WHen our blessed Saviour was to be received up, Luke 9.51. he set his face to Jerusalem: S. Paul is now looking that way, setting his face to Jerusalem. And as our Saviour held on his way, John 11.8. though the Jews not long before sought to stone him: in like manner, Paul, though his friends prayed him to stay, and strengthened their prayers with their tears, yet they could not pre­vail. When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, Acts 18.20. he consented not, but bad them farewel, saying: I must by all means keep this feast that cometh, in Jerusalem. To Jerusalem he must, and if you ask what wind drive him thither? He saith, It was the wind of the spirit: I go bound in the spirit. Acts 20.22. What made he there his businesse? He tells you in the next Chapter, It was to die for Christ. See here the stedfastnesse of holy resolutions; 2 Cor. 1.17. When I de­termined to come to you, did I use lightnesse? The determinations of Gods children, are not light and inconstant; their resolves hold, though there were a bear or lion in the way; dangers they are not afraid of in this case. Luther, being determined to go to Worms, his friends came to him, told him of some that lay in the way for him, and sought his life; therefore desired him not to go. Not go? (saith he) ‘Though there were as many devils in my way, Fox pag. 84 [...]. as there are tiles upon their houses, yet Luther shall go, and by Gods grace enter into Worms’: So Paul here; Agabus told him, he should suf­fer bonds at Jerusalem; the Jews would bind him hand and foot: What tell you me of bonds? Act 5 21.13. (saith he) What mean you to weep and to break my heart? For I am ready, not to be bound onely, but [Page 2]also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. As if he had said, There Christ died for me, and thither am I going (if it be his will) to die for my Christ. But in his way, he takes occasion to see and salute divers Churches; amongst the rest, the Church of Ephesus: having called them together, he preacheth to them his fare­well Sermon, set down at large from the 17. verse of this Chapter, to the words of my Text: and here, after many offices of love, and mutuall embraces, the Evangelist shews the manner of their parting.

The words are very patheticall, Quid quaetis ar­tem ubivides do­minari affectum? and when passion is up, sor­row stirring, method is then commonly laid aside. As one saith of Jeremy's book of Lamentations; Do you seek for art or method amongst sighs and lamentations? So art might well be excused here, where affection is so strong: yet because method is the mother of memory, you may (if you please) help your memories with this di­vision. There are presented to us out of this Text, two things; [...], i. e, The love of Paul to the Ephesians, and the love of the Ephesians to Paul: his to them, theirs to him.

• 1. His love to them is set forth in two acts.
  • 1. Preaching. Having so said.
  • 2. Praying. He kneeled down and prayed.
• 2. Their love to him: you have it exprest in three acts.
  • 1. Kissing. They kissed him.
  • 2. Weeping. They all wept sore.
  • 3. Conducting him. They accompa­nied him to the ship.

Other particulars there are, which I shall handle in their place; these propounded are the chief, of which in their order, so as may be most pertinent to the occasion drew me hither at this time: to wit, the decease of my worthy friend, your good Pastour, who, having set his face to Jerusalem, I mean, that which is above, hath now finished his course, Scaligeriqu od reliquum est. Scal. Epitaph. his soul is at rest with God. The remains of him, his Corpse, having wept over it, and sprinkled it with your tears, you have accompanied to the grave. Considering this acci­dent, I knew not what I should discourse of more seasonably at [Page 3]this time, then of these two generall Points my Text presents you withall, under the persons of Paul, and the Ephesians; namely, the love of a faithfull Pastour to the people, and of their love to him. I begin with the first, which (as was said) hath two acts, Preaching and Praying. First, Preaching, in these words: When he had thus spoken; that is, when he had preached this Sermon unto them.

Doct. Preaching is an act of love in Gods Ministers: it was (you see) the first act of Pauls love to the Ephesians. 1 Thes 2.8. Rom. 1.11. We were willing to impart the Gospel unto you, because ye were dear to us. And I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spirituall gift. What makes men give gifts, send tokens to their friends, is it not their love? So it was his love that made Paul so free of his spirituall gifts, Tom. 5. pag. 110. be­cause they were dear to him. Thus Chysostome, to the people of Antioch: ‘I am your Father (saith he) and must needs instruct my children, and give them good counsel.’ If the nature of the flesh, or naturall love, move earthly parents, how much more shall the grace of the Spirit move us to do this! Preaching then is an act of love, a testimony of that affection and good will, Ministers bear to the souls of Gods people. Simon Jona, lovest thou me? John 21.26. feed my sheep. We herein shew our love to Christ, our love to his sheep, when we feed them with the word of Life. It is an act of love to feed mens bodies, an act of love to cloathe their bodies; how much more to feed their souls with this heavenly Manna of Gods Word? As workers to­gether with him. 2 Cor. 6.2. to cloathe their souls with the rich robe of Christs righteousnesse? We help to do these things, therefore, the acts we perform, are acts of the highest love.

Inference 1 This shews then, first what depraved judgements men have in this matter; if the Minister will eat and drink, hawk, and hunt with them, they account him a kind companion, [...]. 1 Cor. 9.18. especially (the most loving a cheap Gospel) if he be moderate in requiring the dues be­longing to him, or let them go upon easie terms; Oh then they cry him up for a wonderfull quiet loving man, though Preaching be a thing he seldome useth, they see no such love in that, whith is the highest of all. When Ministers labour hard in the Word and Do­ctrine, and when Christs stewards endeavour to break the bread of Life to his houshold, herein they show their greatest love; and if they minister to you in spirituall things, 1 Cor. 9 11. is it a great matter if they reap your carnall things?

But secondly, what shall we say to those that account Preaching a sign of enmity, and Preachers enemies, as Ahab did Eliah; 1 Kings 21.20. Hast [Page 4]thou found me, 1 Kings 21.8. O my enemy? And Micaiah, I hate the man (said he) he never prophecied good to me, he is an enemy. Many are ready to say of us, Wisd. 2.13, 14. as they in Wisdome: These Preachers were made to reprove our thoughts, they upbraid us with our offending the Law, they object to our infamy the transgression of our education, they are enemies. So we are, we professe our selves enemies to your lusts, but friends to your souls; 1 Pet. 2.11. your lusts they fight against your souls; there­fore they are your best friends, that are ever at war with, and ever fighting against your lusts, he is his own enemy that thinks otherwise.

3 Thirdly, if this be an act of love, it shews then the little love that many bear to Christs sheep, in that they have so little care to minister to them this spirituall food; to see them wandering in by­paths, and not to endeavour to leade them out of those wayes that leade to destruction; to be dumb when they see them living in igno­rance and profanesse, and not to warn them of the danger hereof: this certainly is not love but cruelty, and that in the highest degree: O yee Corinthians (saith Paul) our mouth is opened to you, 2 Cor. 6.11. our heart is enlarged: these two will go together, an enlarged heart, and an open mouth: Pauls heart was enlarged, and that opened his mouth. If love, as a heavenly fire hath given us a dilatation or enlargement of heart; it will be as a key, also opening our mouths to declare Gods truth unto men. Preaching then is an act of love, Paul out of his love came and preached this Sermon to the Ephesians, and it was an excellent Se [...]mon; Oratio praeclara eximia singularis Camerar. in vita Pauli. we have not time now to look into the contents or matter of it: but if you cast your eyes back, and take onely a generall survey of it, you shall observe four remarkable particulars touching the manner of Pauls preaching.

His

• 1. Painfulnesse.
• 2. Faithfulnesse.
• 3. Prudence.
• 4. Affectionatenesse.

All which set forth the excellency of this sermon. First, his Pain­fulnesse; 1. Painfulnesse. two or three dayes before he preached this Sermon, travel­ling to Miletus, he sent away his company before, and went himself afoot, it may be Paul was then studying this elaborate piece, how­ever, it smells (as we say) of the lamp, we see a great deal of pains in it. The Apostles though Divinely inspired, yet we may think they took pains to make themselves fit instruments for the Spirit to work by: [...]om. 5. pag. 209. So did Paul, as Chrysostome testifies of him, he gave himself to [Page 5]labour, and to the study of virtue, that he might make himself a fit receptacle for the Holy Ghost to reside in: how painfull then should we be in this high calling wherein God hath set us? Did Paul take pains, and are we idle? Find we him at his study, and shall we be ever from our Books? He had many things by di­vine instinct and revelation, but now-a-dayes, knowledge and grace are not to be had without travell and pains, the sweat of our brows, tugging of our brains. The pure oyle for the light of the Temple to cause the Lamp to burn, it was to be beaten: Exod. 27.20. so with much labour and pains, the Light of Gods Word must be prepa­red. Paul bids Timothy, 2 Tim. 2.15. Study to shew himself approved unto God: Timothy was a studied man, so must we be, Meditate (saith he) on these things, give thy self wholly to them; or ac­cording to the Originall, be thou wholly in them: our whole selves must be imployed in this work. [...]. 1 Tim. 4.15. Mathematica studia totum re­quirunt homi­nem. Alsted. Its said of the study of Mathematicks that it requires the whole man; much more doth the study of Divinity, it requires the whole man, our whole strength our whole time. It was a memorable speech of Master Calvin, when being sickly and weak, his friends perswaded him to give over reading and preaching; What (saith he) will ye have the Lord to find me idle at his coming? It were well therefore, if in our secular affairs, if we have any to look to in our journeys, nay in our very walks with Paul here, if we have any spare hours; we would have them imployed, and taken up with the thoughts of our callings, what we shall speak, and what we shall say, when we come and stand in this place: and this is the first thing observa­ble in this Sermon; His Painfulnesse.

