and spirituall wickednesse in high places But then wee must take heed to observe the manner here prescribed which is to powre out the soule to confesse all our sinnes to purge out the old leaven Wee cannot thinke to possesse our vessels in holinesse 1. Thes 4.4 if wee suffer any dregs of uncleannesse to remaine in them And as the sent tast of the first liquor will continue a long time in a vessell after it be emptied Quo semel est imbuta â—â—cens servab â—odorem Testa diu So though wee have sincerely repented of all our sinnes yet that originall corruption remaining will make us cry unto the Lord to deliver us from this body of death But such as are indulgent to themselves may feare that their presumptuous sinnes will get the victory over them Wherefore as it is more commodious in the first making and digging of a garden to have it once well weeded when the bad roots may bee taken out than many times afterward So if thou wouldest bee like that paradise wherein God walked like that garden into which Christ delighted to come Cant. 5.1 6.2 then search every corner of thine heart in the time of humiliation that there may not be any roote bringing forth gall and wormewood Deut. 29.18 Wee know that the least childe remaining in the house doth hinder in giving state And how can God take possession of thy body to be his Temple when there is any sinne reigning therein If wee sinne we have an Advocate with the Father And as that client is like to speed ill in the triall who giveth advantage to his adversary in concealing the worst of his case from the Councell So hee shall bee confounded in the day of judgement that hath sought to hide his sinne For Satan thine accuser will discover that which thou didst hope should have beene for ever buried Then learne of Him that thus humbled himselfe to acknowledge all thy transgressions Hee is a foole in worldly affaires that powreth out all at once But it is heavenly wisedome in confession of sinne Pro. 29.11 to powre out all at once and not to keepe it in untill afterward David saith I powre out my soule in mee His prayer was sincere before God and it was inward and hidden from the world There was a time when hee cryed unto the Lord Psal 22.1.2 Why art thou so farre from the words of my roaring But now the greatnesse of his sorrow for his grievous sinnes and the calamities waiting upon them made him stand amazed as not being able to speak And doubtlesse there is great benefit in the use both of secret and open prayer As Paul became all things to all men that hee might winne some so wee may use every kinde that wee may receive a gracious answer Sometime to cry aloud lifting up both heart and voyce to shew our fervency and importunity and it shall bee opened unto us that knocke Sometime to shew our reverence by a still voyce that God may therein reveale himselfe unto us Sometime praying with the spirit and with understanding speaking in the heart onely not daring to use our tongues to call upon his name seeing wee have dishonoured him thereby Hâ—miles preces in excelsa porâ—â—gite Boet. And those our humble prayers will ascend into heaven Though wee shut both the doore of our closet and the doore of our lips when wee pray being wholly spirituall therein our Father seeth in secret and is well pleased with such a sacrifice If wee desire to make our tongue to be our glory therein yet the sound of our words may bee submissive and rather a gentle noyse than a voyce They that doe thus they speake softly Qui Deum precantes susurrant tacitè loquuntur atque intus clamant but inwardly they cry aloud Hannah when shee prayed did move her lips but her voyce was not heard yet shee found such comfort that her countenance was no more sad VERSE IIII. For I had gone with the multitude HIs present misery is increased by comparing the same with his former comfortable estate wherein hee served the Lord And the sorrow for the losse of his perfect freedome doth exceed the griefe of worldly men in their crosses as much as the gladnesse in his heart Psal 4. had formerly beene more than the joy which they received by the increase of corne and wine Outward benefits are deceitfull and vaine Riches and the like may betake themselves to their wings and fly away But heavenly blessings are unchangeable did not wee by our disobedience stop the course of Gods mercies and cause his judgements and curses to fall upon us Wherefore when our destruction doth come from our selves when by our rebellion wee shall pull downe Gods anger InfelicissimuÌ„ genus est infortunii fuisse felicem Boet. Then the remembrance of our former happinesse is the greatest aggravation of our present wretchednesse and woe Also we may observe that hee was not satisfied with that good which he had formerly done neither did hee rest contented therein But his chiefe desire was ever to continue in those holy exercises From whence wee receive this instruction that wee ought to forget those things which are behind Phil. 3.13 and reach forth unto those things which are before pressing toward the marke having set our hand to the plough not to looke backe nor to spare and favour our selves during the time of our pilgrimage Such as desire to worship the Lord unto the end of their lives and are constant unto death they shall receive a crowne of life and an everlasting inheritance But ungodly men that forsake their first love like those foolish Galatians bewitched by that evill spirit and with Demas doe embrace this present world 2. Tim. 4.10 they shall undergoe the fierce anger of the Almighty And as Iordan divided the tribes of Reuben and Gad from the rest of Israel who Num. 32. allured with the fertility of the countrey did set themselves downe and take up their habitation before they came to the land of promise So there shall be a great gulfe to separate the wicked who like sluggards fold their armes together as if they had wrought sufficiently from those that abide in the place of blessednesse Whereas hee speaketh of himselfe that hee had gone with the multitude it will not bee impertinent to consider his twofold regiment Over the Priests 1. Cron. 15. verse 17. Rex Anius â—ex idem homâ—num Pâ—aeb que sacerdos Vittis c. Virg. and the people For at this time when hee blessed the people hee had put on a linnen Ephod over his kingly robe Also his sonne Salomon succeeded him therein who was called the Preacher This was observed by many nations that their Kings were Priests Gen. 14.18 So Melchizedek was King of Salem and Priest of the most high God So was Numa the second King of the Romanes Livi. lib.
