did he wish his head to be waters it was to wish a change and yet a likenesse there being such similitude between the brain and water both of them being cold and moist Some of the ancient Philosophers hold that all things had their beginning from the Water which made the Greek Lyrique sing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which excellency may truly be attributed to the waters of a holy sorrow the after-workes of a righteous man taking their beginning from such true repentance These also being waters upon which the Spirit of God does move and in both we may see the effect of his cherishing providence the waters by a singular blessing being singularly fruitfull but these waters doe bring forth more admirable fruits the fruits of the Spirit The Ancient Heathen had a Beleife of a divine power in water but in these our Sanctified waters we have an Experience of it And the rather does the divine power delight in these because of their purity these being the only waters that are troubled and yet pure And so pure they are that as of all the meer elements there is none but the water wherein we are able so clearly to behold our owne image so are there none of our workes wherin we are able so to behold the true image of our selves as we may in the waters of repentance Now the best waters are not only cleane but also cleansing nay truly Medicinall and some Miraculous and have not these waters these qualities these prerogatives If a viper be bruis'd in water it becomes as some tell us a soveraigne Physique against venome and when our former sinnes are bruis'd in the waters of repentance such waters prove powerfull antidotes against the power of sinne Nay you may see their miraculous power whiles they save us from sinking to the depth of hell so that these will prove a surer foundation than those upon which S. Peter ventur'd to walke They had not been a foundation had not miracle been their foundation Yet though the waters of holy sorrow be rare with us for their power they must not be as rare with us for their use but we must remember that as water is the drinke for most living creatures so holy David made these waters his drinke Indeed without these the Spirituall life decayes and as amongst the Romans he that had so highly offended that he was forbidden the use of fire and water was by that signified to be a condemn'd person so whosoever so offends God that he denies him the heat of divine love and will not bestow upon him the waters of repentance or a mourfull desire of them he shall by lamentable experience find that in Gods sight he is a condemn'd person But these waters must not be like those of the pitt or of the lake they must be waters of the Fountain living waters flowing waters Now that Fountain-water is most pure and cleare which flows from a rocke so commonly are the teares that flow from the hardest heart when it is once chang'd into a Fountain when God smites upon it with his rod. Yet it is cheifly when God first smites upon it for as the waters issue from the Fountain with great violence but passe with an undiscern'd motion in the course of the streame so is it in the beginning and progresse of holy sorrow And therfore in another yet a like respect they may aptly bee express'd by that Lybian fountain of the sunne as it was call'd the waters wherof were anciently said to be hott at the morning and the evening but at mid-day cold such too commonly are the waters of repentance which at the morning of conversion and the evening of life more liberally flow forth with a greate heate of grace but in the noon-day of life when we are in the midst of health and strength and consequently of temptation then are they oftentimes unhappily cold Best therfore are they discern'd when they are best when they are first for then are they chiefly like the fountaine which amongst other names the Hebrews call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from digging or cutting a vein of water and surely holy sorrow flows out so fast that we may say God cuts a vein of teares And you may remember that Salomon most fitly Eccle. 12.6 cals the Liver which is the fountain of the veins a fountain or the pitcher sayes he be broken at the fountain that is according to the interpretation of the Chaldie paraphrast till the gall be broken upon the liver such exquisite similitude there is between the swift motion of this blood and a fountain these waters being like those mention'd Psal 18.15 Those effusions of waters as S. Ierom renders it The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to offer violence to ones selfe expressing the violent speed of these waters Nor are they only violent but also abundant the fountain labouring to expresse streames of water Now that stream-water is heled to be best which flowes towards the rising sunne so is that spirituall sorrow best which flows forth as soon as the sunne of righteousnesse first shines on the heart And as the waters of a stream the farther they are from a City are usually the purer so are the teares of those that are most retir'd from the tumults of the world And since we say a stream runnes then with a full happy course when it drives-down whatsoever may hinder it in its course so let our spirituall sorrow freely flow-out till it overthrows all unlawfull pleasures and all temptations whatsoever But will you see what kind of waters these are The fountain can scarce shew them without a figure this being a fountain of salt-waters a fountain of Teares Some waters indeed are hot and saltish by reason of that from which they passe holy teares are of this nature as proceeding from the heatof divine love and fullfill that Leviticall and mysticall command Levit. 