Christs Love and Affection Towards Jerusalem, Chapter 1
CHAP. 1.
The diviſion of the Text, and the explication of the former part.
THe Evangeliſt having ſet down the joyfull acclamations wherewith Chriſt was entertained in his progreſſe towards Jeruſalem;Coherence. he ſhewes here, how hee was affected with it, that is, that he was ſo far from being lifted up with vaine glory and popular applauſe, that while they ſing, he laments; while they rejoyce, he weepes; while they ſeeke by all meanes to honour him, hee doth nothing but complaine of them. So that the words contain Chriſts lamentation over Jeruſalem,The Analyſis or reſolution of the Text. wherein there are two things conſiderable: 1. His cariage and deportment towards her, He wept. &c. 2. His words and ſpeeches of her, ſaying, Oh if thou, &c. Chriſt hath words to ſpeak to Jeruſalem, as well as teares to ſpend upon her; thoſe ſilent teares wanted not their force and efficacie, to make Jeruſalem ſenſible of her condition, and to be more deepely affected with her owne miſery; yet becauſe there is alſo in a lively voice, a powerfull kinde of Rhetoricke, to worke upon the affections; that Chriſt might the better prevaile with Jeruſalem, he joynes them both together, He wept, ſaying, &c. By his teares he ſpeaks to her eyes, and lets her ſee his love; by his words he ſpeaks to her underſtanding, and lets her know his minde; hee workes upon the eye, which is the window of the ſoule; he works upon the eare which is the doore of the heart, and ſhewes by both, how willing he is to get within her, and to take up his lodging there.
1. In the carriage and deportment of Chriſt towards Jeruſalem, you may take notice of three things: 1. Of the action it ſelfe, what it was that hee did, He wept. 2. Of the time and place, where and when he did it, When he drew neere and beheld the City. 3. Of the cauſe why he did it, and that was for the eſtate and condition of Jeruſalem, He wept for it.
2. In the words and ſpeeches of Chriſt, of and to Jeruſalem, you may obſerve two things: 1. A paſſionate and patheticall wiſh or complaint, Oh if thou hadſt known, &c. 2. A poſitive aſſertion or affirmation, But now are they hid, &c. 1. There is a paſſionate and patheticall wiſh or complaint, wherein Chriſt complaines of that was wanting in Jeruſalem, and wiſhes it had beene otherwiſe with her, and in this ye may conſider two things alſo: 1. The manner of his ſpeech, Oh if thou hadſt knowne, &c. 2. The matter of it, or the object about which it is converſant, and that is knowledge; which is further amplifyed, 1. By the circumſtance of time, At leaſt in this thy day: 2. By the worth and quality of the object, or thing to be knowne, The things that belong to thy peace. 2. There is a poſitive aſſertion or affirmation, wherein Chriſt ſhews to Jeruſalē, what her preſent eſtate & condition then was, But now are they hid frō thine eyes: That is, becauſe ſhe would not ſee them when in the day of grace they were clearly ſet before her, and offered unto her; therefore now are they hid from her eyes, that ſhe could not ſee them.
To begin with the firſt of theſe, to wit,1. Chriſts action: He wept the carriage and deportment of Chriſt towards Jeruſalem, and therein firſt of the action it ſelfe, He wept. Some have thought it unſeemly for Chriſt to weep, asaLib. qui inſcribitur Ancoratꝰ pa. ed. grae. 482. foreign &c. Epiphanius hath obſerved long ſince, and therefore have blotted that word out of the Originall, fearing, leſt it might ſomewhat abate, and take away from the honor and eſtimation of his perſon; but that learned Father doth well oppoſe that raſh attempt, both by the authority of the moſt ancient Copies; as alſo of Irenaeus, a moſt ancient Writer, who from this place proves the truth of Chriſts humanity, againſt ſuch as denyed the ſame; and indeed, if Chriſt had a true humane nature, it cannot be ſuppoſed that humane affections are unſeemly for him; and therefore the Scripture makes mention of other affections in Chriſt, as well as this; and of this alſo in other places more than once; and therefore it may not be thought unſeemly for Chriſt to weep: as he had the ſame nature with man, ſo likewiſe the ſame affections with him: onelyonly with this difference, 1. That theſe affections of joy, griefe, &c. as they were in Chriſt, they were fully, and abſolutely in his owne power, he was abſolute Lord of them; nothing could force him to grieve, or weepe, unleſſe himſelfe pleaſed ſo to doe: but theſe paſſions and affections in us, they are not wholly in our own power, but ariſe ſometimes in us, when wee are moſt unwilling to be moved, and ſtirred with them. 2. Theſe affections as they were in Chriſt, they were without the leaſt admixture of any ſinfull diſtemper: naturall and unblameable affections, as the Hiſtorian calls thembEuagr. Scholaſt. l. 4. ca. 39. foreign., like pure and cleare water: but in us, now ſince the fall of man, they are like muddy water, not without ſome ſinfull diſtempers, intermingled with them.
