Christs Valedictions, Part 5
The fifth Word.
JOHN 19.28.
1 Thirſt.
FOr the better explanation of This, it is neceſſary to add the precedent and ſubſequent words of the Evangeliſt: After this, Jeſus knowing that all things were now accompliſhed, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, ſaith, I thirſt; now there was ſet a veſſel full of vinegar, and they filled a ſpunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyſſop and put it to his mouth. The Lord would have a full Conſummation of all the Propheticall predictions of his life and death, this only remained according to the Pſalmiſt;Pſal. 69.21. They gave me vinegar to drink; Our Lord ſaid, I thirſt. The Prophet foretold it, becauſe he foreſaw it; the prediction or previſion is not the cauſe of a thing to Come, but the thing to come is the ground of either. The emiſſion of ſo much blood, could not chuſe but provoke an extremity of thirſt, (as I knew a man grievouſly wounded, who called for nothing but drink) which notwithſtanding he entertained with a patient ſilence from the beginning of his Crucifixion: His fleſh had been long unacquainted with any moyſture; his veines, his tongue, his Palate, and all his Interiours did labour under a miſerable dryneſs, but, O ſad refreſhment! in ſtead of giving him Cordials, or pleaſant drinks, they offer him that which might either increaſe his torments, or haſten his diſſolution. The ſumm of all is this: As a little before his affixction to the Croſs, they offered him Wine mingled with Gall, Mat. 27.ſo in the laſt period of his life, they brought him Vinegar, that from the beginning to the end he might have a continued Paſſion, not mixed with any ſolace or refreſhment.
The new Teſtament is for the moſt part an explanation of the Old, but in this myſtery of the Lords Thirſt, the words of the Pſalmiſt may be ſtyled a Commentary on theſe words of Chriſt, I looked for ſome to ſorrow with me, Pſal. 69.but there was none, and for Comforters, and I found none, they gave me gall to eat, and vinegar to drink, And of ſuch the Lord here complains, and ſaies, I thirſt: Hence learn firſt, O Man!
1. To poſſeſſe thy ſoul in patience in thy afflictions after the great example of our Lord and Maſter Chriſt; though in the fourth word there ſhined his humility joyned with his Patience, yet here it appeares in its proper place. This is it which ſetteth a ſeal upon all vertues, even the firſt in the liſt, and laſt in the triumph. It is the Crowned Pomegranate which hangeth among bells in the loweſt border of the high Prieſts robe of the old Law, all was imperfect without the Crown of Patience; it is the Salt of the Prophet Eliſaeus, which purifieth the polluted waters, and ſweetneth all the bitterneſs of life, it is the School of Chriſtianity. So learned are we, as we have Patience,Ambroſs in Prov. 19 ſo much do we participate with God, as we can endure by his example, he hath taken a body, to be able to ſuffer, and to make himſelf the mirrour and reward of ſufferours. But we muſt diſtinguiſh true Patience from falſe. True patience is that, which commands us to ſuffer the evils of puniſhment, that it may not enforce us to commit the evils of ſin, ſuch was the patience of true Martyrs, who would rather undergo the torments of villanous executions, then deny the ſaving faith of Chriſt; and would rather tolerate the loſs of all they had, then adhibit any adoration to falſe Gods, falſe patience is that which perſwades us to ſuffer all evil things, that we may obey the law of luſt, and to looſe eternal things, to conſerve the Temporal, ſuch is the patience of the Devils Martyrs, who will eaſily ſuffer hunger, thirſt, cold, heat, the loſs of a good name, (and which is to be admired) of the kingdom of heaven, that they might augment their riches, ſatisfie carnal concupiſcence, and aſcend to the ſlippery mount of honours.
