Commentary Upon Colossians 1 and 2, Chapter 1 · Verse 13
VERSE 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkeneſſe, and hath tranſlated us into the Kingdome of his deare Son.
THe order followeth in which God wrought the former benefit, ſet downe
1. From the ſtate out of which wee were delivered.
2. From the condition to which He brought us, of mercy.
For though this followeth in the text, yet it goeth before in Nature, and ſheweth how God did make us meete; and therefore you have this firſt ſet downe, Acts 26.18. Firſt in the coherence we ſee,Obſ. That none living in the state of darkeneſſe, can be inheritors of Gods Kingdome. Till wee come from under the powers and Principalities which rule in darkeneſſe, we cannot bee heires unto God: for beſide that wee cannot live thrall to the Divell and be heires to God at once, the matter (as I ſhewed) of our inheritance is light: Now how can a man bee altogether darkeneſſe, and yet have light at the ſame inſtant? theſe would make contradictions true at once. Could Ioſeph have beene a Priſoner clad in his baſe apparrell, and yet have beene the ſecond potentate in Pharaohs Kingdome? No, he was firſt brought out of priſon; then the King cauſed his old garments to be layd aſide, that change, even rich ones ſhould bee given him: ſo doth GOD with us.
Which doth further aſſure the conſciences of ſuch as live in their naturall eſtate; Vſe they have no part while thus they abide, in the heavenly inheritance.
From this, that theſe when now they were truely converted are ſayd to bee brought out of the power of darkeneſſe; note, What is our eſtate by nature; Obſ.wee are under the power of the Divell, the Prince of darkeneſſe, and are in all kind of darkeneſſe; ye were once darkeneſſe, ſaith Saint Paul to the Epheſians, Eph. 5.darkeneſſe of ignorance, none underſtandeth, none ſeeketh after God; darkneſſe of luſts and ungodlineſſe,Tit. we by nature ſerved luſts even as others; darkeneſſe of condition, GODs anger abideth on every one that doth not beleeve; O moſt dreadfull Cloud! yea His curſe, and all kinde of miſery doth threaten them. Temporall Princes, if men rebell treaſonably againſt them; ſhut men up in darke dungeons, where they are denyed outward comforts, and live waiting their fearefull execution. God is a ſpirit, we have all rebelled againſt Him in the Loynes of our firſt Parents; we lie before him guilty from the wombe: God hath His ſpirituall darkeneſſe, Hee giveth men into the hands of Sathan, His jaylor, Hee taketh away His ſpirituall light from them, letting the Divell hide them in chaines of ignorance, luſts, fearefull expectation of judgement. I, but we feele no ſuch thing. Object. Anſwer, It is becauſe we are all darkeneſſe, and never ſaw nor heard, ſome of us, other; that maketh us thinke there is no ſuch matter: thoſe that are in hell wot there is no other heaven, (as wee ſay in the proverbe.) Our firſt parents were leſſe miſerable then we in this regard; for they knew that the glorious light was gone from them, and that their ſoules were in all kinde of darkeneſſe, becauſe they had left that lightſome and bleſſed condition: but wee that never knew other, wee thinke there is no other. If men at forty yeares of judgement ſhould be ſhut up in a darke dungeon, they could perfectly know what a comfortable world, what goodly heavens, what a fruitfull earth they were deprived of: Say they ſhould get a Child in this dungeon, he could not tell further then hee were told, and ſo conceive by heare-ſay that there were ſuch a matter: Suppoſe a child that never ſaw other ſhould heare nothing, hee would verily thinke there were no other light, hee could not imagine other eſtate or liberty then that which he had prooved from his birth upward: So it is with us, becauſe wee are borne and bred up in Spirituall darkeneſſe, wee thinke there is no other light.
To ſhew how none but God can helpe us, Vſe 1 to make us lament our miſerable condition in which all of us lie by nature.
This alſo letteth us ſee the truth of the Doctrine, Vſe 2 that none but God can make us fit for our inheritance; for who can pull us from the Prince of darkeneſſe, but God alone? the strong man will keepe his owne till a ſtronger come.
We muſt learne to lament and take to heart this miſerable eſtate: Vſe 3 if we lay in ſome darkeſome priſon loaden with irons, as many as we could beare, committed to the cuſtodie of ſome Cerberus-like keeper; how would wee lament our hard fortune? but to lie in ſuch a condition wherein is no light of knowledge of GOD, loaden with chaines of darkeneſſe, helliſh luſts of wrath, covetouſneſſe, pride, filthineſſe, in the cuſtody of the Divell himſelfe, this none bewaileth.
