lighteth torches that are put out i De ciuitate Dei lib 25. c. 3. Fulgosus likewise reporteth k Mirum sontem dicere debemus apud Gratianopolin Gallicam vrâ—ens Nam quamuis caleÌ„tes aquas non habâ—at tamen simul cum ipsis aquis flammas persaepe emittit Fulgosus lib. 1. non longe à fine that there is an other fountaine neere Grenoble a citie in France which although it haue not hotte waters as a bath yet oftentimes together with bubbles of water it casteth vp flames of fire The fountaine of teares that is in our eies must be like these two fountaines As the Psalmist witnesseth When my sorow was stirred sayes he my hart was hot within mee and while I was musing the fire kindled l Psal 30. v. 3. When my sorrow was stirred There is the first fountaine My hart was hot within me There is the torch lighted And while I was musing There is the other fountaine The fire kindled There is the flame burning Whereupon one saies fitly Our eies must neither bee drowned nor drie m Nec fluant oculi nec sicci sint Seneca If they waÌ„t fire they will bee drowned If they want water they wil be drie Wherfore both VVEEPE NOT and BVT VVEEPE both fire and water must goe together that our eyes be neither drowned nor drie And this is the right moderatioÌ„ we must keep in weeping as appeareth in this third part VVEEPE NOT BVT VVEEPE both together VVEEPE NOT FOR ME BVT VVEEPE FOR YOVR SELVES THe fourth part followeth FOR ME. Weepe not too much for my death For the death of Christ is the death of death the death of the diuell the life of himselfe the life of man The reason of all this is his innocency and righteousnes which makes first that as the life of Christ is the life of life so the death of Christ is the death of death Put the case how you please this is a most certaine trueth that the gate of life had neuer bin opened vnto vs if Christ who is the death of death had not by his death ouercome death a Mors mortis morti mortem nisi morte dedisset Caelestis vitae ianna clausa foret Therefore both before his death he threatneth and chalengeth death saying (b) Ose 13.14 O death I will bee thy death and also after his death he derideth and scorneth death saying (c) 1. Cor. 15.55 O death thou art but a drone where is now thy sting (d) sic Iohannes Pistorius Erasms Roterodami affinis igni cremandus dixit O mors vbiest tua victoria Aske death any of you I pray and say death how hast thou lost thy sting how hast thou lost thy streÌ„gth What is the matter that virgins and very children do now contemne thee wheras kinges and euen tyrants did before feare thee Death I warrant wil answere you that the only cause of this is the death of Christ Euen as a bee stinging a dead body takes no hurt but stinging a liue body many times loseth both sting life together in like maner death so long as it stung mortal men only which were dead in sin was neuer a whit the worse but when it stunge Christ once who is life it selfe by and by it lost both stinge and strength Therefore as the brasen serpent was so farre from hurting the Israelites that contratiwise it healed them after the same sort death is now so far froÌ„ hutting any true Israelite that on the other side if affliction as a fiery serpent sting vs or if any thing els hurt vs presently it is helped redressed by death Those which will needs play the hobgoblins or the nightewalkinge spirites as we call them al the while they speak vnder a hollow vault or leape forth with an vgly vizard vpoÌ„ their faces they are so terrible that he which thinkes himselfe nosmall man may perhaps be affrighted with them But if some lusty fellowe chaunce to steppe into one of these and cudgle him well fauoredly and pull the vizarde from his face then euery boye laughes him to scorne So is it in this matter Death was a terrible bulbegger and made euery man afraide of him a great while but Christ dying buckled with this bulbegger and coniured him as I may say out of his hollowe vault when as the dead comminge out of the graues were seene in lerusalem and puld the vizard from his face when as he himselfe risinge left the linneÌ„ clothes which were the vizard of death behinde him Therefore as that asse called Cumanus asinus ietting vp and downe in a lyons skinne did for a time terrifie his maister but afterwards being discried did benefit him very much semblably death stands nowe like a silly asse hauing his lyons skinne puld ouer his eares and is so farre from terrifying any that it benefits all true christians because by it they rest from their laboures and if they bee oppressed with troubles or cares when they come to death they are discharged death as an asse doth beare these burdens for them Oblessed blessed be our lord which hath so disarmed death that it can not doe vs any hurt no more then a bee can which hath no sting nay rather it doth vs much good as the brasen serpent did the Israelites which hath so dismasked death that it can not make vs afraid no more then a scarbug can which hath novizard nay rather as an asse beareth his masters burdens so death easeth and refresheth vs. This hath Christ done by his death Hee that felleth a tree vpon which the sun shineth may well cut the tree but can not hurt the sunne He that poweeth water vpon yron which is red botte may well quench the heate but he cannot hurt the yron And so Christ the sunne of righteousnes did driue away the shadowe of death and as glowinge yon was too hot and too hard a morsell for death to digest All the while Adam did eate any other fruit which God gaue him leaue to eate he was nourished by it but when he had tasted of the forbidden tree he perished Right so death had free leaue to deuoure any other man Christ only excepted but when it went about to destroy Christ then it was destroyed it selfe Those barbarous people called Cannibals which feed only vpon rawe flesh especially of men if they happen to eate a peece of rosted meate commonly they surset of it and die Euen so the right Canniball the only deuourer of all mankinde death I meane tasting of Christes fleshe and finding it not to bee rawe such as it was vsed to eate but wholsome and heauenly meat indeede presently tooke a surfet of it within three dayes dyed For euen as wheÌ„ Iudas had receiued a sop at Christs hand anon after his bowels gushed out in like sort death beinge so saucie as to snatch a sop as it were of Christes flesh and a little bit of his body was by
Iezabels bloud This is meate and drinke to him l Dulce diabolo peccare nos Hila. Enarra in p. 118. He loues it a life to see vs sinne euen as cursed Cham did to see Noahs nakednes And as flies are alwaies busie about a sore place so sayes Theophilact m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In cap. Luk. 16. p. 320. That is a sport or a pleasure to Sathan which is a sore or a paine to man Especially if he be a godly man For this Behemoth the deuill eateth grasse as an oxe n Iob. 40.10 Whereupon Gregory noteth that a sheepe or any such other beast will eate any manner of grasse though it be trampled and stained neuer so much but an oxe will eate no kind of grasse but that which is green and fresh And so the deuill will be sure to haue his feede of the very finest and best o Esca eius electa Abacuc 1.16 For the angell of the Lord reioiceth most when one that is a sinner conuerteth He eateth grasse as a sheepe But the angel of sathan reioyceth most when one that is a conuert sinneth Hee eateth grasse as an oxe If the deuill can not keepe a man from liuing long then hee will hinder him from liuing well p Aut impetrat mortes aut impetit mores Leo. If hee can not kill him then hee will corrupt him And indeede hee takes greater pleasure in corrupting one godly man then in killing a hundred wicked He was more delighted when Dauid slew but Vrias then when Saul slew himselfe whē Peter did but deny Christ then when Iudas betrayed him So that the life of man by reason of his sin is the delight yea it is the very life of the Deuill It is on th' other side the death of himselfe O miserable wretch that I am saies one