Eighty Sermons, Easter · Sermon 22
SERMON XXII. Preached at S. Pauls, upon Eaſter-day. 1627.
HEB. 11.35.
Women received their dead raiſed to life againe: And others were tortured, not accepting a deliverance, that they might obtaine a better Reſurrection.
MErcy is Gods right hand, with that God gives all; Faith is mans right hand, with that man takes all. David, Pſal. 136. opens, and enlarges this right hand of God, in pouring out his bleſſings, plentifully, abundantly, manifoldly there. And in this Chapter, the Apoſtle opens, and enlarges this right hand of man, by laying hold upon thoſe mercies of God, plentifully, abundantly, manifoldly, by faith here. There, David powres downe the mercies. of God, in repeating, and re-repeating that phraſe, For his mercy endureth for ever; And here, S. Paul carries up man to heaven, by repeating, and re-repeating the bleſſings which man hath attained by faith; By faith Abel ſacrificed, By faith Enoch walked with God, By faith Noah built an Arke, &c. And as in that Pſalme, Gods mercies are expreſt two waies, Firſt in the good that God did for his ſervants, He remembred them in their low eſtate, Ver 23. Ver. 24.for his mercy endureth for ever: And then againe, He redeemed them from their enemies, for his mercy endureth for ever: And then alſo, in the evill that he brought upon their enemies, He ſlew famous Kings, for his mercy endureth for ever: And then, He gave their land for an heritage, for his mercy endureth for ever. So in this Chapter, the Apoſtle declares the benefits of faith, two wayes alſo: Firſt, how faith enriches us, and accommodates us in the wayes of proſperity, By faith Abraham went to a place which he received for an inheritance: And ſo, By faith Sarah received ſtrength to conceive ſeed: Ver. 8. Ver. 11. Ver. 34.And then, how faith ſuſtaines, and eſtabliſhes us in the wayes of adverſity, By faith they ſtopt the mouthes of Lions, by faith they quencht the violence of fire, by faith they eſcaped the edge of the ſword, in the verſe immediatly before the Text. And in this verſe, which is our Text, the Apoſtle hath collected both; The benefits which they received by faith, Women received their dead raiſed to life againe, And then, the holy courage which was infuſed by Faith, in their perſecutions, Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might receive a better Reſurrection. And becauſe both theſe have relation, evidently, pregnantly to the Reſurrection, (for their benefit was, that the Women received their dead by a Reſurrection, And their courage in their perſecution was, That they ſhould receive a better Reſurrection) therefore the whole meditation is proper to this day, in which wee celebrate all Reſurrections in the Root, in the Reſurrection of the Firſt fruits of the dead, our Lord and Saviour Chriſt Ieſus.
Our Parts are two; How plentifully God gives to the faithfull,Diviſio. Women receive their dead raiſed to life againe, And how patiently the faithfull ſuffer Gods corrections, Others were tortured not accepting, &c. Though they be both large conſiderations, (Benefits by Faith, Patience in the Faithfull) yet we ſhall containe our ſelves in thoſe particulars which are expreſt, or neceſſarily implyed in the Text it ſelfe. And ſo in the firſt place we ſhall ſee firſt, The extraordinary conſolation in Gods extraordinary Mercies, in his miraculous Deliverances, ſuch as this, Women received their dead raiſed to life again, And ſecondly we ſhall ſeethe examples, to which the Apoſtle refers here, What women had had their dead reſtored to life againe; And then, laſtly, in that part, That this affection of joy, in having their dead reſtored to life againe, being put in the weaker ſexe, in women onelyonly, we may argue conveniently from thence, That the ſtrength of a true and juſt joy lies not in that, but that our virility, our holy manhood, our religious ſtrength conſiſts in a faithfull aſſurance, that we have already a bleſſed communion with theſe Saints of God, though they be dead, and we alive; And that we ſhall have hereafter a glorious Aſſociation with them in the Reſurrection, though we never receive our dead raiſed to life again in this world. And in thoſe three conſiderations, we ſhall determine that firſt part. And then, in the other, The Patience of the Faithfull, Others were tortured, &c. we ſhall firſt look into the examples which the Apoſtle refers to; who they were that were thus tortured: And ſecondly, the heighth and exaltation of their patience, They would not accept a deliverance: And laſtly, the ground upon which their Anchor was caſt, what eſtabliſhed their patience, That they might obtaine a better Reſurrection.
Firſt then,1 Part. for that Bleſſedneſſe, which we need not be afraid, nor abſtaine from calling the Recompence, the Reward, the Retribution of the faithfull, (for as we conſider Death to grow out of Diſobedience, and Life out of Obedience to the Law, as properly as Death is the wages of ſin, Life is the wages of Righteouſneſſe) If I be asked, what it is wherein this Recompence, this Reward, this Retribution conſiſts, if I muſt be put to my Speciall Plea, I muſt ſay it is, in that of the Apoſtle, Omnia cooperantur in bonum, That nothing can befall the faithfull, that does not conduce to his good, and advance his happineſſe: For he ſhall not onelyonly find S. Pauls Mori lucrum, That he ſhall be the better for dying, if he muſt dye; but he ſhall find S. Auguſtines Vtile cadere, He ſhall be the better for ſinning, if he have ſinned; So the better, as that by a repentance after that ſin, hee ſhall find himſelfe eſtabliſhed in a neerer, and ſafer diſtance with God, then he was in that ſecurity, which he had before that ſin. But the Title, and the Plea of the faithfull to this Recompence, extends farther then ſo; It is not onelyonly, that nothing, how evill ſoever in the nature thereof, ſhall be evill to them; but that all that is Good, is theirs; properly theirs,Pſal. 34.9. theirs peculiarly. There is no want to them that fear the Lord, ſayes David; The young Lions doe lack, and ſuffer hunger, but they that ſeeke the Lord, ſhall not want any good thing.
