Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
cause_n death_n die_v sin_n 7,620 5 5.8816 4 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A43133 The precious blood of the son of God shed without the gates of Jerusalem for the redemption of lost and undone sinners: whereby his great love to mankind is undeniably manifested, in these following particulars; his agony in the garden; being betrayed by Judas, being falsly accused before Annas, Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate; his being scourged, scorned, and spitefully used; his condemnation and going to execution; how he was crucified; of his being reviled, and pardoning the thief upon the cross; and of his giving up the ghost. All which is practically applyed and improved, for the bringing of sinners out of the way of sin and hell, into wisdom's ways, whose ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. By that eminent divine, Mr. John Hayward. Hayward, John. 1695 (1695) Wing H1231F; ESTC R215936 43,769 124

There are 5 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

22 22. Pilate saith unto them What shall I then do unto Jesus which is called Christ They all said unto him Let him be crucified And the Governour said What evil hath he done But they cryed out the more saying let him be crucified NOW although Pilate had openly declared That Christ was innocent and also that he had Authority to acquit him yet gave way either to the Favour or Fury of the Jews rather than to Justice he pronounced Sentence of death against him and delivered him to his cruel and merciless Enemies O unjust President by thy own Judgment thy Judgment was unjust for thou gavest Sentence of death against him whom thrice before thou hadst pronounced Innocent Certainly in thee O President this was the greatest piece of Injustice thou couldest possibly have committed but it was a just Sentence of the High President of Heaven before whom all the Sins of the World stand in naked view and who will not suffer one of them to pass unpunished therefore because the whole World was not able to make satisfaction for one Sin he drew the Sword of his Justice and smote therewith his Innocent Son who only was able of all Men both to bear and to break his Wrath off from Sinners for Sin But O just Judge thou art never stirred to Wrath but by Sin thou art never very wrath but with great Sins At this time thy Wrath was very great and thou didst grievously smite thy only Son but in him thou couldst find no Sin at all What! didst thou not only release Offenders but with Caiaphas the High-Priest cause the Innocent without cause to be smitten And is it not more against the Law of Justice to condemn the Innocent than to discharge and acquit the Guilty How then may we count it Justice which doth not only release Offenders but also punisheth the Innocent O Light which had decreed this Mystery in thy holy Counsel from the beginning open thou our Understandings break off the Mistiness from our Minds that we may plainly see and understand this great Work of Justice and of Mercy which is more admirable than all thy wonderful Works besides Certainly he is not unjustly charged although he oweth nothing from himself that undertaketh another Man's Debt nor doth the Judge do any more wrong in giving Sentence against a voluntary Surety than if he gave it against the principal Debtor It is pity to see a Man pay that which he never had any thing for but if he will submit himself to be a Surety and in kindness rep●…sent the Person of the Debtor Justice must have her Course against him It is pity to see a harmless Lamb lie bleeding to Death but if it be appointed sor a Sacrifice it is the Nature of a Sac●…ifice to be so used Even so althoug●… ou●… S●…our was without ●…in in himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…ty and Sacrifice he did j●…ly ●…ffer for the Sins of others Although by Innocency he was free yet b●… Love he became entangled in Debt For his own Innocency God was well pleased with him but for our Impurities he justly gave way to his Wrath against him He was justly charged not with that which he had done but for that which he was pleased to undertake We in justice should have been smitten with these Sorrows This blow in justice was bent against us but he in love stept between the Blow and us and took the full weight of it upon himself Isa. 53. 