and Master Christ be true S. Christophers as Athanasius calls Beleeuers carry Christ Iesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In your hand and in your heart In your hand by outward profession In your hart by inward perswasion holy conuersation daily imitation nay by the sealing of this your profession by confession by effusion of your own dearest heart-bloud by blessed Martyrdome the Guerdoner of constant holy Confessors which for a piercing crowne of thornes heere impalls and girts our head with the golden wreath the flowry garland of Immortality For he that loseth his life for my sake saith Christ and for the Gospels sake he shall saue it if we taste here of the bitter cup of his passion we shall then quench our thirst in the full streames of his endlesse consolation If wee suffer with him wee shall also raigne with him O let vs all imbrace and loue this Rabboni Iesus our Master the Sauiour of our soules And let euery one of vs thus Apostrophize in priuate retire vnto himselfe with Mary Araris and Tygris Ister and Isis the bitter waters of Marah and the sweet and still waters of Siloam shall sooner meet together Quam nostro Illius labatur pectore vultus Then mine ingratefull want of memory and my dearest Lord Rabboni He is engrauen and enameld in my soule in neuer-dying golden characters Namque erit ille mihi semper Deus He euen He shall bee my God for euer to him will I sacrifice my heart my truest Holocaust burnt with fire of due deuotion As Artemisia did Mausolus his hart who pounced macerated it to poulder after this her deare Husband was deceased and euery day did eat it like salt to season her repast withall saying with sobs and teares that her owne brest was the fittest and choysest tombe to interre him in so will I euery day or at least as often as I can feede vpon my sweet Sauiour in the Eucharist and bury him in the new Sepulcher of my soule My loue to him shall bee like the Bow of Ionathan that neuer turned back from wounding the enemies of my Lord. If I forget thee ô Rabboni ô sweet Iesu then let my right hand forget her best cunning in apprehending the mercies and promises of my God which are in Iesus Christ Yea and Amen sure to come to passe yea let my Tongue the Timbrell the sweet Cymball of thy praise cleaue in silence to the roofe of mine vnhallowed mouth If all memories doe turne Apostata's yet will I ô Lord neuer forget thee Though Israel play the Harlot yet my little Iuda shall neuer doe so Let the Impenitent Theefe reuile and raile on Christ I will beg for a Memento Lord remember me when thou commest into thy Kingdome Let those idolatrous Mamzers serue and worship other Gods the Gods of the Ammonites the Gods beyond the flood I and my house will serue the Lord Rabboni Let the ten Tribes follow Ieroboam son of Nebat c. offer incense to the golden Calfe at Bethel and Gilgal adore Dagon bow downe to Rimmon and in this God bee mercifull vnto them I know what the Angell sayd vnto S. Iohn Reuel 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worship thou God what Nabucadonosor sayd Blessed bee the God of Shadrach Mesach and Abednego who hath sent his Angell and hath deliuered his seruants that put their trust in him what S. Paul saith There is none other God but one For though there be that are called Gods whether in Heauen or earth as there be many Gods and many Lords yet vnto vs there is but one God which is the Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Iesus Christ by whom are all things and wee by him c. one Lord one Master one Rabboni Of whose greatnesse and glorious Maiesty that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that astounding glorious vision to bee trembled at not to bee imagined much lesse imaged I can say nothing at all but as Nazianzene speaks so will I 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Victus sum me victum esse fateor I am at a non-plus and ingenuously doe confesse I am at a non-plus And with S. Ambrose Hic est de quo cùm dicitur non potest dici This is hee of whom when we haue spoke all that wee can of him wee haue spoke nothing at all of him Neither Henoch translated nor Elias carried vp to Heauen in a fiery Charriot nor Paul rapt vp into the third Heauens who heard things inutterable nor Salomon whose wisdome was as the sand of the sea-shore so much admired of the Queene of Saba nor Moses skild in all the learning of the Aegyptians nor the Disciples who did receiue the Holy Ghost in a visible shape nor the Cherubims and Seraphins that daily doe minister at the high Altar nor the whole Quire and Hierarchy of Heauen can diue into the Essence of this God either by their matutine or vespertine knowledge to limb forth rightly this Rabboni To conclude with the woman of Samaria Hydriam non habeo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I haue no bucket and if I had the Well is too deepe To this God to this Iesus to this Rabboni I will euerlastingly cleaue vnto As the soule of Ionathan was knit and glued and souldred vnto Dauid hee louing him as his owne soule so shall euer mine vnto this heauenly Dauid for so the Holy Ghost termeth him Ezech. 37.24 Iesus Christ our Rabboni was this Dauid for Dauid was dead long before Ezechiel prophesied Though I bee cauteriz'd and sear'd with hot irons my ioynts strappado'd and puld and rackt in sunder with wilde Horses my flesh nipt off with hot burning pincers mine eies the cazements of my soule the lamps of my body bored and wombled out Though I walke on hot burning coles bare-foot with Tiburcius I will say with him I am videor mihimetipsi super rosas incedere Now me thinkes I walke vpon a bed of roses Though with S. Agnes in S. Ambrose I be cast into the flaming fornace I will cry with her Ecce nunc rore coelesti perfusus per Spiritum Sanctum focus iuxta me moritur flamma diuiditur ardor incendij c. Now the raging flame is as besprinckled with celestiall deaw by the Holy Ghost it is extinguished c. It shall in no wise touch me as indeede it did not for they were to put her otherwayes to death Though with Polycarpus I be put to the sword and first to bee burned I will neuer cry Domine Caesar but Domine Rabboni Though with Ignatius I bee giuen vp to bee grinded in the iawes and tearing teeth of sauage beasts as the Lesbian woman in Plutarch sang so wil I 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Grinde mill grinde so that I may bee made by kneading mundus panis Christo qui mihi panis est vitae pure manchet for the table of
