Lectures Upon the Passion Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ

ye must not think, that the Lord made His body invisible, it is contrary to the order of nature, a thick body to be invisible, nor ye must not think, that He brake out at the house side, as the Papists dream: this departure was by the holding of their eyes, He was not changed in this form, or that form, but the change was in their eyes, so that, they see not howe He departes, or in what manner, as before, their eyes were holden, that they could not know Him. To leave this, ye would marvel, He gives them but one blencke: in an instant He goes away from them: why stays He not? No, it was not meet for them, that He should stay, nor yet was it possible for Him to stay after that manner that they would have had Him to have stayed, seeing now sufficiently they were assured that He was risen it was not needful that He should stay with them, as of before, as ye see, the Apostles in the 1. of the Acts, speaking to Him, they say, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel : That is in effect Lord, wilt thou not remain with us here on the earth: No, He would not stay with them, but gives them a glance of Him: then secondly, He could not dwell amongst them, the earth could not be capable of a glorious body: glorify a man or a woman, the earth cannot keep them, glorify a man or a woman, this earth is too evil for them, & they cannot dwell in the earth: No, that Paradise wherein Adam was set, that pleasant Garden that He was placed in, could not keep a glorious body, and a glorified man. So the Lord being glorified, could not dwell and abide amongst men, as of before: so then, wouldest thou dwell with Christ, and dwell in that pleasant place (and thou shalt never have happiness nor joy, till thou dwellest with Him) Think not to bring Him down to the earth, but if thou wouldest dwell with Him, flit out of the earth, make thee for flitting. Paul says, I desire to flit and to dwell with the Lord : Wouldest thou desire to dwell with the Lord, desire to flit out of thy body▪ for if thou hast not a desire, but art afraid to flit, it is a token that thou hast no langour of God, and that thou shalt never dwell with Him, but that soul that desires to flit, to enjoy that presence, that soul that hath groaned for it (for the soul that is godly, groans, as a man that groans under a burden) shall enjoy the presence of God, & dwell with Him, and that soul shall be glorified: thy body, indeed, shall not be glorified, until that time that He shall appear, and then thy body and thy soul both shall be glorified with Him: and then our eyes shall see Him, and our bodies shall dwell with Him in the Heaven, in that everlasting Paradise.

Now Brethren, hitherto the Lord hath manifested Himself: then see what effect follows, and is wrought in their hearts of this manifesting. Ye would think that so soon as the Lord had been taken from them, they should have been sad: For who would not be sad to want Him? For if thou sawest Him, for all the world thou wouldest not be content to want His presence. Ye would marvel, why they make no mone for that short time that He abode with them. No doubt, that sight that they got, left such a comfort in their hearts, as cannot be spoken. And if the Lord give His presence to any man, his heart will have such a joy, that it will feed upon it. Ye read, in the eight Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, howe the Eunuche, who came from the Queen of Candare, when Philippe came, and baptized him, Philippe was carried away from him, yet the Scripture says not that he mourned when Philippe was taken away: No, it is said, that he went on his way rejoicing. From whence comes this joy? No doubt, it was the presence of Philippe that left this joy behind it. So in a word: The presence of God leaves always joy: and if thou get a blinke of Him in the morning, thou shalt be joyefull of Him all the day, and that joy shall feed thee: and when thou art eating and drinking, that presence will feed thee. Woe to thee who seekest not to get a blinke of Him: for if thou gettest not a blinke of Him, thou shalt never have solid joy in thine heart.

But the words would be marked: And they said between themselves, Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and when he opened to us the Scriptures ? There are the words. When these two men heard Him, the word was effectual: but they think Him not to be their Lord, till he manifested Himself unto them: and then they call to mind by their burning, that they found that it was He that spake unto them. This confirms them that it was He. The same burning of the heart that one will have is a sure token of the presence of Christ: for if the Lord were not present in thine heart, it would not burn at the preaching. No, not an Angel hath power to set thine heart on fire. So thou that hast this burning, thou mayest say, that the Lord Jesus is present in thine heart.

But mark this: We see in these men, that our eyes are so blind, that we cannot discern the Lord so long as we live here: we cannot get full sight, but we are in a strife: if the heart shall say, The Lord is here, the flesh will say, He is not here: so that we hing here betwixt hope and despair. But when He once manifestes Himself in glory, then that burning which we felt in this life, that sense which we then felt, shall be brought to our remembrance. Think not that thou shalt loose that sense: No, Thou shalt take it up with thee to the Heaven: and we shall say one to another, Remember ye not what burning we had, when we spake and heard of CHRIST in the earth? Then it behooved this LORDE to have been then with us in the earth. So the remembrance of that joy which thou felt in the world, shall be a part of thy joy which thou shalt have in the Heavens in the life to come: Therefore, get much joy here, and lay it up in store in thine heart: go on in feeling, and I promise thee, in the Name of GOD, it shall never depart, but it shall ever augment and enlarge thy joy, and glory in the life to come. No, as the word of GOD, which is the immortal seed of GOD, euanishes not: so, neither shall the effect of the word ever euanish. Then, ever strive to get a sense of the working of this word in thine heart.

Now a word, and so I shall ende. Ye would think this a sober conclusion, As we walked by the way, when he sp •• e to us, our hearts burned, therefore it was he that spake with us : So they concluded, that it must be his Spirit only which sets the heart on fire. May we not in like manner conclude, At the preaching of Paul the Spirit sets the heart on fire, therefore Paul is Christ? This is a false conclusion. And I answer to this, That if these men had felt no more, but a common feeling, in an ordinary measure, their argument had not been good: But they had another feeling, than can be at the preaching of a man: for no doubt, with the word He sent His Spirit to work in them extraordinarilie. And I put it out of question, They had such a wonderful feeling, as they could never have had at the preaching of any man whosoever. So their conclusion is sure, Seeing as He spake, He breathed His Spirit upon us, He must be CHRIST. It is a wonder of them, who have gotten GOD'S SPIRITE, howe they will discern of GOD'S SPIRITE in others: And many are beguiled for fault of this SPIRITE. There is very much spoken of our feeling at the PREACHING: And what serves all? They call it a fire: for the Spirit which raises that feeling, is like a fire, and therefore He is compared to a fire, Matth. 3.11. And a fire hath ever an up-burning: and if thou have true feeling, thine heart shall be set on fire, & that fire is mighty, & will burn up the dross of thy salvation, which is in thy foul heart. No, speak not of feeling except thou be regenerate: Thou that art an Harlot, speak not of feeling, except thou feel it burn up thine harlotry. And thou that art a murderer, say not that thou hast a feeling, and if it burn not up thy bloody heart. So I charge thee before God: hear not one word, except thou findest that Spirit to burn up thy corruption; thou tellest me, that thou feelest, and yet thou remainest an harlot, fie upon thine harlotry, let not that word come out of thy mouth. Again, as the fire of God's Spirit burns up the dross of thy corruption, so it will inflame thy love to God, it will inflame thine heart, and all the power of the soul to the love of GOD, and righteousness, so that it will bind thine heart to God, as the Apostle says, The love of God constraineth me, so that thou wouldest be content to die, to live with Him, and to pleasure Him, thou wouldest not care, to live, or to die: and what more? as a fire is nourished with some matter, that is meet for burning: so this fire once kindled in our souls is nourished, and fed by the continual presence of GOD in JESUS CHRIST, and that precious oil of the Holy Spirit. Further, a flame tendes always upward, and it will lift an heavy thing that falls down upon it: ye see a train of powder will blow up an house: We are heavy by nature, and loadned with sin, yet that fire of love will raise thee up▪ and place thee with the Lord, whom thou lovest, and thine heart will be lifted up to Him. There is never one that loves JESUS in the Earth, but they are dwelling with Him in the Heaven, and shall enjoy that presence everlastingly. So ye see, what it is to have the heart set on fire, till we meet with our LORD, and then our hearts shall have the full fruition of His presence forever. To this JESUS, with the Father, and Holy Spirit, be glory, for evermore.

THE XL. LECTURE, OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.

W EE have heard (Beloved in Christ) these days past, of the conference which was betwixt Christ, and these two Disciples, who were going to Emmaus. Christ reproved thē sharply, because they thought that Christ being crucified, all hope of Redemption was past. Next, He instructed them, affirming, that it behooved Him to suffer, and by suffering to enter into His glory. This His doctrine, which He proved by many Testimonies of Scripture; beginning at Moses, and from Moses He comes to the Prophets, interpreting unto them, what they had spoken concerning Christ, concerning His Passion, and concerning His glory after His Passion: for the preaching of the Gospel is nothing else, but an expounding of Moses, and the Prophets, and Jesus Christ is the foundation whereupon the doctrine of Moses, and the Prophets, is built: He is the end of the law all tendes to Him. Thereafter, we heard how Christ manifested Himself to these Disciples: for, when as He made Himself as though He would have left them, being constrained by them, He went in to tarry with them: and as He sat at table with them, in the blessing, and breaking, and distributing of the bread, their eyes were opened, and they know Him. Last, we heard what effects were wrought in them, when they saw He was their Lord and Master: Howbeit He left them, yet they were not sad: but that sight which they got of Him, left exceeding great joy and comfort in their hearts: and so they call to mind that burning which they found in their hearts when He spake unto them, whereby they are more confirmed, that it was the Lord that spake to them: for the burning of the heart which a man will find in himself, is a sure token of the presence of Christ. Now in the Text which we have presently read, we have set down their returning to Jerusalem, with great expedition, & how they declare to the Apostles, & others, who were there assembled, all things y ^t fell out unto thē by the way: these things which they saw with their eyes, & which they had heard with their ears. Therafter we have set down another appearing of Christ, which fell out this same very time y ^t these two Disciples are talking together with th'eleuē, of these things. Thē to come to the words: It is said, They rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem. The circumstance of the time of their returning would be weighed: They make no delay: they stay not all night in Emmaus, albeit it was late, and they were before of intention to have remained there till the morning: but they use all possible expedition, and they rise that same hour to return to Jerusalem, that they might show the Disciples what they had heard and seen, & make them partakers of their joy. Compare this their returning to Jerusalem, with their coming out of Jerusalem to Emmaus : ye will find a great difference: Whē they came out of Hierusalē to Emmaus, they went slowly with sad hearts & sad conference: and when the Lord, whom they supposed to be a passenger, met them, & inquires what conference that was, that they had amongst themselves? They take leisure enough to tell Him the sorrowful news that had fall̄ out in Jerusalem, of the crucifying of Jesus of Nazareth. But in their returning to Jerusalem they make great speed: they go quickly, they go with joyefull hearts, hasting to communicate to the disciples the great joy which they themselves had conceived upon the things which both they saw and heard. The lesson is plain. When the children of God are casten down, when their hearts are grieved, when they have no joyful and comfortable news to tell, but sad and heavy tidings, concerning Christ, and His Gospel, and the estate of His Church; then they will go slowlie, and with heavy cheare: they will speak slowly, and with sadness, they will have little pleasure in anything that they do; for the grief of their hearts takes hand and foot from them: so that they can do nothing willingly, and with cheerfulness. But by the contrary, when their hearts are joyful, when they have joyful and comfortable tidings, to tell to others of Christ and His Church; then are they quick and speedy, and cheerful in all their doings, they will go with expedition and chearefulnsse, they will speak with cheerfulness, with chearfulnes they will make haste to communicate their joy to others: for y ^e joy which they conceive in their hearts, cheers up and encourages all the members of their bodies to do their duty willingly, with cheerfulness and pleasure: Yea, such is the force of the joy in the heart, that it will swallow up & overcome all troubles, all stays, & impediments, which can be castē in to hinder a good purpose: and therefore, if thou seest a man slow to a good action, and namely, to preach the Gospel of JESUS, thou hast just occasion to suspect that he hath found little joy in his heart through the Gospel: as by the contratrie, if thou seest a man hasten with chearfulnes to preach the Gospel, it is a sure token, that he hath his heart filled with the sense of joy through the Gospel. Now when they came to Jerusalem, They found the eleven Disciples of the Lord, and beside them, they found sundry others gathered together with them. Appearinglie these men who were gathered together with the Disciples were such as had heard the Lord Jesus teaching when He was conversant in the world and had found the power of His Preaching effectual to their conversion: for as evil men delight in the society of evil men, because conformity in manners makes men to entertain society together: as the harlot with the harlot, the drunkarde with the drunkard, the thief with the thief, &c. Evē so good men take pleasure in the company of good men, that they may be a mutual furtherance one to another of the glory of God, & their own salvation. When these two Disciples find th'eleven, & the rest that were with them in Jerusalem, look howe they are exercised: They are telling one to another, that the Lord Jesus was risen indeed. These two Disciples came to tell thē these news, supposing they had known nothing of them: but they found themselves prevented, they found that the Lord's disciples tell them that same that they came to have informed them of, to wit, that the Lord Jesus was risen indeed. And this they prove by the testimony of Simon Peter, who had affirmed to them, that he had seen the Lord : for among others to whom the Lord appeared after His Resurrectiō, He appeared in particular to Simon Peter, as Paul testifies, 1. Cor. 15.5. where he tells that He was seen of Cephas, before He was seen of the rest of the twelve. So these two disciples that made haste upon set purpose to further, strenthē, and comfort others, they are furthered, strengthened, & comforted by others, and so they find their coming to be profitable to themselves. The lesson shortly is this: Often times it comes to pass, that they who come of set purpose to declare to others, that joy which they have found to be wrought in their souls by the Holy Spirit, by the preaching of the Gospel, are prevented by others, & he • e of others these same glad tidings that they came to speak themselves, before they can get time or leisure to utter them thenselves, and so they find that same joy communicated to them, which they come to communicate to others: or if they be not prevented, then it falls out, that they hear these same glad tidings of others, that they themselves declare to others, and so receive mutual comfort: or if others speak nor to them, at least this fall out, that of their own message, and of that speech that they utter of JESUS CHRIST, they will find their joy to increase more and more, & to abound: so that it falls out, that their preaching is not only powerful and comfortable to the souls of others, but even to themselves: & when they preach to others, they preach to themselves. If thou hast gotten a spiritual grace or comfort to thy soul, be careful to communicate it unto others: for by so doing, thou shalt find thy grace and joy to increase: fear not, that by communicating of thy grace, it shall be impaired: for these spiritual graces, are not like wordly benefits, whereof the more thou givest to others, there is the less behind: but the more thou givest of these spiritual graces unto others, the more thou hast behind to thyself, the more shall they increase: For to him that hath, it shall be given, and he shall have abundance. Matth. Chap. 25.29. But it would be marked: Albeit these two Disciples find themselves to be prevented by the eleven, who were telling that same thing that they came to tell them: yet they are not so silent, nor conceal not the things which they had heard and seen: but it is said, that they also told what things were done in the way, and howe CHRIST was known of them in breaking of bread : and so they go about to confirm the APOSTLES in that which they themselves were telling of the Resurrection of CHRIST.

Now a question may be moved here. Howe is it that LUKE says, that when the two Disciples came of purpose to tell the eleven, what had befallen to them in the way, and what they had heard and seen concerning JESUS, the eleven preuentes the two, and tells them, that JESUS was risen, and had appeared to Peter ; seeing MARKE, speaking of this same matter, says, that when these two went, and told Christ's appearing to them, to the remnant, that they believed ? Howe agree these two together? To this I answer: First, That when LUKE says, that they told the two Disciples, that the Lord was risen indeed, and that he had appeared to Simon Peter, he means, that there was a number among them, who believed: and that which was proper to some, he ascribes it indefinitelie to the whole. And on the other part, when MARKE says, they believed not, it is to be understood, that there were certain of them, who believed not. And so both the EVANGELISTES according to the accustomed form of speaking in the Scripture, attribute that indefinitelie to the whole, which was proper to a part. Next, I answer: When Mark says they believed not, he speaks of a full and perfect Faith, that was free of all doubting wavering, and inconstancy: but Luke speaks of a begun Faith, which in the mean time wants not the own doubting: for we may perceive in the History, that sundry times after this, they were in doubt, as ye see hereafter in the 41 • verse of this Chapter, where it is said, that after He had shown them His hands, and His feet, they believed not: their hearts were not constantly settled with an assurance of His resurrection.

Now in the next part of our Text, we have set down another appearing of Christ after His resurrection, which falls out in this same very time, when these two disciples were talking with the eleven, & this is His first apparition: we have heard of four already, His first appearing was to Marie Magdalene, the second was, to certain other women, the third was, to y ^e two disciples, who were going to Emmaus, the fourth was to Peter, which we shown you before: Luke touched in a word, verse 34. Now in this His fifth appearing He appears unto the disciples, being assembled together. The three Evangelists, Mark, Luke, & John, set down particularly the circumstances of their assembling & meeting together, which circumstances would be well considered, because they serve for the clearing of the History, the first circumstance is of the persons, that were convened, who, and how many they were: Mark says, that He appeared unto the eleven : & yet we must understand by the History y ^t follows in John, that Thomas was not present at this meeting: but here he gives y ^e name of the whole, to y ^e most part, & after Judas death they were commonly called the eleven. John says, generally, & indefinitely, That the disciples were assembled. Of this circumstance we mark: The disciples of the Lord for the most part ever used to meet, and assemble together: they assembled together before His Passion: they assembled together, even in the very time of His Passion, and hanging on the Cross (for it is said in the 23. Chapter of Luke, and the 49. verse: And all His acquaintance stood afar off, and the women that followed Him from Galilee, beholding these things ) and now they assembled together after His Passion. So ye may see: They who are Christ's, are ever going about to meet & to hold themselves together, that they may speak, & confer of all things, that fall out concerning Christ, and the estate of His Church, whether they be joyful, and comfortable, or sad & sorrowful, that they may edify, & further one another, mutually in the course of their salvation, that they may be joined together, and make up, and compleete one body. And why not? For as there is one GOD the Father, one head the LORD Jesus, one Spirit, one Faith, one Baptism, one hope of vocation: so there should be but one body, the members whereof, should endeuoure, to entertain love and unity amongst themselves, Ephes. Chapter 4 verses 3 4, 5, 6. This meeting together, of the members of the body of Christ, and their mutual conference, brings with it, an exceeding great consolation and joy: for the Lord hath promised to send that Comforter the Holy Spirit, to these meetings of the Saints: and Christ says, in the 18. Chapter of Matthew, and the 20. verse: Where two or three is gathered together in my Name: there will I be in the middes of them. If thou despisest these holy meetings, and disdainest thou the holy conference, I denounce to thee in the Name of Christ, thou shalt never find a solid joy, or consolation: many there are, who contemn the meetings of the faithful, and the assemblies of the Saints, and disdain the means of grace, godly speeches and conferences: and yet will dream to themselves, that the Holy Spirit will dwell in their souls, and that they will find joy, and consolation: but the end will prove, that their corrupt and false hearts have deceived them.

Now I come to the second circumstance, which is concerning their exercise in that meeting. What were they doing? Mark says, They sat together: Luke says, They were speaking of these things that they had heard by the report of sundry persons, concerning the Lord's Resurrection: so ye see, their exercise was holy, their conference was spiritual, & this was a very good preparation going before the Lord's coming, & appearing to them: yea, no question, it was wrought by the force and power of the Lord Himself, when He was approaching and drawing near to them: for when the Lord is drawing near, & approaching to us, then that Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts, begins to move and utter Himself, He wakens up joy in our hearts, He opens our mouth to speak with freedom and liberty, and to entertain purpose of spiritual and heavenly things: for that Spirit in our souls hath a forecast, and feeling before hand, of the LORD'S coming, & this is it that shall move the godly in that great day, when they shall see the tokens of the coming of the LORD, to look up, and lift up their heads, knowing that their redemption draws near, Luke 21.28. for except the Lord did send before a ligt to shine in their souls, as a messenger going before Him to tell Him, that the Lord is coming, they would never lift up their heads: and therefore when the Lord commands His disciples to look up, and to lift up their heads before His coming, it is as much, as if He had said to them, that He will furnish them strength at His coming, to lift up their heads, and to be waiting for Him.

Now follows the third circumstance, concerning the time of this meeting: John in setting it down, is more particular, than any of the rest of the Evangelists, He says. It was the same day, at night, which was the first day of the week : That is, it was the same day that He rose, which for that same cause is called the Lord's day, and it was in the Euening, after Sun-setting, when it began to be dark night: for it was after the returning of the disciples from Emmaus, and they returned not to Jerusalem, until it was very late: for we heard before, it was towards night, when they desired the Lord to stay with them, and they returned from Emmaus to Jerusalem, after the Lord had stayed some space with them, and had eaten, and manifested Himself to them in the breaking of bread, Luke 24.29.30. John tells the cause why they assembled in the night, rather than in the day: For fear of the Jews, who as they were malicious against the Lord Himself, so would they have uttered their malice against His disciples, and all them that loved Him: so they make a choice of a time that was least dangerous: for, Brethren, it is the Lord's will, that His children make a choice of the time, that is most convenient, & which may serve most for their safety in their assemblies and meetings: it makes not at what times meetings be kept, whether in the day, or in the night, if so be, that they who assemble and meet together, be holy: for all times are sanctified to the faithful, and them who are holy themselves: for it is true that Paul says, To the pure, all things are pure, Tit. 1.15. Likewise Christ Himself shows His presence to His own indifferently, at any time when they are met together, whether it be day, or night: it is not these outward things, that Christ chiefly respects, neither the time, nor the place, nor no such outward circumstance, but Christ looks chiefly to the persons, that meet together, & to their disposition whether they be holy or not: the outward things sanctify not the person, but the person sanctifies the outward things: many think th • t if they come to the Church on the Lord's day, because both time and place, is holy, that they are holy enough: but if thou hast no holiness in thine heart, all things are polluted unto thee, the time is polluted, the place is polluted, the exercise of the word is polluted: For unto them that are defiled, and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but even their minds and consciences are defiled, Tit. 1.16.

The last circumstance is of the place: The Evangelists make no particular mention of a special place, wherein they did meet: only John marks, That the doors were shut, and therefore, that they kept themselves close, and quiet: and in this their meeting & exercise they were secret, so that the Jews knew not either where they were or what they were doing: John says, it was for fear of the Jews that the doors were shut : As they had holy wisdom in choosing of the time: so they had holy wisdom in choosing of the place. God will have His children to be wise in all things, and when Christ sends out His Apostles, He exhorts them To be wise as serpents, Matth. 10.16. The faithful are compassed about, with many perils, and dangers on all sides, which hardly they will eschew, except they have holy wisdom. Now, it was not only the fear of danger, from the Jews, that made them shut the doors, but likewise that they might be secret: for when the Saints are exercised in godly conference, and in spiritual and heavenly exercises, and when they are handling secret and hid mysteries of salvation, then they should be separated from the world, and from the society of profane men: profane men should be debarred from such holy exercises, and from the meetings of the Saints, and one day they shall be fully debarred, and put out of their company: for when they shall be gathered unto the Lord Jesus, to enjoy His glorious presence in the Heavens, the wicked shall get none entrance there, to trouble them anymore with their prophanitie.