2 Secondly, consider his Faithfulnesse; I kept back nothing that was profitable; I have declared to you the whole counsell of God; Faithfulnesse. Vers. 20.27.35. I have shewed you all things: This must needs be an excellent thing in a Preacher, the Apostle goes over it so oft: 1 Cor. 4.2. Heb 3.2. It is repuired in Stewards, that a man be found faithfull; he that said it, was such, even a faithfull Steward as Moses, faithfull in all Gods house. Some there are who work not at all, but are idle; others work, and take much pains▪ but to little purpose, because they deal not faithfully: some beloved sin they can espy in their hearers, but ei­ther through fear, or flattery, will not meddle with it: much like the Persian Judges, who when Cambyses askt them, If there were any law for him to marry his sister; made answer, There was no such law they knew of, for a man to marry his sister; but they [Page 6]found another law, That the Kings of Persia might do what they list: Pet. Martyr. in lib Judic. p. 144. or as Camerarius writes of one Basilius Cameterus, who having a desire to be Patriarch of Constantinople, went to one An­dronicus a great man, and promised him if he would help him to it, he would be his servant, never say or do any thing that should displease him; nay, he would set himself against all that should be his enemies, and gave him his hand upon it: Such trencher-Chaplains, I believe, there are too many; willing for preferment to accept of the like covenant, to enter into such bonds: But Pauls spirit was too high, to stoop to such base conditions; he had rather lye in bonds, then enter into such bonds; he could not flatter nor comply, he could not daub, nor dissemble; but declared to them the whole will and pleasure of God. Were there any point of salva­tion they were ignorant of, he would unfold it unto them: or were there any sin reigning amongst them, they should be sure to hear of it. Act. 26 25.24.25. If he come before Festus, he must give him leave to tell him the truth; if before Felix, deal as roundly with him too, let­ing him hear of his injustice, and intemperance. Paul would spare no man in his sinnes, neither Festus, nor Felix, nor any of them all: Theres the second: his Faithfulnesse.

3 The third, I calld his Prudence, in preaching this Sermon at this time; he knew, and so he tels them, he should never preach Sermon more to them after this, Prudence. therefore he will not loose his op­portunity now; now he will speak, That his words might be the more fastened in their minds; that they might say when he was gone, Paul is out of sight now, but his words shall never out of our minds. The last words of our dying or departing friends, Solemus morien­tium voces pro oraculis habere. go for Oracles with us. This therefore is a thing further required in Gods Steward, That as he might be found Faithfull, so likewise Prudent: Our Saviour hath joyned them together; Luk. 12.42. Who (saith he) is a Faithfull and Wise Steward; or Prudent? Now Prudence is a virtue that prescribes the right manner of our actions; points out the due cir­cumstances, time, and place, when and where, this or that is to be done; Eccles. 8.5. this we call prudence: and it is an excellent virtue in Gods Steward. Some desire to be Faithfull, it were well if they would learn to be Prudent too: Tempus & rati­onem reigerendae [...]ar [...]wright. in Pro. p. 665 666. Gregor 3 part. Pastor. Item Hallus de conscientia. 182. A wise-mans heart (saith the Wise­man) discerneth both time and judgement. The saying of Gre­gory is good, One manner of admonition is to be given to men, an­other to women; young-men are to be dealt withall one way, old-men another: we must addresse and apply our selves, one way to the [Page 7]poore, another way to the rich; after one sort to the servant, another to the Lord or Ruler: one way to the plain and simple, another way to the wise and understanding: one way to our well-willers, another way to our enemies: one way to the modest and shame-faced, another way to the perverse and obstinate: A Minister therefore, Chrys. 10.5. p. 6. saith Chrysostome, (if that be his de sacerdotio) stands in need of a great deal of wisedome, had need have six hundred eyes in his head to look about him, to see and observe the severall dispo­sitions of mens minds, that he may apply himself to them ac­cordingly: How wisely did the same Father dehort the people of Antioch from swearing! When Theodosius by his Officers had put a number of them to death for defacing his statues and ima­ges, Christ (saith he) is the Image of God, yea the Son of God; and if a mortall King hath thus punisht you for abusing his image, how then will the King of Heaven punish you, if you offer dis­grace to the Lord Christ, who is the image of God, and the en­graved form of his person? If you tear his blessed body in pie­ces by your oaths and blasphemies, he will never hold you guilt­lesse if you continue to do thus. Words spoken in season, Prov. 25.11. are like apples of gold in pictures of silver; we should therefore de­sire the Lord to give us the tongue of the learned, Isa. 50.4. that we may know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary; as when we see a man cast down, through any sad accident, lets labour then if we can, to make him sorry for his sinnes; when joyfull or merry through any good befalln him, make his joy spirituall if we can: we are Fisher-men, and must bait our hooks with such baits as may catch: Seed-men, our greatest skill therefore is to fit every ground with seed fit for the soile, and to sowe it also at such a season, as it may take root and grow; for seed, though never so good, cast into the ground out of season, doth not fructifie. To end this: We are to endeavour to speak sea­sonably, both in publick and in private; we must take our fit oppor­tunities of doing good: for opportunities are like water in a run­ing stream, come to a river with a rod in your hand, Aquin. you cannot touch the same water twice, for it runs away: So is it with oppor­tunities, we must lay hold of them when they are offered, or they are gone. Paul was never to preach more to the Ephesians, therefore he will by no means hold his peace now. And this is the third thing I noted to you: his Wisedome and Prudence. Zeal.

There is a fourth yet remaining, which is his Zeal and affection: [Page 8]he tells the Thessalonians, that he was affectionately desirous of them: 4 1 Thes. 2.8. so he was very affectionate when he preacht this Sermon; he warns, he exhorts, desires them to look backward how faithful­ly he had dealt with them: forward, to consider what impostors were like to come in amongst them; now he speaks to them that they would have a care of themselves, Act. 20. [...] .28.31.32. and beware of seducers, then he turns to God, and craves help from heaven. Thus you see abundance of affection is shewed in this Sermon, his spirit is now upon the wing, the fire is kindled within, and his heart infla­med with a holy zeal: Spiritus Pauli exemplar Ministri, he should be a pattern to us in this also. The sonne of Syrach saith, Ecclus. 48.1. Joh. 5.35. that Elias was like fire, and his word like a burning lamp: John Baptist was a burning and shining light, and Chry­sostome saith, that Peter was like a man made all of fire, walk­ing amongst stubble: This holy fire of zeal will make us like them; Zeal is a greater converter of souls to God then Learn­ing. Bellarmine tells us, that with them in Lent-season, there are thirty or fourty Preachers in some great Cities, Scal. ascens. p. 100.102. daily preaching against sinne, yet no change afterwards appears in their lives; the same vices remain, the same coldnesse, as great dissolutenesse; I can give no other reason of it (saith he) but this, Their Sermons are Learned, and very Elegant, adorned with flowers of Rhetorick, but the Soul, the Life, the Fire is wanting, the Fire of Divine Love, which onely is able to animate the words of the speaker, and inflame the hearts of the hearers. This is not to be understood so, as if strength of lungs, contention and loudnesse of a mans voice, or the motion of his body carried it; many lay about them lustily, make a mighty noise, but thats not the thing: Guns having no Bullets or Shot, onely Powder in them, yet make a great noise when discharged, but without doing any thing: This therefore is the thing required, that we be affectionate­ly desirous of Gods glory, and of the salvation of mens souls; and that this affection be true and unfeigned; not extorted, but flowing naturally from the fountain of the heart. Let us labour therefore for this, endeavouring in our preaching to get affections suitable to the matter we have in hand, that our words coming from our hearts, may go to the hearts of our hearers; A corde ad cor. for, all the former are in vain, if this be wanting: for admit a Minister take great pains at [Page 9]his study, admit he be faithfull, say he be prudent too in taking fit occasions when, and what to speak; yet if he be not zealous withall, his hearers will be little moved with his words, for how should he move them, that is not first moved himself with that he delivers, Tacent plurimi eorum, aut simi­les sunt tacenti­bus, etiamsi lo­quantur. Salv. 160. Oxon. Coronidis loco. as Salvian writes: Many Ministers (saith he) are silent, never open their mouths to preach Gods word, and others are little better then silent even when they are speaking they do it so faintly and coldly. Let this therefore be added as the upshot and perfection of all, that we be zealous.

