to eat the forbidden Fruit and was the Occasion of all that Misery which came upon them and us both But behold we are now to become as God in a higher better and truer sense than what they aimed at or could have come to by any Fruit tho' it had not been forbidden Behold what manner of Love is this wherewith the Father hath loved us that we should be called the Sons of God! What ineffable Glory What high Dignity is this that Man is now exalted to Lord what is Man that thou art so mindful of him And the Son of Man that thou visitest him Thou hast made him but a little lower than the Angels here in this World and hereafter thou designest to make him equal to them yea like unto thy self How astonishing are the Thoughts of this What Admiration may they breed Especially when all this Glory and Honour is not for a Day a Month or a Year but to all Eternity The Duration of this State is another Reason why the Apostle calls it Life What is short and momentany deserves not the Name of Life and therefore our Life in this World is reckoned in Scripture but as a Breath a Vapour it is to be esteemed but as a Puff of Wind. But that Life above suffers no Changes it is unalterable it never hath an end it lasts not only a thousand thousand Years but for ever and ever Here we think much if we have a few Days Peace and Contentment But they who are in Heaven are eternally happy Thus we see what sort of Life it is our Text speaks of If you ask to whom are we indebted for it Look to the preceeding Verse and there you will find it This is the Record that God hath given to us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son It is to Jesus Christ only that we owe the Obligation it is by him and through him and for him that we come to Life for he only is the Discoverer of it he only is the Author of it and only hath the disposing and giving of it First he is the Discoverer thereof he hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel Before the Gospel was published Men were ignorant of this Life neither the Certainty nor Nature of it were known The Wise Heathens indeed had some Notion of a Life after this they judged it reasonable that the Soul should survive the Body But however all they talkt were mere Conjectures they had no Assurance of the Truth And tho' it be certain that the Jews had the Promise of Eternal Life as well as temporal good things and that all the pious and holy Men among them lived in Expectation of it yet it was so darkly revealed even to them that you know there was one Sect amongst them who denied the Resurrection altogether and even those who believed it had no very right and worthy Thoughts thereof or else they might have soon refuted the Sadducees gross Apprehensions But whatever Knowledge either Jews or Heathens of old had of another Life it is to be ascribed to Christ for he is the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World And now he hath put this Matter clearly out of Doubt Neither the Resurrection from the dead nor the Life hereafter needs now be disputed as doubtful Problems for Jesus Christ hath given evident Demonstrations of the Truth of them by his plain Assertions and express Promises and his own Resurrection But Secondly Christ is not only the Discoverer of Eternal Life but the Author thereof also There was more required to the attaining this than the mere Discovery of it This was above humane reach It was too great a height for Man of himself to climb to If any had attempted this trusting in his own worth he had been certainly baffled and defeated His Boldness as it served to be laught at so it should have been punished But as Christ hath shewed us this so he hath purchased it for us It is the Merits of Christ which have opened the Kingdom of Heaven and it is by his Strength that we perform the Conditions of entering into it And when we have performed the Conditions it is even he himself who bestows it on us for he is that holy one who hath received the key of David who openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth It is he who putteth on us the Crown of Life When we have done our Work it is from him that we receive Reward and this Reward is promised to all who believe Which leads us to the last particular namely to shew That all who have the Son have Life This is a Point we need not stand much upon for it is so clear and evident not only through this Epistle but the whole New Testament there is not the least shadow of pretence for the doubting of it Verily verily I say unto you saith Christ he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into Condemnation but is passed from death unto life And again it is said he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God Believers have full assurance of Eternal Life for their Faith unites them to Christ. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood that is believeth in Christ dwelleth in me and I in him See also Chap. xvii Now Christ and his Members will not be divided where the one is the other will be also Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me And we are sure the Father heareth the Son Believers also have good ground to hope for Eternal Life for Faith is the very Seed and Principle from which it flows The Life of Faith is the beginning of the Life of Glory the one is but the Perfection and Completion of the other Blessed is he therefore who believeth for there shall be a Performance of those things which are told him from the Lord. It is Faith then and Faith only which giveth us a title to Eternal Life such a Faith I mean as was formerly described He that so believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him They who do not and will not embrace Christ here shall not be Embraced by him hereafter They who refuse his Yoke in this World shall in the World to come be cast out of his glorious Kingdom and thrown to that place of darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Now that we may draw to a close what an Influence should these Considerations have upon our Souls What a holy disdain should they work in us
