-, ►^trw- PRINCETON, N. J. "' Division .... Section .... :.-.„.. ."TirTTTTy. S/W/ Number Zl..Z2.f.ij. COLLECTION OF PURITAN AND . ENGLISH THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE I LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY , An Hiftorical Narration O F T H E LIFE and DEATH OF O U R Lord Jefus Chrift. I N TWO PARTS. Printed at the Theater in Oxford 1685. ! A brief account of what is contained IN THE FIRST PART of The Hiftory of our V1^ ° L 9 SAVIOURS LIFE. 5 I f~\UR Saviour came about the V>/ year of the "world 4000, 2 TV ben the Scepter ofjudah was in the hand of Herod, a f ranger. 3 (S. john Baptift being Jent before 4 an extraordinary per/on both as to his birth , and manner of living, f but ejpecially as to his preachings 6 Virtues, actions, 7 andj'ufferings) 8 Our Saviours conception in Galilee, 9 Of a mofi pure and holy Virgin, 1 2 of mean condition, I 3 efpoufedto an husband, 14 and informed by an Angel of this great favour intended her by God; I J whereupon fbe went to vijit her ecu- fin Elizabeth, mother of the Baptifi, 16 convtrfing with her I 7 three months. 1 8 Whence foe with feme apprehensions returned to her husband, 1 9 but he, being a very difcreet, righ- teous and holy perfon, (whilfi he was thinking ofdifmijjing her privatly ) 10 w as admonijhed by an Angel not to do it; because that her conception was by the Holy Ghoft. 21 to whom Jofepb moft readily obeyed, and continued to cohabit with her 22 at 'Nazareth, till the time of her de- livery drew neer ; which was 23 to be at Bethlehem, 14 whither an Editfof AuguHut for- ced them to go ; 1$" and there they were neceffitated to lodg very meanly, *7 in a Stable i 2 8 where our Saviour was born ; 29 ( A great exaninition and humilia- tion of the Son of God'. } 3 1 his parents onely being prefent, and adoring him. 33 Mean- while an Angel puHified this birth to. certain She, beards there in the fieldwatcbing their flockt ; 3 5" and wasfeconded by many more, 3 6 who glorified God for thu birth in 4 fag* 36 {as ill the hoft of Heaven rejoyced for, and in , it ). 3 8 The Shepbeards immediatly came to BethUhemto fee and w^rjhip this new- born child. 3 9 ( Gods great wifdom in thus order' ing thefe affairs ! ) 4 1 The fliepheards relation was a great confolation to both the Parents; 42 But his Mother, effecially, h.pt this, and fuch other favours of God, to her felf, and pondered them in her heart. 43 our Lord was Circumcifed. 4^i t0 95 -A Digrejfi our Lord returned out of the wil- dernefs, j66fhewcd himfelf unto John ; and \6y the next day entertained two of Johns Difciples j one of them, S. An- drew, 1 <5 8 who brought in his brother Simon, and 370 fliortly after our Lord himfelf called S. Philip, and he Natlianael, 172 to whom our Lord forereprefented his future glory. 373 Our Saviour, going tlience to Ga- lilee, arrived at Cane, 3 74 ( where he wrought the fir (I mira- cle of changing Water into wine ) 175- thence 176 thence to Capernaum 2.10 and cafi eut an unclean Spirit1 1J7 "with his Mot her ; brethren, and Di* 213 And departing front the Synagogue fciples, he entred into Simons houfe, and cured 178 feme "whereof alfo were women. his wives mother. 179 Thence he went up to Jerufalem. 2 1 4 Betimes- in the morning he retired 180 Where he fir si clen/ed the Temple, pnvatlyto Prayer, and afterwards preached to the people. 2 1 5" And leaving Capernaum he went 181 Some of whom defired of him a fign about other cities and towns of Galilee, for the confirmation of his authority ; *i 7 Going over the Lake he dijcourfei I g i But he onely told them, that if they with feveral of the Scribes concerning defiroyed the temple of his body, he following him. would raife it again in three dates > 22 o Faffing over in the night-time ht 183 Tetfome did believe in him, f aimed a great form. 184 particularly Nicodemus, a Ruler ; 221 And the next morning landed in the with whom our Lord held a long dip- countrey of the Gadarens ; where ht courfe. met with two pojjejfed violently with 186. After the Pafchal feafi, cur Lord, Dtviis. Which cafimg out he permit- not trufiing to the Hierojoly mites, went ted to enter into Swine , and to drown and preached in the countrey ofjudea, them m the Lake. 187 and ordered his converts to be bap- 225" Upon which the Gadarens being dif- tizedi pleajed defired him to depart. And 188 Whereupon John withdrew further 216 he immediatly returned into thefinp^ . towards Herods Jurijditlion. 227 and came to Capernaum. 189 Meanwhile there growing a little 2. 18 Where he cured a par aly tick on the emulation of feme of Johns Difciples, Sabbath-day. feeing our Lord more followed then 131 'Thence going to the Sea-fide, hecal- their Mafier, they confulted St. John ; led Mathew, and dined with him t J 90 before whom John difcourfed giv- 223 jufitfjing that aft ion 5 ing tefiimony to our Lord, 2 3 4 as alfo the not fo frequent fafimg of 19 I which fully Jatisfied them. his own, as of Johns, Difciples. 191 But John himfelf3 boldly reproving 2.27 Then J air us the Ruler of the Sy- Herod, was by him cafi into Prifon. nagogue intreated him to come and curs- 1 9 y Meanwhile our Lord departed out his daughter ; of Judea into Galilee 2.38 ( going along with him, he cured I96 thro Samaria; coming to S) char, the woman touching h;s garment ) iq 7 where fitting by the Well, be dif- 1^.0 and went forward to Janus' s houfp.,. courfedwith, and converted,a woman, and restored his daughter to life. and many of the Inhabitants- 241 Returning thence to Capernaum, bf 2,04 Thence after ^ daies (lay, he conti* the way he cured 2 blind men. nued his journey towards Galilee ^ 242 And at Eafler went up to Jerufalem. 2 05- where he healed the Rulers fan. 243 Where he cured a known Paralytica 206 Then he went to Capernaum, w here lying at the Pool on the Sabbath-day, preaching with great applaufe 2 4 f 10 the great offence of the Jews. 20 7 he gathered Difciples. Particularly ^46 But our Lord jufiifiedhimfelf, a o 8 Stmon Peter, Andrew, and the Jens 247 and his Difciples alfo ,for plucking^. of Zebedee. rubbing, and eating the ears of corn on 409 With whom the next Sabbath he en*» the Sabbath- day j tred into the Synagogue, and taught, 248 himfelf 'alfo for curing a man wit a a. withar^ 6 o Before whom the Jews laid many things to his charge. 6 1 But examined by Filate and found innocent , he 64 was fent to Herod. 68 Who defpifing him returned him to Pilate ; 69 and Filate endeavoured to fave him, 1 by propofing his releafment , 7 o a by chaftifing him, 7 1 andfufftringhim to be mocked by the Soldiers. 7 3 The JtWs urged, that he called him- felf the Son of God, andlaldother ac- cufations agatnfi him j 76 till they forced Pilate, yet with great reluctance, 80 to condemn him to be Crucified ', 8 1 ( a death ftrefhewed by the Prophet st andchofen by himfelf ) 9 o and to commit him to the Soldiers. 9 1 Who led him to execution, much pi- tied by divers per fans, 9 5- unto Golgotha- Where they offer him mingled-wine, 9 6 firipped-eff hit garments, 97 Jet a title over his head^ 98 and Crucified him', 99 And divided his garments. 100 Meanwhile many of the people, and one of the theives, mockgdy but divers pittied,him. Our Lord,havingdifpofed of his BleJJed Mother, ioi was ji lent, ivhilft many prodigies appeared. I o 3 At lafi he faid Ithirft, and gave up the Ghofi. 1 04 Thi meaning of t ho fe prodigies, 105* acknowledged by the Centurion> 106 but not by the Jews. 108 Afoldier pierced his fide. ill Jofeph of Arimathea begged his I 1 2 body, And buried it. 113 and the Rulers fealed the fione and Jet a guard. 1 1 4 But notwithfianding he rofe from the dead, as it was witneffed by the guards. 11 7 Divers women ignorant of his Re- furreclion come to theSepulchre, I I 8 as did Peter and John: 119 our Lord appeared to Mary Mag- dalen firft, 121 then to the other women, 122 who hafied to tell the Apofiles ; 1 2 3 £fe appeared alfo to S. Peter, 1 24 and to 2 more Difciples going to E- maus ; 127 and to the body of the Apofiles ; 131 and to them again when Thomas was prefent ; 1 3 7 again in Galilee when they were a 139 again to James ; 1 4 1 and Lafily to them all at Jerufalem ; from whence he led them forth to Mount Olivet, and in their prefence afcended into heaven. 1.5" o They returned to Jerufalem, CO An Hiftorical Narration OF THE LIFE O F O U R LORD JESUS T A R T. I. AFTER above two thoufand years of the Worlds age run $• *« out before the Law ; amd near another two thoufand tin,' derit; That the world from its beginning might fuc- ceflively move ftill to more and more perfection, the remainder of its duration was to be f pent under the Go/pel. Which time alfo, as for the progrefs of the Gofpel in coaverfion of Nations, probably mail not furpafs two thoufand years more; and then,af- ter thefe fix great daiesof the World, the feventh Millenary day mall be a Sabbath , a day of great reft, peace, and prolperity unto the Church of God (fee7^ff. 20. 2. comp.19.29.and -]^ev, 20. 7, 10, 11. -Rgm.n. if, 16,29, 31. ) andlaftlv, on the 8 th day, a refurredfcion from the dead ; and fo time fwallowed up of Eter- nity. For that this world fhall not arrive to eight thoufand years appears from the many texts intimating that in our Sa- viors and the Apoftles daies it had already palled its middle age. [ See Heb. 1. 2. -9. 26. -flom.13.12. -1 Cor. 7. 29. -1 Pet. 4. 7. -2 Pet. 3.3. -Phil. 4. s. Eph. 1. 10. -Gal. 4. 4. -1 Jo. 4. 3. -a Theff. 2. 3. comp. 1 Jo. 2. 18.] After the World therefore now was about 4000 years old i and the Laws, of Nature, and of Mofes^ had fulfilled their periods; the appointed time approached for the coming of the Promifed Meflias , and promulgation by Him of the Gofpel. At which time ( to verify Jacobs prediction ( Gen.^. 10. ) that t-^1 upon the coming of Shilo, the Civil Government and com- mon-wealth of the Jews was fhortly to expire, and to be changed into the Spiritual and eternal Kingdom of the Mef- liah) We find, not only a fubjeclion of the Jewifli fupreme A Governors The Hi/lory of the life §.2: Governors to the Roman Emperors ; and a new enrolment and tax juft now impofed on that people by Auguftus ( be- ing fuch a fubmiffion as that Nation had never {looped to before : therefore ona Judas of Galilee and much people with him made an infnrrection upon it ( Acl. ?, i7"J°f' Antiq. \%J. i.e.) ) we find I fay not only fuch a fubjedtion of the Go- vernors, but alfo the Government, and the Scepter it felf of the Jews to be now firftput into the hands of a ftranger, He- rod , by race an Idumean. A man, who raged amongft Gods people like a Bear and a Lion, devouring and wafting on every fide. One, who flew their King [Antigonus]* flew their High Prieft [HircanusJ his great Friend, and all the cheif Council of the Jews that fate with him, fave only one manf fee Jofeph. 14. c. 1%. ) extir- pated the race of the Macchabees, and with them leveral of his intimate friends ( ie^Jojepb.^. c. 9.) One, who changed the High Prieft, now of no authority, feven times over in his reign j depofing fome, killing others , fubftituting in their roomes whom hepleafed, perfons of little merit , low condi- tion, that he might be lefs jealous of their power. ( And what He did toward the High Prieft, the fame alio did his fuc- ceflbrs in this government: Amongft whom Valerius Gratus, Pilates PredecefTor, changed the High Prieft in five years five times Jofeph. Antiq. 18. /. 4. c which might fuffioiently inti- mate to the Jews the approaching ceffation of that office by the Aduent of the Eternal High Prieft. ) Again, One, whofe rage entred even into his own family \ killed his wife moft pailio- natly loved by him, and his wives mother ■, killed his three eldeft Sons, ( two of them men of great worth ) as is imagined, cauf- lefly. One, who, when juft vengeance would fuffer him to live no longer, imprifoned all the Jewifh Nobility that he could aflemble together, and ordered , that inftantiy upon his ex- piring, they mould alfo be flain, to change the Jews fore- feen rejoycing at his death into a mourning for theirs. Not here to name that fuperbarbarous Daughter of fo many ('certainly -Innocent becaufe ) Infants in the coafts of Bethlehem. At this time therefore, after the moft cruel of Princes, ( to make him the more acceptable J. was to come to his people the moft merciful, and mild, and peaceful : eternally to deliver them from their enemies, and from the hands of all that hated them (Lu\. 1.71.) When alfo this Ambitious man, much gi- ven to magnificent itru&ures, being ore-ruled by the Divine Providence §.3. of cur Savior Jefus Chrift. 3 Providence, and thinking no other work fo £t to«ternize his own memory (tee Jofeph. Antiq. if. I. 14.^.) or to oblige to him for ever the Jewiili nation, had built and prepared anew Temple, much more fumptuous then the former, as it were for the more folemn entertainment ofthefuddain coming of this Lord into his Temple. ( Malac. $. 1.) And, fix Months before his Conception, firft preceded the g. 3. conception of another, molt extraordinary, JPerfon j One much more than a Prophet ( Lu\. 7. z6. ) one prophecied of by the Prophets ; and called by them Angelus Domini ; of whom the higheft of the prophets, Eiias, was only a Type. 1. And this ** Perfon was, ordained by God to be the Meflenger, and fore- runner, and proclaimer to the world of the coming or this Lord, and of the inftant approach now of the Kingdom ( not of Earth, but,) of Heaven. 2. Appointed aifo to prepare the 2. way for this Prince ; tocaufe the levelling, and making ftraight and plain all places before him ( as is ufually done before great Princes J: but all this was with reference to -mens fpiritual condition ( which only is worth fuch a great defign as we here fpeak of;) as alfo this great Prince, thatwas to come, was a fpiritual Prince ; and this levelling and making ftraight was not ment of material Hills and high waies, but of what was high and ambitious, low and bale, perverfe and crooked, in mens lives and thoughts before fuch a Lord, as was to be en- tertained and to rule, not in mens palaces, but in their hearts. This Perfon therefore was fent to prepare the world, that they fhould, not with any fecular ftate or external magnificent (hews, but with pure Souls and reformed manners ( with which entertainment only this heavenly King was taken ) meet and receive this moft Holy Prince; and therefore He was ordered to appear not in feafting, or in glorious array, orinfome rich andltately Court or populous City or Pallace, but in that moft rigid failing , and in rough apparel, and in an uncultivated defert. Thus, was he fent before to baptize and clenfe the whole Nation, and to purge them from their former fins by repentance that they might be rendred a people fit to entertain foHoly a Prince, and capable to receive the large efFufions of his Spirit. And fo we find, Mat. 3. 7, the whole Nation, as it were, upon his appearing and telling them , that One followed, who brought his Fann in his hand to purge his Floor, and who would burn the chaff with fire unquenchable ( Mat. 3 . 1 1 , n.j, A 2 flocking 4 The Hiftory of the Life fy. 4: flocking unto him ; confeffing fins ( efpecially the meaner peo- ple, Publicanes, Soldiers, andfuchashadno high opinion of their own righteoufnefs); and receiving baptifm; and inqui- ring of him concerning their feveral duty, and amendment of life. See Lul^. 3.10. f5c. -7.29. And amongothers we find alfo repairing to this forerunner, out of the remoter parts of Galilee feveral of thofe, whom our Lord afterward entertain- ed for his Difciples,- learning as it were their firit rudiments from thisBaptift; As, Andrew, John, Peter, Philip, Nathanaiel 'jo. i.e. -and not unlikely Matthew alfo amongft other Publi- cans LttJ^y. 29. Only the Pharifees and Lawyers, much con- ceited of their own Holinefs, fruftrated the Counfel of God againft themfelves, and would not come to confeffion to, or receive baptifm from, Him LuJ^ 7. 30. and as they, firft, re- fufed John's principles and discipline, fo afterward they pro- fitted as little under that of the Meffias. 3. 3. Laftly : this Sacred perfon was ordained to proclaim and bear witnefs of the Meffias, before his face, to ail the people, fo foon as he mould appear ; and with his finger to point out unto them his very Perfon. Jo. 1.26. Only, becaufe he came , fo near, the time of our Lord, no miracles were to be wrought .by him, left he mould turn menseyes upon him felf from him that followed Him, to whom thefe were referved as a Royal pre- rogative; and therefore our Savior enumerated thefe to Johns Difciples queftioning who he was Mar. 11. 5-, 6. to mew them that he was the Meffias and a greater Perfon, then their Ma- iter. SeeMat. 11. ?. .$» 4- St. John Baptift being defigned tofo high an imployment, all things ffuitablyj in him were very extraordinary, and traufcending the common condition of other men. His Pa- rents were chofen by God, perfons eminently holy, and near akin to the Mother of the Meffias (Luj^ei.6, 36.) He was con- ceived miracuioufly (as Ifaac had bin formerly ), when con- cupiscence andluft was now ceafed in his Parents being very old, and paft procreation of children, as if he was not to be a child of the flefh, but of the Spirit. Gal. 4. 29. He was fan&ified and filled with the Holy Ghoft even in the womb , leaping there, for joy ('faith S. Luke i.e. 44. v .) three Months before his Nativity, at the approach of our Saviors prefence, as it were indicating thus early the Meffias to his Mother, His conception was firft foretold to his parents by an Angel, and jthatthe fame Angel Gabriel , who fix Months after annun- ciated §. 4» of our Savior Jefus Chrift. ciated our Lords conception to the blefTed Virgin s and who, being Angularly admitted into thefecretsof God, and one of the Angels of fpecial prefence, ( Lu\. 1.19J had long before thofe times revealed to the greatly beloved Daniel the pun- ctual time or our Lords coming ( Dan. 9. 21,24. ) The Baptift, thus miraculouflyentred into the world, lived alfoluch a life here as never any man lived before him j after his infancy ( as one who was not like other Prophets taken for Gods iervice from leading a common life, but, from the womb, fil ed with the Spirit, ) He left his Fathers houfe ( who lived in a City in the Mountains of Judah ) and retired into the Wil- dernefs,- was never corrupted with any acquaintance with men j nor interefled in any affairs of human life; norkarned at all the finfully-conipliantacts of ordinary fociety i that fo he might afterward, as an equal ftranger to all, and indepen- dent on any for the necefTariesof his life, more freely reprehend the faults of every one, whilft none could tax any in himfelf, He lived in a remote Defert, where doubtlels he had much con- verfe with God and holy Angels ; (for, what can we lefs imagine of him who was fiomthe womb fo Angularly fandti- fied ? ) Heufednotat all the ordinary food of men at leaft af- ter his fojourning in the Wildernefs ; neither eating any Bread, nor drinking any Wine, fo that the Jews feeing fuch abfti- nence affirmed he was poiTefTed. ScqLu/^. 7. 33. His raiment rough and Suitable to his diet; and fuch as he might receive from any dead beaii, for it was but Leather and woven Hair, Of both which, his diet and his Apparel, our Savior pleafed to take particular notice to the people, as betokening an extraor- dinary perfon ; ( Mat. 1 1. 8. -L^k: 7» 3 3- ) from whofe unerring mouth he received fuch a teftimony, as never any had the like See Mat.i 1.9,11,14. [where thothe nth verfe there feems, to intimate, that the leaft of our Saviors difciples or followers mould be made greater than he j ( 1.) in fo me fort more hap- py in hearing and feeing our Saviors words and works, in en- joying clearer manifeftations of the Gofpel , laftly in doing greater things than he , namely all forts of Miracles by the power of our Lord j yet might they be", notwithstanding, and were molt of them, much inferior to him, in the eminency-of a continued Sanctity from his birth, and the dignity of his office. Who was chofen to be the firlt Minifter of the Gofpel, and whofe hallowed Tongue firft fhewed tothe world the per- form of the Meilias, and whofe Sacred hands baptized Him.] Elias 6 The Hi/lory of the Life §. 5; Elias the moft eminent of all the Prophets, as I faid, was his Type ; who prefigured him in his rough apparel, and iolitary abode, and iilveftrian fare; living for the moft part in the For- reftof Mount-Carmel, (as may be gathered from 1 Kjng. 18. 19,42. comp. 2 i(z»£. 4. 25-. the habitation ofhn fucceflorEli- fha ■, ) fed by Ravens in folitude ; and drinking of the Brook; failing be ond all others fave Mofesand Jefus ; typifying in his paffing thro the divided waters of Jordan the baptifm there of this his fucceflbr ; Bold in rebuking vice inAhab, as John in Herod; and perfecuted by Jezebel, as he by Hcrodias. S- ?• And as the great ELias was the type of John, fo was John Baptift the moft exprefs and near Pattern and Semplar of the Meffias, both 'in the courle of his life and in the manner of his doctrine, ' and in his fufferings and death. Miraculoufly conceiv'd in one kind as our Savior was in another; and both foretold by the fame Angel; referved in privacy and folitude all his younger years ( tho full of the Holy Ghoft ) till about the 30th year of. his age; then beginning to preach and bap- tize, as afterward did our Savior : and preaching in the fame new manner and words; ( comp. Mat. 3. 2. with 4. 17. ) declar- ing unto them, a Kingdom in Heaven, which the Lord, that followed him, would confer on the worthy; and the everlaff- ing torments of Hell-fire, which he would inflidt on the rebelli- ous ; telling them of a kingdom of God to beereified, not a- broad, but within them ; and of the Holy Spirit which this King would baptize them with upon their repentance preach- ed by Him, freeing them from the thraldom not of the Ro- mans, but of (in; nor from their fervitude under Herod or Ti- berius, but under the great Prince of all this lower world, Satan their fpiritual, and only dangerous enemy; whofe captives and children, and not Abrahams, they ("unknowingly ) were, till by this Prmce delivered. This was the great deliverance to come by Luh 2. 77. Jefus which both Holy Zachary fpake of in his Benedictus ; [ To giveknowledg of Salvation unto his people by the remiflionof Mxtt.i.zi. their fins J and the Angel in his meflage to Jofeph telling him why he mould be called Jefus or Savior, [becaufe he fhoul4 fave his people from their fins. ] Such punifhments and rewards, liberty and royalty , as the Baptift preached, being the only that were here worth the fpeakingof, or looking after. Thus was the Baptift appointed to be the beginner of theGofpel, .and the firft open promulgator cf this new Spiritual Kingdom. The Prophets, faith our Savior Mat. n.iflj 13. prophecied, un- til §. 6. of our Savior Jefus Chrift. j til [chn, [(j.^ of fuch a thing to come ] j but, from the daies of John, the kingdom of heaven began to fufFer violence j people by troopesuow preffinginto it, and every one Arising to gain for himfelf a fhare thereof, whilft they crowded in fuch multitudes to Johns ( Mat. S.f. J and our Saviors bap- tifms, (Job. 3,26. ) Only John began the publim'ing of this Gofpel afar off as it were ; not coming into the Temple , or the cheif Cities, to preach it,' but Haying a loof off in the Wildernefs, and near Jordan, leaving thefe honors to the Lord who followed Him s by whom the Gofpel was brought ftill nearer, till it vifited atlaft every {mall Town and Village. And as John preceded our Savior in his new and Spi- $• s* ritual doctrine , fo he refembled him muchwhat in his He- roical vertues. Both in his magnanimity and courage, and in his manfuetude and clemency, and in his humility and ielf- denial ( which was never in any man fo great as in our Savior. ) i Ufing the fame boldnefs toward Herod (Lu\. 3. 19, 20, ) as our Savior afterwards did ( Lu\. 13. 32. ) reproving him for all Like _j. i^ the evil he had done, faith the Evangelift, and particularly concerning his Wife; not fearing the implacable wrath of a woman and a Queen, thothis cofthim his life. Again treat- ing the Scribes, the Pharifees, and Sadduces ('whole manners he knew by the Spirit and Revelation, not having learnt them by experience ) at the firft fight, roughly and feverely, as their incorrigible Kypocrify and malice defervdj reproving them in the very fame terms as our Savior j comp. Mat. 3.7. -with 23. 39. and calling them Generation of Vipers or Serpents, ('they being the brood of the old Serpent the Devil in the re- femblance of their manners fee Jo. 8. 44.^ in oppofition to their boafting of their being Abrahams feed, to whom they were nothing like in their lives : 2 Meanwhile, toward the fol- diers, the publicans, and others notorious, but relenting fin- ners, ufing the fame manfuetude as Chrift, teaching them their duty for the future, without upbraiding their former faults. This great Saint, ( not bred in the Court or in ceremonial So- ciety, but in retirednefs and folitude ) neither reverencing the fecular porte and ftate of the Pharifee, nor defpifing the meannefs and low efteemof the Publican. Only in general, the Baptift feems to perfonate a greater aufterity then our Lord both in his converfation and his preaching ; preffing mainly the difcipline of repentance, and threatning much the wrath to come3 $ The Hiftory cf the Life §. 6* come,hell-fire,and damnation, to the difobedient,- having fome- thing more herein of the Spirit of his type Elias ; whereas our Saviors language was more benign and indulgent publifhing rem-ffion or" fin, and promifing a Kingdom to the obedient j ana alio telling his Difciples, that the Spirit of Elias did not fo v/elL befit them. Yetwereboth our Saviors and Johns di- fpenfations fuitableto their feafons; the one anfwering to the beginning of an holy life, the other to the end and confum- rnation thereof ; the one laying the foundation with threats and terrors i the other building it up with confoiations and mercies j the Lord doing the rough part by his fervant, the gentie and mild by himfelf. Again, much refembiing our Savior alfo in his great hu- mility accompanied with fucheminency of Sanctity. He, that was io tar above the Prophets , yet when the Jews fent to him and asked hinij whether he was Elias, or whether he was a Prophet, ( which is to be underftood here as in Mat. \6. 14. the jews, then, holding a Tmhiyhrma.) He anfwered, No: without telling them, that he was that typified Elias, which was for to come ,• or that he was more then a Prophet ; and expreffcd himfelf meanwhile by the moft diminutive term that could be thought on j that he was only Vox clamantts, &c. before a greater Perlon, that was then coming after him. He ftood exceedingly upon his guard of lowlinefs, and difparaged 'him- felf upon all occafions, as the Jews and hisDifciplesmagnifyed him. Being conjectured by them for the Meffias henourifhed not the miftakefor his own honor; but .( faith the Evangelift Jo. 1. 20. J he ronfefTed, and denied not, [i. e. to fpeak this truth againft his own reputation ] but confeffed, that he was not He. And Jo. 3.28. he takes folemn witneis of fuch his confeffion. In comparing himfelf with him, he ufeth an expreffion , to debaic himfelf beneath the loweft of his fervants ; that he was not worthy, itooping, to untie the latchet of his fhoe( Mar, 1. 7- ) and [Jo. 3. 31. ) he faith that he being earthly did but loqui de terra fpeak of the Earth, i. e. low and mean rudiments ( for which S.John ufeth this phrafe fee Jo. 3. v. iz.) in com- panion of Jefus, who coming from Heaven above fpoke of the greater iniitenes which he had there heard and feen. He every where gave place toour Savior; left Bethabara in ]u- dea , the more publick place of concourfe , for our Saviors difciples ( fome of whom had formerly bin his ) to baptize in ,• and retired himfelf North-ward toward Galiiee to Enon near to §. j. of our Saviour Jefa Christ. 9 to Salim. ( Jo. 3.23.) He tranfmittedhisDifciples to him (Jo. i.^S-) andrefign'd his former Auditors, and the multitudes to his conduct : and when the people , fb foon as they faw his great Miracles and heard his divine words, now admired and tiockt after Jefus much more then they did after John; He rejoiced to hear it with an humble acknowledgment ,• Oportet il- ium ere/cere me minui : and when his ambitiou?difcip!es made a complaint to him of it, he anfwered them, that he was but a waiter 011 this Bridegroome of the Church, and his joy was fulfilled to ftand filent by, and hear his fvveet colloquies with his Bride [Jo. 3.29 .) 1 Laftly , after the like vertues and actions to our Sa- § 7. viors, John alfo run before him in the like fufferings. Per- fected by the Pharifees , and call'd by them a Demoniack, as our Savior was, (Lu^. 7.30, 34)-' perfecuted by Herod and ungratefully imprifoned by him, at the folicitationof his Wife, whom before he had heard gladly and in many things obeyed his Holy Counfel Mai\ 6. 20. -and afterward kill'd by him, on- ly for bearing witnefs unto the truth, a year before our iavior j fa well-dancing Girle being preferred before this great Pro- phet); iQ//dwhilft Herods confeience pleaded for him, as Pi- lat's did for Jefus -, and both were by both out of a bafe fear deftroyed. i\ill'd atafolemn Feaft in Galilee that was kept on Herods birth day, as our Savior was at the Pafcal fealt, none of the many great Guefts there opening their mouth for him; beheaded in prifon, privatly, and unheard,- condemn d without witneiTes as Jefus by falfe ones. Put to death by He- rod partly out of religion too, to keep his oath forfooth, as Je- ius was by the Jews to preferve their Law. And then his Reve- rend Head and countenance, which living none beheld without a religious awe andrefpedt, not committed to a decent Grave but carried away in triumph , and ferv'd up in a diih at Herods bloody Table ( who now feared no more his righteous Tongue,) ; there rejoiced over and made merry with: ( the fate of great Saints j{ev. n. 10. ) and expofed to thederifion and abufeofhis malicious enemies ; as alfo our Saviors facred Head and coun- tenance was treated ( but this when alive ; both by his blindfol- ders-and his Crowners -hands, ( knocked, fp;t on, peirccd, by them at pleafure),and laftly as it was expofed to deniion allo(for many hours ) upon the Crofs. With fuch fufFerings God here rewards his worthier!: Servants. And thus much being laid in honour of this great ( I know not whether I may fay ) in fome B manner io The HiJIory of the Life §.8,9. manner the greateft (excepting the B'efTed Virgin) of Saints, the Baptift. Now let us turn our eyes toward our BlefTed Lord that followed him. $• 8- Six months after the conception of the Baptift, the fame glo- rious Angel Gabriel was fent to an opponte fide of Paleftme far diltantfrom the country of the Baptift (that the validity of his teftimony concerning Jefns might not be weakned by any acquaintance between t ele twoKinfmen ) to Nazareth, afmall aud contemptible City ( fee Jo. 1.-4.5 .) of Galilee ; by the Jews a much delpifed Country ( lee Jo. 7. 41' f2- ) a place the fartheft remote from the Royal City and the Temple, and from the noble Tribe of Judah, and the Linage of David from which was expected the Meffias ; and a place of extraordinary darknefs and ignorance, fas we may gather from Mat. 4. if, i<5. a people that fat in darknefs, and in the region and fha- dowof death J; bordering upon, and being it ielf half, Gen- tile. And this remote ignoble Region Gods wifdom chofe for the habitation and education of his own Son, and the Lord of all the Earth. For which country of his our Savior iuftered much mortification and fcorn all his life from the great ones of the Jews, faying, that the Meffias could not come from fuch a place; andwasalfo afterward, by the enemies of Chriftianity Julian and others, reproachfully, call'd the Galilean. And this we may imagine done by the Divine Wifdom for many rea- fons. Firftthat his own Son might here, in all things, re- prefent to us the greateft humility ; and man might hereafter be afhamed to be proud and boaft himfelf of the Nobleuels of his City or Country. And fecondly, that he might here the better be concealed and live in obfcurity , who was to fuffer death from finners before his publick exaltation and glory. 3ly. Again; that where more darknefs was, there they might enjoy the more light, and the efficacy of the Divine Grace moremanifeft it felf in Mans weaknefs : much of our Saviors teaching being fpeut amongft thisdull'and ignorant people : and that, the more to exalt Gods power, from this dark regi- on, thofeperfons fhould cheifly be taken by our Savior, being his own Country-men, who mould enlighten the whole world; 4ly. And laftly that, by this Countries confinment upon, and mixture with, the Gentiles, God might'fhew his Son a com- mon Savior coming to all, not only the Jew, but us Gentiles. $. p. Hither was this great Angel fent from God, in his name to " falute and ill a fpecial manner efpoufe unto Him ( if I may ufe the § io. of our Saviour Jefut Chrift. n the expreffionof the Prophets. E\ech.\6.-Hof. 2. 19. ) that holy Virgin Mary a Daughter of David, found out in thisobfcure corner fo far removed from the Tribe and houfeofher proge- nitors and kindred} a perfon fingled and chofen out of all the daughters of Adam of ali generations, curiouily viewed by his all-iearching eies, whom he thought the raoft worthy to make the Holy Mother of his only Son and the fecond Eve to bring falvation to mankind as the firft had caufed their ruin. Which perfon, fince ihewas thus Angularly gratious in Gods eies above all mortals that ever were, and deftined to that high honor, as never any other creature was, to have a God to be her Son, and cloth himfelf with part of her fub- Itance, to be nounfhed with her milk, to hang on herBrefts, and to be carried about in her armes. And fince God makes all things proportionable and fit for the ends hedefigns them to i we may juftly imagine her purity and cleannefs from fin, her graces and perfections in all vertues, to have furpafTed thofe of the greateit Saints whatever. And, all thofe enamour- ed praifes which God givethin the Canticles to hisSpoufe the Church; [' Behold thou art fair my Love, behold thou art * fair ; thou haft Doves eies —Thou art all fair my Love, there 'is nofpot in thee. --A garden inclofed is my Spoufe,- A fpring Mhutup; a Fountain fealed j --How fair and how pleafant art ' thou, O Love, for delights,looking forth as the morning, fair as 'the Moon and clear as theSuu,&:c.to£.4.i,7}i2.-7.6.]We may conceive in a fingular manner to be verified, above all other faith- ful, in thisBleffed Virgin, the moft high and the moft elevated amongft all the members of this his Spoufe, the Church. If therefore the Baptift, who was to be but our Saviors MefTenger, was, for this office, filled with the Holy Ghoft from the womb (Lu^. 1. iy ) : Surely fo was flie who was to be his Mother,- and probably this is the reafon, that when as the Evangelift faith, of Elizabeth and of Zacharie before their Doxologies and Hymns, and of Peter and others before their Sermons, that they were filled with the Holy Ghoft ; yet no where is f uch exprefiion ufed of thisBleffed Virgin, either before her Magnificat, or on any other occafion, becaufefhe from her very beginning was fo. $• To> And then fhe being fuppofed fo fanclified from the womb; Firft, what holy ftories, feeo\ Greg. Nyfjen. In Natalnn Lo?nini. may we not believe of the pafTmgof her childhood and yon- ger years; of her retirements and praiers ; of her moft pure chaftity, and horror of all carnal luft and Concupifcence; of B z her 1. 1 2 The Hiftory of the Life §. tim- ber dedicating her imfpotted Virginity to God and devoting her felt to his only and perpetual fervice ; of her conftant holy converfation with him, and ardent love toward him ; likethat whichaSpoufe hath to her Husband, which love he fawwho faw hei heart -, or alio who made it there; and fo he, who is never indebted, return' d his love again to Her; who fince he was pleafed to (hew the affection and enamorednefs of a husband to the houfe of Ifrael, tho a very fmful people; in adopting its children to be his own ( fee E\ecb. 1 6. chap, and Hofz.cbap. ) how much more may we fay that he did fo, to this pure Vir- gin, of whom by the Holy Ghoft he produced his natural Son ? Which honour ( fo far furpafling that of theBaptift or of any other Saint ) many Holy men and Doctors of the Church well confidering, aflign alfo to her a fandtification yet higher, then his; fome laying, that fhe(thro the merits of her Son,thro whom only muft any good defcend on any of Adams children) was ex- empted from all actual fin ; others that (lie was alfo cleanfed, or ( as others yet further ) preferved, from that pollution and Main of Original fin, the carnal concupifcence, which inheres in the reft of Adams pofterity ; and that thus, as,thro Chrift, others are delivered from the fins they have any way contracted, fo was fhe preferved from thofe fins which elfe fhe, as a daughter of Adam, mould have contracted 5 that fo this Spoufe , who was to enter- tain fuch intimate vifitations of the Holy Spirit, might have no- thing of the flefh difpleafing in hiseies. And indeed S. Au- ftin , when fpeaking againft the Pelagians of the Univerfal guilt of finning, yet reverently puts in this exception con- cerning this excellent Creature (yet not preferv'd fuch with- out the help of Grace. ) Excepta Santla Virgine Maria; de qua,propter honor em Domini ynullampr or fus, cum de peccatis agitur, habere volo quaff ionem< Inde enim fcimus, quod ei plus gratia col- latum fuerit advincendum omni ex parte peccatum, qua concipere acparere meruit eum, quern conjlat nullum kabuijje peccatum.' $• *'» Secondly, amongft ailother vertucs and perfections and free- dom from offending God, how eminent may we imagine this Holy maid efpecially to have bin in that of corporeal and Vir- ginal purity 1 how free from all carnal lulling ! fince as all fins are oppofiie to that Holy Spirit with which fhe was filled, fo this of the flefh oppofit above ailother. (See 1 tor. 6. i<5, 17, 18,19. -iTheff.4.. 4. ,7. -Epb. f. 3. -Exod. 19. 1 j". -1 Sam. 21. 4. •i Cor. 7. ?, 34.) fo that we may imagine all things of her ( both for her reverence, guard, and vowes, concerning this vertue ) §. 1 1. of our Saviour Jefus Chrift. 13 vertue ; far transcending thofc which have appeared in other Holy perfons. As for her Efpoufals to Jofeph ( which feems al- moit nectfTary to take away the reproach of any daughter of Ifraeljher remaining ilfulefs and unfruitful and not being given in marriage ; and yet more, to take away that of a Virgin that was alio whilft a Virgin, to be a Mother ), it is piouily iup- pofed to have bin done with her requeft, firit made to Him, and as willingly granted by him, or the perpetual conferva- tion of her Virginity. Of the Divine pleafure in which, ( a- mongft fo great Graces me was from her infancy adorned with by the Almighty fo paffionatly loved by her J (he might likewile have fome extraordinary Light and Revelation. For otherwife her Quejlion to the 'Angel, How fhall this be done fince I know not a Man ? as S. Aujiin obferves DeS.Virginitate cap.^. would have had no wonder at all in it, ifthoflie had not yet, file might foon after have, known a man, the Efpou- fals alfo to one being already palfed. —Quod profcBo ( iaith he ) non diceret, nifi Deo virginem (e ante vovijfet. Sed quia hoc Ifraelitarum mores adhuc recufabant , defponfata efi viro jujto > non violenter ablaturo [after acquainted firft with fuch vow] fed potius contra violentos cuflodituro quod ilia jam v over at. And —Virginitatem Deo dicavit^ cum adhuc quid effet conceptura ne- fciret, ut in terreno mortalique corpore calejtis vita imitatio ve- to fieret non pracepto &c, —And —Ip/a quoque Virginitas ejus ideo gratior i3 acceptior3 quia non earn conceptus Chrijlm viro violaturo quam conjervaret ipfe prceripuit ; fed priufquam conciperetur^jain Deo dicatam, de qua nafcereturt elegit. Thus He. Which alfo from hence is rendred more credible, that upon the /^|gels mef- fage we find her with great faith and humility very readily contenting without calling in any fcruples from her late Efpou- fals to Jofeph; as if one preacquainted with her chaftpurpofes, Tho the Angels tranfa&ions with her, and hrr Supernatural Conception ofaSon her modefty and humility thought fit as yet to conceal from him: me being noted by the Evangelift to have bin a perfon of great prudence a"d fecrecy Lu\. 1. 29. -2. 19,5-1. This we may imagine of the BlefTed Virgins Sancti- fication andDevotement to God from her Infancy. But then, when there acceded alio to this fanctifoation by the Holy Spirit dwelling in her heart, the fupervening of the Hr'y Spi- rit as a Spoufe, whereby was caufed in her theConcention ofc the holy child Jefus, if her chaiiity were capable of degrees* how may we conceive it then in the higheft Zenith thereof, and 1 4 The Hi/lory of the Life §. i2. and her then to have even an Angelical purity from any fenfe of carnal Love, or pleafure ! Yet this holy Maid, whom we have feen chofen by God to be the mother of his fonn , fo rich in her perfections and noble alfo in her defcent, for me was to be one of Davids race ac- *• cording to Gods promife unto Him, yet ■, Firft we find her very mean and low for her condition ; and liker to this her father, when he kept Sheep, (in which low condition* alfo God made choice of him ), then when he ruled a Kingdom. Therefore me afterward made this the cheif fubject of her Magnificat , that theHigheft mould pafs by the high, and caft his eye on fuch a lowlinefs LuJ^ i. 48, f 1, /2, f 3. And, when the Angel, in his firft falutation, told her, that fhe was replenifhed with Grace, and Angularly favoured of the Almighty, and ihe the Blefled among all women, her great modefty and mean efteem of her felf, and reflection on her fecular poverty, was much ftartled at fuch fpeech ; and inftead of being exalted to fome vanity from this fair language, as fome, especially of that weaker Sex, are apt to be, fhe caft in her mind faith the Evangelift, '( as being a wife and confiderative foul, Jee Luk. 2.19. ) what fuch a falutation meant; titles fo high to a perfon fomean; and thus *ftill more endeared and enamoured the Lord with her Vermes. §. 1^ And fecondly j which may feem to make her yet fomewhat lower, and to take oif fomewhat from the Luftre of her deareft Jewel, a Virginal purity and integrity, we find her, by the over- ruling of Gods providence and the negociation and impor- tunity dlPier friends and parents, already efpoufed and made fure to an husband ; made fur e to a righteous and holy man in- deed, but one alfo of a low fortune and a poor Trade j where- by her condition, as it was for the prefent but mean, fo nei- ther was it now for the future advancible by a rich or noble marriage ; fo to make more credible to her the Angels news of her high advancement Lu\. 1. 28. And'byGods forecafting providence was it thus ordered -, That, before fhe was with 1. child, flie fhould have a titular husband ; Firft, fo to fheild the wifdomof God, and the honour of the Virgin, from the ca- lumnies of men. For better for her to be thought abroad, in this our Saviours fupernatural conception and birth , not a pure Virgin, then an Harlot; and better the Son of God to be thought the fon of a Carpenter, then illegitimate and fpuri- ous. Yet which titular Father was to be taken away out of fight, before 2. §. 1 4. of our Saviour Jefut Chrift. 1 5 before the Son of Gods publication to Ifrael. As may be col- lected from Jo. 2. 2 , 3 , 12, where no mention of him. Se- 2. condly fo to provide a fofter-Father. for the new-born Infant, and one that might do the offices of a husband and Mailer of a family to the Virgin, when now made a Mother. As like- wife, thirdly, to hide our Saviours divine Original, from thofe •*• who were unworthy to know it, who reputed him Jofephs fon until the accompliihment of his fufferings ; and the better to conceal him, till his manifeftation, undsr a mean roofe. Mean- while much humiliation was here both of the moft pure" and chaftly-devoted Virgin to be thought a wife, and of her di- vine Son (which flie would take to heart more then her own *~l^f4 ***./* e^/t^y crofTes ) tobe eiteem^daCarpem^Tf'wich was JBNs-ljUg^jj^Q (fea^iteii^^^^gji^j^r'iSor coula the perplexed Mother, \(g£jQj$ui}&» present and fieard this from the unbelieving and malicious Jews, prudently orfafely declare the contrary. Now after, the Angel had thus told her in General of her hJAl happinefs, and her low conceit of her felf flood amazed at his words j he further opens hismeflage to her, faying, that God would make her the Mother _of a King, whomfhe fliould call by the name of Jems, and that he mould be a King eternal over Gods ifrael, fitting upon the Throne of her Forefather David, unchanged any more, forever. But here again (lie, in- ftead of feeding her thoughts upon hers or her fons Great- nefs, fixed them rather upon her honefty and the juft Guard of her refolved Virginity; and modeftly enquired how (he, not knowing a man, could have a child ( for it feemsthat the Angels ipeech represented fomuch to her, that, Virgin asfhe was, flie fhould alio be a Mother); whereupon the Angel fur- ther inftrudts her in the manner thereof; that (He fhould con- ceive this child not by man, but by God Himfeif, bv the Holy Ghoft fupervening upon her , and the power of the Higheft overfhadowing her ; and therefore, that her Son fliould be cal- led his ; and then, the more to confirm his fpeech, and her faith, familiarly added, that her Coufin Elizabeth tho not a Virgin, yet of a long time formerly noted for barren, and then alfo much overaged for children , was now fix Months gone of fuch a fupernatural conception. And now, tho many queftions the Virgin might further have asked fUll, concern- ing this miracle of miracles f for who can fouir' tke depth o fo great a myftery ? ) and we fee how wea i; a nd incredulous, in comparifon of her, the Holy Prieit Zachary was for a birth of 1 6 The Hifiory of the Life §. 1 5; of much lefs marveilj ( and therefore the Virgins undifputing and ready faith is much taken notice of by the HolyGhoft in the mouth of Elizabeth with a beata annexed to it ; heata qua crediderit Luj^i. 4J ) ; and tho many fcruples fhe might have made alfo concerning what the juft Jofeph would think, and what the world would fay, Yet here her great prudence flopped all further cunofity and the fuggeftions of fuch low fears j and fhe meekly acquiefced in Gods good pleafure; an- fwering the Angels High, Ecce Mater Domini, with her Low, ecce 'Ancilla Domini-^ &, Fiat mihi [ecundum Verbum tuum : This her ready faith, andmodeft confent, aud fubmiffive re- signation of her felf into the hands of God, making and cora- pleating this divine efpoufal; inftantly upon which followed the Conception of Jelus; and this Mfriftf be«rmej>©ne, whom all Generations mould call BlefTed ; BlefTed and honoured above all the Creatures of God,- as they have done unto this day. ;• *f- Soon after this, the overjoyed Virgin , having heard from the Angel that ftrange ftory concerning her Coufin Elizabeth [called her Coufin, Becaufe tho we find her ftiled LuJ^i. j.a daughter of Aaron, and is fuppofed to have anAaronite for her Father,- Yet her Mother is faid to have bin one of the race of David, and Sifter to the Mother of the BlefTed Virgin. As it had bin of a long time ufual for the Tribes to inter- marry, efpecially that of Levi difperfed in Ifrael,- and for fuch women as had no inheritance. So Jehoiada the High Pneft married King Ahaziah's filter 2 Cbron. 22. And David Sauls daughter a Benjamite. ] I fay the BleiTed Virgin having heard this ftrange and joyful news of her Coufin Elizabeth, and having this as it were, given her for a fign of the truth of thefe things which fhould happen to her felf, being now acted by the Holy Ghoft to do extraordinary matters, and filled with a courage unufual to a Maid, undertook, all on the fud- dain, and before any cohabitation with her efpoufed husband Jofeph, as appears mMatt. 1. 18. a very long .journy to a place far remote from her own habitation, and Friends, fome 70 or 80 miles, thro fome part of it an hilly and difficult way, quite crofs Paleftine ( Lul^ 1. 39. ) to give her Coufin Elizabeth avifit, 'io confer with her about, ipuiuial affairs, to congra- tulate with her for the great favours ood had done unto her and to joine with her in nispi'aifes. But chiefly fuch a remote journey at this tune prefently upon her Conception of our Lord §. i$. of our Saviour Jefa Cbrift. 17 Lord feems to be undertaken, and fo long a ftar alfo there, by the fpecial Divine Providence ; that there might be no cohabi- tation nor matrimonial correfpondence or commerce with Joleph her Husband ( therefore the Augelsvifit fecms alfo to have bin prefently after the Efpoufals ) till fhe was firft appa- rently with child: which commerce Her great wifdom pur- pofely declined, that nothing might be feen that might rele 111- ble any carnal or conjugal fatisfaiftioa. She departing, faith the Text ( not without fome Mortification to herfelf ) cum fejtina- Lukj i- 3?« tione. And therefore after fo long allay abroad till (lie began now to be apparently with child to a curious obferver; at her return file gave a great jealoufy toHim,not yet acquainted with this fecret of herfeeming difhonefly abroad,after(as may pioufly be conceived) fhe had fo religioufly covenanted with him at her Efpoufals a perpetual coniervation of her Virginity. Where we may note the great humility of thisperfon, after fo highly favoured of God, in going meekly fo long a journy to vifit a perfon now fo much inferior to her felf; but more the humi- lity of our Saviour, God before all worlds ; wh©, in this his eftateof exinanition, devifed a way to fiiew his humility, even already, when he was fcarce form'd in the womb; inputting his Mother upon fo long a peregrination for his making a vi- fit to his fervant John ; who, we may imagine, had he had words as well as motion, would with his leaping for joy have faluted Jefus, as his Mother did the Virgin, with an ; Vnde hoc miht, ut veniat Do minus mem, &c. -In her way, or very near it, was Jerufalemand the Temple ; whither it is raoft probable that file, foholy a Creature, and now bearing him, who fancifieth all things, in her womb, went tirft to fay her Magnificat Lhere unto God; and to exalt him for this exaltation of her; and early to offer thisfpringing iruit of her womb unto his father. Especially when we find this her vifit of Elizabeth to have bin about the foiemn feafiof the PaiTover, for it was about tluee Months before the Baptifts birth that flie took this journey. And there will aifo be lefsft;angen:fsin, and more Invitation to, it; ifwe imagine Joleph, herSprufe, a pious mandoi;btlefs, afcendiug about that -time to jerufalem to the great Pafchaj feaft, to have bin acquainted with her purp fe,- and to have accompanied her fo rar, which was the greateit part of her way: and fo (lie, after having ftaid there the Paichai Hny- daies, to have finiffied the reft of her journey in the Company of Zacharias her Coufin, or fome or his Relatione. But the C former 1 8 The Hiftory of the Life §.16. former defign : and privacy, in this journey Teems to me much more probable ; and a chief motive or it to have bin her ab- fence and forbearing any converfe with Jofeph till her Gravi- dation. S- T^. Safely arrived at her Coufins, God here alfo entertained her with new teftimonies and confirmations of the Angels former meffige. For firft fhe found her aged and fterile Coufin, as the Angel had faid, far gone with child. ' And alio, at her firft appearance, ( as if the prefence of our Lord and of this his Holy Mother had brought the Holy Ghoft with them into that Houfe ( as the Perfons of the Trinity are never feparated )} the child John, at his Lords approach, began to perform his homage and adoration to him; as it were, leaping for joy ( faith the Text) in Elizabeths womb; and, probably, he was now firft fi led by this Lord with the Holy Ghoft. And again ; the Mother, at the firft words which the Holy Virgin breathed out to her, was alfo filled with the Holy Ghoft. By whofe in- ftmct, fhe firft fheweth a moft profound reverence to her (to teach the following ages their duty ) with an, Vnde hoc mihi> ut Veniat Mater Domini met ad me ? reverence I fay > tho fhe the wife of a Sacred Prieft, and an ancient Matron, and Mary a young maid, and meanly betrothed to a manual Artificer ; and then,' by the fpirit, fhe repeats a fecond time the Angels words —Benedicla inter mulieres (being the firft of all Generations that call'd her BlefTed)- fhe magnifies her ready faith ; Beat* qua credidit &c. and, by a prophetick infpirement , prevents her in relating what had happened to her, before herfelfhad revealed anything thereof; calling her a Mother, thoftillre- maining as much a Virgin as formerly ; and (going one note beyond the Angel ) finging a Benedi&us alfo to the new fruit of her womb ; [ Benediblus partus ventris tui ] ; whilft this cho- fen veffel meanwhile overflowed with joy, in receiving a fe- cond Annunciation from the holy Elizabeth. And now what doth the Virgin do, but, having received thefe Eulogies, im- mediatly, without fufFermg them to reft in her bofom, or to fweli her to any elevation of fpirit, offer them unto the Lord > changeth their Magnificant which al(o her itraying fo far from home gave them ftill more caufe toqueftion. And not abiolved, her p imminent was no lels then death; to be carried before the door of her fathers houfe, and there to be ftoned to death ( fee Deut. 22. 21. and 24. ) Or, if this could fome way be avoided j yet fo could not the lofs of her reputation in the higheft degree^ in being reported diihoneft and an har- lot. §. 19. This wasalfo aggravated by the great affection and reve- ~ rence the Virgin bare to her offended husband. Or whom, be- sides that the Scripture g vesthis teftimony, that he was a juft and righteous man, thatalfo which we faid before of the blei- fed Virgin may be in fome fort applied to him ; that he was certainly araoft eminent Saint, and one chofen by God out of many thoufands, and with iuitable Graces and perfections endued, who was to have that tranfcendent honour, above all other holy men, as to be the third perfon in the family of Je- fus, and fo often vifited by Angels from God, to direcl him what he mould do (ittMat. 1. 20. -2. 17, 22 ) ; to bethenur- fing Father of Gods only Son, and the Guardian of his Infant exile into a forraign land; tobehisGovernour and Mafterof his Houfe ; to whom the Son of God fhould be fubjecl: and ferve, with the ftrict duty of a Son to his Parent in thofe ne- ceflary offices, and affairs wherein he fhould imploy him : with- out any medling with other matters we may prefume, for the major part of his life here on Earth ( except only for fome three daies fpace ( when twelve years old ) that his zeal was per- mitted to follow his own fathers bufinefs ). Again, who fhould have the neareft relation of any upon Earth to the Mother of God, committed to his care, to undergo for her and her Son all labours and provide all neceflanes, and defend them from ail injuries, that a Mother and an Infant in a poor and mean condition are fubject to. Surely great muft be the perfecti- ons of his perfon, who was thought worthy to guide fuch a fa- mily, and evteriourly to govern him that governs the world. And the dearer he was to the BlefTed Virgin for thefe , the greater §. 19. of our Savior Jefus Chrift. 21 greater torment to her muft be his difpleafure j which dif- pleafure , tho on her part groundlefs, yet had file no likely means to remove. Should (lie go to him, and tell him the ftory of what had happened to her ? But then in fo much intimacy of acquaintance, why had ilie not done this betore, when flie as yet had no concernment to teU him an untruth ? And, fince it was fuch a wonder, as was hard to be afTented to or believed by her when an Angel from Heaven told it to her, as joyful news j how much more incredible would it feem to him, when a woman with child by another then her husband , brings it for her excufe ? and pretends an heavenly vifit and intercourfe to Veil «. fuppofed Crime? Befides: her great humility and modefty , her religious filence of Gods lecret and intimate tranfadtions with her, hindred her, that file knew not as yet how to reveal to any a thing which tended fo much to her own praife and honour i ( For fo alfo the Holy Ghoft, notfhe3 had formerly difclofed it to Elizabeth ). Wherein (he remainetli to all Chriftians an everlafting pattern, in any fuch extraor- dinary vifits and favours of God, of what is fafeft for them and more perfect, if not their duty, to do, Safejt I fay to con- ceal luch favours, for many reafons. ' Becaule, ordinarily, fuch favours cannot be related without fome vanity and fei£- conceit. l Becaufe the publifiiing fuch things begets- eftima- tion amongft men, and this begets pride in the efteemed, and this pride ruins that for which we are efteemed. ' Becaufe by it at leaft we feem to others to magnify onrfelves; and fo indeed lofe our former reputation with them by feeking to increafe it. 4 Or at leaft feem to difparage others who re- ceive not the like favours. s Or to difparage Godswifdom in. reprefenting him more favourable to the more unworthy.. She therefore, in all this ftorm, held her peace; and patiently endured her beloved [ofephs ftrangenefs to her ; armed (as we: may pioufly believe ) both with an holy refolution and refig- nation of her felf tofuifer cheerfully and willingly whatever human crofTes fuch celeftial Graces and favours fhould draw after them i.and alfo with an extraordinary confidence in God,, that he would in due time make known her innocence at leaft, if not her honour; and own his Son, without cafting the juftification thereof upon the modefty of a woman. For why fhould he not defend her whom her obedience to him only had. expofed to reproach? and why not in this time of need reveal as much to Jofeph, as he had done, when no fuch exigency, be- fore to Elizabeth ? Mean- 22 The Hi/lory of the Life §.20,21. $. 20. Meanwhile Jofeph, being a good man, was not hafty, out of a fuddainpaflion, to make herapublick example ; but re- ftrained himlelf for fome time, thinking to do it privily ( per- haps by concealing the betrothment, or giving her a bill of divorce upon fome other pretence ), fo as might lefs redound to her difgracej whole former vertues and perfections now faded and withered, as hefuppoied, he could not but ftill re- verence and lament. Yet this his merciful delay ferved alfo to continue fo much longer both his and her affliction. At length when the matter was ready to break forth, between his refolution and the execution thereof, Hac eo cogitante iaith the text, before the leaft rumour of any fuch fufpition was divulged, ( that we may fee, as Saints are patient in their fufFerings, fo God is as perfect and exact in his deliverance )> the Angel now fteps in, (with the million of whom God could have prepared Jofeph as well, ( had he pleafed ), before he had firft feen the Virgins fwelling womb : ) and in the due time frees them both from their forrows and fears. He therefore, now the firft time appearing to Jofeph in a Vifionby night, and courteoufly faluting this mean Artificer with the title of the Son of David, to mind him of his more particular relation to theMeflias defcending* from Davids race, reveals to him j that Maries conception was of the HoiyGhoft, and that (he mould bring forth a Son that fhould fave his people from their Mat. 1-2.1. Jins j- and therefore when born, he mould call his name Jesus. The Angel here, as Zacharie in his Hymn, fignifying, that his Kingdom was not to be a temporal, but ( which only much concerned us,) a fpiritual Kingdom; and therefore that he was to come in a futable d re is, not in pomp and ftate, but in all felf-denial and humility. f2i. Jofeph awaked yeilded a ready and undifpnting belief to thefe things fo incredible and new: and,( faith the Scripture ) prefently did as the Angel had bidden him ; and took the Blefled Virgin to perpetual cohabitation with him, and fhel- tered her Honour. And furely this Angel's apparition, and that which he faid , was now enough to deter Jofeph from ever approaching this Holy Virgins bed,- and to make him treat her ever after with that reverence and modefty, which her Sacred perfon required. As likewife the near neighbour- hood and prefenceot this holy child muff needs infpire his fan- I Soul with the fame heavenly love to fingle life, and With the fame chaiuty, and purity of thoughts, which was in" his §.22. of our Saviour Jefus Chrift. 23 hisSpoufe, and which many married perfons, tho much infe- rior to thefe Saints, have bin endowed with fince, by the pow- er of the fame Holy Spirit, long cohabiting without touching one another. Thus therefore we may imagine thefe two lived together afterward in our Saviours family ; enjoying now a Spiritual union much more delicious, then any carnal ,• and doing all conjugal duties for the breeding up of their little In- fant, without tafting any of the fleflily pleafures thereof. Mean- while, how many joyes at once ravifht this poor mans heart at his awaking ( who went to bed loaden with fo much greif ) > joyes, for the coming of the Meffias whom all men had fo long expected; for the Virgins innocency andhonour, one fo near- ly linked to him and loved by him ; for his being chofen, fo mean a man, amongft all the progeny of David, to be Guar- dian to Her and her Holy child. How well he was now re- warded for his difcreet proceeding and patience, in notfeek- ing prefently publick revenge or fatisfadtion for his fuppos'd violated Bed; and again, how great confolation the Virgin now received for her pa ft affrights, fecured for ever under the protection of an husband from the obloquies of the wicked, I leave you to meditate byyour-felf, whilft I proceed. And now this BlefTed couple live fecurely and peaceably to- §. 22<; gether at Nazareth, providing, as well as their mean condi- tion to the uttermoft was able, for the conveniences and de- cency if not the ftate, of the approaching birth of this great Prince ; Abrahams promifed feed, in whom all Nations mould be blefTed : and Davids Son, who fliould fit on his Throne for ever without any fucceffor. And this fmall town of Nazareth, fo far remote from the Relations of David, feemd alio fpeci- ally chofen by the Almighty for the more privat birth and education of his Son: wherein he might belt ly hid and dif- guifed till' his manifeftation to Ifrael. But meanwhile the Prophecy, and that a noted one, ( tee Job. 7. 42. ) ftridly re- quired, that this Son of David fhould be born in no other place, then Bethleem, the Town of David, where he alfo was burn. And the very name of this Town [Viz. the houfe of Bread as alfo Ephrata fruitfulneis or plenty") was alfo of old ordained with relation to this childs birth there; becaufe the world fhould thence at the appointed time receive this bread of life; and God outof it would bring forth him, who fhould feed his people Ifrael ; as the Evangelift feerns to allude , Mat. %. 6. And at this very place alfo, or dole by it ( leeG• but this not for the paines which that tender age then feels from the ftraines and cruihings of the parturition, or fudden chilnefsof an open A.ir,4nor.yet for his cold harbour and Straw-bed ; which miferies he foreknew and voluntarily chofe, and with a finding patience underwent; but, for mans fin, the caufe of all our, and his, mifery ; now beginning his Interceffions for mans of- fences, and offering theie firft tears for the expiation thereof. Thus come amongft us poor and naked, his pious Mother, ( whom we may imagine, ( free from Eves curie, ) to have brought forth without pain him that (lie conceived without fin; and fo who was enabled prefently to perform the office of a Nurfe, after that of a Mother J took him up ( Lu\. 2. 7. ) and caft fuch poor cloths about him, as her fortune, and fo long a journy afforded ; and inftead of a Cradle, laid her Babe down to reft in the Manger of the Stable,- being but a cold and hard pillow for him, if cutout of the Rock, and this Cradle at his birth not much unlike his grave at his Death. §• 29- [After this low manner, ( if I may be permitted to ftay a lit- Digrefs. tie in Contemplation of this great wonder of our Lords Exi- namtion) to teach haughty man humility, and to confound his pride, was the Son of God pleafed to enter into the world. Thus was he born, becaufe thus born he would be: who alone amongft all Infants foreknew and preelected both the place and manner of his birth. Thus was he pleafed to be brought into it amongft beafts, as afterward to be carried out of it amongft theeves. Thus was the fecond Adam , who might, had he thought fit, have bin created with the fame preemi- nences as the firft, in a perfect and flourifhingage, pleafed to oblige himfelf for his birth unto a woman, and for hislife un- to the fubjeftion and infirmities of youth and infancy; and this place was the Paradife, wherein he was put. He-, not an Adam from the Earth, but the Lord from Heaven. 1 Cor. 1 7.47. Tor the entertainment of whom, when Salomon with all his wifdom and wealth had built his golden Temple, yet was he afhamed that it was fo mean and fo unworthy to receive him." ' Thus §. 29. of our Saviour Jefus Ckrift. 29 Thus to expiate the former Adams, Ero fimilis Altiffimo Gen. 3. ;. this Jltiffimus became Jim His Homini. Like to man in everything; io far as to beconceiv'd and born of: a Woman, becaufehis brethren were fo: That he might fulfil the Spou- fe's wifli in the Canticles ( c. %.v. i.) 0 that thou wert as my l?rcther} that fuelled the hrejls of my Mother; to pleafe this Ins Spoufe, as her brother he was in every thing ; not leaving out, nor skipping over that. lleeping and unadive age in the womb, and that loathfome and impotent condition of a new-born In- fant, of whichfee^fc. i<5. 4. Ihohe was not intended by his latherto be imployed in our affairs till 30 years of age; yet Pudorem exordii nojiri non recujavit ('faith S. Hilary ) fed ?ia- tura iwflrce contumelias tranfeurrit. He fubmitted himfelf to be imprifoned for fo long a time in io dark and ftrait a cell as a woraanswomb. Wherein fome obferve that he began his fuf- ferings much earlier then the reft of the fons of men ■> becaufe, fuppofed to have from his very firft Conception, from the Uni- on of the human nature to his Divine perfon, a perfect ufe of his intellectual faculties and fenfeof thefe his fufferings, when as God, in thefe firft beginnings of our miferable life, hathfu- fpended in others the ufe of reafon to hinder the fenfeof pain. Now after that we once underltand what aclofeimpri- ibnment that of the womb is, what evil would not we chufe, rather, then once more undergo it > and what horrour had Nicodemus thereof, when he thought our Saviour had pre- ferred it (Jo. 3 )> Yet fo fervent was our Saviours love unto mankind, that he thought himfelf not fufEciently intimate and united unto him, unlefs he took up his firft lodging, tho known to be fo inconvenient , even within his very bowels. And as this he did at his coming into the world,- fo again,- at his going out of it, in the myfterious Eucharift he contrived a way, how his Sacred body might enter again into us, and he dwell again within us. A" foon alfo as freed from this firft re- ftraint, he fubmitted Himfelf to have his Hands and Feet„ whofe omnipotent hands had formerly made the Wor-ld, taken and bound anew with fwathbands, which were at lalt, when fufEciently grown for it, to be bound with cords, and faftned with nails. Notto mention yet-another binding, namely that of his Tongue, to fo long a time of fi ence ; no fmall mifery tothatfeebie age, which wants moft help, yet can ask none : but a greater humiliation to the Son of the Almighty, that this effential Word of God, and Wifdom of his Father, mould empty go The Hi/lory of the Life §-3°» empty it felf into fo long dumbnefs and filence, being already an agnns. ligatus, & fe obmutefcens & non aperiens os fuum. Who alfo, after he had the ufe of fpeech, yet underwent fo great a felf-denial in this Kind, that tho all his words flowed with wifdom (Grace being poured into his lips Pfal. 45-. 2.) and were all carefully laid up by his obferving Mother, yet it feemed good unto him, that his Hiftorians ( four of them ) fliould not mention one Word that came from this Word, till he was a years old, and that firftword mentioned by them was a pro- femon of his zealous obedience to the will of his Father. Lu^. 2. 49. Again, like to man he became fo far as to be made under the fame Laws with them, ( Gal. 4-4,); not only under the Moral, but Ceremonial too j which coft his infancy a bloody Circumcifion : not under Gods, but Cefar's, Laws too, the punctual obedience to which ('wherein, it were ftrange if a woman fo great with child might not have bin difpenfed with, had not God in his fecret wifdom more exacted this fubmiffion of the child, than the Mother^ coft him fo many afflictions attending his Nativity. Wherein he delcended far below his fervant the rigid Baptift , who was born at home with great refort of congratulating neighbors. And thus early began him- felf to give a pattern to his followers, in leaving hishoufe, and his country, and his Father in i'ome fenie, out of whole bo- fomehe came, and the fociety of Angels, into this place of Beafb. Here look upon Him now at his very loweft and weakeft. And how well doth S. Pauls expreflion of his exinani- tion fuitwithit? That he, who was in the form of God, and thought it no robbery to be equal with God , yet made him- felf of no reputation , in taking upon him the condition of inch a forlorne Infant: And that he, that was fo rich, yet be- came to fuch a degree poor to make us rich. And how well now do his own words Mat. 11.29. in this pofture, and in this age ( the emblem of humility ) especially become Him > Learn of me for lam me ekjind lowly j and (Matt. 20.28. ) The Son of man came not to be mimflredunto. ^,j0( And thus it feemed meettohim> whojuftly proportioneth " all things, the exaltation fuitable to the humiliation, and the meafure of glory to that of ignominy, ( Phil. 2. 9. -Heb. 2. 9. -12. '2. ) in his intending to build the exaltation of this man Jefus higher then all, to lay his humiliation lower then all ; and this King, being to have not one, but two comings into this lower world, the latter whereof was to be with exceeding," pomp, t §. 3 1 . of our Saviour Jefa Chrift. 5 ! pomp, and glory, and attendance, with fhouting and found or. Trumpet ( 1 The(. 4. iJM* ; Good-will and well-pleaf- ing; fuch good will to man as God had to this Babe his own Son; which he exprefTeth elfewhere in juft the fame terme, JEy %kv£m,m. Mat. 3. 17. fuch well-pleafing in man, as to make his only Son not an Angel, but a man. —Such peace and Good- will from God toward men below * and Glory, for it, from men and Angels, the welwifhers of men, to God on High. [But yet perhaps another Glory fung by the Angels to God on High, with reference even to themfelves. For this Babe is faid not only to be a Head of men (Col. 1. 18. ) but of Angels Col. z. 10. ( from which it follows, that Angels are not only his fubjects, but alio in fome fenfe his members) and God the Father is faid, to gather together in one, in Him, all things; not only whichareon Earth, butalfo which are in Heaven : ( Eph.i.xo.) and further yet ; to reconcile unto himfelfby this babe ( mak- ing peace thro the blood of his crofs,) all things whether they be things on earth, ©r things in heaven {Col. 1.20. J. Even thofe things in heaven receiving fome benefit, it feems, ftho we do not well know in particular what) fome further fancl:i- fication, or illumination , or recommendation to the Deity thro Him j by whom as thefe Angels were created, fd it is faid that they were created alfo for Him ( Col. 1. 16. ) and they, as all the reft of the Creation, are acceptable, and well-pleafing to God only thro Him, being of themfelves of no value with- out Him. Befides, the whole Creation being faid (T{om. %. 22.) to groan under fin, the whole Creation may be fuppofed to be fome way or other releiv d, by this Expiatourof fin. And (Heb.^.i^.) there is mention of a purifying, even of the hea- venly Sanctuary, the habitation of thefe BlefTed Angels, by this Babe ; as if that had bin fome way polluted by the fain Angels fin, as the Earth by mans. And (2Mj.i?J Tis faid, that as anew earth, fonew heavens, flial-be made, wherein dwelleth righteoufnefs; as if the prefent, at lealt the lower regions of them, retain'd fome contagion of unnghteoufnefs. See y^.ir. i5-.-2f.r. And ( Eph. 6. 12.) thereis mention of wickednefs , dwelling now in heavenly places; and ( Job. 1.7.) of that filthy Fiend Satan, by Gods permiffion, appearing there, after his peram- bulation thro the earth, in his prefence, amongft the fons of God. And (l{ev. 12. 10. we read of a war in heaven, between the good and bad Angels, and of the ejection, from thence, of the Evil Amgels, by the power of Chnft.' Pardon this excur- fion: § • 3 7 1 3 8 • cf our S avior Jefus Chrift. 3 5 lion: for we can fet no certain bounds to the benefit, which the whole Creation hath receivd thro this Infant o God. For whom therefore all the Angels of God; as well as men, are ob- liged to fing ; Gloria in excelfs Deo. ~\ a And what the Shepheards heard thefe fing, at the fame time, « ,_ lung all 'the reft of the whole Hoft of Heaven, and went, and paid their worfhip, and adoration to thechi'd in the Manger, according to the Edict of the Almighty PjgI 97 7. mentioned Heb. 1. 6. -Wfjowhen he brought in his Firji-bom into the nwrld, [aid: And let .all tke Angels of Godivorjhip Him. At;d the Apo- itle, in defcription of the myftery of the Incarnation 1 Tim. j. 16. after [ God manifested in the rlefh } adds, [feen of Angels] perhaps with fpecial relation to this folemn vifit, and doxo.- logy of theirs, at his Nativity. And S.Peter fur her laith 1 Fet, 1. 12. That they even longed to look into this matter, as if they could not be Satisfied with feeing it, it plea fed them fo well. Of this honour done to the only begotten of God, at hs Nativi- ty ,by the Ange]s,how much was made vifible to Jofeph and Ma- ry in the houfe, befides this that appeared to the Shepheards in thefeild, we know not -, but meanwhile are bound gratefully to admire, how free from envy, ( thecaufeof fome of. their fall.) and how full of love , and benevolence towards man , thefe more noble Creatures were,- exulting, and praifing God for this honour done their In feriours, whereby thele miferable crea- tures when fitting in darknefs , and in the fhadow of death, eternal objects, together with the fain Angels, of Gods wrath, were now by this Babe, advanced into their fociety, and made ions of God, and Heirs of Heaven: nay in fome fenfe advan- ced above themfelves,- God palling by the fubftanceof An- gels, Heb. 2. 16. and making this babe, his Son, eternally to wear the form and fafhion of man rather , becoming fle/b of hisflejh, and bone of his bone. When the Angels had fung to the liftening Shepheards this §, 33, Song, this Troop afcended into heaven again, and went out of their fight: and the believing Shepheards, not valuing the harm which might happen to their forfaken flocks, made hail toward Bethleem, to fee this Lamb of God, fha 1 1 lay, or Shep- heard oflfrael > ( for by both thele titles he hath delighted to be filled. Jo. 1. 29. -10. 11. -E^ec. 34.23. ) where the) found the Babe as defcnbed , and fell down and did their homage to Him fin a reprefentation of the whole nation of the [ewSjand, we may prefume, offered iome fmall preientj (as is ulual to E 2 great 3 6 The Hiftory of the Life §.39: great Princes by their Subjects,,) and as afterward we read the Magi did, for the Gentiles ). Whom this Spiritual Prince re- warded richly for their pains, in fpiritual things; in illumi- nating their minds, and | enflaming their hearts with a love and zeal of his glory: for, their fa4'£« °f our Saviour Jefut Cbrift. 43 This his Circnmcifion therefore teems to have bin perform- §. 4f. ed as with the greateft reverence, fo privacy, hardlhip, a..d inaccomodation. And, if the Inftitution, and Signification of this facred Ceremony be well examined, we fha'lrmd our Lord here entring upon the ftage of his fufferings with the performance of one of the greateft acts of humility , and vo- luntary obedience that his whole life afforded ; and that his Circumcifion, andhis Crofs, i.e. thefirft, and the !aft act of his life , were the two greateft abafements, tha. is celeftial, pure, and unfpotted Perfon defcended-to. In both which he was content to appear to the world in the Similitude of {in- fill rlefh, I(om. 8. 3- and to be numbred amongft the Tranf* greffors, E(ay. ^3. and to bear the penalties of fin , as if he had bin a {inner. As in that laft aft to be condemned for the greateft Malefactor, and Blafphemor, and deftroyer of the law ; fo in this firft to fufFer, as a finful Son of Adam, 'an ex- piation of that Original Guilt, with which he was never ftain- ed,- and that not a warning only with water, as it is now in baptiim; but a (bedding ot his blood. For though Circumci- fion (then ) was a Sacrament otthe fame Evangelical Cove- nant, as now Baptifm is, yet was not this expiation ( then J to be without (bedding of blood, as a type, and figure of what was to come, till the true blood of our Redemption mould be fhed upon the Croft, after which now the Ceremony of a inun- dation only with water fufficeth. [ To digrefs a little here, the more exactly to weigh thejuft §. 4^, importment ot this Ceremony, which if you think an imperti- nency, you may pafson to § ?6. For Circumcifion, and the obligation which then the people of God had to it, thus the cafe ftood. Adam being fallen from his original righteouf- nefs, and io having loft the Grace of God, and being become unable to obferve his commands, and, by the breach of them, liable to eternal death, and the lofs of the heavenly inheri- tance; yet God, in compaffion to him, then promiied a feed, that fhould bruife the head of that ferpent that leduced him Gen. 3. 15-. and by whom mould be had redemption, pardon of former fin, reftorement of Grace and ot the Holy Spirit to keep Gods commands fofar, as this Covenant of Grace required; and a new benediction, and introduction into the heavenly in- heritance, to all the faithful, and children ot the Gofpel And fo by this promifed feed, and in this faith, and Covenant Evan- gelical, were all the holy men preceding Abraham, even from F 2 Adam, 44 The Hiftory of the Life §47. Adam, Abel, Enoch, Noah, &c. redeemed, and faved. And Fathers of the faithful ( alfo before Abraham ) all thefe were in refpect of their fpiritua pofterity ; and probably had fome different ceremony from the reft of mankind, by which they were initiated into this Evangelical Covenant, and conftitut- ed members of Gods Church j tho Abraham firft, &T'f(fow, bare this name for his raithinGod Angularly eminent among the reft; He believing ( as the Apoftle faith T{om. 4. 18.) with his wife and family in hope even againft hope, firft inrelmquifh- ing at once his country, and kindred, at Gods bare command, not knowing ( faith the Apoftle Heb. n. 8. ) when he went out whither he went; 2ly. and then in believing Gods power to give him ifluein fuch an old age; and laftly after he had lfTue, in that moft tranfcendent effect of his faith, the oblation, and flaughter ofhisonelv Son, in whom were made the promifes. Tohith therefore more exprefsly, than formerly, God renewed his promile ( as he did afterward again to David ) that this promifed feed fhould defcend from him ; in which feed all, both he, and the reft of his feed, i.e. fo many as were fons of his faith, even amongft all nations , as well as the Hebrews, fhould be blejjed\ i. e. mould obtain redemption, remiffion of former fin, anew fandtification by Godsfpirit, and ability to obferve his laws; and laftly, the inheritance of the heavenly Canaan. ( See Ge n. 22.28. compared wit\f Gafat. 3d Chapter .* which latter may ferve for a comment upon the former. ) 3-47. This Covenant God made with Abraham's faith : And then, for the time preceding the coming of this Seed, even of this BlefTed Infant Jefus who fhould accomplifh this Redemption, heinfiituted for a Seal of this Covenant between them ,• and that as well for all Profelytes of the Gentiles-, as for Abraham's carnal pofterity, Gen. 17. 12,23. Inftituted, 1 fay, the Circumci- fion, and cutting-off of the prepuce of that member, in which,, after mans fall, firft appeared the effect of fin, and the rebel- lion of thefiefti againft the Spirit. Of which rebellion our firft Parents, in the beholding it, were fo much afharaed ; which fliame alfo hath adhered "to all their pofterity. By which Circumcifion of Abrahams flefh were fignified to Him the very fame things through this feed then promifed, as are now to us, bybapnfm, through the feed now exhibited j namely, his renouncing cutting off, and mortifying the former lulls of the fl fh, and of fin in his members ; and becoming a reformed and new Creature to walk thereafter (.by grace conferred through this §.4-8,49- of our Saviour JefusChrift. 45 this feed ) in all purity and righteoufnefs: at which time God therefore alfo as to new Creatures gave to him,and his wife, new names Gen. 17. changing them from Abram and Sarai, to Abra- ham and Sarah; Now in this facred Ceremony, as Cod engaged, on his part §.48. of the Covenant , redemption from fin, and Grace reftored " ' through the promifed Seed, to Abraham, and to all thole who were "his lpintualSons, and who walked in the faith of the Gof- pel, ( I mean, the faith concerning the feed, and the means of their Salvation ) which faith was preached unto them more or lefs clearly according to the feveral degrees, in different ages, of the manifeftation thereof; fo Abraham, and his Sons GV». 17 . 1, 12. on their part engaged the fincereobfervance of all God^Com- mandements, fo far as in this Covenant was required of them. Where alio it came to pafs, ( but by their own fault), that lb many of Abrahams natural Children as received Circumcifion, by which they engaged themfelves to the obfervance of Gods law J and yet were not alfo children of the faith of Abraham ( according to the revelation of redemption through this feed ) by which faith thev 'might become partakers of re million of their former fin, and of the return of Grace through the fame feed: fo many I fay were put in a much worfe condition by their Circumcifion, than they were in formerly; contracting by this a new obligation to Gods law , without ability ( by reafon of their want of faith ) to perform it , and without a partaking of the merit of this feed, whereby to be pardoned their tranfgreflions againft it. Of which Circumcifion there- fore maybe faid the fame, which the Apoftle faith of the Pro- mulgation of the law, in the7thChapt. to the Romans. And the fame thing, ftill, happens in baptifm to fo many as receive it without a due faith, and without any donation of Grace; they making therein a new engagement to the obfervaiiceof Gods Comma ndements without ability to perform them. This being the flory of Circumcifion, which was a feal ( we $_• 4\ fee) ofthe Evangelical Covenant made in the promifed feed ,* and prefuppofed former fin, and Hi rough this ieed effected a purgation from it ; this eternal Son of God, therefore, who came from heaven, and who was conceived in the Virgins womb, not ofthe feed of man, but by the Holy Ghof:, and who was this very promifed feed that was to redeem Abraham, and his pofterity, needed not at all to be circumcifed ; both becauie not guilty of fin i and becanfe himfelf was the redeemer, and 4 6 The Hiftory of the Life §.50,51, and feed promifed, from whom Circumcifion received its effi- cacy. And what greater indignity could happen to his fanCti- ry, and purity, tnan to be circumcifed in his fleih, who never knew any riling or rebellion of the flefh ; nor contracted from our firit Parents any Itain thereof? For though our Lord was, by the flefh taken of his mother, a Son of Abraham, and Gods law was very ftrict, that every Male of his pofterity fliould be circumcifed, or elie cut off Gen. 17. Lev. 12 -, yet, feeing' fuch a law was prefcribed to Abraham's pofterity with reference to fin fas alio mod of the laws Ceremonial were) fuch law ex- tended not to any of Abrahams feed that mould be without all fin, as our Holy Lord was. il££l. But though this fpotlefs babe was free from any obligation to Circumcifion in this re f peel, yet many other reafons , and motives there were, for which his divine wifdom, chufing fuch a way as he did for mans redemption, thought meet to under- go it; asalfo in like manner hereceived, and pafTed through all the other Sacraments of general obligation , that were appointed by God his Fath.r in the Church, both old, and new: the one, as a Son born under the raw, and all its Cere- monies; the other, as a Father, and founder of the Gofpel, and all its Rites. As for his Circumcifion then, befides thofe reafons ordinarily given for it: that he admitted it, to fhew the truth of his human flefh, againft thofe Herefies. that after- wards arofe, contending that he had only a fantaftical, and apparent, or if a true, aceleftial, Body : Again, leaft that, by not receiving it, he might feem to difallow of Circumcifion, or alio might appear a breaker of the law, to thole who knew him not to be pure, and exempt from original fin j likewife, that thus he might bear the true mark and badge of Abrahams feed, and not be rejected by them as none of the true Meffias, on this account ; who was fent in thefirft place to the houfe of Ifrael, Mat. 10. 6. and a Minifter of Circumcifion Horn. i?. 8- the defect of which furely would have bin a greater accu- fation, than his Original out of Galilee ; Again, that he might practice an obedience, an4 conformity for peace-fake, though in a matter not obliging, as he did afterward in pa ing tri- bute.A'at. 17. 27. ut non (vandalise mm eos. I fay belides tliefe reafons fufficient for hisnon-omiifion of that facred Ceremony, there feem to be others yet more considerable. §• ?*« For firlt Circumcifion ( as alio baptifm afterward ) was not ad- 1. miniflred only in relation to fins pall, as an expiation thereof, but §.52. of our Savior Jefus thrift, 47 but alfo as a door of entrance into the Church, family, and houlhold of God, and into a new Covenant with God ior the time to come,- by which, from Abrahams daies till the ac- complifhment of our redemption, this family was diftinguifhed from all the reft of the world i and a ftricl pact, and Covenant pafled between God, and all fuch perfons, for the future,- where- by they engaged themfelves on their parts to walk fincerely in his laws, in newnels of life, as his obedient Children, re- ceiving then as it were a new nature, as we'l as a name : and God engaged on his part, to be their Father, and protector, and exceeding great reward in beftowing upon them the inhe- ritance, and poiTeflion of an heavenly Canaan. Now, as to iuchfignifications of Circumcifion, and the other Church Sa- craments, though not as to the real effect of them upon him, ( as the etiect of the Sacrament is alio, by others, many times had, before the receit thereof) thefe were more compleatly fulfilled in our Lord, than in any other. For he entredinto the Church, and houfhold of God, not as a fimple member, but as the Father, and Head thereof; not as a Son of God by Adop- tion, but as that true natural Son, and feed, through whole merits all others entred into this Covenant of Grace. As for the performance of the Condition of this Covenant, never a'ny undertook, and walked therein, in fuch perfect obedience, and new life, and circumcifion of all carnal and rebellious lufts, as himfelf: Nor ever any received fo high an eternal inheri- tance from God by vertue of this Covenant obferved, as his Hu- manity did. But 2ly, yet further, as Circumcifion hath relation to fin, 1'X2; fo the humility of our Lordalfo entertained both it, and all 2. other facred expiations of guilt, in the difguifeof a finner. For his eternal wildom thought meet, for the more proper, and fatisfactory deftroying of fin, tocloth himfelf in tbelikenefsof fin j and to take all the appurtenances, and fliames thereof , faveonly the very guilt it felf, which his purity cou'd not ad- mit,- and, being without fin, to fufftr to the utmoft what to other finners was due, and to perform to the utmoft, what of others, as finners, was required. That he might thus as it were in their ftead give all fatisfaclion to his Fathers juftice in his fuffenngs, and tc his law.s,in his obedience : to his laws, not only the Moral firft given toman in innocence j but alio thefCere- monial prefenbed to finners for remiflion of guilt, in obferving which Ceremonies they alfo a fecond time failed , and fo thefe alfo 48 The Hijlory of the Life §..53,54. alio, as well as the Moral, were a hand-writing againft them Co- lojf. 2, i^.