Thus you have heard what manner of Sermon this was that Paul preached to the Ephesians; what labour and pains; what plain-dealing and faithfulnesse; what wisdome and discretion; what zeal and affection there was in it: Paul was a painfull, faithfull, wise, and zealous preacher: Shall I tell you one thus qualified stood not long since in this place? But I know your thoughts are quick and have prevented me, onely this short application let me make of it. If preaching be an act of love, then Preachers are to be loved; if you ask which especially, I answer, such as I have spoken of; when God gives you Ministers thus qualified, think no blessing under heaven comparable to it: should the Lord give you riches as great plenty as Croesus; heap upon you as many titles of honour as the great Turk hath, filling almost half a sheet of a paper: Phil. 2.29. 1 Tim. 5.17. 1 Cor. 9.7. denying this, you wanted still the best means of your spirituall and everla­sting good. Count therefore such highly in reputation, count them worthy of double honour, consider the equity of it, if they feed the flock, should not the flock feed them? If they spend their strength for you, is it a great matter, if you spend part of your means on them? If they break their sleep for you, should not you watch all oportunities to do them good? If they for their faithfull and impartiall dealing be evil spoken of, should not you stand up and defend them where ever you come? If their zeal and affection, in delivering Gods truth, consume their strength, waste their spirits, causing them to end their lives in a kind of martyrdome; Magnes amoris, amor. Amor est motivum amoris. Aqun. do they not deserve your love? Love (they say) is loves load-stone, let their love then being such, draw you to love and honour them.

And thus much be spoken of the first act of Pauls love, Preach­ing. When he had so said, what then? He kneeled down and prayed: which is the second act of his love; wherein, observe with me these four particulars. [Page 10]

• 1. The action it self: He prayed.
• 2. The time when: When he had so said.
• 3. His gesture, kneeling: He kneeled down.
• 4. The parties with whom: With them together.

With the extent of it in that word (All.) He prayed with them, and with them all. My matter (you see) multiplies under my hand, I will therefore be as brief as I can: Doct. First, for the action, Prayer, he Preached, Phil. 1.7.9. yet he prayed too. Prayer then is an act of our love as well as Preaching. Paul tells the Philippians, that he had them in his heart; that is, he loved them: then he adds, and this I pray; as if he had said, I know not how better to expresse my love, then by praying for you. Samuel, he prayeed for the Israelites: Moreover, as for me, 1 Sam. 12.23. God forbid I should sin in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. Teach them he would, yet pray too, else God forbid; it is an act of love to speak for one to some great man; wouldst thou be spoken for to the King or Cap­tain of the host? 2 King. 4.13. said Elisha to the Shunamite: there was love in that, how much more when we speak for men; that is, in their be­half, to the king of heaven! Thus Paul prayed for those Chur­ches which he had planted; he was continually speaking to God for them, that he would build them up by the word of his grace. Reson 1 And this is to be done, both in regard of our selves, and in regard of those that hear us. First, our selves, for, this will make us more earnest in the work of the Ministery, for look which way our desires set themselves, our pains and endeavours usually go the same way; if we desire the good of Gods people, and pray for them, our ta­lents will be employed, our pains will not be wanting to do them good. Rom. 10.1. Paul saith, My hearts desire, and prayer for Israel, is, that they may be saved: that is, he did earnestly desire their salvation; and this made him strive so much in preaching the Gospel of Christ. Col. 2.29. This will also make us deny our selves, and not to play the huck­sters (as many do) with Gods word, [...]. 2 Cor. 2.17. mangling it with their watry inventions, but to approve our selves to every mans conscience in the sight of God: take a man that loves to breathe in a popular air, such a one aims at the praise and applause of men, he desires nothing more then a fine come off, a full and clear delivery, to utter and set forth his matter with a good a grace as he can, this is all he regards, which makes many Sermons to be such cold and languid discourses; but when a man hath an higher end and aim, to wit, the edification [Page 11]of his hearers: when that he most desires is to do good to the souls of Gods people; then more earnest endeavours will put forth them­selves, matter will be studied as much as words, and what may pro­fit, as what may please; thus, in regard of our selves, prayers and earnest desires will cause in us answerable endeavours. Reason 2 Secondly, in regard of those that hear us, through Gods blessing they shall become more attentive hearers. Joh. 15.16. Whatsoever ye ask (saith Christ) in my name, I will do it: If prayer be a means to obtain any blessing at Gods hands, why not this? and why may not our Prayers, as well as our Preaching, further the spirituall good of our hearers? Let us not therefore be defective in this duty; what a blessed thing is it when we do not onely Preach but Pray for men! I am perswaded this is the reason many find so little fruits of their labours, because they pray so little; did we earnestly pray for them, God would cause them to hear us with greater reverence and attention.

Doct. This for the Act, he Prayed: The next is the circumstance of time, when he did it: When he had so said; that is, when he had ended his Sermon. So our blessed Saviour, when he had taught his Disciples, he lift up his eyes to heaven, and prayed for them; Joh. 17.1. Hora verò jam in supplicationem sermonem solve­re. tom. 5. p. 135. Thus Chrysostome shuts up one of his Homilies, Let us now break off (saith he) for this time, and turn our speech into prayers: So Paul here, [...], as he was saying these things, he brake off, and fell to his Prayers.

Inference 1 As the former Point then taught us to Pray; so this, when to Pray: namely, when we have Preacht. It commends prayer after Sermon, whether publick or private. In the Hic taxantur qui se à precibus Ecclesiae subdu­cunt ilico atque concio absoluta est, non expect­ta tanquam con­cionis coronida precatione. Car­tier Prov. 30. publick Assem­bly, craving a blessing upon what hath been delivered; that what we have heard with our outward ears, the Lord would be pleased to write the same upon the tables of our hearts: or else, in our private devotions commending the truths delivered, to Gods bles­sing; when we have preacht a Sermon to the people, desire God to preach it over again to them: What is seed better for being sown, if it be not watered afterwards; when we preach, we sowe the seed of Gods word; when we pray for the divine benediction upon it, we get it watered with the dew of heaven, and then it prospers.

2 Secondly, you may here see what a painfull calling, the calling of the Ministry is; When he had so said he prayed: when we have taken pains in Preaching, then we must Pray; and when we have prayed, Preach; and when we have Preacht, Pray again: Thus [Page 12]the Apostles, Act. 6.4. Redit labor a­ctus in orbem. Frequens medi­tatio, carnis est afflictio. Eccles. 12.12. Mat. 14.23. We will give our selves (say they) to prayer, and the ministry of the Word; these two must run in a course, and take up the whole life of a Minister: Therefore they slander our cal­ling, who report us idle and slothfull, little do they consider the greatnesse of our work that say so; you do not feel the killing pains we indure. When our Saviour had spent the whole day in working miracles, at night he went apart to prayer: So, many a Minister, when he hath laboured hard all day in the Word and Doctrine, may be found praying in his Study at night, when o­there are asleep.

Thirdly, let this also commend this duty of Prayer to you after Sermon; When you have heard God speaking to you, then will your hearts be in good plight to speak to him; when we have taken pains in Preaching, we pray that God would blesse our labours to you. Do you then the like for your selves, drawing that heavenly food of Gods Word into your souls by They be the sighs of the spirit in prayer, that fetch out the comforts of the spirit in the word. Dyke School of affli­ction. Doct. 2. Lectio apponit ori solidum ci­bum, meditatio frangit, oratio, saporem concili­at, contemplatio est ipsa dulcedo quae jucundat & reficit. Barthol. Comp. spirit. doct. 142. prayer and meditation. I can enlarge nothing, having many things to speak of.

Doct. The third Particular, Psal. 100.1. Eph. 3.14. Luk. 22.41. Act. 7.60.9.40. is his gesture; He kneeled down and prayed: he did it on his knees. The comliest gesture for Petitioners, is kneel­ing. O come let us kneel. For which cause I bow my knees. Our Saviour kneeled down and prayed. So did Stephen, so did Peter: not that a man is alwayes tyed to this gesture, Certa aliqua le­ge definitum non est, qui sint ad preces gestus ad­hibendi liberta­te, fanctae mode­stiae freno guber­nata, hic gaudet Ecclesia. Sibel. for we meet with examples in Scripture of many other gestures besides this: and Tertul de Co­ron. Tertullian an antient Writer tells us, That in the Primitive Church they were wont to pray standing. Such a custome there was from the Pasch till Pentecost, in memoriall of Christs Resurre­ction; but this was but a ceremony used onely for such a time, and upon such an occasion: for the same Father commends kneeling, as the fittest ordinary gesture that we can use: Scultet. exercit. Evang. 143. Sedentem orare extra disciplinam. and saith, that men are not well disciplined when they pray sitting. And its well ob­served, that in the Hebrew and Greek tongue, the same word si­gnifies praying, and bowing of the knee. [...] genu [...] of [...]. Let this therefore mind us of our duty, to make use of our knees, in the offering up of our prayers; Scilicet nobis in­cumbit, centum genua (fi illa no­bis suppeterent) coram illo flecte­re. Cartw. pro. 886. were they knees of gold, they were not too good to stoop to God; it fit we should humble our selves, and lay our selves low, when we come before the highest Majesty. You have seen his gesture. Thats the third thing.

