he prayeth to God for them herein imitating his good and blessed Master Iesus Christ saying Lord impute not this sinne unto them As wee read Acts 7.60 If Moses in the precedent examples hath bin seene something too much desirous of revenge we may also reade that many times he hath forgiven those that had offended him yea and hath mediated and prayed to God for them least hee should have revenged them David having received innumerable offences and wrongs of Saul notwithstanding finding him wearie in the Cave having him in his bed at his discretion he forgave him all the injuries and harmes he had made him suffer saying only The Lord is a just Iudge that will avenge mee of mine enemies and will render unto me after the integrity of my heart The Apostles indeed suffered themselues to be carried away by this sweet desire and appetite of revenge when they would make fire fall from heaven upon that Towne that had offended them but it was because they were fraile and weake men like us when they fell into their faults and errours but they were soone rectified and raised up againe by the grace of the holy Ghost so that at length when any gave them injuries they rendered none againe they were whipped and stoned they were cast into prison and yet they blessed and prayed for them that did it and sought by all meanes to Preach the Gospell unto them and to shew them the way of salvation these second examples wee must follow that we may appeare to be the children of God Disciples of Christ and imitatours of his Apostles This noble and godly action of forgiving our enemies we must practise first if we desire that God shall acknowledge us for his children we must strive to be like him who is the fountaine of forgivenesse who is meekenesse and curtesie it selfe and nothing but mercie Secondly wee must pardon others if wee desire that God shall forgive us since that is conditionall which wee aske him Lord forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespasse against us Now if we doe not forgive men their trespasses no more will our heavenly Father forgive us Math. 6.15 For with the same measure that we mete it shall be also measured unto us againe And that which must the more oblige us to put off the infected and poysonsome coate of cruelty and revenge since it is an abomination to God which he hath prohibited us in so many places of Scripture as Proverb 20.22 Say not thou I will recompence evill but waite upon the Lord and hee shall save thee And Rom. 12.19 Dearely beloved avenge not your selues but give place unto wrath for it is written Vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord if then thy enemie be hungrie give him to eate if hee be thirstie give him drinke for in so doing thou shalt heape burning coales upon his head And Ecclus 28. The Lord will be avenged of him that revengeth himselfe and hee will keepe carefully his faults for him forgive thy neighbour his misdeedes and when thou shalt pray thy sinnes shall he forgiven thee Shall man keepe his wrath against man and aske to be cured by the Lord he will not take pitie of man like to himselfe and will aske pardon of his sinnes since he that is but flesh keepeth his wrath and asketh forgivenesse to God who shall obliterate and blot out his sinnes It is a common saying and proverb There is nothing so sweet as revenge but for my part I cannot perceive this sweetnesse unlesse it bee compared to a well scowred blade of a sword that pierceth and passeth through easily but at the same time taketh away our lives as the Bees that leave their sting where they strike and with it their life Animasque in vulnere ponunt so when we revenge our selues we leave the sting of our wrath in the wounds of our enemie but wee doe not consider so blinde are we that withall we thereby wound our soules to death Heliodorus tells us of one that said That death would be sweet and welcome to him if he knew that his enemie should also die and of another iealous woman that cryed out O how delightfull would death be to mee if I could fall dead upon the dead bodie of my rivall Plutarch saith very well That of all the wild beasts there is none so savage and cruell as a man that hath the liberty and power to execute his revenge But if wee consider it diligently we shall see that this impatience and not to be able to beare an injurie is a great infirmitie and weakenesse but as noble hearts and generous and magnanimous soules doe scorne and despise wrongs so doe they also forgive and forget all kindes of revenge Pericles of all the actions of his life esteemed this the most remarkable that hee had never revenged himselfe for any wrong done unto him And Phocion being put to death unjustly feeling the effects of that mortall Hemlock to bring him neare to the last period of his life recommended nothing so much to his sonne as this that he should forget the memorie of this offence and that he should never seeke to be revenged for it that in medling with it he would stay the gods from taking in hand the justice of his cause who