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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11011	Lectures vpon the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians. Preached by that faithfull seruant of God, Maister Robert Rollok, sometime rector of the Vniuersitie of Edenburgh	Rollock, Robert, 1555?-1599.; Holland, Henry, 1555 or 6-1603.	1603 (1603)	STC 21282; ESTC S116223	383,986	492

that cannot speake as the Apostles and Saints of God did wee should learne how to speake of God Paul the more he insists in speaking of Christ and his fulnes the more his heart aboundeth and the more How to speake of Christ with grace his mouth is filled with words to his praise degree by degree So the mans heart being filled with Iesus his mouth is filled a full mouth speaking of Christ wil fill the harts of the hearers Then brethren learne the more y t one speakes of the fulnes of Christ and of his glorie the more more shall he finde his hart abound his mouth filled And it is impossible if thy heart be full of him but thy mouth must be full and thou wilt speake of him with a full mouth and not lightly a word and away And then who wots but the Lord will make that fulnes to fill some of the hearts of the hearers Blessed is that heart that can get any part of that fulnes of Iesus for thy heart was neuer stablished with grace that neuer got no part of the fulnes of Iesus All this speaking tels thee Christ is no winde nor vanitie If thou hadst no other thing to know stedfastnes by this same speaking of Paul tels thee that all soliditie and fulnes is in Iesus Christ Therefore when thou readest this marke it and say I see here a fulnes Alas that there should be such fulnes in Christ and I hauing so small part of it Lord let me finde this fulnes in some measure Cease not while thou finde it for it stands thee vpon life and life and the heart that is not filled with Christ here in some measure shall neuer be filled with his presence and ioyes in heauen hereafter And therefore thou that wouldest haue that onely fulnes which shall be in heauen by the sweete presence of Iesus there where thou shalt see him as hee is in our nature full of glorie and maiestie which sight shall make thee reioyce exceedingly looke as thou wouldst haue ioy for euermore that thou be filled with Iesus here on earth in some measure otherwaies away with thee thou art a cast away and thy end shall be in euerlasting woe woe vpon woe and euer in woe So then you may see all the glorie in heauen is in Iesus Christ there is not a iot of glorie out of him but all is in him that is in thy Sauiour Wouldest thou haue a Sauiour where wouldest thou get one if thou misse this Sauiour See the honour of thy nature in him All the glorie of heauen shines through the vaile of thy nature in him thy nature is the very vaile that hangs about that glorious Christ God manifested in our flesh maiestie that light that hath no accesse and it shines to thee through the vaile I speake this for this cause that thou presse not to seeke heauen nor no ioy nor glorie therein but in this Lord Iesus Christ No looke not here nor there but directly set thine eye vpon him that sits at the right hand of the Father For in him is all the glorie of the Father and looke that thou imagine not to see any glorie but that that is in thy head Where is thine heauen Iesus is thine heauen All thy heauen here and hence is as it were included in him Seeke it where thou wilt thou shalt finde no heauen without Christ Now to come to the next verse the Colossians might haue said What is that to vs that thou hast told vs of the great fulnes that is in him he is full but we are emptie what vantage haue wee by it Euen as if one would tell of a glorious King another will answere what is that to me The Apostle meetes with this obiection and saith In whom ye are complete who is the head of all principalitie and power As if he would say O Colossians in him ye are filled his fulnes is yours it serues for your profit So you see that not onely all fulnes of glorie is in Iesus Christ in his owne person but with the beames of it as it were all creatures are filled yea heauen it selfe is filled with his glorie and the earth is filled with his glorie and this is the felicitie of all the creatures in the world Wherein trowest thou stands the blessednes of the earth of the heauen and of all the elements Note Looke the eight chapter to the Romanes vers 21. 22. and there you shall finde that the blessednes of the creature stands in the gloriousnes of Rom. 8. 21 22 Christ one day to be reuealed And therefore Paul saith that the world groanes sighing for the reuelation of his glorie for the glorie of the earth and heauen is not yet reuealed Peter saith in his second Epistle chap. 3. 12. 13. When that the Lord shall come in his glorie that the heauens shall burne and be dissolued and the elements shall melt then there shall be new heauens A new heauen and a new earth made and a new earth So that thou shalt see another glorie in heauen and earth then euer was before or is now seene But to speake of man especially they that would beleeue and would be in him they shall be ingrafted as it were into him and set as it were in his fulnes aboue all other creatures for they shall be filled with his own fulnes If thou be set in him as the Sunne is in the firmament the fulnes of the glorie that is in him shall shine in thee aboue the earth aboue the Moone aboue the Sun it selfe So that this is felicitie to haue a share and portion of the grace and glorie of Christ to receiue of his fulnes for he is full of grace and veritie saith Iohn 1. 14. It is true indeed and so long as wee liue here this appeares not There is neuer a one that beleeues but he is a Kings sonne and a Kings daughter But saith John 1. Ioh. 3. 2. it appeares not as yet but when hee comes then it shall appeare wee shall all shine in glorie And the reprobate that thought thee but a lost creature shall wonder that euer there should be such a glorie prepared for thee Albeit thou shine not now yet if thou beleeue thou hast this vantage all that glorie that is in Christ is thine I say to thee a man is not so surely clad with his shirt as thou that beleeuest in Christ art clad with him He is a garment to thee haue what clothing thou wilt if thou hadst but a ragged coate yet if thou beleeuest in him thou art clad with him Goe where thou wilt if thou cast off thy coate Iesus will sticke by thee There is neuer a faithfull Saint wants Iesus And therefore thou maist say The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance Onely beleeue in him be ingrafted in him by faith Onely possesse him in thy heart Thou hast all his glorie and maiestie

and vncleannes and mortalitie out of thy former parents Adam and Eue euen so beleeuing in Iesus thou shalt draw out of him the sappe of life and sanctification But the words following make the words plaine What is meant by this new man There are three things in the words following Three things in the new man There is first the making him new againe Secondly there is the nature what it is wherein he standeth And thirdly there is the paterne according to the which hee is made the Lord had made him according to a paterne First it is said He is renued That is he is created a new againe Then it must follow that he was once made before and that in the creation and if he be made againe hee was once lost and so it was Now after this losing the Lord renueth him againe and therefore ye see a wonderfull mercie of God and it is the will of the spirit that thou shouldest conceiue this in thy heart and say O that exceeding mercie of God! that the Lord of mercie hath shewed on thee this mercie Looke to Paul Ephes chap. 2. vers 4. But God who is rich in mercie according to his great loue wherewith he hath loued vs euen when we were dead in sinnes hath quickened vs together in Christ. There he looketh in through the grate of renouation and therein hee seeth a wonderfull mercie in God Ye shall finde the life of this in the Epistle to Titus Alas wee want this eye there is such a dulnes in vs that we cannot passe vp to see this mercy of God Thou shouldest not so soone heare of mercie but thou shouldest euer looke vnto God and his mercie and thanke him for it What Angell could euer haue thought that God would haue created that new man againe They all wondred when they saw it Alas it is long ere wee can wonder Now what is his nature Which is renued to knowledge What is he I answere he is knowledge the light of the minde thou hast a new minde would ye know what is knowledge Paul Ephes chap. 2. telleth you that the eyes of your minde are opened O if the eye of thy minde bee closed thou art yet in nature Whereto That ye may know that hope Yet he goeth higher and that riches of his grace And yet he groweth higher and that excellent greatnes In a word it is the sight of faith full of that glorie that shall be reuealed I remember the Apostle to the Eph. chap. 4. vers 24. addeth to these two things righteousnes and holines so that in all his members he is light to see God Iesus Christ and all the glorie of heauen there There is the renuing that is spoken of here he is then sincere in heart in his body and in hand he is righteous in dealing with his neighbour If thou haue this new man he will cloathe thee within and without if thou were cloathed with gold and thou haue not this cloathing on thee thou art but a lumpe of stinking dirt The last thing is the paterne hee is created to one paterne Now what looketh God to in making of him looketh he to an Angell and saith I will make this new man like an Angell or looketh hee to the Sunne and Moone to the beasts and elements or to any creature in heauen or earth No no but hee looketh to his owne glorie and maketh thee according to that forme he looketh to that light that is in himselfe and maketh thy light like to his owne light and thy holines like to himselfe Looke the first of Genesis when hee had created all things the heauen the earth and the rest ye shall not finde such a word that he created any to his owne image But when he commeth to man with a consultation saith elohim Let vs make man like to our selues Gen. chap. 1. vers 26. So then O man there is thy first glorie the Lord honored thee in thy creatiō but thou hast lost it And the renuing of this image it is passing excellent it is double more glorious then it was at the beginning O that mercie that renued it Thou deseruedst to be turned into a stone or into the vilest brute beast or vermin that is Therefore it must be a passing great mercie that in renuing thee hee renueth thee in an higher measure then hee created thee in No in the renuing of thee in Christ he doubleth his image in thee And if hee made thee like himselfe at the first now he doubleth it a thousand times more The glorie of Adam was great but now that is farre greater which wee haue in Christ If Adam had kept his glorie yet it would haue bin nothing but an earthly paradize y t he would haue bin in but al the earth is not capable of one glorified bodie in Christ So then striue to beleeue in him and certainly the fall of Adam shall be so farre from thy heart that thou shalt blesse the time that he fell if thou gettest this renued creature in thee through the Lord Iesus otherwise thou shalt curse the time that he fell So beleeue in Iesus Christ and all things shall worke to thy good felicitie and blessednes in Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be honour and praise for euer and euer Amen THE XXVIII LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE Colossians COLOS. Chap. 3. vers 11. 11 Where is neither Grecian nor Iew circumcision nor vncircumcision Barbarian Scythian bond free but Christ is all and in all things THis whole place is an exhortation to the mortifying of these earthly members these sinfull lusts and affections and to the putting off of them for we haue been ouer long cloathed with them so that they be not put on again Ye haue heard these daies past sundrie sorts of them and likewise sundrie arguments to moue vs to this mortification To come briefly to the purpose The last argument was from our regeneration begun in this life standing in two Coherence parts that is first in putting off the old man that is corruption of nature that we haue drawne not onely out of our mothers wombe but haue suckt out of the loynes of old Adam so that looke how hee is it is as old It sitteth on and pearceth through the skinne to the heart and there is none that is free from it The second part was the putting on of the new man For certainly as I shewed you no man is able to stand naked before God cloathed must thou be or els there is no appearance for thee being naked before that tribunall seate all must be cloathed with that righteousnes and sprinkled with the bloud of Christ and then next with this new man that is with that inherent holines that floweth out of the bloud of Christ For he that is iustified by his bloud must be sanctified by his spirit Ye heard a description of this new man he is new made againe In the

ceaseth not to doe good to the liuing and to the dead but euen to all the Saints and Seruants of God in this world you manifesting it to these especiallie by sending abroad other fruitfull labours of his for the blessed building of them vp in sound knowledge stedfast faith and all vnfeined obedience of truth Assure your selfe good Sir that this labour of loue in you towards them shall not be left vnrequited neither of God himselfe nor of his deare people for besides that God who leaueth not a cuppe of colde water vnrecompensed giuen in his name to one of the little ones that beleeue in him will render it seuen folde into your bosome euen in this life as hee shall see good but speciallie in the resurrection of the righteous his Saints vpon earth will more and more pursue you with all holy loue and as a sure pledge thereof vouchsafe you their dailie prayers and performe all other fauours and furtherances that they can Nay I will say more the Saints in Heauen and particularlie our ROLLOK shall abound not onely in right and sound but in perfect affection to you and good reason because if when the Saints that dwell here amongst vs doe vnfeinedlie loue one another they cannot but in Heauen perfectlie loue all that are there and their fellow-seruants on earth as well because Heauen freeth vs from all corruption bodilie and spirituall as also because it is the place to and in which God hath appointed fulnes of all ioy and perfection of all graces But whither am I caried It is time to end speciallie sith I doubt not but the wisdome of the Word will teach you and the power of the blessed spirit will inable you to performe these and all other good things to the glorie of God the good of his people and the comfort of your owne conscience thorough Christ In whom I rest assuredlie yours now and for euer Iames Hamelton The Epistle to the Christian Readers THe Citie Colosse was a very auncient populous rich a Zenophon lib. 1. de expeditione Cyriminoris ad Colossas venit celebrem vrbē magnam opulentam Plin. lib. 5. c. 32 and flourishing Citie but much b Herodotus lib. 7. qui inscribitur Polymnia Xerxes praetergressus vrbem Anaua inuenit Colossas Phrigiae oppidum So Strabo li 12 decayed as some report long before the birth of Christ. And since this Church of Christ was founded among the Colossians these three Cities mentioned in this Epistle Laodicea Hierapolis and Colosse were much shaken if not vtterly ruinate with an Earthquake which happened in c Paulus Orosius lib. 4. c. 10. Ioh. Cal. ep ad Coloss Neros time a fearefull spectacle and iudgement sent of God for the d Exod. 5. 3. 1. Cor. 11. 30. Num. 14. 11. contempt of the Gospell as we may see the Citie of Corinth for the same cause euen then smitten with the Pestilence for the instruction no doubt of all succeeding ages to the worldes ende As touching the writing of this Epistle albeit this blessed Apostle had trauailed twise or e Acts. 15. 32. 16. 18. 23. thrise thorough Phrigia where these three Cities were yet came he not to Colosse for that Epaphras Onesimus Tychicus with others had first planted the Church of Christ in those parts The reason is rendred by himselfe when he saith I f Rom. 15. 20. 1. Cor. 3. 9. enforced my selfe to preach the Gospell not where Christ was least I should haue built on another mans foundation Being therefore afterwards occasioned as is most like by Epaphras and Tychicus with other seruants of Christ he wrote this worthy Epistle being prisoner in Rome to the Colossians for their further instruction and confirmation in the faith of Christ. The argument is this in effect Because the turbulent and superstitious Iewes disquieted the peace of the Colossians intending as else where often to make a mixture of the Lawe and the Gospell therefore the Apostle giues The argument of the Epistle to the Colossians in this Epistle a short abridgement of all the heauenly doctrine of our saluation describing vnto vs in a most liuely manner what Christ is in his natures and offices working most powerfully in all his liuing members vnited vnto him and not to be as the world imagineth a dead deformed idle painted Popish Christ. So that this Epistle will teach Christians soundly and truly to discerne betweene the shadow and substance of true Religion betweene the true Christ and fained and consequently betweene the true and false professors of the Gospell There are seuen parts of this Epistle I finde them so Seuen parts of the Epistle to the Colossians set downe in Maister Rollocks latine Commentarie very briefely and truly obserued as followeth The first part is the Salutation chapter 1. verse 1 2. The second is the Preface wherein he reioyceth for their faith in Christ and loue to the Saints from the 3. verse to the 12. The third part containes his doctrine of Christs benefits to the Saints namely their calling and redemption where the Apostle proceedeth vnto an high description of the Sonne of God into whose kingdome they were called and translated by the Gospell applying all things to the Colossians from the 12. verse of the first chapter to the 23. of the same In the fourth part he exhorteth to perseuerance in the faith and admonisheth that they take heede of false teachers from the 23. verse of the first chapter to the end of the second chapter In this part he intermingleth admonition with exhortation for verse 23. of the first chapter he exhorteth to perseuerance in the faith verse 4. of the second chapter he admonisheth them to take heede of false teachers and in the sixt verse of the same chapter he returnes againe to his exhortation but verse 8. he fals againe to his admonition and doth insist therein to the end of that chapter The fift part begins at the third chapter verse 1. and continueth to the seuenth verse of the fourth chapter This part containeth exhortations to holinesse of life And here yee haue againe admonitions partly generall concerning all Christians from the first verse of the third chapter to the 18. of the same partly speciall which concerne certaine particular states of men as of Husbands and Wiues Children and Parents Seruants and Maisters from the 18. verse of the third chapter to the second verse of the fourth chapter where he returnes againe to generall exhortations which be continued to the seuenth verse of the fourth chapter The sixt part is from the seuenth verse of the fourth chapter to the tenth of the same wherein he signifieth to the Colossians that as touching his priuat affaires he had committed them to Tychicus and Onesimus who should report of all things vnto them as they desired The seuenth and last part is the conclusion of the Epistie containing Salutations mixt with some Apostolicall iniunctions and this is from the

them instantly Paul was oft on his knees praying Men wot not what it is to haue to doe with God I bowe my knees to God for you Ephes 3. 14. So learne of him that it is not enough to thanke God for the prosperous estate of his Church that is but an halfe dutie to thanke him but with the thanking of God thou must ioyne prayer for the continuance of the blessing of God vpon that person Church and Common-wealth for whome thou thankest God There is no man so perfect in happinesse or in any blessed estate whether it be spirituall or temporall but yet so long as he liues in the world he hath want there is a lacke euen in the greatest Emperor and King yea euen in temporall things And he that hath begun well will fall backe againe a hundreth times in a day yea hee will runne faster backeward then euer he went forward if the Lord withhold him not Therefore pray for him that he goe not backeward Then when he is going forward in the good course begun he may not stand still but he must run euer looking to the end There is no man so long as he liues that putteth an end to his course his course ends with his life Hath any man a life He is in the race he is in the way and iourney towards the But or as the Apostle calles it the price of the high calling of God Phil. 3. 14. In the progresse he is not able to go one foote forward except the Lord take him by the hand and leade him Therfore seeing there is no progresse to heauen without God his especiall grace nor thou art not able to lift thy foote without him with euery foote that thou liftest thanke God for his owne benefit and pray to God for the continuance and increase thereof Pray feruently for thy selfe and for those that thou wouldest haue to continue Thus much for the proposition Now followeth the declaration of that wherfore he thankes God he thanketh God for them but not without cause he saw matter of thankes giuing in them and a vaine thing it is to thanke God for that that is The matter of the thankes giuing not in a man What saw he in them We heare saith he of your faith first and then of your loue to al the Saints without exception It is not possible but if thou loue one Saint thou must loue all And if thou hatest one Saint as a Saint it will Loue to the Saints passe thy power to beare affection of loue to any so loue one and loue all otherwise thou canst not loue one Then he seeth matter in them wherefore hee thanketh God and it is for no earthly thing but that these Colossians were conquered to that kingdome of Christ It is better for thee to bee conquered to Christ then to conquer the whole world Then the spirituall matter of reioycing if thou wouldest reioyce congratulate and praise God standeth in spirituall graces if thou wouldest reioyce for thy friend looke if he haue spirituall graces looke if he haue faith and loue if he hath not To reioyce for friends these neither hast thou matter to reioyce for nor he if he had all the world away with all thy gratulation all his prayses and congratulations are as many curses if he want faith and charitie for there is no blessing where they are not Wot ye what faith is It ioynes thee with the head woe is thee that art seuered from him and if thou hadst all the world woe is that soule that is not ioyned with Christ and being ioyned with him then art thou fast The earth shall be shaken and the heauen passe away before thou shalt loose thy gripe and holde of Christ or he twine and part Who shall separate vs from the Faith apprehends Christ loue of God saith the Apostle Rom. 8. 24 there is faith and the vertues thereof What doth loue againe As faith maketh the vnion with the head so loue is the band that makes the communion with the Saints which you rehearse in your beleefe and if thou be not ioyned here with his Church there is no saluation for thee nor life thou shalt neuer see the life of Christ Then when wee see a man standing first in this vnion with Christ and secondly in this communion with the Saints we may say blessed is that soule for cursed are they that are not ioyned this way Conioyne thy selfe with the head and the members there is not a member of the body with whom thou ioynest thy selfe by this communion but so fast as thy heart cleaues to it so fast will it cleaue to thee againe Wherefore reioyceth Paul with the Colossians because they loued the Saints so he being a Saint his heart ioynes with them Thou art a cursed body when a man loues thee if thou will not loue him againe Wherefore was it that they had first this faith in Iesus Christ next this loue towards the Saints what gained they by faith and loue the Apostle saith For that hopes sake that is laide vp in heauen it is not for nothing there is a rich reward of faith and loue Faith and loue will get thee a fairer thing and richer reward then all the things in this world Fye vpon them they are but durt and doung onely see that thou haue faith and loue Sticke by these two and thou shall get thee a richer and more glorious thing then al the things of this world can be to thee You may learne thē it is the respect that a man hath to a rich reward and hope that is of the riches of glorie Ephes 1. and not of this peltry in the earth that makes a man to sticke with Christ and to haue a communion with the Saints Otherwise if thou haue not this to looke vnto and this respect to that ioyfull end fye on thee it is kept to thee Heb. 11. 26 well enough as Peter saith thou hast no more to doe but to hold thine eye vpon it if thou haue it not it shall passe thy power to keepe thee with Christ and to be ioyned with the Church militant for there shall come such iawes and billowes of temptation iaw vpon iaw and billowe vpon billowe that thou shalt perish But contrariwise holding thine eie Phil. 3. 20. euer wayting for the comming of thy Sauiour the Lord Iesus I confesse there be a thousand things to drawe it downe but if thou striue to holde it vp certainely thou shalt sticke fast with Christ and stand with the Saints of God but if thou carry thine eye from heauen like a moule or muddewart grountling on this earth thou shalt tyne and lose Christ and the vnion with his Saints Thou shalt lose thy life and that faire heritage and then wo is thee for euer more To come forward how got they their sight and knowledge of this life Note It is a looking to this life that must keepe

