e A Diſciple hath his name either from learning from his Maſter. or from following his Maſter, and treading in his ſteps ; take itin ei- therſenſe : Loving one another is a certain note of being Chriſts Diſ- ciples; for as Chriſt continually prefſed this by his Precepts, ſo he ſet them his own example, by fhewing the greateſt love to them he could ſhew.
36 Simon Peter ſaid unto him, Lord, whether goeſt | thou? Jeſus anſwered him, Whither I go, thou canſt , not follow me now *: but thou ſhalt follow me after-
1. wards f. |
f Peter yet underſtood not his Lord and Maſter, and therefore ask- ed him whether he went ? Our Saviour ſpake of his Aſcenſion into Heaven, after his ſuffering death upon the Croſs ; whither he tells Peter he could not at preſent follow him, but afterwards ſhould.
Believers ſhall be ever with the Lord, but they muſt wait the Lords
ume, and firſt finiſh the work which he hath given them to do upon
the Earth,
M 37 Peter ſaid unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow
thee nowg ? I will * lay down my life for thy ſake h. 22, & Still Peter doth not underſtand our Saviour, but tancieth ſome athly motion from the place where he was ; but it ſhould ſeem by what followeth, that he thought our Saviour ſpake of ſome motion | which might be very dangerous tohim. h. And therefore he adds,ac- cording to his uſual courage and mettal, expreſs'd on all occaſions, 7 = lay down my life for thy ſake ; we had fuch a reſolution of his Mar.
* 33+ JF»
3b Jeſus anſwered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my ſake? Verily, verily I ſay unto thee, The cock; all not crow, till thou haſt denied me thrice z.
' Wark ſaith, before the cock crow twice. So the other three Evan- |
geliſts mult be expounded, who ſay no more than before the cock crow
at mentioning how often ; bur the hiſtory makes it good, that our v10ur meant thrice, for it was not before the ſecond crowing of the ok, that Petey went out, and wept bitterly.
CHA P. XIV.
S. FOHN
thoſe a&ts which were neceſſary in order to his Diſciples inberiting &4\4 1s thoſe Bleſſed Manſions which were prepared for them from before the |
Chap. XIV.
The three enſuing Chapters, continae either one or more conſola- tory diſcourſes of our Saviour to his Diſciples, (asappeareth from the firſt Verſe of this Chapter) made as is probable to chem in the gueſt- chamber ; (at leaſt that part of them which we have in this Chapter) for we read of no motion of our Saviours, till we come to the laſt Verſe of this Chapter. That which troubled them was, what he had cold them in the cloſe of the former Chapter, that he was going from them. By our Saviour's diſcourſe in this and the two following Chap- ters, it ſhould ſeem that there were three things that troubled them. 7 The ſenſe of their loſs as ro his bodily preſence. 2. The fear, that with the loſs of that, they ſhould alſo loſe thoſe Spiritual influences which they had received from him, and upon which their Souls had lived. 3. The profpe& of thoſe ſtorms of troubles, and perſecuti- ons, which was like to follow his departure from them ; for if we wiſely conſider what our Saviour ſaith in theſe three following Cha ters, it all rends to comfort them as to troubles that might ariſe in their ſpirits, upon one or other of theſe accounts: the general Propo- ſition 1s Jaid down in the firſt Verſe of this Chapter.
F= not your hearts be troubled a : ye believe in God,
b believe alſoin me c.
# viz, | hrough grief,or fear, which are the Two Paſſions which ordi- narily, moſt diſturb our minds; our Saviour himſelf was troubled, bur not ſinfully: his rrouble neither aroſe from unbelief,nor yet was in an ' undue meafure : it was (as one well expreſſcth ir) like the meer agitati- on of clear water, where wasno mudat the bottom ; but our trouble is like the ſtirring of water that hath a great deal of mud at the bottom, which upon the royling, riſeth up, and maketh the whole body of the water 1n the veſſel impure, royled and muddy. Ir is this ſinful trou- ble cauſed from theſe Two Paſſions and riſing up to an immoderate | degree, and mixed with a greatdeal of unbelief and diſtruſt in God, Ba againſt which our Saviour here caurioneth his Diſciples; andrhe Re- 19 medy he preſcribes againſt thoſe afflicting paſſions, is a believing in = BOY. God, and a believing on him. 6 The Two latter paſſages in the Verſe, are ſo penned in the Greek, that they may be read four ways; for the Verb Believe, twice repeated, may be read either indicatively or 1mperatively ; or the one may be read indicatively, and the other #mperatively ; ſo as they may be tranſlated, Tou believe in Goa, you be- lieve alſo in me: And ſo they teach us, that there is no ſuch Remedy for inward troubles, as a believng in God, and abelieving in Jeſus Chriſt ; and thoſe that do fo, have no juſt Reaſon for any exceſſive heart troubles. Or elſe they may be Read, believe in God, believe in me: Orelſeas we read them, ye believe in God, believe alſo in me : or believe in God, ye belitye in me. But the Diſciples Faith in Chriſt, as Mediator, and God-Man, being yer weak, and their weakneſs being
what our Saviour hath ordinarly blamed, not magnified or commend-
ed, the beſt Interpreters judge the ſenſe which our Tranſlators give, to be the beſt ſenſe; and judge that our Saviour doth inculcate to them his Divine Nature, and again offer himſelf to them as the proper Ob- je&t of their Faith. You (faith he) own it for your duty to truſt in
God, as your Creator, and he that provideth for you. c Believe alſo in me, as God equal with my Father ; and in me, asthe Meſf2h, your Mediator and Redeemer, fo as you have one to take care of all your concerns, both thoſe of your Bodies, and thoſe of your Souls alſo, fo as you have nothing to be immoderately, and exceſſively, or diſtruſt- fully troubled for ; therefore Le: nor your hearrs be troubled ; only without care or diſtruſt, commit your ſelves ro me.
2 In my Fathers houſe are many manſions 4; if :s were not ſo, I would have told you : I go to prepare a
place for you e.