bodily disease looked daily when his panting should have an end and would often say Quousque DomineÌ„ How long O Lord And some space before his death which was just in the same moment when the sunne did set his prayers were nothing else but an expression of his souls panting after the Lord. The death of Coma was thought to be very rare Intra pectâ—s incâ—usa aâ— mafiâ—â—m sâ— repeâ—â— c. Val. Maâ— lib 9. cap. 13. who dyed by his violent retaining holding in of his breath But now there is nothing more frequent than this kinde of death though not of the body yet of the soule in those men which doe never pant after the Lord. Wee thinke it bee the signe of a dying man when his breath growes cold And our coldnesse in seeking after the Lord doth discover that the soule doth languish and is voyd of the life of grace For if our soules were inflamed with zeale the Kingdome of heaven should suffer violence Mat. 11.12 and bee taken by force VERSE II. My soule thirsteth for God for the living God When shall I come and appeare before God IN that expression which David used of panting after the Lord wee may well observe that it was not a weake and faint desire but most strong and forcible Now that wee not thinke it to bee too violent to endure and to passe away as a sodain flame in his outward speech rather than to burn constantly in the holy disposition of his heart it pleaseth God to perfect his owne good work and to give him this heavenly thirst And nothing is more frequent than for these two Aeris alternos angustat pulmo meatus Rescâ—soque nocent suspiria dura palato Lâ—â—an Oraque retro sorbet anhela sitis Statius Panting and Thirst to accompany each other If we take them as perturbations of the body that may be said of them which is spoken of worldly sorrow that they drye the bones and cause death But as in this place being rich endowments of the soule they bring life and peace and joy By those the outward man doth perish by these the inward man is renewed daily There is a thirst which beginneth when we hang upon our Mothers breasts and continues in the strength and vigour of our lives and doth not leave us in the time of old age but even to the very end we hold a just proportion with this last age of the dying world Nec sitis est extincta prius quam vita bibendo Ovid in desiring wine and strong drinke that thereby our vitall heat and radicall moisture may be preserved So that through abuse this vice of intemperate drinking seemeth to have a speciall right in these dayes wherein wee live The uncleane drunkard thinketh there is no other thirst but onely that with which hee is possessed nor any better meanes whereby to obtaine health unto himselfe or to confer it upon others than by profound drinking whereunto he addresseth himselfe as if hee were to encounter with his greatest enemy Persae potum tanquam adversarium aggredâ—entes Aelian and doth more than fill himselfe with strong drinke inflaming wines and hot waters and though improperly drinking more than these only to kindle a desire of drinking more Vt Anglorum corpora in Barbarorum naturam degenerasse videntur Camden in Elizab. I affect antiquity herein and will not name that which I finde was never anciently named Hereby doth hee deprive himselfe of his reasonable soule and becomes voyd of sense and worse than the bruite beasts having no life left but onely that of the plants not being able to move and helpe himselfe And which I cannot mention without horrour how many are pierced with the dart of death as with the javelin of Phinehas in the act of wickednesse Iudg. 4.21 whose end is like unto that of Sisera after he had drunke at the same time to bee smitten in the head and deprived of life And whereas the death of a good man is called a sleepe the death of the drunkard is contrary whose senses being bound in the time of his life that hee could not use them by death hee is awakened Then doth hee see his estate to be miserable by the paines of losse and sense where againe hee thirsteth and cannot obtaine one drop of water to coole his tongue But why doe I speake to him who is not capable to heare whose case is most fearfull For whereas other sinners may bee convinced by reason he by the wilfull losse of understanding hath made himselfe a foole and is in danger of hell fire The contentious man thirsteth after the waters of Meribah and the cruell man for they must bee joyned thirsteth after bloud M. Anten vino gravis sitiebat tamen sanguinem Senec. Cyri caput in Val. Max. wherein is the life Nothing can satisfie him but the fall of his enemy But the bloudy minded man shall not live out halfe his dayes for though the divine vengeance should not overtake him as for the most part it doth with rancor and malice hee consumes himselfe and drinkes his owne bloud whose estate is worse than a Serpents for hee beareth about him such a poyson as doth destroy his owne life The covetous man is thirsty as the horse-leach Pro. 30 15. crying Give Give The adulterer refusing to drinke waters out of his owne cisterne desireth to drink stolne waters 9.17 which hee thinketh to bee sweet And the adulteresse thirsteth for that bitter water which causeth the thigh to rot a common judgement of these times Num 12.18.21 The swearer is so thirsty that he cannot speake without an oath in his mouth whose cursing shall come like water into his bowels Psal 109.18 and like oyle into his bones In a word every sinner thirsteth for the water of Marah which will be as gall in the belly and bitternesse in the later end Of all which I may speake as Samuel of the sons of Iesse The Lord hath not chosen these to obtaine a crowne of life But this holy thirst of the soule for God for the living God And whom should the soule thirst after but God alone For with thee is the Fountaine of life Psal 36.8.9 thou dost make me drinke of the river of thy pleasures 23.5 My cup runneth over 63.5 My soule shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse 65.9 Our gracious God doth visit the earth 104.11 and watereth the ridges thereof abundantly and giveth drinke to every beast of the field Doth God take care for oxen 1. Cor. 9 9. then much more for man 1. Tim. 5.23 to whom hee giveth liberty to use a little wine which makes glad the heart But most of all for the soule of man and therefore he calleth Ho Isai 55.1 every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters and Iohn 4.14 whosoever drinketh of this water that
