The Passion Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Lecture 24
THE XXIV. LECTVRE OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST.
IOHN, CHAP. XIX.
verse 34 But one of the Souldiours, with a Speare, pearced his ſide, and foorthwith came there out blood and water.
verse 35 And hee that ſawe it, bare recorde, and his recorde is true: and hee knoweth that hee ſaieth true, that yee might beleeue it.
verse 36 For theſe thinges were done, that the Scripture ſhould bee fulfilled, Not a bone of him ſhall bee broken.
verse 37 And againe another Scripture ſaieth, They ſhall ſee him, whome they hauehave thruſt thorow.
THE laſt day (beloued Brethren in Chriſt) we entered into the Hiſtory of the taking of the Lord from the Croſſe, before Hee was buried: The taking of Him from the Croſſe, it came by a requeſt: The Iewes His enemies, made requeſt to Pilate, the Romane deputy, and Iudge for the time. The ſumme of the requeſt was, that the thies of the crucified men might bee broken, and ſo they might bee taken from the Croſſe▪ Pilate the Iudge yeelded to the requeſt, & gaue commandement to the ſouldiers▪ & to the burreo, to execute & ſlay them, that afterward they might be buried. The ſouldiers came firſt to the one thief, & broke his thies: thē they came to the other thief, & broke his thies alſo: and laſt, they came to Ieſus, and finding Him already dead, and to hauehave giuen vp …he ſpirit, they would not breake His legges: Yet to put the matter out of doubt, one of the ſouldiers came with a ſpeare, and pearced the Lords ſide, thorow ye heart, & out of the wound there guſh…d blood and water. Nowe Brethren, this day, as the Lord ſhall giuegive vsus grace, we ſhal follow out this Hiſtory, and we ſhall ſpeake of three things: Firſt, of the effuſion & guſhing out of the blood & the water out of the ſide of the Lord. Then we ſh…ll ſpeake of that graue teſtimonie that Iohn, the writer of this Goſpel, gaue to the Hiſtory, & narration, that the bones of the Lord were not broken, and that His ſide was pearced, and that thereafter the bloode and the water guſhed out: Laſt, we ſhall ſpeake of the end wherfore theſe things came to paſſe. There was not one bone of Him brokē: His ſide was pearced, to the end that the word of the Lord (long time ſpoken of before) might be accōpliſhed: And he brings in two Scriptures, the one cōcerning that His bones ſhuld not be brokē, & the other cōcerning the pearcing of His ſide with the ſpeare. Now come to ye firſt of theſe heads. I leaue the vaine dreame of the papiſtes (for all their religion is but dreames & fantaſies) I paſſe their dreame cōcerning this ſouldier yt pierced the ſide of the Lord with a ſpeare how they ſay yt the Griek worde foreign, which ſignifies a ſpeare, was the name of the man that pearced Chriſtes ſide, and how they ſaye, that this man was a Centurion, & an olde Captaine, who was blind: & after he had pearced the Lords ſide, hee waſhed his eyes with the blood that iſſued out, & got his ſight, & the…eafter in an inſtant was conuerted, & became a Chriſtian man and a Martyre: and this is he whom they worſhip, and whoſe bones are kept as a relict, and he is called Sainct Longimus. I leaue the ſpirit of vanities: fie on them, they fill the hearts of the people of God with ſuch vanities, and therefore ſhame and confuſion ſhall come vpō them in the end. Now Brethren, to ſpeake of that which is more profitable, Of the guſhing out of the blood and water out of the ſide of the Lord. IOHN ſaies, that one of the ſouldiours, with a ſpeare, pearced his ſide, and foorthwith came there out blood and water. No doubt this effuſion of the blood and water in a part was naturall and ordinarie: for, they who hauehave skill in the things which concerne the bodie of man, and knowe the Anatomie, they knowe that the heart of man is a receptacle of bloode, and in the heart is the cleanneſt and fineſt blood: The vitall blood is fined in the heart of man, and the bloode there is finer than in the reſt of the bodie: Yee heare commonlie that the heart blood is the fineſt blood, and moſte precious: Ye know likewiſe that there is a fliece, which compaſſeth and goes about the heart, which is called foreign: and in it there is ſome liquor and water wherewith the heat in the heart