Thus far, we have spoken shortly of the circumstances of the disciples meeting: Now it follows we should speak of the appearing it self. Whilst the disciples thus gathered, were speaking one to another, of the Resurrection of Christ, in the mean time, Jesus himself comes, & stands up in the mids of them. He presents Himself to them, when the door were shut, after an extraordinary manner, a marvelous manner, and very suddenly: for a glorified body hath a very swift and speedy motion. John lets us see, that His appearing and coming to the house to them, was miraculous, for he says, He came when the doors were shut: but the particular •• nner of His entering in, by what way He came into the house is not expresselie set down by any of the Evangelists: and therefore sundry men have sundry opinions of the manner of His coming in, everyone far different from another: First, The Papists affirm, That the body of our Savior pierced thorough the door, the substance and body of the door remaining whole, unbroken, & vnaltered in any part: so that both the body of the LORDE, and the body of the door, at one time, were in one place. And this they affirm, that they may have some appearance of a ground to establish that vain and foolish dream and fantasie of the bodily and local presence of the body of our Lord in the Sacrament of the Supper. Of the which doctrine of necessity it must follow, That one, and that self same body may be in many places at one time: for if it were true, y ^t two bodies might be in one place at one time, then it would follow, that one body at one time might be in many places. But both these assertions are directly repugnant to the nature of a body, whatsoever it be, whether it be a glorified body, or a body not glorified. It is but a vain distinction, which the Papists have invented, betwixt a body glorified, and a body not glorified: for a glorified body remains a true body, the glorifying of it takes not away the nature, nor the natural properties of a body: and therefore it cannot be at one time in many places, but only in one place: neither can it be in one and the self same place with another body.

Next, others think, That when the body of the Lord went in at the door▪ the body of the door was rarified, and yielded, and gave place to the Lord's body, that it might enter in: & when it had gone in, it returned to its own estate, & was thickened & made solid, as of before: even as when the Lord was walking on the sea, the sea was thickened & made hard & solid under His feet, y ^t it might bear Him above, & thereafter again incontinent it returned to its own nature. This opinion is more tolerable than the former, because it stands well enough with the Omnipotent power of God, where as y ^e former sentence of the Papists cannot stand with His omnipotency, because it includes a manifest contradiction.

Thirdly▪ some think, That whē the Lord was entering in, the door opened to Him, and after He was come in, the door incontinent & most speedily closed again. This opiniō semes to be most probable: we read in sundry places the like to have been done, as in the 5. Chapter of the Acts, the Angel of the Lord opens the doors of the Prison, where the Apostles were, and shuts them again. And in the 12. Chapter of the Acts, when the Angel brings Peter out of prison, the iron gate opened unto them of the own accord. And likewise in the 16. Chapter of the Acts : When Paul and Silas being in prison, prayed, and sung Psalms to God, all the doors of the prison opened, and every man's bands were loosed: in the which places ye see, When the Lord delivered His servants, whether by the ministry of His Angels, or without their ministry, the doors were opened: But in no place of Scripture we read of the rarifying of a body, and much less, anything of that vain opinion of the Papists, That two bodies may be in one place at one time: and therefore this last opinion seems to be most likely: But in this point we insist not: Only one thing we mark out of this place, that the LORD'S coming is very sudden, and unlooked for: how so ever it be, that the LORD comes unto men, whether it be in mercy, as He uses to come to His own: whether it be injustice to the wicked, His coming is ever sudden, and without their expectation: and therefore we should not be so careful, curiously to inquire about the particular coming of the LORD, as we should be careful to prepare our selves, that we may be ready, waiting for His glorious appearing, that when ever He comes, He may find us with oil in our lamps, ready to enter in with Him. Watch (says the LORD) for ye know neither the day, nor the hour, when the Son of man will come.

Now to end shortly: Having spoken already of the circumstances of the meeting of the disciples, as also of the marvelous appearing of the Lord to them: it follows last, that we speak of His saluting of them: when He comes in amongst the mids of them, He is not silent, but He salutes them, & says, Peace be unto you. This was His common salutation, which they were acquainted with: & no question, He uttered it with such a homely & familiar voice, that they might easily have known that it was He, & none other y ^t appeared & spake unto them: for He went about by all means possible, to remove all doubting out of their hearts, that so they might have a full assurance of His Resurrection: and yet, for all this very hardly could they be persuaded, that it was He: and therefore Mark says, He reproved them for their unbelief, & hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him being risen up again. For such is the infidelity, & dullness of our hearts, that all the means that GOD uses, is little enough to make us to believe. Now when the LORD says to His disciples, Peace be unto you, we must not think, that this was a bare and simple wishing and desiring of peace unto them, without any further effect. No, we must not think so: This word was powerful, this wishing of peace behooved to be effectual in their souls, because it proceeded from Him, who is the fountain and author of all peace, and who Himself is our peace, as the Apostle says, Ephes. 2.14.17. And when the Lord, who is peace Himself, comes to preach peace: How can it be possible, except the hearts of men be harder than the flint, or adamant: but that preaching of peace, must be effectual in their souls. The Lord in this wishing of peace is not like man, the most that a man can do, is to wish peace, and to desire peace to others, No man, albeit He were never so holy, can do more, he cannot give his peace that he wishes, he cannot make his peace effectual: But Christ, when He wishes peace, He gives and communicates that same peace: He works that same peace in their hearts: and therefore, when He is departing out of the world, comforting His disciples, He says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you, John. 14.27. He says not only, I leave peace with you, but I give you my peace, and that, not as men in the world, who can do no more but wish, I make my peace effectual, by giving you peace. The Lord make everyone of us partakers of this peace, that we may ever have matter of rejoicing in JESUS. To whom with the Father and Holy Spirit, be all praise and honor, for evermore.

THE XLI. LECTURE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.

B ELOVED in CHRIST JESUS, we have in hand as yet the History of the appearing of Christ after His glorious Resurrection: First He appears to MARIE MAGDALENE at the grave: Next, He appears to another company of women as they returned from the grave: Thirdly, He appeared to two of His Disciples that same day of His Resurrection, as they went from Jerusalem to Emmaus Fourthly, He appeared to Simon Peter alone: And now last, (and this is His appearing which we have in hand) He appears to a company of His Disciples, to the eleven, ( Thomas being excepted) with others of the common sort, where they were gathered together in the night, in a secret place of Jerusalem. The last day, as God gave the grace, we spake of this conuention of the disciples, & of His miraculous and sudden coming, and standing up in the middes of them, the door being shut. We heard, when He stood up amongst them, what He did, He salutes them after His old fashion, and says, Peace be unto you, in such sort, that they might have understood that it was the Lord, by the voice, and that salutation, wherewith they were acquainted: but ye see, what effect His presence, His voice, and His salutation works in them.

In the beginning of this Text, which we have read, when they see Him, and hear Him, it is said, That they are abashed, & troubled in heart, and terrified with Jesus. Why? Because they thought, they had seen a spirit, or an Angel in the shape of a man: this His presence should have confirmed and strengthened their Faith, which even they pretended to have of the Resurrection of Christ, but it falls out otherwise. This is an hasty change, and little before, they are speaking confidently one to another of Him, and of His Resurrection: These that were convened at Jerusalem before, were speaking of Him, and assuring the two disciples, that He was risen indeed, then the two assuring them, that He was risen: now in an instant they are astonished, so abashed, and afraid, that when they see Him, they cannot believe, that it is He, their Faith almost euanisheth. A little before, in their mind there was light, there was knowledge, now in stead of that light, comes in blindness, and dimness in the eyes of the mind: a little before, there was Faith in the heart, and joy in the Resurrection of Christ, now there is such infidelity, that they will not believe their own senses: instead of joy there is trouble, this is a sudden change from the better to the worse: ye see, howe suddenly the soul of man will be changed: now he will believe, now Faith in an instant will be turned in infidelity, now he will rejoice, and even now his joy will be turned in dolour. This is our estate, so long as we live in the world: but Brethren, it would be marked, where begins this change? There are two partes in the soul of man: there is the mind, the eye of the soul, that gives light to the soul, and to all the partes of it, and to the whole man, then there is the heart, and the affections that should be guided by the mind, which is the eye of the soul: both are changed in the disciples in an instant: but where begins the change? Not at the heart, nor the affections first, No, but it begins at the mind, the mind deceives it self, and she believes when she sees Christ, she sees a Spirit: when she sees one thing, she supposes she sees another, she blinds her self: and when she hath blinded her self, then follows terror, and all the affections of the heart are troubled, by reason of the false imagination of the mind. Brethren, there is not one of us, but we have this mind, this heart, these affections, and these mutations: Why then should we not know them: I mark this, to let you see the vanity of the reason of man: the best thing in man is his reason, but she is full of vanity: she that should have guided all the inferior powers of the soul, she is first out of order.

It is a miserable Commonwealth, where the head is out of order: for then it being out of order, all is misordered: commonly, it is this mind, that puts all the affections out of order, and by her vain imaginations, reasonings, and toys, she will give in such terrors in the soul, as is wonderful. If there be any power of the soul, that hath need to be reformed and renewed in JESUS CHRIST: I say, the wit and mind of man hath most need to be renewed, and illuminate by the Spirit of JESUS CHRIST: And therefore the Apostle exhorts the Ephesians, To be renewed in the spirit of their mind, Ephes. Chapter 4 verse 23. Plato was a fool, and Aristotle, and all the Philosophers, who were accounted wonders in the world, for their wisdom in natural things, who said, the mind of man was perfect, and placed reason, as a Queen in the soul, to guide and hold all the affections in order.

The Papists are a litte better than the Philosophers: for they asc • ibe too much to the mind and reason of man: they set themselves to advance man, and to extenuate grace, and their wisdom is far from the wisdom of God.

The Spirit of God says, in the Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 8. verse 7. That the wisdom of the flesh, is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither can it be.

But to go forward: When they see CHRIST, They supposed, that He had been a spirit. I doubt not, but He appeared in some glorious form, they may not abide the sight of Him, without great terror and fear: they are blinded with the sight of Him, this eye of the body, subject to mortality (all is mortal, the eye, and all) is so infirm and weak, that it may not abide to see a thing immortal, glorious and heavenly: All that we see, is mortal, the Earth & the Heavens are mortal: an heavenly & spiritual thing, the eyes of the body cannot behold: I say more, let be the eyes of the body, and this outward sense, the eye of the soul that should be clearer in sight than the eye of the body, may not abide any immortal and heavenly object, so long as we are in this life, it may not behold an heavenly thing: I speak by naturaull disposition: a man that hath but nature, may not look to God, and heavenly things: but so soon as these glorious objects are laid before the eye of the mind, there goes a great dimness over it, and that exceeding brightness blindfoldes it so, that it is not able to behold it. The fault of this is not so much in the glorious object, as it is in thy soul (and if it were right) heavenly things should comfort thee. The fault is in the evil disposition of the eye of thy soul, it is but a bleered eye like the eye of the body, looking to the Sun grows blind, & is worse than of before: so is it with the eye of the soul: for the eye of our soul, is but bleered: there was never such a bleered eye in the body as in the soul: the fault then is in the canker and vile disposition of the soul of man.

This is their change: at the sight of Christ, they are blinded in mind, and troubled in heart. What does the Lord? Lets He them be? lets He them lie in that blindness and terror? No, He departs not, but trauells to change them over again in mind, heart, and affection: it is the word of Jesus only, that is able to alter and change the heart of man, and that evil disposition and blindness which is there, when all the affections of the heart are out of order, it is the word of Christ only, that hath power to change them, all the Angels in Heaven, and all the men in the Earth will not be able to put thine heart in order, if it be troubled. Therefore he or she that hath blind terrors, let them resort to the hearing of the word of God: I say to thee, if thou disdainest this word, and if thou seekest to this man, or seekest to that man, or seekest to Angels, thou shalt never get rest nor relief in thy trouble. So it is the word of Jesus Christ, that must give light and consolation.

But what sort of word must this be? Must it be a soft, a gentle and calm word to the ear? No, when the mind hath blinded it self, and when the affections are out of order, she must be tamed, the affections are hammered and thrown down, because the pride of the soul reaches up to Heaven, to reason against God, 2. Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter 10. verse 4, 5. Therefore she must be subdued by sharp threatening and sad speeches, to hammer her down. So the Lord says, Why are ye troubled? Why let ye vain fantasies arise in your hearts? No doubt, these words had power to repress and hammer down the misordered vanities in their hearts: then the disordered affections must be compelled to be in order, not by fair words, but by threatening, and saying, away to your order, they must be beaten and stricken down. Let no man deceive himself: thinking, that he should always hear soft and gentle words: No, that will never make a change in the soul.

Come to the words: Wherefore do doubts arise in your hearts? In the words the Lord lets you see, how the mind blinds her self, when a spiritual object is set before it, the word Ascending, that is used, lets us see, that first of all, a small cogitation enters in, and then it grows to a mountain: When she sees an heavenly object, God, or the word, or Christ, in the which God, or Christ is seen: as soon as this heavenly object is laid before the eye of the mind, she begins to reason, she gets not the blenck so soon, but as soon she reasons, and the discourse arises up like a mountain, so that the light of the Spirit shall be taken out of her eye, and shall make such conclusions, that shall rise up and stand like mountains, and blind her, and if she hath any sight, pull it out of her, as ye see sometimes, when the Sun will be shining bright within a short time a cloud will arise from below, and will take away the light of the Sun: Even so, from the reason of man arise doubts like a foome (all thy reason is but stinking foome) and it will stand up like a foul black smooke, betwixt thee and God, Rom. 1.21.

Read ye not, what the Apostle says: The Gentiles and Philosophers beginning at reason, put out the blencke that they had of God, and in their wisdom they became mad fools.

This day, the Papists, and their Doctors, have blinded themselves with vain Philosophy, and with their thorny questions they have drowned Christ, and so obscured Him, that He could not be seen to the world, and they drown themselves in their own dung.

Let all men then take this lesson: When the word of the LORD is offered to thee, Be not too curious: Beware of thy learning, beware of thy reasoning, lean not too much to it, that it stand not up between thee, and GOD, and blind thee: let not cogitations arise: When it comes to the Scripture, reason, Why not? but with soberness, with a soul desirous to learn, with prayer, with calling on that Spirit: No light in that word, but by that Spirit of light, who dited the Scriptures: If thou gettest that Spirit, then light shall be offered and given to thee, but if thou vanishest in thy mind, and followest thy wit, except thou castest away thy reasoning, read not one word: I forbid thee to read one word of the Scriptures, lest thou aggreadge thy damnation.

Now, I go forward: When thus way by checking, He hath beaten down the imaginations, reasonings, and cogitations that sublimely rose out of the mind, and when by an angry word, He hath beaten down the affections which were out of order, now in gentleness He begins to teach and instruct them, and He teaches them two things: First, that He is a body: Secondly, that He is not a Spirit, and that He is that same CHRIST, that same man, that same body, and none other, that before His Passion, haunted with them, teached them, and wrought miracles in their presence, He teaches them, by a familiar argument: First, by the sight: Behold, says He, mine hands, and my feet : He holds up His hands, not His hands only, but also the marks of the wounds of His hands, He lets them see His feet, and the print of the nails.

Next, Handle Mee, says He, if ye will not see, feel: What better argument would ye have? than to feel flesh, blood, and bones. Next, He proves, that He was no Spirit, but a man, with the body of a man, A spirit, or an Angel, hath not body flesh, and bones : but so it is, I have them, Ergo, I am no spirit. This is a sensible argument: and see, how He dimittes that glorious body to their eyes, and to their hands to be seen, to be touched, that He might make them to believe: albeit Faith be a spiritual work in the soul, yet it is wrought, and confirmed in the soul by the eye, & by sight, by the hand by touching. This place lets us see how damnable is the doctrine of the Papists who would have us to believe that in the Supper of JESUS CHRIST, there is a local and bodily presence of CHRIST'S body, and that the whole body is there, and that the blood is there drunken by thee, and the body is eaten by thee, after a bodily manner with the mouth of thy body, and not sacramentally and spiritually. How dare these deceivers of the world, these vile knaves affirm, that they eat the body of JESUS CHRIST, and puts it in their vile mouths. What reasonable man, can be persuaded of it. Will they teach me, as CHRIST teached His disciples, will they let me see visibly with mine eye, and feel sensibly with mine hand, a body, then shall I believe, otherwise, no Papist, will cause me believe, that I eat CHRIST really and bodily with my mouth, no more than the disciples would believe that CHRIST was a body, till they felt Him, and saw Him, I will be of the Faith of the disciples. Believe them who will, I shall never believe them, by the grace of GOD. Let me see a body, not the roundness and whiteness of the bread, and let me feel this, that CHRIST let His disciples feel: if thou wilt not let me feel that, I will never believe thee: hold thee content, and I am not bound to believe thee: yea more, if I believed thee, I were fair in the wrong, I should sin against the LORD, and against the truth of His body. Why? If I believe thee, neither seeing, nor feeling such a thing, then I should believe, the body of Christ to be invisible, and intractable, and to believe that, is to believe the body of CHRIST to be nobody. That body that is not seen, nor handled, is not a body, these properties being taken away from a body, there remains nobody, yea, sight and feeling are such inseperable accidents of the body, that the very glorified body cannot be without them.

The Papists cast unto us a frivolous distinction betwixt the glorified body of CHRIST, and His vnglorified body: No, the very glorified body is as well visible and tractable, as an vnglorified body. The godly in the latter day shall see whether it be visible, or not. Go thy way with thy bodily presence, thou debarrest thyself from that presence, that the godly shall see, one day to their consolation.

Furthermore, Brethren, There is another thing to be marked: I see JESUS CHRIST, after His glorious Resurrection, to have kept the marks of the wounds, He shows His hands and His wounded hands. He shows them His feet, and His wounded feet, & He shown His side to Thomas, when he would not believe & made him to put his hands in His side. Ye would marvel, that Christ, rising up in glory, should have kept the marks of infirmity. When the Lord rose, it became Him to shake off all infirmity: and the marks of His wounds are a part of infirmity. See ye not howe it hath pleased the Lord to humble Himself for our cause, to the ende, that we should believe. Not only rose He, and appeared unto them, but also after He rose, He keeps the marks of His wounds, that no ways they should doubt, but fully believe, that it was He, and none other. It is a wonderful thing to see the humility of Christ for our cause: as all His life was but an humbling of Himself: so after His Resurrection, for thine exaltation, when He should have gone to glory, He abides forty days, to cause His Disciples believe. Art not thou, who art dust and ashes, bound to humble thyself for Him, seeing that He, who is so glorious, humbled Himself so low for thee? Now whether the Lord keep these marks or no, or whether we shall see Him come with them or no in that great day, I will not be curious: but this I know, the fresh memory of the wounds, and of the Cross, shall never vanishe out of the hearts of the Elect: and in the Heaven thou shalt remember a thousand times better, than in the earth, when thou shalt see Him as He is: when thou shalt behold Him whom thou hast pierced thorough, thou shalt mourn, says the Prophet Zechariah. There is the remembering of the wounds. And as that Cross shall never go out of the eye of the Father, (for it is as present now before the eye of the Father, as it was that hour that He was crucified:) So when thou shalt come to Heaven, always thou shalt have a memory of the Cross: And in this respect He is called an everlasting Sacrifice, and an everlasting Priest. And, as the sight of that Cross pacifies the wrath of GOD: (were it out of the eye of the Father, the flame of His wrath would devour and consume thee, for the pacifying of the wrath stands in the sight of the Cross:) So the joy and peace of thy conscience in Heaven, shall stand in an everlasting remembrance of the Cross and His bloody wounds. There are two grounds of our Eternal joy and peace in Heaven: First, our joy and peace stands in the sight of that present glory of Christ in Heaven. Next after the sight of that glory, they stand on a remembrance of His by-gone Cross: These shall be the two pillars of the everlasting joy and happiness which the Saints shall have in Heaven. So He shall stand in as good stead to thee in the Heaven, as He did in the earth. Learn to seek Him, to embrace Him, and to be homelie with Him: for in Him stands thy joy euerlastinglie, and ever thou be happy, thou must be with Him. Now this for Christ's part. Hitherto hath He taught them, by the senses and things sensible: But look what this works in them: It is said, That for joy they could not believe, and they fell out in a wondering. There is the effect that it wrought: There is something here wrought: to wit, a joy, and a wondering. Yet the thing that they should have, is not as yet wrought, that is, Faith: for joy and wondering by appearance stays their faith. So hard a matter is it to cause a man to believe. It is an easy thing to thee, who knowest not what Faith is, to say, I believe: but when thou art put to the proof, thou wilt find howe hard a thing it is, to cause thee to believe. There is as great contrariety betwixt our nature, and faith in Christ, as is betwixt water and fire: And if thou believest, there must be as great change in thy nature, as to change water into fire, and fire into water. Nature must be turned into grace. But howe comes it to pass, that joy and wondering should stay Faith? Consider it: That which one would fain have coming to pass, ye know he cannot easily believe it, when one tells him, that it is come to pass: And that which least we would have coming to pass, we most easily believe that it hath come to pass. A man that fears evil, will credit an evil report readily: but he that earnestly wishes a good thing, will not so soon credit a good report: he will think it almost impossible. But yet when a man hears tell of a thing which he would fain have coming to pass, although he believe it not, yet the heart will leap for joy. This was the disposition of the Apostles: The thing that fainest they would have coming to pass, was a sight of JESUS. And if thou were acquainted with Christ as these men were, if He were taken out of thy sight, thou wouldest get no pleasure, till that thou sawest Him, as PAUL says, I desire to be dissolved, and to be with CHRIST : He had such a thirst to see Christ, that he would not care for death, nor for the grave, to see Him. Howbeit they cannot believe, yet they have joy, and their souls are ravished with admiration. Faith is not so much in a ravished and carried heart, as in a set • ed soul. A faithful heart is the moste settled heart in the world. If there be vanity in the heart, faith is so solid that it will press out vanity. Faith is a solid thing in a settled heart. A faithful man, is a settled man: and a man without faith, is as an empty vessel, and as a bag of wind: his joy is light, and proceeds only from the swarfe of the soul. But after once faith be settled, there will be solid joy that comes in with pleasure, and searches the least corner of the heart: a joy unspeakable and glorious begun here, which will have none ende, till we see Christ. So this their joy goes not far enough down in their hearts: for they are ravished with joy, but had not solid faith. When I mark this place, I see in it what shall be the estate of the godly when they shall meet with their LORD: The first sight shall rauishe them so, that they shall wonder, that ever there could have been such a glory. Wilt thou but suspende thy judgment for a while, thou shalt see that which thou never sawest, and that which thou never heardest tell of, and that which never could enter into thine heart. When thou shalt see this, thou shalt fall into an admiration: Then after once thou knowest Him, then after the admiration shall follow a solid faith, a solid joy, and a settled apprehension of things spiritual, and that not for a time, but for evermore. Now it lasts not, scarcelie is it present when it euanishes: But after the full sight, shall follow the solid joy that never shall have ende. As by the contrary, This shall be the estate of the reprobate: The first sight and sense of that wrath that shall ceaze upon them so fearcelie, as never before they could have suspected, shall astonishe, confound, and dammishe them. Thou knewest never what measure of wrath is hidden up in the treasure of GOD. Thou who art a reprobate, till thou feelest it, there shall come such a terror upon thee, that it shall cause all the hairs of thine head stand over ende: and it is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , such an astonishment as Christ suffered in the Garden, a little before He was taken. Then shall follow on them that anguish, and fearful dreadfulness, pressing them, when they have been astonished at the sight and sense of wrath which is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which was the LORDES seconde perturbation, which is a more settled feeling of wrath, and more constant apprehension of dolour, sorrow, and anguish for evermore in the Helles: And it shall be so weighty when they are shot into Hell, that it shall press the sap out of them. The LORDE save us from it, and give us grace to be found in CHRIST, that we may be saved from that wrath which is to come, in Him: To whom with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all Praise, Honor, and Glory, for evermore: Amen.

