That there were as many Deuils there as there were Men. And a woman that was a Christian comming from these sports the Deuill entred into her And beeing asked how he durst doe so to a seruant of our Sauior Christ made answer I found her within the limits of my Iurisdiction Wearied in the iourney It was no wonder that he was wearie it beeing a iourney of such painefull circumstances First In that our Sauiour went foot a trauaile which in long iournies is woont to tyre out the strongest and ablest men Those Posts which foot it and those Souldiers that march long and hard marches remaine oftentimes surbated and lame of their feet Dauid pursuing those theeues that had fired Ziklag one part of his Souldiers were so tired out with their trauaile that they aboad behind and were not able to goe ouer the riuer Bezor And Dauid afterwards flying from his sonne Absalon the Storie sayth That he and all his people were so wearie that Achitophell being aduertised thereof would haue set vpon him at midnight presuming that beeing so wearie as they were they would not be able to defend themselues The Prophet Elias flying from Iezabel came so bruised and so leg-wearie to the shade of a Iuniper Tree that he desired of God that he would be pleased to take away his life The second circumstance was The scortching heat of the Sunne which in the Sommer time is so troublesome that a Sheepeheard or Heardsman can hardly indure it The Children of Israell were afflicted in Aegypt with the tale of their brickes with the gathering of straw for to make them with their skins rent and torne with rods of thornes and briars and tormented with many miseries And God leading them one Sommer through the Desart of Arabia which was a hot sandie ground it seemed vnto him that it was intollerable trouble for them to trauell in such heats and to march on as it were in despight of the Sun He spread a cloud ouer them like a curtaine Which iâ— all one with that of Wisedome Thou madest the Sunne that it hurted 〈◊〉 not in their honourable Iourney Ionas beeing parched with the heat of the Sunne in the Confines of Niniuie did suffer such great torment that he held death the lesser pain of the two The Sun beat vpon the head of Ionah that he fainted wished in his heart to die and said It is better for me Lord to die than to liue The glorious Doctor S. Austen saith That the Sunne did not know our Sauiour Iesus Christ till the houre of his blessed death and that his then retyring of himselfe the hiding of his head and the withdrawing of the beames of his light was not onely in pittie and compassion of his Creator but to shew his sorrow and repentance for that small kindnes which he had vsed towards him when he went his journeys The third circumstance was The extream heat and drought of the Countrie of Samaria the heat of those sandie grounds being as the Poet saith very furious and raging Furit â—stus arenis This must needs cause thirst and wearinesse in the hardest constitution whatsoeuer How much more must they work their painfull effects vpon so delicate and tender a bodie and complexion as that of our Sauiour Christ Wearied with his journey The ends which God intended in wearying out himselfe were not without some deepe mysterie Non frustra fatigatur Iesus saith S. Austen Iesus did not take this paines in vaine First of all He was willing thereby to honour our sweats and our labours and to giue a sauorie relish to our trauells and paines taking Those waters which passe through a golden Mine are verie sweet and pleasing to the taste and your â—quae waters in Scripture are taken for poenae punishments Saue me ô God for the waters are entred euen to my soule The many waters of affliction were not able to quench my loue But these our paines passing through those veins which are farre better and more pretious than gold doe giue a sweet and pleasing sauour to Heauen it selfe The horne of the Vnicorne makes those waters wholesome which before were full of poyson and venome Ouâ— Sauior whom Dauid calls a Vnicorne makes our paines to turne to our good In that day shall seuen 〈◊〉 take hold of one man saying We will eat our owne bread onely let vs bee called by thy name and take away our reproch The name of Woman signifieth weakenesse and the number of seuen multitudinem a great sort whereas hee saith That seuen women shall take hold of one man the meaning is That our weakenesses and our paines and punishments in this life shall take hold on that one man our Sauiour Iesus Christ and beseech him to take pittie of vs and that he will do vs but that grace as to suffer vs to be called by his name it is all wee will aske of him all the World will else shun and abandon vs as persons affronted and disgraced Aufer opprobrium nostrum O Lord take this reproch from vs. Secondly S. Bernard saith That God could haue redeemed Mankind at a lesse rate but that he was willing by this so painfull a course to banish sloathfulnesse lazinesse and vnthankefulnesse out of mans heart For if God journeying in the heats suffering the scortching of the Sunne and neither eating nor drinking tireth out himselfe thus for thy sake How canst thou be so lazie and vngrateful to this his great paines and wearinesse as to sit still vpon thy stoole to take thy ease and doe nothing How carefull were those two Tobies in deuising how they might requite Raphael for the paines which he had taken in his journey What shall we giue him to content him If we should giue him halfe of that we haue nay said the young Tobie if I should become his slaue I cannot recompence the loue and kindnesse that he hath shewne vnto mee Esay treating of our Sauiour Christ saith Et factus est saluator in omni tribulatione eorum Angelus faciâ—i 〈◊〉 saluabit eos The Seuentie translate it Neque Angelus sed ipse Dominus saluabit eos He shall be their Sauiour in all their tribulations not any Angell but God himselfe And here it is not an Angell that takes this paines and thus wearies himselfe but it is God himselfe Is it much then that thou shouldst be carefull and painefull and toyle and moyle to doe good seeing thy Sauiour hath set thee so good an example and will so well accept and reward this thy labour and seruice The reason whereof is much strengthened and increased by considering what a powerfull God our God is and what a poore thing is Man All nations are as a drop of a Bucket before him and are counted as the dust of the ballance which is with a verie little little lesse than nothing And as it is in the booke of Wisedome As the small thing that the
presumption Saint Ambrose professeth Quod non erat humanae infirmitatis sed diuina potestatis That it was not so much out of humane fraâ—ltie as diuine power Such a thing that all the strength and force of humane weakenesse could not performe Leo the Pope Haesiâ—are permissus est vt nemo auderet de sua virtute confidere He suffered him to stagger that no man might dare to relye vpon his owne strength Vsing it as a cooling-card for confident Presumists Saint Augustine expounding that place of the Prouerbs Neque declines ad dextram neque ad sinistram Doe not decline neither to the right hand nor the left doth put the difficultie in declining to the right hand We doe acknowledge two wayes in this our earthly pilgrimage One of life The other of death That it is a dangerous peece of businesse to decline to the way of death it is a cleere case but to the way of life very darke and intricate S. Ierome saith That the iust man should haue a care not to decline to the right hand because he may chance to offend God out of his double diligence as Vzza did in staying the Arke least it might fall to the ground Saint Augustine saith That our best seruice may be vnacceptable if not sinfull through our owne presumption And so did Peter sinne presuming on his owne proper valour and setled resolution which made our Sauiour Christ say vnto him Thou shalt deny me thrice and hee replyed thrice Rather than I will deny thee I will dye a thousand deaths O Lord either thou tellest me thus out of the feare of my weaknesse or to try me what I will doe I haue but one life to loose If need were I would dye with thee c. He promised that which was not in the power of his strength to performe Man promiseth he knowes not what because he knowes not himselfe The Angell knew not what would follow for had he had this knowledge at the first that alone would haue lessened his contempt Adam knew by reuelation That his marriage did represent that of our Sauiour Christ with his Church but he knew not the Media or meanes that led thereunto Saint Peter would neuer haue presumed so much on himselfe had he knowne what would haue followed thereupon So that he promised that which he was not possibly able to performe But if presuming on our Sauiour Christs fauour he had told the wench that stood at the doore I am one of Christs Disciples and I will lay downe my life for the testimonie of his truth and mine owne faith he had secured his life For it was not possible that our Sauiour Christ should be false of his word If ye seeke me suffer these first to goe their way But euermore those men that most presume are most deceiued Pharaoh pursued the children of Israel boasting as he went I will not leaue a man of them aliue I will at once make an end of these Slaues But this presumption of his succeeded so ill with him that he and all his were made food for fishes They suâ—ke like lead to the bottome of the sea And anon after it is said Thy wrath did deuoure theÌ„ as the fire consumeth the straw They perished first like lead because they descended euen to the bottome of the sea and they perished like straw because they afterwards floated aboue water to the end that the children of Israel might behold in their drowned bodies the powerfull hand of God That proud Philistim Goliah vaunted himselfe and cryed out vnto Dauid Come to me and I will giue thy flesh vnto the fowles of the heauen and to the beasts of the field He was an able and a valiant man but his valour was nothing answerable to his arrogancie and presumption so that for all his great brags himselfe was made a prey for the Vultures God would haue his friends to be valiant yet cowards weake yet strong fearefull and yet confident and that the one should grow from the consideration of their owne weaknesse and the other from their affiance in God Moses fled being afraid from the Serpent but being animated by God hee was so bold as to take him by the tayle Tobias out of feare fled from the fish but incouraged by the Angell he set vpon him and was strong enough to teare his iawes in sunder And therefore Saint Paul saith All things are possible vnto me in him that is my strength and my comforter And he might as well haue said Without God I can doe nothing In deo meo saith Dauid transgrediar murum In my God I will leape ouer a wall Whereas without him he is not able to crawle ouer a Threshold The Scribes and Pharisees did presume that they should enioy those former good times and golden ages of their great grandfathers and forefathers but they were not confederat with them in shedding the blood of the Prophets and therefore our Sauiour made them this answer Behold I send vnto you Prophets and wise men and Scribes and of them yee shall kill and crucifie And of them shall yee scourge in the Synagogues and persecute from Citie to Citie that vpon you may come all the righteous blood that was shed vpon earth from the blood of Abel the righteous vnto the blood of Zacharias the sonne of Barachias whom ye slew betweene the Temple and the Altar And yet ye are not ashamed to say That if ye had beene in the dayes of your fathers ye would not haue beene partners with them in the blood of the Prophets Benadab king of Syria bosting much of his power he of Israel answered him Let not him that girdeth his harnesse boast himselfe as he that putteth it off He that fights for the victory let him not glory as hee that hath got the victorie for the successe of warre is doubtfull The like iudgement ought euery one to make of the victorie and the warre that is waged with the soule which whilest it liueth in this mortall body cannot assure it selfe so various and doubtfull are the successes of this warre When Iacob had some difference with his father in Law about the Idols which Rachel had stolne hee told him Except the God of my father Abraham the feare of Isaac had been with me c. The Commentators here question it why Iacob did not as well say the God of Isaac as of Abraham And Paulus Burgensis answers thereunto out of the opinion of the Hebrewes That God was neuer called the God of any man whilest that man was liuing because he doth not then inioy a sure estate And therefore in regard that Abraham was dead and Isaac liuing he said the God of Abraham and the feare of Isaac After that braue resolution which Abraham had to sacrifice his sonne God sayd vnto him Now I know that thou fearest God But here another doubt now offers it selfe That Abraham hauing shewne such a great and extraordinarie token
open to others view and their owne confusion Nor shall these our sinnes bee conspicuous onely to others but euerie offendor shall see and plainely perceiue his owne particular sinnes For there is no man that fully knowes his owne sinnes while hee liueâ— here in this world And so doth Saint Basil interpret that place of the Psalmist Arguam te statuam contra te faciem tuam Euerie man shall then behold himselfe as in a glasse In a word This day will be the summing vp of all those oâ—â— former dayes wherein as in a beadroll wee shall read all the loose actions of our life all our idle words all our euill workes all our lewd thoughts or whatsoeuer else of ill that our hearts haue conceiued or our hands wrought So doth a graue Author expound that place of Dauid Dies formabuntur nemo in eis In that day shall all dayes be formed and perfected for then shall they bee cleerely knowne Et nemo in eis This is a short and cutted kind of speech idest There shall not bee any thing in all the world which shall not bee knowne in that day The other wonder shall be That all this businesse shall bee dispatcht in a moment In ictu oculi saith Saint Paul In the twinckling of an eye The Greeke Text in stead of a moment renders it Atomo which is the least thing in nature Concluding this point with that saying of Theophilact Haec est res omnium mirabilissima This is the greatest wonder of all Statuet Oues à dextris eius Haedos à sinistris He shall place the Sheepe at his right hand and the Goats at the left Dayly experience teacheth vs That what is good for one is naught for another that which helpeth the Liuer hurteth the Spleene one and the selfe same Purge recouers one and casts downe another the Light refresheth the sound Eye and offendeth the sore Wisedome saith That those Rods which wrought amendment in the Children of Israell hardned the hearts of the Aegyptians the one procured life the other death darkenes to the one was light light to the other darknesse When Ioshuah pursued the Ammorites God poured downe Hailestones Lightning and Thunder to Gods enemies they were so many Arrowes to kill them to his friends so many Torches to light them In the light of thy Arrowes saith Abacuc Death to the Wicked is bitter to the Good sweete Iudgement to the Goats is sad heauie but to the Sheep glad ioyfull to the one a beginning of their torment to the other of their glorie And therefore it is here said He shall place the Sheepe at his right hand From this beginning ariseth the Iust's earnest desiring of this our Sauiours comming and the Wicked's seeking to shun it Which is made good by Saint Austen vpon that place of Haggie Hee shall come being wished for of all Nations And his reason is because our Sauiour Christ being desired it is fit that he should be knowne and for want of this knowledge it seemeth vnto him that this place doth not so much suit with his first as his latter comming Saint Paul writing to his Disciple Timothie sayes That the Iust doe long for this judgement His qui diligunt aduentum eius Agreeing with that of Saint Paul to the Romans That the Iust passe ouer this life in sighs tribulations expecting that latter day when their bodies shall bee free from corruption and from death Saint Iohn introduceth in his Apocalyps the soules of the Iust crying out Vsque quò Domine sanctus verax Non judicas vindicas sanguinem nostrum de his qui habitant in terra How long Lord holy and true c. Saint Austen and Saint Ambrose both say That they doe not here craue vengeance on their enemies but that by his comming to judgement the Kingdome of Sinne may haue an end Which is the same with that which we dayly beg in those words of our Paternoster Thy Kingdome come And Saint Iohn in his last Chapter saith The Spirit and the Spouse say Come Come Lord come quickely make no long tarrying That the Sinner should hate this his comming is so notorious a truth that many when things goe crosse with them would violently lay hands on themselues and rid themselues out of this miserable world if it were not for feare of this Iudgement And this was the reason why Saint Paul in saying It is decreed that all men shall die once presently addeth After death Iudgement Other wise there would be many as well discreet as desperate persons that would crie out Let vs die and make an end of our selues at once for a speedie death is better than a long torment This is that that keepes these fooles in awe and quells the vaine confidence of man in generall Tunc dicet Rex his qui à dextris eius erunt vsque esuriui c. Then shall the King say to them on his right hand I was hungrie c. Hee begins with the rewarding of the Good for euen in that day of justice he will that his mercie goe before as well for that it is Gods own proper worke as also for that it is the fruit of his bloud and death Venite Benedicti Patris mei Come yee blessed of my Father a most sweet word in so fearefull a season possidete Regnum Come yee and take possession of an eternall Kingdome Quia esuriui I was hungrie c. Some man may doubt Why Christ at the day of judgement being to examine all whatsoeuer actions of vertue doth here onely make mention of mercie I answer For that Charitie is that Seale and Marke which differenceth the Children of God from those of the Deuill the good Fisâ—es from the bad and the Wheat from the Chaffe Ecce ego judico inter Pecus Pecus so saith Ezechiel and in summe it is the summe of the Law as Saint Paul writeth to the Romans Secondly He maketh mention onely of the workes of mercie for to expell that errour wherein many liue in this life to wit That this businesse of Almes-deeds is not giuen vs as a Precept whereby to bind vs but by way of councel and aduice whereby to admonish vs. And this is a great signe token of this truth for that there is scarce any man that accuseth himselfe for the not giuing of an Almes But withall it is a foule shame for vs to thinke that God should condemne so many to eternal fire for their not shewing pittie to the Poore if it were no more but a bare councell and aduice Gregorie Nazianzen in an Oration which he makes of the care that ought to bee had of the Poore proueth out of this place That to relieue the poore and the needie is not Negotium voluntarium sed necessarium not a voluntarie but a necessarie businesse And Saint Augustine and Thomas are of opinion That we are bound to relieue the necessities of
paine and torment Mors depascet eos Death shall gnaw vpon them and dying to life they shall liue to death Venit adorauit eum dicens Domine adiuua me Came and worshipped him saying Lord helpe me As there are some kind of fires which recouer more force by throwing water vpon them so the heart of this woman did recouer more courage by this our Sauiors disgrace in not vouchsafing her an answer thinking thereby to quench the heat of her zeale And falling downe prostrate before him and adoring him as God said vnto him Lord am I thy Sheepe or not thy Sheepe camest thou for me or not for me I dare not be so bold to dispute that with thee yet giue mee leaue considering the wretchednesse of my case to call vnto thee for helpe and to beat at the doores of thine eares with a Domine adjuva me with a Helpe me good Lord. Here are those hot impatient violent and firie dispositions condemned for whom those two louely Twinnes Hope and Patience were neuer borne with whom euerie little delaying of their desires and deferring of their hopes driues them to the depth of desperation and is as a thousand deaths vnto them They are like vnto your hired Horses who come so hungrie to their Inne that they will not stay the plucking off of their bridle though thereby they should the better come at their meat Osee compares them to a young Heyfer that hath been vsed to tread out corne who is no sooner taken from the cart or the Plough before her yoke is taken off would faine runne to the threshing floore Ephraim vitula est doctaÌ„ diligere trituram So affected to her feeding that she hath not the patience to put a meane betweene her treading and her eating Non est bonum sumere panem Filiorum mittere Canibus It is not good to take the Childrens Bread and giue it to Doggs This was so cruell a blow that any bodie else would hardly haue indured it But God alwayes proportions his fauours and disfauours according to the measure of our capacitie To thee hee giues riches because he distrusts thy weakenesse to another pouertie because hee knowes his strength Fidelis Deus qui non patietur vos tentare vltra id quod potestis God is so good a God that hee will not suffer yee to bee tempted aboue your power And this reason alone ought to make men rest contented with that state and condition of life whereinto God hath put them Christ you see carries himselfe scornefully to this woman yet poore soule shee patiently suffers and indures all Whether or no for that it is an ordinarie thing with God to be then most kind when he seemes to bee most curst How did he deale with Abraham touching his sonne Isaac Hee makes him draw his sword set an edge vpon it and lift vp his arme to strike but when hee was readie to giue the blow hee holds his hand and bestowes a blessing vpon him for this his great faith and obedience Non est bonum sumere panem filiorum It is not good to take the childrens bread What shall I giue the childrens bread vnto dogges It is not fitting My Miracles and my Doctrine were meant to the children for so was Israel called Filius meus primogenitus Israel It was prouided principally promised vnto them vpon a pact or couenant which God had made with Abraham In a well ordered house the dogs are not allowed to eat the childrens bread worser scraps will serue their turne it is enough that they haue that which is necessarie to nourish their bodie Oculi omnium in te sperant Domine The eyes of all things wait vpon thee ô Lord and thou giuest them their meate in due season such as is fitting for them But the choyce bread of his Law and of his presence this is reserued for his owne house and familie those that are his children and his owne people Of whom Saint Paul sayth Credita sunt illis eloquia Dei And Dauid Non fecit taliter omni nationi Hee hath not dealt so with any nation besides Your Turkes the Moores and the Negros in a scorne and contempt of them wee call them dogges And wee inherit this name from the Moores who when they were Lords of Spaine bestowed that nick-name on vs. The Scripture giues this name of base minded men Nunquid caput canis ego sum Am I a dogges head It was Abuers saying to Ishbosheth As if hee should haue sayd shall I be so base as to pocket such a wrong Againe Shall I take off this dogges head that curseth my King It was Abishays speech of Shimei as making no more reckoning of him than of a dogge Againe Is thy seruant a dogge that I should be so deuoyd of all pittie and humanitie It was Hazaells answere to Elisha when hee told him of the euill that he should doe vnto the children of Israell And Saint Paul aduiseth the Philippians to beware of dogges alluding to Heretickes And the Iewes gaue this attribute of dogge to the Gentiles Etiam Domine nam callite Yes Lord for euen the Whelpes Here this Canaanitish woman taking her Cu caught him at his word She had him now and as Saint Chrisostome noteth held herselfe now as good as alreadie dispatcht and that her sute was at an end Inferring hereupon ô Lord I account my selfe a most happy woman that I may be admitted into thy house though it be but in the nature of a dog First because that dogs beeing faithfull and louing affectionate thereby their Masters vnto them And none shall be more louing and loyall vnto you than I who shall still wait vpon you be neuer from your heeles and follow you vnto death And secondly for that to dogs were neuer yet denyed the crums that fell from their Masters table I would not poore vnworthy creature as Theophilact makes her speake desire any of those thy greater miracles which thou keepest for thine own children the least that thou hast will content me be it but as a crum in comparison of the whole loafe O how humbly and discreetly did this Canaanitish woman goe to worke How meane and yet how great a courtesie did shee beg of our Sauiour For in Gods house the least crumme of his bread is sufficient to make vs happy for euer and neuer more to suffer hunger as the least drop of his bloud is able to cleanse thousands of soules from their sinnes Elegi abiectus esse in dâ—mo Dei mei I had rather bee a doore-keeper in the house of my God c. Another letter hath it Ad limen Dei mei At the threashold of my God I had rather bee a begger and craue an Almes at the grouncell or lowest greese in Gods house than to triumph and liue in pompe in the pallaces of Princes Moses would rather haue his scrip with a morsell of bread and
WEDNESDAY AFTER THE SECOND SONDAY IN LENT MAT. 20.18 Ecce ascendimus Hierusalem Behold we goe vp to Ierusalem OVr Sauiour Christ walking to Ierusalem where hee was to giue vs life and to lose his owne hee went discoursing of his death of the persons that should occasion it and of those circumstances which were to accompanie it For a traueller doth busie his thoughts in nothing more than in that which he is to doe when hee comes to his journeys end Pharaoh persecuting the children of Israell did eagerly pursue them and casting with himselfe what course he should take with them when he once ouertooke them I will take away saith hee the riches that they haue rob'd vs of and diuide the spoyle so shall my soule bee reuenged of them and my anger rest satisfied Those holy women which went to the Sepulchre to annoint our Sauiour Christ said amongst themselues as they walked along Who shall rolle vs away the stone from the doore of the Sepulchre This is not only a businesse well beseeming vs vpon the way but discouereth likewise the pleasure and content that the Traueller takes therein Commonly trauelling is tedious and wearisome vnto vs which that it may the better bee passed ouer he that vndertaketh a journey imployeth his thoughts vpon such things as may delight him most and by that means beguiles the wearisomenesse of the way Besides they that loue a thing well and haue their minds set vpoâ— it vsually take pleasure in talking thereof saith Plutarch refreshing thereby the remembrance of those things that are best beloued by them Epipha 〈…〉 saith That our Sauiours so much talking of his death was thereby to engage himselfe therein the more for by making all those that were there present with him witnesses of his words That he should now die it stood vpon his honour his credit and his truth there was now no stepping backe but with extreamâ— losse of his reputation But he being throughly resolued to die makes here vnto vs a more especiall and particular description of his death Behold we goe vpâ—â— Ierusalem this shall bee the last time that euer I shall goe vp to Ierusalem noâ— many goe along with me but ere long I shall bee left all alone The Sonne oâ— man shall be deliuered vnto the chiefe Priests and vnto the Scribes and theâ— shall deliuer him to the Gentiles to mocke and to scourge him to beat and buffet him about the cheekes to reuile him to his teeth and to spit in his face beeing relinquished and forsaken of all men For it is written I will smite their Sheapeheard and the sheepe shall be scattered The persons that shall take my life from mee shall be the Princes of the Priests and the Romane power the circumstances scoffes scornes scourges c. But after this so foule a storme I shall recouer a very cheerefull Hauen and rest in safety The third day will I rise againe Behold we go vp to Hierusalem Saint Marke saith Iesus went before and they were amased and as they followed they feared Where we are to consider That hee that goes to receiue Death showes great content great courage and great valour But those that go to receiue Life great cowardize great sorrow and great feare Whence it came to passe that our Sauiour Christ went apace before and that his Disciples followed slowly after He went before them The pleasures hee tooke therein clapt wings to his feet Some may aske How can this his ioy sute with the sorrow which he suffered in the garden But this ioy was verie fitting and conuenient for him to the end that they who hereafter should see him sad might thinke that the winde of this his sorrow blew it selfe out of another corner the contentment of his death continuing still on foot Epiphanius sayth That this our Sauiours sorrow grew from the desire that he had to dye For if hee should alwayes haue exprest this his willingnesse that he had to dye the Deuil fearefull of his owne hurt would haue sought to haue diuerted it And as Pilats wife was drawne to solicite his life so would he likewise haue solicited all Hierusalem to saue him had hee so well knowne then as he did afterwards that Christs death would haue bin so aduantagious to mankind He was willing likewise to prouoke thereby his and our aduersary to put him more eagerly vpon the businesse persuading himselfe that this his sorrow proceeded out of feare Most men sayth Epiphanius feare to dye only our Sauiors feare was not to dye Christ by his feare of life sought to secure his death Howbeit we must withall acknowledge that he did truely both greeue and feare And as they followed they feared That our nature should suffer cowardize and feare seeing death neere at hand as wee haue seene the experiment of it in the greatest Saints that are in Heauen as in Elias Iob and Saint Paul so not to feare death is the priuiledge and fauour of Grace To feare it is the condition of nature which doth naturally desire the conseruation of it's beeing and the preseruation of it's life Nor is it much that Nature should discouer in man this weakenesse and cowardize when as being vnited to the God-head in our Sauiour Christ he did begge and intreat according to this his inferiour part to wit his humanity If it be possible let this cup passe from me Whereupon Leo the Pope sayth Ipsa vox non exaâ—diti magna est expositio sacramenti The mystery that Christ should begge and not be heard is That our Nature would not willingly purchase any good thing at so deere a rate as the price of it's life and being Nolumus spoliari sed superuestiri We would not be stripped but ouer-clothed And albeit the Disciples had so many lectures of death read vnto them yet could they not remooue the feare of death from them And if humane nature wrought vpon our Sauiour Christ according to that inferiour portion of his though so well incountered with his content and readinesse to dye it is not much that his Disciples should lagger behind and shâ—w themselues so lazie and cowardly as they did Filius hominis tradetur principibus sacerdotum c. The sonne of Man shall be deliuered to the chiefe Priests c. The reasons why our Sauiour made such a particular peice and exact draught of his death of his torments and his crucifixion are very many whereof some haue been formerly related and those that now offer themselues are as followeth The first Our Sauiour proceeded therein very leasurely with a great deale of deliberation for this so sad a storie that it may be of profit vnto vs is not to be posted ouer in hast nor to bee looked on all at once but by peecemeale and a leasurely gazing thereupon For there is not a wheale nor a stripe in that diuine Body but may very well take vp our thoughts in the contemplation
One Angel was enough to ouerthrow a mountaine one onely sufficeth to mooue these coelestiall Orbes but it is Saint Chrysostomes note That Euerie one was glad to put a helping hand to so worthie a burthen â— this As many earnestly thrust themselues forward to beare a foot a leg or an arme of some great Monarch In â—inum Abrahae Into the bosome of Abraham Some vnderstand by this his bosome the neerest place about Abraham As in that of the Euangelist All the Apostles supt with our Sauiour Christ but Saint Iohn onely leaned his head in his bosome And in that other Vnigenituâ— qui est in sinu patris c. The onely begotten who is in the bosome of the Father As also that A dextris At his right hand So likewise Many shall lie downe with Abraham Isaac and Iacob And the Church singeth Martinus Abrahae sinu laetus excipitur Mortuâ—s est autem Diues sepultus est But the rich man died and was buried The Greeke makes there a full point and then presently goes on In inferno autem cum esseâ— in tormentis But when he was in hell in torment But of Lazarus it is not said That they buried him whither it were for that he had no buriall at all or for that beeing so poore and miserable a creature Earth made no mention of him as Heauen did not of the rich man But we read of the rich man Sepultus est He was buried Hitherto did reach the jurisdiction of his riches and the peculiar of his prosperitie great Ceremonies watchfull attendance about his Corps many Mourners Doles to the Poore Tombes of Alabaster Vaults paued with Marble Lamentations odoriferous Ointments pretious Embalmings Funerall Orations solemne Banquets In all this I confesse the rich man hath a great aduantage of him that is poore But in this outward pompe lies all the rich mans happinesse and when hee hath entred the doores of darkenesse and is shut vp in his graue like the Hedge-hogge hee leaues his Apples behind him and nothing remaines with him but the prickles of a wounded conscience his howlings his lamentations weeping gnashing of teeth and whatsoeuer other torments Hell can affoord Diuitiarum jactantia quid contulit nobis The ostentation and glory of riches what good doth it bring vnto vs O would to God that I had bin some poore Sheepheard O how too late haue I fallen into an account of myne owne hurt O World would to God I had neuer knowne thee He died and was buried There is no felicitie so great that can diuert the euill of Death let the rich man liue the yeares of Nestor the ages of Methusalem in the end hee must descend into the graue The cleerest Heauen must haue it's Cloud and the brightest day must haue it's night the Sunne though neuer so shining must haue it's setting the Sea though neuer so calme must haue it's storme If the good things of this life were perpetuall they that are in loue with them might pretend some excuse but beeing that worldly pleasure is a Wheele that is alwayes moouing a Riuer that is alwayes running a Mill that is alwayes going and grinding vs to dust How canst thou settle thy selfe sure thereupon The highest places are the least secure the Moon when she is at the full foretells a waine and the Sunne when it is at the heigth admits a declination the house the higher it is built the more subiect it is to falling And the Nest saith Abdias that is neerest to the Starres God doth soonest throw it downe The rich man died He tells not how he liued but how he died for death is the eccho of mans life and he hauing led so cruell and so mercilesse a life what good could he hope for at his death Quoniam non est in morte qui memor sit tui laboraui in gemitu meo c. The first part Reason prooueth vnto vs The second Weeping howling In my life time I aske God forgiuenesse for my sinnes For the man that is vnmindfull of this in his life God doth not thinke on him at his death Many call vpon God at the houre of their death and it makes a mans haire to stand an end to see a man carelesse in so dangerous a passage only because Death is the eccho of our life Others will cal vpon Iesus but as that crucified Theefe that dyed without deuotion For that heart which is hard in his life is likewise hard in his death Cum esset in tormentis When he was in torment c. Here is an indefinite tearme put for a vniuersall For albeit euery one of the damned doe suffer the full measure and weight of his sinnes and acording to Saint Austen and Saint Gregory suffer most in that particular wherein they most offended And that therefore the rich man did suffer more in his tongue than any other member of his bodie yet notwithstanding there is not any one that is dâ—mned which doth not generally suffer in all his whole bodie and in euery part of his soule For as Heauen is a happinesse that imbraceth all happinesse so Hell is a misery that includeth all miseries There was neuer yet any tyrant in the world in whose prisons and dungeons all torments were inflicted at once But in that of Hell there is not any torment which is not felt at one and the same instant The body that shall generally suffer And for this fire and cold will suffice which are generall torments The soule shall likewise generally suffer sorrow and paine not only because the fire shall burne it which though corporall yet shall it's flames haue an operatiue vertue and working vpon the soule but because all hope being lost of any kind of joy whatsoeuer there shall therein be deposited all the reasons that may be of sorrow and of miserie Likewise there shall be particular torments for the sences of the bodie for the faculties of the soule the eyes shall enioy so much light as shall serue to see fearefull Visions so sayes Cirillus Alexandrinus and on the other side they shall suffer such thicke and palpable darknesse that they shall imagine them to be the ghastly shadowes of death Saint Chrysostome saith That they shall see the huge and infinite numbers of the Damned taking notice of all those that conuersed with them in their life time as fathers grandfathers brothers and friends And if the varietie multitude that are in a deep dungeon if the ratling of their chains the clattring of their shackles their hunger their nakednesse the noyse coyle confusion which they make cause a horrour in as many as both see and heare it what a terrour then will it be to see the miserable torments and to heare the fearefull shriâ—kes and pittifull outcries of those that are damned to the bottomlesse pit of hell The eares will suffer with their howlings their lamentations their blasphemies their cursings their ragings their dispairings
our ill the Sinner that inuents new mischiefes doth outreach the Deuill and goes beyond him And questionlesse in not passing the bounds of Gods diuine will and Empire the Deuill is more moderate than Man For the Deuill askt leaue of God for to tempt Iob but Man will not be so respectfull as to aske his leaue but will not sticke to kill thousands of men without licence Bonauenture saith That they thrust him out of the Citie for a blasphemer for proclaiming himselfe to bee the Messias It is commanded in Leuiticus That the Blasphemer should be carried forth of the Citie and bee stoned to death And therefore our Sauiour Christ extra portam passus est suffred without the gate and Saint Stephen was stoned without the Citie And our Sauiour had no sooner said in the presence of Caiphas Amodo c. Henceforth shall yee see the Sonne of Man comming in the clouds of Heauen but the Iewes presently cried out Blasphemauit He hath blasphemed So likewise our Sauior expounding that prophecie of Esay the Nazarites might also take occasion to say Blasphemauit And this their offering to throw him downe from the edge of the hill doth no way contradict their stoning of him for they might haue done that after they had thrust him downe dealing by him as Saint Hierome reports Saint Iames whom they call our Sauiours brother was dealt withall they first threw him downe from the Rocke and afterwards cut off his head To cast him headlong downe c. Methinkes it seemeth somewhat strange vnto me That our Sauiour should come down from Heauen to Nazareth for to giue life vnto men and that Nazareth should seeke to tumble him downe thereby to worke his death That with the losse of his owne life and the price of his most pretious bloud hee should redeeme them from death and that they in this vnthankefull and vnciuile manner should goe about to take away his life O vngratefull People God was not willing to bestow any miracles on them who would not entertaine so great a miracle God vseth to requite the thankes of one fauour with conferring another greater than the former So doth Saint Bernard expound that place of the Canticles He made his left hand my pillow and I doubt not but he will hug and embrace me with his right hand For I shal shew my selfe so thankefull for the one that my Spouse will vouchsafe to affoord me the other But those courtesies which Nazareth had receiued they so ill requited that euen to the houre of his death none did our Sauior Christ greater iniurie Nay in some sort this their wrong was greater than that which Hierusalem did him for this Citie treating of the death of our Sauiour did obserue some forme of Iudgement and onely the Ministers of Iustice had their hands in it but Nazareth in a most furious manner like the common people when they are in a mutinie hasted vp to the edge of the hill to throw him downe headlong contrarie to all Law and Iustice. In Hierusalem there were some that did not consent vnto his death but in Nazareth all of them conspired against him Omnes in Synagoga repleti suntira All that were in the Synagogue were filled with anger and that on the Sabboth day when it was not lawfull for them to gather stickes and make a fire c. But he passed through the middest of them and went his way The common receiued opinion is That he made himselfe inuisible to them and so got from them leauing their will and determination deluded Saint Ambrose and Beâ—â— say That he turned their hearts Cor Regis in manu Domini quo voluerit c. The heart of the King is in the hand of the Lord and hee turneth it c. Like vnto those Officers of the Scribes and Pharisees who went forth to apprehend him who altering their purpose returned saying NuÌ„quid sic loquutus c. Did euer any man speake thus He might likewise take from them their force their strength that they might not bee able to put forth a hand to hurt him and leauing them like so many blockes might passe through the middest of them as beeing the Lord both of their soules and bodies And as he once left the Iewes with their stones frozen in their hands so now leauing the Nazarits astonished Per medium illorum ibat This Ibat doth inforce a perseuerance and continuation in token that God wil leaue his best beloued countrie that citie which was most graced and fauored by him if it be so gracelesse as to prooue vngratefull When God carried Ezechiel in spirit to the Temple discouering great abhominations vnto him and said vnto him These things my People commit Vt procul recedam à Sanctuario meo They giue mee occasion thereby to forsake them and to get mee farre enough from them So hath he departed from Israell from Asia Affrica many other parts of Europ forsaking so many cities temples so much heretofore fauored by him and so much made of Nazareth signifies a Floure a Crowne or a Garland and the Nazarites were once the onely Floures in Gods Garden that is in his Church they were religious persons that were consecrated to his seruice and therefore Nazareth is by them more particularly called Christs own Countrie for that therein he had beene often spiritually conceiued But because of the Nazarits Ierem. doth lament Thatthey being more white than milke were become as blacke as a cole by reason of their vnthankfulnesse Therfore in Colledges and religious places with whom God communicates his fauours in a more large and ample manner they ought of all other to shew themselues most gratefull for the more a man receiues and the more he professeth the more he ought to doe Cum enim crescunt dona rationes etiam crescunt donorum Dei so saith Saint Gregorie But he passed through the middest of them and went his way Howbeit death to the Iust is not sudden nor can be said to take him hence vnawares Though the Righteous be preuented with death yet shall hee be in rest The Church notwithstanding doth not vse this prayer in vaine A subitanea improuisa morte libera nos Domine From sudden death good Lord deliuer vs. Saint Augustine in his last sickenesse prayed ouer the penitentiall Psalmes and shedding many teares sayd That though a man were neuer so iust and righteous yet was hee not to die without penitence Saint Chrysostome tells vs That when Feare at the houre of death doth set vpon the Soule burning as it were with fire all the goods of this life she enforceth her with a deep and profound consideration to meditate on those of that other life which is to come And although a mans sinnes bee neuer so light yet then they seeme so great and so heauie that they oppresse the heart And as a piece of timber whilest it is in the water any
thousand persons besides women and children with seuen loaues a few fishes and they beeing all satisfied there were twelue baskets full remaining This miracle is mentioned by Saint Mathew and Saint Marke In the other That which the Church doth this day solemnise which was the more famous not onely for that the guests were fiue thousand besides women and children the loaues fiue the fishes two and the leauings twelue baskets full but for that all the foure Euangelists wrote thereof and much the more for that it was an occasion as it is obserued by Saint Chrysostome because our Sauiour did preach that excellent Sermon of the Mount for whose Doctrine that miracle was most important After these things our Sauiour went c. Saint Augustine and Saint Hierome are of opinion That the occasion of our Sauiours withdrawing of himselfe was the death of Iohn Baptist the ioy for whose birth beeing so generall it was not much that the sorrow for his death should be great And this sutes well with that Text of Saint Mathew who reports it to be after the death of Saint Iohn This his departure thence shewed his sorrow for his friends death but that kingdome had greatest cause to lament and bewaile Saint Iohn Baptists death and Christs going from them for what is a Kingdome without them The Saints of God are the force and strength of Kingdomes the walles and bulwarkes of Cities the hedges about a Vineyard the foundation to a Building bones to the bodie life to the soule and the chiefe essence and being of a Commonwealth And whilest they had Christ and Saint Iohn among them there was not any Citie in the world so rich as that but the one being dead and the other hauing left them Ieremie might verie well take vp his complaint and bewaile their miserie and solitude Esay treating of the misfortunes that should befall Shebna the High-Priest sayth Auferetur paxillus qui fixus fuerat in loco fideli peribit quod pependerat ex eo The Naile that is fastned in the sure place shall depart and shall be broken and fall and the burthen that was vpon it shall bee cut off Now paxillus is that which in poore mens houses is called the Racke whereon they hang spits or a shelfe whereon they set their vessels which in rich mens houses is called Aparador a Court-cupboord whereon is placed their richest pieces of plate and such as are most glorious to the eye And hereof mention is made in the one and thirtieth Chapter of Exodus and the third of Numbers But your poorer sort of People that are not scarce worth a paire of Rackes strike in certaine pinnes into the wall and as the shelfe falling all falls with it that depends thereupon so when the High-Priest being a good man dies all good perisheth with him in the Commonwealth because the chiefe good of the State dependeth thereupon The Homicâ—de had fiue Cities to flie vnto for shelter but hee could not returne home to his owne Countrie till the death of the High-Priest And Philon rendring the reason of this interdiction saith That the High-Priest is a Pariente or Kinseman of all those that liue in his Commonwealth Qui solum habet ius in viuos in mortuoâ— as euerie Citisen hath his particular Kinsemen to whom he owes an obligation to acknowledge the benefits he receiues from him and to reuenge the wrongs that are done to him In like manner the High-Priest is the common Kinseman of the Liuing to whom hee owes an Obligation to accord their discords to cut off their suits in Law to quit their wrongs and to desire the peace and prosperitie of them all In conclusion he being as it were a common father to all in so great a losse in so sencible and generall a sorrow when a common misfortune should compound particular wrongs when all mens hearts are so heauie their eyes so full of teares their minds so discomforted it is a fit season for a Homicide to returne home to his Countrie And if the death of a High-Priest who happely was no holy man causeth in a Commonwealth so generall a griefe the death of Iohn Baptist and our Sauiours departure from this People What effect of heartie sorrow ought that to worke God threatned his People by Esay The Lord shall giue you the bread of aduersitie and the water of affliction When the King of Israell commanded Micheas to be cast into prison hee said vnto him Suâ—â—enta tecum paâ—e tribulationis aqua angustiae Feed vpon the bâ—â—ad of affliction and the water of affliction In the Hebrew both places beare the same words but Esay afterwards saith That though Gods hand shall be heauie vpon them and that he shall afflict them with many miseries yet he will not take away their Doctors and Teachers from amongst them nor the light of his Doctrine I haue threatned you with the famine of my word I will send a famine in the land not a famine of bread nor a thirst of water but of hearing the Word of the Lord. But God recalls this threatning oftentimes Et non faciet auolare à te vltra Doctorem tuum and will not cause thy Teacher to flie from thee But Iohn Baptist being dead and our Sauiour withdrawne himselfe that Countrie could not rest in a more wretched estate Secondly The death of Iohn Baptist made him leaue the land and put forth to sea making a seperation betweene him and them for when God gets him gone from thy house or thy citie thou art beaten out of doores as they say with a cudgell euen then doth a man go turning backe his head like a Hart that is hunted and pursued by Hounds neuer letting him to be at rest but chasing him with open mouth from place to place God cannot absent himselfe from his Creatures nor can his immensitie giue way to the vtter abandoning of this goodly Fabricke and wonderfull Machina of the World yet so great is the hatred which he beares to sinne that he also commands vs to get vs out of that Citie where Sinne doth raigne signifying thereby vnto vs That if any thing can make him to absent himselfe from vs it is our sinnes God had his house and his residence in Hierusalem so sayes Esay God had his house and his hearth there as if hee had beene one of their fellow Citisens and a Towne dweller amongst them but their abhominations made him to abandon that place Ezechiel saw the glorie of God how it went by degrees out of the Temple staying one while here another while there resting it selfe now against this pillar now that till at last The glorie of God was cleane gone out of the Temple Their abhominations did as it were driue him out by head and shoulders shoov'd him forth by little and little The great abhominations that the House of Israell committeth here causeth me to depart from my Sanctuarie Iosephus in
