is not offended in him Why then O thou incredulous Iew wilt thou not receiue thy Sauiour is it because he came poore without any shew of worldly pompe why that should make all men the rather to imbrace him and the more thankefully to acknowledge him because that he which might haue come in Maiestie Cum caelestibus Attended on by Angels would come in pouerty and haue his bed made cum iumentis among the beasts that perish that so by his comming poore we might be all made rich through him and therefore O Iew I doe aduice thee that as thy Fathers accomplished the decree of God in condemning him so doe thou according to the will of God in beleeuing on him and thou shalt be happy for he that beleeueth in him shall neuer perish To whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed all Honour Thankes and Praise both now and for euermore Amen A Prayer O Eternall God who as in all things else so more especially in giuing thy dearest Sonne co-eternall coequall and co-essentiall vnto thy selfe to be made flesh subiect to our humane frailties and in all things like vnto vs sinne onely excepted hast shewed thy goodnesse and thy loue to man to be like thy selfe infinite and incomprehensible we most humbly beseech thee to giue vs grace to know thee and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ to be the onely true God whom to know is eternall life through the said Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen IEHOVAE LIBERATORI FINIS The Fourth Golden Candlesticke HOLDING The Fourth greatest Light of Christian RELIGION Of the Passion of the MESSIAS LVKE 24.46 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And thus it behoued Christ to suffer YOu haue heard dearely beloued how miserably man is distressed by sinne The coherence of this Treatise with the former Treatises how he may be releeued onely by the Mercy of God and how this reliefe is applied vnto vs by the Incarnate Word for he is the true Samaritan that doth helpe the wounded man he is the blessed Angell that doth stirre the poole of Bethesda and giue vertue vnto the water to heale our sores to helpe our soules But alas this Angell as yet is but descended and the waters are not troubled and this Samaritan is but alighted and the poore semi-dead Traueller is not set vp vpon his horse to be carryed towards his Inne that is hee hath not yet entred into the waters of tribulations to saue our soules from drowning in Hell neither hath he put our sinnes vpon his backe that we being freed from the burthen might walke on towards Heauen this resteth yet behind and this Tragedie is yet vnheard and therefore though he much humbled himselfe by his Incarnation yet is that nothing it is but the beginning of sorrowes in respect of his sore and bitter Passion For to redeeme our soules from sinne the deepe waters must enter into his soule and all our sinnes must be laid vpon his backe and for our sinnes It behoueth Christ to suffer Hic labor hoc opus est And this is that which we are now to treat of Thus it behoued Christ to suffer CHAP. I. Of the manifold vse and commodities that we reape by the continuall meditation of the sufferings of Christ Three things that mooue attention THere be three speciall things that doe vse to moue attention 1. An eloquent Author 2. An important matter 3. A compendious breuity And all these three doe here ioyne and meete together in this Text of Scripture For First the Author of these words is Christ Luk. 11.49 First the Author of these words is Iesus Christ the wisedome of God Wisedome it selfe so incomprehensibly wise that all men wondred at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth Secondly the summe of these words is the Tragedy of Iesus Christ Secondly the matter is the Tragedie of himselfe the laborious life and the dolorous death of the Sonne of God the chiefest Tragedy of all Tragedies for the Catastrophe hereof hath the effusion of bloud and the mourning not onely of the Sufferer or Parents and Friends but of Heauen and Earth and all the whole world farre more dolefull then the mourning of Hadadrimmon in Valley of Mâ—gyddo The Actors of this Tragedy are Kings Vice-Royes Dukes Scribes Pharises High-Priests Elders of the people The Actors of this Tragedy the Apostles themselues and others all great Christ the King of Kings Herod the great King Pilate the Vice-Roy Annas and Cayphas high Priests Peter and Iudas great Apostles and those that were mute as the Sun the Earth the Stones the Vaile of the Temple and the very Graues did by apparant signes most dolefully bewayle the nefarious death of the Son of God yea more the Angels mourned and the Diuels trembled to behold the same The Theater on which it was acted was Ierusalem The Theater was Ierusalem the very midst and heart of the earth as some imagine according to that saying of the Psalmist Operatus est deus salutem in medio terrae GOD hath wrought saluation in the midst of the Earth Heere is the place where it was acted Hic hic mors vita duello Conflixere mirando Here life and death did striue for victory and here the beholders were men of all Nations Hebrewes Greekes and Romans and the time was their most solemne feast wherein all did â—eete to eate their Paschall Lambe And therefore if there be any Theame that may challenge our eares to lysten and our hearts to meditate vpon the same it is this for this is one of those things that was once done that it might be thought of for euer that it might be had in euerlasting remembrance And the continuall meditation thereof is 1. Acceptable vnto Christ 2. Profitable for vs. For First The continuall meditation of Christs passion what it doth if the rod of Moses which wrought so many miracles in Aegypt and the Manna which fed the children of Israel 40. yeares in the Wildernesse and the Booke of the Law which was deliuered vnto Moses vpon Mount Sinai were to be preserued in the Arke First It is most acceptable vnto Christ as testimonies of Gods loue throughout all generations how much more should we keepe the remembrance of the Crosse of Christ of the Body and Bloud of Christ and of the glad tidings of saluation which we haue by the death of Christ in the Church of God for euermore Our Sauiour gaue but two Sacraments vnto his Church and one of them is chiefely instituted to this end for a remembrance of his suffering for as often as you eate this Bread and drinke this Cup Luc. 22. you shew the Lords death vntill he come 1 Cor. 11.1 And the remembrance of Christs death saith Saint Chrysostome Est beneficij maximi recordatio Chrys hom 8. in Matth. caputque diuinae erga nos charitatis Is the commemoration of the greatest benefit that euer we receiued
thy sake CHAP. II. How euery sinne slayeth the soule AS sinne brings a curse vpon all creatures How sinne brought on man a treble death so it brings death vpon all men for the reward of sinne is death and we finde this death to bee three fold 1. A spirituall death of the Soule within the Body 2. A corporall death of the Body by continuall castigation of the same throughout all our life and a finall seperation from the soule at the end of our life 3. An eternall death both of Body and Soule in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone foreuermore The first is set downe in the 8. of Matth. 22. Chrysost hom 11. in c. 6. ad rom Where our Sauiour sayth Let the dead bury their dead i. e. Let those that are spiritually dead in trespasses sinnes as the Apostle sayth burie those that are naturally dead to shew that a sinners body is but the breathing Sepulchre of his sinnefull soule and therfore the Prophet Dauid sayth Psal 14.5 Rom. 3.13 that their throat is an open Sepulchre which yeelds a more loathsome sent vnto the nostrils of God from the corrupted putrified soule then any graue can yeeld vnto the nostrils of man from all its rotten carkases The second is set downe in the 11. of Iohn the 39. John 11.39 where Martha sayth her brother Lazarus was dead and stinked i. e. depriued of the fruition of the soule and therefore loathsome to bee seene and more loathsome to bee smell for experience sheweth vs that how sweete soeuer we be in our life and how soft and tender soeuer our flesh bee most amiably complexioned with that fresh and liuely blood which be deckes the same with the fairest colours and glides vp and downe in siluer veynes yet are the best of these sweetest Ladies but most loathsome stinking carrions within a short space after death all flesh being subiect to corruption Luke 16.24 The third is set downe in the 16. of Luke 24. where Diues being in torments prayeth vnto Abraham to shew that he had a soule and desireth a drop of water to coole his tongue to prooue that he had a body But to speake of these three more fully First Wee must vnderstand that the spirituall death of the soule is two-fold 1. Mori peccatis to die to sinne 2. Mori in Peccatis to die in sinne Macrob. c. 1. in som scip 13. For the first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the whole studie and life of the Philosopher was nothing else but a commentary Hieron ad Heliod ex Platone in Phaedone or preparation for death saith Macrobius Nam mori dicimur cum anima adhuc in corpore constituta corporeas illecebras contemnit for he may bee truely sayd to die whose soule still remayning within the body doth notwithstanding contemne and abstaine from all fleshly delights And this was aymed at by the Philosophers but it was onely attained vnto by the true Christians What it is to die to sinne for they that are Christs haue crucified the flesh and haue mortified the lusts of the same sayth the Apostle these haue eares and heare not the Sirenian notes of sinne nor the flattering suggestions of Satan they haue eyes and see not the alluring vanities of this world any wayes worthy to bee desired for I haue made a couenant with mine eyes Job 31. that they should not looke that is vnlawfully or with any lasciuious desire vpon a maide sayth holy Iob and I sayd I would take heed vnto my wayes sayth the Prophet Dauid that I offend not in my tongue Psal 39.1 and therefore as the Apostle sayth they vse the world as though they vsed it not To die to sinne is a punishment for sinne And although this death be good the onely way to bring vs vnto a better life for hee that will not die before he dieth shall neuer liue when hee dieth yet is this the reward of sinne for had it not beene for sinne we had not needed to take this care and payne Cyprian de duplici Martyrio to fight against our selues yea to Martyr and mortifie our own flesh by chastening our owne bodies to bring them to subiection least we should prooue to be cast-awayes as the Apostle speaketh and therefore the chastisements of the Saints are the punishments of their sinnes For the second to die in sinne What it is to die in sinne is when God forsaketh a sinnefull soule and suffereth the same to lye and die in her transgressions for as the soule is the life of the body so is God the life of the soule sayth Saint Augustine Aug. de ciuit dei l. 13. c. 21. Matth. 