to satisfie Justice for the Sin of Men and to pacifie God for the offence committed against him by suffering himself for it He condescended to be conceived by a Virgin Born in a Stable become an Infant converse with Men and live among them such a Life as we shall hereafter relate He preached did Miracles suffered Affronts and Injuries endured an Infamous and painful Death was Buryed in a Tomb rose again and Lastly ascended into Heaven After he commanded his Disciples to go and Preach in his Name thro' all the World and all this to perform and Compleat the Great Work of our Salvation Behold how great Love God hath shewed to Rebellious Man The Father hath given his only Son and this Son gave himself for them Let no Man ask the reason why God did not make choice of some easier way to save us which might cost him less It is certain that the Almighty could have found out some other means but it is also certain that we ought to look upon this which God hath made use of as the most advantageous for us and most agreeable to our needs since that God hath preferred it before all others who is not only the most Powerful but Wise Being who cannot be mistaken in the fittest means for attaining the End he aims at Let us not then examine what other ways God might have taken to effect this Great Work but let us devoutly consider how Glorious to himself and how profitable to us that way is which he hath taken And 1st God in the Incarnation of his Son hath magnified his Power and Goodness for he hath demonstrated to Man that tho' he is pleased to permit the Evils which he could hinder he can produce great good out of them and make those very Sins which dishonour him to be serviceable for his glory in it He hath shewed his Mercy and his Justice for he pardons the Guilty and at the same time he received a satisfaction equivalent to the Offence committed By it he hath discovered to us the admirable and unsearchable strength of his Wisdom which hath found out a way to satisfy at once both his Justice and his Love and hath so ordered it that the Criminal may be saved and yet God who hath been offended not be dishonoured for by the Death of Jesus Christ God is revenged and Mans Sin punished He bore our grief in his own Body and offered such a Sacrifice to his Father as could not but be accepted because it was Pure and Innocent and which payd him as great honour as he had received affront by Man's Sin for it was of infinite value being united to the God-head The perfect submission of the Son of God even to the Death of the Cross hath made sufficient amends for the Disobedience of a mere Man Men are saved because another hath undergone the punishment due to them and God hath lost nothing of his Honour since he was offended by a mere Creature but hath been infinitely Honoured by a God And as it is glorious to God so also is 2. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ as advantageous to Man by the wonderful fitness which it hath to all the defects and evils from which the Divine Wisdom hath thought fit to deliver him for Gods anger was not only to be appeased but Man who was diseased was to be cured Now as the perfection of Man consisted in knowing and loving God so the disease of Man was to be stripped of these so that he neither knew God nor loved him but laboured under blindness of Mind and corruption of Heart which Christ by his Incarnation hath removed and cured For 1. He hath restored Man to the knowledge of God He hath opened the Eyes of Man to make him know the true God for the Word who is the Light of the Soul John 1.14 was made flesh and dwelt among us The Light which we shut our Eyes against came down from Heaven to present it self to us accommodating it self to the weakness of our sight and because we were able to discern nothing but Corporeal things he cloathed himself with a Body that so by our Senses he might insinuate himself into our Souls and disperse our darkness and blindness Jesus Christ being thus become visible he conversed sometime with Men did Miracles to make them believe on him and by sensible benefits healing the Sick freeing the Possessed drawed them to him and so having insensibly link'd them to his Human Nature which he assumed to work out Salvation for them he Preached the Truth to them They heard his Word with pleasure and this Word purifying their Hearts by Faith which they had in this Man who Preached to them prepared them by little and little and at last led them insensibly to the knowledge of the-God-head which was hidden under the Vail of the Humanity 2. But since it is not enough for Man to know God unless he Love him Jesus Christ by his Incarnation hath healed our corruption of Heart and hath drawn our Affections off from the Love of the Creature to that of the Creator for being Cloathed with a Body he placed his God-head among those Objects which the Soul in the State of Corruption doth naturally fix its Love upon and by sensible benefits and kindnesses endeavoured to bring it to the Consideration and Love of Invisible and Eternal good things He shewed it what it ought to love as its true Happiness and not only raised its hopes to attain it but Taught it the proper means of arriving at it Lastly He convinced it of the great Love God had for it and consequently how much it ought to love him for what greater sign of love could he have given us than in sending his only begotten Son to Dye for us who were his Enemies And what more effectual Attracture to oblige us to love him again who hath thus loved us first What Heart is so hard as not to be melted with such immense kindness A slight reflection upon it will make us resolve with the beloved Disciple and say Let us Love God for he hath first Loved us 1 Jo. 4 19. And as the Incarnation of Christ gives us an ample proof of Gods love to us so also it shews us the greatness of the Crime with which we have offended him The greatness of the Satisfaction discovers the greatness of our Guilt Man could never have conceived the heinousness of his Sin if God had not required so great a satisfaction We usually look upon Adam's sin as a small sin and are apt to accuse God of injustice for punishing a momentary Action with eternal Torments not considering that the Person who was threatned with eternal Torments for his Rebellion might have enjoyed an eternal Happiness for his Obedience But the Incarnation of the Son of God hath justified the Justice of God for his Blood which was shed for the expiation of our Sin is a faithful Mirrour to represent the greatness of
our Crimes By it we see how much our Offences displeased God since he punisheth it with Eternal Death and for the Pardon of it requires no less satisfaction than the abasing Tortures and Death of the Son of God Nor let us say that if God loved Men so tenderly he might have saved them without exacting of them so great a Satisfaction as Jesus Christ made but let us think rather that if God notwithstanding the love he hath for Man would not save Man any other way than by the Death of his Son God-Man he must need have an irreconcilable hatred to Sin and of all Evil that is most odious to him This is none of the least advantages which we may gain by the Incarnation of the Son of God to raise in our selves a hatred of Sin and a fear of losing the benefit of our Reconciliation with God by our fresh Sins by considering what it cost to redeem us viz. as the Apostle St. Peter says We are not redeemed with Corruptible things as Silver and Gold 1 Pet. 18. but with the precious Blood of the Lamb of God without spot i. e. by the Blood of the only begotten Son of God IV. Of the Life of Jesus Christ Heb. 12.14 Since without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord we cannot reasonably desire that God should make us happy So long as we remain in our Sins enemies to him by our wicked Works it is absolutely necessary in Order to salvation that Men should be converted from their Sins and return to him by a sincere and unfeigned Love of him Now to effect this great Work saith S. Austin God thought not fit to make use of Violence and Force Aug. de ver