be shorte I seke not for Angels but him who made me and Angels I seke not angels but the Lorde of my self and of angels They haue take away my soueraigne Lorde him onely will I seeke he alone can comfort me but I caÌ„ not tel where thei haue laid him I looke about if I can see him but I se him not faine I wolde finde the place where he is layed but I fynde it not O wofull Wtoman that I am what shall I do whether shal I go and whether is my beloued gon I sought for him in his Sepulchre and there I found him not I called him but he answered me not wo is me where shal I seeke him where shall I fynd him I will rise truly I will go about I will search in al places I can I will geue no sleepe to myne eyes I will geue no reste to my feete vntil I shall fynde him whome my Soule loueth Wepe ye myne eyes gushe out with teares stynte not walke ye my feete runne about reste not Alas alas whether is my ioye gone where doth my loue hyde him where is my sweete Lorde why hast thou mâ— health forsakeÌ„ me O vnsufferable sorowes O intolerable perplexitie of minde I se troble on euery side what to chuse I know not If I abide next his Tomb yet I finde him not yf I go froÌ„ his Tombe I know not wretch whether to go I know not wherto seeke him To departe from the Tombe is death vnto me to stande at the Tombe is griefe incurable how be it better it is for me to keepe still my Lordes Tombe then to go far from it any further for in goinge further perchaunce at my returne again I shall fynde bothe him takeÌ„ away also his sepulcher destroyed I will stande therefore here will I dye that yet at leste wyse I may be buried nye the sepulchre of my Lorde O how happy shal my body bee if it bee buried nighe vnto my Master O how blessed shall my Soule be whiche passing forth of thys bryckle vessel of my bodie may by and by enter into my Lords glorious Sepulcher My body hath alwaies ben to my soule labour and trauaile my Lords sepulcher shall be vnto me rest and honor Therfore I will not forsake this Sepulcher bycause thus to die it shall be my coÌ„forte and in my death it shall be my reste So longe as I liue I will abide by it when I dye I wil cleaue fast vnto it neither aliue nor dead I wil be seperated from it Alas what a wretched woman I am wherefore did I not then this foresee when I behelde my lorde buryed why did not I stande with him wherefore did I not with trewe attendance keepe the Sepulchre then had I not bewayled his taking away for I had either withstanded them which toke him away or els had gone after them But O woful case I wold haue kepte the lawe and haue let go the Lord of the law I wolde haue obeied the lawe and haue not kept him to whom the lawe it selfe is obediente though with Christe to abyde had not ben to transgresse the lawe but to fulfyl the lawe For the paschal Lambe is not disteined by the deathe of him but is again iterate renewed His corps doth not defile the cleaÌ„e but clenseth the defiled he healeth all suche as touch him and dothe illuminate all suche as come to him But what do I renewe the memory of my sorow I wente I returned I founde the Tombe opened but founde not him I soughte for I will stande therefore I will waite lokinge if happely hee may any where appeare But howe shall I stande alone desolate The Disciples be gone theire waye and haue left me alone weping None do appeare who woulde sorow with me No where doth hee appeare whiche with mee wolde seeke the Maister Here haue appeared Angels but I knowe not for what cause they haue appeared If to comforte me they oughte not then to bee ignorante wherefore I weepe If they bee not ignorante for what I weepe why say they to mee Why wepest thou Do they therefore question with mee to let me from wepinge I beseche them not to swade me to that that they will not counsell mee to that for or els let them kill me What needes mo wordes I will not obey them I will not cease to weepe duringe my lyfe but I finde my lorde But what may I do to finde him whither shall I turne me to whom shall I go of whome shal I inquire of whome shall I aske counsail who shal haue compassioÌ„ on me who shall comfort me who shall Cant. 1â— shew me whom my soul loueth Cant. 2. where he is bestowed where he lieth at noontide where he resteth I beseche you tel him how I pyne with loue and consume with sorowe and that there is no dolor as is my dolor Turne Tren â— againe my beloued turn again Cant 6. my hartes desire and dearling Psalm 50. O amiable O delitable geue againe to me the gladnes of thy comfortable preseÌ„ce Shew me Cant. 2. thy countinaunce let thy voice Psal 90. sounde