was beheaded but they are sorie at their dying day as Iudas was sorie when he went about to hang himself and Caine was afraide that euery one that met him in the streetes would haue killed him Contrariwise the godly are sorie at their birth day as Iob was Iob 3. vers 3. Let the day perish wherein I was borne and I eremy sayth Ierem. 20. 14. Let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed but they are merie at their dying day as Simeon was Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace and Paul sayth I desire to be dissolued and to be with Christ. For wheras there be two wayes the one hauing in it first a transitorie death then an eternall life the wicked chuse rather to liue for a time though they dye for it eternally hereafter but the godly chuse to haue their life hid with Christ here that they may liue with Christ eternally hereafter therefore the wicked neuer thinke of death but the godly thinke of nothing else As Alexander the Monarke of the world had all other things saue onely a sepulchre to burie him in when hee was dead hee neuer thought of it But Abraham the heire of the world had no other proper possession but onely a fielde which hee buried his dead in hee thought of nothing els We read that Dantel strowed ashes in the Temple to descry the footsteps of Baals priests which did eate vp their meate so did Abraham he strowed ashes in memory of death saying I will speake vnto my Lorde though I bee but dust and ashes that so continually seeing and marking the footsteps of death how it doth dayly eate and consume their bodies they may bee alwaies prepared for it Our first father made himselfe clothes of figge leaues but God misliking that gaue him garments of skinne Gene. 3. 21. Therefore Christ in the Gospell cursed the figge tree which did leaue only leaues to couer our sinne but commended the Baptist who did were skinne to discouer our mortalitie For not onely as Augustine sayth Vita morbus our whole life is a disease but also as Bernard sayth Vita mors The life of man by reason of sinne is the death of himselfe It is lastly the death of Christ when Christ was crucified at first he was as the Prophet sayth broken for our sinnes according to that of Tertullian Sinne it was that brought the Son of God to his death the Iewes were only instruments and accessaries to it sinne was the principall they cried crucifie him in Pilates court but our sinnes cried crucifie him in the court of heanē Now as the death of Christ is sufficient to saue the wicked so the sinnes of the wicked were not sufficient to condemne Christ. But the scripture saith of them which either are not or at most would but seeme to bee godly they say they knowe GGD but by their works they deny him and Saul Saul why persecutest thou me And they crucifie vnto themselues againe the Sonne of God therefore our sins did at the first crucifie Christ and now also the wicked which are not of his bodie but wee which are his members we I say do yet oftentimes by our sinnes crucifie Christ with the Iewes Yea I will say more if you will heare mee wee crucifie Christ farre more cruelly then the Iewes did then his bodie was lassible and mortall nowe it is glorified and immortall They knewe not what they did we know well enough they pearced him with a speare we pearce him with reproches they buried him in the earth we burie him in obliuion Wherfore let euery one as soone as hee is tempted to any sinne thinke straightwaye that hee seeth Christ comming towardes him wrapt vp in white linnen clothes as he was buried with a kercher round about his head crying after a gastly and fearefull manner Beware take heed what you doe detest sinne adhorre sinne fie vpon it a shame light on it it did once most vilely and villanously murder me But now seeing my wounds are whole doe not I beseech you do not rub and reuiue them againe with your sinnes to make them bleede afresh Now seeing that the scepter of the kingdome of heauen is put into my hands doe not offer me againe a reede to mocke me Now seeing my head is crowned with pure golde of eternall glorie doe not set a crowne of thornes vpon it againe Now seeing that I am installed on the right hande of the throne of maiestie doe not pull mee out of my throne and throwe me into the graue againe and with your sinnes seale a mighty stone vpon me to presse me and keepe me downe in death This I assure you will be a forcible meanes to afray and terrifie vs from sinnes if we consider that the life of man by reason of sinne is the death of Christ and therefore hee sayth in this fifth parte Not too little for your owne life For your selues The sixt part is next which noteth seeing both the excesse and the want is to bee eschewed therefore the true meane which we must keep between Christ and our selues consisteth in a certaine qualification of these two extremities For me For your selues both together Weepe