But in meere mercy thou hast got the blessing not for thy selfe with old Iacob but for me ô Lord and so for all who claime an interest in thy prizelesse drops of bloud the true Purgatory that purges our consciences from dead workes to serue the liuing God I therefore and let vs all therefore with the golden Censors of the Sanctuary in our hands and in our hearts burne deuotion as incense vnto thee and with the 24 Elders wee fall downe before him that sits on the Throne and worship him who liues for euermore and wee will cast our crownes before the Throne saying Thou art worthy ô Lord to receiue glory and honor and power for thou hast created all things and for thy wils sake they are and haue been created but more and much more for thy deare loues sake thou hast redeemed vs by that thy dearest bloud-shed powred out for our saluation What doe I heare the sweet voyce of my heauenly Iacob calling me Mary out of his mercy ô then let mee returne backe the drops of my deerest loue and dutifulnesse and acknowledge we may in this respect of Maries Few or none at all such Maries nay hardly euer such a Mary saue Mary Theotôcos the mother of our Lord. Mary Magdalen much louing and much beloued of Christ stiles him Rabboni O well-deseruing duty vnto an all-meriting loue garded with Gods especiall grace vshered on by faith attended with singular affection deuotion admiration she is as out of her selfe her selfe being wholly in Christ her more then second selfe for shee estimates and prizes him far aboue her selfe shee beleeues it is her Lord and Master and Sauiour yet stands she agashed and amazed first at this so sudden happy end inexpected sight O heauenly change a blessed Conuert a true Penitentiary Thus Beloued thus shee was not she that is now Christ Iesus his Follower his Retainer was erewhile Satans seruitour the daughter of darknesse very loth to haue beene seene in committing the deedes of darknesse but now with Henoch shee walkes with God as in the presence of God with S. Basils Virgin shee dreaded the sight of holy Angels and the soules of Saints departed who if they see might mourne at her vnchaste and lewd misdemeanor she with Drusus now desires her house may be so built of the Architectours if there be any skill in them as that euery one passing by might see what was done within Shee paints not out with the men of Crête Iupiter without eyes For hee that made the eye shall not he see shee knowes of it shee thinkes on it that it cannot bee and hard to bee sit who will often cast Reason I and Grace too the Riders did carry her away a ho-gallop euen to the brinke of death the suburbs of Hell O blessed and euermore blessed be God in that like Marcus Curtius shee was not hurried head-long into the gulfe the bottomelesse pit Tsalmâueth Beershacatb the shadow of death the fountaine of destruction where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth Beloued in our Lord they runne farre that neuer turne God hath his owne times and houres and moments for the conuersion of a sinner though his soule bee litted in a crimson die of sinne the bloud of Iesus shall lauer and rinse it as white as that snow in Salmon if wee returne to him by weeping Crosse and bathe our selues in Bethesda the teares of true repentance the sacred poole that God delights to see a sinner swim in Mary Magdalen while she was plunged in the midst of mare mortuum the dead sea of her misdeedes acknowledged not this blessed Rabboni But after her heauenly retired thoughts her deepe and serious consideration of that Legion wherwith she had been possessed the talent of lead wherewith her soule was burthened her infinite sins she had committed her good and gracious God she had displeased the terrors of eternall death she had deserued and with all his remarkable mercies who is multus ad misericordiam of much mercy and very ready to forgiue as the Prophet termes him And as Fulgentius well sayth In hoc multo nihil deest in quo est omnipotens misericordia misericors omnipotentia In this much is nothing wanting wherin is both omnipotent mercy and mercifull omnipotency shee thinking to despaire of mercy was most impious and sacrilegious and derogatory to the sufferings of her sweet Sauiour shee then was big-bellyed with sorrow for her sinne and brought forth like an Hebrew woman without Midwife such a faire off-spring such an issue as is acceptable to the Lord of Hosts euen her relenting teares the sweetest Wine and Hypocras of Angels the sad and drery drops that peirce the Following Rocke CHRIST IESVS which make him supple and milde and gentle and mooue him vnto mercy And thus as Dionysius Egesippus record she betook her self solitary sequestred from all the world and the pleasures therof vnto the mountaine Balma full thirty yeeres to meditation fasting and prayer for which as also for sitting at Iesus his feet and hearing him preach she might be truly said of Christ to haue chosen the good or better part And as Iosephus reports after Christs ascension from the Mount of Oliues into Heauen she neuer could endure any company See now how this new Conuert puts on now a new liuery she that before stood in defiance of Iesus and scorned to haue the title and name of any of his meane despised Followers now happily challenges him to bee her Master and Lord and cals him by the name of Rabboni lo heere is the sauing power of him who is mighty to saue O doe but ponder the difficulty of her and our turning after so much sinning it will make vs much more admire and stand in a deepe amazement at the exuberant loue and mercy of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus In the prime act at our first entrance into conuersion when we begin to forsake Satan and neuer till then ô Lord to feele the plunges and pangs and convulsions and apoplexies and swounds that the soule hath with Satan now is the time for Satan the most of all to bestirre himselfe to labor tooth and naile to continue his long challenged interest in a sinner now hee fomes and rores and rages and rends and teares as much as is permitted him from God a poore sinner in peeces like a sauage fierce and hungry Lyon so long as his prey the silly Lambe is vnder his paw so long will hee play with it and licke it with his tongue dandle it ouer with an easie gentle tallon but if it once seeke to struggle and to make an euasion and escape out of his clawes timorously to crawle away then begins hee to yell and rore and with his cruell clutches and mercilesse teeth to seaze vpon it and so to deuoure it So long as Iacob stayed in Labans house he was at quiet but when he
