A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 5 · Sermon 51
THE PATTERN OF OBEDIENCE. THE LI. SERMON.
PHIL. 2.8.
Hee humbled himſelfe, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Croſſe.
Right Honourable, &c.
OPpoſita juxta ſe poſita magis eluceſcunt, contraries are illuſtrated by their contraries; the darke ſhadow maketh the picture ſhew more lightſome, the blacke vaile the face more beautifull, a gloomy cloud the beames of the ſunne breaking out of it more bright and conſpicuous, ſickneſſe health more gratefull, paine pleaſure more delightfull, affliction and miſery proſperity and happineſſe more deſirable: in like manner the obſcurity and infamy of Chriſts paſſion ſetteth off the glory of his reſurrection. Neither doth it illuſtrate it only, but demonſtrateth it alſo à priori; for his humiliation was the meritorious cauſe of his exaltation, his obedience of his rule, his croſſe of his crowne: ſo ſaith the Apoſtle in the next verſe, therefore hath God highly exalted him. As wee cannot certainly know how high the ſurface of the ſea is above the earth, but by ſounding the depth with a plummet, or diving to the bottome thereof; ſo neither can wee take the height of our Lords exaltation, but by meaſuring from the ground of his humiliation. The croſſe is the Jacobs ſtaffe whereby to take the elevation of this morning ſtarre; and as Ezekiah was aſſured that fifteene yeeres were added forward to his life, by the going backe of the ſunne ten degrees in the Diall of Ahaz, ſo wee know that 1500. yeares, nay eternity of life and glory is added to our Saviour, by the going backe ſo many degrees in the Dyall of his paſſion, in the which the finger pointeth to theſe foure:
1 Humility.
2 Obedience.
3 Death.
4 Croſſe.
Theſe ſelfe ſame ſteps and ſtaires by which hee deſcended in his paſſion, he aſcended in his exaltation; upon theſe therefore my diſcourſe ſhall run, humility and the manner of his humilitie, obedience: his death and the manner of his death, his croſſe. How low muſt the deſcent needs be, where humility and lowlineſſe it ſelfe is the uppermoſt greece? Beneath it lyeth obedience: for a man may bee humble in himſelfe, and yet not voluntarily bow his necke to another mans yoake; Hee humbled himſelfe, and became obedient. Obedient a man may bee, and yet not ready to lay downe his life at his Maſters pleaſure; hee became obedient unto death. Obedient to death a man may bee, and yet not willing to bee put to an infamous, cruell, and accurſed death; he became obedient to death, even the death of the croſſe. The repeating the word death ſeemeth to argue an ingemination of the puniſhment, a ſuffering death upon death. It was wonderfull that hee which was higheſt in glory ſhould humble himſelfe; yet it is more to bee obedient than to humble himſelfe; more to ſuffer death willingly, or upon the command of another, than to be obedient; more to bee crucified than ſimply to die. Hee was ſo humble that hee became obedient, ſo obedient that hee yeelded to die, ſo yeelded to die as to bee crucified: his love wonderfully ſhewed it ſelfe in humbling himſelfe to exalt us; his humility in his obedience; his obedience in his patience; his patience in the death of the croſſe. His humility was a kinde of exceſſe of his love, his obedience of his humility, his death of his obedience, his croſſe of his death.
He humbled himſelfe. According to which nature? divine or humane? In ſome ſort according to both: according to his divine, by aſſuming our nature; according to his humane, by taking upon him our miſeries.
And became obedient. It is not ſaid hee made himſelfe obedient, becauſe obedience preſuppoſeth anothers command; wee may indeed of our ſelves offer ſervice to another, but wee cannot performe obedience where there is no command of a Superiour; parere and imperare are relatives. To whom then became hee obedient? To God, ſaith Calvin; to Herod and Pilate, ſaith Zanchius; the truth is, to both: to God as ſupreme Judge, according to whoſe eternall decree; to Pilate, by whoſe immediate ſentence hee was to ſuffer ſuch things, of ſinners, for ſinners.