causes doth the Hart desire the water But our reason to pant after the Lord the fountaine of life is much greater which doth not only cleanse us from the outward leprosie of the body as Iordane did Naaman healing all our diseases but from the inward leprosie of the soule purifying us from all our sinnes and corruptions Neither can wee pretend that this precious water is hidden and sealed up from us Veteres ad purificationâ—m non quavis aqua contentos sed vivam c. Tuâ—neb For this Fountaine is open for Iudah and Ierusalem to wash in And the water thereof is stirred not by one alone but by many Angels And that not at certaine seasons onely Iohn 5.4 but as well out of season as in season That so not onely he that steppeth in first but how many so ever shall step in may be healed of whatsoever diseases they have Wee are often called upon by the preaching of the Word to wash and be cleane And the danger is great if wee neglect it Iohn 13. â— For unlesse wee bee thus washed we have no part with Christ Then let us cleanse not our feet and hands onely as in ancient times they did daily being made uncleane by labour nor as Peter addeth our feet Brachia crura quotidie abluebant Senec. our hands and head all which are ready instruments of unrighteousnesse therefore have great need to bee purged Isay 1.6.16 But seeing from the crowne of the head to the sole of the foot there is no soundnesse in us let us wash the whole man and make us cleane not with the Pharisee the outside onely but as Christ came by water and by bloud so both the outward inward part must bee made cleane Nunquam difficilius obsequantes aegrotos habuêre olim medici quam c. Causabâ—n It was a great complaint of Physitians that they never found their Patients more opposite and impatient than when they did forbid them the use of baths so great was the delight and contentment that they received therby though pernicious unto them But here being a fountaine able to save us make us sound if we will come unto it and yet how few there bee that will make use thereof Are we not more strange and unwilling than ever that Leper was to obey the Prophet that badde him wash seven times Like those which wallowed in the burning sand Nâ—â—â— non tepiâ—â—is conâ—olâ—e 〈◊〉 corpus areuiâ— Sammoâ—â— c. Ensâ— lat 10. or walked naked in the sun to drye up the moysture of their bodies we had rather bee scorched and inflamed by the heare of our lusts than thus to bee cleansed from all sinne and pollution In the old Law a fountaine wherein there was plenty of water should coÌ„tinue clean though any uncleane thing did fall thereinto Levit. 1â— 36. Surely this Fountaine doth not onely continue holy and pure but will alsâ— make our sinfull soules to bâ—â— cleane if they be washed therein Then leade us O Lorâ— to this living fountaine and wash us throughly from our iniquities that wee may bee presented before thee without spot and blemish The resemblance which is here used is very fit in regard of that warre and hatred betweene the Hart and the Serpent Gen. 3. The first and greatest wound wee ever received was by the Serpent the poyson whereof doth still abide within us Since which time there hath beene and ever shall be enmity betweene us and the Serpent Satan himselfe And the seed of the Serpent both wicked men which are his spawne and our sinnes and vices which come from him and are as dangerous to the soule as the biting of Serpents was to the gainsaying Israelites Numb 21.6 bringing men to that fire which never can be quenched In this estate of our warfare we are to pant after the Lord and if our heele bee bruised as in the originall of the Gospel wee are forewarned to expect it If that wicked one doth touch us and wee bee hurt by the malice and subtilty of that old Serpent we are to crie unto the Lord to deliver us from this body of death Rom. 7. and if wee overcome we must give thankes unto God through Iesus Christ our Lord. The reasons are divers why David or any faithfull man may be compared unto the Hart Gen. 1.30 This creature doth continue in the use of that meate which was given unto it in the beginning eating every greene herbe And a Christian hath the same heavenly food and nourishment for his soule which Adam had in the estate of innocencie it is his meate to doe the will of his heavenly Father and to contemplate his glorious workes Metusone congregaâ— Stat. Agmina cervi Pulverulenta fuga glomerant Virgil. The Harts keepe together in herds not alone like beasts that devoure the prey and are helpefull to one another in swimming Maria tranant capiâ—a imponentes precedentium clunibuâ— Plini So there is a communion betweene those that are godly who seeke not their owne good but the good of others bearing one anothers burthen and being spirituall they restore such as are overtaken in any fault The Hart hath alwayes beene the emblem of speed So a Christian doth make haste unto the Lord In volucri tonuis fictucia cursu Star and desireth to runne the race that hee may obtaine the price The Hart Cornibus armatur trepidandis quis tamen illum c. Natal Comes though hee be armed yet doth not use the same either for to harme other creatures or to defend himselfe So a Christian though he hath strength and power yet he had rather suffer than offer an injury and being smitten hee will not turne againe unlesse it bee in obedience as he is commanded that by patient enduring hee may heape coales upon his enemies head Nunquid oâ—â—s lupum perequitur The Hart is pursued and followed so a Christian is persecuted oppression is as the Genius of piety which ever attends upon it But our comfort is wee know the world hated Christ before it hated us and he was tempted that hee might succour us in all our temptations whereof this is none of the least There is no beast that hath more enemies than the Hart Sic Cerva leonem Ovid. Star Ceu tigride cerva Hâ—rcana cum pressa tremit Sil. Ital Cerva cruentis circumventa lupis Statius Livi l. 10. Omnium bestiarum inimâ—cisâ—imus homo Iul. Scal. in Arist For beside the Serpents the Lion the Tigre the Wolfe and Dogs and the like seeke to destroy it and a more cruell enemy than all these Man So a Christian hath many enemies that compasse him about and rise up against him And as the Hart is not killed like the sheepe that is led to the slaughter but there is much sport and pleasure in the death thereof So there is great delight and contentment to the wicked