THE XLII. LECTURE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.

W Ee continue as yet (beloved Brethren) in the History of the appearing of Christ after His glorious Resurrection: His fifth appearing was to the eleuē (who were so called after the defection of Judas ) and the others: The common rank of His Disciples conuened together in the night, in a secret pl • ce of Jerusalem : and while they are sitting together, having their conferences one with another, & each one persuading & certifying another of the Resurrection of the Lord: in the mean time the door being shut, the LORD on a suddaintie comes in ere they wist, and He stands in the middes of them, & standing in the middes of them, He wishes His peace to them, and He says, Peace be unto you : they seeing Him, and supposing He had been a Spirit, or an Angel in the likeness of a man, they were abashed, and astonished: The Lord aftherwards settles them with a little sharp rebuke: He begins to show unto them, that He was no spirit, but a very body: and that same very man called Jesus, who before His Passion was conversant with them, that same man that suffered, and therefore He holds out His hands and His feet, which were both marked with the print of His wounds on the Cross: See (says He) feel (says He) look if I be not that same man which suffered, a Spirit hath not flesh and blood, as I have, Ergo, I am no Spirit. When He had in this manner, led them by the very sense to know Him, by the eye to behold Him, by the ear to hear His familiar voice, & salutation, by the hand to handle Him. What effect followed, Yet says the Scripture, they believed not, and they could not believe, for exceeding joy wherewith they were ravished, for admiration, and wondering they could not believe for a piece of time: Faith dwells in a settled heart: and if there be any vanity, and any emptiness in the heart, Faith will press out the vanity, and will fill up that emptiness in the heart, and the faithful man is the most solid and settled thing in the world: and he who is the unfaithful man, is a vain hearted man, his heart is blown up with vanity, albeit he had all the natural wit in the world. Now the joy that Faith brings with it, is not an admiration and ravishing of the heart, but it is a solid joy, a solid apprehension of spiritual things in the heart: so the hearts of the disciples at the first sight became ravished in admiration, the veil of their hearts were not touched with joy, they had not that settled joy, that they had afterward.

Now to come to the Text that we have read: In it, first, the Lord yet continues in assuring them that it was He: He striveth on with their infidelity: then when He hath shown them visibly the action of a body, in eating in their sight, then He comes to a sweet Sermon, wherein He instructes them in two points: first, that all things that befell to Him, as His Passion, and Resurrection behooved to have befallen to Him: secondly again, that as those things befell to Him of necessity: so of necessity those things behooved to be preached to the world. So He instructes them in these two necessities. Then He comes on in the second part of His preaching, and gives direction to them, to be preachers, and witnesses to the world of all these things, promising again to them that Spirit, which He had promised them before His Passion, and that they should have the greater security. He gives them commandment, not to depart out of Jerusalem, until they were endued with virtue out of Heaven: this is the effect.

To come to the first part: When they heard Him speak with a voice familiar, wherewith they had been acquainted, and that homely salutation, Peace be unto you : yet they would not know Him, when they had seen His hands and feet, yet they believed not that it was He, when they had handled Him, and felt Him, yet they believed Him not for all this, they were ravished with joy, yet they believed not. The Lord will not leave them in this unbelief, but He will let them understand that it was He, He teaches them by the sight of a bodily action. He asks if they had a • y me • t : They present to Him A piece of roasted fish, and that was all the delicate they gave Him, and with it A piece of honey comb, He takes and eats in their sight, He eats the piece of the roasted fish, and the honey comb: Not that the Lord after His Resurrection, had any need to eat any of their meat, He who now was immortal after His Resurrection, that was glorious, and that was full of God, and had all the powers of His soul filled with God: What needed He their piece of fish, or their honey comb to eat: So it was not for any need He had, that He eated, but that He eated in their sight, that they should believe that the Lord was a body: a Spirit eats not, neither drinks. The Lord therefore shows them that He was no Spirit. In doing this, Brethren, no question, He humbled Himself, being now immortal and glorious, and full of God: Was not this a humbling of Him, an immortal body to take that mortal bread? It is a wonderful thing, to see, how Jesus Christ humbled Himself, ay whilst He was yet still in this world: Being says Paul Philip in the form of God, & thought it no robbery to be equal with God. He made Himself of no reputation, taking on Him the shape of a servant, That is, the nature of man & in the nature of man became obedient to the Father for us to the death, & to a vile death even to the death of the Cross, a foul de • th, and a sore death. Then, when after He was once •• ade and risen again, • nd should have entered to His glory, and have passed to Heaven imm • diately after His Resurrection, to sit at the right hand of that Majesty: He would not immediately do so, but did defer and delay it the space of forty days, and all this time humbling Himself, it was a small thing, that when He was mortal to humble Himself: but when He was immortal, that He should have continued so long humbling Himself for the cause of man, it is a wonder, & amongst all the partes of His humiliation, this is one part, that He ate this mortal food. And thou, when thou shalt be glorified, thou shalt not be so far humbled, as to eat any food of this world: thou shalt not be so far humbled, as JESUS CHRIST was humbled. Was this, Brethren, for the Apostles cause only, Was it for Peters cause, John, James and the rests cause? No, Paul says, All is yours, speaking to the Church, whether it be Paul, or Apollo, or Cephas, or things present, or things to come, or life, or death, all is yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's, 1. Epist. to the Corinthians, the 3. Chapter, and the 21. and 22. verses. So all the Apostles themselves, were for the Churches cause, I speak to you, Paul, John, James, &c. were for your cause, and all this homeliness of Christ, with them was for your cause, as they were for your cause: so seeing the LORD hath so far and so many ways humbled Himself, consider, if we have not great cause, to meet Him, or not: If any will bow so low, as to take thee by the hand, wilt thou not put out thine hand again, and meet Him: and think ye, that this humbling of the LORD of glory hath taken an ende, it ends not so long, as this Ministry continues: Know ye, what this Ministry, and this preaching is? It is but an humbling of GOD from Heaven, and that for thy cause: look what Paul says, in the 2. Epistle to the Corinthians, the 5. Chapter, and the 20. verse: We are Ambassadors for Christ, as though GOD did beseech you through us, we pray you in Christ's stead, that ye be reconciled to God. There ye see, that by this Ministry, GOD humbles Himself, to pray thee to be reconciled with Him, is not this an humbling of God? even that He should pray thee to be reconciled with Him, He becomes a suitor, and solister for thy cause: says the Apostle, We pray you, that y • should be reconciled to Him : & what is it to God to humble Himself, if not this when He beseeches and requests us by His Messengers and Ambassadors, that we be reconciled to Him.

This exceeding humbling of the LORD, as it lets us see His love unspeakable towards us, so it requires a meeting on our partes, as we would eschew fearful judgments. If the first humbling of GOD, when He humbled Himself in our nature, will not move thee to make Him a meeting, it shall bring on a judgment: If the second, wherein He humbled Himself after His Resurrection so many ways will not move thee, it shall double thy judgment: if the third humbling of Him, now in the Ministry will not move thee: if thou contemnest the word, and the Ministry, it shall triple the judgment, albeit thou werest the King of the world: O that judgment and wrath! that shall be heaped upon thee, thou shalt be thrust down, and plunged in Hel, to be tormented for evermore.

Can GOD humble Himself for nothing? No, either shall it be for passing mercy, or else for a passing judgment to thee, forever more.

Then, Brethren, ye shall mark in this place, and I shall only touch it by the way: The Lord after His glorious Resurrection eated the meat they gave Him: Hereof it follows: That after His glorious Resurrection, He kept these natural powers, as eating and drinking: if He kept them not, how could He eat at this time, if there was not a power attractive in His stomach? how could the meat go over to His stomach. This I speak, to let you see, when we shall rise & be glorified, and see our Lord▪ & when this humbled body shall be translated to the likeness of His glorious body: as we shall keep the same soul and body: so we shall keep all the natural powers and faculties of them.

Nothing shall be lost in the Resurrection: We shall keep all, but after another manner: all these powers now are infirm and weak: all are vile, without glory, then all shall be glorified, faculty of eating and drinking shall be glorified and made spiritual. Wilt thou then desire meat, wilt thou hunger, as thou doest now: will thy stomach desire meat, as it does now: No, all thy natural powers shall be filled with GOD. 1. Cor. Chapter 15. verse 28. God shall be all in all: He shall be meat and drink, and all things to thee. In the 21. Chapter of the Revelation, and the 22. verse. He shall be the Temple : Thou shalt not need to go to the Church, Thy God shall be a Temple: Thou shalt not need Sun, nor Moon, or a lantern, or a candle, Thy God shall be all in all to thee : So long as we are here, we hunger, we thirst, we have this meat, and that meat, and we must have the Sun, by day, and the Moon by night, and a candle, all this necessity imports an imperfection: Eatest thou, drinkest thou, all is an argument of imperfection, and albeit God fills thee in a part (GOD begins to fill thee in this world, and thou wilt feel His sweetness) yet He gives us here in this life, but a little taste: GOD is not all in all to us, and therefore, so long as we are here, we must eat and drink: but after that once GOD shall fully possess us, and replenish our souls, when we shall see our Lord again, we shall never hunger nor thirst, there shall never be want again, there shall be fullness, not of perishing joy, but a fullness of such glory, as no tongue can express, and all the powers of thy soul shall be replenished with an unspeakable pleasure: the world knows not what this means: and when it is spoken to them, they think it vanity. To enter here curiously about this meat, and to dispute: What became of this meat? whether it was digested, and turned to nutriture, and whether it was avoided again, I think it needless: But to speak it in a word: It was an easy matter to the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who made all of nothing, who made thee of nothing, who made thy meat and drink of nothing, who made that piece of fish of nothing, and who made that honey comb of nothing, to turn it into nothing again, without a concoction or digesting in the stomach.

Now, to go forward to the second part of the Text, and to come to His sweet Sermon: No question, He delivered it at great length: but Luke hath summed it shortly: Here JESUS CHRIST preaches after His glorious Resurrection: ye heard many of His preachings before His suffering, in John, hear this now after His Resurrection: The first thing He does, He informs His Disciples of a necessity: It behooved Christ to die, & it behooved Him to rise again after His burial the third day, there is a necessity: He proves this: What ever thing, says He, was written of me, in Moses first, in the Prophets next, and in the Psalms last: all behooved to be accomplished, every jot of it, of necessity would the LORDE say, must be accomplished, Heaven and Earth must pass away, ere one jot of that which is spoken of Mee, pass away, but all must be fulfilled.

To touch this, He takes up all the whole Olde Testament into three partes: First, the books of Moses : Secondly, the Prophets: Thirdly, the Psalms of David.

Commonly, we will hear the Olde Testament divided in two partes: First, the books of Moses: Next, the Prophets, now He makes the Psalms the third. In the Psalms we have continual prophecies of CHRIST, yet I think this is the principal cause of it, because the Psalms are songs, which David sung unto GOD, and thereafter put in write, and this is the chief purpose of the Psalms. It is true, that in the Psalms there are Prophecies contained concerning CHRIST: and therefore the Psalms were before rekoned with the Prophecies, and David counted amongst the Prophets, Luke Chapter 24. verse 15. Yet the chief purpose of the Psalms, is to sing unto the LORD, and then he prophecies, he stands as a viue and express type of CHRIST, wherein he differs from other Prophets, who in their prophesying were no types of CHRIST. But to return: What ever thing, says CHRIST, is written of Mee, it behooved that to be accomplished : But so it is, all these things have been written and foretold of Mee, my suffering and my Resurrection, Moses, the Prophets, and David have foretold them: Ergo, of necessity I behooved to suffer, and to rise again the third day. Ye see then, what He is doing, He is binding the Faith of His Disciples, to believe of Him that He was risen, urging them with such a necessity, that they could not escape.

It is not so easy a thing, (as the world thinks it) to believe: Ask at a wanton companion, if He believes: He will answer: Why believe I not, when in the mean time His own mouth, nor His heart, hath no more smell of Faith, than the thing He touched never: and yet the blasphemous knave will say, He hath Faith: but to get Faith, of all things thou shalt find, that it is the moste hard and difficill thing, and ere ever thou believest, thou shalt be straitted: The soul shall be so forced and constrained to believe, that thou canst not say otherwise.

Well, Brethren, we have done with it, and we have made shipwreck of salvation, if we believe not this Gospel, and this History of the death and Resurrection of JESUS CHRIST.

Beleeuest thou not that JESUS CHRIST hath died, and hath risen again for thee, thou shalt never see Jesus to to thy comfort: But ere ever thou or I believe that this is true that is written of CHRIST'S suffering, and His glorification, ere ever thou believest the History of the New Testament of the Passion and rising again of Christ done and ended: thou must be persuaded: there is a necessity that all these things that are spoken in the Olde Testament behooved to be done: if then thou wouldest know the necessity of these things, cast thine eyes to the Olde Testament, and cast it over, Begin at Moses, and then come to the Prophets, and lastly, to the Psalms of David. Read the Old Testament, and that write shall show thee such a necessity of these things that more possible had it been, that the world should have vanished away, than that these things should not have come to pass: and then when ye take the New Testament, and sees these things which are foretold to be accomplished, ye will not believe with how great joy, the heart will rest upon Jesus, and it will say, I will believe this, that Christ hath suffered, and is risen for me: then thy pleasure will be, to turn over the Olde and Newe Testament, that thy Faith may be the more confirmed.

To go forward with the proposition of the argument, when He says, It behooved all these things to come to pass: He propones it not simply, but whilst He tells it, He secretly rebukes them, Heard ye not of this before? Are not these the words, which I spake to you while I was yet with you? Why have ye now forgote them, seeing not long since I told you them? I find in the disciples of Christ, a very great ignorance at the first: Think ye that any of them knew one word of this, notwithstanding they were foretold in Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms : No, not a word: then with this ignorance, I see a great forgetfulness, albeit they knew not, should they not have remembered, what their Lord said to them before His Passion? and yet when they see Him suffer, and see His Resurrection, this cannot waken their memory, to say, My Lord told me this: & therefore I will believe: in them thou mayest see thy nature, howe ignorant, and forgetful thou art by nature: let thee lie still, albeit thou werest Peter or Paul, or the best of them, let thee sleeepe on, thou shalt die sleeping: if these disciples had not been wakened, they had died, & this is the great and special mercy of God, that He shows to His own: He will let them fall in a slumber, & lie a while in ignorance but incontinently He will come, & give them a put, with sharpness & mercy, & waken them. Thou who refusest sharpness, O that sharp wakening that shall abide thee! Therefore, as soon as the Minister of God cries unto thee, O Catiue! sleepest thou? death and damnation abides thee, if thou wakenest not: but if thou wilt waken in time, thou shalt find mercy: pray unto the Lord, that thou mayest be wakened, for if thou wakenest not in time, heavy shall the judgment be, that shall overtake thee: woeful shall thy wakening be, and the dolour that shall come on thee, as the pain of a woman in travel: Our men for all our crying, will not be wakened, but if they continue sleeping, they shall go to Hell.

Now to come to the assumption: These things are written of me, that I should die, and rise again: and no doubt, when He tells this to them, He falls out in a discourse of the Scriptures, alleging testimonies out of Moses, the Prophets, & the Psalms, as the words following, declare. But to proceed: Is the Lord content to allege the Scriptures simply? Does He no more? Mark it well: as He alleadges and opened the Scriptures unto them: So He opens their mind and understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures. Would ye have an effectual preaching, there is an effectual preaching: when these two go together: when the Scriptures are opened, and the Lord puts in His hand, and opens the heart, and the dead soul that is sleeping, to understand that piece of Scripture, which is opened. Would ye have the difference between the preaching of Christ, and the preaching of His servants: all their preaching is nothing, in respect of His, Moses, the Prophets, and all the Apostles, are nothing to Him: when He preached, that same LORD that spake, had power in His own hand, and made His own Spirit, to open the heart: never a preacher had that, that the Lord Jesus had, He had His own Spirit to give unto His own, when He spake His own word: the preachers have not that Spirit to give, but refers it unto the Lord, 1. Cor. 13.5.6.7. Paul says to the Corinthians, who esteemed much of Paul : O vain men, Paul is nothing, he only plants, Apollos is nothing, he wateres, but it is God that gives the increase: if he blessed not the labor of Paul, or of any other preacher, all were lost labor: if the Lord give not His Spirit with the word, man teaches in vain. In the 16. of the Acts, verse 14. When Paul is preaching, we read not, that any are converted for all his preaching, but only one woman, Lydia, happy Lydia : When Paul preached, it is not said, that Paul opened her heart, but that the Lord opened her heart: Paul delivered the doctrine, but the Lord▪ and not Paul had the Spirit, to give with the preaching: therefore when ye hear, and come to hear, ever cry, Lord, open mine heart, No creature, no Minister, none Angel: yea, all the Angels of Heaven, will not open the heart of a sinner. Crie for that Spirit, that He would open thine heart, that thou mayest feed upon that food of life.

Now consider at what time it is, that the minds of the disciples are opened to understand: It was even when He is exponing the Scriptures, then their minds are opened, and at none other time, to let you see, in despite of the world, that there is none opening of the heart, none illumination of the Spirit, but by this word, by the hearing, and by the reading of this word. Away with these fantasticke revelations of the Anabaptists, away with the Pope, and the crew of His shavelings, who affirm, that the Spirit will be effectual at the preaching of his unwritten verities, at the dreams and fantasies of men, which is not only not found in the Scripture, but also is altogether contrary and repugnant to the Scripture. I pronounce, let them hear, albeit it were a thousand year, the Spirit of Jesus shall abhor that trash and peltrie. Set me up the Pope, to preach these vanities to thee: I denounce, thy mind shall not be opened, that Spirit shall never come to open the minds, neither of them, who preach, nor yet their minds who hear them. Go unto Rome, sit and hear, and lend thine ear to a flattering society of their Clergy, hear them on, thy soul shall the more be blinded, the more thou hearest: the Spirit of Christ, will only accompany His own word. Look what is our nature in the Disciples of CHRIST, knowest thou it not? their minds were blinded, & sound sleeping, while the Lord opened them. They knew not what Moses said, or what the Prophets spake of Christ, while the Lord opened their understanding. Nothing in nature, but evil, nothing but blindness in the mind. Away with the Papist, and his freewill, fie on thee, that thinkest thyself better than thou art: fie on thee, that knowest not thy natural blindness, and deadness, thou wilt come and speak of thy Free-will, and of the light of thy mind: thou wilt say, that thou hast a Free-will to incline to heavenly things: be not deceived with the conceit of this engine, & natural quickness. Indeed in human things, a man will have a great quickness and sharpness, but bring him to the Scriptures of God to Moses, to the Prophets, & Apostles, he is as blind as a Moldewarpe, & as fond as a fool: the greater natural wit and quickness that thou hast, (a sore thing) the greater excecation and foolishness in spiritual things: speak to the natural man of the Scripture, of all the fools in this world, he is the greatest: the more natural wit thou hast, if it be not sanctified, the more foolish shall the Cross of Christ, and His Resurrection to glory▪ seem to thee: for the wisdom of the flesh, is enmity against God. I tell thee, thou must not bring thy natural wit to the Scriptures, Paul tells thee, If thou wouldest be wise in God, thou must be a fool, that thou mayest be wise. Art thou wise in the world, when thou comest to the Church, leave thy wisdom behind thee: art thou a Lawyer, keep it to the Session-house? art thou a Mediciner? Hast thou any great wisdom? leave all behind thee, and come like a silly child that hath no wit, or else, the more thou hearest, the greater shall be thy blindness and induration.

Now come to the conclusion of the Argument, He concludes, That it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day. There is a necessity of Christ's death and Resurrection, and so a necessity, that they should believe them: for to the ende that we may believe in the Gospel: there must be a necessity laid upon us, to wit, that we be assured, that otherwise it could not be, but it behooved Christ to suffer, and rise again, as the Evangel records. Now this necessity we show you before: We may know by the old Testament, Moses, the Prophets, & the Psalms: for this we must lay as an infallible ground, that whatsoever was foretold by them, of necessity it behooved to come to pass: and so we see, that the Olde Testament, serves greatly to strenthen our Faith, for when we see the things that were foretold to be all fulfilled in Him, all matter of occasion of doubting is taken away. The Lord work this Faith in our hearts, for Christ's sake: To whom with the Father, and Holy Spirit, be all praise, honor, and glory, for evermore.

THE XLIII. LECTURE, OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.

I N opening up of the fifth appearance of the Lord after His Resurrection to His Disciples convened in Jerusalem in the night time (well beloved in CHRIST) we have heard how the LORD hath traveled by sundry means to make them to know Him, while as He appeared to them, and stood up in the middes of them suddenly, He spake to them familiarly, and after His own accustomed manner, yet they believe not, nor vnderstandes Him not by His speaking, but thought that He had been a Spirit, or an Angel in the likeness of a man: Then He comes nearer them, and showing out His hands and His feet, and marks of the nails wherewith He was wounded on the Cross: He says to them: See, feel, and touch mine hands and my feet with your hands, see, I am even He, I am not a Spirit, as ye suppose: I am a very body, a Spirit hath no flesh, nor bones, therefore I am no Spirit: yet they believe not for joy, says the Text, but they stood wondering. Then He comes nearer them, and demands, whether if they had any meat amongst them, and they gave Him a piece of roasted fish, and of an honey comb, He eats in their presence, testifying to them by His action of eating, He was no Spirit, a Spirit cannot eat nor drink, yet He leaves them not, but He preaches to them a sweet Sermon, whereof the last day, ye heard, there was two partes. In the first, He propones to them a necessity of all these things that befell unto Him, all behooved to come to pass, He behooved to be crucified, He behooved to rise again the third day. And why? Because it was written: First, in Moses: Secondly, in the Prophets: and lastly, in the Psalms: What ever was written, all behooved to be accomplished, not so much as one syllable of it might perish, because whatsoever was written by Moses, the Prophets, and David, all was ordained and decreed, all was bound in a fast decree from all eternity. This was the first necessity.

Now, this day, Brethren, as God will give the grace, we shall come to the other necessity, which is of the preaching, and then we shall come to the second part of His Sermon, concerning a direction unto His Disciples, to go out to the world, and testify of these things, that they heard and saw of Him. Then to come to the purpose: as it behooved that all these things that were foretold of Christ should come to pass, so there was als great a necessity, that all should be preached: That repentance and remission of sins, should be preached in His name among all Nations. Now to speak somewhat of this necessity of preaching. Men think commonly all this preaching to be for a piece of policy, and for the fashioun: a man to stand up & preach to the rest, they think it a piece of folie, ueening to the Church to be but for the fashion. But I shall tell thee, except there be preaching, no salvation, no life, shall pertain unto thee, except there be preaching, Christ's coming into the world, is in vain for thee, all His suffering is for nothing, His Resurrection shall be of no value to thee, they will do thee no good.