4 5 6. He took upon him our Infirmities and bare our Sorrows He was wounded for ●…ur Iniquities and broken for ●…ur Transgressions The chastisement of our Peace was laid upon him and with his Stripes were we healed All we as Sheep were gone astray every Man to his own way and the Lord hath laid upon him the Iniquity of us all So then it was his Love and his Father's Justice that cast him into these Extremities Love entreated that Sinners might be saved and Justice exacted that Sin might be punished To satisfie both which Suits the mean was found that one unspotted Innocent not subject to Death and yet willing to die Who was without Sin and yet able to make satisfaction for Sin should thus ●…ruelly suffer for all Offenders And it may be O innocent Lord this might be one secret Cause why Barabbas although a villanous and great Offender yet he bare no Man's Sin but his own but thou wast charged with all the Sins of the World This also might be a great cause of thy great silence that neither the Malice of thy Accusers nor Falshood of Witnesses nor Injury of Officers nor Cruelty or Partiality of Judges were able to break it Thy Innocency needed no Defence but our Guiltiness could not possibly be defended Thy Innocency was well enough known to thy Enemies our Guiltiness was too well known to thee therefore being now charged with the Sins of the whole World and being appointed by thy Father's Justice and in thy own Love submitting thy self to suffer and make satisfaction for all Mens Sins thou didst with holy Job 32. 37. Lay thy Finger upon thy Mouth Not because thou wast not justly provoked to reply by many Indignities in regard of thy self but in regard of us nothing could justly be said there was no place for denial none for desence and therefore with a magnanimous silence thou endurest all as was prophesied of thee by the Prophet Isaiah Chap. 53. 7. He was oppressed and afflicted He opened not his Mouth He was brought as a Lamb to the Slaughter and as a Sheep before her Shearers is dumb so he opened not his Mouth O most blessed O more than most p●…ecious silence of our Saviour which hath by this silence not only opened our Mou●…hs to speak but to cry out with a loud Voice and full Assurance Abb●… Father O blessed Saviour Our Offences have stopped thy Mouth but thy Innocency hath opened ours In regard of our Offences thou hast nothing to say but with regard to thy Innocency we may chearfully say Father What hast thou to say to us Thy innocent Son hath not only made full Satisfaction for our Offe●… but 〈◊〉 ●…arted of his innocency to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only made us unpunishable by his 〈◊〉 but with his innocenc●… 〈◊〉 us honourabe before thee 〈◊〉 ●…iful Father behold what Ad●…m de ser●…ed and be●…old what my Saviour hath done Adam rebelled against thy Maje sty both as rhou a●… God from everlasting and as thou art Creator and Lord o●… all the World over which he aspired to be absolure Master For the first our Saviour was condemned of Divine Treason namely of Blasphemy against God by Caiaphas the High Priest the chief Judge of Religious Affairs who as he did bear a Figure of Christ in this World should above all Men have known him and declared him to others Secondly he was condemned of Human Treason namely Rebellion against the Emperor by Pilate a President of the greatest Monarch in
with all Fear and Reve●…ence we weep and worthless Worms prostrate our selves before thee O Lord Jesus Christ and give unto thee most humble Thanks for thy exceeding Mercy and Love towards us What have we Lord that we have not received from thee For thou art All our Creator Redeemer Sanctifier and Glorifier for thou hast given to us both the State of Nature and of Grace and hath also prepared for us the state of Glory and because to this high End many Means are required of thy infinite Goodness thou art unto us as well the Means as the End thou art our Defender our Keeper our Governour the merciful Scourge of our Sins the Curer of our Infirmities the Instructor of our Ignorance the Director of our Knowledge and Power thou sustainest thou stirrest thou orderest and helpest us in all our good Endeavours Thou art our Lord and our God even all the Goodness that we have and all that we can expect How our Saviour was crucified Matth. xxvii 35. And they crucified him and parted his Garments casting Lots that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet They parted my Garments amongst them and upon my Vesture did they cast Lots WHen he came to Mount Calvary there was the bloody Banner displayed there planted he the Tree of Life the Fruit thereof expelled the Poyson which the Fruit of the forbidden Tree had wrought Gen. 28. 