his secret place and his Pavilion round about him Christ was borne in the night as we understand by the Gospell Luke 2. And there were Shepheards watching their Flocks by night Yet when the Angell delivers the tydings of his birth to the Shepheards hee doth not say this night but this day is borne to you a Saviour It was naturally a night but the birth of Christ miraculously made it a day and the glory of the Lord shone about them sayes the Text. Christ dyes wee see here in the day in the mid day but even that is turn'd into a Night It was a day naturally but the death of our Saviour made it a night miraculously And the reason for it is good for it was not altogether so fitting that the earth should have worne one and the same Garment both at the Birth and Funerall of her Lord. He was borne in the night and that becomes day hee dyed in the day and that becomes night See how Christ both in his Nativity and Passion manifests himselfe to be the God of Nature who to shew her allegiance to her Lord and Master quite inverts her ordinary course and doth not wayte upon him in that livery which pleases her best but in that which he commands and is the most agreeable to his fortunes So that as the Disciples cryed out in an admiration when he quieted the Stormes and Tempests Who is this whom the winde and the Sea obeyeth So may wee say here Who is this whom the Night and the Day obeyeth It began at the sixth and lasted till the ninth so that the whole compasse or time of the darknesse was three of our ordinary houres I might here observe a mysterie in the number of 3 being the first perfect number that number which as Geometricians say doth make the first figure the number which Aquinas calls Numerus omnis rei the number of every thing and certainly hee had that hinte from Aristotle in his first booke de Caelo Omne totum sayes he in tribus ponimus To every whole perfect thing is requir'd the number of 3. And why may not wee say that as there went three dayes over his death like three witnesses to beare record of the truth of his death so there went three houres of darknesse over his Passion to beare witnesse of the Truth of his Passion The compleat number of 3 went over his sufferings to manifest to the world that now his sufferings were whole perfect and compleat and therefore no sooner are the three houres of darknesse over but presently he cryes Consummatum est it is finished gave up the ghost But we have beene too long in searching out the cause of this darknesse which was the third thing I propounded to be enquir'd for The neerest cause I told yee was the darkning of the Sunne But alas this will not satisfie us For as the Prophet David in the 114. Psalme which is appointed by the Church to be read upon Easter day doth not content himselfe with saying The Sea saw it and fled Iordan was driven back But hee addes also the question and sayes What aylest thou O Sea that thou fieddest and thou Jordan that thou was driven back So neither must wee thinke it enough to say the Sunne was darkned and goe no further but wee must Causam causae investigare Finde out the supreame cause of that subordinate cause and say What aylest thou O Sunne that thou wast darkened and thou Light that thou wast driven back The Sunne was darkned we confesse but what was it that darkned the Sunne This certainly will trouble us There are but three things supposing that wee are Sub dio et in sterili prospectu Under the open Heaven and withall have our eyes perfect which can any wayes take from us the sight of the Sun First The interposition of Vapours or Clouds Secondly The interposition of the Earth Thirdly The interposition of the Moone As for Clouds it is not likely that they should cause this darknesse For Saint Luke here after hee hath made mention of the darknesse which was in the ayre the place of Clouds and Vapours hee presently addes and the Sunne was darkned making this the reason of the other darknesse below so that wee may very safely beleeve that the Sunne was not darkned onely to us but even in it selfe too Hee who sayes unto the proud billowes of the Sea Be yee still and thus farre yee shall goe and no farther Hee is also able to say unto the Sunne Thou shalt not shine Hee who at the beginning was able to say Let there be light and there was light sayes now Let there be darknesse and it was so It could not be the interposition of the Earth for whensoever that is interposed it makes it night being nothing else but the shadowe of the Earth which is betwixt our eyes and the Sunne but this was at noone-day when the Sunne was in his height over the heads of the people of Jerusalem Nor yet was it possible it should bee the interposing of the Moone for the Sunne never suffers an Eclipse by the darke body of the Moone but onely when the Sunne and Moone are in a conjunction but now they were in opposition the Moone was at the full or but newly past it 180. degrees distant from the Sunne Which is easily proved for the Paschall Lambe was not by Gods command to be slaine nisi Luna quatuordecima but upon the foureteenth day of the Moone Exod. 12. and Levit. 