Eighty Sermons, Lent · Sermon 16
SERMON XVI. preached at VVhite-hall, the firſt Friday in Lent. 1622.
JOHN 11.35.
Ieſus wept.
I Am now but upon the Compaſſion of Chriſt. There is much difference between his Compaſſion and his Paſſion, as much as between the men that are to handle them here. But Lacryma paſs, ionis Chriſi eſt vicaria: Auguſt.A great perſonage may ſpeake of his Paſſion, of his blood; My vicargae is to ſpeake of his Compaſſion and his teares. Let me chafe the wax, and melt your ſoules in a bath of his Teares now, Let him ſet to the great Seale of his effectuall paſſion, in his blood, then. It is a Common place I know to ſpeake of teares: I would you knew as well, it were a common practiſe, to ſhed them. Though it be not ſo, yet bring S. Bernards, patience, Libenter audiam, qui non ſibi plauſum, ſed mihi planctum moveat; be willing to heare him, that ſeeks not your acclamation to himſelfe, but your humiliation to his and your God; not to make you praiſe with them that praiſe, but to make you weepe with them that weepe, And Ieſus wept.
The Maſorites (the Maſorites are the Critiques upon the Hebrew Bible, the Old Teſtament) cnnot tell us, who divided the Chapters of the Old Teſtament into verſes; Neither can any other tell us, who did it in the New Teſtament. Whoever did it ſeemes to have ſtopped in an amazement in this Text, and by making an intire verſe of theſe two words, Ieſus wept, and no more, to intimate that there needs no more for the exalting of our devotion to a competent heighth, then to conſider, how, and where, and when, and why Ieſus wept. There is not a ſhorter verſe in the Bible, not a larger Text. There is another as ſhort; Semper gaudete, Rejoyce evermore, and of that holy Joy,1 Theſ. 5.16. I may have leave to ſpeake here hereafter, more ſeaſonably, in a more Feſtivall time, by my ordinary ſervice. This is the ſeaſon of generall Compunction, of generall Mortification, and no man priviledged, for Ieſus wept.
In that Letter which Lentulus in ſaid to have written to the Senate of Rome,Diviſi…. in which he gives ſome Characters of Chriſt, he ſaies, That Chriſt was never ſeene to laugh, but to weepe often. Now in what number he limits his often, or upon what teſtimony he grounds him number, we know not. We take knowledgethat he wept thrice. Hee wept here, when he mourned with them that mourned for Lazarus; He wept againe, when he drew neare to Jeruſalem, and looked upon that City; And he wept a third time in his Paſſion. There is but one Euangeliſt, but this, S. Iohn, that tells us of theſe firſt teares, the reſt ſay nothing of them; There is but one Euangeliſt, S. Luke, Luke 19.41. Hcb. 5.7.that tells us of his ſecond teares, the reſt ſpeake not of thoſe; There is no Euangeliſt, but there is an Apoſtle that tells us of his third teares, S. Paul ſaies, That in the daies of his fleſh, be offered up prayers with ſtrong cries, and teares; And thoſe teares, Expoſitors of all ſides referre to his Paſſion, though ſome to his Agony in the Garden, ſome to his Paſſion on the Corſſe; and theſe in my opinion moſt fitly; becauſe thoſe words of S. Paul belong to the declaration of the Prieſthood, and of the Sacrifice of Chriſt; and for that function of his, the Croſſe was the Altar; and therefore to the Croſſe we fixe thoſe third teares. The firſt were Humane teares, the ſecond were Propheticall, the third were Pontificall, appertaining to the Sarifice. The firſt were ſhed in a Condolency of a humane and naturall calamity fallen upon one family; Lazarus was dead: The ſecond were ſhed in Contemplation of future calamitie upon a Nation; Jeruſalem was to be deſtroyed: The third, in Contemplation of ſin, and the everlaſting puniſhments due to ſin, and to ſuch ſinners, as would make no benefit of that Sacrifice, which he offered in offering himſelfe. His friend was dead, and then Jeſus wept; He juſtified naturail affectins and ſuch offices of piety: Jeruſalem was tobe deſtroyed, and then Jeſus wept; He commiſerated publique and nationall calamities, though a private perſon: His very giving of himſelfe for ſin, was to become to a great many ineffectuall; and then Jſus wept; He declared how indelible the naturall ſtaine of ſin is, that not ſuch ſweat as hi, ſuch teares, ſuch blood as his could abſolutely waſh it out of mans nature. The teares of the text are as a Spring, a Well. belonging to onehouſhold the Siſters of Lazarus: The teares over Jeruſalem, are as a River belonging to a whole Country: The teares upon the Croſſe, are as the Sea belonging to all the world; and though literally there fall no more into our text, then the Spring, yet becauſe the Spring flowes into the River, and the River into the Sea, and that whereſoever we find that Jeſus wept, we find our Text, (for our Text is but that, Iiſus wept) therefore by the leave and light of his bleſſed Spirit, we ſhall looke upon thoſe lovely, thoſe heavenly eye, through this glaſſe of his owne teares, in all theſe three lines, as he wept here over Lazarus, as he wept there over Jeruſalem, as he wept upon the Croſſe over all us. For ſo often Jeſus wept.
Fitſt then,1 Part. Humanitus. Jeſus wept Hum…nitus, he tooke a neceſſary occaſion to ſhew that he was true Man. He was now in hand with the greateſt Miracle that ever he did, the raiſing of Lazarus, ſo long dead. Could we but do ſo in our ſpirituall raiſing, what a bleſſed harveſt were that? What a comfort to finde one man here to day, raiſed from his ſpirituall death, this day twelve-month? Chriſt did it every yeare, and every yeare he improved his Miracle,Mat. 9.25. In the firſt yeare, he raiſed the Governours Daughter: ſe was newly dead, and as yetin the houſe. In the beginning of ſin, and whilſt in the houſe, in the houſe of God, in the Church, in a glad obedience to Gods Ordinances and Inſtitutions there, for the reparation and reſuſcitation of dead ſoules, the worke is not ſo hard. In his ſecond yeare,Luke 7.15. Chriſt raiſed the Widows Son; and him he found without, ready to be buried. In a man growne cold and ſtiffe in ſin, impenetrable, inflexible by denouncing the Judgements of God, almoſt buried in a ſtupidity, and inſenſibleneſſe of his being dead, there is more difficultie. But in his third yeare, Chriſt raiſed this Lazarus; he had been long dead, and buried, and in probability, puttrified after foure daies.
