that publish the truth of the Gospel against the incroachments of Antichrist They are called two Witnesses two Olive-trees two Candlesticks But two Witnesses to import that Few witnesses to the truth in the daies of Antichrist those that bear witnesse to the light in the daies of Antichrist are but few if ye compare them with them that went the wrong way And yet two Witnesses that is a sufficient number in all ages to hold forth the truth because two witnesses would serve to give testimony under the Law In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall the truth of every thing be established Though but two yet two in the worst times And thus Two Olive-trees because God by them conveyeth the oyle of grace into the hearts of his people And two Candlesticks because they hold forth the light of the truth Now this may serve as a touch-stone to discern between The true Ministers of the Gospell true and false Churches and true and false Ministers They that are sent of God they bear witness to the light they set up Christ in their Ministry they are content themselves to stand in the croud and to lift up Christ upon their shoulders content not to be seen themselves so Christ be exalted They lift him up as the Serpent of old was lifted up upon the Pole in the Wilderness Men in this respect are like Trees that receive their influence from Heaven and raise up their tops towards heaven in a way of acknowledgment whence they had their grouth Men sent from God and having received all from Christ return all to Christ in their dispensations But now look into false Churches for instance that of The false ones of Rome Rome Popery is in effect nothing else but an under-hand close witnesse-bearing against Christ Antichrist opposeth Christ in all his Offices under shew of witnessing for him he doth indeed witnesse against him both as King and Priest and Prophet As King because the Pope maketh himself the Head of the Church which is proper onely to Christ One that sat 1 Rome against Christ as King in that Chair was not afraid to call himself Sponsum Ecclesiae the Husband of the Church As Priest In that Office to which belongeth Satisfaction 2. As Priest and Intercession see how they go against Christ who offered himself once for all their Priest must offer him up daily in the Mass and unbloody Sacrifice So in his Intercession they bear witness against him too because they joyne other witnesses with him as they acknowledge them Saints As Prophet In that Office they add Traditions to the 3. As Prophet Word and the Council of Trent saith they are to be received eâdem devotione with the same devotion that Scripture is to be received with This touch is but by the way to fill your hearts more and more with detestation against that way of Popery If it be a dangerous thing for a man to bear false witnesse against his Neighbour What is it then to bear false witness against his God Now the End why he was sent is That all men through The End why John was sent him might believe There is no more in the Originall but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That all might believe but men is put in into the Translation How should all men be saved by John's Ministry if it did not extend it self to all men His Ministry was confined to the Land of Judea he preached onely to the Jews Therefore Men not being in the Text certainly the universall tearm is to admit of some restraint I shall interpret it unto you in that of Matth. 21. 26. which is something parallel where the debate was concerning the Baptism of John Whether from heaven or of men If we shall say From heaven he will say to us say they Why did ye not then believe him But if we shall say Of men we fear the people for all hold John as a Prophet What All the world No there were millions and millions of millions that never heard of John But All that were acquainted with his Ministry they all held him as a Prophet That all through him might believe that is All his hearers All believe and through him not in him as the Object of their faith but through him as the Instrument of their faith That all The meaning is That all his hearers through him might believe in Christ Through him but In the other You have it clearly expressed Act. 19. 4. John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance saying to the people That they should believe on him which should come after him that is on Jesus Christ Here is through whom and on whom through John the Baptist and on Jesus Christ John Baptist's Office was to make a way for Christ As the custom is amongst great Princes when they are to go to any place they send before them their Harbingers to prepare the way to tell the people who it is that cometh to them and what is expected at their hands Gen. 45. Joseph when he was advanced and went in the streets a man went before him crying bow the knee And so Hester 6. There was a man went before Mordecay and proclaimed before him What shall be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honour So it was done to Christ by John And so shall it be done to him whom God delighteth to honour To the Mediator whom God delighteth to seal He came thus preaching Christ that all hearers might believe through him in their Stations which affords us this observation That the end of good Ministers witnesse-bearing to the light is that all the hearers through them might believe in Christ That was the end of the Prophets-Ministry in the place afore cited Acts 10. 43. To him give all the Prophets witnesse that through his Name whosoever believeth in Him should receive remission of sins That was the end of the Apostles both Preaching and Writing Joh. 20. ult These things are Written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that ye might have life through his Name That is the end of our Ministry to this day Me-thinks Our work is something like that of Abraham's Rebecca by Abrahams servant wooed for Isaac servant when he was sent to get a Wife for his Master's son He goeth on his errand and telleth them of the family he came to and where he found Rebecca that his Master was a great potent Prince that he had an onely son Isaac whom he made heir of all his Estate and that he was sent on purpose to perswade Rebecca to come over and be espoused to this son Such is our work we are sent to woo souls for Souls by the Ministers of Christ wooed to Christ Christ We tell you What God is and how glorious in himself and all his attributes and that he hath an only Son the Son of his Love the Lord Jesus
with faith in us that is a secret To keep the Sabbath is a common thing but to call the Sabbath a delight that is a secret Would we be acquainted with the secrets of the power of godlinesse let us go to Jesus Christ who is onely conscious to all the secrets of God seek to him that he would reveal them to us by his Spirit for He is in the bosome of the Father So I have done with the second thing I come now to the third thing concerning the discovery of the Father by Christ He hath declared him You have heard of a two-fold sight of God a Beatificall and Scientificall vision A Beatificall Vision in Reference to his Essence A Scientificall Vision in Reference to his Counsell And that Christ the onely begotten Son may not be excluded from either of these the next Clause implieth Which is in the bosome of his Father I say It implieth That Christ the Son hath a beatificall vision of God the Father even in his essence here while upon the face of the earth amongst the Children of men And besides this He must needs see the essence of God that is essentially God himselfe And His lying in the bosome of the Father implieth That he could not but have the scientificall vision of the Father Hence we inferre that none is fitter to declare the Father then he that saw the Father and none more able to shew forth the mind and the Counsell of the Father then he that lay in the Father's bosome The onely begotten Son which is in the bosome of the Father He hath declared him The word in the Originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is an Emphasis in the expression and Erasmus noteth that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 de eo dicitur qui res alioqui latentes obscuras planè ac dilucidè declarat It is oftentimes spoken of him that revealeth obscure and hidden things and maketh manifest things otherwise not to be revealed And it is properly to be applied to Divine and Heavenly Mysteries Hence there ariseth a difference between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The first is properly applied to divine and heavenly mysteries the other to vulgar and things more obvious and common And some think that Christ in the beginning of this Chapter is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word because he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Father's Interpreter or he that declareth the mind and will of the Father So then Concerning the discovery of the Father by Christ two things are to be observed First The person declaring Christ Secondly The person declared the Father First The person declaring From hence note two things The Fitnesse of the Messenger The Fulnesse of the Message First The fitnesse of the Messenger by whom in these latter times the deep mysteries of the Father's Divine essence and will so farre as is necessary to Salvation is declared For Jesus Christ the onely begotten Son of God that lay in the bosome of the Father who is the expresse Image of his Person Heb. 1. 3. hath shewed to us the Invisible glory and made it visible so farre as we are capable to behold it An expression you have to confirm this out of the mouth of Christ himselfe Matth. 11. 27. All things are delivered unto me of my Father and no man knoweth the Son but the Father neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son and he to whom soever the Son will reveal him Joh. 6. 46. No man hath seen the Father save he that is of God he hath seen the Father Secondly The fulnesse of the Message that Christ hath declared which is indeed Every thing necessary for man's Salvation and whatsoever Christ hath declared is true profitable wholesome and sufficient Therefore no leaving the Word of Christ and flying to human Traditions for saith he Joh. 3. 11. Verily verily I say unto you we speak that we do know and testifie that we have seen And Hebr. 1. 