deliuering and comforting those that are oppressed touching which duty the Apostle to the Hebrewes saith Heb. 13.3 Remember them that are in bonds as thogh ye were bound with them As if he should say Make their case your owne deale with them as you would be dealt withall your selues if the like misery should befall vnto you Salomon also saith Pro. 24.11.12 Deliuer them that are drawne to death and wile thou not preserue them that are led to beeslaine If thou say Beheld I know it not hee that pondereth the hearts doth not hee vnderstand it and hee that keepeth thy soule knowes hee it not will hee not also recompence euery man according to his workes He shewes that if we see those that be vnrightcously drawne to death or oppiossed wee must not stand by and say Alasso who euer sam such a World as this is who euer saw such wrongfull appression vsed as in these times But wee must put to our helping hand and labour to our power to rescue them and to deliuer them For saith he Wilt not thou preserue them As if he had said Art thou so mercisesse that thou wilt not helpe the oppressed But then he meets with our excuses which we are ready to make in such cases Alasse I knew not that hee had such neede of my helpe or if I should meddle I should bring an old house vpon mine owne head and trouble my selfe when I needed not yet he cuts off all when he saith Doth not God see thee and know thy heart As if hee should say Well these excuses may dazell mine eyes and make a faire shew with them that can see nothing but shewes but God lookes not so much to the tongue and what one can say for himselfe he ponders the heart and that not lightly he knowes and considers euery particular thing and circunestance and therefore it is no shifting nor doubling when he comes to take triall of vs. For he knowes that all those excuses come from selfe-loue and the loue of lucre and commodity that one might spare cost and liue at case and rather see another oppressed with wrong then hazard himselfe any way to helpe him Last of all hee saith You that be so loath to suffer a little trouble and to bee at a little charges to helpe another man in misery know you not that God recompenceth men according to their workes That hee causeth them to reape like for like may not you come to the like misery your self and then because you had no heart nor will to helpe another you shall see others fit as quietly by you and not venture to minister any succour vnto you Now men are come to such selfe-loue and senslesnes of other mens wrongs as if they were things done in a farre Countrey and in another age as if it nothing appertained to them they haue nothing to doe with them The better for t onely will haue a little idle pitty and mercy in the mouth saying Alasse I am sorry and it is a pitty that honest men should be thus wronged iniured and disgraced yet they will neuer put to an hand to helpe they will not stirre a finger to doe any good to their reliefe neither will they take any paines or be at any charges to ease and deliuer the oppressed for most men beare this minde that they could take more paines and spend more money to compasse their owne pleasures to satissie their lusts and carnall appetites yea to pul one of their own beasts out of the ditch then to deliuer a poore wronged Christian out of the pawes of the persecutor But Ionathan was not of this minde 1 Sam. 20.38 hee ventured his owne life to saue Dauids and deliuered him out of the hand of Saâ—l his Father though it seemed Dauid onely stood betweene him and the Crowne Obadiah likewise being Ahabs Steward 1 Kin. 18.4 when his Master raised an hot persecution and would haue slaine all the Prophets of God and hee in likelihood should haue escaped but hardly if his Master had perceiued that hee had borne any fauour and affection towards them and the famine was so great that scarce bread and water could bee got for money So that it was not onely dangerous but exceeding chargeable to feede an hundred Prophets now whom the King sought with all diligence to bring to destruction yet notwithstanding all these impediments Obdiah stood faithfully for God and his Prophets and kept them with bread and water sufficiently both in the heate of persecution and in the middest of famine But on the contrary most hellish and cursed of all are those that be so farre from helping and succouring Gods afflicted Saints as that they reioyce at their troubles recounting it one to another as very ioyfull tidings and matter of meriment when they heare that such a man is in prison such a Minister suspended depriued or the like yea peraduenture they will not sticke to put an hand to it and to their power to helpe it forwards These be cruel wretches indeede inspired with the malice of the Diuell vnlesse they repent shall bee most miserable hereafter being plagued with the vengeance of God as a iust recompence for their cruelty whereas in this case they ought rather so to shew mercy vnto others as they would expect the mercy of God towards themselues Let vs therefore bee mercifull as our Heauenly Father is mercifull Thus much touching the fourth worke of mercy towards the body Tego THE fift worke of mercy to the body consisteth in shewing mercy to the poore and needy according to our ability their necessity This duty our Sauiour Christ commandeth saying Luk. 12.33 Sell that you haue and make you bagâ— that waxe not olde VVhere Christ exhorting vs to bee mercifull meetes with a common obiection Indeede I would willingly bestow somthing vpon the poore members of Christ Iesus but lasse I haue nothing Haue you nothing to sel neuer a strike of â—orn neuer a parcell of Land no Merchandize no housâ— old stuffe that you could spare for Christ If you haue sell it and giue to Christ and to his Members imitating therein a wicked man who to compasse his pleasures and to satissie his owne carnall appetite will come by money what shift soeuer he make Doe you as much for Christ and his Members as a wicked man will doe for the fulfilling of his vaine desires Oh but if I should sell and giue so I might be beggered Nay Christ wils no man to beggar himselfe But make you bags This is such a treasure as no other is like it for no other will multiplie and increase lying by vs but is of that nature that either of it selfe iâ— will corrupt the canker and rust wil set vpon it and bring it to â—â—ught or else a thiefe may meete with it so that one is in continuall danger to bee poore But this is such a kind of treasure as in it selfe is eternal