in mine eares for thy â—0 118. voice is sweete and thy visage is beutiful O my hope confouÌ„d mee not in myne expectation Shew me thy face and it shall suffice my soul While Marye did thus mourn and thus wept as she spak these things She turned her selfe back and sawe Iesus standing and knew not it was Iesus Iesus said vnto her woman why weepest thou Whome seekest thou O thou the desire of her soule why doeste thou aske her why wepeste thou and whome seekeste thou She but a little before with her very eies to the great dolour of her heart beheld the her whole hope to be hanged vpoÌ„ the tree and saieste thou nowe vnto her why wepest thou She the third day beheld thy haÌ„des wherwith she hath ben ofteÌ„ blessed thy feet which she had kissed and whiche she had watered with her teares nailed vpon the crosse thou being her whole sorow saiest vnto her Why wepest thou She beheld the geuiÌ„g vp of her spirit that is to say thy spirite and saiest thou now why wepest thou Yea furdermore she supposeth thy body is stoln away whych she came to anoiÌ„t that by som meaÌ„es she might coÌ„forte her self and saiest thou why wepest thou whome seekest thou Thou well knowest that the alone she seeketh the alone she loueth for that she contemneth all things and sayeste thou What seekeste thou Swete Maister for what purpos I pray that doest thou prouoke this womans spirite for what purpose doeste thou vexe her Soule She wholye dependeth on thee she wholye abydeth in thee All her hope is in the all dispaire in her self She doth so seeke the that seekinge the she can seeke nothinge but the she can minde nothinge but the and therefore perchaunte she doth not know the because she is not in
An Homilie of Marye Magdalene declaring her ferueÌ„t loue and zele towards CHRIST written by that famous clerke ORIGENE Newly Translated and Imprinted ANNO DOM. M.D.LXV Prouerbiorum 1. Audiens Sapiens sapientior erit Prouerb 18. Non recipit Stultus verbâ— prudentiae Nisi ea dixeris quae versantur in corde cius This worthye man Origene lyued and taught in the yeare of our Lord 225. The Gospel Iohannis â—0 MARY stoode without at the sepulchre wee pinge And as she wept she bowed herself into the Sepulchre And saw two Angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the fete where the body of IES VS had layne And they saide vnto her Woman why weepest thou She sayd vnto them They haue taken away my lorde I knowe not where they haue layd him When she had thus said she turned her selfe backe and saw IESVS standing and knewe not that it was IESVS Iesus saieth vnto her Woman why weepest thou whom sekest thou She supposing that he had ben the gardyner saide vnto him Sir if thou hast born him hence tell me where thou hast laid him I wil take him away IESVS saide vnto her Mary She turned her selfe and said unto him Raboni whiche is to say Maister IESVS saith vnto her Touche me not for I am not yet ascended to my Father but go to my breethern and say vnto them I ascend vnto my father and to youre father and to my GOD your GOD. Marye stoode without at the Sepulchre weeping c. PVRPOSING to speak to your charytable eares at this present solemnitie most derely beloued the godly loue of that blessed woman Mary Magdalene recoursed to my remembrauÌ„ce howe for that she loued our Lorde aboue all thinges folowed hym goynge to his death where his Disciples forsoke him And howe for that she was kyndled with the fire of true loue in her vehement desire wepinge continually departed not frome his sepulcher For Marye as sayeth the Euangelist stode without at the Sepulcher weping We do hear welbeloâ—â—d of Maries standing without at the Sepulchre we heare also how she wepeth let vs if we can consyder the cause of her standyng let vs also se why she wepeth for both of this her staÌ„ding may we take profite and also of her weeping may we be edifyed Loue it was that made her to stand sorowe constrained her so to wepe She stoode lookyng aboute yf perchance she coulde see him whom she loued But wepte therfore bicause whom she sought for she thought was quite taken away wherby her sorow was doubled Fyrste sorowynge for hym being dead and now sorowing for him taken away and of both griefes this laste was the greater for it was without comfort The first cause of her sorowynge was for that she had lost his lyfe but of this sorowe had shee some comfort for that she thought to haue retained hym dead as he was â–ª But yet of this heauynes could she not fynd comfort for that she found not his dead body Thus fearing if that she found not his body the loue of him her Mayster