The Infidel hath no pretence upon the next world, none at all; No nor ſo cleare a Title to any thing in this world, but that we diſpute in the Schoole, whether Infidels have any true dominion, any true proprietie in any thing which they poſſeſſe here; And whether there be not an inherent right in the Chriſtians, to plant Chriſtianity in any part of the Dominions of the Infidels, and conſequently, to deſpoile them even of their poſſeſſion, if they oppoſe ſuch Plantations, ſo eſtabliſhed, and ſuch propagations of the Chriſtian Religion. For though we may not begin at the diſpoſſeſſing, and diſplanting of the native and naturall Inhabitant, (for ſo we proceed but as men againſt men, and upon ſuch equall termes, we have no right to take any mens poſſeſſions from them) yet, when purſuing that Right, which reſides in the Chriſtian, we have eſtabliſhed ſuch a Plantation, if they ſupplant that, we may ſupplant them, ſay our Schooles, and our Caſuiſts; For in that caſe, we proceed not as men againſt men; not by Gods Common Law, which is equall to all men; that is, the Law of Nature; but we proceed by his higher Law, by his Prerogative, as Chriſtians againſt Infidels, and then, it is God that proceeds againſt them, by men, and not thoſe men, of themſelves, to ſerve their owne Ambitions, or their other ſecular ends.1 Cor. 3.20. All things are yours, ſaies the Apoſtle; By what Right? You are Chriſts, ſaies he, And Chriſt is Gods; Thus is a Title convayed to us, All things are Gods, God hath put all things under Chriſts feete; And he under ours, as we are Chriſtians. And then, as the generall profeſſion of Chriſt, entitles us to a generall Title of the world, (for the World belongs to the Faithfull; and Chriſtians, as Chriſtians, and no more, are Fideles, Faithfull in reſpect of Infidels) ſo thoſe Chriſtians that come to that more particular, more active, more operative faith, which the Apoſtle ſpeaks of in all this Chapter, come alſo to a more particular reward, and recompence, and retribution at Gods hands; God does not onelyonly give them the naturall bleſſings of this World, to which they have an inherent right, as they are generall Chriſtians, but as they are thus faithfull Chriſtians, he gives them ſupernaturall bleſſings, he enlarges himſelfe even to Miracles, in their behalfe; Which is a ſecond conſideration; Firſt God opens himſelfe in nature, and temporall bleſſings, to the generall Chriſtian, but to the Faithfull, in Grace, exalted even to the height of Miracle.
In this, we conſider firſt, That there is nothing dearer to God then a Miracle.Miracula. There is nothing that God hath eſtabliſhed in a conſtant courſe of nature, and which therefore is done every day, but would ſeeme a Miracle, and exerciſe our admiration, if it were done but once; Nay, the ordinary things in Nature, would be greater miracles, then the extraordinary, which we admire moſt, if they were done but once; The ſtanding ſtill of the Sun, for Ioſuahs uſe, was not, in it ſelfe, ſo wonderfull a thing, as that ſo vaſt and immenſe a body as the Sun, ſhould run ſo many miles, in a minute; The motion of the Sun were a greater wonder then the ſtanding ſtill, if all were to begin againe; And onelyonly the daily doing takes off the admiration. But then God having, as it were, concluded himſelf in a courſe of nature, and written downe in the booke of Creatures, Thus and thus all things ſhall be carried, though he glorifie himſelfe ſometimes, in doing a miracle, yet there is in every miracle, a ſilent chiding of the world, and a tacite reprehenſion of them, who require, or who need miracles.
Therefore hath God reſerved to himſelfe the power of Miracles, as a Prerogative; For the devill does no miracles; the devill and his inſtruments, doe but haſten Nature, or hinder nature, antedate Nature, or poſtdate Nature, bring things ſooner to paſſe, or retarde them; And howſoever they pretend to oppoſe nature, yet ſtill it is but upon nature, and but by naturall meanes, that they worke; onelyonly God ſhakes the whole frame of Nature in pieces, and in a miracle, proceeds ſo, as if there were no Creation yet accompliſhed, no courſe of Nature yet eſtabliſhed. Facit mirabilia magnaſolus, ſaies David; Pſal. 136.4.There are Mirabilia parva, ſome leſſer wonders, that the devill and his Inſtruments, Pharaohs Sorcerers, can do; But when it comes to Mirabilia magna, Great wonders, ſo great, as that they amount to the nature of a Miracle, Facit ſolus, God, and God onelyonly does them. And amongſt theſe, and amongſt the greateſt of theſe, is the raiſing of the Dead, and therefore we make it a particular conſideration, the extraordinary Joy in that caſe, when Women received their dead raiſed to life againe.
Wee know the diſhonour, and the infamy that lay upon barrenneſſe, among the Jews;Mortui. how wives deplored, and lamented that. When God is pleaſed to take away that impediment of barrenneſſe, and to give children, we know the miſery, and deſolation of orbity, when Parents are deprived of thoſe children, by death; And by the meaſure of that ſorrow, which follows barrenneſſe, or orbitie, we may proportion that joy, which accompanies Gods miraculous bleſſings, when Women receive their dead naiſed to life againe. In all the ſecular, and prophane Writers in the world, in the whole bodie of Story, you ſhall not finde ſuch an expreſſing of the miſery of a famine, as that of the Holy Ghoſt in the Lamentations; That women eate Palmares ſilios; We tranſlate it,Lament. 2.20. Their children of a ſpan long; that is, that they procured abortions and untimely births of thoſe children, which were in their bodies, that they might have ſo much fleſh to eate. As that is propoſed for the greateſt miſery, that ever was, women to deſtroy their children ſo, ſo is this for the higheſt accumulation of Joy, to have dead children brought to life againe. When we heare S. Auguſtine in his Confeſſions, lament ſo paſſionately the death of his Son, and inſiſt ſo affectionately, upon the Pregnancie, and Forwardneſſe of that Son; though that Son if he had lived, muſt have lived a continuall evidence, and monument of his ſin, (for, for all his Son, S. Auguſtine was no married man) yet what may we thinke, S. Auguſtine would have given, though it had been to have beene cut out of his own life, to have had that Son reſtored to life again? Meaſure it but by the Joy, which we have, in recovering a ſick child, from the hands, and jawes, and gates of death; Meaſure it but by that delight which we have, when we ſee our Garden recovered frō the death of Winter. Mens curioſities have carried them to unlawfull deſires of communication with the Dead; as in Sauls caſe towards Samuel. But if with a good conſcience, and without that horror, which is likely to accompanie ſuch a communication with the Dead, a man might have the converſation of a friend, that had been dead, and had ſeene the other World; As Dives thought no Preacher ſo powerfull to worke upon his Brethren, as one ſent from the Dead, ſo certainly all the Travailers in the World, if we could heare them all, all the Libraries in the world, if we could read them all, could not tell us ſo much, as that friend, returned from the dead, which had ſeene the other World.
