Men unto me Gentiles as well as Jews to believe on me Prayer Be it so my Jesu O draw me to thy self and by the Eye of Faith let me ever behold thee as suffering for me that I may ever love thee But alas while I now seek thee I can represent to my Thoughts nothing but the Shadow and Appearance of a Body all crusted over with gore Blood I look for Limbs but find nothing but Wounds I look for the Ensigns of a glorious Redeemer I discern only a Skin all bloody fastned to a Cross between two Thieves and strugling under the Convulsions of Death But O Eternal Father that which has made thy Son thus vile and wretched in the Eyes of the World has made him most precious and acceptable in thy sight Look down we beseech thee from thy Sanctuary and thy Dwelling-place in Heaven and behold the Sacrifice which our great High-Priest and thy holy Child Jesus offers unto thee for the Sins of his Brethren and be favourable to the Multitude of our Iniquities Behold the Voice of our Brother's Blood crying unto thee for Mercy upon us Behold the Lamb who is without Blemish now bearing our Sins in his Body upon the Tree and look not upon us as we are in our selves but in the face of thine Anointed who becomes thus obedient unto Death to deliver us from the Guilt of Disobedience And let not the Scars of his Wounds ever depart from before thy Presence that thou may'st ever be mindful in all our Transgressions how great a Ransome he has paid for us and let his Blood be as the Rainbow in thy sight ever about thy Throne in Heaven that thou mayst no more destroy every living thing Behold O Creator the Humanity of thy Son and be ever merciful to the Debilities of our Nature Behold the torn Members of thy beloved and remember our Substance that we are but Dust Behold the Sufferings of the Redeemer and forgive the Sins of the Redeemed SECT XXXVIII Of the Scituation of Christ's Cross between two Thieves and the Title which Pilate affixed to it BUT it was not enough for the cruel Jews to murder the Messiah by the painfullest kind of Death unless they might stain his very Passion too by placing him in the q John 19.18 midst of two egregious Malefactours which for his greater Disgrace they had brought to suffer with him that by Strangers he might be thought to be a Partaker in their Crimes if not the worst of all by his Station between them and so it might be reported in the Neighbouring Regions That three notorious Villains were that day Crucified at Jerusalem of which the Impostor that went by the Name of Jesus was as being the chief placed in the middle whereby the Scripture was fulfilled which saith of him And he was reckoned among the r Isai 53.12 Transgressours Nevertheless there were some Reports went of the Purity of his Doctrine the Greatness of his Miracles the Sweetness of his Conversation and the Beauty of his Person above all the present view of his Sufferings and admirable Patience and Clemency towards his Crucifiers fill'd the Hearts of many with heavy Sighs and their Eyes with an Inundation of Tears And Pilate among the rest who best knew his Innocence and that for Å¿ Mat. 27.18 Envy he was deliver'd and condemn'd prick'd in his Conscience and fearing the Consequence lest he might be defam'd or accus'd to Caesar for consenting to the Death of such a wonderful Person without declaring the Cause of his Condemnation according to the Custom of the Romans towards Malefactors order'd his Accusation thus to be written and to be fastned to the top of the Cross t John 19.19 Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews that a Rumour at least might pass he was not put to death as a Prophet of the Jewish Nation or as the Son of some immortal God but as a Spreader of Sedition among the People and one who affected a Kingdom in Jewry For so they had accus'd him u Luk. 23.2 we found this Fellow perverting the Nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar saying that he himself is Christ a King And when Pilate sought to release him they cried out saying * John 19.12 If thou let this man go thou art not Caesar's friend Whosoever makes himself a King speaks against Caesar This was the meaning of Pilate by the Title whereby he Thought to signifie the Cause of his Condemnation But as in the Prediction of Caiaphas concerning his Death the Spirit of God had another Intention different from the Design of the High-Priest so likewise in this besides what Pilate thought as well as in the Mock-Purple the counterfeit Scepter and the bloody Diadem of Thorns which were mystical Representations of a real Kingdom there was intended him a Name and a Kingdom without end and he was signified to be the true Messiah the King both of Jews and Gentiles whose x Zech. 9.10 Psal 72.8.11 Dominion should extend from one Sea to the other and to whose Scepter the Kings of the Earth should submit their Majesty That this might be more manifest to the whole World it was directed by Providence in the y Joh. 19.20 three chief Languages in Hebrew because of the Jews who gloried in the Law in Greek because of the Wise-men and Philosophers of the Gentiles in Latine because of the Romans who then govern'd the Jews That it might be known throughout the whole World that almighty God had anointed this Jesus to be a King over all Nations and the z Dan. 7.14 Prophesie of Daniel might be fulfill'd which saith There was given him Dominion and Glory and a Kingdom that all People Nations and Languages should serve him his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which shall not pass away and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed The Jews therefore envy'd him this Title lest every Tongue should confess afterwards that he was the Lord to the Glory of God the Father and desir'd Pilate that it might be a John 19.21 alter'd or abolish'd For they were now ashamed because it might be thought by Strangers this was their King who was so ignominiously put to Death But neither did b John 19.22 Pilate endeavour to alter it nor would the Divine Providence suffer it this Title being given him by the Will of God Prayer O King eternal who for the Humiliation of thy Beloved and his Obedience unto Death even the Death of the Cross has highly exalted him and given him a Name which is above every Name That at the Name of JESUS every Knee should c Phil. 2.9 10 11. bow of things in Heaven in Earth and under the Earth and that every Tongue should confess That Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father Grant we beseech thee Conversion to Infidels to all Jews Turks and Hereticks that thy way may be known upon Earth thy
the Flesh together into the Tree But the Sinews contracting to one anothers help and the Right hand not reaching the appointed place they proceed by cruel Acts encreasing Torment to strain it thither with their utmost Force till after many Trials with great Difficulty they nail it also to the transverse Beam Afterwards in like manner they pierce his Feet and draw and expand 'em till all his Joynts are loosed and the Nerves Veins Fibres and Bones of his whole Body are easily to be numbred according to that of the Psalmist They c Psal 22.77 pierced my hands and my feet I may tell all my Bones For the Nails being driven in the most sensible Parts of the Body where the Nerves and Bones meet in that manner that they cannot be separated without exquisite Torment they never left their torturing Activity till by their dolorous Impressions they had forced his Death Thus were those powerful hands extended in Misery which so lately had cur'd the d Luk. 7.21 Blind and e Mark 7.35 Deaf cleans'd the f Luke 17.14 Lepers rais'd them that were fall'n and loos'd them that were bound of g Mark 5.15 Satan Thus were those adorable Feet transfixt with Nails which had gone about doing continual Good and to which the h Mat. 14.26 Seas had given themselves for a Pavement and Peace preceeded whithersoever they went Thus was that Sacred Body hung upon the Wood naked and expos'd to all manner of Shame and Torment in which all the i Col. 2.3 Treasures of Wisdom and Power were hid Thus was that Face more beautiful than the Sons of Men which comforted the Afflicted and the Light of whose Countenance the Fathers and Prophets had so much desired chang'd into the Paleness and Horrour of Death What hast thou done O Beauty above all Beauties and how hast thou deserv'd this most amiable Love that thou art thus expos'd vilified and tormented What is thy Crime and the Cause of all thy Grief What is it that has laid thee on the Altar of the Cross naked bleeding tortured and dying Is it not as the Holy k Isai 53. Prophet long since declar'd That thou should'st be smitten and numbred among the Transgressours That thou should'st pour out thy Soul to Death That thou should'st be cut off from the Land of the Living and all for the Transgressions of the People The Lord has laid on thee the Iniquities of us all Thou art wounded for our Transgressions Thou art bruised for our Sins The Chastisement of our Peace is upon thee and by thy Stripes we are healed We complain of the Jews Malice of Judas's Treason of Pilate's Injustice and the Romans Cruelty but we are among thy Crucifiers and ought to look nearer home Our Treachery was the Judas which betray'd thee our Covetousness sold thee to thy Enemies our malignant Envy accus'd thee our Perjury was the false Witness against thee our Injustice the Pilate that condemn'd thee our Pride scourg'd thee our Lusts crown'd thee with Thorns and pierc'd thy Sacred Hands and Feet with Nails We we then are the Cause of all thy Grief We are the sole Authors of these sad Calamities We have eaten the sowr Grapes and thy Teeth are set an edge And shall we now give up our selves to Mirth while thou weepest sufferest and thirstest Shall we court Pleasures and pursue them with greediness whilst thou art hanging and languishing on the Cross Shall we anoint our Heads and spend our precious time in the vain adorning of our Bodies whilst thou art horrible with Spittle and Blood Shall we commit Wickedness with both hands and our feet be swift to shed Blood while thine in the mean time are fastned to the Wood and bleed And shall we crown our Heads with Flowers and Garlands while thine is surrounded with the sharpest Thorns Or shall we by repeating all this Crucifie thee afresh and put thee to an open and continual Shame Prayer O Gracious Lord who cam'st to cleanse it by thy Blood put an end by thy Grace to the Contagion of Sin Heighten our Apprehension of the Guilt of our Transgressions by making us sensible of the Greatness of thy Sufferings For certainly they had deserved eternal Confusion for whom it was necessary thou should'st be exposed to shame that they might never be confounded And their Impurities were great indeed which could not be cleans'd but by thy immaculate Blood SECT XXXVII Of the Exaltation of the Cross IT cannot be thought but the Ministers of the Jewish Malice would use all the Circumstances of Rigour and Cruelty towards a person whose Death they had so earnestly desired Insomuch that having first most barbarously hung the Thieves who were to suffer with him on either side that the Apprehension of their Miseries might encrease his Torment they at last with great Shouts and much Officiousness erect his Cross also into the Air in order to put it into its proper Station Which being a hole cut deep in the Rock capable to receive the Foot of the Cross when they let it sink in