passion not mixt with any comfort to mitigate and ease it Our cup of sorrowes is never in that extremity of bitternesse but that there is still some sugar mingled with our gall some sweet cast upon our sower some consolation tempered with our affliction As for instance it is deemed one great comfort in adversity to have some of our friends about us to condole and lament with us in our sorrowes But alas in the very entrance of his troubles Christ is abandoned of all His Disciples as you have heard when this heavie storme begins to fall upon him forsake and leave him one of them forswears him another runs away naked rather than he will stay and confesse him who then shall comfort him Himselfe Sometimes indeed our owne thoughts find a way to succour us unknowne to others as my Lord Bishop of Exeter well observes but alas with him at this time it is not so For his soule is filled with evill as the Psalmist speaketh in his person Psal 88.3 who then shall doe it His Father Here here was his hope sed proh dolor but out alas no comfort as yet appeares from him For hee delivers him into the hands of his enemies and when he hath done turnes his backe upon him as a stranger shewing no compassion on his passion but rather wounds him as an enemy Because indeed the Lord would breake or bruise him as it is said of him Esay 53.10 B. Andrews non sicut It is strange yea very strange saith one that of none of the Martyrs the like can be read to this of our Saviour when he sayes My God my God why hast thou forsaken me who yet indured most exquisite paines in their martyrdomes yet we see with what courage with what cheerefulnesse joy and singing they are reported to have passed through their torments Videor mihimetipsi super rosas incedere saith Tiburcius I seeme to my selfe to walke upon beds of roses when he was forced to walke upon hot burning coals bare-foot will you know the reason Saint Austin sets it downe Martyres non eripuit sed nunquam descruit He delivered not his martyrs indeed neither did he forsake them but as he delivered not their bodies so he forsooke not their soules but conveyed into them the dew of his Heavenly comfort which was an abundant supply for all they could indure otheâ—wise Not so heere but Vindemiavit me saith he in the Prophet as the vulgar Latine reads it Lament 1.12 that is he hath left me bare and naked as the vintager leaves his Vines when he hath gathered and plucked off the Grapes It is fathered upon Leo to be the first that sayd it and all antiquity allowes of it Non solvit unionâ—m sed substraxit visionem The Union was not dissolved but the beames and influence of comfort were for this time restrained so that his soule was as a dry thirsty parched heath ground without any the least moysture or refreshing of Divine consolation Lib. 5. de Eccl. c. 17. p. 16. yea he was destitutusomni solatio as it is in Doctor Field destitute and voyd of all that solace hee was wont to finde in God in this fearefull houre of darknesse and time of this his dolefull Passion The Wrath of God and his indignation furiously marching against him to require of him as who had undertaken it The full recompense and satisfaction for our sins as saith Doctor Robert Abbot that learned and painefull preaching Bishop of Salisbury L. 3. Contra Bishop p. 114. And now by this time I doubt not but that you plainly perceive how that Christs paine and crosse was the deeper and wider by all these crosses and torments thus considered And therefore behold and see all yee that passe by sayth he himselfe if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me Lam. 1.12 the very Chapter and Verse cited last before For I am like unto water powred out all my bones are out of joynt my heart like Wax is molten in the midst of my bowells My strength is dried up like a potsheard and my tongue cleaveth unto my jawes so that thou hast brought me even to the dust of death For Dogs have compassed me and the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me yea they have peirced my very Hands and my Feete saith the kingly Prophet in his person Psal 22.14 15. verses c. And yet for all this Amor tenebat in cruce quem mors non potuit tenere in Sepulchro His love still held him on the Crosse as you have heard already whom the violence and strength of death could not hold in his grave as you shall heare hereafter And thus you see not onely how but why also Christ was crucified aswell in his adversaries as his owne counsell and decree They out of malice and hatred towards him Hee out of love and pity to us suffered under Pontius Pilate and was crucified upon the Crosse A word or two for use and application and so we will conclude these two circumstances of this Article Did Christ then suffer such things yea and farre greater then those that you have heard related unto you The afflictions and anguishes of the soule being much worse then those of the body These being but love trickes sayth one to what his soule indued which notwithstanding wee have but slightly toucht upon as not altogether in my judgement so properly appertaining and belonging to the Creed why then we shall doe well a little to examine and consider the end and causes why he did so which if wee doe we shall finde that it was not his owne but our sinne that brought all this evill upon him according to that of S. Peter Christ suffered for us leaving us an example to doe the like who did no sinne himselfe neither was there guile found in his mouth but they were our sinnes which he bore in his body on the tree 1 Peter 2.21 22. verses as the Prophet likewise had foretold saying he hath taken upon him our infirmities and he hath caried our sorrowes Esay 53.4 We have an usuall saying amongst us that Charitas à semetipsa incipit charity begins at home but Christs charity yee see did not for it began proceeded and ended all in us so that whatsoever our Saviour either Ferebat or gerebat as one sayth either did or abid it was for us both Natus nobis datus nobis Esay 9.6 Doctor Clarke Hee was delivered out of the wombe for us and he was delivered up to the Crosse for us For for us men and for our salvation Incarnatus est saith the Nicene Creed hee was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and was made man and for us men also Condemnatus est he was condemned to die upon the Crosse so that he was bred for us and shall be dead for us all that he suffered being for our sins The Iewes then are not the onely actors in this tragick story of
