power last his power is this because he is the onely Potentate that is he is the Lord of al powers and principalityes the argument is this he that is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords he must needs be the onely potentate in heaven and earth and so it is that God is the head of all principallityes and powers therefore he must needs bee the onely Potentate It is strange that this argument should hold since it is graunted that there are manie Kings and Lords besides God how then can this prove God to be the onely Potentate there being other Kings and Lords besides him It would seeme by this property here ascribed unto God that it would confirme the false fancyes of the Anabaptists who hold that now under the Gospell there should be no Magistrate but God onely because in the New Testament he is called the onely Potentate and this is one of their grownds wherupon they build their opinion but the argument of the Apostle doth manifest the contrary so the argument is set down by the Apostle in great wisdome for this argumente doth not take away all Magistrates in the world but onely makes God to be over them all to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords now if there were no more Kings nor Lords but God alone how could he then be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords So that the very words of the Apostles argument doe confute this vanity and lets us see that the authority which he claymes to God doth not take away mans authority over their subjects but lets that remain still notwithstanding that God is King of Kings and Lord of Lords But to understand aright what is the Apostles meaning in his argument it is of great force for God is said to be King of Kings in divers respects first because there is not a King or Lord but by him it is and by him Kings reigne it is he onely that rayseth to authority and none but he so for this reason God is said to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords because they have not their authority but from God and this is that for which Nabuchadnezar that great king of Babell did suffer such a great judgmente from God as to be cast out from amongst men and to live among beasts for the space of seven years that he might know that the most high had rule over the Kingdoms of men as Daniel tells him in plain termes because he in the pride of his heart did think he had raysed himself to his honour when these words came out of his mouth Js not this great Babell which I have built for mine honour and Honour of my Kingdom Immediately his kingdome was taken from him untill he was forced to acknowledge that the most high had rule over men this is a fearfull spectacle to teache kings to know from whom they have their kingdoms and their authority Pilate when he did boast of his authority to Christ saying unto him knowest thou not I can save thee or take thy life from thee Christ answered him thou couldest not have anie power over mee except it were given thee from above This is the first reason why God is called the king of kings and Lord of Lords because it is not by succession nor by birth that kings come to rule over others but by the speciall providence of God and this is the reason why we must reverence them that are in authority because saith the Apostle all authority is of God The second reason why God is called the kinge of kings is this because he never made king yet of absolute power he never yet made an absolute king on earth but allwaies made them substitutes to himself in authority reserving to himself the supream authority over them to thrust them out of their thrones whensoever it pleased him All the kings of the world are but subjects to the king of heaven so that even in their ruling and exercising of their power they are to know there is another power above them unto which they must give an accompt of all their doings for the Lord will not let the power he hath over them to goe out of his own hands so that no kings nor Lords have anie power to doe as they list It is blasphemie to say that anie king hath absolute power for that is asmuch as to sett him in the throne of God for there is no absolute king but God alone and this is the second reason why the spirit of God describes the power of God after this māner to prove him the onely Potentate if he that is a king have another power above him which is the Lord thē must this Lord bee the onely Potētate but every king hath the Lord above him so as he cā hold it no longer then it pleaseth him neither can his race injoy it longer then God will suffer it therefore the Lord tooke away the kingdoms from some and gave it to others he tooke away authority from the house of David and gave it to Ieroboam and for the iniquityes of Ieroboam he tooke it from Ahab and gave it unto Iehu manie changes of kingdoms the Lord hath made taking kings out of their thrones and placing their enimies in their places to let us see that kings are not absolute Lords on earth but they are at the Lords disposing at his pleasure Thus we see the third reason proved wherfore the Apostle describes the power of God after this manner that by necessary evidences he concludes the main point Since there is not a power or Potentate but God is the onely Potentate to doe with men as himself please it is he that casteth down and it is he that rayseth up and thus he will have all men to know but specially his ministers to know this There is a fourth reason of this manner of describing God and that is for the comfort of his children which I have touched before to arm them against all the terrours of kings that the terrour of no power make them to dispence with the ordinaunces of this great Potentate therfore he would imprint this in their mindes that God is the king of kings therfore no king can doe more harm to them then it pleaseth God this is comfort and the same which Christ gives his desciples in the tenth of Matthew where he bids them not to fear them that can onely kill the body for he tells them that their lives are more precious then birds and are there not so manie sparrows sold for a farthing and yet not one of them shall fall to the grownd without the providence of God therefore Christ knowing that power was given over him though he could have prayed to his Father and obteyned legions of Angells yet he would not because he knew there was no resistance of Gods will therefore he comforts himself against the loosing of Pilate that hee had no power but was given him
