102 Of the Creatures, and th-e Condition ~ unto; how inftnitely .fuould this raife up our h~ims to fee the lo•rc of our Lord BooK 11, and Saviour Jefus Chri{t I I {hall but make tbis a little clear to you out of the ~very {tory ot his Transfiguration, You lhall find that when he was transfigured, the Evangeli{ts tell us, that Mofn and EtitUdid talk to him of hisdeaih and of his fufferings; Tbty JPak~ of hir dtceafe (faith Luke) wh;ch hr /hot<Id accomplifh at Hieru(atem. OurSaviour Chrift , to thew what was his due in !lead of this fuffering, he tramfigureth himfelf; and whereas Mofes and Eli.u went up to Heaven in their bodies :!gain to that glory which they baa before,he is left behind here below, and all his glory is gone, and t<i Hteri;falom he mu{t go, and there he mull: fuffer. Why? He lhould have been in Heaven fir{tifhe had had his due. This glory of his, I fay; and his death•were both reprefen– ted at once; Mofes and EliM fpake to him about his death at the fame time when his transfiguration was, on purpofe to fet a value upon it, to take the hearts of the Sons of Men. This Chrift, that was fo' glorious upon the mount, he might then have gone to Heaven as well as defcended, and then where hqd been our Salvation? But he letteth~ofes and EliM go to Heaven, Go you, faith be, andpofJe(s yourglory; but as for his own glory, he lheweth what was his due, but layeth it aftde for a while that he might fuffer. Again fecondly, See whence the valuation of the Bodily fufferings of Chrifl before God cloth arife. There were the fufferings of his Soul, and there were the fufferings of his Body. The fufferiogs of his Soul, the Scripture [peaks lea!l: of, though they were the greate{t fufferings of all the re!l:: As the Scripture fpeaks but little of the glory of the Soul, but fpeaks much of the glory of the Body, and would have us argue from that to the greatnefs of the glory ofthe Soul in the World to come. Learn I fay, to value the fufferings of Chrifi at a due rate, confider whofc Body it was that fuffer'd; it was the Body of him in whom the Godhead dwelt Bodily and fully; of him that was life it felf, was a quickning Spirit, (he was fo in afTuming Human Nature) his Bo· dy was ordained to another World; and the valuation ofthe Perfon was it that put a valuation upon every thing he fuffered. Therefore, my Brethren,when– ever you would put a value upon the bodily fufferings of Chri{t, I'le tell you what you lhall do; Firft, look upon him as he is now crowned with glory and honour in Heaven, and then think with your felves, that all this was due to him when he was here below, when he was in the Mount , yea when in the Womb, to have taken that Body up and made ic fo glorious; And when you have brought him down from all the glory he bath in Heaven, do but think IV hat a Man he was when he hung upon theCrofs. This lhould make us put a valuation upon all his f•fferings ; This makes us fee what it is that God doth value his Bodily fufferings for, they were the fufferings of his Body, whofe due it was to be thusglorified, and never to hav~ fuffered; but God fo ordered it that he mufi firfi fuffer, and then rife and enter into, and polfefs his glory. CHAP.
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