omnesque corum fibras c. The Pelagians sowed those tares in the field of the church teaching that all affections yea their smallest fillets may bee taken from man Now r Lact. Inst l. 6. c. 15. Laetitiae affectus in splene est irae in fells libidinis in iecore timoris in corde ioy is in the spleen choler in the gall lust in the liver feare in the heart wherfore ye cannot pull those affections from man except yee pluck from him the milt the gall the liver the heart transform him into another nature yea forbid him to be vertuous and honest for vertue is nothing but an ordering tempering of the affections to that which is honest and good take them away way and vertue is gon Without anger there is no fortitude without feare no prudence and advisednesse without lust no temperance without joy no love no sense feeling of vertue Therefore other Philosophers said better that affections are like unto good plants growing in a fertile soil which if yee neglect they wex wilde but if they bee carefully husbanded they bring foorth most pleasant and excellent fruit Which doctrine is true for wee must weed our affections and snip from them whatsoever is irregular and vicious To pluck them out by the root is as if when yee have killed a man ye should cōmand him to stand on his feet and live Yet ſ Plato de Repub. lib. 3. in principio the same philosophers who gave so excellēt precepts for the keeping of the affections in a due proportion measure thought weeping and mourning to bee tolerable in base fellows and meane women but uncomely in all men of note and in women also which are of the right stamp and desire to bee esteemed vertuous V. Consider now what difference there is between the wise men of the world and God Philosophers say that there is much unmanlinesse and faint-heartednesse but no generousnesse in weeping therfore they condemne it as childish rather than man-like many men are still of that opinion GOD is of a far other minde for hee giveth most earnest commandements to his people to weep and rebuketh them sharpely when they weep not Christ in my Text blesseth them that weep and the Scripture ministers unto us many examples of the most courageous men that have been at any time under the vault of heaven which did both weep and mourn Was not t Hos 12.4 Iacob so stout and hardie that he wrestled with God and prevailed yet then even then hee wept and he mourned so bitterly for Ioseph whom hee deemed to be dead that u Gen. 37.35 he refused to be comforted for said he I will go down into the grave unto my sonne mourning Did not x 1 Sam. 17.35 David kill a Lion and a Bear Slew hee not with a sling and a stone the monstrous Giant Goliath Was there ever in battell a more valiant man in an Armie a more courageous Captain in a Kingdome a more royall King yet how did hee weep for Absalom hee was not ashamed to tell that when God's hand was heavie upon him y Psalm 32.3 hee roared all the day long If I should produce for an example of bitter weeping a Ier. 31 15. Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted ye would peradventure say that shee was a woman and that women are not so courageous But what can yee say to Iacob to Ioseph to David ye must needs confess that they mourned not through want of courage but through abundance of love Zechariah speaking in typicall words of the death of Christ and of Christians faith b Zech. 12 11 12 13 14 In that day shall there bee a great mourning in Ierusalem as the morning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon and the land shall mourne every familie apart the family of the house of David apart their wives apart the familie of the house of Nathan apart and their wives apart the familie of the house of Levi apart and their wives apart the familie of Shemei apart their wives apart ALL the families that remaine every familie apart and their wives apart See the mean in mourning it shal be without mean such as was the mourning at Megiddo where the good King Iosiah was slain for c 2 Chro. 35.24 all Iuda and Ierusalem mourned for him See the persons that shall mourn Men and women of all qualities and conditions First Kings and their wives secondly Princes and their wives thirdly all ecclesiastical persons their wives finally all the rest of true Christians their wives Where is courage rage where generosity where constancy if it bee not in Christians who wrestle against the divell and overcome him Was there ever in the world any man or in heaven any Angell to be compared with Iesus Christ did hee not d Iohn 11 33.35 grone in the spirit did hee not trouble himself did he not weep for Lazarus If ye seek a President of weeping who may bee to you a true