Exposition of Galatians, Exposition · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
1 BRETHREN, if a man be ſodenly taken in any offence, yee which are ſpiritual, reſtore ſuch a one with the ſpirit of meekeneſſe, conſidering thy ſelfe, leaſt thou alſo be tempted.
2 Bear ye one an others burden, & ſo fulfill the Law of Chriſt.
3 For if any man ſeem to himſelfe, that he is ſomewhat, when he is nothing, he deceiueth himſelfe in his imagination.
4 But let eueryevery man proue his own work, and then ſhal he hauehave reioycing in himſelfe only, and not in another.
5 For eueryevery man ſhal bear his own burden.
FOR a preſeruatiue againſt the vices laſt ſpoken of, viz. ambition, ſtrife & enuy, the beſt treacle is to take a quite contrary diet. The ambitious, the contentious, the enuious mā wil keep a needeleſſe ſtur, and trouble eueryevery man without all cauſe. But the contented Chriſtian, deſireth to pacifie al things, and to help eueryevery where, where help is wanting.
Sathan is a mighty enimy, and man is weak, and fleſh is fraile, and our waies are ſlippery.
Now if a man, which is better than thy neighbours Ox, or Aſſe, whereof notwithſtanding in caſes, thou ſtandeſt charged, if a man, nay, if any man, thy like in nature, and brother in Chriſt, if any man (for all may) not onelyonly of thy friends, or thy kinne, or ſome of thy family, but if anie man be ſuppriſed by Sathan, preuented by ſuttlety, inueigled by ſleights, intiſed by ſinners, taken and vponupon the ſuddain *foreign.ouer-taken by infirmity, what is to be doone?
He that is fallen may riſe againe, reach-forth thy hand and help him vp. A member diſlocated, & out of ioynt may bee ſet in againe, reſtore ſuch a member, yea reſtore you ſuch a man ſaith the Apoſtle that is fallen out of the order, and place, he ſhould hauehave kept himſelfe in. foreign.
Mutual help.If one walke alone, and no man goe with him, nor any man care for him, and fall, then is his fall the more dangerous. Likewiſe the ſingle thread is ſoone ſnapt a ſunder, but when men intertwiſt themſelues in mutual louelove, to help one the other, the double, the triple-folde woorke is like to hold out.
In like manner, if men could and would ioine in one, to the behoofe of one another, I ſee no reaſon why things may not bee wel reſtored and reformed without any great a-do.
The Spirit of Lenitie.The maner of this reſtoring is not to play the rude Chirurgian, but to do al that may be, in the ſpirit of lenitie. The good ſheepehard laieth the ſtraied ſheepe, that ſtraid by ſimplicity, on his own ſhoulders: the tender mother carieth the ſicke childe in her armes: the mercifull Samaritan ſetteth the wounded man vppon his owne beaſt, and himſelfe goeth a foote.
Yet note, there is a difference between ſimplicitie and wilfulneſſe, betweene fore and fore, leaper and leaper, plague and plague, fault & faults, ſinners and ſinners.
But this is the property of a peruerſe zeale and perfect hypocriſie to ſtand moſt vponupon trifles, mint and commin, and vponupon matters of leſſe importance, to ſtick at a ſtraw, & ſtride ouer a block, to ſwallow an Oxe, and ſtraine a Gnat, to hallow with hue and cry after a mote, as if the ſheepheard ſhoulde ſtill trouble the weake ſheepe, and let the ſcabbed ram walke at will, and ſpread his venom throughout the whole flock.
No, brethren. If any man be howſoeuer preuented in a fault, let him be reſtored in the ſpirite of lenity, and with meeke diſcretion in a proportionable rate.
There is a publique reſtoring, and there is a priuate reſtoring. You are priuate men, and yet priuate men rather looke into publique orders than into their priuate owne doings. And in deed, as he ſaid, nos quoque eruditos oculos habemus, you ſee ſomewhat, and you ſay, as much as you ſee.
The execution of the Law is the life of the Law.There is order taken for commuting of penance, and the open reſtoring of the penitent. But (I grant) lawes without execution are no lawes. Quid leges ſine moribus? Vanae proficiunt. There is no profite by ſuch lawes: nay they are lawleſſe, and as if they were no lawes at al. And therefore a latter law comming after, with full meaning to put in execution the former law, is ſaid to reuiue ſuch a law, therby inferring plainly, that the law wanteth life, and is deade, when it lacketh execution.
In the moſt honourable audience of the high court of Parliament they were the words of wiſe and right worthy Sir Nicolas Bacon, the Lord Keeper (whoſe memorie is as the memory of Ioſias, very ſweete in eueryevery mans mouth) his wordes were: that the beſt inſtruments and ſharpeſt weeding tooles did the garden no good, though they were prepared, and if they were laid vp in the ſtore houſe, and not put to vſe: and ſo forth to the ſame purpoſe much.
But I am beſide my Text, pardon me: in one word, your ſelues hauehave made, & you hauehave lawes, and yet notwithſtanding, as if you had none, you who can find fault with others, why doe you not execute your owne lawes and mulctes appointed for the reſtoring of greater repaire to the hearing of the holy word of the Lord? Wil you ſee men fall from god, and fal to vice and profaneneſſe euen the Lecture time, and will ye not reſtore theſe members to their old order? If you were ſpirituall, no doubt, theſe things would be better ordered. For ſhame looke to it.
The ground of the Apoſtles exhortation for the maner of reſtoring is, becauſe they be ſpiritual, and for that the Lawe of Chriſt requireth that men deale with men as meekely and louely as they may, wherein I obſerue two notes, 1. The cauſe of their ſtanding, who ſtood when others fel, 2. Then the vrgent duety to endeuor to raiſe vp them who are fallen.
1 The cauſe why wee ſtand, is not in the ſtrength of our ſelues ye that are ſpiritual, it commeth from Gods ſpirit, & verſe 3. If any man ſeem to himſelfe to bee [but] ſomewhat, hee is deceaued. The ſpirit is ready, but the fleſh is weak, and al the readines we hauehave to ſtand to it in perſecution, to perſiſt in al temptations, either outwardly aſſalting or inwardly moleſting, is from the ſpirit of God, becauſe we are ſpiritual.
The Popiſh partition betweene ſpiritual and temporal, as if amongeſt them, and their orders, eueryevery doore keeper, Church ſweeper, bel ringer, or taper bearer &c. were neceſſarily ſpiritual men, and all men elſe were not ſpirituall, is a toy, and wel confuted of *D. Bilſon of Chriſtian ſubiection. part. 1. Pag. 244.late. Paul writing generally to the Galathians calleth them by that which they ſhould bee, ſpirituall, in the cariage of themſelues mutually one to another.
