the spirit upon all flesh it shewes the great aboundance of grace that Christ should give his elect hee being glorified being made the head of the Church and was possessed with all power to give grace so this worke of his Kingdome is that which wee must take to heart as being the ground of our comfort to wit that the King of Saints as hee is called in the Revelation hee is with us hee it is that fighteth our battells against the dragon and the whore his might and power onely prevailes and the scripture telleth us that if wee will fight valiantly Christ shall tread Sathan vnder our feet all our strength stands in his strength as the Apostle saieth hee was able to abound and to want and to do all things through Christ that strengthened him elsewhere hee saieth with what power hee laboureth to convert men vnto God by power from him which worketh mightily in him where he did acknowledge that all the power he had to doe any good in Gods howse was even in Christ the sonne of God alone therefore saith he it is not I but the grace of God that is in mee seing then that all the vertue of a Preacher and strenght of a Christian and all the vertue of Christs mediation suffering depends upon Christs Kingdome and power how much the more should we consider this with ioy as the Cheife ground of our consolation in all dangers to vvit that Christ the Lord hath all povver given him in heaven and in earth to give eternall life to those that the Father hath given vnto him as hee saieth of himselfe the end of Gods giving such great povver vnto Christ is that hee may bring his Children vnto glorie therefore is hee called the Prince of our salvation and he saieth Christ being to bring many to glory to consecrate the Prince of their salvation vvell then this point being of such high moment it is not vvithout cause that the Apostle in this case calleth this confession of Christ a good confession which is nothing but his professing himselfe to be King And the reason of it may likewise be this because Christs propheticall and Priestly office are in two respects more easily imbraced then his kingly office first in what respect they are more manifested and more sensible and more easie to be seene of the world then his Kingly power for hee was seene to teach on earth and hee taught with authoritie and not as the scribes and Pharises did and hee performed his Priestly office in the sight of all the world the world heard him preach and the world saw him die these are not things of much secrecie as this is to wit this man so base on earth that now they should see him Crowned with honour and glory there is great difference betweene the glory of his messengers here and the glory of the servants or messengers of earthly kings for the one is wholly earthly the other is wholly spirituall and heavenly so that so farre as heaven differs from earth so farre differs Christs Kingdome from the Kingdoms of the earth his Kingdome stands not in fleshly pompe but it stands wholly in the spirit and power of it So this brings us to the second point of his confession to wit that his Kingdome was not of this world the Iewes would have made Christ a King but hee refused as hee was a King so hee was constant to avouch the matter of his kingdome to be spirituall and not carnall why should we that are his ministers make his glorie and his kingdome a worldly kingdome Doe we not thereby falsify Gods trueth seeing our master refused all carnall and wordly authoritie but onely the power of the spirit why should we seeke after a carnall glory and pompe when the glory of the sonne of God and his kingdome is not of this world Certainly the lesse we are in the world and the lesse we are like to men in worldly honour the more like we are to the sonne of God if we be cloathed with grace with Sanctification and the trueth of God dwell in us plentifully this should be our honour and thus we see how we are bound to place the kingdome of Christ in this wherein it stands certainely all earthly power is so farre from appertaining to the kingdome of Christ as that those that seeke it walke not with an even foote in the ministrie neither doth he the part of a faithfull Minister the Apostle hath a strange saying and yet a true one if our gospell be hid it is hid in them that perish vvhom the God of this world hath blinded for we preach not our selves but Christ Iesus the Lord and our selves your servants for Christs sake and that the excellencie of the power may be of God and of Christ that all the world may see that the power of our Ministrie is not from our selves that we should force your consciences to submit vnto the sonne of God for our Ministrie is wholly spirituall as the Apostle tels us that all the weapons of our warfare are from God in heaven they are not carnall but mightie through God it is God that makes the gospell powerfull and that makes the labours of mortall men powerfull to subdue men to obedience Thus to be briefe the second point of Christs confession is to disclame his kingdome from being a worldly kingdome therefore vve should Disclame all worldly pompe and not compare Christ to any worldly pettie king for it is wholy spirituall as the Lord saith to his peoples to comfort them against the Egyptians hee saith the Egyptians are flesh and not spirit as if hee would say they are but flesh and therefore they can doe nothing against the spirit The 3. point of his confession was this that hee came into the world and was borne to this end to beare witnesse of the trueth wherefore this is to teach Pastoures to follow his footesteps and to know what is our calling wherefore the Lord hath sent us into this world which was to beare witnesse of the trueth God hath not sent us into this world to beare witnesse vnto a lye nor to justifie any falshood but to maintaine the trueth vntill death as Christ avouched this to be his office and hee did accordingly so should we that are Pastours acknowledge this to be our office not to justify mens lies but to beare witnesse and record to Gods trueth so we see this affords great instruction for us to shew us wherein our felicitie stands especially in witnessing him to be our King and his Kingdome not to be of this world thus the penitent theefe did beleeve that hee was a King and that his Kingdome was not of this world therefore he besought him to remember him when hee came in his Kingdome and that we are sent of God to beare witnesse vnto his truth and for this we are to lay downe our lives it is a wofull thing to