selling of birds and beasts in the Temple bee so offensiue in the sight of our Lord God What shall the selling in the Church bee of benefices and Ecclesiasticall dignities Who although they make no publike sale of them or open profession of it yet do these men sell Doues in the Temple Qui de impositione manus pretium accipiunt Hinc enim est quod sacri Canones symoâ—iacam haeresim damnant The second If God so punish this slight respect which is showne to his Temple where there was neither the Arke of the Testament Aarons rod the pot of Manna nor the booke of the Law How will he punish the prophaning of that Temple where himselfe is consecrated in the Sacraments of his blessed body and bloud and where his holy word is preached The third If he be so highly offended with the prophaning of a dead Temple what will he say to the prophaning of that liuing Temple of thy soule which he made choice of for his delight recreation Delitia meae esse cum filijs hominuÌ„ Origen expounding that place of Exod. Dominus Zelotes nomen eiâ—â— saith That there is not any thing that puts more iealousie into Gods bosome than that soule which after it hath receiued Baptisme confessed the Faith and made a marriage with God by receiuing his blessed Sacraments should afterwards become a whoore to the Deuill the World and the Flesh. The last If hee did driue out of this earthly Temple the Merchants and Priests in this sharpe and seuere manner and with such a deale of disgrace What will hee doe when hee shall come to cast them out of that glorious Temple of Heauen Foris canes impudici Out with these dogges And till they come thither the good and bad fishes shall bee both together the chaffe and the corne the tares and the wheate the ministers of Christ and the priests of Beliall But then that powerfull voyce of the Iudge pronouncing this heauie sentence Ite maledicti in ignem aeternum shall seperate the one from the other with an eternall banishment Destroy this Temple and in three dayes I will build it vp againe The turbation of this scourging being ouerpast the Iewes came vnto our Sauiour and asked him Quod signum ostendis nobiâ— quod haec facis What signe showest thou vnto vs that thou doost these things The rest of the Euangelists renders it thus In qua potestate haec faciâ— By what power or authoritie doost thou doe these things Seeming tacitely to grant that it was ill done and worse permitted that any market should bee kept there But because it did not appertaine vnto al to amend those things that are amisse but to him that hath power authoritie so to do they said to him Wherby wilt thou make it appeare vnto vs that thou doost not vsurpe another mans office and meddle with that which belongs not vnto thee Whereunto our Sauiour answered Soluite Templum hoc in tribus diebus excitabo illud In which words he did prefigure forth vnto them his Death and Resurrection Which were two such Mysteries as did most discouer all Gods Attributes Touching his death our Sauiour had said already Si exaltaueritis filium Hominis cognoscetis quia ego sum But they were like blind men groping against a wall in this knowledge of his person And therefore hee said vnto them When yee shall haue lifted mee vp vpon the Crosse ye shall then know Quis ego sum Who I am Which ego sum is a blazon onely belonging vnto God and this the Crosse did discouer Zacheus clambered vp vpon a tree that he might see our Sauior Christ as well in regard that hee could not come neere vnto him for the prease of the people the throng was so great as also by reason that hee was but a little man and of a low stature Whereupon Origen giues this note That there are not any Gyants in the world no not the tallest of them all but are Pigmies and dwarfes when they come to looke God in the face and must bee faine to clamber vp to those faire goodly trees of the vertues to the top bough of perfection which will cost vs a great deale of trouble and labor before we can get vp so high And therefore our Sauiour Christ to saue vs so much paines and that wee maywith greater ease come vnto him he saith Exaltate c. Put me vp vpon the Crosse and not onely you that boast your selues of Learning and Religion but the ruder rable those souldiers that whipt mee and those that did execution vpon my bodie shall come to know me And this shall be your Cognoscetis quia ego sum These wordes Vidimus gloriam eius gloriam quasi vnigeniti à patre We haue seene his glorie as the glorie of the onely begotten of the Father Saint Chrysostome declares them of his death for then he shewed himselfe of what house hee came and whose son he was Saint Paul saith If they had knowne what they had done they would neuer haue crucified the Lord of Glorie Where Chrysostome obserueth That in a gallant season they called him the Lord of Glorie hauing neuer before shewed himselfe such a glorious Lord as then His armes stretched out vpon the Crosse were those two spreading wings wherewith hee flew vp to Heauen and vnder which he did clocke and defend vs here vpon Earth from the rapine of the Deuill as the Hen doth her Chickins from the Kyte S. Ierome and Hugo Cardinalis alledge vpon this occasion that verse of Dauid Et sub pennis eius sperabis As also that place of Malachie Orietur vobis sol Iustitiae sanitas in pennis eius And the Sunne pulled in his head as well for shame as sorrow when hee saw another Sunne to appeare that was greater than himselfe whose beames spred abroad saluation to the whole World The Title of the fourth Psalme is Pro sanguinolento For the bloudie man Another letter hath it Danti aternitatem To the giâ—er of eternitie The one agreeing well with the other for that Sanguinolentus to wit our Sauiour that suffered for vs vpon the Crosse and there shed his bloud for the Remission of our sinnes was that which did dare nobis aeterâ—itatem giâ—e vs eternitie His Resurrection Saint Chrysostome declares in these words Qui praedestinatus est filius Dei ex resurrectione mortuorum Another letter hath it Qui declaratus est this following afterwards vpon the necke of it Soluite templum hoc c. Where it is noted by Saint Cyril That our Sauiour did not commaund them to destroy his bodie but did thereby aduise them what they would doe vnto him Ye shall destroy the Temple of my bodie and I will build it vp againe the third day and this shall be a manifest a certaine and a sure signe vnto you Other his Miracles though they were signes sufficient enough yet were they not so effectuall because by those
forme and course of his life must not seeme to be the same man that he was before It is Philons note That it must fare with him as it did with Enoch of whom the Scripture saith Transtulit eum Dominus from this earthly life he must passe to a heauenly life Esay did prophecie That vpon our Sauiour Christs comming the dens of Theeues should be turned into Gardens and that the Lyons should become as mild and gentle as Lambes In cubilibus vbi Dracones habitabant orietur viror iunei c. Si dormiatis inter medios cleros pennae columbae de argentata c. The Translation renders it Inter medios tripodes Though ye haue lien amongst the Triueâ—s and blackest Pots of Aegypt yet through repentance you shall be as the wings of a Doue couered with siluer her feathers with yellow gold Vpon Saint Pauls conuersion the People did not know him Nonne hic est said they qui expugnabat Hierusalem Is not this he that hath done much euill to thy Saints at Ierusalem So likewise they said of this blind man Nonne hic est qui sedebat mendicans Is not this he that sate and begged Of a poore begger he came to be a learned Doctor and did confute many of the best and learnedst Students of Ierusalem Secondly He was an Instrument of Gods omnipotencie and power whose blazon is to ouercome swelling pride and puffing arrogancie with the lowest basenesse and the weakest frailtie Plinie reporteth That Rats did dispeople one citie and Conies another but much more was it to ouerthrow Pharâ—â—h by Flies and poore sillie Gnats If a Lyon feare a Cocke and a Bull a Waspe out of a kind of instinct of nature Why should not a man stand in feare of such a Flie or a Waspe whom God furnishes with a sting The Babylonish fire did no hurt to the three children that were in the middest of the firie Furnace but the flames that came out from thence did burne many of those Ministers and Officers that were appointed to throw Faggots into the Furnace Viros autem qui miserant interfecit flamma ignis The Hebrew translation renders it Scintillae The poore little sparks that flew from out the flame c. Thou ô Lord that canst of a sparke make a flame increase our Faith and inflame our loue towards thee that we may with this blind man stedfastly beleeue and so come to see thy Glorie c. THE XXIX SERMON VPON THE THVRSEDAY AFTER THE FOVRTH SVNDAY IN LENT LVC. 7.11 Ibat Iesus in Ciuitatem Nain And Iesus went into a Citie called Nain c. A Most famous encounter the Euangelist doth here recite vnto vs which hapned at the gates of the Citie Nain hee tells vs of a Lyon that was deuouring swallowing down a Sheepe and of a Dauid that ranne in and tooke it out of his throat of a Theefe that had stolne a most pretious jewell and of a Iudge that taking him in the manner with the theft in his hand tooke it away from him leauing him confounded and ashamed Of two Fountaines the one of bitter waters the other so sweet and sauorie that it tooke from those bitter Fountaines all it's gall and bitternesse Of Death and of Life Death turning coward vpon this encounter and flying according to that prophecie of Abacus from before the face of our Sauiour Christ And of a young man that was carried out of the Citie vpon a beere to be buried whom his mother went to accompanie to the graue with teares in her eyes and many more besides Vpon which occasion our Sauior shewed himselfe Lord of Death and Life Iesus went into a Citie called Nain c. The Euangelist had formerly mentioned that myracle of Peters mother in Law that of the Leaper of the Centurions seruant and continuing the same straine he here goes on with a factum est deinceps And it came to passe that the day after hee went vnto a Citie called Nain where in the verie gate of the Citie he met with a sad companie that were going to a solemne Funerall full of teares and sorrow And albeit this may seeme to be a casuall thing and that hapned as wee say by hap-hazard yet was it the maine and chiefe care of our Sauiour Christ to prie into euerie corner of that holy land and not to skip ouer any one place therein which hee did not measure forth with his feet so that he did not omit that miserie whereunto hee did not giuâ— a remedie Suting with that saying Et sanabat omnes And he cured them all shewing therein what a good account he made of his office of a Sauiour since his first comming into the world There are two things which make a man very eminent in his office The one His inclination and good intentions which are the feet of our soule The other His paines taking and continuall occupation in all kind of Arts as well Mechanicall as Liberall And in verie truth in all both good and euill exercises so powerfull is mans naturall inclination That although a man may smother it for a time yet like fire vnder ashes it will at last breake forth into a flame and discouer his true disposition A theefe will neuer leaue his inclination to theeuing though he hath often escapt the gallowes Nor a Cheater to his cogging nor a Merchant to his trading nor the Marriner to his nauigation nor the Huntsman to his hunting nor the souldiour his disposition to warre though he haue discontinued it neuer so long Dauid was growne old and well stroken in yeares when his sonne Absalon rose vp in rebellion against him and yet they could not perswade him from going into the field though the whole Army were against it and cryed out Thou shalt not goe forth And they gaue him a very good reason for it in the words following For if we flye said they they will not care for vs neither if halfe of vs dye will they care for vs but thou art worth tenne thousand c. And this is a kind of voluntary violence which with a sweet kind of pleasingnesse hales the heart of man along And the like reason may be rendered of continuall occupation and imployment it is death to such a one to be idle and he is no longer well then while he is in action Saint Gregory hath well obserued That Iob vpon euery the least occasion of happines that befell him it was his fashion of phrase and a vsuall custome with him to say The Lords name be praysed So that afterwards hauing formerly vsed himselfe thereunto in the tempest of his disasters and those bitter stormes of his aduerser fortunes it was neuer out of his mouth These two things were subsisâ—â—â—g in our Sauiour Christ in a superlatiue degree First so great was his inclination and desire to saue that for others welfare he was carelesse of his owne Secondly he was so solicitous of this
his busines and so wholly taken therewith that he cared not for any thing else And this is expressed in the word Ibat He went Which argues a continuation in his going on Some man may make a doubt and say though vnaduisedly Had it not beene better for our Sauiour to haue beene in the mount of Oliues or in the garden of Gethseman or on the hills of Ephrem than to goe thus from house to house from Castle to Castle and from Citie to Citie Whereunto I first of all answer That it is enough that he did not so because it was not the better course Secondly because he was the same that was personally promised to that blessed Land and that there was not a corner in all that Countrie to be left out which should not finde the fauour of his diuine influences Thirdly the exercises of the life actiue and contemplatiue are those two wings whereby the soule sores vp to heauen And because one wing will not serue the turne to reach to so high a pitch we must not onely serue God in our prayers and meditations but also in the releeuing and succouring of our neighbour And therefore our Sauiour Christ spent the nights in prayer Per noctabat in oratione and the dayes in healing bodies and curing of soules Petrus Damianus vpon the life of Elias and Elisha saith That there is no remote solitary mountaine which doth not ground it's retyrednesse vpon some one example or other of the Saints One is a friend to the world and a louer thereof and this man alleages That Elias spent many dayes in the widow of Sareptaes house And that Elisha soiourned with the Shunamite that was a great and principall woman in her country And that both of them did treat with great Princes and Potentates Another is a friend and a louer of delicacies and alleageth That Elisha and Elias did accept of them But these men doe not consider That if these Prophets did forgoe their solitude it was more for the good of others that liued abroad in the world than themselues as also for the raising vp of the dead And if they did receiue good intertainment it was no more than was necessary for the sustenance of their bodies Elisha would none of Naamans gold Nor Elias be feasted by King Ahab and Iezabell his wife It is a thing worthy the consideration That our Sauiour Christ hauing not so much as one pennie of money wherewith to pay Caesar his Tribute willed Saint Peter to open the fish that he had taken with his angling rod. Our Sauiour permitted Peter that he should catch such a multitude of fishes that the nets did breake with the fulnesse of them But now hee would not haue him catch but one onely fish For a Church-man ought to fish for all the fishes that he can possibly take and the more he takes he doth God the more seruice but for those money-fishes that haue pence in their bellies he must take but one onely and that too for to pay Tribute not for himselfe nor to satisfie his owne couetous desires or his idle pleasures Ecce defunctus efferebatur Behold there was a dead man carryed out c. This word Eccè in the Scripture requires the eyes of the body and the eyes of the soule insinuating a great deale of attention But to come here with an Eccè it being so common a thing in the world as nothing more to see the dead dayly carryed forth to their buriall it seemeth a superfluous labour and a needlesse kind of diligence especially being that this our life is no other thing but a continued Procession of the quicke and the dead When Adam saw Abel was slaine and lay dead on the ground being the first man of whom death had taken possession he was so heart-strucken and so amased thereat so fearefull so sorrowfull and so sad that for many yeares after hee was not freed from this feare and horrour nor were the teares dryed vp from his eyes For albeit that God had notified vnto him That he was to dye the death yet did he not as yet know by experience what kind of thing death was But after that death had flesht himselfe in mans blood cutting downe more liues than a Sythe doth grasse in your faire and goodly medowes this his feare and horrour began by degrees to slack and fall off An Eclypse of the sunne doth strangely intertaine the sences attention not onely for to see so faire a Planet lapt vp in mourning weedes but also for that it so seldome hapneth But the Eclypses of mens liues though they be the fairest sunnes vpon earth they so hourely nay so momentarily succeede with vs that we can scarse which way soeuer we looke turne our eyes aside from them And not to speake of those lingring deaths wherein through sicknes we lye languishing a long time besides those occasioned by famine pestilence and warre yet those other sudden and vnexpected deaths which daily succeed may euery houre find our eyes occupied For wee see them euer and anon written on the wall as was that of Balthasar hanging on the oake as that of Absalon dipt in a dish of milke as that of Sisara represented in a dreame as that of Holophernes appearing at a feast as that of Iobs children put in the porridge pot as that of Elishaes Disciples Mors in olla in the bed as that of Adulterers and in the Apoplexie as that of your Gluttons Yet notwithstanding all this and that it is euery dayes example yet such and so great is the solicitude and care which the diuell takes to blot the remembrance of the dead from out the hearts and heads of the liuing That at euery step we see the dead carried forth to their graues and are so farre from ingrauing the thought thereof in our breasts that at euery step we forget it There is not that man aliue which doth not feele and experiment death in himselfe complying with that sentence of God Morte morieris Thou shalt dye the death Man is no sooner borne into the world but deaths processe is out against him which is not long in executing As the weeke wasteth the candle the worme the wood and the moath the cloath so as the discreete woman of Tekoa said to Dauid Wee must needs die and are as water spilt on the ground which cannot be gathered vp againe The riuers haue recourse to the Sea and are swallowed vp in the deepe anâ— this is the end of them so is it with our liues they bend from their very birth to the bed of death we leape from our swathling cloathes into our winding sheeâ—e This is the end of all flesh Seneca compares this our life to an houre glasse and as the sand runnes out so runnes away the houre so as time runnes on our life runs away and as it was dust so to dust it returnes When two Ships sayle each by other it seemeth to
them That the one flyes like an arrow out of a bow and cuts the waues with a swift wing and that the other is a slugge and sayles very slowly And therefore of the way of a Ship in the sea and of a young man running on in a wanton course whereunto may be added the vncertaintie of the day of our death Salomon saith That they were things too wonderfull for him and past his finding out Efferebatur He was carryed out The word Efferebatur is worthy our consideration it being a plot and deuise of the diuell to carry the dead out of their Cities to bee buried for to blot the memory of the dead out of the minds of the liuing In the remembrance of death the Saints of God found these two great benefits The one Amendment of life The other Happinesse in death Touching the former it is by one common consent agreed vpon by the Fathers That the perfection of our life doth consist in the continuall meditation of death Plato called Philosophie Mortis meditationem A meditation of death affirming That the whole lesson of our life was to learne to dye The like saith Gregory Nazianzene Many Saints and Doctors haue demurr'd vpon this point In that God should deferre till the day of iudgement the reward of the body this may seeme an inequalitie to some but there is none at all in it For the dust and ashes of the body doe perswade and preach vnto vs the contempt of the world Asahel beeing slaine by Abner lying dead on the ground as many as came to the place where Asahel fell and dyed stood still as men amased This is that valiant Captaine this that vndoubted Souldier There is nothing that doth so quel the courage of Man and daunt his spirits as death it is natures terrour Those Spies that were sent out to discouer the Land of Promise were strucken into a great feare and amasement at the sight of those huge and monstrous Gyants In comparison of whom said they we seemed as Grashoppers Dreading that they were able to deuoure them aliue and to swallow them downe whole And therefore made this false relation at their return The land through which we haue gone to search it is a land that eateth vp the Inhabitants thereof but the people that raised this euill reporr died by a Plague More truly may it be said of Death That hee deuoureth the Inhabitants of the earth this is he that tameth the fiercest Gyants That dreame of Nabucadonezars which might haue beene powerfull receiuing it by reuelation to make him abate his pride and lay aside his arrogancie the Deuill presently blotted these good thoughts out of his remembrance The like course doth the Deuil now take with vs. He doth not go about to persuade vs as he did our father Adam that we are immortall But in two things he goes beyond vs and is too cunning for vs. The one That our death shall be delayed God saith Mors non tardat Death lingers not The Deuill sayes Tardat It lingers Moram faciet It loyters My Lord will delay his comming said the seruant in the Gospell But this feined supposition was his certaine perdition Ezechiel did prophecie the ruine of Ierusalem and the death and destruction of her Citisens telling them their desolation was neere at hand There shall none of my wordes be prolonged but the word which I haue spoken shall be done saith the Lord God But the Deuill did otherwise persuade with them making them to say The vision that hee seeth is for many dayes to come And hee prophecieth of the times that are farre off The wanton woman in the Prouerbes which inuited the yong man to her bed and boord sought to intice him by this meanes The good man is not at home hee is gone a long journey Therefore let vs take our fill of loue c. From this vaine hope of life ariseth that our greedinesse and couetousnesse to inioy and possesse the goods of this life And a little beeing more than enough for him yet it seemeth vnto man much cannot suffice him And it is an euill thought in man and much to be pittied that a man should afflict himselfe for that which neither hee himselfe nor all his posteritie shall liue to enioy O foolish man doost thou thinke thou shalt returne to liue againe in those goodly houses that thou hast built and to reinioy those pleasant gardens and orchards that thou hast planted No But mayst rather say to thy selfe These my eyes shall neuer see them more Why then so much carke and care for three dayes or thereabouts The Romans would not build a temple to Death nor to Pouertie nor Hunger judging them to bee inexorable gods But more inexorable is Death for man neuer returnes againe from Death to Life And therefore the Antients painted Death with the Tallons of a Griffine Saint Luke painting foorth the vigiles of the day of Iudgement and the anguish and agonie of the World he saith That many shall waxe fearefull and trouble their heads to see and thinke on those things Which shall befall the whole World Pondering in that place that they shall not bee sensible of their owne proper danger nor the aduenture wherin they stand of their saluation or condemnation yet cease not to afflict themselues with the losse of the World and that the world shall be consumed and be no more But ô thou foolish man if thou must dye return thither no more what is the world to thee when thou art at an end the World is ended with thee And if thou beest not to inioy it any more what is it to thee if God doe vtterly destroy it And all these euils arise from the forgetfulnesse of Death Hee liues secure from Danger that thinkes vpon the preuenting of Danger Saint Chrysostome expounding that place of Saint Luke He that will follow me must take vp his Crosse dayly and so come after mee Signifying that what our Sauiour pretended was That we should alwayes haue our death before our eyes I dye dayly saith the blessed Apostle Saint Paul My imagination workes that dayly vpon me which when my time is come Death shall effect There is no difficultie that is runne through at the first dash and there is not any difficultie so hard to passe through as Death A Shooe-maker that he may not loose the least peece of his leather or make any wast of it casts about how he may best cut it out to profit tries it first by some paper patterne c. Plutarch reporteth of Iulius Caesar that he beeing demaunded which was the best kind of Death Answered That which is sudden and vnlooked for Iulian the Emperour dying of a mortall wound gaue thankes vnto the gods that they did not take him out of this life tormenting him with some prolix and tedious sickenesse but by a hastie and speedie death And for that they doe not
fro with it's vnruly appetites is al one Et vita inter Effoeminatos Another Letter hath it Scortatores The connexion is good for Youth runnes it selfe quickely vpon the Rockes of death through it's sensualities and lewdnesse of life There are two daughters of the Horse-leech which still crie Giue giue And the Wiseman pointing them forth vnto vs saith The one is Infernus The other Os Vuluae The Graue the one and Lust the other And the Wiseman did linke these two together with a great deale of conueniencie and fittingnesse for if Lust bee neuer satisfied the Graue lesse This truth is likewise made good forasmuch as the Scripture stileth Sinne Death If I doe this I must die the death So said Susanna to the Iudges that made vnlawfull and dishonest loue vnto her And Cain seeing himselfe charged with fratricide at that verie instant he gaue himselfe for a dead man Whosoeuer shall meet me will kill me Youth then beeing a house whereinto the raine doth drip so fast and at so many places it is no meruaile that life should cease and soone decay It is prouerbially said Loue is as strong as Death And as Loue doth vsually set vpon Youngmen so doth Death and where Loue striketh Youth Death may spare his Dart. The Antients painted a Youngman starke naked his eyes with a Vaile or Bend before them his right hand bound behind him and his left left at libertie and Time followiâ—â— him close at the heeles and euer and anon pulling a thred out of the Vaile Hee was drawne naked to shew with what little secrecie hee had vsed his delights and pleasures with his right hand bound behind him to expresse that he did not doe any thing aright his left free and at libertie signifying that he did all things aukwardly and vntowardly he was portrayed blind because he doth not see his owne follies but Time goes opening his eyes by little and little day by day brings him to the true knowledge of his errors And he that was dead sate vp and began to speake The Dead presently obeyed the voyce of the Liuing And hee sate vp God cryeth out aloud to those that are dead in their Soules yet doe they not obey his voyce Arise thou that sleepest c. Hee began to giue thankes vnto him that had done him this so great a fauour Thou hast deliuered mee ô Lord from the dooâ—es of death and therefore I will celebrate thy prayses and magnifie thy name in the Gates amiddest the Daughters of Syon It is Saint Chrysostomes note That the word Doores is put here in the plurall number because many are the dangers out of which God deliuereth a sinner That all may speake of thy praise and talke of thy wondrous workes And there came a feare vpon all It may seeme to some That the word Loue would better haue become this place and beene fitter for this present purpose and occasion All a man would thinke should rather haue expressed their loues vnto him sung forth his prayses and offered their seruice vnto him In those former punishments of a World drowned and ouerwhelmed with Water of a Sodome burned and consumed with Fire it was verie fit and meet that it should strike feare and amasement into all But in such a case as this What should cause them to feare Hereunto I answer That nothing doth strike such a feare and terrour into man as the great and wonderfull mercies of God A Roman Souldier told Iulius Caesar It much troubles me nor can I be heart-merrie as oft as I thinke on the many fauours that I haue receiued from thy liberall hand but doe rather hold them as so many wrongs and iniuries done vnto me for they are so beyond all requitall that I must of force proue vngratefull which makes me to feare that thou wilt proceed against me for a heinous offendor in this kind In like manner so many are the mercies of God towards man and so infinite that they may be held as Vigiles of his future seuerer Iustice. Iacob did in a manner vtter the same sentence against himselfe Minor sum cunctis miserationibus tuis The least of thy mercies is greater than all my merits nor can the best seruices that I can doe thee make satisfaction for the least of those fauours which I haue receiued from thy bounteous liberalitie Grant ô Lord that what is wanting in our owne worthinesse may bee made vp in the mercies and merits of our Sauiour Iesus Christ To whom with the Father c. THE XXX SERMON VPON THE FRYDAY AFTER THE FOVRTH SVNDAY IN LENT IOHN 11.1 Erat quidam languens Lazarus Now a certaine man was sicke named Lazarus of Bethanie c. PEtrus Crysologus calls this Signum signorum Mirabile mirabilium Virtutem virtutum The signe of signes the wonder of wonders and the Vertue of vertues or the power of powers Saint Augustine Miraculorum maximum The myracle of myracles which of all other did most predicate and blazon forth Christs glorie Saint Hierome preferres it before all the rest that he wrought here vpon earth By this prenda or pledge of his Diuinitie Death remained confounded the Deuills affrighted and the lockes and barres of Hell broken Genebrard That it is the voice of a Crier which goes before a Triumpher who makes Death the triumphant Chariot of his Maiestie and glorie That a valiant Warriour should make a braue and gallant shew on horsebacke hauing his Courser adorned and set forth with curious and costly Caparisons it is not much but to seeme handsome and comely in Deaths palenesse weakenesse and foulenesse beeing so ghastly a thing to looke on God onely can doe this Ante faciem eius saith Abacuc ibit mors Death â—â—all flie before his face Christ doth deliuer vs from a double death the one of the soule the other of the bodie He deliuered them from their distresses Death is swallowed vp in victorie He that drinketh takes the cup in his hand and doth therewith what it pleaseth him so did our Sauiour deale with Death therfore he called it a cup drinking the same vp at one draught wherein he dranke a health to all Beleeuers Saint Bernard vpon this occasion saith of him Mirabilis potator es tu Thou art a strange kind of drinker O Lord before thou tastedst of this cup thou saidst Transeat Let it passe and after thou hadst dranke thereof thou saidst Sitio I thirst The Flesh was afraid but the Spirit got the victorie ouer Death with that ease as a good Drinker doth of a good cup of drinke when he is verie thirstie In a word Not onely because this was a myracle wrought vpon a dead person that had lien foure dayes buried in his graue but because the sacrilegious councell of the Scribes and Pharisees had layd their heads together and plotted the death of our Sauiour Christ as also in regard of those other circumstances That the deceased
Ioab aduised Dauid of the siege of Rabbah and what a number of men he had lost in that seruice the King might haue iustly cut off his head for his rash and vnaduised approach to the wall But Dauid durst not condemne him and put him to death because he was an Accessorie or rather the principall in the busines and therefore Ioab charged the messenger that carried the newes saying If the Kings anger arise so that he say vnto you Why went you nigh the wall c. the storie is worth your reading then say thou Thy seruant Vriah the Hittite is also dead This point did that kingly Prophet touch vpon in those words so diuersly commented on Tibi soli peccaui O Lord my sinne was against Vrias against those souldiers that died for his occasion against those which did blaspheame thy name and against the people whom the robbing of another man of his wife and the killing of her husband hath scandalized and beene an occasion of great offence vnto them But that which doth most affâ—ict and torment me is That I haue committed this against thee and that I haue thus sinned against thee For in any other person whatsoeuer in my kingdome the rigour of Iustice might haue restrained him from so foule a sinne but this did not once enter into my thought And therefore he comes with a Tibi soli peccaui iumping with that saying of Saint Paul Qui iudicat me Dominus est He that iudgeth me is the Lord. The world hath not that man in it whom his Propria culpa The sinnes which himselfe hath committed doe not mooue or daunt him and make him turne Coward sauing Christ who was made perfect by nature Nemo mundus à sorde neque â—nfans vnius diei How can he be cleane that is borne of a woman Iohn Baptist was sanctified in the wombe of his mother and was bred vp from a child in the wildernesse Saint Peter was he that loued most Saint Iohn that was most beloued Saint Paul past through the third heauen and did afterwards defie all the world Who shall separate me from the loue of Christ And Iob was so bold to say Would my sinnes were weighed in a ballance c. And in another place Shew mee my sinnes and my iniquities what they be Also Dauid I haue run without iniquitie Iudith passing through the midst of an Armie of Barbarians breakes out into these words The Lord liueth that would not suffer his handmaid to be defiled There was not that rough-hewne souldier that did so much as offer to touch her Let vs set side by side with these Saints the vnspottednesse of those Virgins the constancie of those Martyrs and the courage of those Confessors that suffered for Christs sake In a word all the worthy squadrons of those blessed Saints that are now in heauen will say thus as Saint August hath noted of themselues which Saint Iohn did confesse If we say we haue no sinne we deceiue our selues and the truth is not in vs. As also Iob If I wash my selfe with snow water and purge my hands most cleane yet shalt thou plunge me in the pit and mine owne cloathes shall make me filthie For to be without sinne is the blazon or cognisance of God alone Many did liue very well assured of their innocencie in particular cases as Iacob That the Idols of his father in Law Laban were not receiued by the seruants of his house As Beniamin and his brethren that Iosephs cup was not in their sacks Saint Peter that he should not deny his Sauiour Christ had a thousand more importunate women set vpon him The Pharisee he thought with himselfe I am not as other men c. yet all of them may say with Saint Paul I am conscious of nothing to my selfe yet am I not hereby iustified for Gods eyes see that which mans eyes see not In a word the noble Acts of the greatnesse and power of God as his creating of the world his conseruing it his redeeming of mankinde his iustifying of soules his seeing the thoughts of the heart his calling things that are not as if they were his commanding the waters the windes death and life and all those other wonderfull things which Iob specifieth of God to whose 38 chapter I referre you may make him confidently to say Quis ex vobis arguet me de peccato Which of you can rebuke me of sinne Which of you can c. Saint Chrysostome saith That the greatest testimonie of our innocencie is that of our enemies Non est Deus noster sicut Deus eorum iâ—imici nostri sint Iudices Our God is not as their God let euen our enemies bee Iudges And fit it was that this testimonie should precede and goe before as well in regard of our Sauiours life as his death In regard of his life for publike persons that are placed in authoritie seated in high and eminent throanes that haue great gouernments offices and dignities committed vnto them are not onely bound to be vertuous and holy but also to be so esteemed which they must mainely striue and indeauour So that in a Prince be he Ecclesiasticall or Secular two obligations ought to concur in him One of Conscience The other of Fame A particular Christian which doth not giue occasion whereby to bee condemned of his neighbour may liue satisfied and well contented with the testimony of his owne conscience but not a Prince or a Prelate For if he suffer in his good name or in his fame and be ill reported of it is the destructionoftheir Subiects Saint Augustine saith That he that relyeth on his conscience and is carelesse of his good name is cruell towards himselfe We must not doe good onely in Gods sight bâ—t also before men For fame though false doth fall heauy vpon publike persons In the Temple there was a vessell of brasse a very faire one out of which there ran a conduit pipe of water and was without adorned with those Looking glasses which women that repented them of their sinnes had offered who forsaking the world had consecrated themselues to God to the end that the Priests which did enter to offer sacrifice should wash themselues in that water and behold themselues in those glasses and it was Gods intent and purpose according to Philon That they should place no lesse care in the cleanenesse of their life for to offer sacrifice than those women did in appearing good to the world beholding in those glasses the least marke or spot in the face And in the 28 chapter of Exodus God commanded That when the Priest should enter or goe foorth in the Sanctuary he should beare bells about the border of his garment to the end that the noyse and sound thereof might make his going in and his comming forth knowne And the Text addeth Ne moriatur Least hee dye the death And the glorious Saint Gregorie saith That the
put Lazarus to death This their rage and furie can not bee sufficiently indeered Esay saith Wee roare all like beares and mourne like doues These are both extreames The Beare is a very furious beast the Doue very mild and gentle the one doth shake the mountaines with his roarings the other scarce throbs forth her mournings from her brest the one if you rob her of her young ones is all rage and fiercenesse it selfe Like a Beare robbed of her Whelpes the other is softnesse and gentlenesse it selfe who if you take away her young vseth no other resistance but mourning and a soft murmuring and therefore Osee saith that she hath no heart It was noted of this people That they were like doues that mourned with their friends but like furious beares towards their enemies What greater furie than to seeke to kill Lazarus What madnesse more notorious Marsilius Ficinus saith That there is a twofold madnesse One of the braine The other of the heart The one long the other short The one makes men madd the other angry Aulus Gellius reporteth of the Sclauonians That when they are angrie they kill like the Basiliske with their verie lookes Ecclesiasticus saith That Enuie and Wrath shorten the life and bring age before the time Salomon saith That three things mooue the earth and that the fourth is not to be endured pointing out the fourth to bee a Slaue that is made his Masters heyre for a Slaue being seated in honour growes to be so insolent that it is a thing insufferable Better may this bee verified of the appetite which being a Slaue if it once through wrath rebell against reason it treads it vnder foot captiuates it and ill intreates it Because that for his sake many of the Iewes went away and beleeued in Iesus One of the greatest miseries that can befall a soule is To make good the occasion of ill As one of the greatest pledges of Gods loue is to take occasion from ill to doe good so one of the greatest pledges of malice is to take occasion from good to doe ill God gaue vnto the children of Israel the gold and siluer of the Egyptians whether it were in requitall and payment of their troubles or that he was Lord of all and so might dispose thereof as hee listed and of this gold and siluer they afterwards made a calfe giuing thereunto that glorie and worship which was due onely vnto God Osee saith they did the like with Baal I multiplyed their siluer and gold which they bestowed vpon Baall God gaue them a brazen Serpent to the end that by looking thereon they might be healed of the bitings of the Serpents From this fauour they tooke occasion to commit Idolatrie offering incense thereunto as vnto God till such time as Ezechias brake it in peeces God doth proceede by contrary courses From Adams sinne he tooke occasion to redeeme the world and as it seemeth to Saint Augustine if Adam had not sinned God had not come in person to redeeme him And Saint Gregory calls it Foelix peccatum A happy sinne because it brought with it so soueraigne a Redeemer And in many other occasions we may say that of a sinner which Esay saith Recepit de manu domini duplicia pro omnibus peccatis suis. And that which Dauid saith ofan vngratefull people Pro iniquitate vide tentoria Aethiopiae Hee there summes vp the many and great fauours which he had receiued and in euery one of them we shall find pro iniquitate They consulted to put Lazarus to death The blanke and marke whereat they shot was to darken and eclypse the name of our Sauiour Christ and to cast a cloud ouer that glory which could not possibly but shew it selfe in seeing Lazarus to be raised vp from death vnto life This dammage the Lord did repaire with two great honours The first That most solemne triumph wherewith they receiued him wherof we shall treat hereafter The second of certaine Gentiles which came according to the custome to the feast Leo the Pope saith That the Romans made a religion of it to adore the seuerall gods of all Nations and therefore they intreated Saint Philip that he would be a meanes that they might haue a sight of our Sauiour Christ and that they might bee admitted to speake with him Saint Philip communicated this matter with Saint Andrew and they both acquainted our Sauiour therewith And Iesus answered The houre is now come that the Sonne of man shall bee made manifest The Apostles did not vnderstand the mysterie thereof but our Sauiour Christ tooke that his comming to be the despertador de su muerte the awaker and reuiuer of his death For although he imployed both his life and his person in Israel yet his death was to draw the Gentiles to his knowledg and obedience And these Gentiles being so desirous to see him and to talke with him taking this to be the Vigile of his death and vocation of the Gentiles Hee told them Now is the houre come wherein the Son of man is to be glorified not onely amongst the Iewes but the Gentiles also Hee calls his death his glorification For albeit to dye be weakenesse yet to dye as Christ dyed was vnspeakeable valour and vertue Hee neuer shewed himselfe more strong than when hee was most weake and neuer lookt sweeter than when death was in his face Hee had hornes comming out of his hands And there was the hiding of his power Those hands which were nayled to those armes of the Crosse were those hornes wherewith hee ouerthrew the power of the world and of hell Iacob said of Simeon and Leui at the houre of his death In their selfe-will they digged downe a wall which the Seuentie translate thus Eneruauerunt taurum They weakened a Bull By this bull vnderstanding our Sauiour Christ. First for it's beautie Quasi primogeniti tauri pulchritudo eius His beauty shall be like his first borne bullocke Secondly For that as the bulls strength lyes in his hornes so did Christ discouer his strength vpon the Crosse Ibi abscondita est fortitudo eius Thirdly because according vnto Pliny the Bull looseth his fiercenesse when hee but sees the shadow of the Figge-tree And our Sauiour Christ shewed himselfe most weake when hee saw the shadow of the Crosse desiring pardon then of his Father for his enemies who like dogges against a Bull had with open mouth set themselues against him Many dogs are come about mee But hee repayd though not allayd their rage with this so louing and so sweet a prayer Father forgiue them c. The Pharisees seeing themselues thus mockt and deluded and that their plots and intentions tooke not effect they brake foorth and sayd Perceiue yee not how we preuaile nothing and how that the world goeth after him And albeit Saint Chrysostome saith That these speeches were vttered by his friends thereby to persuade the Pharisees that
Homo quia cinis es Remember Man that thou art but Dust. THE remembrance of death saith Climachus is amongst other remembrances as bread amongst other meats howbeit it is more necessarie for the soule than bread for the bodie For a man may liue many dayes without bread but the soule cannot doe so without the remembrance of death And it is the generall opinion of all the best and holiest Writers Perfectissimam vitam esse continuam mortis meditationem i. That the most perfect life is a continuall meditation of death Chrysostome expounding that place of Saint Luke Qui vult venire post me i. He that will follow me saith That Christ commandeth vs not to beare vpon our backes that heauie burthen of the woodden Crosse but that we should alwayes set our death before our eyes making that of Saint Paul to be our Imprese Quotidiè morior i. I die dayly In the second of the Kings it is recounted that the holy King Iosias did clense the people from their Altars their Groues and high places where innumerable Idolatries dayly increased and to amend this ill he placed there in their stead bones skulls and the ashes of dead men Whose iudgement herein was very discreete For from mans forgetting of his beginning his end arise his Idolatries and so reuiuing by those bones the rememberance of what they were hertofore what they shal be hereafter he did make them amend that mischief Verie many nay numberlesse are those men which adore the noblenesse of their Linage and out of a desire that they haue to make good their descent and beginning they multiplie Coats one vpon another hang vp Scutchions blazon forth their Armes tell you large histories of their pedigrees and genealogies and many times most of them meere lies and fables Ezechiel did represent these vnto vs in those twentie fiue yong men which were besotted and rauished in beholding the Sunne which by way of exposition signifieth the adoring of the glorie of their birth But leauing these as fooles who glorie in the gold that glisters the Church teacheth thee another lesson and sayes vnto thee Memento homo Remember man c. God created Adam of the basest matter of verie durt but this Durt being molded by Gods owne hand and inspiring it with so much wisedome councell and prudence Tertullian calls it Cura diuini ingenij i. The curiousnesse of Gods wit but man growing proud hereupon and hoping to be a God himselfe God doomed him to death and wrapped him againe in his durtie swadling clouts with this inscription Puluis es in puluerem reuerteris i. Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt returne Adam did not without some mysterie cloath himselfe with greene leaues for as Saint Ambrose hath noted it he gaue therein as it were a signe and token of his vaine and foolish hopes But as the mother when theâ—ee hath stung her childs finger runnes with all hast to get a little durt and claps it to her little one which doth assuage the swelling and giue it ease so those busie Bees of hel dayly stinging vs striking into our breasts the poyson of their pride arrogancie the Church with dust and ashes with a Cinis es incinerem reuerteris i. Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt returne abates this pride and tells vs of that swelling arrogancie of ours When God reuealed to Nebucadnezar how little a while his Empire was to last he shewed him a statue of diuers mettalls the head gold the brest siluer the bellie brasse the legges yron the feet clay and a little stone which descended from the mountaine lighting on the feet dasht the statue in pieces But in stead of taking this as a forewarning of his end and to haue it still before his eyes he made another statue of gold from top to toe which is held to be a durable and lasting mettal so that the more God sought to dis-deceiue him the more was he deceiued with his vaine hopes And this is a resemblance of that which dayly hapneth vnto vs for God aduising vs that our best building is but durt our idle thoughts vaine hopes imagine it to be of gold And mans life being so short that as Nazianzen said it is no more than to goe out of one graue to enter into another out of the wombe of our particular mother into that of the common mother of vs all which is the Earth we flatter our selues with the enioying of many long yeres of life But the Church being desirous to cut off this error saith Memento homo i. Remember man By Ezechiel God threatned his people with a great slaughter that they only should escape that were marked in the forehead with the Hebrew letter Tau which is the last in the alphabet some say that it hath the figure of a crosse and it may be that when Ezechiel did write this he had that figure before him and S. Hierome saith That in stead of Tau the Samaritanes did vse the figure of a crosse The Hebrews by this letter vnderstand the end as beeing the last in the ABC And God was willing that those that bore this marke in their forehead that is should haue their end before their eyes should liue but that those that liued forgetfull of their end that they should die And the Church beeing desirous that her children should escape this danger prints this in their minds Terra es Earth thou art c. It is well weighed by Rupertus that after God had condemned Adam to death he bestowed vpon his wife the name of Life Mater cunctarum gentium i. The mother of al the liuing Scarce had God condemned him to punishment but he by- -by shews that he had forgot it And therfore did God permit the death of innocent Abel to the end that in Abel he might see thâ— death of the body and in Caine the death of the soule for to quicken his memorie From Adam we inherit this forgetfulnes not remembring to day what we saw but yesterday the general desire of man striues all it can to perpetuate our life which if it were in our hands we would neuer see death But because the loue of life should not rob vs of our memorie and that fearing as we are mortall wee might couet those things that are eternall seeing that walles towers marble and brasse molder away to dust we may euer haue in our memorie Memento homo Remember man c. Many holy Saints haue stiled the memorie the stomach of the soule as Gregorie Bernard Theodoret Austen Nazianzen c. And God commanding Ezechiel That he should notifie vnto his people certaine tâ—â—ngs that he had reuealed vnto him and charging him that he should remember himselfe well of them he said Comede quaecunque ego do tibi i. Eat whatsoeuer I giue thee And in another placehe commanded him that he should eat a Book wherin were written Lamentationes