This Miracle Chriſt meant to make a pregnant proofe of the Reſurrection, which was his principall intention therein. For, the greateſt arguments againſt the Reſurrection, being for the moſt part of this kinde, when a Fiſh eates a man, and another man eates that fiſh, or when one man eates another, how ſhall both theſe men riſe againe? when a body is reſolv'd in the grave to the firſt principles, or is paſſed into other ſubſtances, the caſe is ſomewhat neere the ſame; and therefore Chriſt would worke upon a body neare that ſtate, abody putrified. And truly, in our ſrirituall raiſing of the dead, to raiſe a ſinner putrified in his owne earth, reſolv'd in his owne dung, eſpecially that hath paſſed many transformations, from ſhape to ſhape, from ſin to ſin, (hi hath beene a Salamander and lived in the fire, in the fire ſucceſſvely, in the fire of luſt in his youth, and in his age in the fire of Ambition; and then he hath beene a Serpent, a Fiſh, and lived in the waters. , in the water ſucceſſively, in the troubled water of ſedition in his youth, and in his age in the cold waters of indevotion) how ſhall we raiſe this Salamander and this Serpent, when this Serpent and this Salamander is all one perſon, and muſt have contrary muſique to charme him, contrary phyſick to cure him? To raiſe a man reſolv'd into diverſe ſubſtances, ſcattered into diverſe formes of ſeverall ſinnes, is the greateſt worke. And there. fore this Miracle (which implied that) S. Baſil calls Miraculum in Miraculo, a pregnant, a double Miracle. For here is Mortuus redivivus, A dead man lives; that had been done before; but Alligatus ambulat, ſaies Baſil; he that is ſettered, and manacled, and tyed with many difficulties, he walks.
And therfore as this Miracle raiſed him moſt eſtmation, ſo (for they ever accompany one another) it raiſed him moſt envy: Envy that extended beyond him, to Lazarus himſelfe, who had done nothing;Iohn 12.10 and yet, The chiefe Prieſts conſulted how they might put Lizarus to death, becauſe by reaſon of him, many beleeved in Ieſus. A diſeaſe, a diſtemper, a danger which no time ſhall ever be free from, that whereforer there is a coldneſſe, a diſaffection to Gods Cauſe, thoſe who are any way occaſionally inſtrumenta of Gods glory,August. ſahll finde cold affection. If they killed Lazarus, had not Chriſt done enough to let them ſee that he could raiſe him againe? for Caeca ſevitia, ſialiud videtur mertuus, aliud occiſus; It was a blinde malice, if they thought, that Chriſt could raiſe a man naturally dead, and could not if he were violently killed. This then being his greateſt Miracle, preparing the hardeſt Article of the Creed, the Reſurrection of the body, as the Mirracle it ſelfe declared ſufficiently his Divinity, that nature, ſo in this declaration that he was God, he would declare that he was man too, and therefore Ieſus wept.
He wept as man doth weepe, and he wept as a man may weepe;Noninordinaté. Bernard. Iob 10.4. for theſe teares were Teſtes naturae, non Indices diffidentiae, They declared him to be true man, but no diſtruſtfull, no inordinate man. In Iob there is a queſtion ask'd of God, Haſt thou eyes of fleſh, and doeſt thou ſee, as man ſees? Let this queſtion be directed to God manifeſted in Chriſt, and Chriſt will weepe out an anſwer to that queſtion, I have eyes of fleſh, and I do weep as man weepes. Not as ſinfull man, not as s man, that had het fall his bridle, by which he ſhould trune his horſe: Not as a man that were caſt from the rudder, by which he ſhould ſteere his Ship: Not as a man that had loſt his intereſt and power in his affections, and paſſions: Chriſt wept not ſo. Chriſt mingt goe farther that way, then any other man: Chriſt might ungirt himſelfe, and give more ſcope and liberty to his paſſions, then any other man: both becauſe he had no Originall ſin within, to drive him, no inordinate love without to draw him, when his affections were moved; which all other men have.
God ſayes to the Jews, That they had wept in his eares; God had heard them weep:Numb. 11.18. but for what, and how? they wept for fleſh. There was a tincture, there was a deep dye of murmuring in their tears. Chriſt goes as far in the paſſion, in his agony, and he comes to a paſſionate deprecation, in his Triſtis anima, and in the Si poſsibile, and in the Tranſeat calix. But as all theſe paſſions were ſanctified in the roote, from which no bitter leafe, no crooked twig could ſpring, ſo they were inſtantly waſhed with his Veruntamen, a preſent and a full ſubmitting of all to Gods pleaſure, Yet not my will O Father, but thine be done. It will not be ſafe for any man to come ſo neare an exceſſe of paſſions, as he may finde ſome good men in the Scriptures to have done: That becauſe he heares Moſes ſay to God, Dele me, Blot my name out of the book of life, Therefore he may ſay, God damne me, or I renounce God. It is not ſafe for a man to expoſe himſelf to a tentation, becauſe he hath ſeen another paſſe through it. Every man may know his own Byas, and to what ſin that diverts him: The beauty of the perſon, the opportunity of the place, the importunity of the party, being his Miſtreſſe, could not ſhake Ioſephs conſtancy. There is one ſuch example, of one that reſiſted a ſtrong tentation: But then there are in one place, two men together, that ſinned upon their own bodies, Her and Onan, Gen. 46.…2.then when no tentation was offered, nay when a remedy againſt tentation was miniſtred to them.
