to Worship him Obs 2. Herod calls him the young Child not the young King that Word was too big to come out of Herod's proud Mouth he could neither bear the Thing nor brook the Title Obs 3. How craftily Herod lays his Plot he desires the Wise Men to inquire thoroughly and to inform him privately To be Wise in doing Mischief is the worst Wisdom in the World 'T is not the Wisdom from above but from Hell beneath 9 When they had heard the king they departed and lo the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was 10 When they saw the star they rejoyced with exceeding great joy 11 And when they were come into the house they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshipped him and when they had opened their treasures they presented unto him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh Observe here 1. How the Star which for some time disappeared now appears again to their farther Direction in finding Christ Teaching us That God will not be wanting to such as are on the Way to seek Christ but will renew Directions and Encouragements to them according as they stand in need none ever sincerely sought Christ but they certainly found him at the last Obs 2. That the Joy which arises in such a Soul as has found Christ is unutterable and unspeakable the Wise Men here Rejoyced with Joy with great Joy with exceeding great Joy Obs 3. The Wise Men having found this young King they bring Presents to him according to the manner of the Eastern Countries namely Gold Frankincense and Myrrh which were the principal Commodities of the East But the best Present we can make to Christ is our Selves he seeks not Ours but Us and rather desires what we are than what we have Yet the Providence of God was wonderfully seen in these Presents for hereby Provision was made for the Sustenance of Joseph and Mary and the Child Jesus in their Exile or Flight into Egypt which they were shortly to undergo 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod they departed into their own countrey another way God having warned the Wise Men in a Dream not to go back to Herod they return home another way But did these Wise Men play the Parts of Honest Men in that they returned not again to Herod Answ It appears not that they promised Herod to return tho' he expected it or if they did it was in consideration that Herod should Come and Worship Christ not Murther and Destroy him But if they promised him never so positively God Almighty gave them a Dispensation from that Promise by commanding them to return home another way Herod kept his Design against Christ close from the Wise Men but he could not conceal his Intentions from the infinitely Wise God he knew the Purposes of his Heart and by his Providence kept Christ out of his Hand There is no Wisdom nor Understanding nor Counsel against the Lord. 13 And when they were departed behold the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream saying Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring thee word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him 14 When he arose he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt 15 And was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying Out of Egypt have I called my Son Obs here 1. How our Lord himself in a time of Persecution flies for Safety who was able a thousand ways to have preserv'd himself from Danger Teaching us That in times of Difficulty and Danger 't is neither unwarrantable nor unbecoming to preserve our Lives by flight surely 't is no Shame for us to fly when our Captain doth both practise it and command it also Christ by his own Example has sanctified that State of Life unto us and by his Command has made it lawful for us Obs 2. The Place which Christ flies unto for Safety and that is Egypt an unlikely Place considered in it self Who could expect Liberty in that House of Bondage But any Place is good if God sends us thither and Christ be in our company his Presence can make Egypt it self not only safe but delightful also Obs 3. How readily Joseph complies with the Divine Command instantly He arose and took the young Child and fled Teaching us That when our Direction is clear our Compliance should be speedy We cannot be too forward and expeditious in the Execution of Divine Commands Obs 4. Tho' Joseph at the Command of God flies presently from Herod's Rage yet he flies privately by Night and prudentially begins his Journey when least Notice should be taken of his Motion Teaching us That altho' we have never so many Promises of Safety and Deliverance yet we must not put God upâ—â— Working Miracles for our Preservation when it may be obtained in the Use of Means 16 Then Herod when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men was exceeding wroth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof from two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men Obs How Herod having play'd the Fox before he acts the Lion now his secret Policy not succeeding he breaks out into open and inhumane Cruelty Learn That when Fraud and Subtilty fail the Enemies of the Church they then fall to open Rage and barbarous Inhumanity Thus here these Holy Innocents fall as a Sacrifice to Herod's Rage and Die for Christ who came to Die for them and so were Martyrs in Deed tho' not in Will Some affirm that Herod did not spare his own Child then at Nurse in the Coasts of Bethlehem which made Augustus say He had rather be Herod's Hog than Herod's Child because the Jews did kill and eat no Swine's Flesh 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying 18 In Rama was there a voice heard lamentation and weeping and great mourning Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they are not Observe here The loud and bitter Cry which the Mothers of Bethlehem make for the Death of their innocent Children which were barbarously slain by the Sword of Herod Here was Lamentation Weeping and great Mourning made by Rachel that is by the Women inhabiting in and about Bethlehem where Rachel's Sepulcher was for the Land about Bethlehem was called Rachel from her Sepulcher so famous in those Parts Rachel here is not the Name of a Person but of a Place Obs 2. The Cause and Reason of this Cry and bitter Lamentation the Mothers weep not because their Children are but because they are not they did not with some
Gentiles Christ is a light to the one and the glory of the other a light to the blind and dark Gentiles and the Glory of the Renowned Church of the Jews The Messias being promised to them born and bred up with them living amongst them preaching his Doctrine to them and working his Miracles before them and thus was Christ the Glory of his people Israel 34 And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary his mother Behold this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against 35 Yea a sword shall pass thro' thine own Soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed Two things are here observed Simeon's Blessing and Simeons Prediction he blessed them that is the Parents and the Child Jesus not Authoritatively but Prophetically declaring how God would bless them his Prediction is Twofold 1. concerning Christ 2. concerning his Mother concerning Christ Simeon declares that he should be for the rise of many in Israel namely all such as should embrace and obey his Doctrine and imitate and follow his example and for the fall of others that is shall bring punishment and ruine upon all obdurate and impenitent Sinners and a Sign to be spoken against that is he shall be as a mark for obstinate Sinners to set themselves against Christ himself when here in the World was a stone of stumbling and a Rock of offence to the men of the World enduring the contradiction of Sinners against himself both the virulence of their Tongues and the violence of their hands 2. Concerning the Mother of Christ Simeon declares that the sight of her Son 's bitter Sufferings would like a Sword pierce through heâ— Heart for tho' he might be born yet should he not dyâ— without the pains of his Mother as if the Throws suffered by other Women at the Birth were reserved for her to endure at the death of her Son The Sufferings of the Holy Jesus on the Cross were as a Sword or dagger at the Heart of the Holy Virgin and she Suffered with him both as a tender Mother and as a Sympathizing Member of his Body 36 And there was one Anna a prophetess the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asser she was of a great Age and had lived with an husband seven years from her Virginity 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years which departed not from the Temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day 38 And she coming in at that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Israel Simeon is seconded by Anna a Prophetess she also declares that the child Jesus was the promised and expected Messias and thus Christ was proclaimed in the Temple by two Heralds of different Sexes Concerning this Aged Woman Anna it is said that she departed not from the Temple night nor day not that she lived and lodged there but by her never departing from understand her daily repairing to the Temple that which is often done is said in Scripture to be always done we are said to do a thing continually when we do it seasonably Thus we pray continually when we pray as often as duty requires us to pray Learn hence That such duties as a Christian performs out of Conscience he will perform with Constancy and Perseverance Nature will have her good Moods but Grace is steady The devotions of a pious Soul like Anna's are as constant but more frequent then the returns of day and night 39 And when they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord they returned into Galilee to their own city Nazareth 40 And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit filled with wisdom and the Grace of God was upon him Here we see the truth and reality of Christ's Humane Nature he grew as we do from Infancy to Childhood from Childhood to Youth and Manhood To his divine Nature no accession or addition could be made for that which is infinite cannot encrease The deity was infinite in Christ so was not the Humanity but capable of additions and accordingly as Christ grâ—w up the Stature of his Body and the faculties of his mind encreased thro' the Grace and Power of God's Spirit upon him 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every Year at the feast of the passover 42 And when he was twelve years old they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast Observe here the persons making this yearly Journey to Jerusalem our Saviour's Parents and himself 1. Joseph who is called Christ's Father not that he was his natural Father for Christ had no Father upon Earth but Joseph was his Reputed and supposed Father his nursing Father who by the appointment of God took a Fatherly care of him and and his Father in Law being Husband to Mary 2. Mary the Mother of Christ went up to Jerusalem with her Husband and her Son God commanded only the Males to go up to Jerusalem the weaker Sex were excused but the Holy Virgin well knowing the spiritual profit of that long Journey would not stay at home Such as will go no farther than they are dragged in Religious Exercises are Strangers to the Virgins Piety and devotion But 3. the child Jesus in his Minority goes up with his Parents to this holy Solemnity thereby no doubt intending our instruction when we are young to give God an early possession of our Souls to consecrate the Virgin Operations of our minds to him and in our Youth to keep close to the Worship and Service of God when we are so importunately courted by the World Obâ—erve farther This holy Family came not to look at the Feast and be gone but they duly stay'd out all the appointed time â—â—seph's Calling and the Virgins Houshold Business could â—either keep them at home nor hasten them home before the publick Duties in the Temple were dispatcht and ended All worldly Business must give place to Divine Offices and we must attend God's service to the end except we will depart unblest 43 And when they had fulfilled the days as they returned the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem and Joseph and his mother knew not of it 44 But supposing him to have been in the company went a days journey and they sought him amongst their kinsfolk and acquaintance 45 And when they found him not they turned back to Jerusalem seeking him The Service of the Temple being ended they return home to Nazareth Religious Duties are not to be attended to the prejudice and neglect of our particular Callings God calls us as well from his House as to his House They are much mistaken who think God is pleased with nothing but Devotion he that says be fervent in Spirit serving the Lord says also be not slothful in business Piety and Industry must keep pace with one another God is as well pleased
