beene with child sayth the Prophet Esay such is the griefe Esay 26.18 the anguish of the soule as the travell as the labour of a woman Will you see the Sonne of our sorowes But in respect of imputation it is nothing Parturivimus ventum Wee have as it were brought forth winde we have not wrought any deliverance upon earth Yet heare our consolation heare that which will make our wildernesse like Eden Esa 51.3 and our desert like the garden of the Lord. There is one that hath wrought it for us Vir dolorum that is his description in the Prophet Esa 53.3 Hee is a man of sorowes and acquainted with griefe farre beyond that of affliction or Repentance Behold and see if there bee any sorrow like vnto my sorow Lam. 1.12 which is done vnto me All that we suffer all that wee deplore it is but a drop to the Sea in respect of the Passion of our Saviour The reason Aug. de temp Serm. 117. Suscepit tristitiam nostram vt largiretur laetitiam suā saith St. Augustine Surely hee hath borne our griefe hee hath taken our sorowes upon him that he might communicate and impart his joy unto us Now if one should coëquall the other if our gladnes should be correspōdent to his griefe how pregnāt how unspeakable should be the joy of the Saints With him you know there is mercy and plentifull redemption Oh let our rejoycing be as full let our exultation be answerable unto it The ransommed of the Lord shall returne and come to Syon with Songs and everlasting joy upon their heads They shall obtaine joy and gladnesse Esa 35.10 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away It is the case of the contrite ones the estate of those that are reconciled unto him whose workes are righteousnesse and peace quietnesse and assurance for ever Esa 51 22 23. Behold I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling even the dregs of the Cup of my fury thou shalt no more drinke it againe but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee They are the wordes of him that hath sealed us to salvation That speakes peace unto the soules of his Saints Wherefore lift up the hands that hang downe and strengthen yee the feeble knees Faint not in the spirit of your mindes Love your owne soules and comfort your hearts Rejoyce in hope your names they are written in Heaven And Rejoyce in tribulation in the fiery tryall in temptation and assaults of Sathan as being assured that you are throughly fenced against them We have a strong citie Salvation hath GOD appointed for walls and bulwarkes Esay 26.1 Wee will therefore Rejoyce in our salvation Psal 20.5 and triumph in the name of our GOD. To whom with the Father and the Holy-Ghost three persons and one GOD bee ascribed all Power Praise Majesty Might and Dominion both this day and for evermore AMEN AMEN THE THIRD SERMON THe River of the Lord is full of water Psalm 65.11 Finally my brethren Reioyce in the LORD To write the same thinges to mee indeed is not grievous but to you it is safe Phil. 3.1 The Lord shall comfort Syon hee shall comfort all her wast places and make her wildernesse like Eden and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Ioy and gladnesse shall bee found therein Thankesgiving and the voyce of melodie Esa 51.3 Levium metallorum fructus in summo Est illa Opulentissima Sunt quorum in Alto lateT vena assiduè plenius responsura fodienti Seneca Epist PHIL. 4.4 Againe I say Reioyce IN that day the Lord called vnto weeping and to mourning Esa 22.12 13. to baldnesse and girding with Sackcloath and behold Ioy and gladnesse sayth the Prophet Esay There is a generation as yet that when iminent judgement calls upon Repentance for sorow and contrition they mocke at feare and are not afraid they sing a Requiem to their soules they solace themselves with the pleasures evill day farre from them that say Peace peace untill their destruction commeth that spend their dayes in mirth and in a moment they goe downe into hell To sing this Song of Syon to ingeminate joy unto these what were it else but to adde unto drunkennesse thirst What were it else but to sow pillowes under the armes of security Strange is the method of joy Psal 51.8 the bones must be broken before they can flourish They must first mourne and if so blessed are they Blessed are they that mourne Math. 5.4 for they shall bee comforted Who is hee that maketh mee glad 2 Cor. 2.2 sayth St. PAVL but he that was made sorie by mee His exhortation without doubt it was onely unto those whom hee had made for to meditate terrour onely to those whom hee had smitten with remorse of Conscience Esa 66.2 Vnto this man will I looke sayth the Lord even vnto him that is poore and of a contrite heart and that trembleth at my Word Esa 66.2 See the most gracious aspect the light of the countenance that is a thousand times more cleere than the Sunne it shineth full upon those that sit in darknesse that have the sentence of death in themselves I dwell sayth the Lord in the high and holy place Esay 57.15 and yet hee humbleth himselfe vnto those that lye among the pots that are smitten into the place of Dragons with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to