times Father if it be thy will let this Cup pass from me and from these disconsolate Words which his inward Sorrow and Anguish extorted while he hanged upon the Cross My God my God why hast thou forsaken me The Sufferings of Jesus cannot be reckoned up no Man can describe no Tongue can express all the Particulars of his bitter Agony and bloody Passion and cruel Death The Words of the Prophet are applicable to him and as they were spoken prophetically of him so in him only they were fully accomplished Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger From above he hath sent fire into my bones and it prevaileth against them he hath spread a net for my feet he hath turned my back he hath made me desolate and faint all the day Who then that beheld this could Or who that hears and lays it to heart can refrain from weeping Tears indeed are due to the Memory of Christ's Death and Passion But yet our Lamentation and Weeping must not be as that in Rama spoken of by the Prophet Like Rachel weeping for her children who would not be comforted because they are not We may and should weep at the Remembrance of what Christ suffered but our Sorrow should not run to an Excess meerly on his Account Wherefore you see that our Lord turned about and checked the excessive Sorrowfulness of these Women saying Daughters of Ierusalem weep not for me which was the Second thing I promised to speak to This is not a total Prohibition of weeping for Christ the Negative Particle Not is not always to be taken so peremptorily for frequently it imports only Rather or not so much as when it is said I will have mercy and not sacrifice the Meaning is Mercy rather than Sacrifice or not so much Sacrifice as Mercy So here weep not for me but for your selves is only as much as to say weep for your selves rather than for me or not so much for me as for your selves Thus all Weeping is not forbidden And as I have shewn it to be very just proper and suitable so we find it made both a necessary and an acceptable Duty Zach. xii 10. And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Ierusalem the spirit of Grace and of Supplications and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only Son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first born However we should so bewail his Death as to keep within a certain Measure Not as those good Women in the Text who apprehended that all their Hope and all their Comfort would have perished in his Death The Death of Christ is not to be lamented like the Tragical end of Pompey Caesar and other Heroes of the World whether Ancient or Modern whose Deaths were sad and convincing Instances of the Changeableness of Fortune of the Vanity of the World and of the Uncertainty of humane Affairs When they died their vast Designs and Projects were defeated and the Expectation of their Friends frustrated in that very Day all their Thoughts perished they instantly ceased to be either the Hope of their Friends or the Dread and Terrour of their Enemies and left nothing behind them save a faint Memory and uncertain Conjectures But the Death of Jesus Christ is quite another thing As our Lord still liveth so he reigneth and it was by his Death that he advanced and secured his Kingdom His Death was glorious and the Issue of it was eternal Praise to God and himself and everlasting Advantage to all the World Never any Triumph was so illustrious as the Death of Christ The greatest triumph in the World was only over Beasts and weak Men and set forth with the Spoils of earthly Kingdoms But Jesus at his Death triumphed over Devils he conquered Hell and the Grave made Spoils of Principalities and all the Powers of Darkness By his Death he quenched the Fire of God's Wrath blunted the Edge of the Law weakned the Strength of Sin loosned the Bands of the Grave ransomed Sinners and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to Penitents and Believers His Death gave Life to the World and renewed Nature so that the Face of things is altered ever since Thus as upon one Account there is Reason to lament the Death of Jesus Christ so upon another there is no less Reason to rejoice for by it God is glorified Jesus exalted and Mankind saved But when we leave off to mourn for Christ we should continue to mourn for our selves So you see here that our Lord biddeth the Women moderate their Grief upon his Account but still requireth it for themselves which was the third thing proposed Weep not for me but for your selves And very good Reason alas There is more than sufficient Cause for this Mourning For tho' Jesus Christ has merited Salvation for us yet our natural Wretchedness our Original and Actual Guilt is no less than it was both which are deplorable and neither of them can ever be enough lamented And if we are not sensible of the heinous Nature of