them instantly Paul was oft on his knees praying Men wot not what it is to haue to doe with God I bowe my knees to God for you Ephes 3. 14. So learne of him that it is not enough to thanke God for the prosperous estate of his Church that is but an halfe dutie to thanke him but with the thanking of God thou must ioyne prayer for the continuance of the blessing of God vpon that person Church and Common-wealth for whome thou thankest God There is no man so perfect in happinesse or in any blessed estate whether it be spirituall or temporall but yet so long as he liues in the world he hath want there is a lacke euen in the greatest Emperor and King yea euen in temporall things And he that hath begun well will fall backe againe a hundreth times in a day yea hee will runne faster backeward then euer he went forward if the Lord withhold him not Therefore pray for him that he goe not backeward Then when he is going forward in the good course begun he may not stand still but he must run euer looking to the end There is no man so long as he liues that putteth an end to his course his course ends with his life Hath any man a life He is in the race he is in the way and iourney towards the But or as the Apostle calles it the price of the high calling of God Phil. 3. 14. In the progresse he is not able to go one foote forward except the Lord take him by the hand and leade him Therfore seeing there is no progresse to heauen without God his especiall grace nor thou art not able to lift thy foote without him with euery foote that thou liftest thanke God for his owne benefit and pray to God for the continuance and increase thereof Pray feruently for thy selfe and for those that thou wouldest haue to continue Thus much for the proposition Now followeth the declaration of that wherfore he thankes God he thanketh God for them but not without cause he saw matter of thankes giuing in them and a vaine thing it is to thanke God for that that is The matter of the thankes giuing not in a man What saw he in them We heare saith he of your faith first and then of your loue to al the Saints without exception It is not possible but if thou loue one Saint thou must loue all And if thou hatest one Saint as a Saint it will Loue to the Saints passe thy power to beare affection of loue to any so loue one and loue all otherwise thou canst not loue one Then he seeth matter in them wherefore hee thanketh God and it is for no earthly thing but that these Colossians were conquered to that kingdome of Christ It is better for thee to bee conquered to Christ then to conquer the whole world Then the spirituall matter of reioycing if thou wouldest reioyce congratulate and praise God standeth in spirituall graces if thou wouldest reioyce for thy friend looke if he haue spirituall graces looke if he haue faith and loue if he hath not To reioyce for friends these neither hast thou matter to reioyce for nor he if he had all the world away with all thy gratulation all his prayses and congratulations are as many curses if he want faith and charitie for there is no blessing where they are not Wot ye what faith is It ioynes thee with the head woe is thee that art seuered from him and if thou hadst all the world woe is that soule that is not ioyned with Christ and being ioyned with him then art thou fast The earth shall be shaken and the heauen passe away before thou shalt loose thy gripe and holde of Christ or he twine and part Who shall separate vs from the Faith apprehends Christ loue of God saith the Apostle Rom. 8. 24 there is faith and the vertues thereof What doth loue againe As faith maketh the vnion with the head so loue is the band that makes the communion with the Saints which you rehearse in your beleefe and if thou be not ioyned here with his Church there is no saluation for thee nor life thou shalt neuer see the life of Christ Then when wee see a man standing first in this vnion with Christ and secondly in this communion with the Saints we may say blessed is that soule for cursed are they that are not ioyned this way Conioyne thy selfe with the head and the members there is not a member of the body with whom thou ioynest thy selfe by this communion but so fast as thy heart cleaues to it so fast will it cleaue to thee againe Wherefore reioyceth Paul with the Colossians because they loued the Saints so he being a Saint his heart ioynes with them Thou art a cursed body when a man loues thee if thou will not loue him againe Wherefore was it that they had first this faith in Iesus Christ next this loue towards the Saints what gained they by faith and loue the Apostle saith For that hopes sake that is laide vp in heauen it is not for nothing there is a rich reward of faith and loue Faith and loue will get thee a fairer thing and richer reward then all the things in this world Fye vpon them they are but durt and doung onely see that thou haue faith and loue Sticke by these two and thou shall get thee a richer and more glorious thing then al the things of this world can be to thee You may learne thē it is the respect that a man hath to a rich reward and hope that is of the riches of glorie Ephes 1. and not of this peltry in the earth that makes a man to sticke with Christ and to haue a communion with the Saints Otherwise if thou haue not this to looke vnto and this respect to that ioyfull end fye on thee it is kept to thee Heb. 11. 26 well enough as Peter saith thou hast no more to doe but to hold thine eye vpon it if thou haue it not it shall passe thy power to keepe thee with Christ and to be ioyned with the Church militant for there shall come such iawes and billowes of temptation iaw vpon iaw and billowe vpon billowe that thou shalt perish But contrariwise holding thine eie Phil. 3. 20. euer wayting for the comming of thy Sauiour the Lord Iesus I confesse there be a thousand things to drawe it downe but if thou striue to holde it vp certainely thou shalt sticke fast with Christ and stand with the Saints of God but if thou carry thine eye from heauen like a moule or muddewart grountling on this earth thou shalt tyne and lose Christ and the vnion with his Saints Thou shalt lose thy life and that faire heritage and then wo is thee for euer more To come forward how got they their sight and knowledge of this life Note It is a looking to this life that must keepe
that loues vs although hee be absent yet he should striue to make his loue knowne to vs by a register and putting of it in writing as Paul did He writes vp and registers his loue to vs. It is no shame to Paul to tell vs that he loues vs if so be he haue the glorie of God and our consolation before his eyes So all comes to this in a word it is a comfortable thing for thee to know that the Saints of God loue thee and that thy pastor loues thee and it is an argument that God loues thee and that thou art deere to him This for Pauls answere in the first verse To come to the second verse and to goe forward word by word he sets downe the end of his care he had of them and his strife he sustayned for them the end is that their harts might be comforted that they might get consolation not in their head Consolation is felt in the heart but in their heart Consolation is in the heart It is not a fleeting thing in the head it is not an imagination or phantasie in the braine it is not superficiall but it occupies the whole heart it takes roote in the heart and it spreads all the roots of it through all the parts of the same and this is the true consolation Then brethren you may perceiue by these words that all men by nature are comfortles no man by nature hath Euery man comfortles by nature any consolation O comfortles miserable creatures are we if thou wert borne a king thou art borne a comfortles body and miserable by nature for by nature there is no consolation to mankinde after the fall of Adam but woe and miserie For as touching these earthly things and benefits what sound consolation is in them The light of the sun ministers no true consolation to man that hath no more but nature nay the more blessings which might minister of themselues consolation the more curses to thee if thou stand in nature the greater honor the greater misery if thou stand in nature onely And againe all these benefits shall serue to thy welfare if thou be in Christ through faith This preaching of the word it ministers consolatiō to thy silly soule For the end of it as this place lets you see is to minister true consolation to the comfortles And this is the end of all the care trauell and strife that the Apostle The end of the gospel and ministery therof is to bring consolation vnto men takes to minister comfort vnto thee And therefore Iohn saith in his 1 Epistle chap. 1. 4. These things write I vnto you that your ioy may be full So all that is spoken and written in the Scriptures serues this end that thou mayest haue sound ioy in thy heart And thou that wilt not take consolation at the hand of the minister I denounce against thee though thou werst a king thou shalt get no consolation in this world and thou shalt see no ioy nor consolation in the life to come To come to the next word By what meanes come they to this consolation by being ioyned and compacted in one altogether as the members of a man there is the meane to obtaine this consolation This lesson is easie the meane of true consolation and comfort of sound ioy tranquillity and peace of conscience is this a blessed coniunction with the members Communion with Christ and his members brings sound consolation of Iesus Christ This is it that we call the communion of Saints and to be ioyned in the societie of the Church here in earth And thou that wilt stand thy selfe alone if thou cut thy selfe off as a rotten member and disdaine the societie of the Saints and runne from them run thy way if it were to the end of the world the curse of God followes thee And therefore this being the meane of this consolation without the which no saluation nor ioy can be he that would haue that comfort let him be ioyned with the members and the minister that would comfort any let him labour to make them members of that body of Christ that the ioy of Iesus Christ may flow downe from Christ to them To come to the next word Hee sets downe the meane wherby this coniunctiō is brought to passe being conioyned together saith he through loue Albeit that faith goes before by nature yet I will follow the text as the words lie The meane whereby thou art ioyned with the body of Christ and standest The first meane of the communion of Saints Loue the band to binde vs with men but faith with God with that societie of the Church in the earth is loue Wouldst thou be coupled with the body loue thy neighbour One member of this naturall body will loue another So if thou be a member of the body of Christ thou must needes loue thy neighbour truely And he that cannot loue nor will not loue he shall neuer be ioyned with the body for wanting loue no band can binde thee to Christ nor his Church A malitious euill body that cannot loue call him as ye will a christian he is not in the body and so hath no consolation for without the coniunction with Christ there is no comfort Therefore he that will haue comfort let him be conioyned with the body and hee that would be conioyned with the bodie let him loue the members of the bodie Loue God first aboue all and then thy neighbour as thy selfe And therefore Iohn in his first chapter of his Epistle when he had spoken of this coniunction hee euer in the rest speakes of loue For without this loue there is no coniunction nor societie with his Church The second meane of this coniunction is in these words The second meane of our communion with the Church And in all riches of the full assurance of vnderstanding by these words he meanes nothing els but this faith in Iesus which by nature in this coniunction is formost and loue followes For to speake it so faith is the master sinew that binds the members with the head and this loue is the band which bindes vp the members among themselues Then to come briefly to the matter here ye see the chiefe meane of this societie with the Church One faith in Iesus Christ not two or three or foure faiths sundrie faiths will not make thee a member of the bodie True faith of Iesus Christ If thou be of another faith then this true faith which hath this full assurance then the Church will not be conioyned with thee it will be like a brasen and firie wall to hold thee backe from that societie So that without one faith there cannot be one bodie Therefore Paul when he hath spoken of one bodie then he subioynes one faith meaning that there cannot be one bodie without one faith Marke the place Ephes 4. 5. All these bands of bloud of consanguinitie will not ioyne men together
aboue these heauens Brethren the presence of Iesus and the loue of that presence should make vs to loue heauen and make vs oftentimes to cast vp not onely the eye of the soule but also the bodily eye to these visible heauens if we loue the presence of Iesus who is aboue these heauens and to striue to pearce through them as to his owne presence For if hee were not there what reckoning is there of these heauens I would not reckon of them more then of the earth which wee tread on and I had rather dwell with Iesus in the earth then in heauen for all the glorie thereof without Iesus for all the pleasure that is either in heauen or earth is in Iesus and without him away with heauen and earth both I will giue nothing for them And therefore the loue of that presence should make vs to loue heauen Ye know if a man loue another entirely he will loue the place where he dwelleth and as we say hee will A note of loue loue the ground hee goeth on so if thou loue thy Lord thou wilt loue the place hee treads on nay thine eye would not be off these visible heauens at the least once in the day for hee is aboue them and shall abide there till his last comming So if thou loue him thine eye would follow him where he is But alas for the lacke of the loue of his presence this loue is not to be found in many mens hearts and of this it commeth to passe that men are so loth to die nay if the loue of thy soule were with him thy soule would say with Paul I groane to be with the Lord it will groane within thee to be out of the bodie And take this for a token where there is not an eye to heauen alas there is no loue of Iesus Christ in thy soule and alas what good thing can possesse thy soule if it be emptie of the loue of Iesus Christ Now followeth in the end of the verse the third argument taken from the estate of Christ in heauen but what is his estate He is sitting at the right hand of God As if hee would say he is in heauē but not there as a seruant or an Angel there are sundrie in heauen but in diuers rankes He is in heauen exalted to that height hee hath such glorie as thou neuer The glorie of Christ in heauen sawest All the Angels bow their knees hee is Lord ouer them all euen as he is man Then as the presence of Iesus and loue of him should draw our heart to heauen so the estate he standeth in presently that passing glorie and that kingdome he is in should draw our hearts vpward to heauen If his glorie were deare to thee thy heart would be where his glorie is and thou wouldest not be content vntill thy heart were lifted vp to him and the eye of thy soule set on him yea this bodily eye would euer pearce to get that presence of Iesus in the heauens glorified in our nature Ye know if a man vpon whom our life and comfort dependeth were in a strange land and promoted A sweete similitude to be a Lord thou wouldst neuer rest vntill thou were with him and thy thought would be euer vpon his glorie Now I would to God wee could haue that affection to Iesus the King of glorie It is true we cannot loue him as we should but I say blessed is that soule that hath any loue towards him pearcing through this bodie of clay Blessed is that heart that can giue once but a sigh either by night or day if it were after neuer so small a measure for the presence of Iesus for be assured that soule shall be glorified with the Lord of glorie Note This for the first