them and not pardon him was because our good Lord is so liberall in giuing and so noble in pardoning that he cannot forgiue any one sinne alone if there remaine any other hidden offence in the sinner Factious and enuious men are wont to pardon some of their enemies not other some but the sonne of God for a certainty dooth not so but he would forgiue all men togâ—ther and redeeme all men togither S. Iohn said not of Christ behold him who taketh away the sinne of the world but said behold him who taketh away the sinnes of the world He said not vnto Mary Magdalen thy sinne is released but thy sinnes are forgiuen thee In so much that in matter of sinnes God cannot but either wholly winck at them or wholly pardon them For as S. Ierome sayth No man euer heard the sonne of God say I pardon thee such a sinne or this sinne or that sinne but hee alwaies said I pardon thee all thy sinnes and therevpon praying vpon the crosse vnto his father hee did not say Pardon him but said Father pardon them For it seemed vnto him that the value of the bloud which hee shed was of such price that those for whome hee died were but few although hee died for those which were absent as well as for those which were present for the quicke and for the dead for those which were already past and for those which were to come for the iust and for the sinners that one drop of his bloud which he should shed would bee sufficient to redeeme a thousand of worlds and if this were so what reason had hee to bestow it vpon one alone seeing there did abound for all the world The sonne of God debated not the matter nor plaied not the huckster with his father in contending how much bloud shall I giue thee for their pardon because he would let vs vnderstand in this that he paied very well yea and repaied for al the sinnes which were forgiuen For to conclude all the sinnes in the world might haue ben numbred but the price of the bloud of Christ could not bee valued O good Iesus O my soules hope if in fauour of great sinners thou diddest say Father forgiue them why doest thou not say in my behalfe who am a great sinner Pater ignosce illi Forgiue him If the Iewes haue beene vngratefull towards thee for the miracles which thou diddest amongst them haue not I been much more ingratefull for the benefites receiued of thee If thou diddest pray for the Israelites which did kill thee once why doest thou not pray for me which kill thee euery day Doe not I put thee to death euery day and euery houre seeing I doe crucifie thee as oft as I sinne against thee Seeing the sinnes which are seuerally in other meÌ„ are together in me why dost thou not say Father forgiue him as thou didst say Father forgiue theÌ„ Say then O my good Iesus say vnto thy Father Father pardoÌ„ this sinner seeing that by how much the more my sins offences are greater then other mens by so much the more thy mercy will shine by forgiuing me CHAP. VII How God is more mercifull now then hee was in time past and why Christ did not say that he did pardon his enemies when he asked pardon for them of his father POnam contra te omnes abommationes tuas non parcet oculus meus super te These are the woordes of the great God of Israell spoken with much anger and verie great furie to the people of Israel by the mouth and preaching of the holy Prophet Ezechiel chapter 7. as if he would say I am so angry with thee O Synagogue and haue pardoned thee so often that I am now determined to lay open all thy wickednes and not forgiue thee any one of them because that as mercy doth follow thy amendment so iustice rigor may follow thy hardnesse of heart Before the sonne of God came into the world to take mans flesh vpon him God was much more accustomed to vse his iustice then his mercie seeing that in all the story of the old Law those which hee chastised were very many in number and those whome hee forgaue very few And that we may proue it to haue ben so from the beginning of the world how did he punish Adam and Eue his wife for no other cause but for eating the apple which was forbidden them Did hee not condemne the wicked Cain to wander throughout all the world and haue a shaking in his head for the murder which hee vsed against his brother Who is ignorant how God did drowne many in the vniuersall floud for the sinne of the flesh and sunke those of Sodome for the sinne against nature and let the ground open and swallow vp Dathan and Abiron for the rancor of enuie And did not God command Moyses and Iosua to take out of the campe and stone to death the Iew for hiding a barrell of gold at the sacke of Ierricho and another Israelitie for gathering stickes vpon the Sabboth day Hieremie neuer endeth to bewaile the captiuitiy of Babilon whereof hee sayth Destruxit non pepercit hee destroied and spared not But God commaunded that all that kingdome should bee made desolate and destroied not pardoning nor forgiuing any one When the Lord commanded king Saule to go take Amelech his kingdome hee aduised him and instructed him that from the king himselfe which sate in his throne vnto the beast which fed in the meadow hee should not pardon any one but sley and kill them euery one In the ninth chapter of Ezechiell God said these wordes vnto the striking Angel Senem iuuenem virginem paruulum interfice sanctuario meâ— incipe c. as if he would say Go throughout all the city of Ierusalem put to the sword all the old men and all the young men all the virgins and all the children and because no man shall thinke that any place may saue him thou shalt begin this my punishment with the Priests of the Temple Cadent à latere tuo mille decem millia à dextris tuis sayth the Psalmist as if he would say Thou doest so seuerely reuenge thy iniuries O great God of Saboth and so punish our offences that as oft as I looke vpon thee I see both thy armes armed and both thy hands couered with bloud insomuch that if a thousand men are fallen at thy left hand there are other ten thousand slairie at thy right hand When the eternall God had seene that they had put to death his welbeloued sonne being accustomed to punish presently and not to pardon he darkened the light of the sunne made the earth to quake rent the vaile of the Temple and opened the sepulchres of the dead because those which were dead should rise againe and take reuengemeÌ„t of those which were aliue WheÌ„ the son of God perceiued that al this was done for his sake
the Babilonians Egyptians Chaldeans Persians and Medes Greekes and those of Palestine because the law of the Gospell hath been preached and receiued in those places Chrysostom saith That the son of God came to take flesh for the fall of the Temple of Salomon the city of Ierusalem the sacrifices of Iuda the ceremonies of Israell and of the old Mosaicall law and of the pride of all the Synagogue which was all ended and gaue vp the ghost with this word Consummatum est The sonne of God came into the world for the ouerthrow of all sinnes for if hee was as hee vvas the truth it selfe hee was a great enemy of lies and because he highly loued charitie he hated cruelty and because hee highly commended humilitie hee persecuted enuy vvhich vvas the cause that no man did euer reprehend vice more sharplier than hee nor no man did euer extoll vertue like vnto him The sonne of God came into the vvorld to the vtter ruine of the famous city of Hierusalem seeing there vvas not one tower in the citie vvhich vvas not throwne downe no vvall which was not broken no house vvhich vvas not barnt no Temple vvhich vvas not beaten to the ground no treasurie vvhich vvas not robbed nor orchard vvhich vvas not spoiled no Virgine vvhich was not violated no woman which was not forced no man which was not either slaine or taken captiue The sonne of God came into the world for the ouerthrow of the Synagogue seeing he left them no kingdome whither to goe vnto no citie where to dwel no king to rule them no Patriarke to honour no Prophet to giue them counsell no army to defend them no captain to fight for them The soune of God came into the world in ruinam the ouerthrow of the Pharisies and Sadduces cōsidering that he took away their hypocrisie from thē by which they preuailed their authority by which they commanded their doctrine with which they deceaued their couetousnesse with the which they robbed and their Symony with the which they made themselues rich CHAP. IIII. Of the third word which old Simeon spake vnto the Virgine in the Temple and of three authorities touching this purpose IN resurrectionem multorum in Israel in signum cui contradicetur said holy Simeon vnto the blessed Virgine that day when she presented the child Iesus in the Temple as if hee would say I haue told thee my daughter Mary how this thy son and my Lord shall bee a stumbling blocke to many and an occasion that many which are fallen shall rise againe and many which goe astray conuerted and he shal be a marke and a signe which shall bee spoken against by many Origen saith That it doth wel appear that holy Simeon spake by the mouth of the holy Ghost when hee said that the son of God was come into the world not only for all naughty wicked men to stumble at but also because that al goodnesse and good men should bee raised vp by him because it is the dutie of a good Phisitian not only to purge the humor which offendeth but also to strengthen it What fruit should we receiue by his comming into the world if he should only throw downe the wicked and not raise vp the good Whē our Lord saith by Ieremy Consolabor me de inimicis meis he would vvith a farre better will forgiue vs rather thā punish vs but because all that is in God is God himselfe hee cannot doe lesse than vse his iustice giuing notwithstanding alwaies place vnto his mercy When he sayth Woe bee vnto mee vvoe be vnto me I must reuenge mee of my enemies what can bee spoken with a more tender heart or vvhat iustice can bee done vvith greater mercy seeing that hee first weepeth for the sinner before he punish the sinne and first shed many tears before he shew discipline vpō the malefactors In the iudgemēt seat of vvorldly iudges they punish sinnes without iustice then mocke at the sinners but in the house of God they first vveepe for the sinners and then they punish the sinne because there is nothing more strange to God than reuenge nor nothing more gratefull vnto him than mercy Perditio tua ex te Israel ex me autem saluatio said God by the Prophet osee as if hee vvould say O vvhat paines I take with thee O Israel for if thou lose thy way I put thee into it againe if thou stumble I hold thee vp if thou see not I direct thee if thou fall I lift thee vp if thou defile thy selfe I make thee cleane if thou bee blind I giue thee light if thou doubt I counsell thee This speech of the Prophet is vvorthy to bee noted and also vvept and to bee bewailed vvith many teares seeing that hee telleth vs and admonisheth vs by it how little vvee are able to doe of our selues how little wee are worth how little wee possesse how little vvee know seeing that it is in our owne power to fall but vvee are not able to rise vvithout the helpe of God Thou saiest very vvell O great Simeon that the soune of God is come In resurrectionem multorum for after wee are fallen and defiled if hee doe not giue vs his hand who is able to lift vs from the ground What had become of the people of Israell when they were captiue in Egypt if our Lord had not deliuered them from thence vvith his mighty hand What would haue become of good King Dauid when he slue innocent Vrias and committed adultery with his wife Bersabee if God had not giuen him counsell by the mouth of the Prophet Nathan and lightened his heart What had become of king Ezechias when our Lord cōdemned him to death and that vnto a suddain death if our Lord had not visited him by the hands of the Prophet Esay and accepted his tears What had become of the Apostle Saint Peter when hee denied Christ three times if our Lord when he was tied to a pillar had not looked vpon him and prouoked him to teares What had become of S. Paul when hee went to the city of Damasco to apprehend all such which called vpon the name of Christ if our Lord had not spoken vnto him by the way and of Saul would not haue made him Paul and of a persecutor of Christ had not made him a preacher of the Gospell What would become of thee and me and of all the sinners of the world if good Iesus should not giue vs light because wee should not stumble and giue vs his hand to rise againe S. Barnard to this purpose saith It may be said better of me than of any O my good Iesus That thy perdition is of thy selfe Israel and thy saluation of mee For if I hit aright in any thing it is onely through thy grace and if I erre it is through my owne malice and therefore my owne sinne is able to make me fall but to rise againe I haue need of thy mercy
All mortal men go after their pleasures and hunt for delight but alasse they seeke them in the house of the God of trauels which is the world and forsake the Lord of consolations which is God and therefore they goe astray in that which they seeke and goe discomforted in that which they desire Barnard in a sermon sayth O what a great comfort it is to the good that they haue him for their God and Lord who is the God and Lord of all consolations for it is not to be beleeued that being the God of al comforts that he doth not impart some of them vnto his and especially seeing that hee doth not discomfort those which offend him who will not beleeue but hee will comfort those which serue him When the Apostle sayth that our God is the God of all consolations and not onely that but also the father of mercies we haue great cause to loue him and to be thankfull vnto him seeing that not long before hee called himselfe the God of reuenge as now he dooth call himselfe the Father of mercies S. Ambrose sayth What greater news could we hear or what could he giue vs for a greater reward then for our Lord to giue himselfe vnto vs for our father his sonne for our brother the holy-ghost for our maister his church for our mother the Sacraments for a medicine his death for a pardon his bloud for our redemption Isichius vpon Leuiticus sayth Marke the depth of the Scripture and thou shalt see that when he speaketh of mercies it doth not call God Deus misericordiarum The God of mercy but Pater misericordiarum the Father of mercies and when it talketh of iustice it doth not call him Pater vltionum but Deus vltionum The God of reuenge because it is the office of God to punish and the duty of the father to pardon The Prophets did oft vse this word Deus God and helped themselues little with this word Pater Father and Christ contrariwise did oft benefite himselfe with this word Pater Father and sildome with this name Deus God giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that the time of iustice was now ended and that the time of mercy was come Isidorus De summo bono sayth O eternall goodnesse and depth of all vvisedome vvhy should I distrust in thy great clemency being that thou art my Father and Father of all mercy Let the Pagans distrust in thee who beleeue thee not let the vvicked distrust in thee vvho serue thee not for I vvill hope in thee vvith those vvhich serue thee and loue thee For although I cannot wholly serue thee I labour as much as I can not to offend thee Anselmus vpon the Apostle sayth After I heard thee say O my good Iesus Pater ignosce illis