It is the innate property of true Patience to continue in a good cauſe to the end, till by working it hath poliſhed us,Ja…. 1.1. and made us perfect men; and that is it which the Apoſtle declares in the Encomiums of it: other vertues cannot long ſubſiſt without it, in regard of ſome difficulties which are found in their actuations, which by her aſſiſtance, are conquered with much facility;Cyprian ſer de patieut. Charity which is the Queen of virtues, the ground of peace, the link of unity, & greater then either faith, or hope, or Martyrdom, take from it Patience and it remains deſolate, take from it the ſubſtance of ſuffering, and it hath no root, no ſtrength to perſevere: without this the chaſte man cannot reſiſt uncleanneſs, the juſt cannot be free from corruption, nor the peaceable, from a deſire of Revenge. The Pſalmiſt ſaies,Pſal 9.18. the expectation (or Patience) of the Poor (or humble) ſhall not periſh for ever, but the fruit of it ſhall be perpetually verdant; the husband-man loſes not the ſweats of his brow, when he beholds his ſeed flouriſhing in the eare; And the patient ſouldier deſerves as great trophies as the greateſt Conquerour, when by the ſweetneſs of his ſufferings, he doth, as it were trampled on the victories of his enemies; he that endureth to the end ſhall receive a Crown of Glory.Ja. 1.12.
We need no other Motive to induce us to this Royal vertue, then the King of ſufferings; Chriſt Jeſus thirſting on the Croſs, for not to ſpeak of all his afflictions and miſeries, which continued from his cradle to his grave; this his tedious and vehement thirſt is ſufficient to enflame our ſouls with a religious patience in all our tribulations. But, leaſt we ſhould miſtake the practice of it with (the Romiſh Saint) Macarius, who having killed a gnat which pricked him,Vitae P. P. (as if he had committed a great act of impatience) went for the ſpace of ſix moneths, expoſing his naked body to all the flies, gnats, and waſps of the wilderneſs, to be revenged upon himſelf; let's take theſe few directions.
1. To bear a little with our ſelves, and be content with thoſe conditions and callings wherein we are placed: it is the property of imprudent perſons to be weary with the preſent and ever gaping for the future.
2. To be full of mildneſs and lenity towards others, bearing with their infirmities: ſome hath more diſturbances then the winding Eruipus hath waves, but what unreaſonableneſs is it, that a man full of rebellions againſt God, ſhould deſire that men and beaſts ſerve him, according to all his humours.
3.2 Sam. 16, 10, 11. To ſuffer calumny, and ſlanderous words, as David did thoſe of Shemei.
4. To endure all humane accidents, as ſickneſſes, loſs of goods, hunger and thirſt, impriſonments, baniſhments, death of friends and neer Relations, and whatſoever hath ſadneſs and horror in nature, ever acknowledging that they are but ſcourges for our ſins (which deſerves greater) and that none of them happen without the permiſſion of the divine power, to which we muſt all ſubmit, that ſo, the incenſed God, being appeaſed, may vouchſafe us his benedictions, and enboſom us as his ſons, by his paternal favour.
2. But beſides this corporal thirſt, the Lord ſeems to me to intend a ſpiritual one, and to have ſpoken theſe words in the ſame ſenſe, as thoſe to the women of Samaria, Give me to drink. Afterwards, unlocking the myſtery of his ſpeech, he adjoynes this, if thou kneweſt the gift of God, Io. 4.7, 10.and who it is that ſaith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldſt have asked of him, and he will give thee the water of life. When I behold Chriſt upon the Croſs as it were upon the high Mount, looking on ſo many millions, languiſhing through the inflamations of their ſins, I behold the ſame Lord commiſerating their ſad conditions, and ſaying, though I truly thirſt for the exhauſted and dried humour of my body, yet I more thirſt and covet that man at length may by faith acknoledg me to be the true fountain of that living water, and that they may come to me and drink, and ſo they ſhall not thirſt eternally.