Some man may be chaſter in the Stews, then another in the Church; and ſome man will ſin more in his dreams, then another in his diſcourſe. Every man muſt know how much water his own veſſell draws, and not to think to ſaile over, whereſoever he hath ſeen anothe (he knows not with how much labour) ſhove over: No nor to adventure ſo far, as he may have reaſon to be confident in his own ſtrength: For thugh he may be ſafe in himſelf, yet he may ſinin anogher, if by his indiſcreete, and improvident example, another be ſcandalized. Chriſt was alwayes ſafe; He was led ofthe Spirit: Mat. 4.1.of what ſpirit? his own Spirit: Led willingly into the wilderneſſe, to be tempted of the devill. No other man might do that; but he who was able to ſay to the Sun, Siſte ſol, was able to ſay to Satan, Siſte Lucifer. Chriſt in another place gave ſuch ſcope to his affections, and to others interpretations of his actions, that his frineds and kinsfolds thught him mad, beſides himſelf: But all this while, Chriſt had his own actions, and paſſions, and their interpretations in his own power: he could do what he would. Here in our Text, Jeſus was troubled, and he groaned; and vehemently, and often, his affections were ſtirred: but as in a clan glaſſe, if water be ſtirred and troubled, though it may conceive a little light froth, yet it contracts no fouleneſſe in that clean galſſe, the affections of Chriſt were moved, but ſo: in that holy veſſell they would contract no fouleneſſe, no declination towards inordinateneſſe. But then every Chriſtian is not a Chriſt; and therefore as he that would faſt forty dayes, as Chriſt did, might ſtarve; and he that would whip Merchants out of the Temple, as Chriſt did, might be knockt downe in the Temple; So he knowing his owne inclinations, or but the generall ill inclination of all mankind, as he is infected with Originall ſin, ſhould converſe ſo much with publicans and ſinners, might participate of their ſins. The rule is, we muſt avoid inordinateneſſe of affections; but when we come to examples of that rule, our ſelves well underſtood by our ſelves, muſt be our owne exaples; for it is not alwaies good to go too far, as ſome good men have gone before.
Now though Chriſt were farre from both,Non Apathes. yet he came nearer to an exceſſe of paſſion, then to an Indolencie, to a ſenſeleſneſſe, to a privation of naturall affections. Inordinateneſſe of affections may ſometimes make ſome men like ſome beaſts; but indolencie, abſence, emptineſſe, privation of affections, makes any man at all times, like ſtones, like dirt. In noviſsimis, ſaith S. Peter, In the laſt, that is, in the worſt dayes, in the dregs, and lees, and tartar of ſin, then ſhall come men, lovers of themſelves; and that is ill enough in man; for that is an affection peculiar to God, to love himſelfe. Non ſpeciale vitium, ſed radix omnium vitiorum, ſaies the Schoole in the mouth of Aquinas: ſelfe. love cannot be called a diſtinct ſin, but the roote of all ſins. It is true that Iuſtin Martyr ſaies, Philoſophanti finis eſt Deo aſsimilari, The end of Chriſtian Philoſophy is to be wiſe like God; but not in this, to love our ſelves; for the greateſt ſin that ever was, and that upon which even the blood of Chriſt Jeſus hath not wrought, the ſin of Angels was that, Similis ero Altiſsimo, to be like God. To love our ſelves, to be ſatisfied in our ſelves, to finde an omniſufficiency in our ſelves, is an intruſion, an uſurpation upon God: And even God himſelfe who had that omni-ſufficiency in himſelfe, conceived a conveniency for his glory, to draw a Circumference about that Center, Creatures about himſelfe, and to ſhed forth lines of love upon all them, and not to love himſelfe alone. Selfe-love in man ſinks deep: but yet you ſee, the Apoſtle in his order, caſts the other ſin lower, that is, into a worſe place, To be without naturall affections.
S. Auguſtine extends theſe naturall affections, to Religious affections, becauſe they are naturall to a ſupernaturall man, to a regenerate man, who naturally loves thoſe, that are of the houſhold of the faithfull, that profeſſe the ſame truth of Religion: and not to be affected with their diſtreſſes, when Religion it ſelfe is diſtreſſed, in them, is impietie. He extends theſe affections to Morall affections; the love of Eminent and Heroicall vertues in any man: we ought to be affected with the fall of ſuch men. And he extends them to civill affections, the love of friends; not to be moved in their behalfe, is argument enough that we doe not much love them.
For our caſe in the Text, Theſe men whom Jeſus found weeping, and wept with them, were none of his kindred: They were Neighbours, and Chriſt had had a converſation, and contracted a friendſhip in that Family;V. 5. He loved Martha, and her ſiſter, and Lazarus, ſaies the Storie: and he would let the world ſee that he loved them: for ſo the Jewes argued that ſaw him weepe,V. 36. Behold how he loved them; without outward declarations, who can conclude an inward love? to aſſure that, Ieſus wept.
To an inordinateneſſe of affections it never came; to a naturall tenderneſſe it did; and ſo far as to teares;Laerymae. and then who needs be aſhamed of weeping? Look away far from me, for I will weep bitterly, ſayes Hieruſalem in Eſay. But look upon me, ſayes Chriſt in the Lamentations, Behold and ſee if ever there were any ſorrow, any teares like mine: Not like his in value, but in the roote as they proceeded from naturall affection, they were teares of imitation, and we may, we muſt weepe teares like his teares. They ſcourged him, they crowned him, they nailed him, they pierced him, and then blood came; but he ſhed teares voluntarily, and without violence: The blood came from their ill, but the teares from his owne good nature: The blood was drawne, the teares were given. We call it a childiſh thing to weepe, and a womaniſh; and perchance we meane worſe in that then in the childiſh; for therein we may meane falſhood to be mingled with weakneſſe. Chriſt made it an argument of his being man, to weepe, for though the lineaments of mans bodie, eyes and eares, hands and feet, be aſcribed to God in the Scriptures, though the affections of mans mind be aſcribed to him, (even ſorrow, nay Repentance it ſelfe, is attributed to God) I doe not remember that ever God is ſaid to have wept: It is for man. And when God ſhall come to that laſt Act in the glorifying of Man, when he promiſes, to wipe all teares from his eyes, what ſhall God have to doe with that eye that never wept?