-Epb. z.16. Thefe therefore he alio undertook, that by the merit of: his exa£t obferving thefe laws, and fatisfying his Fathers juftice therein, he might remove alio this fecond hard, and unfupportable yoke from off their necks Acl. ir. 10. and purchaie tor them the perfect ipiritual effects thereof. So, by Chrifts Circumcifion ( faith the Apoftle Col. 2. 14. -Eph. 2.15-. -Gal. 3. 24, 2f. -Gal. 4. 3,4. 9.) we are circumcifed with the Circumcifion made without hands, in our putting off the body of the fins of the rleili [ which cleanfing from carnal 1 nits, is the Spiritual Grace of the carnal Circumciiion."] $• f 3- Again, the Miniftry of the Baptift f ucceeding that of the law, who was fentto finners with a baptifm of repentance, to prepare them for receiving afterward from our Lord the baptifm of the Spirit, our Lord hafted now again among other finners to receive from John this baptifm of repentance, and to fulfil this rrgbteoufnefs, or duty of finners, as if he had bin a finner too ( to the wonder of the Baptift, to whom God then revealed him and his all-fandtity ) : and, after it, he betook himfelf to a long penance, of folitude in adefert, of rafting, and praier, accom- panied alio with ftrong temptations from Satan, for fix weeks: and afterward all his lite long he endured reproaches as a fin- ner J^om. ir. 3^ and though the Holy one of God, hefeque- ftred not himfelf from the more publick offenders, but con- verted freely with them, not out of love to fin, but to the fin- ners; though it turned much to hisdifefteem, and prejudice, with thofe who pretended morefanctity among the people. ^ . -Thus he, not only as the lecond Adam defcending from hea- ven, entred upon the firft Covenant of works Hocfac, & vives, and fully performed the natural, or moral law , in all the points thereof ; but alfo as a Son of Adam fain, and taking up- on him the curie of his fin, though not deriving from him the guilt ofit, heentred upon the Covenants .of Grace, andexpia- tions of fin, made with Abraham and the Patriarks; and, in the ftead of finners, performed exactly all the Ceremonial Law, as it related to fin; and thus by his perfect obedience became heir of the Promifes of the eternal inheritance, made firft to Adam for his works; and then to Abraham for his faith; and by thefehis merits, whilfthe owed nothing of what he did, and i uttered, for himfelf, became alfo the purchafer of mercy, and of remiffion of fin, and of the Spirit, for all other finners believing in him ; by which Spirit they are aifo enabled to keep §•55,56*. of our Saviour Jefut Chrifl. 49 keep the Covenant of Grace, and to inherit the promifes made to it. J^om. 8. }, 4. -Gal. 3. 14. -4. { God omnipotent, but revealed not himfelf by his name Jehovah ( importing his fole, fimple, eter- nal, being, and Godflnp ; the one God living for ever, and none belideshim) till the time of Mofes, when he began to mani- feft himfelf to his Church, by greater works, and wonders ; in vengeance upon his Enemies, and deliverances of his people i and by fulfilling his promifes to their fathers, as who liveth for ever to make good all his words. ( See Exodus 6. 3. comp. Exod. 3.14.) So he was not known by the name of Jefus, in the ie- cond perfon of the Trinity incarnated, till now : that this per- fon came in the flefh to accomplifh andfinifh the Salvation of the world by his own fufferings and fatisfa&ions; which were promifed and believed-in indeed before from the beginning, but which were not exhibited till this time- §> T7> Several names indeed of this perfon were foretold in. all ages, and thefe implying Salvation to come to the world by Him. Pfal.z.z. and frequently elfewhere he was called the Meffias, or the Anointed, tranflated in the Greek xg^fr. There- fore Herod when he enquired of the Scribes concerning him Mat. 2. 4. enquired of him by this name where Chrift, i. e. the Meffias, or anointed, fhould be born,- and, upon the Baptift pointingto him, andcalling him, the Son, and the Lamb, of God, his difcipie Andrew tells Peter, that he had found the Mejjias, which is, being interpreted, the Chrift ; faith the Text Jo. 1.41.-4.25-. and our Lord fpeaks of himfelf to the Pharifees b} the known name of Chrift, asking them, whofe Son Chrift was to be; when he would have inftructed'them, that he was Gods Son, as well as Davids s and therefore by David himfelf called his Lord Mat. 22. 42. Again , Gen. 49. 1 o. ( comp. E^ech. 2 1. 32. ) he is called by Jacob, Silo, or, qui mittcndus eft; the ieed that was promiied to his Grandfather Abraham to be lent. Haggaiz. 7. He is called Defideratus, or thedelire of all nati- ons, veniet dejideratus cunftis Gentibus. Again: Efay. 9.6. It is §. 5 8. of our Saviour Jefus Xhrift. 5 1 is faid his name fhould be called, Admirabilis, Conftliarius, Deu/ fortis, Pater futu'ri faculi , Princeps Pacts. Again; J^echar.6. 12. It is faid; *va.-n>\Oriens ( as it is in the Septuagint, and Vul- gar ) erit nomen ejus fee Zgchar. 3. 8 : a name repeated again by Zachary the Father ofthe Baptiftinhis Hymn LuJ^. 1.78- In quibus nos vifitavit Oriens ex alto, —Often alfo is he called Germen Domini , GermenjuJIitia. See Efai. 4. 2. -1 1 . 1 ; and Jerem. 23. 5. -and 33. 17. It is faid : Hoc eft nomen quod vocabunt eum j D 0 minus jujtus nofter , or Dominus Jufiitia noftra ; and there alfo is this new deliverance , wherein he affumes this name, advanced above that out of Egypt, where he took the name otjebovab. Exod.6. 3. Efai. 7. 14. It is faid yet more particularly, that the Virgin his Mother ihould call his name lmmanuell, that is, a Synonyma with Jefus involving Salvation to mankind by the Incarnation of God. All thefe are the names, foretold, of the Lord that mould come to redeem us, repreienting to us feveral excellencies of this Lord. But no where is he forecalled by the ordinary name he bare here on earth, and given him at his Circumcifion , his name Jefus ; as Jofiah, Cyrus, and fome others have bin ; God, if I may fo . fay, having provided this beft of names for us, that they be- fore us fhould not have all perfection,- and having referved the molt full expreffion , and manifeftation, of his mercies in the office of this perfon until his coming. And indeed it feemed neceffary, for the accomplifhing of §. yg. his fufferings by which he redeemed us, that this his name Jefus mould not be foretold; as it was^alfo neceffary, that his birth at Bethleem Davids City foretold, and in its time fulfilled, fhould be in the performance thereof unknown, and dilguifed by hisMothersulualaboad in another Town and Country ; and by his being driven away from thence fhortly after born ( for fear of a flaughter ) to the place of her former refidence for his education; and fo he was known only as a Prophet of Na- zareth, and called by a name unmentioned in the Prophets. Notwithstanding, thoin no places of- the Old Teftamentit is foretold that the name of the Mefhah mould be Jefhua or Je- fus , yet in many places fpeaking of him is this name or fome derivative thereof as a proper Epithete applied to him. So tis faid Habbac. 3. 18- Exultabo in Deo Jefu meo. And, in thofe fentencesfpoken of theMeffiah [Gen. 48. 18. -Salufarc tuumexpeclabo Domine. -pfal. 98. 2. (repeated Efai- ?2. 10.) —Viderunt omnes fines terra falut are Dei iiojiri, "Efai. ?6. 1. G 2 Erope 5 2 The Hi/lory of the Life §• 5 9 • Trope eft falus mea, utveniat. —Efai. 12. J. Haurietis aquas in gaudw de fontibut Salvatoris , J fome derivative of this word Jefhua as Jefhuahah, Jefhuahta, &e. isufcd. Two perfons alio, that were moft. eminent types of him, were in former times called by the very fame name. The firftof thefe was the Cap- tain, that, after a long Captivity in Egypt, conducted his peo- ple into Canaan the pronv fed Land, and fought all their bat- tles with their Enemies,- to whom Mofes by a Prophetical Spi- rit gave this name Jojhua Numb. 13. 16. ( or as it is rendred in the Greek Jefus; as he is alio ca'lled Act. 7. 47. -and Heb.4. %.) adding the firft letter of Jehovah to his former name Qjbea% the type of our Lord Jefus, the Captain of our Salvation. Heb. 2. 10. Fighting our batt]es, and fubduing all our moft Ghoftly Enemies, and conducting us into the true land of promife. The fecond was Jo/hua, or Jefus the High Prieft ; that , after their fecond Captivity at Babylon, conducted the People again into the land of promife, and rebuilt the Temple of the Lord formerly demolifhed. Againft whom ( in the virions of the Prophet Zachary ) cloathed in poor , and filthy Garments , Satan before the Lord bringing great Accufation , God re- bukes him, Satan, for'it; and commands Jofhuahs filthy Gar- ments to be taken away from him , and him to be clothed with change of Raiment, and a Miter, and Crown to be fet upon his head. See %acb. 3. 3. &c. and 6. 11. &c. In both which places is joined a promife concerning this our Jefus ( called there by the name of *wtba», or Oriens. Or, as the Hebrew, Ger- men) who was typified by the other, and who is our everlafting High.Prieft: —That he Jhould build the Temple of our Lurd, and Jhould bear the Glory, andjhouldftt, and rule upon hisThrone, and be a Pnejt upon his Throne, &c. j# y9# But tho Jefufes thefe two were before him ; and both fent deliverers of Gods people after a Captivity, and both recondu- ctors of Gods people into Canaan j yet far fhort they came of this Jefus, who faved mankind from a far higher flavery, and of another kind, thanthofe other were, and indeed from the only Captivity that could make us truly miferable: Viz, from the Captivity of fin, Satan, and death. Triumphing in his Crofs, and Refurre&ion, and defcent of the Holy Ghoft, overthefe three the only terrible enemies of poor mankind, who before that this Saviour came, fat in chains, and darknefs and in the Jhadovo of death ; trembling under Gods wrath, and appointed to eternal torments. . [ This §.6o. of our Saviour Jefu6 Chrifl. S3 [ This great Saviour came ( faith the Apoftle. i The/. 1. 10. ) §.6o. that he might fave us from the wrath to come. * For our falvation from Satan. By him ( faith the Apoftle Col. 1. 1/.) roe are deli- veredfrom the porvers of Darknefs .- -And ( i Jo. 3. %.)for this was he made manifeft, that he might dejtroy the works of the Devil. -And ( Col. 2. ir. ) He fpoiled Principalities and Powers , a«^ made an open jhew, and fpe'clacle, and triumph over them ([both in his life, and in a Reiurrection from the death that they had moft cruelly contriv'd againfthim.] : And fo, for our laving from (in. Sermo omni acceptione dignns ( faith the Apoftle 1 Tim. 1 , 1 r.J a comfortable faying beyond all other fayings this ; that Jefus came into the world to fave Jinners. Efpecially when our confcienceadds, Quorum ego primus. l Laftly, for thefalvati- on from death. 0 Death ^iaith the Apoftle 1 Cor.i r.j-j-.) where is now thy fling? 0 Grave, Where thy victory f Thanks he to God whogiveth us the viHory over thefe thro our Lord Jefus. And lor the manner alfo of our Salvation by this Jefus ; much more mifterious, miraculous, and indearing it was, as to the delivered, than that of any other Saviour, whatever hath, or can be. For this Jefus came, fif I may fo fay ) notfo much with his power to lave us, as with his patience j and conquered , not by hisenemies fufferings, but his own. ' To conquer thofe powerful fpirits he took upon him weak flefli ,• by this ^Cn they conquered us, and in this flefli he redeemed us. l To con- quer Death , Himfelf under-went and fuffered Death ( but it could not hold him. Acl. 2.24.) and by this his death deftroyed Him, that had the power of death. Heb.2.14.. To fave our lives he laid down his own j Jo. 10. iy. andhealcd our wounds with his ownftripes. Efay. 5-3. y. ' So for fin ; He came in. the likenefs of fin~ ful flejb to condemn Jin in the fie Jh Rom. 8. 3. And, to free us from aCurfe, became hi mj elf a Cur fe for us Gal. 3.13. Such was this Salvation of this Jefus, and fuch the way of it ; worthy a God. O BlefTed Jefu ! Oever blefledName! A name and the mifte- ry thereof hid from ages, and from generations, and now made manifeft and revealed. What comfort could any other name, exprefling perhaps the Majefty, or power, or holinefs, or ju- ftice, or eternity of this Prince, have afforded to a poor guilty finner, trembling, and defpairing for the judgment to come, but only this? Or what comfort would this have aforded, if it had bin only a Jefus from fome temporal Tyranny ? from a Pharaoh, or a Nabuchadnezzar, or a Cefar; and not a Jefus from the Devil, or Hell, or the Grave > to which thefe other de- liverances^ 54 The Eiftory of the Life ,§.6i. liverances , though for a time never fo glorious , would have left us ftill in bondage, and infear all our lives, after a few daies to be devoured , and (wallowed up by them for ever. BlefTed name ! at which allthe Spiritual Apolluons, and de- ftroyers of mankind, all ipiritual Pangs, and anguiihes of fouls, all the corporal mefTengers, and arrows of death , are afraid, and tremble, and from which only pronounced they do lo of- ten fly away. BlefTed name ! a poor finners only confolation on his death-bed, whenthe Grave opens her mouth for him, and thefe fpiritual Foes on every fide invade him , and Hell-fire eternal burns before him. BlefTed therefore be this name Je- fus, and exalted above all names ; at which Name let every knee bow of things in heaven, inearth, and under the earth; and every tongue confefs this Jefus, Lord, to the Glory of God the Father. Amen. ] §. 61. After our Lord thus had received Circumcifion, as a Son of Abraham, and entered into Gods Covenant; and the name of Jefus, as ordained the Saviour of the World; and, whilft Jo- feph and Mary abode ftill at Bethleem, becaufe this City near to Jerufalem and their own country very remote, expecting the appointed time of the Purification of the Mother and prefentment of the Child in the lemple; certain perfons, both rich, noble and Learned, and probably much addicted to the ftudy of Aftronomy, being directed by a Scar, came from the Oriental parts much more famed for wifdom, to adore and do homage to this new-Born King ,• and to prefcnt him With the raoft precious things thole Countries afforded, in behalf of the Gentiles, as the poor andfimple Shepheards, being inftrudted by an Angel, had done formerly in behalf of the Jews. The Divine Providence fodifpofing it, that our Lord to the Gen- tiles, more contemplating the Creature, mould be manifefted by a Star rather : and the Jew, as acquainted with the true worfhip of the Creatour, by an Angel. For both Jew and Gen- tile were now to have an equal fhare, arid a General Union, in this Prince of Peace. And the event, correfponding exactly to thefe beginnings, hath (hewed us; that after fome few, for the moft part poorer, and meaner, and fo humbler, fort of the jewiih Nation were for the prefent, by our Lord and his followers, converted to the Faith , reprefented by the Shep- heards ; the riches and wifdom of the Gentiles hath bin brought into the obedience of the Gofpel, reprefented by the Magi; till acompleat harveft ofboth mall be reaped by the Addition to them of the full Body of the Jews; Now §.62. of our Saviour Jefa Chrlfl* 5 5 Now the Adoration and doing homage of the Gentiles to §.6zl this Common Lord of Jew and Gentile was effected on this 0 manner. A new Star, for fome time before our Saviours birth, • had appeared in the heavens, probably of an extraordinary fplendor and brightnefs, fuitableto the perfon whom it prog- nosticated. Which by the Orientals, much given to Aftrolo- gy, wasioon difcerned -, and raifedinthem agreat devotion and earneft addrefTes to the Divine Majefty , Creator of the Univerie, to know, for the prefignification of what ftrange effecl: he had fent it. Whereupon, probably by fome fuch Re- velation made to them intheEaft, as they received afterward in Judea concerning their return Mat. 2. 12; they were allured of the Birth of this Meffias, or great King, to whom all the world mould become tributary and fubjecl:. Of which Prince alio it is likely, in fo general an expectation of the Jews as then was, that they had heard, or alio read fomething former- ly. Therefore thefe firft believers of the Gentiles, crediting all things of this Prince worthy io fupereminent a dignity , and being perfons of high condition ( as the Magi in thofe Countries ordinarily were, if not Princes) made haft to be amougit the firft, that mould profefs their fube&ion and feal- ty to Him. And, as the Orientals ufually do not approach great Perfonages without fome prefent, prepared fome fmall quantity, portable in a journy, ofthericheft Gifts their Coun- try was famed for, wherewith to prefent Him. And fo fet- ting forth upon this divine Indication, either from fome near- er parts of Chaldeaor of Arabia Felix, which lies fome fixdaies journy Eaftward from Jerufalem : ( whence alio the Queen of Sheba, (Arabia alfo being called Ethiopia. Numb. 12. 1.) A type of them came with the like gifts to vifit King Salomon 1 King. 10.2. ) Within not many daies after our Lords Nativity they ar- rived in Judeaj probably the Star, that incouraged their jour- ney, now difappearing, that fo they might repair to the Royal City in Queft after the place thereof; and fo , by our Lords fpecial providence be the firft Promulgators of the Birth of the Meffias, and awaken the iloth of Gods own people to make a ftricter inquiry after it. And well might the Jews at leaft , when our Lord afterward at thirty years of age publickly ap- peared to them, have reflected on this Star, and thefearchof thefe Oriental Sagcs,and Herods flaughter,puncl:ually agreeing with his Nativity. Come hither, and fuppoiing that what was manifefted to them, ftrangers, about the time, was not con- cealed 5 6 The Hifiory of the Life §. 6 3 , 64. cealedto Gods ownpeopie, they made inquiry in the Metro- polis of the Nation concerning the place, where they might have accefs to, and adore, Him. For they imagined , that ei- ther this Prince, the Meffias, might be of the prefeut Royal Stock; or, if otherwife, was ot fuch a tranfcendentSoreraignty and defcent, fo favoured from heaven, fuch a King Paramount, and extending -his fcepter over the whole world , ( according to the frequent prophecies made of Him ) as other inferior Kings mould have no envy to, but joy, therein; which conceit was alio nourifhed in them by Herods profeffing his ready con- currence in the lame Adoration, fo foon as the place of his Re- fidence mould be difcovered. §. 6$, They coming therefore to Jerufalem and making openly fuch an inquiry, and alio declaring their late beholding of the Star, that was newly duplayed in the Heavens, asapublick Herald thereof, Herod Himlell was not a little itartled ; ('for in thofedaies much difcourfe palled in the world,,) either by the Jewifh prophecies divulged, and the time prefixed in Da- niels weeks now expired ; or by the .Sybils, or otherwiie, of the coming of this Prince of Princes, and the return of a golden Age, and fome [called the Herodians^ named Herod lor the perfon. The people alfo were troubled, wondnng at this Re- lation from ftrangers , confirm' d by fuch a Celeitial MefTen- ger, at their High Quality, their concernment in a King of Ifrael, and their boldnafs in confefling Him before Herod ; And expecting alfo fome great change of affairs fhortly , if their words and prognostications proved true. §• &4- Herod, who was a ftrangerKing to this Nation, and that the very firft, anldumeanby birth, fufficiently fufpitious of a fupplantation, and therefore intending milchief , became, as it were to fatisfy thefe Sages, very inquifkive after the place of this new Prince, the Chrift, his Birth : whom he feemed to reve- rence as a Perfon fent from Heaven rather for advancing and dilating San&ity and Religion, than 'or pir filing fecular Honours. The place therefore of his birth he iln -:tly enquired after; thatfo, by the Divine providence, both t me and place might be manifefted and proclaimed as it were to the world; the one by the Gentiles , the other b the Jews. The chief Priefts and Scribes are afTembled about it; and readily return anfwer out of the Prophet Michaj Mic. ?. 2 that Bethleem Davids City was to be the Place thereof; And thou Bethleem Ephrata ( faith he ) that art a little one in the thouiands of Juda. Out of §.^5- cj our Savior Jefus Chrift. 57 of thee mall come forth unto me he that (hall be the Domina- tor in Ifrael : And his coming forth is from the beginning, from the daies of Eternity. [ Having an eternal proceffionfrom the Father, and an Eternal decree of his Meflias-fhip. ] This for the place. But further, whatever certainty they might have alio from Daniels weeks, or Gen. 49.10, or other places con- cerning the Time, it was not fafetor them to pronounce any thing. Herod therefore, for his better information in this, re- turns to the Sages i and very fecretly requires of them a pun- ctual account ofthefirft appearance of the Star, conjecturing from hence the Age of the Child. Which having learnt, he defires, that, after they had found this great Prince, they would 111 their return,- give him Intelligence of it , that He alfo might pay his Duty to this expected Meflias, and Heir of all Nations. And fo difmiffed them, as the Divine wifdom order- edit, without joyning to them any further attendance of his own Court; perhaps, out of a Countenance to flight the mat- ter, andpafs things with lefs noife ; asalfoleaft any fuch dil- covery, made by perfonsmore intereffed than thefe Strangers, might, fome way or other difappoint his Bloody purpofe, or havegiven fomejealoufy to the parents to have conveyed him away. ( Tho indeed this his fecrecy defeated his Defign ). Who was alio glad to fee the Jews fo fupinely careiefsin thisaffair; who began even at his Birth, tho thus alarm'd and provoked by the believing Gentiles, to neglect and deny this their Lord ,* Except only thisftranger Idumean, that was vigilant, how to difpatch Him. But the Zealous Sages, unwearied, ftill purfue their Queftj §.6f. and, being not far gone from Jerufalem, have this their un- tired diligence rewarded with a new appearance of their cele- ftial Guide, the Star; filling them with exceeding great joy Mat. 2. 10. after its former lo long difappearance, ( becaufe unbelieving Jerufalem was unworthy of fuch a light ) ; and with as much admiration, that the day-light obfeured not its fplen- dor. For, Bethleem being not above fix or leven miles diftant from Jerufalem, 'tis no way imaginable, that thefe, Strangers in the Country, travelled thither by night. And now the Star became their Guide, and went before them ; till, they coming near our Lords fecret Hermitage, the Stable where He lay , ( which poorer lodging now had its conveniencies, the Enrol- ment perhaps being not yet finimed, in the better fecuring of his life,) it defcended lower, and ftood juft over it. Which H thing, 58 The Hijlory of the Life §.66,67. thing, as it was necefifary for the tranfaction of thisvifit with the more privacy, and happily prevented their asking again the fame queftion at Bethleem, as they did at Jerufalem, which might have difcovered this Infant tofome, who might have told Herod: io the Glory and fplendor it call upon this Grot ferved well to remove any fcandal they might receive from the poverty of the perfons they found within it. And, pro- bably, all this pafTed without the unworthy Bethleemite's either feeing the Star ( like the cloudy pillar in the wildernefs that was darknefstothe Egyptians, whilft light to the Ifraelites)i m or taking any notice or the new and ftrange habited Guefts: Which Bethleemites alio before this, had bin as ftupid to the Relations of the good Shepheards, as the Hierofoly mites were but now to thefe Sages. §. but Simeon with more fpintual eyes expecting it for freeing the world from the fer- vitude of fin and Satan,] who I fay had, for many years, longed-after, and prayed-for, the comming of this Meffias' and the Redemption of all Mankind. For to this devout per- fon, we may imagine, his feeing the world fo over-run with fin, and held captive by Satan, caufed much grief, for the offending of God, and lofs offo many fouls ; and that he of- ten brake out into the like paffion with the Prophet Efaiah chap. 62. 1. —For Sioris fa\e I will not bold my peace, and for Jerufalems fake I will not reft, until the righteoufnefs thereof go forth as brightnefst andthefalvation thereof as a Lamp that burn- eth. And verf. 6, 11. --/ will not hold my peace day nor night > I will give him no reft, till he eftablijh , till he make Jerufalem a praife in the earth, till the falvation of Sion cometh , and his re- ward is with him and his recompence before him. And upon fuch fervent fupplications of his, the Holy Ghoft for his con- folation revealed unto him ,• that , notwithftanding his old age and fmall diftancefrom the Grave, yet he mould not dy before he had fee n the Lord's Chrift. And at this time the fame Holy Spirit again gave him notice of our Lord's being then in the Temple, a fmall infant in the arms of a poor Virgin. §. 7%. Upon which, coming in thither at this Inftant* with great Devotion and Humility he took this Divine Child out of his Mother's Armes, ( being herein a reprefentative of the Church accepting from God's hands this her Redeemer ) j and, in the embracing of him filled with the Holy Ghoft, as Elizabeth was before, Lu\. 1.41 > and lifting up his eies to Heaven joy- fully fung before the company there aflembled his Nunc di- mittis fervum tuum in pace [ecundum verbum tuum : blefling God for the falvation he had prepared, not only for the Jewilh Na- tion, but all the world j and tor this childs being, as the glory of Ifrael, fo the light of the Gentiles. This fuddain action and prophecy of this reverend old Man putting our BlefTed Lady and S. fofeph into a new joyful wonder after all thofe other teftimonies concerning the child heard before; and adding ftill more matter to the Holy Virgins treafure ; out of which all thefe things came to the knowledg of Pofterity. $■ 7$. After this he delivered the Holy Infant again to his Mo- ther. §. 8o. of our Saviour Jefut Cbritt. 6$ ther. And, in giving, as an old Man if not alfo a Prieft, his Benediction to the thrice happy-parents ; and, by the revela- tion of the fame Holy Ghoft, forefeeing alfo the great fuffer- ings of our Lord that were to follow, and the oppolitions that would be made to his new Kingdom, ( of which fufferings one heavy one was then immediatly to break forth) he made his more particular addrefTes to the Mother of our Lord ('for S- Jofeph, before thole faddeft times, was to be at reft ) and told her; That as the child was bofn for the advancement (as he had already faid ) of many in Gods people Ifrael, fuch as mould ^eild to his Scepter s fo alfo for the fall and utter ruine of many others, fuch asfliould not believe and acknowledg him, and thofe fecularly Great ; and that this age mould throughly dilcover the goodnefs or wickednefs of mens hearts. And that he mould be let up as a fign to all the world, that mould be much contradicted and fpoken againft by the great ones there- of, ( as moreefpecially he was at his death, being lifted up on high on the- pole of the Crofs, and all the people about him blalpheming ,• SeePfal. 105.18. After, and lor, which followed alfo the deltruction of Jerusalem, and the difperfion and Capti- vity of that Nation until this day ). When alio, as it were, a iharpfword fliould pierce her Soul out of Maternal compaflion towards him, whilft me ihould ftand by and behold fuch things done to theinnocency of the Holy One of God. After which words, fpoken by him muchwhat in the expreflions of the an- cient Prophets, See Efay. 8. 14, iy. -42. 6.-49.6.-1*2. 10. -1 i.io. -6j\ 2. ( as we ufually find thofe later in the new Teftament to deliver their predictions in the language of the Old, both coming from the fame Dictator ) and he receiving again from the Infant the Benediction he bellowed on the parents, he now joyfully retired waiting and preparing himfelf for his near approaching death and diflblution from the many infir- mities of his old age. No foonerhadhe finifhedhis difcourfe caufing much admi- §.80. ration in thehearers, but, thatthis hrlt Divine teftimony con- cerning our Lord now openly given in the Temple might be celebrated and ratified by two witnefTes, and thofe of both Sexes fas both were equally concerned in thishapp news ) a woman alio ofagreatage, Anna a Prophetefs too, detained in this life, asSimeon was, for her beholding the Lord Chrifl, came in at the fame time ; and feconded Simeon in the like Relation concerning this child his being the new-born Mef- I fias 66 The Hiftory of the Life §.8i. fiasand Saviour of the world. To which the Holinefsof her perfon, andfeverity, and fequeftration of her hie from com- mon converfe, fomewhat like that or the Baptift, added very much. Whom the Evangelift. thus fets forth} ; hat fhe had lived in perpetual widowhood from her youth , after only having feven years enjoyed an husband i and now, aged 84 years, departed not from the Temple; where ( many cham- bers belonging to it) we may imagine fhe might have fome little Cell forherfelf, and her neceilary provilion brought to her thither i and, befideher Devotions, might do fome litcle fervices more proper for women in affiftance of the Priefts*. And fome fuch thing, of women ferving and attending on the Tabernacle, we read in Exod. 38. 8. and again in iSam. 2. 22. And, after the fettlement of the Gofpel, miTrm.f- is men- tioned fuch a fequeftration and retirement of widows (liv- ing together and taken care-of for their maintenance by the Church) for the peculiar ferviceof God and his Saints. Where verf. y. itisfaid of thefe alio, that —Dejolate and trujling in God [ to whom they dedicated their continency and fervice, for their fubiiftence ] they continued in [implications and praiers night and day. So, —From the Temple this Holy widow ( faith the Evangelift depart ed 'not j but jervedGod there with fajlings and praiers night and day. With fajlings , as this being the belt prefervative ofchaftity, and preparative for Devotion, by allay- ing and calming the Spirits and Paflions and mortifying and taming the flefli. The chief fubjed: of whofe Devotions, as of Simeons, probably were the Redemption of God s people by his fending quickly the promifed Meifias, then much fpoken of. She then at this blefTed fight and the fulfilling of it, fir ft fell onpraifing and giving thanks to God, and witneffed the fame things with Simeon ('her coming alfo carnally after him re- moving the fufpition of any combination ) concerning this Heavenly child to all there prefent ; nor only to them, but to all thofe pious people in Jerufalem that reforted to her, and expected alfo this Redemption, Lu\. 2. 3 8- which, by her emi- nent fanctity, and her being noted alfo for the gift of Prophecy, mult make no fmall noife in the City; after the Magi had fpread this news there before by their folicitous inquifiticn af- ter this new-born King. $. 8 r. This that pafTed 10 publickly in the Temple, after King He- "rods long expectation of the rerun- of the Magi, ( fuppofiug them perhaps to have travailed further to fee the Country, or that §.82. of our Saviour Jtfus Chrift. 6 J that difappointed of their expectation out of frame they had fecretly with-drawn themfelves from a publick denfion ) fooa gave him a new alarm ; and ioquickned his bloody intention of deftroying the Holy Infant. Meanwhile thefe holy rites devoutly performed, and fuch praifesand acclamations receiv- ed at Jerufalem as were before at Bethleem, the Holy Mother treafuring up all thefe things in her heart, and Holy Simeons laft words ( bodeing great afflictions ) as well as the firft, return- ed with her husband S. Jofeph the fame day to Bethleem. [ For an immediate return of them from Jerulalem to Nazareth, which fome imagine, feems not fo well to fute with the follow- ing ft Dry, of their being fent away into Egypt. For at Naza- reth, they being fo far removed from Bethleem , their ftay feems to have beenfecure enough-, or their flight from thence would rather have bin directed North-wards to fome part of Syria near hand, than Southwards into Egypt; as beating again the way they came, thro all their Country firft, and flying from Herod juft the way toward him. ] To Bethleem then they returned for ordering fome little §• %2- matters there, oralfo giving their little one fome repofe* but purpoiing a return to Nazareth, with all convenient ipeed, and with great appreheufions of the Confolations they mould have in fhewing to her parents and kindred her new-born Son, and in providing for his better accomodation , as alfo in the re- counting to them the many ftrange things of her journey >• when behold they had no fooner, after a weary journey, fetled themfelves and the Infant to take fome reft, but that the An- gel, probably that very night, appeared to Jofeph and com- manded him immediatly to take the young Child and his Mo- ther ( for fo it is obferved the Angel in reverence ftiles her v. i^.andagain v. 20. and not his wife ) and to iecure him by a fpeedy flight from that place, for that Herod fought immedi- atly to flay him; and this a flight not to fome neighbouring Village, or to his own Country Galilee; but, quite contrary, ftill removed further from home, and friends, into Egypt ; a country of above 200 miles diftance, through a vaft Defart in a cold ieafon, with a Child only fix weeks old ( after a weaniome travel of it and them the day before ) unto a people of another language ; left alfo uncertain how long their ftay, which was to be fo long as Herod lived. Where wh^t tolerable entertain- ment could they expect, when they had received fuch mean accomodation among their friends and kindred > Such was I 2 Gods 68 The Hi/lory of the Life f $..83,84. Gods command to Abraham, andhis obedience Gen. 12. 1. but he much better provided and attended. §■ 8 3 . 1 he Holy Man, without replying ordifputing, why not Ga- lilee thought a place remote enough; or, why not God take away Herods lite to fave his Sons ; He rofe immediatly and de- parted by night without any confcious thereof ( their poverty being free from encombrances ) taking Jefus their treafure with him ; He and the Mother, to whom he had communica- ted the Angels meflage , being perfectly refigned and full of confidence in God , and fhe alio inftead of diflwading, ani- mating andhaftening him thereto. And the fame refigna- tion wasalfo in the little lefusto the will of his Father i now engaged in a greater fufFering than that of the Straw and Cratch, or yefterdaies travel to Jerufalem ; fmiling upon them in the midft of their cares concerning him, and already be- ginning to fulfil the prophecies that were written of him. A type ot whom was that of Ifrael: called alio Gods firft-born Exod. 4. 22. and of whom he faith ( Hofe. 1 1. i , when Ifrael was a child then I loved him, and called my Son out of Egypt ) in its firft child-hood being by the Divine appointment carried into Egypt for its Education ; and brought thence with a ftrong hand alter that Pharaoh was deftroyed, as our Lord was af- ter Herod; which Fharaoh alfo, as Herod, had appointed that all the Male-children of Ifrael fo foonasborn mould be flain, thinking thus to have deftroyed Gods firft-born Ifrael. r g Our Little Lord rejoyced. alfo at his going now, as it were, ' — to take pofTeflion of his promifed Pfal. 2. 8- inheritance of the Gentiles, to whom he brought falvation as well as to the Jews. And as in Bethleem he had already received the Homage of the Eaft, fo now he went himfelf in perfon to this Southern Region, to eftablifh his new Kiugdome there, where was at that time the very throne and feat of Satan; and, which was the chief Mother of Idolatry and Superltition in the whole Gentile world, and the Source where the reft of the Weftern and Northern parts learnt, and whence they derived, it. But again, which, after this gracious vifit of his, and by his Redemp- tion its being iubdued to theGofpel, became no lefsexempla- plarv to the reft of the Chriftian world in an extraordinary Sanctity and Devotion: all the Defarts alfo thereof being fil- led with multitudes ofperfons, who having caft-off allfecular cares, and having all things common, were wholly employ'd in the Divine fervice and Contemplation. From which the reft §.8$, 8 <,87. of our Saviour Jefu* Chrift. 69 reft of Chriftianity derived the firft pattern ( after that exer- ciied in the A&s Aft. 2.44.) and Rules thereof. And thus the Divine Majefty, the more fully tofhew himfelf now by his Son reconciled to the whole world, fenthim fo foon as born to that Country efpecially, toward which of all others he had formerly (hewed his greateft wrath and difpleafurej and on which formerlv he had powred out fo many plagues. Of this gracious vifitation or. Idolatrous Egypt by our Lord §• 8ft much is foretold by the Prophet Efay chap. 19. where it is faid, verf. 1. --That the Lordjhall come thither on a Cloud, l[ in corpore quafi in nube vectus], and the Idols of Egypt Jh all be moved at his prejence : and the heart of Egypt Jhall be melted in the midji of it. And verf. 1 8. —That the Cities thereof Jh all fpeal^ the Lan- guage of Canaan. [ Of which Cities one mentioned is Heliopo- lis, in or near which our Lord is fuppoled to have fojourned there]. And, in that day that there Jhall be an Altar unto the Lord in the nudjl of the Land of Egypt, and Sacrifices offered and vorvcs matte to him. In that day, that lj'rael Jhall be the third with Egypt and Affyria : and a blejjing in the midfi between them; whom [ all which three] the Lord of hojts Jhall blejs , faying , Blejfed be Egypt ?ny people , and Affyria the woi\ of my hands, and Ifrael. my inheritance. This Blefling, and pitty, and reconciliation, purchaied by himfelf, this Infant now re- joyced to carry to them , and to make them capable aUo of Altars and Sacrifices, before the Gofpel reftrained to Jerufa- lem. By our Lords removing alfo thither, and leaving his own §. 8 it was very numerous, yet within an hundred years there was none, or very few, remaining. —Vt innotefcat /faith he ) nihil prodejfe vel exercitm , aut vim Corporis, vel alia , qua videntur mortahbus appetenda, fine pietate, qua colitur Deus, intra centum annorum fpacium prater paucos ( nam admodum plures erant ) cuncla Herodis origo confumpta ejl. Super hac etiam, ad hu- militatem & modejtiam humanum genus addncitur , cum illius familia calamitates audierit. Thus He.] Befides fuch cruel- ties to his wives and children, the fame alfo overflowed to- ward all the Jewifli Nobility. For when fome Jews , upon a rumour of his Death had defaced fome of his (as they elteemed them,prophane ) Ornaments of the Temple, he fo much glo- ried in, He fummoning all the Jewifli Nobility , ( upon pain K 2 of 7^ The Hi/lory of the Life §.9 7. of Death to the abfent ) under fhew of taking their advice for punilhing fuch an infolency, and then impnfoning all thofe who came, Ordered, that, at the time of his own expiring, they alfo fhould be by his Souldiers put to death, the better he faid to fecure his Kingdom to his pofterity : and that he might make thofe mourn, who otherwife would have rejoyced, at his death. But this was not executed, nor did fuch an unheard-of cruelty furvive in any after him. $• 97* So miferablely died this Anti-Meffiah ; who how much wi- ferhad he, and how much happier bin, he and his, if he had humbly with the Magi fubmitted his Scepter to, and going with them adored, the new-born Saviour of the world ! One, who came onely to give to mortals a heavenly Kingdom, and not to difturb in the leaft any ones temporal Dominion. And fo alfo how much more happy, as well as pious, had the chief Priefts and Scribes and the whole Jewifh Nation bin, had they accompanied him in fuch a Devout Proceffionj and, as they could readily tell Herod the place of his Birth, fo had taken notice alfo of the time ! Of which God his Father had given them fuch an eminent Sigual and Teftimony by the forraign meffage fent to them of the Magi, and the Sty. But though their Relation wrought fo far with them ( faith the Text ) as to trouble Herod and all Jerufalem with him j yet notfo, as to make them fenfible of this infinite Honour newly done them in their long expected Meflias's coming. It troubled them, but • reformed them not, to pay him at leaft the fame homage as did thofe ftrangers, or to provide him fo much as a lodging, or a bed. Therefore we read of the eflfecl: of Gods difpleafure at this time not only falling upon Herod, but on the Jews too. For not only, about the time of Herods deceafe, died many other great perfons ( and therefore it is faid Mat. 2.20. They are dead, who fought the childs life ; Viz. fuch as whom their having relation to Herodfhe marrv ing the daughter of an High Prieft ) made zealous of his greatnefs ). And feveral alfo of the Sanedrim andPharifees wereflain by him forrefufing to fwear Allegiance to him : and forty perfons burnt alive for defacing the golden Eagle fet up by Herod before the gate of the Tem- ple. But immediatly after Herods death happened many re- bellions of the Jews feeking to regain their liberty, before the fettlement of Archelaus by Auguftus , and during our Lords quiet recefs in Egypt, which rebellions were fupprefTed with great flaughter of them. For §-p8?99' of out Saviour Jefm Chrift. 77 For firft , in an Infurre&ion againft Archelaus , about $. 9#« three thoufand Jews were flain«&t the celebration^pf their next Pafchal feaft after Herods deceafe. And , in a Re- bellion, revived again at the Feaft of Pentecoft, the Ro- man Governour of Syria , for a puniihment of this Fad: , caufed two thoufand more of them to be crucified. And Ar- chelaus going to Rome, there to folicit an eftablimment of: his Kingfhip from the Emperour, tho the Jews there alio fuppli- cated againft him for the liberty of their Nation, atleafttobe freed from any particular King, and to be fubjedted only to the Roman Prefident of Syria i and alfo, the more to promote their fute, difplayed before the Emperour and his Court ( the di- vine hand being in it) all the tyrannical and luxurious life of Herod his Father, yet their defigns were totally fruftraced; And lo were Archelaus his too. For -Augu/ius ( faith Jofe- phus Antiq. I. 17. c. 17. ) Archelaum quidem Regem non pronun- ciavit j Dimidia vero Judex regionis, qua Herodi tributa reddebat, Toparcham conjtituit : Spondens el j{egiam quoque dignitatem, fi laboribus & favor ibus circa femetipjum meritus appareret : But the iflue concerning him was ; that, after about nine years con- tinuance in this Dignity, upon a new complaint of the Jews for his crimes, he was depofed, and banifhed, and his Eftate con- fifcated by Auguftus j and the like was the fate of his Brother Herod the Tetrarch of Galilee. And the Jews ftill became more immediatly fubject to the Roman Yoke. It is alfo obferved byfome, for the perfect fulfilling of the §. 99." prophecy of Efay chap, 7. 14, 1 r, 16. ( which is exprefsly apply- ed to the BlefTed Virgin Mary and our Lord, Mat . 1. 23. J That as there, before Eiaiahs child ( the type of our Lord, Efai.8.i%„ and born of a Prophetefs and Holy-woman Efai. 8. 4, y, repre- fenting our BlefTed Lady J was two years old, fo as to difcern food grateful from ungrateful, or fo as plainly to fpeak my Fa- ther and my Mother, the two Kings of Samaria and Damascus, that were enemies to Gods Church, were to be taken away by the Executioner of the Divine Juftioe the King of AfTyria : fo, before our Lord came to the fame age, Herod, who was King of Samaria as well as Judea, and Oboda the King of Damafcus fome few months before Herod ( fee Joiephus Antiq. 1. \6.c. 1 o.) were removed by death, and their Kingdomes alfo by Auguftus, (the King then alfo of AfTyria ) taken away fo as that their po- fteritydid not fucceed in the fame Title or extent of Power- The Myftical fignification of all which is3 that the former King- 7 8 The Hi/lory of the Life §. i oo, t o i . Kingdom of Satan fhould now be deftroyed, and he caft out upon th^ coming and Birth t^our Lord. At this very time alfo One Judas in Galilee, under pretence of recovering liberty, gathered forces and pillaged the Coun- try ; againft whom, Varus the Roman Prefect of Syria lent part of his Army thither, befieged and took Sephoris and fubdued See Anticj. the Rebels. Jofephus alio mentions many others every where /, 17. c. iy. railing tumults in the abfence of Archelaus; during all which frights, and the (word travelling through the coafts of Judea to revenge their contempt of the new-born Meftiah, the Blef- fed Virgin with our Lord and S. Jofeph enjoyed in Egypt a peaceful fecurity. §. too. Herod in being thus taken away, ( who was the laftKing of the Nation of the Jews j for Archelaus, as isfaid, was not ad- mitted to the fame Dignity, nor had the fame extent of Do- minion , being made by Auguftus Toparcha or chief Gover- nour of Judea, not Galilee ), all tumults there quieted, and Jo- feph and Maries country now under anothers command, the news thereof was brought by the Angel to Jofeph, that he fhould return into the land of Ifraelwith this Child (that was the true King thereof ) for that they were dead now that fought his life. And this return of our Lord we find lively prefigured in Mofes Exod. 4. 19, a Deliverer alfo of Gods peo-ple and a Type of our Lord; who, when Pharaoh fas here Herod ), a little be- fore this deliverance, had taken order for all the Male-chil- dren of the the Ifraelites to be put to death , miraculoufly efcaped ; and who afterward for his fafety had fled to Midian : from whence God commanded him to return unto his peo- ple, for that they were now dead that fought his life. Where alfo we may obferve the way by which God ufually delivers and provides for his Servants when in any ftrait : Viz. not on a fuddain and in haft and by main ftrength and force ( when as indeed all things arealwaies univerfally fubject to his pow- er),- but tacitly and without any difturbance of the courfe of other human affairs, ajid as it were attending an opportu- nity by a fecret, but effectual, flection and winding of thefe (not fo eafiiy difcernable by men J in all things to ferve his de- figns. $« ioi« Jofeph alfo retaining Tome dread of Archelaus , one who had already fhed much blood in quelling an I nfurrecStion of the Jews, was alfo admonifhed by the Angel Matt. 2. 22. not to return again to Bethleem, ( tho perhaps he might have had fome > §..io2. of our Saviour Jefm Chrifi. jj forae thoughts thereof, as imagining it Gods pleafure that this child mould be educated in- that honourable City of Da- vid, where he was born, and which was fo near to the Royal City of Jerufalem ) but rather to his own City Nazareth : where alio the ftrange occurrences in our Lords birth were utterly unknown. And indeed this obfcure and rude place in the out- skirts of the Nation was preordained by the Divine wifdom. for the place of our Lords Education, as necefTary for the ac- complishing of hisfufferings, and the redemption of the world by his Death j that the grofly-unbelieving Jews and obftinate Pharifes, notwithstanding all the wildom and mighty works that appeared in him, might be the more blinded , and our Lord lefs fufpected for what he was. Forfo ftill, fometimes by good men, it was argued againft him. -Num ex Nazareth poteft aliquidboni ejje f Jo. 1.46. and Jo. 7. $2. —Scrutare & vide ( faid the High Prieit and Pharifees to Nicodemus ) quia a Ga- lilea Propheta nonfurget. Yet S. Matthew A/«£. 2. 23. obferves, Firft that the Prophets $• IQ2, alfo have given fome prenotice of this his Habitation and Ti- x» tie chap. 2. 23. —that be Jhould be called aNa^areen: perhaps alluding to EJai. it. 1. calling him Na\ar. --Flos, fur cuius, or Germende radice l(ai exurgens : with which agrees 2^ech. 3. 8. -6. 12. --Behold the Lord, wbofe name is the Branch. Whence alfo Nazareth is fuppofed to take its Name, the territory there being obferved to abound exceedingly with variety of odori- ferous Plants and Flowers, to this day. Of which thus Eugen. J^ogerus in hisDefcription of the Holy-Land, who lived at Na- zareth for fome time in an houfe of his Order there. —This City is well called a Flower : for /might aver ( faith he ) that, having run through many Realms and viewed many Provinces as well of Afia as Afhcl^and Europe. I never faw any comparable to this of Nazareth, for the great number of fair and pleafant Odoriferous Flowers and Plants; which grow there through all the feafons of the year. For from the Month of December even to April all the little Hills, Fields and way -fides are enamel d with (to give you them in his own language ) Anemones, Calcedoines, 'Ranuncules , Narciffus, Cyclamens, d Iris de toutes efpeces de couleurs, de Mo- ly, de Lavende, Stecas, Ambroife , Serpolet , Mariolene, Origan, Nepeta, Scordium, and many other little Flowers intermingled with Trees and Shrubs, that are alwaies green : fo that the fight of the one and fragrancy of the other, makes it feem an Earthly P~dTzr~ dife; with an air alfo fo well tempered that little ficknefs hap- pens 80 The. Hi/lory of the Life §.103,104. pens there. Thus he. This of Na^ar, flos or Surculus, a Name in the Prophets applyed to our Lord and this City perhaps having its name from thefe io plentiful about it. S- T0?- But fome Allufion here alfo maybe made, forthelikenels of the Sound, to the Na^arites ( tho this word not written with a Tjade t as our Lords name Na\ar is, but a J^ain r ) being per- fonsin a fingular manner feparated and devoted to God. And the famous Nazarite, Judg. 13. r, Sampfonisobferved by the Fathers, —inortu, in pueritia, nuptiis fuis, Leone y SSapibus, a/l- ni maxilla, (3 fonte ex ea prognato , Gazjx portis, coma detonfa, exoculatione , pijtrina , 1'empli D agon ever/tone, & maxime ultra- nea pupendaque ?norte Chriflum prcefigurajje ,• being a great De- liverer* of Gods pjoplejand Conquering their Enemies, all alone without Armies, orArmesj Obtaining the greateft Victory o- ver them by and at his death ; after their Bonds and fetters tri- umphantly riling up and carrying away the Gates from their City ,- by his locks cut becoming weak, his eyes put out, but- felted and made a common mocking-ftock.but after this aveng- ing himfelf of ail his enemies ; Out of the dry Jaw-bone iffuing a fountain, and out of the dead Lyon meat and fweetnefs : Fons Baptifmatis & regener ationis, Mel redemptions, & Cibut Eucba- rijiice. Such- a Nazarite, then alfo was our Lord. 2. Belides this faid of our Lords Name, again the fame Evangelift ob- ferves, chap. 4. 14, the Prophet Ej ay s plainly foretelling our Lords refidence in Galilee of the Gentiles, and in the land of ^a- Ffiy.y. i. hulon, where Na^aritbrvas -, and a great light fpringing up there to thoje that fate in darkness. This his Habitation then in Ga- lilee at Nazareth was alio fuificiently foretold, but they not worthy to uuderftand it. . Our Lord and his Parents are now arrived and fettled at * Nazareth. Where, it is conjectured by lome, that the BlefTed Virgin was an Heirefs, becaufe S. Matthew hath related the Genealogy of Jofeph her husband to mew hers : when-as, ex- cept in luch a cafe, it was not neceffary that one fhould match into tha fame Tribe. And from this again it is collected, that as their condition (as appears from Jofephs trade,) was not very rich, fo neither very neceflicous. How our Lord here fpent his childhood and youth, and in- deed much the greatett part of his life, fas alfo before of the Employment of the Baptilt in the Defart, till the thirtieth year of his age ) very little is expreily mentioned in the icrip- ture. [And herein me-thinks appears the greatnefs of our Lords ^. 1 05. of our Saviour Jtfws Chrift. S 1 Lord's humility and defign, to give our ambition and vain- glory an example of imitating him, that he fhould fo Jittle value, or alfo ordain/ it j that all thofe admirable vertues of his, and effects of the Divine wifdom and Grace, that appear- ed in all his words and adions, and which (faith the Evange- \\§.Lu\. 2. j-2. ) were fo grateful to thofe with whom he con- vened, mould during fo long a time be { fave one paffage in the twelfth year of his age ) utterly loft, if I may fo fay, and concealed and unknown to the world ; and only manifeft to his Father above, and the inhabitants Of Heaven. When as, had it bin his pleafure, there werefo many, that might have de- livered this ftory from the mouth of his Holy Mother, who let nothing pais unobferved, but was a faithful treafurer from his firft infancy, faith S. Luke 2. 19, j- 1, of all me faw and heard in or concerning him ]. Ivittle, I fay, is exprefly delivered : But notwithftanding from the confequences of feveral texts much may be learned. . To attain then a more perfect Notion and Idea hereof j , « we are firft to know ; That our Lord from his very birth, as to — the perfections of his foul, had nothing of a child in him; but that he was as full of all light and knowledg, of wifdom, and of all the Graces and powers of the Holy Ghoft, of the zeal of his Fathers honour, and falvation of man-kind, at his Nativity, as afterward in the time of his Man-hood, and of his preaching and working Miracles. — [ In whom were hid all the treafures of wifdom and knowledg, faith the Apoftle Col. 2. }. —And) all the fulnefs of the Divinity dwelling bodily, verf. 9. —And the word was made flejb, full of grate and truth, faith S. John c. 1. Nor did God give the Spirit by meafure unto him Jo. 3. 74. All which texts muftbe verifyed at the Union of his man-hood to the Divinity, futabletothe fupreme Dignity thereof : which Union was at his Conception. Nor is there anyreafon for a temporary fufpenfionof thefe, as of iome perfections of the Body,in order to our Redemption, but rather of the contrary. ~\ And that the increafe in them, which S. Luke fpeaks of, chap. 2, was only of the more manifeftation of the effects thereof, in the progrefs of his Age,- as alfo fufficiently appears in that, without any the leaft former application of him to learn- ing orftudies, or folitude of life, like theBaptifts, when the facred number of twelve years of his childhood were corn- pleated, ingoing, as ufually, with his parents to the folemn feaft , he fecretly quitted his parents -3 and, entring into the L Temple , $2 ' The Hiftory of the Life §.106,107. Luk.z.4.647. Temple, fate him down in the midfi of the DoUors, difputing, and ashing them quefiions, and aflonijhingthem, faith the Text, voith his u nderfianding and a nfwers. S- io<*v This then laid as a foundation; 2ly. We ought to conceive ; That he wasfubject to none of thofe infirmities of mind ufu- al to children, levity and inconftancy, love of play and be- ing delighted with toyes, peevifhnefs againft Superiors and thofe who take moft care of them , longing and defiring things hurtful, and procuring them when with-held by crying, foolilh and filly prattle &c , or alio any other, which, though in- volving no fin in them, yet are the effects of want of knowledg and experience; but that all was contrary in him, Sweetnefs, modefty, gravity, ferioufnefs, quiet, repofed, ever well pleafed, obfervantand obliging of thofe to whom was committed his Education. And Here we may alfo the more admire in fo great perfections of his Soul his divine patience, for our fakes, of fo many debilities and infirmities of the Body for fo long a time enduring them, when he perfectly apprehended, and was fenfible-of them all j and when hindred by them from fpeaking or acting things futable to hisunderftanding. As we may imagine what an affliction it would be for a perfon, that is already in his man-hood, and of a wife, active, nature, fpi- ritand judgment, to return to be impnfoned for feveral years in fuchan impotent body, as to be fwathed, cradled, mute; and for all conveniencies or neceffities wholly .difpoled-of by another that knows not his mind. |; J07. jly. Such a perfection, and, if I may fo fay, man-hood of our Lords Soul, and intellect being fuppofed in his infancy, and fo much vacancy from any ferious external employments as accompanies child-hood ,• we may imagine our Lord to have palTed thofe his firft daies continually in praier ( which alfo infers filence and Recollection ), and in Interceffions to his Father for Man's falvation, and the bufinefs he came for into the world, ^Whichalfo may be inferred from this, That, when at 50 years of age, he had entred on his Office of preach- ing, and that his day-time was taken up with other bufinefs, and great throngs of people,who for their fpiritual and corporal neceffities continually flocked to him , yet He ufed then to rife on nights, and retire into fome folitary place, and there fpend part or fometimes the whole night in Praier. See Mark* 1. $<;.-LuJ^. y. 16.-6. 12. Till then that our Lords growth was capable of corporal Labours, §,ioS. of our Saviour J efws Chrifl. 85 Labours, we may juftly account his time at Nazareth fpent much- what like that of S. John Baptift, oralfo his own 40 daies iojourning in the Defart : and that all this while he became a fervent Mediator for us , now by his taking our flefh be- come his Brethren -, and negociated our bufinefs fo much more with God when hindred by his age for doing it yet with men. And his Father, who was alwaies well pleafedinhim, accepted hisfervice, in this time of nonage and fequeftratioii from hu- man affairs, as more immediatly devoted to himfelf. And if mankind is fuppofed to receive much benefit from the Prai- ersand Devotions of thofe Holy Hermits, who , without any .converfation with men, apply theinfelves wholly to thefe ; like Mofesinthe Mount, praying whilft their brethren are fighting here with Satan and a thoufand temptations i how much more ftrength and fuccourmay we be thought to receive from thofe infinitely-meritorious interceflions of our Lord in that his fi- leut infancy > VVhofe outward deportment alio in this time , correlponding with his mind, muft needs beget great reve- rence towards him: and the like Devotion and filence in the Blefled Virgin and S. Jofeph, that daily beheld it; and the oeconomy of'trjis little family much exceed that of the ftricl:- eft Monafticks. Both thefe perfons being, before our Lords Nativity, highly enriched with the Graces of the Holy Spi- rit-, andalfo, by f o near accefstohis perfon, receiving daily new influences and recruits thereof from him, who was full of 'Grace and Truth, (as the beloved Evangelift defcribes him Jo. 1. 14, i' 17. -34.20. ~Deut. 16. 17.-Prov.-i,. 9. But women and children were difpenced-with ; and the males are faid to be obliged thereto only from twenty years old, to fixty, or fifty. But at the great- Pafcal feaft it was ufual, from ancient times, L z for 84 The Hijiory of the Life §.1.09. for the women and their children, as well as men, to go thi- ther, as appears by iSam. 1.3,4. And fo S. Luke iaith of the Holy Virgin and herhusband S. Jofeph, that they went to Je- rusalem every year at the Pafchal feaft ,• and we may prefume, took with them the Holy child Jefus after able to travel fo far: whom, confideringwhoHe was, and on fnch account how dear to them, it would have bin a great affliction to have left behind them ; and to have relinquifht the Lord himfelf, as it were, to go to his houfe. And, there miffing our Lord, when twelve years old , and hoping to find him gone before with Lome of their kindred, argues, that not to have bin his firft journey. In which alfo they would have bin more folicitous* of his not ftraying from them : and their feeking him alfo in the Temple feems to have proceeded from lome observation made by them of his former inclinations, and practices there, at thefe Feafts. $.109. Now then, when Jefus had compleated the facred Number of the twelfth year of his age, ( All Gods works being exactly meafuredwith a certain number of time; among which, the numbers of 12 and of 7 are very frequent in Scripture) going up with his Parents, as ufually, to this Feaft; it was the Di- vine pleafure, after the Eaftern Magi their having already proclaimed the birth of Him at Jerusalem; and theDo£tors of the Jews alfo, by Herod's afTembling and confulting them, being then forced to take notice of it ; now again after ioyears. more paffed, to manifeft his Son to Ifrael, and to. the molt learned thereof, and to ihew as it were a ray and glympfe of his celeftial Original, and his Divine wifdom and Graces in an age as yet no way capable of acquiring thefe by ffudies or Human Art, iffobethey would now by comparing the Mefli- as his Nativity, and confidering the tranfcendent knowledg, that made them all aftonifhed, appearing inthischild, dilcern this Divine perfon, and yeild him a due obedience and Ado- ration. Which appearance alfo was made, When Archelaus, He- rod's Son, that Ruled in Judea, and that might be dreaded as heir of his Fathers malice alio to the new Meffias, was before this (fuppofing our Lords fray in Egypt not above two "years, and Herod's reign according to Jofephus Be Bell, 'judaic, lib. 2. cap.6. only nine ) ejected out of his Government by Auguftus, and banifhed to Vienna in France; and a Roman Prefident fubftituted in his place. After therefore the Feaft was now ended and the multitudes return- §. 1 1 o . of our Saviour Jefws Ckritt. 8 5 returning homeward; Oar Lord in obedience to the will of his Father in Heaven, on a fuddain with-drew himfelf from his Parents* hereon earth, without giving them any notice of hispurpofej which, made known to them, might to their hu- man reafon have ieemed fomewhat extravagant, and peri- lous, and fo have received fome obftruclion from their great folicitude for his fafety. Wherein He hath alfo mewed to us how little any Relations of Kindred, many times great lets of Piety, are to be regarded, when any way hindring our fer- vice of God ; Of which difengagement from Kindred he alfo gave us examples afterward upon feveral occafions. He there- fore immediatly returned to the Temple , ( carried hither with the fame zeal and fervour of the Holy Spirit as when af- terward he repaired into the Defart^, and there abode for the three daies next enfuing. In the Temple, about the Court of the people, were certain §. noj Porches orExedraes, or Chambers, called alfo Gazophylacia for the Goods and Treafure of the Temple re po fed in them j fuch Roomes were belonging to the Priefb, fee Jer.^s. 2. -4. 36. 12,26; andinthefe the Doctors of the Law, aflemblingat certain times or Hours of the day, expounded the Mofaick law to the people, and inftructed the youth, fuch as applyed themfelves to learning ; difputed alfo among themfelves, and ftated the hard queftions and difficulties therein. Who alio, befide the Temple, ufed Synagogues ; and had likewife., befide thefe, many Scfjooles inftituted for the famepurpofe. Of which Schooles , and Synagogues , there are faid to have bin in Je- rufalem 480. Sigon.ius lib. 2. cap. %. So Ac~l. 19. ^ is menti- oned S. Paul's reafoning or Reaching at Ephefus in the Schoole of one Tyrannus i Aft.2\. 12, He pleads his not having dif- puted with any in the Temple: Acl.6.9, are mentioned thole of the Synagogue of the Libertines, Cyrenians , &c. difputing withStephenj Jerem. chap. ^6. 10, Baruch isfaid to have read the words of Jeremiah ( himfelf being in reftraint ) in the houfe of the Lord in Ga\ophilacio Gamarw Scribce in vejhbulo fuperiori, inintroitu porta nova domus Domini , audiente omni populo, which perhaps was done out of fome eminenter place in the roome to the people ftanding in the Court; See alfo Jer. 26. 10, 11. So our Lord, John 8,20, is faid to have preached to the people in the Temple in Gazophylacio; and another time in Torticu Salomonis. Jo. 10. 23. In thefe places alio, where the Doctors taught their Schollars or the people, were fome 26 The Hijlory cf the Life §.i i r. fome Chaires placed for themfelves, and fome lower feats or Mats fpread on the floore for their Schollars, or Auditors. So S.Paul faith, Act. 12. > that he was taught at the feet of Gama- liel according to the perfect manner of the law of the Fa- thers. $.iii. In this Conference of the Doctors then the Holy Child Je- fus prefented himfelf on the third day after his with-drawing from his parents ( for it is not likely that he appeared in this affembly more then once , which would have caufed fome greater inquiry after him, contrary to the predefigned privacy and obfcurity of his Education ) after he had fpent the two former daies ( as is faid of Anna ) in the Temple in praier and falling, and fo as when he was in the Defart; or, at fome times, in going forth, and in humility begging from other's charity, what was necefTary for his fuftenance. Here then the Text faith our young Lord fate in the midft of them fthey being placed in a femi-circle ) among other perfons perhaps not much elder, who were then prelent, and fate at their feet to hear and learn. Here our Lord attentivejy hearkned to their difcourfes and in things difficult or not fufficiently explained, M asked them ( as perhaps other their Schollars did ) with a mo- deity becoming his age, his qiieftions s but then, fome of thefe Mat 3.1 z-. at ieaft being fuchasthey could not well refolve (like thofe afterward, whether Johns Baptilm was from Heaven or of Men ? and How David called Chrift his Lord, the Lord being his Son? ) He, to give them fome light, fo much as his Father permitted, whatperfon He was, and to (hew them manifeftly in thofe im- mature years that his wifdom was from above , and that he asked fuch things not for his own but their learning, He ( be- ing that Eternal wifdom that compofed thofe laws, and rn- fpired thofe prophecies which they expounded ) gave them al- fo the folutions to thofequeftions wherein they were deficient. He fate ( faith the Text ) in the midft of them, not only hearing but askifig them -Quejlions ; And not this only ( which Schol- lars ufually do), but giving anfwers alio ; anfwers probably not only to their Queftions, but to his own, when they could not refolve them ; and fuch anfwers, as that all that heard him were ajloriijhcd ( faith the Text ) at his underjta?iding. All which fliews Something very extraordinary and divine in this his ap- pearance. Where alfo, Himfelf guiding thele difcourfes, as He did, when He went up into the Chair at Nazareth, the opening of the Books at fuch a place as fpake of Himfelf, we may ^.i 12. of cur Savior Jefus Chrift. 8 7 may imagine the fubject was fome thing conceming*,Wie Re- velation and coming of the Meffiasj whole gracious fpeeches there delivered, as with the modeity of a Child, fo with the gra- vity and authority of a Law-giver fent from Heaven ; and , now alio, not as the Scribes, but with ftrange force and in- ward conviction to his Auditors, filled them and the others his hearers with ftrange admiration. "And this admiration pro- bably would have produced a further inquiry after him, had not, in the height of fuch their aftonifhment , the entrance in of fuch mean people, as his parents, conduced on the other fide to abate their great efteem of hjin, and ferved to draw a. veil over the faces of fuch either lazy fearchers, or already en- vious Rivals, that they could not diicern him. When as the meannefs of his Education fhould have rather increafed a dili- gent queft after him, the more they faw no human way of his attaining either fuch fcience, or Spirit and Confidence. But leaving him here thus employed in lis qua fuere Patris, §. 112. let us return to the fad Mother and her Husband ; who, per- * ceiving the Holy Child ftrayed from them at their going out of the City, and after fome fearch there-about not finding him, imagined him to have bin gone a little before in the company - of fome of their friends and Kindred, and fo made the more haft, for this, out of Town 5 and went fo much the fafter from the place where he was to overtake him upon the way. After hav- ing finifhedthus in a longing expectation their firftdaies jour- ney homeward, and not having found the Child at night fas they had hoped ) among their friends, they fell now, efpeci- ally his tender Mother, into no fmall folicitude and jealoufie concerning him. Now came into their minds the firft noife and difcovery of him, raife%by the Shepheards, and afterward much more by the Magi ; and then again S.Simeons and An- nas proclaiming him in the Temple',- the Hereditary malice of Herod's family and Party, and, who ever governed, his not enduring a Rival : the fecret intelligence and Spies that might: have bin fet upon him and them j and fome difcovery of his removal into Galilee ; their own negligence in not more care- fully attending on him and all his motions, whom God had fo honoured and entrulted with the Guardianfhip of his Son; and perhaps their fault in carrying him to jerufalem, when as the law difpenfed with his age as yet for performing this Holy Ceremony. Such thoughts as thefe might much afflict them, befides fuch their love and affection to his molt amiable perfou, and 88 The Hiftory of the Life §. 1 13. and obliging behaviour, as could not with any patience en- dure him to be out of their fight. In that iad night, what a- bundance of tears may we imagine, especially his Holy Mo- ther, to have powred forth, fo that (lie had great reafon to re- prelent this her forrow to her Son as foon as (he regained him. "Tour Father and I have fought you forrorvtng. How may we ima- gine thisdefolate Virgin no& to have lamented like the Spou(e in the Canticles chap. 3. 1, 2. &c : which alfo in a fpecial man- ner was the Type of her, as one above all other Spouies the dear- eft to her Beloved for ever. —Guiafivi quern dilexit anima mea ; qucefivi ilium, (3 non inveni. Surrexi & circuivi Civitatem ^er vi- cos G? plateas quajivi quern dilexit anima mea j quctfivi & non invent. All this grief meanwhile was well known to, ajid fore- feen by, her Son amidlt his Devotions in the Temple. But thefe afflictions are the things which exceedingly endear the Saints to God, and perfect in them his love; and therefore he is fo liberal inbeitowing thefe upon them. §. 113. The next morning they return back with fpeed toward Jeru- falem; and at night repairing to their former lodging, neither there it feems heard they any thing of him ( which argues, for t this time of his abfence his pernoctation in the Temple ), and fo they mud pafs this fecond night alio in great defolation. On the third day morning, conjecturing perhaps by his for- mer practice, the place of his affections, they repaired to the Temple, and there happily they found him : this forrow and joy being a Type of that they were for the like time to fuffer at his Death ■, anda after three daies, of their recovery of him again in a joyful Refurrection. And here, faith the Evangelift, they found him, fitting in the midftof the Doctors, I fuppofeintne manner before related; ( unlefs this his fitting amonjg them and alfo his propofing Quejli- ohs to them may be thought to argue his taking fome authority upon him as an extraordinary EmbafTadour fent to them from God • where the molt apparent maturity of his Celeftial wif- dom abundantly fupplied the defect of his age.) At this fight his Parents alfo were amazed faith the Text : For as it repaired their joy, fo it could not but caufe in them alfo great admi- ration,-that he, who had hitherto ob(erved fo much humility and filence, and privacy at home among ihtfimple people there, mould now on a fuddain difclofe fo much fpint, and confidence, wifdom , and Eloquence, abroad among the moft learned, fought out by him for that purpofe. Our § 1 1 4,1 1 5 . of our Saviour Jefm Chri/l. 89 Our Lord, upon their prefcnce dutifully rifing and coming $. 1 1 4« to them, and taking this occafion to withdraw himfelf from that admiring Aflembly, his Mother, in whom this fight had made ftill greater impreffionsof Reverence toward him, ask- ed him, not to blame his action at all, but rather to be inform- ed ofthereafbn of it, asalfo lovingly to condole her paft for- rows forthelofs of him, why he had done i o to theni? Fili, quidfeciJH nobis , fie f telling him, that fhe and his Father had undergone a great deal of care and grief in feeking for him. Where we may note her modeft including all me faith of his action, that caufed her fo much pain, in one monofyllable {.fie ]. To whom he anfwered, ( as unconcerned in any human relations, and pleading no other thing than obedience to his Father for his excufe, as he frequently doth elfe-where, See John 2. 4. -Mat. 12.48 ) that they might have fpared fuch their iolicitude,- that he was to mind and attend the bufinefs for which, that his Father had fent him. Which early fervour of his, for yielding in all things exact obedience to the will of hisf Father, calls to mind what in the like cafe he faid afterwards, Jo. 4. 34, inanfwer to his Difciples, —that it was his meat to do the will of his Father ; and, Jo. p. 4. —That he mujt rvorkjhe works of him that fent him ; zn6.,Jo. 14. 3 r, --That, as the Father gave him commandment, fo he did ; and, Jo. 18. —That for this caufe he came into the world, to hear witne/s to the Truth. Which now1 firft, when yet a child, he did in the mi.dft of the Great Doctors by his Fathers fpecial appointment and order i and of the Holy Spirit and wifdom wherewith he wasreplenifhed, if per- haps now they would take any notice of this their Median : by feeing the Holy Spirit and wifdom wherewith his immature years were replenished, and by comparing his prefent age with the time of his Nativity ; which God formerly made known to them by the Magi : whereas they carelefly then neglected thofe homages to him, which Strangers performed. The Holy Virgin and S. Jofeph did not as yet well under- gltfm Hand what our Lord meant by fuch an anfwer. They knew well what he rrreant by his Father , but not by his bufinefs : Thofe things in particular which our Lord was to do and iuf- fer, in this his Miflion from God, for the Redemption of man- kind being not as yet difcovered to them. Asirtdeedno Saint was ever lo great, to whom God hath manifefted all hismyfte- ries and Counfels ; but this is done by certain Degrees, that all may depend herein wholly on his goodpleafure. Neither is M the 90 The Hiftory of the Life §.116,117. the ignorance of thefe things any fault in this BlefTed Mother of laLut2-i^- our Lord. Of whofe perfections thus Cardinal Tolet; -Licet magnam gratia & fidei copiam acceperit in Conceptione jua , G? quando filimn concepit; tamen G? fide (3 gratia ac Santlitate in- dies augebatur. And --Pojpint, faith he, multa myjieria igno- rari , abfque ulla culpa j Of which Myfteries aifo he obferves, that --Scepe datur major a agnofcere G? non minor a, inbis, quanon propria virtute,fed divina gratia ajjequimur j ut Jic oftenderetur omnia accepta ejfe a Deo ex gratia & benevolentia. §• ntf* Meanwhile the Holy Virgin, whofe great Reverence toward our Lordhindrcd any further inquiry into the meaning of his words, or making any further reply, let none of his words fall to the ground, but carefully treafured them up in her heart. From whom 'tis likely the Relatersof thefe paifages to S.Luke received them , becaufe this Evangelift makes ieveral times particular mention of the diligence of the Mother of our Lord in keeping fuch an exact account. So our Lord returned with his Parents to Nazareth ; He, after this publick manifeftation of himfelf, and great applaufe, continuing ftill the fame obe- dience to them in ail things : and they obferving him ftill with a greater degree of Admiration and Devotion. In all which paflages it feems ftrange, that thefe Doctors, after fuch a Vifit, and light given them of the extraordinary quality of his perfon , mould take no further notice of, nor make any further inquiry after, him: nor yield him any fu- table entertainment. -But perhaps the coming-in of fuch mean people, there appearing as his parents, might ferve in fome manner to abate their efteem of him, and to draw a veil over the face of fuch lazy inquirers, or alfo already envious rivals ( in theby-ftanding people's much admiring his difcoveries of their ignorance ) that they could not difcern him. When-as in- deed his mean parentage, if known to them , mould rather have caufed a more diligent inquifition, the more they law no human meanseither info young an age of his attaining fuch fcience ; or, in a mean education, fuch confidence. But this unworthy Generation was to be, as enlightenedfin fome things, fo blinded in others ; that what was decreed might be done unto Him. $• ii7. Of the life and convcrfation of our Lord from the 12th to the 30th year of his Age, the appointed time of" the third, and yet more lolemn, manifeftation to Ifracl we find only thisfhort account given by S.Luke ( who yet was more punctual than the §.n8. of our Saviour Jefus Chrlft. 91 the other Evangelifts in relating the pafTages of our Lords Nonaged, that he was fubjedt, to his parents: and that he in- creafed in wifdom and ftature, and in favour with God and Man; that is, withthofe few, with whom he had fome fami- liar acquaintance ; and elfe-where, that he affifted Jofeph his reputed Father in his Trade and manual Emploiments. And from this our Lord's permitting thatfo much of theftory of his life ( inwhofe both words and actions, to thofe who were witneflfes thereof, muft needs appear infinite wifdom, and fa n- ctity, and charity ) mould be fo unknown to the world, we may learn the little account we ought to make of our own fame or Reputation therein j and to content our felves, as our Lord, herein did, with the approbation and acceptance which our good works or Virtues, if we have any, find with God, and the everliving and only right-judging world of his the innumera- ble Angels and Saints that are abovei For He only hath true Glory and Honour, not whom men, but whom the Lord valu- eth, and efteerneth; and Tantur qui/que , only , quantus apud Deum. Butyetfrom fome pafTages in Scripture fome other things * ri^ concerning our Lord's life and Converfationin this time may rationally be collected. For firit, it may be gathered from S. Lukes words chap. 2. 44, where his parents, miffingour Lord, are faid to have fought him among their Kinsfolks and ac- quaintance, that as in the time of his manifeftation and preach- ing, hisconverfation was free and common with all forts and conditions of men, fo that in his youth, as to thofe who had any nearerrelation or neighbourhood to him, he carried him- felf with much familiarity and affability: for he, being in no peril of temptation or contagion of fin, what needed he the relief of a more Uriel: folitude ? ( when the cafe is much other- wife with any of us). Again, from S.Lukes faying, as, chap. 2. verf. 40, that he. waxed ftrong in Spirit, and was filled with Grace and wifdom; fo, verf. 72, that he increafed in favour with God and man [i. e. as he grew elder, he more and more did things acceptable both to God and men. --Non quod (an* Hior aut gratior ( faith Cardinal Tolet ) progrejfu temp or is fae- rie, fed quod, pro atatis incremento, perfeftioribus gratia &fan- Bitatts operibus incubuerit ; or \_fapientiora verba & opera pro- ferret apud , or coram Deo & hominibus ; as the Sun, alwaies equally full of light and heat, yet is faid to increafe them as it dravveth nearer to us and we more partake them] I fay M 2 from 9 2 The Hiflory of the Life §. 1 1 p. from verf. ?2 compared with verf.4.7. that in the 12th year of his age the Doctors and people in the Temple were aftonifh- ed at his underftandi g andanfwers, may be gathered s that during this time of his minority in his words and actions he difcovered and lent forth continually many raies or his infi- nite prudence, Sanctity and charity; not only before his Mo- ther and S. Jofeoh, but among his other Kindred and familiar acquaintance . and, that for this he was exceedingly loved and admired by them, and they clearly faw concerning him, as it is faidoftheBaptift Lu\. \.66. that the hand of the Lord vocis with him. Out of which great admiration of him, we findthofe called his Brethren to have followed him afterwards as well as his Mother. But yet, from Matt. 1 3. ^4. &c. and Lu\. 4. 16. 6 c. italfo appears, that he caft fuch a veil over thefe his divine Excellencies, and was fo referved in his Converfation, that no great reputation or fame of him was fpread abroad, not fo much as in his own City. And hence the moft of them won- dred afterwards at the firft appearance of thefe Divine Graces in his preaching at Nazareth; they excepting, though not a- gainft any delinquency or deficiency in his manners, yet the meannefs of his condition ( the common object of contempt ) and his illiterate Education. §. 119. z\y. From the words his Mother fpake to him privatly at 2. the Marriage atCana in Galilee ('where alfo our BlefTed La- dy fhewed her charity and pitty to her poor friends or alfo kinl- folks ) upon their wanting Wine, which words imply her de- • lire that our Lord fhould furnilh them therewith; and, upon his demur, yet her fpeaking alfo to the fervants to do what- soever he mould bid them, it may be rationally collected ,• that he had done privatly many miracles before-time in his vouth in fome domeftick neceffities in the like manner; or, alfo in fome matters belonging to his Trade. Tho this miracle in Ca- na may notwithftanding ftiil be faid the firft, i. e. publiekone, done by him after his beginning, when Baptized, tomanifeft himfelf unto the world, (unlefs here we will lay the Blefled Virgin had fome particular Revelation beforehand of this firft miracle of her Son ). Nor may fuch Domeftick Miracles in his youth be thought to anticipate the time appointed by his Father for fhewing fuch works, any more , then his difputes andanfwersto the Doctors at 12 years old the coriftituted fea- fon of his Publi;k preaching. The anfwer alfo then made to his Mother, that his time was not yet come, perhaps is not to be §.120. of our Saviour Jef us Chrift. 93 be taken fo in general, that his time of doing any Miracles was not yet come, which was already commenced upon his Baptifm ; but rather, that his time of doing that miracle was not yet fully feafonable, till the failing of the wine more ap- peared; or not now feafonable to doit in fuch a publick man- ner as fhe expected our Lord, to fhew who he was, mould have done it before all the Guefts ( fee the like expreffion Jo. 7. 6. about our Lords going up to the feaft. ) For our Lord thought fit to doit more privatl) , none knowing thereof but the Ser- vants; upon which alio, perhaps intimated to her, it was, that fhe lpaketothem to do what he appointed. But however, if this be here underitood of publick Miracles, it oppofeth not his doing themprivady, and within his own family even from and in his Infancy upon neceffary occafionsv 3I). From other Texts itfufficiently appears, that after our $. I20; Lord was of aconipetent growth, he aflifted with his own cor- ~ ■ poral labour his parents Domeftick neceffities, and wrought at his reputed-Fathers trade, with fo me reluctance, we may conceive, of his Parent's inclinations, and their greater admi- ration oiluchan humiliation, confideringhisperfon: but this inclination checked with a moft exact observance of him in whatsoever hefeemed addicted to. I fay this fufflciently ap- pears from the words Mat- 13. 5T, f6. and Mar\. 6. 1 ; where , (upon our Lords entring upon his office, and after fome time coming alfo to his own Town Nazareth, with a train of his Difciplesand a great fame of his Miracles following him, there to preach theGofpel among his Kindred and acquaintance^, it isfaid, the Citizens wondred whence he fhould have that wifdom, andknowledg, andthofe mighty works, confidering his mean education and Kindred among them, ftiling him there the Carpentfs Son ; and, in ' .Marke plainly, Maries Son j and himfelf called the Carpenter (for before that time it feems S. Jofeph was deceafedj. Wherein we fee it was his Fathers good pleafure, the more to mew Our Lords wifdom and know- ledg, to defcend from above and to be infufed by him that fent him, that he mould neither be fent to the famous School in Je- rufalem for teaching and learning the Law, as S. Paul was Act. 22. 3 ,• nor to any of thofe Synagogues mentioned AH. 6. 9 i Nor educated in the Temple among the Priefts, as Holy Sa- muel was, being from a child dedicated to the Lord ; nor fhould retire into theDefart for Solitude and Contemplation, as the Baptift, (Lives furely our Lord, if indulging his own will, would 94 The Hijlory of the Life §.121. would much fooner have chofenj but in this his ftate of Exina- nition mould defcend far below John, and take on him not the form of: an Hermit or Contemplatift, but of a Servant and a poor Apprentice to an ordinary Trade -, and herein mould earn his own victual?, and fervejhis neighbours alio as any' had ufe ofhim, for the greateft part or his life. And as it was appoint- ed, that at i2 years of age, before fuch Divine knowledg could be acquired by Induftry, he fliould make an admirable difco- very thereof among the Doctors in the Temple, tho this was then, ungratefully or aifo euvioufly, not taken any notice of by them j fo it was ordained alio, that all his )outh mould be ipeut in this laborious handicraft. Whereby it might be moil evident, he ftood in no need of human Arts or Sciences, and alio he might give the world an example, after fo great an hu- miliation ofhis, being Gods only Son, notto difdain to lerve out neighbour in the loweft manual offices, in any neceilities concerning his Body, or alio Eftate, as well as Spirituals but whereby allohe might the better difguile and hide the Digni- ty of his perlon tillhehaddefcended vet further to the loweft ftep of his Humiliation, and accompliihedhis Paflion on the Crols. For we find this education and mechanick trade of his to have bin a mam icandal, and, ( after that his admirable do- ctrine and works had given an occafion of his being more en- quired after ) to have bin Ipread all abroad and well known not only at Nazareth or in Galilee, but at Jerufalem: For Jo, 7. ij. in the third year ofhis pr^aching,as he taught in the Tem- ple it is laid ; the Jews marvelled and faid, —How knoweth this man Utters or learning having never learned. [From which alio may be gathered that in his Sermons, like to that dilcourfe ofhis in going to Emaus, were mixed many profound and con- vincing Expolitions of the Law and Prophets, and fuch as were not attainable by others, if at all, without much ftudy there- in. ] To whom our Lords anfwer in the nextverfe giving this reafonj Viz. that they might know that his doctrine was not his [ acquired, by any his induftry or- Art ] but his that fent him. [Learnt and revealed from above and brought out of the bo- iomeof his Father Jo. l. 18.] And his very kindred, from this mean exercife ofhis youth, when afterward he began to open and dilcover the hidden trealures of his wifdom , not believ- ing on him laith the Text y«. 