for very payne it myght haue brast O thou sinfull creature If thou can not sorrow come learne of thys blessed woman to sorrow for thy sin Thinke that thy sinne was the cause and occasion of all this payne and sorrow that thy Lorde and sauiour dyd suffer on the Crosse. And not onely she giueth the example of sorrowe but his blessed mother abundantly thē sorowed at his death Sainct Iohn sorrowed Sainct Peter sorrowed and wepte bitterly All the Apostles were in sorrow But wherevnto speake I of reasonable creatures the vnreasonable and the vnsensible creatures shewes a maner of sorrowe The earth quaked The mighty stones brast in sunder The monuments opened the dead courses issued out of theyr monuments All these were moued with compassion And onely thou wretched sinner for whose cause he suffred all this paine and gréeuance hast no pitie nor compassion vpon him Alas howe great is thy hardnesse Howe obstinate is thy harte that will suffer no pittie to enter in to it Uerely thou arte more harder then are the stones for they were moued by his passyon so myghtely that they brake in sunder Petrae scissae sunt When then the harde stones and all the other vnreasonable creatures were thus moued and stirred to take some compassyon of the paynfull death of Christ and yet felt no profite by his death Thou much rather shouldest be moued for whose loue he dyd endure all this gréeuous pains Looke thou therfore vpō this booke thou shalt here fynde great cause matter of sorrow Fourthly if thou canst not sorrowe yet thou maiest here learne to hate Thou maiste learne to hate sinne which was cause of all this trouble It is not for nought that the scripture sayth Quasi a facie colubri fuge peccatū dentes leonis dentes eius interficientis animas hominum Flée from sinne euen as thou wouldest flée from the face of an Adder for as the téeth of the Lion deuoureth the body of man so death doth sleay their soules Sinne is so odious and so great an iniury to god that it was necessary for the recompence of this iniury that the sonne of god should suffer this most paineful death of the crosse Sinne so prouoked almightie god the father so déeply to displeasure wrath to take vengance vpon sinners that without the sacrifice of his owne sonne in the gybbet of the crosse he wold not be appeased ne recōciled vnto sinners againe Sinne so deadly wounded blotted the soule of man that with out shedding of the most precious bloud of our sauiour Christ Iesu no lyfe could be restored vnto sinners nor the soules might be washed from the fowle abhominable corruption of sinne Sinne so debarreth and shutteth frō sinners the gates of heauen that they might not haue béene opened but only by the merit of this moste bytter passion suffering this most painfull torments on the crosse Sinne set the gates of hell so wyde open brought all this world into that daunger and thraldome of the diuell that all we should haue béene deuowred of the pyt of hell vnlesse we had béene raūsomed with this most precious treasure that was shed for vs on the crosse-O sinful creature hast thou not great cause to hate sinne that hath brought thée into that miserable cōdicion that by thy sinne thou hast done and committed high iniurie against almighty god and hast prouoked him to vengeaunce That by thy sinne thou hast thus mortally wounded thyne owne soule That by sin thou haste brought thy selfe into the daunger of the dyuill and be dampned in hell perpetually That by thy sinne thou hast shut the gates of heauē against thy selfe Alas man where canst thou fynde greater occasion of hatred If thy neyghbour doe vnto thée but a lyght iniurie thou canst anon hate him yea and so hate him that thou wilt say thou mayest not finde in thy harte to loue him Sinne hathe done vnto thée all these great iniuries and yet thou loueste sinne and canste not hate it Alas what madnesse is this Ioab sayde vnto Kyng Dauid dilegis odientes te et odio habes diligentis te Thou loueste them that hate thée and thou hatest them that loue thée The same worde may well be sayde vnto euery sinner that followeth the course of sinne And lykewyse vyce doeth procure the dystruction of sinners and yet the sinners doe follow after them Our sauiour with all grace vertue procureth the saluation of sinners but him they will not heare nor take any wayes after his counsayle And this is nothing els but an extreame madnesse for they should contrarywyse loue our sauiour that so louingly for theyr weale indured the gréeuous paynes of the Crosse and hate the diuill and sinne which was the very cause of death By thys then you may perceyue that in this booke ye may fynde matter