Deuout contemplations expressed in two and fortie sermons vpon all ye quadragesimall Gospells written in Spanish by Fr. Ch. de Fonseca Englished by. I. M. of Magdalen Colledge in Oxford

THE TENTH SERMON, VP∣ON THE FRYDAY AFTER THE FIRST SVN∣DAY IN LENT. (Book 10)

IOANNIS. 5.1.

Erat dies Festus Iudaeorum, & erat Hierusalem probatica piscina.

There was a Feast of the Iewes, and there is at Ierusa∣lem by the place of the Sheepe, a Poole.

* 1.1AMongst those many other Fish-pooles which belonged to Ierusalem, (besides those which Salomon had made for his own particular vse and pleasure, Extruxi mihi Piscinas aqua∣rum, I made Cisternes of water, &c.) this of all the rest was the most famous. Iosephus calls it, Stagnum Salomonis, be∣cause it was built by this King, neere vnto the Temple, for the seruice of sacred things: it was a Poole that was wal∣led round about, whereunto your heards and flockes of cattell could not come; and some say, That this was the place where the Priests hid the holy Fire which Nehemias afterwards found to bee conuerted into a thicke water. It was walled round about, and had fiue seuerall open porches full of diseased people, some of one infirmitie, and some of another.

This Hospitall ioyned to the backe of the Temple, to shew, that the poore haue no other prop in this life to vphold them, saue Gods backe; this must bee their strength, hereunto must they leane: it is our Sauiours shoulders that must not onely beare vs vp, but our infirmities, by taking them vpon himselfe.

In Saint Chrysostomes time, the Hospitals were set apart from the Temples, for feare of receiuing infection from those contagious diseases: For the poore did lie like so many Dogges, at the doores of Gods house. A Theefe, that he may the better enter that house where there are many doggs, holds it his best course,

to stop their mouths with somthing or other: We are all Theeues, and that we may enter peaceably into Gods House, there is no better meanes, than to giue something to the poore, which like so many Dogges lie at the gate. Twice in the Old Testament hath God commanded, That no man should petition him with emptie hands; [Non apparebis in conspectu meo vacuus.* 1.2] And Saint Chryso∣stome expounding this place, saith, He enters emptie handed, who comming to craue something of God, doth not first bestow an Almes vpon the poore; ac∣cording to that rule of our Sauior Christ, What yee shall doe to one of these little ones, &c. Citing likewise for confirmation of this Doctrine, that place of Ecclesia∣sticus, Ante Orationem, prepara animam tuam, Before thou prayest, prepare thy self, &c.* 1.3 When thou hast enough, remember the time of hunger; and when thou art rich, thinke vpon pouertie and need. To shew pittie to the poore,* 1.4 he termes it Animae preparationem, A preparing of the soule: And it is not much, that God should take pleasure therein, seeing men are so well pleased therewith. I will appease him with gifts, saith Iacob, when he went forth to meet his brother Esau. And Ester comming before Assuerus to beg a boone at his hand, it is said, That one of her maids of Honour bare vp her arme, and the other, her traine. This is a Type of Prayer, accompanied with Fasting and Almes-deeds; which two, are able to ne∣gotiate any thing with God: and where there is such an Ester, there is not any Assuerus (though neuer so great) who will not bow the Scepter of his mercie to∣wards her. Ecclesiasticus saith, Giue an almes to the poore, and it shall entreat for thee, and preuaile.

There is in Ierusalem by the place of the Sheepe, a Poole.* 1.5 God did honour his Temple with this Poole, where there was a perpetuall prouision for health; and it was a prouidence full of conueniencie, that God should conferre his fauours where his name is praysed, and that Man should receiue them there where hee praiseth him. Te decet Hymnus Deus in Syon, tibi reddetur votum in Hierusalem, In Syon, ô Lord, they sing Hymnes vnto thee; in Ierusalem they make their vowes; Open in these places the hands of thy bountie, Et replebimur in bonis domus tuae, And we shall bee filled with the good things of thy house. Amongst other fauours which God promi∣sed to his house, this was one, In loco isto dabopacem, ••n that place I will grant thee peace. The name of Peace intimateth all manner of good things whatsoeuer; here art thou to beg, and here to receiue the granting of thy petitions. And for this cause God calls his house the house of Prayer, which is ordained to begge those things of God which we stand in need of, and to praise him for what he giues, and we receiue.

The Court is the Worlds Epitome, an abreuiation, or short abridgement of this greater Vniuerse; for that it hath in it whatsoeuer is dispersed throughout the face of the earth. And this Poole is a figure of the Court: First of all, in this Poole there are a great many of sicke & diseased persons, & those of verie foule and filthie diseases, blind, wasted in their bodies, benumm'd, withered, lame, and maimed. Iacere▪ To lie, in Scripture is spoken of those that are dead, (as it ap∣peareth in Exodus, in the Booke of Tobias,* 1.6 and so of those that lie at the point of death) as likewise of Lazarus, when he lay at Diues his gate. So saith Saint Iohn in this place, Multitudo languentium iaceba••, i. There lay a great multitude of sicke men. In the Court there are a great many that lie sicke of diuers and sundrie dis∣eases of the Soule; an Apoplexy seiseth vpon all the sences of the bodie; one pretension or other possesseth the sences of the bodie, and the faculties of the Soule, and vpon all whatsoeuer belongs vnto man; as his honour, his wealth, his conscience, and truth, &c. This man came to the Poole benumm'd, and at

the end of thirtie eight yeares was more benumm'd than at first; and if our Sa∣uiour Christ had not helped him, it is probable he would haue perished. Many come to the Court, to recouer themselues of an infirmitie that followes them, called Pouertie; and after many yeares trauell, and paines taking, they prooue poorer than before, and oft die of that disease: whereas if they had bin conten∣ted with their former meane estate, they might perhaps not haue died so soone. And although they get the Office they pretend, yet doe they neuer come to be rich, because their profits doe not equall their charges. Seneca saith, That if these men would haue taken councell of those who haue tryed this poole some few yeares, they would alter their mind. If he that applies himselfe to the ser∣uice of Venus in his youth, would but follow the aduice of him who lies in his bed laden with the Pox, & hath not a bone in all his bodie that wishes him well, Vota mutasset, Hee would haue changed his vowes. If hee that desires to become a Courtier, will but hearken to him, who being chap-fallen and toothlesse, and ha∣uing spent all his life time in the seruice of the Court, goes away at last vnrewar∣ded, if not ill requited; Vota mutasset, He would haue altered his course. Besides, the diseases in Court are so foule and so vncurable, that it is a miracle, to see one of a thousand of them to be made whole: who, when the wind of Ambition and Pretension fit faire and prosperous vpon him, will change his Councellors robe, retyre himselfe from businesses of the world, put on an Hermits Weed, and in some solitarie Cell betake himselfe wholly to his deuotion? Who, beeing the Fauourite of a King, will not rather loose his life, than leaue the Court? Who that is sicke (like him of the Dropsie) of that insatiable infirmitie of Couetous∣nesse, will, in his treasuring vp of Riches, say at length, Now I haue enough▪

Secondly, In this Fish-poole all did liue in hope, Expectantium aquae motum, Weighting for the moouing of the water; Led along with this hope, they suffered much miserie, but other good had they none. By Osee God said to Israell, Dies multos expectabis me, I will cause thee, vt sperando, desperes, That thy hopes end in de∣spaire. The greatest torment that the Iewes suffer in this life, is, That al the types and figures of their hopes being past, (let them looke as long as they will for a Messias) in reuenge of their vnbeleefe, their vnderstandings are so blinded, that they still remaine condemned to wait vpon this idle hope.

By God Esay bewaileth & lamenteth that country which had placed her hopes in the multitude of her ships that she put forth to sea,* 1.7 [In vasis papyri super ••quas] persuading themselues, that their oares, their sailes, and their Vessells (which were no better than boats of paper, in Gods hands, which sinkes as soone as the water sokes through them) should bring them newes of comfort. And vttering forth this his sorrow for them, he addeth, Ite Angeli veloces ad gentem dilacerat••••, He would haue his Angells to betake them to their wings, to goe comfort this people; he sends them ad Gentem expectantem, a people that liued all vpon hope. Runne ouer the houses of all your Courtiers, and aske euerie particular man o•• them, How he liues▪ and he will tell you, That he liues vpon hopes. The Pre∣tender hopes, that he may see the water of the Fish-poole, that thereby some good fortune may befall him: The Theefe, he likewise would haue the waters mooue, that he might make a purchase to releeue his pouertie; your young wo∣men, some happie encounter, &c. Those that haue some to helpe them, make •• quicke dispatch of it; but hee that hath no bodie to stand his friend, must stay weighting some thirtie eight yeares, and then too in the end must haue the helpe of some miracle to heale him of his sickenesse.