2.13 In all thy offrings thou shalt offer salt Nor doe these waters want their speciall vertue Euripides being troubled with the falling Evill when he travail'd into Aegypt was by the appointment of the Aegyptian Priests dipt in Sea-water and so was cured such washing in the salt-waters of spirituall sorrow is the best remedy against the spirituall Epilepsie the falling into sinne True teares it is observ'd only flow from Man as the truest teares only from the righteous man Somtimes Joy sends them out when the heart opening itselfe as if it would intertain what it loves sends forth such heat and Spirits to the brain that it dissolves the Moisture and commands it passage by the eies which work the righteous also does sometimes feel Somtimes and most commonly Sorrow sends them out when in the Contraction of the heart the heat and spirits so retire that the moisture of the brain being left without a guide expresses its own sad and desolate estate but the teares of the righteous never want a guide and though they seem
we may have confidence and not be asham'd before him at his comming Which grant O thou that shall come to be our judge and by the judgment which thou didst suffer save us from the judgment which thou wilt inflict that we may give praises unto thee and to the father and to thy blessed Spirit world without end FINIS OF Spirituall Sorrow A SERMON BY BARTEN HOLYDAY Doctor of Divinity OXFORD Printed by Leonard Lichfield 1657. Ierem. 9.1 O that my head were waters and mine eies a fountaine of teares that I might weepe day and night for the slaine of the daughter of my People THE Desire of Sorrow may seem very strange and yet it is not so wonderfull as Happy It is indeed contrary to Man's nature and yet it tends to the perfection of his Nature The Soule is never moved by desire unto any thing but that which seems good we may almost say but unto that which seems good to the body the soul in the body being commonly perswaded by the body And yet sometimes it desires sorrow sorrow which is contrary to the pleasure of nature the practice of sorrow before man's fall being unknowne unto him and since his fall being hatefull to him Yet the Body which oftentimes does seduce the Soule is sometimes also perswaded by it and rais'd both to apprehend and desire a pleasure in sorrow Not that which arises from the mistaking melancholy of the body but that which happily and judiciously proceeds from the wisdome of the Soule since as by sinne we runne to the extreamest distance from God so by Spirituall sorrow we runne to the extreamest distance from sinne This is the Art of Repentance by which we may also farther observe an excellent difference between the Stoique and the Christian The Stoique fondly intends to make man like God by making him without Passion and so without Change yet without Grace the Christian on the Contrary indeavours to be neither without passion nor without change and yet like God whiles he labours to Sanctify his Passion and therfore his change by grace And this sorrow when it does deeply affect the Soul does not only affect the Soul but uses the Eies instead of the Tongue to declare itselfe as here our Prophet expresses his desire to expresse such sorrow and such Teares In whose Lamentation we may first behold The Nature of the sorrow which being expressed by the nature of a Change we may view in it the things that must be chang'd which will appeare to be the Head and Eies as also the things into which they must be chang'd which likewise will appeare to be Waters even a Fountain yea a fountain of Teares Next we may view the Object of the Sorrow or what it is for which such Lamentation is to be made which though the Prophet sayes is the slaughter of the people yet more vehemently he expresses it to be the sinnes of the People the Cause of the Slaughter At the foulnesse of which sight the sight of sinne we likewise may be moved to a like holinesse of sorrow wherby to wash away such foulnesse The sight of blood indeed may move us to Compassion but the sight of sinne more happily unto Amendment Let us first then view the Nature of the Sorrow describ'd by the parts affected and instructed by it as it does thus sadly and wisely expresse it selfe O that my head were waters and mine eies a fountain of teares The Head is the seate of Wisdome and of the sense the sorrow then that proceeds from the Head must be a sorrow that flows from Reason it must be a sorrow that affects the sense and therfore a reasonable punishment of our selves And since from the head are deriv'd the Nerves by which both sense and Motion is distributed to the whole body the sorrow of the Head must affect both the sense and motion of the whole body And thus did sorrow affect the good King Hezekiah as he speakes of his own mournfull pace Isaiah 38.15 I shall goe softly all my yeares in the bitternesse of my Soul Man indeed is made to be thus wise thus sorrowfull his brain