forgive Sins This saith St. Paul is a faithful saying and worthy of all Acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the chief 1 Tim. And if the chief be saved others have no cause to fear The blood of Iesus Christ saith St. Iohn cleanseth from all sin 1 Joh. i. This is that Fountain which was opened to the House of David and to the Inhabitants of Ierusalem for Sin and Uncleanness The Reason why Jesus can ease us of the Burden of Sin and take away the Guilt and free us from the Punishment of it is because he hath in his own Person born our Sins and satisfied for them he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our Iniquities and by his stripes we are healed and God laid on him the Chastisement of us all Isa. liii The Iust died for the Unjust and he who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God through him In the next place as Jesus Christ taketh away the guilt and burden of our Sins so he freeth us from the fear and terrour of Death For asmuch saith the Apostle as the Children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same that through Death he might destroy him that had the power of Death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of Death were all their life time subject to bondage Heb. ii 14 15. Jesus Christ hath brought Life and Immortality to Light he hath discovered a Life far better than this a State in which there is fulness of Joy and Rivers of Pleasure for evermore a Life which admits neither Hunger Thirst Nakedness Cold nor Heat and where all Tears are wiped away And he hath made Death the necessary Passage to this blessed State so that instead of fearing Death Men desire to Depart And whereas before it was reckoned a loss to die now it is counted gain O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Iesus Christ 1 Cor. XV. 55 c. He hath purchased to himself the Keys as of Hell and Death so of Life and Immortality and has Power to admit whomsoever he pleaseth It is he that hath the key of David that openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day saith Christ. And again I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me tho' he were dead yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die But Thirdly Jesus Christ not only giveth rest to the Soul and ease to our Minds by begetting in us a lively hope of future Bliss but also he greatly refresheth us at present by settling our Minds in Peace and giving them a secret Pleasure which cannot be uttered The Happiness of a Christian is not all in Reversion he has some in hand that the deferring of his hope may not make him faint he has a present Possession given him which yields abundant Satisfaction to stay the longing of the Soul and to prevent its languishing That Contentment which Men do in vain seek among the Creatures is only to be found in him therefore St. Paul counted all things but loss and dung to the knowledge of Iesus Christ He is a Fountain of living Waters and none but he can quench or satisfie the thirst of the Soul Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst again but whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up to eternal life said he in his Conference with the Woman of Samaria Joh. iv 13. My flesh saith he is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed that is true Meat and Drink which both nourish and satisfie for it is proper and well suited to our Natures Every Creature has its proper Food nothing but that can satisfie it when that is wanting it languisheth So our Souls which are of a spiritual and heavenly Nature cannot feed upon earthly things nothing can be Food to them but that bread which came down from Heaven The Contemplation of Christ and his Doctrine can only cheer them up These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full which St. Peter saith is a joy unspeakable and full of glory Lastly Jesus Christ giveth his Disciples rest under Afflictions Indeed he doth not promise them an exemption from Trouble and Affliction nay on the contrary they are forewarned to look for this more than others but he makes them very light and supportable by the Strength and Instruction which he gives He doth not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able and with every temptation sends a way by which they may escape that they may be able to bear it 1 Cor. X. he abates the Grief and Molestation which Troubles and Afflictions were wont to procure by clearing the Divine Oeconomy in disspensing them by shewing the Nature and Use of them and by giving Rules how to improve them to our Perfection and Happiness So that what was wont to fright Men is now become matter of Joy and Gladness Count it all joy saith St. Iames when ye fall into divers temptations Thus you see what a blessed and desirable Rest may be expected by coming to Christ. O fortunatos nimium O happy we if we knew our own Happiness Here is the place where we may put off all that burden which lieth heavy upon us Here is an opportunity of being eased of all the Misery which we are born to Bodily or Spiritual Temporal or Eternal Here we may refresh our wearied Minds