Thirdly, In this Fish-poole they all weighted diligently, and were wonderfull

carefull and vigilant, when the water should mooue, and then did they rush in speedily, lest some other should preuent them and step in before them. In the Court your Pretenders stand attending with a great deale of care, when Offices are to be bestowed, and other prouisions granted forth, shouldring and shoouing one another, that others may not get the start of them, and clap in betwixt them and home. Seneca compares the Courtiers to Butchers Curres, who in the sham∣bles stand looking with a watchfull eye for some offalls of the intrailes that shall be throwne downe amongst them, for the which they fall together by the eares; but one hauing the mor••ell, and the other going whining away, &c.

Fourthly, He that was sped first in the Fish-poole, and had his pretension, left the rest sad and enuying his good fortune. So likewise in Court, hee that ob∣taines his pretension, causes such a sadnesse in the rest, that for many moneths af∣ter, all is cries and complaints, lamenting and finding fault with the inequality of the times, and how strangely things are carried, Hand (as they say) ouer head. He that pretends a Captains place, the gouernment of a Garrison Towne, or the keeping of a Fort, frets and fumes, when he knowes he hath done the State good seruice in the Warres, to see a Carpet Knight, that can better vse a Violl than a Sword, lead a measure with a Ladie than a Band of men, be preferred, and him∣selfe put by. So is it with your good Schollers, when they see Dunces carrie away their preferments from them: And so with the like, &c.

Fiftly, One Angell onely mooued the waters of the Fish-poole; but those waters of the Court, many Angells, or, to speake more properly, many Deuils must mooue them; and when one fauours, foure disfauour them: one mooues here, but many there trouble the waters; & to make so many mens wils to trem∣ble, is a grieuous torment. Abimileck the bastard sonne of Gideon,* 1.8 desirous to ty∣rannise the gouernment of Israell, alledged this reason to those of Sichem, Which seemeth better vnto you, That the seuentie sonnes of Gideon should rule ouer you, or one onely? And, which is the easier of the two, to submit a mans will to seuentie wils, or to one will only? King Achish out of this respect thrusts Dauid out of his Court; For myne owne part (said he) I like thee well enough, Sed Satrapis non placis, (i.) But thou art not pleasing to the Princes. In Court, a man must crowch and creepe to many: Happie is that man that negotiates with God, there is but one care to be taken, one onely good will to bee got. According to that of Tertullian, Vnum negotium mihi est, neque aliud curo. Gregorie N••zianzen addeth, That God beeing Vnus & solus, One, and onely one, to shew his sole com∣mand ouer vs; so did he also assume many names to himselfe, to giue vs thereby to vnderstand, that he was willing to affoord vs many fauours. Whereas the De∣uill takes a contrarie course; for hee inuented many gods to commaund in the world, but not any to doe them good.

Sixtly, In the Fish-poole men had their healths giuen them for nothing, so that it cost not the sicke one farthing: dealing with the Patient, as Heauen doth with the Penitent; who when he desires to embarke himselfe for that place, giues him his passage in the Ship of Repentance, free, and gratis, Gratis venundati estis, & sine argento redimemin••, Yee were sould freely, and yee shall be redeemed without mo∣nie. Hee is a kind Master of a Ship, who shall giue a man his fare for nothing: Our Sauiour Christ would aske no more of this sicke man, than his desire and willingnesse to be whole; [Vis sanus ••iers?] but in the Court, before thou com∣mest to the Fiat of thy pretension, thou hast eaten out thy cloake, and it is won∣der, if the courtesie quit the cost.

Seuenthly, The Angell that came to the Fi••h-poole (as all the Commentators

vpon this place haue it) was one and the same, no accepter of persons, but left euerie one to his owne diligence and industrie; and hee that could soonest get into the water, he was the man that was cured. Had he been an Angel of court, (as he was of Heauen) he must haue beene aduised some houres before his com∣ming, of the businesse, and peraduenture he would haue taken gifts and rewards not onely of those that were to haue their estate bettered by him, but of al other the Pretenders. And it were no ill councell, that there should be but one onely in Court, that should heale vs in this case, and not to haue them so often chan∣ged; for those which are put out remain fat and full, and those that newly come in, weake and hunger-staru'd. And as those Flies that are alreadie full doe lesse afflict the wounds of the Poore; so, &c. Baruch tells vs, That the Iewes that were in Babylon sent great store of money to those that were in Ierusalem, that they should pray vnto God for the life of Nabucadonazzar & Balthazar his son: And though this may seeme rather a tricke of Court, than otherwise, and to sa∣uour of flatterie; yet that which makes for our porpose, is, That they did desire the life of those Tirants, for feare lest God should send them worse in their stead. The like was spoken by a woman, to Dyonisius the Tyrant, whose death was ge∣nerally desired of all.

Angelus autem Domini descendebat de Caelo.

But the Angell of the Lord came downe from Heauen. The Angell did descend at certaine times, and with onely touching the Water, hee did inrich it with so powerfull a vertue, that no infirmitie was incurable for it. This water doth much expresse that health which the Saints enioy in Heauen: that drop of water which the rich man desired, doth much expresse its comfort and happinesse, for that the tip of the least finger dipped therein, was powerful enough to quench those euer∣lasting flames. It was much, that the water touched by the Angell should free all infirmities, and take away all the tormenting paines vpon earth; but how much (I pray) if this Angell were God? For the common receiued opinion is, (which is followed by Saint Austen) That God representing himselfe in the Old Testament in the forme of an Angell, or an Angell appearing in the person of God,* 1.9 saith, Ego Deus, nomen meum Iehouah, I am God, my name is Iehouah. And he said vnto Iacob, Cur quaeris nomen meum, quod est mirabile? Why inquirest thou aft•••• my name, which is is Wonderfull? And in verie deed, hardly could an Angell by his owne proper vertue and power, leaue the waters of the Fish-poole so rich, not being able to doe or vndoe any thing in nature, nor suddenly either to take away or adde accidents to any thing. And Saint Ambrose saith, That this Angell did represent the Holy Ghost, to whom are attributed the effects of Sanctification.

But suppose that it were not God himsel••e, nor any Minister representing his person,* 1.10 but one of those Angells which serue as Messengers to his Maiestie; this case is worth our consideration, if we will but looke vpon that which Go•• doth, and the loue which he sheweth to a poore sicke man, without helpe, negl••∣cted, and forgotten: he sends a Prince of his Pallace to heale him, and to set hi•• free from any disease whatsoeuer. God stileth the Angell, his Face, and his Countenance, [Praecedet te facies me••, My Face shall goe before him;] the rest of the creatures he calleth Vestigi•• Pedum suorum, The prints of his feet: And amongst these Vestigia, those that are benumm'd in their limmes, those that are sicke of the Palsey, and those that are Iame, seeme, sitting in their chaires, and vnable to goe, to be the verie dregs and off-scumme of the earth; now that God should com∣mand his Angells, that they should take vpon them the care of the Poore, & such

sillie wormes and poore snakes as they bee, is a great indeering of his loue to∣wards them: which made Saint Paul to say, Omnes sunt administratorij Spiritus, They are all ministring Spirits. To those of the Spirit it might verie well be;* 1.11 but that God should minister helpe to filthie, loathsome, and miserable flesh, God could not endure to doe such kindnesses, vnlesse hee had an especiall loue vnto them. The Scripture scarce any where makes mention of the righteous man that is afflicted here vpon earth, but, that an Angel comes from Heauen to com∣fort him: And for this, may suffice that generall Proclamation, Quod vni ex mi∣nimis meis fecistis, &c. What ye haue done to the least of mine, &c. This truth is made good vnto vs by many Histories; as that of Agar, Daniel, Tobias, Elias, and Io∣seph: Nay, to God himselfe an Angell came to comfort him, when he was so ful of sorrow and heauinesse in the Garden. And this was it that mooued the A∣postle to say, Gloriamur in tribulationibus, We glorie in tribulations: For there is no Loadstone that drawes the yron more vnto it, than Tribulation doth the Regalos and comforts of Heauen: And as the flame••worketh most vpon that wood which is trodden downe with the feet; so the glorie of God worketh most vpon that heart which is most oppressed, &c.

Mouebatur aqua, The water was mooued.

Saint Ambrose obserueth, That the moouing of the water did serue to ad∣uise the comming of the Angell: for little would his comming haue imported them, if the noyse thereof had not giuen them notice of it; for hidden treasure, and concealed wisedome, are neither vsefull nor profitable. And of this mira∣culous motion there may be rendred some naturall reason; for that wee see that your Lakes and your Pooles are more vnquiet, and naturally make more noyse, when there is much raine towards. Other literall and moral reasons are set down elsewhere vpon this place.

Sanabatur vnus, One was healed.