very probable Opinion tho' not an infallible Article of Faith as the Church of Rome would make it For the word Vntil signifies in Scripture as much as Never So Gen. 28.15 I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have promised that is I will never leave thee So the Words following Her first-born Son do not imply that she had any Child after but that she had none before That Child which first openeth the Womb is usually in Scripture called the First-born tho' there was no other born after Thus Josh 17.1 Machir is called the First-born of Manasseth tho' he had no more Children So that Christ not only as God but also as he was Man was the First-born and Only Son St. Austin expounds and applies Ezek. 44. v. 2. to the Virgin Mary This Gate shall be shut it shall not be opened and no Man shall enter in by it because the Lord God of Israel hath entered in by it therefore it shall be shut And others of the Ancients say That as Christ lay in the Tomb in which none lay before himself so he lodg'd in a Womb in which none ever lay either before or after himself CHAP. II. Our Saviour's Miraculous Conception by the Power of the Holy Ghost being recorded in the First Chapter several remarkable Circumstances relating to his Birth are set down in this As namely the Place of his Birth Bethlehem and the Time In the days of Herod the King 1 NOW when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem Observe here 1. The Place of our Lord's Birth Bethlehem he was Born not at Athens not at Rome not at Jerusalem not in any Opulent or Magnificent City but in the meanest of the Cities of Judah Thereby shewing us that his Kingdom was not of this World and that he little regarded Pomp and outward Greatness Oh how can we be Abased enough for Christ that thus Neglected himself for us Obs 2. The Time of our Lord's Birth In the Days of Herod the King This Herod being a Foreigner and King of the Romans which now reigned over the Jews in him was fulfilled Jacob's Prophecy Gen. 49.10 That the Scepter should not depart from Judah that is the Jews should have Governours of their own Nation until Shiloh come That is until Christ the promised Messiah come in the Flesh So that considering the Circumstance of Time and Place where and when Christ was Born it was and is wilful Obstinacy in the Jews to deny that the Messiah is come in the Flesh Obs 3. That Tribute of Honour which was paid unto our Saviour at his Birth the Wise Men of the East came and Worshipped him That is the Chaldean Arabian or Persian Astronomers who as the First-Fruits of the Gentiles seek after Christ whilst the Jews his own People rejected him Oh how will their coming so far as the East to seek Christ rise up another Day in Judgment against us if we refuse to be found by Christ who came from Heaven to seek us 2 Saying where is he that is born king of the Jews for we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him Observe here 1. The Inquiry that they make after Christ they do not ask whether he was Born but where he was Born not doubting of the Fact but ignorant of the Place Obs 2. The Ground of their Inquiry For we have seen his Star They had seen a Star but how did they know it was his Star Doubtless by Divine Revelation they had a Light within as well as a Star without or they had never found Christ No doubt the Holy Spirit 's Illumination accompanied the Star's Apparition As God made known the Birth of Christ to the Jews by an Angel so he manifested the same to the Gentiles by a new-created Star Obs 3. The End of their Journey We are come to Worship him that is to Pay all that Honour and Homage which is due to a Great and Mighty Prince All that Adoration and Worship which belongs to the promised Messiah the Redeemer of the World Learn hence That all Honour and Homage all Glory and Worship is due to Christ from the Sons of Men and will be given him by those that know him 3 When Herod the king heard these things he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him Observe here That when Christ came into the World to Save Men it cast the World into Consternation and caused wonderful Disturbance Herod is first concerned and next all Jerusalem with him Herod for fear of losing his Kingdom Jerusalem for fear of losing their Prince Thus Christ who was the Angel's Song the Wise Men's Joy Israel's Consolation becomes Herod's Fear and Jerusalem's Terrour But why was Herod thus disturbed 'T is true a King is Born but one whose Kingdom is not of this World 't was Herod's false Apprehension that was the Cause of this Perturbation Hence we see that the greatest Enmities and bitterest Animosities have arisen from causless Fears and groundless Jealousies 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together he demanded of them where Christ should be born 5 And they said unto him In Bethlehem of Judea for thus it is written by the prophet 6 And thou Bethlehem in the land of Juda art not the least among the princes of Juda for out of thee shall come a Governour that shall rule my people Israel Herod being in great Perplexity conven'd a Council of the Chief Priests and Scribes and demands of them the Place where Christ the promised Messiah was to be Born they readily reply out of the Prophet Micah ch 5.2 that Bethlehem is the Place this was the City of David's Birth and of Christ's the Son of David Bethlehem signifies the House of Bread and was so called from its Fertility and Fruitfulness and as some think with Reference to Christ the True Bread of Life Born there Bethlehem was a mean and contemptible Place in it self but being Honoured with Christ's Presence how great is it Learn thence That the Presence of Christ dignifies and exalts a Place how mean soever in it self Bethlehem tho' a little City in it self yet is not the least amongst the Cities of Judah because Christ is Born there 7 Then Herod when he had privily called the wise men inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said Go and search diligently for the young child and when ye have found him bring me word again that I may come and worship him also Observe here 1. How Herod cloaks his intended Cruelty with disguised Hypocrisie he had Murder in his Heart when he pretended to Worship Christ with his Mouth There is no Villany so great but will mask it self under a Pretence and Shew of Piety Herod veils his Intent to Kill Christ with a Pretence
of those that live under the Gospel are streighter and narrower than those that lived under the Law Observe farther In whose Name Persons are to be baptized in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost Where we have a Profession of our Belief in the holy Trinity a Dedication of the Person to the Worship and Service of the holy Trinity and a Stipulation or Covenant Promise that we will continue faithful in the Service of Father Son and holy Spirit to our Lives end The third Branch of the Power which Christ delegated to his Apostles was by their Ministry to press upon all their Converts an Universal Observance of and Obedience to all his Commands Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I command you Where Note 1. That preaching is the ordinary and instituted Means to convert Nations unto God 2. That preaching must not only go before Baptism but follow after it Obedience must be prest upon and practised by all those that enter into Covenant with God otherwise they lye under a greater Condemnation 3. That preaching the Gospel is a chief part of the Ministers Work and no Apostle thought himself above that Duty 4. As the Apostles did not so the Ministers of Christ ought not to teach any thing but what Christ commands them 5. As they are to teach what Christ commands them so are they to teach all things whatsoever Christ commands them Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I command you Lastly Observe The Promise subjoined Lo I am with you always to the end of the World That is I am and will be with you and your Successors lawfully called by my Power and Authority by the Blessing and Assistance of my holy Spirit I will be with you to uphold my own Ordinance to protect encourage and reward you and all your Successors in the faithful Discharge of your Trust and this not for a Day a Year or an Age but to the End and Consummation of all Ages Learn hence That the Ministry of the Word and Administration of the Sacraments are a standing and perpetual Ordinance to continue in the Christian Church throughout all Ages Learn 2. That all the faithful Ministers of Christ in what part of the World soever God shall cast their Lot and in what time soever they shall happen to live may comfortably expect Christ's Gracious Presence with their Persons and his Blessing upon their Endeavours Lo I am with you I am always with you and to the end of the World I will be with you Thanks be to Christ for the Gracious Promise of his Spiritual and Perpetual Presence with his Ministers to the end of the World May this Promise cause us to gird up the Loins of our Minds encrease our Diligence Zeal and Fervour accounting no Labour too great no Service too much no Sufferings too severe so that we may but finish our Course with Joy and fulfil the Ministry we are engaged in Amen Amen The End of St. MATTHEW EXPOSITORY NOTES WITH PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS UPON The Holy Gospel ACCORDING TO ST. MARK DEUT. vi Ver. 6 and 7. These Words which I command thee this Day shall be in thy Heart And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children And shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine House and when thou walkest by the Way and when thou lyest down and when thou risest up EXPOSITORY NOTES WITH PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS UPON The Holy Gospel ACCORDING TO S T. MARK St. Mark the Writer of this Compendious History of our Blessed Saviour's Life and Death was the Disciple and Companion of St. Peter and some affirm that he wrote his Gospel from St. Peter's Mouth it being Dictated by St. Peter and Indited by the Holy Ghost But since we are assured that the Spirit of God Indited the Book we need not trouble our selves to find out whose Hand it was that held the Pen. CHAP. I. 1 THE beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the son of God The Word Gospel signifies a Message of glad Tydings and intimates to us that the Doctrine of the Gospel contains the most gladsome Tydings the most joyful Message that ever was sent from God to Mankind Happy Tydings concerning our Reconciliation with God and Salvation by Jesus Christ Oh how highly should we prize how stedfastly believe how cordially embrace these good Tydings of great Joy Observe 2. This Gospel is called the Gospel of Jesus Christ because Christ as God is the Author of this Gospel and also the principal Subject and Matter of it Indeed St. John the Baptist was the first Publisher and Preacher of the Gospel Doctrine but Christ himself was the first and principal Author and likewise the chief Subject-matter of it for whatever is taught in the Gospel relates either to the Person and Offices of Christ or to the Benefits received by him or the Means of enjoying those Benefits from him Observe 3. How St. Mark stiles Christ the Son of God as St. Matthew had stiled him before the Son of David the one sets forth the Verity of his Humane Nature the other the Reality of his Divine Nature Signifying to us that the true and promised Messias was both God and Man in two distinct Natures and one Person for ever He is true and real God as well as the Father and the Holy Ghost not a meer Man but God as well as Man 2 As it is written in the Prophets Behold I send my messenger before thy face which shall prepare thy way before thee St. Mark begins his Gospel with an Account of St. John the Baptist's Preaching and Ministry and declares 1. That the Prophets of old particularly Isaiah and Malachy did long before foretel the Baptist's Message and Ministry that he should go before Christ as his Harbinger to prepare the Way for him Behold I send my Messenger to prepare thy Way Where Note 1. The Dignity and Authority of the Ministers of Christ they are his Messengers sent by him to deliver his Mind and Will unto his People This Ministerial Mission is twofold Extraordinary and Ordinary the former when God immediately by himself calls Men to the Holy Function the latter when he uses the Ministry of Man in order thereunto Observe 2. The Work and Office of the Ministers of Christ declared and that is to prepare People to receive Jesus Christ offered and tendered to them in the Gospel Behold I send my Messenger to prepare thy Way before thee Learn thence That the great Design and End of the Ministry of the Word is to prepare and fit Men for entertaining the Holy Religion of Christ in their Hearts and to oblige them to walk according to the Rules and Directions of it in their Lives 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord make his paths straight Here Note 1. The Title given to John the Baptist He is called a Voice in respect of his Ministerial Office which was to speak forth to
