RIght Honourable, right Worshipfull, and wel­beloued: 4. sorts of peo­ple were about Christ, when Christ was about his passion: The first were executio­ners, which tormented him: the se­cond sort were Iewes, which mockt him: the third were lookers on, who markt him: the fourth were welwil­lers, who lamented him. Now, al­though it is like, that amongst these his welwillers, diuers godly mē wept for him, as Ioseph of Arimathea, Ga­maliel, Nicodemus, and such like, yet it is certaine that more women wept [Page] then men. More women wept then men, partly by the permission of men, who thought that the womens weep­ing, came rather from weakenes in themselues, then for loue towardes Christ; and partly by the prouidence of God, who suffered more women to weepe then men, that the women who bewailed Christ his death, might condemne the crueltie of the mē that procured it. Now the women wept also more then the men, either of a na­turall affection, or els of a voluntarie disposition, naturally subiect to many either affectionate passions, or passio­nate affections. But touching these women, that which otherwise was naturall in them was here voluntarie: for the sinne of a woman was the ruin of a man. Therefore these women willingly wept the more, that though a womā did most in the second death of the first Adam; so she may do least in the first death of the second Adam: [Page] For it was Eue a woman, who be­trayed the first Adam with an apple, and caused him to sinne: but it was Iudas a man, who betraied the second Adam with a kisse, and caused him to dye. Wherefore principally indeede, Christ speaketh to the womē, because both more women wept then men, & the women also wept more then the men, more women more weeping: yet indifferently he speaketh to all his deare friends, VVeepe not for me, but weepe for your selues. At the first the woman began in disobedience, and tempted Adam to eate of the forbid­den fruite: yet since, women (as Ma­ry Magdalene, and Mary the Virgin, and the women here with diuers o­thers) haue farre exceeded men in all obedience, vnto them rather then vn­to men he turneth his speech, and yet saith generally, VVeepe not for me, but weepe for your selues. In which sen­tence wee may obserue as many parts [Page] as there bee words, eight words eight parts. The first is, VVeepe not, (that is) weepe not too much. The second, but weepe, (that is) weep not too little. The third, weepe not but weepe, both toge­ther. Fourthly, for me, not too much for my death. Fiftly, for your selues, (that is) not too little for your owne liues. Sixtly, for me for your selues, both together. Seuenthly, Weepe not for me. Eightly, Weepe not for me, but weepe for your selues. God graunt that our harts may be so affected with the consideration of these excellent mat­ters, as they may bee most to the en­crease of our comfort in him, and his glorie in vs.

1. VVeepe not, &c. When Iairus (ruler of the Sinagogue) wept bitter­ly for the death of his daughter, Luk. 8. 52. Christ sayd vnto him, VVeepe not. When Rachel wept and would not be comforted for the losse of her sonne Beniamin, seeing so few of her [Page] children left, Iere. 31. 16. the Lord sayd vnto her, Weepe not. When a poore widow wept for the death of her on­ly sonne, Luk. 7. 3. Christ sayd vnto her, VVeepe not. And so Christ here seeing many Iairus, many Rachels, many widowes, weeping for the son of God, sayd vnto them, VVeepe not. Forbidding therby immoderate wee­ping, which is condemned in nature, in reason,Psalm. 65. 12. and in religion: In nature, the earth when it reioyceth in har­uest, then it is couered with corne: but when it hath to too sorowfull a countenance, & forelorne in the win­ter, then it is fruitles and barren. The water when it is quiet and calme, bringeth in all manner of Marchan­dize: but when the sea stormes and rores too much,Esay 23. 1. then the very shippes doe howle and crye. The ayre look­ing brightly and cheerefully, refresh­eth al things: but weeping too much, that is, rayning too much, as in Noahs [Page] his floud,Gen. 7. 12. it drowneth the whole world. The fire being sprinkled with a little water, burneth more cleerely: but if wee cast too much water into the fire, it will neither giue heate nor light. The eye it selfe hath twise as many drie skinnes, like sluces to stop vp the course of teares, as it hath moyst humours like channels to let them flow forth. If all the bodie were an eye, and there were not eares in it, where were then the hearing? If all the eye were a moyst humour, and there were no drie skins in it, where were then the seeing? Seeing then too much weeping is in the earth, barrennes; in the water, shipwracke; in the ayre, an inundation; and too much water putteth out the fire, and in the eye blindnes; certainly if the earth could speake, and the water speake, and the ayre speake, and the fire speake, and the eye speake, they would all sing a song of fiue parts, and [Page] say together, We must not weep too much. Mulsi nimium ingratum est: 2. which is thus translated in Prouer. 20 27. It is not good to eate too much honey: and if it bee not good to eate too much honey, it is naught to eate too much wormewood. One sayth, [...], teares are like precious stones: and as the Egyptian pearles which wee commonly call vnions, which grow but one by one, not one vpon another; so teares must bee like these vnions, shed easily one by one, not one vpon another. Seneca sayth, that that which wee must doe daylie, we must doe it moderatly: so that, if wee cannot quite stop the issue of our teares, as she in the Gospell could not of her bloud: yet wee must weepe so to day as we may weepe to morowe, and keepe teares alwaies in store, for some other occasion. For we knowe that Heraclitus when hee had wept, and sowsed himselfe in sorrow al his [Page] life time, at length dyed of a dropsie: and so (as I may say) drowned him­selfe in his owne teares: and Niobe by ouermuch weeping, was turned into a stone, euen as Lots wife by loo­king backe vnto Sodom, was turned into a piller of salt. It was one of Py­thagoras his poesies, [...]: not to eate the heart, but too much heauines eateth the heart of man: which is thus expounded, Prouer. 25. 20. As a moth fretteth a garment, and the worme eateth the wood, so hea­uines hurteth mans heart. Now, if we must not eate vp the heart of any other thing with our teeth, much lesse must we eate vp our owne heart with our teares. Therefore euen blind rea­son, such as the heathē haue had, doth yet cleerely see this, that wee must not weepe too much.

But religion goeth yet a step fur­ther: For when God had placed man in the garden of Eden, which is the [Page] garden of pleasure, he did indeed pro­uide all things therein which might pleasure him, his wife who was equal to him, to accompanie him, all other creatures farre inferiour vnto him, the earth to tread on, and to yeeld him en­crease, the trees that did stand about him, the riuers that did runne besides him, golde to trample on, pearles to looke on, the beasts to name them▪ the hearbes which he did feede on, and the flowers which he did smell to, all these serued for his delight and ioy: but afterward whē sentence was pro­ceeded against the man, that he should liue in sorrow about the fruits of the earth: and against the woman, that she should haue sorrowe about the fruite of her wombe: yet it pleased God to asswage and sweeten our sorrowes with diuers singular comforts. As first, we haue the Holie ghost, who is our onely comforrer: next, a good conscience, which is a cōtinuall feast: [Page] next, the holie scriptures, which are as it were another paradise▪ lastly, an vnfained faith, by which wee haue peace with God. Therefore Athana­goras sayth well, I account that many haue no spirit, no cōscience, no scrip­ture, no faith in God, that yeelde too much to griefe And Ierome yet more plainly, I doe in mine heart abhorre all excesiue sorrowe, seeing it is a ve­ry hell vpon earth, and an entrance e­uen in this life into that wofull place where there is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth. So that immo­derate weeping is condemned in na­ture, which teacheth al things; in rea­son, which teacheth all men; in reli­gion, which teacheth all Christians, that wee must not weepe too much. Thus much of weeping too much, which is the first part, Weepe not.

Now a little of weeping too little, which is the second part, but weepe. They to whome Christ spake at first [Page] offended in the excesse, therefore he beginneth thus, weepe not, but I might well shift the words and begin thus, but weepe, for wee offend altogether in the want of weeping, seldome in the excesse. The reason is, because we lacke charity, which being three fold, the greatest worke of true charitie towards our selues, is repentance: to­wards our neighbours, is preaching: towards God, is prayer, and all these require teares: so that if wee weepe so little as that wee weepe not at all, we weepe too little, which we must not doe. For the first, touching repen­tance, one sayth plainly, Lauandum est cor interdum in lachrymis poenit en­tiae: The lesser our sorrowes are, the greater are our sinnes: but on the o­ther side,Psal. 74. 13. The heads of dragons are broken in the waters: that is, verie stronge and vile sinnes are weakned and washed away with teares. That obligation that was against vs,Coloss. 2. 14 before [Page] it was fastned to the crosse of Christ, it was written in parchment, now it is written in paper: so that, if we blur it with dayly weeping vpon it, our teares will be like aqua fortis to take out the handwriting quite, that God shall neither reade, nor see our sinnes. Therefore sayth one, wee must wash our heartes in the troubled poole of Bethesda, in the troubled teares of repentance: for as in a well (except there be some water in it) wee cannot easily see the baggish that lieth in the bottome, so in the depth of our heart wee cannot see our sinnes without teares. Teares make our sinnes seene, and not seene; not seene to God, and seene to vs: God not seeing them, forgiues them; wee seeing them, a­mend them. Austine in the begin­ning of his 25. booke, writeth that the teares of the vine branch doe cure the leprosie: and so the teares of these vine branches which are grafted into [Page] the true vine, doe cure the leprosie of sinne. That sinfull woman, because she loued much, shee washed Christ his feete with her teares: a strange sight. I haue oftentimes seene the hea­uens wash the earth: I vnderstande that well enough, but I neuer sawe the earth wash the heauen, yet here I see it, an earthly and a sinfull woman, washed the heauenly feete of Christ. But because shee washed Christ his feete with her teares, therefore Christ crowned her head with his mercies. The prodigall sonne had no sooner turned home by weeping crosse, and cryed peccaui, but straight way hee was receiued. Ambrose saith, see what force there is in three sillables. Chry­softome saith, God hearing a sinner in true contritiō vtter but this one word peccaui, I haue sinned, is in a manner so charmed and inchaunted with it, that he hath no power ouer himselfe, he cannot but graunt remission. Saint [Page] Peter likewise (saith Chrysostome) did recouer that place by bemoning his offence, which hee had lost by deny­ing his master. For sayth Nazianzen, God is more mercifull then man can be sinfull, if man will bee sorrowfull. Wherefore wee may see by this ex­ample of Saint Peter, that weeping is the best salt-peter to relish our repen­tance, that wee may get our pardon. Touching preaching, the voice of a Preacher should bee the voice of a cri­er, which should not pipe to make the people daunce: but mourne to make the people weepe. Hence it is, that in the old lawe none which were blind or had any blemish in his eye, might serue at the Altar. And when they of­fered their first borne, who was or­dinarily in euery familie, their Priest or their Preacher, they offered with him a paire of turtle doues, or two yong pigeons: which doues did sig­nifie a paire of mournfull eyes, and [Page] these two young pigeons did signifie likewise two weeping eies: and at their offering they prayed for their first borne, that afterwardes hee may haue such eyes himselfe. For as pi­geons flie to their windowes, Esay 60▪ 8. So the godly preacher hath no other refuge to flie vnto, but onely to his windowes: that is, to his eies that are glased with teares, when he wee­peth for the sins of the people. Christ is much delighted in these kinde of eies, saying so often to his spouse, Thy eyes are like pigeons eyes. The holy Ghost also descending himselfe in for me of a doue, and the Prophets v­sually receiued their prophesies by riuers sides, as Ezechiel had his pro­phesie deliuered him by the riuer Co­bar, Daniel beside the riuer Tigris, Iohn the Baptist besides the riuer Ior­dan: yea also many preached their prophesies not so much in wordes as in riuers of teares: Mine eyes gushed [Page] with riuers of waters, (sayth Dauid) because men keep not thy law: Oh that my head were full of water (sayth Ie­remie) and mine eies a fountaine of teares: I protest sayth Paul, that for these three yeares, I haue not ceased to warne euery one of you with teares day and night: For indeede as Austine sayth, There is more good to bee done with sighing then with speaking, with weeping then with words, Prosper sayth that a Preacher must seeke non plausum sed planctum, not his owne praise, but the peoples profite in mourning for their finnes: and Hierome sayth, that the Preacher is most highly commended, not whē the people clap their hands, but when they knocke their bteasts: wherefore as that is an Idoll and no GOD that hath eyes and seeth not, so he is an idle shepheard, and no louing Pastor, who hath eyes and weepeth nor som­times in preaching to the people.