exhortation with the three arguments the life whereunto we are risen the presence of Iesus and his glorious estate in heauen al which should make vs set our eye vpward to heauen and bee occupied in seeking of heauenly things meete for the spirituall life Now to goe to the next exhortation and it is to these same things that are aboue Before hee exhorted the Colossians to seeke them now he exhorteth them to be wise in them to fill themselues with them to * Or to desire that they may affect all their senses sent them with all their senses to see them with their eyes and to feele them sensibly as it were with their hands This exhortation is grounded vpon the first argument If ye be risen with Christ c. Then be * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wise in the things that are aboue that is a common ground to both This is so ioyned with the first that there can be no seeking without wisedome How canst thou seeke that that thou knowest not If thou haue no knowledge of heauen heauenly things how canst thou seeke them what desire canst thou haue of them for the prouerbe is true Ignoti nulla cupido there is no desire of that wee know not Then as before he exhorteth to seeke so now hee exhorteth to know and knowledge goeth Knowledge before seeking And therefore thou that wouldest seeke heauen and for heauenly things know them first and when thou hast gotten a knowledge of them then let thy affection come after for if thou seeke without knowledge thou shalt neuer finde them Therefore euer seeke the knowledge of Iesus and of that fulnes of grace that is in him and thinke not that thou hast enough of knowledge alreadie No crie euer Lord open the eye of my soule to see thee and the things that are with thee that I may see the things I haue not seene and that I should see Heare the word of the Gospell for knowledge is gotten by the word of the Gospell Seeke that thy mind may be instructed but to the purpose Bewise As seeking is an action so wisedome is an action There is no action without some sense and knowledge The life of a beast is not without some sense take it away the beast perisheth The life of a man cannot be without some sense and knowledge therefore thou canst not haue the life of God except thou haue a sense and smelling of God and of heauenly things It is a thing impossible that thou that hast no taste of things aboue canst either seek or see them and if thou thinkest otherwise thou art deceiued Can the life of Iesus be in thee without a knowledge of heauenly things No no deceiue not thy soule it is vnpossible for Iesus liueth not in the soules of men altogether ignorant So that if thou get not a portion of this knowledge of this heauenly life and of things aboue thou shalt neuer seeke for them nor haue a desire of them no I say to thee if thou want knowledge thou shalt neuer get them Come forward Let vs see of what things must this knowledge be He answereth of things aboue that
all the graces that are in the bodie that is a great benefit yea the graces that are not in thee thou maist challenge them being in thy brethren members with thee of one bodie Therefore enuie not any mans grace but challenge it as thy owne Euery one would haue al who is he or she that would not haue all graces and perfectiō But I shall teach thee how thou shalt be perfect Wilt thou stand vp thy self alone like an A per se A and say I wil not be in any mans Common and so seuer thy self frō the body I say thou shalt haue no perfection thou shalt be as a rottē branch cast into y e fire if thou were a King the Lord shall cause thee stinke and die in thine owne pollution Away with a proude headed lowne who cannot humble himselfe to creepe in to the bodie Then the way to be perfect is to seeke to the body for there euery member shall supplie thy want Thus for this faire peece of garment Loue or charitie Goe to the rest that followes The eight peece of this garment is set down in these words And let the peace of God beare rule in your hearts So the eight 8 The eight part of the garment of the nevv man peece of this garment is vnitie of minde concord followes vppon charitie for he that loues must be a peaceable man They will not be restles spirits full of enmitie and strife I will not insist much to speake of this peace onely this I call this peace nothing els but a sweete quietnes in the heart of man and woman together with amitie and concord with thy neighbour for when thy heart hath peace within thee then thy heart is in Peace vnitie with thy neighbour and therefore it is opposed to that restlesnesse of the affections of mens hearts Alas what pleasure canst thou haue when thy heart cannot rest within thee The peace of heart comes not of nature no no by nature thy heart is troubled and out of tune and all is vnruly reeling and rumbling within thee From whence comes it then Of grace that God giues in Iesus Christ If thou haue a pacified heart the Lord hath giuen it thee and therefore it is called the peace of God and it is not of one sort for there is a peace Note of the kinds of peace that is with God himselfe and that is the first peace there is another peace that is with thy neighbour The peace that thou hast with God is a pacified heart with God so that thy Peace with God heart is setled with him that it stirres thee not vp to enmitie against God When thou findest that thou art iustified by faith in Christ O the peace of heart that thou shalt haue with God! thou wilt appeare before his tribunall with boldnes Rom. 5. 1. For being iustified by faith wee haue peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ. The peace with man is a pacified heart with man when the affection is ioyned in loue with man This peace comes of the other for being at peace with God thou art at peace with all the world get once a setled heart towards God of necessitie Peace with man thou must be at vnitie and peace with all men O then begin at God! What is the cause of all these variances debates and al these slaughters It is the want of the peace with God O murtherer thou hast no peace with God thou hast nothing to do with God and therefore that wrath of God shall consume thee O murtherer when thou fightest with man thou hast to doe with the great God O restles spirit that canst not rest till thou haue bathed thy selfe in thy neighbours bloud thou art at warres both with thy selfe and with the great God who shall at one time or other meete with thee and plucke off all thy harnesse and then thou shalt neuer get peace nor rest Now to come to this peace that is with man that is spoken of here This peace it must beare rule in thee it must be a commaunder of thee She must sit ouer thee and hold downe thy foule affections when they are fighting within thee Where must she sit In thy heart and not in thy hand for oftentimes when thy hand will be hindred to murther thy heart will be persecuting thy neighbour to death therefore it must be in thy heart Now marke the order When hee hath required all good vertues at last hee requires peace Whereunto To be commaunder of thine affections This teacheth thee that except they be commaunded and put in order looke not that thou Affections must be cōmanded can doe any good turne in the world Canst thou who art disordred in thine affection doe any good to thy neighbour No therefore minde not to doe any good without this peace Then beseech the Lord that hee will put this peace in thy heart to put these affections into an order For when enmitie possesseth the heart what good canst thou doe Well is that bodie that can lie downe in peace with God and man Therefore aske the peace of God that thou maist rest in peace with thy selfe and liue in peace with thy neighbour O villaine thou that liest downe with anger and a restles affection and risest vp and goest out and stabst thy neighbour what disorder is in thee and what peace hast thou with God No thou art in rage with God himselfe when thine affections be not ruled with loue to thy neighbour and peace thou canst not haue with thy neighbour if thou haue not the first peace which is with God And so thou in bearing hatred against thy neighbour tellest plainly thou hast no peace with God and wanting this thou tellest plainly that thou art yet in thy sinnes and therefore vnder the wrath of God Now when hee hath exhorted them to this peace hee subioynes the argument To the which saith he ye are called in one bodie They who are in one bodie should liue in peace together An argument to moue vs to peace The first argument then is from our Christian calling It is a shame to a man not to be answerable to his calling if thou be called to such a thing why shouldest thou not doe it But aboue all a Christian man is called to this peace and therefore woe is to him in that great day if he bee one who hath wanted it Now take the lesson As ye see a man is called to be a member in any citie not to liue at variance or debate with his neighbours no no he is called to peace and to be a quiet man an vnquiet man is an euill neighbour a restlesse spirit a seditious and an vnpeaceable spirit is an euill neighbour euen so a man called to be a member in the citie of God in the kingdome of Christ for that is our calling he is called to be a quiet and peaceable body For saith the Apostle what is
cause thou shalt haue great aduantage The first aduantage is thou shalt not obey thy husband but in things lawfull honest agreeable to the will of the Lord though he should commaund thee neuer Note well two aduantages by obeying in the Lord first they shall obey but in that the Lord commands secondly the seruice Christ accepts as done to himselfe so much And if thou obey him in things vnlawfull thou shalt deerely buy it And indeede a faire aduantage to do nothing but that that is lawfull honest and agreeable to the Lords will The second aduantage is Obeying in the Lord all the seruice thou shalt doe to thy husband thou shalt doe it to Iesus Christ Ephes 6. 5. Where there is another doing in the Lord set downe what euer thou shalt do do it in singlenes of heart and not in doublenes As there be many false wiues who in obeying their husbands haue a double heart obeying them outwardly not for any good will or liking they haue to them but for some other cause and respect while as in the meane time she wil haue in her mind one euill or other against him Yea while she is shewing her selfe obedient to her husband outwardly her minde will be occupied on her harlotrie with another this is no single obedience and the cause is for as much as thine eye is not vpon the Lord and it is impossible that thou canst be sincere in thy doing except thine eye be vpon the Lord. Lastly doing all for his sake and in sinceritie Who shall reward thee what benefit shalt thou get shall it be a temporall thing that he can bestow vpon thee No no the Lord Iesus whom thou preferrest in the obeying of thy Great reward for seruing Christ husband and seruice doing to him he shall meete thee and reward thee with a crown of glorie Woe were it for me thee if in his seruice done in his name and for his sake wee looked for no more but for these earthly rewards though it were to be made a King or a Queene for wee and they both shall vanish away for nothing is permanent here vnder the Sunne Well doe nothing but for the Lord Iesus sake and that that is agreeable to his will say All that I do to my husband O Lord all is for thy sake otherwise all thy seruice stinkes thou shalt lose thy labour for thou shalt receiue no reward of him This for the manner of subiection and obedience vnto your husbands Now followes the fourth thing to be considered the argument to moue them to this dutie In a word It is comely It is reasonable it is iust Would you see this It leanes vpon good grounds neuer action had better First it is grounded vpon the ordinance of God first made before the fall and after the The argument of subiection fall renewed againe Secondly it is grounded vpon the law of nature the Lord hath written it in thy heart at the first creation Thou shalt be subiect to thy husband Besides this ye that are wiues you haue this conscience of your owne infirmitie you are the weaker vessels and therefore ye craue a head ye craue to be vnder a Superiour Thou who art disobedient who is it that thou hast to doe with Is it a man Looke what breach of law is here First thou breakest Gods law Secondly thou breakest the law of nature And thirdly thou doest against thy owne conscience Doubt yee that all these bands lies on you I tell you Eue fell not so soone but all these bands were laid on her In the third chapter of Genesis verse 16. Thy appetite shall be toward him c. And therefore marke it This rebellion and wantonnesse in many wiues it is not so small a sinne as you thinke It is a sinne against God and his law Secondly it is against nature Thirdly it is against thy conscience This is not well knowne by many therefore learne to know it in time Ye haue now heard the wiues part Now I come to the men Husbands loue your wiues that is the thing he charges them to doe then he saies Be not bitter vnto them that he forbids The thing then he bids them doe is Loue. So subiection in the wife should be met with loue and care in things spirituall and temporall this is generall subiection in the inferiour should be met with loue and care of the superiour in things earthly and temporall and in things spirituall Superiours bound to duties as well as inferiours For it is not the Lords will that the inferiour should be bound to a dutie and the superiour should goe free but he is as fast fastened to doe a dutie to his inferiour and more the greater preferment the greater burthen all the honours men get are the greater burthens to them Vnder the tearme of loue is vnderstood all kind of dutie belonging to the wife prouiding it begin at the heart and not at the mouth nor hand And therefore the word loue comprehends the most intire affection wey it well it is not a slender loue Loue. For first it imports a great affection in the heart and not a superficiall affection Secondly it imports such an affection as onely rests vpon the wife not a wandring lust for many esteeme any woman alike to them in filthy lust Thirdly this word imports an affection of loue that is holy and chast not a harlots loue If thou haue a harlots heart thou defilest thy selfe and thy wife both These are the three properties of this loue first it is a deepe loue in the heart Secondly it must rest only on thy wife And thirdly it must be chast Ephes 5. 25. Paul saith Husbands loue your wiues How shall ye loue them He saith As Christ loued his Church Albeit he cannot attaine to the greatnesse and quantitie of this loue yet keepe the qualitie of it How loues Christ the Church Vnspeakably O the chastnes of the loue of Christ that he keepes to his Church He loues his owne Church and he loues not an harlot Idolater She is set vp before him as a chast virgin Then take thy example of thy spouse Christ Looke how he loues thee after the same manner loue thou thy wife Whom should they loue Their owne proper wiues no strange woman cast not your fansie vpon them Ye know we are set to loue that that properly pertaines to vs but I say to you who are Husbands ye haue not such a property to any thing as to your wiues yea your heritage though you had a kingdome is not so properly yours as they are And therefore seeing it is naturall to euery man to loue his owne though it were so abiect why shouldest thou not loue that that is most proper to thee I see a kind of meeting here before he made men proper to their wiues now he makes the wiues proper to the husbands so that the man may say thou art my proper portion