mere than the express Commandments of God Learn thence That Superstitious Men are always more Fond of and Zealous for the Traditions of Men in Divine Worship than of the express and positive Commands of God Secondly That it is the manner of such Persons to Tye others to their own Practice and Example in matters of Religious Worship and to Censure and Condemn all those who do not conform to them in the smallest matters The Pharisees here Censure the Disciples for eating with unwashed Hands because it was their Custom to wash when they did eat yet did not Christ or his Disciples refuse to wash before Meat as it was a Civil and Decent Custom but because the Pharisees made it a Religious Rite Teaching us that what is in it self indifferent and may without offence be done as a Civil Custom ought to be Discountenanced and Opposed when required of us as an Act of Religion The Jews fearing lest they should touch any Person or Thing that was unclean and so be Defiled unawares did use frequent washings as of Cups Pots Vessels Tables Beds or Couches which they lay upon when they eat Thus Pharisaical Hypocrisie puts God off with outward Cleansing instead of inward Purity regarding more the outward Cleanness of the Hand than the inward Purity of the Heart This was the Accusation of the Pharisees to which our Saviour Replies by way of Recrimination that if his Disciples did not observe the Tradition of the Elders They the Pharisees did reject and make void the Commandment of God and did Worship him in vain Teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men. Learn hence That all Service and Worship which is offered to God according to Man's Will and Ordinances and not according to the Rule of God's own Word is Vain and Unprofitable Divine Institution is the only pure Rule of Religious Worship as to the Substance of it here what God doth not Command he forbids Observe next the Instance which our Saviour produces of the Pharisees Violating an express Command of God and prefering their own Traditions before it He instances in the Fifth Commandment which requires Children to Relieve their Parents in their Necessities Now though the Pharisees did not deny this in plain Terms yet they made an exception from it which if Children pleased might render it vain void and useless For the Pharisees Taught that in case the Child of a Poor Parent that wanted Relief would give a Gift to the Temple which Gift they called Corban that is a Gift Consecrated to God and Religious Uses that then the Children of such Poor Parents were discharged from making any farther Provision for their Aged or Impotent Parents But might reply after this manner that which thou askest for thy Supply is given to God and therefore I cannot Relieve thee So that Covetous and Graceless Children lookt upon it as the most frugal way once for all to fine to the Temple rather than pay the constant Rent of Daily Relief to their Poor Parents Learn hence That the Practice of Moral Duties is required before and is more acceptable to Almighty God than the most Solemn Acts and Exercises of Instituted Worship whatsoever I will have Mercy says God rather than Sacrifice and to do Justice and Judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice Secondly That no Duty Gift or Offering to God is accepted where the Duty of Charity is neglected it is much more acceptable to God to refresh the Bowels of his Saints who are the Living Temples of the Holy Ghost than to Adorn Material Temples with Gold and Silver Corban is a Syriack Word signifying a Gift given to God The Pharisees applied these Gifts to the Use and Service of the Temple possibly to Repair Beautifie and Adorn it which had not been amiss if they had not taught that such Gifts to the Temple did discharge Children from the Duty of Charity to their Natural Parents These Things ought they to have done in the first place and not to leave the other undone 14 And when he had called all the people unto him he said unto them Hearken unto me every one of you and understand 15 There is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him but the things which come out of him those are they that defile the man 16 If any Man have ears to hear let him hear 17 And when he was entered into the house from the people his disciples asked him concerning the parable 18. And he saith unto them Are ye so without understanding also do ye not perceive that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man it cannot defile him 19 Because it entereth not into his heart but into the belly and goeth out into the draught purging all meats 20 And he said That which cometh out of the man that defileth the man 21 For from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts adulteries fornications murders 22 Thefts covetousness wickedness deceit lasciviousness an evil eye blasphemy pride foolishness 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the Man Our Blessed Saviour leaving the Pharisees with some dislike applies himself to the Multitude and instructs them in a very necessary and useful Doctrine Touching the true Original Cause of all Spiritual Pollution and Uncleanness Namely The Filthiness and Impurity of Man's Heart and Nature And that it is not the Meat eaten with the Mouth but the Wickedness of the Heart vented by the Mouth which Pollutes a Person in God's Account The Heart and Soul of Man alone is capable of Sinful Defilement Nothing can Defile a Person in God's Account but that which defileth the inward Man Learn hence 1. That the Heart of Man is the Sink and Seed-plot of all Sin the Source and Fountain of all Pollution 2. That all the Impiety of the Life proceeds from the Impurity and Filthiness of the Heart Mens Lives would not be so bad if their Hearts were not worse These Disciples desiring the Interpretation of the foregoing parable our Saviour gives it them but withal expostulates with them for not understanding a matter so obvious and plain Are ye yet without Vnderstanding As if he had said have you sat thus long under my Ministerial Teaching and enjoyed the Benefit of my Conversation and yet are no further Proficients in Knowledge Plainly intimating that Christ expects a Proficiency in Knowledge from us proportionable to the Opportunities and Means of Knowledge enjoyed by us Having given them this Rebuke he next acquaints them with the sense and meaning of the Parable namely That it is out of a Wicked and Sinful Heart that all Sin and Wickedness doth proceed Though the Occasions of Sin are from without yet the Source and Original of it is from within The Heart of Man is as a Cage full of Unclean Birds Hence proceed Evil Thoughts either against God or our Neighbours Adulteries or all the Sins of the Flesh Murthers that is all Cruelty and
hard Dealing towards others An Evil Eye That is an Envious Spirit which frets and grieves at the Happiness of others called an Evil Eye because Envy doth much shew and manifest it self in the outward Countenance and especially by the Eyes From the whole Note That the best way to hinder the progress of Sin in the Life is to mortifie it in the Heart to Crucifie all inordinate Motions Lusts and Corruptions in their root for the Heart is the first Seat and Subject of Sin from whence it flows forth into the Life and Conversation 24 And from thence he arose and went into the borders of Tyre and Sydon and entered into an house and would have no man know it but he could not be hid 25 For a certain woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell at his feet 26 The woman was a Greek a Syrophenician by nation and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her Daughter 27 But Jesus said unto her Let the children first be filled for it is not meet to take the childrens bread and to cast it unto the dogs 28 And she answered and said unto him Yes Lord yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrens crumbs 29 And he said unto her for this saying go thy way the devil is gone out of thy daughter 30 And when she was come to her house she found the devil gone out and her daughter laid upon the bed All along in the History of our Saviour's Life we are to take notice how he went about from place to place doing good being now come into the Borders of Tyre and Sidon he finds a poor Woman of the Race of the Canaanites who becomes first an humble Supplicant and then a Bold Beggar on the behalf of her Possessed Daughter Where Obs 1. That though all Israel could not example the Faith of this Canaanite yet was her Daughter Tormented with the Devil Learn thence That neither truth of Faith nor strength of Faith can secure against Satan's inward Temptations or outward Vexations and consequently the worst of Bodily Afflictions are no sufficient proof of Divine Displeasure Obs 2. The Daughter did not come to Christ for her self but the Mother for her Perhaps the Child was not so sensible of its own Misery but the Mother feels both the Childs sorrow and her own True Goodness teaches us to appropriate the Afflictions of others to our selves causing us to bear their Griefs and to Sympathize with them in their Sorrows Obs 3. The seeming Severity of Christ to this poor Wâ—man he calls her not a Woman but a Dog and as it were Spurns her from the Table Did ever so Severe a Word drop from those mild Lips What shall we say Is the Lamb of God turned Lion that a Woman in Distress imploring Pity should be thus rated out of Christ's Presence But hence we Learn How Christ puts the strongest Faith of his own Children upon the severest Tryal This Tryal had never been so sharp if her Faith had not been so strong Usually where God gives much Grace he tries Grace much Obser 4. The Humble Carriage of this Holy Woman her Humility grants all her Patience overcomes all she meekly desires to possess the Dogs place not to croud to the Table but to creep under it and to partake of the Crumbs of Mercy that fall from thence Indeed she shewed one of the best qualities of the Dog in keeping her hold where she had once fastned not letting go nor giving over until she had gotten what she desired But nothing is so pleasing to Christ as to see his People follow him with Faith and Importunity when he seems to withdraw himself from them 31 And again departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sydon he came unto the sea of Galilee thorow the midst of the coasts of Decapolis 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech and they beseech him to put his hands upon him 33 And he took him aside from the multitude and put his fingers into his ears and he spit and touched his tongue 34 And looking up to heaven he sighed and saith unto him Ephphatha that