curs nor foâ—sting hounds he that wrestles and he that runnes a race will not stand in competition with him that is notoriously inferiour vnto them because they shal get no glorie by such a victorie That Emperor was much condemned that warred with Flies and tooke great pleasure in the killing of them Being then that I am a shaddow a flower of the field a reed or rather a thing of nothing What honour canst thou reape by my ruine c. Puluis es in Puluerem reuerteris Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt returne The end euer holds a correspondencie with it's beginning Nudus egressus sum nudus reuertar illuc so saith Iob. The riuers come from the sea and thither againe they returne so doth the Sunne from the East and thither it retyres again That Image of gold siluer brasse iron that had it's feet of earth must in the end turn to dust Baruc asks Vbi sunt Principes gentium His answere is Ad inferos descenderunt the earth hath swallowed them vp all S. Basil commenting vpon this place makes the like question and giues the same answer Nonne omnia puluis Nonne fabula Nonne in paucis ossibus memoria eorum conseruatur The greatest and famousest of vs all haue been and are but dust and there is no memorial left of them but a few rotten and stinking bones Vpon this point see Nazianzen Orat. de Humana natura Epictetus in Sententijs in Euchiridion cap. 22. c. Dust thou art c. From this Principle I will inferre three or foure conclusions of great fruit and consequence The first If thou art ashes Quid superbis terra cinis i. Whereof art thou proud ô thou dust and ashes Of thy beginning No Of thy end No Of what then If thou shouldest see thy selfe seated betweene the hornes of the Moone De fundamento cogità humilitatis Thinke on the basenesse of thy beginning and thou shalt then see that pride was not borne for man nor anger and pettishnesse appointed for womans condition pride cannot sute with durt nor curstnesse with womans softnesse Ab occultis meis munda me Domine ab alienis parce seruo tuo i. Lord clense me from my secret sinnes and spare thy seruant for those that are strange By alienis S. Hierome vnderstands those of pride for it is a stranger as it were another kind of thing differing much from mans base and vile condition and the Hebrew letter saith A superbijs parce seruo tuo Whereupon Saint Chrysostome noteth That there is not any sinne more alien to mans condition than pride or that carries with it lesse excuse Those fooles that Genesis painteth forth going about to build a Tower that should ouertoppe the Clouds did in their verie first word Venite faciamus lateres i. Come let vs make vs Brickes bewray their foolishnesse What go about vpon earth to reare a foundation that should emulate Heauen God said vnto Ezechiel Take thou a tyle portray vpon it the Citie of Hierusalem the walls the ditches the Towers the Temple and a great armie of men Strange yet true we see it is that the strength of cities the power of Armies is contained in a poore brittle tile-stone Esay threatned those of Moab with whips scourges because they insulted and proudly triumphed vpon the walls and towers of his Citie Loquimini plagas ijs qui lataÌ„tur super munâ—s cocti lateris i. Speake punishment to those that reioyce in walls that are made of brick What can earthen walls raise vp such pride in men Samuel beeing to annoint Saul God gaue him for a signe that he would haue him Prince ouer his People That he should find two men as soone as he was gone from him neere vnto Rachels Sepulchre God might haue giuen him some other signe but he chose rather to giue him this to quell the pride and haughtinesse of this his new honor as if he should admonish and put thee in mind That the ashes of so faire a creature as Rachel should read a lecture vnto thee what thou must be And this is the reason why the Church though she might vse other metaphors to expresse the misery and shortnesse of mans life as is often mentioned in Scripture as by a leafe a flower a shaddow yet it makes more particular choyce of Dust Ashes besides those be metaphoricall and these litterall for nothing more properly appertaineth vnto man than Dust and therefore the Scripture termeth death a mans returning againe to the earth from whence he came Conuertetur in terram suam proiectus est in terram suam The flower the leafe haue some good in them though of short continuance as colour odor beauty vertue and shade and albeit not good in themselues yet they are the image representation of good but Dust Ashes speake no other good Amongst the elements the Earth is the least noble and the most weake the fire the water and the ayre haue spirit and actitude but the Earth is as it were a prisoner laden with weightinesse as with gyues A certaine Poet stiles the Earth Bruta not onely for that it hath an vnpleasant countenance as Desarts Quick-sands Dens and Caues but also for that it is the Inne of Serpents Tygres Panthers and the like So that it is neither good to the tast nor the smell nor the feeling nor the hearing nor the seeing thou beeing therefore Earth Quid superbis terra cinis i. Why art thou proud ô Dust and Ashes The second conclusion is If thou art Ashes Quid vtilitatem saginando corpore Why such a deale of care in pampering thy bodie which the wormes are to deuour tomorrow Looke vpon that flesh which thy fathermade so much of that now rotten stinking carkasse and this consideration will moderate thy desire of being ouer daintie and curious in cherishing thine owne Isaac on the night of his nuptialls placed his wifes bed in the chamber where his mother died Tobias spent all the night with his Spouse in prayer being mindfull of the harme which the Deuill had done to her former husbands as being aduised from Heauen that he should temper with the remembrance of death the delights pleasures of this short life of ours The Cammomile the worse you treat it and the more you tread on it the better it thriues other Plants require pruning and tending to make them fruitfull but this herbe hath a quite contrarie condition that with ill vsage it growes the better It is the pamper'd flesh that brings forth thistles and thorns but the flesh that is trodden downe and humbled that yeelds store of fruit The third If thou art Dust and must tomorrow become Dust Why such a deale of coueting of honours and riches Why such great and stately houses so richly furnished Our forefathers liued eight hundred yeares and vpwards and those seeming but few they past
ouer this life in poore Cabbins now we liue but three dayes as it were and we build houses as if we meant to liue for euer they are so strong and durable Esau sould his birthright for a messe of pottage but he excused his so doing for that he saw his death was so neere at hand En morior quid proderunt mihi primogenita i. Behold I am readie to die what will birthright profit me Saint Austen puts a doubt why the Aegyptians did so freely bestow their jewells and their gold and siluer on the Hebrews and the resolution is That seeing their first begotten were all dead they made light reckoning of those things which before they so much esteemed Abulensis moues a doubt Why the Gyants of the promised land did not deuoure the Israelites being but as grashoppers in comparison of their greatnesse Whereunto is a twofold answer The first That they came in as strangers from whom they presumed they could receiue no hurt The second That God sent a consuming plague amongst them Terra deuorat habitatores suoâ— i. The Earth deuoureth her Inhabitants And there is no man of what strength or mettall soeuer that hath not Deaths dart sticking in his sides There is a great deale of difference made of honour and wealth between the liuing and the dying man the rich Miser that would not giue Lazarus a crum would vndoubtedly when he was a dying haue beene contented he should haue had all the meat on his Table And as Death doth mortifie andmake the flesh of Birds and Beasts more tender so doth it soften in men their hard bowells and causes pittie in their Soules and is the Key that openeth their close-fistednesse We read of certaine Fooles that said To-morrow we shall die let vs therefore laugh and be merrie and inioy the pleasures of this world for these thought there was no other life but this But Paul who was sorie to see this made no such consequence but the contrary Death is neere at hand let vs vse this world therefore as we vs'd it not c. Two things saith Seneca are the summe of our life Nasci Mori To be borne and to die Gregory Nissen treating of that place of Salomon Omnia tempus habent There is a time for all things notes That this wise man ioines our Nasci with a Mori as being neere neighbors and many times the time of death preuents that of our birth c. Age paenetentiam Repent There are two things to be considered in Repentance 1 That it is alwaies good 2 That it must be decent and discreete For the first It subdues the flesh makes it willing to submit it selfe to become obedient to the spirit Read Leo. Pap. Ser. 4 de Ieiun Vide Cyp. Orat. de Ieiun de Tent. Christi and Tho. 2.2 q. 15. Peccasti saith Saint Chrysostome poenitere Millies peccasti millies poenitere i. Hast thou sinned a thousand times repent a thousand times Saint Austen saith That the Deuil being desirous that Man should not repent himselfe of his sinnes is still whispering him in the eare Why doest thou torment and afflict thy selfe It is strange that God should take pleasure to see thy destruction Bread suffers martyrdome till it be brought to the boord Siluer the same till it be wrought into a vessell of Plate Stone till it be placed in the house for which it was hewen the Sacrifice till it be laid on the Altar it is no maruell then that Christians should suffer much who so much desire to bee the Bread the Vessells the Stones and the Sacrifice for Gods House and his owne Table The second point is That our Repentance should be decent and discreet This may serue for a few for there are but few that will exceede To whom wee prescribe Saint Pauls rule Rationabile obsequium vestrum Your seruice must be weighed in the Ballance of reason A Slaue when he is stubborne and rebellious deserueth the whip but the correction must not bee so cruell as to occasion his death Ecclesiasticus treating That it is good to correct a seruant doth put this in for a counterpoise Verumtamen sine judicio nihil facias graue i. Doe nothing without discretion Nay euen towards our Beast malicious crueltie is condemned Nouit justus jumentorum suorum animas i. A rightuous man regardeth the life of his Beast He will not lay more vpon them than they can beare Viscera autem impiorum crudelia i. But the bowells of the wicked are cruell Two things are to bee considered in our Repentance the one The grieuousnesse of the fault for to make light repentance for great sinnes is a great inequalitie as Saint Ambrose noteth it And Saint Hierome saith That the Repentance ought to exceede the fault or at least equall it Not that humane weaknesse can make full satisfaction for it's heinous sins but that it be performed in some proportion The councel of Agatha declareth the custome that was vsed in this kind in the Primitiue Church to wit That they that were publike scandalous Sinners did present themselues in a kind of soutage or course Sacke-cloath before the Bishop accompanied with all the Clergie who inioyned him pennance according to his offence banishing him from the Church for some such time as they thought fit But in a word As the Flower is spoyled for want of water so is it marr'd by too much Our life is a tender Flower and stands vpon a feeble stalke Qui quasi flos egreditur conteritur and as it is spoyled with the ouermuch verdure of delights and humane pleasures so likewise it is quite marr'd through the sterilitie of moderate recreation and honest pastimes and with the too much drought of torment Columella in his booke of Husbandrie saith That Hay must not be made when the grasse is too green nor too dry Our flesh is like grasse to haue it cut in a good sâ—ason it must neither haue too much greenenesse of iollitie nor too much drinesse of trouble for the one doth rot and taint it and the other doth wast and consume it Likewise there must be a care had to the season for the cure As often therefore as a man shall find himselfe wounded by sinne so often must hee apply the plaister of Repentance And as to deferre the cure in a dangerous sicknes breeds great perill so stands it with the putting off Repentance from day to day There are three differences of Time Time past present and to come that which is past is no more that which is to come is in Gods hands and that hee should bestow it vpon vs is his liberalitie and goodnesse the present is but short and for ought I know I may presently die And herein is mans madnesse seene for there is scarce that man to bee found that thinkes it now to day a good time to repent him of his sinnes but with the Crow cries
No trustie harbor for a ship said the Poet A mountain of theeus a Citie without defence That Farmer is a foole saith Saint Austen who putteth his corne into moist Granaries where it may rot or bee deuoured and consumed by the Weesell That which most importeth thee is To place thy Treasure vpon the Poore for they are Christs owne Banke for whatsoeuer they receiue our Sauiour accepts of it and he secures it and returnes it with vse What saies Chrysologus If thou wert to bee Ciuis perdurabilis A durable Citizen vpon earth it were wisely done in thee ro treasure vp vpon earth but being that thou art to make a speedie journey for Heauen Why wilt thou haue aboundance of that here which shall occasion thy want there THE SECOND SERMON ON THE THVRSEDAY AFTER ASHWEDNESDAY MAT. 8. LVC. 7. When he entred into Capernaum Cum introisset Capernaum c. IN Capernaum the Metropolis of Galilee a city in buildings glorious in prouision aboundant in reuenues rich in people populous in a word Capernaum implies all that which may expresse a place of comfort This Citie was then in great glorie but neuer receiued more honour than by the presence of Christ the miracles that he wrought there insomuch that Saint Mathew out of this respect calls it his Citie and Nazareth which was the place where our Sauiour had beene bred vp tooke it in such dudgeon that shee sent him that message related by Saint Luke Quanta audiuimus facta in Capernaum fac haec in Patria tua i. The great things which we haue heard thou hast done in Capernaum doe them also in thine owne Countrie Lord art thou so liberall towards strangers and so short handed towards thine own Countrimen In Capernaum thou hast healed Peters mother in law many that were tormented with Deuils especially one woman of a talking Deuill him that was sicke of a dead Palsey whom they let down through the roofe of the house the son of Regulus diuers others Let vs see thee now exercise these thy fauours in thine own country Rome had a hundred souldiers there in garrison as it had in other places of the Empire the Captaine whereof in regard of his office was called Centurion This Commander had a seruant that was sicke whome he loued verie well Hee sollicited our Sauiour for the curing of this his seruant by a third person yet discouering therein so much deuotion and faith that hee remained a chiefe Master of the faithfull in Gods Church Saint Chrysostome Euthimius seeme to differ about this miracle For the one sayth That the Centurion came and besought him himselfe The other That he onely sent vnto Christ to intreat him to doe this courtesie for him But it beeing so difficult to beleeue two miracles both in Capernaum both at one and the same time in one Master and in one Seruant let vs run along with all the rest of the Doctors who are of opinion It was onely one miracle Saint Austen cleareth this controuersie For the Scripture sayth he is wont to attribute that vnto thee which thou doost by a third person As when King Achab went to take possession of Naboths Vineyard Elias meeting with him told him Occidisti in super possidisti i. Thou hast killed him and art possessed of his Vineyard The King had not killed him but the Queene and the Councell But because hee was well contented therewith and consented vnto it hee sayd vnto him Occidisti possidisti Nathan spake to Dauid in the same language Vriam Etheum occidisti gladio filiorum Amon i. Thou hast slaine Vrias the Hittit with the sword of the children of Ammon Not that hee himselfe slue him but because hee willed his Captaine Ioab to doe it The Iewes tooke away our Sauiours life by the hands of the souldiers and though they would haue washt their hands of it with a Nobis non licet interficere quenquam i. T is not lawfull for vs to put any man to death Yet Saint Peter chargeth them therewith Authorem vero vitae interfecistis i. Yee haue killed the Lord of Life And because God was the mediate cause of his death Dauid tels him Tu vero repulisti eum destruxisti despexisti i. Thou hast broken him off destroid him c. In a word As hee that is married by a third person is married by himselfe And as hee that speakes by another speakes by himselfe as Kings doe by their Embassadors and as hee that despiseth an Embassador despiseth him that sent him and as our Sauiour sayth Qui vos audit me audit qui vos spernit me spernit i. He that heareth you heareth me and hee that despiseth you despiseth mee So the Centurion procuring the Antients of Capernaum to speake to Christ for him the Euangelist sets it downe that hee spake himselfe Accessit Centurio i. There came a Centurion There are some kind of people that haue had so antient possession of ill that they will hardly bee brought to any good Tradesmen and Merchants plead prescription for their buying How many yeares since sayth Salomon hath it beene the custome that the seller commends his ware and the buyer dispraises it Bonum est bonum est dicit omnis emptor In Receiuers and Proctors it hath beene an antient fashion with them to pill and to poll in Seruants to flatter in Souldiers to boast robbe and rauish Assueti latrocinijs as Egesippus sayth of them And as a Merchant can scarce liue in the world without lying no more can a Souldier without sinning In matter of gluttony they are Bacchusses Effundunt se in luxum epulas saith Tacitus In matter of filthy lust Priapusses In matter of bragging and swaggering men that would make a shew to outface Hector and Achilles or Mars himselfe such as will breake glasse windowes and threaten at euerie word to kill their poore Host but when the enemie comes vpon them more feareful than hares and betake them to their heeles The greatest crueltie that euer was committed was the scourging and crucifying of Christ And this the souldiers did so saith S. Iohn In a word that young man that lists himselfe for a souldier shakes hands almost with al kind of vertue But to leaue this Theme that my discourse may not seeme tedious in the enumeration of their vices though among souldiers there are a refuse kind of sort which Quintus Curtius calles Purgamenta vrbium suarum The Off-scum of Commonwealths yet there are many of them that are valiant discreet Christian and religious The Scripture maketh mention of three Centurions one Ioseph Decurion a noble gentleman who was captain of a Roman companie when our Sauiour suffered who scorning the power and ill will of all Ierusalem went boldly to begge his bodie of Pilat for to giue it burial There was another Centurion called Cornelius who not knowing Christ was so religious so full of good workes so giuen
him that loueth vs. Saint Austen saith That it is a hard heart that repayes not loue with loue agreeing with that of Marcilius Ficinus That Loue is Tanti pretij a thing so vnualuable that nothing can recompence it but Loue. First From this ground we may gather the foulnesse of our dis-loue towards God Ipse prior dilexit saith Saint Iohn He loued vs first if he had not vouchsafed to loue vs mans brest had neuer had a stocke whereon to graft his loue towards him Hauing therefore lou'd vs first and out of his loue done vs such great and speciall fauours it were extraordinarie basenesse and impietie in vs not to loue him againe hee beeing so willing to accept of our loue Many there are which stand vpon it as a point of honour not to bestow their loue vpon euerie one that seekes their loue but onely vpon those that haue giuen them some pledges of their loue Now if thou doost esteeme thy loue at that rate that thou wilt not conferre it vpon him to whom thou doost not owe it yet oughtest thou haue the honesty to repay thy loue to him to whom thou doost owe it especially being Nature abhorreth that they that loue should not be beloued Moreouer many times thou louest those that neuer loued thee nay euen those that haue hated thee Is it much then that thou shouldst loue him that hath loued thee neuer will leaue off to loue thee and cannot but loue though thou shouldst grow cold S. Bernard saith That we are wonderfully beholding vnto Christ for the treasures of his loue because thereby he gaue vs matter to worke vpon to repay this incomparable good of Loue with Loue. No other of Gods fauours towards vs can we make repayment of in the same coyne onely his loue is left vnto vs to be repaid with loue 2 The second reason is no lesse powerfull He hath built vs a Synagogue For where some seruice hath preceded it is as it were a pledge with God of fauours to bee receiued Howbeit in matter of giuing we can gaine nothing by the hand For Quis prior dedid illi Saint Chrysostome treating of the miracle which Saint Peter and Saint Iohn did at the doore of the Temple called Beautifull vpon that poore Cripple which begged an almes for Gods sake pondereth how boldly and securely they entered to aske a fauour in Gods House who had first exercised their charity vpon the Poore strengthning and preuenting those prayers of the poore with those that they were to make themselues vnto God To this end is it still in vse that the poore lyes at the doore of the Temple as the same Doctor obserueth that the Faithfull entring to aske Mercie of God for to secure their petition that they should first shew Mercy Subuenite oppresso sayth Esay Before thou enterest into my House bestowe thine almes vpon some poore begger or other For my stampe is ingrauen vpon him hee is mine owne picture and therefore see you releeue him And then Venite arguite me i. Come and reason with mee If I shall not then helpe thee challenge me for it Saint Luke recounting the resurrection of Dorcas otherwise called Tabitha sayth That the poore and the widowes came vnto Peter showing him those cloathes and shirts which shee had giuen them Circumdederunt eum viduae flentes ostendentes tunicas i. Widowes compassed him about and showed him their coats c. One sayd shee gaue mee this coate another this smocke and God hauing receiued so many seruices towards the poore from the hands of this holy Woman it is fit that she should find this fauour and that you should not sticke much vpon it to restore her her life and the Text sayth That hee presently raised her vp aliue No lesse to this purpose serues that raising againe to life of the Widows son which nourished the Prophet Elias Behold ô Lord thou hast afflicted a poore Widow that lodged mee and sustained mee for thy sake and therfore thou art bound to repay her this seruice It is one of the abuses of these times that in the day of prosperity thou neuer thinkest vpon the poore bee he thy neighbour or a stranger or if thou dooest it is but to quarrell with him to murmure against him thou neuer giuest him any thing but sharpe words but if thy house shall bee visited with any misfortune of fire or otherwise or with sickenesse thou lookest that hee should come vpon his knees to thee and offer thee his seruice These reasons did the Elders of Capernaum alledge to our Sauiour might haue alledged greater than these as his Faith and his Deuotion But it is noted by Saint Chrysostome That they shewed themselues fooles in alledging the dignitie and worth of this Souldier and forgetting the pitty and humanity of the Lord of Hosts Martha and Mary were much more discreet in pressing him with his Loue. For all other things whatsoeuer that we can alledge on our part are to weake to bind him vnto vs. Ego veniam curabo eum i. I will come and cure him 1. They could not haue desired a sweeter or a speedier answere If a Captaine that hath beene maimed in the warres come to one of our Princes heere of this World to demand his pay or some recompence for his seruice hee shall dye a hundred deaths before they will giue him so much as one poore six-pence But the Prince of Heauen wee haue scarce represented our necessities vnto him but hee presently answereth Ego veniam curabo eum i. I will come and cure him And euen then when hee sayd I will goe and heale him euen then was his health restored vnto him so hand in hand goes Gods Power with his Will Meliora sunt vbera tua vino i. Thy breasts are better than wine sayd the Spouse to her Beloued Wherein wee are to weigh the facilitie and the easinesse wherewith the brest affoords it milke and the paines and difficultie wherewith the grapes yeeld foorth their wine For wee must first gather them then tread them then squiese them in the Presse then poure them from one vessell into another c. And therefore is it sayd Thy milke is of more worth than all the wine in the World not onely for it's pleasantnesse and sweetnesse but for it's readinesse at hand Esay pointing at this readinesse in God sayth Ad vocem clamoris statim respondebit tibi i. Hee will answere out of hand the voice of thy crie Assure thy selfe hee is so pittifull that he will not suffer thee to weepe and mourne But thou shalt scarce haue called vnto him when straight thou shalt haue an answere Whereas to the Princes of this World thou shalt put vp a thousand memorials and shalt haue so many more references order vpon order and yet no order taken for thee But the Prince of Heauen Statim respondebit tibi i. Hee will answere
to be reuenged of him for the death of the young man hee sayd vnto them Hearken ô yee wiues of Lamech Let it not once enter into your thoughts to take reuenge on my life for though the vengeance which God appointed for the killing of Caine had a limitation yet the reuenge of my death shall be without taxe and without measure Setuplum vltio dabitur de Cain de Lamech autem septuagies septies Cain shall be reuenged seuen times but Lamech seuentie times seuen times Wherein he sets downe a finite number for an infinite In a word Lamech in this word Septuagies septies shewes That the reuenge that should bee taken thereof should be without terme without limitation wherein he seemes to make mans crueltie to contest with Gods mercie The other is Of those that hate their enemies so to the death that though they themselues die yet they will not let their hatred die with them but leaue it in their last Will and Testament to their heires to take reuenge of their wrongs and to prosecute their enemies vnto death Being herein like vnto Dido who throwing out her curses and maledictions on Aeneas and desiring the Tygres and other wild beasts to reuenge her wrong breathed her last with this inuocation Hoc precor hanc vocem extremaÌ„ cum sanguine fundo i. This is my prayer I wish no other good and this I poure forth with my latest bloud Whence I would haue you to note That this hardnesse of mans heart at his death is in punishment of his hardnesse of heart in his life Hac anima aduersione saith Saint Austen punitur peccator i. This is a sinners punishment And in another place Cor durum male habebit in nouissimo It shall goe ill with a hard heart in the latter day And Ieremie treating of those that persecuted him Reddes eis Domine vicem iusti dabis eis scutum cordis Thou shalt pay them in their owne coyne thou shalt vse them as they vsed their enemies thou shalt giue them a heart like a shield of Brasse it shall be hard in their life time and hard at their death No prayers could mollifie them nor shall their entreatie mooue thee for only the merciful shall only find mercie Now for the reforming of both these excesses Saint Paul saith Sol non occidat super iracundiam vestram Let not the Sunne goe downe before your wrath goe out Let not the one set before the other be setled Saint Chrysostome renders two reasons of this saying Sol non occidat c. The one That the Sunne doth fauour and serue you with his light and with his influences cherishing your health and your life and does not return home at night brawling and complayning that he hath bestowed this his loue seruice vpon an vngrateful vnthankful person There is no creature but wil grumble repine to serue such a one Ingemescit It sighes and groanes c. saith Saint Paul but the Sunne does not grudge at his seruing of you The second That the night is of it selfe sad melancholly and in a disposition to troublesome thoughts and immaginations Now then that your fantasie may not present you with an armie of fearefull cogitations and the dismall representations of reuenge before that the night comes on quiet that raging sea within thy brest by throwing Oyle vpon it become soft gentle by clensing thy heart of all rancour and malice If the beames of the Sunne cannot pierce through a thicke cloud they will hardly make their way through the pitchie darkenesse of the night being that they are naturally then in their augmentation When the cheerefulnesse of the day employment in businesses and the companie and comfort of our friends cannot remooue the clouds of our anger the night will hardly scatter them who is the mother of painefull thoughts For as the infirmities of the bodie encrease by the absence of the Sunne so in like sort doe the diseases of the soule I know not whither Ioshuah were toucht or no with this Spirit when hee willed the Sunne to stand still when he was in the pursuit of his enemies It seemeth vnto some That it is a verie hard matter and more than flesh and bloud can beare to pardon fresh iniuries the bloud boyling then in our brest But this is answer'd by that example of our Sauior Christ who when his wounds did poure forth bloud on euerie side yet his tongue cryde out Ignosce illis quia nesciunt quid faciunt Forgiue them for they know not what they doe Where I would haue you to note that the word faciunt is of the present Tense When they were boring his feet with nailes Saint Austen to this purpose saith Is petebat veniam à quibus adhuc accipiebat iniuriam He craued pardon for those of whom euen then hee suffered wrong For he did not so much weigh that he died by them as that he died for them Cum esset in sanguine suo saith Ezechiel dixit Viue i. When he was in his owne bloud he said Liue. And Saint Bernard That hee offered vp his life Non interpellantâ—bus sed repellentibus non inuocantibus sed prouocantibus Not for those that inuoked him but prouoked him The replies of the Flesh are infinite and without number Some say Whilest wee liue in the world we must follow the fashions of the world and liue according to it's Lawes and that if a man put vp one iniurie he shall haue a thousand put vpon him I answer hereunto That it is a fouler fault to seeke out reasons to defend and maintaine sinne than to commit it And if thou shalt tell mee thou desirest to be reuenged because thou art weake and canst not bridle thy anger I shall the rather pittie thee and shall withall councell and aduise thee to aske pardon of God for this thy weakenesse and infirmitie But that thou shouldst defend thy offence with reasons and force of argument it is not a thing to bee immagined but more against reason it is to reason against God Let vs now leaue the Gospell and the sacred Scriptures and let vs bring this businesse within the spheare of reason I say then That it is the Language of him that knowes not what reason is as if it were possible there could be any reason against God The Clowne rests so well contented with his poore Cottage that he wil not change it for the Kings Pallace And the worldly man likes so well of the lawes and fashions of the world that he sticks not to preferre them before those of God Others stand vpon their honour alledging How can a man liue in the world without the vpholding of his honour and repution I answere It is not to bee found in the Scripture That Christ doth councell any man to suffer in his honor for him or to loose his reputation Marry hee hath promised a reward vnto him that for his sake
as by his death he did conquer our death so likewise saith Saint Gregorie it was fit that the conquering of his temptation should be the subduing of ours The Prophet treating how cowardly the Deuill would remaine after this victorie saith Thou hast made him food for the People of Aethiopia The Negro's of Zapa and Mandinga haue piece-meale deuoured him and eaten him vp as it were by morcells For the world hath not a more fearefull and cowardly Nation than that of the Negro's either by reason of their small store of bloud or for that that little they haue is verie cold and therefore hath the lesse actiuenesse in it The Romans would neuer consent that any Negro should bee listed for a souldier The vnknowne Authour vnderstandeth by the Aethyopians those Crowes which of all other Fowles that feed vpon flesh are the most fearefull which is to bee seene in this that delighting so much as they doe to picke out the eyes of other creatures they dare not aduenture to plucke them out vntill they be dead Of a coward the Spanish Prouerbe saith A Moro muerto gran Lançada Giue a dead Moore a great blow with a Lance Which is spoken by way of reproch of notorious cowards when they will offer to run a man through when hee is dead alreadie In Rome there was great opposition betwixt two famous Orators Tully and Metellus the one was stout and full of courage and the other cowardly and timerous Now when Metellus Master dyed he set ouer his Tombe-stone a Crow Whereat Tully jeasting said That hee now had paid his Master at his death for that which hee had taught him in his life And therefore the Prophet saying That the Deuill should be the food of the Negro's or of Crowes was to signifie thereby that he was not able to put feare into the fearefullest and most cowardly persons Thirdly Our Sauiour Christ did pretend in this action of his to giue vs a great testimonie of his loue All his actions proclaime loue but this of his being tempted hath one circumstance of loue that I know not well what can bee more For hauing giuen vs both Heauen and earth and all that therein is and which is more his onely begotten Sonne with whom hee gaue vs all that good which we could wish or haue Quomodo cum illo omnia non nobis donauit yet did he alwayes reserue his honour vnto himselfe I am the Lord and I will not giue my glorie to another And as Pharaoh conferred on Ioseph all his authority and power but not his Crowne and Scepter In this thing onely I will be before thee So God being most liberall vnto vs in bestowing all his riches and graces vpon vs yet was he euer couetous of his honour But by yeelding that the Deuill should tempt him it seemeth that he did put it in hazard at least to it's triall For to be tempted is to be incited and prouoked to sinne whose malice and wickednesse hath that opposition and emnitie with God which if our Sauiour as it was impossible should haue consented vnto hee should haue lost the name of the eternall Son of God and haue caused him to become his enemie for euer Besides there is no stroke that strikes so home to a Noble brest as to bee ouercome by his enemie Saul that he might not die by the hands of a Philistine spake to his Sword-bearer to kill him And his Sword-bearer not daring to kill him he killed himselfe Cato Vticensis did the like that he might not become a Slaue to Caesar as Plutarch reporteth it The like did Cleopatra beeing but a woman What presumption then is it that a Creature which had beene cast out of Heauen for a base in famous and disloyall Traitor should pretend to conquer the Sonne of Heauen Againe To the Iust saith Saint Chrysostome there is but one Good and one Euill necessarie The Good is God the Euill the offending of God Iob did not shew so much sorrow for the losse of his children his houses his flocks and his substance as he did when his wife said vnto him Curse God and die but that was as a dagger to his heart Shall I be angrie and offended with my God No though he should kill mee yet will I loue him For I haue no other Good but my God he is all my hope and all my comfort What then might our Sauiour thinke of the Deuil How much should it grieue him to heare him say Fal down and worship me Lastly He was willing to be tempted for that temptation beeing a thing that we must all of vs necessarily endure no none of the best of vs all can auoyd we may know how to behaue our selues therein by following the example of this our noble Captain Vt cuius munimur auxilio erudiamur exemplo as Pope Leo hath it Vt mediator esset non solum per auditorium verum etiam per exemplum as Saint Austen hath it Our life is a dayly warrefare and a continuall temptation not only profitable but necessarie to those worldlings that liue to their seeming in peace Wisedome saith Not knowing Warre they call so many euils Peace These are they that suffer a more bloudie and desperate warre than any other Iob saith Mans life is but a Warrefare vpon earth Saint Gregorie calls it the Gard of our vertues For then are we inwardly best preserued when outwardly wee are by Gods dispensation tollerably tempted And amongst many other reasons which are brought for the proofe hereof there is one verie powerful to wit That we shal haue therein the especiall fauour and protection of our good God so that hee giuing vs strength to endure we may account it a great happinesse vnto vs. Custodit Dominâ— animas SanctoruÌ„ suoruÌ„ God hath an exceeding great care of the soules of his Saints And hauing God on our side who can hurt vs Nonne tu vallasti eum per circuitum Et vniuersam substantiam eius The Deuill said vnto God talking with him about Iob Lord thou doost not onely gard his soule but his life hâ—â— honour and his goods as if thou hadst put him into a strong place of defence vnder locke and key Saint Gregorie saith That God so gardeth the house of the Righteous that he will not leaue so much as a chinke open for the Deuill to enter thereinto And therefore Salomon stiles it an inexpugnable Tower When the Sodomites assaulted Lots house the Angells were not contented with shutting of the doore but did strike the assailants with blindnesse When Noah entred into the Arke God shut the port and carried away the key with him Clausit eum Dominus de foris The seuenty Interpreters make this construction of it that hee did so that neither the waters nor the windes might annoy it In dilunâ—o aquarum multarum ad eum non approximabunt For God had kalked vp the ports and euery little chinck or creuise
Saint Chrysostome In Gloria Saint Luke In Maiestate sua in Patris sanctorum Angelorum Where it is noted by Saint Ambrose That his Maiestie was greater than that of his father Quia Patri inferior videri non poterat For in what place soeuer the Father should be it could not bee presumed that hee should be lesse than his Son but of his Son it might perhaps haue bin presumed otherwise into which errour Arrius did afterwards fall In Maiestate sua c. Our words here want weight and our weake apprehension matter and forme worthie so great a Maiestie In a Prince a Lord and in a Iudge is necessarily required a kind of presence and authoritie beyond other ordinarie men Esay reporteth of his People That seeing a man of a goodly presence and well clad they said vnto him Thou hast rayment be our Prince Nor is this onely necessarie but that his greatnesse and his Maiestie bee euerie way answerable to the largenesse of his Commission and Iurisdiction And therefore our Sauiour Christ being then to shew himselfe a King of Kings and a Lord of Lords and an vniuersall Iudge ouer all persons and ouer all causes since the first beginning of the world to the end thereof his Maiestie must needs be incomparable First In respect of his person whose splendor and brightnesse shall eclipse and darken all the lights of the World At this his comming his glorie at the first I mean of his soule was reserued and hid so that therein they might not see the fearefulnesse of their punishment but in his comming to Iudgement the light of his bodie shall be so shining and so extreamely bright that the Sunne in comparison of it shall seeme as a candle Saint Ambrose calleth the Sunne the Grace of Nature the Ioy of the World the Prince of the Planets the bright Lanterne of the World the Fountaine of Life the Image of God whom for it's beautie so many Nations adored as a God But in that day the Sunne and the Moon it 's Vicegerent whom they call the Queene of Heauen shall be like vnto those lights of the Sheepheards which are hardly to be discerned afarre off Saint Iohn made in his Apocalyps a description of this Maiestie and beautie hee saw the Heauen opened and that a Horseman came forth riding on a white Horse from his eyes flamed forth two Torches of fire from his mouth issued a two edged Sword in his hand he had a Rod of Yron on his head many Crowns and on his thigh a Letter which beeing read spake thus The King of Kings and Lord of Lords Great Armies of Horsemen did attend him all on white Horses This is a figure and Type of our Sauiour Christs comming to Iudgement The white horse is his most holy and vnspotted Humanitie Those flaming Torches of his eyes betoken That all things both great and small shal be laid open to his sight there shall not be any sinne so secret nor any fault so buried vnder ground which shall not appeare at that generall Triall that beeing then to be verified of euery Sinner which God said to Dauid touching his murder and adulterie Thou hast done it secretly but I will doe it in the sight of the Sunne The two edged Sword signifies the finenesse and sharpenesse of the Iudges proceeding and that he is able to cut in sunder the marrow and bones of a Sinner and like a Razor meet with the least haire of euill that shall shew it selfe His Rod of Yron shewes the firmenesse and constancie of his Iudgment which shall not like those white Wands which the Iudges bare before be wrested this way and that way at pleasure Those many Diadems on his head intimate those Crownes that he shall clap on the heads of the Righteous and those that haue done well That glorious Letter of Rex Regum because he shal there shew himselfe to be King of Kings Lord of Lords many Kings of the earth shall haue their knees smitten like Balthazar 's and their hearts throb within them when they stand before his presence expecting their fearefull doome Lastly hee shall come accompanied with many Horsemen on white Horses to shew vnto vs that hee shall bee waited on by all the Court of Heauen Salomon saith Tria sunt quae bene gradiuntur quartum quod foelicitèr incedit Three creatures haue a goodly kind of gate the Sheepe the Lyon and the Cocke but a King whom none can resist carries more state with him than them all Saint Gregorie typifieth this prouerbe to our Sauiour Christ who did gallantly beare himselfe in foure of his most famous mysteries First In that of his Redemption represented in the sheep which is made readie for the Sacrifice Secondly In his Resurrection figured in the Lyon Vicit Leo de Tribu Iuda Whereunto Saint Paul doth attribute our justification Resurrexit propter justificationem nostram Thirdly In his preaching of the Gospell fitly expressed in the Cocke who with his crowing and clapping of his wings awakeneth those that are asleepe in sinne But his comming to judgement which is deciphered vnto vs in his beeing a King doth farre exceed all the rest For many were not bettered by his Death nor his Resurrection nor his Doctrine though these were most pretious Treasures proffered to Mankind because that Age wherein Christ came was an Age of contradiction but in this his comming to judgement that prophecie of Zacharie shall be fulfilled And there shall bee one Lord ouer all the earth and his name shall be one Till then this King shall goe by little and little ouercomming and subduing his enemies but when he shall come in his glorie then shall wee see a most stately triumph and a quiet and peaceable possession and that Stone which Daniel saw loosed and vnfastned from the Mountaine shall then cease to pound and beat into pouder all the Empires and Seigniories of the earth Thou shalâ— breake them like a Potters Vessell In a word in this world while wee liue heere God is not absolutely obâ—yed nor serued by vs as he should bee no not of the Iust themselues and those that are the Elect children of God So doth Saint Austen declare that place of the Canticles Exui me tunica mea quomodo induâ— illa Laui pedes meos quomodo inquinabo illos I haue put off my coat How shall I put it on I haue washed my feet How shall I defile them How is this to be borne withall how is this to be suffered saith this sacred Doctor that the Spouse should vse this libertie with her best Beloued Whereunto he answereth That the Iust do not denie vnto God his entrance into the house of their Soules but the Spouse doth there discouer the resistance which the Soule makes in the behalfe of the Sences at that time when as God calls her vnto him But in the day of Iudgement the Soule shall be no more mis-led by the Sences but
themselues into their holes in the deepe and doost thou sleep Arise for shame and call vpon thy God since others call vpon theirs Whither it were that they did presume that Ionas was some Saint which they might gather from his modestie and his Prophet-like attyre or whither they had heard of the great wonders done by his God for many were the things that were spoken of him among the Gentiles which were meruailous in their eyes I leaue it to the construction of the Discreet Mittamuâ— sortes Let vs cast lots They whispered amongst themselues That sure there was some notable villaine some wicked person among the passengers for whose sake the gods had shewed themselues so angrie against this their ship and those that went in her for one euil man that is vpheld and maintained in his lewd courses and is fauoured and protected by those with whom hee liues and conuerses is able to destroy a Citie and to corrupt a whole Commonaltie if he bee not corrected and punished in time According to that of Ezechiel Corrueâ—â— fulcientes Aegyptum They also that maintaine Aegypt shall fall and the pride of her power shall come downe Euerie one then said to his companion Let vs cast Lots Et sciamus quare hoc malum sit nobis That we may know for whose cause this euill is vpon vs or as the Hebrew hath it In cuius nam hoc malum nobis Let vs know who is in the fault why we doe all thus suffer They therefore cast lots not once alone but againe and againe for the Lot falling still vpon one it was an especial effect of Gods prouidence and a great token that hee would discouer him thaâ— was faultie It therefore falling still vpon Ionas the Mariners and the rest that were in the ship laid hands on him and as Saint Hierome hath noted it made him this short but discreet interrogation What is thy occupation and whence commest thoâ— Which is thy Countrie and of what People art thou Touching his Office his voyage and his Countrie the Prophet of his owne accord without beeing 〈◊〉 to the torment confessed all vnto them he told them he was an Hebrew and that he sought to flie from the God of Israel who had made the Sea and the 〈◊〉 Land and that this was the cause of this their furious tempest and fierce storme Then said they vnto him What shall we doe vnto thee that the sea may be calme vnto vs for the sea wrought and was troublous Mittite me in mare Take me and cast me into the sea so shal the sea be calme vnto you for I know that for my sake this great tempest is vpon you This was no desperation in Ionas nor any desire to hasten his owne death but that he might not persâ—â—â— any longer in offending his God whereof he was now sorie and earnestly repeâ—â—ted him of the errour he had committed If I liue thought he with himselfeâ— shall fall tomorrow into the like follie againe And therefore let no man preâ—sume that it shall be better with him tomorrow than it was yesterday or the other day before and though a man may purpose amendment to himselfe 〈◊〉 desire it yet is it no wisedome to presume thereupon Hence it ariseth that 〈◊〉 multiplication of yeares doth but multiplie our greater condemnation Remigabant viri c. The men rowed to bring the Ship to land They sough◠〈◊〉 saue the life of Ionas with the danger of their owne liues and despising 〈◊〉 owne proper perill they tooke care of another mans good which is the 〈◊〉 most that a godly man can doe The seuentie Interpreters indeere it 〈◊〉 thing more saying Viâ—â— faciebaâ—t They did as it were offer violence to the 〈◊〉 and so rowing and praying remigando â—rando they said O Lord if this man be so odious in thine eyes thou maist strike him dead with a sudden plague or with a blast of thy breath and if thou art not willing that hee should not now die doe not punish vs for him saue not him to kill vs. Ne pereamus in anima viri istius Let not vs perish for this mans life But the more they stroue in rowing and in praying the waues began to swell the more and the winds grew stiffer and stiffer Mare intumescebat super eos The sea wrought exceeding high and was troublous against them Thereupon they made a deuout prayer vnto God entreating him that he would not impute vnto them the death of that Prophet O Lord sayd they thou hast made our armes the instruments of thy Iustice and whereas it is thy pleasure that wee should throw him into the Sea thou mightest if thou wouldst haue giuen him some other kind of death This iudgement which we execute vpon him we haue done it out of his owne confession by the casting of Lots but if perchance we haue herein erred by taking away the life of the Innocent permit not his bloud to be vpon our heads since thou mayst so easily if thou wilt manifest his innocencie Well might our Sauiour Christ condemne the Pharisees by these poore Mariners and Ship-boyes since they did demurre so much and cast so many doubts with themselues concerning the offence of a Fugitiue that had alreadie confest himselfe faultie Whereas these Scribes and Pharisees did rashly and inconsiderately sentence him to death whom the Heauen and the Earth had pronounced and published to be innocent crying out with a full mouth Sanguis eius super nos Tulerunt Ionam So they tooke vp Ionas c. Saint Hierome doth much weigh the courtesie and respect wherewith they tooke vp Ionas Quasi cum obsequio honore portantes Bearing him as it were with a great deale of obsequiousnesse and honour vpon their shoulders because he had made so humble a confession by acknowlegement of his fault and for that that he had thus voluntarily offered himselfe vp vnto death They did reuerence him as a Saint and lifting vp that weight in their armes which the sea could not beare they had scarce throwne him ouer-boord but the sea ceased from her raging resting satisfied with this Sacrifice and giuing it as a sure signe and token vnto them that it did not pretend this it's furie to any but Ionas The Mariners after they had cast him into the Sea sought as an antient Doctor saith to take him vp againe and to saue his life but then the waues began to rise and rage afresh insomuch that they were forced to let him alone it being a wonder to see Seafaring men who are generally pittilesse to take such pittie and compassion of him Stetit Mare The sea grew calme on the sudden and the weather grew â—aire and cleere as the tempest came suddenly vpon them without any preuening dispositions so did this calme and faire weather at sea come vpon them in an instant before euer they were aware of it which was a notable proofe and argument vnto