To death. foreign, whether incluſivè or excluſivè? whether is the meaning, hee was obedient all his life, even to his laſt gaſpe; or hee was ſo farre obedient, that hee yeelded himſelfe to the wrath of God, to the ſcorn of men, the power of darkneſſe, the infamy of all puniſhments, the ſhame of all diſgraces, the cruelty of all torments, the death of the croſſe? The difference betweene theſe is in this, that the former maketh death the limit and bound, the latter an act of his obedience: to which interpretation I rather ſubſcribe, becauſe it is certaine that Chriſt was not onelyonly obedient unto the houre of his death, but in his death alſo, and after his death, lying three dayes and three nights in the grave. Here then we have the ſum of the whole Goſpel, the life and death of our Lord and Saviour: his birth and life in the former words, He humbled himſelfe: his death & paſſion in the latter, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the croſſe. He humbled, that is, took on him our nature & infirmities; & became obedient, that is, fulfilled the law for us by his active, & ſatisfied God for our tranſgreſſions by his paſſive obedience. Obedience moſt ſhews it ſelfe in doing or ſuffering ſuch things as are moſt croſſe & repugnant to our wil & natural deſires; as to part with that wch is moſt dear & pretious to us, and to entertain a liking of that which we otherwiſe moſt abhor. Now the ſtrongeſt bent of all mens deſires is to life & honor; nothing men fear more than death, eſpecially a lingring painful death: they are confounded at nothing more than open ſhame: whereby our Saviours obedience appeares a non pareil, who paſſed not for his life, nor refuſed the torments of a cruel, nor the ſhame of an ignominious death, that he might fulfill his fathers will, in laying down a ſufficient ranſom for all mankinde.
Even the death of the croſſe. As the ſphere (of the Sun or Saturn, &c.) is named from the Planet which is the moſt eminent part of it; ſo is the paſſion of Chriſt from his croſſe: the croſſe was as the center, in which all the bloody lines met. He ſweat in his agony, bled in his ſcourging, was pricked in his crowning with thornes, ſcorned and derided in the judgement hall; but all this, and much more hee endured on the croſſe. Whence we may obſerve more particularly,
1 The root.
2 Branches.
3 Fruit.
Or,
1 The cauſe.
2 The parts.
3 The end of all his ſufferings on it.
1 Of the cauſe. S.aAug. l. 3. de Civ. Dei. c. 15. Regularis defectio non niſi in lunae fine contingit. Auſtin demonſtrateth that the Eclipſe of the ſun at the death of our Saviour was miraculous, becauſe then the Moon was at the full. Had it bin a regular Eclipſe the Moon ſhould have loſt her light, and not the Sun: ſo in the regular courſe of juſtice, the Church, which is compared to the Moon inbCant. 6.10. Scripture, ſhould have been eclipſed of the light of Gods countenance, and not Chriſt, who is by the Prophet Malachy ſtiledcMal. 4.2. Sol juſtitiae, the Sun of righteouſneſſe. But as then the Sun was eclipſed in ſtead of the Moon, ſo was Chriſt obſcured in his paſſion for the Church; he became a ſurety for us, & therfore God laid all our debts upon him, to the uttermoſt farthing. The Prophet Eſay aſſureth us hereof,dEſa. 53.4, 5. He bare our infirmities, & carried our ſorrows. He was wounded for our tranſgreſsions and broken for our iniquities: the chaſtiſement of our peace was upon him, & by his ſtripes we are all healed. O the wonderfull wiſdom & juſtice of God! the juſt is reputed unjuſt, that the unjuſt might be reputed just: the innocent is condemned, that the condemned might be found innocent: the Conquerer is in bonds to looſe the captive: the Creditor in priſon to ſatisfie for the debtour: the Phyſitian taketh the bitter potion to cure the patient: the Judge is executed to acquit the priſoner. What did the welbeloved of his Father deſerve, that he ſhould drink the dregs of the vials of wrath? why ſhould the immaculate Lamb be put to ſuch torture, & in the end be ſlain, but for a ſacrifice? why ſhould the bread of life hunger, but for our gluttony? the fountain of grace thirſt, but for our intemperancy? the word of God be ſpeechleſſe, but for our crying ſin? truth it ſelf be accuſed, but for our errors? innocency condemned, but for our tranſgreſſions? why ſhould the King of glory endure ſuch ignominy & ſhame, but for our ſhameful lives? why ſhould the Lord of life be put to death, but for our hainous and moſt deadly ſins? what ſpots had he to be waſhed? what luſt to bee crucified? what ulcers to bee pricked? what ſores to bee launced? Doubtleſſe none at all: our corrupt blood was drawn out of his wounds, our ſwellings pricked with his thornes, our ſores launced with his ſpeare, our luſts crucified on his croſſe, our ſtaines waſhed away with his blood. It was the weight of our ſins that made his ſoule heavie unto death, it was the unſupportable burden of our puniſhment that put him into a bloody ſweat: all our blood was corrupt, all our fleſh as it were in a ſcurfe, from theeEſa. 