is be opened 35 And straightway his ears were opened and the string of his Tongue was loosed and he spake plain 36 And he charged them that they should tell no Man but the more he charged them so much the more a great deal they published it 37 And were beyond measure astonished saying He hath done all things well he maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak See here 1. The bitter Fruits and sad Effects of Sin which has brought Deafness Dumbness and Blindness upon the Humane Nature As Death so all Diseases entred into the World by Sin Sin first brought Infirmities and Mortality into our Natures and the Wages of Sin are Diseases and Death Observe 2. That the Blessing of Bodily Health and Healing is from Christ who by his Divine Power as he was God miraculously and immediately healed them that were brought unto him Obser 3. The Actions and Gestures which our Saviour used in healing this Deaf Person He put his Fingers into his Ears he spit and touched his Tongue Not that these were Means or Natural Causes effecting the Cure for there was no healing Vertue in the Spittle but only outward Signs Testimonies and Pledges of Christ's Divine Power and Gracious Readiness to cure the Person in Distress Obser 4. How Christ withdrew the Person from the Multitude whom he was about to help and heal Teaching us in all our Good Works to avoid all Shew and Appearance of Ostentation and Vain-Glory To set God's Glory before our Eyes and not seek our own Praise Observe 5. The Effect which this Miracle had upon the Multitude it occasion'd their Astonishment and Applause They were astonished and said He hath done all things well It becomes us both to take Notice of the wonderful Works of God and also to magnify and extol the Author of them This is one way of glorifying our Creator CHAP. VIII 1 IN those days the Multitude being very great and having nothing to eat Jesus called his Disciples unto him and said unto them 2 I have compassion on the multitude because they have now been with me three days and have nothing to eat 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own Houses they will faint by the way for divers of them came from far 4 And his Disciples answered him From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread in the wilderness 5 And he asked them How many loaves have ye and they said Seven 6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground and he took the seven loaves and gave thanks and brake and gave to his Disciples to set before them and they did set them before the People 7 And they had a few small fishes and he blessed
could not 19 He answered him and saith O faithless generation how long shall I be with you how long shall I suffer you bring him unto me 20 And they brought him unto him and when he saw him straightway the spirit tare him and he fell on the ground and wallowed foming 21 And he asked his Father How long is it ago since that came unto him And he said of a child 22 And oft-times it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him but if thou canst do any thing have compassion on us and help us 23 Jesus saith unto him if thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth 24 And straightway the Father of the child cried out with tears and said Lord I believe help thou my unbelief 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together he rebuked the foul Spirit saying unto him Thou dumb and deaf spirit I charge thee come out of him and enter no more into him 26 And the Spirit cried and rent him sore and came out of him and he was as one dead insomuch that many said He is dead 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he arose 28 And when he was come into the house his Disciples asked him privately Why could not we cast him out 29 And he said unto them This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting Observe here 1. The person brought to Christ for help and healing one Bodily possest by Satan who had made him deaf and dumb from his childhood and oft-times cast him into the Fire and Water but rather to torment then to dispatch him Oh how does Satan that malicious Tyrant rejoyce in doing hurt to their Bodies as well as the soul of Mankind Lord abate his power since his malice will not be abated How great is thy goodness in preserving us from the power and malice of evil Spirits and how watchful is thy Providence over us to preserve us when Satan is seeking by all imaginable means and methods to destroy us Observe 2. The Person that represents his sad condition to our Saviour his compassionate Father who kneeled down and cried out need will make a person both humble and eloquent Every one has a Tongue to speak for himself happy he that keeps a Tongue for others Observe 3. The circumstance of time Satan had got possession of this person very young in his youth nay in his childhood and oh how hard was it to cast him out after so long possession the Disciples could not do it with all their power and prayers and when our Saviour himself by the power of his Godhead did dispossess him it was with foming and renting that he left him Thus when Satan gets possession of Persons hearts in their youth oh how hard will it be to cast him out it will put the Soul to great grief great pain great sorrow of heart Satan will endeavour to hold his own and keep the sinner his slave and vassal if all the power of Hell can keep him Lord convince young persons that it is easier to keep Satan out then it is to cast him out of the possession of their hearts Observe 4. The Physicians which this distressed Person is brought unto First to the Disciples and then to Jesus We never apply our selves importunately to the God of Power till we dispair of the Creatures help But why could not the Disciples cast him out Christ tells them because of their unbelief that is because of the weakness of their Faith not the total want of Faith Whence learn that secret unbelief may lie hid and undiscerned in the heart which neither others nor our selves may take notice of until some tryal doth discover it Observe 5. The poor man's humble Request and Christ's gracious reply If thou canst do any thing help me says the Father if thou canst believe all things are possible says our Saviour Note thence that the fault is not in Christ but in our selves if we receive not that mercy from him which we desire and need there is no deficiency in Christ's power the defect lies in our Faith Hereupon the man cries out with Tears Lord I believe help thou my unbelief if these were tears of Joy for the truth of his Faith then we gather that the lowest degree and least measure of Faith is matter of Joy unspeakable to the owner and possessor of it If these were Tears of Sorrow for the weakness of his Faith then we may collect that the Remains of Unbelief in the children of God do cost them many tears they are the burthen and sorrow of gracious Souls The Father of the child cried out with Tears Lord I believe help my unbelief Observe 6. With what facility and ease our Saviour cast out this stubborn Devil that had so long possest this poor child even with a word speaking how long soever Satan has kept possession of a Soul Christ can eject and cast them out both easily and speedily one word of Christ's mouth is sufficient to help us out of all distress both bodily and Spiritual Yet did our Lord suffer the evil Spirit to rage and rend the child before he went out of him not from any delight in the poor childs misery but that the Multitude seeing the Desperateness of the Case might the more admire the power of Christ in his Deliverance Observe 7. The Sovereign Power and absolute Authority which Christ had even here on Earth when in his State of Humiliation over the Devil and his Angels he commands him to go out and enter no more into the child and is obeyed This was a proof and demonstration of the Godhead of our Saviour that he had power and Authority over Devils to command and over-rule them to curb and restrain them at his Pleasure And whereas Christ commands the Devil not only to come out but to enter no more into the Person it implies that Satan being cast out of his hole earnestly desires to enter in again to recover his hold and to regain his possession but if Christ says enter no more Satan shall obey his voyce Observe 8. The Disciples enquiry into the Reasons why they could not cast this stubborn Devil out According to the power which he had given them to work Miracles Christ tells them it was 1. Because of their unbelief by which understand the weakness of their faith not their total want of Faith 2. Because they did not in this extraordinary case apply themselves to the use of extraordinary means Namely prayer and fasting Learn hence 1. That in extraordinary cases where the Necessities either of Soul or Body do require it Recourse must be had to the use of extraordinary means one of which is an importunate Application unto God by solemn Prayer Secondly that fasting and prayer are two special means of Christ's own Appointment for the enabling of his people Victoriously to overcome Satan and cast
to contemn worldly Possessions as to be willing to part with them when they hinder our Happiness and Salvation It follows And take up the Cross an Allusion to the Roman Custom when the Malefactor was to be crucified he bare his Cross upon his Shoulder and carried it to the Place of Execution 'T is not the making but the patient bearing of the Cross which is our Duty Learn That all Christ's Followers should prepare their Shoulders for Christ's Cross To bear the Cross implies Faithfulness and Integrity without shifting Patience and Submission without murmuring Joy and Chearfulness without fainting Obs 4. The Effect which our Saviour's Admonition had upon this young Person He was sad and grieved at that Saying Thence Note 1. That carnal Men are sad and exceeding sorrowful when they cannot win Heaven in their own way 2. That such as are wedded to the World will renounce Christ rather than the World when the World and Christ stand in Competition 23 And Jesus looked round about and saith unto his disciples How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words But Jesus answereth again and saith unto them Children how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God 25 It is easier for a camel to go thorow the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God 26 And they were much astonished saying with themselves Who then can be saved 27. But Jesus answered and said With men it is impossible but not with God for with God all things are possible From this Discourse of our Holy Lord's concerning the Danger of Riches and the Difficulty that attends Rich Men in their way to Heaven we may collect and gather First That Rich Men do certainly meet with more Difficulties in their Way to Heaven than other Men. 