is not able to extenuate loue Faith and hope two great victors c 1. Cor. 13.13 but the geeatest of these is loue 1. Cor. 13.13 The greatest though not for the d NoÌ„ propter eminentiam sed propter permanentiam August emineÌ„cie here in this life yet for the permanency when this life is done Which threefold strengh of loue is well exemplified in these three holie women who loued Christ in his life and e Luc. 8.3 ministred vnto him of their substaÌ„ce Lu. 8.3 Loued him at his death f Ioh. 19.25 wept for him at his Crosse Ioh. 19.25 Loued him after death g Mar. 16 1. and ran with oyntments and odours to embalme him in his graue Mar. 16.1 Where their forward deuotion beeing preuented by his early resurrection and their sorrowful eies in stead of his dead bodie presented with the sight of a glorious Angell suddenly their hearts were filled with as much new fear as before they were cloyed with old vexing griefe But hee which defraudes not good intention of the due incouragemeÌ„t neither denies simple deuotion of her right instruction purposely sent his Angell both to direct theÌ„ against their errour to comfort them against their feare which made the Angell according to his charge kindely to bespeake them saying Be not afraid yee seeke Iesus of Nazareth which was crucified c. In which words Right honorable Right worshipfull and welbeloued Christians we may consider two things First the persons speaking or doing Secondly the matter spoken or done The persons in these words But hee saide vnto them And they are two The Angell directing the women enquiring The matter in these wordes Be not afraid ye seeke Iesus of Nazareth which was c. And it is threefold First the Angells consolation Be not afraid Secondly the womens enquisition Ye seeke Iesus of Nazareth which was crucified Thirdly Christs resurrection He is risen he is not here behold the place where they put him Of these in order And first of the persons Touching the first of the two persons Our Euangelists heere calleth him h Mar. 16 5. a young man Mark 16.5 But Saint Matthew plainely chap. 28.2 calleth him i Mat. 28.2 the Angell of the Lord. An Angell then it was in the forme of a youÌ„g man which outward forme Angels sometimes vsed as one vseth a garment to put on and off at pleasure as also their eating of meate done saith Saint Augustine k August ad Deogratias Epist 49. non necessitate sed potestate not by any necessitie which was in themselues but by a power which they had from God vsing things agreeable with vs and carrying themselues suteable vnto vs that their strangenesse might not be terrible but their familiaritie comfortable This Angel therefore being sent to comfort not to astonish tooke on him the forme of a young man in his apparition to these most deuout women Of a man a forme customable that he might not affright of a young man a forme amiable that hee might delight Now the word Angell signifieth a messenger A name saith Augustine l August in Psal 104. Ex eo quod est spi iâ—u est ex eo quod agit ang luâ— est Ibid. officij non naturae declaring an Office not describing a nature For in that he is he is a spirit in that he is sent he is an Angell but a name wel beseeming those pure louing and ready spirits who alwayes beholding Gods face in heauen are readie to execute his commaund on earth The chiefe of all Gods creatures excellent in all things but for three things most excelleÌ„t that is to say purenes of substance readines of obedience feruentnes of charitie Which three things the Psalmist couertlie notes Psal 104.4 m Ps 104.4 He maketh his Angels spirits and his Ministers a flame of fire Hee maketh them spirits there is their pure substance He maketh theÌ„ Ministers there is their readie obedience he maketh theÌ„ a flame of fire there is their heate of loue But Moyses declares these thinges more plainely in the making of the Cherubims which were placed ouer the mercy-seate in the Temple These he made n Exo. 25.19 of the purest golde with their wings stretched out and their faces one towardes another Exod. 25.19 Of the purest gold there is the dignitie of their substance for of all mettalls gold is most excellent With their wings stretched out there is the readines of their obedience for of all creatures winged are swiftest With their faces one towards another there is the feruentnesse of their charitie for of all the gestures of the body none is so amiable as kindly to behold him in sight to whom we are beholden of dutie That their nature is pure their mansion declares o Mat. 18 10. For they alwayes behold the face of God in heauen Matth. 