Thy losse is great weep his advantage is greater He is gone to his heavenly Father hee is now his heir Thou couldst give him but earthly goods those which hee enjoyeth are celestiall Thine are perishable death would have constrained him to leave them to another those which hee now possesseth are everlasting and are not subject unto losse If thy son were in credit with the King I thinke thou shouldst laugh and not weep hee is in credit with the King of kings and in great felicity in his presence and if hee could send thee tidings from heaven he would admonish thee to leave thy goods to thy poore kinsmen and according to the commandement of the Apostle q 1. Tim. 5.3 first to shew pietie at home and next to strangers that are needy Therefore weep not He was a godly man and well-away I am bereft of his godly and fruitfull conversation That affliction is great to thee weep but thy crosse is his crown And therfore if thou lovedst him as much as thou lovest thy self thou wouldest rather rejoyce for him than weep for thy self Weep for wicked men for they are with the divell yea saith r Ad pop Antioch hom 69. NaÌ„ si lugendum est diabolum oporteret lugero c. Chrysostom If ye would weep yee should weep for the divell himselfe Rather let the divell weep for himselfe because he is damned let wicked men weepe for theÌ„selves because they are tormented But let us rejoyce for good and godly men because they are with God and are saved VII This hath ever been the doctrine of the Christian Church which to withdraw those of the Gentiles that beleeved from mourning crying at funerals was accustomed to celebrate the funerals of Christians with singing of psalms Å¿ Chrysost ibid. hom 70. and the words which they sung were t Psalm 23.4 I will feare no evill for thou art with mee Item u Psalm 32.7 Thou art my hiding-place thou shalt preserve me from trouble as also x Psalm 116.7 Return unto thy rest O my soule for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee CoÌ„sider now and behold God calls death a benefit why then dost thou weep Thou wilt weep for the welfare of thine enemy because thou hat'st him wilt thou make thy friend his companion and weepe also for his weale The Apostle forbidding us to weepe as the Gentiles doe biddeth us y 1. Thes 4.18 comfort one another with these words of the resurrection If notwithstanding we weepe as the Gentiles doe I say that weeping when we should we weepe not as we should VIII I say the same of all those which when they are rebuked of sinne will weepe and yet leave not off to sinne The Scripture saith that a 1. King 21.25 26 27. there was none like unto Achab which did sell himselfe to worke wickednesse in the sight of the Lord. Yet when he heard the judgments of God denounced against him he rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his flesh and fasted and lay in sackecloth and went softly O how bitterly hee wept O how dolefully hee mourned To looke on him yee would have said This is a penitent man But immediately after b 1. Kin. 22.6.27 he giveth heede to false Prophets he casteth Micaiah the Prophet of the Lord in prison and surceaseth not from sinning till God kill him Doubtlesse Cain wept mourned when hee saide to God c Gen 4.13 My iniquitie is greater than I can beare Neverthelesse he did not forbeare to sinne but waxed worse and worse Such men saith d Greg. Pastoralis Curae 1. parte Flendo inanitâ—r se muÌ„dant qui vivendo se nequiter inquinant Gregory Wash themselves in vaine with teares because they beray themselves by their naughtie lives and practise that which is said in a Proverbe e 2. Pet. 2.22 The dogge is turned to his own vomit againe and the sow which was washed to her wallowing in the mire what is such weeping but increasing of sinne Thou weepest for sinne because thou knowest that it is an evill thing And yet thou goest backe unto it againe as if thou soughtest to shed teares to steepe in them the dirt of thy sinnes that as a sow thou maist wallow with full content in myrie water As when Balaam wished with sighing f Numb 23.10 Let me dy the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his yet after that hee sought to curse the righteous and gave a pernicious counsell to the King of Moab against them what did he but heape sinne upon sinne and aggravate his owne condemnation CHAP. X. 1. OF them that weepe not when they should weepe for their owne sinnes 2. Nor for the sins of other men 3. Nor for the afflictions of the Church I. BUt how alas how are they increased that weepe not How many see wee before our eyes every day benummed with a spirit of slumber who g Cypr. de Laps Quando debuerant stare iacuerunt quando iacere prosternere se Deo debent stare se opinantur when they should stand fall and when they should fall stand who when they should resist sinne and stand fast for their souls against the wiles of the divell fall into sinne and when they should fall on their faces with sad hearts and moist eyes before the throne of the mercy of God stand straight like Idols in Popish Churches are no more mooved than if they had done nothing amisse h Ibid. Ante admissum facinus improvidi post facinus obstinati nec prius stablles nec postmodum supplices neyther carefull to stand before they sinne nor to pray and weepe after they have sinned Ieremiah powred out his heart like water before the face of the Lord his teares did run downe like a river day and night he gave himselfe no rest the apples of his eyes ceased not to weepe for the ruine and destruction of the Temple builded with stones k Heb. 9.4 wherein was the Arke of the Covenant the golden Censor the golden pot that had Manna Aarons rod that budded and the Tables of the covenant l Chrysost ad Popul Antiochen homil 22. Si morientibus compaâ—imuâ— quis tam sine misericordia est qui animam suam morientem non deploret And they weepe not for their soules which are more holy and have dwelling in them the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost even the holy Trinitie They will weepe for a dead man though a fremme body if they know him And they are so desperate that they cannot weepe for the death of their best friend of the guest and companion of their body of their immortall soule which is dead in sinne m Rom. 8.22 Every creature groaneth and travelleth in paine together untill now for the vanity of man and man even hee that calleth himselfe a Christian man is a dullard and unsensible of his owne
