Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n
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A57743
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Saint Peters general petition to our Saviour, for himself and his fellow sufferers
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Rowland, John, 1606-1660.
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1661
(1661)
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Wing R2071; ESTC R20575
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15,283
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26
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is not from hence In which Words are two Enthymems First Christs kingdom is not of this world Therefore may not his servants fight for it Secondly Temporal Kings have kingdoms of this world Therefore it is lawful for their subjects to fight for them If then the Fifth Monarchy-men will fight for Christs temporal kingdome against his command all subjects are authorized by him to fight against them in defence of those Kings and Princes whose subjects they are As for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they insist upon But now my kingdom is not from hence it is but an ill consequence they would infer from it that therefore it shall be hereafter For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 now is not onely an Adverb of time there but a stronger confirmation of what he had said before namely My Kingdome is not of this world The Papists would inforce the like conclusion to maintain their Purgatory and forgiveness of sins after this Life because our Saviour said Matth. 12. Whosoever speaketh a-against the holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him neither in this world nor in the world to come Therefore say they some sins shall be forgiven in the world to come whereas they should conclude directly Therefore the sin against the holy Ghost shall never be forgiven Christ never promised his disciples any earthly kingdome But this is the promise that he hath promised us Even eternal life 1 John 2.25 S. Paul saith the same 2 Tim. 4.18 And the Lord will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom not unto any earthly kingdom See 2 Cor. 5.1 We know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building with God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens Where then is this kingdom of Christ upon earth which the Millenaries so much contend for Fuerunt olim e Chiliastarum opinione magni in Ecclesia veri There have been formerly very learned men in the Church of their judgement but this Heresie hath been so fully confuted that there are very few now but the ignorant Rabble and some turbulent spirits who are their Leaders who will live quietly under no government that hold any such opinion It is not possible that such a temporal Monarchy of Christ can be that these men dream of but it must overthrow the Scripture For S. Paul exhorts that prayers be made for Kings 1 Tim. 2. And S. Peter saith we must obey and honour them 1 Pet. 2. And this is to be the Christians Rule so long as this world endâ—…eth Now the Fifth Monarchy-men under pretence of Christs temporal kingdome pray for the destruction and attempt the ruine of all Kings and Prince That I rather think this to be a cloak for their Rebellion then that they believe it to be true because they refuse to say the Lords Prayer whereof one Petition is Thy kingdom come I am confident that this Doctrine of theirs is that Eating Canker or Gangrene S. Paul condemns in Hymeneus and Philetus 2 Tim. 2. who concerning the Truth have erred saying that the Resurrection is past already and overthrow the faith of some For these say that their fifth Monarchy is begun already which is as they interpret it after the first Resurrection Secondly These are questionless the false Teachers S. Peter speaks of 2 Pet. 2. But there were false Prophets also among the People as there shall be false Teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and shall bring upon themselves swift destruction swift destruction many of them have brought upon themselves They certainly deny the Lord that bought them who is the King of Heaven and Earth when they would have him to be an Earthly King and at the 10 vers he comes home to them but cheifly they who despsie Government presumpâ—uâ—us are they self-willed they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities S. Jude points at them ver 8. These filthy dreamers defile the flesh despite Dominions and speak evil of Dignities But I have done with them and come briefly to examine the Petition of S. Peter more nearly which S. Mark and St. Luke leave out as though there were no need for them to Petition him who had forsaken all to follow him But S. Matthew sets it down so that S. Peter continues his request in the Plurall Number as the ground of it was first layd He askes no more for himself then for the rest He doth not first draw up a Generall list of them all and then leave them out in the Reward it is not What shall I have but What shall we have therefore Secondly the Petition though it sound harsh at the first hearing yet it is very modest and humble For he doth not come to Indent with our Saviour before hand What shall we have and we will forsake all and follow thee if we may have the greatest commands and places about thee No but behold we have done that long since We have forsaken all and followed thee Thirdly he doth not prescribe as the sons of Zebedee did Mat. 20. Grant that we may sit one on thy right hand and the other on thy left in thy Kingdome But he commits that wholly to his Arbitrement Fourthly He saith not What shall we have presently But in the future Tencee What shall we have therefore 1 Also our blessed Saviour in his most gracious Answer to his Petition doth not finde fault either with the Form or the matter of it because it was so homely dressed 2 Nor doth he charge them with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or will worship as perhaps some of his followers would have done who followed him onely for their own profit saying Who required this at your hands who bade you forsake all and follow him You might have staid at home and kept what you had 3. Nor doth he question them what they had forsaken for him as he might have done a few Nets and Angles and Fishing Boats or how far they had followed him in all matters to expect great Rewards for As if onely those who had forsaken great possessions as the young man had must look to be Considered No the widows mite is as well accepted with Christ as the greatest Treasure of the Rich a poor mans Life and Estate and Family are as dear to him as the Rich mans are 4 Nor doth he say You did it in hopes of a Reward For God always holds out a Reward to encourage us in our duty even eternall life So Christ told the young man if he would forsake all and follow him he should have Treasure in heaven as the young man called him Christ is a good Master indeed for no man ever followed him in vain 5 Nor doth he say as he might and did say Luke 17. You have done onely what was your Duty to do 6 Nor doth he put them to find out something as the manner of men is where some may seek long enough and be never the neer 7 Nor doth he turn them over to others to take care for them as Alexander would have done one of his souldiers untill the souldier told him that he had not served him by Proxy but in his own person 8 Nor doth he object the Insufficency of their performances but accepting the will for the deed He returns him a most Gracious speedy and fully satisfactory Answer for them all vers 28. Verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the Regeneration when the son of man shall sit on the Throne of his Glory ye also shall sit upon twelve Thrones Judgeing the twelve tribes of Israel And every one that hath forsaken Houses or Brethren or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Children or Londs for my name fake shall receive an bundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life I conclude with my Text Then answered Peter and said unto him Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee What shall we have therefore THE END