the gripe and holde of Christ and make thee to loue the Saints But how got they it of the which you haue heard saith he looke the word Then they got it by hearing Well you that count so little of hearing take heede to your selues they got it by the very eare and that of the Lord. They knewe it not before they heard of it No knowledge of life euerlasting by nature Thou shalt not know that Thou that wouldest liue after this life and after the fashions of it Indeede thou shalt know that thou shalt perish and dye euerlastingly Adam knew this when hee fell from God death seased on him and this was his knowledge of good and euill that he got that he knew what blessing he had lost and into what damnation he hath fallen But no sight of his rising before he heard so no light by nature of life after this life but a sight of euerlasting death and damnation Long may a sinner lye still dead in sinne before he thinke of life he is no more able to thinke of it then a dead body How got they it then by hearing What heard they a word the obiect to the care is a word or sound What word not a word of lyes of men of dreames of fables No how be it thou heare a thousand yeeres all the inuentions and dreames that Monkes in their cloisters haue dreamed build and rest on them as thou wouldest yet thou shalt neuer see life by them What kinde of word must this be then the word of truth a true word must let thee seethe heauenly life What truth is this the truth of the Gospell Euery science hath it owne truth but there is no truth that will saue thee and make thee see that inheritance but onely the truth of the Gospell and therefore the Gospell for the excellencie thereof is called the word of God and for the excellencie of the truth of the Gospell it is called the word of truth Then in a word to speake homely and familiarly to you the charter and the euidence of that heauenly inheritance is the Gospell of Christ Thou hast no other euidence looke The Gospell is the onely euidence of saluation to thy charter chest in heauen earth or hell thou shalt neuer get an euidence of thy saluation but the euidence of the Gospell Wilt thou keepe the charters of thy land and heritage on earth and close them fast vp in a sure chest and reade them at all times and forget this onely euidence of thy saluation and not care for it nor take pleasure to reade on it I denounce vnto thee what euer thou bee that thou shalt neuer see life but thou shalt bee shut out of heauen To doe this it is not a worke of thine own power nor of thine own nature and grace to drawe thee with some delight to turne ouer the euidence of the Gospell to heare it and to take pleasure in it in some measure so long as thou art from the full fruition of heauen and life euerlasting Thou shalt neuer brooke it in heauen and thy pleasure be not in some measure on this euidence whilest thou art here on earth I denounce ouer againe and that by the ministrie of this word thou shalt be shut out thou shalt not haue a furrow of land in heauen Count of hearing as you wil by hearing is your life and there is no pleasure but in the word of life and the oft turning of it ouer When he hath spoken of this Gospell he falleth out in a commendation of the Gospell you shall finde this in Paul when he falles in speaking of the Gospell he cannot be easily drawne from it No question he found the power of it so forcible in himselfe and sawe it also so effectuall in others that where hee speakes of it he cannot goe lightly from it He loued it so well and it was so sweete to him yea as it is said Psalm 119. It was sweeter to him then the honey and the honey combe Well then he commendeth the Gospell to them and there are three arguments of the commendation thereof First which saith he is come to you Brethren the Gospell commeth to vs and wee The Gospell commeth to vs and we goe not to it neuer go to it and it comes vnsent for it would bide long from vs if it stayed till we went for it and though thou wentst for it I tell thee thou art no more able to bring it then thou art able to bring the sunne out of the heauen For except the Lord send it to thee in his mercy and free grace thou shalt neuer get it But to come to the purpose Doe you scar at this Gospell that you haue heard because it is Epaphras that hath founded you you doe euill would he say Therefore he saith ye heard of him nothing but that which is spread throughout the world And Epaphras his Gospell is that that is my Gospell which I haue preached vnto others which is the Gospell of Iesus Christ Take out here a lesson wouldest thou haue a note or token whereby thou wouldest knowe that the Gospell which thou hearest and that we preach this day is the true Gospell the Gospell that must saue the world looke if it be the same Gospell that was spread through out the world in the dayes of Obserue these Apostles or if it be that Gospell that Paul and Peter preached How shall you know if it be that Gospell of the Apostles It is a long time since where shall you knowe it better then by their owne writ Paul nor Peter preached nothing but that which they wrote Neuer a sentence of saluation was preached by Paul but all is written He preached the whole counsell of God Act. 20. I say and will affirme and will dye with it that Paul preached the whole counsell of God and wrote euery word of the same Away with the clouted inuentions of the Papists and that rabble of the cloyster Then I pray you examine all our preachings by the rule of this written word And would to God brethren that they would suffer that to be the onely touchstone Oh vaine Papist thy cause would perish if thou wouldest take thee onely to this touchstone Thou shouldest finde all their inuentions to be but lyes But thou wilt hold thee by lyes and therefore thou shalt perish and they both Then thou that findest this Gospell that is preached to be the written word of the Apostles hold thee by it and take it for the true word of God the word of life and saluation Now I pray thee as thou wouldest find life and grace in it put away all preiudice of the minister whether he be come Preiudice against the Preacher from Rome from the Pope or not and the Gospell that he preached be as good as the Gospell of Paul and Peter if it be no other stand not vpon the man if thou countest more of the man or of

God and praying to his maiestie euen when hee is most opprest Put these graces together in a man and that is the man that pleaseth God And O the liking of God that hee hath of thee when thou art thus occupied Thus far the preface Now followes the third part of the Epistle contayning doctrine both faire and sweete opening a glorious mysterie and that briefly You that would haue riches he opens vp the riches of Iesus Christ to you that was so long hid vp from the beginning to his comming The first thing he begins at in his doctrine it is this christian calling it is the first grace and Our calling The first grace we receiue in time blessing that in time we get in Christ I say in time because our election or predestination is before all time So the first grace we get in Iesus Christ in time is our christian calling In the epistle to the Ephesians he beginneth higher but in this epistle he doth not so he begins not for the height but at this blessing that is first in time to bee called to bee a member of Christ Note Now in speaking of this benefit of our calling to be a christian hee speakes not simply of it but in speaking of it he is thanking the Lord the father who hath made vs meete for a part of that glorie for you shall marke this of the Apostle he can neuer speake of the graces of God but he euer thankes God And in the first epistle of Peter 1. 3. to teach thee when thou speakest of the graces of God to remember to praise him and to giue him hartie thankes for his blessings Now to come on first in this doctrine of this christian calling we haue the author of it Whom thankes he Thanking saith he the father Author of our calling so he giues the glorie of our calling to the father of our Lord Iesus the father of glorie he gets the first praise of our calling The sonne himselfe speaking of his owne calling he giues all glorie to his father So all the godly giue the glorie of their calling first to the father because he is the beginner of all grace Then he cōmeth to the benefit it selfe he saith not thanking the father who hath called vs but in steed of the word calling he putteth the definition of calling the effect of the calling who hath made vs meet or sufficient in effect then marke the words they import first this That then when the father hath put his hand to worke to cal thee thou wast vnmeete if he made thee meete thou wast first vnmeete 2. Cor. 3. 5. thou wast vnmeete euen if it were to thinke a good thought when he began to worke thou hadst no power once to thinke of this calling Then What our calling is wherein stands our calling not in a bare name as you would calaman but it standeth in a change When he calleth thee he changeth thee wonderfully makes thee that that thou wast not Thou wast an old crased creature a faggot for hell thou wast nothing because of thy sinne and except the Lord make thee a new thing better it were for thee to be turned to nothing for thou shalt bee turned downe to hell Rom. 4. 1. he calleth the thing that is not as though it were This is the calling of the Lord when he calleth a man he changeth the heart of him The free-will of the Papists that poysoned doctrine of theirs that a man hath some grace by nature howbeit vnable to receiue grace of God will neuer stand in the day of the Free-will Lord and if thou wilt defend it thou shalt neuer finde this effectuall calling of the Lord. If thou renounce not thy owne sufficiencie thou shalt neuer get grace He thankes God that made vs sufficient of vnsufficient meete of vnmeete of dead men quicke men wouldest thou thanke God from thy heart for thanking of God must rise from the heart there is the first ground of it the feeling of thy owne want of thy owne miserie and that great lacke of grace in it and that must be the deepest sense in thy heart and lye at the roote of thy heart and thy prayer must rise from that steppe and from that Thanksgiuing steppe to come to another steppe to the sense of that mercie that God hath shewed thee that is the next The first is a sense of thy miserie the second is a sense of the mercy of God of these two breakes out the thanksgiuing So that if thanksgiuing beginne not at the sense of thy wants I tell thee it is but a thanksgiuing from the teeth forward Take it for a sure rule if thou haue not a true sense feeling of thy owne wants and miseries and then of the mercie of God thou canst neuer thanke God aright nay thou canst neuer in any measure seeke to God truely So to returne I say as thou wouldest haue grace begin at this that thou art nothing in thy selfe that God may haue the glory there is your calling and the effect of your calling But whereto are we called A man that is called he is called to some thing The Lord calles not but to some end He hath made vs meete for a part whereof A part of a lot that is of an inheritance that falleth by lot Then wouldest thou vnderstand whereto thou art called and made meete to wit for heauen to make thee able to brooke that heauenly inheritance so thou art not called to nothing but to an inheritance So if thou finde that thou art called and a change is made in thy heart of an vnmeete man thou art made meete and if thou finde a change looke certainely for an heritage faile not to looke for it for the heritage shall not faile thee Thy sufficiencie had not been wrought if thou haddest not been propped vp for that heritage yet the word would be noted He calles it not an heritage but a lot by the which he will let thee see that thy heauenly heritage falleth out to be by lot Ye would thinke that a man called should merit to himselfe an heritage that hee might worke for it here No saith the Apostle thine heritage falleth to bee a lot when thou art called So a benefit is not a merit of another benefit our sanctification is not a merit of our iustification but all is of grace and our inheritance is but a lot that is a grace or gift of God without deseruing Yet further whose is this inheritance he saith that it is the lot of the Saints of God God hath giuing it them and none other hath gotten it or shall enioy one foote broad of it but the Saints Thou maist inherit here a kingdome an earldome a Lordship though thou were as a diuell but in heauen thou shalt haue none if thou be not first a Saint and a holy one here on earth Marke this lesson ere euer thou get a share

of heauenly inheritance of the Saints thou must come creeping to that communion of Saints be ioyned with them here if thou mind to haue any part with them in heauen separate thy selfe from that societie of the Church of God thou shalt be debard from heauen thou shalt neuer get a sight of it Looke the epistle to the Ephesians where he sheweth wherein the riches of the glorie of this inheritance is Where is it he saith it is among the Saints Ephes 1. 18. So then associate thy selfe to the society of the Saints in earth Men may passe their time and what reckon they of a Church It smelles in their nose what should they speake of it it is a stinking word mockage and scorne to them but I say glad shalt thou be to be of that number or else I shall debarre thee from all societie of the Saints in heauen Thou shalt be excommunicated out of heauen if thou excommunicate thy selfe here from the Saints Now where lies it you take heed where your heritage lyes and you will looke to your charters and euidences diligently for that cause you will looke the scituation of it Hee saith that this heritage of the saints is in the light there is the place a lightsome and a ioyful pleasant place The line of pleasant places saith Dauid Psalm 16. 6. is fallen to me It lyeth then in the light it is in heauen as Peter saith in his first Epistle 1. 4. It is kept and laid vp where God dwelleth it may well content thee to dwell where God himselfe dwelles Yet where is it Thy life is hid with God saith he O then thy heritage is in God! what can bee said more A faire heritage lying in so faire a light euen in heauen with God and in God I see then all our life and ioy either in this life or in the life to come is in that light of knowledge in that spirituall knowledge so that a man that hath his minde inlightened to see as the Apostle saith to the Ephesians the hope of his calling the riches of the glorie of the inheritance of the Saints the man that hath this light he liues and enioyes a great inheritance howbeit he hath neuer an ynch in this earth and his ioy is a true ioy And againe a man that is in darknesse not seeing the face of God in no measure knowing nothing that man liuing hee is dead if hee were an Emperor a King and a Lord. This countrie is full of dead stinking carrions because they want this light and they would pull out their eyes that they should not see this light But woe to them in the end when this darknesse shall bring an vtter darknesse when thou shalt be a dead stinking dog in hell Get thou this light if euer thou wouldest see heauen and haue a part of it which is not in darkenesse but in the light of God To whom we giue all honour praise and dominion for euer Amen THE FOVRTH LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE Colossians COLOS. Chap. 1. vers 13 14 15. 13 Who hath deliuered vs from the power of darkenes and hath translated vs into the kingdome of his deare sonne 14 In whom we haue redemption through his bloud that is the forgiuenes of sinnes 15 Who is the image of the inuisible God the first borne of euery creature THe last day welbeloued brethren the preface of this epistle being ended we entred into the doctrine The Apostle in his doctrine begins at the first grace that a man or woman getteth in this world in Iesus Christ The first grace or blessing of God in time after they are borne into the world for our grace mercie begins before all time ere we be borne our election began before the foundation of the world was laid but the Apostle begins at y e first grace in time the first grace in Iesus Christ for all is in him nothing without him is this christian calling from darkenesse to light frō that foule puddle of sinne wherein we lye by birth and nature nay if thou wert borne a king thou liest in the foule puddle of sinne we are taken out of hell for our birth is in hell and to hell we goe if we haue no more but nature Thou art taken out of hell and put into heauē there is the first grace in time Now to come to the text ye heard y e father he getteth the first glorie of our calling Thanking saith he the father He is the fountaine Then we heard wherein the calling consisteth not in a bare naming as one man would call another but the Lord in calling vs maketh vs meete of vnsufficient for heauen he makes vs sufficient of vnable he makes vs able of dead men he maketh vs liuely that is the effectualnes of our calling Then we heard whereunto we are called Our calling is not in vaine we are called to a lot a fairer heritage then all the kingdomes of the world nay y e poorest soule is called to be an heire of heauē Such as are called are called to the kingdome of heauen all other heritages are but dirt and draffe And who oweth this kingdom It is the kingdom of y e Saints It is distributed among the Saints and if thou be not a holy one and in their societie thou shalt neuer see that heritage laugh at them so much as euer thou wilt Where lieth this heritage To wit in the light of God thou neuer sawest such a light It lieth in God for God is thy light and thy life and if thou be an heire of this kingdome thy life is hid with God in Christ To goe forward yet the Apostle insisteth in this first blessing of our effectuall calling and maketh it more plaine in this verse His words are who hath raught vs out that is the force of the word From whence From the power of darknes What more And he translated vs. Whereto To the kingdome What kingdome Of his sonne the sonne of his loue his deere sonne the Lord Iesus Now brethren it is cleere but I shall briefly insist on the words to let you see the force and power of euery word for they are of weight For the words that speake of heauenly things are not the words of men Then the word he hath puld vs out with a force or strength with a constraining I hold it not a simple deliuerie Then look to thy calling It begins at haling of thee Thou art so fast holdē bound whē thou art called that if thou beest not pulled out with a strong hand thou wilt neuer come out and that Christ himselfe saith No man commeth to me no not one except the father draw him Ioh. 6. 44. Thou wilt neuer see heauen if thou be not drawne So our calling must begin at our drawing all the powers in the earth will not draw thee to heauē if the hand of the Lord draw thee not To goe forward He hath drawne vs out

but thou shalt neuer be ransomed but die euerlastingly Whose bloud must it be then By his bloud hee saith not by our bloud that is the bloud of the sonne of God And this bloud of Iesus Christ is that bloud onely that can be the ransome none in heauen or earth but his bloud onely is able to make thy ransome and this bloud standeth best both with the iustice of God and mercie of God because it is the only bloud of Christ that satisfies the iustice of God Why by reason of the worthines of the person he is a man a holy man without all spot of sinne It will not be thy stinking rotten bloud it must be that bloud of Christ that holy bloud that must satisfie the wrath of God It standeth with the mercie of God for when the wrath and iustice of God hath gotten that precious bloud then it is well satisfied then mercie reacheth from heauen to the sinner if thou canst present that bloud then the Lord will say I haue nothing to say against thee I haue nothing but mercie and grace to giue thee I forgiue thee all thy sinnes Many thinke this but words but you shall see one day what these words meane In the last words of the verse that that he hath spoken of redemption he sets out in a plaine terme and common word euen the remission of sinnes In the Epistle to the Ephesians 1. 7. when hee hath spoken as hee hath done here of the remission of sinnes he sheweth that it is through the riches of his grace What is all thy remission to thee but a free remission through the riches of his grace thou hast not paid a mite for it but Christ hath paid the price So these two stand in thy redemption In respect of him thou art redeemed by a price and in respect of thy selfe it is nothing but free pardoning So giue him the glorie and praise for I assure thee it is of an vnspeakable mercie and loue that he hath forgiuen thee and taken the bloud of his deere sonne for thy sinne Hast thou not great matter of praising and glorifying of him O would to God this cankerd generation could see and consider this worke of our redemption Now you haue heard of your calling and redemption two great workes and benefits of God bestowed on his elect in Iesus Christ his deere sonne There followes now a higher point of doctrine speeches of the highest things in the world are either of Kings or Queenes or els of some other great nouelties yet all are but dirt in respect of this speech of the Apostle vttered according to the spirit of God For he speaks of the highest things that is euen of the king of glorie so this speech must be a high speech and yet not so high but a man may attaine to the knowledge of it so farre as may serue to their saluation when he hath spoken of this great king and of his bloud by the which wee are redeemed to let vs see how great a king he is and how precious his bloud is he fals out into a digression and he brings out an high description of the Lord of glorie He may well blabber of him but more he cannot he is so high and excellent in all maiestie All the wits of men and Angels are not able to expresse the excellencie of the glorie of the sonne of God but I leaue that The first part of his description is from his Godhead Who is saith he the image of the inuisible God the first begotten of euery thing created Here wee haue to consider first how God is called inuisible And next how the sonne is called the image of the inuisible God vnderstanding these two we shall get the meaning of the Apostle Wee finde this oft in the Scripture especially in the new Testament that God is called inuisible No man saith Iohn in his first chapter vers 18 hath seene God at any time in another place he saith No man hath knowne him And Tim. 6. 16. He dwelleth in light that hath no accesse How is this then to be vnderstood Looke how he is inuisible This is to be vnderstood of the Father the first person of the Trinitie Note He is inuisible he cannot be seene neither by Angell nor all the Angels in heauen neither by man nor by the eye of the bodie of man no not by the eye of his minde No creature no manner of way can see him yet God forbid but wee see him But how is it that he cannot be seene He cannot be seene immediatly in his owne person no not all the Angels can get a sight of him immediatly It is only the sonne of God that hath that sight for he is in the bosome of the Father and therefore no man nor Angell gets a sight of God I say immediatly because that all the sight that man and Angell hath is by a mediate person the sonne of God This is the first Secondly how is it that the sonne is called the image of the inuisible God I will not insist here to bring in all the differences and sorts and images because it pertaines more to the Schooles then to this place But thus farre I tell you I cannot get here in the earth a better example to let you see how Iesus Christ is the image of the inuisible God in some measure for who can see it in a fulnes then the example of an earthly son You see an earthly sonne will represent the person of his father in the shape of his bodie and in the linaments thereof and that not onely in the outward accidents but in the very substance that he hath taken from him and out of him No image will come so neere as that image so that he will represent him in all these three in stature shape and substance Now to come to the sonne of God you must vnderstand there are no accidents in God All is substance and essence He will then represent him first in his personage euen in a kind of portraiture for how be it he be distinct in person yet nothing is so like the person of the father as the person of the sonne Therefore in the epistle to the Hebrewes 1. 3. He is called the character and the very stampe of the father and he will not onely represent him in person but in substance also So that secondly he representeth God the father in a substance taken from him for the sonne of God hath taken his substance from his father in that eternall generation And thirdly which is higher and this passeth all comparison he represents him not onely in a substance but in that same substance in number so that there is not two Gods but one God Nay the father and the sonne is but one substance and one God in number and therefore he saith the father and I am one in the gospell of Iohn 10. 30. No earthly sonne may say so I am in the

