The Autumn Part from the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, Gospel 4
The Gospell.
LVKE 7. 11.
And it fortuned that Iesus went into a Citie called Naim, &c.
THis Gospell is an Emblem of the
yHeming.Miseries of man: In this afflicted woman accompanying hir child, and that a son, and that hir only son to his graue, dying in
The
Spring of his youth, euen at that age when hee was most able to comfort hir.
Winter of hir widowhood, when she did most want him.
zMelanct. Culman.Mercies of God: In Christ who did pitie the distressed
In
aIansen. Concor. cap. 46.In
Thought, foreign, He had compassion on hir.
Word, Weepe not.
Deed, He raised the dead, and deliuered him to his mother.
ThebSee Ferus ser. 3. in Euangel. Dom. 17. past. Pent. mourning troupe in Naim is a liuely representation of our estate by nature; subiect to sicknesse, infirmity, death, damnation, horror, hell: our whole life being as it were nothing else but widow weeping, and a sonne dying. cIob 3. 3.One doth crie, Let the day perish wherein I was borne, and the night when it was said, there is a man child conceiued; why died I not in the birth? and why did I sucke the breasts? for so should I now hauehave lien and beene quiet, I should hauehave slept then and beene at rest. dPsal. 110. 4.Another doth crie, Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell with Mes…ch, and to hauehave mine habitation among the tents of Kedar. eRom. 7. 24.A third crieth, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliuer mee from the body of this death. All, as it were with one voice crie,fIob. 14. 1. Man that is borne of a woman is of short continua… and full of trouble. But Christ and his followers on the contrary resemble our estate by grace, wherein is ioy, peace, life, health, happinesse, heauen. In this troupeg1. Cor. 15. 55. one saith, O death where is thy sting? O graue where is thy victorie? the sting of death is siane, and the strength of sinne is the Law, but thanks be vntounto God which hath giuen vsus victorie through our Lord Iesus Christ. 1. Pet. 1. ….Another doth say, Blessed be God, euen the father of our Lord Iesus Christ, which according to his abundant merciemercy hath begotten vsus againe to a liuely hope by the resurrection of Iesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance immort all and vndefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserued in heauen. Ak1. Iohn 3. 14. third doth say, Wee know that we are translated from death vntounto life. All sing and say with Zacharie, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people.
Behold there was a dead man carried out] The wordlVega in loc. behold in the Scriptures is like an hand in the margent of a booke, pointing out alway some remarkeable thing, and it is heere like that handmDan. 5. Balthasar saw writing vponupon the walles of his Palace, for as that forewarned him of his vtter ruine; so this admonisheth vsus of our last end: Behold a dead man caried out. This dead man was a yong man, as it is expressed in the text, I say to thee yong man arise, and a rich or honorable man asnMaldonat. Coster. some gather out of the text, in that much people were with his mother. And it is worth our obseruing, that Christ in the Gospell is said to raise none from the dead, but only such as were rich and yong, as the daughter ofoLuke 8. 41. Iairus a Ruler of the Synagogue, being about twelue yeeres of age:pIohn 11. Lazarus a man honored in his nation, and asqHaeres. 66. cap. Cat. Manichaei Dogmat. Epiphanius reports about the yeeres of 30. and in my text, a yong sonne of a widow well affected in the place where she dwelt. Hereby teaching vsus, that such often die who least expect death, and are most embraced of the world. Poore men and old men hauehave their pasport, as they begin to leaue the world, so the world is content to part with them. At their carrying out to bee buried vsually there is lesse weeping, because their friends are comforted, in that departing in peace they be now deliuered from the burden of the flesh, and infinite miserie▪ of this life. But death is the rIosua 22. 14.way of all flesh, and sEsay 40. 6.all flesh is grasse, and all the grace thereof as the flower of the field. Per natiuitatem viret in carne, tGreg. in Psal. 5. poenitent.per iuuentutem candescit in flore, per mortem aret in puluere. By birth a man is greene in his flesh, by youth he is white in his blossome, by death hee is withered in the dust. For death as a fisherman encloseth all kinde of fish in his net, great, small, good, bad, old, young: which the Poets insinuate in the fable of Death and Cupid, who lodging at a time both in one Inne, interchanged each others arrowes: and so from that day to this, it comes to passe that sometimes olde men doate, and young men dye:
uIoachim Belleiu…Sic moritur Iuuenis, sic moribundus amat.