and get that perfect rest we would be at there is nothing to let or hinder us there is nothing to obstruct this Happiness but our own carelesness and contempt We are freely invited and shall we refuse Do we sit still unconcernedly Will we delay so great Happiness Shall we be so ungrateful to him who makes the offer as to slight it Shall we be so cruel to our selves as to neglect rest when it may be had Will ye thus requite the Lord O O foolish people and unwise O ye sons of men how long will ye love vanity and seek after leesing How long will ye spend your Labour for that which profiteth not How long will it be e're ye have pity on your own Souls Turn ye turn ye why will ye die Why will ye weary your selves in a vain and dangerous Chace The World where you have been all this while hunting is a dry and barren Wilderness in which you may perish before
of those Sublunary and perishing things How much should we despise and undervalue those empty and fading Vanities seeing we have such infinitely better things prepared for us and waiting upon us Doth he who is called to a Kingdom mind Sticks and Straws Trifles and petty inconsiderable things Remember O Christian what thou art and what thou art called to keep up the Decorum that is suitable to the dignity of thy Person and walk worthy of the Vocation whereunto thou art called Do not creep upon thy Belly and lie groveling upon the Ground lift up thy Head and let thy Heart be where thou seest thy Treasure is Be not like the foolish Indians who sell their Gold and their Pearls and other precious things for Brass and Iron and Glass Beads Do not seek to fill thy Belly with Husks when thou mayst have fulness of Bread in thy Father's House Do not grasp so fast but let go those painted Vanities those mere shadows of Delight and make sure to thy self that fulness of Joy and those Rivers of Pleasure which are at God's Right hand for ever and ever Secondly Consider those things that thou mayst have Comfort in thy Afflictions that thou mayst bear up with a chearful Spirit under all the Crosses that are laid on thee The hopes of Heaven do lighten the burthen of Affliction they take away the heavy pressure thereof How light should we consider our Affliction which is but for a moment seeing it is followed by a far more exceeding and Eternal weight of Glory Look unto Iesus the author and finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God Now if we suffer with him we shall be also glorified together with him And I reckon saith St. Paul that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us Thirdly Consider what a mighty Encouragement this Blessed life is and what a powerful inducement it should be to Prayer Meditation to all Holy Duties and in a word to a hearty compliance with the whole Gospel We are not commanded those things in vain for naught all the pains we are at this way shall be well rewarded Do we toil and sweat for the Bread which perisheth And shall we not labour for that which endureth to Eternal Life Do Men venture upon Merciless Seas Do they throw themselves upon the Points of Swords and before the mouths of Cannons for a little Gain or some small piece of Honour And shall we refuse to walk Circumspectly to live Soberly Righteously and Godly for Heaven and Eternal Life Be ashamed O Christian of thy Sloth and Laziness blush to see some taking more Pains for Earth than thou art for Heaven for Perishing thant hou art for Eternal Riches You see your Labour is not in vain be stedfast therefore and immoveable and always abounding in the Work of the Lord run with Patience the Race that is set before you and run so that you may obtain Do not faint and weary in well-doing but persevere therein to the very End Be thou faithful unto the death saith Christ and I will give thee a Crown of life Finally Let what hath been said raise your Appetite and stir up in you a Holy and Sincere Desire of this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper which strengthens your Faith cherishes your Hope gives you the Encrease of Grace here and is to you a sure Pawn and Pledge of Glory hereafter For this Holy Sacrament is the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus not the Sacred Symbols and Representations thereof only but the conveyance of the Merits of his Death and Sufferings also Now Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood ye have no life in you Eat therefore O Friends Drink yea Drink abundantly O Beloved that your Souls may be satisfied and live for evermore Now unto him who hath loved us and given himself unto the Death for us and who hath opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers even unto Iesus Christ with the Father and Blessed Spirit the Glorious and Incomprehensible Trinity be all Praise Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen SERMON VIII ON EASTER-DAY 1689. 