[Page]3. Touching prayer Saint Iames sayth, That the prayer of a iust man preuaileth much if it be feruent, for a feruent prayer commeth from a fer­uent spirite, which is wholly inspired by the holy spirite, who maketh re­quests in vs and for vs, with sighs and groanes which cannot be expressed: as it is Psalm. 147. 18. He sendeth out his word and melteth them, hee brea­theth out his spirite, and the waters flowe: he breatheth out his spirit whē the holy Ghost moueth vs to prayer, and the waters flow, when the waters trickle downe from our eyes: for as a seething pot runneth ouer, so is an holy hart in prayer. The Oliue tree is most abundant in fruite when it is distilled, and a Christian is most plen­tifull and powerfull in prayer when hee weepeth: whereupon King Da­uid saith, I am as a greene Oliue tree in the house of the Lord: and our Sa­uiour himselfe went often to the [Page] mount of Oliues, where hee offered vp prayers and supplications with strong crying and teares: and there­fore hee willeth vs also to haue faith as a graint of mustered seed: now mu­sterd seede you know makes the eyes weepe, so that hee which in prayer hath faith like a graine of musterde seede, hath his eyes also as the fish­pooles of Heshbone: and there Christ sayth as it is in Cantic. 4. 9.Cant. 7. 5. Thou hast wounded my heart with one of thine eyes: it with one, then much more with both. For as Synesius sayth in his 67. epistle, weeping is more flexi­ble, more forcible to perswade God▪ and euen to wound his heart, then all the eloquence, then all the Rhetorike in the world. Cyprian sayth, quan­do spiritus hominis aspirat, spiritus Dei suspirat: When the spirit of man sendeth out sighes in prayer, then the spirit of God giueth grace. And Am­brose sayth, God lookes that we shuld [Page] powre out our teares, that hee might poure out his mercies: As Ezechias lying ficke prayed, and praying tur­ned himselfe towardes the wall and wept: and so with weeping as with gunne shot hee battered downe that partition wall which kept Gods coū ­tenance from him: therefore GOD sayd to him, I haue heard thy prayers and thy teares. A strange speech, I haue heard thy prayers, that I vnder­stand well enough, but I haue heard thy teares: what should bee the mea­ning of this trow you? haue teares tongues, or can they speake? yes in­deede I dare bee bold to speake it, the thunder of the Almighty cānot make such a mightie sound, such a noyse in the eares of man, as the teares of man doe in the eares of God, Psalm. 39. 12. Therefore Dauid both before he had prayed, desired God to heare the voice of his teares: and also after hee had played, Psal. 6. 8. Hee thanked God, [Page] because he had heard the voyce of his weeping: for indeede hee also him­selfe saith of himselfe, Psalm. 109. I mingled my drinke with weeping: and where was this drinke of his but in the cuppe of which hee saith in a­nother place, I will take the cuppe of saluation, and call vpon the name of the Lord: and as Dauid mingled his drinke with weeping, so he mingled his prayer with weeping. Wherfore as Elizeus cast salt into the waters of Iericho, to make them sweet, so must wee salt our prayers with teares to make them sauorie and delightsome to God. A man can neuer loue him­selfe aright, if hee do not sometimes weepe in repentance, nor his neigh­bour, that doth not sometimes weepe in preaching, nor God, that doth not sometime weepe in prayer: so that wee must not bee like the Stoickes which were neuer moued, then wee shall weepe too little, as this second [Page] part sheweth: But weepe.

The third parte is, VVeepe not but weepe. Which noteth, seeing both the excesse and defect are to be eschu­ed, that therefore the true meane which wee must keepe in weeping, consisteth in this equal intermingling of these two extremities. VVeepe not but weepe, both together, weepe not too much saith he, for that is cōtrarie to nature, but weepe too little is con­trarie to repentance, weepe not too much, for that is contrarie to reason, but weepe too little, is contrarie to preaching; weepe not too much, for that is contrarie to religion, but weep too little is contrarie to prayer. Saint Paul charged Timothie to be instant in season & out of season, first in sea­son, then out of season, teaching there­by, that that vnseasonable oportunitie is better then seasonable importunitie, yet to keepe a meane in exhorting, that we must as well vse importunity [Page] sometimes, so it bee in season, as to slack an opportunitie alwaies, though it be out of season. Euen so saith our Sauiour here. VVeepe not, but weepe, first, weepe not, then, but weepe: teaching thereby, that not to weepe, is better then to weepe, yet to keepe a meane in weeping, that wee some­times in not weeping, weepe, as al­waies in weeping not, weepe. For the Apostle sayth, that they which re­ioyce must be as if they reioyced not: and they that weepe, as though they wept not. They which reioyce, must bee as if they reioyced not, because (sayth Gregorie, writing vpon the 27. of Iob) all the ioy which the godlie haue in this life, is as a sower grape gathered out of time. And Ambrose sayth, the children of God, not only in sorrowe, but in ioy, shed teares, they reioyce as though they reioyced not. And they that weep must be as if they wept not, because (saith Macarius in [Page] his 5. Homilie) euen teares are a cōfort to the righteous. And Ambrose again: to thē that are well affected, weeping is a great delight, they weep as though they wept not. Therefore as certaine heauēly apples haue a sweetish sower­nes, and some old wines haue a sow­rish sweetnes: so our sorrow must be ioyfull, and our ioy sorrowfull: our ioy must be sorrowful, as whē Christ wept, there is a sorrowfull ioy: but Christ wept vpon Palme Sunday, there is a ioyfull sorrowe. For ioyfull sorrowe: When the Israelites eate the Paschall Lambe, there is a ioyfull sorrowe: but they eate it with sower hearbes, there is a sorrowful ioy. We must bee as weeping, and yet alwayes reioycing: and wee must be as reioy­cing, and yet alwaies weeping, and ioyne both together, Weepe not, but weepe. VVeepe not: This is a fierie speech, as when S. Iohn sayth, Reu. 19. 11. That Christs eyes were as a flame [Page] of fire, that is, subiect now to no wee­ping: But weep, this is a watery speech, as when Dauid sayth, I water my couch with my teares: so that if wee could reconcile these two speeches together, wee must reconcile fire and water together. In Elias his sacrifice, 1. King. 18. 38. there was both fire and water: so that the fire of the Lord cō ­sumed and licked vp the water of the Altar. And assuredly, our sorrowfull spirit will be a most acceptable sacri­fice to God, as Elias his sacrifice was, if we haue both the fire of Aetna, & the water of Nylus: so that the ardent fire of faith will well nigh consume, and almost burne vp the flowing streame of loue. Augustine in his 21. booke De ciuit ate Dei, cap. 5. writeth, that there is a fountaine in Epirus, which not onely putteth foorth tor­ches that are lighten, but also lighteth torches that are put out. Fulgentius likewise doth report, that there is an [Page] other fountaine in France with boy­ling much, casteth vp flames of fire. The fountaine of teares which is in our eyes, must bee like to these two fountaines, as we may see Psal. 39. 2. and 3. VVhen my sorrow was stirred, my heart was hot within me: there is the torch lightened. And while I was musing the fire kindled. VVhen my so­rowe was stirred, there is the first foū ­taine, my heart was hot within me, there is the torch lightened, and while I was musing, there is the other foun­taine, the fire kindled▪ there is the flame burning. Whereupon one sayth fit­ly, Nec fluant oculi, nec siccent: Our eyes must neither bee drowned, nor drie: if they want fire, they will bee drowned: if they want water, they will be drie. Therfore, weepe not but weepe: fire and water must goe to­gether, that our eyes be neither drow­ned nor drie. And this is the right moderation which we must keepe in [Page] weeping, as appeareth in this third part: VVeepe not, but weepe, both to­gether.

