THere is a deplored, there is a desperate opinion of the wic­ked; That Piety is pensive: That the Saints are men of sorrowes: That they wast their lives with heavinesse, and their yeares with mourning. True it is, I confesse, that many are the af­flictions, divers and sundry are the pressures, the troubles of the Righteous; But that which [Page 60] makes a man eyther miserable or happy, it is not his passion but action, not that which he suffereth, but doth. If it bee good, sorrow may lye at the doore, but there is no ingresse, it cannot enter into it: for that which is nearer than the joynts and the marrow, all his inward parts they are possessed, they are taken up with an hidden, with a secret Ioy. So that what is without, say that it may raze the skinne; sure I am it can­not pierce the soule. Our Re­joycing it is not shallow, nor superficiall; it is in the hidden man of the heart, it is the testi­mony of a good conscience:2. Cor. 1.12 let it be sprinkled with the bloud of the Lambe, let it be purged from the evill of actions and af­fections, and behold the bones [Page 61] that were broken shall flou­rish. You shall heare of joy and gladnesse, and sorrow, and sighing, shall flye a way.

What is sayd of Wisedome, is true of Religion also, at first she will walke with him,Eccles. 4.17 that is her Disciple, by crooked wayes, and bring feare and dread upon him, and torment him with her Discipline, untill she may trust his soule, and try him by her Lawes, and comfort him; then will she returne the straight way unto him, and shew him her secrets. So in the Schoole of Repentance; first anxiety and sorrow, first ter­ror and contrition, and after this great a calme, after this Iu­bilation and Ioy.Lodo vic. Viv. Nec aliud co­natur pietas Christiana quàm ut serenitas humanos actus exhila­ret, [Page 62] & tranquilitate animorum, compositis (que) affectionibus simus Deo & Angelis quàm simillimi. So Lodovicus Vives answeres the misprision of them, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter; that are mistaken in the supposed austeritie and strictnesse of Religion,Prov. 3.17. whose wayes are wayes of pleasant­nesse, and her pathes are Peace. All that shee enjoynes it is, what? Not to cut our selves with knives and lances;1. King. 18.28. not to sacrifice our sonnes and Daugh­ters unto Divels;Wisd. 12.5 Wisd. 5.7 not to goe through Desarts where there lyes no way; but that even here upon earth, having sup­pressed our passions, and com­posed our affections, wee may anticipate our Heaven, and in tranquility and peace resemble [Page 63] the Lord and his Angels of Light. Againe I say, Reioyce.

The parts you remember.

1 First, an affection incited un­to Act, Reioyce.

2 Secondly, An Object, In the Lord.

3 Thirdly, the Longitude of the affection, Alwayes.

4 Fourthly, the Magnitude; Againe, I say, Reioyce.

For the present we are to observe.

1 First, the Matter, Reioyce.

2 Secondly, the Manner, A­gaine.

3 Thirdly, the forme infor­ming, or indeed the bond of both, I say.

Or thus.

1 First, there is an Ingeminati­on of an exhortation. A­gaine.

2 Secondly, there is the party Exhorting, exprest or at least imployed in the verse; I say.

3 Thirdly, the poinct or affe­ction exhorted; Reioyce. Of these in their order, and first of the Repetition.

Againe.

It is the Dialect of joy, it is the phrase of a comforter; the voyce of the Holy-Ghost him­selfe,Gen. 3.8. Luk. 15.20 who as he walketh in his Iustice, so hee runneth in his mercy; As he expresseth our sorrowes with an Aposiopesis, so our joyes with an Epizeuxis. He sighes out the one, but hee speakes once, yea twice, he in­geminates the other, and some­times more. Though no Tauto­logy, not a word in his Booke but is weighed in the Ballance, yet hath many Synonymies, dila­tion [Page 65] of phrase to expresse this celestiall affection. Sing, Zeph. 3.14. O Daughter Syon; Shout O Israel; be glad and reioyce O Daughter Ierusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy Iudgments, hee hath cast out thine Enemie. Zephan. 3.14. See (beloved) how affluent, how full of water is the River of the Lord.Psal. 65, 10. Like that which he spyed out for his people,Iosh. 3.15. It overfloweth his bankes in the time of Harvest. Once & againe, nay a third time and more hee incul­cates one and the selfe-same thing. So in the Psalmes:Psal. 68.3. Let the Righteous be glad and reioyce in the Lord, let them also be merry and ioyfull. In a word, through­out this whole volume, you shall seldome heare of this Hea­venly affection without an In­gemination at least. Reioyce in [Page 66] his holy name (saith the sweet sin­ger of Israel, Psal. 105.3.) Let the heart of them reioyce that seeke the Lord. And againe,Psal. 149.2. Let Israel reioyce in him that made him, and let the children of Syon be ioyfull in their King. Thus hee watereth the Hils from above, hee sendeth raine into the little Vallyes;Psal. 65.11. He maketh them soft with the drops of the first, of the for­mer and the latter raine. Haec lo­cutus, these things (and thus) have I spoken unto you,Ioh. 15.11. that my joy might remaine in you, and that your joy might be full. Heare his Disciple, and you cannot but confesse, that he lea­ned on his bosome: Surely thou art one of them, for thy very speech bewrayes thee: These things I write unto you, that your Ioy might be full. 1. Ioh. 1.4.1. Ioh. 1.4 So [Page 67] our Apostle. (O the heavenly harmony of the Songs of the Sonnes of Syon) here is a whole Quire, a choyce Consort of him that spake as never mā spake, & of him that tooke pleasures in afflictions: Christ and his Dis­ciples; Rejoyce alwayes in the Lord. And againe; A word (as the Wise-man speaketh) of a Consort of Musicke with Wine; like a Carbuncle set in gold. Eccles. 32.5 Againe I say, Rejoyce.Ambr. apud Lyram in lo­cum. Hoc a­deò necessarium est vobis quod ite­rum dico gaudete, non ut quaedam alia semel; saith St. Ambrose, as he is alleadged by Lyra. Hee that speakes but once for the most part in the incitation of other things, he doubles his exhortation of joy: and with­out doubt, there is something in it, it is expedient, nay it is [Page 68] necessary unto us, that are in this Valley of teares, that now goe on our way weeping.

The Ioy of the Lord is your strength Neh. 8.10.Neh. 8.10. So in our spirituall war-fare, against those that have evill will at Sy­on. Our shield and our Buckler, nay the might of our inward man, it is joy. In the 10. of St. Luke wee reade of the 70.Luk. 10.17. that went out to preach the King­kome of God; that they re­turned againe with joy, saying; Lord, even the divels themselves are subiect unto us through thy name. Cause of tryumph, cause of exultation indeed to tread upon the Lyon and Ad­der, to overcome the evill, to cast downe strong holds, and e­very high thing that exalts it selfe against the knowledge of [Page 69] God. It cannot but put glad­nesse into the heart of man. Yet this I dare say, the joy of the Saints it woundeth him more than this supreame and tran­scendent power. Vae nobis; As Hugo the Cardinall sweetly ap­plyes the words of the Phili­listines, 1. Sam. 4.7. when they heard the exultation, the shouting of the Host of Israel. Woe unto us, for there hath not been such a thing heretofore, woe unto us. Bis di­cunt vae nobis, sicut hic dicitur bis, Hug. Card. in locum. Gaudete. According to the joy of the Saints, so is the sorrow above and besides their Hell. The sorrow of that uncircum­cised Host. Their woe it an­swers, and the repitition in the Text. Reioyce alwayes in the Lord, and againe I say, Re­ioyce.

The next thing wee are to observe, it is the Quantity and the constancy of our spirituall joy, expressed or at least im­plyed in the Reiteration A­gaine. The word it puts a dif­ference betwixt the joyes of the Saints, and the delights of the Sonnes of men: In which though you empty your selfe from Vessell to Vessell; though you make proofe of those things in the booke of the Prea­cher; Eccles. 2.1, 2, 3, 4. In all the pleasures of Pha­raohs Court you cannot finde this Againe. Quod delectat mo­mentaneum: though the guilt of sinne be eternall, yet the joy is not so, but of a moment, but of a minute, but of the twink­ling of an eye. In the fift of Wisdome there are sundry simi­litudes to expresse it unto you. [Page 71] What hath Pride profited us, Wisd 5.8, 9, 10, 11. and what good hath riches with their vaunting brought us? All these things they are passed away like a shadow, and as a Post that hasteth by, and as a Ship that passeth over the Waves of the Waters, which when it is gone, by the trace there­of cannot be found, neyther the Path way of the Keele thereof in the Waves. Or as when a Bird hath flowne through the ayre, there is no token of her way to bee found. See how swift, how transient, how voluble is all that is in the world. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Besides their bre­vity, for the most part they end in bitternesse, and in the enjoy­ing they are fastidious and un­pleasant. Not to speake of them in grosse, but to single out [Page 72] some of your beloved sinnes, as Concupiscence, Drunkennesse, and that which you call pa­stime. Were they such as you suppose, yet evill in this, that they vanish with a breath, and even in the enjoying they pe­rish.