1 COR. XV. 19. If in this Life only we have Hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable WHAT the Church Commemorates in this great Festival of Easter solemnly celebrated by all Antiquity St. Paul evidently proves in this Chapter viz. That important Article of our Creed the Resurrection of our Lord Iesus Christ. And from this necessarily he deduceth another most material Point which is the Certainty of our own Resurrection The firm Belief of both these Points are not only absolutely Necessary but also the serious and frequent Consideration of them is most useful that we may be strengthened and encouraged in our Temptations comforted in our Troubles and animated to a chearful Labouring in every work of the Lord. The certainty of an after state as well as the Quality thereof is only known by the Gospel it is Iesus Christ only who hath brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel The Heathens had some knowledge thereof but it was very faint It was only as a Dream and Imagination for when our Apostle taught it at Athens he was counted a Babler and was mocked there even by the Philosophers themselves And among the Iews there was the Sect of the Sadducees who believed neither Resurrection nor Spirit St. Paul attacks these Epicurean and Sadducean Principles in this Chapter for it would seem that some of the Church of Corinth were corrupted with them and said That there is no Resurrection of the Dead though the belief of this point be so essential to a Christian that he ceases to be one who denies it The words of our Text are one of those Arguments St. Paul makes use of for evincing the Truth and certainty of our Resurrection and it is an Argument taken ex absurdo which is accounted a demonstration even in the strictest Science for there be many Propositions of the Mathematicks which cannot be otherwise demonstrated than by shewing the absurd Consequences of their being false I shall endeavour to demonstrate the strength and force of this Argument of St. Paul for another Life But first let us consider the Truth of his Assertion here that we that is Good and Sincere Christians would be of all others the most miserable if there were no more expected than what this Life doth afford St. Paul saith here that if Christians had no hope but in this Life they would be of all Men most miserable He doth not say they would be the only miserable Persons whereby he clearly insinuates that others as well as they are liable to Misery in this World As some Ignorant and Unjust Men charge
that it answered every Man's Taste that is it relish'd according to each Man 's particular Appetite affording every one that Satisfaction in his Taste which pleased him best So the Joy afforded us upon the gaining this Spiritual Victory shall be most ravishing it shall fully answer all the Desires of our Souls and shall yield us that full Satisfaction they would be at wherefore it is called a Joy unspeakable and full of Glory and our Lord tells us that they who taste thereof shall not hunger or thirst any more Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst again but whosoever shall drink of this water that I shall give him shall never thirst Moreover as there was Plenty of Manna so we shall not have this Heavenly Joy in narrow and scanty Measures but it shall flow and abound beyond all Expression Therefore it is said in Scripture to pass all understanding that is the heighth and greatness thereof can never be sufficiently comprehended Finally as Manna was permanent it lasted all the while the Children of Israel were in the Wilderness that is so long as they needed it neither was it possible for their Enemies to hinder it so this Joy shall never cease our Enemies Malice and Power cannot reach it but it abideth for ever All earthly Goods are liable to Rapine and Violence our Enemies may bereave us of them But they cannot take away the Consolations of the Spirit of God here these we may enjoy in the midst of Bonds and Imprisonment and Afflictions and much less can any stay that joy and those Pleasures which shall be bestowed hereafter And as these are the Reasons why the Joy prepared for those who overcome is called Manna so it is called hidden Manna alluding to the Pot of Manna laid up in the Ark or else because the Nature and Quality and Excellency of this Joy is without the reach of Sense Our bodily Sense does not discern it nor can humane Reason scan it Strangers do not intermeddle with this joy None understand it but they who possess it Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of Man the good things which God hath laid up for them that love him But I said by Manna are not only set forth the Nature and Quality of those Delights he who overcometh is to be feasted with but also the particular Entertainment which affords such excellent Joy and Delight is pointed at And therefore by Manna here we are to understand Jesus Christ himself for Manna was a Type and Figure of him and he is expressly called Spiritual Manna 1 Cor. x. 3. And as a Pot of Manna was laid up in the Ark so Jesus Christ is kept and reserved in the Heavens which were figured by the Ark and therefore he is called hidden Manna Now they who overcome shall have Christ to feast upon not after a corporal and carnal manner eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood as some senselesly dream they do in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper nor yet sacramentally as all true Believers do in this World in the Elements of Bread and Wine For hereafter in Heaven which is here pointed at there is neither place for nor need of Types Figures and Symbols which would not be suitable Entertainment for such a pure and perfect State But the meaning is they shall feast on everlasting Bliss the Purchase and Merits of his Blood the Fruits of his Incarnation Birth Life Death Resurrection and Ascension and whatever he did or suffered to purchase Eternal Happiness for us There is no proper Food but this He who wants it is utterly miserable for nothing but the Enjoyment of Christ in Heaven can give Life or Pleasure to the Soul of Man And the Soul that is entertained in his beatifick Presence is entertained in the Fullness of Joy and cannot but be happy for there is no Grief or Sadness in that glorious Place where he is but perfect Delight Joy