these let us look upon the persecuted reviled mocked buffetted scourged and crucified Jesus let us call to mind his bitter Death and Sufferings and these will instruct us For all these things befell him for our sake and upon our Account The Jews who crucified him and put him to so vile and shameful a Death were only the Instruments But otherwise every one of us as well as they were the Cause and Occasion of all that evil which befell him They are to be considered only as the common Executioner who executeth the Law and the Will of the Judge and consequently our Rage and Indignation should not be against them but against the Crimes which caused and required so heavy a Punishment Now they were not his own Crimes for which he suffered for he knew no Sin neither was Guile found in his Mouth he was a Lamb without Spot and Blemish But he was made Sin for us Surely as the Prophet speaks he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him and he received stripes that we might be healed Let us not go about to clear our selves of all Accession to the Death of this good and righteous Person because we are come to the World so long after it fell out and are not of the Race of those who laid wicked and violent hands on him For though Jesus died but once yet he did bear the Sins of all and was charged with the Sins of all that went before or shall come after From the time that he
affront and do violence to his Priesthood They who dispute the Justice Reasonableness and Necessity of his Laws they who refuse to walk by them and who resist the Motions of his Spirit even they do violence to him as King All of this Spirit and Temper would have concurred with the Iews in crucifying him they are Enemies to our Lord and as the Apostle saith crucifie him afresh and put him to open shame And who do thus crucifie him their Sin is rather more grievous and more provoking than that of the Iews before For St. Peter saith that through ignorance they did it And St. Paul that if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of life and glory But now he has appeared with such Light and Evidence that he cannot but be made known to all who have Eyes to see or Hearts to understand or a desire to be informed And therefore great is the guilt now of crucifying him and putting him again to shame He that despised Moses Law died without mercy under two or three witnesses Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace Heb. x. 28. What then shall we think of these Nations and of our selves who are Chargeable with this very great Sin What cause of Mourning and what cause of Fear have we upon this very account I may say where has there been more clear and more frequent Instruction And where has it been less observed What contempt of God and Religion What open Profanity and avowed breach of the Laws of God have been among us How often and how horridly has the Sacred Name of God been Blasphemed both Publickly and Privately How little regard has been shewed to Jesus Christ or to any thing he did or suffered for us To what purpose has his Blood and Wounds his Agony and Passion been declared and set forth to us Whose hearts have they touched How few have been prevailed upon by these to forsake Sin but on the contrary even in spite of them they go on and continue in it And all the use which some make of them is to take occasion from them to forge New and Different Oaths for setting off their Prophane and Idle Discourse Have not some run up to that height of Impiety as not only in common Conversation to mock the Doctrine and Institutions of Jesus Christ to droll upon his Person and Actions but also deliberately in Writing to publish Blasphemies that could not be tolerated amongst Mahumetans How many Scandalous Pamphlets have been written of late which either by plain Assertions or clear Innuendo's divest him of his Godhead spoil him of the Merits of his Death represent him as an Impostor and all the System of his Gospel as a Cheat tho' the whole contrivance is not only highly worthy of God but doth as fully and as evidently set forth his infinite Wisdom and Power as the Universal Frame of this Material World But tho' all have not been so grosly wicked yet all Ranks and Orders of Men Rulers Pastors and People have one way or other less or more been guilty of grieving the Holy Spirit of God and the Righteous Spirit of Jesus Christ And therefore we have reason to fear that his Anger will break forth and fall down in some heavy Judgment upon these Nations as it happened to the Iews I do not pretend to any peculiar Privacy into the Secret Councils of God nor to be acquainted with his Purposes towards the publick state of these Kingdoms wherefore I shall not denounce any particular Judgments in the Name of God having no special Warrant for it but I must say that if his