to seduce and carrie men away from Christ could not so much preuaile as they doe Which I doe not meane onely of Iesuites and Seminarie Priests though I take them to be the most daungerous enemies of the Church but others both of corrupt life and corrupt doctrine also who hauing spued themselues by their euil dealing labour by running vp and downe in propounding poysonfull doctrine and bad example of life to leaue a miserable yea infectiue stinch behind them wheresoeuer they come These shuld the Church and Magistrates haue great regard to represse as on the other side to exalt the godly and faithfull But sith they are cold and carelesse both in the one and the other and wee know that God regardeth his owne vineyard let vs intreate him that is the Lord of the vineyard not onely to thrust foorth workmen into his haruest Matth. 9. but also to represse rouers and wanderers which seeke nothing but their owne bellies and the supplanting of the truth of doctrine and honestie of life which he vouchsafe to bring to passe euen for Christ Iesus his sake to whom be praise in the Church for euer Amen THE XL. LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL to the Colossians COLOS. Chap. 4. vers 12 13 14. 12 Epaphras the seruant of Christ who also is one of you saluteth you striuing alwaies for you in prayers that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God 13 For this I testifie of him that he burneth in a great desire of you and of them of Laodicea and of them of Hierapolis 14 Luke the beloued Physition greeteth you and so doth Demas THe Apostle hauing begun to name some who saluted the Church of Colosse as you haue heard in some of the former verses holdeth on in these verses to doe the like and nameth particularly two or three as Epaphras Luke and Demas all which it is very probable if not certaine that they were Gentiles And two of them that is Epaphras and Luke he diuersly describeth contenting himselfe with the bare naming of Demas Touching euery one of them as they lie in the text Epaphras is the first he describeth him by diuers adiuncts as first that he was one of thē by which what he meaneth hath bin expounded alreadie when we treated of Epaphras commended the 9. verse of this chapter where Onesimus hath the same title giuen vnto him But the Apostle alleageth it here to tell them that euen in that respect hee should be the more deare vnto them and the better accepted of them notwithstanding that our Sauiour saith and we finde it euery where true in the world that a Prophet is not without honour but in his owne countrey and his fathers house Secondly hee is said here to be the seruant of Christ whom also he had mentioned before chap. 1. vers 7. where he is called a faithfull minister of Christ for the Colossians By which we may see that he hath this title of the seruant of Christ by reason of the speciall calling that God had committed vnto him in which he serued Christ by the preaching of his glorious Gospell Thirdly he is described by the earnest and continuall prayers that he powred foorth vnto God as on the Colossians behalfe as also from the hartie and vnfained affection that he bare to the Colossians and to diuers other faithfull people beside His continuall prayers are mentioned in the latter end of the 12. verse and his syncere heart is described in the 13. verse The second that the Apostle mentioneth here that greeteth Luke commended the Church is Luke whom the Apostle describeth here first by the vocation that he had and exercised before he was called to the office and function of the Ministerie in preaching or writing the Gospell of Christ that is he was a Physition Secondly that he was beloued vnder which terme hee is commended from that loue the Apostle caried towards him as a very Christian man and very familiar and inward with the Apostle So that hee signifieth that if they loued him himselfe they could not chuse but affect Luke because that the loue of Christs Apostle and the familiaritie that hee had with Luke could not but much commend him to the Church The third man mentioned is Demas who hath no title of commendation giuen vnto him here or elsewhere for ought I Demas know which to me may serue to argue that hee caried not himselfe so well as others did and that the Apostle had some suspition of him or else hee would not haue been so sparing And of all these the Apostle speaketh vers 14. But wee will treate of them seuerally as they lie in the text Concerning many of the termes or titles attributed to Epaphras we shall not neede to say much because they haue been sundrie times expounded alreadie Such as haue not been declared let vs somewhat deale with And first for his prayers three things are expressely marked therein by the Apostle First the manner that hee vsed therein contained in these Things obserued in the Apostles praiers words striuing alwaies meaning thereby earnestnes and feruencie in powring them foorth Secondly the persons for whom he prayed so heartily namely the Colossians who no doubt had great neede of that dutie comprehended vnder these termes for you Thirdly the very matter or grace hee prayed for as on their behalfe which was not light but graue and gracious expressed in these words that ye may stand perfect and complete c. When he expresseth the manner of his prayers by the word striuing we must not thinke that he meaneth any carnall combat or bodily conflict but such a one as was spirituall and had indeed hand to hand with the ghostly enemies of our saluation the world the flesh and the diuell Which as they are alwaies readie to hinder all the good motions of the spirit in our Hinderers of the praiers of the Saints minds so specially doe they exercise their force and their fraud in opposing against our prayers sometimes casting stumbling blockes in our waies to hinder vs from the doing of that duty as disturbing our passions and affections of loue hatred feare anger and such like and sometimes when they see that these will not preuaile to let or hinder our prayers they assay by all meanes to make them cold faint few and least by continuing our prayers wee should conceiue hope to be heard they set before vs one while our owne another while other mens sinnes for whom sometimes wee pray as for our selues All which things are not obscurely signified and set out in the third chapter of the prophecie of Zechariah vnder the person and practise of Iehashua the high Priest mentioned there and matters contained therein But what shall we doe content our selues with the knowledge of these things No that is discomfortable But wee must resist and striue against Weapons to withstand our spirituall enemies by being fenced
and godly zeale that hee bare towards them but also towards their neighbours the Laodiceans and them of Hierapolis for whom certes euen as for the Colossians hee did in prayer euen as it were striue with the Lord. For wee cannot earnestly powre forth prayers vnto God for any vnlesse that our hearts be seized before hand with an earnest affection towards them And it would bee marked that to the end this great care and loue of Epaphras towards them might be the more assuredly manifest and they the better perswaded of it he confirmeth it by his owne testimonie which considering what great authoritie and credit specially as an Apostle hee ought to haue amongst them should at no hand be counted either light or deceitfull and that causeth him to say and deliuer it in this forme This I testifie of him It followeth in our text namely vers 14. of this chapter Luke the beloued Physition saluteth you c. These are still salutations and greetings sent them and indeed comefrom sundrie of the Gentiles as diuers of those before did This Luke that is mentioned here was Pauls continuall companion in all his troubles and trauailes as appeareth in the Acts of the Apostles which hee himselfe wrote and hee remained with Paul euen then when other being sent away from him Demas forsooke him also which also the Apostle sheweth saying Onely Luke is with me 2. Timoth. 4. 11. And in Pauls Epistle to Philemon vers 24. he is called Pauls helper that is a labourer or worker with him in the Ministerie Now Paul deseribeth him here first by the calling which he had before God put him a part to preach the Gospell hee was a Physition from whence wee may learne that no politike or ciuill calling or occupation can hinder Gods calling vnto the ministerie of Nothing can hinder Gods calling of men to the holie ministerie Christ but hee will call whom hee will and of what sort of people please him He calleth Matthew from the receipt of custome to be an Apostle He calleth Peter Andrew Iohn and Iames who were busied about catching of fishes and he maketh them fishers of men He chose Amos from being a heardman to be a Prophet and the like may we reade in many other And so he maketh Luke the Physition to become an Euangelist For as God is most free in himselfe so is he not tyed to any condition or calling of men whatsoeuer but chuseth whom he will as he will to do his worke alwaies notwithstanding induing them with gifts fit for the execution of their duties according to his good pleasure Secondly hee setteth him out by this adiunct beloued in which terme the Apostle commendeth him for that great loue which he bore towards him as a Christian man and one that was very inward with him and familiar vnto him For the loue that Christs Apostle and the friendship that was betweene them did not a little commend the man By which wee may see that it is no small To be beloued of them that loue God matter but indeed of good worth both to our selues and to others to be beloued of them that either loue God or are loued of him To our selues as a testimonie of good comfort and to others as an argument of good credit To him he adioyneth Demas This was he of whom the Apostle complaineth that he was forsaken saying 1. Tim. 4. 10. Demas hath for saken me and imbraced this present world In the Epistle to Philemon he is called Pauls helper from whence we may with good probabilitie gather that at that time he was a minister of the Gospell but afterwards forsaking his calling he fell away and gaped after gaine From whence wee may see that the loue of this present world cannot stand with the The loue of the world and the ministerie of the Gospell cannot stand together ministerie of the Gospell For no man saith Christ can serue two masters for either he shall hate the one and loue the other or cleaue to the one and forsake the other Ye cannot serue God and Mammon Matth. 6. 24. If the mind once be caried away with the carefulnes of worldly things it cannot be wholy occupied in seeking Christ and his glorie but will easily preferre the world before Christ himselfe And thus farre concerning these verses and the true and naturall meaning of them with other necessarie matter in sort and manner as you haue heard Now to some obseruations out of them And first in that Epaphras did alwaies striue for them in his prayers wee may gather that it is not so easie a matter to make prayers vnto God No easie matter to pray well as commonly men account it but rather indeede very hard and of great labour Which may appeare by this that if a man doth but once settle himselfe to it specially if hee doe it earnestly hee shall finde a thousand lets and hindrances set before him if not vtterly to pull him away from prayer yet to stay him much therein or to make his prayers more cold and faint Sometimes Satans malice sometimes his own corruptiō will stand vp against him sometimes other mens examples of neglect or of cold performance of prayer And though Hindrances to pray these were not but that men thought still they prayed yet shall men if they would sift and sound their hearts well perceiue y t this is one cause why in prayer or to prayer men find no hindrance because they are content with a certaine forme of words which flow from the mouth but haue no seate in the heart and so praying without true faith indeede or any serious affection of the minde or any vnfained reuerence of God or any sound feeling of their owne miseries or any heartie desire to bee reconciled to the Lord c. their prayers are Things necessarie to him that would pray well lip-labour yea lost labour Neither will Satan much set himselfe against such praiers if we may call them praiers because he knoweth they will not much hurt him and his kingdome But hee will mightily oppose against the heartie praiers of Gods people and resist them by obiecting and casting in their way all the temptations that possibly he can because he well knoweth that by meanes thereof his kingdome shall if not be ouerthrowne yet greatly diminished Secondly in the person and practise of Epaphras learne that it is the Pastors dutie not onely to teach and to instruct his The Pastors dutie in presence and absence flocke in the doctrine of the Gospell whilest he is present with them but euen as it were to carrie them about with him in his heart and to take himselfe continually bound and tyed to zeale and care for them and with earnest requests and supplications to wish for and procure their saluation and continually to pray for them to almightie God And great reason they are their fathers they are their teachers Fathers are vnnaturall if
they remember their children whilest they are present with them onely Teachers are negligent or at leastwise short of their dutie if they remember their schollers onely whilest they are in the schoole with them The doctrine of the word is not easily receiued neither doth it quickly bring forth fruite Prayer is a worthie meane to helpe forward the one and the other specially the prayers of the pastor and teacher And if in other cases the prayers of a righteous man are much auaileable specially if they be feruent so saith S. Iames then the supplications of a godly and faithfull minister are likewise piercing Lastly obserue that the Apostle highly yea and as it were before others commendeth Epaphras to the Colossians and particularly for this that he was their minister and preached the Gospell vnto them yea and he giueth him this testimony that he had a certaine feruent affection and earnest desire towards them He doth the like vnto Timothie whom he purposed to send to the Philippians He doth in like manner commend Epaphroditus vnto them Phil. 1. 19. Obserue therefore I say and gather from hence that it is very necessarie that in any yea in euery particular congregation there shuld amongst all be a reuerend regard of the pastor that liueth and teacheth The Pastor of the Church should be reuerently esteemed in the same yea all should be well perswaded not onely generally of his honestie pietie faith charitie learning conscience and other graces necessarie and fit for the Ministerie but also of his singular affection and loue towards them yea specially of his desire and care to doe them good so that hee may as it were possesse the hearts of his people and haue them most strictly conioyned to him For so hee shall more easily bring them vnto Christ whilest they are willing and commit themselues to the faith and trust of their Pastor But where this perswasion is not of their Pastor his labour to amongst the flock though it be neuer so great good should do small good And therfore we may see that we are not only to pray as our Sauiour Christ teacheth vs Matth. 9. to pray the Lord of the haruest to thrust foorth workmen into the haruest but also to intreate him so to linke the hearts of the Pastor and the people together that the work of his glorie in them and their saluation may bee euery day more then other aduanced But where shall a man finde such people where shall he find such Pastors A man may goe from the East to the West from the North to the South and finde very few which should bee so farre off from discouraging vs from this dutie that it should prouoke vs more carefully to performe it And that I say to you I speake to mine owne heart Let vs therefore trauaile againe and againe with God to work such a mutual coniunction betwixt the Pastor and the flocke as his glorie may be daily aduanced thereby and the worke of eternall life furthered through Christ To whom with the Father and the holy Ghost be all power and praise with thanks and glorie now and for euermore Amen THE XLI LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE Colossians COLOS. Chap. 4. vers 15 16 17 18. 