John Trapp on Philippians 1

CHAP. I. Verſe 1. With the Biſhops and Deacons]

THe word Prieſt is never uſed at all for a Miniſter of the Goſpel by the Apoſtles, no nor by the moſt ancient Fathers,De [illegible: 1 span] as Bellarmine himſelf confeſſeth. And yet how [illegible: 1 letter]ager were our late factours for Rome to have prieſted us all, but that God better provided for us.

Verſe 2. Grace be to you] See the Note on 1 Cor. 1.2. and on Eph[illegible: 1 letter]ſ. 1.2.

Verſe 3. Ʋpon every rem[illegible: 1 letter]mbrance] And no wonder: for there w[illegible: 2 letters]e thoſe famous M[illegible: 1 letter]cedonians, that firſt gave themſelves to the Lord, and then to their faithfull Miniſters by the will of God, 2 Cor. 8.5. See the Note there, and compare Iſa. 50.10.

Verſe 4. Making requeſt with joy] Thoſe that grieve their faithfull Miniſters, and quench the ſpirit in them, do it to their own ſingular diſadvantage.

Verſe 5. For your fellowſhip] A good man cannot tell how to go to heaven alone. No ſooner had the Philippians received the Goſpel, but they were in fellowſhip to a day. The communion of Saints was with them a point of practice, as well as an article of belief. The apoſtles Creed was anciently briefer then now. The mention of the Fathers being maker of heaven and earth, The Sons death and deſcending into hell, and the communion of Saints being wholly omitted: haply as implied ſufficiently in other Articles. But ſurely if the Creed were called Symbalum, as a ſign or badge to difference Chriſtians from Infidels and wicked people, there was little reaſon to leave out the Communion of Saints, this being a main diſtinctive character: there being no ſuch fellowſhip as among the Saints, Cant. 6.9.

Verſe 6. Will perform it] Or perfect it. God doth-not uſe to doe his work by the halves, but goes thorow-ſtitch with it, 1 Theſ. 5.24. Pſal. 138.8. Only we muſt pray as Luther was wont to do, Confirm, O Lord, in us what thou hast wrought, and perfect the work that thou haſt begun in us to thy glory. So be it. And as Queen Elizabeth praid, Look upon the wounds of thy hands, and despiſe not the work of thy hands. Thou haſt written me down in thy book of preſervation with thine own hand: ô read thine own hand-writing, and ſave me, &c.Act. and Mon. fol 777.

Verſe 7. Partakers of my grace] That is, ye communicate with me in my ſufferings, which he here calleth his grace, and tels them, verſ. 29. To you it is given, as an honourary to ſuffer for Chriſts ſake. Crud[illegible: 1 letter]litas veſtra gloria noſtra, Tertull. ſaid thoſe Primitive Martyrs. I had rather be a Martyr then a Monarch, ſaid Ignatius. It is to my loſſe, if you bate me any thing in my ſufferings, ſaid Gordius to his tormentours. Gaudebat Crispin cum ten[illegible: 1 letter]hatur, cum audiebatur, cum damnabatur, cum ducebatur, In Pſal. 157. ſaith Anguſtine. Crispina Rejoyced when ſhe was apprehended, convented, condemned, executed.

Verſe 8. I long after you all] Here the Apoſtle practiſed his own precept of fatherly affection, Rom. 12.10. Pray for me, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Act. and Mon. fol 1482. mine own heart-root in the Lord, Quem in intimis viſceribus habeo ad convivendum & commoriendum, ſaid Bradford in a letter to his fellow Martyr Laurence Saunders.

Verſe 9. And in all judgement] Or, Senſe, The ſoul alſo hath her ſenſes as well as the body. And theſe muſt be exerciſed to diſcern good and evil, Heb. 5.14. thoſe two learned ſenſes eſpecially (as Ariſtotle calleth them) the eye and the ear, Iob 34 3. Ier. 2.31.

Verſe 10. Approve the things] Or try the things that differ, that ye be not ch[illegible: 1 letter]ated, and ſo undone, as many a man is by purchaſing a counterfeit commodity at an unreaſonable rate. A Briſtow▪ ſtone looks like a diamond, and many things gliſter beſides gold.

Verſe 11. Being filled with the fruits] The excellency of a Chriſtian is to follow God fully, as Caleb, Numb. 14.24. To have a heart full of goodneſſe, as thoſe Rom. 15.14. A life full of good works, as Tabitha, Act. 9.33. See the Note on Galat. 5.22.

Verſe 12. Rather unto the furtherance] So were Luthers troubles: Quò magis illi furunt, ſaith he, eò amplius pr[illegible: 1 letter]cedo. The more they rage, the more the Goſpel ſpreadeth. It was a pleaſant ſight (ſaith one) to have beheld Chriſt and Antichriſt ſtriving for maſteries. For whatſoever the Pope, and the Emperour attempted againſt the Goſpel, Scultet. Annal. Chriſt turned it all to the furtherance of the Goſpel. The Popes bull, the Emperours thunderbolt amazed not men, but animated them to imbrace the truth, weakned them not, but wakened them rather.

