Heb. 12-5-13. is a famous Text to express the government of Christ over his Children, by the Rod of correction, and the mo•t frequent Rod of cor ction is sickness, pains, hurts, griefs inflicted upon our bod•es, we ha•e famous Examples in Scripture how God hath managed his Children by the Rod of sickness, David. Psal. 6. and 38. Hezekiah, Isai. 38. so Heman, Asaph, and many more. This great Example of Jesus Christ is of great instruction to such as ha•e crazy, sickly, weak bodies; take heed how we abate any service unto the Lord, especially, we Ministers must be careful in this point, because the pattern of Christ firstly respecteth us. Paul did eminently imitate Jesus Christ in this point, Gal. 4.13, 14. you know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the Gospel to you at the first; and my Temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected, but received me as an Angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. And we see that Paul was under some sickly, craz• infirmity, when he first preached at Galatia, and yet he favoured not his flesh, he spared not his crazy body, his love and zeal carried him out to preach the Gospel effectually to them notwithstanding his great bodily weakness that was at that time upon him, now this humility, love, and self denial in Paul, was so acceptable and powerful with them, and so prevailed upon their hearts, that they looked at him as if an Angel had preached to them, yea, as if Christ himself had come unto them to do them good, and they were so far from despising or rejecting him, as a poor, crazy, sickly man, as that they would (if possible) have plucked out their eyes to have done him good, it is honourable and acceptable service to do good to others, with self denial, hardship and difficulty, to go about in weariness, weakness, pains, and infirmities, to do good, such a pattern Jesus Christ hath set us, though he was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs, aches and infirmities, yet he always went about doing good, Act. 10.38. by this Rod of sickness Jesus Christ doth not only exercise power over the lives of his Children, but also over the lives of his Enemies. Herod must dye, that Jesus might return out of Egypt unto Israel, the World is full of Examples how the Church and Saints have been delivered from persecution, by the death of a persecutor.
Heb. 12-5-13. is a famous Text to express the government of Christ over his C•ildren, by the Rod of correction, and the mo•t frequent Rod of corr ction is sickness, pains, hurts, griefs inflicted upon our bod•es, we ha•e famous Examples in Scripture how God hath managed his Children by the Rod of sickness, David. Psal. 6. and 38. Hezekiah, Isai. 38. so Heman, Asaph, and many more. This great Example of Jesus Christ is of great instruction to such as ha•e crazy, sickly, weak bodyes; take heed how we abate any service unto the Lord, esp•cially, we Ministers must be careful in this point, because the pattern of Christ fir•tly respecteth us. Paul did eminently imitate Jesus Christ in this point, Gal. 4.13, 14. you know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the Gospel to you at the first; and my Temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected, but received me as an Angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. And we see that Paul was under some sickly, craz• infirmity, when he first preached at Galatia, and yet he favoured not his flesh, he spared not his crazy body, his love and zeal carried him out to preach the Gospel effectually to them notwithstanding his great bodily weakness that was at that time upon him, now this humility, love, and self denyal in Paul, was so acceptable and powerful with them, and so prevailed upon their hearts, that they looked at him as if an Angel had preached to them, yea, as if Christ himself had come unto them to do them good, and they were so far from despising or rejecting him, as a poor, crazy, sickly man, as that they would (if possible) have plucked out their eyes to have done him good, it is honourable and acceptable service to do good to others, with self denyal, hardship and difficulty, to go about in weariness, weakness, pains, and infirmityes, to do good, such a pattern Jesus Christ hath set us, though he was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs, aches and infirmityes, yet he alwayes went about doing good, Act. 10.38. by this Rod of sickness Jesus Christ doth not only exercise power over the lives of his Children, but also over the lives of his Enemies. Herod must dye, that Jesus might return out of Egypt unto Israel, the World is full of Examples how the Church and Saints have been delivered from persecution, by the death of a persecutor.
