An Expojition of the Epiftle r-....A.../'1 Secondly, He is faid to be a Head .in rcfpeCl: of Influence into his Members. Serm01 • that is plam in the Text too, He fi/Jeth all in all. I lhall open thofewords after: XXXVf. ward; but only becaufe the Text gtveth us htnts of thefe two, I Will fir{( fpeak ~a little of them . Firfi, He is a Head in refpeCl: of Eminency. The Head, [Capttt], is often– times put for the begilming. ChriU is a Head in that fcnfe, he is the beginning of his Church, he bath that eminency; (o Colof[. 1. 18. He is the head of the body the Chttrch, who JJ thr begirmmg, thefirjl-6orn from the deail, that ill all thi1•gs he might have the preheminence. Here is one E:minency. Now, he is the beginningof the Church: As Adamwasthebeginningof the Creation { 0 is ChriU of the New Creation; he was fir{( in order intended, he was not'or– dained for us, but we for him; the Text is plain for it, for we are his ftti!Je{s. The Head is not ordained fo much for the Body, as the Body for the Head, He bath the fir{( in that fenfe. He is likewife_Head in refpeCl:ofEminency, for he is worth ~11 the Body. Oh, my Brethren, tlunk .what Jefus ChnU 1s. T he head of a man IS Infinitely more worth than his body. Divide them you cannot;, but if you could divid~ them. the head is of more worth than all the-body, for all Reafon, and Wifdom, ·and whatfoever is glorious, all the Senfes dwell in tbe Head; there is but one Senfe dwelling in the Body, namely the Senfe of To11ching ; out the perfeCtion of all !he Senfes is in the Head, it i~ the feat of tl_te UnderUanding. All the Beauty is Ill the Head, therefore the ClVll Lawyers 10 thctr lan)Su~ge call whatfoever i~; excellent, Glftlt, the Head. . · , ' ' · All Beauty you know lieth in the Face, and the Face andHca,d is all one.· You may read t Cor.t L of tmcoveri11g the Head; that is, uncovering the Face.; co– vering the He:id, is covering tlie Face with a Veil, as the cuUome of thofe times was. Such an one, my Brethren, is Jefw Chrifl. You fee Saints, and you fee but few of them, and you do not fee them in their ruff, in their glory, as they !hall be in their Robes at the latter day ; when you have thoughts of them all put them all together, what are they? They are but the Toes, the Fingers, th~ Hands of this Head. Chrift is worth all this Body, and a thoufand Bodies mare if you could fuppofe them. In him is all the Beauty, f~r it is faid, the Glory o] God jbi11tth i11 the face of Jefw Chrift. The Face IS put for the Head, fo 2 Cor.4. The Image of God appeareth in the Head, more than in all the Body; fo it doth in Chri!l. God is very wellpleafed when he looks upon the H~ad,_ though the Members be fcabbed, and d1feafe~, and full of humors; but m htm I am weltpleaftd, faith he. He is Prim"11f' amabile, that makes the Bocjy beautiful in the eyes of God, and he will never leave it till he hath deanfed it and 'made itlike himfelf. He isfairer tha11 theChitdrm of Men, than all the Children of Men put together; Pfa/.4)· And whereas you will fay, All the Grace we have, ChriU hath. But my Brethren, How bath he it? Not as you have it, for the fttl!zefs of the 'God– head dwelleth ;,, him, and dwelleth in him bodily, The Body hath all the ufe of the reafon of the Head , fo that when you fee a man do aCtions, he doth them rationally; as when a man playeth on a Lute, it is a rational aCt, which made one fay, that the So11l is i1lthe Fingers ends; but now he doth thefe aCtions by way of participation; it is the Soul that guideth all. So we have Grace, but it is by participation; the Spring of all is in ChriU the Head. All the Counfel, all the Wifdom is in the Head, and he is made unto Uf Wifdom, we have none of our felves; he is the mighty Com1(rUor, as you know he is called. So that he is a Head in refpeCl: of Eminency, a Head over all, Body and all. Secondly, He is a Head in refpeCl:of Influence, which is imported in thefe ~vords, He fi/Jeth all in all. He is a Head in refpeCl: of influence thcfe three w_ays, 10 refpeCl: of communicating. t. Of Life. :o. Of Motion. ~- Of Strength. Firfr,
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