And he cast away his garment rose and came to Jesus 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him what wilt thou that I should do unto thee The blind Man said unto him Lord that I might receive my sight 52 And Jesus said unto him Go thy way thy faith hath made thee whole And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way This Chapter concludes with the recital of a famous Miracle wrought by our Blessed Saviour upon Blind Bartimeus in the sight of
the holy Ordinances of God which they have no right whilst such to partake of 2. That the presence of such persons doth pollute the Ordinance only to themselves holy persons are not polluted by their Sins therefore ought not to be discouraged from coming by their presence there Observe 2. What a surprizing and astonishing word it was which dropt from our Saviour's Mouth amongst his Disciples One shall betray me yea one of you shall betray me Can any Church upon Earth expect purity in all its Members when Christ's own family of Twelve had a Traitor and a Devil in it Yet tho' it was very sad to hear of one it was matter of joy to understand that there was but one One Hypocrite in a Congregation is too much but there is cause of rejoycing if there be no more Observe 3. Christ did not name Judas and say Thou O perfidious Judas art the Traitor but one of you shall betray me Doubtless it was to draw him to Repentance and to prevent the giving him any provocation Lord how sad is it for any of thy Family who pretend friendship to Thee to conspire with thine Enemies against Thee For any that eat of thy Bread to lift up their heel against Thee Observe 4. The Disciples sorrow upon these words of Christ and the effect of that Sorrow Their Sorrow was as well it might exceeding great Well might innocent Disciples be over-whelm'd with Sorrow to hear that their Master should die that he should die by Treason that the Traitor should be one of themselves But though their Sorrow was great yet was the effect of their Sorrow very good it wrought in them an holy suspicion of themselves and caused every one to search himself and say Master is it I Learn hence That it is possible for such secret wickedness to lodge in the heart as we never suspected till Time and Temptation drew it forth None of the Disciples suspected nay Judas himself never apprehended that depth of iniquity and hypocrisy which was found lodging in him Yet Note that though the Disciples were jealous and suspicious yet was it of themselves not of one another nay not of Judas himself every one said Master is it I not Master is it Judas True Sincerity and Christian Charity will make us more suspicious of our selves then of any other it hopes the best of others and fears the worst of our selves Observe 5. That though Judas sees himself pointed at by our Saviour and hears the dreadful Threatnings denounced against him that it had been better for him that he had ne-never been Born yet he is no more Blank'd then innocence it self Resolute Sinners run on desperately in their Evil Courses and with open Eyes see and meet their own Destruction without being either dismayed at it or Concerned about it This Shameless Man had the Impudence to say to our Blessed Saviour Master is it I Our Saviour gives him a direct Answer Thou sayest it Did not Judas think we Blush extreamly cast down his guilty Eyes and let fall his drooping Head at so galling an intimation Nothing less we read of nothing like it Lord How does obduracy in Sin steel the Brow and make it uncapable of all Relenting impressions Observe Lastly How our Saviour prefers Non-entity before Damnation It had been better for that Man he had never been born A Temporal miserable Being is not worse than no Being but Eternal Misery is much worse than Non-entity Better to have no Being then not to have a Being in Christ It had been better for Judas that he had never been Born than to lye under Everlasting Wrath. 22 And as they did eat Jesus took Bread and blessed and brake it and gave to them and said Take eat this is my Body 23 And he took the Cup and when he had given Thanks he gave it to them and they all drank of it 24 And he said unto them This is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many 25 Verily I say unto you I will drink no more of the Fruit of the Vine until that day that I drink it new in the Kingdom of God 26 And when they had sung an Hymn they went out into the Mount of Olives Immediately after the Celebration of the Passover our Lord Institutes his Holy Supper in which Institution we have Observable The Author the Time the Elements and Ministerial Actions Observe here 1. The Author of this new Sacrament Jesus took Bread Note thence That to Institute a Sacrament is the sole Prerogative of Jesus Christ The Church has no Power to make new Sacraments it is only her Duty to Celebrate those which her Saviour has made Observe 2. The Time of the Institution the Night before his Passion The Night in which he was Betrayed Jesus took Bread Learn thence That it is very necessary when Sufferings are approaching to have Recourse to the Table of the Lord which affords both an Antidote against Fear and is a Restaurative to our Faith Observe 3. The Sacramental Elements Bread and Wine Bread representing the Body and Wine the Blood of our dear Redeemer Observe 4. The Ministerial Actions The Breaking of the Bread and the Blessing of the Cup as to the Bread Jesus took it that is set it apart from Common Use and separated it for Holy Ends and Purposes He Blessed it that is Prayed for a Blessing upon it and Brake it thereby shadowing forth his Body broken upon the Cross and he gave it to his Disciples saying This broken Bread signifies my Body suddenly to be broken upon the Cross for the Redemption and Salvation of a lost World Do this in Remembrance of my Death As to the Cup Christ having set it apart by Prayer and Thanksgiving he Commands his Disciples to drink all of it and accordingly they all drink of it says this Evangelist and our Saviour gives his Reason for it v. 24. For this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for Remission of sins that is the Wine in this Cup represents the shedding of my Blood by which the New Covenant betwixt GOD and Man is Ratified and Confirmed Whence we Gather That every Communicant hath as undoubted a Right to the Cup as to the Bread in the Lord's Supper Drink ye all of this says Christ therefore to deny the Cup to the Common People is Sacriledge and directly contrary to our Saviour's Institution After the Celebration was over our Saviour and his Disciples Sang an Hymn as the Jews were wont to do at the Passover the six Eucharistical Psalms from the 113th to the 119th Psalm From Christ's Example we gather how suitable it is to sing a Psalm after the Celebration of the Lord's Supper How fit is it that God be Glorified in his Church by singing of Psalms and in particular when the Lord's Supper is Celebrated When they had Sung an Hymn they went into the Mount of Olives 27 And Jesus saith unto them All ye shall
Pharisees and Sadduces whom he gives first a quick and cutting compellation oh Generation of Vipers then a sharp and severe Reprehension who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come And last of all a seasonable Exhortation bring forth therefore fruits meet for Repentance As if he had said O ye Pharisees and worst of Men I perceive by your coming hither some body has Alarm'd you with the Notices of that dreadful Vengeance that is coming upon this Generation to prevent which you pretend Repentance of your Sins but let me see by your Actions that you are not only demure but sincere Penitents let me see the Fruits of your Repentance in the daily Course of your Conversations Learn here 1. That the Condition of proud Pharisees pretending and false hearted Hypocrites tho' very dangerous yet is not hopeless and desperate and their Salvation tho' the worst of Men must not be despaired of St. John reproves them for their Sin but yet encourages their Repentance 2. That sincere Repentance is not a barren thing but does constantly bring forth Fruits answerable to its Nature as Faith without Works so Repentance without Fruits is dead also The genuine Fruits of Repentance are humility of Heart and holiness of Life Obs Lastly The cautionary Direction which he gives to these Hypocrites not to rest in their external Priviledges Think not to say within your selves we have Abraham to our Father glory not in this that you are the only visible Church that God has upon Earth for God can out of the obdurate Gentile World raise up a People to himself take them into Covenant with himself and cast you out Learn hence 1. That men are exceeding apt to boast of and glory in their external Priviledges and to place Religion most in those things wherein God places it least How did the Jews Glory in their fleshly descent from Abraham as if God were ty'd to Abraham's Line and could have no People if he had not them for his People 2. That it is a vain thing to expect exemption from the Judgments of God because of outward Priviledges enjoyed by God If we be not born again of the Spirit it will avail us nothing to be Born of Abraham's Flesh If Abraham's Faith be not found in our Hearts it will be no advantage to us that Abraham's Blood is running in their Veins Think not to say we have Abraham to our Father 9 And now also the Ax is laid unto the root of the trees every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewen down and cast into the fire St. John having preacht the Doctrine of Repentance in the foregoing Verses he backs it with a powerful Argument in this Verse drawn from the certainty and severity of that Judgment which would come upon them if they continued in their sins Now is the Ax laid to the root of the Tree Learn 1. That it is not unsuitable for Gospel-preachers to press Repentance and Holiness of Life upon their Hearers from Arguments of Terrour John does it here and Christ elsewhere 2. That those whose Hearts are not pierced with the Sword of God's Word shall certainly be cut down and destroyed by the Ax of his Judgments Observe further that forasmuch as the sin here specified is a Sin of Omission every Tree which bringeth not forth good fruit as well as that which bringeth forth evil Fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire We learn that Sins of Omission are certainly damning as well as Sins of Commission The neglects of Duty are as dangerous and damnable as the Acts of Sin Such Trees as stand in God's Orchard the Church and bring forth no good Fruit are markt out as Fewel for the Devil's Fire 10 And the people asked him saying What shall we do then 11 He answereth and saith unto them he that hath two coats let him impart to him that hath none and he that hath meat let him do likewise The Baptist having prest his Hearers to bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance here they inquire of him what Fruits they should bring forth he tells them first the fruits of Charity and Mercy he that hath two Coats let him give to him that hath none This is not to be understood strictly as if the Command required us to give the Cloaths off our Back to every one that wanted them But it directs those that have the things of this Life in abundance to distribute and communicate to those that are in want Learn hence that an extensive Liberality and diffusive Charity in distributing such things as we can well spare towards the Relief of others Necessities is an excellent