would questionlesse revenge him of this offence Let us use the same Doctrine though comming from the prophane mouth of a Papan they are neverthelesse of infallible truth as a Diamond looseth nothing of his value though it be in the dirt let us then practise it and let us remember that whilest we desire to punish our enemies wee doe them a great favour and are reveng'd of our selues for the offence which they have done unto us which would deserue a farre more rigorous labour if wee left it to God but hee seeing that wee will neither referre it to his justice nor to his commaundements nor to his promises being unwilling to endure a companion in any of his works hee suffereth us to try our uttermost which is most commonly the cause of our ruine Let us then breake off this discourse which would never end if wee should punctually follow it and let us remember that revenge is our Masters owne dish which none can touch without incurring his indignation And let us imitating our heavenly Father forgive our enemies for if hee should take revenge of all the offences which wee at every moment commit against his sacred Majestie hee would then reduce us to that nothing from whence we came or would inflict upon us eternall paines and punishments since the least offence committed against an infinite goodnesse deserveth an infinite paine and torment Let us then follow Saint Lukes admonition Be mercifull as your heavenly Father is mercifull and presently after wee shall heare that blessed recompence which we shall receive for it to wit Blessed are the mercifull for they shall obtaine mercie Wee have already shewed how God recompenseth
and full of wounds and doth not give him bread to eat calleth him not into his house to warme him and that like the Samaritane powreth not oyle into his wounds what Adamantine heart is so hardned as not to open and cleave with griefe at the object of such pittifull spectacles and sights There be some that take the Etymologie of Misericordia Mercie from that it makes the hearts of men miserable by beholding the miserie of others and that with as much truth as reason for the truly mercifull feeleth in himselfe all the miseries of others which was it that drew so many teares out of Heraclitus his eyes being able to behold nothing on earth but what was lamentably miserable Saint Paul exhorteth us Rom. 12.15 to weepe with them that weepe and to be of like affection one towards another Good Iob in his complaints Chap. 30.25 said Did not I weepe with him that was in trouble was not my soule in heavinesse for the poore It is one of the most pious and generous actions of the soule to take upon her the afflictions of others and to ease them of them It is the sacrifice the most delightfull with which the Lord is pleased they are Ieremiahs ragges but they draw us from the Cave of sinne from the pit of iniquity it is the dry rock of the mountaine of Horeb from whence flowes aboundantly the wholesome waters of grace and blessing In a word it is a Iacobs ladder by the which the Angels of consolations and divine favours descend upon us by the which our faith our love and affection ascend up to Christ who stayeth for us on the top to say unto us Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you before the foundation of the world And will not therefore our hope to heare those sweet and gracious words oblige us to comfort and consolate the afflicted and with our meanâ—s to ease and refresh the poore and needie since those are actions so pleasing acceptable to God that S. August saith That charity towards the poore was a second Baptisme because that as the water of baptisme is a sacred signe unto us that the fire of originall sinne is ex inguished in our soules so pitie and compassion of the afflicted is an undoubted marke that God hath powred out the sacred waters of his grace and forgivenesse upon the burning coales of our transgressions to quench them Saint Chrysostome calles it the friend of God that obtaineth of him all she asketh shee setteth prisoners at liberty recalls the banished and implores and obtaines grace for the condemned the hand of the poore is the purse of God it is the Altar whereon wee leave our gifts to goe and reconcile our selues to our eldest brother Iesus Christ our Saviour whom the wickednesse of our sinnes did cruelly fixe and naile to the Crosse Having sufficiently considered the two first branches of mercie let us now behold the third branch of this divine plant which Saint Luke hath perfectly taught us saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Love your enemies and ye shall be the children of the most high Math. 5.44 Luk. 6.27 Luk. 3.24 for hee is kinde unto the unkinde and to the evill And indeed this part of mercie doth greatly beautifie and make glorious her body for her two sisters Pitie in giving and Compassion in condoling are actions which humanity cannot refuse to the lamentable cries of the languishing to the sad and sorrowfull objects of poore and miserable men but must move your hearts were