Medicines for the Plague, Collection of sermons · Sermon 16
The ſixteenth Sermon vponupon the fifth verſe.
That we may reioyce in thy ſaluation, &c.
AS they bring this for a reaſon in their prayer, to mooue the Lord to beſtow vponupon them this benefit: ſo here they profeſſe, that if hee will vouchſafe ſo to doe, they would reioyce indeed, and bee glad, and as they ſhould hauehave cauſe. From whence wee may learne how we ought to be affected with the common benefits of our time:We ought to reioyce in the common benefits of our time. as here they ſpeake of publicke bleſsing, namely, victorie ouer their enemies, and ſo of common peace and tranquilitie that ſhould follow; namely, that we ſhould take them from God, as matter of great ioy. And as when there is any common affliction and plague in the land, of what kind ſoeuer, wee ſhould be affected with it, and be ſorrowfull for it: and not hauehave that ſtonineſſe and hardneſſe of heart that is in too many, whereby it ſhould come to paſſe, that wee ſhould make light of ſuch things, and not be mooued with them, as we ought. So we ſhould be touched with the conſideration of the common benefits, to reioice in them, becauſe we hauehave our part in them: and the greater that thoſe benefits be, the more ſhould we reioyce in them, and the more ſhould be our ioy for them: or elſe we cannot be ſo thankefull vntounto God for them, as we ought. VVee ſhould not then be ſo careleſſe, that we ſhould not marke the common benefits of our time; nor ſo blockiſh and hard hearted, that in marking of them, we ſhould not reioyce in them. For we ſee, that the ſeruants of God in their ſeuerall ages and times, hauehave not onelyonly greatly reioyced in the common benefits of the Church and Commonwealth, wherein they hauehave had their part with the reſt of their brethren; but they hauehave openly profeſſed it, to the glorie of God, and the good example of others: As when they returned from the captiuitie of Babylon, where they had beene long, not onelyonly in a ſtrange countrey, but vnderunder idolaters; now, when they come home, and hauehave the freedome of their conſcience in Gods ſeruice, and that in their own countrey, they were not onelyonly filled with ioy, but they ſpeak of it among themſelues to their mutuall comfort: and as when they went out, they wept, and were touched with the common miſerie of that time, and put away all tokens of ioy from them.Pſal. 137.2. (For by the waters of Babylon they hanged their harpes vponupon the willowes, and ſaid, that they would not ſing the Lords ſong in a ſtrange land:) ſo in their returne they ſpeake otherwiſe of themſelues: for as the benefit was ſo great and ſo vnlooked for of many,Pſal. 126.1. That when the Lord brought againe the captiuitie of Sion, they were like them that dreame: ſo their ioy was ſo great, that they ſay, Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with ioy: and they ſay, The Lord hath done great things for vsus, whereof we reioyce. The Lord hath vouchſafed vsus and our forefathers the like merciemercy, in deliuering vsus long ago from the tyrannie of the Pope,As that we are deliuered frō poperie. and of his idolatrie, and giuen vsus this freedome of the goſpell in our owne countrey: we muſt ſo conſider of it, That as thoſe holy men that wanted it, ſo prayed for it, that they might reioyce (as this people doth here, for another benefit:) ſo now we that hauehave it, might reioyce in it indeed, and not to be ſo ſenceleſſe and void of feeling, as many are, not at all or very little to be mooued with ſo great cauſe of ioy.
