Chapter VII (continued, part 3)
Testament, as creation was of the Old, and therefore it is called a new song.
(3.) Here there is a more special reason why they should sing a new song, for the New Jerusalem was in their eye, Christ s kingdom and their kingdom ; we shall reign on earth, there all things shall be made new, and therefore their song is new : a new song for the instalment of their new king ; thus
Ps. xcvi. 1, which is a psalm of this kingdom of Christ, as appears ver. 10, 13 ; that psalm therefore begins, O sing to the Lord a new song. Obs. 1. Learn to frame new matter of praise and affections upon every new occasion.
Obs. 2. We are to bless God for creation and redemption both; to take in the mention of old blessings when we give thanks for new, as a good scribe
is said to bring forth of his treasure things new and old : so in thanksgiving we are to sing the old song and the new.
The matter of the song is praise to the Lamb.
First, The person praised is the Lamb ; Thou art worthy. In answer to the proclamation, Who is worthy? Thou, and thou alone; for to him, and by him, and for him are all things, Col. i. 16.
Secondly, The things for which they praise him are, (1.) for his death, that he died to redeem; (2.) for his resurrection, intimated in this, Thou wast
slain : the one making us priests, the other kings ; as follows, ver. 10. And
1 to this end Christ died and rose, that he might be lord and king, Kom.
siv. 9. The word which is translated here redeemed, is in the original fought.
Ver. 9, For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood wxk of every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation.
Obs. 1. That the blood of Christ was paid as a price to God to purchase
A ERIEF HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 217
our redemption, 1 Cor. vi. 20, bought with a price; and in 1 Tim. ii. he
calls it a ransom.
06s. 2. That Christ hath not redeemed all men ; for it is not every nation and tribe, but out of every nation, the elect only.
06s. 3. In that they say Christ is worthy to receive the book because he was slain, it argues this Book of the Revelation is a special fruit of his
death, and so should be the more prized by us ; before Christ s death, we hear Christ himself say he knew not when the day of judgment should be, but now he is slain, and hath taken this book, he doth, ver. 10.
Ver. 10, And hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we
shall reign on the earth. Christ was before set forth as a lion for a king, so
as a lamb for a priest ; and both were mentioned to shew the grounds of our
being both kings and priests, who shall reign on earth.
Obs. 1. That this comforted the saints of old, even the consideration of
Christ s kingdom on earth; and how peremptory are they, We shall reign
They mention that, because that is the end and scope of the Revelation, the
conclusion of this book, when the seals are off and the book finished, and so
they have it in their eye; and they seeing Christ undertaking the accom
plishment of all in this book, whereof this is the issue, are confirmed in the
faith of it.
Obs. 2. That this kingdom of Christ on earth to come is a far more glo rious condition for the saints than what their souls have now in heaven ; for
these here overlook that condition which yet they were to run through, and
their thoughts fly to comfort themselves with this, We shall reign on earth.
Ver. 11. In this verse come in the other company of the angels singing; who, first, for their number, are ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou sands of thousands. In the 7th of Daniel, where the same throne and king dom of Christ is prophesied of, there is the same number of his guard of
angels mentioned.
Obs. 1. God hath another world of rational creatures, which we see not; and what a story then will the latter day produce
Obs. 2. What need we fear when there are so many for us ? as 2 Kings vi. 17. For their station; they are behind the elders, &c., yet round about the
throne; not so near as the elders, they are the guard of the queen of heaven, the Lamb s wife, the church. Ps. xxxiv. 7, Angels encompass round about them that fear him; and are sent out for their good, Heb. i. 14.
Ver. 12. The song follows, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to re
ceive, &c.
06s. 1. Christ, though he were worthy by inheritance, yet he was also
worthy by purchase, to receive all these; so the words imply, that was
slain.
06s. 2. As he hath seven horns and seven eyes, so he hath a sevenfold
praise.
06s. 3. And because they cannot praise hi enough, they heap up words
to praise him with.
06s. 4. None is worthy to be the king of all the world but only Jesus
Christ ; and indeed it were too much for any creature. The angels them
selves were top-heavy of their glory, which made them reel out of heaven; but Christ hath the Godhead to poise him. No beast is naturally a king of
beasts but the lion, says the philosopher; nor none worthy to be king of all
creatures but this lion of the tribe of Judah.