who shall deliuer me from this body of death The life of the godly is a very body of death But their death is onely a shadow of death Thales a Philosopher being demaunded what difference there is betweene life and death Answered They are all one Then being asked againe if he had not rather liue then die No saies he as before for they are al one But Ierome saies farre more excellently They are not all one That is not true For it is one thing to liue in continuall daunger of death an other thing to die in continuall assurance of life q Aliud viuere moriturū aliud mori victurum Therefore Ecclesiastes saies that the day of our death is better then the day of our birth For when we are borne we are mortall but when we are dead we are immortal And wee are aliue in the wombe to die in the world but wee are dead in the graue to liue in heauen Hence it is that the wicked are merrie at their birth day as Pharaoh made a feast at his birth day when his chiefe baker was hanged r Gen. 40.20 and Herod likewise made a feast at his birth day whē Iohn Baptist was beheaded but they are sory at their dying day as Iudas was sorie when he went about to hang himselfe Cain was afraid euery one would kill him that met him Contrariwise the godly are sory at their birth day as Iob Let the day perish wherein I was borne and Ieremie Let not the day wherin my mother bare me be blessed ſ Ierem. 20.14 But they are merrie at their dying day as Simeō Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace Paul I desire to be dissolued to be with Christ Therfore we also keep holy daies and celebrate the memorie of the Saints not vpon their birth-daies but vpō their death-daies to shew that these two are not all one but that the day of our death is better then the day of our birth For whereas there are two waies the one hauing in it first a trāsitory life thē an eternall death the other hauing in it first a transitory death then an eternall life the wicked choose to liue here for a time though they die for it hereafter eternally but the godly choose to haue their life hid with Christ here that they may liue with Christ eternally hereafter Therefore the wicked neuer think of death but the godly think of nothing els As Alexander the monarch of the world had al other things saue only a sepulchre to bury him in whē he was dead he neuer thought of that But Abraham the heire of the world had no other possession of his own but only a field which he bought to bury his dead 〈◊〉 he thought of nothing else We read that Daniel strowed ashes in the temple to descrie the footesteps of Bels priests which did eate vp the meate So did Abraham strow ashes in his memorie saying I will speake vnto my Lord though I bee but dust and ashes So doe all the faithfull remembring they shall one day be turnde to dust and ashes That so seeing and marking the footesteps of death how it continually commeth and stealeth away their strength as Bels priests did the meate how it dayly eateth vp wasteth and consumeth their life they may be alwaies prepared for it Our first parents made them garments of figge leaues But God misliking that gaue thē garmentes of skinnes Therefore Christ in the Gospell cursed the fig tree which did beare onely fig leaues to couer our sinne but cōmended the Baptist which did weare skins to discouer our mortalitie For not onely as Austin sayth Our whole life is a disease t Vita morbus but also as Bernard saith Our whole life is a death u Vita mors The life of man by reason of his sinne is a continuall disease yea it is the very death of himselfe It is lastly the death of Christ The prophet Esay calleth Christ a sin or a sacrifice for sinne x Asham Esay 53.10 prefigured by all those sin-offerings of the old lawe Because indeede when Christ was crucified at the first he was broken for our sinnes According to that of Tertullian y Propter peccatum mori necesse habuit filius dei Vide etiam Aug. Medita cap. 7. vbi docet hominem esse causam passionis Sinne it was which brought the sonne of God to his death The Iewes were only instrumēts and accessaries to it sinne was the setler and the principall They cryed Crucifie him in the courte of Pilate but our sins cryed Crucifie him in the court of heauen Now as the death of Christ was not efficient to saue the wicked so the sinne of the wicked was not sufficient to condemne Christ But the scripture sayth of them which either are or at least wise seeme to bee godly They say they know God but by their works they deny him and Saul Saul why dost thou persecute me and They crucifie again vnto themselues the sonne of God Zacharie prophecieth of Christ * Zach. 13.6 That when one shall
reproch Diuerse auncient fathers note the virgin Mary was maried that the diuell might be deceiued For he knewe well enough Christ should be borne of a virgin But he neuer suspected blessed Mary was a virgin considering she was wedded to Ioseph Therfore he did not lye in wait to destroy the seed of the woman so circumspectly as otherwise hee would if he had bin aware or wist any such thing So that the birth of Christ did cosen the diuel But the death of Christ did conquer the diuell And that much more gloriously when the temple of his body was vpō the pinnacle of the crosse then when the body of his crosse was vpon the pinnacle of the temple For when he was vpon the temple his breath spake better thinges then Sathan but when he was vpon the crosse his bloud spake better things then Abell and there his breath came from his lunges out of his mouth but here his bloud came from his heart out of his side and there hee fought standing stoutly to it and withstanding Sathan hee would not in any wise throwe down himselfe but here he skirmished yeelding and humbling himselfe to the death of the crosse and there the diuill ascended vp to him vnto the toppe of an high mountaine and so as I may say bad him base at his own goale but here he himselfe descended down to the diuell into the neathermost hell and so spoiled principalities and powers and slewe the great Leuiathan in the very bottome of his own bottomles pit For the diuell like a greedy rauenous fishe snatching at the baite of Christs body as Damascene speaketh was pearced through and twicht vp with the hooke of his Deity u 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Therefore both before Christes passion Peter tooke mony out of a fishes mouth to pay his tribute and also after Christes passion the disciples broyled a fishe for him to feede vpon Whereby we see that Christ who made a fishe pay tribute to Caesar for him made the diuell also pay tribute to death for him and on the other side that the diuell while he went about to catch this good fishe which is Iesus Christ Gods sonne the sauiour as Methodius and Sybilla proue the letters of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (x) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seuerally signifie was himselfe caught yea also killed by Christ So that all the while Christ was buried in the graue the diuel was broyled in hell Wherefore as it was booteles for Golias to brandishe his speare against Dauid so it little auailed the diuell to shake his speare likewise in the hand of the souldier against the heart of Christ For as Dauid hauinge heard Golias prate talke his pleasure when they came to the poynt at the first stroke ouerthrew him so Christ with that very selfe same speare which gaue him a little venny in cōparison or if it be lawful for me so to speake but a phillip on the side which was soone after recured gaue the diuell a deadly wound in the forehead which with all his pawes hee shall neuer be able to claw off And again as Dauid onely with his sling wrought this feate so Christ onely by his death and by the power of his crosse which is the sling of Dauid (y) Sanè crux ipsa funda est qua Dauid Goliath horrendum armis formidabilem visu prostrauit hunet Cyr. Ioh. l. 8.17 did conquer subdue the deuil And so the death of Christ by reasō of his righteousnes is the death of the deuil It is on the other