Chri£ls .An Expo}ition Arraignment. A ferues, may draw it our. And againe,itisput into a prioate mans hand fometime.A priuate man when he is alfailed of his enemy, may take the fword inway ofhisown defence,and may kill hisenemytherewirh (ifthere be no otherhelpe)not doing itvpon n>alice,burbe– caufe hecan no orherwife efcape, and faue his owne life: andfo for want ofaMagifirate,he is a Magillrate vntohimfelfe. In the flig~t ofthe :J?ifciples we maycon– fider two thmgs: the ttme, andthe q•ality o the perfons. The time,was atthe apprehenfi– on ofour Lord and Sauiour. And this came to pa!fe not without the fpeciall prouidence This faa ourSauiour Chrift reprooues : and that for thefe caufes : I. becaufe his difciples were priuatetnen; and they that came t<>ap– preh~nd him weremagiftrates. Secondly,he wasto work the work of mans redemption : now'Pellrbythisfatldid what heecouldto hinder him. And from this pratlife of Ptler we may learne,tlfatnothing in the world isfo hard to a.man,as totakevp his crolfe and fol– low Chrift. One weuld thinke itfhould be a hard matter for him to encounter with his enemies, cfpecially they being ftrongerthen he: .but Peter lloutly refilling makes no– thingofit: whereas alitle before when Chrill told him andthe rell concerning his pafsi<>n, rhey were fo heauy with griefe th•t they B could not hold vptheir heads: fo hard a thing it is to beare the crolfe ; and for this very canfeafterward when Chrift reproou<d hi'Tl for ll:riking, both he and all therdtofthe dif– ciples fled away. Secondly, Ptter in all mans reafon was to be commend<d, bec"ufe he llrake in the defenccofhis ma(le·; ou. Chrill: reprooues him for it. Whence we .earne,that ofGod: that it might be knowne that Cilrifi had n<> helper or fellow in the accompli!h– mentoftheworke ,ofour redemption: and that,whereas we for our finnes del<rued to be forfaken ofall creatures, he bdng our pledoe and furety might beoforfaken for vs. As f~r :he qUAlity ofthe pe1fons that flie, they were thechofen difciples ofChrill:,fuch as hadbee !<cued in him,confeOedhim, and preached in hisname. And this ferueth to teach vs, that GOD will otherwhiles forfake his own chil– dren and feruants , andleaue them to them_ fc:lues infome part, that theymay fcele their Wants and miferies, and their weakene!fe in themfelues, and by t\>at meanes be humbled tr0roughly,and be touched with an hungring defire •fter Chri!t. Asa mother fets downe ifa man be zealous for Chrill:, he mull b< zea– lous within the compalfe vf his calling: and not bezealousfirft, and then looke for a cal– ling, but firlllooke for a calling. and then be zealous. Which thingif Peter had marked,he had not dealt to rafhly; f<>r being without the compalfe ofhis calling hee could not bvt doe amiae. Hereirmay bedemanded, whe– ther Chrill: and his religion may not bee maintained by the fword? I •n{tller, that the Magifirate, which is the vicegerent of the Lord,is the keeperofbothtablts: and there– fords to maintaine religion with the fword: and fo may putto death Atheifts, which hold there is no God,ofwhich fort there are many in thefedaies:and heretikes,which malicioufly maintaine, a•d hold any thing that ouer– throwes the foundation of religion in the Churches whereof they are members. Bur fome obiett, tnat in the parable ofthe field, ,the feruants arecommand~dnorto plucke vp thetares from the wheat,but tofuffer both to grow till haruell: : and that therefore there mufibeewofeparationofheretikes and true Chrill:ians before thelafiday of iudgement, .Anfw, The fcopeofthatplace is notto forbid the cxecutiO!I ofheretikes;but itfpeakes one. ly ofthe final feparation which muft b,in the end ofthe world.Fortherethe mafter of the family doth fignifie God himfelfe, and tl.e field , the Church militant fpread ouer the face ofthe wholeearth: and by tares is meant notontly heretikes: but alfo thofe that are forth ofthe Church : the feruants are Gods holy Angels, and the harue!t is the Iall iudge– monr.Here further it may be demanded,who may vfe the f;vord ? An{"'- All men may vfe thefwordto ll:rike and to kill, into whofe hands God pmteththe fword.NowGod put– teth it into thehand,firfi & principally ofthe publikeMagifirate, who wheniult occafion C her child and hides her felf, 1ilffc:ringit to cry, fall,and breake the face,not becaufe !he hates !t, bvtrhatfheemay teach it.to depend vpon ner,and lone her ; fo God gtucth grace to his children, and yet againe fometime he doth in part~ithdraw ~t from them, and then they faile tn the It duttes fundry wayes :and thishe d0th to make them afhlmed of themfelues and to caufe them to put all their contidenc; out ofthemfdnes in the merits ofChrill. The fourth thing to bee confidered in Chrifts apprehenfion, is theirbinding ofhim. In which atlion of theirs wee are to obferue tirll ofall the circumftance oftime,whenthis bindingwas. When our Sauiour Chrill: had faid vnto them,14m he, they being a!l:oni!hed D fell to the ground:and withal,when Peter had finitten off Vtt•khsu eare with the fivord, Chrill:hea: 'd the fame miraculouOy. Yet for all rhis,though they had feene his wonderfull powerboth in word and deed, they proceede in mali<e againfihim ;and lay hands on him, and bind him asamalefatlor. Intllis we cote whata fearfullfione hardnelfe ofheart is': the danger whereef appeareth in this, that if a man be ouertake with it,thereis nothing that can fray or daunt himin his wickedproce~ dings : no r.ot the powerfullwords anddeeds ofChrill: himfelfe.And indeede amoni)Gods iudgements there is none more fearefull then this: andyet(how fearfullfueuerit be)it is a rite finne amongll: vs inthefe our daies.For it is very euideut bycommon experience, that the moremen are taught the dotlrine of the Iob.t8. "· ----~------------------------------------------------------------~10~\V,~
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