'T is Difficult to withdraw their Affections from Riches to place their supream Love upon God in the midst of their Abundance 'T is difficult to depend entirely upon God in a Rich Condition for the Rich Man's Wealth is his strong Tower Secondly That yet the Fault lies not in Riches but in Rich Men who by placing their Trust and reposing their Confidence in Riches do render themselves uncapable of the Kingdom of God Obs 3. The Proverbial Speech which our Saviour makes use of to set forth the Difficulty of a Rich-Man's Salvation It is easier for a Camel to go through a Needle 's Eye This was a Proverb amongst the Jews signifying a thing of great Difficulty next to an Impossibility and it implies thus much That it is not only a very great Difficulty but an utter Impossibility for such as abound in worldly Wealth and place their Confidence therein to be saved without an extraordinary Grace and Assistance from God 'T is hard for God to make a Rich Man happy because he thinks himself happy without God Obs 4. The Disciples are affected with Wonder and Admiration at this Doctrine of our Saviour's and cry out Who then can be saved Learn thence That such are the special and peculiar Difficulties which lye in the Rich Man's way to Salvation that their getting to Heaven is matter of Wonder and Admiration to the Disciples of Christ Obs 5. How our Saviour resolves this Doubt by telling his Disciples That what was impossible with Men was possible with God implying That it is impossible for any Man Rich or Poor by his own Natural Strength to get to Heaven And 2. That when we are discouraged with the Sense of our own Impotency we should consider the Power of God and act our Faith upon it With God all things are possible 28 Then Peter began to say unto him Lord we have left all and have followed thee 29 And Jesus answered and said Verily I say unto you there is no man that hath left house or brethren or sisters or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the Gospels 30 But he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the world to come eternal life 31 But many that are first shall be last and the last first The Apostles having heard our Saviour's Command to sell all and give to the Poor St. Peter in the Name of the rest tells Christ That they had left all to follow him Where Note How Peter magnifies that Little which he had left for Christ and ushers it in with a Note of Admiration Lo We have left all Learn hence That though it be very little that we suffer for Christ and have to forsake upon his Account yet are we apt to magnify and extol it as if it were some great Matter Lord we have left All says Peter What All Man hadst thou to lose besides thy ragged Nets and thy tatter'd Fisher-Boat A great All next to nothing at all scarce worth mentioning and yet how is it magnified Behold we have left all and followed thee Observe next Our Lord 's kind and gracious Answer that those that leave all to follow him shall be no Losers by him We may be Losers for Christ we shall never be Losers by him for whatever we part with in this World for the sake of Christ Houses or Lands Brethren or Sisters we shall receive an hundred fold now in this Life But how so Non formalitèr sed eminenter non in specie sed in valore not in Kind but in Equivalency Not an hundred Brethren Sisters or Lands in Kind but he shall enjoy that in God which all Creatures would be to him if they were multiplied an hundred times And the Gifts and Graces the Comforts and Consolations of the Holy Spirit shall be an hundred times better Portion than any thing we can part with for the sake of Christ For the Sense of those Words The first shall be last c. see the Note on Matth. 30.19 32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem and Jesus went before them and they were amazed and as they followed they were afraid and he took again the twelve and began to tell them what things should happen unto him 33 Saying Behold we go up to Jerusalem and the son of man shall be delivered to the chief priests and unto the scribes and they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to the gentiles 34 And they shall mock him and shall scourge him and spit upon him and kill him and the third day he shall rise again This is at least the Third time that Christ had acquainted his Disciples with his approaching Sufferings The first time he told his Disciples of his Death in geâ—eral the second time he declares the Means by Treason now he tells them the Manner by Crucifying him All this he did to prevent their Dejection at his Sufferings Learn hence That it is highly necessary
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
tells us that John had two sorts of Hearers 1. the common People and Publicans 2. The Pharisees and Lawyers and declares that different effect which John's Ministry had upon these two different sorts of Persons As to the former the common People and the Publicans the common People were accounted by the Jewish Doctors as the Dregs of Mankind an ignorant and rude Mob the Publicans were esteemed notoriously wicked guilty of great Injustice Oppression and Extortion yet these vile Persons were converted sooner then the Knowing Men of the Time the Self-justifying Pharisees and Lawyers for it is said The Publicans were baptized of John and justified God that is they look'd upon John as a Prophet sent of God they owned his Ministry received his Message and submitted to his Baptism Those which believe the Message that God sendeth and obey it they justify God They that do not believe and obey accuse and condemn God But of the others it is said namely of the Pharisees and Lawyers That they rejected the Counsel of God against themselves that is the revealed Will of God refusing to be Baptized of him this rejecting the Counsel of God we are guilty of when we have low and undervaluing thoughts of Christ and his Gospel when we are ashamed in times of Persecution to own and profess him when we stop our Ears to the voice of his Ministers and Messengers when we submit not our selves to the reasonable Laws and Commands of Christ and this Rejection of Christ at the Great Day will render our Condition worse then the Condition of Heathens that never heard of a Saviour then the Condition of Jews which Crucified their Saviour yea then the Condition of Devils for whom a Saviour was never intended Lord Where shall we appear if we either Reject or Neglect thy great Salvation 31 And the Lord said whereunto shall I liken the men of this generation and to what are they like 32 They are like unto children sitting in the market-place and calling one to another and saying we have piped unto you and ye have not danced we have mourned to you and ye have not wept 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drining wine and ye say he hath a Devil 34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking and ye say behold a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber a friend of Publicans and Sinners 35 But wisdom is justified all of her children Our Blessed Saviour in these words describes the perverse Humour of the Pharisees whom nothing could allure to the embracing of the Gospel neither John's Ministry nor Christ's This our Saviour sets forth two ways allegorically and properly by way of Allegory he compares them to sullen Children whom nothing would please neither Mirth nor Mourning if their fellows piped before them they would not Dance if they sang mournful Songs to them they would not lament that is the Pharisees were of such a censorious and capricious humour that God himself could not please them altho' he used variety of Means and Methods in order to that end Next our Lord plainly interprets this Allegory by telling them that John came to them neither eating nor drinking that is not so freely and plentifully as other Men being a very austere and mortified man both in his Dyet and Habit all which was designed by God to bring the Pharisees to Repentance and Amendment of Life But instead of this they Censure him for having a Devil because he delighted in Solitude and was not so free in Conversation as some Men according to the ancient Observation that he that delighteth in Solitude is either an Angel or a Devil either a wild Beast or a God John being thus rejected Christ himself comes to them who being of a free and familiar Conversation not shunning the Society of the worst of men no not of the Pharisees themselves but complying with their Customs and accompanying them innocently at their Feasts yet the freedom of our Saviour's Conversation displeas'd them as much as John's reservedness of Temper for they cry Behold a man gluttonous a friend of Publicans and Sinners Christ's Affability towards Sinners they account an Approbation of their Sins and his Sociable Disposition Looseness and Luxury Learn hence That the Faithful and Zealous Ministers of Christ let their Temper and Converse be what it will cannot please the Enemies of Religion and the haters of the Power of Godliness neither John's Austerity nor Christ's familiarity could gain upon the Pharisees It is the Duty of the Minister's of God in the course of their Ministry to seek to please all Men for their good But after all our endeavours to please all if we strenuously oppose the Errors and Vices of the Times we shall please but very few But if God and Conscience be of the number of those few we are Safe and Happy Observe 2. that it has been the old Policy of the Devil that he might hinder the Success of the Gospel to fill the minds of Persons with an invincible Prejudice against the Ministers and Dispensers of the Gospel Here the Pharisees are prejudiced unreasonably both against John and against Christ that the Success of both their Ministry might be frustrated and disappointed Observe 3. That after all the scandalous Reproaches cast upon the Christian Religion and the Ministers and Professors of it such as are Wisdoms Children wise and good men will justify Religion that is approve it in their judgments honour it in their Discourses and adorn it in their Lives Wisdom is justified of all her Children 36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him and he went into the Pharisees house and sate down to meat 37 And behold a woman in the city which was a sinner when she knew that Jesus sate at meat in the Pharisees house brought an Alablaster Box of Oyntment 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash his feet with Tears and did wipe them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the Oyntment Observe here 1. The Pharisees Civility and our Saviour's Courtesy the Pharisee invites Christ to eat with him Christ readily accepts the invitation never refusing any opportunity for doing good There is a Duty of Civil Courtesy which we owe to the worst of Men none are so bad but we may soberly eat and drink with them only let us take care that if our Converse do not make them better their Example may not make us worse Observe 2. What an opportunity our Saviour lays hold upon in the Pharisees House of doing good to a sinful Woman who coming to Christ bowed down in a sorrowful sight and sense of her Sins finds an hearty welcome to him and is dismissed with comfort from him The History runs thus Behold a Woman in the City which was a sinner that is a Gentile say some a remarkable notorious and infamous Sinner say others probably a lewd unclean woman
seem to thank God that he was not so bad as the Publican when indeed he was glad that the Publican was not so good as himself Observe 3. The Publicans Behaviour in an humble sight and sense of his own sinfulness and unworthiness He stood afar off probably in the Court of the Gentiles where all sorts of Sinners might come acknowledging thereby that he was unworthy to come near the Holy Majesty of God not presuming to lift up his eyes to Heaven That place of perfect Holiness and Purity but like a true self-condemned Penitent smote upon his Breast and in bitter Remorse of Soul said God be merciful to me a sinner Hence Learn That a truly humble temper of mind well becomes us in all our Approaches and Addresses to God and is more acceptable to him than all pompous Performances whatsoever For Observe Lastly The Publican being thus condemned of himself departs Justified by God He went down to his house justified rather than the Pharisee the Pharisee justified himself the Publican was justified by God Thence Learn That a Penitent Sinner who is indeed poor in Spirit is far more esteemed of God than he that makes long Prayers fasts often Tythes all his Substance and prides himself in all this Without Humility all is vain Glory and Hypocrisy and the Seemingly most Sanctified Person that has it not is like a painted Sepulchre Beautiful without but full of rottenness within 15 And they brought unto him Infants that he would touch them but when his Disciples saw it they rebuked them 16 But Jesus called them unto him and said Suffer little Children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of God 17 Verily I say unto you whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little Child shall in no wise enter therein Observe here 1. A solemn Action performed Children Infants sucking Children as the word signifies are brought to Christ that he might bless them the Parents looking up-Christ as a Prophet as a great and extraordinary Prophet perswaded themselves that by his Prayers and laying his Hands on their Children they should be preserved from Bodily Diseases and from Satan's Power and that he would confer upon them all needful Blessings Learn 1. That Infants are capable of Benefit