of Intention and if after the example of thy own injuries we shall be brought before ungodly Magistrates to suffer for Righteousness and the Gospels sake Give us the like Patience Who art the true Peace and Comfort of all that put their trust in thee SECT XVII Of Peter's Fall WHile these things were transacting concerning the Lord * Mark 14.54 c. Peter who follow'd him afar off into the Palace of the High-Priest and sate with the Servants and others and warm'd himself at the fire for it was then a cold season being engag'd in a strange and evil company in the midst of danger without time to deliberate invent subterfuges or fortifie himself was surpris'd with the Questions of a Servant Maid and twice deny'd shamefully that he belong'd to him and at the third time began to curse and swear that he knew not this Man of whom they spake who yet was known to him as his own heart and was dearer to him then his Eyes and for whom he had profest a little before he would go into Prison and to Death So Vain and Frail are the greatest Spirits being left destitute to themselves they become Barren suffer Ecclipses and give examples of Terror to the World But the Merciful Jesus in the midst of his own Sufferings was not unmindful of his Servants danger Notwithstanding the dishonour of his present condition the sense of his Fathers Indignation the Foresight of his approaching Desertion while he is wholly possest of weakness he is yet at leisure for an act of Power The Righteous Justice of his God and the unjust cruelty of Men are not able to drive him from the exercise of his Mercy He came to suffer all these things for Man and in the midst of his Troubles remembers Man honouring the Scorns and Buffets of his Judgment with the Conversion of a fallen Apostle He cast a Gracious Eye upon him when the Cock crew according to the x Luke 22.61 prediction he had made of his Fall and the piercing Animal was made the Preacher and his Look was the grace that made the Sermon effectual Who will not admire the Sage Prudence and Miraculous Conduct of his Designs to bring to pass his abundant Mercy Who will not remain astonished in Contemplation of his wonderful Operations and above all when he shall discern the care he always has for the preservation of his Elect Alas How stupid is the Wisdom of Men How Imprudent their Resolutions How feeble are the Forces of their understanding when they are sever'd from the Blessed Jesus But there needs but one heavenly raye of his to enlighten all the obscurities of the Earth but one single drop of his Dew to soften all Hardned and Rocky Hearts but one glance of his Eye to give a Soul and Life to all the most inanimated bodies in Nature Yea when a Man thinks himself utterly lost then presently he shows him his way in the midst of all his wandrings and there is no climate so dry no soil so unfruitful where his Omnipotent Goodness cannot cause a Thousand Fountains and Springs to rise to the end it may be everywhere known and Extoll'd that he is the source of all Living and Salutiferous Waters Methinks I see in his Face a conflict of the Affections of Pity Mercy Favour and Grace striving together in this compassionate Action Pitty commiserating the frailty of his Disciple Mercy forgiving and converting him Favour inviting him and Grace assisting him Prayer O Amiable Eyes of my Dear Jesus Stay O stay Benign Lord and never let thy saving Face be turned from me Cast upon my dull and heavy Soul one beam from those thine Eyes which make all storms Clear and all disasters Happy The very Faithful themselves would lie still in the Depth of Sin whereinto they have been plunged by their inadvertency did not thy pitty raise them up They cannot remember their Danger or thy Word till thou remember their Misery and Relieve them O let me dwell for ever in thy Presence for out of the sight of thine Eyes there is no safety SECT XVIII Of Peter's Rise NO sooner did Peter remember the words of Jesus and what slight esteem he had made of that Caution which should have arm'd him against Temptation but he went out and y Matt. 26.75 wept bitterly z 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark 14.72 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylact. covering his Head and mingling his Tears with the Sighs and Groans of his broken heart Leaving it disputable whether he felt more Joy or Sorrow in the acts of Love or the remembrance of his Fall Alas says he How true is it that a proud Felicity has reeling Feet That when we trust to our own strength we are then in most danger That negligence and presumption are the Forerunners of a Fall Thou who didst defie the gates of Hell hast yielded thy self to the voice of a simple Woman All those Conquests thou didst promise to thy self are become the Trophies of so weak a Hand Return to the Combat and since she has Triumph'd over thee do thou at least Triumph over thy self Alas I am afraid to behold the place of my Fall and the weak snares of a foolish Woman appear to me as rigorous as Chains of Iron Yet what can he fear who is resolv'd to die or make himself a Sacrifice to his offended Lord But our Soul is yet too foul for an Oblation to his Service let us wash it with Tears till its impurities are cleansed I fell before the Fire and I will rise by the Water the salutary waters of Repentance I have a Matt. 14.29 walked upon the Sea to come to my Jesus and I will now return to him by the way of my Tears I will now speak only by my Eyes since I have lately talk'd so wickedly with my Mouth Since we have nothing left free to us but Sighs and Groans let us make use of the last liberty that is left and when all is spent return to the Mercy of Jesus which all the Sins of the World can never evacuate I will from henceforth be a perpetual Example to the Church by my Fall and rising again from Death for the comfort of Sinners and a warning to the Faithful and the fault of one Night shall be lamented by me all the days of my Life in a kind of continual Martyrdom Come and Rejoyce over me ye holy Angels since the greater is my Sin the more will his Mercy be magnified in my Forgiveness and Conversion Let all such as Stand here these Words and take heed lest they Fall Let such as are Fallen imprint them in their Hearts that they may endeavour in like manner to Rise Here is not propos'd an Example of Falling but an Example of Rising after Falling And since none but the Tears of the Damned are Remediless let us hasten with this Penitent to the Pool of Contrition and bath our Souls in those Salutiferous
Enemies could reduce him and when they had spent all the poison of their lips that they were now reduc'd to an involuntary silence He that he might leave nothing undone which might magnifie his Mercy above all their provocations and to give an undeniable proof of his Ministery that he came to reconcile the World to God broke into this most admirable intercession for them m Luke 23.34 Father forgive them for they know not what they do O God! O Goodness O Love What Word what Speech what Voice is this He was not more sensible of the madness of the People then he was compassionate of their infirmities nor griev'd with their Malice so much as Merciful to their Sins Hitherto they had objected against his being the Messiah and now he will give them an undoubted demonstration opposing himself by Prayer to the Anger of his God Heavenly Father whose Honour I have observ'd whose Commandments I have fulfill'd and at whose Will and Pleasure I was sent into the World and being of thy substance took humane Nature to be a Pacifier Intercessor and High-Priest to make reconciliation for the Sins of the People who now hang bleeding and dying upon the Cross in the midst of so many Reproaches Torments and Griefs offering up my self to thee in Tears and Crys for the Sins of all whoever offend thee Spare thy people Good Lord spare them and wash away their Sins in my propitiatory Blood Adam transgress'd and his posterity became abominable and the whole World lies in wickedness Even thine own Inheritance which thou hast chosen out of all People and lov'd above the rest of the works of thy Hands have added this weight to the guilt of all their Sins to deny the Holy one whom thou hast sent and to spill my innocent Blood upon the Earth For how great is my Dignity which they have set at nought How infinite is thy Majesty they have despis'd in me Nevertheless tho' hitherto thou hast justly dealt with Man in shutting Heaven against his transgressions and opening Hell and sending Death into the World nor shouldst thou ever justly spare without satisfaction to thy Eternal Justice nor could all the Blood of Men make that atonement yet now behold me who am come to satisfie thee by the dignity of my Divinity joyn'd to the nature of offending Man Man's Salvation depends on me on me alone who came an exile hither from those Essential Joys I had in thy Bosom to suffer Cold and Heat Hunger and Thirst Nakedness and Weariness Watchings and Temptations Afflictions Persecutions and this cruel Death What Griefs what Torments have I