wold sone waxe colde within her breaste by the syghte yet whereof shee hoped shee mighte ware warme againe In deede Mary was com to his sepulchre bringing with her the odours ointmentes whiche she had prepared that as before when hee was alyue shee had annoynted with precious oyntmeÌ„t his fete so now she mought anoynte his whole dead body with oyntmeÌ„t and wyth her spyces embaulme it And lyke as fyrste she had at Luc. 7. his feete shedd her teares and wept bitterly and with her teares watred his feet for the death of her owne soule so now she cometh to water the Sepulcher with teares for the deathe of her Maister But fyndinge not the bodye in the Sepulchre her laboure of anointinge was lost but the sorowe of her waylyng more increased Present he was not to haue her seruice and yet absent he was not to cause her to sorowe Presente he was not whome she would haue embauâ—ed and yet absent he was not to cause her to weepe Therfore the more she wepte the further he was absente Certes Mary bitterly wept for Sorowe was heaped vppon sorowe And two great sorowes she caried in one heart whiche fayne she woulde haue eased with her teares but they coulde not And therefore was wholye plunged in sorowe fainting both in heart and body and what she shold do she knew not for what could this woman do but wepe whiche bothe had dolor intolerable and founde in comforte no remedy In deede Peter and Iohn came with her to the Sepulcher but wheÌ„ they founde not the body they wente foorthwith theyr waye home againe But Mary abode without at the Sepulcher weeping And as one Rom. 4. hoping against hope did yet pet souere in hope Peter and Iohn were afrayd and therfore stode not but Mary feared not bycause she had nothinge lefte her as she thought for whiche shee ought to feare for shee had loste her Maister whome shee loued so singularly that beside him she could loue nothing could hope for nothing she had loste the life of her foule nowe she thought it better to dye than to liue thin king perhappes in her death to haue founde whome in her lyfe she coulde not fynde withoute whom notwithstanding she was not able to lyue Strong as the â—antiâ— 8. Deathe is loue for what more could death do in Marye Shee became as it were without life without sence hauing sence she vsed no sence Seinge she dyd not see hearing shee heard not neither was she where she was for wholy was shee there where her Maister was who notwithstandynge where he was shee knewe not she soughte for him but found him not and therfore coÌ„tinued staÌ„ding at the Tombe and wept altogether lamentable all together miserable O Mary what hope what couÌ„sail what heart was in the which alone didst stande at the Sepulchre when the Disciples were departed Thou camest before them thou returnedst with theÌ„ and after them also there remainedst Why dyddst thou thys wert thou wiser then they Or didst thou loue more then they bycause thou fearedste not as they Truely Mary was nowe wise in nothyng but in louinge and to sorowe for her beloued She had forgot to feare forgot to ioy yea forgot her owne self What shoulde I more say She had forgote all thynges except him whome shee loued aboue al things And which is woÌ„derful shee was so forgetfull that shee knewe not him neither Beleue me if she had knowen hym she had not searched for hym in his Tombe and if she had kept his words still in minde she had not forowed as of one deade but should haue reioyced of him as liuing nor should she haue wept as of one which was takeÌ„ away but she should haue reioyced for that he was risen again For Iesus had forespoken that thus he Luce. 14. should dyc and that he shoulde rise againe the
thirde day But alack for pitie ouermuch sorow had filled her heart had quite blotted out the remembraunce of these words In her no sence remained al counsel in her was loste all hope failed to weepe her belly full did only remaine She wepte therfore for weepe she might She bowed down her self and looked into the Tombe and sawe two Angels sitting in white one at the see te the other at the head which sayd vnto her woman why wepeste thou O Marye loe nowe thou haste founde great comforte and perchaunce it hath happened vnto thee better then thou haste hoped for thou soughtest one and hast found two Thou soughtest one dead and hast found two liuing Thou hast found that seme to take care for thee and that will ease thy heauinesse For he whom thou sekest semeth to set nought by thy sorowinge he semeth not to regarde thy teares Thou callestc him and he heareth not Thou prayest and he geueth no fauorable care vnto thee