Rel. c. 16. but rational inducements and perswasions and of all those gentle Methods which could be possibly made use of by infinite Wisdom for that end as fit and proper for effecting this design none was thought so suitable as the Life and Converse of Jesus Christ with the Sons of Men by which not only all the obstacles of our Conversion are removed but all the sweetest allurements imaginable are tendred to us We are ignorant what we ought to do to please God and being blinded with the false Idea's of Good and Evil are not sensible that the only real Good of the Rational Soul is the enjoyment of God and the only real Evil is the loss of this Chief Good All Men are involved in this Error and therefore 't was in vain to expect a better information from any mere Man or if any had those true notions of Mans happiness yet either Mans natural pride or the differences of the Wise about it would make us either slight our Teachers or deny our assent to what they Instruct us in as dubious and uncertain That therefore we might be Instructed in this Truth without fear of being deceived the Truth it self came to dispel our Darkness and enlighten our Ignorance and hath tendred himself to us as a Master whose Disciples we need not be ashamed to own our selves because this Master is our God He was made Man and dwelt among us He hath proved to us by his admirable Miracles That he was a Teacher sent from God to Instruct us that he is Gods only Son Lastly that he is Wisdom Light and Truth and having proved himself to be God he hath dispersed the Rays of his Doctrin and Taught by his Preaching what is our true Happiness and what we must do to attain it But he did not content himself to teach us but joyned Example to his Instruction He perswaded us to the practise of those Truths by his Actions which he delivered in his Sermons He prescribed them fit Remedies for their Distempers but because they were bitter and unpleasant troublesome and nauseous for Men to take he first took them himself altho' he had no need of them that the sick person might be more willing to take them after their Physician We must be humble that we may be saved and this was the way he took to perswade the Proud to it God might have commanded his Creatures to be humble crying out from his Caelestial Throne Matth. 18.3 in Jesus 's Words Except ye humhle your selves and be converted ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven But God did not make choice of this way to bring Men to embrace this Virtue Aug. Ep. 42. but made use as St. Austin saith of a more effectual and taking way more sweet and pleasant he had rather root Pride out of our Hearts by perswasion than force and invite us to Humility by the example of the Son of God who being humble and of no Reputation saith unto us Learn of me Matth. 11.29 for I am meek and lowly in Heart What arrogance can withstand such words as these supported by infinite Dignity and profound Humility of the Speaker And who will not think it now a greater shame for him to be elevated with Pride after the manner of Men than to be humble and meek in imitation of the Son of God And the same may be said of all the Virtues necessary for Mans Conversion which I have said of Humility for whereas there is nothing more prevalent with Men than Example Jesus Christ hath made himself an exact Pattern for them and for this cause hath propounded his Life to us that he lived upon Earth as an exact Pattern of our matters Sin hath separated us from God and setting us at a distance from him puts us out of a possibility of returning to him We are carryed by our Affections which are so far from leading us to Happiness as we suppose that they hurry us headlong into our own Ruin and Destruction Who can discover the Depth of Gods admirable Wisdom in making choice of Christs Incarnation and Life to redeem Man out of this miserable condition God who is the end at which we ought to aim and from which we naturally go farther and farther is come himself to seek us We had lost the sight of him he hath made himself visible He thought it not sufficient to propose the most absolute and compleat good to their sight in his own Person as the only fit object of their Love but he would shew them the way they should go in to come to the full possession of it He became himself their Fellow-Traveller and Guide and appeared himself as a Person at a distance from God that he might carry us to God with him He went before us and restored all our Defects by his perfections i. e. he hath reform'd all our Sentiments and all the affections of our Souls by the affections and motions which he shewed in the Human Narure which he assumed for our Salvation We were not sensible what we ought to Love or Hate Desire or Fear Follow or eschew but he hath Instructed us by his Example to Order and regulate the whole course of our Lives with a
out of the Temple cast the Changers Mony on the Ground and overthrew their Tables and said unto those that Sold Doves Ps 69.9 Take these things hence make not my Fathers house an house of Merchandize This Action of Jesus brought to the Disciples minds these words of Scripture The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up but it surpriz'd and incensed the Jews who required of him a Miracle to prove his Authority of acting in that manner To whom he said Destroy this Temple and in three days I will rebuild it They understood it of the Temple out of which he had driven the Traders but he meant it of his Body which should be destroyed by Death and raised again the third day He did many Miracles at the Passover in Jerusalem which continues seven days and many Persons believed in his Name but he would not trust himself with those who were won only by Miracles because he knew the bottom of their hearts and exactly discerned what was unsound and imperfect in their Faith XX. The Discourse between J. Christ and Nicodemus VVhile Jesus was at Jerusalem Jo. 3 1.-12 a Jewish Ruler of the Sect of the Pharisees came to him by night and said unto him Master We know that thou art a Teacher come from God for no man can do those Miracles that thou dost except God be with him From hence Jesus takes an Occasion to teach this Pharisee the necessity of Baptism in order to Salvation saying unto him Except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God To which he adds these important Truths That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit and that the Spirit inspires whom it pleaseth Nicodemus being surpriz'd asked him how can this be Jesus reproving his Ignorance that he was a Doctor and knew not these things saith unto him We testify what we have seen and ye receive not our Witness He then discovers these Mysteries of our Religion to him Jo. 3 13.-20 That no Man hath ascended up to Heaven but the Son of Man that came from Heaven That the Brazen Serpent which Moses put upon a Pole in the VVilderness that all those who were bitten by the fiery Serpents by looking upon it might be healed of their VVounds was but a Figure of him who was fixed unto the Cross for the deliverance of all those that believe in him from Eternal Death That he was sent into the World not to condemn the World but to save it That so great was the love of God towards Men that he gave them his only begotten Son to dy for them but this Love will be a just cause of Condemnation to all those that believe not in this Son and receive not this Light that is come to enlighten them loving rather to continue in darkness because they will not bring their VVorks to the Light of Truth lest they should be convinced thereby that the Actions which they so much delight in are criminal and sinful XXI St. Johns second Testimony concerning Jesus Jo. 3 23.-27 Jesus being come from Jerusalem after the Feast tarryed in Judea with his Disciples and there Baptized at the same time that John administred his Baptism in Jordan Here the Disciples of John had a dispute with the Jews about Baptism And they came to their Master and spake to him concerning Jesus Saying He to whom thou bearest Witness doth now Baptize and all men flock to him St. John who would not have gathered Disciples but that he might resign them to the Son of God answered them A man can receive nothing except it be given him from Heaven signifying by this answer that he acted in his Ministry only by the power and command of him who had called him to it Jo. 3 28.