The things which they attribute to him are
218 A BKIEF HISTOEY OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST.
First, Power; that is, authority over all: so Christ says, John xvii. 2, * To me all power is given. Secondly, Riches; that is, possession of all creatures: all things are his/ and so ours. 2 Cor. viii. 9,
Christ, who was rich, was made poor; riches of
<
glory, knowledge, all are his.
Thirdly, Strength, joined with power and authority. Able he is to work anything; not as other kings that have great power and authority, but no more personal strength than other men : he hath therefore seven horns. Fourthly, Wisdom; and this as large as his power and dominions: he knows all God means to do, and sees all with his own seven eyes; not other men s, as other kings do.
Fifthly, Honour; that respects what all creatures bring in to him : they all adore and bow the knee to him, Phil. ii.
Sixthly, Glory, both in his personal excellencies, and also what his Father gives him; he sits at God s right hand, and with his Father governs, and shall come in his Father s glory, and in his person is the brightness of his glory.
Seventhly, Blessing; which respects that glory which, for his special good ness to them, his saints do give him. Others give honour to Christ, the devils do, but not blessing; that the saints only do, for that respects com munication of goodness
: they only bless him whom he blesseth first. Obs. Christ hath all desirable excellencies in him : beauty, glory, honour, esteem, riches, strength, wisdom.
Ver. 13, And every creature. Every creature in its kind shall worship Christ, Phil. ii. Every creature comes in here, because when Christ s king dom is set up, they shall be renewed, Eom. viii. 19, Ps. xcvi. 10, 11; both creatures under the earth, bodies of saints departed, and precious stones, &c. ; for all creatures shall be used in a glorious liberty. The church of men began the song, and these continue it; for it is this mercy to them that is matter of the song, and the instauration of their king; and therefore we are to be stirred up the more to do it in that we see even all the creatures do it, whom it doth not so much concern. Ver. 14, And the four leasts said, Amen; and the elders follow: the offi cers begin and end.
Amen seems to be an ordinance, a word to be used by officers first, and then by the people; as 1 Cor. xiv. 16.
A DISCOUESE OF CHRIST S REWARD;
OK,
OF THE GLORY WHICH HE RECEIVES IN HEAVEN,
AS DUE TO THE EXCELLENCY OF HIS PERSON, AND AS THE RECOMPENSE
OF HIS WORK OF REDEMPTION PERFORMED.*
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive 2>ower, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. REV. V. 12.
I DESIGN to give you a particular, as we use to call it, of that estate of glory which, was Christ s due, and which our Lord of glory parted with and was emptied of, and compare with each the particulars of his emptied, humbled
estate, contrary thereunto.
And for this I might refer unto those inherent glories that were his due, to have broke forth from the first in him, as also those privileges and royal ties of his ; and so here, upon that argument, set by them his standing out of all these, and emptying himself of them during his humbled estate.
I shall take that royal proclamation of his glories which the holy and blessed angels, his heralds, have made, and take what I find summed up in one cluster, growing on one stalk, or in one verse, Rev. v. 12, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and
strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. That they speak it of him as God-man is clear, in that he is called the Lamb.
But before I enter upon the merits of my design specified, I must remove an objection, that my running over those particulars mentioned will not be
pertinent unto the ends and purpose which I even now proposed
: for the main argument is, the glories which were his due as God-man before his
redemption of us; and the laying down of that glory was the main ingre dient of that sacrifice he offered up for his redeeming of us. But the royal ties there ascribed as worthy to be given him are what, the angels say, he was worthy of for having redeemed us ; for the account they give them
* This fragment which appears to have been notes for what, in Presbyterian churches, is called a table-service, that is, an address to communicants before par taking of the Lord s Supper is given in this place, because it is an exposition of a passage in the Book of Eevelation ; although, so far as the matter of it is concerned, it would more properly fall under another division of the Author s Works. This Dis course closes the Expository portion of Goodwin s Works. ED.
