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
unthankfulnesse and therfore a most detestable sinne The true moderation of the affections is to withdraw them from sinne and to apply them unto righteousnesse when they are once in the way lay the bridle on their neck put the spurs to their sides and make them to gallop till they runne with thee to the Kingdome of heaven In our discipline saith Saint Austin k Aug. de eiv Dei l. 9 c. 5. In disciplinâ nostrâ non tam quaeritur utrum pius animus itascatur sod quare irascatur c. wee ask not if a godlie soule bee angry but for what cause hee is angry neither whether hee bee sorrowfull but for what cause he is sorrowfull nor if he fear but what is the cause of his feare for to be angry against a sinner that he may be corrected to bee sorrowfull for him who is afflicted that hee may be delivered to fear for him who is in danger lest hee perish who that is in his right wits can blame it VII Let us apply this to weeping and mourning Wee must judge of all our affections not by their mediocrity or excesse but by the causes which set them on work and the end whereunto they incline as I have said this must bee the rule of our judgement concerning other mens weeping our owne For such as are the causes of our Teares such are they some causes are indifferent some ill some good All teares naturally come from ioy or sorrow These causes are indifferent in themselves When 1 Gen. 29 11 Iacob saw his cousin Rachel he lifted up his voice and wept when m Gen. 33.4 Iacob and Esau met together they wept when n Gen. 43.30 Ioseph saw his brother Beniamin his bowels did yerne upon him and hee wept When he made himself knowne to his brethren o Gen 45 1 2 he wept aloud when hee went to meet Israel his father p Gen. 46.29 he fell on his necke and wept on his necke a good-while Naturall love in them begat joy and joy opening all the pores of the eyes they could not chufe but weepe Such joy such love such teares are not commanded of God for he is not served by them Neither hath God forbidden them for they are no offense unto him so that they goe not beyond their due proportion and measure I say the like of teares which come from sorrow Agar neither served nor offended God when q Gen. 21.16 shee lift up her voice and wept being in distresse because shee had no water to give to her sonne to drinke It was naturall to r Ier. 31.25 Rachel to weepe for her children and in that shee sinned not but when she refused to bee comforted she sinned The ſ Act. 20.37 brethren of Ephesus and Miletus when Paul was going away wept sore and fell on his necke and kissed him So wee are accustomed to weepe when wee lacke things which are necessary to our subsistence as also when those whom we love die or go from us to some forreine place Where we love if wee see any miserie sorrow seiseth the heart the distressed hart sendeth a cold ayre to the eyes the eyes pressed with cold become like a foggie winter day and distill teares abundantly In such teares there is neither offence nor service don to God Therefore they are indifferent IIX But when t Gen. 37.38 41. Esau lift up his voice and wept because his brother had taken away his blessing he sinned for hee wept through despight proceeding from the pride of his uncircumcised heart from hatred against his brother Iacob whom hee vowed to slay u Num. 14.39 The people of Israel beeing deprived of entring into the land of Canaan mourned greatly not through repentance for their murmuring against God but through selfe-love which is no small sinne What were the teares of Cain Saul Achitophel Iudas but stinking waters flowing from the muddy puddle of discontent and despaire In anger a man will weep not only through displeasure for the offence received but also through joy for hope of revenge as the Crocodile weepeth when hee hath found his prey So o Spartioni Antonia Caracalla Bassianus wept for joy as often as hee saw the Images of his brother Geta whom he had murthered Manie Robbers Pyrats weepe so wo wo to such weepers IX The vveeping where of we speake and whereunto wee exhort you this day is good because it commeth from a good spring I may call it godly because it floweth from godlines I know that all reares in themselves are indifferent no part of Gods service but they take their denominatiō from the root whereout they grow and blossome If the root bee badde they are bad if good they are good all good and godly teares come from ioy or from sorrow As naturall joy made Iacob to weepe when he saw Rachel so a supernaturall joy p Neh. 8.9 made the Iewes to weepe when they heard the words of the Law The love of God made them to rejoyce in his Law that ioy turned their eyes into fountaines of teares which they shed in such abundance that Nehemiah and Ezra and the Levites were faine to exhort them not to bee grieved but to abstaine from mourning weeping The Church needeth not such exhorters because it hath but few such weepers Would to God that such a cause might bee unto us this day a cause of crying unto you as Ezra did then Mourne not nor weepe But what godly Ioy doth never or seldome amongst us will not q 2 Cor. 7.10 godly sorrow doe it Manie manie cannot perswade their eyes to weepe for joy whose eyes sorrow will plunge into a river of teares Let us then I pray you let us NOW let us in this day of godly sorrow weepe after a godly maner let that sorrow which springeth from the love of God NOW in this day of teares furnish unto us teares of repentance to God and teares of charity both to our selves to others who should be to us for Gods sake as our selves X. If there bee no sinne among us let joy enlarge our hearts let laughing cleere our faces let us say to sorrow Get thee hence but if that which is written in the Book of Iob of the natural sensuall man that r Iob 15 16 he is abominable filthy and drinketh iniquity like water bee true of us if we sin NOVV then let sorrow presse our hearts and make of them a spring of teares NOVV let heaviness cover our faces as a cloud let our eyes become rivers and for so much water of iniquity or rather for so much wine of sinne wine which is ſ Deut. 32.33 the poison of dragons and the cruell venome of aspes wherewith we are every day drunken let us this day let us NOW cry Avant to joy let us NOW welcome weeping let us NOW run to our eyes and draw water let us make of this Fasting