Wherein my note is to that end wee looke vpward to the ſpirit of Gods asſiſtaunce, and to his powerfull hand that holdeth vsus vp that are ready to fal. There were 7000. that did not adore Baal, and not ſo much as bow their knees to the Idoll, but this came not of themſelues, but they were kept vp by God. The candleſticks in the Reuelation are held vp by no other hād, but by the hand of Chriſt. Wherfore (as it is in the ſong of Anna) it is God that ruleth the woorlde, it is the Lorde who guideth and directeth the feet of his Saints, it is his woorde that teacheth, and his ſpirite that conducteth his choſen ſeruants.
The Lawe of Chriſt.2 The vrgentnes is alſo thereby enforced of a good duty toward the repairing of a ſinner, that the Law of Chriſt prouoketh vsus thereunto.
The Law of Moſes is full of feare and terror, but the Law of Chriſt is ful of louelove, and as the body is a perfect body, that is ſuſtained with meate and drinke inwardly, and kept warme externally with clothes, ſo the faithfull man is a right Chriſtian, that feeleth within the food of life, the conſolation of the ſpirit, and the comfort of Chriſt: and in the exerciſe of good works and brotherly kindnes as it were, thorough clothes to warme and to foſter his good actions, and all this after the commandement, law and enſample of our Sauiour, who did al that he did for others, and nothing for himſelfe, euen as the ſheepe, both in fell and fleſh, is for his owner and not for himſelfe.
Wherefore, brethren, let vsus ſuffer one with an other, euen for his ſake that ſuffered for vsus al. Let vsus beare one an others burden for his ſake, who vpō the croſſe, bore al our burdēs. It is the law of chriſt that it ſhold ſo, not thereby that we become ſauiors of our ſelues, but becauſe he hath ſaued vsus already, and therefore may make a Lawe for his ſaued which moſt willingly they muſt walke in.
He that conſidereth wel his owne faults, will the better beare will the imperfection of other men.The hye-way thereunto is, if a man can deſcend into him-ſelfe, & if that his conſiderations be like Solomons windows Skued to giuegive light rather into the houſe, thā that a mā may ſtand at the windowe to loke abroad: and if he iudge himſelfe rather than others, and proue himſelfe, and know & ſay, that if ſuch, or ſuch a one be a ſinner, in ſuch or ſuch a caſe by infirmity, well, euen I either hauehave bin, or am perchance, and certainly by nature am, and therefore may be, if now I am not as great an offender as that my brother, and therefore I muſt and wil doe for him as I would wiſh to be done vntounto my ſelfe, ſeeking to reſtore him, as wel as I can, and that with al lenity.
For there is no inſulting vppon or vpbraiding of one another man in a fault. The mariners of Tharſis fell to caſting of lottes to know who was the ſinner, but that God had a purpoſe therein, the lots might hauehave fallen rather vponupon any of the mariners, than vponupon Ionas.
In Paradiſe there were but two, and they two being both faulty, began to poſt off their ſinne the one to the other, but it went not by that: euerie man ſhal beare his owne burden. And a quiet conſcience is a continuall feaſt. And that conſcience which is blowen vp in pride, and goeth for a time merrily like the wind-mill with the gale of vaine praiſe, or ſelfeliking, or that conſcience, that can diſgeſt yron like the Eſtrige, that is, al his own bad doings, and yet ſquare it out, and compare it with other men, one day ſhal it bee called to his proper account, and when the mowing time ſhall come, the proud blaſted eare, ſhall ly as low as the loweſt, and ſhal ſeeme no taller than his fellowes, nor better indeede than it is in it ſelfe.
6 Let him that is taught in the woorde make him that hath taught him, partaker of all his goods.
7 Be not deceiued: God is not mocked: for whatſoeuer a man ſoweth, that ſhall hee alſo reap.
8 For hee that ſoweth to his fleſh, ſhall of the fleſh reap corruption but he that ſoweth to the ſpirite, ſhall of the ſpirite reape life euerlaſting.
The maintenance of the Miniſterie.Paul is led in the ſpirit to direct the Galathians from point to point, as they moſt needed, and wher as the infirme ſinner, was ouer hardly dealt withal and no man would beare with his brother, and eueryevery man was partially affected, yea & wher as hee who ſought to reforme them moſt, and to teach them beſt in better waies, was leaſt regarded amongſt them, our apoſtle both for the former matters, told them, and ſo for this laſt point ſheweth what is their duety in that reſpect, ſaying: Let him that is taught [among other leſſons] learne this withall, to releeue his teacher.
In the one and twentith of Ioſue the principal fathers of the Leuits demaunded their due when they were not thought of, and paſſed ouer, in the diuiſion: wherein certes appeareth a great ouer ſight ſo litle to regard the Lordes commandement but priuate care as then it did, ſo now alſo wil marre al, if the Lords portion be not looked vntounto.
And I note yet that in that iniury, the yonger Leuits deale not by heapes diſorderly, but the graueſt & chiefeſt fathers take the matter in hand, and they demaund their due. For right is right, and may be demanded: and that which the lord alloweth, is a very right, and it is no ſhame to aske our owne, that is ful painfully deſerued.
Who is he that goeth to warfare vponupon his own charges? We fight the battles of the Lord in your behalfe.
Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not the fruite thereof? One planteth, another watereth, an other diggeth, ditcheth, and hurleth outſtones that may hinder your growth in Chriſt.
Who feedeth a flock, & eateth not of the milck? We lead you into the Lords paſtures, wee watch day and night ouer your ſouls, we encounter with Wolues, we endure the parching beate, and chilly cold of al inconueniences for your ſakes.
Then if we be as the ſouldiour in the camp, as the laborer in the vineyard, as the carefull ſheepe-heard amongſt his flock, ſhould not theſe charges be defraid? Our pains reſpected? Our perſons rewarded?
It is enacted and ordered by God himſelfe, that the Or mouth that treadeth out the corne (as the faſhion then was) ſhould not bee muſted. Hath God care of Oren? I knowe hee hath, but much more of men, that ſow the ſeede of life, that labour in his ſpirituall harueſt, that threſh the ſheaues, that winnow, that grind the corne, that bake the bread, & that break to you the bread of your ſouls. They that ſerued but at the Altar, liued of the offerings, and the offerings were certain for the moſt part.
In the new Teſtament, why is the work-man leſſe worthy of his wages than before? They taught in types, we teach in the euidence of truth. They ſacrificed beaſts, we offer mens ſouls to God. They dealt out of the Lawe, we deliuer, and we preach the Goſpel. We ſow ſpiritual things vntounto you, is it much, if we be partakers of your temporalities? We plow vp the vallow grounds of your harts, we ſhed into eueryevery eare the ſeede of Gods woord, we pray inceſſantly for the increaſe of Gods grace amongſt you all.