Word and the Methods of his Providence be a Rule if we may take any measures of Conjecture either from his Nature or his Threatnings or the Example of others there is too much reason to look for some grievous Calamities to these Lands unless a speedy and Universal Repentance prevent it We are not the safer that we are secure Nay our Security is a sign that our Ruin and Calamity are not far off At this time when our Lord gave this Warning the Iews were very secure they thought of nothing less than the utter destruction of their Nation and State When God has been provoked to determine the Ruin of a People he useth to possess them first with a Drowsiness and to cast them into a Slumber that they may be incapable to prevent it Make the heart of this people fat make their ears heavy and shut their eyes least they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert and be healed said the Lord to Isaiah Isa. vi 10. God hath been of a long time punishing Nations and Kingdoms about us but the voice of the Rod upon others hath not awakened us for all this we have slept on in our Sins Wherefore he hath drawn a little nearer and he hath laid his Judgments at our own Door he hath shaken the Foundation of our State and with that shake tumbled many Persons from their Honours their Preferments their places of Ease Comfort and Subsistence and yet still there is little or no awakening As with Men who are suddenly interrupted in their rest and whose Sleep is hastily broken there is so much sense as to fret repine and complain of Uneasiness and to be angry with those who disturb us But there is no awakening to true Repentance no Rouzing up to Provide for our Safety and to prevent the Danger threatned He that mocked God and laughed at Religion before doth so still He that uttered Oaths and Blasphemies continues to do so the Drunkard continues his Drinking he that was Filthy Unjust or Unholy is so still every one continues his former wicked course and few break off their Sins by Righteousness or their Iniquities by shewing mercy to the Poor Surely it is meet to say unto God I have born Chastisement I will not offend any more that which I see not teach thou me If I have done iniquity I will do no more But who saith this Alas there be Few to stand in the gap to deprecate God's Wrath but too too many who by their hardness and impenitent heart treasure up to themselves and to the Nations Wrath even in this day of Wrath. If I had time I could draw a Parallel betwixt our selves and the Iews our Temper and Behaviour and theirs before all those Evils came upon them But God forbid that our End be as theirs or as some other Churches of the East who as they followed them in their Sins so they were Partakers of their Judgments But whatever be the Publick Fate of these Nations and tho' all may escape Temporal Judgments in this Life yet how do Impenitent and
Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the father And for this Cause let us not with some rebellious Spirits quarrel at this Divine Oeconomy let us not dispute the Reasonableness of his eternal Purposes nor abdicate him to whom God has given sovereign Power let us not speak against his Person Merits or the Acts of his supreme Authority But as Interest and Duty oblige us let us be subject unto him let us love fear worship and obey him This is the way to work out your Salvation and if you follow this Method God will work in you to will and to do of his good Pleasure Now our Lord Iesus Christ himself and God even our Father which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting Consolation and good Hope through Grace comfort your hearts and stablish you in every good Word and Work Amen SERMON V. Preach'd at EDINBURGH ON GOOD-FRIDAY March 25. 1692. LUKE XXIII 27 28 29 30 31. And there followed him a great company of people and of women which also bewailed and lamented him But Iesus turning unto them said Daughters of Ierusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your children For behold the days are coming in the which they shall say Blessed are the barren and the wombs which never bare and the paps which never gave suck Then shall they begin to say to the mountains fall on us and to the hills cover us For if they do these things in a green tree what shall be done in the dry THERE is in many too great an Inclination after such Shews and Sights and such kind of Conversation as may divert them with Mirth and Laughter Whereas the Contemplation of that which doth affect the Heart with Grief and Sadness is more profitable For saith the Wise Man it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting Sorrow is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better And from hence he observes That the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth The Spirit of Fools is