such disciples of ryot are an ample Commentary u Eccles 3.12 There is nothing better for a man than to reioyce and to do good to himselfe in his life and also that every man should eat and drink and enioy the good of his labour it is the gift of God This was the Philosophie of another rich man in the Gospell x Luke 16 19 who was clothed in purple and fine linnen and fared sumptuously everie day and ere hee was aware was buried in the bottomelesse pit of hel where one drop of that sweet water wherein poore Lazarus doth swim would bee more welcom to him to cool his tongue than all the deceiving pleasures which hee enjoyed during the flying dayes of his short life That is the place ordained to all his school-fellows where then if not till then they shall condemne all their former courses and with Salomon y Eccles 2.2 say of laughter It is mad and of mirth what doth it VIII Oh that the force of reason could move them if they will not be moved with the authority of Scriptures How can riches bee mans blessednes a Aug. de mor. Eccles cathol Hominis optimū deterìus esse quà m ipsae homo non potest Mans blessednesse cannot bee worse than man himself Are not the best riches worse than the worst man What are they but b Hab. 2.6 thick clay as Habacuc cals thē which c Bern. Qua possessa onerant aemata inquinant amissa cruciant if ye possesse they are a heavy load unto you which if yee love they defile you which if yee lose they are a crosse unto you Surely if they could speake they would say d Thom. 12a q. 2. art 1. in conclus Man is not made for us but wee are made for man as it is written e Psal 8.6 Thou hast put all things under his feet Therefore man is our end and blessednesse but wee are not the end wee are not the blessednesse of man How can honour bee mans blessednes f Arist 1 Aethic c. 5 Blessednes is in him who is happy but honour is not in him who is honoured it is rather in him who doth honour Moreover g Thom. ib. art 2. in conclus honour is given to some excellencie there is no excellencie to be compared with blessednes whereof all kinde of excellencie is a part wherefore honor is a publike testimony rendred to blessednes is not so good as blessednesse is The same may bee saide of glory of good fame which follow mans blessednesse such as he may have in this world but are no part of it How can h Ibid. Art 4. Power and Authoritie bee mans blessednesse Is it not particular to some few And among all men are there any so vexed with troubles without with cares and griefe within as such men are In blessednesse there is no care no vexation of spirit but full content Who will say that i Ibid. 6. Conclus mans reasonable and immortall soule cannot come to blessednesse but by wallowing like a sow in the muddye pleasures of the mortal body They like Scorpions have stinging tailes as Salomon who knew them better than any man saith affirming that k Pro. 14.13 the end of mirth is heavines I might run through all the faculties and gifts both of body and soule and shew you that blessednesse is not in any of them apart nor in thē all together but that which I have said is sufficient to convince all them which hold for Principles and Maximes of their faith that blessed are they that are rich that are full that laugh c. and cry Woe woe woe unto them that are poore that are hungry that mourne c. CHAP. II. 1. Iesus Christ curseth them which laugh c and calleth them blessed which weepe 2. Three necessarie properties required in blessednes 3. They cannot be found but in God alone 4. Our blessednesse is the vision or fruition of God 5. What men are not blessed 6. Who are blessed I. SEe now iudge that God hath not said without a pregnant cause to such men 1 Esa 55.8 My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your wayes my wayes for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my wayes higher than your wayes and my thoughts than your thoughts For our Lord Iesus Christ in the Gospel of S. Luke curseth them whom they doe blesse and cryeth m Luk. 6.24 Woe unto you that are rich woe unto you that are full wo unto you that laugh now On the other part hee blesseth them whom they curse saying n Luk. 6.21 Blessed bee yee poore for yours is the kingdome of God blessed are ye that hunger now for ye shall be filled and in my text Blessed are ye that weepe now for ye shall laugh or as the words are in S. Matthew Blessed are they that mourne for they shall be comforted These sentences are paradoxes and giddie conceits to the world but to the Church they are Maximes of truth and propositions more firme than the heaven which o Iob 37.18 is strong as a molten looking-glasse and more immoveable than the earth which p Psal 104 5. God hath founded upon her bases that it should not be remooved for ever For they were conceived in the breast of God the Father who is wisedome it selfe and were pronounced by the Sonne of God who is the substantiall word of the Father even q 1. Ioh. 5.20 the true God and eternall life Let us then be deaf to the hoggish sayings of men but let us I pray you let us this day and all the dayes of our lives listen seriously to our Lord Iesus Christ saying that those which weepe and mourne are blessed and shewing that their weeping shall be turned into joy because they shal be comforted O then give care to the wisedome of God teaching you by me this day what persons are blessed that thereafter he may cheere up your hearts with the most comfortable doctrine of the comforts wherein their blessednes consisteth II. Blessednesse is to bee considered eyther in the obiect or in the fruition and enioying of it The obiect of it is all good things that a godly mans heart can desire By good things understand not any of those visible creatures of God which we now enioy for r Rom. 14.17 the kingdome of God the possessing wherof is our blessednesse is not meat and drinke that is it consisteth not in any outward thing but is righteousnesse and peace and ioy in the holy Ghost proceeding from things more excellent as it is written ſ 1. Cor. 2.9 Eye hath not seene nor eare heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him This then is their first propertie that they are not of this world Moreover they must be eternall and exempt from all alteration and corruption