The fourth, is the parties with whom he prayed, He prayed with them: 2 Cor. 1.11. Doct. As the Apostle speaks, You labouring together in prayer: so [Page 13]here, they prayed together, he with them, and they with him, they joyned together.

This commends joynt prayers, they bear down all before them. Where two or three are gathered together in the name of Christ, Mat. 18 20. Coimus in coe­tum, vota sundi­mus, coelos: undi­mus. Tertul. Apo. Jam. 5.16. there is he in the midst of them: How much more, where two or three hundred, or two or three thousand! We beset God as it were by troops, we poure forth our prayers, we rap at Heaven gates, saith Tertullian. If the prayer of one righteous man prevail much, shall not the fervent prayers of many righteous men prevail more? This made Chrysostome preferre Church-prayers, before closet-prayers: A man (saith he) may pray in his closet, Chrys. to 5. p. 212. & 254. but not so as in the Church, where the prayers of all are sent up together with an unanime consent: you are not so heard of God, when you pray alone, as when you pray with your brethren: for there is una­nimity and consent, the bond of charity, and the prayers of the Minister joyned with you, which are wanting in private devotions. Thus that worthy Bishop and Father of our Church.

Inference 1 Now should I apply this by way of reproof; How many had I here to deal withall! for, some absent themselves, and come not at all to our publick prayers: others very late, others come, and in good time, yet their hearts go not along with us: now none of these can be said to pray with us. Not the first, who like the bro­ther of the Prodigall, are angry and will not come in, but despise our publick Prayers: Luk. 15.28. The Devil is a great enemy to the prayers of the assembly: and therefore hath made many so far out of love with them: heretofore indeed, when the Surplas or Crosse stood in their way; many came not: but that since these have been remo­ved, they cannot yet find the way hither; surely it is the policy of Sathan. The Lord remove all stumbling-blocks from before his people, and give them eyes to see what are stumbling-blocks, and what are not: for our selves, let us follow the Apostles counsell, Heb. 10.25. which is, not to forsake the assembling of our selves together, as the manner of some is.

2 Neither do the second pray with us, or at least, not to any pur­pose,that come very late to the assembly. Act. 10.33. It was the speech of Cor­nelius to Peter, We are all here present before God: we cannot say so, half or a third part being away, when the Minister begins: now comes the man, by and by, the wife, a quarter of an hour after, the servants; so that prayers are well nigh ended, ere we can all be got together: let us therefore have a care to come cheerfully toge­ther [Page 14]that so we may pray together, let us come to the beginning. Octavius Augustus and Caligula set a fine upon those Senatours heads, Lib. 10. decret. p. 48. Absentes, tardè venientes. that came late into the Senate-house: and in our Colledges, Presidents punish those that come tardie, as well as those that come not at all. It is a fault therefore this, to be so leaden-heeld in re­pairing hither; to come dropping in so late into Gods courts: as you cannot go over-late to the service of Sathan; so neither can you come too early to the service of God.

3 Yet once more: Neither do they pray with us, whose hearts go not along with us in this duty: they come indeed, and are here it may be with the first; yet not minding what is done, we neither pray with them, nor they with us: for if some fall asleep, others be laughing or gazing about them, and others have their wits a wool gathering, how can we be said to pray with you all? We onely pray with such as pray with us: intend therefore, and mind what is done here, let your hearts go along with us from the begin­ning to the end of this holy action: Officium divi­num summa de­votione persolvi­to, oblitus omni­um terrenorum quasi inter Ange­lorum agmina Constitutus di­vinas laudes cum eis pariter can­tare studeas. Barthol. comp. spirit. doct 10. some are so farre from joyning with us, thnt when we have prayed, they will hardly open their mouths to add Amen to our prayers. In the Primitive times, their Amen was so loud, that it was like a clap of thunder; ours is so low, it can scarce be heard: therefore when you come toge­ther, be exhorted to use that reverence that becomes the presence of the Divine Majesty: abstract your thoughts from all earthly things. When you sing Psalmes, and set forth Gods praise together, do it, as if you were bearing a part with the blessed Angels: and when you pray, joyn spirits together, sending up the Ministers prayer with all your strength to heaven.

He prayed with them. It follows, with them all: see how gene­rall his love was, as he preacht to all, great and Act. 26 22. 2 Cor 9.19.22. Coloss. 1.28. small: so he like­wise prayed for all. This great Doctour of the Gentiles conde­scends to the meanest man in this company, and prayes with him. Its no disparagement to greatnesse, to be imployed in offices of love to the meanest Saint: a Ladies hands are not too fair to wash a Disciples feet, nor her eyes too beautifull to behold the diseases of those that lie in the Spittle: nor her feet too good to carry her to the sick-mans bed to pray with him: but it is the fault of too many, to have the faith of Christ with respect of persons: If an e­quall or Superiour be sick, they may chance to lend him a visit, but an Inferiour, though he have ten times more grace in his heart, may languish and perish ere he be visited, or have any comfort sent him [Page 15]for body or soul: it was otherwise here with Paul, he preacht to all, and he prayed for all: Rom. 12.16. Psal. 119. com­pared with 63.74. condescend therefore to men of low e­state, be your selves never so high. King David did it, They that fear thee, will be glad when they see me: that might well be, they glad to see him; but the question is, Whether or no, David would be glad to see them? for, many are ready to hide their heads, will not be seen, when men of low degree come to present themselves before them: It was not so with him, but (saith he) I am a com­panion of all that fear God: not onely willing to see, or to be seen of them, but to keep company with them: and not onely with some of the highest rank, but all such: I am a companion of all them, He would descend, as it were, from his throne, forget state, become a companion of every one that feared God. With them all.

Doct. Again, It was a parting prayer this, He prayed with them, and so left them; where you may further learn from hence, That it is a laudable custome, that Christian friends use at parting, to pray one for another, and to desire the prayers one of another. Tis true, we are to pray for our friends when absent, and God can hear our prayers for them, though they be in the remotest corners of the world: even as the exhalations that rise out of the valleys with us in this place, being carried up into the air, fall down in showres, and refresh those places that are further off; so those pious exhalations and prayers, which we send up to heaven, may bring down a blessing with them upon our friends: wheresoever they be, our prayers may find them out. We should therefore pray for them, when out of sight, and absent from us, for God sees them, and can showr down his blessings upon them: howsoever this be true, yet the presence of a friend we wish well to. How doth it stirre up to this duty, when as Christ prayed to his Father in behalf of his Disciples, I pray for these whom thou hast given me: Joh. 17.11. these— as if he had pointed to them with his finger: so when a man shall say, ‘I pray for these, these now in presence, these here before me, these whose faces I now behold, but it may be shall never behold more:’ how forcible will our prayers be as such a time! When a man parts from his friend, if his presence any whit moves him, he hath it, he is not yet gone; if his absence, his thoughts now give him ab­sent, being thus, presens-absens, having him in his armes; yet see­ing him vanishing out of his sight, how are his affections then kin­dled, and inflamed! and then are our prayers most prevalent, [Page 16]when affections as wings, are ready to waft, and carry them up to heaven: This therefore is a commendable and religious custome, to have God present at our parting from our friends: when we leave God with them, we leave them well. Thus you see here, Paul and the Ephesians, commending one another to God in their prayers: so the Disciples at Tyre in the next Chapter, they kneeled down and prayed, Act. 21.5, 6. and so took leave one of another. He prayed with them.