18.10 Into whose presence no impure thing can be admitted p Reu. 21.27 Reuel 21.27 Hence for their shining they are called Starres and for their brightnes in shining q Iob. 38.7 Starres of the morning Iob. 38.7 That their obedience is swift their name declares A quo dominatio ab eo denominatio From the the qualitie super-eminent is the name deriued Hauing then the name of a messenger they are signified to be most diligent in executing a message Hence as for brightnes they are compared to the starres so for swiftnes they are likened to the windes r Psal 18.10 Hee rode vpon Cherub and did flie hee came flying vpon the wings of the wind Psalm 18.10 That their charitie is most seruent the scripture is euident For euery way they desire our welfare Touching our inward estate so much wish they our greatest good that they ioy in our Å¿ Luc. 15.10 conuersion to God Luk. 15.10 Not only for that by the conuersion of good men i Iacob de vorag dom 3. post Tri. their number is made vp againe u Stell in Luc. 15.10 Nor yet onely for that they see such a glorious fruit of their custodie and charge that men by repentace forsake the Tents of vngodlines like good Christian Souldiours warre vnder the banner of Christ But also for that by the conuersion of the faithful * Chrysost in Matth. bom 1. Facta est vna omnium perixtio saith Saint Chrysostome there is made a mixture of all creatures together the Angels ioyne company with men in praising God on earth as it fell out when Christ was borne and men are added to the quiers of holy Angels in heauen as it comes to passe when a Christian dies For our outward estate they waite on vs as if they were more ours then their owne a Mat. 18.10 See saith our Sauiour that yee despise not one of these little ones for I say vnto you their Angels doe alwaies behold the face of my father which is in heauen Mat. 18.10 Iustly he saith their Angels for they are
b Heb. 1.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ministring spirits sent out for their good which shall be heires of eternall life Heb. 1.14 Not that we are able certainely to determine that euery one hath his owne Angell c Specialiter defignaâ—um Lomb. lib. 2. distinc 1â— Rhem. annot in Mat. 18.10 specially allotted vnto him as they of Rome teach but that many Angels are appointed vnto one suruant if necessitie require as the scriptures of god teach d Psal 91.13 Psal 91.13 They staÌ„d sentinell alway by vs and pitch their tents about vs. e Psal 34.7 Psal 34.7 And the more herein is shewed Gods goodnes to vs the more hereby should be manifested our confidence in him He hath giuen his Angels charge ouer thee saith the holy Ghost f Bern. in 〈◊〉 Quihabitat vers 13. QuaÌ„tam tibi debet hoc verbum inferre reuerentiam afferre deuotionem conferre fiduciam This sweet word of his saith Bern. how great reuerence should it strike how great deuotion breed how great confidence kindle Reuerence for the prefence of the Angels deuotion for their beneuolence confidence for their custodie g Bern. ibid. Caute ambula walke warily the Angels of God are present with thee when all men on earth are absent from thee presume not to doe that in the sight of an heauenly Angel which thou wouldst shame to doe in the prefence of an earthly man And thus much touching the first person The second persons are the women which seeke Now who they were in particular none of the Euangelists in my iudgement haue so fully set downe as this our Euangelist S. Marke For he vers 1. of this chapter hath set downe their number and their names Their number three Their names Marie Magdalen Marie the mother of Iames and Salome Together also with the ende of their comming and the time of it The ende to embalme the dead bodie of Iesus The time verie early in the morning while the Sunne was rising Verie forward deuotion indeed you will say so soone to be stirring but what might moue them hereunto Some peraduenture will say pittie of the dead corps For women haue this nature when entreatie cannot moue them pittie will driue them When the ioy of his life could not bring them to his loue the sorrow of his death did fetch them to his graue Some againe happily may say Desire of newes For women like the men of Athens h Act. 17.21 giue theÌ„selues wholy either to heare or to tell some newes Act. 17.21 So they which were wearie of his sight while he was aliue did now long after it when he was dead But God forbid so charitable creatures should euer vndergoe so vncharitable a censure I say therefore it was loue it was pietie it was decencie First it was loue For i Luc. 7.47 He loueth much to whom much is forgiuen Luk. 7.47 But Christ not only forgaue theÌ„ much but gaue them much k Bern. super Cant. Ser. 20. Dilectionem non reddidit fed addidit saith Bern He returned not loue as a debt but bestowed it as a gift And therefore if you maruell why thus they loued him Saint Iohn answereth for himselfe and them also l 1. Ioh. 4.19 We loue him because he loued vs first 1. Ioh. 4.19 Hereunto adde that