reputed of him as men of no worth hee standeth not in awe of our authoritie hee esteemeth our threatnings of no moment and he arrogantly boasteth that he hath God for his Father Let vs see if his protestations be faithfull and if his speeches be true and let vs assay and make tryall what things will happen vnto him If he be the true Sonne of God hee will receiue him into his protection deliuer him out of the hands of his foes and keepe him safe from danger Let vs examine him churlishly and torment him cruelly to make triall of his meeknesse let vs condemne him to a most shamefull death that we may proue his patience Such were the bitter words of the cruell Iewes who sate in counsell to kill my Sauiour Iesus the true Lord of life whose good deedes were so odious to their vicious sight and his sweet breath so noysome vnto their stinking nosthrils that they would not suffer him to liue any longer Oh that hellish enuie should so peruert the vnderstanding and enrage the mindes of men to doe such mischiefe Why did the Iewes so furiously rage together why did they imagine a vaine thing against the Lord and his anointed saying Let vs breake their bonds asunder and cast away their cords from vs But the Lord had them in dirision hee spake vnto them in his wrath and vexed them in his sore displeasure and placed his King vpon his holy hill of Sion for euer Now although the bloudy minded Iewes longed for the death of my innocent Iesus yet they were loath hee should suffer on the day of their Feast not for any fauour they bare vnto him but for feare of the people But thou my louing Lord didst make choise of that time to offer vp thy selfe a Sacrifice for our sakes that thou mightest receiue greater reproach and that thy death might be acted with more shame suffered onely for our sins Thy righteous life being not onely alwayes free from any euill action but euermore so pure that it neuer was tainted with euill cogitation And also that thy death might be knowne vnto many although lamented of few which did behold thee the concourse of people being great that flocked from many bordering townes and villages to Hierusalem at the day of that great solemnitie who seeing with their eies had not Grace beene wanting might haue vnderstood in their hearts that thou wert the true substance whereof the Paschall Lambe was but a figure Oh Lambe of God which takest away the sinnes of the world sprinkle my soule with some drops of thy precious bloud that although it haue lien long buried in the graue of sinfull iniquitie yet at last it may be reuiued and liue againe by vertue of thy quickning mercy Now the bloody Iewes holding a wicked consultation how they might depriue my beloued Sauiour of his life euen then came cursed Iudas and offered them for money to betray his louing Maister to death saying What will yee giue me and I will deliuer him vnto you Nor was hee a more greedie Traytor to set his kinde Maisters bloud to sale then they readie chapmen to entertaine so bloudy an offer seeing one of his owne familie so forward to deliuer him vp into their hands whom they had already murthered in their hearts So they proffered him thirtie pieces of siluer Oh cursed Iudas to make such an offer Oh execrable Iewes to accept it But most damned Iudas to performe it Had Malice oh yee bloudie Iewes so hardened your hearts had Fury so blinded your eyes had Enuie so fired your grudging affections that contrarie to the law of God Nature you should animate such a damnable Traitor to perpetrate so horrible a treason against your Messias your master For what could be more hatefull to God more odious to good Men what more opposite to Nature what more contrary to good Nurture then that one of a mans owne houshold should proue so vnfaithfull as to sell at so vilde a price the dearest bloud of his louing Lord or that any men should be found so monstrous as to allow and like of such a damnable offer Oh thou most wicked traitor oh thou most ingratefull and gracelesse Seruant Oh yee generation of Vipers cursed Iewes damned Iudas Oh thou dissembling Disciple by name but indeede a most bloudie enemie are these the thankes thou dost giue to thy Maister for his kindenesse is this the requitall of his loue are these the most worthy rewards that thou canst spare him for his liberall bountie are these the best arguments of thy gratuitie for all his benefits bestowed vpon thee Oh thou Sonne of perdition execrable Traitor and damnable Merchant to sell the sacred bloud of thy faithfull Maister Had my kinde Iesus committed any offence against thee or had hee discontented thy minde and vexed thy heart that thou shouldst treacherously betray him into the hands of his foes to be tortured and put to a most cruell and shamefull death nay rather what large liberalitie had he not vsed towards thee what store of benefits had hee not heaped vpon thee Oh thou vngratefull wretch Oh thou hatefull traitor my louing Iesus made thee one of the little number of his Disciples admitted thee into the blessed societie of his elected and made thee Steward of his familie to keepe the bag and bestow the money which was giuen to him and his Disciples and dost thou in requitall of his fauourable loue and in recompence of his extraordinary kindenesse post to the cruell Iewes whom thou thou I say knewest did alwayes prosecute him with deadly hate and eagerly sought his innocent life to offer them open sale of the bloud of thy louing Maister allured with the vnsatiable desire of money a pleasant baite to take a couetous minde bewitched with Sathans enticements and instigated with the vnquenchable thirst of damnable lucre that distempered thy vnderstanding and cleane put out the eye of thy naturall reason Oh how doth couetous lust tyrannize ouer our soules and captiuate our senses if it once seaze vpon our hearts and take possession in our breasts It maketh vs violate our Faith towards God our Fidelitie towards Men it maketh Parents vnkinde to their Children and Children vndutifull towards their Parents it armeth the wicked to commit bloudie murther it maketh Subiects disloyall to their Prince it eggeth and edgeth them to attempt the vtter ruine of their Country it kindeleth the fire of ciuill and intestine Seditions it bloweth vp the sparkles of horrible Treason it excludeth kinde Hospitalitie it is the Cut-throate of Christian Charitie it pampereth all vices it starueth all vertues What is it but a Hellish Furie the author and actor of humane miserie Oh how happie is the heart that is not affected to it Oh how peaceable is the conscience that is not infected with it Tell me thou bloudie Traytor Iudas diddest thou not see many wonderfull Miracles done by thy louing Master before thine eyes diddest thou not heare many diuine
Iesus was led to Annas and how he was there beaten and buffeted c. page 152 Med. 9. How the Lord Iesus was led from Annas to Caiphas and of his scourging there c. page 172 Med. 10. How Peter denied his Master thrice of his repentant weeping c. page 184 Med. 11. How Iesus was sent vnto Pilate of his vsage there pag. 205 Med. 12. How Pilate caused Iesus to be scourged and then pronounced sentence of death against him pag. 213 Med. 13. How Christ bearing his crosse on his shoulders is led to Mount Caluarie to be crucified page 250 Med. 14. Of the cruell and bitter crucifying of our Lord Iesu performed on Mount-Caluary page 285 Med. 15. Of the derisions and scornfull speeches vttered to the Lord Iesus when hee was nayled on the Crosse page 319 Med. 16. Concerning the lamentation of the Virgin Mary beholding her Son vpon the Crosse page 331 Med. 17. Of the Eclipse and obscuration of the Sunne about the ninth houre and of the fourth speech which Christ vsed vpon the Crosse page 343 Med. 18. Of the fift sixt words which the Lord Iesus spake vpon the Crosse to wit I thirst and it is finished page 355 Med. 19. How Christ gaue vp the ghost of the wonders then wrought and his death page 369 Med. 20. Of Iesus Christ his buriall and of the lamentation of his Mother and other women for his death page 381 Med. 21. Of the Lord Iesus his Resurrection of his appearance to his Disciples of his ascention into heauen and of his comming to iudgement page 397 FINIS O my Father if it be possible let this Cup passe from me He kneeled downe and Prayed but beinge in an agonie he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was like droppes of blood trikling downe to the ground Luke 22.44 Sit ye here whil I goe and Pray yonder MOST DEVOVT MEDITATIONS vpon the most holy and bitter Passion of our Lord Iesus Christ MED I. A Meditation of the comming of the Lord Iesus into Hierusalem riding vpon an Asse and the bringing in of him into the Citie with Songs and Praises and of his returne into Bethany the same day Into a Mat. 21.5 Hierusalem our Sauiour rides Vpon an b Mat. 21.7 Asse a simple harmlesse beast The people spread their c Mat. 21.8 cloathes and boughes besides Crying d Mat. 21.9 Hosanna Thou in Heauen highest THe time approaching which the Diuine prouidence had from eternity prefixed in which my most kinde and louing Iesus should come to his preordained Passion cruell death of the Crosse which he willingly came to vndergoe being the onely begotten of God incarnated in the wombe of the Virgin as through the whole course of his life he shewed exceeding great humility so toward the houre of his Passion comming to the place where hee should endure the torments of a most shamefull cruel death he tooke his entrance from humility when riding meekly vpon an Asse he came to the Citie where he should sustaine the vndeserued punishment of the Crosse Therefore when the Lord Iesus sixe dayes before the Passeouer had made his Supper with his Disciples in Bethanie the towne of Marie and Martha in the house of Simon the Leaper which was a friend to the said Mary and Martha where Mary also had powred an Alablaster boxe of precious oyntment vpon his head the morning following very earely most kind Iesus calling two of his Disciples said Goe into the towne which is ouer against you where you shall find a she-Asse tied and her Colt loose them and bring them vnto me And if any man shall say any thing against you say that the Lord hath neede of them and strait-way they will let them goe The lowly and louing Disciples obeying the commandement of their Master license being freely graunted to them by the Lord of all creatures they presented the shee-Asse and her Colt to their beloued Redeemer Then Iesus riding vpon the Asse directeth his iourney towards Hierusalem And when hee came to the going downe of the mount Oliues many people which were come thither hauing heard of the strange miracle of Lazarus whom Iesus raised out of his graue went forth to meete him And that they might doe him the greater honour some spread their garments vpon the ground others cut down boughes from the Trees and strewed them vpon the earth and all of them some going before and some comming behinde cried Hosanna to the Sonne of Dauid blessed is hee which commeth in the name of the Lord. And vvith these praises and Iubilies they brought louing Iesus euen to the Gates of Hierusalem following after him with his Disciples And after Iesus beheld the Citie he now fore-knowing the destruction of it to come moued with compassion powred forth teares ouer it but the Pharises and Scribes enflamed with the fire of enuie seeing Iesus to be extolled with admiration and honour rebuked sole redemption to deliuer vs out of the bondage of eternall death and from the intollerable paines of euerlasting damnation to be made coheires with him of a most blessed life in the Kingdome of Heauen Learne therefore oh my soule to imitate thy blessed Sauiour who abstained from meate to doe the will of his heauenly Father by seeking by all meanes to winne their soules who being void of all humanitie sent him fasting out of their Citie Oh hard-hearted Iewes to giue such vnkinde entertainment to my bountifull Lord and louing Iesus But be thou kinde oh my soule like Lazarus and ready like Mary and Martha to receiue thy Sauiour that hee may giue thee euerlasting bread for thy foode and water of eternall life for thy drinke Come and suppe with mee my sweet Sauiour vouchsafe to enter into my simple cottage I confesse I am vnworthy that thou shouldest come vnder my roofe yet I know that thou art alwayes willing to come where thou art kindly and friendly inuited Open thou the dore of my heart that thou maist enter and dwell with mee for euer then saluation shall come to my whole house then I shall lie downe to sleepe in peace and rise againe without any dread of danger for I shall be safely couered vnder the shadow of thy wings and remaine in peaceable securitie vnder thy mightie protection Consider Oh my Soule and meditate often in thine inward thoughts of the strange ingratitude of the stony-hearted Iewes toward thy Sauiour IESVS who would not afford him so much as a meales meate at night for his great paines hee tooke with them all the day but hee was constrained to returne hungry with his Disciples from so oppulent and populous a Citie to Bethanie a poore and small village there to refresh his weary and weake body where hee made so small a supper that he returned hungry to Hierusalem the next morning and spying a Figge-tree which had onely faire leaues Beware of hypocrisie but no fruit to slake his hunger or to