Thou sekest him and findest him not Thou knockeste but he openeth not Thou foloweste him and he flyeth Alas what meneth this O lord what a greate chaunge is this Alas how is al turned vpside downe For this is IESVS who of late went from the and how coÌ„meth this thus to passe Peraduenture thou knowest not whether he loueth thee Once he loued the once he defended thee from Luc. 7. the Pharisey once hee excused Luc. 10. the to thy sister diligently once hee commended thee as when thou annoyntedst his feete with oyntmente water edst them with Luc. 7. thy teares and wypedst theym with thy heare he asswaged thy sorow forgaue thy sinnes Once Ioh. 11. he sought thee when thou werte not presente hee called for the when thou wert away he commanded the by thy sister to come vnto hym shee saynge Thee Master is here and calleth the â–ª O howe quickly did Mary theÌ„ arise after she heard that how carefullye came shee and after her acustomed maÌ„ner fel at thy fete O sweete IESV thou wheÌ„ thou sawest her weepe weeptst also O how pitifully diddeste thou coÌ„forte her when thou saidest Ioh. 1â— Where haue ye laid hym To coÌ„clude for the loue of her which muche loued thee thou didst raise froÌ„ death her brother Lazarus and so thou turnedst the mourning of this thy louer into ioye And O moste gentle Master what hath this disciple since offended the And wherein hath this thy dâ—relouer displeased the kyndenes of thy heart in that thou goest so from her We haue since that time heard of no offence doÌ„ by her except bicause wheÌ„ thou wert puried She came in the morniÌ„g and that very â–ª early before all other to the Sepulchre brynging ointemeÌ„tes wherwith she might anÌ„oynte thy body And when she Ioh. â—0 found the not in the Sepulchre shee ran and tolde this thing vnto thy disciples They cam they saÌ„we and they straighte wente they re way againe but she standeth stil and wepeth And if this be an offence if all this be done for loue of the and of a feruent desire she beareth towards the wherfore goest thou thus from her why doest thou thus hid thy selfe thou that loueste all that loue the and thou that art fouÌ„d of al theÌ„ that seke the for thou sayest I loue those that loue me Prou. 8. Why doth not therfore this sely woman finde the whiche did so early watche for the Why doste thou not comforte her teares whiche she sheddeth for the her lord like as thou didst once comfort her teares which shee shede for her brother If truly thou louedst her after thy woÌ„ted maÌ„ner what meanest thou to prolonge her desire O true and faithfull Maister call to thy remembraunce the good reporte and testymony thou once gauest of her to her syster Martha For thou saidst Mary hath chosen the best part which shall not be taken from her In dede Mary Luc 10. did chose the beste parte for shee did chose to stande at thy fete and to heare thy preaching She chose in dede the best part for The she chosed But how is this true which shall not be taken from her yf thou bee taken from her and if the beste parte that she chose bee not taken away why then wepeth she Or what theÌ„ doth she seke Certes Mary seketh nothinge els but the whiche she chose And for this aloÌ„e she ceaseth not to wepe for that which she hathe chosen she hath now lost Therfore O thou man sauiour and keper either saue in her the parte shee hathe chosen or els I knowe not how this is true which shall not bee taken from her vnles yt maye be thus vnderstanded that although thou art taken from her sighte from her corporall eyes yet arte thou not taken awaye from her heart But alas Mary why makest thou any longer tariynge why arte thou trobled why wepest thou Loe see thou hast Angels let the sight of Angels suffice the. For paraduen ture he whome thou sekest for whoÌ„e thoâ— wepest espieth in the something for which he will not be sene of the 〈◊〉 of now thy sorow measure thy teares caâ— to mynde what he sayd bothe to the and to other women Wepe Luc. 23 â–ª not for mee Therfore what is this thou doest He forbad the to wepe yet thou spareste not to wepe I feare me least by thâ— weping that offend him for whome thou doste so continually wepe For if he loued thy teares hee could perchaunce no more now theÌ„ he did once suffer thy teres Now therfore heare my aduice Let the comfortinge of Angels content and satisfye the abyde thou with them aske inquire of them And it may fortune that they shall tel what is become of him thou sekest and for whom thou wepest And I beleue assuredlye theyr comminge was to be are witnes of him as also beleue that he whom thou wepest for hath sent them