220 A DISCOURSE OF CHEIST S REWARD. [REV. V. 12.
hereupon is, as lie is the Lamb slain, and not at all as God-man. For the removal of which, and clearing the aptness and meetness of the allegation of
these, as suitable in the scope and matter of them unto my forementioned
purpose, I premise these answers :
First, As to that, that the angels should proclaim him worthy of all these
because slain, and as the Lamb that was slain, as ver. 9 seems to carry it :
suppose that were the scope, yet it is but to declare a superadditional glory of Christ s, consisting in this, that he should merit by his death what was
otherwise naturally due to him in his person, who was slain ; and so a re doubled honour accrue to him upon several titles, that he who in himself, and the dignity of his person, was worthy of all these, should moreover by the merits of his death purchase thereby to be worthy of them also ; and so
that although he merited them by his being slain, yet it was but what was
his own by another right before due to his person, but now moreover to his
actions and sufferings, and how that by them he deserved them also. And so
in that one description or character of him both dues are here both involved
at once. First, The Lamb, noting his person God-man ; and it is his title
given his person, now he is in glory, throughout this book. Secondly, The Lamb that was slain. Both which, under the same terms in effect, Peter indi-
gitates, 1 Pet. i. 19, Ye were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot/ where the preciousness of
his blood is inferred from the preciousness of his person. (1.) He mentions
Christ, whom, in his person, he expressly calls elect and precious in the fol
lowing chapter, (ii. 6,) and whom he sets forth in his person as a foundation to
our faith, and also unto his merit for us, which is the approximate ground of our faith. Then, (2.) he speaks of this glorious person s being sacrificed to
death, for his blood there is said to be the price, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, alluding to the paschal lamb, his type
: for, indeed, even
the value of that price by his death was founded on the innate worthiness of
his person, as to whom all these were due on the pure account thereof; for
his having been slain would not have made him worthy of all these, if his
person that was slain had not been worthy of all these before he was slain.
Yea, and the angels do mention his death, in this their doxology of praise,
chiefly as a description of his person in this sense : that he whose person was
the Lamb of God, (God-man,) and further, had been he that was slain, was
worthy, &c.; and of the two it is certain the worthiness of his person far ex
ceeds the merits of his sufferings and actions.
Secondly, The like allegation may be made concerning the manifestative
glory of the other two Persons ; for that very glory which is personally due
to each Person as God, they are yet proclaimed worthy to receive upon occa
sion of some special work done by them : and thus it is with Christ here. Thus God the Father, of whom the angels say, chap. vii. 12, Blessing, and
glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be
unto our God for ever and ever, Amen : all these are his due as he is God ; and yet, chap. iv. 11, he for of him it is spoken is proclaimed
* wor
thy to receive glory, and honour, &c., for thou hast created all things. Thus it is with Christ for having performed the work of redemption here.
Thirdly, It is true there is a glory given to Christ which wholly relates to
the work of redemption alone ; even as to God the Father also, for and upon his work of creation; who, although he was God, and so almighty, able to
create, yet he could not have had the glory of creating or being a creator, unless he had actually created, though in that he is able to create, he might have been entitled to such a power. And so Christ hath this glory given
REV. V. 12.] A DISCOURSE OF CHRIST S REWARD. 221
upon occasion of his being a Redeemer, and that he is a Redeemer ; for he
was slain, and without it he had not been a Redeemer ; yet still look, as God
receives in and upon the work of creation but the glory of his being God,
the invisible things of God being manifested therein, even his eternal power and Godhead, so Christ, in receiving the glory of redemption, receives but
the acknowledgments of those portions due to him as God-man, now further
manifested in that work.