12. And he dreamed and behold a Ladder set upon the Earth and behold the Angel of God ascending and descending on it Then pitched he the Ladder which Jacob saw but in a Vision the top whereof reached up to Heaven whereupon not only the Angels go up and down with our Prayers unto God and his Mercies unto us but God himself descended to Man and Man ascended up to God And first to make his Death the more reproachful they stripp'd him of all his Garments which the Soldiers cast Lots for yet altho' the Law commanded that Malefactors should be crucified yet it did not command they should be crucified naked Wherefore then O good Jesus was this Extremity used against thee Were thy Executioners so covetous as to enjoy thy Apparel or were they so cruel to encrease thy Shame Or wouldest thou testifie thy Love in that thou wouldest not be exempted from any Ignominy we had deserved and in that thou didst discover thy naked Flesh and not hide any part of thy Body from us as before it had been covered with Figures and Ceremonies as with a Veil When Adam had sinned he would have hid himself from the Presence of God because he was naked being then attached with Impurity of Soul as well as Obscenity of Body which are the chief Causes of Shame but our Second Adam took both this Sin and this Shame upon his naked Body to carry them to the Cross and to crucifie them with him Assuredly O our Salvation howsoever thy Body was naked of Apparel it was loaded with our Sins as thy Apostle St. Peter saith 1 Pet. 2. 24. He bare our Sins in his Body on the Cross. For who could have violated thy Holy Members if thy Father had not found our Offences in them if he had not found this Accusation against thee This Man receiveth Sinners and harboureth Malefactors Didst thou not know O our Redeemer that in whose Hands the Thest is found he must be answerable for the same Should not the Father handle thee as a Sinner seeing he findeth thee so charged with Sins The Justice of thy Father findeth all our Sins upon thy Body executed upon thee and crucified them and thee together Hereby thou hast given us Example First to be merciful towards the Needy seeing that out of Compassion to us thou hadst no Pity upon thy self but wert cloathed with our Sins and our Shame to clothe us with thy Innocency and Glory Secondly To moderate our Desires in the vain either Bravery or Glory of this World the Bellows of Pride and of Presumption which do not only clog but quench the Devotion of our Spirits even as a Tree by having many superfluous Branches becometh less fruitful and as a Lamp which with a little Oyl is cherished but choaked with much For thou camest into the World to encounter their principal Evils Pride Avarice and Riot which proceed from the love of three things as Honour Riches and Pleasure all which are Branches of one Stock namely the love of our selves which is the universal Root of all Sins from these Branches all forbidden Fruit all the Choak Pears of this Life are gathered Against these thy Lise Doctrine and Death did chiefly tend Then they stretched his naked Body upon the hard Death-bed of the Cross and fastned it thereto with blunt and rough Nails driven through his Hands and through hi●… Feet out of which Wounds issu'd golde●… Streams Zacb 11. Like the four Rivers o●… the Garden of Eden to water and fructif●… the whole World And with such Rage did the murde●…ous Jews hunt and thirst after the Blood of Jesus that within the space of three Hours after they had brought him to Pilate he was accused condemned scourged despitefully used and lastly fastned to the Cross. Then they raised him up between two Thieves and placed him in open view to be tormented with a cruel ●…ingering Death the whole Weight of his Body bearing downwards and rending wider the Wounds of his Hands and Feet which by the Tenderness of the Sinews are the most sensible Parts of the whole Body Having also to encounter with he World and the Devil who is the Prince of the World with Death also and with Sin which is the Cause of Death Alas how far is the Madness of the World how far is the Love and Liberty of Christ extended Was God thus angry against Sin Would ●…o other Satisfaction se●…ve Was the Ju●…tice of God so rigorous Was the Re●…emption of Man so preciou●… One Diso●…edience was sufficient ●…osed th●…y Man●…nd and were all these ●…hese ●…equisite or their Redemption 〈◊〉 Lord for Experience teacheth us That it more easie to ruinate than to repair One Fire brand is sufficient to destroy a whole City which cannot without much Time Toil and Cost be repaired O most righteous and upright Judge how merciful wert thou towards Sinners and how severe against thy own Son He was born in great Baseness the World no sooner received him but i●… persecuted him and chased him into foreign Countries As his Body grew so encreased h●… Burden both of Labours and Wants u●…til in the end he was betrayed to h●… Enemies by one of those that were h●… Followers Is any thing more admirab●… than this Liberty was sold Liberali●… tied Innocency accused Justice co●…demned and Life executed Is any thi●… more admirable The Wisdom of t●… Father was derided his Power beate and bound his Beauty defiled his Gl●…ry with Reproaches and Reproofs obs●…red Is any thing yet more admirabl●… God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God was scourg●… God 〈◊〉