Pleasure and Satisfaction as will appear by what follows which is the effect of this Entertainment He who gets to eat of this hidden Manna shall also get a white Stone When St. Iohn had this Revelation he was in Patmos an Isle in the Egean or Egarean Sea and here he alludes to a Custom practised or well known there for in Asia and other Eastern Countries they were wont to give their Votes for acquitting or condemning such as were accused by casting white and black Shells or Stones the white as an Emblem of Innocency was for the Persons Absolution and Justification as the black betokened Guilt and declared for their Condemnation which Ovid has thus delivered Mos erat antiquis niveis atrisque lapillis His damnare reos illis absolvere culpa By the white Stone then is meant a Sentence of Absolution and so our Saviour here promiseth to absolve and justifie such as overcome from all that may be laid to their Charge He will take away their Guilt wash them from their Sins and deliver them from the Death that is due to them And O what a Happiness is this What matter of Joy is there in this Promise It is as Health to the sick Ransom to the captive and a Remission to him who is ready to be led forth to Execution If any be not affected herewith it is because they are not sensible of their Guilt and do not consider the heinous Nature of Sin or the Misery which attends it But they who have laid this to Heart will prize it exceedingly What would a troubled Conscience give for the least Assurance or smallest Hope of this Comfort O Who will deliver me from this Body of Death saith St. Paul and David who roared all the day long because of his Sin and on that Account found God's Hand Day and Night heavy upon him cries out Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose Sin is covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity Despair not because thy Sins are many and great for be they never so numerous or heinous Christ is able to take them away and here he promises to absolve thee Be of good cheer O Sinner thy Sins shall be forgiven thee for there is now no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit But there is here promised not only a white Stone the Sign of Absolution and a Deliverance from Death due to us but also something more which we could never deserve and which exceeds all Expression In the Stone there shall be a New Name which is still an Allusion to the Custom of these former times and Eastern Countries where Letters and Words used to be written also upon the Stones they cast into the publick Urn. What is the Importance of this New Name we will know when we have found out whose Name it is whether of him who gives it or of him who receives it
Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the father And for this Cause let us not with some rebellious Spirits quarrel at this Divine Oeconomy let us not dispute the Reasonableness of his eternal Purposes nor abdicate him to whom God has given sovereign Power let us not speak against his Person Merits or the Acts of his supreme Authority But as Interest and Duty oblige us let us be subject unto him let us love fear worship and obey him This is the way to work out your Salvation and if you follow this Method God will work in you to will and to do of his good Pleasure Now our Lord Iesus Christ himself and God even our Father which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting Consolation and good Hope through Grace comfort your hearts and stablish you in every good Word and Work Amen SERMON V. Preach'd at EDINBURGH ON GOOD-FRIDAY March 25. 1692. LUKE XXIII 27 28 29 30 31. And there followed him a great company of people and of women which also bewailed and lamented him But Iesus turning unto them said Daughters of Ierusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your children For behold the days are coming in the which they shall say Blessed are the barren and the wombs which never bare and the paps which never gave suck Then shall they begin to say to the mountains fall on us and to the hills cover us For if they do these things in a green tree what shall be done in the dry THERE is in many too great an Inclination after such Shews and Sights and such kind of Conversation as may divert them with Mirth and Laughter Whereas the Contemplation of that which doth affect the Heart with Grief and Sadness is more profitable For saith the Wise Man it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting Sorrow is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better And from hence he observes That the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth The Spirit of Fools is Light and Frothy and only fond of Airy things whence it is that they are in love with the House of Feasting where ordinarily there is more Noise than good Sence more of foolish Jesting and ridiculous Mirth than of solid Instruction But the Wise preferr the House of Mourning because it adds to their Wisdom rendring them serious and giving them a right sense both of themselves and other things Now to make us thus Wise the Reasonable Custom of the Ancient Church appointed this Season to be a time of Mourning and Sorrowing and the Practice of the Catholick Church at present proposeth to our Consideration this Day that which may and will if any thing can affect our Hearts and move the Passions of Sorrow and Grief for that Soul must certainly be stupid and senseless and incapable of Grief who doth not shew it upon the representation of the Cross of Christ his sad Death and Sufferings of which this Day is the Anniversary It is indeed long