Misericors ΜΙΚΡΟΚΟΣΜΟΣ OR Medeleyes Offices Containing an iniunction to all duties of Mercy belonging to the whole Man Miser esto in corde mecum ROM 12.16 Reioyce with them that reioyce weepe with them that weepe and be of like affection one towards another Consider these matters consult and giue sentence Printed at London by I. B. 1619. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE EDVVARD Lord Wotton Baron of Marleigh L. Lieuetenant of the County of Kent and one of his Maiesties most Honourable Priuy Counsell my singular good Lord and to his most worthy associate my very good Lady and Mistresse health wealth and euerlasting happinesse RIght Honourable there was a custom among the Iewes that such dettors whose debts amounted their abilities to satisfie were to be sold themselues their wiues and children to become slaues to content their Creditors So calling to minde how farre I stand ingaged to your Honor not onely for your great and daily bounty whereof I haue continually tasted from time to time but also in that you haue willingly furthered mee by your other many and sundry fauours when occasion required the consideration of which forceth me to confesse that I also should incurre the penaltie aboue said hauing no other meanes to cancell the obligation wherein I rest bound to your Lordship and now in your Honors absence aye me I finde no other like minded towards me Wherefore as one Sophocles a poore schollar of Socrates did so I hauing nothing else doe dedicate not onely my selfe but whatsoeuer is of mine wholy to your Lordships seruice continually praying that the Lord would multiply his many and sundry blessings and graces vpon you and yours in this life and that hee would hereafter crowne you with glory and eternall happinesse for euer with his Saints and Angels Your Lordships most continually bounden T. M. To the Christian READER I Am not Ignorant gentle reader according to the saying of the Poet Scribimus indoctâ— doctique poemata passim That godly learned treatises of all sorts abound this consideration might well haue stayed my penne from paper Know therefore that not vaine glory but a sensible fellow feeling of the wronges and iniurses offered to my brethren by reason of a certaine imbred selfe-loue reigning for the most part in the heart of the oppressor hath stirred vp in me a setled resolution to cast in my widdows mite notwithstanding the many rich guifts and worthy workes of the more learned into the Lords treasury Wherein my onely scope and drift is to shew forth my forward and willing disposition in labouring to repaire the ruins and decaies of loue and piety which this age hath almost throwne flat on the ground if Narcissus likeâ—â— dote not to much vpon mine owne shaddow Many thinks it sufficient if they can talke and dispute of faith if they be able to reason and discourse in eloquent wordes of religion when they haue small regarde to turne their talking into walking their wordes into workes and their profession into practise For whereas we should manifest our faith and loue of God in our loue charity and kindnesse towards our neighbour many notwithstanding are now become so degenerate and such Non proficients in the Schoole of true Christian integrity that in their actions they are malicious enuying cruell deceitfull contentious malecontent scandalous haters of God iniurious without naturall affection and mercilesse But wee haue not so learned Christ neither can it be what shew soeuer they make that the loue of God should rest in that heart where fraudulent hatefull malicious and enuying Foxes haue made their dennes For if a man say hee loueth God and hateth his brother he is a liar for how can hee that loueth not his brother whom hee hath seene loue God whom hee hath not seene as saith the Apostle Iohn And hee that would know how to loue his neighbour aright must first entertaine the loue of God in his heart and the loue of God is retained by practising the loue of our neighbour For euen as the heate of the naturall body warmeth the cloathes that are put vpon it which cloathes afterward nourish and conserue the naturall heate so the fire of the loue of God which springeth of faith kindleth the heart with the loue of thy neighbour and the loue of our neighbour cherisheth the loue of God in our harts Wherfore if these endeauours of mine shall effect any good it is the thing that I desire and let God haue the praise if not yet I haue discharged my conscience Therefore I humbly beseech thee into whose hands these writings shall come throughly to reade them at thy leasure and to marke them well begin not onely but make an end for happily the best wine is reserued till the last And the God of patience and consolation make vs followers of God as deare children and grant that we be like minded one towards another after the example of Christ Iesus Thine in Christ Thomas Medeley MISERICORS Or Motiues to mercy The Preface AS the yong man in the Gospell that was desirous to obtaine euerlasting life yet being inioyned by our blessed Saniour to sell what he had and giue