7. S. asked him, why, if he was fuch as he -made himfelf, heftaid amongftthem in Galilee, and §. 121. §. 1 2 2 ,12 3. 0/ 0«r Saviour Jcfws drift. 9 5 and went not into Judea to fhew him'feli there among the Learned j when indeed our Lords ulual abode in Galilee was for the fafetyof his Life, Thus our Lords Carpenterfhip was made no fmall mortification to him. But yet this is imagined fuch Carpentors work as was exer- $#I22; cifed at home; Some think that of a Wheel-wnght, and making ' ' Ploughs, and Yokes, and other inftruments of husbandry for the fervice of his Neighbors. (Aratra conficiens &Juga bourn faith S. Juftin Martyr ContraTrypbonem, a very ancient Father) ; this futing much better wirh the retirement and Devotions of fa Holy a family, and a'fo with the privacy of our Lord's educa- tion, than feeking here and there work abroad in other men's houfes. And this trade it isprobable our Lord followed for fome time after Jofephs deceafe by thofe words in S.Marke. —Is not this the Carpenter, the Son of Mary ; andfo, a little af- ter our Lords Baptifm, mention is made of hs Mother only, none of Jofeph; as Jo. 2.1. -Matt.iz. 47 ,• It; feeming good to the Divine wiidom to leave our Lord, for fome time before his manifeftation, without any reputed Father here on Earth, whofe true Father was in Heaven. Thus our Lord, the fecond Adam, eat his Bread for many years in the fweat of his browes, fubie£ting himfelf herein to the curfe laid upon the firft his finning fore-father in a Trade requiring much ftrength and force. A^d his Trade an Emblem (if happily an houfe-wrighrjof his rebuilding that houfe of God,, which the other former had deftroyed. 4-ly. It may further be gathered from the many hardfhips §. I2^ fuflered even in our Lords tender Infancy, his being born in a - poor Stable, carried away presently after in. fo weak an age fome hundreds of miles into a ftrange Country } and again brought back from thence j as alfo from what is prophetically faid of him by David, In Labonbm a juventute, mca i A<2a_in k from his many times profefling that he came not to do his own will, but the will of his Father ( where his o\ya will denyetjin- timates natural inclinations different from his Fathers appoint- ment? concerning him, but yet^exactly fubjeclied thereto ),.and that he came not to be minillred to, but to minifter » and, when he had fo many attendants, that his' behaviour amongft them. was as of one that fer-ved, and as one that waited on, and pro- vided for them, whilft they fate at Table, See. -Luke 22. 27. ;fpo- ken upon occafion or their ftnying among themlelves for -Ho- nour i and about that time, aifo his walking their feet, and laflly y. 9 6 The Hiftory of the Life §. 124. laflly, from the Apoftle's expreilion, that he took orf him the form, not of a man only, but afervant; From all thefe I fay we may well argue, that his youth was not paffed without ma- ny mortifications and hardfhips, fuch as poverty, and handy- labour affords, many great felt-denials, an exact obedience of his child-hood to his Superiours according to the rlelh , fuch as a wife man fuffers-, whole duty obligeth him to thefervice and fometimes undifcreet commands, though in things lawful, of a perfon of much lefs understanding; unlefs we may rather think, that the Holy Spirit by him guided his Parents in all thofe commands, whereto it required his obedience. M24. And among fuch his mortifications this feems no fmall one ,• that, co: fidering who he was, the word and wifdom of God, and by whom God formerly made the world, he fhould have a law of filencefor fo long a time impofed upon him, as to any function as yet of hisminiftry ordifcovery of his wifdom, even when there was* in his feeing the great follies of the world, oc- cafion, mall I fay ? dr rather a great neceffity thereof. Nay, in the Sabbaths when all frequented the Synagogues ( which were in every City, and there the law and Prophets read to the people, Aft. 13.27.) and among others his moft devout Pa- rents together with himfelf, that, after hisforementioned di- fpute with the Doctors at jerufalem, and after he was now ar- rived to mans eftate, from 20 years old tilt 3o, he fhould pa- tiently ftand there among the reft in the quality of a mean labourer, and this, the Law-giver himfelf, in (ilence hear the expofitions of it \\ not alwaies free from errour, by others ; which rendered his fellowGitizens fo aftbnifht, when afterward he, who had binfo long* an Auditor with them, now (hewed him- felf a Doctor. A ftupendious Humility and Obedience this, fo long practifed, in loSovefaign a dignity : and an hard \z{' fon for thofe to imitate, Who have parts'. To our Lord there- fore, ftooping by Obedience to fuch a condition, feems prin- cipally to be applied that complaint of the Pfalmift Pfalm. 38. "Pofui ori meo cufiodiafri, cum conjijforet peccator adverjum me. Obmutui & humiliatus-fum, &Jilui a bonis f fermonibus ] & dolor metis renovatus ejt. Concaluit cormeum intra me: &?'nme- diiatione mea exardef'cet igftir, whilft he, whom a fire of Zeal for his Fathers glory, and for the falvation of mankind continually burnt and confumed, (See Jo.2.17 ), Converfed among the ignorant, and finners, without being permitted either to in- ftruct the one, or reprove the other j whilft he, who, to ufe the §.125,126. of our Saviour J efus Cbrift. p? the expreifion ofElihu Job. 32, was full of words and his belly as new Wine without vent, and thatbreaketh new Veffels ; was fo long to be dumb and as one that heareth not, and in whofe mouth are no reproofs ; No difcourfes I fay, faving fuch, as did not tranfcend the appearance of his exteriour condition and manner of Education and emploiment ; and fuch converfation, as in a private life gave good example to his few acquaintance and friends, remaining fo many years ( even whilit repairing in the State of his man-hood to Jerufalem and the Temple, and the great AfTemblies of the Nation at the publick feafts,) as it were a Candle hid under a Bufliel, and not fuffered to diffufe its light, walking in this moft difficult obedience, for fo many years, to the good plealure of his heavenly Father: as alio the iame obedience practifed the like filence whilft he fuffered lo many falfe accufations before his Paffion. And the Nazarens rude and uncivil entertainment of him, $• I2f- when vifiting them afterward, and his Brethren and kindred their not believing on him, fhew well how much he had in his youth ecclipfed and made himfelf of no accountamong them, at leaft thofe that were not more intimately acquainted. Wherein he gave the world a great leflbn and example of tram- pling underfoot any vain honour and Reputation, fave that with God and the Citizens of Heaven. But indeed had our Lord fooner manifefted himfelf to Ifrael, fuppofe even from his youth, we may conjecture fuch effecl: thereof, either that the glory of his wifdom and mighty works, with the envy of the Great ones accompanying thefe, would have haftened his Death and brought it fo much fooner : Or luch his Excellen- cies and Dignity of his perfon, in a long time of Converfation with them better known to the Nation, would have daunted his enemies and prevented his Death, and deprived the world of the precious Benefits thereof; and we may fay his Father waspleafed that he mould befo long concealed to us, that he might dye for us. In this time of our Lords living at Nazareth, and before §. 126. the 30th year of his age, isfuppofed to have happened the death of S. Jofeph, there being no more mention made of him, as of his Mother, and our Lord's Brethren, after our Lords pub- lick appearance either at the Marriage in Cana, or elfe- where. Itfeeming good unto his heavenly Majefty, that after his Ma- nifeftation, though a Mother did, yet no Father real or reput- ed mould, appear 3 that God might be the more looked-on as N his 98 TbeHiftoryoftheLife §.127,128. his Father, who alfo was profeffedby him to befo; no other being in fight, nor receiving any honour as luch. Therefore alfo is our Lord in St. Mark (probably after Jofephs de- ceafe) himfelf called the Carpenter, and the Son of Mary. But when ever S. Jofephs Death happened, doubtlefs it was un- dergone with great Refignation, and content , and after our Lord's having firft made known his heavenly Father's good pleafure both to him and his Mother ; in which, all three moft affedtionatety acquiefced, though Joleph by his Death in fome fenfe was to leave andlofehis moft beloved Jefus, Viz. as to the prefence of his Humanity, wherein his Saints by death do now enjoy him. s. 127. Nowthat, after fo profound an Annihilation and latitancy of our Lord in fo mean a fortune and obicure place, the time drew near of his manifeftation to Ifrael, ( being God at laft defcended upon earth to reveal to men the whole Will of his Father and all the Secrets of HeavenJ. A great perfon, and one fanctified from the womb ; and —^uo non major inter natos mu- lierum (as our Lord faith of him; was lent fome time before to proclaim to the world the near approach and appearance of this heavenly Prince, for begetting a greater reverence in them to his perfon ; And alfo to prepare all men by a due Confeffionof, and repentance and doing penance for, their fins, and correction and amendment of their evil lives (which is called the levelling Hills and filling Valleys, and making the high waies ftreight) and laftly, by their being purified by Baptifm, for a more worthy and Honourable reception of this great Lord, whole Kingdom was not temporal but Spiritual; that fo nothing in his Subjects at his coming might difguft or difpleafe him. And laftly, was fent, after his making fuch a pro- clamation of him beforehand, to {hew alfo and demonftrate with the finger his very perfon to them, for removing all pof- fible miftake, or juft excufe. §. 128. The miraculous Nativity of this Forerunner of Chrift in the "old age of his Parents, foretold by the fame Angelas was our Lords, and his being full of the Holy Ghoft from his very firft Being i his leaping and rejoicing at the prefence of our Lord when he alfo yet in his Mothers womb, and their acquaintance only before they were born ,• after his infancy, his leaving his Fathers houfe, and retiring into the Defart and folitude; his rigid dyet , raiment , and habitation in fome grot there ; his non-converfation with men , and fo neither corrupted with their ^.i 29. of our S avior Jefus Chrifl. 9 9 their manners, nor diffracted at all with human affairs, and the Holy Spirit fupplyingto him all that knowledg of mens perions that was neceflary to his high employments ,• the ma- ny refemblances he had to Elias, and alio to our Lord, in his doctrine and in his Heroical Virtues, and efpecially in his ftu- pendious' humility, and fufferings, thefe things I (ay have bin partly defcribed before §, 4. &c in the Relation of the Baptifts Nativity, where the mquifitive Reader may review them. To this great perfon therefore as yet in the Defart, being §. 129, about 30 years of age ( the appointed age under thelaw Numb. 4. 3, 23 . for the Priefts and Levits to enter upon the exercife of their functions ) and half a year elder than our Lord, as who was to be his forerunner and to appear abroad looner, came the word of the Lord ; that he mould now leave his folicitude, and enter upon the Office for which he had bin thus prepared, and which emploiment doubtlefs he had much expected and longed for. Upon which John came forth not immediatly to Jerufalera, or into the Cities of Judea ( this honour being left for our Lord himfelf, and the Kingdom of Heaven being to approach ftill nearer by certain degrees) but into the out-skirts of the De- fart of Judea, and from thence removing to Bethabara, ( where alfo our Lord fo jour ned for fometime a little before hisPaf- lion, Jo. 10. 40. ) beyond Jordan, near to the great Road from the Eaft for palling over the River into Judea: by which way thelfraelites, when they came out of Egypt, walking through Jordan ( a type ofBaptifm, as alfo their palling through the red Sea) entred into the Holy Land; and by which way they were afterwards carried away Captives from it to Babylon,- where alfo Elias, the type of John, after palling this Jordan, was taken up in a fiery Chariot. Here then John in his Spirit began to appear again, and to proclaim fas it were at a diftance and afar off) the fpeedy coming of the Jew's Meffiah, and of his Kingdom, and to fulfil the Vox clamantis indeferto fpoken of in the Prophets. Some conjecture alfo the beginning of Johns thus proclaiming our Lord to have bin in September, or the feafts of Trompets, which was the beginning of the Civil year of the Jews Lev. 23. z^'.-zs. 9. and this fameyear alfo to have bin a year of Jubile, which well agrees with Efay. 61. 2. ~Vt pradicarem annum placabilem Domini, and in which year of Ju- bile alfo was a greater concourfe of people from allFonaign parts : but the various computations of the age of the world ren- ders this thing very uncertain. N 2 , Now ioo The Hiftory of the Life §.130,131. §■ 130. Now then the Baptift began, for a due preparing of the Na- tion for the reception of io great and Holy a Prince, to ex- hort the people to a Confeffion and repentance of their fins, and the receiving Baptifm to that effect ( which he had orders from him that lent him to confer on all fuch as were peni- tent) andtoafpeedy reformation of their lives; for that now ftiortly allflefli mould fee the lalvation of God; and for that this Lord would come with his Fannin his hand, and would throughly purge hisfloore, gathering the Wheat into his Gar- ner, but burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire; and be- caufe that now the Axe fliould be laid to the root of the Trees, and fuch as brought not forth good fruit fhould be hewn down and caft into the fire. Which things delivered with fuch an authority and gravity put his Auditors into a great confter- nation and fright, and fuddainly alarmed the whole Nation; and efpecially the Hierofolymites, being at no great diftance from the place of his preaching, and much frequenting him. Whofe wonder alfo was encreafed by his appearance in iuch a defolate pl*ace,and not coming into their Cities.And his ftrange Kabit ofhair-cloth, and being tyed with a leather-Girdle, like Eliah and feveral of the ancient Prophets Efay 20*2. 2l(jng. 1. 8. Z^ech. 13. 4. and his ftrange abftinence, not eating any bread, nor drinking Wine, nor needing at ail any human fupplies for his food : one part of his diet being a kind of Locuft or Grafhopper, to be found every where upon the grals (and which it feems was a Fare fometimesof the poorer fort, in a cafe of neceffity eaten by them either raw or boyl'd, or alfo faked and dried, mentioned in Levit. 11. 22. and allowed there for a clean food,) ; and another part ( when thefe Locufts not to be had ) wild honey, fuch as the wood-bees wrought in the hollow parts of Trees, plentiful in this Country See 1 Sam. 14.25 ; and his abftinence fuch, as the Pharifees concluded fu- pernatural,and fo effected by his being poffefTed with a Devihhis lodging alio the hard ground in Tome Cave or Grot ; By which things this Preacher of Penance appeared alfo the greateftiTtf- ample thereof, that as yet the world ever faw. Thefe things I fay ftill advanced their great efteem and admiration of him, and gave greater weight and credit to his words; the Phari- fees orientation of rafting being quite eclypfed by it. • < I3I# To this alfo may be added his difcovering the fecrets of their - ' hearts that came to him, anddifcerning their feveral fins and Mat. 3. 7. deIinquencies,tho having no knoyvledg of, or converfation with them. §. 1 3 2. of our Saviour Jefus Chri/l> i o i them. The Counfels and advices he gave them high and fub- lime, and like unto thofe of our Lord. As, among others, that given to the people for the larger extent of their charity, that he that had two Coats mould impart to them that had none, and lo alio mould do for Bread and Meat. Thefe his Coun- fels rightly alfo fitted to every ones condition, whilft for the amendment of theif manners each one defired to learn from him thefeveral Duties of their calling ( the things belonging to which he knew not by experience but the Holy Spirit ■ ) His admitting f contrary to the Pharifees ) all perfons with an equal maniuetude and affability- and not keeping more diftance from thole efteemed greater Sinners, Publicans, or Soldiers,* this reprehending the greateft with all freedom and without fear before all the people ; and receiving the humble, though great offenders, without expoftulation or reproach. All thefe wrought in the people an Opinion of theBaptift, that he was fome eminent Prophet, or alio the Mejfias, though himfelf fuf- ficiently difclaimed it. Upon this fame, To this new burning and fhining Light ( as £\r 3 2° our Lord fides him ) a great conflux was made , after fome time, out of the whole Nation , not only out of the nearer parts of Judea , but alfo of Galilee. From which Countrey, among others we find Peter and Andrew his brother intermit- ting their fifhing and reforting to him,- as alfo Philip and Na- thanael, Galileans. We find alfo, ^&r 19.3, fome Brethren living at Ephefus, and Apollo of Alexandria, to have received Johns Baptifm, which argues alfo a refort to him from for- raign parts : unlefs we imagine an authority of Baptizing ei- ther commitedby him to, or at leaft affumed by, lome of his more eminent Difciples. Hither alio came the Publicans, and the Soldiers, and thole that were efteemed the moft notorious finners to hear his Sermons made of Repentance, and remif- fion of fin, which feemed to concern fuch perfons moft. Thefe therefore, terrified with his words, made humble confeflions of their former fins to him Mat. 3. 6, Mar^. 1. y. ( as thofe other Converts in the Ads did to S. Paul Ails 19.18^; promifed amendment of their lives, were baptized by him in order there- to : Laftly, asked his advice and directions concerning their Duty in their feveral Vocations and Employments, where the Gentlenefs and tendernefs, wherewith he treats the Soldiers a*nd the Publicans ( yet the inftruments of fuftaining the Roman Power ) is very notable • not bidding them prefently to defert, or i o 2 The Hi/lory of the Life §.133,134. or change their Profeffion, or propofing to them any high per- fections, as he did to forae others ; but admonifhing them ac- cording to their prefent capacity, of avoiding thoi'e faults to which their employments more tempted them: the Soldier to do no violence to any, nor fallly accufe them to make way for plunder j but to be content with that gain their wages af- forded them ; and the Publicans, that they fhould not enhance the Taxes upon the People, nor require more than was ap- pointed them: inftru&ing them firft in acts of Juftice, and do- ing no wrong to their Neighbour, whilft he exhorted others to acts alfo of charity. §. 133. And laftly, hither alfo came the learned and highly-efteerri- ed Scribes and Pharifees. Many of them, as appears by what our Lord faith Lu}^ 7, 3 o. ( though perhaps not all ) moved with curiofityto fee and obferve the itrangely habited perfon, and not with compunction for their fins ('as othersj, or the believing what he was, or f aid ; no more than they did afterward our Lord himfelf ; to verify our Lords fpeech. — Pauper es evangeli- \antur. Thefe bearing a fhow of fanctity, and accordingly re- verenced among the people, fo foon as the Baptift beheld, fee- ing and knowing all their interiour by the Holy Spirit, he en- tertained not them with the fame manfuetude and indulgence as the poor Publicans and Soldiers, as the one appearing to him interiorly clothed with humility and Contrition, the other with Pride and Hypocrify; but prefently fell into a fharp re- prehenfion of them before all the people ( knowing this the proper way, if any, for their cure ) : calling them a generation of Serpents ('which was alio our Lords language afterwards ) denouncing to them the NoviJJima the great wrath to come; and fuchfruitlefs Trees, and chaff their being caft into an un- quenchable fire,unlefs a fpeedy repentance for their fins and re- formation of their manners prevented it. And feeing them, from the approaching Meffiah he foretold, expecting much contrary to what he faid at his coming, ( as heirs of the pro- mifes made to their Father Abraham ), all Glory, and profpe- rity,and Dominion, over the Gentiles,he fore-fignified to them, by ufing a fimilitude from the Rocks and Stones that lay a- bouthim, that God, upon their incredulity and impenitency abandoning them, could raife unto Abraham another feed, i. e. out of the yet ltony-hearted and unbelieving Gentiles. As indeed not long after he did. §. 134- The Baptift thus had for fome time executed his Office, and made §.I35,13^# of our Saviour Jefus Ckrift. ] 103 made a preparatory commencement of the Gofpeh accord- ing as our Lord faith (Mat. n. i^.) —that the Law and the Prophets were till John ; but that from his dates the Kingdom of Heaven, or of the Gofpd, fujfered violence [ i. e. whilft whole mul- titudes and crowds of people. Soldiers, Publicans, Sinners, came flocking into it]. Though indeed the Apoftles of our Lord, confummating the preaching of this Evangelium , with the Holy Ghoft descending on the people , baptized with it by them, and doing of all forts of Miracles in confirmation of what they divulged , far tranfcended the beginnings of the Baptift; and|fothe leaft of them, in this refpect, was greater than he, asourLordlaith, Matt. 11. n. John then was a pro- dromus preaching fo, as our Lord afterward, the Kingdom of Heaven at hand, and judgment and wrath to come on the im- penitent and unbelieving. Confeflion, repentance, and fo re- million of fin ( not by Johns Baptifm, this being only with wa- ter and tobeconfummated in the other) but by the Baptifm of him that was to come after him, who mould baptize them with the Holy Ghoft, Jo. 1. and who was the Lamb of God that mould takeaway the fins of the world, and in whom they were to believe Ait. 19.4. Whereby it appears:that there was an obligation alfo remain- §. z ^ ^a ing on all who poffibly could procure it,after Johns Baptifm, of receiving Chrifts, which effected a perfect regeneration by con- ferring the Holy Ghoft ; and that whatever affiftance alfo of the Holy Ghoft may be fuppofed in thofe predifpofitions to this perfect regeneration effected by the fame Spirit , as in Confeflion of fins, repentance and bringing forth the fruits thereof, and believing on the Meffias; which things were caufed J*** I<*% 45 in the people by Johns preaching, this alfo we have from the power and virtue only of him that was to come after him. And that thofe true penitents, who died under Johns baptifm only, and without our Lords, became partakers of the Holy Spirit and of falvation, in the lame manner as all the righteous de- ceafed under the Law, i.e. through the merits of Chnft; in their uling the typical Ceremonies relating thereto whatever they were, accordingto the divine appointment. John therefore told them, that our Lord, who came after, g. 1 *6> not he, mould baptize them with this Holy Ghoft } and St. Luke adds baptize them alio with fire. Where fire may be taken in a double ienfe, either for the fire of the Holy Spirit , ele- gantly oppofedby John to his water 5 or ( as fome rather un- derftand 104 The Hifiory of the Life §. 137. derftandit) the fire of the Divine wrath. For S. John's Spirit had iomeof that of Eiias, and the context feemeth to favour this fenfe: for there it follows Lut>. 3.17. whofe fan is in his hand and the chaff he will burn with fire, the one or the other baptifm fhew that of the Holy Ghoji or of fire was to be receiv- ed by every one. Thus, after John had began firlt the preach- ing of the Gofpel and ufing the new Ceremony thereof, Bap- tiim, but deferred all the power and virtue thereof to Chriit, that was then at hand. And great multitudes from all parts were now gathered unto him, and a very great number ( as ap- pears by the expreffion Luj^. 3.21.) at leait of the common fort were baptized by him: and were in great expectation what would be the end of thefe things, fince he plainly and often told them that himfelf was not this Chrift, nor fhewed he any miracle at all, hereby the more to exalt himfelf. $• I37> After that thefe Preparations were made, and Our Lord now alfo had compleated the thirtieth year of his age; at which age the Priefts (as hath bin faid ) and Levits were admitted to adminifter in the Sanctuary Numb.^. 3, 23 5 and at which age his Father David was inftalled in the Kingdom of Ifrael, and Jofeph advanced to the government of Egypt, Types of our Lord -, Now was the full time come that he Ihould throw off his longdifguife and manifeft himfelf ; And herein mould firif. receive, in publick before John and all the people, a Com- mijjion from his Father fpeaking to the world from Heaven, and a Solemn Vnction to his Office from the Holy Ghofl. He then, to whom alfo and to his Holy Mother, all thefe S*V; things done by John were related by their neighbours, that he might fulfil all righteoufnefs, and fhew obedience to all ordi- nances inftituted by his Father ( Johns Baptifm being from heaven and not of men, as he argues againft thePharifees Mat. 21.25.) as alfo that he might give good example to other Ga- lileans (for which, fee what he did Mat. 17. zj.-utnonj'canda- li-^emus eos in doing anything that lookedlike difobedience ), not many daies after 30 years old, went up, as many others, from Galilee, and humbly prefented himfelf among the other mul- titude to receive Baptifm from John as & penitent, fo habited, fo mortified with gtief and confufion; remembring the bur- den he had taken upon him ( for our fakes ) of the fins of the whole world, and compleating theConfeffion and Contrition of all thofe poor finners, that flood with hm defirous of the fame Abfolution, and among the reit even thofe of the Baptift himfelf. " The §. 1 3 8 ,13$. of our Saviour Jefut Chrift. 105 The place of our Lords Baptifm probably from John 1. 28. was Befhabara : viz. where, the waters being divided, the peo- ple of Ifrael palled over Jordan with Jofhua into the land of promife j and whither our Lord alfo coming out of the Defart returned to John. Anditfeemsby S. Lukes words, -in which chap. 3.21, all the people were baptised &c, that there was a great conflux of people to John at that very time; For indeed one end of Johns baptizing was, that our Lord mould be made manifeft to Ifrael Jo. 1.31. The Baptift, tho living in the fame houfe for three Months §. i$8L with him before they were born, had never before feen thisfa- cred perfon, whom he wasfent toproclame ( the Divine Pro- vidence, for avoiding any fufpition of fraud, or compact, fo ordering, that they mould be educated in two remote and op- poiite corners of Paleftine ) j yet prefently upon his appear- ance by the Spirit knew him to beChrift our Lord. [ForS. John's -Non noveramtfc. Jo. i. 33. ( as S. Chryfoftome and o- thers ) is to be underftood more largely : Viz. of the time before our Lords coming from Galilee, and before the folemnity of the Baptifm j in which folemnity, becaufethe moft evident te- ftimony was the Holy Ghofts defcent and fitting upon our Lord, therefore it is inftanced in by the Baptift i as if he had faid, I knew him not at all formerly, till the time when he came to be baptized, and the Holy Ghoft in the fhape of a Dovevifible to all fate upon his Head. The Baptift, then, pre- fently knew him; and, much aftonifhed at his great humility in offering himfelf to receive this Baptifm offinners, with a like humility proftrated himfelf before him ; and telling him, that himfelf had need to be baptized of him, defired to be ex- cufed from fo great a prefumption, whofe Ihoos-latchet he had formerly told the people Jo. 1. 27, he was not worthy to untie. But our Lord now no way difp uifing or concealing himfelf to John, with a word that (0 he ought to fulfil all righteoufnefs, re- moved his fear and fcruple ; and fo in all humble obedience to his good pleafure John performed this Office to him. Our Holy Lord,fo foon as he afcended out of the water,with- $.jr 39^ out any entertaining himfelf with his Colin and fervant the Baptift, though this was their firft interview, immediatly put himfelf, upon the banck of Jordan, in the pofture of praier : wherein we may prefume he offered himfelf ( according to his words in the Pfalme ; — Lo I come, as in the volume of this book it is written of me, to do thy will O my God ) to all thole hard O fervices 106 The Hijlory of the Lift §.140,141. fervices and fufferings for the redemption of mankind, which his heavenly Father expected from him: as we find he did a little Lordsbeing here firft conducted by his FatryfcHnto the De- lart, before his beginning to take his pofTeffion of the inheri- tance both of the Jew and Gentile promifed him by his Fa- r ther, hath to that former divine conduct of the I/rae/ites, firft °J ' 2* S' into the Wildernefs , after our Lord alfo, as they, had bin cal- led out of Egypt, Mat. i. and the correfpondence alfo which his forty daies abode there hath to their forty years. Yet in this much unlike,- that he, in this Defart being prefTed alfo with the fame neceflities as they, I mean as to hunger and thirft after fo long a faft, and upon it by the Devil much urged to the like offending of God j Viz. not by not waiting his good time ; Yet he flood, where they fell : and with ail patience contrary to them ( though having Miracles in his own power ) attend- ed the time of the Divine good pleafure for his relief ; and here alfo He, receiving at length the fupply of his hunger from An- gels fent to him, maybefaid infome fenfe, as they, to have bin fed with their food. This then was another end of our Lords withdrawing into §. 14%, this defolate place; that he might be there tempted of the Devil, faithS. Matthew chap. 4.1, and fulfil his Fathers good pleafure, in his being expofed alfo, like unto us, unto the en- counters and ftrangely-rude treatments of the enemy of man- kind, Satan. ( For who hath bin in his temptations fo rudely handled and carried about by him as our Lord was ? ) and that he might thus be, as the Apoftle obferves //It Therefore, from this his liability to paffions, and the new " change of his life, Satan conjectured a fair opportunity for be- getting in his humanity, (in his former life hitherto fo poorly treated,,) fome Elation of mind, and vain oftentation of its tranfcendent dignity and prefent advancement. Or, luppo- fing Satan knew fuch an Union of this his humanity to the Deity, as that our Lord could not poflibly commit theleaft fin, and that his prefent temptations were but in vain, (as all his former had bin ), yet was his malice to him fo extream, as it could not let him reft, fo far as God permitted; and he re- joyced to give him fome moleftation, though with a greater mifchief to himfelf j a quality we oblerve alio in the Devil's children, malicious men,- who do not forbear to afflict their neighbors, in their own fuffering much greater dammage. f if 2, He then, asfoonas God had relaxed his chain, invades our Lord: and probably appears to him in fome comely and Glo- rious fhape, as we may conjecture from his laft temptation* wherein he defires adoration from him; Or, as lome think to be more futable to the place, mewed himfelf in the habit of fome religious Hermite ; -Or, perhaps not difguifing at all who he was ( which alfo was well known to our Lord,) fubtilly de- iired fome evidence of the fupereminent Dignity of our Lords perfon, as it were for his ownfatisraction, and that he might know his due fubjection to him. His requeit therefore was, that if he were the very Son ot God, as he was iarely proclaimed from heaven to be,- he would, for the honour alfo of his human nature hitherto fo meanly treated, now fhew an act of his Di- vine omnipotency ; and taking fome pitty of its prefent necef- fities command thofe Stones, that lay before him, to become fo § . 1 5 3 , t $ 4. of our S avior Jefus Chrifl. 11 5 fo many loaves of bread ; efpecially lince in that defart place he could expect no other ordinary fupply; f As indeed long ago, in the like neceffity, the lame Lord out of the ftony Rock in the Defart brought forth water ). And the more kind a ad harmlefs the requeft herefeemed to be, the more dangerous the temptation. Whilft hereby the Devil hoped to allure him, for the glorifying of his humanity, to (hew fome fuperfluous and vain-glorious act or his power, ( as he mingled, with our firft parents taking the forbidden fruit, a vain ambition of know- ing good and evil^j and to make fome breach or his former refignation, and obedience in this his ftate of humiliation to his heavenly Father ; as the impatient Ifraelites alfo in the De- fart, when pinched with hungar, prefently became clamorous againft Moles ; and would not attend Gods good time and leafure, for making provifion for their wants. Our BlefTed Lord, ftanding upon his Guard, and acting all §.1?$. things according to the prefent defignof his coming into the world, Viz. to do entirely and only his Fathers good will and plealure through whatever fufFeringSj though he might here with his molt Soveraign authority have, prefently, banilhed Sa- tan from his prefence, as he did at the laft, and have difmift himwithfome fharp reproof ; Yettogive us herein an exam- ple; he chofc rather toanfwerhim ("though inch an one) in the Spirit of meeknefsj and ( according to what S. Michael the Arch-Angel did Jude 9, or, our Lord not indulging himfelf fo much ) not medlingwith the perfon of the tempter, chofe to reply to the Temptation. And here alio he preferred to frame all his three replies out of the word of God. A direction which the Apoftle hath left us, [ Take, faith he, the/word of the Spirit t which is the word of God ] as for the moll powerful way of repelling this evil Fiend by our fhewing to him Gods com- mand contrary to his fuggeftions. As alfo our Grandmother Eve, when yet in innocency, at firft anfwered Satan tempting herG*«. 3.3, That me had a command fsom God to the con- trary. This well : but fhe flood not firm to it. To this firft Satanical temptation therefore, that he mould $. if a, prefently with an extraordinary hand make the Stones about him bread, to fatisfie the hungar of fuch a Supreme Lord, and one fo dear to God j he, as it were, reflecting on the former mif- carriage of Gods people, when an hundred and thirjty in the Wildernefs, in their prefumptuoufly demanding a Miracle be- fore its time, returneth to this Tempter thofe words of Mofes P 2 in u6 ThtHifloryoftkLife §-x55- in Deut. 8. 3 . ( fpoken by Mofes concerning the Manna $ given to them fo miraculoufly from heaven ) telling Satan it was writ- ten there. —That Manjhal/ not live by bread alone, but by every •word that proceedetb out of the mouth of God. The context there runs thus. -He humbled thee, and Jujfered thee to hunger, and fed thee with Manna [which thou knevoefl not); that he might make thee \tiow that Man lives not by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Intimating, that we are, for any our wants, with patience to depend on the Divine providence and provifion; who is all-fufficient and able with a word to fupply our neceffities, as he did that of his people in theDefart with Manna : as alio that his meat, and drink, and life was the obferving his Father's word and command, and the yielding a punctual obedience thereto : As if our Lord had faid hereto Satan, what elfewhere to his Difciples, Jo. 4., 32, 34. —I have meat to eat that thou knowtft not of. My meat is to do *fo/w7/ofhimthatfentme. But laftly, what need of a Mi- racle here, where he could as he pleafed fatisfie his hungar by otherordinary means; either by feeding on Johns food in the Defartathand j or, by fpecdily quitting the defart, receive it elfewhere ? Yet this our good Lord, who would not here, at fuch a perfon's requeft, relieve his own forty-daies-faft with a Miracle, did afterward , out of companion, and alfo to mew thee who he was, with a Miracle fupply the peoples fait, though fuffered only for a day or two Ma^. if. 32. Thus the Devils temptation, inftead of elevating our Lord to fome pride, ( by which himfelf fell ) or curiofity infhewtng vain-glorious and fuperrluous wonders, or fenfuality in lufting after food, produ- ced in him only an act of humble fubmiffion, obedience, and refignation to his Fathers good pleafure and Orders. 5- iff* The Devil finding no entrance of Pride, or felf-exaltation into our Lords humanity this way, prefently devifed another : (Our Lords hungar being alio thus longer continued until all his temptations were 4inifhed), and removes our Lord, out of this privacy and melancholick recefs, into a place of greater State, magnificence, and refort ; and io taking him up, faith the Text, carried him fpeedily out of the Defart into Jerufalem. Which taking him upy the Preface to the temptation following, is to be reckoned alfo no fmall temptation, and trial of our Lords humility, and annihilation ; tofufFer himfelf to be hug- ged upon the moulders, or embraced in the arms, or touched with the pawes of fuch an horrid and accurfed Beaft, as our Lorda §• 1 5 ^57. Gfour Saviour Jefu* Chri/l- 1 1 j Lord, in whatever external Ihape, knew him to be. For the tranfportation fceras to be literally underilood and real, not repreientative only in a Vifion. Which Vifion would either imply that our Lord's humanity mull be fo far impofed-upon and deceived by Satan, as to think it real; or, if thistranipor- tation known to our Lord to be only a fhew, rauft much weaken the Temptation. Brought hither, he carries him ftreight to his Fathers houfe, $.*/£„ the Holy Temple fumptuoufly built by Herod ; and lets him on the very higheft place thereof, one of the Pinacles, we may imagine,of the Porticus or tower, which was railed higher than the reft oftheFabrick, and which faced the Courts. Here Sa- tan, fuppofing the place might fome way alio lublimate our Lord his thoughts, ( if it did not work the other way upon him, that his danger of falling might beget fome fear in him, and diffidence towards God ) j Here 1 lay he minds him again of his being filled the Son of God; and that if he was f o , he would Ihew to him, and perhaps to all the people that flood in the Courts, fiffuch his ltation wasvilibleto them) who he was: and would by an act of his power provide for his fafety in fecurely calling himfelf down from thence, and relying on the lupport of his Servants the Angels, waiting there to catch him,, an hand he had much rather fall into, than thofe of Satan ,- Efpecially, when from this fummity,\vhere he was placed, there were no Hairs or other paflable defcent. And becaufe alfo it appeared by our Lords lalt anfwer, that he made his Fathers word his Rule, Satan now alfo produced Scripture ( as he ufu- allydoth to thole he deceives, butmifapplied, that God had given his Angels charge concerning him, and that in their hands they mould bear him up, &c. which place, it not particu- larly meant of him alone, yet,f poken in General of all Gods Ser- vants, mull alfo be truely extended to his Son. Our Lord ftiil remaining fixt upon the bafisof his humility, g y^7o and no way moved upon the profpedt and glory of this City, or " advance alio of his own, foon meekly returned him a fecond an- fwer out of the Scriptures i out of the Law too as the former £ and out of the fame book of it, prohibiting fuch a facl: upon anyfuch Motive or promife j the text being corrupted by the Devil, as to the true fence and due circumftances thereof- tel- ling him, that it was written, that we may not tempt the Lord our God. The Text is found in Deut.6.i6. and the inftance there made is, not to tempt him as in lylaflahj where the Ifraelites fuflering i iS The HiJIory of the Life §-15^159- iuffering fome thirft, had not the patience of expecting the time wherein God thought fit to relieve them, but irreverently and ungratefully expoftulated with, and importuned Mofesfor a Miracle in their fupply for drink, after they had but now feen that Miracle tor i'upplying them bread, in the former Chapter. So patient and refigned our Lord remained ftillin the place and pofture as Saian had fet and held him in ( for he, who was permitted to place him there, had not the power to caft him down thence, io to try what would be the iflue of it ) till he confounded thought of changing the Scene again , and, like Balak, of trying his experiments upon him in another place, and in a contrary manner. §• ifg' Having therefore now attacked our meek Lord in two of the three ordinary and moft effective forts of temptations, as S.John reckons them, Coneupifcentia carnis as to eating, which meat was rendredmore alluring by extreme hungar ; andjw- perbia vita, fome vain glory, or Honour, when io mounted on the top of a Pinnacle of one of the ftatelieft buildings of the world, by there mewing himfelf fupported and born up by An- gels in the Air ; he now thought of affaulting him with the third, Coneupifcentia Oculorum, and wealth and Coveteoufnels j that that Temptation might not be omitted toward our Lord, with which we are moft frequently over-thrown j and by which wealth and honour once admitted, he could atleaftfooner work his ruine j thefe inftruments of his temptation being alfo great tempters. I . - Now laying afide therefore the glorious fuggeftions to our - Lord of his being the Son of God, as in the two former; Satan begins now to treat him not as Gods, but as the Carpenter's Son ; and to take more upon him, and magnifie himfelf inftead of our Lord, and to fee if he could trample upon our Lords humi- lity, in whom he could not beget any pride. So taking him from thePinacle, and from the prolpecT: of Jerufalem, he tranf ported him to yet a greater and ftatelier height, the top of a very high Mountain, as if to a place where himfelf was Prince and Lord of all j and there makes a Scheme and representation unto him of the great and fpaciousKingdomes of the Earth; and of all the Glory and beauty, as it were, fet forth and fpread before him in a large Map, and (hewed too all at once ( as it were in a mo- ment faith S. Luke ) as all lying at his his feet, the more to furprrze him. Then tells him, that all thefe arehis,and to whom- foever he pleafeth he can give them, ( and the profperity and flounfliing §. 1 6 1 ,i 6 2. of our Saviour Jtfu* Cirift. 1 1 9 nourifliing of the wicked for a time in this world feem'd to make good his words) that therefore, if he would but bow his knee, and give him the honour due to fuch a Patron and Bene- factor j All mould be our Lords, and he prefently poflefled of them. Whence our Lord might fee, that, for all the high titles that might be given him, he had been in the world but poorly treated hitherto, in being advanced no higher than a Carpen- ter. It is likely that Satan fet forth this laft Temptation with §.161, many more words ; and (hewed the many honours he had for- merly bellowed upon his true Servants i Hoping alio, that the fight and view of fuch worldly Pouipe might much work upon fucha Novice, and one fo meanly educated. As our firft Pa- rents, that fell, were taken with the glofs and beauty of the for- bidden fruit Gen. 3.6. and as the Ifraelites, brought out of the Deiart into the land of Canaan, were by the plenty thereof Deut.3z. 15*. drawn away from God. --IncraJJktm, impinguatus, dilatatm, dereliquitDeum Faftorem (uum. But very imprudent and no lefs filly was fuch a propofal of his to our Lord, and full of Pride and lies. Whenas indeed himfelf was a miierable Bankrupt, and prifoner tied up in chains, not able to help a poor witch, for all her, no* only worlhip of, but Contracts and giving her Soul to him, to a fingle farthing; nor to take his lodging in a filthy Swine, without an extraordinary leave and permiffion : and, when as moft contrary, he, to whom he fpake* was the very perfon, to whom all thefe things were given by the Father, and who was the true Lord and heir of all. And there- fore Satan in this third afTault faith nothing of his Son-JJjip ; and having all things in heaven, earth, and under earth, to adore andfubmit to him as fuch, will they, nill they, even Sa- tan himfelf. And this perhaps was one way, how Satan hoped his Temptation might faften upon our Lord, if he could, thus at leaft, provoke him unfeafonably, at this time, to the challeng- ing of thefe things to himfelf; andfofome little ftain of often- tatibn, and vain glory might poflibly run along and mingle with it. But our meek Lord replies no fuch thing to him, takes no §. 16%. notice of his fhameful lies ; nor the cheat of his deluding ap- pearances,- but, after he had fhevved the higheft deteftation of his endeavouring to rob his Father of his due worlhip, and of taking this to himfelf, in thofe words fpoken to him, Get thee hence Satan, ('as if his laft impudent, andblafphemouspro^ i2o 7 be Hi/lory of the Life §.163. pofal had clearly difcovered to him who he was) he With the iame fpiricof meekuefs, as before, anfwers him a third time out of the Scripture, and the Law; that we are commanded to worfhip the Lord our God, and him only to ferve 3 and in what ever condition we are placed of poverty and want, may do no prohibited thing to make our felves rich, great, or Honoura- ble. Which if indeed we would, \etby this way we cannot make our felves fo. AndtheDevil, fo oft as he faith this, doth but lye to us. Thus our Lord floutly repelled the laft temptation alio, the luft of the eyes ( the furprifal of which muft be greater too in fo barren a Del art ). And fo this being the uttermoft bait he had, with which to have caught our Lord, and not able to difobey our Lords words , Get thee hence Satan ( by the power of which words our Lord at laft manifefted that , which he was not pleafed to ihew at Satans requeft, Viz. that he was the Son of God) this evil Angel departed. And now after the temptation, ( as ufually, ) follows a Confolation ; ( as alfo ( before ) the great Honour done our Lord at his Baptifm was ftreight purfued with a great humiliation ) and for the verifying of our Lords moft patient and meek anfwer, that man lives and fubfifts, not by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from God ; God fent his good Angels to mini fter food to this his Son, as alfo he had before in the Defart fupplied with the bread of Angels cheanhungred Israelites, tho their murmuring and impatience did not fo well deferve it ; and as afterwards he lent by an An- gel, in a defart place, provifion to Elijah. $l_l£il Meanwhile, theBaptift continuing all this time his preach- ing and Baptizing, and reiterating in our Lords abfence, the Meffias his being already come into the world; and upon it fuch a multitude of men flocking to him, the Chief Council of the Jews troubled at his high and reiterated Eulogium con- cerning the Meffias, and alfo grown envious of his great Fame, fent fome Delegates, who were of the Seel: of the Pharifes, to examine from him by what authority He in fuch a ftrange guife and Habit, allumed fuch a publick Office of preaching and gathering Difciples to him, and by a new erected Baptifm admitted them, as it were, into a new Seel: of Religion. Who coming to himqueftioned, firft whether h« pretended himfelf to be the Meffias, of whom he fpoke fo much, and whom that Na- tion had folongexpecled $ ready, if he had affirmed it, to have required fomeCeleftial evidence and figa thereof from him, as they §.164- of our Saviour Jefws Chrifi. 121 they did afterward from our Lord. To this he anfwered with much afTeveration Jo. 1. if, to remove fuchan abhorred mi- ftake from them, and from the people ( who alfo much debat- ed in their hearts, faith S. Luke chap. 3 . 1 ^ diftance, tis probable, that our Lord, intending the difclofing of himfelf only by certain degrees , without any nearer ap- proaches to John, prefently left him, and the multitude, ( ad- miring, but not yet following, him) and retired himfelf, (where God his Father had provided him an entertainment J till the next day toward evening. When, as two of Johns frequent Auditors and Difciples were (landing with him, which Difci- ples our Lord meant to receive into his own fervice, he again, on a fuddain Jbewed himfelf. Whom John beholding as he^ walked at a diftance, iterated his former teftimony concerning^ him. And joyfully faid to them, that there went the Lamb of God, whom and not him, the world was to adore and follow. So that hisv two Difciples (one of which was Andrew Simon Peters Brother, the other not named by John, is fuppofed to be himfelf i especially fince he fo punctually relates the Circum- flancesas if himfelf prefentj much moved herewith, and per- haps alfo exprefly directed by the Baptifl to apply themfelves to this mofl Holy Mafler fo much excelling him, with much re- verence flraight made toward, and filently followed our Lord : not presuming as yet to fay any thing to him, but obfervinghis motions, that they might not lofe him ; and this perhaps might be, becaufe the day before, upon Johns like Encomiums, he had fuddainly with-drawn himfelf from the People. Our Lord looking back upon them , asked them , whom or what they fought for? they calling him Rabbi, a Title given to no ordi- nary perfon Mat. 23. 7, defired to know his lodging, and where they might repair to him ( it wanting then only two hours of night ) fince they had heard from the Baptifl fuch a Teftimony of the fupreme dignity of his perfon, and were by him refer- red to his conduct. He courteoufly invited them to it: and there they (laid with him the fhort remainder of the day, where, O* br 124 The Hiftory of the Life §.168,169,170. by his heavenly Difcourfe to them ( we may imagine fuch as to Nicodemus ) concerning the Kingdomeof God, and his com e- ing into the world for the Redemption of man, they were ex- ceedingly confirmed in the belter, of John's teftimony; and. had their hearts ennamed by his difcourfesin fuch a manner, asthofe that went with him to Emaus; as may be gathered from Andrew's language afterward to his Brother Peter "jo. 1.41. $. 168. The next morning, or perhaps the fame night, Andrew re- pairing to his Brother Simon Peter ('For it feems their extra- ordinary piety, as alfo it feems a fpecial Divine Providence, had brought both of them from their fiming-trade for a time to hear and follow the Baptift) told him the joyful news of their having found the Meffias, upon their Matters the Baptifts indication of him, and the familiar entertainment they had received from him. Simon ( with his wonted fervour ) pre- fently defired to be brought to him. Our Lord, at the firft fight of him, toincreafe his faith, called him by his name, and told him whofefon hcwas j and alfo then prophecied the fore-feen good pleafure of God his Father concerning him; that he mould be called Cephas, and mould be the principal Foundation-ftone of his Church ; as our Lord more at large expounded it unto him afterward in Mat. i5. 18. §• I(*9- Here were now three Difciples gathered to our Lord, fuffici- ently confirmed in their belief from his manifefting to them his knowledg of every thing concerning them, the like to which they had not feen in the Baptift. This day probably fpent in inftru&ing thefe Neophyts, the next morning our Lord, to check a little for the prefent the fpreading of his Fame, (this Sun of righteoufnefs being fometime to mine forth, and then again to be veiled ,• and, fo by degrees to difcover his glo- ries as not to hinder his fufferings, which were alfo to be fulfil- led ) and to leave John a more free Teftimony of him in his abfence, purpofed to withdraw himfelf for a while from fo great a conflux of People, and from thefe parts fo near Jerufalem, intoGalilee, for theconfolation of his Holy Mother and kin- dred after a long abfence; and whither alio the domeftick af- fairs of his newly admitted Difciples, Galileans as well as he, made them moft ready to accompany him. Who alfo had already learnt either from 'himfelf or the Baptift his Name,Pa- rents,Education, at Nazareth,Scc. S- '7°' Setting forth this day for his journey, our Lord cafthis eies upon §.170. of our S avior Jefus Chrift. \ 2 5 upon Philip, a Galilean alfo,and fellow-Townfman of Peter and Andrew ( perhaps then found in their company as a familiar acquaintance, and with whom they had already entertained fomedifcourfe concerning Jefus j otherwife Philip could not have bin fo punctual in that which he faid to Nathaniel. ) Our Lord feeing his faith and interiour inclinations, prefently cal- led and admitted him into the Society; who was afterward a chief perfon among the Apoftles; by whom the devout ftran- gers that came to Jerufalera to worfhip Jo. 12. 20. made their addreffes to our Lord. He prefently ( fet ail on fire,) to carry it more forward went to feek out Nathaniel, an intimate friend of his, and it feems alfo a man of letters. Who is probably con- jectured from hisearly calling here, and from Jo. 21. 1, 14. to have bin one of our Lords twelve Apoftles, called Bartholomew, fo as Simon Peter is Bar-Jona : in which Roll of them he is ftill coupled to Philip. See 2. Part.§. whom efpying alone under a fig-tree ( perhaps at his Devotions ) he called him to him, and told him theMeffias, thatMofes and the Prophets had fpoken fomuch of, was come into the world, and that this perfon was Jefus ofNazareththefonof Jofeph. For thus much he and the reft had learnt concerning our Lord's fecular condition. Na- thaniel ( as the more learned commonly are lefs credulous ) put a check to Philips forwardnefs, efpecially when naming Mofesand the Prophets to him j telling him that furely there was no Prophet, that foretold the Meflias fhould come out of Nazareth ('which thing indeed was a great blind not only to Nathaniel here, but generally to thelearned Jews that they would not believe Jefus the Chrift ; and fo darkned in this, proceeded ro fulfil the other prophecies in working his death. ) Philip, without farther difpute, bid him but approach to him, and he would be abundantly fatisfied. So foon as our Lord be- held him, he manifefted tc him his exact knowledg ('whom he faw wavering in faith ) of all the former courfe of his life • and that he faw him and what he was doing when alone under the Fig-tree before Philip called him. To this omnifcience of our Lord, Nathaniel now ( as' Simon Peter a little before ) aftonifh- ed thereat, yeilds up himfelf and contemning his fcruple about Nazareth, made a moft noble ConfefTion of our Lord ( doubt- lefs from the fame Spirit of God in him ), as S. Peter did after- ward Mat.16. chap, faying ; Rabbi thou art the Son of God [ for fo the Baptift alfo before had feveral times ftiled him ] thou art the King of Ifrael,that hath bin fo long expected by this Nation, Our i26 The Hi/lory cf the Life §.171,172. $. 17*- Our Lord, upon, Nathaniels mentioning hisKinguiip,anfwer- ed- that they fhould hereafter fee much greater Confirmation of this their faith j and that the time mould be, when they mould behold the Heavens opened , and Angels afcending and dc- fcending upon the Son of man, ( for fo our Lord ufually,outof humility mail I lay, or rather a ftroug love to his Creature man, ftiledhimfelt ') afcending and defcending upon him, as he being alwaies in Heaven as well as on Earth, and the iole Mediator between Earth and Heaven, who alfo only had traf- fick with Heaven, and knew all his Fathers fecrets there i and again, when they fhould fee infinite numbers of them attend- ing on him in his appearing at the laft day, in the full Glory of that his Kingdom, which Nathaniel now confefled ; alluding in all this to the Honour that was done to their fore-father Ja- cob, after his lying in the field alone fo defolate and forfaken. As alfo but a little before when our Lord was in the Defart, the Angels had defcended and miniftred unto him. In the fame manner after this, when his [udges asked concerning his being the Son of God, he anfwered them, that hereafter they mould fee the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven £i. e, Mat. 16. Clouds of Angels flying and waving about him.] And elfewhere, 64. fome of his followers wondring at his fpeech of his feeding Jo. 6. 51, them with bread which came down from Heaven: What ana 62* if ( faith he ) ye (hall fee the Son of manafcend up [ into Hea- ven ] where he was before > And fo his young Schollar Nico- demus wondring at his Sermon of mans being born again of thefpirir, he tells him of things of greater wonder ; Viz. of the Jo. 3. 9, 44. Son of Mans afcending up into Heaven again as he had de- fcended from Heaven, and alfo was then in Heaven, §- 172. Thus our Lord often reprefented to his Difciples and others his future Glory, his Refurrection, Afcenfion, Coming in great Majefty to Judgment, and that their faith in him might not languiih rrom the mean appearance of things prefent. And alfo this fuddain and relolute Confeflion of Nathaniel, who but now difputed the matter, muft needs be a great corroboration and conlolation to the four former Difciples gathered to our Lord. All thele five, being perfons of much zeal and piety ( tho moftof them not wealthy ), had left their daily imployments and trade for a feafon to come, and hear the Sermons of John, & receive, as his penitents, baptifm from himj and fome of them at leaft were admitted into fome more familiar acquaintance with him i and by this had more notice of our Lord 3 and God, looking §.173 51 74* °f ° ur Saviour Jefut Christ. 127 looking upon fuch their fiucerity, conferred on them the ho- nour atter thus prepared by John, to be the firft Dilciples and Attendants on his Son. Inthis our Lord s journey into Galilee, he arrived at Cana, $. 173- Nathaniels Town, not far diftant from Nazareth, and about a daies journey from Capernaum, as may be gathered from Jo. 4.47. compared with verf. 5-2. which Cana alio our Lord took in his way in the fecond journey he made from Jerufalem into Galilee. See John 4. 46. Now lo it fell out , that on tins day he came thither was folemnized a Marriage, and hither alfo were affembled our Lords Mother and his Brethren, invited to this wedding ( probably or fome of their near kindred ), the care our Lords Mother had concerning the Wine, and her colloquy with the Servants, fhewing ihe had fome particular intereit therein. Hither therefore our Lord coming with his new cho- fenDifciples, they were alfo invited to the marriage. And all this feems punctually fo ordered by the Divine Providence, that whereas our Lord had led his former life fo obfcurely j Now the dignity of his Perfon, and Million from Heaven, and his Fa- ther there, might be manifefted, in the firft place, to thele his nearer Relations according to the flefh s for the rectifying any their former mifapprehenfions , and their believing on this common Saviour, and being made partakers of lo great a joy ; and that alfo his inauguration into, and entrance upon his Of- fice, might be celebrated with a feftival ; and this marriage fignify that which he was one day to confummate with his Spoufe the Church : and therefore is he very Emphatically by the Baptift ftiled the Bridegroome, on whom himfelf attended. Jo. 3. 29. that, whereas John came with rafting, he might en- ter upon his Office with a feaft, and the children of the Bride- chamber rejoyce with him ; therefore alfo his Miracle here was corresponding , changing water and penance into Wine and mirth, anfwerable to Johns baptizing with water, and he with the Holy Spirit. To give an occafion to our Lord"s firft Miracle, whereby in §• *7 4~ this publick meeting, he was tomanifeft who he was, whether by the multitude of Guefts more than were expected (among which was our Lord and his company ) or by fome other difap- pointment ( for there being a Governor of the feaft befides the Bridegroom, and a good attendance of Servants, and Wine fupplyed in lo great a quantity for the Guefts, are figns that that the Married were no very poor or mean perfons ) it hap- pened l\ 128 The Hlftory of the Life §. 1 74, pened fo, that at the end of the feaft there wanted Wine. Our Lords Mother perceiving it, and folicitous of their cre- dit to whom ine had io near relation, prefently told our Lord of it, expecting he fhould relieve them herein, ( either from his doing formerly (ome fuch domeftick and private miracles up- on fome necemty in his youth at Nazareth, or from the Holy Virgins having lome prerevelation concerning this future fact. By our Lords reply we may conjecture, that this was fpoken by his Mother before fome of his Difciples or Kindred, and per- haps in themidft of fome Difcourfe, when as our Blefled Lady imagined fome urgent neceflity thereof. Hereupon our Lord for their Edification returned this anfwer to her. What is it to me, and thee, woman, in this matter ? my Hour or time is not yet. Signifying his already well fore-knowing by his omni- fcience this want of wine, and the due time of fupplying it; and that he was not to befvveyedinhis actions by any human re- lations or refpects how near foever, but muft act all things on- ly according to the will of his Heavenly Father. And thus frequently he takes occafion to Vindicate his Divinity and hea- venly Original, to beget early in his followers a right appre- henfion of his perfon and authority, and omnilcient conduct. Some fuch aniwer as here he gives alfo to his Kindred Jo. 7.6. when they minding him of going up to Jerufalem at the feaft, and (hewing his ftrange works there : faying, my time is not yet come. So after his dilputing with the Doctors, he anfwered his Mother, when (he told him, that they had fought himfor- rowing, why did they fo, fince he was to follow his Fathers bufi- nels > Thus raifing them to itill higher thoughts concerning him. And we fee, for fulfilling the end of his coming into the world, what adiftance he kept alfo from hisCofinthe Baptift. And it may be obferved alfo, that upon all occafions he (hewed laying-alkie any indulgence, or carnal refpects, or indearments for his kindred, and a perfect abstraction from any inordinate affection to them, (fee that place Mat. 12.48. ) for our exam- ple j feeing how many are drawn to offend God, and loofe their own Souls to humour, to gratify, to provide for, to enrich fuch their near Relations. But this anfwer here our Lord ieems to have returned to his Holy Mother thus before company, chiefly bee a ufe he intended to perform this Miracle with all privacy afterward, when difengaged of this attendance, and we may fuppoie him to have delivered it with, fuch a fubmiflin of his voice, and fafliion of his countenance, as (hewed him noway difpleafed §-i75,I7^» of our S avicur Jefut Chrift . 129 difpleafed with her requeft. And the BlefTed Virgin, thereby well a fibred of the facl:, and thatheanfweredher with a dila- tion only, not a denyal, halted to the fervants, and bad them do what ever he commanded themj this her great faith well preparing the way to Inch a great work, which prefently begat lo many more believers on him. There were Handing fix large water-pots of Stone, contain- §.17^ ing ( as the M with fome excefs, Mtfr^.3.21.) making himnegle&his fufte- nance, and the care of his Body. Here it was alfo, Jo. 7-3. as appears by the context, that his Brethren, perhaps having alfo fome little touch of ambition, fpaketohim, that he would go and (hew himfelf rather in Judea ; fome of them having as yet fome diftruft of his Meffiasfhip, and high pretences, when they law him keep fo much in Galilee, ( though this neceffary for prolonginghis life, tillthetime was come of his being offered up, ) and far from Jerufalem, and the Higheft Court of the Nation there, as alfo from the Court ofHerod. It is molt pro- bable alfo, that thefe his Brethren attended on him in moft of his peragrations and excurfions through the other Cities and Towns of Galilee, and elfewhere : they and our Lords Mother are mentioned, ./#?. 1. 14. among the attendants of our Lord at his Afcencion; and if they had not bin part of his ordinary Train and Auditors, he would not have called two of them, Viz. James and Jade, to have bin of the number of the twelve. And it appears that our Lord had many, as it were, conftant followers of him foefides the twelve, by thofe 70, that befides the 12, were fent abroad by him, by two, and two, to preach theGofpel, Lu\. 10. 1; and by what S- Peter faith ^f. 1.21. §. 178. As for his Holy Mother alfo, we cannot think but that (he ■ preferred the hearing of his Sermons, the beholding of his won- derful works, and the confolation of his ordinary Converfa- tion, beyond all other things of this world; ( but by which alfo ilie became a great fellow-mfferer in all the affronts and re- proaches given him in the moft of his life time, as well as at his death. ) For we find many other women alfo, as well as men, that were his ufual followers, and every where provided necef- faries for him and his Apoftles. ( As alfo afterward fome of the "Apoftles, in their Peregrinations, had the attendance of women for providing them neceffaries, fee 1 Cor. 9. jt ) And fuch of thefe,as wererich,miniftred to him alfo of their fubftance. -Ma- M«t. 27 yj", ny women were there [ by the Crofs J faith S. Matthew, which followed Jefus from Galilee, miniftring unto him.A.mong which* faith he, wasMary Magdalen, Mary the mother of James and Jofes [ our Lords Brethren, and fo (he the wife of Alpheus; ] And the Mother of Zebedees children [Salome.] The fame is faid by S. Luke 23. j-J". -24. 10. he adding there Joanna the wife of He- rods Steward. And chap.%. 1,2,3. tne fame Evangelift faith, that as our Lord went throughout every City and Village preach- ing&c. the twelve were with him, and certain women, Mary called Magda- ^.i 79. ' of our Saviour Jef us Chrifl. 133 Magdalen, Joanna, Sufanna, and many others , which miniflred to him of their fubjiance. And we find Salome's requeft to our Lord, for her two Sons, was not made at Capernaum, but fome where upon the way, inhislaft journey to Jerufalem, wherein flie, with many other women, waited on him as hath bin faid. SecMat. 20. 20. comp. -17. 29. So that I may fay our Lord had an Holy Court of pious men and women, following and attend- ing on him, in molt of his travels. Among thefe therefore was our Lords BlefTed Mother, and fhe moft diligent in the fame offices, and contributing alfo the little fhe had, to the common charges; or, fuppofmg fhe had nothing, was, by the other more wealthy, fupplyed with necefTaries, as our Lord was. Yet I fay not this of a perpetual, but of a frequent, attendance; whilft: they fometimes alio were abfent, and ordered other necefTary affairs : but then the refidence of our BlefTed Lady feems to be not at Nazareth, but at Capernaum, whither our Lord made frequent returns from his journeys about the Country. —As for the Nazaren's words, Mat. 1?. ;6. — HisSifters are they not all with us? This may be faid only of his Sifters exclufively, to his Mother or Brethren; or may be underftood of their ordinary former abode there. Our Lords ftaying at Capernaum was not long, the great fo- < x T' lemn Pafchal feaft of the Jews now approaching. He is com- " manly (aid, to have received Baptifm from John, January the fixth : after which, having fpent fix weeks in the wildernefs, and fome time afterward with theBaptift, in collecting fome Difci- pies, and then making fome little ftay at Cana with his kin- dred, and the Pafchal Feaft being celebrated at the full Moon- in March, accordingly, our Lords abode in this City was not above a fortnight, or three weeks. In which time is no men- tion of any publick Predication of his ; the entrance upon which perhaps was intended to be rather at Jerufalem, and ia his Fathers houfe ; there meanwhile employed in more private Difcourfes, and inftru&ions of his Difciples and others. Though his Miracle done at Cana, having fo many witneffes, mull needs be much talked of there, and the Dignity of his perfon> and the Baptifts Teftimony of him, by his Difciples communicated to many others, and the fame thereof alfo gone before him- to Jerufalem. At the great Feaft of the Pafch he went up thither, accom- paniedwith his Difciples j as for the obfervanceofthe Feaft, (o there folemnly to begin his Office5. and the bufinefs on which hilt i 34 The Hiftory of the Life §. 1 80. his Father fent him, in his Fathers houfe, now in the conflux thither of the whole Nation j which the Baptift, his Forerun- ner, was appointed to doonly afar off, in the skirts of the wil- dernefs. All this arcording to the prophecy of Malachy, chap. 3. 1,2. Behold I fend my Angel and he JJj 'all prepare the way be- fore my face. And forthwith the Dominator, whom you feeh^ and the Angel of the Teftament, whom you defire, Jhall come to his Tem- ple. And who Jhall be able to abide the day of his Advent , and whoJhalljta?id to fee him ? For he is as it were purging fire, and as the Herbe of Fullers &c. $• l8o< Entring then into the Temple, and feeing it prophaned, ( though this was only in fome part of the outer Court there- of J with Oxen and Sheep and Doves, brought thither to be fold for Sacrifices, the place defiled with their Dung, and di- fturbed with their lowing ,• and God alio offended with the or- dinary frauds and lying, that ufed to be in bargaining; Bankers alio having brought in their Tables and Baggs hither for changing of forraign Coyne, in a place appointed tor lilent De- votions and Praier, and for the Pnefts reading to, and inftrudt- ing, the People; perhaps alio a greater value fet on this Cattel from the fan&ity of the place, and their being there, as it were already fet afide for Sacrifice ; our Lord feized with a great zeal, for this difhonouring of his Fathers houfe, firftwent about to purge it of thefe,and making a wnip of fmall cords, perhaps fuch as was there ufed about this merchandife, with this he drives out the Oxen and Sheep,and their fellers,and commanded the other to remove their Doves, with aMajefty none of them durft to gainfay or oppofe, but fled away from him. The Bankers alio for haft leaving their money, which he fas if this in luch place were more offenfive than the reft, ) poured out, and threw down their Tables ; telling them all that they were not to make his Fathers houfe ( herein declaring himfelf fo be the Son of God,) an houfe of Merchandice. But there feems more to be myfti- cally fignified in this action j Viz. Our Lord the Truth, and the reality, now come into the world ; and his driving out of Gods worfhip all the former Types and Figures of him, all the Legal. Sacrifices and Ceremonies ; as alio inftead of the material Tem- ple, letting up the living Temple of his own Body, now to be ian&ified and filled with the refidence therein of the Holy Ghoft. Gods dwelling in the Manual Temple being alio a type of the Deity, dwelling in our Lords Humanity. See Col. In §.i8l. of our Saviour Jefus Chrlft. 135 la doing this, he was attended with his Difciples ( calling to §. 1 8 1, mind that faying of the Pfalinift, -The z^eal of thine boufe hath eaten me up j ) and with a multitude of People, beholding this action, and wondring at fo ftrange a Courage, and attempt,and the fuccefs. One of the greateft miracles faith S. Jerome, In Mat. 2.1. 12. &c. that ever our Lord did, and which muft needs raife great expectation in the people, what things would fol- low fuch a beginning. And there appears an extraordinary hand of Gods providence and protection in it, that our Lord mould fuffer no moleftation for the damages thofe perfons muft fuffer hereby, orftopbythe Gardsof the Temple, at fuch great Feafts very vigilant ; and how equitable foeverthe fact, yet being Cenfurable, in that it did not appear done by the or- dinary hand of authority. No fooner was this done alfo, bur that the perfons thus ejected by him had foon acquainted the publick Officers and Magiftrates with the fact, and this, joyned with the Teftimony of John concerning our Lord, and the fame that was already fpread abroad of him, laid the Founda- tion of that jealoufy, andhate, toward him, envying the great- nefs of any, befides themlelves, which at laft ended in their killing him. The Court of the Temple thus cleanfed, our Lord began thereinto preach to the people the Gofpel, and fo declare his authority, and Miffion from God, and to do Miracles, that fufnciently attefted the truth of his words. And among thefe his Auditors was Nicodemus , a chief Magiftrat among the Jews, and a Pharifee, who, prefently upon fight of fuch mira- cles, became his Convert. But thofe other among them that already envied, and had conceived a prejudice againft him , through very hardheartednefs, not fatisfied with what ftrange things they faw,defired,upon fo high pretenfions of his,he would fhew them fome fign ( i. e, from heaven, ) to confirm them ( the Jews require a fign faith S. Paul 1 Cor, 1.22.) as they did often af- terward i notwithstanding the Miracles they beheld at the fame time wrought by him;which miracles our Lord,on the contrary, ufed to plead, as a fufficient teftimony from God, of the truth of thele things he delivered. Our Lord, though he might now ( as elfewhere ) have urged to them the Signs, i. e, the mi= racles they already faw done, yet here took occafion prefently to declare to them, but fomewhat parabolicaily and obfcurelyj, as their perverfnefs well deferred, that great and moft admi- rable of all his works, that he would perform for the falvation 136 TheHifioryoftheLife §.182. of the world, (fee Rom. 1.4.-^$. 2. $6.) namely, the railing up again of his lacred Body from the Dead, after they had {lain him. By which Refurre&ion of our Lord, He and his Father confirmed to the world, the truth of hisperfon and doctrine ; and he alfo mewed the firft Experiment in himfelf, of what he promifed to us. $.182. This further fign therefore he then promifed them, not fa- ' tisfied with his miracles, ufing only thefe few words. —Deftroy ye this Temple and in three daies Ivoillraife it up; Speaking of his Body ( faith the Evangelift ) which he might well call a Tem- ple, fince the Deity inhabited it. See Col. 2. 9. as alfo S. Paul calls the Saints Bodies the Temples of the Holy Ghoft. They were already Tempters and Hypocrites requefting a (ign of him, not to fee one, but ( he who for orientation did nothing not giving them one) to decry himj and he knowing their thoughts anfwered them accordingly with a Parabolical fpeech, exceed- ing their underftanding not worthy to be plainlier dealt with. Mat. 13. 10, 11. And thtfS'-at the firft, in this fpeech our Lord laid a Foundation as it were (feeing how they would mifcon- ftrue his words ) for his future paffion. So afterward at Caper- naum, when he had done before them fuch miracles as the peo- ple ( faith the Text ) were amazed at, being impudently asked by the cavilling Pharifees that he would Inew them fome fign, he anfwerd them to the fame purpofe, that there fhould be no fign given to that evil Generation, but that of Jonah his being three daies and three nights in the Whales belly, and after- ward coming forth from it -t Now foretelling them of the great defign of his Death and Refurre&ion. In Galilee again, after the Miracle of the Loaves Jo. 6. they defired alfo at that very time ( moftunreafonabiy ) a further fign from him, and urged that Mofes had given them Manna from Heaven, and there alfo in like manner our Lord prefently told them of his Death, and his feeding them with his Flefh and Blood, and then of their having everlafting life by it, and his railing them up at thelaftday : thingsat which fomeof them alfo then took great offence. So here alfo they, whether mifconftruing his words, as if -he had faid, firft that he would deftroy their Temple, ( for this at his Death they urged againft him, and the falfe witnefs Mark,. 14. 5. to fpeak home, interpofeth, that he faid he would deftroy the Temple made with hands , and in three daies raifc up another made without hands) and then that he in three daies would build it again; a Temple that they faid was forty §.183,184. of our Saviour Jefut Chrlft. ' 137 forty fix years in building, in the one made him impious, in the other ridiculous ^ and fo turned his mention of this his great- eft work for the lalvation of mankind into a great fcorn and flighting of him, and into the caufe of a quarel againft him ,- till at laft they contrived his Death ) the destroying of the Tem- ple he here {peaks of J and brought thefe his words againft him tojuftifyit; andfoHe, in railing up again this Temple of his Deity thus deftroyed, exhibited to the World this great Sign, which at this beginning of his preaching, he engaged here. This was the fuccefs or our Lords firft Sermon, and appear- ance amongft them, as to the Pharilees, and their followers, already much degufted with him, and filled with envy. Yet many others there were, that feeing his Miracles be- $. 183. lieved on him, at leaft that he wasfome great Prophet, fent from God, among whom was Nicodemus. But our Lord, (la ith the Evangelift, ) did not commit himfelfunto them,- admit- ting them not into his familiar fociety, nor relied on their fi- delity ; tor he knew well what was in them, and that feveral of them would fall away, and efpecially in his laft tryal, molt un- worthily defert him. Therefore, our Lord ufually, when at Je- rufalem, after his publick teaching them in the Temple, and hisdaies work there done, withdrew himfeif, and had no pri- vate meetings and conferences ,• as he faid at his tryal, that in fecrethehad faid nothing j and many times at night, remov- ed, with his Difciples, out of the City j neither, though feve- ral in the Country are mentioned, do we hear of our Lords admitting any entertainments in the City , though we may prefume, he wanted not fome Invitations. And all this was but necefTary, for deferring the Confpiracies of his enemies, till the due time of his ofFering-up appointed by his Father. Our Lord continuing his publick teaching in the Temple, $. 1^4. and doing Miracles, during the Palchal feaft, Nicodemus, a Pharifee, a ruler of the Jews, as he is ftiled here, verf. 1. One of the Sanedrim , and a perfon ftudied in the law, (for our Lord, chap. 3. verf. 10. ftiles him, a Mafter in Ifrael, fhewing alfo herein to him, that he knew who he was ; and on that ac- count, blames his ignorance \) being already a Convert, (as it is faid, Jo. 12.42. many other among the chief Rulers, wereaf- terward, but timorous to confefs him ;-) came privatly to our Lord, by night, for fear of lofing his Reputation with his fellow- Rulers (which (hews a great envy and hatred toward our Lord, already kindled in them i ) to be farther inftrucled of him, in S the 13* The Hiftory of the Life ^.184. the matters of the Kingdom of God, and life eternal,- confef- fing to him, that his Miracles had convinced him, that he was an extraordinary Teacher, fent from God. Our Lord very courteouflv received him, and in a few words manifefted to him fully who himfelf was, and the whole fubftance of the Gofpel. At the firft, he began to acquaint him with the firft Founda- tion of the Chriftian Religion, Regeneration: which at the be- ginning he p opofed fomewhat obfcurely, perhaps to humble Nicodemus his too much conceit of his ownknowledgj telling him, that to enter into the Kingdom of God, one muft necef- farily be born again; ( which word, """^tranflated here, again, fignifies alfo, from above ) which Nicodemus much wondring at, and /peaking ofentring again into our Mothers womb, our Lord gracioufly explained it to him ; that he muft be born a- gain, not of a woman, or the flefh, which would produce no- thing but flefh, but of water, the external Ceremony appoint- ed by God to be ufed in the new birth, fignifying a being cleanfed and purifyedfrom former fin, and oftbt Spirit, which might render a man fpiritual and enabled therewith to bring forth good works ,• which fpirit infpires as it pleafeth, i Cor. 12. 4. -MarJ^. 4.27. unperceived by fenfe, and being as the wind, of which we know not whence^ or whither it goes, but by its effects do difcern the prefence thereof : and then gently re fleet- ed on Nicodemus his ignorance, ' fo to render him more do- cible and humble, ) that he, being a Matter in Ifrael, mould know nothing of this. [For this Holy Spirit, and our Renova- tion by it, is frequently fpoken of in the Old Teftament, and fo alfo many types of Baptifm, and of the Sacraments of the new Teftament, found there. See P/al. jo. 12,15, 14, 9- -142. 10, 11. -E^ec. 11. 36. -1 Cor. 10. 2, 3, 4.] Further told him, that thefe things, he now fpake to him, were the loweft matters : but that there was much higher, that he came to reveal to man- kind from Heaven, and from God his Father. For that he was the only begotten Son of God, defcended from Heaven, and again afcendeth thither, and which alfo [according to his Divinity,] remains alwaies there; who fpake nothing but what he knew, and had feenwith the Father. See the like verf.^z. and Jo. 8. 38. -r. 19,30. Becaufe God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that men might not pe- rifh, but have everiafting life j i. e, fo many as believed in him: and that as Mofes lifted up the Serpentin the Wildernefs, fo he was to be lifted up. See the like Jo. 8.28. [So acquainting him §. 1 8 5 ,1 8 6. of our Saviour Jefut Cbriff. 139 him.but obfcurely,with his death & fufFerings.]Thatwhofoever, ftung with fin, beheld and believed on him might not perifh ; but that thole, whofo did not believe on him, were already condemned by occalion of his preaching to them, [ not for their former fins, which he came to take away, but] for their disbelief i See Jo. 9. 39. -12. 47, 48. [without which belief in him, noforgivenefs of Sin. ] That he was the Light, that was come into the world, avoided only by thofe whole works were evil, audio who feared the dilcoveryof them by it, and there- . fore made fuch oppofition to him. But that he, that did truth, would come to it, as not fearing the manifefting of his deeds by it. Allthefe things he gratioufly revealed to Nicodemusj which, till* delivered with his accuftomedMaiefty and Power, mutt needs elevate Nicodemus into the higheft admiration and reverence ofhisperfon, love and gratitude towards his mercy, and fami- liar condefcendence (efpecially having already feen his mighty Deeds confirming his words,) who henceforth continued his faithful, though fecret, Difciple j and in the Council, when our Lord was fpoken againft,^. 7. ft. defired they would but hear him, what he might lay for himfelf: thinking that thus them- felves might be as much taken with him, as was their Officers in Jo. 7.45. and himfelf here. This of our Lords gratious dif- courfe with Nicodemus : but whether all that is faid in S. John chap. 1. from verf.io. to the 22. be our Lords words, or part thereof, from verf. 16. be S, Johns dilating upon them, is un- certain. And the like happens in many other difcourfes, found in the Evangelift, much refembling one another. ThePafchai feait ended, our Lord not trufting himfelf to §• T8<*« the Hierololymites, Jo. 2.24. fwhere thePharifees, that had al- Jo. 1.24.. ready conceived fo much hatred againft him , in feeing his boldnefs and fpirit far be) ond the Baptifts, and the great con- courfe of the People to hear him, had fo much power and fol- lowers,) departed thence, and went into the Country, and the other Cities of Judea, where he was alfo followed by very great multitudes, as appears Jo. 3. 27. and preached to them, we may pfefume, fuch things as before to Nicodemus, concerning repentance, and the wafhing away their former fins by Bap- tilm, and their Regeneration of the Spirit ; concerning his Paf- fion, and Million from God his Father, and belief in him for remiflion of fin ; All which he confirmed alfo every where with charitable miracles among them, in ejecting Devils, and heal- S 2 ing i4° TheHiftory of ' the Life §.187. ing their Infirmities ( which miracles theBaptiftdid not,) ; there- fore his Brethren afterward Jo. 7. 3. making mention of the Di- fciples and followers he had in Judea, adviie his return to them, and the fhewing his mighty works among them. *' * 7* Herealfo he caufed iuch as were his Penitents (for he and his alfo in the firft place preached Repentance, as well as John, See Mar \. 1. iy.-d. 12. LuJ^. 10.13. -Att.%.\%.) and Converts to be baptized, probabl ' many of them together, in places convenient; to be baptized by his Difciples, faith S.John ;him- felf not baptizing, except thofe his Difciples , that baptized TLpift. 108. others, or iome one of them toadminifter irto the reft. For as S. Auftin, he, that defcended to the Humility of warning their feet, would much more totheminiftring ofbaptifm: but yet if the Apofte, faith he, was fent to preach, not baptize ; much more might our Lord, bulled in greater affairs, in teaching and relieving the peoples neceffities, delegate this inferior of- fice to his Apoftles, as a thing which was to be continued after his departure, in the fucceffion of them to the end of the world : whereas we do not find that the Baptift committed or propa- gated this Office to any of his Difciples, but continued it only himfelf till it utterly ceafed, after that our Lord became more publickly known, at the time of Johns imprifonment, which followed fhortly after. For Johns Baptifm was only prepara- tory to thatofour Lords; hisfignifying remiffion and cleanf- ing from former fins through faith in him that came after him Aa. 19.4. Our Lords conferred an ability alfo toliveholily for the future, by giving the Holy Spirit and planting Gods Grace in the Baptized for newnefsof life i and bringing forth good works. Though thofe extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit alfo was not as yet conferred, as were after our Lords Afcen- tion, and fending down the Holy Ghoft at Pentecoft hi all its miraculous andStupendious operations and effects; Of which effects it is that the Evangeliit fpeaks, when he faith chap. 7. $9. That the Spirit was not yet given, becaufe that Jefus was not yet glorified. Such a difference therefore being between John's and our Lords Baptifm S. Johns hundred not; bye that thofe baptized by him came and received it afterward from our Lord, by the hands of his Difciples : as we fee S. Paul, meet- ing at Ephefus with fome that had received Johns Baptifm, yet rebaptized them in the name of the Lord jefus, Aci. ^9. r. and it cannot be thought, but that many of thofe thou-fa-ds of Penitents , Att. 2. 41. -and 4. 4. that were Baptized by the Apo- ftles, had received it formerly from John. The §.188,189. of our Savior Jefus Chrift. 