A Fish-poole, Porches, Angells, Water, Motion; What a do is here? Some men may thinke, that this is too large a circuit for so small a building. I answer,* 1.12 That with God it is as hard to heale one, as many; and he that can cure one man,* 1.13 who is a little world of himselfe, can with as much ease giue remedie to the greater. But those were barren yeares, and Gods mercie was yet in Heauen; [Misericordia Domini in Coelo, saith Dauid] and as before a great rain some few drops begin first to fall; so now at the stooping of the Heauens, at the breaking forth and showring vpon the earth the great mercies of God, it is no meruaile, that some small drops should precede. In barren yeres bread is giuen vs by oun∣ces; but if the haruest be fruitfull, whole loaues lie in euerie corner of the house. Before that God had inriched the earth with his presence, all those former yeres were barren, Grace and Health were giuen vs by drammes; but that yeare came at last which crowned all the rest, that blessed yere of his Maiesties diuine boun∣tie, Benedices coronae anni benignitatis tuae; then was Grace to the soule, and health to the bodie giuen vs, by Arrob's and by Quintalls; Quia virtus de illo exibat & sa∣nabat omnes. Whilest the night lasteth, though it be cleere, and the Moone shine bright, yet the light is short; but when the day is come, and the beames of the Sunne appeare, they beautifie the whole world with their light. All that time was night, Nox praecessit, &c.

Secondly, The shadow still comes short of the substance.* 1.14 The Fish-poole was a figure of Baptisme; it cured one to day, and another tomorrow; but Bap∣tisme

healed one, two, nay three thousand sometimes in one day, &c.

Qui prior descendebat.

He that first went downe. God would hereby teach vs what a thing Diligence was for the obtaining of the gifts of Grace; for albeit God doth of his owne goodnesse and free gift conferre his Graces vpon vs, without any merits or de∣seruings of our own (for else were it not Grace) yet doth he not bestow his bles∣sings on those who are not willing to embrace them, which will not seeke after them, and striue for to winne the Garland, as those doe that runne in a race: and as he that makes most speed gaines the Crown; so in the Fish-poole, he that made most hast got his health.

He that first went downe. Vidisti hominem velocem stauit coram Reges, Kings neuer reward lazie seruants. The like course God taketh; his greatest fauors he throws vpon those his seruants who set not their feet on the ground; for those that serue him in Heauen, he will haue them to be Spirits, and Flames of ••ire [Qui faci•• Angelos suos Spiritus,* 1.15 & Ministros suos Flammam ignis:] but those that serue him here vpon earth, he calls them Clouds, Qui sunt isti, qui sicut nubes volant?

He that first went downe, &c. This seemeth an vnequall Law, for that the dis∣position of the Sicke was not equall:* 1.16 for how could he that was benumm'd and lame of his feet, preuent the diligence of that man that had the vse of his leggs? and he that was consumed & wasted with weaknesse, him that was sick of a sligh∣ter disease? And those thirtie eight yeares of this poore sicke man, argue the great oddes that others had of him. Nor doe I know how this inequality may bee salued, vnlesse that the diligence of other folkes towards those that are thus grieuously afflicted, put to their helping hand, and seeke to ballance them (by their diligence) with those that haue lesse impediment: and therefore wan∣ting those good meanes, this poore man told our Sauiour, Hominem non habeo, I haue not a man.

Some men will say, That God is the giuer of temporall blessings, of health, wealth, honour, and what not; and that he doth no wrong in giuing or taking them away as he shall thinke fit: Suting with that which he said to the Labourer in the Vineyard, Amice, non facio tibi iniuriam; An non licet mihi facere quod volo? Friend, I offer thee no wrong; May I not doe with myne owne what I will? So that hee might, you see, giue this man a disposition to regaine his health, and hee might likewise not giue it him. Saint Paul saith, Vnus accipit brauium, One receiued the prize. In those your Races which were vsed amongst your Graecians and your Romans, many hoped to beare away the Garland; but this hope did belie all of them saue one: But in that Race which we runne for Heauen, Omnes qui rectè cur∣runt comprehendunt, All that runne well, doe gaine; it is Saint Augustines. And Saint Chrysostome declaring that place of Esay (Omnes sitientes, venite ad Aquas, All ye•• that thirst, come vnto the Waters) sayes, That hee animates all the world to come and drinke their fill, neuer fearing that that Fountaine of Grace can euer bee drawne drie.

Et erat homo triginta & octo annos habens in infirmitate.

The man had beene diseased thirtie eight yeares. Hee declares the long continu∣ance of his disease, to make the greatnesse of the miracle to appeare the more: as he said of Lazarus,* 1.17 when he had now beene foure dayes dead, Iam faetet, Hee doth alreadie stinke: and of the woman that had an Issue of bloud twelue yeares long, which had spent all her substance vpon Physitions, and could not be healed of

any: and that other, which had a Spirit of infirmitie eighteene yeares, and was bowed together, and could not lift vp her selfe in any wise:* 1.18 Whom some inter∣pret to be the Deuill, by those words of our Sauiour, This daughter of Abraham, whom Sathan hath bound.

Eight and thirtie yeares of sickenesse would require eight and thirtie yeares of meditation: And first of all, let vs consider, what a sad and miserable life this poore man led. Animus gaudens floridam vitam facit, spiritus tristis exsiccat ossa, A merrie life makes a cheerefull countenance▪ but that which is sad and mournfull withe∣reth the flesh; and not onely consumes the outward beautie, but also rotteth the bones. Another Letter hath it, Animus gaudens benefacit medicina,* 1.19 A ioyfull heart causeth good health; but a sorrowfull mind drieth the bones: A joccond mind dispo∣seth the body as physicke; nor is there any physicke for man comparable to that of Ioy. According to that which the Wise man saith in another place, Nihil aliud sub Coelo, quam laetari & benefacere, To make a cheerefull countenance, there is no∣thing vnder Heauen like to a ioyefull heart;* 1.20 but by the sorrow of the heart the mind is heauie, In moerore animi deijcitur spiritus; another Letter giues it, Frangi∣tur: a man is broken thereby, and grownd in pieces as corne vnder a millstone. Ecclesiasticus renders the reason of it, painting forth the condition of a heauy and sorrowfull soule; Sicut in percursura tritici permanebit stercus, &c. As when one sif∣teth, the filthinesse remaineth in the sieue; so the filth of a man remaineth in his thought:* 1.21 For as the woman that winnoweth the corne, leaues nothing in the sieue but the chaffe; (which is as it were farinae stercus, The dung of the meale) so, if you will but sift the thought of a sorrowfull man, (which is as it were the sieue) and throughly winnow his good and euill dispositions, the good ones quickly runne from him, and the bad remaine behind. But what ioy can a man take that lieth bed-ridden eight and thirtie yeares?* 1.22 A great griefe (though but short) will kill the strongest man aliue, [Multos enim occidit tristitia, Sorrow hath killed many] and though it doth not giue them present death, it giues them a heart to desire it. Elias found himselfe so out of heart when he sate him downe vnder the Iuniper tree in the Wildernesse, (flying from the furie of Iesabel, who sought after his life) that he desired in this his melancholly mood, that hee might die. What de∣spaire then may not that sorrow driue a wretched poore soule into, whose griefe is as long, as great, and as great as it is long? Seneca tells vs, Melius est semel scindi, quam semper premi, Better is a short, than a lingering death. Iob passed ouer many a sorrowfull day, and many a mournfull night, Dies vacuos, & noctes laboriosas, Com∣panilesse, and comfortlesse; and his wife thinking it the lesser ill, to die out of hand, than to liue in such perpetuall torment; said vnto him, pittying his grieuous paine, Benedic Deo, & morere; Play the Renegado once, curse God to his face, that thou maist oblige him thereby to take away thy life. But say that Iobs affli∣ction was great, it was not of 38 yeares standing, as this poore mans was.

Eight and thirtie yeares. Here we are to consider, That this sicke man was at least fiftie yeares old: and we may make this coniecture, That hee lay in a little carre, with his bed vnder him, together with such ragges and clouts as were for his necessarie vse. Whence it followeth, that God had laid this long sickenesse of thirtie eight yeares vpon him for his sinnes, as Saint Chrysostome, Irenaeus, and many other Saints inferre, vpon that command which God laid vpon him, Noli amplius peccare, See thou sinne no more. It seemeth, that hee had committed these sinnes when he was but twelue yeares old; for many times [Praeuenit malicia pec∣catum] it so falls out, that our wickednes outstrips our age, and that wee runne into great sinnes, before wee come to great yeares; young Youthes beeing

herein like vnto Cakes that are baked vpon coles, which are burnt before they come to their baking.* 1.23 According to that of Osee, Factus es Ephraim, subcineritius panis qui non reuersatur, (i.) Ephraim is as a Cake on the hearth, not turned. And this ought to be a warning-piece to those that are old and antient sinners, and haue not yet beene questioned for their lewd liues, nor neuer felt the lash of Gods wrath. They that keepe Lyons, vse to whip their young whelpes, that they may make the greater Lyons to feare, and liue in awe of them: Fewer are the faults, but more the stripes which the Poore feele; a bad signe for the Rich, that doe runne ryot. Aristotle saith, That punishments were inuented for the deterring of men from euill. Saint Chrysostome, That the marke which God set vpon Cain, was not so much for his particular defence, as for a forewarning to others: and therefore God granted him so long a life, that his example might adde terrour to posteri∣tie. Some punishments are quickely past ouer, and therefore doe not so much good; and others are verie profitable, by reason of their length & continuance. Iob saith, That God had as it were nailed his shafts on his sides, they stucke so close to his ribs. Esay and Malachie take their comparison from the Siluer∣smith, who sits long at his worke, Et sedebit constans, &c. Now God by these his long afflictions punisheth him whom he loueth, to the end that the sinner may take warning thereby, and learne to feare the Lord; Non videbit interitum, cu•• viderit Sapientes morientes, (i.) He shall not see destruction, when he shall see that Wise∣men die.

