Body of a Crucify'd Jesus Yet true Faith carry'd thee beyond fear come Life come Death nothing can or shall separate a true Joseph a truly devout Soul from the Love of Christ Jesus Yet withal we may from hence observe the Prudence and Care a Christian ought to have He went privately in respect of the Jews whose precipitate rage had so lately embru'd their hands in the Blood of an Innocent harmless Jesus and was still reeking hot with that Cruelty but yet boldly in respect of Pilate he went in and begg'd the Body of Jesus His Love and Faith to Jesus made him bold but his Wisdom and Discretion made him cautions If he must sacrifice his Life for his Love to his Saviour it should be by the hands of a Legislative Power and not by the merciless barbarity of the Mobile but if it must be so ready and resolv'd he was immediately to follow and be second to so good a Saviour for whose Salvation he had so long time waited O Blessed Joseph Had'st not thou took care of the Son of God of Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews of the ever-blessed Jesu Redeemer and Saviour of the World to have given him decent Burial his Sacred Body might have laid all mangled torn distorted and extended upon the cold Earth to the merciless Cruelty and savage Nature of Wild Beasts and Birds of Prey But this was design'd from all Eternity that thou should'st be the Man appointed by the Hypostatick Counsel of Heaven I say to be the Man to embalm and entomb the Body of the ever-blessed Jesus and for this art thou sure to have thy Soul embrac'd and enthron'd in Heaven in the Bosom of thy Saviour He that is not asham'd to confess and own me before Men in the most dangerous of times him will I not be asham'd to confess and own before my Father which is in Heaven And now Even is come and the time of Solemnity and Entombing of our Saviour is at hand away now my Soul with all the heavy weight and burthen of thy Sins to the Grave of thy Saviour The Body born by Angels vailing their Faces The Solemnity of our Saviours Funeral who in the time of his Humanity were always appointed by God to attend upon him and minister unto him and also while in the Grave to perform the same Heavenly Office And there appear'd two Angels sitting the one at the head and the other at the feet And can we think they should be spar'd or wanted at this time Luke 24.4 John 20.12 First follow'd by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus John 16.39.40 Then Mary the Mother of the ever-blessed Jesus Mary Magdalen and Mary the Mother of James and Joses and the Mother of Zebedee's Children And the Women that follow'd after as Mourners bâ—held the Body where if was laid Luke 23.55 And all the rest of the Mourners came following after ordered by the great Herauld of Heaven And I will in that day pour upon the house of David and Inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and Supplication and they shall look upon me whom they have perceiv'd and they shall mourn for him as one that mourneth for his only begotten Son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-horn In that day there shall be a very great mourning in Jerusalem Typically spoke of good Josiah aâ—â—ding to our Saviour at this time Rev. 1.7 as the mourning of Haddadrimon in the Valley of Megiddon And the Land shall mourn every Family apart The Family of the House of David apart and their Wives apart The Family of the House of Nathan apart and their Wives apart The Family of the House of Live apart and their Wives apart The Family of Shimei and their Wives apart And all the Families that remain every Family apart and their Wives apart Zech. 12.10 11 12. Come now O my Soul do thee follow after gather up I say all thy Sins from the soot of the Cross and bring them with thee to the Grave of thy Saviour Bury them there in a Flood of Tears with the rest of those Afflicted Mourners that they may never rise up in this World more to affright thee nor in the World to come to condemn thee Leave them all there that they may all be laid upon the head of the scape-Goat and carry'd into the Wilderness the Land of forgetfulness And now strengthen your Heads you weak Hearts and gather strength ye feeble Knees for now is your Redemption near at hand And they roll'd a great stone to the door of the Sepulchre and departed Thus having as succinctly as possibly I could run over the Passion of our Dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in that method and order the Holy Scriptures have most perspicuously testify'd of him both by the Prophets and also the Apostles I shall conclude all with that of the most Holy Apostle and for the present leave his precious Body in the Grave with Angles to attend his Call to his Glorious Resurrection which the blessed Apostle in these few words proclaims Ye Men of Israel Hear these words Jesus of Nazareth