But what may we think this prayer was? That God would strengthen them by his spirit in the inner man, Ephes. 3.14. was once his prayer for this Church: Such it may be was his prayer for them now, That they might be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, that being left as so many poore orphans, Ephes. 6.10. the Lord would take care of them, and build them up by the word of his grace: Such in all probability was the effect of his prayer. It was our Saviours prayer for his Disciples, I am now no more in the world, holy Fa­ther, keep throught thine own name those whom thou hast given me: Joh. 17.11. Such its likely was Pauls prayer for these Ephesians, that seeing he was to be no longer amongst them, the Lord would keep them by his power and might: And a hint hereof he gives us in his Ser­mon, when he saith, And now brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace: Vers. 32. he was then secretly lifting up his heart to God, and beginning his prayer, which afterward he prest, and offered up with more earnestnesse to the Throne of grace: if he commended them to God in his Sermon, how much more in his prayer! Caeterum obortae impediunt la­chrymae. Transitio ad se­cundam partem. But Paul can now be no longer heard for tears, sighs and tears shed on every side, drown his voice, and carry away the sound of his prayers from us. Come we therefore from the first generall part of my Text, Pauls love to them, to the second, their love to him: For it was not here as it was with the Corinthians, of whom he complains, that he loved them, but not they him, Nay, 2 Cor. 12.15. the more (saith he) I love you, the lesse am I loved: But here was love returned, love for love. Paul hath done his part, exprest much love to them, now they come upon the stage, and endea­vour to shew as much love to him: But how? Poor souls, their words were few. As Chrysostome observes of Peters weeping for the denyall of his Master, He wept bitterly (saith he) but we hear him say nothing: so these Ephesians wept sore, but said little. It may be they were in the Psalmists case, so troubled that they could not speak; Psal 77.4. yet their love was great. Love consists not all in [Page 17]words: I doubt not but words past between them ere they parted, but what they were, in that the Text is silent; it presents us with nothing but mute expressions, such as kissing, weeping, walking: and these, as I noted to you before, are the three acts wherein their love was exprest; according to the three faculties or members of the body, lips, eyes, feet; in their lips, in kissing him; their eyes, in weeping over him; their feet, in walking with him, and accompa­nying him to the ship. 1 First then, I shall consider their love, as it broke out at their lips, They kist him. They kissed him. Prov. 24.26. [...] Home. Every one kisseth the lips of him that maketh a wise answer, saith the Wise-man: When Paul was preaching and praying with the Ephesians, his lips seemed to drop like an hony-comb; they cannot therefore let him go without a kisse, and herein they shewed their love to him. Luc. 7.45. Wherefore else did our Saviour complain of Simon, and take it so unkindly at his hands, that when he was at his house, he gave him no kisse? The learned know, that to love and to kisse come from the same root; one word in the originall expresseth both, and as if it were a thing known to the meanest: [...]. when a mother speaks thus to her child, come love me, her meaning is no more but this, that her child should turn and give her a kisse. And therefore when tis said of the Ruler in the Gospel, that Jesus beholding, loved him; Marc. 10.21. some will have it to be meant onely of a kind salutation, that is, he saluted or kist him. Now this kisse, or salute, was used as a token of love, ei­ther when men were reconciled when they met together, or when they parted: first, when they were reconciled and made friends, as the Father of the Prodigall and his sonne. Luk 15 20. Gen. 29.11. Secondly, when they met together after a long time, as Jacob and Rachel in Padan-Aran: Moses and Jethro in the wildernesse, Exod. 18.7. who meeting his father-in-law there, he did obey sance, and kissed him. Or thirdly, at parting, as Elisha said to Eliah, Let me I pray thee kisse my father and mother, 1 King. 19.20. that is, take my leave of them, and then I will follow thee. Ruth 1.8, 9. Thus Naomi to her two daughters-in-law, Go and return each to your mothers house, and the Lord be with you, &c. then she kissed them, and they lift up their voice and wept. Of this last kind was this in my Text, They hang'd upon him (saith Erasmus) being now to go away from them, desirous to be fild with his company.

Religion then you see is no enemy to civility: kisses and mutu­all embraces, Religion simply mislikes not. But it condemns first, Inference 1 Prov. 7.13. Pangit suavium [...] impudicitiae. Ames. cas. 3. such kisses as wantons use: She caught him, and kist him: Such are proems of adultery, preparatives to lust and corporall unclean­nesse: [Page 18]as strokes are the beginning of murther, Interim scien­dum haecantiqui­tus porrect a os­cula fuiffe spici­tualia, non car­nalia quae com­plexu corporum animas copulant non desiderio carnis, fed spiri­tus. Ambros. in secundam ad Cor. 7. so are such kisses of adultery. These in my Text are of another nature, symbols of that divine conjunction of souls, when the souls of two friends go forth, as it were of their bodies, to salute each other in a Christian manner: therefore 'tis called an holy kisse: 1 Thes. 5.26. 1 Tim. 1.5. Greet all the brethren with an holy kisse; the other are unholy. Paul speaks in Timothy of love out of a pure heart; but, the love and kisses of wanton per­sons, come out of an impure one.

2 And secondly, counterfeit and treacherous kisses; as Joab dealt with Abner, took him out of the way to salute him, and then smote him under the fifth rib: 1 Credibile est Judam colosum nebulonem ad iisse detecto ca­pite pileo supra modum demisso curvatóque cor­pore Christo pro­cul tedendisse manus amplexa­turus vultu hila­riore, voce amicitiam solito magis profitente, labia labiis impressisse, ne quid proditionis deesset, per molle osculi blandimentum inflixit execrabile proditionis jaculum. Bosquier theatr. pass. p. 192. 2 1 Pet. 5.14. Vocatur osculum charitatis, quod non est adulatorium sicut Absolonis, non simulatorium sicut Joabi, non proditorium sicut Judae. Hereuschmidt osculolog. 82. And 1, Judas, who in a great shew of love and respect, kist our Saviour, when he came to be­tray him: So there are in the world such as will embrace, and kisse with their lips, those whom they hate in their hearts: but such are lying lips, though they say nothing. Therefore as Paul calls it, a holy kisse; so 2. Peter, a kisse of charity. It must be of charity, not of hypocrisie.

2 But so much of their love, They wept. Vers. 19.31. as it broke out of their lips: Con­sider we it now in the second place▪ as it had vent at their eyes. The Text saith, They wept: twice had Paul made mention of his tears. Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears; and remember (saith he) that for the space of three years, I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Now therefore they come in with their tears, he powred out his prayers, and they now powre out their tears: sad men (you must needs think) they were Sermon-while and prayer-while, now they cannot contein, a torrent of tears gushes out of their eyes, they wept: and this like­wise shewed their love. Paul proves his love to the Corinthians, by this very argument, Out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears, 2 Cor. 2.4. then it follows, that ye might know the abundant love which I have towards you. Our Saviour is said to weep when hee stood over Lazarus grave; Jesus wept, then said the Jews, Joh. 11.36. see how he loved him! So, any man might see love in these tears; its evident they loved him, by their weeping thus for him. But this was a bitter weeping, this weeping of theirs; theres [Page 19]more to be said of it: Consider these four things in the Text: the Generality, the Excesse, the Place, and the Cause of their weep­ing: First,

The

• 1. Generality of it; They all wept.
• 2. Excesse of their weeping, or depth of their sorrow; Wept sore.
• 3. Place, where; On Pauls neck.
• 4. Cause, why; Because they should see his face no more

Of these in order.

1 First, of the Generality, in that word all; not some, but all. Paul had warnd every one of them with tears, All wept. his love hath broken their hearts, now out fly their tears; every one hath tears now at command for him. I know not well what to say to it, how this should come to passe, unlesse as it fares with us, that our eyes do oft water, when we look upon watry eyes: so its likely here, that one mans tears drew on anothers: Humanitatis re­fugit affectum qui dolorem non sequitur alienum Cassiodor. p. 374. Rom. 12.15. Humane affe­ction makes us follow other men in their sorrow, and to weep with them that weep. But what ever the cause was, certain it is, that tears stood in every mans eyes, the Text reports it for a generall weeping. And we cannot but think, that some of them were na­turally men of harder constitutions, dryer bodies then the rest: but grace is stronger then nature, for the hardest heart now relents, the driest bodie now yields tears. All wept.

2 Secondly, Consider the excesse of it, or depth of their sorrow; 2. Wept sore. They wept sore. It had been much if every one had wept, though never so little: had he onely watered his eyes, or let fall one tear, it had been much: here was more, they all wept; yea, and they wept sore: their sorrow therefore must needs be great. Some say, Lachryma, quasi lacerrima, à lacerando, Camerar. Cent. 102. because tears are bred of a laceration of the spirit: and why may not the English word tears have the like Etymology, from tearing of the heart? certainly these were tearing tears, renting, as it were, and tearing the very hearts of the Ephesians; but the originall word signifies more then tears, [...]. tears and throbs, such as use to be the pain of a woman in her tra­vell. Paul had been in travell with them, they are now in travell with him; they cry and weep, and take on without measure: Great was that love that drew out such abundance of tears.