from above First of all this letts us see that it is a vain thing to be astonished at the fury of Princes it is but miserable weaknes of men that know what God is certain it is if we serve God aright we would not be moved with the fear of anie man in the world Ye see when as Ieroboam would have apprehended the Prophet that God sent to threaten his judgments upō him for his idolatry when he stretched out his hand to apprehend him God so decred that his hand withered that when he had stretched it out he could not pull it in again This God that could make the hand of a King to wither when he did oppose the counsell of God what need anie man to feare whenas our Saviour and God is on our side We know what Saule did unto David he did use all his skill to destroy him but it was unpossible for him to do it because God who is the King of Kings was with David and God did shew his power against Saule in this when he put Sauls life into Davids hands but hee never put Davids life into Saules hands We knowe what enmity Ahab had against Elias the Prophet yet the Lord cōmaūds him to goe to him the Prophet answered the Lord that he sought his life but the Lord answered him saying goe be not afraid and the Prophet goes to him tells him that it was he that troubled Israell and the Lord restrained him that he could doe the Prophet no harme Infinite examples in the Scriptures wee have of this to let us see that he can hold Kings that they shall doe no more harm then God will suffer them to prove this truth of God that he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords To come yet to make more use of this why doth the Apostle lay this before us the use is partly for Kings and partly for us the first lesson for Kings is this that I touched before concerning Nabuchadnezar how God forced him to learn how to know God to be the King of Kings therfore let all Potentates learn to know that God hath rule over them and their Kingdoms and it is he that makes them Kings and serts them in their thrones and if they doe not this it is just with God to make them will they nill they to acknowledge this to their destruction for the saying of Isaie shal be accomplished which the Lord there speaks all knees shall bow to him and every mouth shall confesse him to bee the Lord for the Lord will not suffer himself long to be despised but in his own time hee will challenge his right in despite of the world it were a blessed thing if Kings would consider this that it is by God that they doe reigne observe what it is Christ shall doe in the last day the proper effect of this Kingdom shall be to put down all principallityes and powers and to give up his Kingdom to God that God may be all in all 1. Corin 15 then shall they see the trueth of this that he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords if Kings would consider this that the time shall come that the world shall not have a Kingdom nor King but God alone me thinks they would then reverence this God in greater measure then they doe but this sort of doctrine is harsh to Princes eares to think that there is a God above them or that there should be anie of whom they hould their scepter and yet they must know this or feele the truth of it by experience in Gods judgment The second use for Kings and Lords is this that the Apostle doth teach them to doe that which is right to all men that they oppresse no man because they have a King over them in heaven unto whom they must give an accompt of their doings This Argument the Apostle useth to Maisters in sundry places that they should doe that that is right to their servants knowing they have a maister in Heaven If superiours would but acknowledge this that they have a Lord over them that shall take a reckoning of them aswell as they take a reckoning with their inferiours surely it would make them to doe nothing but that which is right these are the uses that doe concern Kings and rulers Now there is great use of this likewise for ourselvs besides the incouragement it gives us not to be afraid of anie power in the world but it teacheth us this lesson not to resist power nor authority because there is no power nor authority but it is from God as the Apostle shewes Now since all authority is of God he that resists authority hee resisteth God but some object what if they be tyrants and merciles men and such as make no conscience to doe wrong I answere even as the Apostle doth to servants whom hee commands to be subject not onely to their good masters and such as are gentle but also to them which are froward so I say if thou wilt doe thy duty thou oughtest rather to suffer wrong and to suffer thyself to be oppressed rather then to lift up thyself against authority which thou art under for if this bond of subjection to Princes were loosed Kingdoms could not stand if every servant should stand against their master and every subject against his Prince when he is wronged no common wealth could stand it is true wee may use all lawfull means to eschew wrong and Magistrates may plead in Parliament with their Princes for they have also their authority from God wee ought to use all lawfull meanes to escape wrong but if there be no possibility of escaping wee must rather suffer them to wrong us for power and authority is to be reverenced as being of God and indeed God doth sometimes in justice give bad rulers to avenge himself for the sins of his people hee gave to Israel a King in his wrath and hee stirred up a wicked King in Israel to avenge himself upō the people for their idolatrie doe you not think but that the divell is Gods instrumēt against the wicked so is every wiked king th◠Lords scourge the rod of his justice to inflict upō his enimies when as good rulers are the blessings of God upon a people that are carefull to please him the Lord will make them nursing Fathers and Mothers unto his church and so God in his infinit wisedom makes Kings and Rulers to subjects as hee sees cause either to plague them or to preserve them this is the secret of Gods providence thus to order the World according as he sees they carry themselvs towards him we see that so long as Israel did not know God so long God gave them into their enimies hands and they had tyrants to rule over them but when they sought the Lord as they should and ought the Lord gave them gracious judges to deliver them out of the hands of their enimies and assoone as they fell from