and wept there so let us seeke some retired place Ier. 13.17 Nemo sibi tristis est Sen. that our soules may weepe in secret as Ieremiah did Worldly sorrow desireth to be manifest and appeare unto men but this godly sorrow is hidden from the eyes of men Siquis adest iussae prosiâ—unt lacrymae Martial none but our heavenly father seeth it And these our teares must not bee like the morning cloud or the early dew Hos 13.3 but as the former and the latter raine they must begin in our first conversion and they must continue so long as wee continue ever running down plenteously like Aarons oyntment Psal 133. which went down from his head to the skirts of his garments so wee should wish our head to bee a fountaine of teares Ier. 9.1 Cur non oculâ—s plures â—â—bis naâ—â—◠〈◊〉 Sen. in Tâ—â—b Cumâ—us fier didedertâ—n â—â—um duâ—taxat diem Senec. and that wee had many eies that we might sufficiently bewaile our iniquities And that not onely for a day which was the time set apart for sorrow but untill our eyes doe faile with teares weeping untill wee have no more power to weepe Lam. 2.11 1. Sam. 30.4 It is said of David that hee lift up his voyce and wept So wee when wee weepe must lift up our voice and our hearts also unto the Lord in prayer that so the teares which wee powre out may be as a drink-offering acceptable before him And though by reason of our teares wee bee not able to speake unto the Lord yet as Perseus wrought compassion in the people by his teares which stopped the passage of his speech Sed aliquoâ—ies dicâ—re incipientem cum lacrvmae praepeaâ—â—â—ent Livâ— so will the Lord have pitty upon us when through the greatnesse of our sorrow wee are not able to speake unto him Vocisque repens singulens apertum inercepit iter â— at yea then wee cry unto him with best successe when wee seeme to bee over-whelmed with our sighs and teares that we cannot distinctly utter our complaints before him Then also the spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what wee should pray for Rom 8.26 as wee ought but the spirit it selfe maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be expressed Omnia Iugentium officia solerter finxit sed lacrvmae procedere nolucrunt Apul. Lacrymaâ— non sponte cadentes effâ—dit gemâ—tasque expressque pectoâ—e laeto Lucan Other gestures of sorrow may bee acted but teares are not so easily forced and though they sometime bee drawne out to make some appearance of outward griefe yet in godly sorrow wee know they bee alwayes sincere and just wherein they doe as much excell the other as orien pearle doe common glasse But let us thinke them to bee serious without guile yet how superfluous are they for the most part as one spake of a sorry Comaedian Rhodophili comaedia adeo infulsa est ut misericordiam potius quam risum excitet Iâ—l Scal. Quanto risu proâ—equenda sunt quae nobis lacrimas educunt Sen. Quae causa indâ—gna serenos faedavit vulâ—â—s Virgil. that hee did stirre up compassion rather than mirth So we may affirme the contrary That the teares of many deserve thus to bee reproved rather than to be pittied And unto others that are more passionate and dolorous yet not squaring their sorrow according to the rule of the Word wee may speake as Paul did What meane you to weepe and to breake mine heart Acts 22.13 as having a fellow-feeling of their weaknesse who for want of comfort and courage are weighed downe under the burthen of any calamity Wee should not bee ignorant of the devices of that wicked one who seeketh to deale by us as Cyrus did by those whom he besieged Herodot li. 1. hee divided the great river into diverse currents by the which hee passed over and subdued Babylon So our Enemy hopeth for victory by turning that streame of our teares which ought to bee for our sinnes into new passages If wee have any losse wee lament with unfained teares In the death of children wee refuse to bee comforted because they are not In the departure of our friends wee mourne as those that have no hope yea though wee part but for a time wee strive who should exceed in weeping whereas it would be our wisedome to keepe this river of teares within the proper bounds that it may not exceed the limits as Iordan doth in time of harvest and thereby hinder us from reaping our bâ—st benefit Canst thou mourne at some dolefull story yea it may be at some slanderous and malicious fiction Invida cur in me stimulasti musa Maronem Auson Qâ—od commentus est in odium Cartha ganiensium Foâ— Scal. as that of Dido killing her selfe And canst thou not mourne for thy sinnes both desperate and presumptuous whereby thou hast laboured to destroy thine owne soule Quod puduislet ipsum histrionis incommodis affection buâ—â—isericordem videri c. AE â—an As that cruell King arose and went from a Tragoedy confounded with shame and sorrow that hee should seeme to be touched with remorse at the false semblance of an Actor and yet be without any commiseration towards his owne subjects So wee may abhorre our selves that wee can dissolve into teares upon some frivolous occasion and yet bee without any contrition when it is most needfull Christ saith Mat 20.15 Is thine eye evill because I am good What eye so evill and so full of malice as that which is an enemy to the soule Wilt not thou mourn because God is gracious in giving his blessings in forgiving thy sinnes Rather let the bounty and long sufferance of God lead thee to repentance Strangulat inclusus dâ— lor atque â—or aestuatâ—ntus Ovid Doe wee finde such inlargement and quiet by those common teares wee let fall when we are surcharged and ready to breake for want of vent Fletus aerumnas levat Sen. then how great consolation may wee find by our godly sorrow when wee are as good grapes troden in the wine-presse and doe yeeld that precious liquor whereby the heart is cheered Est quaedam delendi volupâ—â—s prae ertimsi in amici sinu defleas Plin. Iun. Magis exurunt quos secretae lacerant curae Sen in Agam. Doe we receive solace and release in the sympathy of a friend unto whom wee powre out our complaint who pittieth us mingleth his teares with ours then how shall wee value these which wee shed in the presence of the Almighty Psal 39.12 who is not silent at our teares but speakes comfortably unto our soules Who is not like our friend that bids us bee warmed and filled not being able to give us those things we want But he doth warme our hearts with his blessings and fill our soules with comfort He hath delivered my soule from death Psal 116.8