1. God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the Prophets hath in these last dayes spoken unto us by his Son The words in the originall are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by piece-meal darkly by riddles and visions formerly but now he hath clearly declared not onely himselfe by his Son but whatsoever else so much as our frail natures and weak capacities can reach unto tending to the salvation of all the Elect of God Secondly The next thing is the Person declared That is the Father or the mind and will of the Father or more plainly Christ that lay in the bosome of the Father hath declared from the Father's bosome the glorious mystery of man's Redemption his Justification by faith and the way to everlasting happinesse and glory I now go on to as brief an Application First Doth Christ declare the mind of the Father get then Intimacy and Familiarity with Jesus Christ Take Him into thy heart that lay in the bosome of the Father For what greater stay can we have in the time of trouble and what more supporting Comfort and consolation in the hour of Temptation than to be acquainted with and united to him that is the Churches Head and our Lord and Saviour the onely begotten Son of God and to lye in the bosome of the Father Secondly Take notice of the Dignity of a Christian that hath so able and so gratious an Interpreter even the Eternall Son of God He it is that to us declareth the will and layeth open the whole Counsell of his Father Thirdly Let dignity oblige you to duty If Jesus Christ declareth the will of the Father then upon the life of your souls it exceedingly much concerneth you diligently to observe and carefully to attend unto what Christ declareth Learning alwayes to submit to the will of the Father thus declared by his Son that his Name alone may be glorified and our souls Eternally saved FINIS
occasioned John as they say to write this Gospell wherein he asserteth the Godhead of Christ And so by the way occasionally yee see what use even Heriticks are made of to the Church of God We had lost this Gospell if Ebion and Cerinthus had not broached their heresies God suffereth desperate opinions to be vented for the purging of his owne Truth The Truth of God is compared to Silver The words of the Lord are pure yea as Silver tried in a furnace of Earth purified seven times Every corrupt opinion that cometh to be vented against any Truth of God that is a new furnace and the truth being cast into that furnace it cometh out the purer for it Purified seven times As it is with Passengers of quality and note were it not for some evill inveterate Currs in the street they might passe and never be observed the very barking of the Dogs maketh them to be noted So these evill inveterate Corrupt Hereticks by their barking have occasioned the taking notice of that truth of the Divinity of Christ Had not they barked John had not Written This was the occasion And this should incourage you to attention because the same Hereticks are with us now we have our owne Ebions and Cerinthusses to this day that deny the Divinity of Christ and say He had no being till he took it from the Virgin Mary Fourthly we come to the Scope of this Book which is to hold out the Divine nature of Christ as the object of our Faith to set forth Christ as the Sonne of God that we believe in Him so as to have Salvation by Him And This St. John telleth you to have been his aime Joh. 20. 31. These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Sonne of God and that believing you might have Life through Him He desires to set forth Christ to us as our Redeemer and therefore laboureth so much both in the beginning of his Gospell and throughout to hold forth the Godhead and Divine nature of Christ That so it might appear that he is a sufficient Redeemer If He had not been God He could not have gon through with the purchase As the Eagle trieth her young ones by holding them against the beams of the Sun and if they be able to look upon them with a stedfast eye she owneth such So John bringeth his Readers to the Sun of the Divinity of Christ and such as will not acknowledge that are bastard-Christians and not Saints Fifthly One thing yet remaineth by way of preface which is the difference between this and the other Gospells which lieth especially in two things First whereas the three former Evangelists insist especially upon things done by Christ after John was cast into Prison and so principally relate the acts of Christ in the last year of his Ministry St. John taketh in here the acts of his two former years what Christ did and what Christ said before John was cast into Prison which the other touch but sparingly upon Secondly whereas the other Evangelists insist mainly upon what Christ did Saint John relateth especially what Christ said They are much more large in recording his Miracles John in recording his Sermons and Prayers as Chap. 15. Some Miracles indeed he relateth to us but they are such as wake may either for his Discourse with the Disciples or for his disputation with his Adversaries So still he seemed more to take notice of what Christ said then what he did I now prepare you to be attentive for I begin to close with the first Chapter and with these first words of the Chapter which are of so great importance That as I told you before they had a most extraordinary force upon Junius his spirit and besides upon one Numenius a Heathen Philosopher That falling upon this Gospell cried out in a kind of indignation This Barbarian saith he for so the Greeks call the Jews hath concluded more in a few lines than our great Philosophers have in all their Books He was so taken with the mystery of these words For they are words which the most quick-sighted Christian can be hardly able to see through And throughout I shall indeavour to make it as plain as God shall inable me Onely ye must not take it amisse if some things shall be left obscure Augustine saith I will not defraud those that are able to understand for fear of being irksome to them that are not able Do but think your selves at a feast When many guests are invited to a feast They are of severall Constitutions and like severall dishes But now Shall a man that seeth such a dish before him to which he hath no stomack presently rise from the Table No he will perhaps think with himselfe Other men may like this dish So it should be taken here Suppose something be too hard for thee it may perhaps be clear to another Paul is a debtor to the wise and to the unwise therefore let none arise and goe away but let every man expect his portion Do you hope that whatsoever difficult passages there are in the Scriptures yet there will be some full of Light and Comfort To close then with the first verse In the beginning was the Word and the Word was Text. with God and the Word was God YE have here the Subject and the Predicate which are laid down in three Propositions The subject in every proposition is the same the Word And there are in these three propositions three things predicated of this Word First an eternall existency and that in the first Proposition The Word was in the beginning Secondly a Personall Co-exsistency of Christ with the Father The Word was with God namely as a distinct person from God That is the second Proposition Thirdly a divine Essence The Word was God a distinct Person indeed therefore said to be with God but of the same Nature therefore said to be God Mysteries have more need of Adoration than Locution The first thing we are to understand is a discourse of the Subject of these three Propositions The Word And for the clearing of that three Quaeries we shall resolve First what Person is here meant by the Word Quarie 1 I answer clearly The second Person in the Trinity Of Respon whom ye shall find him called not onely by St. John Christ is called the Word by Iohn but by St. Luke and Paul too Jesus Christ is called by St. John The Word 1 John 5. 7. There are three that beare record in Heaven The Father the WORD the Holy Ghost Here the Word cometh in in the second place between the Father and the Holy Ghost to denote the second Person Revel 19. 13. He was cloathed in a vesture dipt in Blood and His Name is called the Word of God Neither is John the onely man that calleth Him so though by the way St. John himselfe above all the Apostles got the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John the
of that term The Word which ye have twice in this Verse Let us now Apply it before we come to any of the Predicates First In that Christ is here called the Word in reference Vse 1 to the word conceived as being the expresse Image of his Father's Person as our thoughts are the image of the mind Let us learn from hence First to be helped here to understand something of that Eternall Generation What the Son of God is who of himself is inexpressible Who can declare his generation Isa 3. This may help us to conceive better of it than any expression in the world When we compare Christ with the conception of our own hearts there is nothing commeth so near the nature of that eternall generation of the Son of God The understanding that conceiveth a notion without difficulty without passion without agitation and stirring There is no conception no procession of any thing so purely inconcrete and simple and unmixt as the proceeding of the thoughts of our Understanding Such is the generation of the Son from the Father at least this of all things we can take into our imagination is the fittest to expresse Him And indeed if it were possible for a man to contract all his notions into one mark it if it were possible for him to conceive at once whatsoever he apprehendeth then that Conceit that he conceiveth in his understanding it would be that man's wisdom and that man's truth because it containeth whatsoever he hath in his heart Such a word is Christ in reference to his Father Whatsoever there is in the Father of wisdom it is expressed there whatsoever excellency is in God it is in the Son Thence it is that Christ is Christ both Wisdom and Truth so frequently called Wisdom and set forth by that name Prov. 8. And he is called Truth I am the way and the truth and the life And there would be the whole of a man's wisdom in that notion which will contain all his apprehension at once So it is in Christ which is the wisdom of his Father That is one thing It may