4.4 And therefore all those that liue by bread onely and not by euery word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God i. e. which liue the life of nature and not the life of grace they are like those wanton widdowes whereof the Apostle sayth 1 Tim. 5.6 that they are dead while they liue for though the soule be truely immortall yet it hath a kind of death sayth Saint Augustine and that is when God forsaketh the same for sinne and what a heauy case is this Plangis corpus quod deserit anima non plangis animam quam deserit Deus We bewaile the body when the soule is parted and shall wee not bewayle the soule which God hath forsaken sayth Saint Chrisostome Saint Augustine being as then a Manichee and reading the Hystorie of Aeneas and Queene Dido A most excellent consideration of Saint Augustine did weepe as himselfe confesseth when hee came to the death of Dido and therefore after that he was conuerted hee most diuinely sayth ô me miserum c. O wretched man that I was that would bewaile the death of Dido forsaken of Aeneas and did not bewaile the death of mine owne soule forsaken of God so we many times doe weepe for the death of our friends but doe neuer weepe for the death of our owne soules They may say vnto vs as Christ sayd to the daughters of Ierusalem weepe not for vs but weepe for your selues Luke 23.28 and for your owne soules that are dead in sinnes for euery one of vs may say with the poet Atque vtinam lugenda tibi non vita Repentance is the onely meanes to reuiue our dying soules sed esset mors mea Our life is a great deale more worthy to bee bewailed then our deâ—th in as much as the death of the soule is a great deale more lamentable then the death of the body But as wee haue no other remedie for the death of our friends but onely teares Est quadam flere voluptas Expletur lachrymis egeriturque dolor for this is a great ease vnto the afflicted heart and a kinde of comfort vnto the sorrowfull soule so we haue none other helpe for the death of our soules but onely teares Saepe per has
Seneca epist 25. efficere mortem sibi familiarem to make death his companion and as his wife that should euer lye in his bosome that by the continuall sight of death he might be euer kept to abstaine from sinne for the couetous man might be the easier drawne to contemne the trash and trumperies of this vaine and transitorie world if hee did beleeue that hee should presently dye for so prophane Esau sayth Loe I die Facile contem nit omnia qui credit se cito moritâ—rum Hieron in ep ad Paulin Eccles 10. Incert autâ—r and what good will my Birth-right doe vnto me So the proud man would let fall his Peacocks feathers if he could thinke that hee is but dust and ashes and that when he dieth hee shall inherite wormes as the wise man sayth Omnia Caesar habet sed gloria Caesaris esse desinit tumulus vix erit octo pedum And that if he triumphed in his life like Caesar to bee the sole Monarch of the world yet would his glory soone fayle when death should locke him vp in his coffin and so of all other sinnes the frequent meditation of death is the onely preseruatiue against them For as one truely sayth of himselfe Quum recordor quod sum cinis Et quam citâ— venit finis Sine fine pertimesco Et vt cinis refrigesco When I thinke I am but dust And how soon to earth I must Bernard in carm Then incessantly I shake And as dust it doth me make So questionlesse if wee did continually thinke of death and fixe that fearefull day of Gods iust iudgement before our eyes it would bee a maruelous great meanes to deterre vs from all sinnes And as the meditation of death doth preuent sinne Bosq p. 12. de finibus honorum so it sweetneth death and makes it farre the lesse terrible vnto vs for if our eyes be dead and weaned from beholding vanities The frequent meditation of death is a great meanes to preserue vs from the feare of death our eares from hearing the Syrens songs of sinnefull pleasure and our hearts especially from the loue of vaine and worldly things then certainely they will not being thus mortified and accustomed with this death to sinne bee any whit afrayd of the death of the body which is the reward of sinne but as a horse that is to runne a race hauing often walked his way before is the more fearelesse to goe on when hee comes at the day of triall so the man that is acquainted with the wayes of death through the daily meditation of death is not afrayd to die when he seeth the day of his dissolution Palladius reports it that an Eremite being at the point to die his schollers and friends asked him if death did not seeme terrible vnto him hee smilingly answered that death was no stranger but a most familiar acquaintance to him it was his manuall and his vade mecum his table-booke which he alwayes carried about him and therefore dying he did but now repeate that his old lesson which hee had beene long in learning O that it were so with euery one of vs that throughout all our life wee would learne to die The application of Christs death is the onely cause that maketh vs happie after death Osee 13.14 that hauing made death present with vs before it comes it may neuer proue terrible vnto vs when it comes Of the third the Diuine veritie sayth that the chiefest cause the onely cause indeed of this different effect of death is the application of the death of Christ for it is he that saith O death I will be thy death O graue I will bee thy destruction and therefore as when Alexander ouerthrew the walles of Thebes Phryne a harlot promised to build them vp againe if shee might ingraue vpon them this inscription 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alexander battered downe this Wall but Phryne built it vp againe so we may truely say that Eue threw downe these muddie walles of ours but Christ doth rayse them vp for though the wages of sinne are death Rom. 6.23 yet the grace of God brings eternall life through Iesus Christ our Lord. And the manner how he doth deliuer vs and metamorphose death to become life vnto vs he himselfe doth shew when hee sayth if I be lift vp I will draw vp all vnto my selfe i. e. if I die I will destroy the power of death for so the Apostle sayth That forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood John 8.28 and C. 12.32 Heb. 2.14 15. he himselfe likewise tooke part of the same that through death hee might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Deuill and deliuer them that through the feare of death were all their life time subiect vnto bondage 1 Machah 6.46 Iudges 16.30 and therefore as Eleazer by his owne death did put the great Elephat to death and Sampson by pulling downe the house vpon his owne head did put to death all the Philistines so Christ by his owne death did put the deuills Origen hom 8. in Iohan and all the powers of darkenesse vnto death and therefore Origen sayth that vpon the crosse of Christ two were crucified that is Christ and the deuill but after a diuers manner for Christ was crucified visibly and most willingly for hee layd downe his life himselfe but the deuill was crucified inuisibly and most vnwillingly Matth. 12.29 for this strong man armed was faine to bee bound before Christ could spoyle his house And the Lord speaking of his enemies and saying that hee would be vnto them as a Lion Ose 13.7 would obserue them as a Libbard in the way of Ashur doth foreshew vnto vs both the destruction and the manner of the destruction of these our spirituall enemies for in being like a Lion he sheweth their destruction and in being like a Libbard he sheweth the manner The manner how Christ by death ouercame death how hee would destroy them for it is obserued of the Libbard that he vseth this pollicie to kill those Apes that doe molest him first he lyeth downe as dead and suffereth the apes to mocke him and trample him and to insult ouer him as much as they will but when he perceiueth them to be wearied with leaping and skipping vpon him he reuines himselfe on a sudden and with his clawes and teeth he teareth them all to pieces euen so our Sauiour Christ suffered the deuill and death and all the wicked Iewes like apes to mocke him to tread him and trample him vnder feete to crucifie him to burie him to seale vp his graue and to haue armed Souldiers to watch him that hee should not rise any more and it may be to knocke him on the head againe if he sought to reuiue but when hee saw they had done their worst and that they could doe no more Psal 78.66.67 Hee waked as a giant out of
sleepe and smote all his enemies vpon the cheeke bone and brought them vnto perpetuall shame and as the Apostle sayth Collos 2.15 hee spoyled principalities and powers and led away captiuitie captiue Ephes 4.8 and receiued gifts for men And therefore as many as lay hold vpon this death of Christ they need not feare their owne death for they may say with the Phenix Moritur me moriente senectus Sinne and misery dieth in vs but wee doe still liue with Christ And therefore Saint Cyprian sayth that Cyprian de mortalitate eius est timere mortem qui ad Christum nolit ire it is enough for them to feare death which will not beleeue in Christ his death John 11.26 for hee that beleeueth in him shall neuer die but they that will not beleeue in him may well feare and tremble at the remembrance of this death because after death comes iudgement and then shall they feele another death which is eternall death for the reward of sinne is death that is indeed eternall death in hell Marke 9.44 where their worme dieth not and their fire is not quenched CHAP. VI. How sinne brings eternall death both of Body and Soule THirdly Touching eternall death wee must vnderstand What eternall death is that this is a separation of man from God which is paena damni the losse of eternall happinesse a losse farre exceeding the losse of all the world and an allegation of a damned soule in a tormented body non viuendâ— sed dolendi causa not to giue any comfort of life or ioy but to giue the true sence and feeling of eternall death and sorrow which is paena sensus the payne of feeling and suffering the greatest paynes that can be conceiued for when the wicked are