receive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones Vnto this purpose hee speakes once yea twice but man perceiveth it not When the Sunne is at height in the middest of consolation loe darknesse and sorrow Esay 5.30 Esa 19.5 And the light as the Prophet speaketh is darkened in the heavens thereof So that once more a third time O if yet the soule of him that refuseth comfort would heare But the waters they fayle from the Sea and the Rivers are wasted and dryed up all that hath beene spoken it is too little to the afflicted Soule So a third time am I to presse you with the Exhortation of Ioy. Reioyce alwayes in the Lord and Againe I say Reioyce The Parts the last day were these FIrst an Ingemination of an Exhortation Againe Secondly the party exhorting expressed or at least implyed in the verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I say Thirdly the Point or affection exhorted Reioyce Of the former of these have I spoken plentifully already out of this place it was the subject of my whole discourse and yet so true is that of St. Hierom Hierom. Singula verba plena sunt sensibus Much more might be spoken of it howbeit I intend not to build a new but to worke on the line that I layd the last day in the later part of the Sermon Rod. Agric. lib. 3. Dial. cap. 3. Againe Contrariorū affectus discutimus contrarijs affectibus you remember they are the
the everlasting light and that unspotted mirror of Heaven All these things which in some measure may expresse the affection they plucke off the covering from the face of the Saints Esay 64.5 and the vaile from such as mourne in Syon Thou meetest him that rejoyceth and worketh righteousnesse as the Lord doth us so we the Lord both by nature and Grace doe we goe out as it were doe we meet him in this Injunction of Ioy. Ita se beatos esse omnes velle consonant quemadmodum consonarent Aug. Conf. lib. 10. Si hoc interrogetur se velle gaudere saith Saint Augustine in his Confessions As all men doe affect felicitie so that which is the Diamond in the Ring that which is inclosed within it Ioy and gladnesse of heart O how happy then are we how good and gracious is the Lord that enjoynes that which is the desire of our soules that which we so earnestly seeke of our selves Opto vt ea potissimum iubear Plin Epist quae me deceat vel sponte fecisse saith Plinie and it is the wish of the world too Who but would willingly bee injoyned that which is the Ioy and reioycing of his heart Let the Lord command us what he will so that we will but what hee commands Ioh. 5.3 Mat. 11.30 Psal 19.8 Praecepta cius non sunt gravia his yoake is easie and his burthen light His Statutes are right and rejoyce the heart All that he requires of man it is his felicitie it is his happinesse it is his Heaven upon Earth To reioyce Eccles 3.12 and to doe good in our life Both these as they are united by the Spirit so they may not bee severed by a man for as there is no good under the Sun but to rejoyce so there is no Ioy but in doing good Let the righteous saith the Prophet David once and againe nay a third time hee names in effect who they are unto whom our Apostle speakes Psal 68.3 Let the righteous be glad and reioyce before God let them also be merry and ioyfull See how affluent how exundant is the joy of the Saints how full and copious is the Prophet in the point Though not a cypher in the Psalmes he hath many words to expresse one and the selfe-same thing This is the Dialect of the Holy Ghost these things are written That his Ioy which no man can expresse Ioh. 15.11 but he that hath it nay hee that hath it cannot expresse it might bee fulfilled in us Bee glad Psal 32.12 ô yee righteous and rejoyce in the Lord and be joyfull all yee that are true of heart There are many moe places that I might produce to shew you the superabundance the streames of consolation the joyfull gladnesse of such as are in the state of Grace but as St. Paul to his Corinthians Ye are our Epistle 2. Cor. 3.2 So I unto you yee are the proofes you your selves are the places unto which I referre you Have yee received the first-fruits of the Spirit Have you tasted of the heavenly gift Have you beene made pertakers of the powers to come the Songs of Syon the Anthemes of Heaven they are more than written within you A stranger may not intermeddle with neyther can hee possibly conceive this joy It is farre beyond that of the Sonnes of men Prae consortibus Psal 45.8 true not onely of Christ but of all those that are his They that love righteousnesse and hate iniquitie they are anoynted with the Oyle of Gladnesse above their fellowes for the worke of righteousnesse it is peace Esay 32.17 Is not that enough It is more quietnesse and assurance for ever Oh how erronious then is the opinion of such as imbrace this present world Such as suppose all our wayes to be grievous That imagine Religion to be nothing but melancholy full of anxietie vexation and feares Oh that they would but turne into her that they would but repose their Soules with her without doubt they should find more pleasure than in that which they so eagerly pursue Her consolation hath