The Passion Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Title page – Dedication
LECTƲRES, VPONUPON THE HISTORY OF THE PASSION, RESVRRECTION, AND ASCENSION OF OVR LORD IESVS CHRIST. Beginning at the eighteenth Chapter of the Goſpell, according to S. IOHN, and from the 16. verſe of the 19. Chapter thereof, containing a perfect Harmonie of all the foure Euangeliſts, for the better vnderſtanding of all the Circumſtances of the LORDS death, and Reſurrection.
PREACHED BY THAT reuerend and faithfull ſeruant of God, Mr. ROBERT ROLLOCKE, ſometime Miniſter of the Euangell of IESVS CHRIST, and Rector of the Colledge of EDINBVRGH.
EDINBVRGH, Printed by ANDRO HART. ANNO 1616.
TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL, THEIR MOST LOVING FREIND IN THE LORD, MASTER WILLIAM SCOT, OF ELI, Grace in this life, and Euerlasting Glorie in the life to come.
RIght worſhipfull, albeit that the true knowledge of Christ crucified, of all other, be the moſt worthie and excellent: & albeit that in him be the only and full matter of mans gloriation: yet few there be who ſtriue to know him as they ſhould, and to make him the matter of their reioycing. For to ſpeake nothing of the Gentiles, who count the preaching of Christ crucified to be fooliſhneſſe, or of the Iewes who count it a ſtumbling blocke, 1. Cor. 1, 23. or of the Turkes, who will not acknowledge him to be their Redeemer: euen they who hauehave bene baptized in Christ, & profeſſe outwardly his word, & true doctrine, if they remaine in nature, & be not preuēted by the ſpirit of adoption, whereby they may ſee their owne miſerie, their ſinnes, & the terrours of the wrath of God for ſinne, in the meane time that they profeſſe Christ, they in heart ſcorne the Croſſe of Christ, his woundes, and his blood, they account the knowledge thereof of litle value: yea, they will preferre to it the knowledge of any thing here beneath, and they will ſeeke the matter of their gloriatiō not in it, but either in themſelues, or els into the creatures of God, which in themſelues are but tranſitorious ſhadowes. The naturall man will neuer thinke, that he can finde greater things in Christ crucified, than he will finde, if he obtaine the obiect which most he deſires, likes and longs for. The ambitious man will not thinke that he can get greater honour, than to be called the ſonne of a King or Emperour: he will not refuſe with Moſes, to be called the ſonne of Pharaoes daughter, that he may be called the ſonne of God, Heb. 11.24. The ſenſuall man cannot thinke that he can find any greater pleaſure, than in his ſinfull luſt, & he will neuer chuſe, rather to ſuffer aduerſitie with the people of God, than to enioy the pleaſures of ſinne. The couetous man can neuer thinke, that any greater happines can be, than here on earth to hauehave gold, ſiluer and treaſures: he will neuer with Moſes esteeme the rebuke of Christ greater riches, than the treaſures of Egypt. Only that man whom God preuents by his Spirit, and calles effectually frō the kingdome of darknes to the kingdome of light, wil account duely of the Croſſe of Christ, & will ſay with the Apostle, God forbid that I ſhould reioyce, but in the croſſe of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, Gal. 6.14. and, I decreed not to know any thing, ſaue Ieſus Chriſt, & him crucified, 1. Cor. 2.2: that man will call it the ſupereminent knowledge of Ieſus Chriſt, Philip. 3.8: & he only will make Christ crucified to be the matter of his gloriation: for he will ſee, that God in him, as in a ſtore-houſe hath placed all treaſures, & that in him dwells the fulneſſe of the Godhead bodely, Col. 2.9: he will thirst to be woompled in the wounds of Ieſus, and waſhed in the blood of Ieſus: yea, that man will ſee, that God hath manifested in Christ our Sauiour, and in his death and reſurrection his glorious properties more clearly, than in the worke of our creation, or any other of his workes whatſouer: (for he is called, the brightneſſe of the glorie, & the engraued forme of the perſon of the Father, & the Image of the inuiſible God, Heb. 1.3.) and that man will ſee, that there is nothing, which the ſoule of man inlakes, ſtands in neede of, or can deſire, but he will finde it in Christ. Wouldſt thou ſee the glorious properties of God? conſider firſt, his power: albeit in the worke of creation his power appeared to be incomprehenſible & omnipotent, when by his word he formed all things of nothing, & called theſe things that are not, and made them