and the Apostle say Pater misericordiarum Although my naughty life make mee afraid yet thy great mercy commeth immediately to my mind for the same day that thou diddest make thy selfe man thou diddest change thy name from the God of Reuenge into the Father of Mercies O glorious and happy chaunge that is the changing the name of God into the name of Father and the name of a Reuenger into the name of a Defender the name of Iustice into the name of Mercy the name of a Creator into the name of a Redeemer all which thou diddest chaunge vvhen thou wast made man and diddest suffer on the crosse for mee Saint Augustine vpon the Apostles vvordes sayth Tell mee O good Iesus tell mee O great Redeemer after thou haddest chaunged the name of Deus vltionum into the name of Pater misericordiarum what diddest thou see so hard that thou diddest not bring to passe or vvhat sinne diddest thou see so enormious that thou diddest not pardon In calling thy selfe the Father of mercies thou diddest forgiue Matthew his exchanges Mary Magdalene her vanities the Samaritane her Adulteries the good theefe his theft and the fisher-man Peter his denying of thee the Apostles forsaking of thee and thy enemies putting thee to death Irenaeus sayth Seeing that the time of Deus vltionum is past and that the time of Pater misericordiarum is come haue mercy on mee O great God of Israel haue mercy on mee and when shall this bee but vvhen thou vvilt giue me strength to serue and praise thee and endue mee vvith grace to saue mee O Father of mercies O the God of all consolation vvhen shall my soule heare for her selfe Pater ignosce illi as the vvicked Synagogue did heare thee say Father forgiue them What doth it auaile mee that thou hast pardoned those vvhich did then put thee to death if thou doe not also now forgiue vs vvhich most vvickedly offend thee Children for children sinners for sinners there is as great reason that thou shouldest pardon those of thy holy church as those of the Synagogue for if they vvere children of the God of reuenge vvho did put thee to death then they are also children of the Father of mercies who do offend thee now Saint Augustine in his Confessions sayth O Father of mercies and God of all comfort if it bee true that I vvas vvith those vvhich tooke thy life from thee vpon the crosse vvhy shouldest thou not as well forgiue mee my fault as thou diddest then theirs Vnto thee O eternall Father I say Mea culpa and vnto thee O holy sonne I confesse my offence in that that if I vvas not vvith Iudas vvhen hee sold thee yet I vvas vvith the vvicked and vngratefull Iewes vvhen they did crucifie thee for if they did fasten thee on the crosse vvith nailes I did there crucifie thee vvith my sinnes Anselmus in his Meditations sayth O good Iesus O the blisse of my soule vvho carried thee to the crosse but the loue which thou haddest to redeeme vs And what tormented thee but thy dolours And what tooke thy life from thee but my sinnes And by whom haue I life but by thy merits O Father of mercies if it be true that for my demerits thou diddest lose thy life and that by thy great merits I recouered my soule dost thou not thinke that thou hast much in my faults to pardon in my soule to redresse and amend Barnard sayth O creator of all things O redeemer of all sinnes vnto thee O my God I offer my selfe and before thee O my Lord I present my selfe not such a one as thou diddest leaue mee when thou diddest create mee but such as one as thou foundest mee when thou redeemedst mee What a one diddest thou leaue mee but made to thy image and semblance and what a one diddest thou find mee but with my innocency lost and loaden with sinne O father of mercies pardon mee seeing that I am a worke of thy owne hands pardon me seeing that I am one of thy children and seeing I say vnto thee vpon my knees Tibi soli peccaui it is reason that thou answer me O my God with Miscriatur tui CHAP. II. Of the
goodnesse and mercie although he haue ben neuer so great a sinner so as he liue and die a Christian for seeing he pardoned those which would not bee pardoned hee will much rather pardon those which aske for pardon S. Barnard as if hee were in a maze sayth thus vnto Christ O good sauiour O my soules delight if thou wilt pardon thy death why doest thou pardon it before thou bee dead they tooke thy life from thee to the end that thou shouldest forget such a greeuous iniury done vnto thee and make no reckoning to be reuenged It is a tollerable thing to forgiue the iniury done vnto thy self but why doest thou forgiue the iniury done vnto thy sorrowfull mother and thy blessed father not calling the parties offended vnto it Thy mouth is now ready to receiue vineger thy person to be mocked thy side to bee pierced thy bodie to bee buried and yet doest thou make intercession for that wicked people Doest thou entreat for those which crucifie thee and doest thou not remember those which weepe by thee Now that thou hast pitie on the offences of the synagogue why hast thou not also compassion of the tears of thy blessed mother S. Cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord sayth All things end with thee and all forsake thee O sweer Iesus vpon the altar of the crosse sauing only thy patience with the which thou did dest suffer thy torments and thy charitie with the which thou diddest forgiue thy enemies seeing thou doest pray for those which crucifie thee entreat for those which blaspheme thee hold thy peace against those which spit on thee excuse those which accuse thee and pardon those which pardon not thee O my redeemer what a pitifull heart hast thou that considering how the Iewes themselues gaue thee licence to take reuengement on them saying Sanguis eius super nos His bloud vpon vs yet thou diddest not only not vse this libertie giuen thee but forsookest it there pardoned thy iniury O how contrary these two speeches are Sanguis eius sit super nos Let his bloud fall vpon vs and Ignosce illis Pardon them seeing that by the first the Iewes craue punishment of God and in the last Christ asketh pardon of his father for them in so much that the bloud of Christ which they asked to bee against them the son of God asketh that it may be for them What hast thou to do O good sauiour what hast thou to do with the Iews sayth Vbertinus and hangmen and torturers They goe about to condemne thee and thou to saue them they to accuse thee and thou to excuse them they to carry thee to Pilate to bee condemned and thou to thy father that they may be pardoned they to say crucifige crucifige crucifie him crucifie him and thou to say Ignosce ignosce Pardon them Pardon them At what time the son of God hanging vpon the crosse praied on one side vnto his father and on the other side the Hebrews praied Pilate there was a great conflict betwixt Gods iustice and mercie for iustice willed the praier of Sanguis eius Let his bloud fall vpon vs to be heard and contrary mercy forbad it and would haue Pater ignosce illis but in the end mercie had the vpper hand and reuengement had no part therein Whose heart saith Bonauenture would not bleed and who would not loue thee O good Iesus to see thee say to thy father my father forgiue them and not my father examine them and to see that thou doest forgiue theÌ„ without asking yeeldest vnto them without entreaty and pardonest them without amendment It is such a high mysterie sayth S. Augustine and a hidden Sacrament to see the sonne of God release iniurie with mercie and clemencie and not punish their crime with reuenge and that the praier of Ignosce illis Forgiue them preuailed against that of Sanguis eius His bloud light vpon vs that although it may well be rehearsed yet it cannot bee well comprehended and vnderstood CHAP. IIII. Of many high qualities and conditions which the praier of Father forgiue them had in it and how it is meet for vs to follow it in our praiers CVm clamore valido lachrimis efferens preces supplicatienes exauditus est pro sua reuerentâ—â— sayth the Apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrewes chap. 5. as if hee would say When the sonne of God was crucified vpon the tree of the crosse hee made many requests vnto his father with many supplications entreated him praying vnto him with a loud voice and pouring down many tears before him This praier was well heard of the eternall father and very acceptable vnto his diuine clemencie partly because hee who praied was a person worthy of great reuerence and partly because the praier which he made was founded vpon great pitie and mercie It appeareth well that he which praied was of an excellent and perfect condition and hee very mighty vnto whom he praied and that which hee praied of great merit and the manner which hee obserued in praier a perfect platforme of praier seeing that the Apostle in this place laieth down such high conditions of this praier which Christ made vpon the crosse Whereof although much be spoken yet there remaineth much more not spoken of First then he saith that Christ praied once on the crosse because he saith Cum clamore with a crie and with a high and loud voice because he saith valido strong and that with tears Cum lachrimis and that hee praied and offered his praier at the same time vnto his father and that the quality of the praier was to entreat and beseech preces supplicationes and that his praier was heard of his father at that very instant when hee made it because hee sayth exanditus est pro sua reuerentia The condition and qualitie of the praier which the sonne of God made vpon the crosse which the Apostle toucheth here is very great and worthy to bee marked and obserued with great heed and followed with great diligence for if we faile in any one of these conditions we are said rather to crie out then to pray Theophilus vpon the Apostle sayth That when the Apostle saith that the sonne of God praied with a loud voice vpon the crosse hee meaneth that hee offered and directed his praier with all his heart and with all his will vnto God only and vnto no other For to say the truth hee is said to pray aloud whose mind is not distracted and drawne into many thoughts When the Apostle saith that Christ praied aloud on the crosse and with a strong voice he letteth vs vnderstand with what a feruent desire and great deuotion he praied for there is nothing requested aloud and by crying out which is not either through abundance of loue or ouermuch griefe Both together forced Christ to crie out vpon the crosse that is the great loue he bare vnto his friends and the ouermuch paine
them the Centurion immeadiately there said Vere hic erat filius dei Truly this was the sonne of God and the good theefe also said Domine memento mei Lord remember me In whose power saith Fulgentiusâ— but onely in the vertue and power of the praier of Paterignosce illis within a short space after that Christ had so praied did some strike their breasts and some say This man was iust By the merite of this holy praier the Apostles conuerted three thousand men in one day and fiue thousand another day by reason that the sonne of God had gotten pardon for the excommunicated synagogue glorious S. steuen was baptized holy Paul conuerted and the good Matthew called to be an Apostle O what a difference there is betwixt the praier which Christ made in the garden that which he made vpon the crosse in the one heeswet blood and in the other he shed teares in the one he praied that the bitter challice might passe and in the other pardon for the synagogue and that which Iesus praied for himselfe was denied him that which hee praied for others was graunted him In so much that his blessed father had more pitie on the sinnes of that people than on the flesh of his owne sonne O great goodnest O infinit charity The Sonne of God is in the garden alone hee is prostrate on the ground giuing vp his ghost and yet ready for a new combat his blood issueth from all the pores of his body he praieth thrise for himselfe and thou wilt not heare him and when he praieth for his enemies doest thou heare him at the first word Why dost thou not graunt him his request seeing that when hee praied vpon the crosse for his enemies he called thee nothing but Father but when he praied in the garden alone for himselfe he called thee My Father which is a sweet word and a word of a gentle and courteous sonne What would become of vs saith S. Ierome if Christ should not in his glory aboue repeat that word vnto his father Pater ignosce illis Father forgiue them Christ said once only Father forgiue mine enemies and he repeateth it a thousand thousand times in heanen for his Christians for euen as wee neuer cease from sinning so the sonne of God neuer ceaseth to pray for vs. Saint Steuen did not see Christ sitting by his father but on foote and the reason was because that at that instant when S. Steuen fell downe on his knees to pray for his enemies Christ rose immediatly also to pray and make intercession for them so that that praier which Saint Steuen made here vpon earth our sweet Iesus presented presently vnto his father in heauen It is deeply here to be weyed that Christ did not say Lord forgiue them but Father forgiue them because this word Lord is a fearefull word but this word Father is a word of ioy and therefore when one man calleth another Father it seemeth that hee doth bind him to answere him friendly and not to deny him any thing that he demandeth Wee shall find often in holy scripture that when God was angry with the Hebrewes hee said alwaies Ego Dominus qui loquor vobis I am the Lord which speake vnto you but when he would as it were flatter them and make much of them he alwaies said vnto them Ego ero illis in patrem I will be a father vnto them that is that hee would deale with them like a pitifull father and not like a rigorous Lord. In so much that this word Pater Father breedeth loue and this word Lord bringeth feare Alwaies when the sonne of God made any great praier or asked any great fauour at his fathers hands hee began his petition with Father O iust father O holy father making reckoning that by calling him father nothing should be denied him which was his sonne If Iesus Christ should haue begun his praier with Lord as he began it with Father it would haue seemed that he had called vpon Gods iustice power not vpon his wil mercy therfore in saying Father he intreated him that hee would not iudge as a Lord of iustice but like a father of mercy O depth of all goodnes O bowels full of charity what els didst thou meane when thou begannest thy petition with Father but that thou wouldest giue him to thy enemies for a father who is thine owne proper father what goodnes in all the world can be equall vnto thine or what like charity can be found seeing thou art the plaintife the party offended yet thou gauest him vnto thy enemies for a mercifull father whom thou shouldst haue giuen for a rigorous iudge Then let vs conclude that when the sonne said vnto his father Pater ignosce illis that at one time he praied vnto him that hee would forgiue them their sinnes that at the same time hee would vouchsafe to take them for his children CHAP. VI. How Christ praied for his enemies on the crosse more heartilie then hee did in the garden for himselfe seeing the one praier was made with condition and the other not SVpra dorsum meum fabricauerunt peccatores prolongauerunt iniquitatem suam These are the wordes of King Dauid in the 128 Psalme spoken in the name and person of the sonne of God and they are as if he should say I know not O mother the Synagogue what I haue done against thee nor wherin I haue offended thee yet thou hast gainsaid mee from my childhood thou hast persecuted mee from my manhood thou hast defamed mee euer since I began to preach vnto thee and in the sweetest time of al my life thou hast crucified mee But this is nothing O mother Synagogue this is nothing in comparison of that that thou diddest lay all thy sinnes vpon my shoulders which neuer had lost their innocency nor neuer done vnto thee any iniury Supra dorsum meum And sinners haue built vpon my backe seeing that Adam hath cast his disobedience vpon me Eue her gluttony Cain her sonne his murder king Dauid his adultery the Tyrant Roboam his Idolatrie and all the Synagogue her malice Is it not true that sinners haue built vpon my backe seeing that I must be punished and pay for all the offences that the sinfull Iewes committed The Iewes would willingly haue loaden Christ on both his shoulders that is they would haue cast vpon him both the paine and the offence but good Iesus tooke vpon him the punishment like a redeemer but charged not himselfe with the guilt of sinne like an offender S. Augustine vpon S. Iohn saith That the sonne of God doth not complaine that they burdened both his shoulders but only one seeing he saith Supra dorsum Vpon my backe although his enemies would haue ouercharged and wearied them both by killing his humanitie and darkening his diuinitie by blotting his fame and credite and hindering his doctrine but our mighty redeemer suffered them onely to lay