Inference Away then with that Stoicall Apathy, which would make men like stocks or stones, taking from us those affections which are revet­ed and ingrafted into our very natures; so that to take them away [Page 20]were all one, as to go about to take away meeknesse from the Lamb, Evangelium non tollit, sed vere regit naturales affectus. Beza in loc. Vid. Lactant, p. 478.481. fiercenesse from the Lion, fear from the Hare; sooner may ye kill these creatures, then take away these affections from them: even so it is with man. But the Peripateticks allow affe­ctions to be in us, but, modicè ac temperatè; they are Lactantius his words: We must rejoyce, say they, but not much; grieve, but not much: which is as if they had said. That a man must alwayes go fair and softly, but never run; whereas we know, that he that goes foot-pace, may go wrong; and a man that runs as fast as his leggs will carry him, may keep the right way: So affections, if set right, though violent, are not to be condemned. I can tell you of a sorrow, the least measure whereof is sinfull: I can instance a­gain in a sorrow, which being excessive, deserves no blame: Such was this of the Ephesians, They wept sore.

3 The third Circumstance, is the place and manner of their weep­ing (I put them both under one) it was upon Pauls neck. On Pauls neck. It is said of Joash, that he wept over the face of Elisha as he say a dy­ing: 2 King. 13.14. Gen. 45.14. so Joseph and Benjamin wept one upon another, when they met together in Egypt, Joseph wept on Benjamins neck and Ben­jamin wept upon Josephs neck: so here, they wept on Pauls neck. But had they no where else to weep? I answer, this was the fittest place they could chuse, and that for these reasons.

First, Reason 1. A more nihil ve­locius, nihil a­cutius, nihil sub­tilius: ideo quie­scere nequit do­nec in intimum dilecti pectus de­scendat. Comp. spirit. doct. 182. it is the desire of lovers, to expresse their affections in presence of those they love: for it is the nature of love to go forth, and embrace the object wherewith it is delighted, therefore called an affection of union, because it unites and knits two together, and so makes them as it were, one. Therefore one saith thus, Theres no­thing so acute, so quick, so peircing as love is; which cannot rest, till it be got into the very heart of its beloved.

Again, Reason 2. Psal. 119.159. Tears are testimonies of our love: now friends desire nothing more, then to have their love taken notice of. Consider (saith David) how I love thy law: So a man is not content to love his friend, but he must have his friend consider it, and know he loves him; he comes to him with a Testentur hae lachrymae, let these tears be testimonials of my love to you: for we may not think all thats done openly, to be done hypocritically: The saying is, He grieves with a witnesse, that grieves without a witnesse; yet our grief may be true, Ille dolet vere qui sine teste dolet. though it have a witnesse. Indeed, Hy­pocrisie may and doth oft mingle it self; yet you see a man may weep openly in the presence of his friend, yet those tears be with­out [Page 21]out hypocrisie. When Saul purposed to kill David, 1 Sam. 22 41. Jonathan went out to meet him in the fields, and they kist one another, and wept one with another: surely it was to testifie that unfeigned love they had one to another, therefore they vent their grief into one anothers bosome, and lay their tears as nigh one anothers heart as they can. So the Ephesians, they might have wept at home, and not here in Pauls presence; but then they had lost a testimony of their love, but that may not be: they love him, and he must see they love him, therefore come they up to him as close as they can, and weep upon his very neck: Thats a second reason.

Reason 3 Thirdly, Its a great ease to a mans heart, to weep in the pre­sence of his friend, in the presence of one whom he loves; those tears give him a great deal of refreshment: ‘Let a mother receive news of the death of her child, what is the usuall complaint in this case? Oh, had I been with my poor child, to have kist it, to have wept upon it, before God took it away; it would have eased my heart: neither her kisses, nor her tears could do her child good; but they would have done her good, would have been as good as meat and drink to her.’ Therefore saith Seneca: Excidunt reti­nentibus lachry­mae, & animum profusae levant. Sen. Epist. 445. Sedatur lachry­mis, egeriturque dolor. Ovid. de trist. Tears will out somtimes whether we will or no, and when they are gone, the oppressed heart finds ease. Our Saviour Christ loved Laza­rus, and he wept for Lazarus being dead: but where think you was it? at his grave: when they shewed him where he lay, Jesus wept; and he took a journey to come and weep there. Mary she also wept, and it was thought by the Jews, Joh. 11.35, 36. to be at the grave too: for when she rose up hastily and went out, they said it was to weep at the Sepulcher: they comforted her in the house, now they thought she was gone to comfort her self at the grave: Vers. 19.31. as if it had done her good, to lay her tears near her brother Lazarus. I will draw one spirituall meditation from this point.

Inference If it be so comfortable weeping in the presence of a friend, Oh what is it then think you to weep for our sinnes before God! na­ture oft teacheth the former, oh that grace might teach us to do the later, to weep in the presence of Christ with Mary, to wash his feet with our tears! shee came into the house, Luc. 7 37. and stood at his feet weeping, and washing his feet with tears: her heart was full, and she found no comfort till she came to Christ, to weep in his presence: then she heard that joyfull sentence, thy sinnes are forgi­ven thee: so that her tears, as they washt the dust from Christs feet; so through the mercy of God, they washt away sin from [Page 22]her soul: so if we go to Christ, and wash his feet with our tears of Repentance; he will wash both us and our repentance in his own blood, and so cleanse us from all our sinnes. When we offer up our prayers, if we then let fall a shower of tears at his feet, this rain being fallen, there will be faire weather in our souls. There­fore we see what a comfort it was to the Prophet David, that he could powre out his tears before God, and that God should take notice of his weeping. Psal. 6.8. Lachrymae pon­dera vocis ha­bent. The Lord (saith he) hath heard the voice of my weeping. But to return where I was, They wept upon Pauls neck that was the place. Consider withall the manner of it, fall­ing upon his neck, so saith the Text, They all wept sore, and fell upon his neck. But was that good manners, all to fall upon him thus? Indeed love loves sometimes to be unmannerly: When Christ after he was risen appeared to Mary, she would fain have been falling upon him, and touching him; but hands off (saith Christ) Touch me not: Love made her forget duty. So the Shunamite coming to the Prophet Elisha, caught him by the feet, insomuch that Gehezi thought it a saucy part of her, 2 King. 4.27. to hold his Master in that manner, therefore went and shoved her away: Oh, saith Elisha, let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her, that which shee did, she did it out of the abundance of her affe­ction; therefore the Prophet knew how to bear with her: Love you see made her likewise forget manners.

Object. But how then doth the Apostle say, 1 Cor. 13.5. That love doth not behave it self unseemly or unmannerly? Tis true.

Answ. [...]Therefore I answer, It is a very seemely unseemlinesse, and (if I may so speak) mannerly unmannerlinesse, that comes from love; love puts a grace upon gestures, otherwise undecent; speeches, o­therwise rude. When a Pagan offered water to King Artaxer­xes in the hollow of his hand, it was so well accepted, because he did it out of love, Drexel. recta. in­tent. epist. Nemo succenset amanti. Pro. 23.26. that he put it into a viall of Gold: We know not how to be angry with him that doth any thing to us out of love: if a man doth truly love me, I regard not his tongue, but his heart. God saith, Give me thy heart: Thats accepted with him, though something be wanting in the outward man, but the out­ward man cannot please without the heart. So here, If I have a mans heart, whatsoever failing there may be outwardly, I construe it but as an errour of love: Ne (que) salsum ne (que) suave esse potest quicquam ubi amor non admi­seetur. but without the heart, all shews and formalities are nothing worth. If a man love me, and that from his heart, it being with me and for me; what if his carriage be not [Page 23]so courtly, nor his words so starcht and set out as other mens? I can see no indecorum in that gesture, no soloecisme in that speech that comes from love.

4 You have now seen the place of their weeping, Pauls neck: and the manner of it, ruentes in collum Pauli, they fell upon his neck, and wept there. Because they should see his face no more. Vers 25. As Job speaks, the ey of him that hath seen me shall see me no more Job 7.8. The fourth thing propounded concerning this weeping was. The cause of it. Paul had told them that they should see his face no more, Behold I go bound to Jerusalem, and I know not what afflictions I may live to see there; but this I know, that these eyes shall never see you more, nor your eyes see me any more: Hinc ille lachrymae, this was the cause of their weeping. Paul had said, grievous wolves shall come in among you, and he had said, I am pure from the blood of all men: Vers. 29.26. A worull change instead of the face of an Apo­stle, to see the face of a wolf. terrible sayings these, e­nough to make sad their hearts: but that which grieved them most, and put them into the greatest agony, was this saying of his, Ye shall see my face no more; as if they had replyed and said, ‘Oh blessed Paul, who can refrain tears that hears such words as these! shall wee see thy face no more! give us leave then to weep, 1 Sam, 30.4. till we can weep no more: thou hast oft bedewed thy cheeks with tears for us, suffer us now to shed tears for thee.’ They wept most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more: that saying was like a Bucket let down into the bottom of their hearts, which drew up such adundance of tears: They wept sore. Their sorrow was great, as you have heard, and no marvell, you see here they had great cause: had there been hopes of seeing him again, the weather would soon have cleard, and their tears dryed up; but no seeing of him after this, and that went to their hearts. When our Saviour left his Disciples, Be not sorrowfull, Joh. 16.22. saith he, for I will see you again: but Paul here tels them flatly, they should see him no more; and how could their eyes chuse but water in beholding him now, whom they should never behold more. It was one of Augustines three wishes, that he might hear Paul in a Pulpit: no marvell then if these wept, that heard him so oft, but now should never see, nor hear him more! how are their eyes now fixt upon that face, that was never to be seen more after this! In some sense indeed they would see him the ofter, for that face that now began to disappear, being withdrawn from the sight of their bodies, would questionlesse be the ofter presented to the eyes of their mindes: yet they cannot indure to hear of his bodily absence.