not endur'd in this tender body of Flesh What Sorrow what Streights what Agonies have I not experienc'd in this frail constitution of Mortals Was there ever any grief like mine wherewith thou hast afflicted me in thy fierce anger What remains then O Father of Mercies who hast n Exod. 34.6 proclaim'd thy self Gracious Long-Suffering and abundant in Goodness and in Truth forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin but that thou should'st lay aside thine Anger Remit Pardon and Pour forth thn Grace My Blood crys not for Vengeance as o Gen. 4.10 Heb. 12.24 Abel's did against his Murderer nor do I appeal to thee now as a Judge but as to a Father I implore thy Mercy unless there shall be any who shall account it unholy and trample my Covenant under their Feet I have Pardon'd who Suffer'd and am Crucified Pardon thou those whom that thou mightest Pardon thou sentest me into the World thus to suffer Now all manner of Sinners which shall ever be in the World they are my Tormentors they are my Crucifiers as well as these Jews and Romans about me I Pray therefore for all as I Suffer for all and offer my self a ransom for all But more particularly for these my Brethren because no Sin can equal theirs that thou wouldst be pleased to be favourable to their Blindness for they know not what they do The vail of Darkness is over their Hearts and this covering of Flesh has clouded me that they cannot discern my Divinity but hereafter they will look on him whom they have pierced and mourn and the World shall acknowledge me their Crucified Lord. Is it not by thy permission that Satan has thus blinded them and hid from their understandings the Mystery of my Incarnation Destroy not therefore an ignorant Nation who are to fulfil the designs of thy Wisdom and Mercy For did they know me they would not Crucifie me and notknowing me they are subservient thy Providence After the same goodness likewise do thou ever pardon all that offend against thee ignorantly and out of Infirmity that they may return to thee and Repent and be acceptable through the Merits of this my Sacrifice which I here offer for their Ransom Let my Death overcome their Death Let my Resurrection despoil their Hell And when I return Triumphantly to thee let me also make a way for my Ransomed to pass Prayer O Bleeding Love my Dear Intercessor who hadst the Patience thus to Pray for thine Enemies among so many Torments and Deaths wherefore didst thou not Pray thy Heavenly Father that he should mitigate thy own Griefs for thou neglected'st the Beloved of God and interceededest for his rebellious Servants Thy Hands and Feet were nailed to the Cross thy tender Flesh torn with Whips thy languishing Head pierced with Thorns and all the parts of thy Body disjoynted and strugling under inexpressible pains Why would'st thou not pitty thy Sacred Body who hadst such compassion of thy Tormentors Why would'st thou not be eas'd from temporal pains who wast so desirous to have them freed from the Eternal Art thou not bound to defend the Innocent And why dost thou not defend thy self who art most eminently and undoubtedly such by the Testimonies of thy Betrayer and Judge But thou becomst an Advocate for the guilty Thou excusest a Sin which cannot be paralel'd Without being desir'd thou Prayest for the Actors and for the love of those who kill thee art content to die And why all this Gracious Lord but for my instruction that I a Sinner should have compassion towards Sinners that I who commit so many Sins my self should not only forgive such as do offend me but also excuse and Pray for them that so I may become a Son of thy Eternal Father and a true Disciple of thy Beneficent Love O fill my Heart with thy Exuberant Charity and transform me into thine own likeness Dissolve into meekness all pittiless Spirits abolish with thy Grace all Mortal Vengeances and convert with thy Clemency those Tyrannous Souls who know not what it is to Pardon when once Offended That after thy Example we may embrace our Adversaries quench their passions with Tears of Love and become acceptable to that infinite Charity wherewith thou redeemest the the Sinning World SECT XLI Of the Penitent Thief and Christ 's Mercy towards him NO sooner had the
THE HISTORY OF Christ's Sufferings Composed out of the Prophets Evangelists Apostles Fathers and other holy Writers WITH Aspirations or Prayers Suitable to each Section In Order to an entire Resignation of the Soul to the Will of God according to the Example of Christ By DUDLEY GARENCIERS Rector of Waverton near Chester Phil. 2.5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus LONDON Printed for S. Lowndes over against Exeter-Exchange in the Strand 1697. THE PREFACE O God Eternal the Father of Mercies who desirest not the Death of a Sinner but rather that he should turn from his Errours and be saved and hast given me this Opportunity of Contemplating the Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent into the World for the Redemption of Man through Faith in his Blood Grant me I beseech thee suitable Apprehensions to the Dignity of so adorable a Subject That all vain Thoughts carnal Desires Prophaness and Infidelity being secluded from my Soul I may penetrate into the hidden Mysteries of the Cross on which thou hast erected the Throne of thy Love admire and praise the Methods of thy Wisdom at which the very Angels in Heaven have been astonished learn thence the Duties of Faith Hope Charity and all other Christian Graces and in perfect Imitation of my Saviour's Virtues trample under foot this World and obtain Happiness and everlasting Life THE CONTENTS SECT I. OF the time of the Passion and our Preparation for the Thoughts of it Pag. 1. SECT II. Of the Mercy of Christ toward Judas and the Ingratitude of that Disciple 6 SECT III. Of the Divine Predestination in respect of the Betrayer 11 SECT IV. Of the Grief of Christ for the Apostasie of his Servant the dreadful Condition of such as fall from him and the happy Privileges of persevering in the Faith 13 SECT V. Of the miserable Departure of Judas from the Presence of Christ and his selling him to the Chief Priests 20 SECT VI. Of the Benignity of Christ supporting his Disciples in the Absence of the Betrayer against the time of their Trial. 27 SECT VII Of the Legacy of Comforts Christ left to the Faithful and his leaving Jerusalem for a Terrour to Infidels 37 SECT VIII Of the Agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane 42 SECT IX Of Christ's Prayer in his Agony and his admirable Resignation of himself to God 52 SECT X. Of Christ's Anxiety for the Security of his Disciples 56 SECT XI Of the Candour of Christ towards his sleeping Disciples and his Continuation in Prayer to God 61 SECT XII Of the Glorious Effect of Christ's Prayer and God's Fatherly Kindness to all that call upon him faithfully 66 SECT XIII Of the Apprehension of Christ by his own Permission and the Horrour of the Jews Hypocrisie 70 SECT XIV Of the Rigour of Christ's Enemies at his Apprehension Pag. 82 SECT XV. Of the sorrowful Separation of Christ and his Disciples his first Examination before Caiaphas and incomparable Clemency towards his Enemies Pag. 86 SECT XVI Of the False Witnesses that arose against Christ and the Wickedness of the High Priest 96 SECT XVII Of Peter 's Fall Pag. 106 SECT XVIII Of Peter 's Rise Pag. 109 SECT XIX Of the Barbarity of the Multitude towards Christ Pag. 113 SECT XX. Of the Prosecution of Christ before Pilate and the miserable Despair of Judas thereupon Pag. 116 SECT XXI Of the deplorable End of Judas Pag. 126 SECT XXII Of the Wonderful Providence of God in the manner of Christ's Death Pag. 128 SECT XXIII Of the Obstinacy of the Jews to put Christ to Death and of the true Nature of his Kingdom Pag. 133 SECT XXIV Of Pilate 's first Declaration of Christ 's Innocence Pag. 144 SECT XXV Of Christ's being brought before Herod and the Unhappiness of Atheistical Greatness Pag. 148 SECT XXVI Of the Indignities done to Christ by Herod and his Officers Pag. 151 SECT XXVII Of Pilate's second Declaration of Christ's Innocence Pag. 154 SECT XXVIII Of Pilate 's third Declaration of Christ's Innocence and of the Scourging of his Body Pag. 158 SECT XXIX Of the Injuries done to Christ by the Roman Soldiers Pag. 164 SECT XXX Of Pilate's fourth Declaration of Christ's Innocence Pag. 166 SECT XXXI Of Pilate's fifth Declaration of Christ's Innocence Pag. 170 SECT XXXII Of Pilate 's sixth Declaration of Christ's Innocence his giving Sentence against him at the Importunity of the Jews and the Miseries which ensued thereupon to their Nation Pag. 178 SECT XXXIII Of the Procession of Christ to Golgotha Pag. 190 SECT XXXIV Of Christ's Prediction of the Miseries of the Jews Pag. 196 SECT XXXV Of the Bitter Potion given to Christ at Golgotha Pag. 201 SECT XXXVI Of the Crucifixion of Christ. Pag. 206 SECT XXXVII Of the Exaltation of the Cross 214 SECT XXXVIII Of the Scituation of Christ's Cross between two Thieves and the Title Pilate affixed to it Pag. 218 SECT XXXIX Of the Partition of Christ 's Garments anâ— the