THE ART OF MOURNING.
SERMON III.
But because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his ivords against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me ; I have even heard thee also, saith the Lord. — 2 Chron. XXXIV. 27.
As the waters issuing from the sanctuary, mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel, grew deeper and deeper; first to the ancles, then to the knees, and after to the loins, until it came to an overflowing river, so hath it fared with us in handling of this text ; wherein, from tenderness of heart, we have waded deeper and deeper through the mysteries of humiliation in the inward rnan, until at length from thence we are broken forth to the outward expressions of Josiah's inward humiliation, his ' rending of his clothes,' and overflow- ing floods of ' tears ;' which sprung partly from his apprehension of ruin at hand, to come upon God's sanctuary, and partly from the sorrow and sense of sin in himself and the people, as causes of his fear.
But to come to the text now read in your hearing, ' And didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me,' here we have set down the outward expres- sion of Josiah's inward humiliation.
For true humiliation shews itself as well outwardly as inwardly. ^ Now, the outward expression of his inward aftection is set down in two things : , 1. By rending of his clothes ; 2. By his weeping.
No doubt but he did express his sorrow as well by words as by these gestures, although they be not here set down with the other ; for he might for the time be surprised with so great a measure of sorrow and grief, as could not be expressed presently at that instant, or we may conceive that for the time he was so thoroughly humbled, that he could not speak orderly. Wherefore God did regard an^ look more to his affections and tears than to his words, for he rent his clothes and wept before God. As it is written of the poor publican, that he could not say much, and looked down with his eyes, saying, 'Lord, be merciful to me a sinner,' Luke xviii. 13; and as it was with the poor woman in the gospel who came to Christ weeping, and washed his feet with her tears, yet she said nothing, Luke vii. 38 ; and as when Christ, upon the cock's third crowing, looked upon Peter, we
GO THE ABT OF MOURNING,
find not what he said, but that he went out and wept bitterly, Luke xxii. (31, G2 ; so here, wo may imagine Josiah's affection was too full of sorrow to speak distinctly and composedly ; for from a troubled soul can proceed nothing but troubled words ; from a broken heart comes broken language. But howsoever, likely it is that Josiah did speak somewhat ; for God saith, ' I have even also heard thee.' But to leave this and come to the outward expressions here set down, let us learn somewhat from his rending of his clothes and weeping.
' Rending of clothes' was a thing frequently used in old times, as we see in the Scriptures ; and it was a visible rejiresentation of the inward sorrow of the heart. Job rent his clothes, Job i. 20 ; his friends rent their clothes, Job ii. 12; Paul and Barnabas rent theirs, Acts xiv. 14; the high priest rent his clothes, being to accuse Christ, Mark xiv. G3 ; and Hezekiah rent his clothes when he heard the words of Rabshakeh, Isa. xxxvii. 1. Nay, this was a common action, and frequently used among the heathen also ; for they likewise, upon any disastrous accident, were used to rend their clothes ;• as we read of a heathen king, that having his city invaded round about with enemies, rent his clothes.* So that it hath been the custom both of God's church and also of heathen, to rend their clothes. But what is the gi'ound or reason of this ? The reason of such their rend- ing of clothes was, because that in their sorrow they thought themselves unworth}^ to wear any. They forgat all the comforts of this life ; as holy Josiah forgets his estate, his throne, his royal majesty, and crown. He looks up to the great God, and considers duly whom he stood under, and the miserable estate of the people, over whom he was governor ; and there- upon he rends his clothes, shewing hereby that he was unworthy of those ornaments wherewith he was covered. We know that clothes have divers uses ; as,
1. First, For necessity, to cover our nakedness, and to preserve from the injuries of the weather.
2. Secondly, Clothes are given for distinction of sexes and decrees: to know the great man from the mean, the woman from the man.
3. And lastly, Theij serve for orneunents to honour our vile flesh, which is so base that it must fetch ornaments from base creatures. Now, so far as they served for ornaments, he rent his clothes, as thinking himself unworthy of any garments ; for he being in grief doth rend his clothes, thinking with himself, why should I stand upon clothes and outward things to cover me ? God is angry. Till he be appeased I will take no pleasure in any earthly thing. Therefore, apprehending the wrath of God, he rent his clothes. Well, this is but an outward expression, and therefore it must proceed from inward truth. This rending of clothes was a national ceremony, which seeing we have not used amongst us, we must rend our hearts with grief. For the rending of clothes shews the rending of the heai't before, without which there is no acceptance with God ; for the rending of the clothes without the rending of the heart is but hypocrisy; as Joel ii. 13, he says, ' Ptond your hearts, and not your garments, ye hypocrites.' So that out- ward expressions of sorrow are no further good, than when thej' come from inward grief and affection. Now, when both these are joined together it is a comely thing ; for wherein stands comeliness but when all the parts of our body do agree in proportion, when one limb is not bigger than another ? So it is uncomely and an hj-pocritical thing for a man to have all outward