Inference 1 First then, take notice here what a grief it is for friends to leave one another, its almost death to them to part asunder: a man sor­rows for nothing more, Omnes dolores leves praeter­quam. Joh. 16.6. Malvezzi David. perfec. 132. then to have his friend taken from him. When Christ began but to speak of going away, how sad were his Disciples! Because I have said these things, sorrow hath filled your hearts. Friendship (saith Malvezzi) is an union of two souls in one body, which in a sort inform it; if not truly, yet virtually; and as the soul is grieved to depart out of an earthly body which it informed, so likewise to depart from another soul which she loved. Hence it was that Augustine tells us, August. confess. that when his friend Ali­pius was dead, he thought one half of himself gone. So Paul here, and his Ephesians, It grieved them (as ye heard) that he was going from them; and we must think it grieved him too, to tell them, that he must leave them: and therefore, if you mark, you shall see how mournfully, as it were, he utters those words, I go bound—and now behold—ye shall see my face no more: he brings it out with a kind of sigh— And now behold, &c. as it grieved them to hear it; so himself no lesse to speak it. Nothing then more grievous to friends, then parting.

2 Secondly, did they sorrow thus for Pauls departure; see then here the losse of Gods Ministers, what a losse it is: we are to sor­row most of all for that. Losse of houses, lands, goods, is not so great as this: Ministers, though they be a burden to some, and many ungratefull wretches cry, a faire riddance; yet Gods children know what a losse they sustain when they are taken away. When Eudoxia the Empresse took a spleen against Chrysostome, [...] Joh. exuli Cyriaco Epise. to. 5. ep. 3. p. 287. History of the Church of Scot­land. 214. and ba­nish him, the people gathered to him weeping, and saying: It were better the Sun left shining, then the golden mouth of Chry­sostome be stopt from preaching. When John Knox was calld into Scotland, being to leave his flock at Geneva, This (saith he) to worldly-wise-men, may appear a small matter, but to me it was and is such, that more wordly substance, then I will expresse, could not have caused me willingly to behold the eyes of so many grave men weeping at once for my cause, as I did, in taking my last good night from them. Acts and Monu­ments. 1387. And Doctour Taylor when he went through Hadley to be burnt, the people stood weeping in the streets, point­ing to him, and saying, There goes our good Shepheard, what shall we poore scattered lambs do? this therefore is a heavie case.

3 Thirdly, before I passe from this point, give me leave to raise up your minds by a spirituall meditation. Is the absence of a friend, [Page 25]of a Minister so grievous; what then is the absence of Christ, when he shall say, Ye shall see my face no more? we should think that the heaviest saying that ever was heard, and we should be most earnest in our Hoe unum per­dere metuamus aeternum Dei as­pectum; illud (que) assidue quisque pro se roget, ne projicias me à facie tua. Psal. 51.13. faciem tu­am domine re­quiram Psal 27.8 Ostende mihi fa­ciem tuam demi­ne, Exod. 33.13. Piè domine mo­dicum illud vo­cas, ob modicum immodicum. prayers, that this may never be: that he would never cast us out of his presence, or hide his face from us, for then what a sad and desolate condition are we in! for if one Minister die, or go away, we can get another; or if we lose one friend, we can take delight and comfort in another: but what comfort can a man have, when the Comforter himself is gone? Hence it is that when Christ shall withdraw himself a little from the soul of a Chri­stian, he thinks every day seven years, till he return: as Bernard up­on those words; Yet a little while and ye shall not see me; Oh Lord, callest thou that a little while? Christ indeed calls it so, but a Christian thinks it long: as David, Return, O Lord, how long? and How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord, for ever? Psa. 6.3.13.1. Psal. 30.5. In another place he could tell us, his anger indures but a moment: now that moment seems eternity: How long—for ever? Thus the Church in the Lamentations complains and bewails her sad conditi­on; For this I weep, mine eye runneth down with water, Lameux. 1.16. because the Comforter that should relieve my soul, is far from me. Where­fore if you have the presence of Christ, and of his Holy Spirit, the counsell I give is this, that ye would labour to keep it; Mane nobiscum Domine, Luk. 24.29. say as the Disciples at Emmaus, Lord stay with us: but if he have ab­sented himself, up and seek him with tears: Tears indeed could not bring back Paul; but 'tis possible for a penitent by his prayers and tears to regain the presence of Christ.

And so much for the second act of their love, Their weeping; enlarged by four remarkable circumstances out of my Text: the Generality of it, all wept; the Excesse, wept sore; the Place, Pauls neck; and the Cause why, because they should see his face no more; that filld their hearts with grief, and made them cry Loth to depart. As one friend holds another by the hand, being sor­ry that he must forsake him: or as she said to her husband going into exile, Husband, we will go together, we will live together, Simul hine fimul ibimus ambo, se sequar & conjux exulis, exulero. Ovid. de trist. and we will die together, an exiled man, and an exiled wife toge­ther: So do these here, haerent in amplexibus, they cling to Paul, they are long in taking their leaves, they know not how to bid him adieu—But friends (we say) must part. Come we there­fore to the last act of their love, testified by their feet: Their lips, their eyes have done their part, now let us see what their feet do; [Page 26]they walk with him, they conduct, and bring him on his way: and how far? as far as they could, till they came to the Ship. They ac­companied him to the ship. They accompa­nied him to the ship. 3 This, Chrysostome will have to be an­other act of their love, So greatly (saith he) did they love him, and so diversly were they affected towards him, that they will on their way with him, Chrys. in locum. and see him Shipt, before they part. It was a frequent custome among the Primitive Christians, when their friends were going from them, to conduct them, and bring them forward on their way, Secundum indi­catos locorum si­tus intervallum fuit illud inter E­phesum, atque Miletum ad sta­dia circiter 400, quae efficiunt prope 50 millia passuum. Camer, in locum. Mat. 5.41. as you may see by these texts, Rom. 15.24. 1 Cor. 16.6. 1 Joh. ver. 6. So here the Ephesians do it to S. Paul: he sends for them from Ephesus to Miletus, and there was love in that; in coming so far at his request, a matter of fiftie miles from their own houses, but they do not leave him here, they will on further yet, till they come to the Ship. They observe that of our Saviour, If a man desire thee to go amile, go with him twain. When Elisha had notice that his master was to be taken from him, he went with him all the way from Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, 2 King. 2.1. and from Jericho to Jordan, and beyond Jordan, and then Eliah was suddenly taken from him, and he saw him no more: but yee see, he went with him as far as he could: so do the Ephesians here with Paul, they went with him as farre as they could, from Ephesus they come and meet him at Miletus, from Miletus they go along with him to the ship, and when they could accompany him no longer by land, they accompanied him by water so far as their eyes could reach.

Inference 1 Let me here then in the first place, present you with a picture of true love: you heard before, how their love broke out of their lips, how at their eyes, and here you see their very feet ex­presse it: where true love is, it will have command over the outward members of our bodies. 2 Tim. 1.17. Onesiphorus loved Paul, and this made him traverse the streets of Rome, and never give over, till he had found him, and ministred to his necessities. The Apo­stle calls it, 1 Thes. 1.3. Diligere. The labour of love: and in the Latine-tongue, Love and Diligence come both from the same root, to shew that love is diligent. But alas, its key-cold, very remisse, and (I may say) negligent in these dayes: our eyes cannot drop, nor shed one tear for the miseries of the Saints: our hands like Jeroboams are shrunk and dryed up, we cannot stretch them forth to shew mer­cy to the poore: our feet lame, and cannot walk to do a poore man good: onely we wagg our tongues, saying, alack poore [Page 27]man, God help thee, and I am sorry I can do thee no good, &c. call you this love? no, it deserves not the name: love is a stirring affection. Dost thou indeed love a good man? it will both move thy lips, water thy eyes, and set feet also a walking to do him good.