called by God to be adiudged for sinne they shall bee condemned by Christ Of the intollerable paynes of hell and then caried by the deuils into euerlasting torments into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone for euermore and there their musicke shall be horrors and howlings their meate shall be balls of fire and their drinke shall be fountaines of teares alwayes distilling downe from their eyes and yet neuer procuring them any ease there their torments shall be intollerable their times endlesse and their companions deuils for so Saint Augustine sayth August ser 55. de tempore that in inferno nec tortores deficiant nec miseri torti moriantur sed per milia milia annorum cruciandi nec tamen in secula liberandi in hell neither the cruell tormenters shall be wanting nor the miserably tormented shall bee eased but for thousand thousands of yeares bee plagued and neuer thence to bee deliuered Isidorus de summo bono and as Isidorus sayth Ibi erit semper velle quod nunquam erit semper nolle quod nunquam non erit there shall bee a will neuer satisfied and a nille neuer gratified neuer inioying the ease they would and euer suffering the paynes they would not And if we diue into the depth of that dolefull tragedie of miserable Diues wee shall see this trueth fully confirmed for as the Scripture sheweth that here iudgement shall be without mercy and that euery one shall receiue his punishment in waite and measure according to the measure of their sinnes so wee find it true it him who as hee denied the crumbes of bread to poore Lazarus so is he now denied the least drop of water to coole his burning tongue How the least comfort shall be denied vnto the damned and the least dramme of mercy to refresh his poore distressed soule quis talia fando sustinet a lachrymis Who can indure to dwell in deuouring flames and yet behold this is the reward of sinne for the wages of sinne is death Oh then A most earnest perswasion to forsake sinne beloued brethren seeing euery sinne slayeth the soule within the body corrupteth the body in the graue and eternally tormenteth both the body and soule in hell let vs hate and detest all sinnes for though wee reade of many tyrants Nero Phalaris Caligula Heliagabalus and such like that were carniuorants and blood-thirsty men sauage beasts in the shapes of men delighting themselues onely in blood cruelties yet we neuer reade of such a tyrant as Sinne for the blood of death would quench these mens rage but no payne no death but eternall death a death that neuer dieth and a paine that neuer endeth will satisfie this tyrant Sinne. This is the deceit of sinne as the Poet sayd of Venus Laeta venire Venus tristis abire solet To present pleasure or profit vnto our eyes but assoone as ouer the sinne is done to deale with vs 2 Sam. 13.18 as Ammon did by Thamar thrust her out and hate her wound our conscience and destroy our soules And therefore once againe I beseech you let vs forsake our sinnes let vs leaue our drinking our swaggering and our swearing and instead of by God by God and more fearefull oathes which I am afraid to name at euery word which is the most odious yet most carelesse custome both of Court and Countrey let vs say in truth in truth the words are as easie and they will bring more ease vnto our soules for swearing graceth not your speech but disgraceth you and dishonoureth God and therefore one day you must greatly repent you of it or you shall fearefully die for it and I beseech you pardon mee for speaking it for it is my dutie that I owe you and it would bee my destruction if I did conceale it from you Clemens l. 1. recog as S. Clemens sayth in the like case and I desire not so much with Aristotle my God of Heauen is my witnesse that I lie not to bee deemed a great Scholler as with Gregorie Nazianzen to bee indeed an honest man to liue as I teach and to discharge my duety in reprouing sinne rather then to shew my knowledge in any Science and therefore I humbly intreate you all to giue me leaue to beseech you to leaue your sinnes and because wee cannot quite forsake them to confesse them and to bee ashamed of them John 1.19 for if we confesse our sinnes God is mercifull and iust to forgiue vs all our sinnes and to cleanse vs from all vnrighteousnesse But the deuill cannot indure that we should confesse them least God should thereby forgiue them and therefore as he perswadeth vs euer to commit them so he perswadeth vs euer to conceale them and neuer to confesse them For I read that on a time a sinner being at confession That the deuill cannot indure wee should confesse our sinnes the deuill intruded himselfe and came to him and being demaunded by the Priest wherefore he came in he answered to make restitution and being asked what he would restore hee sayd shame for this sayth hee I haue stollen from this sinner to make him shamelesse in sinning and
kindred of a Traytor were thereby tainted and disparaged by the Macedonian Law And therefore we must abridge God of that which we see iust in man or else we must yeeld it is iust in God to visite and to punish the sinnes of the Fathers vpon the Children But For the second That for the Fathers sinnes the Child should be spiritually punished or inflicted with criminall punishments it seemeth more then strange and therefore Aquinas and many others thinking thereby to reconcile this place of the Law That God will visite the sinnes of the Fathers vpon the Children And that of Ezechiel where God saith The innocent Childe shall not beare the iniquity of his wicked Father doe say that God here doth vnderstand it of temporall punishment or corporall castigation which God often times layeth vpon the Children for their Fathers sinnes But in Ezechiel God meaneth that he will not spiritually punish or eternally plague the Childe for the Fathers sinne And I confesse that that place of Ezechiel is to be vnderstood that God will not eternally punish the Childe simply for the Fathers sinne for God vseth not to punish any one man for the sinne of any other man But as the Lord saith himselfe The soule which sinneth Ezech. 18.4 A difference betwixt spirituall and eternall punishment that soule shall dye yet I say that in Ezechiel he denyeth not what here he affirmeth and that hee meaneth the same thing in both places if both be rightly vnderstood for I make a great difference betweene a spirituall and an eternall punishment that God will eternally punish the Childe for the Fathers sinne I vtterly denye but that hee will spiritually punish the Childe for the Fathers sinne I see neither place denying it For as here hee doth not say that hee will eternally punish the Childe for his Fathers sinnes so there he doth not say that hee will no way spiritually punish the Childe for the Parents faults but as here his meaning is not that he will inflict any positiue euill vpon the sonnes of the wicked for the wickednesse of their Parents but that for the iniquity of the Parents hee will shut his hands and with-hold his grace from their Children and so willingly and iustly suffer them to commit the like or worse sinnes then their Fathers did because we being all naturally borne in sinne inclined and prone to all euill if God doth not by his sanctifying and preuenting grace preserue vs wee shall be sure enough of our selues without any intrusion or infliction of any positiue euill from God to fall from one wickednesse to another and to commit all sinnes euen with greedinesse So there his meaning is not to deny the with-holding of his grace from the Children of the wicked which is all that here hee threatneth but that he will not inflict any positiue punishment vpon them for their Fathers sinnes And therefore though God saith in Ezechiel that he will not punish the Children for their Fathers faults i. e. by any positiue punishment yet doth hee not denie That God denyeth his graces vnto the Children for the Parents sinnes but that the priuatiue punishment of denying his grace vnto them for their Fathers sinnes should be inflicted vpon them and that suffering of vs to sinne or not hindering of vs to sinne iustly inflicted vpon vs for our Fathers sinnes is a most lamentable and a most fearefull thing because such Children so iustly refused to be helped by GOD and so deseruedly left in the councell of their owne hands shall bee sure of sinnes enough of their owne to be plagued for that they shall neuer neede to say Ezech. 18.2 The Fathers haue eaten sowre grapes and the Childrens teeth are set on edge or that they are punished for their Fathers sinnes And so you see how God visiteth the sinnes of the Fathers vpon the Children and yet punisheth euery man but for his owne sinnes The first he doth by a spirituall desertion and deniall of grace vnto the Children for the Fathers sinnes and The second hee doth by a positiue infliction of punishment vpon euery man according to his owne sinnes for As he promiseth to blesse the Children of the godly for the loue that he beareth vnto their Parents as hee saith vnto Abraham Gen. 17.7 I will be thy God and the God of thy seede after thee So hee denyeth his grace many times vnto the Children of the wicked for the very hatred that he beares against their Fathers sinnes as most innumerable wofull examples doe make it plaine for you see the Iewes forsaking God to be forsaken of God to this very day and that bloud of Christ which their Fathers spilt to remaine vpon the Children of so many generations And we see so many Nations of men suffered Luc. 1.79 To sit in darkenesse and in the shadow of death as the seauen Churches of Asia and many other famous places of Greece and other Countries because their Fore-fathers haue forsaken their first loue and through their negligence haue extinguished the light of Truth And being thus left of God and depriued of grace what can be left in them or deriued from them but the fruits of that naturall corruption which is ingraffed in all men And therefore as it is truly said of all the off-spring of Ieroboam that being bereft of grace and left vnto themselues euen for their Fathers sinnes They walked in the wayes of Ieroboam 1 Kings 15.34 the sonne of Nebat which made Israel to sinne So we may say of the Children of wicked Parents that being left as they were borne in their pure naturals for their Fathers impieties they doe imitate the same workes and tread in the same steppes or worse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then their Fathers did And so it falles out true that as an euill Crow brings forth an euill egge so euill Parents doe bring forth for the most part euill and wicked Children God in iustice visiting the iniquity of the Parents vpon the Children vnto the third and fourth generation And so you see how God visiteth the iniquity of the Fathers vpon the Children Why God with-holdeth his graces from the Children of the wicked by with-holding his grace from them and how iust it is with God to doe the same because hee is a debtor to no man and the reason why he dealeth thus with the sonnes of men is First To shew the height of his hatred against sinne fire is kindled in his wrath and it shall burne to the bottome of hell and if his wrath be kindled yea but a little Blessed are all they that put their trust in him Psal 2.12 Secondly To punish the offenders as I said before in their dearest flesh to see if their loue to their Childrens welfare will make them any wayes feare to sinne for we see many men so obdurate and so hard-hearted vnto themselues as that they care not what is done or what becomes