father and the father in me nay no sonne in the earth how verely so euer he represent his father may say so as Christ saith so the likeliest the quickest and the best representing of the image of God is the sonne of God There is no comparison and therefore in Iohn 14. 9. to Philip he saith In that thou hast seene me thou hast seene the father also Why because I am the brightnes of his glorie so that if thou seest me thou seest the father and without the sight of the father there is no life And thou must begin that sight of him here or else thou shalt neuer see him And if the sonne were not so liuely an image of God it were impossible to be content with the sight of the sonne but because he represents the whole maiestie of his father therefore the sight of the person of the sonne contents vs and we reioyce in him O if we had that sight of him as we should haue it then should we reioyce vnspeakably so to end the words imports this when he saith that he is the image of the inuisible God that he is visible Then I aske the question how is the sonne of God visible marke briefly in his manhood that is in our flesh he is visible because Iesus Christ in the flesh is as well seene with the bodily eye as a man and when we shall see him in heauen we shall see him in the very body so there is no question of his humane nature But how is that Godhead seene in the sonne that is a greater question I will assure thee it must be seene or else no life for thee But how is it seene first I answere with the eye of the mind A man hath a bodilie eye in his head and againe he hath another eye in his soule which when once it is illuminated by the spirit of Christ then that eye shall see better than a thousand bodily eyes it will pearce vp through the very heauens and neuer rest till it come to the sight and presence of God Indeede if it be not illuminated it will see nothing but being illuminated it will pearce through the very heauens and enter into the light of God see him So the sonne of God is seene in his Godhead by the eye of the minde and held fast by the heart and felt of the heart What meanes this sweete apprehension that a man will haue of the mercie of God of the wisedome and iustice of God what meanes it Nothing but a sense of the Lord Iesus Christ all is in the feeling of Iesus Christ who dwels in the heart by faith as the Apostle to the Ephesians 3. 7. saith so there is the first way how he is seene But yet would not the eye of the bodie see him Certainly I would see him with this same bodily eye And there is no faithfull man but their yearning is to see him with their bodily eye Now how shall I get a sight of him with a bodily eye I shall tell thee how thou shalt get a sight of him with the bodily eye Indeede thou wilt not get it immediatly but thou must looke in through the vaile There must be a vaile hung downe ouer betwixt thee and that glorious maiestie now through that vaile that glorie of God shines in that flesh of Iesus so the beames strikes so farre that they pearce within thee because thou wilt see the glorie of God through this vaile and thou wilt not onely see the person of the sonne in the vaile but through him thou wilt see the glorious father So in a word when thou commest to heauen thou wilt now goe here and there on the earth to see glorie and wilt gaze on heauen I say vnto thee all the glorie of heauen will be closed in Iesus Christ if thou turne thy eye from him no sight of glorie so all thy pleasure then will be to hold thy eye vpon that glorious son of God and that wil be our heauen and our ioy through the sonne to see the father and to see the glorie of the Lord Iesus clad with our nature sitting at the right hand of his father To whom with the holie spirit be all praise honour and thankes for euen Amen THE FIFT LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL to the Colossians COLOS. Chap. 1. vers 15 16 17. 15 Who is the image of the inuisible God the first borne of euerie creature 16 For by him were all things created which are in heauen and which are in earth things visible and inuisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created by him and for him 17 And he is before all things and in him all things consist WE shewed you the last day welbeloued in the Lord Iesus the Apostle when he ended his preface he entred into the doctrine and in it he beganne at the first grace and blessing that wee get in Iesus Christ in time which is our effectuall calling and deliuerance from vnder the power of darknes wherein we are conceiued and borne Euery man and woman is borne naturally a slaue to the diuel hell and darknes The best of vs all a slaue to hell the diuell and darknes so by this benefit of our calling wee are taken out from vnder this slauerie and translated to another kingdome not of slauerie but of libertie and light to the kingdom of his deere sonne the Lord Iesus Christ that is the first grace and benefit which the Apostle handleth Then from this hee comes to another benefit and he calleth it redemption or otherwise remission of sinnes Being now by your effectuall calling translated to the kingdome of Christ Iesus and being ingrafted into him the next benefit and grace we get is absolution we get a free remillion of all our sinnes and consequently we are freed from death and damnation that followes vpon sin This absolution and setting of vs at libertie from sinne and death is not without a price The iustice of God the wrath of God against sinne cannot suffer a sinner to be absolued without a ransome and price so our remission and absolution must be by a price and paying of a ransome But let vs see who paies it Indeede if wee our selues were bound to pay the ransome neuer any of vs could be safe no all the bloud of men and Angels and it were all shed to be a price for sinne would not redeeme a sinner Then who paies the ransome It is said we haue redemption not through our bloud but through his bloud It is then the bloud of Christ that is the ransome for our sinnes the Lord Iesus hath bought vs deere There was neuer from the beginning of the world nor shall not be vnto the end of the world such a deere price giuen as is the price of our ransome which the Lord Iesus hath giuen for vs. So that which he hath deerely bought to vs is nothing but a free

remission Now to speake familiarly wee haue not paid a farthing for it but as it is said in the Ephesians It is the riches of his grace towards vs so it is nothing but mercie and grace to vs. Then to come forward The Apostle when hee hath spoken of the second benefit which we receiued in Christ to let vs see that this bloud is no small thing he passeth out as it were in a description of the Redeemer whose bloud this is That first we may see the worthines of that personage And secondly considering his worthines may see the preciousnes of his bloud by whom wee are redeemed And thirdly that considering these two wee may see how fast and sure our redemption made by that bloud standeth immoueable It is no small matter to know how fast thy redemption stands for if thy redemption were quarrelled or excepted against thou wouldest giue if it were all the world for to know the assurance of thy redemption for Sathan and his instruments are chiefly busied about thee to make thee distrust of thy redemption in the bloud of Christ Therefore the spirit of God in this place and other places is busied to confirme thee of the certaintie of thy redemption that Sathan nor his instruments deceiue thee not Then the first argument of the description is taken from his Discription diuine substance he is the image of the inuisible God that is an essentiall image of God his father and he is one God with the The first part father in number howbeit distinct in persons Then there is the first ground of our redemption in the Mediatour the Lord Iesus to wit the Godhead of Christ It is not vpon the manhood that our redemption is first grounded but vpon Iesus * Yet euer remember he is a Mediatour in respect of both natures and not one only diuine or humane Christ God equal in glorie and maiestie with the father This being the ground then it must follow that his bloud is a most precious bloud as it is called Acts 20. 28 the bloud of God It being so precious of necessitie the redemption of man that is made by that bloud must hold and stand fast And all the world yea all the diuels in hell be not able to shake it nor to moue it out of the place keepe this for a sure ground when thou art tempted about thy redemption and the certaintie of it Now followeth the second part of his description in these The second part words He is the first borne of all creatures This argument is from his eternitie he is without beginning The Redeemer by whose bloud we are redeemed as he is God so he is from all eternitie he hath no beginning So the second ground of our redemption is his eternitie and if hee had been but in time and not from all eternitie the price of his bloud would not haue redeemed thee But the Redeemer being first God and next being from all eternitie the bloud of our redemption must be precious Yet to insist The first borne I seeke no other Commentarie to explane this then the words which hereafter follow vers 17. and he is before all things which is to the same effect and it is that that is written Ioh. 1. In the beginning was the word In these words this his being and substance is set downe by a certaine allusion to those y t were first borne in the families of fathers vnder the old Testament for as they were first borne and the rest borne after them euen so the first borne of God the onely begotten he is not only before all the rest as Rom. 8. 29. but before all creatures men and Angels borne from all eternitie * VVho can declare his generatiō vnspeakeably This would be marked speaking of the eternitie of the Redeemer hee sets it not downe simply saying he is from all eternitie but he sets downe his eternitie in comparison with the creature Wherefore doth he this The eternitie and the glorie of God our Redeemer appeares best by a comparison with the creature All things are euer best seene and knowne of vs by comparing them with the contrary The vilenes and naughtines of the creature appeares best in comparison with the maiestie and excellencie of God Therefore the Scripture when it sets downe the glorie of God it sets it downe in a comparison with the creature and by the contrarie when it sets downe the basenes of the creature it sets it downe by a comparison with the Creator that the basenes of the creature may be the better seene Nay thou who thinkest euer much of thy selfe thou neuer sawest God if thou saw God thou wouldest stinke in thine own eyes All the creatures are but stinke and vanitie in comparison of their maker To goe forward In the verse following when he hath set downe the eternitie of Christ he proues it The argument is because by him all things are made Then neuer any thing escaped his hands all past through his hand the soberest creature in the world past through his hand There is the argument He by whom all things were created he must be before all things but so it is by our Mediatour our Redeemer the Lord Iesus all things were created Ergo the Redeemer must be before all things and consequently eternall There is the argument The manner of speaking imports that the Father is the originall of the creation and it is he who creates and that by his sonne as the dispenser of the creation not that there is difference in creation nay the father and the sonne had one power Ioh. 5. vers 19. What euer the father doth the same doth the sonne But how Equally in power howbeit the father be first in order and then next the sonne and in the third place the holy spirit yet all concurres with one equall power and maiestie Now as this is the reason prouing the eternitie so it is another part of his description and the third argument taken from the creation Then here thou seest the third ground of thy redemption is thy Creator He who redeemes thee created thee thou hast not one Creator and another Redeemer nay hee who redeemes thee is he who created thee Then thy Redeemer being the glorious and omnipotent Creator the bloud wherewith thou art redeemed must be precious Marke it ye who count so little of the bloud of Christ it being so precious a bloud thy redemption must stand sure and fast for it is founded vpon the omnipotent Creator But to goe to the text when hee hath set downe generally this worke of the creation he descends to speake in particular of the creatures and he laies out them as it were abroad and the first difference he makes of them is from the place of their habitation Some are in heauen and othersome in the earth he made all these earthly creatures man and beast yea hee created the Toade it selfe al is made by

be freed from the wrath of God and that onely in that bloud of Iesus Christ To whom with the Father and the blessed spirit be all honour Amen THE SIXT LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL to the Colossians COLOS. Chap. 1. vers 18 19. 18 And he is the head of the bodie that is of the Church he is the beginning and first begotten of the dead that in all things he might haue the preheminence 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulnes dwell YOu haue heard welbeloued in Iesus Christ the Apostle when hee had spoken of the benefit of our redemption and remission of our sinnes in the bloud of Iesus Christ he falles out into a faire and glorious description of him and all to this end to let vs see the pretiousnes of that bloud wherewith we are redeemed that thereby consequently wee might see the surenes of our redemption by that bloud It being of such value of necessitie wee must be redeemed by that bloud and our redemption must stand fast and stable for euer You heard in the description of Christ first he called him the image the essentiall image of the inuisible God then he stiles him the first borne of all creatures then he cals him such a one by whom all things were created next the end for whom and for whose honour all things were created that are created and lastly he cals him the preseruer vpholder and keeper of all things created So will you compare him with that inuisible God he is equall in glorie with him the image of the inuisible God equall with God whom he represents Will you compare him with the creature there is no comparison for hee is the Creator of all creatures in heauen and in earth and he infinitly passeth in glorie all the creatures both visible and inuisible Now when hee hath set him out in these points of glorie and maiestie hee staies not here for as yet he hath not told all of him and he hath not set out all his glorie but in this text he goes forward and setteth him out further in more points of his glorie This is the difference betwixt the points counted alreadie and the points of his glorie that follow in the text Before he hath described him as he is God the sonne of God from all eternitie for as hee is God properly he is the image of the inuisible God whom he represents as the liuely character of his person so that the points Heb. 1. 2. passed are the points of his glorie as hee is God The points which follow are of his glorie not onely as he is God but as he is man also clad with our flesh and nature There haue past alreadie fiue points of his glorie as he is the sonne of God there follow other fiue points of his glorie as Fiue points of glorie of Christ manifested in the flesh he is God and man in that personall vnion These are they briefly He is the head of the bodie of the Church there is one Secondly he is the beginning and the first borne of the dead Thirdly he hath preheminence among all creatures that euer were or shall be in the world Fourthly he is a man full of God Fiftly in office he is the Mediatour the midman betwixt God and man by whose bloud the reconciliation of man is made with God his father To goe forward in that order as they are here set downe first he is the head of the bodie of his Church these are the words Brethren euery word would furnish great matter of speaking but I am not minded to digresse into a common place Onely I purpose to speake so much for the present as the words will furnish He is called the head The word head that is giuen to him imports sundrie things in him first it imports that Iesus Christ is the Lord and the superiour ouer the bodie which is the Church and that worthily because he is full of grace and excellencie and in him is all matter of Lordship and dominion Of what reckoning is a Lord if there bee no matter of Lordship in him Of what value is an head if there bee not Iesus Christ head of his Church greater graces in it then in the bodie so the word imports a superioritie full of grace and honour Euen as you see the head of a man because of the excellencie of it it is a Lord and a superiour and a commaunder to the bodie Then againe the word that this Lord Iesus the head of the bodie he is not like the common sort of Lords and rulers but a Lord and a superiour who is most streightly conioyned with his subiects the bodie his Church Euen as you see the head most streightly ioyned with the bodie of a man euen so the Lord Iesus is most streightly ioyned with the bodie his Church yea he is more strickly ioyned with his Church then the head of a man is with the bodie for the head of a man may be soone seuered frō the bodie of a man but if Christ thy head be ioyned with thee all the powers in heauen and earth shall neuer seuer thee from thy head Iesus Christ Thou shalt neuer be separated from him as Paul to the Romanes saith Who shall separate vs from the loue of God in Iesus Christ As though he would say not any thing Nay if Iesus Christ become once thy head be assured he will neuer part with thee Yet more the word imports that as he is most strictly conioyned with his Church and euery member of the same as the head of a man with his bodie so he is most louing and tender affected towards it Will not the head of a man loue the bodie well will it not tender it most deerely and intirely will it not minister all graces it hath to the bodie giue life and mouing to the bodie otherwise it were no head to the bodie Euen so the Lord Iesus he loues his bodie the Church better then any head can doe the naturall bodie and in loue ministers a life to his bodie better then the life of this naturall bodie He ministers to his Church a spirituall life he ministers a mouing a doing and a growing and in these respects he is called the head of the Church Now when he hath called him the head of the bodie he turnes to the bodie and hee defines this bodie to be the Church Then there must be a great likenes betwixt the Church of Christ The Church and the bodie of man otherwise it cannot be called a bodie The bodie of man is subiect to the head euen so the Church of Iesus Christ is subiect to her Lord Eph. 5. 23. She is his subiect and he is her Lord. The bodie is streightly ioyned with the head the Church is more streightly ioyned with Christ The head giues life to the bodie euen so the Church of Christ is dead without the head the Lord Iesus Lastly

ye see the bodie accomplisheth the person of a man the head will not make a man but the bodie ioyned with the head makes vp a man euen so the Church fils vp the whole man Christ made of the head the Lord Iesus himselfe and of the bodie This for the words If this point of the glorie of Christ be weighed that he is the head of the Church it is a high point of glorie The Lord hath greater glorie by this that hee is the head of the Church of the godly and holy ones men and Angels then by that that he is the Dominator ouer all creatures ouer the diuell and all the multitude of reprobates And as it is high so it is in communicable no not the Angels gets this honour to be called the head of the Church Let be stinking flesh wilt thou set vp a Pope and call him the head of the Church A plaine derogation of Christs honour Thou wilt come out with a ministeriall head in the Church Away with thee and thy ministeriall head both there is no such thing Looke the whole Scripture No ministerial head in Scripture through thou shalt reade of a Minister in the Church but thou shalt neuer reade a word of a ministeriall head or Vicar of Christ But would you know how he comes to this glorie Yea to speake it so before hee came to this glorie there was much adoe and great stirre and busines in heauen and earth and a great hardnes The Pope he will start vp to it at the first dash before Christ came to this glorie heauen and earth was moued with a wonderfull motion before hee was exalted to it he was wonderfully humbled If you will make a comparison it was an easie thing to be the image of the inuisible God to haue created all things and to preserue them all was easie but when he comes to this there must be a great change this sonne of God is humbled and his glorie is wonderfully obscured Reade Philip. 2. 6. 7. and there you shall see the whole manner of it Iesus saith he was in the forme of God and hee thought it no robberie to be equall with God yet hee is not the head of the Church what doth he then The Apostle saith he emptieth himselfe of his owne glorie he makes himselfe of no reputation How doth hee that In taking on him the shape of a seruant What an humbling is this to clothe himselfe with the forme of an abiect seruant Thou thinkest it nothing but surelie it a wonderful matter if ye consider it rightly so then there is a wide step a strange step that he steppeth downe from his glorie wherein hee stood equall with the Father Yet he goes another step downward being found in the habite of a man he to whom all other creatures giues obedience of his owne will becomes obedient to his father Wherein stands this obedience not in doing only but in dying What death The death of the Crosse an execrable death the bitterest death that euer was nay neuer man died so bitter a death as Christ died All the death of men and Angels is not comparable to that death of Iesus Christ that he died for the redemption of sinfull man There is his humiliation Looke now to his exaltation Therefore saith the Apostle the father raised him vp to a wonderfull highnes and gaue him a name aboue all names that at his name all knees should bow In the Epistle to the Ephesians 1. 20. 21. the degrees of his glorie are set downe first he raised him from death secondly he hath set him at the right hand of his father that is he hath giuen him all power of heauen and earth and he declares this power Then he turnes to the Church in particular and calles him head of the Church for he could not haue been the head except hee had had flesh and bloud Trowest thou that thou canst come to that honour to bee a member of his bodie before thou bee humbled first No no thou must answere in proportion to him in his humilitie otherwise thou shalt neuer bee partaker of his glorie This for the sixt part of the description of the Lord Iesus in the which marke this as before wee heard many grounds of redemption made by his bloud so in this point of the glorie of Christ there is another ground of our redemption As thy Redeemer is the image of God the creator of all things and so foorth as you heard him defined before so thy Redeemer he is the glorious head of the Church yea he is thy owne head and thou art a member of him so thou seest not onely a glorious Redeemer but a sib a kinsman redeemer Therefore precious must that bloud be and of necessitie if thou beleeue in this bloud thou must be redeemed To goe forward Here followes the seuenth part of his description and the seuenth point of his glorie The beginning and the first begotten of the dead Yee heard he was called the first borne of all creatures because he was before them all and not for that onely was he called so but because he gaue the being to all creatures All creatures were created by vertue of him and by participation of that being that is in him for the first borne in the families of old communicated the speciall blessings to their brethren euen so Christ because he communicates to the rest of his creatures such speciall blessings as pleaseth best his wisedome he is called the first borne of many brethren Now he is called the first borne of the dead because he was the first that rose from the dead for there was neuer man that died that rose before the Lord Iesus 1. Cor. 15. 20. He is called the first fruits of them that sleepe because that al y t shall rise they shall rise by vertue of his resurrection Then what will you haue He was the beginning of the creation now he is the beginning of the resurrection of the dead Then all mercie and glorie must come out of him No creation without him no resurrection without him If you will consider this it is a great matter when he had created man man by his fall lost the creation nay by thy fall in Adam thou hast lost thy creation and as thou wast made of nothing so by this fall of Adam thou turnest to nothing and well were that man that is out of Christ if he were turned into nothing No no he shall not be turned to nothing but he shall be turned to worse then nothing So man by his fall lost his creation and death seased vpon him and leaues him not till he turnes him into dust and powder And if Iesus comes not in now after that man hath lost his creation he would neuer be a creature againe Therefore the second benefit which is greater then the first is that my bodie shall rise againe so in comes Iesus Christ and that creature that was brought

his fellowes neuer man gat or will get such graces as the man the Lord Iesus hath gotten neuer a one hath gotten such wisedome such knowledge and such holines nay all the Angels haue not gotten such graces as he hath But it is not onely these graces wherein this fulnes stands but he is filled with the fountaine of all grace The fulnes of the Godhead it selfe is in him that is his fulnes such as neuer creature got or shall get in heauen or earth It is a vanitie to speake of the graces of Angels in comparison of him all the graces of men or Angels they are as it were but riuers and streames that flow from that glorious head that is full of God So there is no comparison of his fulnes Wee haue receiued saith Ioh. 1. 6. all of his fulnes So all our fulnes stands in his fulnes that is deriued into vs. As this is the reason prouing his dominion so it is a part of his glorie Looke to the glorie of that personage thy Redeemer he is not only a man but a man full of God and so must not this bloud y t comes from him be precious Therefore it is called the blood of God Acts 20. 28. Yet only beleeue and I assure thee in his name of thy redemption if thy sinnes were neuer so great Fasten thy heart once on him and thou shalt finde mercie Take his bloud in thy hand and sprinkle thy heart with it and thou shalt finde grace Heb. 9. 14 and mercie to flow to thee through the same otherwise it had bin better for thee that this bloud had neuer been shed As for the rest I leaue it till the next day concerning the Mediatour onely thus farre As the glorie of the image of the inuisible God and the rest ye haue heard me speake of is infinitly excellent so this that he is a man full of God this is the glorious personage of thy Redeemer It tels thee that that bloud that came out of that bodie was more precious then al the things in the world That bloud y t was powred out of his foot out of his hand and side al tels thee that it is excellently precious and beside that of great necessitie And further it tels thee that sinne against God is great and greater then thou canst consider Fie on thee vile creature if thou wist what it were to sinne against God thou wouldest shake and tremble nay neuer a ioynt of thee would bide fast for feare of that fierce wrath to come on thee And againe if thou knew the vertue of this bloud that takes away thy sinne thou wouldest cleaue fast to it and make much of it but thou considerest not this and therefore thou knowest not the preciousnes of this bloud for if thou knowest not thy sinne thou shalt not know the preciousnes of that bloud of Christ that takes away sinne And againe it tels vs of that passing iustice and of that infinitnes of the wrath of God O that infinitnes of the wrath of God! O wretch thou wottest not The wrath of God for sinne what it is but if it lighted on thee it would rush thee to hell So the precious bloud that was shed for sinne without the effusion of the which thou couldest not be redeemed It tels thee I say that the wrath of God for sinne is infinite and if it were but an euill thought It strikes vpward and strikes the Lord in the nose and kindles his wrath against thee therfore feare and studie to mortification And more I tell thee that notwithstanding thou art once redeemed and by this bloud of Christ freed from sinne and death by such a ransome yet if thou take delight in sinne the murtherer in his murther the oppressor in his oppression being once redeemed thy sinne if it were but an euill thought it is a thousand times the greater by reason of thy redemption For why it brings with it the contempt of the bloud of Christ And thou sinner who takes pleasure in weltring in the foule puddle of sinne what doest thou thou goest on with thy foote and treads the pretious bloud of the Lord Iesus vnder thy foule feete And therefore thou shalt be chalenged in that day not onely because thou wast a murtherer an oppressor and a harlot no no there shal be thy chalenge villaine thou treadest vnder thy foote the bloud of the couenant the precious bloud of thy Sauiour that should haue redeemed thee from thy murther and sinne and therefore wel were it for thee if thou hadst been a Gentile that neuer had heard of this couenant and therefore if thou mindest not to leaue off thy sinne in paine of thy life thou come not to heare a word of Christ For why the more thou hearest the greater shall be thy damnation And there is not one word spoken this day but if it be not effectuall to chaunge thy euill life so that thou begin to leaue off thy sinne but it shall increase thy damnation in that day Therefore take my counsell either amend your liues or els come not to heare one word of this Gospell For this word as the Apostle saith shall be either a sauour of life vnto life or els a sauour of death vnto death and it shall slay thee with a greater dead stroke then if a thousand rapiers were thrust through thee I beseech the Lord Iesus to touch thee with his word that it may be effectuall in the hearts of the hearers so that they may amend their liues to their owne weale and his glorie To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be praise Amen THE SEVENTH LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE Colossians COLOS. Chap. 1. vers 20. 20 And through peace made by the bloud of that his crosse to reconcile to himselfe through him through him I say all things both which are in earth and which are in heauen YE remember beloued brethren the Apostle when he had set downe that great benefite of the redemption of mankinde by the bloud of Iesus Christ hee fals out into a high descriptiō of the sonne of God tending to this end to let vs see the preciousnes of that bloud He set him to be first the image of the inuisible God a high stile Secondly he stiles him to be the first borne of all creatures Thirdly hee stiles him to be the Creator himselfe by whom all things in heauen and earth were created Fourthly he calles him to be the end of the said creation of all creatures for whose honour and glorie all creatures were made Fiftly he stiles him to be the preseruer and keeper of all the creatures made by him Sixtly he comes forward and considereth him not onely as he is the sonne of God God from all eternitie but as he is man also and he makes him to be the head of the Church as he is God and man Then he cals him the first borne of the dead as hee is