15 Salute the brethren which are at Laodicea and Nymphas and the Church which is in his house 16 And when this Epistle shall be read among you cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans as that ye likewise reade the Epistle which was written from Laodicea 17 And say to Archippus Looke to this that thou fulfill the ministerie which thou hast receiued from the Lord. 18 The salutation by the hand of me Paul Remember my bands Grace be with you Amen THe first of these foure verses belongeth to the last treatie touching salutations And therefore we will deale with it by it selfe before we come to the other Hauing shewed before what worthie persons saluted them Now he intreateth the Church to salute and greete from him and them some others Those that are to be greeted are of two sorts First the brethren which are at Laodicea and the rather he intreateth this because hee would haue this Epistle read amongst them Secondly a certaine man named Nymphas together The members of the church specially to be regarded in our salutations with the Church that was in his house From whence wee may perceiue that amongst them of Laodicea he would only haue thē to be greeted that were brethren By which name he meaneth them that were sonnes of one father to wit God and adopted into that grace being ingraffed into Christ through faith The reason whereof is plaine because with them alone and with no other we are conioyned and as it were made one in Christ And as for salutations and greetings they are certaine meanes that God hath appointed to preserue and maintaine that vnitie and coniunction that the members of Christ haue among themselues Which howsoeuer as in respect of the bodie they are distinguished and separated one from another in this present life yet feele they here the communion of Saints and haue hope in their hearts of inseparable coniunction with their head Christ and with that whole holy bodie of the Saints in the life to come Another thing that we may learne hence is in the person of Nymphas who being the father of a familie or master of a household teacheth vs what is the dutie of such as be in that calling namely so to gouerne their families and households Parents and householders dutie and so to instruct them in the knowledge of Christ and saluation that they may be well inured with integritie of life and sanctimonie and so haue them particular congregations as it were famous and worthie commendation amongst all the godly for faith and holines But what man is he I will not say that striueth to this but that thinketh of it at the least carefully From whence it floweth that not onely people proceede to prophanenes but the Churches are not increased which cannot be till speciall families which make particular congregations be well and throughly reformed But wee will leaue this and proceed to that which followeth The two next verses containe in them the fift part of this fourth chapter And they doe containe in them certaine speciall points which he giueth in charge to the Colossians concerning partly their owne benefit and partly the good of the Laodiceans The first thing he chargeth them withall is that after this Epistle had been read among the Colossians themselues they would cause it to be read also in the Church of Laodicea From whence it should seeme we may well inferre that this Epistle was chiefly sent to the Gouernours and Elders of the Church and therfore the Apostle would first haue it read publikely in the Church of Colosse that it might be knowne and vnderstood of all the Saints there Next that he would haue the whole
From whence From vnder a power then the cause of thy drawing is this Thou art holden streight and thou art holden by a strong power There was neuer man holden in iron bands and prison so streight as thou art holden by sinne for as light as thou wilt skipt and leape and as nimble as thou seemest when thou art leaping lightest thou art fast holden and the more thou leapest in sin the faster and the faster thou art holden so ere thou get out there must be a power and a greater power then it that holds thee No man saith Christ will enter into a strong mans house before he haue first bound the strong man and then deuide the spoyle Mark 3. 27. No man will take thee out of sinne that strong man except he haue a power that is stronger then sinne What a power is this The next word tels thee It is the power of darknes Alas that darknes of Ignorance O that terrible clowd of darknes and ignorance that is in the soule of euery man naturally without the knowledge of God of Iesus Christ of life and saluation O miserable is that soule that lies in that darknes Then it is the power of darknes a strong power and the strongest power in this world that holdeth thee fast If thou be fettered with darknes then in deede thou maist say thou art fettered fast Brethren there is but two great powers only as for the power of a King out out it is nothing but draffe and dirt the power of the flesh is nothing There are but two kingdomes only The first is the kingdome of God the kingdome of light is a kingdome in deede The second is the kingdome of darknes the kingdome of hell to call it so yea and all the Kings of the world shall be vnder one of these two either a slaue of darknes or els a sonne and heire of the kingdome of heauen Now the kingdome of darknes next after the kingdome of light it is the strongest in this world and to speake plaine to you this kingdome of darknes is but the pit of God a dungeon and a prison house wherein the diuell first lies all chained of the which they are princes lying in bandes abiding their damnation and next them are the reprobate Caine Iudas and the rest and in the which the diuels and the reprobate shall be tormented euerlastingly So the kingdome of darknes serueth to this kingdome of light and they who are in it are but the executioners of God and rods of his fierce wrath Now then it is Iesus Christ that Prince of light that hath drawne vs out of that dungeon of darknes and ignorance He is that strong man whose strength is aboue all strength of the diuell sinne and hell It is he then that hath done this and what more hath he done He saith he hath translated vs taken vs from one place and remoued vs to another place nay it is not enough to bee pulled as it were out of hell except thou be taken away and translated as farre from it as thou maist looke to it Thou wilt goe backe againe if thou be not translated and kept farre from it Whereunto hath be translated vs he saith to a kingdome we shall heare more of this kingdome hereafter A kingdome must keepe thee It is impossible to be kept if thou be not kept in a kingdome The power of a King is required to keepe thee Whose kingdome is it not Caesars no Emperours in the earth nay the kingdome of Spaine Fraunce England and Scotland will not keepe thee flye as thou wilt flye Whose kingdome must it be then that must keepe thee The kingdome of his owne sonne and more of his owne deere sonne the sonne of his loue that is the kingdom of his sonne that he loueth so deerely Well and if that bee the kingdome that thou be translated vnto thou shalt be well kept it is the onely kingdome that is able to keepe thee For first behold the King Who is the King The King is the sonne of God a strong King Ioh. 10. 28. No man shall take you out of my hand O the strength of the son of God! He is God himselfe then he is more a sonne and a king that is so loued of the father and in him he loueth all within the bounds of this kingdome So see first the power and then the loue and no question thou maist say that thou shalt be well kept Blessed is the soule that comes to this kingdom And if thou be not yet translated to it striue to it as thou wilt be safe In a word will you haue wherein our effectuall calling standeth I say to you it standeth in this In taking vs out of one kingdome and putting vs into another in translating of thee from the kingdome of darknes and putting of thee into the kingdome of heauen in translating of vs from a kingdome wherein we liue as slaues fie on it thou liuest as a slaue here a bondslaue to Sathan and thy own foule affections to a kingdom wherein thou raignest like a king There is neuer a slaue there but all are kings in this kingdome neuer a slaue there all are sonnes and if they are sonnes they are heires as Paul reasons Rom. 8. 17. It is a translation from a kingdome of smaller power howbeit of a great power to a kingdome that is infinite No kingdome is infinite but Christs this is comfortable Findest thou thy selfe translated and called to be one of this kingdome See the infinite power of it that is able to keepe thee that thou shalt neuer fall backe againe to the kingdome of darknes And if a man be effectually called it is impossible that euer he shall fall backe againe no more then the diuell is able to take the sheepe out of Christs hands Therefore in the Epistle to the Romanes 11. 29. Paul saith The gift of God is without repentance so that the gift of thy calling is without repentance Blessed is that soule that findes it To come to the next verse In whom to wit in Iesus Christ the sonne of God What haue wee in him A faire grace we haue redemption Through what Through his bloud a deere price What is this Redemption Remission of sinnes Well well thinkest thou it a smal thing to haue thy sinnes forgiuen thee Now weigh the words for in the words he comes to another blessing a second blessing euen the remission of our sinnes that is the effect of the former but to begin at the first word In whom This second blessing is not without Iesus no no no grace no mercie no blessing without Christ this is plaine talke would to God wee could fasten to him so he saith In whom that is in the deere sonne of God Brethren being once translated that is effectually called and drawne to him wee liue not as other subiects vnder a king Subiects would be far Similie from their king and some there is that will
the whole glorie of Iesus Christ vpon the vniuersall Church so now he turnes it ouer vpon this particular Church of Colosse For the glorie of Iesus Christ the sonne of God as it is the glorie of the whole Church so it is the glorie of euery particular Church and in so doing no question hee applies it to euery particular person in the Church so that the glorie of the sonne of God is mine and thine Beleeuest thou in him All this glorie is thine There is no point of it in him but thou shalt haue the vse of it so that no man or woman that is in the Church needs to enuie this glory in Iesus Christ It is naturall to men and women to enuie the glorie that others haue aboue them yea subiects will enuie the honour and glorie of Princes aboue them But thou who art a subiect in Christs Church thou needes not to enuie Christs glorie All his glorie is thine yea thou oughtest to haue no pleasure but when thou lookest vpon his glorie and exaltation But to come to the words We see then in these words there is a particular application of this benefit of reconciliation to the Church of the Colossians The text first offers vs to be considered who is the reconciler Now saith the Apostle he hath The Reconciler reconciled Who is this that hath reconciled the Colossians to God Before speaking of the reconciliation in generall with the whole Church he said It hath pleased the Father to reconcile all things to himselfe in him but now plainly in the text the Reconciler is changed It was the father before now the sonne of God the second person of that glorious Trinitie hee is the Reconciler Wherein the Apostle lets vs see that in this worke of reconciliation this sonne of God is not onely a patient not onely a Mediatour to suffer for our sinnes but he is an agent a doer a reconciler As he is the Mediatour of the reconciliation he is not onely a sacrifice in the which the reconciliation is made but he is a sacrificer offering himselfe in a sacrifice to God for our sinnes For looke how willingly the father offered him a sacrifice for vs as willingly gladly and ioyfully offered hee himselfe for vs for if hee had not died willingly and gladly in the nature of man but against his will as men will dye his death would neuer haue done men good nor ransomed their sinnes So this is a point of our beleefe that as wee beleeue hee died so wee beleeue hee died willingly and that Christ died willingly they who crucified him were not so willing to crucifie him as he was willing to offer himselfe to be crucified If thou hast not this faith thou hast no good of the death of Christ So the person reconciler is Christ Then to amplifie this benefit of reconciliation he cals them to remembrance of their miserable estate before they were reconciled What were they before Who were in times past saith he strangers and enemies meaning to God and where was this enmitie In the inward mind And why Because their mindes were set onely vpon euill workes Hee will not speake to them of this benefit of reconciliation before hee aduertiseth them of that estate they stood in before they were reconciled Marke it there is no sight of the mercie of God in Iesus Christ no presence of mercy and grace except The miserie of man without Christ in the mirrour to say it so of the past miserie wee were in so that except thou looke to that thou shalt neuer see as thou shouldest see the benefit of mercie and grace in Iesus Christ There is no sinfull creature that is able to ponder and weigh aright in the heart the greatnes of the blessing of God in Iesus Christ except hee take the blessing and mercie and put in a ballance with the miserie and see which of them weigheth downe otherwise thou shalt neuer know the weight of mercie and glorie if thou take it not from the miserie of that stinking nature and filthines of thine neither shalt thou euer be touched with that sound ioy except the sense of miserie goe before He that hath neuer found himselfe in hell hath neuer found himselfe in heauen for all the sense of heauen breakes out of hell Now to weigh the words The first word wherein hee sets down their miserable estate is this Sometime saith he ye were strangers farre off From whom From him who should haue bin their greatest friend whose domesticks they should haue bin from God and so from the Common-wealth of Israel from his Church If thou be a straunger from God and then from his Church there is no life in thee thou art but a dead rotten member in sinnes and offences Ephes 2. 1. Liue as thou wilt breathe as thou wilt haue thy senses as quicke as thou wilt fling here and there and leape as lightly as thou pleasest thou art but dead and more then dead and dye shalt thou euerlastingly Yet marke the words hee cals not them simplie strangers and aliants but he saith they were made strangers to let vs see that all this strangenes from God is not by our creation we were created friendly with him and his domesticks but by our owne defection we haue made our selues of domestickes and household children strangers And therefore it is said in Esai 59. 2. Your sinnes haue diuided betweene me and you So it is thy sinne it is not that naturall substance of thy soule and bodie but it is the corruption of the substance that makes thee a stranger from God Yet marke the words hee saith not that God was estranged from them but that they were estranged from him No no the Lord is not the beginner of this strangenes hee turnes neuer first vpon thee but thou turnest thy backe first vpon him he neuer drawes from thee that sweete countenance of his first but thou drawest thy countenance from him For brethren to speake the trueth when thou hast turned thy backe vpon him and estranged thy selfe from him yet if thou be one of his elect his loue toward thee shall neuer leaue thee nor turne from thee O that loue of God! he loues a sinner that is as it were spitting vpon Gods loue him for the loue of God is inalterable And when thou hast played thee with thy owne counsell serued thy lusts in thy owne time the Lord vtters that loue towards thee and calles thee home againe So there is the first degree of their miserie Yet it is not all said he comes on with another degree and higher then the first Sometime ye were strangers yet more enemies One man may be a straunger to another and yet not his enemie but saith he ye were not onely strangers but you were enemies also The words import not onely a secret hatred but a plaine and open hostilitie they fought against him there was neuer so hot a battell betwixt man and man