fruit of Repentance and a good proof and evidence of the truth and sincerity of it Let him that hath two Coats impart to him that hath none 12 Then came also Publicans to be baptized and said unto him master What shall we do 13 And he he said unto them exact no more then that which is appointed you The Publicans were Persons imployed by the Romans to gather the Tax or Tribute among the Jews who were now Tributaries to the Romans and paid them a publick Revenue These Publicans were great Oppressers exacting more then was the Emperor's due therefore we find Publicans and Sinners so often joyned together in the Gospel These men inquiring what Fruits of Repentance they should bring forth St. John directs them to acts of Justice â—xact not Where Note 1. That acts of Justice and Righteousness as well as of Charity and Mercy are real Fruits of sincere Repentance Obs 2. John doth not condemn the Office but caution the Officer If Magistrates may impose Taxes they may doubtless appoint Officers to Collect those Taxes Christian Charity then must always teach us to distinguish betwixt Calling and the Crime We must not Censure any Officer either in Church or State for the sake of their Male-Administration who are imploy'd in that Office 14 And the Soldiers also demanded of him saying and what shall we do and he said unto them do violence to no man neither accuse any falsely and be content with your Wages Observe here what a general Resort there was of all sorts of Persons to John's Ministry Pharisees Sadduces Publicans Soldiers these last here inquire of him what they should do to gain Acceptance with God he answers do no violence defraud no man of his own by false Accusation but be content with the Allowance assigned for your Maintenance Where it is 1. strongly supposed that Soldiers are insolent Oppressors making no conscience of injustice false Accusation and violent Oppression yet 2. the Office and Employment of a Soldier is not condemned but regulated he does not bid them cast away their Arms abandon War appear no more as Military Men in the Field but manage their Employment inoffensively Whence we Learn That in some Cases and under some Circumstances for Christians to make War is both lawful and necessary To make a War Lawful
we see the very Devils have a sort of unity amongst themselves and in their malicious and mischievous Designs against Mankind they are as one Oh how happy were it if good Men were as united in their Designs and endeavours for the Glory of God and the good of one another as Devils conspire and contrive against them Observe 6. The request which the Devils make to Christ we beseech thee torment us not From whence we may gather 1. That there are Torments appointed to the Spiritual Nature of Evil Angels 2. That the Evil Angels or Devils are not so full of Torment as they shall be altho' they are as full of sin and discontent as they can be there will be a time when their Torments shall be encreased therefore they pray Torment us not before the time that is do not encrease our Torments before the appointed time of their Encrease Observe 7. The Devils Request for Permission and Leave to go into the Herd of Swine Where Note 1. The Devils malice he will hurt the poor Beasts rather then not hurt at all 2. his powerful Restraint he cannot hurt a poor Pig without a Permission Suffer us to enter Satan's malice indeed is infinite but his power is bounded it is potestas sub potestate a power under a power if he could not hurt the Swine much less can he afflict the children of Men without Leave Obs 8. How Satans request is yielded to by our Saviour He suffered them to go into the Swine not to gratify their desire in doing mischief but first hereby Christ shewed his Power over the Devils that they could not Act without his Permission and Leave next to shew how great the malice and power of the Devil is if not restrained and Lastly That the Miracle of casting out so many Devils might appear to be the greater Learn hence That sometimes Almighty God for wise Ends and just Causes doth suffer the Devil to enjoy his Desire in doing mischief unto the Creatures Jesus said unto them go Observe 9. What a bad effect this Miracle had upon the Minds of the Gadarens instead of Believing and owning Christ's Divine Power the loss of their Swine enrages them and makes them desire Christ's departure from them Learn That Carnal Hearts prefer their Swine before their Saviour and had rather lose Christ's Presence then their Worldly Profit They besought him to depart from them Sad is the condition of those from whom Christ departs more sad the Condition of such who say unto Christ depart but most sad the condition of them who beseech and intreat Christ to depart from them thus did the Gadarens here and we do not read that ever Christ returned more to them Observe 10. How desirous the possessed Man was to continue with Christ after he was come to himself He prayed that he might be with him This he might desire partly to testify his Thankfulness to Christ partly out of fear of being Repossessed again by Satan or perhaps to have the opportunity of hearing Christ's Doctrine and seeing his Miracles for such as have once tasted that the Lord is Gracious and experienced the pleasure and profit of Christ's Company are very desirous of the continuance of it and exceeding loth to part with it However our Saviour at this time did not think fit to suffer him knowing that more Glory would redound to God by publishing this Miracle to his Friends Christ expects after eminent Deliverances wrought for us that we should be the publishers of his Praises and declare to all far and near the great and wonderful things which he has done for us 41 And behold there came a man named Jairus and he was a Ruler of the Synagogue and he fell down at Jesus Feet and besought him that he would come into his house 42 For he had one only Daughter about twelve years of Age and she lay a dying but as he went the People thronged him Obs here 1. The Person described who came to Christ on behalf of his sick Daughter by his Name Jairus by his office a Ruler of the Synagogue by his Gesture he fell down at Jesus Feet this Gesture of his was not only a Sign of tender affection in him towards his Daughter but also an evidence of his Faith in our Blessed Saviour He believed him either to be God or an extraordinary Man who had a miraculous power of healing Observe 2. How readily Christ complies with Jairus his Request Jesus went with him Altho' his Faith was but weak yet our Saviour doth not reject him or deny his Suit Oh how ready should we be to go to Christ in all our Distresses who is so ready to hear and so forward to help us if we seek him in Sincerity tho our Faith be weak and feeble Observe 3. The great Humility of our Blessed Saviour in suffering himself to be thronged by poor People much people followed him and thronged him Oh humble and lowly Saviour how free was thy Conversation from Pride and Haughtiness how willing to converse with the meanest of the People for their advantage Christ did not only suffer them to come near him but even to throng him Let not then the greatest Persons upon Earth despise or disdain the poorest of the People but look upon some with an eye of favour upon others with an eye of pity upon none with an eye of Contempt 43 And a woman having an issue of Blood twelve years which had spent all her Living upon Physicians neither could be healed of any 44 Came behind him and touched the Border of his Garment and immediately her Issue of blood stenched 45 And Jesus said who touched me when all deny'd Peter and they that were with him said Master the multitude throng thee and press thee and sayest thou who touched me 46 And Jesus said some body hath touched me for I perceive that vertue is gone out of me 47 And when the Woman saw that she was not hid she came trembling and falling down before him she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately 48 And he said unto her Daughter be of good comfort thy Faith hath made thee whole go in peace As our Saviour was on his way to Jairus his House a Diseased Woman cometh behind him toucheth his Cloaths and is presently healed The virtue lay not in her Finger but in her Faith or rather in Christ which her Faith instrumentally drew forth Observe 1. The Diseased Woman one with a bloody Flux let Women here take Notice of the Miseries which the sin of the first Woman brought upon all Women amongst which this is one that it has made their Bodies subject to preternatural Issues and Fluxes of Blood Observe 2. The long continuance of this Disease Twelve years it pleases God to lay long and tedious Afflictions upon some of his Children in this Life and particularly to keep some of them a very
denounced against the Pharisees for cheating and deceiving the people with an outward shew and appearance of Piety and Religion They were like Graves and Sepulchres grown over with Grass which tho' they held dead mens Bones yet the putrefaction not outwardly appearing Men walked unawares over them and so were polluted by them intimating that the inward Rottenness and filthy Corruptions of the Pharisees not appearing unto Men the people were easily deceived by outward shews of Pharisaical Sanctity and so fell into a dangerous imitation of them Learn thence That the great design of Hypocrisy is to cheat the World with an empty shew of Piety the Hypocrites Ambition is to be thought good not to be so Learn 2. That nothing is more fatally dangerous to the Souls of Men and draws Persons to an admiration and imitation of hypocritical Professors like their outward shews of Sanctity and their extraordinary appearances of Devotion and Piety This it was that gained the Pharisees such a veneration and esteem among the people that it became a proverb amongst them If but two men went to Heaven the one must be a Pharisee but their counterfeit piety being double iniquity they did receive for it double Damnation 45 Then answered one of the Lawyers and said unto him Master thus saying thou reproachest us also 46 And he said Wo unto you also ye Lawyers for ye lade men with Burthens grievous to be born and ye your selves touch not the Burthens with one of your Fingers The former Woes were denounced by our Saviour against the Pharisees who had their Name from an Hebrew word which signifies to separate because they were persons separated and set apart for studying the Law of God and teaching it to others The next Wo is here denounced against the Lawyers that is the Scribes of the Law of which there were two sorts the Civil Scribe and the Ecclesiastical Scribe the Civil Scribe was a publick Notary or Register of the Synagogue employed in writing Bills of Divorce and Sentences in the Phylacteries The Ecclesiastical Scribe was an expounder of the Scripture an interpreter of the Law Men of great Learning and Knowledge whose Decrees and Interpretations the Pharisees strictly observed this Lawyer here insolently calls our Saviour's Reproof a Reproach however our Saviour who never feared the Face or regarded the person of any Man gives them their portion and lets them know wherein they were faulty as well as the Pharisees and accordingly pronounces a Wo unto them also for a threefold Crime 1. For their laying heavy Burthens upon others Shoulders which they would not touch with one of their own Fingers These Burthens in general were a rigid exaction of Obedience to the whole Ceremonial Law and in particular the Burthen of