For to speak of the ordinance of God, and of that eternal decree: for as the Lord ordained from all eternity, Christ to come in the world, to suffer, & to rise again: so He ordained preaching to be in His Name. But to leave that, thinkest thou to come to Heauē without faith? No, thou shalt never see it, without faith, thou shalt never see y ^e face of Christ, thinkest y ^• to get Faith without hearing? If thou contemnest hearing, thou shalt never get Faith in Christ, But howe canst thou hear if there be no preaching: thou must hear a voice: So without the sounding of the Gospel, no life. Christ, & His suffering, & His rising is but dead to thee without preaching. That life that flowed from the Resurrection of Christ, is conveyed in the soul by hearing, and without hearing thou shalt lie dead, and die everlastingly. Therefore, Christ, when He came into the world, He was no dumb sufferer, He preached on night and day, Paul says, Ephes. 2.17. When He came, He was the peacemaker, and He preached peace. And to the Romans, Chapter 15. verse 8. He is called a Minister of Circumcision : and CHRIST knowing this necessity of preaching, when He goes His way to Heaven, leaves He the world without preaching? No, Paul to the Ephesians, Chapter 4. verse 11. says, He gave some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be Evangelists, some to be Pastors, some to be Doctors: and all to the end, that they might preach the Gospel of peace to His coming: And Paul says of himself: Woe to me, if I preach not the Gospel, 1. Cor. Chapter 9. verse 16. He left His Spirit behind Him, as ye see, He promises in John Chapter 14. verse 26. But mark, He left His Spirit to be ministered by preaching: thou who contemnest this preaching, I denounce to thee, thou shalt never taste of that Spirit: thou who wilt stand up, and say, I have the Spirit, and then contemnest the Ministry, I say, thou liest, albeit thou werest the Emperor of the world.

Now to go forward: there is a great necessity of preaching: But take heed to this preaching: He describes this preaching by sundry circumstances: First, it must be in some name and in some authority: a man that stands up and preaches to the people: he must preach to the people in some name: an Herald will stand up at the market cross, and make his proclamation, it must be in some name: for if he stand up and proclaim in his own name, he is but a knave, & deserves to be hanged: So, whosoever stands up to preach, look that he preach never a word in his own name. CHRIST says, there must be preaching in my Name : Look that all preaching be in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Now, what is the name of CHRIST? The Name of CHRIST is His power (O that passing power!) His authority: What power? Even that power that He speaks of in the last Chapter of Matthew: All power in Heaven and Earth is Mine.

Then in the second Chapter to the Philippians, and the ninth verse: Wherefore GOD also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name, above every name : He is exalted in a wonderful sublimenesse. O that high sublimenesse! that the Lord hath received: He hath gotten a Name above all names, and a power above all powers, and none shall have such a power: then he sets out this power: All knees must bow at the Name of JESUS : all powers must bow to that power, and all knees must be folded before it: bow thy knee before that power, or else, thou shalt be thrust in Hell: all knees shall be bowed before that Tribunal: that Name will cause all the Devils in Hell, bow, and stoop.

It is written in the 4. Chapter of the Acts: There is none other Name under Heaven able to save men, but the Name of Jesus Christ : thou shalt never see life, but by this power and this Name: Mark it: No life, I will tell again: No salvation to man or woman in the world, but by the Name of Jesus, and His power: and therefore how great shall the power of this His Name, as ye may well see by the word, which sets it out, even the Gospel. The Evangel that speaks of the Name of Jesus, Paul calls it to the Romans, Chapter 1. verse 16. The power of God, unto salvation. Speak of Caesar, and this Kingdom, or that Kingdom: will it be powerful unto life? Will all the speaking of all the creatures in the world be powerful unto life? Speak of the Cross of CHRIST, what seems to be more base, yet it is the power of God, and the wisdom of God unto salvation. So the power must be wonderful, when a word will have such a power, that it will save a soul. The LORD, when He was in the world, He preached in His own Name, and the Jews marked, that He preached with authority, and He says: Amen, Amen, I say unto you, That is in mine own Name: As for all other teachers, all their preaching must be in the Name and authority of Jesus, and not in a creatures name.

When a man hath this LORD in His eye, without regard of himself, when he goes to set out that Name, ye will not believe, how the LORD will be with him, and how He will make his authority to be seen.

But by the contrary, if a man have no sincerity, and have not the authority, and Name of JESUS before him, but seek himself in his preaching, he will have no spirit, no grace, none authority, his language will be unsavory, his preaching will be of little value. Paul, because He preached Christ, and Him crucified, therefore, says He, that his preaching was with euidencie and demonstration of the Spirit: on the other part, because the Corinthian Doctors had themselves, & not Christ before their eyes: therefore he says, that they preached with ostentation, and human eloquence, all their preaching was but wind. The Philosophers of old, spake much of matters of virtue, but because they never spake one word in the Name of Christ: therefore all their speaking was but babbling, neither were they changed themselves, nor yet changed they others, they might teach men to be Hypocrites, and to cover their vices: but they could not be instruments of Regeneration, because they spake not in that powerful Name of Jesus Christ. I put the Papists in this same rank, that will speak in the Popes name: I say, all their doctrine, and their speaking of salvation, is more in the name of man, nor in the Name of Jesus Christ: and therefore it may well work error, and hypocrisy in thee, but no salvation: thou mayest well think that thou hast something, but in effect thou hast nothing.

Then we see of necessity there must be preaching: but whereof must this preaching be: The LORD says, it behooved that preaching be in my Name, Of repentance and remission of sins : There is the sum of the Gospel. Would ye know the effect of all preaching? The whole Gospel is summed up in those two Heades, Repentance, and Remission of sins. It is not my purpose, to insist largely in these pointes, but I shall speak of them shortly. Repentance is none other thing, but a preparation to the soul. Whereto? To receive grace, to receive remission of sins, salvation, and life everlasting. It is but a making straight the ways of the Lord, who is coming with grace and mercy to the soul. This Repentance is wrought partly by the Law, and partly by the Gospel. The Law says: Cursed be he that continueth not in all which is written in the book of the Law, to do them : and because the conscience of all flesh, accuses them as guilty of the transgression of the Law: therefore there arises in the soul, horrors and terrors unspeakable: Then the Gospel comes in to comfort the casten down soul, and it says, Whosoever believes in Jesus, he shall be saved, for this is the sum of the Gospel. When the soul hears this, it conceives an unspeakable sorrow and sadness for the offending of so merciful and loving a Father: and this the Apostle calls a godly sorrow, 2. Cor. Chapter 7. verses 9. and 10. Now it is this godly sorrow properly, which works repentance, and turns the heart to God, that before was far away from Him. The other sorrow that is by the Law, properly is not the cause of repentance, but it prepares the heart thereunto. Therefore, seeing this godly sorrow turns the heart to God, of necessity it must be accompanied with faith: for without Faith there is no conversion to God.

The preaching of John the Baptist, tells us, how necessary the doctrine of the Gospel is to work repentance: for He says, Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand, Matth. Chapter 3. verse 2. The reason, why they should repent, is here taken from the approaching and presence of the Kingdom of God, that is, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now as for remission of sins, it is an applying of the wholesome medicine of repentance, and by order of nature, it follows after Repentance, when the heart is prepared with repentance, then comes in Remission of sins, then comes in that joyful sentence which the Lord makes His Spirit to proclaim to thy soul: O sinner, thy sins are forgiven thee, in the blood of Jesus Christ: for Remission of sins is nothing, but the sentence of the great Judge, saying, O sinner, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Now, this Remission of sins is wrought by that same doctrine that works Repentance, the Gospel that works Repentance, ministeres likewise assurance of the Remission of sins: both are wrought by one mean, for Repentance and Remission of sins, are both wrought together, the one goes not in time before the other, but in that same moment that we begin to repent, we get assurances in our consciences, that our sins are forgiven us, and we hear as it were out of the mouth of God, that joyful sentence of absolution. It is true, that a Minister may pronounce Remission of sins to another, a certain space after he hath repented, Christ says, Whosoeuers sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, John. 20.22. But the Lord, Himself absolues a man in the same very time he repentes: yet by order of nature, repentance is first, and prepares the heart to Remission of sins: Remission of sins follows, & applies grace to the soul prepared with Repentance: Repentance & the preparation unto grace begins with a sadness: thou who never hadst a dolour in thine heart, thou never repentedst. Turning unto God, is with a very heaviness in the soul, and a sadness for sin, not so much for wrath and Hell, as that thou shouldest be so wicked, that thou shouldest have offended so merciful a Father: But the remission of sins, & the applying of grace is with an unspeakable joy: there the sadness of repentance is recompensed: thou who wast not sad first, look not to get that joy: thou who art not heavy, thou shalt never be lighted: no joy for thee: if thou goest on in sin, wantonly and merrily: thou hast gotten the joy that thou shalt get, thou shalt never get joy but the joy of sin. A true Christian is joyful, and sad through Repentance, and joyful through remission of sins, thou shalt weep ere thou laughest, thou shalt lament, ere thou rejoicest: No joy to a faithful soul, but after sadness, and all the joy of a sinner is pressed out of sadness, as the wine out of the berrie. So the heart of a sinner, must be first pressed, contrite and broken, and then joy must be pressed out thereof like juice, and then the greater contrition, and the greater sadness, the greater joy shall follow. So long as thou remainest in this world, all thy joy must be pressed out of sorrow: No, thou must not sorrow for one day, or a year, but as thou art a continual sinner, so there must be a continual sorrow. I give thee a faithful counsel: Be ever sad: away with vain hearted persons, that have no sadness: ever have this dolour, and that is the right way to this joy. I doubt not, but ye that have felt these things, know, them: First, there must be unspeakable sighs, Rom. 8.26. and then unspeakable and glorious joy, 1. Pet. 1.8. And when we come to Heaven, and have laid off this burden of sin, joy shall remain everlastingly with us, sadness shall go away, then our joy shall rise no more out of sadness, but thy joy shall be sincere, no sigh, no tear then, all tears shall be wiped away: Then as thou wouldest rejoice, and find joy, mourn here a while, that all mourning may be taken away: laughest thou now, hast thou never a tear, then thou shalt mourn forever, no laughing for thee, thou shalt be thrust into Hel, where there is nothing but shouting and crying. So, as thou wouldest rejoice sincerely, without any sadness one day, now get joy out of tears. Mark these things: not one syllable of this shall fall to the ground. Well then, we have the necessity of preaching, and in whose name we should preach, and what we should preach: First, Repentance, and then remission of sins: begin with preaching sadly, but end joyfully, with that joyful remission of sins. Now, the third: to whom must this preaching be? must it be to the Jews only: No, it must be more largely extended: To all nations: and what should be preached to all Nations: First, Repentance: Next, remission of sins: if Repentance should be preached to all Nations, then all Nations are sinful: Repentance teached to all, imports, that sin hath power over all the world: that infection hath poisoned all that are come into the world, as Paul says, All have sinned, Jew and Gentile, & all are closed up under sin, none excepted, Rom. 3.23. and 11.32. What more? The preaching of Repentance to all Nations, imports, the great abundance of sin, and the largeness of the dominion of sin. Again the preaching of the Remission of sins to all Nations, imports, that the grace of Christ is extended to all: As sin spread it self over all where, so grace is spread over all where. The righteousness of God by the Faith of Jesus Christ, is unto all, and upon all that believe, Rom. 3.22. Again, the preaching of Remission of sins to all Nations, imports, that the superabundance of grace before Christ came, grace was closed within the bounds of Jury : but after that once CHRIST came and suffered, and rose again, and went unto Heaven, then Heaven was opened, and grace was poured down in such abundance, that Jury could not contain it, but it spread through the whole world. As it spread, so the preaching behooved to be spread, grace goes with the preaching: contemnest thou the preaching, thou shalt not get one drop of it, grace is dispersed by the dispersing of the preaching: take away preaching, no spark of grace: Woe be to them, who restrain the preaching of such abundant grace in this Lande, within so narrow bounds, and all for greediness. Hell shall swallow up these sacrilegious persons, who withhold the goods from the preachers of grace, if they repent not, say, this narrowness of the hearts of men, who hinder preachings, is not so much, a sin done against the poor people that perish in ignorance, as against the grace of God: they will laugh at this now, but one day they shall howl: O that flood of wrath, that shall be heaped on them: this injury is done to grace, it is a restraint of grace, and an impairing to the glory of GOD, that is through grace: woe to thee, woe to thee again, that holds down the grace of God, and pinches it through thy default, thou shalt once curse the time that ever thou didst it: if thou restrainest that grace, that should bring poor souls to Heaven and salvation.

But to go forward: We have heard the necessity of preaching, in whose name we should preach, what we should preach, and last, to whom it should be preached, to all Nations, even, to the Gentiles. O! if we Gentiles should not rejoice, that mercy and grace is preached unto us, who were aliens from the grace of GOD. Now albeit this grace be extended to all, yet there is a difference in order of preaching: for the Lord says, Beginning at Jerusalem: As He would say: this preaching must first be preached at Jerusalem, and begin there: and before grace be offered to the Gentiles, grace first of all must be offered to the Jews. Grace pertains first to the Jews, they were the people of God of old, and therefore they must have their own right: and then when grace is offered to the Jews, grace is extended, and runs abroad over all the earth. Paul says to y ^e Jews: It was necessary, that the word of God should first have been spoken unto you, Acts 13.46. There is the order: yet the Lord loves Jerusalem, & forgets it not: Jerusalem that crucified the Lord, the Lord forgets it not, the Lord will not cast it away, but will send His Apostles to preach there first. O how loath was He to cast away that Nation that He had chosen of old, from among all Nations: a people that He hath once begun with: O how loath will He be to cast away that people: Scotland hath a proof of this, I dare say it: had not been the patience that the Lord bears unto this Land, He had not spared us so long, because of the great contempt and disdaining of the Gospel. But above all the rest, that Nation which the Lord hath chosen from among the rest, to be a peculiar people to Himself, He will offer grace to it first: & therefore the Jews got this honor first, to have grace offered to them. And as grace in this life is offered to the Jew, so shall the Jew, get first glory in Heaven. Paul Rom. 2.10. says: Glory, and honor, and peace shall be to every man that doeth good, to the Jew first, and also to the Grecian. And as the glory shall belong unto the faithful Jew first, so by the contrary, the unfaithful Jew, shall first be dishonored for the Apostle says in the words immediately preceeding: Tribulation and anguish shall be upon the soul of everyone that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and next of the Grecian.

But to ende here: I beseech you to strive unto unfeigned Repentance, and to get an assurance of the remission of thy sins here, if thou wilt be honored in this life by grace, and in the life to come, by glory in Heaven: for neither grace nor glory pertains, unto impennitent sinners who lie like swine in sin, and delight in sin: But only to all penitent sinners, where sin abounds, grace and mercy superaboundes, and that in the blood of Jesus Christ. To whom with the Father, and Holy Spirit, be all honor, and glory, for evermore. AMEN.

THE XLIV. LECTURE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.

A FTER that the Lord (belooued Brethren in Christ) in His fifth appearing after His Resurrection, by sundry evidences hath gone about to persuade His Disciples, that it was He, He utters a sweet Sermon for their instruction, wherein first He instructes and informs them in two necessities: the first is, that all things that befell to Him, as His Passion and Resurrection behooved to befell unto Him: the second is, that as these things befell to Him of necessity, so of necessity these things behooved to be preached in the world. Next, He gives them a direction to go out, and to preach this Gospel to the world. We have heard already of the two necessities: First, that it behooved Him to suffer the death: and to rise again from death, because these things were foretold of Him, in Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms: therefore of necessity they behooved to come to pass. We heard thereafter of the necessity of the preaching of these things. Profane men think preaching is for the fashion, but they deceive themselves, for if there be a necessity, that thou shouldest believe, that thou mayst be saved: there is as great a necessity that there should be preaching of the word: for Faith is by hearing, and without hearing no Faith, no life, no salvation.

In opening up of this necessity of preaching, we marked unto you the particular circumstances, that are set down in the Text: Namely, first, in whose name this preaching behooved to be: to wit, in the Name of JESUS CHRIST: Next, whereof it behooved this preaching to be: to wit, of Repentance, and Remission of sins: (for that is the sum of the Gospel) Thirdly, to whom this behooved to be preached, not to the Jews only, but to all Nations: and last, in what order this doctrine should be preached: first, to the Jews, beginning at Jerusalem, and thereafter to the Gentiles. Now in the Text that we have presently read, the Lord comes to the second part of His Sermon, wherein He gives direction to the Apostles, to be Preachers, and witnesses to the world, of all these things, promising again to them that Spirit, which He had promised to them before His suffering, and that they might have the greater security, He gives them a commandment, not to depart from Jerusalem, until they were endued with power and virtue out of Heaven.

But to come to the words: after that He hath set down the necessity of preaching, He gives them a direction and charge, to be preachers of these things unto the world. Now, says He, ye are witnesses of these things : that is, These things that ye have heard and seen come to pass, according as they were foretold: ye must not keep them close and secret with yourselves, but ye must declare, preach and testify them unto the world.

Now, it is not without great cause that the Lord directs, and sends them out to preach: for look how necessary it is, that the word be preached, as necessary it is, that some be directed, and sent out by the Lord to preach: for, How shall they preach, says Paul, except they be sent, Rom. Chapter 10. verse 15. A man must not run unsent, but before he preach: he must have a commission from God. If we will enter in a particular consideration, & mark all things set down in this Sermon, we will find there is nothing either concerning Christ Himself, His suffering and rising again, or concerning the Gospel of Christ, and preaching of it, or concerning the Ministers & Preachers of the Gospel falls out rashly, or by fortoun & chance, but that all things come to pass by the determinate providence of God, & in a manner of necessity: so that in respect of this providence they could not otherwise have been. We have heard before, that there was a necessity of Christ's death, & resurrection, & that there was a necessity of preaching, now here we see, that there is a necessity of sending of Ministers: to preach the Gospel, for there is no faithful Minister, but he must have his commission of Him: God must make choose of him, & separate him frō the common sort of men, as Paul says of himself, He was called to be an Apostle, & put apart to preach the Gospel of God, Rom. 1.1. So must it be with all faithful Pastors. It is true indeed, some will preach, whō y ^e Lord hath not sent, some will run unsent, & some will preach to get honor, vantage or preferment to themselves, but these are not faithful Pastors, but all faithful Pastors must of necessity be sent of y ^e Lord, & receive their commission frō Him. Now, if this be true, y ^t nothing concerning Christ, or His Gospel, or the Ministers y ^t preach, it falls out without y ^e determinate providence & counsel of God, it is as true, that none hears y ^e Gospel preached without y ^e same providence. The special providence of God, is no less extended to the hearer, than to y ^e Preacher of y ^e Gospel: so that the hearer as well as the Preacher is bound to glorify God in His gracious providence, & in y ^e riches of His grace. Many oftentimes think that it is by conjecture, y ^t men come to y ^e Church, & hears the word preached: but y ^e faithful man that hath felt the power of this word, in quickening His soul, & raising it frō death to life, is assured, y ^t the Lord had a special providence & care in making Him to hear y ^t word at such a time, to his great comfort. But it would be marked, that albeit all y ^e Preachers of the Gospel be sent by God, yet all are not sent after one manner: there is a great difference amongst them, for some are sent immediately of the Lord Himself, without the ministry of men, as were the Prophets of old, and here the Apostles: None of these were sent by men's ministry, but it was only the Lord Himself, who sent them, according to the good pleasure of His will: some are sent mediately by the ministry of men, as are the ordinary Pastors and Ministers, in the Church this day, who albeit they be sent by God, yet the Lord uses the ministry of men in sending of them. Now these men whom the Lord employs in this piece of service, to call and send others, should not be rash, nor lay hands suddenly on any man, but they ought to be very careful, to take good heed unto the Lord's will, and consider, and try narrowly, whether it be the Lord's will, to call such and such persons to the Ministry, that so they may have a good conscience, that they have sought to conform themselves to God's will. When Christ sent His Apostles, He sent them according to the will of GOD the Father, 1 Cor. 1.1. So whomsoever men call and send, they must call and send them according to the will of God the Father and the Son. But ye will say: Howe shall men know these men, whom the Lord thinks meet to be sent? How shall they know, whether it be the Lord's will, to choose such and such men to His Ministry? I answer: The LORD hath set down sufficient marks and tokens in the Scripture, whereby we may know them, whom the Lord would have us to send, He hath stamped them with gifts beyond the common sort of men. If ye would know what these gifts and graces are, wherewith the Lord endues them: read 1. Timoth. 3, &c. & Tit. 1.6. In the which places ye will see, what properties the Spirit of God, requires to be in a faithful Pastor. Indeed, I grant, there are some of the properties rekoned out there, by the Apostle, that are common to other true Christians with the Pastor: As to be temperate, wise, holy, righteous, and such other: but there are some other, that properly belong to a Pastor: As, that he be apt to teach, that he be able to exhort with wholesome doctrine, and convince the gainsayers, that he have skill to guide and rule the Church of God. Let them who have power to call Ministers, take heed unto these properties, that they call not men to this High calling, upon a private affection (which vice and corruption hath been too common in all ages) but that they call them whom the Lord hath stamped with these graces, and pointed out as meet to undertake this charge, that they may have the better conscience in their proceeding. Yet before we leave this, it would be considered who these were whom the Lord sends: were they wise men? were they such, who constantly avouched Him, & professed His Name? Were they such men as deserved much at His hand? Were they such as were meet and sufficient for such a glorious calling? No certainly: For who is sufficient for these things, says the Apostle, 2. Cor. 2, 16. We are not sufficient of our selves, to think anything as of our selves, 2. Cor. 3.5. What manner of men are they then? Even these who before His death and suffering were offended in Him, who were ashamed of Him, and fled away: even these who after His Resurrection were so hard to believe, that He was risen again from the dead: for all the pains that the Lord took upon them, men altogether unmeet, and insufficient for such an high and glorious calling, men, who by nature were fraughted with such stuff, as was directly repugnant to such a worthy calling: and yet for all this, the Lord castes them not off, but sends them to preach salvation to the world. He made them of darkness to be light, to shine to the rest of the world: for says Paul, God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, is He that hath shined in our hearts, 2. Cor 4 6. Our hearts are dark by nature, yet the Lord by shining in them, brings light out of darkness: for as the Lord in the first creation, commanded light to come out of darkness: so daily in the new creation and regeneration: and namely, when He sets a man in His Ministry, He makes light to shine out of darkness. We have a notable example of this, in the Apostle Paul, he had been before, a blasphemer, and a persecutor, an oppressor, yet such was the mercy & favor of God toward Him, that for all this, He not only beautifies him with that common grace, to be a Christian, and to get an assurance of the Remission of his own sins, but also countes him faithful to place him in His Ministry, to preach Repentance and Remission of sins to others.

The world thinks it an easy thing, to make a man a Minister, but if we consider what stuff is in man, and how far his nature is repugnant to that calling, we will think that of all things in the world, it is most hard, and most painful.