The fourth part followeth, for me, not too much for my death, for the death of Christ is the death of death, the death of the diuell, the life of him­selfe, and the life of mankind: the rea­son of all this, is innocencie and righ­teousnes which maketh first, that as the life of Christ is the life of life, so the death of Christ is the death of death. Therfore both before his death he chalengeth and threatneth death, saying, Oh death I will be thy death: and also after his death hee derideth & scorneth death, Oh death thou art a drone, where is now thy sting? Aske death any of you I pray you, and say, death howe hast thou lost thy sting? how hast thou lost thy strength? what is the matter that very children doe now contemne thee, whereas Kings & euen tyrants did before feare thee? [Page] Death will answere, that the onely cause of this, is the death of Christ. When a Bee stingeth a dead bodie hee taketh no hurt, nor loseth his sting: but stinging aliue bodie, often­times loseth both his sting and his life too: so death stinginge vs had no harme, but kept his sting still, and tooke hart of grace therby: but when Christ the life of vs all had been once stinged, the sting and strength of the diuel was taken cleane away. Oh bles­sed king and Lord of all, who hast so disarmed death that it can doe vs no harme. Before, death was much like a Bugbegger which they fray childrē with, who being masked, iettes it a­bout vp and downe, and makes all the people afraid of him, vntill such time as some one lustie fellowe amongst the rest, steps to him and takes a good staffe & cudgelleth him well fauou­redly, & puls his vizarde frō his face, & makes him knowne to the whole [Page] world: and then whereas before lu­stie and tawle men were afraide of him: now euery childe mockes him and laugheth him to scorne, and stand pointing at him. Oh Blessed Christ, who by thy death hast thus dismasked death. Christ was layd in the dust for starke dead, and the diuell trampled vpon him: but hee vpon Easter daie started vp, and like a lyon of the tribe of Iuda, he trampled the souldiers the diuels apes vnder his seete: as apes at the first play with the lyon and the li­bard, still thinking them to bee a­sleepe, vntill they trample and treade him vnder their feete. As the Chame­leon spying a serpent sitting vnder a tree, getteth vp into the same tree, and letteth downe a fine thread out of his mouth, smaller then the spiders thread with a drop of blood at the bottome, more cleere then any pearle, which falling on the serpent killeth him. So Christ like a Chameleon cli­meth [Page] vp into the tree of his crosse, and seeing the diuell that olde serpent sitting vnder the tree, lets downe a threade with blood at the bottome thereof, more cleerer then any pearle, the least drop whereof straight way killeth the diuell. Christ standing a­fore at the tree of his crosse, cloathed himselfe in a blood red garment, whō when the diuell saw, he ranne swift­ly against Christ with his hornes, Christ perceiued him steppeth aside, and so the diuell runneth his hornes into Christ his crosse, and there they stick fast. A dragon for a time may tri­umph ouer the Elephant, but at the last the Elephant bringeth downe the Dragon with him: so the diuell that ancient dragon, may for a time bee doing with Christ, but at the last hee killeth him. He that felleth a tree vp­on which the sunne shineth, may wel cut the tree, but hee cannot hurt the sunne: He that powreth water vpon [Page] an iron that is red hotte, may well quench the heate, but cannot hurt the iron: so the diuell could not hurt the sonne of righteousnes Christ Iesus: and hot iron is too hard a morfell for the diuell to digest. Those barbarous people called [...] which feede onely vpon rawe flesh; especially of men, if they eate a peece of rosted meate, they surfet of it and dye: and so the right [...] ▪ the only deuou­rer of all mankind, death I meane, ta­sting of Christs flesh, by finding it not to bee rawe but wholsome▪ and hea­uenly meate indeed, presently tooke a surfet of it and within three dayes dyed. For euen as when Iudas had receiued a sop at Christs hands, anon after, his bowels gushed out: In like sort, death being so saucie as to snatch a sop (as it were) of Christs flesh, and a little bitte of his bodie, was by and by like Iudas choaked and strangled with it: and faine to yeelde it vp a­gaine, [Page] when Christ on Easter day re­uiued. Death (I wisse) had not been brought vp so daintilie before, nor v­sed to such manner of meates, but al­waies had his pray either with Me­thridates daughters, vpon the poyson of sinne, or els with Noahs crow, vpō the carrion of corruption. Where­fore now (saith Fulgentius) death did indeed taste of Christ▪ but could not swallow him vp, & digest it. Contra­riwise, Christ as soone as hee had but a little taste of death, eftsoone did de­uoure death, & so the deat of Christ by reason of righteousnes, is the death of death. It is also the death of the di­uell, as the Apostle sayth, By his death he did not onely ouercome death, but him which had the power of death, that is, the diuell.

Diuers ancient Fathers note that the Virgin Mary was maried, that the di­uell might be deceiued: for hee knew well enought that Christ should bee [Page] borne of a Virgin: but he neuer sus­pected that blessed Mary was a Vir­gin, considering she was bettothed to Ioseph. Therefore hee did not lye in waite, to destroy the seede of the wo­man, so as other wise he would, if he had by a whoore or wife any such thing: so that the birth of Christ did cosen the diuell, but the death of Chrsit did conquer the diuel, and that much more gloriouslie when the temple of his bodie was vpon the pi­nacle of the crosse, then when he him­selfe was vpon the pinacle of the tem­ple: for when he was vpon the tem­ple, his words spake better things then Salomon: but when he was vpon the crosse, his bloud spake better things thē the bloud of Abel: there his words came frō his lungs out of his mouth, but here his bloud came from his hart out of his side, and there hee fought standing lustily to it, and withstan­ding: so then he would not throwe [Page] down himself, but here he skirmished, the diuel yeelding & humbling him­self to the death of Christ, & there the diuell went vp vnto him vnto the top of an high mountaine, & so (as I may saye) bad him lose at his owne gole: but here Christ himselfe descended into hell, and so spoyled principalities and powers, and slew the great Leuia­than in the very bottome of his owne bottomlesse pit. For the diuell like a greedie rauenous fish, nibbing at the baite of Christs bodie, as Damascen speaketh, was pearced through, and twitched vp with the hooke of his deitie. Hence it is that before Christs passion, Peter tooke money out of a fishes mouth to pay his tribute: and also after Christ his passion, the Dis­ciples boyled a fish for him to feede vpon: whereby we see that as Christ made a fish paye tribute to Caesar, so hee made the diuell also paye tribute to death for him: and that the diuell [Page] while he wēt about to catch the good fish Iesus Christ, Gods sonne, the Sa­uiour (as the letters of [...] seuerally signifie) was himselfe caught, yea also killed by Christ: so that all the while our Sauiour was buried in the graue, the diuell was boyled in hell. Wher­fore as it was bootlesse for Goliah to brandish his speare against Dauid: so it little auailed the diuell, to shake the speare likewise in the hand of the sol­dier, against the heart of Christ: For as Dauid hauing heard Goliah prating and talke his pleasure, yet when they came to the poynt, at the first stroke ouerthrewe him: so Christ with the very same speare, which gaue him a little venue in comparison, or but a fillip on the side, which was soone af­ter recured, gaue the diuell soone af­ter a deadly wound in his forehead, which he shall neuer bee able to claw off againe. And again, as Dauid hackt off the Giants head with his owne [Page] sword: so Christ wrested that shaking sword out of the Cherubines hands, and therewith chopt off the serpents head: and so, the death of Christ by reason of righteousnes, is the death of the diuell. It is on the other side the life of himselfe. That noble Eunuch riding in his coach, read in Esay that Christ was silent before his death, as the lambe before the shearer: He saith not, as a lambe before the butcher, but before the shearer: insinuating, that death did not kill Christ, but sheare him a little. Neither yet had death Christs fleece when he was shorne: for Christ taking to him a sponge full of vineger, Ioh. 19. 29. that was full of our sharpe and sower sinnes, did giue vs for it, purple wooll full of bloud, Hebr. 9. 19. that is, full of his pure and perfect iustice, and indeede the onely liuerie which Christ our Lord and master giueth to his seruants, is a coate made of purple wooll. The iust (saith [Page] Dauid) shall florish like a palme tree: Christ is that true [...], that true palme tree, who although he bare al the bur­dens of sinne in the world vpon his backe, yet then he doth most flourish of all, euen as Camamile the more it is trod vpon, the more it groweth and florisheth. And as the palme tree hath many weights aboue, & many snakes beneath, and yet may truely say of it selfe, Nec premor, nec perimor: I am neither by the weights of the bowes ouermuch laden and pressed downe, nor by the snakes below eaten vp, or consumed: So Christ neither by the weight of Gods wrath aboue, is ouer­charged, nor by the heauines of our sinnes, pressed downe: but like the Swanne, singeth sweetest when his death is neerest. The Prophet Dauid sayth, that God giueth his snowe like wooll: but we may turne the sentence and say, that Christ giueth his wooll like snowe. For as snow couereth the [Page] ground, when it is rugged and defor­med, so Christs coate without seame, couereth our sinnes: and though they were as crimson, yet maketh he them white as snow. And as Gedeons fleece when it was moyste, the earth was drie, but when it was drie, the earth was moyste, so when Christes fleece was moyste as a greene tree, then were all wee drie like rotten stickes: but when Christ his fleece was drie, (all the blood and water, being wrin­ged out of his pretious side) then were we moystened with his grace; there­fore, seeing Christs fleece fell not to deaths lotte when he was shorne, but we haue it, who beleeue in him, it fol­loweth, that neither death was the better, nor Christ the worse, but as a lambe is much more nimble and liue­lie for shearing, so this shearing of Christ was a kinde of quickning to him, and only a trimming to him, be­fore hee ascended to his father, as Io­seph [Page] was trimmed and powled before he went to Pharaoh.

