Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A73099
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[Jerusalems fall, Englands warning ... of Gods word.]
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F. S.
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1617
(1617)
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STC 21491.7; ESTC S125332
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22,355
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36
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such abūdance as he caused his bed to swim Psal 6.6 and watered his couch with his teares In both which places though there be an Hyperbolicall excesse of speech for it is not possible for men to fill buckets with teares Cura dolorque animi lacrymaeque alimenta fuere Ouid meta li. 10. nor to cause themselues to swimme in their beds yet it signifieth that there was an exceeding great measure of griefe Againe he saith that his teares were his meate Psal 42.3 Luk. 7.38 Ioel. 2.12 day and night And Mary as before was noted shed such plenty of teares as shee washed our Sauiours feete with them Let vs then I beseech you Weepe for your selues and for your children Luk. 23.28 A good saying of a prophane mouth Ille dolet verè qui sine teste dolet Martialis lib 1. Epigra 34. turne vnto the Lord with fasting and with weeping and with mourning both for the sinnes of others and for our owne sinnes O that I could obtaine thus much of you or rather of God for you that you would weepe for your sinnes though not at this time and in this place yet when you are at home and by your selues when ye consider of this ye haue heard this day that so God may regard your teares put them into his bottle and auert the iudgements which our sinnes haue iustly deserued We haue heard how our Lord Iesus wept ouer Ierusalem now let vs consider what Ierusalem did Ierusalem was secure she reioyced she was merry she feared no danger therefore her destruction came suddenly vpon her and she could not auoide it This was the state of the first age they ate they dranke they bought they sould they married and were giuen in marriage and sodainely the floud came and swept them all away This was the state of Pharaoh and his Hoast This was the state of the Sodomites they feared no danger and suddenly were consumed with fire and brimstone from heauen This was the state of Babilon Isa 47.7 who said I shall be a Lady for euer therefore she gaue her selfe to pleasure and dwelt carelesse she said I am and none else I shall not sit as a widow neither shall know the losse of children 8. But what said the Lord now heare 9. these two things shall come to thee suddenly in one day the losse of children and widowhood they shall come vpon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy diuinations and for the great abundance of thy Inchanters Saint Iohn likewise Reuel 18.7.8 Luk. 12.19.20 in the Reuelation prophesied in like manner of her This was the state of the rich man in the Gospell who promised to himselfe many dayes Of the rich Glutton Luk. 18. and yet the same night his soule was fetcht away This was the errour of Dauid who said in his prosperity he should neuer be remoued but he retracted it finding the contrary Now here we haue a true discription of the world and of the times wherein we liue we haue inioyed such a long peace as neither our Fathers nor our forefathers euer knew we haue had so long prosperitie we haue had so great plenty of all things but aboue all these we haue had the Gospell and word of God so plentifully and so sincerely preached among vs as scarce hath beene seene in any age heretofore Now these Halcion daies this long peace this great prosperitie makes men secure they thinke this will euer hold they feare no alteration they thinke they stand immoueable this was the state of former times and they smarted for their securitie and vaine confidence let vs then take heede and be wise Omnium rerum est vicissitudo let vs remember the change of all things is sudden if God enter into iudgement with vs if he hide his face from vs we shall be changed and our prosperitie may be turned into aduersity our ioy into mourning Mat. 24.37.38 Our Lord Iesus foretould the securitie of the world before his comming that it should be as it was in the time of Noah And Saint Paul saith When they shall say peace Thes 5.13 and safetie then shall suddow destruction come vpon them as the trauaile vpon a woman and they shall not escape Let vs not then flatter our selues with these goodly daies but let vs feare an alteration let vs like good Seruants be alwaies ready with our accompt in our hands and like wise Virgins with oyle in our Lampes that no sudden change may ouertake vs nor any aduersitie dismay vs but that we may say in any aduerse hap that may befall vs as Iob said that is come vpon me that I was affraid of Amen Saying O if thou hadst knowne at the least in this thy day those things which belong vnto thy peace IN these words our Sauiour Christ doth complaine and vpbraide the blindenesse of Ierusalem His words are passionate therefore abrupt for we know in whom earnest affections meete being surprised with griefe they cannot vtter their whole minde but breake off abruptly Christ then doth not onely complaine and pitty the destruction of Ierusalem but doth also vpbraide this ingratefull people their great wickednesse in reiecting saluation offered and drawing wittingly the heauie iudgement of God vpon them For it is very like that this thought did disquiet the minde of our Lord Iesus Behold O daughter Sion and Ierusalem I come vnto thee thy King and thy Sauiour as the Prophet promised thee but poore and humble therefore thou despisest me from whose hand thou mightest receiue righteousnesse euerlasting life I would thou hadst knowne those things which belong vnto thy peace and wert not blinde in thine owne euill and in this thy day wherein so many and such admirable things doe call thee to the knowledge of these things For now thou hast mee preaching vnto thee the kingdome of heauen the day of saluation and visitation is risen vpon thee which thou oughtest to know by my doctrine and miracles wrought before thy eyes in the middest of thee But O thrise and foure times vnhappy these things are hid from thee thou doest maliciously blinde thy selfe that thou mightest not see them therefore thou doest rage and art mad against me and seekest my bloud whom with an earnest affection thou shouldest receiue and embrace as thy Sauiour By this then it appeareth that our Lord Iesus complaineth against the blindnesse stubbornenesse and ingratitude of Ierusalem that by no admonitions no benefits nay not with teares she would not be mollified nor warned to auoide her future calamities Simile For euen as a good Father labouring to draw a stubborne and disobedient Sonne to grace and goodnesse by all good meanes but doth not preuaile hath the greater cause to complaine euen so our Lord Iesus had great cause to complaine against Ierusalem not considering the grace that was offered vnto her And this affection of so great mercy which we see was in