Traditions certain austerities and severities which they imposed upon the people but would not undergo any part of them themselves in vain do we hope to oblige our Hearers to follow those Rules of Life which we refuse or neglect to put in practise our selves 47 Wo unto you for ye build the Sepulchres of the Prophets and your fathers killed them 48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the Deeds of your fathers for they indeed killed them and ye build their Sepulchres 49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God I will send them Prophets and Apostles and some of them they shall slay and Persecute 50 That the blood of all the Prophets which was shed from the foundation of the World may be required of this Generation 51 From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias which perished between the Altar and the Temple Verily I say unto you it shall be required of this Generation The second Crime which Christ reproves in these Men is their grand Hypocrisy in pretending great honour to the Saints departed building their Tombs and garnishing their Sepulchres declaiming against their Fathers impiety that had they lived in their days they would not have been partakers with them in their sins Now their Hypocrisâ— appeared in three Particulars 1. In that they continued in their own wickedness and yet commended the Saints departed they magnify the Saints but multiply their sins and instead of imitating their Vertues they content themselves with garnishing their Sepulchres 2. In professing great Respect to the Dead Saints and at the same time Persecuting the Living Palpable Hypocrisy and yet as gross as it is it prevails to this day The Church of Rome who magnifies Martyrs Canonizes Saints departed have yet added to their number by shedding of their Blood 3. In taking false measures of their Love to the Saints departed from their Building their Tombs and garnishing their Sepulchres whereas the best Evidence of our Love to them is the imitating their Vertues and cherishing their Followers 'T is gross Hypocrisy to pay respect to the Relicks of Saints and Veneration to their Images and at the same time to persecute and hate their Followers From the whole Note 1. That the World has all along Loved dead Saints better than living ones Mortui non mordent the dead Saints Example how bright soever is not so scorching and troublesome at a distance and he himself stands no longer in other Mens Light whereas the Living Saints Example is a cutting Reproof to Sin and Vice Note 2. That there is a certain Civility in humane Nature which leads Men to a just Commendation of the Dead and to a due estimation of their Worth The Pharisees here tho' they persecuted the Prophets whilst alive yet did they pretend to a mighty Veneration for their Piety and Vertue after they were dead and thought no Honour too great to be done unto them Note 3. That it is the greatest Hypocrisy imaginable to pretend to love Goodness and at the same time to hate and persecute good Men. These Pharisees and Lawyers pretended high to Piety and Religion and at the same time killed the Prophets Note 4. That the highest Honour we can pay to the Saints departed is not by raising Monuments and Building Tombs to their Memory but by a careful imitation of their Piety and Vertue following the Holiness of their Lives and their Patience and Constancy at their Death Lastly Learn That it is a Righteous thing with God to punish Children for the impiety of their Parents when they walk in their ungodly Parents Footsteps upon you shall come the Blood of all the Prophets from the Blood of Abel to the Blood of Zacharias yet this must be understood of Temporal Evils not of Eternal Punishments no Man for his Fathers Sins shall lye down in Everlasting Burnings as our Fathers Faith will not let us into Heaven so neither will their Impiety shut us into Hell At the Day of Judgment every Man shall be separately considered according to his own Deeds 52 Wo unto you Lawyers for ye have taken away the Key of Knowledge ye entered not in your selves and them that were entering in ye hindered The last Wo pronounced by
into prison 59 I tell thee thou shalt not depart thence till thou hast paid the very last mite In these words our Saviour advises Persons to use the same prudence in Divine Matters which they use in Worldly affairs and the same endeavours to seek Reconciliation with God which they put forth in order to their being reconciled unto men for in such a Case when they see an Action bringing against them wherein they are sure to be Cast their best way is presently to seek to reconcile their Adversary and make their peace with him that so they may escape the Threatning Danger In like manner should they do here lay hold upon the present opportunity of Mercy now offered to them because 't is a fearful thing to dye without Reconciliation with God Note here 1 That GOD and Man were once Friends 2. That GOD and Man are now Adversaries 3. That Man and not GOD is averse to Reconciliation and Agreement 4. That it is the Wisdom the Duty and Interest of fallen Man speedily to accept of Terms of Peace and Reconciliation with God 5. That an eternal Prison will be their portion who dye in their Enmity against God CHAP. XIII 1 THere were present at that Season some that told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their Sacrifices 2 And Jesus answering said unto them suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things 3 I tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish There were two eminent Sects amongst the Jews in our Saviour's Time namely the Herodians and Galileans the former stood stifly for having Tribute paid to the Roman Emperour whose Subjects the Jews now were but the Galileans so called probably from Judas of Galilee mentioned Acts 5.37 opposed this Tribute and often raised Rebellion against the Roman Power Pilate takes the opportunity when these Galileans were come up at the Passover and Sacrificing in the Temple to fall upon them with his Soldiers and barbarously mingled their own blood with the blood of the Sacrifices which they offered neither the Holiness of the place the Temple nor the Sacredness of the Action Sacrificing could divert Pilate from this barbarous Impiety Our Saviour understanding that some of his Hearers then present concluded these Persons to be the greatest Sinners because they were the greatest Sufferers he corrects their error-in this matter and assures them that the same or the like Judgments did hang over all other Sinners as well as these if timely and sincere Repentance prevented not Learn hence 1. That a violent and sudden Death is no argument of God's disfavour 2. That notwithstanding Persons are exceeding prone to pass rash Censures and an uncharitable Judgment upon such as dye suddenly especially if they dye violently 3. That none justly can conclude such Persons to have been the greatest Sinners who have been in this World the most signal Sufferers 4. That the best use we can make of such instances and examples of God's Severity is to Examine our own lives and by a speedy Repentance to prevent our own perdition I tell you nay c. 4 Or those eighteen upon whom the Towerin Siloam fell and slew them think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem 5 I tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish Another instance our Saviour gives of persons that fell by a sudden Death even eighteen that were slain by the fall of a Tower in Jerusalem he takes occasion from thence to caution the Jews that they do not rigidly censure the Sufferers or conclude that those have wrought the most Sin who are brought to most shame Oh how ready are we to judge of mens Eternal Condition by their present Visitation and to conclude them the greatest Offenders upon whom God inflicts the most visible Punishments Our Saviour forbids this and advises every one to look at home Telling the whole Body of the Jews that if they did not Repent they should all likewise perish and that two ways 1. Certitudine poenae by as certain a punishment as these did 2. ye shall likewise perish Similitudine poenae by the same kind of punishment you shall perish by the ruine of your whole City as they did by the downfal of that Tower if a timely and sincere Repentance doth not intervene Learn hence That we must judge of Persons by their Conversation towards God not by God's Dispensations towards them all things here fall alike to all a sudden Death yea a violent Death as it comes upon many men so it may come upon the best of Men as well as others think not says Christ that these eighteen were sinners above all that dwelt in Jerusalem because they suffered such things I tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish Teaching us that Repentance is the only way and means to prevent punishment here and perishing hereafter Except ye repent ye shall perish 6 He spake also this parable A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his Vineyard and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none 7 Then said he to the dresser of the Vineyard Behold these three years I come seeking fruit on this Fig-tree and find none cut it down why cumbereth it the Ground Our Blessed Saviour that he might excite the Jews to the practice of the last mentioned Duty of Repentance sets forth his Long-suffering with them and Forbearance towards them by the Parable of a Fig-tree whom the Master of the Vineyard had long expected Fruit from but found none Where Note 1. The great Care that God takes to make poor sinners Happy he plants them in his Church as in a Vineyard that by the Cultivating Care of his Ministers and the fructifying influences of his Spirit they may be fruitful in good Works Note 2. That God keeps an exact account or Reckoning what means and advantages every place and people have enjoyed These three years have I come seeking fruit alluding to the three years of his own Ministry amongst them God keeps a Memorial how many years the Gospel has been amongst a People how many Ministers they have had and how long with them what pathetical Exhortations what pressing admonitions what cutting Reproofs all are upon the file and must be accounted for Learn 3. That God expects suitable and proportionable Fruit from a People according to the time of their standing in his Vineyard and answerable to the Cost and Culture which his Ministers have expended upon them and the pains they have taken with them Note farther 4. That altho' God doth and justly may expect Fruit from such as are planted in his Vineyard to wit the Christian Church yet he expects it with much Patience and Forbearance waiting from year to year to see if time will work amendment These three years I have come seeking fruit and found none Lastly If after all the Cost that God