being for his proportion both greater and moister then it is in other creatures And as the Head is frequently taken for those things which are either First or Chiefe so this wise sorrow in the life of a Christian will truly challenge such Excellency and Priority The Beginning of the year is in Ezekiel 40.1 call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Head of the yeare but more truly may the sorrow of the Head be call'd the Head or beginning of the yeare of man's Conversion Nor does that in the Originall only signify the Head but somtimes also as in Lament 3.19 the bitternesse of affliction and sometimes as Deut. 29.18 the bitternesse of sinne to which last S. Peter alludes Act. 8.23 speaking of Simon Magus as likewise S. Paul Heb. 12.15 Indeed this bitternesse of Sorrow is most agreable to the Head from whence the bitternesse of Sinne did before arise Which sorrow the head does sometimes expresse by the shaving of it as in Job 1.20 as sometimes by the Motion or shaking of it as also in Job 16.4 but most happily does the head expresse it by the Eie which as the Philosophers observe declares our Hate and Love but we must adde most happily when in religious teares it shewes our Love of God by our hate of sinne The Physiognomer tels us that the best eie is a moist eie that seemes to swimme in his Orbe which is a surer rule in the Spirituall constitution of it and does not only teach us the complexion of the Eie but also the Duty A clos'd eie was in the Poëtry of the Ancients us'd as the embleme of death and an eie dark'ned with repentant teares is a good embleme of our Mortification which is the death of sinne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Eie signifies also a Fountain a fountain being an eie of the earth and an eie being a fountain of the head They are both alike also in the Abundance and speed of their waters which they send forth And therfore Jacob's posterity is compar'd unto them Deut. 33.28 The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a Land of corne and wine The Latin Interpreter has it Oculus Jacob the Eie of Jacob to signify that his posterity should as speedily and mightily flow forth on the earth as waters gush out from the Eie or fountain Most aptly then does the Prophet here in his plentifull sorrow wish that his head were waters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies waters is a word alwayes of the plurall number to imply their abundance which as some thinke is expressed in the composition of the word deriving it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sea and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to trouble and make a tumult intimating the conditions of true sorrow which is happily with abundance of teares and with the out-cry of a holy lamentation And aptly
the sinnes of others though justly we may be as much oppressed with the number as with the guilt and almost no lesse with the variety of the kinds than of the acts shall we then only bewaile the sinnes of the head and of the eies and only weep for the sinnes of those parts with which we weep If we search the Head we shall find those waters from whence arises the fountain that sends forth the streames of other sinnes There shall we find the Vnderstanding in that sinnes of defect and of excesse sometimes a disable Ignorance and sometimes an Abuse of great abilities How many are there that sinne by Sloath and will not understand the negligence of their owne understanding How many that sinne by Pride choosing rather to reason against God then against any thing that shall dislike their Reason If wee looke upon the Memory we shall find it to be Malicious and Perverse by not remembring what we ought and by remembring what wee ought not If wee behold our Phansie though by innumerable shapes it can change it selfe yet by none of them all can it excuse it self Nay it will be glad if it can make us commit as it were halfe a sinne a sinne in some sort without consent a sinne in sleepe if it can but prepare us to a sinne But these are workes of an invisible guilt If we consider the Eare O how obedient it is to the tongue of a flatterer How vile a slave unto our Pride suffering itself somtimes to be board-through to professe our servitude under sinne Nay even the Haire which was made for an ornament of the head is often by the figure or the length made a deformity S Paul proclaims it to be unnaturall for a man to weare long haire yet how many are there that doe lesse esteem of his protestation then of their haire perchance it is because they Beleeve not his word or understand not the reason of his word which notwithstanding their purpose is founded upon God's purpose When God made man as Moses speaks he made them male and female and made the female subject to the male the Naturall signe of which subjection is the womans haire as the civill signe of it was anciently a veile For the male then to use this signe what is it but in part to confound the distinction of sexes which God has appointed and is in cleare judgment a more intimate violation whiles more unnaturall of God's purpose then the promiscuous use of their apparell And when the contrary use in the form of the hair was practis'd by the Nazarites it was by dispensation from the Lawgiver not unlike Abraham's intended sacrifice of his