greatest sinner in the world and yet his meaning it may be was not amisse though the manner of speech improper hauing an eye to the guilt of our sinnes imputed to him and the burden thereof imposed vpon him But Saluian an Orthodox Writer sticketh not to say that Christ is maximus mendicorum the greatest begger in the world as one that beareth his part and hath his share in all the wants and necessities in all the straights and miseries that all his members in all parts of the world sustaine or endure For is he not in want saith he that complaineth of hunger and thirst and barenesse and pouertie and restraint of libertie Or who can be in greater want then he that sustaineth all these so oft as any godly man suffereth them He wanteth not indeed in regard of any miserie and yet he wanteth in regard of mercy he suffers not in his Deitie of himselfe and yet he suffers out of his pitie to his Yea looke we at an inferiour member Saul turned into Paul and become a member now of that body that he was a persecutor of before Who is weake or ill saith he but I am weake with him Who is scandalized but I am burnt with it In a word If any one member be honoured all the rest reioyce with it if any one suffer be it neuer so base an one all the rest suffer together with it Thus it is in the naturall body of man and thus it cannot but be in the mysticall body of Christ. 4. We ought to haue a fellow-feeling of our fellow-members afflictions because our sinnes may haue an hand in the procuring of their sufferings Neither need this seeme strange that our sinnes should be the cause of plagues and iudgements vpon others when wee the meane while remaine free our selues We see the like in the practise of Physicke and Chirurgery For is not the necke feared and rowelled oft for the rhewme that runneth downe into the eyes A veine is opened in the arme or the foot sometime to turne the course of the blood spending it selfe ouer-freely some other way sometime to ease the paine of the head and sometime to correct the distemperature of the whole body besides For Achans sinne many of the hoast of Israel were slaine and yet was Achan still vntouched Abimelechs whole houshold were plagued for his ouersight and thousands of Dauids subiects destroyed for the trespasse of their Soueraigne Ieroboams deare sonne died for his Fathers offence And God saith Theodoret when hee smote Pharaohs first-borne drew blood of the arme for the cure of the head which because it mended not thereupon came also after to confusion And why may not then the sinnes of our Nation also be in part the cause of those heauie disasters befallen our brethren in fomine parts which vnlesse therefore we take better to heart may in the next place light on vs. And so wee will passe to the fourth and last Obseruation to wit that it is a fearefull thing for men not to be affected with Gods hand vpon others especially vpon their brethren As not to mourne for the sinnes of others so not to be possessed with griefe and thought when Gods children are in danger and distresse It is somewhat to this purpose that Vrias saith to Dauid The Arke of God and Iudah and Israel abide in tents and my Lord Joab and my Lords seruants are encamped in the open fields and should I then goe home to make merry to take mine ease in my bed and my pleasure with my wife As thou liuest and as thy soule liueth I will not doe it He thought it a most vnworthy and vnbeseeming course for him to solace himselfe while his fellow-souldiers his Commander but Gods Arke especially attended by the Priests were abroad at fight in the field And surely not to repeat heere againe those places formerly pressed to this purpose that doe pregnantly proue the same or insist vpon the iudgements hereafter denounced against this people for their faultinesse herein when Gods Seruants shall be vp in armes constrained to stand vpon their guard at home or lye abroad in the field for their iust and necessary defence much more when they shall be beset and besieged by their blood-thirstie aduersaries expecting euery houre to come into their hands and most of all when they shall be discomfited ouer-runne subdued or surprised by them and brought vnto seruitude and thraldome vnder them it is a most vnworthy thing indeed for others not to bee affected seriously therewith though they be out of the reach or the report of the gunne or gun-shot themselues For I. It argueth a great want of Christian charitie and brotherly loue a want of bowels of tender pitie and compassion as in the rich Glutton toward Lazarus And what is more odious then an vnmercifull man What more against mans nature then to be inhumane When Humanitie taketh its denomination from man Or what is more abominable then an vncharitable Christian What more contrary to Christianitie then an vtter