Verſe 13. In all the pallace] So in the diet held at Auſborough in Germany, anno 1530, Caeſar reading the Proteſtants Confeſſion, and ſending it abroad to other Chriſtian Princes, as deſiring their advice about it, diſperſed and ſpread it more in all parts then all the Lutheran Preachers could have done. For which cauſe Luther laughs a good at the fooliſh wiſdome of the Papiſts in a certain Epiſtle of his to the Electour of Saxony. Scalte[illegible: 1 letter], Annal 274. When Bonner allowed William Hunter, Martyr, no more then an half-peny a day in priſon, he confeſſed that he lacked nothing, but had meat and cloathing enough,Act. and Mon. fol. 13[illegible: 1 letter]8. yea even out of the Court both money, meat, cloathes, wood and coals, and all things neceſſary. What friends Iohn Wicliffe found, both in the Court of England, and in the Court o[illegible: 1 letter] Bohemia is famouſly known: And yet the Proverb is, Exeat aulà qui velit eſſe pius—

Verſe 14. Are much more hold] This is the fruit of the Saints ſufferings, Eccleſiatotum mundum ſanguine & oratione convertit, ſaith Luther. As the Lilly is increaſed by it's own juice that flows from it: ſo is the Church by it's ſufferings. This cauſed Iulian to ſpare ſome Chriſtians, whom he could have wiſhed out of the world. I thank our Lord God (ſaid B. Ridley in a letter of his to Bradford) that ſince I heard of our dear brother Rogers departing, and ſtout confeſſing of Chriſt and his truth even unto death, my heart, bleſſed be God, rejoyced of it,Act. and Mon. fol. 565. neither ever ſince that time have I felt any lumpiſh heavineſſe, as I grant I have felt ſometimes before. So Bradford in a letter to Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley, priſoners at Oxford, Our dear brother Rogers hath broken the ice valiantly. As this day I thinke hearty Hooper, [illegible: 1 letter]uſty Tailour, Ibid. 1. 8[illegible: 1 letter]. and ſincere Saunders end their courſe and receive their crown. The next am I which hourly look for the Porter to open me the gates after them to enter into the deſired reſt. God forgive me mine unthankfulneſſe for this exceeding great mercy, &c.

Verſe 15. Some indeed preach Chriſt] Such ſelf-ſeekers there are now a-daies not a few. Two things make a good Chriſtian, good actions and good aims. Though a good aim doth not make a bad action good, as we ſee in Ʋzzab. yet a bad aim makes a good action bad, as in theſe preachers. They preached Chriſt; ſo did the devil, who yet was ſilenced by Chriſt, Mark 1.24, 25.

Verſe 16. Preach Christ of contention] Striving to bear away the bell from me, as the better preachers. And with ſuch ambitioniſts the Church of Chriſt hath ever been peſtered. This made Luther pray, A doctore glorioſo & à Paſtore contentioſo, liberet Eccleſiam ſuam Dominus. From vain-glorious and contentious preachers, The good Lord deliver his Church.

Suppoſing to adde affliction to my bonds] An immane cruelty, ſuch as Iob and David of[illegible: 1 letter] complain of, Iob 6.14. Pſal. 69.26.Camdens Eliz. 531. Queen Elizabeth hated no leſſe then did Mithridates, ſuch as maliciouſly perſecuted vertue forſaken of fortune, ſaith Camden.

Verſe 17. Knowing that I am ſet] Or, Laid by the heels, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. they of love help out at a dead lif[illegible: 1 letter], and do my office abroad: as Marulla a maid of Lemnos ſeeing her father ſlain in the gate,Turk. Hiſt. 418 took up his weapons, and not only revenged his death, but helped to keep out the Turks, who hoped to have ſurprized the City on the ſudden.

Verſe 18. Chriſt is preached, &c.] Prorſus Satan est Lutherus, ſed Chriſtus vivit, & regnat, Amen, ſaith Luther in an Epiſtle of his to Spalatinus. Luther is called a devil: but be it ſo, [illegible: 1 letter]o long as Chriſt is magnified, I am well apaid. All private reſpects ſhould be drowned in the glory of God. But he is a baſe [illegible: 1 letter]p[illegible: 2 letters] ted man that is totus in ſe, like the ſna[illegible: 1 letter] ſtill within doors, and a[illegible: 1 letter] home.

Verſe 19. This ſhall turn to my ſalvation] God maketh all to co-operate and turneth all about to the beſt: as the skilfull Apothecary maketh of a poiſonfull viper a wholſome tr[illegible: 1 letter]acle. See the Note on Rom. 8.28. and on Gen. 50.20.