inough of lamentation sith you may read in this booke so much cause of dread of shame of sorrow and of hatred And this is the first wryting wherof we promised for to speake The secōd writing that I said was also writtē in this booke was Carmē that is to say Songe Surely if eyther loue or hope or ioye or comfort wil make a soule to sing here he may take great occasion to sing Fyrst here is great matter of loue and so great that if any person will eyther gyue hys loue fréely or els for some certayne pryce sell it hée that died on the crosse is best worthy to haue it If thou search in heauen in earth one person vpon whom thou maist best bestowe thy loue Thou shalt fynde none comparable vnto Christ Iesus so wyse so myghty so gentle so kynde so amyable far passing all other and there to he is much desirous of thy loue for when Moyses had rehearsed the great benifites which almightie God had giuen vnto man he sayth Et nunc audi quid dominus deus tuus requirat a te nisi vt diligas eū Now here what thy Lord God dooth require of thy parte truely but that thou loue him So now if thou wylt fréely giue thy loue thou canst not more wysely nor better bestow it then vpon him which is so excelent and hath all the condicions aboue saide and there to also is so desirous to haue thy loue And if thou wylt sel thy loue I trow there is none that wyl giue vnto thée more liberally for the same than he hath done Where shalt thou finde him that wyll shedde one droppe of bloud out of his harte for thy sake Where shalte thou finde hym that will giue hys owne soule and lyfe for thy loue There can no more bée asked of any man then that Maiorem charitatem nemo habet nisi vt animam suam ponat quis pro amicis suis. No man can shewe greater charitie then for to put hys owne life in ieopardie for his friendes But thou peraduenture wilt say Syr if he had done this
kyndnesse thou canst shewe but much vnkyndnesse thou haste often shewed vnto him and yet thou art not ashamed Alas man where is thy shame Thincke with thy selfe how many abhominable sinnes thou hast done against his pleasure I doo a certayne thée that the least of them stryketh him more paynefully vnto the hart then any vnkyndnesse that euer was done vnto thée in all thy lyfe For as Sainct Barnerd sayth in the person of Christ when he hath rehersed all the gréeuous paynes of his passion he putteth vnto these wordes Extat interius plauctus pregrauior quum te ingratum experior that is to say but inwardly mourning is much more greuous bicause I perceue thou arte to me so much vnkynd So many sinnes so much vnkyndnesse And the more haynous and the more accustomable that they bée the more abhominable is thyne vnkyndenesse If the least of many of thy sinnes had come to lyght and to the knowledge of men thou wouldest haue béene sore ashamed of them Christ knoweth them and saw thée doo them for Omnia vnda et aperta sunt oculis eius All thinges be naked and open before his eyes and yet thou art not ashamed of all thy vnkinddes Alas man heare what the King and Prophet sayth Tota die verecundia mea cōtra me est et confusio faciei meae cooperuit me All the day long my shame is before mée and my face is couered with confusion Thus sayd this holy Kinge when our sauiour as yet had not suffered his passion for him This high poynte of kindenesse was not as yet shewed vnto this man by our sauiour Christ and he neuerthelesse was ashamed of his sinne Thou hast peraduenture done much more outragious sinne and hast béen much more vnkynde after this his moste wonderfull passion suffered for thy sake then euer that king was that also maketh thy sinne much more horryble Thou hast after thy promise made vnto him falsified the same promise and vntruely broken it by multiplying of many foule and abhominable sinz by oftē renewing of the same Thou dyddest promise once at the sacramēt of baptisme to kéepe thy fayth trueth vnto thy sauiour to forsake the diuel all his works An honest man or an honest woman would be much ashamed to brek their promise specially to theyr friend Albeit the worlde is now full of such lorrells that doo no more regard to break their promise thē for to drīk whē they be drye How often hast thou broken thy promise Alas man learn to be ashamed and saye with the Prophet Esdras Deus meus cōfundor et erubesco leuare faciem meam quoniam iniquitates nostrae leuatae sunt super caput nostrum that is to say O my god I am confounden and ashamed to lyft vp my face vnto thée for our sinnes be rysen far aboue our heads Ye women when there is any black spot in your faces or any moole in your kerchiues or any myer vpon your clothes be you not ashamed