the World Seeing therefore he hath been condemned for us in High Treason both against God and Man seeing he hath endured the Punishment for all our Rebellions What have we any further to answer His Obedience hath made Satisfaction for our riotous Rebellion By his Condemnation are we acquitted his Condemnation at a Tribunal on Earth has acquitted us before thy Tribunal in Heaven His Sufferings are a sufficient Discharge between us and thy Justice and his Love is a sufficient Discharge between his Sufferings and us because his Love ●…eh nothing for all hi●… Sufferings but only that we love him again O what an unspeakable Obligation is this not only to love our S●…iour but to love him above and before all one would think it were impossible to do any otherwise th●…n to love him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Glory and Majesty to suffer so much ●…sery to save us from e●…l Dam●…tion O good Jesus O Health of our Souls hav●… Mercy upon ●…s we beseech thee and help us to strike this Fire within our Hearts let our Souls be satisfied with thy sacred Love Thou art O Lord our 〈◊〉 out last End the Mark ●…hether we aim the Po●…t whereto we sa●… the Ferm the R●…t of all our Desires Wherefore then do we not love wherefore do we not desire thee with that ardency wherewith all Creatures do love and desire the place of their Rest The Fire and the Air do overthrow Mountains rend up Rocks shake the whole Earth to break forth to their Natural Places wherefore do not we break through all Impediments all Hinderances and leave all Creatures to come to thee who art the only place both of our Refuge and Rest O our Desires O our sweet solace our assured st●…ength wrap our Souls in the Flames of thy Love that all careless coldness may be consumed thereby possess our Souls so inti●…ely with that Divine Fire that we may have no sense of any worldly things Most Sweet Loving Beautiful Noble Rich Wise Glorious and worthy to be both loved and adored O life of our Soul who didst die to give us Life who didst die to kill death mortifie us wholly even our Wills and all our evil Inclinations and whatsoever is ours within us Then revive us again in thy lively Love by uniting all the Faculties of our Souls unto thee and making them obedient to thy Will Seeing we have so rich a Treasure so liberal a Distributer of the same how is it possible we should not rise in Hope Justice hath sound out a way to strike the Innocent and cannot Mercy find a means to save the Guilty Assuredly yes for it is a greater Miracle that God should be condemned and crucified than that Man should be acquitted and live If therefore we have the greater we have no cause to sear the less for Justice has executed her Severity upon the Innocent and Mercy will shew her Favour upon Offenders Yea if it was Justice that the Innocent should be condemned and executed for to make Satisfaction for Sin it is Justice also that the Offenders for whom he suffered should be discharged from that Debt that the voluntary Surety hath fully paid Therefore although Grace is not due to a Sinner as a Sinner yet it is due to him as he is redeem'd It is Mercy that a Sinner should be saved in respect of the Sinner but it is Justice in respect of Christ the Just was handled as a Sinner that Sinners might be accepted of as just fo●… it is not agreeable to Justice that one Offence should be twice punished H●… hath joyned he hath united himself to us As he cannot be condemned again so cannot we likewise be condemned except we break Union and wilfully fall from him O let us admire love and adore this great Love of our Lord Jesus Christ and then we shall never break Union with him or fall from him but be in●…allibly saved by him The Sentence of Death being given forth against Jesus they laid that heavy Tree upon his Shoulders that had been unmercisully battered with Whips tor●…enting him not only with the Sight but the Weight of that which was appointed to be the Instrument of his 〈◊〉 Which painful Burthen with ●…he sull Weight of all our Sins he refused 〈◊〉 to take upon him but went on his way with great Ala●…ity both in Love towards us and in Obedience to satisfie his Father's Justice as a true Isaac bearing the Wood for the Sacrificing of himself But whither doth our Lord go What has he to do upon this stinking Hill of Calvary which being a place of common Execution is tainted with pu●…rified Bodies To be sure he will find there no sick Persons to cure no Devils to cast out no Temples wherein to teach but there he will find Dead to raise and Sinners to forgive there he will find many scattered Souls of executed Offenders which expect his coming which as the true Elizeus thy dead Body should restore them to Life What should all this mean that our Saviour has not only made choice of an infamous Death but of an infamous Place the Place was infamous but the Death was accursed for cursed is every one that hangeth on a Tree It did not satisfie his Love to die for us but