Light and Frothy and only fond of Airy things whence it is that they are in love with the House of Feasting where ordinarily there is more Noise than good Sence more of foolish Jesting and ridiculous Mirth than of solid Instruction But the Wise preferr the House of Mourning because it adds to their Wisdom rendring them serious and giving them a right sense both of themselves and other things Now to make us thus Wise the Reasonable Custom of the Ancient Church appointed this Season to be a time of Mourning and Sorrowing and the Practice of the Catholick Church at present proposeth to our Consideration this Day that which may and will if any thing can affect our Hearts and move the Passions of Sorrow and Grief for that Soul must certainly be stupid and senseless and incapable of Grief who doth not shew it upon the representation of the Cross of Christ his sad Death and Sufferings of which this Day is the Anniversary It is indeed long since this was done but yet it is never to be forgotten The Death and Sufferings of Jesus should carefully be kept in Memory for tho' these things happen'd many Ages ago yet we shall find that we our selves were Accessory to them and therefore if not upon Jesus's account yet at least upon our own we ought to lament and bewail his Death and Passion that the shedding of innocent Blood may be remitted and not charged upon us Some can look upon the Calamities and Disasters of others and never be concern'd they are only mov'd when Trouble and Misery draw near themselves Now even Persons of this temper may see it their Interest to mourn on this occasion for sad and heavy Judgments are ready to fall down upon those who are guilty of the Blood of Jesus and who do not repent of it So that if there be any who have such hard Hearts that they cannot be affected with the Cross and Sufferings of Jesus Christ if his Shame and Sorrow and Pangs will not pierce them yet sure they must not only be hard but lifeless without all sense and feeling if they be Proof against their own Doom and unmov'd at the sight of their own Calamities who will not commiserate the Sufferings of the Holy and Innocent Jesus may yet take Compassion on themselves if we will not shed Tears for his Sake Let us do it for our own as he advis'd the Women who follow'd him to the place of his Crucifixion Daughters of Ierusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your Children The Cross of Christ has too large Dimensions to be commensurated all at once his Sufferings were so many and so great that we cannot take them up at one view nor is it possible to Discourse in one Hour the History of our Lord's Passion wherefore I have fix'd on one particular Passage for our present Meditation which hath this Advantage that it contains Instructions how to moderate our Grief and Passions on this occasion For the more profitable handling of this Passage and to make it work the better upon our Affections these particulars are to be observ'd First The Womens Behaviour and the Reason or occasion of it Secondly Our Lord's Check to their Grief upon his Account And Thirdly His requiring it and making it necessary for themselves and for their Children As to the First It is said of the Women that they bewailed and lamented him And it doth not appear that any other did so or if any besides them were affected with Grief they either conceal'd it or made no such Publick and Remarkable Expressions of it The City was full of People at this time because of the approaching Feast and as is usual on such occasions a very great Multitude followed our Saviour to the place of Execution some out of Curiosity merely to see what was done others to glutt and satisfie their Malice and Revenge But only these Women went out of Compassion His Disciples had forsaken him Nicodemus and other Persons of Quality who believed in Jesus absconded themselves at this time they dissembled their Sentiments and would not appear for him being over-aw'd by the fear of the Priests and Scribes and the giddy furious Multitude who were now gathered into Tumultuary Mobbs demanding him to be Crucified and who in this their Rage were ready to fall upon any that seemed to oppose it as Enemies to the Publick Good of the Nation None offer'd to Plead for him nor did there remain any to commiserate him save these Women in the Text who by their Weeping and Lamentation did Remonstrate against the Madness of the People and the Injustice of the Scribes Pharisees and Priests None of the Circumstances of either our Lord's Birth or Death are accidental but were ordained before-hand by the Infinite Wisdom
