is Joy unexpressible thus to be thorowly perfectly and fully employ'd in the Service of my God for my poor Souls sake This is the only Viand for my Soul to feed upon This is the Bread my Soul O Heavenly Father eats that the World knows not of This is the only Wine that cheers and makes glad the Heart of Man This is the only Cordial for my fainting and drooping Soul This is the true Water and Laver of Life to my Soul This fetches out all Spots and Stains all Pollutions and Crimes of never so deep a Die of never so long a Time of never so large an Extension never so remote in the World never so secret and closely committed These thy Closet-Tears and Sacramental-Tears mixt with the Blood of thy dying Crucify'd Saviour The composition of this Heavenly Laver. will wash and fetch all out This is the only Elixir of Life This masters the strongest Lusts the greatest Temptations This is of such Power and Force O Lord that all the Devils in Hell compact and conjoyn'd together must give way to This unties all Charms and Witchcrafts Powers and Compacts of Infernal Spirits This dissolves and breaks in pieces all that a wicked Heart murtherous Hand an incensed Enemy and an enraged Devil can do This Cordial this Laver alone transports the Soul and makes it live even in Death it self Whether of the most exquisit Pain of the Cross or the Rack or Fleaing alive or Boiling in Oil or Roasting alive Breaking on the Wheel or tearing in sunder with Wild Beasts let it be of what Nature Degree or Quality soever This Cordial bears the Soul up above the Cruelty Rage and Malice that the worst of Men or Devils can invent Nay further if this be rightly taken and made use of it appeases the Wrath of an incensed enraged and otherwise irreconcileable God O Heavenly Father this thou canst not withstand so great Force and Power have Closet-Prayers and Sacramental-Prayers One hour spent thus closely in Communion with God is worth Ten thousand elsewhere These Prayers and Tears force open the very Doors of Heaven it self And an enraged God cannot nay will not longer hold out A Saviour a Redeemer an Advocate so dear and so near a Friend in Heaven will prevall for us And from this time our Names shall be Recorded in Heaven and written in the Book of Life in Red Characters of our Saviour's Blood over every one of our Mansions he hath already prepar'd for us This is certainly the Security of our Souls against all Accidents of the Body against Battels and Murthers and against suddain Death against Fits of the Stone Distortions Convulsions Twisting of the Guts and the most exquisite Torment of the Bowels against Palsies Lethargies Apoplexies and all Deprivings of the natural Senses The countinued course of these Duties A Soul thus prepar'd and guarded is defended against all these Accidents and Distempers of the Body that may suddainly deprive us of our Sense and Reason before or when Death comes is the only Antidote against scorching and burning Feavers This preserves thee against and in decrepit Old Age and decay and loss of Senses and natural Reason This preserves thee from and in Bonds and Imprisonment Storms Tempests and Shipwracks against all Casualties and Afflictions Anguish and Tortures of the Body and being effectually apply'd against all Wounds of Conscience This Temper of Soul and Interest in a Crucify'd Saviour makes one to grow O Lord quickly weary of the World and to slight and contemn all Earthly Delights This makes thee earnestly long to be dissolved and to be with Christ This will make thee insult upon and trample under all Principatities and Powers all Thrones and Dominions and desire no longer to live than thou canst be thus dispos'd qualify'd and employ'd This will make thee O my Soul to do no Evil nor think any Evil with Allowance of Consent The Soul O Lord may and will be impos'd upon by the Body daily in one degree or other but what I do I allow not My Eyes my Ears my Nose my Tongue my Smell my Tast my Hands and my Feet they all assault daily my yoor Soul in one way or manner or other and let in a Caterva of Sins and Temptations and are Cause O Lord of this Psycomachia War between Soul and Body which the Apostle Paul too well knew and made his complain of saying I have a Will in my Members that Wars against the Will of my Mind and leads me Captivate unto Sin and Death O wretched Man that I am One look from they Heavenly Eye dear Saviour or one Glimpse of thee one hour of Closet-Devotion or Sacramental-Devotion will make me more than Conqueror over all and say again with the Apostle Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is all that a poor Soul can do or that God doth require of thee strong Prayers and Tears mixt with the Body and Blood of thy Saviour is all thou art able to give for Heaven it self He that calleth cryeth weepeth mourneth and cometh thus to me I will in no wise cast out This is all that God doth require of thee To do Justice love Mercy and walk humbly before thy God This shall seal the Bonds of the everlasting Covenant between God and my Soul written in my precious Saviour's Blood and he himself shall be a standing and an abiding Witness to each Covenant and I will make with thee an everlasting Covenant the sure Mercies of David and himself shall be my Advocate to plead my Title to an Inheritance incorruptible that fadeth not away reserv'd in Heaven for me O my Soul If any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous daily making intercession for us When thou art Meditating Praying or Reading thus my Soul take not thy Eye nor thy Heart off but go on with it thy God is at the end of it Heaven is at the end of it and thy Redeemer is at the end of it This is thy Viaticum This is Jacob's Ladder thou art ascending It 's the sure and certain way to Heaven and Eternal Life This is my Saviour's Advice and I dare and will put thee my Soul upon the Dependence and Assurance of it Ten thousand to one for thy Security Enter into thy Closet shut the Door about thee and Pray in this manner already propos'd strongly and earnestly to thy Father in private and he will reward thee openly That is give thee my Soul all things necessary for thee in this World and in the World to come everlasting Life O my Soul when once thou art come to tast this Heavenly Food and relish it aright this Cordial of Life what Sweetness what pleasures and what Delights doth it bing O Heavenly Father and ever blessed Redeemer this Laver alone to wash and rince my polluted Soul in will make it fit to be presented to the Lamb upon the Throne without Spot or
Body of a Crucify'd Jesus Yet true Faith carry'd thee beyond fear come Life come Death nothing can or shall separate a true Joseph a truly devout Soul from the Love of Christ Jesus Yet withal we may from hence observe the Prudence and Care a Christian ought to have He went privately in respect of the Jews whose precipitate rage had so lately embru'd their hands in the Blood of an Innocent harmless Jesus and was still reeking hot with that Cruelty but yet boldly in respect of Pilate he went in and begg'd the Body of Jesus His Love and Faith to Jesus made him bold but his Wisdom and Discretion made him cautions If he must sacrifice his Life for his Love to his Saviour it should be by the hands of a Legislative Power and not by the merciless barbarity of the Mobile but if it must be so ready and resolv'd he was immediately to follow and be second to so good a Saviour for whose Salvation he had so long time waited O Blessed Joseph Had'st not thou took care of the Son of God of Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews of the ever-blessed Jesu Redeemer and Saviour of the World to have given him decent Burial his Sacred Body might have laid all mangled torn distorted and extended upon the cold Earth to the merciless Cruelty and savage Nature of Wild Beasts and Birds of Prey But this was design'd from all Eternity that thou should'st be the Man appointed by the Hypostatick Counsel of Heaven I say to be the Man to embalm and entomb the Body of the ever-blessed Jesus and for this art thou sure to have thy Soul embrac'd and enthron'd in Heaven in the Bosom of thy Saviour He that is not asham'd to confess and own me before Men in the most dangerous of times him will I not be asham'd to confess and own before my Father which is in Heaven And now Even is come and the