false friend to betray him and therefore hee goes out unto them without either counsell or advise of any other save of his owne lewde heart and sayes What will yee give me c. answerable to that of David When thou sawest a Theefe thou didst runne with him Psal 50.18 yea Thy feet are swift to evill and thou makest haste to shed innocent bloud thy thoughts are wicked thoughts desolation and destruction are in thy wayes saith the Prophet Isaiah 59.7 That is thou intendest such things to others but the truth is they in the end will light upon thine own pate and the pit thou diggest for another thou wilt fall into thy selfe as the Wise man affirmeth Prov. 26.27 And therefore let not men be too forward and hasty in wicked and sinfull courses especially in treasons and treacherous designes either against Christ himselfe or any others that are in any kinde annoynted of the Lord as are Kings Priests and Prophets but let them advise warily and looke charily to themselves before they goe on For howsoever the title of a volunteere be honourable in a good cause shewing mens freenesse and forwardnesse thereunto yet in such trayterous and treasonable practises as this of Judas and all other base and bad actions and expeditions whatsoever it is ignoble and inglorious But Judas sinne and our Saviours suffering stayes not stints not here for the truth is the Traytor hath a bagge and if that be empty it is little worth and therefore his Master must be sold that so he may have something wherewithall to fill it For Ser. 15. Anima ejus febricitat curis ut sacellus iste impleatur nummis as Saint Austin speaks of the covetous in generall His soule is even sicke with care untill his satchell be filled with coyne And rather then it shall continue so long he will Perdere fidem ut acquirat aurum He will get and acquire gold though he let slip and lose his faith and therefore cryes out unto the Priests Quid mihi dabitis What will you give me and I will deliver him unto you Oh the wickednesse the wretchednesse of this base sinne of covetousnesse which makes those that are possessed with it not to startle at the most horrid acts that either the malice of an enraged and infernall Devill can invent or the sinfulnesse of mans corrupted and depraved nature perpetrate and commit the least hope of gaine being thought title just enough and armour strong enough for all either injurious trayterous or murtherous assaults and the fruition thereof held a sufficient recompence and reward of all such impious and diabolicall designes And therefore no marvaile if the Holy Ghost have taught us by the pen of the Apostle That covetousnesse is the roote of all evill 1 Timothy 6.10 Ser. 11. in Cap. 6. ad Rom. Mor. Propter hanc enim saith Chrysostome naturae leges invertuntur cognationis jura pelluntur atque ipsius humanae suâ—stantiae justa debita corrumpuntur That is For this the Lawes of nature are inverted the rights of allyance and friendship perverted and the just dues of our humane substances and beings corrupted The tyranny of money urging and constraining us to lift up our violent hands not onely against the living but the dead too as he further insisteth and proveth in the same place Yea and for this not onely Cities and Countries but Highwayes Mountaines Hils and Woods Orbis etiam inhabitabilis sanguine seatent caedibus Yea the very inhabitable World it selfe doe abound with murthers and bloodshed Because indeed as the Poet saith Rem faciâ—as remsi possis recte si non quocunque modo rem Meanes and moneys must be be had Legally if it may be but if not by any meanes whatsoever Jure vel injuria be it by right or wrong So fearefull a sinne is Covetousnesse making a man to become Iniquum in deum in proximum in seipsum injurious and unjust not onely against his neighbour and himselfe but against his God too For usque ad mortem domini amor lucri se ingerit nec vitae salvatoris quaestus desiderium pareit That is the love of profit puts forth it selfe even to the death of the Lord neither doth the desire of gaine spare the life of the very Saviour of the World And therefore our Saviours advise and charge to his followers is Cavete ab avaritia beware of Covetousnesse Luke 12.25 Which counsell if his Apostle Judas had well heeded and followed hee never would have come here with his Quid dabitis What will yee give me and I will deliver him unto you Vâ—ncent Brâ—mi medit But O scelerate negotiator as one styles him what a wicked Merchant is this Qui aestimas illum nummis qui aestimari non potest To set a price a value of mony upon him whose excellency is unvaluable as it is said of a faithfull friend such as he was Eccles 6.15 in the last Translation or if you desire it rather in the vulgar Latine which is as well to our present purpose Cui non est digna ponderatio auri argonti The weight of Gold and Silver is not to be compared to him the same place in the Genevah Nay to esteeme so vilely and so basely of him as to set no rate no value upon him at all but to referre the price to the pleasure of the purchasers Quid dabitis What will you give which is all one if you transpose the words you shall finde it so as to say Give what you will so as you give something and I will deliver him unto you Oh! it was never heard before that he that was a seller although never so petty a chapman would give the buyer leave to set the price upon his wares Nisi de re nullius pretii agatur saith mine Author unlesse it were of such wares as were not worth the buying And so surely Judas did estâ—eme of Christ or else he would never have been thus base to have exposed him to sale as at an outcry Quid dabitis What will you give What is this but as the Prophet speaketh To sell the righteous for silver and the poore for shooes Amos 2.6 Nay which is worse to sell a Saviour at a lower price than a payre of shooes if both the shooes and the penny too were rated as in these dayes a goodly price to have him valued at as another Prophet exclaimes Zachariah 10.13 But O Judas thou dost little consider that one drop of his blood that thou sellest at so low a rate is sufficient to redeeme and purchase infinite Worlds yea and thine own soule too if thou wert not worse than an Infidell a revolting despairing Apostata and backslider from thy first faith But I have undertaken to expresse and aggravate rather the sufferings of Jesus than the sinnes of Judas and therefore I must not dwell here onely a few words more for use and application and so I will finish this
Word affirme That the bitter wounds of a lover are better than the sweet and sugred kisses of an enemy that hates thee to the death as you have heard before out of Proverbs 7.13 And therefore as the Prophet adviseth so let me trust not a friend neither put confidence in a Counsellor but keep the doores of thy mouth from her that lyeth in thy bosome For the son revileth the father the daughter riseth up against her mother the daughter in law against her mother in law and a mans enemies are they of his own house Mic. 7.5 6. And this sufficeth for the kisse of Judas But saith Christ ye be come out unto me as against a theefe with swords and staves Yea and which is more Lord as to the worst of theeves to a theefe of the night with lanthornes and torches Neither is there cause why thou shouldst either wonder or be troubled at it For seeing thou art not come to suffer for theeves aswell as for other sinners there is reason thou shouldst be handled as a theefe and beare their punishment although thou knowest no sin in thy selfe yet God hath made thee sin yea all sin for us that so we might be made the righteousnesse of God in thee saith Saint Paul 2 Cor. 5. ult And therefore thou must nay thou art contented to be nuâ—bred among the wicked as the Prophet foretold of thee Isa 53.12 And if among the wicked then among the theeves and robbers aswell as any other sinners whatsoever that so thou mayest save some of them that have bin such and deliver others from the hands of those that are and will be such for ever Thou hast told us thy selfe that the theefe commeth to steale kill and to destroy Iohn 10.10 by which words an old Postiller tels me Par. de tem 〈◊〉 3. post â—ent there are three sorts of theeves designed and described The devill death and the wicked man The