-36 He then puts them in mind of the Protestations which he had made before them That he was not the Christ He tells them that he is not the Bridegroom of the Church but the Bridegroom's Friend only And in that Quality 't was his only Joy and delight to hear the Bridegroom's Voice He goes on and says He must increase but I must decrease He adds that Jesus Christ came from above and therefore is above all that he speaks what he hath seen and heard and that he that receiveth his Testimony acknowledgeth that God is true because God hath sent him and hath not given his Spirit by measure to him but because he loveth him he hath given all things into his hands That Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he that believeth in him hath eternal Life and on the contrary he that believeth not shall not see Life but is an Object of the Wrath of God which shall not depart from him XXII John 's Imprisonment St. John did not think he had discharged his Office sufficiently Mat. 14 3.-5 Mar. 6 17.-20 Lu. 3.19 20. in discovering Jesus to be the Messiah at the River Jordan but he went to the Princes Court to Preach true Morality and Piety Herod Antipas the Son of Herod the Great in whose Reign Jesus Christ was Born and his Successor in one fourth part of his Kingdom from whence he is called Herod the Tetrarch had Marryed contrary to all Laws Herodias his Brother Philips Wife John went to reprove him for this Crime and for all the other evils which he had done and told him confidently that it was not Lawful for him to have her for his Wife who was his Brothers Wife Herod was not presently angry with this Holy Man but on the contrary believing him to be a Just Man and an Holy he had a great Respect and Veneration for him yea he feared him was a diligent Hearer of him and followed his advice in many things But Herodias was not so well affected to John for she hated him Mortally and sought all Occasions to destroy him By her instigation Herod became every day more averse to him and at length to please her apprehended him and put him into Prison He had at that time put him to Death but that he feared the People who accounted of and reverenced John as a Prophet VVhen Jesus knew that John was put into Prison and that the Pharisees had heard that he made and Baptized more Disciples than John tho' he Baptized no Man himself Jo. 4 1.-4 but by his Disciples he left Judea and returned into Galilee through Samaria XXIII The Samaritan Woman Jo. 4 5.-11 About noon Jesus came to a City of Samaria named Sychar and being wearied with his Journey he sat down on the brink of a Fountain called Jacob's VVell in a parcel of Ground which that Patriarch gave long since to his Son Joseph A certain VVoman of this Countrey came to fetch VVater at this VVell and Jesus saith unto her Give me to drink This VVoman who thought him to be a Jew wondred that he
better till he came to a perfect sight Then the Son of God sent him to his own House forbidding him to tell any Man what had happened unto him X. S. Peter confesseth That Jesus Christ is the Son of God Matth. 16 13-20 Mark 8 27-30 Luke 9 18-20 Jesus went from thence with his Disciples and ascending up towards the Head of Jordan he went into the Towns adjoyning to Caesarea Philippi a City situate upon the same River on the South-Side of Galilee By the Way he asked them What Men said of him They answered him That some took him for John the Baptist others for Elias others for Jeremiah and lastly others for one of the old Prophets risen from the Dead But saith he to them whom say ye that I am Peter answered and said Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God Whereupon Jesus saith unto him Blessed art thou Simon Son of Jonas for Flesh and Blood hath not revealed this that thou hast said unto thee but my Father which is in Heaven And I also say unto thee That thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it And I will give unto thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven XI Jesus foretels his Death to his Disciples Matth. 16 20-28 Mark 8 30-38 Luke 9.21 22. Jesus after this Discourse forbids his Disciples to publish it that he was the Son of God and then begins to tell them what he must suffer as he was the Son of Man He declares unto them That he must go to Jerusalem and be there disowned by the Jewish Governours Chief Priests and Scribes suffer many Cruelties and Indignities from them be put to Death and raised again the Third Day Peter who by reason of the great Love he had for his Lord and Master could not endure to hear this Discourse took him aside and reproved him saying God forbid that such Things should befal thee Lord. But Jesus rebuking him for giving him such Council which though it testified much carnal Love and Affection to him did so plainly oppose the Sacred Purpose of God in redeeming Man said unto him before all his Disciples Depart from me Satan for thou art an Offence to me for thou savourest not the things of God All this was transacted privately between Jesus Christ and his Disciples but he called the People Luke 9 23-27 and began to preach before them all those Truths which Peter did not understand when he discouraged him from suffering Death for he asserted it publickly That if any Man will follow him he must bear his Cross all his Days That to lay down his Life for him and the Gospel is the only way to be saved and to seek salvation any other way is to destroy himself and that he gets nothing by the World that loses his own Soul That he shall hereafter come in his Glory and render to every Man according to his Works and then he will disown them before his Father who have been ashamed of him and his Word before Men And he adds That there are some among his present Hearers who shall not dye till they see him in his Kingdom and in the Greatness of his Glory XII Jesus Christ is transfigured on the Mountain The Promise Matt. 17 1-13 Mark 9 1-13 which Jesus made in the last Words he partly performed within Eight Days after for he took Peter and James and John privately and led them into a very high Mountain where he went to Prayers and while he was at Prayers his Face became as radiant and shining as the Sun Luke 9 28-36 and his Garments as bright as the Light appeared as white as Snow The Three Apostles in the mean while were asleep but when they awoke they saw their Master Transfigured i. e. clear another Man from what they had seen him before for they saw him in that Glory in which he had promised to discover himself to some of them and they beheld also with him Two Men full of Majesty who talked with him concerning that Death which he should suffer at Jerusalem They knew that these Two Men were Moses and Elias and when they were about going from Jesus Peter that he might detain them with them said unto his Master Lord it is good for us to be here and if thou pleasest let us make Three Tabernacles One for thee and One for Moses and One for Elias But as he was thus speaking scarce knowing what he said in his Transport as the Gospel observes a bright Cloud over-shadowed them and there came a Voice out of the Cloud which spake these Words This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear him This Cloud and Voice filled the Three Disciples with so great Fear that they fell on their Faces to the Earth But Jesus came to them and comforted them and raised them up Then they lifted up their Eyes and looking round about they saw no Man save Jesus only As they were coming down from the Mountain he commanded them to tell no Man what they had seen till the Son of Man be risen from the Dead They obeyed this Command but did not understand the Last Words and they disputed among themselves about the Meaning of this Expression Vntil the Son of Man be risen from the Dead The Disciples having seen Elias with him in the Mount took an occasion to ask him Why the Scribes and the Pharisees did assert That that Prophet was to come before the Messias Jesus answered them That Elias shall indeed come and shall be rejected and evil-intreated as well as the Son of Man yea he adds That he is already come and that the Jews have done what they list to him and so will they make the Son of Man suffer as they have done his Fore-runner This Answer plainly discovered to the Apostles That the last Elias of whom he had spoken was John the Baptist who had gone before the first coming of Jesus Christ in the Spirit and Power of Elias as Elias himself in Person should go before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ XIII Jesus heals a young Man Lunatick and Dumb. The next Day Jesus being come to the Place Matth. 