since this was done but yet it is never to be forgotten The Death and Sufferings of Jesus should carefully be kept in Memory for tho' these things happen'd many Ages ago yet we shall find that we our selves were Accessory to them and therefore if not upon Jesus's account yet at least upon our own we ought to lament and bewail his Death and Passion that the shedding of innocent Blood may be remitted and not charged upon us Some can look upon the Calamities and Disasters of others and never be concern'd they are only mov'd when Trouble and Misery draw near themselves Now even Persons of this temper may see it their Interest to mourn on this occasion for sad and heavy Judgments are ready to fall down upon those who are guilty of the Blood of Jesus and who do not repent of it So that if there be any who have such hard Hearts that they cannot be affected with the Cross and Sufferings of Jesus Christ if his Shame and Sorrow and Pangs will not pierce them yet sure they must not only be hard but lifeless without all sense and feeling if they be Proof against their own Doom and unmov'd at the sight of their own Calamities who will not commiserate the Sufferings of the Holy and Innocent Jesus may yet take Compassion on themselves if we will not shed Tears for his Sake Let us do it for our own as he advis'd the Women who follow'd him to the place of his Crucifixion Daughters of Ierusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your Children The Cross of Christ has too large Dimensions to be commensurated all at once his Sufferings were so many and so great that we cannot take them up at one view nor is it possible to Discourse in one Hour the History of our Lord's Passion wherefore I have fix'd on one particular Passage for our present Meditation which hath this Advantage that it contains Instructions how to moderate our Grief and Passions on this occasion For the more profitable handling of this Passage and to make it work the better upon our Affections these particulars are to be observ'd First The Womens Behaviour and the Reason or occasion of it Secondly Our Lord's Check to their Grief upon his Account And Thirdly His requiring it and making it necessary for themselves and for their Children As to the First It is said of the Women that they bewailed and lamented him And it doth not appear that any other did so or if any besides them were affected with Grief they either conceal'd it or made no such Publick and Remarkable Expressions of it The City was full of People at this time because of the approaching Feast and as is usual on such occasions a very great Multitude followed our Saviour to the place of Execution some out of Curiosity merely to see what was done others to glutt and satisfie their Malice and Revenge But only these Women went out of Compassion His Disciples had forsaken him Nicodemus and other Persons of Quality who believed in Jesus absconded themselves at this time they dissembled their Sentiments and would not appear for him being over-aw'd by the fear of the Priests and Scribes and the giddy furious Multitude who were now gathered into Tumultuary Mobbs demanding him to be Crucified and who in this their Rage were ready to fall upon any that seemed to oppose it as Enemies to the Publick Good of the Nation None offer'd to Plead for him nor did there remain any to commiserate him save these Women in the Text who by their Weeping and Lamentation did Remonstrate against the Madness of the People and the Injustice of the Scribes Pharisees and Priests None of the Circumstances of either our Lord's Birth or Death are accidental but were ordained before-hand by the Infinite Wisdom
their Hearts were swelled up with Grief their Souls were inwardly pierced with excessive Sorrow which abundantly appeared by all the ways by which People use to express their sorrowful Thoughts and sad Apprehensions smiting their Breasts and rending their Garments which the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth howling and mourning with the Voice which is the signification of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now it will be worth the while and very proper for the Day to consider what it was that moved them to all this Indeed the Hearts of Women by Nature are soft and tender and their Passions are sooner and more easily moved than those of Men but if we view the Object of their Grief we will not think it strange that these Women did thus bewail and lament it will be much more strange if we can restrain our Passions and refrain from weeping at the account of it and yet all know that the sight of a thing toucheth more sensibly than the hearing of it doth These Women had seen all which our Lord had hitherto suffered at the hands of wicked and sinful Men and had lively Apprehensions of what he was yet to suffer for the Death he was going to was known and ordinary but known only to be a vile shameful and most painful Death as upon other accounts so upon this that it was not a speedy but a lingering Death If they themselves were not Witnesses yet they well enough understood how he was seiz'd in the Garden as a Thief when he was most serious in Devotion and Prayer and dragged from thence to the High-Priest's Palace which ought to have been a Refuge to Innocence and a Safeguard against Indiscretions and an Unmerciful Threatment But alas even there they saw him unjustly used and most indiscreetly Handled falsely Accused illegally convicted of Blasphemy and other Crimes and all the rules of Discretion Civility and Good Manners broken in treating him He was Spit upon and Buffetted