A Hundred Sermons on Revelation, Sermons · Sermon 22
¶ He draweth them alſo hereby vntounto repentaunce. The .xxij. Sermon.
BEholde I ſtande at the dore and knocke: If any man heare my voice and open the dore, I wyll come in vntounto hym, and will ſuppe with him, and he with me: To him that ouercometh wyll I graunt to ſitte with me on my ſeate euen as I ouercame, and hauehave ſitten with my father on his ſeate. Let hym that hath eares, heare, what the ſpirite ſaith to the congregations.
Hereby alſo the Lorde allureth the Laodiceans to repentaunce, ſhewyng that eueryevery time is mete for conuerſion, and that God is euermore ready to receiue ſinners, and prouoketh them alwaies that they ſhould amēde and liue. And this matter he expoundeth in an allegoricall and goodly ſpeache,Allegorical ſpeche. taken out of the fift chapt. of the boke of Canticles. For he faineth the Lorde to ſtande at the dore and knock, yea and to promiſe to them that opē the greateſt familiaritie and ioyes vnſpeakeable.
Firſt therfore is declared ye beneuolence of God towards ſinners, and his moſt ready will alwaies to receiue the ſame, yea and his infinite ſtudy to moue men to repentaunce, that they might liue. For the Lord ſtandeth at the dore, and knocketh. The worde of ſtanding doth ſignifie, that God is always prepared, always watcheth ouer our ſaluation. For he ſitteth not ſtyll, nor lieth not on the one ſyde lyke a ſluggarde: He ſtandeth buſely to his worke. And I ſtand ſaith he, not I ſtode, or ſhall ſtande: But I ſtande euermore ready, euermore louing and gentle. What doeth he? He knocketh, & that in dede at the dore, deſiring to be let in. For like as he yt knocketh at the dore ſeriouſly, coueteth to be let in: ſo God deſireth erneſtly to be of vsus receiued. And God vſeth ſondry kindes of knocking. For he warneth, & exciteth wt his worde by the Prophets, againe by ſignes & wonders, & alſo by ſondry chaūces & mouings.Howe the Lord knocketh. Theſe thinges may be ſene in the citie of Ieruſalē. He ſendeth to them his Prophets & Apoſtles. He ſheweth diuers wonders. He bringeth on thē ſorowfull chaunces, that they might admoniſh thē: Such as are reported, Luke. 13. of the Galileans, & of thoſe whome the toure of Siloe had ouerwhelmed. We may ſe the like at this day, how the Lord knocketh. Therfore he ſaid truly, Hieruſalē, Hieruſalē. &c. Math. 23. Theſe ar doubtles ye partes & doings of god which wil not yt a ſinner ſhuld die, but rather conuert & liue.
Than muſt we ſe, what is required of vsus,Our part is to heare and to opē verely yt we ſhuld heare the knocking & noiſe of the knocker, & that alſo we opē & receiue ſuche as deſire to come in. Here are they confuted, which ſpeake of man as though he were a blocke, & image I know not what maner of drawing, ſaiyng: It is neither in yt runner nor in the willer. &c. Certen altogether abſteine from well doing, ſaying, if I be choſen, it is enough. But the ſcripture requireth eueryevery where hearing & obedience. We knowe that thelect are only ſaued, & that thelect in Chriſt: In Chriſt to be they that beleue: That faith is of hearing, hearing by ye word of god. Therfore ſaith ye Prophet, this day if you heare his voice. &c. This ſame is recited of the Apoſtle. Heb. 4. The Apoſtle alſo. 2. Tim. 2. In a great houſe there be not only veſſels of gold, but of earth alſo. If any pourge him ſelf. &c. And therfore ye Lord ſaith, I knocke: It ſhal be thy part, not to diſpiſe him that knocketh, but to opē vntounto him. And he reciteth in dede two things, to heare, which both in the .8. & .9. of Iohn is required of the children of God, & of the true ſhepe: And to open, that is to receiue the Lord, or beleue, to obey, & to frame them ſelues after the wil of God, & to do penaunce. Notwithſtanding we muſt here beware, that we thinke not that man hath power of him ſelf to receiue the Lord. The Lorde illumineth his elect, and by him we can do al thinges, without whō we can do nothing. Other places muſt be cōferred with this as Iohn. 15.2. Corinth. 3. Philip. 2. They therfore that open, do open by the grace of God. They that open not being wrapped in their ſinnes, through their owne faulte open not, and not through any faulte of God.