he must die the most accu●…sed death to assure us thereby that he had delivered us from the Malediction of the Law Certainly our Saviour's Death containeth many Mysteries It is not enough for us to say that he died for us but we are further to consider how ye would die which was by the ignominious death of the Cross with whom also even with Malefactors When in the principal strength and beauty of his Age In what Year in the great Year of Jubilee Upon what Day at the great Solemnity of the Passover even when they did celebrate the Figure of him In what place on the Mount of Calvary only made glorious by his Death He was neither privily made away nor tumultuously slain he dyed not in a Corner that dyed for all the World he was condemned in the publick place of Judgment and suffered upon the common place of Execution upon a Day and a Year of the grea●…est Solemnity that could be God set him upon the Stage of the Wo●…ld to declare as well his Fury against Sin as his Love and Mercy towards Sinners O glorious Calvary where the Prince of Light did encounter and overcome the Prince of Darkness where at one instant our Life for a time ended and our Death did for ever dye Therefore let us not only seek our Saviour in the Temple but upon Mount Calvary for in the Temple he scourged Sinners but upon the Mount he died for them upon that he opened his Arms to embrace them It was objected against him that he was a Friend to Publicans and Sinners True he was a true Friend to them indeed but his Friendship did never more plainly appear than in this Action and upon this place
in this place he was most friendly to Sinners In Heaven he is giorious In Hell furious In the World marvellous but upon Mount Calvary he was merciful and gracious and without his Mercy upon Mount Calvary we could never enjoy his Glory in Heaven Well then let our Souls accompany our blessed Sav●…our in this painful Passage towards this place of his Combat also bow our selves under his Cross not upon necessi●…y and constraint as did Simon Cyrenius for nothing is more grievous to serve or be served by Constraint but let us do it chearfully and freely which will be best accepted by him For although he can command us as Slaves yet will he have us entreated as Sons Let us not be ashamed to stoop under Christ's Cross for he hath now taken away both the Infamy and the Curse of the Cross he hath made the Cross a Tribunal a Throne of Judgment be not ashamed of that Name which was a Reproach among the Romans as Gibbet-bearer or Cross-carrier because Malefactors used to bear their own Crosses Our Saviour has made this Action not only unblameable but honourable and in some degree necessary to us and take this Advice howsoever his Body was enfeebled partly with watching and Injuries all the Night before and partly with Cruelties all that Morning howsoever we see him charged with a Massy Cross whereof Simon Cyrenius did bear up that end that dragged behind him We see him also charged with a more ponderous Load namely the full R●…ge and Fury of God's Wrath against Sin which no Creature could help him to bear had he not been su●…ained by his Almighty D●…ty howsoever when we see him either burthened or ●…ied let us cast our Sins upon him for woe be unto us if when they nail him to the Cross they nail not our Offences with him Assuredly unless our Sins are crucified with him we shall never be raised to Life by him sear not that he will shrink from them or shake them off for he hath manifestly declared both his Courage and his Care His Courage appears in that he forbad the Women to weep for him he manifested his Care in shewing himself more sensible of their Calamities than his own But stay let us consider and run not so fast by so high a Mystery What new thing is this Our Saviour would not speak one Word to Herod nor make Pilate any Answer altho' he was urged to it but without Request he turned his Face and spake to them that wept after him Herod questioned upon Curiosity and Pilate by way of Authority but the Daughters of Sion wept out of pure pity and therefore the Words of the one reached no farther than his Ears but the Luke-warm Drops of the other pierced his Heart He takes pity upon those that take pity upon others he values the Tears of the Pitiful much more than the Words of the Mighty for which cause he did not only turn and speak to those weeping Women but did seem more sensible of their Tears than his own Torments By this we may see which is the best way to obtain Favour of our Lord Jesus Christ that it is better to sue to him with force of Tears than multitude of Words because Words are formed by the Tongue but Tears commonly proceed from the Heart possess'd either with Grief or Love Let us use few Word and weep more for this is the Language of Heaven this the most prevailing Voice to call upon God Tears overcome the