is cooled and refreſhed. Then to come to the purpoſe: The Lord being pearced thorow the ſid…, and in thorow the heart, it was no wonder, that that bloode in the heart: and that water in the fliece ſhould hauehave guſhed out, eſpeciallie ſeeing that Hee had but newlie giuen vp the ghoſte, and Hee was yet warme: ſo that this blood and this water coulde not bee yet much altered, by reaſon of the ſhortneſſe of time. But Brethren, when I weigh this matter more deepelie, and conſider that this bloode and this vvater guſhes out in ſuch aboundance, and ſo diſtinctlie, that the one is ſo ſeuered from the other, that they who ſtoode beſide might diſcerne verie well the blood from the water, and the water from the blood. I ſee heere ſomething aboue nature, and I am compelled to thinke, and ſaye, that there was ſomething heere extraordinarie: As all thinges that fell out in the death of the LORD IESVS was extraordinarie, and ſhewed Him to bee more and greater than anie common man that euer died: The giuing vp of the ghoſte, with a loude voyce, ſhewed, that Hee was more than a man. For Brethren, to leaue the ſpeaking of this matter, let vsus ſee what this blood & this water meanes, and to what vſe the guſhing out of the blood & the water ſerues for. No queſtion, the guſhing out of the blood and the water out of the wounde teſtifies, that the Lord was verily dead. What man will liue when his heart blood is ſhed? The heart is the moſt vitall part of the bodie: It is the ſeat of the life: Perſe it, and there is no life for the man: So this effuſion of the blood & water teſtifies, that the Lord was dead, and there was no life in Him. Yet Brethren, this blood & this water meaned more than this: they teſtified of the force of that death: they teſtified not of a death only, but of a powerfull death. No mans death was euer ſo powerfull, as the death of the Lord Ieſus. All the Emperoures in the world had no ſuch power in their death▪ as Chriſt had. It teſtifies of a power to purge the ſinnes of man. What Emperoures bloode ranſomed ſinfull man, or could purge him from his ſins? What water came there euer from an Emperours heart, which waſhed away the corruptiō of thy nature? Now to ſpeak it in a word: This blood and this water teſtified of a power that flowed from the death of Chriſt, to the remiſſion of ſinnes, and the waſhing of our foule nature: with the bloode bracke out remiſſion of ſinnes, and with the water burſt out regeneration. Yet to make this plainer: By the bloode of Chriſt, (which is the bloode of God, God and man in one) wee are ranſomed from death and Hell, the guiltineſſe of all our ſinnes is taken awaye, the puniſhment with the guilt is taken awaye, Hell is taken awaye, the juſtice of God that required our blood, is ſatisfied by that bloode of Chriſt, that wrath that would hauehave ſucked vp thy bloode, (it woulde not hauehave left one droppe of thy bloode vnſucked) and that vvrath which cannot be ſatiate vvithout bloode, is ſatiate by the onelie bloode of CHRIST. Marke vvell: It vvas not bloode onelie that came out of His ſide, but it was bloode and vvater: it vvas a vvaterie bloode: IOHN, vvho ſtoode by, left this in regiſter, That ſenſiblie in the bloode hee perceiued vvater: to teſtifie, That by that bloode of IESVS vvee obtaine not onelie remiſſion of our ſinnes: but by this ſame bloode the fouleneſſe and vncleanneſſe of our nature is vvaſhen away: for vvater ſerues to vvaſh away filthineſſe. This ſame IOHN, in his firſt Epiſtle, Chap. 5. verſ. 6. ſaies, that Christ came into the world by water, meaning the vvater vvhichwhich guſhed out of His ſide: (IOHN coulde neuer forget this ſight) Hee came by vvater to vvaſhe awaye this inherent corruption vvhichwhich is in vsus: for if it bee not purged, there is no entrie to Heauē. I fore-warne thee, thou ſhalt neuer ſee Heauen, if thy corruption be not purged away. Then he ſaies, He came by water and blood: not by water onelyonly, but by water and blood: meaning this blood was waterie, and this water was bloodie: Not only to waſh away the inherent corruption, but alſo to ranſom… vsus, to obtaine to vsus remiſſion of our ſinnes, and to take away the guiltineſſe of our ſinne, both originall and actuall, and that puniſhment, and wrath that was due to vsus: In