Irrision of the People Pag. 22â— SECT XL. Of Christ's Intercession to the Father 〈◊〉 his Crucifiers Pag. 2â—â— SECT XLI Of the Penitent Thief and Christ's Meâ— towards him Pag. 23â— SECT XLII Of the Sorrowful Interview between Chrâ—â—â— and the Virgin Mother his Compassâ—â—â— towards her and Love to Saâ—â—â— John Pag. 2â—â— SECT XLIII Of Christ's complaining of his being forsaken of God Pag. 252 SECT XLIV Of Christ's Thirst upon the Cross 262 SECT XLV Of those Words of Christ It is finished and the Resignation of his Spirit to the Father Pag. 268 SECT XLVI Of the Astonishment of the Creatures at the Death of Christ. Pag. 276 SECT XLVII Of the Piercing the Side of Christ with a Spear Pag. 281 SECT XLVIII Of the Burial of Christ's Body by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus Pag. 287 SECT XLIX Of the Sealing and Watching the Sepulchre of Christ. Pag. 297 SECT L. A Reflection on the foregoing History with Thanksgiving for the Death of Christ. Pag. 301 ERRATA PAge 2. line 10. read and Martyrdom l. 25. dele and so contrary p. 6. l. 22. r. his Soul p. 22. l. 17. d. Of. p. 25. l. 24. for great r. sweet p. 30. l. 11. r. Sons of God p. 36. l. penult r. thy boundless p. 40. l. 10. r. out of my p. 48. l 2. r. destitute p. 60. l. 17. r. knew it not p. 67. l. 1. r. overcome p. 68. l. 25. r. draw p. 69. l. 3. r. my Terror p. 71. l. ult d. to p. 77. l. penult r. which cursed p. 79. l. 1. r. that now p. 87. l. 7. r. Enemies p. 103. l. 19. r. was not the first p. 127. l. 18. d. But. p. 133. for Sect 18. r. Sect. 23. p. 135. l. 13. r. Protomartyr p. 141. l. 9. r. on Euphrates p. 182. l. 5. r. and whom they p. 185. l. 19. r. paps of their women p. 192. l. 24. r. had past p. 223. l. 20. r. of his death l. 22. d. That p. 231. l.
Men unto me Gentiles as well as Jews to believe on me Prayer Be it so my Jesu O draw me to thy self and by the Eye of Faith let me ever behold thee as suffering for me that I may ever love thee But alas while I now seek thee I can represent to my Thoughts nothing but the Shadow and Appearance of a Body all crusted over with gore Blood I look for Limbs but find nothing but Wounds I look for the Ensigns of a glorious Redeemer I discern only a Skin all bloody fastned to a Cross between two Thieves and strugling under the Convulsions of Death But O Eternal Father that which has made thy Son thus vile and wretched in the Eyes of the World has made him most precious and acceptable in thy sight Look down we beseech thee from thy Sanctuary and thy Dwelling-place in Heaven and behold the Sacrifice which our great High-Priest and thy holy Child Jesus offers unto thee for the Sins of his Brethren and be favourable to the Multitude of our Iniquities Behold the Voice of our Brother's Blood crying unto thee for Mercy upon us Behold the Lamb who is without Blemish now bearing our Sins in his Body upon the Tree and look not upon us as we are in our selves but in the face of thine Anointed who becomes thus obedient unto Death to deliver us from the Guilt of Disobedience And let not the Scars of his Wounds ever depart from before thy Presence that thou may'st ever be mindful in all our Transgressions how great a Ransome he has paid for us and let his Blood be as the Rainbow in thy sight ever about thy Throne in Heaven that thou mayst no more destroy every living thing Behold O Creator the Humanity of thy Son and be ever merciful to the Debilities of our Nature Behold the torn Members of thy beloved and remember our Substance that we are but Dust Behold the Sufferings of the Redeemer and forgive the Sins of the Redeemed SECT XXXVIII Of the Scituation of Christ's Cross between two Thieves and the Title which Pilate affixed to it BUT it was not enough for the cruel Jews to murder the Messiah by the painfullest kind of Death unless they might stain his very Passion too by placing him in the q John 19.18 midst of two egregious Malefactours which for his greater Disgrace they had brought to suffer with him that by Strangers he might be thought to be a Partaker in their Crimes if not the worst of all by his Station between them and so it might be reported in the Neighbouring Regions That three notorious Villains were that day Crucified at Jerusalem of which the Impostor that went by the Name of Jesus was as being the chief placed in the middle whereby the Scripture was fulfilled which saith of him And he was reckoned among the r Isai 53.12 Transgressours Nevertheless there were some Reports went of the Purity of his Doctrine the Greatness of his Miracles the Sweetness of his Conversation and the Beauty of his Person above all the present view of his Sufferings and admirable Patience and Clemency towards his Crucifiers fill'd the Hearts of many with heavy Sighs and their Eyes with an Inundation of Tears And Pilate among the rest who best knew his Innocence and that for Å¿ Mat. 27.18 Envy he was deliver'd and condemn'd prick'd in his Conscience and fearing the Consequence lest he might be defam'd or accus'd to Caesar for consenting to the Death of such a wonderful Person without declaring the Cause of his Condemnation according to the Custom of the Romans towards Malefactors order'd his Accusation thus to be written and to be fastned to the top of the Cross t John 19.19 Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews that a Rumour at least might pass he was not put to death as a Prophet of the Jewish Nation or as the Son of some immortal God but as a Spreader of Sedition among the People and one who affected a Kingdom in Jewry For so they had accus'd him u Luk. 23.2 we found this Fellow perverting the Nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar saying that he himself is Christ a King And when Pilate sought to release him they cried out saying * John 19.12 If thou let this man go thou art not Caesar's friend Whosoever makes himself a King speaks against Caesar This was the meaning of Pilate by the Title whereby he Thought to signifie the Cause of his Condemnation But as in the Prediction of Caiaphas concerning his Death the Spirit of God had another Intention different from the Design of the High-Priest so likewise in this besides what Pilate thought as well as in the Mock-Purple the counterfeit Scepter and the bloody Diadem of Thorns which were mystical Representations of a real Kingdom there was intended him a Name and a Kingdom without end and he was signified to be the true Messiah the King both of Jews and Gentiles whose x Zech. 9.10 Psal 72.8.11 Dominion should extend from one Sea to the other and to whose Scepter the Kings of the Earth should submit their Majesty That this might be more manifest to the whole World it was directed by Providence in the y Joh. 19.20 three chief Languages in Hebrew because of the Jews who gloried in the Law in Greek because of the Wise-men and Philosophers of the Gentiles in Latine because of the Romans who then govern'd the Jews That it might be known throughout the whole World that almighty God had anointed this Jesus to be a King over all Nations and the z Dan. 7.14 Prophesie of Daniel might be fulfill'd which saith There was given him Dominion and Glory and a Kingdom that all People Nations and Languages should serve him his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which shall not pass away and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed The Jews therefore envy'd him this Title lest every Tongue should confess afterwards that he was the Lord to the Glory of God the Father and desir'd Pilate that it might be a John 19.21 alter'd or abolish'd For they were now ashamed because it might be thought by Strangers this was their King who was so ignominiously put to Death But neither did b John 19.22 Pilate endeavour to alter it nor would the Divine Providence suffer it this Title being given him by the Will of God Prayer O King eternal who for the Humiliation of thy Beloved and his Obedience unto Death even the Death of the Cross has highly exalted him and given him a Name which is above every Name That at the Name of JESUS every Knee should c Phil. 2.9 10 11. bow of things in Heaven in Earth and under the Earth and that every Tongue should confess That Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father Grant we beseech thee Conversion to Infidels to all Jews Turks and Hereticks that thy way may be known upon Earth thy