17 14-21 Mark 9 14-29 Luke 9.37 -42. where the rest of the Apostles were he met a great multitude of Men and the Scribes questioning with them As for the People as soon as they saw the Son of God they ran to him and saluted him being full of Admiration and Joy Jesus then asked the Scribes What was the occasion and Subject of your Dispute but at the same Time came a certain Man to him having broke through the Press and kneeling down at his Feet prayed him to have Pity on his only Son whom he had brought unto him because
The History of the Life of JESUS CHRIST There were in the Field Shepherds Abiding by their Flocks And the Angel of the Lord came upon them And said Behold I Bring you good Tidings Unto you is Born a Saviour which is CHRIST the Lord. Luk. 2. The Evangelical HISTORY OR THE LIFE of our Blessed Saviour JESUS CHRIST Comprehensively and Plainly Related WITH Practical Inferences Discourses THEREUPON In Four BOOKS I. Of the Birth of John the Baptist Of the Conception and Birth of JESVS CHRIST with an Account of what passed to his Entrance upon the Ministerial Function II. The History of the Acts and Miracles of our Saviour in the first Two Years of his Ministry III. A Relation of his Acts and Miracles in the Third Year of his Preaching IV. An Account of his Acts and Preaching from the triumphant Entrance into Jerusalem Of his Crucifixion Resurrection Apparitions and glorious Ascension into Heaven With a Large Practical Introduction by way of Preface Written in French by the Learned L. E. du Pin and Englished by a Divine of the Church of England with Additions Adorn'd with Copper Cuts LONDON Printed for Abel Swall and T. Childe at the Vnicorn at the West-End of S. Paul 's Church-yard 1694. THE PREFACE I. The Design of this History SINCE the only End and Design of Jesus Christs coming down from Heaven and all the Circumstances of his Incarnation his Birth Life Preaching Death Resurrection and Ascension was to procure Salvation for Men It is highly reasonable that they should fully understand all those Mysteries which are contained in the great Work of their Redemption and be well versed in the History of that Life and Death from which they receive so great Advantage They were Enemies to God Jesus Christ hath made a compleat satisfaction to his Father by his Death Ro. 5.10 and by his Discourses and Example hath Taught them what they ought to do return unto him They can never sufficiently meditate upon the Sufferings which the Son of God endured to expiate their Guilts that they may make a grateful acknowledgment of them by an unfeigned Love of him nor upon those Truths which he hath Taught them and exemplified by his own practice since we must be saved by the observation of those Truths and Imitation of his Actions For this Reason it is that the Church of God in all Ages hath been so urgent with Christians to receive the Holy Sacrament frequently it being a lively representation of his Death and of the Sacrifice which he offered upon the Cross for a propitiation to God and our frequent use of it being an Authentick Testimony of our Thankfulness to God for his Goodness Upon which account it is called the Eucharist i. e. a Thanksgiving But because we cannot obtain that Life Eternal which Jesus Christ hath purchased for us by his Death but by the exact observation of those Laws he hath imposed upon us and by following the Example he hath left us he requires his Ministers before the receiving of the Holy Sacrament to Instruct Men well both in the Precepts of the Gospel and in the Actions of the Son of God And by this he shews that there is nothing that he recommends so much to his Children as to meditate upon and get a full knowledge of the Life and Death of Jesus Christ either that they may give him thanks continually for what he hath done and suffered for them or know by what he hath done what they ought to do themselves for all his whole Life as St. Austin saith Is but one continual Instruction Aug. de ver Rel. c. 14. how we should lead our Lives and we never commit any Sin but by departing from his Example It is true that the Gospels are the most exact History of the Life and Death of Christ for they contain in them all that God hath thought fit to make known to us concerning the Actions and Doctrins of his Son And Men can never be too much Importun'd to Read those Books diligently which contain in them those Truths by which they must be judged at the Last Day But since it is very conducible to the Right Understanding of the Scripture-Relation concerning Christ to have the History of his Life lay'd down in a continued draught according to the Order of Time and with all the Circumstances of it which none of the Evagelists have done I thought I might do some service to the Church of God in general and to more ignorant and weak Christians in particular in composing a short but perfect Harmony of the Gospels And in my performing this undertaking I have had special care to relate nothing but the Truth avoiding all Traditional Stories and confining my self strictly to the Relations of the Evangelical Writers and have adventured to put in nothing of my own but the Style and Expression that I might render the Sense and Phrase of Scripture more easie and intelligible to the most ordinary capacities And that nothing be difficult to them I have observed these two things 1. I have related the Actions of Jesus Christ with all their Circumstances But as to his Sermons and Discourses I have set down only so much of them as are most easie to be understood and necessary to know for the improvement of our Manners I am sensible that the Sermons of our Saviour make up a great part of his Life and that the Truths he Taught are as necessary to be known as the Actions he did but since several of his Sermons especially such as concern the proof of his Divinity are scarcely intelligible by any but the Learned I have touched but lightly upon them and chose to set down more largely those Truths which are essential and of Universal concern for all Mens Salvation which as I have expressed in short so also in such words as may render them more Intelligible to the People 2. Altho' I designed to speak of nothing but what is in the Gospel and that I might not be obliged to add any thing have chosen to relate nothing that is obscure or controversal yet sometimes I have been forced to transgress these bounds meeting with something which could not be omitted tho' difficult upon which account I have added some explications of them Jesus Christ hath Taught many Moral Truths in Metaphors and Parables which are very important for all Christians to know but useless and some times dangerous unless they be accompanyed with some Reflexions which may help the Reader in understanding and applying them For this reason we have intermixed some explications without breaking the Series of the History to clear that which is obscure sweeten that which is harsh and so prepare the Bread of Truth that it may nourish the weak as well as the strong tho' these observations and remarks are very rare short and easily distinguishable from the Relations of the Evangelists and I am perswaded will be thought necessary for the most part