by Jesus Chrst 2. That it is the best Office that Parents can perform unto their Children to bring them unto Christ that they may be made partakers of that Benefit 3. That if Infants are capable of Benefit by Christ if capable of his Blessing on Earth and Presence in Heaven if they be Subjects of his Kingdom of Grace and Heirs of his Kingdom of Glory then may they be Baptized for they that are within the Covenant Acts 2.39 have a Right to the Priviledges of the Covenant and to Baptism the Seal of the Covenant And if Christ denies not Infants the Kingdom of Heaven which is the greater What Reason have his Ministers to deny them the Benefit of Baptism which is the less Learn 4. That Christ will have all his Disciples and Followers to resemble little Children in such Properties wherein they may be patterns to them viz. in Humility and Innocency in freedom from Malice and Revenge in Docibility and Teachableness in Cleaving to and Depending upon their Parents and in Contentedness with their Condition Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little Child shall in no wise enter therein 18. And a certain Ruler asked him saying Good Master What shall I do to inherit Eternal Life We have here a considerable Person a Ruler coming to Christ with an important question in his Mouth What must I do to inherit eternal Life Where Note 1. He believes the certainty of future State 2. He professes a desire of an Eternal Happiness in that State 3. He declares his readiness and willingness to do some good thing in order to the obtaining of that Happiness Hence Learn 1. That the Light of Nature or Natural Religion teaches Men that good Works are necessary to Salvation or that some good thing must be done by them who at Death expect Eternal Life it is not Talking well and Professing well but Living well that Entitles us to Heaven and Eternal Life 19 And Jesus said unto him Why callest thou me Good None is good save one that is God Our Saviour here reproves this Person for calling him Good when he did not own to be God saying There is none good that is Essentially and Originally Good absolutely and immutably Good but God only nor any derivatively Good but he that receives his Goodness from God also 20 Thou knowest the Commandments Do not commit Adultery Do not Kill Do not Steal Do not bear false Witness Honour thy Father and thy Mother Note here that the Duties Directed to by our Saviour are the Duties of the Second Table nothing being a better Evidence of our unfeigned Love to God than a sincere Performance of our Duty to our Neighbour Love to Man is a Fruit and Testimony of our Love to God Learn thence That such as are defective in the Duties of the Second Table Charity and Justice towards Man do make but a Counterfeit shew of Religion tho' they pretend to the highest Degrees of Love to God 21 And he said all these things have I kept from my Youth up This Assertion might be very true according to the Pharisees sense and interpretation of the Law which Condemned only the gross outward Act not the inward Lusts and Motions of the Heart An external Obedience to the Letter of the Law this Man might possibly have performed this made him think well of himself and conclude the goodness of his own Condition Learn hence How prone Men are to think the best of themselves and to have too high an Opinion of their own Goodness and Righteousness before God this is very natural but dangerous and fatal 22 Now when Jesus heard these things he said unto him Yet lackest thou one thing Sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the Poor and thou shalt have Treasure in Heaven and come and follow me Here Observe 1. Our Lord's Admonition Yet lackest thou one thing which was true Self-denial in renouncing the Sin of Covetousness and the inordinate Love of Worldly Wealth We ought in the midst of our abundance to maintain a readiness of Disposition to part with all for God's sake that is dear unto us in this World Observe 2. Our Lord's Injunction Sell all that thou hast and give to the poor This was not a Common but a special Precept given particularly to this Rich Man for Tryal like that given to Abraham Gen. 22. and to convince him of his corrupt Confidence in Riches yet is the Precept thus far of general use to us all to teach us so to contemn Worldly Possessions as to be willing to part with them all at God's Pleasure and when they prejudice our Salvation 23 And when he heard
yet this must not be understood absolutely but comparatively Not as if the Prophets reaped nothing converted none but that their Fruit was small in comparison of the Success which the Apostles found Nor is it to be understood as if the Apostles took no pains at all but that the Prophets greater pains rendred the Apostles Labours Successful who took less pains Learn hence 1. That the Wisdom of God sees it fit that all his Servants in the VVork of the Ministry do not meet with the same Difficulties nor enjoy the same Success Some are laborious Sowers others are joyful Reapers some labour all their Days with little visible Success others bring in many to Christ perhaps by a single Sermon some labour even with Weariness and reap little others enter into their Labours and reap much 39 ¶ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified He told me all that ever I did 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him they besought him that he would tarry with them and he abode there two days 41 And many mo believed because of his own word 42 And said unto the woman Now we believe not because of thy saying for we have heard him our selves and know that this is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the world Here an Account is given of the Conversion of more of the Samaritans from the City Sychar Some believed on him upon the full Report which the VVoman had made That he had told her all that ever she did But others were brought to believe by his own Word Now from the VVomans being an Instrument to bring her Acquaintance to Christ by her own Experience of what she had heard from him Learn 1. That very weak Instruments when they employ themselves for Christ desiring to extol his Praise and set forth his Glory are sometimes richly blessed with great Success Many of the Samaritans believed for the Saying of this poor Woman Learn 2. That when a Person can say but little of Christ yet if it be spoken from Experience and sensible Feeling it will be more Successful and Persuasive than much more that is spoken from Notional Knowledge Such was this Womans Testimony concerning Christ Come see a Man that told me all things that ever I did Is not this the Christ She spake what she found yea what she felt within her self and speaking her own Experience many believed on him for her Saying But further these Samaritans believed Christ to be a Prophet upon the Testimony of this Woman But they believed him afterwards to be the Messias or the Saviour of the World upon the Credit and Authority of his own Word v. 41. And many more believed because of his own Word Thence Learn That although Instruments speaking may be a means to draw Persons to give some assent to Truth yet it is Christ himself that must work a full Persuasion and his own Word is the surest Foundation for Faith to build and depend upon Now we believe not because of thy saying for we have heard him our selves 43 ¶ Now after two days he departed thence and went into Galilee 44 For Jesus himself testified that a prophet hath no honour in his own countrey 45 Then when he was come into Galilee the Galileans received him having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast for they also went unto the feast Our Blessed Saviour having spent two days with the Samaritans as an Introduction to the calling of the Gentiles he goes forward towards Galilee the Place which he was pleased to make choice of for the Exercise of the greatest Part of his Ministry Coming into Galilee he passeth by the City of Nazareth where he had had his Education knowing what little Respect he was like to find there A Prophet ordinarily having little Honour in his own Country Therefore shunning Nazareth he goeth to Cana where he had done his first Miracle Learn hence 1. That there is a real Tribute of Honour due unto every Prophet and Minister of God which ought to be testified by Reverence to their Persons by a due Estimation of the Dignity of their Calling by Obedience to their Doctrine and by an honourable Maintenance A Prophet should have Honour and Honour includes all these 2. It is very usual and ordinary for the Prophets of God to meet with least Respect where they are most known their nearest Neighbours their nearest Relations their nearest Acquaintance are oft-times farthest off from giving them that Honour that is due unto them Learn 3. That the true Prophets and Messengers of God shall be sure to find some that will entertain their Persons and embrace their Ministry though they be disesteemed and rejected by others Tho' our Saviour had no Honour at Nazareth yet he found Entertainment amongst the rest of the Galileans 46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee where he made the water wine And there was a certain noble man whose son was sick at Capernaum 47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee he went unto him and besought him that he would come down and heal his son for he was at the point of death 48 Then said Jesus unto him Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe 49 The noble man saith unto him Sir come down ere my child die 50 Jesus saith unto him Go thy way thy son liveth And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him and he went his way 51 And as he was now going down his servants met him and told him saying Thy son liveth 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend and they said unto him Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in the which Jesus said unto him Thy son liveth and himself believed and his whole house 54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did when he was come out of Judea into Galilee In this last Paragraph of the Chapter we find our blessed Saviour performing a second Miracle in Cana of Galilee curing a noble Man's Son that was sick of a Fever This noble Man apprehended Christ to be a Prophet and believed that if he were bodily present with his Son he might possibly cure him but he did not believe him to be the Messias who was true God and every where present Therefore to give him an infallible Proof that he was so he tells him his Son was cured by the Word of his Mouth even at that distance By which Miracle he cured not only the Child of his Fever but the Father of his Unbelief From the whole we Note 1. The Person that here applies himself to Christ A noble Man We do not find Christ oft attended with Nobility Have any of the Rulers believed on him Yes here is one The Sovereign Grace of God is free and he