a Man approv'd of God among you by Miracles Wonders and Signs which God did by him in the midst of ye as ye your selves also know Him being deliver'd by the determinate Counsel and foreknowledge of God ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucify'd and slain Whom God hath rais'd up having loos'd the Pains of Death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it But David speaketh concerning him I foresaw the Lord always before my Face for he is on my Right hand that I should not be mov'd Therefore did my Heart rejoyce and my Tongue was glad moreover also my Flesh shall rest in hope because thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see Corruption Thou hast made known to me the way of Life and thou shalt make me full of Joy with thy Countenance Now Glory to God on High Peace on Earth Good Will towards Men. Meditations and Ejaculations to be used in thy Closet before or immediately at the Table of the Lord or after thou art return'd into thy Closet again Made and compos'd by the Author from the Considerations of Christ's Merits by his Body Blood and Intercession O Lord help the Sluces of my Soul to pour out Tears abundantly for my many Sins heinous Sins great and grievous Sins O Lord help me O Christ help me O Saviour of the World help me O Lamb of God help me O Redeemer of the World help me O dear and ever blessed Jesu Christ and Saviour help me I fear I shall be drein'd dry too soon I fear I shall slacken too fast Help me Lord to a River of Tears that I may pour out more more O pensive Heart and Soul more abundantly my Heart and Soul to my God This is Pleasure indeed This
Multitude of Soldiers ran that way and said nothing but ran apace whispering amongst themselves Some carry'd with them Swords others carry'd Staves and Halbards and Candles and Lanthorns in their hands We believe it 's some great matter they are gone about they carry it with so much secrecy as they go along but we cannot think it is for Jesus of Nazareth because we did see Judas one of the Lord's Disciples amongst them Hark! the Cry is louder indeed now I don't know what to think of it but there 's the ready way O my dear Lord have I found thee What in Blood Soul in the depth of thine Agony with violent Sweats and drops of Blood runing down thy Face and crying to thy thy Father too What 's the matter dear Lord Speak quickly to my Soul or else I sink and dye I cannot longer forbear having run my self quite out of breath with thy grievous Cry Grievous indeed it must needs be that maketh the Son of God sweat and cry and bleed thus I am striving and strugling praying Christ sweating and bleeding for thy Salvation with my Father's Wrath and Indignation but thy Sins are so great so heinous and grievous that nothing will satisfie him but thy Eternal Death which thou alas art never able to endure the Wrath and Indignation of an incensed and enraged God against thee I have been pleading and interceding with my Heavenly Father offering up strong Prayers and Tears for thy Atonement but all will not do A Life must be given and I have offered my own if nothing else will satisfie Not my Will but thy Will be done It must be so and the unalterable and uncontrouled Decree of the Almighty must be fulfilled and I come willingly as in the Volume of the Book it is written of me to do thy Will O God And behold here they are to whom I am betray'd Whom is it you seek for Soldiers with your Lanthorns and Torches Whom is it you look for Jesus of Nazareth I am he What gaze you for I tell you I am he The Signal was before agreed upon That whomsoever Judas kiss'd him they must seize therefore the strict Order before concluded of and delivered to them must punctually be observed lest a discovery should be made and they seize the wrong and the King of the Jews make his escape The Plot being laid thus cunningly and warily before-hand they must not too rashly nor unadvisedly proceed but stood looking earnestly till the Signal should be given Judas thô the dark Night conceal me from thy Sight yet here I am The hour is now come that the Son of Man must be betray'd into the hands of Sinners Then Judas came and cry'd Hail Master Judas betrays him and kissed him and straight way or forthwith they laid violent hands on him What makes you come thus with Swords and with Staves Judas as if I were a Thief and a Robber And they began immediately to spit in his Face and one of the Soldiers smote him on the Cheek with the Palm of his hand and asked him who struck him But Jesus said to Judas take me and lead me away and thy own Salvation too I have a Baptism to be Baptiz'd with and O how I long till it is accomplisht Peter endeavours his Master's Rescue But Peter as soon as he saw what inhumane rudeness they offer'd to his Lord and Master hastily drew his Sword and cut off one of the Ears of the High Priest's Servants Then Jesus rebuked Peter and said put thy Sword up into the Sheath He that useth the Sword let him perish by the Sword The Cup that my Father giveth me shall I not drink it John 18. v. 8. 