to be yet in the worke of the Redemptiō he manifested greater power: for notwithſtanding Sathan, the power of darkneſſe, the ſinnes of the Elect, which Ieſus bare, death and the graue were againſt him, yet powerfully he raiſed Ieſus from death, Eph. 1.19: there is a great power: and whereas in the Creation he formed to Adam a ſpous out of his owne ribbe: in the Redemption, he formed the Church of God out of the blood of Chriſt: there he gaue life, in commanding that to be which was not: here he giues life, not by life, but by death, & by the death euen of his owne Sonne. Albeit in the worke of Creation great, and more than wonderfull doth his wiſdome appeare, in making this glorious and beautifull fabricke, & in making all things, euen contraries, to agree in ſuch an harmonie: yet in the worke of Redemption, God by finding out a way, which no creature, neither man nor Angell, could inuent, how that iustice and merciemercy could ſtand together, hath ſhewed greater wiſdome: his wiſdome is ſuch, that the Angels admires, and deſires to looke in it, 1. Pet. 1.22. Albeit great anger & wrath did the Lord vtter many times againſt ſinners: as in the olde world by the Flood, and on Sodome & Gomorrhe, by raining from heauen brimſtone and fire, he deſtroyed man, woman, young, olde, rich and poore without exception: yet more clearely was his anger againſt ſinne ſeene, when for the ſinnes of the Elect he ſpared not his own wel beloued Son, on whō they were laid: but made his wrath ſo fearfully to purſue him, that he cried, My ſoule is very heauie, euē vntounto the death, Marc. 14.34: and, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? Matt. 27.46. And albeit great louelove did the Lord ſhew toward men, & gaue many testimonies therof, in giuing them life, & breath, & all things, Act. 17.25, in making his ſun to ſhine on them, his raine to fal on them, giuing them fruitfull ſeaſons, & filling their hearts with food & gladneſſe, Act. 14.17: yet neuer ſuch louelove ſhewed he, as when he ſent the Son of God to be the Sonne of man, that the ſonnes of mē might be made the ſonnes of God againe: and when he made him to die, that men might liue. Herein (ſayes Ioh. 4.10) is louelove, not that we loued God, but that he loued vsus, and ſent his Sonne to be a reconciliation for our ſinnes: here only is an incontrollable teſtimonie of an undoubted louelove: and if ye will duly conſider all the reſt of Gods glorious properties, ye ſhall finde them all moſt clearly manifested in the perſon of Ieſus Chriſt. Now wouldſt thou know that in him thou ſhalt find all things that the ſoule of man ſtands in neede of, & can require? What can the ſoule of man require? Deſireſt thou honour? If thou beleeueſt in him, he ſhall grant thee that power & prerogatiue, that thou ſhalt be the Sonne of God, Ioh. 1.12. Deſireſt thou riches? He was made poore, that thou through his pouertie mighteſt be made rich, 2. Cor. 8.9: not with tranſitorie and corruptible riches, but with riches and treaſures incorruptible & permanent: deſireſt thou food, meat, drinke to thy ſoule? He is that bread of life, he is that water of life: deſireſt thou wiſdome, ſanctification and redemption? Chriſt is all theſe vntounto thee, 1. Cor. 1.29: Ioh. 8.12: Deſireſt thou light? He is the light of the world, Ioh. 8.12. Deſireſt thou life? He is thy life, Col. 3.4: What euer he ſuffered, it was for thee: for by his ſtripes we are healed, Eſai 53.5: He was burthened with ſhame, that he might redeeme thee from ſhame, and cloth thee with glory: he was taken and bound, to ſet thee at libertie, who was bound with Sathan and ſinne: he was mocked, and was dumbe before the earthly Iudge, that thou whoſe mouth before was cloſed through the guilt of ſinne before God, might hauehave boldneſſe & peartneſſe in thy prayers & ſupplications: he ſuffered-anguiſh and griefe, that thou mightſt finde comfort & ioy▪ he dranke the gall, that thou mightſt drinke of a ſweet and ioyfull cuppe: he was naked, that thou mightſt be clothed: and if thou wilt goe through all the points of his ſuffering, and apply them to thy broken and caſten downe ſoule, thou ſhalt finde, that eueryevery one of them ſhall furniſh comfort vntounto thee: yea, if thou be a true penitent ſinner, & beleeueſt in him, thou ſhalt find all theſe miracles to be wrought and performed in thy ſoule, which euer the Lord in the dayes of his humiliy wrought on the body of any: thou ſhalt finde life to thy dead ſoule, eyes to thy blind ſoule, eares