Invincible appease the Omnipotent and torment the Devil more than Hell fire When Tears cry to God when he is importuned by true Tears he will not delay to come to comfort us but will grow presently familiar with us But O Redeemer of our Lives wherefore is it thy pleasure that we should not weep for thee Thou didst weep for Lazarus thou didst also weep for the Stones and Walls of Jerusalem and wilt thou not permit us to weep for thee Dost thou make so small an account of the loss of thy Life Shall we so little value the shedding of thy most precious Blood What Law of Equity or Justice is it to command us to love thee and yet to forbid us to weep for thee For how doth he love thee that weepeth not at thy most cruel Torment Or wherefore dost thou consent we should weep for our selves and not for thee Are we of greater value than thou And can any of us be less worthily or more shamefully punished What shall we say Shall we with Reverence leave this high and obscure Mystery among many others to thy Divine Judgment Or wouldst thou signifie to those weeping Women that they should not judge of thee as then they saw thee nor of thine Enemies nor of themselves according to that State wherein then they were Or dost thou give us to understand too that it sufficeth not that we weep for thee if we do not discern how we weep because right Weeping consists not in multitude but in well placing of our Tears Or is it thy pleasure we should not weep for thy Death but the Workers of thy Death According to which Rule we have more cause that commit than those that suffer outrage and wrong Or wouldest thou have us to understand that our Life should be a long Martyrdom a continual crucifying of our selves and that we may have more reason to shew Compassion to the Wicked while they live than the Good when they die For it is better to die than to live amongst wicked Men because in Death there is but one bitter Morsel to swallow but the Society of the Wicked is a continual Torment Or Lastly Didst thou mean that we should not weep for thee in compassion to our selves because our Sins are so great that we have time little enough to lament for them And as thou art grieved at our Sins more than thy own Sufferings so thou takest greater pleasure that we let fall Tears for them than for thee for if we should not bewail our Sins thy suffering for us will little avail us First therefore we must weep in compassion to our selves and then for thy Passion We must acknowledge our Offences first and then be much agrieved for thy Wounds for if thou hadst suffered for thy self it should have been our Duty to weep only for thee but since thou didst suffer for our Sins it is most convenient that we should pour forth Tears principally for them However it is forbid us not O good Jesu Forbid us not we beseech thee to weep for thee for if thou dost with Tears we will entreat thee that we may weep We will entreat thee rather not to weep for the traiterous City Jerusalem than not to suffer us to weep for thee O Lord of all Life Do not only permit but enable us to weep and accept our Praises watered with our Tears With bended Knees and with all our Hearts swallowed up with a true Sense of our own Unworthiness and
〈◊〉 to the Cross and set to the 〈◊〉 show and shame of World What shall I say God in his Humanity died Stay O our Souls or we are not able to step any father H●…b 1. 3. Lord I heard thy Words and was afraid I saw thy Works and my Bowels were troubled I was amazed and my Lips did shake Certainly our weak Faculties are unable to comprehend this great Mystery They can never reach this boundless Height they can never fathom this bottomless Depth we may coldly speak of it and drowsily affect it but Principalities and Powers stand astonished at it●… Therefore let us list up our heavy and and dull Souls after him even after the Man of Grief Isa 53. But he was wounded for our Transgressions he was crucifi●…d for our Iniquities the Chastisernert of our Peace was upon him by his Stripes we are healed But O King of Glory what h●…dst thou deserved what hadi●… thou done Pilate could find in thee no Cause of Death but only the abundance ofthy Goodness and Love for it was●…our Sins that thus distressed thee ●…hese Nails these Whips these S●…reams of Blood are perpetual Monuments of our wicked Lives Pilate Caiaphas and all the rest either thy Judges or Tormentors whom we charge with this cursed Cruelty towards thee were only secondary and instrumental Causes we are the principal Cause of all thy Troubles and Afflictions we cannot shift it to any other but say every one to himself as the Prophet Nathan said to David thou art the Man I am the Man I am he that did thus afflict thee we have committed the Offence and thou wouldst bear the Punishment We have surfeited our selves with Sin and thou wouldst take the bitter Potion to purge