man who by his power shall raise vp all men that shall rise from the dead Then hee cals him the vniuersall dominatour of all the creatures not only cals he him the Lord of his Church but he cals him the vniuersall dominatour of all creatures in heauen and earth yea the Lord ouer the very diuels themselues He hath the preheminence before all creatures Now hee insists vpon the last point and he giues two arguments to proue him to haue the preheminence of all creatures and before all creatures The first argument is taken from the worthines of his personage In him saith he is all fulnes And God the Father decreed that all fulnes not only of the graces of God but of the Godhead it selfe should dwell in the man the Lord Iesus The second argument is taken from the dignitie of his office hee is the Mediatour by whom reconciliation is made betwixt God and man So brethren this day by Gods grace we haue to insist in the office of Christs mediation We haue then in the first verse a description of the Mediatour He saith not simply he is the Mediatour but in place of the name he giues a description of the name The Mediatour is The office of the Mediatour he by whom it hath pleased the father to reconcile to himselfe all things in heauen and earth by making peace through the bloud of his crosse Now because the Mediatour is defined here from the benefit of our reconciliation therfore we shall speak of this benefit only so farre as the words shall furnish If you will look what is before and weigh the words of this text you shall finde these things namely to be considered concerning this benefit of our reconciliation First the word of reconciliation what it meaneth Secondly who is the reconciliator to wit the Father Thirdly who mooueth him to reconcile all things Fourthly who are they that are reconciled Fiftly to whom they are reconciled Sixtly by whom to wit the Mediatour Seaventhly after what manner All these circumstances are in the text partly before and partly after in these words read Now for the word of reconciliation it signifies agreement and attonement and friendship made betwixt two parties that were at variance together This way generally is the word taken euen so our reconciliation with God It is an agreement betwixt God and vs that were at variance enmitie and open warre together fighting in such sort as neuer two contrarie parties fought together When we were enemies saith Paul Rom. 5. 10. we were reconciled by the death of his sonne Yet brethren the word imports more not onely it imports an agreement but to speake it so it imports a reagreement and a renewing of an old friendship betweene two that first were friends and then became foes by offence done against the other partie Euen so our reconciliation it is a renewing of the Reconciliation what it is old friendship that was betwixt God and vs in the creation and because thereafter we offended him first we become enemies to him and through sinne fight against him most cruelly So this word includes three things within it first it includes an old friendship we had with God as old as our creation For we were created in the beginning friends to God and hee was our friend and we were his friends Secondly it imports a variance that followed the creation and that by our foule defection in breaking of the couenant Thirdly it imports a renewed friendship after that enmitie and that by the Mediatour the Lord Iesus Christ I remember Paul writing to the Ephesians 1. 10. he hath a word that he cals recollection which imports a gathering together of them that were scattered and it includes all these three that wee haue spoken of reconciliation First it imports a vnion which wee had with God at the beginning Secondly that after there was a scattering Then it imports a gathering together of vs by the Mediatour Now this for the word In the knowledge whereof you may learne the three estates of man from the beginning First wee stood in friendship and amitie with God he was ours and we were his and wee were bound with him in a couenant Why should wee not remember this our first estate and condition in our creation wee stood then in amitie with God such as neuer was betwixt creature and creature It hath no comparison in this world Secondly we learne our enmitie the state of variance and disagreement Enmitie with God The estate of battell and of warre with God a miserable estate For like as it was the felicitie of man to be at one with God for if thou hadst all the world and all the confederacie with all the Kings on the earth and with the diuell himselfe thou hast no part of blessing thou hast no happines if thou be not at one with God euen so our enmitie with God is our miserie cursed is that creature that is enemie to God Thirdly in y e word we learne our last estate our renewed amitie with God againe We began with friendship wee fell into emnitie wee returne againe to friendship and this is made by the Mediatour If you will compare this friendship with the old friendship it is both greater and better then the old friendship The new friendship that is gotten by this reconciliation The reconciliation we haue by Christ is vnchangeable is vnchangeable the old friendship was changeable Wee became his enemies and hee became ours but this new friendship it must stand and shall stand immutable in the Mediatour and it shall be immutable to thee and if thou be truly reconciled to God thou shalt neuer be an enemie to him againe nor hee to thee For Iesus Christ who hath made the peace shall hold fast the band of peace betwixt thy God and thee neuer any was truly reconciled with him but hee shall stand firme and stable in that reconciliation For Christ makes intercession for thee and thy reconciliation shall stand as long as his intercession stands which is euerlasting therefore thy friendship shall stand euerlastingly It is a plaine blasphemie to say that a man once truly reconciled to God can fall from grace againe and it is as much to say as that Christ shal not continue in his intercession So our last estate is most blessed onely hold thy eye on thy Mediatour that makes intercession for thee and I will assure thee thou shalt neuer be seuered from him nay heauen and earth shall goe together ere thou be rent from that God Thus briefly for the word Now to come to the second point who is the Redeemer and the author of our reconciliation In the verses preceding The second circumstance it is said It hath pleased the father that in him all fulnes should dwell and that by him all should be reconciled to himselfe so the author of our reconciliation is the father of our Lord Iesus Christ Who was the author of

the enmitie who was the cause of the variance where begun it Man himselfe he begun the variance But who begun the friendship began man it againe Ioh. 3. 16. began Adam the reconciliation thought he of it No he neuer thought of it to begin it againe God the father who called vpon him when he was runne away began the friendship Thou begans it not nay there was neuer such a thing as a thought of it The father he began it euen when thou wast running headlong to thy destruction turning thy backe vpon God Thou maist be at oddes with God when thou wilt but thou wilt not be the beginner of the friendship againe except The loue of the father the fountaine of reconciliation hee of mercie begin it with thee so it is the father that is the authour and fountaine of our reconciliation Yet brethren what is this that the father begins the friendship being the partie aduersarie and the greatest and the worthiest partie This is a rare thing that one of two parties aduersaries and the worthiest should seeke reconciliation of the other that is nothing in comparison of him So this lets vs see a passing loue and mercie in God that began first to seeke thee But yet what a partie aduersarie was he to wit he was that partie aduersarie that was offended by man he did no offence to man but man offended him Indeede there had been lesse matter of marueiling if hee had begun the feude and enmitie but hee brake not a iot to man of his part of the couenant made with him But man false man kept neuer a point of his part and therefore as man is called a lier after that breach of promise to God his maker so this is found that he who hath receiued the wrong and the more strong and worthie partie that that partie will begin the amitie againe This is that incomparable loue that in the Rom. 5. 18. is spoken of There is not such a loue to be found in heauen or earth that the partie that is offended and hath done no offence that he should beginne the peace yea more should giue his onely begotten sonne his deere sonne to be a ransome for the offence done to him There is that incomprehensible loue of God towards man What tongue is able to expresse y t thousand part of that loue Nay al the wit of men and Angels is not able once sufficiently thinke of it Let be to expresse it as it is in thy selfe Thus far for the second Now the third is what moued the father to enter into new friendship with man saw hee ought in me in thee or in any man to moue him to be reconciled with me or thee or any man It is said It hath pleased him then it was his owne pleasure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 beneplacitum eius this was it that moued him to be reconciled with vs. This pleasure it was not a thing in time What the loue of the father is but it was a decree that past in heauen from al eternitie A decree that proceeded of meere loue and grace and not of a foresight of any good that either he saw thē presently in man or that he foresaw should be in man hereafter but it was of a free grace without any merit of man And therfore in his own time for the fulfilling of this decree of reconciliation hee sent his onely begotten sonne into the world to preach this word of reconciliation to the world So this word It hath pleased him excludes all merit and worthines in man and it lets thee see that that friendship was without thy merit yea to speake Merit it so against thy merit I know not a merit that thou hast but the merit of hell and damnation Come to the fourth circumstance who were they that were reconciled It is said It hath pleased him to reconcile all things The fourth circumstance And then in the end of the verse he laies this vniuersalitie in the parts of it All things both in heauen and earth This vniuersall particle All things extends not to all creatures yea it extends not to all reasonable creatures it extends not to the diuels no reconciliation with the diuell nor with the Angels that made that foule defection I tell you more it extends not to all men and women no reconciliation with the reprobate for euer they are in ranke with the diuell himselfe This reconciliation it extends then to the blessed Angels who haue stood from the beginning It extends to men and women not to all but to the chosen and elect ones from all eternitie Now there is no question of sinfull man All will graunt that man who was chosen to life howbeit before hee was an enemie to God yet now in time he is reconciled to him But all the question is about the blessed Angels that fell not from God How can it be said that they are reconciled to God Well I will not be curious if you will consider these blessed Angels in themselues Whether the elect Angels be reconciled to God by Christ or what benefit they haue by him apart from the bodie which is the Church indeede it is true they cannot properly be said to be reconciled because they were neuer at feud or enmitie with God for reconciliation as yee haue heard imports a feud but if you consider them in the bodie in a manner they may be said to be reconciled in the bodie for howbeit they be bound vp without the bodie yet they must euer be considered to be in the bodie and so in the bodie they get a new coniunction with God through the Lord Iesus Christ The estate of the blessed Angels before the comming of Christ it was this They hung as it were by the head to speake it so by a stitch as certaine members seuered from the body when Christ comes in he couples them together he makes man and Angell all vp together faster then euer they were before So to leaue this you may see the very blessed Angels who fell not from God they got a benefit by the Mediatour as man doth I say the blessednes of the Angels was not perfected till Christ came They were indeed blessed but they had not a firme blessing while Christ came who established their blessednes And therefore as it is said y e Abraham long before the Lord Iesus came into the world saw him and reioyced so the Angels they saw the Lord Iesus long ere he came and when he came they reioyced at his comming And it is said in 1. Pet. 1. 12. that it is their pleasure to looke in through that vaile to see and behold the Lord Iesus Thus much concerning the Angels Then the thing I note for our selues is this Will you marke what care God hath had of man God he would not perfect the blessednes of the Angels without man he would not giue them that blessing till Iesus Christ the man

the Mediatour came and ioyned them with man So you may see the care of God towards mankinde to haue been very great and very louing The Apostle to the Hebrues 11. vers 39. 40. comparing the old Church with the new saith That the Saints that suffered before they got not the thing promised because God had a respect to vs Euen so he did with the Angels hee would not giue them their full blessing without vs vile stinking sinners What regard is this that thy God should haue of thee Lastly I will speake this to thee that esteemes so little of the communion with the bodie of the Church O miserable creature vaine lowne thou shalt neuer bee blessed till thou bee ioyned with the Saints of God in the Church Vaine soule if thou be not ioyned with the bodie of Christ which is his Church thou shalt perish for euer thou shalt goe to hell I giue thee this doome Now followes the fift circumstance of this reconciliation The fift circumstance To whom is it made It is said to himselfe not to another It hath pleased him to reconcile all things to himselfe Then all blessednes is in that coniunction with God ioyne thy selfe with Blessednes wherein it consisteth him and thou shalt be blessed if thou be not ioyned with God thou shalt neuer be blessed seeke blessednes here and there yet no blessednes but with God The Angels haue no blessing but in that they are conioyned with God through the Lord Iesus Christ yea I tell thee the earth and the heauen haue no blessing but in that amitie and friendship with the creator O what vanitie is it to thinke thou hast any blessing without the coniunction with the creator But to speake of man thy reconciliation must be with the father with whom thou art at enmitie to whom thou wast an enemie whom thou offendedst therefore thy reconciliation must be with God Marke it a sinner sinne against whom he will slay and it were all the world in so doing he sinnes not so much against man as against God No no it is against God himself as Dauid saith Against thee O Lord haue I sinned and done euill in thy sight Psal 51. For sinne is the transgression of the law 1. Ioh. 3. 4. O foule butcher O oppressor and sacrilegious theefe Thou that dost any euill against a man thou dost it not so much against the In euery sin a man fighteth against God person of the man as against God himselfe that is in heauen and so man that sinnes must be reconciled with him because it is against God that the sinne is committed The creatures also that stood and fell not are at enmitie with thee for when thou wast enemie to God thou wast enemie also to the very creatures and God and the creatures were enemies to thee O well had it been for thee who art a Reprobate that thou hadst been made a stone when thou becamest an enemie to God through thy sinne for thou madest not onely God to be thy enemie but thou madest all the good creatures of God to be thy enemie the Sunne the Moone the Starres and firmament the Angels in heauen yea these very senceles things of the earth and the beast and the foule of the ayre the earth grones vnder thee and it would be quit of thee as of an enemie it will not binde vp friendship with thee if thou be an enemie to God So if thou be an enemie to God thou art an enemie to all the good creatures of God and they are enemies to thee but if thou be in band and coniunction with God the heauen and all the creatures will be friends to thee The enmitie and friendship that stands with any creature it depends vpon the feude and friendship with God so that if thou All the creatures in enmitie with all vnbeleeuers be at feude with God all the creatures will be at feude with thee and if thou be at friendship with him all the creatures will be thy friends Marke this well marueile not that the Sea should drowne thee and thy house smother thee that art at strife with God through thy villanous life wonder not it is a wonderfull thing that they that are at feude with God dares enter into a house or go out of it or venter on the sea But the consciences of men are so locked vp that they will not vnderstand nor feare this but the vaine sleeping lowne saies peace peace Oh but the iudgement comes with such a rattle about the eares of the lowne that hee cannot get once space to say God is mercifull Haue you not marked this in these bloudie murtherers and the rest Nay thou that criest peace to thy soule when thou art doing all the mischiefe and villanie thou canst and if thou goe on so the fierce wrath of God and terrible iudgement shall oppresse thee ere euer thou be aware of thy selfe Now followes the sixt poynt or circumstance to be considered in reconciliation By whom is it made There must be a mediator or else it cannot be made Indeed the first friendship was made without a mediator because man and woman they were created at the beginning holy without spot of sinne but at the making of the next friendship because of the offence there must needs be a mediator to passe betwixt thee and that fire that was readie to deuoure thee for thou thy selfe darest not appeare and sue for it immediatly for thou art not able to stand in the presence of that terrible God before whose face there goes a fearefull fire that would consume thee at an instance So there must be a Mediator It is true that the Father made this reconciliation of his free mercie and of a passing grace hee bare to mankinde Would to God wee had a sense of it but I tell thee this grace and mercie was deere bought it is not an easie thing to a sinner that hath violated so holy a maiestie to get accesse againe This mercie from whence this reconciliation comes it springs out of the Lord Iesus as a faire greene tree in a garden it springs out of the very bloud of the Mediatour the Lord Iesus For why the mercie could neuer haue been nor had place if the wrath and iustice of the Father had not bin satisfied with that bloud there could neuer haue been such a thing as mercie to the world if that bloud had neuer been shed and so say I this mercie and grace springs vp sweetly and gratiously out of the bloud of Christ So wouldest thou haue mercie lay hold on the bloud of Christ and as thou wouldest haue part in heauen rest neuer while thou finde that bloud sprinkled in thy conscience thy heart washed with it Now from whence comes this Mediatour how is he giuen to thee The father saith the Scripture loued the world Iohn 3. 16. So the Mediatour vpon whom this new band of mercie and grace riseth is giuē of

the father to the world and that in loue There is nothing in this new band but mercie vpon mercie mercie in the beginning mercie in the progresse and mercie in the end Indeede it is not without iustice and wrath but thou art spared and the iustice and wrath it strikes on the Mediatour so that that is iustice and wrath in the Mediatour it is mercie and grace to thee Nay he hath not spared his owne sonne yet he hath spared the stinking sinner Wilt not thou be thankfull for this benefit Well if there be not a sense of the mercie of God in Iesus Christ looke not for heauen I warne thee that art a King an Earle a Lord a Baron a subiect man wife lasse and lad if ye haue not a sense of this mercie of God in Iesus Christ ye shall neuer see heauen Now to come to the last circumstance after what manner is this reconciliation made with sinfull man The manner is set downe in these words making peace by his bloud shed on the crosse The father reconciles vs to himselfe after this manner by making peace with vs in the bloud of Christ Brethren when two men are at variance the third man will step in and intreate the person that is at variance with the other to be friends with him and he will obtaine it especially if he be an intire man But O that sonne of God! that deere and that welbeloued when he comes in it is not faire words it is not supplications that will doe the turne but him it behooued to go to suffer death and that dead stroke of hell that should haue lighted on me and thee and should haue brused vs euerlastingly he casts in his head and that stroke lights on him It cannot be holdē off thee by no other buckler but by his head and bloud shedding without bloud no remission Heb. 9. nay nay either shall thy bloud passe for it or els the bloud of the Mediatour O it is a terrible thing to haue to doe with the wrath of an infinite God! there is nothing can satisfie him but the precious bloud of his own deere sonne and no other death can satisfie him but a cursed death the death of the crosse a painfull death to be nailed quicke to a crosse It was the figure of the death of hell He was pained vpon the crosse with the paines of hell If he could not escape such a death who was an innocent how wilt thou who art a sinner escape that terrible death O what death shall abide thee if thou be not in him These words then teach vs two things first the greatnes of the enmitie that could not be remoued but by the bloud and execrable death of the Mediatour For if this enmitie had bin but a sillie and small feude what needed all this that the sonne of God should dye such a death Wherefore should all this adoe haue been wherefore should he haue suffered such extremitie So if there were no more to tell thee the greatnes of sin the death and the bloud of Iesus Christ shed on the crosse tels thee O sinne is great and yet the world will not heare it but the soule stinking sinner will wallow in it more and more O sinner sinne is foule and fearefull An euill thought is a great and terrible mountaine The first world had experience of this greatnes of sinne being without Christ Our Gentles in Scotland with the rest felt it I tell thee before this bloud came and the full time came there was nothing to hold off the dint of the wrath and stroke of God that that world found before the comming of Christ What was it a small matter to be an enemie to God was it a light thing to sinne No no for all that time before Christs comming for the greatest part God was doing no other thing but striking and hashing on sinners slaying her and slaying him Sinne raigned all the time to death saith Paul Rom. 5. in the end all perished and went to hell for the most part except some very few And I tell you this world thinkes there is no hell and very few get this grace for so long as that olde Tabernacle stoode few got entrie to grace So they miserable soules that lie now in torment they testifie and crie the horriblenes of sinne and O the preciousnes of the bloud that hath freed now the soules of men from sinne Now when he came into the world I put it out of question The calling of the Gentiles increased the number whereas one was saued before hundreds were saued after For Christ saith for once the bloud was shed men and women thronged into heauen Matth. 11. So all tels thee the blessednes of thy estate that hath fallen in this time If thou hadst any sense if thou wert sent out naked to begge thy meate thou art happie considering this time wherein thou art borne O the happines of this time when the bloud of Christ runnes abroad as a riuer to saue sinners but wee are blinded and as I said before that number is drawne in and beginning to be abridged and the force of the bloud is drawne in and begun to bee lessened and the force of faith is nothing now in respect of the former time of the Primitiue Church and daies of the Apostles and therefore as it began with a handfull so it shall end with a very handfull and blessed is that man that can striue to throng into heauen through this bloud of Iesus Now the Lord worke this in our hearts that as wee seeke for the kingdome of heauen so we may throng in at it through this bloud of Iesus To whom be praise and honour Amen THE EIGHT LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL to the Colossians COLOS. Chap. 1. vers 21 22. 21 And you which were in times past strangers and enemies because your mindes were set in euill workes hath he now also reconciled 22 In that bodie of his flesh through death to make you holy and vnblameable and without fault in his sight THese daies past beloued in Iesus Christ wee haue heard a high description of the Sonne of God the Lord Iesus in the which he is painted out in a marueilous glorie In the last part of this description ye heard it was said that by him as the Mediatour it pleased the Father to reconcile to himselfe all things both in heauen and earth making the peace by the bloud of his crosse In the which words the Apostle turnes ouer vpon the whole Church that hee hath spoken of the sonne of God For all his glorie tends to the weale of his Church all to the reconciling of the Church with God the head in him as the Mediatour Now brethren in this text that we haue read vers 21. he applies this blessing of reconciliation to the Church of the Colossians in speciall And you also saith he hath he reconciled In the which words as before he turneth ouer