But wayving that conſideration, becauſe as we know not, what kind of remembrance of this world, God leaves us in the next, when he tranſlates us thither, ſo neither do we know, what kinde of remembrance of that world, God would leave in that man, whom he ſhould re-tranſlate into this, we fixe onelyonly upon the examples entended in our Text, who theſe joyfull Women were, that receiv'd their Dead raiſed to life againe, which is our ſecond Branch of this firſt part; for with thoſe three conſiderations, which conſtituted our firſt Branch, we have done, That God gives us this World, as we are generall Chriſtians; And, as we are Faithfull Chriſtians, Miracles; And, the greateſt of Miracles, The raiſing of the Dead.
In the ſecond Branch,Mulieres. we have two Conſiderations; firſt, what kind of Women theſe were, and then, who they were; firſt, their Qualities, and then, their Perſons. We have occaſion to ſtop upon the firſt, becauſe Aquinas in his Expoſition of this Text, tels us, there are ſome Expoſitors, who take this word, Women, in this place, to be entended, not of Mothers, but of Wives; And then, becauſe the Apoſtle ſaies here, that Women received their dead, that is, ſay they, Wives received their dead Husbands, raiſed to life again, and received them, as Husbands, that is, cohabited with them as Husbands, therefore they conclude, ſaies Aquinas, that Death it ſelfe does not diſſolve the band of Marriage; and conſequently, that all other Marriages, all ſuper-inductions, even after Death, are unlawfull. Let me ſay but one word, of the Word, and a word or two of the Matter it ſelfe, and I ſhall paſſe to the other Conſideration, The Women whom the Apoſtle propoſes for his examples.
The word,Vxores. Women, taken alone, ſignifies the whole ſex, women in generall, When it is contracted to a particular ſignification, in any Author, it followes the circumſtances, and the coherence of that place, in that Author; and by thoſe a man ſhall eaſily diſcerne, of what kinde of Women, that word is entended in that place. In this place, the Apoſtle works upon his Brethren, the Hebrews, by ſuch examples, as were within their owne knowledge, and their owne ſtories, throughout all this Chapter. And in thoſe ſtories of theirs, we have no example, of any Wife, that had her dead Husband reſtored to her; but of Mothers that had their Children raiſed to life, we have. So that this word, Women, muſt ſignifie here, Mothers, and not Wives, as Aquinas Expoſitors miſ-imagined.
And for the matter it ſelfe,Nuptiae iteratae. that is, ſecond or oftner-iterated Marriages, the diſ-approving of them, entred very ſoone into ſome Hereticks, in the Primitive Church. For the eighth Canon of that great Councell of Nice, (which is one of the indubitable Canons) forbids, by name, Catharos, The Puritanes of thoſe Times, to be received by the Church, except they would be content to receive the Sacrament with perſons that had beene twice married; which, before they would not doe. It entred ſoone into ſome Hereticks, and it entred ſoone, and went far, in ſome holy and reverent Men, and ſome Aſſemblies, that had, and had juſtly, the name, and forme of Councels. For, in the Councell of Neo-Caeſarea, which was before the Nicen Councell, in the ſeventh Canon, there are ſomewhat ſhrewd aſperſions laid upon ſecond Mariages. And certainly, the Roman Church cannot be denyed, to come too neere this diſ-approving of ſecond Mariages. For though they will not ſpeak plaine, (they love not that, becauſe they get more by keeping things in ſuſpence) yet plainly they forbid the Benediction at ſecond Mariages. Valeat quantnm valere poteſt; Let them doe as well as they can, with their ſecond Marriage, Let them marrie De bene eſſe, At all adventures; but they will affoord no Bleſſing to a ſecond, as to a firſt Marriage. And though they will not ſhut the Church doores againſt all ſuch, yet they will ſhut up all Church functions againſt all ſuch. No ſuch Perſon as hath married twice, or married once, one that hath married twice, can be received to the dignity of Orders, in their Church.
And though ſome of the Fathers pared ſomewhat too neare the quick in this point, yet it was not as in the Romane Church, to lay ſnares, and ſpread nets for gain, and profit, and to forbid only therefore, that they might have market for their Diſpenſations; neither was it to fixe, and appropriate ſanctity, only in Eccleſiaſticall perſons, who only muſt not marry twice, but out of a tender ſenſe, and earneſt love to Continency, and out of a holy indignation, that men tumbled and wallowed ſo licentiouſly, ſo promiſcuouſly, ſo indifferently, ſo inconſiderately in all wayes of incontinency, thoſe bleſſed Fathers admitted in themſelves a ſuper-zealous, an over-vehement animoſity in this point. But yet S. Ierome himſelfe, though he remember with a holy ſcorn,Ep. ad Agers. chiam. that when he was at Rome in the aſſiſtance of Pope Damaſus (as his word is, Cum juvarem) he ſaw a man that had buried twenty wives, marry a wife, that buried twenty two husbands,Apolog. ad Pamnach. yet for the matter, and in ſeriouſneſſe, he ſayes plainly enough, Non damno Bigamos, imo nec Trigamos, nec ſi dici poteſt octogamos, I condemne no man for marrying two, or three, or if he have a minde to it, eight wives. And ſo alſo in his former Epiſtle, Abjicimus de Eccleſia Digamos? abſit; God forbid we ſhould deny any Church aſſiſtance to any, for twice marrying; but yet, ſayes that bleſſed Father, Monogamos ad continentiam provocamus; Let me have leave to perſwade them who have been married, and are at liberty, to continency, now at laſt.
Thoſe Fathers departed not from the Apoſtles Nubat in Domino, Let them marry in the Lord; but they would fain bring the Lord to the making of every marriage, and not only the world, and worldly reſpects. For the Lord himſelf, who honoured marriage, even with the firſt fruits of his miracles, yet perſwades continency,Mat. 19.22. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. The fault which thoſe Fathers did, and we may reprehend, is, that men do not try whether they be able to receive it or no; In all Treaties of marriage, in all Contracts for Portion, and Joynture, who ever ask their children, who ever aske themſelves, whether they can live continently or no? Or what triall, what experiment can have been made of this, in Cradle-marriages? Marriage was given for a remedy; but not before any apparance of a danger. And given for Phyſick, but not before any apparance of a diſeaſe. And do any Parents lay up a medicine againſt the falling ſickneſſe, for their new-born children, becauſe thoſe children may have the falling ſickneſſe? The peace of neighbouring States, the uniting of great Families for good ends, may preſent juſt occaſions of departing from ſevere rules. I only intend, as I take moſt of thoſe Fathers to have done, to leave all perſons to their Chriſtian liberty, as the Lord hath done; and yet, as the Lord hath done too, to perſwade them to conſider themſelves, and thoſe who are theirs, how far they need the uſe of that Liberty, and not to exceed that. And thus much Aquinas Expoſitors, who would needs underſtand the Women in this Text, to be Wives, have occaſioned us to ſay in this point. In our order propoſed, we paſſe now to the other conſideration, who theſe women were whom the Apoſtle makes his Examples, for they are but two, and may ſoon be conſidered.