141 The Baptift alfo, to give way to our Lord, fo foon as he be- $.188. gan to make his peragrations in the Country and Cities of Ju- dea, had removed farther off toward Galilee ; and fo nearer alio to the Court of Herod ; He having often changed his fta- tion, to communicate his Min (try, during his time appointed, more freely to feveral parts of the Nation. Who at the firft preached on the Weft or hither fide of Jordan, in the wilder- nefsof Judea, '.vie re he had formerly fpent his life, not very remote from his Fathers houfe ; after removed to Bethabara beyond Jordan, in Peraea, belonging toHerods Jurifdiction, where our Lord was baptized by him : Hence alfo departed fur- ther from Jerufalem, f left as I faid to our Lord, ) and from thePhanfees his great Enemies, into the more Northern parts j baptizing now not in Jordan, butinEnon, upon the coaftsof Galilee, not far from Jordan, and where was a River flowing into it. Whence probably King Herod alfo, hearing of his Fame, fentforhim, heard his Sermons, and confulted him al- io in his Affairs. But of this more hereafter. Whilft our Lord thus preached in Judea, and John in the $.189^ Borders of Galilee, the felf fame Doctrine and Gofpel ( Re- pentance, and the Kingdom of Heaven, and Salvation brought into the world by the Son of God, Jefus, to whom John bare witnefs as fuch j; and whilft both were frequented by much people, but our Lord by many more than John, as for other reafons his great Majefty and authority in Teaching, his Mira- cles ofall forts, fo for Johns fending and referring all men to Jefus, and Johns Baptifm alfo relating to his, for compleating it j Satan upon this begun to ftirupfome emulation and con- troverfy between their followers ; and alfo concerning the di- gnity of their perfons ( as appears by John's anfwerto themj, which was to be preferred: the Difciples of John having a zeal for their Mafterftrangeh fevere, and mortified in his diet, ap- parel, fafh, retreats, and one from whom our Lord alfo re- ceived his Baptifm, and yet feeing a much greater concourfe of people after our Lord , one more free and popular in his Converfation, and many more receiving Baptifm from him, than from John ; and on the other fide, our Lords followers among the Jews, juftly, and that from the Baptifts own mouth and frequent confeilion, preferring both the Baptifm and Per- fon of Jefus. This then doubtlefs was fome ground of their Conteft ; but fome think there might be fome difputation alfo, between the Difciples of John and of the Ph&rijees, concerning the i4 2 The Hi/lory of the Life §.190. the Virtue of the former Mofaical Purification and cleanfing: viz. whether thofe not equal,or much preferrable,with this new Rite introduced by the Baptift, and afterward continued by Jefus. Hence S. John's Difciples came to him, and told him complainmgly, that the perfon who came to him for baptifm, and 10 whom his commendation and teftimony had procured fo much reputation, for which they thought he mould have had the more refpeft for John, fell on Baptizing alio and gather- ing Difciples; and that all people repaired unto him, they meanwhile making no mention alio of his miracles. $• 190' To whom the humble Baptift, as one over-joyed to hear this news, to allay their murmurings, anfwers on this manner , and took thisoccafion to make them a Sermon on this iubjecl:, the laft of his that theGofpel mentions: wherein he firft told them; that no man could advance himfelf any higher, than Jo. ip„ 1 1. ke ka j recejve(j favours from above to be j that they themfelves could witnels the witnefs which he had alwaies born to our Lord; and how he taught that himfelf was not the Chrift, but one fent before to make way for him , as a paranymphus to go before him; that this indeed was the true Bridegroome of the Church, and himielf only the Bridegroomes friend, who rejoyceth in feeing the Bridegroomes carefling of his Bride, and in hearing all the fweet and gracious words he fpeaks.to her, and in her amoroufly gathering and adhering to, and panting after him ,• and that in this now his joy was compleat- ed; That himfelf Was to decreafe, and ceafe this his office after a little time, but not fo the other ,• but his Kingdom to be di- lated, and encreafed more and more; that he being an earth- ly man could of himfelf fpeak only low and earthly things to them; but that this was the Son of God, to whom his Father gave not the Spirit by meafure as toothers Col. 2. 3. -1. 19. 1 Cor. 1 2. 11 . -1 Pet. 4. 10. -Jo. s. 19, 20, Jo. -Jpoc. 1. 1. but that he perfectly knew all his Fathers fecrets; and was now defcended from him, and from Heaven, to reveal to the world what he 17*5.10. had there heard and ieen ; and that whofoever believed his words only fet his leal to the truths of God : but yet that ma- ny were fo hard-hearted as not to receive his Teftimony ; fi- nally that God loveth this his Son, and hath given all things, efpecially touching mans falvation, into his hands ; and that the whole world being finners, and lying under the wrath of God, he came hither, that fo many as believed on him fhould not periili, but have remiffion of their fin , and eternal life, ^.i 91.1 92,193. of cur Saviour Jefa Chrift- 143 Jo. 17. 2, 3- but for thofe who did not fo, the wrath of God ftill Gal 3- I0- remained upon them. Much mitigated and lenifyed with this Sermon, fomewhat $• 19I- contrary to their expectation, Johns Difciples acquiefced in their Matters Teftimoayj Nor had any more contention in this matter. But yet after this, fome fcruples and controverfy we find, madebythem, concerning our Lords Difciples, their non-obierving iomefolemn times or hours of fading, as they, and thole reputed the holyeft perfous among the Jews , the Pharifees, lid : ( they not knowing that our Lord, the Bride- groomes Gracious prei'enceand Virtue, lupplied to thefe his attendants all proficience in fpiritual matters, without the ufu- al preparations and helps belonging thereto). By which we lee how prone men are, even in ipintual things, to partiality, and fiding, and factions, effects or fome relicks of felf-love, in thofe who feem moft perfect. And laftly, John, after he was imprifbned, thought fit-to lend lome of them to our Lord him- , felf, to fee, and fo report to the reft, his great works, for the more confirming their faith of his being the Meffias. The Baptiit meanwhile, a burning and mining light, as our $. 192. Lord calls him, continued his preaching in the coaft of Galilee, not to draw men from, but to fend them in falter, to the Saviour of the world. Nor had he long remained in thofe parts nearer the Refidence of Herod, but that He, being though an Idumean by hisdefcent, yet a Profelite of the Jews Religion; and hear- ing of his fame, efteemed by all the people as a Prophet, either Mat.ix %d. came to his Sermons in the place where John taught and Bap- -14, j. tized; or, which is more probable, lent for him to his Court. Of whom the Evangelift further faith, (Mar\.6.*o.) that he feared John, knowing him to be ajuft and Holy man, and that he heard him gladly, and did many things according to his advice and directions. Now Herod, having bin very faulty in his manners and Go- ^ IO$a vernment, (forour Lord calls him aFox, and at laft he was i~- for his crimes ejected out of it by theEmperour, and died in Banifhment, ) the Baptift having acceis to him, and being a preacher of penance, and doubtlels illuminated by the Holy Spirit to know thofe affairs and faults of his, with which his Education in the Defart could have bin little acquainted, free- ly reproved him for his many evil deeds; and among other for his taking his Brother Phiiipswife, contrary to Gods ex° prefs command, Levtt, 18* itf, >zo, z\. and that whether his « Brother Anuq. Judaic i. 18 c. 10. i 44 The Hi/lory of the Life §-194. Brother were alive, or deceafed, for that his Brother had had a child by her, the Daughter that danced fo well before Herod. And in this thing Herod was ftili the more guilty, becaufe he had already a former wife , the Daughter of Aretas King of Arabia, whom in his falling in love with Herodias, upon a new compact made with her, he put away , and fo provoked Aretas, in revenge of his Daughter, to make war upon him , wherein he was defervedly very unfortunate ; Jofephus imputes thecaufe of fuch his ill fuccefs, chiefly to his llaughter of the Baptift; but however this war happened very opportunely, for affording Herod lefs leafure to look after the motions of our Lord, or giving any difturbance to them. But, returning to theBaptifts reproof, we find by the words in the Text, -It is not lawful for thee, &c. that this was not fpo- ken of Herod in his ablence , but made to himfelf, whether publickly or in private, or the one after the other, both being lawful according to feveral circumftances ( and the former fometimes neceflary \Tim. 1, 20. ) is uncertain. 1. 194. This reproof of Herod for marrying her foon came to the ears of Herodias ; who perceiving Herods good inclinations to John, and his obfequisufnefs, in feveral matters, to follow his Admonitions, from which (he might have fome fears of her being removed from his bed, and io the troubles of the war alio with Aretas declined, was fill d with an implacable wrath and hatred againft the Baptift. Who coming in the Spirit of Elias, and fhewing the fame zeal for obfervance of Gods laws to Herod, as the other to Ahab, found a like perfecution from her, as Elias from Jezabel: when as the two Husbands were more indulgent. Herod, overcome with her importunity and the power ihe had over Him, fent his officers, and took John M*tt. 14. 3. and bound him, ( faith S. Matthew ) and caft him into prifon. For which impriionment he wanted not a more fpecious pre- tence of fearing from the concourfe of people made to him, fome {edition and tumults • to which the Pharifees alio were not wanting to give their affiftance, in reprefenting John the Author of a new Seel:, and acting without, and againft, autho- rity ; which though this crafty man knew to be envy in them, yet he made ufe of this colour to cover the true Caufe of this imprifonment; and therefore this realon thereof is given by Anthi JuMci: Jolephus. -Vcritus f faith he ) cum ad audiendum eum quamplu- rima multitudo concurreret, ne forte, doilrina e]ustyerjua-fione,pa- pulia fuo regno difcederent,&c. and our Lord alfo intimates the Pharifees §.i95» of our Saviour Jefws Chrift. 145 PharifeesandGovernoursof the Jews, to have had a hand in this reftraint Mat. 17.12. where he faith, that they knew him not, butdidto him whatever they lifted, asthey mould after- ward do tohimfelf. Thus call in prifon, Herodias, not ap- pealed or fecured herewith, next iolicits Herod alfo for the lpeedy taking away his life j but both the fear of the people, efteeming John a Prophet, and his own reverence of him, as yet with-held him from it. For which caufe alfo in prifon, he laying the blame thereof upon his wife, indulged him fo much liberty, as to have fome converfe with his friends j and his Di- . fciples, there to come to, and attend upon, him ,• and fo nei- ther here ( as alfo afterwards. Paul) was he an ufelefs fervant to our Lord. Leaving the Baptift, nowaPrifoner, and an end putto his §. ipf. publick preaching, after that our Lord was fufficiently mani- " reftedto the people of Ifrael, and begun to be affifted in his work by other new Difciples, let us return to our Lord. He had now continued preaching and baptizing in Judea, after the Pafchal Feaft, for about fome e'ight Months ,• for when re- moving hence he came into Samaria, itisfaid, Jo. 4. Jr. that it wanted but foure months to the next harveft ; and fo to the next Pasch, which Feaft was celebrated at the beginning of the harveft j at which time was offered afheaf of the firft fruits of their Corn, ( Lev. 23. io.-Deut. \6. 9. ) as at Pentecoft the firft loaf of bread after Harveft gotten in between thefe twofeafts. In this time our Lord converting to the Gofpel, and faith in him as the Saviour of the world, andfo baptizing by his Difci- ples, fuch multitudes of people, far beyond the actings of John, and this fo near to Jerufalem, had already alarm d the Pha- rifees and rulers of the Jews , and more and more incenfed their wrath againft him i who could not reft from deviling fome way for his death orraftraint, efpecially after they had bin fo fuccesfui againft the Baptift ; and we find afterward in Jo. 7. 1. thereafon more plainly given of our Lords refiding no more in Judea, but in Galilee ; becaufe the Jews, he, thefechiefGo- vernoursand Leaders of them, fought already to kill him. By which we fee alfo, that our Lord formoftofhis time, after he appeared once, went in great danger of his life (for in flying from the Pharifees in Judea, in Galilee alio there was an He- rod ). Therefore Our Lord, faith S. John, knowing the Pha-^,. 4. ,'. rifees had heard of his making and baptizing more difciples than John, and having heard alfo the feverity ufed toward the Matt.4. 12. • T Baptift, i\6 TbtHiftoryoftheLife §.196. Baptift, purpofed to leave Judea, and return into Galilee, fo to decline, for the prefent, the evil defigns of the Phaniees a gainft him; and alio to carry the light of the Gof pel into thofe remoter places where it had not yet appeared , and where John was interrupted in his Miniftery. For though Herod lived in the fame quarters, yet was he, by the Divine provi- dence, fo diverted by other affairs, and efpecially the new dif- fentions between him and Aretas, and his mind alio fo much afflicted with the unjuft imprifonment of John, asthathehad little inclination toperfecute any more Prophets; and when at laft, after his murthering of John, our Lords fame from eve- ry fide founded in his ears, his guilt prefently imagined him Johnreviv'd; and fo rendred him lefs inquifitive after mat- ters that would little redound to his Honour. 5. 1 $> Meanwhile his Difciples were returned from the Town with provilion* for dinner, and as they came near, perceiving his fa- miliar .difcourfing with the Samaritan woman, wondred not a little at it, from the ftrangenefs they knew was between the Jew and Samaritan ; and perhaps from the little converfe our Lord had formerly ufed withwemen, efpeciallyfo alone ; and com- monly his difcourfe only of the kingdom of God and fpiritual matters, which to a Samaritan feemed impertinent, and fuch * a one little capable thereof. But Handing in great reverence durft not ask him concerning it; but> when (lie was now gone away, invited him to take his dinner. To which (well know- ing this their wonder, and fo intimating to them what he had bin doing , ) he told them ( transferring the difcourfe to higher matters, as he did that with the woman concerning her wa- ter, j that he had meat to eat that they knew not of; that it was his meat to do the will of him that fent him, and in all pla- ces to finifii his work toward thole, to whom he was fent. Signi- fying to them that he was alfo among others to intend the con- verlion and lalvation of thefe poor and defpifed Samaritans,and of that foelifh people in Sychem, as they are called, Ecclefias. j-o. 26 ; that whereas they reckoned yet fbwer months unto harveft, there appeared a great harveft every where to be gotten in ( as it were prenoting to them the conflux that would be made to him prefently out of this City J; that the feilds were white al- ready, and the world prepared for the reapers j (the lame Meta- phor he ufed again afterwards when in Galiiee great multitudes tiocked unto him Mat. 9. 37. forry the labourers in this harveft were §.203. of our Saviour Jefut Chrift. 151 were fo few ) ; He proceeded alfo to tell them, that they were chofen to be the reapers thereof, and to enter upon the former labours, and tillage of the Prophets, and to gather much fruit tobeftored up in life eternal: where alio both the former fow- ers, and they the latter reapers, mould at lair, receive their full wages, and rejoyce together in thofe Heavenly Treafuries. Bythistime the woman wasreturned out of the City, and a §. 203. multitude of people with herto fee our Lord, the Prophet (lie told them of, and to hear his further difcourfes concerning their Religion. To whom our Lord in great compailion hav- ing preached, as he did formerly in Judea , the Gofpcl and Kingdom of heaven, and remiffion of fins through belief in him, the Saviour of the world, with fuch his fpeeches he fo opened their hearts, ( for thefe were a part of thefe fields he fpoke of, that were already white unto harveft, ) that the men overjoyed gratefully told the woman, that they had now re- ceived much more fatisfaction from our Lord himfelf,than from her relation concerning him ; and fo much importuned him for ■ a longer ftay with them : where having fpent two daies more for their confirmation inthe faith, he thought fit to depart, left by fuch his longer converfation with them, fome fcandal might be given to the Jews. Among whom alio, as being the former Church of God, theGofpel was in the firft place to be published : and therefore in lending his Difciples abroad, he commanded them not to enter into any Towns of the Samari- tans: though himfelf was pleafed inpaffing as it were to reap this firft fruits thereof. As alfo elfewhere he healed and con- verted to believe in him fome other Gentiles, and not Ifrae^ lites, Mat. if. 26. -8.10. whom he faw extraordinarily pre- pared thereto. And it is*very obfervable ( for a further convi- ction of the ingrateful obftinacy of the Jews,) that this poor defpifed people were the firft of his Auditors we read of, that (after his firft called Difciples,) without alfo any Miracles of his mewed among them, made fuch a noble confeffion of him, faying, -We hriowthat this is indeed the Chrifl, and the Saviour of the world. Which converfion of the Samaritans our Lord perfected fome three or four v ears after, as our Lord v/asnow afcended into heaven, by fending his Apoftles thither, before their Spreading further to the Gentiles. See Ati. %. ? ,6. At which time alfo we find the fame credulity and alacrity in this peop'e, as is here. -And the people ( faith the Text, ) with one accord, gave heed unto thofe things which Philip /pake -, as com- monly 1 52 The Hi/lory of the Life §.204,205,206. monly thofe more grofly erring are (boner convinced thereof, and reduced to truth. 5.204. After two daies ftay in this place Our Lord went on his journey for Galilee ,• and returned to Cana, where he had for- merly done the Miracle of changing the water into Wine ; the Fame of which, as alio the Galileans in their going to the Pa- ichal feaft, there having feen the great miracles he had alfo done at that time in Jerufalem, made this people to enter- tain and welcome him with very great applaufe and concourfe, and much better prepared for receiving his Heavenly doctrine andcounfels; the chief bufinefs for which he defcended from heaven. And (by the Divine providence fo ordering itj that our Lord alfo might be the more welcome and fecure among the Capernaites in particular, where he defigned his chief Re- fidence, it then fo happened that the Son of a Noble man, and Royal Officer in Capernaum fell fick, and his life at laft utterly defpaired of. Whereupon his Father, hearing of our • Lords miracles, and of his return into thofe quarters, hailed to Cana, and there humbly befought him, that he would vouch- fafe to come down fpeedily to Capernaum, and heal his Son , who lay at the point of Death : which alfo afforded our Lord an occafion of declining Nazareth ('where he knew his former mean education, would render the function of his office lefs beneficial ); and the miracle might make alfo his return to Capernaum much more acceptable and defired. §. 205-. Our Lord making fome delay, and reprehending his Audi- " tors, that without miracles they were fo flow to believe , the Hoble-man again importuned him to make fome haft before his Son was dead. Whereupon he prefently difmifTed him with this anfwer, that his Son lived; fignifying to him, that he would heal him as well without going to him. Which thing, as he believed, fo he found moft true, when taking leave of our Lord and departing prefently upon it , meeting his Servants the next day, he perceived from them his Son's perfect reco- very, punctually at the time our Lord fpoke thefe words; and foheand his whole family were converted to the faith of the Gofpel, fome imagining him to 'have bin Cufa an Officer of Herod's-, and Sufanna, that afterward followed our Lord, and miniftred to his necefhties, Luj^. 8. 3, to have alfo bin his wife. $.206. Our Lord after fome time leaving Cana, came to Caperna- um, where he made his moft ordinary refidence. Of the fi- tuation §.2 o 6. of our Saviour Jefus Cbrift. 153 tuation of which, and the great conflux of people thither, the frequency of Cities in thofe parts, by reafon of the extra- ordinary fruitfulnefs of the foil ( fome of that part called De- capolis from the many cities there ) the convenience of paf- ilngany whither upon the Lake, and the remotenefs from Je» rufal«m, and from the moleftation of the Pharifees, and chief Priefts, things well ferving our Lords defigns; Of allthefel fay fee before §. §. 101, 102. Here, faith the Evangelift, Mar\. 1. 14. and every where as he pafTed along the Country, our Lord began to preach the Gofpel of the Kingdom of God , telling them that the promifedtimeof the coming of their Meffias was now fulfilled, and this Kingdom at hand, that therefore they , mould repent and believe his Gofpel. Anditfeemsy©. 4. 45-. that this meaner and ruder people of Galilee received him now at the firlt with much more honour and attention to his doctrine than theju- deans, attracted alio therto by his miracles. Here his Difci- ples, Peter and the reft, returned home; and not as yet invited to acloler attendance, asalfo for the better providing for the ne- ceflities of their families, betook themf elves to their former trade of filhi ng : and meanwhile our Lord, by his Miracles and healing their fick, brought in daily greater flocks of people to hear his Sermons; this latter being his chief defign for falva- tion of their fouls, as the other theirs, for releiving their corpo- ral neceffitie?. And his fame was fuddainly fpread all abroad throughout all Syria, faith S. Matthew; and there followed him great multitudes from the other parts of Galilee he had pafTed through; and from Decapolis lying moft of it more North; and from the Eaft fide of Jordan, and the Lake; and from Judea, and Jerufalem more South ; in fine, from all Quar- ters round about. So that it was necefTary our Lord mould re- coiled: to himfelf the Difciples he had formerly called ; and add fome more to them; that fliould depart no more from him, but give a perpetual attendance on his affairs, and afhil him in his predications, after they rhemfelves had full, as his conftant Auditors, received from him all necefTary inltructions therein. He alfohad now an intention, for fome time, of leav- ing Capernaum, and making aperagration throughout Galilee asto the places not already vifued ; and alter this, of eroding the Sea of Galilee, and paffiug to fome remoter parts; being afterthis to prefent himfelf at Jerufalem in the Pafchal feaft, now not far off. In which travels the attendance of his Difctr U pies 154 The Hipry of the Life §.207,208. pies was neceffary to Him. Which circuit alfo he began in the entrance of the week following. f 207. Asour Lord therefore was walking one day by the fide of the Lake , and much preffed by the multitude that followed him, crowding to hear the gracious words that came from him, Simon Peter, and his brother, and the two fons ofZebe- dee, ( who were their partners and had bin fiming all the for- mer night but caught nothing,) had there, as he patted, drawn their Ships to the more j and were warning, drying , and re- pairing their Nets. Our Lord therefore entred into Simons Boat aiid defired him to put off a little from the winding of the Land, that from thence he might with more convenience finimhis difcourfe to the people. After which ended, to re- ward Simon for this courteiy, as alfo to prefignify firft to him and his fellows, in their catching of fifli, the miraculous fuc- cefs hereafter of their catching of men, he bid Simon to launch out into the deep, and let down his Net for a draught. Simon telling our Lord, that their former night-labour, more feafon- able for that purpofe, had caught nothing, ) et in confidence of good fuccefs, did as our Lord commanded, and prefently fo great a number of fifli were inclofed that the Net broke ( which accident alfo was a type of the ruptures by Schifm and Here- fies which mould afterwards happen alfo in the Church, and in Simon and the reft their catching of men) whereupon he called for help from their partners James and John, that were in the other fhipi both the Ships being loaden therewith, fo as they were near to finking ( this alfo fignifying, that the pu- rity of the Chriftian Religion mould be much endamaged by the multitudes of bad, as well as good, entring into the exter- nal profeffion thereof. ) And, as elfewhere, he likens the King- dom of Heaven or Gofpel to a Net, catching fifh of all forts, but many of thefe afterward caft away Mat. 13. 47. *. 208. In all this our Lord feems to have done a particular honour to Simon Peter. To whom it was that he fpake firft to thruft out his Ship a little from the land, and to let down his Net for a draughts by him, that this great draught of fifhes were caught, . and others called in to help j to him, that the promife was firft made of his catching men; and the pojtbxc copies homines faid to Peter fingly here, as the pafce oves was after our Lords re- furrection. He alfo much aftonifhed hereat, falling down at our Lordsfeet, acknowledged himlelf unworthy fo great a fa- vour; or, that our Lord mould vouchfafe hisprefenceor con- verfation §.209. efour Saviour Jefus Chrift. \ 5 5 verfation to fofinful a perfon. And this profound humility and reverence of his made way for our Lords further bounty and kindnefs ; and himfelf ftill taken nearer unto him the far- ther diftance he imagined he ought to keep from him; bid- ding him not to be afraid ( for the Majefty of our Lord, from fome extraordinary difcovery from God Peter had thereof, fuch as that in Mat. 16.17. when he was enlightened by God the Father to know his Son, had ftrangely daunted him ) for that he would have him from henceforth wholly to quit his former employment, and conftantly to be with, and attend on» him and his miniftry, for that he would make him now a fiflier of men, together with the reft of his companions and partner* Andrew, James, and John. All whom upon this gracious in- vitation immediatlv quitted their Boats and Nets , and the great draught of fifh he had but now beftowed upon them , leaving alfo the care of their fervants unto Zebedee the Father of James, and John, and fo followed our Lord now without any more departure from him as before j Tranfported with this ho- nour he did them,mean fifhermen,when alfo they faw the whole world, and even the great ones thereof, fo admiring and run- ning after him. They left all { faith Janfenius ) -Non ut nul- lam amplius cumfuis haberent confuetudinem ; Jed quod nulla am' phm eis ejjetrerumfuarum cura, nullaque poflejjio , omnibus qucs habebant reliftis potejlati propinquorum. And we may gather fromS. Peters words to our Lord Mat. 19*27, that they left all in fome fuch manner, as the fad rich young man; being advifed to it, refufed j and by our Lords reward promifed there to them, we may alfo gather the generofity of this their fact. With them then he returned into Capernaum, and thereon $.109, the next Sabbath day, according to his cuftome wherever he was, ieeLuJ^e 4. Si. he entred into the Synagogue, and there taught the people. [ In which Synagogues ( or Jewifli Churches ) built in all places, even in Jerufalem, were exercifed ; firft, the Reading of Mofes and the Prophets AUs 1 7.2 1 . - Lu\. 4.16. Then an expounding of them and Sermons of exhortation by the learned, thePriefts, Scribes, Lawyers, &c. See ^.13. 14, if, 16. Lu^. 20: -1 for-.14.31. Inthefealfo were ufed Praier, Hymns, and Pfalms ("fome entkeled pro Sabbato) Collections alfo for the poor. Only no facrificing, fave at the Temple in Jerufa- lem. J Here as our Lord taught, the people, faith the Evange- lift, were aftonifhed at his doctrine , fur that his words were Mark with power, and he taught them as one that had authority, and Luk.±. As he was fpeaking thus in the Synagogue to the people, a $' 2T0' man that was poffeft with an unclean Spirit, ( all Devils being ordinarily called thus, becuife delighting in all impurity, therefore they defired rather to enter into Swine J ftanding amongftthem ( all poffefled, not being continually agitated, or molefted by the evil Spirits, but by fits, perhaps when the difpofition of the Body, the humours at fuch times do alfo con- cur with it. ) The Devil that was within him, either not able to endure the prefence of our Lord, or alfo having received fome fecret command already fromhim (as thofe Marias '•? >%•) to §.2 1 1. ef our Saviour Jefws Chrift. j$j to quit his prey, or terrified with his words fpeaking of the de- ftrudtionot the Kingdom of Satan, cryedout defiring that he would let him, or them, alone, and not deftroy them ffome- times (peaking in the lingular number, and fometimesin the plural ) : the like requeft to which we find elfe where Mat. 8.29. and Lu^. 8. 3 1. and Mar\. $• 10. where in Matthew the Devils • befeech him that he would not torment them before their time- and in Luke, that he would not fend them into the A- byfle j and in Mark, that not fend them out of the country. We find alfo feveral other pafTages in Scripture, that may fur- ther explicate the prefent condition of thefe miferable and curfed creatures unto us. As their being faid by S.Peter, and *Ptt. 1.4. S.Judetobe refervedin chains under darknefs -3 or, as S.Peter, 7ude6-\ to be caft down to hell, unto, or until the judgment of the great day j and S. Pauls calling Satan the Prince of the power E^%2. 2. -6: of the Air, and thefe evil Spirits thcRuIersof the darknefs of n. this [lower] world ; and Satan being laid that He goeth about here feeking whom he may [be permitted to] devour. 1 Pet. f. 8. ( and the like is faid in Job 1. 7. ) and the evil Spirit caft out otaman, his being faid to walk in dry and defart places, and fo finds no reft there Mat. 12.45-. till permitted to return to his former lodging, by new finning, better prepared for him j their crowding alfo fo many of them ( as they get leave) into oneperfon, and fo much more mifchevous there thanafingle one could have bin, ( as we hear of feven caft out of Mary Mag- dalen, and of the Spirit returning with feven more worfe and fiercer thanhimlelfi and of a Legion in the furious Gadarenj and we have them anfwering our Lord fometimes in the lin- gular, fometimes in the plural number) by what is fpokea u4poc. 20. 3. Of a clofer imprifonment of Satan, and fo of his Regiment of evil fpirits that mall be before the worlds end, than is yet for the prefent. Now I fay by all thefe well confidered it feems, firfb, That §.211. the evil Angels fuffer not fuch torments now , as they mall ' fc hereafter when they fliall be judged at the laft day by our Lord, and alfo by his Saints. 1 Cor. 6. 3. -Apoc. 20. 10. compare 3. 7. And 2ly, that, Though they are caft down to hell, or the inner bowels of the earth full of darknefs, as their proper Prifon, and place of prefent fufrerings , whither alfo the fouls of wicked men defcend , and are tormented with them ; yet both they and the chief Prince of them, are permitted by God to come forth of this lower prifon upon the earth, fuch of them and for i 5 3 The Hiftory of the Life §.2 1 2 . for fuch duration of time, audextenfion of place, as the Di- vine Majefty pleafeth, for the greater exerciie and trial of the jufthere; and for the afflicting and executing of Gods juftice on the obftinatly wicked, foraetimes even to the pofleffing, and inhabiting them, even many of thefe evil Spirits in one man. After the fame manner as the good Angels delcend from heaven, their place of Bills, for the Protection of the juft, and regular government oi this lower world againft the malice of thefe malign Spirits. Which evagation of evil Spirits, and their inhabiting here a lels darknefs, andefpecially the hurt they can do to any men, feems, by fome of the former expreffi- ons, to afford fome folace to them, and to be an accidentary diminution of their prefent pains. Yet again, the abfence of good Angels from the Court of Heaven, and the glorious ap- pearance of Gods Majefty there, when they fent hither, is re- compenfed with the joy they have in doing Gods will, and fuc- couring his Servants here below, fo the relaxation the Devils have from their low imprifonment feems counterpoifed in their alcent with the gnawing grief they have here by reafon of their malice its being lo frequently defeated, and the good Angels and alio Holy men ruling over them, and Gods con- tinually bringing his greater good and Glory out of their evils, and by their punifhment, after the laft day, to be increafed ac- cording to the evil alfo they have done on earth. As for fouls departed hence, the return of them hither out ofthofe places of joy, and repofe above, or of torment below wherein they are received till the laft day, is much more un- certain, elpecially concerning the damned. And the fre- quent apparitions that are made here of Saints departed ; or, if any fuch have bin, of fome fouls that are in hell, all thefe may be reprefented by the miniftery of Angels, good, or evil. Pardon thisdigrefTion. Now to goon. §.2i2. The Devil, thus fupplicating our Lord not to deftroy them adds further, that he well knew him who he was, the holy one of God : (as the Devils did frequently at other times, See MarT^ 3. 11. where they alfo fell down before and worshipped him , and Z.z^.4.41. the Devils, faith the Evangelift, came out of many, crying out, and faying, Thou art Chriff. the Son of God, for they ( faith he ) knew that he was Chrift. See alfo AUs 1 6. 17, 18. ) He being either made to fpeak this truth out of con- ftramt and againft his will, or out of flattery, hoping fo to find forae favour from him, who was neither able to carry his prey away, § 2I3* °f GU? Saviour Jefus Chrift. 159 away, orhimfelf to quit the place. Our Lord firft commands him lilence, (aselfewhere LuJ^^. 41. and as alfo the Apoftles Jfts\6. 18.) not accepting any fuch teftimony from the Fa- ther of lies ( which Author alio might render it fufpicious, and therefore fpeak it, that it might not be believed ) and charged him alfo to leave the perfon. Soroaringout again amain, as if dreading thofe greater fufferings to which he was remitted, or at leaft the lots of his prey, he threw down the perfon in the midft of the people, and fo left him without any further hurt. This is the firft Devil that is mentioned to have bin caft out by our Lord ( as {till greater works by degrees are (hewed by him ) and the firft Confeflion made by them of his perfon, and of their iubjection to him: upon which the people much ad- miring cryed out, what virtue and power hath this man, that the Devils ftreight obey his commands ? After this our Lord, departing from the Synagogue with his {• 2T*» four Diiciples, entred into thehoufe of Simon Peter at noon , ' there to take his dinner. SeeLu%. 14. 1. where it feems was his ordinary abode when in Capernaum. Here Simon Peters wives mother layfickof a Feavor ( probably feizing on her but the night before, otherwife our Lord would have bin importuned for her fooner ) whom he prefently healed with only touching her with his hand and rebuking, and commanding the feavor to depart from her : who prefently arofe, and helped to provide neceflaries for them. For the reft of the day being the Sab- bath, he was free from the multitude till the evening after fun ftt. But then, faith St. Mark, all the City were gathered about the door; bringing their lick to be cured, as alio feveral poi- feiTed with Devils, whom trembling and confefling him, as the former had done in the Synagogue, that he was Chrift the Son of God, he prefently filenccd them, both as unwilling to borrow any teftimony from fuch vile and deteftable wights , and as theieunieaionablenow difcovering the Dignity of his perfon, which tended to the prevention of his fufTering?, and contradi- ctions he was to undergo ; as alio propofing himfelt in a pat- tern to us of modefty, and humility ,in not permitting any thing to our own praife to be faid in our prefence. All people thus flocking after him, the next morning, for - „ preventing the like concourfe , and likewife for preparing - — *2 himfelf for his intended journey and circuit about Galilee^ he arofe a great while before day, and before the Difciples were awake, or aware of it, and departed into a lolitary place, and there i 6 o The Eiftory of the Life §. 2 1 5 . there betook himfelf topra, er : probably giving thanks here to God his Father for the gracious benefits afforded to man- kind by his miniftery , and petitioning for his Auditors their bringing forth worthy fruits thereof,and alio for the future like fuccefs thereof in thole other parts of Galilee, of which he now intended a vifitation. And here in fuchhis retiring into foli- tude, and that by night ( a time not encombred with other employments) giving us alio an example how we may belt perform our devotions without diffraction, by night-watching and retirements, S- Peter and the other Dilciples, when rifen and miffing him in the houfe, went out after him, and having found, told him that all men fought for him. And by this time alfo the people had difcovered where he was, and fo im- portuned him for a longer itay, and that he would not depart iofoon from their City. Butheanfwered them, that he mult preach the Kingdom of God alfo to other Cities and people, for therefore was he fent. §. 2 ir. S° leaving Capernaum for a time, Our Lord departed to preach the Kingdom of God in the other Cities and Towns of lower Galilee, doing this efpecially in their Synagogues on the Sabbaths. And then after his Sermons, and cures applyed to their fouls, ordinarily healing their lick, and freeing the pol- felTed, attended meanwhile with his Difciples, and followed by great multitudes of people, and by feveral of the Scribes and Pharifees, fome as his Converts, others as (pies upon his wordsand actionsj their envy toward him increafing with his fame, andapplaufe. As for the following Hiftory of our Lords Travels , Sermons , and Miracles in Galilee j ( which are more fully related by the three firft Evangelifts ) there feems a great uncertainty as to the time and place of feveral of them ; thefe all endeavoring brief relations, and chiefly intending the matter, but not the Order, as a thing of lefs confequence. Nor is the contexture of thefe ftories in the Harmonifts, ( though gathered by them with a moft diligent and fcrupulous obfervation of the circum- ftances,) and of any necefiary connection, expreffedin anyone of the Evangelilts ;yet fo evident, or agreeing with one another, as that there doth not remain probable arguments of ranging feveral of them otherwife. Therefore 1 Jhall, without much folicitude or anxiety in a matter, which feems by no induftry clearly decidable nor an errour therein much damagable , chule to follow that Method wherein the moft of them do con- fent, and have already pitched on. Our §. 2 1 6, 2 1 7. o/o#r Saviour Jefus Cbrifl. Our Lord then, in this his travelling through thefe Cities and Coafts bordering on the weft fide or the Lake, having made himfelf fo publickly known, was by the concourfe of people ftill increafing forced frequently to change his place; and at laft, faith the Evangelift, abfent himfelf from the Cities and repair into folitudes, and defarts : where company, if not wholly prevented, yet was fomewhat leffened ; and fo he might communicate his doctrine and mighty works more freely to new Auditors j which exceffive concourfe of people we may . imagine he avoided upon many other reafons,- not only for procuring hereby fome time of necelTary reft both to himfelf and his Difciples, but alfo for the not giving any jealoufy to Herod, and for preventing any difturbance from his Officers ; for declining thefufpition of altering popularity andapplaufe; and for remedying the inconveniences fuch great multitudes of men, women, and children, remote from Cities, might fuf- fer for want ofprovifions. After fome time thus fpent in Galilee, for the further fpread- < ll?: ing ftill of his new Gofpel, he gave order to his Difciples to pais over to the other fide of the Sea of Galilee Mat. 8.18. Up- on which a Scribe came to him, and offered his fervice to at- tend upon him whitherfoever he went ; his intentions herein are not mentioned ; but by our Lords anfwer it may be fu 'peck- ed, that upon feeing fuch wonderful works of our Lord, and fuch a fame of,and concourfe to,him, he hoped (like Simon Ma- gus J the purchafe of fome great reputation, or gain to himfelf alfo thereby. Our Lord the better to inform him of the hard- fhip, and poverty of fuch a fervice, told him s that the Foxes C perhaps intimating therein the cunning and wife men of this world ] had provided themfelves holes, and the wandring birds nefts where to repofe,and retire themfelves; but the Son of man had not where to lay his head. For our Lord had no houfe, no poffeffions of his own, even in Capernaum was only a fojourner in a nothers houfe, probably Peters: and in his travels and pera- grationsitfeemsbv A/ar^.1.4;. took up his lodgings on nights fub dio in defart places ; His great fame alfo and conflux of peo- ple to him hindring, faith the Evangelift, that he could no more openly enter into the Cities. Which delarts in any re- miflionof bufinefs, and vacancy from the crowds of people, he made ufeoffor praier Lu^.16. So [Mar 1^6. 4.6.) ac night af- ter he had miraculoully fed fuch a multitude, he went higher into the Mountain, and there taking up his lodging (and it X feems i*2 The ffijlory offhe Life §.218. feemsby what happened to his Difciples in a very tempeftuous night] continued iu praier till the fourth watch, or the third hour in the morning. And again Mat. if. 32. he is faid to have remained three daies together in adefart Mountain, and ma- ny thoufands with him, among which many women alfo and children, whom it feems much tranfported with his difcourfes, and having taken little care of themfelves, he miraculoufly ted, that they might not be famimed. And the like was his practice at Gethfemane, at the foot of Mount Olivet, at the times when he preached in Jerufalem. Yet lurely fuch hard- fhips our Lord underwent, not neceffitated thereto, either for want of friends, and benefactors, who had obliged fo many with his miracles, or alfo of an inheritance ( though this fmallj from his parentage; but fuch poverty and dereliction of all things he rather chole,for a fingle attendance, without any other folicitudes, orembarrafments whatever on the Gof pel, becaufe the labourer he knew, at leaft from the Divine provifion, could not want his falary , viz. neceflaries ; and alfo for a recommen- dation of the like condition toothers that defired to be more perfect. And fome fuch thing we fee he propofed to the young rich man upon the account of attaining perfection Mat. 19.21. with which anfwers of our Lord, it is probable the Scribe here fas that young man) difheartned , cooled-in , and receded from his former purpofe, and pretentions. §.218. Upon this free offer ofthe Scribe S. Matthew infers another, " and S. Luke a third, ( though perhaps not all occurring at the fame time ) of two other perfons who offered their confiant at- tendance upon our Lord, either freely on their own accord , or alfo by him invited to it, only requefted his leave to dif- patch onebufinefs firit, and this in order thereto; the one of them the burying of his Father; news being fuppoled to have come then luddainly to him of his death, a matter feemingly of great piety, and capable alfo of no long retardment, or de- lay ( though fome other Commentators, think that his Father being aged, and near hisGrave, the Difci pie defired to be dif- penced with till after his death J The other defired hisper- miffion only firft to fhew the civility to his friends and kindred athomeof bidding them Adieu ; a thing of lefs ftay or demur than the other. Yet our lord to fhew us the great importance of immediatly profecuting good purpofes, and efpecially the things belonging to the Kingdom of God ; and the nothingnefs of, and danger of temptation by, fuch fecular diverfions, and Ceremo- §>.2 19,220. of our Saviour Jef us Chr iff. 163 Ceremonies, franckly denies both thefe feeming (mall and rea- sonable requefts. Anlwering them in Parables or Metaphc rs. Totheonehe laid; let the Dead bury their Dead, mewing §.219. whatefteem our Lord had of the men or this world, viz. as of dead in it fas on the other fide, the \poftle makes God* Saints dead to it ) and intimating the noblenefsor this mans piefent calling in refpecl: of his former fad condition, and of thole oiCo lofS-2- his Relations, dead to God and fpirituai things ; and that there was enow of them to do thisomce to hi^ Fattier iard that the employment, he was graciouily in\ ited to, was not to bury but raiie the Dead to newneis of lite. To the other ; that who- fo puts his hands once to the Plow and looketh back, is not fit for the Kingdom of God , for if the Plow- man looks back but for a minute, his plow cannot go right. Signifying, in both hisanfwers, great intentivenefs and diligence without any di- ffractions, required in profecuting that only buftnefs, our Sal- vation i and efpecially fuch as are imployed in the procuring alio the falvation of others ; and feeing much better then they the harm to their new good relolutions that might be incurred by thefe impediments i that the one in burying his Father, would next be ingaged about fettling the inheritance too -, and the other by his kindred difheartned in hisprefent good pur- poles ; and allured by fome other baits from further purluing them. Which anfwers of our Lord call to mind the LelTon elfewhere tohisDilciples Matt. 6. Quarite regnum Dei, reliqua adjicientur, and to Martha, concerning unum nee ejfarium, and his Admonition Lu\. 17. 31. --non defcendat indomum tollere vaj'a fua, --{£ memores ejtote uxoris Lot, and S. Pauls practices, Phil.}. 15. —Qua retro funt oblivifcens, adpnora contendo. When our Lord was entered into the Ship, and, for the more §■ 220. convenience, out of it preached to the multitude that follow- ed him ftill until the evening ; he, without returning to Caper- naum, or taking fomerepofe, appointed his Difciples to diimifs the people, and (laying ftill in the (hip, bad them prefently to pafsoverto the other fide of the Lake; perhaps having fome great companion of the miferable Demoniacks that were there. But there being feveral other fmall imps in the Port, fome o- thers alio entred into them and ftill accompanied him. In their failing thither-ward there detcended a great ftorra of wind upon the Lake, whilft our Lord , wearied with his daies fervice, or rather to tr. the faith of his Difcip-es, was retired into the hinder part of thelhip, and there lay a ileep upon a X 2 pillow j 1 64 The Hiftory of the Life §.221. pillow; when by the waves beating into the Ship, and it alrea- dy feemihg full of" wafer, and ready to fink, the Difciples, ex- ceedingly affrighted; having forborn hitherto to difturb our Lords reft, fnddainly awaked him, laying, Matter, Mailer, fave ns, we perifli. Whereupon he ftreight rebuked the Wind, and the Sea, faying, Peace be ftill ; and then blamed them not for repairing tohiminthis their danger, but for their great fear, and want of faith, as he doth very frequently: want of faith in God j who expects a confidence in him (which alio cannot be without fome degree of love of him ) not only in the juft and his Servants, but alfo in finners ( among whom alfo the juft ought to reckon themfelves ) a confidence futable to the moft vigilant Divine providence , extended not only to the good, but to all the Creation. Whilft he is, as exceeding faith- ful to the righteous, fo exceeding merciful alfo to finners, when they make their humble addrefTes to him ,• and this alfo is a great honour to his mercy, that finners alfo believe in it j and this faith alfo in them is a very effectual means of receiv- ing fuch his mercies. But our Lord might much more blame their want of faith in him, after that they had now acknow- ledged him the Son of God, and feen io many of his former Miracles. After his rebuking the winds and Sea, followed immediatly a great calm, and a very great wonder and aftonifhment, and fear, and reverence of him (timuerunt timore magno ) both in the Difciples, and thofe in the other Ships accompanying him ( partakers wemayfuppofe bothot the fame danger, and de- liverance )j this being the firft miracle they had feen of this kind, f. 22i, Our Lord, the next morning landed in the Country of the ' Gadarens or Gergfeans, a region given by Mofes to the tribe of Reuben, Dan, and half thatofManaffes , probably now in- habited partly by Ifraelites ('thecaufe of our Lords going thi- ther ) partly by Gentiles j as may be gathered by fuch ftore of fwine nourimed there, to be fold to the Gentiles, Roman Sol- diars and others; which feems by the mi f chief happening to. thefe iwine, to have bin afautin thofe ofthejewiih Nation, and to have fo many waies difpleafed our Lord. Upon his arrival prelcntly two pofTefTed and ftrangely dif- fracted, with fome torn rags about them , came running to- wards him (which if they had not of themfelves none could have brought them to him ) and fell at his feet, and worlhipped him. ^.222. of our S avior Jefus Chrift. 165 him. Both of them hideous fpectacles, but one much fiercer than the other, who tore all his cloths, and day and night making grievous outcries cut his fiefTi with fharp (tones, and who having bin often bound with chains, when the fits came on him brake them in pieces, nor could he be fhut up in any houfe j but both of them ranged m the Mountain, and among the Tombes ( which were placed out of the cities, and com- monly digged in fome rocky places, fee 2lQngm-z'$. 16. ) places of greater horrour fought out by the Devil in which thefe men lay, and were fo outrageous againft any they met with, as none durft pais by that way. Yet fo foon as our Lord was landed, they came iubmilTively to him (for the Devils loon perceived hisprefence, andhad had already fome intimation from him of their departing and releafing thofe milerable creatures; ) And firft, like the former pofleiTed perfoninthe Synagogue, conferring who he was , and pleading they molefted not, nor gave any affronts to, him, they befought and then adjured him by God ( by whofe eternal laws their extreme fufferings were yet deterred) that he would not prefently fend them away into the Abyfie, nor torment them before the time ( of which fee before $.210. ) nor yet expel them out of thatcountry; thefe having by Gods permiffion perhaps certain regions and circuits of their ranging afTigned to them, wherein they are with all diligence to ferve their Prince, the God of this world, as the Apottles flile him , and being perhaps more addicted to the places wherein they have done much mifchief. Our Lord, the more to difcover, what a condition and crowd §, 222. of them were gotten into one of thefe miferable wretches, ( which alio caufed fuch a ftrength and fury in him beyond or- dinary Demoniacks no way to be mattered ) and to mew what a palace they efteemed fuch a lodging, and whatfoiace,the mif- chief they can do in and to it when ever permitted, asked this unclean Spirit, what was his name : the evil Spirit, for the great multitude of them gotten into this hold, and perhaps for mov- ing the more his compaffion to them being fo many, expreffed it by the word Legion; a military term fas thefe evil Spirits fer\e a perpetual warfare againft man ) which hath bin ufed; by the Pvomans in feveral times for a various number, but ordi- narily for many thoufands. From which may be gathered what an infinite multitude of fain Angels there be, and which coait up and down, in theie lower Regions out of envy, feeking the perdition of men s As likewife, what a ftndt guard and pro- tection 1 6£ The Hi/lory of the Life §-223« tediou God hath over us, that the malice of fo many thoulands of them mould be confined to, and imprifoned as it were in, one perfon -, and laftly, from which is manifefted the great Maje- ity and power of our Lord not only overfingle, but whole ar- mies and Legions of them, fupplicating at his feet, and flatter- ing him with his Titles. $.223. Now there being higher in the Mountain, and not far ofFan herd of about two thouiand Swine feeding, the Devils there- fore bef ought our Lord, the rather hoping to obtain fuch their requeft of a Jew, that they might enter at leaft into the Swine j Unclean Spirits into thefe unclean Beafts ; which our Lord per- mitting they carried the fwine down a precipice from the hill, and drowned them all in the Lake. Wherein thefe evil Spi- rits prefently betrayed their malice, endeavoring by this to in- cenfe the Gadarens and the owner? of the lwine , ( doubt- lefs no fmall number ofperfonsj againft our Lord ( as indeed it happened ),• though by this means they prefently difpoiTefTed themfelvcs of that harbour, and lodging for which they fo ear- neft-ly importuned our L©rd. Which (hews alfointhe poiTef- fion of men their greateft confolaticn to be doing the more hurt to them and others- and that, if permitted, they would have as foon difpatched the two poffefTed as they did the fwine, though to their own dammage, and their incurring perhaps fome of thofe greater fufferings they fo much deprecated. Meanwhile our Lord (who well foreknew what would be the iflue ) yet for many good reafons might permit the fact, firft hereby to fhew more manifeftly what a number of Devils were ejected out of the man, by their diflodgingf none being indulg- ed to have more than one) into fuch a number of fwine; and what a prefervation thus the whole country received from our Lord. 2ly. Again, hereby to make a tryal of the virtue of the Gadarens, whether for the freedom, and redemption of thofe miferable objects of their pitty, their brethren and fellow-citi- zens out of the cruel handsoffo many Devils, they would re- fign and take chearfully the lofs of fome of the molt unclean, and unneceflary of their goods : which lofs the owners oi them, . being fo many, to any fingle perfon might not be great ; as alio to fhew us how much the faving of another man is to be valued beyond thatof our own eftate. ily. Perhaps alio fince thefe creatures are unprofitable anyway fave for food, and this pro- jLevh 7.1T. halted the Jews, to punim thus a fault in .the owners of them, D*ut. u\X - if IfraeliteSi nounlhing luch numbers of them, which were only fa 1 able §.224-,22$. of our Saviour Jefa Cbrift. I^>7 faleable to ftrangers, and negle&ing provifions more ferviceable to their own people, or Country : Or, if thefe fwine kept by forraignersonly, to punifh the affront, and contempt thus of- fered to the Jewiih Nation, and their laws, in a country rightly belonging to their pofTeffion. 4ly. Laftly to fhew the perpe- tual mifchiefs, and damages thefe evil Spirits could, and would do even to anyr thing belonging to us, if they were not reftrain- ed by the divine goodnefs. Thefe and many other good ends might be of fuch a permif- §> a?4» Hon. But this accident, according to the rudenefs of that peo- ple, had a much contrary effe6t. For the fwine-keepers, halt- ing into the Town, and declaring our Lords arrival there, and what had happened to the two miferable pofleffed men, alfo what to the fwine, the inhabitants prefently upon it, before our Lord entred into their city, wentforth to prevent him. And though they could not but have heard of our Lords many mi- racles wrought elfewhere , and many among themfelves had need of the like mercies, and though the lofs of their goods was noway valuable to the falvation both of their fouls, and bodies by this gracious vifit of the Meflias, had no fence of fuch happinefs i But inftead of returning our Lord thanks for the poor mens delivery out of fuch a flavcry, beheld by them now fober, and clothed, and magnifying our Lord , and humbly fitting at his feet, inftead of fitting down with them, and hear- ing his Divine words or bringing their fick to him, and invit- ing him, and his Difciples into their City, being much offend- ed with what had paffed , and dreading rather what might happen upon fuch another difpofTeflion to the reft of their goods, intreated our Lord to leave their coafts j as if the Devils after leaving the fwine had feized upon them. But meanwhile, by fuch a notable circumftance of the lofs , 2 - of the fwine, the fame of our Lords miracle on the pofTefTed, and foveraignty over fuch an army of devils, v/asrendred much greater. And from hence alfo may be obferved , that God many times in this world fbutalwaies for the more advan= cing our falvation hereafter ) doth not his favours fo gratis > that they fhall be qualified on our fide with no other CrofTes, by which price as it were we may feem to purchafe them of him, though the one be unconfiderable in refpect of the other.. There mult be here ufually fome tarantella jovned with the hello. And thefe people, by the undifcreet impatience of a fmall damage with which our Lord made the tryal of them,. loi! i68 The Hi/lory of the Life §.226,227. loft anunvaluable treafure and reward for it, viz. the light of the Gofpei (that now came to vifit them ) and the reicue of their whole country from the fpiritual Haver/ of Satan. §■ a6. OurmeekLord to this uncivil, and ingrateful carriage and treatment of the Gadarens fwhofe City as Jolephus faith, De Bell. Judaic, y. c. 3. was the chief Metropolis of that whole country, and who were the only people, that whilft all the world courted and run after him, defired to be rid of him,} making no reply, and being not departed far from the Ship that brought him, returned into it, not receiving for himfelt' or his poor Difciples the leaft hofpitality or refrefhment from them i and, as he had faid alittle before to the Scribe,not having there, whereto lay his Head. Only the man that was difpofTefTed of the Legion (cured we fee in foul as well as body) followed ftill after him ; and when they took (hipping, defired he might go with them, perhaps having fome fears left left behind, the Devils expell'd lhould refeize upon him. But it was our Lords pleafure that he mould rather abide in his own Country, that had ieen his former mifery * and He, who elfewhere forbad others to fpeak of the cures, and mercies fhewed them, yet com- mands him there to publiih the miracle he had wrought and proclame how great things God ( to whom our Lord here for our example afcribes his good actions ) had done for him, and had had companion on him , to publiih it I fay in a place where they were fo little fenfibleof it. Nor did our Lord that we read of ever return to this place again ; obferving that lef- fon he gave to his Difciples, not to caft pearls before fwine j nor force the Gofpei and religion, and as it were endeavour to break open the dores of mens understandings upon them -, that teaching being moltwhat without fuccels that is not willingly received. Unlefs we may imagine this repulfecame from the Di- vine Providence, that this ealtern fide of the Lake, hall-Gent ile (as the great number of their fwine alio' intimates ) lhould not as yet be enlightened with the Gofpei fas neither the Samari- tans ) till it firft amply preached to the main body of the 12 Tribes. §. 227. From hence our Lord returned to Capernaum his ufual re- treat, and to hisaccuftomed lodging there, probably the houfc of S. Peter ( and perhaps, they for this expecting cuitomc from him and Peter, he ordered him to pay it ) : the report of his re- turn fpread abroad, a multitude 01 people (fo many faith the Evangehit as there was no roome to receive them even about the §228,229. of our Saviour Jef m Chrift. 169 the door,) gathered to him to hear his Sermons, and to bring to him their lick j among which multitude were many great perfons, Phariiees, and Doctors of the Law, come from Judea as well as Galilee. In the houfe, then, he taught the people; and healed all the fickthat could get to him, the Phariiees and Doclors, as perfons of more note, there fitting by him ; aud nar- rowly oblerving all his words, and actions. A mong other fick brought thither was a Paraly tick; fo infirm, §'^1l as that four men were hired to bear him in his bed. But, when come to the houfe, there was no pollibility of palling through luch a crowd with luch a carriage. Upon this both the lick man and his bearers ( mod confident of our Lords com- panion and help, could they devife any accefsto him ) boldly attempted to uncover the roof of the houfe, thence to let him down in the bed by cords into the Room where our Lord was. From which we may gather, that it was a mean, and low build- ing, and having no upper ftories, and the covering, or tiling of it in their flat roofs more ealilv removable without danger to thole underneath in the houfe. For certainly in their ex- pecting lo great a favour, thele men were very cautious of giv- ing any offence, nor this thing done by them without the own- ers leave, and perm illion. The lick man, his being thus con- veyed before our Lord in his Couch from the top of the houfe, was a fight very pleafing to him; taken with this their extra- ordinary faith making luch a ftrange attempt, and relying alio on his clemency, andgoodnefs, where they had caufe rather to have expected his great difplealure and refentment for the houfe broken up over his Head, for the incivility and dammage to his Holt, ( of Peter no rich man ), and the disturbance, or alio fright of the great perfons then about him. A Itrong faith cafts away many fcruples. Our Lord (faith the Text ) feeing their faith, not only of g. 220. the lick man, but of his porters, ( as he ufed to relieve one for Mark. z.5. the faith and prayers of another, as for the Cananean womans faith, he cured her daughter ; and for the Centurions faith, his Servant; and for one mans lake gives alfo grace, and faith to another; which grace and faith given renders him capable alfo of further favours) firft applied himfelf to the cure of his greateft neceflity,and infirmity, though lels in fight, that of the Soul; gracioully calling him his Son, and bidding him to-be oigoodchear, for that his fins were forgiven him. In which action he intended alio ; firft, to inftrucl: us that all Y our 170 The Hiftory of the Life §.230. our corporal fufferings come becauie of Tin ( fee Jo. $. 14. what our Lord {aid to another impotent man that he fhould fin no more leaftfomethingworfe happened;, though not thefe in- Aided on all finners, nor alwaies chiefly for our fins ( iecjo. 9. 3. ) nor on every one proportionally according to their fin, that we may judge none raflily. 2ly. Again, tofhewus that thefanity of our fouls is much more important, and valuable than that of the body ; and what ought chiefly to be fought by us from him. 3IV. Laftly, tomanireft that he was fent from God the Saviour of mankind, and came with authority from liis Father to remit the fins thereof ; as Zachary, and the Angel to jofeph, and the Baptift, had foretold of him. But yet we may obfervehere a certain modefty ufed by our Lord in his ex - preffion, faying, not remitto, but remittuntur tibi, which might have bin underftood in fuch a fence, as the Prophet Nathan's to David 2 Sam. 12. 13. remittuntur i. e, a Domino ; But, notwith- ftanding, thefe words heard by the Scribes, and Pharifees, that fate by, gave them great offence, this appearing to them no lefs than blafphemy, and the making him (elf God. §. i3o. Our Lord in his fpirit ("faith St. Mark) perceiving their c^i>.z. 8. thoughts, and what they reafoned within themfelves; though as overawed by the peoples efteem of him, thatthey forbear as yet openly to accule him thereof, prefently replyed to thefe their cogitations ( which might have bin another indication to them of his Deity, none fave God alfo knowing thoughts ) and declared to .them, that the Son of man ffor fo he humbly itiles himfelf) had received from his Father fuch power here on earth in behalf of mankind, as to forgive the fins thereof : and which power alfo he afterward delegated to other men his Apoftles, and their fucceffours, fee John 20. and they alfo practifing it mperfona Chrijii z Cor. 2. 10. -Jam. jr. 14. to this in- deed, the curing of thefe difeafes of the Soul, not thole of the Body, and the remiflion of mens fins,- and the purchafing thereof byhisblood, being the principal bufinefs of his coming into this world. And that they might be afcertained of this, he told them alfo that he had received the power of doing that, in atteftation of that, which would feem to them a much har- der matter, than the faying to this man that his fins were for- given him, (in which they had no means to know the truth of his words ) namely of making this Paralitick, that lay before them, found and well, and himfelf to carry away the bed on which others brought him hither. . Which at our Lords com- mand <^. 23 1. of our Saviour Jefus Chrift- 171 mand was done accordingly ; the man paffing thus through the multitude wonderfully aftonifhed at it, and going through the Itreets glorifying God : this carriage of his couch brought thither by four men b€ing an undeniable indication of the per- fection of his Cure. Hence our Lord removed to the Sea fide, as he did frequent- $. 2 3 1. ly, where was more air and room forlucha conflux of people. As he patted along, a rich Publican, called Matthew, was fitting fomewhere near the Haven at the receit of Cuftome from the mips arriving there. Now the Office of a Publican, ferving for the fupport of the Roman authority over the Jews, was therefore very odious to them; by the Publicans renting alio the Roman Cuftomes was often occasioned (for improvement of their purchafes ) theexa&ing more than their dues ; ( therefore were they forbid it by the Baptiit as a common fault among them). Likewife by reafon of much money palling through their hands, they pradti fed Ufury. For thefe things they were joy n- ed with publick finners, or alfo heathen; and their fociety much avoided ; which caufed our Lords expreflion, in fignifying the withdrawing our (elves from the Society or converfation of an incorrigible neighbour Mat. 18. 17. Let him be unto thee as an heathen man , and a 'Publican Notwithftanding this, our Lord before the Pharifees and multitude that fol- lowed him, flops at this rich Publican's OrUce ; and in the midit of his Accounts calls him to leave all and yeild a continual at- tendance on his perfon : and indeed not only to have the ho- nour of an Apoftle, but of being one of the four Evangelifts, that afterwards writ his life; and S.Matthew alfo did this the firlt and more copiouily than the others , reduced afterward into a fhort compendium by S. Mark. This action of our Lord was beheld by the people, and efpe- cialy by the Pharifees, with great aftonifhment ; that he who pretended to fo much fancfity mould make choice of fuch a icandalous fervant ; but no lels, that his words mould have iuch a fuddain influence upon one fo much immerled in the world, and at that very time fo attent on his accounts j for faith St. Luke, he prefently left all, rofe up, and followed him. But *■»*•*• *8. the Glory and wiidom of our Lord was exceedingly fet forth in this pafTage : whereby he firft fhewed them again what he had laid before, that he had power to forgive fins, and what he laid to them afterwards, that he came not to call the righteous but finners to repentance ; that by the example of his own hu- Y 2 mility, 172 " TheHiftoryoftheLife §.232,233. mility, condefcendence, and mercy to the moft defpifed con- ditions, endeavouring to abate the Pharifees pride, and encou- rage, like the Baptift before him, all penitents in what ever ftateof life, to apply themfelves to him j*not breaking a bruifed reed, orextiuguilhingthe fmokingflax : but above all, where- by he (hewed that he did not find, but make fit for hisfervice, thofe whom he admitted to it; and acted all things with a great Majefty over mens fpirits, like a God and himfelf: this operation upon the mind of the Publican in the midft of his bufinefs being a greater miracle than that done but now upon the Body of the Paralytick. Ms2- St. Matthew much overjoyed, and fo his fellow-Publicans, with this fingular favour done him, ftreight quitted his Bank, and the fame day invited our Lord and his Difciples to his houfe, and there made him a great feaft, faith S. Luke, ( though S.Matthew himfelf pafTeth over the matter more flightly, only with a fattum ejt cum occubaret in domo, without an ( ipjitis ) : and foa!fo when he names himfelf, he adds Publican and Matthew the Publican chap. 10. 3 J which Feaft alfoferved for a fare- wel entertainment to his friends and former acquaintance, a many of which were Publicans: and foalfothefe fate down at the Table and eat with our Lord, and his Disciples; in which matter of eating and drinking, the Jews efpecially ufed the greateft caution of any defilement, and therefore the Pharifees refufed the invitement, or to mix with fuch a Society. And now their difpl^afure, growing to the height, began to break into words, which before was fmothered in their thoughts. M33. They then after this entertainment queftion, yet not with our Lord himfelf, but his Difciples ; firft why they, and efpeci- ally theirMafter,aman offomuchSan&ity, did fo familiarly converfe, and eat, and drink, with Publicans and finners; [By finners meaning the common fort of people not fo ftrict in their lives, nor wary for their converfation , nor diligent in their purifications, nor frequent in their fafts, and Devotions , nor ftrict in their tithes, and other feverities as the Pharifees were ; therefore reckoned by them unclean, befides thole who JLuk 7. 19. were fcandalous for other faults. Upon which account the Pha- rifee elfewhere wonders that our Lord would iufler Mary Mag- dalen to touch him ; and from his companying with fuch liberty they afperfed him as a glutton and a wine-bibber. ] Our Lord overhearing them, or oth.erwife knowing their words then, as their thoughts before, firft anfwered them , as ufually, §.234^ 3 5 • °f our Saviour Jefut Cirif?. 1 73 ufually, in a Parable : that they that are found and whole need not the company of the Phyfitian,* but they that are fick. And thus he juftified luch his converfation upon the account of his being a Phyfitian, and fent not to call the righteous but nnners to repentance ( io his difciples were exculed as being there not for theirs but his company ). But otherwile doubtlefs, for thefe, that are not fpiritual Ph\fitians but themfelves alfo fick, luch company ought molt carefully to be declined 1 tor. 6.10. 2 The/, 3.14. all fin being very contagious, and alio, by our withdraw- ing from it, to be difcouraged. This account given for him- felf; He alfo, knowing the Pharifees great defect herein, zea- lous in their (hew of lervice toward God, but failing in their charity, and mercy toward their neighbour, bids them learn better the meaning of that faying in Qiee. --1 will have mercy c/:ap $ 6 and not Sacrifice, God preferring mercy to our Brethren before Sacrifice to himfelf. By which mod prudent anfwer of his thofe poor penitents, that furrounded our Lord, received much confolation, and the Hypocritical Pharifees an inward convi- ction and confulion. Silenced here they proceed again to queftion our Lord, and $;. 234> to expofe him to fome publick fhame, in a matter they fuppofed yet much lefs defenfible ; in which alio to make their party the ftronger,they joyned with them the difciples of John the Baptift, notwithstanding the great difefteem they had both of him and his followers. Now thefe difciples alfo had an emulation of the great fame of our Lord, and alfo had learnt of their Matter the frequent practice of faffing, and had alfo received from him certain forms, and directions for prayer,fee JLz^.u.i.as our Lords difciples afterwards did from him; and from the erant jejunantes Mar\. 2. 18. fome think this was one of their fading daies. Thefe therefore, rather chofen to be the fpeakers, more to aggravate the matter from the rules and prefcriptions of the Baptift, one to much commended by our Lord, applyed them- felves now to our Lord himfelf ; but questioned him only con- cerning his difciples, as before they asked the difciples concern- ing him. And it was at a very feafonable time too, when they both came but now from a feaft: their demand was why, when- as both they and the Pharifees ufed frequent fafts, his Di'ciples did not fo, but did eat and drink; thinking hereby to force him either to condemn rafting, or his own followers for omitting it. Our Lord, neither difcouraging the Difciples of John, nor §^2Ul prejudicing 174- * The Hifiory of 'the Life §-23^. prejudicing his Order ; nor as yet discovering the Pharifees Hy- pocrify in their fafting, which he well knew ( fee Mat. 6. 16.) anfwers them again in a Parabolical manner ; firft, that the children of the bride-chamber could not mourn and faft whilft the Bridegroom was with them, in a time of joy and a ready fupply from him all-powerful of all their requefts and defires,- but that the daies would come, when the Bridgrome mould be taken from them, and then they mould faft in thofe daies: Faft, and alfo make praiersin fuch a Superlative degree, as that thofe of theBaptifts difciples and of the Pharifees were no way to be compared to what hath bin pracfiied fince in the Church of Chrift. And amone the Chriftian fafts our Lord alfo is thought here to have had a fpecial regard to the folemnizance of Lent, which the Church mould obferve for everj fpecially relating to this Bridgroome at that time his being taken away from her by a moft cruel death. But after this reafon of his difciples not mourning and fafting for the prefent, the joyful prefenceof theMeffias, Our Lord adds another, but this alfo delivered in Parable ; viz. that a new piece of cloth was not to be Sowed on an old garment, left the rent Should thereby be made worfe : nor new wine poured into old bottles, left fo they fliould beburft and the wine fpiltj intimating, that for the pre- fent, before their renovation by the Holy Spirit, his Difciples were not as yet fo capable of receiving or practising the fbricSt- nefs and Severity of the Evangelical Counfels ;but by the rigour of them, if now unfeafonably applyed, fome of them might ra- ther be difcouraged and apt to fait away from their new pro- feflion : as alfo he told his difciples, a little before his paflion , that he had many things to fay to them, which as yet at that time they could not bear^o. i6> i2- §• 2,36. This was faid by our Lord without the leaft difparagement fas the Pharifees expected,) orrather with the great advance- ment of fafting ; compared here to new .cloth, and new wine: and without any difplaying to the people the Pharifees Hypo- critical fafts j leaft this Duty might feem to have bin any way afperfed by his mentioning the misbehaviour of the perfons. Neither doth he prejudice the faftings of the Difciples of John ; who had now bin under a longer diicipline than our Lords,- and io were capable of higher undertakings. But yet fo far as their pravers or failings were acceptable to God, fo far were theie performed by the renovation of the Samefpiritin them, which was alfo in their Mafter theBaptiftj and which Spirit flowed §.237?238« °f our Saviour Jtfm Chrift. 175 flowed originally from our Lord the fountain thereof; and which from this Lord was daily to be increafed in them, as in his new difciples. As for the difciples practice of falling after the Bridgroom's departure, fee Ail. i3. 3. -17. 22. -27. 21.-2 Cor. 6. r. -11.27. 1 Cor. 7. j. -y.ult. And in all times from the be- ginning, where was an abfence of the Bridgroorne and any ad- verfity, or diftrefs, failing joyned with prayer was repaired to as a remedy; publick, \Ffdras l.n.-^udith. 4.8.-2^0/2.10.3. -'Jonah. 3. r. -Efter. 4. i<5 : Private, 2 Sam. 12. 6. 1 King. 21. 17. -Dan. 9, 3. -10. 3. &c This difcourfe and Apology of our Lord for his Difciples was $-237, interrupted by Jairus, one of the Rulers of the Synagogue at Capernaum,- who had one only daughter, about twelve years old, and nowentring upon the flower of her age, lying at the point of death. He came therefore in haft and fell down at our Lords feet, and befought him that he would vouchfafe to cometohis houfe, andlayhis hands upon her that me might be healed. The divine Providence thus fupporting our Lords authority, by other great perfons, fas this Ruler here, and before the Regulus or noble man of Capernaum, and afterward the Centurion) obliged by our Lords favours to them, againit the envy and malice of the Pharilees. Our Ldrd, though he could prefently with a word, and with- out a journey, have cured his daughter as he had done before the noblemans Son; yet gratioully bearing with the infirmity of the Rulers faith/ who thought his coming to her, and impo- fing his hands upon her neceffary to her recovery ) and alfo the more to oblige him, and heighten the miracle by the account which afterward happened, went along with him together with his difciples, and a crowd of people toward his houfe. In his palling along, a certain woman that had fuffered a flux §. 2 7 8 ., of her blood during twelve years, and fpent ail her means on the Phyfitians without remedy, notable for the preis to get to prefer her requeft to our Lord, or perhaps not daring to ap- pear and make known her malady to him ( which rendred her unclean, and fo all thofe whom me touched,) laid toherfelf, that -if flie could but come behind and fecretly touch the Mutt9 , fringe, or hem of his garment, file mould be cured. For the fringe, foitwas, that God would have his own people diftin- guimed from the reft of the world, as in their flelh by circum- cifion, fo externally and vifibly by his appointing upon the bor- der of their garment round about to be worn a blew or Hea- ven ij6 The Hi/lory of the Life §-239« ven and Sky- coloured ruban ( which the Pharifees loved alfo to have broader than ordinary ) ; to the end ( iaith the Text Numb, i y. 3 9 . ) that they looking upon it ( both their own and that ofanothers ) fhould remember all Gods commandments, to do them: and not leek after [ the lulls of ] their own hearts, and eves. Some therefore think die womans devotion directed more particularly to the hem of our Lords veft as counted more facred. Ot which fee what is (aid ^acbar. 8. 23. But the other Evangelifts exprefs it more generally of her touching any part of his clothes; which her delire as foon as the woman had at- tained, flie perceived her blood prefently flopped. So that af- terward, when this thing better known in their bringing to our Lord Mat. 14. 35-, 3d. very many fick, they befought him, for laving more trouble that they might only touch the Hem of his garment, and fo many as did it were cured. This woman, then according to her faith, coming behind him, and touching fecretly his cloths, had immediatly her blood flopped : Only in this deficient, that ihe thought this might happen without his knowledg. §• a?9* Our Lord, to manifeft this womans great faith, and the ef- fect: thereof, and to propofeit to the imitation of others; and particularly to ftrengthen that of the Rulers ((landing by ) much inferiour to hers ; Laft'y, tofhew himfelf omnifcient of all that paiTed, and that God might not loie the due glory thereof, fuddainly turning about, a>ked who it was that had touched him? Whereupon, whilll the Difciples excufed the mat- ter from the preffing of the multitude, the woman knowing what was done in her, fearing and trembling, faith the Text, prefented her folf and fell down proftrate before him and con- refTed the fad:. Our Lord on the other fide much comforting her, recommending to the people the greatnels of her faith, tiifl. 7. /. h- c. ami impLlting to it her cure. Lufebius relates this woman to have bin an inhabitantof Cefarea Philippi, and therein grati- tude before her door to have erected a brazen ftatue of our Lord, and another of hers proftrate at his feet: and that under our Lords ftatue grew an unknown kind of herb, which when fo high as that it touched our Lords veil, reaching to his a-nk'es, was medicinable and cured any difeafe. This Statue Eufebius faith he had the curiofity to go to the city, and there faw : which Zozomen faith was afterward caufed to broken by Ju- lian the Apoftate, and his own placed mftead thereof. But this by lightening to have bin cut in the middle, and the upper part §.240,241. of our Saviour Jefas Chrift. 177 part thrown down to the ground. —Ex quo quidem tempore, faith he, ad hodiemum diem atra, tanquam fulminis iilut ambufta manet. During this our Lords flay about the woman, and Jairus ftill §. 240. attending on him, a fad meflage came to him that his daugh- ter was already departed, fo that our Lord needed not to be troubled any further : who, though he had done many wonder- ful cures or feveral kinds, yet is not related hitherto to have manifefted his power in raifing any from the dead. Our Lord comforted the much-dejected Ruler, bidding him not to be af- fraid, only believe ,• and went on his journey. Come to the Houfe all was found full of lamentation, the minftreis and folsemn Mourners according to the cuftome of the Jews See Jer. 9. 1 7.-2 Chron. Jr. ».y. were called thither, and by their doleful Notes and Voices (according to the defign of thefe )' excited the grief of all thofe friends and acquaintance, that came to lament with the Parents of the decealed. Our 1 .ord commanded their filence, and flighted the matter, to do this great miracle with the more privacy, fotheleis, as yet, to provoke the envy and perfecution of the Phariiees, asalfo to be a pattern herein to us of avoiding applaufe. He excluded all ochers,and took only into the roome the parents of the Dam- fel, and three of the Difciples (a competent number forwit- neffesjj and taking the decealed maid by the hand bid her arife ; which fhe prefently did ( her foul returning to her ) and walked before themj Our Lord, tofhew the cure perfect, bid- ding them to give her fomefood: the parents and Difciples muft needs be much aftoniRied hereat. This being for the Ru- lers honour, and rewarding of his patience, the firftof the only three perfons our Lord railed from the dead during his whole life time. And therefore this, as the firft, done with more fe- crecy j the railing of the widows Son more openly, and of La- zarus again more publickly than that. And his power herein alio was manifefted by feveraf degrees. Firft, this maid was railed not long after deceafed, and whilft yet lying in her bed: but the widows Son when already carried forth to be buried; And laftly Lazarus, after his having bin buried, and lain four daies in his Grave. The Parents then being enjoy ned iecrecy, but no way perfwaded thereto, thinking it a part of their gra- titude to divulge it, Our Lord departed toward his own lodg- ing in Capernaum. In the way two blind men followed him, defiring reftorement §■ 24T Z of 178 The Hijlory of the Life ^.24.2,243- of theirfight, and ftiling him theSon ofDavid; i.e, the pro- mifed Son to whom the Kingdom of David mould be reftored ( fee LuJ^. 1. 32. and fee the like of other blind men Mat. 12. 23. aud Mark^ 10.47, 5-2. ) which was an act of great faith in them. Our Lord took no notice of them in publick, but when come into the houfe he firft, to try and ftrengthen their faith , asked them whether they believed that he was able to do fuch a thing : and then touching their eyes with his hands imputed the cure to their faith ; enjoyning them alio fecrecy but in vain to men fo overjoyed. As thefe cured blind men went out from our Lord, they brought to him one pofTefled with a De- vil, that rendred him dumb, and fpeechlefs. Which Devil be- ing caft out, the dumb prefently had his fpeech reftored to him ; the people wondring and praifing God, the Phaniees raging and blafpheming, and divulging among the people ( when their mouths were ftopt as to his other miracles) that for his ejecting Devils, he did it by the power of the Prince of the De- Tils ( with whom he was in league ) over the reft his Subjects : perhaps by them now at firft in our Lords abfence, but after- ward in his prefence too s where we fliall alfo meet with our Lords anfwer to it. §. 242. After our Lords refidence for fome four months at Caper- naum, and elfewhere in Galilee, as appears by Jo. 4. 35-, 42. and his vifiting all the Cities and Villages thereof, teaching in their Synagogues, preaching the Gofpel, healing their lick, and do- ing many miracles, among which was the railing of the Ru- lers young daughter deceafed to life ; the next Pafchal feaft of the Jews now approached being the fecond of thofe feafts 1 ucceeding his baptifm, and he now in the thirty fecond year of his age. For the Celebration whereof our Lord together with his Difciples went up to Jerufalem : whofe words and acti- ons there are delivered to us by S.John, writing after the reft of the Evangelifts,and fupplyinjMiiany things omitted by them: who declareth chiefly thefe hi? words and actions tranfacted in Galilee, the place or our Lords ordinary refidence for de- clining the fury of the Pharjfees, and Rulers of the Jews, till the appointed time of his Death was at hand. §.243. Here then S.John firft relates a Miracle done at Jerufalem by our Lord upon a much-known Paralytick : Done on the Sab- bath day ; and further the man bid by him to take up his bed and walk, contrary ( as it feemedj to their law forbidding them the doing any work Exod.io, 10.. and particularly bearing of any §.244- of our Savior Jefus Chrift. 179 any burdens Jer. 17. 21, 22 ,• which thing, when difcovered by the great ones amongthejews to havebindone by our Lord, fo highly enraged them, faith the Text, as inftead of magnify- ing him for fo great and charitable a Miracle, they not only perfecuted, but thought to flay, him, for caufing fuch a breach of the Sabbath Jo. j. 16. The Story is this. Near the Sheep-or beaft-Gate, and not far from the Temple was a great pool, faid to have bin made firft by Solomon, where the Sacrifices were to be wafhed, and made clean before they were carried into the Temple. This pool ferving for fuch an Holy ufe, an Angel of God at certain times, but uncertain when, or how often , or whether more ufually at the feafts, defcended and moved or troubled, and muddied, or ruffled the waters thereof. After which motion difcerned, the firft perfon any way infirm of his limbs, lame, blind, withered, paralytical, See that could get into the water, was immediatly and perfectly cured : ('which curing of one only fhews it to proceed from a peculiar divine difpenfation, and not any natural caufe ■■, and this becaufe ra- rity recommends and fets a great value on Gods works, as we fee our Lord alio, of many infirm, that then lay here, cured only one,>. In the five porches thereof, built for this purpofe, and the place therefore called Bethefda, i. e. Domus mifericordia , lay a multitude of infirm people, waiting for the troubling of the water. Among thefe was a poor man lying on a bed, that had laboured under his infirmity thirty-eight years, inveterate, and incurable, who alfo had lain there a long time , by reafon of his poverty having no help, and ftill prevented by others ftepping into the moved water before him. Our Lord, vifiting this Hofpital ( if I may fo call it J on the g. 244. Sabbath, made choice of this man on whom to (hew his mercy ( reftrained here, in order to his pafTion, from fuch univerfal benefactions ashe wrought in Galilee,) both as being a greater object of charity, and his long infirmity well known abroad; and as one having a bed, the carrying away of which bed on the Sabbath, he knew would give the Jews much occafion of inquiring after him that commanded it ; and by which he might fhew to them more publickly his authority, and com- miffion, and whence he was, and that he was both Mafter of the moft veteran and incurable difeafec, and Lord alfo of the Sab- bath. After his having asked him firft ( to excite his faith and expectation ) whether he hadadefire to be cured; and heard his doleful complaint, who hoped it only from the waters, he Z 2 bad JJeOT. 2 1 /f., j . 