riding vpon an Asse and vpon a Coult the foale of an Asse Therefore of this kingdome Christ did not speake in the Parable aboue neither the good thiefe when he said Remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdome but both did speake of perfect Beatitude by the which a man is exempted and freed from all seruitude and subiection of things created and only is become subiect to God whom to serue is to reigne and he is constituted by God himselfe ouer all his Workes This Kingdome so farre forth as it concerned the Beatitude of the Soule Christ receaued euen from the beginning of his Conception but as it concerned his Body he had it not actually but only by right vntill after his Resurrection For whiles he was a Pilgrime or stranger heer vpon Earth he was subiect to wearines famine thirst iniuries wounds and to death it selfe yet because the glory of the Body was due to him therfore after his death he did enter into his glory as due to him For thus our Lord himselfe speaketh after his resurrection Ought not Christ to haue suffered these things and so to enter into his glory Which glory is called his glory because he is of power to communicate it to others and in this respect he is said to be Rex gloriae Dominus gloriae and Rex Regum And he himselfe saith to his disciples I dispose for you a Kingdome It is in our power to receaue glory or a Kingdom but not to giue and accordingly it is said to vs Matth. 2◠Enter into the ioy of thy Lord and not into thy owne ioy Therefore this is that Kingdome of which the good Thiefe sayd when thou shalt come into thy Kingdome But heer the great Vertues which shine in the prayer of this Holy Thiefe are not to be passed ouer in silence that therby we may the lesse wonder at the answere which Christ our Lord made to him he saith Lord remember me when thou shalt come into thy Kingdome He calleth Christ Lord by which title he acknowledgeth himselfe to be his seruant or rather his redeemed bondslaue and confesseth him to be his Sauiour He adioyneth Remember me which is a word full of hope Fayth Loue Deuotion Humility He sayth not remember me if thou canst because he belieued Christ could doe all things neither saith he if it pleaseth thee because he was confident of Christs charity and goodnes He saith not I desire the consort and participation of thy Kingdome because his Humility would not beare this kind of speach to conclude he desireth nothing in particular but onely saith rmember me which is as much if he had said If thou wilt vouchsafe only to remember me if thou wilt be pleased to turne the Eye of thy Benignity towards me it is sufficient for me because I am assured of thy Power and Wisdome and vpon thy goodnes and Charity I wholy anker and stay my selfe He lastly addeth this when thou shalt come into thy Kingdome to shew that his desire was not fixed vpō any weake and temporary benefit but that it aspired to thinges sublime and eternall Heere it followeth that we consider the Answere of Christ he sayth Amen I say vnto thee this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise That particle Amen is a word graue and solemne with Christ the which he was occustomed to vse when he would affirme any thing earnestly and vehemently S. Austin was not afraid to say that this word Amen was as it were the oath of Christ tract 41. in Ioan. Properly it is no oath since when our Lord said in S. Mathew I say to you not to swere at all And a litle after Let your speach be yea yea no no And that which is ouer and aboue these is of Euill Mat. 5. Novv it is no way probable that our Lord should haue sworne so often as he pronounted Amen since he vsed this word Amen many tymes And in S. Iohn he sayth not only Amen but Amen Amen Therefore S. Austin truly said that Amen was as it were an Oath but he said not that it was an Oath For this word Amen signifieth Truly And when one sayth I say truly to thee he affirmeth earnestly and an earnest affirmation is peculiar to an Oath Therfore Christ with good reason said to the Thiefe Amen I say to thee that is I truly do affirme but do not sweare And indeed there were three emergent Reasons which might cause the Thiefe to wauer and rest doubtfull of the Promise of Christ except he had auerred it with so earnest an asseueration The first may be drawne from the person of the Thiefe who seemed not in any sort worthy of so great a Reward or so great a guift For who would imagine that a Theife should from the Crosse presently passe to a kingdome The second Reason is taken from Christ promising who at that instant seemed to be reduced brought to extremity of want weaknes calamity For the Thiefe might probably thus reason and discourse with himselfe Yf this man during his life tyme was not able to performe any thing in behalfe of his friends shall not he be lesse able being dead The third reason may haue reference to the thing promised For here Paradise is promised but Paradise as then all men tooke notice did belong not to the Soule but to the Body since by the Word Paradise a terrestriall Paradise was vnderstood by the Iewes It had beene more credible to the Thiefe and subiect to his beliefe if our Lord had answered To day thou shalt be with me in the place of repose and refreshment with Abraham Isaac and