A Discourse of the Two Covenants
But wherein doth the happiness of a Saint, by reason of his interest in God's all sufficiency, consist?
There are these particulars in which it makes a man very happy.
1. It supplies all a man's wants, the Lord is my shepherd, he hath undertaken both to feed and defend me, and he will surely do his office, and therefore I shall want nothing that is necessary either for my provision or my protection: The lions do lack, but they that fear the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good; if they have it not formaliter, formally, in kind, they have it eminenter, eminently, as the Sun hath light in it in a far more glorious way than any other light; if they have it not in silver, yet they have it in gold; and therefore the Apostle, 2 Cor. 6.10. puts it in with a quasi, as if sorrowful, as if poor, as if having nothing: afflictio nostra habet quasi, sed gaudium nostrum non habet, our affliction has an AS IF, but our joy none, Austin. there is but an appearance and a resemblance of the one, but there is a truth and a reality in the other: we are as those that have nothing, and yet it is but in appearance so, for in truth he that hath his interest in the all sufficiency of God, he doth possess all things: The all sufficiency of God runs through all God's Attributes, as the sincerity of a man doth through all his graces, and is to be observed in them all; the soul saith, I am in a great strait in my business, and I want direction, but in God there is all-sufficient wisdom; I am a sinner, and a fresh sense of guilt is upon me, and I want remission, but there is in God all-sufficient mercy; and I am under the power of a lust and of a temptation, and I want strength to overcome it, there is in God all-sufficient grace, his grace is sufficient for thee; I am poor and want wealth, it's the Lord that makes rich; and I am despised, not honored, it's the Lord that honors them that honor him; and I want friends, he doth many times give unto his own the hearts of men, and turns their hearts to love you or to hate you, he puts a man's acquaintance far from him, or brings them near to him upon all occasions; yea even the issues from death belong unto him; and it is very much sweeter to the Saints to see it, and to rely upon it, as it is in him, than if they had the mercy in their own hands; because as the promise leads a man unto Christ, and so though it be but small, yet it is a pledge of union with Christ, so though the supply be but small, yet it brings a man to the all sufficiency of God, and thereby discovers a man's propriety in God.
2. It enables a man for all the works he hath to do in the world: the Lord sent Moses in a great service to Pharaoh, and he tells him, I will be with thee; and when Moses did object he had a stammering tongue, saith God, I will be with thy tongue; and the all sufficiency of God was his sufficiency for his work: so he sends Joshua, and tells him, He will never leave him nor forsake him, and nothing shall be able to stand before him all his days: and so the Apostles were sent forth as sheep, &c. but he bids them, Go, for behold I am with you unto the end of the world. A man needs nothing else to enable him for any service but this, God is all-sufficient for me; and were it not for that, there are many of God's people would sink under the apprehension of their own weaknesses, and the burdensome callings that lie upon them from day today: Christus tunc regnat in nobis, quando nos ab operibus nostris feriatos inhabitat, cùm ipse in nobis facit opera nostra, Luther. Christ then reigns in us, when he works in us, &c. and so a man's soul keeps a Sabbath unto Christ: as in point of Justification a man saith, My good works are the Righteousness of Christ; so in point of ability a man saith, My ability is his all sufficiency; for I am of myself able to do nothing; and therefore when a Saint looks upon himself and the greatness of the service that he is called to, he says, Who is sufficient? who can do anything of this great work? but when he looks upon the all sufficiency of God for his supply, then he saith, Who is insufficient? I can do all things, and the greater the service is that any man is called unto, and the greater difficulties he encounters with, the more he is to take hold of the all sufficiency of God.
3. It doth disburden the soul of all its troublesome afflictions, of all a man's cares, and fears, and sorrows: it's this that doth discharge the soul of them, Psal. 27.1, 2. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my glory. The Lord is on my side, I will not fear what man can do to me. It is an interrogation of knowledge and of contempt, &c. it doth silence all a man's doubts, answers all his objections: when the soul saith, I am a child, I cannot speak, God saith, I will give thee a mouth; the people are hard-hearted and insufficient, but I will give thee strength of spirit answerable to thy opposition: We know not what to do, but our eyes are unto thee; I fear death, but God is in life and death all-sufficient, he is the God of the dead, as well as of the living; the creatures are but vials in the hand of God: I will not pour out my wrath upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak: he is but the vial; and they are no other, who are employed by Christ as instruments of vengeance against Rome; the vials are put into their hands, it is but so much wrath in such a measure, and executed by one hand, and by another hand: so they are for good also, it is but such a measure of good done by them and of service; but the all sufficiency is of God still, and this brings a sweet rest unto the soul, fies Sabbatum Christi, there is a gracious and a holy rest of Christ in such a soul as this is.
4. It's this that doth fulfil all a man's desires; Open thy mouth wide, saith the Lord, and I will fill it: pateres in te angustias, thy straits are not in me, but in thy own heart, in thy own bowels, open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it, for I am the fountain of thy life; there is no man can open his mouth so wide, that the all sufficiency of God will not fill it: so that as the Lord is called the fear of Israel, that is, he was the sole object of his fear, the adequate object of it, he did fear him, and he did fear nothing else; so he is the desire of his people also: as Christ is called the desire of all nations, they desire him, and they desire nothing else, it is all terminated in him, so that a man hath not anything else to desire: and the greater difference the Lord puts between men, the higher he doth advance them, the more he doth make over this as their portion, and they are satisfied with it. Levi was separated unto the Lord, of all the Tribes of Israel, but he must have no portion in the Land of Canaan, but the Lord is his portion; and who would not prefer the lot of Levi before that of all the Tribes, though he had no inheritance with them? And this makes the soul in all dangers bold as a Lyon, quiet in the greatest commotions: De me comburendo consultatur, at coelum non ruet; credo & certus sum, habeo, qui causam defendat, etiamsi totus mundus in me solum insaniat, Luth. ad Stampic. If there want means, he can work without them; if the means be weak, he can act above them, and so the soul is in his sufficiency at rest.
Now study and try your interest in this alsufficience: if we delighted as much in spiritual things, as we do in the things of the earth, it would be unto us the sweetest study; for what can be more delightful than for a man to read over his own evidences, that having tasted the sweetness of all his comforts, he may also take a view of the tenure and title by which he holds them? 1 Pet. 1.7. the Apostle saith, that there is a 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the trial of a man's faith that is more precious, or more honorable, for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifies both; the trial of faith is better than the trial of gold. (1) By trial a man attains a certainty, and that is precious; for according unto the excellency of the thing, so we do prize a certainty in it; gold being of all metals the most in price, therefore we are the most exact in our trials of it; we have the test, the touch-stones, and the scales, &c. and all because we would not be deceived: but faith is more precious; therefore a certainty therein is more precious, that a man may know that he doth not embrace a fancy, his faith is not adulterate, but is the faith of God's Elect. (2) There is a purity that doth arise from the trial, for by the trial of gold its dross is purged, ab adulterino distinguitur, à scoriis purgatur, &c. so it is with faith also, when it's tried by affliction from God, or by examination from ourselves, it appears the better; when the infirmities that cleave to faith are as dross to the gold, for there is something wanting in faith still. (3) The trial of gold is but for this life, ad exiguum tempus est utilis, for it is gold that perisheth; but the trial of faith refers to the life to come, for by faith a man lays hold of eternal life, and the purer the faith is, the surer the hold is. (4) The trial of gold makes it the more precious unto men, we esteem tried gold above other; and therefore the most precious gold is set forth by it, Rev. 3.18. so it is with tried faith, it makes it the more precious unto God, and therefore he doth try it, ut coram ipso gratior fiat; tried faith is more precious in God's eyes, as tried gold is to ours, as the word of the Lord is a tried word; though the people of God do prize the whole word of God, that it is dearer to them than thousands of gold and silver, yet there is no part of the word that hath so high a price with them as a tried word; as the word of faith, the more it's tried, is the more precious with us, so the grace of faith, the more it's tried, it is the more precious with God; and if the trial of faith be so precious, what is the trial of a man's interest, which is that unto which the trial of all graces tends? for the witness of water, as well as of blood, is, that we may know whether we have eternal life abiding in us, &c.
But now consider for thy better trial: 1. He that hath an interest in the all sufficiency of God, hath an interest in Christ; for though the Attributes of God are his Essence, God himself; yet there is a threefold respect unto Christ that we are to have in them. (1) It is by him that we are intitled to them; for he is first in the Covenant, and we in him, and therefore in all the promises he hath a preeminence; therefore the Lord is first, his God, and then our God, Joh. 20.17. it's by our interest in Christ that we have an interest in God. (2) In him all the Attributes of God are discovered and revealed, and that in such a manner as we never could have seen them, 2 Cor. 4.6. We behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ: for he is the image of the invisible God, Col. 1.15. which I cannot look upon as spoken of Christ as God, for so he is the invisible God, and equally invisible with the Father; but as Mediator, and so the glorious Attributes of God do shine and show forth themselves in him. (3) As all the Attributes of God are exercised and actuated by him, so all the mercy of God, and the wisdom of God, and the judgments and severity of God, it's all in the hand of Christ to be executed by him, for the Father hath committed all judgment to the Son, Joh. 5.22. He raiseth the dead, and he quickeneth whom he will, he bears up all things by the word of his power, he hath the keys of Hell and of death, he kills and he makes alive, &c. he hath committed all his works unto Christ, and all his Attributes are acted by him, for the ruling and ordering of these works; and he hath committed unto Christ all the promises; and all the Attributes of God are in his hand for the accomplishment of these promises, &c. it's the foundation of all a Christians comfort, when he doth see the promises of God in the hands of Christ to dispense, and the providences of God in the hand of Christ to dispense, and the Attributes of God in the hand of Christ to exercise and to actuate for both these. There is a fourfold sight of faith in this life that is exceeding glorious, to see God in Christ, Christ in God, to see Christ in us, and we in him, Joh. 14.20. 2 Cor. 5.19. he therefore that hath an interest in Christ, hath an interest in the all sufficiency of God, and none else, and we are to try our interest in Christ by the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us; for if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, the same is none of his, Rom. 8.9, 10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, and the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
2. He that hath an interest in the all sufficiency of God, doth choose this for his portion to place his happiness in, Josh. 24.22. You have chosen the Lord to be your God: no man hath an interest in God but by choice. A man doth not only choose his way, some the broad, and some the narrow way, but men do also choose their portion; and the wisdom and folly of a man is much seen in his choice and in his esteem; and as the first going forth of the love of God to us is in his election of us, so the first going forth of our love to him is in our election of him also: and he that doth choose God aright doth choose all that is in God, as the mercy of God to pardon him, and the grace of God to heal him, and the power of God to defend him, and the holiness of God to sanctify him, the wisdom of God to guide him, and the all sufficiency of God to make provision for him; and faith is seen in the electing as well as in the consenting act of the soul: now as, Josh. 24.23. having chosen the Lord, they must put away the strange gods that were amongst them, and incline their hearts to the Lord God of Israel, so you must cast away all sufficiency in anything else, all creature-sufficiency, all self-sufficiency, and look upon all as vanity and emptiness, and as that which hath no sufficiency in it, and as that wherein your sufficiency doth not consist. And the word in the Hebrew doth signify three things in the Scripture: (1) Inclinavit, for the bent of a man's heart to go out that way, as Judge. 9.3. where there were two that contended for the supremacy, it's said, That their hearts inclined after Abimelech, 1 King. 2.28. Joab inclined after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom: a man's heart must go out in the bent of it this way. (2) Reclinavit, for a man to rest upon a thing, Amos 2.8. You lie down upon clothes laid to pledge, &c. and therefore the word signifies lectum, a bed upon which men lie down, or rest themselves: and so it should be here, the soul should rest and lean upon this all sufficiency of God as that which he hath chosen, and in which he rests; and therefore the word signifies baculum, a staff to lean upon. (3) Extendit, expandit, as Esa. 4.22. He stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, &c. so should a man do, he should open his heart, extend it, and stretch it out, enlarge it in all the desires and affections of it towards the all sufficiency of God; and this will be the necessary and proper fruit of such a choice of God in his all sufficiency: he therefore that hath an interest in the all sufficiency of God, hath chosen him in his all sufficiency for his God, and he that hath so done, doth put away all other gods, casts off all other sufficiencies, and doth in the bent of his soul incline to God alone, unto him he doth stretch out his soul in the latitude and utmost extent thereof, and in and upon this he doth rest, and sweetly repose himself in the middle of all difficulties and dangers whatsoever.
3. He that hath an interest in the all sufficiency of God, doth honor and exalt that Attribute in his heart; for whatever we have the comfort of, God must have the glory of; as there is not a promise, but if the soul sucks sweetness from it, it is exalted in that soul, and a man having tasted of it, doth set a high price upon it, and his soul goes out to it to live upon it all his life time; and there is not a truth of God, but by these things men live, Esa. 38.10. wherefore the price and the glory of them doth arise in the soul, and he thinks he did never know how to value them before, he knew not what they were worth; but now he sees there is a value in them, as Luther did in Rom. 1.17. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Chrys. As a man that hath found a medicine to relieve him when he was in great extremity, he lays up that as a choice receipt all his life time, and when he sees other men cast the materials of it away as a thing of no value, he saith, O! there is an excellency in it, did men know it, they would set a high price upon it, I was in such an extremity, and it relieved me; so it is with all the Attributes of God, they are exalted in the soul suitable to the use and experience that a man hath had of them: as he that doth undervalue duties, doth it because he hath not found the spiritual good that is in them; so he that doth undervalue the Attributes of God, doth it from want of experience which makes spiritual things great in our eyes; and therefore Paul having an interest in the mercy of God, we see how it was exalted in him, 1 Tim. 1.14. the grace of God was exceeding abundant, God who was rich in mercy out of his abundant love and pardoning mercy, &c. Mic. 7.18. Who is a God like to our God, that pardons iniquity, transgression, and sin? And the Saints that have perfection of holiness from him, they give him the glory of his holiness from day today, saying, Holy, holy, holy, for the highest glory that we can give unto God here is, that we honor those Attributes in our hearts, which he doth honor in his dispensation towards us, whether it be wisdom, or holiness, or faithfulness, or patience, &c. as he doth honor the word that he doth accomplish, so we are to honor the Attributes that he doth put forth; Jah is the same name with Jehovah, and is a name of Being, denoting that God is he that hath his Being of himself, and gives being unto all things else, he that is the Fountain of Being; whence a soul having had experience of him to be such a one, lets his glory in that respect arise and be exalted in his soul: if you would have any Attribute work for you, then exalt that Attribute by trusting in it; and when it hath wrought for you, then exalt it also by glorifying of it: and as you have exalted God by his name Jah, so by his name Elshaddi, a God all-sufficient also; for there is no name of God but it will be exalted in the soul, suitable to the interest that we have in it, and the taste that the soul hath of it. For there is a double putting forth of every Attribute of God savingly upon his Elect; not only a putting of it forth in his works and administrations towards them, but there is also a putting of it forth by exalting it in a man; and therein the main sweetness of the discovering of it doth lie. He therefore that hath not had the price of this Attribute raised in his soul, nor tasted the sweetness of it, nor rejoiced in it, nor adored and admired it, and God as such a one, under the apprehension of such an attribute, truly that man hath no interest in it. If a Saint cannot say that attribute is mine, and this attribute I have an interest in, yet he can admire the attribute, and give God the glory of it as an excellency in himself; and he doth not only praise God for his goodness towards him, but as it is in himself, for the glorious excellencies that are in the Divine nature; as we may see it in Hannah, 1 Sam. 2.1, 2. My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies, I will rejoice in thy salvation; there is none holy as the Lord, &c. And as it is exceeding sweet unto the people of God, and a Paradise to walk from one Tree to another in the Paradise of God, and to say such a truth the Lord fulfilled unto me, in such a case, and in such an extremity, and such a promise, at such a time; so much more for a man to be able to look over all the attributes of God, and to say such a time the Lord did glorify such an attribute towards me, and such a time such a one; and to see all the attributes of God, as well as all the works of God to work together for a man's good, everyone in their proper places; as the stars in their courses fought against Sisera, and the threatenings of God fight against wicked men, so to have the word of God, the works of God, and the attributes of God work for a man, is their happiness and their joy.
4. He that hath an interest in the all sufficiency of God, will be raised up in his soul to an holy self-sufficiency; as there is no grace that is in Christ, but it will have a resemblance in us, so there is no attribute of God, but it hath its resemblance; therefore 1 Pet. 2.9. we are said to show forth 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the virtues of him that hath called us; and in this doth properly our conformity unto God in this world lie, there is something in us that doth hold a resemblance with the attributes of God, that are manifested and put forth for us. And in this is the greatest exercise of the attributes of God for our good, when the patience of God works patience in us, and we be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful, and holy as he is holy, when the wisdom of God works wisdom in us, and there is a resemblance of the power of God in us, that we are able to do all things through Christ that strengthens us, when the greatness of God works in us a holy greatness of mind, and when the all sufficiency of God works in us a gracious self-sufficiency; for there is a self-sufficiency that is a duty, as there is a self-sufficiency that is a sin, 1 Tim. 6.6. Godliness is great gain, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 2 Cor. 9.8. Every where, and in all things 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. and it is that which the Apostle had learned, Phil. 4.11. so Prov. 14.14. A good man is satisfied from himself. There is self as divided from God, which is a sin, but self as united unto God, is a great duty. Self-sufficiency in opposition to the creatures is a duty, for a man can be happy without them: but self-sufficiency in opposition to God is a sin; for if a man be one with God, then a man's self-sufficiency is God's all sufficiency; for having God and that sufficiency that is in him he hath all, though amongst the creatures he hath no portion, no inheritance; when a man hath the Moon under his feet, and he can say when he sees all the world destroyed, Se nihil habere bonum tantâ mole perdendum, &c. and can look upon the general conflagration of the world, as Lot did upon Sodom in the burning, without a relenting thought, because his portion is not in them, this man hath a self-sufficiency grounded upon his interest in the all sufficiency of God; for as the Apostle saith of the Fathers, Heb. 11.13. That choosing to be pilgrims they did declare plainly, that they did seek a country; so when we see the Saints of God to seek after no creature-sufficiency, and not to place their happiness and the stay of their lives upon them, it is a plain argument, that they have their sufficiency in something else, there is something else that doth bear up and elevate their spirits, which can be nothing else but the acting of their souls upon the all sufficiency of God.
[Use 5] §. 5. All you that have an interest in the all sufficiency of God, walk before him and be upright, Gen. 17.1, 2. for what need a man to turn aside to any other, what need had he to hasten after another god? Psal. 16.4. If the all sufficiency of God be yours, he that is self-sufficient for his own happiness, surely he will be all-sufficient for yours; and therefore there is no need to wander after the pleasures of sin, or the comforts of the creatures; if there be no defect to be supplied, what need had we to call in any other? 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , perfect good seems to be all-sufficient, Aristot. If there be a perfect good, it must needs be sufficient, for that is perfect unto which nothing can be added; if the creatures be added unto the Lord, he is never the more perfect; therefore if the creatures are wanting there is no defect, no deficiency in him; and if we need no other, why should we trouble ourselves to make out to another, to do anything in vain? we count it folly to take in many things for that which may be supplied in one, frustra fit per plura, &c. therefore keep God to thee, and thou shalt want nothing. Here is a double duty required from the all sufficiency of God to all his Covenant-people.