confirmed therein with an utter impossibility of losing that Happiness The Wicked who would not submit to Christ's Authority shall not be able to resist his Power They that would not suffer Christ to Reign over them they shall at the last Day be brought forth and slain before him These mine Enemies that would not that I c. 28 And when he had thus spoken he went Before ascending up to Jerusalem 29 And it came to pass when he was come nigh to Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount called the Mount of Olives he sent two of his Disciples 30 Saying Go ye into the Village over-against you in the which at your entering ye shall find a Colt tyed whereon yet never man sate loose him and bring him hither 31 And if any man ask you why do you loose him thus shall ye say unto him Because the Lord hath need of him 32 And they that were sent went their way and found even as he had said unto them 33 And as they were loosing the Colt the Owners thereof said unto them Why loose ye the Colt 34 And they said The Lord hath need of him 35 And they brought him to Jesus and they cast their Garments upon the Colt and they set Jesus thereon 36 And as he went they spread their Cloaths in the way 37 And when he was come nigh even now at the descent of the mount of Olives the whole multitude of the Disciples began to rejoyce and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen 38 Saying Blessed be the King that cometh in the Name of the Lord peace in Heaven and glory in the Highest 39 And some of the Pharisees from among the Multitude said unto him Master rebuke thy Disciples 40 And he answered and said unto them I tell you That if these should hold their peace the stones would immediately cry out Our Lord as is Noted before was now upon his last Journey to Jerusalem where he was to shed his Blood and lay down his Life for the Redemption and Salvation of a lost World and it is Observable what a double Demonstration he gives of his great Willingness and Forwardness to go up to Jerusalem there to dye 1. Both St. Luke here and St. Mark Ch. 10.32 tells us That he went before the Company leading the way when he went to Suffer Lord With what Alacrity and holy Chearfulness didst thou manage the great Work of Man's Redemption None ever went so willingly to a Crown as thou to thy Cross 2. Our Saviour who all his Life Travelled like a poor Man on Foot now he goes up to Jerusalem to dye for us he will Ride to shew his great Forwardness to lay down his Life for us but what was the Beast he rode upon an Asses Colt to Fulfil that Prophecy Zach. 9.9 Tell ye the Daughter of Sion behold your King cometh riding upon an Ass yea it was a Colt upon which never man rode before to let us see how the most unruly and untamed Creatures become obedient and obsequious to Christ and render themselves serviceable to him at his pleasure It was also a borrowed Ass taken without the Owners Leave whereby our Saviour's Right to all the Creatures was manifested and accordingly he bids his Disciples tell the Owner That the Lord had need of him not your Lord or our Lord but the Lord that is he that is Lord of the whole Earth whose are the Cattel upon a thousand Hills Here Note What a clear and full Demonstration Christ gave of his Divine Nature of his Omnisciency in fore-seeing and fore-telling the Event of his Omnipotency in inclining the Heart and over-ruling the will of the Owner to let the Colt go and of his Sovereignty that as he was Lord of the Creatures he could command and call for their Service whenever he needed them The Colt being brought and our Saviour set thereon Observe next the Actions of the Multitude in Acknowledging Christ to be their King they spread their Cloaths in the way casting their Garments on the Ground for him to ride upon according to the Custom of Princes when they ride in State yea the Multitude do not only Disrobe their Backs but expend their Breath in ioyful Acclamations and loud Hosannah's wishing all manner of Prosperity to their Meek but Mighty Prince In this Princely yet poor and despicable Pomp doth our Saviour enter the famous City of Jerusalem Oh how far was our Holy Lord from affecting Worldly greatness and grandeur he despised that Glory which Worldly Hearts fondly admire yet because he was a King he would be proclaimed such and have his Kingdom Confest Applauded and Blest but that it might appear that his Kingdom was not of this World he abandons all Worldly Magnificence Oh Glorious yet Homely Pomp oh Meek but Mighty Prince Observe Lastly The peevish Envy of the wicked Pharisees who were then in Company they grudge our Saviour this poor Honour they Envy him this small Triumph of coming into the City upon an Asses Colt attended by a Company of poor People strewing the way with Boughs of Trees with Hosannah's and joyful Acclamations in their Mouths These poor Peoples Mouths they would have stopped Master rebuke thy Disciples they did not like the Musick Christ tells them that they Labour in vain to suppress the Testimony given him by his Disciples for if they should be silent the stones would cry out yea cry shame of them for neglecting their Duty as if Christ had said the Speechless Stones will speak and give witness to me if Men will not Learn hence They that are owned of God shall not want ownings and witnessings from Man at one time or other in one way or other tho' the Envy and Malice of Men do never so much gainsay and oppose it 41 And when he was come near he beheld the City and wept over it No sooner did our Saviour come within the sight and view of the City of Jerusalem but he burst out into Tears at the consideration of their Obstinacy and wilful rejecting of the Offers of Grace and Salvation made unto them and also he wept to consider the dreadful Judgments that hung over their Heads for those Sins even the utter Ruine and Destruction of their City and Temple Learn hence 1. That good Men ever have been and are Men of tender and compassionate Dispositions sorrowing not only for their own Sufferings but others Calamities 2. That Christ shed Tears as well as Blood for a lost World Christ wept over Jerusalem as well as bled for her 3. That Christ was infinitely more concerned for the Salvation of poor Sinners than for his own Death and Sufferings not the sight of his own Cross but Jerusalem's Calamities made him weep 42 If thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things belonging to thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes By the things belonging to their peace we are to
as is the Parent and Principle of Obedience to him Note 2dly That it is the high honourable Privilege of all such as receive Christ by Faith to become the Sons of God by Adoption This is a precious Privilege a free Privilege an honourable Privilege an abiding Privilege and calls for all possible Returns of Gratitude and Thankfulness of Love and Service of Duty and Obedience of Submission and Self-Resignation 13 Which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God Because the bragging Jews did much boast of their Natural Birth and Descent from Abraham as being his Blood and Off-spring Therefore it is here asserted that Men become not the Children of God by Natural Propagation but by Spiritual Regeneration They are not born of Blood Grace runs not in a Blood Piety is not Hereditary Religious Parents propagate Corruption not Regeneration Were the Conveyances of Grace Natural good Parents would not be so ill suited with Children as sometimes they are No Person then whatsoever has the gracious Privilege of Adoption by the first Birth They are not born of Blood nor of the Will of the Flesh nor of the Will of Man that is no Man by the utmost Improvement of Nature can raise himself up to this Privilege of Adoption and be the Author and Efficient Cause of his own Regeneration Learn hence That Man in all his Capacities is too weak to produce the Work of Regeneration in himself They says Dr. Hammond who by the influence of the highest Rational Principles live most exactly according to the Rule of Rational Nature that is of unregenerate Morality are the Persons here described Learn 2. That God alone is the Prime Efficient Cause of Regeneration He works upon the Understanding by Illumination and upon the Will by Sanctification Which were born not of Blood nor of the Will of the Flesh nor of the Will of Man but of God 14 And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth The Evangelist having asserted the Divinity of Christ in the foregoing Verses comes now to speak of his Humanity and Manifestation in our Nature The Word was made Flesh Where Note 1. Our Saviour's Incarnation for us 2. His Life and Cenversation here among us He dwelt or tabernacled for a Season with us In the Incarnation or Assumption of our Nature Observe 1. The Person Assuming The Word that is the Second Person subsisting in the glorious God-Head Obs 2. The Nature Assumed Flesh that is the Humane Nature consisting of Soul and Body But why is it not said The Word was made Man but The Word was made Flesh Answ To denote and set forth the wonderful Abasement and Condescension of Christ there being more of Vileness and Weakness and Opposition to Spirit in the Word Flesh than in the Word Man Christ's taking Flesh implies that he did not only take upon him the Humane Nature but all the Weaknesses and Infirmities of that Nature also sinful Infirmities and personal Infirmities excepted he had nothing to do with our sinful Flesh Tho' Christ loved Souls with an infinite and insuperable Love yet he would not sin to save a Soul And he took no personal Infirmities upon him but such as are common to the whole Nature as Hunger Thirst Weariness c. Obs 3. The Assumption it self He was made Flesh that is he assumed the Humane Nature into an Union with his God-head and so became a True and Real Man by that Assumption Learn hence That Jesus Christ did really assume the true and perfect Nature of Man into a personal Union with his Divine Nature and still Remains True God and True Man in one Person for ever Oh blessed Union Oh thrice happy Conjunction As Man Christ has an experimental Sense of our Infirmities and Wants As God he can support and supply them All. Note farther 2. As our Saviour's Incarnation for us so his Life and Conversation among us He dwelt or tabernacled amongst us The Tabernacle was a Type of Christ's Humane Nature 1. As the out-side of the Tabernacle was mean made of ordinary Materials but it 's inside glorious so was the Son of God 2. God's special Presence was in the Tabernacle there he dwelt for he had a delight therein In like manner dwelt all the fulness of the God-head bodily in Christ and the glory of his Divinity shined forth to the Eye and view of his Disciples for they beheld his Glory the Glory as of the only Begotten of the Father that is whilst Christ appeared as a Man amongst us he gave great and glorious Testimonies of his Being the Son of God Learn hence That in the Day of our Saviour's Incarnation the Divinity of his Person did shine forth through the Vail of his Flesh and was seen by all them that had a Spiritual Eye to behold it and a mind disposed to consider it We beheld his Glory as the Glory of the only Begotten of the Father ¶ 15 John bare witness of him and cried saying This was he of whom I spake He that cometh after me is preferred before me for he was before me 16 And of his fulness have all we received and grace for grace 17 For the law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ 18 No man hath seen God at any time the only begotten son which is in the bosom of the father he hath declared him Here we have John Baptist's first Testimony concerning Christ the promised Messiah And it consists of four Parts 1. John prefers Christ before himself as being surpassingly above himself He that cometh after me is preferred before me that is in the Dignity of his Person and in the Eminency of his Office as being the eternal God Now amongst them that were born of Women there was not a greater than John the Baptist If Christ then was greater than John it was in regard of his being God He is therefore preferred before him because he was before him as being God from all Eternity Learn hence That the Dignity and Eternity of Christ's Person as God sets him up above all his Ministers yea above all Creatures how excellent soever He that cometh after me in Time is preferred before me in Dignity for he was before me even from all Eternity 2. John prefers Christ before all Believers in Point of Fulness and Sufficiency of Divine Grace Of his Fulness do they receive They have their Fillings Christ has his Fulness theirs is the fulness of a Vessel his is the Fulness of a Fountain their fulness is Derivative his Fulness is Original yet also Ministerial on purpose in him to give out to us that we may receive Grace for Grace that is Grace answerable for Kind and Quality though not for Measure and Degree As a Child in Generation receives from its Parents Member for
