Lecture 8 · 1 Thessalonians 2:15–16

THE EIGHT LECTVRE VPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE THESSALONIANS.

IN this rejoysing of the Apostle Paull together with the Thessalonians, for the graces of God that were bestowed vpon them, ye haue heard brethren. the Apost. thanked God instantlie for that meeting he founde in them when he preached to to them, exhorted, comforted & besought them to walke as worthie of that God that had called them to his kingdome and glorie. Their meeting was: they heard him, and not onelie they heard him, but they receiued the thing they heard, and not onelie receiued it, but in heart embraced it and laide it vp as a treasure and the seede of life and immortalitie: they imbraced it, not as the word of man, but as the word of God, as it is indeede: and not onelie imbraced they it as the word of God but in life and conuersation vttered it: it was effectual in their life He proued this, because they were followers of the Church in Iudea, conuerted to Iesus Christ. The speciall thing wherein they followed them was, that euen as these Churches were troubled by their owne Countrie the Iewes: euen so they that were conuerted at Thessalonica were troubled, not by forrainers but by their ovne Citizens.

Not to repeat any thing we spak the last day, but to go to the text red. In this text the Apostle hauing spoken of these Iewes malicious and obstinate doing, wherby they euer impeaded the progresse of the Gospell of Christ and hindered mans saluation, scattring themselues among the Gentiles, throgh al the Romane Prouinces: and when anie of the Apostles came, stirring vp insurrection, and not suffring the Gospell to haue place, so farre as they might stop it. Therefore he digresses heere and aggreages the sinne of these malicious Iewes, making vp a dittay against them, and therafter he giues out the doome, and pronounces the sentence of wraith and condemnation against them. And therefore to returne, and to oppen vp euerie sentence. They haue slaine, sayes he, the Lord Iesus. There is the first point of their dittay. These men the Iewes, that trouble the Church of Christ in Iudea, are they that haue slaine the Lord Iesus himself. They haue in their extreame persecution slaine and crucified to the death the Lord of glory. 1. Cor. 2. 8. That is, they haue dispatched him, not after a common manner, but after a most cruell and shamefull manner, by a cruell, sore and shamefull death. Whom haue they slaine? the Lord of glorie: and honourable personage, all the glorie of God, is, & dwels in him as it wer. Who is this by name? It is Iesus, the Sauior of the world: euerie word aggreages their fault. There is the first point of their dittay. The first crime laid to their charge, is the crucifying of the Lord Iesus Christ, this is the thing he begins at: there are mo pointes of dittay laid against them, but he beginnes at this, the persecution of the Lord himselfe. Persecution beginnes not at the bodie, nor at the members of the bodie, Persecution begins at the head of the Church. nor at the seruants; but it beginnes at the head, the Lord Iesus him selfe, if not in action & in deede, yet in intention; in the malice and hatred of the heart. The Prophetes in deede were slaine and persecuted in action, and died before the Lorde Iesus came in the world: but these same men that slew the Prophets with their hand, ere they slew the Prophets they slew the Lord of the Prophets, the Lord Iesus in their hearts: because that all the Prophets that were slaine were his seruants sent before him that was to come.

Now to come forward. The second thing is, They slevv the Lord Iesus, they slew the Lord of glorie, that in his slaughter, so farre as in them lyes, the worlde should be slaine: for they that vvoulde slay Iesus vvould slay all men, so farre as lyes in them, and they slay him after a most cruell and shamefull manner. The greater grace the greater the persecution. Brethren, this is the ingyne and nature of persecutors: the worthier the personage be who is persecuted, the greater grace of God be in him, the greater glorie and innocencie be in him, the greater will be the extremitie of their persecution. None of the Prophets of olde were so extremelie persecuted as the Lord Iesus was; neither yet the Apostles that followed him were so persecuted as he was: and all because of the greatnesse of the glorie of his personage. If ye will search the grounde of this, it must, no question, come of great blindnes, for if men savv vvell the grace and the glorie of God that is in the persones of them that are persecuted, for all the vvorlde they durst not persecute them. And therefore he sayes in the 1. Corinth. 2. chap. 8. verse, If they had knovvne they had not crucified the Lord of glorie. No if the glorie of the Church were seene, vvicked men durst not stirre her. There is yet a greater and an higher ground; The malice of the heart comes in and blindes and putteth out the eye of the minde, Eph. 4. 18. Throgh ignorance sayes Paul, that comes through the hardnes of the heart, for this is the nature of the hardnes of the heart to hate the light and to delite in darknes, which is enemie to the light of God: All our pleasure is in darknes by nature, and so it is caried against the light, and the first thing it does it puts out the light of the minde yea euen the very natural light, and so when the heart is blinded it caries him against all light, and chieflie against the light of God and the Lorde of light him selfe. And this is the vvorke of this faire nature of man so highlie accounted of by the Philosophers. Seeke therefore to shutte out of thy heart this maliciousnes that blindes it, or else thou shalt be blind folde throvvne down to hell.