1.6. crown of the head to the ſole of the foot there was no ſoundneſſe in us, nothing but wounds, and bruiſes, and putrefying ſores. For a remedy hereof our Lord and Saviour was let blood in all parts of his body; in his head when he was crowned with thorns, in his hands and feet when he was pricked with nailes, in all the parts of his body when his fleſh was torn with whips. After ſo much blood drawne from him, there could be little left, except a few drops at the heart: behold theſe alſo are drawne out by the Souldiers ſpeare. The Adamant, which nothing relenteth at the ſtroak of the hammer, yet is broken in pieces by the warme blood of a goat. Beloved, if ſuch abundance of the blood of the immaculate Lamb Chriſt Jeſus, trickling from his temples, dropping from his ſtripes, running from his hands and feet, guſhing from the hole in his ſide, melt not our hearts, and reſolve them into penitent teares, they are harder than Adamant: not a compaſſionate teare can we wring out of our eyes for him, who ſhed ſo much blood for us. We pray ordinarily, Remove, O Lord, from us our ſtony hearts, & give us hearts of fleſh: but O Lord, ſaith Bonaventure, give me rather a ſtony heart, & remove from me my fleſhly; for the ſtones clave at Chriſts paſſion, but the fleſhly hearts of men clave not; the vaile rent it ſelfe at thefMat. 27.51. hearing of the blaſphemies againſt the Son of God, yet we heare not of any of the ſtanders by that they tare their garments; the ſun drew in his beames, the heavens mourned in ſables, the earth trembled for feare, the rocks were cleft as it were with indignation, the graves opened to receive his dead corps, & hide it from further indignity: ſolus homo non compatitur, pro quo ſolo Chriſtus patitur, only man ſuffers not with him, for whom only he ſuffered; only man ſhewes no compaſſion, to whom alone Chriſt intended all the benefit of his paſſion. Wee are affected at the hearing of a profane ſtory, nay at the repreſentation of ſome tragicall fiction we have teares at commands; yet (O Saviour let the merits of thy paſſion ſatisfie even for this our want of compaſſion for thee) when we read or heare out of the ſacred ſtory of the Evangeliſts, the moſt honorable perſonage that ever was, ſuffer the moſt ſhameful indignities that ever were; the innocenteſt perſon that ever was, laden with the moſt grievous & ſlanderous accuſations that ever were; the juſteſt that ever was put to the cruelleſt torments that ever were, and all this for our ſake: do we take it to heart? do his ſtripes make any impreſſion in us? do the nailes and ſpeare that pierced him pricke us with compunction? doe we compaſſionate his ſorrow, admire his patience, magnifie his love, deteſt our ſins the cauſes of his ſufferings? The cuſtome in many places is, that if the ſonne of a King commit a fault deſerving puniſhment, his Page or ſome other ſervant is whipp'd for him: and thoſe Princes that are of tender natures, more grieve at the ſight than their ſervant for their ſuffering of a few ſtripes. Deare Chriſtians, in Chriſts paſſion it was cleane otherwayes; for the Kings ſon, the heire apparent of heaven was ſcourged for his ſervants: what, ſaid I, ſcourged? nay flayed with whips, nay buffetted with fiſts, ſmote with reeds, pricked with thornes, bored with nailes, pierced with a launce.
We have viewed the root, let us now behold the branches; which ſome will have to be ſixe, ſome five, ſome foure, ſome three. They which divide Chriſts ſufferings into ſixe parts, terme them ſo many voyages or poaſtings: firſt, from his ſupper to the garden; ſecondly, from the garden to Annas; thirdly, from Annas to Caiaphas; fourthly, from Caiaphas to Herod; fifthly, from Herod to Pilat; ſixthly, from Pilat to Golgotha. They who divide them into five, thus reckon them: firſt, his agonie: ſecondly, his taking: thirdly, his arraignement: fourthly, his ſentence: fiftly, the execution. They who into foure, account upon, firſt, his afflictions before he was taken: ſecondly, the proceedings againſt him after he was taken by the Eccleſiaſticall Judges: thirdly, before the ſecular: fourthly, the conſummation of all, his death upon the Croſſe. For brevity ſake I reduce them to three: firſt, dolours and terrours: ſecondly, abuſes and indignities: thirdly, tortures and torments. The firſt in the Garden, the ſecond in the Palace, the third on the Croſſe.