23. and just the night before hee was crucified did Christ eate the Passeover with his Disciples so that this must needs be the fifteenth day of the Moone wherein he suffered quando solennitai erat Azimorum the first day of unleavened bread which was the great and chiefe day of the Passeover howsoever the Evangelist St. Matth. 26.17 may seeme to make the foureteenth day the first day of unleavened bread Mat. 26.17 Now the first day of the Feast of unleavened bread the Disciples came to Iesus saying unto him Where wilt thou that wee prepare for thee to eate the Passeover which must bee understood according to their Civill Account their naturall day according to that computation beginning at Sun-rising and ending with the rising of the next Sunne and in this regard the foureteenth day might be called the first of unleavened bread because it comprehended in it part of the first day of unleavened bread which day in their religious account began at the Sunne-setting and ended at the setting of the next Wee have not yet found out the Cause of this darknesse What should the Night make here usurping the dominion of the Day It is not such a hard question to answere I will give it ye in three words Christ the scond Person in the sacred Trinity united to our humane nature the wisedome of the Father by whom the worlds were made the Lambe without spot who was free from all sinne He hangs
the Land and the Sunne was darkned 2 The funerall solemnity of God And the veyle of the Temple was rent in the midst And it was about the sixth houre sayes our Evangelist The first thing I doe shall bee to make St. Luke and St. Marke friends who at the first sight may seeme to be at variance a little Marke 15.25 For St. Mark tells us in the 15. Chapter that it was at the third houre of the day Wee are to understand therefore that the artificiall day amongst the Jewes began at sixe a clock in the morning and ended at sixe in the Evening so that the compasse of their artificiall day was twelue houres Are there not twelue houres in the day sayes our Saviour So that calling our sixth in the morning the first houre of the day the sixth houre according to their computation must needs bee our Noone and about or a little before this time was our Saviour crucified But why doth St. Marke call it the third houre I will not give ye Cajetanes answere who saith that there may bee an errour in the Scribe mistaking and writing the Greeke Character of one number for another because there is some affinity betwixt them in the figure exemp gr 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Augustines is something better who to excuse the matter hath these words Linguis Iudaeorum crucifixus est horâ tertia manibus horâ sexta The Jewes saith hee crucified with their tongues at the third houre when they cryed out so unanimously Crucifie him crucifie him his blood be upon us and upon our children but they did not crucifie him with their hands untill the sixth But if we observe St. Marks words well wee shall finde that this interpretation cannot stand for after he had said that hee was crucified at the third houre hee presently addes and at the sixth houre there was darknesse over the face of the earth which last words imply that they crucified him not at the sixth houre but at another houre Wherefore I doe rather subscribe to the opinion of St. Ierome in his Epistle to Cyprian As the Night saith he was divided into foure watches so their Day into foure parts or houres Into the first houre beginning at six in the morning and lasting till nine conteining in it three of our ordinary houres Secondly into the third houre beginning at nine and ending at twelue and into the sixth and ninth conteining the other sixe Pomeridian houres Erat quasi or ferè hora sexta saith our Text it was about the sixth houre he doth not say it was perfectly the sixth houre but it was about the sixth houre meaning a little before Noone and so the two Euangelists are reconciled For it is true that St. Marke saith they did crucifie really at or in the third houre and it is also true which St. Luke saith here and it was about the sixth houre About the sixth houre that is a little before mid-day our twelue of the clocke and it was in the third houre too i. in the latter part of the third houre a little before Noone And so although he was fastned to the Crosse a little before noone yet hee did not give up the ghost untill the ninth houre which is our three of the clocke after mid-day that hee might directly answere to the Paschall Lambe which by the Lords command was to bee killed at the Evening Exod. 12.6 Exod. 12 6. Or as the Originall reades it betwixt the two Evenings And here there may a question bee raised what part of the day should be meant by these words The opinions I finde are two 1 The first is Aben Ezras and hee saith That there is vespera Solis and vespera luminis An Evening of the Sunne when the body of the Sunne is removed from our eyes when that sets and an Evening of the light when the beames or shining of the Sunne doe also forsake us And betwixt these two Evenings saith hee was the Paschall Lambe slaine which time by us is called the twilight which by the opinion of Astronomers doth ordinarily endure an houre and one third part 2 The second from Rabbi David and he is larger in his interpretation and understands a greater latitude of Time There is saith he vespera declinationis and vespera occasus