a Feast of mourning let everie man NOW drinke to his brother every woman to her sister full cups of tears When the people of Israel were rebuked of Samuel for their sinnes t 1 Sam. 7.6 they gathered together to Mizpeh and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day said there Wee have sinned against the Lord. Lo how busy lo how forward they were to draw water for the clensing of their sacrifices and for the purifying and washing of their bodies or as some Doctors allegorize the words lo how contrite they were making of their harts wels of godly sorrow and going thither with the bucket of faith to draw up to the eyes tears of repentance for bewailing of their sinnes And what had they done They had worshipped strange gods and set up among them ASTAROTH u R. David Kimchi in lib. radicum which was the god of their sheep their fathers had done the like And when the Angell of the Lord rebuked them of that sinne x Iudg. 2 4 5 they lift up their voice and wept and called the name of that place Bokim i. weepers and they sacrificed there unto the Lord. O how many strange gods doe wee worship What are our self-love our ambition our filthy lusts our envie our hatred our pride but strāge gods to whō we offer most abominable sacrifices al the hours of the day Our covetousnes our insatiable desire of cattel of sheep of the Mammon of unrighteousnes is our Astaroth yea an Idoll so much worse than Astaroth in that wee worship it not openly but privately not in the face of the world but in the face of God not in temples of stone but in the temples of our hearts which God hath dedicated to his owne service How many Samuels how many Angels hath GOD sent unto us to reprove us of so many sinnes and wee are heer assembled as Israel in Mizpeh to acknowledge confesse our sinnes O then dear brethren and sisters let us first look up to the infinite Majestie of God whom wee have offended and let us afterwards looke downewards to our selves who are the offenders y Iob 4 19 Wee dwell in houses of clay our foundation is in the dust wee are crushed before the moth Houses of clay earth and dust wormes which are the meat of of wormes sin against God and shall wee not mourne shall wee not draw teares from our hearts shall wee not command our eyes to pour them out NOVV before the Lord shall wee not NOVV wash with them our reasonable sacrifices the calves of our lips which wee are come hither to offer up unto God shall not this House of God bee this day Bokim unto us shall wee not NOVV cry to heaven with weeping mourning Wee have sinned against the Lord David sinned but one night and b Psalm 6.6 hee was weary with his groning every night hee made his bed to swim hee watered his couch with his teares If I say of many of us that we sin every night and every day I thinke that I shall not lie Oh then shall we not weep this one day David when he wept cried to heaven c Psalm 51.1 2 3 Have mercie upon mee O God according to thy loving kindnesse according to thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions wash mee thorowly from mine iniquitie and clense mee from my sin What moved him to cry so loud and in crying to pray for mercie For saith hee I acknowledge my transgression and my sin is ever before me Because he acknowledged his sinne therfore he wept If wee knew how hatefull our sinnes are to God we would weep we knowe them not we feele them not wee cast them still behinde our backs wee never bring them before our eyes therefore we weep not Oh how horrible shall bee that day wherein shall bee fulfilled that which GOD saith d Psalm 50.21 I will reprove thee and set them in order before thy eyes The Lord in his mercy preserve us from the terror and horror of that day Hee will doe it if by the weeping of this day wee prevent the weeping of that day if as Daniel did e Dan. 9 3 c. wee set our face unto the Lord God to seek him by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes if as he did wee confesse that wee have sinned committed iniquity and done wickedly our Kings our Princes our fathers and all the people of the Land if wee acknowledge as hee did that if GOD should deale with us as hee dealt with his people of those daies righteousnesse should belong unto him unto us confusion of face if as hee did we joyne deprecation to the accusation of our owne sins and confession of our owne deserts crying f Ver. 19 O Lord heare O Lord forgive O Lord hearken and doe Where are the women of joy which through grief for their sin wash Christ's feet with their teares as g Luke 7 37 one woman of that kinde did once How many alas how many Publicanes yea worse than Publicanes doe swarme in the Church Shall ye finde one among a thousand who dare h Luke 18.13 not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven for shame who smiteth upon his breast which conceived sin in him who with words interrupted with sighes and carried into heaven with a swift flowing stream of teares cryeth to God God be mercifull to mee a sinner as the Publicane in the Gospell did Wee are all prodigall sonnes what do we all but feed swine but feed upon swines provender but cherish in our selves our filthie lusts but delight in sin Nevertheless which of us all commeth to himself returneth to his Father and saith Father I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy sonne i Luke 15 15 as once a prodigall sonne did k Mat. 26 75. Peter denied Christ but once and against his heart and yet he excused not his fault but wept for it bitterly Are wee not of the crue of those of whom the Apostle writes that l Tit. 1.16 they professe they knowe God but by their workes they deny him beeing abominable and disobedient and to every good worke reprobate Would to God we were not But we are and yet our hart is glad our faces shine our cheeks are dry our eyes are hardned like Pumice-stones and we weep not Think yee that Saint Paul could write to the Romanes without vehement sighing how m Rom. 7 19 the good that he would hee did not but the evill which he would not that he did We are of a disposition much disagreeing unto his The evill that we would we do not but the good which wee would not that wee doe Through feare of punishment wee abstaine often from the evill which wee like to doe and through love of praise or of some reward we do sometimes the
others which have no hope he forbiddeth you not to be waile your dead for it is impossible to fight against the motions of nature Did not u Gen. 23.2 Abraham the father of the faithfull mourne and weepe for Saâ—ra Did not x Gen. 50 1.10 Ioseph weepe upon his dead father and kisse him did not all his sonnes bury him with a very great and sore lamentation Did not y Num. 20.29 all the congregation of Israel mourne for Aaron thirty dayes Did a Deut. 34.8 they not weep for Moses as many dayes Did not David weepe for b v 2. Sam. 1.17 Saul for x 2. Sam. 3.32 Abner and for his sonne y 2. Sam. 18.33 Absalom and did not our Lord Iesus Christ a Ioh. 11.35 weep for Lazarus Did not b Act. 8.32 the devout men of Ierusalem make great lamentations over Steven Did not c Act. 9.39 the Christian widdowes of Lydda weepe for Dorcas when she was dead V. The thing which the Apostle forbiddeth is weeping such as is the weeping of the Gentiles which is immoderate because they have no hope One of them seeing hee must needes pay the last tribute to nature go the way of all the earth as he was dying made an heavy mone for his soul saying d Spartiani Adrianus Animula vagula blandula Hospes comesque corporis Quae nune abibis in loca Pallidula rigida nudula Nec ut soles dabis iocos O my restlesse my gentle my sweet soule soule which hast been a friendly guest and companion of my body O how wanne how cold how bare and empty is the place whither thou must now goe neyther shalt thou hereafter make me merry The rest had no better hope if they spake not so they thought no lesse But we know that e Ioh. 5.24 hee that beleeveth in Christ hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life therefore we must not weepe for our dead immoderately as Gentiles doe but moderately as Christians doe In f Ier 9.17 18. Ieremiah his time there was an heathnish custome among the Iewes Praficae mulieres to hire mourning women who were accustomed to take up a wailing for their dead and that g Chrysost ad Popul Antiochen homil 69. 