willingnesse to be whole Vis sanus â—iers but in the Court before thou commest to the Fiat of thy pretension thou hast eaten out thy cloake and it is wonder if the courtesie quit the cost Seuenthly The Angell that came to the Fiâ—h-poole as all the Commentators vpon this place haue it was one and the same no accepter of persons but left euerie one to his owne diligence and industrie and hee that could soonest get into the water he was the man that was cured Had he been an Angel of court as he was of Heauen he must haue beene aduised some houres before his comming of the businesse and peraduenture he would haue taken gifts and rewards not onely of those that were to haue their estate bettered by him but of al other the Pretenders And it were no ill councell that there should be but one onely in Court that should heale vs in this case and not to haue them so often changed for those which are put out remain fat and full and those that newly come in weake and hunger-staru'd And as those Flies that are alreadie full doe lesse afflict the wounds of the Poore so c. Baruch tells vs That the Iewes that were in Babylon sent great store of money to those that were in Ierusalem that they should pray vnto God for the life of Nabucadonazzar Balthazar his son And though this may seeme rather a tricke of Court than otherwise and to sauour of flatterie yet that which makes for our porpose is That they did desire the life of those Tirants for feare lest God should send them worse in their stead The like was spoken by a woman to Dyonisius the Tyrant whose death was generally desired of all Angelus autem Domini descendebat de Caelo But the Angell of the Lord came downe from Heauen The Angell did descend at certaine times and with onely touching the Water hee did inrich it with so powerfull a vertue that no infirmitie was incurable for it This water doth much expresse that health which the Saints enioy in Heauen that drop of water which the rich man desired doth much expresse its comfort and happinesse for that the tip of the least finger dipped therein was powerful enough to quench those euerlasting flames It was much that the water touched by the Angell should free all infirmities and take away all the tormenting paines vpon earth but how much I pray if this Angell were God For the common receiued opinion is which is followed by Saint Austen That God representing himselfe in the Old Testament in the forme of an Angell or an Angell appearing in the person of God saith Ego Deus nomen meum Iehouah I am God my name is Iehouah And he said vnto Iacob Cur quaeris nomen meum quod est mirabile Why inquirest thou aftâ—â— my name which is is Wonderfull And in verie deed hardly could an Angell by his owne proper vertue and power leaue the waters of the Fish-poole so rich not being able to doe or vndoe any thing in nature nor suddenly either to take away or adde accidents to any thing And Saint Ambrose saith That this Angell did represent the Holy Ghost to whom are attributed the effects of Sanctification But suppose that it were not God himselâ—e nor any Minister representing his person but one of those Angells which serue as Messengers to his Maiestie this case is worth our consideration if we will but looke vpon that which Goâ— doth and the loue which he sheweth to a poore sicke man without helpe neglâ—cted and forgotten he sends a Prince of his Pallace to heale him and to set hiâ— free from any disease whatsoeuer God stileth the Angell his Face and his Countenance Praecedet te facies meâ— My Face shall goe before him the rest of the creatures he calleth Vestigiâ— Pedum suorum The prints of his feet And amongst these Vestigia those that are benumm'd in their limmes those that are sicke of the Palsey and those that are Iame seeme sitting in their chaires and vnable to goe to be the verie dregs and off-scumme of the earth now that God should command his Angells that they should take vpon them the care of the Poore such sillie wormes and poore snakes as they bee is a great indeering of his loue towards them which made Saint Paul to say Omnes sunt administratorij Spiritus They are all ministring Spirits To those of the Spirit it might verie well be but that God should minister helpe to filthie loathsome and miserable flesh God could not endure to doe such kindnesses vnlesse hee had an especiall loue vnto them The Scripture scarce any where makes mention of the righteous man that is afflicted here vpon earth but that an Angel comes from Heauen to comfort him And for this may suffice that generall Proclamation Quod vni ex minimis meis fecistis c. What ye haue done to the least of mine c. This truth is made good vnto vs by many Histories as that of Agar Daniel Tobias Elias and Ioseph Nay to God himselfe an Angell came to comfort him when he was so ful of sorrow and heauinesse in the Garden And this was it that mooued the Apostle to say Gloriamur in tribulationibus We glorie in tribulations For there is no Loadstone that drawes the yron more vnto it than Tribulation doth the Regalos and comforts of Heauen And as the flameâ—worketh most vpon that wood which is trodden downe with the feet so the glorie of God worketh most vpon that heart which is most oppressed c. Mouebatur aqua The water was mooued Saint Ambrose obserueth That the moouing of the water did serue to aduise the comming of the Angell for little would his comming haue imported them if the noyse thereof had not giuen them notice of it for hidden treasure and concealed wisedome are neither vsefull nor profitable And of this miraculous motion there may be rendred some naturall reason for that wee see that your Lakes and your Pooles are more vnquiet and naturally make more noyse when there is much raine towards Other literall and moral reasons are set down elsewhere vpon this place Sanabatur vnus One was healed A Fish-poole Porches Angells Water Motion What a do is here Some men may thinke that this is too large a circuit for so small a building I answer That with God it is as hard to heale one as many and he that can cure one man who is a little world of himselfe can with as much ease giue remedie to the greater But those were barren yeares and Gods mercie was yet in Heauen Misericordia Domini in Coelo saith Dauid and as before a great rain some few drops begin first to fall so now at the stooping of the Heauens at the breaking forth and showring vpon the earth the great mercies of God it is no meruaile that some small drops should precede In barren yeres bread is giuen vs by ounces
giue them present death it giues them a heart to desire it Elias found himselfe so out of heart when he sate him downe vnder the Iuniper tree in the Wildernesse flying from the furie of Iesabel who sought after his life that he desired in this his melancholly mood that hee might die What despaire then may not that sorrow driue a wretched poore soule into whose griefe is as long as great and as great as it is long Seneca tells vs Melius est semel scindi quam semper premi Better is a short than a lingering death Iob passed ouer many a sorrowfull day and many a mournfull night Dies vacuos noctes laboriosas Companilesse and comfortlesse and his wife thinking it the lesser ill to die out of hand than to liue in such perpetuall torment said vnto him pittying his grieuous paine Benedic Deo morere Play the Renegado once curse God to his face that thou maist oblige him thereby to take away thy life But say that Iobs affliction was great it was not of 38 yeares standing as this poore mans was Eight and thirtie yeares Here we are to consider That this sicke man was at least fiftie yeares old and we may make this coniecture That hee lay in a little carre with his bed vnder him together with such ragges and clouts as were for his necessarie vse Whence it followeth that God had laid this long sickenesse of thirtie eight yeares vpon him for his sinnes as Saint Chrysostome Irenaeus and many other Saints inferre vpon that command which God laid vpon him Noli amplius peccare See thou sinne no more It seemeth that hee had committed these sinnes when he was but twelue yeares old for many times Praeuenit malicia peccatum it so falls out that our wickednes outstrips our age and that wee runne into great sinnes before wee come to great yeares young Youthes beeing herein like vnto Cakes that are baked vpon coles which are burnt before they come to their baking According to that of Osee Factus es Ephraim subcineritius panis qui non reuersatur i. Ephraim is as a Cake on the hearth not turned And this ought to be a warning-piece to those that are old and antient sinners and haue not yet beene questioned for their lewd liues nor neuer felt the lash of Gods wrath They that keepe Lyons vse to whip their young whelpes that they may make the greater Lyons to feare and liue in awe of them Fewer are the faults but more the stripes which the Poore feele a bad signe for the Rich that doe runne ryot Aristotle saith That punishments were inuented for the deterring of men from euill Saint Chrysostome That the marke which God set vpon Cain was not so much for his particular defence as for a forewarning to others and therefore God granted him so long a life that his example might adde terrour to posteritie Some punishments are quickely past ouer and therefore doe not so much good and others are verie profitable by reason of their length continuance Iob saith That God had as it were nailed his shafts on his sides they stucke so close to his ribs Esay and Malachie take their comparison from the Siluer-smith who sits long at his worke Et sedebit constans c. Now God by these his long afflictions punisheth him whom he loueth to the end that the sinner may take warning thereby and learne to feare the Lord Non videbit interitum cuâ— viderit Sapientes morientes i. He shall not see destruction when he shall see that Wisemen die Eight and thirtie yeares According to the common course which God taketh of punishing sinne in this life this of thirtie eight yeares seemeth somewhat too rigorous a correction Vpon this doubt diuers reasons are rendered and one more principall than the rest is That this prolongation was not because God wished him ill or loued him the lesse but because there is not any Medicine that preserues a man more from the plague of vice and of sinne than a long sickenesse Prisons and Fetters saith Vlpianus were not so much inuented for the punishing of disorders as the restraining of them being as a great logge of wood to an vntamed and vnruly Hey far a strap to the fleet Hound or a bridle to a Horse Iob calleth the Gout a paire of Stockes Posuisti in trunco pedem meum Thou puttest my feet in the Stockes and lookest narrowly to all my paths and makest the print thereof in the heeles of my feet And he stiles his dunghill his prison Nunquid Caete ego sum aut Mare quia circumdedisti me in isto carcere Am I a Sea or a Whale-fish that thou keepest me in ward Our Sauiour Christ healing a woman that bowed her bodie so downward to the earth that shee could not looke vp to heauen said Hanc filiaÌ„ Abrahae quam c. Ought not this daughter of Abraham whom Sathan hath bound eighteene yeares be loosed from this bond Salomon compares a Physition to a Iaylor for when God commits a delinquent to his couch causing him there to remaine prisoner hauing fettered as it were his feet to his sheets the Physition lookes vnto him and hath a care that hee stirre not from thence till God releaseth him of his sickenesse Thus did hee deale with this poore man who lay thirtie eight yeres as it were by the heeles vnable to wagge either hanâ— or foot so strangely was he benumm'd in all his limmes Some man will say 〈◊〉 haue a shrewd burning Feuer but this is a more common than proper phrase oâ— speech And the Euangelist corrects it thus Socrus autem Petri tenebatur magâ—â— febribus She had not the Feuer but the Feuer had her Infrenabo te ne interâ—â— With the bridle of Sickenesse he will hold thee backe that thou maist not headlong râ—n down the Rocke that leads to vtter destruction both of bodie soule Homer feignes That the Goddesse Pallas for the loue which she bare to Achilles kept him backe when he would haue encountred with Agamemnon King of the Greekes Dauid gaue thankes to Abigal because he beeing resolued to destroy Nabal and all his house she had withheld him from it Quâ—a prohibuisti me c. So may we likewise giue thankes vnto sickenesse because it detaines vs turns vs aside from the forbidden paths of humane pleasures so that these thirtie eight yeares are so farre from the rigour of Iustice that it is rather an act of mercie and pittie But if we consider these thirtie eight yeares in reason of Iustice it will not seeme rigorous to any He is not to be accounâ—ed an austere seuere Iudge who doth keepe a Delinquent long in prison if when he is in prison hee returne to a relapse in his delicts What hope can a Iudge haue that such a one should proue good being set at liberty or of a theef that shal fal a stealing while he is in prisoÌ„ Now this man
Hierosolimitanus saith That not onely his face did shine but all his whole bodie Saint Austen Quod caro illuminata per vestimenta radiabat For it was not fit as Lyra hath it that his garment should shine and not his hands His face shined like the Sunne Who would haue thought that behind so poore a vaile there should bee found such great treasure But it passeth so likewise in this world that he that seemeth most poore is oftentimes most rich and he that seemeth most rich is most poore The greatnesse of Rome Saint Iohn painteth forth in the forme of a woman clothed in Purple bedecked with pretious stones and in her hand a sprig of Gold but that which did not appeare to the eyes was all abhomination filthinesse and beastlinesse The Altars of Aegypt were euery one of them a Treasure-house of Pearles pretious Stones Gold Iewells and Silkes but in euerie one of these their Altars they had a Toad or a Serpent The Mezquita or Turkish Temple that honoureth the bones or Reliques of Mahomet is stored with that infinite riches that you would take him to be some great God whereas indeed he is but vn çancarron de vn puerco but the withered leg of a Hog a base borne fellow and of no worth in the world The Idols of the Gentiles though neuer so much gilded ouer with Gold are no better than stockes and stones One said in the Apocalyps I am rich and stand in need of nothing But it was answered him from Heauen Thou art poore and much to be pittied These are ordinarily the stampes of your powerfull persons and great Princes of this world that seeming to be as bright as the Sunne in their bodies are as blacke as a cole in their soules But those that are the Saints of God carrying a besmeered countenance and a patcht garment beare in their soules the Sunne Sicut Tabernacula Cedar sicut pellis Salomonis Rich within though poore without Et ecce aparuerunt Moses Elias And behold Moses and Elias appeared On Moses his part there is a strong reason Amongst the Assei it was a receiued opinion which those now follow whom wee call Atheists That the Soules did die together with the bodies And it seemeth that Cicero did fauour the same when he said in his Amicitia Sicut in morte nihil est boni sic certè nihil est mali As there is no good so there is no hurt in death That couetous rich man in the Gospell was surely of this opinion in his life time but being put out of this his errour in that other life he presently desired Abraham to send one in all hast from the dead to preach vnto his kindred that they might forsake this their errour but hee receiued this short answer Habent Moysen Prophetas They haue Moses and the Prophets Where there is Scripture there is no need of miracles And Saint Peter saith That Prophecie hath more assurance in it than the euidence of miracles This is a truth hard to be vnderstood First Because a miracle as Saint Hierome saith is as it were the Apostolicall Seale and the Apostles did confirme their Faith by miracles and those miracles that were prophecied of our Sauiour Christ heretofore did declare him to be the Sonne of God Saint Augustine treating at large vpon this place saith That Prophecies and Miracles haue one and the selfe same certitude because they proceed from one and the selfe same God but that Prophecie is the stronger and more forcible of the two for a Miracle may bee found fault withall as the Pharisees did with that Miracle of him that was possessed with a Deuil telling our Sauiour In Belzebub the Prince of Deuills thou doost cast out Deuills And that same Pythonisse made the Deuill to appeare in the forme of Samuel But Abraham tells Diues They haue Moses and the Prophets And no man can taxe the Scripture or challenge it of any fault Saint Chrysostome askes the question Why he did not fetch some of the Damned out of Hell First of all he answereth thereunto That we haue many pictures of Hel in this life but of Heauen very few For although that the World be as it were the Entresuelo or middle roome of these two extreames Heauen and Hell yet more are the fumes vapours that ascend vp from beneath than those gustos contents which descend from aboue There were a sort of Heretickes that denied there was a Hell it seeming vnto them that the life of a Sinner was a Hell of it selfe and that it stood not with Gods mercie that there should be two Hels alledging that of Nahum Godiudgeth not one and the same thing twice Secondly God to many of his friends discouered the torments of Hell and many of his enemies haue beene visibly snatcht away thither And those Aetna's of fire which are in the world though happely engendred by particular causes are as it were symboles representing vnto vs that eternall fire Thirdly It is an vsuall fashion with God to discouer the reward and to conceale the chastisement for that man would bee ashamed that others should see him punished God did shut the port of Noahs Arke without and hung the key at his owne girdle because hee should not haue any desire to see that lamentable deluge and generall destruction of mankind He charged Lots wife that shee should not so much as looke towards Sodome that she might not behold those flames which did voice out Gods vengeance At the end of the world at that dreadfull day of judgement when God shall shew himselfe most angrie the Sun and the Moone shall be darkened because God will haue his chastisements inflicted in the darke Fourthly Hope doth worke more generous effects in our brests than Feare It cannot be denied but that Feare hath verie powerfull effects Herod for feare of loosing his Kingdome made that butcherly slaughter of so many innocent Babes not sparing his owne children For feare of loosing his Citie the King of Moab was his owne sonnes hangman quitting him of his life vpon the wall For feare of dying by the cruell hands of hunger many mothers haue eaten the birth of their owne bowells For feare least they should be made captiues and led in triumph by their enemies many valiant men haue made an end of themselues And for that Feare doth not onely extend it selfe to an absent good as well as Hope but likewise to a present and for that to loose the present good which a man possesseth causeth a greater sorrow than to loose the good which we doe but hope for it seemeth that Feare is more powerfull than Hope Yet notwithstanding all this Antiquitie hath giuen the Palme to Hope and the reasons on that side are verie cleere The first If Feare come to effect great things it is by the helpe and fauor of Hope for there cannot be any feare without hope of escaping the ill or the danger that
proclaime them as we say at the Crosse. Leaue this care to God for he will bring them to light in their due time when they shal make for thy honour and his glorie Elias was verie carefull that no man should know of his departure nay he sought to hide it from Elisha saying vnto him in Gilgall Sede hic c. Tarrie here I pray thee for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel But Elisha said As the Lord liueth and as thy soule liueth I will not leaue thee And hee was scarce come to Bethell but the childeren of the Prophets that were at Bethell came out to Elisha and said vnto him Knowest thou that the Lord will take thy master from thine head this day Noui silete Yea I know it said he hold yee your peace Elias afterwards departed for Ierico intreating Elisha that hee would tarrie behind promising him that he would presently returne vnto him but he could not persuade Elisha vnto it They were scarce come to Ierico but the sonnes of the Prophets acquainted him with the like newes to whom he answered as before Noui silete In the end going for Iordan Elisha still followed him and fifty of the sonnes of the Prophets so that the more Elias sought to conceale this businesse the more God made it knowne by reuealing it as Tostatus hath obserued to the sons of the Prophets And Elias desiring that they should not see this his Chariot of fire and his Triumph one only God made many witnesses of his glorie Neminem viderunt nisi solum Iesum Onely in Christ Iesus are our hopes secured Men will accompany you whilest the glorie of your prosperitie lasteth but that beeing ended you shall find no man that will sticke vnto you Woe vnto him that is alone for if he fall hee shall haue none to helpe him vp And this is truly verified of those who trust on the world or haue any confidence in man Weigh and consider with thy selfe what a number of friends Ierusalem had in it's prosperitie how readie to seru◠her and to court her loue but when Ierusalem began to fall and when she had most need of her friends Ieremie complaineth Shee had not so much as one friend to be her comforter The God of all comfort vphold vs with his euerlasting loue that we may not perish in this wrold nor in the world to come THE TWELFTH SERMON VPON THE MVNDAY AFTER THE SECOND SVNDAY IN LENT IOHN 8.21 Ego vado quaeretis me I goe my way and yee shall seeke me THe Scribes and Pharisees were offended at the fauour which in affront of their authoritie our Sauiour had shewne to the Adulteresse saying Let him that is among you without sinne cast the first stone at her They had made some threatning offers as men that thought themselues much wronged by him to take away his life but because his houre was not yet come no man laid hands on him Whereupon our Sauiour said vnto them Ego vado Why seeke yee thus after my life I goe my way I am he whom willingly and of myne owne accord offer my selfe vnto death your armes were not strong enough to hold me if it were in my desire to make resistance but when I am dead yee shall seeke mee For the Iewes vsed continually to cal for their Messias and did earnestly long after him expecting then his comming when as hee was alreadie come and for that this hope of theirs was hopelesse he saies vnto them Yee shall die in your sinnes your death shall differ much from mine for I shall goe one way and you another Whither I goe yee cannot come Your inferiour Ministers did presume That our Sauiour out of a desperate humour would needs liue among the Gentiles as hee that goes to Morocco to turne Moore the Pharisees they thought that he would goe destroy himselfe What meaneth this man to say Whither I goe yee cannot come Will he kill himselfe Vnto which vnmannerly speech our Sauiour replied Yee are from beneath I am from aboue yee are of this world I am not of this world I haue told yee alreadie That except ye beleeue that I am he yee shall die in your sinnes not onely in that of incredulitie but in all those other which ye shall commit for without faith in him who I am there is no remission of sinnes c. I goe my way and yee shall seeke me This phrase of speech our Sauior Christ did often vse to shew That hee died meerely out of his owne proper will and pleasure O Lord said Abraham I shall be verie willing to die without leauing any children behind me seeing that thou wilt haue it so Eusebius Emisenus to this purpose expoundeth those words which our Sauior vttered on the Crosse to his father In manus tuas Domine commendo Spiritum meum Into thy hands ô Lord I commend my Spirit Now Commendare is all one with Ponere I put not ô Lord my soule into the hands of death nor into those of my enemies for neither their whips nor their thorns nor their nayl◠nor their speare were able to take my life from me if I had not bin willing to surrender it vp into thy hands Seneca saith That a benefit consists not so much in the thing that is giuen as the good will wherewith it is giuen And therfore when the gift is small the greatnesse of it must be measured according to the goodnesse of the will The death of our Sauiour Christ was the greatest benefit that euer the world enioyed but the willingnesse wherewith he laid downe his life for vs was farre greater Maiorem Charitatem c. Greater loue hath no man than this that a man layes downe his life for his friend But heare now the wofullest the heauiest and most lamentable case that can possibly fall within the compasse of thy imagination to wit That the death of his Sonne which God promised to the world as a Sea of mercies as a Heauen of hopes as a ransome of our slauerie and as a reparation of all our miseries he should now giue it as a threatning to this wretched and vnfortunate Nation and how taking his leaue of his Disciples in that Sermon of his last Supper with tender teares trickling down his eyes and with a great many other kind demonstrations of his loue hee should make such large promises vnto them after his death one of the chiefest whereof was Let not your heart be troubled for although I go from you yet shall I still remain with you Lo I am with you till the end of the world yet he should say now to the Pharisees Ego vado quaeretis me I depart away from you neuer to see you more O what a cruell blow was this O what a sad departure is this how comfortlesse and how hard to be endured If from him that is dangerously sicke the Physition shall goe his way who is able to cure
but with a very poore weake purpose They did inherit this euil condition of their forefathers and grandfathers of old who did neuer seeke God but when hee scourged them soundly for their sins And when that storme was past and their peace made they fell afresh to their former rebellions There are few men so past grace which doe not sometimes sigh for Heauen But the mischiefe of it is that these our sighes are quickly ouerblowne they doe not last with vs. In the darkest night there are some lightnings which breake through the clouds and cleare the ayre but in the end the darkenesse preuaileth In your duskiest cloudiest daies the Sun is woont to rush through the foggiest thickest clouds but new cloudes arising the Sunne retires himselfe and pulls in his head Saul by spurts did dart foorth many beames of light acknowledging that Dauid had done him many reall courtesies and that he had repayed him euill for good and had a purpose with himselfe vpon fits to fauor him and to honour him But the foggy clouds and mystie vapours of Enuy increasing more and more vpon him these light flashes were turned into darkenesse Balaam when King Balack sent vnto him to curse Gods people had verie good purposes and desires for a while within him He consulted with God in that businesse and knowing that it was his wil that he should not go dispatched those his messengers And the King sending others vnto him he told them That he would not go to that end if hee would giue him his house full of gold Doubtlesse these were good intensions had he continued still in the same mind But the clouds of couetousnesse did ouercast this light of his vnderstanding with so grosse a darkenesse that neither the Angel which stood before him with a naked sword in the way nor his beast which spake vnto him and turned aside could keepe him backe In peccato vestro moriemini Yee shall dye in your sinne There are great indeerings in the holy Scripture of the grieuousnesse of sinne and the hurt that comes thereby Anselmus sayth That he had rather fry without sin in the flames of Hel than with sin inioy Heauen Hee might well say so in regard of Hel. For although Saint Austen saith That one drop of the water of Paradise shall be sufficient to quench the flames of Hell yet shall it not be able to wash away the foulnesse of sinne Helias desired of God that he might dye vnder the Iuniper tree and yet he would not be rid of his life by Iezabell in regard of the sinne that tyrannicall Queen should haue committed so that euen in his mortall enemy so great an ill seemed intollerable vnto him In Scripture sinne is a cypher of all possible infelicitie and misfortune thaâ— can befall a man Saint Paul sayth That God made his Sonne sinne Him who knew no sinne hee made sinne for vs. For discharging vpon him the tempest of his wrath he made him of all other men the most miserable Nouissimum virâ—rum Iacob would not let Beniamin goe downe with his brethren to Aegypt Ioseph desiring to haue it so though Reuben had offered two of his owne sons as pledges for his safe return to the end that the good old man should haue the best securitie he could giue him Reuben sayd If he returne not Ero peccati reus I will be content to be condemned to all possible miseries whatsoeuer The like Bersabe was willing to say when she thought the raigne of her sonne Salomon should be troubled Shall I and my sonne Salomon bee counted Offenders Shall wee bee the out-casts of the world and be layd open to the vtmost of miserie The reason of all this harme is For that all possible ill that can be imagined is reduced vnto sinne as to it's Center Make a muster of all the enemies of Man as Death the Deuill the World the Flesh not any one of them nay not all of them together haue any the least power to hurt vs without sinne And therefore in our Lords prayer silencing all other our enemies only we beg of God that he would free vs from sinne But deliuer vs from euill Which howbeit some doe vnderstand it to be spoken of the Deuill yet as Saint Austen sayth he can but barke he cannot bite Onely sinne is able to doe both To this so great a hurt may be added another that is farre greater Which is obstinacie in sinne Iob painting out this euill sayth That the sinner taketh pleasure therein and that it seemeth sweet vnto him it is as pellets of Sugar to him vnder his tongue He first delights in the companie of sinne then hee marries himselfe vnto her and at last leaues her not till death them depart Parcet illi non derelinquet The seuentie read it Non parcet illi non derelinquet hee will excuse no occasion no diligence no trouble His desire thereof is insatiable There is no kind of sinne be it of Sloath or Reuenge or Couetousnesse that is continually beating vpon our actions But our thoughts are euermore hammering of wickednesse like the Smith that giues a hundred blowes vpon his Anuill and two vpon his yron or like the Barbar that makes more snips in the ayre than on the haire The Pharisees did crucifie our Sauiour Christ but once in the verie deed and act of his death but in their desires in their thoughts they had crucified him a thousand times But that we may giue the obstinacie of this people it 's full qualification we must make a briefe recapitulation of those meanes which God vsed for to mollifie their hardnesse First of all he tooke it to his charge to cure it with his Doctrine his Miracles and the Prophecies of their Prophets Well this would doe no good with them and many dyed in this their obstinacie Next he comes amongst them in his owne person taking vpon him the name and office of a Phisition Purgationem peccatorum faciens Making a purge for sinne He was willing to haue ministred Phisicke to the Iewes and with the sweet and comfortable syrrop of his Word to haue eased them of their griefes and to haue cured all the infirmities of their bodies as the sicke of the Palsey for eight and thirtie yeares together the Blind that were borne blind and such as were possessed with Deuils and the like Being willing also to haue cleansed their soules from all kind of vncleannesse But at last hee was faine to giue them ouer their diseases were growne so desperate remitting them ad hospitalium incurabilium as men without hope of recouerie For as in the body there are some sickenesses so mortall that though the sicke bee capable of health yet the malignity of the humour maketh the Phisition to despaire therof So likewise in the soule there are some diseases so mortall that through the great malignity of them and the sharpenesse of the humour the
liued to bee the Yron Age. But I say That this present Age which we now inioy is the happiest that euer our Church had For in those former times those that were the learnedest and the holiest men fled into the Desarts and hid themselues in Caues that they might not bee persecuted with Honours For they had no sooner notice of a holy man albeit he liued coopt vp in a corner but that they forced him thence clapping a Miter on his head and other dignities And there are verie strange Histories of this truth But to all those that liue now in these times I can giue them these glad tydings That they may inioy their quiet and sit peaceably at home in their priuat lodgings resting safe and secure that this trouble shall not come to their doores for now a dayes onely fauour or other by-respects of the flesh haue prouided a remedie for this euill Non est meum dare vobis It lies not in me to giue you Christ would rather seeme to lessen somewhat of his power than to lessen any thing of his loue And therefore he doth not say I will not doe it for that would haue beene too foule and churlish a word in the mouth of so mild a Prince and he should thereby haue done wrong to his own will who desires that all might haue such seats as they did sue to sit in Saint Ambrose vnfoldeth our Sauiours meaning Bonus Dominus maluit dissimulare de jure quam de charitate deponere He had rather they should question his right than his loue The selfe same Doctor saith That he made choice rather of Iudas than any other though to man it might seeme that hee therein wronged his wisedome for the World might from thence take occasion to say That he did not know how to distinguish of men being that he had made choyce of such an Apostle But this was done out of his especiall prouidence saith Saint Ambrose in fauour of his loue For he being in our opinion to runne the hazard of his wisedome or his loue he had rather of the two suffer in his wisedome for no man could otherwise presume of him but that he loued Iudas The History of Ionas proues this point who refused to go to Niniuie it seeming vnto him that both God and himselfe should as Nazianzen saith be discredited in the world But he willed him the second time That he should go to Niniuie and that he should preach vnto them Yet fortie dayes and Niniuie shall be ouerthrowne At last hee was carried thither perforce whither hee would or no And the reason why God carried this businesse thus was That if afterwards hee should not destroy this Citie he might happely hazard the opinion of his power but not of his loue The like is repeated by Saint Chrysostome Ionas did likewise refuse to goe to Niniuie that he might not at last be found a Lyer esteeming more the opinion of his truth than of his loue Hence ariseth in the Prelats and the Princes this word Nolumus Wee will not haue it so which sauours of too much harshnesse and tyrannie Sic volo sic jubeo sit pro ratione voluntas Their will is a Law vnto them But he that shall make more reckoning of the opinion of his willingnesse and of his loue than of his power and his wisedome will say Non possum I cannot it is not in my power to doe it It grieues mee to the verie heart and I blush for shame that I am not able to performe your desire Which is a great comfort for him that is a suitor when hee shall vnderstand that his Petition is not denied out of disaffection but disabilitie When Naboth was to bee sentenced to death the Iudges did proclaime a Fast And Abulensis saith That it was a common custome amongst the Iudges in those dayes whensoeuer they did pronounce the sentence of death against an Offendor to the end to giue the World to vnderstand That that mans death did torment and grieue their Soule For to condemne a man to death with a merrie and cheerefull countenance is more befitting Beasts than Men. When our Sauiour Christ entred Hierusalem in Triumph the ruine of that famous Citie representing it selfe vnto him hee shed teares of sorrow Doth it grieue thee ô Lord that it must be destroyed Destroy it not then I cannot doe so for that will not stand with my Iustice. O Lord doe not weepe then I cannot choose And why good Lord Because it will not stand with my Mercie And that Iudge who euer hee be if hee haue any pittie in the world in him cannot for his heart bloud when hee sentenceth a Malefactor to some grieuous punishment or terrible torment but haue some meltingnesse in his eyes and some sorrow in his heart God so pierce our hearts with pittie and compassion towards our poore afflicted brethren that hauing a fellow-feeling of their miseries wee may finde fauour at his hands who is the Father of Pittie and onely Fountaine of all Mercie THE FIFTEENTH SERMON VPON THE THVRSEDAY AFTER THE SECOND SONDAY IN LENT LVC. 16. Homo quidam erat Diues induebatur Purpura Bysso There was a certaine rich man who was cloathed in Purple and fine Linnen AMongst those Parables which our Sauiour preacht some were full of pittie and loue others of feares and terrors some for noble brests others for base and hard hearts some had set vp for their marke the encouraging of our hopes others the increasing of our feares some seruing for comfort to the Godly and some for example to the Wicked That which wee are to treat of to day hath all these comforts for the Poore which liue in hunger and in want pined and consumed with miserie And threatnings for the Rich who say vnto their riches and their pleasures I am wholly yours There was a certaine rich man c. The first thing that he was charged withall is That he was rich Not because rich men are damned because they are rich but because he is damned who placeth his happinesse in them and makes them the onely aime of his desires And hence it commeth to passe that desired riches vsually prooue more hurtfull than those that are possessed for these sometimes doe not occupie the heart but those that are desired and coueted by vs doe wholly possesse it and lead it which way they list And therefore Dauid aduiseth vs not to set our hearts vpon them Hee that longeth and desireth to bee rich euen to imaginarie riches resigneth vp his heart Saint Paul did not condemne rich men but those that did desire to bee rich The Deuill sets a thousand ginnes and snares about those that haue set their desires vpon riches What greater snare than that pit-fall which was prepared as a punishment for Tantalus who standing vp to the chinne in water could yet neuer come to quench his thirst Non est satiatus venter eius His bellie was
as the Craines haue that the taste and relish of his meat might continue the longer in it's going downe Fourthly It shortens mans life Propter â—rapulam multi abierunt By surfet haue many perished Et plures gula quam gladio periere And more by sawce haue dyed than by the sword This is the maine cause of your Apoplexies and of your speedie and sudden Deaths Clemens Alexandrinus relateth That Purpurea mors was a Prouerbe of sudden death because those that were cloathed in Purple were commonly Gluttons But for violent deaths what experience more notorious Let Ammon Dauids eldest sonne speake this and Elah King of Israell slaine by the hands of Zambri Clytus Alexâ—â—ders chiefest fauourite Menadab King of Syria Assuerus Haman his Minion and one of the Herods Saint Basyll sayth That the vice of eating well is more desperate than that of liuing ill Many loose Wantons come to be reformed but Gluttons neuer Onely Death sayes hee ends that disease This rich man Saint Luke sayth That hee dyed amidst his continuall banquettings hauing no Medium betweene his eating and his dying Saint Chrysostome layes this to this rich mans charge That he did not beleeue the immortalitie of the Soule nor the eternall happinesses and miseries of that other life And a great argument for the proofe thereof is That hee was so hastie with Abraham That he would send one from the dead to preach this Doctrine to his Kinsfolke and friends And Abraham answering That they had Moses and the Prophets He replyed Non pater Abraham Not so father Abraham I my selfe heard the testimonie of Moses and the Sermons of those other Prophets but for all this I could neuer bee persuaded that Hell was prouided for mee and Heauen prepared for Lazarus My Kinsmen are like to be of the same mind as I was and the like will succeed vnto them as hath befalne mee and therefore I pray thee let one bee sent vnto them from the dead that may put them out of this their errour c. Erat autem mendicus nomine Lazarus vlceribus plenus There was a begger named Lazarus who wus full of Sores Hee painteth foorth this poore man and his wretched and miserable condition counterposing it to those worldly felicities wherewith this rich man did abound The ones pouertie to the others riches the ones sickenesse to the others health the ones hunger to the others fulnesse the ones nakednesse to the others costly clothes the ones leanenesse to the others fatnesse the ones sorrow to the others ioy the ones inioying of no pleasure in this life to the others generall content that he tooke in all the delights and pleasures of this World Transierunt in affectum cordis Another letter hath it In picturas cordium Whatsoeuer his heart did desire it was pictured as it were before him Does a rich man desire a handsome woman Money paints her foorth vnto him does hee desire reuenge Money will draw it out for him does hee desire banquets musicke and good cloaths Money does all this and limm's them out vnto him as in a faire and curious Table Looking vpon the inequality of humane chances in matter of good and bad fortune so much happines in some so ill bestowed vpon them so much miserie in other some which they did not so wel deserue there haue bin some fooles which haue not stick't blasphemously to say Does God know well what hee doth Ecce ipsi peccatores in saeculo obtinuerunt diuitias See what an vnequall course God runs The wickedst men are commonly the most wealthie But the trueth of it is That this is a mysterie of Gods prouidence though secret and hid Hee made the rich men his sonnes and heires here vpon Earth to the end that the younger brethren might haue here their secure sustenance And hee made the poore heires of Heauen that the rich might haue there their â—ecure happinesse So that the rich by releeuing the poore and the poore by praying for the rich they might both by Gods fauour haue equall portions in Heauen Saint Paul sayth That God made some rich and some poore that the aboundance of the rich might supply the wants of the poore and the aboundance of the poore supply the wants of the rich And so their lot might be alike It succeeding with them as it did in that miracle of the Manna Hee that gathered much had no more than he that gathered little For whatsoeuer he gathered ouer and aboue vnlesse he did repart the same vnto others it stunke and did rot and putrifie Vt vestra abundantia c. I will render it you in the Apostles owne words That your aboundance may supply their lacke and that also their aboundance may be for your lacke that there may be equality As it is written He that gathereth much hath nothing ouer and he that gathereth little had not the lesse Saint Mathew sayth That it is easier for a Camell to passe through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdome of Heauen Some vnderstand this Camell to bee a Dromedary some a Cable But to him that shall aske me how can a Camell or a Cable goe through the eye of a needle I shall answere him thus That a Camell beeing burnt and beaten to poulder and a Cable vntwisted and in wound may enter thread after thread into a needles eye In like maner a rich man that puts his trust in his ritches it is hard for him to goe to Heauen or to get into the eye of this needle But he may so lessen himselfe by giuing of almes to the poore that he may c. Fiducia magna eleemosina omnibus fatientibus 〈◊〉 This so Excellent an artifice seemeth to those that apprehend it not a great disorder And as hee that turnes often about thinkes that the world goes round with him so he that hath a giddie head takes Gods prouidence to be disorder But if there be any inequalitie it is on the poore mans part because God hath made them such great Lords in heauen that the rich had need to get themselues out of their hands by Almesdeeds Daniel to Nebucadnezar Breake off thy iniquities by giuing Almes Alluding to that of the Prouerbe The ransome of a mans life are his riches Saint Chrysostome saith That God did not create the Rich for to relieue the Poore but the Poore that the Rich might not be barren of good workes And Saint Austen That Mercie stands before Hell gates seeking to diuert condemnation from the Rich. Full of Sores In this Counterposition he begins first with the sickenesse of the Poore For as health next to life is the greatest good so a long a grieuous and a painefull sickenesse is the greatest ill Ecclesiasticus saith That a poore man that is sound and lustie is better than a rich man that is sicke and feeble Health is of a greater price than either gold or siluer and