the punishment on him and take his life from him Basil sayth That sinners build vpon one shoulder only when they haue no other goodnesse in them but the bare name of Christians only and iust men build vpon both his shoulders when they are at one time both Christians and vertuous men Thou must know brother that in the law of Christ it is not sufficieÌ„t that a man be called a Christian vnlesse he be also such a one indeed Sinners build vpon one of Christs shoulders onely when they serue God in wish and desire onely and serue the world with all their might and power which is a mean rather to condemne them then to saue them for in the Church of God there are many condemned by good wishes desires but not one by good workes Christ complaineth that cursed Heretikes doe build vpon one shoulder when they confesse only his humanitie take away his diuinity which is great wickednesse falshood for he is as true a God as he is a man and as true man as he is true God Christs complaint of the Synagogue doeth not end here but hee saith further Et prolong auerunt iniquitatem suam as if he would say Thou was not content O ingrateful Synagogue to impute thy offence vnto mee and lay all the punishment due for it vpon my backe but thou hast also prolonged thy naughtinesse and perseuered in thine infidelity heaping sinne vpon sinne malice vpon malice enuie vpon enuie and idolatry vnto idolatry When did the forsaken Iewes prolong their iniquitie but when at the foot of the crosse they were nothing forrie to haue crucified Christ but were grieued to see him rise againe S. Barnard sayth that Christ had great reason to say that the Iewes had prolonged their iniquitie because that at the time of his passion for the better reuengement vnto their malicious hearts and the more to torment Christs blessed members they would haue been glad that day had been longer and that Christs life had continued a longer time The hatred which those wicked Iewes bate vnto Christ was so great that sometimes they desired nothing more then to see him yeeld vp the ghost and sometime they were neuer satisfied and full in doing him iniury insomuch that if they did crucifie him with their haÌ„ds they did also crucifie him much more with their hearts Wee should haue great compassion vpon the Iewish nation which doe prolong their iniquity vntill the end of the world for as the Apostle sayth the Synagogue shall neuer be all lightened vntill all the Gentiles bee conuerted It may be said not only of the Hebrewes but also of many Christians that Prolong auerunt iniquitatem suam who in stead of amending themselues goe on euery day empairing themselues so that they are like vnto those which are sick of the dropsie who the more they drinke the more they thirst so they the more they sinne the greater lust they haue to sinne And as Christ with great reason said that the Hebrewes did prolong their iniquitie against him with the like reason may they say of Christ that towards them he prolonged his mercy seeing he was as hastie in procuring their pardon as they were in causing his passion What shold become of me O sweet Iesus what should become of me saith Anselmus if as euery day I adde naughtinesse to naughtinesse and so prolong my iniquitie thou diddest not adde goodnes vnto goodnesse and so prolong mee thy misericordiam O sweet Iesus and my soules delight of whom may it so truly be said as of thee that thou hast prolonged thy mercy seeing that thou wast vpon the crosse as it were gaping for death and yet pardoning thy enemies And although I doe euery day prolong my iniquity and thou euery moment prolong thy mercy notwithstanding thy mercy exceedeth my iniquitie for otherwise my sorrowfull soule should long agoe haue knowne what thy rigorous iustice had beene Cyprian saith vpon the passion of our Lord that hee hath much more prolonged his mercy seeing hee said not in his praier Father forgiue them if thou wilt but absolutely that hee would forgiue them and that not by the rigour of iustice due vnto them but by the sole mercy of him which made the petition Behold then O my soule behold that with greater deuotion affection the sonne of God praied for thee vpon the crosse than hee did for himselfe in the garden seeing that he said there Father if thou wilt let that chalice passe but on the crosse he said not If thou wilt but Father forgiue them In so much that it seemeth that hee left the care of his passion vnto the will of his father but the pardon of his enemies hee desired presently to be giuen What meaneth this O sweet Iesus what meaneth this It seemeth that thou doest put it in consultation whether thou shalt die or not saying vnto him Father if thou wilt and doest thou not giue thy father leaue to thinke whether he shall pardon that wicked people or not but that he should there presently forgiue them The sonne of God saith vnto his father as Gregory reports Father forgiue them and not If thou wilt because we should vnderstand that when wee forgiue and be reconciled vnto our enemies we should doe it so sincerely and heartily and with such good wil that we should neuer turne our face from them nor neuer deny them our communication I will not saith Hugo call that a Christian forgiuing when we forgiue our enemy vnder condition neuer to speake vnto him nor goe by his gate nor dwell where hee hath to doe for our redeemer excepted no condition in the pardon of his passion It is also deepely to bee weighed that the sonne of God did not say vpon the crosse Father forgiue him but Father forgiue them That is he asked forgiuenesse not for one in particular but for all the whole world in generall Whereof it is inferred that seeing hee praied for all that there was sinne in all When Christ said Pardon them and not pardon him he gaue cause of great hope vnto all sinners that they should bee pardoned by him seeing hee forgot not to redeeme any nor to pardon any man nor leaue out any man not spoken for of his father but made all men partakers of his passion As the sonne of God said vnto his father Pardon them so if he had said Pardon him he would haue put all the church in an vproâ—e and hurliburly and al the world in a confusion and doubt in knowing who were condemned and who pardoned Rabanus vpon S. Matthew sayth That when the Maker hanged vpon the crosse if hee had said Pardon him as he said Pardon them then we should not haue known whether hee had pardoned Iudas which sold him or Herod which scorned him or Pilat which condemned him or S. Peter which denied him or Caiphas which blasphemed him And he saith further that the cause why Christ said vnto his father Pardon
greater the sighs of the faithful the tears which issued out of his mothers eies or the bloud which gushed out of Christ vains or the blasphemies which the wicked Iewes vttered with their mouth but yet our holy meek Iesus did first pardō the iniuries before he was mindful of the tears O good Iesus O redeemer of my soule saith Anselmus as thou dost say Father forgiue thē why dost thou not say dry the eies of my sorrowfull mother stanch the bloud of my tender vains heal the woūds of my gētle flesh haue pity cōpassion of these faithfull women which here weep for my sake as thou didst say in thy last supper saith Ciprian Mandatū nouū do vobis I giue you a new cōmandemēt so maist thou now say vpō the crosse I giue you a new exāple seeing that neuer any before thee hath taught vs so perfect a maner how to loue nor so liuely an exāple how to pardon it was a strange a new kind of goodnes which Iesus vsed in asking pardon first for those which crucified him rather then for those which followed him for his mother which accompanied him for without comparison the griefe which he had to see the souls of his enemies perish was farre greater vnto him thē to see his mothers eies run downe with tears Let no man thē wonder nor maruel that our good Iesus did remēber himself first of the people which murdered him before his mother which bare him because he came not into the world to drie mēs eies frō weeping but to sauesoules from perishing Secōdly the son of God shewed his mercy in asking pardon for his enemies with kind sweet words that is not by calling him God or Lord or creator but only father which is a word answerable vnto mercy pity contrariwise this word God or Lord doth alwaies signifie iustice Whē Christ said Father forgiue them hee would haue said Lord forgiue them or my God forgiue them it would haue seemed that he would haue had the pardon according vnto the rigor of iustice the which if he had required or his father granted there is no doubt at al but before the son of God should haue yeelded vp his ghost the ground would haue opened swallowed thē vp Whē the son of God would ask any great thing of his father he began his praier alwaies with Father as whē he said I confesse vnto thee O father whē he said Father into thy hands I cōmend my spirit What meaneth this O redecmer of my soule what meaneth this Is thy pity so great towards vs and thy mercy so abundant that thou doest pray for thy enemies with the same wordes as thou doest pray for thy own affairs S. Chrysost vpon S. Mathew noteth That the excōmunicated Iews did alwaies change their stile maner of speech whē they spake vnto Christ for once they said Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini anone after they said Vah qui destruis tēplū but as for the son of God as his mind was sincere clear inwardly so his words were holy outwardly were not think you his words holy his thoughts pure cleare whē he said vnto his Father Father forgiue them seeing hee praied with his tongue pardoned with his heart S. Barnard crieth out O sweet Iesus O redeemer of my soule what couldest thou haue said or what shouldest thou haue done more for thy enemies thā pardon them with all thy heart make intercession for thē with such sweet louing words Thirdly Christ shewed his goodnes mercie in asking pardon in the presence of such as were there that is in the presence of his sorrowful mother of his welbeloued disciple his deer friend Mary Magdalen his cousins and kindred shewing that as all men were by him redeemed so also all should be by him pardoned Vbertinus to this purpose saith O good Iesus in the death which thou didst suffer and in the pardon which thou diddest giue to thy enemies thou diddest not only helpe thy selfe there with thy tongue but also with thy heart seeing thou didst entreat thy father with thy tongue that he would haue pity on them and diddest also beseech thy mother with thy heart that she would forgiue them Rabanus vpon S. Matthew saith That it was not without a high mystery hidden sacrament that the son of God when he died would haue his mother his kindred there the reason was because they should all be witnesses of his pardon as they were of his passion for our holy Lord had a greater desire that his bloud should benefite his enemies than that his kindred should entreat at his death for him Wherfore O good Iesus saith Anselmus wherfore didst thou bring thy mother all thy family to the foot of the crosse but only because as thou didst suffer in thy flesh so they should also fuffer in their hearts as thou didst forgiue thē thy death they should also forgiue thē their iniuries wrongs done by thē Bonauenture saith that as the son of God said father forgiue thē opēly so he said mother forgine thē insecret in so much that as the hangmē did martirize the sonne so the son martirized the mother leauing her bound to weep his death but not licensed to reuēge it O my Iesus O my soules health I beseech thee that as thou didst get pardon of thy father and mother for thy enemies so thou wouldst get me pardon for my sinnes saying Father forgiue mother forgiue him seeing I am hateful vnto thy father by reason of the sins which I commit against him vngratefull vnto thy mother for the benefites which I haue receiued of her O happy holy day in which thou didst die seeing that on that day the Father forgaue his iniury the son pardoned his death the mother pardoned her martyrdome Saint Iohn pardoned his reproch and perill Mary Magdalen her anguish and distresse and the good theefe was pardoned of his sinne How was it possible that the Father should not forgiue the world of their sinnes seeing that on one day in one houre and at one time they said Father forgiue them the son by letting his bloud streame from his vaines the mother by suffering her tears flow from her eies and the sadde familie by piercing the heauen with their sighes Because saith Ciprian the office of the son of God was to put together that which was broken and reconcile those which disagreed hee would not depart out of this world before hee had made an attonement betwixt his friendes and his foes beseeching his father to forgiue thē cōmanding his mother not to accuse thē The sorrowful mother had great reason to challenge the Iews for the life which they took frō her son and also the father for the wrongful death which they put him to therefore our most merciful redeemer besought of his father that he wold not cōdemn thē into