us Thou didst fast for us in the Wilderness thou didst sweat for us in the Garden thou didst bleed for us upon the Cross so thy Head underwent the Cure for the Members O then that our Heads were but Fountains of Tears that we might therewith wash the Wounds und bathe the Bruises that our Sins have made O Lord let us worship and adore thee for thy Loving-kindness is very great let us praise thy Holy Name and give unto thee hearty Thanks because thou hast so loved us as with thy most precious Blood to wash away all our Sins and reconcile us again to thy Father's Favours Blessed art thou therefore for ever who art the Reconciler the Redeemer and Saviour of Mankind the Vanq●…isher of Hell and of the Devil the Give●… of Life the Destroyer of Death What doth stay our Hearts O Lord that they run not unto thee Is any Clog so heavy any Chain so strong that can either hold or hinder us from hastening unto thee If all the things of this World are nothing but a Flower fresh to Day and dead and gone to Morrow shall such light Matters as any thing this World can afford in comparison of thee keep us from coming to thee No Lord Can a small weak Wind stay a heavy Stone in the Air from falling to its natural Place Shall the light Chaff of this World for all is no more stop our coming to thee who art our last End our perfect Felicity the true Rest and Center of our Souls No. Come unto him all hungry and thirsty Souls this is the handful of Meal 1 Kings 17. and the little Oil of the Widow of Sarepta which will never waste this is the mystical Rock which Moses struck with his Rod in the Wilderness Exod. 17. 6. out of which gushed forth Rivers of Waters of Life all you that dislike your sinful Birth may be born again John 14. 4. Come all afflicted Consciences this is the good Samaritan who will pour Oil and Wine into your Wounds Luke 10. 34. Come all you that are oppressed with Poverty bring hither your empty Vessels 2 Kings 4. This is the Pot of Oil of the Widow that came to Elizeus wherewith and by no other means you may pay your Debts Be not discouraged because it is little the Vertue thereof is great it will never cease running as long as there is any Vessel to fill Come all ye that desi●…e to be at Peace with God this is the perfect Peace-Offering this is the sweet Sacrifice whose Blood crieth not for Vengeance as did the Blood of Abel but crieth for Pardon for all Offenders This is the Gate through which we must pass if we go into Heaven this is the Ark whereinto we must enter if we will be saved this is the Palace of Peace Psal. 132. 14. This is my resting Place for ever and ever here will I dwell for I have a delight herein How our Saviour was mocked and reviled and how he prayed for his Enemies Matt. 27. 39. And they that passed by reviled him wagging their Heads AFTER they had thus cruelly crucified Jesus the High-Priests with the Scribes Elders and Pharisees and after them the Multitudes so prevalent are the Examples of great Men that also the Soldiers tormented him and one of the Thieves that suffered with him reviled and blasphemed him disgracing the Doctrine he had taught one upbraids him and says Thou that destroy the Temple and buildest it again in three Days save thy self Another bid him come down from the Cross and they would believe him Another cries He saved others himself he cannot save Another He trusted in God let him deliver him if he will have him for he said I am the Son of God He that suffered for all had all against him and among all that great Multitude that at that time was at Jerusalem there was not one who would openly avow Jesus to be the Christ whereby our Lord Jesus would shew to us That our Redemption is his singular Mercy and Grace for there was not one but what made himself unworthy of it some for Malice persecuting others for Fear disowning the rest not regarding of him as thinking that which concerned them most concerned them nothing at all And it was a Mystery that our Saviour was condemned by the Jews and afterwards by the Gentiles That he was delivered by the Jews to the Gentiles that he was pursued to Death by the one and by the other who died indifferently for them both Go to go to ye base Children of the Synagogue mock on Leave you have in regard to us double your Malice in Revilings if you please you do us greater Kindness thereby than you are sensible of for look how fast his Infamy doth grow so fast doth our Shame decrease Whatsoever will do us good he hath imparted to us and hath taken to himself whatsoever might do us harm But in regard of your selves O ye stiff-necked Jews it had been better your Tongues had been torn out of your Throats than they should have been thus impiously employed all your insulting is but like the putting of a red hot Iron into cold Water to make a great Noise to extinguish your selves For since you have disavowed