The time & place.2 The time, and place, where, and when hee wept, When he drew neare and beheld the Citie; it was before he came into the Citie, & yet in ſuch a place where he might have a full ſight, and view of it; and that was upon Mount Olivet, from whence he deſcended and came downe to Ieruſalem; and it is worth the noting, as one obſerves well,bLucas Brugen. in loc. Obſervatione digna res eſt, quod Romani eodē in loco, c…ſtra ponere, & eodem fere dic civitatē obſidere coeperunt, quo Ieſus praedixit, ac deflevit, viſae excidium. Vide Ioſeph. de bello Iud. l. 6. c. 3. & 4 that it was in that very place where the Romans firſt pitched their Tents when they encamped againſt Jeruſalē; & about the very ſame time, a little before the feaſt of the Paſſeover. To the eye of the body, the city of Ieruſalem it might appeare as a goodly pile of building, apt to beget admiration in the beholders, as it did in the Diſciples, which ſaid to Chriſt, Maſter, ſee what ſtones and goodly building is here cMat. 13.1.: but to Chriſt, who beheld it not ſo much with the eye of the body, as with that all-ſeeing eye of his Deity or Godhead; by which eye he looked on the Inhabitants, and ſaw the inward frame and diſpoſition of their hearts, and their ſecret conſultations, whereby they plotted and conſpired his death, and brought the guilt of his blood upon them: to this eye (I ſay) it appeares to bee a Cage of uncleane birds, and a very ſinke of all filthineſſe and abomination, as the Hiſtorian. ſpeakesdEgeſip. li. 4. c. 6. Omnium flagitiorum ſentina. of it; and therefore Chriſt foreſeeing that the ſinnes of Jeruſalem would draw her enemies upon her, who in this very place, and about this time of the yeare, would begin to incampe againſt her; there, and then doth he begin to weepe for her.
3 The cauſe why he wept:The cauſe why he wept. It may well be ſuppoſed there was good cauſe why hee did it, elſe he would not have done it; eſpecially ſo and in ſuch manner as he did: for women and children to weepe it is no wonder; it is both eaſie and ordinary with them to put the finger in the eye, and to wring out a few teares; but for men to weepe, men that are wiſe, grave, valiant, magnanimous, as Chriſt was, it commonly argues, that there is ſome more than ordinary occaſion for it. And there bee foure circumſtances in this weeping of Chriſt, that ſhew it to be a matter of ſingular obſervation.
1 If he looke upon the perſon, who it is that weepes, and that is Chriſt; and it was not ordinary for Chriſt to weepe: ye doe but read of three times that Chriſt wept in all the ScriptureeEſtius Annot. in loc. pag. 877. & Hugo Cardin. in locum. Creſol. Anthol. ſacra pag. 23 3. Flevit ad Lazaritumulum ad ſolandam illā afflictam familiam, quae alieno funere propē exanimabatur; flevit in cruce, non ob dolorum ſuorū magnitudinem et acerbitatem: ſed contemplatione exitiorū, in quae Iudaei, et alii perfidioſi, contempto purputeo illo ſanguine, mundi pretio, debebant incurrere; flevit ſuper ingratā civitatē, cui peſtum indies cunti, et maleficio contaminatae, infenſi numinis telum imminebat., firſt, at Lazarus funerallfJohn 11.35.; and that was to ſhew how deeply he was affected with a ſenſe and feeling of death, and mortality, and other miſeries that ſin brought into the world. Secondly, at the time of his ſufferinggHeb. 5.7.; Hee offered up prayers, and ſupplications, with ſtrong cries and teares to him that was able to helpe him: and this was out of a conſideration, wherein he did foreſee, that the greateſt part of mankinde would bee little or no better for that redemption that he purchaſed at ſo deare a rate: And thirdly, here upon the ſight of Jeruſalem: and if we may judge of this laſt by the two former, it muſt needs bee granted that there was good cauſe for it, becauſe thoſe were both upon ſpeciall occaſions.
