SERMON I: CHRIST'S EXALTATION PURCHASED BY: Humiliation
Christ's Exaltation Purchased by Humiliation by Richard Sibbes
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SERMON I:
CHRIST'S
EXALTATION
PURCHASED
HUMILIATION
SERMON II:
CHRIST'S
EXALTATION
PURCHASED
HUMILIATION
SERMON III:
CHRIST'S
EXALTATION
PURCHASED
HUMILIATION
SERMON I:
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.—ROM. 14:9.
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 he 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?
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?
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.
'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. 15:45. He died as a public person, and the 'second Adam.'
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. 9:14, '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
10:18. 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.
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. 'He humbled himself to the death of the cross,' as it is Phil.
2:8.
4. Yet further, as he died voluntary, so he died as our surety.
Therefore he died a 'cursed death' due to us. 'He was made a curse for us,' Gal. 3:13, 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.
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. 27:53.
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 Scripture saith nothing of it; nor what became of Moses's body. They rose to do God a service and Christ an honour, which when they had done they were content to be disposed of by God again, and, it is likely, to return from whence they came. For if the head of the church himself was content to come from heaven into the virgin's womb, and from thence to the cross, and from thence to the grave, and to be abased for us, those that have the Spirit of Christ, those blessed souls in heaven, might well be content for a time to be abased, to take bodies, to do a service for their Lord and Master, who was content to forego heaven thirty-four years, and the glory due to him.
Therefore by the way, if God will use us, though we be never so great, for a particular service to the church, shall we stand upon it, when the blessed saints in heaven, those blessed souls, were content to come and take bodies for a time, to do God service, and then to sleep again?
3. Again, He rose on that day which was ever after, and well may still be, called the Lord's day; for a new world began with his rising, therefore a new Sabbath. Saint John saith, 'I was in the Spirit upon the Lord's day,' Rev. 1:10. If a man be ever in the Spirit, it is upon the Lord's day, when the Lord of the day doth honour his people, giving them to enjoy his ordinances, and joining effectually with them, maketh them full of the Spirit, and raiseth up our dead hearts after him.
'And revived.'
Why is this added to rising again? 'He revived.'
1. To shew that he rose never to die again, and that indeed he never meant to lay aside that body again, as once he had, to die for us.
Consonant hereunto is that Rev. 1:18, 'Behold, I was dead and am alive, and I live for evermore; I have the keys of death and of hell.' He lives for evermore, as Heb. 7:25, 'He sits for evermore at the right hand of God, there making intercession for us.' He dies no more.
2. Again, This 'revived' is added to shew the kind of his life, differing from that life he lived before. That life he lived before he died, was supported with meat and drink and refreshings, even as our poor lives are. It was a life subject to death that he died in, but after his resurrection, except it were for a particular dispensation, to confirm the faith of his disciples, he needed no more to eat or drink or sleep, or any natural supports and helps; for he was enlivened immediately by the Spirit of God which flowed into him. He was full of the Spirit, and that did supply all other things whatsoever. Even as in heaven,
'God shall be all in all,' 1 Cor. 15:28; that is, he shall be so immediately to us, to supply all, as we shall neither eat nor drink nor sleep, nor have magistrates nor ministers; but the Spirit of God will be all in all; so it was with this life of our blessed Saviour when he revived. The Spirit supplied the absence of all other supports whatsoever that he used before he died. And indeed our Saviour
Christ came to bestow that life upon us that he lived after his
resurrection; not this natural life of ours, that needs meat and drink and refreshings. This is not that life that Christ specially aimed at when he came to die, but that spiritual and eternal life that he lived after the resurrection; a life not subject to death; a spiritual life, not needing any created support whatsoever.
You see the grounds; the inference from these grounds follow in these words, 'that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.' The ground hath three branches: death, resurrection, and reviving. How all these do flow and give strength to this inference, I will touch in the particulars. First, then, Christ died 'that he might be
Lord of the dead and of the living,'
Christ died, 1 Peter 1:18, to offer himself a sacrifice, to redeem us by his precious blood. 'We are not redeemed with gold or silver, but with the blood of Christ.' He could not be our Lord till he had bought us. Now his death was the price of our redemption; I say
'redemption,' not 'emption.' A thing may be bought that was never sold away before. Now we were sold to Satan, and under a contrary government. Now Christ satisfying divine justice redeems us. He buys us again. We had subjected ourselves to the devil, and put ourselves under his regiment,* till we were ransomed by Christ. Now
Christ shall have no right to us till the price be paid to divine justice; for mercy must have justice satisfied; the attributes of God must not fight one against another. Christ, therefore, is Lord of us, because by death he gave full content to divine justice. So that now, notwithstanding justice, yet we are Christ's, and are saved. Nay, now the justice of God helps us. The most terrible attribute, justice, is a ground of comfort, for it stands not with justice to have the same debt paid twice. For God is just and faithful, saith the apostle, 1 John
1:9. So then you see there is a ground from death why we are the Lord's. We are Christ's because we cost him dear. He hath paid a price for us that is worth more than the whole world. Now God shewed his love in nothing more than in this, that he parted with that that is next himself, the greatest, his Son, who being God, yet died, in
that nature that could die, to redeem us, and hereupon becometh Lord.