reference to that ultimate End For as St. Austin saith Aug. de cat rud c. 22. Jesus Christ our Lord who is the Son of God and was made Man hath contemned the good things of this World to Teach us to contemn them suffered many Sorrows to give us Courage to endure them was Poor that we might not glory in Riches would not be made a King to teach us to be Humble suffered Hunger and Thirst to teach us Contentment In fine Dyed and Rose again that we might learn to contemn Death in hopes of a Glorious Resurrection Thus hath the Son of God given us an Example of managing our Words Actions and Sufferings and in so doing we shall be saved V. Some directions how we may read the Life of Jesus Christ with advantage The Life of Christ being intended as we have already shewed as the Universal Remedy of all the Distempers of Mans Soul deserves our daily reading and serious Meditation upon it All Arguments to perswade Men to it come far short of this very consideration That 't is the Life not of a Man but of a God so that it is in vain to propound any other All that I shall add shall be only some directions to the Reader in perusing it which may help him to make it as Beneficial as it is design'd and ought to be to us 1. One of the most Important is that we should always keep it in our minds whose Life it is we are Reading of that we may not be offended at his Infirmities and Sufferings by looking upon them as Involuntary Jesus Christ is God and by consequent Almighty and therefore nothing could befal him against his Will nor could he suffer any thing but what he would and so long as he pleased When we see him dying upon the Cross let us remember what he hath said That he lay'd down his Life of himself John 10.18 Luke 4.30 John 18.6 and no Man was able to take it from him When he falls into the hands of his Enemies let us consider that before this he had often withdrew himself Miraculously from the Fury of his Enemies and before he suffered himself to be taken he threw them down on the Earth at his Word alone If at any time the Evangelists who have undertaken to describe exactly what Jesus did as a Man here upon Earth do sometimes represent him to us under such Troubles and Passions as happen to Men involuntarily let them know that the Evangelist who hath written on purpose to prove his Divinity teaches us That all these Motions were voluntary in him and that he troubled himself But let no Man say That these Troubles and Infirmities though voluntary were unbecoming God but on the contrary let us honour him the more for them since he made choice of them who is the Wisdom and Power of the Father Let us consider the Design why he underwent our Weaknesses and Miseries and be so far from being ashamed of his Humiliation that we should admire the wonderful propriety and fitness to bring about the End Proposed which is the Salvation of Man The Mockings which the Gentiles treated him withal were a necessary Remedy to cure our Pride and our Physician was willing to take this Medicine himself that he might make it more pleasant and tolerable to the Sick whom he intended to save He sometimes acted as God and sometimes as Man but managed all his Actions both Human and Divine for our Benefit If he manifests his Glory by Miracles it is to make us believe on him and to perswade us that when he suffers 't is not out of Necessity but Love to us And if he conceal the Glory of his Divinity under the Vail of our Infirmities 't is that he may gain our Love and Service as a Guide to us teaching us by his Example what we should do and suffer If he opposes his Enemies till they are ready to stone him but yet cannot 't is that when they shall put him to Death we may be thankful for the Death which he suffered to redeem us He submitted to Death in Obedience to the Command of his Father to teach us a patient Submission to all Afflictions God shall please to lay upon us He was seized with Fear and Sorrow at the Approaches of Death which yet he endured voluntarily and had long desired and which he knew was the Cup given him to drink by his Father not that we should think that he drank it unwillingly but to comfort and instruct those that are obliged to dye either through Force or by Necessity of Nature Thus like a good Physician he subjected himself to all our Weaknesses that he might make us couragious and strong to take the wholsome but bitter Potion which he offered to us Who could have been perswaded of the necessity of suffering and bearing the Cross if Jesus Christ had not suffered and been crucified for us Who would think himself able to endure Crosses when Nature makes so strong an Opposition if Jesus Christ had not Suffered it himself Who of us would not tremble at the Efforts which we must sustain in encountring the horrible Terrors of Death had not our Spiritual Physician swet Blood and Water in the same Combat These voluntary Sufferings of Jesus Christ are our Consolation under our involuntary Afflictions teaching us that they are no sins since the Son of God was contented to endure them and shewing us the Way how to engage God's Love to us by them saying to God as his Son did Not mine Luke 22.42 but thy Will be done Thus the Infirmities of our Saviour though they seem unbecoming a God yet are evident Demonstrations of the Infinite Mercy by which he desired to save us His Humiliations are all our Honour since he was humbled for us only Let us adore his Condescension and judge with ourselves that all our Love is due to that God who abased himself suffered and dyed for our Salvation 2. Another Direction how we should read the Life of our Saviour with Advantage is to read it with a Design of conforming our selves to it All the Holiness of Men consisteth in the Imitation of Jesus Christ Rom. 8.2 for according to S. Paul's Words God hath predestinated us to be conformed to the Image of his Son 1 Cor. 15.49 And the same Apostle teaches us elswhere as we have born the Image of the Old Man by following the irregular Desires of our Flesh we must bear the Image of the New Man which is Christ Jesus by regulating our Lives by his Wherefore we ought not to be lead by mere Curiosity to the Reading of this History nor to know his Actions only but to learn by what he hath done what we ought to do He said to the Jews long since Joh. 5.35 who had heard John's Sermons with Pleasure John was a Burning and Shining Light and ye were willing for a Season to rejoyce in his Light But it is
they are indeed but a small number but notwithstanding that they should not be afraid since it is their Fathers good will to give them the Kingdom He tells them further that they should always be in a readiness to appear before God who will come at an Hour when they least expect him as Servants who watch all Night waiting for the return of their Master from the Wedding That being made Stewards of Gods House to distribute to his People the Food of his Word they should discharge their Duty faithfully not doing as the Foolish Steward who seeing his Lord to delay his coming consumed the Goods he had been Trusted withal in Debaucheries made use of his Authority to abuse his fellow Servants and deserved for his irregular Management to be cast with Hypocrites and Unbelievers into that place of Torment where there is nothing but wailing and gnashing of Teeth That since the Son of Man will come in a Day and Hour which they know not of to require an Account of their Management they should always watch as a Master of an House would do if he knew what Night the Thief would come to Rob and Plunder his House That knowing the Will of their Master they are so much the more to blame if they do not obey it and the more they are trusted withall the greater their account will be And we see that elsewhere he gives them this important Instruction Luke 17.10 That after that they had done all that they are commanded they should be so far from being proud of it that they ought to look upon themselves as unprofitable Servants and acknowledge that they have done no more than what they are obliged to do He advises them to be very careful in discharging their Ministry faithfully because in so doing they shall be dealt well withall by all the World whereas on