that ſame Chapter Iohn poyntes out the three witneſſes of Chriſt in the Heauens, and three witneſſes of Chriſt in the earth: And for the witneſſing in the earth, hee counts theſe ſame two, the blood and the water, & the third, the Spirit, who teſtifies th…t Ieſus came & died for thee: where we may ſee, that this blood and this water that came out of the ſide of the Lord neuer leaues the earth, neuer ceaſes to crie, The Redeemer of the worlde is come. If thou be in Ieſus, that blood ſprinkling thine heart, & conſcience within thee ſhall teſtifie vntounto thee, that Ieſus is come in the world for thy purgation. So that, Brethren, I affirme this, that all the words in the world, and all the hearing, ſhall not put that perſwaſion in thine heart, that Ieſus Chriſt is come for thy Redemption: except that blood and that water cry within thee: certainly, we hauehave no better aſſurance that the Lord is come, than when we feele that effectuall working of the remiſſion of our ſinnes, and the purgation of them by the mortifying of ſinne. Now we hauehave dayly in our Sacraments of Baptiſme, & the Lords Supper outward ſignes of this water, and this blood whereby they are outwardly repreſented to our eyes. In the Sacrament of the Lords Supper we hauehave the ſigne of the blood, in the Sacrament of Baptiſme, we hauehave the ſigne of the water: and therefore the blood & the water remaine euer in the earth, as witneſſes, teſtifying that Chriſt is come, and they are euer repreſented to vsus in theſe outward ſignes and ſymboles in the Sacraments. So in a word, this blood guſhing out of the Lords ſide, and this water teſtifies: Firſt, that the Lord was truely dead: Next, that His death is forceable to the remiſſion of our ſinnes, and to our regeneration. VntoUnto theſe two vſes, we may joyne the third: this guſhingou… of the blood and water out of the Lords ſide, teſtified, that the ſacrifices, purgations, and waſhing of the Law, were now aboliſhed they were now no more to hauehave place, becauſe they were only certaine types and ſhadowes of the blood and water to come, whic… guſhed out both together out of the Lords ſide. Now I come t… the teſtimonie of Iohn, concerning the breaking of the thighes o… the Lord, & ye piercing of His ſide with ye ſpeare, Iohn ſeales vp this & firſt, he ſaies, I teſtify this, J beare witnes to this, thē he aggreages hi… teſtimonie in ſundry words: Firſt, I, as an eye-ſeeing witneſſe, ſtood by, and I ſawe with mine eyes, that the thies of the Lorde were not broken, and that a ſouldier pearced H…m tho…ow …he ſide vntounto the heart, and that bloode and water came out of His ſide. Next: As I ſaw theſe, ſo I tell thee, that my teſtimony is true. Thirdly, I know, & am perſwaded, my teſtimonie to bee true: my conſcience perſwades me, that it is true, & I belieue it my ſelfe, to the end that yee may beleeue it. So therefore, as I beleeue, beleeue thou: This he ſaies to all, to the end of the world yea, who heares this, beleeue it as well as I. Yee ſee heere, IOHN is earneſt to teſtifie the death of Chriſt, that verily He died: And he teſtifies it with great weight, and manie graue wordes. Wee hauehave hearde before ſundrie teſtimonies of His death. The Lord in the laſt wordes Hee teſtifies of His owne death, when Hee cryes, Father, into thine handes I commende my ſpirite: All thoſe wonders from the Heauen teſtified, that the Lorde had giuen vp the ghoſte: His Heauenlie Father made the Burreoes and the men of warre to teſtifie, that Hee was dead, and to preach it to all the people about. Now IOHN comes in laſt, and with many words, and wordes of great weight, teſtifies, that the Lorde gaue vp the ghoſte. What meanes all this? Ye ſee there is not any thing in all the hiſtorie teſtified by ſo many teſtimonies. The Spirit of God labours not to perſwade vsus of any thing in all His Paſſion, ſo much, as that He died: and to certifie this, that Hee was pearced with a ſpeare. To leaue the Hereſies, which fell in the worlde, concerning the death of Chriſt, for it was much to perſwade the world of it: they would not beleeue that IESVS died truelie. All theſe teſtimonies lets vsus ſee ſuch a neceſſitie to bee in the death of IESVS, that except the LORD had died as truelie as euer man died, Hee coulde not