time of Solemnity and Entombing of our Saviour is at hand away now my Soul with all the heavy weight and burthen of thy Sins to the Grave of thy Saviour The Body born by Angels vailing their Faces The Solemnity of our Saviours Funeral who in the time of his Humanity were always appointed by God to attend upon him and minister unto him and also while in the Grave to perform the same Heavenly Office And there appear'd two Angels sitting the one at the head and the other at the feet And can we think they should be spar'd or wanted at this time Luke 24.4 John 20.12 First follow'd by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus John 16.39.40 Then Mary the Mother of the ever-blessed Jesus Mary Magdalen and Mary the Mother of James and Joses and the Mother of Zebedee's Children And the Women that follow'd after as Mourners bâ—held the Body where if was laid Luke 23.55 And all the rest of the Mourners came following after ordered by the great Herauld of Heaven And I will in that day pour upon the house of David and Inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and Supplication and they shall look upon me whom they have perceiv'd and they shall mourn for him as one that mourneth for his only begotten Son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-horn In that day there shall be a very great mourning in Jerusalem Typically spoke of good Josiah aâ—â—ding to our Saviour at this time Rev. 1.7 as the mourning of Haddadrimon in the Valley of Megiddon And the Land shall mourn every Family apart The Family of the House of David apart and their Wives apart The Family of the House of Nathan apart and their Wives apart The Family of the House of Live apart and their Wives apart The Family of Shimei and their Wives apart And all the Families that remain every Family apart and their Wives apart Zech. 12.10 11 12. Come now O my Soul do thee follow after gather up I say all thy Sins from the soot of the Cross and bring them with thee to the Grave of thy Saviour Bury them there in a Flood of Tears with the rest of those Afflicted Mourners that they may never rise up in this World more to affright thee nor in the World to come to condemn thee Leave them all there that they may all be laid upon the head of the scape-Goat and carry'd into the Wilderness the Land of forgetfulness And now strengthen your Heads you weak Hearts and gather strength ye feeble Knees for now is your Redemption near at hand And they roll'd a great stone to the door of the Sepulchre and departed Thus having as succinctly as possibly I could run over the Passion of our Dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in that method and order the Holy Scriptures have most perspicuously testify'd of him both by the Prophets and also the Apostles I shall conclude all with that of the most Holy Apostle and for the present leave his precious Body in the Grave with Angles to attend his Call to his Glorious Resurrection which the blessed Apostle in these few words proclaims Ye Men of Israel Hear these words Jesus of Nazareth a Man approv'd of God among you by Miracles Wonders and Signs which God did by him in the midst of ye as ye your selves also know Him being deliver'd by the determinate Counsel and foreknowledge of God ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucify'd and slain Whom God hath rais'd up having loos'd the Pains of Death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it But David speaketh concerning him I foresaw the Lord always before my Face for he is on my Right hand that I should not be mov'd Therefore did my Heart rejoyce and my Tongue was glad moreover also my Flesh shall rest in hope because thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see Corruption Thou hast made known to me the way of Life and thou shalt make me full of Joy with thy Countenance Now Glory to God on High Peace on Earth Good Will towards Men. Meditations and Ejaculations to be used in thy Closet before or immediately at the Table of the Lord or after thou art return'd into thy Closet again Made and compos'd by the Author from the Considerations of Christ's Merits by his Body Blood and Intercession O Lord help the Sluces of my Soul to pour out Tears abundantly for my many Sins heinous Sins great and grievous Sins O Lord help me O Christ help me O Saviour of the World help me O Lamb of God help me O Redeemer of the World help me O dear and ever blessed Jesu Christ and Saviour help me I fear I shall be drein'd dry too soon I fear I shall slacken too fast Help me Lord to a River of Tears that I may pour out more more O pensive Heart and Soul more abundantly my Heart and Soul to my God This is Pleasure indeed This
Wrinkle or any such thing And this I beg with all Humility and Devotion that I am able to do upon the Account and for the Sake of my ever Blessed Redeemer and Advocate concluding in that Heavenly Prayer He Himself hath taught me saying Our Father c. A Prayer for the Author or Reader O Lord assist me so with Thy Blessed Spirit that all that I have now Written or Read in this foregoing Work may always be fresh upon my Heart and Soul and grant me O God that at this time I may pour out my Soul unto Thee upon my bended Knees in such like Prayers and Supplications that may be prevalent with Thee my Heavenly Father to guard and defend me this Day from all manner of Sins and power of Temptations whatsoever More especially against all those Sins that do so easie beset me and meet me at every turn those Sins thou knowest O Heavenly Father are my familiar and prevailing Sins that now by the special Concurrence of thy Blessed Spirit I may be able to strike at the very root of them all and like David kill the Goliah Give me O Lord a true rectify'd Spirit Sanctify'd throughout to overcome all Infirmities and Corruptions of Human Nature And that I may betake my self sincerely to the great Business of the Salvation of my Soul And that with the Blessed Apostle I may run the Race that is set before me looking unto Christ Jesus the Author and Finisher of my Faith who for the Joy that was set before him endur'd the Cross despis'd the shame and now is set at the Right Hand of God daily to make Intercession for me For him O Heavenly Father hast thou highly exalted and given him a Name above all other Names that at the Name of Jesus every Knee should how both of things in Heaven and of things on Earth O sweet Jesu O blessed Jesu who can but bow to Thee and supplicate to Thee and pour out their Prayers and Tears to Thee that left the bosom of Thy Father and all the Adorations and Chorus's of Saints and Angels and came down from Heaven to suffer the cursed and ignominious Death of the Cross for my Sins to have thy tender Hands that were always doing of Good and healing Diseases and thy blessed Feet that always kept the steady Paths of Eternal Life now to be turn'd twisted extended distorted disjointed and Nail'd to the Cross to drink the Vinegar and Gaul of Thy Father's high Displeasure for my great and grievous Sins to have Thy most sacred Sides pierc'd and to gush out with Water and Blood To see Thee all over sweating and pouring down Streams of Blood from the Crown of Thy Head to the Foot of the Cross and to suffer all this for my great grievous hainous Sins and abominable Iniquities Nay further O Dear Jesu to see Thee endure and to lie under Thy Father's Wrath and the pressure of all these Agonies and Torments which made Thee bitterly to cry out My God my God Why hast thou forsaken â—e O Lord What shall I do Who is able to behold Thee longer Who can but love Thee and in loving Thee adore Thee with infinite unbounded and unmeasurable Love and desire earnestly to be Dissolved and to be with Thee But if it is Thy good Pleasure to spare me longer let the true Love and perfect sense of all this Love and Suffering of Thine my Dear Lord and Saviour help me to live up to that exact Pattern thou hast left me here of Meekness Lowliness Humility Charity Forgiveness Bowels of Pity and Compassion and that a perfect sense of Thy Crucifixion may always be fresh in my Heart and Soul that so it may beget in me a compleat hatred and dread of all Sins that in the whole Course of my remaining Life I may be preserved and defended from the like Sins that I run not the danger of Eternal Damnation And that the inexhaustible Bowels of Thy Mercy may