to the poore departed sorrowfull that Heauen should bee held at so high a rate Mat. 19.21 So beloued are there many in these our daies that very willingly would bee registred among the number of the saithfull righteous and mercifull men whose charitable deuotioÌ„s can abide no beggers For who amongst vs is there almost that doth any good or what man is he amoÌ„gst a thousand who hauing a fellow feeling of the miseries of his bretheren remembreth the afflictions of Ioseph Yet our Sauiour Christ exhorteth all those that wil be his Disciples to the practise of mercy after the example of our heauenly Father Luk. 6.36 Ye shall therefore bee mercifull as your Father which is in Heauen is mercifull There are two principall points to bee considered in this text First a precept Ye shall therefore be mercifull Secondly the president As your heauenly Father is mercifull of these in order Mercifull men may bee taken two waies Passiuely and Actiuely Passiuely for such as God hath receiued to mercy Tim. 1.13 as he did the Apostle Paul because hee sinned ignorantly through vnbeleife and in this respect Rom. 9.23 they are tearmed Vessels of mercy prepared to glory of this number are onely those which repent and amend Pro. 28.13 As Salomon saith Hee that hideth his sinnes shall not prosper but hee that confesseth and forsaketh them shall haue mercy But in this place it is meant Actiuely namely for such as shew mercy vnto others Now that we may the better know our duties in this point let vs more especially consider what the workes of mercy are Thomas Aquinas very learnedly setteth them forth to bee in number 13.6 belonging to the soule 7. to the body compreheÌ„ded in two verses Consule Castiga Solare Remitte for Ora Vifito Poto Cibo Redimo
saying Execute true iudgement Zach. 7.9.10 and shew mercy and compassion euery man to his brother and oppresse not the widow nor the fatherlesse the stranger nor the poore and let none of you imagine euill against his brother in his heart Saint Paul also saith Rom. 13.4 The Magistrate also beareth not the Sword in vaine for he is the Minister of God to take vengeance on him that doth euill That Magistrate therefore that will be said rightly to beare the sword must vnsheath it so against sinne and sinners that piety and good men may flourish the better and prosper And herein the pious care of good Iehoshaphat is to bee highly extolled 2 Chro. 19.5.6 For he set Iudges in the Land of Iudah throughout all the stronge Citties thereof City by Ciâ—ty And said vnto them take heede what yee doe for you execute not the iudgement of man but of the Lord and he will bee with you in the cause and iudgement Magistrates in these times are culpable in two points first that they doe not consider they execute the Lords iudgements or if they did how then could your cursed swearer your prophaner of Gods Sabbaths beastly drunkards goe so vnpunished as for the most part they doe yet herein they shew themselus like the Scribes and Pharises Mark 7.13 Who preferred their owne traditions before Gods lawes Secondly your inferiour Magistrates are greatly to be blamed in that they being either too milde or else too too negligent in punishing small offences and petty fellonies in their seuerall iurisdictions doe often cause the offender to a greater Iudgement so that whereas in pardoning small faults they would be esteemed most mercifull it often times falleth out far otherwise You are therefore so to temper you iudgments that in them you may remember mercy To that end saith the Prophet Dauid Psa 88.10 Mercy and truth shall mcete together righteousnesse and peace shall kisse one another And as it was in Queen Elizabeths Poesy Sit piger adpaenas princeps adpraemia velox Cuique dolet quoties cogitur esse ferox I see and hold my peace A Princely Poesy right For euery fault should not prouoke A Prince or man of might Then happy we that haue A King so well inclin'd That when as Iustice drawes his sword Hath mercy in his minde Solare THe third worke of mercy appertaining to the soule consisteth in comforting the sorrowfull This duty is Ecclesiasticall and Generall Ecclesiastical consolation chiefly consisteth in pronouncing the glad tydings of the Gospell to those whose consciences by the law are throughly wounded for their sinnes And surely they that thus sow in teares Psa 126.5 shall reape in ioy For godly forrow causeth repentance 2 Cor. 7.10 not to be repented of And as this duty is to be inioyned to all Ministers at all times so more especially are they to labour to bring al those on whom God hath laide his heauy rod of sicknesse First to a true sight and feeling of their sins which is by the rule of Gods law Secondly to a feare of Gods anger for them that they may lament them and earnestly repenting call to God for mercy Thirdly let vs bring them to the true Samaritan our Lord and Sauiour Christ Iesus Who when the Priest and Leuite left vs wounded Luk. 10.33 24. that is to say the Ceremoniall and Iudiciall Law passed by vs He bound vp our wounds and paid for our curing that wee might be recouered to euerlasting happinesse Fourthly we are so to arme them against the concupisence of the flesh 1 Ioh. 2.16 the lust of the eyes and pride of life with the comfort of the Spirit the society of Angels crownes of eternall glory that they thus prepared to passe the waues of their trouble some sicknesse might safely ariue at the port of their eternall blessednesse Generall consolation is to be performed amongst all Christians mutually one towards another which thing Saint Paul teacheth saying 1 Thes 5 14. Comfort the feeble minded In the performance of this duty let vs especially haue an eye to the cause of the party greeued for none can truely comfort an other who hath not a fellow feeling of the miserie of his