Eight and thirtie yeares. According to the common course which God ta∣keth of punishing sinne in this life,* 1.24 this of thirtie eight yeares seemeth some∣what too rigorous a correction. Vpon this doubt diuers reasons are rendered, and one more principall than the rest, is, That this prolongation was not because God wished him ill, or loued him the lesse; but because there is not any Medi∣cine that preserues a man more from the plague of vice and of sinne, than a long sickenesse. Prisons and Fetters (saith Vlpianus) were not so much inuented for the punishing of disorders, as the restraining of them: being as a great logge of wood to an vntamed and vnruly Hey far, a strap to the fleet Hound, or a bridle to a Horse. Iob calleth the Gout, a paire of Stockes, Posuisti in trunco pedem meum, Thou puttest my feet in the Stockes, and lookest narrowly to all my paths, and makest the print thereof in the heeles of my feet. And he stiles his dunghill, his prison, Nun∣quid Caete ego sum, aut Mare, quia circumdedisti me in isto carcere? Am I a Sea, or a Whale-fish, that thou keepest me in ward? Our Sauiour Christ healing a woman that bowed her bodie so downward to the earth, that shee could not looke vp to hea∣uen; said, Hanc filiā Abrahae quam, &c. Ought not this daughter of Abraham whom Sa∣than hath bound eighteene yeares, be loosed from this bond? Salomon compares a Phy∣sition to a Iaylor; for when God commits a delinquent to his couch, causing him there to remaine prisoner, hauing fettered, as it were, his feet to his sheets; the Physition lookes vnto him, and hath a care that hee stirre not from thence till God releaseth him of his sickenesse. Thus did hee deale with this poore man▪ who lay thirtie eight yeres, as it were, by the heeles, vnable to wagge either han•• or foot, so strangely was he benumm'd in all his limmes. Some man will say, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 haue a shrewd burning Feuer; but this is a more common, than proper phrase o•• speech. And the Euangelist corrects it thus, Socrus autem Petri tenebatur mag•••• febribus. She had not the Feuer, but the Feuer had her. Infrenabo te, ne inter••••▪ With the bridle of Sickenesse he will hold thee backe, that thou maist not head∣long r••n down the Rocke that leads to vtter destruction both of bodie & soule. Homer feignes, That the Goddesse Pallas, for the loue which she bare to Achilles,

kept him backe, when he would haue encountred with Agamemnon King of the Greekes. Dauid gaue thankes to Abigal, because he beeing resolued to destroy Nabal and all his house, she had withheld him from it; Qu••a prohibuisti me, &c. So may we likewise giue thankes vnto sickenesse, because it detaines vs & turns vs aside from the forbidden paths of humane pleasures: so that these thirtie eight yeares are so farre from the rigour of Iustice, that it is rather an act of mer∣cie and pittie.

But if we consider these thirtie eight yeares in reason of Iustice, it will not seeme rigorous to any: He is not to be accoun••ed an austere & seuere Iudge, who doth keepe a Delinquent long in prison; if when he is in prison hee returne to a relapse in his delicts: What hope can a Iudge haue, that such a one should proue good being set at liberty? or of a theef that shal fal a stealing while he is in prisō? Now this man that had neither hand nor foot to help himselfe, lying benum'd in his little cart, bore before him the cause of his griefe, by falling into those faults which he had formerly committed. And this is inferred out of these our Saui∣ours words vnto him, Iam noli amplius peccare, Now see thou sinne no more.* 1.25 But if any man aske me, How can that man sinne that is bound hand and foot? I answer,* 1.26 That for all this, his desires and thoughts are not fettered. Iniquitatem medi∣••atus est in cubili suo, astitit omni viae non bonae, Hee that applies himselfe to euill thoughts, and hath a desire vnto them, there is not that wickednesse whereof he would not reap the fruits thereof. From whence I cannot but note out these two things vnto thee:

The one, That the sinnes of our thoughts and imaginations are of all other the easiest to be done. How many Kniues would a Cutler make in a day, if he could finish them without a Forge, an Anuile, or a Hammer? Questionlesse, ••erie many. The like reason is to be rendred of the errors of our thoughts.

The other, That they are the harder to be seene or holpen: To be seene, for that they are so secret, Ab occultis meis munda me, Clense me, ô Lord, from my secret sinnes. To be holpen; for as he that is still kept hungrie and thirstie, hath neither his thirst nor his hunger satisfied, but encreaseth more and more vpon him; so ••e that neuer enioyes those humane delights, neuer hath the hunger and thirst of his desires satisfied.

So that this poore sicke man perseuering in his sinne, it is not much that God should perseuer in his punishments: for our shorter sinnes, Gods chastisements ••re also short, In momento indignationis auerte faciem meam parumper,* 1.27 (i.) For a mo∣ment, in myne anger, I hid my face from thee for a little season. But for our longer, lon∣ger; Vir multum jurans, à domo eius non recedet plaga, (i.) The Plague shall neuer depart ••••ō the house of him that sweareth much: whence it cōmeth to passe, that so many are ••arr'd, and so few amended: Which is all one with that of Ieremie, Dissipati, ne∣••ue compuncti. These are the Deuils Martyrs, who suffer not onely without a re∣ward, (as Saint Paul saith, Si peccantes suffertis, quid vobis est gratiae?) but treasure vp new torments vnto themselues.

But some one will aske, How comes it to passe, that this man being a sinner,* 1.28 which waited at the Fish-poole, our Sauiour should for his sake leaue other iust ••nd good men, and make choice to come vnto him?

First, (as I haue told you alreadie) because Sicknesse preserueth the soule from ••inne, and that it is a token of Gods mercie and goodnesse towards vs.* 1.29

Secondly, Because this poore wretch did hope to be healed, his thoughts and ••is hopes laying hold vpon Gods fauour towards him, with a strong and assured ••••••iance: and this was that which this sicke man did purposely seeke after.

Euthimius doth much endeere his sufferance and his perseuerance, neuer de∣spairing, but assuring himselfe, that Heauen would yet at last bee propitious and fauourable vnto him: and though yeare after yeare, nay, for so many yeres toge∣ther, he found no good, (many contradictions offering themselues vnto him) yet his hopes did neuer faile him. His sinnes were rather accessorie and accidentall, than of any proposed malice, or in despight (as we say) of God; and such kind of faults as these, God sooner pardoneth and farre more easily forgiueth. The Scripture sometimes proposeth vnto vs Peccadores remitados, Notorious sinners, to whose account you cannot adde one sinne more than they haue charged them∣selues withall: Who haue purposely departed from God: Of these Iob saith, Quasi de industria recesserunt à me. Esay, Pepigimus faedus cum m••rte, We haue made a couenant with Death. Malachie, Vanus est qui seruit Deo, He is vaine that serueth God. These are desperate resolutions.

* 1.30Others there are who sinne by accident. In the Historie of the Kings it is said of Dauid, That he arose vp from his chaire, to walke vpon the Tarrasse of his Pallace, and that his eye lighted by chance vpon Bersheba, who was bathing her selfe in her garden: this was a businesse which fell out casually, and (as we say) by hap-hazard, though his plotting how to haue his pleasure of her was a thing pre∣meditated; but his seeing and his coueting of her was, as it were, accidentally, and by chance. Whereas the desire that Dauid had to serue God, was euer pur∣posed and determined by him [Iuraui & statui custodire iudicia justiciae tuae.* 1.31] So that his offending of his God was not wilful, but of weaknes & by meere hapha∣zard. Saul made a Proclamation, That no man should eat till hee had gotten the victorie ouer the Philistines; but the souldiers were so hungrie with sighting and fasting, that their minds ran on nothing else saue the stanching of their hun∣ger; Et comedit populus cum sanguine, The people tooke Sheepe, and Oxen, and Calues, and slew them on the ground, and did eat them, with the bloud, (which was contrarie to Gods commandement) not considering, that this their eating at this time, and vp∣on such an occasion, was peccatum per accidens, an accidentall sinne. In a word, one of the surest pledges of our predestination, is, to make our seruing of God the Principall, and our offending him, the Accessorie.