It is an hard thing indeed, to bring a man out of nature, and make him a Christian, but it is far harder, to make a man a teacher of Christians, and a disposer of the treasures of grace, and of the secrets of God. Now, when I begin to consider what should have moved the Lord to have chosen such persons, and so unmeet for such an high calling, I think this chiefly hath been it, that when the Apostles went out to preach Repentance, and Remission of sins, to others, and to exhort all persons, howe grievously so ever they had sinned, to come and to seek mercy in Christ, they might propone themselves, as examples of the superabundant mercy of God, and that they in their Ministry might declare, and make manifest the gentleness and long suffering of God towards all men, even the greatest sinners in the world, and that by the proof and experience that they found in their own person, of the mercy of God in calling them, and placing them in that high calling, who before were so miserable wretches: and so upon their own experience, they might the more easily persuade, even the most miserable sinners, to seek for mercy and grace in Christ. When Paul preaches, Where sin abounds, there grace and mercy superaboundes : if he had not found this by experience, and had not stood for example hereof, he would not so easily have persuaded sinners of the exceeding greatness of the mercy of God.

But to go forward: Because this direction that He gives them, and this Ministry He calls them to, was very painful and troublesome, and so they might have taken hardly with it: therefore in the words following, the Lord goes about, to encourage them, to undertake it, and to discharge it cheerfully: the Argument is of great force, Behold, says He, I will send the promise of my Father upon you : that is, I will send unto you the Holy Spirit Himself, & with Him His extraordinary gifts and graces: as the gift of prophecy, of working of miracles, of tongues, and such other, that ye may be the more able to discharge this calling, and to perform the work I send you for, He calls this the promise of His Father, because the Father long before by His Prophets promised at the coming of the Messias, to send His Spirit in great abundance upon them that believe. Ye may read this promise in sundry places of the Olde Testament, but chiefly in the 2. Chapter of the prophecy of Joel, and the 28. verse. In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons, and your daughters shall prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions, and also upon the servants, and upon the maids will I pour my Spirit, &c. And of the accomplishment of this promise, ye may read in the 2. Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Out of this place we may mark first: That the things which the Father promised of old to His Church, the Son in the appointed time accomplished them: the Father promised of old the Spirit, and His graces, the Son in the fullness of time sends the Spirit and His graces, and gives them to His Church: and for this cause the Spirit, and His gifts that is given to every faithful man, is called the measure of the gife of Christ, Ephes. Chapter 4. verse 7. And thereafter in that same Chapter ver. 11. the Apostle says: That Christ, to the end He might fill all things, He gave some to be Apostles, some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers: that is, He gave all sorts of gifts unto His Church, that He might fulfill the promise of His Father: and all these gifts and graces, that we see are now in the Church, from whom came they, but only from the Lord Jesus? This lead • us to an higher ground, that the Son hath received of the Father, all graces, and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, together with the Holy Spirit Himself: the Father hath given all first to the Son, and not to us: for the Father loves the Son, and hath given all things into His hand, John. 3.35. And, In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge, Coloss. Chapter 2. verse 3. Yet there is an higher cause of this, to wit, that the Son only hath merited the Holy Spirit, with the fullness of all His graces. No man ever merited any of them: for who can merit them, but he who first received them. The Lord Jesus received them first: we have none, but as He gives us: He merited and purchased them to us, with no less price, than with the ransom of His own blood.

Now wouldest thou know, how all these graces, that the Lord hath bough • with such a dear price, are communicated to thee, and made thine? I will tell thee: Not by any merit of thine own, for thou couldest merit nothing at the Lord's hands, but Hell and damnation: but it is of the free grace and liberality of the Father and the Son, that they are made thine: it is of this grace, that out of His fullness we receive grace for grace.

When the Apostle, Coloss. Chapter 2. verse 9. hath said: In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily : thereafter he subjoins: And ye are compleete in Him: as if he had said, All this fullness is made yours, of free grace, whilst as by Faith ye take hold of Him.

Consider the wonderful bountifulness and liberality of the Son, to thee, who gives thee these graces freely, that He bought so dearly, and purchased with such a worthy price: Ye know, says the Apostle, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He being rich, for your sakes became poor, that ye through His poverty might be made rich. 2. Cor. 8.9.

Now, ere I go forward, I mark another lesson, that the Spirit of God pointes out clearly, in these words, for our instruction: for when the Lord says, I will send you the promise of my Father upon you, that is, the Holy Spirit, with His graces, He lets us see, that without His Spirit, His presence and assistance, a Minister cannot be able to do anything well in His calling, but that in the discharge of every part of His calling, he must be assisted by the Spirit. The Apostle Paul, when he is telling what good success his preaching had among the Gentiles, he takes not the praise thereof to himself, but he ascribes all to the presence of Christ, by His Spirit: I dare not, says he, speak of anything, which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient in word and deed, Rom. 15.18. It is not with a Minister, as it is with a man in the civil policy: No, there is a great difference: for in the civil policy, a man by his natural gifts, by his wisdom, and quickness of his wit, may do some things without the special assistance of the Spirit of Christ, but in the Church no man can do anything without the presence of the Spirit, the man that hath not the Spirit, and His graces in some measure is altogether unprofitable and unmeet for the Lord's work, for this cause, the Lord makes a special promise of this Spirit, to them whom He places in His service, because their calling and function, in all respects is spiritual. Look to experience, and ye will find the truth of this promise: There is not a faithful Minister, but in some measure he hath the Spirit of God, to be powerful with him in his calling, in such sort, that not himself only, but others also, who see and hear him, will sensibly perceive and take it up. The Apostle Paul, found sensibly the Spirit of God to be powerful with him in his laboring in the Ministry, when he says, It was not I that labored, but the grace of God, which is with me, 1 Cor. Chapter 15. verse 10. And again, when he says, That he labored and strove, according to His working, which worketh in him mightily, Col. Chapter 1. verse 29.

And on the other part, when he says to the Corinthians, Ye see the experience of Christ that speaks in me, which toward you is not weak, but is mighty in you, 2 Cor. Chap. 13. verse 3. he imports, that as he himself found the power of the Spirit within him, so they to whom he preached, found it by His Spirit.

But I insist not to bring in particular places, for if we consider well the Epistles of Paul, we will find many sentences testifying to us, that not only he himself found the power of the Spirit in his Ministry, and the life of Jesus working mightily in him, in the middes of his infirmities: yea, even in death it self 2. Cor. Chapter 4. verse 8. but also that same power was manifest unto them that heard him. Natural men think all is but scorn that is spoken of the Spirit, and of His power in the preaching of the Gospel, they laugh at it, as if there were no such thing: but the faithful man finds, that it is not for naught, that Christ promised His Spirit to them whom He sends, as also that without that Spirit, no grace could have been wrought in their souls.

Now in the last words of this Text, to assure them the more, that they should receive this Holy Spirit that was promised, the Lord commands them, That they go not out of Jerusalem, but that they tarie there, until they be endued with power from on high : that is, Until they have received this Spirit that He promised to send unto them: So in a manner, for their further assurance, He prescribes to them a particular time, within the which they should receive the Holy Ghost. The Lord, commonly, when He makes a promise of anything to His own, He will give them some wa • rand, to confirm and assure them, until He fully perform His promise: for because He knows our weakness and infirmity. He gives us as it were an earnest penny to strengthen our Faith and Hope, until He pay the whole sum to us for such is our weakn • sse, that albeit we have no more, we cannot be able long to depend upon His naked word. It is true indeed, that the Lord sometime, for the trial of the Faith of His own, will charge them to rest upon His bare and naked word only, to believe His promise, He will give no fur • her assurance, as likewise for a season it may be, that they depend upon His bare word: but it is as true, that this cannot continue long: for except as by Faith they depend upon the word: so also they have some feeling and foretasting of the thing promised, and some earnestpennie and security to assure them of the obtaining of the promise, their Faith will fail and decay. So weak are we in Faith, so ready are we to mistrust, that we cannot stand nor continue, except we be underpropped and upholden by some special warrand from God.

Now to end: One thing further may be marked in these words: The Lord discharges the Apostles to go out of Jerusalem, until they have gotten t • is Holy Spirit, that He promised them. The lesson is: A Minister should not covet to go to the world, to preach the Gospel, until the time he be assured that the Holy Spirit accompanies him, and his trauells: for if the Apostles themselves might not go out to preach, until the Spirit were sent unto them, it is a foolish thing for any man, after them to presume to do it. But, alas, it is a thing greatly to be lamented in this age, that there are so few, that wait until they be accompanied with the Holy Spirit in their Ministry, and that so many go rashly to undertake such an high calling.

Many upon a conceit that they have of their natural gifts, their wisdom, their quickness, ingine memory, eloquence, and such other gifts will start up to the pulpet, and preach confidently to the people in the Name of Jesus. But the Lord in His just Judgment, not only withdraws all blessing from their labors, but also heap • s shame and ignominy upon them, and makes it manifest to the world, that He sent them not, but they ran unsent: But thou who wouldest have a good conscience, who wouldest have the Lord to bless thy trauells in His Ministry, presume not too far of thy natural gifts, how great so ever they be, but wait upon the Lord's leisure, until He prevent thee with His Spirit, and endue thee with power from on hie, and in the mean time be crying earnestly for the presence of that Spirit, who when He comes, will open thine heart, and loose thy mouth to speak with boldness, and freedom in the Name of Jesus. To whom with the Father, and that blessed Spirit, be all praise, and honor, for evermore.

THE XLV. LECTURE, OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.

H ITHERTO (beloved Brethren in Christ) we have insisted in the opening up of that Sermon, that the Lord uttered to His Apostles in His fifth appearing after His Resurrection, as it is set down by the Evangelist Luke, wherein, first. He lets them see, that it behooved Him to suffer, and to rise again from the death, because it was so foretold of Him, and that it behooved Repentance & Remission of sins to be preached in His Name, to all Nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Next, He gives them a direction, to go out to the world to be witnesses and preachers of these things, albeit they were altogether unmeet and insufficient, and had deserved no such thing at His hand, because they were ashamed of Him, and fled away at His Passion: yet He honors them with this high calling then to encourage them the more cheerfully to undertake this calling, He promises to send unto them the Holy Spirit, who was before promised to them by the Father, to accompany them, and their trauells. And last, that they might have the greater security, and assurance to receive this Spirit, He gives them a commandment not to depart from Jerusalem, until they find His promise performed unto them, and until they were endued with power from on high.

Thus far we have heard out of Luke of this Sermon: Now in this Text that we have read▪ John follows out chiefly y ^e latter part of the Lord, concerning the sending out of the Apostles, and he insistes therein more largely, and particularly than Luke does, marking especially the things that were omitted by Luke : for he wrote after him: First, in these words we have set down a preface, to prepare their hearts the better to receive the word which He was to speak unto them: thereafter we have the preaching, wherein first, He sends out the Apostles to preach the Gospel: Next, He confirms them partly by giving them the Holy Spirit, partly by arming them with power and authority.

But to come to the words: John says, that before He sent them out, He said again to them, Peace be unto you. Before, at the first meeting with them, this was His salutation, Peace be unto you : Now He repeats these words again. Wherefore is this? It was to prepare their hearts to receive the more reverently and attentively, and with the greater comfort these things that He was to speak to them concerning their charge to preach in His Name to the world. The man that would receive the word of the Lord, especially, the Gospel of peace and consolation, must have His heart prepared with the assurance of peace, for the message of peace and consolation requires: First, that the soul be prepared with peace, to the end, it may receive the word with peace and joy: for except the soul have some persuasion of peace, it can find no comfort: and if we receive the message of peace, with a persuasion of peace, and with a joy in the soul, then the more we hear, the greater shall our comfort be, the more shall we drink in that joy of the Holy Spirit: The messengers of peace should follow this example of the Lord: When they are to preach the Gospel of peace, they should prepare their hearts, that by foretelling that all their message and the word that they are to speak tendes to peace, and likewise they who come to hear, should have their hearts prepared with some sense of peace and joy, but such a joy as follows upon sorrow for sin, and a sense of their own misery, and which ever is accompanied with true Repentance: for there is no true joy of a Christian man in this life, but that which is conjoined with Repentance and sorrow for sin.

Now, when the Lord hath prepared their hearts with this preface of peace, He comes to the Sermon: and first, He gives them a direction to go out to preach the Gospel: As my Father, says he, sent me, so send I you. We have spoken something already of this sending out of the Apostles, in opening up of the Lord's words, as they are set down by Luke : and therefore here I shall be the shorter in speaking of it. Ye see the Lord sets down this sending of the Apostles, by way of comparison with His own sending, I sent you, even as the Father sent me. This comparison imports first, that the Son only was sent immediately by the Father, the Son only hath gotten this honor to be sent immediately by the Father. The Apostle says, Christ took not this honor to Himself, to be High Priest, but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee, gave it Him, Heb. 5.5. And the Father by sending the Son immediately Himself, gave Him all power to send all others: so that all others are sent by the Son, albeit not all after one manner, for some are sent by Him immediately, as the Prophets, & Apostles, some mediately, as the Pastors & the Teachers. Indeed, I grant, The Prophets and Apostles were sent also by the Father, but they were sent mediately by the Father, & immediately by the Son: & therefore Paul uses to call Himself, The Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God the Father : whereby he means, that immediately he was sent by the Son, & mediately by the Father: the Son sent the Prophets, and Apostles immediately: & therefore it is said, when He ascended, up to Heaven, He gave some to be Apostles, and some to be Prophets, Eph. 4.11. Next, this comparison imports, that the office of the Apostleship is not only lawful, but also that it is furnished with authority: for Christ, who sent His Apostles, was first sent by His Father, not only had He a lawful calling, but He had it with authority: even so, all true Pastors & Teachers in the Church, have not only a lawful calling to preach the Gospel, but also authority joined with their calling, because they are sent by the Son, for it was the Son, that gave some to be Pastors & some Teachers, Eph 4.11 for albeit true Pastors in y ^e Church be called by y ^e ministry of mē, yet they are sent by the Son & therefore men have their authority frō Him, for in a manner they represent His person, as the Son represented the person of His Father, & was His ambassador to the world: so they are ambassadors of the Son, and must represent His person. Men in this Lande despise the Ministers of the Gospel, and count most vilely of them, in respect of the baseness of their persons: but they should consider, it is not with men, but with God, & Christ Himself whose ambassadors they are, that they have ado: the obedience, or disobedience, and contempt of the Pastor, redounds directly to the Son: and the Father, and the Son counts it to be done to Himself, and to the Father: for He says: He that hears you, hears me, and he that despises you, despises me, and he that despises me, despises Him that sent me, Luke 10.15. Thirdly, this comparison lets us see, who they are, that have a lawful calling in the Church, not everyone that hath a pretence and show of outward calling, but only they who are called by them, who were sent themselves before. And therefore these only are lawful Pastors, who have been called by the Presbyterie, and fellowship of the Elders, who themselves before, had a lawful calling. The people and flock have no power to call a man to the Ministry, they may indeed nominate, and present a man, and give their consent: but the calling and admission of a man to the function of the Ministry, belongs only to the Eldership and Pastors, who before were called themselves.

But to go forward. When He hath charged them to go out to preach the Gospel, because it was a very weighty and painful charge, therefore He encourages, and strengthenes them the more willingly to undertake it: First, by bestowing upon them the Holy Spirit, and His graces: Next, by arming them with power and authority. To come to the first: it is said, When He had said this, He breathed on them, and said unto them: Receive the Holy Ghost. In giving to them the Holy Spirit, He uses an outward and visible sign, He breathes upon them: for this breathing upon them, was not the sending and giving of the Holy Spirit it self, but it was an outward sign and Sacrament, to represent, to signify and assure them of the giving of the Holy Spirit, the outward breathing upon them, was a sign of the inward breathing of the Holy Spirit upon their souls, and a sign very fit and convenient to express the thing signified for the wind serves very well to represent the Holy Spirit, and is used for that same purpose by the Lord Himself, John. 3 8. Th • wind bl • wes where it listeth, &c. But it would be marked, that the Lord uses not only the bare and naked sign: No, that could have profited them very little, but to the sign He joins words, telling the meaning of it, He says: Receive the Holy Ghost. For the Lord in all Sacraments uses commonly to join the word to the Sacrament: As in Baptism, and the Lord's Supper: to the end, that not only He may declare and open up the meaning of the sign, but also to work, and confirm Faith in men's hearts, that so the Sacrament may be powerful and effectual in them, for the outward sign alone is not able to work Faith in the soul, but it is the word chiefly, that works Faith, the word is the life of the Sacrament: and therefore, except the word be joined with the outward sign, it cannot be a true and effectual Sacrament: Now it is to be considered, that this breathing of the Lord upon His Apostles, was not a thing that He would have to be kept ordinarily in His Church, but it is an extraordinary sign used extraordinarily by the Lord, in the sending out of extraordinary men, the Apostles, to an extraordinary calling, whereby the Lord at that time endued them with extraordinary graces necessary for that great calling. And therefore foolish and damnable is the practice of the Pope, his Cardinals, and his Bishops, which they use in sending out their shavelings into the world: for when they admit them, with their vile and stinking mouths, they breath upon them, and say, Receive the Holy Ghost, filthily abusing this action of the Lord, as if it lay in their hands, with their breathing to give the Holy Spirit: whereas the Lord hath reserved this power to Himself alone, and communicates it not to any man: they are but counterfaiters of such things as the Lord will not have to be counterfeited, for this His action in all pointes was extraordinary: and therefore ought not to be used ordinarily: but I leave them to their own vanity.

A question may be here moved: How agrees this doing of Christ, on His Disciples, and giving them the Holy Ghost, recorded here by John, with the words that we heard before out of the Gospel of Luke▪ where the Lord says: Behold I do send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarie in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high: Which words import, that at this fifth appearing to His Disciples, which is one with this that John records, He gave them not the Holy Ghost▪ but only promised to send H • m to them: I answer: Both these places agree well enough together, for in Luke the Lord promised to send His Spirit with His graces in a full measure upon them, which promise indeed he performed on the day of the Pentecosts, when they being gathered together, there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like fi • e, and sat upon each one of them, and they were all miraculously filled with the Holy Ghost, Act. 2.1. But the Lord here, only gives them the Holy Ghost, and His graces in a small measure▪ to be as it were a beginning of that full accomplishment, which they were to receive in the day of the Pentecoste : for we may not think, that the Holy Spirit, and all His graces were given fully and compleetely to the Apostles at one time: No, but they were given piece and piece, & by degrees: for first, they got the fruits of the Spirit, when the Lord was conversant with them in the flesh▪ in the days of His infirmity: Next, after He rose from the death, they received them in a greater measure, as we may see in this place of John : and last, after the Lord's ascension, He poured down in abundance His Spirit, with all His graces, according as He had promised to them, Luke 24.49. and was long before foretold by Joel, Chap. 2. verse 28. But why would He not give them the Holy Spirit, and His graces in a full measure at the first? Because there behooved to be a certain proportion and correspondence between the Head and the members: the Lord Jesus was their Head, they were members of His body: so long as He was not fully glorified Himself, it was no reason, that they should have received the fullness of grace, but when He was fully glorified, He filled them abundantly with grace, Ephes. 4.10. The Lord now glorified in the Heavens, hath store and abundance of grace to give to His Church, but our hearts are not prepared to receive grace: we offend Him continually with our sins, and grieve His Holy Spirit, for this is the last age of the world, wherein sin abounds, and th • refore, that we are not so skant of grace, the fault is not in the Lord▪ there is no scarcity nor want of grace with Him, but the fault is in our selves, who entertain sin in our hearts, whereby we banish grace out of them, and makes the Spirit, who should be our Comforter, to be a witness against us in that great day of the Lord. Now after that the Lord hath encouraged His Apostles, by giving them His Holy Spirit, and His graces, in the words following, to make them the more willing, He arms them with power, and au • ho • itie, before He send them out, He says: Whosoever si • nes ye remit, th • y are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained : As if He had said to them, I will not send you out powerless, with a fectlesse word in your mouth, but to the end ye may the better discharge your commission, I enarme you with power, I will give you power to bind and loose, to forgive sins, and retain sins. The Lord sends none out to his warfare, till first He furnish them with weapons and armor. But what weapons are they? Even spiritual weapons. Paul says, The weapons of our warfare, are not carnal, but mighty through GOD, to cast down holds, &c. 2. Cor. Chapter 10. verse 4. He hath given them power, to discharge their calling. Ye may read of this power at great length, Matth. Chapter 16. verse 19. When the Lord speaking to Peter, in his person says to all the Apostles: I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven. And Matth. Chapter 18. verse 18. the Lord says to all his Apostles, Whatsoever ye bind on earth, shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever ye loose on earth, shall be loosed in Heaven. So ye see, the Lord gives them this power, before His suffering, and now after His Resurrection, He renews it again. Now, we must not think, that this power was given only to the Apostles, and their Ministry, which was then extraordinary: No, but it is given also to the ordinary Pastors, and their ordinary Ministry, to continue with them to the ende of the world.

Now, Brethren, because this power which the Lord gives to His Ministry, is a matter of great importance, and serves much for our instruction. We shall insist somewhat more largely in speaking of it: First, What are the means, whereby this power is practiced and put in execution. The means are two: the first is, the preaching of the word, the preaching of the Law, and the preaching of the Gospel. The second is, Ecclesiastical discipline, which ought to be conjoined with the preaching of the word, & should follow after it. But wherein is this power placed? Standes it in this, that the Pastor himself should retain or forgive men's sins? Is this the proper effect of the Ministry? No, the Pastor himself hath no power, to forgive or retain sins, because that belongs only to God Himself, and cannot be communicated to any creature. The Pharisees themselves acknowledged this: for when CHRIST said to the sick of the Palsy: Son, thy sins are forgiven thee, they counted Him a blasphemer: for say they: Who can forgive sins, but GOD oly, Marc. Chapter 2. verse 5. &c. And the Lord says himself, Isaiah 43.25. I, even I am He that puts away thine iniquities for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. This is so proper to the Lord, that He will not give this power to any flesh, because it is a part of His glory: and He says, J will not give my glory to another, Isaiah 48.11. And good reason it is, that this power of forgiving and retaining of sins belong only to Him: for all sin, properly is against the Majesty of GOD Himself: for John says, Sin is a transgression of the Law of God: Therefore David, when He had slain Uriah, & had committed adultery with Bathsheba his wife, he says to the Lord: Against thee, against thee only have I sinned, & done evil in thy sight, Psal. 51.4. So this stands sure, that properly it is a thing belonging to GOD only to forgive and retain sins, to bind and to loose: that is, to pronounce the sentence of remitting and retaining of sins. Then wherein stands this power that Christ hath given to His Pastors and Ministry? I answer: It stands in the promulgation and proclaiming in the earth of that sentence that is already past, & given out in y ^e Heavens: for this is manner of y ^e Lord's dealing with men, He will not lift them up to Heaven immediately, & make them to hear y ^e sentence of remitting or retaining of sins pronounced there by Himself: No, but He abases & demits Himself to us, & by His Ministry, He comes down, as it were out of Heaven to us, & by His Ministry He intimates & proclames to us, in the earth that sentence, which already He hath pronounced in the Heavens, and that either to our comfort and consolation, if it be the sentence of remission of sins, or else to our grief and downecasting, if it be the sentence of retaining of sins. And if we despite and contemn this Ministry, wherein God abases and demits Himself unto us, and by the which, as the Apostle says, 2. Cor. 5.20. He prays us to be reconciled unto Him, we can have no warrand, nor assurance of the remission of sins, not of salvation. Then ye see, that this power that the Lord gives to this Ministry, stands in the proclaiming & declaring of that sentence which is already past, and pronounced in the Heavens, and the words that the Lord uses here, if we mark them w • ll, import this same meaning: for He says, Whosoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven speaking in the time bypast, as if He had said, this is a thing already done, the sentence is already pronounced in the Heaven: as for you who are my Ministers, ye only intimate & proclaim in earth that sentence, which is already past in Heaven: & He says on the other part: Whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained, using the time bypast, as if He had said, the sentence of retaining of their sins is already pronounced in Heaven, & ye only intimate & declare on earth y ^e sentence which already is past in Heauē. Now having considered wherein this power consists, we shall let you see, what sort of power it is: This power that the Lord hath given to His Ministry, either extraordinary, as the Apostles had, or ordinary, which the Pastors have, is not a Kingly power, not such a power as is given to Kings & Rulers in the world: No, it is only a ministerial power. Let a man, says Paul, so think of us, as of the Ministers of Christ, 1. Cor. 4.1. And again, He says: We have not dominion over your Faith, but we are helpers of your joy, 2. Cor. 1.24. yet it is a power, & so the Apostle calls it, 2. Cor. 13.10. According to the power which God hath given me, to edification, and not to destruction. And, a glorious Ministry, 2. Cor. 3.9. And as the word of God calls it a power, so also the consciences of men find it to be a power, Therefore, the Apostle says, 2 Cor. 13.3 Ye seek experience of Christ, that speaketh in me▪ which toward you is not weak, but is mighty in you. And if we will compare it with the civil and kingly power, we will find it in this respect to be preferred to the civil power: that whereas the civil power is extended only over the body, the life, and goods temporal, this power of the Ministry, is extended to the soul, to the spiritual graces of the soul, and life everlasting: and therefore it is called by the Apostle, the Ministry of the Spirit, and of righteousness, 2 Cor. 3.8, 9.