hauehave beene our Redeemer: And except Hee had died truelie, wee coulde neuer hauehave beleeued to hauehave beene ſaued by Him. Except I knowe as truelie as euer I knewe any thing in the worlde, that my Redeemer died for mee, I woulde neuer goe ſeeke life out of His death. Indeed, a wanton ſinner, who is ladē with ſin, & feeles not the weight thereof, ſo lōg as his cōſcience is ſleeping, that he feeles not ye burreo, & ſees not yt fearfull wrath that cānot be quenched without bloode & that terrible juſtice of God, yt cannot be ſatisfied, but by death, will count little of the death of Chriſt: It is alike to him, whether He had died or no: ſo lōg as thou ſleepeſt al is alike, but after the cōſciēce is wakened, & the Lord once let thee feele the weight of thy ſinnes, wherewith thou art ladned: No, if thou diddeſt but feele the weight of an euill thought, thou wouldeſt groane as faſt as if the mountaines and rockes were tumbled on thee▪ and then thou would…ſt thinke no life nor ſaluation for thee, but Hell and damnation, if thou gotteſt not a Sauiour for thee: and if thou feeleſt that Iuſtice of God, and the terrours of Hell before thee, the ſight of the death of Ieſus would be the moſt joyfull and comfortable ſight that euer thou ſaweſt, and all thy joy & glorie would be in that death of Chriſt, Paul ſayes Gal. 6.14 Far be it from me, that I ſhould re…oyce in any thing, but in the death of Chriſt: he foūd all his life to be in that death, 1. Cor. 2.2. he ſayes, When I came amongſt you, to ſpeake of the death of Chriſt to you who knew not what it meant (a vaine companie they were, who delited in vaine oratorie) I would not begin to clawe your itching eares, but I decreed to know nothing but Ieſus Christ, and Him crucified. Nowe, Brethren, beſides this, In theſe wordes that IOHN ſets downe, and … the which hee aggreadges his teſtimonie, marke another leſſon. Will ye ſee, from whence our Faith comes? from whence comes our Faith? from whence flowes it? IOHN ſayes, And he that ſaw it, bare record, and his recorde is true and he knoweth that hee ſaith true, that they ſhould beleeue. From whence then comes Faith in this death? it comes by hearing: Faith is of hearing of a teſtimonie and recorde: and if thou heareſt not a record, thou ſhalt not beleeue, and if thou beleeueſt not, thou ſhalt neuer ſee Heauen. And if thou contemneſt the recorde, I giuegive thee this doome, thou ſhalt neuer ſee Heauen with thine eyes, if thou wereſt a King: So Faith is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, by a recorde and witneſſe bearing. So ere thou getteſt Faith, ſome witneſſe muſt ſtand vp and beare recorde. The Lord muſt ſend out ſome witneſſe to cry and preach? but what witneſſes muſt theſe be? IOHN ſayes, He that ſaw theſe things, hath teſtified of them. The witneſſes muſt be ſeeing witneſſes: it muſt be Iohn, and ſuch as ſaw Him, and felt Him with their handes. Then, who muſt bee the witneſſes? They muſt be the Apoſtles that were conuerſant in this world with Ieſus Chriſt, who heard Him preach, and ſaw Him vvorke vvonders, and ſavv Him dead, and ſavv Him crucified, and ſavve Him pierced thorovv the ſide: They muſt be the firſt witneſſes. But more, Brethren, Is it enough that they ſavve Him with their bodily eye? No, Iohn addes more, that hee vvas perſvvaded that his teſtimonie was true. The vvitneſſes, as they teſtifie that vvhichwhich they ſavve: ſo they muſt beleeue it vvith their heartes. There were great multitudes, hundreths, thouſands, vvho heard Him, touched Him, and ſavv Him crucified, and ſome of them crucified Him too: yet none of theſe are made vvitneſſes, to preach to the vvorld, but the Apoſtles vvho ſavv and beleeued: theſe are ſet vp as witn…ſſes in ye world, that all ſhould beleeue. Thē the firſt ground of thy Faith is the very eye of the Apoſtles, & their ſight and ſenſe: The next ground, is Faith in the heartes of the Apoſtles. And if yee will ſay to me, Why beleeue ye the Goſpell of Iohn? and the Goſpell of Matthew, and the Epiſtles of Paul, &c. I anſwere, becauſe theſe were men who heard and ſaw Chriſt, and I will ſay more, I beleeue them, becauſe they beleeued in their heartes that thing which they ſaw, and goe before not onelyonly by ſight of the body, but alſo by Faith in the heart.