Christ and how he beleeued and of that which the Prophet Ieremy speaketh to this purpose TOnde capillum tuum proijce sume indirectum planctum quiae perijt fides ablata est de ore eorum said God vnto the Prophet Ieremy in the 7. chap as if hee would say O Ieremy my friend and Prophet poule the haire of thy head and then cast it vnder thy feet and weepe and bewaile the Synagogue because now there is no truth in her mouth and the faith of her Commonwealth is vtterly lost Men did neuer poule their heads in holy scripture nor rent their garments nor shed many tears but for very great disasters or pitifull accidents as for the death of Iobs childreÌ„ with all the losse of all his goods for what cause holy Iob shaued his hair rent his garmeÌ„ts cried out with loud cries It is much here to be noted and also necessary to bee known that seeing the scripture saith that the soule which committeth the sin that the selfesame shal endure the punishment why God coÌ„manded Ieremy to weepe with his eies and poule his hair for the sins which others haue committed If Israel do offend fall into the sin of idolatry how is the good Prophet Ieremy to be blamed why is he commanded to poule his hair for it cast it vnder feet Hath not euery man think you inoughto do to weep for his own sins without weeping for other mens sorrows Hugo de sancto victore answereth vnto this doubt vpon those words Defecerunt prae lachrimis oculi mei Thren 1. and saith that there is nothing more natural vnto good meÌ„ theÌ„ to weep for the sins of the wicked The charity of the good is so great the carelesnes ossinners so idle that the iust meÌ„ dofirst weepe for the sins of the wicked then they do weep for theÌ„selues O how many sinners do we see in these daies sporting laughing in the world for whose sins the iust do weep and giue themselues discipline O that it would please the God of heaueÌ„ that the heart of him who sinneth would receiue such griefe as the iust in seeing him sinne I sweare by the law of a good man that none would go to rest at night with sinne nor rise in the morning without grace Is there any day saith Cyrillus vpoÌ„ Leuit. in which a good maÌ„ doth not better himself or any moment wherin he doth not merit considering that he doth imitate the good in that which they do weep for the wicked in that they commit King Dauid did weepe for the death of his deare sonne Absolon and not only because hee was his son but because he saw him die in that euil estate The son of God wept ouer the city of Ierusalem not only because they would there kil him but because they wold neuer ameÌ„d theÌ„ of their wickednes The Prophet Ieremy did weepe very much for the captiuity of his people not so much because they were in captiuity in BabiloÌ„ as because they would not neither for that punishmeÌ„t or any thing else leaue their idolatry the great captain Iosua with all the nobles of Israel wept not because of his own life which was not long but because they saw how ingrateful the synagogue was to god The Prophet Samuel wept when king Saule came froÌ„ the conquest of Amelech not so much because God had depriued him of a kingdome but because hee had falne into such a great sinne Saint Augustine in his Confessions saith thus We do not see good men so much occupied in any thing as in drawing euill men to good life and when they can neither by entreaty nor threatning conuert them then they betake themselues to weep bitterly for them When Ieremy said Defecerunt prae lachrimis oculi mei and when Dauid said Exitus aquarum c. what else would they say but that the eies of the one of them were failed for weeping for the paines which the people endured and that the eies of the other were made a sea of teares for the great wickednesse which he saw in Israel Anselmus in his meditations saith thus O sweet Iesus O my good Lord if good men should not aid me with their holy praiers if holy men should not helpe me to weepe for my grieuous offences what would become of mee wicked and wretched creature O what infinit charity O what vnspeakable mercy saith Ierome vpon Ieremy had our Lord vpon the wicked Synagogue and alwaies hath vpon euery sinfull soule considering that he commanded the Prophet Ieremy to weep for the sins committed by her as though they were his own Wherfore thinkest thou doth our Lord command holy iust men to weepe for our sinnes but because he knoweth better then we our selues that if we haue power to fall into sins yet that we cannot lift ourselues out of them without his grace license Who then is able to obtaine vs this grace but he who is in state of grace It is to be noted that in Ieremies weeping our Lord commanded him first to poule his he are then cast it and tread it vnder his feet and that then hee should weepe ouer them of all which things there is none which wanteth a secrete and a mystery What other things are the superfluou heares in the head but the vaine and light cogitations which are in the mind When he saith That the oftner our heare is pouled and shaued the more they encrease grow what meaneth hee else but that filthy and vnclean thoughts the more they are suppressed and kept vnder the faster they grow vpon vs What doth he else mean when he commandeth Ieremy not to pul vp his hear by the root but only poule it but only that if we be able to resist vncleane thoughts yet wee are not able wholly to subdue them and pull them vp The roots of the heare remaine alwaies in the head and the rootes of vaine desires continue alwaies in the soule if our Lord dooth permit this it is because wee should haue matter wherevpon to exercise our selfe in and occasion to merit the more Then we do pâ—â—â— vp our euill cogitations wheÌ„ we throw them out of our hearts then we spurn theÌ„ with our feet when we return no more to thinke vpon them and then we weepe with all our heart when we repent that euer wee consented vnto them O how happy should I be if I could shaue the superfluous thoughts of my heart could kick at the disordinate desires of my mind could weepe the times which I haue euilly spent for in the latter day wee shall giue as strait an account of the times which we haue euilly spent as of the offences which we haue committed Speaking more particularly seeing that God coÌ„manded the Prophet Ieremy to poul his head as if he had ben a simple man kicke at that which he had pouled weep many tears it is conuenient now that
we know whether he commanded him to do these things for the sins which he hath committed or for sins which hee hath seene in the Iudaicall people Who euer saw Christ weepe or command any man to weep but he had occasion to doir and reason to command it The reason why Ieremy weepeth is Quid ablata est fides de ore corum Because there is now no faith in the house of Iacob because the goodnes truth of Israel is perished Behold how God doth not complain here of vs for that we do not offer sacrifice nor because wee pay not our tithes nor because we break the holy fasting daies nor because they are couerous nor because they are carnall glurtons because nature inuiteth inclineth vs to all these carâ—lesnesse humane frailty excuseth vs. That which our Lord coÌ„plaineth of is that they are faithlesse in heart idolaters and that they can speake nothing with their mouth but lies which two vices are perrillous for vs to be saued with very hard to ameÌ„d Ciprian vpoÌ„ the Creed saith Although the Apostle saith that faith without works is dead yet I had rather do sinful works being a faithful Christian theÌ„ vertuous works being a faithlesse Pagan because that our Lord doth easilier lighten him which beleeueth that which he coÌ„mandeth theÌ„ him which blasphemeth him and his church Damascen saith That the diuel dare neuer tempt mightily any but such as he perceiueth to be weak in faith and in that case hee careth not much to teÌ„pt him hardly with other vices if he see him weak cold in faith because the diuel is better at ease to see a man doubtful wauer in faith theÌ„ to see him coÌ„mit all other sins in the world What dooth the diuell watch at or ouerwatch but to see whether thou bee doubtfull in the faith of Christ what hast thou if thou hast not true faith what wantest thou if thou wantest not the true faith of Christ O good Iesus O the light of my soule I beseech thee that thou wouldest not depriue me of thy faith that thou wouldst not cast me out of thy church that thou wouldst not take thy mercy froÌ„ me for if thou wilt not suffer me to fall from thy faith I shal alwaies haue a hope that in the end I shal be saued To come theÌ„ vnto our principal purpose who made vnhappy Iudas hang himselfe what was the cause the good theefe was saued but only the great faith the theefe had the sinful infidelity which the other fel into because Iudas wold not beleeue that Christ was our maker and because the good theefe beleeued that Christ was our redeemer Iudas sold Christ and the other beleeued in Christ insomuch that in beleeuing knowing litle men come to offend much So much saith Gregory the faith of a good ChristiaÌ„ is more meritorious by how much the fewer argumeÌ„ts reasons it is grounded on because the merit of the catholick faith doth not coÌ„sist on that which we see with our eieâ— but in that which we beleeue with our hearts If we compare the faith of the good theef with the faith of the old fathers we shal find it to be true that he did so far exceed theÌ„ in faithfully beleeuing as they did go beyond him in good liuing How should not Abraham beleeue in God considering how God spake vnto him from heaueÌ„ aboue and vsed him as if he had beene his particular friend The thecues faith was greater thaÌ„ his because that Christ neuer spake vnto him one word of beliefe neither did hee euer see him in heauen but only hanged vpon the crosse The Prophet Esay did beleeue in God when he saw him sit on high in his throne beset with thousands of Seraphins but the the eues faith was greater because hee neuer saw Christ but crucified and accompanied with theeues The Prophet Maises had faith when hee saw the God of Israel speake vnto him out of a bush and that the bush wasted nor burnt not but the faith of the good theefe was greater than this considering that hee saw Christ loaden with thorns which burnt nor in show but in troth pierced his braine S. Peter had faith when hee saw Christ goe vpon the waters but the good theefes faith was greater considering he saw Christ not spurn the waters but saw him bathed in bloud from the feet to the head Mary Magdalen had faith when she saw him raise her brother Lazarus from death to life who had beene foure daies dead but the good theefe had greater faith then this considering how he neuer saw Christ raise the dead but only saw himselfe die vpon the crosse like a malefactor S. Iohn the Euangelist had faith when he had ssept vpon our Lords breast after he had supped vvith him in the parlar but the theefes faith vvas greater then this seeing that hee beleeued in the sonne of God not sleeping vpon stis breast but suffering vvith him by his side vpon the crosse S. Iames had faith vvhen hee savv Christ transfigured in the hill Tabor and the Fathers of the old law adore him but the good theefes faith was greater then this considering hee saw not the sonne of God transfigured but disfigured hee saw not his face shine but his body torne in pieces O happy and glorious theefe who but thou hath stoine the faith from the synagogue which of old shee was wont to haue and stolne Christ from them in whom then they beleeued not Impart and deuide vnto me part of the faith which thou didst steale from the Synagogue and Christ which thou diddest rob away on the Mount of Caluary for although I was not thy companion in suffering yet now I will bee in beleeuing That which I would haue thee impart vnto mee is the entire faith which thou hast the holy wordes which thou speakest the abundance of bloud which thou sheddest the true confession which of God thou makest and the Christian charity with the which thou doest correct the other theefe O that this theefe hath a happy inheritance seeing that with the theft of worldly things he easily got the gallowes and with the theft which hee stole vpon the crosse hee got glory Chrysostome of the praise of the theefe saith thus In whom O good Iesus in whom did thy holy faith remaine when thou diddest depart out of this life but in thy sorrowfull mother who wept at the foot of the crosse in that holy theefe who suffered on thy side O good Iesus O redeemer of my soule saith Barnard what a small number of friends thou hadst with thee on the crosse and what a multitude of enemies about thee considering that thou hadst there but two faithfull Christians that is thy blessed mother which did beleeue in thee with her heart and that iust theefe which did confesse thee with his mouth Seeing it was nothing else to be a Christian but to beleeue in Christ and serue Christ
and vs as if he would say If thou bee the Christ which the Iewes hope for deliuer thy selfe from death and quite vs from paine Cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord sayth O that that is a wicked word and a detestable praier which thou O naughty theefe doest vtter with thy mouth when thou doest persuade the son of God to come downe from the crosse for if he do suffer die it is for nothing that toucheth him but for that which toucheth thee and is most expedient for me Why dost thou aske him that hee would saue thee and also himselfe seeing that he suffereth of his owne accord dieth for thy naughtinesse The beginning of this naughty theeues perdition was when he said if thou be the sonne of God and not thou art the son of God in which words it seemed that hee doubted whether hee were the sonne of God or not and so hee doubted in his faith and made a scruple whether he were the redeemer of the world or not and so hee fell into infidelitie which is the highest wickednesse of all other Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn saith That the good theefe said not If thou be Christ neither did S. Peter say I beleeue if thou bee Christ but the one said faithfully Lord remember me and the other likewise said I beleeue because thou art the sonne of God insomuch that no man can be lightened or pardoned which maketh any doubt at all in the faith of Christ The Apostle saith in his canonicall Epistle if any man want wisedome let him aske it of God not doubting in faith as if he would say If any man haue need of any great matter let him take heed that he do not aske it with a faith that is luke warme for if our Lord do not grant vs that which we aske him it is rather because wee know not how to ask him than because hee hath not a desire to giue it Damascen sayth If he who asketh be not a Pagan and that which he asketh bee not vniust and hee who asketh be holy and the place where he asketh be also sacred and he for whoÌ„ he asketh be needy why should he doubt to obtaine it considering that of himselfe hee is so mercifull O good Iesus O my soules pleasure giue me thy grace that I may say vvith the blind man in Ieremie O sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon mee and keepe mee from saying vvith the naughty theefe if thou be Christ saue thy self and me too seeing that like a true Christian I confesse thy mighty power and call for thy great mercy Christostome saith The naughty theese thought that as Pilate had condemned him for a robber by the high way so he had executed iustice vpon Christ for stirring the people to sedition and that Christ did no lesse esteeme of his life than hee did abhorre death vvherein certainly he vvas much deceiued for he did not so earnestly desire to liue as Christ did desire to die The Iews persuaded Christ that hee should come downe from the crosse and this naughty theefe did also persuade him that hee vvould slie from the crosse that vvhich the sonne of God did not loue to hear of nor would not do for if he had forsaken the crosse all the vvorld should haue beene crucified S. Barnard sayth I doe not desire thee my good Iesus that thou come down froÌ„ the crosse nor that thou slie