the Gentiles therefore in that that I suffer it is for your cause that the Gospell of Iesus Christ may haue place amongst you as among the other Gentiles The second argument In the middest of my afflictions I The second argument The vse of affliction reioyce to testifie my loue towards you for except I had loued you I would not haue suffered with ioy for you Brethren of those that suffer affliction first it is required that it be for a good cause for Gods cause for his truth and for his Church sake Suffer not like a theefe or a murtherer as an harlot or an euill doer in any wise Alas it is a paine yea of all paines in the world the greatest to suffer for euill doing Secondly it is required of him that suffers that he suffer for a good cause with ioy cheerefully and with patience otherwise thou losest thy trauell and praise suffer as thou wilt It is not the good cause onely that makes martyrdome but it is Martyrdome the ioy cheerfulnes and patience ioyned with the good cause that makes thee in suffering to be a Martyr It is hard to flesh to digest this how can there be ioy in the paines of most exquisite torments Brethren Paul at this time is lying in bands at Rome and yet ye see he vtters that in his bands he hath ioy and no question when he came to the very point of death for 2. Tim. 4. 6. 7. 8. he was martyred he had great ioy And certainly I am compelled to think that there is more shrinking and sadnes at the remembrance of the affliction to come then there is in the More grief in the remembrāce of afflictiō then in suffering it when it comes chiefe time of affliction The minde will be more troubled thinking on it then when the person is afflicted For out of question whē the Lord giues a man cōstancie to suffer he will giue him patience ioy which shall swallow vp all the paine and the experience of Martyrs hath proued this Stir not howbeit thou shrinke at hanging heading scalding burning and whatsoeuer paines most cruell exquisit deuised for thee yet stir not for if the Lord giue thee constancie all the paines shal be swallowed vp and thou shalt be armed to suffer with ioy To goe forward The third argument whereby he remoues the offence they might haue taken at his bands is this I saith he fulfill the rest of the afflictions of Christ Iesus as if hee would The third argument say mine afflictions are not so much mine as they are my Lords afflictions how can ye then be offended at them You cannot chuse if you bee offended at my afflictions but you must be offended at Christs afflictions because my affliction is nothing else but the afflictions of Christ and the fulfilling of them Then all these afflictions that are laid vpon the members of the bodie of Christ they are all Christs afflictions and when they are afflicted Christ is afflicted And the Lord counts it his owne persecutions when the members of his bodie Christ must suffer in his members which is his Church are persecuted Saul Saul saith hee Acts 9. 4. why persecutest thou me He speakes this to Paul when he was not persecuting him but his members This he calles his persecution for it was ordained from all eternitie that the Lord Iesus who is the head of the Church should not onely suffer in his owne flesh but also that hee should suffer in the members of his bodie which is his Church So that none of that bodie should be free from suffering no not from the greatest to the least yea euen to the little finger all should suffer and the measure hereof was measured and ordained in that counsell from all eternitie Sufferest thou much or little It was measured to thee ere euer the world was It was not appointed that euery particular person should suffer al and euery sort of affliction no no but as the head should suffer one kinde of affliction proper to himselfe so the rest in the bodie should suffer some in one sort and measure and some in another All shall suffer one thing or other prepare thee for it and it is a token that thou art in that bodie if thou suffer something for Christ But to sticke to the words he calles them not simply the sufferings of Christ but the fulfilling or accomplishment of the afflictions of Christ I saith he fulfill the rest of the afflictions of Christ Marke the word well Euen as the Church of Iesus Christ is the accomplishment and fulfilling of him to make him a perfect man so it is called Ephe. 1. the last verse Euen so the afflictions that the Church and her members suffer they accomplish and fulfill the sufferings of Christ And as the glorie of the head Christ is fulfilled and accomplished in suffering euen so the sufferings of his members they accomplish and fulfill the glorie of Christ Wherein wee haue to marke a loue that Christ beares to vs that cannot bee spoken of The Lord Iesus is perfect in himselfe and he needeth vs not no he hath no neede of me of thee nor of no flesh to make him perfiter The loue of Christ then he is alreadie in himselfe He is full and he fils all in all yet such is his loue to me and thee and to the whole body that he cannot thinke that he is perfect till he haue thee ioyned with him yea the least member of his Church hee will haue to be ioyned with him or els hee counts that his glorie and sufferings are not fulfilled So his afflictions are perfect and hee needes not thee to fulfill any part thereof yet such is his loue that hee will not haue his afflictions perfect without thee He will haue thee made like to himselfe in affliction howbeit his glorie be perfect now at the right hand of the father yet he cannot thinke that he gets the perfection thereof till he get all his members glorified with him in heauen This is his loue Rom. 8. Now let vs see how we account of this We count it a benefit and a grace to be ioyned with him to be the members of his bodie and to be glorified with him but when it comes to the What a great benefit it is to suffer afflictions sufferings there is the shrinking there is none that can accord or be content to be like him in sufferings but they will flye backe there we faile and we cannot thinke that it is a benefit to suffer but rather that it is a curse So ere thou count it a benefit to suffer thou must haue more then flesh and bloud thou must haue the spirit of Iesus It is not onely a benefit to beleeue but also to suffer Philip. 1. 29. And Philip. 3. 10. Paul counts it a blessing to suffer calling it the communion or fellowship of his affliction There he counts it
3. 5. 6. he saith Paul is nothing and Apollo is nothing but God who giues the increase When he hath giuen God that glorie then in the fourth chapter vers 2. he saith let men so esteeme of vs as the disposers of the mysteries of God so let men euer giue God all glorie and praise and let them be assured the 1. Sam. 2. 33. God whom they honour in their calling shall honour them againe Now to this God be all honour and praise Amen THE THIRTEENTH LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE Colossians COLOS. Chap. 2. vers 1. 2. 3 1 For I would ye knew what great fighting I haue for your sakes and for them of Laodicea and for as many as haue not seene my person in the flesh 2 That their hearts might be comforted and they knit together in loue and in all riches of the full assurance of vnderstanding to know the mysterie of God euen the father and of Christ 3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdome and of knowledge YE haue heard brethren from the foure and twentith verse of the first chapter of this epistle how Paul hath insisted vpon his owne person purchasing authority to his doctrine y t he hath propounded and to the exhortation begun As yet he continues in speaking of himselfe from the beginning of this second chapter vnto the sixt verse thereof Then after he returnes to his exhortation exhorting the Colossians to perseuerance in that faith which they had receiued The sum of the former Lecture and exhorting them from vaine traditions obtruded or layd on them by the false teachers letting them vnderstand that there was nothing except Christ and his Gospell to be acknowledged or receiued by them and that all other things without him are but vanitie Then to come briefly to our purpose and this text now read in the last verse of the chapter preceding yee heard the Apostle vttered what paines he tooke and what strife he suffered and all for this end to present euery man without exception perfect before God especially in that great day Now the Colossians to whom he writes whom he neuer saw bodily nor they him might haue obiected against this his paine labor and strife which he sustained Well Paul thou pinest thy selfe but for whom what is that to vs It is not for vs thou neuer sawest vs nor we thee so all thy labour fighting and trauell Obiection is nothing profitable for vs. The Apostle in the first verse meets Answere with and answers it I would you knew saith he what great fighting I haue for your sakes and not for you onely but for your neighbours them of Laodicea this is a towne in Phrygia and not for them only but for as many of the Gentiles as haue not seene my person in the flesh There is his answere it is plaine onely hereout I shall gather some short notes for our instruction Then first I marke in the person of the Colossians that moues the question They thought he could haue no care of them except he had seene them so commonly men thinke that they who are absent from them and neuer see them neither know them by their face as we say whom they haue not seene face to face can haue no care of them nor loue to them This is the iudgement commonly of the world and it is so indeede for naturall men that haue no more than naturall loue will speake thus of them with whom they haue not been acquainted I knew him not what haue I to doe with them whom I neuer saw nor knew What good can such men doe to me or I to them This is the fashion of the worldly men But this is all wrong as you The difference betweene the regenerate and vnregenerate The loue of the Saints exceedes the loue of the world shall see and therefore marke in the answere of Paul what great difference is betwixt naturall men and renewed men the common sort of men and the seruants of God In his answere we learne that they that are of God which haue gotten that new birth aboue nature and contrarie to nature the seruants of Christ especially such as Paul was they loue them whom they neuer sawe haue a care ouer them whom they neuer knew yea they will striue and fight to the death for them For why brethren you must vnderstand concerning them that are conioyned in the bodie of Christ one hand will not know another better then they will know one another although they haue not seene one another bodily being far distant in person and place the one from the other because it is the spirit of Iesus who ioynes them together and giues euery one a sure knowledge of the other conioyned with Christ as a member of that body Hence commeth this liuely knowledge which one christian will haue of another whom otherwise he neuer sawe in properperson For they haue not onely this fleshly sight of naturall men and bodily eye to see a mans body and face before them but they haue a spirituall eye whereby they can see to the farthest nooke and corner of the world and will send as it were the very spirit and soule out of the body to the vtmost part of the world where they know there is any of Christs members Therefore Paul saith 1. Cor. 5. 4. When ye are gathered together and my spirit c. Thou that hast no care of the Saints of God where euer they be scattered thou hadst neuer this spirituall and heauenly eye of Paul Suspect thy selfe thou art but a naturall man and if thou haue not a loue to them to embrace and fixe them as it were in thy heart alas it is a token that thou art not in that body of Christ as yet Thirdly in this answere I see it is requisit that we loue them that are Saints howbeit we neuer saw them nor they vs in this world for when the conscience is touched with a feeling of that loue there ariseth The feeling of loue in our hearts a consolation to the soule When thou feelest in thy soule that the Saints loue thee thou maist be assured that God also loues thee and therefore it hath pleased the Lord to leaue in register the acts of the Apostles containing that loue and care they had for the Saints not onely for their owne time but also for all who should liue to the end of the world For Paul he had not onely a care of the Colossians but also of the whole gentils his loue and care extended so far that it reached out to the end of the world If thou be a member of Christ the care of Paul reacheth to thee as one of that body Then lastly I note it is so requisit that we vnderstand of this loue of the We must endeuour to make our loue knowne to the Saints Saints to vs whether we haue seene them or they vs or not that the man
and vncleannes and mortalitie out of thy former parents Adam and Eue euen so beleeuing in Iesus thou shalt draw out of him the sappe of life and sanctification But the words following make the words plaine What is meant by this new man There are three things in the words following Three things in the new man There is first the making him new againe Secondly there is the nature what it is wherein he standeth And thirdly there is the paterne according to the which hee is made the Lord had made him according to a paterne First it is said He is renued That is he is created a new againe Then it must follow that he was once made before and that in the creation and if he be made againe hee was once lost and so it was Now after this losing the Lord renueth him againe and therefore ye see a wonderfull mercie of God and it is the will of the spirit that thou shouldest conceiue this in thy heart and say O that exceeding mercie of God! that the Lord of mercie hath shewed on thee this mercie Looke to Paul Ephes chap. 2. vers 4. But God who is rich in mercie according to his great loue wherewith he hath loued vs euen when we were dead in sinnes hath quickened vs together in Christ. There he looketh in through the grate of renouation and therein hee seeth a wonderfull mercie in God Ye shall finde the life of this in the Epistle to Titus Alas wee want this eye there is such a dulnes in vs that we cannot passe vp to see this mercy of God Thou shouldest not so soone heare of mercie but thou shouldest euer looke vnto God and his mercie and thanke him for it What Angell could euer haue thought that God would haue created that new man againe They all wondred when they saw it Alas it is long ere wee can wonder Now what is his nature Which is renued to knowledge What is he I answere he is knowledge the light of the minde thou hast a new minde would ye know what is knowledge Paul Ephes chap. 2. telleth you that the eyes of your minde are opened O if the eye of thy minde bee closed thou art yet in nature Whereto That ye may know that hope Yet he goeth higher and that riches of his grace And yet he groweth higher and that excellent greatnes In a word it is the sight of faith full of that glorie that shall be reuealed I remember the Apostle to the Eph. chap. 4. vers 24. addeth to these two things righteousnes and holines so that in all his members he is light to see God Iesus Christ and all the glorie of heauen there There is the renuing that is spoken of here he is then sincere in heart in his body and in hand he is righteous in dealing with his neighbour If thou haue this new man he will cloathe thee within and without if thou were cloathed with gold and thou haue not this cloathing on thee thou art but a lumpe of stinking dirt The last thing is the paterne hee is created to one paterne Now what looketh God to in making of him looketh he to an Angell and saith I will make this new man like an Angell or looketh hee to the Sunne and Moone to the beasts and elements or to any creature in heauen or earth No no but hee looketh to his owne glorie and maketh thee according to that forme he looketh to that light that is in himselfe and maketh thy light like to his owne light and thy holines like to himselfe Looke the first of Genesis when hee had created all things the heauen the earth and the rest ye shall not finde such a word that he created any to his owne image But when he commeth to man with a consultation saith elohim Let vs make man like to our selues Gen. chap. 1. vers 26. So then O man there is thy first glorie the Lord honored thee in thy creatiō but thou hast lost it And the renuing of this image it is passing excellent it is double more glorious then it was at the beginning O that mercie that renued it Thou deseruedst to be turned into a stone or into the vilest brute beast or vermin that is Therefore it must be a passing great mercie that in renuing thee hee renueth thee in an higher measure then hee created thee in No in the renuing of thee in Christ he doubleth his image in thee And if hee made thee like himselfe at the first now he doubleth it a thousand times more The glorie of Adam was great but now that is farre greater which wee haue in Christ If Adam had kept his glorie yet it would haue bin nothing but an earthly paradize y t he would haue bin in but al the earth is not capable of one glorified bodie in Christ So then striue to beleeue in him and certainly the fall of Adam shall be so farre from thy heart that thou shalt blesse the time that he fell if thou gettest this renued creature in thee through the Lord Iesus otherwise thou shalt curse the time that he fell So beleeue in Iesus Christ and all things shall worke to thy good felicitie and blessednes in Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be honour and praise for euer and euer Amen THE XXVIII LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE Colossians COLOS. Chap. 3. vers 11. 