their Hearts were swelled up with Grief their Souls were inwardly pierced with excessive Sorrow which abundantly appeared by all the ways by which People use to express their sorrowful Thoughts and sad Apprehensions smiting their Breasts and rending their Garments which the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth howling and mourning with the Voice which is the signification of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now it will be worth the while and very proper for the Day to consider what it was that moved them to all this Indeed the Hearts of Women by Nature are soft and tender and their Passions are sooner and more easily moved than those of Men but if we view the Object of their Grief we will not think it strange that these Women did thus bewail and lament it will be much more strange if we can restrain our Passions and refrain from weeping at the account of it and yet all know that the sight of a thing toucheth more sensibly than the hearing of it doth These Women had seen all which our Lord had hitherto suffered at the hands of wicked and sinful Men and had lively Apprehensions of what he was yet to suffer for the Death he was going to was known and ordinary but known only to be a vile shameful and most painful Death as upon other accounts so upon this that it was not a speedy but a lingering Death If they themselves were not Witnesses yet they well enough understood how he was seiz'd in the Garden as a Thief when he was most serious in Devotion and Prayer and dragged from thence to the High-Priest's Palace which ought to have been a Refuge to Innocence and a Safeguard against Indiscretions and an Unmerciful Threatment But alas even there they saw him unjustly used and most indiscreetly Handled falsely Accused illegally convicted of Blasphemy and other Crimes and all the rules of Discretion Civility and Good Manners broken in treating him He was Spit upon and Buffetted Blindfolded and smitten on the Cheek with a Prophesie who it was that smote thee By the break of Day he was hurried away to Pilate from him to Herod and back again to Pilate every one making their Sport of him After some Mock-Formalities of Law and Justice these Women saw him delivered to the Roman Soldiers a sort of Men who took Pleasure in Blood and Cruelty and then they beheld him dressed like a Fool with a Crown of Thorns a Purple Robe and a Reed instead of a Scepter because he was said to be the King of the Iews They saw him strip'd of these Ornaments of mocked Majesty and unmercifully Whipt and Scourged by the same Soldiers with Cords till Furrows were made in his Back and the Blood ran down his innocent Body And when all this would not satisfie the Malice of his Enemies they saw him given in exchange for a Villain and Notorious Robber and against all Law and Reason meerly upon the importunity of an unreasonable Multitude condemned to a Violent and Cruel Death and contrary to all Equity denied any respite or breathing time but instantly forced away to the place of Execution and made to bear that Cross on which he was to hang and pine away his Life in Pain and Torment Represent all this to your selves and consider if it be not sad and doleful who would not shed Tears at such a Sight May not this force Tears either from Man or Woman Suppose Jesus had been as bad and criminal as his Enemies would have made him yet such cruel and unmerciful Usage called for Compassion Quod non homini detur humanitati Even when it is necessary to satisfie the Law and to execute Justice Pity should be shewn to the Offender But if Pity and Compassion be due to Calamity and Misery even when there is guilt to deserve it what should be shewn when there is no Guilt at all If it should touch our hearts to see any of our Fellow-Creatures suffer though it be no more than the just Punishment of their Sins how should we be affected How should our Passions be stirred when unspotted Innocence and Vertue suffer These good Women knew that Jesus had no Crime they saw his very Enemies could not fix any upon him and that they were baffled when they undertook to prove any against him Nay he was not only innocent but also perfectly righteous he not only was guilty of no Ill but also he was one who went up and down doing good and had done many great and good and wonderful Works The Malice of his Enemies was not occasioned by any Fault of his but only by the Truth and Purity and Powerfulness of his Doctrine and by the Holiness and Integrity of his Life both which reproved their Errors their false Teaching their Hypocrisie and their Covetousness Add to all this his Quality which was the greatest in the World For tho' these Women were not yet instructed fully about his eternal Generation nor yet perhaps believed him to be the true Son of God equal with the Father as the Catholick Church doth teach and hath always taught and which must be believed if the Scriptures be true and genuine yet they believed him a Prophet and knew him to be a good Man mighty in Word and Deed they were perswaded