for himselfe for thy selfe to tell the of his ResurrectioÌ„ and to comfort thy lamenting For they said to her woman why wepest thou What is the cause of this thy great heauines hyde not thy teares from vs open to vs thy grief and we shal shew the thy desire Marye wasted with to much sorow out of measure and as it were wholy cast in a traunce receiueth no comforte resorteth to no comforte but museth thus within her selfe and sayth Alas that euer I was borne what comfort is this what manner of visitatioÌ„ is this All coÌ„fortes be but â— burthen vnto me they do but greue me and not comforte me For I seke the Creator therefore heaui to my sight is al manner of creature I will not beholde Angels with Angels will not I abyde for they may augmente my sorrowe but they can not vtterly put away my sorow If they shall begin to tel me many things and I to euery thing shal make them aÌ„swere I feare me they will rather hinder my loue then furder my loue To
her selfe but for thy sake is out of her selfe why therfore saiest thou Why weepest thou whome sekest thou Doest thou thinke that she can say I wepe for the I seek the except thou first inspire her and say in her heart I am he whome thou we peste for and for whom thou sekeste Doeste thou thinke that she can knowe the so longe as it shal please the to hide thy self But she supposinge that he had ben the gardiner said vnto him Sir if thou hast caried him hence tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him vp O sorowe miserable O loue vnspeakable This woman was so couered with a thicke cloude of wo and sorowe that she saw not the Sun that in the morning tyde arising shone by her windowes and by the eares of her bodye was now entred into the house of her heart But bicause she laÌ„guished in her loue of this languishinge the eyes of her heart became so dym that she coulde not se him whome she sawe For she did see Iesus but she knew not it was Iesus O Mary it thou sekest Iesus why doeste thou not acknowledge Iesus And if thou knowest Iesus why sekest thou Iesus Beholde Iesus commeth vnto the and hee whom thou sekest asketh of the Woman why wepest thou and thou supposest him to be a gardiÌ„er to shew thou knowest him not For Iesus is also a gardiner because he soweth all good seede in the gardin of thy soule and in the hearts of his faithful he planteth euery good Herbe and watereth it in the soules of his sainctes And it is IESVS himself which talketh with the. But therefore perhaps thou doest not knowe him bycause hee corporally talketh with ye. Thou sekest a dead one and therefore thou doest not acknowledg him as liuing Haue I not truly espied that this is the cause wherefore he went from the and why he appeared not vnto the For why should he appeare vnto the for whome thou doest not seke Thou verely soughtest for that which was not and soughtest not for the which was Thou didst seke Iesus and didste not seke Iesus and therefore in seinge Iesus thou didst not knowe Iesus O pittiful and sweete Maister I can not altogether excuse this thy disciple I can not frely defende this her error And yet for all that shee erred bycause she soughte the for suche an one as once she had seene the and for suche a one as she had lefte the when thou wert laied in thy graue For she had sene thy body taken downe dead from the crosse layed in a tombe and so greate sorowe had taken hold of her for thy death that she coulde not hope of thy life And suche sorowe had possessed her herte for thy buriall that shee coulde thinke nothinge of thy resurrection To conclude Ioseph put thy body into a tombe Mary had buried there her spirite also so vnseparably ioyned it as it were vnited it with thy body that she could more easily seperate her liuing soule froÌ„ her liuing body theÌ„ her louing spirit from thy dead body for the spirite of Mary was rather in thy body theÌ„ in her owne body and when she eaftsones soughte for thy body she did then also seeke for her own spirit and when she lost thy body she lost with it her own spirit what meruaile theÌ„ if she had no sense which had lost her spirit what maruail was it if she knew not the which had no spirite where with shee shoulde knowe the Restore therfore vnto her again her soule which thy body hath within it selfe and shee shall recouer furthwith her sense againe and forsake her error But how did she erre which did so sorowe for the and did so loue the Truly if she erred I speake without doubtinge that she wyst not she erred and so her error proceded not of error but of loue and grefe Therfore O mercifull and iuste Iudge the loue shee