they please whereas the Lord of Lords hath commanded to keepe his ordinaunces pure and therefore it is a great arrogancy against God and his ordinaunces for men to lay any law upon Gods ministers how they should order Gods house nay happy were the church of God if Pastours were not thus led away that those which are appoynted over the church of God to direct it that they themselvs are led away by others by which means religion is come to ruine let them which usurpe this authority take example by Ahaz Vzziah the King who for usurping the Priests office and presuming to offer incense was strucken with Leprosy so remained all his dayes the other for presuming to make a more costly altar By this we may see how dangerous it is to meddle with the holy things of God without a calling which is set apart for those God hath ordained for that end we are said in the scriptures to be those that are set over you to rule you and admonish and instruct you and you are commanded to obey us why is this but to shew you that we are the men which God hath given the authority and power unto to order the affayres of his house in his worship To come more particularly to speake of this keeping of it Keeping is our duty wherefore then doth the Apostle use these words that thou keepe this commandement he knew Satan would steale it away if he could pervert the Pastours by the glittering shews of honours and earthly preferment and so Satan by men of corrupt mindes hath usurped this holy order against this all Gods Servants must stand couragiously and Pastours must keepe it and hould it fast A Pastour cannot be more unfaithfull in any thing then in this to suffer the power that God hath put into his hands to be taken from him in this he is as unfaithfull to God as he can be in any thing the Preists of ould were not ashamed to oppose themselves to Kings telling them plainely to their faces that it belonged not to them but unto the Priests to doe this and that so it becometh Ministers well to say to any Magistrate under heaven that the ordering of Gods house the affaires belonging to his true worship is not in them to prescribe any other manner then the Lord Iesus Christ hath by his Apostles prescribed It is the Magistrates duty to order the common wealth and the affayres of policy but for Magistrates to take this authority from Ministers which Christ hath given them and so to betray the Church of God and deprive them of their lawfull power which Christ hath committed into their hands is an high dishonour to God and a vyolating of this grand charge which the Apostle hath so straitly commanded That this superstitious Church of Rome and the Idolatrous tricks in these points of their Religion there is more duty observed then among Christians for among them none of their Magistrates meddle with the Ministers Authority but in humility they submit to the order of their lawes to them which are their teathers whereas none are so undutifull unto God as Christians are in the reformed Church for there the Magistrate usurpes the place of Pastours and this is the cause why that amongst the Magistrats that are at this day that God treads them and their authority under foote and gives them over unto so many Iudgments all because neither God nor his servants can have that respect or honour among Christians as the servants of Satan have amongst Infidels Let us marke it then we are commanded to keepe this precept and not to suffer it to be taken from his Church This keeping hath many parts Many ment hinke it well kept if they keepe it where it is written and this they both should and ought to doe that is they must see that the Word of God perish not but that it may remaine as a perpetuall lawe to binde the conscience of the saincts unto the worlds end but this is not enough honely to keep it in print in a booke but we must have it in possessiō as Iohn is commaunded in the Revelation having a little booke given him he is commaunded to eate it they must lay it up within them in their hearts so that the teachers of Gods Word should be well instructed in those doctrines which God hath charged him withall to keepe till the end of the world This is that which Christ requires himself of every Christian that they keep his word it is not enough to lay the Bible besides thee in the house that wil serve the turn but he will have thee to read in it and to meditate in it day and night and to keep it in thy minde as the Apostles of Chist are said to lay up Christs words in their hearts and God opened the heart of Lydia that she gave heed to the things that Paul spake This is the keeping of his commaundements whenas they doe not onely keep them in writings but in their hearts and have knowledge to doe them and he commands us by keeping them to practise them so all Pastours are bound to practise them contynually and to performe whatsoever precepts concerne their duty which the Apostle hath set down in this epistle if they look that God shall approve of them in the day of their great accompt And not this onely is to be meant by the Apostle but more also that we must not suffer this commaundement to be changed or altered or to perish or decay but we must bould it in perpetual use in the house of God and if it be fallen Pastours must rayse it up if it be corrupted Pastours must reform it if it be chaunged Pastours must bring it to the auncient institution as Paul did in Corinth where hee found the celebration of the Lords supper corrupted amongst them hee reduced it to the first institution by Christ to reform them to the right practise of that duty which they had corrupted so likewise in manie other churches where the truth of doctrine concerninge justification was corrupted the Apostle in his epistle to the Romans to the Ephesians Colossians Philippians Gallatians reforming the miserable abuses wherwith Gods worship was profaned in which he reformed the errors as doth appear in these epistles to inforce their wicked harts to bow to Gods ordinaunces for the preists lips shal preserve knowledge and they shal ask the law at his mouth But alas now adayes ministers must take the lawe from other mens mouths and they must doe nothing but as other men direct them wheras it is his part to instruct all by the law of God as wee have shewed what a strait charge God hath layd on his messengers which they must not be ignorant of hee must keep this commandement that it be not altered nor corrupted I tell you that these alterations will bringe the fierce wrath of God on us we protest before God we desire to walk in the trueth