Now, to end shortly: There may be a question moved: When the Minister either remittes sins, or reteines sins, upon earth, how shall he be assured, that y ^e Lord hath not remitted or retained them in Heaven: for it becomes the Herald or Messenger, to make intimation of nothing, but of that whereof he hath a special warrand from the Judge: otherwise he cannot have a good conscience in his intimation: then how shall the Pastor know God's sentence pronounced in Heaven, that he may have a good conscience in his proceeding? To this I answer: It is true indeed, the Pastor hath none extraordinary revelation of that sentence, which is past in Heaven, but all the warrand that the Pastor hath, is ordinary, wrought by the Spirit, accompanying His own word, which He left in write unto us, and the Pastor gets this warrand out of the word, by the applying of the general sentences of the word, to particular persons, according as they find their disposition and behavior, and by this means, gets such a sufficient warrand out of the word, as his conscience may rest upon. As for example: to speak first, of the sentence of the Remission of sins: Before the Pastor absolve a man, and remit his sins, he looks first to the general sentences set down in the word, that may be his warrand, as namely, that sentence which the LORD Himself utters, John. 3.13. Whosoever believes in the Son of God, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Now, to Faith in Christ, join Repentance, for the Gospel joins Repentance and Remission of sins together, Luke 24.47. and says, Whosoever believes and repents▪ shall be safe. To this general proposition, the Pastor will assume particularly: This sinner repents and believes, whereupon he concludes, (declaring the sentence that is already past of Him in the Heaven:) therefore this sinner hath his sins forgiven him, and he shall be saved. Again, before the Pastor bind a man, and retain his sins, he looks to this general sentence of the word, He that believes not, and repents not, is already condemned, John. 3.18. Then he assumes particularly: But this sinner believes not, neither repents: whereupon he concludes, the declaration of the sentence which is already past in Heaven. Therefore this sinner is condemned, and is bound in Heaven. The Lord work in our hearts true repentance, and Faith in the Lord Jesus, that not only we may hear the voice of the Pastor, absolving us, but likewise our own consciences may assure us of the Remission of our sins, through the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. To whom with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all praise, and honor, for evermore.

THE XLVI. LECTURE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.

W EE have heard hitherto (Welbeloued in Christ) of five sundry appearings of our Lord, after His Resurrection: The first was, to Marie Magdalene: The second was, to other women: The third was, to two Disciples, as they were going from Jerusalem, to Emmaus: The fourth was, to Simon Peter : The fifth was, to the eleven, assembled together in one place: In this fifth appearance, the Lord hath a Sermon to His Disciples, wherein first, He lets them see the necessity that He should suffer, and rise again, and that these things behooved to be preached to the world, and thereafter gives them a direction to go out to preach Repentance and Remission of sins to the world, in His Name: and to the end He may encourage them the more willingly, to undertake this charge▪ He promises to give them the Holy Spirit, with His graces, y ^t was promised before, & for their further assurance He enters them presently in some measure in possession of the Spirit: for John says, He breathed upon them, and said unto them▪ Receive the Holy Ghost, and then He enarmes them with authority and power to forgive and retain sins. And He says, Whoso • uer sin • es ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, th • y are retained. Now in the words that we have presently read out of the Gospel of John, we have set down a particular H • story concerning Thomas and his incredulity: this Thomas is he who is also called Didymus : we read of him, first that he was called and received to be one of the twelve Apostles, Matth. 10 3. Next, we • ead, that he was offended, that the Lord purposed to return again to Judea, being request • d by Martha and Marie, to come to Laz • rus their brother, and that he burst out in words full of anger, a • d i • d • gnation, saying, Let us go also, that we may die with Lazarus, John 11.16. And last, we have in this place set down the History, not only of his great incredulity, but also of his stubburnesse and willfulness therein: for neither did he believe, neither had he a will or purpose to believe. Of this doing of Thomas we may learn, that by nature there was no difference between y ^e Apostles of the Lord Jesus, & other men, albeit moste vile & most unworthy: but grace made the difference they were as incredulous, as stubborn, as hard hearted as any other by nature, while it pleased God of His mercy, to open their he • rtes, to make them to b • leeue: And therefore, the Lord Jesus, when He calls them to be Apostles, and ordains them to preach the exceeding g • eatnesse of His mercy to others, He makes them to stand for e • samples of that same mercy that they preach to others, that they might y ^e more easily persuade others, & make them to come to seek mercy in Jesus. This was the ende why the Apostle Paul says. The Lord shown mercy on him who was a m • serable wreth, and had called him to be an Apost. Jesus Christ, says he sh • wed on me all long suffe • ing, unto the ensample of them which shall in time to come, believe in Him unto eternal life, 1 Tim. 1.16. Thus much concerning the person of Thomas, we come next, to the History of his incredulity, & first, to the occasion of it: the rest of y ^e Apostles & Disciples who were assembled together in one, to whom the Lord Jesus had manifested Himself, declares & preaches to Thomas y ^e Resurrectiō of Christ, y ^e cause of their preaching thereof to him was, because Thomas was absent, when the Lord appeared to the rest. What was the cause of his absence it is uncertain, neither will we curiously inquire, what it was. It may be, that after Christ His Master was apprehended, he kept himself close, & lurked secretly for fear of danger through the malice of the Jews, and durst not manifest himself so soon, as the rest: or it may be, that he was entangled with his own private affairs, at that time when the rest met together, and were speaking of Christ, & His Resurrectiō from the dead. Always, what ever hath been the cause of his absence, we may perceive, that he was deprived of that grace and presence of the LORD, which the rest who were met together, found: Whereof we learn this lesson: That whosoever do absent themselves from the assembly of the LORD'S Saints, from these holy meetings, whereinto the LORD hath promised His own blessed presence, they procure no small skaith and damage to themselves, they deprive themselves of some grace and comfort that the LORD ministers to them that meet together. What ever be the cause of thine absence, it cannot be but hurtful to thee, albeit all causes of absence be not alike hurtful: for if thou be absent by negligence, the less is thy danger and loss but if willfully, and upon contempt thou absentest thyself▪ then not only depriuest thou thy s • lfe of grace and comfort, but also thou procurest the wrath of GOD upon thee, for the contempt of His blessed ordinance. Therefore if we would be partakers of the grace and blessing that the LORD hath promised to these holy assemblies, we should postpone our private adoes and the cares of the world, unto these Holy exercises, and we should embrace that counsel of our Savior▪ Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and His righteousness, and all other things shall be ministered unto you, Matth. Chapter 6. verse 33. The man that makes this his first and his chief care, to seek the Kingdom of God, when he hath gotten it, he will find by experience, that there is nothing necessary for the sustaining of this present life, that shall be inlaking to him. It is a foolish thing to be too careful for these worldly things: for if thou seekest first the Kingdom of Heaven, all these things will be caste • to thee.

Now to come to the preaching of the rest of the Disciples to Thomas it is said, The other Disciples said unto him, We have seen the Lord : They preach to Thomas, the Lord's Resurrection: for the benefit they had received themselves in Thomas absence, they willingly communicate to him, they knew and they saw, that the Lord was risen, they tell this to Thomas : as they believed, so they wished and desired, that he should believe also. This Example of the Apostles we ought all to follow: When the Lord communicates any spiritual benefit to us, we should not keep it close to our selves, but we should be careful to communicate it to the well of others. And thus doing we need not to fear that the grace shall be impaired and grow less: No, by the contrary, this communicating of the grace, and using of the talent, that the LORD hath given us, is the hie, and ready way, to augment the grace, and to reap profit of the talent, that we have received. Albeit thou hast taken great pains, and spent much time with the loss of some worldly goods to attain to grace: yet that should not make thee the more sparing, in communicating it to others: It is the Lord's will, that thou give it to others freely, cheerfully and liberally. Therefore try and examine, whether thou wilt be willing and careful to communicate to others the grace that God hath given thee: and if thou findest this, then thou hast a good conscience: and if thou findest it not, thou hast no matter of rejoicing, because thou doest not that which the LORD requires at thine hands.

When the Disciples have informed Thomas, of the Lord's Resurrection, look howe Thomas takes with it: What is his part? In a word, he believes not their report. His incredulity was very wonderful: for albeit he was compassed with such a cloud of witnesses, of faithful witnesses, of eye-seeing witnesses, yet he believes not. Apparantly, everyone of them who had seen the LORD, course by course, had told him of the LORDES Resurrection: and first, Marie Magdalene, who got this honor first, to see the LORD after His Resurrection, hath witnessed to Thomas, that she saw the LORD, and spake with Him: Next, the other women, who did meet with Him, as they were returning frō the grave, testifies the same: Thirdly, the two disciples who were going from Jerusalem to Emmaus, informed him, that they did meet with Him in the way, & of the conference they had with Him: Fourthly, Peter, to whō also y ^e Lord had appeared, strove to persuade him: and last, the whole number of the Apostles, and the faithful there assembled, testified with one voice, that they had seen Him, and spoken with Him: yet Thomas is nothing moved with all these speeches, their witnessing, makes not him to believe, he remains still in incredulity. This example of Thomas, tells us, that all the outward means that can be used, all the testimonies of the world, the testimonies of the most faithful, most godly, most wise, of the eye-witnesses, will not move the heart of a man to believe, will not persuade him of any point of doctrine necessary to Salvation, if there be no more. What then will make a man to believe? Nothing but the Spirit of JESUS CHRIST: it must be He, that must witness unto our hearts, what is the will of GOD, concerning us: it must be He, that must take away the vale, and illuminate our dark souls: it must be He, that must open our hearts, as He opened the heart of Lydia, and make us to believe. If this Holy Spirit of CHRIST, be not present, a man will not believe his own eyes, his own senses will not persuade him. We saw the truth of this before, in the rest of the Disciples, when the LORD stood in the middes of them, when they saw Him with their eyes, when they heard Him speak face to face, they believed not: While, as Luke says, the LORD opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, Luke Chapter 24. verse 45.

This doctrine would be well marked, because it serves to decide a controversy, that this day is betwixt us and the Papists: The controversy and question, which is betwixt us and them, concerning the chief and principal witness and judge: First, of authentic Scripture: Next, of true interpretation of particular places of Scripture: that is, How shall a man know, that this Scripture that we have, and we read, and use daily, is the very word of GOD, and not the word of any creature: And again, Howe shall a man know, what is the true meaning of any particular place of Scripture, and whether this or that sense of the word, is to be received. The Papists affirm, that the chief and principal witness & judge both of the one or the other, is the Church: they say, y ^t we could not be assured, that y ^e Scripture is authentic, & y ^t it is y ^e very word of God, except y ^e church affirm it so to be, & likewise they say, y ^t we cannot be assured of y ^e right meaning of any place of y ^e Scripture, except it be by y ^e testimony of y ^e same Church: they teach, that we ought to believe, that the Scripture is the word of God, and that this or that is the true interpretation thereof, because the Church says so, & so they make the testimony of the Church, to be the chief, and almost the only Argument, that should move men, to believe, that the Scripture is authentic, and the word of God, and that this or that is the true and proper interpretation of any place of Scripture: for these are their common speeches, The Church is above the Scripture, the Church is of greater authority than the Scripture: without the authority of y ^e Church, no man is obliged to believe, that y ^e Scripture is th • word of God: the Church is y ^e supreme Judge of y ^e right interpretation of the Scripture, & many such others. But by the contrary: We affirm, that the chief and principal Judge, and witness, both of the Scripture, that is, the word of God, and also of the true interpretation of the Scripture, is the Holy Spirit, because He only is able to persuade men's hearts, He only is able so to testify, that: He can move them to believe, He only is able to open the understanding of men, to make them to understand and take up the right meaning of the Scripture. Then will the Papist object, Ye make the Spirit that is given to a private man, to be the Judge, and witness of the authentic Scripture, and the interpretation thereof, and it is an absurd thing, to prefer the Spirit, speaking by the authority of any private man, to the authority of the Church: I answer, It follows not, that we make the Spirit of a private man, to be Judge either of the one, or of the other, because we affirm that the Spirit, who is Judge speaks in the Scripture, and by the Scripture: and by the Scripture, as by the moste powerful and effectual mean, moves men to believe: and therefore, that this Spirit, who is Judge, is not the Spirit of a private man, but the Spirit of the Scripture it self: for this Spirit by the Scripture, teaches us, that the Scripture is au • henticke, and that it is the word of God: and again, this same Spirit by the Scripture, teaches us, that this or that is the proper meaning of the Scripture, for the principal voice of the Holy Spirit, whereby He speaks to us, is the Scripture, which this day is to us instead of the vine voice of God Himself, and ought to be esteemed, and embraced of us, as if God Himself spake to us out of Heaven. As for the voice of the Church (when I speak of the Church, I mean not the Roman Church: for she is but an adulterous Church, and falsely clames to her self, the name of a Church, but I speak of the true Church militant) it is not the chief mean, whereby the Holy Spirit uses to persuade men, but it is an inferior mean, & of less importance than the Scripture, neither hath it that force, to make men to believe, that the Scripture hath. But to leave this, and to return to the incredulity of Thomas: not only, he believes not, but he utters great stubburnesse in refusing to believe, not only was he incredulous, but also malicious, neither did he believe, neither was he willing to believe: for he says, Except I see in His hands, the print of the nails, and put my finger in the print of the nails, and put mine hand into His side, I will not believe it : he would not believe, except he saw Him, except he saw His hands, and His feet, except he saw the print of the nails, where with His hands and His feet were pierced, and except he had put his hand in the wound of His side, which one of the soldiers had pierced with a spear. We may here see his stubburnesse and obstinacy, that was joined with his incredulity: incredulity is commonly accompanied with obstinacy, and stubburnesse, in such sort, that when the way is laid before us, and the door opened, whereby w • e may escape out of this bondage of sin, and thralldom of darkness, wherein we are kept captives, yet we refuse to go out of that bondage, and rather strives more and more to thrall our selves to sin, and to hold our selves in the bands of darkness. This contumacy and stubburnesse in sin, is that poison, and that gall of bitterness, that Satan hath spewed into the hearts of all the children of Adam, and this is that band of iniquity, whereby, as by a strong chain we are led bo • nd, as miserable catiues, unto eternal condemnation, except we be relieved from it, by the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Peter perceiving the impiety and devilish practices of Simon Magus▪ he takes up this to be the ground and fountain of all, when he says, I see, that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bands of iniquity. The Lord save us, and free us from this miserable bondage, wherein we are by nature, yet if we consider more narrowly the words of Thomas, we shall find, that not only was he incredulous, not only was he stubborn, but also proud and arrogant, and contemned and despised all the rest, in respect of himself, esteeming himself only to be wise, and the rest to be fools, scorning their witnessing, and report, as a fable, not worthy of credit, and a vain dream. An incredulous man, that believeth not the truth, is not only stubborn and obstinate in his incredulity, but also he swelles in pride, and seems in his own conceit to be only wise, contemning others as fools: he will count the preaching of the Cross of Christ, and of His Resurrection, to be but plain folly: he will count them that believe the doctrine of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, to be fantasticke, and doated fools: and yet in very deed, of all the fools of the world, they themselves are the greatest, although they be counted wonders in the world, for their natural wisdom.

Therefore the Apostle says, in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the third Chapter, and the eighteenth verse: If any man amongst you seem to be wise in this world, let him be a fool, that he may be wise : he says not: if any man among you be wise (for he that hath not the wisdom of God, and is not wise in Christ, he hath no wisdom, he is but a very fool) but he says, If any man seem to be wise, in this world, let him be a fool, that he may be wise : that is, let him renounce, and forsake all carnal and worldly wisdom, which is enmity against God, Rom. Chapter 8. verse 7. and can no more stand with the wisdom of GOD, than darkness with light, yet it would be marked, that Thomas says not simply and absolutely, that in no c • ce he would believe, that Christ was risen again, but he says, Except I see in His hands the print of the nails, &c. The words are conditional, importing, that in some cace, and upon some conditions he would believe. There are two sortes of contumacy and stubburnesse in sin and unbelief: the one is conditional, and such was the unbelief of Thomas : the other sort is absolute, without any condition, when in no case, upon no cause nor warrand will believe: and of this sort was the sin and unbelief of the Priests and the Pharisees: for when the soldiers that were appointed to keep and guard the sepulcher came in to the town, and told them, that JESUS CHRIST was risen out of the grave: not only did they not believe, but also they strove to keep themselves in such unbelief and hardness of heart, that in no cace nor condition, they would suffer themselves to be reformed, & so they detained the word of GOD, into unrighteousness. There is a great difference between these two sortes of unbelief: The first sort may obtain mercy, Thomas obtained mercy, the LORD pardoned his unbelief: The other sort, very hardly can obtain mercy, the Priests and the Pharisees found no mercy, their unbelief was laid to their charge, the LORD forgave them not, but as they remained in unbelief, so they perished in their infidelity. The LORD save us from this cursed sin of unbelief and infidelity, and namely, from this absolute unbelief, that in no cace will suffer reformation: for through process of time, it brings on this sin against y ^e Holy Ghost, which never will be forgiven neither in this world, nor in y ^e world to come. Now last, ere I leave these words of Thomas, we may see, what is y ^e ground & fountain of this unbelief, obstinacy and pride of Thomas : the ground of all was, he leaned too much to his gross & bodily senses, to his seeing, feeling & handling, he makes his eyes & his hand to be y ^e ground of his faith. Thomas, indeed, failed not in this, that he desired to see y ^e Lord with his eyes, & to handle him with his hands: for ye heard before, how y ^e Lord, by y ^e sight of the eyes, & y ^e feeling of Him with their hands, persuaded y ^e Apostles of the certainty of His Resurrectiō, Luke 24.39. & likewise we see, that y ^e Lord having regard to y ^e infirmity of His own, pitying the weakness of their faith, daily in y ^e Sacrament teaches them by y ^e outward senses, as by the seeing & tasting & handling of y ^e Elements. But herein Thomas sailed, that he addicted & tied himself so to his senses, to his sight, & to his handling, that he affirmed & professed plainly, except he saw him with his eyes, & handled him with his hands, he would never believe, that y ^e Lord was risen again from the death, notwithstanding of the witnessing of so many, so godly, & so faithful persons, who everyone after another, testified of the Lord's Resurrection. Then mark it, B • ethren: It is not unlawful for a man, to desire to see the Lord, even with his bodily eyes: No, that desire is lawful and acceptable to God: for all the Saints that ever have been since the beginning of the world, desired to see our LORD face to face: Manie Kings and Prophets have desired to see Him, and yet saw Him not, Luke Chapter 10. verses 23.24. Abraham, the father of the faithful desi • ed to see Him: and old Simeon, who got a revelation, that he should not depart, while he saw the LORD, earnestly waited and thirsted for to see Him, Luke 2 25. So that it is a lawful and acceptable thing, to desire to see the Lord.

But in desiring to see Him, we must beware, that our faith be not so tied to the outward senses, that we refuse altogether, to believe, except we see the Lord with our eyes, and handle Him with our hands: No, I say more, thou must be so far from tying thy Faith to the outward senses, that thou must not tie it to the very inward feeling of the soul: thou must not say, except I ay feel, I will no wise believe: for albeit, that at all times thou have not a feeling, & findest not grace into thy soul, albeit thou findest not the Holy Spirit, who is the earnest penny of thy salvation, to be presently working within thee, and sealing up thine adoption: yet, thou art obliged to rely and depend upon the bare word, and naked promise of God, and so to seal in thy soul, that the Lord is true: for he hath made a very small progress in Faith, that will not trust in GOD, and depend upon His naked word, except ay he have some feeling of grace, of joy, of comfort, and of the Holy Ghost. The Saints of God many times, when they had no feeling, depended upon the word of promise, and waited upon the accomplishment of it. Job, when he felt not the Lord's favor, but conceived that the Lord was angry with him, he says▪ Although thou slayest me, yet will I trust in thee, Job 13.15. And Abraham, when he saw none appearance, that the Lord's promise concerning his seed could be performed: yet it is said of him, That above Hope, he believed under Hope, Rom. 4.18 Likewise, David, when he was in great danger of his enemies, and saw little appearance of delivery, still trusted in God, and depended upon His promise: for he says, I will rejoice in God, because of His word, I trust in God, and will not fear what flesh can do unto me, Psal. 56.4. It may be, that the Lord exercise thee with the conscience of sin, and with the terrors of His wrath, in such sort, that thou findest no sense of grace, nor of His favor: yet in this case, despare not, but by the example of the Saints, learn to depend upon the word and promise of God, till thou findest the performance of it, to the comfort of thy soul.