help us something in conceiving the unconceivable and unexpressible Generation of the Son from the Father Secondly It may help us to conceive of the Father according to what we read of the Son and to conceive of the Son according to what we read of the Father because the Son is the expresse Image of the Father's Person Therefore it is of great use for poor penitent sinners that with the Publican stand afar off and dare not lift up their eyes to Heaven For howsoever they conceive some hope in regard of Christ yet they are affraid God the Father will never pardon them They look at Christ as a Saviour all of Bowells Many poor souls have strange apprehensions of God the Father as if he were altogether a consuming fire therefore no pardon to be expected from him But here is for thy comfort Christ Comfort to penitent sinners whatsoever he is is the expresse Image of the Father's Person therefore what thou findest in Christ thou maist find in the Father Was Christ so full and free-hearted as to be ready to help every poor soul in the daies of his flesh He is but the Father's Image and thou maist find the same disposition in the Father Thou maist go to God as to Christ if he were here in the flesh On the other side If any man Terrour to stubborn sinners be a stubborn and presumptuous sinner that dareth go on to walk in the lust of his eyes and pride of his heart and flatter himself with these thoughts Lord have mercy upon me will save him on his death-bed Howsoever there may be some rigour expected from the Father why Christ will have mercy upon him Christ dyed for him and will save him And he needeth make no question of the love of Christ of his affection and readinesse to help him though he walketh in the stubbornnesse of his wicked heart Let such a one know That God as he will by no means clear the guilty so nor will Christ too Mark that place for this Exod. 23. 20. Behold saith God there I send an Angel before thee to keep thee in the way and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared That Angel was Christ for it is said that they provoked Christ in the Wildernesse Therefore it was Christ Now mark Beware of him and obey his voyce provoke him not for he will not pardon your transgressions Why for my name is in him Christ is just as I am saith God the Father here and as severe to sinners as I am Therefore provoke him not he will not pardon Kisse the Son lest he be angry The Son can be angry as well as the Father Though he be the Lamb of God yet that Lamb will turn Lion against them that disobey him and refuse to obey the Gospell of Christ The Lamb will be so angry as to make the great ones of the earth to cry Who shall deliver them from the wrath of the Lamb Rev. 6. Secondly In that Christ is called the Word in reference Vse 2 to the word uttering because he is the Interpreter of his Father's will and declareth the Father's mind to the sons of men Let us learn from hence to blesse Christ for all the knowledge we have of God and the things of God it is from him we have it he is the Word that hath declared it The onely begotten Son in the bosome of the Father he hath declared him Joh. 1. 18. If men think themselves so much beholding to their Tutors and School-masters that discover to them the hidden things of Arts and Sciences If Alexander was so much bound to his Master his School-master Aristotle his Instructor that he made a question Whether he were more bound to him for his teaching of him than to Philip his father for begetting of him Then what do we owe to Jesus Christ the great Tutor to whom we owe all our Learning Tutors and Fathers too for all Relations meet in him and all Duty is due to him And if He be the word uttering let none be ashamed of that work of the Ministry Some Gentlemen think it scorn to make their sons Ministers God the Father made his Son a Minister ye see and setteth the Lord Jesus Christ his onely Son to be a revealer of his will to the sons of men And if so something else may be learned from it Let us all take heed to what we hear It is Christ that is the word uttering What we find in Scripture and hear delivered according to the Scripture it is the word of Christ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom The power of the Word Preached Col. 3. 16. Ye must give me leave to tell you when men speak Scripture to you rightly interpreted and ye refuse to hear ye do not refuse men that speak from the
Text In the beginning was the word The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his waies before his works of old I was set up from everlasting from the beginning or ever the world was When there were no depths I was brought forth when there were no fountains abounding with water Before the mountains were setled before the hills were brought forth c. Another testimony ye have of Christ's Eternity it is in the Type of Melchisedeck Heb. 7. 2 3. King of Righteousnesse and King of Salem which is King of Peace Without father or mother or without descent having neither beginning of daies nor end of life but made like the Son of God which abideth a Priest continually What cause have we to adore as Tertullian speaketh not onely to admire but to adore the fulnesse of the Scriptures The very silence of the Scriptures speaks deep Mysteries The Apostle arguing from the Scriptures the Eternity of Christ speaketh nothing of Melchisedeck's father or mother Moses speaking of the Worthies in Scripture he is wont to speak of their parentage when they began and when they dyed But the Apostle when he speaks of this Priest saith He was without father or mother Another place of the Eternity of Christ ye have Mich. 5. 2. where he speaketh both of the temporall and eternall Generation of the Son of God Thou Bethlehem Ephrata though thou be little amongst the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that shall be Ruler in Israel Out of thee shall he come forth That is of his temporall Government Here he speaketh of his eternall Generation Whose goings forth have been from everlasting In the beginning was the word That is Christ was from everlasting He had a beeing before the greatest began to be And this may serve briefly for the Explication of that Proposition I now come to the Application because I intend to be as brief as may be What ye have heard of Christ's Eternity of having a being before the creatures were made will afford you First matter of Comfort Secondly matter of Duty First Matter of Comfort from hence because this lets Vse 1 Of Comfort us see that our happinesse standeth upon an everlasting foundation upon one who was in the beginning before any creature began to be And what shall overthrow that Building whose foundations are laid in Eternity Shall the Creatures which are but of yesterday What can they do to undo what the eternall God hath ordained before the world was That is the foundation of all Ephes 1. 4. According as he hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Our salvation beareth date before the world was therefore there is nothing in the world shall prejudice it much lesse overthrow it It resteth upon him who was in the beginning and who will be after the end upon him who is Alpha and Omega more antient than the beginning and more lasting than the end of the creatures Alas poor creatures time was when they were not but then was He In the beginning was the word and there will come a time when they shall not be but no time wherein it can be said Christ is not The Devill is a creature Shall he be able to undo what the Eternall hath appointed He was not when Christ was and though he shall now live for ever to be in torment yet the time shall come when he shall not be a Tempter Then Christ shall be a Saviour be sure Hab. 1. 12. See what a spring of consolation doth arise from this consideration of Strong Consolation from the consideration of Christ's Eternity Christ's Eternity Art thou not from everlasting O Lord my God my holy One art thou not from everlasting we shall not die Certainly we that have an everlasting Saviour shall be freed from everlasting death we shall not die This is the lot of as many as lay hold on him by faith Our eternall Saviour loveth to do all things like himself Lest you should fear either want of love or might both his love and power are eternall even as Himself is He hath everlasting kindnesse in him and intendeth to shew it unto us Isa 54. 8. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment And from his Love and Power but with everlasting kindnesse will I have mercy on thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer And his Power is as everlasting as his Love Isa 20. 4. Trust ye in the Lord for ever for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength The consideration of these two should fill us with everlasting consolation as Paul speaks 1 Thess 2. 16. Everlasting consolation and good hope through grace He that was in the beginning will be with us to the end I and in the end of our daies too It is a great comfort when a man commeth to die to think Whom my Salvation dependeth upon why upon an everlasting Redeemer that dyeth not There is a time when we must go out from all the creatures and have no more to do with those things that are so pleasing to us in the world There is a time when we must go into Eternity and there is Christ The creatures we delighted in they remain not I but the God we go to He remaineth From everlasting to everlasting thou art God Here is a living Comfort for a dying Creature Secondly Here is matter of Duty as well as matter of Vse 2 Of Duty Comfort If Christ were in the beginning before all the creatures then let him not come after any of them in our esteems That is one Lesson we learn from hence It is expresly said of Christ Col. 1. 17. He is hefore all things and by him all things consist He is before all things in regard of his own beeing Let him be before all things and above all things in our esteem He was before all the creatures O let him not come after them in our hearts In the beginning was the word when no wealth no profit no pleasure no preferment such as men now dote upon Christ is before all these things Why should he go after them in the esteem of men As it was amongst the Heathens they placed their happinesse in the exercise of vertue and yet some of them cryed Virtus post nummos quaerenda pecunia primùm Let Lib. 1. Epist Horat. ad Moecenatem vertue come after wealth They first laboured to get a good estate and then look'd after good qualities and dispositions So it is with many Christians who in their Doctrins and Professions place their happinesse and fellowship with Christ after riches let Christ come after Which of us doth not wonder and cry shame of the Gadarenes that preferred their swine before Christ rather let him go out of their coasts than part with their heards Certainly we in effect do the same when we prefer our swinish
