to the EPHESIANS, Power that Jtfi1s Chrift himCelf bath, for £he knew it to be the highefl ~~ Honour. ~ Thirdly;· The word [jiting 1 importeth a!Co a fecure and a firm Condition; you fhall tit, and fit fure. In lt.ev. 18. 7· when '"Baby/on is at her height, and is fecnrc, whor faith fl1c? 1 {it n1 " f<!!ecn; that is, I am fecure, it is impo!l.ible that I Owuld ever be moved. I allege it to open the Phrafe. My Brethren, Man in innoccncy did but fland, and be got a Fall, he did not fit Cure: .5'11an that flandeth in Honour abideth not. But in Heaven you fit, and you fit in Chrift, Co Cure you !it, you have the fi~reft Seat, the Seat muft £111 if you {;,]], You fit in Chriff now for Curenels; when you come thither, you fhall fit with ChriJI, in God indeed, as the Phrafe is in Col. 3· 2, 3· Sitting, I fay, implies the firmnels of all this, and the flability of thole PleaCures, and of that Aonom and Power you £hall have. Fomthly; It imports Reil: aftet Labour and Wearinels. In John 4- 6. when }efi1s Chnft was weaned with hts Journey, the Text faith, he fate on the Well. And, Rev. 14. 13. Bleffed are the Dead, for from henceforth they reJi ji'DIJ> theit L<botm. And 2 Theff. I. 7· To tecompence to yoll who are troubled, Rejl with ""· We do not read of the fitting of the Angels in Heaven, we read of their Principalities, and Powers in heavenly places; but they are ftill prefented as flanding, and as mini!l:ring Spirits, it may be for this reafon, becaufe fitting im– plies Reil after Wearinels; but I rather think, becaufe there is an advancement of the Sai;Jts in Chrift above them. It implies, I fay, Reft after Wearinels; for as Gtting imports reigning with Chrirt, (as afore) Co it is reigning after fuffering : If we Jitffit with him, we fbal/ alfo reign ,.,ith him ; that is, we £hall fit with him : To him that overcometh I will grant to}it, Rev. 3· 2 r. Laflly; It will import alfo, at leaft.wife it is not againft degrees of Glory in Heaven. Even as here, in a higher Houfe of State, tho all !it as Peers together with the King, yet there are degrees and ranks of Nobles. The Apoi11es £hall have twelve Thrones; it is made their Privilege more eminently, tho all fit in his Throne, as ll,ev. 3· hath it. The Mother of Zebedce's Children, £he came and asked, that one might fit on Chri!l:'s right hand, and another on his left; for in old !frael, the next Seat to the Prince was for the Elders of the Tribe of Judah, and of the Tribe of Joflph, one on the right hand, and the other on the left, and thofe were the more honourable places, Now Chrirt cloth not deny, but there fhall be a right hand and a left, but not referved for thofe two Sons, it may be for Peter anci'-Paul: Yo11 a1k., (faith.he) yo11 k_now not what. It is not that they asked that which was not to be in Heaven, but that which follows £hews the meaning of it: faith lie, If ye knew what Sufterings they mufl have that are to fit there, you would not have asked it : Can you drink. ofthe Cup th•t 1 jb.!Udrink_ of, a11d be baptiz.ed with the Baptifm that I foal/ be baptiz.ed with?. ' For as there are degrees of Glory, fo it fi1all be proportioned in mofl:Iikelihood to the degrees of Suffering for Chrift here. Thus again, that other Speech, They foal/ /it down with Abraham, lfaac, and Jacob, imports thefe degrees ~ why with .Ab,..Jw,t?&c. They were the chief Gueils of all the Saints in the Old Tefl:ameht; but when all the EleCl: fhall meet together, who £hall be the chief Guefl:s, next to Jefus Chrifl:, we know not. · And that all are (aid to fit in Chrii1, it hinders not, but that there m•y be"thefc degrees; for they !it there now in Chtifl, as repreCented by him, namely, in that proportion of Glory they £hall have: As when Chrifl;, hung upon. the Crols, look what portion of Wrath any particular elect Child of his deferved from God for their Sins, Chri!l: bore it for them, but it muft not be faid that he bore alike for every one, but according to that proportion that he in his Sufferings rcprefentcd them for. The next thing to be explained is this, In heavenly placet, or, in Heavenlie1; for [Places J is nqt in the Greek, hut it is interred by our Tranilators. It im.– pons thele things.
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