1. To walk with God: Walk before me, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 before my face, in conspectu meo, as in my sight, as being under mine eye, in whatever thou dost put thy hand unto. There are three expressions take in a man's whole duty towards God in the way and in the course of his conversation: (1) Walking with God, Gen. 5.24. Enoch walked with God. [1] It is a term of reconciliation, that the enmity between God and the man is taken away, for they are friends that walk together, Amos 3.3, 2. Two cannot walk together unless they be agreed; so that a man must be in a state of reconciliation. [2] It's a term of communion, that in a man's way he should have fellowship with God in his whole course, and in all the actions of his life; for that is a man's walk: and therefore 2 Cor. 6.16. when the Lord hath communion with his people, he is said to walk with us, and when we have communion with God we are said to walk with him, extra causam justificationis nemo potest bona opera satis magnifice commendare, Luth. and a man is to walk with God not only in religious duties, but also in all the common and ordinary actions of his life; a man should not only do what the Lord doth command, but he should do it unto the same end for which it was commanded, and that is, that he might enjoy communion with God therein. (2) There is a following of God, or a walking after him, Num. 14.24. it's called following of the Lamb, that implies three things: [1] A walking by rule; for a man must go nowhere but where he sees the footsteps of God before him. [2] It is coming up unto the exactness of the rule, that he doth follow the Lord exactly, he doth not miss one step where he sees God to have gone before him, and this, Eph. 5.15. is walking circumspectly. [3] It is walking with God unto the end, and so it implies a perseverance, it is not a going a part of the way after God, and then to turn back from following him, but it is to follow after him, and to continue unto the end; and so it is said, That the Lord called Abraham to his foot, Esa. 41.1. and this is to follow the Lord fully, or as it is in the Original, implevit post me, he did fulfil after me, &c. (3) There is a walking before God, that is, with a constant respect unto his all-seeing eye, he sees the eye of God always upon him, and he sees that to be a holy eye, that no sin can scape it, nothing can blind it, all things are naked and open before it, and he that doth observe it, it is unto this end, that he may judge it, that he may give unto every man according as his works shall be, and that's the meaning, Luke 15.21. I have sinned against heaven and before thee: by Heaven the Learned do understand the presence of God, who doth dwell in Heaven; and therefore Psal. 73.9. They do set their mouth against heaven, that is, contra Deum audacter sese efferunt: Mat. 21.25. The Baptism of John was it from Heaven or from men? that is, from God; and that was the great thing, that without regard unto the greatness of God and his glory, without respect unto his presence, and his holiness, and his all-seeing eye, he sinned against him, and that did affect him; and that also did cut the heart of David, I have done this evil in thy sight, and yet I had no fear of thy glorious presence and thy all-seeing eye: so that there are these six things necessary to a man's walking as becomes a Saint in reference unto God, [1] he must be in a state of reconciliation, [2] he must walk by rule, [3] he must go to the exactness of the rule, [4] he must persevere and continue unto the end, and not turn away and draw back; [5] he must have an eye upon the presence of God and his eye in all he doth: [6] he must do all this, that he may enjoy fellowship and communion with the Lord in his whole course.
2. That we be upright or perfect with him: there is a perfection of the Saints in this life, even while their souls are imperfect, Heb. 12.23. and it consists in two things: (1) When the soul in its choice and bent cleaves unto God alone, and goes out after no other, Psal. 18.29. God will be yours, if you will be his, you must be unto him, and to no other, Hos. 3.3. God can admit of no Corrivals with him. (2) When there is a perfection in the inward man, all grace is there in truth, the whole new man, the whole Law of God is written in the heart, he respects the whole Law of God, leaves none of his Commandments out in his practice; it's not enough to know the will of God, but there must be a doing of his will, his practice must answer his knowledge, and when all these are in you, and abound, then you are said to be perfect; and this is the ambition and the endeavor of every child of God, that the law within may fully answer the law without, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work, as well as every good word, and may be ready in season and out of season, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that his labor shall not be in vain in the Lord; this is our perfection, to glorify God always in our hearts and in our lives, &c.
CHAP. VI. The Sovereignty of God made over to the Saints in the new Covenant.
SECT. I. How and why God's Sovereignty is made over to the Saints.
[Doctr.] §. 1. I Now come unto the second particular implied in the fourth Head, and that is the Sovereignty of God, which is made over in this promise, I will be thy God, for God doth imply a Supremacy, Rom. 9.5. He is God over all: Eph. 4.6. There is one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all, &c. And hence the Observation is, That God hath in the new Covenant made over his Sovereignty and Supremacy over all things to the Saints, so that it shall be truly exercised as for his own glory, so for their good also. And for the handling of this point I must show, (1) What the Sovereignty of God is: (2) That it is by the Father committed into the hands of Christ: (3) That it was by the Father committed and is by Christ exercised in the behalf of the Saints, in all the administrations of it. (4) The grounds or the reasons of it, why it was necessary, that to whom he should be a God, they should have an interest in him as he is Lord of all. (5) The Application of all.
1. What is the Sovereignty of God? It is that absolute and universal Authority which he hath over all things, as being the works of his own hands; and so much Christ teaches his Disciples to acknowledge, Mat. 6.13. Thine is the kingdom; Psal. 10.2, 19. The Lord hath prepared his throne in heaven, and his kingdom ruleth over all; and therefore he is called a great King, Mal. 1.14. King of kings, and Lord of lords; and therefore all things are said to be in the hand of the Lord, Deut. 33.3. all the Saints are in his hand, Esa. 50.2. Is my hand shortened? Now there is a hand-ruling, a hand-providing, a hand-protecting, a hand-assisting, a hand-inflicting, and a hand-dispensing; for all these are to be understood by the hand of the Lord in the Scripture. And this Kingdom and Dominion of God (1) is universal; there is no restraint or limitation of his Kingdom, it doth reach unto all things in Heaven and in Earth; his Kingdom ruleth over all, he doth whatever he will in Heaven and in Earth, and in the Sea, and in all deep places; and therefore he is commonly in Scripture called The Lord of Hosts: The Lord of Hosts is with us, and the God of Jacob is our refuge, &c. Jam. 5.4. The cries of them enter into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath or Hosts: all the creatures are under his power, as their absolute Commander in chief, all is but his Army, and he is the General of them, he doth order and marshal them all at his pleasure. There are four respects why he is called the Lord of Hosts, [1] propter numerum & multitudinem, they are many, not a few, but the whole army of them, from the Angels in Heaven unto the meanest creatures, the whole host of them is in his hand, under his power, and at his dispose. [2] Propter ordinem & dispositionem, they are not barely a number, but they are ordered and placed in their several conditions and ranks, Joel 2.7. it is expounded of the Locusts and Caterpillars that the Lord did threaten, and he saith, They shall everyone keep their ranks; even in the most disorderly condition of things there is an order that the Lord doth set, the stars in their courses shall fight, &c. the word is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ab exaltationibus suis, from their Towers: it's a Metaphor taken from fighting, from Castles, or some high places of strength, from their Towers, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as the Septuagint renders it, and so we also render it, in their order, and in their courses, as God hath set them. [3] Propter praeparationem, they are an army, and therefore prepared for the battle, ready to go upon all services, any design that the Lord would appoint them, for they have their weapons in their hands, Ezech. 9.1. Every man with his slaughter-weapon in his hand, the very Flies and the Lice, the Caterpillar and the Canker-worm, they are all of them armed, and all of them ready for service when he doth command them. [4] Propter subordinationem & obedientiam, they all of them go at his commandment; they continue to this day according to his ordinance, for all are his servants, they do dispatch his commands; for he saith to one, Go, and he goeth, &c. as it is said of the Angels, Ezech. 1.14. Their going and returning is as a flash of lightning, with the greatest readiness and dexterity that can be, everyone of them moves in their own due order with all possible speed that can be.
(2) It is supreme; his government is independent upon any other; all other Authorities are from God, and therefore they all hold of him, Dan. 4.17. The most High rules in the kingdoms of mortal men, &c. deponit reges, & disponit regna; à Deo sunt omnes potestates, quamvis non omnium voluntate; magnus est Caesar, sed Deo minor: he deposeth Kings, and disposeth Kingdoms, &c. and therefore saith the Lord, Ezech. 21.26. I will overturn, overturn, remove the diadem, and take away the crown. Yea the Lord Jesus Christ, though he be King of Kings, and the great and the only Potentate, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , yet he received the Kingdom from another, Esa. 9.6. Dan. 7.14. he gives a Kingdom and Power and great Dominion, he doth commit all judgment to the Son; he hath a government, but it is given him, and though he be our Lord, yet he is therein but the Fathers servant, &c. and therefore he doth rule so as none other doth: [1] He gives all what being he will, according to his Sovereignty; and therefore there are several degrees of beings, they were all in his hand, and there is an election unto being, and unto the order of being. [2] He doth appoint them to their end; as he made all for his own glory, and they shall be unto his glory; so in what way he will glorify himself by them, some in mercy, and some in judgment, some vessels unto honor, and some unto dishonor. [3] He doth give them what law he will, some have a law written in their nature, there are ordinances of the heavens; and some have a law given them upon their understandings from without. [4] He doth order all their actions, that there is not anything they do but it is according to the rule and dominion that he hath over them; not a sparrow falls to the ground without my Father; The lot is cast into the lap, but the determination is from God: not the smallest or the meanest, ordinary, and casual things but they are at his dispose, all come under his government, and are subjected unto his dominion. [1] From him all is received. [2] Unto him all shall give an account; Kings and Rulers, he is the Judge of all the Earth, and they that now judge shall then be judged; and Christ himself shall give up his account unto the Father; as he is God's King, he rules from him, and for him. [3] Unto him at last all shall be reduced: it's true, by way of economy and dispensation, for a while, there is a Kingdom in the hand of the Angels, and the Magistrates, and in the hand of Christ; but Christ shall put down all rule and authority, and he shall give up his own into the hand of the Father, that God may be all in all; so that all Nations shall be returned unto him; as of him are all things, so to him shall be all things.
(3) It is an absolute Dominion; for it's wholly according to his will. [1] He hath none to give laws unto him, or set him down the rules of his government; all other governors in the world have their rules set them, by which they are to rule and to dispense all things, but he doth whatever he will in heaven and in earth; he doth pluck up, and he doth build up; he doth kill, and he doth make alive; and all is at his will, and he doth whatever he will in heaven and in earth, and in the sea, Dan. 4.32. according to his will he works in the armies of the heavens, and in the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou? none can restrain him, none can call him to an account for it, and say, Why hast thou done this? Shall the clay say to the Potter, Why hast thou made me thus? he gives not account of any of his matters, he only rules by will without giving a reason. Therefore amongst the creatures there is no such thing as an absolute Monarchy, in which men should rule by will; for men are to rule as men, that is, by reason and by love; an absolute Monarchy is but absolute Tyranny; there must be known rules, by which they must govern: but so doth not the Lord, there is none to prescribe to him, for his will is the rule of goodness, non ideo volitum, quia bonum, sed ideo bonum, quia volitum, a thing is not therefore willed by God, because good, but it's therefore good, because willed; for there is nothing that is good antecedent to the will of God. [2] It is absolute in respect of the greatest things; all being under his dispose, not only men's temporal, but their eternal estates; he can show mercy unto one because he will, and he can harden another, and it is because he will; one shall be for the glory of his grace, and another for the glory of his justice, and he doth it freely, and hath no reason but his own will; one shall be high, and another low; one in honor, and another in dishonor; one shall be employed, and another laid aside; one shall be raised from the dunghill and set amongst Princes, and made to inherit the Throne of Glory; for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them, 1 Sam. 28. he will sometimes work by means, and according to their nature, and sometimes he will lay the means aside, and he will work without them, and sometimes contrary unto them, that the battle shall not be unto the strong, nor the race to the swift, nor favor to men of understanding; but there is a disposing, a time and a chance, which shall befall them all, Eccles. 9.11. by which he doth mean the disposing of the highest power; but it is called chance, quia illa ordinatio ab homine non cognoscitur, that ordination is not known to man: and all is, that man may find nothing after him, he will not go by any ruled cases, that so all the world may see, that he hath an absolute Sovereignty, and hath no other rule for his government but his will only.
§. 2. This Sovereignty of God is during the stage of this world committed into the hand of Christ as Mediator: for he it is doth act and exercise all the attributes of God; as all threatenings are executed by him, and by him all promises are performed, so all the attributes of God are exerted by him; and therefore Col. 1.15. He is the image of the invisible God, there we may see all the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ, Joh. 5.22. He hath committed all judgment to the Son; judicium dominium significat, he it is upon whose shoulders the government is, he bears up all things, and he rules all things by the word of his power in heaven and in earth; and therefore he is called, 1 Tim. 6.15. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , The only Potentate, not that God the Father is put out of authority, but he rules in and by his Son, as he will at the last day execute judgment by him, and he hath given him power to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man, and this Kingdom that he hath received, he shall surely give up unto the Father again. And the Kingdom of God which is committed unto Christ is twofold, spiritual and providential.
1. It is spiritual, by which he doth rule in the souls of the Saints in heaven and in earth, in the one it is a Kingdom of Glory, and in the other of Grace, which is called the Kingdom of God, Rom. 14.17. The kingdom of God consists not in meat and drink, but in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The kingdom of God comes not with observation, the kingdom of God is within you; and in this Kingdom, (1) he sets up a Throne in the souls of men, and appears unto them in his glory, as a great King, and they see him and know him so to be, Rev. 4.3. there is a glorious high Throne, and the Lord sits thereon, and they do worship before him, they look upon him as a King upon his Throne, though it be called a Throne of Grace. (2) As a King he gives Laws unto the soul, and binds the inward man, that what they do is for conscience sake, Rom. 13.5. Act. 23.1. I have lived in all good conscience: for Conscience is regulated by a Law, that's a good conscience, and none can prescribe laws to conscience but God alone; for it is in vain for man to give a Law unto that which he cannot judge for the breach of it, but this is the habitation of the great King. (3) In this Kingdom he hath enemies to subdue; and therefore he did come to destroy the works of the Devil, first to cast out Satan, and call men to translate them out of his Kingdom, Col. 1.13. and then to destroy the works that he had wrought in their souls; the word is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , to loose the works of the devil; sin and corrupt principles in the heart are the Devils works, and the great thing that he doth labor in from day today: now first the word doth signify to destroy or demolish, Joh. 2.19. Destroy this temple, and 2 Pet. 3.11. it is the desolation of all things here below; so that though the Devil hath erected the building, the Lord will surely pull it down, he shall not have that habitation for himself to dwell in, where God's Kingdom is to be set up. 2. It notes also solvere, to loose it, so that a man is bound by it, and it is unto him as a snare, the works of the Devil in a man are an enthralling thing; but thus to fight the battles of the Saints doth belong to the spiritual Kingdom of Christ. (4) He doth bestow and confer graces and gifts; these are the proper gifts that belong unto this Kingdom, he is Melchizedek King of Righteousness, and he is also King of Peace; he doth give gifts unto men, and before the Throne are the seven Spirits of God, Rev. 4.5. all the graces of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are at his dispose, and he gives them out as he sees it good. (5) He rules in their hearts and in their ways, for the Spirit of Christ is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the guide of the way of his Saints, he doth lead them; Joh. 16.14. My sheep hear my voice; they are his sheep, he goes before them, and they follow him: They follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes; all that Dominion of God subjecting of their wills unto the will of God, and their consciences to the rule of God alone, is the spiritual Dominion of Christ within them. (6) He hath the keys of hell and of heaven, he doth open heaven, and translate his people unto glory, and they that are in enmity, he doth open hell for them; for it is he that hath his reward with him, Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me; there is none can open and shut heaven but Christ, and this he doth as he is the spiritual King of his Church, this Kingdom he hath entered upon, but it is but begun, it is not come unto its perfect glory; but there will come a time, Rev. 11.16, 17. That the kingdoms of the earth shall be the Lord's and his Christ's: and the mountain of the Lord's house shall be exalted upon the tops of the mountains, when the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun, and abundance of grace shall be poured out, that the weak shall be as David; there shall much more of the glory of the spiritual Kingdom appear than now there doth; for now the Devil seems to rule in the hearts of all the men of the world, but then shall Satan be bound for a thousand years, in fine seculi millesimi anni malitia omnis aboleatur e terra, & justitia regnet, &c. Lactant.
2. The providential Kingdom which is the government of all things in the world: (1) All the works of God are committed into the hand of the Mediator, Ezech. 1. there is the subordination, and so Psal. 8. All sheep and oxen are all under his feet, which cannot be spoken of Christ as God, it's spoken of Christ as he died and rose again, Eph. 1.21. he is made the head of all things unto the Church; therefore it must be understood of him as Mediator, he hath committed all judgment unto the Son, and it is, that all men might honor the Son as they honor the Father, that every knee might bow to him, and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father; for this is the honor that the Father did promise Christ, to give him a kingdom and glory, that the government of all things should be in his hands: for it is by me kings reign, Prov. 8.15. it's spoken of him whom the Lord possessed in the beginning of his way, before his works of old, I was set up 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 I was anointed, which is the same word used Psal. 2.6. and therefore it's not spoken of him as God (so he was not anointed) but it's spoken of him that was God-man, Mediator.
(2) All the great things in Scripture are attributed unto him; he it was that brought the flood upon the old world, for it was his Spirit did strive with the old world, 1 Pet. 3.19, 20. and he it was that destroyed Sodom, he it was that brought Israel out of Egypt, and that led the people in the wilderness, he it was that gave them a Law, and he it was that did shake heaven and earth, all the shakings that have been were from him, and he it is that must fulfil all the prophecies and all the promises in the word; and then his name shall be called the Word of God, Rev. 19.13. and he it is that fights all the battles of his people; and he is clothed with a garment dipt in blood, and the armies of heaven do but follow him, and he hath a name upon his garments, which is the highest name, King of kings, and Lord of lords, &c. he doth destroy Antichrist with the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of his coming, and he it is that doth prepare new Jerusalem as a Bride for the Bridegroom.
(3) He it is that shall judge the world, and he could not judge the world, if he did not rule the world, he must employ them, and he must reward them; for God will give unto every man as his works shall be; he doth rule as the Fathers servant, and he shall judge as the Fathers servant; Judgment being the last act of his Kingly Office, having ordered all things for the great accomplishment of all the Fathers ends; for he doth all for him according unto the counsels that are in his bosom, which he hath revealed to him, &c. Judgment is committed unto the Son of man, both for government here, and the sentence hereafter; and therefore it is said, All judgment is committed to him.
(4) He shall give up the Kingdom unto the Father, 1 Cor. 15.24. that is, that which he hath received; but it is the government of all things that he shall give up, that of the Angels as well as any other; he shall lay it down, having attained all the ends thereof; so that then God shall be all in all in the Saints and in the world, &c.
(5) Christ himself tells us, That he hath received such a commission from the Father, not only to govern the Church, but to rule and to order all things in the world for their sake, Joh. 3.35. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand, that is, in his power, under his government, and at his dispose, as Gen. 24.10. all the goods of his Master were in his hand, under his power and authority, and at his dispose: and so Job 1.12. the Lord saith unto Satan concerning Job, Behold all that he hath is in thy hand; he did not give this to Satan as by commission, but by permission, he left all the goods of Job in the Devils power, to do with them what he would: and Joh. 5.22. The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son; there is indeed a Kingdom which belongs unto Christ, as he is the second person in the Trinity, a Kingdom which is regnum natural, a natural Kingdom, wherein Christ is equal with the Father, and a Kingdom that he doth not receive from the Father, neither is he subordinate unto the Father in it; he is not the Fathers servant, as he is in the mediatory Kingdom; for this is the same to all the persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, and the Son hath the same dominion, and is equal with them all; but this cannot be the Kingdom that is here spoken of, for it cannot be delegated by God, because it is natural, and he cannot put the Kingdom out of himself; neither can it as a gift be received by the Son, because it is natural unto the Son as it is unto the Father, it's his own proper right; but the Kingdom that is here spoken of is a power given unto the Son, in which he is the Fathers servant, and subordinate unto him; and therefore it's not spoken of the nature of the essential Kingdom, the government which belongs unto Christ as God, but as Mediator only; and by Judgment Interpreters generally understand pro imperio & administratione rerum omnium in coelo & in terra, Chemnit. so that the government of all things is in the hand of the Mediator; for it is a power that is given by the Father unto the Son, which could not be unto him simply as God, but as Mediator only.