beside his generall loue wherewith he loued them as his elect he also affected them in particular loue as his friends One of them Marie Iacobi was his mothers sister and his loue was not wanting either to her or her children Not to her selfe he made her his Aunt Not to her children For of her fower sonnes Iames Ioses Simon Iude he chose two the eldest and the youngest to be his holy Apostles A fauour so great and a priuiledge so high that if he had made them Monarches it had come short of this But to Marie Magdalen he shewed more loue and so much the more appeares it for that she was not of his kinred She neuer wanted either his good deeds to comfort her or his good words to excuse her Not his good deeds for her comfort either for her selfe or her friends Not for her selfe m Luk. 8.3 Out of her he cast seauen diuels Luk. 8.3 Not for her friends n Ioh. 11.44 Her brother Lazarus he raised from dead Ioh. 11.44 o Luc. 10.38 Her sister Martha he graced with his presence and preaching in her house Luk. 10.38 As she had his good deeds so had she alwaies his good words For he excused her three times First to the Pharisee who said she was a sinner p Lu. 7 39 Luk. 7.39 Secondly to her sister who said she was idle q Luc. 10.41 Thirdly to Iudas who said she was prodigall r Mat. 26.10 Mat. 26.10 What could Christ doe more for them while he was aliue or they lesse for Christ now he was dead Secondly it was pietie wherein they exceeded men For as they shewed more sorrow then men at Christs passion so they shewed more deuotion then men at his resurrection Whilst then men were securely sleeping in the nightly graue of their beds these deuout women were religiously seeking Christ in the quiet bed of his graue They feared not the darkenesse of the night which might haue produced dangerous effects they respected not the malice of the Iewes which hated such as loued Christ they shrunke not at the horror of the dead corpes which is a thing that flesh trembles at they were not daunted at their owne weakenesse the stoutest of them being but a woman mulier mollis aer a soft and tender breath faemina ferens minus least able to endure and hold out not any of these not all of them could hold them backe from seeking of him whom their soule loued Å¿ Cant. 3.1 Cant. 3.1 Loe here deare Christians most deuout charitie most charitable deuotion Loe how true it is that women as by nature they paralell men in wit so by grace they equall them in vertue What can you say against them If one were a cause of death another was a meanes of life One indeed receiued t verbum adificatorium mor t Tenull lib. de came Christi is the word that set vp death but another conceiued verbum extructorium vitae the word which set vp life againe One beleeued the diuell and another gaue credit to the Angel u Tertull. ibid. Ei quod illa credendo deliquit haec credendo deleuit what the first by rash crediting lost the other by true beleeuing got againe x Verbum diaboli semen illi fuit 〈◊〉 est One by beleeuing denique diabolum fratricidam Contra Maria eum edidit qui carnalem fratrem Israel interemptorem suum salâ—â—m quandoque praestaret Tertull ibid. the diuell brought forth a murtherer that slew his brother in the field the other by beleeuing God broght forth a Sauiour slaine by his brethren in the flesh Finally
the aire as they of Rome doe Nay when they signed the bodie at baptisme with the crosse they taught f Id. ibid. Non simpliciter digito in corpore sed magna profecto fide in mente firmare Not simplie saith Chrysostome to signe the bodie with the finger but to strengthen the heart by faith Nor thirdly that they crouched to a piece of wood saying Holie Crosse saue vs as they of Rome doe But when they came to the Sacrament there remember the vertue of Christs death on the Crosse then saith blessed Cyprian g Cypria de coen Dom. Cruci haeremus sanguinem sugimus intra ipsa Redemptoris vulnera figimus linguaÌ„ Then cleaue we to the Crosse and fastening our tongue within the wouÌ„ds of our Redeemer thence sucke out the bloud of our redemption Lastly not that they adorned a wodden crosse with precious stones blue silke c. as they of Rome do but they adorned their crosses with the same ornaments that Christ adorned his Crosse with all they were foure vertues saith Bernard h Bern. in die Sant Pasch Serm. 1. Supereminentior charitas c. Charity on the top obedieÌ„ce on the right hand patience on the left haÌ„d the fouÌ„dation of all vertues humilitie in the bottome These were the ornameÌ„ts which they adorned the crosse withall and which they prectised when they suffered their martyrdome Thus ô deare Christian with these holy fathers with these deuout women do thou seeke Christ Iesus and him crucified Let thy deuout soule with the Spouse in the Canticles go vp and downe and make