Poperie fed hir prieſts, ſhal the Goſpel ſtarue her miniſters?Popery crambd the bellies, & ſtuffed the barns and butteries and latheries of a ſort of ſory hinds, that could doe nothing for the moſt part of them, but turne and wind before a heape of ſtones, toſſe a wafer cake, rinſe a challice, and mumble vp a ſeruice in a ſtrange tongue. And can ye not affourd the laborſome miniſtery, a conuenient competency? Nay out of that cōpetency, which by the grace of god is yet left, the ſeruing-mā & the waiting-mayd many times think to make vp the recōpence of their bodily ſeruices, by ſome ſymonical leproſie, by flat bargaining with ſome of their own cote: and therein verily is the greater griefe.
Prolers for liuinges.Wherefore as Pilat ſaid to our Sauior, thine owne nation hath betraied thee, and as it is in the Prophet, ô Iſrael, thy deſtruction is of thy ſelfe: So, O my brethren of the Elergy, will you betray your ſelues? Will you proſtitute the honor of your learning, the reputation of your good names, the quiet of your conſciences, & the patrimony of the Church to the couetous horſeleech that can ſay nothing, but GIVE, GIVE. Or as Iudas ſaid, What will ye giuegive me?
Rather liue and dy at your ſcholerly pittance, which your honorable founders bequeathed you, in your Colledges in the poore Vniuerſities, than thus ſcrape and ſcamble, and flatter abroad, glozing with the woorld, and miſreporting one another, impoueriſhing your learning, and beggering your ſelues by borrowed expenſes, in your ordinary and endles prolings, yeelding matter for Satyr-writers, and mournefull Chronicles of ſhameful reproch to al poſterity.
If things go forward, or rather ſo backwarde as ſome ſtick not to ſay they doe, whereof in truth I muſt cōfeſſe my ſelfe (I thank God) am no way experienced; but if it be ſo, I feare leaſt as Chriſt once draue theſe Merchandizers out of the temple, ſo this chafering in church matters wil driue out Chriſt (which God forbid) out of our church.
In ſpeciall you, O Patrons of benefices, remember the example of noble and worthy Dauid, who refuſed to drincke of the water, that was brought vntounto him, becauſe it was fetcht with the venture of blood. Remember you that in ſelling, you more than venture your owne ſouls, and that in buying is more than ventured the ſoule of the buyer. And will any man buy, or dare you ſell, or ſuffer to be ſold by your retinue the lords portion?
God wil not be anſwered with prittle-prattle diſputes.I knowe the world is cunning, and can diſtinguiſh, and iangle of tithes and church-liuings too and fro, till the cow come home, and that in ſome is borne withal, which in ſome others is ſacrilege without any alteration of other circumſtance, but that affection can winke when it will. When all is done, for I purpoſe not to enter particular diſcourſe thereof, the reſolution of all in all is, God wil not be mocked.
A man may pul his better by the noſe, and play with a mans beard: but if he reaſon againſt God, God wil not be out-reaſoned. Ananias & Saphira could not deceaue the holy Ghoſt, and you read of their ende. Acan hid his theft, but not from God. Adam thought to couer himſelfe in the ſhrubs, it coulde not bee. Saraes laughter, though it were ſtoln behind the doore, was ſeene of God. Elizeus may ſay, the Lord hath hidde or concealed this or that from mee, but no man can ſay, I can hide any thing from thee O lord, which ſearcheſt the reins, and ſeeſt the hart, and readeſt the booke of my conſcience, though I would claſp and ſhut it vp neuer ſo faſt. Thou art the God that wilt not bee mocked, and wilt mocke them that ſhal ſeeke to illude thy commandements, which thou haſt ſo carefully prouided for the prouiſion of thy ſeruantes in their holy trauailes.
Though the Parſon bee naught, yet the Pariſh muſt pay their tither.Yea mary, ſay ſome, if they would trauel, if our miniſter were ſuch a ſouldiour, ſuch an harueſt man as you ſpeake of, I could be content to hauehave giuen the benefice free at firſt, and ſtill yet would I pay my tithes, and make him partaker of al my goods, euen by the tenth, which was an order, ſet downe before the Law, as a reaſonable rate in nature, and vnderunder the Law of Moſes continued, and by the poſitiue Law ſince, imitating the wiſdome of God conſtituted by great conſent of all Chriſtendome for the miniſtery, and the fry thereof in Vniuerſities, & Schools, & Cathedral Churches, and collegeat houſes, and ſeparate pariſhes.
Yea if their ſponges were full of holſome water, if their breſtes of ſyncere milke, that we might ſucke them, if wee were taught by them, we who are taught, would communicate of al our ſubſtance, very willingly to our teacher: but our Parſon neuer commeth at vsus, we neuer ſaw him ſince he read his Articles, and as we heare, he ſoiournieth in ſome Hall or Colledge in one of the Vniuerſities, and doth nothing there neither, that we may conceaue ſome hope that he will come to vsus and doe vsus ſome good heare-after.
I am ſorry to heare theſe complaints, in part perhaps tru, in part I hope falſe: but ſuppoſe they be true, yet your benefices and tythes, by publicke Law are laide foorth, you muſt not priuately alter a publicke order. And as the Leuits and miniſters (of whome I ſpake before) when there was a hard diuiſion made, & their part left out, yet were they not their owne caruers, but the ancient and chiefeſt amongſt them brought their cauſe before Eleazar and Ioſue, and ſo order was taken. And I am ſure you of the laity, as they ſpeake, and yet hauing in your handes the Church-liuings which were giuen to ſpirituall vſes, will not ſuffer that we enter vponupon our owne, euen therefore becauſe you hauehave by hooke or crooke gotten and impropriated them againſt al reaſon in the time of darckeneſſe into your handes.
Likewiſe no more may you deale euil with the euill, or refuſe to render your tythes and duties, thereby not agniſing God to bee the giuer and the bleſſer of your poſſeſſions, becauſe ſome of Helies childrē play vnruly pranckes, either being preſent, or in their abſence from their charge. No certes, and I am perſwaded if diſcreet complaint in this neceſſary matter were made to Eleazar & Ioſue in dutiful ſort, ſome ſpeedy remedy woulde hauehave bin thought of, & gone through with ere this.
Why? He that laboreth not, ſhold not eat. Tru. But priuate men muſt not barre men their commons at their diſcretion, no more than ſubiects may withdraw their fealty and tribute from Caeſar, if Caeſar ſhould deal otherwiſe than beſeemeth his imperial function. Theſe reaſons ſend to confuſion and mutinies, and muſt be repreſt.