He wept out of a nuturall tenderneſſe in generall; and he wept now out of a particular occaſion. What was that? Quia mortuus, becauſe Lazarus was dead. We ſtride over many ſteps at once; waive many ſuch conſiderable circumſtances as theſe; Lazarus his friend was dead, therefore he wept, Lazarus, the ſtaffe and ſuſtentatio of that family was dead, he upon whom his Siſters relied, was dead, therefore he wept. But I ſtop onelyonly upon this one ſtep, Quia mortuus, that he was dead. Now a good man is not the worſe for dying, that is true and capable of a good ſenſe, becauſe he is eſtabliſhed in a better world: but yet when he is gone out of this world he is none of us, he is no longer a man. The ſtronger opinion in the Schoole, is, That Chriſt himſelfe, when he lay dead in the grave, was no man. Though the God head never departed from the Carcaſſe, (there was no divorce of that Hypoſtaticall union) yet becauſe the Humane ſoule was departed from it, he was no man. Hugo de S. Victor. who thinks otherwiſe, that Chriſt was a man then, thinkes ſo upon a weak ground: He thinkes, that becauſe the ſoule is the form of man, the ſoul is man; and that therefore the ſoul remaining, the man remaines. But it is not the ſoule, but the union of the ſoul, that makes the man. The Maſter of the Sentences, Peter Lombard, that thinks ſo too, that Chriſt was then a man, thinkes ſo upon as weak a ground: He thinkes that it is enough to conſtitute a man, that there be a ſoul and body, though that ſoul and body be not united; but ſtill it is the union that makes the man: And therefore when he is diſunited, dead, he is none of us, he is no man; and therefore we weep how well ſoever he be. Abraham was loath to let go his wife, though the King had her: A man hath a naturall lothneſſe to let go his friend, though God take him to him.
S. Auguſtine ſayes, that he knew well enough, that his mother was in heaven; and S. Ambroſe, that he knew wel enough that his maſter Theodoſius the emperor was in heaven, but becauſe they ſaw not in what ſtate they were, they thought that ſomething might be asked at Gods hands in their behalf; and ſo out of a humane and pious officiouſneſſe, in a devotion perchance indigeſted, uncocted, and retaining yet ſome crudities, ſome irreſolutions, they ſtrayed into prayers for them after they were dead. Lazarus his ſiſters made no doubt of their brothers ſalvation; they beleeved his ſoul to be in a good eſtate: And for his body, they told Chriſt, Lord we know that he ſhall riſe at the laſt day: And yet they wept.
Here, in this world, we who ſtay, lack thoſe who are gone out of it: we know they ſhall never come to us; and when we ſhall go to them, whether we ſhall know them or no, we diſpute. They who think that it conduces to the perfection of happineſſe in heaven, that we ſhould know one another, think piouſly if they think we ſhall. For, as for the maintenance of publique peace, States, and Churches, may think diverſly in points of Religion, that are not fundamentall, and yet both be true and Orthodoxall Churches; ſo for the exaltation of private devotion in points that are not fundamentall, divers men may think diverſly, and both be equally good Chriſtians. Whether we ſhall know them there, or no, is problematicall and equall; that we ſhall not till then, is dogmaticall and certain: Therefore we weep. I know there are Philoſophers that will not let us weep, nor lament the death of any: And I know that in the Scriptures there are rules, and that there are inſtructions convayed in that example, that David left mourning as ſoon as the childe was dead; And I know that there are Authors of a middle nature, above the Philoſophers, and below the Scriptures, the Apocryphall books, and I know it is ſaid there, Comfort thy ſelfe, for thou-ſhalt do him no good that is dead,Ecclus. 38.6. Et teipſum peſsimabis (as the vulgat reads it) thou ſhalt make thy ſelf worſe and worſe, in the worſt degree. But yet all this is but of inordinate lamentation; for in the ſame place, the ſame Wiſe man ſayes, My Son, let thy tears fall down over the dead; weep bitterly and make great moane, as he is worthy. When our Saviour Chriſt had uttered his conſummatum eſt, all was finiſhed, and their rage could do him no more harm, when he had uttered his In manus tuas, he had delivered and God had received his ſoul, yet how did the whole frame of nature mourn in Eclipſes, and tremble in earth-quakes, and diſſolve and ſhed in pieces in the opening of the Temple, Quia mortuus, becauſe he was dead.
Truly, to ſee the hand of a great and mighty Monarch, that hand that hath governed the civill ſword, the ſword of Juſtice at home, and drawn and ſheathed the forraigne ſword, the ſword of war abroad, to ſee that hand lie dead, and not be able to nip or fillip away one of his own wormes (and then Quis homo, what man, though he be one of thoſe men, of whom God hath ſaid, Ye are gods, yet Quis homo, what man is there that lives, and ſhall not ſee death?) To ſee the brain of a great and religious Counſellor (and God bleſſe all from making, all from calling any great that is not religious) to ſee that brain that produced means to becalme guſts at Councell tables, ſtormes in Parliaments, tempeſts in popular commotions, to ſee that brain produce nothing but ſwarmes of wormes and no Proclamation to diſperſe them; To ſee a reverend Prelate that hath reſiſted Heretiques & Schiſmatiques all his life, fall like one of them by death, & perchance be called one of them when he is dead. To re-collect all, to ſee great men made no men, to be ſure that they ſhall never come to us, not to be ſure, that we ſhall know them when we come to them, to ſee the Lieutenants and Images of God, Kings, the ſinews of the State, religious Counſellors, the ſpirit of the Church, zealous Prelates, And then to ſee vulgar, lgnorant, wicked, and facinorous men thrown all by one hand of death, into one Cart, into one common Tide-boate, one Hoſpitall, one Almeshouſe, one Priſon, the grave, in whoſe duſt no man can ſay, This is the King, this is the Slave, this is the Biſhop, this is the Heretique, this is the Counſellor, this is the Foole, even this miſerable equality of ſo unequall perſons, by ſo foule a hand, is the ſubject of this lamentation, even Quia mortuus, becauſe Lazarus was dead, Ieſus wept.