An Evening of the Sunne declining and an Evening of the Sunne setting The Evening of the Sunne declining begins at twelue of the clock when the Sunne is in his Altitude in the Meridian and so declines by degrees towards his fall The Evening of the Sun setting what that is wee all know And betwixt these two Evenings i. betwixt Noone and the Sunne setting the Paschall Lambe saith he was to be killed And certainely this second opinion is that which will endure the Touch-stone the best for without question by this phrase Betwixt the two Evenings we are to understand such a parcell of time wherein the dayly Evening Sacrifice might bee slaine too as well as the Paschall Lambe for even that was commanded to bee done inter duas vesperas betwixt the two Evenings as well as the other Num. 28.4 Num 28.4 And as the Talmud reports if wee reckon the houres according to our ordinary computation the dayly Sacrifice of the Evening Lambe was usually slaine betwixt two and three and betwixt three and foure it was offered but upon the Passeover Eve it was slaine betwixt one and two and offered betwixt two and three and the reason was because they might have time afterwards for the slaying and offering of the Passeover But if their Passeover Eve fell upon the Eve before their Sabbath then their dayly Evening Sacrifice was slaine and offered an houre sooner then ordinary that there might bee time enough both for the Passeover and also for the preparation of their Sabbath after that And Christ that hee might shew us that his death did comprehend all Sacrifices which indeed were nothing else but shadowes and types of that one and perfect Sacrifice which hee at this time made upon the Crosse for the sins of the whole world he began to be crucified in the third houre of the day with the dayly Morning Sacrifice and finished it at the ninth houre with the dayly Evening Sacrifice and the Paschall Lambe Hee was both the Sacrifice of the Morning and of the Evening Hee was sacrificed as well for those who lived in the Morning of the world before the Incarnation as for all us who have lived since in the Evening in its declining Age. Hee was the Sacrifice of the Morning and Evening both for Young and old Of the Morning and Evening for the East and for the West for the whole world The Morning and the Evening Sacrifice hee was and therefore observe how the Morning and Evening here doe meet together as if it had beene on purpose to mourne for him and perceiving it seemes that their owne Apparell was a great deale too light and glorious to appeare
in so sad a businesse they borrow mourning garments out of the wardrobe of the Night to wait upon the Hearse For at that very point of Time wherein the Morning the Evening meet together which is Noone did the darknesse begin which continued for three houres following The Noone the height and glory of the day weares blacke at his Funerall Concerning this darknesse wee are to enquire here 1 Of the extent of this darknesse in regard of Place it was over all the Land 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And there was a darknesse over all the Earth 2 The extent of this darkenesse in regard of Time from the sixth untill the ninth houre from our twelve to three 3 Wee are to enquire dâ—asa tenebrarum what was the reason or cause of this darknesse and the physicall or neerest Cause of all will appeare to be the darkning of the Sunne For certainely this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which joynes the two verses together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Sunne was darkened must of necessity be a conjunction causall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So among the Latin Poets Virgill who very frequently did use Graecismes to give ye but one example Audier as fama fuit for quia fama fuit As if St. Luke had said here There was darknesse over all the Earth for the Sunne was darkned Of the first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is a little difference aâ—iâ— here concerning the extent of place for there want not some who would have this darknesse not to be universall and therefore they underâ—d these words overall the earth thus overall the 〈◊〉 of Iudea but I doe rather encline to the opinion of universality and indeed mee thinks the very letter of the Text is plain enough for it over all the Earth And very fitly doth all the Earth weare blacke when the Lord of all the Earth dies Christ suffered for the whole Earth and great reason that the whole Earth should suffer with him When great men die commonly if they leave noble heires or executors behinde them who will bury them like themselves the whole Family the whole Traine of servants mourne and not onely three or foure who are neerest unto them And can we suppose that our Saviour CHRIST would be so sparing and nigardly at his death to give his Cloth to one Nation onâ— To cloath none but the Land of Israel in mourning Wee see that the Lord is infinite liberall even of his very light and grace his best garments Hee makes his Sunne to shine upon the bad as well as upon the good Surely then hee might have afforded his darknesse his blacks which is a Cloth of a couâ—r price at an easier rate I doe acknowledge that the Jâ—wes after a more especiall manner