The like may be ſaid of all other common benefits whatſoeuer: as when Salomon was appointed to be king in his father Dauids roome, and this was done with the common conſent of all the nobles and chiefe men of the realme, it is ſaid, they gaue thankes vntounto God, and were exceedingly glad.1. Chron. 29.20. For Dauid ſaid vntounto them, Now bleſſe the Lord your God: and all the congregation bleſsed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worſhipped the Lord, and the king. And they did eat and drinke before the Lord the ſame day with great ioy: and they made Salomon the ſonne of Dauid king the ſecond time. So this great benefit, to hauehave one good prince to ſucceed another peaceably,And then wee hauehave one good prince to ſucceed another. was vntounto them matters of great ioy. In which reſpect we hauehave no leſſe cauſe to reioyce than they, that after the death of our late Soueraigne Queene Elizabeth, of bleſſed memorie, by whom we did enioy many great benefits, who did reſtore religion, and tooke order for the ſeruice & ſeruants of the Lord (as Dauid did) we hauehave one in Gods great merciemercy to ſucceed, that maintaineth the Goſpell: and that he is peaceably come to the Crowne (as Salomon was then) ſo that neither we are fallen into the hands of our enemies, nor giuen vp vntounto Popiſh idolatrie (as both of them were greatly feared.) But as this benefit was greatly deſired of many before, and they thought that then they would reioice, and otherwiſe they could not: ſo we that enioy it, muſt reioyce in it, and ſo conſider of the greatneſſe of it, that our hearts may be made glad with it: and that wee may eat and drinke before the Lord, and vſe other of his benefits, as in his preſence, with great ioy. So is it ſaid afterwards in the dayes of this Salomon, when he had builded and made an end of the temple of the Lord, and had with ſolemne prayers and ſacrifices dedicated it vntounto his ſeruice, all the people of the land that came vp to Ieruſalem to the dedication of that houſe (when all things were finiſhed) The king ſent away into their tents ioyous and with glad hearts, 2. Chron. 7.10.becauſe of the goodneſſe that the Lord had done for Dauid, and for Salomon, and for Iſrael his people. Thus they reioyced againe in this great bleſsing, that God had ſet vp the place to his worſhip among them, ſo that all knew whether to reſort vntounto it: In regard whereof we hauehave as great cauſe to reioyce at this time, as they had then; for God hath giuen vsus his holy word and Goſpell, and we hauehave publike places appointed eueryevery where,And that the Goſpell is planted eueryevery where. whether we & all the people may reſort with the freedome of our conſciences to ſerue God, and we are not by the grace of God vnprouided for this way: let vsus doe as this people did here, conſider of it, as a matter of great ioy. And truly ſo it is, if we doe rightly weigh and eſteeme of it: for what I pray you, would our forefathers hauehave giuen, to inioy theſe great benefits that we doe? and how comfortable would they hauehave thought their times to hauehave bene, in reſpect of that they were then, if they might hauehave had them, as wee hauehave? I meane, this libertie and freedome from perſecution: this good gouernment, and peaceable inioying of all that we hauehave, eſpecially the puritie of the Goſpell, and the peace of the Church. And if any one of them ſeuerally be ſufficient cauſe of ioy, then all of them together a great deale more: let vsus then ſeeing we hauehave them, not looſe the comfort of them, but ſo eſteeme of them, and ſo conſider of them as cauſes of great ioy, as in their owne nature they are.
