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thinkest thou, that can discern of truth, but thou and thy followers?

XIX. 4. Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

Behold, since ye will not come in to hear his accusation and defence, I do therefore bring him forth to you, to let you know, that I cannot find any fault at all in him, for which I may justly proceed against him; only, since you have complained on him, as a man that affects a kingdom, I have here brought him forth to you, in a royalty fit for him.

XIX. 7. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

If thou, being a stranger in matters of religion, canst find no fault in him, yet we, that are Jews, know his offence to be capital; neither do we offer him to punishment, as out of our own spleen and malice, but in a conscionable obedience to our law: for, we have a law, which inflicteth death upon a blasphemer; and we know and urge, that whatsoever mere man shall call himself the Son of God, blasphemeth: this man, whom we take to be no other than he seemeth, hath called himself the Son of God, and, therefore, by our law, ought to die.

XIX. 8. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid.

When Pilate heard this plea and pretence of theirs, he was more troubled in himself; out of a fear, lest, if he should not satisfy this vehement rage of the multitude, some tumult might follow upon it, to his danger and prejudice.

XIX. 11. Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

I am indeed now, by my own voluntary dispensation, in thy power, and stand before thee, as my Judge: but, know thou, that this power of thine is not absolute and independent; but is committed unto thee from a higher hand, to which thou must be accountable: this authority is put into thy hand, by that God, whose tribunal is above thine; and, therefore, since all judiciary power is of his ordination, their sin is so much the greater and more heinous, who, to cloke their own malice, have had this recourse to abused authority, as seeking colourably to kill me under a false pretence of justice.

XIX. 26. Woman, behold thy son!

Hitherto, in my personal presence with thee, I have provided for thee, and comforted thee as a mother justly dear unto me; but now, that I shall no longer continue upon earth, I do commend thee to the love and care of this my beloved disciple.

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XIX. 28. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

After this, Jesus, knowing that he had exactly performed all that was required of him, before the full consummation of his Passion, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which saith of him, in his Type, They gave me vinegar to drink, he said, I thirst.

XIX. 30. It is finished.

Now, I have done that I came for: I have both done and suffered all, that was requisite for man's redemption: my life and the law are now fulfilled.

XIX. 31. For that sabbath was a high day.

For that sabbath was a high day; by reason, that there was a concurrence of the Passover and the Sabbath, both at once, in that one day.

XX. 17. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Jesus saith unto her, Make not so eager haste to lay hold on me, as if I were going away from thee; for I am not yet ascending to my Father: but, go to my disciples, whom I have lately conversed familiarly with, as with brethren, go to them, and say unto them, I arose from the dead; not with any purpose to continue with you upon earth, but that I might ascend up to my Father in heaven; yea, to your Father also, in that he is mine: ye are his children by adoption, as I am by nature; and, as fellow-heirs with me, shall be received up in due time to the participation of the same glory, which I now go to take possession of.

XX. 19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

On the Sunday night, when the doors were close shut up in the room, where the disciples were secretly gathered together for fear of the Jews, who maliciously made enquiry for them, with an intent of their further persecution, came Jesus in miraculously amongst them; and, suddenly standing in the midst of them, said unto them, Peace be unto you.

XX. 21. As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. I was sent by my Father, to preach the Gospel, in my own person, to the world; and, afterwards, to substitute and surrogate those, which should, in my name, carry the same message: now, therefore, the same commission, that I received from my Father, I do here put over unto you: ye have been heretofore

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,

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