God wil heare him Moses prayed often for the people and God remoued froÌ„ them temporall plagues But he did neuer forgiue sinne to any man who praied not for himselfe Yea Moses prayed for his sister MiriaÌ„ who for her sin was strucke with leprosie d Num. 12.13 He cryed vnto the Lord saying Heale her now O God I beseech thee and he was heard Did not Samuel mourne for Saul vnprofitably For God sayd vnto him e 1 Sam. 16.1 How long wilt thou mourne for Saul seeing I haue reiected him Did not Ieremiah pray and mourne incessantly for the people of Iuda and was not heard f Ierem. 11.14 Pray not thou for this people sayth God vnto him neither lift vp a crie or prayer for them For g Ierem 15.1 though Moses and Samuel stood before me yet my mind could not be toward this people Cast them out of my sight and â—et them goe forth Doubtlesse Ezechiel prayed for Ierusalem when the Lord said vnto him h Ezech. 14.20 Though Noah Daniel Iob were in it as I liue they shall deliuer neither Sonne nor Daughter Thinkest thou thaâ— God will heare another weeping for thy sins so long as he heareth thee blaspheming his holy Name and seeth thee wallowing with delight and content in the mire of filthy pleasure But if thou weepest and prayest for thy selfe hee will heare thee although all other mens and Angels mouthes were dumble Though all hearts were merry though al cheekes were dry and no vapours ascended from the eyes no tongue darted prayers vp to heauen but thine For i Chrysost in Math. homil 5. tom 2. Namet Deus gratiam non tam alijs rogantibus pro nobis vult donare quam nobis God delightes to giue grace not so much to others which pray for vs as to our selues Take for example Dauid Manasseh the forlorne Son the woman of whom I haue spoken the Theefe on the Crosse and Peter who wept and prayed for themselues when no body that we reade of prayed for them yea saith k Idem homil deprofecta Euangelij tom 3. Chrysostome wilt thou learne that when we pray for our selues we come better speed with God then when others pray for vs. The woman of Canaan cryed l Matth 15.23 and the Disciples came and besought him saying Send her away for shee crieth after vs But he answered to them and said I am not sent but vnto the lost sheepe of the house of Israel But when she commeth her selfe and holds on her crying and saith Truth Lord yet the Dogs eate of the crummes which fall from their masters table then he gaue her a benefit and said Be it vnto thee euen as thou wilt Yee see how he reiects her when others pray for her and grants her requests when shee prayeth her selfe VII Beloued auditors retaine and keepe in your sanctified memories these three lessons and now euen now put them in practise I beseech you I pray you for Christs sake m Col. 3.12.13 put on as the elect of God holy and beloued the bowels of mercies kindnes humblenes of mind meeknes long suffering forbearing one another forgiuing one another if any man haue a quarrell against any Euen as Christ forgaue you so also doe yee n Eph. 6.18 Pray alwayes with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watch thereunto with all perseuerance and supplication for all Saints Namely take heede that euery one of you pray and weepe this day euery day for your ownselues Which if ye doe with with an vnfained repentance doubt not of the forgiuenesse of your sins for God hath saith that o Esa 1.18 though yâ—ur sins be as Scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool And I am sent to you of God this day as Paul was to the Iewes of Antioche p Act. 13.38.39 To preach vnto you through Christ the forgiuenesse of sinnes And that by him all that beleeue are iustified from all things from which ye could not be iustified by the Law of Moses CHAPTER IV. I THe second comfort and blessednesse promised to them which weepe is deliuerance from the punishment of sinne II. If they suffer for righteousnesse sake the cause of their sufferings is a comfort vnto them III. God deliuereth them in a conuenient time IV. Till that time come he strengtheneth vs with his holy Spirit IV. Apostates which fall away are no true members of Christs Church I Bâ—essed are we if God hath blessed vs with this first and most necessarie blessing forgiuenesse of sinnes for to whom hee forgiueth sinnes he giueth all other necessary comforts And therefore our second comfort is that putting away from before his eyes the iniquitie of our sinnes he will also take away from our backes the punishment of them For when the cause is gone the effect must cease If ye desire a proofe of this truth hearken to David saying in the 32. Psalme q Psal 32.5 I acknowledged my sinne vnto thee and mine iniquity haue I not hid I said I will confesse my transgressions vnto the Lord And thou hast taken away the punishment of my sinne Did not the Lord say to Hezekiah who had wept and prayed vnto him r 2 Kings 20.3.5 I haue heard thy prayer I haue seene thy teares Behold I will heale thee This healing of the body was an effect of the healing of the soule as the good King confessed in his song of thankesgiuing when he said to his God Å¿ Esa 38.17 Thou hast in loue to my soule deliuered it from the pit of corruption for thou hast cast all my sinnes behind thy backe So yee reade in the Gospell of Matthew that Christ when hee was to cure one sicke of the Palsie said first vnto him t Matth. 9.2.6 Sonne be of good cheare thy sinnes be forgiuen thee And consequeÌ„tly Arise take vp thy bed and goe vnto thine owne house This is the order of Gods blessings the first is the forgiuenesse of sinne The second is the remouing of the punishment of sinne But we put the Plough before the Oxen we weepe and cry desiring to be deliuered of the punishment of sinne are not heard because we haue not sought with teares the forgiuenesse of sinne II. If we be persecuted for Righteousnes sake as many of our deare breathren are now wee haue subiect of comfort in the middest of our sufferings because we know that the cause of our sufferings is not only good and honest but also most honorable So saith Christ bidding vs u Matth. 5.21 reioyce and be exceeding glad when we are persecuted for righteousnes sake and reuiled for his sake So thought his Apostles when x Act. 5.41 they departed from the presence of the Councell reioycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his Name Such brands are rather glorious then disgracefull wherefore then should we