aegroti quantum ad iustitiam Dei In regard of the state of the patient to free him from sinne and to satisfie the Iustice of God For it behoued the Mediator betweene God and man Ne in vtroque deo similis longe esset ab homine aut in vtroque homini similis longe esset à Deo to haue something like vnto GOD and to haue something like vnto man lest that in all things being like vnto man hee might be so too farre from God or being in all things like vnto God hee might be so too farre from man and therefore Christ betwixt sinfull mortall men and the iust immortall God did appeare a mortall man with men and a iust God with God 1 Tim 2.5 and so the Mediator betwixt God and men was God and man Christ Iesus and fitly too saith Saint Augustine Quia ille congruè satisfacit qui potest debet Because that is most agreeable to reason that he should make satisfaction Two speciall reasons why Christ was made man which ought and can satisfie but we know that none ought to doe it but man and none can doe it but God and therefore God was contented to be made man and that for these two especiall reasons First to shew the greatnesse of his Loue to man First to shew the greatnesse of his loue for hee had seemed to haue loued vs the lesse if he had done lesse for vs but now Quid tam pietate plenum quam filium Dei pro nobis factum esse faenum What can more commend the loue of God to man then to see the word God made flesh for man Iohn 3.16 and therefore the Euangelist to shew the greatnesse of Gods loue to mankinde saith God so loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten Sonne that is to bee incarnate to be made flesh and to suffer death that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life Secondly to erect our hope that was already deiected Secondly to erect the hope and to strengthen the faith of man and to strengthen our faith which was alwayes wauering for wee saw two things that were to be done for man and yet could not be done by any man but such a one as should be God and Man The first was a remoueall of that great euill which suppressed vs. The second was a restoring of that great good that we were depriued of First Magnitude mali The euill that oppressed all men was foure-fold the greatnesse of that euill which suppressed euery man and could not be taken away by any man consisted in foure things 1. The waight of sinne 2. The height of Gods wrath 3. The power of death 4. The tyranny of the diuell And these could not be abolished by any creature but onely by him that created all creatures and can worke all things mightily according to the purpose of his owne will Secondly Magnitudo boni The good that man lost was two-fold the greatnesse of that good which was taken away from all men and could be restored by no man consisted in two things 1. The repairing of Gods image here in this life 2. The enioying of the blessed vision of God in the next life For none could restore the image of God to man but hee that was the liuing image of God Heb. 1.3 and the ingrauen forme of his person and the Kingdome of Heauen none could giue but God that giues it to all that loue him and therefore to take away the euill which we had deserued and to restore vnto vs that good whereof we were depriued God himselfe that made vs was contented to redeeme vs by taking our flesh vpon him Vt natura offendens satisfaceret That the nature offending might make satisfaction and because satisfaction could not be made without bloud for without bloud there is no remission Heb. 9.22 saith the Apostle he was made flesh that he might die and shed his bloud for vs Aug. serm 101. de tempore Vt iniusta mors iustam vinceret mortem liberaret nos iustè dum pro nobis occiditur iniustè That so his vniustly inflicted death might ouercome our iustly deserued death and might most rightly free and deliuer vs because he was most wrongfully slaine for vs as Saint Augustine speaketh Quest 2 Secondly It will be demaunded why the word that is the Sonne should be incarnate and made flesh rather then the Father or the Holy Ghost Resp Why the Son rather then the Father or the Holy Ghost was made man Saint Augustine thinketh that the cause pertained more specially vnto the Sonne then to the Father or to the Holy Ghost for that the Diuell attempted to vsurpe the dignitie and authority of the Sonne of God saying in his heart that he would be like vnto the most highest that is the image of the Father and sought to intrude himselfe into his glory to be the Prince of this world and the Head of euery creature which things were onely proper vnto the Sonne of God and therfore it behoued the Sonne to come into the world to ouercome the Diuell that would haue wronged him and all other men that were to be members of him But we finde many other reasons to shew why the Word was made flesh rather then the Father or the Holy Ghost As First because it is the office of the Word to declare the minde of God First because the Incarnation of God was made for the manifestation of God but we declare and manifest things by words and Christ is the word of the Father the wisedome the knowledge and the interpreter of his Fathers will euen as our word is the interpreter of our minde as Origen and Clemens Alexandrinus doe declare and therefore the word was rightly incarnate that God in him might be seene and heard and vnderstood of vs according to that saying of the Euangelist that which wee haue heard and seene 1 Iohn 1.1 and our hands haue handled of the word of life that declare we vnto you For as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word in respect of his person which is a name of relation vnto the minde as Sonne is to the Father so is he the word in respect of his office i. e. of his office as he is the second person of the Trinitie for as it is the propertie and office of the eternall minde i. e. the Father to beget the word i. e. the Sonne so it is the propertie and the office of the Word to declare the Minde but because this spirituall inuisible and ineffable Word as he is God could neuer be seene nor heard nor vnderstood of vs therefore was he made flesh that he might be heard and seene And this the Apostle seemes to shew vnto vs when hee saith God heretofore at sundry times Heb. 1.1 and in diuers manners spake vnto the Fathers by the Prophets but in these last
Cantic quem pro nobis bibit nothing in the world makes Christ to be loued of vs more then that Cup which he hath drunke vp for vs. Quia amor amoris magnes durus est qui amorem non rependit Because loue is as a loadstone to draw loue againe and greater loue then this hath no man that a man should giue his life for his friends and therefore the remembrance of this cannot choose but cause vs to loue him againe Euripides in Alceste It is reported subeuntem fata mariti Alcesten that Alcestes was contented to vndergoe the destinies of her husband for when Apollo had obtained of the Fates to spare Admetus life if any one of his friends or kindred would willingly die for him and that all his friends refused the same his wife Alcestes redeemed his life with her owne death So was Pythias ready to die for Damon and Damon likewise for Pythias and so the Codri for the Athenians and the Curtij for the Romans did willingly giue themselues to die Sic fratrem Pollux alterna morte redemit And surely these are arguments of great loue yet farre farre short of the loue of Christ For First these did it for them that loued them as much Lactant. institut l. 5. c. 18. and were as ready to doe as much for them againe but Christ did it for vs when we were his enemies Rom. 5.8 Secondly these owed so much vnto their friends and countrey for in that they were they were from these and whatsoeuer they had they had from them and therefore Cicero l. 1 offic Partem ortus nostri patria partem patres sibi vendicant Our Country our friends and our parents doe rightly challenge no small part of euery man saith Cicero and as Lucan saith Haec duri immota Catonis Lucan l. 2. secta fuit Nec sibi sed toti genitum se credere mundo It was Cato's mind that he was not borne for himselfe but to doe what good he could to others but Christ oweth vs nothing he is a debter to no man for who hath first giuen vnto him Rom. 5 8. and it shall be recompenced vnto him againe And therefore seeing the loue of Christ to vs was so great as when we deserued no good at his hands but deserued so much euill as is due to mortall and perfidious enemies to suffer so many things for vs how can it choose but the remembrance therof should exceedingly kindle our loue towards him againe for who can behold and consider the grâ—â— price that was paid for his redemption and not loue his Redeemer or who can thinke of that bitter potion which he drunke for our saluation and not be inflamed with the loue of his Sauiour There be 3. things saith Mirandula that doe moue vs to loue any one First The vertues of the person Mirand de morte Christi li. 1. c. 17. Secondly The benefits that we haue receiued of him Thirdly The good that we doe expect from him But Christ is the vertue of God his Father the chiefest good and all goodnesse and although euery vertue doth challenge loue yet no vertue deserueth the same so much as liberality and what greater bounty or liberality can there be then this to shedde his precious bloud and to offer vp himselfe vpon the Altar of his Crosse to deliuer vs from eternall death and what greater good can be desired then that eternall happinesse which hee hath purchased for vs and which we doe expect from him And therefore who would not loue so good a Sauiour It is reported of Ignatius Bishop of Antioch that