2. Secondly, He rose again, therefore 'he is Lord of the quick and the dead.'
(1.) First, Because his rising again was a manifestation that his death was a full satisfaction to divine justice, or else our sins should have kept him in the grave still, he being our surety. But our surety being out of prison, it is a sign he hath fully discharged all our debt, and the price is paid. If the surety and the creditor be agreed, we know the debt is paid.
(2.) Secondly, In that he rose again, he is Lord, because in rising again he entered into the possession and exercise of that Lordship that he had purchased. The right is one thing, and the use and possession of the right is another. Christ was Lord of us before he died. He was Lord of us when he died. But he did not enter into possession of his Lordship till he rose again. Therefore he saith, 'All power is given to me, both in heaven and earth,' Mat. 28:18, when he was ready to go up to heaven, to shew that by his resurrection the right he had by death was manifest.
(3.) Lastly, Because his rising again shewed that the Father was fully pacified. He obtained the gift of the Spirit, which next Christ himself is the greatest gift. God gave his Son first, and then the Spirit that comes from the Father and the Son. The Spirit was not given till his resurrection and ascension, as it is John 6; 7:39. Why? Because till all enemies were fully subdued by his death, and witnessed to be subdued by his resurrection, the Spirit could not be so fully given, the Spirit being a declaration of the good will of God that sent it. Now when the enemies of Christ were triumphed over, and God had shewed by the raising of his Son again, that he was fully satisfied, then the Spirit comes as the Son† of God's favour, which Spirit doth enable us to be subject to Christ, and makes us come under Christ's kingdom, which is a spiritual government. Wherefore because he
obtained the Spirit for his members upon his resurrection, thereupon is the inference good. He rose again, therefore he is Lord 'of the quick and of the dead.'
3. Thirdly, He revived; therefore he is Lord of the quick and of the dead. Reviving and taking such a life as is not subject to death any more, he is now in heaven to make good that he purchased on earth.
He revived, I say, to be a king, priest, and prophet at the right hand of God for ever: there to rule his church, and to overrule all the enemies of it till he hath subdued all; till he hath 'gathered all the elect,' Mat. 24:31, and brought his church out of the world, and made
'his enemies his footstool,' Ps. 110:1. You see then the ground is good, and the inference is good. 'Christ died, and rose, and revived,' that he might be Lord of the quick and dead.' I come now to the thing proved.
'That he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.'
Christ is Lord both of the dead and of the living. For the better clearing of the point, let us see what is lordship.
'Lordship' properly is jus in rem et personas. It is a right, and where it is full, it is a right with possession either in things or persons.
But what manner of 'lordship' is this?
1. Christ is an universal Lord of and over all, over all the world; both over all the dead, and all the living; but more especially, and in a peculiar manner, he is Lord of his church, even as a husband is lord over his wife, which is a lordship with sweetness. So Christ's government is with unspeakable, with unconceivable sweetness. He is Lord as the Elder Brother, as the first begotten is over the rest; for he is the 'first begotten among the dead,' Rev. 1:5. This likewise is a sweet government. It is indeed a lordship of a king over his subjects, as his lordship is a branch of his kingly office; but it is such a lordship as is for the good of his subjects. It is not a derived* happiness. They enjoy the head and the subjects. Christ accounts
himself happy in his church, which is his fulness. The church is 'the fulness of him that filleth all things,' Eph. 1:23. And more especially is the church most happy in this government. It is such a lordship as is, indeed, altogether for the good of the subjects. 'To us a child is born, to us a Son is given,' Isa. 9:6. He died, and rose, and revived, and all is for us. A Christian may say of Christ that he is totus in meos usus expensus, as one well said (c). He is all mine; he is all expended for my use and profit. It is such a lordship as makes all his subjects kings. Therefore it is said, Rev. 1:5, 'He loved us, and gave himself for us;' to purge his church, as it is Eph. 5:26, and likewise to 'make us kings and priests.' Where note, Christ hath a notable attendance upon him. He is served with none but kings. All God's children are kings. Even the meanest servant that is anywhere in the world, in spiritual respects is a king. What a Lord and King is this, that makes all his servants kings! You see, therefore, as Christ is an universal Lord, so also he is a peculiar Lord over his church.