(6) The Spirit of Christ doth rule, act, and order all things in the Providential, as well as in the Spiritual Kingdom; as we see it, Ezech. 1.12, 20. there is Christ set forth as ruling all things in heaven and earth, and it is not spoken of Christ as he is the second person, but as he is Mediator; for it's spoken of him as having a dominion given to him as he is the Son of man; the Angels move the wheels, and the Spirit acts the Angels. Now how doth Christ as Mediator govern? It is by the guidance of the Spirit, and this Spirit moves both the Angels and the wheels; it is not spoken of those spiritual acts of the Holy Ghost upon the hearts of the Saints, but of the ordinary dispensations of Providence ordering all things here below, so as the ends of Christ may be attained. It is the Mediator therefore that doth govern all things, and the motions and impressions that are made both upon the Angels and the wheels, they are from the Spirit of the Mediator, who makes the Spirit to be the Viceroy in the providential as well as in the spiritual Kingdom, as the Father makes the Mediator to be in them both: and as the Father doth not divest himself of power, but keeps the original of it in himself, that we may still say to him, Thine is the kingdom; only he doth it by the Son, who doth exercise it; so it is true of the Spirit also, the Son hath the power, he governs all, he doth it immediately by the Spirit, the immediate execution and administration of it is in the hand of the Spirit in the one Kingdom as well as in the other.
(7) This will further appear by the session of Christ at the right hand of the Father; for it doth import potestatis & Majestatis plenitudinem, a plenitude of power and Majesty. [1] The highest Majesty and glory; for it is the highest degree of his exaltation, Heb. 8.1. therefore called the right hand of Majesty in the heavens. [2] It is the highest Authority and Sovereignty; for sitting at his right hand implies, that all things are put under his feet, as it is Psal. 110.1. 1 Pet. 3. ult. sitting down upon his Throne, Angels and Powers being made subject unto him, Eph. 1.20, 22. all things put under his feet, which is the highest Sovereignty and the greatest subjection that can be, for all to be his servants, his vassals; and therefore Rev. 1.18. when he is in heaven he is said to have the keys of hell and of death; keys are an ensign of authority, and so are used in the Scripture, the keys of the kingdom of heaven are his, and the keys of death and hell are his, all authority in this world and the world to come; and therefore Mat. 28.17. immediately before his ascension he saith, All power is given to me both in heaven and in earth: it's true, that he had it given him from the Fall; and he did exercise it by virtue of the Covenant that was passed between him and the Father; for his Kingly Office and his Priestly Office in the efficacy of them began together, but yet he did not actually reign as Mediator, that is, as God-man, till in our nature he ascended up on high, and sat down in heaven with the Father upon his Throne; and though quoad potestatem judiviariam, according to his judiciary power, all things are now put under his feet, for the administration of all things are in his hand, yet quoad executionem actualem, as to actual execution, so it is not; there are many things that seem to oppose him, and to be enemies unto his government; therefore he must reign till he hath put all his enemies actually under his feet, 1 Cor. 15.15. so then he that sits at the right hand of God rules the world; but Christ as God doth not sit at the right hand of God, and as he is the second person; therefore it is as he is Mediator that he sits at God's right hand, and so all judgment and authority are executed by him.
(8) If this be made as the ground why all authority is in the hand of Christ, because he is the Son of man, then he hath this authority over all things, not as he is the second person only, but as he is Mediator, as he is God-man; but this is the reason and the ground of it, Joh. 5.17. He hath given him power to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man; which hath several interpretations given of it, all will prove the thing. [1] Because he is the Son of man, that is, because he is the Son of man that was foretold, Dan. 7.13, 14. to whom the kingdom should be given by the Ancient of days, and therefore is given unto him all government, because he is the person that was foretold, to whom it should be communicated. [2] Because he is the Son of man, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is rendered quatenus, and so it is by Beza, that is, he hath all power given unto him, and all judgment, not only as he is God, as he is the second person, but as he is the Son of man, quatenus homo, &c. non tantùm secundùm naturam divinam, sed etiam humanam; and so Chemnit. doth from hence infer, humana natura in Christo assumpta est in communicationem gubernationis rerum omnium, praecipue vero regno Deo in Ecclesia. [3] It is by many others interpreted by that place, Phil. 2.10. Because he humbled himself, and took upon him the form of a servant, therefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that to the name of Jesus every knee should bow, &c. that is, this is the reward that the Father hath given him for his obedience in his humiliation, taking upon him our nature, the form of a servant; therefore he is exalted unto the highest pitch of Majesty and of Authority, to be next to God himself. Now which interpretation soever we take of these, it will appear, that this power is given unto him, not only as he is God, but as he is Mediator, and that the formalis ratio of giving it unto him is as he is the Son of man, and not as he is God; for as he is God, he had an equal hand in the Sovereignty of all things, and an equal right to it with the Father and the Spirit, and so it could not be said to be given to him; but it is given him as the Son of man, and as a reward of his obedience, because he became the Son of man.
But to answer an Objection or two about this. 1. It is objected, It appears plainly by Scripture, and is by you granted, That there is a double Kingdom of Christ, the one belonging to him by nature, and the other given to him by the Father; the one proper only unto Christ the Mediator, the other common to the Father and the Spirit, as well as to the Son; the one to be exercised forever, and the other but for a time; wherefore there are two distinct Kingdoms of Christ; why therefore may we not say, that as he is the second Person he rules in the world, and as he is the Mediator he rules in the Church only?
Answ. I do confess there are two Kingdoms, and these are really distinguished one from another; that Christ as God hath an essential Kingdom equal with the Father, and a Kingdom which he doth receive by donation from the Father as he is God-man; but I say, That the exercise and administration of both Kingdoms are now in the hand of the Mediator, and shall be unto the time of the restitution of all things, for the Father judges no man, Joh. 5.22. that is, natura divina absolute sine Mediator; judicium, sive totam administrationem dedit Filio Mediatori incarnato, &c. Chemnit. i. e. totius mundi imperium, &c. The Divine nature hath committed all judgment to Christ, &c. so that the spiritual Kingdom is administered by the Spirit in the ordinances of the Gospel, and the providential Kingdom by the power of his Spirit working without ordinances, who orders and disposes of all the creatures unto their several ends; but yet all this is by the hand of the Mediator, and he doth not simply as he is God rule in the providential Kingdom only; for all judgment is committed to him, [that is, the government of all things] as he is the Son of man; as he is the Son of man so he rules the Angels, and they act the wheels, and as he is the Son of man, so he is appointed Heir of all things, and as he is the Son of man, so all things are put under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and the beasts of the field, &c. therefore it's but a conceit to say, That Christ doth rule the world indeed as he is God, but he doth rule the Church as he is Mediator; for it appears plainly, That both of them are acts of his Kingly Office as he is Mediator, as the judging of the world will be at the last day; and he tells us, that God gave him all this power for this end, That he might give eternal life unto as many as the Father had given him, Joh. 17.20. he doth rule all things in the world, so as he makes them serviceable unto spiritual ends; but it's done by him not simply as God, but as Mediator: and so much Mr. Gilespy cannot but grant out of Calvin in Aaron's Rod, pag. 203. that all things are put under the feet of Christ the Mediator, not only in respect of glory and dignity, but in respect of his power and over-ruling providence, whereby he can dispose of all things, so as they make most for his glory, &c. which is all that I assert; and that the Mediator is not barely God's servant in the spiritual Kingdom, but in the Kingdom of Providence also, is plain from Psal. 8.6. Eph. 1.22.
Object. 2. But Christ as Mediator is King, Priest, and Prophet, but he is not so anywhere but in his Church; therefore to say, that Christ as Mediator doth it, is as much as to say, he doth it as King, Priest, and Prophet; and so he shall be made a King, Priest, and Prophet unto the Pagans, and unto all other creatures, even to the Devils, &c.
Answ. It's not necessary that whatever he doth as Mediator must flow from all his Offices; for he doth many things as he is King, that he doth not as he is a Priest, or a Prophet: he is unto the Angels a King, and that as he is the Son of man; for he is the Head of all Principalities and Powers; and yet he is not unto the Angels a Priest; yet as Mediator he rules them, and they do belong unto his Kingdom as Mediator: and as he is King, so he shall judge the world also at the last day, so he shall judge the Heathen, he shall judge the Devils, and so he doth rule them now, and over-rule them for the good of the Church; and yet he is not unto the Heathen a Priest nor a Prophet, neither is he so unto the Devils: But his rule and dominion over the works of God is as truly part of his Kingdom, as his rule and dominion over the souls of the Saints; the Mediator is not a Priest and a Prophet to everything to whom he is a King, and yet he is a King as Mediator, and so far as anything relates unto his Kingly Office, so far it may be said to belong unto him as Mediator, because as Mediator he is King as well as Priest; he is indeed a Priest and a Prophet only to his people, but as he is a King so he rules over his enemies, even those that will not acknowledge his kingdom over them. It's true, that none have an interest in any Office of Christ, but he that hath an interest in them all, and therefore he cannot be said to be our King so as to rule us for our spiritual and eternal good, unless he be also our Prophet and our Priest; and none are in this sense the Subjects of the Kingdom of Christ, but they that consent to and accept of his government, they that kiss the Son; but yet he is a King appointed by God, though he be not accepted by us, and therefore he is God's King, that is, he rules by God's commission, and as a servant unto his ends, even then when we acknowledge him not to be our King, and his government is not assented to by us; he will judge them as a King, though he doth not save them as a King.
§. 3. The government of all things in his Kingdom is exercised by him in the behalf of the Saints, and so they have a right to the Sovereignty of God, and it is made over to them, as will appear, 1. In this, that it was given to Christ for their sake; he hath a kingdom given him not for his own sake, but for our sakes, Joh. 17.2. He hath given him power over all flesh, that he might give eternal life unto as many as thou hast given him, imperium accepit Christus, non tam sibi, quàm nostrae salutis causâ, Calv. so that it was with special respect unto them, that he did undertake the government of the world; had it not been that he had a people in the world that were given him of the Father, and whose names were written in the Lambs book, and whom he did intend to save, he would not have undertaken the government of all things; for Eph. 1.22. he is made the head over all things, but it is to the Church, magna consolatio est, quod tantum imperium habet is, qui id exercet Ecclesiae bono, &c. Grot. But wherein lies the force of this reason, that he must have power over all flesh, that he might give eternal life unto as many as God had given him? Why could not Christ have given them eternal life unless he had had power over all flesh, unless the government of the world had been put into his hands? I conceive the force of it to lie in this. 1. Had the government still been in the hand of God as God, so he must have proceeded according to the rules of the first Covenant, and according to the severity of a God; and therefore the Father judgeth no man. Now the Father as God, and the Son as God have but one judgment, and they do proceed by the same rule; and if the Father cannot judge them but he must destroy them, then neither can the Son as God; for they have one and the same will and judgment: but supposing a Mediator, one that will undertake to give God satisfaction for sin, then the world may stand, and it is fit that he should rule it that hath bought it; he hath bought the persons of the Saints, and the services of all the creatures for their good; therefore it is by Christ that the world stands, the government is put into his hand as Mediator; for had not there been a Mediator, the world must have perished under the weight of the first transgression; but that the world might stand, and men live in the world in their successive generations, and so by grace attain holiness and glory, for this cause there was power given him over all flesh; and this is the reason given by Chemnitz, why the Father judges not immediately, Patris nostri sive Divinae naturae judicium cum peccatoribus agentis est juxta severitatem & rigorem legis divinae, &c.
2. He could not give them eternal life else, because he could not order all things for their spiritual good, even all the motions of the creatures, all the temptations of Satan, all the affections of men, either good or bad, sometimes in ways of love and courtesy, sometimes in ways of displeasure and persecution, and all providential occurrences; such opportunities of service, and such occasions of sinning, which he hath the ordering of for the good of his people: All things do work together for good to them that love God, because all of them are in the hand of a Mediator, for this very end and purpose, that he might order all things so as might conduct them safe to heaven: how comes it to pass, that all the creatures do service to the Saints, and there is not one of them that can do them a disservice in reference to their spiritual estates? Cyrus in ways of kindness shall be drawn out to the service of God, My shepherd, saith God, he shall be; and wicked men shall wipe them as a man doth a dish, &c. the fire shall not burn them, the water shall not drown them, no weapon formed against thee shall prosper, &c. All this is because that the administration of all things are put into the hand of a Mediator for their eternal good, and he will order all things so as they shall conduce unto that great end for which he hath undertaken the government in the Kingdom of Providence, it's all in order to the spiritual Kingdom, it was purely out of the love of the Father to the Saints, that he did give the Kingdom unto Christ, and it was purely out of love to the Saints that he did accept of it; and thus the Lord laid help on one that's mighty: Christ the Mediator doth administer all things for their good, and that both in the spiritual and in the providential kingdom. In the spiritual kingdom all the Ordinances are for their good, it is for the edification of the Saints, and the building up of the body of Christ, Eph. 4.12. all the institutions of Christ are for their good, and all the motions of the Spirit, in what kind soever, and the desertions of the Spirit, all of them are, that their spices may flow forth, whether it be North wind or South wind, and they have two quite different or contrary qualities and operations, yea the very operations of the Spirit, and the desertions of the Spirit also work for good: the Lord hides his face for a little moment, that he may have mercy upon them with everlasting kindness, &c. So it is in the providential kingdom also, all is for the good of the Saints, and they shall be gainers by it in the end; so much affliction they have, as they need; and so much prosperity, as will do them good; for the Lord delights in the prosperity of his servants, he feeds them with food convenient for them. We see in the story of the four Monarchies, how they all wrought for their own ruin, and the Churches advancement in the end, and that they did all but lift at the Church as at a burdensome stone, and they themselves were broken thereby, all tended to the Churches glory and greatness: And the mountain of the Lord's house shall be exalted upon the top of the mountains, and new Jerusalem shall come down from God out of heaven, and all Nations shall come unto the Church, and bring their glory unto it, and lick the dust under the soles of their feet; the Lord will make it manifest to the world, that they are a people that he hath loved; and therefore 1 Cor. 3.21, 22. All things are yours, things present and things to come, all are yours; the vials that are now poured out, Christ hath the ordering of them, and they shall all of them make for the good of the Church in the end.
3. Christ is at the right hand of the Father, and we sit there together with him: Eph. 2.6. He is exalted unto the right hand of Majesty, and hath all authority put into his hands, and that not for himself, but as a public person, as a representative head; and therefore we have an interest in all his authority which he is invested with; he doth administer all things for us as our head, and as one that hath undertaken it in our behalf.
4. God hath subjected all his Sovereignty unto the prayers of his people by virtue of the Covenant, it being made over to them, Esa. 45.11. Concerning my sons and the works of my hands command ye me; and the people of God therefore in their prayers have desired God to rent the heavens, to shake the earth, to remove mountains: Awake for thy people unto the judgment that thou hast commanded, the hand of the Lord is not shortened, what Sovereignty and Power soever God hath over the creatures, they can desire God to put it forth according to his wisdom, as their necessity shall require, and they do expect that it shall be done; they die in the faith of it, that Rome shall be ruined, and Antichrist destroyed, verbo victus est mundus, verbo Ecclesia est servata, & Antichristus, ut sine manu coepit, ità sine manu per verbum conteretur, Luth. and they have cursed men in the name of the Lord, upon this ground, that the Sovereignty of God shall be put forth for their destruction; the Saints of God have done so of old, and so do the people of God now, blast men by their prayers, the fire that goes out of their mouths, Rev. 11.5. devoureth their enemies, &c. and so doth Luther curse Antichrist, Pereat igitur in aeternum, & maledicant omnes Angeli & Sancti huic portento, &c. and he died in the faith of it, that the Lord by his Sovereignty, even the zeal of the Lord of Hosts, should perform this.
SECT. II. How the spiritual Kingdom of Christ is made over to the Saints.
[Doctr.] §. 1. HAving thus in general manifested the truth of the point, that there is a twofold Kingdom of God, spiritual and providential, and that both these are committed into the hands of the Mediator, and both are committed unto him for the Churches sake; we must now come unto the particulars, that we may see how all the Soveraigny of God is made over and laid out for the good of his people. I shall begin first with the spiritual Kingdom, how that is ours, and what interest we have in the Sovereignty of God in reference thereunto, and so the Observation is, That the Supremacy or Sovereignty of God in reference to the spiritual Kingdom is made over to the Saints. The spiritual Kingdom is either in Grace or Glory, Christ rules in them both. Now in the handling of this I shall propose to you, (1) The Subjects in this Kingdom, who they are; and having shown that Christ is the King, and unto what this kingdom doth extend (for the matter about which both the kingdoms are conversant is to be preserved as distinct.) (2) The Agents or Officers that Christ doth employ in the government of the spiritual kingdom under him. (3) The Laws of this kingdom by which he doth govern them. (4) The end or the intent of Christ in this government; for what it is that he doth in this manner rule them. (5) The Enemies of this kingdom (for all kingdoms have their enemies) and how they are in this kingdom ordered and subdued. (6) The punishments in this spiritual kingdom, and they are also spiritual, according to the double Covenant by which Christ doth dispense himself, an inward and an outward Covenant, some being in Covenant in truth and reality, and some by profession only. (7) The Rebels against this kingdom, who are within it, and profess to subject themselves unto the Laws of it, and yet do rebel against this kingdom. (8) The consummation or the perfection of this kingdom, when grace shall be swallowed up in glory, and when the kingdom of grace shall bring in the kingdom of glory, unto which men are in this kingdom but in a way of preparation to be made meet, Col. 1.12. and if it do appear that the Sovereignty of Christ in all these particulars is made over unto the Saints, and exercised for their good, then it will be clear, that they have an interest in the spiritual kingdom, and that his Sovereignty over it is theirs, and by Covenant belongs unto them.
1. Concerning the Subjects of this spiritual Kingdom; for if the two Kingdoms and the Lord's government in them be distinct, then we must keep the Subjects of these Kingdoms distinct through the whole discourse. The spiritual Kingdom I conceive to have for its Subjects only those that live in the Church, and that belong to it; for out of the Church of Christ he hath no spiritual Kingdom; for this is a Kingdom administered by Ordinances and the workings of the Spirit in them, and by them. Not that even in the Church there is not concurrent a providential Kingdom, for that is universal, and it's that of which it's said, Thy kingdom rules over all; he hath not a limited Kingdom as other Princes have, that hath its bounds, for God hath set men the bounds of their Dominion, as well as of their habitation: 'tis said, The head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, caput in the Hebrew is summitas & cacumen, the top and the height of anything is said to be the head thereof, and it is as much as to say, Ego met as constitui, quas non egredientur, I have set bounds which they shall not pass, Calvin: they are at the highest that ever they shall be, Syria shall never be higher than it is, its head is Damascus, nor shall Ephraim be higher than it is, its head is Samaria: but as for the Kingdom of Christ, it takes in all the Kingdoms and Dominions of the world, for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords; which is a name that will one day be more gloriously written upon his vesture and upon his thigh, Rev. 19.16. and whereas the spiritual Kingdom extends only unto reasonable creatures, the providential Kingdom takes in also all unreasonable creatures; for Heb. 2.7, 8. Thou hast set him over the works of thy hands, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which cannot be spoken of Christ as he is God, for it is a setting by way of office, and so the word signifies, Acts 6.3. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and therefore it belongs to him as he is man also, and it is said, Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands, which is, Psal. 8.4. said to be all sheep and oxen, &c. Now as there are two parts of the second Covenant, external and internal, so is there a double administration of the spiritual Kingdom; for according as men come under the Covenant, so are they said to belong unto this Kingdom; for Christ receives all by Covenant, and rules all by Covenant, and all our interest is by a Covenant, and grounded thereupon. Now that there is a twofold being in Covenant is clear, in that all Israel were called the Lord's Covenant people and the children of the Covenant, Acts 3.25. that is, they came into the Covenant, as it were by right of inheritance, by descent, by a paternal right, and yet with many of them God was not well pleased; and as they were called the children of the Covenant, in the same sense they are called the children of the Kingdom, Mat. 8.12. and so Grotius observes, Filii regni ex foederis privilegio dicuntur, &c. yet they were cast into utter darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. You have already heard there is a twofold being in Christ, Joh. 15.2, 3. Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away, &c. and there are some that belong to the Kingdom of Grace in respect of the externals of it only, who have a right unto the outward privileges thereof; and there are some that belong to it in respect of the graces of it, and the eternal benefits thereof, in whose soul Christ rules and dwells. Now the Kingdom of Grace or the spiritual Kingdom doth extend not only unto those in the Church, in whose souls Christ dwells, being born again, but over whom he rules by his Ordinances, in respect of an outward profession and a visible conformity, and have thereby an outward right according unto the external rules and dominion that Christ hath over them, and the outward subjection which they yield unto him; and therefore have a title unto the external privileges of the Subjects of the spiritual Kingdom, and therefore even the branches that are afterwards broken off are said to partake of the sap and fatness of the good Olive-tree, Rom. 11.17. Now the Dominion that Christ hath in the Kingdom of Grace, whether it be in the hearts of the Saints, over whom he rules by a spirit of regeneration, or whether in the hearts of Formalists, who are brought into subjection by a profession only, yet it will appear, that in this Sovereignty over both the Saints have an interest, and the Lord Jesus doth rule over both for the Saints sake and for their good.