take pity of me so that I Crucifie Thee not again but being delivered from all Iniquities by thy most mighty Power may with finishing my Course here be receiv'd into the open Arms of Thy Eternal Salvation And this I most heartily beg upon the bended Knees of my Soul for Thy sake only and upon the alone account of Thee my Dear Lord and Saviour and ever-blessed Redeemer and Advocate Amen and Amen A Death Bed Meditation I Owe to God a Death as his Son did for me Ever since I have been born I have been sailing to this Haven and gathering Patience to comfort me in this Hour therefore should I be one of those Guests that would not come to the Banquet when they were invited What hurt is there is going to Sleep In going to Paradise I shall lose nothing but the Sense of Evils and anon I shall have greater Joys than I feel Pains for my Head is in Heaven already to assure me my Soul and Body shall follow after O Death Where is thy Sting Why should I fear that which I would not escape because my chief Happiness is gone before and I cannot have it unless I go to it I would even go through Hell it self for Heaven and therefore if I march but through Death I suffer less than I would for God My Pains do not dismay me because I Travel to bring forth Eternal Life My Sins do not fright me because I have Christ my Redeemer there The Judge doth not astonish me because I have the Judges Son my Advocate The Devil amazes me not because the Angels pitch their Tents about me The Grave grieves me not because I know it was my Lord's Bed O that God's Mercy to me might move others to love him For the less I can express of it the more it is The Prophets and the Apostles are my Fore-runners every Man will go before or follow after If it please God to receive me into Heaven before them that serv'd him better what Thankfulness do I owe him and because I have deferr'd my Repentance till this Hour whereby my Salvation had been cut off had I dy'd suddenly How doth my God in his Infinite Mercy to prevent my Destruction call me by this lingring Sickness and prepares me for my End and makes me by wholsome Pains weary of this beloved World lest I should depart unwillingly like to those whose Death is their Damnation Thus he loves me while he beats me and his Stripes are Plaisters to cure my Sores therefore who shall love him if I displease him This is my whole Business now to strengthen my Body with my Heart and to be contented as God hath appointed until I can Glorify him or He me If I live I live to Sacrifice If I dye I dye to my Saviour for Christ my Saviour is Sacrificed for me and therefore should I fear Death I have not that Faith and Hope I have profess'd but I doubted of God's Truth in his Promises Whether or no he will forgive Penitent Sinners which I sear not Come Lord Jesus for now thy Servant cometh into thy Everlasting Arms of Mercy I commit my Soul into thy Hands O Heavenly Father Come Lord Jesus come quickly A Letter written to his Friend in his Sickness Beloved I Marvelled not that you have Pain for you are Sick but I marvel that you cover it not for Offences because the Wisdom of Man is to bite in his Gpief and always to shew more Comfort in God than Pain in Suffering Now God calleth to Repetitious to see whether you have learn'd more Patience and Constancy than others If Sickness be sharp make it not more sharp by frowardness But know this is a great Favour to us when we dye by Sickness that makes us ready for God when he calls us Now you have nothing to think upon but God and you cannot think upon him without Joy Your Grief passes away but your Joy will never Tell me Friend or Patient How many Stripes is Heaven worth Is my Friend only Sick in the World or his Faith weaker than others You have always Pray'd Thy Will be done and are you now offended that God's Will is done How hath the Faithful Man forgot that all things even Death if self turn to the best to them that love God Teach the Happy O Lord to see his Happiness through Troubles Every Pain is the prevention of the Pain of Hell Every Ease in Pain is a fore-tast of the Ease and Peace and Joys in Heaven Remember therefore your own Comforts to others before and be not impatient when there is most need of Patience but as you have ever Taught us to Live so now give us an Example to Dye and deceive Satan as Job did FINIS
THE Lama-sabachthani OR CRY OF THE Son of GOD Useful at all Times especially For PASSION Week AND At all other Times for a Devout and Pious Soul in its nearest Approaches and Addresses to its Saviour before and after it comes to be an Actual Partaker of the Body and Blood of its Redeemer The Second Edition LONDON Printed by Edw. Jones for Samuel Lowndes against Exeter-Change in the Strand 1691. To Her most Pious and Sacred MAJESTY Queen MARY The Author most Humbly Offers and Dedicates the ensuing Enchiridion of a Crucify'd Saviour Madam WHen I consider the unexpressible Honour I lately had of being frequently a partaker with You at the Throne of Grace in Your Chappel-Devotion at the Hague Where observing Your great Strength and Zeal of true Piety accompanied with a perfect Stability of Humility Meekness and Lowliness of Spirit as a compleat Follower and Imitator of our Dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ whilst on Earth it struck such a Dint upon me As St. Austin says melted down his Soul into Divine Affections and enforc'd such a Love of Religion in me that made me inspir'd to that height and Ecstacy of Devotion and Intention of Thought that did not only as it were withdraw my Soul from all Commerce with the Senses but in a manner separate it a while from the Body And made it with the Apostle Paul to have Antipasts of Heaven and a fruition of Coelestial Enjoyments Such Raptures Elevations and Influences of Anticipated Glory as the Apostle had had the Disciples of our Saviour whilst their Great Lord and Master was Predicting and Communicating his Passion to be an abiding Commemoration of himself amongst them after his Ascension into Glory as it is largely set forth by our Saviour himself throughout the 6th Chapter of John And as it was observ'd of Peter and the rest of his Brethren in the Transfiguration of our Saviour on the Mount that when he Pray'd earnestly to his Father the Fashion of his Countenance was alter'd which did beget immediately in them such a Participation of Raptures and Ejaculations that made them very unwilling to relinquish the Place where they had enjoy'd such a Beatifical Presence The like have I perceiv'd in Your Majesties Countenance as if it spake aloud the very Language of Your Divine Soul that made mine always wish in its Publick Devotion to live in the Presence of so Great and so Glorious an Exemplar No less perfect are all these Coelestial Qualifications in Your ever Ador'd and Dearly beloved Sister to enumerate them again were but Tautology they are all so essentially compact in You both that modestly and justly You are the Glory of the Vniverse The Hypostatick Council of Heaven having decreed it from all Eternity that You Two shouâ—d be Leaders and Patterns to all Sincere and Devout Subjects and Christians in all Virtue Piety and Holiness and that they be close Imitators and Followers of You as You are of Christ This makes it transcendently the Felicity of all Humble Pious Souls to have Two such Matchless Guardian Angels walk before us and to be eminent for God in Your Generations as the aforesaid Mary and Anna the Mother of Jesus and Prophetess of our Lord. How much more Glorious must the Protestant Religion necessarily appear in You Madam now You are by the All-wise Providence of the Great God most happily arriv'd at the Zenith of Sovereignty whose Sovereign Beams have already dispers'd all those Clouds and Mists nay Storms and Hurricans of Popery that of late had like to have subverted and over-whelm'd these Nations into a Bloody Deluge by Massacre and Murder had not God reserv'd Your Majesty for such a day as This and brought You safe through the dangers of the Seas and plac'd Your Royal Person with King William on the Imperial Throne of Your Ancestors whose undaunted Magnanimity and Resolution by the Omnipotent Power of the Almighty hath procur'd this re-establishment for us again That when all our hopes were sinking in the Autumn of Despair God was pleas'd through him by a stupendious Miracle