the contrary he came to bring division upon Earth so that the Persons of the same Family shall be at enmity with one another some desiring to follow Jesus Christ others Persecuting those that adhere to him Lastly he tells them that he came to kindle a Fire upon Earth and that he had a Baptism to be Baptized with This Baptism is no other according to the Fathers than his Death and many understand by the Fire he came to kindle in the World that Love which the Holy Spirit would infuse into Mens Souls to inflame them devoutly with the Love of God XXIX Jesus shews the necessity of Repentance At the same time came certain Persons to tell Jesus Luke 13 1-10 that Pilate the Governour of Judea had slain certain Galileans as they were sacrificing so that their Blood was mingled with their Sacrifices Whereupon Jesus asks them whether they thought that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because God had left them to suffer such cruel usage from Men He tells that it was not reasonable to think so but that the conclusion that they ought to make from that accident is this That unless they repented they should all come to as sad and untimely ends as those miserable Men. The same application he tells them they ought to make of the Death of those Eighteen upon whom the Tower of Siloam fell and crushed them to Death And that he might engage them to make a good use of the time that God gives them to compleat their Repentance in for their Crimes He compares them to a barren Fig-tree which the owner of the Vineyard would have had cut down but deferred it because the Gardiner desired to try by dunging and digging of it to make it Fruitful and if it still remained barren then to cut it down XXX Jesus cureth a Woman bowed together Jesus using always to Teach in the Synagogues on the Sabboth days Luke 13 11-17 there came thither a Woman possessed with a Devil who had been afflicted so Eighteen Years and so much bowed together that she could not look up He called her and laying his Hand upon her said unto her Woman thou art freed from thy infirmity and at the same instant she was restored and glorified God for her Cure The Ruler of the Synagogue being angry that Jesus had done this Miracle on the Sabboth Day said unto the People That there are Six Days in every Week allowed by God for labour in them let them come and be healed and not on the Sabboth Day which is a Day of Rest But Jesus answering him demanded of these Hypocrites Whether it were not as lawful to deliver from the Bonds of the Devil on the Sabboth Day a Daughter of Abraham whom he had kept a Captive Eighteen Years as it was for them to unloose his Ox or his Ass upon the same Day and lead them from their Stable to Watering This silenced his Adversaries while the People were astonished at his Actions which were so wonderful and made him so glorious XXXI The Jews go about again to Stone him John 10.22.42 A little after this happened the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple which was kept in Winter Two Months after the Feast of Tabernacles and by consequent towards the Beginning of December Jesus came to Jerusalem at this Feast and walked in a Porch of the Temple called Solomon's Porch till the Jews came about him and said unto him How long wilt thou hold our Soul in Suspence by thy obscure Expressions concerning thy self If thou art the Christ tell us plainly He answered them I have already told you and ye believe not the Works which I do in my Father's Name they bear Witness of me but ye believe not because ye are not of my Sheep And to shew them how great losers they are by not being of his Sheep he adds That his Sheep hear his Voice and follow him that he will give them Eternal Life and they shall never perish because no Man can pull them out of his Father's Hands nor his because he and his Father are one Upon this the Jews went about again to stone him but Jesus aked them For which of those many good Works which they had seen him do would they use him so cruelly They answered him That they did it not for a good Work but because he being a Man made himself a God He then proves to them by their own Scriptures That Men are sometimes called Gods so that he was not guilty of Blasphemy in giving himself that Name who was the only Son of God sent by his Father which he proved by so great a Number of Miracles as God had enabled him to do among them All this did not appease their Fury and Rage against him but they sought how they might take him but he escaped out of their Hands because his Hour was not yet come and having passed over Jordan he went along the Bank of the River to Bethabara the Place where John at first baptized and there he abode Hither he was followed by a great number of People
all the Nation should perish Thus did this wretched Man express the cruel Motions of Hatred which he had against Jesus but God delivered by him who thought nothing less the Designs of his Wisdom for the Salvation of Men and honoured his Priesthood in the Person of his High-Priest Prophesying by his Mouth of the Death which the Saviour of the World should suffer to save not only the Jews but also to gather together into one Church the Children of God which are dispersed in all other Nations This advice so took with them that from that time the Priests and Pharisees sought all the ways they could think of to put him to Death and to this end gave order that if any Man knew where he was he should discover him that they might apprehend him But because his hour was not yet come altho ' it drew very near he escaped their Fury for a little time by not appearing in publick but going into a desert place near a City called Ephraim where he abode some time with his Disciples XLVI Jesus is rejected by the Samaritans The Feast of the Passover being the time wherein Jesus Christ was to consummate the great Work of our Redemption by the Sacrifice of his Blood when that Passover drew near Luke 9 51-56 wherein he was to suffer he prepared himself for Death and set forward in his Journey to Jerusalem with a stedfast Countenance signifying the firm Resolution he had taken up to lay down his Life for Men. It seemed good to him to go thro' Samaria but when he came into a City of the Province they would not entertain him because they knew he was going to Jerusalem for there was a great Contest between the Samaritans and Jews about the place where God ought to be Worshipped the first alledging that it was Mount Gerizim and the other the Temple of Jerusalem The reason then why the Inhabitants of this place thro' which Jesus passed rejected him was because he went to Solemnize the Feast and by consequent to Worship in a different place from them The two Sons of Zebedee James and John being incensed at the Injury which they had done to their Master said unto him Lord wilt thou that we command Fire to fall down from Heaven upon them and devour them But the Son of God willing to Teach them that the Spirit of his true Disciples is a Spirit of Love and Charity and not Revenge turned himself to the two Brethren and gave them this sharp reproof Ye know not by what Spirit ye are acted for the Son of Man is not come to destroy mens Lives but to save them And they went to lodge in another Village XLVII Jesus foretells his Death a Third time Matth. 20 17-19 Mark 10 32-34 Luke 18 31-34 This assurance and resolution of the Son of God which appeared even in his Face was not in the Heart of the Apostles who accompanyed him but on the contrary they were seized with terror and amazement and followed him with fear He takes them therefore apart and saith unto them Behold we go up to Jerusalem where all things that are Written concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished For he shall be delivered to to the Chief Priests and Scribes who shall condemn him to Death and deliver him to the Gentiles who shall mock and spitefully entreat him Scourge and crucify him and he shall rise again the Third Day but they understood not this Third Prediction of his Death no more than the Two former and the Gospel assures us That this Discourse was concealed from them so that they knew not the Things that were spoken XLVIII Jesus reproves the Ambition of his Apostles At the same Time Salome the Wife of Zebedee Matth. 