1. The spiritual Kingdom as it is in the souls of the Saints; those that are new-born unto God, and have a mighty work of regeneration passed upon them, by which they have given up themselves unto Christ, having by a perfect self-resignation put the rule and the government wholly out of their own hands into the hands of Christ, and have done it with cheerfulness, and by way of election have given the hand unto the Lord, 2 Chron. 30.8. have given themselves unto the Lord, 2 Cor. 8.5. and that as a willing people: Thy people shall be willing, Psal. 110.3. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the word doth signify two things: (1) Either voluntas or spontaneitas in the abstract, and so it is common with the Hebrews to put the abstract for the concrete, when they would express anything in a superlative way, Jer. 50.31. I am against thee, O thou pride: and when the Lord would express the high degree of willingness of his people, he doth it as if they were made up of nothing else. (2) It signifies oblationes voluntariae, gifts and free-will offerings, Deut. 23.23. and so the meaning is, that the people should come to Christ, and give themselves to him of their own accord, without any enforcing or any compelling, it should be freely their own act. In the handling of this I will show you: (1) That Christ hath such a Kingdom. (2) Wherein it consists. (3) That it's a Kingdom only over Saints. (4) The happiness of the Saints, that they are under such a government and dominion.
1. That Christ hath such a Kingdom in the hearts of men, will appear by two Scriptures, Luke 17.20, 21. The kingdom of God comes not with observation, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the word doth signify three things. (1) A curious observation, and so Luke 14.1. the Pharisees watched him, to see if he would heal upon the Sabbath day, and so the Kingdom of God comes not with observation. Let men never so carefully observe, yet the Lord doth secretly insinuate himself into the heart no man knows how, it is as the blowing of the wind, a secret that comes not under the most curious observation of man. (2) It signifies an idolatrous or superstitious observation, and so it's used, Gal. 4.10. Ye observe days, and months, and years, I am afraid of you, &c. when men do talk greatly of Ceremonies, and external outward Forms, and bodily exercise, and performances, &c. the Kingdom of Christ doth not consist in these, it doth not come with these, it consists not in these. (3) It signifies also a pompous observation, in a glorious way, that is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , cum regio splendore ac apparatu externo, as the Jews expected a glorious Kingdom and a pompous Kingdom; most men do love a sumptuous Religion; but that is not the Kingdom of Christ; but where shall we then find the Kingdom of Christ? it is within you, it's a Kingdom that is set up in your hearts, and by that means doth subject the whole man unto itself: it is, Eph. 3.17. the dwelling of Christ in the heart by faith; but it is such a dwelling as hath a ruling attending it, for he dwells there as a Lord and as a Master in his own house, he dwells there as in a Temple, 2 Cor. 6.16. Ye are the temples of the living God. Now though the Lord be in a sort present everywhere, for he doth fill heaven and earth, yet he is in a special manner present in his Temple; and though he rules everywhere, yet in his Temple he rules in a more special manner; and he saith, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , &c. Therefore in the souls and in the hearts of Saints Christ hath a rule, Rom. 14.17. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, &c. It is spoken here both of the kingdom of grace and of glory, both which are commonly in Scripture called the Kingdom of God: and the meaning is, that the kingdom of grace doth not consist in these, neither do these lead to the kingdom of glory; or prepare the soul for it, regnum gratiae in his non consistit, & per haec regnum gloriae non acquiritur, but it is in righteousness, and peace, and joy, and these are acts wrought upon the soul and the inward man; and therefore the Kingdom of Christ, the spiritual Kingdom is over the souls of the Saints, and it's a Throne erected in their hearts.
2. Wherein doth this spiritual Kingdom consist, which he doth exercise over the Saints? It's a Throne that Christ sets up in the Conscience, which doth order and command the whole man, and that in the name and by the authority of God. There is a twofold Throne of Christ in the spiritual Kingdom. (1) There is a Throne that he erects in his Ordinances, Rev. 4.4. when all his people are gathered together about him, all the Saints sit down at his feet, that they may receive a Law from his mouth as their King. (2) There is also another Throne of Christ in the spiritual Kingdom, and that is in the Conscience, which is properly the Throne of God; and therefore the great work of Christ's rule is in the conscience of the Saints, Acts 23.1. I have lived in all good conscience, and my care is to keep a good conscience void of offense, Acts 29.16. Heb. 13.18. We have a good conscience, desiring in all things to live honestly. It's true, that the Lord doth rule in the whole soul, and there is no faculty that is not brought into subjection, the understanding and the will, there is not a thought or a reasoning, anything that is the issue of the soul, 2 Cor. 10.5. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , leading captive every thought: and we know captives were not only subdued by conquest, but they were led in Triumph, and they were afterwards made use of for service; and so it is in the Kingdom of Christ in the inward man; but yet the Throne is the Conscience: it is true, that the power of a King reaches throughout the whole Kingdom, and they are all governed by him; but yet the place of his residence, and the Royal Seat is in some eminent place of the Nation; and though Jesus Christ rules in the whole soul, and dwells in the heart by faith, yet the Throne is mainly in the conscience; and therefore the assenting act of faith, the accusing act of faith, and the commanding act of faith is mainly in the conscience, 1 Pet. 3.21. it is the answer of a good conscience by the Resurrection of Christ, &c. Now conscience what is it? Est judicium intellectûs practici prout subjicitur judicio Dei, It is the judgment of the practic intellect as subjected to the judgment of God. It is this that hath the great command of the man, that whatever he doth he is to do for conscience sake, Rom. 13.5. and whatever he doth scruple or doubt of, it should be for conscience sake, 1 Cor. 10.25. for it speaks in the person of God unto the man, and therefore even to go against an erring conscience is a sin, because the authority of Christ is rejected in whole name conscience speaks: it's true, that conscience is not the highest rule, it is but regula regulata, a rule ruled by the Divine love; yet it is the highest rule in the man, and it hath the power of subordination, which Kings would fain take to themselves, who pretend that they are subject to none but God, and to give an account unto none else, Magnus est Caesar, sed solo Deo minor, Tertul. This is true of conscience, all the rest of the faculties are to give up their account unto the conscience, it can call them all to an account, but is subject unto no other thing in the man, it is to give an account unto none but God; and the Lord working upon men modo connaturali, in a connatural way, conscience being the leading power that God hath placed in man, the Lord comes mainly into that, and by it he doth rule and guide all the rest of the faculties, and keep them in subjection: and this will appear in two things. (1) It's conscience that doth receive the discharge for the man, Heb. 9.9. therefore a man is said to be made perfect according unto the conscience, so that when a man's conscience is acquitted from guilt, and purged from pollution, it's then said to be made perfect, and the man is perfected thereby; and for this cause conscience hath an account to give of the man, in reference unto all that office and authority in the man that Christ hath set him over, Rom. 2.15. Their consciences accusing them, it hath the power over the man in all persons: it was in the Creation set over man by God, but being renewed, it is now set over the man by Christ, and when he comes to give an account (for we must all give an account of ourselves to God, Rom. 14.12.) what is it in the man that shall give an account for him? it is conscience that must make up our account at the last and great day, and in the Saints then will the Lord pass a sentence in conscience, and he will acquit it from its viatory office, that hath a charge of the whole man. It's a great honor and a great trust, and it is a great burden to take the charge of the man, and make an account for all ordinances, all mercies, all motions of the Spirit of God, all opportunities of service that the man has had in this life. (2) Because the main guilt of the man is charged upon the conscience, as that by which all sin came in, it's neglecting its duty, and holding a league and a confederacy with sin, Tit. 1.15. Their consciences are defiled, and it is by this that sin comes in, and for this cause the wrath that is poured upon the man will come in by his conscience, it will be as it were the funnel by which God will pour wrath into the whole soul, because thereby Satan poured sin into the whole soul; and for that cause the torment forever lies mainly in the conscience, and it shall be the faculty that shall torment the whole man, it's the worm that never dies, it is only the acts of conscience, the soul turning in upon itself, and its former ways, and past hopes forever: now that which was the great Officer here, that shall give its account, and be chiefly acquitted hereafter; glory in heaven comes in by the conscience, and torment in hell will come in by the conscience; for there is the Throne of Christ mainly erected, the mystery of faith and of holiness, all is kept in a pure conscience, 1 Tim. 3.9.
3. This Rule and Dominion Christ only hath in the hearts of the Saints; he has such a rule over them as he has over none else in the world. 1. The relations in which he stands to them do bind him to it, for he is their head, and they are his body: now Christ as their head is not only a head of eminence, which he is to other creatures also, but of guidance, that is, he doth give them his Spirit to be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the guide of their way, and he is their husband, and therefore not only a covering to their eyes, but also the guide of their youth, and he is their shepherd, and therefore he has undertaken to rule them as well as to feed them, Joh. 10.2, 3. He goes before them, and they do know his voice, and they follow him: he has no such Kingdom and Government anywhere else as he has in the souls of his own people; he does govern as a Lord in the world, but it is but as one without, there is no inward principle that he can close with, he rules over them, but does not delight himself in them, there is no fellowship between light and darkness; the Saints are his peculiar people, and therefore they have an interest in his peculiar providences, and therefore he comes in with a specially to them, 1 Tim. 4.10. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . It's true, that all mankind in the Fall did put themselves out of the protection of God and his guidance, and therefore the Lord did justly suffer them to walk in their own ways, and he might have suffered the brute creatures to prey upon them, or men to devour one another as the fishes of the Sea that have no King, Hab. 1.13. but because the Lord will have the stage of this world stand for the Elects sake; therefore he has committed the providential Kingdom unto the Son also, who takes all men into protection for the preservation of the world; but he takes none into his special protection for their preservation and his peculiar guidance, but those that are his people by a peculiar Covenant.
2. There are none other that give up themselves unto his guidance; he will not force himself upon any people to be their King, though he has a right, for the kingdom is given him by God the Father, yet if he come to his own they receive him not, Joh. 1.11. he will not force himself upon them to be their King; they that say, We will not have this man to rule over us, he will destroy them; but there are a people upon whom a day of almighty power doth pass that subdues their wills, and commands their consciences, and they do submit unto his guidance, they would have no other Lord, and it is their misery that it should be so that sin should at any time reign in them, and they complain of it; other Lord's besides thee have had dominion over us, but we will acknowledge and own no other, sin shall not have dominion over us; they will give that honor unto none but unto their King, and they do rejoice in their King that they have such a Ruler, and they do willingly and cheerfully follow him.
3. Consider the happiness and blessed condition of the Saints under this Government of Christ, which will appear in these particulars. (1) He doth rule them with justice, it's a kingdom of righteousness that he sets up in their souls, for he is Melchizedek, the King of Righteousness, and we have a kingdom of sin in us, and therefore is sin said to reign in our mortal bodies, and therefore he must have a kingdom of righteousness: grace is said to reign by Christ, Rom. 5.21. he rules his people with righteousness, and sets up a righteous Throne in the consciences of men. (2) He rules them with wisdom, Mat. 12.20. He will bring forth judgment unto victory; there is a wisdom in the government of Christ that shall be victorious. Men are foolish in their government, we read in Eccles. 4.13. of an old King that was foolish, delirant reges, they do many times take courses that are not the wisest for the people's good; but Christ takes the wisest courses for the good of his people, and none can prevail against his wisdom. (3) He rules them with meekness, I am meek and lowly in heart: as it's an argument to subject to his teaching, so unto his rule, for he is not harsh in his government, Esa. 40. He doth bear his lambs in his bosom, he doth gently lead them that are with young; whereas men are cruel, their possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty, their own shepherds pity them not; therefore the Lord will give every man into the hand of his brother, and into the hand of his King; but Christ rules his people with tenderness, he will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, &c. (4) He will give them strength to obey, Phil. 4.13. I can do all things through Christ strengthening me, he commands and enables us to obey, jubet & juvat, he puts under his hand, so that we offer to him of his own in what we give him, and it is with his own strength that we do serve him, he works all our works in us and for us; there is a creating power in the commandment; for as in the promise he creates peace, so in the commandment he gives power; it is stand up and walk, it puts a power into him, for it is a creating word, the very word of his power puts a power in us for the work. (5) He rules them in peace, and there is a safety under his government, a hiding place from the wind, a covering from the tempest; there shall be all in this government that we can stand in need of, he is the King of Salem, and the Prince of peace, all his ways are ways of pleasantness, and all his paths are peace, and men never depart from peace till they do forsake his government, and subject themselves unto another Lord. (6) His government leads unto life; for there is a life to be had in obedience to him, he is called the Prince of life, that is, he hath a power given him to dispense life as the Prince of it, and he doth give it to whomsoever he has undertaken to rule, if he be a King of Righteousness to them, he is also a Prince of life, he doth all for the good of his people, it's for their sakes that all the government is managed that he has undertaken in the world. Now if we consider how many sons of Belial there are that live without a yoke, and consider that they have no Law but the wills of the flesh and of the mind, the Law of sin and death, we shall all say, O blessed is the man whom the Lord rules and reigns over, the Lord rules and reigns, let the Saints rejoice, &c. (7) In his government they do behold him in his glory; for he that doth rule in them, doth also dwell in them as in a Temple; and he walks amongst them continually, Esa 33.17. Thine eyes shall see the King in his glory. Now there are many men that are ruled by Kings that never see them; but this is a Court where they may see their King, and it is the Palace of the great King, where he is always to be seen by his Subjects, the meanest as well as the greatest, non factio, sed curia dicenda est, Cyprian. It's not a government at a distance in remote parts, but so as he takes up his dwelling place there, and they are joyful in their King; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King always, but never so much as when they see him in glory. (8) They have a communion with his person all the while: there are many that have a benefit by his government that have no fellowship with his person; but the Queen, the Bride, the Lambs wife, she has the fruit of his government and communion with his person, and delights in his love and in his glory also, and the King sits at his round table, and we eat with him, we sup with him, and our souls rejoice in his salvation, his left hand is under our head, and his right hand embraceth us, he brings us into his banqueting-house, and the banner of love is over us, as a Bridegroom over his Bride; while he rules us as a King, he doth delight in us, and we have communion with him, as a husband continually.
§. 2. There is an external part of the Covenant, and so there is of the Kingdom, which is the rule and the government that Christ hath over the spirits of those that are under the spiritual kingdom by profession only, unregenerate men that join to the Church, and are with them under the dew and influence of the Ordinances, and of the common works of the Spirit of God in them; for Rev. 4.5. There are burning before the throne seven lamps of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God; the Throne is an expression of Majesty and government, for unto the King belongs the Throne, the Scepter, and the Crown, they are properly insignia regia, &c. and by the seven Spirits is meant the Holy Ghost; that's clear from Chap. 1.4. where he wisheth grace and peace from the seven Spirits of God, by which surely is meant the Holy Ghost; for we are to make our prayers unto God only, but yet it is seven Spirits, because of the variety of graces and gifts, which he doth pour out upon the Church of Christ in his administration and government; and here we may observe two things. (1) That the spiritual kingdom of God doth not only extend to his rule over the Saints which are his subjects by election and regeneration, but also that there is a great deal of dominion which he has even over them that are the subjects of this kingdom only by profession. (2) That the rule and dominion that Christ doth exercise over these, is for the sake and for the good of the Saints, and that they themselves have no benefit by it in the end; but all doth turn unto the advantage and the spiritual improvement of them that are heirs of salvation; so that the administration unto unregerate men, as members of the Church visible, is for the good of those that are members of the Church invisible.
1. The spiritual kingdom of Christ doth extend even unto unregenerate men, who are the subjects of it by profession only; where we are to take notice, That there are many give their names unto Christ, who never give their hearts, who have the name of Christ written in their foreheads, which have not his image instamped upon their souls; there is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a profession which is not always accompanied with a real and spiritual subjection unto the Gospel. 2. These are all the while subjects to another kingdom; for till vocatio alta & secreta, there be a deep and secret vocation, a man is never translated, Col. 1.13. the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is e natali solo, &c. a man is actually under the kingdom of Satan still; for while a man is of the world, though he be in the Church, he is of the worlds kingdom; for they are not all of us that are amongst us, not all Israel that are of Israel; there are some do say that they are Jews, and are not, but do lie, but are of the Synagogue of Satan, Rev. 2.9. for the world lies in wickedness, in aliquo positum esse, est in ejus esse potestate, as Cameron hath observed: there are many enemies that live in a kingdom, against which they conspire and endeavor to destroy it. Jesus Christ after this life shall rule over his enemies, but in this life he rules in the middle of them. 3. Yet while they do live, and in outward show continue the subjects of this kingdom, so long they are to be looked upon in outward show as subjects, and the privileges of subjects belong unto them, they are servants, Joh. 8.35. But the servant abides not in the house always; there will come a time when the Lord will say, Cast out the bondwoman and her son, Gal. 4. but yet while they are in the house they do enjoy many privileges and benefits by being in the family, they partake of the sap and the fatness of the good olive, Rom. 11.17. and yet be afterwards broken off. 4. But they shall not continue subjects of this kingdom always; though for a season the tares and the wheat, the sheep and the goats may stand together till the day of separation, good and bad be in the net together, till the one be gathered into the vessel, and the bad be cast away; for though the spiritual kingdom in respect of Christ shall have no end, but Christ shall be so a King in glory, that he shall never cease to be a head of eminence, or of influence, or of guidance (for the mystical Union shall never be broken) no more than the hypostatical, yet his kingdom in respect of those that profess it, is but for the time of this life; natural worship shall be in glory, and they are only Saints that worship Christ therewith; but there is instituted worship that is only for the time of this life, and it is in this that they worship him, and become subjects to him, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out at the last, Joh. 15.2. there are branches that bear no fruit in this Vine, and they are cast out as a branch and wither; but during the time of their continuance in this kingdom till he has cast them out for their rebellion, there is a government that the Lord Jesus by his Spirit doth exercise towards them and over them for the good of his Saints. And this will appear by the expressions that we meet with in Scripture. (1) They are his servants, Joh. 8.35. the Church is compared to a house, a family, as it's called the family of God, and the house of God; and of this family Christ is the Master: now there is a special employment that he has for everyone of his servants, and they are under his special command and dominion; it is true, this family is made up of servants and of sons, and the servants may have a greater rule in the house than the sons, but yet both under the authority of the householder, only he rules over the one as a Master, and over the other as a Father, but both are in subjection. Cant. 6.8. there are in the Church sixty Queens, and fourscore Concubines, and Virgins without number, some are truly married unto Christ, and have a true right and authority in the family by their marriage-union with the King, for the woman shines by the beams of her husband; but there are Concubines that came in only for lusts sake, and that did bear fruit, but it was never from a marriage state; and there were Virgins that were companions only, that were not married, neither did they in a manner bear fruit, but were for attendants only, and the King has a special rule and dominion over all these, &c. (2) The Church visible is compared to a great House, 2. Tim. 2.20. some expound it de mundo, but contextus nos ducit, ut de Ecclesia intelligamus; non de extraneis disputat Apostolus, sed de ipsa familia Dei, Calv. there is not a vessel but it has its use, though all have not the same use, nor of the like honor, yet all are for use, and all are for the Masters use; so that there is a special dominion that is exercised over them all, as well the vessels of wood and stone, as those that are of gold, to employ them where he will, and as he will, in what service he pleases; for it is his will that makes their use to differ; it is for the Saints sake that he makes use of them; so that all God's dispensations towards unregenerate men in the Church is for their sakes, all the husbandry that is exercised about the unfruitful branches is for the sake of those that have a blessing in them; for the wicked shall have no benefit by it in the great day of the Lord; the greater rule the Lord has exercised towards men, the greater will their abhorring be, the nearer they have been to him, the further off shall they be from him, the higher they have been exalted to heaven, the deeper shall they be cast down to hell, Mat. 11.23. there is utter darkness for the children of the kingdom, Mat. 8.12. And this we may reduce unto four Heads, (1) their graces, (2) their gifts, (3) their services, (4) their sins, and in all these the dominion of Christ over them is for the good of the Saints.