Blindfolded and smitten on the Cheek with a Prophesie who it was that smote thee By the break of Day he was hurried away to Pilate from him to Herod and back again to Pilate every one making their Sport of him After some Mock-Formalities of Law and Justice these Women saw him delivered to the Roman Soldiers a sort of Men who took Pleasure in Blood and Cruelty and then they beheld him dressed like a Fool with a Crown of Thorns a Purple Robe and a Reed instead of a Scepter because he was said to be the King of the Iews They saw him strip'd of these Ornaments of mocked Majesty and unmercifully Whipt and Scourged by the same Soldiers with Cords till Furrows were made in his Back and the Blood ran down his innocent Body And when all this would not satisfie the Malice of his Enemies they saw him given in exchange for a Villain and Notorious Robber and against all Law and Reason meerly upon the importunity of an unreasonable Multitude condemned to a Violent and Cruel Death and contrary to all Equity denied any respite or breathing time but instantly forced away to the place of Execution and made to bear that Cross on which he was to hang and pine away his Life in Pain and Torment Represent all this to your selves and consider if it be not sad and doleful who would not shed Tears at such a Sight May not this force Tears either from Man or Woman Suppose Jesus had been as bad and criminal as his Enemies would have made him yet such cruel and unmerciful Usage called for Compassion Quod non homini detur humanitati Even when it is necessary to satisfie the Law and to execute Justice Pity should be shewn to the Offender But if Pity and Compassion be due to Calamity and Misery even when there is guilt to deserve it what should be shewn when there is no Guilt at all If it should touch our hearts to see any of our Fellow-Creatures suffer though it be no more than the just Punishment of their Sins how should we be affected How should our Passions be stirred when unspotted Innocence and Vertue suffer These good Women knew that Jesus had no Crime they saw his very Enemies could not fix any upon him and that they were baffled when they undertook to prove any against him Nay he was not only innocent but also perfectly righteous he not only was guilty of no Ill but also he was one who went up and down doing good and had done many great and good and wonderful Works The Malice of his Enemies was not occasioned by any Fault of his but only by the Truth and Purity and Powerfulness of his Doctrine and by the Holiness and Integrity of his Life both which reproved their Errors their false Teaching their Hypocrisie and their Covetousness Add to all this his Quality which was the greatest in the World For tho' these Women were not yet instructed fully about his eternal Generation nor yet perhaps believed him to be the true Son of God equal with the Father as the Catholick Church doth teach and hath always taught and which must be believed if the Scriptures be true and genuine yet they believed him a Prophet and knew him to be a good Man mighty in Word and Deed they were perswaded that he was the Messiah and trusted that it was he who should have redeemed Israel Judge I pray you then what cause of Grief was here The greatest Dignity trampled upon and affronted The greatest Innocence condemned The greatest Righteousness punished The greatest Meekness reviled The greatest Charity and Beneficence persecuted The Man who preached the Word of God with Authority who shewed them the true way to Life who comforted them in their Affliction who cured their Diseases who restored their Children and Friends to Life who fed them with Miracles and from whom they expected the Salvation promised by all the Prophets to see this Man mocked scourged and put to Death before their Eyes Lord what matter of Grief was this What Occasion for Weeping Mourning and great Lamentation But though all this was more than sufficient to afflict and grieve the minds of these Women yet there was something more than all this which Jesus suffered which they knew not he suffered in his Soul and Spirit by the immediate Hand of God which none was sensible of save himself Inward Trouble and Disturbance of the Soul is much more sad and weighty than Pains and Torments in the Body The spirit of a man may sustain his Infirmity but a wounded spirit who can bear Jesus was at this time drinking the Cup of his Father's Wrath and Displeasure against Sin and the Sin not of one or two but of all Mankind What it was that he suffered in his Soul on this Account we do not know but that he did suffer in that part is certain and that he suffered heavily appears from his sweating Blood in the Garden in a cold Night from his praying three
be stiled after it did import their relation to and interest in that state The word Behold denotes the certainty of what he foretells by saying the days are coming he lets them know that the Calamity approacheth and is not far off as indeed it fell out within Forty Years The greatness and dreadfulness of that Calamity he holds out by telling that it shall be then said Blessed are the barren and the womb that never bare and the paps which never gave suck For these words are not to be taken absolutely but with a respect unto these Evil days In times of Peace in the days of Prosperity it is a great Blessing and Comfort to have Children and especially it was thought so among the People of the Iews But in times of grievous Trouble and sad Calamity when War or Famine or Pestilence rageth they who have Children are more heavily afflicted than those who want them for