Fourthly, In that he is said to receive them after his being slain, this
prejudiceth it not but that they were due to his person before. For not
only of God himself the same phrase is used, Worthy art thou to receive
glory, that is, as given from all thy creatures, Rev. iv. 11; it is spoken of him that sits on the throne, ver. 10, but also here, as it is used of Christ,
it refers to that actual possession he had taken of glory upon his ascension, which is called his entering into glory after his sufferings
: Luke xxiv. 26,
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory V
All which the angels after his ascension thus applaud, and cry Euge to. And
in respect to this possession then given, and received by him, it is said he
was made both Lord and Christ : Acts ii. 34-36, The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made
that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ ; which is
clearly spoken of his ascension, and yet he was Lord and Christ before. And in the like manner doth the Revelation speak of his entering into pos
session of the kingdoms of the world : Rev. xi. 17, Thou hast taken to thee
thy great power. It was his before; his power as his due, and yet as now but
the taker of it ; and therein takes but what is his right into his own hands. And the phrase, takes to him, is usually spoken of one that hath newly taken
to him a right or due that was detained from him, or out of his own hands, and exercised by others that kept it from him, yet belonging to him ; and
so here, when he is declared worthy to have received, &c., and to receive
after his suffering, it is to be judged that he doth but take to him what was his. And
Lastly, That all these were his by inheritance, as being God s natural
eldest son, you have expressly, Heb. i. 4, o, Being made so much bet
ter than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou
art my Son, this day have I begotten thee ? And again, I will be to him a
Father, and he shall be to me a Son, by inheritance, as being eldest son, and the only-begotten of God. Yea, in his very conception, and the union of
God-man, he was the Son of God ; and therefore all this royalty or glory was then his due by inheritance : Luke i. 35, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of
God ; called, that is, shall have the name of being God s Son, and therewith
all that dignity, power, glory whatsoever, that were due to him that was the
only-begotten Son of God, John i. And the angel shews that he should have all these in title as his right and due the first instant of his conception ;
all which he yet had not in full and actual possession until he, as now here, was come to heaven.
And therefore that it is here said, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive, &c., imports not as if he received it only because he was slain; nor is it any way implied thereby, that it was not his right by personal in
heritance, no more than that a king that is a while kept from his right, and
222 A DISCOURSE OF CHRIST S REWARD. [REV. V. 12.
obtains the possession of it by conquest, may not yet be said to have it by inheritance also , yea, and so as he holds that to be the surer and better title
also. In that very chapter, where his kingly dignity is solemnised, there are these three distinct titles proclaimed of him : First, By inheritance, in that he is called the Root of Jesse. The eminentest and eldest in a family are called the root, or the father of that family
: so Isa. xiv. 30. Now, though David was the youngest son, yet, Ps. Ixxxix. 27, God said of him, I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth ; who as in that
right received the kingdom, to shew that Christ, as God s first-born, should by inheritance receive it also; which is the title I am now a-pleading. Secondly, He is called the Lion of Judah, who got the land by conquest ; so Joshua, of that tribe, Christ s type. Thirdly,
( A Lamb slain/ that bought it with his blood.
This objection being thus removed, and the text thus adapted to my in tended purpose, I approach now unto my intended design, which is to set in one view, in two opposite schemes or draughts, these personal excellencies of Christ God-man as it were in one side or page, as in such cases we use to place things opposite or parallel ; and the contrary humbled estate in the form of a servant on the opposite page, as being avriffroi^ia,, contrary one to the other.
Concerning these his excellencies and royalties due to his person, I
premise but two things in general ere I enter upon the aforesaid particular comparison
First, That these perfections he is celebrated for, are in number seven, which is the number of perfection ; for they contain a fulness and complete ness of perfections, and those personally due to him.
The second is, that they are the good and holy angels, who behold his face and the Father s, who do give him the eulogy and praise of them. And the testimony of angels ought to have a mighty impression upon us. You see what a weight is put upon but one angel s testimony that gave Revelation to John, and it is as the seal set to the whole book, Rev. xxii. 1 6, I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify these things. What then is the testimony of all the holy angels, the whole choir of them ? And so it is prefaced to these words in the foregoing llth verse, And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders : and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou sands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy, &c. This witness of theirs must therefore have an answerable reverential repute with us , for they must needs be held the most faithful and able witness in this matter. In
deed, above all other creatures, we men redeemed do experimentally feel what he is as he is a Redeemer, and know that, in that respect, better than they. And therefore there is that emphatical difference to be observed in the song of the chorus of men, giving glory to him, Rev. v. 9, 10, Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests : and we shall reign on the earth. Oh, how feelingly do they enlarge upon it ! But yet the angels, when they say, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, though they go no further in their mention of it, yet they speak all this upon their own knowledge, and that a knowledge of sight, and not of obscure faith, as in a glass darkly ; for they see his person every day, 1 Tim. iii. 16, taken up into glory, seen of angels, and seen as now he is in glory, since his taking up ; and so are to be valued for the most competent witnesses to this matter of his personal glory, as also for the most faithful and impartial, in that he
REV. V, 12.] A DISCOURSE OP CHRIST S REWARD. 223
is of another nature from theirs : He took not the nature of angels. But
yet they are so taken with, and overcome with this glory of his person now
it is in their eye, that not only they envy not at this his exaltation as man so far above them, as the evil angels of their own nature do, and for that cause did, that you see on the contrary how they magnify and extol it. You may well and worthily then receive their testimony, as next to that of God
himself, and say, in allusion to what John says of God s witness of Christ, 1 John v. 9, If ye receive the witness of men, the witness of angels is
greater.