The firſt is the Widow of Zareptha, in whoſe houſe Elias the Prophet ſojourned.1 King. 17. She was a Widow, and a poore Widow, and might need the labour, or the providence of a husband in that reſpect: Yet ſhe ſolicites not, nor Elias endeavours not the raiſing of her dead husband to life againe. A Widow, that is, A Widow indeed, 1 Tim. 5.3.(as the Apoſtle ſpeaks) may have in that ſtate of ſuch a Widowhood, more aſſiſtances towards the next world, then ſhe ſhould have for this, by taking another husband. For, for that Widow, Quae in tumulo mariti, ſepeliit voluptates, Who hath buried all her affections towards this world, in her husbands grave, the Apoſtle in that place, ordaines honour,Hieron. Honour Widows, that are Widows indeed. And when he ſayes Honour, and ſpeaks of poore Widows, he ſpeaks not of ſuch honour as ſuch poore ſoules are incapable of, but of that Honour, which that word ſignifies ordinarily in the Scriptures, Qui non tam in ſalutationibus, quam in elecmoſynis, ſayes S. Chryſoſtome, which rather conſiſts in Almes, and Reliefe, then in Salutations, and Reverences, or ſuch reſpects. For ſo (as S. Ierome notes in particular) when we are commanded to honour our Parents, it is intended wee ſhould relieve and maintain our Parents, if they be decayed. And ſuch honour the Apoſtle perſwades to be given, and ſuch honour God will provide, that is, Peace in the poſſeſſion of their eſtate, if they have any eſtate; and reliefe from others, if they have none, for Widows, that are Widows indeed.
In which qualification of theirs, that they be Widows indeed, Ver. 9.we may well take in that addition which the Apoſtle makes, That ſhe have been the wiſe of one man. For though we make not that an only, or an eſſentiall Character of a Widow indeed, to have had but one husband, yet we note, as Calvin doth, that the Church received Widows, in yeares, therefore, Quia timendum er at, ne ad novas nuptias aſpirarent, becauſe the Church feared that they would marry again. And certainly, if the Church feared they would, the Church had rather they would not. It is (as Calvin adds there) Pignus continentiae, & pudoris (though Calvin were no man to be ſuſpected, to countenance the perverſneſſe of the Romane Church, in defaming, or undervaluing marriage. yet he ſayes ſo) it is a good Pawne, and Evidence of Continency, to have reſted in one husband.
This Widow of Zareptha then, importunes not the Prophet to reſtore her dead huſband; Shee beares her widows eſtate well enough; but for her dead Son ſhe doth importune him; in the agony and vehemence of a Paſſion, ſhe ſayes, at her firſt encounter with the Prophet,V. 18. Quid mihi, & tibi? What have I to do with thee? Shee doth almoſt renounce the means; In irregular paſſion, a diſconſolate ſoule comes to ſay, what have I to do with Prayers, with Sermons, with Sacraments, I ſee that God hath forſaken me: but yet ſhee collects her ſelf; What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? When ſhe confeſſes him to be the man of God, ſhe doth not renounce him; When we conſider the meanes, to be means ordained by God, we finde comfort in them. Yet ſhe cannot contain the bitterneſſe of her paſſion; Art thou come unto me, to call my ſin to remembrance, and to kill my Son? She implyes thus much; Shall my ſoule never be at peace? Shall no repentance from my heart, no abſolution from thy mouth, make me ſure that God hath forgiven and forgotten my ſins? But when I have received all Seales of Reconciliation, will God ſtill puniſh thoſe ſins which he pretends to have forgiven, and puniſh them with ſo high a hand, as the taking away of my only Childe? And we may ſee an exaltation of this womans paſſion, not only in the loſſe, but in the recovery of her childe too. For when ſhe had received her childe alive, ſhe comes to that paſſionate acclamation, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth, is truth; V. 14.As though, if this had not been done, ſhe would not have beleeved that.
How then ſayes our Apoſtle in this Text, That this woman received her dead Son by faith, when ſhe declares this inordinateneſſe, this diſ-compoſedneſſe, and fluctuation of paſſion? This queſtion made S. Chryſoſtome refer this faith that the Apoſtle ſpeakes of, to the Prophet that raiſed the childe, and not to the mother; For ſhe ſeemes to him to have had none. And ſo the Syriack tranſlates this place, Reddiderunt, not Acceperunt; By faith, They, that is, the Prophets reſtored the dead, not By faith, They, that is, the mothers received their dead.
But God forbid that naturall affections, even in an exaltation, and vehement expreſſing thereof, ſhould be thought to deſtroy faith; God forbid that I ſhould conclude an extermination of faith, in Moſes Dele me, Pardon this people, or blot my name out of thy Book; or in S. Pauls Anathema pro fratribus, That he deſired to be ſeparated from Chriſt, rather then his brethren ſhould; or in Iob, or in Ieremy, or in Ionas, when they expoſtulate, and chide with God himſelf, out of a wearineſſe of their lives; or in the Lord of Life himſelf, Chriſt Jeſus, when he came to an Vt quid dereliquiſti? To an apprehenſion that God had forſaken him upon the Croſſe. God that could reſtore her cold childe, could keep his childe, her faith, alive in thoſe hot embers of Paſſion. So God did; But he did it thus; The childe was taken from the mothers warm and ſoft boſome, and carried to the Prophets hard and cold bed.