side the life of himselfe That which was prophecied in the Psalme is here fulfilled in christ z Psal 92.12 The iust shal flourish as the palme tree In the hebrew it is Tamar which signifies only a palme tree But in the greek it is Phoinix which signifies not only a palme tree but also a Phenix Which translation proueth two thinges First that Iesus the iust one did most florish when he was most afflicted For the iust shall flourish as the palme tree a Chattamar Now the palme tree though it haue many waights at the top and many snakes at the roote yet still it saies I am neither oppressed with the waights nor distressed with the snakes b Nec premor nec perimor And so Christ the true palme tree though all the iudgements of God and all the sinnes of the worlde like vnsupportable waightes were laide vpon him yea though the cursed Iewes stoode beneath like venemous snakes hissing and byting at him yet he was neither so oppressed with them nor so distressed with these but that euen vpon his crosse he did most florish when he was most afflicted As peny royall being hung vp in the larder house yet buds his yellow flower and Noahs oliue tree being drownde vnder the water yet keepes his greene braunch and Aarons rod being clunge and drie yet brings forth ripe almonds and Moses bramble bush being set on fire yet shines and is not consumed Secondly that Iesus the iust one did most liue when hee seem'de most to be dead For the iust shall flourish as the phenix * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now the phenix though sitting in his nest among the holy spices of Arabia he be burnt to ashes yet still he sayes I die not but olde age dieth in me c Moritur me non moriente senectus And so Christ the true phenix though lying in his graue among the hot spices wherwith with Nichodemus embalmde him hee was neuer like to rise from death to life againe yet he dyed not but mortalitie died in him and immortalitie so liued in him that euen in his sepulchre hee did most liue when hee seemde most to bee dead As the Laurell is greenest in the foulest winter and the lime is hottest in the coldest water and the glow-worme shineth brightest when the night is darkest and the swan singeth sweetest whē his death is neerest (d) Cantator cygnus funeris ipse sui Mart◠alis lib. 13. Epigr Epaminondas being sore wounded in fight demaunded of his souldiers standing by whether his enemies were ouerthrowne or no They answered yea Then whether his buckler were whole or no They answered also I. Nay then sayes he all is well This is not the ende of my life but the beginning of my glory For now your deere Epaminondas dying thus gloriously shal rather be borne agayne then buried (e) Nunc enim vester Epaminondas nascitur quia sic moritur Christ likewise was sore wounded But his enemies death and the deuill were ouerthrowne and spoyled His buckler which was his Godhead was whole and vntouched Therfore there was no harme done His death was no death but an exaltation vnto greater glory (f) Ego si exaltatus suero Ioh. 12.32 That noble Eunuch riding in his cooch read in Esay that Christ was silent before his death as a lambe before the shearer He sayes not before the butcher
raised vs vp Eues tree of knowledge of good and euill hath throwen vs downe but Christs tree of life hath raised vs vp Nay I will be bold to say yet more What is that Marry this That as far as the tree of life excelleth the tree of knowledge of good and euill so farre the crosse of Christ excelleth the tree of life I know well many will muse maruel much what I meane to say so And some perhaps will scarce beleeue it is true which I say Neuertheles most christian and blessed brethren make you no doubt of it For it is not my opinion or my speech only They are the very words of our sauiour I came saies he that men might haue life (a) Iohn chap. 10.10 that they might haue it more aboundantly More aboundantly What is that That aboundantly wee might haue more life by the crosse of Christ then euer wee could haue had by the tree of life that aboundaÌ„tly we might gaine more by the obedience of Christ in his death then euer wee lost or could lose by the disobedience of Adam in his life And therefore though that sinne of Adam was so haynous and so horrible that it cast the image of God out of Paradise that it polluted all the race of mankind that it condemned the whole world that it defaced the very frame of heauen it selfe yet considering the sequele how not only the guilt of this sinne but euen the very memory of it is nowe vtterly abolished by the bloud of Christ S. Gregory is not afraid to say O happy happy happy man was Adam that euer hee so sinned and transgressed against God b O foelix culpa quae talem ac tantum meruit habere redemptorem Because by this meanes both hee and all wee haue found such plentifull redemption such vnestimable mercy such superabundant grace such selicity such eternity such life by Christs death For as hony beeinge found in a dead lyon the death of the lyon was the sustenance of Sampson so Christs gall is our hony c Christifel nostrum mel the bitter death of Christ by reason of his righteousnes is the sweet life of man Thus you see that the death of Christ is the death of death the death of the diuel the life of himselfe the life of man And therefore he saies in this fourth part weep not too much for my death FOR MEE VVEEP NOT FOR MEE BVT VVEEP FOR YOVR SELVES I Perceiue beloued I haue bin somewhat long in this part Therefore I will make more hast in the rest and do what I can deuise that I may not seeme tedious vnto you Now then to the fift part FOR YOVR SELVES Weepe not too little for your owne life For the life of man is quite contrary The life of man is the life of death the life of the diuell the death of himselfe the death of Christ The reason of all this is his iniquity and sinne Which euen in gods deare children saies Barnard is cast downe but not cast out d Deiectum non â—â—ectum Therfore though sin can not sometimes rule ouer vs because it is cast downe yet it will alwaies dwell in vs because it is not cast out For it is so bred in the bone that till our bones bee with Iosephs bones caried out of Aegypt that is out of the world sin can not bee carried out of our bones The irish history telleth vs that the city of Waterford giueth this posey Intacta manet (e) It continueth vntouched Because since it was first conquered by king Henry the second it was neuer yet attaynted no not so much as touched with treason Also that the yle of Arren in that country hath such a pure ayre that it was neuer yet infected with the plague Wee can not say thus of the nature of man That either it is so cleere from treason as that city is or els that it is so cleare from infection as that Iland is Nay our very reason is treason and our best affection is no better then an infection if it be well sifted in the sight of God Euagrius recordeth f libr. 5. ca. 15. that the Romanes got such a victory ouer Chosroes one of the Persian kings that this Chosroes made a lawe that neuer after any king of Persia should moue warre against the Romanes We cannot possibly subdue sin in such sort as the Romanes did this Persian king But do wee what we can do sinne will alwayes be a Iebuzite a false borderer yea a ranck traytor rebelling against the spirit Which makes the life of man first to bee saies Chrysostom a debt as it were owne due to death g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the diuell is the father of sin and sin is the mother of death Hereupon Sainct Iames saies that sin beeing finished trauailing in childbyrth like a mother bringeth forth death And Dauid in the ninth psalme calleth sin the gate of death Because as a man comes into a house by the gate so death came into the world by sinne The corruption of our fleshe did not make the soule sinfull but the sinne of our soule did make the flesh corruptible Wherupon Lactantius calleth sin the reliefe or the foode of death h Pabulum mortis As a fier goeth out when all the fuell is spent but burneth