witnesseth of me is true Our Blessed Saviour having produced these five foregoing Arguments to prove his Unity in Essence and his Equality in Power with the Father comes now to the end of the Chapter to produce several Testimonies for the Proof of it and the first of them is the Testimony of God his Father There is another that beareth witness of me whose witness is True Now the Father had lately at Christ's Baptism by a Voice from Heaven declared him to be his beloved Son in whom he was well-pleased which illustrious Testimony given to Christ they had not regarded Learn hence That as Christ came into the World in Obedience to his Father and to bear witness to him so did the Father honour him and bear witness of him and his Testimony concerning his Son is undoubtedly True and to be depended and rested upon for we make the Father a Lyar if we do not depend upon the Record which he has given of his Son 33 Ye sent unto John and he bare witness unto the truth 34 But I receive not testimony from man but these things I say that ye might be saved The second Testimony to prove Christ to be the Messias was that of John the Baptist We read John 1.19 how the Jews sent to inquire of him whether he were the Christ or not and he denied it and pointed at Jesus saying Behold the Lamb of God yet would not the Jews abide by this Testimony of John concerning the Messias Nevertheless says Christ I receive not testimony from John that is John by his Testimony addeth nothing to me I was what I was and I am what I am before John testified of me and since Learn hence That the Divinity of Christ's Person and the Verity of his Doctrine needs no Man's Testimony for the Confirmation of it being sufficiently confirmed by Christ's own Authority and his Father's Testimony I receive not Testimony from Man that is I need it not I desire it not upon my own Account but upon yours only that upon the Credit of John's Testimony ye might believe on me and be saved by me These things I say that ye might be saved 35 He was a burning and a shining light and ye were willing for a season to rejoyce in his light Observe here John's Character and the Peoples Carriage 1. John's Character he was a Light a burning and a shining Light He had in him a Light of Knowledge to enlighten direct and comfort others and this his Knowledge was accompanied with Zeal he was a burning Light in his Doctrine and a shining Lamp in his Conversation He had the Light of Knowledge in his Head the Warmth of Zeal in his Heart and the Influence of both in his Life Learn hence 1. That those whom God calls to the Office and Work of the Ministry he furnishes with Abilities and Endowments suitable to their great Employments he endues them with a Light of Knowledge which is animated with the Heat and Warmth of Zeal 2. That Ministerial Gifts and Abilities are not bestowed alike upon all but dispersed variously All are Lights according to their Measure but all are not equally burning and shining Lights for Proportion and Degree 3. That the brightest burning and clearest shining Lights in the Church of Christ have but their time in this World they are subject as well as other Men to the common Condition of Mortality and the Lamp of their Lives burns out the faster by lighting others to Heaven John was a burning and a shining Light but now is put out and gone Observe 2. As John's Character so the Peoples Carriage ye were willing for a season to rejoyce in his Light Here is a threefold Gradation they rejoyced They rejoyced in his Light and they rejoyced for a season 1. They rejoyced The word signifies they leaped for Joy and danced about him as Children do about a Bonfire when he first began his Ministry amongst them Oh how warm are the Affections of a People when a pious and zealous Minister comes first among them 2. They rejoyced in his Light not in his Heat Or they rejoyced in John's Light not in Christ's For when they found that John bare Record to Christ they soon grew cold in their Affections towards John 3. They rejoyced only for a season for an hour as the word signifies For a short time John's Ministry was acceptable Learn hence 1. That it has been an old Practice amongst Professors not to like their Pastors long though they have been never such burning and shining Lights John was not changed but his Hearers were changed he did burn and shine in the Candlestick of the Church with equal Zeal and Lustre to the last but they had changed their Thoughts of him and lost their Esteem for him Learn 2. That as nothing in general is so mutable as the Mind of Man so nothing in particular is so variable as the Affections and Opinions of People towards their Ministers The Lamp of John's Ministry was always alike burning and shining his Oil did not waste but his Hearers Zeal wasted and their Affections cooled Those whose Gifts are not at all abated may yet find a great abatement in the acceptation of their Gifts Therefore let no Men live upon the Breath of Men least of all let Ministers live upon the popular Air or the Speech of People Oh let us live upon the Credit which we have with God and rejoyce chiefly in his Esteem If our Performances find acceptance with God we are safe and happy tho' they fall under Contempt with Men. 36 ¶ But I have greater witness then that of John for the works which the Father hath given me to finish the same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me The third Testimony produced by Christ to evidence and prove himself to be the promised Messias and Saviour of the World is that of his Miracles which by an Omnipotent Power as God he was enabled to work Christ's Miracles were speaking Testimonies of his Unity with the Father and of the Divinity of his Person Not so the Miracles of his Apostles for he wrought his Miracles in his own Name and by his own Power and Authority but the Apostles expresly declared the contrary Acts 3.12 16. Why look ye so stedfastly on us as if we by our own power had made this Man whole His name through faith in his name hath made this Man strong Learn hence That the Testimony of Christ's own Works his Miracles wrought in his own Name and by his own Authority and Power is a clearer Confirmation of his Godhead Office and Doctrine than the best of Mens Testimonies yea than John Baptist's own Testimony That he saw the Spirit descending on him 37 And the Father himself which hath sent me hath born witness of me Ye have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you for whom he hath
Devil the King of Saints in Heaven as well as the whole Host of Saints on Earth hath been frequently smitten and deeply wounded with reproach Christ was reproached for our sake and when we are reproached for his sake he takes our reproach as his own Moses his reproach was the reproach of Christ Heb. 11.26 And he esteemed it a Treasure which did more inrich him with its worth than press him with its weight Esteeming the Reproach of Christ greater Riches than the Treasures of Egypt Observe 3. The wonderful meekness of Christ in passing over this Reproach and Calumny without one word of Reply Guilt is commonly clamorous and impatient but Innocence is silent and regardless of misreports Our Saviour is not at the pains of a word to vindicate himself from their impotent censure but goes on with his Discourse and justifies his own Action in healing a Man on the Sabbath-day from the Jews own practice in circumcising their Children on that day if it hapned to be the Eighth day And the Argument runs thus If Circumcision may be Administred to a Child on the Sabbath-day which is a servile kind of Work and Bodily Exercise without blame or censure why must I fall under Censure for healing a Man on the Sabbath-day thoroughly and perfectly only by a word speaking Hence Learn That the Law of doing good and Relieving the miserable at all Times is a more ancient and excellent Law than either that of the Sabbath Rest or of Circumcision upon the Eighth day A Ritual Law must and ought to give place to the Lâ—w of Nature which is written in every Man's heart As if our Lord had said If you may wound a Man by Circumcision on the Sabbath-day may not I heal One if you may heal on that Day one Member of the circumcised may not I make a Man whole every whit if you be at pains to cure such a one with your hand may not I without pains cure a Man with the word of my Mouth 24 Judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment From the foregoing Argument Christ draws an Inference or Conclusion that there is no making a judgment according to the first Appearance of Things and that Suddenness or Rashness Prejudice or Partiality in judging overthrows Righteous Judgment This is the general Application of what Christ had said before and the particular Application of it as to himself comes to this Judge not according to Appearance but judge Righteous Judgment As if Christ had said Lay aside your prejudices against my Person and compare these cases attentively and impartially with one another and then see whether you can justly condemn me as a Sabbath Breaker and acquit your selves Such was the perfect Innocency of our Saviour's Actions that he could and did submit them to the Reason and Judgment of his very Enemies 25 Then said some of them of Jerusalem is not this he whom they seek to kill 26 But lo he speaketh boldly and they say nothing unto him do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ 27 Howbeit we know this man whence he is but when Christ cometh no man knoweth whence he is 28 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught saying Ye both know me and ye know whence I am and I am not come of my self but he that sent me is true whom ye know not 29 But I know him for I am from him and he hath sent me 30 Then they sought to take him but no man laid hands on him because his hour was not yet come 31 And many of the people believed on him and said when Christ cometh will he do mo miracles then these which this man hath done Our Blessed Saviour having vindicated both his Doctrine and Practice and appeared publickly in the Temple and speaking boldly there the People of Jerusalem knowing the hatred and enmity of the Chief Priests and Rulers against him do wonder that they did not apprehend him Learn Almighty God doth and can preserve his own in the faithful discharge of their Duty in such an admirable manner that even their Enemies themselves may wonder at it and be Astonisht with it Observe 2ly The Argument which the Jews urged against our Saviour's being Christ and the promised Messias Namely That they knew whence he was whereas when the Messias cometh no man will know whence he is now herein they Assert a manifest untruth for tho' Christ in respect of his Godhead was prefigured by Melchisedeck who was without Father or Mother without descent that is without any that the Scripture mentions yet in respect of his humane Nature the Jews might know whence he was for the Scripture plainly pointed out the Tribe the Family the Lineage and the place of his Birth Observe 3. That Christ being grieved at this impudent Cavil doth reply unto it with much boldness and Zeal he cried saying ye both know me and know whence I am but the Father that sent me ye know not That is you know me as Man where I was Born and of what Family I am but you know not my Divine Nature nor the Father from whom I am by Eternal Generation and who hath sent me into the World Observe 4. What causeless Rage appeared in these Men against Christ for declaring the Truth unto them they would have taken him by Violence had not the Power and Providence of God restrained them for the present because his time to Suffer was not yet come Hence Learn That Violence and Persecution against the Faithful Dispensers of the Truths of God have been the Lot and Portion of such in all Ages and Generations Christ experienced it let his Ministers expect it Observe 5. That altho' the Rulers at Jerusalem were Angry and enraged yet the meaner and inferiour sort of People Believed on him being convinced by the wonderful Miracles which he had wrought amongst them that he was the True and promised Messias For say they when ever the Messias come he cannot do greater and more Evident Miracles then this Man hath hath done Learn hence That altho' the Grace of God be not ensured to or entailed upon any sort of People yet ordinarily it is the meaner sort of People with whom it prevails most Many of the common People at Jerusalem were Believing when the Rulers there were Persecuting Men that live in Pleasure and at Ease see no need of dependance upon God have little inclination or desire to farther the Gospel and to encourage either the Dispensers or Professors of it nay it is well if they do not turn Persecutors ¶ 32 The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him 33 Then said Jesus unto them Yet a little while am I with you and then I go unto him that sent me 34 Ye shall seek me and shall not find me and where I am thither ye cannot come 35 Then said the Jews