Now to go forward, and to end shortly: After that the Evangelist hath set down after this manner, as ye have heard, the history of the incredulity of Thomas ▪ he comes to another appearing of the Lord, after His Resurrection, which is the sixth in number: for of five we have heard already, and this appearing, seems chiefly to be for Thomas cause. The time of this appearing is noted: It was eight days after : that is, from that day, in the which Thomas had plainly professed, that he would never believe, that the Lord was risen, except that both he saw Him, and felt Him, and His wounds: and it was the eight day likewise after the Lord's Resurrection: for the former five appearings of the Lord, whereof we have already spoken, were all upon the first day, in the which the Lord rose from the dead. So, ye see, that Thomas (the space of whole eight days interueening) remained in incredulity & unbelief. This example of Thomas, lets us see, what is the disposition of the soul of a man, after he hath committed a sin against the Majesty of God, after he hath once sinned, he is wrapped up in a senseless security, he sleeps sound in his sin, there is a vale casten over the eyes of his soul, that he cannot see sin in its own color, he cannot consider the way wherein he is walking, nor the judgment which he is drawing on his own head. Whereupon it falls out, that he proceeds from sin to sin, and either he falls over again in that same sin, which before he hath committed, or in some other sin. We have a proof of this, in the person of Peter: for after that once he had denied his Master, he slept in a senseless security, he made little account of the great sin he had committed: whereupon it came to pass, that soon after he falls over again in the same sin of denying of the Lord: and alitle after being demanded, he denies Him the third time, and if he had been oftener demanded, no doubt, but he would have denied Him oftener, if the Lord had not looked upon him favorably. The like also we see in David, albeit otherwise a man after God's own heart, after that he had committed that foul adultery, with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, he is twitched with a grief or remorse, but lies still sleeping securely in sin, and so from adultery with Bathsheba, he falls in abhominable murder of Uriah, her husband, and after this, he continued for a long season, as it were benumbed, and without a sense of his sin, or fear of judgment: and as all sortes of sin leave some senslessenesse and induration in the heart, so chiefly, stubburnesse and contumacy, in not believing the known truth of God, brings greatest senselessenesse and induration. An example of this: Paul lets us see in the Gentiles, who followed not that light, that the Lord had left in nature, and which the Lord show to them in the works of His creation, that they might glorify God, but repined against it: and therefore says the Apostle, As they regarded not to acknowledge God, even so God delivered them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which were not convenient, Rom. 1.28. Because they would not glorify God, as became them to do, there was such a dimness in their eyes, such senslessenesse and blindness overtook them, that they regarded not to do the things that were most unnatural▪ They past all feeling, and gave themselves over unto wantonness, to work all uncleanness even with greediness, Eph. 4.19. And they had their consciences burned as it were, with an hot iron, 1. Timoth. 4.2. It is a dangerous thing, once to fall in sin: for if the Lord leave thee to thyself, thou shalt never stay, while thou r • nne headlong to destruction. Therefore pray continually, that the Lord would look favorably upon thee, and that He would lay hold on thee, that thou fall not away from Him: and if thou have fallen, that He would put out His hand, and draw thee to Him again, that thou mayest return, and be saved.

Thus for the time of the sixth appearing of the Lord: now He appears after y ^e same manner, that He had appeared to the Disciples before: For the Disciples being within, and Thomas with them, Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the middes. Of this manner of appearing, we have spoken at length before: & therefore we will speak no more of it: When He is come in among them, He uses that same form of salutation, which He used before: for He said, Peace be unto you. We pass by this salutation also, because we have spoken of it already: No question, it was a very effectual & powerful salutation: because He that wished peace unto them, was the author of peace. Only one thing I shall mark, and so I shall ende: I see, there is nothing that is able to waken the soul of a sinner, that is lying sleeping in sin, and wrapped up in a sensl • sse security, but only the gracious presence of the Lord Jesus. What was it that wakened Peter, when he had thrice denied his Master? It is said, The Lord turned back, and looked upon Peter, whereupon, immediately his heart smote him, and he went out, and wept bitterly, Luke 22.61▪ 62. How was David wakened, when he had long lien in his sin, without any remorse? How, but by the favor of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who pitied Him, and sent His Prophet Nathan unto him,: for this ye must understand, that all the Prophets, which spake of old to the Fathers, were sent immediately by Jesus Christ, and spake by His Spirit, 1. Pet. 1.11. and 3.19. And what was it that wakened Thomas out of his security? What moved him that was so obstinate in his incredulity to believe? What, but the gracious presence of Christ? for except that mercy of God in Jesus Christ, waken us out of security, all the Judgments of God, that ever He hath poured out upon any from the beginning, will not move us, the most fearful and terrible examples of His wrath vpō others, will not waken us. Judas lets us see the proof of this in his Epistle, when he tells that they who turned the grace of God into wantonness, were not moved to abstain from sin, by the example of that fearful and terrible Judgment of God, which overtook Sodom and Gomorrhe, and the cities about them, but that they likewise, notwithstanding of these great Judgments, continued in the like sins, and defiled the flesh, Jude 7, 8. Then, seeing, we are naturally sleeping in sin, and none outward thing in the world, no judgment, neither temporal nor spiritual seizing on us, in never so high a measure, can be able to waken us. Let us pray earnestly, that the LORD would prevent us with His own gracious presence, that we sleep not, while death oppress us. The Lord make everyone of us, to find this presence of the LORD Jesus. To whom with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all praise, and honor, for evermore. AMEN.

THE XLVII. LECTURE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.

A FTER that we had spoken at length (Well beloved in Christ) of the first five appearings of the Lord after His Resurrection: we began the last day, to speak of this sixth appearing, the occasion whereof was premitted by y ^e Evangelist John, to wit, the absence of Thomas from the rest of the Apostles, when the Lord appeared unto them, and his great incredulity when they told him, for notwithstanding that many faithful witnesses testified unto him, that the Lord was risen, and had appeared unto them, that they saw Him with their eyes, heard Him with their ears, and handled Him with their hands: yet such was the incredulity of Thomas, that he professed plainly, that in no cace he would believe, except he saw in His hands the print of the nails, and put his finger in the print of the nails, and put his hand into His side. To remedy this incredulity of Thomas, the Lord appears now the sixth time, eight days after His former appearings, when His disciples were met together, and Thomas with them, Jesus came the doors being shut, and stood in the middes of them, and saluted them after the accustomed manner, saying unto them, Peace be unto you.

Now in these words which we have presently read, we have the Lord's conference with Thomas, first: Next, in the last words of the Chapter, the Evangelist meets men's curiosity, affirming, albeit all things that Jesus did, were not written in this Gospel, yet it was not imperfect: because all things were written that were necessary to life and salvation. In the conference that the Lord hath with Thomas, He meets him not roughly, and rigorously, as his incredulity had justly deserved, but with lenity and meekness, He endevoreth to make him to believe, by granting him his desire. Thomas had plainly professed, that except he saw the print of the nails, and put his hand into His side, he would not believe: therefore the Lord says, now, Thomas, Put thy finger here, and see Mine hands, and put forth thine hand, and put it in My side, and be no more faithless, but faithful. See the gentleness of the LORD, and howe lovingly He speaks to him: Thomas was not only incredulous, but also he was stubborn, obstinate, proud and arrogant, he counted others fools, that believed, he professed, that in no cace he would believe, without seeing and feeling of the LORDES wounds.

Now the LORD grantes this to Thomas which he desired, albeit he was unworthy of it: yea, the LORD invites him, and lovingly bids him put his hand in the print of the nails, and in His side: for the LORD speaks not this in bitterness and tauntingly to Thomas : for the words that He subjoins, Be not faithless, but faithful, testify, that He spake of love, and in lenity to Thomas, to make him to believe.

It is true, indeed, the words contain a sort of reproof and rebuking of Thomas for his incredulity, but this reproof is so tempered, and seasoned with such lenity, and meekness, that scarc • lie can it be perceived and taken up. This dealing of the LORD with Thomas, lets us see, how great is the mercy, gentleness and long suffering of the LORD JESUS towards sinners, whose sins deserve nothing but wrath & judgment: such is His mercy and meekness towards sinners, that to the end He might please us: Paul says, Rom. 15.3. He would not please Himself : He suffered shame & ignominy for us, He suff • red dolour & pains for us, He died for us, and after He rose, He spared no travel to make the Apostles bel • eve: sundry times did He appear to them, & now He appears for Thomas cause, albeit he had run very far in the course of infidelity, & stubburnesse, yet He strives by granting him his desi • e, to persuade him, and make him to believe. The Lord's gentleness and long suffering is very great towards all men▪ even the very reprobate themselves, who refuse the riches of His bountifulness, and patience, and long suffering▪ not knowing that the bount fullness of GOD, leadeth them to repentance▪ Rom Ch • pter 2 verse 4. For as Paul says, He suffereth with long patience, the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, Rom. Chapter 9. verse 22.

But it is greater towards his own, in whom He sees some sponke of grace to be: for albeit He find it to be very small, and heavily oppressed, and smothered down by the corruption of our flesh, and of our cankered nature, yet He endeuoures to cherish and entertain it: for He breaks not the bruised reed, my quench the smooking flax, Isaiah 42.3. Matth. 12.20 But, Brethren, it serves for no purpose, to speak of this gentleness and bountifulness of the Lord, except we have a sense and feeling of it in our own souls, and except we taste how sweet and bountiful the Lord is: for no words can express it, no words can persuade a man of it, except he find the proof and sense of it in his own soul. The Lord work a feeling of it in everyone of our hearts, that we may speak of it with the greater assurance & persuasion. But there may be a question moved here: The desire of Thomas seems to be unlawful and unreasonable, why then should the Lord have granted it to him? How stands this with His Justice? How agrees this with that unchangeable Nature of GOD in Christ? To this I answer: That Thomas failed not in this, that he desired to see the Lord: for that is the desire of all the Saints, but in this he failed, as we heard before, that he tied his faith so precisely to his outward senses, to seeing, and handling, that he professed that no wise he would believe, except he saw the Lord, and felt Him: yet no question, he had in the mean time some spiritual desire to see the Lord, and he had a true and sincere love towards the Lord. This loving dealing of the Lord with Thomas teaches us this comfortable lesson: The Lord marks not narrowly the infirmities and wants that are in His own, He looks not narrowly to the weakness of their Faith, to the imperfections & wants of their prayers and requests (for their prayers are full of wants and imperfections) but He passes by their imperfections, He ouersees their infirmities, and misknowes the corruption wherein their Faith, their prayers and desires are inuol • ed and ouercled, and He hath a regard to their Faith, albeit they have it in never so small a measure: for the Lord knows the meaning of His own Spirit, even then when He is wrestling into us against an inumerable number of our infirmities, sins and corruptions. Happy is that soul that hath a sponke of true Faith: for the Lord will regard it, and oversee many infirmities and imperfections in him.

Thus far of the Lord's speech to Thomas : Now follows the answer of Thomas unto the Lord: Thomas meets Him with a notable confession: Thou art my Lord, and my God. The Text makes no particular mention, whether or not Thomas put his finger in the print of His wounds, and his hand in His side, when the Lord bade him. If so he did, and would none otherwise believe, then surely he hath been very hard of heart, impudent and obstinate, who would not believe when he saw the Lord with his eyes, and heard Him speaking to him. But it is more probable, and I am of that judgment, that so soon as Thomas saw the Lord, and heard Him speaking, that he was ashamed of his incredulity, & he came to himself, & bethought himself, for it is a wonder to see, howe soon the soul of the most obstinate and endured man will be turned, when it pleases the Lord to be effectual in it by His presence. The rest of the Apostles believed not so soon as they saw the Lord, & heard His voice, albeit their incredulity was not so great as was the incredulity of Thomas : yet when it pleased the Lord to open their eyes, and to illuminate their understanding, they believed. And Thomas who by many degrees surpassed all the rest in incredulity, after that once he saw the Lord, and heard Him, incontinently he believed, and gave a notable confession of Him. Then mark it, Brethren, Faith depends not on our selves, on the strength of our nature, on the free will of man, or upon such & such disposition of the soul, but it depends upon the free mercy and good pleasure of God: It is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in GOD that showeth mercy, Rom. Chapter 9. verse 16. Therefore▪ when we see any belief in CHRIST, let us ever give the praise thereof to GOD, and not to the man, as if it were of his natural strength power, and inclination.

But let us consider this confession of Thomas, and the grounds whereupon it arises, he says, Thou art my LORD and my GOD. This confession that he gives of the LORD, proceeds from a clear light, whereby his mind was suddenly illuminated, and that by the powerful and effectual presence of the LORD, his mind was first illuminated to see CHRIST to be the LORD, as He is man: for CHRIST, as He is man, is LORD over all, thereafter to see Christ as He is GOD, for by the veil of the flesh, and of the nature of man He is led in, and gets access to see the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Him bodily: Next this confession proceeds frō the apprehension of the heart, whereby it felt the Lord, and took hold of Him: for as that clear light shined in his mind, so also the heart of Thomas was opened to embrace the Lord, and to draw Him in to himself: and therefore he calls Him not simply Lord, but my Lord, he stiles Him not simply God, but my God. For no question this plain and clear confession testifies, that there was a clear illumination in the mind, and a full persuasion in the heart of Thomas of that which he confessed.

If we compare Thomas with the rest of the Apostles, we will find, that as he surpassed them far in unbelief, so he surpasses them far in believing and confessing of the LORD: for such a confession hath not been hitherto uttered by any of the Disciples: so that in this example we may see verified that common saying, The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. The rest of the Apostles were before Thomas in Faith, they believed before him, but now Thomas by a sudden change, runs out before them, he hath a clearer sight, and a greater measure of Faith than they had.

The rest of the Apostles had the Holy Spirit given them, and that strengthened their Faith, but Thomas who then was absent, after that once he see, and hear the Lord, he finds such a clear and marvelous light in his soul, that he utters a more glorious and notable confession than any of the rest had done before: And this likewise teaches us to ascribe the praise of all the benefits and graces that is in man, to the grace and mercy of GOD, who distributes to every man, according to the good pleasure of His will, that which He thinks meet: for as was said before, It is not in him that runneth, nor in him that willeth, but in God that showeth mercy.

This sudden change and notable confession which Thomas gives of the LORD, teaches us yet further, that there was some sponkes of grace, and of spiritual desire left into the soul of Thomas to see the LORD, and to enjoy His presence: for except there had been some piece of desire to have seen Him, how could he upon a suddaintie have embraced Him so willingly, and joyfully, as one long desired and looked for. For the words of Thomas import, first, that he had great sorrow and sadness in His soul, because as he thought he had lost the LORD: Next, that he had a desire to find Him, and to see Him again: And thirdly, that he had an exceeding great joy when he found Him, and by his expectation saw Him, and enjoyed His presence. This serves for thy comfort, who hast gotten a measure of grace, albeit the corruptions and infirmities of the flesh strive to drown, and smoother and suffocate it, yet never shall it altogether be abolished and extinguished, but at last, it shall wrestle out, and prevail, and overcome the corruption.

Now, to come forward to the LORDES reply, to Thomas : He answers him, Thomas, because thou hast seen, thou believest, blessed are they which have not seen, and have believed. He says not, because thou hast touched Mee, but because thou hast seen Me. So in my judgment Thomas touched not the Lord, but contented himself with the seeing of the LORD, and hearing of His voice. He acknowledges the Faith of Thomas, but He extetenuates it in comparison of others, He praises not Thomas for His Faith, because he tied his faith to his senses, He believed because he saw Him, but He praises and commends the Faith of others, who no counting of the outward sense, should believe in Him, albeit they saw Him not. Albeit He acknowledges the Faith of Thomas, He calls him not blessed for it, but He pronounces them to be blessed, who have not seen Him, and yet do believe.

These words of the LORD to Thomas, lets us see, that the case and condition of them who believe without seeing, is nothing worse, nor inferior to the case and condition of them who have not seen the LORD, and upon sight have believed. We this day who have not seen the LORD face to face, but only have heard His word, and believe, are nothing inferior to them who saw Him, and believed, and namely to Thomas who would not believe, except he saw the LORD: and if there were no more, to assure thee who hast not seen the LORD JESUS, and yet believest, that thou art blessed this joy that thou shalt find in the middes of thy greatest sorrow and affliction, might be a sufficient argument, to persuade thee: for Peter says, The Godly in the middes of their affliction, believing in Christ whom they have not seen, rejoice with a joy unspeakable and glorious, 1. Pet. Chapter 1. verse 8. Indeed in this life, the blessed estate of them, who believe in Christ, is neither clearly seen by others, neither is it thoroughly felt by themselves, for it is not seen what we shall be, and here only have we the first fruits of the Spirit, and a foretasting of these things that shall be revealed, but in that great day, when our LORD shall appear, then shall it be seen, how blessed the estate of them shall be, who believed: for then when we see Him as He is, we shall be like to Him in glory. The world countes them who believe in Christ Jesus, to be vile and contemptible bodies, but one day they shall see their happiness, & their glory, to their shame and confusion. But here it may be asked: What moves the Lord so highly to commend the Faith of them, who believe, and yet see not? What can be the cause of this? I answer: The reason is, because Faith without sight is more hardly obtained than Faith by sight. The man that believes without sight, he must overcome many moe impediments and temptations than the other, who believes that which he sees, and this is commonly true, that which is obtained most hardly, and acquired with greatest difficulty, is most precious, most excellent, and most worthy of praise: and so this Faith that wants sight, is far to be preferred & more praise worthy than the other: for it is sundry ways tried and fined, before it appear, 1. Pet. 1.7.

Now to go forward: The Evangelist in the end of the Chapter, by the way meets some things which curious men might have objected: First they might have asked: Whether if all the miracles which the Lord Jesus wrought, while He was in the world were set down in write, and extant in the Gospel written by him. John answers: No, they are not all written: for he says: Many other signs also did Jesus in the presence of His Disciples, which are not written in this Book. They might have said again to John : then by appearance this Evangel that thou hast written is not perfect, but imperfect? To this he answers? My Gospel is perfect enough, because all things are written that are necessary to Faith and Salvation. These words are casten in only by the way in this History of the Resurrection: for albeit he seems to break off the History of the Resurrection of CHRIST, and to conclude in a manner the whole Gospel, yet he returns again to the same History of the Resurrection in the Chapter following, and in the ende thereof he concludes the whole Gospel almost in these same words that are set down here. But to return and to speak of the miracles, whereof John speaks here: he says, Many other signs and Miracles wrought the LORD, which are not written in this book. Then it may be asked? Wherefore are they not written? Were they unprofitable? Serues the knowledge of them to no use? To this I answer: That these miracles were profitable and steadable to confirm and strengthen the faith of them, who lived in that age, and saw them done: yea further, they are also steadable to the faith of them, who lived in the ages following: for when we read and hear, that there was such a great multitude of miracles wrought by the Lord, albeit we know not distinctly and particularly what they were, that serves very much to strengthen and confirm our Faith, so that we see these miracles which are not written, are not left out of write, as though they were unprofitable, and as though they served for no use, or were unworthy to be remembered? No, they were profitable and worthy, but they are left out, because the miracles set down in write by John, and the rest of the Evangelists, which indeed are very many, are sufficient to Faith and Salvation. But because the Evangelist sets down in this place, the ende of the miracles that the Lord wrought: therefore we shall speak more largely of them.

CHRIST, when He came into the world, was many ways marvelous: and therefore amongst many other glorious stiles, He gets this also, to be called wonderful, Isaiah Chapter 9. verse 6. For first, if we look to His person, He was wonderful: for He was GOD and man in one person, the like whereof, never was, nor never shall be. Next, if we look to the doctrine which He brought out of Heaven, and to the word which He preached to the world, He was wonderful: for wonderful was the light of His doctrine: whereby He brought a marvelous light to the dark world, and this made the officers to say to the High Priests: Never man spake like this man, John. Chapter 7. verse 46. and in the 7. Chapter of the Evangel of Matth. verse 29. He teached them as one having authority, and not as the Scribes : Last, if we consider the things that He did, and the wonders that He wrought in the world: He was wonderful, for they declared plainly, that He was not only a man, a creature, but that He was God, the great Creator, and that Eternal JEHOVAH. And these miracles served to confirm His doctrine: for the doctrine and the word of the Gospel preached by CHRIST, served to work and beget Faith in the heart, but the miracles served to confirm the doctrine, & the word which He preached: for they were steadable either to prepare the hearts of men to receive the word and doctrine of the Lord, or else to confirm them in that word which they had reeceiued already. Now both the word and doctrine of Christ, and also His Miracles are set down and left in register to us, by the special will & direction of Christ, to the well of them that were to live in the ages to come, that they might believe, & get life and salvation: and therefore this written word & doctrine should be received by us, as the viue voice of Christ Himself, and we should count no less of it, than if we heard Christ Himself speaking to us, with His own mouth, and likewise we should count of the miracles written in the Gospel, as if we had seen the Lord Jesus working them before our eyes: and therefore now in our age, we need not any new miracles, to confirm of new again, the doctrine of Christ, and His Apostles. Indeed miracles were very necessary to them that lived in the Primitive Church, when the Gospel was first preached, and when it appeared unto the world to be a new doctrine, & when the Church was in her infancy, then miracles were very needful: but now, seeing the doctrine of Christ, and His Apostles is sufficiently confirmed already by all these miracles, that were wrought in these days by Christ, & His Apostles, we need no miracles. Why should we desire them, except we thought, that the doctrine is not yet sufficiently confirmed, and as yet is but a new doctrine. If we think, that it is the same doctrine, which Christ and His Apostles taught, it needs no new confirmation. Many vain and fantasticke men, but especially the Papists this day are not content with the Miracles that have been wrought by the Lord Jesus, & His Apostles, to confirm the doctrine of the Gospel, but they crave new miracles to confirm the doctrine of the Gospel, as if it were not sufficiently confirmed already. But, I say unto thee, Vain man, go seek miracles as thou wilt, and as long as thou wilt, never shalt thou get any other true miracle from God, except only this miraculous and wonderful effect that the Gospel works, in bringing forth in our hearts this true and justifying Faith in renewing us, and in beginning that life eternal in our souls: for the faithful find by experience, that this Gospel of Christ, is the power of God unto salvation to them that believe. If thou be not content with this marvelous, effect, but wilt go on to seek outwa • d signs and miracles, thou declarest plainly to the world, that thou never didst find this powerful effect of the Gospel into thy soul, and if thou findest not this powerful effect to be wrought into thy soul by the preaching of the word, and by the miracles that were wrought by the Lord Jesus, and His Apostles, thou wilt never believe, albeit thou sawest ten thousand new miracles wrought before thine eyes. Now, we told you before, that both the word and doctrine, and likewise the miracles were written by the special will, & direction of Christ, but there is a difference between their writing: for all the doctrine of Christ that is necessary to life and salvation in substance, not so much as a sentence excepted, is set down in write, the Holy Spirit He omitted nothing. But all the miracles that the Lord wrought are not set down in write: for it was necessary for our Faith, that y ^e substance of the whole doctrine should be set down in write, but it was not necessary for our Faith, that all y ^e miracles which He wrought, should be writ̄. Our Faith required the one, but our Faith required not the other: for the Lord in writing and registrating of His word, and miracles had not respect unto the curiosity of vain man, which is insatiable, and can never be satisfied, but He had regard to the Faith and Salvation of man: and therefore He set down these things in write, which were sufficient and necessary for Faith and Salvation. Our Faith and Salvation was the rule and measure of the Lord's revelation, and not the curiosity of vain man: Now, if all things are written that are necessary to life and Salvation, then thou who is not content with these things, but seekest other things, and claims unto unwritten verities, which are the fantasies of men's brain, and cry for new miracles, What can any man think that that thou art doing, but seeking something above and beyond eternal Life and Salvation, thou seekest but fantasies, that thine own head conceiteth▪ Indeed, vain Papist, if thine understanding were capable, and if thy faith were able to comprehend all these things, all the doctrine and miracles that are written in the Olde and New Testament, thou wouldest have some show of reason to require more, to clame to unwritten verities, and to desire moe miracles, and I would the more willingly give thee leave to require them. But, seeing such is the weakness and infirmity of thy Faith, and understanding, that thou art not able to comprehend these same things that are written, which far surpasses the capacity and understanding of man, why shouldest thou, miserable wretch, devise other things to thyself? Why goest thou about to clout and clamp to the word of God (which so long as we live in this world, we are not able fully to attain to) the dreams and fantasies which thou hast forged in thine own brain.