as long as that lasteth so death dieth when sin ceaseth but where sin aboundeth there death rageth The Prophet Abacucke sinning not death was so far from him that he was able to flie without winges but king Asa sinning death was so neere to him that he was not able to stand vpon his feet Nay wee may see this in one the selfesame maÌ„ Moyses sinning not death could not meet with him in the bottome of the red sea but sinninge death did seaze vpon him in the top of mount Nebo So that the life of man by reason of his sin is the life of death It is also the life of the deuill As Emisenus sayes Each one hath in him as many deuils as euils i Tot daemonia quot crimina euery seuerall sinne being sufficient to maintaine a seuerall deuill The godly finding no ioy in the earth haue their conuersation in heauen But Sathan finding no ioy in hell hath his conuersation in the earth So that the earth is a hell to vs but a heauen to him Here hee hath his liuing As it was said at the first Thou shalt eate the dust of the earth all the daies of thy life This dust sayes Macarius is the deuils dyet k 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And therfore as a scadle curre waites for a bone so hee that goes about seeking whom he may deuour watches continually till the godly shake off the dust from their feet that is shake off some sinne which they haue gotten by walking in the worlde that then hee may licke it vp as one of those dogs which did licke vp
of Christs mercie hee will despayre if hee alwayes thinke of Christs mercy and neuer of his owne misery hee will presume But hee is the best Christian so hye that he cannot despayre so low that he cannot presume which inclines aswell to the one as to the other sometimes reioysing and sometimes weeping reioysing for Christ and weeping for himselfe A man cannot weepe too little for Christ if he presume not a man cannot weepe too much for himselfe if he despayre not But he may easily despayre that weeps too much for Christ and he may easely presume that weeps too little for himselfe Wherefore as in a ballance if there be any ods in the scales we take out of that which is the heauier put into that which is the lighter til there be no difference betwixt thē So here we must waye these matters well that wee our selues may be iust waight neither too heauie for our owne miserie nor too light for Christs mercy Thus did Dauid when he sayd to God Hyde mee vnder the shadowe of thy winges What are Gods wings His mercy his iustice What is the shadowe of his winges Our loue and our feare Our loue is the shadow of his mercie which is his right winge Our feare is the shadowe of his iustice which is his left wing Now seeing he that is hid vnder the right winge only maye presume because hee hath no feare and hee that is hid vnder the left winge only may despayre because hee hath no loue therefore saieth Dauid Hide me O Lord vnder the shadowe not of one winge but of both thy winges That I maye neuer despayre while I alwaies loue thy mercy and reioyce for Christ that I may neuer presume while I alwaies feare thy iustice and weepe for my selfe A Quaile the very same bird which was the Israelites meate in the wildernes as he flyes ouer the sea feeling himselfe begin to be wearie lightes by the way into the sea Then lying at one side hee layes downe one wing vpon the water and holdes vp the other wing towards heauen Least hee should presume to take too long a flight at the first he wets one wing Least hee should despayre of taking a new flight afterwardes hee keepes the other wing drye Thus must a christian man doe When he layes downe the wing of feare vpon the water to weepe for himselfe then he must holde vp the wing of loue towards heauen to reioyce for Christ That his two wings may be answerable to Gods two wings That as God hath two wings the one of mercy the other of iustice so hee may haue two wings the one of ioy for Christ the other of sorrow for himselfe Shem and Iapheth Noah godly and dewtifull children when they sawe their father otherwise then hee should be went backeward and couered him They went backeward that they might not see him themselues they couered him that others might not see him Christ hanging naked vpon the crosse was the shame of men the outcast of the people Therefore we that are the children of God must goe backeward by abhorring them that crucified Christ and yet we must couer him and hide him euen in our very hearts by remembring and honoring his death and resurrection Least we should presume wee must goe backeward for feare and yet least wee should despayre wee must couer him for loue That as God hideth vs vnder the shadow of his wings which are loue and feare loue the shadow of his mercie and feare the shadowe of his iustice so wee may hide God vnder the shadowe of our wings which are ioye and sorrow ioy the shadow of our loue and sorrow the shadowe of our feare ioy for Christ and sorrow for our selues To this strange kinde of going backward the Psalmist alludeth when hee saith to God Thou hast made my feete like hines feete A hine goeth not still forward in one way but as an auncient father speaketh hee iumpes crosse out of one way into another z Saltum habet transuer sum Right so a christians feete must be like hines feete He must iumpe crosse from himselfe to Christ and then backe againe from Christ to himselfe Would you see such a hine Then marke how Iob footes it That he might not despayre he iumpes crosse from himselfe to Christ and sayes a Chap. 33.9 I am cleare without sinne I am innocent and there is none iniquitie in mee Here is the mercie of Christ But that hee might not presume bee iumpes backe againe from Christ to himselfe and sayes b Chap. 6.2 O that my griefe were well wayed and that my miseries were laide together in the ballance Here is the misery of man Thus must we way the mercy of Christ and the miserie of man together in the ballance and be sure as I sayde before wee make the scales euen and when wee waie the reasons why wee should not weepe for Christ then wee must way the reasons also why we should weepe for our selues So wee shal finde for great cause of ioy in Christ great cause of sorrow in our selues for greater cause of ioye in Christ greater cause of sorrow in our selues for greatest cause of ioye in Christ greatest cause of sorrow in our selues for that which is more then all to make vs ioyfull in Christ that which is more then all to make vs sorrowfull in our selues The righteousnes of Christ is the death of death Great cause of ioye in Christ If Debora reioyced when Barack put Sisera to flight haue not we as great cause to reioyce seeing Christ hath put death to flight The sinne of man is the life of death Great cause of sorrowe in our selues If Anna wept for her barrennes haue not we as great cause to weepe seeing wee can conceiue nothing but sorrowe bring forth iniquity vnto death The righteousnes of Christ is the death of the diuell Greater cause of ioy in Christ If Iudith reioyced when shee did cut off the head of Holofernes haue not wee greater cause to reioyce seeing Christ hath cut off the head of the diuell The sinne of man is the life of the diuell Greater cause of sorrowe in our selues If Thamar wept being defloured by her brother haue not wee greater cause to weepe seeing wee commit spirituall incest and adulterie daylie with the diuell The righteousnes of Christ is the life of himselfe Greatest cause of ioye in Christ If Sara laught when shee hearde shee should haue a quicke childe in her dead wombe is not this the greatest cause of laughter which can bee vnto vs that Christ liued in death and was most free among the dead and could not see corruption in the graue The sinne of man is the death of himselfe Greatest cause of sorrowe in our selues If Agar wept being turnde out of Abrahams house is not this the greatest cause of weeping which can be vnto vs that our life is no life because wee neuer cease from sinning while