It muſt ſtirre us up to bleſſe GOD, Vſe 4 who are freed from this eſtate: bleſſed be GOD who hath delivered us. O were wee cloſe priſoners in ſome noy ſome obſcure place, if one ſhould come and ſet us free, would we not be glad and thankefull? why doe we not bleſſe God for this ſpirituall inlargement from the moſt woefull priſon, the hardeſt keeper, moſt dolefull chaines and fetters that ever were felt by the ſons of men?
Laſtly; What is matter of much rejoycing and praiſe, Obſ.even this, that GOD hath put us under the government of His CHRIST; this is a benefit of GOD every way. It is no ſmall thing to live under the regiment of a gracious Prince in earth: yet the good wee reape by them is bodily. But what a bleſſing then is it to live a Subject in the Kingdome of IESUS CHRIST, who ſaveth from all evills, and giveth all good things temporall and eternall? if the King ſhould take a Traytor out of the Tower, releaſe him of his danger; it were a great favour and Princelike clemency: but to preferre him to a good place under Prince Charles, and to make him farre greater hopes then his preſent preferment, this were unſpeakeable bounty: Thus it is with us; our gracious GOD hath not onelyonly ſet us free from the darke holds wee were in, but hath preferred us to an happie condition for the preſent, and to moſt rich hopes for hereafter under His beloved Sonne. The men of GOD foreſeeing this, it is ſtrange to ſee how they provoked all the creatures, even things ſenſeleſſe to exultation. The Lord raigneth, Pſa. 97.1. Pſal 98.7.let the earth rejoyce; let the Searoare, let the floods clappe their hands; for the Lord is come to judge the earth; that is to reigne over us. The immunity from all feare of euills, the abundance of all good things in the Kingdome, cannot bee uttered. CHRIST is the Prince of true peace, Hee giveth His Subjects deliverance from the feare of all enemies, of ſinne, death, hell; here is ſalvation: Hee is the Iudge, Lawgiver, the King that muſt ſave us. Eſay 24.23. All enemies are ſubdued in this Kingdome: here is juſtice againſt oppreſſors both ſpirituall and corporall; here is ſtore of all good things, ſpirituall graces, and corporall bleſſings ſo farre forth as is good for our ſalvation.
To provoke us in this conſideration to bee more thankefull; Vſe 1 earthly Princes, how glad are wee when GOD doth put us under them? wee welcome them with all ſolemnities of joy, wee ſhoote off ordnance, make bondfires, ring bells, caſt our caps up, cannot ſtand upon any ground, ſuch is our exultation; yea we bleſſe GOD for them, doe we not keepe holy dayes in thankefull remembrance to God for their Coronations, protections? and we doe well: they are our bucklers; our peace, and defence is from them; they cloath us with ſcarlet, and through them we enjoy many a pleaſant thing: they are the breath of our noſtrels, and we know, that even the government of a tyrant is better then an Anarchy. But if for mans government we be thus thankefull, what praiſe ſhould wee offer to our God for bringing us under the Kingdome of His deare Sonne? If we had ſome grievous Tyrant ruling over us, and God ſhould take him away and ſet a Prince of ſingular Clemency over us, ſhould not the bleſſing of all the kingdome come upon him for ſo ſingular a change? But when he taketh the Divells iron yoaks off our necks and bringeth us under the Kingdome of that moſt meeke King who will not bruiſe a broken reed, nor quench the ſmoaking flaxe, here none in compariſon is thankefull.
This giveth us to conſider of our happy eſtate, Vſe 2 who are brought to live under Him; reade Pſal. 72. To live in ſuch a Kingdome were a great felicity, but no more to be compared with this then the ſhadow with the ſubſtance. What a bleſſing is it that we have His ſpirit to be a law in us? good lawes in a Kingdome are no ſmall benefit: What a bleſſing is it that we have true peace from accuſation of ſinne, from feare of death, from diſturbance which the remnants of ſin doe cauſe, before they be better mortified? Say I am ſpiritually oppoſed and moleſted, yea have great corporall enemies; what a mercy is this, that looking to CHRIST our King and crying for helpe, we have ſuccour? they are weakened; defeated, ſcattered; we are ſtrengthened and comforted. I ſee that I am beſieged with enemies too mighty for me, yea with Traytors in my owne boſome; what a favour is this that we ſhould be protected, our King being ſuch a wall, and as a mighty flood about us, that they cannot come neere us? I want things; looking to CHRIST, I have ſupply: I feare time to come; looking to Him, I heare it ſpoken, This is our King, Pſa. 48.14Hee ſhall leade us, to death.