he did so continually meditate vpon those great things which Christ had done and suffered for him Jdem quo supra c. 10. that hee was thereby brought so intirely to loue him as when he was demanded why hee would not forsake and forget Christ rather then suffer himselfe to be torne and deuoured of wilde and sauage Beasts He answered That hee could not forget him because the sufferings of Christ were not onely words transient in his mouth or remoueable obiects before his eyes but they were indelible Characters so engrauen in his heart that all the torments of the Earth could neuer race them out And therefore being commanded by that bloudy Tyrant Traiane to be ript and vnbowelled they found Iesus Christ written vpon his heart in Characters of Gold Oh that it might be so with vs that wee would euer set the sufferings of Christ before our face and with Saint Paul desire to know nothing but Iesus Christ and him crucified that so by the continuall consideration of Christ his great loue to vs we might be induced to loue him againe The meditation of Christs suffering supporteth our hope Thirdly As the continuall meditation of Christs suffering suppresseth sinne and kindleth our loue so it supporteth our hope for though I haue sinned grieuously and my conscience is much troubled yet it shall not be ouer-cha◠〈◊〉 despaire Quoniam vulnerum Domini recordabor â—od ex me mihi deest vsurpo ex visceribus Domini Bernard Ser. 61. in Cant. Becaus◠〈◊〉 will remember the wounds of my Lord Iesus and whatsoeuer is wanting in my selfe I will assume from the bowels of my Sauiour for when my wisedome faileth my righteousnesse sufficeth not my holinesse helpeth not the sufferings of Christ shall suffice for all This shall be my last refuge this shall be mine onely remedy saith Saint Bernard Idem Ser. 22. in Cant. And so Saint Paul after hee had shewed how doe he what he could he serued with his flesh many times the Law of sinne and therefore cryeth out O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of this death He saith I thanke God Rom. 7.24.25 through Christ our Lord As if hee should haue said Seeing I am so prone to sinne and so vnapt to goodnesse I haue none other refuge but onely to flie vnto the sufferings and merits of Iesus Christ and I know that is sufficient for me in stead of all for as Israel sucked honey out of the rocke and oyle out of the flint stone Deut. 32.13 so doe wee sucke all our comforts and refresh our selues with those streames of teares and bloud that gushed out of that stonie Rocke Iesus Christ And as the high hilles are a refuge for the wilde Goates Psal 104.18 and the stony Rockes for the Conies those poore silly fearefull Creatures that haue none other shift to saue their liues but to hide themselues in the holes of the Rockes so the poore silly simple soules of sinnefull men haue none other place to hide themselues in from the wrath of God Cantic 2.14 but onely with the Doue in the Canticles In foraminibus petrae In the clefts of this Rocke in the secret places of his stayres as some translate it that is in the wounds and stripes of Iesus Christ for
By his stripes we are healed Esay 53.5 And therefore seeing the sufferings of Christ is that precious balme of Gilead that soueraigne salue which is sufficient to heale euery sickned soule to hinder vs to sinne to kindle our loue to God and to erect our hope in God no man can treate no man can heare of a matter more excellent then is the dilating of the sufferings of Christ Thirdly Here is a compendious breuity a theame short enough but foure words Ita oportuit Christum pati 3. Here is abundance of matter in few words Thus it behoued Christ to suffer or Christ must thus suffer And they be certaine in sence and full of matter And therefore you may easily remember the words because they be so few and you should diligently muse and daily meditate vpon the matter and bee throughly excited to an vnwearied hearkening or reading and to a faithfull retaining of the same because so excellent and I may be truly excused for my large preamble and long perambulation vpon the same because there is Multum in paruo Hieron ad Demetriad A great deale of matter couched here in a little roome euen as the whole World is expressed in a little Mappe For though the men of Myndas might well shut their large gates Laertius l. 6. lest their little City would runne out yet huge spacious Cities must haue their Gates bigger then little Wickets least their people should get neither in nor out And therefore though these words be but few yet seeing herein there is contained infinite matter and an huge building Centum sublime columnis for what higher mystery or what ampler discourse can wee finde then the sufferings of Iesus Christ you must giue me leaue to insist a while to behold the stripes and to search into the wounds of Christ for I may not shut a large foote into a little shooe and I cannot inclose so many Iliads of sorrowes as one did the Illiads of Homer within the compasse of a nut-shell And therefore by Gods helpe though I meane not to build Tabernacles and to stay euer in the expounding of that which shall be euer in my remembrance yet I will Sistere gradum Make a stop and stay a while To treate of these words of Christ Thus it behoued Christ to suffer In which words as the Holy Ghost hath set them downe I note these foure especiall points The diuision of the Text. First The person suffering Christ thus it behoued Christ Secondly The suffering it selfe it behoued him to suffer Thirdly The necessity of his suffering it behoued him to suffer Fourthly The manner of his suffering Thus it behoued Christ to suffer i. e. As the Prophets fore-told and as you haue seene hee did CHAP. II. Of the surpassing excellency of the Person suffering 1. Part. FOr the first The excellency of the person that is the subiect of any action doth giue the most life vnto any matter for the exploits of Kings or the deedes of Nobles doe of themselues craue attention a hundred times more then the story of any one of base condition Consider wee then the person that is to vndergoe this passion First We shall finde him to be a man for so Pilate saith That Christ was a Man Behold the man And himselfe commonly giues himselfe none other title then The Sonne of man to shew indeede that he was a true man as we are And this should moue in vs compassion for humanity it selfe at the torments of the very bruite Beasts is something touched and Diogenes the Cinick◠in this respect is said Laertius l. 6. Bonauent in vita S. Francis to haue redeemed many times the Beasts from slaughter And Saint Francis likewise is said to haue ransomed the poore Lambes from the Butchers hands because it grieued them to see any Creature tortured and therefore much more should we be moued with compassion at the passion of any man for if one member suffer 1 Cor. 12.26 all the members suffer with it saith the Apostle Secondly Christ was not onely a man That Christ was a iust man but he was also a iust man Non erat dolus in ore eius There was no guile found in his mouth His enemies themselues confesse it Math. 27.19 Resolution of Pilate Pag. 47. Haue thou nothing to doe with that iust man saith Pilates wife and Pilate oftentimes as I haue shewed in my Booke of the resolution of Pilate confessed and by many arguments confirmed his assertion that Christ deserued no punishment at all Luke 23.14 and that hee could not finde though hee had most diligently searched any cause of death in him and therefore to cleere himselfe from the imputation of iniustice Leo Ser. 3. de pass that he should ijsdem labijs eum mittere ad crucem quibus pronunciauerat innocentem With the same lippes send him to be crucified whom euen now he had iustified he washed his hands in the view of the multitude saying I am innocent from the bloud of this iust person So Herod Math. 27.24 though he had derided our Sauiours silence yet dared hee not condemne his innocency for I haue sent him vnto Herod and loe Luc. 23.15 nothing worthy of death is found in him saith Pilate So Caiphas the High Priest prophesieth of him whom he persecuteth and absolueth him whom he accuseth for hee pronouncing the mystery of our saluation said It was necessary that one should die for the people John 11.50 Therefore hee must be a iust man or else hee could not satisfie for the sinnes of men And so the Diuell himselfe though hee violently persecuted and most maliciously accused yet bee cleerely iustified our Sauiour Christ for it was he as many of the ancients doe coniecture that told Pilates wife and incited her to tell her Husband that the man thus maligned and condemned as nefarious was notwithstanding iust and righteous for the Diuell knew that since he first knew him he knew no sinne in him And it may be that to this our Sauiour alludeth John 14.30 Talem vix reperit vnum milibus è multis hominum consultus Apollo Iohn 8.46 when he saith The Prince of this World commeth Sed in me non habet quicquam but hee hath nothing in me As if hee should haue said When hee searcheth and seeketh and sifteth what he can yet shall he finde no euill no sinne no not the least cause of death in me For he might iustly say Which of you can rebuke me of sinne Quia ab omnibus accepit testimonium innocentiae Because hee had the testimonies of all men Iren. l. 4. c. 14. of all sorts as Irenaeus saith to iustifie him God Men Angels Diuels Friends Foes Acquaintance Strangers and all iustified him that he was voide of sinne full of grace And therefore as we haue euer more compassion of them that suffer and be innocent then of those whom wee coniecture