besides the Evils which they suffer in their own Person they suffer also in the Persons of their Children and are affected with their Misery Moreover Women who are either with Child or who have young Ones sucking at their Breast cannot so easily escape Calamities or provide against them as others Some also do think that this may have a particular reference to what afterwards fell out at the Destruction of Ierusalem viz. That during the strictness of the Siege some were reduced to that strait that to preserve their own Lives they Eat the flesh of their own Children which could not but be very grievous to Parents However it is to be interpreted not with any relation to Peoples Spiritual or Eternal State for in respect of that there is no difference betwixt the having and wanting Children but it is to be understood wholly as to this Life and that too only in relation to Times of great Trouble and sad Calamity As to what follows that then they shall begin to say to the Mountains fall on us and to the Hills cover us This is a further intimation of the dreadful Calamity of these Days for People shall then be in such Consternation and Fear that they shall wish Death rather than Life and any kind of sudden Death rather than to live to see and feel such unspeakable Misery And as all this was foretold here and Matth. 24. so whoever is pleased to read Iosephus his History will find That all was actually accomplished upon Flavius Vespasian and Titus his Son their Invading Iudaea Besieging and Sacking of Ierusalem For if they do these things in a green tree what shall be done in a dry As it is a Proverbial Speech so it is here used by our Lord both for a Proof of the Prediction and also as a Reason why such Evils are inflicted Green Wood is neither proper nor profitable fewel but sure if they be forced to cut it down and make use of it they will not pass by what is dry and withered and good for nothing so seeing God has suffered his own Son to be thus treated who never displeased him they might assure themselves that such gross and notorious Sinners would not escape As St. Peter says If the Righteous scarcely are saved where shall the Wicked and Ungodly appear Our Lord by comparing himself here to a green flourishing and fruitful Tree doth point out the greatness of their Sin who thus treated him and persecuted him to Death with such Malice and Cruelty And he also clearly intimates to them that for this Cause all these Evils would come upon them A little before this time he laid it more plainly home to them by the Parable of the wicked Husband-men who when they saw the Son said This is the Heir come let us kill him and seize on the Inheritance And accordingly they caught him and cast him out of the Vineyard and slew him The Doom of these Husband-men the Iews pronounced with their own Mouth for when our Lord asked when the Lord of the Vineyard cometh what will he do unto these Husband-men They replied He will miserably destroy these wicked men and will let out his Vineyard to other Husbandmen which shall render him the fruits in their season Upon which he instantly added Did ye never read in the Scriptures the stone which the Builders refused the same is become the head of the corner This is the Lord 's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes Therefore I say unto you the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken but on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder The Application was so plain and the meaning so obvious that it is said that the Chief-Priests and Pharisees perceived that he spoke of them Matth. xxi 38 39. These Predictions and the Event which in all things answered them declare what a heinous Crime it is to be guilty of shedding the Blood of Jesus and what a Provocation it was to the great God to see his Son crucified by Men. But some may perhaps say what is all this to us This was the Sin of the Iews long since committed and which can never be acted over again seeing Jesus the Son of God has his abode in Heaven and so is out of the reach of Men and therefore it is impertinent to insist now upon it They who say or think so must give me leave to say that they are mistaken and do deceive themselves for Christ may yet be Crucified and with as great Provocation to God nay with greater than was before Doth not St. Paul tell us Heb. vi 6. of some who crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame and both by that Chapter and the 10th we are made to understand who they are that do it viz. They who Sin wilfully after they have received the Knowledge of the Truth They that undervalue the Death of Jesus and are not so affected with it as to hate and forsake Sin which was the cause of it but on the contrary cherish indulge and love it for they who do so by an after Act consent to his Death and are guilty of his Blood Not to speak what Jesus suffers in his Servants and Members by the Persecutions which they meet with for his Sake and for their Observance of his Laws Jesus still suffers immediately in himself when his Doctrine is despised his Authority affronted and his Power resisted They who question the veracity of his Doctrine confirmed by Miracles and Prophecies laugh at the Truth and Mysteries which he hath revealed and quarrel at his Ordinances and Institutions these Persons do violence to his Prophetical Office They who lessen the Merits of his Death and the worth and price of that Sacrifice which he offered they who advance their own Righteousness and put little or no Confidence in his Mediation and make the Mediation of others as necessary they