to restore us again without the tedious and cruel Sieges of War or Blood to a Protestant Settlement and Blessing This is the only cause that emboldens me to present to You the following Meditations and Contemplations of the Agony and Crucifixion of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Entituled The Lamasa-bachthani or Cry of the Son of God wherein I have endeavour'd as succinctly and as perspicuously as possibly I could to set forth every Action and Transaction of the Chief Priests Scribes Elders and Soldiers towards their accomplishing of their wicked Design in perfecting of the so much hunger'd for Crucifixion of our Dear Lord and Saviour How he was hurry'd and carry'd from one Place Court and Council to another Spit on and Buffeted in one Array'd and Rob'd in another Scourg'd and Crown'd with Thorns in another mock'd and derided in all but acquitted and discharg'd by none and yet not found guilty of Death in any I have follow'd the Evangelists as close as I could and have rank'd them as well as I am able in so small a thing and have made the rough Draught as like the Original as I can possible in suitable Expressions and earnestly beg of God it may please all and displease none being all Divine Truths I most humbly present it to Your Majesty hoping it may receive a Candid and free Acceptation from You. It will lye in a little Room in Your Closet and at the Table of the Lord being more fitted for the Heart of a Devout and Pious Soul than Voluminous therefore may be as the Viand of the Soul in its nearest Addresses to its Saviour before and after it comes to be an actual partaker of the Body and Blood of a Redeemer whom I have end avour'd to Delineate as well as I am able in so small a Tract in the utmost extremity of his Crucifixion in his Agony and Bloody Sweat on his Cross and Passion in his Death and Burial and there left his most precious Body in the Grave with Holy Angels to attend his Call I may hereafter presume to write of his Glorious Resurrection and Ascension also if I can find my weak Endeavours are in any degree useful according to the Pious and Honest Intention of MADAM Your Majesties most Obedient and for ever most Devoted Humble Servant Anonymus THE Lama-sabachthani OR THE CRY OF THE Son of GOD. HEAR O Heavens and give Ear O Earth for the Lord hath spoken it O what is this I hear The Voice of the Son of God in the grievous Agony of his Soul just breathing out his last and crying to his God nay his Father to sustain and comfort him either O Holy Father take from me this bitter Cup of Vinegar and Gaul of thy high Displeasure or else forsake me not in the time of my drinking this bitter Portion Where is the Cry of the Son of God the
that thou didst pray for me or else I had been eternally lost How can I but weep and weep bitterly for this heinous and never-to-be-forgotten Sin O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me Was not my first Sin great enough in the Garden to sleep when thou wert in thy Agony and bid me watch but must I commit a greater now A Sin none ever did commit nor ever can again as to the Circumstance Time and Place Lord help me to weep and to weep more abundantly O Lord that I could wash away my Sins with my Tears that are of so deep a dye O blessed Jesu to make my Laver the stronger I will back again to the Garden of Gethsemane to bewail my first Sin that was the place I was first neglective of my God And there also I will bewail the second too Surely that is the fittest place O my Soul There was the place my dear Lord and Saviour in his great Conflict pray'd and wept and made strong Supplications to his God with Sighs and Groans that were unutterable there he fell with his Face to the Ground and humbled himself even unto Death there is the place he sweat drops of Blood in mixt with his Tears for me thither will I run and there will I prostrate my self on the Ground in the very same place and as I said before to make my Laver stronger to wash my polluted Crimson-dyed Soul I will mix the Blood and Tears of my dear Lord and Saviour that are upon the Ground with my own Hearts blood and Tears O sweet Jesu I remember now very well thy last Words and thy last Prayers and with these unparalell'd Ingredients I find here my poor sinking Soul begins to revive The Tears and Drops of Sweat and Blood that fell upon the Ground from our Saviour in his Agony and my Faith in thee dear Jesu springs again amain and I see the Door of Mercy open to me as well as to Mary Magdalen to us that have sinned much thou hast heard our Prayers and hast seen and botled up our Tears and hast forgiven much But I have pray'd for thee Peter thy Faith fail thee not O happy was it for thee Peter when thou wast so desperately wounded to have thy Physician so near with the Balm of Gilead like the good Samaritan to pour Oyl and Wine into thy Wounds to supple and cleanse them and carefully bind them up for healing If thy Saviour had passed by thee and had not look'd upon thee thy Wounds had putrifi'd and gangrean'd and thou hadst been lost for ever If Christ himself had not took notice of thee and heal'd thy wounds all others had pass'd by thee Scribe and Pharisee Jew and Gentile some on the Right hand and some on the Left and no Man had taken Pity of thee Happy are they that lye in the way Christ doth walk yea even at the Pool of Bethesda they are sure to be heard by Christ the Physician of Souls they shall either be sure of his immediate help or else of his Angels that are ministring Spirits sent from him O! that I might as effectually find the Prayers of my dear Jesu for me Peter in the full Pardon of my Sins now enthron'd in Heaven as thou found'st him for thine on Earth To open blind Eyes and to take off Scales of Ignorance with St. Paul Are not the Waters of Siloam to wash in better than Abana and Pharpar and all the Rivers of Damascus But now to return back to Caiphas and his Confederates and Council they being made up of the Chief-Priests Elders Scribes and Pharisees they unanimously agree according to their Arbitrary Law to condemn Jesus of Nazareth but they had no Power to put him to Death but after they had used all the Villany to him they could as spitting upon him buffetting him striking of him on the Face with the Palms of their Hands and blindfolding of him and asking who it was that smote him and with all the Reviling ill Language they were capable of they very early the next Morning sent him bound to Pilate But now when Judas found that Caiphas had condemn'd him and sent him to Pilate he begins to repent of what he had done and carries back the Thirty Pieces of Silver to the High-Priests Annas and Caiphas But more of that in the conclusion of his notorious Wickedness in betraying his Master But now as to the manner and behaviour of Judas and the Report abroad What! What! What news is this I hear A devout Soul amazed at the report of Judas's betraying his Master My blessed Lord and Redeemer betraid Betraid by a kiss and by one of his own Disciples at the time of his Prayers and in the place of his greatest Retirements in the dark Night where none could hear him or see him but his God his Heavenly Father and betray'd at this time by Judas while he was praying O Wonder and Amazement While he was praying for his Disciples O how happy would my Soul have been to have heard but on Whisper from thy Mouth dear Saviour to thy God in my behalf for my poor Soul Thus was it with thee at this time Praying and Pleading with thy Heavenly Father for the Salvation of Mankind and more especially for his Disciples to whom he was to commit the care of his poor scatter'd and distressed Flock and for thee Judas he was praying with strong Prayers Cries and Tears and the more earnestly at this time of thy coming was he labouring and interceding with his Father with Sighs and Groans and in a very great Agony of Soul and Body even to the extorting and drawing out great drops of Blood the fell to the Ground And how couldst thou come thus Judas with Tapers and Lights as if thou wert with the blessed Spouse in the Canticles Sick of Love as if no time or place could retain thee or keep thee longer from thy beloved nor no danger could affright thee from the Terrors of the dark and gloomy Night but find him thou art resolved of no sooner hadst thou found him but how passionately one would think thou runn'st to him and hang'st about his Neck and kissest him as if it exprest the greatest Passion and Fervency of thy Soul with the most earnest Compleatment of thy Longings and Desires to find out thy most endeared Friend as if thou hadst come to him with the greatest Embassy or News that God or Angels could reveal to thee or employ thee in or as if thou hadst privately over-heard the dreadful Conspiracy of the High-Priests and Elders Governour Soldiers and Herod against thy Lord and Master's precious Life and as if this had been the only Minute and Time in this dark and dismal Night to make his Escape in and thou thy self with thy Followers and Lights Dark Lanthorns hadst come secretly to conduct him securely through By-ways and untrodden Paths that he might go conceal'd from these notorious