FOVR SERMONS Which doe manifest the true sence of the 1. Epistle to Timothie 6. Chapter 13. 14. 15. 16. verses of that Chapter Preached by the reverend divine Mr. Iohn Forbes late preacher to the Companie of Merchant-Adventurers in Delft Matth. 15. 9. But in vain they worship me teaching for doctrines mens precepts Psalm 31. 6. I hate them that hould of superstitious vanityes Psalm 119. 113. I hate vain inventions but thy law doe I love Mark 8. 35. Whosoever will save his life shall loose it but whosoever shall loose his life for my sake and the Gospells he shall save it Published by S. O. Anno 1635. To the READER CHristian Reader seeing the Holy-ghost hath lefte us an honourable memory of Davids worthies who helped him to attaine his Kingdom who was but a type of our King Iesus Christ I think it necessary to manifest some of those famous doctrines this servant of Christ Mr. John Forbes taught in his life time touching the right of Christ Iesus which God the father gave him to ordaine all things in his Church This truth of God he witnessed more than 30. yeares not onely unto the losse of his living and unto bonds but also unto banishment for defending that it is not lawfull for anie Prince or Potentate to commaund anie human devises for to compell them to be used in the worship of God and for mainteyning this endured these great tryalls And about 4. years after he was chosen preacher to the Compaine of the English Merchant Adventurers and after he had served them 22. years he was displaced by our King and shortly after the Lord tooke him out of this world he having served in the Ministery 42. years he now as or hope is is with the assembly of those which have been killed for the Word of God and testimonie which they mainteined who doe cry How long Lord which art holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our bloud on the persecutours of thy truth But this doctrine is thought strange unto the world for the Papists doe say that the Pope hath authority to institute ceremonies in the Church which he himselfe doth judge fit and our prelates with their doctours doe affirme that Princes and Potentates of the world have authority with the assembly of their Bishops to institute ceremonies rites and orders such as they doe judge fitting to worship God by and they are indued with deep Philosophie and learned arts which I doe confesse are good so as they be allwaies ruled by divine truth but otherwise we are commaunded to avoyd them Col. 2.18 And the Holy-ghost calleth them when they are not according to divine truth the deep learning of Sathan as he hath in this epistle manifested Against them both this servant of IEsus Christ doth clearly manifest that no human devises or ceremonies that Christ hath not appointed for his worship may be used in his worship for God the Father hath placed him farre above all principallities and powers and might and dominion and every name that is named not onely in this world but also in that that is to come as the Holy-ghost doth shew us in manie places and that Christ is King and ruler in his Church Pilate and Caesar were content that Christ should be accounted High priest of his church and that he should be their Prophet but for him to affirme he is a King that cost him his life Caesar could not indure it So in this age princes cannot indure that his church should receive no ordinaunces and decrees but those that the Apostles established for they will have their own superstitions used in the worship of God yet here the Holy-ghost doth sereously condemn it and that Christ must have the whole preheminence in his worship and that his ministers must maintein this as they will answer it at his glorious appearing to judge all the world these sermons doe manifest this strait charge hee received from the Holy-ghost to withstand all Human superstitions which are brought into Gods worship they were taken by pen by one of his ordinary hearers the chief of these I had in writing two years before he departed this life and I shewed them to him and I tould him I would publish them without naming anie authour he answered if I did publish them the adversaryes would know it to be his worke to which I answered that then I would not publish them except I did survive him If all the sermons this reverend divine taught out of this epistle were published it would be proffitable unto this generation and to that to come for he doth manifest that as God by Moses ordayned him to be his penman to order his church under the law So Christ hath made this Apostle his penman to appoint what ordinaunces his church must practise untill his second appearing and that with the straitest charge we doe read of that his servants may not admitt of anie other devices to be brought into his worship as they wil answere it at the great and dreadfull appearing of all the world before Jesus Christ with his holy Angells to recompence all opposers of his truth according to their works This Author doth mention that in all Ages God hath had his faithfull witnesses as in the 48 page appears and Mr. Foxe hath instanced manie and here I think fitt to ad some others in the dark time of Popery which hee hath not Two Preachers in France one named Peter Breves the other is called Hendrick van de Tollhouse they were well known in France and of good estimation for their great learning and they did much bewaile the Apostacy of the church and they spared no man of any degree whatsoever they were affirming that they were fallen from the estate of grace and from Christ and they affirmed the Pope to be the Prince of Sodom and the Citty of Rome to be the Mother of all abhomination that all the Bishops were cruel Wolves they detested the doctrine of Transubstantiation and affirmed the masse prayer for the dead was Idolatrie before God and that Images the Crosse might not be prayed unto nor suffered in the Churches That the Priests manner of singing was mockery before God◠that praying to Saincts and vowing of Chastity and their manner of building Temples and observing of Holydayes were superstitious and wicked and all humane inventions in Gods worship wicked Idolatrie These mē continued in their preaching twenty years and having great resort coming to their preaching of all sorts estates at last they were apprehended by the Popes commaund by a Legate of his and Peter Brise was burned at St. Ioils the other was apprehended committed to prison but what came of him we finde not but there followed great persecution many of their Disciples went to their death joyfully Look the 65. and 66. Letters of Barnod to the Earle of St. Ioylls There wrote against them Peter Abbott af Clugnam which Barnod did record