30.5 mine eyes from teares and my feete from falling Weeping may endure for a night Vt levis quaedam moderata humâ—ctatio terrae affundatur Kecker and bee like unto the dew whereby a gentle moisture is spread upon the earth but joy commeth in the morning In the beginning of that great day when the Sun of righteousnesse doth arise Mala. 4. Isai 25.8 he will wipe away teares from off all faces In the meane while during this disconsolate estate wee receive light and comfort by that day-starre arising in our hearts 2. Pet. 1.19 the glad tidings of the Gospel So that as sorrowfull wee alwayes rejoyce 2. Cor. 6.10 It is most just that teares should bee our meate when as the eyes did at first offend in desiring to eate the forbidden fruite Gen. 3.6 which seemed pleasant unto them and to be desired for food where we must observe the Lords gracious dealing with us who hath taken out the sting out of our sorrow turned that into a blessing which might justly have bin a curse and a punishment For as meate came out of the eater so we receive comfort by our sorrow which might have beene as a lyon to devoure us And as Paul provided for the excommunicate person 2. Cor. 2.7 that hee should not be swallowed up with overmuch heavinesse So the Lord in mercy receiveth us that deserve to be cast out of his presence and giveth us this savoury meate better than all the delicious fare in the world for the which our soules doe blesse him both in life and death As it was a testimony of Iosephs love unto Benjamin Gen. 43.34 that his meale was five times as much as any of his brethren so it is a most sure pledge of God his love when hee giveth us a large portion of this heavenly meate It was a great honour unto Mephibosheth to eate continually at King Davids table 2. Sam. 9.13 but it is much more honourable unto us to eate the same spirituall meat and to drinke the same spirituall drink which David did Then let us covet this heavenly gift and as the Disciples said Lord evermore give us this bread so let us say Iohn 6. Lord evermore give us this meate that wee may live for ever Non in sacris tantum sed etiam in penore tangendo observavêre veteres Turneb Mar. 7.3 4. It was the tradition of the Elders to wash diligently before they did eate And Christ blamed the Pharisees for their superstition therein who made cleane the outside but within were full of wickednesse But this meat doth cleanse that which is within and the outside is cleane also Hereby we our selves are cleansed and all things are cleane unto us We have right unto the creatures to sustaine our bodies and this meate is a preparative unto that spirituall meat By the teares which we shed in our examination wee become in some measure worthy receivers of that food of our soules I may produce some examples of those that have mourned that we being compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses may likewise breake into a shower of teares And first behold how our blessed Saviour loved Lazarus Iohn 11.35 weeping for him being dead And hast thon no love to thine own soule Canst thou not weepe for thy selfe being dead in sin Did hee weepe Luk. 19 41. foreseeing the destruction of Ierusalem And canst not thou mourne to foresee yea to behold before thine eyes the miserable estate of Gods people Doth not the bloud of the Saints and servants of God that is shed move thee to shed some teares Shall Mary Magdalen weepe enough to make a bath for Christs feet And wilt not thou weepe that thine owne soule may bee washed and cleansed Did Peter weepe bitterly And dost thou delude thy selfe as Agag did 1. Sam 15.32 thinking the bitternesse of death to bee past without the bitternesse of sorrow And what shall I more say For the time would faile me to tell of Iob Iob 16.20 Act. 20.19 2. Cor. 2.4 whose eye powred forth teares unto God of Paul who wept with many teares of Ieremiah his Lamentation and of the rest of the Prophets Onely looke upon David who were it not for the disparagement Sic parvis c. may be compared to Heraclitus Et ipse inter deplorandos erat Senec. ever weeping But the one was to be pittied for weakenesse the other to bee imitated for holinesse His eyes were consumed because of griefe Psal 6.7 32.10 His life was spent with griefe Hee mourned because of the oppression of the enemy 43.2 88 â— 55 â— and by reason of his affliction 119.136 38 6. 6.6 Hee mourned in his complaint and rivers of waters ranne down his eyes because they kept not thy Law Hee went mourning all the day long and all the night hee made his bed to swimme His teares were his meate both day and night Let this move us to weepe with him that wept so much Rom. 12.15 knowing Psal 6.8 that God heareth the voice of our weeping Thereby we cast aside every weight both of sinne and sorrow And our eies being throughly washed by the teares of repentance wee come to see those things which the eare hath not heard nor is the tongue able to utter Psal 126.5 And at last after this wet seed time we reape in joy Now let us behold the doubtfull estate of those whose hearts are hard as the Adamant being yet in the bond of iniquity who thinke that this expression of sorrow doth arise out of an effeminate tendernesse But wee may say of laughter it is mad Eccles 2.2 The mirth and jollity of the wicked being like the laughter of a mad man for the which all his friends doe grieve Such being in subjection to the Prince of the ayre Neque solum linguam nutusque servituâ—e constringeret sed etiam oculis à naturâ tributam libertatem eriperet Aelian hee dealeth with them as that tyrant did who having interdicted private conference and discontented gestures and hearing of some that wept mourned he sought to forbid that also lest thereby some conspiracy might begin against him So Satan fearing lest that by the teares of contritioÌ„ they should cast off his heavy yoke and not suffer sinne to reigne in their mortall bodies his chiefe practice is to keepe them from godly sorrow And therefore hee dealeth with them as the Fox doth by the Goose which he taketh by the necke and so hindreth from crying out Hee stoppeth our complaint and prevents our crying unto the Lord Like a thiefe he climbeth up and entreth in at the windowes of this our earthly house and robbeth us of all grace and comfort Hee keepeth the eies for his owne passage making them instruments of wickednesse and brethren in cruelty Whereas if they were like the poole of Heshbon