with a sudden impetuosity the violent Concussion gave infinite Torture to the torn Body of our Lord resting now only upon four great Wounds so that all his Joynts are loos'd his Inwards tremble and the Wounds of his Hands and Feet are open'd according to that of the Prophet I am l Psal 22.14 poured out like Water all my bones are out of joynt My heart also in the midst of my body is even like melting wax Here it was that burst forth the River of our Paradise the Fountain of the Blood of our Blessed Redeemer from the place of Pleasure the Body of our Lord dividing it self into four parts from the several Wounds of his hands and feet and thence descending and watering the whole Earth and washing away the Sins of all true Believers the Fountain of the m Zec. 13.1 Prophet which was to be opened to the House of David and the Inhabitants of Jerusalem for Purification of their Uncleanness And may this precious Blood of the Lamb of God slain intentionally for this purpose before the n Rev. 13.18 Beginning of the World soften the hardness moisten the driness and make fertile the barrenness of our Hearts that they may be capable of those inestimable Benefits he has purchas'd for us by the Effusion of it In this also was fulfill'd his own Predictions which he had made concerning the manner of his Death That as Moses o Joh. 13.14 Numb 21 9. lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness by looking on which the People that were bitten of fiery Serpents were restored and liv'd so he the Son of Man should be up that whosoever believeth in him though wounded with the Infernal Serpent should not perish but have everlasting Life And again When I am p Joh. 12.32.33 lift up that is crucified it being an Elevation or Lifting up on the Cross I will draw all
acknowledgment so did it demonstrate his Purity and Innocence at whose Sufferings the Elements were thus troubled and was also a sign to that Rebellious People who had so often y John 2.8 desir'd one from Heaven and a sad presage that the light of Truth was shortly to be z Luke 19.42 hidden from their Eyes and that both they and all that deny him should be cast into a Matt. 8.12 outer Darkness All this while the Divine Nature rested that the Human Nature might suffer but it upheld the Humane that that it might overcome Till at last Jesus wholly opprest with the load of his Fathers wrath and quite wearied with the pains due to our sins cryed out or b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matt. 27.46 roared in the most lamentable manner My God My God Why hast thou forsaken me Which violent Ejaculations gave an evident proof of the truth of his Humanity and of the greatness of his Sufferings for the confutation of all future Hereticks who should either deny him to have been Man or to have truly suffer'd in the Flesh The voice of so Dismal and Terrible a cry being a sure sign of an inexpressible Grief and that it proceeded purely from Humane Affections Nevertheless he complains not in the least of his ignominious punishment cruel pains or any other desertion whatsoever tho' there were so few of his friends with him and his very Enemies stood from him at adistance not only as accursed but an infectious Object But he complains only of his being forsaken of God That 's the height of all Sorrows That 's the Abyss of the state of Misery For where God is not all is Hell What could God forsake his Son or did not Christ see the c Heb. 12.2 Joy that was set before him and to which he should arrive through that cloud of Affliction Yes he did But not to comfort him All things were now tending to compleat his Passion to add extremity to his Pains and infinity to his Miseries For it had been determined by the councel of the Godhead that his Glory should encrease his Shame his Knowledge his Grief his Majesty his Misery his Happiness his Punishment O what a d Rom. 8.32 delivery as speaks the Apostle what a desertion and giving up was this Where Strength was the Tormentor Knowledge a Vexation Joy and Glory a Persecution Are all the Sufferings that ever were in the World comparable to those of the Crucified Jesus Or did ever any Martyr before cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me As if he had said O my Eternal Father the Father of Mercies and the God of all Consolation I turn to thee but neither seek nor obtain any Relief or mitigation of my Torments For I voluntarily submitted my self to this burthen and whatsoever thou shalt add to it I will patiently bear Nevertheless tho' thou succourest not my complaints yet will I not cease to declare my Grief least I should endeavour by my silence to frustrate my Enemies of their Joy or seem not to suffer for 'em what I do Who tho' they see my body torn on this Gibbet may yet imagine my mind to be untoucht and that I suffer but as others have done I therefore testifie and with this my speech declare the inward anguishes of my Soul to all these who here afflict me and thus I imprint it in the hearts of all those who shall hereafter believe on me for thy desertion is the height of all my Miseries a desertion properly due to their Persons My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Others invoke thee but once as their God because tho' they want thy Glory yet by their Sins they deny thee But I call upon thee as my God and my God both as partaker of thy Nature and as a fulfiller of thy Divine Will And yet thou castest me away from thee and makest me to suffer the Just for the Wicked at the hand of the unjust Thou deliverest me up to Sinners to be slain by 'em for their Sins Thou severely chastisest thy own Son that thou mayest spare thy Rebellious Servants Behold I am e Psal 88.3 c. counted as one of them that go down into the pit and even as a Man that hath no strength Free among the dead like unto them that are wounded and lie in the grave who are out of Remembrance and cut away from thine hand Thou hast laid me in the lowest Pit in a place of Darkness and in the Deep Thine Indignation lyeth hard upon me and thou hast vexed me with all thy Storms I stick fast in the mire where no ground is I am come into deep f Psal 69.2 waters so that the floods run over me I am destitute of thy Help debarr'd of all Comfort suspended from Refreshment nor does the Blessedness of my Glory relieve me or make my Cross less dolorous Without me are aggravating Circumstances of misery in my Flesh is Pain in my Soul is Anguish intolerable Anguish even unto Death My Flesh is most afflicted because most sensible My Soul is most straitned because most understanding My Flesh grieves and my Soul Grieves and what does not grieve being cast out of the Comfort of thy Sight Tribulation and Anguish Tyrannize over me and every moment by every thing my Sorrows are enlarged I grieve for the Abuse of thy holy Name I grieve for the Trouble of her that bare me I grieve for the Pusilanimity of my Disciples I grieve for the Scandal of all that believe on me I grieve for the Errour of these that crucifie me I grieve for all the Sorrows the Saints have suffer'd or ever shall endure for my sake I grieve for the ungrateful who shall crucifie me g Heb. 6.6 afresh and put me hereafter to the like open Shame But especially for all those who once believing on me shall afterwards apostatize from the Truth there remaining no more h Heb. 10.26 27. Sacrifice for their Sins but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour them That after so many Sweats and mortal Agonies my precious Blood should be spilt in vain and that of so many Millions who might now be brought through the Red-Sea of my Blood out of the Bondage of Sin there is none to give Glory to God but this Stranger and he a Thief who enters with me into the promised eternal Rest Why hast thou delivered me Why hast thou forsaken me Why hast thou subjected me to this Sorrow this Death Why am I destitute of Divine Consolation abandoned to Humanity and deliver'd as a Prey to all the outragious Sadnesses of Mind Are all my Sufferings but for one or hast thou not laid on me the i Isai 53.6 Iniquities of all O! how great and intolerable is the Guilt of Sin for which thou wouldst have my Blood to expiate for which thou hast exposed delivered and forsaken thine
to give a sure Testimony to both as well as learn the Subject of their Imitation and Hope Ye blessed Spectators how different was this Sight from that which so lately fill'd your Eyes when you f Matt. 17.2.3 saw his face shine as the Sun and his Raiment white as the Light and Moses and Elias talking with him He receives no Honour now from the Father and that excellent Voice is silent which proclaim'd him the g Matt. 17.5 beloved Son of God and that his Name was h Joh. 12.28 Glorified in him Nor from his Face do there dart any chearful Rays nor do his Garments appear Glorious nor the Heavenly Courtiers wait upon him but as a Man dastitute of all Help he begins to be i Mark 14.33 afraid to be sorrowful and afflicted shewing in himself what usually happens to those who are no more than Men at the approach of so great a Tempest The Evangelists have in such Language declar'd his Agony as cannot but raise in us the highest Admiration of the Bitterness of his Passion He began to be k Matt. 26.37 sorrowful saith St. Matthew to be sore l Mark 14.33 amazed saith St. Mark to be very m Ibid. heavy say both and yet these Words in our Translation come far short of the n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Original Expressions which render him suddenly upon a present and immediate Apprehension possest with Fear Horrour and Amazement encompass'd with Grief overwhelm'd with Sorrow prest down with Consternation and Dejection of Mind tormented with Anxiety and Disquietude of Spirit This he first exprest when he said to his Disciples My Soul is o Matt. 26.38 exceeding sorrowful and lest they should not fully apprehend the Excess added even unto Death as if the Pangs of Death had already encompast him and the Pains of Hell had got hold upon him He weâ—â— but a little farther before he said the same to his Father p Matt. 26 39. falling upon his face and praying with q Heb. 5.7 strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from Death Nor were his Cries and Tears sufficient Evidences of his inward Sufferings nor could the Sorrows of his Breast be poured forth either at his Lips or Eyes but the innumerable Pores of all his Body must give a Passage to more lively Representations of the bitter Anguish of his Soul and his r Luke 22.44 Sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground according to that of the Psalmist Å¿ Psalm 22.14 I am poured out like Water all my bones are out of joynt My Heart also in the midst of my Body is even like melting Wax His Heart melting as it were with Fear and Astonishment and all the Parts of his Body at the same time inflam'd with Anguish well might that Melting produce a Flowing and the inflam'd and rarefi'd Blood force it self a Passage through the numerous Pores But neither will these Expressions give us a true Sense of the height and bitterness of his Grief unless we also consider the Occasions of it for God laid on him the t Isai 53.6 Iniquities of us all and as we were oblig'd to be sorry for our particular Sins so was he to be grieved for the Sins of us all If then we consider the Perfection of his Knowledge he understood all the Sins for which he suffered all the Evil and the Guilt all the Offence against the Majesty and