Meditations and Motives for Prayer Upon the Seven Days of the Week, Frontispiece 6
Fryday. Gen. 1.
V20 And God said, Let the Waters bring forth abundantly the moving Creature that hath life, and fowl that may flye above the earth in the open formament of heauen.
21 And God Created great Whales, and every living Creature that moveth, which the Waters brought fort abundantly after their kinde, and every win: ged fowl after his kinds: and God saw that it was good.
MOTIVES FOR PRAYER VPONUPON FRIDAY.
THis is now our fifth day of labour, and after this but one day of labour more, and then our Sabbath. And as a workeman hath his heart well lightned, when the greatest part of his worke is done, and only some small part remains: and as a mariner rejoyceth, when after long tossing with stormes and tempests, he comes to discry the land, and specially his desired haven: so is it this day with us: we may justly now rejoyce, seeing after foure dayes of incessant labour, wee come this day (I may say) within sight of our Sabbath, which is the haven of our rest: and by this reckoning, we should now be singing of Hallelujahs, and songs of joy. But O my soule, our case is farre otherwise, for all the labours of the dayes past are nothing, compared to the labour of this day: and as for the Sabbath that is talked of, what Sabbath can I looke to have, when the Lord of the Sabbath, was this day himselfe so cruelly handled! I have had a most grievous nigt of it, to see him in whom was all my hope, brought now himselfe almost to despaire; and yet I shall have a more grievous day of it, to see the Lord of my life, be put himselfe to a cruell death: and now my soule, what can my labour doe? All I could have done, had beene but to oppose his adversaries: & perhaps to have strucken off one of their eares: and this would have done no good: for hee would presently have healed it againe. Yet I might have followed him to see the end, as Peter did: but so perhaps I might have denied him, as Peter did: yet I should hope O Lord, thou wouldest afford mee the like grace as thou didst to Peter; to make mee presently goe out and weepe bitterly. But alas, this weeping would be for my selfe; and I have now cause to weep for another: one infinitely more deere unto mee, than I am my selfe; and of such worth, that it were better the whole world should perish, than one haire of his head should be diminished. And can I remember it then with out weeping; that this man of more worth than the world was this day held of no worth in the world; alas, was rejected; alas, was despised, and was made a publike spectacle to the world, of infinite woe and infamie: and have I not cause then to turne the labour of this day into lamenting? but where to find lamentations to serve my turne this day I know not: alas, the lamentations of Jeremy are farre too short to expresse my sorrow: to have my head be made a fountaine of teares, that I might weep day and night, beares no proportion with the greatnesse of my griefe; O yee rockes, why doe you not cleave asunder to see this day? and the rockes indeed did cleave asunder at it: and vaile of the Temple rent in twaine, from the top to the bottome. O yee heavens, why are ye not astonished at this sight? and the heavens indeed were astonished at it: for the Sunne was darkened from the sixth houre to the ninth: and why was the Sunne darkned, but because the Sunne of Righteousnesse was eclipsed? Why was the vaile of the Temple rent, but because his body was rent, that was indeed the true Temple, in which all holinesse was dwelling bodily? And is not this a case, that deserves lamenting? O my soule, if I should lament this day, as the case of the day deserves to be lamented; it might justly be said to be a day of labour indeed.
But seeing thou canst never lament enough, let thy labour now be turned into thanking; for why did Christ suffer all these indignities? why was hee punished, that was no delinquent? was it by the errour of the Judge, upon the suggestion of false witnesses? No, God knowes, it was his owne voluntary act; for he knew, we could not be healed but by his stripes: he knew we could not be saved, but by his death: and such was his compassion and pity towards us, that for our sakes, hee tooke a burthen upon him, which no shoulders but his were able to beare. He paid a debt for us, which wee were never able to have paid our selves: he bore a penalty for us, which we were never able to have borne our selves: hee performed a justice for us which wee were never able to have performed our selves: And who were wee, that for us hee should take such burthens upon him? For good men perhaps, one may be gotten to die, but we, alas, were all grievous sinners. For friends perhaps one may be drawne to suffer much; but wee, God knowes, were all his enemies: and doth not such kindnesse then deserve thankes at our hands, in the highest degree? O my soule, if I should labour to thanke him this day, as his love shewed me this day deseives to be thanked; it might justly be said to be a day of labour indeed.
But seeing with all thy labour, thou art never able to thanke him enough; let thy labour now be turned into magnifying; for having done these great things for mee, how can I speake of him in a lower style than to say, Thou art the King of glory O Christ, thou art the everlasting Sonne of the Father: when thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhorre the Virgins wombe: when thou hadst overcome the sharpnesse of death, thou diddest open the Kingdome of heaven to all beleevers; and therefore day by day wee magnifie thee; and wee worship thy Name, ever world without end.
But seeing with all my labour I can never magnifie him, as hee deserves: my labour now shall be turned into praying; that, O gracious God, thou wilt be pleased, to make mee truly sensible of these inestimable favours, sensible from what I am redeemed, and sensible by whom I am redeemed, and sensible to what I am redeemed: for I am redeemed, not onelyonly from the worst captivitie, but from that which is worse than captivitie, from the thraldome of Satan, and from everlasting death: and I am redeemed by him, who incurred thy displeasure, to procure my reconcilement: by him who exinanivit seipsum, emptied himselfe, that of his fulnesse we might all receive: and I am redeemed to the end I might serve thee without feare, without servile feare indeed, but yet in feare & holinesse all the dayes of my life. And now my soule put all these labours together; lamenting, and thanking, & magnifying, & praying, and all of them to be done this day, & then say, if this day may not justly be said to be a day of labour? a day indeed of so great labour, that if my sabbath come not the sooner, I shall never be able to hold out from fainting. But O mercifull God, when my own strength failes, be thou pleased to assist mee with the strength of thy grace, that I may lament his suffering with a hearty contrition, that I may thanke him for his sufferings, with an humble acknowledgement, that I may magnifie his sufferings, with songs of extolling, and that I may pray for them all, with a true devotion: and beeing thus assisted, I shall come to my Sabbath time enough; and before any fit of fainting take hold upon mee. For O my soule, though these indeed be great labours, yet wee may well be contented to take them this day, seeing wee are beholding to this day for a Prayer, which but for this day wee could never have made: By thy Crosse and Passion, by thy pretious Death and Buriall, Good Lord deliver us.