my selfe by giving an answer to Davids demand before I come to the question which is VERSE V. Why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou dâ—squieted in me hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him for the helpe of his countenance VVHerein hee makes further declaration of his sorrowfull and perplexed estate that his soule in this time of trouble did pant and thirst and was powred out and cast downe and disquieted not finding release from misery nor evasion out of these calamities Now if the light that is in thee be darknesse Mat. 6.23 how great is that darknesse and if the soule that is in thee be sorrowfull how great is that sorrow Pro. 12.25 When heavinesse in the heart of man maketh it stoupe yea to be cast down as Davids was And yet there is great cause that the soule bee lifted up with joy and not dejected with griefe if wee consider the originall of it Igneus est illis vigor coelestis origo Virgil. that it proceedeth from God himselfe Gen. 1.27 2.7 Psal 8.5 Mortalibus alti quantum coelicolae tantundem animalibus isti praecellunt cunctis Silius Eccles 3.21 12.7 who created us after his own image breathing into us the breath of life whereby wee became living soules So that wee who were made but a little lower than the Angels were made much higher than all other creatures For when the spirit of the beast goeth downeward to the earth our spirit shall returne to God that gave it Also there is cause of ioy unto the soule in regard of the body Deus dedit corpus animae ut illud in coelum eveneret Non dedita animam corpâ—ri ut c. God gave the body unto the soule that it might raise the body unto heaven Hee did not give the soule unto the body that it might presse the soule to the earth Admonet figura c. Boet Shall the body be erect towards heaven and the soule decline towards the earth Let us consider how helpfull the body is to the soule in the worship of God when our eyes wait upon him and our tongue is our glory to praise him and wee lift up pure hands and daily bow our knees before him when our feet doe carry us to his house and there wee prostrate our whole body in his presence Thus in our estate of grace there is an happy union and consent betweene them both But as Eve â—en 2.18 who was made a meete helpe proved a cause of the greatest woe and misery So the body which should assist the soule doth rebell against it and thereby becomes a great annoyance Like that kinde of torment when they did binde the dead and the living together Corpora ca daveribus ad versa adversis alligata Val. Max. So the soule that lives for ever and is willing to doe good is ioyned unto a body that is weake yea even dead to any holy duty And then the servant is upon an horse Ephes 2 5. Eccles 10 7. and the Prince doth walke as a servant upon the earth the hand-maide is advanced Eucherius ad Valeâ—ian and the mistresse brought downe to the foot-stoole The body doth bring the soule into captivity and make it of a king to become a servent Modo rex esâ— modo tyraâ—nus Sence oâ— else a tyrant Wherefore when wee finde a law in our members warring against the law of our minde wee must pray to be delivered froÌ„ this body of death Rom. 7. verse 23.24 It was observed that when the body sleepeth Anima dum corpori vires admâ—nistrat nequaquam vacat sibi c. Hippocrat the soule hath most liberty And wee know assuredly that when our bodies shall bee laid to sleepe in the grave our soules shall bee inlarged Terreno carcere resoluta caelum ibera petâ—â— Boet. and delivered from that earthly house wherein they were long pent and imprisoned Vt novus serpens pofitâ cum pelle senectâ c. Ovid. And as the serpent doth become young againe after it hath cast off the skinne so the soule shall bee clothed with maiesty and glory when this fraile body shall waxe old like a garment and bee folded up as a vesture untill the end of all things and then this vile body shall be fashioned like unto the glorious body of Christ and being reioyned unto the soule shall enter into the ioy of our Master If that father did so reioyce when he saw his sonne to be alive Gen. 46.30 whom hee thought to bee dead then how excellent shall our ioy bee when the body which was dead shall bee alive and they both being knit together shall live in blisse for evermore 29.20 Did those seven yeares seeme to bee but a few dayes 31.40 for the love that Iacob had to Rachel though hee suffered the drought in the day the frost by night and watched both day and night Then how wonderfull ought the love of the soule be to the body cheerfully serving the Lord patiently enduring all tryals and afflictions not being cast downe as if it were without hope but looking for the Saviour who shall unite both soule and body And wee shall be as the Angels of God in heaven Mat. 22.30 Let us now take notice of Davids examination of himselfe that wee thereby may learne to iudge ourselves and wee shall not bee iudged Formerly hee had with his whole heart sought unto the Lord to shew him the light of his countenance He had earnestly desired to appeare before God Hee had humbled himselfe in sorrow for his owne transgressions and the sins of other men Now God accepteth the will for the deed And they that mourne have a promise of comfort Mat. 6. Why then art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted in me Psal 4.4 Also hee did commune with his owne heart and was no fugitive from it as many are who have greatest reason to bee sorrowfull and to feare lest their soules should bee cast downe lower than Davids was because they never looke home to examine and prove themselves and to know that Christ is in them 2. Cor. 13.5 except they bee reprobates But David did make diligent search in his owne heart Psal 77.6 and in all things desired the good and comfortable estate of it Then why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted in me Remember the workes of old how graciously the Lord hath dealt with thee Say not within thy selfe that his mercy is clean gone for ever for thou dost stil enioy many blessings and his grace doth now keep thee from fainting Consider that in this chastisement the Lord dealeth with thee as with a childe and it is not his good pleasure that thou shouldest have sorrow upon sorrow but that this light affliction working for thy good may bring thee to an