The thride thing to be marked heere is. When he is laying out this persecution before the Thessalonians he is comforting thē that wer afflicted. Haue they not slain your Lord? &c. what vvounder is it hovvbeit they persecute you? Brethren, all the affliction is not layde vpon one man, hovvbeit he get his burdene heauie enough. Comfort through Christes persecutiō The Lord hes measured to euerie one his owne part: and he vvho is afflicted should looke ouer his shulder and see who hes beene afflicted before him, and scarcelie shall he see a godlie man but vvith his burdene on his backe, all is not laid on him alone. But aboue all let the persone that is afflicted first set his eye on the Lord Iesus. Let him looke ouer to Golgotha vvhere Christ is hanging on the Crosse, and in Christ let him looke to tvvo thinges: first to the glorie & worthinesse of that personage who sufferes: next, to the extremitie and ignominie of that passion: looke to these two things in him, and then looke down to thy selfe, and looke what thou art first, not a Lord, if thou were a King, but a seruant (all the Kings on the earth are but seruants in respect of him:) then go to the affliction thou suffers, and thou shalt finde thou suffers not the thowsand part of the affliction he suffred for thee, there is great inequalitie betweene thee and him, and then beginne to reason. The seruant is not greater nor his Lord, the disciple is not greater nor his Maister. The Lord Iesus is my Lord I am not but a seruant: yet the Lord Iesus my Lord suffers and in such great extremity; then may I not be content to suffer the thousand part of his suffering? Of this comes contentment of heart, and patience to suffer for the Lord. For except thy eye be set vpon that personage of Iesus Christ, it is not possible for thee to suffer with joy the simplest crosse that is for the Lords sake.

The next point of their dittay, they haue slaine their ovvn Prophets. Persecution of the Prophets. This they did ere they slevv the Lord; albeit it be set in the second rovvme. They haue slaine: vvhom? Prophetes, vvorthie men. Whose Prophets? not strangers, but men of then own nation, Iewes as they vvere, their ovvne Prophets sent by God to them, to teach and prophecie to them, to bring them to the way of life: yet they haue runne vpon them, and haue slaine them, all aggreages their fact. Ye vvill aske, vvas these Ievves that slevv the Prophets the same that slevv the Lord Iesus, they wer not in the Prophets dayes, they came long after? I answer, he vnderstands the whole bodie of that people, fathers and children, which makes vp a bodie. The fathers slew the Prophets, Therfore Steuen. sayes Act. 7. 52. Which of them is he vvhom your fathers haue not persecuted? Then he comes to the children: & as for you that are children, ye haue betrayed and slaine the iust one. This is it that Christ sayes in the 23. chap. of Matt. vers. 32. Ful fill out that or follow out that, that your fathers haue left vndone slay me and my Apostles. Yet there may be an other answere made to this. It may be that he will lay to the charge of them that slew the Lord Iesus, the slaughter of the Prophets, as though they had slaine them with their owne hands. Posteritie guilty through their fathers. For ye must vnderstand that the children that come after their Fathers, are inuolued in the whole guiltinesse that their fathers were in before them. Was he a murtherer? thou art guiltie of murther: were thy Grandfather and his father murtherers? thou art inuolued in the same guiltinesse: and except thou by grace be transplanted out of the rotten stock of thy fore-fathers in Iesus, thou shalt die for that murther of thy fathers. All the sinnes of thy progenitors shalbe hung about thy neck if thou be not exeemed and planted in Iesus Christ. Yea that sinne of Adam for eating of the frute shall be laid to thy charge, and thou shalt pay for it, if thou be not transplanted out of rotten Adam, and ingraft in Iesus Christ, the second Adam. Rom. 5. 14. Not onelie is this naturall corruption drawen to children throgh propagation, but the children are inuolued in the guiltinesse of the verie action of the progenitours. All serues to this; to make fathers to be waie and to take head to their actions, that they slay not themselues allone, but the multitude of their posteritie, as Adam slew vs all. Yet there is an other ground and answere to this. These Iewes that slew the Lord Iesus, are counted to haue slaine the Prophets before them. The ground and cause is this (I would that all murthereis did heare this:) Slayest thou an innocent man such as Abel? the whole innocent bloud that was shed since the beginning lights vpon thee, thou art guiltie of it. And therefore Christ Matt. 23. 36. layes to the Ievves charge the whole innocent bloud shedde since Abell vnto Zacharias that vvas slaine betweene the temple and the altar. Therfore murtherer take head, thou shalt drowne in bloud, for by thy act thou giuest approbauen to al those murtherers that were from the beginning. Thou makest it a pastime to dip thy hand in innocent bloud: but wo to thee if thou be not washed in the bloud of christ. This for the answer to the question. Now marke, brethren. When he speakes of the slaughter of the Lord Iesus committed by these Iewes, he forgets not the old Prophets: and with the Lords he joines his seruants, neither forgets he the Apostles, Both the persecution & the persecutors are recent in Gods memorie. and vs also haue they persecuted: al are put in one catalogue, the olde Prophetes, the Lord Iesus, the Apostles and Martyres that were slaine. And who doeth this? It is not so much Paul as the holie Spirite that doth it: which is a token that all the martyrdomes that haue bene, is, and to be; was not, is not, nor shal not be forgot of the Lord: they are all in recent memorie. And suppose there were not a booke of Martyres vvritten in the earth, yet there is a booke in Heauen written, and all the Martyres from the beginning are registrate in it: and that book shall be laid oppen before man & Angels: ye shall see them, not in pictures but in face. And again, he remembers the Iewes who did it: so as there is a booke of Martyres in heauen, so is there a booke of persecuters, wherein all their names are written, and in that great day the booke shall be laide oppen, and shall be presented to their eyes, to their rebuke, shame and eternall confusion. So the Lord hes all in remembrance, the Lord hes a recent memorie: a thousand yeeres are but like a day to him, and a day as a thousand yeeres: albeit we will forget all, yet all is recent in his memorie. And this is verie comfortable to the afflicted, and it is terrible to the persecutors. Woe is that man that hath not his sinnes forgote and pardoned of the Lord. There is not one teare of the sufferer but it is put vp in his bottle. This for the second point of their dittay.