For the former. Come on, sayth the woman, whose lips drop as the hony-combe, and her mouth is smoother than Oyle:Prov. 7.18 Come on, let us take our fill of loves; how long? Brevis & non vera voluptas. Ovid. Let us take our fill of loves untill the mor­ning: but see what followes. Before that time (every Sin­ner is a lyer) before that time he is in bitternesse of spirit,Prov, 7.23, and a dart striketh through his liver.

In the next place is the dar­ling [Page 73] of our dayes, Drunken­nesse; a sociable and insinuating sinne, that flatters with the pro­fession of joy: But marke but the end thereof,Sen. Ep. 29 Vnius horae hi­larem insaniam longi temporis te­dio pensat, as the Stoicke; At the last it biteth like a Serpent, Prov. 23.32 and stingeth like an Adder: as the Preacher speaketh.

Now for those things that are indifferent:Am. 8.10. Our Feasts they are turned into mourning, and our Songs into Lamentation. Am. 8.10. In a word; The Vine lan­guisheth; the merry hearted doe sigh, the mirth of the Tabrets cea­seth, the noyse of them that reioyce endeth: Esay. 24.7.Esa. 24.7. So not onely in the time of Famine, so not onely in the time of dearth, but when the wine & oyle put­teth gladnes into our heart both [Page 74] in peace and plenty: The world and the glory thereof it passeth away; and when once gone, thou mayst as soone make the flowers greene that are withe­red; as soone mayst thou recall the Sunne from his course, as redintegrate the joyes and plea­sures that are past. Which though they were alwayes pre­sent, though of constancy and continuance, yet for this very cause would they be loathed of us.Scult. de Gaudio. Satietas mortales capit etiam mellis & florum venenis, sayth Pyndarus as hee is alledged by Scultetus. If thou eate too much hony, the end thereof will bee gall:Sen. de tranq. in. cap. 2. Sweetnesse it selfe, in time turnes to choller. Quosdam ad mortem adegit illud rabidarum deliciarum, Quo us (que) eadem? Saith Seneca. Satiety for the [Page 75] most part it breeds dislike, and no such surfeit as of pleasure and joy: it endeth in furie or deepe discontentment at the least.

O the dolefull estate, the de­plored delights of the Sonnes of men; that are neyther solid nor certaine: or if so, if of con­tinuance, they cause satiety and loathing. The reason, it is our Aberration from the right Ob­ject. So Aquinas. Aqu. 12. d. Quaest. 31. art. 7. Delectatio in affectibus animae proportiona­tur Quieti in corporibus. Ioy in the affections of the mind, it resembles Rest in the Physi­call body. Sed appetitus corpo­ris naturalis non quiescit nisi in loco connaturali. Strange, that our affections should not be on the things that are above. The naturall body cannot rest but in [Page 76] its proper place: whence I may inferre, that it is as easie for a stone to lodge in the ayre, it is as easie for the earth to ascend up on high, as the Soule to bee at peace, to enjoy it selfe in whatsoever (but with relation to God) in whatsoever is un­der the Sunne.

So farre the similitude holds. Heare the difference, the incli­nation of that which is inani­mate, it is at rest, it ceaseth in the place that is appointed for it. But the soule not so: When her joy is full, her affections are fresh; and behold there is ney­ther surfeit nor sorrow, there is neyther loathing nor satiety in them: They that feare the Lord shall alwayes Rejoyce. A pecu­liar, a priviledge proper to the pretious Sonnes of Syon; whose [Page 77] joy not the enjoying, neyther Estate nor time can take away from them. It is established in the Lord, and it standeth fast: It is once and for ever, it is al­wayes and againe. Thus much for the difference betweene the joyes of the Saints, and the de­lights of the Sonnes of men, ex­pressed or at least implyed in the Reiteration, Againe.

3 To descend to particulars. Solet Apostolus Paulus in verbis es­se brevis, in sentētijs copiosus, Bernard. saith St. Bernard. And my Text the same. In which there are two sentences in one word.Aug. de verb. Ap. Serm. 2. Gauden­dū de ijs quae expectamus, & gau­dendum de ijs, quae sustinemus, saith St. Augustine. All this in the word Againe. We are to rejoyce in the future for the good that we hope for, and in [Page 78] the present for the evill that we suffer. For the first, our heart shall rejoyce in him, why? Be­cause wee have hoped in his holy name: Psal. 33.20.Psal. 33.20 So St. Paul. Spe gaudentes, Rom. 12.12 Reioycing in hope. The Prerogative of Piety it hath the promises, the pleasures of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Angu­stè fructus rerum determinat, Sen. 171. Ep. 99. qui tantùm prasentibus laetus est, saith the Stoicke, and it is spoken like a Christian: sure I am it is so in Divinitie. He imprisons the heart, he straightens dilatation, he deminisheth the felicity, the good estate of the chosen; that sees not so farre as the fu­ture, that onely rejoyceth in that which now is. And yet all delectation and delight it is de bono praesenti, Damasc. Aqu. 12. Qu. 32. art. 3.1. sayth Damascene: [Page 79] and how then may wee rejoyce in hope, which is of things not seene? By knowledge and ap­plication; it is in effect the an­swere of the Angelicall Doctor. The nature of hope, it is to call the things that are not as if they were, it hath affiance in the fu­ture, it hath the securitie of hea­ven, it hath the obsignation, the seale of the Spirit; from whence ariseth Iubilation and Ioy, joy unspeakable and full of glory. By way of comparison we have it plentifully expressed by our Saviour. The 70. returned a­gaine with Ioy, saith St. LUKE.Luk. 10.17. Saying, Lord, even the Divels are subiect unto us through thy name. Heare the reply: And hee sayd unto them, Behold I give you power to tread upon Serpents, and Scorpions, and over all the power [Page 80] of the enemy. See, what a word is this? What soveraigne, what supernaturall might have wee heere? If Moses and Miriam, if Deborah and David did so shout and sing at their corpo­rall Conquests; how incon­ceiveable is the joy of such as tread downe Sathan under their feet? Of those that spoyle Principalities & powers? And yet, behold I shew you a farre more excellent joy. In this re­ioyce, Luk. 10.20 not that the spirits are sub­iect unto you, but rather reioyce that your names are written in Heaven. Luk. 10.20. Heare the inlargement of the heart, heare the dilatation of joy that deifies as it were the estate, and sublimates the nature of man. Cum accepta fuerit ineffabilis illa laetitia, perit quodammodò mens [Page 81] humana, & fit divina, August in Psal. 55. saith St. Augustine. So soone as wee receive this inconceiveable joy, though in our earthly mansi­ons, though in our houses of Clay, our mortality it is as it were swallowed up of life, our humane Soule it is made coele­stiall and divine: In so much, that for the Glory that is set before us, wee feare not that which is [...],Arist. Eth. lib. 3. sayth the Philosopher: In the phrase of the Holy-Ghost, the King of terrours Death. Wee sing our Dimittis with joy. My heart was glad, my glory reioyced, Psal. 16.9. my flesh also shall rest in hope.

To goe one step further. Heare the full expression of joy, that ariseth from the hope of the faythfull, at the medita­tion of the dreadfull day, when [Page 82] the Sun shal be blacke as a sack­cloath of haire, and the Moone shal be turned into blood; when the heavens shall vanish like a scroll, and the powers above shall bee shaken, when the last trumpe shall sound and the bookes shall be opened. At the meditation of all this it is so far from feare, (O the blessed trust and confidence of a christian Soule,) it is so farre from feare, that it breakes out into a Pro­sopopëia, into the deepest straine of melody and joy. Let the flouds, Psal. 98.9. sayth the soule of the Saints, let the floods clappe their hands, and let the hills bee ioyfull together before the Lord; for hee is come to iudge the Earth. Psalme the 98.9.

