OESJD IV.2; Sermon Notes on Colos. 1.24

[fol. 75r] D^r Dun: Coll:1.24. who now reioyce in my sufferings for you &c

death is entred into o^r windows.  that is into o^r eyes we have seene if not tasted mortalitye.  Let vs 2^d god & seeing god hath endured mortality, Let vs begin mortification, suppling & melding o^r selus for god w^ch cannot be sufficiently treated of, as the law of god not sufficiently practisd.

In this first obserue the newness of the passage In a new creatione all things are become new new philosophye, strange effects amidst contrary causes.  he hath light in darkness the beames of fauour amidst the obscurest & {sloest} cross.  fire in water that is the hot {tongues} of the spirit in baptism.  Life in death & hence ioye in suffering.

2^d the reaso[n] in the subsequent wordes. so y^t here is a p[ro]po[s]io[n] & a reason. In the first whereof the perso[n] paul: the tyme now, the affectio[n] ioye w^ch on earth is the clearest gloss of heauen the roote of it: suffring. the qualificat[ion] ioy: the sufferings of christ are no[n] imperfect but imperfected but I must be supplied by the sufferings of saints.

1 pt The postle paul though an apostle to the corinthians not soe  p[er]ticularly to the Colossians, but Epaphras paul for his gifts was loud by all . beeing the Gentils apostle was thus writeing to them. whence, though a second applicatio[n] to me[n]s humours be vnworthye gods messenger, yet a careless neglect of his auditoryes disposed, or his preaching roote with mere shallowness in his hearers.

2^d the tyme. wch is eythe nunc {illi} that in wt case the writer was, & nunc illis in what case the receauer[es] were. for the first.  paul was in priso[n] yet not speaking for his enlargment but their aedificatio[n] might be the wellcommer to them.

[fol. 75v] a bold reproofe is not alwayes an argument of a rectified zeale but some tymes an abouse of the ordinaunce by indiscretion. but zealously to maintayne o^r doctrines preachd is commendable.

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nunc illis is when Paul had bin enformd of their state & uisitation of Epaphras, when they had had some former Rudiment[es]

Catechisms were much in vse in antiquity.  Bishops tooke sermons & preachd them ouer againe at solem[n] tymes. {true} the interpretatio[n] by Opta: of pauls plantyng & apolloes watering, is of a pagan a Catech: & of a Catech: a baptisd Christia[n]

but now we haue noe need of this in a copious ministrye although we alsoe are fallen into an errour by this that as by intricate & curious search of abstruse matters like as he that vnder a wood pile, should take the highest stick first, before the vnder matters be examind

There will more come to heaue[n] w^th Catechismes in their hand then bookes of Controuersies

Hence is it that our diueng spirits are euer {hearpeng} in pr[e]destinatio[n] w^ch they ^will haue to be wth out any reference to christ, antiquitye was content to saye god created man, & some of them w^ch he saw would fall he redeem[e]d by his mercye, not sayeing that any man was reprobated before or that god made any ma[n] to damne him & therefore necessitated him to sin.

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3^d affectio[n]. Ioye.

Ioye is p[ro]per to a true christian, the haeretick & scismatick hath no true ioye of a rectified conchience. he shall haue noe ioye in heaue[n] that hath it not before on earth w^ch increaseth the ioyes of heauen & that ioie nothing but an expansio[n] of his ioye.

Christ when thou comst to heau[en] will consider w^t stock of Ioye thou brought w^th thee fro[m] the earth we must learne the language of heau[en] before we come there

[fol. 76r] as trauelers into a farr countrye.

14 Rom: againe I say reioyce, that is if reioyceng sometyme whe[n] thou art alone & haue to hand w^th god thou canst reioyce that thou doest reioyce then thy ioye may be true.

No sadness coms into heauen, the sadness here on earth is but to purge & refine o^r ioye.

It must not be sorrw taken vp by a by occasio[n].

Sorrow is perfact only for sinns & there is ioye in the bottome of this sorrow. ioye in a religious reaso[n] gets hope out of suffering[es].

There is a 3fold ioye, the morall ioye com[m]o[n] to pagans w^ch may be cald only indolency.

The Christian ioye com[m]o[n] w^ch he cald true ioye.

The consum[m]ate ioye w^ch is of those y^t are sanctified.

This ioye though neue[r] so much depressd shall swell me vp towards heaun & {eminett} me faster to god.

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My suffring: it must be myne not for me not the works of sup[er]errogatio[n] w^ch are anothers.

Meu[m] no[n] est cuius nulla sup[er] est actio

we are all as clay in the potters hand. If God breake vs w^th the hand of ages &c we must be content.