not too much sayth he for my death which is the death of death weepe not too little for your owne life which is the life of death not too much for my death which is the death of the diuell not too little for your owne life which is the life of the diuell Not too much for my death which is my life not too little for your owne life which is your death not too much for my death which is the life of man not too little for your owne life which is the death of Christ. Saint Paul exhorteth the Corinths to approue themselues by honour and dishonour first by honour then by dishonour teaching thereby that dishonorable honour is better then honorable dishonour Yet to keepe a meane in this matter that we must as well count it our honour sometimes to bee dishonoured with Christ as a dishonour to bee alwaies honored without Christ. Puen so sayth our Sauiour here For me for your selues First for me then for your selues teaching therby that to reioyce for Christ is better then to weepe for our selues yet to keepe a meane betweene both that wee must as well sometimes descend out of Christ as our selues to weepe as alwaies ascend out of our selues into Christ to reioyce For the Apostle sayth Reioyce with them that reioyce so weepe with them that weepe If my friend be alwaies sorrowfull and neuer ioyfull he hath no pleasure by me if he bee alwaies ioyfull and neuer sorrowfull I haue no proofe of him but hee is my deerest friend most delighted in me most approued by me which taketh such part as I doe sometimes reioycing and sometimes weeping reioycing when I reioyce and weeping when I weepe the like is to be seene in this place For me for your selues If
a Christian alwaies thinketh of his owne miserie neuer of Christs mercie he will despaire if he alwaies thinketh of Christs mercie neuer of his owne miserie he wil presume but he is the best christiā so high that he cannot despaire and so low that he cannot presume who inclines aswell to the one as to the other sometimes reioycing and sometimes weeping reioycing for Christ and weeping for himselfe Therefore as in a ballance if there bee any oddes in the scales we take out of that which is in the heauier and put it to that which is in the lighter vntill there be no difference betweene them so here wee must weigh these matters well that we may bee iust weight neither too heauie for our owne miserie nor too light for Gods mercie Dauid sayth Hide me O Lord vnder the shadowe of thy wings not vnder the shadowe of thy wing but of thy wings of thy right wing of mercie by loue and the left wing of thy iudgement by feare As God hath two wings the one of mercie the other of iustice so wee must haue two wings one of ioye for God and the other of despaire for our selues And as the Quaile flying ouer the sea seeing her selfe not able to hold out spreadeth out her wings falleth into the sea and layeth one of her wings vpon the water and lifteth vp the other wing vnto heauē so we must flye with the wings of ioy from ioy in GOD with the wings of despaire vnto despaire in our selues Lest we should presume we must go backwards for feare and yet lest we should despayre wee must goe forwards towards God with loue As God doth couer vs with his two wings the one of iustice the other of loue so wee must couer GOD with our two wings the one of feare the other of ioy We must iumpe forwards vnto God and backwards againe vnto our selues which is Iobs crosse leape The sinne of man is the death of life For me sayth he I am the death of death therfore despayre not For your selues you are the life of death therefore presume not For me I am the death of the diuell therefore despayre not For your selues you are the life of the diuell therefore presume not For me I am the life of my selfe therefore despayre not For your selues you are the death of your selues therfore presume not For mee I am the life of man therefore despayre not For your selues you are the death of Christ therefore presume not For me sayth he death is onely dead and not aliue dead in me and not aliue in you For your selues death is both dead and aliue dead in me aliue in you For me I am onely aliue and not dead aliue in my selfe and not dead in you For me you are onely aliue and not dead aliue in me not dead in your selues For your selues you are both aliue and dead aliue in me and dead in your selues The worst foes that we haue are the diuell and death the best friends wee can haue are Christ and our selues the death of Christ killeth those foes quickeneth those friends the life of man quickeneth those foes and killeth those friends It is much that the death of Christ killeth death more that it killeth the diuell most of all that it killeth himselfe more thē al that it killeth Christ. Wherefore wee must not loose any one of these weights but when wee weigh the reasons why wee must weepe for our selues we shall finde as great cause of ioy in