When Adam slept his side was opened, when Christ died his side was opened: Adams side being o­pened, flesh and bone was taken out, Christs side being opened, water and blood was taken out. Of Adams flesh and bone the woman was built, of Christs water & blood the church is built: so the death of Christ is no­thing els but the sleepe of Adam, for as hee himselfe sayth of the dam­sels death, The damsell is not dead but sleepeth: so he sayth of his own death, I layd me downe to sleepe, and rose up againe, for the Lorde susteined mee. And in another place, when the fa­ther saide to his sonne, Awake my glorie, awake my lute and harpe? God the Sonne answers to his Father, I will awake right early. That vessell, which Peter saw in a traunce, which was let downe from heauen vnto the [Page] earth, and knit to the foure corners, and had all kind of beasts in it, did be­token Christ: Christ came downe from heauen vnto the earth, and his glory is knit vp by the foure Euange­lists: and hee hath made Iewes and Gentiles, yea, all nations one in him­selfe. Now saith Cassianus, it is worth the marking, which the spirit of God sayth, Not that the vessell was a great sheete, but like a great sheete: a sheete may signifie either sleepe or death, but neither was Peters vessell a sleepe, though it were like a sheete: neither was Christs bodie dead, though it were lapt in a sheete: For wee our selues cannot so properly bee sayd to liue in our first birth, as in our second birth: and Christ his life when hee lay in the new wombe, in which ne­uer any other was conceiued, is no­thing to his life, when hee slept in a new tombe, in whihc neuer any o­ther was buried. Therefore as Iacob [Page] trauailing towards Haran, when hee had layde stones vnder his head, and taken a nap by the way after his tedi­ous iourney; so Christ trauailing to­wardes heauen, when hee had slept a little in a stonie sepulchre, which was hewen out of a rocke, liued yet most princely after his painful passion. Tell me, where did Ionas liue? in the hat­ches of the ship, or in the bellie of the whale? in the hatches of the shippe? why? that was nothing, but to liue in the bellie of the whale, when the marriners were in danger vpon the water, Ionas was most safe vnder the water: this indeede was somewhat, who euer sawe such a wonder? The waues whereof, one while hoysted vp to the highest clowdes, an other while hurled downe to the neather­most depth: Ionas himselfe being all this while in the very gulfe of destru­ction, and yet not a haire the worse. Christs case was the same: as Ionas [Page] was in the bellie of the whale three dayes and three nightes: so, and so long was the sonne of man in the bowels of the earth, yet hee had no more hurt then Ionas had. But he li­ued better vnder the earth, then wee can vpon the earth: and he liued bet­ter in death, then we doe in life. Tell mee, where did Daniel liue? in the kings court, or in the lyons den? in the Kinges court? why? any man might haue liued there, but to liue in the lyons den, when the mouth of the den was shut, and the mouthes of the lyons open: this indeede was the life of an Angell and no man. What king could euer haue made lyons attende and waite vpon him? yet here you might haue seene Daniel sitting in the middest of many hungry lyons, when as the lyons lay downe at his feete couching and crouching before him, and adored their owne pray cast vn­to thē, which otherwise they would [Page] haue wooried, and being beastes, be­came men in humanitie towards this Saint: seeing men became beastes in crueltie against him. The same rea­son was in Christ, Christs sepulchre was sealed vp as well as Daniels den: and hee sayth also of himselfe in a Psal. My soule is amongst lyons: these lyons were the terrours of death, and horror of hell, yet he tooke no more hurt then Daniel did, but brake the chaynes into fitters, and the gates of hell into shiuers, and then most glori­ouslie triumphed; and so the death of Christ by reason of righteous­nesse is the life of himselfe. It is last­ly the life of man: when Christs speare had opened the way of life, which the cherubins sword stopped vp: then sayth he, This day shalt thou bee with me in paradise. Adam and Eue both in one day were expelled out of paradise: Christ and the theese both in one day were receiued into [Page] paradise, yea both in one houre: for about noone, when the wind blew, Gen. 3. 8. Adam and Eue were ex­pelled, and so about the sixt houre that is about twelue of the clocke in the day time, Gen. 3. 44. vers. Christ and the theese were receiued: Christ saying vnto the theefe while hee did draw him vp into paradise, Osea 11. 4. I draw thee with the cordes of man, euen with bands of loue: but the Sep­tuagints translate the hebrue word [...], that is, with the destructi­on of a man, as if he shuld say, I do so deerely loue thee, that I am contēt my selfe to bee destroyed, that thou maist bee saued; my selfe to die, that thou maist liue. I doe draw thee with the destruction of a man, euen with bāds of loue: so that the theefe which saw his own wounds, & death in Christs bodie, did see also Christs sauing health, and life in his owne bodie, as Alcuinus noteth vpō the sixt of Iohn, [Page] Assumpsit vit a mortem, vt mors ac­ciperet vitam: when the liuing Lord dyed, then the dying theefe liued. No­tably sayth the Prophet Dauid in one of his Psalmes: The breath of our no­strilles Christ the Lorde is taken in our sinnes, to whom we sayd, Wee shall liue in his shadowe▪ if Christ bee the breath of our nostrilles, then hee is our life: and againe, If wee liue in his shadow, then we liue in his death, for where there is breath in a shadow, there is life in death.

Now, as the ouershadowing of the Holie ghost was the life of Christ; so the ouershadowing of Christ, is the life of man. And as Peters shadowe gaue health to the sicke; so Christs shadowe giueth life to the dead: yea a thousand times rather Christs thē Pe­ters. Elias his spirit was doubled vpō Elizeus, because Elias being aliue re­stored some to life: but Elizeus (as Ierome sayth) being dead, raised vp [Page] one from the dead. Peters spirit was doubled vpon Christ, because Peter being aliue, was a Phisition vnto the liuing: but Christ (as Chryso stome sayth) being dead, was a Phisition to the dead: or rather indeede in this cō ­parison there is no comparison: but as Peters spirit, was a shadowe to Christ his spirit, so Peters shadowe was no­thing to Christs death. Arnobius vpō these words, Despise not the worke of thine owne hands, writeth thus: We are the worke of thy hands, seeing we are thy workmanship. Now, because the work of thy hands, was destroyed by the worke of our hands, therefore were thy hands nayled to the crosse for our sins, that those hands of thine might repaire the workes of thy hāds by the tree of the crosse, which was destroyed by the tree of concupiscēce: thus farre he. Whereby we may ga­ther, that the fruit of the tree of know­ledge of good and euill, is euill, that is [Page] death: but the fruite of the tree of the crosse of Christ is life euerlasting. And therefore as honey being found in a dead lyon, the death of the lyon was the sustenance of Sampson: so Christi fel, nostrum mel: Christs gall is our honey: and the bitter death of Christ by reason of righteousnes, is the sweete life of mankinde. When Ezechias was sicke, the Sunne went backwards: but that going backwards of the Sun, was no hurt to Ezechias: for thereby he had 15. yeares added to his life: So the sunne of righteous­nes, his going backwards was the bet­ter for vs, though he was debased for vs. Thou madest him lower then the angels, as Dauid saith: there the sunne of righteousnes is lower ten degrees then the angels, for our sakes. And in another place: What is man that thou art so mindfull of him, or the sonne of man that thou so regardest him? There he is ten degrees inferiour to man. A [Page] liue dogge is better then a dead lyon: there he is ten degrees lower then the wormes. Plinie reporteth that there was a Diall set vp in Campus Mar­tius, which was to continue 30. yeres, wherby they might know the course of the Sunne: yet (as he reporteth) it did not agree with the Sunne for the space of all those thirtie yeares. In the death of Christ we might haue seene such a Dial, the Sunne did not alwaies agree with the Diall: the better for vs. Christ is that tender Pellican, who by wounding his owne breast, doth re­store his owne to life againe by his bloud. I came (sayth Christ) that men might haue life, and that they might haue life more aboundantly. What is that more aboundantly? but only this, that wee haue more life in the death of Christ, then euer wee lost in the death of Adam. O falix culpa quae ta­lem meruit redemptorem: Happie A­dam (sayth Gregorie) that euer he sin­ned, [Page] because that we by his sinne, haue grace superabounding. As Peters spi­rit was but a shadowe to Christs spi­rit, so Peters death was but a shadow to Christs death: And as the death of a lyon was the life of Sampson, so the death of Christ is the life of man. Thus you see that the death of Christ is the death of death, the death of the diuell, the life of himselfe, and the life of man: and therefore he sayth in this fourth parte, Not too much for my death: For me.

Now the fift part followeth: For your selues: Not too little for your owne life: for the life of man is the life of death, the life of the diuell, the death of himselfe, the death of Christ: the reason of all this is iniqui­tie and sinne, which euen in Christes deare friends (sayth Bernard) is cast downe, but not cast out. Therefore though sinne cannot reigne in vs, yet it will alwaies dwell in vs: for it is so [Page] bred in our bones, that vntil our bones bee with Iosephs bones carried out of Egypt, that is, out of the world, sinne cannot bee carried out of our bones. One recordeth that the Romanes got such a victorie ouer Chos [...]oes, that he made a law that neuer after any King of Persia should euer warre against the Romanes. Wee cannot possiblie subdue sinne in such sort, but doe we what wee can doe, sinne will alwaies be a Iebusite, a borderer, yea a traytor, rebelling against the spirit: which ma­keth the life of man to be (as Chryso­stome sayth) a debt as it were owing, and due to death. For the diuell is the father of sinne, and sinne is the mother of death Hereupon S. Iames sayth: Sinne when it is finished, trauelling with childbirth (as I may say) bring­eth foorth death: For euen as a man commeth into a house by a gate, so death came into the world by sinne. The corruption of our flesh did not [Page] make our soules sinfull, but the sinne of our soule made the flesh corrup­tible. Whereupon Lactantius cal­leth sinne, Pabulu [...] mortis, the reliefe or the foode of death. As a fire goeth out when al the fuell is spent, but bur­neth as long as that lasteth: so death dyeth when sinne ceaseth: but where sinne aboundeth, there death rageth. The Prophet Abacucke sinning not, death was so farre from him, that he was able to flye without wings: but King Asa sinning, death was so neere to him, that hee was not able to stand vpon his feet. Nay, you may see this in one and the selfe same man, Moses, who sinning not, death could not meere with him in the bottome of the red sea: but sinning, death did seaze vpon him in the top of Mount Nebo: so that the life of man, by rea­son of sinne, is the life of death. It is also the life of the diuel. As one saith: Tot crimina, tot daemona: euery man [Page] hath as many diuels in him, as he hath euils, euery sinne being sufficient to maintaine a diuell. The godly finding no ioy on earth, haue their conuersa­tion in heauen: but Sathan finding no ioy in hell, hath his conuersation on earth. So that the earth is a hell vnto vs, but a heauen to him. Here he hath his liuing, as it was sayd in the begin­ning, Thou shalt eate the dust of the earth, all the daies of thy life. This dust (sayth Macarius) is the diuels diet. And therefore as a scalde curre wat­cheth for a bone, so he goeth about daily seeking whom he may deuour, & waiteth continually vntill the god­ly shake off the dust of their feete, that is, shaketh off some sinne which they haue gotten by walking in the world, that then he may lick it vp. It is meate and drinke to him to see vs sinne: he loues alife to see vs sinne, euen as cur­sed Cham did to see Noahs naked­nes. And as flyes are alwaies flying a­bout [Page] a sore place, and the oxe wil eate the best grasse he can get: so the diuel is as busie as he can to haue his plea­sure vpon the best. So sayth Theophi­lact, It is euen a sport or a pleasure to Sathan, which is a sore or a paine to man, especially if he be a godly man: for the good Angels reioyce most when one that is a sinner repenteth: but euill Angels reioyce most when one that is a penitent sinneth. If the diuel cannot keepe a man from liuing long, then he will hinder him from liuing well. Aut impetrat morte, aut impetit mores, sayth Zeo: If he cannot kill a man, he will corrupt him. And indeede hee taketh more pleasure in corrupting one godly man, then in killing an hundred wicked. He was more delighted when Dauid slew V­rias, then when Saul killed himselfe: when Peter denied Christ, then whē Iudas betrayed him: so that the life of man, by reason of sinne, is the life of [Page] the diuell. It is on the other side, the death of himselfe. Oh miserable man that I am, who shall deliuer me from this bodie of death? The life of the godly is a very bodie of death: but there death is only a shadow of death.