worthie to be compared vnto it Oh most sweet Iesu how pleasant how sweet art thou if wee might haue a true taste of thy exceeding sweetnesse In this thy wonderfull Sacrament thou dost feed vs with corporall bread but after a spirituall manner What therefore can I want to satisfie my what may I wish to augment my ioy if I haue my Iesus present with me Though now I see thee darkely through a glasse yet hereafter I shall see thee face to face I cannot satisfie my minde oh my most bountifull Iesus with admiration of thy vnmeasurable liberalitie I cannot wonder enough at the exceeding largenesse of thy bountie What greater gifts couldest thou haue bestowed vpon vs what more excellent benefits couldest thou haue deriued vnto vs For in this thy blessed Testament thou hast bequeathed great and precious Legacies to all thy Brethren that faithfullie loue thee and constantlie beleeue in thee In verie deede thou hast left them a rich inheritance wee cannot estimate the price we can make no true account of the greatnesse Some at their death leaue to their heires Cities and townes great possessions and store of monie some build them sumptuous houses and erect statelie Sepulchers that their name might remaine among men and their memorie continue vpon earth But thy bountie my most kinde and louing Iesus doth farre exceed and surmount them all for thou hast left thy owne selfe vnto vs that wee should haue a continuall spectacle of thy most holy Passion in our mindes and often thinke vpon thy innocent death in our repenting hearts And in thy blessed Sacrament which is so highly to be honoured of vs and most reuerently to be celebrated by vs thou dost giue thy selfe for food to be receiued of vs by faith which may nourish vs to euerlasting life and deliuer vs from the doome of eternall death Oh my most bountifull Lord oh exceeding admirable and incomparable loue of my louing Sauiour my beloued Iesus But how odious is mine ingratitude my kinde and louing Iesus how great and grieuous is my forgetfulnesse that I doe not continuallie remember the pangs of thy Passion and euermore meditate on the paines of thy bitter death when I participate thy wonderfull Sacrament and celebrate thy blessed Supper seeing by thy death thou hast merited for me euerlasting life and by thy Passion hast purchased for mee eternall redemption Why doe I not remember that thou wert wrongfully accused scornefully derided spitefully reuiled cruelly scourged and crucified as a hainous malefactor and put to a shamefull death as a wicked doer and how patientlie thou didst endure the bitter paines of the crosse to deliuer mee a most wretched sinner from the curse of eternall death iustly pronounced against mee and readie to be inflicted vpon mee if thy obedience had not appeased the wrath of thy heauenlie Father and thy gracious mercy salued the wounds of my misery Oh my drie head why doest thou not draw water with ioy out of the fountaines of thy Sauiour for he is a Well of liuing water Oh teares why doe yee not streame forth in great abundance with exceeding ioy and exultation while I call to minde the exceeding sweetnesse of mine euerlasting libertie and meditate vpon the greatnesse and goodnesse of my eternall Redemption in this most sacred holie and wonderfull Sacrament represented vnto me Why doe not my spirits faint with exceeding ioy and why is not my minde rauished with excessiue mirth when I consider the immeasurable greatnesse of thy loue and the incomprehensible largenesse of thy bountie whereby thou hast beene moued to giue vs thy selfe for euerlasting meate to nourish vs to eternall life Haue mercie vpon mee oh my most mercifull Lord because by reason of the imbecillitie of my dull vnderstanding and by the hardnes and drinesse of my heart I am notable to relish the goodnesse nor taste the sweetnesse of the wholesome fruit of thy holie and blessed Sacrament yet I most vilde wretch presume to come to thy Table and to receiue this holy foode though most vnworthie of so great a mercie But woe bee vnto my conscience and horror vnto my wounded soule because I haue approached vnto thy holie Table and taken of thy sanctified meat with polluted hands and vnwashed feete and yet I haue not blushed for shame nor bewailed the follie of my intollerable Presumption For I consider my most sweet IESVS that in this thy most glorious Supper before thou diddest institute the most blessed Sacrament as a memoriall vnto vs of thy bloudie Passion thou the true Christall-glasse of Humilitie taking the shape of a Seruant didst wash the feete of thy Disciples saying moreouer vnto Peter If I shall not wash thee thou shalt haue no part with mee Shall it not therefore bee my great presumption and shall I not incurre the danger of a most grieuous offence against thee if I would haue any part with thee when I approach vnto thy holy Table with vnwashed feete and participate thy blessed Sacrament with defiled hands I know therefore my gratious Lord who and what a one I ought to be when I come to such an excellent Sacrament I know my louing Lord that I should first wash my feete heart and hands and purge all my corrupted affections before I should presume to receiue thy pure and holie Sacrament I know my good and gracious Iesus that it is needfull for mee euery night to wash my Bed and water my Couch with my teares Yea and to wash my feet with teares of true compunction and with streames of sorrow flowing from the inward deuotion of a relenting and repenting heart But woe be vnto me most vnhappie wretch because that I a most vilde creature doe not feare to approach vnto such an excellent Maiestie infected from the crowne of my head to the sole of my foote with sores and loathsome diseases and being a most wicked sinner wholie ouer-spread with corruption and stained with filthie pollution doe not blush to come into thy presence but presume to intrude my selfe into thy blessed societie and to sit downe at thy holie Table which art a diuine Spirit alwaies pure from the spots of sinne and staines of iniquitie I come vnto thee my meeke and louing Iesus puffed vp with pride and lifted vp with rebellious thoughts and I presume to eate with impure hands and vnwashed feet Notwithstanding my most mercifull IESVS I know that thy clemencie is farre greater then mine indignitie and thy mercie farre exceeding my miserie And therefore confident in thy great benignitie and relying whollie vpon thy immeasurable mercie I am bold to receiue thee and being infected with so manie dangerous and deadlie diseases I come vnto thee being a skilfull and louing Phisitian that I may be cured from my grieuous maladies by thy soueraigne medicines For by how much the more weake I am and by how much the greater the maladie is which doth afflict me by so much the more I stand in need of thy helpe
Disciples which follow him hauing their faces pale with feare their mindes perplexed with doubts and their hearts drowned with flouds of sorrow Oh that thou mightst be so happie as to haue a little taste of the sweetnesse of his words and to haue some rellish of his comfortable Admonitions which hee made by the way to his sorrowfull Disciples to refresh their fainting spirits and to establish their doubtfull mindes What plentie of bitter teares did the Apostles poure downe by their cheekes when they saw and heard their Lord and Master speaking so gentlie vnto them Hee propounded vnto them as I suppose all things which hee had done with them at his last Supper and the words he had spoken vnto them and also after what manner hee should be deliuered to death that night Behold his Disciples amazed at his wofull words and hearing with attentiue eares the sweet admonitions of their carefull Master They all gaue heedy attention to euery word that came out of the mouth of their beloued Lord communicating so gentlie with them Oh wofull separation oh lamentable departure Now a most kinde and louing Master shall be separated from his beloued Disciples a wakefull Shepheard from his harmelesse sheepe yea a louing Father from his beloued Children What maruell is it then if their mirth be changed into mourning their ioy into sadnesse and their solace into sorrow They knew well by experience how ioyfull how pleasant it was to remaine with their beloued Iesus and to enioy his blessed societie therefore they had good cause to be amazed with sadnesse and to be wounded with sorrow for the losse of their louing Redeemer Oh what pittifull words as I suppose what lamentable voices did they vtter saying Wilt thou leaue vs our most gracious Master like silly Orphanes depriued of comfort Wilt thou leaue vs in a Sea of sorrow without a Pilot Where shall wee hope for consolation where shall we seeke for helpe in thy absence And as they could not refraine themselues from sorrow so hee their most louing Shepheard was readie to giue them sweet comfort chearing vp their drooping mindes with assured hope of his powerfull helpe and comforting their sorrowfull hearts with his neuer-failing promise of his euerlasting loue telling them that although he were absent from them in bodie yet he would alwayes be present with them by his holy Spirit I thinke our most mercifull LORD could not containe his teares he had such tender compassion towards his sorrowfull Disciples so kinde was his affection towards them so great was their reciprocall loue towards him Cleaue thou also oh my soule to this most holie and heauenly companie and follow thy Lord weeping and sighing sorrowing and lamenting for him which goeth to die for thy transgressions and to be sacrificed for thy sinnes say vnto him faithfully Lord I will follow thee wheresoeuer thou goest I am readie to goe with thee into prison and to death Now alas oh my louing Iesus thou doest arme thy beloued Disciples with spirituall weapons and dost labor by comfortable exhortations to expell cowardly feare out of their hearts and to settle a constant courage in their doubtfull mindes that they might not be dismayed in the day of perill nor falsifie their Faith for dread of any worldly affliction But most wicked Iudas was busied to furnish the Iewes with deadly weapons that they might wrongfully apprehend thee and cruelly condemne thee to a shamefull death What damnable deed hast thou done thou detestable Traytor What infernall Phrensie possessed thy minde What hellish furie peruerted thy vnderstanding Thou didst leaue a most gentle Master sitting at the Table with his Disciples friendly eating and familiarly talking with them the KING OF HEAVEN and soueraigne Lord of the whole earth who was able to haue made thee partaker of his eternall kingdome where thou mightest haue liued in happinesse without measure and ioy without end and thou didst follow the Diuell who led thee to the Iewes to bargaine with them to betray into their hands thy gracious Lord and bountious Master And as thou hast beene obedient to his will so shalt thou be partaker of his reward who abideth in the prison of euerlasting darkenesse tormented in the fire whose flame is neuer slaked nor shall euer be extinguished But now oh my soule let vs leaue damned Iudas a fearefull spectacle for all horrible Traitors and let vs returne to innocent IESVS entring into the Garden with his Disciples where hee exhorted them to watch carefullie and to pray earnestly that they might not fall into temptation nor runne into danger Here my Sauiour beganne to taste of the bitter Cup of sorrow and to feele the pangs of humane affliction his spirits wearied with heauinesse and his minde tyred with sadnesse so that he craued comfort of his Disciples saying Can yee not watch with me one houre Stay here oh my soule straine forth teares from thine eyes and throng forth sighes from thy heart draw neare and expresse thy compassion towards thine afflicted Iesus Behold how his countenance is changed his face couered with palenesse he is scant able to vtter in words the sorrow of his heauy heart And what doth hee say My soule is heauie euen vnto death Thy words oh my most mercifull Iesus doe not a little amaze my minde and affright my perplexed thoughts For what doest thou feare why art thou touched with sorrow why art thou pressed with heauinesse From whence oh my louing Lord doth arise the cause of thy sadnes doest thou feare any imminent danger Dost thou dread the punishment which thou art about to suffer But for what other thing oh sweet Lord diddest thou come into the world For what other end most blessed Sauiour didst thou assume flesh vnto thee in the wombe of the blessed Virgin but that by thy death thou shouldest destroy our death and saue that which was lost What benefit had we reaped by thy birth how could we haue reioyced for the happie day of thy blessed Natiuitie if our condemned soules had not beene redeemed to life by thy most precious death If thou oh my louing IESVS hadst refused to die for mee who should haue satisfied for my sins what could haue cured my loathsome Leprosie but the drops of thy Bloud What could restore mee to life but thy innocent death What did moue thee to dye for mee but thy exceeding mercie whereas my louing Sauiour thou wert subiect to feare and heauie with the terrour of death there appeared vnto vs the veritie of thy Humanitie not exempted from the passions of our nature yet alwayes free from the infection of sinne and cleare from the spots of iniquitie Wherefore wee may the more boldlie bee most earnest Sutors vnto thee to obtaine thy succour in the time of our necessitie and to call for thy sweet mercie in our bitter miserie because wee are assured that thou in thy Humanitie hast had a sense of our sufferings Behold also now my soule his faithfull