Hunc cùm vidisset Dominus.

* 1.32When the Lord had seene him. This his seeing of him was not by chance, nor is it so to be construed of Christ; but to shew that he was man, hee did many things as it were by chance: And therefore when he saw this mans miserie, and knew how long he had layne thus, and how he was forsaken of all the world, and that there was no bodie to helpe him, then, &c.

* 1.33It is a great matter (I can assure you) for a man to cast his eyes vpon the wret∣ched estate of the Poore; for from the eyes compassion, growes the hearts ten∣dernesse; the one is no sooner toucht, but the other melts. Noli auertere faciem tuam ab vllo paupere, Turne not away thy face from the Poore. Tobias told his sonne, That if he should not turne his eye aside from the Poore, God would neuer turn away his face from him. The sores of the Poore (saith Saint Chrysostome) being beheld by vs, teach, aduise, and mooue vs. When Pilate presented our Sauiour Christ to the Iewes, wounded from head to foot, and all his bodie on a goa•••• bloud, he said vnto them, Ecce homo, Behold the man; but they shutting their eyes▪ and turning their faces away from him, cried out, Away with him, away with him: whereas if they had earnestly beheld him, and viewed him wel from top to toe, their hearts, had they beene of stone, (as they were little better) they would

haue growne soft and tender with it. The reason why so little remedie now a dayes is giuen to humane miserie, is, because the Princes and Potentates of the earth doe not see them. Though God had sent downe one of his Angells, yet this diseased man continued vncured thirtie eight yeares, and if God had not come himselfe to helpe him, he might haue died of that sickenesse. When our necessities shew themselues, they speake, though we be silent: What need Laza∣rus to beg, as long as his sores had so many tongues and mouths to sue for him? Domine vidisti, ne sileas, responde pro me, Why shouldst thou looke, ô Lord, that I should speake vnto thee? doost thou not see in what a wofull case I am? In mat∣ter of prouisions or conferring of pensions, albeit that the persons that pretend say not a word for themselues, yet their merits and good deseruings will suffici∣ently recommend their cause, and plead hard for them: which if it were other∣wise, it were better to bee a cogging lying knaue, than a religious and modest Courtier; for he shall speed the better of the two. Two pretend one and the selfe same place; the one sues, extolls his seruices, and lyes; the other sayes no∣thing, but lookes that his merits and good seruices should speake for him: In Babylon, which is a confusion of Tongues, it shall bee giuen to the loudest tal∣ker; but in a wise and well gouerned Commonwealth, to him that shall hold his peace.

When the Lord had seene him. It is vsuall with Physitions and Surgeons, when they goe about to cure loathsome sores, Leaprosies, Scurfes, Cankers, and the like, to put their Patients to a great deale of pain: Eusebius and Gregorie Nazian∣zen affirme, That our Sauiour Christ did farre exceed all other Physitions.

First, Because hee cured an infinite sort of sicke folkes of all manner of dis∣eases.

Secondly, Because our Sauiours bowells of compassion were tendernes, mer∣cie, and pittie it selfe.

Cum iam multum tempus haberet.

When he had beene there a long time. It is a great happinesse for a man, when hee shall suffer so long, that God himselfe shall come vnto him and say, It is enough. The paines here vpon earth are happie pains vnto vs, for that they end ••n this, that God makes an end of them at last, and says vnto thee, No more, it ••s enough. But that of Hell is a heauie torment, for that hee that is condemned must abide in prison, donec reddat nouissimum quadrantem, Till hee pay the vttermost ••arthing: and because he hath not wherewithall to pay one onely Mite, he must ••e forced to lie there for euer, and to endure eternall torment, without any hope of redemption. There are likewise punishments in this life, which are but intro∣ductions, as it were, to those of Hell: there are some likewise that are Martyres Diaboli, The Deuils Martyrs, who suffer for his sake; and because they did desti∣••ate themselues rather to him than vnto God, God hath predestinated them to Hell. But here in this place, thirtie eight yeres seeming a great many vnto God, mooued with pittie, he sayes to this sicke man, Vis sanus fieri? &c. Wilt thou be made whole? &c.

Vis sanus fieri? Wilt thou be made whole?

Saint Cyril saith, That one of the greatest pledges of Gods mercie, is, To pre∣••ent the prayers of the Afflicted, giuing them ease of their griefes before they ••ske his helpe: resembling that Fountaine which calls and inuites the thirstie to ••rinke [Erit Fons patens domui Iacob;] like vnto the Pepin tree, which bowing

downe his boughes, offers it's fruit vnto vs when it is ripe; Sicut malum inter lig∣na syluarum, sic amicus meus, &c. So that on Heauens part, our desires shall not be frustrated, nor our hopes deluded.

Saint Augustine saith, That there is a great deale of difference betweene V••••∣le, & velle fortitèr & integrè, Willing a thing, and willing it stoutly and entirely. The Sluggard (saith Salomon) will, and wil not, turning himselfe too and fro vpon his bed, as a doore vpon his hinge: now the doore, though it mooue a little, yet i•• still keepes it's place. And in another place, the same Saint Austen saith, That he had made triall in himselfe of two contrarie wills; one which led him on to Vice; another, to Vertue: as one that is forced to rise, and yet would faine lie a bed; Vertue crying out to him on the one side, Surge, qui dormis, Arise thou that sleepest; & vice on the other, Ne surgas sed dormias, Arise not but sleep; for it is a sweet & a pleasing thing, to sleep. Illud placebat & vincebat, hoc libebat & vinciebat: faring with such as with those that are in loue, whose torments bid them leaue off, bu•• the content they take therein, makes them fast fettered in Loues prison. Certain men asked of Thomas of Aquine, How we might goe to Heauen? His answere vnto them was,* 1.34 By desiring to goe thither: but aduising withall, That this our desire must be a true and feruent desire. That Physition who knowes thy disea∣ses grieuousnesse, and thy impatiencie, will not sticke to say vnto thee, Sir, if you haue a mind to be wel, you must haue a mind to be patient, you must not by your fretting fret your sore, and make it worse. Quis est homo qui vult vitam? Diligit dies habere bonos? Who is he that would not liue long? Who, that would not see good days? Many, rather than they will be tied to those conditions which Dauid in the next words following sets before them, Prohibe linguam tuam à malo, & labi•• tu•• ne l••∣quantur dolum; diuerte à malo, & fac bonum; inquire pacem, & persequere eam, &c. Keepe thy tongue from euill, and thy lips from speaking guile; turne from Iniquitie, and doe that which is good; enquire after Peace, and follow it: Many, that they may not passe through these balls of fire, had rather continue still sicke, than endure any the least paine, to be cured.

Old Sickenesses, and antient Customes, are a second kind of nature: & there∣fore our Sauiour Christ, Cum cognouisset quod multum tempus haberet, When he kn•••• that he had beene long sicke, would now linger the time no longer. Your Moorish Slaue, after he hath endured many yeares of seruitude, is so farre from desiring his liberrie, that he scarce thinkes vpon it; the Oxe vsed to the yoke, willingly submits himselfe vnto it; an old Souldier will neuer goe without his Armes; and therefore Tullie calls them, Militum Membra, A Soldiers Limmes; for through vse, they are no more troublesome to him than a leg or an arme, for continuall trauell hardneth the hoofe: Et superatur omnis fortuna ferendo; so said the Poet▪ In a word, Custome makes things little lesse familiar vnto vs, than Nature. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 treating of those which haue beene accustomed to sinne from their youth, saith▪ That they leaue not their vices till they leaue to liue, [Ossa eius replebuntur vi∣cijs adolescentiae suae.* 1.35 & cum eo in pul••ere dormient, His bones are full of the sinnes of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Youth, and it shall lie downe with him in the dust:] And presently rendring the rea∣son thereof, he further saith, That Custome made wickednesse seeme sweet 〈◊〉〈◊〉 his mouth, and that he hid it vnder his tongue, like a Pastilla de boca; that hee fa∣uoured it, and would not forsake it, but kept it close in his mouth. So that h•••• that hath once enured himselfe to tast much ill, it is not much that he should n•••• desire his health. Balaams Asse complained of his masters ill vsage; and (acco••∣ding to Saint Augustine) it was a seuere reprehension for the Prophet: but Bala•••• was not any whit amased to heare his beast speake, because his thoughts were