President heer ye have one who is better and e Psalm 45.2 fairer than all the children of men Shall wee refuse to follow such a Ring-leader and seeing the Sonne of God did weep because f Heb. 2 17 in all things it behooved him to bee like unto his brethren shall wee think it a disgrace unto us to weep and to be like unto him VI. Surely his holy Spirit sanctifieth in us our naturall affections but abolishes them not And wheras many Philosophers take them for vices when they exceed mediocrity God gives them full libertie when they come from a good cause and aspire unto a good end g Lact. Inst l. 6. c. 16. Potest et qui graditur errare qui currit rectam viam tenere For as hee that walketh softly may stray and hee that runneth keep the high way so a man may be moderate in his affections sin and let them growe to the highest measure and not sinne yea if he should restrain them he should sinne No mediocrity is to bee praised in ill-doing If thou be but tickled with joy for the death of thine enemie thou sinnest but h 2 Sam. 6 14 20 23 David leaping for joy and dancing before the Lord with all his might when hee brought the Ark into Sion sinned not Contrariwise Michol his wife reproving him for the excesse of his joy sinned and was punished In things which are truely good no excesse is vicious for God liketh a man who dooth good things with all his minde all his soule all his heart and all the strength of his affections Who will say that to leap for joy for the deliverance of the Church is a sin i Lact. ibid. Nemo dubitat quin in illo exiguū laetari in hoc parum laetari sit maximum crimen The Church saith that not to leap for joy in such a case is
others which have no hope he forbiddeth you not to be waile your dead for it is impossible to fight against the motions of nature Did not u Gen. 23.2 Abraham the father of the faithfull mourne and weepe for Saâ—ra Did not x Gen. 50 1.10 Ioseph weepe upon his dead father and kisse him did not all his sonnes bury him with a very great and sore lamentation Did not y Num. 20.29 all the congregation of Israel mourne for Aaron thirty dayes Did a Deut. 34.8 they not weep for Moses as many dayes Did not David weepe for b v 2. Sam. 1.17 Saul for x 2. Sam. 3.32 Abner and for his sonne y 2. Sam. 18.33 Absalom and did not our Lord Iesus Christ a Ioh. 11.35 weep for Lazarus Did not b Act. 8.32 the devout men of Ierusalem make great lamentations over Steven Did not c Act. 9.39 the Christian widdowes of Lydda weepe for Dorcas when she was dead V. The thing which the Apostle forbiddeth is weeping such as is the weeping of the Gentiles which is immoderate because they have no hope One of them seeing hee must needes pay the last tribute to nature go the way of all the earth as he was dying made an heavy mone for his soul saying d Spartiani Adrianus Animula vagula blandula Hospes comesque corporis Quae nune abibis in loca Pallidula rigida nudula Nec ut soles dabis iocos O my restlesse my gentle my sweet soule soule which hast been a friendly guest and companion of my body O how wanne how cold how bare and empty is the place whither thou must now goe neyther shalt thou hereafter make me merry The rest had no better hope if they spake not so they thought no lesse But we know that e Ioh. 5.24 hee that beleeveth in Christ hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life therefore we must not weepe for our dead immoderately as Gentiles doe but moderately as Christians doe In f Ier 9.17 18. Ieremiah his time there was an heathnish custome among the Iewes Praficae mulieres to hire mourning women who were accustomed to take up a wailing for their dead and that g Chrysost ad Popul Antiochen homil 69. 70. profane custome was in the Church in S. Chrysostomes dayes It is now banished out of the Church But that w eh we doe is not much unlike unto it wee teare our faces with our nails we pull the haire out of our heads we rend our clothes wee yell wee roare wee howle like beasts and shew indeed that wee are without hope so great hypocrites or that we consisider not what wee are doing Chrysostome said that h Ex ostentatione potius ambitione inani gloria sunt c. there is more ostentation ambition and vaine glory than true sorrow in such weeping for a man may weep bitterly in his closet and not make such a shew Yea in such weeping there is great shame and great offence offered to our most holy religion For how shall we speak of the immortality of the soule to them which beleeve no such thing how shall wee perswade them to beleeve i Tertull. de Resurrect Carnis Fiducia Christianorum resurrectio mortuorum the rising again faith of Christians when by such yelling wee make