20 20-28 Mark 10 35-45 and the Mother of John and James came to him with her Two Sons and worshipped him as if she were about to pray unto him Jesus asked her what she would have and she answered him Command that these my Two Sons may sit the one on thy Right-Hand and the other on thy Left in thy Kingdom He returned her no answer but turning himself to her Children for whom she petitioned he said unto them Ye know not what ye ask Are ye able to drink of the Cup that I must drink of and to be baptized with the Baptism that I must be baptized with By this Cup and Baptism he understood his Death and he asked these Two Brethren Whether they were able to follow him and imitate his Sufferings They answered That they were able Then he tells them That they should indeed drink a part of his Cup but as for the chief Places in his Kingdom they are wholly at the Disposal of his Father to give them to whom he pleaseth As if he had said according to the Explication of the Fathers Do not think that my Kingdom shall be given for Human Motives and Respects it belongs to those for whom my Father hath appointed it and they are such as are qualified for it by their Lives and Sufferings Put your selves therefore into a Posture of Fighting and Conquering and you shall have the Reward which is promised to Conquerors bestowed on you The Ambition of these Two Disciples displeased the other Ten who were very angry with the Two Brethren Jesus who knew their Thoughts being desirous to cure that Pride which made the one ambitious and the other jealous calls them unto him and teaches them That they must not be like the Princes and Grandees of the World who rule with Tyranny over their Subjects but on the contrary he that will be great among them must be Servant of all according to the Example of the Son of Man himself who came not to be waited upon and served but to serve others for their Spiritual Good and redeem Souls by his Death XLIX Jesus lodges at Zaccheus's House Luke 19 1-10 They went on their Journey and came to Jericho In this City there was a certain Man named Zaccheus one of the chief Publicans and very rich who had a very great Desire to see Jesus But because the Multitude hindred him from it being a Man of a small Stature he went before and climbed up into a Sycamore Tree in a Place where he knew he was to pass Jesus accordingly came that way indeed and lifting up his Eyes he saw Zaccheus and said unto him Zaccheus make haste and come down for I must lodge at thy House to Day At this Zaccheus came down immediately and entertained him joyfully while others murmuring against him said He is gone to be a Guest with a Man of a wicked Life But Jesus made it appear by the miraculous Change which he wrought in the Heart of this Publican that he went as a Physician into a diseased Family to cure it for Zaccheus presenting himself before him said to him Lord the half of my Estate I will give unto the Poor and if I have done any
second Time Which of the Two they would have him release to them they all cryed out Put this Man to death and give us Barabbas What would you have me do then saith Pilate with Jesus The answered Crucify him Crucify him He said to them the Third Time What evil hath he done I find nothing that deserves Death in him I will Chastise him and let him go But they were the more urgent doubling their Cries and requiring with a loud Voice That he should be Crucified XXXVII Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns Matth. 27 26-30 Mark 15 15-19 Luke 23.25 John 19 1-7 Pilate then commanded That Jesus should be scourged and the Soldiers added several Insolencies which they were not ordered for they carried Jesus into the Common Hall and gathering the whole Band of Soldiers about him they pulled off his Garments put him on a Scarlet Robe and then made him a Crown of Thorns woven together which they put upon his Head with a Reed in his Hand Afterward in Derision they saluted him and bowing the Knee worshipp'd him saying Hail King of the Jews and at the same Time they smote him with their Hands on his Cheek and with a Reed on his Head and spit in his Face Pilate thought that the Jews could not behold him in this Condition without Pity and he resolved to shew him to them he therefore went once more out of his Palace and told them That he had brought him again to them that they might know that he had found no fault in him Jesus then presently appeared having the Crown of Thorns upon his Head and cloathed with the Scarlet Robe and Pilate said to the Jews Behold the Man But as soon as they saw him they cryed out afresh Crucify him Crucify him Pilate said to them Take ye him and crucify him for I find no fault in him They answered him We have a Law according to which he ought to dye because he made himself the Son of God XXXVIII Pilate condemns Jesus This Cruelty and obstinate Malice of the Jews much amazed and affrighted the Governour John 19 8-15 wherefore he returned again into the Pretorium and asked Jesus whence he was And because he answered nothing he said unto him Speakest thou not unto me Knowest thou not that I have Power to crucify thee or release thee Then Jesus answered Thou couldest have no Power at all against me if it were not given thee from above by God therefore they that delivered me unto thee are guilty of a greater Sin than thy self This Silence and these Answers of Jesus did not slacken the Governours Endeavours to deliver him but the Jews at last through the timorousness of the Judge gained their Desires crying out That if he did not punish a Man who set up himself for a King he was the Emperor's Enemy As soon as Pilate heard these Words he brought forth Jesus out of the Pretorium and sat down on the Judgment-Seat in a Place called Gabbatha but in Greek Lithostraton i. e. a Place pav'd with Stone Being there he said Behold your King but they cryed out Away with him away with him Crucify him He answered them Shall I Crucify your King The Chief Priests answered We have no other King but Caesar Pilate then seeing that he could prevail nothing Matth. 27 24-26 Mar. 15.15 Luke 23.24 25. Joh. 19.16 and that all his Attempts he used to save Jesus did but increase the Tumult he called for Water and washing his Hands before the People he said to them I am Innocent from the Blood of this Just Person you must answer for it Then all the People answered him His Blood be upon us and upon our Children The Destruction of Jerusalem which happened about Forty Years after this and the dreadful Calamities which attended it was the sad Accomplishment of this Curse which these miserable Wretches pronounced against themselves in wishing that the Blood of Christ might fall upon their Heads Nevertheless they obtained their Desires and Pilate not being able to oppose their Cries released Barabbas condemned Jesus and delivered him to them that they might Crucify him XXXIX The Crucifixion of Jesus p. 200. The Crucifixion As soon as they came to Calvary they gave Jesus Wine mingled with Myrrhe and Gall but when he had tasted of it he would not drink It is said That it was a Custom among the Jews to give such Malefactors as were to suffer Death a certain compound Wine to support their Spirits in their Tortures but they gave Jesus a Bitter Wine to increase his Sufferings After this they nailed him upon the Cross between Two Malefactors who were carried along with him and Crucified on each Side of him according to Isaiah's Prophecy He was numbred among the Transgressours Pilate also wrote a Superscription Isai 53.12 containing the Cause of the Condemnation of Jesus and it was fixed on the Top of the Cross above his Head And it was in Hebrew Greek and Latin in these Words JESVS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS The Chief Priests were offended at it and prayed Pilate Not to write The King of the Jews but That he pretended himself to be King of the Jews But Pilate answered them What I have written I have written XL. Jesus's Words upon the Cross When Jesus was fixed upon the Cross Matth. 