that he was the Messiah and trusted that it was he who should have redeemed Israel Judge I pray you then what cause of Grief was here The greatest Dignity trampled upon and affronted The greatest Innocence condemned The greatest Righteousness punished The greatest Meekness reviled The greatest Charity and Beneficence persecuted The Man who preached the Word of God with Authority who shewed them the true way to Life who comforted them in their Affliction who cured their Diseases who restored their Children and Friends to Life who fed them with Miracles and from whom they expected the Salvation promised by all the Prophets to see this Man mocked scourged and put to Death before their Eyes Lord what matter of Grief was this What Occasion for Weeping Mourning and great Lamentation But though all this was more than sufficient to afflict and grieve the minds of these Women yet there was something more than all this which Jesus suffered which they knew not he suffered in his Soul and Spirit by the immediate Hand of God which none was sensible of save himself Inward Trouble and Disturbance of the Soul is much more sad and weighty than Pains and Torments in the Body The spirit of a man may sustain his Infirmity but a wounded spirit who can bear Jesus was at this time drinking the Cup of his Father's Wrath and Displeasure against Sin and the Sin not of one or two but of all Mankind What it was that he suffered in his Soul on this Account we do not know but that he did suffer in that part is certain and that he suffered heavily appears from his sweating Blood in the Garden in a cold Night from his praying three
was set apart to be the Sacrifice for Sin he bears the Iniquity of Men and that is from the beginning wherefore he is called the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World that is appointed to be slain And therefore our sins come in among the rest and consequently we have all Reason to deplore his Death and to bewail our own Wretchedness and Sin which was in part the Cause of it O ye Children of Men ye of the sinful Race of Adam come and behold the wretched and deplorable State of your Nature look upon the Cross and let thine Eyes see Jesus bleeding and dying on it and then consider that Blood was shed to wash away thy natural Filthiness and his Life taken to redeem thee from Death O how unreasonable How insolent a thing is Pride in Man Art thou Proud who hast an evil Disease cleaving to thee and inherent to all thy race which cannot be cleansed but by the precious Blood of the Eternal Son of God Art thou vain who art born such a slave that nothing could have ransomed thee except the Death and Sufferings of the Lord of Life and Glory Pride Arrogance and Boasting are no wise suitable to Persons of our Condition but Mourning and Weeping are very proper especially considering the guilt we have contracted since our coming to the World the heinousness of which the Cross of Christ will also shew us for that heavy Cross was laid on him to take away the guilt of those Sins which we daily commit The Son of God was humbled and Crowned with Thorns to make atonement for our Pride and Ambition he was stript naked because of our Covetousness he was unmercifully treated that he might bear the Punishment of our Revenge and Cruelty towards our Brethren The inward agony of his Soul was occasioned by our wanton Mirth and Lasciviousness and that he might be a Propitiation for our Excess and Riot there was nothing left him but Vinegar and Gall to drink His Bowels his Hands and Feet were pierced upon the account of our Oaths and Blasphemies In a word he was mocked had no pity shewed him was Scourged and put to Death contrary to Law Justice and Equity because we are false and treacherous and have no respect to the Commands of God Ye Fools who make a mock of Sin and who think it but a Sport to commit Iniquity come hither be instructed and learn to be Wise. Is the Shame and the Pain Is the Agony and Grief Is the Death and are the unspeakable Sufferings of Jesus the Son of God only a Sport Are these things only matter of Laughter Has any the Impudence either to say it or to think it No sure But then if these be bitter Sport what shall we think of our Sins which produce it for the Sufferings of our Lord are only the Effects of our Sins Doth it not trouble every honest and thinking Man when he is so unfortunate as to be the occasion of any Evil and Mischief to another Casual Murther or Manslaughter by an accidental Rencounter the throwing of a Stone the shooting of a Bow or Gun or the like do not infer guilt the Actors are innocent when they have no design of that Nature in their head and yet no Man who hath not lost Humanity but will be affected when any such Misfortune falls in his hands and his Grief will be so much the greater as the Person