yes forsooth syr But I shall tell you where of you ought to be ashamed Surely if your sowls haue any spots of deadly sinne in them for when our sauiour so dearely with his most precious bloud with all these gréeuous paynes dyd wash and wype clense our soules from euery spot of deadly sinne ye should be much ashamed to defyle them againe If you be ashamed for a foule myrie shoo and not of a foule stincking soule ye make more dearer your shooes then your soules If ye be ashamed of a spot in your clothes haue no shame for many great blots in your soules What shal I say but Frons meretricis facta est tibi noluiste erubescere that is to say thou hast takē vpon thée the face of a brothell thou wylt not be ashamed If thou then depely consider how many shameful blots of sinne be in thy soule before the eyes of almightie God all the glorious court of heauen how by them thou hast vtterly broken thy promise vnto god cōmitted so great vnkindnes against this moste louing charitie that was shewed vnto thée for thy loue for thy sake by our sauiour on the crosse I suppose thou shalt fynde matter cause of great shame if any sparkle of honesty be yet left in thy soule Thirdly thou maist here take matter inough of sorrow for here your sauiour pitiously cryeth complayneth of his great sorrowes saying O vos omnes qui transitis per viam attendite et videte si est dolor similis sicut dolor meus All ye that passe foorth by take héede sée whether any sorrow was euer lyke vnto myne Alas to sée so noble a man so gentle so innocent so cruelly intreated in euery parte of his most delicate body And to here him so pitiously complayninge who shall not be sory surely none except hys hart be harder then any flynte stone or Adamant stone These same foure poynts alone may suffice to styrre any gentle hart to sorrowe I say his excelent noblenesse his innocēcie the crueltie that he dyd suffer and his pitious complayning If thou saw O Christiā man thyne enimie thus mangled and wounded it might styrre thée to take compassiō vpon him If thou sawe any Iew or Sarazin thus tormented it mighte moue thée to pittie But much rather to sée thy Lord thy sauiour and for thy sake thus cruelly entreated thus with out any pittie crucified and payned hanging on a crosse should moue thée to compassion For say to me for whome supposest thou that our sauyour Christe Iesus suffered all those gréeuous paines surely for thy sinne Pro impijs Christus mortuus est For sinners Christ Iesus died there was no cause but sinne Thy sinne was the cause of his death Thy sinne gaue him his deathes wound O sinful creature how much cause hast thou for to be sory For thy sinne was the roote foūtayne of all his sorrow yet thou ceasest not dayly by thy sin to encrese his sorrow O what floud of teares dyd the blessed Magdalene shed remembring hir gréeuous sinne She firste conceiued a great dread in hir soule for hir sinne Secondly she was greatly ashamed of hir abhominacyons with in hir soule for she regarded much more the inward shame of hir conscience then the outward shame of the world And therfore she let not in the presence of many persons to come to the féete of our sauiour to shewe hyr selfe a sinner And there tooke great sorrow and wept ful bitterly for hyr sinne Thus after dread and shame followed hyr sorrow And when had shée this dread shame and sorrow truely before that our sauiour hung on the crosse yet she knew not that hir sin was cause occasion of his most cruell death But when shée sawe him hange so painfully on the Crosse and considered that for hir sin he suffered all the paynes hir harte was then so full of sorrow that
for me alone I had béene bounde then to haue gyuen him my loue whollye agayne Why man arte thou so enuyous that thou wouldest haue no parteners of this moste precious deathe with thée but thine owne selfe This were a very malicious desire to exclude all other specially when thy profite and merite shall not be mynished Albeit there bée neuer so manye besides that take commoditie there by I say vnto thée O man and I assure thée that as fruitefully hée dyed for thée if thou wilt dispose thy selfe to be partener of this death as if there had beene no more but thy selfe in all thys world Truth it is there bée many moe besides thée that bée parteners of this death But all they yea if there were a thousand thousande tymes innumerable moe then there be All that multitude shall nothyng mynish any one crum of merit of this most blessed death belongyng vnto thée And agayne if thou take much more fruite thereof then any one of them yet shall they take no impayrement or receyue the lesse bicause thou hast