all is but dung before God So you see what should be the first thing we should begin at to wit at a standing and perseuering in the faith of the Mediatour Abide in this and all shall follow of their owne will holines weldoing and the rest In the words following he shewes vs the way how to perseuere in faith If so be that you abide in the faith grounded founded The word is borrowed from building on a ground stone How to perseuere in faith the second word is and established euen as you see a man set down in a chaire resting without mouing or wagging sitteth still immoueable If thou wilt abide in faith thou must bee grounded and set downe and must not goe wagging fleeting and flowing as you see some doe Then what is this foundation whereupon thou must be grounded It is euen this same faith Thou must be grounded on it or else thou shalt not abide in it and if thou bee not built vpon it as vpon a building thou shalt not abide in it Faith then must bee the ground It must not be built as it were vpon thy heart it is the falsest ground The heart must be built and rest on faith that euer was but thy heart must be built on faith For faith in Iesus is a fast and established ground Now what is the seate euen this same faith Faith must not sit vpon thy heart which is but a ioggling seate a loose seate but thy heart must be turned ouer vpon the faith of Iesus Christ that is a fast seate so that all the powers in the world will not moue it In a word if Rest not night nor day till thou seele thy faith lying vnder thy heart and thy heart resting firme and stable on it thou abide and perseuere in the faith of Iesus Christ bee built on it rest neuer while thou rise vp vpon it as a building Rest not night nor day till thou feele it lying vnder thy heart rest not till thou finde thy heart setled without staggering sitting downe as it were on a fast stoole and seatc If thou be once setled and builded all the waues of temptations shall not once moue thee thou shalt stand fast like a house built on a strong rocke but if thou be not built and setled on it the least blast of winde of false doctrine and of affliction wil blow thee from Matth. 7. 24. 25. thy faith thy faith from thee like chaffe Alas see we not this inconstancie in fleeting and flowing A vaine lowne he is here to day and away to morrow a Protestant to day a Papist to morrow a Christian to day a Turk or Pagan to morrow and what ye will haue him What is the cause of this O that heart of thine was neuer established by grace A vaine and emptie heart was neuer grounded vpon faith in Iesus Christ And therefore it is that these miserable creatures are caried away as they are and be assured let thy heart abide in that miserable estate of inconstancie till the Lord come thou and it shall be turned into hell headlong as the lightest and rottennest thing in the world Thus much for this first perseuerance in faith He ads to another perseuerance and he saith If you be not 2 Perseuerance in hope of the Gospell moued from the hope of the Gospell that is if you perseuer in the hope of all these faire graces and mercies especially of that life euerlasting promised in the Gospell Now brethren would you know what this Gospell is The Gospell of Iesus Christ is like a mirror or looking glasse so the Apostle cals it 2. Cor. 3. 18. In the which we may see many faire things First we see Iesus Christ the Lord of glorie and then all the faire graces that followes on him thy remission of sinnes thy iustification 2. Cor. 4. 3. 4. thy sanctification the heauen and life and all things what wouldst thou haue more Now the eye that lookes in it is not the eye of the bodie but the eye of faith quicker and cleerer than all the bodily eyes in the world The hand that holds vp that mirror is faith faith is an eye and a hand it sees and holds Now as faith is looking in the mirrour to Iesus Christ and to all the graces that followes him and to that life and glorie that neuer shall haue end in comes this hope and she awaiteth constantly for the accomplishment of all those graces Hope what and of that life euerlasting that faith sees in the mirror and she awaites till Christ come with that life in his hand with the glorie in his hand that he shall bring with him for them who awaits for him As soone as he comes the mirror fals downe The word goes away there shall be no more preaching when he comes And as thou sawst him before in the mirror so then thou shalt see his glorious face as he is so the mirror shall goe away that faith of thine shall goe away What shall be then in steed of all this Thou shalt get that that Paul saies 2. Cor. 5. 7. Now we walke by faith but then we shall walke by sight Our reioycing shall be in the sight of him for euer Now brethren you shal marke here briefly it is not enough to abide in the faith of the promise wherein thou hast promised to thee life euerlasting but with the faith thou must haue a hope awaiting constantly for the thing promised as thou beleeuest the promise that is the word so thou must hope for himselfe and his comming and that life he brings with him Ioyne these two together faith in the promise and hope in the performance of necessitie thou shalt get life That hope shall Faith and hope companions Rom. 5. 5. 6. neuer make thee a shamed It is a thing impossible that a man that waits for Christs comming can be disappointed for heauen and earth shal perish ere that man be disappointed of that he hoped for so then saith he if you be not moued from the hope of the Gospell I say then so long as we liue we must not want Take away the Gospel yee take away faith and hope this mirror of the Gospell Take away the mirror thou shalt see nought Take away the Gospell thou shalt not haue faith Take it away wherein shines all these heauenly graces thou hast nought to hope for and if thou hearest not of a life after this life thou canst not hope for it So these men in the world not onely among Pagans but amongst Christians Lords Barons that haue no pleasure in hearing of the Gospell to looke into Iesus that is in it trowe yee if thus they continue that they shall goe to heauen thinke ye that they can haue faith and hope no no more then a dog hath and their death shall be worse then a dogs death As euer then you would haue life faith and hope keepe the

Christians worse then Pagans and in seueritie and crueltie against Christ and his Church more fierce and malicious and more exquisit tormentors of Christ in his members then Popish persecution euer a Pagan or a Turke would be The truth of this is euident in the example of the Martyrs who finde none more malicious against Christs Church then these who would bee counted Christians Well Pagans and Turkes shall finde greater case and lesse iudgement at the comming of the Lord Iesus then false Christians O their paines shall be vnspeakable To goe forward in the next verse hee sets downe another cause wherefore hee suffered Of the which Church saith he I am made a minister as if hee would say I fill out the rest of the afflictions of Christ in my bodie because I am bound and obliged thereto I am made a minister to it there is the meaning Marke the words I am made He saith not I was borne a minister nay no man is borne a minister howbeit euery man thinkes he may be a minister out of hand I am made a minister would he say of a very crooked wood as he testifies of himself 1. Tim. 1. 12. 13. He placed me in his ministerie when I was a blasphemer and a persecutor Looke what stuffe I had and whereof I consisted before I was made a minister And if this was good stuffe and a way to make a minister of me iudge ye I was of al sinners the first in persecuting Christ and his members and blaspheming of him But saith he God had pitie on me Euen this Christ whom before I blasphemed and persecuted hee shewed mercie and put me in his ministerie The Lord can make a minister of a blasphemer I am made a minister that is a seruant to serue the Church to stand and fill the cup and cary it to the Church Peter and Paul were none other 1. Cor. 3. 22. 23. All is yours saith he whether it be Paul or Apollo or Cephas ye are our masters and we are your seruants and ye are Christs So he is but a seruant to the Church and not a Lord ouer it It followes that Paul when he suffered hee suffered not The sufferings of the Apostles and Martyrs were not for the redemption of man as a Lord of the bodie but as a seruant neuer any suffered as a Lord but Christ onely Paul and Peter and the rest suffered as seruants Ye see a faithfull seruant will die for his master so the Apostle suffered for his master the Church what were the Apostles but the friends of the Bridegroome Of this it followes that Pauls suffrings was not for the redemption of man no but for his ministerie and dispensation of the grace committed to him It is a lye to say hee suffered for the redemption of man so it was neuer for the redemption and remission of sins to any y t Paul or any of the Apostles suffered For no man Christ Iesus excepted was able to abide a lot of y t suffring for redemption no not all the men and Angels in heauen and earth were not nor are not able to abide one assault of that suffring That fierce wrath shuld haue so seazed vpon thē that it should haue consumed and destroyed them He must bee an excellent personage God and man in one person as Christ was that will beare out that suffring otherwise hee shall not be able to abide one point of it Well not to passe by this I see a Minister is bound to dye for the Church Wilt thou be a Minister The Minister is boūd to dye for the Church if neede so require prepare thee to dye for the Church otherwise thou art but an hireling a false deceitfull seruant So art thou made a Minister thou art made a seruant to the Queene the Church she is greater then any Princesse in the earth Count thou of a Minister as thou wilt the faithfull Minister is in greater glory honor then al the seruants of Kings Princes in the world yea he shall be preferd to the great Monarches of the world themselues Call ye them vaine fellowes They are the Lords stewards the King of kings Chambermen and Counsellors But to speake to the Ministerie Art thou called to be a Minister thou must prepare thee for suffering yea there is no calling in the Church of Iesus Christ which is not to suffering Thou maist bee called to a politicall gouernment yet not to suffering but to take thy pastime and to be in honour but if thou be called to be a member to Christ thou art called to suffer as it were a sheepe to the shambles Set not thy head within this fold except thou think thou must suffer Peter saith We are called yea appointed to suffer 1. Pet. 2. 21. Then when thou art clapt on the shoulder to be burned hanged headed yea and the skinne to be flaied off thee goe to it cheerefully for thou art bound thereto Well if euery common Christian be thus waies bound how is a Minister bound I say the more degrees thou gettest of Christ the greater preferment thou hast in Christs Church the more art thou obliged to die for Christ and his members Hee is a vaine man that thinkes when he is a minister that he is preferd to ease to greater pleasure The Ministerie no place of ease but of labour then the people no no. Is thine honour double first a Christian and then a Minister to serue the Lord Iesus Thou art bound doublie to suffer and to vndergoe the greater crosse for his sake and the Church I say if thou couldest be slaine a thousand times thou art bound to suffer more then a common Christian And if gladly thou be content to suffer thou gettest double honour first as a Christian and then as a Minister and thirdly as a Martyr Many haue been Ministers but few haue gotten this honor that the Apostles got Acts 5. 41. when they were persecuted they departed with such ioy with a song that they were thought worthy to suffer for Christ I speake this to make vs ready to suffer that with ioy It is no ignominie or shame to thee to suffer if it were the most vile death for Christs sake and thy Creator sake Immediatly after that thou shalt suffer thou shalt be translated from paine and miserie to euerlasting ioy yea and in the chiefe time of thy suffring thou shalt Ioy vnder the crosse finde exceeding great ioy as the holy Apostles and Martyrs found When he hath spoken of his Ministerie he fals out into a description of it and that to this end that we may see the worthines of this Gospell First he calles it a dispensation and stewardship then there must be a familie if he be a steward it must be a great calling Ye thinke to be the master of the Kings household is a great office but to be a Minister a steward in the house of the King of kings

And againe you see no man needes to enuie the glorie that Christ hath in him for he communicates that glorie to vs you see we enuie the glorie of earthly Princes This wee haue by nature we would haue it all our selues and the seed of ambition is in the beastliest bodie that is vpon earth which Ambition raiseth all these seditions tumults warres and vprores that is now adaies and hath been from the beginning Such is the enuie that euery man hath against another mans preferment his honour and estimation that hee cannot away with it except he haue all in himselfe And therefore hee leaues nothing vndone if it were to cut his throte so be it he may get his glory and renowne But thou that beleeuest needs not in such wise to enuie the glorie of Iesus Christ A King will not communicate his glorie with thee no not a iot of it but Iesus Christ communicates all his glorie with thee and therefore thou shouldest loue him the more yea and the faithfull man the more he sees God glorified the more is his ioy but a reprobate wil enuie the glorie of God Nay there was neuer such a subiect that enuied the glorie and honour of a Prince or of his master as a reprobate will enuie the glorie of Iesus Hee would if he might plucke him from his glorie such is the malice of his heart against Iesus Christ Yea the reprobate would The reprobate if it were possible bereaue the Saints of their glorie and whē this glorie of the Saints shall be reuealed the reprobate shall fret and fume they desire not to heare tell of the glorie of Christ and of his Saints And when they heare of it for they shall heare of it in despite of their teeth they heare it with the sadnes of their heart it is no comfort nor consolation to them to heare of it And by the contrary the faithfull one reioyceth when he heares of it it makes his hart to leape for ioy as Iohns did in his mothers belly when Mary the mother of Christ A sure token of election spake to Elizabeth Luk. 1. 41. Therefore if thou canst reioyce when thou hearest of Gods glorie in Iesus Christ it is a good and sure token of thy election And againe seeing that in Iesus there is this fulnes thou needes neuer to be emptie or feare to want Thou that findest any wastnes or emptines put out thy hand to the ambrie of the Gospel wherein this fulnes of grace The Gospel is the meane whereby Christ communicates his fulnes vnto vs. and glorie is to be had A contemner of the Gospell if he were a King he shall not taste of this fulnes and of this glorie of Iesus for there is no way to be partaker of this fulnes but by the Gospell It is the ambrie wherein it is contained And if thou misse it thou shalt neuer get a cheekefull or morfell of any fulnes in thy soule When hee hath said And in him ye are filled he subioynes a glorious description of him who is the head of all principalitie and power He cannot leaue of to speake of that glorious maiestie he said before In him are hid all treasures of wisedome and knowledge and againe in him dwelleth the Godhead bodily and so foorth as you haue heard now againe when he hath cast in a word of him he leaues him not so but hee will yet paint him out in his glorie Then learne to speake fully of Christ Alas this hungry speaking of Christ testifies the emptines and voidnes To speake fully of Christ of God in our hearts It is a true saying Of the aboundance of the heart the mouth speaketh If thy heart were full of him as I haue said thy mouth would be full and thou wouldest speak fully of him but thy heart being so emptie what marueile is it to heare thee speake coldly of this Lord full of glorie Well there is no question but by this description wherein he makes him Lord ouer all both in heauen and earth hee meanes this that he is not onely Lord aboue them all but that also they are cast downe vnder his feete hee is mounted aboue them all Now there be two things that will make vs chiefly to account of this gloriousnes that is in Christ Iesus The one Two things do cause vs to thinke highly of Christ thing is his highnes a maiestie about all maiesties There is not a maiestie but that maiestie The other thing is thy lowlines and thy basenes thou art but a worme on earth hee is aboue all heauens Is not this a great goodnes that he that is so high should so lowly humble himselfe so that he should abase himselfe as it were to become a worme Men would wonder that euer the God of glorie should so haue humbled himself yea the Angels wonder at this that euer sinfull man should haue gotten a share or portion of that grace of God So this is my counsell if thou feele a smacke of grace of consolation or A speciall consolatiō of faith if it were but as a mustard seede count more of it then of all the kingdomes of the earth For it will weigh downe all keepe it well in thy heart and lose thy life and all before thou wilt lose it I counsell thee to looke vp to heauen first and say yet this Lord will giue me more of his grace and glorie when I shall see him with this eye of the bodie then the Lord will fill me with glorie and I will hope and be content to lose all before I should lose this Keepe this earnest peny for it is the ioy of the creature to keepe this earnest peny for one day thou shalt get the full summe and fulnes of ioy If thou keepe it not and haue no regard of it and hold not vp thy eye by night and by day by looking to Iesus in this Gospell thou shalt neuer get the full summe and entire payment The sucking of the hearts of the faithfull and the drinking in this milke of the word is the way to get Iesus to The way to get Iesus into the heart thy heart and to keepe him night and day yea it is the way appointed from all eternitie Abraham sought for him and got faith in him by the word of promise which is the Gospell Therefore it is said that he sawe him and reioyced Ioh. 8. 56. Nay Abraham neuer suffered himselfe to be seuered from that grace that was in him So the Gospel is the way to bring Christ out of heauen to thee and to fill the elect with all ioy and glorie To him therefore be euerlasting glorie praise and dominion for euer Amen THE SIXTEENTH LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE Colossians COLOS. Chap. 2. vers 11. 12. 11 In whom also yee are circumcised with circumcision made without hands by putting off the sinfull bodie of the flesh through the circumcision

doe promise thee if thou doe it thou shalt haue the bitternes of thy nature taken away otherwise thou shalt neuer possesse a contented heart What a death this was he expresseth when he saith which were dead in sinnes there is the first cause of this death sinnes and trespasses that is all the actuall sinnes of their life all the foule thoughts of their heart all the prophane words of their mouth all vnruly actions of their hands all these be vnderstood vnder this word sinnes in the plurall number Then brethren this word importeth first the kinde of this death Death in sinne that man lieth in before he be in Christ it is not the death of the bodie In the bodie thou wilt seeme to be quicke enough when as thou art but dead but this death it is the death of the spirit it is the death of the soule for when thou goest on in sinne thou doest nothing else but stick and goare thy soule and besides in the end thou wilt slay the bodie also so as if thou continue in it it shall neuer leaue thee till it slay both soule and bodie for euermore Thou maist be a wanton harlot and a cruell murtherer but yet take thy delights howsoeuer thou wilt promise thy selfe as great assurance of life comfort and ioyes as thou canst imagine yet thy perseuerance in sinne shall slay thee with death in this world and in that to come For the wages of sinne is death Rom. 6. 28. Then this cause of death importeth not onely that this death is spirituall but also it importeth that it is a death exceeding fore and withall the dissoluing of this very bodie into powder and ashes Death in generall is nothing els but the depriuing of life A mā is said to be dead when he wanteth life Now these sinnes which he speaketh of here doe depriue thee of the quickest and sweetest life that euer was and what a life is it that sinne depriueth thee of euen the life of God the best life that is or can be Woe is thee that euer thou gottest life in the bodie if thou want this life of God that thou maist liue with Iesus Christ for euer Yea woe is thee for euermore that thou sawest either Sunne or Moone if thou want the life of God in Iesus Christ and there is nothing but sinne that can depriue thee of it And further it not onely bereaueth thee of life but it maketh thee guiltie of eternall death both in soule and bodie Thou hast these two Tvvo aduantages sinners haue by sinne aduantages delight in sinne as thou wilt sinne ruling in any man so long as hee liueth without Iesus Christ remission of sinnes and sanctification it excludeth the life of God from him and more then this it holdeth him poore miserable wretch vnder the guiltines of euerlasting death for euer You will aske how can a man be dead in sinnes Is he not liuely in actions is hee not counted the gallantest fellow in all the Realme and the liueliest that is the greatest swaggerer that can commit most euill Is hee not counted the liueliest that is the greatest murtherer I answere thee the quicker hee is in murthering in adulterie and such like the more is hee dead because first he wants the life of God And further all these are but dead actions dead workes comming from a dead man and they are as it were a stinking sauour from a filthie carrion so these men trimme them vp as you wil they are but stinking carrions O thou murtherer thou defilest the heauens the earth and the ayre O thou harlot thou defilest all the house and the bed thou liest in Thou oppressour thou defilest all the world though thou werst an Earle a Duke or a King thou art a dead stinking carrion worse then a dead dogge To come to the next words he ascendeth to a higher ground of this death and he saith they were dead not onely in actuall sinnes but they were dead in a sort of sinne that did cleaue faster and neerer to their ribbes You were dead saith he in the vncircumcision of your flesh that is in your originall sinne Hee setteth downe this by an allusion of the foreskinne the Gentiles vncircumcision was a signe of their originall sinne which Originall sinne was inherent in them as circumcision was a signe of the taking away of the same Then the cause of thy death in bodie and soule is not onely these actions that passe away as when thou hast murthered the action goeth away although the guilt remaine for the action that passeth it leaueth vpon thy backe a guilt which shall bring downe damnation vpon thee The cause I say of thy death in bodie and soule is not only in these fleeting actions but the grounded cause of it is original sinne the sinne conceiued in thy mothers wombe Thou art borne in sinne and it sticketh fast to thee and therefore it must follow that seeing the cause is a sticking and biding cause the death must also be abiding death I called it before a sore death now I call it an abiding death that greatly encreaseth the miserie You know that a disease naturall that commeth of any vitiositie of nature as of the birth so many as haue that disease it doth still accompanie their bodie It may wel be that they get it mitigated but they cannot fully clense it They may procure a relenting of it but neuer be able to take it away And therefore this death hauing the ground in that foule feede that thou art conceiued in by the generation of all thy forebeers it will passe the power of the world to get it away No the Angels of heauen will not bee able to relieue thee of it nothing will free thee of it but grace which is contrarie to that corruption of nature You know the prouerbe That which is bred in the bone wil hardly be driuen out of the flesh It therefore thou wouldest be cured of this rooted euill thou must crie for grace and say Lord send thy spirit of grace into my heart to rid me of this corruption of nature It thou crie not for this night and day yea and finde it in some measure working in thee thou shalt neuer be relieued Crie therefore and say Lord I was conceiued dead I was borne dead I A good prayer am euery way dead send thy spirit of free grace and free me of this death that so sore setleth vpon me that I may once enioy that life of Iesus Crie this way night and day and all thy time and then I assure thee thou shalt finde deliuerance and shalt taste how sweet the life of Iesus is And this for their former estate which is miserable being out of Christ Iesus Now followeth the estate in Christ He hath quickened you that is the father hath put life in you It is a quickening when death is expelled and life commeth in his place but what a life is it