want of Charitie when as Charitie is the Badge or Cognisance of Christ and the very Character of a Christian. By this saith our Sauiour shall all men know you to be my Disciples if you loue one another But where there is no compassion there certainly there is no loue He that seeth his brother to be in want or in any distresse and hath no compassion on him hath no loue at all in him He is no Christian man therefore he is scarce a man that hath no compassion of other mens miseries 2. It argueth a want of spirituall life Hereby we know saith the Apostle that we are translated from death to life because we loue the brethren He that loueth his brother abideth in light and consequently in life For that light is life But he that loueth not his brother abideth still in death and in darknesse Sincere loue of the brethren and a fellow-feeling of their miseries is a sure argument of life the want of it an vndoubted signe of death It is but a rotten limbe a withered hand or a woodden leg that feeleth not when the head or but the hee le onely is hurt And surely those that haue no fellow-feeling of their fellow-members afflictions are at the best but as glasse-eyes or siluer noses or Iuory teeth that stand for a shew in the face or the mouth but afford little vse and partake not in paine because they partake not of life with the rest of that bodie which by Art only they are set in or fastned vnto It is no maruell if a peece of wood or glasse or mettall feele nothing though the head be slashed and cut to the very skull or the whole man be sicke at the heart 3. It argueth a want of loue
to Christ when men haue no commiseration of the members of Christ being in want or misery in distresse danger or extremitie It is not so much they that suffer especially when they suffer for Christs cause as Christ that suffereth in them It is not so much they that want whatsoeuer the occasion of their want be as Christ that wanteth in them It is I saith he that was hungrie and thirstie and sicke and naked and harbourlesse And it was done to me that was done vnto them it was denied vnto me that was denied vnto them And therfore well saith the Apostle euen the Disciple that Christ loued and who no doubt likewise loued Christ If any man see his brother to be in want and shut vp his bowels of compassion from him how doth I say not the loue of his Christian brother but the loue of God yea or of Christ dwell in him When God saith the Prophet Zacharie powreth out on the house of Dauid the spirit of grace it shall worke in them a compassion towards him whom they pierced that is toward Christ himselfe who was pierced for their sinnes But as the same Apostle reasoneth How can a man say I loue God whom hee neuer saw when hee loueth not his neighbour whom he daily sees So wee may well conclude that those can neuer haue any compassion of the sufferings of the head which they neuer saw that haue no compassion of the miseries of his poore distressed members that are euery day in their eye Yea they neuer with the eye of faith yet saw the one that haue no compassion or commiseration at all of the other 4. It argueth a want of loue to Gods cause a want of zeale of Gods glory then which nothing should be more deare vnto vs not our selues not our owne safetie were we affected as we ought and which is oft-times much eclipsed and obscured by the sufferings of Gods Saints and by the victories triumphes and successes of the Aduersaries of his truth This is that which the blessed Saints of God vse ordinarily as a strong inducement to moue the Lord to mercie in behalfe of his Church and children ouer-borne by their ouer-mightie and malicious Aduersaries that his name was reproached when the enemie preuailed and his honour thereby impaired yea this was that that most troubled and vexed them in their fiercest afflictions not their owne miseries so much as the dishonor of Gods name which their Aduersaries were wont to triumph ouer in them It was the Captiuitie of the Arke that affected old Eli more then the slaughter of his sonnes it was that that his daughter in law tooke to heart more then the losse of her dearest husband and was the death both of him and her But how little doe they regard this that are not touched at all with those calamities that at the hands of such Gods seruants sustaine And what a fearefull estate are they in to whom it is all one whether Gods Church sincke or swimme whether his truth preuaile or be troden downe whether his Arke or Dagon keepe possession whether his honor be vpheld or let lye in the dust 5. It argueth a want of child-like affection and awfull respect to their Father For can a good childe see his father take a staffe in hand to smite one of the seruants or much more the rod in hand to correct some of his brethren and not be grieued at it