11. Thinkest thou not Peter that if I would resist I would pray to my Father and he would presently give me more than twelve Legions of Angels to rescue me but how then shall the Scriptures be fulfill'd And it pleased the Lord to bruise him and put him to Grief when his Soul shall make and Offering for Sin he shall see his Seed he shall see of the Travel of his Soul and be satisfied By his knowledge shall my Righteous Servant justifie many for he shall bear their Iniquities Isa ch 53. v. 10 11. But stay O Malchus what Malchus's Ear healed wilt thou still persist in this bloody Deed and wicked Proceedings Wilt thou not hear the Voice of thy God in this Fray Thou shedd'st but a drop of Blood from thy Ear and thy Saviour Sweats not only drops of Blood in his Agony praying for thy Soul but also his Heart bleeds for thee and he takes immediately Compassion of thee and stretch'd forth his hand and cur'd thy Ear And could not this Miracle of the Lord of Life toward thee work perfectly upon thee to endeavour thy Physicians Rescue but still wilt thou go on to drag and hale him before the Judge Will not the immediate Touch of the Hand of God cure thy wounded Soul as readily as thy wounded Body Will not this Miracle of Christ and Love of his to thee persuade thee That he is Christ the Son of the Living God Wilt thou remain ignorant still of thy Saviour and Salvation How many of the Multitude that follow'd Christ would have thought themselves happy to have been blest with such a Touch yea that it might be but the Hem of his Garment Well if thou wilt still proceed in persecuting him he will proceed in praying for thee with the rest of thy Confederates Peter Was this the effect of thy Passion Christ reproved Peter just rous'd from sleep and begin to fight When saw'st thou such Weapons used in my School Was ever any thing but Prayers and Tears my Defence Hast thou overslept and neglected thy God and now fall immediately to fighting Couldst not thou and thy Brethren have watch'd and pray'd with thy Saviour for one hour especially when wak'd and stirr'd up by thy Master and when he had so lately told you the time was at hand in which he must be betray'd and by one of thy Brother Disciples Shouldst not thou rather have endeavour'd to have watch'd the time of his coming and dissuaded him from his intended Wickedness especially when thou hadst seen thy Saviour exceeding sorrowful even to Death Was he earnestly praying and in his Agony sweating drops of Blood dropping upon the Ground for thee And couldst not thou be watching for him but sit sleeping upon the Ground with the rest of thy Companions Or if you had been so extremely sleepy could you not have took your turns one after another This Peter is great neglect of so good a Master Was he striving and struggling sweating and praying to his Heavenly Father for thy Soul and couldst not thou be watching of his Body But he being upon the Work of Salvation excuses thy Infirmity from the Consideration of thy frail human Nature that was not able to undergo one single hours watch I know Peter
of the whole World he suffered and endured here on Earth for us which made him bitterly complain and cry out Behold and see all ye that pass by if there were ever any Sorrow like to my Sorrow any Wounds and Torments like mine which I have receiv'd in the House of my friends Canst thou receive suffer and endure all this for our Sins and still call us friends Canst thou O Holy Jesu still cry call suffer bleed and dye for us and yet pray for us and still be an Advocate for us and a compleat Redeemer O infinite O unlimited O unbounded O inconceiveable O inexpressible O incomprehensible Love of God to us that so loved the World than he gave his only begotten Son to Death for us for us Sinners wicked Sinners apostatizing Sinners even dead in Trespasses and Sins and all this Peter thou art not ignorant of Now Peter more particularly to thy self The First Denial of Peter And as Peter was beneath in the Palace there cometh one of the Maids of the High Priest and when she saw Peter warming of himself amongst the Croud she looked steadfastly upon him and said in derision Thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth but he denied saying I know not neither do I understand what thou sayest And he went out into the Porch as fearing they might seize on him tho' but the Night before he had said Tho' all forsake thee yet will not I But he still lingers and stays not that he intended to suffer and dye with his Master as he had promised but only had a mind to see what would become of his Master and to hear what they did say to him for now was the time that our Saviour told him The Devil will tempt you Peter Satan hath a mind to winnow thee as Wheat but I have prayed for thee and well were it for thee Peter that whatever thy Master endur'd for thee in his Sacred Body yet he had secur'd thy Soul I have prayed for thee thy Faith fail thee not And as he was standing in the Porch the Cock crew the first time but as yet neither the Time nor the Scripture was fulfilled nor did Peter take any notice of it Mark 14.68 And while he was yet in the Porch The Second another Maid saw him and said unto them that were likewise with her This very fellow pointing to him was also with Jesus of Galilee and when he had heard what she said he flatly denied with an Oath I know not the man Matth. 