carried away with couetousnesse; this is Saint Augustines opinion: but Lyra, he saith, That it was through his accustomation to Witcheries and Sorceries, Mon∣strosis assuefactus ad vocem Asinae non expauit: For Custome makes things that are monstrous, familiar vnto vs. Euerie where we indeere Iobs sufferings, because they came vpon him on such a sudden an and vnequall fashion: I was in wealth (saith the Text) but he brought me to naught; he hath taken mee by the cheeke and beaten mee; hee cutteth my reynes,* 1.36 and poureth my gall on the ground, he hath broken me with one breaking vpon another, and runneth vpon me like a Gyant: myne eye is dimme for griefe, and my strength like a shadow; my dayes are past, myne enterprises broken, and the thoughts of my heart haue changed the night for the day, and the light hath approched for darkenesse; the graue must be my house, & I must make my bed in the darke; I must say to Cor∣ruption, Thou art my father, and to the Worme, Thou art my mother and my sister, &c. These afflictions were as harsh to Iob, beeing not vsed and beaten to them, as Vice, through Custome, is pleasing to the Wicked. Voluptabar (saith Austen) in caeno Babilonis, tanquā in cinamonijs & vnguentis pretiosis, Babylons durt was as Amber, and the stench of her streets as pretious Oyntments vnto me. And after that he had in his Meditations endeered the euills of this present life, he bewailes the wretched condition of those that are bewitched with the loue of this life; who thereby following their pleasures, come to loose a thousand liues. Homer in his Odysses paints forth the deceits of Circes, and that Vlysses escaped them by beeing aduised thereof by Mercurie. The hearbe Moly, whose root is blacke, and the Floure white (the symbole of the knowledge of our selues) and those Syrens (of whom Esay maketh mention) vnder the names of Zim & Ohim, of Ostriches and Satyres that shall dance there;* 1.37 both which are figures of the delights of this world, whereunto many are so wedded, that the Prophet could terme them, Men setled on their Lees.

Wilt thou be made whole.* 1.38 He first askes him (being as yet vnspoken vnto) whi∣ther he were willing to be healed, or no? O, what a noble proceeding was this in our Sauiour, that hee would first aske our good will! All other humane goods God giues and takes away as hee sees fit, without asking our consent; but hee is willing to aske here of this sicke man, his good wil, for that there is nothing so much ours, as that. Fili praebe mihi cor tuum, My sonne giue me thy heart: alwaies considering this with himselfe, that for our condemnation, our owne wil is Cau∣sa positiua, the positiue cause thereof; [Perditio tua ex te Israel] but for our justifica∣tion, it is causa sine qua non, we cannot be saued without it. And to this purpose tend those remarkable words of Saint Augustine, Qui creauit te sine te, non salua∣bit te sine te, He that made thee without thee, will not saue thee without thee: So that our will, though it be not the principall cause of our good, yet is it the chiefest cause of our ill. Two Moores that are Slaues, the one desires his libertie, the other, his captiuitie; the will of the latter is the positiue cause of his hurt, and the will of the former doth him no good, vnlesse his Redeemer ransome him.

Hominem non habeo, I haue not a man.

This (as Caietan hath noted) was a faire and mannerly answer. For so natural ••s the desire of life, that it is a wonder to see any man wax weary thereof, though ••e find himselfe neuer so vnhealthie. We read of those our antient fathers, that ••ome of them liued nine hundred yeares; but wee read not of any of them that ••hought them too many or too much. Pharaoh asking Iacob, how old hee was, he told him, That the whole time of his pilgrimage was an hundred and thirtie

yeares; that few and euill had the dayes of his life beene; and that hee had not attained to the yeares of the life of his fathers, in the dayes of their pilgrima∣ges. Elias fled from death, when hee saw how neere Iezabels hand was to take his life from him, howsoeuer vnder the Iuniper tree hee seemed much to desire it. Vpon Paradise God had put a strange gard, not onely a blade of a sword, sha∣ken, to keepe the way of the Tree of Life; but many Cherubins also, that were like so many flames of fire. What, ô Lord, doost thou meane by this so power∣ful a gard for so cowardly and feareful a creature as man? O sir, in Paradise there is a Tree that beares the fruit of Life, and out of the desire that man hath to liue, he will presse vpon the swords point, and rush through fire and water to get in: And though a lesse gard might happely serue turn in regard of man; yet wil it not suffice to keepe the Deuill out; and if he should chance to rob this tree of her fruit, he would carrie the whole world after him, out of the great loue and affection that they haue vnto Life. Saint Augustine greatly endeering this loue, saith, That it were a great happinesse for man, if he bore but that loue to life eter∣nall, as he doth to this that is temporall; and that he would but labour as much to obtaine that, as he seeketh to conserue this. But this poore wretched man in∣deeres it much more, who at the end of thirtie eight yeares, hauing led a life that was worse than death, should yet desire to liue longer.

* 1.39I haue not a man. This is the reason why God sets his eye vpon thee, & be∣gins to looke towards thee; for the onely meanes to make God to fauor vs, is, when he sees the World hath forgot vs. The cause why so many suitors thriue no better, is, because they seeke more after the fauour of men, than of God: Where Nature casts vs off, there Grace takes vs vp; when the World abando∣neth vs, then God embraceth vs. The Rauens young ones are forsaken by her, and God feedeth them. In the Indies there are no Physitions, yet are there whol∣some Hearbes wherewith they cure their diseases. In like manner, where the World affoordeth few fauours, there Gods prouidence supplies vs with many. Chrysostome saith, Non habes hominem, sed Deum, Thou hast not man, but thou hast Go•• to thy friend. The Aegyptian whom the Amalekites left behind them, because he was sicke of a Feuer, and could not follow them; Dauid finding him as he follo∣wed the chase, tooke him vp and cherished him. Saint Gregorie noteth, That it is the fashion of the World, to forsake those that will not follow after it: where∣as God runnes a contrarie course; for he cherisheth and fauoureth those whom the World forsaketh. Saint Austen ponders much vpon Iosephs two yeares be∣ing in prison, expecting the fauour of Pharaohs seruant, to whom he had recom∣mended his suit; so that as long as he depended vpon man, he was suspended by God: but when his hopes were that way vtterly lost, and was now able to say▪ Hominem non habeo, I haue not a man, God did worke his enlargement. Ioseph sai•••• to the Cup-bearer, Memento mei, Remember me; and he did not so much as onc•• thinke of him in two yeares after: The Theefe said to Christ vpon the Crosse Memento mei, Remember me, and he was admitted into Paradise the verie sam•• day. Domine, ante te omne desiderium meum, O Lord, my desires, my grones and my sighs are for and to thee,* 1.40 and my trust is in thee only, that thou wilt no•• see me vnrewarded. Daniel being shut vp in the Lyons Den, and the doore sea••led with the Kings own Seale; when he could find no fauour amongst men, Go•• presently extended his fauour towards him. The like fauor did he shew to tho•••• Children that were in the firie Furnace;* 1.41 and to Moses in that Arke of Rush•••• floating vpon the waters. Seneca comforting Marcia concerning her sons death, amongst other reasons he alledgeth this, Comfort your selfe in this, that you

liue in a Commonwealth, wherein you are thus farre happy, that you haue no sonnes to pretend for. Here wee may well bring in Pilats, Ecce homo. Though thou (sweet Iesu) hadst not a man to fauour thee, yet thou foundst a man that gaue his bloud, and his life for them. Ecce homo; Lo, thou wast the man, that show'dst such great kindnesse, to those that vsed thee so vnkindly. Thou (poore Soule) hast not an Angell to mooue the Fish-poole for thee; Ecce homo, behold the man, who makes more hast to helpe thee than an Angell.

Hominem non habeo. Why doost thou complaine, that thou hast not a man to helpe thee? Why doost thou not rather complaine that thou doost relye and trust vpon man? He does like himselfe in deceiuing thee; but thou doost not like thy selfe in presuming vpon him. Many complaine of the world, and the deceits therof; but doe not complaine of the foolish confidence which them∣selues put in this false world. I complaine of Fortune, that she is mine enemie, but not of my selfe, who sue to so fickle a Dame, and so earnestly importune her. Night, is the embleme of the world, and of a false friend. In the day, all communicate and conuerse together, but at night, they take their leaue and get them gone. In prosperitie, all the whole world will fawne vpon thee, and keepe thee companie; but in aduersitie no man will looke vpon thee, but will shunne thee, and turne his face from thee. If thou wilt experiment, what power thou hast with the world, and how much thou canst preuaile with it, necessitie will in∣struct thee. That friend which shall alwayes lye vnto thee, in whom thou neuer findest truth, it is thine owne folly that deceiues thee, if thou trust him, it is not he. And therefore he that now and then treateth truth, is the more dangerous of the two. In Deutronomie, God commaundeth,* 1.42 That if there arise amongst his people a Prophet, or a Dreamer of dreames, and giue thee a signe or wonder, and the signe & the wonder which he hath told thee come to passe, that Prophet, or Dreamer of dreames shall bee slaine. But he doth not commaund, that hee shall be slaine if it doe not come to passe. For hee that alwaies lyes, doth no hurt at all; The world hath beene a notorious lyer these fiue thousand yeeres, and more; and therefore I doe not see, what reason thou hast to thinke, that it will now keepe it's word better with thee than it hath with others heretofore.