And as we ought to doe thus at all times, ſo eſpecially and moſt of all, we had need to doe it in the time of any ſorrow or griefe, that thereby we might beare the ſame ſo much the more eaſely, when in ſo many great benefits we ſhall ſee what great ioy we hauehave.In the time of ſorrow moſt of al we ought to reioice in Gods benefits And truly if we could come to this, as we ought, we ſhould find, that though many times for this and that, and ſuch things as doe befall vsus, we hauehave cauſe to ſorrow; yet for theſe and ſuch like we hauehave againe cauſe of ioy: and ſo it might happily come to paſſe, that we ſetting the one againſt the other, we might eaſily ouercome at the leaſt the extremity of griefe, and find fault with our ſelues for being grieued too much,Pſal 42.11. and ſay as Dauid did to himſelfe, Why art thou caſt downe my ſoule? and why art thou diſquieted within me? wait on God, for I will yet giuegive him thankes, he is my preſent helpe, and my God. So we might ſay to our ſelues, why am I thus grieued? hauehave I not theſe and theſe cauſes of ioy? And ſo though all griefe be not taken cleane away from vsus, yet at the leaſt it ſhould by this be ſo moderated and mitigated, as the furious ſpirit of Saul was with the pleaſant muſicke of Dauid, that it might be tollerably and in ſome good ſort borne.So ſhall our ſorrow be the more eaſily borne. VVhen as it ſhould be with vsus, as it was with them that built the ſecond Temple at Ieruſalem, where ſome wept, and ſome reioyced, and ſo among the people there was ioy and ſorrow mingled together. Many of the Priests and of the Leuites, Eſra. 3.12.and of the chiefe fathers, auncient men, which had ſeene the first houſe (when the foundation of this houſe was layd before their eyes) wept with a loud voice, and many ſhouted aloud for ioy: So that the people could not diſcerne the ſound of the ſhout for ioy, from the noiſe of the weeping of the people; for the people ſhouted with a loud cry, and the noyſe was heard far off. Some here wept becauſe they had no more, and ſome reioyced becauſe they had ſo much; and they could not tell which of them was the greateſt, the noyſe of them that mourned, or the noyſe of them that reioyced. So it might come to paſſe that in the middeſt of our ſorrow there might be ſome ioy: and our ioy might be as great as our griefe; and ſo much the greater, by how much the cauſe of the one is greater than the other: and thus when we began to be ſorowfull, we might alſo begin to reioyce. For it is ſaid in a ſong of one of the confeſſors of the Church (who deſired to hauehave bene a Martyr) Some men for ſudden ioy doe weepe, and ſome in ſorrow ſing, &c. Betwixt them both (ſaith he) will I begin, &c. meaning, that he would ſo ſorrow for his ſinnes, that he would reioyce in Chriſt, in whom he ſaw more cauſe to reioyce, than he could ſee of ſorrow in himſelfe: and ſo he would begin betweene both, and that did make a very good meane. So muſt wee doe, think as well what cauſe we hauehave of ioy, as we do of our ſorrow; & ſo neither reioyce without ſorrow when there is cauſe, nor ſorrow without ioy, when there is cauſe of both, but as he ſaid, begin betweene both.
And let vsus be willing to do thus the rather, becauſe few hauehave any care at all to doe it, as they ought: whereby it commeth to paſſe that they looſe the fruits and comfort of theſe benefits:Few do truly reioyce in Gods benefits. and though they hauehave them, yet they are not ſo comfortable vntounto them, as they might be. For theſe things that we hauehave ſpoken of, namely, the common benefit of peace, and good gouernment, and the Goſpell, are common to all in our time, as well as to our ſelues: but how few doe truely reioyce before the Lord in them? or in the cauſes of their ioy, doe at any time thinke or conſider of them? or when they would make themſelues merry, do enter into the ſerious conſideration of theſe cauſes of ioy? but what is the cauſe of it? Surely they neither hauehave prayed vntounto God for them (as this people did here for this that they ſpeake of) neither hauehave they eſteemed of them, as of great befits (as they did of this, that they prayed for) and ſo they cannot reioyce in them, as they ſhould: and by that meanes alſo it commeth to paſſe, that they cannot be ſo thankfull to God for them, as they ought, and as others are. For theſe two goe together, and cannot be ſeuered; To reioyce in Gods benefits, and to be thankefull for them: ſo that the more we reioyce, the more thankefull ſhould we be: and the want of ioy in Gods benefits, is the cauſe of vnthankefulneſſe for them. As wee ſee here alſo, that in this verſe they are ioyned together, when they ſay, That we might reioyce in thy ſaluation, and ſet vp our banners in the name of our God: as we ſhall hereafter ſee by the grace of God, out of theſe words, VVhat ſhould be the fruit of all true ioy in Gods benefits (wherby this ioy of the holy Ghoſt differeth from all carnall and worldly ioy) euen thankeſgiuing to God, who hath beſtowed them vponupon vsus, and in them hath giuen vsus ſo great cauſe of ioy.