And so I am more immediately arrived at that comparison I promised iii each particular of these glories set in opposition against every answerable
humiliation, not only emptying of them in Christ s humbled condition, but the perfect contrary brought upon him ; and this the holy angels themselves
give us occasion, and invite us to do, by saying, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain ; they considered, and took in both into the burden of their song. Let us therefore, as I said before, turn that part of the optic glass that renders the sun in its brightest strength and glory, and then turn the other end that renders it as a small snuff, discoloured, and riding in darkness and blackness ; and we may, among other, make this use of it, when you come tothe sacrament to celebrate the memory of Christ crucified, take a view of Christ in both. First, see him as crowned with glory and honour, as the
Apostle speaks they saw him, Heb. ii., sitting on the throne of Majesty on
high; and then as crowned with thorns, naked, despised, hanging on a
tree. You have them both in sight in that one ver. 9 : We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, by the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour. And that /3ga^6 n, a little lower, understand not of his being, in that he was a man, therefore a little degree lower ; but it is
spoken of the shortness of the time in which he was made lower ; for other
wise, as for the lowness itself of condition which he was brought unto, the
comparison unto the angels was not sufficiently expressive, it is too high to
set it forth ; for he was in that respect made lower than any man. I am a worm, and no man, said he, Ps. xxii., that before had said, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? And as you consider any part of his de
basement, mingle this thought with it, Thus glorious should my Jesus have been at that time, but he gave himself, and all, away for me.
The first attribute is power } that is, authority, dvva{j,ig, which is here put for Igoucva, as sometimes elsewhere j for here it is distinguished from /V^uj,
strength, which is another of the particulars that follows. And it is a sure
rule in interpreting this place, that each of these seven are distinct from the
other, else they observed not the number seven, the number of perfection. And to set out Christ s completeness thereby is his scope, John xvii. 2, i Thou hast given him power over all flesh ; and, Matt, xxviii., All power is given me both in heaven and earth, even all that power executive, not
essential, which God himself means actually to exercise or put forth ; all this
power is committed to him ; as himself at another time saith, John v. 22,. All judgment is committed to the Son. And thus as in respect of actual
exercise of authority, God s and Christ s power as God-man may be said tobe of equal extent, one God, one Lord, of both whom are all things that are, so by virtue of this he hath all subject to him, 2 Pet. iii. 22, Angels, and
authorities, and powers being made subject to him ; so as Christ, by virtue of it, commands whatever is done in this and that other world. You have seen him in his greatness in this respect.
See him now stript of all this: Matt. xx. 25, Ye know that the princes-
224 A DISCOURSE OF CHRIST S REWARD. [REV. V. 12.
of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise
authority upon them. Then, ver. 28, he propounds his example, The Son
of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life
a ransom for many. It is as if he had said, The Son of man foretold by Daniel,
(as in chap. vii. we find it,) to whom was given dominion, and glory, and a
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him : his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, ver. 14. Though it was his
right to exercise dominion on these petty constables, who, for such are kings over the nations, yet under him ; instead of being over, says he, all these sorts
of attendants, I minister to all, and my whole life is a service devoided of
all authority but over devils and diseases; but otherwise it is a subjection to
all other ; and I am not only a servant unto God herein, but am subjected to men. And what was his end in this but to make a price of redemption for us thereof, together with his whole life, and to give his life a ransom for many? He is subject not only to the lawful authority of the Eoman em
pire as then extant, but so he would have been of any state he might have been supposed to live in, which he considered enough then ; the exactors of
tribute required it of him by Peter, to put him in mind of it, Matt. xvii.