He wept even in that reſpect,Quia non abhibita media. Quia mortuus, and he wept in this reſpect too, Quia non adhibita media, becauſe thoſe means which in appearance might have ſaved his life, by his default were not uſed, for when he came to the houſe, one ſiſter, Martha ſayes to him, Lord if thou hadſt been here, my brother had not dyed; and then the other ſiſter, Mary ſayes ſo too, Lord if thou hadſt been here, my brother had not dyed: They all cry out, that he who only, only by comming, might have ſaved his life, would not come. Our Saviour knew in himſelf that he abſtained to better purpoſe, and to the farther glory of God: for when he heard of his death, he ſaid to his Diſciples, I am glad for your ſakes that I was not there. Chriſt had certain reſerved purpoſes which conduced to a better eſtabliſhing of their faith, and to a better advancing of Gods Kingdome, the working of that miracle. But yet becauſe others were able to ſay to him, it was in you to have ſaved him, and he did not, even this Quia non adhibita media, affected him; and Ieſus wept.
He wept, Etſi quatriduanus, Etſi quatriduanus.though they ſaid unto him, He hath been foure dayes dead, and ſtinkes. Chriſt doth not ſay, there is no ſuch matter, he doth not ſtink; but though he do, my friend ſhall not lack my help. Good friends, uſefull friends though they may commit ſome errors, and though for ſome misbehaviours they may ſtink in our noſtrils, muſt not be derelicted, abandoned to themſelves. Many a ſon, many a good heire, findes an ill ayre from his Father; his Fathers life ſtinkes in the noſtrils of all the world, and he heares every where exclamations upon his Fathers uſury, and extortion, and oppreſſion: yet it becomes him by a betterlife, and by all other means to rectifie and redeem his Fathers fame. Quatriduanus eſt, is no plea for my negligence in my family; to ſay, My ſon, or my ſervant hath proceeded ſo far in ill courſes, that now it is to no purpoſe to go about to reform him, becauſe Quatriduanus eſt. Quatriduanus eſt, is no plea in my paſtorall charge, to ſay that ſeducers, and practiſers, and perſwaders, and ſollicitors for ſuperſtition, enter ſo boldly into every family, that now it is to no purpoſe to preach religious warineſſe, religious diſcretion, religious conſtancy. Quatriduanus eſt, is no plea for my Uſury, for my Simony; to ſay, I do but as all the world doth, and hath uſed to do a long time. To preach there where reprehenſion of growing ſin is acceptable, is to preach in ſeaſon; where it is not acceptable, it is out of ſeaſon; but yet we muſt preach in ſeaſon, and out of ſeaſon too. And when men are ſo refractary, as that they forbeare to heare, or heare and reſiſt our preaching, we muſt pray; and where they diſpiſe or forbid our praying, we muſt lament them, we muſt weep: Quatriduanus erat, Lazarus was far ſpent, yet Ieſus wept.
He wept,Etſiſuſcitandus. Though he knew that Lazarus were to be reſtored, and raiſed to life again. for as he meant to declare a great good will to him at laſt, ſo he would utter ſome by the way; he would do a great miracle for him, as he was a mighty God; but he would weep for him too, as he was a good natured man. Truly it is no very charitable diſpoſition, if I give all at my death to others, if I keep all all my life to my ſelf. For how many families have we ſeen ſhaked, ruined by this diſtemper, that though the Father mean to alien nothing of the inheritance from the Son at his death, yet becauſe he affords him not a competent maintenance in his life, he ſubmits his Son to an encumbring of his fame with ignominious ſhiftings, and an encumbring of the eſtare with irrecoverable debts. I may mean to feaſt a man plentifully at Chriſtmas, and that man may ſtarve before in Lent: Great perſons may think it in their power to give life to perſons and actions by their benefits, when they will, and before that will be up and ready, both may become incapable of their benefits. Jeſus would not give this family, whom hee pretended to love, occaſion of jealouſie, of ſuſpition, that he neglected them; and therefore though he came not preſently to that great worke, which hee intended tended at laſt, yet hee left them not comfortleſſe by the way, Ieſus wept.
And ſo (that we may reſerve ſome minutes for the reſt) we end this part, applying to every man that bleſſed exclamation of S. Ambroſe, Ad monumentum hoc digner is accedere Domine Ieſu, Lord Jeſus be pleaſed to come to this grave, to weep over this dead Lazarus, this ſoule in this body: And though I come not to a preſent riſing, a preſent deliverance from the power of all ſin, yet if I can feele the dew of thy teares upon me, if I can diſcern the eye of the compaſſion bent towards me, I have comfort all the way, and that comfort will flow into an infallibility in the end.
And be this the end of this part, to which we are come by theſe ſteps. Ieſus wept, That as he ſhewed himſelf to be God, he might appeare to be man too: he wept not in ordinately; but he came nearer exceſſe then indolency: He wept becauſe he was dead; and becauſe all means for life had not been uſed; he wept, though he were far ſpent; and he wept, though he meant to raiſe him again.
We paſſe now from his humane to his propheticall teares, from Jeſus weeping in contemplation of a naturall calamity fallen upon one family, Lazarus was dead,2 Part. to his weeping in contemplation of a Nationall calamity foreſeen upon a whole people; Jeruſalem was to be deſtroyed. His former teares had ſOme of the ſpirit of prophecy in them; for therefore ſayes Epiphanius, Chriſt wept there, becauſe he foreſaw how little uſe the Jews would make of that miracle, his humane teares were propheticall, and his propheticall teares are humane too, they riſe from good affections to that people. And therefore the ſame Author ſayes, That becauſe they thought it an uncomely thing for Chriſt to weep for any temporall thing, ſome men have expunged and removed that verſe out of S. Lukes Goſpell, That Jeſus when he ſaw that City, wept: But he is willing to be propoſed, and to ſtand for ever for an example of weeping in contemplation of publique calamities; Therefore Ieſuswept.