All priuat benefits are cauſes of ioy.And as all common benefits are cauſes of ioy, euen as this people profeſſe here, That if God beſtow this vponupon them, they ſhall reioyce in it: ſo are alſo all priuat bleſſings ſo many cauſes of ioy to all thoſe that enioy them: whether they bee vponupon their ſoules or bodies, for this life or the life to come, vponupon themſelues or any of theirs. And as the things, that they inioy, are more and greater than others hauehave, ſo they ought to confeſſe, that God hath in this vale of miſerie giuen them ſo much cauſe of ioy. For who is he or ſhe, or where are they, that being in neuer ſo meane an eſtate, doe not inioy many great benefits from God? as life, and health, libertie, conuenient food, lodging, rayment, for which they hauehave cauſe to reioyce:In which reſpect the pooreſt hath great cauſe of ioy. but eſpecially if they hauehave faith and repentance, and the peace of conſcience, and aſſurance of the forgiueneſſe of their ſinnes, and hope of ſaluation, what cauſe hauehave they then to reioyce, though they were in neuer ſo great want beſides? Therefore in their poore eſtates they muſt ſo cōſider of their wants, as that they doe not forget Gods benefits, which may make them to reioyce euen in their pouertie, and in their affliction. So that as the Prophet Eliſha ſaid to his ſeruant, who was in great feare, and cried out, when he ſaw the great hoſt of armed men which the king of Aram had ſent,2. King. 6.16. to take them at Dotham, Feare not, for there are more with vsus, than against vsus: (for God had ſent horſes and chariots of fire to defend them.) So euerie one may ſay, when his eſtate is at the hardeſt, that there is more with him, than is againſt him: that is, that he hath more benefits, and ſo more cauſes of ioy, than croſſes, and ſo in them cauſes of ſorrow. For if we doe but liue eſpecially in theſe dayes to ſerue God, and to ſaue our own ſoules, it is better than the eſtate of many nobles and princes in other parts of the world, that hauehave not theſe meanes of their ſaluation that we hauehave and may hauehave, and in that meaſure, and with that peace and freedome that we hauehave them: in which reſpect, the eſtate of the pooreſt is better, if they doe ſee it, and can ſo conſider of it, than not onelyonly of many nobles, but of the great Turke himſelfe, & of the Emperor, yea, the Pope himſelfe, who taketh himſelfe to be king & prince of the whole world. For that which Dauid ſaith of himſelf, is true of all, if they could ſo eſteeme of it: A day in thy courts, Pſal. 84.10.is better than a thouſand otherwhere: I had rather be a dore-keeper in the houſe of my God, than to dwell in the tabernacles of wickedneſse: for the Lord God is the ſunne and ſhield vntounto vsus: the Lord will giuegive grace and glory: and no good thing will he withhold from them that walke vprightly.