Beloved, we die in our delicacies, and revive not, but in afflictions; In abundancies, the blow of death meets us, and the breath of life, in miſery, and tribulation. God puts himſelf to the coſt of one of his greateſt Miracles, for her Faith; He raiſes her childe to life; And then, he makes up his own work; he continues with that childe, and makes him a good man; There are men, whom, even Miracles will not improve; but this childe (we will not diſpute it,Pro…m. in Ionam. but accept it from S. Ierome, who relates it) became a Prophet. It was that very Ionas, whom God imployed to Ninive; in which Service, he gave ſome ſignes whoſe Son he was, and how much of his mothers paſſion he inherited in his vehement expoſtulations with God. Be this then our doctrinall inſtruction for this firſt example, the Widow of Zareptha; firſt, that God thinks nothing too deare for his faithfull Children; not his great Treaſure, not his Miracles; And then God preſerves this faith of theirs, in contemplation of which only, he beſtows this Treaſure, this Miracle, in the midſt of the ſtormes of naturall affections, and the tempeſt of diſtempered paſſions; and then laſtly, that he proceeds, and goes on in his own goodneſſe; Here he makes a Carkaſſe a Man, and then that man a Prophet; Every day he makes a dead ſoul, a ſoul again, and then that ſoul, a Saint.
The other example in this point, is that Shunamite, 2 Reg. 4.whoſe dead ſon Eliſha reſtored to life. In the beginning of that Chapter, you heare of another Widow; A certaine woman, of the wives of the ſons of the Prophets, cryed unto Eliſha, Thy ſervant my husband is dead; And truly a Widow of one of the ſons of the Prophets, a Church-mans Widow, was like enough, to be poore enough; And yet, the Prophet doth not turne upon that way, either to reſtore her dead husband, or to provide her another husband; but onelyonly enquires how ſhe was left; and finding her in poore eſtate, and in debt, provides her meanes to pay her debts, and to bring up her children, and to that purpoſe, procures a miracle from God, in the abundant increaſe of her oyle; but he troubles not God for her old, or for a new husband. But our example, to which the Apoſtle in our Text referres himſelfe, is not this Widow in the beginning, but that Mother, in the body of the Chapter, who having, by Eliſha's prayers, obtained a Son of God, after ſhe was paſt hope, and that Son being dead in her lap, in her alſo, (as in the former example) we may conſider, how Paſſion and Faith may conſiſt together: She asks her husband leave,V. 22. That ſhe might run to the Prophet; her zeale, her paſſionate zeale haſtned her, ſhe would run, but not without her husbands leave.
As S. Ierome forbids a Lady, to ſuffer her daughter, to goe to what Churches ſhe would, ſo may there be indiſcretion at leaſt, to ſuffer wives to goe to what meetings (though holy Convocations) they will; ſhe does not harbour in her houſe, a perſon dangerous to the Publike State, or to her husbands private ſtate, nor a perſon likely to ſolicite her chaſtity, though in a Prophets name; We may finde women, that may have occaſion of going to Confeſſion, for ſomething that their Confeſſors may have done to them. In this womans caſe, there was no diſguiſe; She would faine goe, and run; but not without her husbands knowledge, and allowance.
Her husband asks her, Why ſhe would goe to the Prophet, then, being neither Sabbath, V. 23.nor new Moone? He acknowledges, that God is likelier to conferre bleſſings upon Sabbaths, and new Moones, upon ſome dayes, rather then other; That all dayes are not alike with God, then, when he, by his ordinance, hath put a difference between them. And he acknowledges too, that though the Sabbath be the principall of thoſe dayes which God hath ſepoſed for his eſpeciall working, yet there are new Moones too; there are other Holy-dayes, for holy Convocations, and for his Divine and Publique Worſhip, beſides the Sabbath. But this was neither Sabbath, nor new Moone, neither Sunday, nor Holy-day; Why would ſhe goe upon that day? Beloved, though for publique meetings, in publique places, the Sabbaths, and Holy-dayes be the proper dayes, yet for conference, and counſell, and other aſſiſtances from the Prophets, and Miniſters of God, all times are ſeaſonable, all dayes are Sabbaths.
She goes to the Prophet; ſhe preſſes with ſo much paſſion, and ſo much faith too, and ſo good ſucceſſe, (for ſhe had her dead ſon reſtored unto her) that as from the other, ſo from this example ariſes this, That in a heart abſolutely ſurrendred to God, vehement expoſtulation with God, and yet full ſubmiſſion to God, and a quiet acquieſcence in God; A ſtorme of affections in nature, and yet a ſetled calme, and a faſt anchorage in grace, a ſuſpition, and a jealouſie, and yet an aſſurance, and a confidence in God, may well conſiſt together: In the ſame inſtant that Chriſt ſaid, Si poſsibile, he ſaid Veruntamen too; though he deſired that that cup might paſſe, yet he deſired not, that his deſire ſhould be ſatisfied. In the ſame inſtant that the Martyrs under the Altar ſay, Vſque quò Domine, How long Lord before thou execute judgement? they ſee, that he does execute judgement every day, in their behalfe. All jealouſie in God, does not deſtroy our aſſurance in him; nor all diffidence, our confidence; nor all feare, our faith. Theſe women had theſe naturall weakneſſes, that is, this ſtrength of affections, and paſſions, and yet by this faith, theſe women received their dead, raiſed to life againe.
But yet, (which is a laſt conſideration,Foeminile. and our concluſion of this part) this being thus put onelyonly in women, in the weaker ſexe, that they deſired, that they rejoyced in this reſuſcitation of the dead, may well intimate thus much unto us, that our virility, our holy manhood, our true and religious ſtrength, conſiſts in the aſſurance, that though death have divided us, and though we never receive our dead raiſed to life again in this world, yet we do live together already, in a holy Communion of Saints, and ſhal live together for ever, hereafter, in a glorious Reſurrection of bodies. Little know we, how little a way a ſoule hath to goe to heaven, when it departs from the body; Whether it muſt paſſe locally, through Moone, and Sun, and Firmament, (and if all that muſt be done, all that may be done, in leſſe time then I have propoſed the doubt in) or whether that ſoule finde new light in the ſame roome, and be not carried into any other, but that the glory of heaven be diffuſed over all, I know not, I diſpute not, I inquire not. Without diſputing, or inquiring, I know, that when Chriſt ſayes, That God is not the God of the dead, he ſaies that to aſſure me, that thoſe whom I call dead, are alive. And when the Apoſtle tels me, That God is not aſhamed to be called the God of the dead, Heb. 11.16.he tels me that to aſſure me, That Gods ſervants loſe nothing by dying.