70. profane custome was in the Church in S. Chrysostomes dayes It is now banished out of the Church But that w eh we doe is not much unlike unto it wee teare our faces with our nails we pull the haire out of our heads we rend our clothes wee yell wee roare wee howle like beasts and shew indeed that wee are without hope so great hypocrites or that we consisider not what wee are doing Chrysostome said that h Ex ostentatione potius ambitione inani gloria sunt c. there is more ostentation ambition and vaine glory than true sorrow in such weeping for a man may weep bitterly in his closet and not make such a shew Yea in such weeping there is great shame and great offence offered to our most holy religion For how shall we speak of the immortality of the soule to them which beleeve no such thing how shall wee perswade them to beleeve i Tertull. de Resurrect Carnis Fiducia Christianorum resurrectio mortuorum the rising again faith of Christians when by such yelling wee make them to beleeve that death is as horrible unto us as unto them for they heed not what we beleeve but what we doe And how shall we our selves contemne death if wee shew so great impatience when our friends die IV. Hearken then and learne how to weep for the dead doe yee consider death as it is k Rom 6.23 the wages of sin Weep Consider it also as it is through Christ l Ioh. 5.24 a passage to life and weep not Doe ye consider how your dear friend whom ye loved so tenderly is by death become so ugly and loathsome that ye are constrained with m Gen. 23.4 Abraham to bury him out of your sight lest he become suddenly a stinking carrion Weep CoÌ„sider also that through Christ his grave is made a Doctor unto him and weepe not Doth experieÌ„ce make you to say that by and by he shall bee dust and ashes Weepe But send for faith and it will tell you that though hee sleep now in the dust of the earth n Dan. 12.2 he shal awake to everlasting life according to the comfortable saying of Christ to Martha o Iohn 11 25 26 I am the resurrection and the life he that beleeveth in mee though he were dead yet shall he live And whosoever liveth and beleeveth in me shall never dye For in that blessed day of the resurrection of the righteous Christ p Phil. 3.21 shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body Heer is the comfort of your faith The Pagans speaking of a dead man were wont to say q Scal. Castigat in Festum verbo AbitioneÌ„ FUIT He was because they were without hope for the time to come But your r Rom. 5 5. hope which maketh not ashamed teacheth you to say ERIT He shall be They said also m Tert. de testimonio animae adver Gent. c. 4. Abijt iam sed reverti debet Hee is gone but he will come again not shewing that they had any hope of the resurrection as Tertullian deemed but seeking Euphemisms fair words having a sense repugnaÌ„t to their mind to shew that they esteemed all dead men to be lost In that same sense they said VIXIT He did live and therefore they called him n Ibid. Cúm alicuius defuncti recordaris miselluÌ„ vocas cum miserable If yee consider your dead brother as departed out of this life because of sinne say He did live and weep but knowe ye not that o 1. Sam. 25.29 his soule is bound in the bundle of life with the Lord his God Therfore say VIVIT Hee liveth say Hee is blessed and weep not p Rev. 14 13 For blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Beleeve yee not that they are past from death to life Wherefore then weep ye Will ye bee injurious to our Lord Iesus Christ Will yee deny the vertue of his death Will ye forsake the merit thereof Knowe yee not that his death is to us which beleeve the death of our death and the life of our life Then weep not O but he was my loving husband she was my vertuous wife thou hast had some losse weep but thy losse is their gaine They are gone to the marriage-supper of the Sonne of God and it is written Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb. These are the true sayings of God Therefore weep not Alas hee was mine onely sonne the heire of all my goods and now alas to whom shall I leave them
but he was great in faith By faith he ran by faith hee climbed up into a tree to see Iesus by faith he made haste by humility hee came downe by charity hee received Christ into his house joyfully Rejoice after that manner and receive Christ into thy house that rejoycing will be as acceptable to Christ as weeping By true charity he gave half his goods to the poore yea if hee wept not hee sorrowed to repentance after a godly maner he gave fourefold to them whom he had cousened If thou wilt not doe as much as he did do as he did restore unto thy neighbour that wherein thou hast deceived him in this day of thy devotion give a charitable devotion to the poore make that their feasting which thou hast spared by fasting and seeing thou canst not weepe for thy selfe make them which weep for themselves laugh that they rejoycing for theÌ„selves may weep and pray for thee Almes excels weeping V. But I fear this is a shift If wee can shead tears enow for the losse of our goods let us not excuse the constitution of our bodies rather let us accuse the corruption of our soules if we caÌ„not also weep for offending God For he that forroweth indeed to repentance will bee more deeply feelingly troubled with the loss of the favour of his good God than of all the world besides VI. Now what grief and vexation a worldly loss is unto us we know all Let us lay aside all frivolous excuses and let us now in the face of the blessed Angels and of this holy Assembly pray and sigh to GOD with tears and lamentations of true repentaÌ„ce let us not seeke to asswage our mourning let us seek to increase it that this day our hearts may grone and our eies weep sore run down with teares for the distressed members of the Church of Christ Iesus Let us joyne our hearts with their hearts our eies with their eies our tongues with