from the crosse but that thou vvouldest put me there with thee because it would be more reasonable that they should giue sentence vpon me for thee than that they should giue sentence vpon thee for me It may bee gathered of all that which wee haue spoken what great courage we haue need of to begin any good worke and a far greater to finish it for our enemies are ready alwaies about to deceiue vs the flesh to mooue vs men to hinder vs and the world to trouble vs. CHAP. VIII Of the great charity which the good theefe had towards the naughty theefe in correcting him of euill doing and in aduising him of the good which he lost COmmendat deus omnem charitatem suam in nobis saith the Apostle writing vnto the Romanes in the fift chap. as if he would say The God and Lord which I preach vnto you O Romanes dooth commend nothing more vnto you than charity in louing your neighbours with all your heart the which loue you must shew them not so much because they loue you as because they serue God Holy Paule did preach and teach vs many things whereof some were to make vs afeard some to giue vs counsell some to teach vs some to comfort vs as this matter which we now handle the which being wel looked into and read with attention we shal find that hee giueth vs as much as hee hath and loueth vs as much as he ought For the better vnderstaÌ„ding of this speech we must suppose that the loue of God charity and grace go alwaies coupled together in so much that no man can haue heauenly loue without heauenly charity no man can haue heauenly charity but he must haue heaueÌ„ly grace he who hath heauenly grace cannot faile but goe to glory Damascen sayth That Loue and Charitie and Grace are only one gift and the greatest which came from heaueÌ„ is called Grace because it is giuen without any price and it is called Charity because it is high and it is called Loue because it doth ioine and vnite vs with God in so much that when he recommendeth his Charity vnto vs he trusteth his Loue with vs. WheÌ„ our Lord doth commend vs his Loue as a thing left to keepe with vs if we marke it well what else is it but a token whereby we should marke with what Loue he loueth vs and with what Charity he entreateth vs O happy pledge O luckie trust when our Lord credited vs with his eternall Loue his infinite Grace and vnspeakable Charity the which vertues he gaue vs because we should not liue ingratefully with them and that in our death we should buy heauen with theÌ„ When our Lord doth giue vs charge to keepe his Charity what else is that but to doe vs the fauour to giue it vs If he would not haue giuen it vs hee knew well where to keepe it without giâ—ing it vs to pledge but hee saith that hee dooth commend it vnto vs to keepe and not giue it vs because wee should bee very carefull in keeping it and fearefull to lose it because we cannot be saued without it Bede vpon the Apostle sayth One friend can giue to another his iewels of siluer and gold but he cannot giue him the loue which hee hath in his heart for although he can shew it yet hee cannot passe it vnto him but the sonne of God did not onely shew vs his loue but did also giue it vs. He did shew vs his great loue when hee tooke mans flesh vpon him and he doth giue vs his sweet
liberty and in freedome why doest thou call him Lord which is fastened to the crosse and crucified like thy selfe Seeing that he who should be a Lord ought to bee mighty and rich why doest thou call him Lord who was poor in his life time and naked in his death But this Prophet whō I call vpon and vnto whome I commend and commit my selfe is a mighty Lord and a king of great power seeing the son lost his light for compassion the stones broke with griefe the vaile rent in sunder for a mystery the graues opened with feare and the Centurion confessed him to be Christ O great God of Israel O great Lord of the house of Iacob◠for this cause thy name is admirable and worshipped in all the circuit of the earth because thy power and dominion is doubled and redoubled more than any mans in the world Cassiodorus noteth vpon this matter That the holy scripture doth neuer call any twise Lord Lord but Christ alone because he alone and none with him is Lord of heauen and earth of life and death body and soule and of peace and warre Wee cannot call Hector the Troian Anchises the Grecian Alexander the Macedonian and Caesar the Romane Lord more than once because they were kings onely of their owne kingdomes but vnto the sonne of God wee say twise Domine domine noster Lord our Lord because his siegnory is so great that no man is able to limit it nor set any bonds vnto it Euery other Prince hath his kingdome limited and set with bonds either to the top of a steeple or couering of a house and if it bee not so let him send a post from thence vpward and hee shall perceiue that his kingdome reacheth no higher which cannot be said to be true of the sonne of Gods Empire seeing it goeth from one end of the world vntill the other and reacheth vp vnto the highest heauen Considering that Dauid calleth Christ Lord Lord twise why doth he call him only once Lord. The mystery of this mystery is that Dauid called him Lord Lord twise because hee should keepe his body from his enemies and cary his soule vnto those which are blessed but the good theefe did call him but once Lord because his intention was not that Christ should keepe his life but only that hee would vouchsafe to saue his soule Why doest thou thinke sayth S. Basil vpon the Psalme that Dauid said vnto our Lord Lord calling him twife Lord but because he was Lord of the truth and of the figure of the church and of the synagogue of the Prophets and of the Apostles and of the old Testament and of the new The good theefe would not call Christ Lord twise because hee would let vs vnderstand that the figure is fulfilled and the truth come that the church is come and the synagogue ended that the Prophets are dead and the Apostles succeeded in their place that the old law is buried and the Gospel proclaimed Why think you doth the good theef call Christ Lord but once but because we haue but one Lord to beleeue one redeemer to worship To say once Christ remember me was to say that hee would haue him and no other for a master to serue for God in whō he would beleeue for his Lord whom hee would obey for a friend whome hee would trust vnto for an aduocate in whose hands he would put himselfe into The second word which the theefe said vnto Christ was Remēber me as if he would say Seeing that I doe confesse thee here before all men to bee my Lord and vpon this crosse acknowledge thee to be my redeemer haue mee in remembrance my good Lord seeing I haue remēbred thee and turned vnto thee Remember me O sweet Iesus seeing thou hast created me remember me seeing thou hast redeemed mee remember mee and seeing thou hast lightened me remember mee and seeing thou hast chosen me remember me for it would auaile me very little that thou shouldest giue me light to know thee if withall thou shouldest not giue me grace to serue thee Remēber me O good Iesus because I am hard by thy side remember me because I beleeue in thee remember me because I trust in thee remember me because I hope in none but in thee and seeing I haue offered my selfe for to be thy perpetuall seruant remember I beseech thee to accept me for thine Remember mee because thou hast raised me from the dust remember me because thou hast made me a Christian remember me to make mee good and remember mee to giue mee heauen and aboue all things I beseech thee that seeing thou hast giuen thy life for me remember me that I lose not my soule O good Iesus giuer of life with my tongue I beseech thee and with my heart I aske it of thee that seeing thou doest shed thy precious bloud vpon the crosse for me remember me that it be not euilly bestowed on mee and when shall thy bloud be euilly bestowed on mee but when it is not by thee accepted for me Seeing thou hast sweat oft for me suffered most grieuous pains for me endured inspeakable persecutions for mee and hast dissembled my abominable offences what doest thou gaine O good Iesus what doest thou gaine if I lose my soule and thou the fruit of thy precious bloud Remember me O Lord seeing that in pardoning my fault and by sauing my soul thou shalt make a Christian people heauen the more enrich thy church spread abroad thy fame and exalt thy mercy Remember the sabboth day said God in the law remember the daies past said Moyses vnto God remember because my life is a wind said holy Iob remēber how I haue walked before theesaid king Ezechias when he was sick and remember me said good Ioseph when he was in prison and remember mee when thou commest into thy kingdome I say vnto thee here now crucified vpō the crosse What should I say O the light of my life What doest thou aske me that I haue not giuen thee and what doe I possesse that is not thine I haue already giuen my money to the iailor my coats to the hang man I haue salne out with my companion who iniuried thee I haue made the best answere that I could for thy honour and therefore I can do nothing more but say Lord remember me Domine memento mei and seeing I offer thee the confession of Miserere that vpō my knees and my eies washed with tears why shouldest thou shut the gates of thy mercy against me my confession being thus iust being condemned for a naughty person as thou art my members disiointed the one from the other like thine crucified vpon the crosse like thy selfe I beleeue faithfully in thee and commend my selfe wholly vnto thee saying Lord remember mee Lord-remember mee and I beseech thee haue pitie on me seeing that in suffering I am like vnto thee I dy for being a theefe and thou for the same cause they
put mee to death on the Mount of Caluary and on the Mount of Caluary they kill thee at high noone daies they execute mee and at the same houre they execute thee thou art as neere the end of thy life as I am neere to death and therfore Lord remember me thus as wee depart both together out of this world so also we may both together goe into heauen What reason doth permit it or what iustice doth suffer O my good Lord that thou shouldest take me for thy companion to suffer on the crosse with thee and when thou doest go into heauen to leaue mee here behind thee Seeing thou wilt depart out of this world to death and that through such a narrow passage and long way whom canst thou take with thee better than the theefe which was thy fellow vpon the tree It is necessary that thy poore mother liue thou hast left thy Iohn thy cousin to his owne custodie Peter thy Disciple hath denied thee Iudas thy steward hath sold thee all the Iewes haue beene vngratefull vnto thee and therfore seeing that thou doest see no body neere thee who doth confesse and acknowledge thee but my selfe alone who am here alone with thee Lord remember mee and either giue mee somewhat in thy Testament or take mee with thee to Paradise O holy Nazarean and blessed Prophet seeing that thou diddest heare Ionas out of the Whales belly Daniel out of the lake of Babilonia Ioseph out of the dungeon of Egypt Ieremy out of the darke well and diddest heare Dauid when he said Tibi soli peccaui I haue sinned vnto thee only why doest thou not heare-mee when I crie Lord remember mee Domine memento mei Behold O my good Lord behold O my good companion now my eies doe breake now my last houre is come now my sight faileth mee and my speech is troubled and my soule is pulled out of my body and therefore in this narrow passing and doubtfull way vnto whome should I say better than vnto thee Lord remember me yea and all the whole Psalme of Miserere Iosue was a theefe seeing he stole grapes fron Chanaan Dauid was a theefe seeing hee stole the bottle of water from Saul Rachael was a theefe seeing she stole the idols from her father Ionathas was a theefe seeing hee stole hony from the hiue Iosaba was a theefe seeing he stole the infant Ionas and yet thou diddest not command any one of all these to bee hanged nor send them from thy houseuf this be so and if thou diddest forgiue those which stole thy goods wilt thou not forgiue mee poore theefe who turne for thy honours sake and keepe thee company in this place Seeing that of old time thou art accustomed to forgiue very famous theeues and dissemble very notorious thefts why doest thou not forgiue me among them and absolue me of my sinnes If thou wilt haue tears for the thefts which I haue done thou seest that they run downe my cheekes if thou doest content thy selfe to see bloud thou seest that there is no drop left in mee if thou wilt haue mee whip my selfe I am already bowelled if thou wilt haue mee repent I say vnto thee Soli peccaui if thou wilt haue mee make entire satisfaction how canst thou haue me to do it not hauing halfe an houre to liue Lord Iesus remember mee and bee my surety vnto thy father in the other world and put mee with thy chosen flocke write mee in thy booke and place mee in thy glory seeing that the faith of which thou art doth flourish onely in thy mother and remaineth in my heart Remember mee O good Iesus and if thou wilt depart out of this sorrowfull life into the other before mee I beseech thee leaue mee the step of thy foor to tread in and a path-way to follow thee for if I acknowledge thee for my God and receaue thee for my God and beleeue in thee for my God being as thou art dismembred and crucified shall not I serue thee and praise thee farre better when I shall see thee glorified Darest thou trust me with thy crosse because I should worship it and with thy body because I should accompany thee and with thy mother to comfort her and with thy honour to defend it and with thy church to augment it and with thy faith to maintaine it and wilt thou not put thy glory into my hands that I may alwaies praise thee in it When they condemned thee to bee crucified and brought mee to bee executed I heard thee say there before Pilate That thy kingdome was not of this world and then seeing thou art a king and hast a kingdome remember mee and take me with thee and I will tell thy father what thou hast suffered to serue him and all the fauours which thou hast done for me Now that the good theefe hath made his praier vnto God and recommended himselfe vnto him it is reason now that the naughty theefe haue license to speake which is my naughty and peruerse heart because the theefe which hanged on the left hand of God did blaspheme Christ but once but thou my soule doest blaspheme him euery day Remember mee O sweet Iesus and haue mercy on mee O my soules glory to the end that the shedding of thy pretious bloud be not euilly bestowed in mee for at the time when thou diddest shed it thou diddest not feeele so grieuously the vvant of it in thy bodie as thou diddest feele the vngratefulnesse of the whole world And when is thy precious bloud vnthankfully shed for mee but when I yeeld vnto that which my Sensuality demâ—ndeth of mee and not vnto that which thy Gospell counselleth mee What is all that worth which I would if thou wilt not If thou goest to seeke out theeues and if thou doest hunt after sinners why doest thou seeke for any more than for mee because there is no theefe who hath committed greater robberies than I nor any sinners who hath done more greeuous sins than I O patient and benigue Lord if the wickednesse of my heart and the offences which I haue committed in secret were knowne notoriously vnto the iudges of the world as they are knowne vnto thee I should many yeares agoe haue beene hanged and in the other world condemned I will not say with the Prophet Dauid Where be thy old mercies seeing that I see them enter euery day into my gates because I doe not make more hast to sinne than thou to pardon mee The pardon which thou diddest giue vnto the good theefe doth giue vs also great hope to obtaine pardon at thy hands for he being come to the gibbet condemned for his offence went away sanctified with thy Grace If thou do giue theeues and robbers kingdomes what wilt thou do and giue vnto theÌ„ whom thou doest loue and are chosen of thy father If thou diddest giue the kingdome of heauen to a rouer and a theese for speaking one onely word vnto thee and seruing thee one