2 I proceed to the second parti­cular or branch of the Repeti­tion, [Page 83] Againe. Gaudendū de ijs quae sustinemus. We are to take plea­sure in pressure, to reioyce in tri­bulation. Blessed (sayth he, who for the glory that was set before him indured the Crosse, despised the shame, and is set downe at the right hand of God) Blessed are yee when men shall revile you, and persecute you, Math. 10.11 12 and shall say all manner of euill a­gainst you falsely for my sake. Re­ioyce and bee exceeding glad. See in the midst of calumny, which is sharper than a two edged sword. In persecution, which is almost as much. In the multitude of sorrowes, which they haue in their heart, how affluent, how full is the joy of the Saints. Bee glad; that is not enough, once and againe be glad and exceeding joyfull. [Page 84] In the journey of Israel through the waters of blood, The dry Land (sayes the Wise-man) ap­peared, Wisd. 19.7. and out of the red Sea a way without impediment, and out of the violent streame a greene field. It is assuredly so with us that are in via, in our way out of Egypt unto the Land of Promise, In the great water floods when the waves lift up their heads. In our manifold afflictions there is an evasion, a faire passage and escape from them all; For hee that comfor­teth those that are cast downe,Psal. 31.8. & 32.8. hee considers our trouble, hee knowes our Soule in adversity, hee compasseth us about on e­very side with songs of delive­rance. And not onely so; but in the violence of our pas­sions, inundation of affliction, [Page 85] hee doth more than make a way to escape. Hee turnes our Sor­row into Ioy, the violent streame into a greene field. Vnto the godly (O their hap­pie estate,Psal. 112.4. whose night is clee­rer than the noone of the wic­ked) unto the godly there ari­seth light in the darknesse. E­ven in the season of Sorrow, in the most disconsolate time of tribulation and anguish, there is a day-starre that ariseth in their hearts. More, there is a Sonne of righteousnesse that shineth upon them.Sen. Epist. 27 Si quid obstat nu­bium, modò intervenit; quae in­fra feruntur nec vnquam diem v­nicum; Whatsoever may befall for the afflictions of this life, like the cloudes that are below they are sublunary, they are under their feet; so that they [Page 86] cannot obscure, they may not darken their day. The conso­lation of GOD it is alwayes with them as the Raine-bow, giving light in the bright cloudes,Ecclus. 50.7 as the Sonne of Syrach speaketh. It is the Covenant that hee hath established with all those that are his. In whose afflictions (so hee speaketh by the mouth of his Prophet) hee himselfe is afflicted,Esa. 63.9. and they on the other side are partakers of his Ioy.

Heare the difference between the best estate of the ungodly and the worst of the righteous. Thus saith the Lord: Behold my Servants shall eate, but yee shall be hungry. Esa. 65.13, 14, 15 Behold my servants shall drinke, but yee shall be thirsty. Be­hold my servants shall reioyce, but yee shall bee ashamed. Behold my [Page 87] servants shall sing for ioy of heart, and yee shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howle for vexati­on of spirit. Esa 65.13, 14, 15. And thus much of the particu­lars of the parts of the Repiti­tion. Reioyce in hope, and Re­ioyce in tribulation.

4 Now for the use and appli­cation wee are to make of the word Againe I say Reioyce. Affectus contrarios discutimus contrarijs affectibus; Rod. Agric. Dial. lib. 3. saith Rodul­phus Agricola. As in the disea­ses of the body, so in the affe­ctions of the minde, the cure for the most it is wrought by the contraries. So that the Re­petition, the earnestnesse of the Exhortation, it may be as a me­dicine to heale the broken in heart, to salve the breach of the spirit, and on the other side to [Page 88] cure the phrensie of the Soule. The mirth (or which is more proper) the madnesse of fooles; both these wee may remove, we are to take them away with the strong perswasion of the true and reall, of the sollide and substantiall Ioy.Bernd. Serm. 59. parva & varij Sermo­nes. Revertere pri­mo ab inepta laetitiâ, secundô ab­inutili tristitiâ, sayth St. BER­NARD. Rejoyce alwayes in the Lord; and againe, it is a double exhortation, and in effect it de­horts on every side, it dehorts from a two fold evill. Returne first from your vaine, from your foolish, fond, and frivo­lous joy; and againe, from that in which their is no profit, that which drinketh up the Spi­rit, that which dryeth up the bones, sorrow and heavinesse of heart.

For the first.Aquin. 12. d Quest. 31. articum. 8. Aquinas in his Summes concludes; That there are some delights, as those of the body, that are adverse and contrary to those of the Soule. So that the opposites of joy and gladnesse, they are not onely Sorrow but Ioy. Such as that in the 16. of St. Iohn; Ioh. 16.20. The Ioy of the world. Wee have the same, or the like at least in the 15.Prov. 15.21 of the Proverbes. Folly is Ioy vnto him that is destitute of wisedome. And againe,Prov. 10.23 It is a sport (as the Wise-man speaketh) to a Foole for to doe mischiefe. That which cloathes with shame and covers with confusion of face, that which swallowes up with sor­row, even Sinne it selfe, it is the glory and the boasting; it is the recreation and the pleasure of the wicked. When hee doth [Page 90] evill than hee rejoyceth; As a mad man that casteth firebrands arrowes, & death; and saith, am I not in sport. So is every one that sinneth at his pleasure, that delighteth in the workes of ini­quity, he is be sides himselfe, he is not in his right mind. So that wee may not but mourne at his mirth, we cannot but weepe for to see him laugh. This evill it is greater thā the other; he is sick, and he knowes it not; his soule it draweth nigh unto hell, and yet hee is insensible of it: more than an Enemy, he laughs at his owne calamity.Plinie Lati­nus Paeatus inter Opera Plin. Ad eorum vi­cem, qui, degustato Sardorum gra­minum succo, feruntur in morte ridere. They write of a certaine herbe in Sardania, of which whosoever tasteth, hee dyeth not long after laughing. It is so [Page 91] with the Iovialists, so with the Drunkards in these our dayes; their grapes are grapes of gall, and their clusters bitter.Deut. 32.32 Their wine it is the poyson of Dra­gons, and the cruell venome of Aspes. They beare about them the death not onely of the body but of the Soule; and yet who can but wonder, they spend their dayes in mirth, though in a moment they goe downe into hell.Esa. 23.16. Their mouthes are filled with laughter, and as the Harlot in the 23. of Esay. They sing ma­ny Songs that they may be remem­bred. Sen. Epist. But all this it is but hilaris insania, as the Stoicke speaketh. And as a wiser than he: I said of laughter it is mad, and of mirth,Eccles. 2.2. what is this that thou doest? With a kind of indignation and sorrow may our eyes gush out [Page 92] with teares, at these wretched & deplored joyes of the world, with which wee are to haue no community, no society but in griefe and compassion. Thou man of God flee these things, and follow after Righteous­nesse, peace, and joy in the ho­ly Ghost; but at the pleasures of this life,Psa. 137.1. by the waters of Ba­bylon sit downe and weepe, or at least take heed, that thou doe not taste thereof. What hast thou to doe in the way of Ae­gypt, to drinke the waters of Sihor? Ier. 2.18. Or what hast thou to doe in the way of Assyria, to drinke the waters of the Ri­ver? Behold that which is of the Land of Promise, that which overfloweth his bankes in the time of Harvest; we have fountaines of life, wee have [Page 93] floods of joy,Esay. 8.6. wee haue the waters of Siloh, that runne softly; as a deepe riuer though they make not so much noyse: they are farre beneath, they are farre aboue the obstreperous joyes of the wicked. And there­fore drinke of these waters a­bove the heavens; they are ne­ver deficient, they are neyther fastidious nor unpleasant. Drinke (as it is in the Song of Songs,) yea drinke abundantly,Cant. 5.1. O my beloved. Reioyce alwayes in the Lord, and againe, I say, Reioyce.

2 In the second place with this double exhortation, wee are to take away the other ex­treame sorrow, it is a sore evill, it is the supreame sicknesse of the soule, not onely in respect of passion but of action. It af­fronts [Page 94] both the estate of grace and glory. Of that which con­cernes us, Grace; It is the effect of a Comforter, it is spread a­broad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us; and therefore it requireth ala­crity and cheerefulnesse, joy, and gladnesse; spirit and life in all our sacrifices, in the whole service of GOD. If you offer the Lame and the Sicke is it not evill? Malac. 1.8. sayth the Prophet Malachy. Our oblations are odious, if in our prayers and praise, if in our sup­plication and giving of thanks, we be over-whelmed with hea­vinesse, and swallowed up with sorrow. The living (saith the Sonne of Syrach) the living and sound in heart shal praise the Lord. Ecclesiasticus, 17.28. Cum, sit Lilium inter lilia commoratur, & [Page 95] cum sit candor delectatur candidis. Bern. in Cant. Serm. 71. My beloved is white and rud­dy, and as hee is so he loves to be among the Lillies. Hee re­joyceth to be with them that rejoyce. The troubled spirit [...] confesse the broken and the contrite, it is a sacrifice to God; and so (without doubt) so is the merry and joyfull.