then any other Nation had deserved this darknesse for they had the light of Gods word which the Heathen wanted the light of the Law and the Prophets nay they indeed of all other Nations might be truely called the people of the East for the Sunne of righteousnesse rose in their Land the Day-spring from on high visited them in the first place but yet for all this as if too much light had made them blinde they could never be at rest untill they had put out the light of Israel and drawen a thicke darknesse upon themselves not onely this darkenesse in the letter but also a darknesse in the Allegory in the morall sense they brought a night upon their hearts consciences and understandings of which that outward darknesse was but an Embleme But if wee take darknesse here in the last sense in the figure for the blinding of the eyes of the understanding then both the opinions may very well stand together This darknesse was over all the whole face of the Earth and this darknesse was onely over the Land of Israel There is not altogether such a flat opposition betwixt these two Propositions as yee may suppose there is I will shew ye that it is possible to reconcile them This darknesse was onely over the land of Iudea i. it â—anne at that time onely to be over that Land but it was then and long before too over the whole earth For of all the multitudes of Kingdomes and Nations there was light onely in the Land of Israel till now They had the light of the true knowledge of God whilst all the rest of the world lay mufled in darknesse and therefore they having put out this light the darknesse may bee said to be onely over them the Text passing by the darkenesse of other places as a thing granted and needing no mention that is the darknesse which was generall over all the eyes of the Heathen doth now begin onely to bee over them too erant tenebrae for incipâ—ebant Alas the Heathen from all Ages were onely guided by the weake glimmering twilight of naturall knowledge and therefore could never find out the right way to the worship of the true God but every one according to his Fancie or worshipped the Gods framed by the Poets or framed a God of his owne They had their cheating Oracles at Delphos Delos and other places where the Devill entring into the Priests and appearing in strange extasies and furious expressions did deliver ambiguous and deceitfull Answers to the people They peeped many times into the entrayles of an Oxe to see if they could finde their God there An old weatherbeaten Oke nor a River nor a Spring nor a Mountaine nor a Wood could scape their blind devotions but every one of these they beleeved had his Deity a God belonging to it Nay the Aegyptians had an easier and a quainter way then all these for the making of their Gods they sowe their Gods of seeds The Onyons and the Leeks were worshipped amongst them but then did the time begin when the light was taken from the Iewes them selves too and they were left in darknesse as well as the Heathen Or rather as when the Sunne sets to the lower Hemispheare to our Antipodes it rises to us the darkning of the Iewes was the enlightning of the Gentiles So that this darknesse which was over all the earth for this 13 houres space may seeme to be to the Gentiles nothing else but a fore-runner of the approaching Morning As we observe many times how it growes darker upon a suddaine for a little space when the morning drawes neere as if the Night seeing no remedy but shee must depart before shee yeelds up her dominion should in indignation call all her strengths together and give a Bravo to the day her enemy which darknesse ushers in the twy-light and that the Sunne For now began the Heathen to have their eyes opened the Paynim Religion began to lose of her repute and credit their lying Oracles ceased and the name of Christ like the glorious light began to spread abroad amongst the Gentiles The learned Plutarch who liv'd in the raigne of the Emperour Trajane observing
that there were no Oracles delivered in his time nor for a good while before as was accustomed in former Ages was much troubled to finde out the reason of their Cessation Amongst much other discourse he falls into a disputation of the Nature of the Gods and finding that there was a kinde of Gods which the Ancients called Demi gods or halfe-gods begotten of the Gods upon mortall women which was a received opinion amongst them that the Gods many times fell in love with women upon earth and accompanied with them I shall not neede to name any particulars the writings of the Poets are full of such scapes and a fine device it was to preserve the honour of some of their great Ladies who were not altogether so true to their Husbands or their vowe of Virginity as they ought to have beene and finding moreover that these Demâ—gods although they liv'd long yet at the last dyed was brought to conjecture that these Gods might be they who did informe the Oracles and at their death the Oracles ceas'd but had Plutarch beene truely enlightened hee might easily have found out in an other cause of the defect of Oracles The same Philosopher in his booke of the defect of Oracles inserts a memorable History of one Epitherses a Grecian in the time of Tiberius Caesar who making for Italy being imbark'd in