brother Saint Paul therefore willeth vs Ro. 12.16 to Reioyce with them that reioyce and to weepe with them that weepe and to be of like affection one towards another All sorrow is for the most part drawne from one of these foure heads Greefe of conscience Feare of death Losse of friends And losse of wealth Greefe of conscience ariseth from the knowledge of some hainous sinne committed for which the offender feareth Gods anger and iudgement towards him And surely vntill like wandring sheepe that haue gon astray we acknowledg our selues as lost wounded through our dayly traÌ„sgressions we haue no hope in the true Lambe of God to be purged from them I say hee that sometimes lamenteth not the absence of Gods graces from him shal neuer finde assured peace to his conscience by the presence of Gods holy Spirit And this doth our blessed Sauiour himselfe testifie whereas he saith Mat 11.28 Come vnto me all yee that are weary and heauy laden and I will ease you As if he should say all you that seeke ease in mee must first be weary with the burthen of your sinnes as desirous to leaue them then you must also come laden with teares of hearty contrition before you can find rest vnto your soules whervpon followeth that comfort of Almighty God denounced by the Prophet Ezekiell Exc. 18.21 At what time soeuer a sinner doth repent him of his sinnes from the bottome of his heart I will put all his wickednesse out of my remembrance But many Libertines abuse this place of Scripture thinking that they may repent when they list albeit the Lord saith At what time soeuer Exec. 18.21 yet hast thou no warrant from thence to thinke that thou shalt haue free power to repent whensoeuer thou wilt Poenitentia sera rarovera Late Repentance is seldom true repentance wee reade of one that repented at the last houre because no man should dispaire and but of one lest any man should presume we see many thousands of those who haue deferred their repentance haue beene taken away in their sinnes and died impenitent Luk. 18.13 Put not off therefore from day to day but turue to the Lord your God because he is mercifull gracious such a one as is sorry for your affictions Say not with your selues as Came Iudas that your sinnes cannot be pardoned For saith S. Austine Mentiris Caine maior est dei Miserecordia quam omnis humana miseria Thou speak est false Caine men cannot bee so sinfull as God is mercifull if with penitent hearts they could call vpon him A proofe of this may bee seene in the poore Publican Who standeth a farre off and would not come neere nor yet
Aristides going in to exile prayed that all things might succeede so happy and prosperous with the Athenians that they might neuer hereafter haue neede to remember Aristides Phocion being about to drinke the poysoned Potion Plutarch wherewith hee should die charged his sonne that hee should neuer reuenge his vniust death vpon the Athenians Thrasibulus that Noble Citizen of Athens Val max. who expelled the thirty Spartan Tyrants by this meanes restored the former freedome to his Country hee caused the law of perpetual obliuion of former iniuries to bee enacted which they called Legem obliuionis the law of forgetfulnesse Let Christians then be ashamed not to aspire vnto that perfection heerein which many wise Heathens haue attained vnto How far this brotherly forgiuenesse is to be extended our Sauiour himselfe sheweth in the parable of the Vnmercifull Seruant Mat. 18.35 which owed ten thousand Talents concluding in these words So likewise shall my heauenly Father doe vnto you except you forgiue from your hearts each one to his brother their trespasses In these words first wee are taught to whom this precept of forgiuing of iniuries pertaineth None are exempted which professe to be Christs Disciples for he saith Except yee forgiue each one that is of what degree state or condition soeuer he be of rich or poore Noble or Ignoble King or beggar we are all sinners and doe pray daily Forgiue vs our debts as wee forgiue our debtors Let the proud obserue this which being puffed vp with the confidence of their birth or dignities thinke that they may lawfully despise wrong and tread vnder foot the simple obscure and poore man Secondly hee sheweth whom hee should forgiue His brother He might haue said his follow seruant but hee would haue vs to lift vp our eyes higher and to consider that all men are not onely of the same condition as seruants but also of the same nature and dignities as the Sonnes of God who was so farre from contemning the base and obscure that hee would haue his onely begotten Sonne to bee contemptible and poore that he might make vs rich Thirdly hee teacheth what wee should forgiue Their trespasses He speaketh indefinitely that hee might comprehende all things wherewith our neighbour hath offended vs for how great soeuer is the iniury done vnto vs it may in no sort be compared vnto that wherein wee haue offended God Fourthly hee expresseth the measure and manner of forgiuing saying From your hearts that is not in naked words with an hypocritical and dissembling heart but truly and seriously that not so much as a sparkle of enuie hatred or rank or remaine behind in our hearts which particle reproueth their contumacy Which say they will forgiue but withall protest they cannot forget the iniury neither can they endure the sight of such as haue offended them These forgiue not from their hearts but in words onely nay not so much as in words seeing they foster in their hearts the memory thereof and doe not conceale it Wee should in forgiuing of iniuries imitate the example of our heauenly Father who so forgiueth our iniquities that hee remembreth them no more for if our sinnes were still in remembrance with God how could the hope of our saluation be firme and certain vnto vs And