so much Wilte thou sée by some example that thys is trueth that I nowe say When thou séest a torch lyght in an house where many persons bée doeth not that torche gyue as muche light to them all as if there were but one person there Euery person after the quicknesse of theyr sight taketh more or lesse profitte of that lyght then doeth an other but yet he that taketh more hyndereth hys fellowes nothyng in so takyng nor he that taketh lesse giueth thereby anye occasion for his fellowes to take any more And if it be thus of the light of a torche muche rather it is so of the merite of this most gracyous death and of this most precious blud which by the reason of the godhead abundauntly suffyseth for the redemption of innumerable soules were theyr sinnes neuer so many neuer so horrible neuer so abhominable Surely as Sainct Iohn sayth ipse est propitiatio pro peccatis nostris non pro nostris tantum sed et totius mundi Hée was and is a sacrifice abundantly sufficyent for the sinnes of all this world When then for thy sake for thy loue he suffered thys most horryble death which was so painfull that the onely remembraunce of it made him to sweate bloudy sweate and that in so great aboundance that it trickled downe by hys syde vnto the ground If the onely thinking of thys death was so painfull howe paynefull was the suffring of the same in déede Howe might he more euideÌ„tly expresse vnto thée the loue of his harte then by thys means Or what might he more haue done for thy loue as he saith himself quid vltra facere debui et non faci what myght I further haue done whiche I did not for thy loue Thou mayest then fynde héere in this booke great matter of loue Héere is also great matter of hope specially to sinners will vtterly forsake their sinne and amend theyr liues for Christ Iesu sake Doubtles for such he suffered this moste bitter death Pro impijs Christus mortuus est for wicked sinners Iesus Christ dyed And in an other place the same s. Paul sayth Christus Iesus venit in hunc munduÌ„ saluos facere peccatores Christe Iesus came into this world for to saue sinners that will amend theyr lyues O christian soule take thou vpon thée the crosse of pennaunce and bée crucyfied with him then without doubt thou shalt be partener of the the merit of his crucifying and of his most fruitfull passion What shall exclude thée from hys merite Almightie God the father Nay qui proprio filio suo non peporcit sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit illum quomodo non cum illo nobis omnia donauit He that dyd not spare his own sonne but gaue him vnto the death for vs all what shall hée denye vs what greater euidence canst thou aske that almightie God the father wil forgiue thy sin then thys that he would not forsake to giue vnto the death hys own sonne I say his own most dearly beloued sonne of whom hée sayde Hic est filius meus dilectus in quo mihi coÌ„placui This is my welbeloued sonne in whom is all my pleasure What greater euydence and proofe mayest thou desire that he will forgyue thy sinne then that he would put this most inestimable Iuell into such a daunger for thy sake and sende it vnto thys most painfull and shamefull and sorrowfull death of the Crosse. But peraduenture thou thynkest that our sauiour bycause thou haste bin so vnkynde vnto him will not receyue thée vnto his mercy I say therfore forsake thy sinne and accuse thy vnkyndnesse and be sory for it And doubt not but he will forgiue forget thyne vnkyndnesse and receyue thée agayne vnto hys great mercy And therfore he sayth by his Prophet Hieremie when a woman saith he is gone from hyr husbande and hath accompanyed hyr bodye with an other man will hyr husband receiue hir againe As who say that it is not verie lyke but yet heare what comforte he giueth to a sinner tu autem fornicata es cum amatoribus multis tamen reuertere ad me et ego suscipiam te Neuerthelesse he sayeth to the soule of a sinner Albeit thou hast forsaken me and playde the brothell with manye other yet returne thou agayne vnto mée and I shall receyue thée But here thou sinfull soule deceyue not thy selfe Thou mayest dissemble a returning and be not in déede returned And if thou set not thy backe toward all sinne and turne thy harte fully vnto thy sauiour thou arte not returned But bée thou truly returned and doubt not Beholde earnestly the maner how thy sauiour Iesu hanged on the Crosse and thou shalt sée great cause of hope of his mercy if thou thus returne Sainct Barnerd sayth Quis non rapiatur ad â—pem impetrandique fiduciam quaÌ„ do considerat corporis cius dispositionem caput inclinatum ad osculum brachia extenta ad amplexandum manus