ouer and he that gathered little had no lack Misericordia est miserorum chorda sayth Vrbanus Mercy is the line or cord by which wretched soules are haled vp with Ieremy out of the dungeon of iniquity and misery this is the three-fold cord of Gods mercy in Iesus Christ which cannot easily nay which neuer can be broken for whom the Lord loues once hee loues to the end the gates of hell shall neuer preuaile against them the deare Elect of God shall stand fast for euer like the Mount Sion which cannot bee remooued O Peter Peter Satan hath desired to fan and sift and winnow thee but I haue prayed that thy faith faile not And there were sealed vnto the Lambe an hundred and foure and forty thousand of all the Tribes of the children of Israel and a great number besides which no man could number of all nations and kinreds and people and languages stood before the Throne and before the Lambe clothed with long white robes and palmes in their hands And these are they that came out of great tribulation and haue washed their soules to be Anathema's as being forsaken of their God no God of mercies now to them nor Father of consolations the Lord standing as Dauid expostulates with God a farre off no gleame of comfort no beameling of blisse but all dismall and shady night vpon the surface of the soule yet at the length as plants that seemed withered and dead in that dull and downe-looke of winter as that Father termes it haue new life infused into them by the blessed rayes of the Sunne when the quickning spring doth once put in so the deare Elect they haue their blessed spring and sun-shine of grace to reuiue as it were their drooping languishing soules to make them flourish and blossome and bud in faith againe And that poore remainder that small sparke of faith couered in cold embers interred as it were in the Sepulcher of their hearts shall once bee raked vp againe and kindled and grow to a big flame the blessed Spirit of God that breatheth where it lusteth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with heauenly bellowes blowing it vp againe and so it prooues the sacred fire of Gods Altar that neuer goes out For needes must Gods eternall determination in whom there is no shadow of change stand sure and immutable of sauing his Elect. Faith in the chosen Sons of God may haue a pang a spasme and convulsion a qualme a swound but it shall not dye It may bee remota but not amota percussa not excussa it may haue remissionem not amissionem it may haue a slip a fall but no falling on into Maries heart from embracing the holy seruice of this Rabboni from turning vnto him with teares of true contrition In one of the premises the Maior of his counterfet Syllogisme he puts in all her sinnes in the other which is no Minor he layes before her her long dwelling in the tents of Kedar her continuance in sinning and withall the rigour of the Law the iudgements of her God and so windes vp a weake conclusion otherwise then that in S. Paul Rom. 11. for that is a conclusion of mercy Conclusit Deus omnes in incredulitate vt omnium misereatur He hath shut vp all in vnbeleefe that he might haue mercy on all For this tels her so all the discomforted not discomfited children of God that now there is no balme in Gilead that the good Samaritane is passed by That the Prophets spotted Leopard and vgly Black-more can neuer bee rinsed white That her name was Legion and that El-gibbor or Gabriel himselfe the God of strength and power was vnable to dispossesse Zabûlus that subtill Serpent who was more subtill then all the beasts of the field That they that rise not early can gather not so much as one gomer full of manna That the vnwise Virgins come too late to knocke at mercies gate That her sinne with Cains was greater then God could forgiue That the childrens bread is not to be throwne to dogs who are not worthy of the crums of mercy that fall from the table of the Lord That Nouatus was no Heretike for denying all vertue of repentance vnto them that sinned after baptisme who if they once fell could neuer rise againe That Hels Nabuchadonosors fiery furnace is the guerdon and wages of sinne whose feruent flame made by naptha and pitch and tow and faggots doth licke vp and deuoure all rebellious transgressours Thus formes he from hence a sophisticall inference a cunning conclusion derogatory to true Diuinity that notorious sinners are neuer to expect for mercy But as S. Ambrose seeing S. Augustine to bee too nimble a Disputant and too much skild in sophistry caused this to bee sung in the Letanies A logica Augustini libera nos Domine So let vs all pray From this Logicke of that grand Sophister Satan Good Lord deliuer vs. See I beseech you how with this Logicke this great Enginer of arguments accosts and sets vpon the soule of deuout S. Bernard when the agony and pangs of death were on him a little before his soule and body these two frends of long acquaintance did take their last leaue one of another yet not last if wee haue an eye to the resurrection at the latter day Thus the Diuell the great Iempter appearing to him did accuse him saying Hee had no title nor interest hee could make no plea nor challenge to the Kingdome of eternall blisse This holy Father being nothing appalled or cast downe with Lucifer who was indeede himselfe cast downe like lightning made this present reply I confesse with that faithfull Centurion that I am not worthy to enter vnder the heauenly roofe of my deare Lord except the Word do say the word nor can I challenge it by any merit I build no such Babel which will come tumbling downe vpon my owne head but Iesus my Sauiour whose diuine power the true Vbiquitary is now present with and assistant vnto me hath taken possession of Heauen by a double right Iure hereditatis and Iure redemptionis by right of inheritance and by right of redemption by the first hee hath got possession for himselfe as the eternall Sonne of that eternall Father and by the other in regard of his death passion of his redemption he hath purchased and obtained Heauen for mee and for euery penitent Beleeuer At which words Satan departed And thus thankes bee to the Lord S. Bernards soule as no question Mary Magdalens escaped as a bird out of the snare of the Fowler the snare is broken and it was deliuered And thus hee peaceably resigne◠his soule into the hands of him that created it like Babilas the Martyr he vttering these his last words the vp-shot of his life them words of that Negnim zemiroth the sweet Singer of Israel Now ô my Soule returne vnto thy rest for