Ingratitude against the Goodness of God which was contain'd in the Sins of all Men past present and to come If we look upon his absolute Conformity to the determined Will of God he was inflam'd with most ardent Love he was most zealous of his Glory and most studious to preserve that Right which was so highly violated by those Sins If we look upon his Relation to the Sons of Men he lov'd 'em all far more than they did themselves he knew their Sins were of themselves sufficient to bring Destruction upon their Bodies and Souls and at the same time consider'd them he so dearly loved as lying under God's Wrath whom he so truly worshipped and all was heightned with the great habitual Detestation wherewith his Innocent Nature abhorred Sin If we consider all these Circumstances we cannot wonder at his excessive Sorrow For if the true Contrition of one single Sinner bleeding under the Sting of the Law only for his own Iniquities all which notwithstanding he knoweth not cannot be performed without great bitterness of Remorse what Bounds can we set to that Grief what Measures to that Anguish which proceeds from a full Apprehension of all the Transgressions of so many Millions of Sinners Add unto all these Apprehensions the immediate hand of God pressing upon him all this Load laying on his Shoulders at once a heap of all the Sorrows which can happen to any of the Saints that he being touch'd with the u Heb. 2.17 18.4.15 Feeling of our Infirmities might become a merciful High-Priest able and willing to succour them that are tempted And from hence we must conclude That the Saviour of Man as he took upon him the whole Nature of Man so he suffer'd in whatsoever he took in his Body by Infirmities and external Injuries in his Soul by Fear Astonishment and Sorrows in both by unknown and inexpressible Anguishes Behold O ye Faithful the Baptism of your Redeemer and think not any longer the Way strait through which you are to enter into Life Behold how he is * Luke 12.50 straiten'd till it be accomplisht and never do you sink under any Discouragement from working out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling What matter is it how much or what we suffer in this Life so at length we may arrive at a Blessed Eternity Prayer And while we behold our Sins which are the Cause of all thy Sufferings O thou afflicted Jesu Grant that our imperfect Sorrow and Contrition may be heightned by thy Example and accepted in Union and Confederacy with it It was because the temporal Misery of a finite Creature could never satisfie for the Infinite Guilt of Sin contracted by offending an Infinite Majesty that thou vouchsafedst to make an Equivalent Ransom by the Dignity of thy Person suffering In this thy Love is all our Confidence in full Assurance of it we approach the Throne of Grace and we bessech thee That we may find Help in the Time of Need. SECT IX Of Christ's Prayer in his Agony and his admirable Resignation of himself to God WHen the Holy Jesus had tasted this bitter Cup being himself the great Physician of Souls he betook himself to that Universal Antidore which he had prescrib'd to all the World For having commanded his Disciples to x Luk. 22.40 watch with him and to pray lest they fell into Temptation forasmuch as vain is the Prudence of Flesh and unprofitable all carnal Help unless God be present
imply he maintain'd himself to be the King of Israel from whence they would accuse him of Rebellion against Caesar Which Question as it did not much differ from the former so neither did our Saviour's Answer to it excepting that he added ' q Luk. 22.67 68. If I tell you you will not believe me And if I also ask you you you will not answer me nor let me go He expected no Answer but Irrision and Blasphemy whatsoever he should have spoken about his Divinity and more Madness and Sin in the People whose only Satisfaction was to have him crucified They were not now likely to believe his Words who had resisted his mighty Works to which he had r John 10.25 appealed as the best Evidences of his Commission nor to answer any point about his Person who had so often been Å¿ Mat. 21.27 Mark 12.37 Luk. 14.3 posed that they t Matt. 22.46 durst not ask him any more Therefore he only forewarns 'em again of his future Power which he should receive from God to judge their Iniquities u Luk. 22.69 Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sit on the Right hand of the Power of God appealing to their Consciences whether they did not think him the true Messiah by the Miracles they had seen and heard which now they would have him say not for their Conviction but for a Cause of his Condemnation For they were so far from giving Ear to any Apology that all was interrupted with the clamorous noise of * Luk. 22.71 What need have we of any further Witnesses for we our selves have heard him of his own Mouth Upon this they x Mat. 27.2 bind him a third time for many were the Chains from which we were to be loosed and lead him with a y S. Basil in Mystagog Eccles Author Com. in Marc. apud S. Hieron Cord about his Neck from the Spiritual to the Civil Power Which Judas perceiving who had been the Author of all this Mischief and having heard nothing from others laid to his Charge worthy of Death to which he saw he was condemn'd but from his own Mouth many Revelations of Power and especially of Judgment which he could not stifle he z Mat. 27. â— repented himself of being the Instrument of so damnable a Machination and prodigious Impiety and brought again the thirty Pieces of Silver to some of the Chief Priests and Elders who remain'd in the Temple upon account of the Feast a Matt. 27.4 saying I have sinned in that I have betrayed the Innocent Blood an undeniable Testimony against all the Blasphemy of the Jews and cast down the Pieces of Silver in the Temple Which Money in the use to which it was presently dispos'd for they would not suffer the Price of Blood to come into the Treasury fulfill'd a most eminent Prediction of b Zech. 11.13 Matt. 27.9 Zechariah concerning the Price of our Saviour's Blood for with this they bought the Potter's Field to bury Strangers in which is c Mat. 27.8 call'd the Field of Blood to this day There is an active Principle in Man's Breast that seldom suffers daring Sinners to pass in quiet to their Graves which Satan makes use of when it is too late to repent to drive those to Desperation whom he caused to sin When the Iniquity is come to so great a proportion as to produce Despair and an intolerable Condition then he suffers the Conscience to thaw and grow tender that filling the Soul with a raging Sorrow he may secure it against all Retreat by some Act which may render the Pardon impossible The Conscience of the Betrayer now awakned with the Horrour of the Fact which was continually before his Eyes began to rouse and follow close and the Man was unable to bear up under the furious Revenges of his own Mind as it happens in all willful and deliberate Sins especially that of Blood which is wont more sensibly to allarm the natural Notions of the Mind and to excite in us the Fears of present Judgment Did ever any harden himself against God and prosper And indeed how should he when he carries about with him such a powerful Executioner in his own Bosom In the Moment he affronts the Dictates of his Conscience he bids Adieu to all true Quiet and exposes himself to the severe Resentments of a self-torturing Mind a Torment infinitely beyond what the most ingenious Tyrants ever could contrive For nothing so effectually invades our Ease as the Reproaches of our own Mind from which it is impossible we shou'd lye hid The Wrath of Man may be endur'd but the Irruptions of Conscience are irresistible and oft reduce a Man to such Distresses as make him chuse Death rather than Life But his Masters incurious of those Hellish Torments which Judas felt within because their own were not yet begun and unable to contradict him as to the quality of the Purchase which they could not really deny to be Guiltless dismist him scornfully d Matt. 27.4 saying What is that to us See thou to that If his Blood be innocent the greater is thy Sin We employ'd thee ignorantly and have been punctual in our Agreement and are out of the Reach of the Law We see by this the miserable Estate of all those who commit Wickedness for the Favour of others They are presently derided hated and forsaken by those very Persons in whose Cause they committed it And like to 'em are all they who frame their Fortune upon Vice they build on Abysses or Foundations of Sand they sow Wind and reap Tempests their Hopes are but Clouds swell'd with Vapours which burst consume and come to nothing Never had any Man good Fortune in Impiety whatever Advantage he might at first propose It is the Spiders Web and an Act of Violence He shall not cover himself with his Work nor shall it save him from Destruction He has lost his Conscience and has nothing to gain for nothing remaineth for him but Unhappiness Or rather did he gain the whole World yet would he be the greatest Loser because he has lost his own Soul And now the Apostate reduced to these Streights terrified in his mind instigated by the Devil and finding no Consolation but amazing Reproofs from those very Persons he had serv'd against his Conscience all he could hope for was to find some shelter where he might hide his guilty Head But ah miserable Man what Darkness can cover him who has a thousand Torches in his own Breast to lay open the Guilt of his Crime Who flies out of the Presence of his God since every place is Hell where God is not The most Peopled Cities are solitary Desarts if the God of Comfort be not there and the most dreadful Solitudes and least inhabited Grots become Courts and Palaces by the Residence of his Spirit All Reposes are Disquiet all Peace is but War all Honours are Contempt Parents are traiterous Brothers