and Nature and yet blind as a Mole in the things of God 2. That Ignorance in the Fundamentals of Religion especially is very culpable and shameful in any that enjoy the means of Knowledge but especially in those that undertake to teach and instruct others Art thou a Teacher thou a Master of Israel and knowest not these things Next our Saviour upbraids him for his Infidelity v. 12. If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not This Infidelity received its Aggravation from the Facility and Perspicuity of our Saviour's Doctrine I have told you earthly Things that is I have set forth Spiritual Things by Earthly Similitudes not in a Stile suitable to the Sublimity of their own Nature Let the Ministers of Christ learn from their Master's Example in all their Discoures to accommodate themselves and descend as low as may be to the Capacities of their People I have told you earthly things 2. That even Spiritual Things when they are shadowed forth by earthly Similitudes and brought down in the plainest manner to the Capacities of our People yet are they very slow to understand them and very backward to believe them I have told you of earthly things and ye believe them not 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven even the son of man which is in heaven Here our Saviour declares to Nicodemus that none ever ascended up into Heaven to fetch down from thence the Knowledge of Divine Mysteries And to reveal the Way of Life and Salvation to Mankind by a Mediator but only Christ himself who tho' he took upon him the human Nature and was then Man upon Earth yet was he at the same time in his Divine Nature actually in heaven as God This Text evidently proves two distinct Natures in Christ namely a Divine Nature as he was God and an Humane Nature as Man In his Humane Nature he was then upon Earth when he spake these Words in his Divine Nature he was at that Instant in Heaven Here observe That the Son of God hath taken the Humane Nature into so close and intimate an Union with his God-head that what is proper to either Nature is ascribed unto the Person of our Saviour The same Person who was on Earth as the Son of Man was then in Heaven as God and yet but one Person still Lord what Love hast thou shewen to our Humane Nature that under that Name thou ascribest to thy self what is proper to thy God-head The Son of Man which is in Heaven 14 ¶ And as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wilderness even so must the son of man be lifted up 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life Christ having instructed Nicodemus in the Doctrine of Regeneration in the former Verses here he instructs him in the Death of the Messiah and in the Necessity of Faith in his Death The Son of Man must be lifted up that is upon his Cross and dye that whosoever believeth in him should not perish Observe here 1. An Old Testament Type which our Saviour refers to and that is the Brazen Serpent in the Wilderness the History of which is recorded Numb 21.7 8. Observe 2. The Antitype or the Substance of what that Type did shadow forth the Brazen Serpent's lifting up upon the Pole prefiguring Christ's Exaltation or lifting up upon his Cross So must the Son of Man be lifted up Learn hence That the Lord Jesus Christ is of the same Use and Office to a Sin-stung Soul which the Brazen Serpent was of old to a Serpent-stung Israelite Here observe First Wherein the Brazen Serpent and Christ do agree And Secondly Wherein they differ They agree thus In the Occasion of their Institution they were both appointed for Cure and Healing Were they Serpent-stung We are Sin-stung Devil-bitten Was the Sting of the fiery Serpents inflaming Was it spreading Was it killing So is sin which is the Venom and Poison of the old Serpent They agree in this that they both must be lifted up before Cure could be obtained the Brazen Serpent upon the Pole Christ upon his Cross They both must be lookt unto before Cure could be obtained The looking up of the Israelite was as necessary unto Healing as the lifting up of the Serpent Faith is as necessary to Salvation as the Death of Christ The one rendered God reconcilable unto Sinners the other renders him actually reconciled Again did the Brazen Serpent heal All that lookt upon it and lookt up unto it though all had not Eyes alike some with a weak others with a stronger Eye In like manner doth Christ justifie and save All that with a sincere Faith though weak do rely upon him for Salvation Whoever believeth in him shall not perish Further the Brazen Serpent was effectual for Israel's Cure after many Stingings if after they were healed they were stung afresh and did look up to it they were healed by it Thus the Merit of Christ's Death is not only effectual for our Cure and Healing at our first Conversion but after involuntary Relapses and Backslidings if by Faith we have recourse to the Blood of Christ we shall find it efficacious for our farther Benefit and future Healing In a Word as the Brazen Serpent had the Likeness of a Serpent the Form the Figure the Name the Colour of a Serpent but nothing of the Venom and Poison of the Serpent in it Thus Christ did take upon him our Natures but sin the Venom and Poison of our Natures he had nothing to do with though Christ loved Souls with an invincible and insuperable Love yet he would not sin to save a Soul This was the Similitude and Resemblance between Christ and the Brazen Serpent The Disparity or Dissimilitude follows The Brazen Serpent had no Power in its self or of its self to heal and cure but Christ has a Power inherent in himself for the Cure and Healing of all that do believe in him Again the Brazen Serpent cured only one particular Nation and People Jews only Christ is for the healing of all Nations and his Salvation is to the ends of the Earth Farther the Brazen Serpent cured only one particular Disease namely the Stingings of the fiery Serpents had a Person been sick of the Plague or Leprosie he might have died for all the Brazen Serpent But Christ pardons all the Iniquities and heals all the Diseases of his People Psal 103.3 Yet again though the Brazen Serpent healed all that lookt up unto it yet it gave an Eye to none to look up unto it Whereas Christ doth not only heal those that look up to him but bestows the Eye of Faith upon them to enable them to look unto him that they may be saved In a Word the Brazen Serpent did not always retain its healing Virtue but in time lost it and was it self destroyed 2 Kings 18.4 But now the healing Vertue and Efficacy of Christ's Blood is
Eternal All Believers have and shall experience the healing Power of our Redeemer's Death to the end of the World Lastly The Israelites that were cured by looking up to the brazen Serpent dyed afterwards some Distemper or other soon carried them to their Graves but the Soul of the Believer that is healed by Christ shall never dye more Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have eternal Life 16 ¶ For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Here observe 1. The Orignal Source and Fountain of Man's Salvation and that is God's free and undeserved his great and wonderful Love God so loved the World he doth not say how much but leaves it to our most solemn raised Thoughts it is rather to be conceived than declared and admired rather than conceived God so loved the World Hence Note That the Original Spring and first Cause of our Salvation is the free Favour and meer Love of God Observe 2. The Greatness of the Gift by which God evidenced and demonstrated the Greatness of his Love to a lost World He gave his only begotten Son that is he deliver'd him up from out of his own Bosom and everlasting Embraces Now this will appear a stupendious Expression of God's Love if we consider that God gave Him for us who was not only the greatest but the dearest Person to him in the World even his own Son That he gave him for Sinners That he gave him for a World of Sinners That he gave him up to become a Man for Sinners That he gave him up to become a miserable Man for Sinners That he gave him up to be a Sacrifice for the Sin of Sinners Observe 3. The Gracious end for which God gave this great Gift of his Love to lost Sinners That whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal Life Where Note 1. The gentle and merciful Condition upon which Salvation depends Whoever believeth on Christ shall not perish 2. The infinite Goodness of God in proposing such a vast Reward unto us upon our performing of this Condition He shall have everlasting Life Learn hence That Faith is the way which God hath appointed and the Condition which God has required in order to our obtaining Salvation by Jesus Christ This Faith consists in the assent of the Understanding That Jesus is the Saviour of the World In the Consent of the Will to accept of Jesus freely and voluntarily deliberately advisedly and resolvedly for our Saviour in accepting the Merit of his Blood and submitting to the Authority of his Laws it being in vain to expect Salvation by Christ if we do not yield Subjection to him He that thus believes on Christ that submits himself to his ruling Power as well as commits himself to his saving Mercy shall not perish but have everlasting Life 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved 18 ¶ He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begoten Son of God Observe here That the Salvation of Sinners was the intentional End and the Condemnation of them only the accidental Event of Christ's coming into the World The Design of Christ's first coming into the World was to save it The End of his second coming will be to judge the unbelieving Part of it Observe Secondly That Unbelief is the formal Cause of the Sinner's Damnation it is that sin which doth bind all other sins upon the sinner and consign him over to Damnation it is that sin which doth not only procure Damnation but no Damnation like it which is intimated in the next Verse 19 And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil Observe here 1. The Worth and Dignity of a choice and invaluable Priviledge declared Light is come into the World A Personal Light Christ a Doctrinal Light the Gospel 2. Observe the Unworthiness Abuse and great Indignity which the World through Infidelity offers to this Benefit they reject it and love Darkness rather than Light Obs 3. The dreadful Sentence of Wrath which the Rejection of this Benefit and the Abuse of Christ brings upon the impenitent and unbelieving World It terminates in their full and final Condemnation This is the Condemnation That is 't is a just and righteous Condemnation 't is an inevitable and unavoidable Condemnation 't is an heightened and