80 The Hijlory of the Life §.245,246. bad him prefently take up his bed and walk. Upon which the impotent man was inltantly cured, and carrying his bed on the Sabbath, was prefently queftioned by the Jews ( probably thefe inquirers being either the Pharifees, great zelots'or the Sabbath, or feme or their Difciples ) for the breach of t in k> doing j who anfwered them, that he was bid to do 10 by the perfon that cured him. ButourLorJ, there bci.ig a throng of people in the place, he prefently conveyed himfelf away, and returned into the Temple. All which occulioned the cure to be more taken notice of, and the perfon looked after that had done it ; nor could the poor man give any account of him. But a little after he repairing alfo to the Temple, probably there to render more iolemn thanks to God for his cure, O ir Lord nowdifcovers himfelfto him, and minding him or the mercy he had received, exhorted him to amendment ot life, lealt a worfe thing yet fhould happen unto him [«i die ira if not in this, yet after this, life.] *' f ^! The man, after he had paid his due adoration and thanks, hafted to the former bufy enquirers aiter the Author of his cure, and told them it was Jefus; doubtlefs thinking he mould ad- vance his honour and efteem with them thereby. But it hap- pened much otherwife, for inftead of this, they fought his death; for his own breaking, in doing this cure, and caufing the other man alio to break, the Sabbath. Our Lord then que- ftioned by them concerning it as he was often for the like, and made them great variety of anfwers and defences for it, by wh'ch they were ftill file need J at this time aniwers them as abfolute Lord of the Sabbath, that he was to do the works for which God his Father had fent him ( among which was reftoring the lame, giving fight to the blind &c. Mat. n. ?.) whether this were on Sabbath , or week daies, or whoever mould luffer fcanda thereat. Buthisanfwer now again was made by them worfe than his fault; collecting hence an higher accufation for destroying him, becaule ('faith Je. j. 18. the Text) he not only hath broken the Sababth, but fa id alfo that God was his Father, and made himfelf equal with God, ('which equality had the jews mifcollected from our Lords words, as the Arrians (ay they did, probably our Lord, or the Evangel iff, would have reflected on it. ) ?• ?4 ed to the Divine good pleafure and dtfpofal "j but the will of his Father. That he did nothing of hunielf but what he law his Father do, and that as he heard of him fo he judged : that all judgment alio was by the Father committed into his hands,- (fee the like Mat. n. 27. -Jo. 3. 3 r. ) and the power of doing whatever the Father doth. That every one, who heard his words and believed that God had lent him, mould not come into condemnation [.i.e. for his former (ins now remitted in him], but was pafTed from death to life [fpeaking of death and life lpiritual and eternal, and of their regeneration thereto by the Spirit, See 1J0. 3. 14.3 that they who marvelled now fo much at the prelent works he did, namely in curing of dif- eafes, &c. mould yet hereafter fee far greater from him ; name- ly, upon the hearing of his voice [ by the Archangel ] all that are iu their graves coming forth, and receiving from him their final doome i the good to the reiurrecliion of life, the evil to the refurre&ion o damnation [the like thingsof his hereafter coming in the clouds, &c. he told to them before his paffion AJat. 26.64. and to Nathanael Jo.i.j\. Angels waiting upon him, and going hither and thither as he lent them } that there- fore it was the Fathers pleafure, that all mould believe in, and do honour unto, the Son as they did to the Father ; whofe words and actions were the fame, and they law and heard God the Father in the Son. And concerning his being luch a perfon, and the words he fpake to them Truth, that they had an abundant teftimony ( though considering his perfon, his own was fumcie-nt Jo. 8. 14, 16.) Firll from his Father, ' both that which he gave them ~"77 from heaven concerning him at his Baptiim [ the like to which was done twice afterwards at our lords tranfiguration before three witn ffes Mat. 17. r. which is mentioned again by S. Pe- ter, 2 Tpif. 1. 16; 17. and at his folemn entrance into jerufalem before his pailion i Gcd the Father then from heaven fpeaking to 2. i $2 ' TheH'ifioryoftheLife §.246. to him, Jo. 12. 20, 23. perhaps for a teftimony alfo to the Greeks, orGentiles ffee Jo. 7. 3$-. ) who then firft, admitted by the A- poftles,* came toworfhip, and to make their humble addrefles, to him: which forefignifyed falvationto be fhortly after com- municated to them by his now approaching death. ] And a- again2ly. that teftimony which his Father gave to him in the Miracles which he wrought by him, which teftimony he fre- quently urgeth, SqqJo. 10.25-, 38. -if. 24. 2ly. A Teftimony from John the Baptift ( though having that of God he needed, not that of men ) which John was fent before him amongft them as a burning and Ihining light, till the time he was to be eclip- fed, andfilenced- and they, iome of them at leaft, were wil- ling for a feafon to rejoyce in his light. 3 ly. Teftimony alfo from the Scriptures, in which they thought were contained the way to eternal life, which Scriptures had they duly iearched they might have found them abundantly witueffing of him. Laftly, teftimony from their lawgiver Mofes,in whom they had fo much confidence: who alfo fpake clearly of him Jo. 1.45-. Deut.i%. 1 5-. 1 8. where, upon petitioning that they might not hear again the voice of God, nor fee that terrible fire &c , he tells them that God would raife them up a Prophet like unto him, and would put his own words into his mouth, &c. and to him they mould hearken ; whofe words would fufficiently accufe unto God his Father their infidelity, though our Lord Ihould hold his peace. But that notwithstanding fuchwitnels, and evidences they would not believe, becaule they had not the love of God in them ; nor ( as our Lord did ) fought the honour that only cometh from him, through whatever worldly diiefteem ; but was envious, ambitious, ( which mews he fpake chiefly to the Pharifees and their Difciples, fee Mat. 23. %.) an^ intended only the advancement of their own honour with men, [which they faw our Lords eclypfed ]. They fought to juftifie them- ielves before men, faith S. Luke, \6. ir. and they did their works fihat they might have glory of men, Mat. 6. 2. and they loved thepraife of men, faith S. John, more than the praife of God. Jo. 12. 42. and this ruined their faith, founded on humility and obedience, & fanila jtultitia ut (apieiis fiat i Cor 3. 18. that therefore, whilft now they thus reje&ed him (who coming in' great humility, ipake all things unto them in the name of God his Father, and no way magnifyed himfeif, nor fought, as they, his own Glory Jo. 7. 18. -8- ?o. ) by Gods juit judgment upon them, they mould hereafter be given up t© follow others, who came £. 247. of our Saviour Jefzts Chrifi- 183 came to them in their own name, many feducers and falfe Pro- phets, neither by true miracles , or other teftimony (hewing their Commiffion from God, as he did. Which things were eminently fulfilled, by this nation prone to follow thofe who pretended themlelves Prophets, not long after our Lords afcent into heaven; by many Heads of their factions provoking the Roman Armies, and the deflru&ion of the Nation following upon it. Our T ord^ Sermon being ended, occafioned by the Jews ac- §- 2-4.7. cufing him, firft for a bi each of the Sabbath, in his curing the Paralvtick; and then again of Blafphemy, in the defence he made for hinifelf; In which difcourfe of his, they ( and /aid only truth in it , J laid he made hi mfelf equal with God: A new Controveriy concerning the Sabbath happened again not long after, on this manner. On the firlt Sabbath fucceedingthe Pafchalfeaft [as S.Lukes word c/^7?po^73> is commonly underftood, in reckoning in the feven Sabbaths till Pentecoft, from the fecond day of the Pa- fchal-feaft ]. On this, or fome other fo called, Our Lord with hisdifciples, perhaps in his removal now towards Galilee, af- ter the teaft ended, ( or, as fome think, in his going from Mount Olivet through the vale to Jerufalem ; ) palled through fome corn-fields; probably in going to fome Synagogue, there to inftrucl: the people, as was his ordinary practice on the Sabbath; and as may be conjectured from the multitude of people that: followed him, and among them fome Pharifees, who quitted him not, watching moft narrowly all his waies , words, and actions, for materials of accufation againft him. Now fome fhorter journeys on the Sabbath were not difallowed , becaufe of repairing to the publick places of Gods fervice, when at fomediftance from mens habitations. In this field, the Difci- ples, or fome of them at leaft, being much an hungred, began, as they paffed, to pluck the eares of corn, and fo rubbing them in their hands, to eat it; a thing indulged by the law to any travellers, through their Neighbours corn. Dent. 23. 25-. and a thing commonly done, had it not bin on the Sabbath; and fo this labour done in it, Viz. of rubbing the eares in their hands. For it feems on other Feftival daies, befides the feventh. day of the week, ( which feftivals were alfo called Sabbaths See Lev. 23. 11, 15-. 24, 32. ) though in thefe alfo they v/ere prohi- bited the doing of any fervile work, yet the'' might then do any thing" relating to preparing their diet, lee Exod. 11. 16. But on 1 34 The Hifiory of the Life §-247. on the feventh day they were prohibited any work whatever. See Levit. 2 j. 7. comp. 3. even in order alfo to their daily food, as to making any fire for dreffing it, &c Exod. 3J.3. Though this again could not be fo ftrictly underftood, as that no mo- tion might be ufed on that day in order to our diet, as the car- rying or letting it on a Table , the cutting of it into pieces, or putting it in their mouths. And'the Difciples food here feems to be a provifion ready-drefled,there only remaining their pick- ing it out of the ear to put it in their Mouths. The Phanfees, ftreight obferving this their rubbing of the eares, inftead of any Compaffion toward the poor difciples, who endured much hardfhip, both as to diet and lodging, in this ambulatory life of the Lord they waited on, fell on quarrelling again at their breach herein of the Sabbath, and hereof made their complaint to our Lord. To whom he anfwered , but out of the Scriptures , feverai things, all intimating that thefezelots were too itridt and fcru- pulous in this matter. Hereprefented to them then, that Da- vid, in a kind of neceffity, was excufed in eating of the Propofi- tion Bread, and prohibited to any fave the Priefts : That the Priefts in the Temple on the Sabbath-daies, for the neceflary performance of their office, profaned the Sabbath, Viz. in the work of repairing the fire on the Altar, killing and preparing the Sacrifices, &c. and were blamelefshereini whence the Jewiih proverb, that -In Temp I '0 non ejt Sabbathum : which Temple if it excufed them, that there was here one greater than the Tem- ple, the attendance on whom, and the wanting of other necef- lary provifion, might excufe the Difciples in this fact. That himlelf was Lord and Author alfo of the Sabbath, fas alfo of the whole law ) and a Judg of the true obfervance or breach thereof j ( our Lord taking occafion every where to let them know who he was , that fo they mighc believe iu, and have fal- vation by, him ). And that the Sabbath being made for the benefit of man, the reft thereof was not extended to deprive him of any neceflaries. And befides thefe, he prefTed them again with that place in Hofee -I will have mercy and nor Sacri- fice. —Herein upbraiding their hypocritical pretences offacri- fice , religious ceremonies, and the worfhip of God, to difcoun- tenance works of mercy and charity j which on this day, as to others, fo much more may be performed to our felves ; and this in particular of repairing our bodies therein with neceflary fu- ftenance : that therefore if they had well known wha*t that fay- ing §,248. of our Saviour Jefus Chrift. 185 ing meant, they would not have condemned the guiltlefs. Thus our Lord, where his urging mifericordiam volo non facrificium, and Davids, and thePriefts tad: in a cafe of neceffity, argues his difciples , though tis probable in a morning ( as his own hungring was iV/. 1. and n. compared with chap. 12. 18. from the 14th day of the firft Month to the 3d day of the 3d Month being juft ra daies ) and at which very time alfo our Lord afterward lent his Holy Spirit upon his Apoftles, enabling them to keep the law formerly delivered] j and laftiy, when now alfo our Lord faw the multitudes that flowed to him from all Quarters, ftill greatly increafing, and more labourers necelTary for fo great an harveft : at this time I fay, and on fuch a neceffity, our Lord thought fit to make a Solemn Election, out of the number of his Difciples and followers, of 12 perfons, according to the num- ber of the 12 Tribes, to whom they were to be fent ; that they might affift him in his Miniftry, and whom after fome time of their inftructioa, he might difperfe abroad to preach the new Kingdom of the Gofpel concerning him in the feveral Cities of that Nation; and (for giving the more authority to their Doctrine ) to cure all difeafes and eject Devils ; but this not in theirs but in his Name, that fo all might believe in this their new Saviour and obey his Doctrine and Commands. On the Night therefore preceding this his Election, when M/tf in the Evening the people, with whom he fpent the day, were departed to take their reft, he retired into a Mountain fproba- bly not far diftant from Capernaum, for in the context Mark, chap. 3 . Lu^. 6. chap, we find our Lord, after his departing from their Synagogue, by the Lake, teaching the peop'eout o! a (hip, becauie they thronged him immediatly before thisj And there is an high hill a few miles diftant from Capernaum , weft ward, towards Bethfaida , delcribed in Eugene Rogiers TerreSanUe A a a Lib, 188 The Hi/lory of the Life §.251. Lib. 1. chap. 10. that is called to this day Mons Beatitudinum: On the top of which was anciently built a Church, the ruines whereof ltill remain. We' find alfo in Mar\. 1.3;. mention of a Defert not far from Capernaum, into which our Lord re- tired for prayer ; and fo from thence went into Galilee: and againZ-2z^.9. 10. Such a defert, near toBethfaida, whither he retired with his Difciples returned from their preaching, and where alfo he fed the five thoufand, with five loaves and two fifties j and alfo where he is (aid to have bin alone praying, LuJ^. 9.18. which feems to be the defert wherein was this Mountain. And Rogier in his Terre Santle L.i.c.io. faith the Oriental Chri- itians conceive the fame Defert, to have bin the place of our Lords miracle of the five loaves, viz. fome where between Beth- faida and Tiberias. And indeed many texts feem to confirm it, not eafily explained otherwife. ForLa^.9. 10. It isfaid to be a Defert near Bethfaida. -John. 6. 23. Tiberias to have bin near to the place j and Boats to come from thence that carried away the people, perceiving our Lord gone thence, to Caper- naum. 'Mat. 14. 13. The people faid to have followed him from the cities on foot, i.e. by fetching a compafs whither he was departed by fhip -Jo. 6. 14. Our Lords return to have bin firft to Capernaum, and after paffingto Genezareth Mat. 14-34. which is called a transfretation, becaufe made over a great Bay of the Lake, though not croffing it. As for the 30 furlongs, mentioned Jo. d.19. thefe may be underftood of their rowing to and fro againft a contrary wind. The latter feeding alfo of the four thoufand, Mat. ij-. 21. feems to have bin in the fame defert : the place being faid to be near the Sea of Ga- lilee, at his return from the Coafts of Tyre and Sidon j he, not taking fhip firft, but going thereinto a Mountain Mat. \j. 29. And in the fame mountain feems to have bin our Lords Trans- figuration, if we well compare the Context, and our Lords mo- tions before and after it. His being in the Town of Cefarefl. Philippi, or Decapolis (lying North of the inferior Galilee, fee Mar\. 7. 20. -7. 3 1. -Mat. 4. 2 r. ) a little before, and return- ing to Capernaum after it. (See Mark. 8. 22,27.-9.2,30,. -Mat. 17. 22, 24. ) and the multitudes and Scribes there follow- ing and attending on him, as ufually, about Capernaum, Mar\. 9. 14. well confidering thefe, I fay, Our Lords Transfiguration feems to have bin alio in this Mountain. And this from our Lords fo much frequenting it, as well as from his glory mani- fted there, to have bin called by S. Peter the Holy Mount : which hill §.252. of our Saviour Jefut ChriH. 189 hill alio (landing in the midft the chief habitation of his Gali- lean Difciples and Converts, feems alfo to be the appointed place of his apparition to them after- his Refurrection. In this Mountain, faith the Evangelift, before the Election §. 25-2. ofhis twelve Apoftles, our Lord continued all night in prayer, leaving herein to us an example of our like preparation by much prayer, before actions of any great conlequence. The matter ot his prayer, not expreffed, may partly be gathered from that moft paffionate one he made for theie Apoltles alfo a little before his paflion, for the confervation of them after his departure, fet down John. 17. and from that at the fame time made for the Head of them S. Peter, that his faith might not fail. Recommending thefe much to his Fatherly Bene- diction, who were to be the twelve Foundations, whereon his new Church was to be built for perpetuity, maugre all the Gates of Hell, Eph. 2. 20. -Mat. 16. 18. who were to be the fait, for feafoning and preferving eternally from corruption the pu- trifyed world, ever fince Adams fall, and the Tapers to en- lighten it, fitting hitherto in the darknefsof Heathenifm, and vain and uncertain Philofophy ; who were to fufFer all the world over fuch hardfhips and perfections, and at laft moft cruel death, for his Name ; and who were to have their twelve Names written on the twelve Foundations of the Golden Celeftial Je- rufalem, Jpoc. 21. Namely, praying that thefe might be lur- nifhed and fortifyed with all Graces worthy fo high a Profeffion : but alfo herewith a moft admirable refignation of our Lord to ^ his Fathers good pleafure, in the election of Judas lfcariot, and in the entrufting him afterward with the common purfe ofhis maintenance, and chanties; which Judas, however at the time ofhis Election he might feem in a capacity fcr fuch office, preferrable before others; yet our Lord, then well fore- knew his future ill correfpondence with it, and it feems from our Lords words , Jo. _*??* bethefirft and chief leader and Prefident of this Sacred Col- ledg. Foretelling at the very firft light of him Jo. 1 . 42. ( as fore- knowing his Fathers good pleafure herein, and the particular Revelation he would honour him with, Mat. 16.17. as alfo fore- feeing his extraordinary Love towards himfelf, though not he, but his Brother Andrew, was his firft follower, and James and John were his Kinfmen ) foretelling I fay this his pre-election j and then changing his name ( which alfo he now reiterates Lul^. 6. 14. ) into Cephas, a Stone or Foundation, the meaning of which he expounds, Mat. id. 18. to him alfo in a more par- ticular manner, Ibid. v.19. committing the keyesof the Church, and more fpecially praying Lu\. 22. 32. for the not failing of his faith. The two next Dilciples, that were moft intimate with him, were James and John, the Sons of Zebedee, whom he fur-named Boanerges, fons of Thunder or Thunderers, pro- bably from an extraordinary Valour appearing in their Spirit, ftriking terrour into their Auditors. Which mettal and forth- putting beyond others perhaps was difcerned by their Mother, when that confident requeft was prefented by her, or alfo by them, to our Lord, concerning their fitting next to himfelf in his Kingdom jsand whenalfo asked whether for fliaring with him in his honours they were able firft to undergo his fufferings, they returned that confident anfwer, we are able. And indeed one of them was he that firft drank of our Lords cup,and i ufJered Martyrdom the firft of all the Apofties, which feems to have happened from his great forwardnefs, and fervid zeal in his Sermons, againft the murtherers of our Lord. Something alfo of S.John's (butjuft) feverity towards Hereticks and Seducers, and refractory, feems to appear in his 2 Epijt.v. 9.10. -and 3d. v. 10. -and inour Lords Epiltles, penned by him, jlpoc. 2. and 3. chapters. And his confident behaviour in the High Priefts Pallace, preffing in there after our Lord, and introducing Pete^ then more timorous, (hews him a perfon of much fpirit and cou- rage. Laftly, that fpeech of thefe two brothers Lul^ 9. 5-4. where faith he, —When James and John faro this ', they /aid, Lordveilt thotA that rve command fire to come down from heaven, and confume tbem.as Elias did: and in the fame place,z>. 49 .Johns halty forbid- ding one, that caft out Devils in our Lords name, to forbear it 192 The. Hi/lory of the Life §.256. for the future, fhewsfuch appellation of Boanerges not given by our Lords omniprefcience without iuft ground. And indeed an extraordinary valour and height of fpirit appears in all thefc three Difciples, chofen for a nearer attendance on our Savi- our, which valour alfo S.Peter, the third of them , manifefted on many occafions. To thele three our Lord gave honorary Names, to none of the reft. §. 2r£. The order wherein they are ranked by the feveral Evange- lifts, is much what the lame, Simon Peter alwaies retaining the firft place, and our Lords three Kinfmen being put laft , except Judas Ifcariot. And among them, there being two hav- ing the name of James and of Simon, and of Judas, for diftin- ctionfake, the latter James is called Jacobus Alphei ( as isfup- pofed brother to S. Joieph ) viz. his Son j and Mar\. ir. 40. cal- led James the lefs, fontoMary ( i. e. Alpheus, or Cleophas his wife, Jo. 19. 25- • ) who is faid therefore to be our Lords Mothers fitter. So the latter Simon is called the Cananite, orCana- nean, or of Cana, it feems from his living there formerly, which Hebrew word, fignifying zeal in the Greek, he was alfo called Zelotes. See Mat. 10. 4. and Lu\. .7.i.the obfervance ofthefe Counfels being an effecl: of lowlinefs of heart. And as the reward in the other Beatitudes is laid to be the Kingdom of heaven, fo of this the inheritance of the earth, alluding to Pfalm. 3 6. 1 1. —Manfueti hareditabunt terram ; perhaps, partly * becaufe the good things thereof are feldom gotten, or at lealt not long preferved, or quietly pofTefTed, by turbulent, conten- tious and litigious fpiiits. But the ultimate and eternal inhe- ritance of thefe meek fouls, is the new Heaven and Earth ipo- £t ken of jipoc. 21. 1, 2. to which this promife relates. 4.1y. Con- rifted in hungring and thirfting after, and purfuing with our whole defign, the Kingdom of God , righteoufnefsand Holi- nefs. LefTons and advices tending to the which happinefs are thofe following chap. 6. 19.&C. and from verf. 24. to the end of the Chapter, and chap. 7. 1 1. But yet by the woe in S. Luke, that is oppofed to this BlefTed here, --Woe untoyeu that are full, for ye Jhall hunger and thirft ; this beatitude ( like the former ) feems to include alio a great temperance and abftinence, and the not fatiating themfelves with, or having any thirft after, fecular pleafures and contents j Thefe two hungers, after earth- ly, and after heavenly things, not confifting well together. For which fee what our Lord faith Mat. 6. 24, 53 • Now to this pre- fent hunger and thirft, the felicity promiied hereafter is a full fatiety of all good things. §• zf%. From thefe our Lord paffeth to the Beatitudes attainable here in our behaviour toward our Neighbours, and placeth the fifth Beatitude in (hewing allmercifulnels, charity, and compaffion toward them, in all their ueceflities ; further ex- plained in his LefTons following in chap, f. 44.-6. 12, 14. -7- *, 12. viz. in performing fuch mercy to them, as we in our needs would §.259,260, of our Saviour Jefus Chrift. 195 would defire from them, freely forgiving ( without wrath and expoitulating which is a degree of revenge all their faults and trefpaffes toward us. Nay even loving them when they hate us,- bleffing when theycurfeus; doing good to them when they evil to us. The reward of which our mercy to others is promifed hereafter Gods like mercy to us, in pardoning all our trefpafTes againft him, that excludes us from his friendfhip and from Glory. The fixth Beatitude conflfteth in cleannefs and purity, not §.25-9. only of our actions, abftaining from any wicked deeds againft our Neighbour, but alfo in heart (oppofed to the Pharifees munditia carnis ) abftaining from Luft, and concupifcence, and irregular paffions there towards him, explained in thefe fol- lowing Leflbns in his Sermon, cbap.f.iy, ( obfervingthe little commandments ) again verf. 22, 28, 29. -chap. 6.22. -7. 1,2, 21. Keeping not only our hands from killing, but hearts from any paffion of anger againft our neighbour; notonlyfrom com- mitting adultery or fornication with, but lufting after, a wo- man j not only from accufing our neighbour falily, but mak- ing any finifter judgment in our hearts of him; wherefore think ye evil in your hearts, laid our Lord to the Pharifees, Mat, 9. 5,4. when they faid none of him ? And out of the heart proceed the things which defile us, Mat. iy.18, 19. For out of the heart ( faith he ) proceed fbecaufe in the heart they are tranfadted ) murthers, adulteries, fornications , thefts , falfe- witneis, blafphemies ; and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth fpeaketh ; and how can ye being evil fpeak good things Mat. 12. 34. and there begining every evil and good work. And therefore it is on this part that God chiefly cafts his eye, 1 Sam. 16. 7. and there fees the breaches of both tables, and the beauty or deformity of the foul. And the happinefs . promifed hereafter to fuch purity of heart is their eternal fee- ing and beholding of God, according to 4poc. 22. 4. ( for with- out fuch purity none may fee him Heb. 12. 14. -Jpoc. 21.27. ) And an extraordinary fruition, and fenfe of his Divine prefence in fuch pure hearts alfo, here in this prefent life Jo. 14. 23 . The feventh is placed in the zeal on all occalions of making e 2^0; and preferving peace amongft all: firft negociating the peace of all men with God, which was the Apoftles employment 2 Cor. ?• 10. to reconcile men to God, and especially our own peace with him; keeping all quiet, and in due fubordination within ourfelves, in the obedience of the flelh and inferiour appetites Bb 2 to xy6 The Hifiory of the Life §.261,262. to the Spirit. 2ly. Again procuring by all means the peace of men among themfelves ; where either they have given us, or we them, any offence, endeavouring a ipeedy reconcilement ; con- tributing here even fo far as not to refift the evil received from them j patiently to put-up quarrels, and endure affronts, fuffer wrong from, rather than go to law with, them 1 Cor. 6. 7. Tak-. ing all things laid or done in good part, and the beft fenfe. See 1 Cor. 7. if. -JRom. 12. 18. the likelyeft waies furely to gain every ones peace with us; and laftly making them alio friends, as much as we can, one with another, as Chriftcame down from heaven, andfhedhis blood, to make us friends with God. Col. 1.20. See this peace-making explained in his lefTons following Mat. r.24,2f,39.&c. And the happinels promifed tofuch peace- makers is : that they mall be fpecially called the children of God, ( repeated Mat. f.^f. and lee Eph.%. 32. and r. 1 .J of God, who is the great peace-lover and-maker reconciling, though by the death of his only Son, the world to himfelf Col. 1. 20. ani doing good continually even to theunjuftand unthankful Mat. 5\4r. and that as his children they fhall be made Heirs of all things, Jpac. 21. 7. §.161. Laftly, The eight Beatitude is placed after allfuch peace- keeping with, and making between, others in fuffering (through the envy and malice of the world toward all good people) ma- ny perfecutions and hardfhips, Defamations and reproaches for Gods and for righteoufnefs fake. To which perfecuted and fufferers the happinefs promifed hereafter is an exceeding great and Prophet-like Reward beyond others in the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. r. 12. §>z62. Thefe are our Lords BlefTed ones, viz. thofe living here for theprefentin many fecular fufferings, mortifications and re- ftraints. For mch are : poverty ; and * mourning ; and 3 the not thirfting or longing after any earthly contents or fatisfactions, but after righteoufnefs ; 4 Humility and meeknefs and pardon- ing all offences ; 5 Charity and dtftributing what wecanfpare to others neceffities j 6 putting up wrongs, and keeping peace with, and alfo making peace amongft, all men to the uttcrmoft; 7Not as much as indulging our felves the liberty of thinking any evil,, or harbouring any unlawful lull or dilpleafure in our heart againft our Neighbour j And laftly, 8 in andforour doingweli fuffering evil. Not that happinefs lies in thefe things ; for no fuf- fering for the prefent is joyous but grievous Heb. 12. 11. but that for thefe it is promifed us hereafter -, our then receiving mercy, and §.26%, 2 6^, of our S aviour Jefus Cbrift . 197 and being fatiated and filled, our poffeffing the Kingdom of Heaven, inheriting the new Earth Apoc.21. 1,2. Our feeing God, and being made his Tons and heirs of all things Apoc. 21. 7. and efpecially the perfecuted and fufferers here receiving an ex- ceeding great reward there beyond all others. After the eight Beatitudes, on the other fide ( in S.Luke chap. §. 263. tf.22.jOur Lord pronounceth four woes: J To the rich here; 2 To the full i 3 To the merry and rejoycing, + To the by-all-well- fpoken of, honoured, and applauded, Viz. to fuch as would place their happinefs, and feek their content, and take out their good things here on earth. Woe unto you, faith he, becaufe ye have already received your Confolation, and becaufe hereafter fhall follow to you poverty, and hunger, and thirft, and eternal mourning, and ignominy: as we know was faidand happened to the rich man Lu^i6} 24, 27. Such therefore being the true woes, and the other the true §. 264. Beatitudes, of this prelentlife, our Lord continued his fpeech to them, that all mould endeavour to be rich in heavenly trea- fures, there alwaies preserved and laid up iafely for them i not labouring for earthly fo foon confumed or eaflly taken from them. And that where every ones treafureis, there will alfo his heart and affections be. And therefore thefe their affections notfet on heaven ( where they ought alwaies to have bin ) if their treafures be on earth: and that according as thefe affe- ctions are rightly or otherwife difpofed, fo will all their affairs go well or inifcarry, as the eye-fight bad the whole Body walkes indarknefs. That there is no iervin^ two Contrary Matters^ but that in fatisfying one they muft difpleafe the other. There- fore that they mould lay afide all careful thought for the things of this world i for their life, what they mould eat or drink to f uftain it : or for their Body, with what they mould cloth it : for that all their care was not able to add one cubit to their ftature, nor ( as elfe-where he faith ) to make one hair white or black : and if they were not able to do that which was leaft, why mould they take thought for the greater ( Lu^. 12. 2.6. ) which is ftill lefs in their power. That the life it felf was much more Mat, go* with them twain. So any taking away by violence their goods, not require them again of him ;at lealt when they can any way fpare them, rather than break friendihip, or make a quarrel tor any of thefe things, or go to law. That alfo they fhould freely lend to every one, not only friends, or kindred, that would borrow, tho Deut2 j he not able to repay it ; andgiveto him that asked ( fuppofed 6U' *" neceffitousj though he never able to repay it. •~6^' All thefe LefTons, I fay, our Lord propoled, though not as (in all cafes) a Chriftiansduty, yet as a Chnftians greater perfecti- on; and this way far more beneficial to us than pra&ifing the Contrary, though ihe Contrary may be done withoutany guilt : whilft thus we preferve a firm peace and tranquillity in our mind by a little fuffering, when refiftance and contention hard- ly can be without fome degree of hatred toward our brother, and defire of revenge. Again, thus many times we gain over our brother, Mat. 18. 15-. and convert him to us,- and receive voluntarily from him, by fuch our condefcention, that amends, which. we could not by contending ; atleaft we are recom peri- fed abundantly by God for what we have, with fuch an holy intention, fuffered from them ; Laftly all thefe are Heroical practifes of Humility, and do fiiew a true contempt of thefe temporal things ( not thought worthy our ftrife ), and a defire '" " rij pt in Conformity to our Lord,- aud therefore fuch §.270. of our Saviour Jefus Cbrift. 203 fuch things, by a right eye, are looked upon as favours to be embraced, when ever offered. In the fame matter alfo our Lord prefTeth further, that they c ,-0; mould not only patiently, and without any revindication fuf- " fer evil from men; but alfo inwardly love thofe who did it to them, and again .out of this Love, do all good to thofe from whom they received fuch evil. That indeed it had bin laid among them formerly, that they fliould love their Neighbour, and hate their enemy : ( See Lu\. 10. 29, the Lawyer harping upon it, who, to juftify himfelf in this point, asked, who was his Neighbeur, and our Lord, to inftruct him herein, initanced in one profeffed enemy fhewmg mercy on another, a Samari- tan on a Jew. ) And perhaps the Pharifees and people were induced to fuch a perfwafion from Gods commanding them to cut off the Nations, who were by him fentenced to fuch a deftruction ; that the feverity thereof might be a warning to themfelves if in like manner offending. But herein the Iirae- lites indeed were only Executioners of Divine juftice and ex- prefs Commands; and without doubt ought to have done, this thing with all pitty, and without any hate toward the fe mife- rables, or any men whatever, or any other of Gods creatures ; who are all to be loved for his fake. And the law plainly taught, and the Saints under it praclifed, the contrary to this. Pharifaical corruption : See Exod. 23.4. -Job. 31. 29. -P/al 7.4* -3;-. 14. -Prov. 24. 17.-2$". 21. quoted by S.Paul jR0m.12.-I/tbine enemy hunger , give him bread, doubtlefs in the firft place to gain our enemy to us, as Mat. 1%. iy. though if not gamed the lflue would be heaping more wrath upon him : but this contrary to our intention. Our Lord therefore informs them, that their enemies alfo, without any diilinclion, were to be reckoned amongft their Neighbours, and fo they were alfo to love them as themfelves; do good to thofe that hated them; blefs thofe that curled ('which thing was punctually pra&ifed afterwards by thele his difciples. —Beingreviiedwe ble/s, being defamed roe intreat, being perfecuted wejujfer it, and re/ijl not, i Cor. 4. 12, 13.J and that they fliould pray for thofe that defpitefully nfe and perfecute them ( as our Lord did on the Crofs, and St. Ste- phen in his iapidation ). For that if they loved only the lovers of them; did good, gave, orient inony to thofe returning to them again the like favours ; what extraordinary thanks or re- ward could they expecl: from God, for this, ulual amongft the worft of men, Publicans and Heathens ? but for doing this to C c 2 others 204 The Hi/lory of the Life §.271,272. others ( where nature fo much relucts) their reward fhould be great, and they truely the children of the mofthigh, and much refembling him herein ; who every day makes his Sun to rife upon, and his raine to defcend for, the unjuft, and his enemies j and is kind unto the unthankful and evil; and is the great re- conciler of,and peace-makes in, the world: and of peace-makers he faid before that they (hall fpecially be called his children. $• 27r- Laftly, for thefe matters he gave them this general rule, that all things, not that others fhould do, but that they would that others mould do to them, that they fhould do toothers. For this was the fumm of what the laws enjoy ned as to our Neigh- bour. Further, to enforce this, he alfo afTured them, that tho they were not to do to others what others in any kind of evil did to them; Yet that whatever they did to others, the fame mould be done again to them : and as they meted in their be- haviour and carriage to others in good or evil, in forgiving and giving to them, or in fmiting, or robbing them, it mould be meafured to them again ( Gods juftice taking great care of it, as he did before, being complained-to of the mans paying the laft farthing ) an exact meafure, full, preffed down, and fhaken together, and running over : and this done to them by others, Gods inftruments therein, though they fawnocaufe to expect or fear it from the fameperfons, to whom themfelveshad for- merly done good, or harm: that therefore on this account, they fhould alfo forbear judging , cenfuring , or condemning others, that themfelves might not be fo. And that they fhould rather endeavour to fee the greater faults in themfelves, than blame the fmaller of their Neighbours ; and to caft the beam out of their own eye, before they pick the motes out of other mens; that otherwife in their attempting to rectify, lead and guide others, whilft themfelves alfo are blinded, the end thereof will only be their falling both into the pit. §. 272. Our Lord, having thus expounded the. true extent of feveral precepts, efpecially if they would obferve them in fuch a de- gree, as might attain Chriftian perfection (which precepts were formerly much mif-underftood ) proceeds further to inftruct them in themannerof their performance in general of their good works, and of thofe three great Chriftian Duties ■, the firft relating to God, the fecond to our Neighbour, the third to ourfelves; Prayer, Almes, and Fatting, or mortification and fubduingof the flefli to the Spirit: oftheir performing thefe fo, as that they might be acceptable to , and rewardable with, God §.2~3t274» of our Saviour Jefa Christ. . 20$ God ( whilft the Pharifees in,all the(e , doing them with a wrong intention, loft but their labour and charge). [ Reward- able lfay, For as in Almes and charities to our neighbour God hath engaged to pay to us again, and that prefled down, what ever good we do to others ; So in Prayer he looks upon us as much honouring him thereby ; and in failing, as fuffering fomething for his fake, in order to better ferving him by fub- duingof theflefhi and fo alfo for thefe in his great bounty pro- vides a reward. But in all thefe our Lord law the vain-glori- ous Pharifees to loofe their recompence with God, by doing them to be feen of men ,- . s by their founding a Trumpet for gathering together the poor, when they had almes to bellow fas is faid alio to be done indiftributing the poors Tithes); and as their Handing in the market-place, to perform their De- votions, fuppofed to be made there, for Gods rewarding their Benefactors, and for averting his judgments from the people, &c. By this device gaining much chanties from filly women; and by their hanging down their heads, and looking pittifully, when they faft upon like occafions. But our Lord told his, that thefe duties, to be recompenced by God, were to befocleanfed from all applaufe from men, as that in the diftributing of their Almes, if it were poffible, the left hand mould not know what the right was doing: and that in failing, they mould rather difguife it by warning their face and anointing their Head : and in their prayer, that they mould betake themfeives to their Clofet, and fhut the door after them : for that thus the more they endeavoured to h ide their work, the more would God , that feeth all fecret things, manifeft it in a publick rewarding thereof. ■ That alfo in their prayers, they mould not ufe many vain $. 27*. repetitions, like the heathen, out of any diffidence in God ; as if he knew, or underflood not their wants before they asked him; orwasaverfe, or carelefs in relieving them before with many words perfwaded thereto. For that if they, fo evil na- tured, rejected not the prayers of their children, but give all things neceiTary or good for them, how much more would the infinite goodneisand kindnefsof their Heavenly Father do the fame > Thus our Lord endeavours to arm them with much faith and confidence in their devotions: knowing how necefTary this is to the good fuqcefs of their prayers, and to fortify them a- gainil all diftruft, either of his divine omnifcience, or paternal • companion. $. 274. 2o o The Hiftory of the Life §-27!v companion, [ But here we muft not forget, that the fame our Lord elfewhere much recommends affiduity and importunity in prayer, as ni ceflary to excite thole holy affections in us which may render us more capable of his Favours. Upon this ac- pift.izi. c@Unt} St.Auftine, in his Epiftle to the religious Lady Proba5 giving her directions concerning her prayer, exhorteth her ef- pecially to the fpending of much time therein, inftancing for it in the importunate widdow, and neighbour Lu\. 18. com- mended by our Lord. -For that ( i&'\X.\\\\e. ) there a nobler effett will follow , where a more fervent affeUion goes before; And, -That fuch i??iportunity and -per fever ante is ncceffary ; that our defre, faith, hope, may not injome manner grow cold. For nei- ther ( faith hej is praying long time, as fome imagine, to pray with much fpeaking. Much difcourfe is one thing, a continued affection another. For it is written of our Lord himfelf, that he continued all night in prayer ; and that he prayed longer, or more vehemently : where what did he but give us an exam- Luk. 6.12. p]Cj £rC Thus he commending to us not many words, but much affection : praying long, and faying little.] For their praier alfo he prefcribed them that form, full of Spirit, but {paring in words, Our Father Z3c. where in the firft place, we give and offer up all Glory to this celeflial Father* de- filing that every where , and in all things his name may be Sanctified, his Kingdom come, and his will be done. Then we petition for our felves, viz. for the fupply of our daily necefTaries ; tor the pardon and re million of our former fins and offences a- gainftGod (but for the obtaining of this, engaging alfo the remiilion of other menstrefpaffes againft us ; without which, he tells us no pardon was to be expected of any from Gcfd, he fn> deed remitting us pounds, for our remitting pcucej; then, for the future, his delivering us from any temptations, that may hereafter induce us to offend him ; and from any evil, punifli- ment, or milery deferved by our former having offended him. Only for one of thefe Petitions, the obtaining pardon of our offences againll him , he layes one burden upon us , namely our engaging the remiilion of other mens trefpalTes againft us, and that fo full as we defire his towards us: with- out doing which he tells us no pardon is to be expected from Him. §. 27 f. This of the contents of our Lords Sermon, asitfeems, rclat- ing more generally to all. Another part of his fpeech he ap- plyed more particularly to his Dtfciples : telling them that they were &. 2 7 6. 0/ ou r Saviour Jefus thrift, 207 were the Salt of the earth, which he had provided for feafoning the iufipidnefs and unfavorinefs thereot towards God, and for preferving it eternally from corruption : and that thev were the Jightorthe world, for iiluitrating its darknefs : And laftly, a City or Society, in which all the world were to be jovned and collected, and to become Subjects and members thereof, and one Body or Corporation, one Faith, one Spirit &c, being there- in^/;. 4. 4. that therefore they were to provide, that this Salt mould not become unfavory or infipid : for then, wherewith could that, which is to feafon all others, be feafoned it felf j And that this light fliould not be put under a bufhel ; nor this their City hid as it were in a vale, or fuch which fliould not be eminently difcoveredj for then, how could the world know where to ;oyn themfelves to the communion thereof. Laftly, thatalfo their light and their doctrine were to be accompanied with their good works ; that people might fee the one as well as tjje other ; ( though fuch good works not done tobefeen of men; nor that themfelves, but their heavenly Fa- ther, working fuch Sanctification in them, might be glorified thereby 2 Cor. 8. 21. -Rom. 12. 17- ) Their example, and practif- ing of their doctrine, being much the more difficult, and this much more effectually converting others, than teaching doth 1 Pet. 2. 12. -3. 16. And that at the Iaft dav, many of them fliould' come unto him, faying, Lord, Lord, and telling what great matters their preaching and prophecyinginhisname had effected ; yet fliould thev be rejected on this account, that their works were evil. And that every tree thus bringing forth ill fruit, fhouldfurely be cut down and caft into the fire. He told them likewife, ( and herein alfo gave a precaution to $• 2?6' the people ) that there fliould arife among them many falfe Pro- phets and Teachers ; who mould come in fneep's clothing, and counterfeit much Sanctity, and ufe much fair language, &c. lC u but yet within were very wolves; and that there was one fure 13. teftby which they might know them, Viz. by the fruits they bare; for that as the tree was bad or good, fo would the fruit certainly be. [ Which rule our Lord feems to have given them upon a dou- ble account : Both becaufe truth and goodnefs, or Holinefs pro- ceed from the fame Holy Spirit within us, the fountain of bothj and are eternally linked together: and fo errour and vice. So that ( all things truely weighed/1 no true doctrine can evei end to an evil life, nor errour to a good : and Holinefs, alwaies 2o8 TheHiftory of the Life §. 276. alwaies fuffers, not gains, J?y a lye. Therefore alfo are truth and iniquity frequently oppo fed -1 Cor. 13. 6. -Rom. 2. 8. -1. 18. So that no mans wickednefs can be the effect or confequent of any truth he holds : though who holds the truth may ftill be wicked, from another principle in him. That therefore thus true and falfe teachers may be known by the fruit of their do- ctrines 111 their Auditors ; if thefe tend to the infufiug into them higher degrees of all kinds of piety and charity ; Or, on the contrary do intufe any leeds of impiety, injuftice, uncharita- blenels, fenfual liberty, uncleannels, or fedition , and difobe- dience to Dignities and Superiors. This as to the fruit of their doctrines. But fecondlv, becaufe as to their perfons, the root in iuch falfe teachers alwaies is evil; i.e. their affections and intentions are perverted, which perverfe affections at laft ma- nifeft themfelves in their lives arid practices ; thefe either for iecular ends, teaching doctrines not believed, and known by them to be falfe, purpofely to deceive, which ends and hypo- crify will certainly difcover themfelves in their works ; or tho the dodf rines taught are alfo believed by them, yet there are lome vicious inclinations refpecting fecular intereits, which do induce fuch a beleif ( efpecially where they depart from the Traditions of the Church, and former Superiours ) : and fuch fecular intercftswill appear in their works, and manners; and the heart, bad in one thing, will be fo in another. Therefore the Apoftles do defcribe frequently fuch falfe teachers, as viti- ousin their lives, and (educing with their fair fpeeches fwhen ' jn their fheeps clothing) SeeJ{om. 16. 17, \%.-Phil. 3.19. -2 Cor. 1 1. 3, 1 3. -1 Tim. 4. 2. -Tit. 3. 11. -a Pet. 2. 3, 10. &c. in which texts they are reprefented as —Sibi placetites, gloria Jitientes , ajjentatores, invidi, maledici S3 obtreilatores^ ventri dediti , Juis teniporalibus commodis & avaritice Jervientes [ G? /hum negocium agentes [ fome way or other 3 ) non veritati : noting them ipecially, as covetous, fenfual, f peaking ill of Dignities. But here note, that by falfe Prophets are chiefly meant thofe who know their doctrines to be falfe; and intend to deceive and teach in Hypocrify, and live in difobedience to a Superiour Church-authority. Otherwife fomegood man may teach an errour; and fome bad, truth. But as thefe have or want the Grace of God in their heart, and have their will and affections fincereor corrupt, fo will their fruit moftly be good, or bad; and among other things their teachings and inftructions will have a relifh thereof. After §.276. of our S avior Jefus Chrifl. 2 0 < After this our Lord concluded his whole Sermon thus; that the Foundation of Happinefs was their good works : and their not-hearing, or teaching, but doing, what he taught : which was laying the Foundation upon a fure rock, fo that no ftorms mould /hake the building raifed upon it. But that the Hearer of his words,and not practicer,was like a fool building his houfe on fand. Upon which a time would be, when the raines fhould come, and the winds blow, and the floods arife, and the ftorms beat vehemently upon it; and the fall thereof mould be very- great and terrible. And thus ends our Lords great and famous Predication intheMount, to his Apoftles, and to all the Peo- ple-, who, faith the Evangelift, were much aftoniftied as at his doctrine, fo at the manner of his delivery thereof ; For he fpake to them all thefe things with a kind of Majeftical Authority, and not as the Scribes. D d AN ( 211 ) An Hiftorical Narration OF THE LIFE OF OUR LORD JESUS PART. II. Beginning after the prayer recorded Joh. 1 7. REAT was the prefent malice of the Devil, in this . r< hour of trouble approaching , againft the reft of his - — - poorDifciples, togainpofTeffion of them alfo,ashehad already of Judas, Jo. 13.27. and Satan had defired, Lz^. 22.31, 32. &c. concerning them, as he did concerning Job; That God ( who keeps a continual reftraint upon this hater of man- kind, not only for his hurting us after fin, but alfo for his tempt- ing usuntoit) wouldbut now let him have the fifting of them a little, after all the great works they had feen done by this their Matter, and all the gracious words they had heard from him, to try their fidelity to him. Our Lord therefore, fore- feeing the great temptation, that at this time they alfo (by his Fathers permiflion to thefe Powers of Darknefs ) were to un- dergo, and how greivoufly they might otherwife mifcarry in it, interceded to his Father for them ; and in efpecial manner for Peter, their cheif, and Leader ( whofe forwardnefs, he faw would expofe him to fo much more tryal, and danger that his faith, however ihaken in this dorm, yet might not utterly fail ; and that, in his deficiency to confefshim, he might not alfo ceafe to believe in him; and that, fpeedily recovering of his laple, he might alfo be an inftrumcnt of confirming the reft. Whilft our dear Lord continued thus, partly comforting his §. 2. fad Difciples, and partly recommending them unto his Fa- ther, and petitioning him for their perfeverance in the faith of Dd 2 him 212 ; The Hijiory of the Life of §.3. him in this great time of tryal ; Meanwhile Judas v/as depart- ed, before, out of this holy Society, either, upon the violent in- ftigation of Satan, that he fhould not omit the prefent fair op- portunity to perform his Treafon,- or alio perhaps, becaufe he was difgufted that our Lord mould difcover before the com- pany ( though this done out of great compaffion to him, if he would yet perhaps repent of it) his purpofe of adting that, which yet he had already proceeded in fo far, as to have agreed with the Jews on the very price of his Matters liberty, if not life ; or alfo becaufe, after his filly fancy, that he had carried his matter fo fecretly, as that our Lord knew nothing thereof, he now perceived by our Lords open difcourfe of this treafon j and alfo his direcl: anfwer to his impudent queftion ,• Mafler is it I? ( whereby he expected to have bin cleared together with the reft ) that his plot was already known ; and, without much haft, would have bin prevented ; and fo both the reward thereof, and his credit be loft. Judas, I fay, thus having left the com- pany, was gone in all haft to the cheif Preifts, and Pharifees, to give them notice of this opportunity,- both of the time ; in the fetting of the Evening, and covert of the N^ght; and place, whither he prefumed, according to his cuftome , our Lord would refort (a private Garden remote from the City ) his At- tendantsvery few; onely Eleven perfons ; the folemn Feftival of the next night not affording the fame conveniency of a nu- merous company to apprehend him i and, if this deferred till after the Feaft, that he would fuddainly retire again out of the way, as he had done twice formerly. *' ?' The High Preift, and the Councel in. their AfTembly called together (Jo. 11.47. ) upon our Lord's raifingof Lazarus from the dead not long before this, and fuch a multitude of people converted to him by it, had formerly concluded upon appre- hending and putting him to death: left the Romans mould make a quarrel upon^it, and queftion the whole Nation for a confpiracy agaiuft the Empire, and fetting up a King of their own : and had given a ftrict charge, Jo. n. r/. That, if any man knew where he was, he fhould fliew it, that they might take him. Which made our Lord alfo to forbear appearing in pub- lick, and to abfent him felf from the City Jo. n. 5-4. till hisen- tring in triumph thither upon Palme Sunday, when was the time preappointed for offering up himfelf for the fins of the world. But now, after his publick appearance again in fuch a manner, and fuch new acclamations given to him, they were by §.4j5* our Saviour Jefus Chrifi. Parc.n. 213 by this ftill more enraged and confirmed in their purpofe. And it feems from Mat. 26. 3. compared with verf. ?7. and from Lu^.22.4. That upon Judas his repairing unto the High Priefts Palace (or alfo before j they were met again, and in ierious con- iultation how they might apprehend him before the Feaft , left done in the time of the Feaft it mould raifefome tumult : 3s alfo that thus might be prevented the peoples concourfe to him in the Feaft time. And all this they did out of zeal to the fafety of the ftate in mew, but out of rneer malice and envy to him in truth. And for this Judas his arrival was no unwel- come accident ; with whom alfo they fent fome of the Councel, together with the Tribune and Soldiers for his apprehenfion , and meanwhile attended the fuccefs feeZ-a^. 22-/2. And now \ery bufy Judas, and the Officers, are in gathering §. 4, furficient forces to apprehend him j which confifted, partly of the Roman Soldiers, or cohort with their Tribune, guarding the Temple at theie great Feftivals, and concourfe ot the peo- ple, for preferving the publick peace (whichGuard the Ro- man Governour it feems permitted the Sanhedrim to make ufe of, fecMat.27.6s.J0. 18.12.JAnd partly ofthe Jews own Officers and Serjeants, called <&?»™, Minifiri, of whom we find frequent mention;fee5fo.7.^2,4r.-i8.5Ji2,*2.-i9.5.-M«r^.i4.5r.^^.r.2 2, 25. Together with their Commander fee AH. 4.1,^,24. and partly ofthe fervants and other adherents ofthe cheifPriefts and Pha- rifees ; with whom alfo, as is faid, were fome Zelots ofthe cheif Priefts, and Elders themielves LuJ^ 22. f2 ; in all, a great multi- tude , fome armed with Iwords, and other weapons i fome alio with ftaves,or clubs,as the haft ofthe bufinefs would permit; they having not above an hour or two's warning. Who carried alio with them lome Lanthorns, and Torches, becaufe of the dark- nefs ofthe night , it feems, extraordinary ■, fuitable to this great work of the Prince of Darknefs ( for this was the time of the full Moon ) unlefs We will fay,thefe lights were to make a more nar- row fearch (if need were ) in the grots, or other Garden-houies„ This Garden, where they expected to find their Prey, was $. y- fituate beyond the brook Cedron; on the Afcent of the Mount of Olives, not altogether fo remote as Bethany i (which alfo flood on the fide at the foot of the fame hill ) and probably be- longed to Lazarus, or fome other Difcipleof Jefus, whither oar Lord was wont to retire, at night, with his twelve Diiciplesfee Jo. 8.1,2. (as he had formerly done alfo at the Feaft of Taber- nacles ) partly, for his fecurity, the Jews now more vehemently feekmg 2 r 4 The Hiftory of the Life of §. 5-. feeking his life, tee Jo. 7. So. -8. 5-9. -10. 39. and partly, for his Prayers, and Devotions, being private, and difengaged of thofe crowds of people, with which he was environed on the day time in the City, and Temple -, and fometimes here (as other times in Bethany) it feems, he with hisDifciples took all the night-repofe they had (otherwife Judas his Troops would not have come, io late, with Torch-light to have fought him here)#: It being night already, as S.John faith Jo. 13. Jo. when Judas left our Lord. Nor would he have bin fo confident, or have informed them that there they fliould find him, if his Nights lodging was in Bethany ( which being about a mile further was lomewhat too remote from the City ) or el/ewhere. And it feems alfo hisDifciples expected no other lodging in their be- taking therafelves there to their reft. See below §. And per- haps from hence it was (though called Bethany, becaufe not far from it, feeL?^ 24. ^o. compared with^S?. 1. 12. ) That our Lord returned in the morning fo hungry, that he went, as he paffed, to get fome figs. Arid from thence again very early in the morning Lul^. 21. 37. 38. he returned to teach the people intheTemple, the whole body of the Nation, as it were, being then at Jerufalem ; whither alio ( faith the Evangelift ) the peo- ple came early to hear him. See for thefe things Jo. 18.1,2. Lu\. 21. 37, 38. Marj^. 11. ir, 12, 19*, 20. well compared. This he had done now for feveral daies together ; after his humble tri- umphal entrance into Jerufalem riding on a little Aflfe-colt on Palme-funday. All theday fhewing himfelfinthe Temple to all the Nation affembled at this great Feaft, and teaching them publickly , and ufing now greater authority than ordinarily there Mat. 21. 12. LuhK 19. 45-; healing alfo there, the corpo- rally difeafed, that were brought unto him Mat. 21.14; and af- terward retiring to this garden, or to Bethany, every night. From whence one of theie mornings, as he was travailing to- wards the City, being an hungred, he went to gather fome fruit on a fig-tree in his way j and finding none thereon, to mew to hisDifciples the great power of a ltrong faith in God that is joynedwith purity of life Mat. 11. 2f, he curled it ;and,asthey paffed by it the next morning following, the Difciplcs law it withered away. Probably, in this Garden alfo it was; that, as he, and his Difciples were fitting, in one of thefe daycs, after his coming from the Temple, on Mount Olivet, and beholding the Temple over againlf. them, and theflately ftrudlure thereof ; lie made to them privatly there, now before his approaching death, § 6\ our Saviour Jefut Chrift. Part.n. 2 1 ? death, and departure from them, that large prediclion of the final deitruction of it, and of Jerufalem,&c. Mat. 2^.3. Marj^. 13. i, 2, 3. fet down Mat. 24. -Mar\. 1 3. -and hu\. 21. After he had fpoken of it formerly weeping when he entred into the City in his humble Triumph on Palm-Sunday Ln\. 19.41. and again in his Sermon in the Temple Mat. 23. 37. Aud our Lords Afcent into heaven alfo upon Mount Olivet feems to have bin fomewhere hereabouts: For, it is faid LuJ^. 24. yo. That our Saviour, at the time of his Afcenfion; led his Difciples forth %as Hf b» W*e [ not to be taken ftrictly, as if he carried them thi- ther]. Now Bethany was almoft fifteen furlongs, that is, al- moil two miles from Jerufalem, on the fide of Mount Olivet Jo. 11. 18. Andhis Afcent is faid ( Acl. 1. 12.) to have bin upon MountOlivet, which was a Sabbaths-daies journey from Jeru- falem,- which Sabbath daies journey is ordinarily accounted feven or eight furlongs ( i. e. ) about a mile. Now, his afcent, being not in the village of Bethany, where can we more pro- bably conjecture it to be, than in or nigh to this Garden, the former uiual place of his privat refort with his Difciples : That, asGrotius obferves,- Qui locus fubmijjionis ijiim tejtis fucrat, idem ejjet & Gloria : That, where he had his Agony, there he fhould begin his Glory. Again, the vally between this place and Je- rulalem being called the vally of Jehofaphat,where it is thought the laft judgment mail be; 'tis probable, that, here alfo, on that day our Lord will defcend in Glor^, where he was with fo much unjuft violence apprehended, and bound, and carryed away to judgment. This then was the place where Judas and his Troops intend- $. #. ed to furprize him. Our Lord alio chufing rather to be taken in this place of retirement at his prayers j than, in his Inne, at a Feaft. For, our Lord well knew this defign of Judas, and all his preparations; and therefore could eafily have difappoint- ed it by withdrawing hiinfelf elfewhere, ash? had done twice formerly, becaufe his hour was then not fully come. Yet, as before, when he faw this wicked Servant, an reclaim able by any kindnefs, he had refignedly, and fearlefly bid him, that, what he was refolved to do, he fhould doit asipeediiy as he could ; fo now, thirfting extreamly to accomplilii his Father's Will, the Prophecies that were made of him, and the full Redemp- tion of mankind out of the hands of that mortal Enemy, who had thus alfo even how carried away his own Servant, he now rifeth up, leaves thehoufe,and marcheth over the Brook Cedron, through 2\ 6 The Hijlory of the Life of §.7. through the vally of Jehofaphat, ftraight towards the place , where he knew he fhould be looked-for j chearfully refolved to meet his approaching fufferings, and prefenting this Lamb in that piece of ground , where he knew thefe Butchers would look for it, to hurry it to the flaughter. Such Refolution he fhewed, when he took his leave of Galilee half a year before C LuJ^. 9.5-1. Dum complerentur dies ajjumptionis ejus, ipjefaciem fuam firmavit, utiretinjerufalem). And f uch an order of fi- nifhing this his paffion he difcovered , in that Ipeech ( upon mention of this his Baptifm in fweat, and blood Lul^. \2.s0.) Baptifmo babeo bapti^ari & quomodo coartlor, donee perficiatur ; and difcovered but now at the Table again: laying, Defiderio defideravi £sV. Lu\. 22. 1 f. 3. 7. HisDifciples followed him fad, and difmayed; yet hitherto well refolved not to quit their Mailer ; two of them armed with Swords, one of which was S. Peter. Our Lord by the way gent- ly told them; That they all, that night, mould be offended in him ( not expreffing their future fault in its worft terms ); i.e. Ihould take offence at fuch things, as they mould fee happen unto him; and fo forfake him, whom they had formerly con- ieffed for the Son of God. For that now the time foretold was come, that he the Shepheard mould be f mitten, and the Sheep bs jcattered; making ufe here of prophecies, and his fathers good pleafure declared therein, as aconfolation and an unviolable prefcription in all thefe forrowful events. And, after this prediction of their mifcarriage, inftead of reproaching, he comforts, them, and bids them take heart again, for that he had, like a careful Shepherad, prayed for them to his Father j and there fhould be no final revolt in them; nor their faith in himfuffer more than a fliort Eclipfe : and that, after his Re- furrection, he would render himfelf before them in their own Countrey, Galilee : and that there, after his fufferings were paft, they fhould with great gladnefs again enjoy his prefence. [ Ga- lilee being the place both where he had moft Difciples , and where was moft privacy for its remotenefs from Jerufalem; ( the divine Wifdom having Decreed, for leaving the more re- ward to faith, that his appearance mould not be to all the peo- ple, or Nation, that faw him dy ); and therefore a certain Mountain therein Mat. 26. 52. -28. 7. ( probably, that ofhis Transfiguration, which St. Peter calls the Holy Mount zPet.i. 18. ) was appointed by him, and probably alfo the Particular time fet, when and where he would make the moft publick Ma- nifeftation §.8. GurSaviourJefmChrin.Vzn.n. 217 nifeftationof his Refurrection ; which his Father's good plea- lure admitted .* where alfo above five hundred of his Difciples aflembled together had at once this beatifical Vifion 1 Cor. if. 6.~\ To return. To this the Difciples, more looking upon their prefent love §. 8. and affection to their dear Mailer, than confidering their hu- man infirmity, when his divine Society or his fortifying grace is never fo little fufpended ; or alfo already being fain into Sa- tans temptation, elevating our abilities by Grace into nref ump- tion ( which is the ufual forerunner of every fall), returned an hafly and confident Anfwer, ( againfl the infallible Word and prophecy of their Mafter ) that they would never forfake him '. viz. That,, as they had abode withhim hitherto in his tempta- tions; twice followed him of late when he fled for his fafety, and when he returned to his dangers, ( when alio one of them Jo. 1 1. 16. that was afterward as backward in his faith as any, refolutely faid ; Let us alfo go, that we may dy with him ) fo they would ftill be faithful and conllant to him. But efpeci- ally Peter, as more affectionatly loving our Lord, fo more for- ward in exprefling it, now alfo carrying one of the two Swords, faid; That though all the reft mould poflibly withdraw them- felves, and he ftand alone, yet he would never leave him ; would go with htm into prifon, and to death ■, would dye with him and for him : To whole confidence our meek Saviour replyedonely to this purpofe; That, though it wafnow already night, yet before the Cock-crow of the very next morning, he, that was fo forward now to dye for him, Jhould not once, but thrice, deny him. And indeed amongft others at the queftioning of a filly Maid he did not onely fay, but fwear and curfe, not onely that he was none of his followers or company; but that he not fo much as knew him. APaflage very punctually related by all the Evangelifts, though Peters friends: That this example might remain for ever upon Regifter, to fhew the world what the beft of men, what the very chief of the Apoftlesof God is, when in an hour of temptation, God's fupporting grace is, for never fo little time, withdrawn from him : that the higheft Saints, to keep themfelves from falling, might learn to walk in pro- found humility and perpetual fear of falling; and might alfo learn to companionate the falls they daily fee of their weaker Brethren, and to bear with them their burdens Gal. 6.2,1. whilft (as the Apoftle) if any man whatever thinketh himfelf to be fomething (except only our Lord, who flood in his tempta- E e tion, . 2 1 8 The Hiftory of the Life of §. 9. tion, and by his ftanding we alfo ftaad) when he is nothing, he deceiveth himfelf. Yet, after this which was laid by our Lord to Peter, we find that Peter replyed again more vehe- mently: That, if he mould dye with him, he would not deny him in any -wife il/ar^. 14.31. §. 9. Thus he pafTed through the vally of Jehofaphat, the vally ofjudgment, as fome think it fhalbe, and over the Brook Ce- dron ; an Emblem of the torrent of Gods wrath, of which he was now to drink to the full Pfal. 110. and fo came to the gar- den, a Garden of forrows • to expiate herein what the firft Adam had trefpaffed in a garden of pleafure. Of which Paflage of our Lord, David in fome manner ieems to have bin a Type ; whenhepaffed over the fame brook toward Mount Olivet, fly- ing from the face of his ungrateful fon Abfalon confpiring againfthim, and feeking his life, fez 2 Sam. ij. 2}. Where alfo he worfhipped, wept, and prayed, verf. 30. 32. And was heard, and delivered from death, but not fo our Lord : Where Ittai alfo his friend verf. 21. promifed ( like St. Peter and the Apoftlesj to live and dye with him, but was more faithful and itedfaft herein than St. Peter was: And where Hufhai another friend verf. 34. departed from him to the adverfe party, that fate in Concil aga'inft him, as alfo Judas did, but it was to betray them, not him. Here arrived, this careful Shepheard , feeing this great ftorm now ready to fall, firft thinks on the fafety of thofe poorflieep, whom*his father had committed to him: and feeing greater danger toward their fouls from Satan ( who was now permitted to invade both them, and their Mailer with all his powers of darknefs ; and who had gotten one fheep from him already by his wiles: not by any defecl: of this vigilant Paftor Jo. 17.12. but by his own naughtinefs, and Gods permif- fion ) than toward their bodyes from their Fellow-Difciple, and his Troops, our Lord fets no fentinels, nor provides no defence againft thefe corporal Enemies: but, the better to prepare his Difciples forthetryal and fufferings approaching, fo foon as entred into the Garden, ftraitly chargeth them not to fleep that night, but to fpend it in watching and prayer, that they might not fall into, or at leaft in, their, Temptation. Thus leaving eight of his Difciples fwho perhaps might have bin apt to take fome offence at the fight ot his Agonies) to their devo- tions, near the entrance of the Garden; and forefeeinghis own great defolation of fpirit approaching, he takes thofe three of them more efpecially loved, -and familiarly treated by him, ■ 1 §. i o, 1 1 . our Saviour Jefa Chrift. Part. II. 219 and conducts them to the further part of the Garden : that thofe, whom he had formerly ( as it were to forearme their fairh againft this hour ) taken apart into Mount Tabor, to behold his Glory, might now be Spectators alfo of this his great Eclipfe, and exinanition. And thus far all things being managed with moft divine ^ XOa calmnefs, readinefs, and courage j now the combat begins not — ' onely with his followers, but himfelf. Righteous Job (yet not altogether iinlefs ) was delivered into the hands of Satan and Powers of Darknefs, but with a Refervation of his life : But this Righteous and finfree Perfon was delivered into the hands of that Enemy of Mankind, andor'his cruel Inftruments, lifeand all. Abraham was ftrongly exercifed and tempted by God concerning the lols of his onely Son: but in fine his fonslite was preferved, and there was a commutation of the Sacrifice. Ifaac the Type proceeded fo far as the carrying of his Wood , but efcaped the being burnt upon it. But now,the bowels of God his Father ( for the yearning of his bowels upon us ) had no compaffion on this righteous Job, ftript firft of all he had, even to his innermoft vefture, nor on this onely Son, the Ring and heir of Heaven and Earth ; but dy he muft, and the manner thereof to be committed to the malitious contrivance of the Enemy of God and man. And, in his entrance thereto, firft begins a fpiritual combat §. n. far more fharp and defolate than thofe corporal ones that fol- lowed. (As in all afflictions commonly the firft afTault is the moft grievous, and leaft fupportable. ) Where we are to ima- gine, thatnotonly a natural fear of Death feized on our Lord by the fufpending of other thoughts and confiderations that might counterpoife it ; but alfo a moft extraordinary and fuper- natural defolation and terror was brought upon his Spirit j and that thofe divine confolations, which God fometimes with- draws from his Saints, (which hath left them in very great per- plexity, heartlefnefs and aridity, whereof they alfo make fad complaints as of even the greateftof mortal fufferings) the fame, but in a much higher Degree, were now by God, or by our Lord himfelf, withheld from his human nature, or from his lower-felt here in the Garden. For, had our Lord wanted thefe fpiritual pangs, and thefe anguifhes of his foul, he had wanted one of the greateft ( if not the very greateft ) fufferings of mankind : befides which inward Anguilh, what external temptations alio our Lords human Nature might fuSer from Ee z Satan 220 The Hijlory of the Life of §.12,13. Satan now in the greateft Relaxation alfo, that ever was, ofthe power of darknefsLa^. 22. si- -^0.14.30.-12.31. irnmediatly Forerunning the great conqueft over it, we know not. §.12. Now therefore it pleafed the divine Majefty, to the End that his Son might pafs through all our temptations and forrows, and fuffer all manner of funerings, fuch as are innocent, for, and before us \Tentatus per omnia , ut pojjit compati infirmita- tibus nojhris\. Heb. 4. if. As alfo for our encouragement in the like j It pleafed him, I fay, now fo far to fufpend from the hu- manity of our Lord the influences of the Divinity, and fo far to withdraw and Eclipfe the confolations ofthe holy Spirit; as that it is to be prefumed by his unparallelled Agony , that never any of his Followers have or can fuffer the like without falling away from his innocence ; for, through his ftrength it is that all they are valiant, or do perfevere. And we fee, when fome drops onely of the fame ftorm fell on the Difciples, how foon they fhrunk under them : not onely like us, then, he was in all our innocent infirmities, even thofe of the foul and natu- ral affections thereof, as well as thofe of the body and fenfes thereof, but far beyond us. That in all things, even inhuman miferies, and in thofe miferies alfo, fpiritualdefolations, fofar as innocent, he might have the preeminence : and that out of the depth of this his humiliation mightbe railed a greater ex- altation: and that alio, how much greater in him the natural fear, andhorrour of deathfeemed to be, fo much more his love to us might be demonftrated, that notwithstanding for us he would fochearfully undergo it all. And, whereas hi"s Divinity could fo eafily have hindered, or mattered and diverted any fuch tender apprehenfion and fenfe of greif in the lower facul- ties, ( which he doth alfo not unfrequently in his Martyrs ; the joyesof their fpirit and fuperior part, drowning and intercept^ ing the Greif and Paines ofthe inferiour, whilit the intenfivenefs of the foul to oneactdifenablethitasto all other ) yet he, to march before us in all our greifs, voluntarily admitted alfo our forrows and anxieties offpirit to the higheft Degree ; that might include no Rebellion in it againft the fubjeclion due to Realon, and to God. $:_£1l Which Greif of his, upon another ground alfo, became the more advanced, by reafonof his divine prelcienceof all future Events. Whilft all thole torments alfo, which his innocent flefli was to undergo, now prefented themfelves in their proper ( i. e .) in a moft bloody, malitious, cruel, fliape, ftood and palled be- fore §. i4» our Saviour Jefus Chrift. Part. n. 221 fore his all-fo re feeing eyes ( of which no other fufFerer ever had fuch a fore-fight, as himlelfj. At this fight therefore, being al- ready a Spectator in Spirit of whatever he was to act or feel in hisperfon, Hisflelh began to have horror, and a fupernatural fear of death, and a mortal fadnefs and amazement to feize upon him. Mat. 26. 17. MarJ^.14.. 33. He began ww$uf$ui:9 ks*«- QurSdt, * paliionatc 222 The Hiftory of the Life of §-*5» paffionate a Lover of all Mankind, and one who had defcended io low to make them happy, now that he had fufpended all thofe orher thoughts and confederations which might eafily counterpoife and weigh down thefe. |. i5"« In this difconfolation voluntarily affumed by him for our fakes and example, he reveals his prefent Anguifh and diftrefs to his three dearly beloved Servants, tells them that his Soul was forrowful even to the death ; and delires them, but for one hour { for fo long hefaw it was to the arrival there, of his mortal Enemies,) to watch with him. And then leeking further pri- vacy, aud leaving themalfo,as formerly the other eight,to their devotions and prayers, as it were a fecond Guard or Watch be- hind him, he retires yet further from them about the diftance of a ftonescaft. And here we may look upon him as the for- lorn , and accurfed Goat ffor he was made a curfe for us faith the Apoftle Gal. 3. 13.J that was turned away into the Wildernefs, going into this foiitude with all the fins of all the world, by the hands of all the congregation of mankind from the beginning thereof, laid upon his head; and all the venge- ance of his Fathers wrath due unto them as it were now puriu- inghim fat the greatnefs of which wrath we may well Guefs by the Eternity and extremity of thofe torments which are in- flicted by it on thofe, who deprive themfelves of their fhare in the fufferings of this Lamb of God ). Under the weight then of this heavy burden freely undertaken by him for love of us> and our eternal fafety, he falls down on his knees, and prayes on this manner. Abba, Father (Mat. 26. peircing words like thofe oflfaacG^ra. 22.7. from fo innocent aperfon, andalfoan onely Son going to the flaughter ) If it be pojfible, as all tlfin^s are pojjibk unto thee, Marj^. 14. 3d. let this cup pafs from me. And thus far, as he being true man, Nature for felf-prefervation prefents to God its own innocent and harmlefs defires, and in- clinations; but then, as alfo being a moft faithful Subject and iervant, obedient in all things to the will of God, proceeds further in another Note; Neverthelefs , Not what I will, but what thou wilt. And herein confifted his innocency ; not in wanting thefe natural defires of felf-prefervation, for this would take away all merit of obedience; but in fubmitting them. Suclj defires of nature being fiuful, notwherever they are, but onely where they rule, contrary to what a Superiour power, ex- terior or interior, commandeth, or requircth of them. And co inftruct us, that no man ought to take fuch defires arifing in §. i 6. our Saviour Jefut Ckrift. Part.II. 223 in him ( fo long as the perfon thus concludes them in Not what I will ) to be fin, the Sou of God alfo, for our confolation, fhew- eth them in himfelf. And from him we may alfo learn, that he, as we, dayly had, and underwent all thole other harmlefs appetites and inclinations of Nature, refpecting food, reft, ap- parrel, lodging, fociety and other delights of the fenfes ■, and that, in the confining of thefe within their due limits, in obe- dience to his Fathers commands, confifted the merit of his in- nocency : never any one of thefe appetites, throughout all his lifer though from time to time motioning their natural con- tents, yet having bin for once any way exorbitant, or tranf- grcfledthe bounds his Father, and his God had prefcribed it. Therefore we find that two or three daies before, as he was §. id». in the Temple, upon the like natural fenfe of Death, he made the like prayer [letdown by St. John chap 12. as it were in lieu of this in the Garden, which that Evangelift wholly omits, who, it feems, writ his Gofpel ( upon occafion of fome Hereticks fa early denying our LordsDivinity ) chiefly to Regifter therein thofe dilcourfes, and works of our Lord, which more manifeft- ed to the world his Divinity, than thofe difcovering his human infirmities ]. In the Temple, then, certain devout Gentiles, by the divine providence nowdefiring to be brought to him, and to be made acquainted with him, as it were, already fuing to be admitted into his fold, which thing was only hindred by his death not as yet accomplifhed, our Lord took great notice of it: and upon this occafion foretelling the coming in of the Gen- tiles, and how, afToon as he was once lifted up upon the Crofs ,- aflbon as this ftandard was ere&ed, and he difplayed upon it, he mould draw all the world unto him. Upon the mention of that cruel death he there alfo let fall this expreffion to them Jo. 12. 27. Now is my foul troubled, and what Jball I/ay ? And there alio firft he makes his requeft, as a man fenfible of mifery ;. Father, fave me from this hour ; but then, as a Son, and a Ser- vant perfectly obedient, he, with his Superior reafon and the Spirit, reftrains thefe fenfitive defires in their true bounds, in laying to himfelf again : But for this caufe came I unto this hour : and then adds an Acl: of Resignation : Father Glorify thy name \_ i. e. in any fufferings of mine whatfoever, which may be for the enlarging of thy Glory, even to the Gentiles, and to all the world]. At which time alfo, after his prayer his Father an- fwered him with a voice from heaven, which the People called an Angel's fpeaking to him Jo,iz, 29, as here hefent anAugel • ' SLOB 224 The Hiftory of the Life of §. 1 6, to him ; to fliew that he alwaies heareth and accepteth pray- ers, joined with fuch a Refignation, from all his Ions. See Jo. 12. 30. -ii. 42. So again, at the, Table, in looking upon the horrid defign of his own Servant againft him, read in his heart, it is faid by the fameEvangelift ; that he was troubled in Spi- rit chap. 15. 21. But ftraight his abfolute Refignation to his Fa- thers will appears in his permiffion of Satan to enter, and a£t further againft him in that malitious Saul; and in his faying then,- That thou dojl, do quickly. So, in his laft fufferings on the Crofs, wherein he feems to have undergone a fee ond Defo- lation of Spirit j when he beganthofe words of the 21 Pfalm, compofed by his Father David touching his Paffion, -My God, My God, rvhyhafttbouforfakenme? This alfo was then accom- panied with a moft placid Refignation of himfelf into his Fa- thers hand that finote him, laying, prefently after thele words, -Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit. But to return. This Requeft, and perfect Refignation being offered together, ( that Model that mould be of all our prayers alio ) he returns, in tins his Agony, to receive the folace of the company of his three deareft Diiciples, left not far behind him j as alfo, like an ever-careful fhepheard, tolooktohis fheep, and fo afford them his company, and afiiftance, in this hour of their tempta- tion as well as his. And behold he finds them, being ftupified with forrow LuJ^. 22. 45-. and amazement, at fuch a fight of his forrow, and amazement, and for the fad prefage he had made to them of his approaching death ( Peter and all) fallen alleep. Our Lord ftraight awakening them, asks Peter ('who had but now made fuch great promifes of going to Prifon, and dying with him) how it chauced, that he and his Followers could not, for fo little a time as he had now to fpend with them, even for one hour, fo much as watch a little with him > And this for his own fake too, to Ipend it in prayer to be delivered from that great temptation, that was coming, efpecially on Peter. But this meek Lord, what with one word he queftioned, prefently with another he excufeth; in faying, with much companion for them ; The Spirit indeed is willing, but the Flejh is roeah^ ( Up- on which Flefli of theirs, not onely their greif, but Satan pro- bably at this time, was permitted to have fome influence, in thisnrft degree of their defertion ol our Lord). Where alfo by his mentioning the weaknefs, and infirmity of their Flefii ( which he now alfo» felt extraordinarily. in himfelf, but without fin ) he excites them alfo to a ftronger vigilancy over it. Then repeating § 1 6". our Saviour Jefu* Chrift. Part.n. 225 repeating again to them the. fame charge of watching to praier in this dreadful hour of temptation, which he gave them before, He departs again to a certain diftance, forepreft with that great weight that lay upon him; and on his knees made a fe- cond time the fame requeft with an earneftnefs of Praier Lu%. 22. 24. increafing according to his Agony $ when alfo his inno- cent words conclude again in the fame manner ; —Not my wilt, My Father, but thine be done. And as S.Matthew gives his laft words Mat. 26. 42. If this Cup may not pafs from me, except 1 drin^it, Thy will be done. Then riling up, and adding no more words after thefe, as it were hereby reftraining his inno- cent delires of felf-prefervation from being too importunate, and (hewing his per feci: relignation alfo in the fhortnefs of his Requeft, he vilits again ( agitated ftill to and fro with his un- parallelled forrowj his three molt trufted Friends,- and finds them fallen afleep again j fpeaks to them ; and now receives from them no anfwer; For, faith the Evangelift, their eyes were heavy, neither wijt they what to anjwer him thereunto ; like t9 thole three Comforters of Job, who fate down by him, but in a deep lilence. Thus folitary, and deftitute of any Compa- nion in his iorrow, not anfwered by his Father, nor his Friends, here thofe complaints of the Pialmift are verifyed, which he fpake of him in this his ftate of Defolation Pfal. 141. voce fu* ad Dominum clamavit, vocefua adDominum deprecatus eft. Ejfu- dit in confpeblu ejus orationem fua,n, (3 tribulationem fuam ante tpfum pronunciavit, indeficiendo ex fe fpiritum fuum ante ipfum qui cognovit f emit as fuas [retlas']. Confiderabat ad dextram, & videbat, & non erat qui cognofceretfe : Periit fuga ab illo, & non erat qui requirat animam ejus [ qui follicitus ejfet de vita ejus fervanda~\. Yet, knowing this for a time of his treading the Wine-prels all alone, Bfay.61.7,. he again ftraight withdraws himfelf from them ; and as the floods of his Anguilh grew ftill higher, who drank a larger cup of Defolation than ever any other man did, according to his greater capacity to receive it, and greater caufe ( the fins of the whole world, paft and to come) of undertaking it; He returns a third time, in the con- tinuance ftill of the heavy hand of his Father upon his fpotlefs Innocency : who flood now over him, as it were, with a knife in his hand ready to flay his only Son, to fave the life offome inconfiderable wretches,- He returns, I fay, a third time to the ordinary remedy of affli&ed perfons. And now fal ing proftrate on his face, he befeecheth him, yet once more, on the F f fame 2 2 6 The Hiftory of the Life of §. 1 7,1 8. fame manner; butftill concluding with the fame perfect obe- dience, and refignation ; rendred lo much more precious to the Divine Majefty, by how much the natural motions or his Hu- manity were more intenie to the contrary: faying again: 0 My Father, not my will, but thine be dune. In all this leaving rous a perfecl: pattern ofour behaviour in Prayer when diftrei- fed,- both of perfeverance, in demanding what we have need of, and of refignation, to, acquiefce in what God pleafeth to grant. §. 17. And now that we may underftand how terrible this Spiritual combat was; and how great this Defolation, and defertion, being now come to its height, befides his ftrong cries, and tears, mentioned by the Apoftle, though not by the Evangelifts ; Heh. j,7. .-[When, faith he, in the dates of his Flejh he had offered up pray- ers, and [applications with Jlrong crying, and tears unto him that was abletofave him from death , he was heard, &c.