combine to destroy the Heir of the m Isal 5.7 Vineyard of God and of whom the Prophets said n Psal 140.3 They had placed the Poyson of Serpents upon their Lips o Isai 5.7 I expected Justice and behold a cry p Jer. 12.8 My Heritage is unto me as a Lion in the forest it crieth out against me and therefore have I hated it For thus in the height of their wicked Imprecations they furiously persecute Christ to his Cross crying out the more q Mat. 27.22 23. Let him be crucified let him be crucified Why r Mat. 27.23 saith the Governour what evil hath he done and a Å¿ Exod. 13.21 third time declares I have found no cause of Death in him I will therefore chastise him and let him go When he saw the implacable Rage of the Jews neither to be restrained by force nor persuasion he hop'd a lesser Draught of his Blood might stop the Fury and Rapidness of their Passion and that by exposing his Body to Scourges the Roman Usage to Malefactors he might avoid the greater Evil of condemning him to Death and that when the Jews should see him so tormented they would relent in Pity and their Cruelty abate Thus he who cloaths all was despoiled of his Garments and confounded before the People who covers our Confusion and bound to a Pillar who went before them by day in a Å¿ Exod. 13.21 Pillar of a Cloud to lead â—em the way and by night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light to go by day and night that they might escape their Enemies and his Body which was the most sacred Temple of the Deity torn with vehement Stripes from unrelenting Hands till the Pavement was purpled with a Shower of holy Blood and his Person more beautiful than the Sons of Men wholly deform'd and hardly to be known according to what himself had t Mark 10.34 Luke 18.33 foretold of his being deliver'd to the Gentiles to be scourg'd and the u Isai 53.5 Prophesie of Isaiah long before his Incarnation He was wounded for our Transgressions he was bruised for our Iniquities the Chastisement of our Peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed For if Christ had not sustain'd for us this Denudation and Confusion we could never have been cloathed with the Garment of his Righteousness or been able to have appear'd unblameable before God's Justice Seat in Heaven Behold therefore O! my Soul with devout Meditation this Portion of the Sufferings of thy wounded Jesus which was the Wonder and Astonishment of Heaven and Earth Behold with what profound Humility and Silence the great Lord of the World condescends to undergo the Punishment of Slaves Behold with what a sweet Patience this innocent Lamb yields to have his Body plow'd and furrow'd by merciless Infidels Behold him naked helpless and unpitied whilst the furious Executioner tears his Skin and tender Flesh with forked Scourges to satisfie the Cruelty of a barbarous Multitude Prayer Grant me O my God who hast laid such Severities upon thy only and beloved Son that I may never think any Austerity Mortification or Pennance too much to be undergone for that great Guilt which I have contracted by my Sins and for which it was necessary my Redeemer should thus be punished And whatsoever shall be wanting in my Sufferings for the Iniquities I have committed heal with the Stripes of this bruised Love who came to shed his Blood a Ransom for the World That owing the Cure and Salvation of my Soul to such an inestimable Remedy as that I may for ever Praise thee for thy incomparable Mercy SECT XXIX Of the Injuries done to Christ by the Roman Soldiers AFter this the Soldiers who because of the frequent Seditions and Tumults of that Nation were quartered at Jerusalem and now especially call'd together to curb the prodigious Concourse at the Feast hoping by an extraordinary and cruel Officiousness to receive a liberal Reward from the Jews whom they saw so inveterately set against him take him and use him in that inhumane manner we should hardly believe were it not faithfully Recorded They strip him and put on him a * Mat. 27.28 Scarlet or x John 19.2 Purple Robe such as their Commanders used to wear jeering him by this as Herod had done by the white and when they had platted a y Mat. 27.29 30. Crown of Thorns in stead of a Royal Diadem they put it on his Head and a Reed in his Right Hand for a Scepter All to signifie he had made himself a King but that his Kingdom was as weak and vain as those Ridiculous Emblems of his Royalty And they bow the Knee before him with a contumelious Address and mock him with a reproachful Salutation saying Hail King of the Jews And then they spit upon him and strike him with z Mat. 27.30 Reeds and their a Joh. 19.3 Hands upon his Head pressing his Temples with a thousand Punctures and forcing the Blood under the Crown of Thorns to descend upon his Cheeks and mix with his Tears and the loathsome Spittle of the People till he became truly what the Prophet had describ'd him b Isai 53.2 Without form or comeliness and to those that saw him there was no Beauty that they should desire him Prayer Whither O whither Thou great Martyr of Love shall thy Humility descend thy Piety proceed thy Compassion extend I have been proud and thou art humbled I have been wicked and thou art punished I that am a lost Man have been the Cause of all thy Weaknesses and Afflictions It is thy Love and my Iniquity which has brought thee thus low Teach me I beseech-thee to apprehend the Baseness of my Sin in proportion to the Calamities thou hast suffered for me that I may hate the Cause of thy Sufferings adore thy Mercy and imitate thy Graces For Lord what is thy Servant that thou should'st suffer one Stripe or the least Irrision for so poor a Creature And how great a Misery must it be to provoke by Sin so great a Mercy as thou hast reveal'd But thy Love is infinite and I am Dust and Ashes Let thy Holy Spirit support and sanctifie me and suffer thy self to become the Object of my present Dolours that thou mayst hereafter be the Fountain of my everlasting Joy SECT XXX Of Pilate's fourth Declaration of Christ's Innocence OUR Saviour thus c Isal 53.3 despised and rejected of Men bearing our Griefs and carrying our Sorrows Pilate thought it impossible to behold him without Pity and once more brings him forth to shew him to the People hoping so sad and miserable a Spectacle would not only draw Tears from the Eyes of the Beholders but even Showers of Blood from their Hearts and a fourth time publickly declares him innocent and that he ought no further to proceed against him d Joh. 19.4 5. saying Behold I bring him forth unto you that ye
in Rivers of Blood with so horrible a Slaughter that in the Siege of their City the Living sufficed not to bury the Dead He x Numb 20.11 opened the sides of the hard Rocks to quench their thirst in the barren Wilderness And why has he dried up the paths of their Women who saw their little ones die in their arms themselves unable to moisten their lips unless it were with the Tears of their Eyes He showr'd down y Exod. 16.13 14. Manna and Quails about their Camp and by a z Exod. 16.19 daily Providence supplied their wants And why has he afflicted 'em with such enraged famine that the hands of the Mothers slew their Infants and roasted 'em on Coals to satisfie their Hunger and the People greedily devour'd the Bodys Dead partly by Famine partly by Pestilence He a Deut. 32.10 11. led 'em through the Desert and the waste howling Wilderness as the Eagle stirreth up her nest fluttereth over her young and beareth them on her wings And why did he abandon 'em to Eagles and Vultures which so often made Carrion of the Flesh of his Children who were cast over the walls into the ditch of the City till it was fill'd with their putrefaction He gave them strength as a consuming Fire before which all the Nations were but as Straw their Hearts b Deut. 2.25 trembling and being in Anguish because of them And why did they become the prey of the Arms of Infidels He gave them liberty for an Inheritance and c John 8.33 freedom from Bondage as being the Seed of Abraham And why obtain'd they not so much as an honourable Servitude that there being not Crosses enough to Crucifie 'em their Enemies reserv'd 'em for Beasts to devour rather than they would derive any Service from 'em and that those who were sixteen years of age and under were sold by Cesar for thirty a penny He gave them knowledge above all Nations and made 'em a d Deut. 4.6 wise and understanding People the Admiration of the World for the Statutes he had given them And why are they become Blockish Idle and Stupid with a perpetual e 2 Cor. ◠vail over their hearts He ordain'd for 'em the Protection and Assistance of Angels and sent 'em f Exod. 23.20 before them to keep them in the way and to bring them into the place which he had prepared And why did those holy Presidents forsake the Temple crying aloud g Joseph de bello jud Let us depart hence He had destin'd 'em for Royalty and h Deut. 9.3 Empire over their Neighbours and had brought'em into the possesion of a Blessed Countrey a land i Deut. 26.9 flowing with milk and Honey And why have they not one Inch of ground now especially of that where Jerusalem was formerly built unless they purchase it with their Money only to enjoy it one hour or two in a Year and to bedew it with the Water of their Eyes after they have so often moistened it with their blood He established 'em with a Priesthood an Altar and Services such as distinguisht 'em from the rest of the World and showed 'em to be the peculiar care of Heaven and where is the Temple that Seat of his Holiness Where is the Propitiatory the Table of the Shew Bread the Rationale the Majesty of the High Priests the Comeliness of the Prelates the perpetuity of Sacrifices From whence comes it that 't is sixteen hundred years ago since this miserable Nation goes wandring through the Regions of the Earth as abandoned into an Eternal Exile without Temple without Priests without Offerings without King or Government O God Eternal how hast thou thrown down thy Footstool O God of Justice how hast thou made desolate thy Royal Priesthood O God of Vengeance how hast thou suffer'd thine Admirable Sanctuary to be prophan'd To what Sin may we attribute this but to the neglect of the Essence of the Word Incarnate and to that dreadful Imprecation of guilt on the whole Nation His Blood be upon us and upon our children For after the Son of God had shut his Eyes steep'd in Tears and Blood over the miserable Jerusalem he never yet has open'd 'em to afford it Mercy Prayer Great Eye of God which art ever open upon the Sins of all the Earth who can steal from thy piercing rages Great Hand of God who Thund rest and Lightnest perpetually over Rebellious Heads who is able to resist thy Judgments O injur'd Goodness who for the satisfaction of thy Justice rewardest the obstinate according to their desires and returnest the Wickedness of Sinners upon their Heads when they have rejected the tenders of thy Grace since thou hast given up thine own Inheritance to be punish'd in this World according to their choice what will become of those profligate Souls who have impiously devoted themselves so frequently to the Devil and importun'd thee to confound and damn ' em If such hideous Punishments to all Posterity have pursued Israel for having neglected thy Son in Bonds Afflictions Ignominy and Death What will become of those who have dishonour'd the Lord Jesus in the Chariot of his Triumph with all the Glory Power Wisdom and Sanctity of the Universe under his Feet Set a watch O Lord before my Mouth and keep the door of thy Servant's Lips let nothing proceed thence but what being in Subjection to thy Will and Holy and Harmless in its self may tend to the Glory of the Kingdom of Christ and the Advantage of my Soul Let me kiss the Son lest he be Angry and I perish in mine infidelity Let me Embrace him in his Abasement and Exinanition that he may Crown me in his Exaltation SECT XXXIII Of the Procession of Christ to Golgotha IT was now the k Mark 15.25 third hour and about the l John 19.14 sixth or near Noon For the Jews divided the day into four equal parts which they call'd hours the first from Six in the Morning till Nine the third from about Nine to High-noon the sixth from thence to Three in the Afternoon the ninth from Three to about Six in the Evening and whatsoever was done in any part of these four spaces was said to be done in that Hour and so of the Night when Pilate having wash'd away as he thought the guilt from himself thô he did not afterwards go unpunish'd for he was m Euseh in Eccles Hist l. 7. c. 8. Joseph l. 18. c. 7. banish'd to Vienna where he lived ingloriously till in despair he Slew himself gave sentence that it should be as they required und n Luke 23.25 released unto 'em him that for Sedition and Murder was cast into Prison whom they desired but deliver'd Jesus to their will to be o Matt. 27.26 Crucified Then did the Jews having obtain'd what they so much desir'd and the Roman Soldiers who could have no Tenderness for a Person Condemned under the Notion