And yet (dear brother) as God wil not be mocked of the ſcholar that mocketh him in his tythes, ſo wil he not be mocked of thee, thou teacher, in thy ſecurity. Catechiſing.He that ſeeth the falſe-hood in tything, ſeeth alſo thy not teaching, the worde is Catechiſing, whereby a moſt religious, & a godly Echo, is heard in the church of God, and the elements of religion are taught, and the euidences of our ſaluation are thoroughly peruſed to the euerlaſting ſaluation of many a ſoule.
And though thy Pariſh deale corruptly with thee, they in the end ſhal reape as they ſowed. But deale thou according to duty, tille thy lande, caſt thy ſeede and that plentifully, couer it warily, and commit the ſucceſſe to God, and poſſeſſe thy ſoule in hope and patience, and in the end the Lord will be thy ſufficient reward, far exceeding al the commodities out harde and pinching maſters detaine from vsus.
9 Let vsus not therefore be weary of wel doing. For in due ſeaſon we ſhal reape, if we faint not.
10. While wee hauehave therefore time let vsus doe good vntounto all, ſpecially vntounto them which are of the houſehold of faith.
The laſt exhortation was proper for the maintenance of the miniſterie, and this is inferent, and concluding the ſame, togither with an enforcement of doing good vnderunder hope of an anſwerable harueſt in due ſeaſon, if we tarry our time, and expect his leyſure, without wearines & fainting, being bountifull, 1. While we hauehave time, 2. Generally to al: 3. But ſpecially to the faithful.
Couetouſnes.The extreme couetous man keepeth his goods, and all is for himſelfe. Auidis auidis natura parum eſt. Hee woulde faine reape, but hee dare not ſow: and if he ſowe, he ſo dealeth, as hee ſuppoſeth he may be ſure to vndo another, and gain himſelfe. But bleſſed is the rich-man that is founde without blemiſh, that knoweth howe to doe good, and is not weary of wel doing. For it is good to ware old in this ſeruice of wel doing.
The *Plato.Heathen man ſaid it was a harder thing foreign: it was a harder matter to be good ſtil, than to be made good for a while. And for the ſpeciall hinderāce in this wel doing, our ſauior giueth out this caueat: Take heed of couetouſnes.Luk. 12.
Take heede, it aſſaulteth ſecretly, it entreth like a friend, it hath pretenſes many, and faire, & as men drincke many times much at the firſt to quench their thirſt, yet in drincking too much, and too often, the dropſie is engendred: ſo though at firſt a man take pains in the ſweat of his browes. to maintaine himſelfe and his, yet if hee looke not to it, this lawful paine at firſt, may end in a couetous deſire to gaine ouer haſtily, and to lay vp to purpoſes, hee ſhall neuer enioy, whereas a Penny wel gotten, and wel imploied is the grace of God, and wealth enough.
1 The firſt note was, that wee doe good in due ſeaſon, and that while we hauehave time. For the life of man is a ſpan long, & of ſmal continuance, we ſee it ſo, but where is he that conſidereth therof in ſuch ſort as he ſhould?
The ſuddēnes & the certainty of death is known, but that knowledge ſleepeth in a man, and is not remembred to amend euerie man himſelfe.In the booke of Geneſis Geneſ. 5.it is repeated and repeated again on this wiſe: al the daies that Adam liued, were nine hundred and thirty yeares: and he died: all the daies of Seth, were nine hundred and twelue years: and hee died. All the daies of Enos were nine hundred and fiue yeares: and hee died: and ſo foorth of others, and ſtill though the daies were neuer ſo many, yet, and he died, was the concluſion of al.
It is ſtrange the Scripture ſhould ſo curiouſly inculcate a matter, whereof no man doubteth: why doth it tel vsus that we know? We knowe that they are dead. And we ſee daily that men dy before our face, and our life is a vapor, a buble, a flaſh, a weauers ſhuttle &c.
In deede if in reading ſuch like ſentences to this effect, or going with a corſe to the graue, or hearing the preacher beate vponupon the immortality of man we aſſent thereunto: but when the remembraunce of death ſhould bee as it were the ſiue or ſearſer to our owne, and of our owne actions, Omnis illa aſſenſio illabitur. Our former knowledge is quite forgotten. Yea euen when we ſee other men weake, ſick or feeble and when we can thinke, and when wee can ſay of them, as they who ferrey on the tems, that the bote that goeth harde on the other ſide by vsus rideth ſwiftly, yet we dreame that our own barge ſtandeth ſtill as it were a ſhippe at anker, or that we paſſe verie ſlowly.
O Lord, while wee hauehave time, and the time is ſhort, while we yet liue, and hauehave any being, which cannot bee long, for the life of man is not a perpetual light, but as the little candle, that is waſted with the winde, and blowen out with a puffe, or conſumed after a while, O while wee hauehave time, let eueryevery man conforme himſelfe to ſome well doing. Theſe *foreign.after-wits were neuer good, that wil be wiſe when it is too late, that would enter when the dore is ſhut, that come to the faire when market is don, the Lord abhorreth the blind ſacrifice, that cannot ſee the acceptable time, the halting ſacrifice that is ſoone turned out of the way, & neuer commeth duely in a timely ſeaſon.
Too much curioſitie in giuing of an almes is not good.2 My ſecond note was for the generalitie of doing wel. If thy right hand be extended to many, thy left hand muſt not draw it in. If thy clouds be ful, they may powre downe both vponupon the habitable, and inhabitable places: better looſe an almes giuen to one that needeth it not, than to withholde thy mercy vppon ſuſpicion where the neede is great, though for circumſtances a man may be perſwaded to the contrary.
An almes giuen to one in the name of a Prophet, though he be a counterfait, yet giuen vnderunder that forme, looſeth not the reward: ſo a reliefe beſtowed as to a man as thou art, and to thine owne fleſhe, is accepted of God, that made you both.
The times are not nowe that Iſraell muſt forſake the land for famine, and go into Aegypt. The times are not as they hauehave beene, that men hauehave bin conſtrained to buy Pigeons-doung at a deare rate: the times are not, as when men hauehave eaten their own ordure, yea the mother her own child: the times are not, as when the Father, the Vncle, and the Son hauehave ſtrouen for a rotten mouſe, and when whole multitudes hauehave beene driuen to fry out moyſture out of old leather. The times are not, as they hauehave beene in England, when bread was made of fearn-rootes, & as of late in Queene Maries time, commonly of Ackornes.
Notwithſtanding, this yeare is a deare yeare, the multitude are needy, and their need is great. And therefore a large releefe, and a generall liberality is moſt requiſit, and he that hideth his corn & will not giuegive, nay will not ſel, is the curſe of the people. But he that ſelleth reaſonably, and giueth cherefully, blesſing be vpō his head for euermore.
Good Zacheus when ſaluation came to his houſe, hee began to thinke whether hee had dealt hardly by wrong cauillation with any man, & offered to make quadriple recompence with the one halfe of his goods, & the other moity hee was content franckly ſhould be for the poore.