Let vs novve come to the third point. The Iewes vvere not content with the slaying of the Prophetes and of the Lord Iesus himself, but when he is away they persecute his Apostles. A wonderful thing that this people can not hold vp their hand: the fathers slay the Prophets, the children slay the Lord, & then the Apostles. Ere I goe forvvard marke this: iniquitie, impietie & vngodlines, when once it enters in anie familie or clan, in any race of men in the vvorld, howe hard a thing it is to get it out againe. Oft times when the fathers begin with it, it followes on so vpon the whole race of them, that it makes an end of them and their race both Beginnest thou that art a father? thy sonne and thy vvhole posteritie vvill follow, while in end the judgement of God light and destroy all together. Is the father a murtherer and slew he one? the sonne will double it: and so forth of other vices: and then the Lord throwes dovvne the house and cuttes off all the generation. And the Lord did so vvith these Ievves, It is said in the second command, that the Lord visites the thrid & fourth generation of them that hate him. What is the grounde of this? because the iniquitie of the fathers is driuen to the children to the thrid and fourth generation. Therefore the vengeance of God lights on all. Ye fathers therefore take head to your selues, and purge you frō iniquitie: for if ye be carelesse of your selues, the vengeance of God shall be on you and your children both. The example of the Iewes might be a spectacle to al the world; the verie iniquitie proceeding from the fathers to the sonnes, till all were cutted off, might nowe suffice to exhort all fathers to leaue sinne, as they woulde not be destroyed and their vvhole race after them. Marke an other thing heere. There is nothing that can not content this people: there is no kinde of message that can please them. First the Lord sends Prophets to them: then he sends his Sonne (as it is said in the parable) that they might reuerence him Matt. 21. 37. Last he sends the Apostles his seruants, and they are as rigorous against them, as they could: so no sort of message could content them. Steuen Act. 7. 51. layes downe the ground of this. Persecuters malice euer against the light of the spirite. [O stifnecked people, ye resist euer the holie Spirit]. So there is the ground: because all come with the light of the holie Spirite, therefore they persecuted all. The malice of a persecuter, is euer against the light of the Spirite of God. So let euerie man be sure, so long as the Spirite of light is, there must euer be persecution. Had I an other man (will the prophaine man say) I would heare him. No, if thou hast this hatred of the light of the spirite in thy heart, if Paul should come and preach thou vvouldst persecute him: yea if Christ him selfe should come in proper person, thou wouldst persecute him: take therefore head not so much to the preacher as to thine owne heart: if thou hast the loue of the light, the preacher can not be disliked by thee, and by the contrair if thou hast not the loue of the light, thou wilt persecute all that come to thee. This for the thrid point of their dittay.