"
But he declared, in his answer to their demand, himself a king s son ; and
therefore he says, ver. 26, The children of kings are free. And in those words he speaks to this effect : To give thee, Peter, a demonstration of what
authority and dominion I have in this world, I will not pay it out of that
ready-money I have, or thou hast by thee, nor will I borrow it of any man, but I will command a fish to pay me tribute, and with that do thou pay Csesar. So as whilst he subjects himself to this authority, he shews a greater authority himself had, which Caesar had not. This authority, power, and dominion he gave away, and receded from it ; yea, further, he that had
authority to command all in heaven and earth, a far larger and superior dominion than Caesar s reached to, was often put to hide himself, and fly from that authority that sought his life, as if he had not been able to have commanded the preservation of it. Thus when a babe he was forced to go into Egypt for fear of Herod ; when come back again, to go into Nazareth
for fear of Archelaus ; and when come to age, he was so divested and emptied of all power as he was forced to retire into the borders of Canaan, at one
time, to hide and skulk, as we say. And again, John iv. 1,3, When there
fore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and bap tized more disciples than John, he left Judea, and departed again into
Galilee. And another time, John xi. 53, 54, Then from that day forth
they took counsel together for to put him to death. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence into a country near to the
wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples. Yea, then when he was to be apprehended by a band of men, he yet con
siders enough what power and authority he had in heaven for his rescue : Matt. xxvi. 53, 54, Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels ? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be ? Even then he subjects and empties himself: If I should take this on me, how should the Scriptures be fulfilled 1 which have said, I must die, and suffer, and thus it must be. So at the bar he suffers himself to be arraigned by autho
rity, and to be smitten by an under-officer, as one that reviled the autho-
* It appears, however, to have been a tax imposed on the Jews by themselves, for the maintenance of the temple-service, that Jesus paid on this occasion. ED.
REV. V. 12.] A DISCOUESE OF CHRIST S EEWAED. 225
.rity which the smiter of him judged he ought to have been subject to, yea,
thought much at it that so poor a wretch as he should presume not to do it : John xviii. 22,
l And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so 1 As if he should say, Answerest thou, so vile, so mean a wretch as thou art, the high priest so ? And he then also considers what was his due, and declares it before them openly at the bar, when they con temned him, as being then, through his own willing emptying himself, in their power. Thus, Matt. xxvi. 64, Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said : nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven ; that is, You have me now under, and this is your hour, and you think of me but as of another man subject to you
: neverthless, I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. What need I say more as to this argument but this, that he to whom all authority in heaven and earth is committed, was accused and condemned, and the cause for which he was condemned was, that he was a rebel and a traitor unto authority ?
The second particular glory of which Christ divested himself for us is
riches, which some refer to those riches of wisdom spoken of, Col. ii.; but wisdom we find comes in after ; nor are they riches of glory, for they are in like manner summed up in glory, which also follows. But these riches here are attributed to Christ as a king, which is the subject of this chapter ; and a kingdom consists, as in authority, so in riches, &c.; and so these riches do
import the right of possession unto all things whatsoever the jus or domi nion over all creatures, as being his proper goods and chattels. And to this
< All is yours, for you are Christ s; so that all are his first and originally, and our right is but a derivation from him. We read that Wisdom (that is, Christ) says, Prov. viii. 18, Riches and honour are with me. The earth is full, as of his glory, Isa. vi., for that is spoken of Christ; so of his riches, as Ps. civ. 24. And of Christ it is that it is said, Ps. xxiv.