devill Quia insidiâ—tur animae because he seeks to destroy our soules Death Quia insidiatur vitae because it seekes to kill us and deprive us of our lives and the wicked man Quia insidiatur bonis he seekes to steale from us and rob us of our goods Now the last of these thou savest so many of them as will repent with the good theefe and put their trust in thee And the other two thou vanquishest so that they shall not prevaile either against thee or thine to their destruction or confusion as will be manifested more at large in that which will follow and ensue upon this subject when we shall come to speake of thy death buriall and the like And therefore if these thine enemies use thee as a theefe in comming out against thee with swords and staves torches and lanthornes and such other instruments as whereby they used to take and apprehend theeves and robbers withall it is but thy fathers justice against our sins which thou camest into the world most cheerfully and willingly to satisfy undergo But yet I must confesse that seeing thou wert innocent as well from these as all other offences both thy sufferings and thine enemies sinnes are the greater in that they did these things unto thee without thy desert And therefore there is a great deale of reason that they should be punished and thou pitied accordingly For if it be a thing much to be condoled and lamented to see an innocent and honest man to be apprehended and violently laid hold upon yea drag'd and haled pinioned and manacled too and so carried to prison and thence afterward brought to the Barre and forced to answer for his life then much more when these things are done Coelorum Angelorum Domino to him that is Lord both of Heaven and Earth as it was unto our blessed Saviour who as the Prophet speaketh was led as a sheep unto the slaughter Esay 53.7 Wherefore our Saviour did but justly complaine of their injustice in saying They came out unto him as to a theefe when they came to take him For whereas it is the property of theeves first to steale and rob men of their goods and then to fly and run away after they have stollen according to that question and demand at the Barre Did he fly for the same as also to hide and conceale themselves in corners and obscure places and many times to lay violent hands yea to hurt and wound those that shall seeke to resist and withstand them in their robberies as it is said of the Bandettees in France that they seldome rob but they kill too Why Christ did never any of these things but was so farre from doing them as that he did the cleane contrary For instead of flying he went to meet them when they came to take him and when the officers knew him not hee told them that he was the man Vliro se dans in manus eorum yeelding himselfe willingly and readily of his owne accord into their hands And instead of hurting or being any wayes in such kinde prejudiciall to any man he did infinite good to all men healing them of all manner of sicknesses and sores that stood in need of his helpe either of those wayes And lastly he was so farre from robbing or taking any thing unjustly from them as that hee would never be sole owner or possesse any temporall thing as his owne but rather spend and imploy all such things as he had as his gifts and graces his labour and his learning yea and his very life and all for the benefit and salvation of others and therefore I say it was a great point of injustice in them thus to come out unto him as to a theefe with swords and staves And that which is added by our Saviour himselfe in the text addes also an increase to their mischiâ—fe and his misery that is that while he was daily or in the day time teaching in the Temple among them they tooke him not but made choyce of the night to doe it in and therefore came with lanthornes and torches aswell as swords and staves to take and apprehend him which speeâ—h of Câ—rist howsoever it principally tend to shew his power and their weaknes in that they could not apprehend him nor lay hold upon him till himselfe was willing so that Stultum erat cum gladiis quaerere eum qui uliro se offert in nocte investigare quasi latentem qui quotidie in Templo docet that is It was but a foolishnes in them to hunt after him with swords and staves which did of his owne accord offer himselfe unto them or to seeke for him in the night as one that concealed himselfe and usually lay hid when as he was daily to be seene heard and had teaching in their Temples Yet withall it bewrayes their wickednes also and their base cowardise that when they durst not resist and withstand him in the day time among the multitude and before the people that rather then not doe it all they
advised them That if they were persecuted in one City they should sly into anothâ—r Matth. 10.23 Neither doe I finde as I must acknowledge any writers upon this subject whether ancient or moderne Fathers or other latter Divines Postillers or Expositors that are very forward to censure or condemne this their flight as a notorious fault or a grievous crime in them but onely as a matter of weakenesse or infirmity as not being yet so throughly grounded and setled in the Faith of Christ as afterwards they became to be And Erasmus saith In lâ—c 〈◊〉 Mar. c. 24. that Infirmis licet fugere It is lawfull for the weake to fly as being unfit as yet to suffer martyrdome and persecution in regard as we may conceive that their irresolution and ungroundednesse in the faith may occasion their backsliding and revolt at the first sight and horror of the affliction and so bring rather losse than gaine to the cause of Christ But the time will come as he goes on in quo fugisse negasse est In which to fly shall be accounted as bad as to deny Of which you know what our Saviour himselfe saith He that shall deny me before men shall himselfe be denied before the Angels of God Luke 12.9 But in the meane time when the Gospell and truth of God can gaine nothing but rather as I say suffer much losse and detriment by thy death and suffering Fugito latita saith the same Erasmus still Fly in Gods name and keepe thy selfe close for a better opportunity till a fitter season doe offer it selfe in which thou mayest doe good For by that course it may so fall out which Demosthenes speakes of that Vir qui fugit redintegrabit praelium He that flyes to day may live to renew the battaile to morrow or at another time As indeed it fell out accordingly with these Disciples of our blessed Saviour which howsoever they were but weake and infirme at the time of the apprehension or taking of their Master which as you have heard occasioned their flight yet they proved afterwards the proclaimers of the Gospell to all people and the Heralds of salvation unto all soules preaching the truth of Christ boldly to their faces from whose presence they had fled before But when a man is so confirmed and setled in his faith himselfe as that withall he is able to strengthen his brethren and that his death or other sufferings whatsoever may bee profitable and bring forth plentifull fruit unto the Church of God and his bloud bee as seed sowen in good ground springing up to the increase of faith in divers others Why then I say it shaâ—l be a great disparagement for himselfe and a detriment to the Church of God for a follower of Christ to fly for every one whom Christ hath called to his faith and the knowledge of his truth