2. Again, He is an independent Lord; only his Father joins with him in all. He is subordinate to his Father as Mediator, but he is independent in respect of all human authority whatsoever. All human authority is derived from him. 'By me princes reign,' &c.,
Prov. 8:15. His government in regard of all those governments is altogether independent. Therefore he is called 'the Lord of lords,' and 'King of kings.' He is Lord Paramount, as we say, over all; and they all are or should be dependent upon him.
3. And likewise he is a Lord of the whole man, body and soul; he is a spiritual Lord. He commands not the body only, but the soul. He sits in the throne of conscience especially, and there he subdues the conscience and the soul to him. There he prescribes laws to the conscience and pacifies the conscience, and stablisheth conscience and settles it against all fears and terrors whatsoever. He is Lord of body and soul, especially of the soul. He bows the neck of the inward man, and brings it wholly to be subject to him. He lays his command upon the very soul itself.
4. And he is an eternal Lord. You see here he is Lord of the 'quick and of the dead;' all other lords have nothing to do with men when they are dead. They can do them no more harm. They have some power, indeed, over their dead bodies, but, alas!* that is senseless (d). Their government ends in death, because they are lords over the outward man only. But Christ's lordship is when we are gone hence, and then more especially. For then we are more immediately with him. We are nearer the fountain when our souls are gone to him that gave them. 'I desire,' saith St Paul, 'to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, which is best of all,' Philip. 1:23; especially then he is Lord, when we are gone hence.
5. In a word, he is an excellent Lord, for he hath all things that a lord should have. A lord should have three things: authority, suitable virtues and abilities, power and strength answerable to all. Now the Lord Christ hath all these. And, first, he hath authority, for God the Father gave him power over all. He purchased it, and his Father gave it him. 'He gave him the heathen for his possession,' Ps. 2:8; and 'All power is given to me in heaven and earth,' Mat. 28:18; and he hath full authority, as it is John 17:2, 'Thou hast given me power over all flesh.' He hath then authority. Secondly, he hath all graces and virtues fit for a lord and governor. He hath righteousness, wisdom, bounty, affections, &c. We need not make doubt of it; for he is the spring of all these in others. 'His sceptre is a sceptre of righteousness,' Ps. 45:6. Thirdly, he hath strength answerable to his authority; for he is a Lord that is God. Sometimes among men authority wants power or other qualifications; but in Christ is all, the utmost and greatest fulness of all. These things premised, let us make some use of all.
But, first, let us see why it is said, 'He is Lord both of the dead and of the living,' prefixing the dead before the living? To shew, I conceive, that Christ is Lord of those that were dead before, as well as of those that are alive now. Christ is the Lord of all from the beginning of the world, from Adam to the last man that shall stand upon the face of the earth; therefore he is Lord of those that were dead before, as well
as of those that are alive now, and that shall die after. 'He is Lord of the dead, and of the living.' Now for use, first, where he saith,
'For this end.'
Use 1. It is a point wondrous pregnant, and full of very comfortable use: first, shewing that the grounds of a Christian's faith and comfort are very strong, as you see how the Holy Ghost dwells upon the argument. 'For this end,' saith he, Christ died and rose again and revived, that he might be Lord of the quick and of the dead.'
God doth all to ends, it being a point of wisdom to prefix an end, and work to it. If God hath an end and providence in the hairs that fall from our heads, hath he not a far greater in disposing of things for the good of the church? His Son is given to death, and raised agian. It is for the greatest end in the world, being the greatest work. The greatest work hath the greatest end. Such was this end, the lordship of the church: 'For this end,' saith he, 'Christ died, and rose again, that he might be Lord of the dead, and of the living,' which is his church.
And is this Christ's end, to be Lord of the living and of the dead? We must have it then our end too, to serve Christ, to live and die to him; for being under him, our ends must be answerable to his, as we shall see after.
'For this end.'