therefore the Princely Prophet prayeth That God would not remember the sinnes of his youth Psal 25.7 And that which necessity constraineth vs to craue at the hands of God is it not meet that wee should shew the same to our brethren Wee would not that God should remember our sinnes and shall wee keepe in memory old grudges and offences of our brethren and neighbours Surely such make themselues vnworthy of the mercies of God Being destitute of faith working by loue Gal. 5.6 Most memorable and neuer to be forgotten was the dealing of the holy Patriarch Abraham with his nephew Lot when Sathan assaied to kindle contention betweene them by reason of their quarrelling seruants Abraham being euerie way the better man being his Vncle and his elder Who already had seene the day of Christ Iohn 8.56 had also learned the lesson of humility of Christ hee stood not vpon his Summū Ius his right reputation but came first to Lot and was the profferer of peace saying Gen. 13.8 I pray thee let there bee no strife betweene me and thee and betweene my heardmen and thine and why for wee are brethren Hee sought peace Concedendo de suo Iure By yeelding of his right Now there are Christians to bee found saith Musculus which will not yeeld one foote of their right for brotherly vnities sake this proffer of Abraham is counted but folly now yea of those which yet would be esteemed his children Lastly this benefit also we make through patience towards an enemy which is not the least that being accustomed to deale iustly and friendly with an enemie wee shall the better frame our selues to liue sociably and kindly with our familiar friends and to doe nothing fraudulently and deceitfully in friendship Let vs therefore I beseech you cast out of our minds the remembrance of iniuties which is the very wood and fuell to nourish reuenge and which exasperateth our harts against our brethren Col. 3.12 Let vs as the Elect of God put vpon vs tender mercy kindnesse long suffering forbearing one another and forgiuing one another as Christ for gaue you euen so doe ye Let this sweet promise of our Sauiour And ye shall be forgiuen quench in vs all rancor and malice and ouersway in our thoughts all reasons of flesh bloud which seeke to moue vs to reuenge consider that in no other Petition in the Lords Prayer we so pray as to indent with God but in this onely Forgiue vs as wee forgiue others In which couenant with God if wee bee found liars we pray in vaine our prayers are against our selues seeing our sinnes are not forgiuen because wee are not truly inserted in the body of Iesus Christ vnlesse we forgiue one anther except wee manifest our faith in loue towards our neighbor Forgiue saith Saint Augustine lest whiles thou denie mercy to thy brother thou shut the mercy of thy Heauenly Father from thy selfe Iam. 2.13 For there shall bee iudgement mercilesse to him that sheweth no mercy But if all this cannot suppresse the rage of thy wreakefull humour but thou must needes seeke reuenge I will permit thee to be carried with the current of thy passions vpon condition that thou wilt bee angry with him that indeede hath done thee that iniury And who is hee verily as Basil saith euen hee which ruleth in thine enemies heart the Diuell I meane which inflameth him with the firebrands of wrath and armeth him with his spirit against thee it is hee that vseth thine enemies hand as a Sword to strike thee and his tongue as an arrow to shoote at thee If an horseman should strike thee with his speare wouldest thou bee
defect many vertues may be hid many good parts as that of Cicero in the Senate of Rome answering one Memmius who declaymed against Marcus Cato because hee made merry all night long why said Cicero didst thou not adde also Quodtota die aleas ludit that hee plaid at dice alday Cato hauing spent the whole day in serious businesse of the common wealth refreshed himselfe the more liberally at night Fiftly to consider that he which now hath grieuously fallē to day by Gods grace may be conuerted to morrow for God is able to make him stand If thou wilt needes iudge Nosce teipsum Begin first with thy selfe and perchance thou shalt find thy selfe worse then him whom thou condemnest Iustus prius est accusator sui Rom 2. Take good heede lest in the same thing thou iudgest another thou condemnest not thy selfe Take heede I say that thou bee not stayned with the same crime and so giue sentence against thy selfe 2 Sam 12. The man that hath done this shall surely die saith Dauid But what said the Prophet Thou art the man To conclude if thou canst not excuse the action of thy neighbour yet excuse his intention impute it to his ignorance or that hee was ouercome with some grieuous temptation wherewith if another had beene assaulted he might likewise haue yeelded This the Apostle teacheth Gal. 6.1 If a man be fallen by occasion into any fault ye which are spirituall restore such a one in the spirit of meekenesse considering thy selfe lest thou also be tempted Surely if a man would looke into himselfe he should find that hee hath enough to doe at home in the house of his owne conscience so that he would find no time to enquire into other mens soules But this age yeeldeth great store of Phisitians euery one will be launcing the carbuncles of others infirmities but they neuer haue care to cure their own Vlcers Euery one would be an eye in the body of the Church none a hand Such without authority vsurpe the office of the eye but to be a hand in doing good few are willing They are ready to carpe at other mens labours when they put their hand to nothing that good is But let vs first iudge our selues and so we shall more charitably looke into the faults of others Let vs I say bee mercifull as our heauenly father is mercifull Thus much touching rash iudgement and the fift