their tongues that all together with one heart and one mouth wee may sigh weep mourn pray for their deliverance for the continuation of this happy and long peace amongst us VII Such weeping is a gift of God As waters came not out of the hard rocke c Numb 20.10 til Moses with his rod smote it twice so the rivers of teares will never flow from our hearts of stone till the Lord Iesus smite them often with the rod of his mouth soften them with the mightie and powerfull blowes of his holy Spirit 'T is the spirit that bruiseth our rocky harts 't is the heat of the spirit that melteth the yce of our frozen eyes maketh the waters flow 'T is the Spirit of Christ Iesus d Rom. 8 15 whereby wee cry Abba Father e Rom. 8.26 'T is the Spirit it selfe which maketh intercession for us with gronings which cannot be uttered f Ambros in Lucam c. 22. v. 61 62. Quos Iesus respicit plorant c. He hee onely upon whoÌ„ Christ looketh weepeth Peter denyed him once wept not because the Lord looked not He deny'd him the second time and he wept not because the Lord looked not He denyed him the third time the Lord looked upon him and hee wept bitterly VIII O Lord Iesus O sweet Iesus we have once twice thrice denyed thee Look now upon us O Savior of mankind now the cock croweth now look upon us g Veni Creator Spiritus insunde coelitus lucis tuae radium O holy Spirit Creator reformer of mankind come and create in us a new heart send from heaven into our congealed hearts an hote beam of thy comfortable light to breake and melt them that now at least now we may know our sins and the afflictions of our brethren that knovving them we may feele them that feeling them wee may weep to thee for them that weeping to thee vve may be comforted by thee according to thy promise vv ch thou hast made to us by thy dear Son Iesus Christ FINIS The second part OF THE CHRISTIAN MANS TEARES Containing CHRISTS Comforts CHAPTER I. The Argument of the first Chapter I. AS there is a time of weeping and of mourning so there is a time of comfort and of ioy II. Our comfort is spirituall N III. Gods owne selfe is our comforter IV. Thence is the certaintie of our salvation V. The cause of our comforts are not in the merits of our teares VI. There is no merit nor satisfaction but in our Lord Iesus Christ VII Blessednes is giuen to godly men but not for their godlinesse VIII How we must vnderstand some spâ—â—ches of the Doctors concerning Teares MATH 5. 5. Blessed are they that mourne for they shall be comforted LVK. 6.21 Blessed are ye that weepe now for ye shall laugh I. EXperience teacheth vs the scripture ioyning hands with experience saith that a Eccles 3.1.4 To euery thing there is a season and a time to euery purpose vnder the heaueÌ„s Amongst orther things that there is a time to weepe and a time to laugh a time to maurne and a time to dance A time to weepe as Christ hath said Blessed are yee that weepe now A time to laugh For saith he ye shall laugh A time to mourne because Christ saith Blessed are they that mourn A time to dance because he saith also that they shall be comforted I know not where b Cicero 4. Tuscul HERACLITVS could find such abundance of teares and what could moue him to weepe alwayes was there no blessing of God in the world to make him laugh Was not DEMOCRITVS a vaine man to laugh perpetually at the vanitie of the world and neuer to weepe for it CATONS heart was made of steele and could neither be moued to laugh for ioy when God blessed the State nor to weepe for sorrow when it was afflicted But DAVID who was better then any of them c 2 Sam. 6.14 danced for ioy when the Arke of the Lord entred into his house and wept for sorrow when he sinned against the Lord. IESVS who was the best of all d Luk. 10.21 reioyced in spirit when he considered the wise dispensations of the blessings of God He was also sorry and wept when he saw mens incredulity and obstinacie in their sinnes And he saith to all Christians that they shall weep for the causes whereof we haue spoken as also that they shall laugh for the causes whereof we are to speake II. Laughing is an effect of ioy Such as the ioy is such is the laughing Our ioy is such as we are or should be Inward celestiall spirituall for it cometh from the faith and hope of heauenly things as Christ said to them which are persecuted e Mat 5.12 Reioyce and be glad for great is your reward in heauen For our laughing is spirituall heauenly and inward flowing from an inward and spirituall ioy The Spring of our ioy is comfort whereof Christ sayth that
they which mourn shall be comforted III. Our comfort is our blessednesse and all blessednesse is of God to whose prayse we cry aloud with the holy Apostle f Eph. 1.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath blessed vs with all spirituall blessings in heavenly places in Christ So all our comforts are of God who g Isa 51.3 shall comfort Sion For he is h 2 Cor. 1.4 the God of all comfort who comforteth vs in all our tribulation He comforteth vs by his deare Sonne Iesus Christ who saith that the Lord hath sent him i Isa 61.2 to comfort all that mourn and as he came into the world for that end so he doth that wherefore he came as he said to his Disciples k Ioh. 14.18 I will not leaue you Orphanes that is comfortlesse I will come to you He cometh to vs by his Spirit who is the true Comforter For he ascended into heauen thence he l Tertull. de praescript cap. 11. Misit vicariam vim spiritus sancti qui credentes agat hath sent in stead of himselfe the power of the holy Spirit by whom the beleeuers are led according to his promise m Ioh. 14.16 I will pray the Father and he shall giue you another comforter that he may abide with you for euer IV. Here is the certaintie of our comforts God hath promised that we shall be comforted n Heb. 10.23 He is faithfull that promised and o 1 Thes 5.24 also will do it He giueth not that charge to another His owne selfe doth it p Isa 46.10.11 My counsell sayth he shall stand and I will doe all my pleasure I haue spoken it I will also bring it to passe I haue purposed it I will also doe it Hee doth it by his owno Spirit As q Ioh. 3.8 the wind so the Spirit bloweth where it listeth If he will comfort vs who can grieue vs Men will doe what they can to make vs weepe But saith Christ r Ioh. 16.25 Your heart shall reioyce and your ioy no man taketh from you If we hold our eyes vpon our selues we see our own weaknesse and we know we may loose our ioy But Christ hath prayed that ſ Ioh. 17.13 wee may haue his ioy full filled in our selues And the Comforter himselfe abideth in vs who then shall take the fruits of our teares from vs O most precious pearles of your eyes O teares most acceptable to God! The French Virgin is not so curious to keepe