yet behold his Spirit his Soule is sorrowfull vnto death no doubt but his Apostles saw it yet like a barrell full and wanting vent hee must needes burst forth and confesse it Spem vultu simulat premit altum corde dolorem he doth not here Aeneas-like dissemble his griefe with a fained countenance his sorrow is greater then can be contained for it is vnto death that is not onely extensiuely such as must continue for the space of seauenteene or eighteene houres euen vntill death it selfe shall finish it but also intensiuely such and so great as that which is vsed to be at the very point of death and such as were able to bring death vnto me were I not reserued to a greater and a heauier punishment And therefore he kneeled downe and fell grouelling vpon his face and said Father if it be possible let this Cup passe from me Matth. 26.39 and there praying he fell into a dreadfull agonie his thoughts were troubled his spirits affrighted his heart trembled his pores opened Et totus sudore defluit and he sweat great drops of bloud that streamed downe to the ground and so panting hee prayed and sweating still he prayed and the more hee was afflicted the more he prayed and fainted as it were in the bathe of his owne bloud weeping not onely with his eyes but euen with all his members Bern Ser. 3. as Saint Bernard saith And therefore the end of his Passion must needes be mournefull when the beginning of it is so fearefull and the cause of this agony must needs be supernaturall when it proceeds so contrary to the course of nature for it was in a cold season in the open ayre and they were faine to make a fire within doores without any exercise without any man neere him to offer him violence and therefore naturally he should be inclined to a cold chilly operation rather then to a bloudy sweating agony yea not onely to sweat some cold thinne faint sweat which is called sudor diaphoreticus but in such abundance of great drops saith the Euangelist that they were able to die his garments with crimson red according as the Prophet Esay saith though properly in another sense yet in some respect may be applyed to this Wherefore art thou red in thine apparell Esay 63.2 and thy garments like him that treadeth in the Wine-fat And as the Christian Poet Houedemius saith Sudor fluit vndique riuis sanguineae manant tanquam de vulnere guttae Cum cor sentit amoris gladium Cruor carnis rubricat pallium When through loue his hearts-vaine bled It dyed his garments crimson red And that these drops did not onely distillare drop out but decurrere runne and streame downe so fast to the ground from all the pores of his body as if they had issued out of most deadly wounds Wynton in Ser. sup Thren It is well obserued by our learned Bishop of Winchester out of Saint Hierome and the Chaldee paraphrast that the greatnesse of his sorrow melted him so as if he had stood by some burning furnace which was able to cast him into that sweat and to turne that sweat into drops of bloud and it appeares the rather because the Prophet Ieremie saith in the same place that a fire was sent into his bones and that might well melt all his marrow and cause the bloud to distill from his flesh and to trickle downe to the ground O happy garden watered with such teares thou must needes surpasse the garden of Eden that was watered with foure goodly riuers for this bloud of Christ doth speake better things Heb. 12.24 and bring forth better fruits then the bloud of Abell for that cryed out of the earth for vengeance against his brother but this cryeth for mercy vnto all the earth euen to his enemies Father forgiue them Luk. 23.34 for they know not what they doe and whereas our fruitfull Land the Land of our hearts was made barren for the sinne and iniquity of our fore-Father to bring forth thornes and thistles sinnes and wickednesse yet now being watered with these heauenly showers of his bloud he maketh it very plenteous to abound in all grace and godlinesse But alas Quest what was the cause that should make him so supernaturally to sweat so strangely to kneele so deuoutly and to pray so earnestly that if it were possible that houre might passe from him Thomas Aquinas answereth Resp that the cause of all passions is to be considered either 1. Ex parte obiecti In regard of the obiect Or 2. Ex parte subiecti In respect of the subiect That as in the conception of gold in the bowels of the earth there is Aestus solaris ignis subterranius A concurrency of the heate of the Sunne from aboue with a sulphurious fire from below So in the Passion of our Sauiour Christ we must know that in respect of the obiect he saw the Diuine wrath from aboue ready to be powred forth for the sinnes of men and in respect of the subiect hee saw the Church which was his body so iustly punished by this wrath of God and all that punishment to alight on him which had vndertaken to satisfie Gods Iustice and to free his members from euerlasting torments And therefore no doubt but the cleere sight The cause of Christ his agony in the Garden and the deepe consideration of that Cup which he was so sheerely to drinke vp was the cause that made him both so vehemently to pray against it and â—lso in the vehemency of the feare of it to be in such perplexed agony as thereby to sweat the drops of bloud CHAP. II. Of that fearefull Cup what it was which our Sauiour was to drinke of and that he so much feared and prayed against it What was the Cup which our Sauiour was to drinke BVt what was this Cup which hee was to drinke of we cannot easily determine For Some thinke this prayer this feare this agony proceeded onely from the weakenesse of his humanity that was now though not dis-vnited yet vnassisted of the Deity and that they were chiefly effected through the feare of that death which so neerely approached and therefore though they were vttered as proceeding from Passion or at least humane affection yet were they presently seasoned and as it were corrected with more deliberate consideration when he said Not my will but thine be fulfilled But To these men I answere that although Christ tooke our infirmities vpon him as well the spirituall Passions of the soule as the corporall infirmities of the body i. e. all such as are onely miserable but not damnable penall but not culpable or those that are painfull without sinne but not those which are sinfull without paine as both Damascen Saint Augustine and Aquinas haue most excellently obserued yet we say that these affections in Christ doe much differ from ours in three respects That the Humane affections
comfortable beames of the God-head were now restrayned from the assistance of the Man-hood of Christ as hereafter I shall more fully shew vnto you yet I say that all the Diuine comforts were not detained from him for then the Humanity could not haue indured so great an agony had he not beene somewhat sustained by the Deity Nay be it so Winton in Pass Ser. sup Thren 1 p 3. as some would haue it that his soule was euen as scorched heath-ground without so much as any drop of dew of Diuine comfort yet I say he was not depriued of his reasonable soule he had all the powers and faculties of reason and vnderstanding in a farre more excellent measure then any other man whatsoeuer and these faculties were not disturbed nor any wayes darkened with the vehemencie of any Passions as I shewed vnto you before and therefore I cannot see how the feare of a naturâ—ll deâ—th onely could so exceedingly affright him as to make him so earnestly to pray against the same for we find that euen naturall men not knowing God and therefore not guided by the light of God doe and haue by the light of Humane reason made light account of death and yet you see Christ a man of perfect knowledge as man so much as man could haue is here grieuously troubled and vehemently affrighted at the consideration of that Cup which he was to drinke of and therefore that Cup did containe a great deale more then that little draught of naturall death And Heb. 5.7 That Christ was heard and therefore deliuered from what he feared Thirdly The Apostle vnto the Hebrewes saith That when Christ offered vp prayers and supplications with strong cryings and teares vnto him that was able to saue him from death he was heard in that which he feared or for his piety as the originall hath it Now this must be referred vnto his feruent prayer and those bloudy teares in the Garden for we doe not reade that in any place else he did offer the like prayers and teares vnto God and therefore seeing he was heard i. e. so heard that he obtained his request Prae reuerentia for his modestie or for the respect that God had vnto him and was deliuered from that which he feared it must needes be that it was not his owne naturall death that he so much feared and so earnestly prayed against it for from this he was not deliuered but he suffered dyed and was buried Psal 75.9 And therefore as the Prophet Dauid saith In the hand of the Lord there is a Cup the wine is red it is full mixt as for the dregs thereof That Christ was to vndergoe the punishment of all others all the vngodly of the earth shall drinke them and suck them out So I say of this Cup of Christ it is a Cup of many ingredients it is full red and it hath many dregs and although in this good seruant there was found no sinne yet seeing he was contented to vndergoe the punishments of all bad seruants and to suffer the iust desarts of all the vngodly therefore hee must drinke and sucke vp the very dregs of this Cup and yet if we duely obserue it we shall see that he was heard in that which hee feared for though he drinkes it vp sheere yet it shall cleerely passe from him and his prayer was no more for hee prayed not that he might not drinke of it but that it might passe from him euen as a man that drinketh a cup of poyson and yet thereby is not poysoned And so it did with Christ he dranke vp all and yet it did him no hurt at all for though it made him sweat the drops of bloud though it grieued him and pained him and made him cry out Matth. 27.46 My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee yea though it cast him into a sleepe and laid him dead in his graue and there sealed him for a time yet presently within the space of forty houres or thereabouts he reuiued and awaked as a Lion out of sleepe or as a Giant refreshed with wine and then he smote all his enemies vpon the cheâ—â—e-bone Psal 78.66.67 and put them to a perpetuall shame And through that short and momentary death of his he purchased vnto his Church euerlasting life And therefore seeing this Cup which Christ feared was not onely that little draught of naturall death that was but the least drop thereof but was a Cup of many ingredients Let vs so farre as we may gather it out of the word of God obserue and learne what those ingredients might be which were contained in that Cup that so we may the better know what he suffered and what he prayed against CHAP. III. Of diuers particular things that were in that Cup which our Sauiour dranke of ANd if we diligently search into the particulars we shall finde that therein might be The difference betwixt feare and sorrow or griefe First Something 's that he grieued at which troubled him And Secondly Something 's that he feared which he prayed against For there be great differences betwixt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 griefe and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 feare and betwixt the causes of sorrow and feare for the obiect of sorrow and griefe may be as well euill past as the paine present but the obiect of feare is onely euill to come or that which is present but as yet not wholly passed ouer feare alwayes going before the paine sorrow and griefe following after and yet I say that the same things now in Christ might and did worke both feare and griefe because he fore-saw those things that were to come as present or as already past and therefore he feared them as things to come and he grieued for them as if they had beene already past Of the first sort there were somethings 1. In respect of himselfe 2. In respect of others What Christ griâ—ued at 1. In respect of himselfe he fore-saw these two things 1. The greatnesse of his paine and shame 2. The deferring of his death and punishment 2. In respect of others he fore-saw likewise these 2. things 1. The small account that they would make of so great a worke 2. The greatnesse of that punishment which they must suffer for this smalenesse of their account And would not these things grieue a man What Christ feared Of the second sort there were especially three things 1. The waight of sinne 2. The malice of Satan 3. The wrath of God And would not these enemies so many in number so mighty in power and so terrible to behold make a man to feare to tremble and to sweat And yet from all these he was deliuered and so as the Apostle saith He was heard in that which he feared But to speake of these a little more particularly What Christ fore-saw in respect of himselfe First his punishment First He fore-saw that he should indure Supplicium quo nullum