the Father because there is distinction of Persons and yet a personall Co-existency The word was with God So ye have the meaning of that Proposition Let us now make Use of it First Take notice here of the distinction of Persons in Vse 1 the Godhead a distinction without their Divinity Here is the Son the word with God and the Son with the Father not divided from him And yet one Person with another and so distinct one from another With him not without distinction and in him without division As in the night-time if a man set up three Candles in a room all these concurr to the lightning of the room yet there is but one light So but one Essence in the Divinity Yet here are three Candles that give that Light but no man can say that this light is peculiar to the First Candle and this to the Second for all shine together and yet the light of the second Candle is with the first but the light is all one But O the depth It is no wading here farther than a man hath footing out of Scripture for fear of being past our standing and be drowned The Word of God is with God and one Person with another but the manner How as Basil said when he met with some knots of difficulty in this Mystery I believe saith he I do not busie my self in searching over far what we cannot make out in plain reason we must make out in believing where we have the Scripture for our bottom onely take notice of such a thing Certainly there is a distinction of Persons in the Trinity Here is One with Another The word was with God Secondly Learn from hence to worship God according Vse 2 to a distinction of Persons Learn we to worship and look at Christ as a Person distinct from the Father and the holy Ghost or else we worship not Christ but our own fancies If we conceive him not as he is as he is distinct This is the great difference between the Christian and the Turkish Religion I might say the Jewish too for the Turks and Jews agree in that they hold one God but deny a distinction of Persons in the Godhead We Christians according to Scripture acknowledge that too There are three that bear record in heaven the Father the Word and the Spirit and these three are one And some kind of necessity appeareth in a way of reason which we may take notice of for the strengthning of our faith in this great Mystery that there should be a distinction of Persons God The benefit of the distinction of Persons the Father was the Person offended Reconciliation was to be made None but God hath enough in him to satisfie God Therefore it was requisite there should be a Person to satisfie the Person offended That the second Person the Lord Jesus undertakes and goeth through with it But how shall this be made known Poor man is as far off as ever he was if he be left here he hath no power in his own nature to reach this Therefore there is a Third Person the holy Ghost who discovereth this and applieth it So that the Salvation of Man is by the concurrence of the whole Trinity But I must here again take off my self with O the depth as Bernard did Hoc magnum est Mysterium This is a great Mystery a Mystery rather to be adored than searched into Well saith he Quomodo esset Pluralitas in Unitate unitas in Pluralitate How there should be a Plurality in Unity and how a Unity in Plurality three Persons and yet but one Essence Scrutari temeritas est It is rashnesse to search too far into it Credere pietas it is piety to believe it Cognosâ—ere vita aeterna It is life eternall to know it We can never have a full comprehension of it till we come to enjoy it Thirdly This may serve to Answer that Question which some make What was God a doing before he made the Vse 3 world Object It might suffice to Answer them as Augustine did in Answ the same case with a short Answer He was a making Hell for such as put these Questions But there is a fairer Answer in the Text which telleth you That the Word that was in the beginning before the Creatures were made that Word was with God God was delighting himself in his Word God and his Word were a contriving the Redemption of Mankind and had thoughts of peace towards the Elect from all Eternity That place Prov. 8. speaketh something to it When he appointed the foundations of the world vers 30 31. then I was by him as one brought up with him or as a Nourisher in Intention or decreeing of the Creatures that were to be made or out of the Church that was to be gathered out of the world I was daily his delight rejoycing God delighting in his Son before the world was alwaies before him This God was a doing before the world was made he was delighting in his Son this Text saith so clearly So saith Peter 1 Pet. 2. 19 20. The pretious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for you Before the foundations of the world what was God a doing Plotting as I may speak with reverence the work of mans Redemption projecting my Redemption and thine Before we were he had thoughts of peace and mercy towards us Therefore we may trust him as long as we live When we think little of him he thinks much of us The fourth Use we may make of this is this It should Vse 4 teach us and I pray God we may all learn infinitely to prize the love of Christ I say to prize and adore the love of Christ Who though he were from all Eternity the Word with God yet was pleased in the fulnesse of time to become Emmanuel God with us What an act of respect and love was it in Moses to his Country-men the Jews Moses his exceeding love to his Country-men the Jewes poor Hebrews in sore bondage and he in Pharaoh's Court brought up in all the learning of the Egyptians adopted by the King's daughter full of honour some say Lord Treasurer of Egypt and they build their conjecture upon that because it is said He forsook the treasures of Egypt It was a great thing for him to leave the Court and sort himself with poor Labourers at Brick-kilns yet that he did Here is an act of great condescention in Moses of much respect to his Country and love to the poor Hebrews But what is this of Moses to that of Christ who was with God in the Court of Heaven taken up with the mutuall delights which the blessed Trinity had in each other To leave this all this for a time and to come to be Man with us To leave his Mansion which was Heaven and to pitch his
but Give me understanding to keep thy commandments Fourthly seeing all things were made by Christ Learn Direct 4 from hence to consider the works of the Creation It is a To consider the works of the Creation with admiration dishonour to Christ to have the works of the Creation neglected and no man to look after them in a way of Admiration As it would be a dishonour to a curious Poet that hath framed an excellent Comedy and brought it upon the Stage to have no spectators God hath laid out a great deal of his Wisdom in the works of the world and calleth upon men to behold the works of his hands How ill will he take it if we consider them not If he hangeth out such a Master-piece as the world is and we go as swine and never behold it we do much neglect the Lord. See how ill the Lord taketh it and how ill men fare and from this very sin Psal 28. 5. Because they regard not the works of the Lord nor the operations of his hands he shall destroy them and not build them up He will destroy them for want of considering the works of his hands Lastly Seeing Christ is the Maker of all things Let all be improved in his service to his praise that is the end he Direct 5 To be improved in the service of Christ to his praise made them for Rev. 4. ult Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things He is worthy to receive honour and glory because he created all things Col. 1. 16. All things were created by him and for him Not onely by him as the Efficient but for him as the End Therefore we should employ our strength and parts and means whatsoever we have employ it to the service of Christ because from him we had it Take along with you this Rule That is a vain thing that misseth its end That is a cursed thing that crosseth its end That which misseth its end which it was made for is a vain thing For instance Christ hath given me a tongue to glorifie him withall I have my tongue in vain if I do not speak of Christ with it as David did who made his tongue as the Pen of a ready Writer But if I shall not onely speak of Christ but against him blaspheme him deny his Divinity and Satisfaction as the Socinians do here is a curse upon my tongue here it crosseth the end of its creation And so it is when a man employeth his wits to scoff against God and goodnesse with it when he groweth proud of his wealth or parts or apparell or any thing that God hath given him when he abuseth his strength to intemperance or luxury Here the end of his Making is crossed and here is a curse upon his parts and all other gifts his blessings are a curse to him I conclude with Col. 3. 17. Whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ giving thanks to God and the Father by him So I have done with the third Verse and proceed to the fourth Vers 4. In him was Life and the Life was the Light of Men. An Argument of Christ's Divinity taken from the Creation considered in generall in the making of all things He commeth now to speak more specially of things that have life and then more particularly of Himself and Man In him was life and the life was the light of men Three degrees of Communications there are from Christ as a Creator Esse Vivere Intelligere To some things he giveth a beeing as to Stones and Stars to other things he giveth life as well as beeing as to Plants and Birds and Fish and Beasts some whereof have the life of Vegetation others both of Vegetation and of Sense And then there is a third degree of Communication that is Intelligere Understanding that God giveth to men and Angels Of the first degree he had spoken before of all things that are made in generall now he speaketh in speciall manner of the second degree of communication which is giving of life to all the creatures that is in these words In Him was Life In Him namely in the Word For he had spoken that Life in Christ two manner of waies in Christ life was two waies Formaliter and Causaliter Life was Formally in Christ as in the Subject of it Life was Causally in Christ as in the Fountain of it Ye may give me leave to speak of both though the second haply be principally intended In him was life as in the Subject of it Take from hence an Observation That 1. As in the Subject 2. As in the Fountain Christ ever liveth and is the giver of all life He ever liveth life is in him as the Subject He is the giver of all life life is in him as the Fountain First He ever liveth that is He is the living God according to that Joh. 5. 