Verſe 20. According to my earneſt] St Paul ſtood as it were on tip-[illegible: 1 letter]o[illegible: 1 letter]s to ſee which wayes he might beſt glorifie God by life or death.

Verſe 21. [non-Latin text not transcribed] And to die is gain] B. cauſe death to a good man is the day-break of eternall brightneſſe, janua vitae, porta coeli, as Bernard hath it, a valley of Achor, a door of hope to give entrance into Paradiſe, to bring them malorum omnium ademprionem, bonorum omnium adeptionem.

Verſe 22. What I ſhall chuſe, I wot not] As a loving wife ſent for by her husband far from home, and yet loth to leave her children, is in a muſe and doube what to does Su was the Apoſtle.

Verſe 23. [non-Latin text not transcribed] &c. For I am in a ſ[illegible: 1 letter]rai[illegible: 1 letter] ] Plato in the eighth of his laws hath a like ſpeech, The communion of the ſoul with the body is not better then the [illegible: 3 letters]olution, as I would [illegible: 2 letters]y if I were to ſpeak in carneſt. But whether Plato believed himſelf ſo ſaying, I have reaſon to make queſtion, w[illegible: 1 letter]en I conſider that his maſter Socrates, when he came to die, doubted whether it were better with the dead or with the living, as both Plato and Cicero teſtifie.

Having a deſire to d[illegible: 1 letter]part]. [non-Latin text not transcribed] To looſe from the ſhore of life, and launch out into the t[illegible: 1 letter]ain of immortality, "Or it may be rendered, " to return home, or to change rooms.

And to be with Christ] This was all his ſong ever ſince he had been in the third heaven. So Mr Bolton lying on his death-bed ſaid, I am by the wonderfull mercies of God as full of comfort as my heart can hold; and feel nothing in my ſoul but Chriſt, with whom I heartily diſire to be. In his life by M. Bagſh[illegible: 3 letters].

Which is farre better] Farte farre the better. [non-Latin text not transcribed] A tranſcendent expreſſion, ſuch as is that, 2 Cor. 4.17. See the Note there.

Verſe 24. Is more needfull for you] Mr Bolton dying, and deſiring to be diſſolved, being told that it was indeed better for him to be with Chriſt, but the Church of God could not miſſe him, not the benefit of his Miniſtery, he thus replied with David, 2 Sam. 15.25, 26. If I ſhall finde favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and ſhew me both it and his habitation. But if otherwiſe, loe here I am; let him doe what ſeemeth good in his eyes.

Verſe 25. And joy of faith] That is, for your full aſſurance; which is that higheſt degree or faith, whereby a believer having gotten victory over his doubtings, triumpheth with a large meaſure of joy.

Verſe 26. That your rejoycing] Gr. Your glorying, or exulting in this, that God hath given [illegible: 1 letter]e in, as an anſwer to your praiers. It is ſurely a ſweet thing to hear from heaven. David often boaſts of it, Pſ. 6. & 66.

Verſe 27. Only let your converſation] q. d. If you would that God ſhould hear you, and deliver me, be ready prepared for the receipt of ſuch a mercy. The fountain of divine grace will not be laden at with foul hands, Pſ. 66.17. The lepers lips ſhould be covered according to the law.

Let your converſation] Your civil converſation, [non-Latin text not transcribed] your common commerce, and interdealings with men alſo. Hippocrates took an oath of his followers to keep their profeſſion unſtained, and their lives unblameable.

Striving together for the faith] As the Barons of Polonia profeſſed to do, by their ſtarting up at the reading of the Goſpel, Anno 965. and drawing out their ſwords half way, in teſtimony that they would ſtick and ſtand to the defence of that truth to the very death.Io. Funccius. Help the truth in neceſſity, ſtrive with it, and for it.

Verſe 28. And in nothing terrified] A Metaphor from horſes, [non-Latin text not transcribed] when they tremble and are ſore afrighted. he that feareth God, need fear none elſe, Pſal. 3. But with the horſe in Iob, Job 39.22. he mocketh at fear, and is not afrighted: neither turneth he back from the ſword.

Verſe 29 For unto you it is given] As an high honour, not only to believe (though that's a great matter: For he that believeth hath ſet to his ſeal that God is true, hath given God a teſtimoniall, ſuch as is that Deut. 32.4. but alſo (as a further favour) to ſuffer for his ſake: This is the loweſt ſubjection that can be to God, but the higheſt honour both to him and us. This made Latimer after the ſentence pronounced on him,Act. and Mon. cry out, I thank God most heartily of this honour. Saunders ſaid, I am the unmeetest man for this high office, that ever was appointed to is. Such an honour it is, ſaid Careleſſe Martyr, as the greateſt Angel in heaven is not permitted to have. God forgive me mine unthankefulneſſe, &c.Ibi[illegible: 1 letter] [illegible: 1 letter]3 61. Ibid 1744.

Verſe 30. Which ye ſaw in me] Act. 16.19, 23, 24, &c. See the Notes there.