hang'd himself Matth. 25.5 AND now O most Holy Jesu let this Blessed Spirit further assist me in this great Work to present thee Dear Lord to the Life to my Devout Soul that it may the more perfectly see thee in all thy Agony Passion Death Burial Resurrection and Ascension and to admire thee and adore thee most Blessed Lord and Saviour in the greatest humiliation and adoration a poor Creature is able to do as thou art daily interceding for me at the Throne of Heaven And this I beg upon the bended Knees of my Soul in thy own Name and for thy own sake who art my Lord and Saviour and Ever-Blessed Redeemer and Advocate Amen But now to proceed on with this wicked Tragedy of the Jews After Judas had Hang'd himself the Chief-Priests took the Silver-pieces and said It is not lawful to put them into the Treasury because it is the price of Blood And they consulted together and bought the Potters Field to bury Strangers in wherefore that Field is call'd the Field of Blood to this day Then was fulfill'd that which was spoken by Jeremiah the Prophet saying And they took the Thirty pieces of Silver the price of him that was valued whom they of the Children of Israel did value and gave them for the Potters Field as the Lord appointed Jesus carried before Pilate But the High Priests took Jesus and bound him and sent him away very early it being a work of darkness to Pilate and they themselves came after to accuse him Pilate entring the Tribunal Seat ask'd them What Accusations they did bring against this Man they answer and say in in general If he were not a Malefactor we would not have deliver'd him up to you Pilate being unwilling to meddle in this Affair perceiving it was for envy they accus'd him and not any thing of a just Offence Pilate ask'd them Why they did not proceed against him and judge him according to their Law and not to trouble him The Jews said unto him It is not lawful for us to put any Man to death that the saying of Jesus might be fulfill'd which be spake signifying what Death he should dye as he himself had prophesi'd of himself And they shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucifie Then Pilate enter'd the Judgment-Hall and when he saw no body come against him calls to Jesus and said unto him Art thou the King of the Jews Thinking happily he might trap Jesus in his words but Jesus as cautiously ask'd him another Question Hast thou said this thing of thy self or did others tell it thee of my Pilate answer'd him Am I a Jew Thy own Nation and the Chief Priests have deliver'd thee to me What hast thou done For as yet none can testifie any thing against him for they had not as yet their pretended Fact ready whereby to accuse him moreover they found Pilate to be very strict in his Examination and very unwilling to be both Accuser and Judge and made them not willing to answer to any particulars till they had drawn up full Proof against him seeing a General Charge had no Influence upon Pilate Jesus said unto Pilate my Kingdom is not of the World Pilate therefore said unto him Art thou a King then Jesus answered Thou sayest that I am a King For this Cause was I born and for this Cause came I into the World that I should bear witness to the Truth What is the Truth saith Pilate Jesus answered Every one that is of the Truth heareth my Voice Pilate then goes out to the Jews and tells them If they had nothing else to say against Jesus of Nazareth he must and will discharge him for be for his part found no fault in him at all John 18.29 to 38. Then when they heard this rather than he should be discharg'd the whole Multitude ran in with open Mouth and began to accuse him saying If we must come to Particulars we are prepared We found this Fellow teaching Sedition and Rebellion and endeavouring to pervert the Nation from paying Tribute to Caesar and saying That himself is Christ a King saith Pilate I have heard of this already and I will hear no more of it I must discharge him if this is all you have to say for I tell you I can find no fault in the Man Then they were the more fierce against him but all to no purpose saying He stirreth up the People Teaching throughout Jury beginning from Galilee to this place Pilate being now quite wearied out with this Nonsense and hearing he was a Galilean knew that he belong'd to Herod's Jurisdiction and turns him over to him Luke 23.8 whom he knew to be at Jerusalem at that time Jesus carried before Herod and therefore sends Jesus to him who had been desirous of a long season to see him because he had heard many things of him and hoped to see some of his Miracles done by him Then Herod begins to Interrogate Jesus and finding he could get nothing from him nor no Miracles to be done by him and being most vehemently accused by the Chief Priests and Elders saying all manner of Evil against him that the subtilty of Men or Devils could invent for they distrusted to have any good done by Pilate and therefore concluded this was the last Stake they had to play and thereupon resolv'd to make the best of it They said that He pretended to be a King and had forbid them to pay Tribute to any Earthly Monarch and that he did frequently sow Sedition amongst the People and moreover said He could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days But he answered nothing to all this Moreover Herod was informed they had been before Annas and Caiphas and that their Witnesses could not agree together and that Pilate could find no just Accusation of Death against him and upon that account had sent him to him which he took very kindly from Pilate and upon this occasion they Two were made friends which before had been at Variance and Enmity for a great while Notwithstanding Herod calls a Council of his Mighty Men and they debate the Matter amongst themselves but yet could find no cause of Death in him more than the violency of the People so that Herod was neither willing to release him nor yet to condemn him but He and his Nobles make sport with him awhile set him at nought mock'd him and arrayed him in a Purple Robe others a White Robe out of derision to his Regal Power and on purpose to render him more the peoples Scorn and the more to enflame their merciless Cruelty and thus return him back again to Pilate with Thanks and a great Compliment for the grand favour he had done him in sending this Malefactor the King of the Jews to him I have Rob'd him and given him what Ignominy and Despite I thought convenient but as for his Death or to condemn him belongs not