God great cause of sorrowe in our selues farre greater cause of ioy in Christ greater cause of sorrowe in our selues farre greatest cause of ioy in Christ greatest cause of sorow in our selues for that which is more then all to make vs ioyfull in Christ that is more then all to make vs sorrowfull in our selues The righteousnes of Christ is the death of death great cause of ioy in Christ. Debora reioyced when Barake put Sisera to flight haue not we as great cause to reioyce seeing taht Christ hath put death to flight The sinne of man is the life of death a great cause of sorrowe in our selues If Anna wept for her barrennes haue not wee as great cause to weepe seeing we can conceaue nothing but sorrowe and bring forth iniquitie vnto death The righteousnes of Christ is the death of the diuel great cause of ioy in Christ. If Iudith reioyced when she cut off the head of Holofernes haue not wee greater cause to reioyce seeing Christ hath cut off the head of the diuell The sinne of man is the life of the diuell greater cause of sorrowe in our selues It Thamar wept being defloured by her brother haue not we greater cause to weepe committing daily spirituall adulterie with the diuell The righteousnes of Christ is the life of himselfe greatest cause of ioye in Christ. If Sarah laughed when shee should haue a quick child in her dead wombe is not this the greatest cause of laughter that cā be to vs that Christ liued in death and could not see corruption in the graue The sinne of man is the death of himselfe greatest cause of sorrowe in himselfe If Agar wept being pulled out of Abrahams house is not this the greatest cause of weeping that can be vnto vs that we are here pilgrimes and strangers from our fathers house in heauen The righteousnes of Christ is the life of man this is more then all to make vs ioyfull in Christ. If Queene Hester did reioyce as Queene Elizabeth doth at this day whom God long saue and preserue because she deliuered her people from thraldome and destructiō can any thing in the world then make vs more ioyfull then this that we being cursed in our selues are blessed in Christ being embased in our selues are exalted in Christ being condemned in our selues are iustified in Christ being dead in our selues are aliue in Christ. The sinne of man is the death of Christ this is more then all to make vs sorrowfull in our selues If the Virgine Mary wept so sore for the death of her son Iesus as it her soule had been pearced thorowe with a sword as Simeon speaketh can any thing in the world then make vs more sorrowfull then this that Christ being blessed in himselfe was cursed for vs being exalted in himselfe was abased for vs being iustified in himselfe was condemned for vs being aliue in himselfe was dead for vs. Oh deare brother if thou bee sorrowfull at any time remember what Christ hath done for thee and thou wilt soone be glad if thou bee ioyfull at any time remember what thou hast done against Christ thou wilt soone be sorrowfull so shall we neuer suffer shipwrack of faith either by too much sorow as Esau did who sought the blessing with teares weeping for himselfe not reioycing in Christ or els by too much ioye as Herod did who heard Iohn gladlie reioycing for Christ not weeping for himselfe But as a ship being neither too
it were neuer so short For as it is Rom. 8. 22. If euery creature do sigh and groane in it selfe if the verie earth which wee haue vnder out feete doe mourne and pine away for sorow for the heauie burden of our sins wherewith it is almost weakened and prest down to hel how much more ought we hauing the first fruits of the spirit to haue true deuotion in weeping for this life according to this But weepe for your selues Secondly compuctiō 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 frango as if he should haue sayd Scindatur vena cordis Breake your hearts for sorrowe And this is the cause why Dauid sayth I haue rored for the very disquietnes of my hart And therefore followes Pauls conuersion of the Christians in the Acts of the Apostles who cryed out in the vehemēcie of their spirits Men and brethren what shall we doe And this compunction in weeping at the heart is commaunded Psalm 4. 5. For whereas wee commonly reade it In your chambers and be still or bee still in your chambers the Septuagints expoūd it Haue compunctiō in your chambers whereby they signifie to be pricked to the quicke vntill the bloud followe againe and by chambers in that place our hearts is ment As When thou prayest enter into thy chamber that is into the silence and secrecie of thy heart for that hauing compunction in your chambers is as much as if he should haue sayd bleed inwardly at the heart Our teares must not be Crocodiles teares for as there is praying from the teeth outward so there is weeping from the eyes outward as Bernard saith We must be let bloud and haue a veine opened with the launce of compūction And this veine sayth Fulgentius must not be corporis sed cordis must not bee the liuer veine or any such like but the heart veine onely Whereupon sayth Dauid My heart droppeth Psal. 129. 