Halfe your goods in conſtituted cōmon-weals vnderunder chriſtian dealings is not euer required, and the poore ſort muſt bee no proud beggars. Ruth was content with peaze, Elias with a litle meale, Lazarus wiſhed but a few crommes, and beggers muſt be no chuſers. Yet in the booke of Ruth I note to the great commendation of Booz, that Booz ſeruantes when Ruth came at meale-time,Ruth. 2. and ſtood not like a ſaucy begger, but mannerly, beſide the reapers, they gaue her plentifully, and ſhe did eate, and was ſufficed, and left. That the poore may eate and be ſufficed, it is liberality: but to be ſufficed, & to eat, & leaue, is great liberality.
A wanton prouerb amongſt beggars.The diet then was but parcht corne. Our age is ouer nice. And broun bread breedeth melancholy. But very neede muſt teach vsus the parcymony and homelines of elder yeares: and yet if we could ſpare our impertinent attire, and our ſuperfluous fare, our country dearth were yet but a cheapnes, & our hoſpitality might be greater, our charity enlarged, our bodies more holeſome, and our ſoules better accepted of God, that accepteth them that liue temperately, and in their temperance conſider the needy, and regarde the poore.
In this ſtory I note one note more, that Booz tooke order that Ruth ſhould bee liberally vſed, and yet he would hauehave her labour and gleane for that ſhee had. So (my brethren) if there were order taken that they who coulde woorke, and take paines, and if their paines would not fully ſuffice, then there might bee ſome ſupply by letting fall ſome ſheaues of our plenty, ſome lone of mony, and ſome way elſe to further the labors of numbers which now goe vppe and downe idly, and of this idlenes there now commeth nothing, but innumerable inconueniences: and thus much for the generality of relieuing.
2 It is the wiſe mans exhortation, caſt thy bread vponupon the waters. Eccle. 11.By bread may be ment the ſeed of bread, by caſting may be ment ſowing, and men when they ſow, they ſparſe not all in one place, but they ſowe with diſcretion: by waters ſome think is meant moiſt places, which in whote countries are moſt fruitfull. Some, by waters think are ſignified the ſea, that on the very Sea, a man ſhould not ſtick to venter his goods, and euen to ſhip them ouer to farre countries, to doe them good, and in the ſight of God this trafique will be a very acceptable trade, and in the ende to thee verie profitable. For though men maie thinke thy bread is caſt away, and thy ſeede is loſt, yet in the returne of time, thou ſhalt reape of thy liberalitie thy bozom ful. But I argue.
Muſt I caſt my bread vponupon the waters? If by waters the fruitfull ground bee ment, as the bozom of the poore, who euer is the fertill ground, ſo yet the caſe of the poore faithfull man is the moſt fertileſt field of all others.
If it ſeeme that by the waters, I muſt helpe euen ſtrangers that neede my help, that are far off and diſcluded by the Sea, then I reaſon; if I muſt doe good, which I denie not, euen to ſtraungers, what muſt I do to the man that dwellech by mee, and to the poore Chriſtian which periſheth vnderunder my noſe, and in my ſight? Muſt I care for the lilly of the field, and not for the lilly in my garden? Or muſt I feed the rauen, and ſtarue the innocent and ſimple Doue? Or muſt I doe good to all, and not moſt ſpecially to the houſhold of faith, who moſt commonly needeth moſt, and deſerueth beſt?
If garments muſt be variouſly cut out, according to the proportion, the perſons be of, that muſt weare them, then verily greateſt reſpect muſt bee taken of them whom the world hateth, and double care for the houſhold of the poore faithful.
But if I ſpeak my cōſcience, I would it might affect, where I wiſh amendment. Of all men the poore profeſſor is leaſt ſet by, euen by them, whom yet I perſwade my ſelfe are of the ſame houſholde of faith. It is ſtrange, but the common vſage hath made it no ſtrange thing. This offenſiuenes in entertaining the bad, and excluding the good, if it be to win them it is well, but in the ſight of all men if it fode them vp in their follies, it is more than a folly. Thou canſt not eate thy bread alone, neither doe: but let thy delight be in the releefe of them with whom thou ſhalt meete, and reſt with in the land of the liuing.
11 Ye ſee how large a letter I hauehave written vntounto you with mine owne hand.
For reforming of the Galathians and for their perfect enſtruction Paul dealeth not by woord of mouth, but hee writeth vntounto them and that a long letter euen with his owne hand.
1 The length of his letter declareth the largenes of his louelove 2. With his owne hand, ſheweth the certainty whence the letter came.
1 The mencioning of this length was not with a lawier-like entent to be paied by the lines which they lengthen of purpoſe, but as I ſaie of louelove to affect them with the moe woords, whom a few woordes could not moue, hee willeth them to conſider: you ſee how large a letter I hauehave drawn: as who wold ſay, were the matter of ſmal weight, and not your ſoules health, I might ſpare my labor and with more eaſe be vtterly ſilent, or at the leaſt, much more briefe. But you ſee I am long. Wherefore conſider thereof accordingly.
2 Pauls Letters were not onelyonly long, but though they were long, and hee leaſureleſſe, yet he writeth al with his owne hand.
The Apoſtle was vnlike manie men in the world, who ſpeak one thing and doe another: hauehave one thing in their tongue, and another thing in their hand: but as Sampſon Iudg. 14.9.when he came to his father, he came with honny in his mouth, and honny in his handes, ſo Paul hath the ſame doctrine ſweeter than honny and the comb, as at firſt in his teaching, ſo now in his writing, and he putteth all downe vnderunder his owne hand.
In the ſecond of Kings 2 King. 4.34.we read of the manner which the Prophet Elizeus vſed in reſtoring to life the Sunamits ſonne. He ſent his ſeruant with his ſtaffe, and it would not be: wherefore hee commeth himſelfe, hee ſpreadeth the child abroad, hee putteth his mouth to the childs mouth, his eies vponupon his eies, and his hands vponupon his hands, and he ſtretched himſelfe vppon him, and the fleſhe of the child wareth warme.
Paul in ſome reſemblance taketh the like courſe, he ſpareth no pains, he ſheweth all tender affection, and what doth he not to reſtore them to life, whom the falſe Apoſtles had euen wounded to death? He putteth his mouth to their mouth, he ſpeaketh in their eares, hee ſpreadeth himſelfe vppon them, he writeth a large letter, hee laieth it before their eies, and putteth his epiſtle into their hands, and he powreth this wholeſome Doctrine into their ſores: and becauſe they ſhould certainly knowe that the Phiſicke came from himſelfe, hee writeth all out with his own hand.