Blood be upon us and our Children for ever if it will we will have him Crucified And the Voices of them and the Chief Priests prevailed Luke 23.23 Then Pilate released Barabbas unto them and delivor'd Jesus to be Crucified and they took him and lead him away John 19.16 Then they called together the whole Band of Soldiers and with the Scarlet Robe and the Crown of Thorns on his Head they put a Reed in his right band in stead of a Scepter and they bowed the Knee before him and said Hail King of the Jews And then they spit upoâ— him and took away the Reed from him and smote him on the Head with it And after they had done that they mock'd him and then they took off the Robe that was upon him by Herod's Appointment for to Crucifie him in that King-like Robe would be a great dishonour both to their King and Country And the Saviour of the World now being left to the Barbarous Multitude to be Crucified The Jews and Gentiles consent and assist in the Crucifying of him Mat. 20.18 19. and to do what they would with him You may imagine with what Undecency and Rudeness they twist and turn about the Sacred Body of our Dear Jesus that is already most grievously sore and stiff with Blood from their late Inhuman Stripes and with what force and cruelty they pull off his Robes and put on his own Garments for his Crucifixion is enough to make a Devout Soul quake and tremble Thus they took the ever-blessed Jesus and led him away bearing His own Cross toward Mount Calvary or Golgotha the place of a Skull with all the Joy their Rage and Malice could invent Stay now my Soul and take a serious view of thy Lord and Saviour thus far afflicted The Devout Soul standing to see its Saviour pass by toward the Mount the place of his Execution tormented and forsaken I say now if thy Heart does not break to fast and the Sluces of thy Eyes do not pour down Pears too violently take a view of him and make a stand It 's the way to his Cross and he will come dragg'd by presently O my Soul be like the true Zacheus make the best of thy Ground to view and of thy Time to consider for now the Agony of our Blessed Redeemer begins Ah cruel and miserable Pilate What hast thou now done And whom hast thou Condemned And whom hast thou delivered up to be Crucified The Lord of Glory The Son of God! The Redeemer and Saviour of the World A just Person As thou thy self hath testified of him Thou found'st no Guile nor Evil in his Mouth What canst thou expect from him then for thy own Salvation See but yonder how he is hal'd and dragg'd away from thee with his Head crown'd with Thorns his Temples bleeding his Face besmear'd with Blood and Spittle from the basest and vilest of the poor ignorant Jews and his Back stooping under the Burthen of his own Cross and his poor Legs trembling by reason of its weight which with the Dust Dirt Crowd Sweat Blood and want of Sustenance to revive his poor drooping Spirits His sacred Lips having received no nourishment from the time of the Passover till the time of his thirsting up on the Cross which was the third day and exactly forerun the time of his Body lying in the Grave is ready to sink Canst thou look after him Pilate and see all this and thy Heart and Soul not faint and bleed What wouldst thou give Pilate now to recal thy wicked and abominable Sentence of a just Person thus spitefully used and dealt with Like a Lamb to the Slaughter or a Sheep before the Shearers is dumb so openeth he not his Mouth But now not for Pity to his tender Back Simon the Cyrenian compell'd to bear our Saviours Cross but for fear he tire before he come to the Place of suffering and that they may give him some ease to lengthen out his Torments and that they may be able to inflict more Stripes upon him and that he may more become the publick view and that he may be the better come at to receive his Stripes and to be spit upon and thrown at let us seize and compel the Traveller Simon of Cyrenia to bear his Cross O happy art thou Simon to bear thy Lord's Cross Let there be no unwillingness in thee Thou hadst no hand in Condemning him nor Crowning him with Thorns nor spitting upon him nor bussetting him let it not grieve thee thou may'st be amply rewarded for thy pains if thou believest in him He in requital will bear thy Soul to Heaven for thee How many poor Souls now a days would have been glad to have suffer'd for him or with him that have already found part of the Virtue of his Death and Resurrection But how can I blame thee poor Simon when all his Disciples had left him and one of them was he that betray'd him to this but all hid their Faces from him as he himself had foretold them And ye shall leave me alone but I am not alone because the Father is with me O dear Lord Jesu joyful is this News to me that I now here thee speak That thou hast the Presence Comforts and Assistance of thy Father of thy God with thee in this hour in this great Agony and Suffering And having thus far mournfully accompanied our Lord and Saviour up the Hill laden with Afflictions and Sorrows to the top of Mount Calvary where the Cross of our dear Saviour is to be fix'd for the separating of his most Glorious Soul and most Precious Body Who can but consider and be amaz'd to think what stupendious Sorrows and Sufferings our dear Lord at this moment feels and apprehends All Malefactors that we have at any time beheld with our Christian compassionate Eyes there are three Times especially that conflict and operate most upon sympathizing Beholders and according as the Sentence for the extinguishing part of Life is so are we more or less affected and afflicted with Sorrow First at the time of their Condemnation and dreadful Sentence Thou shalt return to the Place from whence thou camest and from thence to the Place of Execution and there be hang'd by the Neck till thou art dead or Quarter'd alive or burnt to Death and the Lord have Mercy upon thy Soul Secondly at the present time of their going up the Ladder or being fastned to the Rack Cross Stake or Block What Eyes can behold this but their Face shall gather Paleness and Sorrow A simpathizing thinking Christian and their Knees even knock together with fear and trembling to think what is at hand and they now going immediately to suffer Thirdly at the time of their being in the very present Agony of Death where not only the present Torment of Body they endure but the dreadful Terrors of an affrighted Conscience at the immediate sight of a revengeful God and irreconcileable
God Let them in scorn and derision be Crucifying my Saviour between two Malefactors as the chiefest of them I in the greatest bitterness of my Soul will be pouring out the most ardent of my Prayers with Sighs Groans and Tears that are unutterable to remember me both now whilst thou art on the Cross and as soon as thou art exalted in thy Kingdom of Glory O God! the Son Redeemer of the World have mercy upon me miserable Sinner By the mystery of thy Holy Incarnation By thy Nativity and Circumcision By thy Fasting Baptism and Temptation Good Lord deliver me By thy Agony and Bloody Sweat By the Cross and Passion By thy precious Death and Burial By thy Glorions Resurrection and Ascension And by the coming of the Holy Ghost Good Lord deliver me O Son of God! I beseech thee to hear me O Lamb of God! that takest away the Sins of the World Grant me thy Peace O Christ hear me O Lord hear me O Lamb of God that takest away the Sins of the World have Mercy upon me Lord have mercy upon me Christ have mercy upon me O Lord hear me and remember me now now thou art giving up thy most precious Life and pouring out thy innocent harmless and compassionate Soul Remember me when thou com'st into thy Kingdom What can a poor Soul beg more and desire more of its Redeemer at the point of Death Or what can be given or done more by an ever-blessed Saviour and Holy Jesu to save us from the Jaws of Death Power of Hell and Eternal Torments Than to be pouring out his own Soul by Prayers and Tears to his Heavenly Father at the very last minute of his precious Life for us But stay O blessed Jesu What is it I perceive and see still in this black and dismal hour O Lord Is it thee still in thy Agony and bloody Sweat It is so dark I can but just perceive thee Is it not finisht yet What say'st thou Lord now to my poor fainting dying Soul Speak Lord one word of comfort to me notwithstanding all thy Adversaries and implacable Enemies about thee Speak Lord and thy Servant heareth Speak Lord and my Soul shall live If thou art so faint thou can'st not speak in this grievous Conflict let thy good Prophet speak for thee Wherefore when I came was there no man to help When I call'd was there none to answer Do you think I am past Saving of you or Delivering of you in this time of my Dereliction Tho you all forsake me in this hour of my Crucifixion I do not forsake you my Children my Flock and my poor Lambs my Redeemed and the purchas'd of my Soul Is my Hand shortned at all though nail'd to the Cross that I cannot Save or that I cannot Redeem Or have I no power to deliver Behold at my Rebuke I dry up the Sea I make the Rivers a Wilderness The Fish stinketh and dieth for Thirst because there is no Water I cloath the Heavens with blackness and I make Sack loth their covering I make the Earth to quake and tremble and it would tumble down to the Eternal Abiss but that I bear up the Pillars of it at this very moment that