Christs Love and Affection Towards Jerusalem, Chapter 3
CHAP. 3.
It ſhould be every mans care to weepe for the ſinnes of others.
Application.ANd now that ye have heard what Chriſt did, how he wept over Jeruſalem, and the reaſon why he did it; what remaines more, but to wind up all in a word of Application; and though I might inlarge this into ſeverall heads, yet I will confine all within the compaſſe of theſe two, of Imitation and Exhortation. 1. Let it be a ground of imitation to follow Chriſt in this that he did; I will expreſſe it in the words of the Apoſtle,aPhil. 2.5. Let the ſame minde be in you that was in Chriſt Ieſus. Look on the example of Chriſt, & do likewiſe; looke on the ſinnes and miſeries of others, and weepe for them; if a man ſhould heare his owne Father reproached and diſhonoured, though it were by thoſe that are above his reach; yet if there be any ſparke of good nature in him, it will make him at leaſt to take it to heart and weep for it. Now God who is the Father of Spirits, he is reproached and diſhonoured every day, and that by men of all ſorts, young and old, high and low, rich and poore, &c. and can any profeſſe himſelf to be the ſonne of God, and not to weepe for this? When Eliſha fixed his eyes upon Hazael, and foreſaw the evill that he would doe to the children of Iſraelb2 Kings 8.12., it fetched teares from his eyes, and made him weepe at the very thought of it; and can we ſee and heare of all the abominations that are done and committed every where, by Superiours, inferiours, friends, foes, &c. and yet ſhed never a teare for them? If a man be touched with wrongs and injuries that concerne himſelfe and his perſon, his goods, his good name and reputation, how ſenſible is he of it? how deeply is he affected with it? how much doth he lay it to heart, and grieve for it? Oh then that God ſhould bee ſo much diſhonoured, and ſo few teares ſhed, ſo little weeping and lamenting for it cPint. comment. in Ezek cap. 9. v. 4. Nos contumelias in Deum jactas, & impia adverſus ipſum facinora praetermittimus, ſi autem ipſi vel ſolo verbo vulneremur & in cos à qubus fuimus injuriis laceſſiti impetum facimus, &c. & paulo poſt, lege divinas literas & replica animalium memoriam, inquire ſanctorum patrum hiſtorias, & invenies paſſim, viros pietate illuſtres, &c. ob alierum ſceleta quibus Deus offende batur, oculos ſuos vertiſſe in vivarum …achrymrum ſon…es.? What love can there be to God whoſe honour is trampled under foot by ſinne? What charity to his brother whoſe ſalvation is hazarded, and his ſoule mortally wounded by it? What conformity to this example of Chriſt in that ſoule, that never takes to heart the ſinnes of others? that never mournes in ſecret, or ſheds teares for them? Davids heart and affection was ſo inflamed with the love of God, that it made his eyes guſh out with rivers of water, becauſe men kept not Gods Law dPſal… 19.130.. Oh if David had lived in our times, walked through our ſtreets, if he had ſeene the pride, heard the oathes, taken notice of the prophaneneſſe that is in every corner; ſurely he would have even waſhed the ſtreets with his teares.
When Lot dwelt amongſt the wicked Sodomites, in ſeeing and beholding their unlawfull deeds, it vexed his righteous ſoule from day to day e2 P… …2.8.: If he had ſeene and heard that which every eye may ſee that will looke abroad into the world, and that which every eare may heare almoſt in every place; to wit, thoſe rotten and unſavoury ſpeeches, thoſe curſed and blaſphemous oaths which the black and unhallowed mouthes of many ſinfull wretches belch forth againſt heaven; how would hee have beene grieved and troubled at it? When Saint Paul takes notice of inordinate walkers, it makes his very heart to bleed, and fils his eyes with teares to thinke upon it: fPhil. 3.18.Many walk inordinately, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you weeping, that they are enemies to the Croſſe of Chriſt. But alas we, what doe we? we make our ſelves merry with the wickedneſſe of men; we looke upon the drunkards that goe reeling and ſtaggering in the ſtreet, and make it a matter of laughter; we heare the bloody oaths and ſcurrilous ſpeeches of prophane perſons, and make our ſelves ſport with them: one man makes another drunk, and then laughs at him; another caſts a bone of contention between friends, and breeds a quarrell amongſt them, and then makes himſelfe ſport with it. Oh that we ſhould make that a matter of ſport and laughter, that fetched teares from the eyes of Chriſt! that the members ſhould rejoyce in that, which makes the Head to weepe gStell. commen. in loc pag. 236. Flenda ſunt aliorum peccata, ut Chriſtus exemplo ſuo docet, non ridenda.!
It is reported of St. Ambroſe hPaulin in vita S. Ambroſu c. 20. Quotieſcunque illi obpercipiendam poenitentiam, lapſus ſuos confeſſus eſſet: ita flebat ut illum flere compelleret., that when any confeſſed their ſinnes unto him, deſiring his help and counſell for the obtaining of comfort, hee would fall into ſuch a veine of weeping, that his example drew teares from the party that came unto him; and as the learned obſerve well, godly mindes are ready ſo much the more to melt themſelves into teares, by how much more they ſee and heare the ſinnes of others to multiply and increaſe.