26. As the Father hath life in himself so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself There was no time wherein Christ did not live he liveth from all eternity had life in himself even as the Father had If any question be it must be at that time wherein his Soul was parted from the Body when the Body lay in the grave Yet even then Christ lived One of his last words upon the Crosse was to the Thief To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise He had his Soul and Divinity in Paradise even while his Body lay and was housed in the Grave Christ lived in Heaven though his soul parted for a time from the Body neither was the Hypostaticall union dissolved So the life was not lost But the main thing intended is the Second In him was life Causally as in the Fountain of life When he created all things life was originally in him and from him derived to certain creatures which he then made Hence it is that Christ is called The Word of life The Prince of life The Life of life Because as he is the End so he communicates life to all things that partake of it He is called The Word of life 1 Joh. 1. 1. which we have lookt upon and our hands have handled of the Word of life He is called The Prince of life Act. 3. 15. They killed the Prince of life whom God raised from the dead whereof we are witnesses He calleth himself The Life Joh. 14. 6. I am the War the Truth and the Life And because his is not onely life in himself but life to us therefore he is called Our Life Col. 3. 4. When Christ who is Our Life shall appear then shall we also appear with him in glory All this is to shew that whatsoever life is communicated to the creature it commeth from Christ it is in him as in the Fountain With thee is the fountain of life Psal 36. 9. So as here now
that light But the wonder will be over if ye consider that The vast difference between CHRIST and John though these two are eminent lights yet to be that light was a farther business John was the light enlightned but Christ was the light enlightning In him was light and the light was the life of men John had light by participation Christ had light and was light originally John shined for a while then his light was put under a candlestick when he was beheaded but Christ shineth for ever he hath shined in darknesse and will shine to the end of the world John was a light Instrumentalitèr Christ a light Efficientèr John Instrumentally conveyed light into others by Christ but Christ the light Efficientèr Who of himself and by himself by his owne power conveyeth light by way of infusion into the hearts of his servants Therefore to put the difference it is purposely said He was not that light We may note from hence That God cannot endure to have that ascribed Note to any man which is proper to Christ Therefore I will here shew Where the holy Ghost setteth himself to advance John the Baptist yet he would not have him raised too high he would not set him in the Throne He doth purposely prevent all imaginations of his deserving what is Christ's due He was not that Light Look through Scripture and History in all ages Ye shall find how ill God taketh it at the hands of men whensoever they come to usurp any thing out of the hands of Christ As in old time where there rose up a Seducer an Impostor that gave himself out to be that Star which Balaam prophecied of which was a prophecy of Christ Now Numb 24. 17. this fellow called himself Ben-chomar The son of a Star this man professed himselfe to be Christ but he was slain with thunder and lightning from heaven And then the Jews called him Ben cosmar which signifieth The son of a Lie Ye have it said It is the voyce of God It is proper onely to God Never man spake like this man as they said true of Christ But if Herod will take this to himself when the people cry out The voice of God and not of man Herod shall pay for it it cost him his life Act. 12. He was eaten up with worms If ye look into the beginning of that chapter Herod had before this imprisoned Peter and slain James with the sword God putteth up this but if he will come to usurp what is proper to Christ God will put it up no longer then the worms devour him Herod might safelier take-away the liberty of one and the life of another than the glory due to the Son of God This is to be considered by them that take too much upon them and by them that ascribe too much to men Some take too much upon them even so much as Christ himself can take no more It is said of the man of sin that he sitteth in the temple of of God as God and some of the Popes sat down so as Pope 2 Thess 2. 4. Martin the fourth When the people of Cicily had given some offence to the See of Rome and in an humble manner sent their Ambassadors to make their peace it is frequently known in History that those Ambassadors deprecated in these very words Thou Lamb of God that takest away the The Pope usurpeth the title of Christ sins of the world have mercy upon us Was not this a wicked cursed blasphemous thing for the man of sin to have this spoken to him All power saith another Pope is given to me in heaven and in earth It is wonderfull patience that The Pope a Blaspheme◠God should suffer the man of sin so long now he hath usurped what belongeth to Christ On the other side some there are that ascribe too much to men even that which is Christ's due and ought to be reserved for him as when people in trouble of conscience go to this or that godly Minister or Friend and do expect they shall have peace spoken to them from such a mouth Here is a great deal of dishonour done to Christ That man whatsoever he be is not that light therefore they that go with this expectation ascribe too much to man God many times sendeth men away without comfort because they come in expectation of more than is in man They come as Mr. Greenham was wont to say not as to Ministers who have nothing but what is derived but as to Magicians as if men could conjure for comfort Who is it that hath the keys of David that shutteth and no man openeth and openeth and no man shutteth This is Christ's prerogative If he open the conscience all the devills in hell cannot shut it and if he shut the conscience all the Angells in heaven cannot open it As for Ministers they are Instruments through whom ye believe yet they are but Instruments therefore are ready to say to all men upon such occasion even as Peter and John said to them when they had healed the lame man Act. 3. 12 13. Ye men of Israel why marvell ye at this or why look ye so earnestly on us as though by our own power and holinesse we had made this man to walk The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob the God of our fathers hath glorified his Son Jesus it is He that hath done it Look not on us but look to Christ We are not that Light I conclude this with that of the Apostle purposely 1 Cor. 3. 5 6 7. Who then is Paul or Apollos or Cephas but ministers by whom ye believe even as the Lord giveth to every man I have done with the declaration of John the Baptist's Office save onely for what followeth in the end of the Verse which is nothing else but a repetition of what went before namely He was sent to bear witnesse of that Light Vers 8. He was not that Light but was sent to bear witness of that Light Vers 9. That was the true Light which lighteth every man that commeth into the world Let us consider what is said of this eighth Verse He was sent to bear witnesse to that light Amongst other diverse The end of Repetition in Scripture ends of Repetition in Scripture this is one to set on a commendation Exod. 6. 26 27. These are that Moses and Aaron to whom the Lord said Bring up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt These are they that spake to Pharoah King of Egypt These are that Moses and Aaron Here is thrice These are they these are that Moses and Aaron The Repetition heightneth the Commendations So The same came to bear witnesse of that light And Was sent to bear witnesse of the light To teach us this That to bear witnesse of the light and to testifie of Christ is a most Observ honourable employment Of all that are born of a woman as our