to thy deafe ſoule, limbes to thy lame ſoule, a new tongue to thy dumbe ſoule, &c. Therefore, as we ſhould take pleaſure & delite in reading the whole parts of the Scripture (for it is all by diuine inſpiration, & is profitable to teach, to cōuince, to correct, & to inſtruct in righteouſnes, 2. Tim. 3.16) ſo chiefly, that part which cōtaines the hiſtorie of the paſsion & reſurrection of Chriſt: for of all there is none more profitable, none more neceſſarie, none more eaſie to be vnderstood by the ſimple, none more eaſie to be kept in memorie, none more forcible to mooue the affections, either to admire the incomprehenſible and infinite louelove of God toward ſinners, or the fiercenes of his wrath for ſinne, or the ſeueritie of his iuſtice in ſeeking ſuch exact ſatisfactiō, or to moue to deteſt & abhorre ſin, which made the Sonne of God to be made ſo vnworthily alwayes handled, & at laſt to be ſo ſhamefully crucified, or to reioyce for theſe incomprehenſible benefits that Chriſt hath acquired to vsus, our effectuall calling frō the kingdome of darknes to his marueilous light, our iustification in pacifying the wrath of God, in ſatisfying for ſinne, in abſoluing vsus from guiltines, in dying that we might liue, in bringing peace & ioy to the conſcience, &c. our ſanctificatiō, whereby we are repaired to his owne Image. Nothing ſerues more for the mortificatiō, nor when we conſider how Chriſt hang vponupon the Croſſe for ſin, nothing will moue vsus more effectually to cōforme our ſelues to him as an enſample in his humility▪ patience, obediēce, louelove: & finally in offering our ſelues to him, as he offered himſelfe for vsus, nor when by faith we beholde Christ on the Croſſe crucified for vsus.
Now this history of the death & reſurrectiō of Chriſt hauehave many worthy men learnedly & cōfortably handled & exponed with great painfulnes, & no leſſe cōmendatiō: amōgſt the reſt, that reuerent & faithful man of God, M. Robert Rollocke of bleſſed memory for his learned & iudicious expoſitiō thereof, & for his manifold other graces which God vouchſafed on him, deſerues with the firſt to be cōmēnded: for God in him, as in a vine enſample, gaue vsus a ſhew of ſuch qualities & cōditiōs, as are required to be in a Biſhop of Ieſus Chriſt, 1. Tim. 3. In him learning & godlines ſtroue together, knowledge & conſciēce, art & nature, a profeſsiō & an anſwerable conuerſatiō: he was faithfull & painfull in his calling, & his calling did he decore with an holy & harmleſſe life: for betweene theſe two there was ſuch an harmony & cōſent, that in reading his writtings, any man might ſee the maner of his life: & in ſeeing his life, he might alſo therein read his writtings: for his life ſpake what his pen wrote & his perſon was a patterne of his writtē precepts: he was neuer idle, but euer doing the office of a Miniſter of Ieſus: either did he read, meditate, pray, comfort, preach or write: no trauell did he refuſe that he might glorifie God, who ſent him, enlarge the kingdome of Ieſus Chriſt, & acquire miſerable ſoules from miſery to felicity, from darknes to light, & from death to life, that ſo at laſt he might finiſh his courſe with ioy: that was his meat & his drink, the delite & pleaſure of his ſoule. Great graces did the Lord beſtow vpō him, excellēt knowledge, great humility, feruēt zeale, charitable interpreting of all mēs doings, compaſsiō toward all ſorts of ſinners. Who in cōceiuing was more quick? in iudgmēt more ſolide? in memory more ſtedfaſt & ſure? in deliuery more pithy, in conuincing more powerful? who with learning had greater facility & eaſines in declaring his mind, & reſoluing ye text of Scripture? greater clearnes in raiſing ye grounds of doctrine? greater power in applying, greater wiſdome in furniſhing cōſolation, & greater dexterity in looſing of things obſcure & doubtſome? In one word we may be bold to ſay of him, that which Nazianzene ſpake of Athanaſius, that his life was a good definition of a true Miniſter & preacher of the Goſpell. But we need not to inſiſt in prayſing him, ſeeing ſo many: euen all that knew him by face, or heard him, doe praiſe him for the ſingulare & excellēt vertues & graces, that God beſtowed on him: yea, they who neuer knew him by face, but by his learned & iudicious writtings dwelling afarre off, hauehave highly commēded him, & the poſteritie whoſe profite ſo much hee regarded in his labours, wee doubt not, ſhall know & praiſe him, and we had rather be ſilent, than to ſpeake too litle.