bare to thee and the sorowe she toke for the may excuse her before the if perhaps she erreth of the. And marke not the error of the woman but the loue of thy disciple whiche did not wepe of error but of sorowe and of loue and said vnto the Sir if thou hast borne him heÌ„ce tel me where thou hast laid him and I will take him vp O how skilfully is she ignorante how learnedly doth she erre To the Angels she said They haue takeÌ„ him away and they haue layed And she said not Ye haue taken him and Ye haue layed him because the angels neyther tooke the out of thy Tombe nor layed the in any place but to thee shee said If thou hast borne him away where haste thou laied him bicause thou indede didst beare thy selfe out of the Tombe and laydsâ—e thy self in the place where thou arte To the angels she said not Tell ye me bicause thee Angels coulde not tell wholy what had ben done of the nor howe it had bene done of the but to the shee saith Tel thou me bycause it is not vnpossible for the to tel that which was possible for the to do for thou rosest againe by thyne owne power that whiche was done of the thou diddeste it thy selfe But what is this Lorde that Mary so often speaketh repeteth this worde Where haste thou layd him For shee had said to the Apostles firste of all where haue they layed him The selfsame answer she spake vnto the Angels Wher haue they layed him And nowe speaketh to the of thy selfe Where haste thou layd him This word wax eth exceding swete in her heart that so abouÌ„deth in her mouth Lertes thy swetenes maketh it more sweete and she dothe this for thy loue sake bycause shee remeÌ„breth that thou saidst once Ioh. 11. of her brother Where haue ye laid him for sithens that she heard this word of thy mouth she hath kept it diligently in her heart and hath delighted to vse it in her speache O howe dothe shee loue thy person that so loueth thy voice O how moch doth she desire to see thy countinaunce which so desirously pronouÌ„ceth thy worde And howe gladlye wolde she kisse thy feete whiche so gladly vseth thy sayinges what is this also O good Iesu that she speaketh to the of the And I will take him vp Ioseph feared and durste not take doun thy body from the Crosse but in the night and but askinge it of Pilate but Mary abydeth not Ioh. 19. for the night nor fereth Pilate but boldly pronounceth saying I will take him vp O Mary putte the case that the body of Iesus were layed in the palayce of the high Preist where the cheife Apostle did warme him selfe at the fyer what woldeste thow doe I wolde take him vp O wonderful woman in boldenes O woman no womaÌ„ and what if the Dam sell the dore keeper should askâ— the what wilt thou do I wil take him vp O vnspeakable loue of this woman O meruailous audacitye of a
thee Oure Lorde saith in the gospel If ye Ihon. 〈◊〉 were the children of Abraham ye wolde truly do the workes of Abraham Lo this is a woorke of Abraham do the workes which Abraham did but not with grief 2. Cor. 9. and sorrowe For God loueth a chereful geuer And if ye shal be thus readdy it shal be saied vnto you of God Clyme vp vnto this hygh Land and to the hill which I will shew thee there offerre vnto me thy son And offer thy son not in the deepe places of the earth nor in the vale of wepinge but in the great and high hilles Declare thou then that faith in the Lorde is stronger then any carnal affection For Abraham saith he loued Isaac his son but he preferred the son of God to his owne fleshly loue And so he was found not in the bowels of hys fleshe but in the bowels of Christe that is in the bowels of the word of God of truth and wisedome Abraham saith the text stretched forth his hand to take the sworde and kill his Sonne And the Angel of the lord called vnto him from heauen said Abraham Abraham And he answered Here I am And he said Lay not thy hand vpon the childe neither do any hurt to him For now I know that thou fearest God It is commoÌ„ly out of this place obiected vnto vs how god saith that he knoweth that Abraham did feare him as if he had bene ignorante there of before Wel god which in dede knoweth all thinges before they be done did also know this thinge and was not ignoraunt of it but it is thus writteÌ„ for thy cause for thou haste a faith in God and yet excepte that accomplish the workes of faith except thou obey yea all the hardest commaundements excepte thou offer vp sacrifice and shew plainelye that thou doest not set more by father mother and children theÌ„ by God it shal not be acknoleged that thou fearest God neither shall it bee said of thee F or now I knowe that thou