2 If yee looke upon the manner of Chriſts weeping, it will appeare to be a matter of ſingular obſervation; for theſe teares, they were not extorted from him againſt his will, but they were voluntary teares, teares which he ſhed freely and willingly, of his owne accord, by his owne conſent, with mature judgement and deliberation. Sad occaſions they doe indeed ſomtimes wring teares from the ſonnes of men, becauſe in them the will hath not a plenary power over the affections; but it was not ſo with Chriſt, no teares fell from his eyes, but onelyonly voluntary teares, ſuch as were fully and altogether in his owne power, and therefore it is a matter of more obſervation, that hee would thus weepe upon ſet purpoſe as it were, and by ſpeciall choiſe.
3 If ye look upon the place where he wept, there is ſome thing in that; for it was not in a ſecret Cloſet, like Ioſeph, who gets himſelf into a private chamber, and there weeps hGen. 43.30.: but it was in a publike aſſembly, in a great throng and concourſe of people; a place, in the judgement of reaſon, no wayes fit or ſeaſonable for ſuch an action; and therefore why Chriſt would make choiſe of that place, thus, and there to weepe, it is ſurely a matter worth the while, to enquire and finde out the cauſe of it.
4 If yee looke upon the time when it was that Chriſt thus wept; there is matter of obſervation in that: for it was not in a ſad and gloomy day of humiliation, when every eye ſheds forth teares, and all faces gather blackneſſe; but in a ſolemne day of publike rejoycing; and that all for his ſake, occaſioned by his preſence amongſt them, when there was ſuch a joy amongſt the people, that ſome ſpread their garments in the way, others cut downe branches from the trees; the whole company going before, and comming after cryed, Hoſanna, bleſſed is hee that commeth in the name of the Lord: that hee who was the cauſe of all this joy, ſhould thus weep, and at that very time ſhed forth teares, in ſuch abundance, it cannot but ſuggeſt matter of wonder and admiration to him that doth but ſeriouſly thinke upon it; and therfore as Hazael, when he ſees the man of God looke ſtedfaſtly upon him, with weeping eyesiKing. 8.12., he puts forth the queſtion, ſaying, Why doth my Lord weepe? ſo when yee heare of Chriſt his carriage and deportment towards Jeruſalem, ye may well demand the reaſon, why did he thus weepe for it? was it becauſe thoſe ſtately palaces, which now towred up ſo high toward heaven, ſhould within a few yeares lie in the duſt? Surely, it could not but pity a man to ſee ſuch a goodly pile of building, utterly demoliſhed and made even with the ground, yet it was not that wch fetched tears from the eyes of ChriſtkStel. Comment. in loc. Nō diruendos muros, non ſubvertenda aedificia deplorat Dominus, ſed caecitatē civium, animarum interitum et jacturā.; he lamented more the loſſe of their ſoules, than their temporall ruinelDion. Carthuſ. in loc. Magis planxit ſubverſionē anima…ū, quam ruinam parietum.: or was it the foreſight of that ſhamefull and ignominious death which hee was ere long to ſuffer upon the Croſſe that drew teares from him? ſurely hee was not ignorant that the Rulers of Jeruſalem would plot and contrive his death, and take away his life; yet that was not the cauſe why he wept, becauſe he laid downe his life willingly, and made himſelfe a ſacrifice for the ſinnes of the world; but it was the eſtate and condition of Jeruſalem, as it now ſtoodmLucas Brug. in loc. Conſiderans unâ ex parte civium ingratitudinem altera ex parte mala ipſis imminentia, induit affectum cō dolentiae hujuſmodi qui lachrymas ipſi excuſſerit. in regard of her preſent ſinne, and her future miſery, that makes him thus to weepe for her, becauſe her eſtate and condition was truely lamentable, and yet ſhe neither ſenſible of her danger, nor apprehenſive of her ſinne; this was it that drew teares from his eyes.