In the 8. of Nehemiah you may see;Neh. 8.9. That the sanctity of Ioy, it is not inferiour (to say no more) it is not inferiour un­to that of sorrow. This day (say the Levites that taught the people) This day is holy vnto the Lord your GOD, mourne not, nor weepe. Do but observe the words and you shall perceive not only an imparity betweene the affec­tions, but a kinde of difference betweene sanctification and [Page 96] sorrow; betweene Holinesse and griefe of mind; which for the most part interrupts and hinders all divine and heavenly exercise. So that, though it be the curse of the heart, though it breaketh the strength, though it dryeth up the bones, it is no­thing so prejudiciall to the bo­dy, as it is unto the health of the Soule, in that which is her spirit and life, Preaching and Prayer.

For the first. Gregogius prop­ter tristitiam Intermi sit Ezechie­lis Expositionem; saith Aquinas. Aquinas. That blessed Byshop, a Master, a nursing father in Israel, by rea­son of overmuch sorrow, hee desisted from opening the book that is sealed from the Inter­pretation of EZECHIEL the Prophet.

Now for the disciple and hearer. If affliction and sor­row be extreame, it so oppres­seth the heart, it straightens it so, that a Barnabas, that hee that knoweth how to admini­ster a word of comfort in his season, the Sonne of consola­tion himselfe is not able to open it. Though MOSES and AARON bee fitted and prepared of the Lord, though they bring unto Israel glad tydings of great joy, yet they wil not hear­ken unto them, and the reason it is giuen for anguish of spirit and cruell bondage.Exod. 6.9.

Now for Prayer. Muscae mori­entes corrumpunt vnguentum; Eccles. 10. sayth the wise King. Dead Flies cause the oyntment of the Apo­thecary to send forth a stinking sauour; So doth bitternesse and [Page 98] vexation of spirit, so doth anxiety and sorow, it pollutes, it corrupts that which is as oyntment powred out. That which for the most part is a sa­crifice of a sweet smelling sa­vour, supplication and prayer. Yee have not yet halfe the E­vill or the Sinne of sorow. Semper malitiatur & contristat Spiritum sanctum; Athan apud Bern. de mo [...] d [...] bene vo­vendi. Serm. 11. sayth Aunci­ent ATHANASIVS. It is the poyson of Dragons and the cruell venome of Aspes; it is full of envie and malice; it grieves the Holy-Ghost by which we are sealed to the pur­chased possession. And not onely so; but it takes off, or at least it defaces the Seale of the spirit.Aug. apud Aquin. in Gen. 12. IACOB (sayth Saint AVGVSTINE vpon Genesis) Hoc timuisse videtur, ne tristitia [Page 99] sic perturbaretur, vt non ad reg­num beatorum iret, sed ad inferos peccatorum. Hee that was an heyre of the promise, the royall seed of the father of the faith­full, by reason of our much heavinesse drew nigh unto hell: hee was affraid hee should not goe unto the place of blisse, not unto ABRAHAMS bosome but unto the Region of death, unto the Land of darknesse. The ground of this opinion I cannot conceiue, how be it it is certaine there is a diffidence and distrust, there is feare and trembling, horrour, and euen almost despaire in the sorrow, not onely for crosses and affli­ctions, but for transgression and Sinne. In the sorowes of the Saints, what aduantage Sathan hath taken by the griefe which [Page 100] causeth Repentance not to bee repented of, by the hearty con­trition for sinnes committed a­gainst GOD, the neere approa­ching of so many afflicted soules unto death, whom the conscience of Sinne (sayth that venerable Hooker) hath brought unto the very brinke of ex­treame dispaire,Hooker, Serus doth but too abundantly expresse: deepe, disconsolate, and something diffident is the sorow of such as mourne in Syon, they sayle lower than the Grave by the gates of hell. They sayle unto Heaven; heare I pray you their inundation, their Sea of anxie­ty and sorow. Hee hath given vs waters of gall to drinke, Ierem. 8.14. because wee have sinned against him. Ier. 8.14. So the Prophet DAVID, though hee were of a sanguine [Page 101] complexion, and by conse­quence naturally cheerfull, though hee were acquainted with the instrument of musick, yet see how his Harpe is tur­ned into mourning, and his Organ into the voyce of them that weepe. There is no health in my flesh, because of thy displea­sure, Psal. 38.3. neyther is there any rest in my bones, because of my sinne: Psal. 38.3. And againe: The sorrowes of death compassed mee, and the overflowing of vngodli­nesse made me afraid. Psa. 18.3.4 The paines of death came about me, and the snares of Hell overtooke mee. These and the like are the voyce of the mourning Tur­tles, the Lamentations and Threnes even of the Saints themselves, unto whom (not as if I did disswade from repen­tance, [Page 102] let them weepe still, and still desire to weepe) but let their teares be as the rayne in the Sun-shine, comfortable and hopefull. We are to incul­cate consolation,Dr. Hall. to preach the good and acceptable yeare of the Lord; to make them heare of joy and gladnesse, that the bones that were broken might flourish; give strong drinke, the double exhortation in my Text, give strong drinke unto him that is ready to pe­rish,Prov. 31.6. and wine to those that are of heavie hearts. If the Apo­stle wrote to the Corinthians, 2. Cor. 2.7. concerning him that was guilty of a sinne that was not so much as named amongst the Gentiles themselves, to comfort him; least peradventure such an one bee swallowed up with over­much [Page 103] sorow: how should we powre out our soules? How should we heape our consolati­on on those; that come short of his sinne, and yet in sorrow doe exceed? Comfort yee, Esay. 4.1.2. comfort yee my people, saith your God; speake yee comfortably to Hierusa­lem, and cry vnto her, that her warfare is accomplished, and that her sinne is pardoned.

See, there is remission, there is forgivenesse for Man; and there is mercy with God, it is over all his works, so and much more over ours. We cannot offend so much as he is able to forgive. Neyther may wee i­magine that our sorrow is suf­ficient for sinne, were our head a fountaine of water; were our breach as the Sea, did our eyes gush out with teares; should [Page 104] wee weepe as much as the cloudes from the beginning of the world untill this very day; it were too little to make our agreement with God; too lit­tle to wash away the least of our sinnes. Wee have beene with child (sayth the Prophet Esay) such is the griefe,Esay, 26.18. the anguish of the soule, as the travell, as the labour of a woman. Will you see the Sonne of our sorowes? But in respect of imputation it is nothing. Parturivimus ven­tum; Wee have as it were brought forth winde; we have not wrought any deliverance upon earth. Yet heare our con­solation, heare that which will make our wildernesse like E­den, Esa. 51.3. and our desert like the garden of the Lord. There is one that hath wrought it for [Page 105] us, Vir dolorum, that is his de­scription in the Prophet.Esa. 53.3. Hee is a man of sorowes, and acquain­ted with griefe farre beyond that of affliction or Repentance; Be­hold and see, if there bee any sor­row like vnto my sorow, Lam. 1.12. which is done vnto me. All that we suffer, all that wee deplore, it is but a drop to the Sea in respect of the Passion of our Saviour. The reason:Aug. de temp Serm. 117. Suscepit tristitiam no­stram, vt largiretur laetitiam suā: saith St. Augustine. Surely hee hath borne our griefe, hee hath taken our sorowes upon him, that he might communicate and impart his joy unto us. Now if one should coëquall the other, if our gladnes should be correspō dent to his griefe; how pregnāt, how unspeakable should be the joy of the Saints? With him [Page 106] you know there is mercy and plentifull redemption. Oh let our rejoycing be as full, let our exultation be answerable unto it. The ransommed of the Lord shall returne and come to Syon with Songs and everlasting joy upon their heads They shall obtaine joy and gladnesse,Esa. 35.10, and sorrow, and sighing, shall flee away. It is the case of the con­trite ones, the estate of those that are reconciled unto him, whose workes are righteous­nesse and peace; quietnesse and assurance for ever.Esa. 51, 22, 23. Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the Cup of my fury, thou shalt no more drinke it againe, but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee. They are the wordes of him [Page 107] that hath sealed us to salvation. That speakes peace unto the soules of his Saints. Where­fore lift up the hands that hang downe, and strengthen yee the feeble knees. Faint not in the spirit of your mindes. Love your owne soules, and comfort your hearts. Rejoyce in hope, your names they are written in Heaven. And Re­joyce in tribulation, in the fie­ry tryall, in temptation and assaults of Sathan; as being as­sured, that you are throughly fenced against them. We have a strong citie, Salvation hath GOD appointed for walls and bulwarkes, Esay, 26.1. Wee will therefore Rejoyce in our salvation,Psal. 20.5. and triumph in the name of our GOD. To whom with the Father, and [Page 108] the Holy-Ghost, three per­sons and one GOD, bee ascri­bed all Power, Praise, Ma­jesty, Might, and Do­minion, both this day, and for evermore. AMEN, AMEN.

