we may have confidence and not be asham'd before him at his comming Which grant O thou that shall come to be our judge and by the judgment which thou didst suffer save us from the judgment which thou wilt inflict that we may give praises unto thee and to the father and to thy blessed Spirit world without end FINIS OF Spirituall Sorrow A SERMON BY BARTEN HOLYDAY Doctor of Divinity OXFORD Printed by Leonard Lichfield 1657. Ierem. 9.1 O that my head were waters and mine eies a fountaine of teares that I might weepe day and night for the slaine of the daughter of my People THE Desire of Sorrow may seem very strange and yet it is not so wonderfull as Happy It is indeed contrary to Man's nature and yet it tends to the perfection of his Nature The Soule is never moved by desire unto any thing but that which seems good we may almost say but unto that which seems good to the body the soul in the body being commonly perswaded by the body And yet sometimes it desires sorrow sorrow which is contrary to the pleasure of nature the practice of sorrow before man's fall being unknowne unto him and since his fall being hatefull to him Yet the Body which oftentimes does seduce the Soule is sometimes also perswaded by it and rais'd both to apprehend and desire a pleasure in sorrow Not that which arises from the mistaking melancholy of the body but that which happily and judiciously proceeds from the wisdome of the Soule since as by sinne we runne to the extreamest distance from God so by Spirituall sorrow we runne to the extreamest distance from sinne This is the Art of Repentance by which we may also farther observe an excellent difference between the Stoique and the Christian The Stoique fondly intends to make man like God by making him without Passion and so without Change yet without Grace the Christian on the Contrary indeavours to be neither without passion nor without change and yet like God whiles he labours to Sanctify his Passion and therfore his change by grace And this sorrow when it does deeply affect the Soul does not only affect the Soul but uses the Eies instead of the Tongue to declare itselfe as here our Prophet expresses his desire to expresse such sorrow and such Teares In whose Lamentation we may first behold The Nature of the sorrow which being expressed by the nature of a Change we may view in it the things that must be chang'd which will appeare to be the Head and Eies as also the things into which they must be chang'd which likewise will appeare to be Waters even a Fountain yea a fountain of Teares Next we may view the Object of the Sorrow or what it is for which such Lamentation is to be made which though the Prophet sayes is the slaughter of the people yet more vehemently he expresses it to be the sinnes of the People the Cause of the Slaughter At the foulnesse of which sight the sight of sinne we likewise may be moved to a like holinesse of sorrow wherby to wash away such foulnesse The sight of blood indeed may move us to Compassion but the sight of sinne more happily unto Amendment Let us first then view the Nature of the Sorrow describ'd by the parts affected and instructed by it as it does thus sadly and wisely expresse it selfe O that my head were waters and mine eies a fountain of teares The Head is the seate of Wisdome and of the sense the sorrow then that proceeds from the Head must be a sorrow that flows from Reason it must be a sorrow that affects the sense and therfore a reasonable punishment of our selves And since from the head are deriv'd the Nerves by which both sense and Motion is distributed to the whole body the sorrow of the Head must affect both the sense and motion of the whole body And thus did sorrow affect the good King Hezekiah as he speakes of his own mournfull pace Isaiah 38.15 I shall goe softly all my yeares in the bitternesse of my Soul Man indeed is made to be thus wise thus sorrowfull his brain being for his proportion both greater and moister then it is in other creatures And as the Head is frequently taken for those things which are either First or Chiefe so this wise sorrow in the life of a Christian will truly challenge such Excellency and Priority The Beginning of the year is in Ezekiel 40.1 call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Head of the yeare but more truly may the sorrow of the Head be call'd the Head or beginning of the yeare of man's Conversion Nor does that in the Originall only signify the Head but somtimes also as in Lament 3.19 the bitternesse of affliction and sometimes as Deut. 29.18 the bitternesse of sinne to which last S. Peter alludes Act. 8.23 speaking of Simon Magus as likewise S. Paul Heb. 12.15 Indeed this bitternesse of Sorrow is most agreable to the Head from whence the bitternesse of Sinne did before arise Which sorrow the head does sometimes expresse by the shaving of it as in Job 1.20 as sometimes by the Motion or shaking of it as also in Job 16.4 but most happily does the head expresse it by the Eie which as the Philosophers observe declares our Hate and Love but we must adde most happily when in religious teares it shewes our Love of God by our hate of sinne The Physiognomer tels us that the best eie is a moist eie that seemes to swimme in his Orbe which is a surer rule in the Spirituall constitution of it and does not only teach us the