Firſt, in the garden we finde him in an agonie. What an agonie is, ſentitur priuſquam dicitur, none can ſay but he that hath felt, and none ever felt ſuch an agonie but our Saviour. Conceive we at the ſame time all the veines of our bodie ſtreigned, all the ſinewes ſtretched, all the bones racked, what paine muſt this needs be in the body? and how farre greater a like to this in the ſoule? This ſomewhat expreſſeth his agonie, which was an horrour conceived from the apprehenſion of his Fathers wrath, a conflict in his minde, and terrible combate in all the parts of his ſoule. Judge ye of the extremity of his firſt fit, both by the anteced…nts and the conſequents; the antecedents, feare and conſternation, coepit expaveſcere, & hMat. 26.37, 38.graviſsimè angi, hee began to be affrighted and grievouſly troubled: torments they muſt needs be, and ſorrowes more grievous than many deathes, at which the ſonne of God was aff…ighted. Secondly judge it by the conſequents and eff…cts, a ſtrange ſweat, with clottie bloud trickling from all parts of his body. What torments did not the bleſſed Martyrs endure? yet we never read that in any extremity they were caſt intoiLuke 22.44. a bloudie ſweat. What labour muſt the minde needs be in when the body ſweats bloud… St.*Languet Chriſtus in balneo ſanguinis ſui, & …et, non tantum oculis, ſed & omnibus membris. Bernard is bold to ſay, that he languiſhed in this bath of his bloud; and not onelyonly his eyes, but all parts of his body wept for us, and that with teares of bloud. We might well have thought that he would have gone away in this agonie and bloudie ſweat, but that ankLuke 22.43. Angel was ſent to ſtrengthen and comfort him, which was not done before nor after; and therefore we may well imagine that now he was in the greateſt diſtreſſe of all. Yet I gather this rather from his owne ſpeeches, My ſoule is heavie unto lMat. 26.38.42.death: Father, if it be poſsible let this cup paſſe from mee. It is impietie in the higheſt degree to thinke that any martyr or Saint was endued with a greater meaſure of patience than our Saviour: yet who of that noble armie when they were condemned to mercileſſe torments, and ſaw before their eyes croſſes, rackes, fiery pincers, burning furnaces, teeth of wild beaſts, and all the engines of cruelty and ſhapes of death, ſhewed ſuch tokens of griefe, or uttered ſuch ſpeeches of regret and reluctancy? nay rather they for Chriſts ſake deſired them, and rejoyced in them. Something then it was above all the torments man can deviſe, much leſſe beare, that our Saviour felt in his agony, and expreſſed by his bloudy ſweat and ſtrong cries. Whileſt our Saviour was in this wofull plight, what doe his Diſciples? Doe they condole him? pray with him? arme themſelves to defend him? Nay, in this feare and perplexity of their Maſter they fall faſt aſleep at the firſt, & after in his greateſt danger forſake him; only Judas commeth neere him, and ſaluteth him with a kiſſe. O that perfidious treachery ſhould touch thoſe lips in which there was no guile: that he ſhould be mCyp. de bon. patient. Inſultantium ſputamina exciperet, qui ſputo ſuo caeci oculos paulò ante formaſtet: coronaretur ſpinis, qui Martyres floribus coronat aeternis: palmis in faciem verberaretur, qui palmas veras vincentibus tribuit: ſpoliaretur veſte terrenâ, qui indumento immortalitatis caeteros veſtit: cibaretur felle, qui cibum coeleſtem dedit: potaretur aceto, qui poculum ſalutare propinavit.ſpit upon, who cured the eyes of the blind with ſpittle: that his face ſhould be ſmitten with palmes of the hand, who putteth palmes into the hands of all that overcome: that he ſhould be crowned with thornes, who crownes Martyrs with never withering flowers: that he ſhould be ſtripped of his earthly garments, who arraies us with celeſtiall robes: that hee ſhould be fed with gall, who feeds us with bread from heaven: that vinegar ſhould be given to him for drinke, who prepareth for us the cup of ſalvation!