fearest God And besides this wee may here consider that the Angel which is said here to speake these wordes to Abraham in processe afterwarde is euideÌ„tly shewed to be the Lord. Wherevppon I thinke thus that as amonge vs men he was found in his behauiuiour as man so among the Angels â—â—â— 15 â–ª he was fouÌ„d in his behauiour as an Angel And so the Angels in heauen following his exaumple are glad of one Sinner which repentith reioice greatly when men go forward in god lines For these Angels haue as it were the ouersighte of oure soules vnto whom as tutors Gal. 4â— gouernours wee whiles we are yonglinges are committed vntil the time appointed by the father be comme Therefore thei say now concerninge the goinge forward in godlines of euery on of vs that now I knowe that thou fearest the Lord. But for a plainer exaumple hereof Be it so that I purpose in my minde to suffer martirdom yet the angel can not save vnto mee that nowe I knowe that thou fearest the lord for God only knoweth the secret of the mind but if I abide tormeÌ„ts if I boldly publish a good coÌ„fession if I constantly beare what soeuer shall be doone vnto mee then the Angell as comfortinge confirming me may say Now I knowe that thou feareste the Lorde Thus theÌ„ these thinges were spoken to Abraham and hee so was pronounced to feare the lord And why Because he spared not his owne sonne But let vs compare these thinges with the wordes of the Apostle where he saieth Rom. 8. of god which spared not his owne son but did giue him for vs all Beholde here howe God contendeth with men in bountifull liberalitie Abraham offred to god his mortall sonn not yet like to dye God gaue his immort all son for al men to death What shall we say to theis thinges What shall we render to the Lord for all that he hath beslowed vpon vs God the Father hath not spared his owne sonne for vs. And which of you al thin kest thou at any time shall hear this voice of the Angel sayinge vnto you Now I know that thou fearest God bicause thou haste not spared thy son thy daughter thy wife or thou hast not spared thy wealth thy worldly honour and the pompe of the world but hast dispised them all haste couÌ„ted them as dunge that thou mightst gayne Christ but haste solde all and haste geuen it to the poore hast followed the worde of God Which of you thinkest thou shall he are such a voice of the Angel Yea Abraham heard this voice againe the secoÌ„d time and it was said vnto him Because thou hast not spared thy beloued sonne for my sake c And Abraham saith the texte looking back saw with his eyes and beholde A ramme was holden by the â—ornes in the busshes of Sabet I suppose that we haue saied here tofore that Isaac â–ª bare the figure of Christ and yet notwithstandinge this ramm semeth to beare the figure of Christe also But how these two agree vnto Christ bothe Isaac whiche was not slaine and the ramm which was it is expediente to vnderstand Christe is the woorde of God but this worde was made flesh There is theÌ„ in Christ one thing which is from aboue and an other which is taken of the nature of man and the woombe of the virgine Christ theÌ„ suffered his passion but yet in his flesh he suffered death but yet in his flesh whereof this ramme was a figure according to the saing Iohâ— 1. of Iohn Behold the Lambe of God behold him whiche taketh away the sinnes of the worlde But the worde whiche is Christe accordinge to the Spirite did continew in incorruption whose Image this Isaac was So hee is the sacrifice and highe prieste after the spirite For he that offereth the sacrifice to his father accordinge to the flesh the selfe same is offered vpon the aulter of the crosse and lykewise as it is said of him Beholde the Lambe of God Behold him who taketh away the sinnes of the world so is it also saied of him Thou art a priest for euer after the order of Melchisedech Therfore this ramme is holden by the hornes in the bushes of Saber And he toke saieth the text the ram and offered him a burnt offeringe for Isaac his sonne And Abraham called the name of that place the lord sayth Here is a broade way of spiritu all vnderstaÌ„ding laied open for all them that ar skilful to hear these thinges For all that bee here done do â—ende to som spirituall vision bicause it is sayed The Lord seeth This vision of the Lord is in spirit that thou also mayst behold these thinges which are written in spirite as in the Lorde there is nothing corporall or grosse so also that thou in all these thinges sauour nothinge corporally or grosly but that thou inwardly in spirite beget to thy selfe a childe which