Observations Natural and Moral, Chapter 16
CHAP. XVI. What things the Midwife doth to the child when it is new borne.
Ezekiel 16.4. And as for thy nativitie in the day that thou wast borne, thy navell was not cut, neither waſt thou waſhed in water to ſowple thee, thou was not ſwadled at all nor ſalted.
THe holy Ghoſt to expreſſe the miſerable eſtate of the Church of the Iewes when he called her, The holy Ghoſt to expreſſe the calling of his Church, borroweth a compariſon from a midwife.borroweth a compariſon from an infant new borne, whoſe navell the midwife firſt cutteth, then ſhe waſheth the infant and cleanſeth him from the blood, then ſalteth him and laſtly ſwadleth him.
When the infant is new borne, the midwife is readie to meete the child that he fall not to the ground, To prevent with the knee, what.and to receive him upon her knees, Iob. 3.12. Why did the knees prevent me, meaning the midwifes knees. And the heathen framed a goddeſſe which they called Levana, who prevented the child before it fell to the ground, but Auguſtine referreth it omni nutrici gratiae dei, which hee maketh but the midwife and nurſe to the Church: and as the Lord did draw David wonderfully out of his mothers wombe, Pſalme 22.9. ſo hee did draw the Church out of, Aegypt that bloodie wombe, God drevv the Church out of Egypt, a blodie vvombe.who were all to be killed by the midwives as ſoone as they were borne. Exo. 2. when no eye pittied them, when they were caſt out into the open field to the loathing of their perſon, in the day that they were borne, when they were wallowing in their blood, he tooke a care of them and adopted them, he ſayd Thou ſhalt live, Ezek. 16.4.5.
The ſecond thing, What meant by cutting of the navell.which the midwife did to the child new borne, ſhe cutteth the navell of the infant; the navell of the infant is in place of a mouth to it when it is in the mothers belly: when the child is borne the midwife cutteth the navell, and openeth the mouth of the infant, that it may receive nouriſhment by the mouth, Plut archus de … proli….the navell ſerving him no more for that uſe. And Plutarch marketh that the navell is firſt bred in the mothers belly, as the anchor which ſtayeth the infant in the mothers wombe, and upholdeth him in his firſt manſion; and the cutting of the navell is as it were the cutting of the cable at wo or pulling up of the anchor, to let the poore infant goe from this haven, his mothers wombe, to the ſtormes and dangers of this world, The navell is as it were a cable or rope to keepe the infant in the haven the mothers bellie.in which he is toſſed too and fro untill hee returne unto his death, which is his haven, and the grave which is his ſhore, as Abrahams boſome was a haven to Lazarus, Luc. 16.
The third thing that the midwife doth to the child, ſhe waſheth him, therefore the Prophet ſaith, Thou was not waſhed in water to ſowple thee: but the word [laſhang] ſhould be rather tranſlated in ſalutem, foreignfor thy ſafety; for the Phyſitians hold that it is moſt profitable for the child to be waſhed when he is new borne, Why are chidren waſhed when they are borne.and it ſhould not be tranſlated, to ſowple thee, for the fleſh of the new borne child is both ſoft and tender, and ſowple already: a child new borne, and wallowing in his blood, is rather like one killed than new borne; & to take him up & kiſſe him, & hug him in their armes, if nature had not placed in the mothers ſome naturall love, they would never doe it. Skilfull Phyſitians have afterwards commanded that the child-ſhould rather be waſhed in wine than water, becauſe it maketh the body of the infant more firme. Alluſion. And marke how Chriſt, Ioh. 3. alludeth to this, when hee ſaith, unleſſe a man be borne of water and the ſpirit: he waſhed not his Church with wine, Chriſt waſhed his Church with his owne blood.but with his owne blood. And as they waſhed the infants when they were new borne, ſo they uſed to waſh the bodies when they were dead, Act. 9.37. and they waſhed the body of Dorcas, and laid it in an upper chamber.
The fourth thing which the midwife doth to the child, Why they ſalted children new borne.ſhe ſalted him that his fleſh might be more ſolide and more able to withſtand the cold: but in this effeminate and daitie age, they uſe not to doe this to their children. So the Lord when he called his Church, he ſeaſoned her with the ſalt of grace.
The fift thing which the midwife doth to the child, foreign infantes palmarum.ſhe ſetteth the bones of the child aright and ſwadleth him, that he be not vacius: they are called [gnolele tippuchim] infantes palmarum; Lament. 2.20. not becauſe they are but a ſpan in length, but becauſe the midwife when they are new borne, ſetled their bones and joynts with her hand, Infantes palmarum quid apud Hebraeos.that they may be the more ſtreight afterward: ſhe ſwadleth them to ſtrengthen their weake members, therefore it is obſerved that the bodies of the Barbarians were much more ſtreight then the bodies of the Romanes, becauſe they were ſwadled ſtill untill they were two or three yeares old. Why the Lord is ſayd to ſwaddle the ſea.God himſelfe taketh a compariſon from this, Iob. 38.9. He ſwadleth the ſea, as eaſily as the midwife doth the young infant.
There is a great reſemblance betwixt our birth and our death, A great reſemblance betwixt our birth and our death.as we came forth naked out of our mothers wombe, ſo ſhall we returne naked thither againe, Eccleſ. 5.15. And as the infant is bound and ſwadled when he is borne, ſo is the dead body bound hand and foote, as we ſee Lazarus Ioh. 11. And the infant is ſalted when he is borne, to teach us that wee ſhall quickly corrupt, and goe to corruption againe.
The concluſion of this is, Coneluſion. that we ſhould lament our naturall corruption, who are by nature the children of wrath, and be thankefull to God who hath taken us out of the ſtate of corruption, waſhed us, and made us heires of grace and ſalvation.