understood here because no man partaketh of that till he be gone out of the world and here is light spoken of given to them which come into the world But the other four sorts of light that remain they are all taken in the light of Reason the light of Conscience the light of the Word and the light of Grace These are the severall Lights that come from Christ But I must shew you That these are not divided amongst mankind nor communicated in a like measure to all that so I may answer the first Quaery It is true That all do partake of the light of Reason and Resp the light of Conscience but yet there is a difference and That all partake of the light of reason and Conscience though not alike inequality even in that light because Reason and Conscience are more vigorous in some then in others What shall we say of Infants and of Ideots we must say Even these have some light from Christ but not like to other men Infants have the gift of Reason though not the use of reason that gift they have from Christ Ideots have the use of reason in some lower degrees I and of Conscience too in some lower acts though neither Reason nor Conscience be so vigorous in them as in other men To go on The light of the Word that is not equally dispenced to all as appeareth Psal 147. two last verses He shewed his word to Jacob his statutes and judgments Inequality in dispensing the light of the word to Israell he hath not dealt so with any Nation as for his judgments the Heathens have not known them Israell had the word when the Heathens had none He that causeth it to rain upon one City and not upon another sendeth the word to one City and Nation and not unto another He causeth the Word plentifully in some places to dwell as in this * London City at this day but in other places there is a famine of the word So as the light of the word is not equally dispenced now amongst them that do injoy the light of the word The light of grace is dispenced but not in a way of equality Many injoy the light of the word that never injoyed the light of grace both before and since the So of the light of grace Incarnation Before the Incarnation The Hebrews in the wildernesse had the light of the word yea and confirmed to them by many miracles and yet the light of grace withheld from them Therefore it is said Deut. 29. 3 4. The great temptations which thine eyes have seen the signes and those great miracles yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear unto this day Here were means but no grace to improve them They had not an heart to perceive nor eyes to see nor ears to hear And since the Incarnation ye have Christ testifying Matth. 3. 11. He answered and said unto them namely to his Disciples It is given to you to know the Mysteries of the Kingdome of Heaven but to them it is not given given to some not given to others So have you the resolution of the first Quaery The second Quaery is Whether sufficient light be given Quary 2 to every one yea or no Here we are to distinguish both of Sufficient and of Light Sufficient is Considerable two wayes First in reference to Inexcusable Secondly in reference to Salvation Light is two-fold Convincing Light Converting Light Now the Resolution of the Quaery will lye in these two Respons Propositions First That Christ doth dispence convincing light sufficient to leave every one without excuse Secondly Christ doth not dispence converting light to every one sufficient to bring him to salvation First Christ doth dispence Convincing light to every one 1. All have light convincing sufficient to leave them without excuse sufficient to leave him without excuse So much the Apostle saith Among the heathen which had no other light but that of nature no other knowledge of God but that which flowed from the works of Creation and Providence Rom. 1. 20. The Invisible things of him from the Creation of the World are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even the eternall power and Godhead So that they are without excuse If the very Gentiles had enough to leave them without excuse then much more such as live under the dispensation of the Gospell because there goeth a Clearer light with the word then doth accompany the works of darknesse As the Sun-beams discover a great deal more then the Moon shine because it is a stronger light so the light of the Gospell and Word being stronger then the light of nature are more convincing then the other so as every one be he Jew or Gentile be he Heathen without the Word or a Professor of Christianity under the word hath light enough to convince him and to clear God in his proceedings against him I say not onely to convince him but to clear the Justice of God because there is no man that walketh up to the utmost of his Life No man may go to God saying I have done all I was able to do and therefore I challenge a reward at thy hands This to be sure He hath enough to convince him and to leave him without excuse Secondly Christ doth not dispence to every one Converting 2. All have not converting light sufficient to bring them to salvation light sufficient to bring him to Salvation There is no light sufficient to bring to salvation but that which Christ calleth the light of Life John 8. 12. I am the Light of the World he that followeth me shall not walk in darknesse but shall have the light of Life Every man by nature is not onely blind but dead dead in sins and trespasses and therefore must not onely have life but such a life as may quicken him The light of life Indeed if light alone will serve the turn any kind of Illumination then acceptation of the will and illumination of the understanding and morall perswasion might prevaile to bring a man to God Hîc opus est medela suadela non sufficit Here is need of quickning therefore light will not serve the turn It must be a quickning light that sufficeth to Conversion This Christ doth not dispence to every one for if He did every one would come home to Christ No man can have possession of Christ that is not over-powered to believe Sufficient grace and over-powering grace is all one Till a man be over-powered he can never close with Christ for salvation Now because this over-powering grace is not bestowed upon every one therefore it is clear that sufficient grace the Life of light is not dispenced to every one that cometh into the World Without Christ no salvation without faith no closing with Christ All have faith saith the Apostle That is all might have faith if they would say some
Adopted cannot enjoy the Adopter and the Inheritance both at once enjoy his father and the inheritance both at once till the adopting father be dead what is left him by the Adoptor doth not come into his hands But now herein lyeth another excellency of this Spirituall Adoption Every believer may at once enjoy both the Inheritance and the Father because he that adopteth him liveth for ever yea because his Father is his Inheritance So the truth standeth He that adopteth us to an Inheritance Himself is that Inheritance which he adopteth us to for we are adopted to the fruition of our God Psal 16. 5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance So that here is Father and Inheritance joyned both together because the Father is the Inheritance Lastly In Civill Adoption it is but some petty Inheritances 5. They are poor petty things that we are here adopted to which men are adopted to by their adopting fathers some poor things it may be a Farm or Lordship or Mannor What if it be a Kingdom It is in comparison but a poor thing to that Inheritance which Christ hath adopted us to which we shall find described to the life 1 Pet. 1. 4. To an inheritance incorruptible undefiled that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you Here are the super-excellent properties of that Inheritance the consideration of which will exceedingly inhaunce this priviledge of Adoption First It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an incorruptible inheritance 1. An incorruptible Inheritance Whatsoever Inheritances we have here below they are liable to corruption If a man's estate lie in Mony that may rust or the thieves may break through and steal it If in Cattle they may die if in Houses they may be burnt if in Lands an enemy may invade them But here is an Inheritance that cannot be corrupted because it lyeth in God For the Father is our Inheritance and the immortall God is not lyable to any corruption Secondly It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Inheritance undefiled 2. An Inheritance undefiled There are few inheritances here below but some defilement sticketh to them they are either ill got or ill kept An Inheritance may be got by oppression or if not so yet there may be defilement in the keeping of it He that commeth to inherit it may behave himself oppressively If when riches encrease the heart commeth to be set upon them there will be defilement with the inheritance But here is an Inheritance undefiled No unclean thing shall enter into heaven not so much as a Serpent to tempt in that Paradise that is above Mahomet telleth his followers of a defiled inheritance wherein there shall be a great deal of filthiness But Christ hath provided another kind of Inheritance for his which is without sin undefiled Thirdly It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Inheritance that 3. An Inheritance that fadeth not away fadeth not away a Metaphor taken from flowers The beauty of a flower and the sweetnesse of it is quickly gone withereth in a moment and fit for nothing then but to be cast away So it is with all other temporall Inheritances they lose their glory after a while they cease to minister that content which a man hoped to have found in them which may be had at the first possessing of them yea all the glory of the world is like the flower of the field that fadeth away But herein lyeth the excellency of this Inheritance it fadeth not away It is a flower that never withereth their joyes are alwaies flourishing a continuall spring of flourishing consolations ariseth from the enjoyment of God and every day sweeter and sweeter Fourthly It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an inheritance 4. An Inheritance reserved reserved We cannot say so of temporall inheritances they may be gone A trick at Law may put a man out of his estate he may be wrangled out of it by some device or other an enemy may come and spoile him of it he can have no assurance Though men purchase houses and lands for themselves and their heirs for ever alas how soon are some men dead and gone and it may be the next generation knoweth no such houses or lands nor no such men But here is an inheritance reserved All the Devills in hell shall never wrangle a man out of This Possession reserved Lastly It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an inheritancc reserved 5. An Inheritance reserved in Heaven in heaven which is still a farther addition Whatsoever is in Heaven is excellent Many fading things are on earth The least thing in heaven is above the best things in the world And it is a consideration that addeth much to the sweetnesse of the Inheritance to consider where it lyeth As Who would not rather desire to have a small competency of land in England amongst his own friends where he was born than to have much in the Indies amongst strangers It is an Inheritance reserved in heaven which is our Country the Believer's home Every man is born from above 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his kindred live in Heaven his Father is there and his Mother there We are strangers upon earth therefore our inheritance is in heaven which is much more worth than our inheritance below So excellent is this Inheritance Therefore how great is this love of Christ in giving us this priviledge to become the sons of God Secondly Let us learn from hence to judge of our How to know whether we be the sons of God estates how things stand between God and us whether we be sons and daughters yea or no nothing concerneth us more Therefore time spent in this scrutiny will be profitable Our Sonship is evidenced two waies By way of Testimony and By way of Inference First By way of Testimony So we come to know our 1. By the witnesse of the Spirit selves to be sons and daughters by the witnesse of the Spirit which ye read of Rom. 8. 16. The Spirit it self beareth witnesse to our spirits that we are the children of God This Spirit it is that keepeth the Records of Heaven The holy Ghost is conscious to all the secrets of God knoweth what names are written in the book of life therefore he is able to make them known to us None but the Son of God can Redeem and none but the Spirit of God can Assure so as to make your Evidences clear and infallible and above all doubt and fear But this doth not now lie so clear in my way Secondly It is therefore evidenced by way of Inference Vers 8 9. Our Sonship dependeth upon our receiving 2. By way of Inference Christ It may be inferred from hence As many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God Therefore every son of God hath received him and every one that hath received him may know himself to be the Son of God This I shall insist upon hoping you will excuse me