must doe his best to bring his brother to Christ too John 1.42.25 as Andrew did Peter and Philip did Nathaniel For Nascitur indigne per quem non nascitur alter saith the Poet which if it be true in naturall generation that he is borne but to little purpose that doth not propagate his kinde then much more in spirituall regeneration which seeing it is done no way better then by constant profession of the Gospell even unto death and bonds because Sanguis Martyrum est semen Ecclesiae The bloud of Martyrs hath ever proved the best seed of the Church therefore in such cases it is not lawfull for him that professes Christianity and Religion either to withdraw or conceale himselfe but he ought rather occurrere carnifici even to meet the hangman in the face then to step a foot out of the way to prevent and avoyde the danger For howsoever as Bernard sayes Sâ—rm 3. Dominica in ramis Palm Persecutio temporalis ómnis adversitas pro loco tempore aliquando fugienda erit cum autem necesse fuerit viriliter toleranda that is Persecution and temporall affliction bee sometime according to place and occasions to bee avoyded and eschewed yet when need is it must be manfully tolerated and endured Vse But enough of this onely an Vse or two from the flight of these Disciples and running away from their Master and then wee will end this Circumstance First then let us take notice that those men are like unto these that is but weake in faith which are content to serve Christ onely in the time of prosperity and while all things goe well with them and that no trouble or affliction come thereby but when any crosses or calamities arise whereby they shall be necessitated and driven to forsake either their wealth or their will their profit or their pleasure or suffer and sustaine any other the least detriment or disgrace by his service why then presently they withdraw themselves and leave him It is to be doubted beloved that Christ hath many such Disciples in these dayes many which Vt comes radios per Solis euntibus ùmbra est Cum latet hic pressus nâ—â—ibus illa fugit as a Poet saith That can be content to follow Christ as the shadow doth the Sunne that is so long as it shineth but when once it begins to be darkned with clouds it instantly vanisheth away So in time of prosperity all men for the most part will be content to be Christs Disciples but when tribulation or persecution commeth for Christs sake by and by they are offended as our Saviour himselfe saith of them Matth. 13.21 or as Saint Luke hath it Tempore tentationis recedunt that is In time of temptation they goe away Luke 8.13 yea many with the sonnes of Zebedeus would be Christs Disciples if he had an earthly Kingdome to advance them to places of honour that so one might sit at his right hand and the other on his left but when it comes to this reckoning that they must pledge him of that bitter cup of his Crosse of which he is now ready to drinke a full draught before them then it is to be doubted that most of them will be ready to say with the carnall Capernaites in the Gospell Durus est hic sermo This is an hard saying who can heare it as John 6.60 But beloved we must know that it is not enough for a Christian to confesse Christ and his truth in the Halcyon dayes and times of peace and plenty but they must also sticke to it when trouble ariseth for the same For it is but an easie matter to professe the Gospell while all is calme and quiet and the weather faire as wee say but the tryall of constancy and perseverance is to be seene onely in adversitie as one saith Tempore duro est inspicienda fides As the valour and courage of a Souldier is best seene in the hottest skirmish and the skill of a Mariner best descried and discerned in the greatest tempest so the faith and constancy of Christians is best tryed in the most
in him thus to fall into the hands not onely of his enemies but such as were unrighteous Judges also yea so many of them all foure such never an upright one amongst them and yet to have no other place to appeale unto judge yee If any should demaund of mee Plus vident oculi quà m oculus what is the reason that in our Courts of Justice there are usually so many deputed by the supreame authority to sit as Judges together I might reply with one that amongst divers this surely is none of the least Quod ubi pauci Judices sunt Machiavâ—l de Râ—pub Venet. l 1. cap. 7. facilè à paucis corrumpi in suam sententiam pertrahi queant That if a single man or two of them perchance should either for favour or friendship pâ—ece vel precio either by intreaty or reward bee drawne aside to the perverting of justice or not be ready and willing upon all occasions to right the cause of the innocent yet they should not all be such But that the one halfe of them might stand up for truth and equity against the others or if it should so fall out which God forbid that major pars should vincere meliorem The greater part should sometime oversway the better yet that one at the least should speake his conscience freely and plead the cause of the innocent boldly that so the injustice and unrighteousnesse of men might not altogether prevaile against the truth which is of God but that aequum bonum that which is right and good might take place and true judgement and justice bee seene to flourish in our Land For where all are such as in this case of Christ that there is never an honest or righteous man upon the Bench there righteousnesse it selfe is sure to be arraigned and innocency condemned Justice perverted and all Lawes be they never so sacred and religious violated and broken Now in our Saviours case I say besides that some of them had declared and manifested themselves to be his enemies why the others also aswell as they were wicked and unjust too there being not one of them ready patrocinare or to defend the cause of this innocent no nor to speake a word to purpose on his behalfe although he were the most righteous and harmlesse person that ever the world brought forth but he suffered some kinde of injury and indignity or other from them all every one of them apart as shall appeare unto you more plainly by that which followes and succeeds For howsoever Pilat made a shew indeed of pleading his cause against the Jewes for a time yet the catastrophe and close of all will make it manifest that he was as wicked and unjust in his degree and kind as any of the rest But let us take them in their order For Saint Iohn tels us that they led him away to Annas first who was father in law to Caiaphas which was high Priest the same yeare Iohn 18. â—3 So that howsoever the cognisance of the cause at this time belonged properly to Caiaphas as being the present high Priest yet the catchpoles and souldier that tooke and haled him along carryed him first to Annas non tanquam ad judicem sed ad hostem veluti praedam ostentantes In locum as Erasmus speaks not as to a Judge that had power to censure him but as to an adversary that had a desire to see him thus under arrest and in his enemies hands And therefore as bragging and vaunting of their prey and glorying in their conquest over him they carry him unto him who they knew would rejoice together with them and give them praise and thanks rather then the least discountenance for what they had done unto him And besides Annas as it is probably to be thought was of the conspiracy to take him being one of those