was otherwise naturall to them was here voluntary in them For the sinne of a woman was the ruine of man Therefore these women willingly wept the more That though a woman did most in the second death of the first Adam yet these might doe least in the first death of the second Adam For it was Eue a woman which betrayed the first Adam with an apple caused him to sin but it was Iudas a man which betrayed the second Adam with a kisse and caused him to die And indeed you shal generally obserue that notwithstanding at the first the woman went before the man in transgression and disobedience neuerthelesse since to make amends for that fault the blessed Virgine Mary and diuers other women haue farre excelled all men or at the least wise most men in true deuotion and godlines Wherefore principally Christ here speaketh to the women because both more women wept then men the women also more wept then the men more womē more weeping but yet in them he speaketh as wel as to them indifferētly to al his deere friends both men and women VVEEPE NOT FOR ME BVT VVEEPE FOR YOVR SELVES In which sentence wee may obserue as many wordes so many partes Eyght words eight partes The first VVEEPE NOT the second BVT VVEEPE the third VVEEPE NOT BVT VVEEPE the fourth FOR MEE the fift FOR YOVR SELVES the sixt FOR ME FOR YOVR SELVES The seuenth VVEEPE NOT FOR ME the eight BVT VVEEPE FOR YOVR SELVES God grant all our hearts may be so affected with the consideration of these excellent matters as may make most for the increase of our comfort in him and his glory in vs. And I humbly beseech you also most christian brethren to doe God this honor and me this fauour First that you would not prescribe mee anie methode or order how I should handle this text but that you would giue mee leaue to follow mine own methode and order wherein I perswade my selfe and I hope also truly I haue bin directed by the spirit of God Secondly that you would not run before me in your swift conceit earnest expectation but that it would please you to goe on along easily all the way with me till happily at the length by Gods gracious assistance and your gentle acceptance I come to the end of my Sermon And then if I haue omitted any thing which you would haue had me sayd spare mee not but blame me hardly for it as you shall thinke best VVEEPE NOT FOR ME BVT VVEEP FOR YOVR SELVES THe first part is VVEEPE NOT. When lairus the ruler of the sinagogue wept bitterly for the death of his daughter Christ said vnto him b Luk. c. 8.52 weepe not When Rachel wept and would not be comforted seeing neither her sonne Beniamin nor almost any true Beniamite left aliue God sayd vnto her c Ier. c. 31.16 weepe not When a poore widow wept sore for the death of her onely sonne Christ sayde vnto her d Luk. 7.15 weep not And so here Christ seeing many Iairusses many Rachels many widowes weepe for the death of the onely sonne of God sayeth vnto them weepe not Forbidding thereby immoderate weeping which is condemned in nature in reason in religion In nature the earth when it reioyceth as in the summer time then it is couered with corne e Psal 65.12 but when it hath to too forlorne sorrowfull a countenance as in the winter time then it is fruitlesse and barren The water when it is quiet and calme bringeth in all maner of marchandise but when the sea stormes and roares too much then the very shippes do houle and crie f Esay 23.1 The ayre looking cleerely and cheerefully refresheth all thinges but weeping too much that is rayning too much as in Noahs floude it drownes the whole world The fire being but a little sprīkled with water burneth more brightly but being too much ouerwhelmed it giues neither heate nor light The eye it selfe as Anatomists write (g) Vide Vesalium lib. 7. c. 14 Toletum in lib. secund Aristotelis de anima hath twise as many drie skins like sluces to dam vp the course of the teares as it hath moyst humours like channels to let them flow forth For it hath sixe of them and but three of those If al the body were an eye and there were no eares in it where were then the hearing If all the eye were a moyst humour and there were no drye skins in it where were then the seeing Seeing then too much weeping is in the earth barrennes in the water ship wrack in the aire an inundation in the fire coldnes in the eye blindnes certainely if the earth the water the ayre the fire the eie could speak they would altogether with one concent sing a ioyfull song of fiue parts and euery one seuerally say vnto vs That we must not weepe too much Now reason seeth yet more (h) Ne quid nimit That too much of a thing is nought Etiāmel si nimiū ingratū Which is translated thus i Prouer. 25.27 It is not good to eate too much honie If it bee not good eating too much honie then sure it is not good eating too much wormewood The Egyptians when they would describe teares they paint those gems which we call vnions whereupon Suidas sayth k 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vnions hierogyphically do signifie the shedding of teares For as vnions haue their name in latine because they are found one by one neuer more at once so teares must be shed easily one by one and neuer bee powred out all at once Seneca sayeth that which we must do dayly we must do moderately Therfore though we can not quite stop the bloudy issue of our teares at the leastwise we must be sparing weep so to day as we may weepe to morrow keep some teares awaies in store reseruing l Si non finire lachrymas at certè reseruare debemus l. de consolatio ad Polybiū c. 23. them to another occasiō afterward For we reade that Heraclitus when he had sook't and sowst himselfe in sorrow all his lise long at length dyed of a dropsie and so as I may say drowned himselfe in his owne teares Yea Niobe by ouermuch weeping was turnde into a stone euen as Lots wife by turning backe was turnde into salt It was one of Pythagoras poesies m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to eate the hart which is expoūded thus n Prou. 25.20 As a moath freateth the garment and a worme eateth the wood so heauines hurteth mās hart Now if we may not teare the hart of any otherthing with our teeth then much lesse may we teare our owne hart with our teares So that euē blind reason such as the heathen haue had doth yet plainely see this That we must not weepe too much But religion goeth yet further For whē God at the first placed mā in the garden of Eden
by like Iudas choked and strangled with it and faine to yeeld it vp againe when Christ on Easter day reuiued Death I wisse had not bin brought vp so daintily before nor vsed to such manner of meat but alwaies had rauened either with Mithridates daughters vpon the poison of sinne or else with Noahs crow vpon the carrion of corruption Wherefore nowe saies Fulgentius e Mors Christum gustauit sed non deglutiuit death did indeede taste of Christe but could not swallow him vp nor digest him Contrariwise Christ as soone as euer he had but a little tasted of death f Hebr. cap. 2. ver 9. eftsones hee did deuoure death he did swallowe vp death in victory And so the death of Christ by reason of his righteousnes is the death of death It is also the death of the diuell As the Apostle saies that by his death he did ouercome not only death but him also which had the power of death the diuel It is reported that the Libard vseth a shaunge kinde of pollicy to kill the ape Hee lyeth downe vpon the grounde as though he were starke dead which the apes seeing come all together in despight skip vp vpon him This the Libard beareth patiently till he thinks they haue wearied themselues with their sporting Then sodainly hee likewise leaps vp and catches one in his mouth and in each foote one which immediatly he killeth deuoureth (g) Conculâ—ant insultantes ludibrij causae donec pardalis sentiens illas iam saltando defatigatas de repente reuiuiscens aliam dentib aliam vnguib corripit Eras Prou. Pardi mortem adsimulat This was Christs pollicy He was layd in the dust for dead The diuel then insulted ouer him and trampled vpon him But he like a liuely Lybard startinge vp on Easter day astonisheth the