poisoned thy affections Thou goest about in thy monstrous madnesse and vnbrideled furie to kill the immortall Lord who is Truth it selfe to direct vs and Life it selfe to quicken vs and to bring him to the slaughter who onely is able and none but hee to bring all men to death to restore all men to life Tell me I pray thee thou wicked and foolish mad-man wert not thou also as well as the other Disciples with the Lord IESVS when he reuiued the mayden which was dead when he cured the Sonne of the Ruler when he raised Lazarus out of his graue when he cleansed the Lepers healed the man sicke of the Palsie deliuered them which were possessed with Diuels when he made him to see which was borne blinde and restored many others to their sight Tell mee I pray thee had hee beene able to haue done these miracles if God had not beene with him What Aegiptian darknesse had blinded thine eyes that thou couldest not see his diuinitie what Ignorance had blinde-folded thy vnderstanding that thou couldest not know him to be the Sonne of God by his admirable workes Where wert thou when at two sundrie times he fed a great multitude of people with a little bread and a few fishes But to let these mercifull and miraculous workes passe which hee did for others why did not these gracious and charitable deedes which hee performed toward thee so mooue thy minde that although thou hadst imagined yet thou mightest not haue practised thy horrible intended mischiefe against him Remember thou most wretched creature and vngratefull Disciple how thy humble Master washed thy feete Iohn 13.5 How should this wonderfull humilitie of so great a Master haue humbled thy minde being so base a Seruant Remember how hee alwaies extended the tokens of his loue to thee as hee did to the other Apostles yet no kindnesse could restraine thy wicked will nor change thy couetous minde Consider thou most vngratefull and cruell Traitor how often my louing Iesus did mildely admonish thee that thou shouldest retire from thy wicked purpose whose all-seeing eye was able to penetrate into the darkest corners of thy heart and to search the secrets of thy inward bowels It might haue checked thy guiltie conscience when hee said after hee had washed his Disciples feete Yee are cleane but not all Iohn 13.11 And againe I speake not of all of you I know whom I haue chosen Iohn 13.18 But although these generall reprehensions were motiues of small moment to mollifie thy stonie heart yet hee spake vnto thee particularly saying Doe that quickely which thou art about to doe Iohn 13.27 Didst thou not clearely see that hee knew thy inward thoughts and the secret plot of thy wicked counsell And who but God is able to know the secrets of the heart and to discouer our hidden cogitations But was not thy heart as flintie as an Adamant that it did not relent with sorrow was not thy fore-head as hard as brasse that thou didst not blush for shame Were not thine eyes more drie then a rocke that they could shed no teares when thy louing Master and my beloued Lord said mildelie vnto thee What Iudas doest thou betray the Sonne of man with a kisse Luke 22.48 Oh great humilitie exceeding meekenesse most admirable clemencie of my Sauiour Iesus Yet neither the mildnes of his words nor wonderfulnesse of his works could soften thy obdurate heart or reclaime thy obstinate minde oh thou pernicious Traitor My Sauiour called him friend Mat. 26.10 whom hee knew to be a direfull foe that the meeknesse of the name might haue a little calmed the furie of his nature but the Diuell had sowed such naughtie seede in the furrowes of his couetous heart that hee became a wicked guide to deliuer his louing Master into the hands of his bloudie enemies who hating his innocent life had longed for opportunitie to put him to a cruell and shamefull death Tell mee thou damned Iudas what brought thee into such an hellish Phrensie that thou didst complot with the bloudie Iewes to betray thy gracious Lord with a token of kindnesse Had thirstie Couetousnesse so inflamed thy minde that thou didst run headlong to sell thy soule for a little piece of monie If thou hadst come like a foe thy crime had not beene so haynous nor thy crueltie so odious But thou like a cousening hypocrite didst cunningly maske thy deadly hate with the vizard of counterfeit loue Thou didst salute my louing Iesus with no friendly but a deadly kisse that with this token of peace and kindnesse thou mightest cast a mist before the eyes of his faithfull Disciples that they might thinke thou hadst nothing to doe with those wicked persons who came to apprehend their Lord Master thou thoughtest thou haddest complotted so cunningly and contriued thy matters so carefully that all should haue beene hidden in darknesse and no man haue knowne thy damnable practise but onely the cursed crue of thy confederates but the Diuill who was the author to allure thee to this mischiefe did beguile thee with a deceitfull imagination and so he will doe all others that follow thy crooked steppes and walke in thy cursed waies Such iugling hypocriticall trickes may often be hooded from the dim sight of men but they can neuer be hidden from the all-seeing eye of Almightie God thou camest with a word of peace in thy mouth when thou didst pretend nothing but warre in thy heart thy speech was as soft as Butter but thy inward thoughts were more sharpe then a Raisor thou didst presume to offer a Traitors kisse Mat. 26.49 to my blessed Sauiour when thy lips were full of poyson and thy throate an open Sepulcher thou camest like a subtle Foxe to salute him with a word of health when thou wert a wicked guide to a hand of cruell Souldiers who meant him nothing but hurt so strong was the desire of filthie lucre to hale thee to mischiefe so eager was thy greedie appetite to bite at this pleasant baite that thou couldest not see the killing hooke For when thou didst sell the precious life of thy louing Master thou didst giue thy damned Soule to the Diuell to be tormented with him for euer in the fire which flameth continually and burneth so extreamely that the paines of the least sparkle of it are more then intollerable wherefore my sweet Iesu so mollifie my heart and moderate my minde which am thy most vnworthy Seruant that I may not giue such direfull and deadly kisses vnto thee which art my most kinde and louing Master And grant vnto mee by thy gracious clemencie that I may offer vnto thee the sweet kisses of loyall Obedience and constant Loue that my Soule may say vnto thee Kisse me with the kisses of thy mouth Cant. 1.1 for thy loue is better then wine Run oh my soule and neither let the baites of terrene pleasure nor the brunts of worldlie sorrow hinder thee in thy way when thou goest to kisse thy
wholy depresse thee which art willingly tumbled into the filthy Mire of infernall stincke and hellish sauours bee thou ouerwhelmed vvith the horrible darkenesse of comfortles and in consolable sorrow which hast wittingly cast thy selfe downe into a gulfe of such beastly and luxurious pleasures Wallow thou in the whirepoole of bitternesse which hast sported and delighted thy selfe in the puddle of lasciuious filthines Oh yee horrible terrour terrible sorrow vncomfortable mourning muster your selues against mee assault ouerwhelme vexe couer trample vpon me It is iust it is iust my wicked deeds haue deserued it I haue with impudent boldnesse disdained and contemned your forces and with shamefull sensuality haue procured your displeasure yea rather I haue prouoked God and not you and now with lamentable repentance I desire you to poure your full measure of vengeance vpon me Torment and torture the guilty that my soueraigne Lord may be auenged whom I haue so highly offended Let the vitious Fornicatour feele before hand the Torments of Hell which hee hath deserued let him taste before hand that which hee hath prepared let him haue some smacke of those tormenting pangs and passions which hee shall abide and suffer hereafter Extend and augment thou immoderate and vnsatiable sinner thy sorrowfull and dolefull repentance vvhich hast so farre enlarged the leprous vncleannesse of thy odious and detestable vices Tumble thy selfe and throw thy selfe againe into the vvhirle poole of ceaslesse sorrow bitternesse and dolefull distresses vvhich hast so oft throwne downe thy selfe into the filthy pit of thy lustfull desires and carnall pleasures Consolation securitie delightfull pleasure and ioy doe yee now no more approach neere vnto mee I hate and loath your delectable company vnlesse pardon of my sinne shall reconcile and restore you Let heauy pensiuenesse and bitter mourning bee still at hand like cruell Tormentors and bloudy executioners to vexe mee in my growing youth and to trouble mee in my vvearisome age VVould to God vvould to God it may be so I vvish pray desire it may be so If I bee not vvorthy to list vp my eyes towards HEAVEN when I put vp my humble supplication truly I am not vnworthy to obscure them and to put out their light vvith the streames and fountaine of teares and lamentable vveeping If my minde bee confounded with great shamefulnes of my guiltie Conscience that it cannot pray and craue for mercy it is meet that it should bee ouerwhelmed with the tempest of exceeding sorrow and dolefull sadnesse If it feare to come in the sight of God grieuously offended it is iust that the vnsufferable torments prepared for rebellious sinners should alwayes appeare and be presented before it Therefore let my heart thinke and thinke againe what hainous treason it hath committed what endles torments it hath deserued Let my vnderstanding descend into itselfe make a priuie search in euery corner before it goe downe into the land of darkenes which death obscureth with his grosse and mistie vapours and meditate who doth attend and wait there for my wicked soule let it behold and view see and be troubled What is it oh God what is it which I behold in the Land of misery and darkenesse Horror Horror What is it which I doe view where no order but wofull confusion inhabiteth Woful are the out-cries of some howling out with lamentable voyces Wofull is the noyse of others gnashing their teeth tortured with intollerable torments Lamentable is the sight of the confused multitude sobbing and sighing out woe woe How many and how many woes Woe for that fire which burneth with brimstone whose flame is neuer extinguished and wofull is that obscure and darke Dungeon where there dwelleth euerlasting darkenesse With what terrible roaring doe I see you oh Wormes tossed and turned about liuing in that flaming fire which continualy burneth What direfull and greedy desire doth inflame you to returne out of it whom yet that fire of fires cannot so burne as that euer yee shall be consumed Oh yee Deuils burning together with them roaring vvith burning and raging with fury wherefore are yee so terrible and cruell to them which are tumbled and rowled vp and downe among you Oh torments intollerable Oh extreame sentence of Iustice insupportable shall no meane no remedy no end mittigate or asswage you Are these the things oh great and powerfull God which are prepared for filthy Fornicators and wicked contemners of thee of which I am one I I am verily one of those Oh my soule tremble thou with terrour faint and faile thou my vnderstanding with quaking feare and thou oh my heart cut and wound thy selfe with immoderate sorrow Whither doe yee hale and tog maye cruell tormentors while you execute your fury and wrath against mee for my great and grieuous offences Whither dost thou deliuer mee oh my sinne Whither dost thou deliuer me oh my God whither dost thou deliuer me If I haue effected by my hainous and detestable rebellions that I should be thy guilty offendor could I also bring it to passe that I should not bee thy Creature If I haue robbed my selfe of my chastitie haue I also robbed thee of thy Mercy Oh Lord Lord if I haue lost that for vvant whereof thou mayest condemne mee a grieuous offender hast thou also lost that whereby thou art wont to saue a penitent sinner Doe not Oh LORD doe not so narrowly attend to my vvickednesse that thou forget thy vvonted goodnesse Where is it true oh true GOD vvhere is As I liue I will not the death of a sinner but rather that he be conuerted and liue Oh Lord thou vvhich doest not lye Lord what is I will not the death of a sinner If thou doest burie in Hell a sinner which crieth vnto thee or is it to throw a sinner into the Lake of neuer-ceasing Torments I will not the death of a sinner Or is this I will that a sinner be conuerted and liue I am a sinner oh Lord I am a sinner If therefore thou wilt not the death of a sinner what doth compell thee which thou wouldest not that thou deliuerest mee to death and destruction If thou vvilt that a sinner be conuerted and liue vvhat doth let thee to performe that which thou willest namely that I be conuerted liue and be saued If the enormitie of my sinne doth constraine mee to doe that vvhich thou hatest doth it also hinder thee to doe that vvhich thou desirest when as thou art a God omnipotent Farre be it oh God farre be it oh Lord my God that the wickednesse of a repenting and lamenting Sinner should preuaile more then the sentence the Omnipotent Remember oh iust holy and mercifull God that thou art mercifull and also my Creator and Recreator Therefore good Lord remember not thy Iustice against thy sinner but remember thy vvonted clemencie towards thy poore creature Remember not thy anger against a guiltie offender but be mindfull of thy accustomed commiseration and mercie towards a miserable sinner