Now, Sir, becauſe we thought, that theſe Lectures on this history of the paſsion & reſurrectiō of Chriſt in it ſelfe: for the matter ſo mouing & alluring, would profite & edifie many, if not of the moſt learned, at leaſt, of the ſimple ſort: & that other Sermons that were deliuered by him, and ſet out by vsus of before, were well liked of by many, & that ſundry hearing that they were in hands, longed to ſee them come to light, we hauehave takē ſome paines in reuiſing & correcting them, not only for the louelove & duty that we ought to that faithfull & reuerend Author of them, who was our maſter: but alſo that with the greater liking & profite they might be read by al them that deſire to be edified. And what our paines herein hath bene, few can well iudge, but thoſe who hauehave bene acquainted with ſuch caſes: we hauehave endeuoured to giuegive the true meaning of the Author clearly, to make his methode plaine: we hauehave omitted many ſuperfluous repetitions: we filled out vnperfect ſentēces: we cleared things obſcure: we rectified the ſentēces which were inuerted: we endeuoured ſo far as was poſsible, to giuegive out his owne phraſe, ſtile and matter. As for the matter, this we may boldly affirme, that it is fully ſet down, and that it is as good at leaſt, if it be not better than his Latine Commentarie ſet foorth by himſelfe: yea, we doubt nothing, but the matter ſhall ſatisfie all men, who craue edification: but as for the phraſe & ſtile, we dare not ſay, that it will be found ſo abſolute and exact in all thinges, as if it had beene finiſhed by himſelfe, before he ended his courſe, neither as we would wiſh, and other men woulde require: And what maruell? ſeeing neither did hee deliuer them of purpoſe to bee printed, neither did hee euer ſee them thereafter, neither were they receiued by his Schollers vponupon that purpoſe: but onelyonly for the helping of their owne memorie: yea, and at the first time after, that vponupon your requeſt, Sir, wee tooke paines vponupon them, we foūd ſuch hardnes & imperfections, & that his own phraſe & elegancy was not obſerued, that we feared to hazard the name and credite of the learned & iudicious Author, who deſerued ſo well of vsus, yea, of the whole Church of God, & had left off the worke as vnperfect, if the earneſt requeſt of you, & of ſome other of the learned, (whoſe iudgmēts are to be reuerēced) had not encouraged vsus therto. Yet we truſt, that the ſtile ſhal not be much blamed, except by thoſe, who beeing delicate eared, regardes language more thā matter: for there is here an eaſy methode, with a familiar ſtile condeſcēding to the capacity of the meaneſt, & anſwerable to the matter entreated, to wit, the croſſe of Chriſt, which refuſes to be decored with humane eloquēce, that ye matter be not obſcured by the ſtile, but may appeare aboue it, as oft times M. Rollocke himſelfe was wont to ſpeake. Yea albeit it may be, that the ſtile in ſome few of the firſt Sermons be ſomewhat hard and vnpleaſant, which we might eaſily hauehave amended, if we had not thought it vnmeete to hauehave ſet out his matter in our words: yet if any will read forward: eſpecially, from that part where the Harmony of all the Euangeliſts is taken in, & all the foure are in ſuch ſort conferred together, that no circumſtāce of the hiſtory of Chriſts death & reſurrection is omitted, he ſhall euer find more & more contētment in all things. And as we hauehave taken paines for the profite & edificatiō of many: ſo we doubt not, but the ſucceſſe & euent ſhal anſwere to our deſire. For to ſpeake nothing of the hiſtory it ſelfe, which is ſo pleſāt, ſweet, plaine, eaſy & forcible to moue all the affections of the ſoule: here ye will find, how eueryevery clauſe & ſentēce of eueryevery one of the Euāgeliſts are linked together, & depend one vponupon another; according to the order of nature: here ye will ſee a plaine and an eaſy methode: here ye will ſee how clearly the doctrine reſultes off the doctrine laid down: here ye will ſee fit applications to theſe times: & here ye wil ſee, when occaſion offers, how the enemies of the trueth of God, are pithily conuinced and confuted.