11 Where is neither Grecian nor Iew circumcision nor vncircumcision Barbarian Scythian bond free but Christ is all and in all things THis whole place is an exhortation to the mortifying of these earthly members these sinfull lusts and affections and to the putting off of them for we haue been ouer long cloathed with them so that they be not put on again Ye haue heard these daies past sundrie sorts of them and likewise sundrie arguments to moue vs to this mortification To come briefly to the purpose The last argument was from our regeneration begun in this life standing in two Coherence parts that is first in putting off the old man that is corruption of nature that we haue drawne not onely out of our mothers wombe but haue suckt out of the loynes of old Adam so that looke how hee is it is as old It sitteth on and pearceth through the skinne to the heart and there is none that is free from it The second part was the putting on of the new man For certainly as I shewed you no man is able to stand naked before God cloathed must thou be or els there is no appearance for thee being naked before that tribunall seate all must be cloathed with that righteousnes and sprinkled with the bloud of Christ and then next with this new man that is with that inherent holines that floweth out of the bloud of Christ For he that is iustified by his bloud must be sanctified by his spirit Ye heard a description of this new man he is new made againe In the
elected from all eternitie them in time he elects and chuseth out from the rest of mankinde by effectuall calling Then I make of this first ground a lesson This Christian calling it requires a faire rayment You know the cloathing of euery man and woman should be according to their calling when thou goest aboue thy calling thou sinnest so the earthly raiment and cloathing whatsoeuer it be should be according to thy vocation This calling of God is an high calling as Paul to the Philippians chap. 3. vers 14. speakes And as the calling of a King requires a faire apparell to set it foorth with so this calling to the kingdome of God craueth a higher apparell Therfore remember thou art called to put on that faire apparell The next argument is Ye are holie This holines is the effect of the other For wast thou blacke before yet being called from darknes to light the beames of the face of God shining vpon thee now thou art whiter then snow Ye see a man that walkes long in the Sunne will be altered so of necessitie this sonne of righteousnes must make a chaunge to wit to make thee holie And this is that which the Apostle 2. Cor. 3. 18. saith Looking into the glorie of God as it were in a mirrour we are transformed from glorie to glorie and therefore take pleasure to look into it night and day and thou shalt be changed from the dregges of the world and made to shine Marke then as I said of him that is called so I say of him that is a Saint A faire garment fits thee well for the Saints stand night and day before God in his household Who will come before the eye of an earthly Prince ragged and bare how much lesse before that great maiestie of God If thou be not clad with holines the very eye of God will strike thorough thee to thy consumption Now the third argument is the loue of God shewed to thē This is that loue of God that he bare to vs when we were enemies to him when thou wast wandring in thy vanitie he gaue himselfe for thee and hee loued thee ere thou wist and afterward he powres it into thee that thou feelest it Nay thou neuer tastedst of sweetnes if thou neuer tastedst of the loue of God and this is the loue of God that makes thee to loue him again The beloued one of God craues a faire apparell Who is he or she among you that will not trauell to be pleasant in the eye of your louer So the Lord loues thee and neuer one loued thee so well Therefore wilt thou not studie to come pleasantly clad before him Then ye see they in whom the Lord delights come before him gloriously in faire apparell that makes them to be pleasant in his eye Thus much for the arguments that he sets down which should haue moued the Colossians to put on the new man Now followes the vertues The first vertue he termes The bowels of mercies that is the word in the first language that is pitie mercie and compassion briefly it is a vertue and grace not growing of nature but wrought in the heart by the spirit of Iesus Now it hath this force and effect to pitie the miserie of men and women but there is little of it in these daies When thou seest the members of Christ sick or sore be sorie for them thou wilt be sorie for thy hand when it is sore euen so thou shouldest be sorie for the members of Christ Againe he calles it no mercie but mercies in the plural number to signifie that he that is mercifull must haue many of them for many miseries require many mercies He cals it not mercies but the bowels of mercies to signifie this intire loue it must be within thee and in thy bowels Then this mercie it hath two properties first thou must abound of it Next it must be in thy bowels and thy bowels must bee loosed with pitie Then brethren ye see this faire garment hee exhorts them to put on Where begins it It begins at thy bowels the depth of thy heart there is the first cloathing and the cloathing is pitie and mercie and wherefore mercie and so many mercies because in this world there are many miseries Where shall the godly man turne to but he shall see miserie Wilt thou looke vp to the King and his Court a spectacle of miserie Wilt thou looke to the beggar a spectacle of miserie And if euer there was any pitie to be had this land hath neede of it The next vertues Kindnes Bountifulnes The first was the vertue that pities thy neighbour this is the vertue that doth him a good deede Mercie is in the bowels Bountie is in the hand And if thou pitiest any bodie and hast it to giue put out thy hand and giue him otherwise it auailes not Then yee see this vertue of the elect of God is Bountie And wherefore is this bountie requisite because there is so much neede in all estates and a great scant of all things both earthly and heauenly and therefore it is requisite to haue bountifulnes that thou maist bestow vpon one bodie a benefit spirituall and vpon another a temporall Now to come to the next vertue which is the third in number Low lines of minde modestie It is a vertue when men and women counts nothing of themselues and are not puffed vp in pride So it hath these two properties it counts nothing of themselues but much of others Then this vertue is lowlines in the eye and in the heart If thou wouldest appeare in the sight of thy God put on modestie come not haughtie come not with raised vp neckes the Lord is aboue thee and he will giue thee such a stroke that hee will slay thee For there was neuer a proud man that raised vp his head against God but he made him stoope So the third peece of this garment is humilitie Wilt thou looke to thy selfe what hast thou to glorie in where thou hast one thing thou wantest tenne Wilt thou looke to others the grace thou seest in thy brother thou shouldest account of it Now the fourth peece of this garment is Meekenes that is excellently well matched with humilitie euer the humble man is meeke the proud euer churlish without meeknes and mildnes and so farre as in him lies renting the bodie of Iesus For where pride is there is no societie for a man that hath pride hee cannot associate himselfe with another Now this vertue is in thy mouth and makes thee to giue to thy neighbour sweete language Now this fourth part is so necessarie that there can bee no standing of the Church without it for such is the nature of man if it bee handled roughly it is lost and if thou handle a sinner thus thou doest ouerthrow him And therefore Paul euer recommends gentlenes if thy rebukes smell of bitternes and not of meeknes thou wilt destroy him Forthere is no sinner as
the which ye are called in one bodie and be ye thankefull THe Apostle brethren after he had exhorted the Colossians to put off the cloathing of the olde man which was made vp of foule affections as peeces of his garment he begins to exhort to put on the cloathing of the new man which is made vp of sundrie graces of Christ vertues and holy affections The last day we reckoned vp certaine pieces of this cloathing Parts of the garment of the new man namely sixe to wit the bowels of pitie and compassion kindnes humblenes of minde meekenes long suffering and lastly the forgiuing of offences Now to come to the text wee haue in hand yet hee continues in this raiment and cloathing and reckons vp other parts of it The seuenth part of this garment he calles it Loue charitie that one beares to another neighbour to neighbour Among all the rest of the peeces he desires them to put on loue And whereon should they put this peece of the garment And aboue all these saith he put on loue as the vppermost garment they being vnder it it being aboue thē all as a cloake aboue all the rest of the cloathing Now brethren Loue must be the vppermost garment you know commonly the vppermost cloath is the fairest and the honestest the preciousest cloath because it is in the eyes of the world therefore seeing hee craues that they should put on charitie as vppermost it must follow that it is the fairest comliest and preciousest peece of cloathing that is I say more when thou hast put on all the rest as mercie Obserue kindnes humblenes meekenes long suffering forgiuenes if thou put not on loue aboue all all is nought worth It is but a garment of hypocrisie and there is no sinceritie in thy mercie thou shewest no sinceritie in thy humblenes nor in none other of thy vertues Looke what the Apostle speakes of thy vertues that can be giuen to a man 1. Cor. 13. without charitie the gift of tongues is nothing the gift of prophesie of wisedome of faith of doing miracles of almes deedes all is nothing and lastly of long suffering it is nothing without this charitie It may well be thou profit others but as for thy selfe without charitie thou shalt get no profit Therfore the Apostle saith speaking of these gifts and many more they be not profitable if I want charitie and what auailes it if it be not profitable to me So without charitie all is nothing of no value and if these vertues want charitie I say to thee they are but dead images of vertues Thy mercie is but a dead image of vertue if thou want loue and so foorth in the rest for the life of all vertues is loue if the heart be not with the hand that is the heart with the action it shall neuer doe thee good Then marke in euery good action there are two things to be considered The first is the good action it selfe The second is the manner of the doing of the action O there is no small respect to be had of the manner of doing which is the very habite and cloathing of it Now the action comes from the hand O but the forme the manner the habit which is the ornament of it comes from the heart now the heart of him doth the good deede if it be euill affected the action if it were neuer so good it hath an euill habit on it it is euill fauoured to the Lord how pleasant so euer it seeme in the eyes of man yet it is not acceptable to the Lord all is lost yea all good workes if they want this loue stinke in the sight of the Lord and thou shalt neuer get good of them But if the heart be disposed with loue that comes of faith in Iesus Christ then thy action appeares before the Lord in a faire beautie and hee makes that deede thou doest to returne backe to thee to thy A good worke returnes back with much comfort to him which doth it good as it is good to him to whom thou doest it Therefore let euery one seeke to be clad with al vertues and good offices but looke to this that euery one of them appeare before the Lord with loue and charitie that thy heart and hand may goe together Put not out thy hand alone put out heart and hand together otherwise thy action shall neuer be good to thee for thou art commaunded aboue all things to put on charitie Now to goe forward to the words following he desines this loue and by it he lets vs see that it is no small grace And first he calles it a Band. Loue is a band that binds things together All the rest of the graces are likewise bands mercie kindnes humblenes and the rest binde vp the members of Iesus Christ but without charitie all be but superficiall bands outward bands binding the bodies of men and not their hearts together But loue is an inward band and it comes from the heart and meetes with another heart and bindes vp heart with Loue is a band heart and so the knot of loue is knit all the rest giue outward things but loue giues inward things euen the heart of him which loueth I say he that loues thee giues thee his heart The word in the originall language imports not onely a band but a mutuall band as my loue to thee and thine to me so that thy loue meetes my loue for if loue be not met with loue againe it will not auaile for friendship cannot stand on one side Therefore looke that charitie be mutuall otherwise be not content with thy selfe This for the first word The next is the band of perfection This is the effect of this band It perfecteth the man in whom it is for it bindeth thee vp with the bodie it perfects thee so that thou shalt want nothing but al shall be supplied till thou beest perfected Now there is no member of the bodie that hath all perfection The Lord hath not disposed so neither was it meete it should so be but that euery member ioyned with another should bee supplied The eye cannot goe therefore the foote comes in and carries the eye the foote cannot see but in comes the eye and lets the foote see and directs it So in the bodie of man there is not a member euen the vilest and the foulest but all the rest be readie to couer that member and to supplie the want of it It is euen so with the spirituall bodie of Iesus howbeit man cannot see it yet it is as true for euery member hath not all grace no not the King nor the Apostles nor no man in any estate hath all graces yet being vnited in that bodie of Christ O thou lackest nothing for all is communicated to thee So that Paul had not a grace but it is mine All is yours saith the Apostle and you are Christs 1. Cor. 3. 21. 23. You may challenge