Thales, being demanded what dif­ference there is betweene life and death, sayd, they are all one: then be­ing asked againe, if he had not rather die then liue: no sayth he, for they are all one: but Hierome sayth excellētly, they are not all one, Aliud est viuere moriturus, aliud mori victurus: It is one thing to liue in cōtinuall dāger of death, an other thing to dye in conti­nuall hope of life. Therefore, Eccle. 7. 3. it is sayd, that the day of death is better then the day of birth, for when wee are borne, wee are mortall: but when we are dead, we are immortall: and wee are aliue in the wombe, to dye in the world, but are dead in the graue, to liue in heauen. Hence it is, [Page] that the wicked are merrie at their birth day, as Pharaoh made a feast at his birth day, Gen. 40. 20. when his chiefe butler was hanged: and Herod likewise made a feast at his birth day, Matth. 14. 16. when Iohn Baptist was beheaded: but they are sorie at their dying day, as Iudas was sorie when he went about to hang himself, and Caine was afraide that euery one that met him in the streetes would haue killed him. Contrariwise, the godly are sorie at their birth day, as Iob was, Iob 3. vers. 3. Let the day pe­rish wherein I was borne: and I eremy sayth, Ierem. 20. 14. Let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed: but they are merie at their dying day as Simeon was, Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace: and Paul sayth, I desire to be dissolued, and to be with Christ. For wheras there be two wayes, the one hauing in it first a tran­sitorie death, then an eternall life: the [Page] wicked chuse rather to liue for a time, though they dye for it eternal­ly hereafter: but the godly chuse to haue their life hid with Christ here, that they may liue with Christ eter­nally hereafter: therefore, the wicked neuer thinke of death, but the godly thinke of nothing else. As Alexander the Monarke of the world, had all o­ther things saue onely a sepulchre to burie him in when hee was dead, hee neuer thought of it: But Abraham the heire of the world, had no other proper possession, but onely a fielde which hee buried his dead in, hee thought of nothing els. We read that Dantel strowed ashes in the Temple, to descry the footsteps of Baals priests which did eate vp their meate: so did

Abraham, he strowed ashes in me­mory of death, saying: I will speake vnto my Lorde though I bee but dust and ashes: that so continually seeing and marking the footsteps of death, [Page] how it doth dayly eate and consume their bodies, they may bee alwaies prepared for it. Our first father made himselfe clothes of figge leaues, but God misliking that, gaue him gar­ments of skinne, Gene. 3. 21. There­fore Christ in the Gospell cursed the figge tree, which did leaue only leaues to couer our sinne, but commended the Baptist, who did were skinne to discouer our mortalitie: For not one­ly as Augustine sayth, Vita morbus, our whole life is a disease: but also as Bernard sayth, Vita mors, The life of man by reason of sinne is the death of himselfe. It is lastly the death of Christ: when Christ was crucified, at first he was (as the Prophet sayth) broken for our sinnes, according to that of Tertullian, Sinne it was that brought the Son of God to his death, the Iewes were only instruments and accessaries to it; sinne was the princi­pall: they cried, crucifie him in Pi­lates [Page] court: but our sinnes cried, cru­cifie him in the court of heanē. Now as the death of Christ is sufficient to saue the wicked, so the sinnes of the wicked were not sufficient to con­demne Christ. But the scripture saith of them which either are not, or at most would but seeme to bee godly, they say they knowe GGD, but by their works they deny him, and Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And they crucifie vnto themselues againe the Sonne of God, therefore our sins did at the first crucifie Christ: and now also the wicked which are not of his bodie, but wee which are his members, we I say do yet oftentimes by our sinnes crucifie Christ with the Iewes. Yea, I will say more if you will heare mee, wee crucifie Christ farre more cruelly then the Iewes did, then his bodie was lassible and mortall, nowe it is glorified and immortall. They knewe not what [Page] they did, we know well enough: they pearced him with a speare, we pearce him with reproches: they buried him in the earth, we burie him in obliui­on. Wherfore, let euery one as soone as hee is tempted to any sinne, thinke straightwaye that hee seeth Christ comming towardes him, wrapt vp in white linnen clothes, as he was buri­ed, with a kercher round about his head, crying after a gastly and feare­full manner: Beware, take heed what you doe: detest sinne, adhorre sinne, fie vpon it, a shame light on it, it did once most vilely and villanously mur­der me: But now seeing my wounds are whole, doe not I beseech you, do not rub and reuiue them againe with your sinnes, to make them bleede a­fresh. Now, seeing that the scepter of the kingdome of heauen is put into my hands, doe not offer me againe a reede to mocke me. Now seeing my head is crowned with pure golde of [Page] eternall glorie, doe not set a crowne of thornes vpon it againe: Now see­ing that I am installed on the right hande of the throne of maiestie, doe not pull mee out of my throne, and throwe me into the graue againe, and with your sinnes seale a mighty stone vpon me to presse me, and keepe me downe in death. This I assure you will be a forcible meanes to afray and terrifie vs from sinnes, if we consider that the life of man by reason of sinne is the death of Christ: and therefore hee sayth in this fifth parte, Not too little for your owne life. For your selues.

The sixt part is next, which noteth, seeing both the excesse and the want is to bee eschewed, therefore the true meane which we must keep between Christ and our selues, consisteth in a certaine qualification of these two extremities, For me: For your selues, both together. Weepe not too much [Page] (sayth he) for my death, which is the death of death: weepe not too little for your owne life, which is the life of death: not too much for my death, which is the death of the diuell: not too little for your owne life, which is the life of the diuell: Not too much for my death, which is my life: not too little for your owne life, which is your death: not too much for my death, which is the life of man: not too little for your owne life, which is the death of Christ. Saint Paul exhor­teth the Corinths to approue them­selues by honour and dishonour: first by honour, then by dishonour: teach­ing thereby, that dishonorable honour is better then honorable dishonour. Yet to keepe a meane in this matter, that we must as well count it our ho­nour sometimes to bee dishonoured with Christ, as a dishonour to bee al­waies honored without Christ. Puen so sayth our Sauiour here, For me, for [Page] your selues. First, for me, then for your selues: teaching therby that to reioyce for Christ, is better then to weepe for our selues, yet to keepe a meane be­tweene both, that wee must as well sometimes descend out of Christ, as our selues to weepe: as alwaies ascend out of our selues, into Christ to re­ioyce. For the Apostle sayth, Reioyce with them that reioyce, so, weepe with them that weepe: If my friend be al­waies sorrowfull, and neuer ioyfull, he hath no pleasure by me: if he bee alwaies ioyfull, and neuer sorrowfull, I haue no proofe of him, but hee is my deerest friend most delighted in me, most approued by me, which ta­keth such part as I doe, sometimes re­ioycing, and sometimes weeping, re­ioycing when I reioyce, and weeping when I weepe: the like is to be seene in this place, For me, for your selues. If a Christian alwaies thinketh of his owne miserie, & neuer of Christs [Page] mercie, he will despaire: if he alwaies thinketh of Christs mercie, & neuer of his owne miserie, he wil presume: but he is the best christiā, so high that he cannot despaire, and so low that he cannot presume, who inclines aswell to the one, as to the other, sometimes reioycing, and sometimes weeping: reioycing for Christ, and weeping for himselfe. Therefore as in a bal­lance, if there bee any oddes in the scales, we take out of that which is in the heauier, and put it to that which is in the lighter, vntill there be no dif­ference betweene them: so here wee must weigh these matters well, that we may bee iust weight, neither too heauie for our owne miserie, nor too light for Gods mercie. Dauid sayth, Hide me O Lord vnder the shadowe of thy wings: not vnder the shadowe of thy wing, but of thy wings: of thy right wing of mercie by loue, and the left wing of thy iudgement by feare. [Page] As God hath two wings, the one of mercie, the other of iustice: so wee must haue two wings, one of ioye for God, and the other of despaire for our selues. And as the Quaile flying ouer the sea, seeing her selfe not able to hold out, spreadeth out her wings & falleth into the sea, and layeth one of her wings vpon the water, and lifteth vp the other wing vnto heauē: so we must flye with the wings of ioy, from ioy in GOD, with the wings of des­paire, vnto despaire in our selues. Lest we should presume, we must go back­wards, for feare: and yet lest we should despayre, wee must goe forwards to­wards God with loue. As God doth couer vs with his two wings, the one of iustice, the other of loue: so wee must couer GOD with our two wings, the one of feare, the other of ioy. We must iumpe forwards vnto God, and backwards againe vnto our selues, which is Iobs crosse leape. The [Page] sinne of man is the death of life. For me, (sayth he) I am the death of death: therfore despayre not. For your selues, you are the life of death: therefore presume not. For me: I am the death of the diuell, therefore despayre not: For your selues, you are the life of the diuell, therefore presume not: For me, I am the life of my selfe, therefore de­spayre not: For your selues, you are the death of your selues, therfore pre­sume not: For mee, I am the life of man, therefore despayre not: For your selues, you are the death of Christ, therefore presume not: For me (sayth he) death is onely dead, and not aliue: dead in me, and not aliue in you: For your selues, death is both dead and a­liue; dead in me, aliue in you. For me, I am onely aliue, and not dead; a­liue in my selfe, and not dead in you: For me, you are onely aliue, and not dead; aliue in me, & not dead in your selues: For your selues, you are both [Page] aliue and dead; aliue in me, and dead in your selues. The worst foes that we haue, are the diuell and death: the best friends wee can haue, are Christ and our selues: the death of Christ killeth those foes, & quickeneth those friends: the life of man quickeneth those foes, and killeth those friends. It is much that the death of Christ killeth death, more that it killeth the diuell, most of all that it killeth him­selfe, more thē al that it killeth Christ. Wherefore wee must not loose any one of these weights: but when wee weigh the reasons why wee must weepe for our selues, we shall finde as great cause of ioy in God, great cause of sorrowe in our selues, farre greater cause of ioy in Christ, greater cause of sorrowe in our selues, farre greatest cause of ioy in Christ, greatest cause of sorow in our selues: for that which is more then all to make vs ioyfull in Christ, that is more then all to make [Page] vs sorrowfull in our selues. The righ­teousnes of Christ is the death of death, great cause of ioy in Christ. Debora reioyced when Barake put Sisera to flight: haue not we as great cause to reioyce, seeing taht Christ hath put death to flight? The sinne of man is the life of death, a great cause of sorrowe in our selues. If Anna wept for her barrennes, haue not wee as great cause to weepe, seeing we can conceaue nothing but sorrowe, and bring forth iniquitie vnto death? The righteousnes of Christ is the death of the diuel, great cause of ioy in Christ. If Iudith reioyced when she cut off the head of Holofernes, haue not wee greater cause to reioyce, seeing Christ hath cut off the head of the diuell? The sinne of man is the life of the di­uell, greater cause of sorrowe in our selues. It Thamar wept being deflou­red by her brother, haue not we grea­ter cause to weepe, committing daily [Page] spirituall adulterie with the diuell? The righteousnes of Christ is the life of himselfe, greatest cause of ioye in Christ. If Sarah laughed when shee should haue a quick child in her dead wombe, is not this the greatest cause of laughter that cā be to vs, that Christ liued in death, and could not see cor­ruption in the graue? The sinne of man is the death of himselfe; greatest cause of sorrowe in himselfe. If Agar wept being pulled out of Abrahams house; is not this the greatest cause of weeping that can be vnto vs, that we are here pilgrimes, and strangers from our fathers house in heauen? The righteousnes of Christ is the life of man; this is more then all, to make vs ioyfull in Christ. If Queene Hester did reioyce, (as Queene Elizabeth doth at this day, whom God long saue and preserue) because she deliue­red her people from thraldome, and destructiō; can any thing in the world [Page] then make vs more ioyfull, then this, that we being cursed in our selues, are blessed in Christ; being embased in our selues, are exalted in Christ; be­ing condemned in our selues, are iu­stified in Christ; being dead in our selues, are aliue in Christ. The sinne of man is the death of Christ: this is more then all, to make vs sorrowfull in our selues. If the Virgine Mary wept so sore for the death of her son Iesus, as it her soule had been pearced thorowe with a sword, (as Simeon speaketh) can any thing in the world then make vs more sorrowfull then this, that Christ being blessed in him­selfe, was cursed for vs; being exalted in himselfe, was abased for vs; being iustified in himselfe, was condemned for vs; being aliue in himselfe, was dead for vs. Oh deare brother, if thou bee sorrowfull at any time, remember what Christ hath done for thee, and thou wilt soone be glad: if thou bee [Page] ioyfull at any time, remember what thou hast done against Christ, & thou wilt soone be sorrowfull: so shall we neuer suffer shipwrack of faith, either by too much sorow, as Esau did, who sought the blessing with teares, wee­ping for himselfe, not reioycing in Christ: or els by too much ioye, as Herod did, who heard Iohn gladlie, reioycing for Christ, not weeping for himselfe. But as a ship, being neither too heauily burdened, not too lightly ballased, feareth neither windes nor waues, but saileth safely to the hauen: so wee being neither too heauie for our selues, nor too light for Christ, but reioycing For me, for your selues, both together, shall neither bee drow­ned in the waues of desperation, nor puffed vp with the windes of pre­sumption: but we shall liue safelie in the Arke of Noah vpon the sea of this world, vntill we arriue at the hauen of all happines in heauen. And this is the [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] right moderation which wee must keepe betweene Christ & our selues, as appeareth in this sixt part, For me, for your selues, both together.