complexion of the Eie but also the Duty A clos'd eie was in the Poëtry of the Ancients us'd as the embleme of death and an eie dark'ned with repentant teares is a good embleme of our Mortification which is the death of sinne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Eie signifies also a Fountain a fountain being an eie of the earth and an eie being a fountain of the head They are both alike also in the Abundance and speed of their waters which they send forth And therfore Jacob's posterity is compar'd unto them Deut. 33.28 The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a Land of corne and wine The Latin Interpreter has it Oculus Jacob the Eie of Jacob to signify that his posterity should as speedily and mightily flow forth on the earth as waters gush out from the Eie or fountain Most aptly then does the Prophet here in his plentifull sorrow wish that his head were waters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies waters is a word alwayes of the plurall number to imply their abundance which as some thinke is expressed in the composition of the word deriving it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sea and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to trouble and make a tumult intimating the conditions of true sorrow which is happily with abundance of teares and with the out-cry of a holy lamentation And aptly
is the last Conquerour It is indeed a practice unreasonable and usefull if we consider the morall of their perseverance And surely the Labour and Constancy in our Christian combat our Apostle did more then intimate when be exhorted Timothie io indure hardnesse as a good souldier of Jesus Christ 2 Tim. 2.3 to indure hardnesse the word of the Apostle is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 suffer evill the evill of affliction or bodily punishment suffer hunger and cold and Labour like a good Souldier So did S. Paul himselfe in his high degree of Souldiery and so must the meanest Christian in his inferiour proportion And as those ancient Gentiles did practice themselves before hand against their great and publique combates as S. Basil and Cassianus note so must we count all wrestling in our life time but but a preparative to our last agonie and combate in death Besides all their practises were but bodily exercises which profit but little as S. Paul speakes of them for of them he speaks 1 Tit. 4.8 but ours are spirituall combates we fight against Principalities and Powers and therefore it behooves us to make all advantage of example And since that the understanding is not ashamed to learne of the sense so neither must the soule be ashamed to learn of the body As they then got bodily strength for their wrestlings by Preparation and a Temperance in all things so must we grow strong and cunning in a spirituall imitation of their bodily temperance which is the next thing to be considered Their Temperance in all things And indeed so great was their Temperance to make them the more active that these words which our Apostle uses in this place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He is Temperate in all things was a powerfull speech amongst the Grecians Now their common temperance was from Lust and the wayes unto it wine and Glotonie nay their Diet was so moderate as Irenaeus describes it that it never was unto satiety nay it never was unto a full meale And some were so exact as Plato relates of Diopompus and some others that they would not let their stomachs trie the weight of any heavy meale or but their backs the weight of any heavy cloathes much lesse of any superfluous lest they should thus dull the purity of their spirits And does not S. Paul Hebr. 12.1 exhort us to the like exact temperance to a holy curiosity in our christian Race Let us lay aside sayes he every weight every weight and the sinne which does so easily beset us and let us runne with patience the race that is set before us Is it not an intimate speech let us lay aside every weight The shippe that is but lightly laden may happily scape in a tempest but the heavy laden may quickly perish by temperance fasting saies S. Chysostome we shall lighten our vessell and more safely passe through the waves of this life Let us then lay aside every weight We must saies S. Ierome be circumcised in the flesh which is when in those things that concerne the body we cut off the Delight and reserve only the necessity making them ours as S. Austin speakes utentis modestia non amantis affectu with the appetite of nature not of wantonesse And thus temperate we must be in all things When in relative actions concerning other men we shew equality we call it Justice but when in the retired actions of our soules upon our bodies wee labour for equality wee call it Temperance which does assist reason in restraining the affections the senses and the parts of the body from an abuse in pleasure It restraines the Eie from a licence in prospect for otherwise the eie finds out pleasures and the phansie multiplies them It restraines Laughter and saves it from folly for when the purer parts of the blood the Spirits are over acted into an excesse they shake the body into an unseemely laughter which commonly abounds in such bodies as have not enough Melancholy to make them wise It restraines the Tongue and makes it as it were