they of steele and draw teares from your eyes though they were of marble But to forgive our enemies is to vanquish and overcome our selues it is a nearer approaching to the divine nature then to the humane All Histories are full of charitable actions of men towards their neighbours and without taking them out of Scripture the examples are thankes be to God usually to be seene but to forgive our enemies not to annoy them when it is in our power is to be enlightned by the sacred presence of the holy Ghost to be regenerated by his grace to bee fully possessed of mercy Moses that great servant of God who had beheld him face to face that had seene him practise this rare and excellent vertue towards the people of Israel falling into Idolatry Hee that had mediated for them speaking to God after this manner O Lord what will thy enemies say that thou hast brought thy people out of Egypt by a strong hand and stretched out arme to kill them in the wildernesse seeing that thou couldest not bring them into the land which thou diddest promise them and himselfe notwithstanding is carried away by this passion of revenge when hee made the earth open and swallow vp alive Core Dathan and Abiram with their families though it bee not mentioned that they had participated in the murmuring of their heads yea he did not spare Mary his owne sister whom he covered with leprosie Neither is it to the purpose to say that it was in Gods cause that hee used this revenge that is vallable in putting Nadab and Abihu to death because they had violated the divine ordinance God forbid that I should excuse their fault but I desire onely to shew that though Moses were so holy a man yet hee had some touch of humane weakenesse But in this circumstance what shall wee say of David a man after Gods owne heart that so often curseth his enemies that giveth charge to Salomon his sonne to revenge him of the injuries and curses which Shimhi had spoken against him as he fled from before Absalom What greater Prophet then Elijah neverthelesse because two of Achazias Captaines were gone to seeke him to take him and bring him to the King as hee had commanded them he made the fire fall downe from heaven which consumed them with their fifties And the Apostles themselues having not beene well received in a certaine place said to Christ Wilt thou that we make fire fall from heauen upon that Citie but Iesus diverted and hindered them Wee produce all these examples not to imitate but to shunne them and thereby to make it appeare that wee must not revenge our selues when wee can doe it but rather to doe good to our enemies when they have done us hurt is to make our selues perfect in this excellent vertue of Mercy It is to becom conformable to the Saviour and Redeemer of our soules who seeing and feeling the horrible cruelties of the Iewes against him hearing the blasphemies which they pronounced against his divine Majestie notwithstanding in stead of revenging himselfe he prayeth his Father and crieth out thus Father forgive them for they know not what they doe That which made Saint Stephens martirdome the more honourable is that in the middest of his torments among a fearefull shower of haile of stones cast against him hee desireth not God to punish his tormentours but rather being possessed with the spirit of mercie and meekenesse
honourable charge of deliverer Prince and lawgiver of his people The King and Prophet David had this vertue in great measure in him for which cause God changing his Sheepheards crooke into a Roy all Scepter gave him victory over a world of enemies that rose up continually against him which maketh him to cry out in one of his Psalmes Lord remember David and his mansuetude or clemencie In the booke of Leviticus God commandeth the Priests to offer him a Lambe without blemish for a peace offering a Lambe is the symbole of mildnesse then according to that command hee that will receive the peace-makers recompense from God must offer him his soule full of gentlenesse and mildnesse The Lambe in the Revelation of all living creatures was onely found worthy to open the booke sealed with seaven seales so among all men the faithfull onely and among the faithfull the meeke shall bee able to open the booke of life there to behold his name written before the foundation of the world The Bridegroome in the Canticles calleth thus his beloved Come my Dove that art in the clefts of the rocke thy eyes are like Doves eyes and thy checkes like Turtles my Dove is alone and perfect Now it is familiar and common enough that of all creatures Doves are the symbols of mildnesse and meekenesse for it is noted that they have no gall And here to apply these places to our designe let us know that the Bridegroome in this epithalamium or marriage song is Iesus Christ himselfe speaking to his Church setting her forth by her lively colours by the pensill of his love shewing us in this comparison of the Dove the perfections wherewith shee is adorned where if wee waigh and consider diligently the force of every word