fley off the skinne from them and breake their bones and chop them in pieces as for the pot and as flesh within the Caldron They shall cry vnto me saith the Lord in the time of their trouble but I will not heare them I will euen hide my face from them at that time because they haue done wickedly in their workes O that men should be so vnnaturall as to â—lay the skinne from the flesh and then presently to teare the flesh from the bone God puts a poore man into pouertie but he doth not â—lay him nor kill him but the rich man does thus tormenting him anew whom God hath alreadie punished enough Because they haue smitten those whome I haue smitten and haue added new wounds to those that I haue alreadie inflicted vpon them The third circumstance is taken out of Iob where he treateth of another rich man like vnto this of whom we now speake of Non remansit de cibo eius propterea nihil permanebit de bonis eius There shall none of his meat be left and there shall bee no memoriall of his goods When he shall be filled with his aboundance he shal be in paine and the hand of all the Wicked shall assaile him he shall bee about to fill his bellie but God shall send vpon him his fierce wrath shall cause to raine vpon him euen vpon his meat He shall flie from the Yron Weapons and the Bow of Steele shall strike him through the Arrow is drawne out and commeth forth of the bodie and shineth out of his gall so feare commeth vpon him All darkenesse shall bee hid in his secret places the fire that is not blowne shall deuoure him and that which remaineth in his Tabernacle shall be destroyed The Heauen shall declare his wickednesse and the Earth shall rise vp against him the increase of his house shall goe away it shall flow away in the day of his wrath This is his portion from God the heritage that he shall haue of God For he that was so vnmercifull that he would not affoord the crummes that fell from his Table to the Poore shal be so far from enioying the least good though it be but a drop of water that God will rather cause him to vomit vp those good things which he hath eaten in this life He hath deuoured substance and he shall vomit it for God shall draw it out of his bellie Hee shall vomit it forth with a great deale of paine if he shall call for drinke the Deuills shall say vnto him Spew vp that which thou hast drunke if for meat Vomit vp that which thou hast eaten He shall sucke the gall of Aspes and the Vipers tongue shall slay him He shall not see the riuers nor the Flouds and Streames of Honey and Butter Hee shall restore the labour and deuoure no more euen according to his substance shall be his exchange and he shall enioy iâ— no more For he hath vndone many hee hath forsaken the Poore and hath spoyled houses which hee builded not surely he shall find no quietnes in his bodie neither shal he reserue of that which he desired Factum est autem vt moreretur mendicus But it came to passe that the Begger died First Lazarus dies for God euermore makes more hast to drie vp the teares of the Iust than the plaints of the Sinner Ad vesperum demorabitur fletâ—â— c. Their teares shall continue to the euening c. Amongst many reasons which the Saints doe render Why Gods Iustice comes commonly with a leaden foot that of Saint Gregorie is an excellent one which is That so great is the wretchednesse which waits vpon a Reprobate that it is not much that God should permit him to enioy some few yeares more of his miserable and vnhappie happinesse A pittifull Iudge is woont sometime to deferre the Delinquents sentence of death but when carelesse of his doome he sees him game eat and sleepe he sayes Let him alone and let him make himselfe as merrie as he can for this world will not last long with him for his destruction is at hand and the stroke of death hangs ouer his head and when it comes it will come suddenly vpon him Many great sinners liue to be verie old men before they die and the reason of it is for that God who is a God of patience suffers them to liue here the longer for that after their death a bitter portion remaineth for them Et portaretur ab Angelis And he was carried of Angells Euerie torment is so much the more cruell by how much the more it suffereth in the extreames that are opposite thereunto Iob pondering that of Hell saith That those that are there tormented passe from snow to fire Ab aquis niuium ad nimium colorem The like succeedeth in content which is so much the greater by how much we goe from a greater sorrow to a greater joy Such then was the condition of Lazarus passing from the pawes of Dogs to the hands of Angells from the Portch of a Tyrant to the bosome of Abraham from the greatest miserie to the greatest happinesse that they who were euen the most blessed did then enioy The Dogs in Scripture is the symbole or hierogliphick of a most filthie vile and base thing Abner sayd vnto Ishbosheth Am I a Dog that thou thus despisest mee The Poet giues him this beastly Epithite Obsaenoque Cane And Saint Mathew by way of scorne Non licet sanctum dare Canibus But the Angells are the noblest of all other creatures and the purest for God molded them with his owne hands So that Lazarus went from the vilest and the basest to the cleanest and the noblest hands Saint Chrysostome reports of the Roman Triumphants That some entred Rome in Chariots drawne with pyde Horses others with Elephants others with Lyons and others with Swannes but the Chariot of Apollo was drawne by swift and nimble footed Gynnets There was a Tyrant that had his Chariot drawne with those Kings that hee had conquered But Lazarus his Chariot did far exceed all these for this was drawn by the hands of Angells Sabellicus saith That when Tullyes banishment was reuersed they bore him throughout all Italy vpon their shoulders Totius Italiae humeris eâ—ectus est Dauid saith That Gods Chariot is drawne with Cherubines Ascendit super Cherubim volauit God then lending Lazarus this his Chariot it is no meruaile if in a trice hee flew vp into the bosome of Abraham Sâ—lomon when he was proclaimed King rode on his Fathers Mule Mordechâ—i for his more honour was mounted on Assuerus his owne Horse but Lazarus to surpasse these went in triumph to heauen in Gods owne Chariot This must needs breed a great confusion and amasement in this rich man that the Angells should carrie him being dead into heauen on whom he would not vouchsafe to looke nor bestow a morcell of bread being aliue And he was carried of Angels
punishments Desiderium Impij mâ—nimentum est pessimorum so saith Salomon To this end the Scripture recounteth that the earth swallowed vp Korah Dathan Abiram the rest of those rebellious schismaticks wrapping them in flames smoke the Censers remaining in the midst of the fire Moses commanded that they should be taken out broad plates made of them for a couering of the Alter Vt haberent postea filij Israel quibus commonerentur That they might serue as a memoriall and warning to the children of Israell As false weights doe that are nayled vp in the Market place grounds that are ploughed with salt and the heads of malefactors in the highway Because the people of God had intangled themselues with the Moabites there perished of them twentie foure thousand but God commanded that the Princes should be hanged against the Sunne Saint Augustine saith That this was done for an admonishment to the people The Seuentie read Ostende eos Domine contra Solem That God and all the world may see them and that they may remaine as a perpetuall example to posteritie The Historie of the Machabees reports vnto vs That Nicanor vttered a most beastly blasphemie saying That his power was as great as that of God but the diuine justice punishing this his insolencie his head was set vp on the highest tower in the citie his right hand which he had held vp so proudly they nayled it against the doore of the Temple and caused his tongue to be cut in little pieces and to be cast vnto the Fowles Pharaohs and his Peoples death the booke of Wisedome saith That it was conuenient that the people of Israell should see it and consider it Vt ostenderet quemadmodum inimici eorum exterminabantur That the people might trie a meruailous passage and that these might find a strange death Theodoret brings a comparison of him that makes an Anotomie or dissection vpon a dead bodie for the instruction of those that are liuing And Zacharie paints out vnto vs a Talent of lead And this was a woman that sate in the midst of the Ephah whose name or title was Impietie or Wickednesse which hee saith was carried vnto Babylon Vt poneretur super vasem suum To be established and set vp there in her owne place that beeing set vp aloft vpon a Piller shee might continue there for a perdurable example Aulus Gellius in his Noctibus Atticis saith That Princes haue three ends in their punishments The one The amendment of the fault And to this end Pilat commaunded our Sauiour Christ to be whipt Corripiam eum c. The other The authoritie of the offended for if disrespect should not bee punished it would breed contempt The third For the terror and example of others for Iusticia aliena est disciplina propria Other mens punishment is our instruction And that man is a foole whom other mens harmes cannot make to beware When the Lyon was sicke all the beasts of the field went to visit him onely the Foxe stayed behind and would not goe vnto him and being askt the reason he answered I find the tracke of many going in but of none comming out and I am not so desperate as to cast my selfe wilfully away when as I may sleepe in a whole skinne The footsteps of the Angells that fell may aduise vs of our pride the ashes of Sodome tell vs of our filthinesse the Gallowes of Iudas forewarne vs of our auarice and the hell of this rich man restraine vs from our cruelties When God punished the Iewes hee scattered them farre and neere ouer the face of the whole earth that they might strike a feare into all other Nations A corporall medicine fits not all sores but corporall punishment meets with all faults Fili recordare quia recepisti bona in vita tua Sonne remember that thou in thy life receiuedst good things This is a dangerous trucke a fearefull exchange which makes humane happinesse not onely to be suspected but also abhorred Iob calls Death a Change Expecto donec veniat immutatio mea I stay waiting for my Change And as your Sheepe which in Syria breed fine wooll passing along to Seuill suffer a change and are apparelled with a rougher and courser sort of wooll so these your pamper'd persons of this world and those that fare daintily and deliciously euerie day shall change the soft wool of tender sheep into the harsh haires of goats camels Nature in all things hath ordered a kind of alternatiue change or interchangeable mutation as is to be seene in nights and in dayes in Sommer and in Winter The like doth succeed in the order of Grace there cannot bee two Hells neither shall there be two Glories A Phylosopher asking one Which of these two hee had rather be either Craesus who was one of the richest but most vicious men in the world or Socrates who was one of the poorest but most vertuous men in the world His answer was That in his life he would be a Croesus but in his death a Socrates So if it had beene put to this rich mans choice I doe thinke he could haue wisht in his heart to haue beene in his life Diues and in his death Lazarus Balaam shewed the like desire Moriatur anima mea morte Iustorum Let my soule die the death of the Righteous But they desire an impossibilitie for Death is a kind of trucke or exchange Fili recepisti bona in vita tua Lazarus similiter mala Sonne remember that thou in thy life time receiuedst thy pleasures and likewise Lazarus paines now therefore is he comforted and thou art tormented But I wil no longer torment your patieence God of his infinite goodnes c. THE SIXTEENTH SERMON VPON THE FRYDAY AFTER THE SECOND SONDAY IN LENT MAT. 21. MARC 12. LVC. 20. Homo quidam plantauit Vineam A certaine man planted a Vineyard THis is a Law Suit or Tryall betweene God and his People wherein according to the tenor of the Processe his people are condemned as vngratefull cruell disrespectiue forgetfull of their dutie and thrust out of all that they had as vnworthie of that good which they possessed This Storie much resembles the Statua of Nebucadnezar whose head was of gold whose brest was of siluer whose bodie of brasse whose legs of yron and whose feet of clay For God hauing begun first vnto them with many great kindnesses extraordinarie fauours and vndeserued courtesies he goes descending and declining from them till they fall into the greatest disgrace disfauor that any soule can receiue from the hands of God A certaine man planted a Vineyard He planted so perfect a Vineyard that it might truly be said What could I haue done more vnto my Vineyard And this is a strange indeering on Gods part That he should make choice of this Vine-stocke from amongst all the rest of the Countries and Nations of the World When the most High had
hee said Quid faciam What course shall I take with these men Secondly He intimates a strange kind of sorrow arising from this perplexity If I am Lord where is my feare If I be a father where is my honour In the end hee resolued with Gaifas Let my Sonne die He indeered as much as he could the force of his loue sending him to saue these Murderers from death but this could not appease their malice To slay his Prophets was more than a great malice but to take away the life of his onely Sonne and heire was excessiue Saint Hierome saith There was no weight no number no measure in the ones clemencie nor in the others malice This was a Consummatum est a fulnesse of his meâ—cie a fulnesse of their malice Verebuntur filium meum They will reuerence my Sonne Saint Luke addeth a Fortè thereunto And the Greeke Originall a Forsitan Howbeit it may goe for an Affirmatiue as well as Vtique Forsitan petisses ab eo ipse dedisset tibi aquam c. And so againe Si crederitis Moysi crederetis forsitan mihi If yee had beleeued Moses yee would likewise haue beleeued me And so it sorts well with that Text both of Saint Mathew and Saint Marke who absolutely say Verebuntur filium meum They will reuerence my Sonne In neither of these is a May bee or a Forsitan and onely to signifie the great reuerence which was due vnto him Where by the way Saint Chrysostome hath noted this vnto vs That God for all these their outrages did desire no furtheâ— satisfaction from them than to see them abasht and ashamed ofthis their ingratitude and crueltie Benigno Domino sufficiebat sola vindicta pudoris misit enim confundere non punire It was their blushing not their bleeding that he desired hee wisht their shame and not their confusion Parum supplicij satis est patri pro â—â—lio God is so kind and louing a Father that hee thinkes a little punishment enough for his Children Saint Bernard saith That the whole life of our Sauiour Christ from the Cratch to the Crosse was to keepe vs from sinning out of meere shame and that his maine drift euer was to leaue vs confounded and ashamed of our selues that our sinnes and wickednesse should force God against his will to punish vs For he takes no delight in the death of a Sinner Ecclesiasticuâ— makes a large memoriall of those things which ought to make a man blush and be ashamed of himselfe Be ashamed of whoredome before a father and mother be ashamed of lies before the Prince and men of authoritie of sinne before the Iudge and Ruler of offence before the Congreation and People of vnrighteousnesse before a companion and friend and of theft before the place where thou dwellest before the truth of God his Couenant to lean with thine elbows vpon the bread or to be reproued for giuing or taking of silence to them that salute thee to look vpon an harlot to turn away thy face from thy Kinseman or to take away a portion or gift or to be euill minded towards another mans wife or to solicite any mans mayd or to stand by her bed or to reproach thy friends with words or to vpbraid when thou giuest any thing or to report a matter that thou hast heard or to reueale secret words Thus mayst thou well be shamefaced shalt find fauour with all men This Erubescite must be the burthen of the Song to euerie one of these Versicles It is a foule and a shamefull thing to doe any of these things in the presence of graue persons to whom we owe a respect Much more foule in the presence of God who stands at thy elbow in all thy actions But foulest of all to commit these things in the presence of the Sonne of God whome his Father sent to bee thy Master thy Tutor and nayled him to the Crosse for thy sinnes that thou mightst bee ashamed to commit the like againe considering the great torment that he suffered for thee Some deuout picture or Image doth sometimes restraine a desperate sinner from committing some foule offence What would it worke then with him had God himselfe stood there present before him It may be they will reuerence my Sonne Say that wee take this Fortâ— or Forsitâ—â— in the same sence as the words themselues sound it is a point worthie our conâ—ideration That the innumerable summe of those infinite fauours which God did to his Vineyard should end in a Peraduenture and stand vpon hap-hazard A man may thinke it somewhat strange That God should come to any place vpon vncertainties but God is so good a God that he doth not so much proportion his blessings by the measure of his Wisedome as his Loue not that he doth not certainly know what we will be but because he would faine haue vs to be what we should be For if he should reward vs according to those our actions which he in his prescience and eternall essence foresees will come to passe Who of vs should be left aliue or who of vs should bee borne Onely the Innocent saith Theodoret should then be fauoured And therefore rather than it should bee so he was willing to put it vpon the venture how or what we might prooue heereafter He knew before hand that Lucifer should fall that Adam should sin that Saul should turn disobedient that Iudas should sel him betray him yet did he not forbeare for all this to throw his fauours vpon them S. Ambrose asketh the question Why Christ would make choice of Iudas when as he knew before hand that he would betray him And his answer thereunto is That it was to justifie his loue and to shew the great desire that he had that all should bee saued yea euen Iudas himselfe And therefore knowing his couetous disposition hee made him his Purse-bearer that he might shut the doore to his excuses and that he might not haue iust cause to say That he was in want lackt mony so was forced out of meere necessitie to betray and sel his Master which otherwise he would neuer haue done but the deliuering ouer the Purse vnto him tooke away that obiection Well then What can this Traitor say for himselfe That Christ did not countenance him as he did the rest or that hee made light reckoning of him Neither will this hold water for hee had made him an Apostle hee was listed in the rolle with the rest hee wrought miracles as well as his Fellowes receiued many other fauours from his Masters hands The same reason may serue as well for the Iewes as Iudas For our Sauior knew that they should put him to death yet for all this would not he cease to shew his loue vnto them Hic est haeres venite occidamus eum nostra erit haereditas This is the heire come let vs kill him and let
the King of Kings our Sauiour Christ to doe him homage Hâ—c omnia tibi dabo si cadens adoraueris me All these things will I giue thee if thou wilt fall downe and worship me Or whither he were so called for that other attribute of his to wit his daringnesse and his audaciousnesse Nihil audacius musca Nothing bolder than a Flie And for this cause saith Homer did the Lacedemonians beare Flies for their Deuice in their Shields which is confirmed by Pierius The Deuill occupieth the North I will set in the sides of the North. From the North commeth all euill Your Flies they doe the like Plinie saith That your Bees are forced to forsake their hiues and to flie out of your Northerne parts for the trouble that the Flies there giue them The Deuill is importunate impudent neuer ceaseth neuer growes wearie with tempting vs And no lesse vexatiue and troublesome are your Flies Saint Gregorie calls these our sensuall imaginations Flies Pierius reporteth That to the importunate man they gaue the name of Flie And there is no such busie bodie as the Deuill Lastly Your Flies doe abound most in the Dog dayes and the greater is the heat of our sensualities the greater store of Deuills it hatcheth Of Marie Magdalen Saint Luke saith That our Sauiour Christ cast out of her seuen Deuills And howbeit there were other great Gods amongst the Gentiles according to Vatablus his report as one Balberid that is Dominus Fideus that presideth in al kind of dealing and contractations in Innes and Victualling houses and was so rich an Idoll by reason of the great Almes and deuotions which your Traders and dealers in the world did offer vnto him that by the helpe thereof Abimelech killing seuentie of his brethren carried away the Kingdome of Israell There was likewise one Belfegor who did command in Chiefe in Gluttonie and was a verie poore Idoll in regard that they who were deuoted vnto him spent all that they could rape and wring in bellie-cheere and gourmandizing Notwithstanding all these Beelzebub whom they likewise called the God of Acharon was more famous than all the rest of that rabble And the Prophets for to diuert the People from the adoration of these Idolls did impose infamous names vpon them as Beelzebub God of the Flies And the People wondred Acknowledging That they had neuer seen so prodigious a miracle in Israel Nunquam apparuit sic in Israel Insomuch that some of them whispered amongst themselues That he was the Sonne of God Nunquid â—ic est Filius Dei others did desire signes from Heauen others said In Beelzebub c. Saint Hierome saith That this was that Deuill which deceiued Eue as also he that tempted our Sauiour Iesus Christ. But here is to be seene a greater miracle than this That Christ giuing sight to this one blind man should leaue so many others more blind than he Which made Esay crie out Obstupescite admiraâ—ini Stay your selues and wonder they are blind and make you blind It were able to strike a man into amasement to see that a poore sillie old woman should see the light of Heauen and the blind likewise that is borne blind and that the Scribes and Pharisees should continue so blind as they doe The heart that is hardned is like vnto the Anuile which the more you beat vpon it the harder it waxeth Or like vnto sand which the more the waters wash it the closer it settles and growes the tougher Of Nabals heart the Scripture saith Mortuum est cor eius factum est quasi lapis That his heart dyed within him and that he was like a stone Saint Bernard giues vs fiue markes by which wee may know the hardnesse of a mans heart The first Neque compunctione scinditur It is not toucht with compunction It hath no feeling of it's hurt and perdition Our Sauiour healing one that was possest with a Deuill Suspiciens Caelum ingemuit Casting his eyes vp to Heauen he wep't and lamented mourning for him that mourned not for himselfe Alexander would haue killed himselfe for hauing killed his friend Clitus Lâ—â—cretia stab'd her selfe when she saw she had lost her honesty But the sinner is not sencible of farre greater losses than these The second Nec pietate mollitur It is not mollified with Gods Pitie and Mercie towards it The clemencie which he showeth towards it ought to reduce it to repentance But it despiseth as Saint Paul saith the riches of his goodnesse and longanimitie And these are riches that are treasured vp to their owners condemnation God treasures vp Mercie for thee and thou treasurest vp Wrath against the day of Vengeance All which shall turne to thine owne hurt The third Nec mouetur precibus It is not mooued with prayers and intreaties Tota die sayth Esay c. I haue spred out mine hand all the day long to a rebellious people The selfe same words are repeated againe by Saint Paul To begge with hands lifted vp is a ceremony which men vse with God God sayth that he vseth the like with men as if he were Man and Man God The fourth Flagellis induratur Like that of Pharaoh The more hee is punished the more his heart is hardned According to that of Iob Cor eius indurabitur quasi lapis stringetur quasi malleatoris incus His heart shall be hardned as a stone or as the anuile that is hammered on by the Smith Whereunto suteth that of Ieremy Indurauerunt facies suas super Petram They haue made their faces harder than a stone The fifth Inhumanum propter res humanas Inhumane to it selfe for humane commodities Who like Narcissus being in loue with their owne beautie will rather dye than forsake so vaine a shadow Of these men it may bee sayd Wee haue made a league with Death and a couenant with Hell The appointed time shall ouertake these men or some disperat sickenesse shall cease vpon them Thou shalt preach to one of these obstinat sinners That he confesse himselfe make his peace with God by acknowledging his sinnes by being hartily sorry for the same and by crauing pardon and forgiuenesse of God But his answere will be What Shall men thinke that I doe it out of feare No I am no such coward c. All these conditions are summed vp in those which our Sauiour vttered of the euill judge Nec Deum timeo nec homines Vereor I feare neither God nor Man Others tempted him seeking a signe from Heauen From this varietie of opinions Saint Austen inferreth the little reckoning that we are to make as well of mens iudgements as their iniuries For mine owne part leauing Saint Austen herein to your good likings Let not mine owne conscience condemne mee before God all the rest I account as nothing What sayth Esay Nolite timere opprobrium hominum Feare not the affronts and calumnies of men And Christ giues you a verie good
the weakest arme is able to mooue it but beeing brought to the shore hath need of greater strength so sin whilest it floateth on the waters of this life seemeth light vnto vs but being brought to the brinke of death it is verie weightie and it will require a great deale of leisure consideration and grace to land it well and handsomely and to rid our hands of it Of this good sudden death depriueth vs And although it is apparent in Scripture That God doth sometimes permit the Iust to die a sudden death as Origen Saint Gregorie and Athanasius Bishop of Nice affirmeth as in Iobs children on whom the house fell when they were making merrie and in those who died with the fall of the Tower of Siloah who according to our Sauiours testimonie were no such notorious sinners yet commonly this is sent by God as a punishment for their sinnes Mors peccarorum pessima i. esse debet An euill death was made for an euil man And Theodoret expounding what Dauid meant by this word Pessima saith That in the proprietie of the Greeke tongue it is a kind of death like vnto that of Zenacheribs Souldiers who died suddenly And Iob treating of him that tyranniseth ouer the world saith Auferetur Spiritâ—â— oris sui Cajetan renders it Recedet in Spiritu oris sui He shal die before he be sicke without any paine in the middest of his mirth when he is sound and lustie Their life being a continuall pleasure at their death they scarce feele any paine because it is in puncto in an instant Sophonias requireth of them That they will thinke on that day before it come wherein God will scatter them like the dust Esay threatning his People because they had put their trust in the succors of Aegypt saith This iniquitie shall be vnto you as a breach that salleth or a swelling in an high wall whose breaking commeth suddenly in a moment and the breaking thereof shall be like the breaking of a Potters pot and in the breaking thereof there shall not bee found a sheard to take fire out of the hearth or to take water out of the pit And the word Requisita mentioned by the Prophet intimateth a strong wall that is vndermined rusheth downe on the sudden How much their securitie is the more so much the more is their danger because it takes the soldiers vnawares But if this so strong a wal should chance to fall vpon a Pitcheâ— of earth it is a cleere case that it would dash it into so many fitters seuerall little pieces that there would not a sheard therof be left for to take vp so much as an handfull of water or to fetch a little fire from our next Neighbours house This effect doth sudden death worke it is a desperat destruction to a sinner And therefore Christ though without sin seeks to shun it that he might teach thee that art a Sinner to auoyd it Secondly our Sauior sought to shun this violent death because his death was reserued for the Crosse as well because it was a kind of long and lingering death as also for diuers other conueniencies which wee haue deliuered elsewhere Passing through the midst of them he went his way Our Sauiour Christ might haue strooke them with blindnesse if he would as the Angell did those of Sodome or haue throwne them downe headlong from the Cliffe but because they complained That he wrought no miracles among them as he had in other places he was willing now at his departure from them to shew them one of his greatest miracles by taking their strength from them hindring the force of their armes and leauing them much astonished and dismayed Though now and then God doth deferre his punishments for that the sinnes of the Wicked are not yet come to their full growth yet we see that he spared not his Angels nor those whom he afterwards drowned in the Floud nor those of Sodome nor of others lesse sinnefull than they nor his owne children of Israell of all that huge number being more in number than the sands of the sea not suffering aboue two to enter into the land of Promise how is it possible that hee should endure the petulancie of this peremptorie people these grumbling Nazarites who in such a rude and vnciuill fashion in such an imperious and commanding voice should presume to say vnto him taking the matter in such deepe dudgeon Fac hic in Patria tua But as when the Romane Cohorts came to take our Sauiour Christ they fell backward on the ground at his Ego sum I am hee which was a fearefull Miracle for no cannon vpon earth nor any thunderbolt from Heauen could haue wrought so powerfull an effect so now passing through the midst of them with a graue and setled pace leauing them troubled angrie amased hee prooued thereby vnto them That he was the Lord and giuer both of life and death c. THE TWENTIETH SERMON VPON THE TVESDAY AFTER THE THIRD SONDAY IN LENT MAT. 18. Si peccauerit in te frater tuus If thy brother shall trespasse against thee c. OVr Sauior Christ instructing him that had offended his brother what he ought to doe giues him this admonition Go vnto thy brother and reconcile thy selfe vnto him and if thou hast offended him aske him forgiuenesse Notifying to the partie offended that he should pardon him that offended if he did intreat it at his hands but if he shall not craue pardon he instructeth Peter in him all the Faithfull What the offended and wronged person ought to doe If thy brother trespasse against thee goe and tell him his fault betweene thee and him c. and if he heare thee thou hast woon a brother but if he will not vouchsafe to heare thee proceed to a second admonition before two or three witnesses and if he will not heare them tell it vnto the Church and if he shall shew himselfe so obstinate that he will not obey the Church let him be vnto thee as a heathen man and a Publican So that our Sauiour Christs desire is That the partie wronged should pardon the partie wronging and reprooue him for it for if it bee ill not to pardon it is as ill not to reprooue For to intreat of a matter so darke and intricate that the Vnderstanidng were to take it's birth from the ordinarie execution of the Law there were not any thing lesse to be vnderstood for there is not any Law lesse practised nor any Decree in Court lesse obserued I desire that God would doe mee that fauour that he did Salomon God giue me a tongue to speake according to my mind the pen of a readie Writer cleerenesse of the case which I am to deliuer true distinction grace knowledge or as Bonauenture stiles it resolutionem in declarando and to iudge worthily of the things that are giuen me For so many are the difficulties the questions and the
obserued That God euer shewed himselfe more mercifull in reuenging his owne wrongs than those that were done to the Ministers of his Church The People of Israell worshipped a Calfe and proceeded so farre in wronging the Maiestie of God that they sticked not to say This is that God which with a mightie hand out-stretched arme freed vs from the Captiuitie of Aegypt God punished this their iniquitie with the death of some of the principall offendors Dathan and Abiram rebelled against Moses and the earth swallowed them vp aliue Sit tibi tanquam Ethnicus Publicanus If he shall not be obedient to the Church but shall despise the sentence of his Superiours Let him be vnto thee as a Heathen man and a Publican In Leuiticus God commanded That they should not offer vnto him any Sacrifice of honey but he required the first fruits thereof hee will at first haue honey that is mild admonitions gentle persuasions and friendly aduice but if these wil not serue the turne he vnsheaths his sword and cuts thee off from the Church pronouncing this sentence against thee Let him be to thee as a Heathen and a Publican Hee doth heere poynt out two sorts of People which Gods people did shun and auoyd The one Him that was a stranger to his Law The other Him that was a publique offendor therein both which he wisheth vs to flie from From the one That they may doe vs no hurt For a little leauen will soure the whole lumpe From the other That being thereby ashamed of their sinnes they may repent and amend Wherein he seemeth to moderate the rigour of the Old Testament for in Deutronomie he commandeth That he that will not heare the High-Priest that man shall die the death and that sonne that shall not be obedient to his father shall be stoned to death But God now shewing himselfe more mild and gentle is contented that we should onely shunne the companie of such as are disobedient being no better than canker'd and rotten Members which may chance to infect and putrifie those other sound parts of the bodie And albeit the excommunicating of those that conuerse with them which course the Church now taketh may seeme somwhat of the seuerest for that it comprehendeth not onely the nocent but the innocent as well the not offending as the offending yet said the Samaritan woman The Iewes doe not vse to keepe companie with Samaritanes And they accused our Sauiour Christ for that hee did eat with Publicans and Sinners and because he did but talke with a Samaritan they called him by way of scorne a Samaritan These latter conditions of denunciating my brother to the Church and of vsing him like an Hereticke or a Moore haue seemed to the World to be somewhat too hard teaching and baptizeth the Denunciator by the name of Delator or priuie Accuser or an Informer or Promoter And euen in those Communities and Commonwealths which haue renounced the Lawes of the world it hath been held a point of honour and of noblenesse not to enter or stand forth by accusing or denunciating in causis alienis For he that shall doe so is accounted but a base minded fellow and one that hath no worth or goodnesse in him and he had need haue an extraordinarie assistance of Gods spirit that shall take this taske vpon him when Zeale and Honour cannot agree vpon the point one swaying this way and another that which distraction is made the more the more great and powerfull the persons be that ought to be thus corrected First I answer That one and the selfe same thing may be said to bee soure and sweet after a diuers respect Saint Mathew saith That the way to Hell is broad and large The Damned they say it is a hard way Ambulanimus vias difficiles c. To correct and to be corrected shall be easie to the Spirit but hard to the Flesh. And put case it be soure yet the ajudas de Costa those good supplies which the Iust shall enioy in this present life and the hope of reward in the future wil make it sweet Secondly I answer That Feare and Cowardise propose sometimes difficulties where there are none and he that is afraid that he shâ—l not draw water from his brothers brest and eyes How shall he hope to draw water out of a rocke or a stone There is a great deale of controuersie and much adoo touching that sin of Moses for which God denied him entrance into the holy Land S. Paul saith That it was incredulitie The opinion of the Hebrewes is That this his sinne was his not speaking to the Rocke God spake vnto these two brothers and said Loquimini ad Petram which Moses strooke once or twice with his Rod c. Now if two words would haue beene sufficient for to draw water out of a rocke Is it much that Man should draw it out of the heart though it were made of stone and conuey it as by a Conduit to the eyes Salomon saith That many do excuse themselues of fulfilling Gods commandements alledging their want of strength and abilitie That it stands not with their health to fast on halfe holydayes nor to eat Fish in Lent or on Frydayes Vires non suppetunt Hereunto I make a twofold answer The one Deus est Inspector cordis It is God that tryeth the heart and reynes he knowes whither thou haue strengâ—h or no thou canst not cozen him with a false Dye thou maist cozen thy Physition with a lye but thou canst not cozen God The other Ipse intelligit God knowes well enough That thou canst not doe any good thing without his helpe for hee must assist thee with his grace in this life and with glorie in the life to come And will reward euerie man according to his workes Leo the Pope saith That hee that thinkes with himselfe that it is a hard thing to be corrected must haue recourse to Gods mercie to intreat his fauour that he will free him from this his euill custome and so to humble him that correction may seeme sweet vnto him Lastly Albeit at first the partie reprooued will shew himselfe harsh soure vnto thee yet vpon better consideration hee will con thee thankes and like better of thy plaine dealing with him than if thou hadst soothed vp his sinnes He that reprooues a man shall afterward find more grace than hee that deceiues him with a flattring tongue To S. Austen the corrections admonitions of his mother were vnsauorie but afterwards he confessed That he was much more beholding to her for hauing reduced him to the right way than for bringing him forth into the world Who is it that maketh me glad saith Saint Paul but he that is made heaâ—ie by me The Scripture is full of rewards and of threatnings both in the fauour and disfauour of the Corrector and the Corrected Of him that correcteth Crysostome saith If thou shouldest giue innumerable
riches to the Poore thou shalt not worke that good thereby as thou shalt by sauing a soule for there is no price comparable with that of the Soule Fructus justi lignum vitae By liuing well himselfe and by gaining his brothers Soule Saint Augustine saith That euerie Christian should desire that all should be saued and he that contemneth correction doth in part denie this desire And the Apostle Saint Iames That he that shall conuert his brother and remooue him from his errour shall saue his soule from death In which words are comprised as well his owne as anothers soule Thomas saith Correction is eleemosina spiritualis a spirituall kind of almes and of so much more price than any other alms by how much the soule is of more price than the bodie by how much the goods of Grace are to be preferred before those of fortune and of Nature He that succours the Poore when hee giues most hee can but lay downe his corporall life for him but hee that raiseth vp him that is fallen bestowes a spirituall life on him and performes the office of an Apostle So that to correct and â—o be corrected brings with it so much interest and so much gaine that euery man may account it for a great happinesse The incorrigible man is so threatned in the sacred Scripture that the verie feare thereof is able to quell his spirits and to make him turne Coward A man that hardneth his necke when he is rebuked shall suddenly be destroyed so saith Salomon The Hebrew phrase is Vir correctionum he that liueth so ill that a man had need to carrie alwayes in his hand a rod of correction for him and instead of amending his faults dayly addes sinne vnto sinne whereby hee is ouertaken with sudden death which in a Sinner is of all other euils the greatest Other lesser threatnings are set downe by Salomon Pouertie and shame shall be to him that forsaketh discipline and now here he saith Sudden destruction shall come vpon him So long may hee perseuer in the hardnesse of his heart that Gods justice may ouertake him and shorten his dayes by sudden death The truth of this is apparent in Pharaoh to whom so many faire warnings and admonitions serued but to make the heape of his sinnes the higher till at last with those heapes of waters hee was ouerwhelmed suddenly in the sea It is written in the Booke of Wisedome That those cruell and many stripes which were bestowed vpon the Aegyptians could not draw so much as one teare from their eyes nor procure the libertie of Gods People of hard-hearted Pharaoh But when they saw the death of their firstborn then they howled wept and Pharaoh himselfe was mooued and made pittious mone and gaue present order for their departure But here I pray you obserue with mee a fearefull kind of obstinacie for they had scarce dryed their teares scarce had they couered the graues of their Dead when lo those that had intreated for their departure as fearing they should all die the death Omnes moriâ—mur for so saith the Text falling into a rash and vnaduised consideration followed after them as if they had beene a companie of Fugitiues forgetting the former torments which they had indured And a wise man rendring the reason of this so foolish a resolution saith This their hardnesse of heart carried them 〈◊〉 it were perforce to this so disastroâ—â— an end to the end that those whom the plagues which God had sent among them as so many admonitions so many warnings had not made an end of sudden death might destroy and supplie the defect of that punishment O that Sinners would bee so wise as to enter into discourse with themselues The Adulterer whom God hath freed from a thousand notorious dangers of his life and credit though his brethren haue not checkt him yet hath his owne conscience corrected him with greater seueritie and far more sharpely as also the sudden death of other his fellow Adulterers A sudden stab takes him out of the world Vt quae deerant tormentis suppleret punitio That punishment may supplie what is wanting to his torments Another in some bad fashion hazards his honour God miraculously preserues him more than once or twice that he may take warning thereby and reclaime him selfe he mixes a thousand bitter galls with his sweet delights hee affrights him with sudden assaults this doth no good on him hee strikes him with a Lethargie that depriues him of his sences thus through his owne wilfulnes hardheartednes he is haled violently as it were by the haire of the head to this so miserable an end Vt quae deâ—rant tormentis suppleret punitiâ— In fauour of the reward which the Corrected shall receiue Salomon proposeth many graue sentences to that purpose The eare that hearkneth to the correction of life shall lodge among the wise not onely in earth but in-heauen for Quicquiescit arguenti gloriabitur Amongst other pledges that a Soule may assure it selfe that God wisheth it well is the sending of a Legat vnto him to aduise him of his faults Si corripuerit me iustus in miserecordia hoc ipsum sentiam it is Saint Bernards I will receiue him as sent from God Labia â—ua distillantia myrrham primam Myrrh is bitter as before hath beene said but preserueth from corruption so are the words of my Beloued they are bitter but are directed to the sauing of my life and to preserue me from death Saint Augustine drawes a comparison from him that is franticke and one that is sicke of a Lethargie the one fals into follie the other into a profound sleepe he that bindes the one and wakes the other is troublesome to them both but beeing both recouered they both giue him thankes Thou hast gained thy brother This is the end and as Aristotle saith Finis est fundamentum omnium actionum nostrarum The end is the foundation of all our actions and the gaining of a lost brother is the end and scope of these our diligences Where I would haue you to note That hee that doth a wrong doth euer receiue more hurt than he that hath the wrong Qui alterum ladit plus sibi nocet Hee that hurts another doth most hurt to himselfe for the hurt that the wronged receiueth is outwardly and in bodie but the hurt of him that wrongeth is inwardly and in soule And therefore Saint Paul saith Yee that sinne against your brother sin against Christ he that despiseth these things despiseth not man but God And our Sauiour Christ He that shall call his brother Foole is worthie of Hell fire So that the wronged cannot receiue the third part of the harme of the partie wronging Plato is of opinion That hee that doth an iniurie to another doth the greatest to himselfe and cannot if he would studie to doe himselfe a worse mischiefe Dauid was much wronged by Absolon for what greater offence could a
a Kid with this deceit he grieued both his father and his brother but he was paid at length in his owne coyne Iosephs brethren sell him they dip his Coat in the bloud of a Kid so the same tricke that he had put vpon another was afterwards put vpon himselfe Vzziah would needs play the Priest and when hee was putting on that sane lamina or Frontlet which the High-Priests did vse in their pontificiall Ceremonies behold he was leaprous in his forehead see how he was payd in his owne coyne he had no sooner put it on his forehead but he was punished in his forehead King Ahab did bring home the grapes of Naboths Vineyard in Baskets he is payd in his owne coyne for the heads of his sonnes were likewise deliuered vp in baskets A seruant of Alexander Seuerus sould lying fauourâ— words that were but smoke but see how he was payd in his owne coyne he was stifled to deaâ—h with smoke fumo pereat qui fumoâ— vendit It is noted by Saint Gregorie That the great rich mans greatest sins lay in his tongue and therfore he suffered more paine and torment in his tongue than in any other part of his bodie Saint Paul Before he was conuerted busied himselfe wholly in chaines gyues fetters and imprisonments hee went purposely to Damascus with a full resolution not to leaue one man aliue but he suffered afterwards in that wherein he had sinned and was payd home in his owne coyne for as it appeareth in the Acts of the Apostles he himselfe had beene imprisoned sixteene seuerall times and as one that had beene set vp as a sea marke to bid others beware of running the same course as he had done he aduiseth Ne quis circumâ—eniat in negotio fratrem suum qâ—oniam vindex est Dominus de his omnibus The second consideration is That the wrong which thou shalt doe vnto another shall not onely be repaid thee in the same coyne but with vse vpon vse thou shalt pay double the principal Redditurum fanorâ— noris saith Hesiod And Iob If any blot hath cleaned to my hands let me sow and let anotherreape yea let my plants be rooted out And againe If myne heart hath beene deceiued by a woman or if I haue layd â—ait at the doore of my neighbour Let my wife grind vnto another man and let other men bow downe vpon her It is miserie enough to be payd home in his owne coyne and men for the most part when they haue returned wrong for wrong rest reasonably well contented therewith but with God I must let thee know that the case is far otherwise for it is vsual with him to reueng wrongs seuenfold The Prophet said to Dauid Because thou hast taken the wife of Vriah to be thy wife I will take thy wiues before thyne eyes and giue them vnto thy Neighbour and hee shall lie with thy wiues in the sight of this Sunne thou tookest one wife from thy Neighbour and thy Neighbour shall take many from thee This was that which Dauid charged Saul withall when hee marched ouer the mountaines with his People persecuting him to the death The King of Israell is come out to seeke a flea as one would hunt a Partridge in the Mountaines Why should the King my Lord be at so much paines and cost to take away my life from me it is as if thou shouldst goe about to kil a flea or take a Partridge A great Lord goes a hawking with twentie Horse and as many Spaniels and I know not how many cast of Hawkes hee returnes home at night with one poore partridge in his poutch which is scarce worth two Royals the charge thereof comming to two hundred and the tiring out of his bodie to two thousand Now if he should imploy all this in hunting after a Flea farre greater were his follie All the hurt you can doe me is no more than the killing of a Flea but the harme that you receiue thereby is exceeding great as well in regard of the wasting of your Treasure as in the toiling and trying out of your person Yee also transgresse the Commandements of God by your Traditions The zeale of good is good but when men are zealous of the lesse and neglectfull of the more it is not zeale but passion When your lightning doth not accompanie your thunder all is wind there are some zealous Professors that are all thunder and no lightning they make a great noyse with their words the wind whereof growes high but the light of their good workes doth not shine to the World The Pharisees were a kind of Alharaquientos men that would make a great deale of doe and pudder about nothing they keepe a strange kind of coyle about the washing and not washing of the hands a thing scarce worth the talking of despising in the meane while the keeping or not keeping of Gods Commandements A Stacke of straw is on fire and a Princes Pallace full of infinite riches is all on a flame thou runnest to saue the stacke of straw not caring what becomes of the Pallace Art thou more carefull of straw than of gold The like saith Saint Gregorie hapneth in mens vices Pilate tooke a great deale of care that Christs death might not be laid to his charge and washing his hands as if he had no hand in the businesse sticks not to say I am innocent c. but made no reckoning of deliuering him ouer to the will and pleasure of the people The Iewes held it to be a heinous sinne to enter into the Praetorium or Iudgement Hall Lest they should be defiled but they accounted it no sinne at all to nayle our Sauiour Christ to the Crosse when they cryde Sanguis eius super nos they held it a grieuous sinne that the bodies of those that were crucified out of the obseruance to their Sabboth should hang vpon the Crosse but accounted it no sinne at all to thrust a Speare into our Sauiours side after that he was dead shewing in his death the loue they bare him in his life they take no offence that Christ calls them Hypocrites false Prophets and Transgressors of the Commandements of God but when he tells them That which enters in at the mouth defileth not the Man this is that they are angrie at and this is Tragarse el Camelo y desalar el mosquito To swallow a Camel and straine at a Gnat to see a moat in another mans eye and not the beame that is in his owne Like vnto that Whale which swallowed vp Ionus at a bit his bodie and cloathes all at once and deuoures Pilchers one by one and this was the Pharisees fault Origen obserueth That the washing of the hands was now turned to superstition for therein they placed a great part of their fouls saluation Who can chuse but laugh at these mens ignorance and blindnesse that they should swallow and digest many other foule faults and should here be so