the teares of the vine wherwith a Plin. l. 23. cap. 1. Cutem in facie mulierum purgant Ibid. Vitia cutis in facie varosque lentignes emendant she takes away the speckes and pimples and other spots of her face and hands keepeth their skin soft and faire As God is carefull to keepe the teares which trill from the spiritual branches ingraffed into Iesus Christ who b Ioh. 15.1 is the true Vine c Psal 56.8 Hee putteth them into his bottle Are they not in his Booke d Ctesias in Indicis When the teares distilling from the Indian tree called Siptachora fall into the riuer Hyparchus they are congealed there and turned into most excellent Amber So when our teares fall into the riuer of the mercies of God they become there a most precious iewell And as the Sunne drawing salt vapours out of the Sea vp into the aire turneth them into pleasāt showers of raine e Isa 55.10 which watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud that it may giue seed to the sower and bread to the eater So f Mala. 4.2 the Sunne of righteousness our Lord Iesus Christ draweth vp to heauen our sighs our groans the salt vapours of our deuotion the bitter teares of our godly sorrow which we poure out before him and keepeth them in his bottles till being all gathered together hee powre them downe vpon vs againe in a mos sweet and well-come shower of all kinde of heauenly comforts which are our blessednesse both in this world and in the world to come V. Be not deceiued with the errour of Papists Imagine not that there is any merit in teares as that word is taken by Papists that in them there is any satisfaction as Papists speake of satisfaction that they wash out the blots of the soule which are our sinnes as water cleanseth and taketh away the spots of the body as Papists dare too boldly and ignorantly affirme they haue not in themselues any such efficacy neither hath God made vnto thē any such promise Nothing can satisfie the wrath of God but the death of the son God Nothing is of worth and value before his eyes to be rewarded with glory but the obedience of the Lord of glory No water can purge and take away sinnes g Ioh. 1.29 It is the Lambe of God which taketh away the sinnes of the world VI. If ye aske who hath satisfied the wrath of God I answere with Isaiah Christ h Isa 53.5 was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities iquities the chastisement of our peace was vpō him with his stripes we are healed If ye aske again by what means by what deserts ye obtaine eternall life Christ himself answereth i Ioh. 14.6 I am the Way the Truth and the Life i.e. The true way to eternall life And the Apostle faith that k 1 Cor. 1.30.31 of God ye are in Christ Iesus who of God is made vnto vs wisdome and righteousnesse and sanctification and redemption That according as it is written He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. Finally if ye aske which is the riuer which is the poole wherein we are clensed of all our sinnes so perfectly that there remaineth no spot no blemish in vs The Disciple which lay in Christs bosome was priuie to all his secrets faith that l 1. Ioh. 1.7 the bloud of Iesus Christ the Sonne of God clenseth vs from all sinne He only is the riuer of Iordan wherein the leprosie of sin is cured m 2 Kings 5.14 The riuer Iordan in the land of Canaan did neuer clense any man of the leprosie of the body but Naamās the Syrian This Iordan of the heauenly Canaan clenseth perfectly all leprous sinners which wash and dippe themselues in it At n Ioh. 5.4 the poole of Bethesda he onely was made whole of his disease who first after the troubling of the water stepped in But when soeuer a sinner shal repent of his sinnes that he hath committed and cast himselfe into this vndraynable poole of the bloud of the sonne of God his sicknes shall be cured and his soule shal be healed Yee read in the Legendes that Constantine the great being leprous was councelled to wash in a bath made of the bloud of little children that he might be made cleane That bath was nothing else but the bloud
of the Sonne of God wherein he washt by faith and was made cleane of the incurable leprosie of sinne So then if ye aske by whose satisfaction merits ye obtaine eternall life the Scripture answereth absolutely that it is by the onely satisfaction and merits of our Lord Iesus Christ o Act. 4.12 Neither is there Saluation in any other for there is none other Name vnder heauen giuen among men whereby we must be saued VII But if we aske to whom this saluation is giuen That is another question where vnto the Scripture maketh another answere and faith as Elizabeth said to the Virgin Marie p Luk. 1.45 Blessed is she that beleeued q 2 Cor. 1.20 All the promises of God in Christ are Yea and in Christ are Amen vnto the glory of God And r Gal. 3.14 we receiue the promise of the Spirit through faith Neither haue we any other hand to receiue Christ who is promised vnto vs but faith Therefore it is written that ſ Eph. 2.8 by grace ye are saued by faith And because our last and principall blessednesse is our saluation it is also written that they which be of faith are blessed with faithfull Abraham t Act. 15.9 The hearts are purified by faith Therefre it is written u Math. 5.8 Blessed are the pure in heart The heart by faith is broken and bruised with the sense of sinne and with x 2 Cor. 7.10 godly sorrow for sinne Therefore it is written y Math. 5.3 Blessed are the poore in spirit Faith looketh vp to heaven with a weeping eye Faith calleth vpon God with prayers steeped in teares Faith stretcheth soorth to the throne of grace hands dipped in the bitter and salt waters of repentance And therefore it is written Blessed are they that mourne If faith did not repent sigh weepe pray repentēce weeping sighing prayer should be sinnes For a Rom. 14.23 whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne So the teares of Esau were sinnes So when David prayeth against the wicked man b Psal 109.7 Let his prayer become sinne he teacheth vs that prayers of wicked and vnbeleeuing men are sinnes for to such men c Tit. 1.15 nothing is pure but euen their mind and conscience is defiled And what can come from such a puddle but filth and stincking putrefaction h Gal. 5.6 Faith worketh by loue and is rich in good workes Therefore it is written l Psal 1.2 blessed is the man whose delight is the Law of the Lord m Psal 119.1 Blessed are the vndefiled in the way n Psal 128.1 Blessed is euery one that feareth the Lord c. Yee see what persons are blessed And what qualities are required in you if you desire to be partakers of blessednes The first must be faith For o Heb. 11.6 without faith it is impossible to please God From faith springs forrow for sin repentance weeping prayers