wee shall finde them all emphaticall and deseruing a more particular search and obseruation He saith first Veni Columba mea come my Dove hee doth not call her my Eagle or my Hawke for those are creatures too cruell loving nothing but blood and slaughter and their humour is incompatible with the Bridegroomes bounty who desireth that the Church his well beloved Spouse bee altogether like him and therefore he calleth her my Dove as having no gall nor bitternesse in her soule When that sweet IESVS was baptized by Iohn in Iordane the three divine persons of the glorious Trinity were clearely manifested for the majestuous voyce of the Father was heard speaking from heaven thus This is my well beloved Sonne in whom I am well pleased Mathew 3.17 Iesus Christ was in Iordane and the holy Ghost descended from heaven like a Dove and lighted upon him from which place wee may draw this instruction that if wee desire to bee called the children of God if we wish to heare from heaven that gracious voyce speaking to our soules Thou art my well beloved Sonne in whom I am well pleased If wee aspire to that great happinesse to receive the spirit of grace mildnesse and meekenesse in our consciences Let us remember that wee must be like unto sweet IESVS our example hee was naked so must we put off cruelty malice and hatred he was in the water even so to enjoy so great a favour we must plunge our selues in the rivers of our teares in the Iordane of a holy and true repentance which may open our hearts and continually touch them with griefe for our fore-past offences It was Gods ordinance under the law of Moses that when a man was uncleane hee should for his purification resort to the Temple and there offer two Turtle Doves That we may light the torch of truth within the shadow of Moses law let us say that there is nothing that more infecteth and soyleth the soule then cruelty debates and hatred It is a Gangrene that gnaweth and undermineth her untill it seeth her absolutely possessed by wicked spirits but the onely remedy to this obstinate disease is to runne to the sacred Temple of Gods divine mercy there to offer him the gift of a mild meeke and peaceable conscience When Noah would know if the waters were withdrawne from upon the face of the earth he sent forth a Dove which came to him in the evening with an Olive branch in her mouth also he sent forth a Raven which returned not because hee stayd on the dead bodies and stinking carcasses of those which died in this inundation God in this example is represented unto us by Noah our soule by the Dove peace by the Olive branch it is God that staying in the Arke of heaven sendeth our soules to visite the inundations of this world which message faithfully to performe they do not sit on the highest and loftiest tops of Cedars arid Pine trees for they love not vanity nor the glory of this world they doe not pearch upon the Iuniper nor thornes of quarrels and contentions but upon the Olive tree of mildnesse and meekenesse wherewith they adorne themselues and so prepare themselues to returne into their heavenly Country there to give a true account of their journey But the Ravens that stayed upon the carcasses drowned by the flood are those blacke and infected soules that delight in nothing but quarrels and contentions and who so excessively love the corruptions of this world that they never returne to heaven from whence they tooke their first flight The excellencie of this particular peace cannot be sufficiently knowne without we consider the privation of it that is contemplate her contrary let us judge it by our selues for there is no man that sinneth not there is nothing more extrauagant in the world then a seared conscience nothing more tossed up and downe then a soule troubled and vexed by the unquietnesse of sinne for example doe wee seeke the meanes to revenge some injurie presently our minde runneth and rangeth all about to obtaine a sufficient satisfaction Our eyes dart and cast forth burning flames of wrath and rage our mouth proffereth nothing but injuries and blasphemies our feete cannot stand still our hands itch our hearts vomit revenge and our braines are so preoccupated by this damnable passion that there is nothing but confusion to be seene as in a clocke out of order whose wheeles are dismounted these be the effects of sinne that never gives rest to soule never so little touched by the venome of his passion Consider I pray a malefactor how bold and secret soever his crime be hee thinks neverthelesse that all know it the least looke altereth his face and for his contenance If hee thinke that to keepe off be good for him when he is in the fields he thinketh every bush a Sergeant to lay hold on him every tree a Hangman that stayes for him and every leafe that stirreth a witnesse to testifie his wickednesse Now contrariwise let us see the sweet rest and tranquillity of a soule that hath made her peace with her God whom shee loves with all her strength and that cherisheth her neighbour as much as her selfe who is not