The seuenth part followeth, Weepe not for me, wherein wee must consi­der three things: that is, three vertues that were in Christ: First, his wise­dome, VVeepe not: secondly, his be­nignitie, Not you: thirdly, his mag­nanimitie, Not for me. Wisedome in his instruction appeareth, in that he teacheth vs how we should bee af­fected towardes the dead: for if wee must not weepe inordinately for the death of Christ, then wee must not trouble our selues greatly for the death of any Christian. Indeed wee may weepe for the wicked, not onely when they are dead, but euen when they are aliue: but wee must reioyce for the godly, not onely when they are aliue, but when they are dead: and why? because the wicked being aliue [Page] are dead: but the godly being dead, are aliue. Therefore Dauid when his sonne Absolon dyed, whom he knew to bee a wicked man, wept for him, saying, Absolon my sonne, O my sonne Absolon, would to God I had dyed for thee? but when his young sonne dyed, whom he knew to be an inno­cent, he was well apaid, and rose from the ground, and anoynted his face, and sayd, I shall goe to him, he cannot returne to me: wherby he warranteth that of Fulgentius, who sayth, that the godly deceased are not amissi, but praemissi, not lost for euer, but left for a time: not gone away frō vs, but sēt to God before vs. For if it be true which Ignatius sayth, that life without Christ is death: then this is true also, that death which is in Christ, is life: and what need we then weare blacke mourning clothes in signe of sorrow, seeing they weare long white robes in token of triumph? The Athenians [Page] had a lawe giuen them by Solon, which did forbid mourning & wee­ping at funerals, sayth Chrysostme: it beseemeth vs rather to reioyce then to weepe for the departure of the righteous: and Ierome sayth, we may weepe for them, because they are not with vs, but wee must not weepe for them, because they are with God: For Isidorus sayth, Charitas plorare iubet, sed piet as lugere vetat: Though loue commands vs, yet faith forbids vs to weepe for the dead: therefore Paulinus sayth, Salua fide, though wee may notwithstanding our faith, performe al dueties of loue, yet wee must first notwithstanding our loue, enioy the comforts of faith. So if we shed some few teares which runne softly like the waters of Silo: no force sayth Ambrose, they will not bewray in vs any want of faith, but onely testifie abundance of loue: thus and no otherwise did Abraham [Page] weepe for Sarai his wife, Rebecca for Debora her nurse, Berseba for Vrias her huskand, Christ for Lazarus his friend. Augustine sayth, that Christ hanging vpon the crosse, taught vs a many of excellent lessons, and one a­mongst the rest was, how wee should behaue our selues towardes our bre­thren that are departed out of this life: and it is amplified out of the He­brues, and also shewed by the Ro­manes, and the Ephesians, and decla­red out of Elias that the dead must not bee carried to the graue with mourning, but with singing; & here­in wonderfull wisedome he sheweth how sparing we ought to be in wee­ping for the death of our godly friēds, considering their good happe, and our good hope. In that hee sayth, VVeepe not for me: 2. his benignitie, not you: All his intollerable troubles nothing troubled him so much as that his friends were troubled for his [Page] troubles: and yet (as it should seeme) they had great reason thus to be grie­ued. All the people wept for Moyses death, all Egypt for Iosephs death, all Israel for Iosias death, all the Church for Steuens death: but a million of Moyses, of Iosephs, of Iosias, of Ste­uens are not comparable to Christ. The women of Troy lamented the death of worthy H [...]ctor, making this the foote of their dolefull dittie, He­ctora flemus: howe much more then might these women of Ierusalem la­mēt the death of their captaine Christ? Al the widdowes lamented the death of Dorcas because in her life time she had made thē such fine clothes & garments: and had not these women then farre greater cause to lament the death of Christ, who made euery one of them a wedding garment, where­in hee did marrie them to himselfe? Ye daughters of Israell (sayth Dauid) weepe for Saul, who hath clothed [Page] you with scarlet: how much more then ought these daughters of Ieru­salem, to weepe for Christ, who clo­thed euery one of them with the roy­all robe of righteousnes? yea and gaue his owne deare self for them, that they might put on the Lord Iesus. When Christ was borne, the night was turned into day as it was prophe­cied, Psal. 139. 12. Then shall the night shine as the day. But when Christ was crucified, the day was turned into night, as it was prophecied, Amos 8. 7 Then shall the sun goe downe at noone day. The sunne therefore wept for Christ. As Hamons face was couered when he was condemned to dye; so the sunnes face was couered, when Christ was condemned to dye. The temple also wept for Christ. As Da­uid rent his garment, when he heard of Ionathans death; so the temple rent his vayle, when it heard of Christs death. The graues like wise wept for [Page] Christ: as the King of Niniue threw vp dust vpon his head when the citie was appoynted to dye; so the graues threw vp dust vpon their heads, whē Christ was appoynted to dye. Lastly, the stones wept for Christ: as Iob cut off his haire when hee heard of his childrens death; so the stones were cut in peeces and cloue asunder when they heard of Christs death. An asse carrying Christ to Ierusalē, the chil­dren cryed Hosanna: Christ carrying his crosse out of Ierusalem, the womē cryed Halaluiah: so if these children had held their peace, and not sung, the very stones would haue sung out the praises of Christ: If these women had held their peace, and not cried, the ve­ry stones would haue cryed for the death of Christ: or rather indeede, as soone as euer these women lest cry­ing, because Christ bad them, the stones straight waies fell a crying be­fore Christ bad them. And what hart [Page] of man could then haue refrayned frō weeping, though it had bin harder then any stone, seeing the hard stones before his eyes, dissolued and distil­led into teares? Yet behold the lo­uing kindnes of Christ, Christ dyed not for the stones, not for the temple, nor for the graues; but for vs men and for our sinnes he dyed: yet he suffe­reth those dead and senceles creatures to weepe, and to haue a liuely feeling of his death, though they had no be­nefit of his death: But being content himselfe to shed his own heart bloud for vs, yet will not suffer vs in recom­pence, to shed so much as one little teare for him, in that he sayth, Weepe not for me. Thirdly and lastly, his magnanimitie, in that he sayth, Not for me, appeared in that, holding now in his hand, the cup of trembling, and being readie to drinke of the verie dregges of it, yet neither his hand, nor his heart trembled.

[Page] Ennius the poet could say, Nemo me lachrymis decoret, nec funera fletu, Let no man weep for my death: and Saint Laurence the Martyr, (as Prudentius testifieth) sayth, Desinite discessu meo fletus dolenter fundere, Do not weepe for my departure: but as Ennius, or any other Pagan, could neuer come neere Christians in true magnanimitie, so Saint Laurence or any christian could neuer come neere Christ. Paul of any I heard of, com­meth neerest him going towardes Ie­rusalem: what doe ye (sayth he) wee­ping and breaking my heart? for I am readie not onely to bee bound, but to dye for the name of the Lorde Iesus Christ. Euen so sayth Christ here, or rather indeede not so, but a thousand times more couragiously: going out of Ierusalem, what doe you (sayth he) weeping and breaking my heart? for I am readie not to bee bound, but to dye for the saluation of man. Hee [Page] knewe well enough that his passion would be a new kind of transfigurati­on vnto him, for at his transfigurati­on, hee was accompanied with his Disciples, Peter, Iames, and Iohn: but at his passion Peter denied him, Iames and Iohn forsooke him: there he was vpon mount Tabor, which smelled sweetly of hearbes and flow­ers: but here hee was vpon mount Caluarie, which smelled lothsomely of bones and dead mens sculles: and there his face did shine as the sunne, but here his face was buffeted and spit vpon: & then his garments were white as the light; but here his gar­ments were parted, and hee himselfe whipped starke naked: and there he was between two famous Prophets, Moses and Elias: but here hee was betweene two theeues, the one on his right hand, the other vpon his left: and there his Father spake ioyfully to him from heauen, This is my belo­ued [Page] sonne: but here hee schriched la­mentably vnto his Father from the crosse, My God, my GOD, why hast thou forsaken mee? Yet beholde the magnanimitie of Christ, Christ knew well enough before hande of this whole passion prepared for him, whē as hee was not transfigured as before, bt disgraced so as neuer was any man, yet nothing could moue him. Oh worthy resolution, the like whereof was neuer hearde of before! This fearefulnes of his Disciples, this noy­somenes of the place, the buffets, the nakednes, those theeues, those schri­ches, could not a whit daunt his he­roycal hart: but euen as a noble chāpi­on, hauing alreadie had a legge and an arme slasht off, when all the stage in admiration of his valoure and man­hoode, cries, saue the man, saue the man: yet puts out himselfe, and stan­ding vpon one leg, and striking with one arme, fighteth still as stoutly as if [Page] he had not beene hurt at all: so Christ hauing beene scourged and scorned alreadie, when the whole centre of heauen and earth wept for him: yea, when the powers aboue the heauens came downe, and the dead vnder the the earth, rose vp to moane and pittie him: onely hee himselfe would aske no fauour of others, nor shew fauour to himselfe, but was very angrie with them, that gaue him such counsell.