no bitternesse and to live with her hath no sorrow Prov. 3.17 but mirth and joy Her wayes are wayes of pleasantnesse and all her paths are peace Bern. de vit solitar pag. 1027. Delectationes enim non perdimus sed mutamus de corpore ad animum de sensibus ad conscientiam saith St. Bernard We doe not lose our delights but wee change not for the worse but for the better from the body to the soule from the senses to the Conscience In stead of the pleasures of Pharaohs Court we have those of the Land of Canaan for the delights of the Sonnes of men we have the consolations of God Quietnesse Peace and Ioy in the Holy-Ghost joy unspeakable and full of Glory Goe to then you that rejoyce in that which is naught You that spend the time in mirth Iob. 21.13 and in a moment goe downe to the Grave you that say as they in the second of Wisedome Wisd 2.6.9 Come on let us inioy the good things that are present let none of us passe without part of our voluptuousnes let us leave the tokens of our ioy in every place Doe but joyne your selves to the Saints doe but adhere to Heaven Let your soules but cleave unto God and he shall give you the desire of your hearts you shall be satisfied with the plenteousnesse with the pleasures of the life that now is and of that which is to come even in this Valley of teares Psal 36.8 He shall give you drinke out of his pleasures as out of a River Wherefore you that have wearied your selves in the wayes of wickednesse and destruction returne unto your rest and for famine Lu. 15.15.25 huskes and Swine or if you will strange women Harlots and the like you shall heare of joy and gladnesse you shall be received with musicke and dancing not onely of others but of your owne Soules Doe this then Haec ante omnia fac sayth Seneca as divinely as if he had beene St. PAVLS Disciple indeed Above all things doe this Disce gaudere Sen. Epist 23 Learne to Rejoyce It is a lesson unto which though we are incited of our selves though we are schollers by nature yet no man attaines unto it but he that breaks off his transgression hee that forsakes his sinne he that purgeth his conscience from dead workes to serve the living God who hath reserved the bloud of the grape the purest pleasure for piety and appropriated his joy unto those that are his But as for the ungodly he writes bitter things against them and in the middest of their mirth he makes them to possesse the sinnes of their youth so that as their mercies are cruell so their very joyes are but Wine mingled with Mirrhe Plut. Moral de Audiendis poetis alibi saepius They are like the City in Sophocles of
which Plutarch often makes mention that it was full of exultation and tryumph full of shouting and joy and withall as every towne that is taken with the enemy full of Lamentation weeping and mourning It is so with the wicked Prov. 14 13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowfull and the end nay the middest of their mirth is heavinesse Non est gaudere impijs So Saint Augustine Es 48.22 Au. Ps 96.7 Bern. de verb. Apost alibi sapius so Saint Barnard so most of the Fathers reade that place of the Prophet There is no ioy to the wicked And least beholding their prosperity you should stagger at the truth Non dicit homo sed Dominus saith the same Father It is the voyce of God and not of man Once yea twice nay a third time hath he deepely expressed himselfe in the poynt Doe but marke the Metaphors doe but observe the similitudes concerning the ungodly and you cannot but deplore the joyes of the most glorious sinner upon earth Psal 7.15 He travaileth with mischiefe he hath conceived sorrow See that which is the fruit of his wombe that for which hee takes so much paines his very pleasures they are the pangs of a woman in her travell Eccl. 14.20 Againe The iniquity of the wicked it dryeth vp the Soule though his mouth bee filled with laughter Though lasciviousnesse like oyle make him looke with a cheerfull countenance yet is hee full of heavinesse within Like some wilde Beast layed over with vermillion and paint and covered with red as the wise man speaketh Whatsoever he seemes for to be doe but enter into him and you shall see that his heart is ashes and his hope is viler than the earth all his dayes are sorrowes his delights are griefes and his soule taketh no rest in the night season Prov. 22.5 To conclude Prov. 15 Hos 2.9 Prov. 29.6 his wayes are hedged with thornes and there is a snare in all his paths In the transgression of an evill man there is a snare but the Righteous doth sing and Rejoyce The Corollarie the use that we are to make of the point it is this Eccl 21.2 To flye from sinne as from a Serpent for the poyson thereof of it drinketh up the Spirit and its venome it is the curse of the heart But joy and honour and glory and a crowne of rejoycing shall bee to every one that departeth from iniquity who is onely capable of this exhortation of S. Paul Rejoyce I proceed to the Extent or Longitude of the affection Alwayes 1. At all times as some doe interrpret or as others 2. In all Estates For the first Rejoyce in the Lord Ansel in locum Plut. Mor. Non per intervalla ut modò