Therefore when any of you ſhall be in ſuch a caſe, that you ſhall ſpend away the whole day in ſorrow, and then at night lie downe in heauineſſe, as wanting many things neceſſarie, both for food and raiment, for lodging and firing, beſides health & countenance, which others hauehave in great meaſure, and yet little pitie thoſe that hauehave not, like vntounto that rich glutton, that in his great aboundance had no compaſsion of poore Lazarus; then conſider I pray you for the louelove of Chriſt, and for your owne conſolation, how many benefits you enioy:And in the middeſt of their wants they muſt thinke of Gods benefits, that they might reioice. looke into your ſoule, meditate vponupon the graces of God in it, if you hauehave any, thinke vponupon faith, hope, and charitie, with the feare of God, and ſuch like, which the Lord in merciemercy hath beſtowed vponupon you; and reioyce in them. Be not ſtil harping all of one ſtring, of your wants, for that will giuegive you but one tune of ſorrow. But as Dauid ſayth; I will ſing MercieMercy and Iudgement, Pſal. 101.1.vntounto thee O Lord will I ſing: So let vsus hauehave two ſtrings at the leaſt to our harpe, one, of our wants; and another of Gods benefits: that is, conſider you as well of Gods benefits, as of his croſſes, and more of them than of the other; becauſe you had need to find out matter of ioy, the cauſe of ſorrow will offer it ſelfe vntounto you faſt ynough. And therefore if the ſtring of your ſorrow be ſomewhat too high, let it downe lower, and ſtretch vp the cord of your ioy one note higher; that is, thinke more of the cauſes of your ioy, and leſſe of the cauſes of your ſorrow: and thus your inſtrument ſhall well accord, and make good muſicke, which was too dolefull and vntunable before. And thus the more cunning you are, and the more you can doe, the better harmonie ſhall you make to your ſelfe and others; that is, the more you ſhall reioyce euen then, when to the worldward you hauehave cauſe of nothing but ſorrow.Act. 16.23. Thus ſhall it come to paſſe, That as Paule and Silas after extreame whipping being caſt into priſon, and into a dungeon, and had their feet made fast in the stockes, did ſing Pſalmes vntounto God at midnight: ſo ſhall you reioyce in the middeſt of your affliction, be it neuer ſo great. For they at this preſent not only or not ſo much conſidered their impriſonment, beating, and ſtocking (which did miniſter nothing to them but matter of griefe) but rather other great benefits and fauours of God, which with them they enioyed: and ſo muſt you doe likewiſe, conſider the one as well as the other. So ſhall not onelyonly your ſelues hauehave comfort, but God ſhall hauehave prayſe: and for want of this wiſe conſideration of both, neither hauehave you ioy in your ſelues, nor God honour from you in that eſtate, though he hath giuen you ſufficient cauſe of both.
And as for the rich, what great cauſe of ioy they hauehave in the multitude of ſo many great benefits as they enioy, (of whom it may be truly ſaid, as the Apoſtle ſaith of the Gentiles,Act. 14.17. when he preached vntounto them, That God had filled their hearts with food and gladneſse) themſelues do beſt know, I need ſay little or nothing to them. So that in ſuch an eſtate as many are in, if they cannot reioyce, but liue in heauineſſe, and diſcontentedly, whereby they can neither ſerue God ſo cheerefully, nor praiſe him ſo continually, as they ſhould; they are altogether vnworthie of all. I need not therefore ſay any thing to them, their owne eyes and hands, their backes and their bellies can tell them ſufficiently, what cauſe they hauehave to reioyce:What cauſe the rich hauehave to liue ioyfully and comfortably. their apparrell and their clothing, wherewith they are kept from cold, when others goe halfe naked & quake for cold, their food in aboundance, and of the beſt, both for neceſsitie and delight; when others are pinched with hunger, hauehave but bread and drinke, and not ynough of that, who themſelues and their children do eat by meaſure and by weight, to draw out their food at length: their ſoft and warme lodging, when others lie hard and cold, and ſcarcely can be warme all night. Theſe and many things els can put them in mind, from day to night, and from night to day, what great cauſe they hauehave to reioyce aboue many others. Let them then in the name of God ſo conſider of them, that they may reioyce; for God hath giuen them to them to that end: as Salomon ſaith in the booke of the Preacher,Eccle. 2.24. That this is the fruit of all that a man can hauehave of all that he hath, to eat and to drinke, and to reioyce in the bleſsings of God: and yet that alſo is the gift of God, as he confeſſeth there. Therefore they aboue all others muſt confeſſe, that God hath giuen them great cauſe of ioy: and nothing can ſo befall them (vnleſſe God take all away from them, as hee did from Iob) but they muſt needs acknowledge, that ſtill they hauehave cauſe to reioice. So that it is not onelyonly lawfull for them, in and for theſe to reioice, but it is neceſſarie that they ſhould doe ſo, and it is required at their hands; inſomuch, that if they were ſo blind, that they would not confeſſe, that they had great cauſe of ioy, all men would by the benefits which they enioy in great number, witneſſe againſt them: and if they were ſo froward, that they would not reioice, all men would condemne them for it. And thus we ſee, that all ſorts in reſpect of Gods benefits which he hath beſtowed vponupon them, hauehave cauſe to reioice.