everlasting weight of glory wherefore acknowledge this to bee thine infirmity rebuke and smite thy selfe saying Why art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted in mee It must not bee denied that the soule is sometime disquieted when wee are not able to give any reason of it But then it behoveth us to make strict inquisition into our selves and to see if there bee any root of evill Iosh 7. like Achans wedge which is the cause of our trouble If there bee any Ionas lurking in the bottome which may be sufficient not only to cast downe the soule but also to cast away the soule by a tempest of Gods wrath When we find our selves to bee innocent from great offences and acquitted from regarding iniquity wee must with patience wait upon the Lord How unsearchable are his iudgements Rom. 11. verse 33.34 and his wayes past finding out For who hath knowne the minde of the Lord Iob. 11. Loe hee goeth by me and I see him not Hee passeth on also but I perceive him not Behold hee taketh away Deut. 32.39 who can hinder him Hee woundeth and hee healeth hee bringeth low and hee lifteth up Shall wee receive good at the hand of the Lord Iob 2.10 and shall wee not receive evill Have wee learned to abound and be full of spirituall comfort Phil. 4.11 and have we not learned to suffer need and be abased in the sense of our wants and confession of our unworthinesse who are lesse than the least of all his mercies God will have us to see that wee are not able to merit any of his blessings which are wholly in his own disposing It is not in man that walketh Ier. 10 23. to direct his steps There may bee many devices in his heart neverthelesse the counsell of the Lord that shall stand Pro. 19.21 Also wee must know that wee are now in our passage through the vast wildernesse of this troublesome world unto the heavenly Canaan And we were of all men most miserable if our greatest comforts were not reserved for a better life God doth first cast us downe and then raise us up to a glorious estate Though wee walke in the midst of trouble hee will revive us Light is sowne for the righteous Psal 138.7 97.11 and gladnesse for the upright in heart That which thou sowest is not quickned except it dye first 1. Cor. 15. verse 36. So although wee seeme to be without the life of ioy yet we hope to reape everlasting consolation As sorrowfull wee alwayes reioyce 2. Cor. 6.10 There is an outward apparence of griefe There is an inward substance of true ioy But I may well desist from speaking of this sadnesse whereof wee can give no reason when there are so many causes of heavinesse whether we looke upon the sinnes of other men with charitable compassion or upon our own offences with sorrowfull compunction Psal 119.136 How did David lament for the transgressions of the people And may not we take up the complaint of the Prophet Isai 1.6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundnesse in it How great is the number of them that have sold themselves to worke wickednesse and never thinke of their redemption by Him who paid the ransome for us Quibus contra naturam corpus voluptati anima oneri fuit Salust whose bodies serve them for pleasure and their soules are as a burthen such a burthen as will bee greater than they can beare ready to sinke them to the pit of destruction Yet who doth repent of his wickednesse saying What have I done Every one turned to his course Ier. 8.6 as the horse rusheth into the battell Which of them doth search their heart by the light of the Word as with a candle and say as justly they may inverting these words of David Why art thou not cast down O my soule and why art thou not disquieted within mee Wherefore leaving them unto this examination let us reflect upon our selves and as the Circle Circulus fortitudinâ— atque capacitate caeteris figuris praecedit Clavius which doth returne upon it selfe is the strongest and most capacious figure and may bee resembled by the shape of a mans body Vmbilicum esse centrum c. Iul. Scal. So if wee doe returne unto our selves and search our owne hearts wee shall become more strong and capable of grace The opinion of Aristotle is to bee preferred before that of Plato The one held Visio fit recipiendo Arist Emittendo spiritum animalem Plato Keckerm that our sight was by receiving the image of the object into the eye The other by sending out those opticke rayes unto the object It will be our wisedome to keepe within our owne bounds and to looke into our selves rather than to exceed in curiosity to discover the blemishes of other men Like her whom they feigned to have used her sight onely when shee went abroad Lamia in vimineum cophinum oculos exemptiles inâ—iciâ—bat Erasmus but not when shee returned to her owne house Wee ought rather to look into our selves with David who seemeth here to strike his hand upon his breast saying Why art thou full of heavinesse O my soule God onely knoweth the hearts of all the children of men but by this private search 2. Chron. 6.38 1. King 8.38 every man may know the sore and the griefe and the plague of his owne heart and may find that his foule is cast downe when it is surcharged with thorny cares which choke the good seed O curvae in terris animae coelestâ—um inanes Persius and maketh him to become unfruitfull Can that souldier fight the good fight of faith who intangleth himselfe with the things of this life Habak 2.6 Woe to him that ladeth himselfe with thicke clay Such a man may in vaine beate the ayre but hee cannot runne with patience unto the race that is set before him Heb 12.1 unlesse hee doth cast aside every weight that may hinder him therein At the time of death wee see how dangerous and offensive it is by clamour to interrupt the soule in its departure from the body O that wee could as heedfully practise this during our whole life 1. Cor. 15.31 Every good man with Saint Paul doth dye daily being at all times ready to yeeld up his spirit How prudent should wee bee to avoyd all meanes of disturbance that our soule may not bee vexed and disquieted within us as it is oftentimes through distrust and infidelity when there is an inward combat betweene the flesh and the spirit the one lusting against the other Gal. 5.17 and being contrary the one to the other Gen. 25.22 like Iacob and Esau strugling in the wombe Whereas if Christ did dwell in our hearts by faith Ephes 3.17 wee should overcome the world and bee delivered from this vexation
