the messengers of this glad tidings to Judea; now, I design and appoint you to the same errand, unto all the parts of the world. XX. 22, 23. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost : Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

And he breathed upon them; as by that sensible sign, giving them assurance of that spiritual power, which he endued them withal; and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost; be ye by me ordained for worthy and effectual instruments of my service, in my Church; and be furnished, by this act of mine, with such a measure of grace and supernatural abilities, as may assure you, that ye are set apart for this great employment of my Apostleship; and shall, ere long, receive the full measure of those miraculous gifts, which I have intended to you: Whose soever sins ye do remit, whether by way of public doctrine or particular application of your Apostolic sentence, they are remitted to them, in heaven; and whose sins soever ye retain, whether by general doctrine or by special censure, they are retained by God, and shall be fearfully imputed to the offenders: these acts of yours both ways, as also of your true and lawful successors, shall be accordingly ratified in heaven.

XXI. 7. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

Now, when Simon Peter heard, by the voice of the disciple whom Jesus loved, that it was the Lord, he put upon him an upper coat; for he was clad, after the manner of fishers, with some close inner garment only; and, having girt it unto him, did cast himself, in the vehemence of his desire to come unto Christ, into the sea.

XXI. 12. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

And the disciples, seeing such assured proofs and clear evidences that it was the Lord, durst not, for shame, move any question thereof; as if they could conceive any doubt of so manifest and undeniable a truth.

XXI. 17. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Simon, the son of Jona, thou hast shewed much fervent affection to me, above thy fellows, in that thou hast cast thyself into the sea, to come unto me; and, indeed, thou hast reason to love me more than the rest, for that more is remitted to thee than to them: tell me therefore, dost thou love me more than these thy fellow disciples? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee, fervently and zealously. Jesus saith unto him, Then do thou shew and improve this love of thine unto me, in this one point above all others; see that thou do carefully teach and guide the souls of my people: thy affection cannot reach unto me; let it be bestowed upon those tender converts, which shall come under thy charge.

XXI. 18. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, &c.

Verily, I say unto thee, In thy younger times, thou hadst the free command of thyself, and full scope and liberty to dispose of thyself to thine own best liking; but, when thou shalt be old, thou shalt be restrained in durance, and be forced to undergo martyrdom; thou shalt be both bound and crucified. XXI. 22. Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

It neither concerns thee, nor befits thee, to ask what shall become of thy fellows: leave that to my care: I have determined what to do with all mine; and particularly with this disciple, whom I have always held so dear unto me: and, if it were my determination to continue him here upon earth, till my coming again, what were this to thee? look thou to thyself; and address thyself to follow me in that bloody way, which I have led thee, to glory.

XXI. 25. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Let no man think, that I intended in this writing, to comprehend all the miraculous works which Jesus did; but only to choose out some few from a world of those wonders, that he wrought: and, if all his great and marvellous acts should be recorded, they would doubtless fill infinite volumes.

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.

I. 4. But wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

But wait for the performance of that promise, which God the Father hath made concerning the sending down of the Holy Ghost; which promise, said he, ye have heard related to you, by me.

I. 5. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be

baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. See Matthew iii. 11.

I. 6. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Lord, we have heard, and have all this while believed, that there is a temporal kingdom to be restored to the nowenthralled and tributary people of Israel, by the Messiah: we know thee to be that Messiah, which should come: thou hast mightily declared thyself to be the Son of God, by thy rising from death, so as no human power can be able to resist thee: wilt thou now therefore, at this time, satisfy the expectation of thy people, and break off this servile yoke of the Romans, and restore the kingdom to Israel?

I. 7. And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

This question of yours is curious and misgrounded: it is true, that I shall restore the kingdom to Israel, spiritually; not in a carnal and temporal manner, as ye weakly suppose, but by ruling in the hearts of men by the power of my Gospel, and, at last, by perfecting the full glory of my Church: but, when this shall be effected, it is not for you to enquire: there is enough revealed truth for you to content yourselves with: do not ye offer to pry into those matters and seasons, the knowledge whereof God the Father hath thought fit to reserve to himself.