souldiers set to keep him which were the diuels apes made them lye like dead men h Math. cap. 28. ver 7. Euen as he tolde them before by his prophet saying I will be to them as a very Lyon and as a Lybard in the way of Ashur i Ose cap. 13. ver 7. For as blind Samson by his death killed the Philistins when they were playinge the apes in mocking and mowinge at him (k) Iudicum 10. ver 25. so Christ by his death destroied the diuell Scaliger writeth that the Chameleon when hee espies a serpent taking shade vnder a tree climes vp into that tree and lets downe a threed breathed out of his mouth as small as a spiders threed at the end wherof there is a little drop as cleare as any pearle which fallinge vpon the serpeÌ„ts head kils him (l) Ex ore filum demittit araneorum more in cuius fili extremo guttula est margarttae splendore ea tactus in vertice serpens moritur Ex. 190. Christ is this Chameleon He climes vp into the tree of his crosse and le ts downe a threed of bloud issuing out of his side like Rahabs red threed hanging out of her window (m) Signa fidei atque vexilla dominicae passionis attollens coccum in fenestra ligauit Ambro. de fide libro 5. cap. 5. Paulinus Natali 8. Puniceo proprium signauit vellere tectum the least drop wherof beeing so precious and so peereles falling vpon the serpents head kils him The wilde bull of al things can not abide any red coloure Therefore the hunter for the nonce standinge before a tree puts on a redde garment Whom when the bull sees he runnes at him as hard as he can driue But the hunter slipping a side the buls hornes sticke fast in the tree As when Dauid slipped aside Sauls speare stuck fast in the wall (n) 1. Sam. 19.10 Such a hunter is Christ Christ standing before the tree of his crosse puts on a red garment dipt and died in his owne bloud as one that commeth with redde garments from Bozra (o) Esa cap. 63.1 Therfore the diuell and his angels like wilde bulles of Bazan (p) Psalm 22.12 ran at him But he shifting for himselfe their hornes sticke fast in his crosse As Abrahams ram by his hornes stuck fast in the briers (q) Genesis 22.13 Thus is the diuell caught and killed A Dragon indeed kils an Elephant yet so as the Elephant falling downe kils the dragon hith him An Elephant kils Elezar yet so as Eleazar falling down kils the ElephaÌ„t with him r 1. Mach. 6.46 And accordingly to this the diuel killing Christ was killed by Christ Yea as an Elephant is stronger then the Dragon and Eleazar is stronger then the Elephant so Christ is stronger then them both For the Elephant doth not liue after hee hath killed the Dragon neither doth Eleazar liue after he hath killed the Elephant but Christ liueth after he hath destroyed the diuell Leauing the diuell dead he is nowe risen himselfe from the dead Wherfore as a Lybard killeth the ape and a Chameleon the serpent and a hunter the bull and an Elephant the dragon Eleazar the ElephaÌ„t himselfe so Christ the true Eleazar which signifies the helpe of God hath by his death killed that mischeeuous ape the diuell that olde serpent the diuell that wilde bull the deuill that great dragon the deuill that raginge elephant the deuill WheÌ„ Mahomet the secoÌ„d of that name beseeged Belgrade in Seruia one of his captaines at length got vp vpon the wall of the city with banner displayed A noble Bohemian espying this ranne to the captaine clasping him fast about the middle asked one Capistranus standing beneath whether it would be any danger of damnatioÌ„ to his soule if he should cast himselfe downe headlong with that dogge so he tearmed the turke to bee slaine with him Capistranus answering that it was no daunger at all to his soule the Bohemian foorthwith tumbled himselfe downe with the Turke in his armes and so by his owne death only saued the life of all the city (Å¿) Zieglerus de illustribus viris â—ermaâ—â—tae cap. 98. Such an exploit was this of Christ The diuell like the great Turke besieging not only one city but euen all mankinde Christ alone like this noble Bohemian encountred with him And seeing the case was so that this dog the diuel could not be killed starke dead except Christ died also therfore he made no reckoninge of his life but gaue himselfe to death for vs that hee only dying for all the people by his death our deadly enemy might for euer be destroyed For so Origen testifieth that there were two crucified vpoÌ„ the crosse of Christ Christ himselfe visibly with his will and for a time The diuell inuisibly against his will and for euer (r) Homi. 8. in Iosua Therfore the crosse is that victorious chariot in the vpper part wherof Christ sitteth as a triumphaÌ„t conqueror and in the lower part of it the diuell is drawen as a captiue and is made an open spectacle of ignominy
but before the shearer Insinuating that death did not kill Christ but onely sheare him a little Neither yet had death Christes fleece when hee was shorne For Christ taking to himselfe a spoungefull of vinegar g Ioh. ca. 19.29 that is ful of our sharpe and sower sinnes did giue vs for it purple wool full of bloud h Heb. c. 9.19 that is full of his pure and perfect iustice And indeed the onely liuery which Christ our Lorde and master giueth all vs that are his faithfull seruants is a coate made of this purple wooll The Psal mist sayes that God giueth his snow like wooll But here wee may turne the sentence and say that Christ giueth his wooll like snow For as snow couereth the ground when it is ragged and deformed so Christs wooll which is his coate without seame couereth our sinnes and though they were as crimson yet maketh them white as snow And as Gedeons fleece when it was moist the earth was drie but when it was drie the earth was moist So when Christs fleece was moist as a greene tree then were all wee drie like rotten stickes but when his fleece was drie all the bloud and water being wrung out of his precious side then were we moist'ned with his grace Wherefore seeing death had not Christes fleece whē he was shorne but we haue it which beleeue in him it followeth that neither death was the better nor christ the worse But as a lamb is much more nimble and liuely for shearing so this shearing of death was a kinde of quickening to the lambe of God and onely a trimming to him before he ascended to his father as Ioseph was trim'd and poul'd before hee appeared to Pharaoh For looke how Adam slept so Christ died i Dormit Adam moritur Christus Prosper When Adam slept his side was opened when Christ died his side was opened Adams side being opened flesh and bone were taken out Christs side being opened water and bloud were taken out Of Adams flesh and bone the woman was built of Christes water and bloud the Church is built So that the death of Christ is nothing else but the sleepe of Adam For as he sayes of the damsels death The damsell is not dead but sleepeth so hee sayes of his owne death I laid me downe and slept and rose vp againe for the Lord sustained me And in an other place when God the father sayth to his sonne Awake my glory awake my lute and harpe God the sonne answeres to his father I will awake right early That vessel which Peter sawe in a traunce which came down from heauen to the earth and was knit at the foure corners and had all maner of beastes in it did betoken Christ Christ came downe from heauen to the earth and his storie is knit vp by the foure Euangelistes and hee hath made Iewes and Gentiles yea all nations though they were as bad as beastes before yet he hath made them all I say one in himselfe Nowe saies Cassianus it is worth the noting that the holy Ghost saies not this vessel was a sheete but was like a sheete k Pulchrè ait Non linteum sed Quasi linteum A sheete may signifie either sleep or death Because there is both a sleeping sheete and a winding sheete But neither was Peters vessell a sleepe though it were like a sheete neither was Christs bodie dead though it were lapt in a sheete For we our selues canne not so properly bee saide to liue in our first birth as in our second birth and Christs life when hee