~] I fay, be- sides thefe, his whole body, though in a very cold Evening ( for they made a fire in the High Priefts Hall Mark. 14. ^4. ) poured out a Sweat; and this no ordinary Sweat, of a Dewy, tenuious, and aqueous matter, but a thick, vifcous, and clammy Sweat; fuch only as is feen to happen in great agonies, and in the Pangs of death. But yet his Iweat beyond this too ; for it was ( faith the Evangelift ) as it were great drops of blood ; the pores of his body, bytheftrange prefTure of his Spirit from within, opening and. enlarging themfelves, and letting out the grofler part alfo of that fubftance running in his Veiues; and this in iuch quantity, as the drops fell on the ground where he lay; whether true blood, or fome other glutinous humor clotted like it, who can tell? But a ltrange, and miraculous Sweat it was; and a miraculous caufe it mufthave, and fuch as no other Son of forrow hath tryed the like. And ( could we now go no fur- ther ) what world can there be fo numerous, or its (ins fo great, that the only Son of God might not end his Paflion here ; and offer only this, as over-fufficient to redeem it; and thus pay the due fufferings, in fuch an afflictive Deprecation of his fuf- ferings ? §• *$• And now" in this extremity God his Father heareth him, andfendeth help. But this ( futable to the prefent itateof his humiliation ) notimmediaty ; but by the Inffrumency of one of thofe creatures, to whom our Lord had formerly given, and at this inftant alfo fuftained, their very life, and being; who now comes to fuftain his, and adminifter ftrength to it, ior {till more §.i8. our Saviour J ef us Chrift. Part.ii. 227 more fufferings before its difTolution. When methinks in great confufion, this his VafTal prefaceth to him in fome fuch man- ner, ashisfervant John did at his Baptifm j Lord, I live, and move , and have my being by thee , and muji my Lord thus be Jtrengthnedby me > To whom this anfwer feems to be returned : J Permit it to be Jo now; For thus it is meet to fulfil all fufferings ', and to give my Servants an Example of difdaining help from none of Gods Creatures, though in Dignity never fo inferior to them. This Angel then (fome think the chiefeft, S. Michael ; fome S.Gabriel; named Gods ftrength, and the MefTenger formerly of our Lord's Incarnation,) appears from Heaven ftrengthen- ing him ; ftrength ening him corporally ; that his fufferings might not end here, where it feems Nature was brought to the ut- moft of her paffibility, and was diffolving herlelf in a mortal Sweat ; and ftrengthning him fpiritually, in the Miniftery of of thofe Motives, and confolations externally to him, which internally he himfelf withheld from his lower felf,- probably, reprefenting to him, the infinite Glory to God, and benefit to men, and Exaltation to himfelf, The fulfilling of Prophecies, and of the will of his Eternal Father, the refcuin^ of mankind from everlafting deftruction, according to his Father's precon- ftitution, His approaching Refurredtion , and entrance into Glory ; that fhould arife from accomplifhingthe reft of his ap- pointed fufferings; Our Lord vouchfafing now to receive, as it were, by the reflection of an Angel the vivificating found of hisown words that werefpoken but two or three daies before, in the Temple, with much rejoycing in his future Paflion, when hefaid Jo. 12.23. &c. -Now the time is come, when the Son of man Jhould be glorified. -And except a corn of tVh eat fall into the ground, and dy , it abideth alone -, but if it dy , it briiigeth forth much fruit; -And -Father Glorify thy name. —Now /ball the Prince of this world be caft forth. And I; if 1 be lifted up from the earth , will draw all men unto me. —And if any manferve me, let him take up his Crofs and follow me ; and where lam, there alfo Jh all he be. Thus then ferenely contemplating his Crofs, for the joy let before him, he defpifed the fhame thereof ■, that afterwari he might fit down at the right hand of the Throne of God, and his Servants by him. By fuch minifterial applications from the Angel, of that which the Angel originally derived from himfelf, his great anguifh of foul was affwaged : and exauditus eft pro reverentia fua : and his companionate Father al'orded him now in due time a Deliverance, though not from his fore- „ Ft 2 defigned 2*8 The Hi/lory of the Life of §'x9» cfefigned fufferings, yet from hisprefent fears, from thepre- fent amazement, & tcedium, and mortal contriftation, he was ieizedwithj reftoring his mind to its former ferenity, and cou- rage. $• *9- Thrice our Lord iterated this his requeft ( the firft compleat Plurality of number arguing fome importunity ) and fo thrice did his fervant Paul afterwards iterate his, for Deliverance from another temptation:the Practice of them both being fuch, as our Lord had before prefcribe.d to his Difciples in the parable of the importunate Widdow, and neceffitous Neighbor. Thrice both prayed, and both Denyed, as to the firft matter and in- tent of their Prayer, concluded in the Sacrifice of their own will unto Gods, and in a holy Refignation much more meritori- ous, and beneficial to them, than had bin the granting of their firft requeft. Inftead of which both received another Grant much better, viz. of the divine confolations and joy in their fufferings, which they petitioned to have had removed -, S. Paul by our Lord 2 Cor. 12. 9. fpeaking to him j our Lord by an An- gel fpeaking to him Lu\. 22. 43. Heb. y. 7. And thus both their prayers were heard, as all thofe of all Saints, rightly made with the claufe of Refignation, alwaiesare. And God ever upon fuch Prayers ftraight gives fome new thing to the fuppliant ; either fome new thing without him, or fome new thing within him : either Grants externally the thing prayed for, or chang- eth internally ( for he is omnipotent ) the defire of the perfon praying for it. Thus he, who perfectly refigns his own Will to God's, hathatlaft his own will, becaufe it isGods; and God's will now fofar his, that, to grant him his former Will, would be a thing againft his will : and giving to him his paft, would be but a denial of his prefent, defires. And far better and more fatisfying feems this change of our mind within us, than of the world, orits affairs without us. ( Wherein a lfo Gods* courfe is many times unalterable by our Prayers). Forour mind to us is all in all, and not the things without us. Joy, and (orrow, Pain, andpleafure, lodghere, and the heavenly Phyfitian works the fhorter cure, when we come to him for fome eafe, in applying his medicines to the foul it felf j and in altering , and with his Cordials ftrengthning, and fupporting it,than in altering exter- nal things for its fatisfa&ion. And when we beg thefe things to content it, he doth not deceive us if he give the fame content to it without them, or alfo in the contrary to them : and it feems to come all to one, either to receive, or poftefs a thing, or §.2o» our Saviour Je fits Chrift. Part. II. iij or not at all to want or defire it j or alio, now to defire to want it. And S. Paul, after our Lord's fpeaking to him, and his new Grace given him, was as much fatisfyed and tranfported, and took as much pleaiure in his infirmities, which he would have had removed , and in the chorne fticking in his Flefh, as if he had had it, athisrequeft, pulled out. Efpecially if this alfo be put into the Scale, That God, in denying any prefent Good wiflied for, prefents alwaies to us the pofTeffion of a future good ('much more valuable ) in the fame kind j and indeed denyes this prefent good in order to our attaining this future ; and alfo, for the prefent, feeds the mind, in its inftant prefTures, with moil ftrong hopes thereof, and confolations therein. And thus it is declared of our Lord himfelf in this matter Heb.iz.z. -That for the Joy that was fet before him he endured the Crofs. After then, that our Lord had paid thefeduesto the proper §. 2ot inclinations of his human nature, and pafTed through and ex- perienced, all the innocent fears, languifhings, and alfo the fpi- ritual aridities thereof j that fo he might be a more companio- nate High Prieft, and IntercefTor for his brethren, labouring in the like forrow j as alfo that he might the more encourage them, perceiving him in all fuch furrerings to have trod the way before them ; And laftly, That he might teach them there- in behaviour in fuch fufferings, repairing to earned Prayer, and the iflue thereof, a certain return of confolations ■, Behold, on a fuddain all his anxieties vanifh, and his contriftated humanity now retains its former chearfulnefs, and fecurity, and thirft for fufferings. Seeing therefore his Enemies now not far off, his reioiute courage longing after theCrofs, and follicitous alfo for theiafety of hisdifmayed fheep, thought it not meet, that this Band fhould feekforhim, or mould find him hid, or with- drawn into fome remote corner of the Garden; or that they mould firft furprize, or fall upon his fleeping Difciples, whom he endeavoured to preferve fafe from their fury j But rather to meet the Enemy, and voluntarily to offer him felf into their bloody hands, fo providing alfo for his fearful companions a better opportunity to efcape. With this refolution he rifeth. from the Ground, and coming to his fecond Guard, the three ielected Difciples, whom he found again a fleep, after he had fmilingly faid unto them, that now was a time indeed to take their reft i Hebidsthem rife, and go along with him, for the Betrayer,he told them of, and the forces conducted by him, were now at hand i and the fame he faid, when he came to the other Eight. Bj. 230 The Hiftory of the Life of §. 2 r . §. 21. By this time was the armed multitude come in fight, and Ju- das, our Lords fervant ( who had covenanted for, Mat. 26. ir. but not yet received, his bloody wages) marching at fome di- ftance before them,- the better todifcover our Lord, and give them notice, with his falutation andkiffing of him, which was He. Whom our raoft meek Lord ( though well he knew his de- fign ) admitted not only to his prefence, but alfo embraces, and to a kifs ; not onely to leave us an Example of his infinite ineek- nefs, and how we alio ought to love our Enemies ; but to fhew his perfect obedience to the will of his Father in this firft taft of his bitter cup. And fo in a moft mild manner filling him Friend, asked him for what purpofe he came. By this, as it were fore-pitying his great Damnation, to reduce him now at leaftto fome reflection upon his bloody Treafon, and proftrate himfelf at his feet to beg pardon. And then ( he being filent ) fpake yet more plainly to him, the reft of the Difciples itand- ingby ; Judas betrayejt thou the Son of man f ( i. e. The Son. or. God to fave thee become the Son of man, by which name, to exprefs the ftate of his humiliation, our Lord ufually ibled himfelf) to death, with this deareft expreffion of love to him : Tu unanimis mens & notus meus -, Who but now, fimul mecutn dulces capiebas cibos •, and but this day ; in domo Domini ambula- vimus cum confenfu ; as the fad Pfalmift, in Spirit forefeeing this Tragedy, aggravates it. After which faid fand this Satan- pofTefTed miserable creature no way relenting ) our Lord moves forward towards the Band that was coming on to apprehend him, his Difciples following; And, asking them firft with great Majefty, whom they fought for there, and they anfwenng, for Jefus of Nazareth, upon his fpeaking twowords: Egofum, as if it had bin the terrible name Jehovah, or Egofum in Exodus, they all recoiled, as if repulfed with fome mattering force, and fell flat upon their backs before him j fo that he and his com- pany might not only have gone from them, but marched over them, if they had pleafed. In which action he fheweth to them and to the world his All-Powerful Godhead ; and that oblatus Efai- tt- 7.- eji ( as the Prophet ) quia ipfe voluit ; and that not by their force, but his own meer good pleafure, it was, that he would be taken, bound, and led away by them ; as alfo ufed this adt of his power, as a means to reduce them to their duty, and pre- vent their Guilt ; and make them, next, to turn to another pro- ftration forward, in a due reverence and honour to his Sacred it* 7- 32, dfi . perfon -, moved with the like Spirit, as thole were, who came formerly §.22. our Saviour Jefus Chrift. Part. n. 231 formerly to apprehend him in the Temple. But they, after a while, by his permiffion recovering their ttrength, made toward him a fecond time -, perhaps thinking their former fall an effecl: of his Magick, or black Art, able to procure a Blaft to throw them down, but not to hold them there; and full ignorant that they role again, onely by the ttrength he inrufed. Again, he asked them the fame Queftion j And, anfwered by them as be- fore; he, next, layes a powerful command on them ( which though afTaulted by his Followers, they punctually obeyed ) j That, feeing he was the man they fought, they fhould difmifs, and not touch, the reft of his company ; myftically fhewing thereby, hisfufFeringsto be our ranfome; and his apprehend- ing, our freedom ,• He, in the yeilding up of himfelf, yet taking moft tender compaflion ( as S. John obferves ) of his poor fheep ; y0. 17. ii. That , though they might be fcattered , yet none of thole , whom his Father had given him , might be loft, by falling in- to that ftorm which he well faw, ( now all the Powers of Hell were let loofe) that none could withftandbut himfelf; and that Satans lifting them at that time would have turned to the ruin of their Faith ; and all of them bin, if not as Judas, Betrayers, yet Denversof him. For, if Peter, when at free liberty, and only asked the queftion by a Maid, did fo ; what may we ima- gine would he, or the reft have done, under Reftraint and tor- tures > Yet the Difciples well acquainted with this his omnipotency §. 22, onfeveral occafions, and ftrongly animated alfo by ieeing the former fudden Proftration of his Enemies, had fo much cou- rage as to draw, and ask him leave, to ufe the few Swords they had in his defence j and Peter had fnch an hafty Valour alfo ( according to his ufual zeal, and late prociife to our Lord ) as, without expecting an anfwer, he made a blow at one o the High Priefts fervants f one of the forwardeft of the company to lay hands on our Lord, upon his Matters mitigations ) thinking to have cleft his head in funder with it. But our merciful Lord diverted it onely to the lopping off one of his ears, which had too facilely received his Matters wicked commands ; and then prefently, compaffionating this mifchance; defired permiffion of his Enemies thus far as to touch him, and let it on again. Thus returning good for evil,- and preventing the accufation of any reflftance or harm clone by him, or his, to the Minifters of publickjuftice; as alfo, in this, demonftrating his love and charity to thefe his Enemies, as he had before his power over them. After 232 TheHifloryoftheLifeof §.23,24,25. x 2i After which turning back towards Peter, he bad him to put up his Sword ; telling him thofe that ufed it ( i. e. without a juft Commiffion) as he then did, and efpecially againft the or- dinary Minifters ofthefecular Powers, and of Juftice ( as thofe Gen. 9.6. fentthen to apprehend him were) fhould incur the old Lex talionis mentioned in Gene/is, and perifh by the Sword. Adding alfo, that he needed not his, nor any others, defence; having at his command more than twelve Legions of Angels ( and, had he pleafed to have opened theirs, as he did the Servant of Eli- fha his eyes, they might have feen all thefe celeftial Armies now environing him j but what needed this, when they law the late powerful effect of his breath only, in the pronouncing of two words, enough, had he pleafed , to have unmade the whole world, as alfb it was made only with a word ). After which, he concluded his fpeech with thofe gracious words, full of pati- ence, humility, and refignation (after his ufual manner ) to the good pleafure of his Father : The cup, that my Father hath gi- ven, or appointed me, Jhall not I 'drinkj And, it I now make fuch a refcue, how Jhall that, which is written of me , be fulfilled? Tak- ing care that not one fyllableof his Fathers good pleafure, de- clared in the former Scriptures concerning him, fhou'.d fall to theground ; and accepting thefe his fufferings, with all willing fubmiffion, not as from the hands of the Enemies, but of his Father. $. a 4. After this addreffing his Speech to the chief Priefts and Cap- tains of the Temple and Elders, that were come to apprehend him, Lu\. 22. 72. he expoftulateth with them ; thereby to re- duce them to fome remorfe of their fact, why they came againft him thus by night , as againft a Theif, and a Robber, and one that fought concealment, who indeed was not a Deftroyer, but the Saviour, of mankind j and who converted amongft p3 them all the day publickly in the Temple; at what time they *** had nothing to fay to him. Then prefently as it were recalling himfelf from this arguing with ungrateful men, and refuming the fweet contemplation of the divine preordination: But, Luk. 2295:3. faith he, This u your hour. Intimating that, only by the divine Difpenfation , and his own full conlent to it, the Powers of Darknefs were now let loofe upon him ; and thefe their wicked Inftruments licenfed to act in a time futable to their defigns. §\ 2 5". So our meek Lord patiently yeilded himfelf into their hands; who took and bound him, their firft Dejectment and fears now ferving only to increafe their prefent nercenefs, and rougher ufage PIT §. 2 6,17* cur Saviour Jefus Ckrif}. Pare. n. 233 ufageofhim, as imputing their former proftration to a feat of hisMagick or black Art, able to play fome pretty pranks, but too weak to do them any real miicheif or affront. Bat, indeed, this only Son Ifaac was bound by his Father, not them j in obe- dience to whom, and thirft after the Redemption of mankind by it, this Lamb of God offered himfelf to be Sacrificed on the Altar of the Crols the next morning, and thus freely yeildedup his liberty into the hands of finners. With this rough ufage of theirs the Difciples much difmayed S* 2<*' and terrified, now forgetting their refolute promifes formerly made him, all fled away for their fafety, at leaft to a compe- tent diftance from thefe Troops. And that prediction of our „ j(J Lord, but fome hours before, was fulfilled -ve nit hora, ut dijper- gamim unufquifque ad propria, & mefolum relinquatis. Onely a young man, lodging in fome houfe adjoining ; that, awaked with the noife, arofe out of his bed, and throwing a flieet looie- ly about him, came forth to fee what fuch tumult meant, had the courage to follow our Lord, and fo was laid hold on by them j who leaving his fheet in their hands efcaped away nak- ed i a lively prereprefentation of our Lords eicape from them (after their ftrippiug him of his Garments ) that was to be three dayes after, at his Refurre&ion , leaving his Syndon behind him. Now it mud needs be very late and drawing toward Mid- §.27. night ; confidering it was already night when Judas went forth from Supper to gather his body together Jo. 13.30. After which followed our Lords long Farewel Sermon made to his Difciples Jo. 13. si.&c. to the chap. 17. and Prayer for them after it ; Jo. 1 7. his journey to the Garden about a mile off; his prayers and Agony there, and his Difciples there falling a fleep; and all the Circumftances of his Apprehenfion ; ^nd the young mans riling out of his bed. The night, it feems, though the Moon then at the full, was much overcaft and dark, futable to the work. Thus bound they joyfully led away our Lord, through the valley, into the City , now filent and' quiet : and carried him firft to the houfe of Annas, probably in the way to Caiphashis Pallace, and he a great Encouragerofthedefign ; and lome think that Judas there received his reward ; his treafon having now given them full PofTeffion of his Mafter. Annas alfo, though fome years before depofed from the office of High Prieft by the Ro- man Governour, who in thofe daiesdifpofed of it yearly, as ieemstobe implyed by thofe words*: Jo.11.49. C*iphas being G g High 234 The Hi/lory of the Life of §.28. High Priefi that fame year, and Lu\. 3. 2. Annas and Caiphas be- ing the High Priefts [ i. e. by turns ] j or after what time he pleaf- ed, yetftill retained the title, Lu\. 3. 1 j and ftillhad forae fpe- Cial intereft and fway in it, from Caiphas's marrying his Daugh- ter; and from his having a fon alfo, Eleazer, that had born the fame office before Jofeph. Antiq.Jud. lib. 18. cap. 3. Who was alfo a cheif Member of the Council then met in Caiphass Pal- lace, and likely was called on to accompany them thither. The officers alfo might have had order to Houfe our Lord af- foon as they could, for prevention of any tumult or refiftance. $• 28* None appearing, without any longer ftay made there, Our Lord in the filent night was conveyed to Caiphas his Pallace ; where ( as hath bin faid ) the Council, the High Priefts ( thofe being alwaies after filled fo, who at any time bore that office, frequently changed ) Scribes and Elders Mari^. 14.73. afTembled together, expected them. Our Lord being fet before them, the High Prieft, inftead of producing a charge againft him, and hearing his Defence and A, nfwer to it, fell on Queftioning him about his Doctrine, and his Followers, ('whom, as they had faid elfewhere, Mat. 22. 16. they knew free to fpeak truth; and, as to this,regarding, or fearing no mans PerfonJ to fee what he would confefs ; and, if confefling anything liable to their ceii fare, thence to draw up an Indictment ; when as indeed this feemed very great oppreffion, to apprehend, bind, make a man a Prifoner, and bring him before the barr of Juftice, there to gain from him fomething, for which to queition him. Our Lord, having many times before bin thus examined by them or their order, who he was, whofenthim, what authority he had, &c. anfwered them briefly s That, both for Doctrine and Difciples, they had feen who thefe, and heard what that, was,- ( and indeed if the latter, Jiis Doctrine, good, the more Difci- ples the better ),- That he had taught publickly in the Temple, and in their Synagogues, and in private laid nothing, but what abroad. That therefore, it he were any way faulty in lowing Errors, or plotting fedition, they might have enough to bear witnefsofit, andupon their legal tcftimony, proceed to con- demn, or acquit him; and therefore that they fhould not ask him, but ask them that heard his words, and faw his actions ; even amongft which were many of themfelves, that then fate on the Bench, or ftood before it: and amongft thefe the very Officers, fent formerly by a them to apprehend him. Who in- deed throughly convinced of his -lnnocency and Sanctity, had returned §.29,30i3r* ourSaviourJeffrsChrift.Yatt.il. 235 returned to them with a Never Man fpake like that man. j. 29. Our Lord thus, by a prudent declining any new account of himfelf ( whom his great thirft tody for mankind made little follicitousto plead for his life) much difappointed the High Priefts expectation,- and breifly thus referring his caufe, as was juft, to the teftimony of others ; one of the officers, which flood by him, (truck him over the face in the prefence of ail the Court for anfwering the High Prieft in that manner. To whom our Lord ( whole patience here none can rightly ineafurewho doth not well confiderhis perfon and power ) meekly replyed ; That, if he anfwered well , there was no caufe he mould be ltrucken for it-, or, if ill, not ftrucken by him, who was only to bear witnefs of the evil, and leave the vindication of it to the Judge. Thus when he fufFe red (as S.Peter obferves 1 Pet. 2. 33. ) hethreatned not ; and we may imagine, with great cha- rity faid this to reduce that poor Wretch to a fence of his fault : And it is a wonder, that herein thofe Judges, or fome of the AnefTors, did not prevent our Lord in the cenfure and caitiga- tion of fuch a wicked and impudent act. Our Lord having thus appealed to witnefTes and the teftimo- §, ^Q. nyof his Auditors concerning his Doctrine and converfation ; ' Thefe were at that time of the night, not prepared, but look- ed for. And many they found, but, as it ordinarily happens in lyes, their witneflings did not agree well together, nor in- ferred the Crimes to be Capital. Thefe, Handing up in the Court, fpake vehemently againft our Lord ; and as faft as they fpake contradicted one another, anddeftroyed each others te- ftimony. Defecerutitfcrutantesfcrutinio; CJ mentita ejtiniqui- tasfibi; as the Pfalmift. Our meek Lord continuing all the time with moil profound filence ; enduring, as the Apoftle ob- ferves , iuch contradictions of finners, unprovoked anfl as it were unconcerned, to the great wonder of the Council, where occurred fuch advantagesof clearing his caufe and Innocency. At the iaft two appeared ( fome think, by the ajfurge bant in §. }i; S. Mark, chap. 14. that they were alio two of the AfTefFors ) that pitched both upon the fame matter ; and this bearing the fhew of an high Crimination j histhreatning to deftroy and demo- lish their Temple j which alio they reproach'd him with when he hung upon the Crofs, Mat. 27. 40. at the very time when in- deed they themfelves were difTolving the Temple he fpake of. But thefe alio, in reciting of his words, varyed, asfrcm the truth of what our Lord faid, fo from one another. One tefti- Gg2 fyed, 236 The Hiftory of the Life of §.32^ fyed , that he (aid absolutely he would deftroy it : Dejhuam ; Mar\. 14.5-8. The other, that he could, or was able to deftroy it, in the fpace of three dayes. ( Pojjum dejtruere Mat. 26. 61. ) Whereas his words were, neither dejlruam nor pojjum dejtruere , but Solvite , Deftroy ye ( as now indeed they were about it, and his excitabo not long after to follow it ). One witnefled in gene- ral, That he laid, he would deftroy the Temple i but then, he might mean iome other Temple ; as indeed he did, the Temple of his Body : but the other, that he laid he would deftroy the Temple made with hands, that very Temple of Jerufalem ; and that, in three daies alfo, he would undertake to build it up again [recedificabo) ; whereas his own words., fpeakingof the Refurrection of the Temple ofhisbody, was excitabo. Thus they urged againft him things that he \neronot P/dlm. 34- i*« and laid to his charge things that he never meant. But , then,, his faying, he was able to dejlroyit, feemsonly a vaunting and vain-glorious fpeech, not deferving death or bonds: and, if he faid further, that he would do it, this argued only a malitious intention where no poffibility of acting. Words they were alio fpoken fome years before , without attempting any fuch thing in the leaft afterwards : Nay one of his valianteft acts, and wherein he molt fhewed his power was quite .contrary to it, the cleanfing of the fame Temple from any profanation of it, in the leaft manner, even in the outward Courts thereof: of which there wanted not WitnefTes many, who fuffered by it. But, making the worft we can of his faying j yet, when the Wit- nefTes added the following words alio, that within other three daies again he would rebuild it, the one I hope, if they held him f uch a Miracle- worker, would make amends for the other ; and f ure he would not after pulling down rebuild it, but to build it better,- and his good intention in reedifying it, may bal- lance, if notdifprove, a bad one in demolifhing it. But, alas, thefe words ("now in the fcarcity of any other folid accufation io aggravated,) were before, at the time he (pake them, even according to the Jews understanding them, only flighted as a a vain brag, and not thought liable to bear an action : they then replying to him, that he fpake impoflibilities ; for that a Tem- ple, that had been before forty fix years in building, could not by one perfon fo fpeedily be pulled down or reedifyed. Jo. 2. 20. §.$2] Though this was the greateft matter, thefe WitnefTes in the Court had to fay againft our Lord, the H'gfiPrieft well f aw the flightncw §.33* our Saviour Jefus Chriff. Part. 11. 237 flightnefsofit ; and therefore, though here the only alleadged, not a word wasfaid of it ( for fhame; before the Roman Go- vemour Pilat, which would but too apparently have betrayed their empty and caufelefs malice. . But our Lord, all this while that fuch things were tumultuoufly objected, remaining recol- lected, andfilent, the Judge feeming well iatisfied with what was laid to his charge, and obferving our Lords refolute filence, flood up; and asked him, whether he did not hear what they urged againft him ? why he anfwered them not ? and what he had to lay for himfelf againft fuch mighty accufations? As if he had forgot that, for the laft words he (pake for himfelf, he fuffered him to'be ftrucken over the face. But our Lord, thus provoked to fpeak and plead for himfelf, ?• ??» continued ftill filent ; and that for many good reafons. Firft iilent, becaule the witnefs, contradicting and deftroyingits fel^ needed no further confutation by him. Silent, outot the higheft Prudence and Pity to his Accufers and Judges, where he fore* knew his fpeaking could have no good Effect upon their ma- lice, but rather ferved'toincreafe their Guilt. Silent again, to fhew the perfect moderation and Mattery of his Paffions, and a raoft entire Refignation to his Fathers will, to leave us an exam- ple herein, faith S. Peter, 1 Pet. 2.23. Tradens fe Judicanti ilium f/zy^.Silent upon higher grounds yet 1 P et. 2.2 ^.Heb.y. 2%. Now were laid on him all our iniquities, Efay. si'f- Now was he, who knew no fin, made fin and made a curfe for us, becaufe out of infinite love he would be fo ; 0 hiatus eft, quia ipfe voluit. Now he prefented himfelf before Gods juftice in our ftead, and who were moft notorioufly guilty of whatsoever he was accufed, Whether blafpheming, Dettroying Gods Temples, or whatever elfe, and had all reafon toftand fpeechlefs,- — Languor es nojtros ('faith the Prophet) ipfe tulit , S3 dolor es noftros ipfe portavit • quafileprojus, & percujfus a Deo, & bumiliatus , vulneratus prop- ter iniquitates nojlras : attritus propter feeler a nojlra j difciplina pads noflra fuper eum : ficut ovis ad. occifiotiem duila ; & quafi uignus coram tondente fe ( the (hearers fti ipping him not only of his clothes, but his life) obmutefcens, & nonaperiens os fuum s quern, propter fcelus popuh jut, per cujjit Dens : As the Prophet at large defcribes there his condition Efay. f$. And fo we ought to imagine him now putting himfelf in our ftead before the Tri- bunal of his Eternal Father: and, without juftifying himfelf at all, fpeaking to him, with a love far tranfeending that of Da- vid 2 Sam, 24. 17, Though I have never finned nor done wick- edly 238 TheHiftoryoftheLifeof §.34. edly before thee, yet, for what thefemy Brethren have done, let thine hand, I pray thee be not againit them, but againft me. And fo filent and without any Defence of himielf, for what could he fay for us, or in our Defence, but only contels our guilt? offering himfelf to Gods vindicative Juftice for all our Biafphemies, Treafons, and affronts, done to this divine Maiefty everfmce that of Adam's; and, amongft therelt, even for their fins alio, that thus unjuftly persecuted him, with the lame De- precation for them now, as on the Crofs. Dimitte Mis Pater : Non enimfciunt, quidfaciunt Lu^z^-SA- Laftly filent, obediently to fulfil what all the Prophecies had fo punctually foretold of him. For at this time it was,that all thole doleful complaints occurring in the Plalmesandelfewhere, concerning his inno- cence, andfuffering mute, and not replying, were exactly and ■pja . 3+. 11 perfectly verified. —Surrexerunt Tejies iniqui ; quiz ignorabam p/i/ 38.1.9, tnterrogabant me, -Po/ui ori meo cujlodiam, cum conjijieret Picca- %rd 37. i3. tor adverfum me. -Opprobrium infipienti dedijli me. -Andobmutui (3 non aperui os meum, quia tufecijii. -Qui inquirebant mala mi- hi locuti funt vanitatesy & dolos &c. Ego'autem tanquamfurdus non audiebam , & ficut mutus non aperiens os fuum. And -Fa- Musfum //cut homo nonaudiens, & non habens inorejuo redargu- tionej, Ego in jlagella paratus fum, ?3 dolor meus in confpeclti meo. Quoniam iniquitatem meam [That of the whole world taken upon me ] annu?itiaboy & cogitabo pro peccato meo [ i.e. meorum. ~\ §0 34. This lilence as the High Prieft much wondred at, fo he little imagined the reafon of it, feeing the great advantages he had of a Reply. And, convinced already without his Plea, of the vanity and contradi&ion of the accufation, devifeth another way that might lucceed better, and being the main matter upon the ftage, that had bin many times, undoubtedly, heard from him ; and which, either affirmed or denyed, rauft equally ruin him; And, that he might noway be defeated by his li- lence, he folemnly adjures him by the living God (a cuftome amongft the Jews in their Courts, where wanting fome other Evidence, fee 1 Kings 8. 3 1. 52. Numb. r.19. 1 TheJJ\ f. 2.7. ) to de- clare then openly, whether indeed he was the Menus, and the Son of God. Whichif he now denyed, having before profef- 'fed it, he might pafs for a grand Impoftor, and Deceiver for- merly; or, if he confelfed it, with the Court it amounted to Mafphemy, and the punifhment thereof Death ; and which the divine Wifdom then fo ordered; That, what our Lord had fo often declared in his life and confirmed with Miracles;he might alfo §-35'3^# our Saviour Jefa Cbrijl. Vzit.ii. 239 a lfo witnefs before all the world at his Death, and feal this great truth with his blood for the greater confirming of true Believ- ers, and greater conviction of all Oppolers at the day of Judg- ment. Thus therefore our Lord prefently confefTed openly what §• ?f. he was, without thofe qualifications,with which formerly he was wont fometimes to veil it, thereby not to prevent or antici- pate his fufferings : His anfwer, there, Thou Jay eft that I am, being amongft the Jews a modeft wav of Afifeveration concern- ing a thing that includes fome felf-dignity or commendation. Thou fayeit that I am, being as much, as, thou fayeft that which lam. Seethe fame, language ufed by our Lord before to Ju- das Mat. 26. 2J-. and the High Prieft his renting his clothes for Blafphemy {hews our Lords Anfwer to hi underftood as a cleat confeflion. Therefore S. Mark puts inftead of it more breifly, lam. And it may be here obferved, that, when as he laid the fame thing often in his life time, and they upon it had charged him with blafphemy j and fo went about to ftone, and kill, him fee Jo. r. 18-^0. 10. 32. &c. He there confuted them, and flop- ped their mouths by many proofs, that this was no falfhood or blafphemy ; viz. by hisfo many miraculous works ; by the Te- ftimony of the Holy Baptift; by the immediate teftimony of his Father from heaven ; laftly, by the infallible Scriptures, calling thofe Gods to whom God had given fome extraordinary com- iniffion or authority ; whereas himfelf had received beyond them fuch a Plenitude of Sa notification, appearing bytheDe- fcentoftheHoly Ghoft upon him at hisBaptifm, by the Purity ofhislife, and Doctrine, and mighty works,- fee Jo. r. 20, 21, 33, 37. the 10. 33, 37: yet here, at their crying Blafphemy, he repeats no fuch defence, notwithstanding all the Nation could witnefs the truth of it ; but retireth again to his former filencea as loath to difappoint their purpofe now his hour was come. Only in great pity and charity to his impious oppreflbrs, and §. ^6. to remove the fcandal taken at that which ought to be infi- nitely admired, his prefent vcluntarily-aflumed humiliation, he modeftly tells them, that, although thefe titles, he owned, might feem fomewhat difTutable to his prefent low condition ; yet one day their eyes mould behold this now fo mean a Son of man exalted to fit on the right hand of Power, as David had foretold of the MefEas: Pfal. 109. 1. [which Meifias his fitting on the right hand of Power, and fo being Davids Lord, the Pha- rifei'flfcould not reconcile with the Meffias being alfo Davids Son, 240 The Hi/lory of the Life of §.3 7. Son, whenour Lord asked them this queftion Mat. 22.44. No more than they could new his bonds with it] and that they mould alfo fee him come in the clouds of heaven, as Daniel had foretold of the Meflias, Dan. 7.13. to judg the world, and even them his then Judges. Of which he had alfo in his preaching told his auditory many times before ; fee Mat. 16. 27. Where advifing them not to mind the gain of this world, but to favc their poor Souls in the next, he tells them that the Son of man ( for io he ftiles himfelf alfo there ) Jhall come in the glory of his Father [which fhewed him the Son to another, higher than man] with bis Angels ; and then reward every one according to bis works. And this his premonition, here given to his unjull fudges, mail again bear witnefsagainft them in that his day of Judgment ; when, faith the Prophet Zachary chap. 12. -Afpicient zn eum quern trans fix erunt. And Ecce venit in nubibus, (3 vide bit eumomnis oculus, z3 qui eum pupugeruntt faith S. John Apoc. i. 7. Nay, a-modo, faith S. Matthew chap. 26. 64. very fuddenly, with- in three daies after his faying this, they fhould fee the beginning of this his Exaltation and Glory. -He being exalted by the right bandofGod, ( faith S. Peter Ads 2. 3 3. after his Refurre&ion, and Afcenfion ) hathjhewed forth this ye now fee, and hear. In which Ipeech of our Lord, thus Handing at the bar, we may obferve chat his fingular modefty was accompanied with a great free- dom, Authority, and Majefty. Nor had their treatment any way daunted him, or remitted the refolution, and courage, belonging to an innocent perlon, to the dignity of his office , and tothenecellary confeffion of truth, as appears in his whole carriage,- at his apprehenfion ; — Are ye come out as agaiiijt a Tbeif&c. 1 fate with you teaching in the Temple, (3c. And here, at his appearance before the High Priefts and Jewifh Courts ; Askejt thou me f ashjthem that heard me : And afterwards before the Roman Governor : fay eft thou this ofthyfelf (3c. And, for this caufe come Unto theworld(3c. And every one that is of the Truth beareth my voice. And, Thou coiildejl have no Power againft me, Jo. 19. n. but what is given thee from above. §. 37. But this forewarning them of his Exaltation and judgment to come, which fhould have ftruckfome fear into them, fand in which his Servant S. Paul had better fuccefs Acls 24.. 27. ) their malice made alfo ill ufe of; and improved it fo much more to compleat his blaiphemy ; And prefently the High Prielt fell a rending his clothes ; ( as it was the manner in fuch a cafe, to rend their veft before, with both their hands,^rom the §•3 8. cur Saviour Jtfut Chrift. Part. n. 241 the neck to the middle ) and faid, there was now no more need of witnefles, ( who well knew, how little they befteaded him ) ; that he had fufficiently condemned himfelf. The reft alfo of his AffefTors charged him wich blafphemy ( themfelves, in this, blafpheming ) j and that for this he merited death ; and fo de- livered him into the cuftody of the High Priefts Officers till the morning, which now approached, it being now after Cock- crow ; and railed the Court. See Lujl>. 22.26. Mat. 27. i.Or, if fomeof our Lords Judges may be thought to have fate in con- futation the reft of that night j yet our Lord was removed from before them, and remitted to the Officers cuftody till a fuller AtTembly of the next morning fliould determine their fur- ther proceedings. Our Lord thus left in the Officers hands, let us now return 5. jg. and fee what becomes of his poor Difciples. It was faid, that after the Sword drawn, and MalchushisEare cut off, and our Lord apprehended and bound, all of them fled: but St. Peter, and another Difciple, by the advantage of the darknefs of the night, followed the Troop at fomediftance [which other Di- fciple feems tobeS. John, becaufe he relates the matter lo pun- ctually, and conceals the name, asheufeth when fpeaking of himfelf. As for that Difciples being known to the High Prieft, I conceive he might be fo without the High Prieft himfelf ('but onely fome ofhis Family ) having familiar acquaintance with him; or without the High Preift's knowing any thing of his Di- fciplefhip to Jefus,- or alfo, with his conniveance at it, our Lords Difciples having as yet given the High Preift not the leaft offence: and this alfo makes it the more probable, that Ze- bedeehis father feems to have bin, according to his condition, awealthvman, as may be gathered from his wifes (perhaps af- ter her husbands deceafe ) being one that accompanied Mary Magdalen, and the wife of Herodes Steward, wealth', perfons alfo, whom God had provided for this purpofe, in miniftring to our Lord s neceffities in his travels out of their fubftance ; as alfo after his death in providing coftly fpices for embalming him; See Mat. 27.rr.f6. compare Lu\. 8.2. 3. And this alfo might be fome reafon of her confident requeft Mat. 20. 20. of having her two fons more highly preferred in our Lords King- dom ; andlaftly, of our Lords recommending his mother to John, as for other reafons, fo becaufe he was better able to pro- vide for her; and perhaps, as having alfo an houfe in Jerufaleni Jo. 19 .27. —but be this as it will]. H h Thofe 242 The Eiftory of the Life of §-39. §.39. Thofe two Difciples followed our Lord to the High Prieft's gate. And the other D'Tciple prefled alfo into the Pailace with our Lord and the Guard Jo. 18. if; but Peter, perhaps more timorous for the Exploit he had done in the Garden, ftayeth without till his companion, fpeaking to a woman the Portrefs, brought him in, which made her preiume him a Galilean. Pe- ter, thusentred, prefumed not to go up into the Court where the Council (ate on the trial of our Lord, as probably the other Difcipledid; but ftayed below amongft the fervants and offi- cers at the fire in the Hall or Court ot the Pailace, Mat. 26. for many other good ends : As, to beget a perfect humility in him, a little before too confident of himfelf; to (hew us, what frail things we are, the belt of us, when our Lord leaves us a little to our 1 elves, and hath not his eye upon us : To comfort poor fin- ners in their great mifcarriages, fince the greateft Saints, as Da- vid, and Peter, have had their falls : To mew the infinitnefsof Gods mercy to Penitents in his pardoning fuch great offences ; and that to perfons moft obliged to him, and from whom he had reafon to expect the greateft fidelity : Laftly, to teach Pe- ter the cheif Pallor of his fheep the more compaffion to finners, in reflecting on his own infirmities and faults ; and to bear with thole who are tempted and fall, in as much as himfelf flood not, when he was fo. $• 42- What became of the other Difciple no mention is made. Tis probable, that, better acquainted with the houfe he went up in- to the Court, and was prefent at our Lords trial, and feeing the fevere proceedings againft him, after the Council rofe , quitted the Pallace with the reft, where he faw was no fafe ftaying any longer for any friends of Jefus : when alfo he might take Peter, prefently after his third mifadventure there, along with him. Now, §.4^44* cur Saviour J e fits Chrift. Part.II. 245- Now, to return unto our BlefTed Lord committed to the cu- §, 43. ftody of the High-Priefts Officers and Servants until the morn- ing, and the reafTembly of the Council in the lame place, in a fuller body. Thele Officers one would think, fince the time that being fent to apprehend him they returned to their Ma- tters with a Nunquamjic locutus ejl homo, ficut hie homo, mould now have treated him with fome ordinary civility, efpecially no final fentence being yet pafledupon him ; and the Judges being to reexamine his caufe the next morning. The ear alfo our Lord reftored but two or three hours before to Malchus, and his reprehending Peter for his cutting it off, might not have bin 10 loon forgotten by them. But indeed now was the Power of Satan and of Darknefs, and his chain never fo much loofened as at this time, before the approaching ruin of his kingdom ; who therefore ceafed not by all thole his Inftru- ments to acl: his utmoft malice, nor to fuffer our Lord to reft one minute. The Minifters therefore having as yet no order for the exe- c ., cuting of any higher corporal punifliment , and becaufe our Lord alfo was to proceed gradatim through all forts of fuffer- ings, inftead of indulging him or themfelves any repofe (in which our Lords fervantS. Peter was more civilly ufed Acls 12. 6. ) after their watching all the fore-part of the night, compafs him about in a ring ; and, notwithstanding his modeft filence noway provoking them, fall on abufing him both with their tongues and hands, as far as was permitted. They fpit on his face ( being the greateft note of ignominy and difgrace that was amongft the Jews fee Deut. 2?. 9. where the man was to be ufed fo, that would not raife up feed to his brother ; -And they- abhor me ('faith Job) in his typical complaint. Chap. 3o. 10. they forbear not to fpit in my face ) when his tyed hands alfo could not cleanfe it. They fmote him alfo on the face with thepalmesof their hands: They punched and thumped him with their fifts : and, by the Prophecies, EJay ro. 6. it feems- they alfo plucked offhis hair ; being not tondtnteshuX vellentes of this meek Lamb. Thefe Jews alfo treated him this night as&Mock^MeJJias -3 as the next day the Gentiles abuled him as a Moc/^I\ing ,• and, after their cruelty wearied, in this way, and his rare faculty in Prophecying coming into their mind, they remembred a Boys-play tothispurpole, and got a cloath and blindfolded him' ( whereof the Philiftines abufing blind Samp- fon was a Type) and fall on beating him afrefhthus hood- winked, . 246* The Hiftory of the Life of §.45,46. winked, that he being the Meflias, and the Chrift, and the great Prophet that was to come into the world, mould now ib hood- ed prophecy, and tell them who it was that fmote him. §. 4r. Cruel, andcaufelefs malice! for which of his fweet words or mighty works ( as he once faid to you Jo. 10. 32. ) who left hea- ven to fave you, and in whom you never law fault, and who went about every where doing good ; for which of thefe do you thus treat him ? And how could the bleffed Angels, at leaft that waited on our Lord, have the patience to f utter fuch vile wretches, and the dregs of the people, toftrike, and fpit on their Creator the Lord of Heaven and Earth > but that they well knew it was the pleafure of their great Matter out of his in- finite charity to l'uffer this even for the falvation of thole his Tormentors ■> and to receive thefe blows for the fatisfaction of their fault that gave them. All this while our meek Lord flood filent, nor was a Reproof found in his mouth: but tothofe that ftruck him on the one cheek he turned the other -, and received without reply fuch derifions , ("corns and contradiction of fi li- ners, of which St. Luke intimates, that the Evangelifh men- tioned only fome part. ,-Etalta mult a ( faith he ) blafpbeman- tes dicebant in eum, Lu\. 22. 6y. and they that could not hold their hands offhim before the Judge, what would they not do to him left to their Guard ? $• 4<*« Of all this ufagef as David in Spirit had before drawn it up) this only Son of God makes in the ears of his Father this in- nocent complaint : —Nequeiniquitas mea , neque peccatum me- um, Domine ■, Jine iniquitate cucurri & direxi -igne me examina- jii, & noneft invent a inme iniquitas Pial. y8. 5*. Non locutum ejt os meum opera bominum : & propter verba labiorum tuorum cu- ftodivivias duras. -Plal. \6.\. Jer. 11. 19. Ego quafi Agnus man- fuetus qui portatur adviUimam ; (3 non cognovi quia cogitaverunt f'uper me con/ilia, dicentes j mittamus lignum inpanem ejus, & era- damns eum de terra viventium. -]er. 12.7. l^eliqui domum meam, dimiji hcereditatem meam ; & de'di dileilam ant mam meam, in manu inimicorum ejus ; & faHa ejt mihi hareditas mea quaji Leo infylva GV. -Plal. 68. 8, 9, 21. Propter tefujtinui opprobrium, opc- ruit confufio faciem meam —failus extranens fratribus meis [to my own People, and to my own Followers, affrighted at my troubles] £S> Peregrinus fiitis matris mea — opprobria, exprobran- tiumtibi [ in all thy merciful defigns for their falvation] ceci- derunt juper me. —Su(Hnui qui fimul contrijtaretur, & nonfuit: G? qui confolaretur & non invent &c. — Pfal. 108. i.&c. Os peccatoris Jiiper §.47>4-8. cur Saviour Jefut Chrift. Part.ii. /' 247 fuper me aper turn eft, & Jermonibus odii circumdederunt me: &? expugnaverunt me gratis. Pro eo ut diligerent me 3 detrahebant mihi. —Etpof'uerunt adverfumme mala pro bonis: G? odium pro dileclione mea j nonjunt recordati miferzcordiam,fedperfecuti funt kominem inopem, U mendicum, ($ mortificaverunt compunUum cor- de [fuperadded affliction to affliction] s Ego autempro eis orabam. All thele things alio were particularly foretold of the Meffias by the Prophets. —Dens aperuit illi aurem [faith the Prophet §. 47. Ufaycbap. ro. f, 6. to become obedient in all things to the ex- tremity] Non contradixit : retro non abiit : corpus fuum dedit percutientibus, &genaifuas vellentibus : & feci em fuam non aver ~ tit ab increpantibus, G? confpuentibus in eum. --It virga ( faith the Prophet Micba f. 1.) percuttent maxillam Judicis ljrael -(§ de- dit percutienti (e maxillam, G? Jaturatus eft opprobriis, fay the la- mentations of the Prophet Jeremy .Lam. 3. 30. And -faclus oppro- brium bominum, '& abjeclioplebis, (faith Pfal. 21 .) and with thefe inlolenciesfo disfigured the Prophet Elay chap. 5-3.2. ©V. de- fcribes him, that —Nonerat fyecies ei , neque decor: that vi- d.runt eum j & non erat ajpeUus ut deftderarent eum. And again , — GUiafi abfeonditus vultus ejus G? defpeUus 3- unde ?icc reputavimus eum. Thus the Prophets. And whatever they faid, his obedience was refolved to go through with it , and make it good, without a contradixit or a retro abiit : and there- fore he foretold alio to his Difciples feveral times Mat. 16. 2 r* -20. 19. Luj^. 18. 31. a little before his laft return to Jerufalem; that all things fpokenby the Prophets of his fufferings muft be accomplifhed even to this now acted, his being mocked, fpight- fully intreated and fpit upon : and that they mould do unto him as they had done unto the Baptift, what ever things they would Mat. 17. 12. ii. And, at his apprehenfion, hislaff. words to Peter were, after his having told him that he could procure of his Father more than twelve Legions of Angels to his refcue, But ('faith he ) How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it muft be? Thus all this night, under thefe barbarous Guards, whilit they were acting cruelties, he was fulfilling Pro*, phecies. And well had it bin, if our Lord's I ufFerings had ended thus i $. 4 ,3 , or, that they had carried him hence immediatly to Execu- tion. But thefe are but the Prologue to much greater cruelties before the final taking away his life, and the Jews their not having power ( as now the divine Wifdom had prepared things ) of infilling death fervedto double our Lords torments j be- caulc> 43 The Hiftory of the Life of §-49 • caufe, as the Jews and the Gentiles were to have an equal fhare in the benefit of his fufferings and his death, fo were they to have in the inflicting of them j that, as on the one fide all re- ceive the mercy of being faved by his blood, fo on the other none ihould be treed from the guilt of fhedding it. 49. This barbarous treatment of the Jewilli Guard lafted till the morning ,• when very early, affoon as it was day ( faith the Evan- gelift Lit\. 22.66. ) the Council met again j and, as appears by St. Matthew chap. 27. 1. and Mar\. 15*. 1. in a much fuller bcdy, than over night. The Antients of the people, the chief Priefts, and the Scribes, and the whole Council ( fay they ) conlulted to- gether againft Jefus. And, probably, Nicodemusand Jofeph of Arirnathea were there alfo j who, St. Luke faith Mark^ 1/. 1. compared with thezCkron. 30.2. and Acls ^.21.-23. j-o. confent- ed not to the Council and deed of them: God having referved thele here to reprefent to the reft their injuftice j as alfo to be- ftowonour Lord fo murthered an honourable funeral. Our Lord being already precondemned by them overnight, the chief defign of their confult now was how to put him to death by the Roman Governour, who had the fole power thereof: this being taken from the Jews notlong before Jo. 18. 32. fo that theftoniagof S. Stephen feems rather to proceed from a popular Tumult, than a legal courfe of Juftice. But, had the Jews now bin pofTeft: of thss power, our Lords fufferings ha And the fame anfwer was return- ed to it now alfo the fecond time. Whereupon all pronounced the fame fentence as was given over night j and concluded, I i that . 250 TheHifioryoftheLifecf §.52,53. that there needed no further witnefTes againft a Perfon fuffici- ently condemned from his own mouth. §. fz. Upon this they commanded, that he fhould be bound again, Mat. 27. 2. for, whilft he ftoqd before the Council, his bonds wereloofed, according to the cuftome,^ 22.30. and fo with- out delay led him av/ay to the Roman Governour Pilat, to re- queft that by his authority the fentence of Death, which his crimes had deferve'd, might fpeedily be executed before the great Feaft commenced ; or any Infurre&ion of the populacy to his refcue, famed for a Prophet. Though indeed they want- ed not other motives of deferring this proceeding fas alfo af- terward Herod did concerning Peter Atts 12. 4.) fince they could not fo well then prefent him in Pilats Court, nor enter into it for fear of defiling themfelves, by touching perfons un- clean, who were that night to eat the Pafchal Lamb. And again, mould the perfons executed have hung upon the Gibbet lo long as was needful, info lingring a torment, for the finifh- ing of their life, they had continued upon it, fome of them per- haps, till the next day, which would have bin a great Propha- nation of their higheft Feaft; but malice is impatient. ^ *%• In this confult alfo they prepared many other ftrong accufa- tions, that might be more fpecious and current with the Go- vernour, and the Roman Soldiery, than thofe meerly touching their Law and Religion; fuch as thefe : that ( befides his blal- phemy, and making himfelf the Son of God, capital by their law; his threatning to deftroy their Temple; his breaking the Sabbath and juftifymg it ; his letting himielf above Moles, and the Law, and former Traditions; and endeavouring to abo- iifh them &c. ) he was alfo highly delinquent againft the Ro- mon-ftateand theEmperour: had gotten a great multitude of Followers and Difciples, and raifed Tumults and Seditions a- mongft the people, frequently follewed by many thoulandsof them; whom alfo he feafted ; and who had a purpofe alfo to make him their King; calling him ( that was born and bred not in the Tribe of Juda, but in the outskirts of Galilee ) the Son of David.That his afTumed title of the Mcffias includes alfo that of a King ; that he refilled to pay tribute to Cefar: that, hav- ing skill in the black art, he deceived the common fort with ma- ny miracles; and caft out Devils alfo with the Devils confent. That, for his ends, though pro felling great Sanctity, he kept company with prophane and lewd people: lived nioftwhat in the out-skirts of the countrey, remote from Jcrufalem the place of §. 54? 5 $• our Saviour Jefu* Chrift. Part.IJ. 2 $ 1 of Juftice, and from the Prefidents refidence, who might ob- ferve and curb his Infolencies. Thefe crimes, I lay, and the like, for we may imagine there was nothing in our Lord's acti- ons capable of an illleniefasmofta&ions of great perfons are ) that the Devil now loofed did not mggeft to the High-Preift s malice. And the Evangelifts Mat. 27. 13,14- Mar%. iy.4, j\ fay, that they accufed him of many things, info much as the Governourqueftioned our Lord, continuing in a conftant fi- lence, whether he did not hear how many things they witnef- led againfthim. Whilftfuch accufations were defigned, before the Council g. ^4. arofe, comes in Judas, now as much tormented in his confci- fcience, as he was over-night pleafed in his fin ; to whom then by Satan were prefented many plaufible imaginations to induce him to fo foul an Adr. As that he fhould remain undifcovered; therefore went he at fomediftance before the band, and, as a fervant, did reverence to his Matter: that our Lord could fu f- fer nothing by what he gained, but at pleafure, as formerly, could withdraw himfelf, andefcapej therefore fome think, he bad them look that they held him faft: or, that in any trial his innocency, and doing all things well, whom none could truely accufe of any fin, would eafily free him : or, if finding fome in- jufticein the Court, .the people atleaftio taken with his Ser- mons and miracles, would quick'yrefcue him. So the Devil at firfl by diminishing the fault enticeth men to commit it : but, when done, by as much aggravating it to their fight, ftrives to ufher in a fecond and greater fin, Defpair, and to {hut the door to pardon. God, before fin, is reprefented by him all mercy ; after it, all Juftice : and contrary to this worketh the Holy Spi- rit; deterring us before by Gods purity, and Juftice, from fo vileana&i but, after it, inviting to repentance and reforma- tion. He, then, having heard, or perhaps feen, how far they had §. ??. proceeded againft his innocent Mailer, fentenced him to dy, and were now carrying him away to Pilat to procure the Exe- cution ; now too late repenting himfelf of his horrid facf, brought back to them the money he had received of them but a few hours before ,• and told them, he had grieveouily finned in betting innocent blood. Which was thus ordained by divine Providence, after the oppofition made before by thole two upright Councilors Jofeph and Nicodemus, that thefe his Judges might alio reflect on their own crime, by Judas his con- I i 2 ieffing 252 The Hiftory of the Life of §-5^5 7* felling his, in their condemning that innocent blood, he had betrayed. But they, regardleflv, bidding him to look to his own faults himfelf •, andasking what hi? infidelity to his Mafter was to them, haftily repelled him from before them. What is that to its? fay they Mat. 27. 4. Yesfurely, fomething 'tis to you ; for befides that you Preifts are the Phyfitians of fick fouls, to whom poor finners repair for your Spiritual Counfel, and making their attonement and reconciliation with the offend- ed God, you may remember, that you are the perfons that hir- ed this poor Wretch to commit this finful Act: or, if he did well in it, your charity flood engaged to pacify and allure there- in his troubled confcience. §■ f6. Judas, receiving no confolation or thanks from them, nor feeing any hopes of their relenting, or difmiffing his Mafter, and they rejecting alfo the mony which he would now have bin glad to have refunded for his Matters ranfome, he presently went and threw his poor recompence of his wickednefs in the Temple, where their Officers might find and difpofe of it j and io went and hanged himfelf, to get out of his prelent pain: (thus dying the accurfed death before ipoken of ) notable any lon- ger to endure the goads and pangs of his confcience, letting be- fore him the innocency of our Lord, the dignity of his perfon, his love and affection to him, in great humility warning his feet, but laft night at Supper, fo requited; all our Lord's iweet Ser- mons, and charitable actions, unworthy of fuch a treafon ; laft- ly, the divine vengeance ; and thofe laft words of our Lord con- cerning him at Supper, Mat. 26. 24. Filius quidemhominu tra- detur, jedvce hominiilli : bonum erat Mi, ft non ejfet natus homo, ille&c ■, for the Devil, we may imagine, fuggefted whatever might more fwell his Defpair. Here was a. molt bitter Com- punction for his fin • repentance and confeffion ; and that pub- lick i laftly reftitution ; and all too little, for him, who had done fuch defpight to the Spirit of Grace, and was now fallen into the hands of the living God, Heb. 10*29, 30. and a fear- ful expectation of Judgment and fiery indignation : Cap. 10. 27 : which fpirit now having abandoned him , all fuch his re- lenting could not be found, fincere, or acceptable to God ; but like that ofEfau; not finding place of a [right ] Repentance, though fought carefully with tears Heb. 12. 17- ♦ 5. S7' After his having thus made away himfelf, the divine ven- geance alfo purfued him further, which feems to be pointed-at by the Pfalmift, Pfal, 108. 18. IntretMaledicliofiut aqua in in- teriora §.58. our Saviour Jefut Chili- Part. 11. 253 teriora ejus. For his body, thus hungup, burft in peices, and his bowels, fo void of companion to the perfecuted Innocent, were ejected and emptied out of his body ; full of. ftench, and corruption, and molt noifome to all that approached and be- held it. Which ftrange and fad accident alio could not but be prefently diffamed and fpread abroad ; and might have bin a iecond warning to thofe others Actors in this Murther, fo to prevent that unparallelled Judgment that fhortly after follow- ed upon the whole Nation j in which a!fo by jofephus this is noted as one of the greateft Roman torments ufed towards thofe poor Jews, who fled to them for mercy, that the Soldiers frequently ripped up their bowels for fwallowed Gold. His money, thrown down in the Temple, afterwards the §. y ga cheif Preifts took up, for noncelfe might touch things dedicat- ed. And, becaufe it-was the price of blood, ( though them- ielves were the Purchafers of it ) their devotion thought not fit to put it into the Treafury of Holy things there; God having prohibited lefs fcandals than this to be brought into the Tem- ple ; Deut.21.Ji. and not permitting David, becaufe a flied- der of blood, though fuch as ought to be fpilt, to have a hand in building it: they refolved therefore to difpofe of it fome other way ; and the divine Wildom fo ordered it, that they mould lay it out upon land, a known peice of ground, that, ever after called the field of Blood, might perpetuate the memory of their wicked fact. This ground they defigned for a burying place for ftrangers, fuchProfelytesofthe Gentiles as much re- torted to their lolemn feafts f their buryals generally being out of the City): a type of Chrifts blood benefitting thofe ftran- gers, whilft they that ihed it loft their fhare in it, Nee introierunt in requiem ejus-, and a type of the Gentiles now admitted, by the Purchafe of that blood, to be joined, and to take their ever- lafting reft and repole with his former people, the Church of the Jews. All thele particulars we have, punctually foretold by the Prophet Zachary,^c. u. 12, 1 3. both the juftfumm of the price thirty Jbekels or pieces of 'Jilver j and the vilenefs of it exaggerated ; being the value of a Servant, in cafe his Mafter was any way deprived of him Exod. 21. 32; and the projeclion of this money in the Temple; and the d?fpoJ/ng of it to a Potters. ( yet had not thele learned men, that fulfilled it, light to dii- cover itj. To a Potter, i. e. one that traded in vile and cheap ware, which (hewed the fumm fit for a very mean purchafe. The field, it feems by the price of it, was fome neglected place perhaps 254 The Hijlory of the Life of §.59,60. perhaps where potfherdswere caftout,as Monteteflaceo atl(pme ,• or, where clay was digged for pot- making ; and it was ever after by the people called the field of blood, for' a Witnefs againft the cruel purchafers ; but alfo, asitfeems by St. Peters words jfits \t upon this account, that Judas chofe the lame piece of ground, wherein to make away himfelf, and where his bowels and blood,by the divine Juftice poured out before our Lords,be- came fuch a loathfome and offenfive fpe&acle to the beholders. Now, to return to the HighPriefts. They, and the Scribes, $j_£9. and the Elders, the whole Multitude of them faith S.Luke Lul^ 2}. 1. not fpending much time in confutation concerning a matter long before refolved, betimes in the morning. Jo. 18.28. led away our Lord, thus condemned and bound, to the Roman Prefident's Pallace, and delivered him up into the hands of the ■ Romans. And fo were they themfelves afterwards for it, the whole Nation, led into captivity by Titus ; their City deftroy- ed , a thing fadly forefeen, and deplored by our Lord in his Palm-Sunday Triumph, when, as from Mount Olivet he be- held the City,he wept over it LuJ^ 19. 4i,- and again, in the Holy week of his Paffion, when in the Temple he told them their houfe was now left unto them defolate Mat. 23. 3 8 ; and again, when he fate on the Mount Olivet over againft the profpect of the Temple Mat.i\.\.f3c. with his Difciples;and laftly,ashe went to Execution and faw the people weeping for him. As thecheif Priefts in this fuddaintranfmittingof our Lord to Pilat, {hew- ed the great zeal they had ofhis fpeedy difpatch : fo this Eve of the great feaft of the PafTover feems alio to be one of the utu- al daies, if not of the tryal, yet of the Execution, of Malefa- ctors ( thus made more Exemplary at the time of fo great a con- fluence of People hither ). Becaufe we find others then executed befides our Lord j and becaufe it is faidtobe the cuftome, in honour of this great Feaft, for the Roman Governourat this Seffionsto releafeoneot the Perfons condemned to the Jews: who, asthey had loft the power of putting any to death, fo of pardoning or releafing any from it. Our Lord brought hither was committed to the Roman §. 60." Guards, and carried by them to the Pratorium or Court of Judgment. But the High Priefts and Antients of the Jews en- tred not in with him, becaufe this Evening they were*- to eat the Pafch j not performed by them in its proper time as it was by our Lord, becaufe the Pafchal-Feaft-day happening this year to fall on the day before the Sabbath, was by a former cuftome transferred §6 1. our Saviour JefaCbri/l. Part.n. 255 transferred to it. Now, the eating of the Pafchal Lamb was prohibited to all that were any way unclean. Numb.g. ii; and the Jews held the touching of any Gentile ( whom they efteem- ed unclean, as not being cleanfed at all from their pollutions according to Levit. y. 3. and if. 1. &c. ) to render them foj he, who touched any thing unclean, becoming unclean Lev, $.2. Tor this caufe they ftayed without ; and it happened alfo op- portunely for their better prevailing with, and perfwading, the people by and by, that they mould faveBarabbas rather than Jeius ; the one a true railer of Sedition, and the other falfly ac- cufedofit. This impediment of their entring into the Pallace, and there preferring their accufation againfl the Prifoner made them alfo hope from Pilat rather a Confirmation of their fen- c ^Ti tence and an order for his execution, than a reexamination of his caufe i and that his guilt in fuch an extraordinary cafe mould be taken upon their word. But God would not fuffer their Iniulticefo to be huddled up: nor yet Pilat 5 who, it feems, had more intelligence of their proceedings then they imagined (for a Roman Tribune and Cohort were alfo employed in our Lords apprehenfionjo. 18. 12. ) and doubtlefshad heard much of the fame of Jefus , and had a vigilant Eye upon his motions, and on theconcourfe of the people made to hear him, but with- out discovering any harm in his actions; and alfo who knew ( faith the Text ) that [not for any capital crimes of his, but] for meer envy, no fmall Guilt of theirs, they had delivered him. He therefore, feeing the Prifoner ftand before him with- out his Accufers, rifeth from the bench, and unexpectedly goes forth to them, andaskesthem what accufation they brought againfl him: who now anfwered him alfo in general ; that, if he were not a Malefactor, they would not have fenthim to him. Pilat, fomewhat moved with fuch their declining his further examination of the matter, defires them then, fince they had found him fuch, they would refumethe matter into their own hands, andfinim the work they had begun, and punifh the De- linquent themfelves, according to his demerit. Upon which, they replyed , That his crimes were fuch as deferved death, a that in the molt fevere and exemplary manner -3 which it was not permitted to them to inflict: andfo, when thus urged to. it, began to accufe him to the Governour of fuch things as they imagined might be of moft weight with him and the Roman- Militia 3 prefiing in particular, hisforbidding to give Tribute to, 256 The Hijlory of the Life of §.62. to Cefar; and faying that he himfelf was Chrift a King. An accufation, in the ience they intended it, and as it might any way intrench upon Cefars rights, veryfalfe. For, as tor Tri- bute, he had both actually before paid it, when demanded of him, to Cefar, Mat. 17. 26. and alfo being asked by them ('the Pharifees joined with the Herodians Mat. 22. 16. ) the quefti- on about the lawfulnefs of it, but two or three daies before his apprehenfion, on purpofe ( faith the Evangelift £7/^.20.21. ) that they might take hold or his words, that fo they might de- liver him into the power of the Roman-Governour, he affirmed it, and utterly iilenced them with that divinely prudent anfwer of his, J^eddite qua funt Cafaris Cafari , £? qua junt Dei Deo, that they mould give to Cefar Cefars Coine. And, as for his Meffias-or Kingfhip, he had confelTed it indeed j but that his fitting upon his Throne fliould be not here, but in Heaven, ad dexter am Patris -, and the Glory of it not prefent, but hereaf- ter, Quando veniet cum nubibas. The like account whereof he gave afterward to Pilat ; and alfo defafto,w\\en the Multitude purpofed to have made him King: Jo. 6. if. he had declined it, and prefently withdrew hinifelf ; andelfewhere, in a con- traverfy between two Brothers about dividing Lu%. u. 14. a pieceofland, herefufedtobean Arbitrator: and fent his Di- lciples about the countrey without carrying apenyof money, or fo much as a ftaff Mat. .10. 10. i.e. wherewith to defend themfelves, or offend others; taught them continually Pati- ence and non-refiftance , if ftruck on the one cheek to turn the other, the fundamental way of the propagation of his King- dom. In his late apprehenfion he commanded Peter to put up his Sword, and forbad the ufeofit againft authority -, and prefently repaired the hurt he had done with it. —All which fulfils that fo often repeated of our Lord in the Vhlms, -Oderunt me gratis, without any caufe. —Et qua ignorabam, interrogabant me. $.62'. Pilat, upon this their accufation, returned into the Prato- rium, where he had left our Lord in thecultody of the Roman- Guards, and, calling him before him, asked him whether he was the King of the Jews, meaning thatMeiTias, or Chrift, or King that the Jews had io long expected : perhaps becaufe that his Accufers had told him, that our Lord had before them openly, himfelf, confelTed it. Our Lord, though well know- ing what had palTed without, yet to reduce the Governour the more to retkcl: on his own observation, and experience, and on §.^3^4* cur Saviour Jefut Chritt. Vm.n. 257 on the malice and envy of his Adverfaries well known to him, defired ( doubtlefs with a great appearance oi gravity and Ma- jefty ) to know whether he asked inch a Queftion or himfelf, and from any jealouly our Lord s lite and actions had raifed in him of his afpirmg to the Crown or iudaj or whether he had it from the relation of others viz. the High-Priefb, the envious opprefTors of his innocencyand merits as the Prefulents own conscience witnelTed unto him. The Gover iour replyed ,• that he, a Roman, underftood none of thole matters, ab >ut his Meflias-andKingmipj but that it was his own Ration that ac- cufedhimof it, and had delivered him as a perfon wry crimi- nous, and deferving death. Then our Lord, to inform him further of the truth, anfwered that the Kingdom heonl- own- ed was not a Kingdom of this World, nor fuch as did difturb any Prince's temporal Rights , as di 1 furficiently appear, tiiathe had no Subjects to fight for him, orrdcue his pefiort from his Enemies and perfecutors. You are King then, laiJ Pilar. Our Lord anfwered, he was ; and that he was lent into the world to bear witnels of the truth ( which himlelf was ) ; and that this was a Spiritual Kingfhip over hearts , there to rule over and de- ftroy all Error j and that all thofe who were the Ions or Truth would hear and obey his Doctrine, and become his Sul jects. The Governour asked him , what was that Truth he ipake of, and wherein he laboured to render all men his Schollars and Subjects: and, having no mind to engage anv further difcourfe about matters, as he luppofed, of the jewifh Religion, debated between our Lord and their High Priefts, he role luddenly jroin the bench and went forth the (econd time to the jews, taking our Lord -with him, and told them, that he found no fauit ac all in the man. This much enraged them, and made them redouble their $. <$->. acculations ; to all which our Lord, ascalme as they were fu- rious, anfwered not a word. Whereupon Pilar wondring asked Jelus, whether he heard not how. many things they witne'flVd againfthim? But neither to Pilat anlwered he a word, which ( faith the Evangelift Mat. 27. 14. ) made the Governour won- der exceedingly, as both knowing hisinnocency, and himfelf countenancing it. Amongft other things they informed the Governour, that §. £4. he had gone every where railing Sedition amongft the people, beginning in Galilee firft, the out- skirts of the countrey ; and fo coming up with Multitudes and Tumults even to Jerufalem ,■ .* Kk [perhaps 258 The Hiftory of the Life of §. ^4« [ perhaps relating to his laft triumphal entrance into the City .five daies before on Palm-Simctay, Pauper 6 humilis , riding upon a poor young colt of an Afle without a Saddle, and weep- ing as he went along; and a great part of his applaufe, the Hofannas of the children]. Now Galilee was a place noted formerly for feveral rebellions. See Jtts 5. 37, 3 8. how one Theudas appeared there that made himfelf a Prophet, and pre- tended he could do miracles, and drew much people after him ( mentioned but mis- timed by Jofephus Antiq. Judaic. lib. 20. cap. y.J-3 and,afterhim, Judasof Galilee about the birth of our Sa- viour in the time of the enrolment under Cyrenius Lu\. 2. 2. which Judas alfo oppofed the paying of taxes or tribute to the Romans : Both which Rebels and all their Followers were difli- pated and deftroyed. After thefe alfo it feems fome Galileans within a few years before had fo highly offended Pilat in his government, that, when they came up to Jerufalem at the fo- lemn Feaft to offer Sacrifice, he caufed them to be put to death ; and that in fome cruel, fuddain, and unexpected manner, it mould feem by the expreffion in the Text Lu\. 1$. 1 '• and , by their relating it to our Lord, fome think they might be fome relicks of Judas his Sect that denyed tribute to Celar ( for which reafon alfo fome made mention of them to our Lord to hear his judgment of their opinion ) and that made at Jerufa- lem fome oppofition in the Feaft to the Sacrificing for the fafety and profperity of the Emperour. And Pilat is noted both by Philo Judeus De legatione adCaium and Jofephus to have bin pervicaci & duro ingenio, and very uncompliant with the Jews; and who at laft, complained-ofby the Nation to Vttel- lius, then a Superior Prefect of Syria, for a {laughter made upon the Galileans, was fent by him to Cefar to give an account thereof; and fo deprived of his government and confined. The Jews mention therefore hereofCalilee feems to have con- duced much to their purpofe. But, when this was fuggefted to Pilat, he made another ufe of it 5 and though Herod and he were now at enmity between themfelves , perhaps for Pilat s cruelty mewed to the Galileans forementioned : yet refoived to fend to him thePrifoner, who was born, as was commonly imagined, his Subject ( Galilee being under Herods jurifdiction) and" lived moftof his time in his territories ; as being defirous to rid his hands of this bufinefs with as little difpleafure to the Jews as might be, and to devolve the odium of it upon Herod, now come up to the Feaft; and, becaule Herod being r • well .§.65,66. our Saviour Jefut Chrift. Part. ir. 259 well acquainted with the fews law and Religion ( which alfo he profelt ) might better difcover the Jufticeof the quarrel the Jews hadagainfthim about his Meffiasfhip, and the Truth he laid he came to>promulgate ; and would perhaps protect him, as his Subject, againft the High Priefh malice. Thus Satan, to whom God gave leave to perfecute his only Son, not excepting his life as he did Job's, hurried our Lord as it were in Triumph, to prolong his iufferings , before inflicting the laft, of death , from one great perfon to anocher, to make him the more pub» lick object offcorn and contempt j and, that all might have an hand in his afflictions and torments, the Court ofGalilee, as well as that of Judea : foretold by David Pfal. 2. Principes con- venerunt in unum , adverjus Chrijium tuum ; and obferved by S.Petery#?j-4. 27. Herod, having never feen our Lord, but heard much of his e $ym fame aqfl of his miracles, rejoiced much on this occafion, hop- ingtohave feen him now, for his greater reputation, or at leaft the faving of his life, do lome notable miracle before him ; which John the Baptift never did. Here , upon our Lords appearance, he fell on questioning him about many things of which he had the curiofity to be informed : we may » imagine about his Doctrine, hisDefcent, his preteufion to his Meffiasfhip, what evidence he could give of fuch a pretended extraordinary Million from God &c. And perhaps any one Miracle done by our Lord would have defeated the perfec- tions of the Jews, confirmed the reputation of his being an ex- traordinary Prophet , and procured his liberty. For Herod alfo had the Baptift in great efteem, and was drawn both to his imprifonment, by the importunity of a woman that be- witched him with her love; and to his death, by a rath promife which after much afflicted him. But our Lord, refigned to his Fathers known will concern- §.66. ing him ; and thirfting for the falvation of the world by his fuf- ferings and death, and the accomplifhment of all the Prophe- cies made of him formerly by the Holy Ghoft ; and juftly refuf- ing alfo, projicere fanBum canibus^ or to fatisfy the curiofitv of fo wicked a perfon polluted with Inceft and Murder, flood fi- lent before him, initead of rendring him, by fome obfequious aniwer, his Friend and Patron. But filent he was with that meek and humble countenance and carriage, as that Herod rather took him for a fimple perfon and a fool, and not an- fwering the report he heard of him, than for any dangerous K k 2 confmrator 2^0 The Eiflory of the Lift of §.66. confpiratoragainftthe State. Meanwhile the High Priefts and Scribes had purfuedhim thither; and, before Herod and his Coart,reiterated the,accufations,which, before Pilat; by Herods killing of the Baptift}: that gave teftimony of our Lord, hav- ing fome hopes of his doing the fame to him : all which unjuft flanders our Lord heard and entertained with a profound fi- lence, and without any defence of his Innocency. But Herod little regarded their clamours, as one who had well bin inform- ed of our Lord's actions, and integrity ; and, being a crafty Fox ( as our Lord once filled him ) had formerly watched him very marrowly : and his |ealoufy, a"S the Pharifee truely in- formed our Lord, wanted only fome fairoccafion to have de- ftroyed him. But his generally doing all manner of good, and giving heavenly counfel, without Wealth, without Arms,, preaching only humility and patience , working alfo great cures, ejecting Devils &c.( our Lords Apology for himfglf when the Pharifee told him, Herod would kill him ) , as alio fending his Difciples abroad without any weapon tor their defence ,. were things this Tyrant could not make criminous. But, from fuch his filence, conceiving him without wit to anfwerfor him- felf; andtofhew he had no'jealoufy of his Crown from fuch a poor Rival, thought fit only to make fport with him, and treat him as a Fool and a Mock King; for his Kingfhip was the thing his Accufersmoft prefTed. And (o after he himfelf, relenting his (ilence, had mewed fome fcorn and neglect of him, he gave order to his men of war to array this their new King according to his dignity in a white Garment, the Ornament of Priefts and Princes, fome old caft-ofFRobe taken out of his wardrobe: and, after much jeering and flighting of him, and fome Giuoco di Mano's doubtleL mixed, the like ufage to that received over- night from the High Priefts Officers, he returned him in this drefs to Pilat, with his Guards commanded to wait upon his Majefty; and the people deriding and hooting at him as he paffed, according to the Prophecy concerning him Pfalm.21. 8. Omnes videntes me de rife runt me: locutifunt labiisi & mover unt caput. But Herod by this drefs fufficiently fignifyed his mind to Pilat, that his perfon was rather an object of fcorn or pity, then of his Juftice; which no doubt gave little fatisfaction to the cruel Higft Priefts, in whom neither Pilat's nor Herods ab- solving him, nor yet the admirable meeknefs of our Lord (who, they well knew, wanted not words to defend his Innocency,- and who by his filence feemed to confpire with them againft himfelf, §.67^8. our Saviour JefusChrift. Part.II. 261 himfelf, and to long for his Crofs before it was brought him) cou!d work any relentmcnt, or reflection on their Guilt. Meanwhile, this civility of Pilat ihewen to Herod, in a place §• 67* where the Judicature belonged to himfelf, was kindly accept- ed i and repaired their broken friend flvp : and Herod alio thus became an Acceflary and party in the unjuft proceedings a- gainft the common Saviour. This friendfhip alio of theirs my- itically fignitied our Lords reconciling, and the union to God, both of Jew and Gentile in the benefits of his fufferiugs and death. ~-Ipfe emm ejt pax nojira, qui fecit utraque unum. Eph. 2.14. And the white Garment, wherein he was arrayed in de- rifiou, was truly a f\ mbol of his pureft Innocency ; and a veft- ment luting to his Sacerdotal, as well as Regal, office. And as for Herod, his unjuft Judge, he, as alfo Pilat, by the divine Ju- ftice, was ejected from his Government, and dyed miferably in Exile and difgrace. ThePrifoner thus returned, treated more like a Fool than a * g% Criminal, and his mock-Robe pulled off, Pilat calling together — again the cheif Priefts, and the Rulers, and the People alfo LuJ^. 25.13, who at this time had a cuftome by the common fuffrage to free 'a Prifouer , and fetting him before them, told them, that, whereas they had brought him to him as a feditious perion, and a Perverterof the people, he, upon due examina- • tion of him before them, could clear no fuch thing; That he had alfo fenthim to Herod the Tetrarch of Galilee, and rul- ing where this man moft converft, and where he was faid to have done moft of his works ; and , that neither had Herod done any thing to him worthy of death: that therefore he would chaftife him, perhaps guilty of fome fmaller imprudences and exceffes otundifcreet zeal in his former behaviour; and fo re- leafehim. And, in fpeaking thus of releafing, he put them in mind of the cuftome at this great Feaft, of his releafing fnch a Prffoner to them (but probably, of fuch whom he thought fie to nominate.) as they mould demand; which alfo the people that ftood about as readily called fori>^.2?. 18. compared with Marj^. iy. 8. And it is faid to have bin a cuftome firft infti- tuted as a grateful remembrance of their freedome at that time from the Egyptian bondage; ufed long before their fubjectioii to the Romans- and fo indulged ftill after it. Or perhaps ra- ther fome later favour of the Roman Governours allowed them, after the power of condemning or pardoning any capi- tal offender taken from them. So the Governour upon this account J? 262 The Hi/lory of the Life of §'69,70. account motioned to them, that is, to the people, whom he knew better affected to our Lord, the releafeoi Jeius. §. 69, Now, there was another Prifoner a perfon well known who was in bonds for really committing that, of which our Lord was falfly accufed, viz. thecaufing an Iniurrection among the people, and in it alfo committing Murther. So, either iome other making mention of this Barabbas , to be releafed ; or Pilat fin whole power was the propolal of the perfons, left to their choice) he fulfilling the Prophecies Efay 5-3. cum feeler a- tis deputatus eft, matched the chiefeft offender he could find with Jefus, to determine the peoples election on him rather. And it feems the people were not lb ill inclined toward our Lord, as rather to free theMurtherer ,• but the cheif Priefts, and great ones ufing their authority and perfwafions with the mul- ■ titude, and perhaps representing our Lords pretended blaf- phemies, and deftroyingthe Law of Mofes&c. as much more hainous, and perilous to the Nation, than the other mans Guilt, at laft prevailed with them. And thole who cried Ho- janna to our Lord, men, women, and children, and fpread their garments in the wav, but five daies before, are now as loud for the Releafe of Barabbas before him. Jfrvay with this man, cry' they LuJ>. 23. 18. and releaie to us Barabbas. And Pilat, much diipleafed. at it, asking them, what then they would have done with Jefus ('whom this Heathen by a particular divine inftinct called alfo the Chrift and their ^'«£, becaufe indeed he was fo) all the people, now, engage themfelves alio in the like guilt, as the High Priefts, and Elders before ; and publickly renounce our Lord, meekly Handing before them, for the Chrift, or their King ; and cry out alfo againfthim, Crucifie him, Crucifie him : not only demanding Juftice, but impudently prescribing to the Judge the manner of his punifhment ; and that the cruelleft could be named. And when alfo, before all the people, the Governour now the third time declared that he could find" no fault at all in him; they a fecond time redouble their cla- mours, and cryed out more exceedingly ( faith the Text MarJ{. iy. 14. ) Crucifie him, Crucifie him. £. 7o. The Governour now at a great ftand, who before had meri- tioned the chaftifingof him, and was now defeated of his de- fign concerning Barabbas, feeing, no way but one poffible to fave his life, viz. to fatisfy their malice to fome degree with fome lelfer torments inflicted on him, prefently gave order for icourging him j which alfo the more ieverely it was done, the more §.71. ' cur Saviour Jefut Ckrift.Yzrt.W. 263 more neceflary, he fuppofed, in the iflue it would be, for pre- ferring him from fuch an horrid death. The Roman manner of fcourging ofFendors is faid to be this, To ftrip the perfon naked, and tyehimby his hands and feet to a pillar with his face towards it j and fo be.at hira with a whip made with cords, or thongs of leather, that wound much worfe then rods. A very fore and ignominious torment it was, and therefore no citizen of Rome whatfoever , or any having this priviledge, might be fo punifned. See Acls id. 37, 22, 1 j. —Factum ejl vin- cire civem Romanum, fcelus verberare, prope Parricidum necare a- quiddicam in crucem toliere f faith Cicero in Verrem orat. $. Our Lord was committed by Pilat to the Roman Soldiers, §. 71* for executing this punilhment j who took him into the Prato- rium Mat. 27.27. Jo. 19.4. or atrium Prcetorii, faith St. Mark chap. 17. kj. And, to do this and the reft of their pranks the morefolemnly, after they had feen the fport Herods men had made with this Jewifh Prince, and perhaps fome of them that alfo of the High Pneft's officers over-night, and not meeting with fuch a jocuiary object every day, they aflemble the whole Cohort confifting of fome hundreds to come and perform their homage to him ,• fome of them looking on-, whilft others acted, By whofe.obfequioufnefs, as fervants ufe to go beyond" their Lord's Commiffion, we may imagine his ftripes were laid on without any regret, or' common humanity , in fuch a multi- tude of military Spectators ; till he, being rendred all in a gore blood, excepting only his face and head, was made a fit fpe- ctacle to mew to thole Adamantine-hearted Jews. And in- deed, if what we owed in this kind was undertaken to be paid by him ('as it was, and that without his fpeaking a word to de- cline it) we may hence meafure the greatnefs of his fufFerings from that of our demerits. Multa flagella Peccatoris, faiththe Pfalmift j and our Lord pronounced, as it were againft himfelf \ —That our knowing his Fathers Will, and notdoing it, deferves many ftripes j which at lait came to that , That he himfelf muft defray for us. And thus alio were all the Prophecies fulfilled by him to the uttermoft, which the Scriptures long be- fore had delivered. Pjal. 34. 1 $. Adverfumme Utatifunt& con- venerunt : congregata junt fuper me flagella , & ignoravi \_ for whatcaufe ]. Subfannaverunt me fubfannatione -.frenduerunt fu~ per me dentibus fuis : Quern tti percufjijli , perf'ecutifunt, & fuper doloremvulnerum meorum addiderunt Pfal. 6% ; and again Pfah 37. 18. Ego in flagella paratm fum, (2 dolor mens [my ftripes] m 2^4 The Hiftory of the Life of §-72* in confpecl.u meo Jemper : And the reafoti follows, —Qupniam ini- quitatem meam \_i.e. meorum , taken on me] annuntiabo , (3 covitabo pro peccato meo. Andagain Plal. 128. 3. -Supra dor (urn meum fabricaverunt peccatores : prolongaverunt iniquitatem ju- am. Or, as the Hebrew, —fupra dorfum meum araverunt aran- tes, prolongaverunt Julcumjuum. For doubtlefs his back was itrangcly furrowed and plowed-up. And now was that chiefly verified Ejay 5-3. 