proforatas ad largiendum latus opertum ad diligenduÌ„ pedum confixionem ad manendum nobiscum corporis extensionem ad se nobis totaliter impendendum Who may not bée rauished to hope and confidence if he consider the order of his body his head bowing downe to offer a kisse hys armes spreade to embrace vs hys handes bored thorow to make lyberall giftes his side opened to shewe vnto vs the loue of his harte his féete fastened with nayles that hée shall not starte away but abyde with vs And all his bodie stretched forcesing him selfe to giue it wholly vnto vs Surely O man he that would thus and after this maner exhibite his bodie vnto thée on the Crosse if thou wilt indeuer thée vpon thy parte hée will not refuse thée but take thée vnto his mercy This most precious bloud that he shed on the Crosse cryeth alwayes mercye for
and clensed from the spottes and mallice of deadly sinne they bée the brighter glasses and more cléerly receyue this loue such also be néere vnto our Sauior for nothing putteth vs farre from him but onely sinne And therefore they that haue more diligently scoured their soules from the rust of sinne be néerer vnto him then the other that so haue not done Such soules also as of their parte enforce them selues to a great loue and to a more ample feruor they doe inlarge the capacitie of their soules to receyue a more large abundaunce of loue agayne those that lesse enforce them haue a lesse capacitie in receyuing and therfore so much the lesse they receyue of this loue Euen as a man that openeth his bosome wyde and enlargeth it is more able to receiue a greater thing into it then hée that doeth not But yet as I haue sayde before of the glasses euery one of the soules receyue as full and as whole a loue of Iesu Christ as though there were no moe soules in all the world but that one alone for the loue of Christ Iesus infinite And therfore wheÌ„ innumerable of soules haue euerie one of them receyued as much the loue of Christ Iesu as to euerie one of them is possible yet hath he still in him self loue suffitieÌ„t for infinite moe this his loue therby is not in any point diminished nor lessened though it be deuided vnto many be the number of them neuer so great None of them that be beloued receiue the lesse bicause of the multitude of his fellowes nor if he had no moe but him selfe he shoulde not thereby haue any more abundance of loue to his parte but according to the cleÌ„sing and capacitie of his soule nighnesse vnto Christ his parte in loue shall be the lesse or more Wherefore good sister I pray you bée you dylygent to scoure your soule cleane and to enforce your soule on your parte feruently to loue your spouse Christ Iesu and drawe nygh vnto hym with entiere deuotion then vndoubtedly you shall be partener to the more plentuous aboundaunce of his loue notwithstanding any other multitude which beside is beloued of him for he neuerthelesse is as studious of you and as mindfull as ferueÌ„ly careth for your weale as though ther wer no mo beloued of him but you alone in all thys world The ninth Consideration THe ninth coÌ„sideratioÌ„ is this wher peraduenture you would obiect to me again say Brother if it bée thus as you say that my Lord Iesu loueth me so much and is so mindfull of me and so feruently enteÌ„deth my weale what néede me to care whatsoeuer I doe he will not cast me away he wil not forsake me nor suffer mée to perish Good sister without doubt as I haue said our sauior Christ Iesu is in loue towards you he is myndfull more louing towards you then I can expresse And sure you may be that hée will neuer cast you away ne forsake you if you before cast not your selfe away ne forsake your selfe But if you giue any place to sinne in your soule and suffer it to enter vpon you verely then you forsake your self and cast your selfe awaye and willinglie destroye your selfe that is your déede not hys for he neuer forsaketh any creature vnlesse they before haue forsakeÌ„ them selues And if they will forsake them selues were they neuer in so great fauour with hym before they then incontinently lose his fauour the which thing well appeareth in his first spirituall creatures the noble Angelles Lucifer and hys compâ—nie which were created in excelent brightnesse and were muche in the fauour of almightie God they presumptuously offeÌ„ded him in pride for the which not onely they lost hys fauour but also their merueylous brightnesse became incoÌ„tinently horrible foule and were expelled out of the glorious kingdom of heauen that they were in and throwen into perpetuall darkenesse into the pryson of hell The first man Adam also who was created in