halfe houre what wilt thou giue vnto him O good Iesus who loueth thee with all his hart praiseth thee with his tongue and emploieth all his might and power in thy seruice CHAP. XII How our Lord heard the theeues praier vpon the crosse and how Christ answered him seuen words for fiue which hee spake vnto Christ DOminus exaudiuit vocempueri de loco in quo est Genesis 21. said the Angel vnto Ismael his mother as if he would say Take no care O Agar take no care for although thou hast lost thy way and art banished in this desart feare no peril because our Lord hath heard the praier of the youth thy sonne because he hath praied where he hath praied The Patriarch Abraham had a bastard child by Agar his maid and slaue both which were throwne out of dores after that hee had a lawfull child borne vnto him and these two went vp a mountaine alone in great dispaire our Lord sent vnto them an Angel to comfort them and to giue them drinke Origen sayth That if wee looke well into the scripture we shall neither read that the mother did pray vnto the Lord neither is it made mention that the sonne did commend himselfe vnto God but that Gods great mercy is so great that by seeing the youth Ismael weepe and the sorrowfull mother lament and cry our Lord was moued to comfort them by word and also releiue them in deed Plato in his Timao sayth That it doth smally benefit the grieued and comfortlesse to visit them seldome and speake much vnto them and giue theÌ„ no comfort at all vnlesse that comfort be wrapped in some remedie and reliefe Seneca sayth That if a friend doe visite his friend and find him heauy and sad and so leaue him if hee find him poore and so leaue him if hee find him weeping and leaue him weeping wee will say of such a one that hee goeth rather to iest than to visite and comfort because a comfortlesse heart is much better appeased with that which we giue him with our hands than with that which we speake vnto him with our tongue S. Ambrose in his Exameron sayth That to the end a worke of mercy may bee perfect more acceptable vnto our Lord it ought neither to bee asked of any nor craued but voluntarily liberally be bestowed because there is nothing more deare in this world than that which is bought with entreaty O that hee buieth very deerely who buieth by the change and price of his shame because that shamefast men and of liberall hearts doe without comparison grieue more when they vncouer shew their face than when they vntie their purse Cicero to Atticus sayth That there is nothing wherein a Gentlemanlike man taketh more delight than in giuing and greater griefe than in asking because that in giuing he maketh himself Lord of him vnto whome hee giueth and in taking hee maketh himselfe a slaue to him of whoÌ„ he receiueth Hilarius saith That to deale with God there need no words but teares nor many entreaties but many sighes for wheÌ„ we pray vnto our Lord he hath greater regard vnto the heart which desireth than vnto all that which the tongue speaketh Agar the slaue and Ismael her sonne spake no word vnto God nor yet made any petition vnto him but ech of them being set downe vnder a seuerall oke the sonne did neuer fill himselfe with weeping and the mother neuer ceassed from sighing the which holy teares were not vnpaied nor sighes vnaccepted To come then vnto our purpose if our Lord did heare Ismaels teares which was in the desart will he not also hear the memento mei which the theefe spake vnto him in the Mount of Caluary Let no man maruell that we compare the theefe with Ismael and Ismael with the theefe for as the one was brought vp in the mountaines a hunting so the other went by the high waies a robbing as Ismael had one very vertuous brother so also this theefe had a blasphemer to his companion Isâ—â—ael was yong for hee was not aboue three yeares of age the theefe was also yong for he had not been as yet three houres a Christian because that before our Lord the yeares when we are borne are not reckoned but the time from whence we are baptized After Christs resurrection hee called his disciples children and yonglings not respecting that some of them were old and had gray haires but that they had not ben long baptized that is when hee washed their feet in the parlar and ordained them Priests after his supper If Ismael did weepe at the foot of the oake in the desart so did the good theefe weepe also vpon the crosse on Caluary and that which is more excellent is that if hee gaue the one water whereof hee should drinke he gaue the other his bloud wherewith he should bee saued As Abraham had one lawfull child which was Isaac and another a bastard which was Ismael so God the father had or lawfull child which was Christ and the other a bastard which was the theefe and of these two the one was borne in the church and the other in the Synagogue The blessing which fell vnto Ismael was that he should be against all men and all men against him the which blessing also the good theefe had who being vpon the crosse and all purposing to kill and crucifie Christ hee against all though all against him defended him and excused him Ismael was a father of many barbarous people and the good theefe was an example of many great sinners but not that they should liue wickedly as hee had done but that they should turne vnto our Lord as hee did Agar the mother could not see Ismael her sonne die neither could the sonne of God see his companion the theefe bee condemned and therefore as the teares of the one were gratefull vnto him euen so the words of the other vvere pleasing vnto him to wit when hee said on the crosse Lord remember me and O good Iesus haue mercy vpon mee With great reason and for good occasion the son of God did giue care vnto all that the good theefe would speake vnto him and vnto all that which hee did request of him because hee vsed such measure and discretion in his petition that hee asked nothing which should bee for his comfort but for his saluation If hee vvould haue asked any thing for his comfort he vvould haue asked that the cudgels which winded his cords should haue been slackened or that they would haue pulled out the nailes or healed his wounds or that they would pull him downe from the crosse or that they would giue him longer life but he asked none of all this but only that Christ would haue his soule in remembrance not mentioning his person at all Our Lord could not denie him so reasonable a petition nor delay him but he answered him immediately for euen as he said Domine memento moi Christ
the bowels of his mercy The holy Prophet dooth in this open a high mystery vnto vs whereby hee giueth vs to vnderstand how entirely our Lord dooth loue vs seeing that hee doth visite vs vvith the bowels of his mercy There bee many vvhich haue this word Mercy in their mouth but not in their hands and those bee such as are faire in speech but cruell in deedes and such vse sweet speech to take men and flattery to kill them Others there bee which haue mercy in their handes and nor in their tongues the which are rough in words but mild and gentle in deeds and those offer blowes but strike not they feare but kill not Only our sweet Iesus hath mercy pity in his mouth seeing hee dooth so much commend it vnto vs and in his deedes seeing hee dooth vse it so much and also in his bowels because hee dooth loue vs so much S. Barnard sayth vnto this purpose Our Lord would not place mercy in the eies least they should make him blind hee would not place it in the eares for feare they should make him deaffe hee would not place it in the handes for feare it should bee lost hee would not put it to keepe in the body for feare least it should grow old neither yet in the tongue for feare hee should be dumbe But our good Iesus put it to keepe in his heart to bestow it vpon those whom hee loueth and keepeth it within his bowels because that all that which is loued with the heart is kept within the heart O good Iesus O the life of my soule I beseech thee by the bowels of thy mercy that thou wouldest take pity on my sinfull soule and seeing I haue no other Lord in my bowels but thy selfe on whom wouldest thou better bestow the mercy which thou hast within thine than vpon mee Thou diddest speake with the bowels of thy mercy vnto the good theefe when thou wast not content onely to say Amen Truly I say but thou diddest adde tibi to thee letting vs vnderstand that thou diddest speake vnto him alone and promise Paradise vnto him alone and vnto no other Vbertinus sayth That if when Christ said Amen dico hee had not added tibi his mother who brought forth his humanity and the other theefe which had lost his liberty might haue thought that hee had spoken vnto them I say if hee had not turned himselfe vnto the good theefe and said tibi What meaneth this O good Iesus what meaneth this doest thou speake vnto the theefe and forget thy mother Doest thou not speake vnto thy mother who bare thee nine months in her bowels and doest thou speake vnto the theefe who had knowne thee but three houres Doest thou promise presently Paradise vnto the theefe which spake but three words and doest thou make no reckoning of thy mother who bought thee with her teares Doest thou bestow thy precious bloud first vpon a theefe which knew not how to do any thing else but shed bloud by the high waies before thou doest bestow it vpon thy mother Would it not bee reason to pay thy mother now with the bloud that runneth from thy side for the milke which thou diddest sucke of her breast What more heroicall and diuine exchange could there bee made in the world betwixt the sonne and the mother the mother and the sonne than bloud for milke and milke for bloud If thou doest looke O good Iesus that shee should speake vnto thee as the theefe did doest thou not see that for wearines she cannot helpe thee for griefe she cannot looke vpon thee for feare shee cannot comfort thee and for being astonied shee cannot speake vnto thee I beseech thee Per viscera misericordia that thou wouldest say Amen dico vobis as thou doest say Amen dico tibi For by that means thou shouldest comfort thy mother satisfie the theefe vanquishe Hell helpe the world and withall I should haue hope to be pardoned If thou doest die for all and not for one why doest thou not say Verely I say vnto you as thou doest say Truly I say vnto thee O sweet Iesus and loue of my soule seeing that vpon my knees and my face bathed in teares I say vnto thee Tibi soli peccaui I haue sinned vnto thee alone doe not I deserue to heare from thy mouth these words Amen dico tibi Truly I say vnto thee Anselmus sayth That it was too timely to giue Paradise vnto his mother and the other theefe had not deserued it and the great Centurion was not yet become a Christian and the Iewes were hardened in their hearts and therefore it was not without cause that he said vnto the theef Amen dico tibi and not Amen dico vobis It was a great word which God spake vnto the first man that is dominamini piscibus maris volatilibus cali but that which hee spake vnto the good theefe was farre greater because it is far better to be companions vnto the Angels in heauen than kings ouer beasts vpon earth It was a great word that God spake vnto Noe that is I found thee iust in my sight but this which hee spake vnto the theefe was far greater because it is better to be iust receiue the reward of being iust thā to be simply iust That was a fauourable speech which hee vsed vnto king Dauid I haue found a man according vnto my heart but this which he spake vnto the good theefe was farre more fauourable because that Dauid was but neere vnto his heart but the theefe was in his heart And it did appear easily that Dauid was but neer Gods heart seeing hee did sinne afterward and it doth well appeare that hee had the theefe within his heart seeing hee suffered him to sinne nor steale no more That was a fauorable speech which God vsed vnto Abraham that is Num celare potero qua gesturus sum Abraham But that which was vsed towards the theefe was more fauourable because the greatest secret that God reuealed vnto Abraham was that the son of God should come into the world but hee did not onely reueale but also shew this vnto the good theef Christ did trust the good theef better thā he did trust Abraham because he was the first sinner who saw the redemption of the world with his eies he was hee vpon whome the bloud of Christ was first bestowed The precious bloud of the sonne of God was then otherwise shed towards the theefe who was vpon the crosse than towards his mother who was by the crosse because it dropped downe vpon the garment of his sorrowfull mother but it went to the soule of the theefe to saue him therevpon the holy theef went immediately to Paradise but his sorrowful mother staied weeping on the Mount of Caluary O holy bloud O heauenly blame why doest thou take such pity on the theefe doest deferre to giue thy mother the kingdome of heauen which thou doest giue presently vnto