with trembling remember the history of Ieroboam the King of Israell who was the first that caused the Iewes to separate from the Temple of Salomon and he is branded with this note Ieroboam that made Israell to sinne he was the first occasion of it and he is charged above all for corrupting the Worship of God The like we read before of Gideon Iudges 8. who thinking to adorn an ornament God had commaunded his Preists to weare but it was abhomination unto the Lord and it was the utter destructioÌ„ of him and his house for which the Lord recordeth all Israell went a whoring after it If those men were so noted that have caused the Church to erre from Gods law and not imbrace his order he hath set down but in the place of it to receive idle ceremonies certainly they shall know that God takes this to remembrance and more to his heart then they doe dream of yea they shall see that of all men they are lyable to the greatest judgment in the sight of God their own devices shall aggravate their judgment for corrupting the Church of God therefore faithfull Pastours must have a double care in their own persons and of others committed to their charge that they keep it without spott and that they deliver it to others without spott Again we doe here see that these ordinaunces are not to be changed so long as the worlde endures the Apostle to the Hebrews comparing the law with the Gospell and the dispensation of the Gospell to the dispensation under the law he calls them both Kingdoms because they were in his church where his Kingdom is now saith the Apostle this word once more signifyeth the remooving of those things that are shaken as of things that are made that those things that cannot be shaken may remain where the Apostle shews that the dispensation under the law was not to continue but saith he we receiving a Kingdom which cannott be moved let us have grace wherby we may serve God acceptablie with reverence and godly feare so that these ordinaunces of his Kingdom under the Gospell they cannot be shaken except thou wilt shake thyself out of Gods Kingdom This Kingdom must remain constant till the end of the world so that it is a fearfull matter when men keep not this in their time since it must not be chaunged till the worlds end yet there is scarce anie degree of men in the ministery that doth not pervert this What a fearfull and daungerous matter is it to us that we cannot keep it for so short a time and if the Kingdom of God had stood and his ordinaunces accordinge to his truth here prescribed there had never been another ministery nor an other government or other doctrine then this here commaunded if Gods will were observed and Pastours had been faithfull they would never have corrupted Gods ordinaunces and worship as they have done This Epistle is the onely form that God allows and by which ministers shal be examined for men neede not to doubt how the Church may be reformed and set in right order if the fear of God did possesse their hearts to looke unto this Epistle but when this is not looked unto nor regarded but what will please men and what is the custom of these times this makes that Gods house is pestered wâ—th vanityes and still remains defiled and if Pastours would bend their studies to learn this Epistle it would shew them their folly and therefore all which labour to avoyd Gods fierce wrath in this age and love the salvation of their souls in obeying God according to his ordinaunces let them read and understand this Epistle for this will teach them the truth of God how his Church should be ordered and governed One lesson more I will ad and withall will make an end This commaundement you see is to be kept till the worlds end let us gather this lesson from it Hath God charged his Church to doe this and will he not have his Church to practise it let the devill and Antichrist rage as they will and rage against his servants yet the Lord will keep them and this commaundement shal be kept till Christs coming again in despight of them though not in the most part of the world yet in some obscure places he will have his own witnesses to stand for him to convince the world of error the reason of it is this God gives no commaundement to his church that he will have kept to the worlds end but it must stand as long as the time that he hath appointed it so that all the power of darknes shall not roote it out of the world although they may banish it in manie countries but out of the world they shall never banish it but there shal be one or other that shall stand for the truth This we may see hath been accomplished as we finde in historyes although manie of their testimonies are suppressed yet in all ages God hath had sundry who have mainteyned the truth so that there shal be a Church of God in which the purity of his worship shal be mainteyned so longe as the world shall remaine It is testifyed that Noe coÌ„demned the world so the testimonie of Christs witnesses shal be condemnatioÌ„ to the world to this end the Apostle saith if our Gospell be hid it is hid in them that are lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded their mindes So God and Christ will and shal be worshipped although obscurely although not at Ierusalem nor among the scribes and pharises yet in the wildernes there shal be a Iohn Baptist or in some corner of the earth or other God will have his faitfull witnesses for this commaundement shall take place as long as God doth reigne although the tyrants of the earth obscure it this is most sure that his Gospell is an everlasting Gospell and God will keep it in some corner of the earth till the end of the world therefore raise up your hearts with joy although it be put downe in this or that place yet it shal be raysed again in an other quarter of the world it came from the East to us and we had it a long time and now it is going from us and God hath appoynted another place to receive it never shall God want a place to keep his ordinaunces let the world doe what they can to hinder it it is vaine for men to seeke to suppresse that which God will have kept 1. Tim. 6.15 Which in his times he shall shewe who is the blessed onely Potentate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords HAving spoken of this description of God in generall now considering the order of the words we will come and speake of them in particular First let us speake of them in particular and first of Gods power then of his blessednes for the proof of this is sett down the contrarye order he named blessed first but he setts downe
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