there is not such a property in substance and riches as this For the riches cannot say to the man thou art my propertie Indeede there are many niggard Couetousnes hearted bodies and to these men their goods may say thou art mine as well as I am thine O woe is thee thou forgettest thy dutie For what coniunction can there be betwixt thee and thy goods There is not a coniunction like this betwixt man and woman so that either is others property and euery one of them may say to others thou art my propertie There is no such coniunction except that coniunction which is betwixt the head and the bodie and that coniunction that is betweene Christ and his Church which is greater then both the other coniunctions This coniunction betweene Christ and his Church is the greatest coniunction that is for all other coniunctions will seuer but this betwixt Christ and his Church seuers neuer A man may be separated from his wife by adultery or death a man may haue his head chopt off him and a man may lose his goods but once conioyned with Christ thou shalt neuer be seuered from him nor he from thee What shall separate vs saith Paul from the loue of Christ Rom. 8. 35. The second coniunction is of the head with the body the third Our coniunction with Christ inseparable coniunction is of the man with the wife euery one of these may claime other as their proper goods so streight is the knot and bond that bindes them vp together Now we haue in the end of the verse the thing forbidden and it is that that is contrarie to loue to wit bitternes Loue and sweetnes is commended bitternes rigorousnes and crueltie is forbidden There are many husbands who are tyrants ouer their wiues that should not be they ought not to vse tyrannie though it were ouer a dog or cat Brethren we know all this that there is nothing more naturall to man then the desire and seeking of preferment and the poorest body would be a King And yet notwithstanding this sinfull body cannot beare it it cannot vse it the sinfull man cannot beare preferment though it were but ouer his owne wife the father ouer the child the master ouer the seruant if ye set him ouer beasts dogs and sheepe make him a sheepe keeper he shall vtter the bitternes of his heart for giue him ouer to his owne nature he shall degenerate into tyrannie This is the tyrannie of man Note well What is the cause of all this The higher he be lifted vp aboue others the higher is his foule affection lifted vp aboue himselfe so the honour of this world doth no good to men except the wicked affection be sanctified by the spirit of Christ Woe be to thee that art a King if thy affection be not sanctified Wo be to thee that art a husband if thy affection be not sanctified in thy preferment And therfore the spirit of God inioynes that they seeke not preferment who haue not gotten their affection sanctified Thou that hast not gotten a sanctified affection seeke not to be a King seeke not to be a husband seeke not to be a Parent seeke not to raigne ouer a country to be a Peere in a Land a Magistrate for thou shalt abuse it to thy damnation Why should men whom the Lord hath cast downe be raised vp and put in preferment shame shall betide them who seeke to set them vp againe if they repent not Wilt thou set vp a man with a heart like a Viper O sie on thee thou shalt feele the dint of this iniquitie Yet to come againe to the word Bitternes looke that your loue turne not into gall Bitternes There be many who haue bin louing in the beginning but incontinent they haue turned their loue to gall This bitternes must either be in the hart or els in the behauiour if it be in the hart then fare ye well he becomes a monster to his wife Is it lawful for a man to strike his own flesh wil not euery one that The husband not to smite his own wife heares or sees that say the man is mad and worse then a brute beast For this doing comes of the bitternes of the heart against the wife and thou shewest that thy heart is alienated from her when that thou sets not by what becomes of her and so thou art a monster to her without affection either to loue thy wife or care for her Bitternes in the behauiour is either in word or deede Indeede it is true this bitternes in the behauiour it wil oftentimes proceed of the infirmities that are in you women therefore you should take heed to your infirmities and stir not vp that gall But yet there is an euil ground in thee who art the man This bitternes of thine in behauiour proceedes of wanting of wit It would beseeme many a man better to be a wife then a man Who will count of them that cannot beare the infirmities of women but they are degenerate men Wisedome and discretion requires that they bee borne withall Beares not Christ with thy infirmities Hath he euer broken the brused reede Wilt thou not follow him and beare with the infirmities of them who are conioyned with thee Yet this is not so spoken that we should let you go away altogether but wee should so beare with them that wee should goe about to amend them in lenitie as Iesus Christ beares with his spouse the Church And this is that honour Peter speakes of in his first Epistle chap. 3. vers 7. giuing honour vnto your wiues as the weaker vessels I will not insist in this In al this dutie of the wife to the husband and the husband to the wife I see not a better way to discharge it then to haue thine eye vpon Christ and his Church Follow Iesus as he behaued himselfe to his Church so behaue thy selfe to thy wife Therefore as euer thou wouldest bee partaker with Iesus and his Church conforme thy selfe to Christ and his Church for if thou wilt not doe this thou knowest not Christ nor his Church Thou bitter husband thou knowest not Christ nor his Church Thou who art an euill wife knowes not Christ thou keepest not faith to Iesus Christ and not doing that how canst thou be safe So brethren and sisters be wise the Lord giue the man wisedome the Lord giue the woman wisedome for there is an account that abides euery one of them Therefore liue in feare and mutuall dutie euery one to another that yee may bee glorified with Christ your head and spouse To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all praise and honour Amen THE XXXIII LECTVRE VPON THE EPISTLE OF PAVL to the Colossians COLOS. Chap. 3. vers 20. 21. 20 Children obey your parents in all things for that is well pleasing vnto the Lord. 21 Fathers prouoke not your children to anger least they be discouraged HAuing ended the generall
exhortation concerning all estates of men indifferently the last day as the Lord gaue grace wee entred into the speciall concerning Three states in a familie euery estate of men There are three estates in a familie The first is the husband and the wife The second estate is the parents and the children The third estate is the master and the seruants The last day we spake of the first estate concerning husbands and wiues now this day we haue to speake of the second estate to wit of parents and children The words are few yet as the Lord giues grace we shall weigh euery one and only shall set downe the doctrine properly as the words shall affoord The exhortation begins at the children the inferiour ranke as before it began at the wife I shewed you the last day the cause The estate of the inferiour is most hard to be borne withall therefore first hee directs his speech to the inferiour estate to instruct them that willingly they take vpon them that burthen which otherwise they must beare or els displease God To come to the words Children obey your parents The word childe in it owne language is common both to the manchild and to the womanchilde both are comprehended indifferently vnder the name of children and therefore this precept is directed indifferently to both The word if ye would marke the meaning of it signifieth him or her who are begotten What the word children meaneth and borne of those which are called parents yet in the second place it is directed to euery one which beares the name of sonnes and daughters whether they be daughters in law or sonnes in law Ruth as ye reade daughter in law to Naomi she tooke this precept to her she would not depart from her good mother and as you reade she promised obedience to her in all things Experience teacheth vs this day that there bee few like these two Then briefly this much for them to whom this precept is directed The next thing to be marked in the words is the dutie commaunded which is this Children obey this is the duty This duty of obediēce is a dutie y t pertaines to the whole man both soule and bodie it must come inwardly frō the hart and outwardly from the hand To let you see it better in the soule it is reuerence because thy parents be thy superiours they be not thine equals and therfore Obedience to parents thou art bound to reuerence thy parents as thy superiours for reuerence is nothing els but an acknowledging of thy superiours Next in the hart soule it is loue because thou art boūd to thy parents by nature and the band wherewith God hath bound thee to thy parents is loue Thou takest substance and being of thy parents al that thou hast in this world vnder God thou hast it of thy parents therefore the bond of nature binds thee to thy parents to loue them Thirdly this obedience in the soule and heart is thankfulnes for the manifold benefits receiued first by thy parents thou art not the beginner of liberalitie but thy parents they begin to be beneficiall to thee and therefore thou art bound to be thankfull vnto them And this much for the duties in the soule To come to the obedience in the bodie which is nothing els but an outward testification of all those things that are in Externall obedience to parents thy soule it stands first in a reuerent speech Secondly in obeying the commaund of thy parents And thirdly in compensation of the benefits receiued of thy parents I reade in the first Epistle to Timothie chap. 5. vers 4. he makes mention especially of the last Let children saith he learne to shew godlinesse first toward their owne familie beginning at their father their mother If thou be not godly to them thou canst not be godly to another And againe vers 3. Thou that wilt not prouide for thy familie art worse then an Infidell Thou that wilt not prouide for thy father and mother thou hast no faith Well ye who are children learne of Ioseph what hee did to his father and brethren It is said he fed them he fed his old father and put meate in his mouth but thou wilt wring it out of their mouth if they haue but one mouthfull Yea if thou haue wealth and they be in pouertie thou wilt not know them nor help them but wilt begin to be ashamed af them Thou wilt not let them come within thy doores and if they come at any time to thine house to be eased thou accounts so lightly of them that thou canst not abide their presence at thy boord or in thy hall but away with them to the chimney corner O villaine thou art vnworthie to be called a sonne and as an vnthankfull bodie thou shalt finde thy reward to be worse then the reward of the worst Infidell in the world Know ye not this to be true yea some children when they come to yeares will wring all from their parents and send them to beg their meate O Scotland thou hast many such children within thee but woe yea double and treble woe be vpon them for euer Then the dutie commaunded is obedience and this commaundement lets vs see how naturally children are inclined to disobedience God Children naturally inclined to disobediēce bound thee in the creation to obedience and now the world is so degenerate that there is nothing to be found in children for the most part but contempt and disobedience euery way O the malicious lowne will not be so despitefull to any as to his parents So this commaundement lets thee see the stubborne nature of children against their parents O but if this commandement enforce thee not to doe thy dutie to thy parents thou shalt be reserued in bonds to thine eternall damnation But to goe forward to whom should this obedience bee shewed Obey saith he Whom not euery one but thy parents him and her that haue begotten thee and borne thee of whom thou hast thy being and all that thou hast vnder God that is the force of the word So in the word there lurkes a forcible argument from nature Vnnaturall bodie will not nature moue thee art thou vnnaturall thou art vngodly to God For thou who breakest the bond of nature thou breakest the bond of pietie So the argument is from nature It is wonderfull to see how Ethnicks children moued by the light of nature haue obeyed their parents There was a law made among the Athenians that the child should feede the old parent or els be bound in fetters so long as hee liued If this law were in Scotland I thinke there should bee many children bound in fetters yea so many as there could be fetters made for them Well wilt thou goe to the beasts they may shame thee thou maist reade of their gratitude to their parents as for thee they may cal thee very wel mother-curse and malison If nature hath
parents may faile in their dutie to their children albeit the failing of the one be not so common as the other for the loue of the father is more entire to the child then is the loue of the child to the father and therefore his failing wil not be so oft nor yet so great And the parent that is outragious he sheweth himselfe very vnnaturall for his loue should be greater then the offence of the childe Yet now adaies many are vnnaturall parents for nature is greatly broken and almost Naturall affection much decayed taken quite away and therefore the end of the world is at hand and I am sure there is not so great hatred among the Ethnicks as there is among parents and children this day in Scotland But to come to the words he speaks to the fathers especially and not to the mothers there is some cause of this Fathers saith he prouoke not c. This is because this vice of bitternes and rigorousnes in dealing with the childe in wrath is found with the men chiefly he will handle his childe so bitterly as if he were a dog as for the mothers they incline to a more intire loue to their childe and if they faile they faile in ouermuch bearing with them Fathers saith he prouoke them not to wrath as if he would say they will be wrath if you put ouer sore to them for why thou hast begotten thy childe like to thy selfe of a corrupt affection and therefore blame them not if they be angrie at thee if thou vrge them ouer much And it is true many euill disposed parents will haue euill disposed children the canker that is in the child is drawne out of thee and therfore thou shouldest seeke to amend it There be many waies to prouoke them to wrath First when thou commaundest Many waies to prouoke children them to doe that that is vngodly as there are many that doe thus Secondly when thou art outragious and despitefull and wilt miscall thy childe Thirdly when thou beginnest to strike without rime or reason These are the three waies wherby chiefly they are prouoked to wrath as 1. Sam. 20. 