be received Ephes 4. 24. Therefore as the Church is subject to Christ so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing We should choose his Yoke as well as his Crown his Spirit to guide us as well as his Blood to redeem us to be subject to him as well as to be protected by him This is the first thing included in the receiving of Christ namely a present choosing of Christ upon Conjugall tearms Secondly Trust in him for ever after as our God so saith 2. To trust in him for ever after as our God the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to trust that is Continue to believe in his name because every one that hath received him continueth to believe continueth to trust and to rely upon him and stay himself upon his God and to lean upon his Beloved as the phrase is in the Canticles As a woman that hath got an husband hath one to trust to for provision and direction and protection If David's wives be taken away he will rescue them if Ahasuerus his wife be in danger of Haman's plots her husband will relieve her The Soul before marriage to Christ was liable to all old debts the Law had a saying to her the Devill had a plea against her but now she is married all is laid upon Christ No action lies against the wife Now the soul hath an husband and accordingly she trusts in Christ and sendeth the Devill to Christ her Husband for an answer Thus you see what it Supposeth and Includeth Thirdly See what it Produceth namely Certain Effects 3. It supposeth certain Effects to witnesse the truth of the former Acts. 1. Receiving Christ produceth Love that bear witnesse to the truth of the former Acts to make it appear there were true Apprehensions in the Understanding and true Acts in the Will and they are diverse First The true receiving of Christ wheresoever it is it produceth a Prizing Love in the first place It is impossible but that the soul which hath received Christ indeed should prize him and love him because of the beauty and excellency in him 1 Joh. 4. 16. compared with vers 19. We have known and believed the love that God hath given to us Then followeth We love him because he first loved us Where there is a knowing and believing of God's love to us there will be a reciprocall love from us to God To him that believeth in Christ Christ is pretious It is not onely a love but a prising love 1 Pet. 2. 7. To you therefore which believe he is pretious They that have received Christ indeed will set a price upon him howsoever others value him Judas though he did converse with him not having received him by faith What a price setteth he upon him the price of a Slave thirty pieces of silver the very price that was to be given by a man that had bought a slave to be his servant a goodly price The Jews that bought him and Judas that sold him make no more of Christ but thus Now take the Soul which hath indeed received him and knoweth what is in him such a soul will not set Christ to sale no not upon any tearms Offer her Preferments Estates and Kingdoms and Worlds A goodly price for Christ the soul will say No he is infinitely more worth then all these To you that believe Christ is pretious because ye have received him Secondly It produceth a watchfull Fear Whensoever 2. It produceth a watchfull fear the soul receiveth Christ it will be afraid to lose him Having received a Kingdom that cannot be moved saith the Apostle Heb. 12. ult let us have grace to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear One would think all fear were now over No fear so much the more The Gospel that is the Kingdom of Heaven which is often so called in Scripture and it is a Kingdom that cannot be moved The Law that was taken away but the Gospell that cannot be moved no alteration of that We must never look for another Gospel than what is evidently laid down in Scripture A man that hath received this Gospel hath received Jesus Christ in it For this Manna commeth down in the dew of heaven Christ in the ministry of the Gospel And having received this Kingdom we shall not be moved Having received Jesus Christ let us serve him with reverence and god'y fear saith the Scripture There will be a fear where there hath been a receiving of Christ Kisse the Son Serve him with fear and rejoyce with trembling Psal 2. 11 12. I will allude to Act. 3. 11. ye read there in the foregoing Verse of a Creeple that was healed by Peter and John And immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength and he stood up and praised God What doth the man mean now to leave his leaping and skipping and come and clasp about Peter and John In all likelihood because he was afraid when they were gone his lamenesse would return again to him Such a disposition there is in every soul that receiveth Christ it is sensible of its having received health and strength and comfort from him Now lest his former lamenesse should return lest the lusts of his former ignorance should again prevail and those terrours of conscience under which it lay should come again the soul is desirous to hold Christ so as never to let him go Not that a soul that hath once received Christ can lose him for ever but because though it cannot wholly lose his presence yet it may lose a great deal of its comfortable communion which it had with Christ and God in him Therefore there will be a watchfull fear lest we should lose those sweet embracements which we have had from Christ Thirdly This receiving of Christ in truth produceth a 3. It produceth a spirituall life spirituall life He that hath the Son hath life he that hath not the Son hath not life 1 Joh. 5. 12. Men are now other kind of creatures than before they have motion from another principle then they had before As where there is life the soul setteth the body a working So when the soul hath Christ it receiveth life and motion and appetite and sense and grouth from him This true receiving of Christ produceth Fourthly As there is a prising Love a watchfull Fear and 4. I◠produceth fruit to God a Spirituall life so It produceth fruit to God Every soul that hath received Christ is more or lesse a fruitfull soul and doth not render fruit to it self as formerly but to God aiming at him and his glory in what it doth And this followeth upon the former I told you It was receiving of Christ upon Conjugall tearms as a woman receiveth an husband And this you must know that Christ hath alwaies issue by his wives The Lord Jesus hath no barren Spouse Every one that receiveth Christ for an husband he hath issue by her that soul bringeth forth fruit
We beheld his glory which is the shining forth of excellency such appeared in Christ The specification of that Object What kind of glory Why the glory as of the onely-begotten of the Father Ye read in Scripture of severall sorts of glory There is the glory of the Celestiall bodies the Sun 1. Glory of Celestiall bodies Moon and Stars of which it is said 1 Cor. 15. 41. There is one glory of the Sun another glory of the Moon and another glory of the Stars for one Star differeth from another in glory We read of the glory of Man 1 Pet. 1. 24. All flesh is 2. Glory of Man grasse and all the glory of man as the flower of the grasse The glory of Man because as the Stars and Sun and Moon excell inferiour bodies so they excell the Beasts there is a shining forth in him beyond what is in the creatures that have no reason We read likewise of the glory of the Angels who are 3. Glory of Angeis therefore called the Cherubims of glory Heb. 9. 5. And over it the Cherubims of glory shadowing the Mercy-seat of which we cannot now speak particularly But there is beyond all these for all these are but created 4. The Glory of God Glories there is the glory of God of which he himself saith He will not give it to any other This is the Glory of which we read in the Text He will not give it to another Isa 42. 4. I am the Lord that is my name and my glory will I not give to another I but Christ was himself of the same Nature with himself therefore the glory they saw in Christ was the glory as of the onely-begotten of the Father Some difference is in these words First In that Christ is said to be the onely begotten Do Object 1st we not read in the thirteenth Verse of this Chapter of other children of God which were born not of blood nor of flesh nor of the will of man but of God How then is Christ the onely begotten seeing God hath other children and other begotten children too That will not serve the turn to say We are adopted Christs as his begotten Saith James Jam. 1. 