maius opprobrium quo nullum vilius A punishment then which there could not be greater and a shame then which there could not be viler The first which was but the least thing that grieued him yet it caused a colluctation of the flesh with paine Aristot 3. aethic with death because the flesh naturally is desirous to escape them both Et omnium terribilium terribilissimum est mors And of all terrible things death is the most terrible thing saith the Philosopher and therefore the very remembrance of the same Secondly His Shame The Shamefull handling of Christ was more grieuous vnto him then all his corporall sufferings must needs bring a terror vnto flesh and bloud And the second which was the shamefull things that were to be done vnto him to be scorned and scoffed accounted as wicked taken by the wicked and condemned with the wicked and so shamefully handled shamefully deemed shamefully dying did a great deale more perplexe and grieue him then the former any man wishing rather to dye then to suffer shame shame being a greater punishment vnto the minde and soule then any torture can be vnto the flesh Nature alwayes releeueth the part most distressed for nature cleane contrary to the course of the world which alwayes taketh part with the stronger-side and layeth helpe vpon them that are mighty vseth alwayes to assist the weaker part as it appeareth plainely in the letting of bloud in the arme or in any other place for then nature as it doth still send the bloud Quasi agmine facto as it were on heapes from all the parts of the body thither vntill the said rupture be stopped vp againe and so likewise when the heart of man which is the seate of feare begins to be troubled with any vehement or horrible feare then will nature presently collect the bloud about the same for to assist it whereby the face is left pale and all the exterior parts as it were voide of life and when the face of man which is the seate of shamefastnesse and honesty is aspersed with shame and reproach then presently the bloud relinquisheth all the interior parts and gathers it selfe vnto the face as to that part which now hath most need to be sustayned wâ—ereby we truely say that Pallor timentium rubor erubescentium est signum To blush is the signe of shame and to be pale is an argument of feare And therefore though the feare of his punishment and of death did neerely touch him yet to shew that the consideration of this most shamefull handling of him did more perplexe him his bloud did not collect it selfe vnto the heart though the same was much affrighted but leauing the heart as it were destitute of all helpe it flew into his face as vnto that part which for shame of their dispitefull vsage of him had most neede to be assisted and from thence as the pretious oyntment that was powred vpon Aarons head ranne downe vnto his beard and from thence vnto the skirts of his cloathing So this pretious bloud of Christ gushing out chiefly at his face it plentifully trickled downe to the ground Secondly The deferring of his suffering much grieued our Sauiour As the consideration and fore-sight of these things did much grieue him so the dilation and deferring of them did not a little trouble him for as the expectation of death is many times more grieuous vnto the affrighted flesh then death it selfe so was the dilation of that good which was to proceede from his death a great deale more grieuous vnto him then many deaths for hee was most greedy of our saluation and as the Horse made ready vnto the battle and hearing the Trumpets sounding Virgil. l. 4. Aeneid Stare loco nescit micat auribus tremit artus fraena faerox spumantia mandit doth fame and fome and cannot stand but still striueth to goe forward so Christ hauing this baptisme to be baptized with he was exceedingly pained vntill that was ended Quia spes quae differtur affligit animam Because as Salomon saith hope deferred or expectation prolonged languisheth the soule and therefore as Ionas saâ—d Irascor vsque ad mortem I am exceedingly angry euen vnto death that is because death comes not to me for I doe seeke for death and it flies from me so Christ was grieued vnto death Ambr. 7. in Luc. Non ex metu mortis suae sed ex mora redemptionis nostrae Not for any feare of his owne death but by reason of the delaying of our deliuerance from euerlasting death as Saint Ambrose saith What Christ fore-saw in respâ—ct of vs. Secondly As he fore-saw these things in respect of himselfe so in respect of others he fore-saw First the neglecting of his bloud First The small account that many men would make of this his so great a suffering he saw how few would imbrace it and how many would contemne it and therefore when he considered with himselfe Quae vtilitas in sanguine suo What profit might accrew from his bloud knowing that the least drop of it was of sufficient value to saue the whole world and yet by reason of the iniquitie and incredulity of men that all of it being spilt and shed it should notwithstanding saue but a remnant and a small company of men it could not choose but grieue and vexe his righteous soule to see his bloud spilt in vaine for would it not grieue any man to pay an infinite price to saue a base slaue from death and to see that villaine presently cast himselfe to death and with all his strength and wit to seeke the death of his Redeemer this was the case of Christ for he was willing to redeeme vs with his owne most precious bloud and yet he saw the wicked would trample this benefit vnder foot account the bloud of the couenant as an vnholy thing Heb. 10.29 and make none other vse of it but most fearefully to sweare by it and abuse it and so bringing vpon themselues swift damnation and therefore seeing euery sin grieues God this must grieue him most of all O then beloued brethren seeing as it grieueth the Husbandman to see his ground well manured still continuing barren so it is a griefe to Christ to see his bloud grow fruitlesse and that it is a ioy to him by our conuersion to see the fruits of his labours O let vs neuer cause him to say Esay 49.4 In vacuum laboraui I haue laboured in vaine but let vs truely repent vs of our sinnes and faithfully lay hold of his death that so both the Angels and this Lord of Angels may reioyce Secondly He fore-saw the great punishment and aduersitie that should light vpon many men and vpon many sorts of men for The dispersion of the Apostles Zach. 13.7 and by meanes of this his sufferings and his cruell death As First Vpon his owne Disciples and decrest Apostles for I will
yet here they hanged either till their bloud distilled by little and little out of those wounds that were made in their hands and feete or till they died with the extremitie of hunger vnlesse in pittie their tormentors would by violence hasten their much desired death by a butcherly breaking off their legges and so dismembring of their tortured bodies as they did vnto those two theeues that were crucified with our Sauiour And this was the death the accursed base seruile ignominious and most painefull death that our Sauiour Christ was put vnto It is reported of Aristides that he dying by the bite of a Weesell said Aelian de var. Hist lib. 14. c. 4. that his death would haue been more pleasant more acceptable vnto him if he had died more honourably by the clawes of a Lyon or a Libbard and not by the teeth of such a contemptible beast And what a griefe was it vnto the Sonne of God to be put vnto this I know not whether more shamefull or more painefull death And besides it is worth the obseruing All circumstances doe aggrauate the griefe of Christ vpon the Crosse that they crucified him then and at that time when he had deliuered their Fathers out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of Bondage In commemoration of which benefit their Passeouer was to be celebrated and a great concourse of people was then euer present at Ierusalem And further they did not onely exclude him out of their Citie and put him to death without their gates as Saint Paul noteth but they did also consort him with the wicked and crucified him betwixt two theeues so cruelly they did deale and so basely they did esteeme of him Secondly After they had thus nayled him vnto the Crosse in stead of the comfort of pittying him which wee vse to shew vnto the vilest Malefactors in such extremities and which is some kinde of satisfaction vnto the sufferer he findes his friends forsaking him not daring to say Alas for him How they scoffed at Christ vpoÌ„ the Crosse and he seeth his enemies deriding him in the middest of his sorrowes and shaking their heads at him and saying O thou dissembling and disloyall wretch thou sauest others but thy selfe thou canst not saue thou canst destroy the Temple and build it againe in three dayes but thou canst not come downe from the Crosse to preserue thy life for if thou beest the Sonne of God come downe from the Crosse Why Christ came not downe from the Crosse and we will beleeue in thee But to this Saint Ambrose answereth O stulte caece grex sacerdotum nunquid impossibile