IN that day the Lord called vnto weeping and to mourning, Esa. 22.12, 13. to baldnesse and gir­ding with Sackcloath, and behold Ioy and gladnesse; sayth the Prophet Esay. There is a gene­ration as yet, that when imi­nent judgement calls upon Re­pentance for sorow and contri­tion, they mocke at feare, and are not afraid; they sing a Re­quiem to their soules; they so­lace themselves with the plea­sures [...] [Page 114] evill day farre from them, that say Peace, peace, untill their destruction commeth; that spend their dayes in mirth, and in a moment they goe downe into hell. To sing this Song of Syon, to ingeminate joy unto these, what were it else but to adde unto drunkennesse thirst? What were it else, but to sow pillowes under the armes of security. Strange is the me­thod of joy;Psal. 51.8. the bones must be broken before they can flou­rish. They must first mourne, and if so, blessed are they. Bles­sed are they that mourne, Math. 5.4. for they shall bee comforted. Who is hee that maketh mee glad, 2 Cor. 2.2. sayth St. PAVL, but he that was made sorie by mee? His exhortati­on without doubt, it was one­ly unto those, whom hee had [Page 115] made for to meditate terrour; onely to those whom hee had smitten with remorse of Con­science.Esa. 66.2. Vnto this man will I looke (sayth the Lord) even vnto him that is poore, and of a contrite heart, and that trembleth at my Word. Esa. 66.2. See the most gracious aspect, the light of the countenance that is a thousand times more cleere than the Sunne, it shineth full upon those that sit in darknesse, that have the sentence of death in themselves. I dwell (sayth the Lord) in the high and holy place; Esay, 57.15 (and yet hee humbleth himselfe vnto those that lye a­mong the pots, that are smitten into the place of Dragons) with him also that is of a con­trite and humble spirit, to re­ceive the spirit of the humble, [Page 116] and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Vnto this pur­pose hee speakes once, yea twice, but man perceiveth it not. When the Sunne is at height (in the middest of con­solation) loe darknesse and sor­row;Esay, 5.30. Esa. 19.5. And the light (as the Pro­phet speaketh) is darkened in the heavens thereof. So that once more, a third time (O if yet the soule of him that refuseth comfort would heare.) But the waters they fayle from the Sea, and the Rivers are wasted and dryed up; all that hath beene spoken it is too little to the af­flicted Soule. So a third time am I to presse you with the Ex­hortation of Ioy. Reioyce al­wayes in the Lord, and Againe I say, Reioyce.

• [Page 117]1 FIrst, an Ingemination of an Exhortation: Againe.
• 2 Secondly, the party exhor­ting, expressed; or at least im­plyed in the verbe [...], I say.
• 3 Thirdly, the Point or affe­ction exhorted: Reioyce.

Of the former of these have I spoken plentifully already out of this place, it was the subject of my whole discourse; and yet so true is that of St. Hierom, Hierom. Singula verba plena sunt sensibus. Much more might be spoken of it, howbeit I intend not to build a new, but to worke on the line that I layd the last day in the later part of the Sermon.

Rod. Agric. lib. 3. Dial. cap. 3. Againe. Contrariorū affectus discutimus contrarijs affectibus; you remember they are the wordes of Rodulphus Agrico­la. As in the diseases of the bo­dy, so in the affections of the minde, the cure for the most part it is wrought by the con­trary. So that with this dou­ble Exhortation, we are to take away a twofold evill. First, the joy that is enmity with this in my text, The joy of the world; The sport unto him that is de­stitute of wisdome, The crack­ing of thornes; The mirth or indeed the madnesse of fooles. And on the other side, The sore evill under the Sunne; The su­preame sicknesse of the soule, Sorow; which, as it is the rot­tennesse of the bones, as it breaketh the strength, as it dry­eth [Page 119] the marrow, as it drinketh up the spirit; so it taketh pos­session of all in the whole, and all in every part. So that, as the Physitian of the body, so wee of the soule are most trou­bled about the cure thereof; for besides the inherency, be­sides the deepnesse of the dis­ease, there is an inaptitude, more there is an Antipathy, an opposition of health in the patient.Consol ad Mar. cap. 5. Partem mali putant au­dire solatia, sayth the Stoicke of such as are overwhelmed with anguish. Doe but administer comfort unto them, and you make the breach the greater; do but speake of joy, & though you seeke to asswadge, yet in their opinion you doe but increase their griefe. As hee that taketh away a garment in cold weather, [Page 120] and as vineger vpon niter; Prov. 25.20 so is hee that singeth songs vnto an heavie heart. Proverbs, 25.20. See how uncomfortable (That word not enough) how refrac­tory, how contumacious is the griefe of an afflicted Soule. They say of sorrow that it is an oppression, a straightning, a con­striction of the heart; so indeed and it should seeme so of the senses also. Hence I suppose that in respect of the sullenness, or indeed the stupidity of sor­row is that figure Prosopopeia, of speaking to things inanimate, such as have neyther eyes nor see not, neyther eares nor heare not, neyther passeth their breath through their nostrils, so obvi­ous and common in the word of the Lord. Sing O yee hea­vens, Esay, 44.23 for the Lord hath done it; [Page 121] showt yee lower parts of the earth; breake forth into singing O yee mountaines; Esa. 49.13. O Forrest and every tree therein; for the Lord hath redeemed, and glorified himselfe in Israel. Esa. 44.23. So in the 49. Chapter, and 13. verse. In exprobation of their diffidence and feare; because of their sor­row and distrust hee turnes a­side to his creatures, he speakes unto thinges without sense, as if they would sooner heare than the distressed Soule. Sing, O heaven, and bee ioyfull O earth, and breake forth into singing O yee mountaines; for God hath com­forted his people, and will have mercy vpon the afflicted. But Syon sayd; The Lord hath for­saken me, and the Lord hath for­gotten mee. It is the true dia­lect of the Male-content, of the [Page 122] disconsolate Christian, that hee is not in the state of Grace, that the deliverer is farre from him, that the Lord hath cast him out of his sight, that hee is desti­tute, forlorne, and forsaken: and so long; though you have the tongue of the Eloquent, though your lippes drop like an hony-combe, though your mouth flow with the precious balme of Gilead, all your con­solations they are but as deli­cates powred upon a mouth that is shut up. They are but as messes of meate upon a Grave, Ecclus. 30.18. as the Sonne of Syrach speaketh.

You have now the nature of Sorow, a full expression of the anguish of the Spirit, it is deafe and stupid, it is both obstinate and stubborne, and yet wee may not despaire of the cure [Page 123] thereof, nor sinne against God in ceasing to administer medi­cine for to heale their sicknesse. What if the Earth bee of yron, shall the Heavens bee brasse? God forbid. Let them rather melt with compassion, let them rather dissolue into showers, let them water the hilles from a­boue, let them make soft the cloudes thereof with the drops of the former & the later raine. Gutta cavat lapidem. So without doubt the assiduity of consola­tion, the continuall dropping of comfort, it cannot but peirce through sorow, it cannot but en­ter into the most obstructedst heart. And therefore as the raine cōmeth downe, & the snow frō heaven, and turneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and ma­keth it to bring forth and bud,Esa. 55.10. [...] [Page 126] Ne (que) enim bonis mediocribus gau­dent, Latinus Pa­catus inter Plinij opera. qui exultandi modum non habent. They are no meane thinges (the object in Grace it alwayes exceeds the affection) they are no meane thinges that can cause an indificient, a bound lesse and unlimitted Ioy. All gold (as the supposed Salomon of wisedome) it is as a little sand, and silver well may bee accompted even as clay be­fore them. They are the first fruits of the Spirit; they are peace, tranquility of minde; they are the testimony of a good Conscience, they are quietnesse and assurance for e­ver.August. in Psal. 57. Et qui in viâ sic pascit; quo­modò in patria saginabit? Sayth St. Augustine. Hee that feeds us in Aegypt; hee that in the wildernesse, in a dry and barren [Page 127] land where no water is, gives us drinke out of a Rocke. O what will he do when we come unto Canaan, when wee shall tast of his cup & drinke of the wine that hee hath mingled. Then shal our joy be full prest, & run­ning over; it is so already, it shall then be more, more than the repetition, more than the amplification can expresse. Our hearts shall bee inlarged as the Sea; our soules shall be satisfied with the plenteousnesse of his house; and hee shall give us drink out of his pleasures as out of a river.Chris. Aur. Cat. Maiora erunt premia quam desideria Sanctorum. The satiety of Saints shall be more than their hunger, their happi­nesse shall out-reach their de­sires. Thus much of the Repe­tition. Againe.