purpose it is said,
1, The earth is his, and the fulness of it; the world, and they that dwell
therein; it is spoken of Christ, that king of glory, as ver. 8, 10, of whom that psalm is made : for it is he to whom those everlasting doors did open when he ascended, as in the close of that psalm. His riches lie not in chattels only, but in persons also : the fulness of the earth, and the inhabi tants also, as in that psalm. The angels here, you see, acknowledge that
all riches are his, and therewithal that themselves possess not a foot of ground in heaven but what is Christ s. And if they, the supremest rank of God s creation, are his servants, as that angel acknowledged himself to be, Rev. xix., and ministering spirits, Heb. i, and servants and ministers about & great king or great person are part of their riches, then surely all things else must be put into this inventory. Now see the grace, the love of Christ, as the apostle speaks, 2 Cor. viii. 9, That though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. He emptied himself of the possession of all, and left not himself so much as a hole to hide his head in. He speaks in relation to his outward possession of anything; for his scope in that place was to exhort to giving to others. And this poverty was from his very birth. Con sider but how his mother did lie in, you that are rich, fine dames, you will soon be sensible of this more than others : she lies in in straw, as beasts at
best, not in a bed, no, not in a house, but a stable; and the babe himself was laid in a manger. His parents that brought him up from an infant were poor, and such must his accommodations and breeding be. Witness VOL. III. p
226 A DISCOURSE OF CHRIST S SEWAED. [REV. V. 12.
the offering they made at his bringing to the temple, Luke ii. 24:. And
after in his life, the world was not amended with him. He lives upon the
charity of others, and had but merely wherewith to live. He is made de
pendent upon women, who themselves have not to give, but out of that their husbands allow them ; thus Luke viii. 3 ; and therein was made a servant ; for so is the borrower to the lender, as Solomon speaks. And at his death
it continued still to be thus with him. He is fain to commend his mother
to another, to John, to keep her when he is gone, having nothing himself to
leave her. His clothes, though mean, were not his own to dispose of at that
time; but the guards and watchmen that waited him till death cast lots for them before his face; and himself considered it, and laid it to heart, as in
Ps. xli., (made of him, and expressing his heart, ver. 9.) It is strange that
in the midst of such tortures he then hung in, he should mind this circum
stance, so small a one : but we are thereby taught that he considered every
thing he suffered, as well as every sin of ours he suffered for; and was accord
ingly afflicted that he that was so great, so rich a person, if he had had his own in his right and due, should be brought to this, and stripped of all, and
should have those his mean and worthless clothes to be disposed of before
his eyes, in a way of sport, as well as otherwise. This wounded and pierced his heart, as well as that they pierced his hands and his feet, and gave him
vinegar to drink, and wagged their heads in scorn ; and his poverty, and
emptiness of all comforts, and want of all supplies in those respects, he was
deeply sensible of. And the psalm begins with, Blessed is he that considers
the poor; for he was such, and speaks it as glad that any did consider him
in that estate.
The third thing instanced in is wisdom, which is as large as his authority. He knows all things that are, or fall out within his dominion; which are all
things. Kings see not with their own eyes, but the eyes of the Lord run
through the whole earth. He knew Paul, where he dwelt, Acts ix., as also
that church, Rev. ii. 13, I know where thou dwellest, and so all parti culars also; and else, he were not a merciful high priest as man, if he knew
not all our particular straits as men. He is the bishop of souls, and knows all his flock himself. As man he shall judge the world, and is ready to do it now, as Peter speaks ; and therefore knows all that God hath done, or will do, or all persons to be judged : All things are naked before him and that him is Christ there
swith whom we have to do. * And all these
things he knows, not by the hearsay of angels, that are his messengers sent
by him, not to bring him intelligence, but to execute his will ; them yet he
employs as ministers for his business : but he knows them all in himself, as he did that particular matter then in Mark v. 30.
Now let us see him in his weakness, and emptying himself for a time in
this respect. How ignorant was he of many things
! As of the day of
<fec. Yea, ignorant of letters and learning. This they spake of him that had cause to know him, his kindred that lived
judgment, and of the fig-tree,
in the same place, and therefore name his condition and calling ; and they that knew his sisters, Mark vi. 2, 3, spake thus of him, From whence hath
this man these things ? And what wisdom is this which is given to him ?
Is not this the carpenter, that hath lived always at his trade, and wrought for us, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joses, and of Judas and Simon ? And are not his sisters here with us ?
See Lapide in locun out of Molina.
CERTAIN SELECT CASES KESOLVED:
SPECIALLY TENDING TO
THE COMFORT OF BELIEVERS IN THEIR CHIEF
AND USUAL TEMPTATIONS.