returned to Fishing for Scultelus observes that the same word is used 1 Sam. 17 when David left his Fathers sheep with a keeper untill he had fought with Goliah but he returned to them afterwards Christ doth not require of all men the same conditions he propounded to the young man so some he sends home to their houses to take care of their Families where they might live there with a safe conscience as wee read Mark. 8.26 Nor did the Apostles forsake all but sometimes they returned to their Vessels and went a fishing John 21.3 vers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fignifies not to lose all but to abate the love to all as it is used Rev. 2.4 The Church of Rome hath her Votaries who take upon them a vow of poverty and they say they forsake all to follow Christ But Charles now Duke of Lorraine as I have been credibly informed when some of his souldiers had plundred a rich Monastery and the Friers complained to him hopeing to finde reparation he desired to know of them which went easiest to heaven the Rich or the poor They replied Doubtless the poor then saith he I have sent more to heaven then you all for I have made many poor and I mean to make you all so before I have done Now though our Saviour in his speech to his disciples before my Text did shew the great danger of Riches yet he expounds his meaning Mark 10.24 it is onely so for those that do put their trust in Riches For we read of many Rich Kings and Princes as David Solomon Hezekiah which have been great Saints as also of Abraham Isaak and Jacob Iob Zachary and others very Rich men and Christ tells us Matth 8. speaking of the Rich Centurion That many shall come from the East and from the West and shall fit down with Abraham Isaak and Iacob in the Kingdome of Heaven alwaies provided that they be willing to forsake all as Abraham was who when he was called to go out obeyed he went out not knowing whether he went Heb 1.1 But if such rich men live in such a happy age of the Church where no persecution drives them to it yet they may say Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee By forsaking all is not so much meant the forsaking of our possessions if we can hold them with a safe conscience as the forsaking of our sins Many during the late troubles forsook their friends and Estates to preserve a good conscience who yet did not forsake their cursing and swearing and some other gross sins which might cast a cloud over the suceess but yet their Adversaries who forced them out of their estates by pressing strange Oaths and Engagments upon them by plundering sequestring and Imprisoning them were not free from the same vices yet they will commonly be the men who shall first come upon change of times when they have only fallen out in parting stakes and cry with open mouth Behold we have forsaken all and followed thee What shall we have therefore Men that can sail with any wind a true Hieroglyphick of of the Netherlands And these will oftimes outvye the rest as Mercury out acted Socio in Amphitruo untill such time as the Play was ended and his Vizard and disguise was taken off Sed postquam fictas inclusit Pagina partes Vera redit facies dissimulata perit Of such our Saviour foretold Matth. 7. Many will say to me in that day Lord Lord have not we prophesied in thy Name and in thy name cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful things and then will I profess unto them I never knew you depar from me ye that work iniquity We acknowledge with everlasting thankfulness and to One above all the rest that there are many noble Hushais that can be of Absaloms Counsel and yet do the greatest service to King David and such were some of those by whose vertues and Indeavours next under God and your Majesty we injoy our present happiness These have great Reason to say We have forsaken all and followed thee What shall we have therefore And it is for their sakes that your gracious Act of Indempnity hath made us all equal in your future favours and it will not be well-constroed by any of our reconciled friends who stood in need of it to be a title to them or a bar to us So I come to the Question which is the Petition it self What shall we have therefore A very rugged and blunt Petition at the first hearing and will be thought by some better becoming a souldier than an Apostle because Souldiers bred in the Camp are not usually well verst in the smooth language of the Court. It is true of all the Apostles S. Peter was most the souldier for he ware a sword John 18. and when his Master was betrayed and taken he drew it and smote the high Priests servant and cut off his right ear and had not our Saviour menaced him and commanded him to put it up again because he drew it against Authority he might for ought we know have cut out his brains with it as well as he cut off his ear though that were the Sword which I saw at Paris above 30. years since which the Friers maintain to be his which was little above a foot long if it were so much And now I am thus far upon my way it will be no digression to go one step further to encounter our modern Chiliasts such as call themselves Fifth Monarchy-men who would perswade us that all the Apostles were of their Creed ready to fight for Christs temporal Monarchy and then their gloss upon S. Peters Petition here will be that he petitioned onely for some great places at Gourt when Christ should raign upon earth which were a fowl errour in our Apostle when as the young man had so lately petitioned our Saviour in his hearing for eternal life But it is apparent by our Saviours Answer to S. Peters Petition that S. Peter petitioned onely for the same thing the young man did Even everlasting life because they had forsaken all to follow him which the young man refused to do when he might enjoy it I deny not but that some of the Apostles might sometimes have had an eye to Christs temporal kingdome because their question to our Saviour immediately before his ascension into heaven seems to look that way Lord wilt thou at this time restore the kingdome again unto Israel Acts 1. But they preacht no such Doctrine after his Ascention into heaven when the holy Ghost had once descended upon them in the feast of Pentecost Nor did our Saviour teach them any such lesson when he was conversant among them but the contrary in his answer to Pilate John 18. Jesus answered My kingdom is not of this world If my kingdome were of this world then would my servants fight for me that I should not be delivered to the Jews but now my kingdome