I. 8. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

That, which concerns you, is, to look unto the work whereto ye are designed: ere long ye shall receive power from above, and be furnished with abilities to carry my Gospel into the world; for which purpose, the Holy Ghost shall come upon you, in miraculous gifts and graces; and ye shall be witnesses to me, to declare and justify unto the world the truth of my Resurrection and the power of my Godhead, beginning at Jerusalem and so proceeding to the rest of Judea and Galilee, and then even to Samaria itself and to all the nations of the earth without all exception or limitation.

I. 10. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel.

Two angels stood by them, in the form of men, clothed in bright apparel.

I. 11. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Ye men of Galilee, the late disciples of Jesus, why stand ye thus, with your eyes fixed upon that point of heaven, where your Master ascended; as if you could still see him; as if your eyes would follow him up into that glory? Know, that now ye must exercise rather the eyes of your faith; and that the heavens must contain that glorious Master and Saviour of yours, till his second coming to Judgment: at which time, ye shall see him returning from heaven, in the same glorious manner, wherein ye saw him ascending up thither.

I. 18. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

Now this man received that reward or hire of his treachery, wherewith a field was afterwards purchased; and, when he had done, in a late remorse, offered a desperate violence to himself.

I. 25. From which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

From which Judas, by that wicked treason against his Master, fell; that he might go to that place, which was fit for so foul a traitor, and such a hypocrite; who had all this while taken up a room, that he was utterly unworthy of.

II. 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them

utterance.

Whereas the eleven Apostles had before, upon the breathing of their Master and Saviour, received the Holy Ghost, in that measure that was fit for the present occasion; now, all the assembled Disciples, together with the twelve, were fully inspired with the same Holy Ghost, and miraculously furnished with the gifts and graces thereof; and, for a proof of it, began to speak with strange tongues, as they were guided by the same Spirit.

II. 17-20. I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: &c. And on my servants and on my handmaidens &c. The sun shall be turned into darkness, &c. See Joel ii. 28-31.

II. 31. That his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

He was not left to continue in the state of death; neither was his flesh so long suffered to lie under the power of death, as to pass through the degrees of corruption.

II. 36. That God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

That God hath, in his eternal counsel, ordained this Jesus, whom ye have crucified, to be the Lord of his Church, the

true and only Messiah, and the sole Redeemer of mankind; and hath mightily declared and approved him for such: so as ye all ought to acknowledge him, and look for salvation from him alone.

II. 38. And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And even ye also shall receive these miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, in testimony and assurance of the true remission of your sins, and that inward work of renovation which he shall effect in you.

II. 40. Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Do not any longer join yourselves with the perverse and malicious enemies of Christ; but, as you do now see their heinous impiety, in crucifying the Lord of Life, so do ye estrange yourselves from them, and believe and profess that truth of the Gospel which they labour to oppose.

II. 42. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And they continued stedfastly in the communion and fellowship of the apostles and the rest of the disciples of Christ; and constantly professed that doctrine, which the apostles taught them; and joined together in the celebration and receipt of the blessed Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, and in prayers.

II. 44. And had all things common.

And they had, in that first plantation of the Gospel, so all things common, as that every one was ready to contribute of that, which he had, to the public uses of the Church, and to the particular necessities of their brethren. So also verse 45.

II. 46. And breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

And, consorting in their frugal and temperate meals, they did enjoy the holy society of each other, with much comfort and great sincerity of heart.

III. 1. At the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. At the hour of evening prayer, being about three of the clock in the afternoon.

III. 16. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

It was only the name of Jesus, which I made use of in this cure; neither was it the bare outward sound thereof, but the faith in the Almighty power of Him, whose Name it is, that hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, howsoever the secret and omnipotent power of God hath done it, yet the means which hath obtained it, is the faith in this Jesus, both wrought in us by him and firmly pitched upon

VOL. IV.

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