1. Their graces are ruled by Christ for the Saints: there are common graces which the Lord doth give unto unregenerate men in the Church, common illuminations, by which they see much glory and beauty in spiritual things, and yet had never their eyes anointed with eye-salve; and there are many common works upon the wills of men letting in a taste of the goodness of spiritual things, so that the heart is much taken with them, and makes out after them; and there are many tendencies to the new birth, Hos. 13.13. we see them set forth to us, Heb. 6.3, 4. which is meant of the common graces of the Spirit of Christ under the Gospel, which he works upon the souls and consciences of unregenerate men, which are only from the Spirit assisting, and not from the Spirit informing, which flow not from union, but from conviction; and therefore from which in time they will surely fall away: there is a great beauty that the Spirit of God in such common works doth put forth upon the souls of unregenerate men, though it be but as the Sun shining upon a mud-wall, or as a curious robe put upon a dead carcass, it cannot keep it from stinking, because there is not a principle of life in it. (1) Hereby the Lord restrains their spirits. There is a restraint without by a power that is upon the Devil, by which he is restrained from doing the mischief he would else do; but there is a restraint within upon the lusts of men, and that is by some special works of the Spirit of God upon them, Exod. 34.24. No man shall desire thy land, &c. and the Spirit restraining is for the Saints sake as well as the Spirit renewing, Psal 76:10. The wrath of man shall praise thee, and the remainder of wrath thou shalt restrain, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 accinges, thou shalt gird up; sometimes the Lord lets men's lusts loose, and sometimes he does gird them up as he doth the Sea in a girdle of sand, or else the Saints of God, who are always as sheep amongst wolves, would surely be devoured by them, for their soul is amongst lions. Now they are common works that do exceedingly restrain the sins and the rage of unregenerate men, and bind up their spirits both in reference unto persecution and the wrongs done by them, as also in reference to corruption and the evil example given by them also.
(2) Hereby the Lord doth fit them for service; for even the vessels of dishonor are for service in the house also, though they be but of wood and stone, &c. Now though gifts do immediately qualify them, yet they are common works that do make them to exercise those gifts, and are unto them as oil to the wheels in the use of them; as a temporary Believer he may be an eminent Professor, and the house that such a one builds is far more glorious in outward show than that of a Saint, for they are both called builders, Mat. 7.7. and many men do service for God, but they are cold in it, because they are acted only from without, Rom. 16.18. whose God is their belly, Non ità glacies & frigus sicut Elcius & alii, sed ego rem seriam agebam, ut quod diem extremum horribiliter timui, &c. Luth. and this will make a man seem to act from an inward principle, as if he had received life from the Spirit, and were made alive from the dead; and thereby even ungodly men do many times give a great testimony unto the principles and the practices of the Saints, that they acknowledge them and seal unto them, and yet nevertheless there is in them a principle to hate them, and that will vent itself in time, when the thorns shall spring up to choke the word, notwithstanding all the restraints that are upon their lusts for a season.
(3) Thereby they do good many times, and give great encouragements to the Saints by their example; for their lamps do shine as lights in the world, and there are many that do show others the way, in which they themselves walk not, but they have their diverticula, their crooked ways, they go forth with the people of God, and yet they do afterwards repent themselves, and turn back again from the way that's called holy, 2 Pet. 2.21. Godly men do not only follow the example of the Saints, that is, those that are really and truly so, but they have many times very great encouragement from the example and the countenance of them that are not so, as we see it in the instance of Joash, how he did encourage the builders of the Temple; especially when they are men in authority and power, they do encourage and go before the Saints of God, unto the end whereof they never come; and so we have much experienced in our days.
2. By their gifts also; no man hath his gifts for himself, they are this worlds goods, they are not thy own, but another man's, as thy riches are: and they are the Churches Treasure, and they will fall from a man when he dies, as Elijah's mantle; for they are of no use in the world to come, and therefore shall not continue, 1 Cor. 13.8, 9. they are (1) for the Churches collection, that so they may be instrumental in gathering in others. As for that dispute, Whether a man that is unregenerate is made use of by God to convert others? I shall not now insist on; but I conceive the power of conversion being not of man, but of God, the Lord calling such as belong to the Election, doth according to his good pleasure concur with the one as with the other; the gifts of the Ministry are for the gathering of the Saints, Eph. 4. many of them are unregenerate men, and yet have received a gift, Mat. 7.21. and can say to Christ, We have prophesied in thy name; yet are cast-aways themselves; for Christ has received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell amongst them, Psal. 68.18. that is, that the Lord might have a Church for a habitation amongst them, Habes ingenium vere aureum (saith Austin of Lycentius) & diabolo propinas teipsum. Deus populo suo tam per pios quàm per impios magna facere & donare potest, Luth. Golden wits may be the Devils vassals. (2) For the perfection of the Saints; for during the standing of this great house the vessels shall continue, and there will be a continual use of them, that though they serve their lusts, yet by the use of their gifts the Lord's ends are accomplished, Phil. 1.18. Some preach Christ out of envy, but yet Christ is preached, and thereby the savor of the Gospel is spread abroad, and souls are converted and edified; for there is many a man that builds an Ark that saves others, that never saves himself, that preaches to others, and is himself a cast-away; there were many that converted others to the Faith in the times of Popery, that yet departed themselves from that Faith when suffering came; And I fear it will also be said of some Ministers now amongst us, that seem great Zealots for the cause and ways of God, that when the hour and power of darkness that is coming once again in this Nation shall over-spread it, they will draw back from the plough, to which they have before so many witnesses put their hand, &c. the love of many shall wax cold.
3. All their services also; for they have gifts for service, and it is for the service of the house, and they are therefore called servants; and truly it's an honor to be a servant to the Saints, seeing the Angels are so; and there is much benefit that the Saints have by it, as we see in Saul, the spirit of government was upon him, and that service he did in it was for the Saints; and Zac. 4.12. they are said to empty the golden oil out of themselves, &c. but it is all for the good of the Candlestick, it is that the light thereof may be maintained. (1) Sometimes they protect as Badgers skins the Ark from storms that the Church is exposed to; unregenerate men may be very serviceable to the Church of God, as we see in Cyrus, &c. (2) Sometimes they may assist them in any work that they set upon, they may stand by them, and strengthen their hands, as we see Joash the King did about the building and repairing the House of the Lord. (3) Sometimes they may supply them; there is many a man that supplies the necessities of the Saints, that doth it to be seen of men, and have their reward; for they are laborers in the Lord's Vineyard, and it is for the benefit of it that they are employed, and they have their penny, and they may also bear much of the burden and heat of the day, as it seems they that murmured did, and they do commonly set a high price upon their own services: and hereby the Saints do glorify Christ, who has given such gifts to men; and when he hath given such to his enemies, O what are those gifts that he hath reserved for his sons! They see it is the great fruit of the Ascension of Christ, and as from the seven Spirits that are before the Throne; and they can bless God for his goodness to the children of men; and though they pity such a soul to see him destroyed by his own gifts, in his abusing of them, non est calamitosior homo in terris quàm doctor superbus, There is not a more piteous man in the world than a proud Doctor, Luth. yet they glorify Christ therein, and see this as a fruit of his government, that there may be those that shall build the Tabernacle of God, as it is said of Bezaleel and Aholiab that they were gifted for the work, &c.
4. By their sins; for (1) the Lord doth let them live for the Saints sake, lets both good and bad grow together to the harvest, and he will weed them out for the Saints sake also; for he will gather out of his Kingdom all that offends, and whoever works iniquity; and he will not have the society of the Saints always polluted by the chaff of the world, for they are spots in their feasts, and therefore he doth take them away as unfruitful figtrees, he cuts them down and gives them to salt, to a perpetual barrenness; for the grace and ordinances of the Gospel will heal even the dead sea, Ezech. 47.11, 12. therefore he casts them out in order to their destruction. (2) The Lord will not have his people always deluded: the Saints many times are mistaken in their opinion of persons, they may as Eli did misreprove a Hannah in the Church of God, and as David believe a Zibi against the son of his friend; for commonly the best deserving Christians are clouded by the glaring light of the lamps of Hypocrites, who make it their business to raise false reports against such as outshine them in true grace and holiness; but at last God will discover them and cast them out of the Churches prayers and affection, they shall not always abide with them, that they may be made manifest not to be of them: and they that are approved shall be made manifest; and so shall they that are corrupted also, they shall be found liars, and they shall be cast out, the Lord will cut them off, that they may deceive the expectations of the Saints no more; the Lord doth delight to do it, and we should wait his leisure in it, who will certainly show himself a God that judges in the earth. (3) That thereby the Saints may be awakened and admonished; when Hymenaeus fell, then 2 Tim. 2.7. is that exhortation most seasonable, Let him that names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity, and let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall: when a man observes horrendas tempestates & flenda naufragia, horrid tempests, it is a hint to the Saints, look to your standing, see that you be built upon a Rock, that storms and tempests may not overthrow you.
5. In their judgments; for they are terrible judgments that the Lord doth execute upon unregenerate men in the Church, there are no mercies like those out of Zion, and there are no judgments like them; no men are so eminently under the curse as they are: Out of the Throne came thundering, and lightning, and voices, Rev. 4.5. for the Churches sake and by their prayers. And this is (1) that the Saints may be thankful; how great a mercy is it that I had not fallen away as well as he, Joh. 14.22. (2) That they may take heed of the same sins, lest they be overtaken by the same plagues; Remember Lots wife; the natural branches are broken off, thou standest by faith, be not high-minded, but fear; they entered not through unbelief; let us fear, lest we also come short, &c.
§. 3. There belongs also unto the spiritual Kingdom reductive, all the works and the dispensations of God amongst the creatures; for though only men that live in the Church be the proper subjects of the spiritual Kingdom, and in respect of the spiritual part of it, only the Saints; yet as the Mediator undertook the government of all other things for the Churches sake, so in the government of all things he has a special respect unto their good; so that all the creatures and the government of them all comes under the spiritual Kingdom two ways: (1) As they tend to perfect the graces of the Saints. (2) As they belong unto the privileges of the Saints; so reductive they belong to the spiritual Kingdom▪ 1. Christ in the spiritual Kingdom doth so order and dispose of all the creatures, that they do all tend to perfect and increase the graces of the Saints, Rom. 8.28. All things shall work together for good to them that love God: the Apostle speaks it in reference unto affliction; but yet because there was a general doctrine in it, he would not restrain it, and therefore he saith 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, all creatures and all events, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , i. e. (1) they shall not work so of themselves, but by a blessed and gracious concurrence of God with them all, as it is said, That Ministers are workers togethers with God, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , 2 Cor. 6.1. Alas! it is not anything we can do, or by any power that is in us, but only there is a concurrence of the principal with the instrumental cause; for instrumentum agit dispositive in virtute principalis agentis. (2) Some refer it unto the creatures themselves, that they do not do this apart, as if any one action or any one dispensation merely did it, but they do it as it were in a conspiracy or concatenation, they all join together in the work, that if we take any one particular, we may seem to go backward, and it may tend to the disadvantage of the spiritual Kingdom, but we must take them all together; as we are not to judge of the works of God ante quintum actum, so neither are we to judge of the fruits of his works, but by laying of them all together, and see how they work in a due order and subordination one to another, &c. and unto what is it? 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that is, ad aeternam piorum salutem; for sine summo bono nil bonum. As there is nothing good without the chiefest good, so there is nothing good that doth not lead a man unto the chief good; and therefore when it's said, That all things work together for good, the meaning is, they shall all make for the increase of their grace here, and their glory hereafter, all of them shall work for the eternal good of their souls: whereas unto all wicked men, all the creatures and all the dispensations of God in the ordering of the creatures cedunt in perniciem, tend to their perdition: they are unto the one in premium, for a reward, unto the other in supplicium, for punishment, as Prosper has it; Or as Cyprian saith of the Sacrament, it was Petro in remedium, Judae in venenum, a remedy to Peter, but poison to Judas; so it is here, all the creatures that the wicked do enjoy, they are indeed seemingly blessings, but really curses, outwardly bread, but in verity a stone, a fish in show, but in truth a scorpion; for they do all of them tend to the ripening of their sins, and the hastening of their ruin: but to the Saints, 1 Cor. 3.21, 22. All things are yours; he was speaking of glorying in men, they should not boast of their Teachers; though it is true indeed, that the Primitive Church had their Crown of twelve Stars, yet they were all the servants of the Churches, & debent tam corpori quàm capiti servire, they ought to serve the body as well as the head; and therefore some will have it 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 but the Apostle doth speak here, as in the fore-quoted places (as I conceive) where though speaking of one particular, yet there being a general truth in it, he doth propound it generally; for it is not to be restrained to persons, as the after-enumeration shows, for he speaks of life and death, things present and things to come: now how doth he mean that all is ours? that is, aedificationi & saluti destinata, as ordained for our edification and salvation; there is a special design of grace in ordering and disposing of them all, so as they shall be truly our servants, that is, they shall tend unto the advancement of our spiritual and eternal good, Rom. 8.38. what he had before spoken positively, that they shall all do us good, here he speaks negatively, that they shall never be able to do us hurt: I am persuaded that neither life nor death, via extrema, secunda, & adversa, the highest pitch of prosperity, and the lowest ebb of adversity or affliction, shall not be able to hurt us, nor Angels good or bad, nor principalities, and powers, that is, all the powers of Empires and Monarchs of the world, nor things present, nor things to come, not any intermediate events that now do, or hereafter may befall us, nor heights nor depths, nor any creature, i. e. if there be any creature that comes not under the former enumeration, whether it be in heaven above, or in the deeps beneath, it shall never be able to hurt us in respect of our eternal state, because it shall never be able to separate us from the love of God, which has so sure a ground; for it is love born to us in Christ, in whom he has elected us, &c. therefore you see there comes no disadvantage, but a continual advantage unto the spiritual Kingdom by all the creatures and by the dispensations of Christ in the ordering and the government of them all.
Let us see this by an enumeration of some particulars.
1. If the Lord give unto his people prosperity, it shall be to the advantage of the inward man, and in their outward prosperity their souls shall prosper, 2 Chron. 17.6. Jehoshaphat had silver and gold and riches in abundance, and his heart was lifted up and encouraged in the ways of God's commandments; and thereby the people of God make them friends of the unrighteous Mammon, and they lay up a good foundation, that they may lay hold of eternal life; Eccles. 7.11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance; it is good in itself without an inheritance, but there is a special advantage by wisdom with an inheritance, and so it's better to the man; or it is good to a man's self, but it is not so good unto another; and so Prov. 14.24. The crown of the wise is their riches; but there are to other men riches reserved for the hurt of the owner, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them, Prov. 1.32. wisdom is the better with an inheritance, but folly is the worse with an inheritance; for the folly of fools is foolishness; he speaks it of rich fools, there are no men discover their folly more, and whose foolishness is more eminent and notorious than these men's; as riches draw forth the graces of the one, so do they also the sins of the other.
2. If the Lord give unto his people afflictions, it shall be to the advantage of their inward man, Rom. 5.3. Tribulation works patience: surely patience is a fruit of the Spirit, as all other graces are, and cannot be wrought in any man by affliction, unless it be given him by the Spirit. A man must have patience, (1) if ever he will bear affliction fruitfully; but (2) the word is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which doth signify to work a thing out, and bringing of it to perfection, Phil. 2.12. It is this therefore, that when patience is wrought in the soul by the Spirit, it is improved and exceedingly drawn out by affliction, it doth improve the graces of the Saints; and upon this ground it is said, Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations, Jam. 1.2. Esa. 27.8, 9. in measure God shoots forth the affliction; and the mercy of God is greatly seen in the moderation of the affliction: By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is the fruit to take away the sin of his people, when he makes all the stones of their Altars to be as chalk stones; and therefore Esa. 24.15. Glorify the Lord in the fires 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , he doth chastise them, that they may be made partakers of his holiness.
3. Temptations; for the Lord Jesus doth order all the temptations of Satan, and directs them unto spiritual ends; for even the very enemies of the spiritual Kingdom he doth over-rule so, as he makes them servants to it, even the vessels of dishonor have their use in the great house, as the Apostle speaks, 2 Tim. 2.21. Satan is an enemy, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that enemy, in two things to the Saints: (1) In his accusations unto God; he is therefore called the Accuser of the Brethren, and so he did move God against Job to destroy him without a cause, Job 2.3. there was cause enough in Job, if the Lord had been extreme to mark what he had done amiss; but there was not that cause that Satan did allege; and it is a mercy to the people of God, that though there because enough, yet he doth hide the true cause from their malicious accusers, that that which they fasten upon them is no cause to set God or man against them, but the more the Lord doth appear for his servants to justify them; had not Satan accused Job so impetuously, God had never so eminently appeared for his justification. This should quiet and comfort the Saints in all the hard measure and reproaches that they meet withal in the world, that yet the Lord will arise for their justification and their enemies confusion; that though a child of God may lie under the blast of the wicked for a season, yet God will vindicate him at last, so that false friends, as well as true enemies, shall be made to say, Surely there is no enchantment against any of the seed of Jacob; &c. Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him and his children, &c. (2) Satan is an enemy by his temptations unto the Saints, and so the strength of God is made perfect in their weakness, that is, manifestly declared so to be, 2 Cor. 12. for thereby their strength is tried, there is nothing tries grace so much as temptation unto sin, because nothing is more opposite unto grace, and gratia vexata seipsam prodit, grace vexed discovers itself: thereby also their corruption is purged, for the Lord doth commonly temper that poison into a medicine, and Satan that seeks to kill shall be instrumental to cure, he that doth intend to stab the man shall but give vent to his imposthume; and therefore Luther says of temptation, when the Papists did object unto Luther, that he himself granted Purgatory, I do indeed, saith he, but it is but that Purgatory of temptation, and he adds, Hoc Purgatorium non est fictum; and hereby the enemy is conquered; for we are more than conquerors, Rom. 8. It was said that the Carthaginians did prevail against the Romans in praelio, in a battle sometimes, sed nunquam in bello, never in war; so does Satan against the Saints, but they surely have the victory in the end, and therefore faith has its triumphing as well as its relying act, &c.