The falſe Apoſtles euen in Pauls time were growne to a wonderful impudency to broch their errors vnderunder the names of the true Apoſtles, and al others follow that deuiſe, as Manichaei (ſaith Auſtine)Contr. Fauſt. lib. 22. Cap. 8. legunt Scripturas Apochryphas, &c. The Motiue of Traditions and vnwritten verities.The Manichees read ſecret hidden Scriptures: cobled vp, I knowe not by whom, vnderunder the name of the Apoſtles. But our aduerſaries at this day, as in part they tread the pathes of ſuch their predeceſſors, ſo yet they hauehave a tricke alſo ouer and aboue, when they want forged writings, they make vp their claim by vnwritten verities, which they call Traditions.
You ſee this is an olde practiſe to fetch about, & to wind in men into their *Aug. in Ioh. tract. 97.coulorable errors. Wherefore in great wiſedome and like goodnes both in ſpecial for this Epiſtle, & likewiſe for the reſt of the Scriptures, the Lord God prouiding for the Maieſty of his own worde, and entending the certaine ſaluation of the faithfull, would not commit that the foundation of faith ſhoulde bee grounded or depend only vponupon the toungs of men, but himſelf ſpake from Heauen openly in his ſon, and inſpired his Prophets of old, and afterwarde the Apoſtles to draw forth & write out his whole mind, to the end there might be an vndoubted Scripture, aſſuredly ſufficient and able to make men perfect & complet in all good workes.
It is not denied but many things were doone by our Sauiour in the daies of his fleſhe, manie things by the ancient prophets in ample and particular manner not laide forth, yet that which is written was therefore writtē, becauſe God knew what was ſufficiently certaine to the attainment of a good beleefe, and through beleefe, to euerlaſting life. Secret Doctrines, vnwritten Traditions and ſuch ſtolne waters are ſweet onelyonly to corrupt taſts, and to men that will needes either be ſpirituall witches, or els be bewitched.
12 As many as deſire to make a faire ſhew in the fleſh, they conſtraine you to be circumciſed, onelyonly becauſe they would not ſuffer perſecution for the Croſſe of Chriſt.
13 For they themſelues, which are circumciſed, keep not the Law, but deſire to hauehave you circūciſed, that they may reioice in your fleſh.
Paul hauing ſpoken of his owne affection toward them, ſpeaketh now againe of their doing. As many as deſire, &c. As many, ergo there were belike many. And no maruel if ruble be rife where precious ſtones are refuſed. In the multitude of theſe falſe teachers I marke, 1. Their vaine-glory, and then 2. Their vaine feare.
Vaine glorie.1 Their vaine glory was to make a faire ſhew, that they, and who but they, were the conuerters of ſo many, and ſo many proſilites. This is a ſhrewd affection, and it ſauoreth of an Anti-Chriſtian pride to ſit in the conſciences of men, to affect a Rabbiniſme and a Maſterdome in the Church of God, to deſire to carry Diſciples perſonally after them, little caring if they ſet al on fier, ſo they may gather the aſhes of their fond conceat, and make a flaſh of a fooliſh reioycing. And in this vanitie is alwaies through hypocriſie interlaced a ſhew as if themſelues would performe that which they require of other, which in trueth they neither *Act. 15 10.could nor *Ioh. 7.19.did performe.
Vain feare.2 Againe, mark it, and lightly you ſhall find that the ambitious heade, hath a trembling heart there, where he ſhould leaſt fear.
If is a trueth, hee that looketh into his duety through the running water of an aſpiring minde, or a timerous thought can neuer go vpright.
What is the cauſe that the trueth of Chriſt Ieſus at this day amongſt vsus is ſo ſlowly embraced, and ſo coldly profeſſed? What is the cauſe that in Gods cauſes, there are found ſo manie hares that run away, ſo many timerous hearts, and ſo fewe Lions of couragious ſtoutnes in the Lord? He that watcheth the wind wil neuer ſow, hee that obſerueth the cloudes will neuer mow. There is the cauſe, and this feare, I meane, the feare which is not of God, is alwayes the euill counſeller.
But can you not chuſe but feare? Then feare THE FEARE OF IACOB, the Lord of hoſtes and the God of heauen. If I bee your Lord, where is my Fear? Saith the Lord in the Prophet. Why feare yee the frouning face of frail man? His life is in his breath: and his breath is in his noſtrils. Clauus clauum. Let the fear of God as the ſtronger pron driue out the fear of man as the weaker nail. It is a Proclamation in the booke of Iudges, Iudg. 7.3.that trembling minds and fearful harts ſhould depart from the Lords camp.
The feare that troubleth many at this day, if we looke vponupon things but with a mans ey, and if my ſimplenes beguile me not, euen that fear will beguile as many as ſo fear. And he that feareth a froſt, ſhal bee couered with ſnow. But he who feareth the Lord, is a fenced tower. And come what come can, the momentany perſecution in this mortall life is no way comparable to the life to come. Vaine hope & vain fear, are vain affections.
If the Machiuelian Pragmatique, the bold Ieſuit, the buſie prieſt could conſider thus much, if the ſilly reede, and the vnſtable ſoule, and the ſimple ſubiect could conceaue this much, that there is no hope but in God, no feare but in and for the Lord, no truſt in a ſingle threed, no hope by villanies, no feare of trecheries, no harme from Amelec, no hurt from the proud Prieſt, I doubt not, & I knowe by vndoubted circumſtaunces what I ſay; Recuſantes which now are in reſpect of the truth, would then as reſolutely many of them refuſe many points of Popery, which now they embrace, with litle adoe.
When I behold the ſtate of Chriſtendome at this day, ſo farre forth as a weake ey can ken and diſcerne, mee ſeemeth, I ſee the ſight that Abraham ſaw in the mountain when he looked toward Sodom and Gomor, and ſaw nothing but ſmoke and fier.
Warres and rumors of wars, anguiſh and tribulations, ſuch as hauehave not beene ſince the beginning, are the portion the end of the world muſt be prepared vntounto.
Hitherto aboue deſert and againſt the innumerable inſtrumentes of Sathan and of the man of ſinne, God hath defended vsus, and his trueth, and ſhall we for a little cloud of fear or flaſh of fier forſake the ſincerity of his Goſpell now? Suppoſe they ſhould: I truſt they ſhall not: for though wee bee ſinners, they be diuels, but ſuppoſe they ſhould kil our bodies, our ſoules they cannot kill. I hope they ſhal do neither if we faithfully fear and ſerue our God, and not them: But ſuppoſe they ſhould preuaile againſt this temporal life of ours.
As in ſhooting ſometimes, when the bowe is cut ſhorteſt, yea when the bow & bow-ſtring break the arrow flyeth fartheſt, and winneth at length: ſo when the righteous is kept in the narroweſt ſtraits, when body and ſoule both break and part aſunder, then is our God moſt glorified, the righteous proued, their patience tried, their faith experienced, and their hope extended vntounto, and their feare occupied about better matters.