2.&C. Non eftjpecies ei> neque decor: & vidi- mus eum, ©■ non erat afpeclus. -Languor es noftro* ipje tulit, O dolores noftros ipfe portavit : Et nos putavimns eum quajl lepro- Jum [with his broken skin] &percujpim a Deo & kumiliatum. Ipfe autem vulneratus eft propter ini quit at s noftras , attritns eft propter jcelera nofira : Lijciplinapacis noftrce juper eum, & livore ejus fanati fumus. --And after —Propter (celuspopuli mei per- cujjieum. And of this alfo particularly he ieveral times foretold his Difciples; faying that his own People ihould deliver him to the Gentiles, to mock, and to lcourge, and to cruciry him. Mat. 20. 19. Alar/^. 10. 34. §. 72. After this, to fulfil the illudehdum, as well as fiagellandum , our Lord foretold ; and to prepare him further tor the ihew their Mafter intended, they thought fit 10 drefs him like a King, as Herod had done before them; and lo pulling oil his gar- ments again now cleaving to his icanfyed back, ( if perhaps thefe were at all put on after his whipping ) they arrayed him with an old-cart purple cloke,- and, wanting yet a Crown tor this King, they took a bunch of thorns, and platting them to- gether made a wreath thereof, and prefTcd it about h,s Tem- ples; whereby his Sacred face and head alio ( hitherto blood- free ) became of the like dye with the reft ot h.s body, pierced every where with the (pikes or the thorns [of which Sacred head now compafTed with a bunch ot thoriies ^ when God laved Abrahams only Son, vet fo lovrd the world as not to fave his own) the head of the Ram, which lo Abraham tookand offer- ed for him, all entangled and wrapped in thornes, leems to be a lively type.] Then, for a Scepter alfo lutable to his Crown , they took a reed, and gave it him in his right hand- l his done, for his Inauguration, they fell on their knees and woi [flipped him , faying, Ave T(ex Judaorunn God lave the Kingol the Jews. And then, that their merriment and mockery mightnot end without ftrokes, they rofe off their knees, and fell a beating him with their fills; and, fpitting in his face, mingled their excrements with his blood: andtookihe reed outoihis hand, and . §•73- cur Saviour JefaChri/f. Part.n. 265 and laid him over the head with it, and fo nailed his Crown cioier to his Temples. And, by this time Pilat calling for him, they put the reed again into his right hand, which he meekly held io as they placed it; and io brought him forth all im- brewed in blood, head, race, and body, with his Robe, Crown, and reeden Scepter ; and prefenting him on the Gallery, or Terrace-walk, before all the Jew«, Pilat faid Jo. 19.4; 1 bring him forth to you again, that ye may know that I find no fault in him, [ being thus ill treated by Pilat, not for his, but their, crimes ; io to have mitigated their cruelty and malice] Ecce Homo; as if he had faid to them : fee this rueful fpedfcacle of fuffering In- nocency: and at length have ye fome companion. Is not herepunifhment too much already inflicted, where none de- ferved? But the v, the cheif Priefts, and officers efpecially, af- foon as they faw him in this pickle ( faith the Evangelift Jo. 19.6.) renewed their former clamour, Crucifige, Cructfige. The Governour replyed: Take ye him and crucifie him, if you can be fo unjuft : for I cannot do it, finding no fault in him. The Jews, feeing Pilat fo refolutely ftill clearing our Lord, as to that accufation of theirs, which they thought would molt take with the Romans, Sedition &c. retreat again to his blafphemy, and his crimes againft their Law, ( whereof the Roman Presi- dent wholly ignorant could not fo well difcern his, or their, Guilt ) faying; that they had a Law, accordingto which their Jufticehad proceeded againft him ; and that by this Law he ought to dye on a higher account than Rebellion-againft Prin- ces; feeing he made himfelf the Son of God , and becarhe- thereby guilty of die higheft blafphemy againft-God^himfelf, which in their Law was punilhed with death. [ But, were it fo, this will not bear out or warrant their Crucifig$}ov demanding the death of the Grots]. - Pilat, hearing that he made himfelf the Son of God, and 5.73, perhaps comparing it with what was reported of his Miracles, ~~ and with the words alfo he had heard a little before from him ftanding at the Bar, that he was a King ; but his kingdom not of this world s and that he came into it to teach men Truth &c ; began to be feized with a religious fear (to the great con- fufion and fhame of our Lord's own people) that there might be fome fuch thing indeed j and fo to reflecl: alfo on his fcourg- ing of him, and the danger, if he fhould proceed further to Crucifie him. For his own Religion alfo had Inch opinions in it i That the Gods fometimes do defcend from heaven , and L 1 take 2^ TheHifioryoftheLifeof §.7^; take on them the fhapes of men, fee ABs 14. 1 1. &c ; And they alfo imagine fome inferiour Semideos begotten by the Gods of women. And perhaps thefe fabler had their firft original from fome miftaken paiTages of the Sacred ftory of God's fome- times .affuming ahuraan fhape, anddifcourfing with the Patri- archs i and from the Prophecies, concerning the Son of God to be born of a woman. To which may be added the extraordi- nary Gravity,. Modefty, Fortitude, Conftancy, Prudence, and holy reiervation, fo great unconcernednefs and neglect, as it were, of what they, laid ordidtohim, which he had obferved in our Lord, as qneftrangeh elevated above all human paffi- pns, and infirmities. Startled, I fay, with this fear, and reflect- ing on his former ill treatment of fuch a perlon, he returns a- gain from the Jews into the Pratoriurn -y and there queftions our Lord a-new, whence he was ? i. e. whether of an human, or divine, race? by this queftion giving our Lord occafion, as He- rod before, to let forth and juftly maguity himlelf ; the former, as to his divine power, in fhewing fome Miracle ; and this lar> ter, as to his divine Nature, in declaring his deicent. But our Lord, before him, as before the other, flood mute andfilent; not willing to admit the leafl: detre&ation or declining of his fufferings, or the leaft endeavours contrary to his Fathers good pleafure; well knowing alfo of Pilat, as of the Jew5/tfiat --/ reJpo7ideret,,non dimitteret ; and laftly, having before anlwered -him fufficiently to this queftion, when he told him that he was a King, but not of this lower world ; that he descended to teach men the Truth of God. Nor were thofe many divine works of his concealed from the.Gbvernours knowledg, which evidenced an extraordinary Muffion of him from God. $-74* The Governour, difpleafed at.this filence , after fo much kindnefs, as he thought) fhewed him ; and fo contrarv alfo to Jhis own intereft, in neglecting all lawful obfervanceof a Perlon that had him abfolutiy in his power, and ftudied to releafe him, asked him ; why he did not.anfwer him, in whofe free power he knew it was ( whether this juftlv , or uniuftly ^either to crucify, or acquit him > ( but indeed PiLats profefTmg it here inhispower to releafe him, whom he alwaies confefled an in- nocent perlon, aggravates his guilt, that followed, in condem- ning him J. Our Lord here, notdelerting the vindication of the dignity of his perfon and Million (formerly declared both to the Jews, and to the Roman Governour ) and referring theie his fufferings, and death wholly to the will of his Father, not the 1 4> 7 5 • our Saviour Jefm Chrifl, Part.n. i6y the power of man ( as alio he did at hisapprehenfion, when he told the Jews, this was their hour ) made a charitable breach of his former filence ; to check the Governours vaunting of his Power, where he fhewed fo much injujtice ; telling him, with a very great gravity and majefty in his words, and carrying himfelfas the very perion Pilat feared he was, that he could have no power at all againft him, except it had bin given him from above,- therefore thofe, who delivered him (an inno- cent perfon j thro malice to him [invefted from above with iuchapower] had the greater fin. In thefe few words repre- fenting to Pilats paffion and heat, that all this was done by the permiffion and good pleafure of his Father;to which,not man's, he yeilded this meek obedience ( as he told the Jews before at hisyeilding himfelf to them in the Garden). That he had no power over any perfon whatever, but what a Superiour power, who would call him to account, permitted ; and, again, no juft power over any perfon innocent, as to the condemning or cru- cifying of fuch an one; but yet much more , no power over him, who was the Son of God, and King over all the world. ( a thing he mentioned alfo to Peter, when they called on him for Tribute Mat. 1 7. 24) But yet, that, though he offended in what he did to him, he was through his ignorance, though not of his innocency, yet of his perion, much more exculable herein than thofe others, who delivered him to him : who, both againft 10 many infallible evidences he had given them, denyed. him to be fuch a perfon , and with fo many falfe criminations brought him to him as a capital offender, and abufed the pow- er of the lawful Magiftrate to ferve their malice; thus repre- senting to him, both the Jews guilt, and his own ; though with- al he modeftly excufed his fault, as much the lefs. .Our Lord's thus humbling the Governours high language S- 7f* with minding him of a Superiour Authority, to which he was accountable; and of his fin in fuch proceedings, and compli- ances againft an innocent perfon, yet thefe qualified with an acknowledgment of the Jews guilt much greater than his j the prudence alfo and gravity of his Anfwer, remitting nothing of his appearance to be fuch a perfon as Pilat dreaded him to be ( whofe words were not like other men's, but as they entred the ear, pierced alfo the Soul ) continued fti'l the Governours fears, or rather increafed them : fothatftill he was more in- duced to procure his releafment. For which purpofe he went forth and propofed it once more to the Jews*, when atlaft they LI z brake *68 The Hi/lory of the Life of §.76* brake out into that fpeech, which quite fubdued this timorous Judge; and now begat in him another quite contrary fear, which drove out the former •, the bale fear of dif pleafmg Cefar, or perhaps alio loftng his place, expelling that noble and juft oneof fhedding the blood of an innocent perfon, andof cruci- fying the Son of God. And, as he feared offending Cefar , wheuhe had no juft caufe thereof, ('For all Religions, andMa- giftrats, deiirethe prote&ion of innocency i )fo he afterwards iutfered that which he feared ; being, upon the fame jews com- plaint, ejected by Cefar for cruelty, who here feared offending him by being too indulgent and merciful. They cryed out unto him therefore ; that, if he dilmift that man, he was no friend of Cefar's : for furely he , who io pretended himfelf a King of their Nation, fpake and a&ed againft Cefar's title, and Right. §. 77%J9* our Savi°ur ]efa Chrift' Part.H. 2 69 have prevented his guilt, and kept his hands from being cm- brued, at leaft, in this divine, and Sacred blood, which were af- terward wafhed in vain. And this mefTage, which fhe fent, ei- ther being audibly delivered in the Jews prefenceto Pilat, or at leait, preiently fpread amongft them by Pilats Courtiers » another admonition this leems to have been alfo to the cruel Jews, after that of Judas. Th.s mefTage alio, perhaps delivered with many more Cir- §. 77<% cumltancesfhewing fome thing extraordinary in it, made it feems nolmall impreffion upon her husband, as appears by his fb ioiemnly warning his hands prefently after. Therefore pro- ducing our Lord, and letting him once more before them in his former drefs, he made a new application to them j and, as before he had iaid to them Ecce Homo : reprefentingour Lord at his loweft ( ta which he humbled himfelf meerly for our fakes ) thus inviting their compaffion, fo now by the fpecial di- vine Providence directing him ( as Caiphas before ) he chang- ed his Note, and faid, Ecce J^ex vefter : as it were [demanding their fubjeclion ; alluding in this to the Robe, Crown, and Scep- ter, with which he appeared before them: as, in his former, to the miferable fcourging and ftripes. Pilat in all probability be- ing really perfwaded, upon the feveral motives forementionedj that he was their Meffias, and their King, in that fenfe our Lordconfeftit j and therefore heperflfted afterwards in mak- ing his title on the Crofs exactly fuch, notwithstanding their importuning him for the alteration of it. Upon this fecond light of him, they all fet up a new clamour; ^ 7%t Tolle, Tolle , Crucifige. And he again iterateth to them our ~ Lords MeflSas-and King-fhip , faying ; what muft I take and Crucifie \ our King ? Here the cheifPriefts, like good faithful loyal Roman Subjects, cryed out, they had no King, but Cefar. And this their renouncing him fo formally and exprefsly for their King or Meffias, fo often inculcated to them by Pilat> and of which they had had fo many infallible proofs, exceed- ingly aggravates their guilt, and will doubtlefs rife up againfl them at the great day of Judgment. Neither, though alwaies the; have expected, have they had, a King of theirown, but ferved under rorraign Princes, ever fince to this day. Laftly, the Governour, feeing no good to be done upon them, §a j^„ but rather ( iaith the Text ) a tumult to be made, thinking he ~" bad fufhcientlv done- his part, in fo often protefting before them fus Judgment of our Lords innocency; and looking on himfell 27° The Eiftory of the Life of §«79- himfelf, as not faulty in this matter, becaufe they much more ; iee Deut .21 .6 . called for water and wafhed his hands in thefisht or all the Jews, telling them he was innocent of the blood of that J uft perfon ( ufing the lame Epithete concerning him as his wife before, ) and that they fhould look to it : God herein alio warning them by him of the lad confequence thereof. But indeed, as to the Governour's act, this was but afoolifli fancy, that the warning thus of his hands could any way cleanfe his confciencej or his profefling the perfons innocency any way compeufate his delivering him up to death, and not rather the confeffing it double the iniquity of his injuftice; proceeding from a cowardly fear of Cefar, and a fordid compliance with the Jews. To this, their rage and fury (even all the people, faith the Evangelift, not the High Priefts alone ) returned that , fearful imprecation; His blood be upon us and upon our children ,• which blood accordingly came upon them , and upon their children, at the fet time after feven fixes of years, i. e. forty years fas alfo Nineve was threatned after forty daies ) and that, fuch vengeance, as never fell on any Nation fince the Creation j nor the like ever read in any other ftory. One of their own Nation, that was prefent in the action, writing it exactly. Where, amongft other their fufferings, he relates, Jojeph. de Bello Judaic, lib. 6. cap. >i 2. when, prefTed with famine great Multitudes of them fled out of the .City to the Romans for fomereleif, —J^omanos Milites illo.s verberalos, & modi's omni- bus excruciates contra murumcruci diver fis modis jujjixijje iray & odio, & ludibrii cauf'a ; donee propter multitudinem quam cepjjjent, jamfpacium crucibm deerat, & corporibus cruces : and this mi- fery brought upon them, when at this great Feftival the whole body, of the Nation, as it were, was gathered together in Jeru- falem j and fo was encpmpafled andfhut up there by the Ro- mans. See Eufeb. Ecclefiajl. Hiji. lib. 3 . cap. y. and Jofeph. de Bell. Judaic, lib. 7. cap. 17. Ab omnibus regionibus ad A^ymorum diem faftiim congregati bello fubito circumfuji funt ($c. Thus they de- voted themfelves here to God's Juftice, and thus it happened to them. But their words taken in abetter fenfe, and as the divine goodnefs and pity ispleafedto interpret them, for all Penitents, are a Prayer piouily offered not only by them, but . the whole world, tohisoffended Majefty ; tobefaved through thefprinkling upon them of the blood of Jefus. Our Lord's blood alio crying to God from the Earth* not as that of Abel, or any other juft Perfons filed by the impious, for vengeance, but §.8 0,8 1. our Saviour JefusChrift. Vart.U. 271 but for Mercy. Nor hath the whole world any falvation or fhelter, but from his blood being upon it, audits children for everj who alio all had a hand, both Jew and Gentile, in of- fering it: and in this fenfe God alfo will admit this prayer to . be fulfilled, ( ieeJ^om.u .) but in the laft place, upon this moft miferable Nation. The Governour, after having thus waffied his hands, fate & g0, down again, and gave the final fentence upon our Lord ; re- " leafed to them their precious choice, Barabbas; and commit- ted Jejus to the Centurion and his Soldiers to be crucified ac- cording to their requeft, Now, this death on the Crois, which our Lord was fenten- §• <*» ced to, and the Jews with fo great clamour called for, as it was often foretold exprefsly by our Lord ['fee Mat. 20. ip. -Jo. 18. 52. and other-while called by him his Exaltation Jo. 12. }2. Audi, if I be exalted from the earth will draw all men unto me fgnifying flaiththe Evangelift ) what death hejhould die: and by the context, verf. 34. it appears, the people well underftood his language : And again Jo. 8.28. -When ye have ( faith he ) exalted the Son of man-, thenjhallye \mw^ that I am he : ] So was- it forelignified by manyexpreffions in the Old Teftainent. See ■Pfal. 21. 17. The Council of the malignant hath befieged me- they have digged my hands and my feet : they have numbred [in that racking polture] all my bones ; they have oeheld and confidered me [every limb of me ftretched out before them; } and then fpeaking of his being flript of hiscloaths. —They have- divided my garments amongfi them, and upon my Vefture they cajb lots. -To which (tripping of him alfo that exprefiion feems chiefly to relate, where he faith Pfal. 6-%.$. -That Confufion co- vered hu face*. SccJ^achary 13. <5. ( where the Prophet mentions this fmitingofhis Paftor, and the man that clave to him, and io fcattering of his fheepj verf. 7. fpeaking thus of his being treated by his neareft relations as a fa He Prophet ; that he mail be asked : What are thefe wounds in the midji of thy hands f and he fhall anfwer, with thefe was Iwoundedin the houfe of my friends^ To which wounds alfo is applied that loving exprefiion E/dy 49. id. —Ego tamen non oblivifcar tui ; inmanibus meis defcripfi te ■, I have engraven thee upon thepalmes of my hands. See Zjch. 12.10. where fpeaking of the converiion of the Jews in the latter times ; and the great lorrow they fnall then have for their crucifying their ^Jeflias, the Prophet faith — Et adfpicient ad me quern confixerunf. © plangent eum planffu quafi unigenitum &c 272 The Hi/lory of the Life of §. S2. See Jer. n. 19. —Ego quaji agnus manfuetus, quiportatur ad viftimam-y cogitaverunt fuper meconjiha dicentes ; mittamus lig- num inpanem ejus [_ for his bread ] (3 eradamus eum de terra vi- ventium. To it likewife feems to relate E/ay 52. l$. —Ecce in- teliigit Jervus mens > -exaltabitur & eleva'jitur , (3 jublimis erit valde : For it follows : Sicut objlupuerunt fuper te multiy (3 inglo- rius erit inter viros afpeclus ejus,. Z3 forma ejus inter filios bomi- num [liketo^r/C2. of the next chaptd] —Ifte afperget gentes multas. -And Efay 11. 12. —Et levabit Jignumin nationes. Con- cerning his thirft alio in the violent and fervorous heat of fuch lingnng pains, fee P/al. 21. 16. --Aruit tanquam tejta virtus mea, (3 lingua mea adbajitfaucibus meis. —And Pfal. 68-22. ~T)ed.runt in e/cam meamfel y & infiti mea potaverunt me aceto. Typified alfo this death or the Crofs was by many inftruments or the peoples prefervation in the OldTeftament : By the Tree of life, provided to remedy the mikhiefs done by the Tree of Good and Evil: by the blood of the Lamb fprinkled upon the pofts of the door, that the deftroying Angel feeing it might pafs-over Gods people: by Moles his Rod fmiting the Rock, and bringing out of it a fountain of water for refefhing the people: By the Brafen Serpent lifted up on high, and faftned to a pole, curing all, that looked upon it, of the other fiery Serpents bitings ; which our Lord alio mentions as a Type of his own Elevation, and drawing the eies of all upon him Jo. 12, 32. Jo. 3.14. Sicut Moyfes exaltavitferpentem in defer to > it a ex- altari oportet filium kominis, ut omnis qui credit in ipfum £ looks upon him with the eie of faith] nen per eat: By the Expanfion of Moles his Armes and Hands on high made in the Mount for the conqueft of Amalek : which pofture of his alfo by others help was continued for feveral hours ; and being any way al- tered, changed prefently the fortune of the battel .* ByEliashis lying with armes ftretched out upon the Child, to raife him again to life: By marking with the letter Thau the form of a crofs, the foreheads of thofe that were to be faved from the flaughter of the fix deftroying Angels E^ecb. 9. 4. Laftly, by Abraham's only Son Ilaac carrying the wood,upon which he was afterwards laid, and deltined to be Sacrificed. But God was more favourable and kind to Abraharrl, if I may fo fay, than tohimlelf. 5. 8a. And, as this manner of death was often" forefignified and ty- pified in the Old Teftament j lo doth it feem, before all other, to have bin cholen by the Divine Counfel, and our Lords de- lignment ^.83. curSavlourJefusCbrift.V2itt.il. 273 lignment ( who as he voluntarily fuffered for us, fo what death hepieafedj for many fpecial reafons. Firft, becaufe his fuf- fering being to fave us, and we by our fins having incurred the curie of God, and fo he for us taking this curie upon himfelf , this was that fpecial death which had Gods curfe annexed to - it; Deut. 21. 23. when upon fome grievous crime, God required the Malefactor to be hanged up upon a Tree before the Sun , and as it were openly in his fight ; to be hanged up, as unworthy to touch or tread upon the Sanctified land, and not to be dit- patched in a moment,as by ftoning,or fome other fpeedy death} but there faftned to remain till near the going down of the Sun ; and then taken and buried, that the land might not be defiled by his being above ground 5 See Deut. 21. 23. as hath bin 1 aid Gal. 3, 13. already. §. Secondly, becaufe our fins deferved the utmoft torments, §. 83. and even thefe eternal ; and, our Lord in this cafe undertak- ing the fatisfaction of Gods Juftice forthem, this death by cru- cifying was chofen, as being of all thofe ordinarily inflicted on Malefactors the molt dolorous and tedious: being only a wounding or piercing of exterior parts, the hands, and feet, that approach not the principal or vital members, the Head, or Hearts and fo preferving an integrity of fenfe. Nor was any great effufionof the blood caufed by fuch wounds, fo to ex- hauft the fpirits : for the nailes ftill rilled the holes they made : but, on the other fide, this piercing being made in the mod ner- vous parts, which Nerves are the Organs of fenfe, produced a molt acute pain ; and fo the perfon was left in this pofture, faft- ned hand and foot on the rack, abandoned to the Lowles, or to Famine, if a fever, caufed by thefe extream torments, did not difpatch himfooner: the body ufually remaining in fuch tor- ment, for many hours, if not daies. Our Lord hung fo for three hours, before he expired, in aMiraculous patience, refig- nation, and filence ( all the words he fpake fcarce taking up three or four minuts ofit): and, when this time was run out, the Roman Governour wondred, if he was dead fo foon : and both the other Malefactors were then ftill alive. Therefore theApoftle fpeaking of this our Lords death puts fuch an Em- phafis upon it, —That he was obedient: to the death , even to this death of the Crofs. By the greatnefs of his fufferings, therefore, our Lord would have us learn the true weight and heinouf- nefsand defertofourfins; the cancelling of which coft himlo dear. As alio fuch exquifite pains both he and God his Father M m chofe, 274 The Hiftory of the Life of §.84,8$. chofe, to fhew their great love to man, and his falvation : and, if there were noabfoJuteneceffity for the Son of Gods fatisfa.- dfcori for us by fuch exquifite torments, the leait prick ot vvhofe finger would have bin a ranfomefor a thoufand worlds, yet furelj , the more he iu.ered for us, the more he fliewed he lov- edus; and, the lefs of his pains were nee flar for any (ansfa- (ftion, the more thefe fo greivous demo nitrate the greatneisof his affection, 1; 84- Thirdly, fuch an horrid and lingring death was chofen by our Lord to remain for ever an example, and pattern, and con- folation, to all his followers in their lufierings again for him ,- fo often as they call to mind that he endured firftfar greater for them j and that God doth not treat us, fervants and finners, fofeverely, as he did his innocent and only Son ; and that we might be afliamed ofour tergiverfation, or impatience ot any fmallfufFenngs, having feen his refignation, and alacrity and voluntarily undertaking for us of fo much greater. . §. %?. fourthly, fetting now afide the extream torments thereof, ~ .. this death feems to be chofen in many other regards. For, next, by it this Evangelical Sacrifice hath a nearer rejemblance to all thofe former made under the Law, that were only T pes of it. 2{e/emb/ance, In our Lords being laid and ipread, when they faftned him with nails, on the wood of the Cro(s, to be confumed on it by degrees j fo, thofe Sacrifices laid on the v wood of the Altar i but this, on the Crofs, during much longer beforeitwas confumed, the heat of which torture alio forced a fitio from our Lord. So faith S. Peter, i M 2. 24, Ipfepectata 7iojlra pertulit in corpore fuo [up er lignum. And S. Paul, Epb. ?.z. Trad/dit j . ipjutn pro nobis oblationem & hojHam Deo in odorcm fuavitatis. , gam, in our Lords being elevated and lifted up toward Heaven : as thofe alio were on an Altar railed up in Salomons Temple ten cubits high, 2 Cbron. 4. and afcended by fteps; and the Sacrifice alio upon this Altar was elevated, or heaved up again, and waved before the Lord in the hands of thePrieit,- and the Altar of the oblation of incenfe was made alio of wood. Again, this death feems the moft convenient alfo for the pouring out of the blood o; this Sacrifice ■, even the whole Mafs o. it gathered to the heart, in a great ftream, at the foot of the Crofs ( as the Prielt did to that of the legal Sacrifice at the foot ot the Altar ) as it were all at once, by the Soldiers lance, in- ftead of the Priefts knife : but this not till fuch tedious and ling- ring §. 8 6, 8 7* our Saviour Jefiv; ChriH. Part. n. 2 7 $ ring torments for feveral hours firlt endured ; whereas the legal wasprelently difpatched out of its pain; and lav a long time indeed to be coniumed on the Altar, but after it was firft de- prived of life and fenfe. This death moft convenient alfo for this Lamb of God fulfilling the type of thePafchal Lamb j and the prophecies whereby God fignified that he would not have a bone of his only Son to be broken , nor his body any way mangled, or divided any further, than four holes made in his hands and feet, and a wound in his fide i whilft meanwhile his Itripping, and then his long and (corching pains, fuffe red from the fire of Gods wrath againft our fins, falling all upon him , which he endured on the Crofs, anfwers to that Lambs beirg rirft flayed, and then whole and entire ftretched out at length j and, by degrees, rofted by fire. Thus then this Evangelical Sacrifice, in this manner of the offering thereof, moft re fe Ta- bled the legal. Fifthly, this death on the Crofs was a death moft vifible to §. §5. all, and publickly expofed ; in which could be uled no perio- nating fraud or concealment ; the body nailed up on high, . naked to be furveyed by the eyes of whatever Spectators for many hours, nay examined, and difcourfed with, fo that there could be here no pretention of a delufion , or cheat. And if, notwithstanding this, fo many Hereticks even in the Apoftles daies, thinking this too great a difparagement to the Son of God, have denied the reality thereof, what would they have done, had our Lord luffered in fome other manner lefs con- ipicuous > - Sixthly, a death, of thofe that are violent, the moft conve- §. 87* nient and proper for thofe pious and charitable words and acti- ons, that were to be performed at his death ; In his making his Will, as it were, and difpofing of his afflicted Mother, his great care, to the provifion ot his belt beloved Difciple; In tefti- fying his free forgivenefsof his Enemies, Revilers, and Tor- turers, by his Praying to his Father alfo, for their pardon j In receiving to Mercy, at the fame time, by the vertue of that his death on the Crofs, the penitent Robber, a fymbol of his do- ing the fame to all finners whatever, that fhould at any time repair to him forfalvation through thofe fufferings: In mani- fefting his patience, obedience, andloveto God ; calling him Father in the midit, of that fevere handling of him j and meek- ly refigning his dying Spirit into his hands. Laftly, in his dy- ing before the other two ; and lending out a loud voioe at his M m 2, expiring s 2j6 The Hiflory of the Life of §.88,89,90^ expiring ; which fhewed his Divinity ; and that he gave up his life not upon any conftraint of torments ; but voluntarily, and when he pleafed. $• 88. Seventhly, This manner of death, by the lifting up of the body iii it towards heaven, feems very fignificative, that we now, after, and in imitation of it, mould exalt and remove our eyes and affections henceforth iromthe Earth towards Hea- ven: Therefore our Lord gives it this honourable name of his Exaltation, —And I ( faith he ) if I be exalted from the Earth, will draw all unto me Jo. 12. 32. And the Apoftle calls it his tri- umph, having taken out of the way the Decree, that was con- trary to us, hefaftriedit to hisCrofs; and having defpoiled the principalities and potentates, triumphed over them in it. CoL 2. ir. Soalfo, in the nailing and fixing of the fleih of our Lord totheCrofs, fignificative of the mortifying and crucifying of the flefh, and its lufts ; that is required of us in imitation of our Lord ,• fo, difenabling ittoftir hand or foot, as it were, any more to the breach of Gods commands; and fignifying our now dying to fin, as he for it : and this death of the Crofs is of- ten, thus, alluded to by the Apoftle. §. 89. Eightly and Laftly ; the pofture of this death carryed in it a lively Reprefentation of his love to mankind, with his arms ftretched out, as it were, to embrace and receive all thofe who would come to him; and his head declining to ki is them. Having made this Digreflion upon the Jewesfo often vehe- ment demanding, andatlaft Pilats con lent to, our Lord's Cru- cifixion, to (lie w the multiplicity of the divine wifdom in the choice of this manner of death, rather than any other : Ipro- ceednowin the relation oftheftory, after Pilats having coni^ mitted to the Roman Guards the execution thereof. r 9*>* The time now, after Pilats four or five returns into the Pra- torium, and Exits to the Jews, whiift he endeavoured by all means to have preferved our Lords life ; i.e. fo far as his own fafety with Cefar, and his reputation wnh the Jews, would per- mit; and after our Lords being fen t to, and returned from, Herod; and the foldiers fcourging and drcfling him fo, as to be made a fitter object, of the hard-hearted Jews pity, drew well towards Noon, Jo. 19.14. Lu\. 23. 44. about the fixth hour, faith St. John, and St. Luke,- though called as yet the third hour by St. Mark, becaufe the fixth hardly yet begun. The fcorfing Soldiers, then, feizing onour Lord, after fome further abufes (which, both in words and actions, by Satans mitiga- tion • §.9X- our Saviour JefusChrifl. Pait.IL 277 tion were committed both in the way, and at the place of Exe- cution ; as we may gather from the very Theif, in the midft of his torments, not tempering himfelf from reviling of him with the reft) ftript our Lord of his Purple, and put on him his own garments, whofe prize fhortly they were to be; and fo making allfpeed laid a crofs already prepared upon his torn fhoulders : and fo led away this only Ifaac of God, carrying the wood of his Sacrifice upon his back. And, to fulfil a fecond time, after his being coupled with ^__9r« Barabbas, the Prophet Efays, cum feeler ax it's reputatus eft, Efay. /3- 12. and that there might be fome greater appearance of Juftice, and our Lord mingled with company whom the peo- ple might think like himfelf, there were two notable Thieves, on either hand one, joined with him, and haled along to their Execution: but thefe alio ; or one of them at leaft, railing at him even when fufFering with him : and fuch companions he was to have of hisgreifs, as otfered him no folace therein. And indeed, it we confider the perfon he now took on him, what Malefactor or crimes fo great, as could match him, or his? for he carried on his fhoulders all the fins of the whole world, prefent, and paft, and to come, and even thofe too of thefe Malefactors- and fo alio this Anathema, as the chief, was cru- cified in the midft; and the reafon in the Prophet of his cum fceleratis reputatus feems very appofite, —quia & ipfe peccata multorumtulit. Graced with this company, and laden with an heavy Crofs, the long beam thereof being probably more than twice the length of a man ; for his body was to be ftretch- ed at its full length upon it j and to be exalted to fuch a con- venient height, as might render him a fpectacle to all the mul- titude ; and defatto fohigh it was, that the Soldier to pierce his fide ufed not his Sword, but his Lance; and, to give him drink they tyed a fpunge to the end of a long reed, and fo reached it to his mouth ; It was alio to carry a Title over his. head, and to be faftnedin the ground ; and the crofs Beam of it alio was to equal the breadth of his bodv and length of his arms; I fay, thus laden, he made a painful, but molt chearful, march • under it through a good part of the City; ( the Governburs Palace being near the Temple on the Eaft fide of it; and Cal- vary the place of Execution at the North- Weft fide thereof ) till, when coming without the Gate, he "fa in ted away under it; hb body being now grown very feeble, and his fpirits exhaufted , by reafon of his cruel fcourging, and other bafe ufage of tha thr 8 The Hiftory of the Life cf §.92. three Guards of Officers, Caiphas's, Herod's,and Pilats, hehad palled through j and of his being kept all night without the leaftileep, orrepofe, or refrefhmeut, or his former temperance having any fuperfluous humors to feed on. Becaufe our Lord alone was unable to bear it any further,and it was an ignominious thing to carry or touch the instrument of the Execution of a Malefactor, whence the word Furcifer was a common name of reproach, by chance a poor man, that came then out of the countrey, one Simon a ftranger; of Cyrene in Africk, where was then a great Colony of the Jews, Act. 2. 10. -6. y.Jofepb. de Excid. Hierof. I. 7. c. 38. meeting them, the Sol- diers laid hold on him, and forced him to bear our Lord's Crols after him, either the whole, or theheavieft end thereof: whofe ions, Alexander and Rufus, are particularly named by the Evan- gelift, Mar\. 15-. %i. which ihews, that they were not only Con- verts to the Chriftian Faith, but perfonsof fome note amougit the Primitive Chriftians( lee Ail s 19.^. -Roma?is 16. 13.it thofe the fame ). And it is to be presumed that our Lord rewarded this fervice done him to their Father alfo in making him a Member of the Church and of his Kingdom; and that he was laved by the Holy Crofs he bore ; who thus had the honour even inthetrueft fenie to take up the crofs, and follow our Lord, and to partake of his reproach and ignominy. But the divine Counfel ordained this accident thus fignificative alio of a greater matter ; viz. That our Lord would not bear his crofs alone, but that ail his Followers for ever were to bear their parts of it. J. 92. Whilft our Lord paffed along in this folemn Proceffion to his offering up; the divine Majefty provided, thatamidftfo many ftony-hearted Jews that thirlted after his blood (wherewith the Pfahnift P/al. 21. 13* 17. defcribes him compaiTed about with fo many ravenous Dogs, and fierce Bulls ) there fhould not want thofe, that accompanied fuch Sufferings with their tears, and lamented and deplored thefe pittilefs and undeserved cru- elties, for a teftimony again ft the others, as before, Jofeph and Nicodemus , and Pilats wife, and Judas alfo, when too late, were. Many perfons there were of the more devout and com- panionate Sex, and more fecure from the fold iers affronts, that followed and lamented him L.ul^.21. 27. So holy and innocent a pcrfon, from whom they had heard lb many charming Ser- mons, and in whom feen fuch mighty works. Among whom we may imagine were thofe Galilean Women, that in his for- mer §•93* our Saviour J ef us Chrift. Part.n. 279 mer life time had waited on and miniftred unto him, and his beloved Mary and Martha: All whole exceeding affection to our Lord, doubdefs, had fo conquered their fears, as to run th i the 1 wherever they could have a fight of him, of \\ horn they were likely fo loon to be totall-, deprived. Thefe, probably, before had ftood with the reft of the peo- §.93. pie in the common Pja%%a before 'Pilats Tribunal; and there law and heard all that fad Tragedy that had'pafled between our Lords own people perfeCuting, and the ttranger-Gover- vour defending, him : whoi'e miferable ufage, there, ft ill heighte- ned their love and Companion, and in them added to all the former endearments othim- as it did, in the people, to their rage and fury. Efpecially amongft thefe the Blelled Virgin, his afflicted Mother, who could not be abfent from him in life,, or death, where ihe could have any accefs, and who, here, moft - diligently obferved all her Son laid, or did, or that was done to him; as the Evangeiift faith Lu\. 2.19. flie formerly did thole even in his minority and childhood ; Ihe, I fay, eipeci- allv, maybe fuppoled to be wounded at the heart, not only when file' ftood by the Crofs, but, during all this time, with thofe Sword-points of. moft pungent Grief ( which Simeon foretold her of) hi her and the reft of her Friends hearing their away with this fellow ; and their crucifixes, and their acclamations for Bar abbas, before the Son of God. And the fight ot him fo ufed, when Pilat cried Ecce Homo, and again Ecce J{ex Ve(ler, that had no operation ot pity upon the hard-hearted Jews, I may fay had too much on them. But that we are to believe his Holy Mother, as being full of Grace, and of the Holy Ghoft, to have bin indued with a moft perfect patience, and reiignation, and filence; and her carriage alfo to have bin an edifying pattern to the reft. "Thus was our Lord, in all thofe his former fufler- ings, beheld and lamented by his Friends; But, now after his Condemnation, and the Jew's cruelty according to the divine Will fatisfied, the tide in the people alio began to turn -• and thefe of our Lords former acquaintance to have man; Co- opi- nions of their Grief i and fuch a mind began to repoffefs lome of them at leaft, as the v had had when but two daies before they heard and admired him in the Temple ; and as they had . on Palm-Sunday ; fcid thofe alfo of the peop'e,,who «li this while retained tjm fame affection towaid him, fus fafety now defpairedof, began more to fhew it. And thus a great multi- tude attended our Lord his death and Funeral fail of bitter la- mentations 2 So The Hiftory ofthe Life of §«93» mentation ; though amongft thefe the more or more open in their grief were thole ofthe female Sex. On whom our Lord lifting up his all-bloody and disfigured Countenance, in great comiieration not of himfelf, fuftering nothing but what he pleafed, but of them, being iufinitly af- flicted tor the fins of his own people ( to whom he came in fuch love, and they received him not, but were now calling him the only Son and heir out of his Vineyard, and killing him : ) and for the unparalleiled judgments of God, that he law now ap- proaching upon them for this fact, brake out into that paflio- nate and prophetick fpeech : ye Daughters of Jerufalem, weep not for me, but for your f elves and your children: telling them, the daies were now at hand, if their tears, at lead of their own particulars, prevented them not, wherein they mould blels the barren, that never had any children prepared for fuch a mife- ry ;. wherein they mould wifli the Mountains to fall on them, and the Hills to cover and bury them deep from the face ofthe Ho/, io 8. divine vengeance, defcending from above on that people. For, jj 2 io, ip. if t]le flames ofGods wrath meerly fortheir fakes and fins brake cut now in inch a manner upon him, a Tree alwaies green, and tlourifhing, and fruitful, and no way deferving or qualified with any cumbuilible matter, for them to feed on ; what would this fire do ( where their impenitence fhould make them un- worthy of his blood to quench it) upon their dry, dead, fruit- lefs, wood; ferviceable for nothing elfe, and fo well prepared for it? The conlideration of which had but a few daies before drawn tears alfo from himfelf ; when the Evangelift faith, he, in the mid ft of his triumph from Mount Olivet, beholding the City, wept over it, faying with fobbs interrupting his fpeech, If that thou badft know?i, even thouy at leaft, in this thy day &c. Luk. 19.41. This then our Lord in pity to them 4aid, to pro- cure the application oftheirtears not to hisfuherings, but ra- ther to the caufe of them ■> to their own fins, and the fins of their people; asdoubtlefs, from his powerful words, many of them afterwards did apply themfelves and found mercy, ob- . taining falvation by his blood, within the arms of the Church ; and fo, when the time came, fled from the face of that fire, and efcaped in the time of that deftru&ion j when the Romans, the fame Iniiruments the jews employed to confume this G reen-wood, were uled afterwards by God to %ui\ the dry. For it is obferved, that thofe jews of thechriitianWofeffion, warn- ed from our Lords prediction , by their retiring betimes out of §•94-5 9 5 • our Saviour Jefws Chrift. Part.n. 2 8 1 of the City and out of Judea, were generally preferved. Thus this Anathema for us was conveyed out of the Holy §. 5,4. City, or that fhould have bin fo, as an accurled thing; for as ~ the devoted Goat, laden with the iniquities of the children of Iirael, was carried out ol the Holy Camp Lev. 16. 10; and the bodies of thofe bealts, which were offered for expiation of fins, and whofe blood was carried bv the Hish Prieft'berore God in- h *■ ^ e Sanctuary, were burnt alfo without the Camp, ( It is the Apoltle's obfervation Heb. 13. 11, 12, 13 ) ; fo was it to be here in the prototype s whofe Blood was afterward carried into the Heavenly Sanctuary, to make an atonement tor the world, and was carried thither b himfelf, the Pneft , as well as the Sacrifice; none elfe worthy, or Sufficient, for either of thefe. There they brought him to a rocky Hill on the North-Weft fide of the City, where, it feems, Executions were ufuallv made, by the Hebrew name of it Golgotha Signifying a skull, per- haps, from fome bones of the Malefactors lying fcattered upon it, where the rock affordeth little conveniency for covering them. Here, in the foft ftone of the rock were digged leveral holes, wherein to put the crolTes ; Three fuch are there feen at this day about Eighteen inches deep ( faith Eugen. Upger.La ferre SainUe lib. r. cap. 14. ) and nine the Diameter ; and the di- ftance one from another near two yards ; and, between woof thefe, a rent or cleft in the rock from the one fide of the Hill to the other ( which hill runs length-way Northward,) about a Palmebreath: but the profundity of it, he faith, not discover- able. And on this fame Hill probably it was, that Abraham was appointed by God to offer up his only Son Ifaac. For it Gw,2li 2: was to be upon a certain Hill, that God would fhew him in ter- ra Morice , or vtfionis, as the land thereabouts was called; of which Hill* that of Calvary was one: God having placed his own people and his true worffup in the middle of the Nations round about E\ec. r. ;. and again Jerufalem in the middle of this. Arrived now at the place of his fuffering ; it-isfaid to have $. 9 7. bin the cuftome of the Jews, from the piecept given them, Prov. 31.5. ( but fo was it alfo of the Romans from a natural compaflion,) to .tender to perfons condemned, before the un- dergoing their torments, fome comforting and ftrengthning drink; and that ordinarilv mingled with fome aromatical in- gredients, that had a itupifying quality, and one ot theie to be Myrrhe. N n To 2$ 2 The Hiftory of the Life of §«9^- To obferve the cuftome therefore, and, as it were, to prepare and ftrengthenour Lord for the great fufferiugs that were to follow, who was almoft fpent by thofe endured already, and who but now fainted under his Crofs, they brought him (orae of this compounded wine j but their malice firft mingled it with gall: changing this cup, which common pity provided for the confolation and refreshment of poor condemned per- ions, into a Naufeating and bitternes not to be endured. A circumftanceof their barbarous treatment of him, not neg- lected to be taken notice by the Pfalmiftin the delcription of hisfufferings: —Dederuntinefcam meant fel&c. Pfal. peccata multorum [ even of thofe fcelerati~] tulit, & proTranfgrejforibus rogavit. Whofe prayer alfo was heard by his Father, not only for the more fimple, but even for the moft culpably ignorant, fo they were penitent, a great company of the Priefts alfo afterward becoming obedi- ent to the Faith. All. 6. And, among others, St. Paul, a great Perfecutor of our Lord in his Members, faith, he obtained mer- cy 1 Tim. 1. i3 : Quia nefciens fecit. And S. Peter Acl. 3. invites the People and their Rulers to repentance for this fad: upon this account, for that, if they had known who he was, they would never have done it. And a great relenting and change of mind was found afterward in many of thofe that ftood by him in thefe fufferings; feeing the ftrange things thereof, not onely among the People, but the Roman Soldiers, and their Com- N n 2 rnander 284 TheHifloryoftheLifeof §-97- mander, the Centurion; whom the Goipel defcribes beating their breads, greatly fearing and glorifying God, and confel- fing him, not only a righteous man, but the Son of God. All effects doubtieis of this our Lord's prayer on the Crofs. $• 97- Next, by Pilars order, and according to the cuftome of the Romans, was faftned alfo to the Crois over our Lord's head a Title, in great and legible Letters, of the accufation or crime for which he fuffered ; which Title, that it might be under- ftood, in that great confluence of ftrangers to this Feaft, by all that lookedon.it, the Governour ('which was very extraordi- nary) caufed to be written in the three moft universal lan- guages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin: and it was this; Jefus of Nazareth the King of the Jews. Many came thither (faith St. John ) it being fo nigh the City (for now this Sacred Hill of Calvary is taken into \t) and reading this Title thus ex- posed in fo many tongues, the chief Friefts much refentedit; which in plain terms affirmed Jef us to be their King, and made them the Betrayers and Crucifiers of him. Which Kingfhip.ot his, it is moll probable from what hath bin faid, that Pilat ve- rily believed in f uch a fenfe as our Lord had challenged it, and as he had often confirmed it with Miracles of all forts, not un- known to Pilat ; and fo indeed held them guilty of his blood,, whilft he thought himfelf, by his open Declaration, to have fufficiently cleanfed his hands of it. They therefore haft to Pilat to procure an alteration of the Title ,• not to run that he ■was, but that he faid he was, their King. From whom they re- ceived only thisfullen Anfwer, \\\2.lwhat he had written he had written, that what he had written, mould ftand fo. It being the Divine pleafure, that without any of their falfe glofTes it fhould now be publifhed to their fhame who he was ; and how unjuftly betrayed by them ; viz. the King of Heavens only Son, Jefur, their Saviour fent with theGofpel of everlafting happi- nefs and peace, to reign over them for ever, and by them thus deferred and rejected, tortured, and made away. But Pilat alfo perhaps might reflect on the loyal fervice herein he might be thought to have done to the Roman ftatc, in a Nation noted for rebellion, by his executing their Prince of the race of Da- vid. And befides, had he corrected the Title to their mind, namely, that he faid he was fo, confidering in what manner our Lord both faid it and menaged it, not intermedling at all with terrene'powers, he had but the more divulged his own inju- ftice, in taking away his life only for his faying fo. But, what motives §.98,99* cmSaviourJefutCbriJi.Vart.ll. 285 motives foever Pilat had of this, he feems guided herein, as Car- phas in his prophecying , by the Divine hand, that this title might be prefented by this High Prieft of the new covenant be- fore the Lord, as was that on Aarons Miter -, Sanftum Domino Exod.28. 36, 38. whilfthe thus bare the iniquity of the people, and dyed for them; and Pilat in fome fenfe was thus the firit Apoftle declaring to the world his Sacred perion. All thus prepared, and our Lords naked body thus fa fine d , °§. pg.- the Soldiers railed up him and the Crofs together, and fanned the foot of it in the hole provided in the Rock. And thus was this only Son of God, and moft innocent Lamb, like the Serpent in the Wildernefs, lifted up upon a pole 5 that, as the peoples lives were faved by beholding the Serpent, fo, what {inner fo- ever fhould with the Eye of faith look on him thus lifted up, fhould not perifh, but have eternal life; as once, comparing himfelf to this Serpent, he faid to Nicodemus. Jo. $. 14,1?. Thus, out of too much love to us, though equal with God, he defcended from his Throne above, and emptied hirufelf; be- came a fervant, orflave fo far, as tobeobedient to the death, even this death accurfed : and, ftepping in between the Divine vengeance and us, was voluntarily thus made an Anathema andCurfein our ftead, and hanged up before the Lord, and before the Sun; taking the malediction and the handwriting of the Decree, that was gone forth againft us, away ; and fa fi- ning it with himfelf unto the Crols, as the Apoftle writes in coL a>H>rf- contemplation of our Lords paffion : a thing that, when preach- ed, was a Humbling block to the jews, and foolilhnefs to the Gentiles ; and a thing ftrangely incredible, at firit, to the Hea- then alfo now, whom the Churche s Mifiioners endeavour to convert to Chnftianity. Our Lord thus fecured, the four Soldiers,, his Executioners, §-99- went to divide the poor fpoil they had taken from him, his Garments, which God his Fathermight now behold, as Jacob that of his dearly loved Jofeph, all befmeared, not with a coun- terfeit, as Jofephs was, but his own, blood j whilft he fo alfo hung by them cruelly murdered. His Garment, we may ima- gine, was fuch as the meaner people of Galilee and his Difci- ples wore. An outer loofe garment having at the bottom four skirts; ieeDeut. 22. 12 ', and a coat clofertohis body; and, it feems, his was made a knit one, all in one piece, as Waft-cotes ufe to be; perhaps the work^of his poor Mother, the Blefled Vir- gin, for fecuring him the more againft cold ; who often lodged abroad 286 The Hiflory of the Life of §. i o o . abroad a-nights, not having where elfe to lay his head. Whe- ther our Lord hadanylinnen under this dole cote, either co- vering his whole body, or at leaft the fecret parts \ or, whether this knit coat was next his body and another coat over it, is iomewhat uncertain. His outer garment made of four pieces the Soldiers divided into four parts, to fhare it equally ; but the coat, not dividable without fpoiling it, they cart lots for ; and io fulfilled that pro- phecy Pfal. 21. 19. very punctually, as to all the circumftances • of onr Lords fufferings, —They divided my garments and on my vejture cajl Lets. Thus our Lord law his poor goods, all he had, feized on, and diftributed before his face* but, as God would not fuffer them to break a bone of him , fo neither to tear his coat : a Type of his Church , which will never admit any Schifm ; and they, that offer to tear it, ceafe to be $. ioo. ofit. Whilft our patient Lord hung thus before them languifhing in his mortal torments, one of which was the perfect enjoy- ment, in this manner of deaiii, ofhisfenfes, hearing, and fee- ing all the fad things that paffed about him, the Evangelilts relate, how by the Devils inftigation all manner of perfons, when no other cruelty remained unexecuted, fell on railing and infulting over him j and (hot out their arrows againft him, »thus fet up as a mark for them, even bitter words, and with thele afflicted him, whom God had thus wounded: fulfilling herein . punctually the many prophecies in thePfalmsand elfewhere foretelling this; So —omnes ( faith the mourning Pfalmiftj vi- dentes me deriferunt me : locuti Junt labiis, & moverunt caput , aperuerunt juper me os fuum, Jicut Leo rapiens & rugiens ,• fubfan- naverunt me jubfannatione j frenduerunt fuper me dentibus fuis , dilatavermit fuper me ; dixerunt Euge, Euge. —Pfal. And, this laid to his Fellow Their, he with a (trong faith beleiving our Lord to be indeed what he was, -the Chnft, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, theKingof Iirael, began to make his humble AddrefTes to him; and defired that he would re- member him when he came into his Kingdom. A lhipendious faith, and divinely inspired, now, when he law our Lord upon the very loweft ftep ot his humiliation; now, when faith per- haps failed his very Apoftles. Yet there wanted not alio fome external excitements, that might partly raife iuch a devotion in him to our BlelTed Lord: as, perhaps the great tame of his former Sanctity, and Miracles; and alio many circumftances , which hebeheld, of his paflion,- hisdivine patience and meek- nefs; his companionate and prophetick Ipeeches to the women of Jerufalem, which lamented him ; his praying for his ene- mies, when they nailed him to his Crofs,- his admirable (ilence to lo many unjuft reproaches, and particularly to that of his ' fellow-thief. To whom our Lord gracioully promiied , and that with an Amen, that he fruuild be remembred ,- and that very day be with him, his Lord, in the hea-venly Paradife, ap- pointed for the reception ot all blefled Souls till the Rekimp- tion of their bodies ; applying the merits of this his paflion to that poor Wretch, which firit humbly acknowledged his own fins and demerits, in laying,- avdive ind edjujily ; and then, con- felling our Lord's innocency, and perional dignity, implored his mercy. And thus was the faving of this believing Thief the fir It fruits, as it were, of the infinite benefits to mankind of thefe our Lords lurferings ,■ and the early pledg of that eternal mercy, which all penitent finners mould receive from him to the worlds end. All §.ioo. our Saviour JeJ "ws Chrift. Part.n. All this while ftood, firft at a greater diftance, then nearer the Crofs, as their fears, or the Soldiers fiercenefs, or the crowds of people, grewlefs, the Holy Virgin the fad Mother of our Lord x and the Women, our Lords former Attendants, that accompanied her ; among whom was Mary Magdalen , and Mary of Cleophas our BlefTed Lady's fifter-in-Iaw, her husband being brother, or elfe ihe fitter, to Jofeph ; which Mary was the Mother alio or James the lefs, and Joles, and Simon, and Ju- das, that were called our Lords Brethren,- i.e. nearKinfmen, by the relation they had to Jofeph. For, if this Mary had bin the BlefTed Virgin's own filler, her Name would not have bin alio Mary ; this being not ufual,or convenient to call two filters, undiftinguifhable, by the fame Name. There was alfo prelent Salome, John's Mother, and others;, and John likewife our Lords beloved Diiciple (whofe confidence above the reft we law in the High Priefts Palace ) was there with them j but, likely, none other of the Eleven, at leaft lo near ; affraid of being ap- prehended , if they mould have appeared ; and perhaps John more prefuminghere, as in the Palace, becaufe known to the High Prieft. Here then ftood the fad Mother of our Lord, be- holding and hearing all that was done to, andfaid againft, her Son ; with the like patience and refignation, as he fuffered it : and ready with Abraham, for the love of God, to have offered him up her felf, had he commanded it. Here (lie and the reft heard alfo that admirable confeffion of our Lord by the peni- tent Thief, and our Lord's gracious anfwer to him, which muft needs be a great confolation to them. After which Anfwer, our Lord, looking down upon his Mother, and compaffionating her condition, as well as Grief, /pake to her firft, and calling hztWaman, perhaps for preventing thofe affronts, to which her near relation to him, hated of all, ifithadbin known, made her liable, recommended'John his beloved Difciple to her love and affection, inftead of himfelf, as one that thence forward would perform the duty andobfervanceto her of a Son; and then fpeaking to John, recommended to him the care, and providing for her ("now aged about fifty, and a defolace wi- dow, Joleph being formerly dead, and now alfo heronly Son taken fromher) as his Mother, he being a fingle perfon, and Virgin, as fhe; and havingno Wife or family of his own to take care of, as many others had; and by reafon of his wealthy parents (out of which wealth alfo Johns mother formerly made provifion many times for our Lord ) having the command Oo qf 290 The Hi/lory of the Life of §. 1 o 1 , 1 0 2# of fo much maintenance as was neceflary for their decent f ub- fiftance. Which recommendation of our BlefTed Lady to John fhews, that, notwithstanding the mention we find of her filter and four of our Lords Brethren, yet that they were not of fo near a Relation, as that our Lords Mother, after the death of Jofeph, had any family of her own ; orthefehad any conftant habita- tion with her, foasthatfhe might rather have bin committed to their care and provifion in her now declining age. §. 101. Our Lord, having thus made his -Will, and difpofed of his onely charge his dear Mother, whom St. John took to himfelf, and ferved with all fidelity, and fuppliedwith all neceffaries till her death, fpake not at all after this for near the fpace of three hours, from about the fixth till the ninth hour, a little be- fore he gave up the Ghoft ; but, continuing in filence , and prayer, and his countenance lift up towards heaven, went on finifhingthat Sacrifice which was to be the redemption of the world : confuming and melting away in the flames of Gods wrath toward finners ; now, in its effects, feizing on him in their ftead, for all the offences of all mankind that had or mould be. When, as he grew nearer to his end, the Sun, now at midday fee Amos 8.9. and when not capable of any natural Ecclipfe; the Moon being now at the full, and at its greateft diftance from it, began tobedarkned, and to lofe its light ; this nobleft body of the Creation fympathizing, as it were, with its Lord, and co- vering its face atiuchahorrid Spectacle*, and indicating to the hard-hearted Spectators the true Sun of righteoufnels, and that true Light, that enlightneth every one that cometh into this world, to be now fetting, and its glory ecclipfed fo far, as the malice of the Prince of Darknefs and his Inftruments could ef- fect it: and intimating now alfo the cheif reign of the power of darknefs permitted by God to the Prince thereof. f, 102. All things were now full of terrour and amazement, and — mens hearts with fear began now to melt and relent, and their former taunts and merriments to be changed into a deep fi- lence, and expectation what would be the IfTue , fufpecting more miraculous things to follow j when, about the ninth hour, or three of the clock in the afternoon, the folemn time of of- fering up the Evening Sacrifice, our Lord when now feeming to be quite fpent, and near his expiration, cried out with aloud and ftrong voice, and fuch as was not ufual-to fuch a manner of death (exhaufting all their fpiritsand ftrength before taking away I . • 1 §.102. cur Saviour Jefut Chrift. Part. n. 291 away their life ) to fhew, that he laid his life down, not com- pelled, but when he pleafed, though without fhortning the time of the fufferings belonging to that cruel death ; and to teftify alfo, againft Hereticks, the Reality oi his fufferings, faying with great force, that all the multitude heard him, thofe firft words of the Pialm penned by the Holy Ghoft for a Defcription of his Paflion, Eloi, Eloi, lamma SabbaBhani f My God My God why hafi thou forjaken me f expreffing the laft pangs of death now ap- proaching, and the inexplicable torments and anguifhof Body and Soul due to our fins that now lay upon him : which he calls his (ins in the following part of this verfe of that mourning Pfalm f longe afalute mea verba deliUorum meorum ] and which fin of ours made this patient Lamb of God; after three hours filence, fo break out into this complaint under them: where more greivous than the corporal fufferings was the interior an- guifhof Spirit; in his Divinity its fufpendingfrom his Humanity all thofe confolations, which might any way relieve its forrows, and with which hisServants in their greatelf iufferings are ufu- allyrefrefhed. This, like to that his Agony in the Garden; but now without an Angel; where the Apoftles mention ( Heb.j.7.) of our Lord, in the dates of his flejb offering up to God prayer and fupplications with ftrong cryes and with tears, may well be un- derftood, as of the tears, and prayers, and ftrong cryes, made and flied in the Garden, fo of thefe now iterated on the Crofs: for the weight of Gods wrath, lying on our fins which he aflum- ed, is inexplicable. Theie words of that prophetick Pfalm might have hint- ed to the learned High Priefts and Elders, that the Tra- gedy of this Pfalm was juft now acted, and lively exprelfed in every part of it: and they thofe miferable Wretches by whofe perfections this prophecy was fulfilled -, and fo might have be- gotten fome compunction in them. But, either they, fo blind- ed as not to underftand thofe words, or the other common- people at leaft miftaking them, nor knowing them for the be- ginning of the Pfalm, and hearing them pronounced with fuch a loud voice, thought, from thefimilitudeofthe word Eloi twice repeated, that our Lord called upon Elias; that he would not forfakehim in this his mifery, but come to help him. For, it was the common belief that Elias was yet alive in his body, and was to return among them to rectify all things before the com- ing of the Meffias ; the darkning of the Sun alfo filled them full of wonder, and expectation of fome other ftrange things ; their O02 hearts 292 The Hi/lory of the Life of §. 1 03. hearts alfo now being fomewhat mollified and beginning to en- tertain another opinion of our Lord, than not long before. 3- T°3* After this our Lord, entring into his laft Agony, laid, Itbirfi; as if it were to accomplifli the drinking up the laft dregs and portion that remained of the cup of Gods wrath againft fin- nersj remembring the words that follow in the fame prophe- tick Tfalm verf. 16. Aruit tanquamtejia virtus mea, & lingua mea adhcefitfaucibusmeis: & inpulverem mortis &c. and Plalm. 6%. 22. potaverunt me aceto. And, there being a vefTel of vine- gar or fmall four Wine, with which mingled with water the Soldiers and common people ufed to quench their thirft, one of the By-ftanders, running and drenching a f ponge in it, put this upon the top of a long reed, and fo applied it to our Lords mouth (the darknefs now diminifhing ) to refrefh him, and prolong his life a little, in expectation of what perhaps Elias would do for him ; whether he would come at laft, and take his Fellow-prophet down from the Crofs. After our Lord had received the Vinegar, which was as it were the laft dregs of the bitter cup, prepared for him by hisheavenly Father to drink, hefaidthofe precious words fo fullofconfolation to poor fin- ners, conjummatum eji ; that all was finifhed ; a Pajfiones conjum- mavinowj as he faid ane/w confummavi, before he entred on hispaffionyo.17. All the prophecies being now fulfilled, the Sacrifice offered, and the Ranfome of mankind from Gods wrath, and the Prince of Darknefs, and from eternal Death, fully paid. And fo with another loud and ftrong voice like the former, re- commending his now departing Spirit into the hands of his ce- leftial Father, in the words again of the pfalmift, changing Domine there into Pater, and exhibiting this as the laft act of his dutiful fubmiffion to all his Will, he pronounced thofe laft words of his on the Crofs: Inmanus tuas Pater commendo fpiri- tum meum Pfal.30. And fo meekly bowing down his head ('which perhaps hitherto was held erected towards heaven in prayer fee Heb. j. y.) gave up the Ghoftj not when the torments of death forced it away, but when he pleafed, feeing all now ful- filled, voluntarily to regive it: Shewing, in his ftrong out-cries, his miraculous power and ftrength to have kept it longer in be- ing ; about the ninth hour, the time of offering up the Evening Sacrifice, and in the end of the fixth day of the week, as en- tring into his Sabboathof reft. The two Malefactors that fuf- fered with him being both yet alive ,• not that our Lord any way abbreviated for himfelf the torments of this cruel death, but that ^.I04« our Saviour JefusChrift. Part. II. 293 that the barbarous ufage of him all that day and the night pre- cedent without any fuftenance, refrefhment, or repofe, and the lofs of fo much blood under his coronation, and fcourging, had fo debilitated and exhaufted him ( which was alfo feen in his fainting under the Crols ) that thele his laft torments on the Crofs mull needs have a ipeedier period, unlefs he mould have continued his life by miracle. All the paflionsof our Lord thus at laft come to an End, and §. 104. his bloody Sacrifice for our redemption fiuifhed, the Sun, which feemed this while to have fympathized with his fufferings, be- gan to recover its ftrength ; and now the infernal powers of darknefs, their hour expired, to quake, and tremble, and with them the Earth alfo to make in fuch a manner, that the Rocks were rent afunder with it ; and particularly that of Mount Cal- vary, where our Lord fuffered, cleft aiunder fome two or three foot from the hole wherein our Lords Crofs was faftned, from one (ideof the Hiil to the other, to be feen at this day,- gaping about an hand breath ; and the depth of it not to be founded. Yet theinfinit mercy andlong-furfering of God, who, to fhew hisdifpleafure, rent the rocks, forbare to take prefent venge- ance on the Murderers of our Lord, giving them longer time to repent; as fome of them alfo did. The veil of the Temple al- fo, remote from this place and ftanding at the other fide of the City, was rent in two, faith the Evangelift, from the top to the bottom. Which veil divided the Sativum Sanfforum, where was the Ark, the fymbol of Gods prefence, from the outer Tem- ple j and into which the High Prieft entred only once every year, carrying in thither the blood of the Sacrifice to fprinkle it before the Ark on the folemn day of Expiation. The rent- ing of which Veil, at this time, was very fignificative of the ef- fects of our Lords paflion : 1. To (hew now an end and confummation, andfo Abolifh- ment of all the former Typical Ceremonies of the Mofaical Law ; this new High Prieft fucceeding and abrogating now the former Aaronical Priefthood ; who , having offered the only pleafing Sacrifice toGod on the Altar of the Crofs, wastoenter with the blood of it into the celeftial SanHum Sanftorum, and there, with it fprinkled before God's Throne, to make an at- onement for the fins of the whole world. Who ( faith the Apo- flle much profecuting this matter in his Epiftle to the Hebrews ) took away the flrft covenant, that he might eftablifh another following: and dedicated to us a new and living way of accefs CO 294 The Hiflory of the Life of §.105. to the throne of Grace, and entrance into the Holy of Holies, through the veil [ or his Deity] that is, his Flejh $ which veil alio was rent on the Crois, the members or the body rent firft, and at Iaft his foul alfo rent from the Body. And chap. $>. n. tic. Who ( faith he ) an High Prieft of good things to come, by the Holy Ghoft offered himfelf unfpotted to God, and fo by [ or through ] a more ample and more perfect Tabernacle not made with hands [i. e. the Heavens verf. 24.] nor by [or with] the blood of Goats, or Calves, but by his own blood en- tred into the Holies, eternal redemption being thus found and effected. 2. Again; tofhew, that the Partition was now taken away between Jew and Gentile ; and his fervice no longer confined to his Temple at Jerufalem ; but that it was to be every where equally accepted of him, and his Church tobefpread over the whole world, and a general and free accefs admitted for all people to God the Father, and to the Divinity, through this veil of our Lords humanity : —Neither Jew nor Greeks faith the Apoftle, Gal. 3.28. neither bondnor free&c. now; Butall onein Chrift. Wherefore our Lord foretold to the Samaritan woman (^0.4.) That the time was coming, when they mould neither in that Mount of Samaria, the Temple of Garizim, nor yet at Jerufalem, rrorjbip the Fathers but the true worfhippers mould worfhip him [ every where, not with carnal Sacrifices any more, but] in fpirit and in truth. 3. Tofignify, that God was now departed from the Jews, and left the place of his former refidence amongft them; (as alfo Jofephus faith, that a little before the deftrudtion of the City a voice was heard in the Temple, Eamus hinc ) • becaufe they had forfaken his laws, refufed theGofpd, and crucifyed his Son, for which this Garment of the Temple was alfo rent, as in a time of Mourning. £. joy. Whilft thefe things happened, the Roman Centurion, that ftood over againlt the Crois of our Lord, and commanded the Guards which watched him , having learnt before both from their mocking, and from his accufationin the Court, that he made himfelf the Son of God, and hearing from him fuch a loud and ftrongCry at his giving up the Ghoft, and confider- ingthedarknedSun, the Earth-quake that followed it, and the Luk. 2347. renting the very rock he ftood upon, furprized with great fear, in the midftof thefe hard-hearted Spectators, Glorified God, faith St. Luke ; and faid, that certainly, this ivas a righteous man : Nay ^.io 6. eur Saviour JefusChriJf.Tart.il. 295 Nay farther, confefled, that furely he was the Son of God ( as he had, in his arraignment, confefled himfelf to be): and the Guards alfo that attended t-ere, foreaffraid, made the fame confeffion with their Commander, faith another Evangelift;^, 17- that truly he was the Son of God. The common people alfo, that came together to this fight, filled with terror, and their hearts accufing them i~>r what they had either done or confented to, not making their heads at him, as they had done a few hours before in derifion, but fmiting their breafb, went away mourn- Mat 27. 39 ing and forrowful, as they came full of jeers and merriment. Our Lord's bleffed Mother, and the other Galilean women, $• t0^- his former Attendants, and St. John, flood there ftill by him j though not having fo much as his dead body in their power, nor knowing how to recover it out of the hands of Juftice ; but waiting 0/ the Divine providence and good pleafure concern- ing it. To whom it was fome confolation, to fee his heavenly Majefty fhew himfelf by thefe firange accidents fo fenfible of the cruel execution of his only Son ; and to hear, after that of the penitent Malefactor, the confeffion of our Lords Deity come from thofe (trangers, the Roman Centurion and Soldi- ers i and to behold the peoples refentmentat lalt of their for- mer cruelties done to him j though now too late for the prefer- vationof his life. Meanwhile,of the repentance and relenting of the Governors of the Jews we hear nothing j who, probably, in feeing thefe wonders, faidof thefe at his death, as they had of thofe in his life j that all came from the Devil ; That this darknefs, Earth- quake, and renting the Rocks, were effects of the rage of Sa- tan, thus deprived bv their Juftice of his prime Minifter and Inftrument for overthrowing of their law: or elfe, that they were expreffions of the Divine difpleafure againft fuch an 1m- poftorandBlafphemer : as almoft all prodigies and ftrange ac- cidents receive a double and contrary interpretation, as the perfonwifheth their prognostication ( and fo predictions hin- der not events, though, after thefe, they manifeft the divine predifpofal of them): wherein alfo they were the more con- firmed by that high afront, that feemed to be done to his Di- vine Majefty in the renting of the Sacred Veil that covered his Sacred prefence in the Temple. For otherwife, if this man had bin io dear and nearly related to God, why did he not ra- ther lave his life ? And, if thefe things were done by his power, why not he rather by it unfaften his nails, and defcend from the crofs } Thete 296 The Hi/lory of the Life of §.107,108. $. 107. Thefe Governors therefore nothing difmayed, and, as reli- gious obfervers in every thing of their law, halted to Pilat to requeft him for the taking down of the Malefactors from the Crofs afToon as might be ; left their hanging longer might pol- lute that great high Feftival that approached, which began overnight at the Vefpers of the former day. On which day alio, being the Sabbath, they might not be taken down ,- which alfo was defired, according to what God had exprefly com- manded in Deuteronomy, chap. 21. 23. that the body ihould not remain all night upon the Tree: but that they mould in any wife bury it that day ( for he that is hanged is accurfed of God ) that the land might not be defiled ;* Thus the Text. They belought him, therefore, that, though fome of them not yet dead , they might by all means be taken down, having their legs firft broken to hinder, if any ftrength yet left in them, their efcape from the Guards; well knowing alfo, that their cheifeft prize, our Lord, was made fure, and dead already: the mangling of whofe body alfo thus, though no torment, yet might be a further difgrace. The Roman Governour at their requeft prefently fending fuch order to the Soldiers of break- ing the Malefactors legs, and taking them away, they executed it upon the two Thieves, who they law as yet have fome life in them ; but, when they came to our Lord already deceafed , they forbarethis; becauie indeed it was his Fathers good plea- fure that his body fliould not be mangled, nor a bone of him broken,- which was alfo punctually obferved in the rolled "Pa- fchalLamb, the Type of him. This thing was done, faith St. Jo. 19-16. John, that the Scripture might be fulfilled ; A bone of him jh all Exod. 1246. not be hroj^n j to which end alfo his death was haftened ; inflict- ed on the others in whom they perceived fome life. §• 108. Thus our Lord s Body, in which were to remain the fears of his Paflion, being not disfigured by any bone broken, only one of the Soldiers wantonly with his Lance pierced his fide; from the opening of which guflit out a ftream of blood ( greater doubtlefs then what the piercing of a dead body could natu- rally fend forth) falling down, and poured out, as that of the Sacrifices was, at the foot of this Altar, on which this Lamb of God was laid. Our Lord by this precious ftream warning away all our filthinefs ; and this his blood fpilt, not as Abels calling aloud for vengeance, but pardon. Of which what can we imagine lefs, than that it was, though invifibly, received and recollected by the Angels 5 aud fo afterwards prelented by our ^. 1 09,1 io. our Saviour Jefut Chri/l. Part.n. 297 our afcendingLord in the Sativum Sanctorum, not made with hands, above, when heentred into it before the Throne of God his Father : whereby the Celeftials themfelves are faid to be pu- rified and prepared for our Lords Pontifical fervice of Inter- ceffion for us there Heb.9.2 3 .-which /printing of the blood ofjefus upon us ( faith St. Peter 1 Pet. 1.2.) SanBifieth us with hit fpirit. And we are now eome to the Mediator of the new Tejlament, and to the fprinkfing of blood, that fpea^s better things than that of A- bels, faithS. Paul. HeK 12.24. and. by which blood we alfo have confidence of entring into the Sanclum Sanclorum ; now with our prayers, hereafter with our perions. Heb.io. 19. Together with this ftream of blood gufhed out alfo another §. 109^ very Miraculous ftream of water ; diftin&from it : for other- wile, by reafon of the ftrong tincture of blood, this water could not have bindifcerned, if mingled with it. A Type of which was Mofes his fmiting the rock, and the water gufhing out, whereof the Apoftle alfo fpeaking faith, the roch^was Chrifl 1 Tor. 10.4. And thefe two, the water and blood, lively repre- fentedthe two Sacraments, left by our Lord to the Church for the cleanfing of fin, and commemoration of his death ; the Sacrament of Baptifm, and of theEuchanft. And thus, asout of Adams fide, when lying a fleep, was formed his Wife Eve- fo by the water and blood ifluing out of Chrifts, lying in the ileep of his death, was formed in thefe two Sacraments his Spoule the Church: regenerated in the one by Chrifts Spirit; and nou- rifhed in the other with his grace, redeemed' by the fhedding of blood i and cleanfed by the water. St. John, a fpe&ator all this while and diligent obferver of §. no. all that patted, takes great notice of this with thefe words con- cerning it, —Andhe that faw it bare record, and knoweth that he faith truet that we might believe. By which he faith, the Pro- phecies were fulfilled, that the Executioners mould pierce his Sacred body, butnot break a bone ; and faith, that this water, and blood, in the two Sacraments, and the plentiful effufion, that was not long after accompliih'd at Pentecoft, of the Holy Ghojl, and which alfo continues to the end of the world, beget- ting and nourifliing children to God, joined with them, are the three WitnefTes that here on Earth give teftimony continu- ally of this redemption: which the fame Evangelift, that faw this, profecutes alfo thus in one of his Epift'es, ijo.f.6,%. This is he that came by water and blood, Jefus Chriit : not in wat r only, but in water and blood s and\_ in thefe ] it is the Spirit that tcftfy- P p etb, 298 The Hiftory of the Life of §. 1 1 1 . eth, that Chrijl is the Truth. For there be three that give tefimony in Earth, the Spirit^ ater, a/id Blood; Thus S. John. Meanwhile, ab- ltradting from this contemplation, we may imagine what aru- f ul Spectacle this was to our BJeiTed Lady and the women with her, ia beholding fuch barbarous cruelty ufed to her Son, even after his death , and his mod precious blood fo fpilt on the ground. §. in. Whilft thefe things palled, Jofeph of Arimathca, a noble Senator, and one of the great Council of the Sanedrim, a good man and a juft ( faith S. Luke chap. 2 3 . fo. of him ) one who had notconfented to their Counfel and doings, but expected the Kingdom of God j formerly a Difciple aliootour Lord, but fecretly, as alfo was another great man, Nicodemus, for fear of the Jews j their eftates, and their Efteem, left either mould be loft, making them more timorous: this Nobleman, refiding conftantly in Jerufalem and rich, had in a garden of his,clofe by the place of our Lord's execution, newly caufed to be hewed out of the foft rock of the hill a Monument or Sepulcher for himfeif: but ordained by the divine predeiignment for the in- terring of our Lord's body near hand, fothat all things might the better ferve for the evidence of his eniuing Refurre&ion. He therefore, though fo timorous before, and who had now alfoafpecial reafon of not touching or coming near a dead corps, becaufe of eating the Pafchal Lamb at even, prohibited to any unclean, ( as thofe were to be for feven daies that touch-' ed a dead body Numb. 19. 14.) yet, probably, much animated both by our Lords patient and innocent fufferings \ and, be- fides his former Doctrine and Miracles, the many figns hefaw now from Heaven and Earth of the tranfcendent dignity of his perfon, and that he was what he believed him to be; having heard alfo of the order oftheperfons executed their being pre- fently taken down, or perhaps being one of them alio that procured it, boldly, faith the Text, went in to Pilat to beg our Lord's Body of him, though well forefeeing he muft incur a great hatred from the cheif of the Jews his acquaintance here- in. Pilat, after he had called the Centurion, and certainly in- formed himfeif of his being already dead, and no defign here- in of faving his life, freely gratified him with it, and com- manded it fhould be delivered him; not prohibiting him a de- cent Burial, whom he had alwaies efteemed an innocent per- fon. ' That Jofeph might not undergo this fad office alone with- out §.H2. cur Saviour Jefut Chrift.Vm. u. 299 out a companion, and for the greater honour of our Lords fu- neral, the time of whofe humiliation was now expired with his death ; Nicodemus, another great perfon, one that had for- merly by night converfed with our Lord, and alfo in the Coun- cil fpoken in his defence John 7. ?i ; and probably more fami- liarly acquainted with Jofeph, by reafon of their condifciple- fhip, joined with him in this lervice : mutually encouraging one another againft the Priefts and Elders of the Jews, who muft needs be much difpleafed with this fa<5t, as upbraiding them with theMurther, if notof theMeffias, ora Prophet, yet, ofa juft perfon. Jofeph therefore fuddenly prepared fine linnen for a Syndon, and Nicodemus a great quantity of Spices, ('about an hundred pound weight, faith the Text ) and (0 coming to Calvary by the Governours authority, took down the naked body from the Crofs, and, removing it into Jofeph's Garden clofe by, probably there performed to it all the ufual Ceremo- nies before burial; warning his ftripes and wounds; and clean- ing it from all thofe indignities, the malitious Jews and Sol- diers had done to it } anointing it with fweet Oyles, and wrap- ping it in the linnen filled with the fpices and fweet odours , and binding a Napkin about his head ( ufed for hindring the falling of the Jaws,); all, to make good that in the Prophet Efay 11. 10. Et erit Sepulchrum ejus rrloriofum. In which office we may imagine thefe great perfons were affifted, as with their Servants, fowith the help of the blefTed Mother of our Lord, and S.John, ( more punctually relating this ftory than the reltj who, we may not think, left our Lord after expired ; but wait- ed ftill in the fame place, to obferve how God would difpofe of his Sacred Body ; and no doubt were much comforted in fee- ing that authority committed into the hands of thofe honou- rable perfons, our Lords Devotes, and formerly known to them as fuch. The Body, thus decently and fumptuoufly accommodated, J. 112, was prefently carried by this fmall train of Mourners, and laid in the new hewn Sepulcher near at hand ; a place, as conveni- ent for the future events of our Lords Refurrection , fo a Mo- nument durable and not fubject to ruin, as other the nobleft Sepulchers ordinarily are. For what more permanent: than a Cave made in a Rock ? but fuch ( as alfo the place wherein he firftlay, when he came into the world, the Ma ager ) that might continue to all pofterity, and fuch as remains to this day, and is continually vifited by a great confluence of devout Clinicians: Pp z be;ng ; 300 The Hiftory of the Life of §.119. being only fix footfquare, and eight foot high, and the en- trance into it on the Baft-fide about three foot high, and three foot three inches broad. On the right fide of which Sepnlcher from the entrance the Sacred body of our Lord was placed, fee Mar{. 1 6. j. compared Jo. 20. 12, with his head toward the Weft. After this the door or mouth of the Cave was (hut up, and fenced with a ma fly piece of rock cut out for the purpofe; not to be removed but by the help of many hands; to hinder any violation of the Sepulcher, or Body ; or robbing itofthofe coftly ijnrien and f pices, that mould be beftowed upon it. Such a cave it was, where Lazarus was buried, Jo. 1 t. 38, ?i, 41. with a great Stone rolled upon the entrance into it ,• which our Lord then commanded to be removed; and our Lords railing of him, a lively type of the fame thing he would fhortly after perform in railing himfelf. Meanwhile, thole women, our Lords former Difciples and Attendants, that affifted not in this action, keeping fome diftance, perhaps inrefpecl of thele ho- nourable perfons, with whom they had no acquaintance, ob- ferved all that was done ; where their Lord was laid , and how the Sepulcher made fall: and, it being now too late, becaufe night approached, they intended, after the Sabbath ended, to exprefs their lad love and affe&ion totherdear Lord alfo, in bringing fome more fweet odours and fpices for preferving and perfuming of his Sacred body, and the narrow roorae , where it lay ,• more to fhew the honour and devotion they bare to it, and once more to behold, to touch, andkifsthofe moft holy Relicks, than that there was now need of any more fuch colt. $1*13. Thus our fo cruelly murthered Lord was now at reft: whilft his glorious Soul, meanwhile, that was never lep'a rated from the Deity, and now attended on with multitudes of Angels, defcended into Hell, and the loweft parts of the Earth, and of his Kingdom; and there triumphed over the Powers of Dark- nefs, conquered, as to their former Tyranny over man, and over the lower part of this world, by his late death: and deli- vered alio thence fuch imprifoned Souls, as were capable of the mercy and favours of his Paflion : according to that of the Pro- phet though indeed no reafonthey had to fufpecl: any fuch thing, but rather that his Difciples, if rinding his words falfe, would at leaft recant their former error, and confefs him an Impoftorand a faife Prophet. Therefore they. halted again to Pilat, for all that it was the Sabbath, it being late over night before they were in- formed of his folemn and fumptuous Burial, and relating to him thefe predictions, and the bad confequence that might be of them, importuned him that there might be fet a watch be- fore the Sepulcher till the third day: and, as if jealous alfo of the corruption of the Watch, that the Sepulcher might be Seal- ed, befides. But why this leal ? becaule, if the body were taken away, theremuftbe a breach of the leal, and fb this theft dis- covered? But lo would there be a breach of it, if the body rifen again. For, how could they imagine, that that power which railed the body, might or would not alfo throw open the door tor its paflage ? But this Seal ferved well, meanwhile, to lave it from the pillage of the Soldiers, and to guard it from the Guards. Some Antients fay, that the ftone was by them faft- ned to the Sepulcher with iron. Thefe things were done ac- cordingly by themfelves, the Governour leaving this wholly to their own ordering -, and doubtlefs much wondring at thele their extravagant jealoufies and fears. So, to the Monument they go, fet this Guard, and feal the ftone, and this with no re- gret that it was on the Sabbath ; of the breach of which , but by better works furely than thele, they had fo often, fo heavily, acculedour good Lord. But all this their diligence by the Divine providence was turned quite contrary to their intents; and rendred our Lords Refurre&ion much more clear and evi- dent, whilft this very Guard were the firit witnefTes of it; and that to the High Priefts themfelves; and quite took away the pretence, which elfe they might not only have reported, but verily believed, ofhis Difciples carrying away his body. Which witnefs of the Watch doubtlels confirmed the faith of many , who would not givefo ealy credit to the Difciples Teftimony of it; and was a means of converting lome of the High Priefts alio. And their testifying likewife our Lords prediction of it before Pilat ftill added more to the truth and reputation of this Event. Of all which Daniels being call into the den of Lyons, and the entrance iuto it being fealed by his Enemies, that no fraud §.i 14. our Saviour Jefus Chriji. Part. II. 303 fraud might be ufed in his deliverance out of it, feeras to have bin a prereprefentation and type. The Sabbath, the day of reft, thus paiTed over, the time was $.114= come, that the grave, the belly of the Whale that had {wallow- ed him, could detain our Lords body no longer, nor the fealed Sepulcher or Guards hinder his Refurrection, according to his many predictions ; early iu the morning of the third day.thatis, after the fix daies wherein the world was created and the feventh, wherein was to be its reft ; trie -ight day, or the firft day of the new Creation of all things j the day, wherein, after a week of daies compleated, all things (hall be perfected in the general Refurrection that (hall be. A day advanced ever fince this act into the folemn Feftival of Chriftiansin an eternal memory of the joy of this day. Early on this day our Lor d refumed, and clothed with immortality, that moft Sacred body of his that had before fo highly merited it by palling through fomany cruel torments. Here alfo great Multitudes of Angels attend- ed on this our Lord in their white andfhining Robes, as may be gathered by their frequent apparitions within and without the Sepulcher, and the women's difcription of them. And, fince a multitude of the heavenly Hoft appeared praifing God at our Lords Nativity, and the beginning of his Humiliation, we can- not imagine lefs folemnitiesat the beginning of his Exalta- tion and triumph j whom alfo we had found before waiting on him, at his former conqueft over Satan with prayer and fad- ing in the Defert. And, if they fhew their Joy at the conver- fionof a (inner, how much more now did they at the Redemp- tion of the world ? And by thefe, or by our Lord, at his riling , and for a clear argument alfo of it, the linnen clothes wherein our Lord lay ( the only prey which a Robber would have look- ed after J were decently folded up, and the Napkin about his head, as if taken off after them, laid in a diverfe place from the reft. At the fame time, as before at our Lords death, happened a terrible Earthquake. And an Angel of great Majefty, his coun- tenance like lightning, faith the Evangelift, and his raiment white as Snow, was feen by the aftonifhed Guards to defcend and roll away the (tone, fo to expofe the open Sepulcher to eve- ry ones view, after our Lords glorious Body had already pafTed through it, when yet fhut up and fealed. The All-glorious An- gel, when he had done this, fitting down upon the ftone that he had rolled away, as if he would now be the fole Guarder of that 3 ©4 The Hiftory of the Life of ^ §. 