Commentary Upon Colossians 1 and 2, Chapter 1 · Verse 17
VERSE 17. And Hee is before all things, and by Him all things conſist.
NOw followeth His Antiquity: He that is before all things muſt needs be God and Lord of the Creature. Obſerve then,Obſ. That our King is antienter than all the Creatures: He was before the beginning, in which all theſe were made: Ioh. 1.1. IESUS CHRIST yeſterday, to day, and for ever, Hebr. 13.8. His goings forth were from everlaſting, he is (foreign) and (foreign.)
Which doth ſtill ſerve to amplifie the dignity of our King, Vſe 1 and our compleat happineſſe, who are tranſlated into His Kingdome. Among other things that grace and adorne Princes, this is one; If they are of ancient Houſe, and can derive their Pedegrees from utmoſt memory: but our SAVIOUR is the eternall of dayes: What Herauld can ſet downe His deſcent? No, He is of antiquity which ſurpaſſeth the thought of all the Creature, He was from all eternity, is, and ſhall be for ever. And as it augmenteth His glory; Vſe 2 So it ſheweth that the right of inheritance is His: The Angels are called ſons, Iob 38.7.and we are called ſons; but beſides that we are equivocally ſo termed, we are alſo younger brethren; and therefore the Lordſhip and inheritance belongeth not to us: I meane that which is primary and univerſall.
This teacheth us our duty, Vſe 3 even to reverence our King in this conſideration; hee that riſeth not reſpectively to the gray-head, forgetteth his duty: But he that reverenceth not that God which is eternall, to whom all ages paſt are but as yeſterday, how foulely is he wanting to himſelfe?
It is added, by Him all things conſiſt. Which word noteth not onelyonly their being; but that they keepe with their being, their ſweet order and melodious conſent one with another, through Him.
Obſerve then, That all things are preſerved in their being, Obſ.moving, and order by Him: Hee doth continue the ſelfe-ſame creature and order which Himſelfe made firſt and appointed: And as the former gave the glory of Creation to Chriſt, ſo this giveth the glory of preſervation and providence to Him alſo: This is plaine by Scripture, Hebr. 1.3. He beareth up all things by the Word of His Power. In God we live, and move, and have our being, Act. 17. Not becauſe He doth worke them only, but becauſe He doth conſerve them in us; Chriſt doth not leave His worke when He hath made it, as a Carpenter leaveth his houſe when it is built: but that is true he ſpeaketh, Ioh. 5.17. My Father worketh hitherto, and I worke. That Hee did, though without labour, put forth His power in the preſerving of all things; for all things that have not being and moving of themſelves, but from another; they cannot be nor move longer than that firſt cauſe doth preſerve them in it: As let us beare up a thing, that cannot ſtand of it ſelfe longer than we hold it up; the thing cannot but fall. So take a thing that moveth not of it ſelfe, make it move; while you ſtirre, it ſtirreth; ceaſe your motion, it ſtandeth ſtill: So all theſe things, they have not being of themſelves, and moving of themſelves, but from God, and therefore longer than God doth beare them up and move them, they cannot conſiſt in either. Take for compariſon the aire: this is not light of it ſelfe, as we ſee in the night; yet it is inlightened by the Sunne with day-light: when the Sunne therefore commeth, and continueth, the ayre waxeth light, continueth ſo while it continueth, and returneth to darkneſſe when the Sun ſetteth: So God, being the fountaine of being and motion, which are not of themſelves, doth begin theſe things, doth make them ſtand in their ſtate; and if He ſhould totally withdraw himſelfe, they would returne to nothing.
Now this doth firſt much make unto the dignity of this our dread Soveraigne. Vſe 1 What is the glory of a King but to maintaine numbers depending on him? to make King-like proviſion, to carry after a ſort their kingdomes on their backes, and beare up all their Countries, yea, to ſupport forren States (as our dread Lady of bleſſed memory did the Low-countries, Geneva, &c?) But if this be ſo full of renowne, how then is He to be extolled that beareth up the whole frame of Heaven and earth, and all the hoaſts of them? How bleſſed are they that have ſo mighty an Emperour over them?
This letteth us ſee what cauſe wee have to cleave unto our LORD IESUS CHRIST, Vſe 2 and to kiſſe His beloved Sonne, ſeeing that we have our being in Him, all our good is in His hand. We ſee in what reſpect we have ſuch from whom we have our maintenance, who ſupport the ſmall matter of ſtate we have in the world: How much more ſhould we win and keepe to us His favour, that ſuſteineth life, being; yea, though we ſee Him not, giveth us our lots, and maintaineth our portion?
This ſtrengtheneth our faith on Him touching our preſervation: Vſe 3 Hee that upholdeth all the Creature, ſhall he be unable or unwilling to underprop our weake ſoules, and ſtabliſh them in every good way? Saint Paul ſtrengtheneth the weake Chriſtian thus: He ſhall be confirmed, for God is able, able indeed. Shall He that carrieth up the whole world, not be able to ſupport thy poore ſpirit?
Laſtly, Vſe 4 we muſt learne to acknowledge God as the upholder of the being of things, the preſerver and chiefe worker in all this ordinary courſe of Nature: God maketh the Sunne to riſe, God raineth on the juſt and unjuſt, Pſal. 134.7, 8. For God calleth the Sunne forth, Eſay 46.26. And though vapours diſſolved are meanes of raine, yet God chiefly doth prepare and worke it in them; whatſoever the ſecond cauſes doe, God doth it much more, for theſe are but inſtruments to Him: the Sithe cannot be ſaid to cut downe graſſe ſo properly as the Mower; nor theſe cauſes to doe any thing ſo properly as God, who doth it by them.