them to beleeve that death is as horrible unto us as unto them for they heed not what we beleeve but what we doe And how shall we our selves contemne death if wee shew so great impatience when our friends die IV. Hearken then and learne how to weep for the dead doe yee consider death as it is k Rom 6.23 the wages of sin Weep Consider it also as it is through Christ l Ioh. 5.24 a passage to life and weep not Doe ye consider how your dear friend whom ye loved so tenderly is by death become so ugly and loathsome that ye are constrained with m Gen. 23.4 Abraham to bury him out of your sight lest he become suddenly a stinking carrion Weep CoÌ„sider also that through Christ his grave is made a Doctor unto him and weepe not Doth experieÌ„ce make you to say that by and by he shall bee dust and ashes Weepe But send for faith and it will tell you that though hee sleep now in the dust of the earth n Dan. 12.2 he shal awake to everlasting life according to the comfortable saying of Christ to Martha o Iohn 11 25 26 I am the resurrection and the life he that beleeveth in mee though he were dead yet shall he live And whosoever liveth and beleeveth in me shall never dye For in that blessed day of the resurrection of the righteous Christ p Phil. 3.21 shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body Heer is the comfort of your faith The Pagans speaking of a dead man were wont to say q Scal. Castigat in Festum verbo AbitioneÌ„ FUIT He was because they were without hope for the time to come But your r Rom. 5 5. hope which maketh not ashamed teacheth you to say ERIT He shall be They said also m Tert. de testimonio animae adver Gent. c. 4. Abijt iam sed reverti debet Hee is gone but he will come again not shewing that they had any hope of the resurrection as Tertullian deemed but seeking Euphemisms fair words having a sense repugnaÌ„t to their mind to shew that they esteemed all dead men to be lost In that same sense they said VIXIT He did live and therefore they called him n Ibid. Cúm alicuius defuncti recordaris miselluÌ„ vocas cum miserable If yee consider your dead brother as departed out of this life because of sinne say He did live and weep but knowe ye not that o 1. Sam. 25.29 his soule is bound in the bundle of life with the Lord his God Therfore say VIVIT Hee liveth say Hee is blessed and weep not p Rev. 14 13 For blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Beleeve yee not that they are past from death to life Wherefore then weep ye Will ye bee injurious to our Lord Iesus Christ Will yee deny the vertue of his death Will ye forsake the merit thereof Knowe yee not that his death is to us which beleeve the death of our death and the life of our life Then weep not O but he was my loving husband she was my vertuous wife thou hast had some losse weep but thy losse is their gaine They are gone to the marriage-supper of the Sonne of God and it is written Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb. These are the true sayings of God Therefore weep not Alas hee was mine onely sonne the heire of all my goods and now alas to whom shall I leave them
Felices lachrymae quas benignae manus Conditoris abstergunt O blessed tears which the mercifull hands of the Creator wipe away Then r Rev. 20 14 death and hell shall bee cast into the lake of fire Then we shall with triumphing voices desie death and say Å¿ 1. Cor. 15.55 O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory III. Our comfort our blessednesse now is our faith 'T is our blessednesse that Christ dwels in us and t Eph. 3.17 hee dwelleth in our hearts by faith Now by faith u Now n Aug. de verb. Apost ser 16. as long as wee are in the way now as long as wee are in our pilgrimage now x 2. Cor. 5.6 7 whiles wee are at home in the body wee are absent from the Lord for wee walke by faith not by sight Now we are in the world besieged on all sides with Armies of enemies and y 1. Iohn 5.4 this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith Then we shall dwell a Cant. 8.14 in the mountaine of spices in the Countrey of Eden in the Paradise of felicity of glory and of joy b Greg. in 7. Psalm poenit Vbi est lux sine defectu gaudium sine gemitu desiderium sine poenâ amor sine tristitiâ satietas sine fastidio sospitas sine vitio vita sine morte salus sine languore Where there is light without any defect gladnesse without mourning desire without pain love without sorrow fulnesse without loathsomenesse safenesse without imperfection life without death salvation without any languishing feeblenesse where wee shall enjoy all felicity with c Heb. 12 22 23 the innumerable companie of the Angels with the generall Assembly Church of