worke of mercy to the Ioule described by this word Fer. ORA THe sixt last worke of mercy toward the soule consisteth in praying for all men A duty so necessary as without it wee haue no meanes to expresse our wants to our heauenly father S. Austen calleth prayer Interprei defiderij a key to valocke the secrets of our heauenly desires the necessity whereof our blessed Sauiour sets forth when hee taught his disciples to pray and also the benifit when he said Aske and yee shall haue Mat. 7.7 seeke and yee shall finde knock and it shall be opened vnto you And he yeeldeth a reason in the next verse saying For whosoeuer asketh receiueth he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened From hence may you plainly perceiue that oft times our wants and miseries proceed from our coldneise and neglect of prayer And surely most men are greatly to be blamed for neglecting so religious and heauenly a duty This was not the vse of the holy Prophets and Patriarks Dan. 6.10 Daniell notwithstanding the Kings decree to the contrary vsually prayed three times a day And we ought especially in these daies to call to minde the admirable deuotion of the Sonne of God deuotion waxing key-cold amongst men Let vs therefore remember our selues and thinke a little more of calling vpon God by religious and deuoute prayer remembring who it was that spent whole nights in prayer when he was labouring for the sinnes of the world and the saluation of our soules If the eyes of God doe at all times and in all places behould vs then most especially when wee present our selues before him in prayer when both attention of minde and humiliation of body cōcurre actions most befitting humble sutors we often repeate that of the Prophet Psal 95.6 O come let vs worship and fall downe before the Lord our Maker but we doe it not by humbling our bodies to sue pardon for our soules To approach enter into the place of prayer a◠if we came to sit in commission with God or would countenance him in his own house is as an vnreuerent a custome as heart can wish To dehort men now a daies from long prayer we are eased of that labour seeing many care not how little they pray Nay which is more when some altogether neglect this holy duty vnto God wherein Christians assemble themselues by publique prayer as if by preaching they would haue euermore God doe seruice vnto them but they by prayer would neuer do seruice vnto God And yet for all this not onely to speake of prayer but of feruency in prayer may further our Christian desires in Gods seruice seeing our zeale is oftē so cold as we may seem rather to speake then pray seeing the very of house pray or is almost made nothing lesse whereas our repayring thither puts vs in minde of a duty to be performed He therefore that prayer not in the Church doth as he that eates not at abanquet that learnes not at the schoole that fights not at the battaile that walkes not when he is in his iourney Mat 26.31 Let vs obserue Christs praying in the garden when his soule began to be sorrowfull the better to moue vs to a dueconsideration of prayer In this had prayer we may cōsider these circumstances first that it was solitary for that hee now left his disciples as he had vsually done before when he went out alone to pray this cōmendeth vnto vs solitary praying Secōdly he prayed with humiliation of body Luk. 22.41 Mat. 26.39 S. Luke sayth He kneeled and prayed S. Mathew and S. Marke that hee fell prostrate vpon the earth Mark 14.55 The Euangelists may soone be reconciled for it may seeme he first kneeled and afterward for faintnesse he was forced to fall prostrate and this commends to vs humiliation in prayer Iohn 11.41 When he raised Lazarus and restored the dumbe man to the vse of speaking Marke 7.38 we find he lifted vp his eyes to heauen which was sometimes his gesture in prayer when Moses prayed Exod. 17.12 hee lifted up his hands vntill the going downe of the Sun which houlding vp of his hands Dauid calleth his euening sacrifice Psa 141.4 Acts 7.60 When Steuen prayed hekneeled down according to Christs example here in the second place mētioned The third circumstance in this our Sauiours praying is that it was iust and right for he subiected his will to the wil of his father saying Si iuvis If thou wilt which
same paine and griefe if any one yea but the meanest sufferany thing the rest are also pertakers thereof For whosoeuer trippeth at the toe his purpose is to bring the head to the ground If therefore we haue the loue that ought to be in the hearts of Christians we cannot chuse but in some part as hauing a fellow feeling of the miseries of our brethren be ready to helpe them and relieue them and to doe workes of mercy toward them And herein Iobs friends may be commended vntovs Iob. 2.11 It is said that hauing heard of the misery wherin Iob was suddēly cast they came to him not as the common custome is to bid him be of good cheere and wee hope you shall doe well feare not we will helpe you the best wee can c. but they came to lament with him they wept with him they rent their clothes and sat downe with him mourning they hearing their friends woe would let him know they were touched with it and therefore they shew it by weeping wayling and lamenting in the dust making his cause theirs so neere as might be And surely hee that is throughly and sensibly affected with other mens miseries will be very ready and willing to relieue them and to doe workes of mercy to them But for want of this partaking of other mens griefes it commeth to passe that men be so hardly drawne and haled to any worke of mercy that it must be pulled from them by maine strength yea by many forcible arguments reasons and inducements must they be constrained to it before they will yeelde there vnto and when all is done they bestow a thing