likewise beeing the greatest in Nature and Essence ought to bee the greatest in our Loue and Affection Next vnder God enter those goods of Heauen of Earth And Good being the marke whereat our Loue shoots our greatest Loue should direct it selfe to the greatest good And this is to obserue an order and good temper in our Loue. Now touching the disorder of our Loue our Sauiour sayd Hee that loues Father or Mother more than mee is not worthie of mee Againe In not louing God to whom wee owe so much loue this excesse in the contrarie may turne to immodestie and impudencie And make vs breake out with those Cast-awayes in Iob into these desperate termes Get thee farre from vâ— we will haue no knowledge of thy wayes Besides In imploying our loue so wholely vpon the Creatures we may chance to choake that loue which we owe to the Creator Saint Austen expounding that place of Iohn Loue not the World neither the things that are in the world saith That our heart is like vnto a vessell which if it be filled full with the World it cannot receiue God beeing like to that peece of ground where the Tares did choake the Wheate So that of force wee must emptie the vessell and weede well the ground of our hearts that the loue of God may fructifie in vs. This inordinate loue doth set the heart like a Calenture on fire From the heart come all our euill thoughts and goe festring through the faculties of the soule And â—inne when it is finished bringeth foorth death saith Saint Iames. She was taken with a great Feuer As there are diuers kinds of Feuers so haue they a correspondencie with the diuers infirmities of the soule your young men are soone rid of their Feuers especially if their fits bee not violent but an old woman that is taken with a great Feuer wil hardly recouer her health A prisoner will easily shake off slight and slender shakles but those that are double chained and double bolted he will hardly free himselfe from them One single stick is easily broken but more beeing bound together verie hardly A threefold cord is hardly broken The like reason may be giuen of old sinnes vpon which custome hath drawne a necessitie Saint Austen treating of the State of his owne sinnes sayth That he was fast fettered with three strong chaines The one of his owne Will The other of an ill Custome that he had gotten The third of a kind of necessitie which did keepe him as it were by force in this so hard and cruell slauerie Tenebat me dura seruitus They besought him for her The motiues of this intercession were First For that this good old woman was of so sweet a disposition and so louing a nature Which was much in so old a woman and no small matter considering shee was a Mother in Law It may be Mothers in lawe in those dayes were more louing and better beloued than they are now And one great argument thereof is That our Sauiour Christ should put the loue of the Mother in law and Daughter in law in one and the same degree with that of the Children Parents as it appeareth in that place of S. Mathew I came to set a man at variance against his Father the Daughter against her Mother and the Daughter in law against her Mother in law Where you see he links them together all in one chaine And so it ought to be For if the Husband and the Wife by Matrimony remaine one flesh the Daughter in law ought likwise to be so with the Mother in law though not in the selfe same degree wholly and altogether The second motiue was the intreatie of the Apostles who as Saint Marke maketh mention interceded for her And such pittifull hearts and tender bowels as theirs were beeing sought vnto by so good an Hostesse who desired so much as she did to serue them could not chuse but take pittie of her and speake a good word for her Besides the miserable paine she was in might haue moued the hardest heart to compassion much more theirs whose eyes had seene in what an ill taking she was in And kind hearts are soone sencible of those sorrowes which the eyes shall impart vnto them They bâ—sought him for her In the intercession of Holy men God attends two things The one That we persuade our selues that they are preuailent with God and that they can effect much with his diuine Maiestie The other That he is well pleased that we should make vse of them for the honour that hee receiues thereby the good that we reape by it A King is well pleased that men should haue recourse to his Fauorit the more to honor him It was a great honour to Christ saith Gregory Nazianzen that he was the Mediator betwixt God and Man Saint Cyril giues the same attribute to the Apostles and Deutronomie to Moses Medius fui inter Deum vos I stood betweene the Lord and you But here is the difference That the Saints haue need that others should intercede for them but our Sauiour hath no such need sed accedit per teipsum ad interpellandum pro nobis Al other Mediators are through our Sauior Christ that prayer which hath not this mediation Saint Augustine saith That in stead of remoouing sinne it reneweth sinne And Saint Ambrose That Christ ought to be the Mouth by which we are to speake the Eyes by which wee are to looke and the Hands by which wee are to offer In a word The Saints of God are verie powerful with God through Christ our Lord. And therefore it is said Whatsoeuer yee shall aske the Father in my name shall be granted vnto you Some make a doubt Whither this be to be vnderstood of the Saints that are liuing or those that are dead That it is meant of the liuing there are many proofes thereof in Scripture To Iobs friends God said Goe to my seruant Iob and my seruant Iob shall pray for you for I will accept him c. Abimilecke hauing taken away Sarah and God threatning him with death and the King pleading ignorance in his excuse God said vnto him Giue Abraham his wife againe and he shall pray for thee and thou shalt liue Moses by his intercession procured the pardon of sixe hundred thousand persons The People said vnto Samuel Doe not thou cease to pray for vs. Saint Stephen prayed for those that stoned him to death And by his prayer saith Saint Augustine Paul was reduced to the Church In the Ship the same Apostle by prayer preserued the liues of two hundred seuenty six persons Saint Basil cites that place of Dauid The eyes of the Lord are vpon the Righteous his eares are open vnto their crie Those two sonnes which Ioseph had in Aegypt Ephraim and Manasses the one signifying forgetfulnesse the other Prosperitie Iacob adopted them for his owne Sicut
allowance from the King There are some who are like vnto Bells Priests who deuouring the Kings treasure and feeding themselues fat with his wealth make him beleeue that the God Bell did eate vp all that which was brought in vnto them The Spleene or Milt in mans body is the stampe or Hieroglyph of these kind of people which the fatter it growes and the more it swels the feebler and weaker are the rest of the members of the body Lesse conuenient is that Minister which is couetous for though he haue neuer so much yet is he neuer satisfied Valerius Maximus reporteth That it was propounded in the Senat of Rome That two persons should be nominated to goe for Spaine against Viriatus and the worthiest of the two to be made choice of the one was Seruius Sulpitius the other the Consull Aurelius and the Senators referring the choice to Aemilianus Scipio to elect him whom hee thought fittest for that imployment his answer vnto them was I like of neither of them for Alter nihil habet alteri nihil sat est The one of them hath nothing and to the other nothing is enough not approouing the one because hee was too poore nor the other because he was too couetous Your full fed Flies are woont to bee lesse painefull to the wounds of the Poore because their fulnesse hath it's bounds and termination But this example is nothing to the purpose for your richer sort of Ministers for your Flies and so all other birds and beasts haue their limits and bounds in their fulnesse whereupon they rest and dwell as the sea doth in the sand but your couetous men the richer they are the greedier they grow and more hurtfull to the Commonwealth for a poore Minister will content himselfe with smal matters but the rich Miser is insatiable The Prodigall keeping hogs at a Farmhouse in the Country suffered a strange raging kind of hunger but when he could get no better food to satisfie the same he was well content to take part with the Swine The rich man in the Gospel had the world at wil wanted nothing neither for his backe nor his bellie Thou hast much goods said hee of himselfe laid vp for many yeares but all this would not satisfie his insatiable desire The Barnes are not big enough my Granaries too little for my hunger I will plucke them downe and make them bigger Iesus tooke the Loaues and when he had giuen thankes he c. It is first of all to be noted That our Sauiour tooke the Loaues and the Fishes first into his owne sacred hands that he might thereby shew himselfe to be the author of this miraculous multiplication Secondly He did lift vp his eys vnto Heauen in token that he had this power from Heauen Thirdly He gaue thankes vnto the father as he was Man because he was pleased to worke so great a miracle for the spirituall and corporall good of man which he accounted as a kindnesse done vnto himselfe Fourthly He did blesse the loaues and the fishes giuing them the vertue and power of multiplication Fiftly The partition and diuision of them he did put them into the hands of his Disciples that they might diuide them amongst them and minister them vnto them And all this was a type of the blessed Sacrament He could haue as well created loaues and fishes anew but then peraduenture the people would haue thought that God had sent them down from Heauen as he did raine at the prayer of Elias or Quailes in the Desert or as Manna and so they would haue diuerted their eyes their thoughts from the vertue of those diuine hands And therefore it was fit conuenient that he should adde an augmentation vnto them but not create them as at the wedding he turned the water into wine which he could if he would haue created anew Saint Augustine saith That this multiplication began in the hands of our Sauiour Christ Saint Chrysostome That it inlarged it selfe in the hands of the Apostles Saint Hilarie That it indured till it came to the hands of the Guests The vertue was all one but it extended it selfe to all that the seruice might be the better performed and the miracle made the more notorious and manifest Our Sauiour Christ was willing that this multiplication should bee by the hands of his Apostles for to fasten vpon all Clergiemen this liberalitie bountie in distributing of bread and doing almesdeeds A Bishop puts on his Pontificiall robes in the Church and in the Church hee puts them off againe and when he comes forth his office is to inrich the widdow with his purse and to spend his portion vpon Orphans and fatherlesse children Iudas returned the money for which he sould his Sauiour to the Temple and the Priests entring into councell What they should doe with it they decreed That it should bee spent vpon the Poore because it was the price of the bloud of the High-Priest who was the Father of the Poore Saint Bernard saith That the Priest that hath his part here vpon earth must not looke for a part in Heauen Si quid habuerit prater Deum pars eius non erit Deus Saint Cyril That when Bishops seruants passe vp and downe the Streets and enter into vnknowne houses he that lookes vpon them ought to presume That they go in there to seeke after the Poore to relieue them And Saint Iohn saith That the Disciples presumed this of Iudas when our Sauiour said vnto him Quod facis fac citò Many sticke not to say I shall dye ere long and then I will giue all vnto God What an ill account do these men make saith Saint Cirill All Clergie men haue to their heires those that are their enemies who euery moment desire their death And because their enemie shall not haue it they say Let vs giue it vnto Christ. Nihil inuenerunt viri diuitiarum in manibus suis The rich found nothing in their hands Saint Augustine giues the reason Quia nihil posuerunt in manibus Christi Because they deposited nothing in the hands of Christ. They did all eate and were satisfied Eusebius Emisenus saith That there was a very sauorie contention betweene fiue loaues and fiue thousand men besides women and children And that euery one did resolue to make an end of their peece of loafe and their fish as well for to satisfie their hunger as for that it was so sauourie to the taste And in that bread which they thought would haue beene but two bits a man they had thirty and the same imperceptibly and insensibly increasing those fiue loaues were too hard for those fiue thousand persons and their hunger Our Sauiour Christ was herein desirous principally to prooue That in his house there are all sorts of dainties and fulnesse The world seekes to disgrace Gods hospitalitie and good house-keeping alledging that to be his friend and to dye of hunger is all one And that
loueth truth saith Saint Iohn commeth to the light Our Sauiour Christ did not so much endeauour to haue vs to vnderstand as to beleeue This is the worke of God that yee beleeue on him whom he hath sent In Heauen our happinesse consists in seeing but on earth in beleeuing Tast and see how gratious the Lord is Earthly food is first seene after the sight followes the taste The woman saw that the fruit was pleasant to the eye whereupon she tooke of the Fruit and did eat Here the sight did precede the taste but in Heauen we first taste and afterwards see there the taste precedes the sight and in my opinion Saint Chrysostome and Saint Cyril doe not differ much from this sence being that they make bonam voluntatem dispositionem intellectus the goodnesse of the Will to bee the disposition to the vnderstanding but a depraued Will is like vnto an infirm eye which through it's indisposition doth not see the light The places of Scripture which confirme this Doctrine are without number Ecclesiasticus saith More truths will one holy soule sometimes declare than many vnholy Doctours and Phylosophers which wander out of the way and weare out their eye-brows in search thereof Intellectus onus omnibus facientibus eum Vnderstanding is a burthen to all that dâ—e it Gregorie Nazianzen hath noted That the Prophet did not say Praedicantibus eum To them that preach it but Facientibus To them that doe it I vnderstood thy commandement and therefore hated the way of Iniquitie The second part is a cause of the first because I did abhorre all the wayes of wickednesse I attained to so much knowledge of thy Law I am wiser than the Aged because I haue sought thy Commandements Salomon saith My sonne seeke after wisedome obserue righteousnesse and the Lord will shew it vnto thee Iob. Behold the feare of the Lord is wisedome and to turne backe from euill is vnderstanding Osee. Sow to your selues in righteousnesse c. according to the translation of the Seuentie Saint Iohn saith If yee shall abide in my Word yee shall know my will Esay To whome shall God teach his wisedome To whom shall his Doctrine be reuealed Shall it happily bee to those that are weaned from his milke To those that haue Aloes on their nipples or to those that when the Prophet shall command them something on his part shal answer Manda remanda expecta re-expecta What doth the Preacher meane to grind vs in this manner and to repeat so often vnto vs Haec mandat Dominus c. All these places prooue that conclusion of the first chapter of Wisedome In maleuolam animâ—m non introiuit sapientia Saint Augustine saith That the two sisters Leah and Rachael represented this order First fruitfull Leah was married representing the fruit of good workes next beautifull Rachael representing the fairenesse of wisedome and knowledge In the right erudition of man the labour of operating those things that are right are preferred before the will of vnderstanding those that are true And Saint Bernard persuading a friend of his to this truth speaketh thus vnto him Experto crede citiùs illum sequendo quà m legendo consequipossis aliquia magis inuenies in syluis quam in libris Beleeue me who am experienced herein that thou shalt sooner come vnto him by following than by reading him and shalt meet with something more amidst the Woods than thy bookes The shadie trees and the solitarie Rockes will throughly instruct thee in that which many learned tutors are not able to teach thee Then sayd some of them of Hierusalem Is not this hee whom they goe about to kill And behold he speaketh openly c. This place expresseth the Empire the securitie and libertie of Gods word And this is specified in that commission which God gaue vnto Ieremie when hee nominated him to bee his Preacher Behold I haue set thee ouer the nations and ouer the kingdomes to pluck vp and to root out and to dâ—stroy and throw downe to build and to plant This generall power was graunted vnto him with a non obstante no man could put him by it Notable to this purpose is that Historie of Moses with Pharaoh On the one side wee are to consider the great interest wherewith he went vnto the King about the libertie of the Hebrew people being so much inslaued inthralled and so sorely taxed beyond all right and reason On the other side so many scourges so many plagues so much feare and so much death and yet notwithstanding hee durst not cause him to be apprehended nor to be put to death nor had not the power to touch vpon that thought And questionlesse the reason thereof was that he acknowledged a superior power proceeding from Gods Word which Moses did euer and anon repeat vnto him Haec dicit Dominus Thus sayth the Lord I haue compared thee ô my Loue to the troupes of horses in the Chariots of Pharaoh Rupertus saith That all Gods Cauallerie against the power of Pharaoh was onely Moses Rod this made that great King turne coward this strucke a terrour into him made his heart to tremble within him and maugre his greatnesse to acknowledge God The Beloued sayes then to his loue As that Rod was Gods Armie wherewith like a Potters Vessell he brake that King and all his Host in pieces so thy Armie ô my Church shall be my Word which shall be as it were another Moses Rod against those that shall withstand it Virgam vigilantem ego video I see a waking Rod saith Ieremie And God answers thereunto Benè vidisti quia ego vigilabo super verbum meum Thou hast well seene for I will watch ouer my Word Saint Paul puts it to the question What will yee Shall I come vnto you with a rod or in loue and in the spirit of meekenesse And no lesse worthie the obseruation is that History of Amos There was a false Prophet called Amaziah an Idoll Priest whom Ierâ—boam had placed in Bethell who could by no meanes indure Amos whether it were because he swayed much among the people or for that by his Sermons as Saint Hierome hath noted it he had withdrawne the People from those sacrifices wherein Amaziah was interessed he laboured with him both by cruell threatnings and gentle persuasions that he would get him gone into the Land of Iudah Get thee into the land of Iudah and there eat thy bread and prophecie there But when he was most threatned then did he preach most against Ieroboam not sticking to say Ieroboam shall die by the sword his wife shall be a Harlot in the Citie and thy sonnes and thy daughters shall fall by the sword and thy hand shall bee deuided by line and thou shalt die in a polluted land c. For the Word of God the more it is threatned the freer it is and like the Cammomile Dum premitur surgit vberior The more you
beleeue the immortalitie of the soule they hold a sudden death a kind of happinesse but a Christian who confesseth that there is a iudgement after death desireth a more lingring and leisurely kind of dying for to preuent future danger both of soule and bodie In Leuiticuâ— God commanded That they should not offer any câ—eature vnto him which did not chew the cud or which had not a clouen hoofe And he therefore ioyned these two things together for to swallow the meat downe whole is verie dangerous for the health and the foot not cloâ—en verie apt to slip and slide and in a mysticall kind of sence is as much as if he should haue said That he that shall swallow down so fearefull dangerous a thing as Death without chewing meditating thereon shall doubtlesse slide if not take a fall as low as Hell The onely sonne of his mother In the order of conueniencie it seemeth fitter that the old mother should haue died than the young sonne But as there is nothing more certaine than death so is there nothing more vncertaine than the time of our death the young Bird as soone falls into the snare as the old one and your greater Fish as soone taken with the hooke as your lesser Frie. If the Wicked turne not God will whet his sword bend his Bow and prepare for him the instruments of death and ordaine his Arrowes against them For old men that stand vpon the graues brinke death hath a Sythe to cut them downe for young men that stand farther off he hath his Bow and his Arrowes Saint Augustine saith That God taketh away the Good before their time that they may not receiue hurt from the Bad and the Bad because they should not doe hurt to the Good The onely sonne of his mother Not that he was her onely sonne but her best beloued sonne Salomon stiles himselfe Vnigenitum matris suae His mothers onely begotten sonne not that he was the onely sonne of Bershabe as it appeareth in the first of Chronicles but because he was so deerely beloued of his mother as if he had beene her only sonne he was his mothers darling her best beloued the light of her eyes and her hearts comfort she cherished him made much of him would not let him want any thing yet all this care and prouidence of hers could not shield him from death There is a man in the Citie that is of a strong and able bodie and abounding in all worldly happinesse There is another saith Iob that is weake hungerstarued and his wealth wasted and consumed both these death sets vpon and layes them in the graue He exemplifies in the King and the Gyant for the rest he makes no more reckoning of them than of so manie little Birds whom the least fillip striketh dead but he sets vpon a King like a Lyon a poore man hath many meanes to hasten his death but Kings seldome die of hunger of penurie of heats or of colds c. And a Gyant seemes to be a perdurable and immortall Tower of flesh but in the end both Kings and Gyants fall by the hand of Death And since that Death did dare to set vpon the Sonne of God and his blessed mother let neither High nor Low Rich nor Poore hope to find any fauour at Deaths hands Ioshuah did stop the Sunne in his course Moses the waters of the red Sea Ioseph did prophecie of things to come and many of Gods Saints wrought great Myracles but there is no myracle to be wrought against Death Ieremie tells vs of certain Serpents that cannot be charmed charm the charmer neuer so wisely of this nature is Death Ecclesiasticus introduceth a dead man who speaketh thus by way of aduice to the Liuing Memento judicij mei sic enim erit tuum Heri mihi hodie tibi That man was neuer yet borne nor shall be hereafter that shal not see death or escape this heauie iudgement Salomon commanded the child to be diuided in the middle about whom the two mothers did contend and that sentence which he did not then execute shall bee executed vpon all liuing flesh for all men beeing in regard of the bodie sonnes of the Earth and in regard of the soule the children of Heauen euerie one receiues this sentence from the Iudge at his death Let the earth returne to the earth from whence it came and the Spirit to God who gaue it life She was a Widow woman The word Erat She was carrieth with it a kind of emphasis she was a sorrowfull and forelorne Widow A Widow ought to bee a rule and patterne of perfection to all other women shee should bee the glasse wherein they should see their faults and what is amisse in them In a word shee was a woman irreprehensible and without blame Nor according to Saint Paul hath the Virgin or the Wife that tie and obligation vpon them as shee hath The one because her small experience in the deceits and vanities of the world may excuse her in many things the other the charge and care that necessarily attends Wedlocke When Absalon entred into the wiues and Concubines of his father the King gaue command they should bee shut vp like so many Recluses because they had opened the doore vnto him as if the King had beene dead And Widowes are to liue so seperated and seuered from the world as if they liued not in it Isiodore expoundeth the Spanish word Viuda which signifies a Widow to be quaâ—i vidua diuided from her husband as the Vine from the Elme which was it's prop and stay which being taken away the Vine lieth leuell with the ground and without any comfort The Hebrew deriueth the name of Widow from a certain word which signifieth both bound dumbe now to be bound and dumbe are the conditions and properties of him that is dead who is neither able to mooue nor speake So that the vulgar Translation calls a Widow Sterilem barren and vnfruitfull as it is in Iob and in Esay Another letter stiles her Eradicatam pluckt vp by the Roots as a tree that is quite rooted vp that it may neuer grow nor waxe greene againe The smell of thy garments is like the smell of Frankincense They must not smell of Amber nor of Ciuet but of Frankinsense which they offer vp in Incense for a widdow ought to lead the remnant of her dayes so neere vnto her husbands Tombe that her garments should sauour of that incensorie perfume Of such Widowes as these God hath that especiall care that none shall doe them any wrong for the teares that drop downe from their cheekes ascend as high as Heauen And as the vapours that are exhaled from the earth come downe againe in lightning and thunder and terrible tempests so prooue the Widowes teares to those that shall vniustly cause them to weep and draw those watred drops from their eyes Heliodorus pretended to rob the Temple of Ierusalem
must runne to thy account The like bold insinuation did Moses vse when he said O Lord pardon this people lest the Aegyptians should say Thou hadst plotted this of purpose to lead them out into the Desert and there to make an end of them hauing no bodie to helpe them Tibi soli peccaui malum coram te feci vt iustificeris in sermonibus tuis vincas cum iudicaris Saint Augustine giues it this interpretation Tibi soli peccaui viz. Tibi solum sum relictus O Lord this wound was only made for thee that thou alone mightst heale it all other Physitions haue quite giuen me ouer there is not any one vpon earth that knowes how to cure mee and therefore I lay the same open onely to thee Vt iustificeris Thou hast ordained a Law That at what time soeuer a Sinner shall repent him of his sinne and turne vnto thee thou wilt blot out his offences O Lord I am sorrie I haue offended thee I confesse my fault and acknowledge my sinne before thee and therefore it must be put to thy account to pardon me otherwise it wil be said of thee That thou doost not comply with thy promise Secondly These two sisters did pretend to strengthen this our Sauiours loue to their brother For it doth not stand with the rules of friendship that a man should loue and not releeue the necessities of him he loueth One telling Theophrastus That two such were very great friends that the one was very rich and the other very poore He returned him this answere It cannot bee beeing they be friends This very argument did these sisters vrge our Sauiour Christ withall Lazarus beeing thy friend and thou being life it selfe why hast thou suffered Death to lay hold vpon him Againe There is no force that is able to resist Death but Loue Loue is as strong as Death Death hath been so audacious as to enter within our doores let Loue reuenge vs of this his presumption The Athenians placed Loues Statua betwixt Mercurie and Hercules the one the god of Eloquence the other of Fortitude To shew that Loue doth not consist so much in wordes as in workes Thou hast vouchsafed ô Lord to honour our brother with the name of friend now manifest the same by thy strong arme and thy powerfull hand The fifth was their hauing recourse vnto him that had caused this wound and was onely able to cure it First for that God is highly offended that we should haue recourse to any but himselfe Secondly Because no Phisition nor earthly phisick can minister health without the will and pleasure of our heauenly Phisition He woundeth and he maketh whole The former is notified vnto vs in Ahâ—ziah who finding himselfe sore sicke of a fall through the Lattice window of his vpper chamber sent fearing he should die of that bruise to consult with Baalzebub the god of Ekron Which Messengers Elias meeting withall said vnto them What is there no God in Israel that yee goe to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Eckron deliuer therfore this message from God vnto your king Thou shalt not come down from the bed on which thou art gone vp but shalt die the death Hosea doth likewise complaine That his People had recourse in their doubts vnto Idolls My People aske councell at their stockes Lyrae renders it In simulachro ligni This my People is so foolish that they goe to aske councell of a piece of wood The seuentie Interpreters turne it thus In virgis suis Whereupon Rupertus hath obserued That this was a kind of superstition which cloue vnto them from the Chaldeans from whom they had receiued this infection for it was a fashion amongst them when they would know what should befall them to throw vp a couple of stickes as high as they could fling them or two arrows tied together and marking the one for good lucke and the other for bad they mumbled I know not what words and that which in the falling fell vppermost did prognosticate the successe Ezechiel reporteth That the King of Babylon comming with a great armie doubting with himselfe whither he should goe against Rahab or Ierusalem comming where there were two wayes to take vsed this superstition of the two Arrowes Quaerens diuinationem The King of Babell stood at the parting of the way at the head of the two wayes consulting by diuination and made his Arrowes bright c. and the lot lighted against Ierusalem This difference there is betwixt him that is a Saint of God and him that is not that he in his griefes hath recourse first vnto God and next to humane remedies wheras the other hath first recourse vnto Physitions when they notifie to the former the danger wherein he is he falls to a confession of his sins a heartie repentance and to the receiuing of the blessed Sacrament The Antients did picture Health in the forme of a handsome faire Damosell sitting in a Royall Throne for without health there is no pleasure in royall Thrones in Scepters nor in Crownes for the better conseruation whereof we are to vse temperance in our dyet The Serpent is the Symbole of Prudence without which it is impossible to preserue our health The foolish and vndiscreet man that makes no reckoning of the falling of your Sereno's or euening dewes oftentimes blasting those that are in them as in Spaine and the like hot Countries of your Sunnes heats and your Snowes colds your foule and pockie Whores loose oftentimes their healths if not their liues But aboue all we must haue recourse vnto God for God is all in all and without God little importeth temperance prudence Physitions or Physicke The sixt consideration of their discretion was That they did propose their miserie but not prescribe the remedie for it is sufficient that we propound our necessitie vnto God Saint Augustine saith Amanti sat est nunciasse It is enough for him that loues to intimate his mind And Saint Bernard Sic melius tanquam non orantes oramus tanquam diffidentes confidimus c. A modest kind of demanding and a diffident seeming confidence doth oftentimes further a suit and promote the thing we pretend Ezechias being threatned by Zenacharib did before God vnfold his menacing letter O Lord sayd hee thou maist read in these lines the pride and arrogancie of this blaspheming King Saint Peter when his soule melted into teares did not tell God what he pretended by them Which caused Saint Bernard to say Lachrimas Petri video precem non audio I see Peters teares but heare not his prayer The blessed Virgin sayd no more than this Vinum non habent They haue no wine And therefore Commit thy way vnto the Lord and trust in him and he shall bring it to passe c. The Sisters good will was well knowne to our Sauiour but they did not publish the same for the Iust neuer ties himselfe to his owne will Not my
vs it is a kind of imperfection because these affections or passions fall a balling without any reason in the world and no iust occasion being giuen But in our Sauior Christ these passions were not without cause as Saint Augustine hath noted it Saint Gregorie and Saint Hierome neither can they presse him further than hee is pleased to command them If here our anger take hold vpon vs it is like a fierce mastiffe which being set on by his Master takes hold on the Bul and will not let him go though he be rated off againe and againe In conclusion two things doth here recommend themselues vnto vs. The one That our Sauiour Christ was angrie The other That he was mooued to much compassion His anger was occasioned through the Iewes incredulitie as it is noted by Cardinall Tolet and Caietane whose hardnesse and vnbeleefe was such that hee was forced to take Lazarus his life from him to disconsolate those two kind Sisters to draw teares from their eyes and sobs from their brest and afterwards to returne himagaine vnto the world and onely that some might be drawne to beleâ—ue Saint Cyril saith That this his anger was against Death and the Deuill as if he had threatned their ouerthrow and vowed their destruction as it is prophecied by Osee O mors ero mors tua O death I will be thy death c. Vbi posuistis eum Where haue yee laid him c. O Lord Why shouldst thou aske this question I answer That he did it for two reasons The one The countenance of a Sinner is so strangely changed and is so strangely altered from what he was before he fell sicke of sinne that it is a phrase of Scripture to say God doth not know him Thou lendest thy friend thy Horse or thy Cloake the one is returned to thee so lame and so leane the other so ill vsed and so vtterly spoyled that not knowing thyne owne thou sayest This is not that which I lent Of an vntowardly and vngratious sonne the father will vsually say He is none of my sonne so said God to the foolish Virgins and to those that had wrought myracles in his name Nescio vos I know yee not Your Robbers on the Highway disfigure the faces of those whom they rob and murder to the end they may not be knowne And there is nothing that makes the Soule fouler than Sin Denigrata est facies eorum super carbones and it beeing so faire beautifull before it is no great meruaile that God should not know it So that now our Sauiour seemes not to know the place there being so great a difference betweene the one place and the other that of the life of Grace and that of the death of Sinne that he here askes Vbi posuistis eum Where haue yee layd him Saint Chrysostome alledgeth That hee vsed the like question when hee called vnto Adam saying Adam Adam vbi es Adam where are thou I find thee in a different place from that wherein I put thee I placed thee in prosperity and content and I find thee now in wretchednesse and in miserie Who caused this so great an alteration in thee Saint Cyprian saith That this question was made more to the Sinne than to the Sisters and that Lazarus representing Mankind he said speaking of our sinnes Vbi posuistis eum Where haue yee layd him I placed him in Paradice and yee haue put him in the graue The like is reported by Petrus Crysologus and he calleth the Graue the Caue wherein the Deuill hides his thefts and because the beginning of all this harme proceeded from woman he asketh the Sisters Vbi posuistis eum Where haue yee layd him For there are many women God hauing placed man in honour happinesse and health which bring man to his graue The other A Sinner through sinne is remooued so farre from God in Regionem longinqâ—am that God askes where he is For if it were possible for man to hide himselfe from the all-seeing eye of God doubtlesse he would hide himselfe in the land of Darkenesse that is of Sinne. And therefore it is said The Lord knoweth the way of the Righteous and the way of the Wicked shall perish And Iesus wept Of this sheding of teares wee haue rendred many reasons elsewhere Those which now offer themselues are these The first is of Saint Ambrose and Saint Chrysostome who say That Christ was mooued to weepe by seeing Marie and Martha weepe Christ seeing the Widow of Naim weepe said vnto her Noli flere Weepe not and in the house of the chiefe Ruler of the Synagogue he sought to diuert their teares and yet heere these of Marie seeme to extort by force the falling of these teares from his tender eyes Marie had accustomed her selfe to talke with our Sauior in this â—ind of Language it being a Cypher which onely our Sauiour vnderstood and because she talked to him in teares he answers her in teares The exhalations of Maries heart ascend vp to the heauen of Christs eyes and these humane teares draw downe diuine teares obtaining that by grace which was impossible for nature to compasse The second is of Saint Hilarie and Epiphanius who affirme That he thinking on the obstinacie of the Iewes and their finall perdition brake forth thus into teares For no man can comprehend what an offence to God is saue God himselfe and therefore none ô Lord can so truly bewaile sinne as thy selfe And it seeming to our Sauiour Christ that two eyes were too little to lament their miserie he added fiue wounds which serued as so many weeping eyes not shedding water but bloud Saint Bernard saith That in the Garden our Sauior did sweat bloud that he might weepe with all his whole bodie treating therin touching the remedie of the mysticall bodie of the Church Eusebius Emisâ—nus saith That he did groane and weepe in token that wee ought grieuously to lament and bewaile our sinnes And to this purpose saith Ieremie Call for the mourning women that they may come let them make hast and let them take vp a lamentation for vs that our eyes may cast out teares and our eye lids gush out of water And why I pray you so much weeping and lamentation Quia ascendit mors per fenestras as it followeth anon after Because death is come vp into our windowes and is entred into our Pallaces to destroy the children without and the young men in the streets The Soule is gone forth and Death hath entred in weepe therefore c. The death of the bodie is a type of that of the soule And therefore Saint Gregorie saith If I shall walke in the midst of the shadow of death He saith That the departing of the bodie from the soule is but a shadow but the departing of the soule from God is a truth and as a shadow is a refreshing in Sommer so is death to the Righteous The Wicked sticke not to say
Resurrection of all those that rely vpon him by Faith He stinketh alreadie Martha here showed herselfe of somewhat a queasie stomach and too daintie a nose but so did not our Sauiour Christ. Giuing vs thereby to vnderstand That a sinner sauours ill to all the world but not to Gods nosthrils When God shewed vnto Peter the sheet full of snakes and lizards and willed him to eate it caused a verie great horrour in him But vnderstanding afterwards that the mysterie was in that which was signified thereby and not in the doing of it hee did acknowledge that there was not that sinner vpon earth that was cast out from Gods bosome You may come to be loathsome vnto your selfe but not vnto God I am a burthen vnto my selfe Iob said this of himselfe euen then when Gods eyes were gratious vnto him and looked fauourably vpon him My flesh is clothed with wormes and filthinesse of the dust my skinne is rent and become horrible I cannot indure the ill sauour that I beare about me I haue not eyes to behold mine owne wretchednesse But God hath an eye to looke vpon thee and a heart to indure thee and loues thee more than thou louest thy selfe Those fiue and twentie young men which Ezechiel painteth forth clapping nosegaies to their noses some say that it was to defend them from the euill sauour as if they should haue giuen Iob a pomander to drowne the stench of his sores beeing on the one side nothing but plaisters and noisome vnctions and onthe other amber and muske But Isidorus Cladius reads Applicant odorem malum ad nares meos They turne their eyes towards the Sunne and putting their faces from mee they seeke to auoid the euill sauour that comes from mee The translation of Ionathas doth fauour this conceit Obuertebant podicum faciebus eorum In the honour of their Idols and in their scorne of mee they did vse the greatest inciuilitie could be offered vnto any They are a stampe and embleme of those sinners before whom Vertue and Holinesse of life sauoureth ill but the myre of Vice and Sinne smelleth sweet We know that the sauour of God is a sweet smelling sauour Christi bonus odor sumus We are a sweet smelling sauour vnto Christ. His name is a precious balme His garments smell of sweetnesse But as vnto weake eyes the Sunne is hatefull so to a depraued sent this sweete odour is vnsauourie Yet God will not take a loathing at sinners though like Lazarus they lye stinking in their graues For albeit their sinnes doe offend his nosthrils yet will hee not turne away his eye from a sinner nor pull backe his hand from the dressing and curing of him And as the father is not squemish and queasie stomacht to helpe his child that is falne into the myre and is nothing all ouer but filth and dyrt but doth take him vp and comfort him and wash him and cloths him cleanlier and neater than he was before so doth God with Sinners when they haue falne ouer head and eares into most foule and loathsome sinnes c. Hee cryed with a loud voice Lazarus come foorth Hee cryed out aloud for many following the errour of Pythagoras did verily beleeue that the soules of the dead did remaine in the graue with their bodies To this purpose were erected those famous Pyramides of Memphis and of other parts of the World I say these their Pyramides were directed to this end for they persuading themselues that the soule was a fierie substance they imagined it to be in forme like a Pyâ—amis Saint Austen saith That at the sound of this voice Death was strucke with astonishment Dauid in a Psalme of his setteth forth the obedience which all creatures beare to the voyce of God as well lightning raine thunder as the rest The voyce of the Lord breaketh the Cedars 〈◊〉 the Cedars of Libanon There is not the tallest Cedar in Libanon which a flash of lightning or a cracke of thunder will not rent and teare vp by the rootes and consume it to ashes The voyce of the Lord maketh the Wildernesse to tremble it diuideth the flames of fire it maketh the Hindes to calue and discouereth the Forrests there is not that least of liuing creatures the poorest or the smallest Worme that hides it selfe in holes and in the Rockes which is not brought to light and shewes himselfe when God calls vnto him Phylon prosecuting this argument weighes with himselfe the forcible violence of the Winds in that they turn vp the sturdiest okes making the roots euen with the tops in that they ouerwhelme the tallest ships and that they leuell with the ground the goodliest and the greatest buildings Yet all these are nothing compared with the powerfulnesse of this our Sauiour Christs voyce which made Hell gates to shake strooke Death dead and made the Deuills roare for feare c. Then he that was dead came forth â—oâ—nd hand foot with hands c. This dead man came forth his feet and his hands being bound which caused Saint Baâ—il to crie out Miraculum in miraculo Here 's one myracle vpon another To raise vp one that was dead was a strange and a ghastly kind of myracle but that beeing now aliue he should goe being bound hand and foot was another as strange great a myracle Lazarus had God beene so pleased might haue left his winding sheet in the graue his Kerchiefe and the napkin that couered his face and eyes as our Sauiour Christ did in his Sepulchre but Lazarus here brings them out with him in token that he did rise to die againe but our Sauiour Christ rose neuer to die any more though Lazarus died some thirtie yeares after this his resurrection as it is left vs vpon Recoâ—d by Epiphanius And this was the reason why the Sepulchre of our Sauiour remained shut and that of Lazarus left open Loose him and let him goe Here Christ wills to be taken from him all those occasions that might cause him to stumble If therefore thou wilt not fall shun the occasions of falling flie as farre from them as thou canst Saint Bernard finds fault with Eue and reprehends her seuerely for it That shee would presume to looke vpon the tree of Life that tree of good and euill which she was so strictly enioyned to abstaine from where the Text saith The woman saw that it was good and the eye no sooner saw but the heart consented But if any man shall replie and say That the eyes or the hands doe onely incline a man to this or that let him take this also from me That the eyes are an Indicium and manifest signe of a sinne committed at least a great occasion of that which may bee committed Saint Cyril saith That God appearing vnto Moses and those twentie Elders or Antients of the People in a throne of Saphyres of the colour of Heauen was done onely to take away all occasion from that People
And therefore whilest our Sauior Christ was writing on the ground with his finger the sins of those that accused the Adulteresse they sneaked thence and shrunke away one by one Vnus post vnum It seemeth a thing impossible that the Light beeing so louely and so amiable so faire and so beautifull that any man should hate and abhorre it and curse and damne it to the pit of Hell But it should seeme me thinkes much more impossible that this Light beeing God himselfe that mans eye should find any thing in it that may draw on a dislike and hatred thereunto But Saint Iohn pondering the distasted palat of a sinner saith They loued Darkenesse more than Light And the booke of Wisedome renders the reason thereof Doe not you maruaile that we should abhorre it seeing that the Light doth discouer vnto vs the foulenesse of our liues the treasons and trecheries of our hearts and bosomes which wee seeking to couer with the nights mantle it proposeth vs to the open view of the world and to the shame of the day Oculus adulteri saith Iob obseruat caliginem The eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight They digge through houses in the darke but the morning is euen to them as the shadow of Death Many are the deceits and errours of the night He that trauailes in a darke night takes Rockes to be Castles Trees to be Houses Bushes to be Men Stubble fields to be standing Pooles high bankes to bee euen ground and that which is far off to be neere at hand In the Citie a man is taken for a woman a woman for a man a widow for a maid a maid for a married wife the mistresse for the maid the knight for his foot-man and the church-man for a whoores champion All is maskes and vizards and disguises and it is onely the Light that doth banish these deceits and false dealing I am the Light of the World c. The other occasion that offered it selfe for this Reuelation was the great noise and clamor of the people Some crying out that he was a Prophet others that he was the Christ but the Pharisees that hee was a Galilean Out of Galilee ariseth no Prophet In conclusion There was dissension amongst the people for him They could not see the light without the beames of the Light And therefore he saith vnto them Ego sum lux mundi And condemning those that were most passionately bent against him calling him in disgrace Galilean and that so bad a Countrey could not afford a prophet while they were vpbraiding this vnto him he tels them Ego sum lux mundi Galilee could not giue any lustre to him that was the light of the World The countrey doth not giue an honor to the Man that was borne there but the Man to the countrey Your most populous Cities haue your most heynous Delinquents Amaziah King of Iuda sent a proud message to Ioash King of Israell Come let vs see one another in the face To whom Ioash reâ—urned this answere The thistle that is in Lebanon sent to the Cedar c. As if he should haue giuen him this short come-off To boast to bee borne in Lebanon and to be but a poore thistle is an infamie and reproach vnto thee But to bee borne in a barren Desart and become a Cedar is a great honour and reputation What bootes it thee to bee a King lineally descended from Dauid and that thou wast borne in Ierusalem if the coursenesse of thy actions bewray thee to bee a thistle There are many that are an honour to their house and many againe that are a disgrace vnto it Many innoble their countrey and many make it to bee accounted base and had in contempt Some are made to honour it some to dishonour it Eue was made of better earth than Adam yet wee see in her actions shee was lesse noble c. He that followeth mee shall not walke in darkenesse c. That a man may not erre in his way hee hath not onely need of a light but a guide also Thou trauailest in the night thou comest to two seuerall wayes and thou meetest with no man the day appeares the light ouercomes the darkenesse but not thy doubting of the way and therefore thou hadst need to haue a guide In this iourney of mans life there are two wayes The one the narrow way that leads vnto Heauen the other the broad way that leades vnto Hell the one to good the other to ill The light that dispelleth the darkenesse will not serue the turne but wee must likewise haue a guide to direct vs and to tell vs This is the way and those are the towers of the Citie Salomon saith That there are wayes which seeme vnto man to secure life but lead vnto death Cogitationes mortalium timidae incertae prouidentiae nostrae There is no humane thought certaine no prouidence secure And therefore wee had need of a guide Saint Austen craueth of God in his Confessions Heale mee ô Lord of my painefull greefe and ease me of my heauy load for whatsoeuer I say or doe is for me a doubtfull question Et ipse est languor meus As necessitie doth alledge for her part that it is necessarie to eat for to liue for if our naturall heat did not find something whereupon to work and spend it's force our life would quickely be at an end But as the hauing recourse to this necessitie is sweet to the sence of our Tast it alledgeth that this maintenance is the medicine of hunger and that to the Sicke we are not to giue physicke by ounces who hath a good stomacke and is continually hungry and for that what we eat must necessarily passe through the Tast our delight presseth it selfe forward importuning for the Tasts sake that something more be done than that which is due to necessitie and because necessitie will be satisfied with a little and much will not suffice our Tast Factus sum quaestio The like plea passeth with the eyes I place them vpon colours vpon the beautie of Floures and Roses vpon the curious Pieces of the famousest Painters and vpon those more liuely Pictures which God hath painted presently there growes in me a contention betwixt Curiositie and Temperance for Curiositie doth so flatter sooth vp the eyes that it makes them oft-times to slip awrie Periculosa illecebrosa dulcedine This befalling me many times before euer I doe so much as once dreame or thinke vpon it hapning as it were vnawares which is one of the greatest miseries and the most to be pittied either in myne owne or any other mans life For I know not how farre my passions may trespasse vpon me they hauing taken possession of my heart and liuing like Inne-mates within the doores of myne owne house Nay rather euen then when I thinke my selfe to be freest from them and most secure as if they had roused themselues from some heauie sleepe they