the theefe Doest thou defer it to her who brought forth Christ take pity on him who bare him coÌ„pany on the crosse seeing thou doest augmeÌ„t tears in her diminish offences in him It was a word of great fauor which hee did vse vnto Mary Magdalen that Remissa tibi peccata multa Many sins are forgiuen thee but yet that was greater which he did vse to the good theefe because hee vsed greater liberty with him thaÌ„ with hir for if he loued her pardoned her he loued the theef like a friend pardoned him like a Christian rewarded him lika a iust man Barnard saith vnto this purpose That it is a signe of great loue to pardon but a greater sign to giue pardon because that pardon is sometime giueÌ„ by force but a gift neuer coÌ„meth but of free wil. OrigeÌ„ vpoÌ„ Mathew crieth out O deepe mystery O diuine sacrameÌ„t who euer heard or saw the like vnto this that is betwixt the sunne rising the sunne setting the theef was condemned by Pilat shamed by the criers iusticied by the hangmen confessed by his owne mouth by Christ pardoned and also brought vnto Paradise What meaneth this O good Iesus what meaneth this Who is able to reach vnto the reason why Abel vvith his innocency Nee with his iustice Abraham with his faith Dauid with his charity Moyses with his meekenesse Iâ—b vvith his patience Tobias with his franknesse Lazarus with his pouerty should so long desire to see Christ and the theefe presently enioy him S. Ambrose sayth That Christ receiued in a new kind of martyrdome all the torments vvhich were giuen the theefe as a naughty man from the houre and moment that he defended Christ and confessed with Christ insomuch that if he began to suffer like a theefe and a rouer hee ended and died like a glorious martyr This happy theefe was a very glorious martyr seeing he suffered neere Christ and with Christ where Christ suffered and in the same manner that Christ suffered and which is most of all hee was the first martyr after Christs passion and the first Saint which the sonne of God did canonize after his death S. Stouen was the first martyr after Christs ascention but from Christs death vntill he ascended into heauen there was no other Mattyr in the vvorld but the theefe whose conuersion Christ caused whose teares hee accepted whose martyrdome hee approued whose passion hee canonized and whose soule hee glorified S. Augustine sayth O good Iesus O my soules delight considering that thou doest saue him who accuseth his owne faults and him who excuseth thy innocency the maintainer of thy credit the confessor of thy essence the companion of thy person wilt thou not saue also this sinfull soule of mine For so great a battaile as thou hast won this day for so great a victory as thou hast obtained and also for so much bloud as hath issued from thee it is a small prize to carry away with thee but one theef only because that by so much the greater the triumph is by how many more prisoners the triumpher is followed with all And if it will not please thee to take mee thither with thee tarry thou here with me O good Iesus for I desire no other glory of thee in this miserable world but that thou wouldest let mee haue alwaies a good conscience Origen sayth in an Homily that it is much to be noted and a thing to be wondered at that Christ did not say vnto the theefe Amen dico vobis although there were many more there but hee said Amen dico tibi to let vs vnderstand that by forgiuing him alone hee shewed his mercy and by not pardoning others hee shewed his great iustice There were store of sinners about the crosse as well as hee which peraduenture would haue beene pardoned as well as he but amongst them all the theefe onely deserued to heare his pardon but by this hee maketh vs know that there is no man which hath cause to dispaire of pardon seeing hee forgaue him and yet that we presume not too much of pardon seeing he forgaue him alone Let the conclusion of all this be that wee remember before wee sinne that our Lord did not pardon the multitude that was there present and after wee haue sinned let vs remember that hee pardoned the theefe which suffered with him and in so doing we shall feare his iustice and remember his mercy the which I humbly beseech him that it would please him to vse here with grace afterward with glory Amen Amen The end of the second word which Christ our redeemer spake vpon the Crosse ⧠Here beginneth the third word which the sonne of God spake vpon the Crosse vnto his blessed mother Mulier ecce filius tuus Woman behold here thy sonne CHAP. I. That the loue which the mother of God had did exceed the loue of all other men and also the loue of Angels SIcut water 〈…〉 it a agâ— te diligebaâ—â— these are the words of holy Dauid 2. Reg. chapâ—â—â— 1. when 〈…〉 brought him that king Saul his enemy and Prince Ionathas his great friend were slaine in a battaile which they had with the Philistims The Iewes gaue this battaile to the 〈…〉 the wild mountaines of Gâ—â—boe and when the sorrowfull newes came to king Dauid that king Saul had lost the battaile hee began aloud to crie and shed many grieuous teares and said as followeth in dolefull wise O famous and renowmed Israel why doest thou not weepe for the losse of so many excellent men which this day they haue slaine thee and noble Princes which this day are perished within thee How is it possible that the strongest of Israel haue fallen downe so ignominiously and the most famous of Iuda haue ended their life by sword O how well king Saul Ionathas should haue loued one the other when they were aliue seeing that they left not the one the other in death although the cruell sword was able to take away their liues from them yet certainly it was not able to take away their hearts from them with the which they loued one the other What sword durst wound their hearts or what launce durst touch their flesh considering that Saul and Ionathas were in running more light than eagles and in sight more strong than lions Ionathas arrow was neuer shot but he hit Sauls sword drawn but he stroke Weepe then O ye daughters of Israel weep vpon the death of your king Saul who clothed you in scarlet in your passeouer and gaue you iewels of gold in your weddings O ye mountains O ye mountains of Gilboe I curse froÌ„ henceforth anathematize you for euer to the end that it neuer raign water vpoÌ„ you by day nor any dew fal vpoÌ„ you by night seeing that you consented that the enemies of Israel should there kill Saul and slay my good friend Ionathas in the same place O my faithfull and old friend Ionathas why
greater and a better watch in our Paradise than Adam had in his because that the Cherubin did but stand at the gate but the sonne of God is the gate it selfe When he said I am the gate what did hee mean else but that he was the key with the which we should open he was the gate through the which we should enter in and he the guide which should direct vs and he the Paradise which we should enioy It is also to bee noted that the sword with the which the Cherubin kept Paradise was neither of siluer nor gold nor yron but was of pure fire which is a new and an vnusuall thing which no man would beleeue if it were not in Scripture It is a thing often tried for yron to haue fire in it and for yron to bee in fyre but that a fyre should bee called a sword is neuer read but of that sword which kept Paradise To apply thē the figure vnto the thing figured al mē are as it vvere yron ouercast with rust that is fallen into original sinne or actuall great or small the sword of the liuing God excepted in vvhō there was neuer found any sin nor the rust of any fault but was alwaies like vnto a sword of fire made in the forge of the holy Ghost What was the sword vvhich kept Paradise but onely Iesus vvhich suffered on the crosse When thou diddest say O my sweet Iesus I come to put fire on the earth art not thou happily all fire seeing that thou dost come to put all the vvorld on fire O how much better the sword is vvhich the church hath than that vvhich the synagogue vsed Because her sword did let no man enter into Paradise but ours doth open the gates vnto vs. What shall I say more but that her sword vvas of fire vvhich did burn ours is but of Loue vvhich giueth comfort O sword of holy loue my sweet Iesus hovv happy I should be if I vvere dead vvith thy knife because that that killing should bee a rising from death that bowelling of me a letting of bloud my end a nevv beginning and my dying a liuing Our Lords mercy is such that he saith not Ego mortifico but he saith I doe giue life nor he saith not I will strike but hee saith I will make whole in so much that if he kill vs it is to raise vs to life againe and if he◠wound vs it is to make vs whole againe Then our Lord doth mortifie vs when he killeth our inclinations in vs and thē we are stroken with his hand whē we are punished with his great mercy and like a good surgeon hee neuer seareth the quicke flesh but the rotten member which infecteth the rest And because Simeon saith that the dolours and the sword of her sonne went through the mothers heart it is expedient for vs to stay somewhat in declaring the greifes which Christ suffered because that thereby we shall know them which he imparted vnto his mother Cum esset Dauid in spelumcā Obdollam conuenernat ad eum omnes qui erant in angustia oppressi aere alieno saith the Scripture 1. Reg. 22. as if he would say When king Dauid hid himselfe in the den of Obdolla there came vnto him all such as were banished by the order of iustice or fled for debts of all which sorrowfull Dauid was the Prince and captaine for of all the afflicted he was the most afflicted This is a high figure and deepe mystery worthy of great consideration because in it is figured very much by Dauid and namely the great griefes which Christ endured O that it were farre better for me poor sinner which write this that my soule did tast of them than for my fingers to write them Because that the doctrine which the sonne of God teacheth is of that quality that although it bee very good to preach it yet it is farre better to follow it There were many figures of Christ in the old law but none so liuely as Dauid was in proof whereof they did not call Christ the sonne of Adam nor the sonne of Moyses but the sonne of Dauid partly because hee was of his princely Tribe partly because he was not so liuely figured in any as in him God said vnto Dauid by special priuiledge I haue found a mā according vnto my own hart the Father said of Christ only this is my welbeloued sonne in so much that that loue which God bare in times past vnto Dauid was figured afterward in the loue which hee bare to his deere beloued sonne Dauid was also a figure of the sonne of God in that that as Dauid was persecuted by his maister the king of Israel without cause euen so Christ vvas persecuted of the Israelites not hauing offended them at all insomuch that if Saul did persecute Dauid of pure enuy the Iewes did persecute Christ of pure malice Dauid was also a figure of Christ in the denne of Obdollam where if Christ had been Dauid had neuer beene the captaine and prince of all the afflicted and banished men but the son of God had been their ringleader as hauing endured more griefe and vexation than all they because he did exceed all heathenish gods in power and all the Angels in merite and all the Martyrs in suffering King Dauid vvas badly handeled by his brothers defied and chalenged by Golias banished by Saul skoffed at by Michol stoned by Simei persecuted by Absalon robbed by the Amalechites vvarred by the Philistims watched by the Ceilitas and iniuried by the Ammonites But notwithstanding that king Dauid suffered many griefes and troubles yet they may bee numbred But what shall we say of those which good Iesus endured which were so many in number that no man is able to reckon them nor yet at all follow them Being a verified matter that king Dauid had tenne kindes of people which did persecute him that he had twelue tribes or kingdomes which did obey him it is now to be knowne who was his son vvho inherited his kingdomes and vvho was his sonne who succeeded him in all vexations and griefes Salomon sonne vnto Bersabee and Dauid succeeded him in the inheritance of his twelue kingdomes vvith vvhome his father left him no warres to maintaine no enemies to resist him no succeeds to contend with him no factions to pacifie nor debts to pay What did not the good old man leaue his sonne considering that he left him al his kingdomes in peace and great treasures laid vp for him But vvhen forgetfull Salomon saw that his father had left him great store of vvealth and no vvarres hee bestowed all that in vices vvhich hee should haue bestowed against his enemies King Salomon inherited kingdomes and vices vices and kingdomes seeing hee had threescore Queenes crowned to his wiues and seuē hundred concubines Salomon did inherite vices and all other daintinesse seeing he himselfe doth commend himselfe that his eies coueted nothing which was denied
vsing thy infinite power thou didst make of the dry desart great abundāce of water why thē dost thou make vnto thy son of an abundant sea a dry desart thou didst send meat to the Prophet Daniel when he was cast vnto the Lyons although no man did demand it at thy hards wilt thou not giue thy precious son a little water at such great entreaty Cōsidering that whē the famine was at Samaria thou didst cōmand the Crowes to carry the Prophet Helias food and the riuer Carith to giue him drinke why doest thou not helpe thy owne sonne whom thou hast ingendred of thy owne substance with a little water in this his extream thirst Considering that thou diddest turn the sower waters of Marath to be sweet because those cursed people should drinke of them why wilt thou giue thy precious sonne neither of the sweet nor sowre O what great encreasing of torments to Christ are framed in the figure of Tobias ioined with the prophesie of Ieremy seeing the one did draw the fish to the drie land and the other made a desart of the sea for vpon that drie tree of the crosse Christ was exceeding drie seeing hee could not obtain a little water to drink of and hee was also in a great desart seeing that hee found not so much as one friend to comfort himselfe with The fourth mystery which the figure containeth is that Tobias did open the fish and took out his gaule and his heart both which did him his afterwards great good the one for his owne marriage and the other to cure his fathers blindnesse It is greatly to be noted that in all that fish Tobias found nothing which was not worthy of the keeping commodious and profitable in curing sauerous in eating The best that euer hath been or shall be in the world was the Creator and Redeemer of the world whose words were holy whose doctrine was profitable whose workes were maruellous and whose bowels were most louing What did Tobias vnto that fish that the Iewes did not vnto Christ If the fish was drawne out of the riuer so was Christ from the people if the fish was put vpon drie land so was Christ carried vnto the Mount of Caluary if the fish was stripped so was Christ whipped if the fishes throat was cut Christ was also crucified if the fish was opened so was Christ pierced with a speare if the fish was cast into the fire so was Christ also cast into the sepulchre This which wee haue said is but a little in respect of that which wee will say and that is that the holy catholike Church hath drawne out this blessed fishes gaule with the which hee cureth vs and heart with the which hee loueth vs and liuer with the which he pardoneth vs bowels with which hee dooth cherish vs. O good Iesus O my soules health who hath euer had or who euer shall haue a more louinge heart than thou to loue vs or so sound a liuer to pardon vs or so profitable a gaule to cure vs or such tender bowels to cherish vs What wilt thou denie me now or what wilt thou not now giue mee O my good Iesus seeing that for to shew thy clernency and mercy vpon me thou art hanged vpon a drie tree made a dead fish opened drawne and bowelled for my sake What loue can bee compared vnto thy loue seeing that for that which touched me and not for any thing that belonged to thee thou diddest consent that they should open thy heart and diddest permit them to rend and teare thy bowels What am I able to giue thee O good Iesus what can I giue thee vnlesse it be my heart which is filthy for thine which is cleane my rotten liuer for thy vvhole one my bitter gaule for thy sweet one and my wicked and hurtful bowels for thy most louing ones Which are the greatest relickes which are this day in heauen or earth but the heart liuer and bowels which Christ left vnto his church O how happy should he be who should haue such relickes in his custodie for hauing thy heart in custodie how couldest thou chuse but loue me and hauing thy bowels in keeping how wouldest thou but pardon me How is it possible O my good Iesus how is it possible that there should bee any euill thing in thee vvhen as the church hath thy precious gaule for a relicke Since