He wept firſt, Inter acclamationes, in the midſt of the congratulations and acclamations of the people, then when the whole multitude of his Diſciples cried out, Vivat Rex, Inter accla. mationes. Luke 19.38.Bleſſed be the King, that comes in the name of the Lord, Jeſus wept. When Herod tooke to himſelfe the name of the Lord, when he admitted that groſſe flattery, It is a God and not a man that ſpeakes, It was no wonder that preſent occaſion of lamentation fell upon him. But in the beſt times, and under the beſt Prince, (firſt, ſuch is the naturall mutability of all worldly things; and then (and that eſpecially) ſuch is the infiniteneſſe, and enormouſneſſe of our rebellious ſin) then is ever juſt occaſion of feare of worſe, and ſo of teares. Every man is but a ſpunge, and but a ſpunge filled with teares: and whether you lay your right hand or your left upon a full ſpunge, it will weep. Whether God lay his left hand, temporall calamities, or his right hand, temporall proſperity; even that temporall proſperity comes alwaies accompanied with ſo much anxiety in our ſelves, ſo much uncertainty in it ſelfe, and ſo much envy in others, as that that man who abounds moſt, that ſpunge ſhall weep.
Jeſus wept, Inter acclamationes, when all went wee enough with him;Inter judicia. to ſhew the ſlipperineſſe of worldly happineſſe, and then he wept Inter judicia; then when himſelfe was in the act of denouncing judgements upon them, Jeſus wept, To ſhew with how ill a will he inflicted thoſe judgements, and that themſelves, and not he, had drawne thoſe judgements upon them. How often doe the Prophets repeat that phraſe, Onus viſionis, O the burden of the judgements that I have ſeene upon this, and this people! It was a burden that preſſed teares from the Prophet Eſay, I will water thee with my teares, Eſay 16.9.O Heſhbon: when he muſt pronounce judgements upon her, he could not but weep over her. No Prophet ſo tender as Chriſt, nor ſo compaſſionate; and therefore he never takes rod into his hand, but with teares in his eyes. Alas, did God lack a footſtoole, that he ſhould make man only to tread and trample upon? Did God lack glory, and could have it no other way, but by creating man therefore, to afflict him temporally here, and eternally hereafter? whatſoever Chriſt weeps for in the way of his mercy, it is likely he was diſpleaſed with it in the way of his Juſtice: If he weep for it, he had rather it were not ſo. If then thoſe judgements upon Jeruſalem were only from his owne primary, and poſitive, and abſolute Decree, without any reſpect to their ſins, could he be diſpleaſed with his owneact, or weep and lament that which onelyonly himſelfe had done? would God ask rael? if God lay open to that anſwer, We die therefore, becauſe you have killed us; Jeruſalem ſalem would not judge her ſelfe, therefore Chriſt judged her; Jeruſalem would not weep for her ſelf, and therefore Jeſus wept; but in thoſe teares of his, he ſhewed, that he had rather her own teares had averted, and waſhed away thoſe judgements.
He wept, cum appropinquavit, ſayes the Text there, when Ieſus came near the City and ſaw it Cum appropinquavit.then he wept; not till then. If we will not come neare the miſeries of our brethren, if we will not ſee them, we will never weep over them, never be affected towards them. It was cum ille, Non cumilli.not cumilli, when Chriſt himſelfe, not when his Diſciples, his followers, who could doe Jeruſalem no good, tooke knowledge of it. It was not cum illi, nor it was not cum illa, not when thoſe judgements drew neare; It is not ſaid ſo; neither is there any time limited in the Text, when thoſe judgements were to fall upon Jeruſalem; it is onelyonly ſaid generally, indefinitely, theſe dayes ſhall come upon her. And yet Chriſt did not eaſe himſelfe upon that, that thoſe calamities were remote and farre off, but though they were ſo, and not to fall till after his death, yet he lamented future calamities then, then Jeſus wept. Many ſuch little Brookes as theſe fall into this River, the conſideration of Chriſts Propheticall teares; but let it be enough to have ſprinkled theſe drops out of the River; That Jeſus, though a private perſon, wept in contemplation of publique calamities; That he wept in the beſt times, fore-ſeeing worſe; That he wept in their miſeries, becauſe he was no Author of them: That he wept not till he tooke their miſeries into his conſideration: And he did weep a good time, before thoſe miſeries fell upon them. There remaine yet his third teares, his pontificall teares, which accompany his ſacrifice; Thoſe teares we called the Sea, but a Sea which muſt now be bounded with a very little ſand.
To ſaile apace through this Sea;3. Part. theſe teares, the teares of his Croſſe, were expreſſed by that ineſtimable waight, the ſinnes of all the world. If all the body were eye, argues the Apoſtle in another place; why, here all the body was eye; every pore of his body made an eye by teares of blood, and every inch of his body made an eye by their bloody ſcourges. And if Chriſts looking upon Peter, made Peter weep, ſhall not his looking upon us here, with teares in his eyes, ſuch teares in ſuch eyes, ſprings of teares, rivers of teares, ſeas of teares make us weep too? Peter who wept under the waight of his particular ſin, wept bitterly: how bitterly wept Chriſt under the waight of all the ſins of all the world? In the firſt teares. Chriſt humane teares (thoſe we called a ſpring) we fetched water at one houſe, we condoled a private calamity in another; Lazarus was dead. In his ſecond teares, his Propheticall teares, wee went to the condoling of a whole Nation; and thoſe we called a River. In theſe third teares, his pontificall teares, teares for ſin, for all ſins (thoſe we call a Sea) here is Mare liberum, a Sea free and open to all; Every man may ſaile home, home to himſelfe, and lament his own ſins there.
I am farre ftom concluding all to be impenitent, that doe not actually weep and ſhed teares; I know there are conſtitutions, complexions, that doe not afford them. And yet the worſt Epithet, which the beſt Poet could fixe upon Pluto himſelfe, was to call him Illachrymabilis, a perſon that could not weep. But to weep for other things, and not to weep for ſin, or if not to teares, yet not to come to that tenderneſſe, to that melting, to that thawing, that reſolving of the bowels which good ſoules feele; this is a ſpunge (I ſaid before, every man is a ſpunge) this is a ſpunge dried up into a Pumice ſtone; the lightneſſe, the hollowneſſe of a ſpunge is there ſtill, but (as the Pumice is) dried the Aetnaes of luſt, of ambition, of other flames in this world.