But before we goe out of the garden, we will gather ſome flowers. As the firſt ſinne was committed in a garden, ſo the firſt ſatisfaction was made in a garden: in that garden there was an evill Angel tempting, in this garden a good Angel comforting. Adams ſentence in that garden was, that hee ſhould get his living with the ſweat of his browes; and in this the ſecond Adam procureth life unto us by the ſweat of his whole body. Adam was driven out of that garden by an Angel brandiſhing a fiery blade, and our Saviour is fetched out of this with ſwords and ſtaves, and brought into the high Prieſts palace, where he is moſt injuriouſly dealt withall; they cannot hold their hands off him whileſt he is examined before the Judge, but, contrary to all law and good maners, they ſmite him with ſtaves at his arraignment. Yea, but they were but rude ſouldiers, or fawning ſervants. Is there any more juſtice in the high Prieſt or the Councell, who not only take willingly any allegation againſt him, but alſo ſeeke out for falſe witneſſes, and when they find none that were conteſts, yet they condemne him, and that for no ordinary crime, but for blaſphemy in the higheſt degree? Neither were the Judges more unjuſt than the people mad againſt him, Away with him, ſay they, away with him, Crucifie him, crucifie him. Why? what evil hath he done? Spare Barabbas, not him. What? ſave a murderer, and murder a Saviour? O ye people of Judea, and inhabitants of Jeruſalem, what ſo enrageth you againſt him? He hath cleanſed your lepers, he hath cured your blind, he hath opened your deafe eares, he hath looſened your tongue-tyed, he hath healed your ſicke, he hath raiſed your dead, he hath preached unto you the Goſpel of the Kingdome, and the glad tidings of ſalvation; and is he not therefore worthy to live? He inviteth you to grace, Come unto mee all ye that are heavie laden; & unto glory, Come ye bleſſed of my Father: and therefore away with him, away with him? With theſe out cries Pilate is overborne, as if clamours of the promiſcuous rout were to be taken for depoſitions of ſworne witneſſes, and hee pronounceth the unjuſteſt ſentence that ever was given, that Jeſus was guilty of death. After the ſentence execution immediately enſueth; he is ſtript ſtarke naked before the multitude (what would not an ingenuous man rather endure than this ſhame?) his fleſh is torne with whips and ſcourges appointed for ſlaves, ſo cruelly, that Pilate himſelfe, moved at ſo lamentable a ſpectacle, ſheweth him to the people with an ecce homo, either to move them to pity, or to ſatisfie their bloud-thirſty appetite. As for the inſolencies and indignities offered unto him by the ſouldiers, they are ſo odious and intolerable, that I cannot with patience relate them: and therefore I paſſe with our Saviour to Mount Calvarie; where foure great nailes were driven into the moſt tender and ſinewy parts of his body, wherewith after he was faſtened to the croſſe, his croſſe was ſet up in the midſt betwixt two theeves, & the Mediatour of God and man now hangeth in the middle betwixt heaven and earth. I need not amplifie upon the death of the croſſe, a death for the torment moſt grievous, moſt infamous amongſt men, andnDeut. 21.23 accurſed of God himſelfe. Any one may conceive what a torment it muſt needs be, when the whole weight of the body hangeth upon the wounds in the hands & feet. But there were foure circumſtances which very much aggravated his paſſion: 1. The nature of his complexion; for being made of Virgins fleſh, and thereby of the pureſt and exacteſt temper, hee could not but be more ſenſible of excruciating torments than any other. 2. The place and time; the place Jeruſalem the Metropolis of all Judea, the time at Eaſter when there was a concourſe of people from all parts of Paleſtine, beſides an infinite multitude of ſtrangers that came to ſee that great ſolemnity. 3. The ſight of his mother and deareſt Diſciple: in their ſight to be put to ſo infamous and cruell a death, what a corraſive muſt it needs be? This was the ſword that pierced his mothers heart; and how thinke wee it affected him? his compaſſion was no leſſe griefe to him than his paſſion. 4. The inſolency of his adverſaries now flocking about his croſſe, and by their deriding ſcoffes and taunts powring ſharpeſt vinegar into his wounds. To endure that which man never did nor could, to be put to all extremiy of tortures and torments, and not to be bemoaned, nay to be mocked at and reviled (Others he hath ſaved, himſelfe he cannot ſave: Thou that deſtroyedſt the Temple, and buildedſt it up againe in three dayes, come downe from the croſſe, and we will beleeve thee.) O this is an hyperbole of miſery! There are yet foure conſiderations, which put as it were a ſpirituall croſſe upon his materiall, and more tortured his ſoule than the other his body.