Use 2. Again, where it is said he died, and rose, and revived, 'that he might be Lord of the dead and of the living'—It is a profitable course
—I speak it only in general—when we think of the abasement of Christ, to think of the end why. So of his exaltation: it is good to keep these together to avoid scandal* that might arise in our minds from either, thought of by itself, that God should stoop so low. Lest the thoughts of Christ dying and stooping so low should offend us, it is good also to think of the end, that 'he might be Lord of quick and dead;' and if that dazzle thee again, to think of our Saviour now in
glory, full of majesty in heaven, and how shalt thou have access to so glorious majesty. Oh come down again, and think of God incarnate,
God going up and down in our flesh, of God dying, dying a cursed death, and rising again. Thus in your meditations interweave these thoughts, to avoid scandal. Think of his glory; and that you may not be amazed at the glory, so as to be deterred from going boldly to him, think of bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, God dying in your nature. Join these two together. 'For this end the Son of God died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.'
Use 3. Again, You see here in general that the grand principal points of religion have an influence into all the particulars; and there is a homogeneal deduction, as we call it, of divine truths one from another. All depend one upon another, and all divinity; for howsoever divine truth be contrary to carnal reason sometimes, yet there is strong reason in all divine truth. For one is the cause of another, and one depends upon another, as here, 'Christ died, and rose, and revived.' One follows another. What from all this? 'To be
Lord of quick and dead.' How then proves he that he is Lord of all?
Because he died, and rose, and revived. One riseth from another. So that, though carnal reason be one thing and all divinity be another, yet there is reason and deduction issuing of one thing from another in divinity, most wisely and holily; and it is a part of wisdom to observe how conclusions rise from principles, as branches and buds do from roots. Indeed, if we would enter into serious considerations of the grounds of religion, how they give life, and rise unto their particulars, they would have an influence into the whole course of our life, as perhaps we shall see in the particulars more clearly.
'For this end,' &c.
Use 4. Again, in general, when he saith Christ is 'Lord of the quick and of the dead,' we see hence the truth of the catholic church, from the first man living to the end of the church, under one head Christ.
Christ is the Saviour of those that were before the law, under the law,
under the gospel. Christ was the Saviour of all. He is the Saviour of the dead as well as of the living. All come under one head, which hath no further use than to inform us in that one point of doctrine, to shew that Christ is 'yesterday' as well as 'to-day,' to-morrow, 'and for ever,' Heb. 13:8. All that were saved before, that are saved now, and shall be for ever, are saved by Christ. 'There is no other name under heaven whereby we can be saved,' Acts 4:12. 'He is Lord of the dead and of the living.' Now, therefore, to come more particularly, 'Christ is Lord both of the dead and of the living.' What a Lord [is] we heard before.
This is a point of wondrous comfort, and likewise a point informing us of our duty; and withal shewing us that Christ will work that duty in us, because he is a Lord not only that should rule over us, that we should be subject to him, but to make us subject to him. It is a point of wondrous comfort and of duty, and of this issue, that we under the covenant of grace shall be enabled to perform that duty to our Lord.
And then it is a point of wondrous security in life, in death, as, alas! sometime one thing amazeth us, sometime another; sometime we are willing to die—Elias was afraid to live; sometimes we are afraid of death, as we are all naturally. Why, come life or death, come what will come, we are under a Lord that is Lord of 'the dead and of the living.' So it is a point of wondrous security and quiet to a Christian in all passages. He sometimes lives and sometimes dies, but his salvation is not at that hazard to be off and on, but 'whether he live or die,' he is sure to be saved, for he is under the Lord of the living and the dead.
But to speak a little of the first. It is intended for comfort, as well as direction to duty, and to be subject, to submit to the Lord. It is a comfort that we have a Lord that rules us for our good while we are living, and when we are dead, and for ever; and indeed we cannot have a greater comfort, beloved, than this, that 'we are not our own, but that we are bought with a price,' 1 Cor. 6:20, that we are under Christ. Why, what a comfort is this, will you say. Homo non est
natus, &c. (e), as the natural man said, a man is not born to subjection but to honour and government. What comfort is this to be under Christ, to be under a governor!
Ans. Oh beloved, know that it is the greatest comfort; as the rule is, everything is perfect if it be weak, by that whereby it is subject to a higher. The vine is perfect by leaning to the elm. It would lie on the ground else, and be spoiled. The perfection of the weak creature the sheep is to have a shepherd. The perfection of a weak nature is to have a rule for their good. The perfection of the ship is the pilot. It would dash on every rock, and be tossed with every wave else. And so it is our perfection, that we are under a Lord, such a Lord as this is, cui servire regnare est, &c. (f), to whom to serve is to reign; for all his servants are so many kings. It is our perfection to be subject to him, therefore it is a wondrous comfort that Christ is become 'Lord of the living and of the dead.' I beseech you, therefore, think of it in your meditations. All the Scripture aims at this end to comfort.