Iacob For these Reasons therefore did our Lord premise those words Amen Dico tibi Hodie to day Our Lord sayth not In the day of Iudgment when I shall place thee with the lust vpon my right hand Neither sayth he After some yeares of thy being in Purgatory will I bring thee to a place of rest Nor doth he say I will comfort thee after certaine Months or Dayes but he sayth This very day before the sunne shall set thou shalt passe with me from the gibbet of the Crosse to the delights of Paradise A wonderfull Liberality or Bounty of Christ and a wonderfull happines of the sinner With iust reason therefore S. Austin following S. Cyprian herein is of Opinion that this good Thiefe might be reputed a Martyr and therefore escaping Purgatory did passe from this World immediatly to Heauen The Reason why the good Thiefe might be called a Martyr is in that he publikly confessed Christ at such tyme when his Disciples were afraid to speake a word in Honour of him therefore in regard of this his free and ready Confession his death with Christ was reputed with God as if he had suffered for Christ Those words Mecum eris Thou shalt be with me though no other thing should be promised then what these words only import yet had it bene a great benefit and
from their owne Vices they suffer from a guilty and selfe tormenting Conscience Certainly the most wise Salomon who was thought and reputed most happy if any man could so be could not deny but that he suffered his Crosse when he said Vidi in omnibus c. I saw in all things Vanity and affliction of mynd And a litle after I haue beene weary of my lyfe seing all things vnder the sunne to be euill and â—ll things Vanity and affliction of spirit Eccl 3 And Ecclesiasticus also cap. 40. a man very wise hath deliuered this generall Sentence Great Busines and trauell is created to all men and an heauy yoke vpon the children of Adam S. Austin sayth Inter omnes tribulationes c. Among all Tribulations not any is greater then the Conscience of a mans sinnes in Psal 45. S. Chrysostome in his 3. Homily vpon Lazarus teacheth that the wicked do not want their Crosses For if he be poore Pouerty is to him a Crosse if Pouerty be absent then his owne vnbridled CoÌ„cupiscence doth afflict him more vehemently Yf he keep his bed for any disease he lyeth vpon a Crosse if he be free from diseases and infirmities of the Body then is he inflamed with anger which also is a Crosse But S. Cyprian demonstrateth that euery man euen from his natiuity is borne to his Crosse and to tribulation and that he doth fortell presage the same by his weeping as soone as he is borne For thus that Father writeth serm de patientia Vnusquisque nostrum c. Euery one of vs when he is borne receaued into the World taketh his beginning from teares And although as yet he be ignorant of all things he knoweth no other thing euen at his first birth and natiuity then to weepe through a naturall prouidence he bewaileth the anxieties and labours of a mortall life and the poore ignorant soule presently in the beginning doth protest and foretell with lamentation and crying the stormes of the world into the which he is ready to enter and suffer Thus S. Cyprian Since then these things are so certaine who can deny but that the Crosse is common both to good and euill men It yet remaineth to make it euideÌ„t that the Crosse of vertuous men is â—â—ort light and profitable and continually the Crosse of the wicked heauy barren and continuall And touching the Crosse of Godly men That it is short it cannot be denied seing it cannot be extended beyond the terme or tyme of this lyfe For iust men dying Now sayth the spirit they rest from their labours Apoc. 14. And that God shall wype away all teares from their Eyes Apoc. 21. That this present lyfe is most short though whiles it is flowing avvay it seemes long and tedious the sacred Scripture doth not obscurely signify when it sayth Iob. 14. Breues dies hominis sunt c The dayes of man are short and man borne of a Woman liuing a short tyme. And yet more What is your lyfe It is a vapour appearing a litle while and after it shall vanish away The Apostle who may be thought to haue suffered a most heauy Crosse and this for a long time to wit from his youth vnto his old age yet doth thus speake hereof 2. Cor. 4. Our tribulation which is momentarie and light worketh aboue measure exceedingly an eternall weight of glory in vs. Where he compareth his tribulation suffered aboue thirty yeares to an indiuisible moment of time and he styles it but a small tribulation to wit to be hungry to be thirsty to be naked to be stroken and buffeted to suffer a daily persecution to be thrice beateÌ„ with roddes by the Romanes fiue times to be whipped by the Iewes to be once stoned to suffer shipwrack thrice To conclude to be conuersant in many labours to be much in prison subiect aboue measure to stroks and wounds and to be often at the pit-brimme of death Now what Tribulations are to be accounted heauy if these of the Apostle be truly light and easy But what If I should add auer that the Crosse of lust men it not only light but sweet and pleasant in regard of the superabundant coÌ„solation of the Holy Ghost accompaning it Christ himselfe thus pronounceth of his yoake which may be said to be a Crosse Matth 11. My yoake is sweete and my burden light And in another place You shall weepe and lament but the world shall reioyce you shal be made sorrowfull but your sorrow shal be turned into ioy and your ioy no man shall take from you Ioan. 16. And the Apostle crieth out I am replenished with all Consolation I do exceedingly abound in ioy in all our Tribulation 2. Cor. 7. To conclude that the Crosse of the Iust is not only short and light but also fruitfull and most profitable it cannot be denied since our Lord plainly thus speakâ—th in S. Mathew cap. 5. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for Iustice for theirs is the kingdome of Heauen And the Apostle in his Epistle to the Romans cap. 8. bursteth out saying The Passions of this tyme are not condigne to the glory so come that shal be reuealed in vs. With whome agreeth his Coâ—postle S. Peter when he sayth Communicating with the Passions of Christ be glad that in the reuelation also of his glory you may be glad reioycing 1. Pet. 6. Now that the Crosse of the wicked is most tedious most heauy and depriued of all reward or fruit is easily demonstrated Certainly the Crosse of the wicked Theefe ended not with his temporall life but continueth euen to this day in Hell and shall continue for all Eternity for the worme of the Wicked in Hell shall not dye and their fire shall not be extinguished And the Crosse of the Rich Glutton which consisted in heaping together of Riches the which our Lord most truly compared to thornes was not ended in his death as the Crosse of Lazarus the poore beggar was but accompanying him euen to Hell doth burne and torment him and forceth him to say I would to God that a drop of Water might coole my tongue because I am tormented in this flame Thus we see that the Crosse of the wicked neuer findeth end And in this very time and life how heauy and sharpe their Crosse is the words of them whom the Booke of Wisdome introduceth as lamenting do fully witnesse Sap. 5. We are wearied out in the way of iniquity and perdition haue walked hard wayes What Are not Ambition Couetousnes Luxury hard wayes Are not those hard wayes which inseparably attend vpon Vice to wit Anger Dissentions Enuy Are not the workes which spring from these that is to say treacheries reproaches contumelies Wounds and death it selfe hard wayes Certainly these are of that vvorking Nature at that not seldome they force men as being desperate to become their owne Parricides and Butchers and thus by flying from one Crosse they fall vpon an other farre more insupportable and
But before we discourse of the Necessity of Patience it is needfull that we distinguish betweene true and false Patience Well then that is true Patience which commandeth vs to suffer the Euill of payne or punishment to the end we may not be forced to suffer the Euill of Fault or sinne Such was the patieÌ„ce of the Martyrs who made choyce rather to vndergoe the torments of their Persecutours then to yeald vnto an abnegation of their Fayth in Christ and to suffer the losse of all their temporall goods then â—o exhibite worship and honour to false Gods But counterfaite and false Patience is that which persuadeth a man to suffer all Euills and Inconueniences thereby to giue satisfaction to the Law of Concupiscence and to loose euerlasting Goods for the conseruation of temporall and momentary Such is the Patience of the Martyrs of the Deuill so to style them who easily endure hunger thirst cold heate the losse of their reputation and good name and which is more to be admired the losse of the Kingdome of Heauen that so they may increase and heape together Riches may glut and satisfy their owne Carnality and aspire to certaine steps and degrees of Honour Now this is incident and peculiar to true Patience to perfect and conserue all Vertues And this is that which S. Iames euen preacheth in the prayse of Patience saying cap. 1. Patience hath a perfect worke that you may be perfect and entire failing in nothing For other Vertues in regard of their difficulty except they be supported and gouerned with Patience cannot subsist or continue long but when they are accompained with Patience they easely commaund and ouer-rule all opposition and resistance whatsoeuer For Patience doth conuert and maketh crooked things straight and rough wayes plaine Isa 42. And this is so indisputably true that S. Cyprian thus discourseth of Charity the Queene of Vertues Serm. de Patientia Charitas fraternitatis c. Charity is the bond of fraternity the foundation of Peace the knitting togeather of Vnity It is greater then Fayth or Hope It euer goeth before martyrdome It shall euer remaine in vs with God in the Heauenly kingdome Yet spoyle and depriue it of Patience it becomes desolate and endures not take from it the vertue of sustaining and tolerating and then you do pull it quite vp by the roote The which very point I meane the necessity of Patience the same S. Cyprian more easily proueth to be in Chastity Iustice and Peace with our neighbours for thus he heerof discourseth Let thy Patience be strong immoueable in thy hart let not thy sanctifyed Body and Temple of the Holy Ghost be polluted with adultery neither let thy Innocency deuoted to Iustice be contaminated with any