4. Corruptions of men shall tend to the Saints spiritual advantage: though God is not the Author of sin, yet he is the Orderer of it. (1) He doth not let out the corruptions of other men any further than for the good of his Saints: The wrath of man shall praise thee; no man shall desire thy land; I suffered thee not to touch her; the Lord withholds men from hurting his people, and his restraining grace is not only upon their acts, but upon their corruptions also; so as they are not let out but unto the Saints spiritual advantage also. (2) Not only the corruptions of other men, but those of the Saints themselves; the falling out of any new and eminent fall the Lord will make as a new conversion, Luke 22.32. When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren; the foundation is laid anew, and there is also a renewing of justification, a more fast application of the Righteousness of Christ: I will take away thy filthy garments, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment; I have caused thy iniquity to pass from thee; and this makes way for a glorious assurance and for an eminent employment; for God sets a Mitre or a Crown upon his head, and he was thereby fitted for the great work of the Temple, and taken into society with them that stand by.
5. All a man's employment; it is a testimony that a man is a vessel of honor, when in every condition he is fitted for the masters use; and it's a token that a man is called unto any employment in mercy, when he has the graces of that condition drawn forth; a man may be called to the Ministry or the Magistracy, but not in mercy, without this; there is an election to an employment as well as to life, Paul was separated from his mothers womb unto the Gospel of Christ, &c. If David be a shepherd, he follows the Ews great with young, and he doth it with faithfulness, and if he be taken from the sheepfold to feed Jacob the Lord's people, and Israel his inheritance, he doth it with the integrity of his heart, and the skilfulness of his hand, Acts 13.22. Vis me constituere pastorem ovium, aut regem populorum, ecce paratum est cor meum, &c. sometimes friends, sometimes enemies, sometimes the chief of the Princes were against David, but God was with him.
6. Even death itself and the agonies thereof: for even death itself is yours, it is a servant, and not an enemy, because it doth improve and further a man's spiritual interest. (1) As men die in the Lord, Rev. 14.13. death is theirs by virtue of their union with Christ, that as they bear fruit in him, so they die in him; death cannot dissolve the union between a soul and Christ. (2) As they die to him, so they live to him, that is▪ they make him their end in living and dying, they would live no longer than he might be glorified, as Paul says, and they would then die when he might be glorified, that Christ might be magnified in my body, Phil. 1. and they count not their lives dear. (3) It is a life of glory that death lets the Saints into, it opens the door unto a weight of eternal life, it doth perfect the purer part of man, delivers him from the body of sin; for he that is dead is freed from sin, and it doth let him into the beatifical vision, and thereby his sanctification also is perfected: as it is recorded of Bernard when he was sick unto death, there was a great while nothing heard of him but this, Tempus perdidi, quàm perdite vixi! but at last he adds, Hoc meum solatium, duplici in re Christus regnum possidet, quà filius, quà passus, hoc secundo nihil ei opus fuit, sed mihi dedit; and under this consolation he fell asleep.
2. All the creatures belong to the spiritual Kingdom reductive, as they do belong to the privileges of the Saints; for all things are yours, because you are Christ's; there is a double right, jus politicum & evangelicum: now in this manner they belong to the spiritual Kingdom, 1. In respect of their continuance; for it is for their sakes that the world stands. By virtue of the ancient curse, Cursed be the ground for thy sake, the earth would sink under us, but that the Lord Jesus did put under his hand and keep it from ruin by virtue of the new Covenant; therefore he is brought in as the upholder of all things, who also purged our sins, and is sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Heb. 1.3. for the Lord did not continue the creatures in their being to serve his enemies, but the subordination of creatures depends upon the second Covenant, as appears Hos. 2.21. and the Lord will surely manifest it in these two things. (1) In the latter days the Kingdom and Dominion of the whole Earth shall be taken out of the hands of the enemies, and shall be given into the hands of the Saints to the end of the world, Dan. 7.18. and then all the wicked of the earth shall lick the dust of their feet, and it is in order thereunto that it is continued to this day. (2) As soon as the Lord has gathered in the number of his Saints, and has perfected their graces, he will take down the stage of this world, and overturn it, that it shall be no more, at least such as now it is. Now they that are the heirs of this world, as Abraham's seed are called, they are translating, and God's children being called home, the Lord will not continue the world for servants, but he will break up house-keeping, and he will send everyone of them unto their own place, &c. the tares and the wheat do grow till the harvest, but the Lord will not suffer the tares to grow again after the harvest; and therefore the very continuation of the creatures belongs unto the spiritual Kingdom as one part of the privileges of the Saints.
2. The restitution of the creatures; for as they were made subject unto vanity by sin, (for they all came under man's Covenant, and therefore you have heard in man's fall the curse took hold upon them, they being made for the use of man, Rom. 8.20, 21.) they shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption; and therefore they wait for the manifestation of the glory of the sons of God; not that all the creatures shall be continued in being, for many of them shall be consumed in that last conflagration, but yet the substance shall continue as standing monuments unto God's glory, as matter of praise and of delight unto the Saints, which shall be begun in the last days of the world, Acts 3.21. there shall be a wonderful change in the creatures doubtless before the last day, when the Ass shall eat clean fodder, or provender, and when the stones shall be silver and gold, and out of the earth shall come brass, &c. and when the lyon shall lie down with the lamb, Esa. 11.6. which some, as Lactantius, do understand literally to be fulfilled, terra aperiet foecunditatem suam, rupes montium melle sudabunt, non bestiae sanguine alentur, non aves praedâ, Lactant. lib. 7. cap. 4. The earth shall discover its fecundity, the rocks sweat honey, &c. When Christ shall come to the wedding, his servants shall put on their gay apparel, and this is the new Heaven and the new Earth, which shall begin before, and shall in the glory for the substantials of it remain after the Lord by the last fire has purged the world, unto which the world is reserved: now in this also all the creatures belong unto the spiritual Kingdom of Christ.
§. 4. We have seen that the spiritual Kingdom is in the hand of Christ for the good of the Saints, and that (1) in that inward dominion that he has over them in whose hearts he dwells by a spirit of regeneration: (2) over them that belong unto this Kingdom by profession only: (3) over all the creatures reductive, how they all belong unto the spiritual Kingdom, [1] as they tend to perfect their graces, [2] as they belong to the privileges of the Saints. There is yet one head remaining, and that is, how Christ the Mediator, who is King in this spiritual Kingdom, doth rule and order the Angels, that they have an influence and do conduce to the advancement of the spiritual Kingdom; and they are of two sorts, Angels on Earth, his Ministers, and the Angels in Heaven; for they are both Officers in the spiritual Kingdom under Christ the King, and their Kingdom begun with that of the Mediator, and he that did set them up, will also put them down before he give up the Kingdom unto the Father; for they must give up their account unto Christ, and Christ must give up his unto the Father; for he saith, Heb. 2.13. Behold I and the children that thou hast given me: 1 Cor. 15.24. He shall put down all rule and all authority and power; the word is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , some refer it unto all powers opposite unto the Kingdom of Christ, and they say, that all these he shall put down, non modo ut non praevaleát, sed ut plane non sit. Now he doth over-rule them so, that they do advance that Kingdom which they intend to oppose, for he rules in the middle of his enemies, but then they shall not be able to oppose; now he defeats all their plots, but then he shall destroy their persons also: but others do refer it unto the powers set up by Christ, which then he shall put an end unto, when the end of that institution is accomplished, and that not only unto the mediatory Kingdom which is to last but until the Saints are perfected, and till they all come unto the unity of the faith and to a perfect man, &c. but it is expounded also de principatu Angelico, they shall have no further hand in the government of the spiritual nor of the providential Kingdom, but during this present state, both these powers are to continue till he that did set them up shall put them down, and in the continued ordering and rule of these, much of the spiritual Kingdom of Christ doth consist, and they do much conduce unto the perfection of the spiritual Kingdom, and therefore I shall instance in them both.
1. For the Angels upon Earth; for so the Ministers and Messengers of God are styled, Judge. 2.1. An Angel of the Lord came from Gilgal to Bochim: it is most probable that it was a Prophet, one that spake to them in the name of the Lord, and some conceive it to be Phineas the Priest, because he is said to come from Gilgal; whereas Peter Martyr well observes, if it had been a heavenly Angel, it would have been rather said, Coelo descendisse, &c. That he descended from Heaven, and Eccles. 5.6. Say not before the Angel it is an oversight, that is, before the Priest before whom the errors of their rash vows were to be confessed, Levite. 5.4, 5. Rev. 2.1. To the Angel of the Church, &c. and it is both a term of office and a term of honor; for they as well as the heavenly Angels are sent forth for the good of the Elect; and they are but Messengers, they must do their office, and it is also a term of honor, for the Lord takes them into the highest employments and administrations; and therefore it is unto an Officer that the promise is made, Zac. 3.7. If thou walk in my ways and keep my charge, thou shalt judge my house and keep my courts, and I will give thee galleries to walk in amongst them that stand by. Now Christ being the King of the spiritual Kingdom, we shall observe how he doth govern and rule and order things for the Saints sake: that he did set up a Ministry in his Church it's true, that he doth give them a Commission to preach the Gospel to all Nations, and the sound of it goes forth unto all the earth, it comes unto them that are hardened as well as to them that are converted by it, but it was only for the sake of the Saints that he did it, or else he had never appointed such an office; therefore Eph. 4.12. the end of the Ministry is for the perfecting of the Saints, and for the edifying of the body of Christ; there are indeed many inferior and subordinate ends, there is finis minùs principalis, and many of these are attained also by one and the same action, and yet it is the principal end that was really the intention of the efficient, without which he would never have done it, though he also takes in many lesser and inferior ends: it's true, that there are many ends that by the preaching of the Gospel the Lord doth accomplish upon the wicked of the world, but yet he had never sent the Gospel for these ends, nor set up a Ministry for the publishing thereof, but it was only for the Saints, for their gathering and their perfecting, &c.
2. It is for the good of the Saints that he doth furnish them with gifts and abilities for so great an employment, it is onus humeris Angelicis formidandum, who is sufficient for these things? It requires the highest abilities attainable by the art of man and the grace of God, 1 Cor. 4.1. we are stewards of the mysteries of God, non ad politias regendas aut bella gerenda, &c. but that the mysteries of God, the truths of the Gospel are committed unto them, and the Lord doth lay them up in them as in a common Treasury, 2 Cor. 4.7. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, &c. It is not committed to them for their own sakes, or for their own use, but it is for the good of the family, and so Christ speaks unto his Disciples, Mat. 13.52. they should be as a Scribe instructed unto the kingdom of God; it was the office of the Scribes to teach the people the mysteries of the Word of God, and to give the sense, as Ezra the Scribe did; and therefore Christ makes use of the word, and applies it unto the Ministers of the Gospel, and he must be endued with all sorts of knowledge, he must have variety, he must have old things which he has treasured up long, for he is to be a Treasury of it, the Priests lips are to preserve knowledge, and also he must not be content with old things, but he must seek after new discoveries, new degrees of light, he must grow in knowledge daily, and therefore he must have new affections also, and this he must not hide and reserve there, but he must bring it forth; it is what a godly man, that is called by God to teach others, should be affected with and afflicted for, if he come short in any grace or gifts that some of his flock are eminent for; and all those that the Lord does call to this work he doth in some measure qualify, for God doth not send a Messenger and cut off his feet: now all this is for the Churches, for the Saints sake, and for their good; 1 Cor. 3.21, 22. Let no man glory in man, for all things are yours, all for your sakes; the highest offices, and the greatest gifts, and the greatest variety, Paul, Apollo, and Cephas, all is for your sake, for your edification and salvation: We preach not ourselves, but Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake; we are not Lord's of your faith, but helpers of your joy, &c. Eph 4.11, 12. he gave gifts unto men to qualify them for their offices, and all is for the perfecting of the Saints.
3. He puts into them suitable affections and inward dispositions of heart towards them: Paul says, I was amongst you as a Nurse, with much pains and unweariedness, and with much patience and forbearance, bearing with your frowardness and the crookedness of your spirits and dispositions, Phil. 1.8. I long for you all in the bowels of Christ, bowels you know do signify the tenderest affections, (1) such as are not natural, but wrought in me by Christ; for I had them not of myself, and so it notes causam efficientem. (2) With great affections, such as Christ their Savior did bear to them, having their names written in his heart, even to lay down his life for them, with such bowels do I long for you, being willing to be sacrificed unto the service of your faith, and so it notes causam exemplarem, 2 Cor. 8.16. he put the same care into the heart of Titus. Phil. 2.20. it is said of Timothy, he doth naturally care for your things, ad animi sinceritatem refert, Theodor. it is not from any outward respect or fleshly end, but from a natural principle wrought in him by the Lord, that he doth it naturally from an inward principle in nature; as the natural affection of the father and mother is put into them for the good of the child, so there is a natural principle put into them for the good of the Saints, &c.
4. He doth set them in their places, stars they are, and he doth appoint them their orbs, where they shall shine, for the seven Stars are the Angels of the Churches, and are in the right hand of Christ, are at his dispose, who sends them to a people where they shall be fishers: men do not know where the sholes of fish go, for we fish under water, but the Lord saith, Go and speak to them, for I have much people in this city; and when he has gathered in the number of his Elect in any place, then he takes away the Ministry from thence, and when there are any to be gathered in, then he doth bring them again. This is the reason why he doth cause it to rain upon one city, and not upon another also. As he sets them in their stations, so quoad protectionem, he it is that doth preserve them from the rage of men, which truly we know not how soon we may be exposed to, for I fear the time draws near; yet the witnesses shall not be killed till they have finished their testimony, and it is not all the power of the enemy shall be able to remove them.
5. He doth over-rule and order them in their Ministry for the good of his people: sometimes the Spirit of the Lord comes upon them, and they speak beyond their intentions or meditations, Heb. 1.1. he speaks 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , he orders their hearts, and he doth over-rule their tongues, he doth make discoveries unto them for the good of his people, as sometimes he doth pour a darkness upon them for the sins of his people: and sometimes God in judgment hides his truths from a Teacher, because the people are not fitted to receive them. It's true not only of the Magistrates, that the Lord gives them up to commit follies, as he did David, because he was provoked against Israel, therefore he tempted David to number the people; but also it is true of the Ministers, Mic. 3.6. Pro divinatione erit caligo, ye shall have darkness, and the Lord will give no Visions unto the Prophets; and though they seek it, yet they shall have no answer from God, he will pour out upon the Prophets and the seers the spirit of a deep sleep. Now as the Lord doth sometimes hide his word from his Prophets and his Messengers of purpose in judgment unto the people, that they that say to their Ministers, Prophesy not, the Lord says, They shall not prophesy; so he doth also give light unto them; and answerable unto the good that he doth mean to do unto a people, such is his presence and assistance with the Prophets that he doth employ, and all the discoveries of God in the Word shall be to them to whom he intends evil, as the words of a sealed book, that they shall say, I cannot read it, because it is sealed, as the Lord opens the book in mercy to his people and to his Prophets, so he doth seal it in judgment to other men, that seeing they shall see and not perceive, and hearing they shall hear, and not understand. Paul was pressed in spirit, and testified unto the Jews pro violento impulsu ad solitum instinctum plus accessit fervoris, Calv. There is sometimes a greater impulse upon the Ministers of the Gospel than there is at another time, and we should watch and wait to hear what God speaks to us in that manner, even while we are speaking to others; and truly the secret hints that God many times gives, that are immediately darted in from God, we have cause to consider of and look upon as the special mercies of our lives, because therein God has glory in a special manner according to the service that the Lord has to do for them and by them, and all is for the good of his people.
6. He doth give an efficacy and success unto their labors in three things. (1) He doth by them gather souls; for Paul saith, 1 Cor. 4.15. I have begotten you thorough the Gospel; and therefore as Christ is a Father, so are they also spiritual Fathers under him, as they are employed by him to bring souls unto the Lord, and they travel in birth with you, there is a planting as well as a watering, and this should be the great aim of a Minister, without which he should think all the other ends as it were lost, as Christ doth, Esa. 49.4. I have labored in vain, Israel is not gathered; not in vain as to his reward, but yet unto the great end of his calling in vain, which is to bring men to repentance, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, Acts 26.18. (2) For the perfecting of their graces, Rom. 1.11, 12. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established, &c. 1 Thess. 3.10. it is, that I might perfect that which is wanting in your faith; for there is to be a watering as well as a planting, there is a fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ, in which the Ministers should desire to come unto a people, Rom. 15.29. that it be not an empty Ministry, but come with a fullness of blessing, oratione satagamus, ut ipse perficiat in auditore quod loquitur in doctore, Luth. (3) To preserve them from error; they are the salt of the earth for this end, that men may not prove unsavory, Eph. 4.14, 15. that men be not carried about with every wind of doctrine called so, [1] for its mutability, it doth not abide long in one quarter, men are not long of the same mind, quo quis foret religiosior, eo promptiùs novellis aedinventionibus contrà iret. [2] For its prevalency, it is strong and powerful, and for the strength of it, it is compared unto a mighty wind; and so it is with this also unto light things, that which is chaff and has no root it carries away with ease, trees that have no root; but that which has a root is the more firmly rooted; and this is the honor of the Ministers, that the people be in this manner preserved and established, &c.
7. Their sufferings are for the Churches sake also, and the Churches good: Phil. 1.12, 13. The things that have happened to me in my bonds, they have been for the furtherance of the Gospel; I endure all for the Churches sake, that they may attain the salvation which is in Jesus Christ, I fill up that which is behind of the suffering of Christ for his bodies sake, which is the Church. It is true, that the sufferings of Christ are only for the Churches redemption, and that the suffering of the Ministers also is for the Churches edification, and they whom the Lord will have to profit his people no longer by their preaching, shall do it by their suffering, as one of the Martyrs said, I hope we shall kindle a fire this day in England that shall never be put out again; Christ's sufferings only are meritoriously available for the salvation of the Saints, but ours also ministerially for their edification; and therefore what do they intend that seek to destroy the Ministers of Christ, of which Christ makes so great a use, far from the apprehension of the people of Antioch, who when Chrysostom was banished professed, tolerabilius fuisset, si Sol radios suos retraxisset: and Luther, Si in manu mea res esset, non vellem Deum mihi loqui de coelo, sed huc tendunt quotidianae preces meae, ut digno honor habeam: his care was that he might esteem the Ministry as the Ordinance that God had appointed, &c.
2. And as Christ useth the Angels upon earth for the advancement of the spiritual Kingdom, so he doth the Angels in heaven also; (1) they pray for us, Dan. 4.17. Non ex officio, sed charitate, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Clem. Alex. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Origen.
2. They do join with us in our praises, and out of their love bless God wonderfully for mercies unto us; at the Birth of Christ the Angels sing, Good will towards men, Rev. 5.11. there is a principle of love that makes them to rejoice in our good, that we are taken into their fellowship, members of the same body, and it may be as many men are saved as there were Angels that fell qui supplent locum illum, as Bern. and so the School-men generally, non in naturam Angelicam, sed statum, for they shall be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .
3. They do instruct us in the things of God: for as the Devil doth put evil motions into mankind, so do the Angels good motions also, Dan. 9.22. I am sent to inform thee; and the Angels themselves, as by the Church, so for the Churches sake they have many discoveries made to them; that they might also teach them to us; they receive a spirit of Prophecy from Christ for the Churches sake, Rev. 19.10. the god of this world blinds the eyes of men, and the Angels that are employed by the Spirit of God do enlighten them.