I am bleeding and dying upon the Cross Let the Jews have as vile and mean thoughts of me as they please and cast all their scorn and malice mixt with their cruel rage and poison at me It 's I that make the Rocks to rent the Sun to gather paleness and the Moon to be turn'd into Blood Notwithstanding that all the Scriptures might be fulfill'd and my Redeem'd Ones the Purchas'd of my Soul set at liberty I give my Back to the smiters and my Cheeks to them that pluck't off my Hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting for the Lord Gâ—d doth and will help my Soul and sustain it Whatever my Body doth or shall cry out and say therefore I shall not be confounded therefore I have set my Face like a Flint and know that I shall not be asham'd He is near that justifieth me Who will contend with me Let us stand together Who is my Adversary Let him come near Behold the Lord will help me Who is he that will condemn me Lo they shall all wax old as a Garment and the Moth shall eat them up Who is it amongst you that feareth the Lord Who obeyeth the Voice of hit Servant that walketh in darkness and hath no light Let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay himself upod his God Behold all ye that kindle a Five that compass your selves about with sparks walk in the light of your Fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled this shall ye have of my hand ye shall lie down in sorrow Isa 50. But my Soul draw near or else thou wilt lose the sight of thy Saviour Darkness hastens on a-pace O Holy Jesu is it not thee Let me wipe and drain my dim and almost spent and blind Eyes and look again Lord it is thee I still perceive thy Tears distilling down thy sacred Face Thy Temples boiling out of Spirituous Blood Thy Sacred Hands and Feet blubbering up and venting out from behind the Nails great Bladders of Blood and Froth from the expulsive force of thy most exquisite Torments O Lord even now my Soul fainteth and dieth within me My Spirits fail me My poor Mortal Eyes and tender fainting Heart is not able to behold thee longer Nor yet while my Life and Strength remains can I forbear when an interval of Tears will permit my sight looking after thee still and pouring forth my fervent and frequent requests to thee and falling into these most strict Examinations within my self What! From the Sixth till almost the Ninth Hour is my dear Saviour in the height of this vehement Agony and not over yet But still labouring and groaning under the burthen of my Sins What great and heinous Sin of mine is it that I am guilty of that is not aton'd yet That God is so extremely incens'd at and that he will not yet pardon That my poor Saviour is yet struggling for till the last drop of his most Precious Blood is exhausted Let me look immediately into my Soul into every corner and crany of it all must out and be discover'd of what nature or quality soever it be whether Lying Cursing Swearing and Forswearing Theft Murther Fornication Adultery Incest Pollution with the Dead or Copulation with Beasts Blasphemy Spite and Contempt against thy Holy Word and Sacraments O quickly quickly quickly help me O my God to find it out and to bring all to remembrance that thou mayest no longer be extorted and convuls'd in these grievous Torments Look upon me dear Saviour and cast quickly thy dying Eye towards me Christ cast his dying Eyes to a Supplicant Sinner as thou didst upon Peter in the High-Priest's Hall denying thee that I may immediately remember it seeing thy Righteous Father is so exact
and severe that there is no Redemption of thy most precious Soul and Sacred Body from the Cross till thou hast paid the very utmost Farthing and hast made full and compleat Satisfaction for me O dear Lord That Cast of thy languishing distracted dying Eye towards me hath brought all to remembrance And there dear Saviour in the speedy conveyance of a most ardent Ejaculation is it most humbly and devoutly presented unto thee that thou mayest instantly be deliver'd from the Torments and Bondage of Death in making ample Atonement for it and my poor Soul may be recorded as soon as thou art exalted in thy Kingdom of Glory Stay O my Soul a small space longer for now Darkness hastens on amain that I can scarce see thee But what is it I hear Does this abominable Sin of mine stick so fast still in the strict Court of Heaven that it makes thee cry out thus Will it not yet be discharg'd What dreadful Cry is it I 'm sure it must be my Sin Thou O blessed Jesu art Spotless and without Sin Guile was not found in thy Mouth It must be mine O miserable and wretched Creature as I am How impossible was I and unable to have under went this Suffering and Agony for my Sin as a poor Worm Dust Ashes and sinful polluted Man when it makes the Son of God thus complain and cry out Hark! Hark! O my Soul what is it that sounds thus in my Ears 'T is no usual Cry it must come from my Tortur'd Redeemer Hark! Harst Silence Hark! What is' t Eloi Eloi Lama sabachthani My God my God why hast thou forsaken me O my Soul what is it What is it I hear Eloi Eloi Lama-sabachthani My God my God why hast thou forsaken me O Lord O God! O Saviour O ever-blessed Redeemer O my Christ Son of God! Lamb of God! Dearly beloved of the Father Where shall I go Where shall I hide my self from the Wrath and dreadful Displeasure of thy Father if thou cry'st out so that art his Son his only begotten Son in whom always he was so well pleas'd What then can I do or where shall I appear if Wrath break out never so little towards me when thou that art a God complains so bitterly What then must a poor vile wretched miserable undone Creature and grievous polluted Sinner do But stay my Soul Endeavour still to be looking up toward thy Saviour Let my tremblng fainting Heart still endure the Crowd If thou dyest here thou mayest still be remembred with the Penitent Thief It 's the only time and place under Heaven to give up a departing Soul but if otherwise thou art called for a longer time on Earth have patience and see the last of thy erer-blessed Saviour If the Mother of our ever-blessed Lord stand to see the last Gasp of her dearly beloved Son and if Mary Magdalen and others stand weeping and crying and praying to see the last Gasp and dismal End of this unparalell'd Tragedy thou hast as much need I say if amongst these Mary the Mother of our ever-blessed Jesu can stand to behold her Nine Months Labour in her precious Womb and to see the Travail of her Soul thus tormented to Death canst not thou do the same More especially thy Sins O my Soul are great which thou hast committed have patience a while and much shall be forgiven thee Let us now see what further the Jews have to do till their Wrath is quite spent And when the Sixth Hour was come there was Darkness over the whole Earth until the Ninth Hour and at the Ninth Hour Jesus cry'd out with a loud Voice saying Eloi Eloi Lama sabachthani Which being interpreted is My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And some of them which stood by said He calleth for Elias let him come down and save him if he can Then presently he cry'd I Thirst immediately one runs and fills a Spunge full of Vinegar and Gaul and gives it him to drink Psal 69.21 Mark 15.23 All this Suffering hitherto of our Blessed Lord and Saviour had wrought nothing upon these Cruel Incredulous Jewish Stony Hearts but they squeeze this bitter Potion into his most Sacred Mouth with bitter Revilings which at all times is counted most base and inhuman to insult over the most vilest Malefactors at the time of their suffering the satisfaction and penalty of the Law yet such is the Cruelty of these barbarous Infidels Let us see say they if Elias will come and take him down from the Cross and save him But our Blessed Jesu as he had liv'd Christ the Son of the ever living God so he would dye Christ and Saviour of the World pâ—aying for his most bitter and inhuman Enemies at the very last minute of his most precious Life Father forgive them they know not what they do But when they saw that all their Rage Malice and Barbarous Cruelty ended in a Prayer for them their Hearts began to smite them and they stood gazing one upon another and when they began to see such thick Darkness fall upon them and the Earth quaking and trembling under their Feet they began to be convinc'd in their Consciences some of them and to say one to another Surely this is the Son of God and cry'd What shall we do And looking up to Jesus again they saw him bowing his Head and saying Consummatum est Now it is finished Father into thy hands I commit my Spirit and bowed his Head and gave up the Ghost And as one devoutly observes the posture of this Death carries in it a lively Representation of his great Love to Mankind his Arms stretch'd out as it were to embrace all those that would come to him and his Head bowing down to kiss them And at the Ninth Hour there was Darkness over the whole Earth for the Sun began to hide his Head as not able to behold it The Vail of the Temple was torn from the top to the bottom the Earth quak'd and the Rocks rent which made the Centurion that stood by as a Sheriff by Pilate's Command to see our Saviour executed begin to be grievously afraid and to say Of a certain this was the Son of God Luke 23.30 Matth. 