Let them on their Knees approach him on the Cross and reverently cover his naked Body We cover him when our Charity clothes his Servants and hides the infirmities of his little ones Let them with diligence unfasten the Nails and gently draw them out of his Hands and Feet We draw them out when we freely obey his Will and loosen our Affections from cleaving to the World And when they have thus rescued their adorable Lord let them Nail themselves in his stead to the Cross And this we do when we put off the old Man and Crucifie the Flesh with its Affections and Lusts Prayer O Blessed Jesu whose Sacred Body was laid in a Sepulchre after thou hadst Suffer'd Death for the life of my Soul make me so frequently to renew in my mind the memory of thy precious Death and Burial as may put me upon a serious preparation for my own And since thou didst not design to stay any longer on Earth then till thou hadst made a way for thy ransomed to pass let not my heart be set on any condition how comfortable soever it may appear to my senses which may make my Soul desire to be absent from thee But cause me to grow daily less and less affected towards the uncertain pleasures of Life and more and more in love with thy Eternal Joys Grant me My Redeemer a true Penitent Heart for all my former neglects of Thee Deliver me from the punishment my Sins deserve and from the Sins that deserve those Punishments That when I close mine Eyes in Death I may rest in thee and being absent from the Body may be refresht in the Repositories of thy Mercy So shall my Time be govern'd with thy Grace and my Eternity Crown'd with thy Glory SECT XLIX Of the Sealing and Watching the Sepulchre of Christ NOW the Chief Priests and Pharisees upon mature Consideration revolving all the accidents of the past day and comparing the circumstances of his Words and Actions with the Predictions of the Prophets concerning the Messiah and the wonderful ways by which they were compleated and especially remembring those Mystical words which before they pretended they could not understand and z Vid. Sect. 16 r.s wrested to a seditious intent against their worship of his building again in three days the Temple they should destroy and that he had given such his restoration from the Dead as a a Luk. 14.29 30. sign at their request to convince the World of his Truth they came to Pilate early on the next day that followed the day of the Preparation being the great Sabbath of the Pascal week wherein all other People were at their devotion and Prayers so restless and industrious were the Powers of Darkness to have buryed the Gospel in the Grave of Christ and said b Mat 27.63 64 65 66. Sir we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive after three days I will rise again Command therefore that the Sepulchre be made sure until the third day lest his Disciples come by night and steal him away and say unto the People he is risen from the dead So the last error shall be worse then the first Pilate said unto them ye have a watch go your way make it as sure as you can So they went and made the Sepulchre sure sealing the stone and setting a watch Thus did that obdurate and impenitent People harden themselves by those wonders which should have wrought their Faith and Conversion and justly feared the last error would be worse then the first hereby Prophesying ignorantly against themselves For their Sin became unpardonable because seeing they would not see But blessed be God all their obstinacy has been subservient to the Magistery of his Providence which orders all things prudently by the means of others They thought to have accomplished their malice against Christ and at the same time fulfill'd the determinations of his Will They thought by sealing the mouth of the Grave and setting a strict Guard over the Corps to have buried his Memory in perpetual silence and all the while were giving Testimony to his Resurrection and setting a sure seal to the Truth of his Divinity For securing and watching the Sepulchre with such diligence they have placed the Resurrection the Foundation of our Faith beyond doubt to future Ages and much firmer then if they had never watcht This is that which gives Glory to the Empire of Christ and whereby we perceive its Divine Power and the miraculous extent of its Conquests whose establishments have been so contrary to all humane ways When we consider how he was exalted by the lowest abasements glorified by his ignominies enriched by his Poverty lives by his Death and is Eterniz'd by his Sufferings And that our Religion ever oppos'd by the Wicked is nevertheless Victorious and Triumphant over impiety enricht by its Losses Glorious by its Persecutions establish'd by its Totterings and honour'd by its Wounds This is that which transports humane understanding into an admiration of the greatest of our Christian Profession Prayer O Crucified Jesu the Fountain of Love Let the wonders of thy Mysterious Incarnation and Death set all the Powers of my Soul on work that I may desire and pant after thee that I may Admire Adore and Imitate thee that I may take sweet and Heavenly delight in the Communion of thy Cross that I may with Praise and Thanksgiving receive thee into my Soul attend and watch thee till thou arise with thy Graces there There will I Love only Love always love to entertain thee SECT L. A Reflection on the foregoing History with Thanksgiving for the Death of Christ AND now my Soul thou hast seen this Great Mystery God Incarnate dying on the Cross to make satisfaction to the infinite Justice by the dignity of his Person Suffering in the Nature which had offended whereby thou art raised to a lively hope of obtaining Heaven which otherwise thou hadst lost and been for ever miserable in Hell with what words with what Affections with what Actions wilt thou glorifie the Author of so inestimable a gift as this O depth of Love Abyss unsearchable of the infinite Mercies of God! That God should delight to make his own Son a Sacrifice who would not suffer Abraham to offer his That God should design it from the foundation of the World foreseeing we should stand in need of it and without it perish Everlastingly That God should reveal it when we no ways deserv'd it nor could on any account hope for it and command us to seek the Benefits of it and enable us to obtain them by his preventing and assisting Grace O God Eternal who hast redeemed my Soul by the precious Blood of thy dear Son I am less then the least of all thy Mercies and of all that Truth which thou hast revealed to thy Servant I praise thee I bless thee I worship thee I extol thee I give thee thanks for thine infinite Compassion O Lord God Heavenly King God the Father Almighty O Lord the only begotten Son Jesu Christ Lamb of God Son of the Father that takest away the Sins of the World have Mercy upon me receivâ— my Prayer and unite me to thy self in the flames of Love For thou only art the Saviour thou only O Christ with the Holy Ghost art most high in the Glory of God the Father Glory and Honour and continual Thanks be given to Thee Lord God Almighty The Father the Son and the Holy Ghost for the Redemption of the World by the Death and Passion of Christ whereby thou mightst exalt us to Eternal Life Amen FINIS
Blessings of his Calling The dismal Figure of all Apostate wretches How great an Advantage had this Miserable Disciple to know where his Master was and where he might be found if he had made a right use of it For what does the e Cant. 2.7 Bride in the Canticles desire but tell me O thou whom my Soul loveth where thou feedest and and where thou liest down But abusing his knowledge to his own destruction and so much more wicked then the rest of the People as the Serpent was by being wiser then theother Creatures and for that a more opportune instrument of Homicide to the Devil the Devil makes use of him to destroy the Celestial Man in his Body as he had made use of the Serpent to destroy the Terrestrial in his Soul But Jesus nothing surpris'd at what he fore-knew would come to pass and to give an undeniable evidence that his Death was voluntary and not caused by the Treachery of Man prevents the Betrayer and f John 18.4 offers himself to his Enemies alone against a multitude unarm'd before their Weapons plain and sincere without regard to to their Malice He had formerly g John 12.36 hid himself when they admir'd his Miracles and h John 6.15 departed from 'em privately when they would have made him a King But now he meets them notwithstanding their Hostility because the hour prefixed by the Father was come For as we are not to tempt God by inconsiderate Rashness in our affairs so are we chearfully to resign up our selves to his will and obey him with great readiness of Mind when he calls us to â—â—ffer for a good Conscience and for the Confirmation of his Truth He teaches us Submission is the way to exaltation while he expects to ascend unto the Father from the Cross and lets us learn for the Hope of future Glory to despise all present and Momentary Evils and not consider what it is we suffer but that it brings us to the Father He might justly have reprehended 'em for their Ingratitude and Impiety against so many Benefits he had conferr'd on them or destroy'd 'em with the least breath of his Displeasure as unworthy of Life who came to destroy the Lord of it But now was the time of Mercy and not of Judgment of Patience and Long Suffering and not of Anger and the greatest Evil was to be overcome of Good He asks in the most familiar though convincing manner i Joh. 18.4 Whom seek ye and what would you have Is it an Enemy or a Robber against whom you are come with these Arms or have ye heard of any Insurrection against the State or Rebellion against Caesar that ye have made this great Preparation or do ye come