30. Saul breakes off with despitefull talke to Ionathan and calles him a harlots sonne wilt thou call thy sonne whores sonne then thou hast a harlot to thy wife Then he said goe get me Dauid for he shall surely die he commaunded him to doe a thing vngodly it greatly grieued him that he was so miscalled of his father as also that his father commaunded him a thing vnlawfull Therefore ye who are parents be not like Saul abuse not your children as Saul did Ionathan for no question this abusing of Ionathan was one part of his enditement God will not let it slip vnpunished therefore haue thine eye to the Lord that thou maist see what is pleasing and displeasing vnto him O it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Lord therfore blessed art thou that studiest to please the Lord for thou shalt raigne with him in glorie Prouoke not to anger saith he Whom who but your owne children and bowels thou art very vnnaturall who wilt rent out thine owne bowels In this word there lurkes an argument from nature forcible in the very infidels and beasts See you not how beasts will loue their owne young and handle them louingly Well if nature craueth this that thou shouldest not anger thine owne child what craueth grace Thou doest challenge grace and yet thou vtterest no signe of grace in thee if there be any in thee thou shouldest vtter it towards thine owne The argument is subioyned in the end of the verse Prouoke not saith he your children to anger least they be discouraged Thou dullest them and makest them like dogges by knocking and dinging still on The argument them The argument is not taken from any mutuall miurie I think if the Apostle had knowne our countrey he would haue vsed this other argument least the childe meete thee with a double reuenge and pluck the bit out of thy cheeke and thou who art his mother hee strike thee on the face and shut thee out of doores and cause thee begge thy bread as wee see this day some doe to their father and mother But the Apostle saw not such things in his time therefore hee takes not his argument from the euill of the sonne to the father but from the euil of the father to the childe This discouraging is not so much by reason of the rigorous dealing as by reason of the person that doth it It is my father who should doe me most good yet it is hee who doth me most euill for this generall is true the neerer they be ioyned to vs who doe vs any wrong our displeasure is the greater So this discouragement is not so much for the euill as for the person that doth it To conclude of all others especially the father by his doing is most effectuall either to winne or lose his childe There is none will lose or winne thy child so soone as thy selfe and all because of that coniunction that is betwixt thee and thy child I reade of two waies to lose thy child but there is one way only Two waies to lose a child to winne him the first way to lose him is this rigorous and despitefull dealing thou dullest him and takes all spirit from him The other way is ouermuch bearing with him and if thou passe measure in this thou shalt lose him also and it is no loue to the child to doe so for he who spareth the rod hateth the child Prou. 13. 24. Ely thought he loued his sonnes when he corrected them not when they offended but I say to you he hated them and was the wracke of his children vnder God for the Lord had said they should die yet hee vsed Elyes indulgencie for that purpose Absolon was lost because hee was ouermuch borne with As for the thing that will winne them it is that golden mediocritie make not Gods of them nor yet Diuels of them And would you haue a warrant of this Paul Ephes 6. vers 4. saith Parents bring them vp and how by filling their bellies No no but with instruction instruct them in the true forme of religion in the rudiments of the knowledge of Iesus Christ tell them of God from the time they can begin to Catechising of children how soone babble See if you can get the holy spirit to possesse them that they may feare God This is that golden mediocritie and if thou misse this way all other waies shall be to lose thine owne child Goe get great heritages to him and if thou bring him not vp to know God thou doest nothing els but heape vp coales of fire to destroy him and as oft as thou art in heaping vp of thy pelfe for him thou doest but endeuour to burie him in destruction The Lord open our eyes that wee may see the things that are offered to vs
the true blessednes O would to God we could know what blessednes we are called vnto by the preaching of this Gospell To goe forward What is the end of all this preaching of this admonishing and teaching and that in all wisedome The fairest end that euer was What is that end That we saith he may present euery one perfect in Iesus Christ The meaning hereof is that wee may present euery man and woman to whom wee preach of what estate so euer they be a perfect scholler and that in Iesus Christ without whom there is no perfection So this end of this preaching instructing and admonishing is a presenting of euery man in perfectnes and holines especially in the great day of the Lord before that glorious tribunall and to set them vp before their Iudge For if you will reade Paul you shall gather thus much of him that Heb. 13. 17 there is neuer a faithfull preacher but in that day hee shall bring in his companie them whom hee hath conuerted and say Lord there is my companie that were conuerted by my ministery vnto the faith in thy bloud Paul appeares to meane this in these words Alwaies I marke of this presenting that all men and women were once absent from God if thou art to be presented then it must follow that thou wast absent Nay all flesh wandred away from his God The second thing I marke what is the end of all this feruent The end of the ministerie preaching admonition and instruction There is the end to bring men and women that wandred away home againe 2. Cor. 5. 18. 19. to their God in Iesus Christ to bring thee who wast absent from God present to him and to that sight of that countenance in the which is the sacietie of all ioy And in that day when euery Pastor shall present so many as he hath conuerted by the voyce of the Gospell then hee shall see the fruit of his labours for let him preach what he will yet hee shall not see what is the fruit of his trauels till that day Then it shall be said to him Thou didst winne these soules Then he shall get his reward He gets not his wages here modified as you would modifie them to one that serueth you Nay nay but at that day he shall get a Crowne of glorie Paul looked for a Crowne A Crowne of righteousnes saith he is laid vp for me which the Lord that righteous Iudge shall giue me at that day and not to me onely but to all those who looke for his appearing 2. Tim. 4. 8. Who shall be presented Shall onely Kings be presented who haue heard the Gospell shall onely the rich be presented to that glorie shall onely the honorable the Grecian and not the Barbarian shall onely the wise and not the vnwise be presented No no euery man from the King to the very begger that hath heard the Gospell as they all are sinners without exception all hearers of the Gospell of grace all shall be presented without exception in that day Marke it So thou who hearest this Gospell hast no small consolation looke for a faire presenting of thee onely lend thy eare and thou shalt not be frustrate of that glorie howbeit thou be here ignominious and despised for this Gospels sake yet shall it make thee glorious I promise thee it shall glorifie thee if thou wilt honour it in this life So all the faithfull shall there be presented And in what state Perfit saith he Brethren a perfect wisdome makes a perfect man in all knowledge and glorie and be assured of it howbeit thou hearest the Gospell in imperfection yet if thou wilt continue in hearing thou canst not but come to perfection in the end thou shalt be filled with all wisedome and when thou shalt be presented thou shalt be presented in such a perfection as the learnedst in this world cannot attaine vnto Thou art an idiot now in their conceit but if thou wilt heare Christ in his Gospell thou shalt be more wise then euer Plato The wisedome of the world and of Christ how they differ or Aristotle or the wisest worldling that euer was and thou shalt get perfect wisedome in the end And this is that difference betwixt that wisedome of the Philosophers and that wisdome of Christ All their wisedome neuer perfected any man because it was imperfect in it selfe as they themselues who taught it were imperfect but this wisedome of the Gospell which is the wisedome of Christ and of God as he is perfect so is it perfect So shall it perfect the man that heares it if he continue but a short time in hearing In the end of the verse he shewes in whom this perfection is There is nothing without Christ Iesus there is no grace out of him no beginning of grace no progresse in grace no perfection without him Wouldest thou begin in grace Begin in him Wouldest thou proceede in grace goe on in him Wouldest thou be perfected be perfect in him and thou shalt be perfected For euen in this life by reason of that coniunctiō we haue with Christ through faith in his bloud wee haue perfection euen in this imperfection of ours If thou be ingrafted in Christ thou art alreadie perfect in him and maist stand vp and claime it and say O my God I am perfect in Christ But in that great day when wee shall be presented being in Iesus Christ for the hold we get of him here shall neuer let goe thou shalt neuer be seuered from him thou shalt haue a double perfection Thou shalt not onely haue his perfection and his glorie which shall shadow thee and couer thee as a garment but beside that thou shalt then be filled with perfect glorie thy selfe All thy bodie and soule shall be filled with exceeding great glorie So thou shalt haue no small vantage in him All comes to this exhortation sticke by Iesus and be not seuered from him for if thou seuer from him thou art seuered from thy grace and if thou cleaue to him all thy glorie and perfection shall neuer be hindred Let them rent thee and teare thee as they wil thou shalt be glorified and perfected in spite of their teeth Fie then on thee creature that suffers thy selfe to be seuered from Christ cleaue to him as euer thou wilt see glorie and perfection Now we come to the last verse When he hath spoken of the end of his ministerie now hee sheweth he laboured to attaine to it vnto the which saith he I laboured If there was euer any laborious man Paul was one he was a painfull man neuer resting night nor day and all to this end to present many to the Paines in the Ministerie Lord Iesus Then marke the lesson would a Minister attaine to the end of his calling let him be painfull A sluggish Minister will neuer doe good if he be not painfull he is no louing man for loue is euer painfull 1. Thess 1. 3.
He that loues will straine himselfe if it were to the death for the weale of them he loues So if he be not painfull I doubt if euer he shall present himselfe let by other men Therefore the people should be carefull to haue a painfull man to watch ouer them For the Minister is ordained to present thee before the Lord and hee cannot do that if he be not painfull I will neuer giue the people counsell to hold a man that is not painfull to present and gaine them to God And cursed be that Pastor that takes his ease and rest and lets the sheepe of the Lords pasture goe here and there astray cursed be he and the Lord himselfe curseth him in Ierem. 48. 10. that doth the worke of the Lord negligently Alas it will not bee the studying nor the preaching of a Sermon that will make thee to be a painfull Minister but it must be the continuall teaching of thy flocke and euery one of them admonishing them that are out of the way and by thy trauels bringing them home and instructing them that are in Idlenes in the Ministerie dangerous the way of grace to goe on that they goe not to the left hand nor to the right hand but that they hold out the high way to Christ Iesus neuer resting till they get his presence and night and day to be watching and on his guard praying for the people this man is a painfull man that doth thus So a Minister should not be an idle bodie neither can he be idle if hee haue any whit of conscience in his calling And I count a sluggish Minister worse then a theefe he will goe and studie a peece of a Sermon and vp to the pulpit and preach that and then come his way hee thinkes hee hath done enough and neuer more thought nor care hath he of the people of God O vaine man thou art a sluggard worse then a theefe thou shalt present but few or none at that great day And therfore thy damnation shall be the greater for the bloud of all these soules that through thy default dye ignorant shall light about thy shoulders and presse thee downe like milstones in hell where thou and they shall be tormented euerlastingly Yet there is more here this presenting craues more then labour or paine He saith he stroue as a man fighting a combat or as a souldier vnder a banner And to speake the truth this mans life is but a battaile as is plaine in the 2. Tim. 4. 7. I haue saith he fought a good fight yea and the sorest fight that is fought is to fight for the soule to bring it out of the diuels hands and to put it in Christs hands to bring it from hell and to set it in heauen How hard a thing it is to winne a soule from death to life that is a sore fight The man therefore that will bring soules to God he must not be a painfull man onely but he must be a warriour and he must oppose himselfe standing and fighting with euery one who oppose themselues against Christ if they were Emperours or Monarchs and hee must fight the battaile to the end otherwise if he be not painfull and a fighter also I doubt if he shall present himselfe much lesse others in that day to Christ A coward that will take a backe side he will not be meete to present one he is not for the field away with him Of al this I marke it is a hard thing to winne a soule to God nay the soule of one cannot be won but with great paine and labour and fighting Why then labour ye not with striuing and wrestling for the safetie of your soule that you may present it to the Lord safe and sound The soule of euery bodie hath many enemies and mightie enemies O if thou wist how many enemies thy soule hath to stay The enemies of the soule thee from going to heauen thou wouldest not sit in such ease as thou doest neglecting thy selfe and the time both but thou wouldest euer bee labouring and painfully labouring and fighting to keep thy soule safe to the Lord. Againe we see that heauen is a faire thing For this is true Difficilia quae pulchra The more glorious the harder to get so heauen is too faire a iewell to lose through sluggishnes No these things in the world haue no ioy A heape of stones is no iewell and if thou wilt lose the iewell of heauen for that looke what aduantage thou wilt make Now let vs see what fruite reaped he of his paines according to his working the effectualnes of him saith he who worketh in me mightily the end of his labour was effectualnes he was effectuall in the hearts of them who heard him In despite of the diuell and his impes he drew great multitudes by the power of the word out of the kingdome of the diuell and darknes and wanne them vnto Christ Take paines on thee meete the diuell fight on to relieue soules and be assured thou shalt see the effect of thy labours for there was neuer none that stroue but he shall be presented at that day glorious Yet albeit men would labour and striue neuer so much some will perish All shall not perish in that great day therefore let vs fight with paine and labour To whom giues hee the glorie of his labours and effectualnes ascribes hee it to himselfe saies hee according to my effectualnes No how then According to his effectualnes that workes in me mightily that is God So that all power and al the effectualnes that is in his hand is not in himselfe but in God and of God and that power of God is craued and is needfull to the recouerie of a soule yea of the silliest soule of you all The silliest soule that is shall neuer be safe by any power or vertue of man of the Minister there is no power that can free a soule but the almightie power of God The power of God only must free a soule This his power comes downe from heauen while the Minister is speaking and it gaineth conquereth the soule that heares the word Therefore looke not to the man that teacheth but pray that the power of God would come downe and free thy soule from bondage And as thou shouldest depend vpō God so when thou hast trauelled all thy daies turne back thy praises vnto God and thank him for it The Apostle takes nothing to himselfe Marke and behold the words he saith according to his effectualnes that worketh by me that is in a word hee taketh the honour and reputation of an instructer of a Minister and seruant of God and God giues him that honour As the Lord will haue the honour of the principall worke to himselfe and good reason he haue it so when hee hath imployed thee hee vouchsafeth to impart honour vnto thee He will giue thee a honour that thou art his seruant and therefore 1. Cor.