good workes p Eph. 2.10 which God hath prepared that we should walke in them All those which are adorned and inriched with those good qualities are blessed but the cause wherfore they are blessed is the merite of Christ Iesus in whom they beleeue by whom they pray for whom they weepe and by whose spirit they are lead in the way of the Lord doe good workes For to them q Zech 12.10 that mourne in Ierusalem Zechariah saith that r Zech. 13.1 there shall be a fountaine opened for sinne and for vncleannesse what are not their eyes a fountaine To weepe for sinne they may be To blot out and abolish the slaine of sinne they cannot be The only side of Christ which was pierced in his death was made a fountain of bloud to wash in it the sinnes of all them which to weepe for their sinnes make of their heads a fountaine of teares VIII Therefore when ye read in the Homilies of the Doctors of the Church either auncient or moderne that teares are a satisfaction for sinne that they wash it away and blot it out and many such hyperbolicall speeches yee must vnderstand them f Cum graeno salis with a graine of salt as the Iurisconsults speake of some sayings of their Doctors and know that either they speake of satisfaction giuen to the Church or attribute to the effect that which is proper to the cause which is frequent amongst orators and in speeches gilt and beautified with Rhetoricke Consider that in my text blessednesse is attributed to them which weepe not to weeping to the tree not to the fruit to the worker not to the worke And when yee seeke the causes of your blessednesse looke not downeward to your selues but vpward to the mercie of God and with a sincere heart and true mouth follow the holy Apostle and say t Eph. 1.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath blessed vs with al spirituall blessings in heauenly places in Christ u Rom. 11.36 For of him and through him and to him are all things To whom be glory for euer Amen If yee remember this distinctiō betweene the qualification of the persons which are to be saued the causes wherfore they are saued as also the chāging of attributions when the effects are honoured with the glorious titles which belong to their causes ye wil not easily be seduced with Papistry nor troubled with som speeches which the Doctors vttered hyperbolically which the Papists wrest vnlearnedly which ye must vnderstand x Rom. 12.6 according to the proportion of faith soundly CHAPTER II. I. ALl our comforts are called Life and wherefore II. Item wherefore that life which is our onely comfort is called euerlasting III. What eternall life is IV. T is imperfect in this world and perfect in the world to come V. He that hath not the beginnings of eternall life in this world shal neuer come to the perfection thereof in the world to come I. BVT to leaue of disputing against Papists which is not fit for this day wherin we are assembled to dispute against our owne sinnes and to let alone the hyperbolicall speeches of Doctors let vs come to Christs comforts wherin our blessednesse consisteth Our Blessednesse in holy Scripture is called Life Euerlasting T is called Life not because we shall act liue and moue by it as we doe now during our abode in the earthly tabernacles of our mortall bodies but because it is a most glorious happie and blessed estate our soueraigne good and felicitie the full perforformance of all our desires the longed-for wish of our vnsatiable hearts the center and last resting place of all the agitations of our stirring and vnquiet soules There is nothing that man loueth better then life For how can he loue what can he loue if he liue not Life is the spring of loue life is the enioyer life is the vser of all the things which we loue As we cannot loue without life So life
immortalitie and shall not returne unto earth againe Our water shall be glorified with impassibilitie and shall not be subiect to any passion or sufferings which may hurt and grieve us Our aire shall have such agilitie and promptnesse * Aug de Civit. dei lib 22. cap. 30. Certe ubi volet Spiritus ibi protinus orit corpus that it shall quickly carry the body wheresoever the soule will have it to go Our fire shall be beautified with the most wonderfull light of all fairenesse If the x Exod. 34.29 30. skin of Moses face after he had beene fortie dayes with God in MouÌ„t Sinai shone so brightly that the people was afraid to come nigh him how brightly I pray you shal shine the bodies of the Saints when they shal be transported by the holy Angels unto Mount Sion and enlightened with the glorious light of the face of God shining upon them night and day world without end The Lord Iesus himself saith that y Mat. 13.43 the righteous shall shine foorth as the Sunne in the kingdome of their father And the holy Apostle saith that z Phil. 3.20 21. wee looke for the Saviour the Lord Iesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may bee fashioned like unto his glorious body In his transfiguration which was but a praeludium of his glorification a Mat. 17 2. his face did shine as the Sun his rayment was white as the light If such was the glory not onely of his body but of his raiment also when hee was upon earth how wonderfull and glorious is his body now in heaven And if our bodies are to be like unto his in glory what hart can conceive what speech can expresse the greatnes of that glory How radiaÌ„t glittring shall then be the beams of the glorious bodies of all the Saints together when each of us shall bee so glorious So then saith S. Bernard allegorizing the words of the psalm a Psalm 72.19 The whole earth shall bee filled with his glory b Bern. ibid. So will GOD fill our soules when in them shall bee perfect science perfect righteousnes perfect ioy So the whole earth shall bee filled with his glory when the bodie shall be incorruptible impassible nimble and fashioned like unto his glorious body VI. But what is all this that I have said or can say of eternall life It is as if I should paint the fair light of the Sun with the blackest coale O the last comfort of the Christian man how blessed art thou ô blessed life of them that hunger and thirst after thee how comfortable art thou for the thing which we shall enjoy in thee for the meanes for the measure for the time for the certainty for the place for the companions of that coÌ„fortable blessednes of that blessed comfort The thing shall bee God himselfe c Ber. Deus omne bonum summum bonum God who is all goodnes God who is the soveraigne good Now wee make our mone with David and say * Psalm 42.2 23. My soule thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appeare before GOD But as Lyranus saith upon the sixt chapter of S. Iohn Is status est vita aeterna ut faciat