out against an innocent Person who sat daily with you in the k Mark 14.44 Temple teaching and ye laid no hold on him If this be your Intention you might long since have taken him there needed not this Charge and Trouble and Pains But consider what it is to destroy a harmless Man The Blood of the Guiltless l Gen. 4.10 cries from the ground to Heaven and how much more will the Blood of the Son of God They answering said m John 18.5 We seek Jesus of Nazareth And Jesus said unto them I am He. Terrified at which Sound of the Divine Voice they went n Joh. 18.6 backward and fell to the ground The fatal Omen that all shall be cast down that rise up against the Lord and his Anointed but particular Intimation of the Fall of that People whom his Miraculous Works had rendred inexcusable For if he did this in the Form of the Lamb what will he do when he comes in that of the Lion If he did this being himself to be judged what shall he do when he comes to judge the World If he did this when he was to dye what will he do when he shall Reign eternally If such were the Dew of his Sacred Word who shall be able to abide the Thunder The least Rays of Divinity are so powerful in Nature that its very Shadow cannot be seen by us without a holy Horrour and Concern Which is the Reason that even Virtue has such venerable Attractives we cannot approach it without Love and Reverence Yea the Soul of a just Man is the o Isai 57.15 Throne of God the Theatre of his Power the List of his Courses the Field of his Battles and the Palace in which he makes his Abode which is the Cause the Saints have done so many Wonders in the World the p Gen. 7.9 Dan. 6.22 Luk. 10.19 wildest Beasts changing their Natures before them and all the q Gen. 7.19.8.16.9.22.10.21 Elements though insensible seeming reasonable to obey them But the Divinity and Humanity of the Blessed Jesus did so communicate in Effects from his Nativity to the day of his Death that no great Action past but as the Sun shining through a Cloud they gave Illustration and Testimony to each other He was born a tender and crying Infant but was ador'd by the r Mat. 2.11 Wise men as a King and by the Å¿ Luk. 2.13 Angels as a God He was circumcised after the Law as a Man but had a t Luk. 2.21 Name given him which signified him to be the Saviour of the World He fled into Egypt like a distressed Child under the Conduct of Helpless Parents and as soon as he entred into the Country the u Isai 19.1 Euseb de Demonst c. 20. S. Athanas lib. de Incarnat Vrbi Idols fell down and confest his Divinity He was presented in the Temple as the Son of Man but by Simeon and Anna was * Luk. 2.32 38. own'd for the Messiah and celebrated with Divine Praises He was baptised as a Sinner by John in Jordan but the Holy Ghost descending upon him proclaim'd him the x Joh. 3.17 Beloved Son of God He was hungry in the Wilderness and tempted as a Mortal but was supported by his Divinity and the holy y Matt. 4.11 Angels came and ministred to him as supream Lord. A little before his Passion when he was to take upon him all Affronts Miseries and Exinanitions of the most despised and abject he received Testimonies from above and was wonderfully transfigur'd upon the z Matt. 17.2 2 Pet. 1.18 holy Mount And now being to be taken by rude hands they are repell'd by the Majesty of his Person and the Glory of his Presence Seeing therefore they had no Power to take him without his Permission he recovers them out of their Confusion with the same Words saying unto 'em again a John 18.7 Whom seek ye And when they said Jesus of Nazareth he answered I have told you I am he If then you are sent to take him I resign my self I am that Jesus I am your Prisoner let these go their way That the b John 18.9 Saying might be fulfilled which
Prov. 28.13 For he that covereth his Sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have Mercy SECT XIV Of the Rigour of Christ's Enemies at his Apprehension THere are Hearts of Wax capable of Divine Impression and blessed are all they that are ready to receive it and there are Hearts of Marble Rocky Hearts reverberating Minds which beat back all Kindnesses and are rather hardned than softned by 'em it being the Purpose of the Almighty That either Grace shall cure Sin or accidentally encrease it Such were the hearts of these Ravenous Wolves who now furiously storm against the Lamb of God it being their k Luk. 22.53 Hour and the Power of Darkness All Thoughts of Divinity Truth Justice and Humanity it self are in the mean time suspended by the Malice of Satan instigating their Rage who represents him to their Fancies as the worst of Mankind a most pernicious Seducer and Subverter of their Religion whose Ignominy and Punishment would be so much more grateful to their Princes by how much more Cruelty it was executed upon him With their Swords and their Staves they proclaim their Malice and there were some had hardly Patience to wait his Tryal as usually happens in popular Tumults for how should they spare him in their first heat who never after left persecuting him till he expir'd on the Cross It is in vain for the Disciples to attempt a Rescue and Peter's Zeal is here more unseasonable than ever He draws his l Joh. 18.10 Sword and strikes one of the forwardest a Servant of the High-Priest by name Malchus and cut off his Ear but is immediately rebuked for the Intemperance of his Passion and the Mischief he had done Jesus m Luk. 22.51 heals with a Touch. For the Christian Religion was not so to be Planted nor were such to be the Arms of the Catholick Church whom Tears and Prayers were to become better than any illegal Expresses of Revenge The Lord himself will now be wounded of Sinners rather than the meanest Slave shall suffer nor may the n Mat. 26.53 Angels themselves assist him who had ministred to him at all other Seasons of his o Mat. 2.13.4.11 Necessity and preserv'd the Faithful from the hand of their Enemies For the Scriptures were to be fulfill'd That thus it must be It is the p John 18.11 Cup which the Father has given him and he resolves to drink it Thus being permitted they took Jesus and q Joh. 18.12 bound him These cruel Robbers lay violent hands upon the Bishop of their Souls This degenerate of-spring rise against their Father These Children of Darkness seize the true Light These hardned Sinners captivate their God and regardless of all the Miracles and Mercies he had wrought for 'em who lent not his hand of Pity to the lapsed Angels but took on him the perishing Seed of their r Heb. 2.16 Father and daily supported them by the Arm of his Power and went about doing good They bind him with Cords as Judas had premonisht 'em That same is he hold him fast hoping thereby to secure themselves from the Å¿ John 11.48 Romans who upon pretence of some Insurrection to have been made by him might have come and taken away their Place and Nation But as Men have different Sentiments of Christ's Sufferings so have his Sufferings different Effects on them and as t Judg. 16.30 Sampson taken by the Philistines slew more at his Death than he had done in all his Life and the Captive u 1 Sam. 5.7 Ark was the Cause of great Affliction so Christ's Bonds became the Destruction of the Jews for which they were shortly after given up to the Romans and ever since have sought for a Deliverance in vain Whereas to those who look on 'em with the Eye of Faith how they were in order to our Deliverance from the Tyranny of Sin Death and the Devil they are become Liberty Redemption and Salvation Prayer O Sweetest Jesu who didst receive Judas with the Affection of a Saviour and suffer'd him to kiss thy Cheek with the Serenity of God and didst cure the wound of the Enemy with the kindness of a Parent and the tenderness of an infinite Pity and didst permit the Soldiers to bind thee with Patience exemplary to all Ages of Martyrs O kiss me with the Kisses of thy Mouth embrace me with the Entertainments of a Gracious Lord and let my Soul dwell and Feast in thee who art the Repository of eternal Sweetnesses Bind me with those Bands which tyed thee fast the Chains of Love that I may get my Liberty Cure my Wounds by the touch of thy hand and let the Breath of thy Mouth restore me to the Integrity of a holy Penitent That so I may please thee and love thee and sing Praises to thee for my Deliverance for ever and ever SECT XV. Of the sorrowful Separation of Christ and his Disciples his first Examination before Caiaphas and incomparable Clemency towards his Disciples THE Disciples terrified with the Insolence of the Multitude who were now practising all things that might signifie their Contempt and encrease their Rage towards their silent Captive b Mat. 26.56 forsook him and fled but with trembling Hearts and pierc'd through with a thousand Darts of Grief For their Condition must needs be miserable and this a lamentable Separation when having left all for him they must leave him too whom they loved better than their own Parents and that in the hands of his cruel Enemies The time past caus'd 'em to remember all the Gracious Words they had heard all the mighty Works they had seen the present with the greatest Affliction that might be represented to their Fancies all the Blessings they were to lose and that which was to come could be nothing else to 'em but a bottomless Pit of Terrour and Affrightment They apprehended both for themselves and their Master as many Dangers as there are Thorns in the Woods could promise to themselves nothing but endless Miseries Days without Comfort and Nights full of Horrour in the deep Sense of which they pour'd out their Tears frequently intermingling the most dolorous Sighs having no other Eloquence but that of their hearts On the other hand the compassionate Jesus was much more troubled to be parted from those whom he had chosen from among all Men and carried about with him as it were in his Bosom for the Prophet Isaia speaking in his Person x Isai 49 15. says Can a Woman forget her sucking Child that she should not have Compassion on the Son of her Womb Yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee Especially now he had some need of their Society being given up to the Necessities of humane Nature and to suffer whatsoever might be found to afflict it for it is not the least point of Consolation to have in our Sorrows our Friends about us by complaining to whom we