4. They watch over them carefully to keep them from sin: Michael the Archangel when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee, &c. Why did God hide the body of Moses? Ne corpus ejus in superstionis occasionem adducerent. Now here Michael contends: if it be Christ that is here meant, the Angels are his armies, and they are behind him, Zac. 1. but some conceive it a created Angel, for it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , he durst not give him a railing accusation, Satan would have brought it to light, but the Angels hindered it; and so Rev. 19. John would have worshipped the Angel, but the Angel saith, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow-servant. Now see the difference between the good Angels and the bad, the Devil will be worshipped, he tempts all men, as he did the Lord Christ to fall down and worship him, he delights to make men sin in point of worship; but now the good Angel will restrain from sin, and will not suffer the servants of God to sin against God: See thou do it not, &c.
5. The Angels do sweetly comfort and cheer the souls of the Saints in their dejections; when Daniel was troubled, an Angel bids him not to fear, thou art a man of desires; they delight as well in your consolation as in your conversion, and so they did with Christ in his agony, the Angels comforted him; and so to Paul, Be of good cheer, says the Angel: Discamus optimos & constantissimos amicos nostros esse Angelos, qui fide, benevolentiâ, & omnibus amicitiae officiis visibiles amicos longe superant, sicut diaboli omnes hosts visibiles, The Angels are our best and most constant friends, &c. Luth.
Lastly, At death they carry the souls of the people of God into Abraham's bosom, and they do rejoice in such a conveyance, that they may be employed to bring another into society and communion with themselves in that glory which they by Christ attain unto; for they delight in the filling up of the body of Christ; and when a soul is converted, there is much joy not only to the Angels, but even to God himself; how much more therefore when a soul is glorified, &c. as the Devil from a principle of enmity is ready as an Executioner to conduct souls to be tormented in hell, to carry them from the presence of the Lord; so are the blessed Angels from a principle of love, as Officers for our conduct to enter into our Masters joy; and sweet shall the converse of the soul and the Angels be in that pleasant passage; but as terrible in the passage will the converse of the soul and the Devil be, there shall be nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, &c.
SECT. III. What Interest the Saints have in Christ's Providential Kingdom as to the greatest and least things.
§. 1. WE have spoken of the Spiritual, and come now unto the Providential Kingdom, which is a further manifestation and exercise of the Sovereignty of God; and this also have the Saints an interest in, and it is in the second Covenant made over to them for their good, that it shall be wholly administered for them; and this will appear in these particulars.
1. There is a special Providence over them above all the rest of the Creation; it is true, that there is a general Providence of God that doth reach unto everything, even the meanest and the vilest creatures, Mat. 10.29. a sparrow, a hair; He doth whatever it pleases him in heaven and earth, and in the sea, &c. there is a Divine manuduction, &c. and there is a concourse; God has not set up a world to act of itself, but there is and must be a concurrence, that is, (1) with all second causes, or else they cannot act; this appears in the Furnace of Babylon, if the Lord do but suspend his act, the creatures immediately work not; and therefore there is an immediate acting that is with all second causes, causa prima concurrit immediate cum omni agent creato, &c. But (2) in a special manner over the Saints; for that's the scope of Christ's reasoning, Mat. 10.29, &c. Ye are of more value than many sparrows; he that feeds the ravens and clothes the lilies, will he not much more you, O ye of little faith? and not one of them is forgotten by your heavenly Father, vocula Pater tanta est in cord eloquentia quam Demosthenes & Cicero non possunt exprimere, &c. Luther, all the rest are but his servants, but he will much more take care for his sons; to the rest of the world he is but a Master, but he is unto you a Father, and his affection answers his relation, &c. and therefore Deut. 33.3. All thy Saints are in thy hand, that is, under thy power for their preservation, as Joh. 10.28, 29. None can pluck them out of my Fathers hand; and they are also under his care for their direction, Num. 4.28. Under the hand of Ithamar, and by the hand of Moses and Aaron and of David, he rules them with the skilfulness of his hand, &c. they are as the apple of his eye, Zac. 2.8. tactum pro injuria ponit, so Jerome, and 'tis that which is the dearest to him; and therefore it's that which he has the more tender care of; they are his Jewels and his hidden ones, Psal. 83.4. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 those that are kept as in chambers that are never exposed unto open view, as it's spoken of the chambers of the South, of the stars that are under the Southern Pole, which are not seen in our Horizon, but are as it were locked up in their chambers; and so it is with these Saints, they are shut up in the secret of the Tabernacle, and as it were kept in the Holy of holies, where no man may come, &c.
Now wherein doth this special Providence over the Saints consist? It is (1) in ordering, ruling, and over-ruling all things for their good, that nothing shall touch them or do them hurt, for he could not preserve them, if he did not rule and order all things for their good, he doth so order all things, that nothing shall do them hurt; let there be the most cross turnings among the creatures that can be, Psal. 46.1, 2. let the earth be moved, and let the mountains shake, let the Sea roar, yet they will not fear; how is it that they are so fearless? Truly it is when they are not faithless; and the ground of it is, because there is a Providence that watches over them, that none of these things shall do them any hurt, Luke 10.19. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , There is nothing shall by any means hurt them. It is true, that they have enemies, they have one great enemy who is called the Envious man, and all the means that he can use is to turn everything to their hurt, but they shall tread down all the power of the enemy, that none shall be able to hurt them; as it is said of the Patriarchs, He suffered no man to do them wrong, but he reproved Kings for their sakes; there were many that had a mind to do them wrong, but he suffered them not, and any that did attempt it, the Lord turned it into their good, and they did it not impune, it was unto their own destruction, There is no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, it is that which belongs to them only, and that which they have a glorious title to, it is jure haereditario theirs, it descends unto them by their interest in God as their Father, and they that have God for their Father, have the secret Providence of God as their inheritance, so that there is nothing shall work against them, when God is for them. (2) Every thing shall work for their good and their preservation: the stars shall fight for them, the Sea shall be a wall unto them, instead of drowning of them, their very enemies shall favor them, Psal. 106.46. he gives them favor in the sight of their enemies, and even Nebuchadnezzar shall give charge concerning Jeremiah, when there was none concerning Zedekiah the King; and he will turn the curse into a blessing, Deut. 23.5. The Lord turned it into a blessing. To a wicked man everything is for his hurt, what should be for his welfare, that becomes his snare; but it is quite contrary unto a godly man, that which is intended for his hurt that is turned into good, and to a quite contrary end than that unto which it was by the enemy intended. Now when we see many causes with contrary purposes and intentions, all of them conspire unto an end which they understand not, but seek and desire the contrary, it must be said, that there is a providence and a wise hand that did over-rule all this, for this is an end that was far from the intention of second causes; for there is a peace with enemies, Prov. 16.7. there is a Covenant with beasts, as Hos. 2.18. and there is a league with stones, Job 5.23. Dominium habet, custodem habebit, & lapides, &c. and all this is nothing but an expression of that special and secret providence of God that doth watch over his own people; so that this is the comfort and the inheritance of the Saints, that everything in the whole government of the world is so ordered, that it shall do them no hurt, but all shall make for their good, who love him and fear him.
Now to set forth this in the particulars of it; we shall see that all things about which the providence of God is exercised, are so ruled, as that the government of them makes for the good of the Saints; and here I shall propound these five distinctions.
1. The Providence of God is either circa maxima, vel minima. (1) The greatest things in the world are not above the providence of God, neither are the smallest things below it: He doth whatever he will in heaven and in earth, and in the sea. It is not what the creatures will, but it is what he will; all are his servants, the very Angels in Heaven do his pleasure, and they hearken unto his voice; and the greatest of men, Dan. 4.16, 17. the most high rules in the Kingdoms of mortal men, he puts down the mighty from their seat, he exalts them of low degree, deponit reges, disponit regna, Ezech. 21.10. It is the rod of my son contemning every tree, &c. (2) There is not the smallest thing but it is ordered by him, there is not a worm that creeps upon the ground, Hos. 2.18. but he can make it hurtful to a man, he can command a serpent and he shall bite a man, &c. he can hiss for the fly, &c.
2. There is a double exercise of providence, or the providence of God has two parts. (1) He doth uphold them in their beings, and the same Spirit that did create them doth to this very day sit and brood upon them, as Gen. 1.2, 3. He doth bear up all things by the word of his power, Heb. 1.2. he doth hang the earth upon nothing but a word, and the same word that created all things doth still continue them in their being; if he should take away that word, they would run into their first nothing immediately, and therefore it is truly said of providence, that it is continuata creatio, a continued creation: He sends forth his word, and they are created, and he renews the face of the earth; it is spoken of the providence and the preservation of all things, which he doth call a Creation, for the same creating power is put forth continually, and daily exercised; for as ejusdem est potentiae annihilare & creare, so ejusdem est creare & conservare, to give a being and continue the creature in that being, Psal. 66.9. Who holdeth my soul in life, &c. even the continuance of a man's temporal or spiritual life is an act of a creating power. (2) He doth order their actions at his pleasure; all of them shall accomplish his ends; either he doth act them, or he doth suspend their actions at his pleasure; and if he will concur with them, or if he will withdraw his concurrence, it is all according to his pleasure; and therefore he is the Lord of Hosts, and all the motions of this great Army are at his command; as Pharaoh said to Joseph, Without thee shall no man lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. It is true, that the Lord governs all things, yea the very thoughts of the heart, there doth not a motion arise but he doth fashion the hearts of men, Psal. 33.15. Zac. 12.1. he formeth the spirits of men within them, so that what fashion he doth put upon the apprehensions of men; or the affections of men, the same they have; for all is of his government; things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought, &c. all his government of the creature is for the Saints, both when they act and when he doth suspend their actings, when he doth concur with them and when he doth withdraw his concurrence, all is for their good.
3. The Providence of God is either, (1) what he doth by his own hand immediately by an extraordinary providence; as sometimes the Lord doth, so that it doth appear to be the finger of God, and that there is nothing of second causes in it, Esa. 52.10. his arm was made bare, and Hab. 3.9. his bow was made naked, both of them do signify patefacta est potentia, Drus. And so it appears when God goes out of the course of nature, as when causes have not their natural efficacies, the race is not to the swift, the battle is not to the strong, the men of might cannot find their hands, the horse and the rider is cast into a deep sleep, Psal. 76.6. and so it is in all the Lord's miraculous workings, when he doth create a new thing in the earth, and a woman doth compass a man, Jer. 31.22. he doth make the Sea to go back, and the Sun to stand still, the Heavens to give bread, and the Rocks water, and all these extraordinary workings of God are for the good of his people; and that way he will work for them as their necessity shall require; for there is no such thing that the Lord has done for his people formerly, but they may still expect the same, if they be brought unto the same straits and necessities, Esa. 10.24. He shall lift up a staff against him after the manner of Egypt: it was a miraculous way that the Lord dealt with his people then, but it was not so that he would never do the like for them again, and that they were never to expect the like again; yea after the same manner as he did deliver them, when they came out of Egypt in a miraculous way, by signs and wonders, so he will do again, and the grounds of it is the same, Hab. 3.9. Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the Tribes, even thy word, Selah, thou didst cleave the earth with rivers, &c. it is according unto the oaths that he swore unto the Tribes, even his word, the juramenta quae saepiùs repetita, &c. (2) When he doth work in an ordinary way according unto the course that he has set in nature, and according unto the dependence that things have one upon another; Hos. 2.22. the heavens shall hear the earth, and the earth the corn and the wine, and they shall hear Jezreel, &c. there are the ordinances of Heaven, of the Sun and the Moon and the Stars, Jer. 31.35. that constant and established course that God has set amongst the creatures, &c. Now whether the Lord work by means, or without means by his own immediate hand, all is and shall be ordered and disposed for the good of the Saints; all the governments that the Lord doth exercise in the world either of those ways.
4. The Providence of God is either seen (1) in things necessaria, which have a necessary dependence upon their causes, and we may accordingly expect them; as the Sun and Moon to shine, or to be in their Eclipse, as we say, It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red, and it will be fair tomorrow, for the sky is red, which men do conclude of by their observation, because they have a necessary dependence upon their causes, Mat. 16.2, 3. And as it is in natural things, so it is in morals also, there are signs of the times, by which things may be as well known, and as certainly concluded by an observing man: a man may as well know the signs of the times, as the Stork and the Crane and the Swallow know their times, Jer. 8.7, 8. or else why should they be blamed for it, as being more unwise for themselves than the brute creatures are, &c. (2) There are some things that are accidentalia, that are casual or fall out so as we can give no reason for them; there is no expectation of it in man, as the disposing of the minds of men, the Kings heart is in the hand of the Lord, Prov. 21.1. as in King Ahasuerus in the business of Mordecai, there was a concurrence of many things that were casual; and so Prov. 16.33. The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing of it is from the Lord: so that there is not the most casual thing that can be, but it comes under a providence; and in all these also it is for the good of the Saints: as it's said, 2 Kings 3.22. a rumour Sennacherib's Army shall hear, they shall have such an apprehension, that because the Sun shines upon the water, therefore the Kings have slain one another, for this is blood, &c.
5. Providence is either circa bonum vel malum, either (1) in all good, so the Lord doth work and order the spirits of men; for as every good gift is from above, so every good work is from him that is the Father of lights, and the Fountain of all goodness. (2) Also of all the evil that is in man there is a providence; for God would never have suffered sin to have come into the world, if he had not known how to have wrought his own ends by it; even by the vessels of dishonor he is served in his house, 2 Tim. 2.21. he doth order and over-rule even the sins of men unto his own high and most glorious ends; he doth uphold Pharaoh and let out his spirit, but it is that he might show his power in him: Even the wrath of man shall praise him; and the remainder he will and doth restrain: and Gen. 20.3. I kept thee that thou shouldst not touch her. There is a letting out of sin, and there is a restraint upon sin, so far as it may serve to his ends. Now all the providence of God, whether it be for good or ill, either permitting or disposing, it is all of it for the good of the Saints.
1. The Providence of God is circa maxima, and that is for the good of the Saints, and this I will reduce unto two heads. (1) His government over the Angels. (2) Over men in all the great turnings and changes in the world, in the policies and in the governments thereof, for it is the most High rules in the Kingdoms of mortal men, and all this is done for the Saints sake, and all is ordered so as it shall be for their good.
1. For the government of the Angels either good, or bad, it's all for the good of the Saints.
1. As for the good Angels, it's true they are part of the spiritual Kingdom, and shall make up part of that great Church and body of which Christ is the head; and therefore Heb. 12.22. we are said to be come unto them; and therefore it is ordinary with the Fathers and the School-men (as I told you) to intimate, that there are as many men elected as there were Angels that fell, and that they are taken in to fill up that number, qui locum illum supplerent, & ruinas Jerusalem restaurarent, Bern. But they are also used by the Lord in the providential Kingdom, and all is for the Saints good in their whole Ministry; it is for the sake of them that are heirs of salvation, Heb. 1.14. And Ezech. 1.5, &c. we have the manner how the Lord governs all things in a threefold subordination; there are the wheels and the living creatures that act them, and one as the Son of man, by whose command and by whose Spirit they do move in all their ways, and the wheels by them.
(1) They do by a secret virtue work upon and over-rule the hearts and the wills of men; and therefore the Trumpets and the Vials are given unto the hands of Angels, that is, they do fashion the hearts of men and stir up their spirits unto such a work, and strengthen their hearts in it; for as the Devil doth fashion the minds and wills of men, and gives suggestions suitable to his designs, so do the good Angels also; and as Satan strengthens the resolution of wicked men, so do the good Angels also; for they have a power upon the soul also being Spirits, and a more immediate work upon the minds of men, as Ahab's false Prophets, thou shalt persuade them and prevail; there is an impression upon their hearts, they have their arguments and suggestions, and they follow them with reasonings, till the men be overcome; so do the good Angels also: the devil shall cast some of you into prison; it's Satan's working powerfully in his instruments and upon the hearts of men to bring such a design to pass, &c.
(2) They fight for them against their enemies, Dan. 10.20. I return and fight against the King of Persia, and when I am gone forth, &c. the Lord goes forth before a people, for they go forth under the conduct of the Angels, and they do oppose themselves in a secret way that we know not: now as it is sometimes a terror to the Saints to consider they fight not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness, so it is a mighty terror unto wicked men that they fight against principalities and powers, and spiritual holiness in heavenly places, those that will be sure to watch over you for evil; for the same intention that the Angels had after the Fall with a flaming sword to keep man out of Paradise, the same intention they bear still to all that are not the members of Christ and of the same body with them, and fellow-servants with them.
(3) They do execute vengeance upon the enemies of the Saints: Zac. 6.6, 7. there are black Horses, instruments of vengeance, and they go forth into Persia, but it is to destroy them, and to execute upon them the vengeance of the Temple for all the wrong that they had done unto the Saints, all was by an invisible virtue that they saw not; there the Spirit of God was displeased, and would not be pacified till wrath was executed upon them; for the same Spirit orders the Kingdom of Providence that doth order the Kingdom of Grace, &c. and therefore they have their special charge, Ezech. 9.1. it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the visitors of the city that draw near, first the Angels came, and then the instruments of vengeance came, they do perform that great work upon them.
(4) The Angels over-rule the creatures for the good of the Saints, even beyond their nature, and they are very instrumental in their deliverance and preservation; as we see Dan. 3.28. the fire cannot burn, the Lord sent his Angel, Dan. 6.22. and stopped the Lions mouths; there is a secret work that Angels have in all these great things, for the Saints deliverance and preservation; and therefore it is the Angel that rowls away the stone from Christ's grave, and it's an Angel opens the prison for Peter, Acts 12. The prayers of the Saints do prevail with God, and he commands Angels to do their office; it was an Angel that said unto the Christians at Jerusalem, Ite ad Pellam, and by that means they were preserved in the destruction of the City; so that in the ordering of all things they are employed by God for the good of the Saints.
(5) It is the Angels that guide them in their way, and succeed their business and all their undertakings, as we see Gen. 24.7. The Lord of Heaven which brought me out of my fathers house, he shall send his Angel before thee; and the business shall surely prosper that they do undertake; a godly man goes nowhere without such a guard for his protection, and without such an assistance; and therefore it was a certain argument, Dan. 10. ult. that the King of Grecia should prosper, because the Angel was gone out before him; blessed is he that hath such a guide, he shall not dash his foot against any stone, &c.
Lastly, They do compass the earth, visit all the parts of it for the Saints sake, to see how it is with the Churches, Zac. 1. All the earth is quiet and still; as the Devils do, so do the Angels also compass the earth, and they do lie in ambush for the Saints, that when there is no eye to pity them, and there is no remedy or relief for them, then they do appear, Zac. 1.8. They are behind the myrtle-trees, in the bottom, and they do watch the fittest season for the deliverance of the Saints, which is when they are lowest, and when their enemies are highest, then they do appear for them: therefore the people of God that have such a guard still near at hand, that hath been so successful in all ages, need not fear what Satan and his Angels are continually plotting against them.
§. 2. We now proceed unto those arcana imperii in reference to the Providence of God in the government of the evil Angels, and this also is for the good of the Saints; the Sovereignty of God over the Devils in his government of them is wholly for the sake and for the good of the Saints.
In the opening of this I will lay down these Conclusions.
1. That Satan hath a power over all mankind by nature to rule and order them according to the pleasure of his own will; for when man at first did freely subject himself unto the Devil, God did judicially give him up into the power of the Devil; and therefore 2 Tim. 2.26. they are said to be led captive by him at his will; 1 Joh. 5.19. they are said to lie 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in the wicked one, that is, to be under his power, and to be subjected unto his will, and it is just with God so to do, Illud appensum est aequitatis examine, ut nec ipsius diaboli potestati negaretur homo, quem sibi male suadendo subjecerat, Aust. For of whom a man is overcome, unto him he is brought into bondage; it's the manner of Conquerors to use men as slaves, whom they have subdued; and this was the Devils intent, not first to destroy men, but to take them alive, 2 Tim. 2.26. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , that he might use them for service, and so rule over them; yet the meaning is not, as if he had received a commission from God; and the Lord had commanded Satan to rule over man; for he will surely judge the Devil for it at the last day, Non ità debet intelligi, tanquam hoc Deus fecerit, aut fieri jusserit, sed quod tantùm permiserit, juste tamen, Aust. Tom 3. p. 295. The command unto Ahab's false Prophets was not a commission from God, but a permission, Thou shalt persuade him and prevail, go forth and do so, and his going into the herd of swine was not a commission, but a permission only, when he said unto them, Go, &c. like unto that of Balaam, Go with the men, and yet the Lord was angry because he went, so it is here also.