I have but three words to ſay of theſe teares of this weeping. What it is, what it is for, what it does; the nature, the uſe, the benefit of theſe teares, is all. And in the firſt, I forbeare to inſiſt upon S. Baſils Metaphor, Lachrymae ſudor animi male ſani; Sin is my ſickneſſe, the blood of Chriſt Jeſus is my Bezar, teares is the ſweat that that produceth. I forbeare Greg. Nyſſens metaphor too, Lachryma ſanguis cordis defoecatus; Teares are out beſt blood, ſo agitated, ſo ventilated, ſo purified, ſo rarified into ſpirits, as that thereby I become Idem ſpiritus, one ſpirit with my God. That is large enough, and imbraces all, which S. Gregory ſayes, That man weeps truly, that ſoul ſheds true teares, that conſiders ſeriouſly, firſt, ubi fuit in innocentia, the bleſſed ſtate which man was in, in his integrity at firſt, ubifuit; and then conſiders, ubi eſt in tentationibus, the weak eſtate that man is in now, in the midſt of tentations, where, if he had no more, himſelf were tentation too much, ubi eſt; and yet conſiders farther, ubi erit, in gehenna, the inſupportable, and for all that, the inevitable, theirreparable, and for all that, undeterminable torments of hell, ubi erit; and laſtly, ubi non erit, in coelis, the unexpreſſible joy and glory which he loſes in heaven, ubi non erit, where he ſhall never be. Theſe foure to conſider ſeriouſly, where man was, where he is, where he ſhall be, where he ſhall never be, are foure ſuch Rivers, as conſtitute a Paradiſe. And as a ground may be a weeping ground, though it have no running River, no conſtant ſpring, no gathering of waters in it; ſo a ſoule that can poure out it ſelf into theſe religious conſiderations, may be a weeping ſoule, though it have a dry eye: This weeping then is but a true ſorrow, (that was our firſt) and then, what this true ſorrow is given us for, and that is our next Conſideration.
As water is in nature a thing indifferent, in may give life,Ad quid. (ſo the firſt livin things that were, were in the water) and it may deſtroy life, (ſo all things living upon the earth, were deſtroyed in the water) but yet though water may, though it have done good and bad, yet water does now one good office, which no ill quality that is in it can equall, it waſhes our ſoules in Bap?iſme; ſo though there be good teares and bad teares, teares that waſh away ſin, and teares that are ſin, yet all teares have this degree of good in them, that they are all ſome kinde of argument of good nature, of a tender heart; and the Holy Ghoſt loves to work in Waxe, and not in Marble. I hope that is but meerly Poeticall which the Poet ſaies, Diſcunt lachrymare decenter; that ſome ſtudy to weep with a good grace; Quo que volunt plorant empore, quo que mode, they make uſe and advantage of their teares, and weep when they will. But of thoſe who weep not when they would, but when they would not, do half imploy their teares upon thatfor which God hath given them that ſacrifice upon ſin. God made the Firmament, which he called Heaven, after it had divided the waters: After we have diſtinguiſhed our teares, naturall from ſpirituall, worldly from heavenly, then there is a Firmament eſtabliſhed in us, then there is a heaven opened to us: and truly, to caſt Pearles before Swine, will ſcarce be better reſembled, then to ſhed teares which reſemble pearles for worldly loſſes.
Are there examples of menopaſſionately enamored upon age? or if upon age, upon deformity? If there be example of that, are they not examples of ſcorn too? doe not all others laugh at their teares? and yet ſuch is our paſſionate doting upon this world. Mundi facies, ſayes S. Auguſtine, (and even S. Auguſtine himſelfe hath ſcarce ſaid any thing more pathetically) tanta rerani labe contrita, ut etiam ſpeciem ſeductionis amiſerit: The face of the whold world is ſo defaced, ſo wrinkled, ſo ruined, ſo deformed, as that man might be truſted with this world, and there is no jealouſie, no ſuſpition that this world ſhould be able to miniſter any occaſion of tentation to man: Speciem ſeductionis amiſit. And yet, Qui in ſeipſo aruit, in nobis floret, ſayes S. Gregory, as wittily as S. Auguſtine, (as it is eaſie to be witty, eaſie to extend an Epigram to a Satyre, and a Satyre to an Invective, in declaiming againſt this world) that world which findes it ſelfe truly in an Autumne, in it ſelfe, findes it ſelfe in a ſpring, in our imaginations. Labenti haeremus, ſayes that Father; Et cum labentem ſiſtere non poſſumus, cum ipſo labimur; The world paſſes away, and yet wee cleave to it; and when wee cannot ſtay it from paſſing away, wee paſſe away with it.
To mourne paſſionately for the love of this world, which is decrepit, and upon the deathbed, or imoderately for the death of any that is paſſed out of this world, is not the right uſe of teares. That hath good uſe which Chryſologus notes, that when Chriſt was told of Lazarus death, he ſaid he was glad; when he came to raiſe him to life, then hee wept: for though his Diſciples gained by it, (they were confirmed by a Miracle) though the family gained by it, (they had their Lazarus againe) yet Lazarus himſelfe loſt by it, by being re-impriſoned, re-committed, re-ſubmitted to the manifold incommodities of this world. When our Saviour Chriſt forbad the women to weepe for him, it was becauſethere was nothing in him, for teares to worke upon; no ſin: Ordinem flendi docuit, ſaies S. Bernard, Chriſt did not abſolutely forbid teares, but regulate and order their teares, that they might weepe in the right place; firſt for ſin. David wept for Abſolon; He might imagine, that he died in ſin, he wept not for the Child by Bathſheba, he could not ſuſpect ſo much danger in that. Exitus aquarum, ſaies David, Rivers of waters ran downe from mine eyes, why? Quia illi, Becauſe they, who are they? not other men,Pſal. 119.136. as it is ordinarily taken; but Quia illi, Becauſe mine owne eyes (ſo Hilary, and Ambroſe, and Auguſt take it) have not kept thy Lawes: As the calamities of others, ſo the ſins of others may, but our owne ſins muſt be the object of our ſorrow. Thou ſhalt offer to me, ſaies God,Exod. 22.19. the firſt of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors, as our Tranſlation hath it: The word in the Originall ginall is Vedingnacha, lachrymarum, and of thy teares: Thy firſt teares muſt be to God for ſin: The ſecond and third may be to nature and civility, and ſuch ſecular offices. But Liquore ad lippitudinem apto quiſquamne ad pedes lavandos abutetur? It is S. Chryſoſtomes exclamation and admiration, will and waſh his feet in water for ſore eyes? will any man embalme the Carcaſſe of the world, which he treads under foote, with thoſe teares which ſhould embalme his ſoule? Did Ioſeph of Arimathea beſtow any of his perfumes (though he brought a ſuperfluous quantity, a hundred pound waight for one body) yet did he beſtow any upon the body of either of the Thieves? Teares are true ſorrow, that you heard before; True ſorrow is for ſin, that you have heard now; All that remaines is how this ſorrow works, what is does.