may know I find no fault in him Then came Jesus forth wearing the Crown of Thorns and the Purple Robe and Pilate saith unto them Behold the Man Let it suffice O ye Jews for this Man's Punishment that he is thus miserably and opprobriously afflicted All which has been done to him more out of Necessity than for any Offence made out against him since after all our dealings with him I must confess him innocent and that I have found no fault in him Behold the Man whether he be now like a Man and much less a King for which you have so violently accus'd him Behold his Robe is it not of Mockery Behold his Scepter is it not a Reed Behold his Face is there any thing there which may induce the People to run after him and admire him Behold the Man in every part and you will find him so much less than a Man by how much he has suffer'd all these Indignities and an irreparable Disgrace among Men That truly he is now the Object of our Pity and Humanity requires us to sympathize with his Miseries which are but so many Instances of our own Mutability and silent Appeals to Mercy Let it suffice therefore and let us dismiss him If you have envy'd him the Title of a King you see it has sufficiently dejected him and brought him to shame to a ludibrious Vesture a Crown of Thorns painful Stripes odious Spittle and the Contempt of the whole Nation But alas there are some implacable Spirits in the World which seem to partake of the Nature of Devils and cannot be overcome either by Mildness or Force but grow more obstinate when excited to Pity When the Chief Priests and Officers saw Jesus in this Condition those very Motives which melted Pilate serv'd only as Incentives to their farther Rage Invidious Malice is a poysoned Gall the Root of Vices the Father of Murders and the Mother of Death It is the Rage of the Devil and the very Soul and Spirit of Apostate Nature neither to be pacified with Kindness nor satisfied with Cruelty Little Portions of Revenge do but inflame it and serve to flesh it up to a fiercer Violence Vexed that they had not yet done their Work they fall afresh upon the poor Remainders of his Life And they cried out saying e John 19.6 Crucifie him Crucifie him It is not enough to us to see the Blood of his Face but we must have that of his Heart too We are not satisfied to behold him miserable but we must see him dying on the Cross Thou hast well done in Scourging him now Crucifie him Thou hast shewn him to us wounded but we must see him dead Prayer Ah! my dear Maker thou Father of Mercies whence come these Thoughts into the Heart of Man whom at first thou madest after thine own Image And why are we given up to the Instigations of Satan the Father of Lyes and Original of Murder but because we have wickedly departed from thee and done Despite to thy Spirit of Grace O give us Mildness and Bowels of Compassion one towards another especially towards the Afflicted considering our selves Fellow Subjects in the same Misfortunes That in the last day when we must answer for what we have done and our own Mercy shall be the f Mat. 25.35 Measure of our Judgment thy Mercy may rejoyce over thy Justice and we may be received into the Joy of our Gracious Lord. SECT XXXI Of Pilate's fifth Declaration of Christ's Innocence PIlate astonish'd at their Inhumanity and Obstinacy and no longer able to restrain his Indignation says g John 19.6 Take ye him and Crucifie him your selves for I find no fault in him and desire to have nothing more to do in the matter And this was the Fifth time he proclaim'd him innocent As if he had said If ye will have him Crucified Crucifie him your selves ye blood-thirsty and insatiable Murderers Shall I because of your Malice contrary to all Laws by which I am bound to protect destroy the Innocent Shall I be accessory to your Murder terrified thereto by your Clamours Am I to be an Administrator of Hatred and Envy and to suppress the Just by my Authority I will not have my Judgment Seat nor the Roman Empire stain'd with the Blood of a guiltless Man I have too far condescended to pleasure you already by scourging this poor innocent Person and if after all he must dye take ye him and murder him since your Religion permits it and with you it is a Capital Crime to be innocent I have no Law for it and will be clear of this Injustice A Spectacle worthy of the Presence of The Almighty to see a Magistrate ardent in Zeal for the Defence of the Innocent and Just and to bend all his Endeavours and Force of Courage to strengthen his Arm against the Torrent of Iniquity to put off peculiar Interests and to defend the Truth It is this which makes Government easie and the People to rejoyce under it while wicked Justicers make sad the World Surely they had blusht at this Righteousness of the Heathen if they had had the least sense left of Goodness or Religion but resolv'd he should never escape out of their hands they begin to start a new Accusation The Jews h John 19.7 answered We have a Law and by our Law he ought to dye because he made himself the Son of God Before they had said it was not lawful for 'em to put any Man to Death but now they have a Law rather than he shall escape and whatever the Law be they will make him Guilty of it which according to their Accusation we may suppose was that of i Lev. 24.16 Blasphemy or against k Deut. 18.20 false Prophets for seducing the People by a pretended Revelation Now though the numerous Controversies of the Jews did not concern the Roman Governours nor were they moved with the frequent Quarrels arising from the Disputes of different Sects nevertheless when Pilate who believ'd the Descent of the Gods heard that Saying whereby they accused him for making himself the Son of God he was the more l John 19.8 afraid and knew not what to determine He had heard of his Miracles and was sensible of his Innocency and wonderfully taken with his admirable Constancy and Patience shining throughout his Sufferings and rationally concluded if he were some venerable God which all his Actions seemed to declare it were unpardonable in him to give Sentence against him and therefore he goes again into the Judgment Hall and saith unto Jesus m John 19.9 Whence art thou But Jesus gave him no Answer in so great a Mystery who against the perfect knowledge of his Innocence had ordered him to be scourged contrary to Justice And this is that Silence of which the Prophet speaks n Isai 53.7 He was oppressed and afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter
him mournfully afar off And the pious Women who had believ'd and abhor'd his Death would bewail him Suffering Dying and Dead Our Gracious Lord regardless of the furious Multitude and q 2 Tim. 2.19 knowing who are his turns to these saying r Luke 23.28 Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me but for your selves and for your Children For behold the days are coming in which they shall say Blessed are the Barren and the Wombs that never bare and the Paps that never gave suck and so great shall be the Terror they shall begin to say to the Mountains fall on us and to the Hills cover us as if the dreadful Day of Judgment were then appearing Not that it was indecent to bewail his Passion for humanity commands a Sympathy and some pity towards the Sufferings of a real offender much more towards the misfortunes of an Innocent Person But because it was not fit to bewail him as others who died not as others die for we come to Death by Sin but Christ came to Death by Righteousness therefore he says Daughters of Jerusalem there is no necessity you should weep for me who have long since been prepar'd to go this sad procession I suffer not this for my own Sins And what you are Ignorant of this my end will bring Joy to the whole World Such Grief becomes not those who Triumph nor is Lamentation suitable to Victory But if your tenderness must vent in Tears you have reason to shed abundance for your selves and your Posterity to avert if possible those Dreadful Judgments which hang over this City and Nation For behold those adverse times are coming when Men as well as Women Young and Old Rich and Poor shall be reduc'd to such streights that they shall wish they had never been Born nor ever had Sons or Daughters Yea so great shall be the afrightment that ye shall wish your selves under the Earth rather than upon it in the Bowels of the Mountains and the Caverns of the Hills least any one should see or find you out For if they do these things in a ſ Luke 23.31 green tree in me and my Disciples What shall be done in the dry If I who have done t Heb. 4.15 no Sin who am the u John 15.1 living Vine and the * John 6.35 bread of Life pass not out of the World without this fiery tryal What shall become of those who are void of all fruit who are near to x Heb. 6.8 cursing and whose end is to be burned If Judgment begin at the House of God and all that will live Godly shall suffer persecution What shall be the end of them that obey not the Gospel Ah my dear Reader how Quick and Powerful how Sharp and Piercing is this word of God even to the dividing asunder the Soul and Spirit and of the Joynts and Marrow What a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the Heart How shall God punish us for our own Sins who is so wrathfully displeas'd with our Redeemer for the Sins which are none of his If Christ his Obedient Son were thus grievously Afflicted how shall his Rebellious Servants hope to escape unpunish'd And what must the Reprobate undergo in the day of Judgment if such be the sufferings of the best beloved Oh the infinite anger of God! Oh the inestimable rigour of his Justice who is thus enraged against his only Son his beloved Son his Son the partaker of his Essence And that not for his own Sin but because he interceded for Sinners What will become of the polluted Soul which continues still to go on securely in Sin when the Immaculate Jesus is thus tormented Let the Creature fear which has Crucified the Creator Let the Servant tremble who has slain his Lord. Prayer O thou Great God of Power and Mercy whose Lightning Flashes preceed the Thunder to give warning of thy Wrath and Terror to the Universe and who never punishest Sinners without premonition let thy sore judgments threatned against others and at last inflicted on 'em because of their Obstinacy waken our Souls out of their Sinful security to a due consideration of those means which may avoid them that we turning from our Sins thou mayest turn from thy fierce anger and leave a blessing and we Perish not For if the present punishments of the Impenitent are the fore-runners of the Eternal Torments to be inflicted on 'em in Hell thy Temporal Mercies towards returning Sinners shall be their assurances of they everlasting Favours SECT XXXV Of the Bitter Potion given to Christ at Golgotha WHile Jesus was thus painfully Travelling in the way either because they thought he went too slowly under the weight and their fury was impatient of any delay or that they fear'd he might Faint and Die and Frustrate the cruel end shame they had designed or that they would reserve his Spirits for his greater Torture having found a man of Cyrene y Matt. 27.32 Simon by name him they compell'd to bear his Cross a person by Providence z Mark 15.21 passing the road at this juncture and his name by interpretation signifying Obedient as if God would thereby teach us that none can bear it profitably but such as are attentive and submissive to his Will and that he will not suffer the faithful to be tempteà a 1 Cor. 10.13 above their ability but together with the temptation give a means to escape There were also two Malefactors led with him to be put to Death for his greater disgrace and increase of Grief by dying in their Company after he had first seen them struggle in the pangs of Death before him At last they came to b Mark 15.22 Golgotha which is the same with c Luke 23.33 Calvary a mount on the West side of the City and by signification the place of a Scull for being the common place of Execution there lay the Bones of such as before had Suffered the Frightful remains of what the ravenous Birds or Beasts had left of their devoured Carcasses a place among the Jews of the greatest impurity for none might touch a dead body and be d Num. 19.11 clean much less the Bones of a cursed Malefactor and such was every one that e Deut. 21.23 hanged upon a tree nor was any thing thought by 'em to give a greater Contagion of Pollution then the f 1 King 13.2 2 King 23.16 burning Mens Bones upon what they intended to prophane Nevertheless our Saviour who had himself also g Matt. 23.27 represented the abominations of the Hypocrites by these Emblems of defilement would descend himself to the extreamest impurities that the might sanctifie and cleanse whatsoever was impure and by humbling himself teach us the true way to Glory So different are the ways of Christ from those of the World which aims at high things by hasty ascents and the more it is lifted up falls with the greater
Benign Jesus interceeded for his Enemies but the Divine Goodness so ordered that one of the Malefactors who suffer'd with him should immediatly be converted and receive the Fruits of it for the comfort of all those who should afterwards repent and believe in the meritorious efficacy of his Death Whilst the other Thief desperate and impatient perisht in his impenitency and unbelief bearing the Figure of all hardned Sinners who tho' they have Christ never so near are ever repining and murmuring under the Cross and mistrusting the providence of God till they are Destroyed of the Destroyer For p Luke 23.39 one of the two which were hanged by him his savage nature growing furious under pain and raging against every thing that was near railed on him saying If thou be the Christ save thy self and us But the q Luke 23.40 41 42. other relenting and possest with a deep sense of all the guilt of his offences a piercing dread of future Judgment and especially with admiration of the Holy Jesus rebuk'd him answering dost thou not fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this Man has done nothing amiss And he said unto Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom And Jesus r Luke 23.43 said unto him Verily I say unto thee to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise O the wonderful and unsearchable Judgments of God who is able to convert the most wicked in a Moment and would not have us rashly condemn any or ever despair of his saving Mercy Behold here a Prodigy which has nothing common in Nature a convincing Revelation in the heart of a Sinner whose lightning is like a Thunderbolt Quick and Piercing and carries away along with it whatsoever stood before it The Poor Thief confesses Christ when all his Disciples doubted and forsook him And when he had only his Heart and Tongue free yet offers both believing in his Heart and confessing with his Mouth that he was the Lord of Glory Which Miraculous Conversion Jesus entertained with a speedy promise of a very great Felicity that upon that very Day he should be with him in Paradise I know not in this Action whether I should rather admire the good fortune of the Penitent Thief or the wonderful Power of the word Incarnate of the Thief who is drawn for a Cut-throat to Prison from Prison to Judgment from Sentence to the Cross and thence goes to Paradise without needing any other gate but only the Heart of the Bountiful Jesus For on the other side what can be more admirable to our thoughts then to see a Crucified Man do an Act which belongs to the living God when the World shall end to save some and reprobate others and to judge from the Cross as if he sate upon a Throne As if he had said My only Companion and Patient Partaker in my unspeakable Griefs thou askest of me with a great Faith but a small thing in appearance that I should remember thee when I come into my Kingdom But I am not ignorant what becomes me to give or thee to recieve for such a faithful acknowledgement Nor will I reward so great a Virtue shining through all the Clouds of thy Affliction but with the Chief and greatest Good I am now forgotten as a dead Man out of Mind and mine acquaintance are hid out of my sight My Friends are become my Enemies and my Disciples fled Peter afraid of a Womans voice has deny'd me and forsworn himself and Judas for a little unprofitable lucre has sold and betray'd me the rest as Sheep without a Shepherd are scatter'd and almost destitute of all Hope and Faith But thou who art a Robber and fierce by Nature without any advantage of Religious Education art come hither to me out of the covert of the Woods and the hollow Caverns of the Mountains and meetest me in Love and the participation of my Cross more Faithful then my Friends more Constant then my Disciples and Believest and Hopest and Adorest my Abasement and Contemplatest me Triumphing over the Powers