that wee receiue in Christ Would to God wee could meditate vpon this life that is in Christ you shall know it best by this what a death wast thou in It was a spirituall death both of the soule and bodie standing in the want of the life of God Then this life must be spiritual also euen the life of God that thrusts out that death that is that corruption and fruites of the same If thou haue this life though thou werst dying bodily thou wilt be liuing in thy soule and when thou art dead thou shalt be liuing this is the aduantage of this life of God But if thou want this life dying thou shalt be onely dead and nought els and woe is that man or woman that is onely dead 2. Cor. 4. 10. Paul speaking of himselfe saith Euery where we beare about in our bodie the dying of the Lord Iesus meaning this dying in the bodie but yet saith he the life of Iesus is manifested in my bodie that is in dying bodily I liue spiritually And vers 16. The more that the bodie died the more he was renued daily Paul felt this in himselfe doest thou not feele this naturall life wearing away the strength of it decaying daily Striue thē with Paul that with the decay of the one thou maist feele the growth of the other in thee and woe is thee losing the bodily life if thou get not the growing of the spiritual life But if thou doest feele it keepe it well otherwise thou shalt die euerlastingly He saith not simply he had quickened them but he saith he hath quickened them with him that is with Iesus Christ in this order First he raised Christ from the dead then with him he beginneth their rising here in this life which shall be accomplished in the second resurrection that is to come If ye wil consider these words they import three things First there is none quickened alone so as if thou be alone Three things in our ●iuification to be considered and separate from Christ thinke not to liue conceiue not to get the life of God and therefore he saith hee hath quickened you with him The second thing is there is no man that is first quickened in order but Christ is first quickened and thou commest in the second roome thou canst not get life before him The third thing to be considered in this place is no man getteth life from God immediatly for first hee giueth life to Christ and thou being in Christ thou drawest a portion out of him He hath the fulnes if thou be ioyned with him thou drawest out a share of life where by thou doest liue And therefore take this admonition Wouldest thou haue life stand not alone but ioyne with thy head Christ and then with the bodie for if thou be not a member of this bodie though it seeme ignominious to thee thou shalt haue no life in thee Creepe then vnto Christ be neuer alone be euer in the society of the Saints And if Christ be the head then claime not to be the first to haue life but let Iesus thy head be first and then come thou creeping in to him striue to be next him as much as thou canst and striue not to be first for hee will be first in despite of thee The last is seeke not to get grace and life immediatly of God without Christ as if there were any life of thy own without him thou wouldest be deceiued in steed of life the curse of God will fall vpon thee Thinkest thou that the Iewes which looke vp to heauen and seeke life without Christ thinkest thou that they will get it Nay they get death in steed of life but thou that gettest a drop of his grace which is better then all the kingdomes of the earth to refresh thy soule that is parched as it were with the heate of sinne thou I say wilt get life in him for all grace is in him therefore seeke for it in him To goe forward he laieth downe whereupon this proceedeth It must be builded vpon a ground which is a remission of thy sinnes which is in effect the iustifying of thee in Iesus accompting thee to be a iust man notwithstanding thy sinnes saying I pronounce thee a iust man Then briefly mark this and looke by what order thou attainest to life This is the order to come by the life of God first before euer thou get that quickning How to attaine life spirit for it is the spirit that quickens thou must haue the bloud of Iesus For there are two things that come from Iesus his bloud and his spirit thinke not to get the spirit before the bloud but seeke the bloud bathe and wash that foule soule of thine Wash and clense thee againe and againe in that bloud shed on the crosse to the end that the guiltines of thy sinnes being washed away from thy soule for this is the vertue of that bloud to all that beleeue thou maist get the spirit of Iesus For being once washed in his bloud then thou gettest that that is called the remission of sinnes which are washed away Heb 9. 14. through faith in the bloud of Christ and hauing got this free remission the spirit will come and will pull out that roote of bitternes and digge it vp by the rootes all the power in the The power of Christs spirit world cannot pull it vp but the spirit of Iesus will doe it it will I say pluck vp that roote and all the branches and members of it howbeit he will not doe it at once yet hee will doe it by degrees Then if thou wouldest haue life goe on in this order and say to God Lord forgiue me my sinnes in the bloud of Two petitions Iesus say not Lord quicken me but say Lord forgiue me my sinnes and take away the guiltines of them in the bloud of Iesus It is most certaine that if thou haue faith in the bloud of Iesus thou must be forgiuen Then say in the second roome Lord quicken me giue me that spirit that may pull out this naturall corruption and put life in me Come on in this manner and if thou hast a faithfull heart it is not possible but thou maist obtaine remission of thy sins and be quickened Crie then continually Lord forgiue me Lord relieue me of the death which I lie in relieue me of this corruption put life in me and all this through thy beloued sonne Christ Iesus For it will not be the life of thy parents that will make thee to liue crie to root out that poison which thou hast from thy parents Our gentlemen thinke it enough for them if they be descended of such a descent of people Ha ha thou wilt die like a dog if thou haue no more be neuer contented til thou hast gotten a new birth For all they that will raigne with him must haue a new birth It is impossible for thee to be one of

a thought or a looke otherwaies thou art not sanctified yea if in all thine affaires thou thinke not on Christ and haue not a presence of God the very horse thou ridest on is better then thou and the higher thou art mounted vp the more miserable if thou want a thought of God in Iesus Christ Againe yee see Iesus is called the bodie yee know that by humane reason a bodie is a solide thing with dimensions that thou maist apprehend solidlie In a word Christ hath this prerogatiue to be called a bodie Iesus Christ of all things is the solidest and firmest in comparison of him there is not a bodie in the world I say to thee when thou puttest out thy hand to lay hold on the most solid thing in the world thou shalt not find it so solid as the heart of the godly shall by when it by the hand of faith layeth hold on him for as soone as Iesus toucheth the heart then the heart that before was vaine and superficiall is made a solid bodie so there is not a solid heart but it that hath Iesus closed in it I tell thee thy heart is but as an emptie bagge if thou get not Iesus into it therefore crye euer Iesus fill my emptie heart Neuerthelesse fooles set not greatly by this but I say to thee if thou wert a King thou shalt neuer be solid thy heart shall neuer be solid but a blast of wind shall carrie thee away if thou haue not Iesus Christ in thy heart Lastly I see the religious heart that is occupied vpon Christ is occupied vpon the firmest thing in the world those that faine would bee godly and separate themselues from this world and lay hold on Christ the prophane may well say of him what is this bodie doing he is a sillie foolish bodie But if he were a King if he knew the estate of that bodie he would change his estate with his this you may see in the example of Paul speaking to Agrippa Acts chap. 26. vers 29. Well as I haue said before the end shall trie all and they that in this life followed Iesus and set their eye vpon this solid thing they shall abide because they haue laid hold on him who is eternall and abides for euer and blessed is the soule that apprehendeth this onely solid thing Iesus And thou that laiest holde on the things that are seene on the pleasures of this world O they shall vanish they shall be caried away as dust because the things that are seene are momentanie and passe away Therefore if thou wouldest liue for euer fasten thy heart vpon Christ it will not be honour meate and drinke that will establish thy heart when heauen and earth shall be shaken together nothing shall establish thee but that ankering of thee vpon Christ and therefore seeke to bee ankered vpon him To whom bee all honour and praise Amen THE TWENTITH LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE Colossians COLOS. Chap. 2. vers 18. 18 Let no man at his pleasure beare rule ouer you by humblenes of mind and worshipping of Angels aduauncing himselfe in those things which he neuer saw rashly puft vp with his fleshly mind THe Apostle brethren throughout this whole chapter admonisheth the Colossians to beware of false teachers and of mens doctrine and traditions The traditions he admonisheth them to beware of are of two sorts the first sort is the olde ceremonies that the Lorde sometime gaue to bee obserued by the people of the Iewes which at Christs comming were wholy abolished and put away and therefore the receiuing of them againe into the Church of Christ it was nothing else but the doctrine of men and not Two sorts oferaditions of God The second sort of traditions are such as God neuer gaue to any people nor will giue to the end of the world to be obserued as this To bid men goe worship Angels to call vpon Saints they are such as the Lord neuer knew of nor gaue to man he neuer commaunded to worship an Angell nor call vpon a Saint Wee heard the last day of the first sort of mens traditions and the doctrine concerning the ceremonies that were abolished by Christs comming Let no man condemne you saith he in meate or drinke there is the first sort The ceremonies of the Iewes in the which the Apostle wils them that they suffer not themselues to be condemned for not keeping them because they are alreadie abolished Now brethren in this text presently read we are admonished concerning the second sort of traditions namely concerning the worshipping of Angels To come then to the purpose and words of the text Let no man saith he to the Colossians at his pleasure beare rule ouer you by submission of minde and worshipping of Angels These are the words Let no man beare rule ouer you The word is to bee considered in the originall it signifieth to play the part of a moderator and of a Iudge and not that onely but it signifieth to beare rule not for men and their will but against them and to their hurt and domage This is the force of the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if he would say Let no man beare rule ouer you that is against you and to your hurt and domage The Apostle vseth sundrie words whereby hee expresseth the action of false teachers and deceiuers First in the eight verse of this chapter he said Let no man spoyle you carrie you away as a pray Then he saies Let no man condemne you sit vpon you to iudge and condemne you Thirdly Let no man beare rule ouer you What meanes this varietie of words and euery one worse then other All tends to this to let vs see False teachers described that there is no kinde of euill that one man can doe against another but a false teacher will doe it against man What thing can any man doe against another bodily but a false teacher will doe against him spiritually and it is worse an hundred times to be hurt spiritually then bodily One man wil come to another and take him and draw him away bodily but a false teacher will draw him away spiritually and that more cruelly then one man will draw away another bodily This man will giue him whom he draweth leaue to breathe and to rest a while but a false teacher if once hee take a man in his snare he will not giue him rest night nor day till he bring him to damnation Againe men will condemne thee bodily but false teachers wil condēne thy soule So in one word there was neuer a tyrant frō the beginning of the world that hath done so much euill to the world as the Pope and his Clergie haue done O the soules of them that he hath made to perish fie on this world that sees not this lowne plainly playing the tyrant daily Alas worldly tyrants destroy the bodies and goods of men only but he destroyeth the soules and

earnest in keeping and hearing such doctrine as concerneth life euerlasting and when thou hearest this doctrine of dirt turne thy eare away from it for there is no godlines in it And I giue you my counsell heare him not that speaketh of such things but heare him that will speake of Christ Iesus and his doctrine which shall feede thee to life euerlasting It will not be meate and drinke and the doctrine thereof which will feede thee but it must be this doctrine of Christ wherewith thou must be fed and thou must still feede on it vntill thou be glorified in him and with him for euer and euer To whom with the Father and holy Spirit be al praise and honour now and euer Amen THE XXIII LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE Colossians COLOS. Chap. 3. vers 1. 2. 3. 1 If ye then be risen with Christ seeke those things which are aboue where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God 2 Set your affections on things which are aboue and not on things which are on the earth 3 For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God WE haue heard in this Epistle beloued brethren in Iesus Christ first the inscription of the Epistle Secondly The parts of this epistle alreadie handled the preface Thirdly the doctrine touching Christ and his benefits And then fourthly wee haue heard how he passed from the doctrine to the exhortations and admonitions exhorting the Colossians to perseuerance in that faith which they had receiued admonishing them to beware of the false Apostles their doctrine and mens traditions In this admonition hee insisteth throughout the whole second chapter Now brethren in this third chapter taking occasion of the vaine and corruptible things as meate drink and such things of which are the traditions of men from the which he had disswaded them in the former chapter he begins to exhort them to other things not corruptible but euerlasting not earthly but heauenly in the which true godlines and holines standeth Throughout all this whole chapter he insisteth vpon this first in general and then he cōmeth to his exhortation in speciall And he continueth so to the seuenth verse of the next chapter The particulars I remit to the diduction of the text and I come to the words presently read In thē there are two exhortatiōs to one thing together with sundry arguments hee exhorteth in both to the things aboue to heauenly things and the foresaid exhortation which he vseth for this purpose is to seeke them and the second exhortation is to know them to be wise in them and to vnderstand them for that is the force of the word Then to come to the first exhortation If ye be risen with Christ seeke the things that are aboue There is the exhortation and the first argument which is ye are risen with Christ to life after that ye were dead to all these beggerly ceremonies to mens traditions of meate and drinke and such like Now after ye were dead to these ye are risen againe to a life and to an heauenly life therefore seeke the things that are in heauen Now to insist vpon euery word Ye see here and in the chapter before mention is made of a dying of Christ and of a buriall with him and of a rising and liuing with him so that when he dieth wee die and when hee riseth and liueth we rise and liue Marke it well In a word as he altereth wee alter so many as beleeue in him of necessitie they change as he change when he dies they die by vertue of his death to sinne and to the world and sinne dieth in them when he riseth they rise with him vnto that heauenly life This alteration is wonderfull What man is high in the world which wil draw others after him after this manner that when he dieth wil cause another to die with him that neuer saw him bodily in this life What is he I say looke through the whole world and to all the Kings of the world whom will ye find in heauen or earth that will alter men after this manner by his death and life This is one common doctrine but it would be considered well for there are few which vnderstande this doctrine Then of necessitie in Iesus Christ there must be a great force and vertue Ye see now the Heauens Planets Sunne Moone and the rest because they by their operation do make alteration in these inferiour things as in plants grasse fields and euen in the bodie of man because I say of this operation in these inferiour creatures wee ascribe a great vertue to them But all these celestiall bodies cannot worke such effects as Iesus Simile his death and life can worke No no if thou were once dead these celestiall signes and planets will not make thee liue againe The Sunne nor the Moone cannot make thee liue when once thou art dead but when thou art dead Iesus will raise thee vp more liuely then euer thou werst before So there The power of Christs death and resurrection must be in him a force aboue all the force and power that euer God made or gaue to any creature But marke brethren concerning this power he must be a man in whom this power is because this vertue cannot come to thee but through the nature of man man cannot die to sinne and liue to righteousnesse but by that vertue that commeth through man yet he must be more then a man and that a holie man without al spot of sinne He must be more then this I say he must be God to Rom. 8. 11 Phil. 3. 10. 11. make thee die to sinne and rise vnto righteousnes This commeth of the special power and vertue of God for none is able in heauen or earth to worke such a strange worke as this except hee be God Yet there must be more of necessitie there must be a coniunction betwixt thee and him he must be ioyned Our communion with Christ to thee and thou to him otherwise his vertue will not come to thee either to thy death or to thy life he must bee thy husband and thou his spouse yea hee must be more then thy husband for the husband cannot draw the wife after him by vertue of his death or life either to liue or to die as Christ can doe He must be then thy head he must be as neere as thy head is neere thy bodie That is the familiar similitude of the Scripture When the head dieth the bodie dieth with it and when the head is liuely the bodie hath sense and being So when Iesus dieth the bodie dieth when Iesus riseth the bodie riseth also So the meetest thing to expresse him and his coniunction with vs is the head bodie of man and yet he must be more then the head for there came neuer such vertue from the head of a man to the bodie as there shall come from thy head Iesus Christ

vnto thy soule when thou art ioyned to him by faith He must haue vertue and power to giue thee whereby thou maist be able to die or to liue Now brethren if there were no more but these effects to flow from Iesus into vs it telleth vs plainly that there was neuer giuen such a power to any in heauen or earth as there was giuen to Iesus Christ man our Regeneration head It telleth that as hee is man so is he God Looke if thou haue regeneration in thee and thou shalt feele this to be true if wee haue it it will tell vs that Iesus Christ is the neerest to me and thee of all others There is none that will make thee to die with them but Christ only no thy father and mother will not be able to doe that none will draw thee after him in death and life saue onely Christ So if thou be ioyned with Christ it is impossible to separate thee from him as thou maist be from thy wise and children and the deerest things thou hast no no if thou be once ioyned to him as thy head there is no separation for thee he shall be all things to thee Now this much for the first argument the exhortation followeth If ye be risen with Christ saith he seeke those things which are aboue There is an action required and life and euery kind of life must haue an action otherwise it cannot be a life The naturall life must haue an action the earthly life must haue an action Then this heauenly life that we are risen to with Iesus it must haue an action otherwise it cannot be a life Note Thou that art quickened with him must be a doer otherwise thou hast not his life for as his life is the quickest thing that is or euer was for it is the life of God so it must haue the quickest action that is This action is first a seeking with the whole hart and all the affections and members of the bodie There is the first action seeking Euery life ye know seeketh for the things VVhat the spirituall life of Christ workes in his members that serue for the sustaining of it This naturall life that perisheth so long as it abideth it is occupied in seeking for the maintenance of it by night and by day by al meanes possible Should not then this heauenly life haue a seeking Shouldest thou sit when thou seest this man catching here and there seeking for the maintenance of this naturall life Wilt thou not take an example of these earthly things and earthly creatures to seeke for heauenly things to the confirmation and preseruation of thy spirituall life O if thou hadst a sparke of heauenly life thou wouldest seeke more earnestly for the entertainment of it then euer any creature did for the maintenance of this naturall life Well then by the example of these earthly things that are occupied in seeking for the meanes of this present life learne thou to seeke spirituall graces and say to the Lord O Lord grant that I may seeke heauen and heauenly things for the preseruation of this my spiritual life as al these earthly bodies seeke for these perishing things Now come to the things that they should seeke Seeke saith he what nothing beneath meate drink and the rest of these things No what should they seeke Things aboue in heauen that are in Iesus Christ O the fulnes that is in him Brethren all grace first is in heauen yea aboue these visible heauens where that glorious bodie is then it commeth downe to the earth Therefore he sendeth thee vpward to heauen for to seeke Ye know euery kind of life seeketh things proper and meete for such a life The life of a beast will seeke for that that is proper for the life of a beast the life of a tree for that that is meete for such a life and the life of a man for such things as are meete for the life of a man Euery life will seeke for things which serue for the preseruation of it euen so if thou hadst this life of God thou wilt seeke things proper for this life Thou wilt seek things from heauen because heauenly things are proper for such a life For heauenly things are proper for an heauenly life Iesus Christ after his death and buriall or euer his bodie was in heauen the heart of him was in heauen So if thou haue the life of Iesus of necessitie thy heart must goe to heauen for looke whither his heart went if thou bee risen with him of necessitie thy heart must goe thither and by thine action measure thy life in Iesus for if thou haue not a heart to heauen and heauenly things alas thou hast not the life of Iesus but if thou haue it thou wilt euer be seeking for heauenly things and then in some measure thou art in heauen Then to conclude this first exhortation and first argument thereof in a word and so to come to the second argument If there were nothing more to moue thee to seeke after heauen and heauenly things but this spirit of regeneration the life of the spirit in Iesus Christ it should lift thee vp to heauen as heauie as thou art For it is true thou art a lumpe but if thou haue the spirit if thou werst neuer so heauie he will raise thee and giue thee strength to flie vpward though the body be neuer so clogged If thou haue a sparke of that life it will cause thee to mount aloft Indeede this bodie will draw thee downe and must doe so yet bee assured if thou haue one sparke of that spirituall life it will raise thee vp when the other is pulling thee downe and in the end when mortalitie is so shaken off of thee then in a wonderfull manner the bodie shall be lifted vp and that soule and bodie of thine shall be glorified Therefore marke euer this life by the effect if thou findest thy heart in heauen and heauenly things say thou hast the life of Iesus but on the contrarie if thou finde not thy heart set A true note of the life of God in vs. on heauen and seeking for heauenly things thou hast not to doe with the life of Iesus and woe be to thee for euermore When thou risest in the morning if thou findest thy heart vpward O thou risest with ioy therfore neuer rest till thou hast Eph. 4. 18. gotten the life of God Lord make vs carefull to haue a sense of this life without the which there is no glorie nor ioy for the soule of any person liuing Now to come to the next argument which is taken from Christ himselfe and the place where hee is Seeke saith he those things that are aboue where Christ is As if he would say Christ is aboue that glorified bodie with all the spirituall graces and that fulnes is aboue yea aboue these visible heauens Therefore let thy heart goe where he is let it be lifted vp