aggravated 't is an accelerated and hastned an irrevocable and eternal Condemnation Learn hence That the greater and clearer the Light is under which the unregenerate and impenitent do live in this World so much the heavier will their Condemnation and Misery be in the World to come if they wilfully and finally reject it 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God In these Words our Saviour acquaints us with the different Nature of Sin and Holiness It is the Nature of Sin and the Property of Sinners to hate the Light because it discovers the Evil and Sinfulness of their Ways unto them and condemns them for them as the Ethiopians are said to curse the Sun for its bright and hot shining whereas holy and gracious Persons that walk uprightly do love the Light that is they delight to have their Thoughts Words and Actions tried by the Light of the Word because they are wrought in God that is performed as in the sight of God According to the Direction of the VVord of God and with a single Eye and sincere Aim at the Glory of God Learn hence 1. That the Word of God or the Gospel of Jesus Christ it has all the Properties of a Great and True Light It is of a pure and purifying Nature it is manifestative and of a discovering Nature It has a piercing Power and penetrating Vertue It enters the darkest Recesses of the Soul and detects the Errors of Mens Judgments as well as discovers the Enormities of their Lives Learn 2. That nothing is so hateful to and hated by a wicked Man as the discovering and reproving Light of the Word of God for at the same time that it discovers the sin it condemns the Sinner Learn 3. That a truly gracious Person who acteth agreeably to the Will of God is not afraid to examine his Actions by the VVord of God but desires and delights that what he does may be made manifest both to God and Man He that doth Truth cometh to the Light and rejoyceth that his Deeds may be made manifest because they are wrought in God 22 ¶ After these things came Jesus and his
and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him 57 As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me even he shall live by me 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever 59 These things said he in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum Observe here How the Jews understanding Christ after a Carnal manner were offended at what he said for they thought it was Inhumane to eat Man's Flesh and could not understand how the Body of Christ could in such a Sense be Food to all the World Hence Note That Carnal Persons put a Carnal Sense upon Christ's Spiritual Words and so occasion their own stumbling But yet notwithstanding the Jews stumbled at our Saviour's Expression he doth not alter his words but presseth more and more the Necessity of feeding upon him by Faith in order to Eternal Life Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you Learn from hence 1. That the Lord Jesus Christ is the True Spiritual Food of all Believers 2. That those and only those who do by Faith feed upon him shall obtain a Life of Grace and Glory from him if we do not by Faith feed upon him we can have no Evidence for a Life of Grace nor Title to a Life of Glory This place some Papists produce to Countenance their Doctrine of Transubstantiation and a Bodily eating and drinking of Christ's Flesh and Blood in the Sacrament But it is evident that Christ Treats not of the Sacrament in this Chapter for the Sacrament was not now Instituted and therefore it is not a Sacramental but a Spiritual feeding upon Christ by Faith that is here meant For this eating gives Life to the Eater all that eat are saved and all that do not eat are damned but this is not true of a Sacramental eating besides this eating that Christ speaks of he makes absolutely necessary to Salvation but some are saved that never fed upon Christ in the Sacrament as John the Baptist and the Thief on the Cross Lastly if it be understood of a Sacramental Eating and Drinking wo be to the Church of Rome for denying the Cup to the Laity because Drinking of Christ's Blood is made here as necessary as eating of his Flesh in order to Eternal Life Except ye Eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and Drink his Blood ye have no Life in you Observe farther The close and intimate Union which is betwixt Christ himself and those that feed upon him He that eateth me Dwelleth in me and I in him As Meat is turned into the Eater's Substance so Believers and Christ become one and by feeding on him that is by believing in him there followeth a mutual Inhabitation Christ dwelling in them and they in him this is true of a Spiritual feeding upon Christ but not of a Sacramental Eating Nay Christ carries it higher still and tells us That as there is a Real Union between the Father and him and as the Father Lives who sent him â—aving an Eternal Fountain of Life in himself and the Son Lives by the Father having the same Life communicated to him with his Essence from the Father in like manner says Christ he that eateth me the same shall Live by me All which is certainly true of our Spiritual Feeding upon Christ by Faith but cannot be applied to a Corporal feeding upon him in the Sacrament as the Papists would have it 60 Many therefore of his disciples when they had heard this said This is an hard saying who can hear it 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it he said unto them Doth this offend you 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before The foregoing Doctrine of our Saviour concerning eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood sounded so very harshly that not only the common multitude but some of them that had been his Disciples that is who had given up their names to follow him could not tell how to bear them Our Saviour Reproves their unjust stumbling at what he had said That he was the Bread which came down from Heaven and tells them that his Ascension into Heaven should prove the Truth of his descent from Heaven Hence we learn That Christ's arising from the Grave and Ascending into Heaven by his own Power is an Evident proof of his Godhead and that he really came down from Heaven in respect of his Divine Nature which condescended to be cloathed with our Flesh What and if ye shall see the Son of Man Ascend up where he was before 63 It is the spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life To convince the Jews that our Saviour did not mean a carnal fleshly eating of his Body he tells them that such an eating would profit them nothing but it is a Spiritual eating of him by Faith that bringeth that Quickning Life of which he had spoken It is the Spirit or Divine Nature that Quickneth the flesh or human Nature alone separated from his Godhead profiteth nothing and can give no Life Learn hence That it is the Godhead of Christ united to the Humane Nature which adds all Vertue Efficacy and Merit to the Obedience and sufferings of the Humane Nature It is the Spirit or Divine Nature of Christ that Quickneth the flesh or Humane Nature alone profiteth nothing and therefore the carnal eating of my flesh would do no good 64 But there are some of you that believe not For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him 65 And he said Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father 66 ¶ From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him Our Blessed Saviour having thus cleared his Doctrine that he was the Bread of Life which came down from Heaven and that he is not to be Carnally but Spiritually fed upon He plainly tells the Jews That the true cause of their stumbling at his Doctrine was their Ignorance and Unbelief there are some of you that believe not Upon which plain dealing of our Blessed Saviour's many unsound Professors did wholly forsake him and accompanied no longer with him Learn hence That multitudes who have long professed Christ and his Holy Religion may draw back and fall from their Profession and finally revolt from him 2. That it is an Evil heart of unbelief which causes Men to depart from Christ and to make Shipwrack of their Profession 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve Will ye also go away 68 Then Simon Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go thou hast the words of eternal life 69 And we
good this Promise to the Chief Priests and delivered Jesus a Prisoner bound into their Hands those Evening-Wolves no sooner seize the Lamb of God but they thirst and long to suck his innocent Blood yet lest it should look like a down-right Murther they allow him a Mock-Trial and abuse the Law by perverting it to Injustice and Bloodshed How impossible is it for the greatest Innocence and Vertue to protect from Slander and false Accusation and no Person can be so innocent or good whom false Witness may not condemn 15 ¶ And Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple That disciple was known unto the high priest and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest 16 But Peter stood at the door without Then went out that other disciple which was known unto the high priest and spake unto her that kept the door and brought in Peter 17 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter Art not thou also one of this man's disciples He saith I am not 18 And the servants and officers stood there who had made a fire of coals for it was cold and they warmed themselves and Peter stood with them and warmed himself They said therefore unto him Art not thou also one of his disciples He denied it and said I am not One of the servants of the high priest being his kinsman whose ear Peter had cut off saith Did not I see thee in the garden with him Peter then denied again and immediately the cock crew All the four Evangelists give us an Account of Peter's Fall in denying his Master And therein we have Observable 1. The Sin it self which he fell into the Denial of Christ and this back'd with an Oath he sware that he knew not the Man Lord how may the slavish fear of Suffering drive the holiest and best of Men to commit the foulest and worst of Sins Observe 2. The occasion of his Fall 1. His presumptuous Confidence of his own strength and standing though all Men forsake thee yet will not I. Lord to presume upon our selves is the ready way to provoke thee to leave us to our selves If ever we stand in the Day of Trial 't is the fear of falling must enable us to stand we soon fall if we believe it impossible to fall 2. His being in bad Company amongst Christ's Enemies Peter had better have been a cold by himself alone than warming himself at a Fire which was compassed in with the Blasphemies of the Soldiers where his Conscience tho' not seared was yet made hard Observe 3. The reiteration or repetition of this Sin he denied Christ again and again he denied him first with a Lye then with an Oath and Curse Oh how dangerous is it not to resist the beginnings of Sin If we yield to one Temptation Satan will assault us with more and stronger Observe 4. The heinous and aggravating Circumstances of Peter's Sin 1. From the Character of his Person a Disciple an Apostle a chief Apostle yet he denies Christ 2. From the Person whom he denies his Master his Saviour 3. The Time when he denied him soon after that Christ had wash'd his Feet yea soon after he had received the Sacrament from Christ's own Hand How unreasonable then is their Objection against coming to the Lord's-Table That some who go to it dishonour Christ as soon as they come from it Such