When yee heare theſe recordes (albeit the men be not liuing, yet we hauehave that ſame thing that they wrote, and that which they themſelues beleeued) I beſeech you conſider them, and paſſe not ouer lightly, when yee reade of Iohn or Paul, or the reſt: I beſeech you paſſe not lightly, ſeeing the ground of thy Faith is not onelyonly their ſight, but the ſenſe of their heartes and Faith: ye who would read with judgement, trauell to goe into the heart, to ſeeke that Faith into the heart, and that joy, and that ſadneſſe that they felt: and pray, LORD, ſeeing theſe men vtter a feeling of theſe things that they ſaw, and which they wrote, touch mine heart, and giuegive me thine Holy Spirit, that I may attaine to the ſenſe and feeling of theſe things. If ye would hauehave a teſtimonie of this: beholde what PAVL ſayes, in the ſecond Epiſtle to the Corinthians the fourth Chapter, and fourteenth verſe, I beleeue, that I my ſelfe ſhall gloriouſly riſe: and then he brings in Dauids wordes: J beleeued, and therefore I ſpake. Alwayes, looke that in reading we ſtriue to hauehave a feeling and ſenſe in our heart of that which we read: otherwiſe we make no fruit of our reading, we ſpeake like parrats, wee know not what we ſpeake: I ſay to thee, if the word of grace riſe not from the deepe perſwaſion of thine heart, thou ſpeakeſt like a Parrat, thou prophaneſt that Holy word, and knoweſt not what thou ſpeakeſt.
Now all the Apoſtles are away yet their teſtimonie remaines, & this is that bleſſed Goſpell that wee hauehave this day, yet the Lord leaues not the world, deſtitute of witneſſes, who hauehave liuelie voyces, who will preach like the Apoſtles, & indeede their record ſhould bee beleeued: if thou beleeuedſt neuer a preaching, I ſay, thou haſt no Faith, thou ſhalt neuer ſee Heauen. Indeede we are not Apoſtles, but ſinfull men, yet if thou beleeueſt vsus not, thou ſhalt die, as well as they who would not beleeue the Apoſtles: I bid no man nor woman beleeue vsus ſimply, but only ſo farre as our record agrees vvith the recorde of the Apoſtles: We may not compare with the Apoſtles: we hauehave not ſeene Him, we hauehave not heard Him, as they did: they had a greater meaſure of perſwaſion, & of Faith, and of feeling, than any Preacher hath nowe (yet the Lord hath giuen His meaſure to eueryevery one) therefore we deſire not that yee ſhould beleeue vsus ſimply, to beleeue eueryevery thing that we ſay, as the Pope, and that ſoule crue will bid you beleeue all that they affirme: No, if he were the beſt Miniſter that euer preached, beleeue his recorde, if it agree not with the writting of the Apoſtles: They hauehave ſet downe the ground, and they who teach any other thing but that which is written by the Apoſtles, or els that follow on their writes by a neceſſarie conſequence, I pronounce a vengeance and a curſe ſhall be on them. Woe to deceiuers, who poyſon ſoules dayly by their vengeance and poyſon. Now to come to the laſt heade, Iohn layes downe the ende wherefore His thighes were not broken, and by piercing of His ſide: Theſe thinges were ſet downe, that the Scripture might bee fulfilled, and he cites two teſtimonies: The firſt is out of the twelfth Chapter of Exodus, Not one bone of Him ſhall be broken. The next is out of the twelfth Chapter of Zacharie, They ſhall ſee Him whome they hauehave pierced. Some will maruell, that it is ſaid oft times in the Goſpell, this was done, that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Some would thinke that this had bene but a light cauſe, that the thighes of Chriſt, and the bones were not broken: Wherefore? That the Scripture might be fulfilled: the ſide was pierced, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Men would count this but light: but wilt thou count that light, that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled. Thinkeſt thou it a light thing▪ that that thing that the Lord ſpake long time before, ſhould come to paſſe, and the LORD ſhould be glorified in His Trueth. Thinkeſt thou it a light thing that the Lord ſhould bee found a lyer: No, ere He be a lyer, and ere a jote or title that Hee hath ſpoken, ſhould paſſe away vnf…lfilled, it is better that Heauen and Earth, men, and Angels, and all the creatures ſhould vaniſh to nothing. The Lord ſpeakes none idle talke, as man will doe, but what thing ſo euer that Hee ſpeakes, Hee ſpeakes it of ſet purpoſe, to the glorie of God, and to the well of His Church: and therefore it is very requiſite, both for His owne glorie, and for the well of His Church, that His word