The prayſe of God muſt be the fruit of our ioy.But what is to be done in this ioy, and for all theſe cauſes of ioy? it followeth in the next words of the text on this wiſe, And ſet vp our banners in the name of our God, that is, praiſe God for them: for we ſee here how they are ioyned together, That we may reioice in thy ſaluation, and ſet vp our banners in the name of the Lord our God. So they ſay, that this ſhould be the fruit of their ioy, they would praiſe God in it, for the cauſe of it. And this ought to be the fruit of true ioy in all men and for all things. For as all good and godly ſorrow ſhould driue vsus vntounto prayer, that God might turne that away from vsus, or remooue it, for which we doe ſorrow: ſo on the contrarie, all true and godly ioy ſhould driue vsus to thankesgiuing for that, which is the cauſe of our ioy. And as herein, godly and wordly ſorrow differ, that the one many times driueth to deſpaire, or cauſeth ſickneſſe, and ſo death in the end;2. Cor. 7.10. the other cauſeth repentance, neuer to bee repented of; and ſo prayer to God for the forgiueneſſe of our ſinnes, which hauehave iuſtly brought vponupon vsus that cauſe of ſorrow. So on the other ſide, herein godly ioy differeth from worldly ioy; the one, maketh a man ſecure, and to forget God, and to reſt in himſelfe, and ſometimes to be prophane, and to keep no meaſure in things, but to abuſe that that he hath: but the other inlargeth the heart to praiſe God, and maketh him to goe out of the things themſelues, the cauſes of his ioy, vntounto God, the author of them. And thus doth the Apoſtle very excellently by theſe fruits note out vntounto vsus true ſorrow,Iam. 5.13. and true ioy, when he ſaith: Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merrie? let him ſing: where hee maketh prayer the fruit of ſorrow in affliction; and thankesgiuing the fruit of ioy in Gods benefits. And S. Paule doth ſhew vsus at large the difference betweene the worldly ioy of the wicked, and the godly ioy of the righteous: when he ſayth to the Epheſians,Ephe. 5.18. Be not drunke with wine, wherein is exceſſe, but be fulfilled with the ſpirit, ſpeaking vntounto your ſelues in Pſalmes and hymnes, and ſpirituall ſongs, ſinging and making melodie to the Lord in your hearts: And therein true ioy differeth from all worldly ioy.giuing thankes alwaies for all things vntounto God, euen the father, in the name of our Lord Ieſus Christ: wherein one kind (as in feaſting) which is lawfull, and common to the good and bad, and which is an honeſt means to make men merry and glad, hee ſheweth the diuerſitie of the mirth of the one and of the other. The men of this world they exceed, and fall into the abuſe of Gods creatures, ſometimes till they be drunken, or hauehave ſurfeited, and ſo alſo giuegive themſelues vntounto that mirth which is exceſsiue and immoderat, and ſometimes, yea commonly, ioyned with prophane ſcoffing or ſome wickedneſſe. The children of God vſing his creatures ſoberly, and in his preſence, euen at their feaſts, doe thereby prouoke one another to prayſe God, and make themſelues merry in God, and as in his ſight. VVee ſee then what ſhould be the fruit of our ioy in Gods benefits, namely, the prayſe of God; and to what end alſo hee giueth to vsus ſo many things wherein we may reioyce, euen that he might hauehave the whole glorie and prayſe of them. So that whether we be poore, or we be rich, hauehave we more, or hauehave we leſſe to reioyce in, this muſt be the fruit of all, that we praiſe God for ſuch things as make vsus to reioyce. And ſo as there is none in the world, but hee hath ſome cauſe of ioy, ſo the Lord looketh for continuall prayſe at the hands of vsus all: but, as many hauehave more cauſe to reioyce than others,Thus all hauehave cauſe to praiſe God. by reaſon of the manifold bleſsings which they enioy aboue them; ſo he looketh for more prayſe and