He was but a Heathen that ſaid,Menander. Thraces. If God love a man, Iuvenis tollitur, He takes him young out of this world; And they were but Heathens, that obſerved that cuſtome, To put on mourning when their ſons were born, and to feaſt and triumph when they dyed. But thus much we may learne from theſe Heathens, That if the dead, and we, be not upon one floore, nor under one ſtory, yet we are under one roofe. We think not a friend loſt, becauſe he is gone into another roome, nor becauſe he is gone into another Land; And into another world, no man is gone; for that Heaven, which God created, and this world, is all one world. If I had fixt a Son in Court, or married a daughter into a plentifull Fortune, I were ſatisfied for that ſon and that daughter. Shall I not be ſo, when the King of Heaven hath taken that ſon to himſelfe, and maried himſelfe to that daughter, for ever? I ſpend none of my Faith, I exerciſe none of my Hope, in this, that I ſhall have my dead raiſed to life againe.
This is the faith that ſuſtaines me, when I loſe by the death of others, or when I ſuffer by living in miſery my ſelfe, That the dead, and we, are now all in one Church, and at the reſurrection, ſhall be all in one Quire. But that is the reſurrection which belongs to our other part; That reſurrection which wee have handled, though it were a reſurrection from death, yet it was to death too; for thoſe that were raiſed again, died again. But the Reſurrection which we are to ſpeak of, is forever; They that riſe then, ſhall ſee death no more, for it is (ſayes our Text) A better Reſurrection.
That which we did in the other part,2 Part. in the laſt branch thereof, in this part we ſhall doe in the firſt; Firſt we ſhall conſider the examples, from which the Apoſtle deduceth this encouragement, and faithfull conſtancy, upon thoſe Hebrewes, to whom he directs this Epiſtle. Though, as he ſayes in the beginning of the next Chapter, he were compaſſed about with a Cloud of witneſſes, and ſo might have propoſed examples from the Authenticke Scriptures, and the Hiſtories of the Bible, yet we accept that direction, which our Tranſlators have given us, in the Marginall Concordance of their Tranſlation, That the Apoſtle, in this Text, intends, and ſo referres to that Story, which is 2 Maccab. 7.7. To that Story alſo doth Aquinas referre this place; But Aquinas may have had a minde, to doe that ſervice to the Romane Church, to make the Apoſtle cite an Apocryphall Story, though the Apoſtle meant it not. It may be ſo in Aquinas; He might have ſuch a minde, ſuch a meaning. But ſurely Beza had no ſuch meaning, Calvin had no ſuch minde; and yet both Calvin, and Beza referre this Text to that Story. Though it be ſaid, ſayes Calvin, that Ieremy was ſtoned to death, and Eſay ſawed to death, Non dubito, quin illas perſecutiones deſignet, quae ſub Antiocho, I doubt not, ſayes he, but that the Apoſtle intends thoſe perſecutions, which the Maccabees ſuffered under Antiochus.
So then, there may be good uſe made of an Apocryphall Booke. It alwayes was, and alwayes will be impoſſible, for our adverſaries of the Romane Church, to eſtabliſh that, which they have ſo long endeavoured, that is, to make the Apocryphall Bookes equall to the Canonicall. It is true, that before there was any occaſion of jealouſie, or ſuſpition, that there would be new Articles of faith coyned, and thoſe new Articles authorized, and countenanced out of the Apocryphall Books, the bleſſed Fathers in the Primitive Church, afforded honourable names, and made faire and noble mention of thoſe Books. So they have called them Sacred; and more then that, Divine; and more then that too, Canonicall Books; and more then all that, by the generall name of Scripture, and Holy Writ. But the Holy Ghoſt, who fore-ſaw the danger, though thoſe bleſſed Fathers themſelves did not, hath ſhed, and dropt, even in their writings, many evidences, to prove, in what ſenſe they called thoſe Books by thoſe names, and in what diſtance they alwayes held them, from thoſe Bookes, which are purely, and poſitively, and to all purpoſes, and in all ſenſes, Sacred, and Divine, and Canonicall, and ſimply Scripture, and ſimply, Holy Writ.
Of this there is no doubt in the Fathers before S. Auguſtine: For all they propoſed theſe Bookes, as Canones morum, non ſidei, Canonicall, that is, Regular, for applying our manners, and converſation to the Articles of Faith; but not Canonicall, for the eſtabliſhing thoſe Articles; Canonicall for edification, but not for foundation. And even in the later Roman Church, we have a good Author that gives us a good rule,Caje…an. Ne turberis Novitie, Let no young Student be troubled, when he heares theſe Bookes, by ſome of the Fathers, called Canonicall, for, they are ſo, ſaies he, in their ſenſe, Regulares ad aedificationem, Good Canons, good Rules for matter of manners, and converſation. And this diſtinction, ſaies that Author, will ſerve to rectifie, not onelyonly what the Fathers afore S. Auguſtine, (for they ſpeake cleerely enough) but what S. Auguſtine himſelfe, and ſome Councels have ſaid of this matter. But yet, this difference gives no occaſion to an elimination, to an extermination of theſe Books, which we call Apocryphall. And therefore, when in a late forraine Synod, that Nation, where that Synod was gathered, would needs diſpute, whether the Apocryphall Bookes ſhould not be utterly left out of the Bible; And, not effecting that, yet determined, that thoſe Bookes ſhould be removed from their old place, where they had ever ſtood, that is, after the Bookes of the Old Teſtament, Exteri ſe excuſari petierunt, Seſſio 10.(ſay the Acts of that Synod) Thoſe that came to that Synod, from other places, deſire to be excuſed, from aſſenting to the diſplacing of thoſe Apocryphall Books. For, in that place, (as we ſee by Athanaſius) they preſcribe; For, though they be not Canonicall, ſaies he, yet they are Ejuſdem veteris Inſtrumenti libri, Books that belong to the Old Teſtament, that is, (at leaſt) to the elucidation, and cleering of many places in the Old Teſtament. And that the Ancient Fathers thought theſe Books worthy of their particular conſideration, muſt neceſſarily be more then evident to him that reads S. Chryſoſtomes Homilie, or Leo his Sermon upon this very part of that Book of the Maccab: to which the Apoſtle refers in this Text; that is, to that which the ſeven Brethren there, ſuffered for a better Reſurrection. And if we take in the teſtimony of the Reformation, divers great and learned men, have interpreted theſe Books, by their particular Commentaries. Oſyander hath done ſo, and done it, with a proteſtation, that divers great Divines intreated him to do it. Conrad: Pellicanus hath done ſo too; Who, leſt theſe Books ſhould ſeeme to be undervalued, in the name of Apocryphall, ſaies, that it is fitter to call them Libros Eccleſiaſticos, rather Eccleſiaſticall, then Apocryphall Books. And of the firſt of theſe two books of the Maccab: he ſaies freely, Reverà, Divini Spiritus inſtigatione, No doubt, but the holy Ghoſt moved ſome holy man to write this Book; becauſe, ſaies he, by it, many places of they Prophets are the better underſtood, and without that Booke, (which is a great addition of dignitie) Eccleſiaſtica eruditio perfecta non fuiſſet, The Church had not been ſo well enabled, to give perfect inſtruction in the Eccleſiaſticall Story. Therefore he cals it Piiſsimum Catholicae Eccleſiae inſtitutum, A moſt holy Inſtitution of the Catholike Church, that thoſe Books were read in the Church; And, if that Cuſtome had been every where continued, Non tot errores increviſſent, So many errors had not growne in the Reformed Church, ſaies that Author. And to deſcend to practiſe, at this day we ſee, that in many Churches of the Reformation, their Preachers never forbeare, to preach upon Texts taken out of the Apocryphall Books. We diſcerne cleerely, and as earneſtly we deteſt the miſchievous purpoſes of our Adverſaries, in magnifying theſe Apocryphall Books; It is not, principally, that they would have theſe Books as good as Scriptures; but, becauſe they would have Scriptures, no better then theſe Books: That ſo, when it ſhould appeare, that theſe Books were weake books, and the Scriptures no better then they, their owne Traditions might be as good as either. But, as their impiety is inexcuſable, that thus overvalue them, ſo is their ſingularity too, that depreſſe theſe books too farre; of which, the Apoſtle himſelfe makes this uſe, not to eſtabliſh Articles of Faith, but to eſtabliſh the Hebrews in the Articles of Faith, by examples, deduced from this Booke.