the first-borne with the spirits of iust men made perfect For then we shal be citizens of heaven fellows to all the Saints like unto the blessed Angels heires of God joint heirs with Christ Now our comfort our blessednesse is our hope Hope is necessary unto a wayfaring man hope comforteth him in the way A man who is on his journey endureth all kinde of travell so long as he hopeth to come to his journeyes end d Aug. de verb. Apost ser 16. Tâ—llâ— illi spem perveniendi continuò franguntur vires ambulandi Take from him that hope by and by ye shall see him discouraged his strength weakned his journey broken off Wee are all travellers all on our journey to heaven The staffe which upholdeth us the spurre which setteth us forward in the way is our hope e Rom 8.24 25. for we are saved by hope But hope that is seen is no hope for what a man seeth why doth he yet hope for But if wee hope for that wee see not then do we with patience wait for it f Aug. ibid. In this patieÌ„ce the Martyrs were crowned * Desidorabant quod non videbaÌ„t contemâ—ebant quae forebant they desired the things which they suffred in this hope they said g Rom 8.35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ Shall tribulation or distresse or persecution or famine or nakednesse or perill or sword O the strength O the power of hope i 1. Ioh. 3.2 Beloved now we are the Sonnes of God now wee are predestinated called iustified adopted and it doth not yet appeare what we shall be therefore we hope for we know that when hee shall appeare we shall bee like him for we shall see him as he is i. e. we shall enioy him k Bern in fesâ—o omnium Sanctor serm 4. 1. in all his creatures 2. in our selves 3. in his owne selfe for then we shall know the blessed Trinity in its own selfe then with the pure eye of our heart wee shall behold that incomprehensible that unspeakeable glory not l 1. Cor 13.12 through a glasse in a riddle as now in his workes in his Word in his Sacraments but face to face Then we shall no more walk by faith but by sight And m Aug. eod Spes tam non erit quia erit res hope shal bee no more because wee shall enioy the thing hoped for Now m Col. 3.3 4. our life is hid with Christ in God when Christ who is our life shall appeare then shall ye appeare with him also in glory O how glorious is that glory who shall give mee words to utter it aptly Eye hath not seen nor eare heard neither hath entred into the heart of man what brightnesse what sweetnesse what pleasantnes what glory God hath prepared for them that lâ—ve him This is that n Phil. 4.7 peace of God which passeth all understanding o Bern. ibid. Quod ergo nulli datum est expertri nullus conetus affari wherefore that which no man is able to understand let no man go about to utter IV. Yet if yee will suffer me to fumble and to speake of such things as I can since I cannot speake of them as I would ' I le make to you a short description and draw rudely as it were with a coale or blacke inke the first lineaments of the bright-shining light of that glory Man as ye know is framed of two parts of a soule and of a body The wise men of the world say that in the soule there are three faculties or natures which they call reasonable sensuall and cholericke By the first wee reason and discourse by the second we couet meates drinkes all sorts of delights by the third we are angry In the first so long as we are in this world there is knowledge and ignorance for q 1. Cor. 13.9 we know in part In the second there is desire and disdaine In the third there is ioy and anger But in that day r Bern. ibid. implebit Deus rationale nostrum luce sapientiae implebit concupiscibile nostruÌ„ foÌ„te iustitiae c. God will fill our reasonable part with the light of wisedome our sensuall part with a fountaine of righteousnesse our cholericke part with perfect tranquillitie Then wee shall know God with all our minde as wee are knowne of him then beeing filled with his righteousnesse we shall ever love him with all our hearts and still desire him ever bee satisfied with his likenesse and still hunger after him ever rejoyce in his goodnesse and never be weary of rejoycing in him Nihil quippe aut deest semper videntibus aut superest semper volentibus For there nothing is wanting to them who see God alwayes nothing is overmuch to them who desire alwayes This is the blessed comfort wherewith Lazarus is comforted in Abrahams bosome as Abraham said t Luk. 16.25 Now he is comforted V. Mans body is made of the foure Elements of earth water ayre and fire u Ex Bern. ibid. Habebit Terra nostra immortalitatem Aqua impassibilitatem Aer agilitatem Ignis perfectissimam pulchritudineÌ„ Our earth shall receive