2. This power of Satan is very great; and therefore he is called Principalities and Powers, the Ruler of the darkness of this world, yea, he hath the power of a God, for he is said to be the God of this world, which doth set forth a high condition, not the highest power, credo posse occidere in una hora quemcun{que} in terra viventem, Luth. for the power that Satan hath is from God, and that in just judgment. Now if the Lord give so much power to a man, as he did to Nebuchadnezzar, that none could stand before him, but he was the hammer of the whole earth, and yet the Lord did it in judgment, as he was an instrument in his hand, he did gather the riches of the Nations as eggs, none opened their mouth, or peeped against him; how much more unto him that God hath in judgment made the god of this world will the Lord permit such power? Omnis voluntas díaboli semper est injusta, sed tamen Deo permittente justa est potestas, Bern. The Devils will is of himself, but his power is of God, and therefore he is mighty.
3. The malice which doth set his power on work, though it be against all mankind, yet it is specially against the Saints. It is true indeed, that it is against all mankind, and therefore his great labor is to draw all men to be partakers with him in the same sin and the same torments, it is the fire that is prepared for the Devil and his Angels, that they may all of them be cast into the same Lake; and though he know it will but increase his own torment, yet there is this power of envy in him, that he will destroy them, though it tend so much the more unto his own hurt in the end: but his malice is in a special manner against the Saints, the spiritual combat is mainly between the seed of the woman and of the serpent, Gen. 3.15. it is against Michael and his Angels, Rev. 12.8, 9. But why is Satan so much against the Saints above all men in the world? (1) Because God hath set his love upon them, therefore Satan hath set his malice against them. (2) They are the members of Christ, whom above all he doth hate, as having a Kingdom set up of purpose to destroy his Kingdom. (3) As they bear the image of God, and carrying thereby the greatest treasury within them; for as Chrysostom hath well observed, Satan is as a thief, he will not come to rob where nothing is to be had, but where the treasure is, he will not rob stones and straws, but Jews. (4) They conquer him; for it is out of them that he is cast out, which he looked upon as his house, as his own portion, Mat. 12.44. (5) They shall surely judge him at the last day, Tunc maxim saevit, quum hominem ex laqueis liberatum videt, tunc plurimùm accenditur, cùm extinguitur, Tertul.
4. There is amongst the Devils a kind of policy and order in carrying on of this design; so that, though there be no love in them one to another, for that is not amongst the damned in Hell, all natural affection ceases there; yet there is a kind of faithfulness, they being by the same sinful principles carried on unto the same end; and therefore there is a Prince of Devils, there is a kind of government amongst themselves in tendency to the deep designs which they are to prosecute; not but that they were all of the same nature, but the same God who in judgment subjected mankind to his power, he giving up himself, hath subjected the Devils also unto the power of him that was the chief of Devils, and was first in the transgression; that they have a kind of order amongst themselves to carry on their ends; there are the gates of Hell which some do interpret the Counsels of it, there are orders and methods and devices amongst them, and therefore Luther hath observed it: Diaboli regnum & politiam inter se habent us{que} diem judicii, ubi Christus evacuàbit omnià.
5. The end of all this power and this policy is the highest that malice can invent, and that is the destruction of all the Saints: for the name of the Devil is Abaddon and Apollyon, the Destroyer, in two Languages, and Job 33. His life draws near to the grave, and his soul unto the destroyers: it is to destroy their souls that he doth aim with an eternal destruction; and Eph. 6.12. it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , in supercoelestibus, in the things of eternal concernment, things of Heaven; he doth not contend with us about Estates, and Dignities, and Dominions here below, such contentions are too mean for him, but it is a contention that is for souls, Psal. 91.3. the promise is, He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, or the hunter, which some do apply unto the Devil, as he is one that hunts to lay snares for souls, nothing else will content him. Satan's speech is the same with that of the King of Sodom, Take you the goods, give me the souls: if the world were his, as he makes it to be, when he says to Christ, All this will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me; he would give all for a soul; he tempts souls with money to be his, &c.
6. This Kingdom of Satan is so under the Sovereignty of Christ, that he doth order it wholly, and rule it, and over-rule it for the good of the Saints, 2 Tim. 2.20, 22. The Church of God is compared to a great house, and there are some vessels to honor, and some to dishonor, but they are all of them for the masters use, and for the use of the house; and therefore we see, when the sons of God come together, Satan himself also appears before God, Job 1.6. partly being over-ruled by the power of God as a creature, and partly being inclined by his own malice as an executioner, he is desirous to be employed by God as a vessel of dishonor, as being one that hath mortis imperium, the power of death, &c. and therefore he cannot deceive Ahab's Prophets without leave, nor can he enter into the herd of swine without leave, neither can he possess the man that had the Legion when the Lord Jesus will cast him out; his authority is limited, and though he be never so high and exalted up to heaven, yet he doth fall from heaven as lightning, if the Lord command it; and so he cannot deal with Job till the Lord permit him, and he cannot move beyond the bounds of his permission, Diabolo potestas quaedam est, plerun{que} tamen noceret, & non potest, quoniam potestas injusta est sub potestate, August.
7. God may and many times doth give up his people into the hand of the Enemy; their Rock hath sold them; and not only into the hand of bodily enemies, but even into the hand of this spiritual enemy also, who is the great enemy, therefore called Satan, which signifies an Adversary; so he did Hezekiah, the Lord left him; and so he did David, the Lord moved him, the Lord did it by giving Satan leave, and by leaving David in his hand; and Job 2.6. Behold he is in thy hand, only spare his life. (1) Satan doth always desire it, and the Lord doth sometimes in judgment unto Satan grant his unjust desires, Luke 22.31. Satan hath desired to winnow thee; and so Job 2.3. Thou hast moved me against him, he did make a challenge, and desired God that he would stand by and leave him in his hand a while, see what he can do with him. (2) Sometimes in just judgment God doth it, when his people sin against him, and depart from him, the Lord doth leave them in the hand of the Devil as a prisoner, that he may correct them, and so recover them; as a father leaves his child in the hand of a servant to correct, so as he stands by and sets the measure to it, he shall but correct him in measure, Rev. 2.10. He will cast them into prison for ten days, as he did Paul, he was buffeted by Satan to prevent sin, he did leave him to correct his sin. (3) In an ordinance of Excommunication, 1 Cor. 5.5. being delivered to Satan he doth exercise tyranny over him to stir up the guilt of sin within him, and to torment his conscience, and God departs from him in point of comfort; for 2 Cor. 2.7. it was, that he might not be swallowed up with over-much sorrow, therefore it is sorrow that is the fruit of this Ordinance, &c.
2. Yet all this doth the Sovereignty of God order and over-rule for the good of the Saints. There are two things that the power of Satan is wholly exercised in, temptation and affliction. (1) He is a Tempter in us, and that both as he is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as Clem. Alexander. speaks: [1] He doth effectually stir up sin within us, and he works effectually in the children of disobedience; and [2] In any sin that is stirred up in us, he is a worker together with us, to bring it forth unto perfection; for it's not only to beget sin in us, but to perfect it that he doth aim at. (2) He is an Accuser of us unto God, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the accuser of the brethren, as Christ is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Satan doth plead against them before God and before men, and in their own consciences also, stirring up of guilt in them also, and he hath his accesses unto Heaven, and he doth put up his desires unto God against us, and doth lay our sins unto our charge before the Throne of Justice, and demands justice against us; for Zac. 3.1, 2. Satan stands at his right hand, which was to accuse, for the Accuser stood at the right hand; and it was to resist him, the right hand being chiefly the instrument of action, therefore it was to hinder him in the great service that he was now about to do, and to object against him before the Lord his filthy garment with which he was clothed at his appearance before the Lord. Now both these, the temptations and the accusations of Satan, the Sovereignty of God doth rule and over-rule for the spiritual good of the Saints, which I shall make appear in these particulars; and therefore Bernard calls him Malleus terrae, and he saith, Terit electos in utilitatem, & reprobos conterit in damnationem, pag. 300.
1. There is a restraint upon him, that he shall tempt them no more than is for their good: He will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able, 1 Cor. 10.13. It is true, that Satan is subtle in his temptations, and he doth take a measure of the spirits of men, that so he may proportion his temptations unto them; some spirits are too low for some temptations, as their understandings are for some opinions. Now Satan therefore doth not suggest such depths unto them, but deals with them in a lower way; but there are some temptations that would not take with some, because their spirits and their understandings are above them, and he deals with them in a higher and in a more ingenious way. Now as Satan doth take a measure of the spirits of men in every temptation, so doth God also take a measure of their grace, that it shall be so much, and no more; for there are some temptations that the grace that is in some men could not bear, and therefore the Lord doth proportion it in wisdom and in mercy: it is true, unto wicked men it is otherwise, there is a power that is beyond the strength of the common works that are upon them, an opportunity of temptation that turns them off as leaves that are shaken with the wind; but it is not so with the Saints: Ad mensuram permittitur tentare Diabolus; sed qui dat Tentatori potestatem, ipse tantato praebet misericordiam, August. tom. 8. p. 435.
2. Satan shall tempt no further than it shall be for the subduing of corruption: men are delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh; but it is an over-ruling hand of the Sovereignty of God, who doth temper such poison into a wholesome medicine, and what the enemy did intend should kill, that shall be a means to cure. And therefore Luther doth deride the Papists in this, who having spoken in his Covent unto one of the Society of a Purgatory, and they objected it against him, that he did grant in his writings a Purgatory also, he answers them, That he doth grant a Purgatory, but it is this of temptation only, by which the Lord is pleased to purge the souls of his people, and that makes them to come out the more refined, hoc Purgatorium fictum non est, &c. Great hath been the gain that the people of God have had by their temptations this way, yea even by those temptations in which they have been foiled: Nescit Diabolus quomodo illo insidiante & furente utatur ad salutem fidelium excellentissima Dei sapientia, &c. Aug. tom. 3. p. 218.
3. It doth mightily improve their graces; we see it in Job, we know what the end was that God made with him; as all afflictions improve graces, and make the land fruitful, as the rain doth, though it make the way foul, so there is not a greater affliction than temptation, for a man to be left to be as the sink into which the Devil shall empty all the filthiness that is in that unclean spirit; therefore this also shall turn into the increase of grace: wherefore Luther 's saying, That there are three things make a Divine, Meditation, Oration, and Tentation, is most true, for grace opposed is much improved; a soul had never seen such high acts of grace, had it not met with such high opposition. It's true, in itself it doth not increase grace, for it is opposite unto it, but by an Antiperistasis it doth, debemus esse Dialectici, non pugnamus ut homines, sed ut Christiani, Luth. and therefore the Spirit of Christ will improve his own work in us by our temptations also.
4. We have by this, experience of the power of Christ in us. Experimental knowledge is a knowledge upon trial, and such a knowledge a man can never have till he be brought unto a trial; there is many a man that doth presumptuously think that he can do much, and resist much, but when he comes to the trial he is weak as water, and it's all but the vain presumption of his own spirit, 2 Cor. 12.9. My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength shall be perfected, that is, shall be declared to be perfect, in weakness; therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, for when I am weak, then am I strong: it is an easy thing for the potsherds to contend with the potsherds of the earth, but when we come to contend with Spirts, and they strengthened by the darkness that is within us, now the strength of grace is put to it indeed, now we see what power of Christ is in us; for there is no power but Christ's power that can hold out against temptation.
5. That we may know the benefit of Christ's Intercession, that having so great an Accuser as Satan is, we may go to him, and strive to find the benefit of such an Advocate. O what an advantage was it to Peter to hear this sweet word of Christ to him! But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. Christ was tempted in all things like unto us, and he is sensible of our infirmities, and with the temptation we shall find a way to escape; for this very end Christ suffered himself to be tempted by Satan, that he might succor us in all our temptations, he is pleading for us against the accusations of our subtle adversaries, and if he had not undertaken to be our Advocate, we had been undone, but he still saith to Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, &c.
6. And truly hereby we have experience of the power of our own prayers; how many times have the prayers of a Saint stilled the enemy and the avenger that pursued them furiously? how many times hath Satan fall • n before them like lightning, and all the devices of the enemy have come to naught? Rev 11.7. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies, &c. and they shall not only kill men, but Satan shall also be trod under their fee • ; and it's a great honor to the Saints, that in their conquests they can overcome Satan; for resist the Devil, and he will fly from you; that so proud a Spirit should be so subdued by mankind, in fide fortes Diabolum despiciunt quasi vermiculum, &c. Bern. pag. 1309. cùm viderint contemnunt.
7. It quickens the people of God to wisdom and watchfulness; to wisdom, that they may discern the devices of Satan; and to watchfulness, as the exhortation is, 1 Pet. 5.8. Watch therefore and put on the whole armor of God, because he is as a roaring lyon seeking whom he may devour. Austin observes, that there are two ways that Satan hath. (1) In times of persecution, cogit Christianos negare Christum, he compels Christians to deny Christ. (2) In times of peace and prosperity he raiseth up Heretics, and so docet Christianos Christum negare, teaches Christians to deny Christ, Tom. 8. pag. 233. therefore we had need be wise and watchful.
8. There is a time coming when this over-ruling power of Christ will put an end unto this dominion of Satan; he shall not be the god of this world always, but when Christ puts down all rule and all authority and power, his Kingdom will forever be broken, it must last no longer than the day of Judgment, for there will be no further use of him either in tempting, accusing, or tormenting; but as after the day of Judgment Christ in glory shall make up the head of that great body the Church which shall be gathered unto glory by him, as they were here on earth gathered into his Kingdom of Grace; so Satan in Hell also shall make up the head of that great body of the wicked that he hath been gathering into his Kingdom here upon earth, and he shall be tormented together with them: and it is no small comfort, that we can look beyond the power of the enemies; though they be so powerful for the present, it is but for a while; Nebuchadnezzar had power to do what he pleased in the world, but after a little while this great Monarch shall be destroyed, My anger, says the Lord, shall cease in his destruction, &c.
Lastly, The temptations and accusations of Satan shall tend to the greater increase of the glory of the Saints; for if these light afflictions that all Saints meet with in the world from lesser evils do work for us, much more will such great afflictions, Potest inimicus excitare tentationis motum, sed quoties restiteris, toties coronaberis, Bern. p. 11, 15. They had their several Crowns in their Triumph answerable unto the several Victories that they won; therefore Christ hath upon his head many Crowns, because of his many Conquests: so it shall be unto the Saints matter of great triumph; Satan himself who did above all things desire to keep them from glory, his very temptations and his accusations shall be so far useful, as that they shall add unto our glory, and they that have been most tempted and accused by him, and have by grace resisted him, shall be most glorified in the day of the Lord.
§. 3. The next thing propounded was God's providential Kingdom, as it respects men, and these either good or bad, which belong both unto the providential Kingdom; and the Sovereignty of God over them is laid out wholly for the good of the Saints. And here first we are to consider Providence ordering all things either in reference unto the Saints own spiritual good, that the ordering of all things towards them shall tend unto it; or else in reference unto the good of others; Providence shall so order things, that they shall become a common and a public good unto others in the generations in which they live, yea and it shall extend also unto after-ages.
1. Providence shall so dispose of all things, as they shall tend unto their own spiritual good; and all by reason of their interest in the Sovereignty and the Supremacy of God, as, 1. If we look upon their conversion, Providence doth strangely order things so, that they shall be cast upon such societies and opportunities, which they never thought of nor looked after; and in these they shall be converted and brought home unto God: there is an instance in Onesimus, he ran away from his master, and by this means was brought to Rome unto the Apostle Paul's ministry, and there the Lord was pleased to convert him unto the faith; a thing that he little thought of or aimed at in going from his master; and yet now he that was before 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , unprofitable, Is profitable both to thee and me, says the Apostle Paul to Philemon, &c. And so it was with Junius, his father laying the Scripture before him, he fell occasionally and carelessly upon Joh. 1.1. In the beginning was the word, &c. he was so taken with the majesty of the style, and with the excellency of the matter, that he did not know where he was, nor what he did, it did so far excel all human writings. And truly there are few men converted but they will be able to tell you some special providence of God, as well as the special grace of God therein, bringing them into such societies, and casting them upon such occasions, sometimes in their callings, and sometimes even in a way of sin; he being found of them that sought him not, and pleased to bring them out of darkness into his marvelous light: and when men shall come to Heaven, infinite will the praises be, not only of grace, but of his Sovereignty this way, to set forth what great variety the Lord hath used, and what marvelous wisdom he hath exercised towards his people in bringing them home unto him; for as there are insnaring providences, so there are also converting providences; the one befall wicked men, and are exercised towards them, and the other befall those that are the people of his good will. As we see Eccles. 7.26. there is a woman whose hands are snares and bands: all men do not light upon such providences, God doth not cast them upon them; there is no man that doth scape these snares by his own wisdom, but it is the man that is good before God, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , he that the Lord hath a delight in, that shall be delivered from such a one, but the sinner shall be taken with her, providence shall so order it, that he shall have such occasions, opportunities, and temptations, that he shall be ensnared. And so it is in converting providences, he shall be cast upon such company, time, places, and opportunities that shall be effectual to his conversion; so many a man is able to say, God brought me in the University unto such a Tutor, into such company, and into such a family, and under such a ministry, and by this in an unexpected way was I wrought upon; and some have come to hear a Minister by chance, in a journey, and have been smitten, haerebat lateri, have carried home a wound in their consciences; and when with Saul they did but go to seek Asses, they have found a Kingdom: some, as Austin did Ambrose, go to hear a man for his elegancy of style; and as Galeacius Caracciola did Peter Martyr, and they, together with the excellency of his words, felt a warmth and power in their hearts, a fire was kindled that they never could put out again. Some have come to see the sufferings of the Christians, and thereat were converted, and at the sight of their patience cried out, Vere magnus est Deus Christianorum, The God of the Christians is truly great; and some by the sight of an affliction, as Waldus by seeing a man to fall down dead before him; and some that have come to hear Ministers only to mock at them, and yet have before their departure been taken by them. Very strange are the over-rulings of Providence for the conversion of the Saints, when all their experiments shall be laid together this way: but there are two famous instances of over-ruling Providence, one in Vergerius a Bishop of Justinople, of whom Sleidan reports, that being employed as a Legate by the Pope in Germany, was suspected to lean too much unto the Lutherans opinion, and therefore had not favor with the Pope as he expected; at his return he intended to clear himself, and to write a Book in the refutation of the Lutheran opinions; and by that means looking more narrowly into them, he was truly converted, and left his Bishopric, &c. And the other is of famous Doctor Reynolds, who was formerly a Papist and his Brother a Protestant, and they wrote to convert one another, and it pleased the Lord so to order it, that his Brother by him was converted to Popery, and died a Papist, to whom he wrote much afterwards to reclaim him; and he was converted from Popery, and died a Protestant, and proved a famous and an eminent instrument in the Church of God for the beating down of Popery all his days; and he had not anything stuck more upon him, than that he was an instrument in the perverting of his Brother, by whom he himself had received so much good.
2. Not only for their Conversion, but for their Instruction: the people of God have met with strange providences. We see it in Apollos, Act. 18. Claudius commands all Jews to depart from Rome, and thereupon Aquila and his wife depart and came to Corinth, and there Paul finds them, and being of the same trade they wrought together, and they travel with him to