aboue these heauens Brethren the presence of Iesus and the loue of that presence should make vs to loue heauen and make vs oftentimes to cast vp not onely the eye of the soule but also the bodily eye to these visible heauens if we loue the presence of Iesus who is aboue these heauens and to striue to pearce through them as to his owne presence For if hee were not there what reckoning is there of these heauens I would not reckon of them more then of the earth which wee tread on and I had rather dwell with Iesus in the earth then in heauen for all the glorie thereof without Iesus for all the pleasure that is either in heauen or earth is in Iesus and without him away with heauen and earth both I will giue nothing for them And therefore the loue of that presence should make vs to loue heauen Ye know if a man loue another entirely he will loue the place where he dwelleth and as we say hee will A note of loue loue the ground hee goeth on so if thou loue thy Lord thou wilt loue the place hee treads on nay thine eye would not be off these visible heauens at the least once in the day for hee is aboue them and shall abide there till his last comming So if thou loue him thine eye would follow him where he is But alas for the lacke of the loue of his presence this loue is not to be found in many mens hearts and of this it commeth to passe that men are so loth to die nay if the loue of thy soule were with him thy soule would say with Paul I groane to be with the Lord it will groane within thee to be out of the bodie And take this for a token where there is not an eye to heauen alas there is no loue of Iesus Christ in thy soule and alas what good thing can possesse thy soule if it be emptie of the loue of Iesus Christ Now followeth in the end of the verse the third argument taken from the estate of Christ in heauen but what is his estate He is sitting at the right hand of God As if hee would say he is in heauē but not there as a seruant or an Angel there are sundrie in heauen but in diuers rankes He is in heauen exalted to that height hee hath such glorie as thou neuer The glorie of Christ in heauen sawest All the Angels bow their knees hee is Lord ouer them all euen as he is man Then as the presence of Iesus and loue of him should draw our heart to heauen so the estate he standeth in presently that passing glorie and that kingdome he is in should draw our hearts vpward to heauen If his glorie were deare to thee thy heart would be where his glorie is and thou wouldest not be content vntill thy heart were lifted vp to him and the eye of thy soule set on him yea this bodily eye would euer pearce to get that presence of Iesus in the heauens glorified in our nature Ye know if a man vpon whom our life and comfort dependeth were in a strange land and promoted A sweete similitude to be a Lord thou wouldst neuer rest vntill thou were with him and thy thought would be euer vpon his glorie Now I would to God wee could haue that affection to Iesus the King of glorie It is true we cannot loue him as we should but I say blessed is that soule that hath any loue towards him pearcing through this bodie of clay Blessed is that heart that can giue once but a sigh either by night or day if it were after neuer so small a measure for the presence of Iesus for be assured that soule shall be glorified with the Lord of glorie Note This for the first exhortation with the three arguments the life whereunto we are risen the presence of Iesus and his glorious estate in heauen al which should make vs set our eye vpward to heauen and bee occupied in seeking of heauenly things meete for the spirituall life Now to goe to the next exhortation and it is to these same things that are aboue Before hee exhorted the Colossians to seeke them now he exhorteth them to be wise in them to fill themselues with them to * Or to desire that they may affect all their senses sent them with all their senses to see them with their eyes and to feele them sensibly as it were with their hands This exhortation is grounded vpon the first argument If ye be risen with Christ c. Then be * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wise in the things that are aboue that is a common ground to both This is so ioyned with the first that there can be no seeking without wisedome How canst thou seeke that that thou knowest not If thou haue no knowledge of heauen heauenly things how canst thou seeke them what desire canst thou haue of them for the prouerbe is true Ignoti nulla cupido there is no desire of that wee know not Then as before he exhorteth to seeke so now hee exhorteth to know and knowledge goeth Knowledge before seeking And therefore thou that wouldest seeke heauen and for heauenly things know them first and when thou hast gotten a knowledge of them then let thy affection come after for if thou seeke without knowledge thou shalt neuer finde them Therefore euer seeke the knowledge of Iesus and of that fulnes of grace that is in him and thinke not that thou hast enough of knowledge alreadie No crie euer Lord open the eye of my soule to see thee and the things that are with thee that I may see the things I haue not seene and that I should see Heare the word of the Gospell for knowledge is gotten by the word of the Gospell Seeke that thy mind may be instructed but to the purpose Bewise As seeking is an action so wisedome is an action There is no action without some sense and knowledge The life of a beast is not without some sense take it away the beast perisheth The life of a man cannot be without some sense and knowledge therefore thou canst not haue the life of God except thou haue a sense and smelling of God and of heauenly things It is a thing impossible that thou that hast no taste of things aboue canst either seek or see them and if thou thinkest otherwise thou art deceiued Can the life of Iesus be in thee without a knowledge of heauenly things No no deceiue not thy soule it is vnpossible for Iesus liueth not in the soules of men altogether ignorant So that if thou get not a portion of this knowledge of this heauenly life and of things aboue thou shalt neuer seeke for them nor haue a desire of them no I say to thee if thou want knowledge thou shalt neuer get them Come forward Let vs see of what things must this knowledge be He answereth of things aboue that

is of such things as are proper for such a life I tell you this earth and all the things in it your siluer gold drinke and all the rest the knowledge of these things serueth not for the life of heauen but if thou wilt haue such a life thy knowledge must reach to heauen and howbeit thy knowledge be finite yet it will compasse things infinite if thou haue the spirit of Iesus saith the Apostle it compasseth the breadth and depth of him Ephes chap. 3. verse 18. 19. Knowledge of heauenly things necessarie if we be in Christ So this heauenly life requires wisedome in heauenly things Iesus Christ when hee rose the eye of him went vp to heauen he knew no more these carnall things all went away and the minde of him was occupied vpon heauenly things so if thou rise with him thy minde will to heauen and in some measure thou wilt vnderstand things and thou wilt be wise in God If thou haue not this I say thou hast not risen with Iesus but art yet filthie wallowing in thy owne bloud to thy eternall damnation Now he is not content to exhort them that they be wise in these things aboue but hee excludeth things of this earth to teach thee that thou canst not be wise in these heauēly things in case thou be wise in these things beneath yea these heauenly things shall bee but foolishnes to a wise man in earthly things for they shall be but as a dreame and imagination to such the speech of the Gospell shall be follie to him So think not to take both in thy armes when thou art looking downe how canst thou looke vp Thinke not to compasse heauen and earth both together for in compassing the one thou shalt lose the other Therefore the Apostle sundreth them This seemeth to be hard for how can we cast all care of this world away we must eate drinke and be cloathed and haue some care of these things so long as we abide in the earth The Apostle answereth in the first Epistle to the Corinth chap. 7. vers 29. for hauing spoken of mariage he saith the time is shortned As if hee would say ye will not be long in this life Therefore ye that haue wiues be as though ye had them not By the which he meaneth not that we should cast all care away of this world but that we should take the things of this earth by the way as it were that is to say let not thy chief care be on them but so farre as they serue for heauen Doe euen as though thou were going on a pilgrimage yee will take meate drinke gold siluer and such other things to helpe you forward in your iourney yet your care will not bee on them but your care will bee chiefly on your iourney euer hauing your eye vpon the end of it Thou wilt not sit downe vpon thy riches vpon thy meate and the rest Simile while thou art in iourneying but wilt be euer going forward in thy iourney vsing these things by the way euen so the Lord in this our iourneying to heauen hee will not haue vs to sit downe and set our care chiefly on these things in the earth but to take them as it were by the way hauing thy chiefe care Matth. 6. on him and the things with him therefore sit not down vpon any thing in this earth if thou doe thou shalt neuer come to thy iourneys end yea thou shalt lose the remembrance of it Now to goe forward in the words following There are two arguments to this purpose set downe by the Apostle the first is to disswade them from earthly things ye are dead The next is to seeke heauenly things your life is hid with Christ in God To speake then of the first argumēt which is ye are dead to the earth therfore striue not to be wise in y e earth Ye knowe that a mā that is dead supposing that he had neuer so great care of this world and could neuer get a fill of the things in it so long as he liued yet when life is gone the bodie lieth still and will not giue a peny for all the world all pleasure goeth away and Simile as a man dieth he will begin to spit at the world yea a man full of the honour of it he will at his dying day spit at it Euen so brethren the soule dying with Iesus spiritually as the bodie dieth naturally to sinne to the earth and to all earthly things to what end should it care for these earthly things Nay if thou didst finde that death of Iesus thou wouldest loath these things In deede it is vnpossible to be altogether voyde of the care of these things of the earth as long as we are in the bodie here but if thou be buried with him certainly thou wilt loath all these things beneath and despise the wisdome of them and begin by little and little to seeke the things of heauen And if thou be thus wise dead it is a sure argument thy soule is mortified lying as it were in the buriall of Iesus vntill the time thou rise glorious in that great day As by the contrarie if thou be not buried with Iesus in thy soule and bodie thou art liuing to sinne thou wantest the life of God and hast nothing but a sinfull life Brethren ye heard before he sayd they were liuing now he saith they are dead How can these two stand Obiection Answere together I answere a spirituall death in the soule when it dieth to sinne to foule affections and to earthly things such a death as that standeth very well with a spirituall life yea this death is so ioyned with the spirituall life that except the spirituall death precede the life of Iesus will not enter into thee Thinke not to enioy both together at once the life of sinne and the life of God but ere thou get the life of God the eye thou hadst to earthly things must be closed no thinke not to looke vp and downe together at once No no be dead to the world ere euer thou minde to open an eye to heauen So then the death to the world and the life to heauen standeth well together The last argument followeth perswading to the things aboue your life is hid aboue with Christ. There are the words and why should ye not follow him and set your heart and your eye vpon him where your life is Brethren I see there are many things to moue vs to seeke heauen and to be wise in heanenly things Now I would to God one of them could moue vs but alas as for a stonie heart speake and reason with it as ye will and conuince it as ye please it will abide hard and will not be moued Wouldst thou goe downe to the things of this life that death that thou diest forceth thee vp to heauen it giueth thee wings to flie vpward and closeth thine eyes from the world

they should mortifie their earthly members and after the generall he commeth to the deliuerie of these seueral foule affections that breake out in the bodie and the first hee nameth was fornication the second was vncleannes in generall whatsoeuer the third was one speciall kinde of vncleannes the inordinate affection the burning lust that cannot bee quencht the fourth was generall euill concupiscence Now brethren wee spake of these the last day as God gaue the grace and as this permitted leauing off the generall discoursing pertaining to the common heads of doctrine and therefore without further repetition of any thing that was spoken I goe forward This day we proceed with the fift member and then after wee shall come to the two arguments whereby hee will moue them to this mortification of the lusts of the flesh The fift member then hee termeth it auarice or couetousnes Euen as before when he had named the generall vice or member called vncleannes hee subioyned a speciall member which he called the inordinate affection the which member of affection among all parts and sorts of vncleannes is the greatest Euen so now when he hath named the general member which he calleth euill concupiscence he subioyneth the speciall called auarice which is the worst kinde of euill concupiscence in this world therefore he maketh a choise of it besides al other concupiscences in the heart of men For euen as that burning lust of the heart is vnquenchable and cannot be extinguished by any earthly meane without the spirit of Christ it will neuer be quenched so this wicked concupiscence of auarice it is vnsatiable it can neuer be filled It is like a deuouring gulfe for though it could swallow in all this world yet it would be too little for it Giue an auaricious man the whole world hee will yet craue more and this is no marueile for this world and all that are in this world are finite and bounded within termes but the desire of an auaricious man is in a manner infinite And to speake the truth if it get not God it will Nothing can fill the couetous heart but God himselfe neuer be satisfied There is nothing that will content or fill it the more he hath the more hee will craue In a word there is nothing that will be able to fill the desire of man but that infinite God And as one said well alluding to the shape of this world and comparing it with the heart of a man The world is round and circular the heart is foure cornered Therefore the couetous mans heart may fitly bee compared to a square which can neuer be compleatly filled vp by a circle though a circle be of all others the most capacious figure still there is a corner voide turne the circle which way thou wilt within the square Euen so though the whole frame of the heauens earth seas and ayre with all that be within thē were ingrossed in the gulfe of a couetous mans vnsatiable hart yet would it neuer be filled neuer contented neuer haue enough It is knowne that a quadrangle is neuer filled euen so the heart of an auaricious man being a quadrant it is neuer filled The more he hath the more hee will craue the auaricious heart will neuer be satisfied vntill it drowne the man Paul 1. Timoth. chap. 6. vers 9. speaking of them that will be rich he saith they drowne themselues There is their end Brethren if ye will compare together these two foule affections as the speciall worst members in a man certainly I account auarice farre worse and more incurable then the other As for the lust and that fire it will grow lesse and as a man groweth old it wil grow old and faile with him But as for this affection of auarice it groweth more and more and as a man groweth in age it groweth in youth the older thou art it is the younger for the more thou decayest in strength of thy members the more strong groweth it according to the prouerbe All vices grow old but auarice groweth young Therefore aboue all wicked affections this vice of auarice A prouerb requireth mortification Now slay it I beseech you and fill it vp once fill vp that gulfe And wherewith either with godlines or else it will neuer be filled Godlines is great gaine 1. Timoth. chap. 6. otherwise thou shalt neuer haue contentation I tell thee there is no other meane then to fill thy heart with godlines if thou haue thy heart filled with godlines a little thing will fill thy heart a sober supper and a sober dinner will serue thee but if thou want godlines in thy heart auarice shall raigne in thee as a tyrant and how beit he had gotten a world of things yet if he heare of any thing behinde he can not be satisfied but requireth that also For his greedines can not be filled Now to goe forward when he hath named this auarice he leaueth it not as he did the rest of the vices before simply naming it but he insisteth in it and describeth it to be idolatrie as he would say it the greatest vice that is it bereaueth God of his honour and worship Brethren it is not in this place only where he calleth this vice of auarice idolatrie but in the fift to the Ephesians 5. verse he termeth the auaricious man an idolater and Iesus Christ in 16. of Luke vers 13. No man saith he can serue God and riches Where ye may see he attributeth that to riches which is proper to God for the auaricious man honoureth his riches and is a seruant yea rather a slaue to his riches whereas he should serue his God But I say to thee pretend to serue God as thou wilt thou shalt not serue God and riches both for the words of Christ meane that when once thou beginnest to be in loue with thy riches thou biddest God farewell For thou wilt be content rather to be a slaue to riches worshipping them then to serue God as he cōmanded thee in his word Brethren ye may aske of me what man is hee that will adore his riches for he is an idolater that will adore any Idol whatsoeuer it be what rich man will fall down to a piece of money I say there was neuer an Idolater tooke greater pleasure to looke on a grauen Image then an auaritious man Auarice is idolatrie 1. The couetous man loueth his mony more then God 2. Trusteth in his mony will delight to looke on a piece of money The outward eye of him shall be so fixt on it that he shall forget his God such shall be his pleasure to behold it But to speake nothing of the outward worship There was neuer an idolater that had greater confidence in his Idoll then the couetous man in his money Remember ye not the rich man who when hee had filled his barnes My soule saith he take thy rest whereon vpon thy riches there is his confidence Luk.

and some seruants for otherwise an horrible confusion should follow And the Gospell is so far from that that by the contrarie it sanctifieth policie So that if any King before the Gospell was setled after the Gospell he is better setled And if a master of a house was setled before the Gospell he is now farre better setled after the Gospell And this is the rule of the Apostle 1. Cor. chap. 7. vers 17. 20. Let euery man abide in that vocation wherein he is called And then he saith Art thou a slaue art thou called to it abide still in it vntill by lawfull meanes thou get freedome Will ye haue example of this There was Onesimus that ranne from Philemon his master Paul after that he had made him a Christian man hee sendeth him againe to his seruice So it is but vanitie to thinke that religion is enemie to policie or maketh any alteration in policie nay it rather establisheth all in policie This one thing is to be marked The second is seeing in matters of grace the Lord hath no respect to the persons of men hee will not iustifie a King because he is a King and denie it to a beggar because he is a beggar but he will iustifie the one and the other without all respect of persons Seeing then this is his doing what should we doe Looke what Paul saith 2. Cor. 5. according to the flesh I will not account of one man more then of another I will offer grace to the beggar as well as to the rich And againe in policie I giue thee leaue to account of the King as much as thou wilt and why shouldest not thou that art a seruant account of thy master otherwise thou offendest Thinke that thou art an inferiour to him albeit thou be equall in grace with him And so let euery one in policie in common-weales and families haue their owne place let the King haue his place the Lord his place in his own ranke and roume and so foorth And I say to thee if thou doe it not thou hast no grace For if thou hadst grace thou wouldest be so sanctified that thou wouldest not faile in any wise to honour thy superiours here on earth and yet when the comparison falleth out betwixt the gracious man or sanctified man and old things count more of a regenerate man then of all the prophane Kings of the world What did Paul hee had many of these outward things as ye may reade in the Epistle to the Philippians chap. 3. I am an Hebrue saith he as ye are O but when Christ came in all these aduantages became to me not onely domages but they became as dung So all these externall things are but as nothing in comparison of regeneration It is better to be a renued man being a beggar then to be the greatest Monarch in the world wanting regeneration Now lastly in this place ye see when Christ commeth there is a strange change in the world Thinke ye he came in vaine or for nothing Is there not a great change when a great Monarch commeth into the countrey Thinke ye not but when Christ came there was a great change such as was neuer at the comming of all the Monarches in the world Paul 2. Cor. 5. vers 17. saith speaking of this change Whosoeuer is in Christ is a new creature all things are made new in him but there is such a stupiditie in men that they cannot see this Thou art euer harping on these old things will ye heare him boast it will be of these old things O senseles creature thou shewest thou art not renewed O these braue Courteours all their speech is of these old things by the which they testifie that they wote not what Christ meaneth Yet in a word some may doubt Are all things so renewed that these olde things haue no place Is there no difference of nations of riches of honours stand not these things these old things fleshly things notwithstanding this innouation I answere they stand but I adde this if euer it be well with them they must be renued that old shape must be put off them Thou that art a King must be made a new creature and thou that art a subiect thou must be renewed againe and obey thy Prince in the Lord. The Gentiles knew not this thou y t art a seruant thou must obey thy master in the Lord and thou that art a master thou must doe thy dutie to thy seruant in the Lord so as these outward things must be renewed in Christ I say more the first comming of Christ made some change but the next comming shall make it palpable Thou shalt see it and feele it for there shall be no kings but the kings of heauen there shall be no superiours or masters but all shall be glorified there shall be such an alteration then And thou that wilt not see it now thou shalt then be compelled to see it nill thou will thou This for the first part of this verse the next part followeth In the first ye heard he hath taken away all respect of these outward things now it might haue been thought if this new man hath cast off all these outward things what hath hee in steed of them for it were a great losse if he gat not something in steed of them He answereth in a word Christ is all and in all things There is the answere So that the thing that graceth a new man is one onely thing and what is it Iesus Christ the Lord is in steed of all he supplieth the want of all these earthly things So that if yee will aske of this new man what is thy nation supposing he be of the best nation on earth he will answere Christ is my nation If thou aske what is thy kindred let him come of Kings he will say Iesus Christ is my kindred It is a wofull bloud thou art come of if thou be nothing renewed in Christ Wilt thou aske what is thy kingdome He will answere Iesus Christ is my kingdome An earthly bodie will say and answere I am King of France and I am King of Spaine and I am Emperour and will cast his head vp If thou wilt aske what is thy riches thy honour and estate hee will answere Christ is all things to me and so there is no prerogatiue in this world Hee will put Christ in the roume of all whether he haue or want it Ye remember Matth. 12. when the mother of Christ would haue come to him and the Disciples telling him that saying Behold thy mother thy brethren stand without desiring to speake with thee he answereth Who is my mother my brethren and sisters Euen they that doe my fathers will Then generally he telleth whosoeuer will doe the will of his father are his mother brother and sisters Then turne it ouer if thou be a faithfull man thou art brother to him and all and againe he is all to thee Now certainly this

thinke to be safe account of the Ministerie as thou pleasest if thou lay not thine eare to the Gospell and beleeue Let saith he the word of God dwell in you In you that is in your hearts not in your mouthes and eares onely but let it goe downe to the heart and to the rootes and depth of the heart and let it haue it residence there It is not enough to haue it tinckling in thy eare albeit some think it enough but it must goe from the eare to the heart and there the residence and lodging of it must be So hee recommends not onely the hearing and reading but hee recommends the meditation in Meditation in the hart the heart thinking musing turning it ouer and ouer againe and againe in the heart for except the word be in the heart it can haue no operation It is not enough to sit and heare a while and no more if there bee not a musing in this word thinke not that it can haue an operation in your heart but the more thou hearest the more gracelesse art thou experience proues it Then the word must be in the heart but how long must it abide there Must it abide the night and away the morrow as a pilgrime lodging here this night and in another place the morrow must it lodge with thee so must thou muse of it for this time and then farewell till thou haue to doe with it againe and goe to thy drinking and pastime No saith he Let the word dwell that is haue a continual residence night and day within thee and be a domesticke or household seruant of Psal 1. 2. thine and not a stranger to abide with thee for euer and let there be a continuall meditation on it so long as thy strength can beare it Trowest thou that the thinking of Iesus will hinder thy occupation No it hath no grace but when thou art thinking of Iesus and it hinders thee nought except the meditation of the word be ardent in thee night and day as it was in Dauid who had as weightie occupations as any man O would to God Kings had a peece of meditation in this word as Dauid had in all those other affaires thinke not that grace will abide with thee For looke how soone this word leaues thee as soone grace goes from thee so that of a mercifull man thou be commest a tyrant What makes so many of our Noblemen so debased but the contempt of this word All our great men are very contemners of Gods word See ye not the vengeance of God vpon them their wiues and children they would haue this word driuen out not onely out of this countrie but out of the hearts of men Well well for all that let the word haue residence and continuall residence within you O but in what measure and what quantitie Some will say if you know this what behooues me to be ouer carefull to vnderstand this word let the Ministers who liue by it haue that care If I haue the Lords Prayer the Beleef and the tenne Commandements I need no more I am a Lord I am a Ladie I am a Gentleman what neede I to trouble my selfe with the Byble I haue another occupation But what saith the Apostle Let the word dwell in you How In scarsitie in a bit of it leauing the rest to others No but let the word dwell in you plenteously let the word make you rich The Apostle then requires a treasure and a store to be laid vp in the heart he would that the riches of the word be in you and not a pouertie of it And I say to thee thou who wilt content thee with one part and wilt not seeke the riches of the word and as the Apostle to the Hebrues chap. 6. 1. that striuest not to be led forward to a perfection but dwellest in the Elements and Cathechisme I say thou hast nothing of it He that will content himselfe with the Pater noster and the Creede I say he hath nothing And if he haue any illumination by it and cares not for a perfection that light he hath gotten shall die out if it grow not it will vanish away You see that if fire be not fed with new matter it will goe out It is as sure We must grow in knowledge or els vve haue no knowledge of that knowledge and light that thou hast of God and that light that is kindled in thee if it be not intertained so that it grow on it shall goe out And O then what danger art thou in If thou spue out that light it is impossible that thou shouldest be renewed by repentance for it is called the sinne against the 2. Pet. 3. 18 Heb. 6. 4. 6. holy Ghost Therefore all ye that would see the light and the riches of heauen striue to be rich in this word and be greedie in reading and meditating of this word as the Lord will giue you grace To goe forward Let the word dwell in you and in euery one of you for that that is spoken to one is spoken to all and that aboundantly It is the treasure that thou shalt take vp with thee and it shall not leaue thee in the graue it shall serue thee in heauen But what more In all wisdome now in this text that Effects of the vvord followes we haue certaine faire effects of this word of Iesus dwelling richly in vs. They are partly in the man himselfe in whom the word dwels and partly in others that heare him speake He who is rich in Christ is not rich himselfe onely but he shall inrich others also with him euery word that comes out of his mouth is a lumpe of riches to thee Then to come to the first effect In all wisdome and knowledge The word of God dwelling richly in any must not want the effect it Wisedome is a faire light must haue an effect and the first effect is a faire light O that light it is as it were a goodly torch light in a darke house that enlightens the whole house So thou by nature art a darke dungeon there is not a sparke of heauenly light in thee by nature Thou hast some light of nature but what is that It is to make thee inexcusable When this light of heauen comes it lightens all thy darknes What is the first effect of the light of the Sunne or of a candle but illumination So this word is the illumination of thy mind It opens the hart and enlightens it Illumination and it illuminates all the affections and puts them in order So the first effect is light It hath this of the owne nature 2. Tim. 3 15. Paul saith The Scriptures are able to make thee wise reade al the bookes that are written if thou couldest compasse heauen The Scriptures bring true wisedome and earth if thou want the Scripture in thy heart thou shalt neuer be wise And seeing this is the true effect

in Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all praise now and for euer Amen THE XXXIIII LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL to the Colossians COLOS. Chap. 3. vers 22. 23. 24. 25. and Chap. 4. vers 1. 22 Seruants be obndient vnto them that are your masters according to the flesh in all things not with eye seruice as men pleasers but in singlenes of heart fearing God 23 And what soeuer ye doe doe it heartily as to the Lord and not vnto men 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receiue the reward of the inheritance for ye serue the Lord Christ 25 But he that doth wrong shall receiue for the wrong that hee hath done and there is no respect of persons 1 Ye masters doe vnto your seruants that which is iust and equall knowing that ye also haue a master in heauen THese last daies welbeloued brethren we entred into the particular precepts exhortations concerning particular estates of men and women And first we spake of the dutie of wiues to their husbands and againe of the dutie of husbands to their wiues Next we spake of the dutie of children to their parents and againe of the dutie of parents to their children Now the last estate in a familie is the estate of masters and seruants Therefore wee haue to speake of the dutie of the seruant to the master and againe of the master to the seruant because there is a mutual dutie required and they are so bound the one to the other that they cannot be separate To come then to the words There is one precept giuen to seruants Seruants saith he obey your masters Then after hee insists vpon this obedience and describes it largely First hee sets downe the matter of it in what things they should obey Secondly he comes to the forme of obedience and describeth it Thirdly he goes to the fountaine and ground of all dutie which is the heart Then lastly to moue seruants to this obedience hee brings in two arguments The first is for that rich is the reward in heauen And the second is for that recompence that God shall giue to masters who doe not their dutie to their seruants To the words Seruants saith hee In these daies when the Apostle directed this precept properly here by seruants is vnderstood such as were in a hard estate slaues bought and sold like beasts ouer whom the masters had power Seruants in the Apostles time permitted by lawes to slay and saue them as ouer beasts so their estate was hard and heauie Secondly you must vnderstand they were seruants conuerted to Christ and their estate in that case was blessed Thirdly they were for the most part such as had to their masters Infidels not yet conuerted to the faith of Iesus Christ and so were the more rigorous For oh the crueltie of the Infidell ouer the Christian Now in respect of their estate hearing of the libertie of the Gospell they mistooke it and began to think that Christ and his Gospell came to destroy policie and lawes that binds vp Common-weales And therefore many of them began to turne grace into wantonnes and began to leaue their masters thinking that the Gospel made an equalitie of persons as the Anabaptists teach at this day Therefore the Apostle perceiuing this hee directs this precept to them recommending obedience notwithstanding of the Gospell Thou art a brother and a sister and yet a seruant therefore obey Now howbeit properly and in the first roome this precept bee directed to seruants that were slaues bought and sold yet it is extended also to all kinde of seruants It pertaines to you as well as to them Come to the next what is commaunded them The dutie is obedience Obey saith he Hee that is a seruant should not rule but obey The whole dutie of the inferiour to the superiour is called in one word Honour so the Lord termes it And it hath two speciall parts First reuerence in words The inferiour is bound to reuerence the superiour in his talke The second Honour hath two parts part is obedience in deede he is bound not onely to reuerence him in words but also to obey that hee commaunds Both these must begin at the heart otherwise thy reuerence and obedience auailes not Now the Apostle especially insists vpon obedience The dutie recommended to children is obedience and the like is recommended here because of the two duties obedience is the hardest It is an easie thing to doe curtesie to thy master to put off thy cap and becke but here is al the grauitie and weight of the matter to obey This the Apostle considering he stickes most on it howbeit vnder it all poynts of dutie be comprehended This for the dutie Now followes the persons to whom it appertaines Obey Whom not euery one but your Lords and masters Those that God hath set ouer you It pleases him to make thē superiours you inferiours therefore obey them Yea the name it selfe containes an argument to moue thee to do thy dutie he is thy Lord and master and thou shouldest thinke with thy selfe he is my master therefore I should obey I am bound to doe it Let euery soule saith Paul be subiect to the superiour powers There is the commandement The words that follow be to the consolation of Rom. 13. 1 the seruant your master saith he but how according to the flesh That is according to things bodily not according to the spirit and soule This is thy comfort that art a seruant there is no master that is set ouer thy soule no not a King is set ouer thy soule to sit on thy conscience for that were an absolute power that commaunds as well the soule as the bodie Now brethren there is not a Lord that may commaund so but onely the Lord of heauen and earth that is none that hath an absolute power but onely the Lord Iesus Christ It is shame to Christ the only Lord of the conscience the Monarch to take this name to him It is a blasphemie and a derogation to the name of Iesus no there is none hath power ouer my conscience or thine but onely he So if ye marke narrowly ye may see that as there is one thing commaunded so there is another thing forbidden them Obey them in thy bodie though it were to suffer iniurie but as for thy soule and conscience it is forbidden thee to subiect it to their appetite if thou doe it thou bereaues Christ of his right Therefore Galath 5. it is said be not made the seruants of men if thou doe it thou makes thy selfe a slaue to the foule appetite of flesh and bloud To be short there be two vices in seruice and obediēce that is done to the superiour whatsoeuer which should be eschued Two vices in seruice to be eschued and they are both in extremities and betwixt them there is a gracious vertue The one is when the subiect refuseth obedience in

that my soule may rest in thee Now woe is that soule that knowes not God in Iesus Christ Ye shall not abide here euer therfore seeke to know this God with whom ye must liue foreuer He giues the reason why God should reuenge their cause and wrong done against them by pointing out the nature of God He is a Iudge not like the Iudges of this world They respect the persons of men this is the corruption With God there is no respect of persons of nature but as for this Iudge he respects no person he will not looke to thee who art a King more then to the begger When thou appearest before him come on with robe royall he will not regard thee no more then if thou appearedst in a beggers cloake Therefore looke to him now as thou wouldest see him when thou shalt appeare before his iudgement And there is none of vs but euen now we are before his tribunall howbeit wee see it not There is none of these outward conditions or degrees wee are all alike by nature but wee get sundrie degrees hee of a King and hee of a Lord and so foorth yet none of these outward qualities will be accepted before the Lord no not the outward calling of a Christian if thou haue no more A man may thinke this is a hard matter for all to stand before his tribunall without these outward qualities A King may say shall not my kingdome stand me in steed when I come before that tribunall And the Earle may say shal not my Earldome helpe me when I come before God And the rich man may say shall not my riches helpe me wherewith shall I cloathe me if I cloathe me not with these Now I answere indeed euery man hath this in his mouth I cannot come naked before God Indeede thou must not stand naked thy shame must be hid thou must haue a garment on thee thou must be arayed or els the wrath of the Iudge will deuoure thee Now what a garment shall I get It must bee a bloudie garment no siluer gold or precious stones couering thee from the crowne of thy head to the sole of thy foote yea thou must be died with bloud The high priest durst not enter into the Sanctuary for his life without bloud so on paine of thy life see that thou enter not into the presence of God without bloud Reade the Epistle to the Hebrues ye shall finde this that the high Priest of old durst neuer enter into the Sanctuary except first he had bin sprinkled with bloud and this was the bloud of Bullocks the figure of Iesus Christ So except thou appeare died ouer with the bloud of Iesus no standing for thee before God his tribunall If ye would then haue a garment seeke this garment neuer rest till thou get it And if thou appeare in this garment thou hast this aduantage howbeit thou be full of spots the Lord hath no eye to thy sinne but accepts of thee in that bloudy raiment and forgets all thy sin and thy actions are accepted in that bloud of Iesus But alas the want of the knowledge of sinne this dead conscience that lets vs not feele the weight and burthen A dead conscience of sinne is the cause why wee account not of this bloud of Iesus Now brethren there is a place in the sixt chapter to the Ephesians I would compare with this place recommending the dutie of masters in the ninth verse he vseth the same argument that is here he vseth it there as a terrible argument to the oppressors but heere he brings it in as a comfort to the oppressed Then shal an argument both be comfortable and terrible Yes Then marke the lesson That that is in God terrible to the proud and oppressors in the world the same thing to the poore oppressed ones that are Gods it is so sweete and comfortable as no tongue can tell The firie wrath of God that will terrifie the Kings of the world and which they are not able to looke on will be so comfortable as no tongue can tell to the poore sillie bodie that hee will creepe in vnder it and lurke there yea hee will seeke to the wrath of God to saue him from the wrath of the tyrants of the world So there is nothing in God but is comfortable to his children as by the contrarie there is nothing in him but the wicked abhorre it yea euen his mercie yea they would runne if it were foorth of the world to be out of his sight but they shall not escape Iob. 21. 22 his curse So then acquaint you with God and cloathe you with that garment that he may be comfortable euery way to you This much for the dutie of seruants Now we come to the dutie of masters which is set downe in Here begins the fourth chapter vers 1. the beginning of the fourth chapter Ye masters saith he doe vnto your seruants that which is iust and equall There is the precept The thing he requires is doing the word in the originall is giuing Giue them that which is iust as if hee would say Masters when ye haue commaunded and they haue obeyed meete them with a dutie giue them something This dutie is grounded partly on their poore estate they labour and wearie themselues for their hire so they craue giuing and partly it is grounded vpon the hardnes of masters for looke how faine the one would haue as faine would the other keepe The poore seruant would draw the master holds The Apostle comes in and saith Masters let your hold goe you are ouer holding let your hold goe Brethren ye heard before a faire promise of rewarde made to the seruants now what needes the Apostle considering that reward exhort the masters to giue something of this world which is nothing but dirt in respect of that that is promised and some might haue said so The Apostle answers They serue and obey thee here pining themselues in working for thee therefore thou who art a master must giue them their hire for that is a iust thing so to doe they are men like vnto thy selfe and must be sustained of these earthly things for their labours sake And so the lesson is heauen and heauenly inheritance preiudiceth not a man of his part in this world and worldly things and therefore thou scornest God who saiest thou hast an inheritance whereto shouldest thou haue my poore hire yea thou shouldest be rather moued to part thy pelfe to him if thou knew him to be an inheritour of heauen giue him the rather of thy goods of the earth for an inheritour of heauen is an inheritour of the earth and if thou withhold it from them woe to thee Well I see out of this place that the Lord hath his seruants here to whom he is offering that heauenly inheritance yet so that they should haue their part of this earth also The Minister hath his part of the earth and the

Lord allowes it him and thou who pinchest the belly of him the Lord shall pinch thee in things heauenly the Lord will haue an eye to him beware therefore how thou dealest with them in this life Then he saith Giue them What That that is iust that is that that thou hast conditioned with them Hast thou conditioned for such a hire keepe thy condition yea there is more giue them but giue them that that is equall what is that Haue they serued thee according to the rule that I prescribed haue they serued thee in all things then be not so streight with them but giue aboue thy condition made to them be more liberall and stand not with them in their hire The Apostle 1. Pet. 2. 18. sets downe two properties of a master Iust and liberall Compare this with that that went before when he spake of the reward of the Lord. There there was not such a modification but a kingdome was promised but turning to the dutie of masters he modifies a stipend hee bids not giue all his inheritance but giue him that that is iust and equall that is a part of it according to their labour and condition and that liberally without niggardlines This imports something This lets thee see a great difference betwixt God and man in rewarding The thing that man will giue thee is but a hire a thing measured but the thing the Lord giues is not modefied nor measured to thee it is an inheritance and all that is gotten here is but an earnest peny of thy reward Of this followeth another difference The thing thou gettest of thy master it is a debt to thee thou merits it at his hand but when thou commest to God there is no debt there and thy doing is no merit but a thing giuen of beneuolence It hath pleased God to giue thee a reward and so to giue it by no debt goe thy way with thy merits for if thou sticke to them thou shalt get no merit but hell Gods giuing to thee of any thing is of fauour Now to end briefly To moue the masters to their dutie he addes to an argument Knowing that yee also haue a Lord in the heauens What followes on this There is something suppressed to wit a Lord in the heauens who if you giue that that is iust and equall shall giue you that that is iust and equall hee will doe iustice both to you and them he will make all oddes euen there is no respect of persons with him This is the office of the Lord to make all oddes euen neuer soule shall receiue wrong at his hands but when thou gets punishment thou gets thy due punishment pertaines to thee c. The thing that I marke is this It is the Lord that makes masters and that makes this inequalitie that giues this preferment that raiseth vp and casteth downe When Adam was created was there any preferment No as the Lord doth this so the eye of that great Lord is neuer off him whom he hath preferred Hath he made thee a Lord or hath he raised thee to any preferment his eye is vpon thee and as his eye is vpon thee so he stands aboue thee with mercie in the one hand and iudgement and vengeance in the other And the greater thou be the greater mercie and iudgement is aboue thee No thy hand is not so readie to take vengeance of thy seruant as his hand is readie to reuenge the wrong And thy vengeance and his differs in this thine is wrong but his is neuer wrong but al is right he doth But yet brethren to weigh the words Knowing saith he there is the first word The light of knowledge is the ground of dutie Light of knowledge ground of dutie What can a blind bodie doe that sees nothing if he were a King a Iudge and a Master The light then of knowledge is the ground of dutie as ignorance is the ground of all euill doing Knowing What That ye also haue Then the masters that did not their dutie they misunderstood the thing they had and men know not that they haue if it were but this wee haue a God yet they know him not The next word is Ye haue a Lord. It is the ignorance of the Lord that makes men misknow their dutie their eye is euer beneath the eye of the King is vpon the subiect but it is a rare grace to get an eye to looke to the Lord that is aboue him and therefore he thinkes hee hath no more adoe but with the poore subiects and so hee cannot doe his dutie aright Where is this Lord In the heauen Thou art in the earth though thou wert a King but thy Lord is aboue thee thou art farre beneath him and therefore the iudgement and stroke that must fall from him must be sad and heauie because it is farre fetcht The furthest stroke thou canst bring will be from thy Crowne but what is that to the stroke of God fetched from the high heauens yea from aboue Gods stroke all heauens that must be a very sore stroke beware of it for if it light on thee thou shalt neuer rise againe The last word also makes a comparison betwixt the Lord and the seruants you haue a Lord as they haue as they are seruants so are ye likewise seruants yea to a greater Lord. Yea the more high the Lord is aboue you in comparison ye are the lower seruants then the sweeper of your house is Note if ye were a King the very dust is greater in comparison then thou art Thou canst not make a pickle of dust Would to God Kings and Lords knew this Abraham knew it when he said What am I but dust and ashes Gen. 18. 27. Now then to make the masters to doe their dutie he brings them downe vnder the feete of the Lord of heauen hee brings thee out of thy chaire hee hurles the King out of his throne It teacheth vs that there will be no dutie gotten of superiours except thou bee first humbled vnder thy God If thou be not humbled vnder God thou wilt not nor canst not doe thy dutie Lastly I see a different dealing in the Apostle when he deales with seruants he Note well doth it comfortably but comming to Lords and Masters he drawes vp their head to see that there is a Iudge sitting aboue them this is another manner of dealing So marke his discretion hauing to doe with sundrie estates and persons he vseth sundrie arguments Our folke may not abide this forme of dealing who bad him say they threaten Lords and Kings speake to the Commons and poore people Well well let not the mouth of the Gospell be closed which speakes sometimes comfortably and sometimes boysterously and lets men see an angrie God and all to their saluation Further I perceiue this all Superiours would be threatned Masters would be threatned Princes would be threatned and the higher the greater matter of threatning For such is the

in the faith and may be iustly called sonnes and this is that which the Apostle saith in the Corinthians that though they had many teachers yet they had but one father which was himselfe who also had begotten them vnto God through the Gospell 1. Cor. 4. 14. But when that worke hath increased in them and that they are become strong men in Christ then hee doth euery where and so may wee acknowledge all sound beleeuers to be our brethren as who are indeede the sonnes of one and the selfesame father to wit God in and by Christ the first begotten brother of vs all and in whom the whole familie is named both in heauen and earth Secondly he commendeth Onesimus vnto them by these termes that he was one of them that is as wee would say their countriman and had the fellowship of the same countrey or nation with them and that not onely generally as Grecians neither yet more particularly as people of Phrygia wherein Colosse stood but it may be of the selfesame towne and citie Whatsoeuer it be we may learne here many good lessons and doctrines And first that no mans sinne which hee hath truly repented of before God and the Church should be any disparagement to him in subsequent times no more then Onesimus fraud and flying from his master was to him nor wee thinke neuer a whit the worse of him nor haue him in lesse esteeme then Paul had Onesimus for seeing God hath forgiuen it as repentance is a true pledge thereof and the Church hath receiued him as it ought vpon vnfained amendment what reason that priuate and particular persons should refuse them or thinke euill of them vnlesse they will be more wise and iust then God or more seuere then the Church and I think neither the one nor the other is fit for priuate men And yet we see amongst vs men so peeuishly pettish and wayward towards I will not say offending parties howsoeuer they offended but repenting persons that after a sinne is once discouered they will neuer be satisfied but alwaies suspicious hauing for a ground of their surmises a maxime of the Ciuil law He that is once found to be euill is alwaies supposed to be euill but forgetting the rule of the Apostle 1. Cor. 13. that charitie is not suspicious and that they proceede by another rule towards offending yea repenting persons then Iwis they would haue practised towards them if they were in the like case But let vs cast away from vs this and all other corruptions that so wee may walke more religiously towards God and more charitably towards his seruants Secondly obserue that Paul not thinking it enough to haue commended Onesimus for his brotherly loue and coniunction that he had with him in Christ but adding also that hee was of the same nation countrey yea it may be citie with them in which respect also he speaketh afterwards of Epaphras vers 12. of this chapter and of this very Onesimus in his Epistle to Philemon vers 16. he declareth that hee should be so much the more deare to Philemon because he had been his seruant Obserue I say and gather from hence that these naturall and ciuill familiarities and friendships in which men partake one of them with another as for example consanguinitie affinitie nation countrey citie c. should be vnto them which through faith are ingrafted into Christ more strict causes and occasions of mutuall loue one of them towards another in the Lord. We denie not but that that spirituall fellowship and communion which we haue in Christ is indeed very necessarie because by it wee are all in him made brethren one with another yea that without it there can be no true or sound loue although men otherwise may be very strictly ioyned together The reason is that whatsoeuer is in men without him is but naturall and humane And indeede to say truth there cannot be any synceritie of the heart without Christ and yet notwithstanding if vnto that spirituall coniunction there be added some naturall or politicall coniunction there will also be a greater degree and further step of loue in so much that the faithful people may more tenderly loue and regard them which both in faith and flesh are linked to them then those that are knit to them onely in the fellowship of the same religion Which as the Apostle himselfe meaneth 1. Timoth. 5. 8. saying If any man prouide not for his owne and specially for them that are of his household he hath denied the faith and is worse then an Infidell so it is not obscurely signified in that rule Galat. 6. Do good vnto all specially to those that are of the household of faith And if nature must giue place to religion then religion and it being ioyned together men are and must be more strictly tyed And yet we see that vnder the colour of kinred religion is destitute and some vnder pretext of relieuing the religious destitute their owne flesh The truth is that both must be performed if God himselfe giue abilitie and when we lack power to doe to all alike then to preferre them that concerne vs in flesh and faith And let this suffice for the persons as they are distinctly commended to the Colossians Now a little of them coniunctly He saith that he sent Tychicus to them and with him Onesimus There are two causes as it should seeme for which hee sent them For though vers 8. hee seemeth to speake of Tychicus onely yet he expressely mentioneth Onesimus vers 9 and laieth almost the same burthen vpon him specially as in regard of priuate affaires that he doth vpon Tychicus I say therefore as I said there are two causes of this mission or legation One that hee might by them vnderstand in what termes the affaires of the Colossians stood specially for their Church causes for otherwise though hee wished them well in the world yet he medled not much with their worldly busines The other that knowing how weake and faint good mens hearts be he might by the comming and presence of these two comfort and incourage the Colossians Which though most properly it were the worke of Tychicus as of the minister of the word yet no doubt Onesimus as a particular member of the Church might in his measure performe it yea and did in his measure To these two causes he addeth a third and the same of no lesse moment then the former namely to cause the Colossians to vnderstand in what state he and his matters were Because as the good condition of the Colossians would make the Apostles heart glad so the Apostle being well who had been their gracious and good teacher they could not but reioyce From all which wee may obserue that though Paul were in his enemies hands and were fast bound in chaines as we say yet he thought it not enough by writing this present Epistle to the Colossians to confirme and strengthen them in the faith but also sendeth