whose Death is occasioned is worthy and deserving What cause of Grief then have we who not accidentally but wittingly and willingly by our deliberate Sins and Transgressions have drawn Death on the Innocent and Righteous Jesus and that too the worst of Deaths the most shameful the most painful and the most bitter Death of the Cross Have we not reason to weep for our selves Can we ever bewail enough either our misfortune or wretchedness by Nature or our guilt through our actual Transgressions Certainly we should lament our condition on all occasions should set apart times for it and especially at occasions of this Nature when our guilt and the sad Effects of it is represented to us we should mourn and weep This is the only way to clear our selves to lessen our guilt and to keep innocent Blood from being charged upon us Blessed are they that thus mourn for they shall be comforted They who sow in tears shall reap in joy Jesus shall bear the Iniquities of those who regret his Death and their own guilt which caused it and made it necessary his Blood shall wash away their guilt and his Death shall prevent their Eternal Death for he who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God through him 2 Cor. v. But as the Death and Sufferings of Jesus Christ procureth Mercy to the humble and Penitent so his Blood calleth for vengeance upon the hardned and impenitent Which leadeth me to the last thing in the Text for upon this account he added and weep for your Children for behold the days are coming c. by this intimating that the Imprecations of the People were ready to light upon them for as they cried out and wished his blood be upon us and our Children so to revenge it sore and heavy Calamities were impending over the City and the whole Nation Jesus spoke not these words from any Spirit of desire of Revenge nor out of any complacency at those sad Evils which were to befall them for the Injuries done to himself It is a fault which too many are guilty of when they think themselves wronged and cannot at present either revenge or remedy it they delight and please themselves with the thoughts of God's revenging their quarrel But Jesus was far from this temper for we find in the 19th of this Gospel That when he beheld the City he wept over it out of Compassion of those Evils which he saw would come upon it And they who have the same Mind in them which was in him will neither desire the destruction of their Enemies nor rejoice at it but will both pray against it and fear and tremble when they see it unavoidable But our Lord uttered these words to testifie his Divinity and Godhead and his Love and good Will even to those sinful Men his Divinity in that he knew what was to come for none knoweth future things but God alone his Love and good Will in that he forewarned them of their Danger that being forewarned they might if possible either prevent it or obtain a delay and suspension of it When he bids them weep for their Children he doth not mean the Children of these Women only or particularly but the whole Generation of the Iews for he speaks to those Women in the Name of the whole Inhabitants of Ierusalem or rather of all the People of Iudaea therefore they are called Daughters of Ierusalem which is as much as to say Israelites for Ierusalem was the Chief or Mother-city and to
fighting the good fight and endeavouring to do all things commanded us through Christ that strengtheneth us More Reasons might be given but these are sufficient not only to clear the Divine Wisdom and Goodness of all Imputation but also to make them appear eminently in such Dispensations towards his best and most beloved Servants When I first entred on this Discourse I intended to have taken in the two following Verses not thinking that this one would have furnished matter enough for a Discourse but you see how far the handling of it hath carried us and how without digressing from the Purpose of the Text or doing Violence to the Words thereof several material and important Observations have been drawn From which we may see as St. Chrysostom observes the fullness of the Scripture and that an inexhaustible Treasure of Wisdom and Knowledge is contained in it when one single Verse and so barren at the first Appearance can afford so many and so useful Instructions If one Verse can do such what may the whole do Surely It is able to make us wise unto Salvation and beyond all Question is profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works God grant that this Word of his may dwell in all Christians richly in all Wisdom but especially in the Ministers of the Gospel whose Office it is to instruct others therein Amen FINIS Snake in the Grass A General Call to all Persons Joh. 5. 40. Isai. 55. 1. Rev. 22. 17. Why all Men are said to Labour and to be heavy Laden I. Because of Afflictions II. The Emptiness and Vanity of Life Ezek. 24. 