the Lord hath blessed thee hee hath deliuered thy soule from death thine eyes from teares and thy feet from falling henceforth shall I walke with the Lord in the land of the liuing Thus ô Lord thy mercy reacheth vnto the Heauens and thy truth vnto the clowds wherefore we will praise thy name yea our soules shall bee satisfied with marrow and fatnesse when our mouths praise thee with ioyfull lips These are the golden Cymbals that so much delight thy skilfull eares ô Lord Almighty O let vs all returne with Mary Magdalen with penitential tears vnto this blessed Rabboni who cries to vs for to returne Shuui shuui hashullammith shuui shuui Returne returne ô Shulamite returne returne Foure times Returne for God the Fathers sake returne for God the Sonnes sake returne for God the Holy Ghost his sake returne for the whole and holy Trinities sake returne And if so bee wee turne vnto the Lord hee will accept of our penitency for he bottles vp all our teares and hee will receiue vs into mercy the mercies of our God shall embrace vs on euery side Maryes penitency and so the repentance of vs all is the Asylum the Sanctuary of euery sinnefull soule the Birth-day of our regeneration the Super-sedeas of all our spirituall debts the heauenly Iordan to bathe and wash the leprosie of our soules and bodyes it is the red sea wherin the hoast of our spirituall Pharaoh and himselfe are drowned it is the swelling waters of the deluge that carries the Arke of the soule aloft and keepes it from drowning in perdition it is the casting out of the old leauen of maliciousnesse and the eating of the sweet bread of sincerity and holinesse it is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an house of physicke for euery sicke soule the Hospitall or Inne of the good Samaritane the Physician of our soules where the wine and oyle of consolation is it is the source and spring the draw-well of Gods fathomlesse and infinite mercies one drop of which one mite one crumme is sufficient to wash away our crimson sinnes to feede our starued discontented soules withall O Lord thou Celestiall Almoner giue vs of the broken meat of thy mercies which thou hast layd vp in more then twelue baskets full for them that turne to thee turne vs ô good Lord with Mary Magdalen so shall we be turned vnto thee ô Rabboni for wee perswade our soules that if our sinnes were more in number by millions then those of Mary Magdalens yet thou in mercy wouldest race them all out of thy booke of Items And for this I beseech you read that heauenly comfortable booke of Fulgentius fore-mentioned to Venantia of penitence and retribution wherin hee hath bundled vp the places of the Scripture pregnant for this purpose saying Non est perfecta bonitas à qua non omnis malitia vincitur nec est perfecta medicina cui morbus aliquis incurabilis inuenitur There is no absolute goodnesse that ouercomes not all maliciousnesse nor perfect drug or true skill in physicke that leaues any malady vncured And hee shewes moreouer that if Iudas as hee legally repented had trusted in Gods mercy he surely had been saued The Lord hath his owne peculiar times and places of gathering together that which was scattered of bringing home the lost sheep vpon his owne shoulders to the heauenly fold of running to meet of falling on the neck and kissing the riotous Prodigall Hee hath a Tolle lege vnder the tree Take vp and read the 13. to the Romanes the three last verses For S. Augustine Not in surfetting and drunkennesse c. He hath a shining light from Heauen both to darken and illumine Pauls or Sauls eyes as hee trauelled to Damascus breathing out threatnings and slaughter against the Disciples of the Lord was their not a heauenly trap layd by this Rabboni our Lord and Sauiour Iesus to catch this Courtier in to make a Courtier a true Conuert A thing some will say something rare Yet surely there be many Courtiers very holy religious and deuout and God encrease the number of them But sure a chaine is sooner and fairer made of purest gold then of impurer mettall mixt with earth Christ Iesus with his heauenly gospelling his powerfull preaching caught this notorious sinner Mary Magdalen Penalty alwayes followes not immediately nor fals vpon the necke of impiety Thus many by the vnspeakable mercies of him that wholly is composed of mercy who in their April and prime of youth haue greeuously sinned in their yeeres of more maturity were happily reclaimed of Apostata's became Apostles of Sauls persecuting were made Pauls diuinely preaching of Succisores were made Successores to vse Bullingers words of Cutters and Swash-bucklers and prophane persons were made Captaines ouer the Host of Israel Successours of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the cheefe Shepheard RABBONNI 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c Who hath measured the waters in his fist and counted Heauen with his span and comprehended the dust of the earth in mea sure waighed the mountaines in a waight and the little hils in a ballance Esay 40. O sweet Iesu my braine is a broken cisterne to contain thee the water of life the euer-flowing springs of Lebanon my carnall reason but like a blinde Bartimae my tongue like dumbe Zacharies locked vp in my mouth when I should runne descant on thee ô Rabboni O let my tongue be the pen of a ready writer to treat of thy wisdome thy mercy thy greatnesse thy goodnesse my pen that like a cursed Israelite ranging like a poore pilgrim in a wildernesse of secular obiects often nay too often lothing that Celestiall Manna surfetting on pleasancies calling rather for the cucummers the onions the garlicke the flesh-pots of Aegypt wherein is naught but Mors in olla Death in the pot ô thou man of God I say my pen is too vnfit a pensill to limbe forth thy praise to describe thy glory excellency and perfection O neither is it safe for pollution to enter into the holy Tabernacle without washing at the golden lauer no more then a weake blemisht sore eye may gaze vpon the Sun-beames O therfore purge me ô Lord with hysope that my hand my heart my tongue may appeare before thy glorious presence as white as snow in Salmon that so thou graciously mayest accept of this my meaner sacrifice in my thought and speech of thee O Lord Rabboni wishing my very heart and soule were made an Holocaust burnt in feruent deuotion vnto thy most sacred seruice Rabboni O my deare Lord and Master En amo te si hoc parum est amem validius Loe I loue thee and if this my loue be too little ô giue mee power to loue thee more Dothi li vaani lo. And Ani ledothi vedothi li harogneh bashoshannim I am my Well-beloueds and my Well-beloued is mine who feedeth among the lillies