26.71 72. How now Peter now I see the Devil is tempting thee indeed Hast thou so much forgot thy self and thy Duty to so good and so great a Master Are all his Miracles forgot by thee Are all his Lessons Instructions and Sermons or Sayings forgot by thee Are his very last and dying Words too forgot by thee And are thy own Promises and Engagements to thy departing and dying Saviour forgot by thee This is a great Crime indeed Peter and in all Ages and Times hath been accounted most abominable and unworthy not to fulfil the Request of our dying Friends and Relations and also not to perform our Promises to their dying Person and last Gasp and especially for thee Peter who hadst so dear and tender a Lord and Master that had took such pains with thee and care of thee whose Words one would have thought could never have been forgot by thee more especially not so soon and at this very instant when thou wast so near as to hear how thy Heavenly Master was confronted and abused and most wrong fully impeach'd and most falsely accus'd yet not to reminiscentiate the words of thy Master but when thou wast so peremptorily charg'd thou so flatly denied Well Peter thou wilt pay for this at last It 's well thou hast a friend in Court Then came one of the Servants of the High Priest The Third being his Kinsman and whose Ear Peter had out off charges him home and says Did not I see thee in the Garden with him And dost not thou very well know I have a just Quarel against thee And this is a fit place for it for cutting off my Ear when I laid hands of your Master in the Garden Look here and behold the mark I still bear of my Ear for thee and if it were not that my Kinsman was so busie with thy Master and I do not know how soon I may be called and therefore am unwilling to create another Fray and Disturbance otherwise I would make thee an Example and make you know you was thee I have no so quickly forgot you nor your Ear-mark neither John 18.26 And moreover if you should deny and lye never so much if there were no more in it but your Speech your very Speech it self is enough to betray you Then began Peter when he had heard all this to Curse and to Swear with all the Execrations imaginable and positive Denials I never saw before this time the Man neither do I know him and immediately the Cock crew Matth. 26.74 And the Lord turned back and looked steadfastly on Peter and Peter seeing that remembred the Words of his Master how he had said unto him Before the Cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice and he went out and wept bitterly Luk 22.61 62. Now Peter art thou in the Gaul of Bitterness and in the Bond of Iniquity now thou know'st not where to hide thy head now the very Arrows of the Almighty pierce the very Soul of thee now thou seest thou art fallen Let him that standeth take precaution by thy Example lest he fall in the same manner thou hast done What! deny thy Master Peter thy Saviour and thy Redeemer And what with such abominable Oaths and positive Denials This would make the very dumb Ass to open his Mouth and upbraid thy unparalell'd unkindness Thou alone Peter to be the Man to deny thy Lord and Master who had the most reason of any of the Disciples to have own'd him because present with him and hearing the Ignominy and notorious Slanders that they impudently spake against him thy own Conscience bearing thee Witness O how with Cain Peter complaining and praying for himself am I branded with my Infamy My Sins are greater than I am able to bear O that some one would even slay me What! deny my Master My Lord and Master my God! my Saviour and my Redeemer and my ever blessed Jesus What! and three times and with Cursing and Swearing too that I did not know thee O sweet Jesu not thee what not know thee O heavenly Jesu that brought me up from the beginning that converted me to the Faith that made me one of thy Disciples and not the least neither one that thou more remarkably took'dst notice of and care for and foretold me of this very present hour of Satan's Tempting me and pray'd earnestly for me to be deliver'd from this fatal hour O blessed Jesu well was it