When the Prophet had exhorted the Rulers of Iſrael to humble themſelves, and to reforme things that were amiſſe in Church and Common-wealth, he tels them,iIer. 13.17. If yee will not heare this, my ſoule ſhall weepe in ſecret for your pride, and mine eye ſhall drop downe teares, becauſe the Lords flocke is carried away captive. But alas, we, what doe we? If wee doe but conceit any thing to be amiſſe in Church or Common-wealth, we murmure, we complaine, we throw dirt in the face of Authority; reviling thoſe who ought to bee obeyed for conſcience ſake: but where is the man that enters into his Cloſet, and mourns in ſecret for things that are indeed amiſſe? The Chriſtian world is little inferiour to Sodome in many ſinnes, but where are the righteous Lots that trouble their owne ſoules with the thought of it? Men are now as ready to forſake the Law of God as ever they were, but where are the Davids, whoſe eyes melt into fountaines of teares at the ſight of it? Men now walke as inordinately as ever they did, but where are the Pauls, that cannot thinke or ſpeake of it without bleeding hearts and weeping eyes? Againe, what charity is there in that ſoule towards his brother, whoſe ſalvation is hazarded, and himſelfe mortally wounded by ſinne? who ſees him daily runne into ſinne, and doth not mourne and weepe for him? Oh how farre doth this ſwarve from the frame and temper of that bleſſed Apoſtle, that Veſſell of Election, whoſe heart was ready to bleed within him for the ſinnes of his brethren and kindred according to the fleſh;kRom. 9.1. I have great heavineſſe and continuall ſorrow in my heart, for I would wiſh my ſelfe to be ſeparated from Chriſt, for my brethren that are my kinſmen according to the fleſh: So Moſes and the Children of Iſrael, they wept for the ſinnes of their brethren and companions lNum. 25.6.; They wept before the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The Apoſtle alſo bewailed ſome who had ſinned, and not repented of their ſinnes m2 Cor. 12.21.;nGuliel. Pariſ. to. 1 li. de morib. pag 204. Nemo dubitet, quin pia corda tantò lachrymis compaſſionis uberius affluant, quanto proximorum peccata magis abundare, vel conſpexerint, vel etiam audierint. and good reaſon, for there is not a more lamentable ſpectacle under heaven, than a man that lives and wallowes in his ſinne; If teares be deſervedly powred out for any evill that befals another, then are they unworthily reſtrained for ſinne, which is the greateſt evill. If a man weepe and ſhed teares for his friend that lyes upon his ſicke bed, from which he may poſſibly be raiſed up; there is greater reaſon why he ſhould doe it, when he is ſicke unto death. Now ſo it is with thoſe who give themſelves over to any ſinfull courſe, they are ſicke unto death; nay, they are dead in treſpaſſes and ſinnes, as the Apoſtle ſpeakesoEph. 2.1.; therefore ſufficient cauſe there is to weep for thempAuguſt. to. 10. de Sanctis ſerm. 13 pag. 322. Plangis mortuum, magis plange impiū, plange infidelem, &c. an verò in te non ſunt viſcera Chriſtianae miſerationis, ut plangas corpus à quo diſceſſit anima, et non plangas animā à quâ receſſit Deus?, becauſe they are full of ſpirituall evils, which of all others are the greateſt evils; and therefore, if any elſe, much more theſe ſhould fill every eye with teares that lookes upon them. Common humanity teacheth every one to weep and lament for the death of his friends, and yet it may bee a happy exchange that they make by death; but when friends are dead in treſpaſſes and ſinnes, there is matter of lamentation indeed; becauſe, if they be not helped out of that condition, they muſt die eternally, and periſh for ever.
Wee read of a time when there was a great cry and lamentation in Egypt qExod. 12.30.; and what was the reaſon? The Text ſhewes it, becauſe there was never a houſe in all the Land of Aegypt, where there was not one dead. If a man ſhould goe through all the families in this Kingdome, how many houſes might hee come into, where hee ſhould not finde one alive? what houſe could he enter into, where he ſhould not find many dead? and what a cry and lamentation ſhould this cauſe amongſt us? eſpecially ſeeing this cry, it is never in vaine, but alwayes procures a bleſſing, and provides a Sanctuary or place of refuge againſt all dangers. Whereupon it is that Saint Auguſtine rAuguſt. epiſt. 199. Chryſoſt. in Pſal. 129.affirmeth, that teares are the beſt ſacrifice that any one can offer up for himſelfe: and Saint Chryſoſtome is not afraid to ſay, that they are the beſt almes hee can beſtow upon others. Like as it was with the Iſraelites, when the deſtroying Angell was to paſſe through the Land of Aegypt, God cauſed them to take the blood of the Lambe, and to ſprinkle it on the Lintels, and the doore checkes, that when the deſtroying Angell ſaw the marke, hee might paſſe over that houſe, and not enter into it: ſo when the deſtroying Angell is abroad in the world, the Providence of God ſets a marke upon thoſe that mourne in Sion; either to keepe them ſafe in the common calamitie, or elſe to provide better for them, by taking them away from the evill to come.ſEzek. 9.4. Goe through the middeſt of the City, even the middeſt of Ieruſalem, and ſet a marke upon the forehead of all thoſe that mourne and cry for all the abominations that are done in the midſt of her tHier. com. in Ezek. ca. 9. Gementes igitur dolenteſque ſalvantur, qui non ſolùm malis non conſenſerūt operibus, ſed et aliena planxêre peccata..
Finally, what conformity is there to this example of Chriſt, in that man that never layes to heart the ſinnes of the times and places where he lives? If Chriſt ſpent ſo many teares for this one City of Jeruſalem, how ſhould it fill every eye with teares, when he lookes upon the ſinnes that are done and committed in all Countries and Regions through the whole Chriſtian world? What was Jeruſalem to the whole world? or what were the Inhabitants of Jeruſalem in compariſon of thoſe who now make profeſſion of religion in the time of the Goſpell? If therefore the ſinnes of Jeruſalem drew ſuch abundance of teares from the eyes of Chriſt, what meaſure of teares can ſufficiently bewaile the ſins and tranſgreſſions that are done and committed by all the ſonnes and daughters of the Chriſtian world in the times of the Goſpell?