full of all redolency and full of all purity Mary payes tribute of thankfulnesse vnto her Lord for his deare loue exhibited vnto her As the water sources and springs in her heart so it bubbleth vp in her religious tongue for ex abundantia out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh The tongue is either 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cauod or chalon either a mans glory his grace or his greefe either his renowne or his reproch Heere Mary awakes her glory Awake my glory awake my lute and harpe Glory that is the tongue the sweetest tuned instrument of musike to rauish the eares of the Almighty The Poet saith of Menelaus for his curt and excellent speech 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hee spoke very concisely but sweetly and shrilly for hee was not addicted to the descant of many words neither to erre and go astray from the scope he first aimed at Heere is no battologie no vaine babbling but very few words nay but one sole word and that is not ociosum verbum an idle word shee shall giue no account thereof she had learnt the first verse of the 39. Psalme which Pambo was nineteen years a learning I sayd I will take heed vnto my wayes that I offend not with my tongue Shee spake this one word to the Word who himselfe vsed not many words for his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was his opus his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was his res his fiat was his fuit He spoke but the word and they were made Heauen and Earth and Sea and Hell and all that in them is Thus this Rabboni saith I will be thou whole bee it as thou beleeuest so thy faith hath saued thee Hee vses no faire flourish of the ignorant Empericke who brings his Patient into a trance by needlesse words of Art Thus hee sayes Talitha Coumt to the Damosell and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to Lazarus Iazarus come forth Thus when the cheefe Ruler askt him Art thou Iesus the King of the Iewes Hee answers neuer a word but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou sayest it And thus this Rabboni cals her by one word Mary This is the dropping of the word Ezech. 20. And thus sayes Iob super illos stillabat eloquium meum my talke dropped vpon them Iob 29. Thus Mary becomes an excellent Scholler of so worthy a Tutor she speaks but one word but this one word comprized a great deale more then what shee spake as that of Caesar in the Senate when he saw Brutus his own adopted Heire to stab him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saies he Etiam tu mi fili What and thou my sonne Brutus So that of Eliah vnto Naaman 2 King 5. lech le shalom Goe in peace Heere Mary vtters but one sole word Rabboni And ô thou blessed Rabboni set a watch ô Lord before our lips that we offend not with our tongues Rabboni List ô list vnto her heauenly tang her sweetest straine see how diuinely she runs descant heere is the curious Diapasωn of her soule which harmony fals not vnder the censure of euery vulgar vntutoured eare for this heauenly name comprizeth all the names of Christ as hee is Iesus a Sauior Christ the Annoynted Gnimmanuel God with vs c. In all these is he Maries and our Rabboni Mel in ore melos in aure Iubilus in corde Hony to the mouth melody and harmony to the eare and a Iubile to the heart He it is who after the striking with the diuine finger of affliction begets true concord and reconciliation betweene God and vs. Harken I pray attentiuely to her insinuated diuision O my deare Lord and sweet Sauiour my Master the loue of my soule whom I haue sought thus long sorrowing Where hast thou harboured and lodged all this while O thou precious Balme of Gilead why wast thou thus long locked vp from thy true Loue from my sad soule all all forlorne and wounded and gashed with greefe Thou whose liuely Idaea diuine character and faire feature my soule hath copied out of my senses that were the first Pen-men of thy perfections blessed in that they haue seen thee and heard thee whose exact pourtraiture and liuely lineaments of face are there more fairely limbed forth then that which thine owne pure hands did reach vnto Agbarus King of Edessa impressed on the handkerchiffe if credence may bee giuen vnto that O my Lord whom I haue euer set as a seale vpon my heart and as a signet on my right hand for whose sake I haue payed vnto the Aire many a sigh and many a sob the subsidies of mine indebted soule and vnto the earth many a brinish and salt teare the tribute due vnto my deare Lord. Where wast thou ô good Lord Whither wandredst thou out of thy new Sepulcher What sacrilegious impious hands did steale thee away Or didst thou by thy Diuinity steale thy selfe away For sure I deeme it an omnipotent diuine no humane hand tooke thee away O my Lord my Rabbi my Rabboni my Teacher my Preacher my Conuerter my Sauior I cannot I will not forget thee though thou wert a great while longer absent still my memory shall bee the Register of all thy benefits the true Recapitulatour and Treasurer vp of all thy kindnesse My tongue sent in Embassie from my princely heart shal euer send forth such streams of thankfulnesse as it first receiued frō thy sacred flow ô thou Ocean of all blisse Thou art the Manna Angels food the food I fed vpon I feed vpon my daily bread my supersubstantiall bread my To morrow bread my bread that lasts for euer the bread which I most now hunger after for man liueth not by other bread onely but by thy word ô thou euer-blessed Word What haue I once more happily set eye on thee whose glorious face the Angels Seraphims and Cherubims those watchfull Sentinels of Heauen desire euer to behold and are neuer glutted with thy glorious presence and sweet resemblance And haue I once more heard thy pleasant voyce who hast the words of eternall life and neuer any man spoke like this man O thy face is comely thy voyce is sweet Thy lips drop down pure myrrh thy loue ô Lord to me is better then wine henceforward will I neuer serue other Master I will euerlastingly serue thee I 'le neuer weare any other liuery but Christ Iesus our Sauiours crimson one for hee it is that came from Edom with red garments from Bozrah who treads the wine-presse of Gods wrath alone I will euer follow thee ô Lord per tesqua vepres dumeta praecipitia thorow all the craggy thorny steepy places of this world thorow thicke and thin I will be another Ionathan whose soule shall euer bee souldred and glued vnto thee ô thou the eternall Dauid I will follow the Lambe where euer he goeth I will account all as drosse and dung