The Fathers have infinitely delighted themſelves in this deſcant, the bleſſed effect of holy teares.Quid operantur. He amongſt them that reemembers us, that in the old Law all Sacrifices were waſhed, he meanes, That our beſt ſacrifice, even prayer it ſelfe, receives an improvement, a dignity, by being waſhed in teares. He that remembers us, that if any roome of out houſe be on fire, we run for water, meanes that in all tentations, we ſhould have recourſe to teares. He that tels us, that money being put into a baſon, is ſeene at a farther diſtance, if there be water in the baſon, then if it be emptie, meanes alſo, that our moſt pretious devotions receive an addition, a multiplication by holy teares. S. Bernard meanes all that they all meane in that, Cor lachrymas neſciens durum, impurum, A hard heart is a foule heart. Would you ſhut up the devill in his owne channell, his channell of brimſtone, and make that worſe? S. hierom tels the way, Plus tua lachryma, &c. Thy teares torment him more then the fires of hell; will you needs have holy water? truly, true teares are the holieſt water.Mend eza. in 1. Sam. And for Purgatory, it is liberally confeſſed by a Jeſuit, Non minùs efficax, &c. One teare will doe thee as much good, as all the flames of Purgatory. We have ſaid more then once, that man is a ſpunge; And in Codice ſcripta, all our ſins are written in Gods Booke, ſaies S. ChryſOſtome: If there I can fill my ſpunge with teares, and ſo wipe out all my ſins out of that Book, it is a bleſſed uſe of the Spunge.
I might ſtand upon this, the manifold benefits of godly teares, long: ſo long, as till you wept, and wept for ſin; and that might be very long. I contract all to this one, which is all: To how many bleſſedneſſes muſt theſe teares, this godly ſorrow reach by the way, when as it reaches to the very extreme, to that which is oppoſed to it, to Joy? for godlie ſorrow is Joy.Iob 10.20. The words in Iob are in the Vulgat, Dimitte meut plang am dolorem meum: Lord ſpare me a while that I may lament my lamentable eſtate: and ſo ordinarily the Expoſitors that follow that Tranſlation, make their uſe of them. But yet it is in the Originall, Lord ſpare me a while, that I may take comfort: That which one cals lamenting, the other calls rejoycing: To conceive true ſorrow and true joy, are things not onelyonly contiguous, but continuall; they doe not onelyonly touch and follow one another in a certaine ſucceſſion, Joy aſſuredly after ſorrow, but they conſiſt together, they are all one, Joy and Sorrow. My teares have beene my meat day and night, Pſal. 42.3.ſaies David: not that he had no other meate, but that none reliſht ſo well.Mendoza. It is a Grammaticall note of a Jeſuit, (I doe not tell you it is true; I have almoſt tole you that it is not true, by telling you whoſe it is, but that it is but a Grammaticall note) That when it is ſaid Tempus cantus, The time offinging is come, it might as well be rendred out of the Hebrew,Cant. 2.12. Tempus plorationis, The time of weeping is come; 2 Sam. 22.50.And when it is ſaid, Nomini tuo cantabo, Lord I will ſing unto thy Name, it might be as well rendred out of the Hebrew, Plorabo, I will weepe, I will ſacrifice my teares unto thy Name. So equall, ſo indifferent a thing is it, when we come to godly ſorrow, whether we call it ſorrow or joy, weeping or ſinging.
To end all, to weep for ſin is not a damp of melancholy, to ſigh for ſin, is not a vapour of the ſpleene, but as Monicaes Confeſſor ſaid ſtill unto her, in the behalfe of her Son S. Auguſtine, filius iſtarum lachrymarum, the ſon of theſe teares cnnot periſh; ſo waſh thy ſelfe in theſe three examplar bathes of Chriſts teares, in his humane teares, and be tenderly affected with humane accidents, in his Propheticall teares, and avert as much as in thee lieth, the calamities imminent upon others, but eſpecially in his pontificall teares, teares for ſin, and I am thy Confeſſor, non ego, ſed Dominus; not I, but the ſpirit of God himſelf is thy Confeſſor, and he abſolves thee, filius iſtarum lachrymarum, the ſoule bathed in theſe teares cannot periſh: for this is trina immer ſio, that threefold dipping which was uſed in the Primitive Church in baptiſme. And in this baptiſme, thou takeſt a new Chriſtian name, thou who waſt but a Chriſtian, art now a regenerate Chriſtian; and as Naaman the Leper came cleaner out of Jordan, then he was before his leproſie, (for his fleſh came as the fleſh of a child) ſo there ſhall be better evidence in this baptiſme of thy repentance, then in thy firſt baptiſme; better in thy ſelf, for then thou hadſt no ſenſe of thy own eſtate, in this thou haſt: And thou ſhalt have better evidence from others too; for howſoever ſome others will diſpute, whether all children which dye after Baptiſme, be certainly ſaved or no, it never fell into doubt or diſputation, whether all that die truely repentant, be ſaved or no. Weep theſe teares truly, and God ſhall performe to thee, firſt that promiſe which he makes in Eſay, The Lord ſhall wipe all teares from thy face, Eſay 25.all that are fallen by any occaſion of calamity here, in the militant Church; and he ſhall performe that promiſe which he makes in the Revelation,Revel. 7.17. The Lord ſhall wipe all teares from thine eyes, that is, dry up the fountaine of teares; remove all occaſion of teares hereafter, in the triumphant Church.