that had hired Judas to betray him and procured the band of souldiers from the civill Magistrate to assist and helpe him in the action and imployment For three of the Evangelists viz. Matthew Marke and Luke doe all tell us That he went to the high Priests in the Plurall number and They not He appointed unto him thirty pieces of silver c. as Mat. 26.14.15 Now then There being more then one of these high Priests that had done thus Annas must needs be the second man because we reade not of any other about this time but onely of Annas and Caiaphas who by turnes as it should seeme had managed the high Priests office for some while together as appeares by the relation of Saint Luke who saith That Annas and Caiaphas were the high Priests when the word of God came unto John the Sonne of Zacharias and he began to preach in the wildernesse Luke 3.2 Now then if these were the men that had promised Judas his pay and it may be the souldiers some gratuity for their paynes why then they had reason to repayre unto them both to give an account of their imployment and undertaking and especially to Annas first as being the Elder man and one whose habitation was neerer then the other In locum as Saint Austine and some others doe imagine and conceive But whatsoever were the true cause it is evident and apparent by Saint Johns relation that to him he was first carried and brought Neither did he take himselfe to be so voyded and deprived of all jurisdiction but that he had power and durst presume to examine him and question with him For so is it said That the high Priest asked him of his Disciples and of his Doctrine John 18.19 which the ancients generally allow to be Annas though Calvin I must confesse In locum and many other Neoterickes thinke otherwise viz. That he was not questioned at all till he came into the common Councell And then that Caiaphas was he that did it Annas being present and sitting by as his assistant upon the bench or at the least that this question was not demâ—nded him till then unto which hee gave that answer which occasioned a stander by to strike him For hereupon He the said Calvin takes occasion to observe the excessive rage and unrulinesse of these enemies of Christ together with the tyrannicall discipline that was exercised by these high Priests That while they seeme to sit as Judges Interea saeviunt ut truculentae belluae yet they are as savage as the most furious and fiercest beasts For in the midst of their Councell and Assembly where ought of all places to be exercised and shewne the greatest gravity and decorum in their proceedings a common officer or servant amongst them assumes so much license and liberty to himselfe as in the very time of examination and handling of the cause in the open face of the court and in sight of both the Judges to strike the prisoner even without any offence and that without any checke or reproofe from them againe for his so doing And
Gospell 31 32. verses we finde him thus saying unto his Disciples Behold we goe up to Jerusalem and all things shall be fulfilled to the Sonne of man that are written by the Prophets For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles c. Which prophesie I say is now accomplished in his being turned over from Caiaphas the high Priest of the Jewish Synagogue unto Pontius Pilate the Roman Deputy or President who was not onely a Gentile himselfe but his jurisdiction also was from the Gentiles as the Romans and all Nations except the Jewes were accounted in those dayes And this was pre-ordained by the fore-determined Counsell of God to be done accordingly for these two ends or reasons The first that hee might bee put to death which by the Jewes Law as they will seeme to affirme he could not For themselves tell Pilate in the very next words after our Text That it is not lawfull for them to put any man to death Verse 31. The second for the manner of his death that he might be crucified For so is it farther specified in the 32. verse viz That it was done that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which he spake signifying what death he should dye which is expressed to be crucifying Matth. 20.9 To which place this passage in Saint John doth allude Now the fulfilling of this prophesie of Christs owne selfe concerning himselfe shall afford us onely this Vse at this time because as I told you at the beginning I must point and passe my discourse upon this subject increasing to a bigger bulke then I aymed at or intended at the first To let us see and know That there was not the least circumstance of his passion which hee did not fore-see and fore-tell himselfe so that none of these things came unwittingly or unwillingly upon him or by chance as upon a meere man but all by the fore-determined Counsell of God as I say and his owne consent And therefore having so much fore-knowledge of his owne afflictions hee might have avoyded and shunned them many wayes if he would but to let us understand the greatnesse of his love unto us he would not refuse any torture or any trouble to doe us good but willingly and readily performe all things requisite for our salvation giving his soule as an offering for our sinnes as the Prophet fore-told Esay 53.10 So that without any tergiversation or regret he suffered himselfe freely to be presented before Pontius Pilate and the judgement seat of the Gentiles although he knew that he went but to his owne death and condemnation as Pilate told him That hee had power to crucifie him or to loose him John 19.10 unto whom notwithstanding Christ gave this answer viz. That hee could have had no power against him except it had beene given him from above Verse 11. of the same Chapter that is from the Court and Councell of Heaven of which himselfe was a principall member Secondly we may consider also a little of the season which they tooke to carry Christ unto Pilate in which is expressed to be the morning or as our text saith while it was early So that as it should seeme when the fatall night was once over they neglected no time but made haste to shed his innocent bloud and to deliver him over unto the sword not of justice but injustice as it is evident and apparent enough to all the world even to the very Judges themselves as will be shewne hereafter David in one place saith That howsoever heavinesse or sorrow may endure for a night yet joy commeth in the morning viz. Psal 30.5 when as our blessed Saviour here can finde none of this joy neither morning nor evening but after a dismall night as you heard before meets with as darke a day where we may observe that Christ our Lord suffered some injuries and indignities or others for our sakes at all times and houres both of night and day First from the evening which was the time of his appprehension till the morning as you have heard already and now againe from the very morning till the evening as here followes Tota nocte vexatus tota die sine intermissione cruciatus saith one Vexed all the night and tortured all the day without ceasing or intermission For at the first houre hee is carryed to the Judge and before him accused at the second examined at the third condemned at the fourth hee was scourged and crowned with Thornes at the fift hee had the heavy burthen of his owne Crosse laid upon his shoulders at the sixt he was crucified at the seaventh the Souldiers cast lots upon his garment at the eighth