Whatsoever is written, is written for our comfort; and this is a principle of divinity among the rest, that a Christian is not his own man now, but he is under Christ. And this is a comfort both in life and death at all times. As the psalmist saith, 'My times are in thy hands, Lord,' Ps. 31:15. He saith not, 'my time,' but 'my times are in thy hand;' so we may say our times are in Christ's hands; our time of being born, our time of living and dying; and when we are dead, our time of rising again. Our time, the whole current of our time, is in thy hands, not in the devil's hands, not in our enemies' hands, beloved, for they would make short work with us then; but our times are in our Lord's hands. Christ is the Lord of our times, the Lord of our life and death; and when we are dead, he is a Lord for ever; for he lives for ever, and therefore he is or ever a Lord. Beloved, we do not die at the devotion* and good pleasure of any man whatsoever. They cannot stir so much as a hair from our head, without the will of this
Lord. All the devils in hell cannot stir a hair of our head, I say, nor all men that are acted by the spirit of the devil. They may threaten punishment, but, alas! they can do no more than this Lord of lords will give them leave. Therefore it is a point of wondrous comfort.
Obj. Oh but will a poor soul say, Christ indeed is Lord of the living and of the dead, but I find a great deal of corruption in me, &c., and I am a sinner.
Ans. Why, he is Lord over thee. He hath a sweet lordship over thee, as well as a commanding lordship. He is not only a king, but a husband, as it is Eph. 5:26, 27, 'He gave himself to purge his church,' and to make his church fit by little and little. Thou hast sin and corruption, but thou hast a merciful husband that will bear with the weaker vessel. Doth he command others to do that; and will he not practise that that he enjoins others? Undoubtedly he will; and therefore it is a comfort, it is a sweet government and subjection, as of the husband over the wife. Christ purgeth and cleanseth his church; he doth not cast it away.
For I beseech you, consider, he that died for his church and children, when they were enemies, will he cast them away now they are poor friends, and desire to please him? as Saint Paul divinely reasoneth,
Rom. 5:10, 'Much more shall we be saved by his life.' If he saved us by death, much more now by his life, being in heaven. Consider he rose and lives for ever; therefore will he cast us away for some imperfections, that died for us when we were enemies? He that will not 'quench the smoking flax, nor break the bruised reed,' Mat.
12:20, will he cast away his poor children that strive against their corruptions? He will not, nay, he hath promised where he hath begun a good work, he will finish it to the day of the Lord, Phil. 1:6,
Though it go but slowly forward, yet that beginning is a pledge of proceeding. God will never remove his hand from his own work till he have brought it to perfection. Therefore let any soul comfort itself that will come under this Lord. In a word, what greater comfort can we have than this, that he is such a Lord over us, as is Lord over all other things in the world besides? For he could not be Lord of his church, except he were Lord over hell, and all power were subject to him. Now being so he is such a Lord of the church as can restrain the power of all creatures whatsoever; because else they might annoy the church and affront him in his government by opposition, if he were
not Lord of all things else, as well as of the Church. But this is the comfort of a Christian; he is under a Lord that is Lord of all the enemies of the church; and he is so Lord over them till by little and little he make them his footstool. That that is begun in this world shall be consummate hereafter by that lordship; nay, he will make all the enterprises of the very enemies of his church whatsoever serviceable to his poor church; for as the apostle saith, 'All things are yours, because ye are Christ's,' 1 Cor. 3:23. He is such a Lord as that besides himself being onrs, he makes all the world ours, yea, the devil is ours; for in spite of him, whatsoever he doth, it is ordained to the salvation of the church. The church's enemies are the servants of the church, the involuntary servants; for they weaken† the church and scour it. God raiseth them up for the exercise of the church; and when he hath done, you know what course he takes with them. So then he is Lord, not only over all, but he overrules their actions for the good of the church, whatsoever they are; and he makes all the endeavours and plots of the enemy for the church's good; all is yours, life and death. Though it be death by tyrants, all kind of death whatsoever, it is yours. What a comfort is this, that we are under such a Lord as this.
Especially, what a comfort is this at the hour of death, when Christ, that ruled us all our lifetime before, will take then the government and possession of that jewel that he hath bought with such a price, our precious souls; that when we must part with friends, and part with this sweet body, that the soul so much loved, and with the world and all things in the world, then Christ will own [us] for his when the world will own us no longer. Therefore methinks Christians should be at a point, for life or death. He never goes out of the dominion of Christ; nay, he is nearer Christ; he is more Christ's. If there be any comparison to be made when he is dead than when he is alive,
'Blessed are those that died in the Lord.'
To apply this a little to the present occasion.* Here in this sacrament we are to have communion with the Lord, of his death and resurrection. For what is the sacrament but a representation of his