ruin But Christ would be dignified by the lowest abasement and by how much more he emptied himself and became poor for our sakes by so much more he was exalted to Glory by the Father and has left us an assurance of the Truth of that remarkable sentence h Luke 14.11 Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted Here being wearied and almost spent with a sleepless night past in shame and vexation a sorrowful morning of continual hurry from one judicature to another pain of cruel scourging and venomous Thorns barbarous Insolencies the weight of the Cross and his tiresome ascent to the Theatre of his Death they offer him something to Drink out of a feigned compassion as if they would now commiserate his Griefs But alas the tender Mercies of the Wicked are i Prov. 12.10 cruel it was k Matt. 27.34 Vinegar with Gall or l Mark 15.23 Wine mingled with Myrrh a nauseous Potion which they had prepar'd to mock his thirst and to stay and Afflict his decaying Spirits not thinking they were at the same time giving Testimony to his Truth For the Psalmist had long before predicted in his Person that they should give the Messiah m Psal 69.21 Gall to eat and when he was thirsty Vinegar to drink But our Saviour having tasted thereof would not n Matt. 27.34 drink Go now Intemperate and Luxurious Sinner who art strong in Wine and Valiant in excesses cloath thy self in Purple and fine Linnen and fare sumptuously every day while the Holy Jesus among dead Mens Bones and the greatest Impurities condescends to tast the bitter Antidote of thy debauches But remember the answer of Abraham in whose Bosom the once poor Lazarus then lay satisfied to Dives the Glutton tormented in Hell Flames and desiring a drop of Water to cool his Tongue o Lake 16.25 Son thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou art tormented Temperance is a purgative Virtue of the Soul and exalts the Spirit by subduing the Body Is the Mother of good thoughts and leads us to God by a due consideration of our latter end when we must leave all that we have enjoy'd and render an account of the right use or abuse of 'em And surely if the p Rom. 8.18 Sufferings of this present Season are not worthy to be compar'd with the Glory which shall be reveal'd hereafter then the Religious forbearance of Temporal contentments can bear no proportion with the injoyment of God in whose q Psal 16.11 presence is the fulness of Joy and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore Prayer O Gracious Lord who lived'st Abstemiously and denyed'st thy self all refreshment in the greatest necessity and thirsted'st for me that I might thirst after thee Let all my Appetite be only for thee who art the r John 6.35 bread of Life which camest down from Heaven and the Fountain of living Å¿ John 4.10 Waters of which whosoever drinks shall be an everlasting t John 7.38 Spring himself never drie but fill'd Eternally with the dew of thy Exuberant Love SECT XXXVI Of the Crucifixion of Christ. THE Evangelists having attended our Lord to Mount Calvary are very short as to the cruel Circumstances wherewith he was nailed to the Cross and only u Matt. 27.35 Mark 15.25 Luke 23.31 John 19.18 say they crucified him there For our Tears are most suitable to this part of the Passion which none can be able fully to express and our powerfullest Eloquence on this Subject will be the Threnody of a broken Heart Nevertheless in expressing so little of the manner of it they have left us much to be thought on with most passionate Reflexions They force the Garments from his wounded Body and every Scourge now bleeds afresh while the hasty avulsion of the coagulated Blood causes in his tender Flesh intolerable Pain Besides the exposing his naked Body added to it the highest Indignity of Shame in the Interpretation of his barbarous Enemies who thought it so great an Ignominy to those that died to expose their Bodies to the view of the people that where the Bodys of the dead were out of the reach of their Adversaries they thought it most highly opprobrious to their Ghosts to take but their representation and affix it to a Cross His Body thus denudated but still crown'd with Thorns to add Terror to his unspeakable Grief they prepare the Cross before his Eyes the Altar on which the Lamb of God was to be sacrific'd but among the Jews the * Deut. 21.23 accursed Tree Not that Suspension was any of the Capital Punishments prescribed by the Law of Moses or that by any Tradition or Custom of the Jews they were wont to punish Malefactors by that Death but such as were punished with Death among them were for the Enormity of their Fact oft-times after Death expos'd to the Ignominy of a x Deut. 21.22 Gibbet and those being so hanged were accursed by the Law Among the Gentiles it was the worst of Deaths the Punishment of Slaves and of the most desperate Persons in the World For the Death of a crucified Man was the most continual Languishing and Tearing a Soul from the Body with most exquisite Violence and Agony in that the Hands and Feet which of all Parts of the Body are most nervous and consequently most sensible were pierced through with Nails which caused not a sudden Dispatch but a lingring and tormenting Death Insomuch that the Romans who most us'd it have thence deduc'd their Expressions of Cruciation or Pain And their Emperors which were naturally of any merciful Disposition first caused such as were adjudged to Crucifixion to be slain and then to be nailed to a Cross Now though Christ were not to die by the Sentence of the Jews who had lost the supream Power in Causes capital and so not to be condemned to any Death which was contained in their Law yet the Providence of God did so dispose it that he should suffer that Death which did contain in it that ignominious Particularity to which the legal Curse belong'd which was y Deut. 21.23 hanging on a Tree That he might become a Curse for us and abolish in his Flesh the z Eph. 2.15 Enmity even the Law of Commandments blotting out the a Col. 2.14 Hand-writing of Ordinances which was against us and which was contrary to us nailing it to his Cross So truly did he make himself of no Reputation and took upon him the b Phil. 2.7.8 Form of a Servant and humbled himself and became obedient unto Death even the Death of the Cross a servile Punishment of the greatest Acerbity enduring the Pain of the greatest Ignominy despising the Shame Having cast him on the Wood with great Immanity with the same Violence they snatch his Left hand and nail it forcing
Enemies could reduce him and when they had spent all the poison of their lips that they were now reduc'd to an involuntary silence He that he might leave nothing undone which might magnifie his Mercy above all their provocations and to give an undeniable proof of his Ministery that he came to reconcile the World to God broke into this most admirable intercession for them m Luke 23.34 Father forgive them for they know not what they do O God! O Goodness O Love What Word what Speech what Voice is this He was not more sensible of the madness of the People then he was compassionate of their infirmities nor griev'd with their Malice so much as Merciful to their Sins Hitherto they had objected against his being the Messiah and now he will give them an undoubted demonstration opposing himself by Prayer to the Anger of his God Heavenly Father whose Honour I have observ'd whose Commandments I have fulfill'd and at whose Will and Pleasure I was sent into the World and being of thy substance took humane Nature to be a Pacifier Intercessor and High-Priest to make reconciliation for the Sins of the People who now hang bleeding and dying upon the Cross in the midst of so many Reproaches Torments and Griefs offering up my self to thee in Tears and Crys for the Sins of all whoever offend thee Spare thy people Good Lord spare them and wash away their Sins in my propitiatory Blood Adam transgress'd and his posterity became abominable and the whole World lies in wickedness Even thine own Inheritance which thou hast chosen out of all People and lov'd above the rest of the works of thy Hands have added this weight to the guilt of all their Sins to deny the Holy one whom thou hast sent and to spill my innocent Blood upon the Earth For how great is my Dignity which they have set at nought How infinite is thy Majesty they have despis'd in me Nevertheless tho' hitherto thou hast justly dealt with Man in shutting Heaven against his transgressions and opening Hell and sending Death into the World nor shouldst thou ever justly spare without satisfaction to thy Eternal Justice nor could all the Blood of Men make that atonement yet now behold me who am come to satisfie thee by the dignity of my Divinity joyn'd to the nature of offending Man Man's Salvation depends on me on me alone who came an exile hither from those Essential Joys I had in thy Bosom to suffer Cold and Heat Hunger and Thirst Nakedness and Weariness Watchings and Temptations Afflictions Persecutions and this cruel Death What Griefs what Torments have I not endur'd in this tender body of Flesh What Sorrow what Streights what Agonies have I not experienc'd in this frail constitution of Mortals Was there ever any grief like mine wherewith thou hast afflicted me in thy fierce anger What remains then O Father of Mercies who hast n Exod. 34.6 proclaim'd thy self Gracious Long-Suffering and abundant in Goodness and in Truth forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin but that thou should'st lay aside thine Anger Remit Pardon and Pour forth thn Grace My Blood crys not for Vengeance as o Gen. 4.10 Heb. 12.24 Abel's did against his Murderer nor do I appeal to thee now as a Judge but as to a Father I implore thy Mercy unless there shall be any who shall account it unholy and trample my Covenant under their Feet I have Pardon'd who Suffer'd and am Crucified Pardon thou those whom that thou mightest Pardon thou sentest me into the World thus to suffer Now all manner of Sinners which shall ever be in the World they are my Tormentors they are my Crucifiers as well as these Jews and Romans about me I Pray therefore for all as I Suffer for all and offer my self a ransom for all But more particularly for these my Brethren because no Sin can equal theirs that thou wouldst be pleased to be favourable to their Blindness for they know not what they do The vail of Darkness is over their Hearts and this covering of Flesh has clouded me that they cannot discern my Divinity but hereafter they will look on him whom they have pierced and mourn and the World shall acknowledge me their Crucified Lord. Is it not by thy permission that Satan has thus blinded them and hid from their understandings the Mystery of my Incarnation Destroy not therefore an ignorant Nation who are to fulfil the designs of thy Wisdom and Mercy For did they know me they would not Crucifie me and notknowing me they are subservient thy Providence After the same goodness likewise do thou ever pardon all that offend against thee ignorantly and out of Infirmity that they may return to thee and Repent and be acceptable through the Merits of this my Sacrifice which I here offer for their Ransom Let my Death overcome their Death Let my Resurrection despoil their Hell And when I return Triumphantly to thee let me also make a way for my Ransomed to pass Prayer O Bleeding Love my Dear Intercessor who hadst the Patience thus to Pray for thine Enemies among so