remember that it is not an Instrument of Invention but only of Execution which therfore must waite till it be imply'd by Reason and that Then it is but to declare the mind of Reason It principally restraines the Throat and Belly these being as the Moabites that inticed Israel to Lust and as the Body is a temptation to the Soul So the Belly and throte are a temptation to the rest of the body Wherfore we must strive to get the mastery of These and then we shall easily be the masters of ourselves Hence were those mighty indeavours of the ancient Christians in Chastitie and Abstinence by which whiles the Body is separated from the pleasures of the body the Soule though not separated from the body is in an admirable manner elevated above the body and attaines that happinesse which in the body it properly but expects But because the effect is taken away by removing the cause and lust is but the consequence of gluttonie hence was that practice and hence that necessity in all ages of the Church of holy fasting This in some sort including a Temperance in all things since a temperance in this thing invite 〈◊〉 Lord to give that universall blessing A Temperance in all things It was a temperance in diet that those Heathens us'd and it must be a temperance in diet that Christians must use The body knows no mean 't is allwayes in extreams 't is allwayes either a Slave or a Tyrant Therfore we must by fasting use it as S. Paul speaks in the last verse of this chapter I keep-under my body and bring it into Subjection his own word is of more power 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I bring it into Servitude And this practice of Fasting is as old as the world nor was Man sooner permitted in paradise to Eate then he was commanded to Fast neither was he permitted to eate all fruit though he did eat nothing but fruit His happinesse in Paradise sayes S. Ierom was not dedicated without fasting and so long as he fasted so long he was in Paradice yet as by violating that fast he was cast-out so with fasting sayes S. Basil he may be well help'd to return into it again And he that fasts must not thinke that whiles he fasts he has no food he may say as our Saviour did I have food that you know not of And as it was his food to doe the will of the Father so must it be ours to doe his will which is to Fast and keep-under our bodies The fasting of the Body sayes S. Chrysostome is the food of the Soule and that food is the food of Angels sayes Athanasius He that fasts must remember sayes Theophilus of Alexandria that of the Apostle Rom. 14.17 The kingdome of God is not meat and drink but righteousnesse and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost And well may they rejoyce when as the holy Angels as S. Basil sayes
Afllictions Evills This is the Vertue of which the Heathen who speaks of many Gods could say Nullum Numen abest si sit prudentia that he had all the God's on his side that had wisedome he might have perfected his speech had he but said Ipsum Numen adest Even God is on his side that has wisedome The Light of the Body is the Eie and the truest light of the Eie is wisdome But because precept is more abstracted from the sense our Saviour gives his Disciples a patterne the example of the Serpent Be ye wise as Serpents Now of Serpents there are many kinds but in all there is a naturall wisedome a subtilty and almost in all parts of them You may see a subtilty in their Eye an old Serpent being called a Dragon from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 implying the singular sharpnesse of his sight which moved Ancient Poets in their fictions usually to make Dragons the Guardians of Treasure Hence also among the Grecians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Serpents Eie was a Proverbiall Title for a man of a cleare understanding which some think to be the reason why Serpents were sacred to Aesculapius he being admirable for his Insight and Discoveries in Physique You may see a subtilty in their Eare in the Obstinate Deafenesse of the Addar a race of the Serpent too a Serpent that will not be cousen'd but stops the eare and will not hearken to the voice of Charmers Charming never so wisely Ps 58.4 5. a motive to the Hebrewes to call this Serpent by an antiphrasis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as some would have it to perswade because this Serpent will not be perswaded You may see a subtilty in their Teeth Dan shall be a Serpent by the way an Adder in the Path that bites the horse heeles so that his rider shall fall backeward Jacob Gen. 49.17 God had said long before that he should bruise the heele of the seed of the woman Gen. 3.15 And therefore aptly there Iacob call the Serpent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from his biting You may see a subtilty in their Hornes for with small hornes Nature has formed one kind of them as Pliny observes lib. 9. cap. 23. which thence is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whose deceit is to hide his body and wag his hornes to allure the birds to come and peck at them which comming for their prey become his prey Both which qualities are fitly expressed in another name which Jacob uses for a Serpent which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies both to Lurke and Tempt the word is also used in the