In his prayer: "Wee give ourselves to synn, without restraint in our conscience before, or remorse after." He considered 3 points: 1. The stile of Christ; the Sonne of Man. 2. To whom he came; to the lost. 3. The end of his coming; to save. Where men come of an honourable parentage, or beare an office of dignity, it is their use to stile themselves in the name of their auncesters, as Solomon the sonne of David, &c. But where they have none, the Jewes call them Ben Adam, the sonne of man. Howe happens it then that Christ which is Salvator mundi, Σωτἡρ, the best word that the Greekes have, that he takes upon him this stile of basenes? For two reasons: 1. Because the nearer he came to our nature, the neerer he came to our name; first before the lawe he was called Semen mulieris, then Shilo, after Messias, and nowe himselfe gives himselfe this name, the Sonne of Man, by speciall effect changing his name; when he was Silo wee were but servants, &c.
He layd downe his name to take up ours, that wee might for his sake lay downe our lives to take up his glory.
fo. 122.
8 Aprill 1603.
He would not have his glory upon earth: he would never suffer himselfe to be called God upon earth, nor suffer his miracles to be blazoned, he would have his fame spread by the inward persuasion of the spirit not the outward applause of the mouth. And hence he noted the difference betwixt the fame of a magistrat and of a minister; for from the outward action of the magistrat we come to an inward approbacion of his virtue; but contrary in a minister, from our inward perswasion of his virtue to the outward approbacion of his actions.
Exinanition [Exaninition] of Christs glory on earth typified in the auncient Jewish manner of coronacion, and enthronizing their kings, when they powred a horne of oyle upon his head, to shewe that as the horne was emptied to annoint him, soe out of his fullnes he should enrich others. Oyle is taken for grace.
Second point; to those that were lost. The Rabbins devide all the people into three sorts, Sapientes, such were the Scribes and Pharises; 2. Sapientum filij, such as held nothing for opinion, nor did any thing for action, but that which was approved by the Pharisees; 3. Terræ filij, the children of the world, publicans and synners, reputed as lost sheepe: to these Christ came, and for conversing with these he fo. 122b.
8 Aprill 1603.was obrayded; to teache men what a different course there is in the managing of heavenly and earthly things. The greate affayres of the world begin at the Prince, and soe are derived by a long course to the people, but the matters of heaven begin in the people, and soe rise up to the Prince. The first newes of Christs birth was brought but to a company of silly shepheards, from them to a poore city, Bethleem, from thence to Jerusalem, and soe by calculacion it was neere two yeares before it came to the Kings eare.
There are two Kingdomes in this world, a temporall and a spirituall or mysticall, eache needing other. Where the rich feeling their poverty in spirituell, come to the minister to be furnished in that commodity, and the minister feeling his wants in the riches of this lyfe, followeth great men, to be relieved in that necessity. Communis indigentia est societatis vinculum, mutuall necesity is the surcingle of the world.
Second reason; Christ came to these, as the fittest to receive his doctrine, and yet it is clapt in amongst his miracles that the poor beleeved. The promises of a kingdome in heaven is a greate matter which greate men according to their course in earth will hardly beleeve can be effected without greate meanes, and therefore a miracle yf princes receive Christ. Our fo. 123.
8 Aprill 1603.Prince did, and our King doth continue this miracle; for shee did, and he doth, hold and will maintaine the truth of the Gospell, "and this hath king'd him," said he.
Two conclusions; better to be a lost sheepe in the wild field, then put up safe in the fold of the Pharisees.
There have bin three great monarchies in the world, the first of Synn, the second of the Lawe, the third of Grace, and these had severall ends; the first was death, the next Christ, and the last is lyfe; and these were attained by severall meanes, for synn brought us to death by concealment of our faults, the lawe brought us to Christ by knowing our syn, by revealing our syn, and Christ by his grace leads us to everlasting lyfe. In each soule those three kingdomes have their succession yf it be saved. Though the lawe was delivered with thunder, yet there insued comfort in the first word, "I am thy God." The lawe like a bason of water with a glas by it, serves to discover, and scower away the filthines.