some fryed on the Gridyron some sawne some dragged at the â—ailes of horses some with their skinnes pluckt ouer their eares and some tormented with sundrie other torments the Deuill blowing the coles of crueltie in the mouthes and hearts of the Executioners But in the end those cuts and slashes passe no further than the cloake they wound the bodie but not the soule God of his mercie giue vs the grace to endure this our fireie triall when persecution shall set vpon vs that being purified in the Furnace of Tribulation we may be like Gold that is refined and shine with glorie in the sight of God To whom c. THE XXXIIII SERMON VPON THE TUESDAY AFTER PASSION SVNDAY IOHN 7. Ambulabat Iesus in Galileam non enim volebat in Iudaeam ambulare quia quaerebant Iudaei interficere AFter these things Iesus walked in Galilee and would not walke in Iudaea for the Iewes sought to kill him After these things that is after those great myracles which he had wrought in Capernaum and after that most deepe and learned Sermon of his bodie and bloud Saint Iohn saith That our Sauiour Christ retyring himselfe from Iudaea went and wrought myracles in the Cities of Galilee because the Iews sought to kill him And because the enuious Murmurer may chance to say That hee withdrew himselfe from Iudaea lest the Scribes and Pharisees should discouer his trickes and find out his false play the Euangelist addeth That there was no such matter to be feared but that waiting for the houre of his death alreadie determined in Heauen he was desirous in the interim to slinke out of the way to free and deliuer his bodie from that malice and danger which he saw it was like to be subiect vnto in Iudaea The Greeke Texts read In Iudaea Galilaea but Saint Augustine Saint Cyril and Saint Chrysostome read it in the Acusatiue In Iudaeam Galileam id est Per Galileam Saint Chrysostome saith Non poterat ambulare in Iudaeam which is all one with Nolebat He could not that is He would not which is an vsuall phrase of speech Iesus walked in Galilee c. It is made a generall doubt amongst all the Commentators Why our Sauiour Christ being able to triumph so easily ouer the power and malice of his enemies should withdraw himselfe from their presence whom he might if he would haue trampled vnder his feet To prooâ—e which point were a needlesse labour there beeing so many Prophecies and so many places of the one and the other Testament which say as much and those loud shrieking cries which the Deuills roared forth affrighted and turning cowards in his presence are sufficient proofes thereof likewise Deaths cowardlinesse confirmes the same Egredietur Diabolus ante faciem eius ibit Mors the ouerthrowing of the Roman Cohorts with one onely word his causing the stones to freeze to their fingers that had so often sought to stone him to death his leauing them lying on the ground in a swoune that came to apprehend him are testimonies without exception Why then at euery step doth Christ retyre himselfe and seeke to get from them Saint Augustine makes this difficulty seeme greater in his bookes de Ciuit. Dei For reprehending Cato Vticensis who that he might not fall into Caesars hands killed himselfe he saith That for a man to flye from tribulation and danger is a kind of Cowardize And Saint Paul saith I know that bonds and afflictions abide for me at Ierusalem but I passe not at all neither is my life deare vnto me c. Esay going about to relate in his 52 chapter that which our Sauiour was to suffer doth first set downe by way of interrogation Who will beleeue that which Gods arme is to suffer He calls his diuine power his Arme because God shewed his power in nothing more than in his passioÌ„ Tertullian in his book de Patientia saith That God did not expresse his power so much in parcendo as in patiendo in pardoning as in suffering That saying of the Church is worthy the weighing Qui omnipotentiam tuam parcendo maxime miserando manifestus Who shewest thy omnipotency in nothing more than in pittying and pardoning offenders But what hath the strength of suffering to doe with the weaknesse of flying Petrus Chrisologus in a Sermon of his De fuga Domini taxeth the Euangelists for relating our Sauiour Christs flying For a souldier saith he should publish his constancie his valour the strength of his arme and aduance the noble Acts and conquests of his Captaine but not his weakenesses and his feares Behold againe the difficultie in regard of that our Sauiours great anguish both in body and soule before he was to dye None in the world did euer more desire to dye than he did as hath already been proooued vnto you If then sweet Iesus thou doest so much desire death and that the Iewes hunt after thee for no other end Why doest thou flye Before that I resolue this doubt we are to confesse and acknowledge with all possible humilitie that mans vnderstanding comes farre short of Gods thoughts Esay saith see how much distance there is betweene heauen and earth so much is there betweene the imaginations of God and man And therefore the Spouse said That they were high and black high like the Palme tree and blacke as the Rauens quill Who saith Ecclesiasticus can count the sands of the sea the drops of the deaw or the dayes of the world Now if humane wisedome cannot attaine vnto those things which she hath as it were betweene her hands she will lesse be able to search into the secret counsells of God And therefore the Wise man doth aduise thee Seeke not into those things that are too high for thee This way being thus made let vs now proceed to the reasons of the Saints The first is of Saint Augustine and Saint Chrysostome Our Sauiour Christ was God according to his Diuine nature and man according to his humane nature and the confession of the one being as necessary as the other he had in all his actions a great respect vnto them both All his words and deeds still tended to this that he might be beleeued to be both God and man Saint Augustine saith That his withdrawing himselfe aside as a man did not withdraw from his power as hee was God and his throwing downe of his enemie flat on the ground as he was God did not take from him his weaknesse as he was man If Christ should not haue showen in the flesh the condition of flesh in vaine had he taken flesh vpon him and if he should alwayes haue done the workes and actions of a God and giuen perpetuall pledges of his Diuine nature to what vse would haue serued his cloathing himselfe with humane flesh If Christ should haue beene a continuall Miracle what roome would there haue been left for faith or what reward could that haue receiued The second is
Diuell of the world or the flesh must flye vnto that fountaine which is God My soule thirsteth after God who is the fountaine of life The fourth That though he were able to haue trod downe all his enemies vnder his feet yet he flyeth from themâ— For a man will not alwayes shew all that he knowes nor doe all that he can Your foolish Princes make ostentation of their power but wise Princes of their Iustice. The one make their power their reason the other make their reason their power Sit pro ratione voluntas Pilat pressed our Sauiour Christ with his power Knowest thou not that I haue power to set thee free but because he was a Tyrant he forgot his iustice But our Sauiour Christ he forgot his power and reades vnto vs a Lecture of Prudence Teaching vs that we must reserue our power and our wisedome for some good occasion The fifth and last That albeit our Sauiour Christ felt the anguish and agonies of death yet were they nothing like vnto those his enemies felt for to worke his death For his death was not to be at their appointment nor how and when they would haue it The Pharisees sought to make him away secretly in a corner but he would dye in the face and sight of all the world For the greater his shame was the greater was our redemption The Pharisees would not haue it on a festiuall day Our Sauiour Christ that it should be vpon a festiuall day for it was to be the greatest feast that was euer made for man The Pharisees would haue had him rid out of the way presently Christ that it should not be till his houre was come and that he had finished all things that his Father had giuen him in charge And for this cause when they sought after him hee fled from them and when they did not seeke after him he came himselfe into the Shambles Elias fled from Iezabel that he might not dye by her hand and yet afterwards sitting vnder the Iuniper tree he desired death The Iuniper tree was a Type and figure of the Crosse for which was reserued not onely a willingnes but also a sit season to die His brethren therefore said vnto him Depart hence and goe into Iudâ—a These great and wondrous workes of thine said his brethren are not fit for these Galileans being that they are but a rude ignoraÌ„t people Get thee to Iudea for there are the High Priests and the Doctors of the Law for whom the examination and iudgement of these wonders is reserued Euthymius saith That our Sauiours brethren went hypocritically to worke and that making honour the bayt they would with that haue drawne him along to Iudaea Saint Chrysostome That they did herein taxe Christ of a kind of Dastardlinesse and fearefulnesse as if they should haue said Lord thou doest on the one side pretend honour an don the other side thou art afraid that thy Miracles should be examined and come to the touch and this makes thee flye from Iudaea So that it seemeth to this sacred Doctour That Christs kinsmen were doubtfull of the truth of his workes Whence it followeth That those whom the Euangelist here calleth Christs brethren were not of the Twelue because he sayth of them His brethren beleeued not in him But others We know and beleeue that thou art the Sonne of God But that place of Saint Matthew doth prooue it more plainely where when Christ preached one came vnto him and told him Thy mother and thy brethren stay without to speake with thee But hee stretching out his hand to his Disciples said These are my mother and my brethren In the first chapter of the Acts naming the Apostles and amongst them Iacobus Alphei Simon and Iudas he presently sayes These did perseuere in prayer with the women with the mother of our Lord and with his brethren Now his brethren were not of the number of the Apostles And of this opinion is Saint Augustine and Saint Chrysostome Saint Augustine saith That the end of this their counsell was Ambition and that it seeming vnto them that they should haue some share thereby in Christs glory said vnto him Transi hinc And to him that shall obiect that of S. Iohn His brethren beleeued not in him I answer thereunto That they did not beleeue that he was the promised Messias But withall That they did not doubt of the truth of his workes but did onely desire to see them qualified and approued by the Scribes and Pharisees who were well skild in all the prophesies My time is not yet come Two things make this opinion of Saint Augustines very probable The one That it is very common and vsuall with men to seeke to get honor and profit from the prosperitie and glory of a kinseman And albeit it is very likely that they did know that in Iudaea they would seeke to take away his life from him yet the thirst of their ambition was so great that they affected honour though it were to bee effected at the cost of their kinsmans life as the sonnes of Zebedee did their seates And he might as well haue sayd vnto them Ye know not what ye aske for it is not Gods fashion to conferre fauours for respect of country or kindred The Princes of the earth oftentimes take this course making a coward a Captaine and putting a Hare into a Lyons place But God doth not hold him worthy of reward or of the least praise who is not priuiledged as well for it by his owne proper vertue as by blood and alliance The Iewes accounted it a great honour vnto them that they were the sonnes of Abraham but because there was no shew of worth in themselues our Sauiour takes them vp very short telling them Ye are of your father the diuell And therefore there is no honour due vnto you And it is Aristotles saying in his Ethnickes Ab hu quae à natura insunt nec laudamur nec vituperamur Many Pagan Princes did follow this tracke Plutarch reporteth of King Antigonus That a young Souldier preferring a suit vnto him he returned him this answer I euermore bestow my fauours on those that deserue the same in themselues and not in others Pirrhus King of the Epyrots his sonnes vrging him to tell them which of them should be his heire and succeed him in his Kingdome answered He whose sword hath the sharpest edge The other Is our Sauiours Christ own answer My time is not yet come Which according to Saint Augustine was as if he should haue said ye would haue glory and take no paines for it And therefore he saith vnto them Your time is alwayes readie but with me my Crosse must goe before my glory I must mount by humilitie Now from these two considerations I will draw this one profitable pâ—int That when a fauour is throwne vpon a man vpon any other Title or Claime saue his owne proper vertue and
merit it is rather an affront than an honor They giue thee an office or some dignitie because thou hast presented them with some foolish bable or other or hast carryed a shooe-clout in thy pocket to wipe such a Noble mans shooe it is an infamous Title both in the giuer and the receiuer They doe thee some fauour for kindreds sake and because thou art of their blood it is a Title of little honour to him that receiues it and of lesse Christianitie in him that giues it They preferre thee to be the Princes seruant what good does that doe thee It is so base a Title That no Noble Spirit will desire it Thou gettest thy pretension by offering thy loue and seruice to this or that Court Lady it is a dangerous pretension Thou art raised by such a Lord because thou hast serued him in his vnlawfull pleasures this is a damnable Title God conferres his fauours vpon no other Title than a mans owne proper vertue Vpon Noah But why Because thou wast vpright before me in thy generation And in the day of iudgement who are they that shall be rewarded and why shall they be rewarded Come ye blessed of my Father receiue a Kingdome For I was hungry c. Vpon this Title is grounded the reward of a good death Blessed are they that dye in the Lord for their workes follow them Not because he was an Apostle a Prophet a Doctor a Confessor a Prince a Prelat can he pretend a reward but because he was a good Christian and did all the duties belonging thereunto Their works follow them as a handmaid doth her Mistres or a Page his Master If thou wilt haue honour striue to win it Your Antients set two vessells before Iupiter The one of exceeding sweet liquor the other exceeding sower and no man could come to taste of the hony vnlesse he did first trie the gall The Romans had two Temples adioyning each to other one of Honour the other of Vertue but there was no comming to that of Honour but by that of Vertue My time is not yet come but yours is alwayes ready I expect eternall and perdurable glory but yee short and momentary in regard of mine Christ must suffer and so enter into glory But this time is not yet come for you Your time is alwayes ready That season sutes best with you that is seasoned with honours and pleasures This is the North-starre of the world All sayle by it S. Augustine in his bookes de Ciuit. Dei prooueth with great elegancie That the Romans had not any God which they so much adored as that of Honour and for the Author of this truth he alledgeth Salust Ista ergo landis auiditas cupido gloriae omnia illa miranda fecit laudabilia scilicet atque gloriosa secundum existimationem hoâ—â—num This greedines of humane glory triumphed ouer all the rest of the things in Rome and not onely in Rome but in Greece And in most of your other Nations there was not a Captaine or Philosopher which did not eclipse all the other vertues that he inioyed with the shadow of this desire of Honour This did Seneca Plutarch Aristotle and Plato pretend And Socrates himselfe who did so much blazâ—n his pouertie and seem'd to take a pride in it came to be an Idolater of Honor and Fame This pill they swallowed downe and conceiuing a kind of immortality to be lapt therein cram'd their conceits therewith making the discommodity of life dangers sweats troubles c. seeme sauoury vnto them Which is a kind of birdlime which clingeth so close to our hearts that Gods greatest Saints do complaine and bewaile the great difficulty in being loosed and freed therefro Saint August did intreat of God with teares and sighes that he would free him from this plague Domine sine secatione tentamur tu nosti de hac re ad te gemitum cordis mei flumina oculorum meorum And if a Saint so humbly minded as none more doth thus weepe sigh and groane what shall become of him that is as arrogant as hee is ignorant And in another place this Sacred Doctor saith The purer thou art from this vncleannesse the liker shalt thou be vnto God And in an Epistle of his hee saith That by how much the Moone is more full and faire in our eyes it participateth so much the lesse of the same which is all one with that of Ecclesiast The light thereof diminisheth vnto the end and groweth wondrously in her changing These words seeme to carry a contrarietie but it is not so for the Moone doth decrease to our seeming towards the end of it's waning and yet euen at that very time it increaseth wonderfully receiuing from the Sun by the contrary part a far greater light It seemed then to these kins folke of Iesus Christ our Redeemer That the Feast of Ierusalem was a fit time for to gaine much honour and therefore said vnto him Depart hence and manifest thy selfe to the world Whereunto hee answered ye desire to see me in great honour and estimation with the world expecting out of my reputation and credit to reape vnto your selues a temporall reward but I doe rather desire to see my selfe dis-esteemed of the world because thereupon dependeth your spirituall promotion Saint Bernard discoursing how the blessed Virgin Mary and the glorious Saint Ioseph went to seeke Iesus when he was lost when he was 12 yeare old amongst his kindred and acquaintance saith That many miscarry by their kinsfolks means And I my selfe haue known many Prelats of very good parts and extraordinarie gifts of whom I haue beene afraid that their kinsfolke haue beene the cause of their condemnation and casting downe into hell For it is a wofull case That for 200 Ducats pension which a Prelat bestowes on a Student hee should oblige him to run ouer all the Diuine Seruice and not to leaue out so much as any one prayer and that he should confer on a kinseman thirty thousand Ducats pension without obliging him to pray a Pater-noster or say an Aue-Mary Two bloody mischiefes come vnto vs by our brethren and kindred The one in point of precedencie Enuie working most vpon those that are brethren especially if one get the start of the other or chance to be preferred before him As the History of Iosephs brethren proueth it vnto vs who for those his dreames of his future prosperity put him down into a pit and sold him away So stood the case in Abimilecks busines who for Superiorities sake and that hee might raigne slew at once 70 of his brethren Holy king Dauid could not escape this mischiefe His brethren could haue eaten him as we say with salt to see that he should pop forth and enter into the field with that mettall and courage against that great Gyant Goliah himselfe being the least amongst his brethren And was it not so I pray with Abel and Cain For a brother
and in stead of shrill and cheerefull flourishes the trumpets sound hoarse so now in this our Mary Magdalens death who was the chiefe Captaine and Ring-leader of the vices of that Citie a hollow sound of sighes was heard and a grieuous noyse of confused grones and broken throbs breathing out these wofull words ô my good Lord I haue beene like vnto the Serpent for on the one side I sustained my selfe by the earth without once offering to lift mine eyes from the earth on the other side I did prostrate my selfe laying traps and snares for thy feet soliciting the men of this City to tread thy Lawes vnder their feet Oh Lord since I haue thus playd the Serpent tread thou vpon mee crush me in the head and bruise out all the venome that is in me O sweet Iesus the Serpent vseth to enter in betweene the rocks and rub off her old skinne and leauing it there behind her to renew her selfe againe I much desire to cast off my old skinne and to leaue it in the wounds of these thy feet and on my strong rocke Christ Iesus I wot well ô Lord that so vile and lewd a woman as I am is to be made no more reckoning of than the durt that is trod vnder foot in the streetes Mulier fornicaria quasi stercus in via conculcabitur But many times the dung of the earth doth serue for the rootes of trees and other plants and because thou art that Diuine plant whose branches reach vp as high as heauen permit ô Lord that I though but durt and dung may lye at thy feet The Cananitish woman did shew a great deale of humility when she tearmed her selfe a dogge but Mary Magdalen much more â—earming her selfe dung And she wiped his feet with the haires of her head S. Ambrose asketh the question Why some of his Apostles did not wash our Sauiours feet either before or after that he had washt all theirs He renders two reasons The one for that Mary Magdalen had washt them and hee would not that this lustre which those her tears had giuen them should be lost by washing them with ordinarie and common water And the comparison is good For he that is washed with the water of Angels will refuse to be washed with any other water The other saith Saint Ambrose for that we should wash those his diuine feet with the teares of our eyes That mysticall lauing of the Apostles feet which was directed to the cleansing of their soules could not fit with our Sauiour Christ who was free from the least filth of sinne If any Lauatorie likes him it is that of our teares because in them the heart is softned Besides Those eyes and hayres which were so well imployed did expresse her good desire and thoughts And there is not any Sacrifice so acceptable vnto God as to see the desires and thoughts of our hearts to be offered vp at his feet Chrysologus saith That after God had seene the resolution and courage of Abraham in the sacrificing of his sonne he cared not a rush for all the rest and therefore cryed vnto him Lay not thine hand vpon the child neyther doe any thing vnto him for now I know thou fearest God c. For I take no pleasure in the death of the Innocent nor in the shedding of blood my delight is to see thy will submit it selfe at my feet My sister my spouse thou hast wounded mine heart Thou hast wounded my heart with one of thine eyes and with a hayre of thy necke Following the selfe-same Metaphor to wit That the hayres are the thoughts and the eyes the desires As if her beloued should haue said vnto her One desire one thought my spouse one resolute determination one firme purpose hath quite robd me of my heart And he that shall indeere the delight that he takes in one single hayre will take much more pleasure in that whole skayne of gold Bonauenture sayes That shee did behold our Sauiour by stealth and peeping through the lattice of her hayres did euer and anon snatch a sight of him But after that she had once inioyed the brightnes of his face and the sweetnes of his eyes whence he shot forth such sweet shafts of loue and that did light so right vpon her that her heart was taken therewith It seeming vnto her That the skie was now cleere and the weather very faire and prosperous she did vnruffle the sides of her haires and spred them abroad to the wind finding so good a gale And as he that hath escaped many dangerous fits of death at sea is neuer satisfied with kissing the earth when hee comes ashoare so Mary Magdalen thought shee could neuer haue her fill of kissing the blessed earth of those her Sauiours most holy feet And as the Traueller that hath passed through the deserts of Arabia his mouth being as dry as those sandie grounds or as tinder that is ready to take fire being driuen to drinke of foule and vnsauourie puddles no sooner comes to a cleere fountaine but hee rushes hastily to the water and neuer makes an end of drinking so did it fare with Mary Magdalen c. With her hayres Absalons hayre was Absalons halter Sampsons lockes serued as bands to bind him fast the Philistims by those hayres haling him to prison My hayres haue been no lesse cruell to me than theirs were to them God he is said to haue a head of gold but hayres as blacke as the Rauen. But I being a Rauen in my soule for blacknesse had my hayres of gold c. And annoynted them with oyntment Saint Gregorie saith That Mary Magdalen entertained our Sauiour Christ at this feast with two great regalos or dainties The one That it was she that made him the feast For albeit the Pharisee had inuited him he had not set before him one sauourie morsell For what could sauour well in the house of a proud scorner that is giuen to mocke and scoffe And howbeit for the body the cheere was good enough yet if it had not beene for Mary Magdalen the soule might haue fasted But she did supply that defect by affording matter to our Sauiour to taxe the Pharisee of discourtesie c. Seest thou this woman I entred into thy house and thou gauest me no water to my feete but she hath washed my feet with teares Thou gauest me no kisse But shee since the time that I came in hath not ceased to kisse my feet Mine head with oyle thou didst not annoynt but she hath annoynted my feet with oyntment c. The other That at the feet of our Sauiour she made a generall sacrifice of all those things wherewith she had before offended him as of her eyes mouth hayres hands heart and soule not leauing out so much as that her oyntment which is that which women are loathest to leaue and doe latest and hardliest part withall Saint Bernard saith That Mary Magdalen did climbe vp to heauen
and let his desire fall What Moses art thou now turned coward What had it been to thee to haue lost thy life for to behold God face to face We find afterwards that desiring pardon for his People he said vnto God O Lord pardon this People though thou blot my name out of the booke of Life Wouldest thou not forgoe thy life to see Gods face and wilt thou part with this and that other life for thy people That was a particular good this a common and a Gouernor ought mainly and especially to haue an eye vnto that Those Cowes which carried the Arke to Bethshemish neuer turned their heads at the lowing of their Calfes because being guided led along with the loue zeale of the common good they forgat their particular longings and desires He that gouernes must fix his eâ—e vpon this White without turning it aside through the importunitie of wife childrâ—n or kinsfolke c. The Romans will come This was but to giue a colour to the violence of their enuie and malice All the world is a Maske or disguise Dionysius the Tyrant entring into a Temple of Idols tooke away from the chiefest amongst them a cloake of gold and being demanded Why hee did it his answere was This cloake is too heauie for the Sommer and too cold for Winter Taking likewise a golden beard from Aesculapius he said That his father Apollo hauing no beard there was no reason his sonne should weare any all which was but a maske for his couetousnesse Simâ—lata sanctitas duplex iniquitas Hence come our contrarie nick-naming of things tearming good euill and euill good sweet sowre and sowre sweet The tyrannie and crueltie wherewith Pharaoh afflicted Gods people he stiled it wisedome Come let vs deale wisely Iehu called that passion and spleene which he bare against Ahab Zeale Behold my zeale for the Lord. Those perills of life whereinto Saul put Dauid he proclaimed to be Gods quarell Goe and fight the Lords battells And here the Pharisees call this their conspiracie a Councell and their priuat profit Zeale c. Yee perceiue nothing at all neither doe yee consider c. This was Caiphas speech as for Ioseph of Arimathea of whom Saint Luke saith That he did not consent to the councell and â—eed of them And for Nicodemus and Gamaliel it is verie probable that they had no finger in the businesse but as it is in the prouerbe The head draweth the rest of the bodie after it as the Primum mobile doth the rest of the Heauens and therefore he sayd Yee know nothing for that when in a Commonwealth a Citisen differs in his opinion from a companie of impudent and wicked persons and liues therein with God and a good conscience presently they say Que sabe poco That he is a man of no vnderstanding and knoweth not what hee speakes The reason that Caiphas renders is this It is expedient for vs that one man die for the people rather than that the whole Nation should perish At that verie instant when the High-Priest was to pronounce this decree the Holy-Ghost and the Deuil mooued him therunto both at once the one directed his heart the other his tongue but in Caiphas his purpose and intention it was the wickedest Decree and the most sacrilegious determination that was euer deliuered in the World God could not bee well pleased with Caiphas for desiring the death of the Innocent nor yet displeased with his death for that it was decreed in the sacred Councel of the blessed Trinitie That one should die for the sinnes of the people But in God and Caiphas the ends were diuerse this out of malice to our Sauiour that out of loue to Mankind Nor is it inconuenient that one and the selfesame proposition should haue a different sence and meaning Destroy this Temple and I will build it vp againe in three dayes The Pharisees vnderstood this of the materiall Temple but our Sauiour Christ of the Temple of his bodie That which thou doost due quickely Our Sauiour Christ spake this of Iudas his treating to sell him but his Disciples vnderstood him as concerning the preparation of the Passeouer And so in this place It is fit that this man should die saith Caiphas that we may not become captiues to Rome and Heauen saith It is fit that hee should die because the whole World should not perish The persecution and death of a Martyr turnes to the Martyrs good but to the Tyrants hurt Surely the Sonne of man goeth his way as it is written of him but woe be to that man by whom the Sonne of man is betrayed it had beene good for that man if he had neuer beene borne Heauen could not inuent a more conuenient meanes than the death of Christ for our good but the world could not light on a worse meanes than the death of our Sauiour Christ for it 's owne ill Caiphas treated of temporall libertie the Holy Ghost of spirituall libertie Caiphas of the safetie of his owne Nation the Holâ—-Ghost of the sauing of the whole world And therefore Saint Iohn addeth Non solum pro Gente or as the Greeke Text hath it Pro ea Gente sed vt filiâ—s Deâ— qui erant disperâ—i congregaret in vnum Not onely for that Nation but that hee might gather the children of God together that were dispersed throughout the world Origen hath obserued That Caiphas prophesied but that he was no Prophet First Because one action of a Prophet doth not make the habit or denomination of a Prophet Secondly because he did not attaine vnto the sence and meaning of the Holy-Ghost the knowledge whereof in point of prophesie is necessarie S. Ambrose saith That Caiphas pretended one thing vttered another therefore that he sin'd in the sentence which he pronounced because hisintent was bad vniust as it was with Balaam who as he was a Prophet could not curse the people of Israell but as they were particular persons they did sinne and erre so that the Holy-Ghost seruing himselfe with the tongue of Caiphas as the instrument the High-Priest did but determine that which the Holy-Ghost had before decreed Whence we may take occasion to weigh and consider the good and the ill of an intention since that one and the selfe same words are so good and so ill Saint Augustine pondereth vpon those words of Saint Paul Qui filio proprio suo non pepercit sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit illum Who spared not his owne sonne but gaue him for vs all to death This word Tradidit is verified both of the Father and of the Sonne Tradidit semetipsum pro me He deliuered vp himselfe for me As also of Iudas Qui autem tradidit cum dedit signum He gaue them a signe that was to betray him And of Pilat Tradidit voluntati eorum He deliuered him vp to their will The deliuering of him vp was all one and the same but
the Father and the Sonne did this out of their mercy and loue to the world but Iudas and Pilat out of hatred treason and iniustice Saint Ambrose saith That that murmuring about the oyntment Vt quid perditio ista vnguenti facta est What needed this waste was vttered by Iudas and the Disciples in one and the same words But in them they proceeded out of a good mind but in Iudas out of auarice for the Disciples had therein a respect to the poore For this oyntment muttered they might haue beene sold for much and beene giuen to the poore But Iudas out of the profit that he might haue made thereby vnto himselfe by filching some of it away if he had come to the fingring of it Saint Hilary expounding that saying of our Sauiour Christ Pater maior me est My Father is greater than I saith That it being heard from Arrius his mouth it sauoured like gall but from our Sauiours mouth like hony In Corinth certaine Exorcists sonnes of the Prince of the Priests would take vpon them to cast out an euill spirit Pessimum the Text stiles him Who did demand of them Who gaue you licence to execute this Office Vos autem qui estis What are ye Iesus I acknowledge and Paul I know but who are ye And the man in whom the euill spirit was ranne on them and preuailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded Saint Paul did cast out diuels in the name of the Lord Iesus Christ and these men likewise did vse the name of the Lord Iesus Christ How comes it then to passe that the successe was so contrary I answer The intention was different Their words were the same but not their intent It is expedient for vs that one man dye The naturall consideration of this place is the conueniencie of Christs death It was expedient for heauen earth angels men as wel the liuing as the dead Wherof I haue treated at large elswhere This spake he not of himselfe Saint Augustine Hoc in eo egit propheticum Chrisma c. The gift of prophesie made him to prophesie his owne euill life and that hee did prophesie ignorantly and foolishly Saint Chrysostome Vide quanta siâ— c. The grace of prophesie toucht the high Priests mouth but not his heart Whence Saint Chrysostome doth inferre how impertinently the Heretikes doe impugne the liues of the Priests with an intent and purpose to ouerthrow the force and power of Ecclesiasticall dignities and their sacred command and authoritie Moses his doubting did not hinder the gushing of the water out of the rocke nor the malice of Caiphas Gods good purpose Of Treacle the Physitians say That it hath a little touch of poyson in it and it being it's naturall condition and propertie to flye to the heart though it be hurtfull one way yet it carryes it's remedy with it So in like maner the holy Ghost made vse of Caiphas his tongue as the instrument of letting forth that diuine blood whose shedding was our saluation Of a leaud wicked fellow Plutarch reporteth That he vttered a very graue sentence and that Lacedamonia gaue order that it should be ascribed to another Answering to our à semetipso non dixit This was not a bird of his hatching Iob seemeth to bee somewhat mooued and offended That God should ayde the wicked in their distresse Thinkest thou it good to oppresse me and to cast off the labour of thine hands and to fauour the Councell of the wicked But the diuine prouidence is wont to make vse of the Councels of Tyrants and such as are enemies thereunto but does neuer assist and helpe them forward Saint Paul telleth vs That some did preach our Sauiour Christ through enuie others for opposition sake and by way of contention and saith withall In hoc gaudeo gaudebo In this I doe and shall reioyce And Christs Disciples aduising him that some did cast forth diuells in his name made them this answer Nolite prohibere Forbid them not For the indignitie and vnworthinesse in the person of the Minister doth not destroy the grace of his function and dignitie This spake he not of himselfe From so bad a man could not come so deepe a Mysterie onely God could put this so rare a conceit into his head as the deliuering vp of a Sonne for the redeeming of a Slaue Iesus therefore walked no more openly among the Iewes Seeing death now neere at hand he withdrew himselfe reading a Lecture therein vnto vs That when we are about to die and drawing on to our last home we should abandon the world and retyre our selues Remitte mihi saith Dauid vt refrigerer priusquam abeam amplius non ero Giue me leaue ô Lord to dispose of my selfe and to render thee an account of my life before I goe hence and be seen no more For to propound your cause before a Iudge you prepare and addresse your selfe vnto him before hand and shall you be negligent and carelesse when you are to appeare before God Amongst the Iudges of the earth you haue a Vista and a Reuista Hearing vpon hearing a primera segunda instancia a first and a second instance But with God you cannot enioy the like benefit his Court allowes no such course The Motto that is written there ouer his Tribunall is an Amplius non ero I shall bee no more We may not die twice for to amend in our second death the errors of our former life There is no reuersing of iudgement no appealing from this Iudge to that or from one Court to another That which wil concerne and import thee most is That thou condemne thy selfe before God condemne thee and that thou kill sinne in thee before God kill thee in thy sin This is the onely way to secure danger and to kill death Many sit vp so long at play that at last they are faine to goe to bed darkling This our liuing in the world is a kind of playing or gaming whose bed is Aeternitie Walke while ye haue light least the night come vpon you and darknesse ouertake you Study to giue ouer thâ—â—â—lay in some good time do not continue your sports in this world to the very 〈…〉 â—â—oppling out of the candle least ye runne the danger of going to bed darkeling He went thence into a country neere vnto the wildernesse c. If it goe ill with thee and that thou canst not liue well and quietly amongst some men flye from the societie of them Our Sauiour Christ hyes him to the wildernes amongst the beasts and carries his Disciples thither with him holding their fellowship to be lesse hurtfull and dangerous Frater fui Draconum saith Iob I am a brother to the Dragons and a companion to the Ostriches Inter Scorpiones habitaui saith Ezechiel I dwelt among Scorpions Albeit by their habit and shape they seeme to be men they are indeed no better than
saith Consultauerunt consilio They did lay their heads together they sat in Councell they did not onely thinke vpon but consent to the greatest malice and wickednesse which euer the diuell or hell could imagine Vt Lazarum interficerent To kill Lazarus This is the end of our thoughts when they are not cut off in time Sinne is so great an Vsurer that it goes dayly gayning more and more ground vpon mans brest till it hath brought it to a desperate estate They were growne to that desperation that they said vnto filthinesse I am thy seruant Saint Ierome saith That as the couetous thirst after money so doe these after dishonestie They are like those that goe downe into a deepe well they knit rope to rope and one sinne to another Why dyed I not in the birth Or why dyed I not when I came out of the wombe Why did the knees preuent me And why did I sucke the brests Wherein the Prophet painteth foorth vnto vs the foure estates of a child The first in the wombe The second when it is borne The third when it is swadled vp The fourth when they giue it the teat S. Gregorie doth applie these foure to the foure estates of sinne The first in the thought which conceiues it The second in the ill which bringeth it forth The third when we put it on like a garment The fourth when we nourish and maintaine it Saint Augustine painteth foorth these foure estates in these foure dead folkes In the daughter of the Archisinagoguian who stirred not from home In the sonne of the widow of Naim who was accompanied to his graue In Lazarus who lay foure dayes dead And in him whom our Sauiour Christ did not raise vp at al saying Let the dead bury the dead They consulted to put Lazarus to death Our Sauiours death was already concluded on and now this cruel people treated of making away Lazarus Of whom our Sauiour Christ said Vt descendat super vos omnis sanguis iustus à sanguine Abel ad sanguinem Zachariae c. It is no maruell that they sought to kill Lazarus for in him was sum'd vp all the blood of the iust that had beene shed in the world And the reason that makes this to seeme so is because all the iust that dyed in the world since Abel were a Type and figure of Christ And if they did die it was to giue testimonie of his death and had it not beene for our Sauiour Christs death his had not preceedd And for that the life of the iust was a shadow of that of our Sauiour Christ in taking away his life in whom all the liues of the world were contained they were guiltie of all the rest and as much as lay in them were the Homicides of the whole world And if he that carryes but one mans death about him findes no place of safetie vpon earth What rest shall he find that hath so many deaths crying vpon his conscience Saint Chrysostome treating of the sinne of Cain saith That it was greater than that of Adam For besides his loosing in the turning of a hand the greatest Empire that euer the world had we cannot imagine any sinne to be greater than the barring of all mankind from heauen the depriuing him of grace and of the friendship of God yet notwithstanding this seemeth to be the greater and hee proueth it by the sentence that was giuen vpon the one sin the other God sentencing Adam said Cursed is the earth for thy sake c. The blow of the curse was to fall vpon Adam and as the father which makes shew to throw the candlestick at his sons head but flings it against the next wall so God sayes Cursed is the earth for thy sake But with the Serpent and with Cain he proceeded otherwise To the Serpent he said Thou art cursed aboue all cattle and aboue euery beast of the field vpon thy belly shalt thou goe and dust shalt thou eate all the dayes of thy life To Cain Thou art cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receiue thy brothers blood from thine hand it shall not henceforth yeeld vnto thee her strength c. He did not forbid him to tread vpon the earth but he forbad him to enioy the fruits thereof c. Secondly The voyce of thy brothers blood cryeth vnto me from the earth Saint Ambrose saith That he heard the voyce of Abel for with God the dead speake as well as the liuing The Hebrew hath it The voyce of bloods putting it in the plurall number as Lyra hath noted it For hee had shed so many bloods as Abel might haue had children For albeit they had neither being nor life in themselues yet they might in their cause and beginning It cryes to mee from the earth Not from his body for though thy brother should haue forgiuen thee yet the earth would not pardon thee to see it selfe violated by a Traytor And if God would haue but giuen way thereunto a thousand mouths would haue opened to swallow thee vp aliue but being he would not consent thereunto it goes choking those seedes which might haue serued thee for thy sustenance and delight and shaking thee off from thence like a banished man this Writ is gone out against thee A vagabond and runnagate shalt thou be vpon the earth Thirdly All the superiour and inferiour creatures were to be his persecutors and his tormentors the heauens with thunder and lightning the Angels with fearfull apparitions the beasts of the woods and men shunning his company and God himselfe chastising him with a continuall trembling But some wil say How could God persecute him since he published a Proclamation That whosoeuer should kill Cain should be punished seuen-fold Sextuplum punietur The Seuentie Interpreters render it Septem vindictas exoluet Seuen seuerall reuenges shall bee taken of him Procopius answers hereunto That this Proclamation was made against Cain For a man cursed by God persecuted by heauen by earth by Angells by men by beasts and by himselfe would haue held it a happinesse to dye but God would not that he should inioy so great a blessing But that he should liue seuen generations and that in euery one of them God would take seuere vengeance of him Septem vindictas exoluet till that Lamech should come who gaue him a sodaine and violent death And this is a notable place against all kind of murderers and man slayers Dauid would not drinke of the water though he were thirsty which his souldiers brought him because it had cost them the hazard of their liues and therfore offered it vp in sacrifice to God They did poure forth innocent blood like water in the siege of Ierusalem Dauid did shed the water because it seemed to him to be blood and others shed blood as if it were but water some take blood for water and others water for blood Cogitauerunt vt Lazarum interficerent They consulted to
vertue and power of the eyes of our Sauiour Christ they did paint a sunne whence three Raies or bright-shining beames brake forth the one raising vp one that was dead the other did breake a stonie heart and the third did melt a snowie mountaine and the Motto was this Oculi Dei ad nos The beames of Christs eyes raise vp the dead breake rocks and melt snow A facie tua saith Esay montes defluent The fire which they hid in the transmigration of Babylon the children of Israel found at their returne turned into water but exposing it to the beames of the sunne it grew againe to be fire to the great admiration of the beholders which is a figure of Saint Peter who through his coldnes became water but the beames of the Sonne of righteousnesse raised a great fire out of this water Pliny reports of certaine stones in Phrygia that being beaten vpon by the beames of the sunne send forth drops of water But the beames of the Sonne of righteousnesse did not onely from this Petra or stone Saint Peter draw teares but whole riuers of water According to that of Dauid Which turneth the rocke into water-pooles and the flint into a fountaine of water Saint Ambrose seemeth to stand somewhat vpon it why Peter did not aske forgiuenes of his sins at Gods hands Inuenio saith he quod fleuerit nō inuenio quid dixerit lachrymas lego satisfactionem non lego I find that he wept but do not find what he said I read his teares but read not his satisfaction The reasons of this his silence and that he did not craue pardon of God by word of mouth are these First because he had runne himselfe into discredit by his rash offers and afterwards by his stiffe deniall and therefore thought with himselfe That it was not possible for him to expresse more affection with his mouth than he had vttered heretofore Etiam si oportuerit me mori tecum non te negabo c. And that tongue which had deny'd him to whom it had giuen so good an assurance could neuer as he thought deserue to be beleeued And therefore our Sauiour questioning him afterwards concerning his loue he durst not answer more than this Thou knowest ô Lord whether I loue thee or no. Secondly he askes not pardon by words because the pledges of the heart are so sure that they admit no deceit And for that Lachryma sunt cordis sanguis Tears are the hearts blood S. Ambrose therfore saith Lachrymarū preces vtiliores sunt quā sermonū quia sermo in precando fortè fallit lachryma omnino non fallit The prayers of teares are more profitable than of words for words in praying may now and then deceiue vs but teares neuer S. Chrysostome saith That our sinnes are set downe in the Table-booke of Gods memorie but that teares are the sponge which blotteth them out And indeering the force of teares he saith That in Christs souldier the noblest Act that he can do is to shed his blood in his seruice Maiorem charitatem nemo habet c. For what our blood shed for Christ effecteth that doth our teares for our sinnes Mary Magdalen did not shed her blood but she shed her teares And Saint Peter did not now shed blood but hee shed teares which were so powerfull that after that hee had wept hee was trusted with a part of the gouernment of the Church who before hee had wept had not gouernment of himselfe for teares cure our wounds cheere our soules ease the conscience and please God O lachryma humilis saith Saint Ierome tuum est regnum c. O humble Teare thine is the kingdome thine is the power thou fearest not the Iudges Tribunall thou inioynest silence to thine accusers if thou enter emptie thou doest not goe out emptie thou subduest the inuincible and bindest the omnipotent Hence it is that the diuell beareth such enuie to our Teares When Holofernes had dryed vp the fountaines of Bethulia hee held the Citie his and the Diuell when he shall come to dry vp the teares in our eyes when he hath stopt vp those waters that should flow from the soule of a sinner hee hopes he is his Elian of Tryphon the Tyrant reports of this one vnheard-of crueltie Fearing his Subiects would conspire against him he made a publike Edict that they should not talke one with another and being thus debarr'd of talking one with another they did looke very pittifully one vpon another communicating their minds by their eyes And being forbid by a second Edict that they should not so much as looke one vpon another when they saw they were restrained of that libertie likewise wheresoeuer they met one another they fell a weeping This seemed to the Tyrant the damnablest and most dangerous conspiracie of all the rest and resolued to put them to death The diuell is afraid of our words afraid of our affections but much more afraid of our teares O Lord so mollifie our sinfull hearts that whensoeuer we offend thee our words our affections and our teares may in all deuotion and humilitie present themselues before thee crauing pardon for our sinnes Which we beseech thee to grant vs for thy deare Sonne Christ Iesus sake To whom with the holy Spirit be all prayse honour and glorie c. THE XL. SERMON The Conuersion of the good Theefe MAT. 27. Cum eo crucifixi sunt duo Latrones vnus a dextris alter a sinistris There were crucified with him two theeues one at his right hand an other on his left THere are three most notable Conuersions which the Church doth celebrate That of Saint Paul That of Mary Magdalen That of the good Theefe The one liuing here vpon earth The other now raigning in heauen The third dying vpon the Crosse. Of all the rest this seemeth to be the most prodigious and most strange First because Mary Magdalen saw many of our Sauiour Christs myracles heard many of his Sermons and besides her sisters good example might worke much good vpon her Secondly Saint Paul saw Christ rounded about with glorie more resplendent than the Sunne had heard that powerfull voyce which threw him downe from his horse and put him in the hands of that dust whereof hee was created But the Theefe neither saw Miracle nor Sermon nor example nor glorie nor light nor voyce saue onely Christ rent and torne vpon the Crosse as if hee had beene as notorious a theefe as those that suffered on either side of him Againe How much the quicker is the motion and the extreames more distant repugnant and contrarie by so much the more strange and wonderfull is this change and alteration This theef was a huge way off from either beleeuing or louing our Sauiour Christ and that hee should now on the sodaine and in so short a space passe from a theefe to a Martyr from the gallowes to Paradise must needs be an admirable change Mira mutatio saith S.