to win thee the onely lucre of my soule the Kingdome of Heauen shall suffer violence by mee I will esteeme all the afflictions of this life nothing worthy of that waight of glory that shall bee happily reuealed vnto me in the hiest Heauens O my Prince my Preist my Pastour my Master my Physician my Redeemer my Sauiour my Protectour my Tutour and Guardian still be thou present ô Lord with mee and when thou art taken away ô let mee bee gathered vnto thee who euer gatherest together and neuer scatterest thine Elect Sic mihi contingat viuere sicque mori O let me thus liue ô let me thus dye Lo I haue begun to serue thee a meere vassall vnto Legion before a vessell of dishonour a true Haemeroissa who had had an euerlasting bloudy issue but for thee the truest Haematites whom I but touching by the hand of faith euen the hemme onely of thy garment must acknowledge to be my Raphael my medicinall curing God O thou Solace of my disconsolate soule thou great Preseruer of men thou Easer of the fretting yoke of all bondage thou Master thou Frend thou Father vnto all seruants for thou thy selfe tookest on thee the shape of a poore seruant for vs who are no sonnes but slaues for mee the Gally slaue of sinne and Satan once still ô still let me be thy seruant thy Mary and and still and euer shalt thou bee my Rabboni And this is the Quintessence the Balme the Pith and Marrow the Heart of the Text. Rabboni Rabboni is a Syriacke word As the Souldiers of Solon forgat the purity of the Athenian language wherupon as the Histories record Soloecisme had its first name So that the Iewes in the Captiuity forgat their owne natiue Hebrew tongue brought in another tongue into Palestina the Chaldaean and Syriacke tongue which was much vsed in Christs time In which tongue some Thargums of the Mosaicall Law were made by Onkelus the sisters sonne of Titus the Emperour From hence in the new Testament as there be many Greeke words coined from the Latine as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the like these words vsed in Christs time were meere Syriac Raca Mammona Bariona Golgotha Reco Momouno Bariauna Gogoultho for which the He brewes doe vse Rich Gnosher Benionah Golgoleth So Christs word vpon the Altar of the Crosse Sabactani hast thou forsaken mee Mat. 27. was Syriac which Dauid in the 22. Psal. hath Gnasabtani and thus Abba Hacaldemo Moranetho or Maranatha in Hebrew Adonenu bo our Lord comes so Bethcasdo Bethesda the house of Gods mercie And thus Rabbouni Rab and Rabbi Hebr Ribbon Calde Rabbon Rabboni Syriac The Calde and Hebrew I is turned into a in the Syriac as Miriam into Mariam Migdal into Magdal Ribbon into Rabbon This which Marie vses is a Syriac word saluting him by this which is as much as Master or as some with an affix my Master or my Lord by this acknowledging Christ to be God Before Christs death none termed him Rabboni but Rabbi Mar and Maran also is the Lord but Rabbon is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maran is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first is a Lord Father of his Family or Children hauing sole true iust dominion ouer all From whence that word is deriu'd and fet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be dominêring Lords ouer Gods Inheritance to vsurpe authority and domination ouer the flocke of Christ as it is Ezek. 34. to rule with cruelty and rigour beparech The latter is master ouer his seruants onely S. Pauls word Maranatha comes of Mar or Maran Dominus a Lord and atha venit commeth that is the Lord comes whose seruants we either are or should bee and brings a malediction or curse vpon vs. It is a word of cursing and Imprecation as if thus If this bee so or if it be not so so Christ iudge mee now or at his second comming to iudge both quicke and dead Rab Rabbi Rabbon Rabboni a man of mickle worth Honourable a Doctour a Teacher of much skil and repute for his manifold gifts and great and multiplicious knowledge as Theodoret calls Plutarch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of much learning and manifold experience Thus were the learned Iewes called Rabbies or Rabbins Esa. 19. Veijslach lachem moshiang varau He shall send the Aegyptians a Sauiour a great man and shall deliuer them where the Septuagints doe not translate slate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ier. 50. Call vp the Archers against Babell the word for Archers is there Rabbim that is they that haue a great deale of knowledge and singular skill to shoot as he in Pindarus with his dart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As wee say at an inch or at a haires breadth that none escape for so it follows in that verse I passe ouer with contempt that contēptible name that that scoffer Iulian calls Christ by in his Misopogωn Chi. I leaue him to this his Iudge Christ our blessed Sauiour is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He hath many names giuen vnto him Clemens calls him the Paeonian or Apollinean Physition to cure the imbecillities of man and the sacred Inchaunter of all diseases of the soule O let vs runne and hie to him for cure alone for all the world in regard of him are miserable comforters and Physitions of no value Iob 16.2 and Iob. He it is that forgiueth all thy sinnes and healeth all thine infirmities Psal. 103.3 a Psalme of vnspeakable comfort Here is our heauenly Aesculapius therfore Ecclus 38.9 My sonne faile not in thy sicknesse but pray vnto the Lord and hee will make thee whole He as S. Bernard saith hath both pretiosas speciosas medicinas both good and goodly costly and cordiall physicke profitable for sanity delectable for sight sweet for the taste S. Cyrill according to the Scripture cals him the scape Goat according to his diuinity as hee is the Goat for oblation according to his humanity O let vs pray vnto God in his name and pray to him who is our Mediatour and onely Sauiour God and Man and so let vs liue that wee be not separated with the Goats on the left hand S. Iustin Martyr calls him the stone knife for spirituall circumcision Lord giue vs this true circumcision of the heart in the spirit not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2.29 Hee is called in Bonauent lib. de ligno vitae superessentialis radius radius fontalis The Head-spring Beame whose being is aboue all being Lord illustrate now euery darke corner of our soules sitting in Ignorancy Hee is termed of Damascen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the wonder-worker nor wrought he miracles by the helpe of Belzebub but by his owne omnipotent power he cast out Deuills for a kingdome diuided against it selfe cannot stand Si nos non credamus Christi miraculis