diligent enquirie for him whom thy soule loueth Make diligent enquiry for him in the Citie the Citie of God the Church in the field sed in campo Scripturarum in the field of the holie Striptures in the house the house of God there thou shalt find him like Ioseph and Marie in the Temple Let the three faculties of thy soule Reason will and memorie like these three holie women stirre in the morning of thy life to find him in the bed of his graue O how happie will it be for thy erroneous reason to finde him which is i Bern. super Cant. Serm. 11. plenitudo Lucis the fulnes of Light for thy captiued will to find him which is multituâ—o Pacis the multitude of Peace for thy obliuious memorie to enioy him which is continuatio Aeternitatis the continuation of Eternitie Let this thy miserable Triplicie of defects k O beate beatificans Trinitas ad te mea misera Trinitas miserabiliter suspirat Bern. seek that blessed blessed makiÌ„g Trinity of fulnes He is Veritie Charitie Eternitie applie him to thy seueral wants let him be another soule to thy soule l 1. Cor. 15 18. that GOD may be all in all When thou hast found him doe like the Spouse m Cant. 3.4 hold him fast let him not gee Cant. 3.4 Nay wheÌ„ thou hast fouÌ„nd him seek him stil n Ps 105.4 seek the Lord his streÌ„gth seek his face euermore o Vt noÌ„ huic inquisitioni qua significar amor finem praestet inuentio sed amore crescente inquisitio crescat inueÌ„ti Aug. in Ps 104. Psal 105.4 That which these holy womeÌ„ did in the morning do thou all thy life long that so the taste of him for a time may not make an end of seeking but the often tasting of him may increase thy loue to him and so thou maist seeke him for euer If thou find him for one vertue seeke him for another Bern hath a chaine of 7. links by which the deuout soule being trained to seek the eternall word p Ps 84.7 grows froÌ„ streÌ„gth to streÌ„gth till she appeares before the Lord in Sion q Bern. suPer Cant. Serm. 85. she seeks him to whom shee may consent to amendment from whom shee may be inlightened to knowledge by whom she may be initiated to vertue throgh whom she may be reformed to wisdome like whom she may be conformed to comelinesse to whom she may be married to fruitfulnesse and whom fully and for euer shee may enioy for delight Be stirring then and linger no longer Marke how peremptorily the Prophet speakes to thee Isa 21.12 i Isa 21.12 The morning commeth and also the night if you will seeke seeke If euer you meane to begin now it is high time Seeke him in simplicitie of heart Å¿ Non aliud tanquam illum non aliud praeter illum non aliud poâ—t illuÌ„ Bern. exhor ad Fratr Serm. 2. not any thing else in stead of him not any thing beside him not any thiÌ„g after him Do this now in the morning of thy life the night comes wheÌ„ no man can worke Thus haue we heard the womeÌ„s inquisitioÌ„ by reason of which we haue made enquirie of many things Let vs now come to the third part Christs Resurrection He is risen he is not here Behold the place where they put him In this part 3. things are very obseruable First the power of his Resurrection He is riseu saith the Angell he was not stolleÌ„ away by his disciples nor raised by any other but Ipse resurrexit hee alone raised vp himselfe SecoÌ„dly the speed of his resurrectioÌ„ He is not here saith he although your coÌ„ming be earlie and your deuotion earnest yet both come short of his presencee he hath preuented you He is not here Thirdly the truth of his Resurrection Behold the place where they put him saith he PeradueÌ„ture you may doubt whether I say true you may happilie thinke hee is still in the graue Come therefore and see vse the benefite of your owne eyes Behold the place where thâ—y put him Touching the first point that is the Power of his Resurrection it is well insinuated by the Angell when hee saith He is risen He needed no hand to plucke him vp as others that rose before him and it was impossible that any hand shuld hold him backe of all that were against him As no man tooke away his life t Ioh. 10.18 hee had power to lay it downe so no man could keepe away his life hee had power to take it againe We read of some men that while they were aliue had power to raise vp the dead as u Act. 9.41 Peter raised Tabitha Act. 9. 41. Yea which is more of some that wheÌ„ they were dead had yet a power to raise vp other dead x as Elizeus who but touching the dead Souldiour with his bones reuiued him and set him on his feete againe 2. King 13.21 2. King 13 21. But we neuer read of anie man that being dead was able to raise vp himselfe but onely Iesus of Nazareth which was crucified And he could do both this the former For wheÌ„ he was liuing he raised vp the dead y Ioh. 11.41 as Lazarus others Ioh. 11.41 which is more beeing dead could raise vp other dead for at