27.54 And no sooner had our dear Saviour let fly his Blessed Spirit and ascended to his Heavenly Throne and glorified Saints and Angels but they rejoycing at his glorious Presence immediately brake forth into singing of Praises and Hallelujahs with the Penitent Thief And having now overcome the Power of Death and Hell forthwith the Graves open'd and many Bodies of the Saints which slept arose Matth. 27.52 and began to glorifie God Like 23.47 But the Jews when they saw all this began to call to the Mountains to hide them from the Wrath to come Luke 23.48 And all the People that came together to that Sight beheld the things that were done and were amaz'd and smote their Breasts and return'd that the Scriptures might
Judge that is now ready to cast both Soul and Body into Hell-Fire do produce Compassion And this is the present and perfect state and condition of all Men by reason of Sin For this and this alone is our dear Lord and Saviour conflicted in the Garden even to the extracting great drops of Blood trickling down his most sacred Hands and Face And when he saw his most Righteous Father would not reverse this eternal Decree and Punishment to Mankind for Sin without his own ever blessed Son's undergoing and suffering Death and Hell for us Saith he If this bitter Cup shall not pass from me without drinking of it Thy Will be done A Body hast thou prepar'd that is mounting the Cross and ready and willing to suffer all the Misery and Torment that the most cruel Rage and Malice of Men and Devils and an enraged God will permit to inflict rather than poor Man shall suffer the deep Pressures of Thy Eternal Wrath and Indignation in that Luke that burneth with Fire and Brimstone for evermore O blessed Father Thou art my Father from all Eternity and am not I thy Son Prov. 8.23 I was from everlasting before ever the Earth was While as yet he bad not made the Earth or the Fields nor the highest part of the Dust of the World When be prepared the Heavens I was there When he set a Compass upon the face of the Deep When be established the Clouds above When he strengthen'd the Fountains of the Deep When he gave to the Sea his Decree That the Waters should not pass his Commandment When he appointed the Foundations of the Earth Then was I by him as one brought up with him and I was daily his Delight rejoycing always before him Rejoycing in the habitable parts of his Earth And my Delights were with the Sons of Men when thou createdst them in a state of Innocency and Perfection And O Heavenly Father shall I now forsake them in a state of Sin and Misery and Eternal Destruction No O Holy Father for this very end did I come into the World I that immaculate Lamb slain from the beginning conceiv'd by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary as to human Nature am toucht with their Infirmities and therefore came to succour poor tempted Souls I know the Devil's Wrath and Power and continual Attempts to all Mankind For this cause was I carry'd into the Wilderness endur'd Hunger and Cold Fasting and Temptations and I cannot but succour and relieve and at last deliver those that are tempted As Man I my self O Righteous Father had fell by his Temptation but as God I overcame him and can I let them suffer when I know Man is not sufficient of himself to overcome the Devil nor Sin nor the Power of Death and Hell nor thy Eternal Wrath and Displeasure This was the Eternal Decree of the great Council of Heaven from everlasting That seeing Man was not able to recover his lost state That Man born of a Virgin conceived from his God-like Power by the Holy Ghost overshadowing her in the fulness of time should be born the Son of God fully qualifi'd God-Man to make compleat Satisfaction and Atonement for laps'd Man to the unsatisfi'd Justice and incensed Wrath and Indignation of God And for this Cause was I Born here on Earth and left the Bosom of my Heavenly Father and all Thrones and Dominions Principalities and Powers of Glorified Saints and Angels and took upon me Human Nature and came cheerfully leaping over the Hills and skipping over the Mountains as a Roe or young Hart upon the Mountains of Spices For this Cause came I as in the Volume of the Book it is written of me to do thy Will O God That poor Man might not be Eternally lost but thy incens'd Wrath might be appeas'd full satisfaction might be made the power of Hell might be broke and Devils themselves reserved in Hell bound in Chains of Darkness until the great Day and poor fallen Man acquitted and discharg'd and his Soul Eternally Sav'd This is Love indeed unbounded unlimited Love infinite inexhaustible incomprehensible Love of the Son of God the ever blessed Redeemer of the World O the Height Length Breadth and Depth of the Goodness of God to Mankind This is transcendent Love Love without comparison Now what must all this extort from us To see our dear Lord and Saviour just now mounting the Cross giving of himself up to the utmost Cruelty that the wickedness of Men and Devils can inflict upon him from the vehemency and Poison of their most barbarous Rage and all this for our Sins and to set us free Here is the Sentence of Pilate Take him scourg'd already accord-to your Custom and bound Take him and Crucifie him with this Inscription over his Head That every one that passeth by might understand it written in Latin Greek and Hebrew This is Iesus of Nazareth King of the Iews The Death of the Cross was the ancient Punishment of the Jews for their most notorious Malefactors Dr. Cave 's Primitive Christianity before Christ's time and therefore esteemed by the accursed Jews most fit for our Saviour to dye by Omitting all the various Forms and different kinds which were all us'd towards the Primitive Christians there were two things in this way of suffering rendred it very severe viz. the Pain and Ignominy of it Painful it must needs be because the Party suffering was fastned to it with Nails drove through his Hands and Feet the most sensible parts of Man from such a vast quantity of Nerves and Sinews uniting and terminating in those places And they were pierc'd only in those extream Parts so far distant from the Heart on purpose that the exquisiteness of their Torments and Death might be the more lingring and tedious Insomuch that some out of tender Compassion have caused some to be strangled before they were Crucified as Julius Caesar did the Pirats he had sworn to execute on the Cross Sueton. in Vit. Caesar Cap. 47. p. 76. But no such Favour was shewn to Christians they were suffer'd to remain during all these cruciating Pangs till mere Hunger starv'd them or the Mercy of wild Beasts or Birds of Prey dispatcht them Thus St. Andrew endur'd two whole days upon the Cross Martyrol Rom. p 736. Timotheus and his Wife Maura after many other Torments hung upon the Cross nine days together before they compleated their Martyrdom Nor was the Shame of this way of Suffering less than the Pain of it Crucifixion being the punishment of Slaves Traitors and the vilest of Malefactors Insomuch that for a Free man to dye thus was accounted amongst them the highest Degree of Ignominy and Reproach imaginable Therefore the Roman Historians call'd it Servile Supplicium a punishment only proper for Slaves But this punishment of the Cross Constantine took away out of Reverence to our Saviour not being willing that that should be the punishment of the vilest Malefactors which