1. THE CASE OF DESERTION ; OR, WALKING IN DARKNESS : THE CAUSE AND REMEDIES.
2. HOW TO DISCERN ANSWERS TO OUR PRAYERS.
3. THE CASE RESOLVED, WHETHER AFTER SOUND REPENTANCE A CHILD OF GOD MAT FALL INTO THE SAME SIN ?
4. HOW IT IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD THAT EVERY BELIEVER BRINGETH FORTH ALL HIS FRUIT IN CHRIST.
5. HOW TO DISCERN OUR GROWTH IN GRACE.
HERETOFORE ALL PUBLISHED IN THREE TREATISES
1, A CHILD OF LIGHT WALKING IN DAKKNESS.
2, KETUBN OF PEAYEES.
3, TEIAL^F GEOWTH.
AND NOW REPRINTED, AND NEWLY PUT TOGETHEB,
WITH OTHER DIVINE TRACTATES,
A CHILD OF LIGHT WALKING IN DAKINESS;
OR,
A TREATISE
SHEWING
THE CAUSES BY WHICH, THE CASES WHEREIN, AND THE ENDS FOE WHICH, GOD LEAVES HIS CHILDREN TO
DISTRESS OF CONSCIENCE.
TOGETHER WITH
DIRECTIONS HOW TO WALK SO AS TO COME FOKTH OF
SUCH A CONDITION.
WITH OTHER OBSERVATIONS UPON ISAIAH L. 10, 11.
WHEN HE HIDETH HIS FACE, WHO CAN BEHOLD HIM ? JOB xxxiv. 29.
HONOKATISSIMO DOMINO.
ROBERTO,
DOMINO BROOKE, BARONI BROOKE DE BEAUCHAMP COURT,
HEROI
EXIMII ACUMINIS, SUMMI CANDORIS, PIETATIS AC LITERARUM CULTOBI,
FAUTORIQUE, OPELLAM HANC,
LABORANTIS CONSCIENTI^ CONSOLATORIAM, IN PERPETTLE
OBSERVANTI^E TESTIMONIUM :
DO. DICO. CONSECRO.
THOMAS GOODWIN.
TO MY MOST HONOURED LORD.
ROBERT,
LORD BROOKE, BARON BROOKE OF BEAUCHAMP COURT,
A HERO,
OF RARE INTELLIGENCE, OF EXTREME CANDOUR,
A CULTIVATOR OF PIETY AND LEARNING HIMSELF, AND A FAVOURER
OF THEM IN OTHERS,
I GIVE, DEDICATE, DEVOTE THIS LITTLE WORK,
DESIGNED TO COMFORT DISTRESSED CONSCIENCES, IN TOKEN OP
UNENDING RESPECT.
THOMAS GOODWIN.
TO THE EEADEE.
THAT which drew these sermons from me, next to thy good, was to right myself. They were first preached eight years since, and some notes thereof
were, to say no more, dispersed into the hands of many, to my prejudice. They are here presented as they were preached, with little alteration or addi tion in method, style, and matter ; only, to make up the treatise more com
plete, I entirely added, against the publishing thereof, that whole discourse about Satan s part and hand in these desertions, beginning at Chap. VI. In
handling which, I trust I have not at all incurred that severe increpation of the Apostle against curious speculations about angels, of intruding into those
things which I have not seen ground and warrant for in the word. Sure I am, I have endeavoured to follow the school, in their labyrinths herein, no further than I found a clue of Scripture and right reason clearly guiding and
warranting my way j without which I account the ways of this old and wind
ing serpent, in his communications to us, to be, as Solomon speaks, like the way of a serpent upon a stone, hidden, and past tracing or finding out. And
lest any of the weaker readers, especially those in distress, to whom more
speculative and doctrinal discourses, though about things practical, prove usually tedious and unpleasing, should, in reading that piece, be discouraged at the first, my advertisement is, that, if they find that part of the way craggy or tiresome, which I hope they will not, they would divert out of it, and come in again at Chap. XL ; from whence to the end they shall find what is more accommodate to their understanding and conditions, and more practi cally speaking to their distress. The blessing of Heaven go with it !
THO. GOODWIN.
A CHILD OF LIGHT WALKING IN DARKNESS.