hee had Vinegar given him to drinke at the ninth he dyed at the tenth he had a speare thrust through his side whereout came water and bloud and at the evening or toward the latter end of the day he was buried O sweet Jesus there was some great cause surely why thou wouldest at every new houre thus suffer new punishments and afflictions for our sinnes and it can be no other but this because we doe every day of the yeare and every houre of the day yea every minute and moment of every houre of each severall night and day provoke thy heavenly father to wrath in one kinde or other by new transgressions and delinquencies And therefore that thou mightest satisfie and appease the said wrath of his as well for the circumstances as the substance of our sins thou wouldst be punished for them at all times aswell at morning and evening as at noone day It is but meet and right then that as thou sufferedst continually from one end of the day unto the other so on the other side that wee should pray continually as the Apostle exhorteth and sing prayses unto thee both night and day without ceasing for so great a benefit Thirdly let us observe that though these Jewes sent Christ unto the judgement Hall of Pilate yet they went not in themselves Their reason being this lest they should be defiled but that they might eate the Passeover as our text saith Because as it should seeme it was accounted an unlawfull and an unholy thing for a Jew at the time of that high and solemne Feast to enter into the houses or societies of any of the Gentiles which were esteemed no otherwise then as uncleane among them But hereupon Saint Austin cryes out O Impia stulta caecitas Tract 114. in Iohan. habitaculo videlicet contaminarentur alieno non contaminarentur scelero proprio O impious and foolish blindnesse to thinke that they could be more defiled by the habitation and externall society of strangers then by their owne proper and internall sinnes Alienigenae Judicis praetorio contaminari timebant fratris innocentis sanguinem fundere non timebant They were afraid to be contaminated by the judgement Hall of the Roman President yet feared not to shed the bloud of their owne innocent and undefiled brother
which is the right property of all hypocrites to straine at a Gnat and swallow a Camell to thinke it a more haynous thing Pulicem quam hominem occidere as Calvin speaketh To kill a flea at one time then a man at another To be over-curious and ceremonious yea and in very deed superstitious too about small matters and yet to let the weightier matters of the Law alone as mercy and judgement and fidelity and the love of God and the like for which neglect our Saviour himselfe condemneth the Pharisees Matth. 23.23 and Luke 11.43 But howsoever it be these Jewes that they may seeme rightly to eate the Passeover do pretend to keepe themselves pure and clean from all forraine defilements Caeterum immunditiem includunt praetorii parietibus when as yet they confine this defilement onely to the walls of Palats hall or house of judgement not doubâ—ing otherwise in the publike face as well of Earth as Heaven to deliver the innocent over unto death and damnation But our Saviour himselfe tells them that knew best how to define defilement That such murthers and evill thoughts and false testimonies and slanders and the like which they practise here against him These are the things which defile the man Mat. 15.19.20 Lastly they doe honour the figurative passeover with a deceiveable and fained reverence when as they offer violence with their bloody and sacrilegious hands unto the true passeover indeavouring as much as in them lies utterly to overthrow him even with an eternall destruction But I must not dwell here Pilate therefore in the next place went out unto them and said What accusation bring you against this man Where let us observe That although this Gentile bore no great affection to that Religion which the Jewes at this time professed but rather disregarded it yea slighted and laughed at it in his minde Yet in his first hearing of the cause he discharges the part of an upright and just Judge amongst them in bidding them to shew what accusation they brought against the prisoner whom with such tumult and clamour they had brought bound unto him As if he should say thus Whereas you Jewes have brought here one of your owne Nation to be sentenced to death by me I tell you I cannot I must not I will not I dare not doe it except you can shew me some just and lawfull cause why I should For si accusassa sufficit quis innocens if to accuse alone were sufficient who should be innocent Neither is it the manner of the Romans to put any man to death unlesse he be first convicted and found guilty of some grievous and haynous yea capitall offence against their owne Lawes For as for your superstitious ceremonies of violating your Sabbaths eating of Swines flesh speaking against Moses the Prophets the Temple or your God I have nothing to doe with them Ad meum Tribunal non pertinent They come not within the compasse of my Inquiry And therefore bring him not to me but take him and judge him according to your owne Law verse 31. of this Chapter Aurea planè Pilati exordia saith one utinam par epilogus Pilate begins well and it were well for him if his end were answerable But they for reply and answer hereunto cry out and say If he were not a malefactour we would not have delivered him unto thee as if they were angry with Pilate because he would not rest satisfied with their examination and tryall of him without any more adoe as if hee were bound to stand to their prejudicate and unjust sentence and so become an instrument onely of their malice to execute whomsoever and whatsoever they with the consent of their arrogant and malitious high Priests should determine and decree Where we may behold as Calvin observeth the insolency of those men that without the feare of God are lifted up to great dignities and high places of honour in the world be they Ecclesiastical or Civill whether in Church or Common-wealth who being blinded with the splendor of their power and eminency thinke it lawfull for them to perpetrate and commit any injustice or iniquity whatsoever without controule As these take it as a check to their pride and greatnesse that Christ is not by Pilate accounted a malefactor onely because they accuse him If he were not a malefactor we would not have delivered him unto thee But O ingratefull and unhappy Jewes let us heare some relation from you of the evils which this your Messias hath done and the injuries and violences which he hath offered unto you for which you thus call and count him a malefactor and thinke him worthy of death Are they any other if you rightly examine them and your owne consciences then preaching the wordes of life unto you then healing all manner of your diseases by restoring sight to the blinde hearing to the deafe speaking to the dumbe going to the lame and life to the dead Aske them that have received these great blessings and benefits from him an also those other that were possessed with Devills and infected with leprosies The one cleansed and the other set at liberty by him Inquire of these I say whether Jesus be a malefactor or not and you shall heare them all make answer with one voyce and unanimous consent in the words of him that was borne blinde If this man were not of God he