or affected at all with it especially knowing himselfe not to bee wholly free from such faults as he correcteth them for yea it may be for ought he knoweth by them more faultie then they It is by the Prophet made a note of Gods children that they tremble at his word And if they tremble at his word sure much more at his wrath though lighting on others onely Thou takest away the wicked of the world like drosse saith Dauid And though hee were none of that crew but one that loued Gods Law yet My flesh saith he trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraid of these thy iudgements And if Gods children bee so affected with the iudgements of God executed vpon wicked worldlings for their rebellions against God and their oppositions to his truth how much more with those his chastisements that he exerciseth his children with being inflicted vpon them by the hand of his and their Aduersaries whom he vseth oft as executioners for the profession of his truth 6. It argueth a want euen of naturall affection not of grace alone but euen of that also that corrupt nature hath left in it And want of naturall affection the Apostle Paul maketh a note of men giuen vp to a reprobate minde In regard whereof also Bernard saith They are the children of wrath that haue no sense of Gods wrath and that are not affected when their brethren are afflicted Now to make vse of both these Obseruations ioyntly together this might serue to informe vs that Christianitie alloweth no such Stoicisure as strippeth men of humanitie and bringeth in a kinde either of brutish immanitie or doggish stupiditie No the more sincere grace questionlesse the more loue and the more loue to our brethren the more bowels of compassion the more tendernesse of affection and the more effectuall apprehension of other mens misfortunes But not to insist vpon this to passe rather vnto that that is our principall ayme The maine vse hereof is to admonish vs euery one laying to heart that which the Prophet heere speaketh to cast our eyes about into foraine parts abroad and consider what cause God hath giuen vs to bee euen sicke againe with sorrow Nor let vs thinke that we haue no such cause because all is well if all be so well yet with vs at home Can all bee well with the right side when there is a pleurisie in the left Or all well with the head I say not when the whole body is heart-sick but when the heele or toe but that is farthest off the head is hurt much more when there is a fracture in thigh or arme or a rupture in some principall part of the body Can we heare daily reports of our brethren in foraine parts either assaulted or distressed or surprised by Popish forces and a main breach made into the state of those that are by bonds ciuill and sacred so nearely knit to vs and yet esteeme all as nothing or thinke that we haue no iust cause to mourne and lament Neither let any man say What is their affliction to vs What are those parts to these What is France or Germanie to England For what was Ierusalem to Antioch Or what was Iuduo to Macedonia and Achaia Yea not to goe farre What was Iudah to Ioseph Or Samaria to Sion And yet is Sion heere taxed euen as well as Samaria for the not commiserating of
Iosephs afflictions A signe thou art but a sorie Christian whosoeuer thou art that so speakest or thinkest that no more regardest Christs cause a sory seruant of God that no more regardest his glory no liuing limbe of Christs mysticall bodie that aâ—t no more mooued with the miseries of thy fellow-members But farre bee it from any of vs to bee thus minded or to entertaine any the least cogitation in this kinde If there be then at the present so iust so great cause of griefe vnto vs as any one that hath but halfe an eye may easily soone see in regard of the distressed estate of our brethren abroade It standeth vs vpon to take heed then that we stand not guiltie of that sinne that the Prophet complaineth of in this people in not being so affected as we ought to be therewith because we sit in quiet and at ease our selues heere at home For if the report of their calamities moue vs no more then they haue done many hitherto wee may iustly feare lest as God presently after threatneth this people he cause the scourge to come in among vs that is as yet but shaken at vs and to passe thorow vs like a land-stood that beareth all away before it and so that deluge wholly ouer-whelme vs that is in part broken in vpon them But what is then to be done or whereby must we shew that we are vnfainedly affected with the afflictions of Ioseph To this I answer 1. Wee should take some time amids our affaires and delights to consider seriously of the troubles and calamities of our distressed brethren abroad Let them not be out of mind because they are out of sight with vs. Neither let our profits and