of the Master a Dialogue betweene himselfe and Adeodatus where hee teaches him the elements of learning for signes syllables words at length in the close of that booke he concludes that in vaine he teaches his sonne Adeodatus except he be instructed taught of the Lord. There is no Rabbi or Master to teach a man true wisedome but God according to that in the Gospell one is your Master Christ. Who I say was euer wise Siue latens in vtero siue vagiens in praesepio Siue iam grandiusculus interrogans Doctores in templo non minus sapientia fuit conceptus quà m natus paruus quà m magnus As wise at the cratch as among the learned Doctors as wise conceiued as being borne great in wisdome as well when little as great as wise when hee was suckled with Mary his mothers milke as when hee was of more maturity of yeeres They be the words of eloquent S. Bernard Let not that place saies he in the 2. of Luke mooue vs to thinke or speake the contrary Hee grew in wisdome and stature and fauor with God and men Which is to be vnderstood saith hee non secundùm quod erat sed secundùm quod apparebat not as he was indeede but as appeared to bee For which wee may fitly say as S. Damascen of the Creation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I wonder and againe I wonder that these things should bee so and I wonder againe if these things were not so Sure it is that yeeres make not wise as Anacreon speakes of one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His haires were gray but his soule was greene so nor want of yeeres make men vnwise as Ignatius the Alpha of the Fathers hath excellently set down in an Epistle commending vnto the Church of Magnesium that young Teacher yet of rare and almost vnparralleld worth Damaeus or Damas Instancing a great wisdome to bee in Daniel detecting at twelue yeeres of age the vnlawfull lust and plot of the two Seniours In Samuel who very young taxed olde Eli being ninety yeeres of age for winking at the wickednesse and outrage of his two vngracious sonnes Hophni and Phineas he but remissely taxing them In Salomon young who decided the controuersie of the two harlots In Iosiah who at eight yeeres ruined and burnt downe the altars of Idolatry and the Groues Thus Timothy did learne the Scriptures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from a childe And S. Paul sayes Let no man contemne thy youth But a little for the Schoole The science or knowledge in Christ which was in his soule had not omniscience if so then the Creature were equall with the Creatour For for that day and that howre no man knowes no not the Angels of Heauen nor the Sonne himselfe saue the Father though this particle the Son be not in the 24 of S. Matthew Of that day the Son knowes not First hee hath no commission to reueale it say some Secondly S. Thomas of Aquine Dicitur nescire quia non facit scire He is sayd not to know because he maketh not vs to know So S. Augustine Nescit scilicet vt alijs esset reuelaturus But the truest is Christ hath nesciency of this according to his bare humanity to know this howre is without the pale of humane capacity And this ought to be the barre cancell and limit of our too scrutinous nature which often will assay to plummet the fathomlesse and bottomlesse sea of Gods most secret and hidden actions intentions presciences predestinations reprobations determinations and daily iudgements whereas wee should say with S. Ambrose diuinely treating of these needlesse scrutinies Tutum est nescire quod tegitur non intelligimus iudicantem sed videmus operantem Professed ignorance is the best sapience for concealed mysteries wee cannot diue into the depth of the Lords secret wisdome in iudging yet we may plainly discerne him working Knowledge and wisdome in that Rabboni Christ was perfect and permanent in man bâ—â—ken and fleeting as in Salomon himselfe who was sayd to bee habituated with wisdome in one night and who had as Nazianzene speakes largenesse of heart more copious then the sand of the sea-shore yet hee confesseth of himselfe that hee was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more foolish then any man and not to haue the vnderstanding of a man in him Prou. 30.2 Diminutely and by a defalcation wisdome is in man when there is no absolute perfection but there may be euer some obliquity defect or redundancy seene and found by serious disquisition and so by this this wisdome is compassed by study and painefull search thus no meere man euer yet did reach vnto the eminency of wisdome aâ—â— knowledge in this life not Salomon himselfe nay nor Adam who farre out-stripped Salomon in the knowledge of all creatures But to goe a thought further wisdome and knowledge may be in man not onely in part but at the breathing times of the Holy Ghost who breatheth where and when it lusteth euen Integrally by diuine infusion without admixtion of errour as in Salomon when hee writ the books of Misthle Shir-ha-shirim and Cohêleth and so in all the sacred Pen-men of the Scriptures who were the Amanuenses the Secretaries of the Holy Ghost But there is another Integrally not onely by diuine infusion but by inhabitation and coniunction of Diuinity and this Integrall knowledge and wisdome is in Christ and thus in Christ dwells the fulnesse of wisdome as the God-head dwels in him bodily beyond the orbe and reach of the wisest that euer liued yet because nothing worketh as we say beyond the actiuity of its owne spheare And as Theodoret speakes The beames of Diuinity in Christ were dimmed and rebated by that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That mantle of the flesh as appeared in his bloudy sweat his praying against that cup of passion Ioh. 18.11 and Matt. 26.39 and in that dolefull crie of My God my God why hast c. therfore in a sutable manner wisdome and knowledge in Christ had his cancels and lifts as being not infinite in regard of his humane flesh he being like vnto vs in all things sinne onely excepted and yet onely like in quality not equality And thus Christ knew not that day and that howre though he were that Rabboni Rabboni Mary knew this well that one is your Master and that is Christ. And bee not called Rabbi it is Pharisaicall And S. Iames Be not called many Masters It is a blur and ineluible staine in the Pharisies to affect the prime seats in the Synagogues and at Feasts and to bee called Rabbi Rabbi In the Schoole aliud est Esse vel fieri Magistri Aliud vocari Magistri Aliud velle esse vocari Magistri 1. One thing to bee a Master Rabbi or Doctor and to bee made one 2. Another thing to bee so vulgarly called Master or Doctor 3. And a third