And though all the Saintes in heauen and earth, did bleede at the very heart, in a manner, euen as much as hee himselfe did being vpon the crosse, to see so good a man to be des­pised: yet nothing would stay him, but still he went on forwarde as plea­santly and cheerefully, as to any ban­quet or feast, to that most ruthfull and dreadfull death. Thus you see in this seuenth part: the wisedome, the be­nignitie, & magnanimitie of Christ, in that he sayth, VVeepe not for me.

[Page]The eight parte, which is the last, now onely remaineth. But weepe for your selues: wherein we must consi­der likewise three vertues that ought to be in vs: First, deuotion: secondly, compunction: thirdly, compassion. First, deuotion in weeping for this life: secondly, compunction in wee­ping at the heart: thirdly, compassion in weeping for our owne life: First, for deuotion. A man may be sayd to be deuout in prayer, to be deuout in speaking, & to be deuout in medita­ting, deuout in thanksgiuing: but we vnderstād that deuotiō which causeth vs to breake forth into teares, and in weeping for our selues, we must be de­uout: wee must perswade our selues, that we are out of our own coūtry, & that the heauēs which we possesse not yet, is the coūtrie which we shuld de­sire. If Christ wish thē of Ierusalē here, to weep for themselues, and did him­selfe elsewhere weepe for Ierusalem▪ [Page] saying: Oh Ierusalē, Ierusalē, how oft would I, &c. but you would not: how much more thē ought we to weep for this life? They of Ierusalē which were caried captiue into Babylon, endured threescore and tenne yeares: nowe iust so long lasteth our life, as the Psal­mist sayth. And so by this account, our whole life is nothing else but the captiuitie of Babylon: therefore wee may well say, By the waters of Baby­lon we sate downe and wept, when we remembred thee Oh Sion: and Psalm. 42. My teares haue been my meate day and night, while they sayd to me, where is nowe thy GOD? And in another place, VVoe is me that I am constrai­ned to dwell with Mesech, & to haue my habitation among the tents of Ke­dar. Ierusalem was once finally sackt by Titus and Vespasian, whereas be­sides, an infinite number that were o­therwise spoyled, ten hundred thou­sand men, tenne hundred thousande [Page] men I say, were slaine downe altoge­ther, (as Iosephus a Greeke writer, E­gesipphus an Hebrue writer testifieth. But that which happened once to thē, happeneth dayly to vs: wee dye day­ly, our whole life is nothing else but such a fooyle and sackage: & among all the miseries of this life, nothing is more miserable then this life it selfe? So that the onely happines wee can haue in this life, is a true and a godly bewayling of our vnhappines: which made our Sauiour say, VVoe be vnto you which laugh now, for you shal weep: but on the other side, Blessed are they that mourne, for they shall bee comfor­ted: Therefore Iob desired God to spare him a little, and let him liue a while longer. Wherefore? that hee might laugh, and that hee might bee merrie? No sayth he, but Vt plangam delorem meū: that I might weepe for my wo & grief: he thought, that a mā could not haue time enough in this [Page] life, though it were neuer so long, to lament & rue the miseries of this life, though it were neuer so short. For as it is, Rom. 8. 22. If euery creature do sigh and groane in it selfe▪ if the verie earth which wee haue vnder out feete doe mourne and pine away for sorow, for the heauie burden of our sins, where­with it is almost weakened and prest down to hel; how much more ought we, hauing the first fruits of the spirit, to haue true deuotion in weeping, for this life, according to this, But weepe for your selues. Secondly, compuctiō, [...], of [...], frango: as if he should haue sayd, Scindatur vena cordis: Breake your hearts for sorrowe. And this is the cause why Dauid sayth, I haue rored for the very disquietnes of my hart. And therefore followes Pauls conuersion of the Christians in the Acts of the Apostles, who cryed out in the vehemēcie of their spirits, Men and brethren, what shall we doe? And [Page] this compunction in weeping at the heart, is commaunded, Psalm. 4. 5. For whereas wee commonly reade it, In your chambers and be still, or bee still in your chambers: the Septuagints expoūd it, Haue compunctiō in your chambers: whereby they signifie to be pricked to the quicke, vntill the bloud followe againe: and by chambers, in that place, our hearts is ment. As, When thou prayest, enter into thy chamber: that is, into the silence and secrecie of thy heart: for that hauing compun­ction in your chambers, is as much as if he should haue sayd, bleed inward­ly at the heart. Our teares must not be Crocodiles teares▪ for as there is pray­ing from the teeth outward, so there is weeping from the eyes outward: as Bernard saith, We must be let bloud, and haue a veine opened with the launce of compūction. And this veine (sayth Fulgentius) must not be corpo­ris, sed cordis: must not bee the liuer [Page] veine, or any such like, but the heart veine onely. Whereupon (sayth Da­uid) My heart droppeth, Psal. 129. 28. Not that his heart dropped indeede, but because the teares which he shed, were not drops of water, such as may bee easily forced, comming from the eyes, but drops of bloud, such as christ did sweate, issuing from the heart. These indeede are true teares (sayth Austin) which are the bloud of a woūded heart: So that the heart must first be rent, and deeply wounded, be­fore the eye can weepe. But if once our sinnes fall vpon vs like theeues, and wound vs at the heart, and leaue vs halfe dead, and make vs powere out the bloud of true teares, then by & by will Christ powre in the wine and oyle of gladnesse. For sayth Ierome, speaking of this compūction, Vngit, non pungit: These wounds doe not hurt vs, but heale vs. Which we may see in S. Paul, so long as his heart was [Page] hardened, & seared with an hot iron, he playd the wild colt, (as I may say) without any griefe or remorse, kick­ing against the prickes: but when it pleased God to take out of his breast that stonie heart (as the Prophet spea­keth) and to giue him an heart of flesh for it, the only one pricke of the flesh, the sting of concupiscence, was suffi­cient alone to tame him, and humble him, and rule him aright. For euen as a bladder, if it be pricked, all the wind voyds out of it: so Paul his heart be­ing pricked, and bleeding continually for his sinnes, was freed of all concei­tednes of all vanitie and pride. Wher­fore as the men of Iudea and Ierusa­lem were pricked at their hearts, Act. 2. 37. so must we haue true compun­ction, in bleeding and weeping at the heart: alluding to this, But weepe for your selues.

Lastly, wee must haue compassion in weeping for our owne life. Indeed [Page] it is an acceptable thing to haue com­passion vpon others, but here wee are bound to haue compassion vpon our selues. Miserere animae tuae, placens Deo, as one sayth, The Priest must first offer sacrifice vnto God for himselfe, then for the sinnes of the people. In the Gospel, the Pharisie took compas­sion vpon the Publicā, saying, I thank God I am no whoremaster, nor vn­cleane person, nor as this publican: But the godly publican wept for himself, and tooke compassion vpon his own life, and therefore God tooke com­passion vpon him. We must not first weepe for others, but first wee must drinke one heartie draft of compas­sion for our selues, and then for our brother. If thy eye be single, al thy bo­die is full of light: but if thou haue a beame in thine own eye, & yet woul­dest pull out the moate that is in thy brothers eye, all thy bodie is full of darknes: whereas the way is first to [Page] weepe and wash out the great beame our of their owne eye, that then thy eye being more single, thou maist see cleerely to pull a little moate out of thy brothers eye: otherwise, that which was most fondly and foolishly sayd to Christ, may be truely and fitly sayd to thee, Phisition heale thy selfe: And, he saued others, himselfe he can not saue. Like to those Hagges and Pharies, which in Latin be called La­miae, which wee haue heard of in old time, who (as they say) could see well enough abroad, but when they came home, were wont to put vp their eyes in a boxe, & so they were stark blind. To whom we may wel say, as Christ sayd to one, Abi in domum tuam: Goe into thine owne house: doe not prie into other mens liues abroad, and shut not vp thine eyes in a boxe whē thou art at home, but rather when thou art abroade: looke to thine owne house, looke to thine owne heart, weepe for [Page] thine owne selfe, for thine owne life. Many can swallow a camell & straine out a gnat: though their own backs be surcharged, and ouerladen with all il­fauoured lumpes of sinne, like camels bunches; yet they neuer feele it, they neuer make any bones of it, they can swallow it well enough without any drinke of teares: but if they see a little gnat sitting vpon their brothers coate, presently they must needes forsooth weepe for it, and vrge it and presse it very sore, and straine it through their teares. Such are the wicked vnlearned Brownists, and other like sectaries of this age; they say they weep daily for the ruine of Syon, for the desolation of this Church. But our Church an­swers thē, as she had heard her spouse Christ Iesus say in the like case, Weepe not for me, but weepe for your selues: I (sayth our Church) was neuer more glorious heretofore▪ in this Realme of Englande, neuer am like to bee [Page] hereafter, then I am now at this day, the Lord bee thanked for it: and there is no one point of doctrine or discipline, which I maintaine, which hath not beene within these fortie yeares confirmed and besprinckled, and euen inameled with the blood of as blessed Saints, as holy Martyrs, our owne countrimen, as euer did holde vp innocent hands to GOD. There­fore, VVeepe not for mee, but weepe for your selues: You haue departed not only from his Church, but from the primitiue Church: of which you speake so much, Act. 2. 48. In the pri­mitiue Church, they remained with one accorde in the Temple, you run out of the Temple, and refuse to pray with vs. In the primitiue Church, they did breake bread at home, you breake peace abroade: In the primi­tiue Church, they had singlenes of heart, you haue changed all singlenes into singularitie: I do not speake this [Page] vnto any of this worshipful audience, but to you Brownists: you are those Donatists, of whom Saint Austine speaketh in his 29. Epistle written to Ianuarius, who would take from vs the Lords prayer, with their impious arguments: so would ye Brownists. You are those Nestorians of whome Cassianus speaketh: Quia nolunt es­se vt omnes sunt, volunt omnes esse sicut illi sunt. Who, because they would not be as other men are, would haue all men to bee as bad as them­selues. You are of those Luceferians, of whom Ierome speaketh in the be­ginning of decalogue, Quibus famili­are est dicere, fact a est ecclesia lupana­ria: who make it a common worde in their mouthes to saye, that the Church is become a Stewes, so say the Brownists. You are those Adriani of whom Epiphanius speaketh in his Anchoratus, 4. & 5. pag. grecae: who being busie bodies themselues, and [Page] Bishops in other mens Dioces: yet thinke much that godly and learned Bishops shuld beare rule in their owne Dioces, so thinke the Brownists. You are those factious Schismatickes, of whom Irenaeus speaketh of in his 4. booke, 26. chapter: who for light and trifling quarrels, rent and teare the great & glorious bodie of Christ: so doe yee Brownists. Yea, you are those Schismatikes, of whome Ber­nard speaketh, Qui eos qui de Eccle­sia sunt, canes, & porcos censent: who accoūt of the Ministers of the church no otherwise, then of hogges, and dogges: I speake to you Brownists. You are those murmurers against Moyses, of whom Optates speaketh in his first booke against Paremon, Qui sunt sepulti, antè sunt mortui: who were buried before they were dead, because they wept for others before they wept for themselues: so doe ye Brownists. But to leaue them [Page] as they leaue the Church, and returne to our selues (deare brethren) who are Christs deare friends, and friends of his holie Church, we must not onelie weepe, but weepe at the heart, not on­ly weepe at the heart, but weepe for this life; not only weepe for this life, but weepe for our owne life: and so continuallie practise true deuotion, compunction, and compassion, ac­cording to this, But weepe for your selues.