To this purpoſe are the words of the Prophet. Ho, Everyone that thirſteth come to the waters, Iſa. 55.1.and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; come I ſay, buy wine and milk without money, without price. That you may conceive they are not ſcrew'd to too high a value, he invites you with a ſecond call; theſe waters are ſaid to be bought, becauſe they are not to be had without ſome labour and induſtry, but they are had without any commutation, becauſe they are given freely, neither can there be any price found to parallel the greatneſs of their worth; what he firſt called Water, he afterwards cals Wine and Milk, thereby to diſplay unto us the excellency and perfection of the gift; what is called Water, is divine Wiſdom, which quencheth the flames & luſts of Concupiſcence; by Wine is meant that celeſtial calefaction which doth warm and brisk the ſoul, making it to covet things heavenly and ſublime; and it is called Milk, becauſe it ſweetly nouriſhed the Infants in Chriſt with eternal food.1 Pet. 2.1.
Some thirſt, with a moſt flaming deſire, and inſatiable greedineſs after the tranſitories of this world, (which the vulgar call bleſſings) as honours, wealth, and pleaſures, but our deſires muſt mount higher, and have theſe three Objects, the glory of God, the honour of Chriſt, and the ſalvation of our ſouls, that theſe were the vehement deſires of Chriſt, all his works, all his preachings, all his ſufferings, and all his miracles do voice and ſpeak it. The Prophet cries out. As the hart brayeth for the rivers of water, Pſal. 42.1, 2.ſo panteth my Soul, after thee, O God. My Soul thirſteth for God, even for the living God, when ſhall I come and appear before the preſence of God? Behold, how this King, who was clad with the rags of mortality, and ſoyled with the vileneſs of carnal vanities, thirſts after Gods honour and ſervice here, and to enjoy the beatifical viſion of him hereafter:Rom. ….3. Pauls zeal towards Gods Glory, was ſuch, that he would redeem the rejection of the Jews, with his own damnation; to teſtifie his great deſire for their Salvation, he wiſht to be anathematized from Chriſt. He had rather be deprived of the heavenly Glory then that Chriſt ſhould be deprived of ſo great a fault of his paſſion, which would have appeared in the converſion of ſo many thouſand Iſraelites. Now, if Chriſt, if Paul and others ſo eagerly thirſted for our ſalvation, why do we our ſelves neglect it? Why do we ſo vehemently covet theſe temporals, which are weightleſs and momentaneous, and not place our whole effections on that happineſs, which is glorious and eternal? The reaſon peradventure is, becauſe everlaſting Glory is not empaled within the dominion of ſenſe: we have not that external experiment of it, as of corporal felicity, which makes us earneſtly covet this, ſlightly deſire the other; and therefore the natural man (who ſees not beyond the Region of ſenſe) perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 2.14for they are fooliſhneſs to him. But he that is ſpiritual diſcerneth all things. There muſt be a ſpiritual wiſdome in us, before we can long for the things above, and this is not to be found in the Athens of the world, but in the moſt Divine Academie of Gods Spirit,Jam. 1.5. the Treaſure and fountain of all true knowledg, who gives liberally to all, and reproacheth none. Thither only we muſt make our humble addreſſes for this holy Gemme, and not deſiſt in our Prayers, untill we have by our teares, and cryes, undeafed the eares of the Almighty.
1 ANd now, O God, of all pity and Patience, we are confounded to conſider thy great goodneſs, in ſuffering that extremity of thirſt, and pain, for us on the Croſs; enable us to bear patiently all afflictions, Corporal or ſpiritual, and to ſubmit our wills to thine, in ſickneſs as in health, in woe as in wealth, in death as in life.
2. Make us to thirſt after the Kingdom of heaven and its righteouſneſs; teach us to prize the ſalvation of our ſoules above all earthly poſſeſſions, for they are ſpiritual, immortal, and precious, theſe but tranſitory, and ſubſervient, if we ſeek thee in the firſt place, (who art All in All) no bl…ſſings whether corporall, ſpirituall, or eternal can be wanting to us, for every good and perfect gift proceeds from thee above,Iam. 1.17. O Father of lights.