In a word, he is such a king as is a husband. Would you have a milder government than that of a husband, which though it be not a parity, yet it comes as near as can be. Such a government is Christ's. As he is a king, so he is a husband. He knows how to bear the infirmities of his church. He that bids the husband to favour the wife as the ' weaker vessel,' doth not he practise his own principles ? Will not he favour his own spouse as the ' weaker vessel,' think you, that hath promised not • to quench the smoking flax, and break the bruised reed ' ? Undoubtedly he will. Therefore it is an honour to be under the government of Christ, so rationally and sweetly he draws us with the cords of a man. It is the government of a husband, and of a wise husband. I do but give a taste. You may enlarge them in your own meditations.
And as it is our honour, so it is our security and safety to be under him. Why? Because when we come sweetly under Christ's government, we need fear nothing. He that fears Cln-ist, all things fear him. Since Christ hath taken our nature upon him, the devil himself is afraid of man's nature. He trembles to think God hath appeared in our nature. Now he is afraid of a Christian [since] God hath taken this nature. Then he is such a king as we may be secure under him, as a universal King over all things, that he may be King over his church ; for he hath all power in heaven and earth : Mat. xxviii. 18, ' All power is given to me in heaven and earth,' and all for the government of his church. It is our security to be under him that governs all things for the good of the church. He saith, John xvii. 2, ' Thou hast^given me power over all flesh.' Christ hath all power given to him in relation to his church ; therefore he hath power over the devil, over hell, and over all wicked men ; and all monarchs and opposite power is subject to him, that they shall serve the chui'ch. When they do scourge the church, they are but Christ's rod ; they are but instru- mental to Christ ; they do but his work ; therefore it is a great security, and we need to fear none if we be under Christ.
3. Again, To go on : as it is our honour and security, so it is a sjn-iug of our dutij. Christ is our Lord. He is Lord of all. Therefore it teacheth us our duty every way.
Our duty one to another — to those that are not Christians — to Christ himself.
It teacheth us in all standings how to carry ourselves. To give a taste of this, the apostle presseth it oft, that Christ is our Lord, and will be our judge.
850 Christ's exaltation
Therefore for olhcra »v o»///(/ noL to he liaslij in jiuhjinq or coiainliifj. We ow';<\it to lovo Iheiu, because wo have all one Lord, This must force love. ' Wo have all one Lord, one baptism,' Sec, Eph. iv. 5. We are many in our severals ; but wo are all one under this bond, being all under one Lord.
2. Then again, it tcachelh us how to earn/ ourselves to men otherwise affected ; not to bo servants to the humours of men. Christ rules over us, both living and dying ; therefore be not the servants of men, but according to the Scripture's limitation, ' marry in the Lord,' ' obey in the Lord,' ' walk in the Ijord,' do all in the Lord ; that is, so far as it may stand in the will and pleasure of him that is the Lord of lords. For when the authority of any superior doth countermand against the will of this Lord, it ccascth to bind. When they command anything in subordination that may stand with the pleasure of the Lord, then the authority is divine. We obey Christ in obeying them. As Christ said to his own mother, when she commanded things that she had no authority to do, he calls her mother no longer, but ' woman,' she stretching then bej'ond her compass, John ii. 4.
3. Again, To go on : this should teach us, in that Christ is the Lord of the living and of the dead, to account ourselves not our own. It should teach us perfect self-denial in matters of religion, especially not to be over- whelmed of our own conceits in the great mysteries that Saint Paul cries out of, ' Oh the depth,' Rom. xi. 33. You have many that quarrel with those things, and would bring them to reason. They will go no further in religion than they can see reason ; whereas one saith, I believe, because it is impossible, and too far above reason ; therefore I the rather believe it (j). It is ofttimes good to stand at a stay in God, as if we were at a nonplus, to admire* at him in the mysteries of Christ's governing the church, why he suffers some part of the church, that perhaps is better than other parts, that are quiet and exempt from the cross, to be exercised with afflictions, and others not, not to scandalf at this, and to be over-busy in searching out the reason of this. Christ is our Lord, and he is infinite in wisdom ; and it is his prerogative to do such things, as he is not liable to give a reason of to us. So God ' will have mercy vipon whom he will have mercy,' Rom. ix. 18. In great mysteries remember the sovereignty of this our Lord. He is ' Lord of quick and dead.' Let this stop our judgments, and teach us to deny ourselves when we cannot give a reason of them ; in a holy admiration, say with Saint Paul, ' Oh the depth.'