sonne both which acts had otherwise been as odious as by God's pleasure they were made acceptable If we consider the Nostrill we must confesse that the breath which by divine favour they receive in as the breath of life they too often send forth by exchange as the breath of scorne Besides somtimes with perfume they flatter the brain and somtimes oppresse it with the Indian Smoake which by custome becomes disease unlesse Infirmity excuses it into Physique If we consider the Mouth the Tongue the Palate alas Were not the bewailing of their sinnes a work of Grace and the Numbring of them but a worke of Nature we might thinke it more easie to bewaile them then to number them The mouth is the most wash'd part of the body and yet in the use of it we may say it is the foulest The Tongue that is placed so neer to Reason does notwithstanding seldome make use of so happy a neighbourhood The Palate which God has honourably seated in the head unnaturally degrades it selfe by an obedience to the Belly And may wee not then at the consideration of all these sinnes of the head wish with our Prophet that our head were waters But some there are who not by miracle but by sinne turne the waters of their head into wine nay somtimes we may say into fire often are they so out-raged with the calenture of the grape That it poses them to distinguish between their sinne and their Punishment And what were it then if in a pretended fact such fiery heads were cover'd with mournfull ashes fire there were we might safely confesse but might we not adde in the words of the Poet though in another sense that though there were fire yet it were sub cinere doloso Should we call this Repentance or a cheate But now if we should behold the sinnes of the Eie we should quickly find a wonder not only of sinne but also of Prospect and the eie would now be satisfied with seeing it would quickly be satisfied and with holy teares be willingly darkned at this sight Nor will it only bewaile its lust and pride but also the greatest part of its former sorrow and now shed wise and religious teares for the foolish and carnall teares which formerly it shed Thus will it doe for its owne sinnes but not only for its own sinnes but we shall indeavour truly to crie-out with David's compassion Mine eies gush out with teares because men keep not thy Laws Sorrow for our owne sinnes all men will confesse to be necessary but sorrow for other mens sinnes seems to some men unnecessary and to most men but voluntary Yet this also is the duty of a righteous man to weep for the unrighteous It is the duty of him that would be like unto God to weep when Men care not to be like unto God It is his duty to greive when God is greiv'd to greive for that for which God is greiv'd Our will must be like his will and therfore to weep also when others mens wils are not like his Will It is an argument of excellent nature to bewaile the punishment of an offender but it is an argument of excellent grace to bewaile the sinne of an offender the cause of his Punishment And these does our mercifull Prophet here compassionate weep he does for the calamity of his people but he does so much the more greive for their sinne by how much their sinne was more greivous than their calamity And amongst the many sinnes which he here bewailes one was that they were not valiant for the truth upon the earth It is the more greivous sinne to Oppose truth but it is also a greivous sinne not to defend it If we seriously consider it is it not a strange cowardise for a man to be afraid to be on God's side Did God ever forsake his truth or those that did not forsake his truth If the Pelagian were again ready to equall Nature with grace if the Arian were again ready to denie the consubstantiality and coëternity of God the sonne if the Donatist should again pretend a possibility so to over-refine the Church that it may be without all spot should we proudly become impure by the bold pretence of such false puritie or should we turne polititians against God leave
shall the serpent have such subtill teeth and shall ours be set on edge only to our own overthrow shall his Hornes as some kind of serpent has be so subtill to get a prey and shall our strength want subtilty to save us from being made a prey shall his wings for some kind of serpent does not only creep be more speedy to doe mischiefe than our wisedome in saving us from it shall he change his skinne and renew strength and shall not we renew our Lives by changing them shall his Appetite take all advantage from his Enemie and shall ours increase our spirituall Enemies against our selves shall he drive away other serpents from him and shall we intertaine them in the Bosome imbracing Heresie and Vice to our own Destruction shall his Voice be able to master Man that had Righteousnesse by Creation and shall not we be able to master the serpent that have a double Righteousnesse of Sanctification by Christ's Grace and of Justification by his Merits Briefely skall his whole Body be so subtile as to defend his Head shall not we with all our power defend the Godhead of our Saviour against the execrable Socinian◠our holy Faith in Christ our Head And shall not the Innocency also of the Dove advantage our Innocency He loves the Light and shall we love the workes of Darknesse shall he be ready to be