Images de page
PDF
ePub

CHRIST'S EXALTATION PURCHASED BY

HUMILIATION.

CHRIST'S EXALTATION PURCHASED BY HUMILIATION.

NOTE.

The title-page of the original and only edition of Christ's Exaltation purchased by Humiliation' is given below. The T. G. and P. N. represent, as in his other volumes, Dr Thomas Goodwin and Philip Nye, both whose names have been already annotated (cf. Vol. II. p. 3). The volume is a thin 18mo. It is among the rarer of Sibbes's lesser pieces.

[blocks in formation]

G.

CHRIST'S EXALTATION PURCHASED BY

HUMILIATION.

For, for this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.-Roм. XIV. 9.

[ocr errors]

THE dependence of these words upon the former I take to be this: The scope of the apostle in this chapter is to stay the rigid censures of others concerning weaker Christians, especially about matters of indifferency, or at the least of a less nature. In the 6th verse, saith he, He that regards not a day, regards it not, to the Lord he that eats, eats to the Lord; and he that eats not to the Lord, he eats not, and gives God thanks,' &c. His reason is this: they that in eating or in not eating do it with a religious respect to the Lord; if they eat, it is to the Lord; if they eat not, it is to the Lord; that is, in obedience to the Lord. They are to be borne withal, because they do it with religious respects. Though perhaps there may be a little error in the matter, yet there be some things of such indifferency that they [do] not give denomination to the action, if it be to the Lord. Howsoever the action be not altogether to be excused, yet the person is to be excused, and is not to be hardly censured. Therefore considering that they* do it, and they that do it not, do it to the Lord, be not hasty in your

censures.

Quest. How doth he prove that these holy Christians did eat or not eat to the Lord ?

[ocr errors]

Ans. From this, because they were the Lord's. They that are the Lord's, they live to him, and die to him; and therefore they do particular actions to him. 'No man,' ver. 7, lives to himself, nor no man dieth to himself,' which includes all particular actions. Whether we live, we live to the Lord; or whether we die, we die to the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.' He proves therefore that they do eat or not eat to the Lord, if they be good Christians, because they are the Lord's.

Those that are the Lord's live to the Lord, and do all particular actions to the Lord. Such must not be harshly censured, because they are the servants of the Lord.

Quest. In the third place, How doth he prove that they are the Lord's that live and die to him?

Qu. they that'?-ED.

Ans. He proves it from the main ground in the text: For, for this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.' So you see the dependence of the reason, they eat or eat not to the Lord. Why? 'Because they are the Lord's.'

But how is it they are the Lord's? It is the end of the three actions of Christ here. 'Christ died, and rose again, and revived, for this end, that he might be the Lord of the dead and of the living.' So you see the connection of these words with the former.

In the words you have argumentum et argumenti ratio, the argument, and the reasoning from the argument; the ground, and the inference from the ground. The ground is: Christ died, and rose again, and revived.' What is the inference from that? That he might be Lord of the dead and of the living.'

In the words therefore we will consider the argument itself, and the ground itself, and then the inference.

[ocr errors]

For, for this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived.'

There are three branches of the ground.

Christ died, rose, revived.

Of the inference we will speak afterwards, and shew how these grounds enforce that inference, that he should be 'Lord both of the dead and of the living.'

"Christ died.'

1. First of all, you must know that Christ died here as a public person, or else the inference were not good. Christ took upon him the person of no man, but the nature; for this end, that he might be a public person. If Christ had taken the person of any body, there had been two persons of Christ. He had died in one person and not in another. Now having the nature that is common to all men, and not the person of Peter or James, &c., when he died the person died in that nature wherein he might die ; so when it is said, 'Christ died,' we must consider Christ as a public person, not taking the particular person of any man, but the general nature of man into union with the second person. Christ died as a public person.

2. Secondly, Christ died as the 'second Adam.' The spring of all misery and death was from the first Adam,' but the 'second Adam' was a quickening Spirit, 1 Cor. xv. 45. He died as a public person, and the 'second Adam.'