Solon an heathen, beeing demaunded how hee durſt ſo boldly reſiſt the tyrant Piſiſtratus, aunſwered, fretus ſenectute mea. His olde age made him bold. And ſhal old age encourage an heathen man, and what ſhoulde the faieth of a Chriſtian man doe, what ſhould the diuine prouidence, and feare of the Lord effect in our hearts? Shall the corne feare the flaile, the goold the fier, the grape the preſſe? Et facere & pati fortia Chriſtianum eſt. Shal any man be ſtrong and ſtout, and ſhal not a Chriſtian? Let vsus conſider Pauls example herein.
13 But God forbidde that I ſhould reioice in anie thing, but in the croſſe of our Lorde Ieſus Chriſt, whereby the world is crucified vntounto me, and I vntounto the world.
15 For in Chriſt Ieſus neither circumciſion auaileth anie thing nor vncircumciſion, but a new creature.
16 And as manie as walcke according to this rule, peace [ſhal be] vponupon them and merciemercy, and vponupon the Iſrael of God.
The croſſe of Christ.Paul maketh an open deteſtation againſt their vaine deſire of reioycing in the fleſh, and ſheweth wherein true ioy conſiſteth, not in a thwart cut of the fleſh, but in the croſſe of Chriſt, that is, in Chriſt crucified, and herein is true ioy. This is as Barnard ſpeaketh muſick to the eare, honnie to the taſt, and a moſt good iubilie, and perfect ioy to the mournful hart.
When our Sauiour ſuffered, we read that the ſun was darckned, the earth moued, the powers of heauen and earth were ſhaken, the rock did riue aſunder, the vaile was rent, and the graues were opē, & al things felt a ſympathy & a compaſſion at the pasſion of Chriſt, and ſhal not man hauehave a feeling of theſe ſufferings, for whom onelyonly hee ſuffered them? Shal he not, ſhould hee not mourne for theſe ſins, that cauſed the ſon of God to take vponupon him the ſhape of man, and the ſhame of the croſſe?
And yet becauſe he hath been crucified for our ſins, and hath cancelled the hand-writing that was againſt vsus, and hath triumphed euen on the croſſe, wherein ſhould Chriſtians ioy and reioice, but in his conqueſt? And their greateſt comfort is euen in the croſſe of their redeemer, whereby Paul addeth that the whole woorlde is vntounto him, and ſhould be vntounto vsus, as a crucified thing, and that we againe are crucified to the world, that we may liue in him, who hath died for vsus.
The effects of Chriſtes paſſion.And this is the double effect of our Sauiours pasſion. 1. Firſt to redeeme vsus from ſinne, death, and the world, 2. Then to reuiue vsus in al goodnes that we may be newe creatures in him.
The redemption is perfect and was paid by Chriſt, in his owne perſon on the croſſe, and reſteth vppon his proper diſcharge, in whome wee hauehave redemption through his blood, that is, the remiſſion of our ſins. Phil. 1.14.The life wee liue in Chriſt through the vertu of his paſſion, and operation of his ſpirit, whereby we are mortified to the world, hath not theſe degrees of perfection, becauſe of the imperfection of the fleſh, wherein wee yet are detained, the Law of our mindes beeing hindered by the frowardneſſe of our members, and fettering vsus ſomewhat in the waies of our full deliuery: but yet of our ful deliuery we neede not doubt. For as the priſoner being acquit at the bar, feeleth the comfort of his releaſe, and yet he muſt go backe to the priſon, and then in expedient order of time his bolts ſhall bee knockt off, and hee perfectly releaſed: ſo wee albeit wee are pronounced quit by Chriſt, and the enditement bee cancelled, and the world, and al be crucified, and we in hart find the ioy thereof, yet in proceſſe of time the perfection of our ioy is finiſhed, and not by and by perfected.
And as they which are ranſomed from the Turke, though the price be all paide, and they are ſure it is ſo, and in part their bandes are taken from them, yet while they are in their iourney homeward, in remembraunce of this old captiuity, & for a ſubmisſion al along as they go through the territories of the Turk, they are not without ſome kind of bonds or fetters: euen ſo while wee yet remaine in the vale of ſinne, in the tabernacle of the body, and till wee can quite get out of the Turkes dominions: till this corruption ſhall put on incorruption in another woorlde, this preſent woorld is an hinderance, and an hampering, and a fettering vntounto vsus, but the nearer wee come to our owne countrey, the more wee take our leaue of the world, and in the end we relinquiſh all, and enter the perfect perfection of all perfections in Ieſu Chriſt.
Verſe 16. As manie (without diſtinction) as walke, and are directed according to this rule (which is) the Canon of the Goſpell, and the ſcepter of Chriſt, Paul wiſheth them mercy and peace, or ſignifieth vntounto them that they hauehave the promiſes of peace & mercy, becauſe they they are the Iſrael of God, for God is not the God of Iſrael according to the fleſh, as the falſe Apoſtles bear them in hand, but according to the faith. For circumciſion auaileth nothing, neither yet is vncircumciſion any thing, there is no difference in eyther. But the new creature in Chriſt is the Iſrael that preuaileth with God.
Circumciſion.Circumciſion was a couenant of righteouſnes and a ſeale of faith, and a bond to doe al that God ſhould command his people to do, & ſo he that was circumciſ… was expreſly afterwarde bound to the Law which God commanded. But as it was a couenant of righteouſneſſe, and of faith, ſo was their faith of a righteouſnes in chriſt to come, and therefore becauſe Chriſt is come, that faſhion of the ſeale is daſhed out, and the forme of righteouſneſſe commeth by Chriſt that is to come, and to that ende is come, that hee might deliuer vsus from the Law, and be the accompliſhment of al in himſelfe, euen to all that beleeue in him thorough out al the woorld. But of this matter hath beene debated very often. To draw to an end.
17 From henceforth let no man put mee to buſines: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Ieſus.
There is no ende of wrangling, if a man will follow them who make no conſcience what they ſay, or doe. For the whole matter, as of the pretences of Moſes Law, of Abrahams name, of the people of Iſrael &c. enough hath beene debated, if any thing can bee enough, and namely diuerſe times of circumciſion, a marke which they laboured vnfruitfully now vnderunder the Goſpell to ſet in the fleſh, wherein Paul oppoſeth the marks which were imprinted in himſelfe, which hee calleth ſignificantly the marks of the Lord Ieſus. Whereof a word or two.
Neither proſperity nor aduerſitie are the proper and neceſſarie markes to diſcerne the trueth by.Since the firſt beginning, when I conſider generally the Church of God; floting in the waters, turmoiled in Aegypt, wandering in the wildernes, waſted with wars, deſtroied with corporal plagues, and led into ſundry captiuities, I began, as Ruth after the harueſt of Booz, ſo I after the labors of many others wiſer than my ſelfe, to make theſe euentes, as certaine markes to know the Church by.