contagion of deceyt nor after thou hast receaued the most reuerend Eucharist let thy hand be dishonoured with the sword or imbrued in bloud Ibid. Thus this Doctour who intimateth from a contrary sense that Chastity without the support of Patience is not able to resist Adultery nor Iustice can be voide of fraud nor the taking of the Eucharist can free a man from Homicide This which S. Iames aboue teacheth touching the vertue of Patience is also taught in other words by the Prophet Dauid by Christ himselfe and by the Apostle Dauids wordes are these Psal 9. The patience of the poore shall neuer perish Beacuse it is a perfect worke and in this respect its reward shall not consume or wast away Patience also is said not to perish because it is recompenced for all eternity in regard of its fruite after this manner we are accustomed to say that the labours of a Husbandman doe perish when they beare no fruite and not perish when they beare fruite Now the word Poore is heer added because in this place it signifyeth one that is humble who acknowledgeth himselfe to be poore and that he cannot eyther doe or suffer any thing without the concurrency and ayde of God and thus is this point expounded by S Austin lib. de patient cap. 15. Neither only the poore but the rich and such as do abound with affluency of temporall wealth may haue the vertue of patience so that they do not confide and trust in their riches but in God of whome as being truly poore in all diuine guifts they pray for Patience and obtaine it This said point our Lord himselfe signifyed when he sayd in the Ghospell Luc. 21. In your patience you shall possesse your soules For he onely doth truly enioy his soule that is his lyfe of which no man can be bereaued who will tollerate patiently all afflictions yea the very death of the body so that he sinneth not against God For although by dying he may seeme to loose lyfe yet he looseth it not but keeps and reserues it for all Eternity Since the death of the iust is not death but a sleep and a very short sleep But those who are impatient that so they loose not the lyfe of the Body feare not to sinne eyther by apostating and denying of Christ worshipping of Idols by becomming a prey to sensuality or by perpetrating any wickednes whatsoeuer these men seeme indeed for the time to preserue lyfe but they loose eternall lyfe both of Body and soule And as it is said of those who are truly patient Not one hayre of your head shall perish Luc. 25. So to the impatient it may be said not one member of your Body shal be free froÌ„ the incendious heats and burning of Hell To conclude this forsaid point the Apostle confirmeth saying Heb. 10 Patience is necessary for you that doing the will of God you may receaue the Promise Where we see that the Apostle plainly pronounceth that Patience is wholy necessary to vs that thereby we may alwayes do the Will of God and by doing it may receaue the Promise that is the Crowne of Glory which God hath promised for them that loue him and keep his Commandements Iac. 1. For we read Yf any loue me he will keep my Words He that loueth me not keepeth not my Words Ioan. 14. Thus vve obserue the whole Scripture cohering and agreing in it selfe to preach to all the faithfull the necessity of Patience And this is the Cause why Christ going out of this life would testify to all men his inuisible most bitter and most long suffering of thirst that we being moued with so great an Example should be inflamed to keep Patience in all our Afflictions That this thirst of Christ was a most vehement paine we haue aboue shewed in the explication of the word Sitio That it continued for a long tyme it may be easily made euident And that we may begin from the scourging of Christ when Christ was whipped he was then already spent and wearied through prolixity of Prayer through his Agony effusion of bloud in the garden Also he was much tired with iourneys which that night and the day following he made As from the Garden to
whereby was discouered the Sancta Sanctorum was a signe that through the merits of the death of Christ the Celestiall Sanctuary was to be opened and that all the Saints were after to be admitted to see the face of God Neither only in the signification of these Mysteries did Christ show his Wiâ—dome but also in that he did produce draw life from death in figure whereof Moyses caused water to flow out of a stone And Christ himselfe for the same Cause said he resembled a graine of wheate in that by dying he brought forth much fruite For as a graine of wheate by being corrupted doth bud forth an care of liuing Corne so Christ by dying vpon the Crosse enriched multitudes of NatioÌ„s with the life of Grace S. Peter most manifestly thus speaketh of Christ He swallowing death that we might be made heyres of life euerlasting 1. Pet. 3. As if he would haue said The First man swallovving the forbidden sweet apple condemned all his posterity to death But the second Man swallowing downe the bitter apple of death brought all those to eternâ—â—l life who were borne againe of him To conclude Christ manifested opened his Wisdome in dying because he made the Crosse then the vvhich nothing was before more despicable and contemptible most honourable and glorious so as euen Kings