I proceed to the person ex­horting expressed, or at least implyed in the Verbe, I say; Dilectus meus locutus est. It is the voyce of my beloved, Cant. 2.8. the voyce of GOD and not of man, of him that speakes by the mouth of the Prophets, and Apostles, who are all but the pen of that ready writer. What they have received from him, they deli­ver unto us; and they that are anoynted with the Spirit, they know who it is that speaketh, his sheepe they heare his voice; If any man thinke himselfe to bee a Prophet or Spirituall, 1 Cor. 14.37 let him ac­knowledge that the thinges that I write vnto you, they are the com­mandements of the Lord. 1. Co­rinth. 14.37. See, the wordes of the Apostle they are the Ora­cles of GOD; and if so, as so [Page 129] without doubt, heare another ingemination, The repetition and more, the double exhorta­tion, it speakes not with so much power as the person. I. For the Sonnes of men wee know what they are,Iob. 13.4. Physitians of no value, sayth that upright and Iust man.Iob. 16.2. Miserable com­forters are they all. I looked on my right hand, (sayth the Pro­phet DAVID) and there was no man that would know mee. Psa. 142.4, 5 I had no place for to flye vnto, no man cared for my Soule. So in the 69. Psalme, 21. verse. I loo­ked for some to have pitie vpon mee, but there was no man, neither found I any to comfort mee.

Now for our selves: though wee are all right deare in our owne eyes; though benevolous [Page 130] and well affected to felicity and joy. Yet there is no man that quickeneth his owne soule; all consolation it is from without. If I said I will for­get my complaint (sayth IOB,Iob, 9.27, 28.) I will leaue off my heavinesse and comfort my selfe, I am afraid of all my sorowes. So the Prophet IEREMY: When I would comfort my selfe against sorrow, my heart is faint within me. Ierem. 8.18.Ier. 8 18. The true nature of griefe, it is so with all those that are in an­guish, of spirit; as they that are fallen they need another mans hand for to lift them up. O how happie then are wee that are raised from the gates of death, that are comforted on euery side, not of others, not of our selves, but by the God of all consolation and peace. I say: [Page 131] there is power and spirit, there is authority, there is life and emphasis in the word; and hee that speakes it with a double expression, will haue it deepely to be observed of vs. I, even I am hee that comforteth thee, who art thou that thou shouldest bee a­fraid? Esay, 51.12.Esa. 51.12. Afraid of man, sayth the Prophet. I may adde principalities and powers, such as neyther slumber nor sleepe. The girdle of their loynes is not loosed, nor the latchet of their shooes broken. Their wheeles are like a whirle­winde, and their charriots as swift as the winges of an Eagle. Who art thou, that thou shouldst bee afrayd of all the armies of hell? Are the conso­lations of God small with thee, said Eliphaz vnto Iob. Chap. 15. v. 11.Iob, 15.11. [Page 132] Were our estate as his, were our griefe throughly weighed, and layd in the ballances toge­ther; yet behold a farre more excellent, a farre more immense and ponderous weight of Ioy. Hee that comforteth those that are cast downe, hee thinkes to­wards vs thoughts of peace, and with all earnestnesse he expres­seth the same. Heare the word of the Lord yee that tremble at his word, Feare thou not, for I am with thee; bee not dismaid, for I am thy God, I will strengthen, I will helpe thee, yea I will vphold thee with the right hand of my righteousnesse. Esay, 41.10.Esa. 41.10.

See, how full, how copious is the consolation of the Lord? But not a world of wordes, not the tongue of men and Angels can expresse it so much as the [Page 133] person, as this one thing, that tis his.Prov. 27.9. Oyntment and perfume they reioyce the heart, sayth Sa­lomon: so doth the sweetnesse of a mans friend; how much more the consolation of Hea­ven? The sweetnesse of the Lord himselfe: Anima lique sacta est, Cant. 5.6. My soule melted when my beloued spake. Cant. 2.14. His voyce it is sweet and his countenance lovely. The friend of the Bridegroome which standeth and heareth him reioyceth greatly because of the bridegroomes voyce.Ioh. 3.29. So at all times, but especially when his voyce of joy,Psal. 137.4. which with us upon earth is as a Song of Syon in a strange Land, in the world you shall have affliction, while by the waters of Baby­lon, untill the Lord turne a­gaine the captivity of his peo­ple. [Page 134] It is the Antheme of the Enemy, for the most part wee heare of nothing but trouble and distresse. But bee it, as the Sonne of Syrach speaketh,Ecclus. 40.20. that Wine and musicke reioyce the heart; Esa. 9.3. or as the Prophet Esay. That there bee a Ioy in harvest, or of those that divide the spoile. All these, if the comforter that should relieve our Soule bee farre from us, all these they are nothing at all. Domino privan­te suo gaudio, Cyril. Alex­andrinus. quodnam potest esse gaudium? (saith St. Cyril,) If the Lord deprive us of the joy that is his, alas what is our joy? What but sorow? But anguish and bitternesse of spirit? And on the other side: If hee that comforteth the wast places of Hie­rusalem; If hee that satiates the weary Soule make vs for to heare [Page 135] of Ioy and gladnesse: when hee gi­veth quietnesse, who then can make trouble: Iob, 34.29.Iob. 34.29. Though the earth bee moved, and though the hilles be carried into the middest of the Sea,Psal. 46.2, 3, 4. though the waters thereof rage and swell, though the moun­tains shake at the tempest of the same. The riuers of the floud, the consolations of heauen shall make glad the cittie of God. I am hee that comforteth thee, who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid? I say Reioyce. So somtimes within by the same spirit that maketh intercession for vs with sighs that cannot be uttered, he comforteth us in all our griefes, hee makes us glad with the joy of his countenāce; he prophesieth good things and speaketh peace to our Soules. [Page 136] So that wee may not say now as the Children of Israell unto MOSES. Speake thou with vs and wee will heare, but let not the Lord speake vnto vs, Exod. 20.19 least wee dye. Nay rather let the Lord (his voyce it is not of Law but of Gospell, it is of Ioy not of feare.) Let the Lord, as a man with his friend, speake vnto vs, face to face. Or, which is the same, let his spirit talke and communicate with our spirit, that our joy might be full. Be­hold hee doth this, and more also: he speakes not only with­in, but his voyce it soundeth in our eares from without; from his word; from the ministers of the manifold graces of God; from the disposers of the un­searchable riches of the Gos­pell.

1 First, for his Word; It is al­most as his voyce. (As in the vision of ELIAH,1. King. 19.12. There was a soft and still voyce, and the Lord (as the Text doth imply) was in it.) So in the word of God, e­specially of Peace, GOD in ef­fect is that Word: and there­fore it speaketh with Spirit and power, it is mighty and lively in operation, it puts more glad­nesse into our hearts, than their wine and oyle, than all that the Earth can yeeld. Thy wordes were found and I did eate them. And, thy word was vnto mee the Ioy and reioycing of mine heart, Ierem. 15.16.Ier. 15 16. You have seene how in the water, face answeres face, so doth the effect resem­ble the word of the Lord. Dou­ble the Exhortation of Ioy, and so the Eccho vnto it double. [Page 138] In Gods word, Psal. 56.10. will I reioyce; In the Lords word will I comfort me, saith the sweet Singer of Israel. Who for all his Instruments of musicke, had not his delight, had not his joy beene in the Law of the Lord, had not his Statutes beene his Songs in the house of his pilgrimage, he had utterly fainted; in his owne phrase, hee had perished in his trouble. Heavinesse in the heart of man maketh it stoope, Prov. 12.25 but a good word maketh it glad, sayth that wise King. So that from the lips of a friend, so and much more; if from the father of raine, if from him that hath be­gotten the drops of dew;Iob, 38.24. and therefore in the multitude of the sorrowes that he had in his heart, in his anxiety and distresse hee flies not to his Lute and [Page 139] Harpe (the Pipe and the Psaltery make sweet musicke;Eccles. 40.21. but a plea­sant tongue is beyond them both) he flyes not (I say) vnto these, but vnto that, which is beyond the choyce in the booke of the Preacher of men-singers and women-singers, beyond musicall Instruments, and that of all sorts, the word of the Lord.Psal. 119. part 4. v. 4. My soule melteth away for very heavinesse. O comfort thou mee according to thy word. And againe in a branch of the same Psalme, O thinke vpon thy ser­uant as concerning thy word, Par. 7.1, 2. v where in thou hast caused mee to put my trust. The same is my comfort in my trouble, for thy word hath quickeneed mee.