could doe nothing John 9.33 So that as a moderne Poet hath well observed If either of these could but any grace have wonne What would they not to save his life have done G. Flâ—tâ—ner Poem called Christs Triumph The dumbe man would have spoke and lame man would have runne And yet you say If he were not a malefactor we would not have delivered him unto thee But we that are Christians and professe to beleeve in him that is here accused for a malefactour by these Jewes may make better use of this their slander and false accusation brought against him if wee doe but seriously meditate and consider with our selves how truly in this he took the forme of a malefactour upon him whereby hee that knew no sinne became sinne for us that wee might be made the righteousnesse of God in him as Saint Paul speaketh 2 Cor. 5. ult like smooth and innocent Jacob presenting himselfe before his heavenly father in the rough and rugged habite of his sinfull brethren and the hairy skins and coates of reprobated and rejected Esau that so for a time hee might steale away the blessing from our elder brethren these wicked and accursed Jewes and conferre it upon us Gentiles that are but younglings in Gods favours in respect of them As also for ever entayle it upon his own heires by faith whether of Jewes or Gentiles from the elder brethren to us both the lapsed and fallen Angels which because he knew could never be throughly accomplished and effected by any other meanes then by taking unto him and putting upon himselfe this sinfull
Christs suffering under Pontius Pilate and crucifying on the crosse But we are as deepe in as they nay deeper in then they as being the principalls and they onely but accessaries thereunto Because we were Causa sine qua non The cause without which it had not beene done but they were our sins for which hee was wounded and our selves for whom he was crucified So that Peccata mea peccata tua peccata Adami ac omnium filiorum ejus caussa fuerunt passionis mortis silii Dei sayth one they were our evill motions our vile thoughts our corrupt words our ungodly works that set Pilate Herod Annas Caiaphas Judas and the Jewes a worke what they did they did it but as our instruments and agents so that to say the truth Not Satan the tempter nor Iudas the traytour not Caiaphas the high Priest nor Pilate the judge not the Jewes that conspired against him nor the false witnesses that accused him not the band of men that tooke him first and derided him after nor the Souldiers that pierced him no nor yet the very executioners that nayled him on the Crosse are so much to be accused and condemned for his sufferings as we we I say even our selves and sinnes which notwithstanding is not spoken in favour or excuse of these or any of these For for such clients I believe never any man was so leud as to become an advocate but onely to let men see and know yea and acknowledge too the greatnesse and grievousnesse of their sinnes the cure whereof occasioned all these fearefull evills upon our blessed Saviour before it could be throughly accomplished and effected For hoc fonte derivata clades all the fore spoken of and last expressed afflictions and troubles of his proceed onely from this fountaine and originall So that we sinfull we bound him with cords beate him with rods buffeted him with fists crown'd him with Thornes yea wee reviled him and railed on him with our tongues we nodded at him with our heads we thrust him through with speares we betrayed him with a kisse We peirced his Hands and Feete with nailes we condemned him with false witnesses we powred shame and contempt upon his person we judged him as plagued and smitten of God For in asmuch as our faults and offences procured these things to be done unto him we are the doers of them and the dealers in them as himselfe is sayd to complaine in the Poet. Huc me sidereo descendere fecit Olympo Hic me crudeli peccatum vulnere fixit Hither have your sins brought me downe to live a poore and contemptible life and heere have your faults fastened me upon the Crosse to die an ignominious and shamefull yea bloody death Vse What an hatred then should this beget and kindle in us against our sins that were thus the spoylers of our Saviours life and the spillers of his blood How should wee in an holy revenge pursue them to death that were the authors of his death kill them that killed him But woe woe unto us so far are we from this that instead of mortifying and crucifying them we crucify him as if to have done it once had not beene sufficient but that as the Apostle speakes wee must crucify againe the Sonne of God and make a mocke of him Heb. 6.6 so that we may use S. Pauls words to the Galatians though in another sense Jesus Christ is evidently set forth before our eyes and crucified amongst us Gal. 3.1 Thus hypocrisie bends the knee with ludibrious devotion and bids Hayle King of the Jewes Presumption puts a reed a rod and scepter into his hands The children of darknesse buffet and beat him yea and bid him prophesie who smote him The prophane spit in his face The sacrilegious cast lots for his garment the Schismaticall divide his seamelesse Coat which the rude soldiers did not Popularity washes her hands as innocent yea to please men condemnes Christ The drunkards in their carowses and unhallowed healths give him a potion of Gall. Bribery extortion covetousnesse uncleannesse and all other kinds of common and ordinary sinnes preferre Barabbas before him Simony crucifies him betweene two Theeves Heresy rackes his bones and disjoynts him Superstition betrayes him with a kisse and despights him with seeming honours Apostacy denies him with his Apostle Peter yea and forsweares him too The roarers with laughs and scoffes crucify him afresh and with their blasphemy and outragious oathes teare O cause of teares his Nayles his Sides his Flesh his Hands his Armes his Bones and all his Joynts and Members a sunder These are our offerings for Christ his sufferings But Oh beloved was it not enough that hee died once for us but that wee through these our sinnes must put him to death still Were those paines of his so little and so light that wee should every day redouble them Is this the entertainement that so gracious a Saviour hath deserved by dying for us Is this the recompense of that infinite love of his that we should thus cruelly vex and wound him with our sinnes If compassion of his smart cannot moove us yet let compassion of our owne soules prevaile with us For how can we hope or expect to finde redemption by his Blood while wee continue by our horrid and heynous sinnes to make new gashes in his Sides to rub his Wounds afresh and cause them streame a new that were even closed up before An act more Iewish then that of the Jewes themselves Let us then at the last for shame by our true and unfeyned Repentance forsake that tyrant sinne which detaineth us in servitude shake off his Chaines cut asunder his Bands and by a lively faith run strongly violently and speedily unto Christ who hangeth on the Crosse as you have heard and seene Habens ibi caput inclinatum ad osculandum cor apertum ad diligendum manus exteasas ad amplexandum Having not onely his Head bowed downe there to kisse us and his Heart open to love us but his Hands also stretched out wide to imbrace us and receive us upon our first returne And therefore returne O Shulamite returne returne as it is said Can. 6.12 and this sufficeth for the first use Secondly hath Christ suffered all these things under Pontius Pilate and beene content to have beene crucified on the Crosse also onely out of love to us Why then surely this requireth a returne of our love likewise backe againe unto him For nimis durus est animus qui si dilectionem nolit impendere nolit rependere It is too bad a disposition that will neither offer love nor requite it being offered as S. Bernard speakes If then there be any sparke of ingenuity or dramme of good nature in us let us not deny him the affection of our love that spared not the effusion of his owne blood for us but from so many springs as he had members dranke salvation unto us in a full cup thereof And as a