Which was the onelyonly sonne of his mother, and she was a widow] Children are walking Images of their parents, euen flesh of their flesh, and bone of their bone, the wealth of the poore man, and honour of the rich. It was then one step vntounto weeping Crosse, that this woman had lost a childe, for nature by grace is not abolished but perfected, not murthered but manured, her impressions are not quite razed, but suted to the colours of faith and vertue. Dauid a man according to Gods owne heart did weepe for his x2. Sam. 12.sicke childe, cry out for his dead sonne, y2. Sam. 18. 33.O Absolon, my sonne, my sonne Absolon: would to God I had died for thee, O Absolon, my sonne, my sonne. S. zLib. de Nabuth cap. 5.Ambrose reports a tragicall accident, how that in his time there was a poore man in extreame necessitie constrained to sell one of his sonnes into perpetuall bondage, that hee might hereby saue the rest from a present famine. Who calling all his deare children vntounto him, and beholding them as oliue branches round about his table, could not resolue which hee might best spare. His eldest sonne was the strength of his youth, euen hee that called him first father, and therefore not willing to part with him. His yongest boy was the nest chicke, the dearely beloued of his mother, and therefore not willing to part with him. A third most resembled his progenitors, hauing his fathers bill, and his mothers eye, therefore not willing to part with him. One was more louing, another more diligent then the rest, and so the good father in conclusion among so many could not affoord to part with any.
It was another step vntounto griefe in this widow, that her dead childe was aPontan. in loc.a sonne. For daughters in respect of their sex being weaker vessels, are not so fit for businesse and imployment: whereas a good sonne, albeit in obedience a childe, yet in counsell often proues a father, and is in stead of an husband to his widow mother. But it was an higher step vntounto griefe that this one sonne, was her onelyonly sonne foreign, first begotten, and bIansen.onelyonly begotten▪ and her selfe not a yong wife: but an old widow without hope of issue. Now what kinde of sorrow this was is expressed in holy Scripture: cIeremy 6. 26.Make lament atton and bitter mourning as for thine onelyonly sonne. And Zachar. 12. 10. They shall lament for him as one mourneth for his onelyonly sonne, and be sorrie for him as one is sorry for his first borne. Syrophanes hauing buried his only sonne, caused his statua to be set in his house, dFulgent. mytholog. lib. 1.Seddum tristitiae remedium quaerit, seminarium potiùs doloris invenit.
This in briefe was the widowes miserie, now yee shall heare of Christs mercy. When she was haplesse & hopelesse, hee had compassion on her, and did exceeding abundantly aboue all that she did aske or could thinke, as it is in the select Epistle for this Sunday. eEsay 65. 24.Before she did call, he did answere, granting her desire before she mooued hir sute. fCulman.Teaching vsus hereby that eueryevery good gift is from aboue, not pulled downe of merit: but powred downe by preuenting grace.
God is a father of the fatherlesse, and defendeth the causes of gPsal. 68. 5. & 146. 9.widowes: Eliah in a great famine by Gods appointment relieued the widow of h1. Kings 17.Zarephath, and Elizeus euen by the same diuine goodnesse, increased another distressed widowes oyle, 2. Kings 4. Peter, Acts 9. comforted a whole congregation of weeping widowes, in raising Dorcas againe from the dead: and Christ here tooke pitie on the deepe sighing of a widow. iFerus serm. 1. in loc.By which all men may learne, Magistrates especially, to kEsay 1. 17.iudge the fatherlesse, and defend the widow; not onelyonly when the widow doth importunately call and cry, Doe me iustice, Luke 18. 3. but euen while she doth hold her peace, lMaldonat. in loc.magis enim petit qui petere non audet, & plus dat qui dat non rogatus.