many Torments and Deaths wherefore didst thou not Pray thy Heavenly Father that he should mitigate thy own Griefs for thou neglected'st the Beloved of God and interceededest for his rebellious Servants Thy Hands and Feet were nailed to the Cross thy tender Flesh torn with Whips thy languishing Head pierced with Thorns and all the parts of thy Body disjoynted and strugling under inexpressible pains Why would'st thou not pitty thy Sacred Body who hadst such compassion of thy Tormentors Why would'st thou not be eas'd from temporal pains who wast so desirous to have them freed from the Eternal Art thou not bound to defend the Innocent And why dost thou not defend thy self who art most eminently and undoubtedly such by the Testimonies of thy Betrayer and Judge But thou becomst an Advocate for the guilty Thou excusest a Sin which cannot be paralel'd Without being desir'd thou Prayest for the Actors and for the love of those who kill thee art content to die And why all this Gracious Lord but for my instruction that I a Sinner should have compassion towards Sinners that I who commit so many Sins my self should not only forgive such as do offend me but also excuse and Pray for them that so I may become a Son of thy Eternal Father and a true Disciple of thy Beneficent Love O fill my Heart with thy Exuberant Charity and transform me into thine own likeness Dissolve into meekness all pittiless Spirits abolish with thy Grace all Mortal Vengeances and convert with thy Clemency those Tyrannous Souls who know not what it is to Pardon when once Offended That after thy Example we may embrace our Adversaries quench their passions with Tears of Love and become acceptable to that infinite Charity wherewith thou redeemest the the Sinning World SECT XLI Of the Penitent Thief and Christ 's Mercy towards him NO sooner had the
Benign Jesus interceeded for his Enemies but the Divine Goodness so ordered that one of the Malefactors who suffer'd with him should immediatly be converted and receive the Fruits of it for the comfort of all those who should afterwards repent and believe in the meritorious efficacy of his Death Whilst the other Thief desperate and impatient perisht in his impenitency and unbelief bearing the Figure of all hardned Sinners who tho' they have Christ never so near are ever repining and murmuring under the Cross and mistrusting the providence of God till they are Destroyed of the Destroyer For p Luke 23.39 one of the two which were hanged by him his savage nature growing furious under pain and raging against every thing that was near railed on him saying If thou be the Christ save thy self and us But the q Luke 23.40 41 42. other relenting and possest with a deep sense of all the guilt of his offences a piercing dread of future Judgment and especially with admiration of the Holy Jesus rebuk'd him answering dost thou not fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this Man has done nothing amiss And he said unto Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom And Jesus r Luke 23.43 said unto him Verily I say unto thee to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise O the wonderful and unsearchable Judgments of God who is able to convert the most wicked in a Moment and would not have us rashly condemn any or ever despair of his saving Mercy Behold here a Prodigy which has nothing common in Nature a convincing Revelation in the heart of a Sinner whose lightning is like a Thunderbolt Quick and Piercing and carries away along with it whatsoever stood before it The Poor Thief confesses Christ when all his Disciples doubted and forsook him And when he had only his Heart and Tongue free yet offers both believing in his Heart and confessing with his Mouth that he was the Lord of Glory Which Miraculous Conversion Jesus entertained with a speedy promise of a very great Felicity that upon that very Day he should be with him in Paradise I know not in this Action whether I should rather admire the good fortune of the Penitent Thief or the wonderful Power of the word Incarnate of the Thief who is drawn for a Cut-throat to Prison from Prison to Judgment from Sentence to the Cross and thence goes to Paradise without needing any other gate but only the Heart of the Bountiful Jesus For on the other side what can be more admirable to our thoughts then to see a Crucified Man do an Act which belongs to the living God when the World shall end to save some and reprobate others and to judge from the Cross as if he sate upon a Throne As if he had said My only Companion and Patient Partaker in my unspeakable Griefs thou askest of me with a great Faith but a small thing in appearance that I should remember thee when I come into my Kingdom But I am not ignorant what becomes me to give or thee to recieve for such a faithful acknowledgement Nor will I reward so great a Virtue shining through all the Clouds of thy Affliction but with the Chief and greatest Good I am now forgotten as a dead Man out of Mind and mine acquaintance are hid out of my sight My Friends are become my Enemies and my Disciples fled Peter afraid of a Womans voice has deny'd me and forsworn himself and Judas for a little unprofitable lucre has sold and betray'd me the rest as Sheep without a Shepherd are scatter'd and almost destitute of all Hope and Faith But thou who art a Robber and fierce by Nature without any advantage of Religious Education art come hither to me out of the covert of the Woods and the hollow Caverns of the Mountains and meetest me in Love and the participation of my Cross more Faithful then my Friends more Constant then my Disciples and Believest and Hopest and Adorest my Abasement and Contemplatest me Triumphing over the Powers of Death and Hell in a Servile Ignominious Crucifixion Confoundest the Ingrateful Reprehendest the Blasphemous Bearest Testimony to my Innocency and Fightest for me all thou canst with thy Tongue Thou seest me here as a Malefactor and yet acknowledgest me to be thy Holy Redeemer Thou seest no other title or sign of my Kingdom but only my Body covered over with Blood and opprest with Dolours and yet thou callest upon me as reigning in Heaven Thou seest me in Misery as an Abject Person and confessest the infinite Glory of my Heavenly Dominion Flesh and Blood has not revealed this unto thee but my Father which is in Heaven nor have I found so great Faith no not in Israel it self Å¿ Gen. 22.15 Abraham believed on me speaking to him from Heaven and t Exod. 3.2 Moses speaking to him out of the midst of Fire and u Isai 6.1 Isaiah as I spake to him sitting on my Throne But thou Believest on me hanging upon this Cursed Tree Weak Fainting and Breathing my last as if I were working Miracles or riding in Triumph * John 3.2 Nicodemus and x John 1.49 Nathaniel have also believed being admonisht by the Scriptures and the y John 15.22 Canaanitish Woman led by my Miracles and my z Matt. 19.28 Disciples upon promise of Thrones But none of these things have been demonstrated to thee nor hast thou searcht the Scripture nor seen signs nor heard promises and yet thou believest and concludest my Glory out of my infirmity and my Innocence from my Condemnation Thou shalt not long expect thy Reward For tho' the Ax be laid to thy Root and thou wert ready to be cast into the Fire Yet art thou in time the door of Mercy is still open yea the Fountain of Grace flows more plentifully then ever And it shall be more Profitable and Honourable for thee thus to have hung by my side Crucified and Believing then to have sate before Cesar on Golden Arras or Triumpht before the People on an Ivory Throne And thou shalt reap more pleasure for having been partaker of these my Torments then thou couldst have done out of the spoils of Provinces or by having been Monarch of the Universe For what would it have profited thee to have gain'd the whole World and to have lost thy poor Soul or to have heap'd up all the Treasures of the Earth if they must have been follow'd with Everlasting Sorrows Verily I say unto thee and be thou secure of it even this day will I exalt thee before all Israel and thou shalt be where I am because thou hast confest and follow'd thy Saviour Thy petition was but small as thou imaginest for what is easier than to remember but truly the greatest and such as ought to be the Prayer and constant desire of every
Faithful expectant For whom I forget they are cut of from my Hand are cast out of the light of my countenance and reserv'd for Judgment under chains of Darkness But whom I remember to them I am merciful whom I remember to be Merciful to in my Kingdom they are Eternally Blessed in the Presence of my Father Verily therefore I say unto thee that in remembring I will remember thee and with the Righreous thou shalt be had in Everlasting Remembrance Mine Eyes shall always be upon thee and thou shalt abide under the shadow of the Almighty I will defend thee under my Wings and thou shalt be safe under my Feathers Thou shalt be with me to be with whom the Saints have desir'd to be dissolv'd and it shall be there whence neither the a Gen. 3.24 flaming Sword nor Cherubims shall drive thee from an absolute enjoyment For it shall be in the Celestial and Heavenly Paradise the place of the blessed Angels and Saints where God with his Divine Majesty fills 'em with the light of Righteousness and quickens their Spirits with Everlasting Joy Yea thou shalt be the Example and Mirrour of my Mercy wherein every Penitent may see his own condition and know that my Bounty is greater then his Sin if he will truly turn to me that I may receive him and that while there is Life still there is hope of acceptance upon a sincere and hearty repentance and a stedfast Faith And that to the end of the World whosoever shall hear thy Sins were pardon'd may never despair but trust in Mercy and turn to me and seek Salvation and find it and desire it and receive it Prayer O Sweetest Saviour when I consider this Penitent I must needs confess that even Thieves and Barbarians would have serv'd thee better then I had they receiv'd so many Favours and Graces as it has pleased thee to bestow upon me Nevertheless since by the same instance of thy Mercy thou raisest me to a lively hope of acceptance by true Repentance and a strong Faith encrease in me I Beseech thee the Seeds of both making way for my Salvation by thy assisting Grace till my Soul being purified as another Miracle of thy Goodness thou Vouchsafe to receive me to those Blessed Enjoyments which thou hast purchased with thy precious Blood SECT XLII Of the Sorrowful Interview between Christ and the Virgin Mother his Compassion towards her and his Love to Saint John NOW while Jesus was receiving the Penitent Thief there b John 19.25 stood by his Cross the Holy Virgin Mother Sad and Silent with a modest Grief deep as the Waters of the Abyss but smooth and full of Love and Patience and by her side his Mothers Sister Mary the Wife of Cleophas and Mary Magdalen and the Disciple whom Jesus loved When Jesus therefore saw his Mother and the Disciple by whom he loved then it was we may imagine burst forth those c Heb. 5.7 Tears which Saint Paul mentions to have been shed upon the Cross accompanying that Tender and Heart-breaking sight when he began first to behold her with his dying Eyes He would not acknowledge her of whose Sorrows he was most sensible least he might seem to have respected Persons or Affections But having before Prayed for his