Devil's Slaves to become Christ's Free Men. 37 I know that ye are Abrahams seed but ye seek to kill me because my word hath no place in you 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father and ye do that which ye have seen with your father 39 They answered and said unto him Abraham is our father Jesus saith unto them If ye were Abrahams children ye would do the works of Abraham 40 But now ye seek to kill me a man that hath told you the truth which I have heard of God this did not Abraham The Jews boasting again that they were Abraham's Seed and bearing themselves much upon it our Saviour tells them he knew they were so his natural Children according to the Flesh but not his genuine Children according to the Spirit This he proves because they did not tread in Abraham's steps and do his works for if either the Temper of their Minds or the Actions of their Lives were agreeable to Abraham they would not seek as they did to destroy and kill him only for bringing the Doctrine of Salvation to them which he had heard and learned of the Father Hence learn 1. How prone we are to glory in our outward Priviledges and to reâ—y upon them Whereas these are Arguments of God's goodness towards us but no evidences of our goodness towards him 2. That it is very dangerous and unsafe to pride our selves in and depend upon any external priviledges and prerogatives whatsoever As our being Born within the pale of the visible Church our descending from Pious Parents and Holy Progenitors for unless we be followers of their Faith admirers of their Piety and imitate their Example we are none of their Children but belong to another Father as our Saviour tells the Jews in the next Verses 41 Ye do the deeds of your father Then said they to him We be not born of fornication we have one Father even God 42 Jesus said unto them If God were your Father ye would love me for I proceeded forth and came from God neither came I of my self but he sent me 43 Why do ye not understand my speech even because ye cannot hear my word 44 Ye are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do he was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own for he is a liar and the father of it In the former Verses the Jews made their Boast that they were the Children of Abraham in these that they are the Children of God We have one father even God This our Saviour disproves Telling them that if God were their Father they would love him as proceeding from him by eternal Generation and in his Office imployed by him as Mediatour Also if God were their Father they would understand him speaking from God whereas now they were so transported with Malice that they could not endure his Doctrine with patience tho' it came from God All which were undeniable proofs that they were not the Children of God Hence learn That none can justly pretend any Interest in God as his Children but they that love Christ as being the Express Image of his Father's Person and do hear and receive his Doctrine as coming from God This the Jews did not do therefore says Christ They are not the Children of God Observe farther Having told them whose Children they are not our Saviour tells them plainly whose Children they were Ye are of your father the Devil This appears by their being Acted by him by their Resembling and Imitating of him their Inclinations Dispositions and Actions being all to fulfil the Lusts of the Devil Now as his Servants we are whom we obey so his Children we are whom we resemble Learn hence That Men's sinful Practices will prove them to be Satan's Children let their Profession be what it will if in the Temper of their Minds and in the Actions of their Lives there be a Conformity to Satan's Disposition and a ready Compliance with his Temptations they are certainly his Children what pretences soever they make of being the Children of God None could pretend higher to the Relation of God's Children than these Jews did yet says Christ Ye are the Children of the Devil for his workâ— ye do 45 And because I tell you the truth ye believe me not 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin And if I say the truth Why do ye not believe me 47 He that is of God heareth Gods words ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God 48 Then answered the Jews and said unto him Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil 49 Jesus answered I have not a devil but I honour my Father and ye do dishonour me 50 And I seek not mine own glory there is one that seeketh and judgeth Here Observe 1. The free Reproof which Christ gave the Jews for their obstinate Unbelief Because I tell you the Truth ye Believe me not 2. The Challenge which he gives the worst of his Adversaries Which of you convinceth me of Sin So perfectly pure Innocent and Spotless was the Doctrine and Life of Christ That altho' his Enemies loaded him with Slander and false Accusation yet none of them could justly convince him of much less condemn him for the least known Sin Observe 3. The Jews being enraged at this free Reproof fell a railing at his Person charging him with being a Samaritan possessed with an Evil Spirit Our Saviour meekly replies That he did not deal with the Devil but was honouring his Father in what he did and said And therefore his Father would take care of his honour and judge between him and them Here Note That tho' Christ used some sharpness in Reproving the Jews and Representing them to themselves yet he answers with wonderful mildness and meekness when he discovers his Resentments of his own Reproaches How cool was Christ in his own Cause but hot enough in Gods 51 Verily verily I say unto you If a man keep my saying he shall never see death 52 Then said the Jews unto him Now we know that thou hast a devil Abraham is dead and the prophets and thou sayest If a man keep my saying he shall never taste of death 53 Art thou greater then our father Abraham which is dead and the prophets are dead whom makest thou thy self 54 Jesus answered If I honour my self my honour is nothing it is my Father that honoureth me of whom ye say that he is your God 55 Yet ye have not known him but I know him and if I should say I know him not I shall be a liar like unto you but I know him and keep his saying Observe here 1. The blessed Fruit and effect of observing our Saviour's Doctrine He that keeps my saying shall never see Death that is Shall be secured from Eternal Misery and enjoy Eternal
humble himself that he needed to pray to his Father to bestow upon him the Glory which he wanted Namely The Glory of his Ascension and Exaltation Now O Father glorifie thou me with thine own self 6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world thine they were and thou gavest them me and they have kept thy word By the name of God we are here to understand his Nature his Properties and Attributes his Designs and Counsels for the Salvation of Mankind Christ as the Prophet of his Church made all these known unto his People Learn thence That Jesus Christ has made a full and compleat Discovery of his Father's Mind and Will unto his People I have manifested thy name unto them which thou gavest me thine they were and thou gavest them me and they have kept thy word Learn 1. That all Believers are given unto Christ as his Purchase and as his Charge They are given him as his Subjects as his Children as the Wife of his Bosom as the Members of his Body Learn 2. That none are given to Christ but those that were first the Fathers Thine they were and thou gavest them me Learn 3. That all those that are given unto Christ do keep his word they keep it in their understandings they hide it in their Hearts they feel the force of it in their Souls they express the power of it in their Lives They have kept thy word 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee Observe here 1. The faithfulness of Christ in revealing the whole Will of his Father to his Disciples 2. The proficiency of the Disciples in the School of Christ they knew all the things which Christ had told them Namely That whatsoever he had it was given him of the Father and that he had these things from him to be a Mediatour Learn hence That Christ hath approved himself a faithful Prophet to his Church a faithful Messenger from his Father to his People in that he hath added nothing to his Message nor taken nothing from it 2. That it is our duty to know and believe on Christ as the only Messenger and Mediatour sent of God Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me and they have received them and have known surely that I came out from thee and they have believed that thou didst send me As if Christ had said The Message by thee my Father committed to me I have communicated to them my Disciples and they have received it and will communicate it from thee to the World being sufficiently assured that my coming and preaching was all by Commission from thee Hence learn 1. That the Doctrine of the Gospel which was revealed by Christ was received from the Father 2. That Faith is a receiving of the word of Christ and of Christ in and by the word Receiving is a relative term and presupposes an offer God offers on his part we receive on our part the whole word with the whole heart 3. That the Ministers of the Gospel are to preach that and only that which they have out of the word of God I have given them the word which thou gavest me 9 I pray for them I pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me for they are thine That is I now offer up a Prayer particularly 1. For my Apostles designed to so great a work as the Preaching of the Everlasting Gospel to the obstinate Jews and obdurate Gentiles 2. I interceed also for all Believers at this time for their perseverance in the Faith and constancy in Persecution but I do not now interceed for the wicked and impenitent World they not being capable whilst such of these Mercies and Blessings though at other times we find him praying for the World yea for his very Crucifiers Father forgive them c. Nay in this very Prayer at the 20th Verse he Prays for the World that is for the Gentile World all those that by the preaching of the Apostles and their Successors should be brought to Believe on him to the End of the World Learn hence 1. That the Lord Jesus Christ is the Great and Gracious Intercessour 2. That all Believers all the Children of God in general are under the fruit and benefit of Christ's Intercession 3. That as all the Members of Christ in general so the Ministers and Ambassadours of Christ in special have a peculiar interest in Christ's Intercession and great are the Advantages of His Intercession for them 1. From the person interceeding Christ consider the Dignity of his Person God Man the dearness of his Person God's Son 2. From the manner of his Intercession not by way of entreaty but meritorious claim 3. From the sublimity of the Office our Intercessor is near to God even at his Right Hand 4. From the Fruits of his Intercession it procures the Acceptance and Justification of our Persons the hearing and answering of our Prayers the pardon and forgiveness of our Sins our preservation in Grace and our hopes of Eternal Glory 10 And all mine are thine and thine are mine and I am glorified in them We may understand this two ways 1. Of all Persons all my Friends all my Disciples are thine as well as mine Thence learn That the Father and the Son have a like Share and Propriety in all Believers 2. The words in the Original being of the Neuter Gender signifie all thy things are mine and all my things are thine Christ and his Father are one and they agree in one they have the same Essence and Nature the same Attributes and Will Christ hath all things that the Father hath willeth all things that the Father willeth and doth all things that the Father doth he is therefore really and essentially God It followeth and I am glorified in them that is I am made glorious by their owning and receiving me by their believing in me and accepting of me for their Lord and Saviour Thence Note That the Lord Jesus Christ is eminently glorified in and by all those that believe in him and belong unto him 11 And now I am no more in the world but these are in the world and I come to thee Holy Father keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me that they may be one as we are Here Observe 1. Our Saviour's present Condition I am no more in the World that is I shall continue on Earth but a small time longer and then ascend to my Father in Heaven Learn thence That Jesus Christ as he is Man is gone out of this lower World into the immediate Presence of his Father He had been abased before he must be exalted now He had no more Work to do on Earth but much to do in Heaven therefore he left this Earth to go to Heaven Observe 2.