Hominem non habeo, I haue not a man. This is not onely a complaint of the poore, but of powerfull persons, and those that are riche, who because they haue not the happinesse to haue a man to sticke close vnto them, that may direct and counsaile them, passe ouer this their life in distraction, and perdition, & in the end loose both life and soule. Homo, homini Deus, homo homini lupus, Man is a God to man, Man is a wolfe to man. Expressing in the one, a prudent and vertu∣ous man, one that is stayd and well settled: In the other, one that is light, incon∣stant, and false-hearted.

Commonwealths vse likewise to complaine; as also those that are iealous of their goods, that they cannot meete with a man whom they may trust. Theodo∣ret sayth, That hee offers a great, and a mightie wrong vnto Gods proui∣dence, who complaineth hereof. For that Commonwelth that prouides it selfe of feete, should not leaue it selfe without a head: and stooping so low as mans brest, for those more painefull and base occupations, as the Scauinger, the Cob∣ler, and the hangman; they should likewise haue a care of placing fit men in pla∣ces of a higher na••ure, that are to order businesses of State, and to cleanse a Kingdome of those filthie dunghils and sinkes of sinne which annoy a Com∣monwealth.

This hurt (I meane when base and vnworthie persons gouerne a State) ariseth

from those two grounds; The one, The making choice of such men who by good and euill meanes (making no great difference of either) seeke for preferre∣ment, and out of their ambition, would rather die than loose it. And when hee is thus preposterously preferred and put in place of authoritie, hee playes Rex, putting in one, and putting out another, & so as hee may raise himselfe to honor, cares not whom he disgraces and treads vnder foot, though they bee ten times better men, and worthier than himselfe. Moses by Gods appointment made choice of seuentie Elders of Israell to assist him in the gouernment of the Peo∣ple; and they being one day to meet at a certaine houre before the Tabernacle, to the end that God in the presence of all the people might put his Spirit of pro∣phecie vpon them, there remained two behind among the Host, to wit, Eldad and Medad; & because God is not confined to any set place, the Spirit likewise rested vpon them, and they prophecied in the Host. Ioshuah thought this was a disreputation to Moses, that these two should prophecie without especiall order from him, insomuch that he persuaded him that hee should forbid them to pro∣phecie any more. This is a true picture of the course & fashion of this present World, which will by no meanes admit of any Ministers of State, but such as they themselues shall nominate, or (as if they were creatures of their making) shall wholly depend vpon them. But the Spirit of God made answer vnto Io∣shuah by the mouth of Moses, Quid aemularis pro me? Enuiest thou for my sake? and addeth anon after, Would to God all the Lords people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit vpon them. So that men are neuer wanting for to gouern a Commonwealth, but eys of charitie and discretion, to distinguish of those that are fit, and to make a good and iudicious choice.

Tolle grabatum tuum & ambula.

Take vp thy bed and walke. Our Sauiour here commands him, That he should shake off his former idlenesse and sloathfulnesse. Hora surgendi: My son (saith Ecclesiasticus) hast thou slept long in sinne,* 1.43 awake and rouse vp thy selfe, and doe so no more, but pray for thy foresinnes, that they may be forgiuen thee. The se∣cond thing to be noted, is, That our Sauiour said vnto him, Arise, take vp thy bed and walke: one maine reason whereof was, That it might appeare that new strength was put into him, being growne able on the sudden to beare his bed vp∣on his backe. The other, That none might presume that it was the Angell that had wrought this cure vpon him. Thirdly, To take all cauelling from the enui∣ous, for the disauowing of this miracle; and that the World might praise and publish the same: Vt miraculum videretur (saith Saint Augustine) & nemo sim••∣latum opinaretur. For this cause he willed those baskets of broken bread & meat to be kept, when hee fed so many thousands with so little prouision. And him that he healed of his Leaprosie, that hee should go and present himselfe to the Priests: Taking the like course with diuers others, holding them as necessarie diligences for the auerring of these his miracles, considering what a captio•••• and incredulous kind of people he was to deale withall.

Et statim factus est sanus homo ille.

And presently the man was made whole. It is an easie thing with God, to in∣rich him that is poore in an instant. Vpon one only Dixit in the creation, present∣ly followed a Facta sunt. Creauit omnia simul, He created all things at once (saith Wis∣dome;) so in the reparation of this poore man▪ it is said, Statìm sanus factus est ho∣mo ille, He was presently made whole. He said vnto Martha, Resurget frater tuus, Thy

brother shall rise againe; Whereunto she answered, I know that he shall rise againe in the resurrection at the last day. Christ might take this ill, as a wrong done vn∣to the loue which he bare to Lazarus, That shee should thinke him so neglectfull of his friend, as to let his fauor towards him be so long in comming. Saint Chry∣sostome saith, That your bad Physitions are the Butchers of a Commonwealth; and your good, the Botchers of mans life, who patch and mend it, making this fleshie cloathing of ours, and this our rotten carkasse, to hold out as long as it can. But God, who is his Arts-master, and a wondrous nimble Workman, made this sicke man so perfectly whole, and so instantly strong, that hee was able to take his bed vpon his backe and walke. And if by this he shewed, that hee did now fully enioy health of bodie; in his going streightway to the Temple, hee made good proofe of his Soules health. Which is no more than what S. Austen doth infer vpon those words which our Sauiour afterwards said vnto him, Now sinne no more, &c.

Saint Augustine vpon this our Sauiours healing of this man alone, saith,* 1.44 That herein he seemed somewhat too sparing and too niggardly to those other that had need of his helpe.

Wherunto I answer first of all, That for those things which our Sauior Christ did, or did not, the wit of man cannot be a competent Iudge.* 1.45

Secondly, That this was a meere act of his mercie, and not to be questioned. Besides, health perhaps to the rest might haue proued hurtful vnto them, though not to their bodies, yet to their soules.

Thirdly, Tertullian saith, That the operation of the Fish-poole beeing now to cease and loose i••'s vertue, That our Sauiour by curing him who was the longest & the most sicke amongst them, gaue thereby an induction & entrance to all that were sicke, to come and repaire to him for helpe: As if hee should haue sayd, He that desires to be made whole, from hence forward let him goe no more to the Fish-poole, nor stay there expecting the Angells comming; for when hee comes he heals but one at once; but come you all vnto me, & I shal heale you al.

Tolle grabatum, Take vp thy bed. This would seeme to be too heauie a bur∣then for him: A man would haue thought that it had beene enough for him to haue beene punished with thirtie eight yeres keeping of his bed, without being put now at last to beare it on his backe. But if God can giue such great strength to so weake a man, that the burthen of his bedding seemes no weightier than a straw; the heuier it is, the lighter it is, especially if God shall put but the least helpe of his little finger thereunto, Da quod jubes, & jube quod vis, Giue what thou commandest, and command what thou pleasest.

Secondly, Christ here sets before vs a modell and pattern of true repentance;* 1.46 before, with a Iacebat, He lay all forlorn; now, with a Surge, he walkes sound & vp∣right: before, he was torpens & stupefactu••, benumm'd and stupefied; now he was in his ambulare, walke: before, his bed did beare him; and now hee beares his bed, Tolle grabatum tuum. This was to signifie, That he was to run a contrary course to that he did before, and to tread out the prints of his forepassed sinnefull life: So that (according to Chrysologus) that which heretofore was a witnesse of his ••nfirmitie, shall henceforth be a testimonie of his health. Vniuersum eius stratum ••ersasti in infirmitate eius, Thou turnedst his bed topsituruie, first this way, then ••hat way, till thou hadst made it more easie for him. Thou changest (saith Gene∣••rard) his weakenesse into strength, and his sicknesse into health; it was before, a ••ick bed, now a sound one; before, a bed of sorrow, now of joy; before, a bed of sinne, now of teares.

This Miracle was the Fermentum & Leuen of the death of our Sauior Christ; for, picking a quarell with him vpon this occasion, they resolued to kill him, and this their intention dayly encreased, as oft as they called to mind this action of his. And therefore he afterwards said vnto them (as Saint Iohn reports it in his se∣uenth Chapter) Vnum opus feci,* 1.47 & omnes admiramini sanè, I haue done one worke, and yee all meruaile; I heale a poore sicke man on the Sabboth day, and yee all blesse your selues, as though I had a Deuill in me. This word Miramini is here taken in the worser sence; so Saint Chrysostome noteth it: For doing this so good a deed you take me to be a transgressour of the Law; but I shall prooue vnto you, that your accusation is vniust: Moyses dedit vobis Circumcisionem, non quia ex Moyses, sed ex patribus, &c. Moses gaue you Circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the Fathers;* 1.48 and yee on the Sabboth day circumcise a man: Moses gaue it yee, but he was not the primarie and principall authour thereof; for before the Law of Moses was, was Circumcision. The Israelites had it ex patribus, of their fore∣fathers; but because it ceased in the Desert, hee did afterwards restore it to it's former vse and vertue. The precept of the Sabboth was proper to the Law of Moses, he was the first that did institute it, till then it was not so strictly obser∣ued. Now you your selues doe circumcise on the Sabboth day, (obseruing the precept of your antient Fathers) and yet for all this yee breake not the Law of Moses. If then a Ceremonie bee lawfull which is directed to the health of the Soule; Why shall not that be lawfull amongst you which cureth both soule and bodie? Yee are angrie with me, and seeke to kill me, because I haue made a man euerie whit whole vpon the Sabboth day, Quia totum hominem feci, &c.