2 Secondly, See here again the love people ought to bear to those that are the dispensers of the mysteries of God: they that wept so abundantly before, we must think they did it much more now. The word, as I noted signifies, the pain of a woman in her travell; they had all this while been in travell with Paul, and are now come to send him forth, and to be delivered of him with sorrow, now there­fore their pangs were greatest. They follow him to the ship, as men follow the bere, when they bury their friends: Paul was now as a dead man, never to be seen more of them; therefore now sure, their tears flowed, they wept: and as Christ said of Maries anoint­ing his feet, they did it for his buriall; they wept before, Mat. 26.12. Quae verba cum audiisset multo quam antea ma­gis illachrymans &c. Chrys. de sacerd. Act. 21.1. 2 Cor. 11.26. they did not give over now at the ship, now they begin afresh, one sea runs into another, a sea of tears into a sea of waters: as the Israelites mingled their tears with the waters of Babylon: so here a river of tears gliding through their eyes, takes its course, and runs into the sea of Miletus; they bring him to the ship, and there testifie their love with new embraces: so that well doth the Evangelist say in the next verse, When we were gotten from them: much ado it seems he had to get from them: they would have kept him still, had he not broken from them by a kind of violence; Psal. 56.9. Migrationes me­as, vel fugas me­as, &c. quasi di­cat. Tu scis domi­ne quod multis annis sum vagus homo, & profu­gus, nec usquam datur mihi quies. vid. Vatabl. in locum. When we were gotten from them, we lanched forth. So that by all this you see what af­fection people ought to bear to those whome God hath set over them. Love to Gods Ministers, when it takes in the hearts of a peo­ple, is without bounds, without limits.

Thirdly, you may hence likewise take occasion to consider the mutable estate of the Saints in this life; they bring him to the sea, set him a ship-board, and there leave him; he lanches into the deep, and they return home with sorrow to their houses: Psal. 102.6.109.23. he is now en­tring into his perils by sea, and they are as much distrest at land. Such is the estate of Gods children here, full of miseries, full of changes, sometimes their estates sink, sometimes friends, somtimes their teachers are taken from them: thus like waves of the him-sea, one affliction comes upon the neck of another. David saith, Thou tellest my flittings, David cum sub­inde mutaret la­tebras comparat se aviculae hinc inde volitanti, & oberranti, cui nusquam nidulari conceditur. Bu­col. chron. 425. 1 Cor. 4.11. or wandrings: and compares him­self to a Pelican of the wildernesse, to the Locust or Grashopper, the [Page 28]Grashopper wanders and hops from grasse to grasse, from flower to flower: so do we in this world, shift and remove from place to place, and have here no certain dwelling place, we never continue in one stay, nor find any rest here, till we arrive at the haven of happinesse.

We have now set Paul to Ship, and our selves a shore: I am come to the end of my Text, I have done with that. Onely give me leave by way of generall Application, to commend to you two or three duties, such as I conceive, are both proper to the mat­ter that hath been delivered, and the present occasion. The title of the 45. Psalme, is, A Song of loves: so might the title of this Text be, which I have opened, a Text of love; for therein you have seen Pauls love to his Ephesians, and the return of their love to him: The first duty therefore I would commend to you, is this of Love; but such a love as my Text commends, that is, operative. When you look upon the Ephesians; you see that their lips, eyes, feet, spake nothing but love: So that devout Mary Magdalen, our Saviour saith of her, That she loved much; but how did it appear? (if it were the same Mary spoken of after­wards) every member almost of her body shewed it, her eyes in weeping; feet, in carrying her so early to the Sepulchre, to seek him whom her soul loved; her tongue, saying, They have taken away my Lord: and how can we think we love Christ, or our brethren, if neither our feet, eyes, nor tongues expresse it!

Object. Oh, but we have it, we say, in our hearts; what! and never let it come forth, nor walk abroad?

Answ. It cannot be: Its against the nature of love. No affection sends us more abroad, puts us more upon action, then this of love: Let us then, as these Ephesians and Mary, make both our tongues, our eyes, our feet, and our hands also witnesses of our love; our tongues, in warning, reproving, comforting: our eyes, in weeping in secret for the sins of others, and for the miseries of Gods people: if this heavenly fire of love be once kindled in our hearts, our eyes as Limbecks will be sometimes dropping and distilling tears. Again, our feet in carrying us to the house of God, Our feet (saith Da­vid) shall stand there; Psal. 122.2. and in carrying us to the beds of the sick to visit them; and lastly, our hands in giving to the necessities of the Saints: This love of the hand I would especially commend to [Page 29]you that are rich, and have wherewithall to do good. God loved the world, and gave his son: think of that, Joh. 3.16. his love was a giving love: so should yours be: remember the words of the Lord Je­sus, how he said, It is more blessed to give, then to receive; (they are the words immediately preceding my Text,) for, the former binds others to us; by the latter we become bound and obliged: Vid. Combis compend theo. p. 444. the former is a mans own virtuous act, and the former goes away with a reward from God; therefore more blessed. I beseech you therefore, suffer this word of exhortation, be ready to distribute, willing to communicate, so shall you make to your selves a glori­ous way to heaven. He that hath so oft stood, and spoken to you out of this place, were he now here to speak, and take his leave; what duty would he rather commend to you, then this? Cranmer, a Martyr in Queen Maries dayes, as he stood upon a Scaffold in Pauls, immediately before he went to the stake to be burnt, com­mended three sentences of Gods word, to the rich Citizens that were about him: the first was this; Luk. 18.24. How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdome of God! a hard saying (saith he) but he that spake it, is the God of truth. The second, Who so hath this worlds good, and seeth his brother in want, 1 Joh. 3.17. and shutteth his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? And the third sentence was, Jam. 5.1. Go to now ye rich men, weep and howle, for the miseries that shall come upon you. This was all his farwell-Sermon, to desire them to think of these Textes, when he was gone: So the Apostle Paul here, parting with the Ephesians, leaves this memento behind him; [...]. Vers 33. support the weake, remember the poore; and mark how he brings it in, I have shewed you all things, how that ye ought to do thus, that is, to re­member the poore, and to support, or shore up the weak. He tells them he had shewed them all things, yet mentions but one thing, charity to the poore: for that indeed is instar omnium, the end of all our preaching, and the end of all your hearing too: charity is the summe and perfection of all. I have stayed the longer upon this, being so necessary a duty; and the Text I have opened, gave just occasion to mind you of it. I will be briefer in the rest.

2 My second request therefore is, you would carefully retain, and keep in memory, whatsoever good instructions and lessons have been delivered, by your late Pastour; as John, to the Church of Thyatira, That which yee have already hold fast: Rev. 2.25. great pains hath been taked amongst you, let it not be like water spilt on the [Page 30]ground: Blessed (saith Christ) are such as hear the word, and keep it: Luc. 11.28. not they that onely hear, but they that hear, and keep: you have oft heard the word from his mouth, now therefore hold it fast, keep it. The seed hath been sown amongst you, now the Lord water it with the dew of his grace, that it may grow, and be fruitfull.

3 Thirdly, you have heard how full of changes this life is, we must part and leave one another; the Ephesians, Paul; and Paul, his Ephesians; and after a short time, all of us leave this world. Oh therefore let our hearts be, where our treasure is, where no change of weather shall alter us: Ego ipse, dum lo­quor mutari ista mutatus sum, &c. Senec, epist. 330. here are changes with­out, and changes within: we are not the same in our age, that we were in our youth: nor to day, what we were two or three dayes agoe: Joh. 14.2. Heb. 12.28. here we remove from place to place: above are man­sions, A kingdome that cannot be shaken.

4 Fourthly and finally, lest any that now hears me should be too much affected with grief, by reason of this weeping discourse. I will add one meditation, that may help to sweeten these bitter waters. Our friends are taken away from us, never shall we see them more in this world, in heaven (its to be hoped) we shall: these faces which disappear and vanish from us now, we shall recover the sight of them hereafter. Ministers and people shall then exult and rejoyce together. Paul saith of the Thessalonians whom he had won to God, and who were a comfort to him in his life, 1 Thes. 2.19. that at the presence of Christ, at his coming, they should be his glory, and joy, and crown of rejoycing: that is, he should take far more comfort in them, then ever he had done in this world. The like he saith of the Corinthians: We are your rejoycing, 1 Cor. 1.4. and ye ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus. Think of it beloved, think what a happy meeting, and what a happy greeting it will be, when Ministers and people shall come together, and greet one another in this manner, we are your rejoycing, and yee ours; Isa. 8.18. When Ministers shall say, Here am I, Lord, and the people whom thou hast given me: and they shall answer, Here are we, Lord, and he to whom thou hast given us, by whom thou hast converted us. When Ministers shall turn, and speak thus to their converts, Ye are our glory and our joy: and they shall reply and say, and ye have been our faithfull guides, that have brought us into these joyes; Then there shall be no taking ship, or horse to part any more: but we shall con­tinue together, enjoying a heavenly communion one with another, and following the Lamb wheresoever he goeth.