thankes at their hands, than of others, as there is good cauſe: For to whom much is giuen, of them much ſhall be required. VVhichWhich if they doe not labour to performe, and profit by Gods benefits, and by their ioy in them to that end, it may come to paſſe, that the wicked may hauehave as much ioy in the things that they poſſeſſe, as themſelues; yea, the very vnreaſonable creatures, and the brute beaſts in their kind: for if our ioy end not in the prayſe of God, what are we better for it than they? Therefore it is not ynough for a man to ſay, I liue merrily, and at my hearts eaſe, I hauehave many cauſes of ioy, I am void of ſorrow and griefe, I hauehave nothing that doth trouble me, but am in continuall mirth: it is not ynough (I ſay) to be in this eſtate, and thus to boaſt, and ſay; but we muſt labour to be thankefull vntounto God for it, who is the cauſe of it, & let our ioy in theſe things lead vsus vntounto him: then ſhall it appeare in truth, that our ioy is not ſo much carnall as ſpirituall, not altogether worldly, but heauenly.
Thus hauehave the ſeruants of God behaued themſelues in time paſt in the midſt of their ioy: as that good king Iehoſhaphat and his people, when God gaue them victorie ouer their enemies according to their prayer, euen ouer that great hoaſt of the Ammonites and the Moabites, and thoſe of mount Seir, of whom it is thus written,2 Chron. 20 25. That they deſtroyed one another. So that when Iudah came to Mizpeh in the wilderneſſe, they looked vntounto the multitude, The godly hauehave ended their greateſt ioy with thākſgiuing.and behold the carkaſſes were fallen on the earth, and none eſcaped: and when Iehoſhaphat and his people came to take the ſpoile of them, they found among them in abundance both of ſubſtance, and alſo of bodies laden with pretious iewels, which they tooke for themſelues, till they could cary no longer: for they were three dayes in gathering of the spoile, for it was much. Then eueryevery man of Iudah and Ieruſalem returned with Iehoſhaphat their head, to goe againe to Ieruſalem with ioy, for the Lord had made them to reioyce ouer their enemies. Thus they reioyced greatly, as they had cauſe, both for the victory, and for the ſpoile: but what followed vponupon that? the praiſe of God: for it is ſaid in the verſe going before, That in the fourth day they aſſembled themſelues in the valley of Berachah; for there they bleſſed the Lord: therefore they called the name of the place, the valley of Berachah, that is, of bleſsing or prayſing of God, vntounto this day. So that as their ioy was great, ſo was their thankesgiuing and praiſe to God, great and famous, ſo that the place had the name of it. And they did not tarrie vntill they came home to Ieruſalem to giuegive thankes there, which yet it is moſt like that afterwards they did but euen in that place where God gaue them cauſe of ioy, and whileſt that laſted, that they might doe it the better. So we ſee that they practiſed that which is ſpoken of here, they ſo reioyced in the ſaluation that God gaue to the king, and to all the people, that they did ſet vp their banners in his name, when he had fulfilled their petitions which they had made vntounto him before. So muſt we alſo in all feares that we be in, when God ſhall deliuer vsus out of them (as he did theſe) and ſo giuegive vsus cauſe to reioyce, we muſt prayſe his name for it, as they did. As for example, when it ſhall pleaſe God to put an end eueryevery where vntounto this great mortalitie of the peſtilence, that hath a long time beene in many places of this land, and is ſtill, then all ſhall hauehave cauſe to reioyce.So muſt we do, when God ſhall make vsus glad by taking away this plague. But as we meet now from weeke to weeke, and from day to day to pray to God for it: ſo muſt wee then meet againe in the valley of Berachah, to prayſe him for it, that is, we muſt publickely