28. Not that his heart dropped indeede but because the teares which he shed were not drops of water such as may bee easily forced comming from the eyes but drops of bloud such as christ did sweate issuing from the heart These indeede are true teares sayth Austin which are the bloud of a woūded heart So that the heart must first be rent and deeply wounded before the eye can weepe But if once our sinnes fall vpon vs like theeues and wound vs at the heart and leaue vs halfe dead and make vs powere out the bloud of true teares then by by will Christ powre in the wine and oyle of gladnesse For sayth Ierome speaking of this compūction Vngit non pungit These wounds doe not hurt vs but heale vs. Which we may see in S. Paul so long as his heart was hardened seared with an hot iron he playd the wild colt as I may say without any griefe or remorse kicking against the prickes but when it pleased God to take out of his breast that stonie heart as the Prophet speaketh and to giue him an heart of flesh for it the only one pricke of the flesh the sting of concupiscence was sufficient alone to tame him and humble him and rule him aright For euen as a bladder if it be pricked all the wind voyds out of it so Paul his heart being pricked and bleeding continually for his sinnes was freed of all conceitednes of all vanitie and pride Wherfore as the men of Iudea and Ierusalem were pricked at their hearts Act. 2. 37. so must we haue true compunction in bleeding and weeping at the heart alluding to this But weepe for your selues Lastly wee must haue compassion in weeping for our owne life Indeed it is an acceptable thing to haue compassion vpon others but here wee are bound to haue compassion vpon our selues Miserere animae tuae placens Deo as one sayth The Priest must first offer sacrifice vnto God for himselfe then for the sinnes of the people In the Gospel the Pharisie took compassion vpon the Publicā saying I thank God I am no whoremaster nor vncleane person nor as this publican But the godly publican wept for himself and tooke compassion vpon his own life and therefore God tooke compassion vpon him We must not first weepe for others but first wee must drinke one heartie draft of compassion for our selues and then for our brother If thy eye be single al thy bodie is full of light but if thou haue a beame in thine own eye yet wouldest pull out the moate that is in thy brothers eye all thy bodie is full of darknes whereas the way is first to weepe and wash out the great beame our of their owne eye that then thy eye being more single thou maist see cleerely to pull a little moate out of thy brothers eye otherwise that which was most fondly and foolishly sayd to Christ may be truely and fitly sayd to thee Phisition heale thy selfe And he saued others himselfe he can not saue Like to those Hagges and Pharies which in Latin be called Lamiae which wee haue heard of in old time who as they say could see well enough abroad but when they came home were wont to put vp their eyes in a boxe so they were stark blind To whom we may wel say as Christ sayd to one Abi in domum tuam Goe into thine owne house doe not prie into other mens liues abroad and shut not vp thine eyes in a boxe whē thou art at home but rather when thou art abroade looke to thine owne house looke to thine owne heart weepe for thine owne selfe for thine owne life Many can swallow a camell straine out a gnat though their own backs be surcharged and ouerladen with all ilfauoured lumpes of sinne like camels bunches yet they neuer feele it they neuer make any bones of it they can swallow it well enough without any drinke of teares but if they see a little gnat sitting vpon their brothers coate presently they must needes forsooth weepe for it and vrge it and presse it very sore and straine it through their teares Such are the wicked vnlearned Brownists and other like sectaries of this age they say they weep daily for the ruine of Syon for the desolation of this Church But our Church answers thē as she had heard her spouse Christ Iesus say in the like case Weepe not for me but weepe for your selues I sayth our Church was neuer more glorious heretofore in this Realme of Englande neuer am like to bee hereafter then I am now at this day the Lord bee thanked for it and there is no one point of doctrine or discipline which I maintaine which hath not beene within these fortie yeares confirmed and besprinckled and euen inameled with the blood of as blessed Saints as holy Martyrs our owne countrimen as euer did holde vp innocent hands to GOD. Therefore VVeepe not for mee but weepe for your selues You haue departed not only from his Church but from the primitiue Church of which you speake so