1 1 5 . that place. So terrible was this fight, asalfo the Earthquake, that the Soldiers ( though they fell not into a lleep, as they af- terward reported, yetj fell into afwoon, and became for a while, faith the Evangeliit, as dead men Mat, 28. 4. After fome time recovering a little itrength, and feeing the Sepulcher thrown open, the body gone, and only the linnen clothes and lpices wrapt up and left behind ( which though it had bin much tor their mtereft, or excuie, inraifinga report of its being fto- len away, as well as profit to have taken, and their neceflity but two daies before had fhared his former garments ) yet they durft not touch, but from the Angel's prefence fpeedily fled away: and in a great fright fome of them came to the chief Piiefts and related all that had hapned ; our Lords Body gone, the Sepulcher empty, the linnens and fpices left behind, ( touch them he that durft) the terrible apparition of the Angel, with an Earthquake, breaking their feal and rolling away the ftone, and there flaying and fitting upon it. f, irr. The chief Pnefts, not a little concern'd in this news of our Lords being revived ( to which alio his Predictions now added fome credit) who had their hands. already embrewed in his blood, now repent their late diligence to prevent it, whereby the very Soldiers could witnefs it againft them •, and prefently alfembled all the Ancients of the Jew?; before whom, on this occalion, the Guards relate the like things: the Divine Provi- dence thus effecting a great divulging of it, and that byfuch Witnefles as they could not but believe. The remit of this con- sultation was, that a large fumm of mony (probably taken out of the fame Church-Treafury as alio Judas his was ) fhould be given to them, to report; that in the night, whilft they were alleep, our Lords Difciples came and ftole away his Body. And, becaufe the negligence of thefe Guards confefling themffclves to deep, when they mould have watched, > if coming to the Governours ears, was highly punifhable ; the chief Priefts en- gaged alio, that in any fuch accident they would latisfy the Governour, and fecure them : confidering well, if they could not fmother and hide the truth in this matter, the publick odi- um and lofs of reputation, which they mould incur both with the People and the Governour, in their profecuting fo vehe- mently, againft the inclinations of both thefe, the death ( to fay no more ) of fo juft and innocent a perfon. Thus one fin, to jultify it felf, where no repentance, engageth us on another, and itill makes the finners condition more defperate. Thus were ^.i 1 6. our Saviour Jefus Chrift* Part.II. 305 were the wily taken in their own craftinefs j and, by tkeir fet- ting the Watch, thofe truths are now declared, both to the people and themfelves, not by the Followers of our Lord, but their own Officers and Servants, which otherwife they might with fome fhew of a good confcience have disbeleived and en- deavoured to fupprefs ; but now acted purely againft it" Thisof the Soldiers flying from the Sepulcher, and teftify- §. ri6. ing in the City our Lords Refurrection : but, befides thefe, were alio fome other extraordinary witnefTes thereof. For, in the great Earthquake, aud at the fame time as our Lords , were other Sepulchers and graves about the city opened; and out of them alio, by vertue, and in honour, of our Lords Riling, came forth the revived Bodies of many other formerly deceaied Saints. That, as his triumphant Soul entring into the inner- moft bowels of the Earth brought a multitude of other over- joyed Souls attendants upon it from thence, fo his glorified Body mould not remain alone, but have alio a great train of other glorified Bodies, whom he thought meet, to wait upon him, and with it afcend to Heaven. Who, to fhew his conqueft not only over his own ,but our, death ; and to confirm to us alio our refurrection by vertue of his, were together with him the Primitive dormientium : and thzprimogeniti ex mortuis, in whom the divine Wifdom thought fit then to forefhew what is to be performed, and made good to the reft of the bodyes of all his Saints now lying in their duft, at the great day. And fome of thefe Saints alfo, in thefe their new reftored bodyes, came into the Holy City, faith the Evangelift ( ftiling it fo, as if no w fan- edified with their prefence, and in alluding to the celeftial Je- rufalem, of which thefe glorified bodyes were now to be eternal Inhabitants,) and there thefe alfo appeared to many, faith the Text, according as the Divine providence difpofed, teftifying to them the Refurrection of our Lord, and further confirming it with their own ; and foprefently difappeared again. Now, what glorified perfons thefe mould be, whether fome holy men, or alfoDifciples of our Lord, that were lately before dece a fed , as the Baptift, S. Simt on, Anna, Zachary, S. Jofeph ; or others, whofe Sepulchers were near the City and well known, and now viewed to be opened and empty by fuch as remembred their interment, appearing to fuch, to whom their perfons were for- merly well known ; or alfo, whether raoft of the more eminent former Patriarchs, and Prophets, that had lain now fo long a time in the duft, and whom our Lord would gratify with a more Q^q early %o6 The Hi/lory of the Life of § . 1 1 7. early Refurrection, we not knowing how far his favours now at this his entrance into his glory might be extended ('though what S.Peter faith of David -^#.2.34. leemsforaewhat to wea- ken fuch an opinion ) ■> here, I (ay, it would be too curious to inquire further into fuch a matter hidden from us: to whom feveral tilings of the Oeconomy of the next world, for certain reafonsof the Divine Wifdom, are as yet but very fparingly revealed. § jj- Amidft thefe extraordinary difcourfes of our revived Lord by the Guards, and by the Saints rifen with him; the Galilean women, who on the Eve of the Sabbath had obferved where his Body was laid, and knew nothing of the Guards that were fet there the next day, and having now prepared a more choice compofition of fpices and odours, than the former haft of his burial would permit to Nicodemus, in which women alfo ufed to be better skilled, rofe up very early in the Morning to go to the Sepulcher, there to vifit his precious Body, and pay this laft office of their duty and love unto it. Thefe were Mary Mag- dalen, and Mary our BlefTed Ladyes lifter- in-law, and mother of our Lords Brethren, Salome the mother of James and John, Joanna the Wife of Herods Steward, and fome others befides. But no mention is there of our Lords Mother the BlefTed Virgin amongft them ; and the reafon why fhe , who had a much greater love to, and grief for, herSon, than any other, yetwas not f o active as they in expreffing it feems to be;either that John, to whofe prudent care fhe was committed , had reftrained her return to the Sepulcher, fo to put fome bounds to her grief, and that this might not add forrow to forrow ; or rather becaufe both the faith of his Refurrecl:ion,before it came to pafs, was ne- ver diminifhed or ecclipfed in her (who alfo full o't Grace laid up in her heart all our words, and well remembred what others forgot ) ; and alfo becaufe moft probably our Lords confolation of her, fo foon as he was rifen, was not at ail deferred ■> but that by his immediat apparition to her he afforded her an early recompence of her former fuffering thofe fword-points of for- row at his Crofs,and alfo of the faith, which in her alone wither- ed notat thattime, as in the reft. Though our Lord, mean- while, did not think fit to ufe her, having fo near a relation to his perfon, for a witnefs to others of his return to life : which, fhe alfo might thenunderftand from him, was tobedilcovered by certain degrees, for the greater trial of his Difciples, and evidence of the ia&s andfo, whilft others went to and fro, me remained3 §.118. our Saviour J refusChrift. Part. II. 307 remained, after this beatifical fight, all this morning in the po- fture of fo great a Mourner retired, continuing in a rapture of joy and unceiTant praifes and thankfgivings to God. For none can here rationally imagine, that our Lord, who vouchfafed to honour Mary Magdalens love and tears, and S. Peters primacy and extraordinary affection to him, with a gratious fight of him before the other men or women, omitted this to his own Mo- ther, more loving, and beloved by, him. The molt Holy Virgin thus retired, and the other women as MjjL: yet bufy in ordering their Provifions, Mary Magdalen more regardlefs, as formerly Lu\. 10. 42. of fuch by-bufineiles, more fervorous and impatient in her affection to be with what was yet left her of our Lord, whom only the devout obfervation of the Sabbath could have reftrained from the Sepulchetfo long, ranbefore the reft, whilftit wasyetdark ( faith S.John) with a valour more than a womans to this place, there rather to ex- pect and ftay for her company. For, this, S. Johns particular itory of her, as alfo our Lords appearing to her alone before the other ( mentioned alfo by S. Mark Mar\. 16. 9. He appear- ed firft to Mary Magdalen ) feyas to intimate. But here lome of the Evangelifts writing things more compendioufly, in which others are more copious , and fome, with more , others with fewer, circumftances ; and fo, for perfons alfo, fome mentioning more than other do ( wherein yet is no contradiction ) j whilft I give the fubitance of what thefe Sacred Hiftorians have deli- vered, I defire your pardon, if I do not or cannot punctually obfervethe order of everything done in this fo fmali a time, and yet fo very full of various occurrences: fince, as S.Jerome on Mat. 28. obferves particularly of thefe women, there feems to have bin feveral excurfions to, and returns from, the Sepul- cher made by them ; and perhaps not of all of them together. —Crebro abeunt ( faith he ^ & recurrunt; (3 non patiuntur a Se- pulcro Domini diu abefle aut longius. Mary Magdalen,then,coming thither thus alone,when the fol- diers were already fled away,of whom fhe knew nothing,faw the great ftone rolled from the Sepulcher and our Lords body taken thence: at which furprized with great wonder and grief, fhe ran back into the city,to the houfe where S.Peter abode with S.John and the BlefTed Mother of our Lord ( probably all the Difciples Sgg Jnk %. not lodging together ) to tell them the fadNc v$} that the Mo- 9,12,14. nument was thrown open, and no body there. Thefe two , the chief of the fociety, and between whom feems to have bin a Qq 2 more 3o 8 The Hiftory of the Life of §.118. more particular friendfliip, who aHo had before entred toge- ther into the High Prieits Palace, hearing thecoaft alfo was clear, went with all fpeed to the place, the better to inform themfelves andtherelt concerning this matter. John much younger and outrunning Peter came fooneft to the Monument j where he Hooped down and looked into it, and there faw the linnen cloths^ but proceeded no further till Peter alfo was ar- rived, who prefently according to his ufual forwardnefs went into the cave, and. S. John after him, and oblerved the linnen cloths decently wrapped-up, and the napkin, as if taken off his head after them, laid in a place by it fell: and now they be- gan (which alfo his night-cloths thus put off, and the linnen not taken away in haft with the Body, but fo orderly folded up, might hint unto them ) to have the firft thoughts of that which our Lord had fo often foretold them , his Re fur re Hi o?i : but yet much checked in it, becaufe that,it fo ri(en, he fhould no where fhew himfelf,to his raoft Holy Mother, to them, or others, who had lo near a relation to him j and fo they flayed not long here, where was no more to be feen, for fear of danger; but returned haftily to their compaju^much wondring, iaith St. Luke, at that which was to comeropafs. Our Lord making tryal of the Faith oi thefe two Pillars of theApoftles, without either any manifeftation of himfeif, or Apparition of an An- gel. But Mary, ftill thinking the Body taken away and removed fome where not far off, and defirous tobeftow their prepara- tions upon it, and for this expecting her companions, ftaid ftill behind at the Sepulcher weeping: and, as fhe was ftooping down and looking again into it, perhaps upon her difcerning fome extraordinary light there , fhe faw two Angels arrayed in white and fhining Garments well fating to that joyful fo- lemnity ; and fitting there, as if they gave lome particular re- verence to the place that Sacred Body had touched, one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the Body of our Lord had lain »• that part of the rock where the Body was placed being left fomewhat higher than the reft of the floor ; who asking why (he wept fo much ( in a time indeed of fo great joy ) fhe, not muchfurprifed, told them, becaufe fome perfon had done violence to the dead, and carried away the body of her dear Lord, to which fhe came to perform her laft fervice and duty : and, before fhe received any anfwer from them, per- haps feeing fome alteration in their gefture upon our Lords approach, ^,i i9- our Saviour J efu* Chri ft. Part.n. 309 approach, or hearing fome noife of his fteps behind her ; fhe luddenly turneth her felf about, and feeing a man, whom by his habit or inftruments fhe took to be the Gardiner of that place (who alfo queftioned her what file looked for there, and why fhe wept,) and fancying he might, perhaps, have thrown out the Body of a criminous perfon, executed by Juftice from fuch a coftly Tomb, prepared for his own Matters body , and fuddainlycaft there without his order, fhe requefted to know where eliehebad difpofed of it, and fhe would carry it away (for her love boggled at nothing ) and none mould be further molefted by it. Our Lord, as it were overcome with pitty, and fuch paffio- §. 119, nate expreffions, could refrain no longer ; but fuddainly chang- ~*~ ing his appearance, and fhewing himfelf to her in his own likenefs, gratioully called her by her name Mary, whereat ra- vifhed. with joy and anfwering him %abboni, fhe fell proftrate to adore him, and kifs his feet. But our Lord, to per feci: her yet too terrene affections, and render them more celeftial, for- bids her prefent embraces, or touching him, and fignifies to her things moft unexpected, of his fhortly departing hence,, and afcending to his Father; andfo commands her, without any longer ftay, to haft prefently to his Brethren (for fo he now ftileshisDifciplesJ and to tell them, that, his Remrrction ac- complished, he was very fhortly toafcend not only to his Fa- ther, and God, but now alfo theirs, through the merit of his Paflion that had reconciled the loft world to God : but yet dif- joining thefe, and faying; my Father and your Father, becaufe God theirs only derivatively from being his. Signifying to her, that there was no time yet of fruition and embraces, but more bufinefs to be done by him, for her, and for mankind 5 viz. his Afcent to his eternal Father, where he was to make an atonement with his blood in the celeftial Sanctuary, and pre- pare an entrance alfo for them in thither : where fhould be the proper time of a beatifical enjoyment , kiifes, and embraces forever; and where he was alfo to procure of his Father the Million of the Holy Ghoft, not to dwell here only with, but in, them; and, by enriching them with ail heavenly Graces and Gifts, prepare them for that heavenly kingdom. Thus our Lord, fo foon as rifen, purfuing rather the perfection of his iervants than their prefent content, began to remove out of their minds the conceit of any terreftrial Scepter, and advance their thoughts to a celeftial Throne and the knowledg of fur* ihfi* 3io The Hiftory of the Life of §. 1 2 0. ther myfteries. Of which Afcenfion and Glorification of his, as a thing of the greateft coniequence and weight, he had alfo ipoken often to them before, but efpecially before his paflion. See John. 1. yi. -3. 13. -13. 3 3. -14. 2, 28. -16. y, 17, 16, 28. -17. f. and having faidthe former words to her, he, much contrary to her expectation, f'uddainly difappeared : leaving her, as over- joyed with his return from Death, fo anew afflicted with his ab- le nee. §. 120. Which difappearance, ( and fo appearing in feveral fhapes ) " asitmuft bean effect of his divine power, either by an alte- ration of the object, or only of the fenfes, ( foritisfaid of the Difciples travelling to Emaus, that their eyes were held, fo that they knew him not ) fo how far all glorified Bodyes have fuch things in their power, it is not eafy to determine, being in their Refurrection, as the Apoftle faith, made Spiritual j i.e. refem- bling in many things Spirits : as, in their agility and fubtility, impaflibility, immortality, and fplendor or clarity, for which ieeMat. 13. 43. -1 Cor. if. 41, 43, 49. called Glory Phil. 3. 21. 'ljo.^.x. [ yet of which Clarity it was neceffary that our Lord in thefe his apparitions fliould diveft himfelf , that he might fhew himfelf to his Difciples to have the fame Body wherein he fuffered, and that he might familiarly converfe with them, and negotiate the bufinefs he had yet here to finifh on Earth. But this Hate of Glory in him was prereprefented to fome per- fons felected out of them (who were after his Refurrection to declare it to the reft ) Mat. 17.9. before his fufferings , at his Transfiguration in the Holy Mount, Mat. 17. when his face is faid to have mined like the Sun ore. But fuch alfo, after his Re- furrection, he appeared to Stephen ; whofe face fhone, like that of Mofes, from the reflection Acl. 6. if. compared with 7. ff. and again to S.Paul in the way to Damafcus, ./#?. 9,10. fo that the Glory quite took away his fight]. Refembling fpirits alfo, in patting how foon, and whither, they pleafe j without any gra- vity, or retardment, or impediment of folid bodyes interpofed, we may imagine according to the fwiftnefs of a Sun-beam, or of our thoughts; with which we render our felves in our imagi- nation prefent in places moft remote, and acting there what we pleafe. Mary, as commanded, halted to the main Body of the Difci- ples, that remained together ; and told them this joyful news, as they mourned and wept, faith S. M&rkcbap. 16. 10, 11. But they ( faith he, aggravating their great incredulity and difcon- folation ) ^ 1 21. cur Saviour Jefws Chrift. Part.ii. 311 folationjwhen they had heard that hewas alive,andihad bin feen of her, yet believed not; and foflie halted again toward the Sepulcher to meet with our Lord again, or at leaft the women her companions. Meanwhile the other Galilean women alfo were arrived f ixr. therewith great ftore of' fpices prepared; much foilicitous by the way how they fliould remove the ftone from the Sepulcher ; ( fuch men as were our Lords Friends not daring to appear, or herein to affift them ) : and feeing the great Stone, that trou- bled them fo much, rolled away, prefently went into it : where theyfaw the body gone, and an Angel, in the form of a yong man clothed with a long mining robe, fitting, as Mary's Angel did, on the right fide of the Sepulcher where our Lord had lain,- at which fight being much affrighted, he bid them take courage,- he knew whom they fought, our Lord that was cru- cified, but that he was not there, they faw the place empty , but was rifen again, as he had often told them ('which now they wellremembred,) when he was with them in Galilee ; that they fhould prefently carry this joyful news to the Difciples, and to Peter particularly named as thechiefeftofthem, and the moft refpe&ed by our Lord ; and perhaps, as wasfaid before, he and John not lodging with the reft,- telling them that after fuch a time they fliould depart into their own Countrey, Galileejwhere was the greateft frequency of his Difciples and Followers, and moft liberty for their meeting together from the difturbance of the Jews, and there in fuch a Mountain, apart, and at fuch time aflembled, they fhould all together fee him, and enjoy the confolation of hisprefence. The holy women, filled with great fear and joy, to whom alfo, by this, Mary Magdalen had join- ed her felf and related her happy adventures, alfo halted with this fecond meffage to the difconfolate Difciples ; who dared not to ftir abroad, or fee themfelves how things were. And upon the way, as they were going, our Lord fuddainly appear- ed to them alfo,- faying, All bail to them too: Before whom they prefently fell down, and took hold of his feet and adored him. A thing, which to Mary, when all alone, he would not permit, but here indulged, perhaps that this might the more confirm to them, as alfo to the Difciples to whom they carried the news, the reality of hisperfon. And fo, them alfo he pre- fently difmifTed to go and tell his Brethren, as he ftiled them, that hewas rifen j and in Galilee they fliould all have a full view of him ; and vaniflied again out of their fight. Come 3 i 2 The Hiftory of the Life of §.12 2. $.122. Come to the Difciples, their uieflhge was alfo entertained with the fame obftinate incredulity, as Mary Magdalen's, and perhaps alfo St. Peter and St. Johns Relations. For, St. John iaith ofhimfelf, that, when he came to theSepulcher, ana fa w how things were there, he believed. But the reft oi the Difci- ples would credit nothing ; as forrow is loth to be deceived, left inch deceit difcovered mould redouble it ; and this perhaps becaufe the reports brought them were only of fuddain appa- ritions, and thefe prefently vanifhing again -though they touch- ed him, not able to detain him : which they might take either for the deluiionoffome fpirits ( for fuch things they could not imagine of a folid body ) or elfe ftrong imaginations of the fancy, advanced by our Lords former predictions, and by a longing expectation: efpecially, this thing hapning only to the women j and firft to her that was moft tranfported with love; and alfo they prefuming that our Lord, if truly rilen, would have honoured his holy Mother ( of whole vifit to her, or Pe- ter, they as yet knew nothing) or them, fooner with his pre- fence, than thefe others : or rather would have returned in a more publick manner, manifefting himfelf to all the world; as now being Death-free, and fo above all the effects of his Enemies malice ; and would have entred upon the adminiftra- tion of hiskingdom , for (uch a thingran in their mind, and fuch thing they were harping upon AEk. 1. 6. Whilft, on the other fide, our Lord this while afforded his prefence toothers, and withheld it from them ; to try and giveoccafion to the greater operation of their faith fa thing in us ever moft highly prized and valued by him ) as who had bin more particularly inftruct- ed by him concerning this reviving, than others,- and mould have needed lefs conviction for the perfwafion of it ( and yet in this outdone by the High Priefts, who much fufpected it J : and therefore at St. Peter and Johns repairing to the Sepulcher, no Angels appeared; nor was the meftage there delivered by an Angel to the Difciples, but women. But this was done al- fo, to fhew them their great weaknefs and hardnefs of heart, which alfo in his next apparition in the Evening he objected to them; and had a good effect for prefervingin them the great- er humility, without which no perfon can be gracious to him: the courage of thefe women meanwhile well deferving thole manifeftations of our Lord, of which their fears were unwor- thy. But indeed the Divine providence alfo feems thus to havedifpofed things, that their Teftiniony, who were to pub- liih 4.123. cur Saviour Jefut Chrift. Part. n. .313 lifh to all the world the Gcfpel of oar Lords Refurrecbon-, might be rendred the more credible from the great averfenefs and difficulty themfelves had at firft to admit, or believe it 5 as alfo S. Thomas his (landing out and trying further experiments, after all the reft convinced, ferved for the fame ends. This alfo much more illuftrated the wonderful operations of the de- scent of the Holy Ghoft upon them, that was fhortly after ob- tained of his Father by our Lords Afcention, fhewmg aii their fpiritual ftrength and courage to have bin from its efficacy. .Who, though now full of fears and incredulity thef hid them- felves, and defpaired, as it were, of the Divine Omuipotency andGoodnefs, then proclaimed to all the world the Ma^nalia Dei, and feared neither Prifons nor death for the Teftimonv of Jefus ; --Quales DoUores SanUce Ecclejite ante adveritnim hunts Sp.i+itus fuerint, fcirnus ; tfpojt adventum illius, cujus fvrtituditm faclifunt, tonjpicimm ,• faith S- Gregory. The fame day alfo, before any other of the Apoftles, our $. 1*3 « Lord appeared to S. Peter, at fome time when alone. An Ap- Luk. 24,34..' parition mentioned by St. Paul, and St. Luke ; fome think it 1 Cor- 15> S- might be at his returfi from the Sepulcher, whilft John as fwif- ter on foot wasthen alfo gone before him, to tell the-Difciples the ftrange and joyful news. For hedoubtlefs, together with John, had much argued the cafe; as knowing the Soldiers re- port of the Difciples a fable ; and that Enemies in fpoiiing the Tomb would in the chief place have taken the linnen and fpi- ces; and friends not have ftript the Body of them : and, from this alfo, had called to mind the predictions of our Lord, and_ afthe Scriptures, concerning his riling again, intimated by-Sf. John chap. 20. 9. and fo returned full of joy, faith, and hopes to fee and reeiroy him. $ut this appearance to Peter fe^m^ to have bin later, being not known to the reft, ( whom this Apo- ftle would immediatly have acquainted with it) when the wo- men brought the lame news j nor yet, when Cleophas and his companion took their journey to Emaus, who Knew nothing of it. To this Apoftle our:Lord fir.ft appeared -^both; as being the chief .of them, by whom he would hav^e the relt-c'dnfirmed in this faith, before he further manifested hi mf elf to them \ and alfo, as being one that more exceedingly loved him, fee John 2x. rr. 'audio more paffionatly lamented the Vb'fe-neean-d iofs of him; ( as'' he alio, appeared to Mary Magdalen, before the other women ) ; And alfo to H'im, as one more 93 -je 12&* heard, yet, by our Lords fuddain withdrawing himfelf, their joy not unmixed with lome fadnefs, prefently returned back that Evening to Jerufalem, and told the company there aflem- bled all that had hapned ( their being two together rendriug their teftimony more credible ) where they found the Difciples alio relating our Lords appearance to Peter. They reported alfo to them his Sermon, and the types in the law, and the Pro- phets, prefignifying fuch his iufferings before his entrance into his Kingdom: notwithftanding which, though many of them were much perfwaded, yet fome others ( faith St. Mark chap. 15.13 Jftill remained incredulous : probably, arguing from our Lord's prefently vanifhing both from the women, and from St. Peter, and laft from thefetwoatEmaus, that it was fome Spi- rit only appearing in his likenefs ; For the lame conceit they had alio by and by when our Lord appeared to themielves Lu\. 24.37. After fo many meflage^nd ocular WitnefTes of his Refur- j. 12T, reckon, fent to them for t^trial oftheir faith, and all by fome ofthemftill difcredited, now late at night, as they were after Supper fitting and debating thefe things, and fome ltfeems itiii contradicting, the doors being faft (hut for fcar of the Jews, who alfo had fpread a report of them, that they had floln away our Lords Body, our Lord himfelf fuddainly appeared in the midft. of them j at which they wereathrfL much affrighted j thinking him fomenight-walking-Spirit, knowing the doors to be firmly bolted, and perceiving him defcending, rather then entringin, among them. But our Gracious Lord foon allayed this aitonifhment , faluting them with a Pax vobis , the uiual and Antientfalutationof the Jews; butthis^^of hisextraor- dinarys 3 1 8 The Eiftory of the Life of §. 1 2 7. dinary, and not fcut Mundus Jo. 14. 27. working in the Soul the effect, whilft he fpake with his mouth the words. Then, mildly reprehended them, that they had remained fo obftinatly in- credulous to the Eye-witnefTes that came to them, in a matter alfo fo often foretold them, nor yet believed their own eyes at prefent, but took him for a Spirit : then proceeded to dilcover and mew them the fears of the wounds he had received in his hands, feet, and fide s thofe noble fears which his glorified Body in heaven ftill retains, eternal Witnefles of his love to man- kind, and with which he will appear at his fecond coming, for the greater confufion of his Enemies ; when, faith S. John Apo. i.7} th*ey mall look on him whom they have pierced ; and whole tender of mercy, after it, they alfo rejected. He bad them alfo to feel and handle his true flefhand bones different from Spirits; therefore faith the Apoftle, not only —Qupdaudivimus, quod vidimus, but, manus nojira contreftaverunt de verbo vitce. Then, what only remained for their fatisfaction, whillt the ex- cefs of their Joy and wonder ftill fufpended their full affent and belief, he called for meat, and eat alio before tl^em of that poor fare, which they were provided of, though in this great Feaft, and to which our Lord alfo had bin moft accu- ftom d,a pieceof a broildfifh,andof an hony-comb,the oneplen- tiful in the woods of this countrey, and the other a common food among Fifhermen ; perhaps the relicks of their Supper but now ended. Of which after he had eaten, he gave to them the remainder, faith the vulgar in S. Luke chap. 24. 43. Et cum manducafiet coram eis , fumens reliquias dedit eis. To partake of what he Sanctified, and that they might fay they had eat and drunk with him, as alfo thofe at Fmaus. See AU. 1 . 4. After he had thus eaten before them, andby all thefe waies fatisfied them ( excepting only Thomas ablWt ) of the truth and reality of that, the Teft imony of which they were to fpread abroad through all the world, and for which afterwards to lay down their lives,- he made muchwhat to them the fame Sermon or Difcourfe, as to the twoDifciples that went toEmaus; inftruct- ing them in what they were afterwards to inftruct the Jews and all other Nations i expounding to them the Law and the Pro- phets; fliewing them the many predictions concerning the Mef- fias his Sufferings, Refurrection, and fo entrance into his Glo- ry ( a many of which they mentioned afterward in their Ser- mons in the Acts ) opening their understandings to underftand the Scriptures. After- §.128,129. our Saviour JefusChrift.V2.Kt.iX. 519 Afterward, more particularly addrefling him felf to his Apo- §. 128, ftles, he told them, in this and feveral other apparitions made to them before his Afcenfion, that he was very fhortly to go into Heaven to his Father, and leave them here behind himj That all power both in Heaven and Earth was given to him; that therefore by this his Authority he alfo feut them to preach the Gofpel to all Nations, and witnefs to them the things they had feen and heard from him, but beginning their predication fir ft at Jerufalem and to Gods former people the Jews: That they fhould preach to them repentance and remiffion of fin thro his name, and alfo the obiervation of all thofe things which he had commanded them: And that they fhould alfo Baptize them In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghoft ; inftrudting them, that who fo believed in him and were bap- tized ( which was the Sacrament inftituted for wafhing away their fins, for conferring on them the Spirit of regeneration, and for initiating them into his Church ) fhould be laved ; and the unbelieving damned: And that great figns alfo fhould fol- low them that believed, and were of the Chriftian profeflion ; which figns mould bear witnefs to the truth of their faith and Religion: That in his name they fhould fpeak ftrange languages, cure the lick, caft out Devils, and have a fpecial command overall the powers of the Enemy (as they are called LuJ^xo, 1 9-)in taking up or treading on Serpents, or inhapningtodrink any poifon, not to receive any hurt from them. Not that all Believers fhould do fuch Miracles, but that thefe fhould ftill re- main in the Church or Congregation of true Believers, Tefti- monies and Evidences of Gods lpecial favours to, and prefence with, them. At laft he proceeded to their folemn Ordination: wherein, f- *29» after he had pronounced a drcond Pax vobis , and a ficut mifit me Pater, (3 ego mittovos, He breathed upon them with his raoft Sacred mouth, and faid theie words , ufed ever (ince by them and their SuccefTors in the ordination of others . — 'Receive ye the Holy Ghoft, whofe fins ye JIj all forgive [ i. e. by Baptifm, or for thofe committed afterwards, by Abfolution, upon confef- fion and repentance or penance] they are forgiven them j and vohofe fins ye Jball retain [ i. e. by not baptizing, or absolving; or further binding with Church-ceniures the impenitent, and obftinat] they are retained; And fo folemnly promifed to be with them and their SuccefTors, with his power and protection, till the end of the world, and the ti me of his return to judg it. Thi£ ~z6 TheHiflorycftheLifeof §.130,131. §. 130. Thisfaid, he difappeared alio to them, as he had done ieve- ral times already to the other ( which caufed'in them, now, lefs wonder at the former) leaving their hearts replenifhed with great confolation. After this, done on the fecond day of the Feaft and the firft of his Refurrection, he abiented him f elf from them till the Eighth, when that folemn Feftivals Octave was fully ended, and the people were upon their return to their own countreyes and habitations. Where, for this time, our Lords glorious Perion was, together with thDfe other Saints whofe Bodyes were raifed with him, till his Afcenfion, would be too much curiofity to inquire. It feems, he was pleafed to obferve the fixed laws of the Divine wifdom for Souls or Perfons alrea- dy tranflated to the next life -, viz. to have no more familiar or long-during converfe with thofe of this ( for fo neither did Ell- as andMoies make any long flay with our Lord in the Holy Mount. ) As for other good ends, fo perhaps for this, the greater merit of our faith, here, concerning the life, and affairs, of the world to come. ' f. 13 1. S. Thomas, one of the eleven, was abfent when our Lord thus appeared ; where fome imagine, from the fear he formerly be- wrayed John it. f. that he might not be as yet returned to the Society fince their difperfion on Thurfday night at our Lords apprehenfion,- and fo might not have heard, as the reft, of our Lord's former appearings, at all to the women and to Peter &c : He, whether the fame night, or afterwards, being come to them, and informed of their having feen our Lord, yer, for a greater manifeftation (till of our Lords Refurrection, and for begetting in this Apoftle more humility, continued in the fame incredulity as to their relations, ( though io many )as they had done to the other ; likely, perfwactalby the Circumftances, of his appearing in the night, coming through Doors fhut, and making fcarfe any fray at all with perfons to whom he had for- merly fhewed fo much affection, but fuddainly vanifhing again, that it might be fome airy fpirit fubject in his motions to the order of a Superior power. And, though they related to him alfo their having feen his fears, and touched his body, (or at leaft invited to do it ) yet he fancied that this Was not done to purpofe, but ought to be better examined ; and, that, if he had bin there, he would have thruft his hand into the Gafli in our Lords fide, and his fingers into the holes made by the nails &c :- Notwithstanding that this perion, bt'fides his hearing our Lords many predictions to them of his Refurrection, was prefent with § 13 2. our Saviour Jefu* Chrifl. Part.ii. 3 2 1 with the reft at our Lords railing from death, after laid upon the Bier, thewiddows fon at Nairn ; and again, at his railing of Lazarus out of his Sepulcher, when he had lain longer time there , than our Lord, had done. But this too-much lufpici- ous and defpondent inclination of his had appeared alfo feyeral times formerly (that we may fee,' what materials our Lords Grace wrought upon, and not to be difcouragedj: as, in thole words of his at our perfecuted Lords return into Judea for the raifing of Lazarus i Jo. if. 16. He then prefently refolving that there our Lord, and they mult lofe their lives ; and in his words SLg3.ia.J0hn 14.5-. where, our Lord telling his Difciples of his de- parture fhortly, and that they knew the place and the way whi* therhewent, Thomas dejectedly replied, that they knew not whither he went, and how could they know the way thither > To whom our Lord anlwered : that his Journey was a Return to Heaven to his Father whence he came, and-that He himfelf, believed-in, was the way thither. Yet, after the defcent and renovation of the Holy Spirit, this Apoftle efpecially was made choiceofto be a moll eminent AfTertor of the fame Refurre- clion, and Propagator of the Gofpel throughout India, and the remoteft Nations of the Eaft, fulfilling our Lords words Atls 1. 8. -Et ufque ad ultimum terra \ and there at laft laid down his life for it. Our Lord then on the eighth day of his Refurrection fob- §. 172I ferving punctually the fame day of the week as before, thus to recommend the folemnity thereof to all Pofterity : for which it hath ever fince been lolemnly honoured alfo in the Church, and called the Lords Day, fee Apoc. 1. ) when this great Feftival was now concluded, and the Difciples were all together again at Even, whom perhaps bufinefs in the day time had divided, purpofing now their return into Galilee ; and Thomas now with them, being alfo a Galilean (where we find him afterwards going on filhing with St. Peter and others ) ,- our Lord, I fay, about the fame time of night, and the doors flint, as before , appeared again in the midftof them : and, after his ufual fain* tation Pax vebis, He, according to his zeal John 17. 12. Quos dediflimihi, cujiodivi ; & nemo ex eis periit , particularly addref- fed his fpeechto St. Thomas; and when, fhewing his omnifci- ence, he had repeated to him the incredulous words fpoken by him in his a,blence, with a moft gracious condescendence to his weaknels, invited him to'exa mine his body freely ; to piit his finger hardily in the holes of the Nails, and his hand into Sf the 322 The Hiftory of the Life of §-133. the larger wound made in his fide, andatlaft become a true Beleiver ; and joine his Teftimony thereof to the world with die reft of hisApoftles. St. Thomas, doubtless, upon fuchan appearance, and fpeech to him, much confounded, and being already fufficiently perfwaded and convinced of his error and fault, needed now no further experiment for the confirmation of his Faith, had not our Lord prefled him to it. After which, as it were elevated into another extreme, he cried out My Lord, my God-, and, acknowledging more than thefe fears evidenced to him, not only the Refurrectionof his true body, but the Di- vinity of his Perfon, which effected it, equalled that con feflion of the higheft Apoftle. Mat. 16. 16. Upon which our Lord, gently reprehending fuch an obftinat and refolute unbelief, as had formerly lodged in him, uttered thofe gracious and com- fortable words for all thofe, that, by reafon of his fuddain re- moval from the Earth, could not have St. Thomas his lot to fee, feel, or touch him, that he indeed believed becaufe he had feen him 5 but Blefled they, who have notfeenand yet have believed -3 leaving this Benediction on the greater virtue of their faith for ever j who in latter times, not having the like Evidence, mould neverthelefs perfevere in the like faith and ad- herence to him. In the conftitution of which faith a pious af- fection of the will is indeed a principal ingredient ( according to Quo d v alumus f agile credimvs )-j and that which Godmoftva- luethand rewardeth. ?• r*3* Thus our good Lord, in condefcenfion to our weaknefs, and for laying a foundation of the Chriftian Faith the freer from all contradiction and difpute,was pleated to retain the breaches of his fufferings ftiil in his glorified body „• and to fuffer one of his dear Difciples to fall into fuchagrofs and obftinate incre- dulity, as the fearching of thefe only could cure. And thefe honourable marks, received in that infernal and bloody war with the powers of Darknefs, are ftill retained by him at this day; with thefe he appeared before the Throne , Jgnm tan- quam occifus ( faith S. John Jpocal. 5. 6. )and with thofe he will appear in Majefty at his fecond coming to judgment j for the greater confounding of thofe Beholders who inflicted them, and of all the wicked, when he then reprefents to them the greatthings he fuffer ed to have laved them. See Zach. 12. 10. and 13. tf. compared with Jpoc.\,7, Behold he cometh with Clouds, (faith St. John; and every eye fhall lee him, and they that pierced him, and they (hall bewail themfelves upon Flim : and §.i34» our Saviour Jefus Chrift. Part.II. 323 and thofe his fears he now fittingat Gods right hand, perpetu- ally fhewstohis heavenly Father for mitigating his wrath to finners : and thefe himlelf alio daily looks upon, to mind him how much our falvation coft him, and fo the more to perfect, preferve, and take care of, fo dear a purchafe. For which gracious oftentation of them they fee m alfo to have bin placed in the mod vifible parts of his body j fo that he cannot now ftretch forth an hand, or move a foot, without mewing thefe holy Relicks of his infinire love to mankind : Therefore are they fo quickly obferved by the Prophet Qua/iint plaga ijice in Zach. 13. 6. medio manuum tuarum > Thefe alfo remain to be hereafter to all his Saints in the beholding of thefe plagd. ..j.zt they had laboured lo another whole uighE 326 The Hiflory of the Life of §.13 6\ night and caught nothing. This was no fooner done, but they perceived their Met fo ponderous with the fifties it had enclos- ed, that, notable to lift it up into the fhip, they were forced to drag it along toward the fhore. Upon which St. John faid to Peter, that certainly it was our Lord, either by his quicker fight better difcerning him; or from this great Miracle per- fwaded thereof. Peter, according to his wonted fervour and courage, and moved by an extraordinary love he bare to our Lord, impatient of the flow motion of the Ship, dragging gent- ly the laden Net, girding only clofe to him his Fifhers coat without further apparelling himfelf, threw himfelf into the Sea, it being not far to the fhore. ( Methinks this action fome- what relembling thefe two Difciple's behaviour at our Lords Sepulcher, where John firft difcovered, and Peter firft entrcd ) where, after his having adored our Lord, and the others now arrived, he went up again into the Boat to help them to land the Net, full of great fifties, in number one hundred fifty three, yet without the leaft breach of the Net. The former ftory of the Apoftles fifhing, at their firft call to follow Chrift, and fo to become Fifhers of men, and the Mira- cle then done by our Lord, varying in feveral Circumftances from this, gave occafion to St. Auftin in Joban. TraU. 122. ( knowing no caf ualty to be in our Lords Works, but al I as Para- bles, figmficative, and predefigned with an infinite wifdom , more than we can for the prefent difcover ) to conjecture thefe twofifhings to reprefent the twoftatesof the Church, before, and after, the Refurrection, when all thing? will be perfected. In the firft therefore he obferves ; That the Difciples were bid- den by our Lord, then in the Ship together with them, to caft their Nets ; but not fo particularly, on the right fide of the ftiip ; That the fifh caught were fome great, fome fmall ; not drawn to the land, but taken into the (hip; that by the Multitude of them the Net was broken ; and by their weight thefhip in ha- zard to be funk ; no certain number of them taken •, no feaft or entertainment of the Fiftiermen after their toil: But in this latter, Our Lord is ftandingon, and calling to them from, the fhore j the Apoftles being feven, that is, a compleat number, are bidden to caft their Net, and all the fifh are taken, on the right lide of thefhip; thefe a certain number; all great ones; drawn to land ; no Net broken, or {hip hazarded finking by them, no tempeft riling, as formerly, in St. Peters palling thro the Sea toour Lord; All things now made ready before hand here §.13 6*. our Saviour Jefus Cbrift. Part. n. 327 here by our Lord for the Apoftles Entertainment, and they nere feafted by him, and eating of the fruit of their labours "&c : The firft of thefe therefore feeming more generally to repre- sent, in the prefent Sea of this world, the gathering of Nati- ons, by the Net of the Preachers of the Gofpel, into the external profeffion of the Chriftian Faith $ where fome alfo break thefe Nets and are loit;and by their factions alfo hazard the Church, the Ship that carries them &c. But the latter feeming to repre- fent, at the end of the world, when our Lord is on the more, the collection of the Elect, the children of the right hand ; where- of there is a certain number •, none loft out of the Net ; all great and confiderable j the number of which alfo expreft viz. 173. ( which number as St. Auftin obferves is the fumm of a compu- tation of all the numbers from 1 . to 1 7 : and, as S. Gregory, the productof 17. multiplied by 9. or 3 times 3.) contains in it iomemyftical Signification j which, whether relating to thefe- veral Nations, or to the molt eminent Saints, converted by them, or to fome other thing, remains to be manifefted here- after; where it is obferved, that the number of people of the Nations, that were found in Ifrael in Salomons daies, and by him made Labourers in the building of the Temple, came to ij"3« thoufand fee zCbron. 2. 17. notreckoning the Fraction. Laftly, after all, follows our Lords entertaining thefe his Ser- vants with eternal Joyes and Feftivals prepared by him for them. See fuch a fifhing alluded to by our Lord, Mat. 1^.47, in his comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to a Net &c ; which at laft is drawn to more, and the good gathered into VefTels, but the bad caft away ; And fee fuch an Entertainment mentioned Mat. 12. 37. The Lord of the Feajt minijiring to his Guejis, Mat,, 26. 29. -8. 11. Jipoc. 19. 9. Aflbon as landed, they all faw clearly it was our Lord, but in great reverence and fear, perhaps his appearance being alfo more full ofMajefty than formerly, durffc not ask him any cu- rious queftions, who he was, where he abode, from whence he came thither, concerning his ftay with them, his kingdom. &c. There alfo they faw a fire already kindled on the fhore, and fifh of our Lords own providing laid thereon, and bread, all things miraculoufly prepared for their entertainment, without any neceflity of their provifion or afliftance : and that our Lord could feaft them from his own ftore ; and called to them from the more to fupply their wants, not his. But alfo he bad them to bring fome of thefifh they had taken, thatthey might partake 328 The Hiftory of the Life of §..137. partake of their own labours, and he alfo receive an Entertain- ment from them: (o after his ufual Benediction he took the bread and fifh, and divided and diftributed thefe unto them, fitting with him in very great reverence and filence. And, of this taking their repaft with him, or that on the night after hisRefurrdtion, itfeemsto be, that St. Peter fpeaks to Corne- lius and his company,^?. io. 41. That they did cat and drinkjvith him after he rojefrom the dead. §. 137. After Dinner, and our Lord's thus, by a Miracle, feeding of them, as it was his ufual manner to transfer the Difcourfe to fpiritual matters flee Jo. 4. 10. -6. 27.-7. 37.-8- 34, 38. -9. S. ) he began to fpeak of their feeding his fheep ( as alfo, after their former great and miraculous draught of fillies Lu\. 5-, he dif- courfeth of their catching of men,) : and here he addreffed his fpeech alfo particularly to Simon Peter ( as he did after the other miraculous draught LuJ^ ?. 10. Simon, fear not sfrom hence- forth thou Jh alt catch men, and frequently elfewhere; fee Lu\. 22. 31, 32. -Mat. 26. 40. ) Simon Peter being both the cheif of them , and alfo one, who now had ihewed an extraordinary love and devotion to him, when, being as yet hardly dilcovered by him, he threw himfelf into the Sea, not minding his fifh, for haft to come to him. Him, then, he kindly befpake on this manner. Simon Bar- Jona loveft thou me more than thefe ? As thou haft often Mari^. 14. 30, 31, Lu\. 22. 53. and now particularly by this laft action of thine made great profeffion of it. To whom theApoftlemo- deftly anfwered ■, parting by any companion with others, That our Lord well knew, he loved him. If thou doft, faith he, now I the chief Paftor am quitting this world, and leaving them to others, feed my Lambs ; thefe little ones, who as yet are but Neophytes in , and newly acquainted with, the Chriftian Faith ; our Lord fhewing herein the bowels of his affection not only to the twelve, but alfo thofe others formerly inftructed by him ; And §tot redemptifunt pretio magno. ' 1 Cor. 6. 20. Now, to St. Peter our Lord commits here more particularly the feeding of them, becaufe he was ordained by God his Fa- ther to be the chief and prime Paftor of them, under Chrift; And therefore elfewhere , at the firft fight of him ( no doubt from the divine ordination) he gave him the name of Cephas, Stone, or Foundation Jo. 1. 42 i though Andrew the firft called, and, fomefay, the Elder Brother. And again, upon the Ca- tholick Confeflion he made, by God the Fathers revealing it to §.137* our Saviour JejusChrift.V2Xt.il. 329 to him Mat. 16. 17. of our Lords Divine perfon, he further ex- pounded the reafon of this name, that upon this Cephas he would build his Church. And again, at his Paffion, Satan be- ing permitted by God to tempt our Lords Difciples, he made fome particular interceflion for the not failing of S. Peters Faith in fuch temptation: ('For, though Satan, laying his clofeft fiege to this cheit Apoftle, he failed in his confeffion of: our Lord, out of fear ( which was a great fault ), yet not in his heart, out of any infidelity >• and hisconverfion from this fault immedi- atly followed with bitter weeping,). And, as, here, heenjoines him the feeding of his fheep ; fo, there alfo, he recommends to him the confirmation of this faith in the other his Fellow- fhepheards of thefe fheep,- —Tuconverfusconfirmafratres. And, to this fpecial Commiffion here given to Peter over our Lords Flock, S. Paul feems to relateGa/. 2. 7. where he faith, that the Apoftles faw the Gofpel of the Circumcifion committed to Pe- ter, which we fee it was in this place; our Lord then having no flieep or flock, when he faid this to Peter, fave the Circum- cifion (in which refpecl: alfo our Lordhimfelf isftiled by the Apoftle, fignifying his flrft employments, Mat. 2?. 24. the Mi- nifter of the Circumcifion J{om. 1 j. 9 . ) and God alfo more emi- nently wrought by St. Peter, than by the reft, the great figns and wonders in converting of the Circumcifion, as appears in the Acts ; as he did by S.Paul, more than by any other, for the converfion of Gentiles. Tho, for the Gentiles alfo, the honour of the firft converfion of them was given toS. Peter ; fee Atls 10. 34. -if. 7. And, as S. Paul had an extraordinary Miffion from thrift Atts 9. 11. So had he one from the Church of Antioch i^'\h\ and, both his Baptifm and Miffion from the Miniftry ofthofe, who received this Power from the Colledge of the Apoftles, of which Peter was the Head. Our Lord, to make this charge effect the deeper impreffion on Peter, andallhisSucceffors, ceafed not thus; but repeated it j asking him again and again ( only omitting the flrft com- parifon ) till Peter was grieved, Jo.xi. 17. andafhamed, whe- ther he loved him ; and, upon the fame Anfwerofhis, appeal- ing to our Lords omnifcience, made now three times (from whom our Lord may feem to require this trinal confeffion to expiate and reverfe his former trinal Denyal ) he thrice iterated to him the fame charge,that in the abfence of himfelf he fhould return this love to his little ones; whom he fometimes called Lambs, fometimes Sheep, to fhew. all in his fold, old or young T t committed 33° The Hi/lory of the Life of §.138. committed to his government, and that all, ftrong or weak- lings, have need of the Paito.s feeding them, and were fubjected to him. After our Lord had ihus inftruded this chief Servant and Steward of his houfliold, Peter, what he fhould do, he began to preacquaint him alfo with what he fhould fuffer, for h'tn, the more to pre- arm him for future Events ■ and that, nothing hap- ning unexpected, or that was not known to be by the divine Providence predefigned ; fuch things might afterwards lefs fur- prifehim; and that the conceit of a prelent fecular Kingdom of our Lord, and their advancement in his Court, might be re- moved out of his mind. He then began to tell him, with a double ferious Amen pronounced before it; That, as in his yon- ger age he had gone whither, and done what, he pleafed, fo hereafter in his old age he muft expect a change: That, as he muft undertake great labours for his lake, fo undergo great af- Mat.i6.tf. fljftions, and be made like unto his Mafter he fo loved, as in his preaching of, fo inhisfuffenngs for, the truth; and fulfil thepromifehehad once engaged of dying, if not with, yet for, him: That one day ( ashimfelfhad done ) he muft ftretch out his hands, and another gird him, and carry him away whither he would not, to Prifon and totheCrofs; fignifying to him that he fhould glorify God his Father by Martyrdom, and the Croft, ashimfelt had done. Which accordingly happened in the thirteenth . ear of Nero, after he had diligently fed Christ's fheep, after this ( tranjiens univerja, vifiting all places Ails 9. 3 2.) for thirty five years. $.138. And foour Lord riling up, and faying to Peter (chiefly in- tended in a myftical fenfe) follow me i. e. my example, in undergoing fuch Events as he haddifcovered to him with all valour, alacrity, and conftancy, he walked on the fhore, Peter at a nearer diftance attending him. Who turning him about, and feeing John coming after them, probably, fomewhat be- fore or falter than the reft, prefuming on the love our Lord bare to him -, to whom alfo Peter, as well as our Lord, had an extra- ordinary affection, he took the boldnefs, having heard hisown doom, to inquire of his al-knowing Matter concerning this his dear friend, what the Divine good pleafure had ordeined alfo touching him. To whom our Lord, repreffing the Apoftlescu- riofity, returned fomewhat a dubious Aniwer : That, if he would have John tarry till his coming, this nothing concerned him; but that he fhould prepare himfelf to follow him in that way of §.139,14°* ourSaviourJefu6Chrift.VM.il. 331 of death and fuffering as himfelf had trod before him. See Jo. 13.36- Now, Johnsftay till our Lords coming being capable or feveral fenfes; viz. either our Lords laft coming to the gene- ral Judgment, in thofe times imagined not far off; or his com- ing in that (ignal Judgment of his upon the Jewifh Nation at the destruction of Jerufalem, which St. John only out-lived ; or his coming, when he calleth and removethhis Servants away from hence by natural death ; ordinarily in Scripture-language called his coming, lee Mat. 24.42,46, yo. Jpoc. 2. 24. -3.^. this laft, we may imagine from the Event, was our Lords mean- ing: though the Difciples, either hearing theie words from our Lord, or related to them by St. Peter, from hence gathered, that John, our Lords Favorite, mould not dye, but remain till his fecond coming, then commonly thought near at hand : to which imagination of theirs, as alio of others following, 'St. Johns long life and fome miraculous deliverances, gave Itill more ftrength ; who died not till fixty feven years after this was fpoken by our Lord, and remained alive almoit thirty }Tears after the Deftruction of Jerufalem. This opinion St. John, now much aged, when he writ this his Gofpel endeavoured to remove , telling them, our Lord had exprefly faid no fuch thing: but left our Lords words any fur- ther unexpounded ; as not feeming any way to decline or wave his own Martyrdom, which doubtlefshe much thirfted for, and had in fome manner already undergone, and outlived it; be-Tertu/l fa ing, in Domitians perfecution of the Chriftians, fent by the ^r* «■//>/. Proconful of Afia, as a chief Herefiarch, to Rome; and there caft '**• $6' into a vefTel of fcalding Oil to have taken away his life, but was miraculoufly preferved to make good our Lords words, and fo banifhedinto Patmos : from whence returned, he writ his Go- fpel; fhortly after which our Lord came to call him away in a natural and peaceable death, when above ninety years old. After thefe occurrences befides the Sea of Galilee ( related §. 139^ by S. John in aPoft-fcript chap 21. after he hadfinifhed his Go- fpel, Chap. 20. One Motive ot which Poftfcript perhaps was the re&ifying a miftake in fome of the Difciples concerning our Lords Prophecy of his ftayiug till he came; Our Lord fud- dainly difappeared; leaving them in a longing expectation of hisreturn to them, and a more publick manil'eftation ot him- felf in Galilee at the time and place preappointed. At which time a great Multitude of our Lords Converts in §• I4°- Galilee, having notice of it from the Apoftles, were gathered T t 2 together 33 2 The Wifiory of the Life of §.140. together (this being ftippofed the Apparition St. Paul fpeaks of i Cor. 1 j. when he faith, he was Teen of above rive hundred Brethren at once) in a certain Mountain of Galilee, imagined the fame upon which he was transfigured; and where Mofes and Elias appeared to him, and which was by St. Peter called the Holy Mount. This Mount is by many thought to be Mount Tabor, a moil beautiful Hill, exactly round, and afcenfible only on one fide, notfofteep as the others, and having a Plain for about half a mile Diameter at the top: which hill our Lord, living fo near it, fituate about fome three or four miles from Nazareth, perhaps had lometimes frequented in his youth. Butitfeems rather to be another Mountain nearer to Caper- oaum (the place of his ordinary Refidence in Galilee J where alio a-nights he frequented Prayer ; called his twelve Apoftles ; delivered the Beatitudes j miraculouily fed the Multitudes Mat. ir.29. and which was more convenient for the affembling of his Converts i of which fee what is laid before. §.25-1. P. 1. And fuch a place our Lord ieems to have chofen for the greater Eminency , Solitude and Privacy thereof, free from Buildings, High-waies, orPafTengers ; he purpofing no gene- ral manifeftation of himfelf to the jews, or to the World ; but only to fome chofen Witnefles, that fome contradiction might add the more virtue to theChriftian Faith. Plere then were ailembled, with many others, the eleven Apoftles with the Mo- ther of our Lord, and doubtlefs the other Galilean women, who carried the firft me flage both from the Angel, and after- wards from our Lord himfelf to the Apoftles,of his meeting them in this place. To whom our Lord firft fhewed himfelf at iome diftance from them ; upon which they prefently fell down and adored him Mat. 28. 17. but fome of them, faith the Evan- geliff, funlefs he intimates here the doubt, not that was then, but had bin formerly ) viz. not of the Eleven, but of the com- pany, had fome doubt, whether it was he, i.e. at the firft: yet which, by his nearer approach and difcourfe with them, was prefently after removed. Our Lord then approaching told them; that the time of his Exinanition being now finiihed , all Power (the exercife of which was fufpended before, fee Mat. n. 27. -Jo. 3. it.) was given to him by his Father, in Heaven and in Earth: and, upon this, he renewed his charge unto his Apoftles; that they fhould go forth, in his name, and by his authority, and pro- claim him Lord of all ; and deliver his Lavys and Commande- ments §.i4roT42, our Saviour Jefa Chrift'Yzxl.u. 333 merits taught to them, not only to the Jews, bat all other Na- tions: that they fhould baptize Believers in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft ; declaring to them that luch as believed and were baptized mould be laved, but the unbeliev- ing damned: then further promifing them, That he, though corporally departing, yet in his Grace and Holy Spirit, would remain with, andaflift, them and their Succeflbrs to the end of the world : that he alio gave them Authority over all the Power of the Enemy of mankind; and in his name to do all forts of wonderful works ; repeating here again what he had formerly faid to them in his firit Apparition at Jerufalem ; which fee be- fore Sedt. 127. P.n. Laftly, commanding them to bid an Adieu to their country, and return to Jerufalem, in which place they were firft to be- gin their work. Where they mould alio, after a fewdaies, re- enjoy hisprefence, and take their laft leave of him ; his fo of- ten-foretold Afceniion into Heaven to his Celeftial Father being now at hand i and neceffary, as for hisownGlory, fo for the further promoting with him the bufinefs of their's , and the world's, falvation. After this publick manifeftation of our Lords Refurrecti- §■ *4*> on made not only to the Apoftles, but to the general Body of his former Converts, and Believers, moft dwelling in Ga- lilee, foni* (faith the Apoftle \Cor. ir. 7. ) afterward our Lord appeared fingly to St. James (i.e. our Lord's Brother, fhortly after made Bifhop of Jerufalem ) perhaps out of a fingu- larhonourto him, or alio for negotiating fomething with him relating to his office j whofe conftantrefidence was to be at je- rufalem, and who was a Perfon of fpecial Eminency among the Apoftles: as appears, Gal. 1.19.-2. 9. and ABs is. 13, 19. But the word timm, ufed by the Apoftle, perhaps may not fignify afterward in that Text (as denoting aPoftenority of time to the appearance in Galilee,) But only befides, as it is ufed by him, 1 Cor. 12. 28. and the apparition to James be rather in fome part of the day of his Refurrection ( fee St. Jerome de vi- ris lllujl. in Jacobo ); between whom, as being a Domeltick in the fame family, and our Lord, palled a more intimate fami- liarity ; and from his appearance to James we may alio- much, more prefume of his frequent particular apparitions to the Blef- led Virgin his Mother, though, none mentioned. Forty daies was the time predefigned of our Lord's ftavupon 5; >_l Earth for the manifeftation of his Refurrevtion, and for :he preparing 334 ^e H'lftory of the Life of §.14.2. preparing of his Apoftles for their future employment of pro- pagating theGofpeland advancing the Kingdom ofChriftin mens hearts over all the world. A number frequently obferv- ed in Scripture for the accomplifhing of any great work, made up oijix ( the number of the daies God fpent in creating the world,) (even times multiplied: ( as the number of 7. is a num- ber of perfection and reft, after the finifhing fuch a work, an- fwering to the 7th day, the Sabbath ) only in 42. the laft two are ufually cut on* to make it a round number. So, Gen. 7. 4. in the flood the rain defcended for forty daies i and, after the abating of it, Noah flayed forty daies ; and opened the win- dow of the Ark Gen. 8.<5- For thrice forty years God had pati- ence with the old world before hedeitroyed it with the flood. Ten times forty years the children of Ifrael were to fojourn in E- gypt. Forty two Generations were to pafs between the com- ing of the Meffias and the promife made to Abraham thereof : of which forty two generation?, two fevens were to run out be- fore the Kingdom of David-, and two fevens again in this Kingdom before the captivity : and two fevens till the coming of Chnft. See Mat. 1. \7.Alis 7. 23. Mofes, when forty years old, vifited his Brethren, and would have undertaken their pro- tection ; and i bid. v erf. 30. after forty years more was lent by God to them for this purpofe. Again, forty daies he ftayed in the Mount for receiving the Law : and for this time was conti- nued his fall s asalfo that of Elias, and of our Lord. During forty daies were the perfons deputed to view the land of Ca- naan Numb. 13.25-. and during forty years were the children of Ifrael appointed to do penance, and bear their Iniquity for the Evil account given of it, and murmuring concerning it. Nu?nb. 14. 33, 34. Forty daies were allowed to the Niuevites for a time of Repentance, before their City was to be deftroyed. Forty daies, after the womans bearing of a Male child, and twice forty daies after a Female, were to be ac com plifned be- fore their coming into, or prefenting their Son in, the Sanctu- ary. In the Judges we find, whether reft, or troubles, given to the land of Ifrael ordinarily for the fpace of forty years. The Prophet Ezekiel E^eJ^. 4.. },6. is appointed to do penance by lying on his fide for forty daies, for fo many years of Gods pa- tient fuffcring the iniquities of Judah : and for fo many years again God forbare the wickednefs of the Jewifli Nation after their crucifying our Lord, and perfecuting Chriftianity, until the deflruction of Jerufalem. And forty two Months, 1. ele- ven ^.i43ti44j- our Saviour Jef us Cbrift.VmM. 335 ven fixes of Months is the time prefcribed for the duration of Antichrft, and the laft great affliction of Gods Church. This, to (lie w, that all Gods works are pondered before hand, and contrived in a certain number, weight, and ineafure ; and the precedent works exad: patterns of the fucceeding ; and nothing here carnally hapning; efpecially the numbers o"f fix and feven have bin very myftical and Sacred, ever fince the work of the creation in fix, and reft on the feventh day. Before this time then was expired, the Eleven Apoftles and $-_i4?» fome other Difciples alfo, and the Galilean women with the Blefled Mother of our Lord, and his Brethren, were now re- turned to Jerusalem; and there remained together, probably, in the place where our Lord had celebrated his laft Supper ; and which our Lord had firft made choice of (in thehoufeof fome wealthier Difciple, when he fent Peter and John to provide thePafchal FealtJ for the more commodious tranfacting of all theie affairs. And there our Lord the laft time fhewed himfelf unto them ; and, having dilcourfed feveral things concerning the Kingdom of God, and their publifhing and proclaiming to all Nations the univerfal power and Glory that was now given by God to him, hepromifed, before their going abroad in his fervice, to endue them alfo, fpeedily after his Aicending, with power from on high, by fending upon them the promife of his Father he had io often told them of: which you may fee pro- mifed ofoldinJoe/2. 28. ('cited foritby St. Peter Ails 2. 17* ) -%acb. 12. 10. -E\ec. $6. 26. Telling them that John baptized only with water; but that they, not many daies thence, fhould be baptized with the fire, fee Mat. 3. it. or flame of the Holy Ghoft : forfo in the likenefs of a flame atPentecoft it defcend- ed, and was poured forth upon them; and fo charging -the m that they mould remove no more from Jerufalem till this tiling was accomplished. The Difciples ( hearing our Lord fpeak of things pertaining §. 144. to his kingdom ' AB. r. 3. as alfo before 111 Galilee, that all power ~ was given to him in Heaven and Earth, of their receiving pow- er alfo from on high, and a charge not to depart as yet from the Royal City, joined perhaps with what he had formerly faid unto them of their fitting on twelve Thrones, &c ; things not then underftood fo fpirituaily by them as they ought, bun they, imagining fome temporal dominion of the Jews now to be reftored in our Lord to the race of David, over all other Nations, like to that of Solomon ( the quite contrary to which followed 33^ TheHifioryoftheLifeof ' §.14$. followed fhortly after; namely, their utter mine) 5 A thing that ran in the mind of thefe twoDifciples alfo that went to Emaus; Lul^ 24. 21. ) prefently asked our Lord, whether now the time was come of his reftoring the Kingdom to Ifrael < This they inquired, notwithftanding our Lord had fo often told them the^contrary, and informed them, that his Kingdom was not of this world 5 and that, as it had treated him their Matter, fo fhould it them, the fervants ; that they mould be per- fected, banifhed, killed, for his names fake, and for the Gof- pei preached by them. Our Lord therefore, not too much to contriftate them, and knowing them not well prepared as yet for the communicating of fuch fecrets, in which by the Defcent of the Holy Spirit, he more fully inftrudted them afterwards; and at how greata diftance hisKingdom was in fuch a fenfe as they meant it, when the Twelve were to fit upon twelve thrones, did with great prudence and as much meeknefs and fupporting of their infirmities, return them only this Aniwer: That it was not for them to know the times or the feafons, which his Fa- ther had put in his own power ; muchwhat fo as he had anfwer- edtothe Mother of James and John, concerning who iliould fit at his right hand, —Dabitur Mis, quibus paratum eft a Patre meo Mat. 20.2}. and to Peter, inquifitive concerning John, —Sieum volo manere &c , quid ad, te \? [And indeed there are many futurities with which it is better that our human weak- nefsbenot preacquainted : as perhaps fit, here, that hope de- ferred might not too much contriftate them, for the Difciples as yet to be ignorant of fuch a long revolution of many ages as was to be before the day of Doome ; and our Lords return to take pofTeffion of his kingdoms or before that profperous and Hourilhing condition of his Church, which, was at laft to pre- cede hisKingdom. Which coming of his in Glory, many, as appears by St. Paul zThe[% 2. 1,2. 2 Pet. 3. 4, 9. ('perhaps by underftanding Mat. 24. 54. -and 1 Thef.4.. 17. ) expected even in the Apoiflesdaies; and the great terror in thofe, that heard St. Peters firft Sermon in the Acls, fhews, that they then appre- hended it not far off]. But {'faith he) ye fhall receive power after this Holy Ghoft promifed is come upon you j and fhall be witneffes unto me, and preach this my kingdom boldly to all the Nations of the world, f *4f. After fuch difcourfespaftin that large tenaculum at Jerufa- lem, the time of his return to his Father being fully come, he led them firft out of the City, through the plain, about a mile in §.i45* cur Saviour Jefu* Cbri/t. ?art. n. 537 in breadth, as far as Bethany, that was at Che foot of the Mount of Olives j his Friends of that place making alfo part of his Train , and fo afcended to the top of the Mount of Olives. But we may imagine this their proceffion out of the city was by his miraculous power in fuch a manner ordered, as that neither himfelf was feen by others, fave them, at leaft in a known fhape, nor fo great a company, perhaps by dividing themlelves, much noted. Arrived at the top of the Hill, he lift up his hands ( which mewed inthemidftof them the dear marks of his fuffering for them,) towards heaven ( from whence all Bleffing comes, and therefore this an ufual gefture in all Invocation and Prayer J and gave them his Benediction, after his redemption of man, as God the Father alfo did after his Creation Gen. 1.28. And, as Aaron, the former legal High Prieft, according to the Divine command Numb. 6. 23. isfaid Levit. 9. 22. to hare lift up his hands toward the people, and blefTed them, before his going into the Sanctuary ; when alfo the fire, defcending afterward from the Lord upon the Sacrifice, typified theDeicent of the Holy Ghoft. And fo, faith the Evangeiift, he was parted from them, and afcended flowly and by degrees, fo as they might keep their eyes upon him, and difcern his Motion, till at fome height a Cloud received him out of their fight, to put an End to their further gazing after him. Thus our Lord, who was clothed with fo much Splendor and glory at his Transfigura- tion, and who had Mofes and Elias waiting upon him, and a bright Cloud of rays compaffing himfelf and his Difciples, and who, when he was afterwards feen by St. Paul^?/ 22. d, 11. ap- A^s^-6- peared in fuch a glory at Noon-day tranfcending that of the Sun, that the light thereof ftruck him blind -, yet now, entring upon the real poffeffionof this glory, admitted no alteration at all in his external appearance, or in any vifible attendance of Angels or Saints, or fiery charet and horfes to conduct him, as Elias, or Cloud, till elevated to fome conflderable diftance : perhaps to remove from his Difciples and the world, to whom - they weretoteftify it, anyfcrupleof the reality of this Afcent, without having their eyes dazled with light, or that fuch ele- vation might feem to have bin performed by the affiftance of others, and not by his own power and virtue ; as alfo to de- tain them for the prefent rather in the meditation o£h'\$ Paf- fion, than of his Glory ; which was not fully to be revealed to Mor- tals till his return. U u But, 33g The Hifioryofthe Life of §.146,147. $« i4<*« But, had our Lord been pleafed to have opened their eyes, as Eliflia obtained for his fervant in the Mount, how great would they have feen the folemnity of this day Jo. 17. 4,5? Concerning which he had a little before his Paffion befought his Father; that, now he had with all fidelity glorified him on Earth, and finifhed the work here on Earth He had appointed him to do, He would glorifie him, i.e. his Humanity alfo, in which he had finifhed it, though extreamly difficult to fiefh and blood, with that Glory which in his Divinity he alfo alwaics had had with him before the world was; which Petition was alfo then ratifyed by God the Father with a voice from Hea- ven^. 12. 8. And now was the time come of accomplifhingit j and the time of his taking pofTeflion of thofe Joyes, which being fet before him ( faith the Apoftle Heb.12.2.) he endured tbeCrofsy anddefpifed the Jfjame, and is now Jet down at the right bandoi- the Throne of God. $. 147. Now then we mayprefume, that all the Court and Militia of Heaven defcended to meet this his Sacred Humanity in the Ayre -, and that it was exalted above the Heavens to the Throne prepared for it with great Jubilation and Triumph, # cum voce tuba, as the Pfalmift ; with which Humanity the Earth only had hitherto bin beatified, ( bonaj/fua no (fet ) and the Father had received all his praife,and worfhip, and iervice from it at a great diftance from the place of his refidence. And, if fas the Apoftle Heb. 1. ) when his Son came into this lower world, and appeared in all the infirmities of our flefh, God faid, let all the Angels rvorjkip him; much more did he now command it at this his Exit, after fo many fufferings paffed through, and victories obteined , and exadt obedience in all things performed , and the moft fevere prophecies fulfilled 1 How overjoyed muft thofe Citizens above be, and with them all the Spirits of the Patriarchs and Prophets, and the Church of the firft-born, and of juft men confummated, that, in thofe Celeftial habitations, now they mould for ever poffefs their dear Lord, the Author of all their happinefs, and behold for ever his infinit Majefty and beauty ! And amongft thefe efpe- cially thofe predigmficd Souls, whoever they were, that were felec1:ed by him, and revefted with the robes of their glorified Bodyes, to accompany and wait upon him, as the firft-fruits of the Refurre&ion, and of his conqueft over death. With what Joy and Triumph ( to exprefs it in thofe ravilhments , with which the Apoftle fpeaks of him ) was this only Son, and the brightnefs § H 8. our Saviour Jefut Chrijl. Part.il. 339 brightnefs of Gods glory, and exprefs [ and vifible ] Image of the Perfonof the Invifible God, Heb. 1.3. compared with CcL 1. iy. thefirft born of every Creature , and the firft-born again from the Dead, that in all things he might have the preeini- nency who was appointed by God Heir of all things, and by whom all things were created, that are in Heaven and in Earth, vifible and invifible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers, [viz. all the Angels, as well as men. ] AH things created by him and for him, and by the word of whofe Power all things [ afterward alfo do ftill] confift and are upheld, Col. 1. 17, compared Heb. r. j. after he had by hma- felf purged our fins, and made peace through the blood of his Crols Col. r. 20. Heb. 1. 30. and God had by him reconciled all things untohimfelF, and by him collected all things in one; by him, whether things in Heaven, or things on Earth Col.i. 20. [ thofe perfons already received into glory there, and thofe yet in their warfare here; here, both of the Jew and the Gentile, all united in him the Head of all Eph. 1.10,22. With what Joy and Triumph, I fay, was thismoft Sacred perfon, Gods only Son, bearing in thither his, our, humanity, this day firft receiv- ed into his Armes, and welcomed by God the Father 1 With what folemnicy did this Eternal High Pneft, when he had firft through the Eternal Spirit offered himfelf without fault to God (Heb. 9. 14. ) Enter into the Heavenly Sanctuary, the Gates thereof fet open, whereof the Earthly was a Pattern, there to appear in the prefence of God his Father for us his Bre- thren ,• and with what iolemnity did he with the precious blood of his Sacrifice, dedicate and purify the heavenly things them- felves ( Heb. 9. 23 .) and fofet himfelf down on the right hand of the Throne of the Majefty in thefe Heavens, far above all Principalities, and Power, and Might, and Dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world, but in that alfo which is to come ! made Head over all things to his Church j and expecting there till his Enemies [wicked men and unbe- lievers, Antichrift, Satan, Death] be made his Footftool (Eph. 1. 21. 2].&c.Heb. 10. 13. -2. 9J Our BlefTed Lady and the Difciples, and the reft of this holy §. I4g. company, beholding this, fell down and adored, faith the Evan- gelift Lu\. 24. 5-2. with theirlyes fixed upon him as he afcended: when two men appeared ftanding by them in glorious and mining Veftments; two of our Lords Train, whom he left be- hind fas alfo he had done before at his Resurrection Luf^ 24. r. U u 2 John 34° The Hi/lory of the Life cf §*i 49- John 20. i2. ) to entertain them with a newMefTagej and divert them from this partly joyful, partly forrowful fight, as they thought of our Lords honour, or of their own lofs; who asked them, why they looked fo i .tently and wifhfully after him, for that they mould not be deprived for ever of this their Lord s but ( as he had often told them ) the fame Jefus, that was now thus taken up from them into Heaven , mould thence defcend again in the fame manner as he afcended: thus the Angels briefly for their prefent confolation. But this his fecond ap- pearance and return to this world isdefcribed elfewhere much more particularly, and that it fhallbe in the greateft Majefty and glory: cum nubibus , as this his afcent, but with afhout, and the voice of the Arch-Angel, and found of Trumpet; and his brightnefs mining from the Eaft unto the Weft ; with all his mighty Angels attending on him, and he bringing all the Saints that were in foretimes decea fed with him, and thofe then liv- ing alfo meeting him in theAyre; and that he then fitting on the Throne of his Majefty, all the Nations of the Earth , that are then or ever were, mall appear before him ; and that then in flaming fire he mail take revenge on all thofe, who have not obeyed him, who (hall be punifhed with everlafting deftru- &ion from his prefence, and from the glory of his power ; and then alfo that he fhall be glorified in [and together with] all his Saints; whom, after having made their peace with his Fa- ther, and by this preafcent prepared a place for them, at this his fecond coming ( according to his promife Jo. 14. 3. J he will receive unto himielf,that where he is there may they be allo,and remain with him Partakers of his glory for ever. For thus the Scriptures have defcribed his coming again, fee Mat. 24. 27* 30, $i.-2r.3i.-zTbef. 1. 8, 9, lo.-iThef^.. *6-&c: of which ma- jefty and coming of his to judgment he charitably had told the High Prieft and his other Judges ; and forewarned them of what would follow when he was arraigned before, and fo cru- elly treated by, them, Mat. 26. 6. 4. --Hereafter jh all ye fee the Son of Man ft tin v on the right hand of Power , and coming in the Clouds of Heaven. §. 149. And, in this very place alfo, where he afcended, it is thought, his Defcent fhall be. For , fince in fome particular place it muftbe, what more likely and more proper place for this Tri- umph and glory of our Lord, than that of his fuflerings and ignominies ? and where all thofe perfonsly interred thatexer- cifed iuch cruelties on him j whofe eyes alfo, as he told them, fliall §.150. guy Saviour J efu* Chri ft, Part.H. 341 lhall then behold him, whom they pierced, Apoc. 1. 7, Again, than this place which is the very Navel or middle of the great Continent of the inhabited world? This place is conjedured to be fpoken of in the laft chapter of "Joel •> where it is laid, that the Lord will come down with his mighty ones verfe n. an- iwerable to J^achar. 14. r. and will gather all Nations, and bring them down into the Valley of Jehofaphatt^r/* 2. and there he will fit to judg all the Heathen round about. This Valley be- tween Jerufalem and Mount Olivet ( which was the common Caemitery ol the Hierofol unites, and where alfo was Gehenna and Topheth ) is fa id to be called by this name, becaule there was erected a Triumphal Arch and Pyramid after Jehofaphats won* derful victory over the Ammonites &c. but perhaps called alfo by this name here in the Prophet, becaufe Jehojapbat lignifies Judicium Domini yarned alfo here the Valley of Concifion or De- cifion ve rfe 14. and feeming toaliude to the valley of Berachah or Benediction zChron. 20,26. where Jehofaphat and the Peo- ple affembled to give thanks to God for his miraculous victory, without fight, over all the Nations round about. But God's being faid alfo to roar out of Sion, verfe 16. mews this valley to be near to it. SuchaDefcentof our Lord alfo is fpoken of in the laft chapter of Zechariah. ■, where, verfe 3.4. j. it is faid, the Lord fhall come and all his Saints [ i. e. holy Angels ] with him * and (hall fight againft the Nations,- and that his feet (hall ftand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerufa- lem, aud before the forefaid Valley of Jeholaphat on the Eaft. Which Mountain, it is faid, (hall be e'eft with a terrible Earth- quake compared to that in the time of Uzziah, to make then thro it as it were a plain and level way for the concourfe of the multitudes thither. See JZ^acfmr. 14. 4, r. -Joel 3. n, 12,14. which chapters in Zachary and Joel, though they do feem primarily to relate to Apoc. 19. ii.&c. compared with Apoc. 16. 14,1 6. and -14.16, 19. our Lord's coming to judgment upon the Beaft, and falfe Prophet, and their numerous Army, which was followed with aTnoufand years reign of the Saints, or profperous and flourifning condition of the Church, fee Joel 3. 17,18, 20, 21. ~^ack 14. 9, 10, 1 1. (3c. yet may they have a fecond comp'etion in the coming of our Lord to the Judgment alfo of Gog and Magog, Apoc. 20. 9. agreeable to Ezechiel chap. 39. and a third in the final Judgment of the whole world. Hearing fuch things from thofe two glorious Meffengers,who §. 1 JS«>. prefently difappeared,they were filled with great Joy. Acts 1.12, J°y3 542 The Hiflory of the Lift,isfc §..150. Joy, as well for his' incomparable Glory conferred by God the leather on this his only Son, who was crucified through weaknefs 2 Cor. 13. 4. but was now exalted by the Power of God ,• as a!fo for his promifed Return to take them for ever untohimfelfj^. 14.3. Perhaps apprehending alfo this his return much more fpeedy than indeed it was to be. So, leaving the Mount, they return to Jerufalem j where firft having choien by lot another Apoftle to coin pleat the number of twelve Witneflfes, the Apo- itles, with the Mother of our Lord, and the women that accom- panied her, and our Lord's Brethren, and many others ( tor their number was about one hundred and twenty lee Aclsi.ii, -14, if. J continued with one accord in the large upper roome, mentioned before, in prayer and fupplication till Pcntecoft, the time appointed and expected, for the Defcent of the Holy Ghoft upon them ; which our Lord promifed to procure of his Father upon his arrival into his prefence; where now he is our Jo. i?, 13. Precurfor, our Eternal High Pneft, our Advocate and Intercef- jLj > *°' for : and where may he reign in Glory at Gods right hand, King i?0w.8,53. ofKings, and Lord of Lords, till all his Enemicsbe made his Footftool. Amen. TuautemDomi?ieJcfu) Qui fedes ad dexte- ram Dei Patris, miferere Nobis. FINIS. SUPPLENDA. PAg. T22. line 7,2. not above twenty miles, pag. 125. //w. 15. fee Part. II. Sf#. 136. A pag. 214. //'». 14.. fee below Sift. $. 1 4** taJ*1' ■ li^j