Examples ought not to discourage us from coming to the Ordinance but should excite and increase our watchfulness after we have been there that our after-deportment may be suitable to the Solemnity of a Sacramental Table 19 ¶ The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples and of his doctrine 20 Jesus answered him I spake openly to the world I ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple whither the Jews always resort and in secret have I said nothing 21 Why askest thou me ask them which heard me what I have said unto them behold they know what I said Our Saviour being brought before Caiaphas the High Priest he examines him concerning his Doctrine and his Disciples pretending him to be guilty of Heresie in Doctrine and Sedition in gathering Disciples and Followers Our Saviour answers That as to his Doctrine he had not delivered it in Holes and Corners but had taught publickly in the Temple and Synagogues and that in secret he had said nothing that is nothing contrary to what he had delivered in Publick Christ never willingly affected Corners he taught openly and propounded his Doctrine publickly and plainly to the World A convincing Evidence that both he and his Doctrine were of God Learn hence 1. That it is not unusual for the best of Doctrines to pass under the odious name and imputation of Error and Heresie Christ's own Doctrine is here charged The High Priest asked Jesus of his Doctrine 2. That the Ministers of Christ who have Truth on their side may and ought to speak boldly and openly I spake openly to the World Veritas nihil erubescit praeterquam abscondi Truth blushes at nothing except at its being concealed In secret says Christ have I said nothing 22 And when he had thus spoken one of the officers which stood by stroke Jesus with the palm of his hand saying Answerest thou the high priest so 23 Jesus answered him If I have spoken evil bear witness of the evil but if well why smitest thou me 24 Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest 25 And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself They said therefore unto him Art not thou also one of his disciples He denied it and said I am not 26 One of the servants of the high priest being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off saith Did not I see thee in the garden with him 27 Peter then denied again and immediately the cock crew Observe here 1. How insolently and injuriously an Officer strikes our Saviour in this Court of Judicature One of the Officers stroke Jesus with the Palms of his Hands What had the Holy and Innocent Jesus done to deserve these Buffettings He only made use of the Liberty which their Law did allow him which was not to accuse himself but to put them upon the Proof of those Accusations which were brought against him But from this Instance of our Saviour's Sufferings we learn That Christ did endure painful Buffettings ignominious and contemptible Usage even from Inferiour Servants giving his Cheek to the Smiters to testifie that Shame and reproachful Usage which was deserved by us and to sanctifie that Condition to us when ever it is allotted for us Observe 2. The meek and gentle Reproof which the Lord Jesus gives to this rude Officer he doth not strike him dead upon the Place nor cause that Arm to wither which was stretched forth against the Lord's anointed but only lets him know there was no Reason for his striking of him Where Note That tho' our Saviour doth not revenge himself yet he
Head and gave up the Ghost 31 The Jews therefore because it was the preparation that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day for that sabbath-day was an high day besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away 32 Then came the souldiers and brake the legs of the first and of the other which was Crucified with him 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already they brake not his legs 34 But one of the souldiers with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came there out bloud and water 35 And he that saw it bare record and his record is true and he knoweth that he saith true that ye might believe 36 For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled A bone of him shall not be broken 37 And again another scripture saith They shall look on him whom they pierced These Verses contain several remarkable passages tending to the Confirmation of our Faith in the Belief of the certainty and reality of our Saviour's Death in which the Jews the Soldiers and St. John do all give their several and sufficient Evidences Observe 1. The Jews part in clearing up this Truth They desire Pilate who had Power alone to dispose of the Dead Bodies of condemned Persons that the Legs of the crucified Persons might be broken to hasten their Death that so they might be taken away and buried because according to the Law Deut. 21.22 23. the Land was defiled with those that were hang'd if not timely buried and they judged if the Bodies of these Persons did remain on the Cross all that Night and the next Sabbath Day which was an high day the ordinary Sabbath and the first Day of the Passover or Feast of unleavened Bread meeting together it might pollute both them and their Feast Where Note The cursed Hypocrisie of these Jews they look upon themselves as strictly bound to observe an outward Ceremony but their Consciences never scruple to violate the most weighty Precepts of the moral Law they strictly observe the Ceremonial Precept that the dead bodies should not remain upon the Cross but they scruple not to Crucifie the Son of God and to use him with the utmost Rigour desiring his Bones may be broken Observe 2. the Soldiers part contributing to clear the Truth of Christ's Death they execute what the Jews had desired and Pilate granted breaking the Legs of the two Thieves but not of Jesus because he was already Dead but one of the Soldiers resolving to make sure work thrusts a Spear into his Side and there came out straight way Blood and Water proving that he was really Dead All which points out to us that it is he who came by Water and Blood 1 John 5.6 and that from the merit and efficacy of his Death there floweth out Blood for the obtaining Remission of Sin and Water to Regenerate and wash us from our Uncleanness From the Barbarous Soldiers peircing of Christ's Side after he was Dead We learn That no cruelty was omitted towards Christ either Dead or alive which might testifie the great desert of our Sin nor was there any needful Evidence wanting which might make clear the Truth of his Death the Soldier 's piercing of our Saviour's Side was at once an exercise of their Cruelty and an Evidence of the certainty of Christ's Death Observe 3. St. John's part in this Evidence he avouches that Christ really died and expresly affirms that he saw it with his own Eyes for the confirmation of our Faith he that saw it bare Record and his Record is True And farther shews that by these Actions of the Soldiers That was done by which several Scripture-Prophecies were fulfilled and received their Accomplishment particularly That of Exod. 12.46 concerning the Paschal Lamb which was a Type of Christ that a Bone of it should not be broken and that prediction Zach. 12.10 They shall look on him whom they have pierced Learn hence That Christ is the Truth and Substance of that Type the Paschal Lamb mentioned Exod. 12. and the True Passover Sacrificed for us therefore what was ordained concerning the Paschal Lamb is applied here to Christ as the Substance of that Type A Bone of him shall not be broken 38 ¶ And after this Joseph of Arimathea being a disciple of Jesus but secretly for fear of the Jews besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus and Pilate gave him leave he came therefore and took the body of Jesus 39 And there came also Nicodemus which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought a mixture of myrrhe and aloes about an hundred pound weight 40 Then took they the body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with the spices as the manner of the Jews is to bury 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden and in the garden a new sepulchre wherein was never man yet laid 42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews preparation day for the sepulchre was nigh at hand This last Paragraph of the Chapter gives us an Account of our Lord 's Honourable Burial such a Funeral as never was since Graves were first digg'd Where Observe 1. Our Lord's Body must be begg'd before it could be buried the dead Bodies of Malefactours being in the Power and at the Disposal of the Judg Pilate grants it and accordingly the dead Body is taken down wrapped in fine Linnen and prepared for the Sepulchre Observe 2. The Persons who bestowed this Honourable Burial upon Christ Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus the one provided fine Linen the other fine Spices and they jointly wound and embalmed his Body after the Jewish manner both of them Worthy tho' close Disciples Grace doth not always make a publick and open shew where it is But as there is much secret Treasure unseen in the Bowels of the Earth so is there much Grace in the Hearts of some Saints which the World takes little notice of We Read of none of the Apostles at Christ's Funeral fear had put them to flight but Joseph and Nicodemus appear bold If God strengthen the weak and leave the strong to the prevalency of their own fears the weak shall be as David and the strong as Tow. Observe 3. The Grave or Sepulchre in which our Lord was buried it was a Sepulchre in a Garden to expiate Adam's Sin committed in a Garden as by the Sin of the First Adam we were driven out of Paradice the Garden of Pleasure so by the Sufferings of the Second Adam who lay buried in a Garden we may hope for Entrance into the Heavenly Paradice And it was in a new Sepulchre wherein never any Man was laid lest his Adversaries should say it was another that was Risen who was buried there before or that he Arose as one of the Old Prophets did by touching the Bones of some other Dead Person Observe 4. The