no man ever saw this light nor can see it Abraham never sawe him nor Moses never saw him neither can anie man see that unapproachable light that he dwells in all which doth let us see the incomprehensiblenes of the glory of God if all the Angells in heaven and all the men in earth should putt their witts in one yet they could never see Gods face as he is it is but the back parts of God that ever anie man saw or attayned to for God faith himself that it is impossible for man to see God and live well then how shall we resolve these phrases of scripture where it is said blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God and the Apostle saith we now see but in parte darkly as in a glasse but then we shall see him face to face How can this be true if none can see God To resolve this doubtfull point the Scriptures lead us to the knowledge of the divers kinds of the sight of God first there is a sight of God which is perfect secōdly there is a sight of God which is imperfect the perfect sight of God no man cā see but Christ neither Angell nor mā ever had or shall have the full and perfitt sight of the Majesty of God it cannot be seen for it is infinite and incomprehensible which cannott be comprehended by anie creature no not by gloryfied men nor glorifyed creature for the brightnes of God is such that it woud strike to death man or Angell if he should behold it therefore no man or Angell can see it and live as God said to Moses my face can no man see and live yet if anie man could have seen God Moses could but the Lord tels him my back parts thou majest see but my face shall no man see that is we may have an obscure sight of God as Moses had but a perfitt sight of God can no man have in heaven the Angells dare not behold Gods glory and therfore in the 6. Esay the Angells are said to have 6. wings with two they cover their faces and with two they cover their feet and with two they fly They had two to cover their faces to let us see that they dare not sett their eies upon the immediate Majesty of God they could not indure the brightnes of Gods nature if it were exposed to their sight immediately so this perfect sight of God is proper to God himself and Christ and no man els besides himself An imperfect sight of God the saincts may have and that we may know the bounds and the limitts of it we must first know the end of it and the fruit of it and that will let as see what it is to see God The ends of the sight of God are twolfold or wee may observe it in one and that is that we may be like him all similitudes of God flowe from our sight of God here in this world and in that which is to come there is no conformity to God nor likenes to him but by the shining of Gods light upon us therfore it is that in this world he sends such a light amongst us as is able to make us like unto him in grace though not in glory the small light we get in the Gospell is to shew with open face the glory of God it puts the image of God in righteousnes and holines upon us and it is given us to this end to beget us again and to translate us from the similitude of sinfull flesh to the glorious image of God see therfore what conformity in holines and righteousnes God hath appointed us in this life according to this he gives us a sight of himself in the Gospell it is a glasse wherin we may see God and according as he givs us a sight of himself so doth he conform us to his image and the measure of our conformity to God doth arise from the measure of our sight of God if we had a greater measure of the sight of righteousnes possesse us we should have a greater measure of the sight of God so that is the reason of this light that God reveales to us in this world that we may see the glory of God manifested in Christ Iesus that we may attain to this blessednes in this life to be like unto him There is yet more a second degree of blessednes in the sight of God which is not onely to have a similitude like unto God in holines but in glory and immortality we shall not onely be made righteous and holy but immortall and glorious this doth proceed from the sight of God when Christe shall come again in the cloudes then shall mortalitye be swallowed up of immortality but this effect of the sight of God cannot come to passe untill we attain such a sight of God as the Scriptures speake when he saith we are now the sons of God but when Christ who is our life shall appeare then shall we also appear with him in glory The sight that we have of God in this life though it be but a poore sight yet is effectuall to regeneration and it is as farre as sinfull man can see him here and yet this sight of God is nothing to that he is in himself and to that which we shall see in him at the last daye So likewise that sight we shall receive at Christs coming again it shall not be the sight of Gods Majesty immediately but we shall see this God clothed with his manhood for the fullnes of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodyly the Godhead is overshadowed with the flesh of Christ and we cā never see it but in and thorow his flesh his flesh is the vaile and except through this vaile wo cannot see the Majesty of God in heaven now this glorious light of his godhead which we shall see in heaven through the flesh of Christ is not the essenciall glorie of the deity but the created glory that is putt upon the manhood of Christ which glory of the manhood shall transform our flesh to the similitude of the same glory so that the sight we shall have of God in heaven shal be an earthly object in the glorifyed body of the sone of God take away this flesh of the sonne God in heaven and neither man nor Angell can see the Lord therefore in the 3. Chapter of this Epistle the Apostle tells us that Christ was manifested in the flesh and seen of Angells the Angells durst not looke upon God before but had two wings to cover their faces they durst not see the Majesty of God untill God had put this vaile upon it and then the Angells did see it which is one of the greatest points of the mystery of godlines Since then there is no happines but in conforming ourselvs to God in Holines in immortality and glory and that by the sight of him what will that teach us it should teach us to labour to see this