The example then, to which the Apoſtle leads them, is that Story of a Mother, and her ſeven Sons, which in one day ſuffered death, by exquiſite torments, rather then break that Law of their God, which the King preſt them to break, though but a Ceremoniall Law. Now, as Leo ſaies, in his Sermon upon their day, (for the Chriſtian Church kept a day, in memory of the Martyredome of theſe ſeven Maccabees, though they were but Jewes) Gravant audita, niſi ſuſcipiantur imitanda; It is a paine to heare the good that others have done, except we have ſome deſire to imitate them, in doing the like. The Panegyricke ſaid well, Oneroſum eſt, ſuccederebono Principi; That King, that comes after a good Predeceſſour, hath a ſhrewd burthen upon him; becauſe all the World can compare him with the laſt King; and all the world will looke, that he ſhould be as good a King, as his immediate Predeceſſour, whom they all remember, was. So Gravant audita, It will trouble you to heare, what theſe Maccabees, which S. Paul ſpeaks of, ſuffered for the Law of their God, but you are weary of it, and would be glad we would give over talking of them, except you have a deſire to imitate them. And if you have that, you are glad to heare more, and more of them; and, from this Apoſtle here, you may. For he makes two uſes of their example; Firſt, that though they were tortured, they would not accept a deliverance, And then, that they put on that reſolution, That they might obtaine a better Reſurrection.
What they ſuffered, hath exerciſed all our Grammarians, and all our Philologers, and all our Antiquaries, that have enquired into the Racks, and Tortures of thoſe times. We tranſlate it roundly, They were tortured. And S. Pauls word implies a torture of that kind, that their bodies were extended, and rackt, as upon a drumme, and then beaten with ſtaves. What the torture, intended in that word, was, we know not. But in the Story it ſelfe, to which he refers, in the Maccab: you have all theſe divers tortures; Cutting out of tongues, and cutting off of hands, and feete, and macerating in hot Cauldrons, and pulling off the skin of their heads, with their haire; And yet they would not accept a deliverance.Ver. 24. Was it offered them? Expreſly it was. The King promiſes, and ſweares to one of them, that he would make him Rich, and Happie, and his Friend, and truſt him with his affaires, if he would apply himſelfe to his deſires; and yet he would not accept this deliverance. This is that which S. Auguſt: ſaies, Sunt qui patienter moriuntur, There may be many found, that dye without any diſtemper, without any impatience, that ſuffer patiently enough; But then, Sunt qui patienter vivunt, & delectabiliter moriuntur; There are others, whoſe life exerciſes all their patience, ſo that it is a paine to them (though they indure it patiently) to live. But they could dye, not only patiently, but cheerefully; They are not onelyonly content, if they muſt, but glad if they may dye, when they may dye ſo, as that thereby, They may obtaine a better Reſurrection.
And this was the caſe of theſe Martyrs, whom the Apoſtle here propoſes to the imitation of the Hebrews. They put all upon that iſſue, A better Reſurrection. So the ſecond Brother ſaies to the King,Ver. 9. Thou, like a Fury, takeſt us out of this life; but the King of the World, ſhall raiſe us up, who have dyed for his Law, unto everlaſting life. Here lay his hope; That that which dyed, that which could dye, his body, ſhould be raiſed againe. So the third Brother proceeded;Ver. 11. He held out his hands, and ſaid, Theſe I had from Heaven; and, for his Laws, I deſpiſe them; and from him, I hope to receive them again. There was his hope; a reſtitution of the ſame hands, in the Reſurrection. And ſo the fourth Brother;Ver. 14. It is good, being put to death, by men, to looke for hope, from God. Hope of what? To be raiſed up againe by him; There was his hope. And he thought he could not ſpeake more bitterly to that Tyran, then to tell him, As for thee, thou ſhalt have no Reſurrection unto life. And ſo the Mother eſtabliſht her ſelfe too; To her Sons ſhe ſaies, I gave you not life in my wombe,Ver. 22. but doubtleſſe the Creator that did, will, of his mercy, give you life againe. The ſoule needed not life againe, for the ſoule never dyed; the body that dyed,Ver. 29. did; Therefore her hope was in a Reſurrection. And to her youngeſt Son ſhe ſaid, Be worthy of thy Brethren, Take thy death, that I may receive thee againe, in mercy, with thy Brethren. All their eſtabliſhment, all their expectation, all their iſſue was, That they might obtaine a better Reſurrection.
