An expository comment, doctrinal, controversial, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…An expository comment, doctrinal, controversal, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…

how careful is he to distinguish between that which he had from the Lord directly, and was his expressed will, and what he advised as a faithful Officer in the Church, Not I, but the Lord, saith he. Hence he concludeth his Discourse in a most humble and modest manner, calling it his judgement, only adding, I think also that I have the Spirit of God. Though you must know, that in all this Paul was acted infallibly by the Spirit; he speaketh not as an humane Author in this thing.

how carefull is he to distinguish between that which he had from the Lord directly, and was his expressed will, and what he advised as a faithfull Officer in the Church, Not I, but the Lord, saith he. Hence he concludeth his Discourse in a most humble and modest manner, calling it his judgement, onely adding, I think also that I have the Spirit of God. Though you must know, that in all this Paul was acted infallibly by the Spirit; he speaketh not as an humane Authour in this thing.

Secondly, The godly are deceived, when they have some prepossessed principles of error in them, and then think Gods dispensations are to abet and countenance ¹them. This hath commonly caused great mistakes, whereby men have thought they had Gods approbation to their deceits. We see this plainly in the Disciples, this false principle they had imbibed, that the Messiah would come as a temporal and external King, to vindicate their Nation from all the bondage they were under. Therefore when Christ speaketh of his Kingdom, and his Glory, when he speaketh of being exalted, they apply all consonantly to their false principles. Upon this mistake the sons of Zebedee come to ask Christ for the chiefest places of honour in his Kingdom, and upon Christs Ascension in Heaven, Act. 1. 6. when he had for forty days together been speaking of the Kingdom of God to them: Then they asked him, Wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom of Israel? Here you see how much even the Apostles, the first fruits (as it were) of the Spirit were deceived; But what was the [Greek or Hebrew], what was the deceitful foundation in this building? Even a carnal and an erroneous persuasion about the temporal dignity and honour of Christ. Take then much heed that the first concoction be not nought, that there be not Laesum principium, some principle received, that thou must not so much as question the truth of it; and then according to this thou makest many false and erroneous conjectures about Gods proceedings to thee.