Originall Isa 27.1 You may see a subtilty in their wings for some Naturalists report such are found in Aethiopia and likely it is such were the fiery Serpents which bit the Israelites Numb 21.6 and a prediction we find of a flying Serpent Isa 14.29 which though some think to be spoken but by a figure not of wings but of speed yet well does it expresse his subtilty in his intentive prosecution of his prey You may see a subtilty in their Skine which they yearly cast to renew their strength a fit emblem of the old Serpent the Devill who can change himselfe into an Angell of Light and some Serpents to have the best names of the best Angells the fiery Serpents mentioned Num. 21.6 being there called Seraphin which is the name of the most different reasons The word signifies fiery to expresse in the Angells their Glory their Light of understanding and especially their heate of Love to their Creator but in the Serpent it intends the extremity of his venome which sets on fire with torment the person whom he bites You may see a subtilty in their Appetite it being noted of the Stellio a kind of Serpent too that he has no sooner cast his skinne but he eats it up as if he understood the virtue of it and as some censure it did envie man whom he takes for his enemie so great a benefit it being a speciall remedy as some have taught against the falling sicknesse You may see a subtilty in their Hissing the Basiliske being of that nature that if other Serpents come neare him he ceases not to hisse out threats till they be gone that he may pride himselfe alone From which domineering humour as also from a white marke in forme of a diadem upon his head he has the name of Basiliske and Regulus or the Kingly Serpent And would not the old Serpent have gotten such a Royalty in Heaven would he not there have been a Basiliske nay when as thence he was cast out would he not have gotten the Dominion in Paradice over our first Parents You may see a subtilty in their voice at least you may find such subtilty in the Paradice-Serpent in whom you may see these speciall subtilties He tempted not our Parents whiles God seem'd present with them that he judg'd might have spoild his plot He tempted them not together that he perceiv'd had been two to one He tempted not first the Man be saw his Excellency and knew not if though alone he might prove too hard for him Yet tempted he the Woman shee was by nature of a more moist and so of a more gentle temper yeilding him the Hope whiles the possibility of some change in her and if she could be overcome He the Woman would assault the Man This was the way to conquer man by halves Indeed he conquered halfe Adam when he conquered Eve And you may consider how he conquered her He knew that God had commanded them not to eate of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the Garden and as yet he saw their Obedience He knew God had told them that if they eat of it they should die and he perceiv'd their beliefe in the word of God Lastly he understood her Feare of God least shee did offend and her feare of Death if she did offend He saw then that there were three things which he must overcome in her her Obedience her Faith and her Feare He sets himselfe then to consider what order he should use in his assault that is how he might prove himselfe a Devill To overcome her Obedience whiles he Faith was strong he saw it was impossible and to overcome her Faith whiles shee had the Feare of God and Death in her he judg'd as impossible Thus then he concludes If he could overcome her Faith her Obedience would fall it selfe and if he could overcome her Feare her Faith would likewise grow weake of it selfe Her feare then is that which he must first overthrow yet so that he will also give a blow to her Faith He comes then unto her and cunningly askes yea has God said ye shall not eate of every tree in the garden See his subtilty in these respects He pretends an Ignorance so to assume a Libertie to aske a question Next as he durst not at first tell a flat untruth by
shall the serpent have such subtill teeth and shall ours be set on edge only to our own overthrow shall his Hornes as some kind of serpent has be so subtill to get a prey and shall our strength want subtilty to save us from being made a prey shall his wings for some kind of serpent does not only creep be more speedy to doe mischiefe than our wisedome in saving us from it shall he change his skinne and renew strength and shall not we renew our Lives by changing them shall his Appetite take all advantage from his Enemie and shall ours increase our spirituall Enemies against our selves shall he drive away other serpents from him and shall we intertaine them in the Bosome imbracing Heresie and Vice to our own Destruction shall his Voice be able to master Man that had Righteousnesse by Creation and shall not we be able to master the serpent that have a double Righteousnesse of Sanctification by Christ's Grace and of Justification by his Merits Briefely skall his whole Body be so subtile as to defend his Head shall not we with all our power defend the Godhead of our Saviour against the execrable Socinian◠our holy Faith in Christ our Head And shall not the Innocency also of the Dove advantage our Innocency He loves the Light and shall we love the workes of Darknesse shall he be ready to