Now to end shortly: The Evangelist in setting down the ende wherefore these miracles were left in write which is, that we might believe in Christ, and get life through Him, lets us see, what are the things that chiefly we ought to believe of Christ, These things, says he, are written, that ye might believe that Christ is that Son of God. These words comprehend summarily the substance of all these things, that are necessary to be believed of Jesus: we must believe in Jesus, even that Jesus, who was borne of the Virgin Marie, who walked in Judea, and was conversant among the Jews. And what must we believe of Him? These words tell us, we must believe two things of Him: First, that He is, That Christ : Next, that He is, That Son of God. The first respecteth His office, the next respecteth His person: By reason of His office, He is called That Christ, because He is anointed of God the Father, to be our King, Priest and Prophet: for these three sortes of persons, Kings, Priests and Prophets, used to be anointed in the Olde Testament: In respect of His person, we must believe that He is That Son of God : for as Christ is GOD, and the Son of GOD, properly He is a person, even the second person of the Trinity. The nature of man that He assumed, makes not up a part of His person, but was only assumed to the divine person, and was so straitly conjoined and united to the person of the Son, that whole Christ, GOD and man is called but one person.

Now, look what benefit we receive by believing these things of Jesus: He says, In believing we have life through His Name : How comes this, that Faith in Jesus we get life? First, we fly as it were, & mount above, while we come unto CHRIST and take hold of Him: For where the Carioun is, thither will the Eagles resort : Next, when we have honored Him so, that we count nothing of our selves, while we rest in Him by Faith, then through our Faith as a conduit He conuoyes life into our souls, and that not an euanishing life, but Eternal life, and this life is the life of God. So this life th • t we live here by Faith, flows first from the Son of God, and from Jesus, as He is God, then it comes to us from the Son of God, as He is Christ, and anointed our King, Priest and Prophet, for first, as He was anointed to be our Priest by His death and sacrifice upon the Cross, He merited life unto us: thereafter, as He was anointed to be our King, and Prophet, He applies powerfully and effectually unto us the benefits, which as our Priest He merited unto us by His death: for as He is our Prophet, He applies them to us by His teaching, & as He is our King, He appliets them to us by working powerfully and effectually into us by His Spirit. Now we see, what we ought to believe of Jesus, & what gain we receive by this Faith: the gain is very great, but the means to come by it, lies not in our hands, we are not able by our own free will, or by the strength of Nature to believe, flesh and blood cannot teach us this Faith: for as it is true which Paul says, No man can say, that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost, 1. Cor. Chapter 12. verse 3. So none can believe, that Jesus is that Christ and that Son of GOD, but by the same Holy Ghost, as the LORDE Himself told Peter, after that He had confessed that He was the CHRIST, the Son of the living GOD: for He says unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon the son of Jonah▪ for neither flesh nor blood hath revealed that unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven, Matth. Chapter 16. verse 17. And therefore we must crave continually of the LORD, that He would vouchsafe His Spirit on us, to work Faith in our souls, that believing in JESUS CHRIST, we may get life and Salvation through Him: To whom with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and praise, for evermore.

THE XLVIII. LECTURE OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.

W EE continue as yet, Brethren, Beloved in Christ, in the History of Christ's appearings, after His Resurrection, whereof, this which we have set down in the beginning of the 21. Chapter of John, is the seventh, if we reckone precisely all the particular appearings, whereof any mention is made in the Gospel: But if we count only the appearings unto His Apostles assembled together, this is the third in number, as the Evangelist himself hereafter tells. In the first two appearings He manifested Himself unto the eleven being assembled together in an house, the doors being closed, only Thomas was absent in the first appearing, now here He appears only unto seven, being together, not in an house, but without at the fishing. As concerning the particular time of this appearing, what day it was from the first day of His Resurrection, or howe many days it was from His last appearing unto them, it is not particularly set down: and therefore we will pass by it, but the Evangelist marks particularly the place of this appearing: for he says, Jesus shown Himself again at the sea of Tiberias, which sea is otherwise called the sea of Gennesareth, for according to the accustomable form of speaking among the Jews, a lake is called the Sea. Before we come to the rest of the circumstances of this appearing, it is expedient, that we answer to a question that may be moved: It may be asked, What is the cause that the Lord appeared so oft times unto His Disciples, and so many ways? Had it not been enough that He had appeared to them once or twice? What needed there any moe appearings? To this answer: There are many great and weighty causes, wherefore the Lord so oft times appeared, and first: because Faith in the Resurrection from the dead, is a thing very hardly and with great difficulty is obtained: for among all the Articles of Faith there is none more contrary to Nature, none appears to be more incredible: therefore the Lord, that He might assure them that He was risen, and that they who are in Him, one day shall rise again, He appeared so oft times after His Resurrection. Next, He appeared so of • to His Disciples, because they were to be the first witnesses of His Resurrection to the world: and therefore, they needed oft times to see the Lord, to have heard, to have handled Him, and been conversant with Him, they needed all sortes of helps to their Faith, that they might have full assurance themselves, that the Lord was risen, to the ende, that with the greater assurance, and with a full persuasion, as the Apostle speaks of himself, 1. Thess. 1.5 They might testify of that Resurrection both by viue voice, and by writing unto others, even to the coming of the Lord Himself, & indeed so it came to pass: for because He appeared and revealed Himself so oft times to them: therefore they had exceeding great liberty and boldness, both in their speaking, and writing: for the frequent seeing of Him, hearing of Him, speaking and conversing with Him, made them to have a full persuasion, and this full persuasion made them to have great liberty & freedom: for he that hath not a full persuasion in his own heart, should not take upon him to be a witness and preacher of the graces and benefits of God to others, neither will he ever be able to speak of them with freedom, to move others to believe. Thirdly, He appeared so oft unto His Apostles, not for their caus • only, but for our cause also, who should live in the ages to come: He had respect unto the weakness of our Faith: for every particular appearing of Christ, serves to help and further something our Faith, our Faith degree by degree is helped by everyone of them, and all His appearings being joined together, are a sure and steadfast ground to our Faith to repose upon, they serve to consummate our Faith, and to bring it to a full perfection: for when we hear or read, that our Lord appeared at any time to His Disciples, we should think, and settle this in our mind, that when He appeared unto them, He appeared unto us, when they saw Him, we saw Him: when we read, that the Lord appeared unto Peter, I should think that He appeared unto me: when John and the rest of the Apostles saw Him with their eyes. I should so esteem, that I saw Him with mine eyes, and whensoever they saw Him, I should lay my count, that I saw Him: for when that Peter says, That with his eyes he saw His Majesty, 2. Pet. 1.16. he pointes out Christ as it were with his finger, to be seen with mine eyes. When Paul says, That the Lord was seen of him after His Resurrection, 1. Cor. 15.8. he pointes out the Lord to be seen by me. When John says, We declare unto you that which we have heard, which we have seen with these our eyes, which we have looked upon, & these hands of ours have handled of that word of life, 1. John. 1.1. he sets the Lord as it were, before my face, that I may see Him with mine eyes▪ I may hear Him with mine ears, and may handle Him with mine hands, To the end that my joy may be full, as he speaks there, verse 4. And therefore, thou who art a faithful Christian, hast cause to rejoice, that the LORD so oft times appeared to His Disciples: for it was for thy cause, for the helping and confirming of thy weak Faith, that He appeared so oft, that so thy joy may be the more full. Now I go forward unto the circumstance of the persons to whom the Lord appeared: There were seven of the Disciples gathered together, for he says, There were together, Simon Peter, and Thomas, who was called Didimus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilie, and the two sons of Zebedee, and two other Disciples. No question it was not by fortune, or chance, or rashly, that so many of the Disciples met together at this time: but it was by the determinate counsel and providence of GOD that they were assembled together, to the ende that he might manif • st and exhibit himself unto them, being assembled together.

When the Lord hath a purpose to communicate his graces and benefits in a great measure, he uses commonly to call together a number of his own in one place, that he may communicate his graces the more liberally unto them, being assembled together: for he gives not his great graces, nor vouchsafeth not his glorious presence so much to private persons alone, as he does to a company of the Saints assembled together, it is to them chiefly that he manifestes himself. When the Lord was purposed to bestow the holy Spirit, what does he? he gathers the whole number of the Apostles together in one place, upon the day of the Pentecoste, and then he sends upon them all, the holy Spirit, in the form of fiery and cloven tongues (as we read in the seconde Chapter of the Acts, and the third verse.) Our own experience may be a sufficient proof unto us of this, for when find we the Spirit of God to work moste powerfullie, and the graces of God moste aboundantlie to be bestowed upon us? not when we are our self alone, but when we are assembled together with y ^e Saints to exercise the means of grace, to hear the word, to offer up our prayers together unto God, and to be partakers of the Sacraments: And therefore, if thou wouldest have the Spirit of GOD present with thee, and look for any grace, despise not the fellowship, contemn not the assembly of the Lord's Saints. Now amongst the rest that are here counted out, we see Thomas is reckoned to be one: The first time that the Lord appeared to his Disciples, assembled together, the door being shut, THOMAS was not present: but the seconde time that the LORD appeared unto them, he was present with them. Now in this third appearing of the Lord to his Disciples, he is also present with them. This example of THOMAS letteth us see that a man, who is gone astraye, and hath wandered out of the way, after that once the Lord mercifully takes him by the hand, and sets him in the way of grace, that he will be careful constantly to walk into that way with the rest of the faithful, who are walking in that way, he will be loath to separate himself from their society, after that once the Lord begins freely to give grace, He ceases never to heap grace upon grace, while grace be crowned with glory: for it is true, that the Apostle says, That He who hath begun the good work in us, will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ, Phil. 1.6. And our Savior says, To every man that hath, it shall be given, and he shall have abundance. So happy is the man in whom the Lord hath once begun to work, for He will never leave him, while He perform His work in him.

Now, when they are met together, what is their exercise: They go to the fishing, the occasion of this exercise comes of Peter, he purposed to separate himself from the rest: and therefore he says unto them, J go a fishing: The rest cannot be content to sunder from him, but they offer their company to him, and they say: We also will go with thee. What made Thomas, and the rest of the Disciples so unwillingly to sunder from Peter, and what made everyone of them so desirous to enjoye the company of another? Was this by chance or fortoun? No, but it was by the special providence of GOD, that same providence that before gathered them together, now keeps and retains them together, in such sort, that albeit some of them were of purpose to have sundered themselves from the rest, yet the rest will not sunder from them. The Lord will keep them together, that He may communicate unto them such grace as He would not bestow upon them being sundered one from another. He shows Himself, & He vouchsafes His presence in them to their exceeding joy and comfort, being now together, whereas if they had been separated, if Peter had gone one way, & Thomas another, and the rest the third, it is not likely, that the Lord would have manifested Himself unto them. But how is this, that the Disciples of the Lord, who were ordained and appointed by the Lord Himself to an higher calling, to the Apostleship, to be witnesses and preachers to the world of these things which they saw and heard of Him, go to the fishing. Might they leave that high calling, and take themselves to so base and contemptible an exercise: I answer, that herein they do nothing amiss: for albeit they were appointed and designed by the Lord to be Apostles, yet in effect they were not as yet Apostles, they had not entered to that calling, neither were they meet for it, until the time that they were endued with power from on high, and before they had received the Holy Spirit in the form of fiery and cloven tongues in the day of the Pentecoste. And further, what fault was it, albeit they had entered to their office of the Apostleship, that they should be exercised in an honest and lawful occupation, and should work with their hands, as we read of the Apostle Paul, who in sundry places professes, that he labored with his own hands for his living. Read 1. Cor. 4.12. 1. Thess. 2.9. 2 Thess. 3.8.

Now, when they agree to remain together, They went their way, and entered into a ship straightway, and they go to take fish, and to seek bodily food for themselves, but the Lord in the mean time, is calling them to a better thing, even to see the Lord, and to enjoy His gracious presence, which was a great deal better, than all their fishing, and all that they could have gained by that exercise: and Peter, after that once he knew that it was the LORD which spake to them, counted more of His presence, than of all the huge and great number of fishes, that were enclosed within the net: for he leaves them all, after that once he knew that it was the Lord that spake, and shown Himself present unto them, yea, he castes himself into the Sea, and hazards his life, to the end he may come speedily and soon unto the Lord. The Lord, whoever hath a regard of His own, makes all their actions, and their sufferings, to tend to their well and comfort, yea, to serve and further them to eternal life. When thou goest to perform anything, when thou addressest thyself to any work what ever it be, whether it be husbandry, fishing, merchandise, or any other exercise, I give thee my counsel, endeuoure ever to entertain in thy soul a sense and persuasion of the love of God, and if thou so doest, thou shalt find, that when the members of thy body are exercised in their labor, that thy soul likewise shall make a progress straightway to Heaven. Well, they go to the fishing, but what success have they at the first? Not very great, their success was very slender: for it is said, That night they caught nothing. How came this to pass? Was it through their unskillfulness? No, it was by the secret providence and direction of God, who often times delays the success of the labors of His own, and will not answer their expectation at the first, to the ende, that in His own appointed time He may give it more abundantly to their greater comfort: for this is the Lord's accustomed dealing with His own children, Of set purpose He will disappoint them for a time, to their greater benefit and comfort thereafter. When Paul writes to Philemon concerning his servant Onesimus, who had fled away from him, he says, It may be that he hath departed for a season, that thou mightest receive him forever. Next, the Lord uses to disappoint the hope of His own for a season, because that serves more to the glory of God, than if they got it at the first time: for when men find a prosperous success in all their ways, and all things answering to their desire, scarcely do they consider and discern God's blessing: yea, many times it comes to pass, that in such cases men ascribe the praise of all to themselves, to their own wisdom, their travels and labors; they flatter themselves, & sacrifice to their own net: But when they see themselves, notwithstanding of all their travels, disappointed of their hope, and thereafter find a blessing and good success; then they plainly discern, that all things proceed from the blessing and favorable providence of God, and therefore gives to the Lord the praise and glory of all. Last, when He delays the success which His own hope for in their labors, He gives them a fair recompense for the want of the temporal benefit for a season, and He gives them a spiritual benefit to their soul: for when thereafter He gives them a success, He makes them to see His blessing, and opens their hearts, and looses their mouths, to sound His praise, which is better than any earthly benefit that can be bestowed upon man. When the Disciples had long labored without success, at last the Lord comes, for th'Evangelist says, When the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the Sea shore. Howbeit the Lord will long absent Himself from His own, and give them no sensible blessing in their travels, yet at the last he will come in his own due time to their great comfort.

Now the time is marked when the Lord comes, to wit, in the morning : he tarries away all the night, and comes in the morning. The Scripture compares the time in the which we live without Christ, unto the dark night: for as in the night no man can walk, nor be exercised in the work of his calling, no more can any man without Christ walk in the way of salvation, nor do anything acceptable to God. Again, his presence and coming is compared to the morning; for as in the morning, when the Sun rises, men may see the way, and walk in the way, and be exercised in the works of their calling. So when CHRIST, that Daye-star begins to arise, that Sun of Righteousness begins to shine v • to the souls of His own, then they see the way of salvation, and they have courage and pleasure to walk therein, and to do the works of light, which are acceptable unto GOD: when He is absent, there is nothing but night and darkness, when He returns again, there is light. DAVID seems to allude unto this pr • sense of Christ, by His Spirit in the soul, when he says in the xxx. PSALM, verse. v. Weeping may abide at evening, but • oye cometh in the morning.

Now howbeit the Lord stood before them on the shore, Nevertheless the Disciples knew not that it was JESUS. Howe this comes to pass, that they knawe Him not, it is uncertain, for the cause is not set down, neither will we curiouslie inquire for it: it may be, and it is likely, that their eyes were closed that they could not discern and know Him, whom otherwise they saw present before them. The example of these Disciples lets us see what is the natural disposition of the children of God: They sought not the Lord fi • st, yea, when H • e offers Himself unto them, they know Him not. So it is with us all by nature, neither can we seek God, neither can we so much as once think of the seeking of Him, neither when He offers Himself unto us unsought, can we d • scerne Him and know Him by nature: Except God by His Spirit prevent us, and illuminate the eyes of our minds, & open our hearts, and make us to know Him, we will never seek Him, nor know Him, but we shall ever remain in darkness.

Yet albeit they know not the Lord, He begins to show Himself unto them, and He breaks off conference unto them, Sirs, have ye any meat ? And by this speech He p • epares them to that good success and blessing which He was to give to their travels: And this He does, by bringi • g them to a confession of their want and needfulness: for when he inquires at them, if they had any meat, they answered him, No. They confess their want: for mark, Brethren, how the Lord will have thy soul to be prepared before He communicate His blessing. Thy skant, thy need, and thy poverty, though it were never so great, will not do the turn; it will not move the Lord to bless thy travels, if there be no more: No, He requires further of thee, He will have thee to acknowledge, to feel, and to confess thy poverty. The Lord pities not, but abhors proud and sturdy beggars. He does to His own as a loving father does to his son: Albeit the father see his son in great poverty and need, lacking food and raiment; yet if he come proudly and stubburnly by the door & presence of his father, he will not know him, nor help him, howbeit he have substance & wealth enough; unto such time as he is humbled and come to himself. Even so the Lord, when we are in misery, in great want and need, and will not acknowledge nor confess it unto Him: He will not know us, nor bestow His blessings upon us till we be humbled. Now whē the Lord has prepared them with the confession of their own want, thereafter He gives them the blessing, Cast out the net on the right side of the sh • p : and thē He promises them a good success, for He says, Ye shall find. But what needed y ^• Lord to bid thē cast out the nets, that they might get fishes ? Might not the Lord have given them fish enough without their travel & labor? Might He not by His omnipotent power have commanded the fish to have enclosed thenselves within the nets? Yes no doubt, without their travel & labor He might have filled the ship aboūdantly with fish: yet it was His pleasure & good will y ^t they should work & labor, & take pains upon thē, first before He g • ue them any blessing: He would not bless thē with a good success, except they labored. Further ye may see here, how great pleasure and liking the Lord has to see men painful in their calling: for albeit they had been molested & troubled all the night with laboring, yet the Lord will have thē to cast out their net again in the morning, to the end y ^t He might give a blessing to their travels. Indeed it is true that He desires not our labor, as if it could stand Him in any stead: He gives not a success to it as if it merited anything at His hands: for He gives success & increase only for His own names sake, and for His Christ's sake, without any merit of ours: for if He had not respect to Himself & His Christ, if we took never so great pains, we would find but a sober success. Many find by experience, y ^t without Him, if they would pain themselves from morning till evening, they can find no success. Yea, when the Lord withdraws His blessing, the children of God themselves find the proof of this Peter and the rest of the Disciples who were with him, toiled and pained themselves all the night without any success or profit. Then the cause chiefly why the Lord requires our travel and labor, is because it is an ordinary mean appointed by Him, whereby we should find and receive His blessing, and it is a part of our service and duty that the Lord has appointed to us. For when with a simple and upright heart, we are laboring in our calling, we are serving the Lord. Therefore Paul charges the servants, to be obedient to their masters with singleness of heart, as unto Christ : meaning that in their service done to their masters, they serve not so much men, as Christ, Ephes. 6.5. Now the Disciples obeyed this commandment of the Lord, for they cast out the net, and they were not able to draw it for the multitude of • ishes. This their obedience is very commendable: albeit they had been troubled and wearied all the night, and had caught nothing: yet at the request of a stranger, a man whom they knew not, whom they supposed to be no more but a common man, readily they yield obedience, & cast out the net. And this their readiness testifies, that they had exceeding great patience & constācie in enduring of travel, notwithstanding of all their labor & pains preceeding. What was the cause of this their patience? Even partly because their long laboring and pains that they had taken without any success, had humbled and tamed them: if they got no fish, they got a better benefit, they were somewhat mortified, and learned patience, partly because they had an hope of a good success, & that the Lord should bless them at the last, therefore patiently they endure in laboring: for we see commonly, that hope of vantage will sustain a man, and cause him to endure much trouble & labor. And this hope, if it be in the Lord, who never leaves His own, makes the patience and enduring of labor to get a good success. So long as thou livest, cast hope never off, if it were no more, but because by it thou glo • ifiest God: for by faith and hope to obtain all good things which are necessary either to soul or body from the hands of the Father of lights, from whom all good things descend, we glorify Him in the multitude of His mercy. By the example of the Disciples let us learn, that when we have troubled and pained our selves very long and find but sober success of our travels, at least to be humbled and mortified, and to continue constantly in laboring waiting patiently for y ^e Lord's blessing: for as y ^e d • sciples in the end found a better success than they could have looked for: (They found the net to be filled with such a multitude of fishes, y ^t they were not able to draw it ) so shall we find in the end, y ^t our patient waiting for y ^e Lord's blessing shall not be frui • less and without success.

Now to go forward. They knew not the Lord when at His command they cast the net into the Sea: but now, when they see such a marue • lous draught of fishes enclosed within their nets, they begin to conceive that it was the Lord that spake to them. The first man who discerns Him, is JOHN, who describes himself here to be the Disciple whom the Lord loved : and commonly he describes himself in the Gospel by this style, and that because he found the love of God spread abroad in his heart by His Holy Spirit in an exceeding great measure. JOHN said unto PETER, It is the LORD. The thing that makes JOHN to know that it was the Lord that spake, was the extraordinary and marvelous success that they found in their travels: for in that success he saw and considered not only an exceeding great power, but also a wonderful bountifulness and liberality, whereupon he gathers, that it was the Lord that spake unto them, and commanded them to cast out the net, and directed them in their labor, and made them to get such success. Learn then here by IOHNS example, when the Lord bestows His benefits and graces on thee, and when thou seest His works, by His works and benefits to ascend to God the giver of them, and in them to acknowledge Him and His essential properties, His power, His bountifulness, His mercy, His providence, &c. For if we weigh rightly, and deeply consider the benefits and works of God in them, we will find as it were a seal of the majesty of God, of His power, of His mercy, of His liberality and bountifulness, which should move us to lift up our eyes to Heaven, to behold the Lord, who is the worker and giver of all, that so with cheerfulness and pleasure we may glorify Him: for this is our greatest happiness and felicity to glorify the majesty of our God in all things. There are many, who when as they see the wondrous works of God, and daily receive benefits of Him, they so rest upon the outward works and benefits, that they never ascend to God, the author and giver of them, to see Him, and to glorify Him. But miserable are they who so does, what ever they be: for by so doing, they not only deprive themselves of happiness, but also they turn the blessings of God into a curse to them.

When JOHN hath informed PETER that it was the Lord, what does PETER? It is said, When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girded his coat to him (for he was naked) and cast himself into the Sea. He shows a great zeal and forwardness: for in my judgment this doing of PETER proceeded not from foolish hardiness, and inconsiderate rashness, but from a true zeal and fervent desire to meet with the Lord. Now, will ye compare JOHN and PETER together, ye will find great diversity of gifts: JOHN knew the Lord first, and that by sight: PETER knew the Lord next, but by hearing, for JOHN informed him. JOHN was before PETER in faith & knowledge: but PETER, who comes behind, passes JOHN, who was his teacher, & had instructed him, for he is more zealous than JOHN was: JOHN exceeded in knowledge, but PETER exceeded in zeal. This lets us see the truth of that sentence of PAUL,