So there is a vivification, there is a resurrection, there is as it were a raysing from the dead [Page 140] in the faith of the truth, in the affiance of all those promises that are Yea and Amen. The words that hee spake they were spirit and life. And therefore as Peter sayd sometimes; Whither or to whom shall wee goe, Ioh. 6.68. thou hast the wordes of Eternall life. In the day of distresse, in the evill houre, when wee are destitute, afflicted, and tormented; where should wee solace our selues, where may wee finde any ease, but in the word of mercy and truth, but in the word of the Lord?Sen. Epist. 99, 172 Infantium fletum infuso lacte compescimus, sayth Seneca. And our obseruation the same: wee still the cry, we take away the teares of our little ones, with the bosome, with the brest of the Mother. So (grace in this it imitates Nature) in the an­guish [Page 141] of the Soule, in the bit­ternesse of Spirit, to silence our sorrowes, to quiet discontent, wee have no other meanes, but the sincere milke of the Word. Mater Ecclesia, Aug. Tract. 3 in Epist. Io­hannis. Sub Initio. & vbera eius duo testamenta divinarum Scrip­turarum, sayth St. Augustine. The Church is our Mother, her breasts are the two Testaments of the Scriptures, whence shee giveth her children sucke. In ef­fect, wee have the same simili­tude in the Prophet Esay. Esa. 66.13. As one whom his Mother comforteth, so will I comfort you. Heare this, yee that mourne in Syon. Come hither all yee that are weary and heavie laden. In the evill day, in the heat of afflicti­on, in what estate soever you are; Loe, a hiding place from the winde,Esay, 32.2. a covert from a [Page 140] [...] [Page 141] [...] [Page 142] tempest, a shadow of a rocke in a weary Land. Wee haue Moses and the Prophets, more wee haue Evangelists and the Apo­stles, we haue a Mother that we may sucke and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolation,Esay, 66.11. as the Prophet speaketh.

2 Now for the nursing Fathers: they are the Pastors of the Church, they are the Embassa­dors of heauen, they are the Preachers of the Gospell, by whom the God of all consola­tion administers comfort, and speakes peace vnto the wounded in spirit.Zach. 4.12. They are as the olive branches in the Prophet Zacha­rie, which our of the golden pipes empty the golden oyle out of themselues. They are as the Clouds.Eccles. 11.3 Ecclesiastes, 11. full of raine, that water the earth. They are as the Mountaines in [Page 143] Ioel, that drop new wine,Ioel, 3.18. and as the hilles, that flow with milke. In a word;Esa. 61.1. the Comforter him selfe, the Spirit of the Lord is upon them,Esa. 50.4. hee hath anoynted them that may know how to speake a word in his season vnto him that is weary;Esay, 61.2. to preach good tydings to the meeke,Eccl. 17.24. to comfort those that faile in pati­ence, to repayre the breach, to strengthen with the mouth; and as that vpright & just man spea­keth,Iob, 16.5. with the moving of the lips to asswage greife. To cause the widowes heart, or that w^ch is far more afflicted,Iob, 29 13. to cause the contrite and broken to sing, to raise vp the soule, to giue life,Eccles. 34.17. health, and blessing. All these thinges worketh one and the selfe same spirit; by that which hee hath shed forth among us, [Page 144] by the words that hee hath put into the mouth of his Sonnes of consolation, of the helpers of your joy, so are they stiled by Saint Paul, 2. Cor. 1.24 although in your o­pinion not so; but supercilious and austere, the very death of your feasts, and the interrupters of your mirth. For this cause, as if they were made to reprove your thoughts,Wisd. 2.14, 15. as if they were grievous unto you to behold, as if their lives were of another fashion; when you would for­get your sorrowes, when you would bee excused of the up­braidings of your Conscience, when you would shake off the terrours of the Soule, you seeke the society of vaine men; you joyne your selves (as if Sathan could cast out Sathan) unto those that can preach of Wine [Page 145] and strong drinke, they shall be even the Prophets of this peo­ple; unto those that laugh their sinnes out of countenance, and deride the sorrowes and Repen­tance of the righteous. But a­las (beloved) what mirth, but shall bee turned into sorrow, what mirth, but that which is the bread of mourners, all that eate thereof shall bee poluted,Hos. 9.4. can this laughter of Fooles ad­minister unto you? Would you exile discontent? Doe yee seeke after joy?Ecclus. 9.16 Let the Iust man (as the Son of Syrach spea­keth) let the iust man eate and drinke with you. 2 Cor. 12.14 Or at least (for I will not (sayth St. Paul) bee bur­thensome vnto you,) doe you so with him. Eate of his bread and drinke of the wine that he hath mingled.Prov. 11.5. His lippes (O how [Page 146] sweet is his breath) they a­bound with consolation and joy; and therefore how can you but affect his communica­tion and society?2 Sam. 18.27. Hee is a good man (as DAVID sayd of AHA­MAAZ) hee is a good man and commeth with good tydings. He is a medicine of life (as the Sonne of Syrach speaketh of a faithfull friend) and they that feare the Lord shall finde him.Eccles. 6.16 Slight him as much as you may,Iob, [...]9.25. hee is as a King in an Ar­my, saith IOB; As one that comforteth the mourners, hee strengthens the weake hands, hee confirmes the feeble knees;Esa. 35.3, 4. hee sayth to them that be of a fearefull heart,Esa. 21.14. be strong, feare not; he brings wine to the thir­sty, and prevents those that faint for bread.

These (beloved) such are they whose wayes are grievous unto you; the Preachers of peace, the ministers of the Spi­rit. And how is it then, will some man say? Nay, it is the demaund of the Lord himselfe: How is it that the health of the Daughter of my people is not reco­vered? Ier. 8.22. Iob, 24.12. Behold the teares of the oppressed, and they have no Com­forter; men groane out of the Citie, and the soule of the wounded cryeth out; There is Lamentation and mourning, there are sighs even to the brea­king of the loynes; There are threnes of the poore in spirit; and yet, as if they may not bee comforted, as if their wounds were incurable, there is none to binde them up.Ier. 30.13. Esa. 1.6. They have no healing medicines, [Page 148] as the Prophet speaketh, for such as should bee Physitians in Israel, they are as St. Cyprian saith of Novatian; they are like the Levite or the Priest in the Gospell, that are so farre from powring Oyle into the wounds of the poore Samaritane,Cyprian ad Novationum Haereticum Epist. Vt Ingeniosâ & novâ potiùs crudeli­tate occiderent. They speake the piercings of swords; their teeth are speares and arrowes, and their lips of knives, nothing but Law and that louder than Synai, nothing but thundring, but a storme and tempest is sounded in the eares of the brui­sed Spirit, in the hearing of the wounded Soule.Plinij Epist. lib. 20. [...], as Pliny hath it of Pericles. Such sonnes of Thunder as these. Solatium ae­ternae spei adimunt, arborem à ra­dice [Page 149] subvertunt, Cyprian. navem ad scopu­los ne perveniat illidunt. They take away all hope of salvation; They overturne the tree by the rootes; They dash the ship least it should come to the ha­ven where it should bee, they dash it against the rockes: If the Lord be angry, yea but a little, they helpe forward the afflicti­on, they binde one evill to ano­ther, they persecute him whom sinne hath smitten, and they talke how they may vexe those whom their owne Conscience have wounded. So that in the labour of Repentance, in the travell of contrition, to multi­ply sorowes there are they that are ready to strangle the fruit of the Soule. I have heard a voyce, Ier. 4 31. as of a woman in travell, (sayth the Lord) as of her that bringeth [Page 150] forth her first Child, saying; The voyce of the Daughter of Sy­on, Ier. 4 31. that bewayleth herselfe, that spreadeth her hands, saying; Woe is mee because of murderers. Ier. 4 3 [...]. There are such as these even untill this very day; there are man-slayers of the Soule; there are bloudy Preachers, that if it were possible would mur­ther Saints themselves with the edge of their wordes, their tongues that are set on fire of hell; That speake nothing but despaire, nothing but death and destruction. And what then, beloved? What shall we judge of these? Doe they bring ty­dings from a farre Countrey? Are they come out from God? No, they bring a vision of their owne, and not of the mouth of the Lord, whose song it is of [Page 151] Mercy and Iudgment:Psal. 101.1. Though of Iudgement, a Song; and for the most part his mercy rejoy­ceth against it.Iam. 2.13.