And yet these are not all the labours of the day neither; for it was upon this day, in the revolution of time, that God made the beasts of the earth, and last of all made man; whether it were he made him last, as his perfectest worke: for this hath hitherto beene Gods manner, to proceed from the lesse to the more perfect; and therefore of his second dayes worke, it is not said, Hee saw it was good: because his worke of the second day was not perfected till the third day; and in Gods language, nothing is good that is not perfect: or whether it were that hee would not make man till hee had first made all things else, that hee might have no pretence of wanting any thing in excuse of his sinne: or whether it were, that he reserved man for his last worke, before he rested himselfe: that being made so lately, he might have entred into his rest at the shortest distance: and is there not in all these considerations, very just occasion to move us this day to labour? O my soule, if our first parent. Adam had laboured but this one day; Alas, but a small part of this one day in serving of God; how happy had hee beene? how happy had wee all beene? for if once hee had gotten a Sabbath over his head; if hee had but once entred into Gods rest: hee had then beene safe for ever, against all temptations of the world, and Satan. For this (wee may conceive) had beene the like confirmation to him in grace, as was to the holy Angels at the fall of Lucifer. This Satan knew well, and therefore made hast to get betweene him and home; and taking advantage of his idlenesse, before hee knew what labour meant, hee quickly brought him to his fall. And is there not in this againe another consideration, to make us consecrate this day to labour? For why did Adam fall, but because he did not labour? if he had not stood gazing upon the forbidden fruit, if he had notspent his time idly, in parlee with the Serpent, hee might have stood still in his estate of uprightnesse, & never perhaps have bin put to other labour, than walking with God.
And now my soule, let these considerations bee layd together, that this was the day in which man was made; this the day in which man fell; this the day in which man was redeemed; and then say, if these three make not a strong cord to draw us (if any thing will draw us) this day to labour? Wee use to celebrate our birth-day with some extraordinary solemnity: and shall we use no solemnity upon this day, which is the generall birthday of all mankind? We use when wee are fallen, to labour to rise againe; and shall wee not labour to rise this day, in which wee tooke our fall? Is it not fit, when wee are redeemed, to do some act to shew that wee are freed? and in all these considerations, what so fit as prayer? the greatest solemnity wee can use to celebrate our birth day. The fittest labour wee can take, to helpe us to rise; the best act wee can do to expresse our libertie. O then my soule, labour this day: but let thy labour be with Prayer; that this day thou mayst do workes of pietie worthy of thy creation; workes of humilitie in remembrance of thy fall; and workes of charity in acknowledgement of thy redemption. And if any man thinke, that prayer is but an easie labour, and not enough for this day; let him remember Christs praying in the garden, which was so laborious to him, that it brought him into a sweat of very blood. O then vouchsafe O God, to endue mee with a spirit of fervent prayer, that may draw all blood of prophanenesse out of my veins; that all the meditations of my heart, and all my actions this day may wholly be directed by thee, & wholly be directed to thee, to thee O God, who only canst make my labours light unto mee; and only canst endite my prayers for mee: only my soule remember, that this is the day, semper acerbus, semper honoratus: to which we are beholding for a prayer, which but for this day wee could never have said, By thy agony and bitter Passion, by thy pretious death and buriall, good Lord deliver us.
Jacob told Pharaoh, that few and evill were the dayes of his Pilgrimage: and tooke no notice of any good day he had ever had; and how then come we to have a good day, amongst our much worse and fewer than his were? and if wee have not a good day, why do wee call it good Friday? can that be a good day, which tooke our onelyonly good away? can that day be good, which deprived us of him that was onelyonly good? May wee not rather call it one of Jacobs evill dayes; or, one of Jacobs accursed dayes, than to call it a good day? No my soule, just cause to call it a good day, that was the cause of all good dayes to us; though not to him: or therefore to him also, because to us: but justest cause to call it Good Friday, which was the cause of our good Sunday; for if it had not beene for this Friday, the next Sunday could have bin no Sabbath; for if he had not dyed now, he could not have risen then; seeing he was not to rise, till the third day after his death: and if hee had not risen then, it had not beene then a Sabbath: seeing it was his rising onelyonly that made it a Sabbath. If therefore our Sabbath be good, then is this Friday good, which prepared it to be a Sabbath. And by this appeares a reason of the different reckoning of the day of Christs death, and the day of his birth: for the death of Christ is remembred to us by the day of the weeke, and nor of the MonethMonth; but the birth of Christ, is remembred to us, by the day of the MonethMonth, and not of the Weeke, and this because the day of his death reserres to the Sabbath; and that beeing Sunday, this of necessity must be Friday: what day of the MonethMonth soever: but the day of his birth hath no day of the weeke to regulate it of necessitie, and therefore it is left to the MonethMonth at large, moveable as concerning the weeke, fixt onelyonly as concerning the monethmonth.