In ſpecial, when I looked vponupon the murdering of Abel, the ſale of Ioſeph, the lake of Ieremy, the den of Daniel, the deſert of Elias, and the like.
VnderUnder the new teſtament, when I beholde the pouerty of Bethlehem, where our Sauiour was borne, and therein the ſtable and manger wherein hee was laide, and ſo his exile enſuing, and likewiſe the race he ran, hauing not any where to reſt his head.
And ſince, til our time, for the firſt 300 yeares when I ſee the Church moſt afflicted with tyranny: the next 300. moſt infeſted with hereſies, for 800. yeares following beſeeged with apoſtacie: and the laſt 100, and od yeares abounding with ſwarmes of inconueniences, I began, as afore, ſo againe to make no reckoning of a floriſhing ſucceſſe, in the cauſe of truth, and I reade it the better marke of the two to meaſure doctrine by the hard lotte of the true profeſſor, than by the faire proſperity of the world affourded. Notwithſtanding I would be loth to repute that as a ſpeciall marke of the ſheepe of Chriſt, which may bee common to a company of Gotes, and may be not incident to the Church of Chriſt at ſome better ſeaſons: Agar troubled Sara, but yet Sara tombled Agar out of doores: Iſmael perſecuted Iſaack, but the bond brat had no part in the inheritance. And albeit there bee a farther learning in theſe enſamples of ſpiritual cōfort, yet they were alſo literally true and for the time trouble was vponupon the vngodly, and the godly for a ſeaſon was not to be diſcerned by the marke of aduerſity.
The aduerſitie may be the ſame, but the cauſe being diuerſe, doth diſtinguiſh the aduerſity and maketh it ſometimes a taſt of farder pumſhment, ſometimes a monument of deſert, and a recalling from ſinne, ſometime a triall of faith, an exerciſe of patience, an experience of hope, a duety of all men to endure al in expectation of better thinges purchaſed by Chriſts ſuffering, and laid vp in heauen whereinto a man muſt enter by many tribulations.
On the croſſe there were three who ſuffered, a damned theefe, a ſaued ſoule, and the Sauiour of vsus al. The penalty of the croſſe was one to them al. But yet there was an incomparable difference in their perſons.
The vnquiet man maie purchaſe a great deale of trouble to no purpoſe, but is he therefore the wiſer man?The flagellant Friar may whip himſelfe, the whipping Ieſuit may ſcourge himſelfe, Baals Prieſtes may cut themſelues, and others may be whipt, cut & ſcourged of others, & all theſe bee no marks that can make the cauſe good, but the good cauſe ſanctifieth thoſe markes that men inflict vponupon vsus for righteouſnes ſake. Wherefore argue not of proſperity, for it is ſeldome found: neither yet argue of the markes of aduerſity without diſcretion, except your cauſe be as Pauls was, for though they be more common to moſt of the godly, yet they are not euer neceſſary, nor alwaies proper.
18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt be with your ſpirit. Amen.
The entrance into this Epiſtle, was not hard, the end is eaſie, the middle hath beene as you hauehave heard, and al to ſet foorth the Grace of God which is almoſt the firſt and laſt woorde of the whole, wiſhing them, and euen to their ſpirites, a liuely feeling of his Grace, which quickneth the ſoule.
And heere, why ſhoulde I dilate, or driue and ſleek out that, which is without pleats, and plaine in it ſelfe, and which hath beene laide open, more than once already? I know, the Lombar. Thomas Aqui. &c. Sarcerius in dict. ſcholaſta. Pelbartus in Roſareo aureo.Schoole-men in ſteede of diuiding the various ſignifications of this word (Grace) they break it into ſhiuers, and beat it into pouder, and neuer make an end.
In few and generally: Grace is no way Grace that is not eueryevery way gratiouſly graunted and freely giuen: and it may bee offered, where it may be refuſed. But where God wil beſtow it, it ſhalbe receaued.
Grace.In ſpecial, firſt the Grace of God is the fauor of the father. 2. The Grace of the ſpirit is the operation of the holy Ghoſt. 3. The grace of Chriſt is the merit of the ſonne and the myſtery of his pasſion. And theſe three go al together, and are neuer aſunder.
And theſe three, brethren, beeing thoroughlie known and beleeued and laid to hart, in a full and certain aſſuraunce of the ſpirit, & not ſwimming in the quick conceat of an imagining head, and gliding vp and down in a ſlippery tongue, but felt in the ſoule, and ſetled by faith, in the inward fruition of the ſecret parts, what comfort work they not? They quiet the conſcience, they pacifie the mind, they order the whole tenour of a Chriſtian conuerſation in eueryevery good way. The feare of the Law, hath not theſe effectes. And therefore Paul eſpecially wiſheth the Galathians the Grace of Chriſt.
Ciuil ſalutatiō.It was an ancient cuſtom among the Gentils to ſubſcribe their letters with an ordinary wiſh: as of SAFETY and HEALTH &c. And wee *Dion. Nicaeus in vita Tiberi….reade, that when Tiberius the emperour had receaued letters from the Magiſtrates of Rhodes, and by ſome negligence, the cuſtomary ſubſcription was omitted, hee ſent for them, and cauſed them to ſet vntounto their letters their vſuall wiſhes foreign, and to ſubſcribe their letters, as the vſage was.
Chriſtian wiſhes.I note, (as meaning not to note any farther matter of dict, culty in this Epiſtle), that our Apoſtle, and ſo the reſt of the Apoſtles (wiſely admitting the ciuil vſage of ſalutations, yet with ſome amendment, reducing all to the center and ground-work of all our doings, and deriuing all from the fieſt head) he and they alſo wiſh Grace, Mercy, & Peace; Health, and Saluation. Health of Body, Saluation of Soule, and Safety of both, and that not at a-ventures they knowe not from whom, but certainly from the right ſpirite of all Grace, euen from God thorough Chriſt our Ieſus and onelyonly Sauiour.
And thus the Apoſtle endeth. And now (I hope with your good leaue) with this ende I may end and betake my ſelfe to a doubled charge nearer home and at home. My deare friends, and good Brethren of Abington, Fare you wel: I can but wiſh vntounto you as to my ſelfe. O Lord and Gracious Father, let thine Apoſtle Pauls wiſh and praier take place among this people: The Grace of Chriſt Ieſu be with you al, and with your ſpirit for euer more. Amen.
NVMB. 6.24.
The Lord bleſſe you and keepe you, the Lorde make his face to ſhine vponupon you, and bee mercifull vntounto you. The lord lift vp his countenance vponupon you, & giuegive you his PEACE.
FINIS.
End of the text · John Prime, Exposition of Galatians (1587)