Now comes on the fourth part of their dittay. God they please not. This followes the other three. The slaying of the Lord: the slaying of his Prophets, and the persecuting of his Apostles. They that slew the Lord, and his Prophetes, and persecuted the Apostles: How could they please God that was the sender of them? And so in these wordes he takes off the couer of their faces. For these malicious Iewes when they were doing all this euill, they boasted of themselues they pleased God, & they wer his people saying. We are the Church and all these are enemies to God. Paul pulles off this couer, and he showes that they in doing of this, were nothing but enemies to God Ye knowe in these dayes men will come in and say, It is we that are the true Church, it is we who are seruing God aright and in the meane tyme they will be persecuting burning tormenting the children of God? But what are they? will ye haue them deciphered? they are enemies to God: the Pope is the Antichrist, and this shall be ratified in that great day. But to let them alone there are many amongst our selues, who will ay be doing euill, and are enemies to God: for thou that art an enemie to his seruants, thou pleases not God: for heere is a ground, There is no glorifying of the Lord, but in his ministrie. Contemne thou this ministrie by little and little in end thou shalt be an enemie to God, if thou hadst sworne the contrair. If thou seuere the glorie of God and this ministrie, and be a contemner of it, thou shalt neuer be glorified of God. Ye haue heard foure pointes of their dittay.

Now to come to the fift. They are contrair to all men; Iew and Gentile. This is a consequent of the first three: slayers of the Lord, and of his Prophets, persecuters of the Apostles & pastors, they are enemies to the saluation of all mankinde: pretend what they wil; enemies to the seruants of God, to the ministrie (by the which saluation is wrought, and without it thou shalt neuer obtaine saluation, nor see the face of God) they are enemies to all mankindes saluation.

Come to the last point of their dittay. They forbid vs to speak to the Gentiles: they are enemies to the saluation of the Gentiles that by our ministrie shoulde be wonne to God and to his Church: the porple-wall is broken down that did hold out the Gentiles before, yet they wil hold thē out of the fold. There are sundrie sortes of Iewes that hindered the saluation of men: there is one sort of them that vvould not suffer Christ to be preached to the Gentiles at all, but euer raised vp sedition to impead that vvorke. Of these ye may read in the 13. of the Acts. There was another sort of the Iewes that suffered the Gospel to be preached to the Gentiles, but added to it circumcision and the law of Moses: of whom read Act. 15. The first sort is worst. Now the Apostle heere meanes chieflie of this first sort; who, as the Lord himselfe sayes, vvould neither enter them selues into the kingdome of heauē, nor suffer others to enter. For this is a sure thing, euen as a man that hes gotten his own heart enlightned by the loue of the trueth, would haue that light to be imparted to all the world and wishes from his heart that all were partakers of it, as Paul wished to Agrippa. and the rest that heard him, that they were lyke vnto him sauing his bondes. Acts 26. 29. Well had they bene, thogh they had bene chainde, to haue had the light of Iesus: yet he puts to these wordes, for reuerence cause sauing these bandes.) Euen so, a man who hes the hatred of the trueth and light, he would haue all the world blinded as he is, he woulde haue all mouthes closed as his mouth is closed, that neuer man should name Christ to the world: He would haue all eyes put out, that neuer a man might see one jote. In a word he that is in Heauen translated out of this darknesse of nature, he woulde haue all in Heauen with him. And by the contrair: He that is yet in darknesse, and so in Hell, he would haue all with him. So looke what condition the man is of he would haue all lyke to him. Therefore I will neuer thinke well of men that impeades the progresse of the Gospell of Christ: they argue what is within them: for were this loue of the light within their hearts, for all this worlde would they not hinder the progresse of the Gospel Alas, ye shall finde this ouer true in the end: woe, woe, to them that hinders the planting of the Gospell. Alas, if there were this loue of the light in their hearts, there would not be so many churches vnplanted, & so many soules fuffred to perishe.