Malicious Crucifiers and then Comforted the Penitent Thief as a token that all these bitter Sufferings were to intercede for and save Sinners He now turns to his Mother in that manner the apprehension whereof must needs affect the most insensible Heart The presence of Friends is indeed a refreshment to the miserable while there is any comfort to be expected from them and two are better than one because they have advantage from their Society for if they fall one will lift up his fellow But here there was no such conveniency in the meeting which was most deplorable to the Mother standing by who could lend no assistance to her tortur'd Son and to the Crucified Son who by his incessant pains could only augment the grief of his Mother We read when he was a Child and missing but three days She sought him sorrowing among her kinsfolks and acquaintance d Luke 2.48 her Love Admiration and Meditation perpetually attending this mavellous Birth But now she may no longer find him among his Friends for they had all forsaken him and fled and left him environed with whole Troops of Enemies except those few which accompanied her there incited to it by her magnanimous constancy to be present at the Crucifixion of her dear Son For she had said in her heart where she ever e Luke 2.19 treasur'd whatsoever was Prophesied concerning his Person I will wait and expect the Death of my Beloved I will follow him out of Jerusalem tho' with the saddest thoughts and I will behold with weeping Eyes whither they bring him how they strip him how they bore his Hands and Feet how they nail him to the wood and how they lift him upon the Cross and when all this is done and they shall recede from him and stand afar off and look upon him as accursed then will I draw near and stand by the Cross of my Jesus then will I embrace the wood with my Arms and wash it with my Tears and kiss it with my Lips and thô I may not die with him yet will I fix my Eyes upon him to engrave his wounds deep in my Heart I will not now desert him dying who past by all other creatures and Children of Men to come to me the lowest of his Servants and receive from me an humble being But I will see how he goes out of this World who alone know how he came into it and in the miserablest kind of Fellowship will suffer invisibly in my Heart whatsoever he suffers visibly in his Body And thus was fulfill'd that f Luke 2.35 Prophecy of old Simeon which he spake at her Purification That a Sword also should pierce her very Soul Here then we may imagine the saddest conflict between the Soul of the Blessed Virgin and the Eyes of the Beloved Jesus which at the same time they were hastning unto Death were call'd back to look upon his Mother burning in an unutterable Flame of Love O how deep must the rays of that Vision penetrate not only her Heart but her very Soul wherewith the Lord vouchsaft to behold her dying And how opprest with Sighs and overwhelmed with Grief and drowned in Tears did she lift up her Eyes to behold his disfigur'd torn Body with the Blood distilling from the four great Wounds to behold him dying and looking upon her when she was ready to die her self There could nothing be represented to him in this view but the Martyrdom of the Soul of his dear Mother Nor could she do any thing but by most passionate reflections imprint in her heart all the Torments which he suffer'd At last after this most passionate and doleful interview wherein the rays of their
for you from the beginning of the world For I was thirsty and ye gave me Drink But instead of it they prepared a Vessel of c John 19.29 Vinegar such as might mock his intolerable Thirst and by retaining his Spirits only prolong his Torments wherewith they filled a Spunge and put it upon Hysop and put it to his Mouth They had before afflicted him in all other Parts his Head with Thorns his Face with Buffets his Back with Scourges his Hands and Feet with Nails his Body with shame and in all other Senses his Feeling with Pain his Hearing with phemies his Sight with Abominations his Smelling with the Ordure of their Infernal Mouths And now as if they intended the last Sense he should suffer in should be the same in which d Gen. 3.6 Eve first offended and Providence would make use of them to fulfil the e Psal 69.21 Scripture they gave him Vinegar to drink This was all the Kindness the Son of God received at their hands for whom he died This was all the Refreshment the Beloved of the Father was allowed while he thirsted for the Redemption of Sinners And he who feeds the Earth with the Dew of Heaven and fills all things living with Plentifulness wanted himself that we might enjoy Rivers of Pleasures in the coelestial and eternal Paradise Thus he suffer'd for our Ebriety and Intemperance in all Senses for all our Sins and dried up himself who says in the Gospel f John 7.37 If any man thirst let him come to me and drink Prayer O my dear Jesu Life of my Life and unexhausted Fountain of Mercy which can never be drawn dry to what sort of Sufferings has not thy Love Subjected thee for my sake that thou might'st purifie my Soul and present me unblamable to thy Heavenly Father To what sort of Gratitude should this induce me who know thy Blood to have been drain'd for me but a thankful Remembrance of thy Death and after thy Example an universal Charity to all that stand in need of it Yea I will receive the Cup of Salvation and I will call upon the Name of the Lord. I will magnifie his Mercy in shewing forth his Death and with confident Expectation of his coming again to Crown me with the Purchase of his precious Blood And though I am unworthy through my manifold Sins to offer unto him any Sacrifice at all yet will I present my Soul and Body to be a reasonable holy and lively Oblation not doubting but in Mercy he will accept my Service and with the same Affection wherewith he thirsted for me SECT XLV Of those Words of Christ It is finished and the Resignation of his Spirit to the Father WHen Jesus therefore had received the Vinegar all Prophecies being then fulfill'd as far as belong'd to the Life of the Messiah he said g John 19.30 It is finished or now is compleated whatsoever was predicted in the Scriptures of my Person to the end that Men might believe that I am he who was ordain'd by the eternal Wisdom and Mercy to be the Saviour of the World and so believing escape Hell and Death and be adopted into the Inheritance of the Son A dreadful Speech to the Powers of Darkness and to the Enemy of our Salvation and God's Glory the Devil all whose Desires tend to Damnation and whose Prey are the Souls of Men As if he had said Satan Thou hast hitherto tried all thy Wits to destroy me and my Gospel and frustrate the Happiness of all that should embrace it Thou hast sow'd thy Tares and the Seeds of Ingratitude in the Hearts of this People to whom I was h Matt. 15.24 first sent as the chosen of God exalted their Fury blinded their Judges animated their false Witnesses extorted my Death By thy Instinct one of my Disciples betray'd me another deny'd me the rest have forsaken me and all my Friends stand afar off or dare not own me in this ignominious place By thy Stratagems the Jews have rejected me my Followers despised and these Infidel Soldiers to consummate thy Malice nail'd me to this Tree But now the Quiver of thy Rage is empty and all thy Mischiefs shall return upon thee Nor shalt thou only have nothing in me but shalt lose many Millions of Souls by me Thy Force shall be abated Thy Kingdom wasted thy Wickedness restrained thy Acts ridicul'd For behold by me is finished what the Father hath appointed by me is finished what the Law required by me is finished what the Prophets have foretold as necessary and circumstantial to the Work of Redemption The Types are compleated The Shadows are abolished The Malice and Violence of the Enemy endured And the Sacrifice offer'd which God has requir'd Sin has an end Righteousness begins The Law is fulfill'd and the Gospel Succeeds God is reconciled and Man redeemed Thus did he terrifie the Infernal Powers with the same Word which supports the Faithful with the highest Consolation that Heaven can give or Earth is capable to receive For if all be finished there is no room for Fear A Shield is given us against all Evils The Lust of Sin the Sting of Death the Power of the Grave and the Fiery Darts of the Devil all are vanquished and we are more than Conquerors through him that has loved us and not we alone but his precious Blood is sprinkled backwards to our first Parents and forwards to the last Man that shall be upon Earth though not fully in Possession yet in hope and there is now no i Rom. 8.1 Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus After this there remain'd only the Recommendation of himself and of all those whose Reconciliation he had wrought to the Divine Majesty to be accepted protected govern'd and preserv'd till they might be glorified in his Heavenly Kingdom Which made him seal up his dying Lips with a loud Cry uttering these Words k Luk. 23.46 Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit My God my God my eternal Father behold me on this Pile Sacrificed to thy Justice according to thy Will pre-determin'd of me and my Desire from the first Moment of my Conception thy Pleasure having ever been engraven in my Heart with a Chizzel of Fire and an eternal Character so that I have wisht it I ever would it and I will protest it with my last Breath while my Soul shall be upon my Lips To have but one only Desire in the World to accomplish what thou hast pre-ordained to be done by my Obedience for the Salvation of Men. And now O Father I have endur'd with Patience all the Storms of thy just Indignation I come to thee who art the desirable Haven of all that obey thee and seek for Rest I have manifested thy Name I have glorified thee on Earth I have finished the Work thou gavest me to do I now return offering up my self upon this Altar of the Cross a full perfect and sufficient