with an honourable triumph hath entred the heauens And behold he being crowned with glory and honour sitteth at the right hand of thy Maiestie who being our Aduocate maketh continuall intercession for vs that we being the children of wrath and disobedience by Nature may bee reconciled vnto thee for euer by the exceeding riches of thy grace For hee is flesh he is our brother Looke oh Lord vpon the amiable face of thy sweet Christ which became obedient vnto thee euen vnto death that thou being well pleased in beholding him mayest send downe the comfortable dewe of thy mercy vpon vs neither let his scarres depart for euer out of thy sight that thou mayest remember what a great satisfaction thou hast receiued of him for our sinnes I wish it might please thee to ballance the sinnes wherewith vvee haue deserued thy wrath and indignation together with the calamitie and sorrow which thy innocent Sonne hath suffered for vs. Certainely the waight of his heauy miserie vvill more then counterpoyse the waight of all our iniquities and it hath rather deserued that thou shouldest raine downe the sweet shewers of thy mercy vpon vs then that our sinnes haue demerited to kindle the fire of thy deuouring vvrath against vs that wee should vtterly be depriued of thy wonted clemency which should slake the fury of thine incensed ire and put out the flame of thy burning indignation But oh gratious and mercifull Father let euery tongue proclaime immortall thankes vnto thee and sound forth aloud thine eternall praises for the exceeding largenesse of thine immeasurable bounty vvhich hast not spared thine onely Sonne which was as deere and neere as thine owne heart vnto thee but hast deliuered him vp vnto death for vs all that we might haue him as a faithfull Aduocate and louing Mediatour before thee in Heauen And to thee oh Lord Iesus a most couragious and constant Louer and my gratious Redeemer what thankes be they neuer so many can I returne or what praises be they neuer so great may I vtter which might counteruaile the least iot of thy vvorthy merit when as I am but a base creature made of dust and shaped out of the clay whose breath is in my Nosthrils and I subiect euery moment to forgoe it although I commonly forget it and to returne againe into the wombe of the Earth from vvhence I vvas taken SECTION XIX FOR what oh sweet Sauiour shouldest thou haue done which thou hast not vvillingly done to finish the great worke of my saluation Thou hast diued and cast thy selfe ouer head and eares into the troublesome Ocean of thy stormy Passions that thou mightest draw mee wholly out aliue from those perillous Waters when the waues haue entered euen into thy Soule For thou diddest willingly subiect thy selfe to the paines of Death that thou mightest restore my soule vnto mee which I had so wilfully lost Luke 1.71 And now behold I am obliged vnto thee by a double debt because thou hast twise giuen mee my soule once by Creation and once by Redemption what haue I that I may more iustly giue thee then my soule But for thy precious soule vexed perplexed and troubled vvith so many and such heauy tribulations I finde not what recompence man can bee able to render vnto thee in any sort to gratifie the worthinesse of thy desert For if I should be able to giue thee Heauen and Earth and all their beautifull furniture and the glorious ornaments of them I could in no wise attaine the measure or discharge the infinite sum of such an euerlasting debt But that I may render both that which I owe and also that which is possible for mee is a matter wholly belonging to thy liberall bountie and must onely flowe from the sweet fountaine of thy beneficiall goodnesse Thou art to be loued oh Lord with all my heart vvith all my strength I must tread in thy path and follow thy steps vvhich hast endured all the extreamities of thy bitter Passions with exceeding patience and being Lord of life hast of thine owne accord vouchsafed to yeeld thy selfe vnto death to redeeme mee and all faithfull repentant sinners to the ioyes of eternall life And how shall that thing bee effected and wrought to mee but onely and wholy by thee through thy mightie power which is able to worke all things in Heauen aboue and in the Earth beneath Let my Soule cleaue vnto thee let it be vnited vnto thee with the bond of euerlasting loue because all the vertue and faculties of it depend onely vpon thee and because it must needs sinke into a bottomlesse pit of endles misery if it bee but a moment debarred from thy louing mercy And now oh Lord my gracious Redeemer I worship thee as true God I trust in thee I hope in thee I couet long to approach so neere vnto thee as the feeble wings of my mounting desires will carry me Let thy strong hand support my weakenesse Let the rich treasure of thy mercy supply the wants of mine infirmity Let the greatnesse of thine vnsearchable goodnesse neuer depart out of my remembrance Let a memoriall of thy bitter passion by which thou hast wrought mine euerlasting Saluation be perfectly written vvithin the palmes of my hands so that mine eyes may still be viewing it and let it be deepely ingrauen in my heart that mine inward thoughts and cogitations may euermore be meditating and musing vpon it Let thy Crowne of Thornes thy redde bloudy nailes thy pierced side thy grieuous vvounds thy precious bloud thy death and buriall bee euermore presented before the eyes of mine vnderstanding that I may vvater my Couch and make my bedde to swimme vvith teares of true sorrowfull repentance that I may duely and truely bewaile the multitude of my haynous sinnes vvhich haue beene like so many Iron-nayles to enter through thy harmelesse hands and innocent feete and like so many sharpe Speares to pierce thy blessed side to make thy wounded heart send forth plentifull streams of thy deere and precious bloud Lastly let the fresh remembrance of thy most glorious and victorious Resurrection and the blessed memory of thy triumphant Ascention comfort the fainting Spirits of my drooping soule with a sweet taste of ioy mittigate the sorrowes of my perplexed minde For in all these the sweet odour of life doth ascend vp into my nosthrils Raise thou oh Lord my spirit with their reuiuing odour from the death of sinne and out of the Graue of perpetuall darkenesse Touch my heart oh Christ that I may touch thee yea although it bee but the hemme of thy Garment that Vertue may come out of thee Matth. 14.32 Marke 6.56 Which may keepe me from the snares of Sathan and comfort me in the houre of tribulation so that the yoake of thy commaundements may be made easie vnto mee and the burthen of the Crosse which thou commandest mee to carry after thee may be light to my soule What am I a silly worme What is
speeches vttered by his blessed mouth didst not thou attend vpon him preaching in the day didst thou not accompanie him praying in the night hadst thou so soone forgot his blessed Sermons went all in at one eare and out at the other didst thou remember no better his heauenly Exhortations hadst thou quite raced out of thy memorie his generall compassion towards all and his particular goodnesse towards thee why was thy soule starued for want of food in the middest of plentie why were thy spirits dryed vp with thirst being so neare a pure fountaine It was because thou haddest no grace to taste of that sweet coelestiall Manna or to drinke of that rocke of liuing water Couldest thou esteeme so rare a Iewell as my Sauiour Iesus at so base a rate wouldest thou sell his precious bloud at so low a price that was sufficient to pay the greatest price of our Redemption What base opinion mightest thou thinke the high Priest might haue of thee prouing so vilde a Traytor although to serue their owne turnes they allowed thy Treason Didst thou not thinke the whole World would daily hate thee when being a Disciple thou hadst so vildely betraied thy louing Master and craftily plotted the death of thy gracious Benefactor But woe be vnto thee and to all of thy condition it had beene better for thee thou haddest neuer beene then being to haue beene an instrument of such haynous such detestable such horrible Treason Keepe my soule oh Lord set a Watch before the dore of my heart that no couetous desire may haue passage into my bowels or enter into my brest to get dominion ouer my reason to wound my conscience to inflict my minde with noysome lusts and to confound my vnderstanding with greedy desires Let the memory of this sorrowfull day wherein thy couetous and damnable disciple Iudas sold thee my innocent and louing Sauiour Iesus vnto the murmuring and murthering Iewes draw out floods of teares from mine eyes and fetch out sorrowfull sobs and deepe sighes from my repenting heart to bewaile the horrour of my transgressions and to lament the innumerable multitude of my many most monstrous iniquities which brought thy most sacred bodie to the market there to be solde and from thence to be led to the slaughter cruelly to be slaine that with thy most precious bloud thou mightest pay the price of my Redemption which am a most wretched and sinfull creature yet let the sweet recordation of thy immutable loue and the ioyfull remembrance of thy immeasurable mercy so comfort mee in the midst of my miserie that although I finde much matter in my selfe to make mee feare yet that I may neuer despaire knowing that thou art alwaies willing to apply a soueraigne salue to a wounded soule and sweet consolation to a woefull conscience whensoeuer oh blessed Sauiour we acknowledge our maladie and faithfullie desire thy sauing helpe in our miserie Of the Preparation of Christs last Supper by the Disciples on Thursday of the washing of the Disciples feete performed by Iesus himselfe and of many exemplary actions of Iesus at the Supper MED III. Christ Iesus a Iohn 13.5 washed his Disciples feete They loath b Iohn 13.8 refuse but he enforceth it For c Iohn 13.2 Supper done to Symon thus said hee Vnlesse I doo 't thou hast no part with me d Iohn 13.8 THe first day of the sweet bread that is to say the fift day of the week in the euening of which day the Paschall Lamb was slaine and sweet bread was eaten according to the custome of the Iewes the Disciples came to Iesus seeing it was the time of the Feast and that their Maister had no resting place of his owne where he might lay his head and said vnto him Where wilt thou that wee prepare for thee to eate the Paschall Lambe Teach mee here my sweet Sauiour by thy example so to liue in the world that I may be prepared euery day to leaue the world esteeming my selfe as a Pilgrime still trauelling and euery day remouing not to build my palace of pleasure here in this transitorie world where all things are vncertaine subiect euery moment to miserie changes and mutabilitie Let neyther the pleasant baites of prosperitie nor the bitter brunts of aduersitie hinder me in my iourney whilest I trauaile toward the heauenly Ierusalem Let thy humilitie be my greatest honour in time of prosperitie let thy pouertie be my chiefest riches in time of aduersitie and let thy patience be my onely comfort in the sorrowfull day of affliction let thy quiet contentment calme the tumults of my grudging minde and barre out all repining thoughts seeing thou the Lord of all hadst not so much as a Cottage to couer thy head from the dew of heauen or to shadow thy face from the beames of the Sunne But my sweet Sauiour although thou wert poore in respect of thy Humanitie that thy pouertie might be our consolation in time of our distresses and to teach vs to beare with patience the heauie burden of our afflictions yet thou didst shew the bright beames of thy Diuinitie to thy Disciples when they saw that performed indeed which thou haddest told them in word when they met with the man in the Citie a meere stranger vnto them whose heart thou haddest prepared to make prouision for thee and thy Disciples to celebrate the Feast of the Paschall Lambe Oh happie man whom thou didst vouchsafe to choose for thy Hoste Oh blessed house prepared to receiue such a Guest Send thy holy Spirit my louing Sauiour as a Harbinger to prepare a lodging for thee in my heart and so furnish my minde with thy heauenlie graces that I may be able to giue thee such entertainment that thou maiest like and loue to dwell with mee for euer Now when the Table was prepared the Paschall Lambe made readie with other necessaries at euening Iesus came thither with his disciples and when the houre was come he sate downe to the Table Oh happy feast blessed are they my louing Sauiour which sit downe to meate at thy Supper Most happie and blessed are they oh most mercifull IESVS who are so dearely beloued of thee and so highly honoured by thee as to be made worthy to sit at thy Table Thou wilt giue them euerlasting food for their meate and water of life for their drinke so that after thy bountifull Feast they shall neuer know any hunger nor feele any thirst Graunt mee Oh bountifull Lord to taste of that heauenly food and to drinke my fill of that Coelestiall water so that my body may be thy holy Temple and my soule thine euerlasting habitation Behold oh my soule how thy louing IESVS sitteth amongst his Disciples a meeke Lambe among meeke sheepe except cruell Iudas who although hee were a deuouring Wolfe sate downe to the Table in their holy societie Oh most holy societie of thee and thy faithfull Disciples Oh most glorious companie of all but one who