〈◊〉 2. Isa. 29. 8. Eccl. 1. 5. 9. 2. 17. 4. 2 3. III. The fear of Death IV. Sin Psal. 38. 2. Prov. 18. 14. How Christ giveth rest I. From Sin Matt. 9. II. From the fear of Death Rev. 3. 7. III. Under the Vanity of this Life IV. From Troubles and Afflictions The necessary Qualification to the rest Promised I. Coming to Christ is 1st To follow his Counsel 2d To believe in him Heb. 11. 6. 2 Cor. 4. 3. Heb. 3. 12. 3d. What Faith is 1 John 5. 9. Chap. 2. 22 23. II. Taking the Yoke Gal. 5. 1. Gal. 5. 13. 1 Pet. 2. 16. III. Learning of Christ. John 13. 15. Phil. 2. I. The Scope and Coherence of the Text. II. The Truths contain'd in the Text. III. The perverse disingenuity of the Socinians in their Explication of this Text. 2 Pet. 2. 1. Hydra Socinianismi Tom. 2. Praef. * Naked Gospel IV. Of Iesus Christ his Pre-existence and Deity V. Of his humane Nature and Humiliation VI. Inferences from the Nature and Quality of Iesus Christ. 1st Admiration 2d Love III. Comfort against Tentations and Afflictions I. Of Iesus Christ his Person Nature and Quality Gal. 4. 4. Isa. 7. 14. 9. 6. II. His Actions and Sufferings They were voluntary Joh. 10. 17 18. What his Humiliation referrs to His great Obedience His Death III. Why Iesus abased and humbled himself For the Glory of God and Man's Redemption To demonstrate God's Love and Mercy His Iustice and Authority The heinous Nature of Sin The Dignity of Humane Nature The Perfection of it The Exaltation of Iesus Christ. Eccles. 7. 2 3 4. I. The Womens Behaviour A Comfort to Women An Example in dangerous times The Greatness of the Womens Sorrow The Cause of it Lam. 1. 12. II. Our Lord's Check to the Womens Sorrow The Prohibition not absolute The glorious Effects of Christ's Death III. Why Iesus Christ requireth us to mourn rather for our selves than him Is. 5. 3 4 5. IV. The dreadful Effects of the death of Iesus Christ upon the Impenitent Iesus may be Crucified again V. The Application I. The Author of our Happiness God Jam. 1. 16 17. God and the Father * Qui 〈◊〉 udam Dei Majestatem extra Christum mente concipiunt Idolum habent Dei loco sicut Iudaei Turcae proinde quisquis verum Deum verè cognoscere cupit hoc patris Christi titulo ipsum vestiat nisi enim quoties mens nostrae Deum quaerit Christus occurrat vaga confusa errabit donec prorsus deficiat Calvinus in locum II. The Motive which induced God His abundant Mercy * Posset Apostolus saith Fulgentius vasa misericordiae potius vasa justitiae nuncupare Sed si vasa justitiae vocarentur forsitan ex seipsis habere justitiam putarent Nunc autem cum vasa misericordiae dicit proculdubio quid ipsi fuerint non tacuit quare quid eis à Deo collatum sit evidenter ostendit Lib. de Praedest p. 58. III. The Benefits conferred Begotten again A lively Hope An Inheritance Incorruptible Undefiled It fadeth not away In the Heavens IV. The ground of Assurance Iesus his Resurrection I. Iesus Christ is the Son of God Philip. 2. 9. 10 11. II. What is meant by Having the Son True Faith described Matth. 7. 22. Cor. 10. 5. Gal. 2. 20. Heb. 11. Rom. 10. 17. 2 Cor. 4. 3. III. Life explained 1 Tim. 4. 8. 1 Cor. 15. 19. Why Heaven and the future State of the righteous is called Life 1. Cor. 15. 31. Mad. Antonia Borignian and some others 1 Cor. 2. 9. Revel 21. 23. 22. 5. Rev. 7. 16. 1 Cor. 15. Philip 3. 21. 1 Cor. 13. 12. Luke 19. 36. Iesus Christ the Discoverer of this Life 2 Tim. 1. 10. John 1. 7. And the Author of it Rev. 3. 7. Rev. 2. 10. IV. Faith gives a right and title to Life Joh. 5. 24. 3. 18. Joh. 6. 56. John 17. V. Practical Inferences 1. 2. Heb. 12. 2. Rom. 8. 18. 3. Rev. 2. 10. 4. I. Misery and Trouble not peculiar to a state of Christianity Job 18. 20. Isai. 57. 20. II. They are Common to the state of Mankind in this World Eccl. 4. 23. III. Christians and Good men more liable to be miserable in this Life than others And the Reason why it is so Mat. 10. 37. Luke 14. 26 27. 2 Tim. 3. 12. 1 Thes. 3. 3. 1 Tim. 4. 8. Psal. 37. 16. IV. The Force of St. Paul's Argument for the Proof of another Life V. Inferences First Second Third 1 Cor. 4. 16. Rev. 7. 16 17. Fourth Joh. 3. 36. I. All Christians are concerned in this Advertisement II. Of Hearing It s Necessity The manner of doing it Whom we should hear III. Of Overcoming Christianity is a Warfare The Nature of the Christian Warfare What Christian Victory is No Victory so honourable Prov. 16. 32. IV. Of the hidden Manna It is an Allusion to the Custom of entertaining Conquerours and to what the Iews fed upon in the Wilderness The Nature and Quality of the Entertainment appointed for Christian Conquerours Joh. 4. 13. Iesus Christ is the hidden Manna V. Of the white Stone Ovid Metam Lib. xv Psal. 32. 1. Rom. 8. 1. VI. Of the New Name VII How these words No man knoweth but he