[ocr errors]

We must know, moreover, that he died as the great High Priest of the church, offering to God the Father a sacrifice that made him Lord over all, as we shall see after. He died as a priest, as indeed he that was foresignified by all the sacrifices and priests. He was both priest and sacrifice: Heb. ix. 14, By the eternal Spirit, the Godhead, he offered himself to his Father.' 3. Again, He died a voluntary death, for else he had not died in obedience. His death was violent in regard of them that forced it, but it was voluntary in regard of them that he offered himself for, as a sweet sacrifice to his Father. That voluntariness made his death a sweet sacrifice; for whatsoever the Father did to him, he joined with the Father in it. The Father gave him; he gave himself. The Father appointed him to be so and so; and he joined with the Father in all things. No man takes away my life from me,' saith he himself, John x. 18. It was a voluntary death in regard of his freedom; nay, he thirsted after it, as you have it in the Gospel. He longed after it, upon high considerations, howsoever in a lower consideration, as it was a tormenting thing and a bitter cup, he had a desire that it might pass; but it was upon lower respects. Upon higher respects, the

will of his Father and the salvation of mankind, he thirsted to drink of that cup.*

A man may will and nill the same thing upon presenting different objects and respects, and reasons. That which a man may decline, as we say, in this respect, looking to a particular end, that a man may desire, looking to a higher end; because man is framed so to yield to the stronger reason alway. Thereupon that is no objection, he seemed sometime a little unwilling. It was looking upon something presented to him that made him in that respect unwilling; but looking upon other respects he gave himself willingly; the Father and he joined together.

'He humbled

And therefore by the way, when they talk of the active and passive obedience, there was action in all his passion'; chiefly in his passion there was action; for if it had been mere suffering without voluntary obedience, what obedience had that been? A beast may so suffer, but against his will; but his voluntary obedience was the chief in all his passion. himself to the death of the cross,' as it is Phil. ii. 8. 4. Yet further, as he died voluntary, so he died as our surety. Therefore he died a cursed death' due to us. 6 'He was made a curse for us,' Gal. iii. 13, that he might remove the curse from us. These and such like conclusions must be observed in this, that the apostle saith, To this end Christ died,' because we shall have use of them afterwards.

[ocr errors]

Here we might stay and admire, † that life should die! that glory should become shame for us! and that he that is the author of all blessing should become a curse! Indeed, it is a great mystery that Christ, being God, should stoop so low that he could join together the infinite majesty of God, and that low degree of abasement, that he might condescend unto. Domine quo descendis, &c.: Lord, how far goest thou? (a) He could not go lower and be God. God, to shew his love to us, shewed himself God in this, that he could be God and go so low as to die; and not only to die, but to die a shameful and cursed death for us. But I pass to the

particulars.

'For this end Christ both died and rose,' &c.

1. He rose again; and indeed it was impossible but he should rise again, because he is the Lord of life. Now the Lord of life, and life itself, could not long die. It was but by dispensation that he died, viz., to work our salvation. But he could not be detained any longer by the sorrows of death. He died therefore, and rose. He rose, even as he died. He rose a public person, and as a 'second Adam,' to give and infuse spiritual life into all his branches. He rose as our surety in our room. He rose in spite of the Jews, that laboured to keep him down all they could. By the way, this shews that he will rise in his church, and in his children, in his religion, and in his cause. Let the world and all the devils in hell lay a stone upon Christ, upon his cause, and church, and children; they will rise again, even as his blessed body did, in spite of all the watchfulness of the Jews.

2. Again, As he rose, so he rose with many; not alone, to shew, as I said before, that he rose as a public person. Another man riseth as himself; the rest rise not with him as caused by his rising. But Christ rose as a public person. Therefore many rose with him, Mat. xxvii. 53. The graves were opened to shew that he rose as a public person, as our surety, as a spiritual head, and as the second Adam,' who could infuse life into others (b). What became of those bodies that rose with him after? The * Cf. Luke xxii. 15 with Mat. xxiii. 39, seq.-G. †That is, wonder.'-G.

[ocr errors]
« PrécédentContinuer »