and often meet to giuegive thankes vntounto him, and to ſet vp our banners in his name, that hath ſo gratiouſly fulfilled our petitions. And in the meane ſeaſon, looke in how many feares we hauehave beene in, either of that, or of any other thing, and hauehave eſcaped it, and ſo now we are glad; we muſt yeeld ſo many prayſes vntounto God for the ſame. That vertuous woman Hannah, when ſhe had by prayer obtained the benefit of a ſonne, ſhe greatly reioyced, as ſhe had cauſe, and as ſhe confeſſeth her ſelfe, ſaying: My ſoule reioyceth in the Lord, my horne is exalted in the Lord, 1. Sam. 2.1.&c. Before that ſhe was ſad, and wept, and could not eat her meat, nor hide her griefe, becauſe her barrenneſſe was reprochfull vntounto her: but now ſhe reioyceth, and in this ioy looketh vp to God, and prayſeth him, ſaying, Mine heart reioyceth in the Lord: and ſhe maketh a ſong of thankeſgiuing vntounto God, as appeareth by the wordes following. So muſt we doe in all the benefits that God beſtoweth vponupon vsus; I meane, not only reioyce in them as naturall men, but prayſe God for them, as ſpirituall: that ſo our ioy might be ſuch as it ſhould.
Let vsus then conſider in the feare of God, how many times we hauehave reioyced, and that with exceeding great ioy when, God hath had no praiſe nor thanks from vsus at all: & know aſſuredly, that that ioy hath not bin rightly ordered; for God doth make vsus reioice, not for our ſelues alone, but for himſelfe alſo: yea principally that he might be prayſed for it. Therefore we muſt be carefull that theſe two goe together alwayes, namely, our owne reioycing, and the prayſe of God. As the bleſſed virgin Marie doth ioyne them together in her ſong,Luke 1.56. My ſoule magnifieth the Lord, and my spirit reioyceth in God my Sauiour: where ſhe ioyneth her owne ioy with the praiſe of God, and maketh the one the cauſe of the other. So that whether wee ioy in the common benefits of our time, wee muſt prayſe God for them, as Iehoſhaphat and his people did; or wee reioyce in our priuat benefits, as Hannah and Marie did, we muſt prayſe God for them: ſo ſhall our ioy be not onelyonly comfortable to our ſelues,Our ioy and Gods prayſe ſhould goe together. but acceptable vntounto God, and profitable vntounto others: when as the more benefits that we hauehave, the more we reioyce: and the more we reioyce, the more thankefull are we to God for the ſame. VVe doe not therefore find fault with myrth, we forbid not men to be merry; be it farre from vsus, that we ſhould be ſo Stoicall & ſeuere; nay we exhort all men to it, and ſhew that they ought, when God giueth them cauſe: only that kind of myrth is condemned in the Scripture, which tendeth to the diſhonour of God, or when they fall into exceſſe: or they cannot be merry, but they will be mad alſo, as we ſay, ſo that they throw firebrands and deadly things, and ſay,Prou. 26.19. They are but in ſport, as Solomon ſpeaketh of them: or that kind of myrth, wherein God hath no prayſe at all; which is the beſt kind of myrth that the wicked, and men of this world hauehave. VVe allow of that, wherein God is prayſed, and of that onelyonly: for though we be not bound in all our myrth to ſing Pſalmes, neither indeed can we; yet after all our myrth, both for it, and for all cauſes of it, we ſhould giuegive thankes vntounto God. But many are ſo farre from this, that they reioyce in ſuch things, for which they cannot prayſe God, yea for ſuch, which it is ſhame once to name; whom we leaue vntounto God, that he may giuegive them better minds: & others, though they hauehave cauſe of honeſt and lawfull ioy, yet they forget to be thankefull for it; for whom let vsus pray alſo, and for our ſelues, that we may ſo reioyce in all Gods benefits and ordinances, & ſo vſe them with ioy, that he may be praiſed for them. VVhichWhich he alſo graunt vntounto vsus, for Ieſus Chriſt his ſake, Amen.