356 Book IV. 1loolltng unto 'jjefuS'. Chap. t. £ett, 7 .- ------~--------------------------------- after many attempts came t\To fa!fe witne!Jes, and faid, this fellotv faid, I am--;bk-;;,dejlro the Temple of G•d, tmd to butld tt zn th•ee days_. They accufe him for a figurative fpeech'; a trope wh1ch they could not under!land; whtch 1f be ha.d effcCled according to the Let– ter, it had bee~ fo far from afault, that it would have been an Argument of his power . ~~-hn 2, 19,. ~ut obferve their falfe report of the wo:ds be had fpok~n; for he faid not I am able 1 ; dejlroythw Temple of. God, andtobtuldz: tn three days; but, deftroyye thu Temple, and m three days I Wtll raife tt "P: the allegauon d1ffers from_ the truth in thefe particulars. 1. I am Able todeftroy, fay they; ay but deftroy ye, fatth Chn!l. 2. I am abictode– ftroythw Tem~leof God,_ ~ay they; ay but deftroyye thi>Temple, faith Chrift; limply thuTemple, wahout addmon. 3· I am able to deftroy this Temple of God, and to bmldtt tn three.days, fay they: ay but dejlroy ye this Temple, and in three days I will raife •t. "P• fatd Clm~: he fpoke oot of bmldtng an external Temple; but of railing up his own b?dy, whtch h~ kn~w they would dellroy. Thefe were the accufations of the falfe wanelfes, to all winch JefUJ anfwered nothing; hedefpifed their accufatiom, as not worthy an anfwer ; and t~1s vexed more.--But.f. Another accufation is brought in; ~atph.ubada referve, whtch_ he ~new Owuld do th~ bulinefs in that Affembly; he adMat: ~6.63• JUred h1m by God, to tell h1m rf he _were the Chnf\: I ad;"re tiJCC by the /wing God, that thtmtelltu wherhcrthOII be the Chrijlthe Son of God: The holy ]efus being adjured byfo facred a Name, would not now refufean anlwer; but he confelfed himfelfto be the C?rift, the Son of the living G_od: and this the high Prie~was pleafed (as the delign was lard) to call Blafphemy ; and m token thereof, he rends Ills cloaths, prophetioJiy !ignifying that the Priellhood lhould be rent from himfe)f. · Vfo. We are taughr in all this quietly to fuffer wrong: If my .Adverfary .Jhould write a Job 3I,J5•;6. Book_ againftme, frmly I would tall.§ it upon my Jho~tlder (faith Job) and bind it ,i; a Crown to me; it is impoffible, if we are Chrill'sfervams, to live in this world without falfe accufations: come, let us take heart, and in fome cafes, fay not a word; lince he that was mQft inRocent, was moft filem, why lhould we be too forward in our excufes? I know there is a time to fpeak, as a timefor filenee; if it may tend to God's honour, and to the fpreading of God's truth, and that right circum!l:ances do concur, it is theA time to open our momhs, though we let in death. So did our blelfed Saviour: 0 le,t us learn of him, and foUow his fteps! 4- For tbe Doom or Sentence of rh& Judge!; Caiph.u. prejudging all the Sanhedrim, in declaring Jefus t{) have fpoken Blafphemy, and the faCI: to be notorious, he then Mat. 26 • 66 • a~ked their Votes: What think_ye ? and;bey anfwered, and [aid, he is guilty of death. They durft not deny what Caiph.u had faid; they knew his FaCI:ion was,very potent, and his malice great, and hls heart was fet upon the bufinefs, and therefore they all confpirc, and fay as be would have them, he isguilty of death. Oh here is Jefu.'s fentence,which lhould have been mine, he is guilty of death. But this Sentence was but like flrong dif– pofitions to an enraged Fever; they had no pow6r at that time to infliCI: death, or fuch a death as that of the Crofs, they only declared him apt, and worthy, and guilty of Death. · Ptav. ''·'4· In the mnltitude of Co1m[ellerr there is{affty, faith Stlemon; but we tpufttake this in; if it b• of good men, and to goodpurpofes: for otherwife, the Meetings, Alfernblies, and Coufl(ils of the wicked are dangerous and deadly; the Kings of the etJrth [et themfelves, and the Rulers tall.§ counfol together t~gainft the Lord, and againft his anointed. . Such Councils we had many in our times, I know not whether we may call them Counctls, or ftmma tanwmCivitatis, anulceroUJbuncb, raife!l by the diforderand difiemperof the Mat.,6 69 Ner. 7'· Vcr. 73• City. . ' d 'al d b' . h'l I fi I. I .a.· . 5· For Peters. em an a JUratto~; w 1e t 1e e t ungswere t 1us ae~1ng concermng Chrifi a fad acctdent happened to his Servant Peter; at firfl: a Damofd come• to h1m, and tells him, thot< wa{i with [efm of Galilee; and then anQther ~aid tells the by-!land- . ers, this frHow w.u alfo with refUJof Naz.areth: and after a while, they that ftood by, fpake themfdlves, furely thou art one of them, for thy Sp:ic~be"'rayeth thee, q. d. thy ve– ry Idiom declares thee to be:a Galilea~; tho!l art as Chrtft ts, of thcfame Countrey and SeC!: and therefore thou art one of Ius D1fC1ples : Peter tlnr; furpnzed, Without any tim:to deliberate, he 0 1 amefully denies his Lard: and, I. 'He dothit_witha kin_d V<r. 7o. of fubterf.uge, /IQ;Jo\V notwhattliOis faieft: he feems to elude the Accufatton WJth tlus Evalion, I know not thy meaning, I under!land not thy word.s.. I skill not what tho" V«. 71 • ftJeft. 2. At the neu rut'n, he _goes nn ~o a licenciou; boldnefs, d';J,~$
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