Thus haue I gone ouer al the eight parts of this text: Now I would de­sire no greater fauour of God, thē that wee might meditate of this which hath been spoken, so as our whole liues, and all our affections (especiallie these affections of ioy and sorrowe) might thereby be ordered, and direc­ted aright. For weeping, and not wee­ping, are things indifferent: things of themselues neither good nor bad, but thereafter, as according to circumstā ­ces [Page] and occurrences, they are either well or ill vsed: Euen as glorying, la­bouring, fearing, or louing. For glo­rying, it is sayd, Let not the wise man glorie in his wisedom: but let him that glorieth, glorie in this, that he know­eth the Lord. Againe, VVe must not reioyce in any thing, but in Christ Ie­sus, and him crucified. For labouring, it is sayd, Labour not for the meate which perisheth, but for the me at which endureth for euer. And againe, Thou shalt get thy liuing with the sweate of thy browes. For fearing, it is said, Feare not him that can kill the bodie onely, but feare him who is able to cast both bodie and soule into vtter darknesse. For louing, it is sayd, Loue not the world, nor the things of the world: if any man loue the world, the loue of God is not in him. Glorie not thē, but glo­rie, not in the wisedom of the world, but in the knowledge of God: La­bour not, but labour, not for the meat [Page] which perisheth, but for the meate which abideth for euer. Feare not, but feare, not him that can kill the bodie onely, but him that can kill both bo­die and soule. Loue not, but loue, not the world, but GOD. And so here, Weepe not, but weepe, not for me, but for your selues. VVeepe not for me, but weepe for your selues. To weep is lawful, not to weepe, without wee­ping, is vnlawfull: not to weepe, is lawfull, not to weepe, without wee­ping, is not lawfull. Againe, to weepe for our selues, is lawfull; to weep im­moderatly for Christ, is vnlawfull; not to weepe for Christ is lawfull; not to weepe at al for our selues is vnlaw­full: whereas without any vnlawful­nes in either, both weeping, and not weeping, will be lawfull, if our wee­ping be alwaies ioyned with not wee­ping, and our not weeping sometimes ioyned with weeping; if our weep­ing bee for our selues, not for Christ, [Page] and our not weeping be for Christ, & not for our selues. Therefore, we must mark what our Sauiour said, he saith not thus, Weepe for me, and weepe for your selues; that is too much sor­rowe, and too little ioy: neither thus, Weepe not for me, nor weepe for your selues; that is too much ioy, and too little sorow: neither thus, Weep for me, but weepe not for your selues; that is a desperat speech: neither thus, Weepe not for your selues, but weep for me; that is a presumptuous speech: onely he sayth thus, VVeepe not for me, but weepe for your selues. Wher­fore (holy brethren) if wee haue any teares, novv let vs shed them: if wee haue any Psalmes, now let vs sing thē. The holy Gospell is nothing els, but a ioyfull newes, the summe whereof is comprised in that Euangelicall and Angelicall message to the shepheards, I bring you glad tidings of great ioy, which shall bee to all people. But ther [Page] Christ was borne in his mothers armes, now he holdeth vp the Angels that they fall not, and lifteth vp men that are fallē, with his armes stretched out vpon the crosse: This is his king­dome which is vpon his shoulder, E­say. 9. 6. And O Ecumenius sayth vpon the second of Iob, This was a greater glorie and credite for Christ, then the creation of the whole world. Sweete Sauiour, I embrace the wounds of thy hands and feet, I esteeme more of thy hysoppe, thy spunge, thy reede, thy speare, then of any princely Diadem: I boast my selfe, and am more proude of thy spittings and thornes, then of al pearles and iuels: I account thy crosse more splendent and glorious, then any royall scepter. What speake I of a scepter? thats a goodly matter indeed, then al the sunne-beames in her grea­test brightnes of beautie. This is that triumph, 2. Cor. 2. 14. wherby Christ made vs to triumph in himselfe, and [Page] to bee more then conquerours, as Cy­prian sayth, whereas the goodnes and sweetnes of Christ, did triumph ouer all impietie and malice. Therefore if the women met Saul playing & sing­ing, Saul hath slaine his thousand, and Dauid his ten thousand: how much more ought all the sonnes and daugh­ters of Ierusalem, to meete ioyfully playing vpon the harpe, and singing that new song to the Lambe with the 24. Elders, Thou art worthie to take the book, and to open the seales there­of, because thou wast killed, and hast redeemed vs by thy bloud. There is a time to weepe, and a time to laugh, a time to mourne, and a time to dance. Why art thou then so heauie oh my soule, and why art thou so disquie­ted within me? still put thy trust in GOD, and hee will deliuer thee. Wherefore, let vs looke vp into hea­uen, and there shall we see the Angels singing this song, Glorie bee to God on [Page] high, peace on earth, and good will to­ [...]ards men. And if I acob, that true I a­cb, (I meane) Christ, when he went to Ierusalem, hauing nothing with hi [...] but a staffe, a I acobs staffe: if then (I say) we had good cause to reioyce: how far greater cause haue wee now to reioyce, seeing he is returned back againe, and ascended vp into heauen to his Father, and there sitteth in glo­rie: though thou wert neuer so much afflicted, yet euen in affliction▪ reioice with ioy vnspeakable, yet not as He­rodias did, but as Dauid did leape vp in affliction, and caper as high as hea­uen it selfe, where thou shalt see one rapt vp into a third heauen, say­ing to himselfe, God forbid that I should reioyce in any thing, but in the crosse of Christ: and to vs, Reioyce in the Lorde alwaies, and againe I say, Reioyce: and againe and againe, I say reioyce, & reioyce in Christ alwaies. [Page] But weepe for yourselues: not because Christ dyed, but because your sinne were the cause of his death: for this I will weepe day and night: yea, if I had as many eyes in my head, as thre are starres in the skie, yet I wo [...]ld weepe them all out for this, tha I should be such an vnworthy wre [...]ch, as by my sinnes to crucifie Chris:, & to put him to so many deathes, and to kill so deere and so louing a Lord. Oh that I could possibly deuise what to say, or what to doe, to obtaine thus much of you, or rather of God for you: that you would weepe, though it were neuer so little for your sinnes. But I can doe no more but commend and commit that which hath beene spoken, to the effectuall working of the holy Ghost in you: & to the faith­full obedience of your good hearts to God. Many excellent things are spo­ken of thee, renowned citie, oh thou [Page] glorious citie of London: and yet there are many foule blemishes in thee, which nowe I will not, and by reason of the time, I cannot rip vp vn­to you: but must leaue them vnto e­uery one of your priuat consciences: onely remember I pray you this one lesson, that you sinne not, for he that sinneth once, killeth Christ once: and hee that repeateth one sinne twentie times, killeth Christ twentie times: Oh that God would giue force to my words, and tell me what I should say. I would to God that I could moue a­any remorse, in bitinge and gnawing of your consciences for your sinnes. Beloued, oh beloued, kil not the com­forter of your hearts, grieue not the holy Ghost: for when wee sinne, the holy Ghost is grieued: hee is grieued when we are not grieued; but if we be grieued for our sinnes, then is the holy Ghost delighted: as sayth Saint [Page] Basill, such griefe and weeping will be the verie seede, or the interest and loane of euerlasting life. For as a Fa­ther pittieth his childe, and if he see­eth him crie, he stilleth him, & takes out his hand-kercher and wipes the childes eyes himselfe: so GOD our heauenly Father, will with his owne holy finger wipe away all teares from our eyes, take vs by the hande, and leade vs out of the house of mour­ning, into the house of mirth: then hauing sowen in teares, we shall reape in ioy: yea, hauing sowen but a few teares, which may be put in a bottle, we shall reape al those manifold ioyes which are in heauen: For (sayth one) Heauines may endure for a night, but ioy commeth the next morning: then shall Christ turne all our miserie into musicke: all our wormewood into wine: all our sighing into singing: then shall Abraham that good mow­er, [Page] binde vs vp into sheaues as good corne, and fill his bosome full of vs, and carrie vs into the Lords barne, to make a ioyfull haruest in heauen: then shall we with the wise Virgins, hauing store of oyle in our lampes, that is, teares in our eyes, goe out of this vale of teares which floweth with weeping, and enter into that ce­lestiall Canaan, which floweth with milke and honie. Then shall we sur­mounting all earthly things, so reare aloft and flye vp as with the Eagles winges, into the heauenly paradise, and there settle in the tree of eternall life: then shall all teares of weeping and mourning bee wiped from our eyes: and then shall wee see cleerely the bright sonne of God sitting at the right hand of his Father in heauen: saving vnto vs, Come vnto me, all ye that are heauie laden, and I will re­fresh you: not saying, VVeep not for me, [Page] but weepe for your selues: but Reioyce for me, and reioyce for your selues, through the tender mercies of Iesus Christ, to whom with the Father, and the Sonne, and the holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, power and praise, dignitie and domi­nion, both now and euermore. A­men.