Heare, I pray you, how hee bemones his people?Ierem. 8.22. Is there no balme in Gilead? Is there no Phy­sitian in Israel? And againe: these thinges are come vpon thee; Esa. 51.19. desolation, and destruction and the famine, & the sword, by whom shall I comfort thee? How much more is hee solicitous about the con­solation of those that are prest aboue measure, that are crusht with the weight of their sinnes, that are affrighted with the hor­ror of hell? With a feareful ex­pectation not of these light and momentany, not of temporall but eternall judgments? To him that is afflicted pitty should bee shewed from his friend, so sayth [Page 152] Nature it selfe;Iob, 6.14. So Grace; So the Lord by the mouth of his ser­uant Iob. How much more is it his pleasure in a case of consci­ence, that the plaister should couer the wound. That conso­lation should spread, and effec­tually answeare the anguish of the Soule, the sorrow of his Saincts. Hence the large, the ex­undant command to his Pro­phet,Esa. 33.21. hence that place of broad waters and streames, Comfort yee, Comfort yee my people, sayth your God:Esa. 40.1, 2. Speake ye comfortably to Hierusalem. And againe, O Hie­rusalem that bringest glad tydings lift vp thy voyce, Esay, 40 9. lift it vp with strength. Now (beloued) you haue the person exhorting. I say. First, hee speakes by him­selfe. Secondly, hee speakes by his word. And thirdly, by those [Page 153] that tread out the new wine, by those that breathe (as it were) the Holy ghost vpō vs. So you Vse, 1 see (to vse the wordes of the Apostle) how on euery side hee confirmes his loue towards you. 2. Cor. 2.8. And how then (to make some vse of the poynt) how shall we grieue that God, that comfor­teth vs in all our griefes? how shall wee doe despight vnto the Spirit that at all times, that in euery place administers joy and consolation vnto vs. Doe yee remember how inhumane was the Act of Haman in the 2. Sam. when David sent to comfort him by the hand of his seruants. Hee returned hatred for his good­will. 2 Sam. 10.4 Hee euill intreated the mes­sengers. Hee shaued the halfe of their beards, and cut off their gar­ments in the middle.

Beloved; as much as in vs lyes wee doe the same: The same, and more also. When with sinnes of malice wee affront his goodnesse. When wee oppose with presumptuous wicked­nesse the comforts that hee ad­ministers vnto vs, wee doe de­spight (that is the word) we doe despight vnto the spirit of Grace, and so to our selues wee sinne against our owne Soules. So that instead of a comforter, for joy and gladnesse what can wee expect, but a trembling heart, but fayling of eyes and so­row of mind? What can we ex­pect but the same which hap­pened vnto Hanun, and more also.Sen. Epist. That the Lord (vt à nobis tractatur, ita nos tractat.) That the Lord set himselfe in array against vs, that hee muster vp [Page 155] his charriots and come foorth with all his armies that are crea­ted for vengeance. They rebelled (saith the Prophet of the house of Israel) they rebelled and vexed his Spirit. Heare what imme­diately followes: Therefore was hee turned to bee their ene­my, and fought against them. Esa. 63.10.Esay, 63.10

Vse, 2 The next use we are to make of the point, it is in our straites, in our sorrow and distresse to have recourse unto the author, unto the Orator of our joy. When I am in heavinesse I will thinke vpon God; Psal. 77.4. (sayth he that had as much as a Kingdome can yeeld for to comfort his soule) but all these things (it should seeme) they were not enough to make him to forget his sorrow. Are there among the vanities of [Page 156] the Gentiles that can cause raine; Ier. 14.22. (sayth the Prophet Ieremy) or can the heathens giue showers. So may I say of the pleasures of Pharaohs Court, of the delights of the Sonnes of men; Are there any but are cloudes without water, any that can power out comfort, and drop the least consolation and joy? Behold and condole the deplored estate of the daughter of Syon. She wepeeth sore (sayth the Prophet) in the night, Lam. 1.2. and the teares are on her checkes. Among all her louers shee hath none to comfort her, all her friends haue dealt trea­cherously with her. They are become her enemies. It is the case of all such as haue emptyed themselues from vessell to ves­sel; that haue liued in pleasure; That haue walked according to [Page 157] the desires of the flesh in the time of visitation, in the day of affliction. So farre are their fa­miliar friends, so farre are the sinnes, the vnfruitful workes of vnrighteousnesse from wiping away teares, from speaking of peace, from preaching joy and gladnesse vnto them that they power out their gall vpon the ground, they breake them with breach vpon breach, they wound to the soule, and tor­ment them with their owne abominations. Heare the conso­lation of pleasure, heare the comfort of Sinne. Walke in the light of the fire, & in the sparkes that yee haue kindled. This shall you haue at my hands;Esa. 50.11. you shall lye downe in your Sorowes. Now for the Creatures. Say that the soule turne vnto them, [Page 158] as IOB of his friends,Iob 16.2. mise­rable comforters are they all, not able to affoord the least consolation unto it. Quocun­que se convertit in rebus ter­renis amaritudinem Invenit, August. in Psal. 45. vndè dulcescat non habet, nisi levet se ad Deum: sayth St. AVGVSTINE on the Psalmes. Which way soever it turneth it findeth nothing but vexation and bitternesse, it hath no joy in any thing under the Sunne, unlesse it lift it selfe up to the Lord. Wherefore when thine heart is vexed within thee. When thou lookest for some to have pitie upon thee, and there is no man, no sinne, no pleasure, no Creature to comfort thee; Acquaint thy selfe with GOD; Iob, 22.27. as ELI­PHAZ [Page 159] sayd unto IOB, and so shall GOD come vnto thee. For the World it cryeth, E­go deficiam; I will leave you. The Flesh, Ego inficiam, (saith Saint BERNARD,Bernard.) I will cor­rupt you. The Devill, E­go interficiam, I will destroy you; Let us heare now what the Lord will say to our Soule. Ego Reficiam. Come unto mee all yee that are weary and hea­vie laden, and I will refresh you. Dico, Gaudete. Againe, I say, Reioyce.

Vse, 3 I should now speake accor­ding to the nature thereof, with dilatation of the point or effection exhorted, but I am straightned with time so, that I can but onely touch upon it. It was the beginning, it is [Page 160] the end of the verse.Arth Eth. 7 Finis Ar­chitectus, saith the Philosopher. It is that which sets all our ac­tion on foot.Aquinas. The first in inten­tion; and in effect, in operation. The first, in euery worke; and therefore it should seeme it is the same with felicitie, it is the soule of that which wee affect with our soules. O how happy then are wee? How good and gracious is the Lord, that spurs nature with grace? That addes winges to the Doue? That so earnestly incites vs vnto that, which we affect of our selues? The most supreame and sove­raigne good, or at least the af­fection which makes it so unto us,Neh. 8.10. It is our strength (sayth Nehe­miah.) The gladnesse of the heart,Ecclus. 30.22. it is the life of man, (sayth the Sonne of Syrach.) It doth [Page 161] good like a medicine, Prov. 15.15 it is a conti­nuall feast, sayth the wise King. Yet all these they speake not so much as our Saviour. Hitherto have yee asked nothing in my Name. Aske, Ioh. 16.24. and yee shall re­ceive, that your Ioy may bee full. Gaudium plenum petant, August. in Iohan. saith St. Augustine upon St. Iohn. Quo­niam si aliquid aliud petant, idem aliquid nihil est. Let them aske, that their joy might be full; for whatsoever they shall crave be­sides this, it is not worth the asking, in comparison it is lesse than nothing unto it. O what shall wee render, what shall we say unto thee! O thou Preserver of men? Wee know that thou art more ready to give, than wee for to aske: Yet with the same earnestness that thou spea­kest unto us; (Seeke yee my [Page 162] face; Thy face Lord will I seeke:) with the same earnest­nesse wee pray unto thee. Grant us (O thou Father of every good and perfect guift, Iam 1.17.) grant us joy­fulnesse of heart, and that peace may be in our dayes,Ecclus. 50.23. and in thy Israel for Ever. This is not e­nough: Though wee are lesse than the least of thy blessings, give us yet more; what wilt thou give us? More than peace and plenty, more than their Wine and Oyle, more than the beasts on a thousand hilles. O Remember vs with thy favour, Psa. 106.4, 5 visit vs with thy Salvation; that wee may see the felicitie of thy chosen, and reioyce with their Ioy, the joy of thy salvati­on, and establish us with thy free Spirit. To whom, with thee (O Father) and the Sonne. [Page 163] Three persons, and one God, bee all Land, Power, Praise, Majesty, might, and Domi­nion, both this day, and for Ever­more. AMEN, AMEN.