Qui me sanum fecit.

He that made me whole, said vnto me, Take vp thy bed and walke. The Iewes be∣ing mightily incensed against our Sauiour for that which he had done, it beeing the Sabboth day, and a great feast with them; asked the poore man in an hot and angrie fashion, Who it was that bid him take vp his bed and walke? hee told them, Qui me sanum fecit, That it was Iesus, that had made him whole: A disease of thirtie eight yeares old, which neither Nature, Art, nor my good fortune could rid away from me, did yeeld and render vp it selfe in an instant to the em∣pire of him that healed me; That his long lost strength and health, after so long an absence, returned presently backe againe at the sound of his voice, and com∣forting those his rotten bones, & causing his canker'd and withered flesh to wax young againe, had banished all aches and whatsoeuer other diseases from his bo∣die; shall not I then obey him whom Sickenesse and Health doe thus obey? It seemeth this poore man had plaid the theefe, and stole this reason from Dauid, Nonnè Deo subiecta erit anima mea, quoniam ab ipso salutare meum▪ It is reason good, that I should subiect my selfe to God, because from his hand comes my saluation. Qui me sanum fecit, He that hath done me such a happinesse and such a blessing as none others can doe the like, but God, why should I not obey him as God?

Eccè, sanus factus es.

Behold, thou art made whole, &c. This man Christ afterwards met withall in the Temple,* 1.49 and said vnto him, Ecce, sanus factus es, Behold, thou art made whole. This word Ecce includes in it a thousand things: The first is, The greatnesse of this his fauour towards him; for there are some things so transcendent and be∣yond the reach of our reason, that they who enioy them do scarce beleeue them, they are so astonished and amased at them. When the Angell freed Peter out of

Herods prison, and had led him along by the hand, till he had brought him out of the Citie, the Text saith, Existimabat se visum videre, He thought it had beene some dreame, or had seene some vision or strange apparition; and it was a great while after ere he was come to himselfe, so wonder-strucken was he with this his strange de∣liuerance. Secondly, This particle Ecce, expresseth the greatnesse of this poore mans obligation; as if it should bid him looke and behold how much hee was beholding vnto God, who had freed him from so desperate a disease. Cum enim augentur dona, rationes etiam crescunt donorum, (the saying is Saint Gregories) The greater kindnesses, the greater obligations. This therefore being so great a one, thou canst not chuse but thinke vpon this benefit, and continually beare it in mind. Homo cum in honore esset, non intellexit, Man when he was in honour vnderstood it not, [the Hebrew hath it, Non pernoctauit] hee did not consider well on the matter, he did not throughly weigh it, by meditating night and day on so great a good. Thirdly, This same Ecce serues him as a warning-piece, to put him in mind, that he is sound, but not secure; for if thou doost not looke well vnto thy selfe, and stand strongly vpon thy guard, thou maist fall from that health wherein now thou standest, and be worse than thou wert before.

Ne deterius tibi contingat.

Least a worse thing happen vnto thee. What can bee worse than thirtie eight yeares of sickenesse? Yes, Hell is worse. S. Gregorie saith, That God is woo••t to commense the chastisement of heinous and long continued sinnes, in this li••••, and continueth them in that other; so that they are, as it were, an entrance into Hell, as it hapned to Herod, who slew those innocent Babes; to Antiochus, and others: These seeme to lie as yet but in soke, and in a preparation (as I may so terme it) to those perpetuall torments. To others, Hell comes de golpe, it snatches them away on a sudden ere euer they be aware of it. Ducunt in bonis dies suos, & in puncto ad inferos descendunt, They lead a merrie life, they passe away their days in plea∣sure, and in an instant they goe downe into Hell. And to these men it is so much the more grieuous and painefull, by how much the lesse they haue been acquainted with the miseries of a wretched life.

Least a worse thing, &c. Nor are the euills of this life euill,* 1.50 nor the good things good. Saint Chrysostome saith, That God giues vs the good things of this life, to the end that in them we may see a shaddow, as it were of Heauen: The euill, That we may by them see the tracke of the cruell rigour of those hellish torments. Saint Paul treating of those euills that befall the Righteous, saith, Quasi morientes, quasi tristes, quasi, &c. As dying, as chastned, as sorrowing,* 1.51 as poore, as hauing nothing: He there reckoneth vp a bead-roll of many seeming ills, but not euills in deed; for their dying was to them liuing, their sorrowing, reioycing; their pouertie, riches; and their hauing nothing, a possessing of all things, &c. Quasi flagellum. It is said of our Sauiour Christ, That he made a kind of whip, as it were, of those little cords wherewith the Sellers in the Tem∣ple bound vp their fardles. For in respect of Hell-whips, the whips of this life are not whips, but quasi flagella, as it were whips. The Scripture christneth hu∣mane troubles with the name of Waters, Emitte manum tuam, & libera me de aquis multis: Aquae multae non potuerunt extinguere charitatem. The proportions of this word Aqua, are two:

The one, That the troubles of the Godly doe passe away like waters.

That though the waters be now and then troubled, they afterwards grow cleere againe.

But Hell is stiled with the name of Stagnum, a standing Poole, [Missi sunt in Stagnum ignis] because it is a punishment that alwaies stands at one stay, and is stil the same, &c. The heart of the Godly finds this ease, that it liues in hope of re∣couerie; and the euills of the Righteous are neuer so many, but that they haue some shadow of good. Adam did supplie his nakednesse with Figge leaues. Death, which is the greatest ill to mans life, dulleth the sence, which is a kind of good; but Hell giues no hope of ease, no shew of comfort. From which God of his mercie keepe vs, &c.

Notes

• * 1.1

  God the one∣ly supporter of weaker Man. Eccle. 2.
• * 1.2

  Exod. 23, & 34
• * 1.3

  Eccle. 18.
• * 1.4

  Almes, the preparation of the soule to Prayer. Gen. 32.
• * 1.5

  Publicke tem∣ples to be fre∣quented.
• * 1.6

  Exod. 12. Tob. 2.
• * 1.7

  The life of a Courtier, is wholly vpon hopes.
• * 1.8

  Iudges 9.
• * 1.9

  Gen. 12. Gen. 15. Gen. 18.
• * 1.10

  Gods respect in comfor∣ting the de∣stressed.
• * 1.11

  Heb. 2.
• * 1.12

  Ob. Sol.
• * 1.13

  Gods mercie not so plenti∣full in the time of the Law, as since.
• * 1.14

  The Poole a figure of Bap∣tisme.
• * 1.15

  Psal. 10.24. Esay 60.
• * 1.16

  God dispen∣ceth his fa∣uours as he pleaseth.
• * 1.17

  Luke 8.
• * 1.18

  Luke 13.
• * 1.19

  Prou. 17.
• * 1.20

  Prou. 15.
• * 1.21

  Eccl. 27.
• * 1.22

  Sorrow, a sharpe sword. 3. Kings 19.
• * 1.23

  Ose. 7.
• * 1.24

  Why God sometimes prolongs our paines here in this life.
• * 1.25

  Ob.
• * 1.26

  Sol.
• * 1.27

  Esay 54. Eccle. 23.
• * 1.28

  Ob.
• * 1.29

  Sol. A patient suffering ac∣ceptable vnto God, & pro∣fitable to our selues.
• * 1.30

  2. Kings 6.
• * 1.31

  1. Kings 14.
• * 1.32

  God pittieth when none else will.
• * 1.33

  A weeping Eye causeth a bleeding heart.
• * 1.34

  Patience the best Physike in all extremi∣ties.
• * 1.35

  Iob 20.
• * 1.36

  Iob 16. & 17.
• * 1.37

  Esay 13.
• * 1.38

  Mans will•• concurs not with Grace in our vprising from sinne.
• * 1.39

  God fauoreth whom the world forsa∣keth.
• * 1.40

  Psal. 34. Dan. 3.
• * 1.41

  Exod. 2.
• * 1.42

  Deut. 13.
• * 1.43

  Eccle. 21.
• * 1.44

  Ob.
• * 1.45

  Sol.
• * 1.46

  A patterne for Repentance.
• * 1.47

  Iohn 7.
• * 1.48

  Iohn 7.
• * 1.49

  Things aboue the reach of reason ha••d to be beleeued.
• * 1.50

  The Euils of this life are but seeming euills.
• * 1.51

  2. Cor. 6.