attempt by anie force to rescue thee out of the hands of thy cruell foes thou diddest disclose vnto thy faithfull Disciples the dangerous daies that were to come and tell them of the bitter afflictions which were to ensue and that they should be like Sheepe scattered without a Shepheard But it was not that they should arme their bodies with weapons but their heads and soules with patience So indeed the loue of thy Apostle was full of zeale but yet it was barren void of knowledge who had beene often forewarned that thou shouldest suffer a cruell and shamefull death to fulfill the scripture and do the will of thy Father Wherefore oh my most mercifull Iesus so inflame my heart with thy loue that I may freelie confesse it with my mouth and so performe it with my heart that I may not onely be prepared to loose my libertie but to forgoe my life for the name of my Lord Iesus who is blessed for euer A Meditation how the Lord Iesus taken and bound was led to Annas his house where he was buffeted and how all his Disciples fied from him Iohn 18.13 MED VIII To a Ioh. 18.15 Annas first is Christ in b Io. 18.12.20 fetters lead From thence to c Iohn 18.24 Caiaphas where he beaten is And d Mat. 26.67 Marke 18.22 scourg'd and mockt spit on and almost dead All which h'endur'd to bring vs vnto blisse SO soone as false-hearted Iudas had saluted his faithfull Master Iesus with a deadlie kisse the hard-hearted Souldiers laid violent hands vpon my kinde Sauiour and did cruellie binde him Oh vngentle cords oh cruell hands and cursed hearts that did binde my Lord Iesus Come hither therefore oh my Soule and with inward sorrow of heart and with weeping eies lament with tender compassion for the currishnesse in words and crueltie in deedes vsed against thy mercifull Sauiour which patientlie suffered so manie bitter words and cruell blowes for thee and thy sinnes for it was now the houre of darknesse and they beganne to act with their mercilesse hands that which was conceiued in their malicious mindes reuiling him with blasphemous speeches and afflicting his precious bodie with deadlie blowes And thus they neuer ceased all that night long both with their venemous tongues and villanous hands to torment my meeke and patient Iesus Tell mee my sweet Sauiour vvhat vvere the contumelious words what were the outragious deedes which thou didst suffer of those dogged Souldiers vvhen they had laid their tormenting hands vpon thee For truely the wicked rose vp against thee and the Sinagogue of the mightie they sought thy life and set not God before their eyes They compassed thee about like Bees and burnt with furie against thee like fire among the Thornes Oh let some spectacle of their barbarous crueltie be presented vnto mee that mine eyes may waxe dim with weeping that my heart may be wounded with sorrow all my senses afflicted with mourning for my guiltie conscience doth tell mee that my sinnes were as fewell to kindle their rage and mine iniquities like wood to maintaine the fire of their furie Behold Oh my Soule vvith attentiue deuotion of minde and with store of teares flowing from thine eyes how furiously they rush vpon thy louing Sauiour and how cruelly with their bloudie hands they torture and vexe his blessed body One tuggeth him by his garment another haleth him by the armes one taketh holde of his necke another pulleth him by the haire and least he should get from them they binde him and drag him like an vntamed Bull to the shambles Oh most meeke Lambe Oh most milde sheepe how currishlie how cruelly art thou handled like a wicked theefe Yea was euer any common theefe so inhumanely and shamefully vsed although his life vvas odious and his deedes neuer so desperate Some hale him on this side some thrust him on that side some buffet him on the face others thumpe him on the backe After they haue reuiled and railed against him with most opprobrious words they passe from diuellish words to deadlie blowes so that they neuer cease by word nor deede to grieue and vexe mine innocent Iesus but imployed all the faculties of their minde and all the forces of their bodie to doe him all hurt who neuer meant them any harme I am not able to tell thee my sorrowfull soule one halfe of the odious words nor one moitie of the horrible deedes which those damned wretches vsed against thy harmelesse and louing Sauiour my tongue doth falter for griefe and my speech doth faile mee for sorrow for all of them bitterlie cursing him and cruellie beating him void of all mercie and raging with hellish furie they hale him like a most innocent Lambe to the slaughter And amongst all that cursed crew there was none so soft-hearted that either would pittie the woefull case or speake in the cause of my gracious Lord. Oh how should mine eies haue beene watered with teares and my heart haue beene wounded with sorrow to haue seene my mercifull Iesus so vnmercifullie abused so ignominiouslie and hatefullie misused whiles they hurrie him in their madnesse and hale him in their furie towards Hierusalem who went as an innocent Lambe among a company of deuouring Wolues not once opening his mouth to reproue them for their barbarous crueltie but did willingly sustaine the extremitie of their malice with a patient minde sometime haled by one and sometime thrust forward by another thinking the time long till they might bring him where they would haue him so greedy was their desire to doe a bad deede and they made such post-hast to hasten the death of the Lord of life Oh my most sweet Iesu what hast thou done What hast thou deserued that thou shouldest endure the sting of their malice and abide the tempest of their madnesse Verilie my Lord thou didst neuer offend them in thought but thy exceeding loue did moue thee to suffer all things with patience that thou mightst redeeme mee a most wretched sinner all others that with a contrite hart a broken spirit sue vnto thee for grace hauing an assured hope in thy blessed word and confidently beleeuing in thy gracious promises I am that wofull man which haue beene the occasion of thy torments and the cause of thy grieuous Passion The wicked man hath sinned and the righteous is punished The guilty hath trespassed and the innocent is tormented The vngodly hath offended and the godly man is condemned Oh my most louing Lord I haue eaten a sowre grape and thy teeth are set on edge I haue committed the trespasse and thou hast suffered the punishment Blush therefore oh my soule for shame smite thy heart for sorrow let thine eyes be dissolued into teares and sacrifice thy selfe vpon the Altar of true repentance because thou hast beene so forgetfully vngratefull towards thy louing IESVS for his maruellous kindnesse and so excessiuely vnmindfull of his excellent loue Oh my good Iesu what shall
looking vpon my miserable wofull and distressed estate with thine eye of pitty wert willing to be scourged for me a most wretched sinner and being innocent to suffer for mine offences that the streames of thy pretious bloud might wash away the filthy staines of my hainous sins Alas how is the wonderfull glory oh my most sweet Lord of thy super-excellent beauty decayed how is the gracefull decency of thy amiable feature diminished And how much is the delightfull comelinesse of thy most sacred body disgraced Oh let mine eyes send forth a sea of teares and let my perplexed heart breake into pieces with exceeding sorrow to see my beloued Sauiour stained with his owne blood and leopard-like bespotted with deformitie who did farre excell all the sonnes of men with his glorious beauty Now thou seest oh my soule how the snow-white skin of the bodie of thy Sauiour is changed into a bloody tincture Thou maist see and sigh when thou seest how his tender flesh is made black and blew with the cruel blowes which cruell tormentors inflicted vpon him whose stony hearts had no sense of his grieuous paines when they saw with their eyes and yet alas they would not pitty his wofull case how the bloud ran out of his veines as water floweth out of a fountaine Mourne and lament oh my soule send forth deepe groanes and sorrowfull sighes at so pittifull a sight For now thou canst not say My beloued is white and ruddy Cant. 1.14 as sometime thou mightest But rather say my beloued is blacke and blew his pretious bloud gushing out of his veines and his tender flesh mangled with grieuous wounds Who is so cruelly minded and so stony-harted which cannot be moued to shed plentifull teares when he vieweth my sweet Sauior Iesus so sauagely abused without any pitty and so spitefully taunted and maliciously tormented without any mercy Now when those cursed Tormentors had almost tired their hands but yet not tamed the crueltie of their hearts they cloathe him with a vesture of purple colour set a crowne of sharpe thorns on his head and put a Reed for a Scepter into his hands calling him King in derision vvith their blasphemous mouthes whom they accounted more base then the meanest abiect in al the world Mat. 27.2 Is it possible for thee my sorrowfull soule to keepe backe the tide of thy streaming teares when thou dost meditate in thy perplexed minde and as it were view within thy secret thoghts how cruelly thy harmelesse Sauiour was tortured by those bloody tormentors how spitefully he was tanted and shamefully mocked by those blasphemous wretches There was no man oh my sweet Iesu that did afford thee so much as a signe of pitty in thy greatest paines thou mightest not haue a Chirurgion to stanch thy bleeding wounds no man sought to ease thy smart nor to bathe thy scourged body no man offered thee a cup of water to refresh thy fainting spirits Oh let shewers of teares trickle downe my cheekes and let a sea of sorrow ouer-flow my heart when I enter into a serious meditation of the grieuous paines derisions and afflictions which my innocent redeemer patiently endured Oh then let mine eyes send forth a flood of teares because my mercifull louing Iesus suffered all those intollerable extremities for mee a most wretched sinner that he might pay the price of my redemption and deliuer my soule from euerlasting captiuitie Oh how should I my bountifull Iesu sound the bottomlesse profunditie of thy vnspeakeable mercy And how can I search the endles depth of mine owne wretched miserie Touch my heart oh Lord by the vertue of thy holy spirit and teach me by the sacred documents of thine vnsearchable wisdome so that the affections of my heart may be faithfully affianced and for euer affixed vnto thy immeasurable loue and my minde euermore imployed in the diuine meditation of thy holy law Instruct mee to lay vp in the store-house of my perpetuall memorie how many how great and grieuous paines thou hast endured for me What should I render vnto thee in requitall of thine immeasurable loue how should I be able to demeane my selfe thankefully vnto thee when of my selfe I am so vile a creature that I cannot thinke dutifully of thee Wherefore open mine eyes oh my sweet Iesu that I may see the inestimable riches of thy bountie Infuse thy working grace into my vnderstanding that I may know acknowledge the greatnes of thy loue and goodnesse of thy gratious benefits Graunt me such a portion of thy grace that in the highest degree of my prosperitie I may meditate on thy pouerty so that my minde may be brideled from ambitious thoughts and my actions neuer transgresse the bounds of moderate humility And when I decke my body with costly attire let me thinke of thy nakednes that it may asswage my swelling pride and induce me to abate somewhat of my superfluitie to cloathe and relieue my poore brethren in their naked necessitie And when my Table is furnished with delicate meates and my cuppe filled with delicious wine then oh my louing Sauiour let me remember thy hunger Oh let me not forget thy thirst that I may be sober in my diet and temperate in my drinke and remember to refresh poore hungry Lazarus when he lieth crying and crauing at my gate When I enioy my libertie let me thinke of thine imprisonment that I may not let mine affections runne ryot but tame their wilde motions before they breake forth into desperate actions Let not worldly pleasure haue such soueraigne dominion ouer my peaceable thoughts but that I may alwayes haue some taste of the paines which thou didst suffer for my sinnes with patience and sustaine for my transgressions with silence Lastly let me neuer dispaire of thy potent mercy though by my owne merit I finde I haue deserued nothing else but hell and damnation Now that this blessed worke of thine excellent goodnesse oh my gratious Lord may be affected in mee make a deepe impression of thy loue in my bowels and ingraue the true character of thy kindnesse on my heart so that nothing may please my taste nothing breed my delight nothing affect my desires but onely thou my King God my Sauiour and my Redeemer Kindle the fire of thy loue within my bones that my ardent zeale may neuer be quenched towards my beloued Lord Iesus who did willingly abide the curse and die on the crosse to pay my debt and to deliuer my soule out of the prison of eternall death But stay not here my soule turne thine eyes toward thine afflicted Iesus view him harmlesse and innocent and see in what scornefull habit iniurious Pilate doth present him to the bloudy-minded Iewes his body is arraied in a roabe of purple his cheekes bedewed with blood running out of the veines of his head wounded with a Crowne of sharpe thornes A ruthfull spectacle which might haue made their stony-hearts haue melted with compassionate pitty But alas vvhat can