23. r. who suffer p. 232. l. 24. r. to thy Providence p. 241. l. 12. r. and whom I. p. 244. l. 2. r. not before acknowledge l. 5. r. having first p. 276. l. 5. r. thy Arms. p. 279. l. 20. r. from a Spectacle p. 285. l. 5. d. which thy Enemies The Reader is desired with his Pen to correct the Pages from p. 145. to p. 160. THE HISTORY OF Christ's Sufferings SECT I. Of the Time of the Passion and our Preparation for the Thoughts of it IT was the a Matt. 26.2 Time of the Celebration of the Passover among the Jews in b Exod. 12.17 Memory of their Miraculous deliverance out of Egypt when the Lord Jesus having Preacht the Gospel was by the c Act. 4.28 determinate Councel of God to return unto the d John 20.17 Father through the Passion of Death A dreadful Tragedy to those poor Disciples who had but lately left e Mark 10.28 all to follow him in hopes of partaking of better Fortune in the Grandure of an Empire and the Delights of Plenty for the people had conceived great hopes of a f John 6.15 Triumphing Messiah who should free them from the Roman Tribute and Exactions and lift up Judaea unto the Throne of the Universe their Fundamental errour against the Cross nor were these yet wean'd from Temporal expectations of a Reward in his g Matt. 20.21 Act. 16. Kingdom for what they had quitted for his sake They were h John 15.19 chosen out of the World and fit for the impression of all other Virtues and Graces of Christianity but are i Matt. 16.22 startled at the apprehension of Persecution of Martyrdom and cannot understand what they are unwilling should come to pass So susceptible of the poison of Ambition are the finest Spirits that the Wisest have rejected it the last of Vices and so contrary and so contrary to Flesh and Blood at first are the passages of the Spirit through Tribulation to Bliss There was need of the forwardness of some extraordinary Zealot to support 'em in such a trial with a Religious Confidence when all their Pregnant hopes were apparently disappointed I fear had not Peter the bold Galilaean stept forth when his Master foretold his Sufferings and broken the profound Silence and Astonishment into which it had cast the rest of the Apostles they had Shipwrackt in the very Port of Faith against this k Rom. 9.33 Stumbling Stone and Rock of Offence Hear then the expressions of an Ardent Zeal replenished with heat rather then light l Matt. 26.33 35. Though all men shall be offended because of Thee yet will I never be offended Though I should die with Thee yet will I not deny Thee Likewise also said all the Disciples We presume we can do any thing in the strength of Passion while our minds are suspended from serious reflections but must bewail our imbecility when that is over and confess our selves naturally weak and impotent and that all our m 2 Cor. 3.5 sufficiency is of God For alas there is one of them contriving his Death and how he may most n Matt. 26.16 opportunely betray him to his Enemies from the very instant he protests his Fidelity nor shall he sooner be delivered into their hands then the rest will o Mark 14.50 forsake him and Peter himself p Mark 14.30 deny him My dear Reader thou seest it will concern us in the constant course of our Christian Profession especially in the time of Persecution and Affliction and and as oft as we commemorate the Passion of our Lord among the rest of our Holy Endeavours strictly to examine the Sincerity of our Hearts and as diligently to apply that excellent precept q Matt. 26.41 Watch and Pray that ye enter not into Temptation Our Minds may be Vigilant our Professions Zealous our Resolutions apparently Good But who can be secure when one of the Twelve turns Traitor another forswears himself and the rest desert All the moments of this Militant State are assaulted by the Grand Enemy of Man's Salvation Studiously wicked and diligently pernicious to draw all into his Snare and Condemnation But as the time before our Saviour's Passion was more properly called the r Luke 22.53 Hour and Power of Darkness wherein the Ruler of the Darkness of this World was let loose against him and his Disciples so we may conceive this everlasting Adversary is never more industrious then to frustrate the means which chiefly conduce to the eradicating our Corruptions the pulling down the Dominion of Sin and reconciling us to our offended God Such is our embracing the Å¿ Matt. 16.24 Cross of Christ with intirely Crucified Affections and Lusts Prayer O my God thou hast given thy Son to dye for me and to become my Propitiation but unless thou also give me to Believe on him and to Adhere to him by a due Application that Treasury of thy Mercy will be reveal'd to me in vain Lord I Believe help thou mine Unbelief and Strengthen me I Beseech Thee against the infirmities of the Flesh and the Suggestions of the Wicked One that through the various Sufferings of my Saviour I may be led to the imitation of his Divine Virtues till Thou account me worthy to be partaker of his Glory SECT II. Of the Mercy of Christ towards Judas and the Ingratitude of that Disciple JUdas Iscariot was one of the Twelve whom Christ had elected out of the whole World to a free and intimate fellowship of His Person one of his peculiar Domesticks and Attendance a partaker of those immense Blessings which many t Matt. 13.17 Prophets and Kings had desired in vain to see and hear Having seen with his Eyes the Word incarnate and heard with his Ears the Divine Voice and received an opportunity to have dwelt in his presence whom Abraham might only see by the light of Faith above all having been admited to the great Miracle of his Love the Ministration of the Mystery of Redemption the Sacrament instituted at his last Supper to open his Understanding to strengthen his Faith and to purifie Soul For Jesus in the same night he was Betrayed u Luke 22.19 c. took Bread and when he had given Thanks he brake it and gave it to his Disciples saying Take Eat This is my Body which is given for you do this in Remembrance of me There needed no Remembrance had he not been to be sold into the hands of his blood-thirsty Adversaries to be Slain and therefore he would lay before him the Egregious wickedness he was going to commit against a Person who had always embrac'd him with an infinite Tenderness and now was ready to lay down his life for him Likewise after Supper he took the Cup and when he had given Thanks He gave it to them saying Drink ye all of this for this is my Bloud of the New Testament which is shed for
you and for many for the Remission of Sins another Representation of that Innocent Blood which was now barbarously designed to be shed enough to have wounded a heart of Marble or turn'd a Rock into a Fountain of Tears Since by both it may appear the perfidious Traitor was not more studious to deliver his Lord to the barbarous cruelty of his implacable Enemies then the Benign Jesus was to pursue him with Kindness and to contrive how he might reap the Advantages of his Sufferings out of an unalterable purpose to do more then die for us by finding out a way whereby he might live in us for ever But it seems the unbelieving and the Slaves of Sin cannot have experience of the Divine Bounty because through the Blindness and Hardness of their Hearts they will not weigh so unspeakable a Gift as the Death of Christ for taking away their Guilt Something less Mysterious may possibly suit better with a Carnal mind and a Corrupt understanding and an Action of Humility from the most High may draw the Admiration of the most insensible Jesus therefore knowing that the Father had given * John 13.3 all things into his Hands and that he was come from God and went to God and what could the Evangelists have said more proper to make us Sensible of his wonderful Condescension For we can never truly esteem his Humiliation unless at the same time we consider his Sublimity as we cannot rightly estimate his Charity without considering how unworthy they were on whom he bestow'd it He knew himself to be Lord of all and that he came from God by Eternal Generation and was shortly to sit in Glory at his Right Hand Yet for the love of Men and to draw them to himself he laid aside his Power or rather hid it and took upon him the form of a Servant with all the Circumstances of an humble Ministration x Joh. 13.4 c. He rose from Supper put off his Garment girded himself with a Towel pour'd Water into a Bason kneel'd down and wash'd his Disciples Feet Who would have thought the Messiah was to come among Men to execute the Office of a Moabite or Slave for thus saith David y Psal 108.9 Moab is my Washpot implying he would humble the Moabites so low they should serve only to bring Water to wash away Impurities What Force has conquered him What Arms have brought him under What Power has subjected him to so dishonourable a Servitude Are they not the Charms of his own infinite Love which have render'd him thus enamour'd of his Spouse the Church that to wooe and gain her he will become any thing And are they not a Token he intends shortly to cleanse and purifie her in his expiatory Blood I am not surprized that Peter should be afraid and contract himself saying z Joh. 13.6 Lord dost thou wash my Feet when he saw Heaven stoop to Earth and the Vility of Man next to infinite exceeded by a Mercy equal to the Immensity of God I rather wonder to see so many Christians burn Incense daily to that Idol call'd Point of Honour when the Son of Man came not to be Ministred unto but to a Mark 10.45 Minister and to give his Life a Ransom for many He did not disdain to wash the Feet of his Betrayer with those Hands which had opened the Eyes of the Blind cured Lepers heal'd Diseases and when lift up to Heaven restor'd the Dead to Life He might have washed the Head or Hands a Service something more honourable but he bends rather to the Feet for the Opportunity of a more humble Posture and apter Signification of his infinite Charity Prayer Adorable Jesu I burn with Love among thy Purifying Waters I desire affectionately to humble my self But where shall I find so low a Place as thine when thou wast humbled before Judas to wash his Traiterous Feet I therefore resign my self with thy faithful b Joh. 13.9 Disciple and not my Feet only but my Hands and my Head even all that I am Beseeching thee to work in me what shall be pleasing to thy Will and to Grant That by the Waters of Repentance and Regeneration my Soul may be renew'd to everlasting Life SECT III. Of the Divine Predestination in respect of the Betrayer I Know not whether Simon shew'd more Love to his Master in violently c Joh. 13.8 refusing at first and as eagerly d 9. permitting him at last to wash his Feet among the rest of the Disciples or Judas more Obstinacy in continuing insensible under such an admirable Dispensation of Goodness For our Saviour pronounces against his invincible Infidelity enough to strike Terrour into the most confident and assured e 10. Ye are clean but not all f 18. I speak not of you all I know whom I have chosen g Luk. 22.22 The Son of Man goeth as it was determined but wo unto that Man by whom he is betrayed h Joh. 13.19 Now I tell you before it come that when it is come to pass ye may believe that I am He. O God! what Lightnings what Darts are here what a Night without a Day what a Precipice without a bottom what an Ocean without a Shore O Height of the Wisdom and Knowledge of the Almighty how fearful and horrible are the Mysteries of thy Secrets All this was long since praedicted by the i Esai 53. Zec. 11 12 13. Prophets All this is acted according to the Counsel and k Act. 4.28 Praedetermination of the Divine Majesty and yet the Actor is in fault Judas is admitted into the Apostolate and yet not chosen to present Grace but not to final May it not suffice to believe That no Man is Reprobated without Justice no Man Saved without Mercy and that what was decreed from the Beginning to be done by Judas was now to be fulfill'd without any new Counsel in a certain Order of Time long before seen and determined Not that Judas was compell'd to betray Christ lest the Scriptures should be found false for otherwise he were not to be blamed but rather praised yea his Sin would be charged upon God But because he was ready to do this of his own accord the Holy Spirit foreseeing it foretold it to come to pass Prayer O dreadful Majesty who dost justly Condemn and undeservedly Save Souls I tremble at thy Judgments I prostrate my self before thy Mercy if thou enterest into Judgment with me I cannot be justified if thou thinkest upon me in Mercy I cannot be condemned Pierce thou my Heart with a Fear of thy Judgments that I may always dread them and never feel them If I forget thee awake my Memory If I fly from thee recall me again If I defer my Amendment stay for me in Mercy and when I return O cast not out my Soul but think upon the Rigorous Justice that thou hast executed upon the Son of thy Love for the