the beginning of the vvorld there hath neuer been any such thing seene or heard that is that among the relickes vvhich the church dooth account for the best the gaule is one of the most precious because that vvithout that bitter gaule neither the world could haue beene redeemed nor the Prince thereof haue beene ouercome What is the gaule which the church keepeth in her treasure but only the bitter passion which Christ suffered The richest iewell which the Synagogue had was the Manna vvhich came from heauen the greatest treasure which the church hath is the gaule and passion of Christ Betwixt vvhich two vvhat great difference there is it is easily perceiued because that the profite cōmodity of our gaule doth continue vntil this day will continue for euer but the memory of that old Manna is already lost O glorious gaule O happy gaul which thou good Lord diddest leaue vnto thy catholick church for if it did kill thee it did make mee whole if it gaue thee paine it gaue me glory if it was gaule vnto thee it was hony to me if thou diddest end thy life vvith it yet my soule vvas redeemed vvith it Christs passiō vvas bitter gaule vnto Christ and yet Christs death vvas a sweet gaule for the redeeming of all the vvorld for if vnto him there fell trauell pain yet vnto vs there fell rest quietnesse if it fell to his lot to suffer yet it fell to vs to reioice be glad if the soure fell vnto him the sweet fell vnto vs in so much that hee chose the gaule for himselfe and left the hony for vs. Iurauit patribus dare terrans fluentem lacte melle said the Prophet Moises Exod. 13 As if he vvould say You shall well remember O yee children of Israel how you did agree vvith our Lord he vvith you that both of you by oth that you should neuer serue any other Lord but him and that he would giue you a land vvhich should flow milke and hony Notwithstanding this oth the children of Israel were such naughty periures that our Lord determined not to giue them a land which should flow hony but which should bring them forth gaule seeing hee made it batten for to sow in rugged and rough to trauell in vnhealthfull to dwell in vveake in defence drie to drinke in and very poore to maintaine it selfe God did make a farre better agreement vvith his Church than vvith the Synagogue for hee did not send vs a land vvhich should bring forth honey but gaule and therefore hee
that thou hast condemned him without iustice seeing thou doest first sit downe to verifie thy iustice O vnto how many may God iustly say at this day what can I doe more for thee than I haue done and wherein canst thou offend me more than thou hast offended me O good Iesus O light and glory of my soule what shouldest thou doe more for me than create me or what couldest thou doe more for me than redeeme mee Thy goodnesse and my wickednes do striue before thy face and thy grace and my offence thy bountie and my vngratefulnesse thy mercy and mine obstinacy thy pardon and my sinne in so much that I neuer cease to sinne and thou neuer to dissemble it But to speake more particularly it is to be cōsidered that our God was not cōtēted to redeem all of vs in general but he did also satisfie for our sins in particular laying vpon himself a particular pain which should answere vnto our particular offence Christ satisfied for the sinne of pride when hee tooke mans flesh vpon him vnto which humility there can no vertue of any Saint be compared because he made himselfe of God a man of eternall temporall of one that was immortall mortal Barnard sayth That of all those which were proud Lucifer was the greatest of all gluttons Adam of all Traitors Iudas of all patient men Iob and of all humble men Christ exceeded all Christ satisfied for fornication by his circumcision and therevpon it is that because the sinne of lechery is that sinne into which men do easiliest and most oftenest fall into our Lords pleasure was to redeeme it with his precious bloud Christ satisfied for the sinne of enuy with his incomparable pouerty which hee so streitly kept that hee had neither house to dwell in nor a penny to spend nor wealth to liue by S. Ierome sayth That the end of Christs pouerty was to withdraw from himselfe things necessary because we should leaue off things superfluous for if a Christian haue any thing in his house which is superfluous hee dooth possesse it all as stolne from the poore Christ satisfied for gluttony by his continuall fasting all his life time and oftentimes suffering great hunger which is easily seene because that after his fast in the desart he was greatly a hungred and also when he and his disciples did eat eares of corne in the field S. Barnard sayth Christ had such a great feruour to preach by day and did contemplate so continually by night that although hee had meat yet he did scarse remember to eat it Christ satisfied for the sinne of anger with his continuall patience which patience of his was so perfect that hee neuer knew how to reuenge an iniury nor neuer vse towards any man an iniurious word In patientia vestra possedebilis animarū vectrarum said Christ to his disciples Luke 25. As if hee would say The merit and reward of patience is so great that it maketh him vvho hath it lord ouer his owne soule Many possesse their eares by not hearing of backbiting and other possesse their eies not seeing of vaine things and others possesse their hands by keeping them from stealing others their tongues by keeping them from blasphemy but of all these which I haue spoken off doth Christ say that any of them doth possesse his soule but only hee who hath patience What doth it auaile vs to be lords of our feet hands and ears if the diuell do possesse our soules What is it to be lord and maister ouer a mans own soule but wholy to subdue his owne sensuality Ambrose vpon S. Luke sayth He onely hath his will in subiection who in trauaile and vexation hath great patience Christ doth say very well that you shall possesse your soules in your patience Seeing that patience is the vertue which dooth confirme friends reconcile enemies cut off passions and maketh our he arts mild and gentle Loe then thou seest it proued how the son of God was not content to redeeme all the world in generall but that hee did in particular as it were satisfie for euery sinne disburdening euery man of a particular fault and casting vpon himselfe a generall paine CHAP. XV. Here there is brought a figure of Dauid and declared to the purpose OSi quis mihi daret potum aqua de cisterna quae est iuxta portum Bethleem 2. Reg. 23. king Dauid being in the field of the giants and fighting with the Philistims in summer time and wearied with the heat of the sunne and wanting water gaue a great sigh and vttered these wordes O who would giue me now a cup of water of the cestern which is neere vnto the gate of Bethleem where I was wont to recreate my selfe when I was a young man and take my fill in drinking of the water Dauids sigh being heard and his great desire of drinking perceiued three young men which were his seruants determined to arme themselues and goe to Bethelem for water maugre the enemies with a resolution to bring some or die in the place And as they had sworne so they did accomplish it and going through the enemies camp striking and killing the end was that they shed more bloud in going than they brought water in comming againe In the letter of this figure there are two things to be noted that is that good king Dauid did not sigh nor desire sauerous wine to make him drunk with but for a pot of water to refresh himself with Whereof we may take an example that we may better ouercome our inuisible enemies with abstinence than with abundance and plenty Yet so it was that notwithstanding the great thirst which Dauid had hee would not drinke one drop of that water saying that God forbid that hee should drinke of that water which was gotten with the deaths of so many men and was bought with so much bloud Euery man may take an example to himselfe by this that no man should carry any thing to his house gotten with an euill conscience or by the preiudice of another for we see nothing more common than that men for greedinesse of another mans doe not onely lose that which was their own by inheritance but that also which of other mens they had gotten Leauing the letter and comming to the spirituall meaning it doth well appeare that Christ is the sonne of Dauid and that Dauid is the father of Christ seeing the one was thirsty in the field and the other on the Mount of Caluary the one sighting the other sufiering the one compassed with enemies and the other hanging betweene theeues the one to drinke a cup of cold water and the other to redeeme mankind How farre greater the thirst was which the sonne of God had than that which Dauid had it is easily seene in that that Dauid did manifest his thirst with words onely and the sonne of God with words and teares wherevpon wee may inferre that his true thirst was not so much to
the secōd to make vs clean of al that which we haue already sinned O what small need Christ hath to bee so many times annointed nor by the church helped for from the first instant of his incarnation was annointed not only the altar of his most holy humanity to enioy presētly the diuine essence but also all the members of his holy body were annointed because they might neuer sinne nor neuer be seperated from God The figure of annointing the altar with all the furniture was spoke of none but of Christ nor fulfilled in none but in Christ alone because it doth easily appeare that as the holyghost left no part in his soule nor body which he did not sanctifie and make holy so there was no power in his soule nor body which to our benefite hee did not imploy Wee may better say of Christ than of Moyses hee dooth annoint the altar Cum omni suppellectile seeing that with his feet hee visited the altars of the Temples with his hands cured the sick with his tongue preached to the people and with his heart forgaue sinners The end of the fift word which Christ our redeemer spake vpon the altar of the Crosse These foure chapters are all which the Author left made vpon the seuenth word which Christ spake vpon the crosse that is In manus tuus c. For whilest that he was a making it it pleased our Lord to take him out of this life CHAP. I. How God is the only and true comforter and how hee was Deus vltionum to the Synagogue and is to the church Pater misericordiarum BEnedictus deus pater domini nostri Iesu Christi pater misericordiarum deus totius consolationis qui consolatur nos in omni tribulatione nostra These are the words of the Apostle speaking of the goodnes and mercy of our Lord God as if hee should say Blessed and praised bee the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who is the father of all mercies and God of all comfort and who is the true consolation of all our tribulations With a high stile and lofty wordes the Apostle doth extoll the greatnesse and power of God in calling him Father and Father of mercies and God and the God of consolations and aboue all that he keepeth them not for himself only but doth succour vs with them in all our tribulations O how happy is the Apostle who vttereth these words and how blessed wee Christians for whom hee spake them and how blessed is Christ by whose merits they were spoken What grauer sentences or sweeter words could bee spoken seeing that by them he maketh himselfe of God our Father of a iudge our aduocate of a Lord our brother of a reuenger mercifull of him which was cruell gentle meek of him which could not be spoken with most affable and of one which was inuisible treatable Thou maist haue pitty on me and I haue pitty on thee and I can comfort thee thou canst comfort me but to haue pitty on all who can doe it but only the father of mercies and comfort all men who is able to doe it but only the father of all consolations If I be sicke one may cure me if I be naked another can cloth me if I be sad a freind can somewhat comfort mee but tell mee I pray thee who is able to helpe mee in all tribulation and distresse but only our Lord who doth cōfort vs in all our tribulations Who sayth by the Psalme Cum ipso sum in tribulatione of whom speaketh the Apostle Quod consolatur nos in omni tribulatione of who was he euer called whom he did not helpe The father of our Lord Iesus Christ is he who in calling vpon him doth open in speaking to him doth answer who being demanded any iust thing doth graunt it By peeces by patches and by crownes men can giue vs of their pleasures and the world his delights onely hee who is the God of all comfort can comfort vs in our distresses and succour vs in our necessities It is much to be noted that the Apostle doth not say the God of consolation but the Lord of all consolation whereof wee may inferre that all comfort which dooth not come of him is dissolute or fained or imperfect Wee should haue great pitty on those men which say Let vs go sport our selues at the water let vs goe walke in a garden who seeme rather to play the Idolaters then to recreate themselues seeing they put all their felicity and case in seeing a greene meddow in the running of the riuer in flourishing trees and to sit in a banketting house Seneca in an Epistle sayth Let no man thinke that consolation dooth consist in that which wee see with our eies or heare with our eares or touch with our hands or smel with our nose but only in that which the heart desireth for no man can bee at rest if his heart haue not contentment With variety of meats the tast is recreated the sight reioiceth in faire sights the hearing is delighted with sweet musick the smell is pleased with aromaticall perfumes and the feeling ioieth in soft thinges but what shall the poole heart doe which neither taketh tast in meats nor pleasure in musicke nor delight in that which it seeth nor contentment in that which it smelleth what other thing saith the church when she sayth Sursum corde but that we should lift vp our hearts vnto God seeing that there is no perfect consolation for them below in the world Al wicked men would bid God much good doe it him with his glory if they could find any perfect case vpon earth for their hearts but because they cannot find it bee he neuer so bad hee sighteth to goe to heauen We say all this because the Apostle saying that hee is the God of all consolation how can any man haue any consolation in this life vnlesse hee giue it him who is the God of all consolation How great soeuer a lord Hector was in Troy how great soeuer Alexander was in Asia and how mighty soeuer Caesar was in Rome notwithstanding Christ was greater in his church because all those Princes were such ouer their cities only but the sonne of God is the God of all consolations What greater pleasure then to giue pleasure to whom thou louest what greater contentment then to giue contentment to whome thou likest Our Lord kept this treasure for himselfe alone and reserued this segniory for himself that is Quod sit deus totius consolationis and therevpon it is that if he will not shew that which hee can doe and impart among vs that which he hath no iust mā should liue cōtētedly nor any Angell happily If as one is lord of many possessions and inheritances he were also of many pleasures and consolations what would wee not giue for them what would wee not bestow to attaine vnto them and vnto what would we not put our selues to take them