a Merchants Ship and sayling smoothly by the Ilands called Eâ—hâ—les the Sea upon a suddaine was becalmed so that they by little and little working themselves nigh unto Paxo there was an high and intelligible voyce heard amongst them calling Thamus Thamus they all heard the voyce but knew not from whence it came and therefore a suddaine affrightment invaded them this Thamus whose name was not knowne to the greater part of the passengers was the Captaine of the Shipp who hearing the voyce calling to him the third time assumed so much courage as to answere it Unto whom the voyce replyed farre lowder then before charging him that as soone as hee came against the Palodes hee should publish to the inhabitants that the great Pan was dead The whole company in the Ship being amazed at the strangenesse of the voyce message consulted amongst themselves what was best to be done and at the last agreed that if the winde were faire and prosperous for their Voyage when they came against the place they would then goe on without any stop but if the Sea were smooth and calme then they determined that Thamus should fulfill the command or the voyce Which hee did for finding it a very quiet Sea when they came thither getting into the Sterne of the Ship against the Palodes with his face towards land hee cryed with a loude voyce The great Pan is dead Which message was no sooner deliver'd but all the company in the Shippe heard upon the suddaine a strange and confused noyse sounding like the out-cryes and lamentations of a distressed multitude And this Ship afterwards arriving in Italy the report of this strange matter was soone heard of at Rome so that e're long it came to the eare of Tiberius the Emperor who sending for the Master of the Ship was certified of the Truth of the rumour and calling his wise men together demanding of them who that great god Pan should be was answered by them that hee was the sonne of god Mercurie and Penelope Yee see what an account Plutarch gives of the death of great Pan. But if wee weigh the circumstances of the story well wee shall finde that this voyce did signifie the death of Christ which caus'd the Oracles to cease and destroy'd the power of the devill And it is not unlike but those cryes which were heard in the Palodes were the lamentations of evill spirits bewayling the downfall and destruction of their Kingdome For first this is reported to be done in Tiberius time in whose raigne Christ was crucified and why might it not be at the very time of his death or immediatly after besides this certaine it was that Tiberius had enquir'd and heard of Christ and of many of his miracles for if the Senate would have agreed to it he would have canoniz'd him and put him into the roll of their gods And it is very credible that by reason of our Saviours calling himselfe by the name of the good and the great Shepheard the Heathens understanding it might conclude that it must needes be the god Pan who was said to be the god of the Shepheards And the great god Pan it was indeed who was dead taken in Christian sense the great Shepheard of our soules who left those 99 above who had not err'd and came downe to seeke and to save that One which had stray'd poore mankinde And from hence the silence of the Oracles and the lamentations of evill spirits But the strangenesse of this History related by a Heathen Writer hath carried me a little too farre To returne to the Text the opinion of the best Writers is that this darknesse was not onely over the land of Iudea but generall overall the earth The second thing we are to enquire of is of the extent of this darknesse in respect of time and that was from the sixth to the ninth houre from our 12. to 3. It began at Noone at that point which is the most opposite to darknesse and lasted till our three of the clocke which time doth include the chiefe glory strength and manhood as I may call it of the day For the day after three like a man parting with 50. begins to waxe ancient and from thence declines into a weaknesse The darknesse began at Noone as wee may suppose a little after Christ was nayl'd upon the Crosse so that if the Spouse in the Canticles should not yet be satisfied concerning her earnest request when shee cryed out in the first Chapter of that Song Shew mee O thou whom my soule loveth Cant. 1. where thou feedest where thou lyest at Noone we were able to instruct her here from my Text to tell her where her beloved lay at Noone Not onely at the Noone of the world at the fulnesse of time but also in the literall and nearer sense at the Noone of the day Nor is there any harshnesse in the phrase to say that Christ lay upon the Crosse at Noone For Iacere situs est miserorum To lye is accounted the posture of those who are miserable and therefore we use to say that Pauper ubique jacet The poore man lyes every where And let all who beheld that spectacle of Christs hanging upon the Crosse or all who have but any fancies to apprehend the manner of it judge whether the earth was able to produce a man more poore and more miserable then he was at that time Hee lay at Noone the Crosse was his bed of sorrow he lay upon the darknesse was the Curtaines drawne about him As David sayes Psal 18. Psal 18. though in an other sense Hee made darknesse