be accompliſhed. Would to God we could conſider how highly we ſould regarde the glory of God, in beleeuing of His promiſes of merciemercy, and His threatnings of Iuſtice: Well, the end of theſe thinges was, that GOD ſhould be glorified, in the trueth of His word. There is nothing the Lord ſeekes more, than to be knowne in the trueth of His worde, and therefore looke what He will doe to bee knowne to be true in His promiſe: rather than His promiſe be not performed, Hee will inuert the courſe of nature: the thing that the Lord hath once ſpoken, it ſhall be performed, albeit all the world ſhould ſay the contrarie. It is ſaid, Numb. 23.19. God is not as man, that He ſhould lie, neither as the ſonne of man, that Hee ſhould repent: hath Hee ſaid it, and ſhall Hee not doe it? and hath Hee ſpoken, and ſhall Hee not accompliſh it? Men may lie, but God cannot lie: ere Hee bring not about the thing that Hee hath ſpoken, Hee will mixe the Heauen and the Earth together, He will bring things about, againſt all the meanes in the worlde: not onelyonly by and aboue nature, but alſo contrarie and againſt nature: As Hee brought the promiſe made to Abraham to paſſe. Nature can be no impediment to the LORD, albeit a creature can doe nothing againſt Nature. Looke then what a Faith wee ſhould hauehave? Wee ſhould beleeue His promiſe, albeit it were neuer ſo vnpoſſible to Nature: Thou muſt not only glorifie God, when thou ſeeſt His promiſe come to paſſe, but alſo thou muſt alſo glorifie Him, by depending and hanging on His worde, ere euer thou ſee it accompliſhed. It is an eaſie thing, when thou ſeeſt the Lordes promiſe come to paſſe, to ſay▪ Glorified bee GOD in the trueth of His promiſe: but except thou glorifie Him by Faith in His worde, ere euer thou ſee the promiſe effectuate, thou doeſt nothing worthie of praiſe: belee…e His word, let neuer death, nor life, nor power in Heauen or i… Earth or the Deuils ſeparate thee from that Faith in His worde. No▪ I ſay further, thou muſt ſo glorifie God by Faith in His word that albeit thou ſavveſt all things threaten the contrarie: yet notw…thſtanding thou feeleſt in thine heart that God is true, & this was a fined and purified Faith. Such was the Faith of Abraham, who aboue hope beleeued vnderunder hope, that hee ſhould hauehave a ſeede, not conſidering the deadneſſe of his owne bodie, nor the deadneſſe of Saraes vvombe; hee beleeued in deſpite of nature, and all ordinarie meanes; and therefore worthilie hee is called, The Father of the Faithfull. Then, wouldeſt thou hauehave ſuch a faith as the Lord commendes; beleeue in His promiſe, though all the thinges in the worlde ſhoulde threaten the contrarie: Hath Hee promiſed to thee Heauen and Life, and albeit thou ſawe nothing but Hell and Death; yet beleeue Him, for there is nothing more contrarie to Life than Death: And yet, albeit thine owne heart woulde make oppoſition, and ſaye vntounto thee, It cannot bee that euer thou canſt get Life and Heauen, for what ſeeſt thou but Death and Hell? Yet thou wouldeſt glorifie God by beleeuing His promiſe in deſpight of Hell and Death: Notwithſtanding thou ſeeſt the Deuill, man, Death, and Hell threatning, that thou ſhalt not get life, yet beleeue the Lordes promiſe. And if in this caſe thou beleeueſt, thou haſt a fined faith, fined and made more precious than Golde in the fornace. And, except thou bee tried by ſuch temptations, thou knoweſt not what faith meanes. Faith muſt bee tried by temptations, by troubles, and afflictions. Our Chriſtians woulde paſſe thorowe the worlde with eaſe and reſt: they will beleeue: but howe? In peace and reſt: they cannot abide to bee charged with fire and ſworde, but woulde ſlippe ouer in wealth and quietneſſe. But true faith muſt abide the triall of the fire, of manifolde temptations and afflictions. Well, the daye ſhall come when it will bee ſeene who among vsus hath this fined faith: They hauehave the fined faith, who will ſeeke to Ieſus Chriſt, and to His promiſe in the fire.
I woulde hauehave ſpoken of theſe two Teſtimonies, but I leaue them vntill the next occaſion, and ſo I ende heere, beſeeching the Lorde to hauehave a care of euerie one of vsus, and to furniſhe vsus vvith grace and ſtrength, that wee maye ſticke faſt vntounto Him, and His promiſes: Not onelie nowe in peace, but euen in the middeſt of the fire, and in death it ſelfe: That after this life bee ended, vvee maye bee glorified in the Heauens, thorowe Chriſt: To whome, vvith the Father, and the Holie Spirite, bee all Honour and Glorie, for euermore: AMEN.