Weepe not] mGen. 23. 2.Abraham the father of the faithfull bewailed his dead wife Sara, nGen. 50.Ioseph an holy man of God mourned many daies for his father Iacob, all the people for oDeut. 34. 8.Moses, and Christ himselfe for pIohn 11. 35.Lazarus. His ne ste to then, is not a prohibition forbidding at funerals all weeping: but an inhibition onelyonly forbidding too much weeping, that she should not bee sorry for the dead, q1. Thess. 4. 13.as they which hauehave no hope. As if hee should hauehave said vntounto her, as he did in the like case to Martha, Iohn 11. 25. I am the resurrection and the life, whosoeuer beleeueth in mee though hee were dead, yet shall he liue. rDeut. 32. 39.I wound and make whole, s1. Sam. 2. 6.bring downe to the graue and raise vp againe. And his workes are correspondent to his words, hee came nigh, and touched the coffin, and said, Yong man, I say vntounto thee, arise, and he that was dead sate vp, and began to speake, and hee deliuered him vntounto his mother. In which hee shewed himselfe to bee very God and man, in walking with his Disciples, in talking with this widow, comming nigh to the gate of the citie, touching the coffin, a very man: in raising the dead, and making him to sit vp, and speake, tEu…hym. Brentius. Caietan.(not as the Prophets and Apostles in anothers name, but by his owne power in a commanding fashion, I say to thee yong man uEl…ctulo mortis, in qu, mollius ille dormit, qui durius in vita se gesserit▪ Ambr. serm. 28.arise) to be God, euen the Lord of life, Acts 3. 15.
About the fall of the leafe men ordinarily bee more subiect to sicknesse and mortalitie then at other times of the yeere, wherefore the xZepper. Con. 2. in loc.Church hath allotted fitly this Scripture for this season, as a sicke mans salue to comfort vsus against diseases and death. Intimating that Christ is the onelyonly health of all the liuing, and euerlasting life of all such as die in him.
And there came feare on them all, and they gaue the glorie to God] Our Euangelist heere describes a yHem̄ing.double fruit of the myracle: the one befalling such as were present, the other extended vntounto many men absent, in that the rumour of it went foorth throughout all Iury, and throughout all the regions which lie round about. The myracle wrought in the present beholders a two-fold effect, Intus timor, z Caietan.foris glorificatio: Reuerence within, and glorifying of God without, for they conceiued heereby faith in the Messias, and so feared God, glorifying him with true worship, and acknowledging his mercies in visiting his people. Heere the Gospell and Epistle meete againe, Paul would hauehave him ascribe praise to God in the congregation from time to time: these spectators accordingly, beholding the riches of Christs grace who did exceeding abundantly aboue all that the poore Widow did aske or thinke, gaue the glorie to God, saying, A great Prophets is risen vp among vsus, and God hath visited his people.
Hitherto concerning the letter of this History: Now let vsus (as the aAugust. tract. 49. in Ioan. & de verbis dom. serm. 44. Ambros. Beda in loc.Fathers and bLuther. Arboreus. Heming.other Interpretors) examine the mystical exposition or allegory, considering these fiue points in order:
1. Who is dead, and carried out to be buried.
2. What is the Coffin and Tombe wherein hee is enclosed.
3. What they be that carrie him to the graue.
4. What is that gate out of which he was carried.
5. What is that widow lamenting his death.
He that is dead and carried out to be buried is an obstinate sinner, for the cRom. 6. 23.wages of sinne is death, and eueryevery man irrepentant without faith and feeling of his sinnes is dead (as the d1. Tim. 5. 6.Scripture) descended into Hell (as
eDe bono mortu, cap. 12.Ambrose speakes) euen while he liueth. In fSee Iacob. d… Vorag. se…m 1. in loc.three things especially resembling a Corse being
Cold,
Heauie,
Stinking.
Cold, as being infected with the venome of the gApocal. 12. 9.Serpent, and wanting the powerfull heat of Gods holy Spirit which is h1. Thess. 5. 19quenched in them. Heauy, because sinne is a burthensome load, Mat. 11. 28. pressing downe, Heb. 12. 1. hindering our ascending and seeking the things aboue, Coloss. 3. 1. For howsoeuer it be true, that if all the mountaines in the world should fall together vponupon one iust man hee would notwithstanding be stedfast and keepe his ground: according to that of the i Poet,Horat. Car. lib. 3. ad. 3.
Si fractus illibatur orbis,
Impauiaum ferient ruinae.