themselfes do account it an honour to signe their Foreheads therevvith Neither is the Crosse made only honourable but also svveet to the louers of Christ Whereupon the Church thus singeth Dulce lignum dulces clauos dulce pondus sustinuit The which very point S. Andrew demonstrated by his ovvne example when behoulding the Crosse vnto vvhich he was to be fastened said Salue Crux preciosa c. All haile O precious Crosse which hath receaued honour and beauty from the members of our Lord Thou art long desired and carefully sought after thou art loued without any intermission and comes prepared to a willing mind I approach to thee with security and ioy that thou exulting mayst receaue me being the disciple of my Maister Iesus Christ who did hang vpon thee Now what shall we speake of Charity The sentence of our Lord is this Greater Charity then this no man hath that a man yield his life for his friends Ioan. 15. This Christ performed vpon the Crosse since no man could against his Will depriue him of life For himselfe thus sayth hereof No man taketh my life from me but I yield it of my selfe Ioan. 10. Therefore as aboue is said no man hath greater Charity then he that yieldeth his life for his frieÌ„ds because nothing can be found more precious and to be beloued then Life it being the foundation of all goods For what doth it proffit a man sayth our Lord if he gaine the whole world and sustaine the domage of his soule that is of his lyfe And from hence it is that all things labour to resist with all their strength yea aboue their strength those who do endeauour to take away their lyfe And we read in Iob Skinne for skinne and all things which a man hath he will giue for his lyfe But these passages are generall vve vvill descend to particulars Christ did ineffably shew by many meanes to all mankind and to euery one of vs his Charity by dying vpon the Crosse First because his life vvas the most precious of all liues as being the lyfe of man vvho vvas God the lyfe of the most potent King of Kings the lyfe of the most wisest of all the Doctours Furthermore he gaue his lyfe for his Enemies for wicked men for vngratefull men Againe he laid dovvne his lyfe that he might deliuer these his Enemies wicked vngratefull men from the burnings and torments of Hell to the which they vvere alreadâ— condemned Lastly he gaue his lyfe that he might make these men to become his Brethren and Coheyres and moâ—â— happily place them in the kingdome of Heauen for all Eternity And is there any man of that flinty or sauage nature who from this tyme vvill not loue Christ Iesus with all his Harts and will not suffer any aduersity for his sake O mercifull God auert and turne such a stony and iron hart not only from our Brethren but from all men whosoeuer either Infidels or Atheists The second fruite of the seauenth Word CHAP. XXI AN other fruite and that most profitable is if we learne to vse frequently that prayer which our Lord taught vs when being ready to goe to his Father he said Into thy hads I commend my spirit But because he was not pressed and vrged with that Necessity with the which we are vrged since he was the Sonne and Holy we but seruants and sinners Therefore our Mother and Mistresse the Church instructeâ—h vs to fâ—equent and often vse it but as it is entire and whole in the Psalme of Dauid and not diuided as our Lord pronounced it In the Psalme it is thus read Into thy hands I commit my spirit Thou hast redeemed me O Lord God of Truth Psal 30. Christ did omit the later port because himselfe was the Redeemer and not the party redeemed but we who are redeemed with his most precious bloud ought not to pretermit this part of the Psalme Christ also prayed to his Father as his only begotten sonne We pray to Christ as our Redeemer therfore we say not Father into thy hands I commend my spirit But into thy haÌ„ds O Lord I commend my spirit thou hast redeemed me O Lord God of Truth According to which manner of speach S. Steuen the first Martyr being ready to dye said Lord Iesus receaue my spirit Act. 7. Furthermore our Mother the holy Church teacheth vs to say this Prayer at three seuerall tymes First euery day at the Complyme as those vvell knovv vvho read the Canonicall Howers Againe when we approach to the most holy Eucharist after those words are said Domine non sum dignus the Priest first for himselfe and after for the Communicants doth say In manus tuas commendo spiritum meum Lastly at our departure out of this lyfe all the faithfull are admonished that they say In manus tuas commâ—ndâ— spiritum meum As concerning the Complyme it is not to be doubted but that there is said In manus tuas Domine c. because the Complime is accustomed to be read tovvards the end of the day and as S. Basill speaketh Primis se intendentibus tenebris c. Assoone as darknes commeth because it may so fall out that in the night tyme vnexpectedly death may surprize vs therefore we commend our soule to our Lord that if so sudden death might happen to vs it might not happen to vs vnforseene in Reg. fusius explic q. 37. That at the tyme of receauing the most Blessed Eucharist is said In manus tuas commendo c. the reason is because that action is very dangerous and withall very necessary so as without perill it cannot often be