Let vsus heare moreouer what ye Lord promiſeth to thē that open, yt is to ſay, to ſuche as receiue Chriſt wt true faith.What we ſhal get by opening. The Lord promiſeth to them two thinges chiefly. Firſt, I wil go into him, ſaith he. The ſcripture ſignifieth, ye Chriſt dwelleth eueryevery wher through faith in ye hartes of ye faithful, & wt a moſt ſtrayte knot to be ioyned vntounto them. He that eateth my fleſh and drinketh my bloud, abideth in me, and I in him. Theſe thinges are ſpoken of the Lord in the .vi. of Iohn. And in the xiiii. chapt. he ſaith. He that loueth me, wyll kepe my worde: And my father and I will come vntounto hym, and will make abode with him. S. Paul ſaith that he liueth not nowe, but that Chriſt liueth in hym. The ſame affirmeth that Chriſt through faith dwelleth in the hartes of the faithfull. And ſo ye Lord entreth the hartes of them that let hym in. Not the leaſt part of felicitie conſiſteth in this coniunction. For to be vnited with God, is bleſſednes, whiche beginneth here, and is made perfit in an other lyfe. And therfore in the ſecond place the Lord ſaith: And I will ſuppe with him, and he with me. Wherby he noteth not only againe a moſte dere frendſhip & familiaritie (for the table is conſecrate to amitie) but rather ye fruition of eternall glory. For by the ſupper are ſignified, the ioyes celeſtiall, greateſt, and vnſpeakeable, which after their ſoules the Godly receiue immediatly after death: But more fully in the ende of tymes, when the bodies ſhal ariſe againe. Therfore is it not applied to a diner, but to a ſupper, as it is alſo in the .14. of Luke. Thē if we receiue Chriſt, we ſhal hauehave him dwelling wt vsus cōtinually, whileſt we liue in this world. And in the worlde to come we ſhall hauehave the full fruition of al the ioyes celeſtiall. Theſe thinges be certain and true. For otherwyſe in the life to come there ſhall be no riotouſe bankettes, ſuche as the Turkes do imagine.
The thron of God is prepared for the penitent.He annexeth alſo an other generall promeſſe, wherby he exhorteth and moueth to the ſtudy of godly religion & to repentaūce. For to him that ouercometh is promiſed the kingdome of heauen. And he ſaith to him that ouercometh (wherof I hauehave ſpoken in thother epiſtles) not to him ye fleeth or to a coward. &c. He propoūdeth alſo thexāple of the cōquerour Chriſt. For we muſt ouercome, as he hath ouercomē. He in dede ouercame moſt perfitly: we after our litle ſtrēgth, fight, and ouercome. And verely the true victory in vsus, is ye liuely vertu of Chriſt: that is to ſay, by him they ouercom, whoſoeuer ouercome. And like as he hauing ouercome death, & vanquiſhed the world & the deuill, aſcended into heauen, & ſate on the right hand of the father: ſo he promiſeth vsus alſo ouercomming, that he wil geue vsus ye ſeat of his father: not yt we ſitting on the right hande of God, ſhould iudge ouer al fleſh, beyng made Chriſtes: but that beynge made pertakers of euerlaſting glory, and deliuered from all iudgement, we maye appere in glory, when he ſhal come to iudge the quicke and the dead. We reade of a like promiſe made to ye diſciples Matth. 19. and Luke. 22. And ſo aſſuredly ſhall this glory come vntounto vsus, as Chriſt him ſelfe did verely aſcende into Heauen, and ſate in the glory celeſtiall.
And here we muſt note a ſpeciall thing, that Chriſt geueth here that thing, whiche in the 20. of Matth. he denieth that he can geue to Iames and Iohn, that is to ſitte in the glory celeſtiall. Therfore this place expoundeth that.The diuinitie of Chriſt. For Chriſt after his deitie geueth that, whiche after his humanitie he denieth that he cā geue. This place then proueth, that Chriſte is very God, geuer of eternall life, &c.
He addeth after his maner an acclamation, wherby he applieth this epiſtle to al congregations, and affirmeth it to be inſpired of the ſpirite of Chriſte. Whereof we hauehave ſpoken before.
And we hauehave treated hitherto of the ſeconde parte of this worke wherin are declared the moſte excellent poinctes of our religion, who & of what ſorte is Chriſt,The ſum. ſittyng in the glory of the father, howe he is preſente in his churche, and gouerneth the ſame as kynge and prieſt, by his ſpirite, by his worde and Sacraments. What alſo and of what ſorte is the church of Chriſt: what is the true and righte doctrine of the churche: what opiniōs are wicked. What is to be done with erroneouſe doctrines and ſeducers: howe the churche fallen and afflicted maye be repared: what is true repētaunce, and what are the dueties of the godly, and many other thinges of like ſorte. To God the father be prayſe, thankes geuinge, and glory, through Ieſus Chriſte our Lorde.