of no valew nothing to the purpose yea they that are bountifull enough in matters of lust and vanity in playes vaine shewes gaming wantonnesse and the like are so sparing in works of merey that one can hardly wring a penny from them by all the perswasions he can make But why should they be so slow and vnwilling Surely because they neither haue nor will haue any sense of other mens griefes but put away al consideration and regard of these things and giue themselues wholly to pleasure In those matters which will cost them many teares much lamentation great griefe of hart bring them no good hereafter but much sorrow they care not how farre they run and what charges and expences they be at but for visiting the sicke duties of compassion and workes of mercy such as will further their soules and doe good to the church and Saints of God they come off so slowly heauily as though all were lost that were that way bestowed And thus it falleth out because their heartes are mercilesse and voide of compassion Whereas affliction should makes v◠more mexciful pittifull and compassionate towards others as hauing our selues endured the like crosses and miseries and our hearts which are hard in themselues should be softned and made the more tender and in fellow feeling of their griefes more ready and willing to yeeld vnto them any comfort refreshing Thus those who haue beene sicke are apt to pitty those most whom they see payned with the like diseases Those who haue bin imprisoned do more readily compassionate and accordingly helpe and relieue those who are restrayned Those which haue beene pinched with penury and paine with hunger doe aboue others pitty them who being poore want foode to feede them and clothes to couer them Now therefore to conclud this point in as much as in this life there is nothing certaine it being often incident for men to flourish in a moment and on a sudden to be plunged into the pit of miserable pouerty or a affliction Neither is there any man that would refuse comfort when occasion necessitie doth require it why then should wee with-hold that from our brethren which wee should expect at their hands towards our sclues if neede were Let vs therefore be merifull towards others as we would expect the mercy of God toward our selues And thus much touching the first worke of mercy to the body Poto Cibo THe Second and third worke of mercy to the body consists in giuing bread and drinke and other foode to such as want it These two are as twins which may not be parted touching which duty S. Rom. 12.20 Paul saith If thine enemy hunger feede him If he thirst giue him drinke If thine enemy much more thy friend yet such is the hard hartednesse of the age and time wherein wee liue that charity is not extended to a friend nay scarce to a brother how then shall an enemy expect any fauour Neuerthelesse the spirit of God reacheth vs by the mouth of Salo mon. To cast our bread vpon the waters Eccle. 11.1 2.3.4 for after many dayes we shall finde it Giue a portion to 7 and also to 8. for thou knowest not what euill shall be vpon the earth As if he should say be liberall to the poore for though it seeme to be as a thing ventred on the sea yet it shall bring thee profit If the cloudes bee full they will poure forth raine vpon the earth As the clouds so the rich that haueal oundance should distribute liberally If the tree fall toward the South or toward the North in the place that it falleth there it shal be Be beneficiall there fore whilest you liue for after life there is no power He that obserueth the winde shall not sow and hee that regardeth the clouds shall not reape So he that feareth inconueniences when necessity requireth shall neuer doe his duty And thus you see Salomon in this Metaphoricall speech stirreth vp the people of God to the workeof mercy liberality towards such as are with misery and want afflicted What we should giue he sheweth when hee saith Cast thy bread by which word bread he signifieth all kinde of foode and meate for the preseruation of the life of man or necessary to the reliefe suslentation of our needy and distressed brethren We are bound therefore to giue whatsoeuer is requi sit to supply the want of such as are in neede necessity There is also an Emphasis to be obserued in this word Cast the latine word Mitte signifieth to send any thing as if the almes wee giue to the poore were sent by them into heauen So it is reported of Laurence the Martir who hauing distrito the poore the treasures which Sextus left him āswe red Decius the Emperour in this māner The treasure of the Church which thou requirest In celestes The sauros manus pau perū deportauerunt the hands of the poore haue carried them into the heauēly treasury If we will then lay vp our corne our garmēt our money in a safe place where the the eues cānot steale thē the mothes cate nor the rust consume them letys send them to heauen by the hands of the poore where weshall be fure to haue thē safe kept that which we cānot carry with