Hell than your selves 16 Wo unto you ye blind guides which say Whosoever shall swear by the temple it is nothing but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple he is a debtor 17 Ye fools and blind for whether is greater the gold or the temple that sanctifieth the gold 18 And whosoever shall swear by the altar it is nothing but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it he is guilty 19 Ye fools and blind for whether is greater the gift or the the altar that sanctifieth the gift 20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar sweareth by it and by all things thereon 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple sweareth by it and by him that dwelleth therein 22 And he that shall swear by heaven sweareth by the throne of God and by him that sitteth thereon The fourth Wo which our Saviour denounces against the Pharisees is for their false and erroneous Doctrine concerning Oaths 1. They taught Men to swear by the Creatures 2. They taught that some Oaths made by the Creatures were obligatory and binding others not Particularly they affirm'd that if a Man swear by the Temple or the Altar it was nothing that is he was not bound by such an Oath But if a Man swear by the Gold of the Temple and the Altar that is by the Gifts offered to the Corban or Treasury of the Temple and by the Sacrifices and Oblations on the Altar Such an Oath they affirm'd was binding because it was for their Profit that the Gifts on the Altar and the Gold brought into the Treasury should be accounted most holy seeing that would encourage the People to be the more ready to contribute and offer This horrid Hypocrisie and Covetousness our Blessed Saviour here sharply reproves and shews that Oaths made by the Creatures tho' unlawful yet being once made did oblige as if the Parties had sworn by God himself for he that swears by the Temple swears by it and him that dwelleth therein Learn 1. That swearing by the Creatures is no new Sin but as old as the Pharisees 2. That swearing by the Creatures is a great Prophanation of the Name of God and a mighty Provocation to him 3. That this notwithstanding if the Matter of such Oaths be not sinful they are obligatory and binding He that sweareth by the Creatures sweareth indeed by the God of the Creatures For says our Saviour he that sweareth by the Heavens sweareth by the Throne of God and him that sitteth thereon 23 Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye pay tythe of mint and anise and cummin and have omitted the weightier matters of the law judgment mercy and faith these ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone 24 Ye blind guides which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel The next Wo denounced is for the Pharisees Ostentation of a precise keeping of the Law in smaller Matters and neglecting weightier Duties They paid Tythe of Mint Anise and Cummin but at the same time omitted Judgment Mercy and Faith that is just dealing with Men Charity towards the Poor and Faithfulness in their Promises and Covenants one with another This says our Saviour is to strain at a Gnat and swallow a Camel A Proverbial Expression intimating that some Persons pretend great Niceness and Scrupulosity about small Matters and none or but little about Duties of the greatest moment Hence Note 1. That Hypocrites lay the greatest Stress upon the least Matters in Religion and place Holiness most in those things where God places it least Ye tythe Mint c. but neglect the weightier Matters of the Law Observe 2. That altho' some Duties are of greater moment than others yet a good Man will omit none but perform every Duty the least as well as the greatest in Obedience to the Command of God These things ought you to have done and not to leave the other undone 25 Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter but within they are full of extortion and excess 26 Thou blind Pharisee cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also Our Saviour doth not here condemn their Legal or Traditional washing of Pots and Cups or any External Decency and Cleanliness in Conversation But his Design is to shew them the Vanity of outward Purity without inward Sanctity and to convince them of the necessity of cleansing the heart in order to the purifying and reforming the Life Plainly intimating 1. That Men's Lives could not be so bad if their Hearts were not worse all the Obliquity of their Lives proceeding from the Impurity of their Hearts and Natures 2. That an holy Heart will be accompanied with an Holy Life A Man may be outwardly pure and yet inwardly filthy but he that has a pure Heart will live a Pure and an Holy Life Cleanse that which is within the Cup that the outside may be clean also 27 Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye are like unto whited sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men but within ye are full of hypocrisie and iniquity Here we have a Wo denounced against the Pharisees for cheating and deceiving the People with an outward Shew and external Appearance of Piety and Religion Their Lives were seemingly very Religious but their Hearts were full of Hypocrisie and all Impurity like Sepulchres painted without and full of Rottenness within Whence Learn That the great Design of Hypocrisie is to cheat the World with a vain and empty Shew of Piety The Ambition of the Hypocrite is to be thought good not to be so he is the World's Saint not God's 29 Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites because ye build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous 30 And say If we had been in the days of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto your selves that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers 33 Ye serpents ye generation of vipers how can ye escape the damnation of hell This is the eighth Wo denounced by our Blessed Saviour against the Pharisees for their grand Hypocrisie in pretending great Honour to the Saints departed building their Tombs and garnishing their Sepulchres and declaring against their Father's Impiety That had they lived in their Days they would not have been Partakers with them in the Blood of the Prophets Now their Hypocrisie appeared in three Particulars 1. In that they continued in their own Wickedness and yet commended the Saints departed they magnifie the Saints but multiply their Sins and instead of imitating their Virtues they content themselves with garnishing
their Sepulchers 2. In professing great Respect to the dead Saints and at the same time persecuting the living Palpable Hypocrisie And yet as gross as it is it prevails to this Day The Church of Rome who magnifie Martyrs and canonize Saints departed have yet added to their numbers by shedding of their Blood 3. In taking false measures of their Love to the Saints departed from their building their Tombs and garnishing their Sepulchers whereas the best Evidence of our Love unto them is the imitating their Vertues and cherishing their Followers 'T is gross Hypocrisie to pay Respect to the Relicks of Saints and Veneration to their Images and at the same time to persecute and afflict their Followers Learn hence 1. That the World has all along loved dead Saints better than the living Mortui non mordent the dead Saint's Example how bright soever is not so scorching and troublesome at a distance and he himself no longer stands in other Men's Light whereas the living Saint's Example is a cutting Reproof to Sin and Vice Obs 2. That there is a certain Civility in Humane Nature which leads Men to a just Commendation of the Dead and to a due Estimation of their Worth The Pharisees here tho' they persecuted the Prophets whilst alive yet had they a mighty Veneration for their Piety and Vertue after they were dead and thought no Honour too great to be done unto them Note 3. That it is the grossest Hypocrisie to pretend to love Goodness and yet hate and persecute good Men. These Hypocritical Pharisees pretended high to Piety and Religion and at the same time killed the Prophets and stoned them that were sent unto them 4. That the highest Honour we can pay to the Saints departed is not by raising Monuments and building Tombs to their Memory but by a careful Imitation of their Piety and Virtue following the Holiness of their Lives and their Patience and Constancy at their Deaths 34 Wherefore behold I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes and some of them ye shall kill and crucifie and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias whom ye slew between the temple and the altar 36 Verily I say unto you All these things shall come upon this generation Observe here A Prophetical Prediction and a severe Denunciation 1. A Prediction foretelling what cruel Usage the Apostles should meet with from the Jews Killing and Crucifying some Scourging and Stoning others which accordingly was fulfilled in the Crucifying of St. Peter the Scourging of St. Paul in the Stoning of St. Stephen and Killing of St. James The first Planters and Propagators of the Gospel sealed their Doctrine with their Blood and the Blood of the Martyrs has all along been the Seed of the Church Obs 2. A severe Denunciation That upon you may come all the Righteous Blood shed upon the Earth from Abel to Zacharias the Son of Jehoiada 2 Chron. 24.20 who was the last Prophet whose Murder is related by Name in the Old Testament These Words are not to be understood as if the End and Intent of Christ's sending the Prophets were that the Jews might put them to Death and bring their righteous Blood upon themselves This was the Consequent and Event indeed of their sending but by no means the Design and Intent of it Learn 1. That raging Persecutors have no Regard either to the extraordinary Mission or eminent Sanctity of Persons who reprove them for their Sins I send unto you Prophets says our Saviour wise Men and Scribes and some of them ye shall Kill and Crucifie 2. That as the Piety of the Persons so neither can the Sanctity of the Place discourage and deterr bloody Persecutors from their Rage and Fury against the Prophets of God In the Temple it self in the Court of the House of the Lord even betwixt the Porch and the Altar was Zacharias slain 3. That it is a righteous Thing with God to punish the Children for the Impieties of their Parents This is to be understood 1. where the Children tread in their Father's Steps and continue in their Parents Sins which they do if they do not confess them abhor them and be humbled for them 2. This is to be understood of Temporal Evils not of Eternal Punishments No Man shall for his Father's Sins lye down in Everlasting Burnings As our Fathers Faith will not let us into Heaven so neither will their Impiety shut us into Hell At the Day of Judgment every Man shall be separately considered according to his Deeds 37 O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee how often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not 38 Behold your house is left unto you desolate 39 For I say unto you Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord concludes this Chapter with a Pathetical Lamentation over Jerusalem His Ingemination or doubling of the Word Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem shews the Vehemency of Christ's Affection towards them and the Sincerity of his Desires for their Salvation Obs 1. The great Kindness and Compassion of Christ to the Jews in general and Jerusalem in particular set forth by a lively Metaphor and Similitude that of an Hen gathering her Chickens under her Wings As the Hen doth tenderly cherish and carefully hide and cover her Young from the Eye of the Destroyer so would Christ have shrouded and sheltered this People from all those Birds of Prey and particularly from the Roman Eagle by which they were at last devoured Again As the Hen continueth her Call to her young ones from Morning to Night and holds out her Wings for shelter to them all the Day long so did Christ wait for this Peoples Repentance and Conversion for more than Forty Years after they had killed his Prophets and murthered himself before they met with a final Overthrow Obs 2. The amazing Obstinacy and Wilfulness of this People in rejecting this Grace and Favour this Kindness and Condescension of the Lord Jesus Christ I would have gathered you but ye would not Obs 3. The Fatal Issue of this Obstinacy Behold your House is left unto you desolate Is left that is certainly and suddenly will be so The Present-Tense put for the Paulo post futurum it denotes both the Certainty and Proximity of this People's Ruin Learn 1. That the Ruin and Destruction of Sinners is wholly chargeable upon themselves that is on their own Wilfulness and Obstinacy I would have gathered you says Christ but ye would not Learn 2. How deplorably and inexcusably they will perish who perish by their own Wilfulness under the Gospel 3. That there