mollifie those harts which are full fraughted with crueltie thinke oh my soule thou doest heare Pilate that vniust and wrongfull iudge vttering these or the like words vnto the muttering Iewes Behold I bring him forth vnto you that yee may know I can finde no cause to pronounce iudgement against him but because yee pretend some matter Behold how I haue punished the man to calme the tumults of your enraged mindes Looke vpon him vvith your eyes see how miserable vvofull base and contemptible he appeareth in your sight You need not stand in feare that he will seeke to rule ouer you as a king you may see his power is too weake to compasse a kingdome you may see how bitterly hee hath bene scourged scoffed at by the people scorned of the multitude rudely haled and roughly handled by the Souldiers you need not dread him as a man dangerous to the State though he had a mind yet he hath no might to raise vp any tempest of sedition Wherefore ye may now set him at libertie after hee hath beene scourged without any feare of perill and let him goe without any dread of danger But consider heere my soule that although vniust Pilate contrarie to equitie of law testimony of his owne conscience and sentence of his owne mouth had extreamely punished my louing Sauiour and had authorised his basest officers to vse him at their pleasure and to abuse him in their iesting humour And although their taunts were bitter without meane their derisions intollerable without any sparke of modesty and their torments excessiue without measure yet none of them nor all of them could once delay the fury of the hasty executioner nor allay the heat and fiery hatred of the enuious cruell Iewes kindled in their burning breast without cause against my innocent Iesus but although they saw him so deformed so ignominiously disgraced and grieuously afflicted yet it could not satiate no it could not so much as slake the thirst of their bloudy mindes they were so farre transported beyond the limits of reason in their chollericke moode and fretting without measure to see his life prolonged the space of a moment that they exclaimed in their madnesse Crucifie him crucifie him his very breath is odious vnto vs If thou let him goe thou art not Caesars friend Ioh. 19.12 Oh ye peruerse and peeuish nation Oh yee wicked and viperous generation was it not enough to haue stopped your clamorous mouthes to haue mollified your flinty hearts and to haue stayed your bloudy hands when yee sawe my meeke and kinde Sauiour so cruelly scourged currishly scorned and pittifully tormented as though he had bene a man dangerous to your state and a pernitious foe to your countrie But although all those insupportable iniuries and opprobrious indignities were contrarie to all pietie and without any pitty inflicted vpon him when as by the testimonie of Pilate a sterne seuere Iudge he was pronounced to bee innocent and cleare from all offences Ioh. 19.6 yet ye supposed that al those torments were too little and nothing too much vvhich was vniustly done to that innocent Lambe who opened not his mouth once to murmure or mutter against his cruell persecutors Here hast thou cause oh my soule to admire the vnspeakeable mildnesse of my Iesus and to stand amazed at the implacable crueltie of the Iewes When Pilate perceiued that his words could not preuaile to slake the flame of their enuious mindes but rather added more fuell to their boyling furie and that delay of his death did so mad vexe their confused thoghts that they would not be quieted before they had shed his innocent blood then he willing to satisfie their franticke humor and to shew himselfe a friend vnto Caesar presumed against the contradiction and care of his owne conscience to pronounce sentence of death yea of a most vile and shamefull death against the innocent Lambe my louing Lord Iesus Neuerthelesse he would make a fayre shew to the world that he did acquit him in his heart although hee condemned him vvith his mouth And taking water hee washed his hands before the people saying I am innocent from the blood of this iust man looke ye vnto it Mat 27.24 Then all the people cryed out aloud with open mouthes and bloody mindes His blood be vpon vs and our children Mat. 27.25 And indeede at last they found the wofull effect of their bloudie vvish they felt the smart of their bloudie desire though then in the heat of their furie they dreaded no danger nor dreamed on the day of their sorrow wherein their Citie was filled with slaughtered bodies and the channels of their streets streamed with bloud Although my tender hearted Sauiour had fore-told them of their wofull desolation and vvith weeping teares fore-warned them of their dolefull destruction but they stopped their eares and would not heare his voice flattering themselues in their deceitfull securitie and laughed at his vvords in the faire dayes of their prosperity But here cease a while my sorrowfull soule to meditate on the malicious madnesse of the bloud-thirstie Iewes vvhose clamorous voices could not be pacified before the corrupted Iudge cursed Pilate had condemned my deare and innocent Iesus and consider the hainous and hatefull condition of Pilates sinne and view the wofull horrour of his vvretched soule who for feare of Caesar and fauour of the people did contrary to the knowledge of his conscience and custome of law pronounce sentence of death against my poore Iesus who neuer meant hurt nor thought any euill Tell me thou vvicked Iudge how couldest thou pretend any shadow to couer thy sinne where couldst thou think to find a place of refuge for thy guilty soule Didst thou more dread the displeasure of the people then the horrour of a guiltie conscience diddest thou stand in more awe of mortall men then of the Eternall God didst thou more regard to protest thy selfe a friend vnto Caesar vvho although he vvere a great King was but a feeble creature than thou hadst care to discharge thine office to God thine omnipotent Creator Tell me did not thy heart ake and all thy body tremble so soone as wrongfull iudgement had passed out of thy lippes against my innocent Sauiour Wert thou not tormented vvith the sting of thy vvounded conscience Or vvert thou depriued of all thy senses so soone as thou haddest vttered that vvrongfull sentence Thou didst know that the Iewes had deliuered him of enuie Matth. 27.28 and wouldst thou be an instrument to satisfie their wicked malice Thou wert ordained a Iudge to execute Iustice and to giue righteous iudgement wherefore how horrible was thy sinne how wofull was the state of thy guilty soule when thou hadst condemned my innocent Iesus Bitter and sweet vvater doth not flowe out of the selfe-same fountaine yet thou vvith the selfe-same mouth didst iustifie my Sauiour as an innocent person and by and by vvith the selfe-same mouth condemne him as an hainous malefactor How odious
prepared for them from the beginning of the world Oh let my Prayer come before thy presence let the zeale of my heart and lifting vp of my hands towards thy Throne of mercie moue thee to grant the request of my humble petition Amen A Meditation how the Lord Iesus carrying his Crosse on his shoulders is led to Mount Caluarie to be crucified and of those things vvhich happened by the vvay MED XIII Our blessed Sauiour Christ the perfect a Iohn 19.17 gaine Doth b Matth. 27.32 beare the crosse whereon himselfe must die Simon of c Luk. 23.26 Cyrene sometimes they constraine To doe d Mark 15.21 it So saith the truth that cannot lie HE which will come after me let him denie himselfe take vp his Crosse and follow me Matth. 16.24 Runne and make hast oh my soule at the voice of our most sweet Redeemer who bearing his Crosse on his owne shoulders Ioh. 19.16.17 doth inuite thee to carrie thy Crosse if thou desire to follow his steps Oh how sweet how delectable how delightfull is it to carrie the Crosse after my Iesus His happinesse cannot be vttered his blessednesse cannot be imagined which doth follow thee my Lord Iesu in thy blessed pathes he walketh not in darknesse he commeth not neere the shadow of death but shall haue the light of life Come therefore oh my soule let vs follow our Iesus bearing his Crosse on his owne shoulders let vs leaue all and follow him with alacritie let nothing stop our passage let not any thing hinder vs in our course Looke vpon thy Lord thy Creator thy Redeemer Consider his tedious labour his grieuous afflictions his intollerable torments all of them vvithout any meane none of them hauing any moderation let thy vvhole minde be pondering on them let them be the continuall matter of thy daily meditation Let thy heart be wounded with the sword of sorrow and let thine eyes be drowned vvith a flood of teares let thy heauie groanes and sorrowfull sighes beginne in the morning and let them not cease in the euening Oh let the feruencie of thy lamentation demonstrate the burning zeale of thy compassion which thou doest beare to mine afflicted Iesus Mourne vvith true contrition of heart for thine iniquities and vveepe with hearty sinceritie for thy sinnes vvhich caused thy Christ to carrie so heauie a crosse Here is plentifull matter for thy meditation heere vvanteth no motiues to stirre vp in thee a feeling compassion for thou seest how hee is scorned and despised how cruelly how currishly hee is abused by the perfidious Iewes Who is so obdurate in heart oh my most patient Iesus vvho hath his affections so barren of compassion that hee hath no sense of sorrow when he entereth into a serious contemplation of the multitude of thine afflictions and meditateth on the bitternesse of the passions which thou didst suffer to pay the ransome of our sinfull soules and to deliuer them out of the bands of eternall captiuitie For all the night thou vvert wearied with the out-cries of contumelious tongues and tired with the violence of cruell hands hurried and haled from the Garden where thou wert with thy louing Disciples and although thou wert vvilling to goe of thy selfe yet the churlish crew of hard-harted Souldiers vvere so froward that their sturdie hands were alwaies readie to tugge and pull thee forward to vexe thy feeble body and to grieue thy righteous soule For it was their solace to procure thy sorrow it vvas their pleasure to augment thy paine and they thought euery moment a moneth before they did present thee to Annas where thou wert rebuked with taunting checkes buffeted with vngentle blowes on thy tender cheekes and after that thou hadst with exceeding patience endured the bitter tempest of their furie they brought thee from thence to the house of Caiphas there to abide another storme of their malicious crueltie Sometime they raile vpon thee vvith their cursed tongues sometime they thumpe thee with their cruell hands their speeches were full of odious spite their vvords vvere infected vvith malicious venome vvhich they belched against thee my louing Sauiour their deedes were nothing else but deadly cruelty their words sauoured of nothing but barbarous inhumanitie they scoffed and derided thee with bitter iests they defiled thy comely face with their filthie spettle Then vvithout any pittie alas how should they shew any pitty whose hearts were hardned with bloud-thirstie crueltie they bring thee in hast to the Court of King Herod where thou wert flouted at reputed as a sottish foole scorned contemned and derided like a simple Idiot their mirth was Bedlam-madnes their iestes were full of gall and bitternesse Now when they had acted their outragious villanies against thee and executed their diuellish deuises vpon thee my innocent Iesus yet all of them vvere too little to calme the tempest of their hatefull furie but then this cursed crew doth hurrie thee from the vngratious Court of proud Herod to the gracelesse house of Pontius Pilate vvhere thou vvert taunted and checked againe vvith cruell quips and sharply scourged with smarting vvhips stripped naked contrarie to all humanitie and beaten with bitter blowes without any pittie their whips were sharp to teare thy flesh their tongues were as keene as rasors to wound thy soule they pierced thy head with a crowne of thornes putting a feeble reede in thy hands flouted thee vvith the name of a King and bending their knees did worship thee in derision offending thy sacred eares vvith their cursed words and afflicting thy vvounded body vvith their bloudie hands and vvhen thou hadst beene so spitefully scorned bitterly scourged and vilely contemned at last thou wast wrongfully condemned to suffer a most shamefull and dolefull death But oh my sweet Iesu who did afford thee any comfort in thy exceeding sorrowes vvho did approach to cure thy bleeding wounds Alas there was no man by vvhich vvas moued vvith any sorrowfull compassion for thy vndeserued calamitie but euery man was forward to augment thy miserie Now they lay a most huge and heauy crosse vpon thy wounded shoulders the vveight of it doth make thy knees to tremble thy legges to faile and thy whole body to faint And thus thou doest goe forward to the place of execution guarded with a band of armed Souldiers and hemd in on euery side with a rabble of bloudie tormentors multitudes of the base and rude people doe flocke together out of euery quarter they crowd and thrust one another to see thee but alas it was not to afford thee any compassionate pittie but to laugh and reioyce at thy miserie They proclaime out the malice of their heart against thee in their madnesse and raile and reuile thee in the heat of their furie They all striue like Beares and fierce Lyons to approach neere vnto thee oh vvhat opprobrious speeches what hatefull and odious rayling what cursed words what vncharitable deedes did my most humble and patient Iesus suffer by those wicked