18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures If God hath begotten us how then is Christ the onely begotten of the Father I answer Out of this place of St. James Of his own will Answ 1st begat he us There lyeth the differences Christ is the begotten of the Nature of the Father we are begotten of the Will of the Father Of his own will begar he us Christ is a Son of eternall generation we are sons by adoption He begotten of his Nature and we begotten of his Will And so in that sense Christ is the onely begotten because the onely Naturall Son of God Still here is a farther difference We beheld his glory as Object 2d the glory of the onely begotten of the Father In this Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which is but as another thing is not the same thing simile non est idem Why now we hold out and that according to truth that the glory of Christ was the very self-same glory which God the Father had the self-same glory which is due to God is due to the Son of God Therefore it is here said It was the glory as of the onely begotten For that you must know that the Hebrew Caph and the Answ 2d Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is two-fold there is a two-fold As in Scripture one of Similitude the other of Identity There is as Similitudinis Veritatis an as of comparison As for example If one shall see a Noble-man richly attired and bravely attended to go through the streeets and say Such a Noble-man goeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a King here is an as of similitude If the King himself should be going to Parliament in great state we may truly say of him he goeth in state 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a King Here is an as of Verity and Identity The former was but an as of similitude Aand there are many places of Scripture where as doth not note a likenesse but the self-samenesse as I may so speak an Identity It is said of John the Baptist that all the people looked at him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a Prophet Matth. 14. 5. When * Herod he would have put him to death he feared the multitude because they counted him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a prophet Do you think the multitude looked at John as if he had been something like a prophet No they took him for a Prophet indeed yea it is expressed they counted him for a prophet Phil. 2. 8. the Apostle speaking of Christ being found in fashion of a man he humbled himself What was not Christ really Man Yes But he being found 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in fashion as a man Here as is an as of Identity not an as of similitude As a man that is really so As a man that is the onely begotten Son of God that is really the onely begotten Son of God Ye have the words expounded Now for the proof of this The Disciples beheld the glory of Christ as the glory of the onely begotten Son of God you shall have their owne Testimony 1 Joh. 1. 1 2. That which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have look't upon and our hands have handled of the Word of Life for the life was manifested and we have seen and bear witnesse and shewed unto you that Eternall Life which was with the Father and was manifested to us Other men To see Christ and to see into Christ is not the same thing they saw Christ as well as the Disciples did but not so much into Christ as the Disciples did As the Temple of Solomon was all beautifull without of costly work fair and comely stones but within it was all over-laid with Gold The Passengers that went by they could see the out side of the Temple and could not but acknowledge a beautifull frame but the Priests that served within they saw it all over-laid with Gold and so saw a farther beauty All the Jewes amongst whom Christ conversed might behold his out side but the Disciples had a farther in sight into Christ We beheld him that is we beheld him as the word of Life and saw his glory that is as of the onely begotten Son of God Whereas others saw his glory that is as of a Man that did many glorious things but these saw the glory of God through the Manhood For the farther manifestation of this I shall shew you in what things and at what time the Disciples beheld the glory of Christ and then proceed to Application First In what things 1. The things wherein Christ's glory appeareth 1. The glory of
the fulnesse of the Godhead In him dwelleth all the fullnesse of the Godhead bodily Not a parcell but all and bodily that is either really If ye take body as it standeth in opposition to shadowes and figures then the Godhead is said to dwell in Christ bodily in opposition to the shadowes Under the law the body dwelt figuratively in the Ark and thence the glory of the Lord filled the house But now it dwelleth in Christ as the substance of all those shadowes It dwells in him bodily Or if ye take body as it sometimes signifieth person The Hebrewes were wont to put the soul for the whole person so many souls went down with Jacob into Egypt The Greeks were Gen. 46. 27. wont to put body for the whole person I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God present your bodies as a living sacrifice so then to dwell bodily is to dwell personally Now the fulnesse of the Godhead dwells personally in Jesus Christ because he was the second Person in the Trinity The Son of God as full of the Divinity as the Father himselfe was The fulnesse of the Godhead dwelt as truly in the Son as in the Father Now Sonship implieth Identity of nature As if it will not be tedious to you Four things go to make up a perfect Sonship There Four things make up a perfect Sonship must be 1. Similitude 2. Procession and Production 3. Life and 4. Identity If any of these be wanting A person cannot be said to be the son of another I say Similitude Procession Life Identity There is a likenesse between the whitenesse of the wall and the whitenesse of the snow but no sonship between them because there is no production The whitenesse of the wall doth not produce the whitenesse of the snow Fire begets fire Here is a production But the fire is not the son of the fire because here wanteth Life The body of a living Man breeds worms Here is a production and life but yet the worm is not the son of Man because here is no Identity of nature The worm hath not the nature of man There must be a Coherence in all these four which you find in Christ in reference to God the Father There is a similitude He is the expresse Image 1. Similitude 2. Procession of his Fathers person There is a procession For the Son proceedeth from the Father and is begotten of the Father from all eternity There is Life For the Son hath Life 3. Life 4. Identity in himselfe as himselfe saith And there is Identity of nature The very same essence with that of the Father And a greater Identity then between any man and his son That take along with you too Take Abraham and Isaac Isaac hath the same nature with Abraham But how the same The same in species not in Individualls The same in kind not the same Individuall nature For it is possible that the father may be saved and the son damned or the son saved and the father damned But now the Lord Jesus Christ is the same Individuall nature with the Father because but one Deity and one Divinity and one Essence and the same Person pertakes of the same Individuall substance Here is the first fulnesse The fulnesse of Divinity Secondly There is in Jesus Christ A fulnesse of sufficiency Secondly a fulnesse of sufficiency for the work of the Mediator-ship which he undertook as God-man That which Divines call the grace of unction They speak of a double grace that dwelleth in Christ The grace of union namely that favour by which the human Nature was united Personally to the Godhead Secondly The grace of unction namely that anointing with the holy Ghost which Christ-Man had who is therefore said to be annointed with the oyle of gladness above his fellowes There is therefore this fulnesse of sufficiency because there was a fulnesse of Divinity there is therefore this grace of unction because by that grace of union Christ is therefore annoynted because the Manhood is so united to the Divinity The nearer any thing commeth to the Cause the more it taketh of the Effect Fire is the cause of heat therefore the nearer a man stands to the fire the hotter he is the farther off the lesse he partakes of the influence of the fire The Human Nature having a union with the Godhead must needs partake of all grace Write the letters of the Alphabet upon a seal and then put that upon the wax the wax will bear the image of all the letters Here is the Divinity The Godhead falls upon as it were and takes to it self the whole Manhood and therefore the Manhood bears the impression of the whole Godhead as far as the Manhood is capable Now indeeed it was necessary there should be a fulnesse of sufficiency in Christ because as Mediator he had three great Offices to discharge and every one of them requireth a fulnesse without which he could not have gone through with his work Accordingly ye shall find A three-fold fulnesse in Christ as to his Offices a fulnesse of power in Christ as King a fulnesse of wisdom in Christ as Prophet and a fulnesse of righteousnesse in Christ as he was the Priest of his Church which three make up the fulnesse of Sufficiency There is in Christ as King a fulnesse of power That is 1. As King the fulnesse of Power it which he speaks of Matth. 28. 18. Jesus came and spake to them saying All power is given to me in heaven and in earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations and I will be with you to the end of the world Christ hath all power in Heaven and Earth yea and in Hell too Of the two former this place speaks All power is given to me in heaven He hath the Angels in heaven at his command and can send them out as an heavenly hoast to assist his people All power is given to him on earth over all the Princes in the world Therefore he is King of kings and Lord of lords And this he telleth his Apostles before he sent them to preach the Gospell to encourage them Preach to all Nations all Nations all Mankind All power in heaven and in earth is given to me Therefore go preach I am with you And as all power in heaven and earth is given to Christ as King of the Church so all power in Hell Ye have an expression that may haply bear this sense Rev. 1. 18. I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen And have the keys of hell and of death Christ hath the keyes of hell and can send whom he will thither and keep whom he will from thence The Keys argue Power It is a metaphor taken from Conquerors when they take a City they have the Keys thereof delivered into their hands in token the City is now at their command If Hell be here taken for the Grave