gaudeatis modò non gaudeatis saith Anselmus on the place not by startes not as they say of Songs that they consist of sounds times and rests betweene but continually without intermission not onely in habit but in Act. For though in Philosophy theyr blessed man per dimidium vitae Arist Eth. lib. 1. doe not differ from the wretched it is not so with us that are in the state of grace Our bed is greene sayth the Spouse in the Canticles Cant. 1.16 Even in the season of sorrow even in the most disconsolate time there springeth up light for the righteous and joyfull gladnesse for them that are true of heart Psal 97.11 While the ungodly pine away in their iniquitie They have Songs saith IOB Songs in the night season Iob. 35.10 Such as are not farre from the Hallelujahs of Angels Though not vocall though they may not be heard they are celestiall heavenly and divine As whē an holy solemnity is kept and gladnesse of heart Esay 30.29 As when one goeth with a pipe to come into the Mountaine of the Lord the mighty one of Israel the God of consolation well may they lay them downe and take their rest the Comforter himselfe he illuminates he inlightens with that which is a thousand times more clearer than the Sunne with the spirit of Wisedome with the Revelation of himselfe and him whom he hath sent IESUS CHRIST So he giveth his beloved sleepe And therefore Let the Saints bee joyfull with glory Psal 149.5 let them rejoyce in their beds as the Prophet David speaketh Now for the day Not a Moment but administers matters of joy Lament 3.22.23 Behold saith the Prophet his compassions faile not They are new every morning There is a continuall flowing There is an incessant supply of that which maketh glad the heart of man Iob. 29.20 Our glory to speake with that upright and Iust man our glory it is fresh within us And our bowe it is renewed in our hand Our strength is restored and in our body there is spirit and life Goe we forth to our labours Eccles 2.24 Ibid. 3.22 Behold a blessing in the Field and he that is with us injoynes us to joy therein Deut. 12.18 Thou shalt Rejoyce before the Lord in all that thou puttest thine hand unto Doe we behold the dew of Heaven and the fat of the earth The things that concerne the body they are to put gladnesse into our hearts Psal 4.8 Thou shalt rejoyce in every good thing that the Lord thy God hath given thee Thou and thine house not onely without but within Deut. 26 11 where the Lord hath crowned thee with blessings and plentifully expressed himselfe in his bounty unto thee Thou hast annointed mine head with Oyle and my Cup shall be full Psal 23.5 But all these things they are nothing unto that which immediately followes Thy loving kindnesse and mercy Ibid. shall follow mee all the dayes of my life For the things that concerne our corporall Estate for the glorious beautie that is in the fat of the Valley Esay 2◠4 in thy Barne Wine presse or something nearer unto thee it is as the fading flower or as the hasty fruit before the Summer which when he that looketh upon it and seeth it even while it is in his hand hee eateth it up But though these things perish though they bee taken away though there were a famine in the Land yet have wee the food of Angels meate and drinke that you know not of Although the Figge-tree shall not blossome neyther shall fruit be in the Vine Though the labour of the Olive shall faile neyther the Field shall yeeld any meate the flocke shall be cut off from the Fold and there shall bee no heard in the stalles Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation Hab. 3.19 Hab. 3.17.18 Heare a fountaine indeficient heare an object that makes our joyes as the dayes of Heaven Though it be the 3. part of my Text I cannot but incroach upon it forasmuch as our affection would faile if not fastened aright for how could we rejoyce alwayes but in
can take away from them It is established in the Lord and it standeth fast It is once and for ever it is alwayes and againe Thus much for the difference betweene the joyes of the Saints and the delights of the Sonnes of men expressed or at least implyed in the Reiteration Againe To descend to particulars Solet Apostolus Paulus in verbis esse brevis in sentētijs copiosus Bernard saith St. Bernard And my Text the same In which there are two sentences in one word Aug. de verb. Ap. Serm. 2. Gaudendū de ijs quae expectamus gaudendum de ijs quae sustinemus saith St. Augustine All this in the word Againe We are to rejoyce in the future for the good that we hope for and in the present for the evill that we suffer For the first our heart shall rejoyce in him why Because wee have hoped in his holy name Psal 33.20 Psal 33.20 So St. Paul Spe gaudentes Rom. 12.12 Reioycing in hope The Prerogative of Piety it hath the promises the pleasures of the life that now is and of that which is to come Angustè fructus rerum determinat Sen. 171. Ep. 99. qui tantùm prasentibus laetus est saith the Stoicke and it is spoken like a Christian sure I am it is so in Divinitie He imprisons the heart he straightens dilatation he deminisheth the felicity the good estate of the chosen that