lay in that new wombe in which neuer any other was conceiued is nothing to his life when hee laye in that newe tombe in which neuer any other was buried Wherefore as Iacob trauailing towards Haram when he had layde an heape of stones vnder his head and taken a nap by the way was much reuiued with it after his tedious iourney so Christ trauailing towardes heauen when he had slept a little in that stony sepulchre which was hewen out of a rock liued then most princely after his painfull passion Tell me when did Ionas liue in the hatches of the ship or in the bellie of the whale In the hatches of the shippe why I am sure you will not say so That was nothing But to liue in the bellie of the whale when the marriners were in extreme ieopardie and daunger vpon the water and yet Ionas most safe and secure vnder the water this indeede was somewhat Who euer saw such a wonder The waues were one while hoisted vp to the highest clowdes an other while hurled downe to the nethermost depth Ionas selfe being all this while in the very gulfe of destruction and yet not one haire the worse Christs case was the same As Ionas was in the bellie of the whale three daies and three nightes so and so long was the sonne of man in the bowels of the earth Yet he had no more hurt then Ionas had But liued better vnder the earth then we can vpon the earth better in death then we can in life Tell me whē did Daniell liue In the kings court or in the lyons denne In the kinges court why there is no great reason for that Any man might haue liued there But to liue in the lions den when the mouth of the den was shut and the mouths of the lyons open this indeed was the life of an angel no man What king could euer make lyons attend and waite vpon him Yet here you might haue seene worthie Daniel sitting in the midst of many hungry lyons when as the lions lay downe at his feete couching and crouching before him and adored their owne pray cast vnto them which otherwise they would haue werried and being beastes became men in humanitie towarde this saint seeing men became beastes in cruelty against him The same reason was in Christ His sepulchre was sealed as wel as Daniels den And hee saies also of himselfe in the Psalme My soule is among lyons These lyons were the terrours of death and the horrours of hell Yet hee tooke no more hurt thē Daniel did But brake the chaines of death into fitters and the gates of hell into shiuers and then most gloriously triumphed And so the death of Christ by reason of his righteousnes is the life of himselfe It is lastly the life of man Whē Christs speare had opened that way of life which the Cherubins sword had stopt vp then saies our Sauiour to the theefe This day shalt thou be with me in paradice Adam and Eue both in one day were expelled out of paradice Christ the theefe both in one day were receiued into paradice Yea both in one houre of the day For about noone when the winde blewe Adam and Eue were expelled And so about the sixt houre that is about twelue a clocke in the day time Christ and the theefe were receiued Christ saying to the theefe while he did draw him vp
into paradice l Ose cap. 11. I do draw thee with the cordes of a man euen with bands of loue But the septuaginte translate the hebrewe words m Bechauele adam which signifie with the cordes of a man into those greeke words n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifie with the destruction of a man As if Christ should say thus to the theefe I do so dearely loue thee that I am content my selfe to bee destroied that thou maiest bee saued my selfe to dye that thou maiest liue I doe drawe thee with the destruction of a man euen with bandes of loue So that the theefe who sawe his owne woundes and death in Christs body did see also Christes sauing health life in his owne body As Alcuinus sayes writing vpon the sixt of Iohn o Assumpsit vita mortem vt mors acciperet vitam when the liuinge Lord dyed then the dyinge theefe liued Notably sayes the prophet p Lamen 4. ver 21. The breath of our nostrels Christ the Lord is taken in our sins to whom wee sayd wee shall liue in thy shadowe If Christ be the breath of our nostrels then he is our life And againe if we liue in his shadowe then we liue in his death For where there is breath in a shadowe there there is life in death Nowe as the ouershadowing of the holy Ghost was the life of Christ so the ouershadowing of Christe is the life of man And as Peters shadowe gaue health to the sicke so Christes shadowe giueth life to the dead yea a thousand times rather Christs then Peters For as Elias his spirit was doubled vpon Elizeus because Elias being aliue restored some to life but Elizeus as Ierom sayes being dead raised vp one from the dead q Mortuus mortuum suscitauit so Peters spirit was doubled vpon Christ because Peter being aliue was a phisition to the liuinge but Christ as Chrysostome saith beinge dead was a phisition to the dead r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Or rather indeed in this comparison there is no comparison But as Peters spirit was a shadowe to Christs spirit so Peters shadowe was nothing to Christs death Ezechias seeing the shadow of the sunne goe ten degrees backe in the diall was assured by this signe that he should recouer of his sicknes f Esay cap. 38.8 Sick Ezechias may signifie all mankinde which is sicke by reason of sinne But this is an vnfallible signe we shall recouer because the sun hath gone ten degrees backe in the dyal The sun of righteousnes Iesus Christ hath for our sake made him-selfe lower by many degrees in the earth My father is greater then I. There hee is gone backe tenne degrees belowe his father Thou hast made him lower then the angels There hee is gone backe ten degrees belowe the angels I am a worme and no man There he is gone back ten degrees belowe men A liue dogge is better then a dead lyon (t) Eccles 9. ver 4. There he is gone backe ten degrees below wormes For he was not counted so good as a liue worme but was buried in the earth as a dead lyon to be meate for the wormes if it had bin possible for this holy one to see corruption But blessed O blessed bee our Lord Christ beeinge in the forme of God was buried in the graue so was made lower then his father nay lower then angels nay lower then men nay lower then wormes that we being now no better then wormes might be crowned in heauen and so might bee made higher then wormes yea higher then men yea higher then angels yea partakers of the same life and kingdome with Christ Pliny reporteth u L. 36. cap. 10. that there was a diall set in Campus martius to note the shadowes of the sun which agreeing very well at the first afterwards for thirty yeers together did not agree with the sun All the time of those thirty yea three and thirty yeeres that Christ liued in his humiliation here vpon earth you might haue seene such a diall In which time the shadowe of the diall did not agree with the shining of the sun But thankes be to God all the better for vs. When the sunne went backward ten degrees in the diall then Ezechias went forward fifteen degrees in his life He liued fifteene yeers longer And so the going of this sunne Iesus Christ ten degrees backward hath healed all our sicknes and set vs a thowsand degrees forward and infinitely aduanced vs by his death to euerlastinge life For Christ is that louinge Rachell which dyes her selfe in childbirth to bringe forth her sonne Beniamin aliue Christ is that righteous Adam which by the bloudy sweat of his browes hath earned for vs the bread of life Christ is that iust Noah which shutting vp himselfe in his Arcke as in a sepulchre saueth all that come to him aliue Christ is that tender Pellican which woundinge his own brest doth with his bloud restore againe his yong ones to life And euen as when many birds are caught in a net if a Pellican or any other great bird that is amonge them get out all the rest that are little ones follow after semblably Christ as a great bird hauing broken through the net of death all we escape with him So that