of Death and Hell in a Servile Ignominious Crucifixion Confoundest the Ingrateful Reprehendest the Blasphemous Bearest Testimony to my Innocency and Fightest for me all thou canst with thy Tongue Thou seest me here as a Malefactor and yet acknowledgest me to be thy Holy Redeemer Thou seest no other title or sign of my Kingdom but only my Body covered over with Blood and opprest with Dolours and yet thou callest upon me as reigning in Heaven Thou seest me in Misery as an Abject Person and confessest the infinite Glory of my Heavenly Dominion Flesh and Blood has not revealed this unto thee but my Father which is in Heaven nor have I found so great Faith no not in Israel it self Å¿ Gen. 22.15 Abraham believed on me speaking to him from Heaven and t Exod. 3.2 Moses speaking to him out of the midst of Fire and u Isai 6.1 Isaiah as I spake to him sitting on my Throne But thou Believest on me hanging upon this Cursed Tree Weak Fainting and Breathing my last as if I were working Miracles or riding in Triumph * John 3.2 Nicodemus and x John 1.49 Nathaniel have also believed being admonisht by the Scriptures and the y John 15.22 Canaanitish Woman led by my Miracles and my z Matt. 19.28 Disciples upon promise of Thrones But none of these things have been demonstrated to thee nor hast thou searcht the Scripture nor seen signs nor heard promises and yet thou believest and concludest my Glory out of my infirmity and my Innocence from my Condemnation Thou shalt not long expect thy Reward For tho' the Ax be laid to thy Root and thou wert ready to be cast into the Fire Yet art thou in time the door of Mercy is still open yea the Fountain of Grace flows more plentifully then ever And it shall be more Profitable and Honourable for thee thus to have hung by my side Crucified and Believing then to have sate before Cesar on Golden Arras or Triumpht before the People on an Ivory Throne And thou shalt reap more pleasure for having been partaker of these my Torments then thou couldst have done out of the spoils of Provinces or by having been Monarch of the Universe For what would it have profited thee to have gain'd the whole World and to have lost thy poor Soul or to have heap'd up all the Treasures of the Earth if they must have been follow'd with Everlasting Sorrows Verily I say unto thee and be thou secure of it even this day will I exalt thee before all Israel and thou shalt be where I am because thou hast confest and follow'd thy Saviour Thy petition was but small as thou imaginest for what is easier than to remember but truly the greatest and such as ought to be the Prayer and constant desire of every
acknowledgment so did it demonstrate his Purity and Innocence at whose Sufferings the Elements were thus troubled and was also a sign to that Rebellious People who had so often y John 2.8 desir'd one from Heaven and a sad presage that the light of Truth was shortly to be z Luke 19.42 hidden from their Eyes and that both they and all that deny him should be cast into a Matt. 8.12 outer Darkness All this while the Divine Nature rested that the Human Nature might suffer but it upheld the Humane that that it might overcome Till at last Jesus wholly opprest with the load of his Fathers wrath and quite wearied with the pains due to our sins cryed out or b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matt. 27.46 roared in the most lamentable manner My God My God Why hast thou forsaken me Which violent Ejaculations gave an evident proof of the truth of his Humanity and of the greatness of his Sufferings for the confutation of all future Hereticks who should either deny him to have been Man or to have truly suffer'd in the Flesh The voice of so Dismal and Terrible a cry being a sure sign of an inexpressible Grief and that it proceeded purely from Humane Affections Nevertheless he complains not in the least of his ignominious punishment cruel pains or any other desertion whatsoever tho' there were so few of his friends with him and his very Enemies stood from him at adistance not only as accursed but an infectious Object But he complains only of his being forsaken of God That 's the height of all Sorrows That 's the Abyss of the state of Misery For where God is not all is Hell What could God forsake his Son or did not Christ see the c Heb. 12.2 Joy that was set before him and to which he should arrive through that cloud of Affliction Yes he did But not to comfort him All things were now tending to compleat his Passion to add extremity to his Pains and infinity to his Miseries For it had been determined by the councel of the Godhead that his Glory should encrease his Shame his Knowledge his Grief his Majesty his Misery his Happiness his Punishment O what a d Rom. 8.32 delivery as speaks the Apostle what a desertion and giving up was this Where Strength was the Tormentor Knowledge a Vexation Joy and Glory a Persecution Are all the Sufferings that ever were in the World comparable to those of the Crucified Jesus Or did ever any Martyr before cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me As if he had said O my Eternal Father the Father of Mercies and the God of all Consolation I turn to thee but neither seek nor obtain any Relief or mitigation of my Torments For I voluntarily submitted my self to this burthen and whatsoever thou shalt add to it I will patiently bear Nevertheless tho' thou succourest not my complaints yet will I not cease to declare my Grief least I should endeavour by my silence to frustrate my Enemies of their Joy or seem not to suffer for 'em what I do Who tho' they see my body torn on this Gibbet may yet imagine my mind to be untoucht and that I suffer but as others have done I therefore testifie and with this my speech declare the inward anguishes of my Soul to all these who here afflict me and thus I imprint it in the hearts of all those who shall hereafter believe on me for thy desertion is the height of all my Miseries a desertion properly due to their Persons My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Others invoke thee but once as their God because tho' they want thy Glory yet by their Sins they deny thee But I call upon thee as my God and my God both as partaker of thy Nature and as a fulfiller of thy Divine Will And yet thou castest me away from thee and makest me to suffer the Just for the Wicked at the hand of the unjust Thou deliverest me up to Sinners to be slain by 'em for their Sins Thou severely chastisest thy own Son that thou mayest spare thy Rebellious Servants Behold I am e Psal 88.3 c. counted as one of them that go down into the pit and even as a Man that hath no strength Free among the dead like unto them that are wounded and lie in the grave who are out of Remembrance and cut away from thine hand Thou hast laid me in the lowest Pit in a place of Darkness and in the Deep Thine Indignation lyeth hard upon me and thou hast vexed me with all thy Storms I stick fast in the mire where no ground is I am come into deep f Psal 69.2 waters so that the floods run over me I am destitute of thy Help debarr'd of all Comfort suspended from Refreshment nor does the Blessedness of my Glory relieve me or make my Cross less dolorous Without me are aggravating Circumstances of misery in my Flesh is Pain in my Soul is Anguish intolerable Anguish even unto Death My Flesh is most afflicted because most sensible My Soul is most straitned because most understanding My Flesh grieves and my Soul Grieves and what does not grieve being cast out of the Comfort of thy Sight Tribulation and Anguish Tyrannize over me and every moment by every thing my Sorrows are enlarged I grieve for the Abuse of thy holy Name I grieve for the Trouble of her that bare me I grieve for the Pusilanimity of my Disciples I grieve for the Scandal of all that believe on me I grieve for the Errour of these that crucifie me I grieve for all the Sorrows the Saints have suffer'd or ever shall endure for my sake I grieve for the ungrateful who shall crucifie me g Heb. 6.6 afresh and put me hereafter to the like open Shame But especially for all those who once believing on me shall afterwards apostatize from the Truth there remaining no more h Heb. 10.26 27. Sacrifice for their Sins but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour them That after so many Sweats and mortal Agonies my precious Blood should be spilt in vain and that of so many Millions who might now be brought through the Red-Sea of my Blood out of the Bondage of Sin there is none to give Glory to God but this Stranger and he a Thief who enters with me into the promised eternal Rest Why hast thou delivered me Why hast thou forsaken me Why hast thou subjected me to this Sorrow this Death Why am I destitute of Divine Consolation abandoned to Humanity and deliver'd as a Prey to all the outragious Sadnesses of Mind Are all my Sufferings but for one or hast thou not laid on me the i Isai 53.6 Iniquities of all O! how great and intolerable is the Guilt of Sin for which thou wouldst have my Blood to expiate for which thou hast exposed delivered and forsaken thine