sees not so farre as the future that onely rejoyceth in that which now is And yet all delectation and delight it is de bono praesenti Damasc Aqu. 12. Qu. 32. art 3.1 sayth Damascene and how then may wee rejoyce in hope which is of things not seene By knowledge and application it is in effect the answere of the Angelicall Doctor The nature of hope it is to call the things that are not as if they were it hath affiance in the future it hath the securitie of heaven it hath the obsignation the seale of the Spirit from whence ariseth Iubilation and Ioy joy unspeakable and full of glory By way of comparison we have it plentifully expressed by our Saviour The 70. returned againe with Ioy saith St. LUKE Luk. 10.17 Saying Lord even the Divels are subiect unto us through thy name Heare the reply And hee sayd unto them Behold I give you power to tread upon Serpents and Scorpions and over all the power of the enemy See what a word is this What soveraigne what supernaturall might have wee heere If Moses and Miriam if Deborah and David did so shout and sing at their corporall Conquests how inconceiveable is the joy of such as tread downe Sathan under their feet Of those that spoyle Principalities powers And yet behold I shew you a farre more excellent joy In this reioyce Luk. 10.20 not that the spirits are subiect unto you but rather reioyce that your names are written in Heaven Luk. 10.20 Heare the inlargement of the heart heare the dilatation of joy that deifies as it were the estate and sublimates the nature of man Cum accepta fuerit ineffabilis illa laetitia perit quodammodò mens humana fit divina August in Psal 55. saith St. Augustine So soone as wee receive this inconceiveable joy though in our earthly mansions though in our houses of Clay our mortality it is as it were swallowed up of life our humane Soule it is made coelestiall and divine In so much that for the Glory that is set before us wee feare not that which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Eth. lib. 3. sayth the Philosopher In the phrase of the Holy-Ghost the King of terrours Death Wee sing our Dimittis with joy My heart was glad my glory reioyced Psal 16.9 my flesh also shall rest in hope To goe one step further Heare the full expression of joy that ariseth from the hope of the faythfull at the meditation of the dreadfull day when the Sun shal be blacke as a sackcloath of haire and the Moone shal be turned into blood when the heavens shall vanish like a scroll and the powers above shall bee shaken when the last trumpe shall sound and the bookes shall be opened At the meditation of all this it is so far from feare O the blessed trust and confidence of a christian Soule it is so farre from feare that it breakes out into a Prosopopëia into the deepest straine of melody and joy Let the flouds Psal 98.9 sayth the soule of the Saints let the floods clappe their hands and let the hills bee ioyfull together before the Lord for hee is come to iudge the Earth Psalme the 98.9 I proceed to the second particular or branch of the Repetition Againe Gaudendū de ijs quae sustinemus We are to take pleasure in pressure to reioyce in tribulation Blessed sayth he who for the glory that was set before him indured the Crosse despised the shame and is set downe at the right hand of God Blessed are yee when men shall revile you and persecute you Math. 10.11 12 and shall say all manner of euill against you falsely for my sake Reioyce and bee exceeding glad See in the midst of calumny which is sharper than a two edged sword In persecution which is almost as much In the multitude of sorrowes which they haue in their heart how affluent how full is the joy of the Saints Bee glad that is not enough once and againe be glad and exceeding joyfull In the journey of Israel through the waters of blood The dry Land sayes the Wise-man appeared Wisd 19.7 and out of the red Sea a way without impediment and out of the violent streame a greene field It is assuredly so with us that are in via in our way out of Egypt unto the Land of Promise In the great water floods when the waves lift up their heads In our manifold afflictions there is an evasion a faire passage and escape from them all For hee that comforteth those that are cast downe Psal 31.8 32.8 hee considers our trouble hee knowes our Soule in adversity hee compasseth us about on every side with songs of deliverance And not onely so but in the violence of our passions inundation of affliction hee doth more than make a way to escape Hee turnes our Sorrow into Ioy the violent streame into a greene field Vnto the godly O their happie estate Psal 112.4 whose night is cleerer than the noone of the wicked unto the godly there ariseth light in the darknesse Even in the season of Sorrow in the most disconsolate time of tribulation and anguish there is a day-starre that ariseth in their hearts More there is a Sonne of righteousnesse that shineth upon them Sen. Epist 27 Si quid obstat nubium modò intervenit quae infra feruntur nec vnquam diem vnicum Whatsoever may befall for the afflictions of this life like the cloudes that are below they are sublunary they