pleasures the pursuit of the one or enioyment of the other so wholly take vs vp and possesse vs as they did this people but that wee set some time apart to meditate on their miseries that may whet vp our affections to compassion and commiseration toward them Let vs make their case our owne and consider with our selues what a wofull estate we would deeme our selues to be in were it with vs as it is with them surprised by an enemie restrained of their libertie that libertie especially that a Christian should esteeme aboue all other of Gods solemne and sincere seruice and the ministery of his word the chiefe food of their soules enforced to swears to a foraine Prince exposed to the might and malice the insolencies and outrages of those that be so euill affected to them and to the truth professed by them that they hold them no better then dogges worse then Turkes or Iewes damned Heretikes cursed caytifes vnworthy to liue on Gods ground fit for nothing but fire and fagot Blessed are they saith the Psalmist that consider of the distressed estate of their poore brethren the Lord will deliuer them in the time of their trouble 2. Wee should humble our selues in the sight of God and repent vs of our sinnes as well hidden and secret as open and notorious that they may not stand in the way to hinder the prosperous successe of Gods cause or bee in part a meanes of the continuance of those euils as wee shewed before that they might be that are at the present on any part of Gods Church Doe as beasts in a teame if one of them be lashed at all the rest straine together and striue to draw away with it Yea repent we of our sinnes that we may be the fitter and better able effectually to intercede for them and to preuaile with God in their behalfe Considering that it is a meanes rather to incense further then to pacifie the wrath of the offended when one commeth to intreat for another whom hee is angry with otherwise Let vs first therefore search our wayes and reforme our liues and then may wee with better confidence and assurance of successe lift vp our hearts and our hands vnto God in heauen in behalfe of his poore seruants distressed heere on earth 3. Wee should striue by prayer to God for them as they did for Peter when he was imprisoned and looked euery houre to go the same way that Iames went as Paul requireth the Thessalonians to doe in his behalfe that he might be deliuered from wicked and vnreasonable persons Yea as the same Apostle requesteth the Romans we should rouse vp our selues and wrestle with God by earnestnesse of suit and supplication of prayers and teares to him as Iacob that would not let the Angell goe till he had wrung a blessing from him as the woman of Canaan that would take no nay that would not be answered till shee had obtained her suit in her daughters deliuery as the poore Widow in the Parable that by meere importunitie enduced or enforced rather the vniust Iudge at length to do her right and to auenge her of her aduersarie So Tertullian describeth the manner of the Christians of his time in the like cases We beset God saith he as it were by troopes we offer violence vnto him but such as hee well liketh of wee poure foâ—rth our prayers we send vp our cries we rap at heauen gate wee wrest and wring mercy and grace out of Gods hands 4. We should shew our compassion towards them by being forward according to our ability to helpe and releeue them Let vs loue saith the Apostle not in word and tongue but in deed and truth Else If any man haue this worlds good and see his brother to be in need and shauâ—â—â— vp his bowels yea or his purse either against him for if the one be not shut the other will soone open there dwelleth no loue of God in that man That loue that is in tongue onely is not in truth And what auaileth it saith Iames if when a brother or a sister wants meat or apparell you wish them warmth and food their belly-full but you giue them nothing of that that they stand in neede of What are they the better for your good wishes No our brethren are not of the Chamoeleon kind to liue with Ephrain vpon winde to bee fed with faire words We must goe further then so if we wil shew our sorrow for them to be sincere Let mine out-casts Moab dwell with thee doe thou shelter mine exiles from the face of the Spoyler Yee inhabitants of Tensâ—â— bring foorth water for the thirstie and supply those that fly with bread For they fly poore soules from the sword from the drawne sword and from the bent bow and from the extremitie of warre And for those that abide abroad still in distresse doe as they did at Antioch when a generall deâ—th was foretold The Disciples euery man according to his abilitie resolued to send succour to the brethren in Iewry which they did also out of hand accordingly by the hands of Barnabaâ— and Saul