Yet sinne is so heauy, that it cast downe Dathan from earth, and Lucifer out of heauen into the bottomlesse pit of hell. Stinking, because the slanderer hath an vnsauory breath, his kPsalme 14. 5.throate being an open sepulcher. The wickednesse of adulterers is lEphe 5. 4. & Galat. 5. 19.filthinesse. The goods of the couetous hoorded vp, and not laid out, are a very mBonauent. diet. salut. c. 6.dung-hill, and eueryevery sinne is an n1. Thess 4. 7.vncleannesse, stinking in the nostrels of the Lord.
Now for the Coffin and Tombe wherein this cold, heauie, stinking Corse lieth: as there be three kinds of death, one of the body, which is the naturall death, another of soule, which is spirituall death, a third both of body and soule, which is eternall death: euen so there be three kindes of Tombes accordingly: the Tombe of the bodie is the Graue, the Tombe of the soule is the body, oTheophylact. in loc. Idem Plato in Crat.foreign qua…i foreign, or as pIn locum.Ambrose, tumulus iste mores mali, the Tombe both of body and soule dying in sin is Hell, Luk. 16. 22. The rich man died and was buried in Hell. And the sinner is borne to Hell by qHeming.foure Porters especially, detaining him in irrepentance, namely,
1 Hope of longer life.
2 Looking vponupon the faults of other men.
3. Presumption vponupon Gods mercy.
4. Flatterie of leaud companie.
These foure carie the sinner out of the gate toward hell, as for example, when hee doth lust with his eye, the dead man is carried out by the r gate of his sight, per oculorum t August. ser. 31. ad fratres in eremo.beneficium infert animae veneficium. If he delight in backbiting and slandering, the dead man is carried out by the gate of his mouth. If he take pleasure in hearing tales and ill reports of his neighbour, the dead man is carried out by the gate of his eares. And the widow lamenting his death (as Theophylact thinkes) is the soule, but as tAmbros. Beda▪ Panigarol.others In locum. generally the Church of God, for as there is ioy in heauen for one sinner that conuerteth: euen so griefe to such as hauehave their conuersation in heauen, when a sinner will not returne from his wicked way, but is giuen ouer in a reprobate sense, to worke all vncleannesse euen with greedinesse, Ephes. 4. 19. The three sorts of dead raised by Christ aptly resemble, saith uSer. 44. de verbis Dom.Augustine, three sorts of sinners. A sinner is dead in the house like Iairus daughter, when he doth imagine mischiefe in his mind: carried out of the gate like this yoong man heere, when hee xPsal. 7. 15.brings forth vngodlinesse in word or deed: stinking in the graue like Lazarus, if he sinne habitually without any remorse, yEsay 5. 18.drawing iniquitie with cords of vanitie, speaking good of euill and euill of good, zRom. 2. 5.heaping vp wrath against the day of wrath, and of the declaration of the iust iudgement of God. Now then as there was weeping for the dead Damosell in the house, more weeping for this man carried out of the gate, but most weeping at Lazarus graue, Martha wept, & Mary wept, & the Iewes wept, & Christ himself wept and groaned in the Spirit: so we must be sory for the beginnings of sin, more sorie for the proceedings & encrease, most sorie when a man aPsal 1. 1.stands in the wayes of the wicked and sits in the se…t of the scornefull. It may be well applied vntounto Christs Academie, which bGuenara epist.Demosthenes once said of Athens, in our Diuinitie schoole wee weepe more for the leaud liues of the bad, then for the deaths of the good.
As the Church of God hath three kindes of Planctus ouer the dead: so the diuell and his companie three kindes of cIacob. de V… rag. serm. 1. in loc.Plausus. Our aduersarie reioyceth a little when we sinne in the house, conceiuing an euill thought: but more glad if that a man bee carried out of the house, breaking out into scandalous actions: and yet most merrie when a sinner continueth in his filthinesse, as Lazare stinking in his graue. Let vsus then dEphes. 5. 14.awake from sleepe, and stand vp from the dead; Christ in his word, in his Sacraments, in his iudgements, in his Preachers instantly calls vntounto you daily, Yong man arise, Damosell arise, Lazarus arise. Wherefore let vsus I beseech you sit vp, & speake: that we may comfort the Church our afflicted mother on earth, and bee well accepted of God our father in heauen.
Amen.