suffice to himselfe without the ayde of another and therefore hee would haue all things to stand Mutuis auxiliâ—s by mutuall succours that the very reason of necessity might inuite vs to mutuall loue As your father which is in heauen is mercifull We shew God to be a heauenly father in that we mention him to be in heauen VVee confesse what a manner of Father we mean that is to say â—eauenly Lest therefore wee should be esteemed as degenerate children let vs also be heauenlie In heauen What more powerfull then to haue a father In heauen And therefore howsoeuer wee are distressed on earth the comfort is wee haue a father in heauen In heauen Then is our inheritance in heauen also In heauen And therefore praying Psal 121.1 Wee list vp our eyes vnto the hils from whence commeth our helpe In heauen Not as placing his diuine power onely there which filleth heauen and earth but we say In heauen because there chiefly his glory doth appeare there hee blesseth his Saints and Angels Well then saith S. Ansten we haue a father in heauen let vs not cleaue to things here on earth Inuenimus Patrem Inuenimus patriam wee haue found our father wee hâ—ue found our country Hence wee learne first of all to acknowledge his goodnesse Secondly to haue recourse to him in the time of neeth and thirdly to be mâ—â—â—tifull vnto others by his example who hath beene so louing and so mercifull to vs. Is mercifull As wee wish that God should be merciful vnto vs our Sauiour would haue vs to shew â—â—â—cy vnto our neighbour And indeâ—de herein consisteth the tripartite iustice vvith conâ—eiâ—â—th the whole duty oâ—â— Christion which willeth vs Roddâ—â— vnicuique quod suum est to giue ouery one his due to God our selves and our neighbour Mercy he wils for two respects first because we haue alwaies in our eyes those that haue need of mercy as we are men so Nihil humani à nobis alienum putemus Let vs thinke no humaine accident strange vnto vs. For if it be true that Herodotus saith Nihil aliud esse hominem quam miseriam calemitatem Man is nothing else but misery and calamity Surely then there is no man good or euill but needeth mercy and that for this cause for that he is nothing but misery And according to the prouerbe Miseria res est digna misericordia Miserie is a thing worthy of mercy because Misericordia non causam sed fortunam spectat mercy looketh not into the cause but to the present state and necessity And therefore Augustine thus defineth mercy Misericordia est alienamiseria in nostro corde compassio mercy is a fellow feeling in our hearts of anothers miserie Mercy saith Gregory hath the denomination and etymology a misero corde from a miserable or wofull hart because as often as wee behould a man in misery the minde through commiseration being touched with griefe at his miseries doth as it were cor miserum facere vex and torment the heart with a sympathy and fellow feeling of his miserie And hee that hath compassion of a wretched though wicked man non mores eius sed hominem miseretur doth not pittie the manners which are euill but the man who by being sinfull is also miserable We commend them that loue men saith Aristotle If it be but as they are men and therefore being on a time reproued for that hee gaue an almes to a wicked man answered Misertus sum hominem non Iniquitatem I had compassion on the man and not on his manners Homo qui Calamitoso est misericors meminit suit he that hath pitty vpon a man in misery remembreth himselfe Cuiuis potest accidere quod cuiquam accidit That which chanceth vnto one man may happen also to another So that nothing should more incline our hearts vnto mercy then the consideration of our owne misery And hee that is mercifull deserueth mercy againe when he falleth into misery Habet in aduersis auxilia qui in socundis commodat He findeth succour in aduersity which sheweth the same in prosperitie saith Publius The second respect why God willeth mercy is because to him it is more agreable and more acceptable for by it wee are most like him and by likenesse wee best please him Psal 145.9 His mercy is aboue all his workes VVell wils he therefore that man being the best of his creatures should be like him in the best of his actions as plainely appeareth by this text Ye shall therefore be mercifull as your father which is in heauen is mercifull He bids vs not to imitate his power which Lucifer proudly aspiring to was deiected into hell nor his wisdome which Adam vainly affecting was elected out of Paradice but his mercy which wee humbly practising shal be erected and lifted vp to heauen Now that wee may bee mercifull let vs first learne who are miserable Not euerie one that is sicke or hungry or naked or in prison is simply or onely the obiect of mercie but many that are also strong in body fat with cheere braue with cloathes rich in Lands and free from bonds those are sicke in soule empty in spirit bare in minde poore in vertue slaues to sinne For as there is a corporall necessity so there is a spirituall misery and in both there is a work of mercy in the one the rich seeing the want of the poore may pitty him in the other not knowing his owne may bee pittied of him in that the distressed hath nothing but what hee receiues in this hee hath somewhat of his owne to bestow there a Potentate may shew his bounty here a beggar may giue Caesar an almes so then there is mercy to the bodie mercie to the soule and he that doth either shall haue mercie both for body and soule that consists in those seauen works aforenamed visiting the sicke giuing drinke to the thirsty bread to the hungry redeeming the captiue cloathing the naked lodging the stranger and burying the dead But this hath as many formes of pittie as there be acts of charitie and all or more then Saint Paul ascribes to it is true of this 1 Cor. 13.4 It giues it forgiues it enioyeth not it boasts not disdaines not seekes not her owne is not angry thinkes no euill reioyceth not iniquity suffers all things belecues all things hopes all things indures all things And to conclude it doth all things that may bee done though for a sinner for a stranger for an enemie as our deare Lord by conuersing with the conuerting of sinners in the precedent verse teacheth vs To be good with the euill Luk. 6.35 and kind to the vnkinde not as proud Pharifies contemning or condemning those that erre in life or beliefe but sometimes instructing otherwhiles admonishing vpon occasion tollerating if neede be reprouing and when it is requifite comforting Thus to be a Proteâ— iâ— no hypocrisie but perfect pietie And though perhaps there bee not alwayes effecting