tuÌ„c Deus ut videamus quod credidimus manducemus quod esurivimus habeamus quod amavimus desideravimus Eternall life is a state wherein God will make us to see that which we beleeved to eat that for which wee were hungry to have that wch wee loved and desired The means shall be no means wee shall enjoy him by himselfe immediately As Saint Iohn saith that d Rev. 22 22 23 hee saw no Temple in the heavenly Ierusalem for the Lord God Almightie and the Lamb are the Temple of it and the City saith he also had no need of the Sun neither of the Moon to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it the Lamb is the light thereof The measure shall bee e Luke 6 38. good measure pressed downe and shaken together and running over given into our bosome For f Bernard Deus futurus est intellectui plenitudo lucis voluntati multitudo pacis memoriae continuatio aeternitatis nam quicquid olim inchoavit praeparavit gratia tunc absolvet perficiet gloria God shall bee to our minde fulnesse of light to our will multitude of peace to our memory continuatioÌ„ of eternity then whatsoever grace hath begun in us glory will make it perfect The time shall not be g Aug. in Mat. sor 17Vbi sunt dies bow nec multi sed uâ—â—s Dies ille nescit ortum nescit occasum illi diâ—â— non succedit crastinus quia non pracedit tum besternus many daies but one A most wonderfull day A day which hath no rising no setting A day which is not followed by another because another day is not gone before it h Psalm 30.5 Weeping soiourneth in the evening but singing commeth in the morning We are now in the evening of our misery and therefore weeping sojournes journes with us wee shal be then in the morning of our felicity Then i Mal. 4.2 the Sunne of righteousnes shall arise unto us Sunne whereof the Prophet saith k Esay 60 20. Thy Sun shall no more goe downe neither shall the Moone withdraw it self for the Lord shall bee thine everlasting light the daies of thy mourning shall bee ended The place shall be new heavens and a new earth wherin dwelleth righteousnes If this heaven which we see enamelled with so many bright glistering starres be so glorious if this earth which is diapred with such a pleasant and profitable diversity of so many creatures and is inhabited by sinners be so faire how glorious will the new heavens bee how faire will the new earth be which are prepared to be the blessed habitation of righteous men The certainty shall be most certaine l Aug. do civ Doi l. 12 c. 13. Quomodo enim vera beatitudo est de cuius nunquam aeternitate confiditur for that cannot be true blessednes of the eternity whereof we are not assured The companions shall bee all the blessed Angels and all the Elect who then shall knowe one another even as in the transfiguration m Mat. 17 4 Peter knew Moses Elias whom before hee had never seen the n Luke 16 23 rich man being in hell knew Lazarus in Abraham's bosome VII O wonderfull dispensation of the justice and mercies of the Lord our God! o Chrysost in ep ist 3. ad Cyriac. Episc The tyrants and persecuters shall see know God's deare children whom they martyrized and p Sap. 5.4 5. whose life they accounted madnesse and their end disgrace infamy Seeing and knowing them they shall groane with anguish of spirit and say with the sobs of too too late repentance q Psal 144.15
happy is that people that is in such a case happy is that people whose God is the Lord But woe and alas is to us now and for evermore The Church also shall see and know al her persecuters and having all teares wipt from her eyes shall sing r Rev. 5.9 a new song which shall never waxe old even Å¿ Rev. 15.3 Exod. 15. the song of Moses the servant of God which shall bee continually in their mouthes to praise God the Lamb who hath guided them by his strength thorow the red sea of bloody persecution and planted them in the mountaine of his inheritance in the Sanctuary which his hand hath established IIX Deare brethren what shal we render unto the Lord our God for so many comforts which hee hath already bestowed upon us and for this last comfort which he hath prepared for us t Aug. de verbis Apost sâ—â—th 16. Praedestinavit antequaÌ„ essemus vocavit cùm aversi essemus iustificavit cùm peccatores essemus glorificavit cùm mortales essemus He did predestinate us before wee were hee called us when our backes were turned unto him hee iustified us when wee were sinners hee glorified us when we were subiect to death This last benefit is but begun in us in this world we looke for the accomplishment thereof in the world to come where God shall be unto us u Bern. in Vigil nativit Domini sâ—â—m 5. omne iucundum omne utile omne honestum whatsoever is delectable profitable and honest and therefore whatsoever our hearts can desire x Aug. ibid. In his quae iam habemus laudemus Deum largitore In his quae nondum habemus tenemus debitorem Let us then I pray you praise God for that which wee have received and trust in him as in a most sufficient debtour of the rest which is to be received Debitor enim factus est non aliquid à nobis accipiendo sed quod ei placuit promittendo for hee is become our debtor not by receiving any thing from us but by promising that which of his owne good pleasure he is willing to give us And because y Idem de Symbolo ad catech lib. 3. cap. 11. Si in cor hominis non ascendit cor hominis illuc ascendat the things which hee hath prepared for us cannot ascend into our hearts let our hearts ascend unto him with whom they are For that effect let us now even now purifie our hearts for every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure 1. Ioh. 3.3 Yea let us lay downe willingly this present transitorie life that wee may attaine to the other which is eternall for by the small losse of this life wee enter into the glorious joyfull possession of the other O God z Idem Confess lib. 10. cap. 22. Ipsa est beata vita gaudere ad te de te propter te ipsa est non est altera The onely blessed and eternall life is to reioyce to thee in thee of thee for thee there is no other life Remember me O Lord with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people O visite me with thy salvation that I may see the good of thy chosen that I may reioyce in the gladnesse of thy nation that I may glory with thine inheritance O eternall God Psal 106.4 5. O Father of mercies heare our prayers which wee powre out before thee that we may froÌ„ henceforth and for evermore sing unto thee Davids song Thou hast turned from me my mourning into dancing thou hast put off my sackecloth and girded mee with gladnesse Psal 30.11 O Father of Christ heare us for Christ thy Sonnes sake to whom with thee and the holy Ghost be all glory honour and praise both now and for evermore Amen FINIS