Leo vt insidiator viarum vsque ad Crucem reus sit Christi repente Confessor This is a wonderfull change that a high-way robber condemned here to the Crosse should in the turning of a hand come to confesse Christ. In this one action did all the attributes of God shine and shew themselues in a most glorious manner and especially his wisedome in making these extreames to meet and ioyne together so on the sodaine and as it were in an instant Ecclesiastes saith That there is a time to bee borne and a time to dye a time to plant and a time to plucke vp that which is planted a time to slay and a time to heale a time to breake downe and a time to build a time to weepe and a time to laugh All these extreames did his wisedome knit and linke together In this action meete those two extreames of being borne and of dying for as much as wee see this theefe dye to the world and to bee borne anew to Christ. And the death of the righteous the Church stiles it a birth Those of planting and plucking vp that which is planted because grace is here planted in the soule of the theefe and sinne pluckt vp Those of slaying and healing for that our Sauiour Christ receiues these mortall wounds in his owne bodie and healeth those of the theefe Those of building and breaking downe that is built In regard that the body of sinne is destroyed and the building of grace is set vp in him Those of weeping and laughing in that the theefe doth now bewaile his sinnes and laughes for ioy to heare the gladsome newes of heauen In a word the more incurable that the diseases are which a Physitian cureth the more saith Saint Augustine is his skill and cunning to be commended Gods omnipotencie was likewise seene herein Saint Chrysostome saith That it was so great a Miracle that the Sunne should be darkened that the earth should tremble and shake that the stones should dash their heads one against another or that the vayle of the Temple should bee rent in twaine as was the inlightning of a blind vnderstanding the mollifying of a hard and stonie heart and the remoouing from the soule the vayle of it's ignorance And the truth of this may very well bee prooued by Moses his rod to whose Empire though the earth the sea the elements light darkenesse and all creatures whatsoeuer were obedient yet could it not mooue hard-hearted Pharaohs brest He likewise discouered his omnipotencie in making the Theefe an instrument to reuenge himselfe of the Diuell of the Pharisees of Pilat and of the people Of the diuell who as Saint Ambrose saith had blasoned it abroad to the world and triumphed greatly therin That our Sauiour Christ hauing but twelue Apostles he had woon one of them from him persuading him that it were the better life of the two to be a theefe than an Apostle but for a Iudas a poore base theefe which stole but blankes and farthings from the pouertie of that sacred Colledge Christ won a theefe from him which had spent his whole life in the diuels seruice and had committed many famous robberies and notorious thefts Theeues are the diuells weapons but our Sauiour Christ being the stronger of the two tooke from him the greatest theefe in the world leauing him with his owne sword confounded and ashamed I haue compared thee ô my Loue to the troupes of horses in Pharaohs charriots Salomon had great store of horses of the Aegyptian race for to furnish his charriots and to feare his enemies as the French vse to wage warre against Spaine with Spanish Gennets He then saith that as Salomon made war against the Aegyptians with the horses of Aegypt so the Church confoundeth the diuell with his owne Armes which are theeues and robbers Confounding and making ashamed Pilat the high Priests the Pharisees and the people with the tongue of a theefe There is not any thing in the world more infamous than a theefe Of all basenesse it was the greatest that our Sauiour should die as a theefe It was much that hee should become man Exinaniuit semetipsum more that hee should take vpon him the forme of a seruant Formam serui accipiens and more then that That he should be no more esteemed of than a worme of the earth and more yet then this That he should take vpon him in his Circumcision the image of a sinner but most of all that hee should die as a notable theefe betwixt two theeues In the garden he said Ye come forth to apprehend me as if I had beene a Theefe There he was taken like a theefe here condemned to death as a theefe that no man might take pittie of him There is no man that dies by the hand of Iustice but is pittied of the people saue only the theefe not one that takes compassion of him He that seeth a theefe hung vp in the high-way vseth as he passeth by to say Benedictum lignum per quod fit Iustitia Blessed be that gallowes on which such good Iustice is done The Church receiueth the Iewes the Moore and the Gentile but will not entertaine a theefe In Leuiticus God did forbid the Weasil and the Mouse and the frog also the Rat and the Lyzard and the Cameleon and the Crocodile and the Mole as vncleane and vnfit to be eaten and if you will but reade in the naturall Histories the conditions and properties of these creatures you shall see that they are all theeues It made many men maruell That the Crocodile being so great a creature the diuine Historian should reckon him vp amongst these other contemptible small creatures And Rodolphus Flauiacensis renders the reason of it to be this That they haue all of them theeuish qualities The Crocodile more particularly swims in the sea runnes on the land one while by day another while by night she layes a verie little egge which afterward growes to be a great beast and goes still increasing as long as shee liueth and is not onely the stampe and figure of a Sea-pyrat but of a Land-robber which night and day seekes all occasions to rob and steale Like vnto that theefe which in some poore country village begins first to fall a pilfring of some sixe royalls and from this so small a beginning raiseth his stock to fiftie thousand Ducats and comes at last to be a Regidor a Cauallero and a Titulado And by this so vile and errant a theefe as is here now treated of our Sauiour Christ did confound all Ierusalem He might haue made vse of the tongue of a Prophet or an Euangelist but as Sampson shewed his valour in conquering a thousand armed men with the iawe-bone of an Asse which had not approued it selfe to be so great had he made vse of Golias his sword or Hercules club or of Theseus his mace so our Sauiour Christ c. Gods mercie in this case did also shew it selfe exceedingly Saint
meanes being in both alike the ends should be so diuers and different That the one should acknowledge Gods power and repenting his wickednesse sorrowed with teares and said I Nebuchadnezzar praise and glorifie the King of Heauen But the other persisting in his obstinacie said I know not the Lord Who is the Lord c. In this account may come in those two seruants of Pharaoh which were fellow-prisoners with Ioseph whereof the one was saued and the other hanged We may likewise put into the reckoning those two of whom Saint Matthew saith that grinding in one mill The one shall be receiued and the other refused And those two who standing by Aaron when he was offering incense the one was strucken dead and the other remained aliue And as in the Tribunall of iudgement God shall put the sheepe on the right hand and the goates on the left and shall separate the good fishes from the bad and chaffe from the corne and the tares from the wheat so in the Tribunall of the Crosse Leo the Pope saith he condemned the blasphemous theefe and saued the good theefe The second morall reason was to teach vs in those two theeues the easiest and the safest way to heauen To wit That a soule should liue betweene hope and feare Feare is the bridle which holds in Hope Hope is the anchor which secureth Feare Feare makes thee a coward considering what thou art the smal worth that is in thee But Hope makes thee confident considering what God is and his infinite clemencie Vpon these two vertues God imployeth all his fauours Gods eyes are vpon those that feare him and those that trust in his mercie For he hath his eyes nayled vnto those which feare him and place their hopes on his goodnesse Iacob prophesied of Isachar That he should be a strong Asse cowching downe betweene two burthens It is a common saying That those are not to be trusted that liue between two Kingdomes because borderers for the most part are a bold and vnruly people But here it is quite otherwise The best people for heauen are those that liue between the Feare of hell and the Hope of heauen Saint Augustine declares the extraordinarie happinesse of this vertue of Feare Beatipauperes Spiritu Blessed are the poore in Spirit For they that haue much to loose liue still in feare A stout Roman being threatned by Caesar told him Mihi senectus metum ademit Old age hath made mee fearelesse Hee had but a few yeares to liue which made him esteeeme the lesse of the losse of his life But the righteous considereth with himselfe that he hath eternall yeares to loose I had those yeares still in my mind wâ—e therefore vnto them that haue followed the wayes of Cain and are cast away by the deceit of Baalams wages There are some which build too much vpon their owne confidence like vnto Balaam who hauing been both disobedient and couetous would yet notwithstanding dye the death of the righteous Without Hope what good can man inioy The diuell vsed all the tricks and deuices that his wit was able to inuent to put Iob out of hope For which end he made vse of two meanes The one he took from the earth by procuring that those his friends on whom he most trusted and hoped for greatest comfort from them should cast him downe and driue him into despaire by their bitter words and sharpe censures The other from heauen by getting fire to descend from thence speaking in these two thus vnto him What shouldst thou now doe but despaire and die seeing thou hast nothing to hope for either from heauen aboue or earth beneath He hath not onely robbed mee of my leaues and my boughs tearing downe my branches but hath rent vp my hopes by the rootes And yet for all this saith patient Iob Though he kill me yet will I trust in him Saint Ambrose saith That God doth most of all resent the sinne of desperation Not because of all other sinnes it is the greatest but because it is most preiudiciall to man for it shuts vp the passage to blessednesse and barres the doore of heauen against vs God being more sensible of the hurt we doe our selues than of the wrong wee doe him And therefore Iudas his despaire did much more trouble him than did his selling of him for in selling him he did but shew what little reckoning he made of his Humanitie but in his despairing the base opinion that he had of his Diuinitie Vae illis as before qui in viam Cain abierunt Woe vnto them that haue followed the wayes of Cain Now the worst of those wayes that Cain tooke was his despaire Maior est iniquitas mea quam vt veniam merear as if he should haue said God either cannot or will not pardon so grieuous and hainous a sinne as this is Yet we see that God did permit that he might lay some good ground for our Feare that one of the theeues should be damned and that it is neither our dying side by side with Christ nor his bedashing vs with his diuine blood neither the prayer which he made to his Father with teares in his eyes nor the hauing of the image of a Crucifixe or of the Virgin Mary hanging at our beds head but the wearing of Christ in our hearts by Faith could do this theefe any good or keep him from leaping at once from the Crosse vnto hell and yet he would that the other should be saued not onely as he was a theefe and to finde pardon of that particular offence as to lay a foundation for the Hope of forgiuenesse for all other sinnes whatsoeuer committed by vs in this world and to the end that his absolution as Saint Augustine saith and his indulgence might serue as a comfort to all Christians For as in Adam we lost Paradise so in the theefe we got it againe Certaine desperate fellowes vttered by Ezechiel Our bones are dryed vp and our hope is perished But God in answer sayes vnto them I will open your Sepulchres and put life into those your drie bones doe ye not therefore despaire And for the better ingrafting of this truth in his peoples hearts he raised vp a whole field that was full of these bones c. Arnoldus the Abbot saith Non habet metas diuina clementia Sit qui inuocet erit qui exaudict Sit qui poeniteat non deâ—rit qui indulgeat Gods mercie knowes no bounds nor limits Let man call and God will heare let man repent and God will forgiue We indeed receiue things worthy of that we haue done but this man hath done nothing amisse This whole Historie doth depend vpon these foure points The first point are those motiues which moued this Theefe to be conuerted The second The great good hap that he had The third The diligence that he vsed on his part that God might pardon and fauour him The fourth and last The fauour
Thou art the Christ the Sonne of the liuing God Sithence then that I haue confessed and acknowledged thee to bee the Sonne of God shall I permit to see my Sauiour humble himselfe at my feet Clemens Romanus a Disciple of Saint Peter reporteth in his Apostolicall Constitutions That as often as Saint Peter did call this action of his to mind so often did he shed teares to see Christ at his feet whence wee are to weigh and consider the great modestie of Saint Peter who was not so much astonished to see Iesus Christ at the feet of Iudas as to see him at his own feet All the complements which Peter vsed with our Sauiour Christ are worthy commendation full of discretion reuerence and loue Onely his default was That hee would striue and contest with our Sauiour Christ for want of true knowledge of those ends whereunto Christs actions were directed So that if mannerlinesse may bee a fault in any man it was now in Peter for refusing to haue his feet washt the mysterie whereof had he but knowne he would not haue made so nice a matter of it Saint Cyrill treating of the ends of this act of our Sauiors saith That he desired by all means possible to ingraft Loue in Mans brest to giue vs to vnderstand That without great humilitie there can be no great Loue. Guarricus saith That our Sauior Christ did loue man so wel yea in such a maner of fashion that he resolued with himself to iumpe agree with him to shape himself according to his humour and to doe any thing whatsoeuer though neuer so meane so as it might make for his good And when he saw that Man was so proud that he would not submit himselfe to serue him he sayd Well seeing Man will not be brought to serue mee I will submit my selfe to serue him stoupe to so low and so base a seruice as to wash his feet This made him dye betweene two Theeues He was wel content at his death to want al other comforts the world could affoord him only he could not be drawne from mans side that would haue gone to the very heart of him Thou art faire my beloued and comely S. Bernard sayth That this repetition doth point out a two-fold beautie vnto vs. The one of his Diuinitie wherewith he doth beautifie deifie the Angels and the Saints The other of his Loue which made him debase himselfe so much as to wash his Disciples feet The first is of greater admiration The second of much more consolation Ibi pietas magis emicuit vbi charitas magis refulsit There Pietie did glitter most where Charitie shined most Some man may aske me the question Why the rest did not seeke to excuse themselues I answer That this courtesie being complemented and pleaded by Peter and consented vnto by Peter the rest had nothing more to doe or say therein If I shall not wash thee c. Laurentius Iustinianus saith That the good old man was somewhat daunted with this threatning and now yeelded and submitted himselfe in such sort that whereas before he had being intreated denyed to haue his feet washt being thus threatned by our Sauiour he now offers to haue both his feet and his head washt O Lord wash the whole man in vs with thy blood that we may appeare cleere in thy sight c. THE XLII SERMON Of our Sauiour Christs death IOH. 19. Baiulans sibi Crucem c. Bearing his Crosse c. WHat with the spittle stripes blowes buffets mockes scornes scourges thornes his beard and haires clotted with blood our Sauiour Christ was so much altered from that man which the Spouse paints him foorth to be Candidus rubicundus electus ex millibus My wellbeloued is white and ruddy the chiefest of ten thousand that Ieremie could say He is a man yet who can know him And Esay He had neither shape nor comelinesse Or as another letter hath it He had not the forme of a man And he himselfe did not thinke himselfe to be a man saying I am a worme and no man And it seeming vnto Pilat to be the lesser reuenge of the two to see him dead than to bee thus wounded and torne by them and that there could be no emnitie no malice so raging and so cruell which with so sad a spectacle and so woful a sight would not loose somewhat of i'ts fiercenesse and violence leaning himselfe against the window and looking wistly vpon him he breathed forth these two words Ecce homo Behold here a Man sayth S. Austen fitter for the graue than a throne yee did heretofore enuie him for the great applause which the world gaue vnto his Miracles but now his Miserie may blot that out of your brests First I would haue yeto consider what manner of thing Man was when hee was moulded by the hands of God in the Creation how rich how wise and how perfect a creature he was In his Incarnation in what a prosperous estate did he liue how mightily enuied by Hell In the Resurrection how glorious and how immortall And how God againe by the hands of Man is mocked scourged spit vpon and contemned Secondly if a Pilat taking pittie of our Sauiour Christ could say vnto the people Ecce homo Behold the Man for to mooue them vnto pâ—ttie it is not much that a Preacher of the Gospell whose dutie it is to preach Christ crucified should say vnto Christian people Ecce homo Behold the Man No man will trust the pittie and compassion of an enemy Saul remained much amazed and confounded when Dauid stole from his beds-head his speare and his pitcher and when in the caue he had cut off the lappet of his garment and with tear did propound and promise to himselfe to loue him and fauour him all his life long yet Dauid would not beleeue him because no man that is wâ—se will trust an enemie Ionas who was a figure of our Sauiour Christ beeing ouerwhelmed in the Sea the waues thereof did assuage their rage waxed calme But our Sauior Christ being ouerwhelmed in the Sea oft hese his torments hee couldnot allay the furie of those billowes which grew stil rougher and rougher in the turbulent breasts of his people for there was but little good to be expected from so professed an enemie yet hee that is a Christian hath our Sauiour Christ to bee his Friend his Lord his Father and his God And representing himselfe vnto vs in this pitifull and lamentable manner what heart is there so hard which will not bee mooued to commiserate so wretched a case Saint Paul had made vnto those of Galilee a discription of our Sauiour Christ vpon the Crosse and it seeming vnto him that they were not mooued thereat but that their hearts were hardned he cry'd out aloud vnto them O yee foolish and senselesse Galathians who hath bewiched you Is it possible that Christ crucified should not
fastned the right hand might breake the flesh and teare the sinewes they were faine likewise to bind his right arme with cords to the Crosse. And with this so violent a force and extreame reaching of his armes the bones of our Sauiour Christs bodie were so dislocated and disjoynted that you might plainely tell them that prophesie of that Kingly Prophet Dauid being then verified Dinumerauerunt omnia ossa mea They numbred all my bones c. Hilarie saith That our Sauiour Christ gaue here greater signes of his sorrow and griefe than in all the rest of those bitter passages of his passion And Rodulph and Saint Bridget affirme That of all other his torments this was the greatest And it is a thing worthy our consideration That our Sauiour Christ should bee more sensible of this nayling of his hands than of that Crowne of thornes which they platted on his head those cruell stripes wherewith they scourged him and that vinegre and gall which they gaue him to drinke Wherof there are two reasons rendred The one naturall which Thomas toucheth vpon Deliuering vnto vs that so intollerable is the paine and anguish of the sinewes that many that were crucified through the extreamitie of the paine did swound and were depriued of their senses And therefore our Sauiours torment must needes be so much the more by how much his wounds were greater than theirs Foderunt manus meas pedes meos Hugo Cardinalis doth ponder the Metaphor of foderunt Hee doth not say Clauarunt but effoderunt Like one that digges a pit in the earth The other morall because he held vs in his hands And therefore it is said Omnia tradidit Pater in manus suas non rapiet eas quisquam de manu sua The Father hath deliuered all things into his hands and no man shall snatch any thing out of his hand And in token that he was more sensible of our torments than his own the greatest paine he felt was in the nayling of his hands Leo the Pope saith That to those that were crucified they did vse to put a vayle or bend before their eyes when their hands were nayled and that they tooke the like course with our Sauiour Christ but his Loue had so ordered the businesse that he had eyes to see his owne hurts but not ours The Prophet Zacharie askes the question Quae sunt plagae istae in medio manuum tuarum What are those wounds in the midst of thy hands The like question he might as well haue made of the wounds in our Sauiors side and his sacred feet but that Man was abiding in those the wounds of his hands In manibus meis scripsi te I haue written thee in my hands And therefore made more reckoning of them And at the day of iudgement he saith by the mouth of Zacharie Aspicient ad me quem crucifixâ—runt They shall looke vpon mee whom they haue pierced The sinner shall open his eyes whose name being written like a posie in those hands and himselfe worne by them as a ring of remembrance shall see his saluation nayled to those hands which his sinnes had nayled so fast to the Crosse. In a word as in the garden hauing more care of his than himselfe he said in an imperious kind of manner Sinite hos abire Suffer these to depart And on the Crosse he said vnto his Father In manus tuas Domine commendo Spiritum meum Vpon which place Saint Augustine saith That he there called the faithfull his Spirit and his Soule taking no care of his owne spirit or soule for that was vnited to the Diuinitie So that in this regard for that he held vs in his hands he felt more the torment of his hands than of any other part Neuer did humane Nature receiue so great an iniurie as the death of the Crosse. Tostatus expounding that place of Deut. Maledictus a Deo qui pependit in ligno Cursed is he that hangs vpon the tree saith That it was an iniurie done to God himselfe that a creature created after Gods owne image should dye on the Crosse Nefas est saith Cicero vincire ciues Romanos scelus verberare prope parricidium necare Quid dicam in cruce agere It is a hainous act to bind a Citizen of Rome a villanie to scourge him and in a maner paricide to kill him What shall it be then to put him on the Crosse Pliny saith That the Romans did set vp certain Crosses wheron they hung those dogges which did not giue warning by barking when the Gaulus did scale the Capitol which surprisal was preuented by the gaggling of the geese Suidas saith That when any one did die a bad and vnfortunate death they did put a Crosse vpon his graue Scaliger reporteth That vpon a time there was a strange kind of headach in Rome which had spread it selfe ouer all the Citie which was so extreame painefull vnto them that many of them did hang themselues in their owne garters chusing rather to die than to endure the paine thereof and some did hang themselues for feare of that sicknesse before euer it had seised vpon them Whereupon the Senat being desirous to preuent so great a mischiefe published a Proclamation punishing therein these desperate offenders with the infamie of the Crosse that dishonour might cut off that inconuenience which life could not persuade Now so great then was the loue which our Sauiour Christ bare vnto vs that he deposited in the infamie and reproch of the Crosse all that honour which hee had gotten himselfe by his myracles his doctrine and vnblameable life leauing them all hanging on the Crosse as a Trophie of his loue Hercules erected pillars where hee thought the world had ended and extended it's vtmost bounds as a Trophie of his prowesse and valour bearing this letter or inscription Non plus vltra Our Sauiour Christ shewed his Loue vnto vs to the end in that his Trophie of the Crosse with this letter or inscription No Loue can goe beyond this Loue And therefore the Crosse is the North-starre of our comfort and hope For what can hee denie vs or what will not he grant vnto vs who on the Crosse shewed such exceeding great loue vnto vs But some man perhaps will aske me How can so bad a thing be able to afford comfort Saint Basil cleeres it with this answer That the death of our Sauiour Christ did alter the nature and qualitie of things turning ioy into sorrow and sorrow into ioy And therefore it is said Vae vobis qui ridetis Woe be vnto yee that laugh And as we see sometimes that the fire doth not burne that the water doth not drowne and that wild beasts doe not bite because the diuine Omnipotence doth truck and exchange the actiuenesse of those Elements and beasts so Christ tooke away the sorrow paine of the Crosse and placed thereon Ioy Comfort and Hope The daughters of Ierusalem went forth to
praise of it 41 Apparell How to be limitted 235 The abuse of it 236 B Baptisme THe foundation of Christian building 558 Bethesda the figure of it 165 Beloued A name of good preheminence 502 Bells The vse of them 526 Beelzebub Why resembled to a flye 295 Benefit See Courtesie Well bestowed if much desired 546 Beautie The force of it 571 Blessing Why Isaac would haue conferred the blessing on Esau. 227 God measures out his blessings to vs more by Loue than Wisedome 262 He substracts them from the vngratefull 270 C Centurion HIs behauiour iustified 36 His faith commended 34 Capernaum The glorie of it 23 315 Why Christ would worke no myracles there 318 There began the preaching of the Gospell 315 Change A change to be seene in all things 247 Charitie See Mercy and Vnmercifulnesse Much respected of God 100 praised of Men. 307 Must be practised towards all 337 How it differs from couetousnesse 439 Chaire What is meant by Moses his Chaire 212 Chastisement See Punishment Gods chastisements whereunto resembled 244 To what purpose they serue ibid. More in shew than in substance 452 Children What care Parents should haue of them 226 If vertuous their Parents glorie 310 Christ a Schoole-master euen to these 462 Foure degrees of child-hood and whereunto alluding 602 Christ. See Death His comming to Iudgement 93 With what Maiestie it shall be 96 97 His combat with the deuill 71 How called the hope of the Gentiles 142 Why called the Sonne of Dauid rather than of Abraham 149 His transfiguration and the reasons of it 184 c. The necessitie of it 187 The qualitie 188 Glorious in his Passion three manner of waies 192 His bodie two-fold Naturall and Mysticall 193 His Passion the fountaine of our glorie ibid. He suffered onely because he would 200 His willingnesse to dye 219 Why called the Sonne of Man 223 His blood why shed in the Vine-yard 265 If conceiued in the heart soone discouered 309 His Pedigree the noblest that euer was 310 His workes of two sorts 318 No Monopoly to bee made of his Worth 326 As he was meeke in reprouing so he was stout in reuenging 359 He brings Health and Holinesse wheresoeuer he commeth 374 Compared to the Sunne 388 The onely Well of liuing Water 394 A Controller of curious nicenesse ibid. The prerogatiue of his flesh 379 More mooued at our disasters than he was at his owne 494 Why without peccabilitie 524 c. His innocency exemplified both by his life death 526 Neuer any so abused by the World as he 537 543 Hee must be sought while he may be found 543 His power neuer more seene than in his Passion 549 605 He prooues his Diuinity by no other testimonie than his workes 556 Alwayes ready to forgiue Sinners 583 Why called a Bull. 605 His life was to bring the Iewes to knowledge his death the Gentiles 605 His Humility the character of his Loue. 637 His company a sure protection 622 Euery part of him affoords a Sinner confidence 645 His Dietie when most concealed ibid. His bloud ought to be much regarded 647 The difference betwixt his Triumph those of Men. 16 Christians Led more by Custome than Deuotion 414 Many now worse enemies to Christ than were the Pharisees 267 Many Christians why called sheepe 567 Church Why persecuted 65 Likened to a Rocke ibid. Her greatest persecution is to want persecution ibid. Her firmenesse 250 Gods fauour towards her 345 Why stiled a well ordered Army 440 In her infancie she needed miracles 326 She thriues because watered with the blood of Christ and his Martyrs 251 Clemencie A profitable vertue 534 Communion Two dignities to be considered in it One of the Person that receiueth Christ the other of the Preparation wherewith he doth receiue it 33 636 Confession When to be made 203 The onely way to absolution 281 Without it no true comfort 288 Sathan would keepe vs from it ibid. Contemplation Must not bee seuered from action 488 Nor preferred before it 413 Conscience If guiltie the greatest torture 567 Cooperation Necessarie in things that concern the sauing of our Soules 147 Counsaile Where good Counsell is wanting all runs to ruine 436 State Counsells more to pill the poore than to preserue them 437 No man so wise but may need good Counsell 587 Ill Counsel produceth ill effects ibid. Countrey Euery man must loue his owne Countrey 275 316 Conuersion Three conuersions celeberated by the Church 615 That of the Theefe miraculous 616 Couetousnesse Foolish and vnnecessarie 8 The roote of all euill 234 Nothing worse than a couetous man 263 No Vice more seuerely punished ibid. None so hard to be reformed ibid. The onely God that commands the World 264 Men vsually couet what is especially commended 407 Couetousnesse and Mercy how they differ 439 Neuer satisfied 441 Naught in a Magistrate ibid. Worse in a Minister 448 457 489 Courtesie The receit of a courtesie is the ingaging of our libertie 226 A good turne is a strong fetter 253 Courteous behauiour the greatest gaine 445 Court Courtier The Courts of Princes like the poole of Bethesda 162 The life of a Courtier is wholly vpon hope ibid. Crosse. Heauens key 623 The death of the Crosse an iniurie to nature 644 Crueltie See Vnmercifulnesse Curiositie Dangerous in diuine matters 125 as also in searching into other mens liues 477 Curiositie and Temperance are stil at variance within vs. 521 D Death THe Glorious change whereunto it brings the child of God 242 No greater dishonour than to dye by the hand of a base enemie 74 Naturall to shunne Death and to seeke Life 219 Christs willingnesse to dye ibid. Christs death to be considered two manner of wayes c. 222 c. As a mans life is so is his death 243 Why called a change 247 We ought to pray against suddaine death 331 492 The death of the wicked full of terror 332 The death of the Saints is the weakening of the place in which they dye 426 Little regarded or remembred 489 The remembrance of it affoords two benefits It is incident to all 490 c. The liuing more to be pitied than the dead 494 Death a large draught but Christ swallowed it downe 499 Why termed a Sleepe 509 c. Christs death how different from ours 510. The death of the Soule a true death that of the body onely a shadow 512 Why the Heathen erected Pyramids ouer their dead 514 Christs death the Deuills worst torment 528 549 Why Christ desiring to dye fled to auâ—yd death ibid. c. Christs death did alter the nature of things 645 The Deuil neuer more deluded than by Christs death 646 Preparation against death necessarie 597 Deuill He layes vpon Man three burthens 17. His description 71. His trade is wholly to doe euill 80 Why he appeared to Eue in the forme of a Serpent 81 His subtiltie 82 A great prouoker to Gluttonie and why Ibid. His malice oftentimes outrunnes his Wit 85 He is
2. Pet. â— Gen. 25. All occasions of sinne must be auoyded Gen. 19. Psal. 103. Heb. 13. Ose. 14. What we are to demand in praier how Merits vtterly cryed downe Iohn 7. Mat. 2. Why God many times shewes himselfe deafe and dumbe to our requests Wisd. 7. Amos. 5. Psal. 7. Gen. 22. Gen. 28. 3. Kingsâ—8 â—8 Tob. 3. Importunity in prayer pleasing to God Difference betwixt the maker of the image the worshipper Exod. 32. Psal. 115. Apoc. 5. Esay 11. Dan. â— Cant. 5.6 Iob. 30.20 3. Kings 18. Eccle. 35. Soft persons the fittest about Princes Exod. 2â— Mercie a sure motiue for mercie Cant. 2.4 Ezech. 34. 2. Pet. 2. Kings 24. 1. Cor. 2â— Psal. 49. 1. Cor. 11. Exod. 4. Psal. 145. Psal. 147. 2. Kings 3. 2. Kings 16. 4. Kings 8. Philip. 3. The least of Gods fauours no way to be valued Discretion a maine motiue in our petitions to God Psal. 84. Gen. 17. Gods wâ—ath many times more violent than lasting Psal. 135. Earthly Princes forward to grant but slow to giue Delayes much practised by Man God the onely supporter of weaker Man Eccle. 2. Exod. 23 34 Eccle. 18. Almes the preparation of the soule to Prayer Gen. 32. Publicke temples to be frequented Exod. 12. Tob. 2. The life of a Courtier is wholly vpon hopes Iudges 9. Gen. 12. Gen. 15. Gen. 18. Gods respect in comforting the destressed Heb. 2. Ob. Sol. Gods mercie not so plentifull in the time of the Law as since The Poole a figure of Baptisme Psal. 10.24 Esay 60. God dispenceth his fauours as he pleaseth Luke 8. Luke 13. Prou. 17. Prou. 15. Eccl. 27. Sorrow a sharpe sword 3. Kings 19. Ose. 7. Why God sometimes prolongs our paines here in this life Ob. Sol. Esay 54. Eccle. 23. Ob. Sol. A patient suffering acceptable vnto God profitable to our selues 2. Kings 6. 1. Kings 14. God pittieth when none else will A weeping Eye causeth a bleeding heart Patience the best Physike in all extremities Iob 20. Iob 16. 17. Esay 13. Mans willâ— concurs not with Grace in our vprising from sinne God fauoreth whom the world forsaketh Psal. 34. Dan. 3. Exod. 2. Deut. 13. Eccle. 21. Ob. Sol. A patterne for Repentance Iohn 7. Iohn 7. Things aboue the reach of reason haâ—d to be beleeued The Euils of this life are but seeming euills 2. Cor. 6. This lifes happines a Rose enuiâ—oned with Thornes Esay 66. Iohn 1â— Iohn 7. The publicke to be preferred before the pâ—iuate Num. 11. 1. Kings 30. Prosperity alwaies enuied Gen. 6. Ob. Sol. Ob. Sol. Ob. Earthly things more enuied than Spirituall Sol. The dignity of Mount Tabor Ose 5. Iohn 1. Iob 36. Romans 1. Esay 6. Gen. 29. 1. Cor. 13. Iohn 3. Prou. 17. The pleasures of this life are altogether Vanitie Ier. 17. Esay 53.2 Exod. 3. Exod. 9. A twofold Light the one temperal the other spirituall Prou. 16. Prou. 19. The richest minds are vsually where the poorest meanes God labors to conceale both his rewards and punishments Hope more Preuailent with man than Feare Zach. 9. Esay 63. Christ glorrious in his passion three maÌ„ner of waies Phil. 2. Christâ— passion the fountaine of our Glorie Esay 64. Esay 60. Gen. 2â— Psal. 49. Rom. 8. 2. Cor. 12. Psal. 106. Saint Peâ—ers error in his admiration of Mount Tabor Publicke Good euer to be preferred before the priuate To commend coldly that which is excellent shewes a weake iudgment Esay 60. Blind Clouds were for the Law bright for the Gospel Christ appointed to be our Teacher but when Psal 91. 4. Kings 2. Prosperitie findes alwaies Freinds aduersity none Without Faith in Christ no remission of sinne Iohn 8.7 Iohn 16. Mat. 2. Christs going from vs the greatest Curse Iob 14.13 Gen. 32. Math. 21. Kindnes neglected turnes to hatred Signes wherby to know whether wee seeke God truly Iames 4.5 A godly kind of Enuie Esay 55. Deut. 4.7 Confession of sinne when to be made Eccle. 9. Ier. 13. The foulnes of Sinne. Gen. 43. Obstinacie in sin neuer to be cured Sin desirous to doe more than it is able Esay 51. The hard-heartednesse of the Iewes without a parallell 3. Kings 16 Psal. 49.5 Ob. Sol. Gods prescience not the cause of mans Reprobation Eccl. 15.11.12 Romans 1. Wis. 1. Christs Doctrine effectuall by whomsoeuer it be vttered Luke 4. Acts. 13. Christs doctrine effectuall by whomsoeuer it be vttered Apoc. 3. Math. 16. Luke 21. Ioh. 14.16 17. 1. Tim. 3. 1. Iohn 2. Psal. 132.11 1. Peter 2. Rom. 13. Math. 16. Esay 59.21 Ierem. 23.9 Ierem. 13. Ezech. 13. Deut. 13. Iob 19. Malach. 2. Ezech. 44.23 Three sorts of Ministers 1. Kings 2. Rom. 2. Ose. 5. Men are sooner led by precedents than precepts Esay 56. Ezech. 34.1 Deut. 6. Num. 15.38 Iudith 8.2 Gen. 33.13 Iob. 1. With what discourses we ought to beguile the wearines of our pilgrimage Marke 14.27 Marke 10.32 Ob. Sol. Naturall in all to seeke life shun death 1 It ought not to bee considered but with al seriousnesse Galat. 3. Ezech. 11.3 Heb. 12. 2. Mac. 11. Our Sauiour why called the sonne of man Dan. 7. Psal. 22.16 Psal. 73.74 Zac. 13.6 Psal. 49.1 Luke 24. Act. 1.6 Psal. 7â— 8 Gen. 19.14 Esa. 28.10 3. Reg. 6. Iob 1.5 The receit of a curtesie is the ingagâ—ng of our libertie Gen. 14.23 Amos. 2.6 Ambition alwaies blind in that which it pursueth 2. Sam. 15.4 Esayâ— 5 Ambition knowes neither reason nor religion Heauen not purchased without violence Mans presumption Ionah 3.4 The scope of the Parable Riches may be possessed but not desired Iob 20. Esay 30.6 Gen. 49.25 If the Spanish God helpe the English Gen. 33. Eccles. 37.30 Riches vnequally dispensed Why 2. Cor. 8.14 Tob. 4. Dan. 4.27 Prou. 13.8 Life without health no life Riches vsually accompanied with pride crueltie Iob 20.27 Zach. 1.15 Amos 4.1 Mich. 3.1 Iob. 20. Iob. 20 1â— Why desperat Sinners are often suffered to liue long 3. Kings 8. Math. 7. Nothing permanent in this life As a mans life is so is his death Why the rich mans petition was repelled To what purpose they serue Num. 16. 2. Mac. 15.30 Wis. 19.5 There is a vicissâ—tude and change to be seene in all things Death called a change The drift of the story Dan. 2. Feare the only thing to keepe safe the Vineyard Esay 5.4 Esay 5.7 Ier. 22. Iudith 5.21 God accepteth not a peece-meale obedience Cant. 7.2 The feare of the Lord a strong defence Cant. 3.7 What is vnderstood by the winepresse The cost which Christ was at with his Vineyard The firmnesse of the Church Ose 14.8 All that we inioy in this Life is an others wealth and we haue but the vse of it Gen. 2.16 Psal. 1. Apoc. 22. Why God rented â—ut his Vineyard to the vngrateful Ose. 11.4 Gen. 39.9 Ignorant sluggish Prelats the destruction of Gods Vineyard Psal. 80. The ignoraÌ„ce of the Priest the ruine of the People Gods Vineyard must not be turned
our selues 2. Cor. 2. Philip. â— Ezech. 9. Iohn 11.35 Zach. 1â— 10 Eccl. 22. Eccl. 38. Gods mercie the Spring from whence all his blessings flow Prou 31. Sin is death it selfe The character of a yong man The raising of Lazarus Christs greatest myracle Psal. 107. â—0 1. Cor. 15.54 Death is a large draught but Christ swallowed it downe 3. Reg. 1â— Mat. 6.7 God regards not the length of our praiers but their strength Exod. 4. Psal. 137. Workes out-speake Words Cant. 4. â— 3 Reg. 1â— Beloued a name of great preheminence Gods fauours seldome come single 4. Reg. 20.3 The â—ighteous euer mind full of Gods seruice forgetful of their Mat. 25. Iniuries done to God more greeuous to the righteous than if done to themselues Psal. 39. No loue where no releefe 4. Reg. 1. Osee 4.12 Ezech. 21.21 4. Reg. 19. Psal. 37.5 His will must be ours The peruersenesse of mans will Esay 58.3 The best reward that God can giue his followers Mans miserie the blason of Gods Maiesty Iob. 6.2.3 Iob. 1. Nothing more properly ours than Vertue In all humane goods the cretures haue the start of man The goodnes of Gods condition toward Penitents expressed two manner of wayes First he neuer remembers their sinnes Esay 38.17 Secondly hee neuer forgets our seruices Mat. 26. 2. Reg. 8.16 Gen. 31.13 Malach. 3.16 Death whither temporall or spirituall called a Sleep that fitly Iob. 33. Iud. 3. Gen. 20. Luk. 12. 1. Reg. 2.6 Christs passions differing from ours Sin discoasts a man froÌ„ God Psal. 1.6 Reasons why Christ wept Ier. 9.17.18 Ibid. 21. The death of the soule is a true death that of the bodie but a shadow Men carelesse of nothing more than of their soules Dead Lazarus the embleme of a Sinner Old sins like old sores hardly cured A threefold death of the Soule Amos 11. Gods loue seene by the delayes he vseth in his punishing Genes 1â— Iob. 7. Why the heathen erected Pyramides ouer their deceased Psal. 29. The difference betwixt Lazarus rising out of the graue our Sauiour Occasions to sin must bee auoyded Why God appeared to Moses in a Bush. Gods iudgement euerie way compleat 1. Reg. 16. Christ why called the Light of the world 1. Ioâ—n 1.5 1. Tim. 6.16 The benefit of this Light Gen. 3. Baruc 3.34 The reason why some hate and shunne it Iohn 6. Iob. 29. Iob. 7. In mans life theâ—e are two wayes and he had need of a Guide The glorie of the Sunne Mat. 5. Rom. 8. Luc. 17. Christ testified by many yet not embraced of the Pharisees Three conditions required in euery Testimonie Christ the â—â—ly true Sunne that seeth all things Eccl. 23. Hier. 17. Apoc. 3. Inconueniences which would haue followed the peccabilitie of Christ. Apoc. 7. 2. Reg. 11. Sinne maketh the most valiant man a Coward Iob 25. No man free from sinne Iob 9.30 Iob 38. Two things required in men of eminencie and place conscience and fame Publike persons must looke to their fame as well as to their conscience Looking-glasses why placed about the Lauer of the Temple The vse of Belâ— in the border of the Priests garment Priuat persons must conceale their workes but men of publike ranke must shew themâ—elues examples Gen. 39.3 Our Sauiours innocencie exemplified by his death Christs equal proceeding against the diuell a patterne for all Magistrates Ioh. 11. The Crosse and death of Chriâ—ttormented the diuell more than himselfe Ioh. 8. Truth lesse welcome to the â—ares of men than flatteries and lies The World the Flesh â—nd the Diuell all lyars Prou. 18. Eccl. 21. Mat 28. What mischiefes haue proceeded from lying Gods word how to be heard that the heariâ—g it may testifie our Predestiâ—ation Foure circumstances requiâ—red to the hearing of Gods Word Act. 13. 1. Tim. 6. Prou. 23. The soule of the just that of a sinner wherein differing Men are neuer worse than when they thinke all is well Passion alters all properties to it selfe Better to be mad than passionate Patience when most to be applauded Luc. 22. Marc. 11.1 To suffer iniuries a great noblenesse Iob. 18. A patient man whereunto resembled Iobâ— Clemencie a profitable vertue Exod. 32. Gods honour must euer be preferred before our own Truth can neuer be altogether supprest Mat. 10. ObliuioÌ„ hath two bosomes Iudges ought to be free from passion 2. Râ—g 14. Daniel 3. Why Christ withdrew himselfe from the Pharisees A hard heart can neuer be mollified Prou. 26. Luke 23.16 Reuenge in man a sâ—mptome of Cowardize â—erem 3. No policie preualent against the word and wisdome of God Enuie of all vices the most vnfortunate to it selfe fortunate to others Mat. 23. Luk. 11. Like Priest like People Psal. 106. Num. 25. 1. Pet. â— Prou. 1. â— Iosh. 1. Honest seruice little respected by earthly Princes No policie preualent against the wisedome of God God must be serued by vs before man Gen. 3. It is bad seruice to share in other mens sinnes Our longest life but little 2. Mac. 7.36 2. Mac. 6. Iob 9. Christ must be sought while he may be found Amos 2. Act. 2. Good neuer truly liked till lost Neuer any mâ—â— so hated of the world as Christ. Time a pretious Iewell Leuit 23. Num. 29. Why instituted Leuit. 23.43 Pride incident to Man Good men are verie rare â—sal 71. Eccl. 49. Apoc. 12. Heauen not gotten without paines No appetite so fierce as that of a sinner Ier. â— Exod. 4. Dan. 7. What ment by the water of life Esay 42 43 44. Prou. 5. Ezecâ— 35. Ioel. 2. The Holy Ghost Why compared to water 2. Cor. 4. The power of Gods word The force of Eloquence Gods power neuer more seene than in his Passion Acts 20. Why Christ desiring to die did flâ—e to auoide death Gods Counsells vnsearchable Mat. 6. Iosh 8. Aduantage against an enemy no Cowardize Men flye sometimes to come on the fiercer To flye in time of persecution how farre lawfull 1. Mac. â— 9.9 In some cases it is fortitude to flye 2. Reg. 4. Iob 40. Eccles. 22. Why Christ desiring to die would flye to auoid death Power should neuer bee showne but in extremity The greater Chrisâ—â— shame the greater our redemption 3. Reg. 15. Vaine-glory not to be affected Men couet honor though with the hazard of others God vseth no partialitie in the dispensation of his fauours We must not relye on others Vertue but our owne Honor where no merit is ads to our shame not to our shining Worship should not wait but vpon worth Honour a bait which all men bite at Eccl. 43. Kindred the ouerthrow of many Prelats Enuy neuer greater than amongst brethren Kindred will cleaue to a man in his prosperity but neuer look on him in aduersitie Three Feasts of dedication among the Iewes 3. Reg. 8. Esdr. â— 1 Mach. 1. Mans Heart Gods Temple 2. Cor. 6. Leuit 26. Mans Soule must bee renewed to make it a fit habitation for God Psal. 51. Baptisme the fouâ—datâ—on of Christian
building Circumstances of Time and Place in Holy Writ of great significancie Ierem. 6. 2. Mac. 1.18 The feast of Fire Leuit. 6.13 Zach. 14 6. God wil helpe those that flie for him but not from him PeniteÌ„ce compared to a Storme Prou. 30. Christ omits no meanes euen to reclaim the Reprobatâ— if it might be Exod. 3. 1. Cor. 15. God did his greatest works always on the Sunday God will haue his Temples honoured Lost is that Common-wealth in which Magistrates and their Ministers are both faulty Luk. 23. God will not suffer his children to fall into the hands of the vngodly Eccl. 21.9 Entry of all sin the worst and hardest to be cared Men are euer ready to vnburthen themselues of their miseries Esay 63. Gen. 3. The subteltie of the Iewes in circumuenting our Sauiour Psal. 19. The Iewes wanted nothing to make them beleeue but a willingnes to beleeue 1. Iohn 5.7 Ioâ— â— 39 Act. 10.43 Mat. 11. Why our Sauiour would prooue his Diuinitie by no other testimonie than his works Mat. â—1 A true Christian glorieth in nothing more than in his sufferings for Christ. Hot fierie Spirits vnfit for the Ministery Gen. 4. Deut. 28.65 66 67. No torture to a guilty conscience Psal. 85. The vngratefulnesse of mans nature Foure faire mothers that euer bring forth foule children Psal. 106. The Circumstances of Maries perdition The sin of dishonestâ—e hath two pâ—operties (1.) It sticks of all others the closest to the Soule Gen. 6. 3. Reg. 11. (2.) It bliâ—â—s the VnderstaÌ„ding The force of Beautie â—osea 7. Adultry compared to a heated Ouen Gods glorie greater in our conuersion than creation Psal. 108. To conuert a sinner is a worke of wondrous difficultie in regard of mans peruersnesse Zachar. 14. The iustification of a sinner set out by diuers apt similitudes Esay 44. Eccles. 3.16 Prou. 30. Woman the hieroglyphike of weaknes Prou. 30. Maries conuersion affordeth hope to the most desperate sinners Osee 2. Of Maries repentance The foulenes of sinne We may dally with the sicknes of the bodiâ— not of the soule The fairenes of vertue Psal. 78. Good occasions must be embraced with speed Cant. 5.4 Ier. 3. Relapses into sin are dangerous God will neuer eâ—e our sins if we wil eye them our selues The way to flie from God is to flie vnto him The office of the Eye Teaâ—es worke two effeâ—â—s Teares sometimes denied vs for our punishment Teares for sin must neuer haue an end Teares the delight of a Penitent Psal. 14â— What is meant by waters aboue the heauens 3. Reg. 10. Deepe sorrow wants a tongue Why Christ should not suffer his Apostles to wash his feet when he had washed theirs Gen. 22. Cont. 9.4 The Haire hurtfull vnto many Maries entertainement of our Sauiour expressed in two things The nature of a Prophet should be rather sweet than sharpâ— True zeale neuer disheartneth but encourageth the weake God in a moment can make of a sinner a Saint The efficacie of penitentiall teares 2. Reg. 19. To Christ they are more sauourie than wine The reason of the demand Christ euer ready to forgiue sinners Sathan can do little without vs. Gal. 5. Esay 67. Iob 41. The wicked haue a league no loue The world consisteth of nothing but opposition Exod. 18. Good counsell a pretious Genâ—me Gal. 2. Ill counsell produceth ill effects Eccl. 2. Exod. 1.8 2 Mac. 4. Psal 2. Exod 17. As the iust hunger and thirst after right so doe the wicked after bloud Sap. 3. Ieremie Caâ—t 2. Sharpe reproofes work sweet effects Wickednes is meere folishnesse Gen. 37. Philip. 3. Esay 53. Dan. 9. Gen. 49. Iud. 5. Ier. 44. Priuat interest must giue way to the generall good Exod. 33. 4. Reg. 10. 1. Reg. 18. Luk. 3. Mat. 26. The same words out of diuers mouths may be diuersly relished Rom. 8. Mat. 26. Act. 19. Iob 10. Preparation against death necessarie Iob 30. God the onely Lord of all Apoc. 19. Deut. 32. Ill Rulers sent by God to punâ—sh the people 3. Reg. 10. Four estates of a child and whereunto alluding The Iewes were murderers of all Gods Saints Esay 59. A twofold madnesse Eccl. 30. To take occasion from good to do ill is hellish malice Osee 2. 4. Reg. 18. Christs death his glorification Abacuc 3. Christ why called a Bull. Deut 33. Psal. 32. Act. 5. Two opinions concernâ—ng Peters deniall Mar. 16. Luk. 22. How Peter may be said to haue lost his faith Of Peters Fall The occasions of it Maâ— 23. 3. Reg. 20. Gen. 31. God not called the God of any man while he liueth Iob 4. Truths seldome heard in Princes Courts 3. Reg. 22. S. Peters sinne like that of Adam Man bya sight of his owne weaknesse is taught to pity an others Reasons why Christ suffered Peter to deny him Mâ—t. 26. Peter more iniurious to Christ than all his enemies Psal. 142. 〈◊〉 â— 12 The power of Christs eyes Psal. 114. The efficacie of Teares Eccl. 3. Cant 1. 1. Cor. 10. Mat. 3. Exod. 32. Dan. 1â— Act 4. Psal. 2. Heb. Esay 43. Iob 58. Iob 38.22 Mat. 24. The nature of Hope and Feaâ—e Gen. 49. Iude. Num. 33. Sathans practise to depriue Iob of Hope Gen. 4. Motiues iuducing the theefe to his conuersion Ioâ— 5. Mar. 15. Patience the badge of Christs Diuinitie The Crosse is heauens Key 3. Reg. 2. Repentance must not be delayed Man is nothing but as God remembers him Two definitiâ—ons of man Gen. 15. Isay 6. Exod. 5. Mat. 17. No more was his Hope Psal. 4. The glorie of the heauenly Paradise Mar 9. Esterâ— His reward exceeds our requests Christ neuer counted any thing his but our happines Esay 55. Gen. 2. No loue like to that of our Sauiour towards vs. Three kinds of friendship Iudas banished out of the world all Vertâ—â— Loue and Feare Loue triumphed euen ouer God himselfe Gen. 41.44 No humilitie like our Sauiours God hath two houses The holy Sacrament not to be receiued but with a great deale of preparation No preparation sufficient for the Holy Supper Christs Humilitie the character of his Loue. Our Sauiours art in gaining of wretched Man Affliction alters the verie forme of Man Cant. 5. Hier. 29. Esay 43. Psal. 21. Châ—â—st on the Crosse the only obâ—ect of Admiâ—ation Iob. 1â— Luke 23. Pilat pronounced the sentence of death against Christ. Pilat a cowardly Iudge Cap. Testes q. 3. Leg. Vaius §. de quaest Testium vltro accusandi non est credendum Feare and Iealousie spurred vp the Iewes to crucifie Christ. Mount Caluarie why so called Christ suffered in the midst of the world Psal. 74.12 Ezech 5. Christs nayling the cruellest part of his Passion Two reasons proouing him more sensible of this torment than any other Zachar. 12. Euery part of Christ affords a sinner confidence Christs Deitie more concealed at his death than any time before Malice is euer it 's own foe Coloss. 2. The difference betwixt our Sauiourâ— triumph and those of Men. Exod. 14. Esay 63.