beene Followers and Attendants vnto many nay to any Masters saue with Mary to Rabboni himselfe ô cast and rend off their liueries shake hands with their seruice diuorce your affections from this cerus'd Iezabel-world vnto which you haue beene so long wedded on which so much enamoured With Iacob the heauenly Pilgrim passe ouer Iordane the troublesome waters of this wretched dolefull and wearisome life wherin there is no Road no Harbour no Port or Hauen of blisse but many Euroclydons many strugling blasts and contrary-pointed gusts of all anxiety and you shall eat the true Passouer the right Paschall Lambe in Heauen not with sowre hearbes of sorrow but with all solace and euerlasting ioy Take nothing in your iourney with you but your staffe and scrip abiuring all humane helpe all earthly meanes and perishing prouision better things are there prouided for you in your owne Countrey clamber vp with that good old Patriarch by the ladder of blessed and sanctified thoughts euen to that Starry Temple wherin no darke and dismall night shall frowne whose Builder and Maker and eternall Priest for euer after the order of Melchisedech is Rabboni himselfe Yea with Elias cast away the crimson mantle of thy flesh by martyrdome if so required and soare vp to the Habitations of the Highest of him that is I AM THAT I AM in the fiery Chariot of all feruent and regulated zeale Tender no more seruice euer vnto Satan hee is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Theophrastus who is wont to giue to his Followers insupportable great burthens 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and but little meat great sorrow of soule and small comfort or if any comfort at all it is no more but a seeming solace meere Alchymie for pure mettal glow-wormes fire for true warmth foule Leah for faire Rachel Michals image stuffing of the pillow with goats haire for Dauid himselfe But serue yee Rabboni Iesus our Sauiour who giues to his Followers his Seruants light burthens and a plenteous table for his yoke is easie Matth. 11. and his reward is great a great reward in Heauen Matth. 5. As S. Paul termes an euerlasting waight of glory and most excellent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Cor. 4. O the cursed damned and deplored dayes wherein wee liue and woe is mee that I am constrained to dwell in Mesech and to haue my habitations in the tents of Kedar wherein the most God knowes haue sworne fealty and homage and taken the Oath of Allegeance vnto Lucifer Prince of vtter darknesse The Flood-gates of sinne are set ope the full spring-tide wherof flowes in our very channels The great Ship of the whole Vniuerse leaketh and drinketh vp all iniquity like water it needeth much carining especially for that soule insinuating sinne of Pride no Nouice no Puny but an aged Sinne that subtill Euill that secret Poyson a hidden Plague the Grand-mother of Hypocrisie the Parent of Enuy the Spawne and Source of all Impiety the Touch-wood of ill Concupiscence the Canker and Rust of all Vertue the Moth of Sanctity the Hood-winker of the Heart the Begetter of all Maladies without all Remedies except it be by meere mercy A Sinne that now beares rule and cheefe dominion Iustin sayes of Ninus sonne of Semiramis that hee did change his owne sex with his mother for as his mother for her mankeenesse was more like a man then a woman so hee for his effeminatenesse was more like a woman then a man Are not the dayes farre worse then those that were in Isay the Prophets time Isa. 3. Are not sexes altered Contrary to that in Deut. 22.5 The woman shall not weare what pertaineth to man nor man put on the attire of women Contrary to that 1 Cor. 11.6 15. Lord bring vs all to conformity and decency The dayes were ill in Polycarpus his time when as hee cryes O bone Deus in quae me tempora reseruasti vt ista patiar O good God to what sinfull and tainted times hast thou reserued me that I should be burthened with hearing and seeing such things What hee exclaimed against pernicious heresies broched in his dayes wee may very well against all impiety The dayes I feare mee for them and all other sinnes now are growne far worse S. Chrysostome powres out his complaint of that great City Antioch saying How many I beseech you thinke ye of all this City this spacious City shall bee saued It is saith hee a fearefull thing to speake yet with greefe of heart I must needes vtter it among so many millions there cannot a hundred scarce be found de illis eâ—iam dubito and I doubt of them too If in that City so well tutoured and taught by so worthy a Rabbi such a Son of Thunder as Saint Chrysostome was what shall become of other Countries Cities Townes Villages Houses the Sinks of all Impiety Lord Iesus amend all that is amisse both in this populous City and in vs all and call not our sins vnto account for if thou Lord shouldst look straitly what is done amisse who is able to abide it I wish the most the greatest part of the multitude and fry of men were not of that impious and irreligious minde Raboldus the President and Prince of the Frizons was of who comming to the Font to bee baptized and so to imbrace the Christian Faith askt where all his Ancestors were that were dead the answer being made that they were all in Hell then sayes hee Thither will I goe too Ah poore distressed and damned soule vnhappy Prince who hauing one foot in Christ Iesus his poore Fisher-boat that carried nought but holy fraught to Heauen pluckt backe his vncircumcised foot out of the Font and stept desperately into the Wherry and Barge of Satan so to be ferried into Mare mortuum the dead Sea and Lake of Hell Tophet the burning whereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord as a riuer of brimstone kindleth it From whence the Lord of his infinite mercy deliuer vs. O yee holy and blessed Cherubims that euer behold the Mercy-seat yee that are clad in Sables Ermins scarlet and purple robes that sit at the feet of so many learned Gamaliels the great Expositours of the Law and Gospell too yee that feede on the myrrh-drops that fall from the lips of Salomon himselfe Nay ô all yee Holy and Elect of God let mee become euen a Begger for your sakes to beg on you for Christ Iesus sake to consider what I say and the Lord Iesus grant you vnderstanding in all things haue a care of Christs coyne that Moneta Dei your own souls so dearly boght Couch not with Issachar like an Asse betweene two burthens cast off these hampers of Iniquity that heauy Talent of lead as the Prophet Zachary termeth sin Be no more slaues to Sathanas that Apostaticall Serpent for so his name implyes that Destroyer of your soules Serue Rabboni our Lord