for his iniquity and like a good shepheard with his rod doth bring home this straying sheepe hee thinkes that he is forgotten and cast out of Gods fight Of our selves wee are not able to discerne Gods fatherly chastisements and the trials of our faith from the punishment of our rebellion yea wee thinke that wee doe him good service when wee provoke him to wrath Being punished for our sinnes wee are ignorant of the cause of his anger unlesse hee shall tell us the cause why many are sicke and weake and many sleepe For the heart of man is deceitfull above all things and desperately wicked who can know it Being thus ignorant wee ought to inquire of the Lord and to pray that hee would shew us the cause why his anger is kindled against us and his hand is heavie upon us As David here out of a desire to be informed saith Why hast thou forgotten me It seemed strange unto him that God should forget to be gracious and that his mercy should be cleane gone for evermore considering how graciously hee dealt with his people the Israelites When they dealt proudly Nehem 9. Verse 16. and refused to obey thou wert a God ready to pardon and forsookest them not yea when they made them a molten calfe 17. 18. yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not When they cast thy law behinde their backs 19. and slew thy Prophets and wrought great provocations yet in their trouble 26. when they cryed thou heardest from heaven gavest them Saviours 27. When they had rest they did evill againe 28. yet many times didst thou deliver them and wouldest not utterly consume them Then why hast thou forgotten me O my God Through the intercession of Christ we shal for ever enjoy the favour and presence of the Almighty If God sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when hee remembred Abraham Gen. 19.29 who prayed for Sodom then we may be assured that God will not forget us having Christ Iesus to be our Mediator VERSE IX Why goe I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy HAd this man of God spoken no more than he did before that he was forgotten of his Creator we might have conceived his estate to bee very disconsolate But now after the setting of the sunne to have such horrid darknesse succeed After he seemed to be forsaken of God to be thus vexed by the adversary must needs aggravate his sorrow when hee went from one place to another not finding ease or comfort first to the wildernesse then to the ascent of Mount Olivet after that he passed over Iordan not having his head adorned with a diademe but covered with sack-cloth making every place where he came to be like Bochim Iudg. 2.5 a place of weepers While he was unjustly oppressed by one who was an enemy unto God and to David and to himselfe who as Iudas sought to shed the bloud of Christ who had formerly washed his feet So Absalom sought the destruction of his father who before had washed the guilt of blood from him with teares of compassion weeping sore for the evill done by him remitting his great offence he received him into his bosome Yet this untamed heifer lift up his heele against him This is the enemy that hath persecuted his soule Psal 143.3 that hath smitten his life downe to the ground that made him to dwell in darknesse as those that have beene long dead Had God dealt with him as he did with Saul 1. Sam. 15.28 to have rent the kingdome from him and to have given it to another better than himselfe he might have endured it with the more patience Let the righteous smite me Psal 141.5 it shall be a kindnesse But now that the son of pride should make this humble servant of God to mourne that the enemy to holinesse should thus afflict the child of Abraham 2. Chro. 20.7 Gods friend it must cause him to walke heavily and to be full of perplexity like the Hart which he mentioned in the beginning which is in daunger to be devoured unlesse it be refreshed by the water-brookes So he is even consumed by these troubles unlesse that God who maketh the lame man to leape as an Hart Isai 35.6 be pleased to renew his strength and to put an end to these calamities If we offend against God we shall be punished by them that are worse than our selves who shall be as his rod and his hammer for our correction We cannot thinke those to be vessells of mercy who were the instruments of his wrath against the Israelites that went mourning by reason of the oppression of the enemy imposing such heavy burthens upon them in their captivity It is our infirmity in time of any crosse to looke rather unto the hand of him that smote us than to the divine permission or our sinnes provoking No man could have power against us unlesse it were given from above Iohn 19 11. There is no evill of punishment which God hath not done our destruction proceeds from our selves And therefore David who was unwilling to mourne because of the cruell oppression of an insulting enemy might yet have prayed unto God to breake his heart and to give him true sorrow that he might lament for his owne sinnes whereby he had incensed Gods displeasure and by which as by the most tyrannicall enemy hee was oppressed and brought into bondage when lust and corruption did set up their throne in the heart of him who was advanced to the kingdome And were more unsatiable in their exactions than ever the task-masters of Egypt were against the distressed Israelites Deut. 4.20 And his worke was more servile than theirs in the iron fornace when his soule did burne in lust and though hee were a King 2. Sam. 23.39 yet he betrayed the life of his faithfull subject 1 Sam. 18.14 yea of one of his Worthyes altogether unworthy of such an untimely end And that he might make him sure As Ioab thrust three darts through the heart of Absalom So he seekes to kill Uriah thrice First to rend him asunder as Samson did the Lion Iudg. 14.6 when he tooke away his wife from him He put him to a second death when he made him drunke 2 Sam. 11.13 And surely drunkennesse may well be called the second death as being the next way thereunto And thirdly he caused him to be slaine by the enemy Now this was a fit time for him to have cried out Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy when Satan as afterward in the numbring of the people stood up against David 1. Chro. 21.1 and overthrew him What greater sorrow than for sinne What more dreadfull enemy than Satan What oppression comparable unto that which is undergone by the vassals of Satan whose condition is worse than that of the Gibeonites Iosh 9.23 who were bondmen