Now what was this that they qualified and dignified by that addition, The better Reſurrection? Is it called better, in that it is better then this life, and determined in that compariſon, and degree of betterneſſe, and no more? Is it better then thoſe honours, and preferments which that King offered them, and determined in that compariſon, and no more? Or better then other men ſhall have at the laſt day, (for all men ſhall have a Reſurrection) and determined in that? Or, as S. Chryſoſtome takes it, is it but a better Reſurrection then that in the former part of this Text, where dead children are reſtored to their mothers alive again? Is it but a better Reſurrection in ſome of theſe ſenſes? Surely better in a higher ſenſe then any of theſe; It is a ſupereminent degree of glory, a larger meaſure of glory, then every man, who in a generall happineſſe, is made partaker of the Reſurrection of the righteous, is made partaker of.
Beloved, There is nothing ſo little in heaven, as that we can expreſſe it; But if wee could tell you the fulneſſe of a ſoul there, what that fulneſſe is; the infiniteneſſe of that glory there, how far that infiniteneſſe goes; the Eternity of that happineſſe there, how long that happineſſe laſts; if we could make you know all this, yet this Better Reſurrection is a heaping, even of that Fulneſſe, and an enlarging, even of that Infiniteneſſe, and an extention, even of that eternity of happineſſe; For, all theſe, this Fulneſſe, this Infiniteneſſe, this Eternity are in all the Reſurrections of the Righteous, and this is a better Reſurrection; We may almoſt ſay, it is ſomething more then Heaven; for, all that have any Reſurrection to life, have all heaven; And ſomething more then God; for, all that have any Reſurrection to life, have all God; and yet theſe ſhall have a better Reſurrection. Amorous ſoule, ambitious ſoule, covetous ſoule, voluptuous ſoule, what wouldeſt thou have in heaven? What doth thy holy amorouſneſſe, thy holy covetouſneſſe, thy holy ambition, and voluptuouſneſſe moſt carry thy deſire upon? Call it what thou wilt; think it what thou canſt; think it ſomething that thou canſt not think; and all this thou ſhalt have, if thou have any Reſurrection unto life; and yet there is a Better Reſurrection. When I conſider what I was in my parents loynes (a ſubſtance unworthy of a word, unworthy of a thought) when I conſider what I am now, (a Volume of diſeaſes bound up together, a dry cynder, if I look for naturall, for radicall moiſture, and yet a Spunge, a bottle of overflowing Rheumes, if I conſider accidentall; an aged childe, a gray-headed Infant, and but the ghoſt of mine own youth) When I conſider what I ſhall be at laſt, by the hand of death, in my grave, (firſt, but Putrifaction, and then, not ſo much as Putrifaction, I ſhall not be able to ſend forth ſo much as an ill ayre, not any ayre at all, but ſhall be all inſipid, taſtleſſe, ſavourleſſe duſt; for a while, all wormes, and after a while, not ſo much as wormes, ſordid, ſenſleſſe, nameleſſe duſt) When I conſider the paſt, and preſent, and ſuture ſtate of this body, in this world, I am able to conceive, able to expreſſe the worſt that can befall it in nature, and the worſt that can be inflicted upon it by man, of fortune; But the leaſt degree of glory that God hath prepared for that body in heaven, I am not able to expreſſe, not able to conceive.
That man comes with a Barly corn in his hand, to meaſure the compaſſe of the Firmament, (and when will he have done that work, by that way?) he comes with a grain of duſt in his ſcales, to weigh the whole body of the world, (and when will he have done that work, that way?) that bids his heart imagine, or his language declare, or his wit compare the leaſt degree of the glory of any good mans Reſurrection; And yet, there is a Better Reſurrection. A Better Reſurrection reſerved for them, and appropriated to them That fulfill the ſufferings of Chriſt, in their fleſh, by Martyrdome, and ſo become witneſſes to that Conveyance which he hath ſealed with his blood, by ſhedding their blood; and glorifie him upon earth (as far as it is poſſible for man) by the ſame way that he hath glorified them in heaven; and are admitted to ſuch a conformity with Chriſt, as that (if we may have leave to expreſſe it ſo) they have dyed for one another.
Neither is this Martyrdome, and ſo this Better Reſurrection, appropriated to a reall, and actuall, and abſolute dying for Chriſt; but every ſuffering of ours, by which ſuffering, he may be glorified, is a degree of Martyrdome, and ſo a degree of improving, and bettering our Reſurrection. For as S. Ierome ſayes, That chaſtity is a perpetuall Martyrdome, So every war maintained by us, againſt our own deſires, is a Martyrdome too. In a word, to do good for Gods glory, brings us to a Good, but to ſuffer for his glory, brings us to a Better Reſurrection; And, to ſuffer patiently, brings us to a Good, but to ſuffer chearefully, and more then that, thankfully, brings us to a Better Reſurrection. If all the torments of all the afflicted men, from Abel, to that ſoul that groanes in the Inquiſition, or that gaſpes upon his death-bed, at this minute, were upon one man at once, all that had no proportion to the leaſt torment of hell; nay if all the torments which all the damned in hell have ſuffered, from Cain to this minute, were at once upon one ſoul, ſo, as that ſoul for all that might know that thoſe torments ſhould have an end, though after a thouſand millions of millions of Generations, all that would have no proportion to any of the torments of hell; becauſe, the extention of thoſe torments, and their everlaſtingneſſe, hath more of the nature of torment, and of the nature of hell in it, then the intenſneſſe, and the vehemency thereof can have. So, if all the joyes, of all the men that have had all their hearts deſires, were con-centred in one heart, all that would not be as a ſpark in his Chimney, to the generall conflagration of the whole world, in reſpect of the leaſt joy, that that ſoule is made partaker of, that departs from this world, immediatly after a pardon received, and reconciliation ſealed to him, for all his ſins; No doubt but he ſhall have a good Reſurrection; But then, we cannot doubt neither, but that to him that hath been carefull in all his wayes, and yet croſt in all his wayes, to him whoſe daily bread hath been affliction, and yet is ſatisfied as with marrow, and with fatneſſe, with that bread of affliction, and not only contented in, but glad of that affliction, no doubt but to him is reſerved a Better Reſurrection; Every Reſurrection is more then we can think, but this is more then that more. Almighty God inform us, and reveale unto us, what this Better Reſurrection is, by poſſeſſing us of it; And make the haſtening to it, one degree of addition in it. Come Lord Jeſus, come quickly to the conſummation of that Kingdome which thou haſt purchaſed for us, with ineſtimable price of thine incorruptible blood. Amen.