wee may say with the Psalmist Our soule is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fouler the snare is broken we are deliuered Arnobius vpon these wordes in the psalme x Psalm 138.8 Despise not the worke of thine own hands writeth thus We are the worke of thine own handes seeing wee are thy workmanshippe (y) Eph. 2.10 lysius sumus factura conditi in Christo Quantum ad substātiam fecit quātum ad gratiam condidit Tertull. aduer Mar. l. 5. non longe a fine Now because the worke of thy handes was destroied by the worke of our hands therfore were thy handes nayled to the crosse for our sinnes That those handes of thine might repaire againe the worke of thy handes by the tree of the crosse which was destroyed by the tree of concupiscence Thus far Arnobius Whereby wee may gather that the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and euill is euill that is death but the fruit of the tree of life that is of the crosse of Christ is life When Alexander had throwen downe the walles of the Thebes Phryne a harlot promised that she would at her own charges repaire them againe so that the citizens would suffer this title to bee grauen vpon the gate Alexander hath throwen them downe but Phryne hath raised them vp (z) A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutar. The case is quite contrary here Eue hath ouerthrowene not only Thebes but euen all mankinde Christ hath at his owne cost and charges repaired and built vs vp againe Therefore wee must graue this title vpon the crosse of Christ Eue hath throwne vs downe But Christ hath
say vnto him what are these wounds in thy hands Then he shall answere Thus was I woūded in the house of my frends That is in the house of thē which ought to haue bin my friends So that our sins did wound Christes bandes at the first And now also not the wicked which are no part of his bodie but wee which are mystical members of his bodie therefore shuld by good reason be his frends we I say do yet oftentimes by our sinnes deny Christ with Peter nay wee persecute Christ with Paul nay wee crucifie Christ with the Iews Yea if it wil please you to heare me I will say yet more we crucifie Christ farre more cruelly then the Iews did Then his body was passible and mortall now it is glorified and immortall they knew not what they did we doe ill enough yet wee knowe what we doe well enough they pearced him with a speare we pearce him with reproches they buried him in the earth wee burie him in obliuion then he rose again the third day but we so burie Christ that not once in three dayes no not once in three weekes he ariseth or shineth in our hearts Nay that which I am ashamed to speake though some are not ashamed to doe it there are in the world which haue no time not once in three moneths not once in three yeeres no not once search in their whole life to thinke of Christ but burie him in the perpetuall forgerfulnes of their careles conscience as in a barren land where all good things are forgotten Wherefore let euery one as soone as hee is tempted to any sinne thinke straightwaies that he sees Christ comming towards him wrapt vp in white linnen cloathes as he was buried with a kercher bound about his head and crying after a gastly and fearefull sort Beware Take heede what you doe Detest sinne abhorre sin Fie vpon it A shame light on it It once did most vilely and vilanouslie murther mee but now seeing my woundes are whole againe do not I beseech you do not rubbe and reuiue them with your sinnes to make them bleed afresh now seeing the scepter of the kingdome of heauen is put into my hand doe not offer mee a reede againe to mocke mee now seeing my head is crowned with the pure golde of eternall glorie doe not set a crowne of thornes vpon it againe now seeing I my selfe am enstalled in the throne of the right hand of maiestie doe not pull me out of my throne and throw mee into the graue againe and with your sinnes seale a mightie great stone vpon mee to stiffle me and presse me and holde mee down in death O beloued good beloued at his instance be perswaded by whose bloud you are redeemed Haue pittie haue pitie vpon poore Iesus Once he voluntarily yea euen ioyfully dyed for vs and if that one death had not bin sufficient he would haue bin content then to haue dyed a thousande deaths more Now he protesteth that the least sinne of any one Christian doth more vex him euen at the very heart then all his dolorous paynes vpon the crosse Our sinnes are those souldiers which take him those tormentors which whippe him those thorns which gore his head those nayles which pearce his feete that speare which sheds his bloud that crosse which takes away his life And yet if to greeue him thus continually would do vs any good then hee would bee most glad to prefer our good though neuer so little before his owne griefe though neuer so great But it is not so That one death which he willingly suffered was for our saluation These diuers deaths which wee without sinnes so often put him to against his wil do make for our greater dānatiō Therefore he beseecheth vs I also being prostrate at the very feet of euery one of you heartely in his name exhorte you if wee will haue no pity of him yet for the tender loue wee beare to our owne deare soules that we would not alwaies keepe him vppon the racke and euery daye vex this iust Lot with our vnlawfull deedes that we would not any more shead his precious bloud and tread it and trample it vnder our feete This I assure you blessed Christians will be a most forcible meanes not only to terrifie and fraye vs from sin which we may commit hereafter but also to mollifie and melt our harts for sin which we haue committed heretofore if we consider that the life of man by reason of his sin is the death of Christ Thus you see that the life of man is the life of death the life of the diuill the death of himselfe the death of Christ And therefore he saith in this fift part weepe not too little for your owne life FOR YOVR SELVES WEEPE NOT FOR ME BVT VVEEP FOR YOVR SELVES THe sixt part is next FOR ME FOR YOVR SELVES Which noteth seeing both the excesse and the want are to bee eschewed that therefore the true meane which wee must keepe betweene Christ and our selues consisteth in a certayne qualification of these two extremities FOR ME FOR YOVR SELVES both together Weepe not too much saith he for my death which is the death of death weep not too little for your own life which is the life of death Not too to much for my death which is the death of the diuell not too little for your owne life which is the life of the diuell Not too much for my death which is my life not too little for your owne life which is your death Not too much for my death which is the life of man not too little for your owne life which is the death of Christ. Saint Paul willeth the Corinthians to approue themselues by honor and dishonor First by honour then by dishonour Teaching thereby that dishonorable honor is better then honorable dishonour Yet to keepe a meane in this matter that we must as well count it an honor to bee sometimes dishonored with Christ as a dishonor to bee alwaies honored without Christ Euen so sayes our Sauiour here FOR ME FOR YOVR SELVES First FOR ME then FOR YOVR SELVES Teaching thereby that to reioyce for Christ is better then to weepe for our selues Yet to keepe a meane betwixt both that we must aswel sometimes descend out of Christ into our selues to weepe as alwaies ascend out of our selues into Christ to reioyce For the Apostle sayes that we must reioyce with them that reioyce and weepe with them that weepe If my friend bee alwaies sorowfull and neuer ioyfull hee hath no pleasure by me if he be alwayes ioyful neuer sorowful I haue no proofe of him but he is my dearest friend most delighted in mee best approued by me that takes such part as I doe sometimes reioysing and sometymes weepinge reioysing when I reioyce and weeping when I weepe The like is to bee seene in this place FOR ME FOR YOVR SELVES If a Christian alwaies thinke of his owne miserie and neuer