singular honour and was put into Paradise a place full of gladnesse there to liue in comfort of all pleasure the which was done to him for a singular loue that almightie God had towardes him yet anon as hâ— fell to sinne he was in lyke maner expelled out from that pleasure and sent into this miserable world to endure miserie and payne If those noble creatures which were lift vp into so great fauour with almightie God so lightly by their misdemeanor in sin lost his gracious fauour let none other creature thinke but if they admit any sinne to their soule they shal be likewyse excluded out of his fauor For sinne is so odible vnto almightie God that not the dearest friends that euer he had in all the worlde but if there were founde in their soules any deadly sin after death they should neuer be receiued into the ioy of heauen Not the blessed Mary Magdalen for all hir loue towardes him nor yet his owne blessed mother that bare him into this world if one deadly sin were fouÌ„d in their soules they shuld incontinent be throwen into the darke dungeon of hell Wherfore good sister say not if his loue be so muche vppon you and he so desirouslie entendeth your profite that you may doe what you list you néed not to care what you doe But contrariwise the more that he loueth you the more you shoulde take héede vnto your self and beware that you offend him not for so did the blessed Mary Magdalen of whome I spake before Shée notwithstandyng the great loue that both our sauiour had to hir and shée vnto him agayne for the which also hyr sinnes were forgiuen hyr yet after his death shée fled from the companie of men lyued in the wildernesse farre from any worldly comforte in great wayling fasting and prayer such other painefulnesse of hir body was nothing the lesse diligent to kéepe hir selfe warely from sinne for the great loue that our lord sauiour had to hir but for that the more studiously she did auoid eschu euery thing wherby she might run into any displeasure against him The tenth consideration THe tenth consideration is this it were wel done and much it shuld farther this cause if you truly esteme of how little value your loue is how vaine how light howe triflelous a thing it is how few ther be that would much regarde it or set muche pryce thereby for fewe there be or none to whom it may doe any profit or auail Contrariwise you should consider the loue of your spouse the swéet Iesu how exceleÌ„t it is how sure how fast howe constantly abiding how many haue much specially regarded it Martirs innumerable both men and women for his loue haue shead theyr bloud and haue endured euery kind of martirdom were it neuer so cruell were it neuer so terrible No paine no tormentrie might compell them to forsake his loue so desirous were they of his loue that rather
sinners that doe thus re-returne And therefore Sainct Paule sayeth Accessistis ad sanguinem melius loquentem quam Abel Ye become and haue returned you vnto the bloude that speaketh more graciously then did the bloude of Abell The bloud of Abell cryed vengeaunce before almightie god As almightie God sayd vnto Caine in the booke of Genesis Sanguis Abell fratris tui clamat ad me vindictam de terra The bloude of thy brother Abell crieth vengeaunce in mine eares from the grounde where it is shead But the moste precious bloude of our sauiour Iesu Christ cryeth mercy for all sinners that doeth repent And our sauiour now before the face of hys father sheweth his woundes sheweth his most precious bloud ceaseth not to procure mercy for them This plainly doeth affyrme the blessed Apostle Saint Iohn saying in this maner filioli hec scribo vobis vt non peccatis sed et si quis peccauerit aduocatū habemus apud patrem Iesu Christum iustum et ipse est propitiatio pro peccatis nostris That is to say Childrē I write these things vnto you to the intent that you should not sinne Neuerthelesse if it fortune any man to sinne wée haue an aduocate for vs Christ Iesus before the face of his father And he is rightuous and without sinne a verye satisfaction for al our sinnes Who thē attentiuely doth beholde this Crucifix verely beleueth that on the Crosse was payd the raūsom of all sinners how may he not fully trust that if he aske mercy for his sinnes they shall be forgiuen him So that here euery sinner may finde great matter and occasion of hope In the Crosse is also matter of ioy Héere is occasion of such excessiue ioy that a soule which verely tasteth it can not but highly reioyce in the same And therfore Sainct Paule did say Mihi autem absit gloriari nisi in cruce domini Iesu Christi God forbid that I reioyce in any other thing then in the