And now, if we would preſume to dedicate this worke & our labours therein to any other than to you, Sir, whoſe deſeruings hauehave bin ſo great, both towards the Author himſelfe, & vsus alſo, we might be iuſtly blamed, and could hauehave no ſhew of reaſonable excuſe: for firſt, who knew M. Robert Rollocke, but they alſo knew what entire affectiō you caried towards him, & how carefull you were in all things to pleaſe him: euen frō the time that firſt your acquaintance began, till the time that he finiſhed his courſe: none loued him more tēderly, none vſed him more familiarly, none delited more to conferre with him priuately, & to heare his preachings publikely, none ſhewed greater gratitude towards him: for it was knowne by many, that it would hauehave bene your pleaſure, if from your hand he would hauehave receiued a teſtimony of your louelove, as a fruite of your faith wrought by his Miniſterie: yea, he himſelfe did acknowledge, that none was to be cōpared with you for gratitude & goodwill towards him: but chiefly, you declared your louelove towards him▪ whē in his laſt diſeaſe you would hauehave him to come to your houſe, where you entertained him (& for his cauſe many that came to viſite him) liberally & honourably to his laſt breath, without any regarde of expēſes, euen as a louing ſonne entertaineth his father. Next, ſeeing the wil of the Teſtator ſhould be ſacred & inviolable: & in his teſtamēt he ordained, that whatſoeuer of his works ſhould ſee the light thereafter, ſhould be dedicate to you, with theſe ſolemne words, expreſly dyted by himſelfe, GVLIELMO SCOTO in perpetuum teſtimoniū amicitiae noſtrae dedico, cōſecróque (that where euer his works were read, your kindnes & affectiō towards him might be knowne, & your memoriall might endure to the poſterity) who can iuſtly be offended, that this worke be dedicate vntounto you? who can enuie your praiſe herein? thirdly, if there were no more, this one cauſe may be more than ſufficiēt, to make this worke to come out vnderunder your patronage & protectiō, that you hauehave bene the only inſtrumēt to make it to ſee the light: for through your great care, earneſt endeuoure & large expēſes theſe Lectures were collected & gathered from all the partes of the Countrey, Eaſt, West, South, North, how far distant that euer they were, from the hands of his ſchollers, who wrote them from his mouth: by your dealing & procurement they were written ouer and ouer againe, reuiſed, corrected, & now made apt for the Printing: ſo that by your means they now go abroad in the hands of mē, we truſt, to the cōfort of many: laſtly, we for our own parts offer our trauels in this worke vntounto your patronage, as a monument, that we acknowledge our ſelues to be more obliged vntounto you, thā we can requite: & of minds deſirous not to be foūd vnthākfull for the vndeſerued fauour you ſhewed to vsus particularly: to ſpeake nothing of the teſtimonies of your louelove, which you ſhewed many wayes towards them whō the Lord hath ſet in his ſeruice, both far & near, which they thēſelues doe acknowledge & profeſſe. We offer therefore theſe Lectures, & our labours therein, vntounto your patronage & protectiō, not only as a testimony of the Authors great liking and gratitude toward you, but alſo as a monumēt of our thākfulnes for your kindnes ſhewed vntounto vsus: finally, Sir, as God hath preuented you many wayes with his bleſsings, & hath made you ſēſible of his louelove, & hath giuen you an honorable accoūt, & eſtate in this world: ſo continue in the honouring of God, & doing good vntounto his Saints, for his ſake, & the Lord ſhall performe the fruite of his promiſes in you, which his Saints find by experience, his mercy ſhall neuer leaue you, vntill the time that he accompliſh the worke he hath begun, & he crowne his grace with glory. Now, the God of all grace & peace, who is able to doe all things exceeding aboundantly, aboue all that we can aske or thinke, grant to you, Sir, according to the riches of his mercy, a long, happy & peaceable life here, to the comfort of his Church & Commonwelth, & that you may abound in eueryevery word & worke, & that you may fight conſtantly the good fight of faith here on earth, that whē your courſe is finiſhed, ye may be aſſured to receiue that crowne of glory in the heauens, which Ieſus hath acquired to them that louelove him: To whoſe gracious protection we recommend you in body and ſoule, with all the actions you enterpriſe according to his will, for now and euer, AMEN.
Yours in the Lord,
H.C.
W.A.