desperate people whose eyes were more hard then a rocke that they could not yeeld forth one teare for pittie and hearts more vnapt then Adamant to relent with any tender compassion when they saw so wofull and dolefull a spectacle But for all the venemous speeches vttered out of their railing mouthes and for all the brutish deedes done vnto thee my louing Iesus with their cruell hands thou didst not once open thy mouth to contradict them in their raging madnesse or once to blame them in the heat and hate of their greatest furie but didst goe forward vvith meekenesse to the dolefull place of their bloudie execution to suffer the painefull pangues not for thy owne faults but for mine iniquities and that with thy pretious bloud thou mightst make a wholsome Bath to cure the spots and heale the blaines of my sinfull soule Teach me oh my sweet Christ and louing Iesus by thine example so to master mine affections and to direct mine actions that when mine enemies doe insult ouer mee vvith slaunderous vvords and slauish deedes I may vvalke and tread in thy pathes with meekenesse of heart and trace out thy steps with humility of minde hearing their diuellish curses with silence and bearing my heauie Crosse with patience committing my cause vnto the GOD of vengeance who heareth the cries of the silly orphane putteth the teares of the weeping vvidow into his bottle and deliuereth poore captiues out of prison when they call vpon him But tell me oh ye generation of vipers tell me oh ye bloodie-hearted and bloodie-handed Iewes why were ye so bloodie minded against my innocent Iesus vvhat horrible conspiracie had he plotted or practised against you that yee vvere so eager to vndermine his life and so greedie to hasten the bloodie day of his death Is this the honour that you giue to my Sauiour Is this the glorie you vouchsafe my Redeemer Is this the kinde entertainement you afford to your Prophet whom the day before you receiued with such ioy spreading your garments on the ground and couering the earth greene boughes when he entred into Hierusalem Oh most vngratefull vnconstant vngracious and gracelesse people Is your loue so soone changed into deadly hate is your late curtesie conuerted into cruelty were your fauours so quickly turned into frownes Is your honour altered to shame are your plausible speeches changed into bitter curses Doe yee to day lift him vp as high as Heauen and to morrow throw him downe as low as Hell Doe yee blesse him to day and curse him to morrow Doe yee flocke after him to day that your tongues may sing forth his prayses and to morrow doe ye crowd after him to fill his eares with reproches Doe ye to day entertaine him into the Citie as desirous of his life and to morrow doe yee leade him out of the Citie as a malefactor to suffer a shamefull death Did yee but now like him and by and by doe yee lothe him Is the milde complection of your loue altered in a moment into deadly hate What was the cause of your mutabilitie What was the occasion of your instabilitie Were the affections of your hearts so mutable and your vnconstant desires so moneable So soone as you perceiued that my louing Iesus began to bee hated of your enuious magistrates and cruelly handled by their wicked ministers scorned and scoffed at by the Souldiers tanted with proud and malicious words beaten and buffeted with cruell blowes scourged with whips spitted vpon by the scumme of the people disdainfully contemned of the high Priests and lastly condemned by Pilate then yee began to like of their chollericke humors and to play the executioners of their bloudy hate This day ye misuse and abuse him most vilely whom but yesterday yee honoured and exalted so highly Now your malice towards him is without meane and your cruell deeds without moderation The cruell Enuy of the high Priest kindled the fire and yee cast Oyle into it to increase the flame Oh what extreame crueltie what cruell extremitie what ignominious indignitie was done vnto my afflicted Iesus Was not the edge of your malice yet rebated Did the streame of your hatred growe to bee more violent Was there no little corner left for pitty to lodge in your brests Was there no motion of compassion within your bowels Tell me then how could ye be so harsh-harted and hard-handed as to lay so heauy huge a crosse vpon the shoulders of my poore afflicted Christ whose blessed body was disquieted for want of sleepe being cruelly tormented all the night faint with losse of blood and sore with store of cruell blowes Had Enuie so robbed your hearts and dispoiled all your sences of common humanitie that you were now so poore that yee were not able to bestow vpon him so much as one mite of mercie What infernall Phrensie vvhat Tyrannous impietie what execrable Tyranny can be compared to this Iewish crueltie But alas was there not one amongst so many vvhich vvas so kinde-harted as to lend a helping hand to ease the weary shoulders of my Sauiour Christ when his knees bended and his legs trembled vnder the burden of his heauy Crosse Oh let the lamentable relation of their furious ferocitie to my Iesus be so odious vnto our eares that it neuer finde any harbour in our hearts Behold oh my sorrowfull soule the monstrous Atrocitie of the stiffe-necked Iewes and the miraculous mildnesse of thy lowly Iesus Consider his humble obedience view his obedient humility vvho was euer truly obedient euen vnto death and euer was willing to offer vp his life as a sure pledge of his infinite loue towards his beloued Behold thou seest how mine afflicted Lord wounded with the teeth of Enuie and pierced with the darts of malice grudgeth not at the paine nor refuseth the tedious labour to carry the heauy burthen on his feeble necke contrary to all humanity and without any pitty so spitefully imposed vpon him But how should my sinnefull tongue divulgate the incomparable merite of thy admirable patience my most kinde sweet and humble Iesu How should my vnworthy vvords vtter the worthines of thy vnspeakeable humility which wert willing to vndergo the burden of so heauy a Crosse to deliuer me a most wretched sinner from a bitter curse when the vigor of thy naturall faculties was decayed thy humane strength weakened and thy whole body wearied with the grieuous paines torments afflictions which the wicked Iewes not fleshy but flinty-hearted without any mercy of theirs and merit of thine did cruelly heape vpon thee Oh let my hart be deeply wounded with ceaselesse compunction Let mine eyes be darkened with continuall weeping Yea let all my sences be afflicted with mourning that my sorrowes may be great because my sinnes are so grieuous For they indeed were the Tyrannicall tormentors that layd so heauy a Crosse on thy tyred shoulders who out of the abundance of thy infinite loue taking pitty on my wretched miserie didst willingly
submit thy selfe to such slauish cruelty not sparing to shed thy most pretious bloud to compound of it a most soueraigne Medicine to cure my desperate malady Now what measure of wordes can be so great or what voyce so vehement as may fully expresse the extreame impietie of the bloudy Iewes towards my blessed Iesus When such hellish fury did rule and reuell in their fiery harts that in the middest of so many bitter paines and pangs of his body and insupportable anguish of his soule they did impose so ponderous and heauy a Crosse on his faint and feeble shoulders being framed extraordinarily in respect of the matter and also vnvsually in regard of the forme More gently were the two Theeues vsed which were led along with him who were constrained to endure no such labor for we may wel think they would vse more kindnes to those wicked persons then to my holy Iesus For we doe not read that they were put to the toile to beare their Crosses whose bodies vvere more able because they had not felt one fit of the grieuous paines nor suffered one iot of the great tortures wherewith my sorrowful Sauiour had beene all the night before extreamely vexed and cruelly tormented Heere thou hast iust cause oh my soule to cry out against the monstrous inhumanity and brutish crueltie of the Iewes acted against thy despised Iesus What imagination can sound the bottome of their sauage tyrannie What tongue is able to make a perfect relation of their horrible furie Was it not a most ruthfull Spectacle forcible enough to haue drawne streames of teares out of the dryest eye and to haue incited a multitude of heauy groanes out of the hardest heart to see my beloued Lord carry so heauy a burden vpon his painefull shoulders yet bleeding with cruell wounds lately without any meane or mercie inflicted vpon them was there euer cruelty like vnto this Oh my louing Lord Oh my most beloued Iesu thou art now become a laughing-stocke to the barbarous Gentiles and matter of derision to the perfidious Iewes They scorned despised flouted and derided thee bearing thy heauy Crosse with patience towards the place of execution whereon thou shouldest suffer a most bloody bitter and shamefull death And so went my Lord Iesus with constant humanity towards the place where he was to suffer the deadly pangs of their extreamest tyranny whose knees were so weake and legs so feeble that they were not able to support the weight of so heauy a burthen which with such disdainful indignation they had imposed vpon him that thereby they might so much the more increase his derision and multiply his dolorous affliction Oh yee most cruell tormentors doe yee neuer cease to molest vexe my humbled Lord Iesus Could not one cruell death haue quenched the flame of your blood-thirsting malice Oh vvhy doe you abuse his meeke-minded patience by compelling him to feele so many deadly passions Now when those malicious persecutors saw that my vvearyed Christ was so surcharged vvith his heauy Crosse being so weightie in respect of the ponderous substance and also so cumbersome in regard of the extraordinary length that although hee had a willing minde yet that he had not sufficient strength to carry so heauie a load then they compelled Simon of Cyrene the father of Alexander Rufus to ease him of his burthen and to follow my tyred Christ with that painefull Crosse What did their stonie hearts now begin to relent vvith any motiue of compassion towards my poore afflicted Iesus No for the Curres were more curteous that licked the loathsome soares of hungry Lazarus that lay crying and dying for want of foode at the gate of their churlish maister then those vncircumcised Gentiles and stiffe-necked Iewes were to my innocent Iesus For how should their mindes be affected with any sparke of pittie whose harts were drowned in so deepe a sea of impietie But because they were loth that my Sauiour should end his tedious life before hee came where hee should suffer a most painefull pittifull and shamefull death they graunted him a little ease that he might goe with better speed and make a little more haste to the place of execution where they should play like the infernall Furies the last act of their bloody Tragedie Oh my sadde and sorrowfull soule how canst thou calme the waues of thy flowing sorrow how canst thou how canst thou asswage the pangs of thy turbulent passions when thou dost meditate how many miseries mischiefes calamities and distresses were violently inflicted vpon my beloued Iesus by the hatefull handes of those bloudy tormentors Oh my most mercifull Iesu Oh my most louing Lord Oh why was not I with thee at that time my sweet Christ that I might haue carried thy heauy Crosse Oh how happily should I haue shut vp the last euening of my short and gloomy dayes Oh how blessedly should I haue finished my restles course if I had died with thee on thy sacred crosse Oh how sweet had the sharpe deadly pangs and dolorous paines beene vnto mee how ioyfull had dolefull death bene vnto me a sorrowfull sinner if I had died with thee my bountifull Lord and blessed Redeemer It may be thou wouldest haue bequeathed me some liberall gift of thine indulgent mercie as thou didst vnto that true though late repenting thiefe vvhich was crucified with thee For at that houre thou didst franckely bestow the riches of thy bountiful mercy and then thou gauest the treasure of thy mercifull bountie Then sweet streames of pure vvater did flowe out of the cleare fountaine of thy mercy comfortable to coole the heat of a thirsty tongue and medicinable to cure the spreading malady of a leperous soule infected with sinne Oh vvould I had bene there to haue had some sweet taste of that blessed fountaine If I had drunke neuer so little it would haue beene enough to haue quenched my thirst and yet I should still haue thirsted to drinke more although I had drunke neuer so much If the cursed churle damned glutton had had but one drop of this caelestiall water it had bin sufficient not onely to haue cooled the tip of his flaming tongue but also to haue extinguished the fire of his euer neuer-dying soule and of his continuall burning and neuer consuming body tormented in Hell fill my soule oh my sweet Christ with this comfortable vvater that may cure my sinfull soares and mittigate my deserued sorrow But as thou didst go toward the place vvhere thou shouldst offer vp thy selfe for a compleat sacrifice to appease the vvrath of thy angry Father to make an euerlasting attonement betweene him and vs his disobedient children thou saydst vnto those mourning women who could not containe their trickling teares nor deteine their sorrowfull sobs to see their louing and dearely beloued Lord so doggedly haled and currishly handled Weepe not for me ye daughters of Ierusalem weepe for your selues your children Luk. 23.28 And now thou sayst vnto me