Now I draw to an end. When he hes set down these six points of their dittay, whereof the least is worthie damnation: for what judgement must light on the slayers of the Lord, of the Prophets and Apostles? He sets down the end of all, that euer they should I fill out their sinnes. As though he said, they are euer exercised this vvay to this end that the measure of their sins should be filled out, and then the judgement should ouertake them, This is the end of the counsell of God. They had an other end. But to make this plaine. all things fall out to man by measure vvhole the fulnes come. All thinges that fall as it vvere out of Heauen out of the counsell of God vpon men, fall in a measure, and in a quantitie. The grace of God in Iesus Christ is giuon in a measure to euerie one. Ephes. 4. 7. The afflictions of the godlie is giuen in a measure, and peece and peece this measure is filled out, vntill it come to the heape, and then the affliction shall cease. The filling of them did begin at the creation, and Abell felt them first, and euer since the measure of them hes beene incressing vntill it came to Iesus; and he tooke an heauier vveight of affliction vpon him nor euer was before him. Yet the measure of the afflictions of the Church is not filled out. In comes the Apostles and they get their part: after them comes the Pastores, and they get their part: and enerie persone that is in Christ gets his part, and so euerie one hes his ovvne burdene. So long as the world shall stand this measure shall be in filling out: when it shall be full the world shall fail, and the pillers of it shall be cutted, and an end shall be put to all teares. Reuel. 21. 4. This measure is long in filling. It did begin soone, it must be filled out, sayes Peter, in brotherhood. 1. Epist. 5. 9. So euerie one hes his owne part. Likewise, some goe by a measure and since the beginning this measure hes beene in filling: euerie age hes casten to their their owne part. It is not one age that hath filled vp the measure of sinne; but euerie generation hes casten to the ovvne part to fill vp sinne: and in this age euerie one is bearing their arme-fall and burdene of sinne: he vvith murther, the with harlotrie, and he with oppression and persecution, and he comes in with blasphemie: yet the cup is not full, and the measure of sinne shall not be filled vp so long as the worlde doeth stand. When the father dies, the sonne will liue to fill out this measure: he makes his testament, yet the sin is not filled vp, but the thing he could not doe himselfe, he bids his sonne do it, and he will say to his sonne: Sonne I could not get this man slaine, nor this euill deed nor that euill deed ouertaken, if I had liued, I should haue done this or that: doe thou therefore that I coulde not do. So doe the Iewes, and therefore the Lord sayes, Fill out the measure of your fathers sinnes, Matt. 23. 32. Now when this measure is full, the vvorld shall take an end and all shall fall down, but vvoe is the sinner, and vvell is the godlie: for the sinner shall be destroyed for euer, and the afflicted bodie shall finde saluation. Take head. There are none that knovve when this measure shall be filled out, but he who in his vnsearchable counsell hes appointed this measure of sinne, that is God: I know it not, thou knovvest it not, and therefore it is ouer presiumptuous a thing, when thou seest a man in sin to say, this man hath filled the measure of sinne: for it may be the Lord will let him hue to commit greater sinne. And in deed it is a vvonder to consider the patience of God in suffering of sinne, and so it is called the riches of the benignitie of God. Rom. 2. 4. And this should learne vs patience to sit still and abyde Gods leasure, and glorifie him. Farther this vvould be marked heere: there are sundrie measures of sinne: one of all the wicked that euer vvas, is, or shall be to the end: an other is of any certaine nation or countie, as of the Ievves heere: the thrid is of the particulare persone vvhereof Paul speakes. Act. 3. 10. And in lyke manner vve may consider the same measure of grace. There is now the dittay.

Will ye heare the doome? the vvrath of God is come on them to the vtmost. As he would say the vvrath of God ouertooke them long since. It holdes on, and shall holde on. vntill it bring them to a miserable end. There is the doome and judgement. It is set dovvne as a cause of the filling vp of their sinne, Proportiō betvvene vvraith & sinne. because the wrath of God leaues them not. When once Gods wrath begins to light on a bodie, that bodie will neuer doe a good turne, but sinne on still, vntill in end the vvrath light on him and beate out all his braines. And againe, when once God beginnes to looke on a creature vvith a fauourable eye, that creature will be exercised in vvell doing: for it is the mercifull face of God that makes the man to doe vvell. And for this cause it is said that God hated Esau, and therefore he neuer did a goode turne: and againe he loued Iacob, and therefore hee did all to pleasure his God. All serues to this end, that men and vvemen should seeke to stand in the fauour of God: seeke tokens of his loue. And on the other part seeke to be free of the vvrath of God: for if it possesse thee, thou shalt doe nothing but sinne vnder it, and as thou sinnest, vvraith after vvraith shall follovv on thee, vntill it come to an height, and then it shall be heaped on thee, to thy euerlasting destruction: vvhen thou art crying peace, peace, the vvrath of God vvill come on, tumbling on thee as a Mountaine: as vvas seene on these Ievves fourtie yeeres after this. Novv to end. The Lord giue vs euer grace, to seeke to be vnder his fauourable countenance, and that the countenance of his terrible vvraith may be turned from vs, that that vve may studie to please him in our lyfe and conuersation through Iesus Christ. To vvhome vvith the Father, and the holie Spirite, be al praise, honour and glorie, for euer and euer.

AMEN.