be Oppressed and shall we be too ready to Oppresse shall he be without Gall and shall we be full of Malice Were they a sacrifice to God and shall we be lesse acceptable Were they a Resemblance of the Church nay of God and shall we have neither the likenesse of either of them nor the blessing O let us strive then to imitate the Innocency of the Dove and Exceed it Would we be Heirs of the Kingdome of God we must become as little Children they crie not for the want of Wealth nor for the losse of it they doate not on Beauty no not on their own subject they are to sicknesse yet not to malice as if they were more free from sinne then from Disease they raise not themselves to Ambition it is above the reach of the Mother's Breast Such things then let us doe by the simplicity of Grace as they doe by simplicity of Nature Let us call to mind the first Christians how the unity of their Faith produced even a Community of their Goods a rare victory of Grace upon Nature By the blessing of Love they were above the blessing of Propriety shewing the Bounty of the Gospell to excell the Thrift of Law-Let us call to mind how they improved their Enemies into friends making them by forgivenesse their Helps to Heaven Let us call to mind that their sufferings were their Conquests and Death the beginning of Life Eternall O grant us then wisedome sweet Iesu thou that art the Wisedome of the Father and grant us Innocency O blessed Spirit that did'st vouchsafe to appeare like a Dove that we becomeing like the Dove may become like Thee that by descending to us Here we may Hereafter by the wings of the true Dove Innocency and Miracle Ascend to Thee the Father Son and Holy Ghost to whom be ascribed Mercy and Wisedome and Holinesse for evermore FINIS OF BAPTISME A SERMON BY BARTEN HOLYDAY Doctor of Divinity OXFORD Printed by Leonard Lichfield 1657. Galat. 3.27 As many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ THAT Likenesse which we may see produced by Inferiour Causes in their Effects is but an Imitation of the supreame Cause God Himselfe who is so naturally good that whatsoever he maks must needs beare some Image of that Goodnesse Thus when he made man he bestow'd upon him among many other two chiefe Perfections a Holinesse of Soule and a kind of Absolutensse of Body whiles a body that needed not a reference to Apparell But when man fell he fell from this double perfection and at once became sinfull and Naked So that we may say he was not as now unhappily naked when first he had no Cloaths but when first he wanted them and he stood not in need of a Covering for his Body till he stood in need of a Covering for his sinne Which when God naturally good beheld and saw the new dissimilitude between Himselfe and his Creature moov'd by his own goodnesse he intends a reparation of his Creature And since this dissimilitude to speake in part figuratively consisted in a Nakednesse of Soule and Body it pleased him to provide for both a Covering And this he did with such wisedome of Mercy that he made the Covering of his Body a figure of the Covering of his Soule and to teach our Understanding by our Sense sometimes he calls our Righteousnesse a Robe which as the Apostle here tells us every true Receiver puts on in the Sacrament of Baptisme As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ Which words duely considered may instruct us in the Nature of this Sacrament and the Extent of it As man is Gods workmanship and so should be his Image so as God is pure should man be pure and therefore being defil'd by sinne he should be now purified Thus though with the Leviticall Leper he may crie uncleane uncleane yet should he also crie with the great and happy sinner wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow That indeed has a right cleanesse the purity of Snow being not only purity but also Coolenesse a figure of the pure Coolenesse of the impure heates of Lust Which purity was shadowed out unto the Iew in his frequent washings whence the greatest pretenders of Sanctity among the Jews were the greatest Washers The Pharisie was a man of a cleare Hand and Cuppe and therefore thought himselfe also of a pure lippe in which opinion though he mistook his Outside for his Inside yet he acknowledged a washing necessary Even Pilate that had his hand in blood would yet also have his hand in water and though that Blood be counted a cleanser thought Innocent blood the greatest staine and that water would at least pretend his Innocency if not procure it But alas had he understood the right Baptisme he would with S. Peters resolution have desired not only the washing of the Hand but also of the Head the whole body Now under this figure as the Iew had been taught so was the Christian to be taught To the devoutest Iew Washing was but a Figure to the Devoutest Christian it is not only a shadow of Grace but also the companion of it and therefore it was not Ceremonie but Charitie in S. Peter Act. 2. to exhort his Converts to be Baptized To understand the Name and so the better the nature of Baptisme it is from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly to Dippe consequently to wash Hence were the Pharisies by Iustin Martyr called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 baptists because of their frequent washings which S. Marke also mentioned c. 7.4