This example teacheth vs to weepe for the sinnes of others Righteous Lot had his soule vexed with the vncleane conuersation of the wicked Sodomites Isa 24.16 Isaiah crieth out My leanenesse my leanenesse woe is me the transgressours haue offended yea the transgressours haue grieuously offended He did so grieue at the transgressions of the people that he became exceeding leane withall as the doubling of the word importeth The Prophet Ieremie likewise is full of passion in this behalfe Ier. 4.19 sometimes he crieth out as if he were in great perplexitie My belly my belly I am pained euen at the very heart my heart is troubled within me I cannot be still Sometimes he wisheth that his head were full of water and his eyes a fountaine of teares that he might weepe day and night for the sinnes of the people and he told them that his soule should weepe in secret for their Pride Ier. 9.1 and his eyes should weepe and drop downe teares How did Samuel weepe for the sinnes of Saul Ier. 13.17 1 Sam. 16.2 Psal 119.139 And Dauid saith that his eyes did gush out with riuers of water because men kept not the Law of God How did Saint Paul weepe for them that did walke inordinately among the Philippians Phil. 3.18 Ezra 10.1 How did Ezra and other good men weepe for the sinnes of the people in his time If then these good men beholding the sinnes of the people of their times and considering the calamities and punishments that would fall vpon them did weepe abundantly How can we passe by our brethren sinning with an high hand and committing sinne with greedinesse and not weepe for their sinnes Before I begin to relate vnto you the sinnes of this age and of our Land I cannot but tremble How doe men and women young and old rich and poore generally take the holy name of God in vaine how commonly is Gods holy Sabaoth prophaned how many murthers in this land haue beene committed and the murtherers haue escaped how is adulterie and fornication committed and is not punished how is theft boulstered how doth drunkennesse raigne in this land and is made but a sport and pastime Are not these sinnes like the sinnes of the first age Haue not the sinnes of our Land exceeded the sinnes of the Sodomites and shall we not now weepe for the sinnes of the people of this land yes let vs not onely weepe but let vs houle and cry for them Ioel. 2.17 as Ioel exhorted the people of his time Now if this be required of vs for other mens sinnes much more should we sorrow and weepe for our owne sinnes our sinnes should be our greatest sorrow nothing in the world should come so neere our hearts as they and therefore the Lord saith that when men are once brought to a true sight of their sinnes they shall mourne for them Zacha. 12.10 euen as one that mourneth for his onely sonne and be sorry as one is sorry for his first borne As nothing more woundeth the heart of a tender Father then to loose his onely Sonne the image of his name and the hope of his house so nothing should pierce the heart of a man so deepely as the consideration of his sinnes Many weepe in the world but not for their sinnes but for worldly respects such abuse their teares as Chrysostome vpon the Colossians doth at large declare Many weepe because they cannot haue that which they vniustly desire 1 King 21.4 So mourned Achab for Naboths Vineyard Some weepe because they cannot be reuenged on their enemies so did Esau weepe because he could not hurt his brother Iacob Many weepe because their Parents die not that they might be their heires and enioy their goods Many weepe because they cannot be rich nor haue the world at wil as some haue But how few among vs doe weepe for our sins Psal 6.6 Psal 102.10 Math. 26. Dauid euery night washed his bed and watered his couch with his teares Peter when he had denied his Maister went out and wept bitterly Mary shed such plenty of teares Luk. 7.38 as she washed our Sauiour Christs feete with them And haue not we thinke you as great cause to weepe for our owne sinnes yes verily and if we would but enter into our owne consciences and call our sinnes to remembrance and iudge our selues euery one of vs humbly bowing the knees of our heart should thus say vnto the Lord O my God how haue I bestowed all those Talents of gold which thou hast giuen me how haue I requited thee for all thy kindnesse towards me what hath my whole life beene else but a continuall warring against thee O Lord Iesus what hath my life beene else but a daily renewing of all thy bloudy torments and of all thy passions Ah vile wretch that I am how often haue I betrayed thee and sould thee for a little worldly pleasure or for a little luker and gaine How often haue I bound thine hands and euen most despitefully spitefully spit in thy face by refusing those gifts which thou wouldest haue giuen thee how often haue I quenched the good motions of thy spirit put into me For this should I weepe day and night In fontem frontem atque in flumina â—umina vertam Lachrimae nobis deerunt ante quam causae dolendi Senec. de breui vitae It is no small measure of sorrow that is sufficient in respect of the greatnesse of our sinnes For if we had an hundreth eyes and should weepe them all out and if we had a thousand hearts and they should all breake asunder with remorse and sorrow for our sinnes it were too little and we should sooner want teares then matter of mourning If we thinke that we should be such vile wretches as by our sins to crucifie Christ so often and to put him to so many deaths who hath beene to vs so kinde a Lord and so louing a Sauiour For we must not thinke that a little sorrow or a few teares will serue the turne but we must haue great measure of griefe looke how grieuously we haue sinned so grieuously should we bewaile our sinnes A deepe wound must haue a large plaister and our repentance must not be lesse then our fault It is true it is no matter of merit for a man to weepe more or lesse we may say in this case 1 Cor. 8.8 as the Apostle saith of meates it is not our teares that makes vs acceptable to God but yet much sorrow and much weeping in a token of great repentance and on the other side where there is a little sorrow and a little weeping there is but a little repentance Peter when he had denied his Maister went out and wept bitterly The people of Israel 1 Sam. 7.27 that lamented after the Lord for their sin are said to haue poured out buckets of teares as it were vnto the Lord and Dauid saith that he wept in