Crosse of our Lorde Iesu Christ. Here doubtlesse is great cause for euerye true Christian man to reioyce and specially for thrée poyntes The first is that by the death of our sauiour on the Crosse and sheding of his moste precious bloude on the Crosse we be fully reconciled to almighty God as often as we doe true repentaunce with a fast purpose of amendement Thus Saint Paule sayth ad Col Complacuit per eum reconciliari omnia in ipsum per sanguinem cruicis It hath pleased God the father that by his sonne and by his bloud shed on the Crosse all should be reconciled But you will aske me what meaneth this word reconciled It is as much to sai as to be made attone with almighty God and to be at friendship with hym As two men when they haue bene at variaunce to be made louers together againe So the displeasure which he had against vs for our sinne is taken away And his great wrath against vs is fully pacified And where we were by sin the children of the diuell now we haue recouered to be made againe the children of God and consequentlye the inheritours of heauen O thou Christian man is not here great cause to reioyce If thou haue a ritche man to thy father which had loued thée much and he for thy misdemaner had caste thée out from his fauour and so thou werte in ieopardie to lose thy enherytaunce if by meanes of a brother of thine thou mightest be brought into his fauour againe and be taken for his sonne as thou waste before and restored thereby to thine enheritance haddeste thou not great cause to be ioyous and reioyce that by this means thou hast recouered againe thy fathers loue with all the commodities belonging vnto the same In like manner it is of euery sinner for he by his lewde demainer and by his sinful dealing hath so displeased his father that he is cast out from the fauour of his father and is in perrill to lose his inherytaunce which his most louing father had prouided for hym Neuerthelesse his onelye begotten sonne by his inestimable goodnesse and charitie suffering the most painful death of the Crosse and shedding his most precyous bloude for amendes and recompence of our vngracious dealinge hath reconcyled vs agayne and made vs at one with his father and set vs at a perfecte peace concorde and vnytie And thys is concernynge the fyrste poynte The second by the vertue of the crosse and of his most blessed passyon the power of our enymies be much broken for on the Crosse our sauyour by his death gatt the victory vpō thē for the which Sainct Paule saide expolians principatus et potestates traduxit confidenter triumphans cos in seme tipso Christ Iesus spoiling the mighty power of the diuill hath openly detected theyr frauds and gotten a very triumph of them in his owne person And therfore nothing is yet more tirrible vnto them then is the signe of the Crosse. A blessed virgine sainct Christian had suche a confidence in the token of the Crosse that when shée féelt hyr selfe tempted with hyr ghostly enimy shée marked hyr selfe with the same token and at euery temptation shée gatte the better of the diuils And by this holy token chased thē away put euer to flight Thirdli by the vertue of the crosse of this most fruitful death our hand wryting the which made most against vs was clerly put out Whē where was it written In the booke of our owne conscience there is no maner of sinne that we doe but it is written in the booke of our consciēce And if we repent vs not of the same be hartily sory for it before our death thys booke of our conscience shal be shewed against vs in the dreadfull day of iudgement Neuerthelesse if we repent vs and confesse vs and doe true repentance therfore then by the vertue of this passion it shall be scraped out of the booke of our conscience Therfore Sainct Paule calleth sinne our own hand writing Deleuit quod aduersū nos erat chirographum decreti quod erat contrarium nobis et ipsū tulit de medio affigens illud cruci Christ Iesus he saith put out the hande writing of the decrée whiche was against vs and so withdrewe it fastning it vnto the Crosse. When thou perceiuest O sinfull creature that by the Crosse of Christ and by that most precious bloud which was shed on the crosse thou art reconciled and made at one with God and that the power of thine enimies be greatly represt And fynallly that thy sin which was most against thée was crucified on the same Crosse so that thou maist clearely sée that héere is great matter of excessiue ioy and to reioyce in the most blessed Crucifix Finally in the Crosse is also matter of great comfort when a person hath deserued a great open shame is broght euen to the plunge of the matter and yet by