1. His unconceivable griefe for the obſtinacy of the Jewiſh nation.
2. The apprehenſion of the deſtruction of the City and Temple, with a deſolation of the whole Country to enſue ſhortly after his death.
3. The guilt of the ſins of the whole world.
4. The ſenſe of the full wrath of his Father for the ſinnes of mankind, which he tooke upon himſelfe. And now ye have the full doſis, and all the ingredients of that bitter cup which our Saviour prayed thrice that itoMat. 26.44. might paſſe from him.
We have viewed the root and the branches, let us now gather ſome of the fruit of the tree of the croſſe. Chriſts paſſion may be conſidered two maner of wayes:
1. Either as a ſtory ſimply,
2. Or as Goſpel.
The former conſideration cannot but breed in us griefe & hatred; griefe for Chriſt his ſufferings, and hatred of all that had their hand in his bloud: the latter will produce contrary aff…ctions, joy for our ſalvation, and love of our Saviour. For to conſider and meditate upon our Saviours paſſion as Goſpel, is to conceive, and by a ſpeciall faith to beleeve, that his prayers and ſtrong cries are interceſſions for us, his obedience our merit, his ſufferings our ſatisfactions, that we are purged by his ſweat, quit by his taking, clothed by his ſtripping, healed by his ſtripes, juſtified by his accuſations, abſolved by his condemnation, ranſomed by his bloud, and ſaved by his croſſe.
Theſe unſpeakable benefits which ye have conceived by the Word, ye are now to receive by the Sacrament, if ye come prepared thereunto: for they who come prepared to participate of theſe holy myſteries, receive with them and by them, though not in them, the body and bloud of our Lord and Saviour, and thereby ſhall I ſay they become fleſh of his fleſh, and bone of his bone? nay rather he becommeth fleſh of their fleſh, and bone of their bone. The ſpirit which raiſed him quickneth them, and preſerveth in them the life of grace, and them to the life of glory. Howbeit, as the ſweeteſt meats turne intopCal. l. 4. inſtit. c. 14. ſec. 40. Quemadmodum ſacrum hunc panem coenae Domini ſpiritualem eſſe cibum videmus, ſuavem & delicatum non minus quàm ſalutiferum piis Dei cultoribus, cujus guſtu ſentiunt Chriſtum eſſe ſuam vitam, quos ad gratiarum actionem erigit, quibus ad mutuam inter ſe charitatem exhortatio est: ita rurſus in nocentiſsimum venenum omnibus vertitur, quorum fidem non alit: non aliter ac cibus corporalis ubi ventrem offendit vitioſis humoribus occupatum, ipſe quoque vitioſus & corruptus nocet magis quàm nutrit. choler in a diſtempered ſtomach, ſo this heavenly Manna, this food of Angels, nay this food which Angels never taſted, proves no better than poyſon to them, whoſe hearts are not purified by faith, nor their conſciences purged by true repentance and charity from uncleanneſſe, worldlineſſe, envie, malice, ranckour, and the like corrupt affections. If a Noble man came to viſit us, how would we cleanſe and perfume our houſes? what care would we take to have all the roomes ſwept, hung and dreſſed up in the beſt manner? Beloved Chriſtians, we are even now to receive and entertaine the Prince of Heaven, and the Son of God; let us therefore cleanſe the inward roomes of our ſoules by examination of our whole life, waſh them with the water of our penitent teares, dreſſe them up with divine graces, which are the ſweeteſt flowers of Paradiſe, perfume them with moſt fragrant ſpices and aromaticall odours, which are our ſervent prayers, zealous meditations, and elevated affectious, tuned to that high ſtraine of the ſweet Singer of Iſrael, Lift ye up, ye gates, and be ye qPſal. 24.9.lift up, ye everlaſting doores, and the King of glory ſhall come in. Cui, &c.