Oppressed and shall we be too ready to Oppresse shall he be without Gall and shall we be full of Malice Were they a sacrifice to God and shall we be lesse acceptable Were they a Resemblance of the Church nay of God and shall we have neither the likenesse of either of them nor the blessing O let us strive then to imitate the Innocency of the Dove and Exceed it Would we be Heirs of the Kingdome of God we must become as little Children they crie not for the want of Wealth nor for the losse of it they doate not on Beauty no not on their own subject they are to sicknesse yet not to malice as if they were more free from sinne then from Disease they raise not themselves to Ambition it is above the reach of the Mother's Breast Such things then let us doe by the simplicity of Grace as they doe by simplicity of Nature Let us call to mind the first Christians how the unity of their Faith produced even a Community of their Goods a rare victory of Grace upon Nature By the blessing of Love they were above the blessing of Propriety shewing the Bounty of the Gospell to excell the Thrift of Law-Let us call to mind how they improved their Enemies into friends making them by forgivenesse their Helps to Heaven Let us call to mind that their sufferings were their Conquests and Death the beginning of Life Eternall O grant us then wisedome sweet Iesu thou that art the Wisedome of the Father and grant us Innocency O blessed Spirit that did'st vouchsafe to appeare like a Dove that we becomeing like the Dove may become like Thee that by descending to us Here we may Hereafter by the wings of the true Dove Innocency and Miracle Ascend to Thee the Father Son and Holy Ghost to whom be ascribed Mercy and Wisedome and Holinesse for evermore FINIS OF BAPTISME A SERMON BY BARTEN HOLYDAY Doctor of Divinity OXFORD Printed by Leonard Lichfield 1657. Galat. 3.27 As many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ THAT Likenesse which we may see produced by Inferiour Causes in their Effects is but an Imitation of the supreame Cause God Himselfe who is so naturally good that whatsoever he maks must needs beare some Image of that Goodnesse Thus when he made man he bestow'd upon him among many other two chiefe Perfections a Holinesse of Soule and a kind of Absolutensse of Body whiles a body that needed not a reference to Apparell But when man fell he fell from this double perfection and at once became sinfull and Naked So that we may say he was not as now unhappily naked when first he had no Cloaths but when first he wanted them and he stood not in need of a Covering for his Body till he stood in need of a Covering for his sinne Which when God naturally good beheld and saw the new dissimilitude between Himselfe and his Creature moov'd by his own goodnesse he intends a reparation of his Creature And since this dissimilitude to speake in part figuratively consisted in a Nakednesse of Soule and Body it pleased him to provide for both a Covering And this he did with such wisedome of Mercy that he made the Covering of his Body a figure of the Covering of his Soule and to teach our Understanding by our Sense sometimes he calls our Righteousnesse a Robe which as the Apostle here tells us every true Receiver puts on in the Sacrament of Baptisme As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ Which words duely considered may instruct us in the Nature of this Sacrament and the Extent of it As man is Gods workmanship and so should be his Image so as God is pure should man be pure and therefore being defil'd by sinne he should be now purified Thus though with the Leviticall Leper he may crie uncleane uncleane yet should he also crie with the great and happy sinner wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow That indeed has a right cleanesse the purity of Snow being not only purity but also Coolenesse a figure of the pure Coolenesse of the impure heates of Lust Which purity was shadowed out unto the Iew in his frequent washings whence the greatest pretenders of Sanctity among the Jews were the greatest Washers The Pharisie was a man of a cleare Hand and Cuppe and therefore thought himselfe also of a pure lippe in which opinion though he mistook his Outside for his Inside yet he acknowledged a washing necessary Even Pilate that had his hand in blood would yet also have his hand in water and though that Blood be counted a cleanser thought Innocent blood the greatest staine and that water would at least pretend his Innocency if not procure it But alas had he understood the right Baptisme he would with S. Peters resolution have desired not only the washing of the Hand but also of the Head the whole body Now under this figure as the Iew had been taught so was the Christian to be taught To the devoutest Iew Washing was but a Figure to the Devoutest Christian it is not only a shadow of Grace but also the companion of it and therefore it was not Ceremonie but Charitie in S. Peter Act. 2. to exhort his Converts to be Baptized To understand the Name and so the better the nature of Baptisme it is from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly to Dippe consequently to wash Hence were the Pharisies by Iustin Martyr called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 baptists because of their frequent washings which S. Marke also mentioned c. 7.4