And lâ—t us beseech him to give us hearts of flesh which may suddenly be broken into powder and dissolve into teares if not for his paines who did sweat drops of blood trickling downe to the ground and afterward dyed yet for our owne sinnes which then bred his sorrows and now worke our woes Ser. de Pasâ— Immo vigilate animo fratres saith Saint Bernard ne infructurse vos hujus temporis sacramenta pertranseant Watch O my brethren in your hearts and soules and let not the misteries of this solemne time of Christs Passion passe over your heads unprofitably But seeing he bestowes on you so plentifull a blessing and redemption Date receptacula munda give it kinde and cleane entertainement Devotas exhibentes animas mentes vigiles c. yeelding unto him devout soules watchfull minds sober affections and pure and undefiled consciences for his so many and so great graces extended towards you Neither let your particular and private profession of Piety and godlinesse alone put you in minde of this your more then ordinary sollicitude and carefulnesse at this time but the generall observation and practise of the whole Church also Cujus filii estâ—s whose children and sonnes you are Vniversi siquidem Christiani sacra hac septimana aut praesolito aut praetorsolitum pietatem coluni saith he For all Christians whatsoever in this Great and Holy Weeke doe observe holinesse and practise Piety more then usuall in assuming and taking upon them extraordinary modesty humility gravity Vt sic Christo patienti quodammodo compati videantur that so they may seeme to have a compassion and fellow feeling in themselves of those things which Christ suffered for them Quis enim tam irrelâ—giosus qui non conpungatur quis tam insolens ut non humilietur c. For who is so void of all godlinesse and religion as not to feele compunction who so haughty and insolent as not to put on humiliation who so furious and wrathfull as not to be mollified and asswaged who so forward to delights and pleasures as not to be willing to abstaine and forbeare them who so flagitious and nefarious as not to bridle and keepe himselfe within compasse who so malitious and full of wickednesse in any kinde as not to cloâ—th himselfe with the weed of woe and garment of repentance at this time For nothing in the world was ever better done Quam quod factum est a Domino his diebus then what the Lord hath wrought in this Weeke for us Neither can any thing better or more usefull be commended unto the world Quam ut ritu perpetuo celebret c. then the celebration of the same by a perpetuall right that so thâ— memoriall of his abundant sweetnesse and kindnesse in this kinde may every yeare in the longing and desire of our soules be preserved and continued amongst us For nihil tam ad mortem â—uod non morte Christi sanatur There can be nothing so deadly in us which the death of Christ at this time sustained for us doth not make whole unto us Thus far Barnard So that we may all then justly say What a good Fryday was that to me though otherwise O Saviour a Weeke of paines to Thee Hebdomada Paenosa a Painefull Weeke so Bernard Hâ—bdâ—mada Magna Hebdomada Magna a Great Weeke so Chrisostome Paenosa sibi Magna mihi Painefull to him Great to us Not that there be more Houres or Dayes in it then in othâ—r Weekes Sed quia Magna quaedam ineffabilia bona contigerunt nobis in ea Hom. 29. in Gen. saith Chrysostome but because great and unspeakeable good hath in the same betided and befalne us For therein saith he is our dayly warfare finished death extinguished the curse removed the tyranny of the Devill dissolved and his vessels broken asunder and taken from him God is become reconciled unto men the Heavens made passable and penetrable all distances conjoyned the hedge removed the windowes opened and men and Angels brought to converse together so that the God of peace hath pacified and appeased all differences whatsoever both in Heaven and in Earth And for this cause doe I call this The Great Weeke saith he because herein the Lord hath conferred such a many and multitude of his Great gifts amongst us In regard whereof also it is That all the Faithfull doe the more diligently at this time apply themselves to the works of mortification fastings watchings nightly devotions and deeds of charity Tam dando quam condonando aswell in giving to those that want as forgiving those that have offended us that so they may seeme to give honour more then ordinary to this Time and Weeke in which the Lord above others hath so farre benefitted blessed yea and honoured us Nay as he proceeds to say Kings and Rulers themselves are not ashamed to let it appeare how venerable and sacred they hold these dayes by commanding a cessation and rest from civill Functions and imployments shutting up the dores of all Judiciall Courts and places of Judicature and by removing out of the way for this time all shewes of difference and debate strife and contention amongst men whereby with the greater freedome tranquility and peace of minde Liceat ad spiritualia recte perficienda festinare they may performe rightly and reverently their spirituall devotions And not onely so Sed aliam liberalitatem ostendunt They shew their bounty and liberality also another way and that is this by letting loose prisoners and granting their pardon and release to such as are in durance at this time that so they may imitate and follow the example of our Lord himselfe Because Sicut ipse gravi nos peccatorum carcere exolvit innumeris bonis frui fecit eodem modo nobis faciendum est ut simus imitatores misericordiae Domini nostri As hee hath set us free from the prison of our sinnes and made us partakers of many happinesses besides so ought we to shew mercy unto others as he hath done to us according to his owne precept in the Gospell Be yee mercifull as your heavenly Father is mercifull Luke 6.36 And thus you see how we may and ought all to honour and celebrate this Time and Week in which so much good hath beene done and kindnesse shewne unto us So that I beseech you as mine Author Saint Chrysostome concludes that now if at any time you would bee pleased to lay aside all your vaine and worldly cares and cogitations and with pure mindes purged from all impieties and corruptions as well of flesh as spirit you would with diligence and watchfulnesse attend to your devotions And let none that is now entred into the House of God have any wandring thoughts or regard to his secular and worldly businesses and affaires Vt digna laborum mercede recepta iterum domum proficisci liceat That so hee may returne unto his owne house and home againe laden with a full