erat ei de paruo stipite ligni descendere qui descendit è caelorum altitudine O foolish blinde and sencelesse Flocke of Priests doe you thinke it vnpossible for him to come downe from a little piece of wood which came downe from the height of Heauen Non venit vt se liberare qui subseruâ—tute non erat sed vt nos de seruitute redimeret Ambros in 27 Math. or doe you thinke that your bonds or nayles or fastening of him to the Crosse were able to detaine him there when as the Heauen anâ— all the Host of Heauen were not able to hold him from descending from this ascending to the Crosse for hee came not to free himselfe from death but to deliuer himselfe to death tâ—at hee might free vs from eternall death And therefore hee patiently suffered all all paine all contempts and all disgraces yet they still went on from one degree of scoffes vnto another for when he in a most disconsolate state cried Eloi Eloi Lamasabachthani They doe in a most barbarous scoffing manner say Stay and see if Elias will come to helpe him And thus was he flouted and derided by all that beheld him by the Souldiers by the High Priests by them that passed by yea by the very Theeues that were hanged with him And what is this but to adde an vnspeakeable sorrow vnto an insufferable paine and so as Salomon saith to grieue him more and more that was already too much afflicted at the heart How they gaue him vinegar to drinke Thirdly When hee most lamentably in the middest of this hotte and grieuous conflict with Satan sinne and the wrath of God cried I thirst they most despightfully giue him vinegar to drinke a sweete drinke for a dying man to augment his griefe but not to quench his thirst How they diuided his garments Fourthly They take those blessed Garments wherewith he had wrought many a Heauenly miracle and before his face they diuide the same among the wicked and most barbarous bloudy Souldiers And How Christ being dead they still raged against him Fiftly When he was quite dead their malice still remained aliue so that he might iustly say Nec mors mihi finiet iras Saeua sed in manes manibus arma dabant They did most furiously rage against his harmelesse Ghost for though they saw that he was already dead yet still they persecute him Et miles validis ingentem viribus hastam In latus contorsit And one of those immane and bloudy Souldiers pierced his side with such a mighty speare that it made so deepe a wound as that Thomas might well put his hand into the same And thus did our Sauiour suffer in Golgotha in the Fields of Caluarie Diuers obseruable things to be considered First Of all sorts of men Iewes Gentiles Princes of the people Priests Souldiers Masters Seruants Friends Strangers Young Old Male and Female Secondly In all the things wherein it was possible for a man to suffer as first in his friends for they all forsooke him and not one of them assisted him when hee was thus persecuted by his foes Secondly In his good name for they loaded him with lies and accused him of blasphemies Thirdly In his outward goods which we call goods of Fortune for though he had nothing but his cloathes yet they stripped him of his garments and left him starke naked but what had beene abscene for themselues to see in the sight of all men Fourthly In all his sences for his holy eares heard nothing but shamefull reuilings his bright eyes saw nothing but cruell enemies his feeling could perceiue nothing but sharpenesse of nayles his smelling but their stincking spittles and his taste but gall and vinegar Fiftly in all the members of his body How Christ suffered in all the members of his body for his head was wounded with a crowne of thornes his face was defiled with their filthy spittings and most shamefully buffeted with their sacrilegious fists his eyes dazeled with blowes and amazed to see their outragious cruelties his hands and feete nayled vnto the Crosse his heart pierced with a speare and in a word his whole body was so pittifully rent and torne with whippings scourgings that we may truly say Totum est pro vulnere corpus That from the
force as when by their friends they were rescued out of the hands of their enemies Fourthly By a ransome as when a price thought counteruaileable to the prisoners was paide for the deliuerance of the Captiues And thus Christ redeemed vs for we had solde our selues or rather giuen away our selues because we doe it for such trifles for nothing that it deserues not the name of a sale vnder sinne and we had past away our selues vnto Sathan and he would neuer suffer vs freely to be freed out of his hands neither was there any force nor friends that could any wayes restore vs vnto our former dignitie and therefore Christ came to repurchase vs that is to buy vs backe againe vnto God And though we fell our selues for nothing yet Sathan like a cunning Merchant that knowes well the worth of Soules would not part with vs at any reasonable rate and therefore Christ was faine to pay for vs not gold or siluer or any such like corruptible thing 1 Pet. 1.18 but his owne deare and precious bloud So dearely was he faine to pay for vs so dearely it cost him to redeeme our soules And so Christ came and offered himselfe How deerely it cost Christ to redeeme vs. vpon the Altar of the Crosse as a sufficient sacrifice to pacifie his Fathers wrath and to satisfie his iustice to saue our soules yea the soules of all them that beleeued in him from the beginning of the World to this present day That the bloud of Christ was the price to saue all men as well before his comming as now after his comming Gal. 4. and so forward to the finall period of all flesh For It was not the bloud of Goates or Calues that was the true propitiatory Sacrifice for the sinnes of the Fathers that liued vnder the Law but it was the bloud of Iesus Christ that was onely figured and signified by these Leuiticall shadowes by the Paschall Lambe by the Brazen Serpent and by whatsoeuer else that was giuen them as a Schoolemaster to bring them vnto Christ which purged their consciences from dead workes to serue the liuing God For he is said to be the Lambe slaine that is slaine in the figure Reuel 13.8 slaine in the purpose of God and slaine in the vertue of his passion to euery one that beleeueth him to be slaine for him from the beginning of the World And therefore all those that went before and all those that came after cried Hosanna to the Sonne of Dauid Math. 21.9 For as the looking to the Brazen Serpent was the onely meanes to saue all those people from death which were bitten by the fierie Serpents whether they were before it or behind it Numbers 21.9 or on either side of it neere it or farre from it so the beleeuing in the death of the Sonne of God was and is the onely meanes to preserue all men from the sting of sinne aswell those that went before him Et vnde mundi Philosophus erubuit ibi Apostolus thesaurum reperit quod illi visum est slultitia Apostolo factum est sapientia Quest That the merit of Christs suffering depends vpon the worthinesse of â—he person Resp as those that doe come after him And therefore Quod est grande ludibrium impijs est grande mysterium pijs The death and passion of Iesus Christ which is foolishnesse vnto the World is the sole comfort and consolation of all Christians as Saint Augustine doth most sweetly comment vpon those words of the Apostle God forbid that I should reioyce in any thing saue in the Crosse of Iesus Christ Gal 6. But here it may be demanded how the sufferings of Christ being but of short continuance should be of that worth and dignitie as to be a sufficient price for our eternall deliuerance and to make a plenary satisfaction for the sinnes of the whole World To this I answere that the merit of his suffering depends not vpon the quantity of paine or the continuance of time but vpon the worthinesse of the sufferer and that in two respects Heb. 7.26 1 Pet. 1.19.2.22 First Of his Innocency for he was holy harmelesse and vndefiled a Lambe without spot in whose mouth was found no guile And therefore Iustum est saith Saint Augustine It is a most iust and a righteous thing Aug. l. 13. c 14. de trinitate that the debtors should be set free because he which owed nothing did pay all our debt Maxim quadragess Ser. 1. Secondly Of his Excellency for he was not onely a most innocent man Quem nullum maculauit delictum But he was also a most omnipotent God as the Apostle sheweth when he biddeth vs Acts 20.28 To take heede vnto the Flocke which God hath purchased with his owne bloud And therefore as the Father is infinite which was prouoked so the Sonne is infinite which made the satisfaction that for an infinite offence there might be an infinite attonement and so the person dying being both God and Man his death must be of a greater value then the deaths of all the men of tenne thousand Worlds And therefore Saint Cyprian truly affirmeth Modicam guttam sanguinis Christi propter vnionem hypostaticam pro redemptione totius mundi sufficisse That the least droppe of the bloud of Christ by reason of the vnion of the Deitie vnto the Manhood That the sole sufferings of Christ is fully sufficient to satisfie for all sinnes to make but one person of Christ is of full sufficient vaine to make satisfaction for the sinnes of the whole World And this doth sufficiently confute all those that ioyne the afflictions of the Saints with the sufferings of Christ as a part or the accomplishment of the price of their redemption as if with Christ alone there were not as the Prophet saith Psal 130.7 plenteous redemption for though the Apostle saith I reioyce in my sufferings for you and fill vp that which is behinde of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his bodies sake which is the Church Coloss 1.24 yet this is not to be vnderstood of the propitiatory sacrifice for sinne for so Christ onely suffered all that was to be suffered for our sinnes as both the Prophet Esay Chap. 53.4.5.6 and the holy Apostles of our Sauiour Christ Saint Paul and Saint Iohn Esay 53.4.5.6 Heb. 9.26 1 Iohn 2.2 doe most fully and sufficiently declare He that is He 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by himselfe hath purged our sinnes and as Dauid onely entred the lists against Golias Heb. 1.3 when all the Israelites were but meere spectators So did Christ alone vndertake the combate against Satan and hath troden the Wine-presse alone Esay 63.3 as the Prophet speaketh and therefore Christ said All is finished that is not onely all that is written of me is now fulfilled Ille solus sordes omnium potest abluere Aug. hom 108. de tempore or all