27 39-47 Mark 15 27-35 he prayed for his Persecutors to God saying My Father forgive them for they know not what they do The Soldiers also which crucified him took his Garments and dividing them into Four Parts to each Soldier a Part cast Lots to know which each of them should take They also took his Coat but because it was without Seam being all woven from Top to the Bottom Luke 23 39-45 John 19 23-27 instead of Cutting of it they agreed to cast Lots whose it should be and so they fulfilled the Prophecy of the Psalmist They parted my Garments among them and upon my Vesture did they cast Lots In the mean time the People which stood about the Cross Psal 22.18 looking upon Jesus mocked him Those also that passed by blasphemed and affronted him nodding their Heads and saying Thou that destroyest the Temple of God and hast Power to build it again in Three Days save thy self if thou art the Son of God and come down from the Cross The Chief Priests Scribes and Rulers likewise derided him among themselves saying He saved others himself he cannot save if he be indeed the King of Israel the Christ the Chosen of God let him come now from the Cross and we will believe on him he put his Confidence in God if God hath such a Love for him as he seemed to pretend to by calling himself the Son of God let God deliver him The Soldiers also who stood by the Cross to guard him did insult over him as well as others saying Save thy self if thou art the King of the Jews One of the Thieves
not believe in Jesus Christ or dare not own it 155. why 16. Gospel is glad Tidings 35. Preached by Christ 40. we must believe it 35. we must leave all for it 137. the Apostles sent to Preach the Gospel in all the World 218. H HEll is called darkness where there is nothing but wailing and gnashing of Teeth 61. the Eternal Fire of Hell 73. the Burial of the Rich Man in Hell 131. Herod The Great King of the Jews troubled at the coming of the Magi 15. pretended to Worship Jesus Ibid. killed the Children of Bethlehem 18. Herod Antipas Son of Herod the Great Marryed his Brothers Wife 31. Imprison'd John the Baptist Ibid. beheaded him 79. believes Jesus Christ to be him Ibid. Jesus calls him Fox 124. bids his Disciples take heed of the Leaven of Herod 91. is brought before him but saith nothing 196. his Officers take Jesus 162. Herodias Herods Brothers Wife hates S. John Baptist 31. made her Daughter to ask his Head of Herod 79. Honour Hypocrites Honour God only with their Lips 81. to be given to Parents 87. Jesus Christ refused Secular Honour 82. Hosanna Given to Christ 152. Humble Humility Jesus Christ is humble 113. shall be exalted 125. Jesus Christ commands it Ibid. and gives us an example of it 201. Hypocrisy Hypocrites Hypocrisy is the Leaven of the Pharisees to be avoided 118. Jesus reproves and curses Hypocrites 116. the unprofitable Servant hath his Portion with Hypocrites 120. I JAmes The greater Son of Zebedee called by Jesus Christ 36. made an Apostle 54. called Boanerges Ibid. a Witness of Christs Transfiguration 93. agony 187. reproved for his indiscreet Zeal 144. and ambition 145. asks Jesus about the Destruction of Jerusalem 166. James The Less made an Apostle 55. the Kinsman of Jesus Christ 74. Jesus Christ appeared to him after his Resurrection 166 Jairus's Daughter raised from the Dead 47. Jerusalem Troubled at the Birth of Jesus Christ 15. kills the Prophets 124. her Destruction 167. Jesus laments it 152. reproved also by him Ibid. Jesus Christ The Son of the most High his Kingdom to have no end 6. the Second Person in the Trinity 7 10. saves his People from their Sins 9. is God and Man 10. the Word of God Ibid. the Wisdom and Power of God 11 the Light and Life of Souls 18. subject to Mary and Joseph 20. encreased in Wisdom and Stature Ibid. came to save the World 29. for Sinners not the Righteous 46. fled from being made a King 87. the Carpenters Son 74. Son of God and David 161. the way to God the Truth and the Life 181. spake nothing of himself 182. is the beloved Son of God 23 94 entred into his glory by dying on the Cross 210. Imposition Of hands for curing 91. for blessing 136. Incarnation Of Jesus Christ 6. God visited Man by the Incarnation 8. Gods promises fulfilled by it 9. the benefits of this Mystery 6 8. Innocents Murdered 19. St. John the Baptist His Nativity foretold by an Angel 4. filled with the Holy Ghost from his Mothers Womb Ibid. great in the sight of God Ibid. his Birth 7. Circumcision 8. a Prophet of the most High dwelt in the Desert Ibid. came to manifest the Light to Men 12. his Preaching and Baptism 20. his answer to those that were sent to him 23. his first Testimony which he gave to Jesus 25. his Second 26. Third Ibid. Fourth 30. St. John The Evangelist Son of Zebedee called by Jesus 36. made an Apostle 54. named Boanerges Ibid. a Witness of Christs Transfiguration 93. and agony in the Garden 187. is reproved for his indiscreet Zeal 144. and ambition 145. and for hindring a Man from casting out Devils in Christs Name 98. the Beloved Disciple 178. who lay on Jesus Breast at Supper and asked who should betray him Ibid. stood at the Foot of the Cross 230. Jesus commended the Holy Virgin to him Ibid. went with Peter to the Sepulchre 207. acknowledged Jesus on the Shore 213. the Apostles thought he should not die 215. Joanna One of the Women that Ministred to Jesus 76. Jonas A Figure of Christ 68. Joseph Espoused to the Virgin of the Family of David 5. 13. a Just Man 9. accounted the Father of Jesus 74. Joseph Of Arâ—mathâ—ca a Jewish Counsellor but a Disciple of Christ 205. begged his Body of Pilate Ibid. Buried it in his own new Tomb 206. Judas The Apostle called also Theudas made an Apostle 55. Brother of James the Less Ibid. asks Christ why he did not reveal himself to the World 182. Judge The Parable of the unjust Judge and Widow 134. Jesus came not to judge but to save the World 29. would not judge in Temporal affairs 118. shall come again to judge the VVorld 168. for which he hath received power of God 57. Judgment Last the Description of it 171. the Time unknown 169. must be prepared for by Watchfulness and Prayer ibid. who shall appear there with Confidence ibid. Just shall be persecuted 166. shall lift up their Heads at the last Day 168. shall shine like the Sun in Heaven 73. shall be placed at the right Hand at the Day of Judgment 171. shall be like the Angels after the Resurrection 163. L. LAw Fulfilled and perfected by Jesus Christ 67. Moses gave the Law but Jesus Christ Grace 25. the difference between the Old and New Law 36 37. all the Law is compriz'd in loving God and our Neighbour 163. the Law continued to John 63. Jesus Christ accused of breaking the Law 51. The Pharisees preferred their Traditions before the Law 154. Lazarus The Brother of Martha and Mary 115. the Friend of Jesus Christ raised from the Dead 142. sat at Table with Jesus at the Feast at Simon 's the Leper 149. the Jews would slay him 150. Lazarus The poor Man the Dogs lick his Sores 131. carried into Abraham's Bosom ibid. Legion Freed by Jesus 43. Lepers The Cure of a Leper 60. of Ten 103. Jesus sups with Simon the Leper 149. a Leper cured by Elisha 75. Life Jesus Christ is the Fountain of Life 12. the Way the Truth and Life 181. the Bread of Life 84. what we must do to obtain Eternal Life 127. Lot His Wife 134. Love of God to Men In sending his Son 29. God loves them that love Jesus Christ 21. hears their Prayers ib. he loves his Elect as Christ 187. Jesus Christ loved Lazarus and his Two Sisters 140. his Love to his Sheep 112. Love of Men to God This is the greatest Commandment 114. much is forgiven to him that loves much 66. he that loves God keeps his Commandments 116. God abides in him that loves him ibid. he that loves Christ rejoyceth in his Glory 182. Jesus's Love for his Father ibid. Love of our Neighbour Is the Second Commandment 114. equal to the First of loving God 163. which are the sum of all the Law ibid. is the Fruit which Christ would have us bear 183. he gave us an Example of