23.46 Of his deere life What more could he d Ioh. 19.30 abide NOw blessed Iesus and my beloued Sauiour is come vnto Mount Caluarie where he was to make the last period of all his humane miserie by suffering a most bloudie vile and violent death being cruelly nayled to that Crosse which of late lay so heauie vpon his shoulders that his whole body did shake and tremble vnder the burthen Oh blessed Mountaine happy for thy dignitie happy for thy fertilitie because it pleased the Lord Christ to suffer vpon thee But who shall ascend vp to the Hill of the Lord where the Lord Iesus is crucified Truly he that hath innocent hands and a cleane heart He vvhich loueth the Lord Iesus with all his heart with all his soule with all his strength hee shall ascend vp to his Mountaine and shall be crucified vvith the Lord Iesus Hee which hath crucified his flesh and the concupiscence thereof shall be crucified and suffer with his beloued Iesus I desire to be crucified with thee oh my most sweet Iesu I long to suffer on the crosse with thee that I may be crowned by thee but I know that first it is needefull for mee that the world be crucified vnto mee and I vnto the vvorld Gal. 6.14 But now let vs see oh my sorrowfull soule how my innocent Iesus was vsed by the rough-handed and cruell hearted tormentor when he vvas come to the place of execution vvhere malefactors did suffer grieuous punishment for their hainous offences First hauing exiled all compassion and pittie from their heart they lay hold vpon him with their bloudie and polluted hands and then they hastily rob and disroabe him of his garments before a rude multitude of the basest and meanest of the people yea they strip him starke naked that hee might appeare more vile and contemptible in their eyes Here hast thou good cause and iust occasion my perplexed soule to ouer-flowe thy cheekes afresh vvith a flood of teares and to dilate and open thy heart that thy heauie groanes and sorrowfull sighes may haue their free passage when thou seest thy louing Iesus stripped naked by the hands of such dogged and cruell tormentors exposed to the eyes of the pittilesse people and extreame coldnesse and roughnesse of the weather Oh how was the beauty of thy excellent composed body obscured with spots of bloud how was the pure-white colour of thy skin made blacke and blew with bitter blowes my most beautifull Iesu Oh how spitefull and vnappeasable was their indignation how bitter was the miserie how great yea exceeding great was the ignominie of thy grieuous passion my louing Christ my mercifull Iesu For so sharp was the edge of their cruelty so eager was the malice of their hearts and inhumanitie of their hands against thee that thou art layde naked vpon the Crosse vvhen as such extremitie was not vsed but to most wicked vile and abiect persons who for their notorious crimes deserued no pittie such was their damnable impietie But vvhat a spring of bitter teares might arise in the vveeping eyes of thy sad and mourning Mother vvhat sword of sorrow did pierce her tender heart vvhen she saw her deerely-louing and deerely beloued Sonne so roughly disrobed of his cloathes and nakedly exposed to the view of the rude base and common people vvho came not with relenting hearts to shew any signe of sorrow at the execution of such bloudie crueltie but rather to solace themselues and to laugh deride and raile vpon thee in this extreamest miserie Now when those cruell tormentors had speedily turned my innocent Iesus out of his cloathes they layde his naked body vpon the Crosse and first they nailed his innocent hands and after his blessed feet with long strong nailes So that the streames of bloud spouting out of his veines changed the hew of his Crosse into a crimson colour Oh what grieuous paine what horrible tortures did those wicked vvretches procure to my blessed Sauiour Oh vvhat infernall furie had incensed their bloudie mindes what diuellish madnesse enraged their hearts so farre to degenerate from the ciuill nature of men into the sauage nature of beasts Oh spectacle full of sorrow oh sight full of ruth how grieuous vvould that pittifull sight haue beene to mine eyes when the very Meditation of it doth so deepely wound my heart Though I know that the immaculate Lambe was sacrificed on this woodden Altar that he might wash and cleanse my polluted soule with his pretious bloud take away the foule staines of my defiled flesh and by suffering so vile a death on the Crosse to deliuer me from a bitter curse due vnto mee for my great and grieuous sinnes Yet needes must mine eyes haue melted like Ice into teares my heart haue beene consumed with sobs and all my bowels pained with compassion if I had beene a wofull beholder of his dolefull Passion vnlesse mine eyes had beene more drie then a flint my heart more hard then iron and my bowels composed of brasse But indeede vvhat riuers of streaming teares should water my cheeks what heauy groanes and lamentable sighes should sound out of the bottome of my heart How should all mine affections be drowned in the vvaues of afflictions when I contemplate the hidious deformities of my vgly sinnes and seriously meditate on the cruell tyrannie of my trayterous transgressions which indeed were nothing else but cruell hands and a hard hammer to driue the iron-nailes into thy blessed hands and innocent feet and to crash their tender bones into pieces Wound my soule oh my sweet Iesu pierce my heart that it may streame forth blood let nothing but mournfull sighes be pleasant vnto my vveeping eyes let nothing but voices of horror and lamentation be delightfull vnto my dolefull eares so that all my senses may be true mourners to bewaile the crueltie of my sinnes and to shew some tokens of true repentance for the multitude of my transgressions which so pittifully wounded thy sacred body and so grieuously vexed thy righteous soule Crucifie my heart that it may die to wicked cogitations Crucifie my hands that they may haue no power to commit euill actions Crucifie mine eyes that they may want light in taking delight to gaze vpon vvorldly vanities Crucifie mine eares that they may be dull and depriued of hearing when they should listen to fruitlesse and friuolous words vnsauorie speeches lasciuious and wanton discourses Crucifie my tongue that it may haue no motion to vtter any opposite thing to the pure Law of my God or hurtfull to the commoditie of those which are godly and good Crucifie my Taste that it may not be allured with the wanton enticements of delicate meates nor so ouercome with the baytes of pleasant wine that the eyes of my vnderstanding be darke vvith the fumes of gluttony or my soule be polluted or my body defiled with filthie adulterie Crucifie the olde man sinne that hath beene my Tenant so long and hath had his habitation in
neither dispaire with the heauy burden of my sinnes nor presume without feare to transgresse the bounds of thy holy law that although I haue runne long the wilde race of vnbrideled iniquitie yet at last I may returne home vnto thee out of the way of impietie vvith this faithfull and true repenting offender and be a companion vvith him in thy Paradice of euerlasting felicitie A Meditation concerning the lamentation of the Virgine MARY beholding her Sonne lifted vp vpon the Crosse standing by it accompanied with Iohn the Euangelist and Mary Magdalene MED XVI The blessed Virgin a Iohn 9.25 standing by the Crosse Of Christ our Lord Behold thy b Ibid. 26. Sonne sayd he Vnto his Mother Oh most grieuous losse That he must die who from all c Luke 23.14 faults was free NOw turne thy thoughts Oh my sorrowfull soule from the blasphemous reproches scornfull derisions and malicious slanders of the wicked Iewes insulting against my innocent IESVS And now thou hast heard how bountifull thy Sauiour was vnto the penitent Theefe that was sorrowfull for his owne iniquity and couragious to iustifie my mercifull Redeemer for his vnspotted innocency Meditate a while on the Lamentation of his blessed Mother whose heart was wounded with sorrow to see her Sonne so cruelly tormented when hee had neuer offended in word nor imagined any euill in thought How sharpe was the sting of dolour to wound her heart how intollerable was the griefe that did trouble her minde when shee saw his body bleeding with so many wounds before her wofull eyes and heard their bitter words and diuelish reproches cast out against him in the audience of her dolefull eares As shee had cause to reioyce at his blessed Birth so now shee had good occasion to mourne for his cruell death For though no doubt she was annointed with oyle of graces aboue her fellowes yet we may not thinke shee vvas quite exempted from the passions of a woman or void of the tender affections of a Mother when shee saw the harmlesse head of her louing and beloued Son bleeding with a Crowne of Thornes his innocent hands and blessed feete fastened to the Crosse with iron nailes Certainely shee knew that his Conception vvas so sanctified by the holy Ghost in her wombe that his most blessed body vvas alwaies free from the infection of impiety and his flesh neuer tainted vvith the corruption of iniquitie But yet shee knew hee did not suffer without sense of his paines and although he was endued with a supernaturall patience yet shee knew that he felt the pangs of his bitter Passion subiect by his humane nature to many infirmities as we are yet euer hauing a pure heart and cleane hands from the spots of sinne vvherewith our soules are polluted our bodies continually infected Wherefore thinke oh my soule that as her afflictions were grieuous so her lamentation vvas great suppose that thou doest see her with her face discolored with palenesse discouering her motherly sorrow to thy outward eies and that thou didst heare her mournefull tongue telling this dolefull tale to thy attentiue eares vvhich should cause thee to be a partner with her in her woe and sigh for thy sinnes which vvere the cause of her sorrow to see her beloued Sonne so cruelly crucified by the Gentiles and so disdainfully derided by the Iewes Thinke I say that thou doest see her vvatering her eyes vvith store of teares vttering these or the like words with her sorrowfull lips to her dearely beloued Son which words should draw out teares from thine eyes and driue out groanes from thy hart which shee pronounced with a dolefull accent in this or the like manner Oh what medicine be it neuer so soueraigne can asswage the rigour of my malady what salue be it neuer so precious can heale the wounds of my bleeding heart vvhat vvords be they neuer so comfortable can cheare vp my dolefull minde when I see thee my beloued Sonne so cruelly tormented and so ignominiously taunted Alas for me poore wretch thy sorrowfull Mother How intollerable is the paine how grieuous is the punishment that is inflicted vpon thee Thy death is not so bitter vnto mee and yet how loath I am to forgoe thee as these cruell torments which I see doe torture thy innocent body and doe greatly augment the sorrow of my perplexed minde As thy blessed life was the cause of my chiefest felicity so will thy bitter death be the beginning of my miserie Who shall afford mee comfort in the time of my calamity who shall giue me counsell who shall be my succour in the time of my necessitie vvhen I am separated from thee How shall I spend the daies with sorrowing and passe through the teadious nights with mourning But thou oh my GOD omnipotent vvhich art his eternall Father vvho canst not shut thine eies of compassion from thine afflicted Sonne comfort mee his sorrowfull Mother Thou seest the wounds of his body thou knowest the sorrowes of my heart and because thou art a Father of mercies and a GOD of all consolation looke downe vpon me out of thy holy Sanctuarie and as thou hast proued me to be thy faithfull Handmaide so let the sweetnesse of thy Fatherly loue temper the bitternesse of my griefe that although I be depriued from the humane societie of my Sonne yet the vvings of thy prouidence may still ouershadow mee and thy omnipotent arme safely protect me But as the Virgine Marie did bewaile the cruell and bloudie death of her innocent Sonne so Marie Magdalene vvith many teares gushing out of her eyes began to lament the wofull case of him her louing Master on this or such like manner Oh my deere Master oh my gracious Lord oh my blessed and bountifull benefactor I cannot liue without thy louing company I cannot abide without thy amiable Societie What tongue though it speake neuer so dolefull can truly relate my sorrow What vvords be they neuer so rhetoricall can ease my inward griefe vvhen I see I shall be separated from so louing and so kinde a Master Oh how tyrannous are the torments wherewith the bloudy tormentors doe torment thine afflicted body How sharpe are the arrowes of their malice vvherewith they vvound thy righteous soule How grieuous is the sight of their cruell deedes vnto mine eyes How odious are their dogged words vnto mine eares Yet my constant loue vnto thee will not giue mee leaue to leaue thee though it be a death vnto mee to see thy calamity so long as mine eyes may behold thee The sight of the bitter pangs of thy Passion doth affright me with horrour The signes of thy approaching death doth confound my senses with continuall terror I see thy head which I annointed with pretious oyntment cruelly pierced with Thornes pittifully bleedihg with many wounds I see thy harmlesse hands pierced with iron nayles and thy innocent feete stained vvith bloud which I bathed with the teares of mine eyes and vviped vvith the
haire of my head Oh how should I sufficiently bewaile the innocent death of my louing Iesus How doth my heart faint with sorrow and my senses faile me for griefe when I see the torments of his body and when I thinke vpon the affliction of his soule But alas the waues of sorrow doe stop the passage of my words my speech faileth and my voice fainteth for griefe Now thou hast heard my sorrowfull soule the lamentation of the Virgine Marie as a kinde Mother sorrowing for the death of her dearest Sonne and the pittifull mourning of Marie Magdalene sighing for the losse of so louing and kinde a Master Cease not thou to shed teares with thy weeping eyes and to sob vvith a broken and contrite heart for the cruell and shamefull death of thy louing Sauiour who died for thy hainous sinnes and suffered for thy horrible transgressions Grant me oh my most gratious Lord that my head may flowe with water and that mine eyes may be turned into a fountaine of teares For vvhere shall I goe to draw water but to the fountaine of my Sauiour Oh why should I cease to weepe for thy sake vvhen thou didst vveepe so often because of my sinnes Thou hast told me that they are happy and blessed that mourne for their sinnes and lament for their offences and that they shall be comforted in the day of their trouble and receiue consolation at the houre of their affliction Draw me oh Lord vnto thee that I may behold thee and take such hold of thee that thou maist neuer depart from me Receiue mee into the little number of thy louing and faithfull friends who would not leaue thee in thy extreamest miserie but did weepe and sigh to see thy calamitie so that being partaker with them of their sorrow by my meditation of thy bitter Passion suffered here vpon earth I may be made copartner with them of thine vnspeakeable ioyes in thy blessed Kingdome of heauen Oh let thine eares be open to the petition of my lips and let thy mercy grant the desire of my heart A Meditation concerning the obscuration and Eclipse of the Sunne about the ninth houre and of the fourth speech which the Lord spake on the Crosse MED XVII When Christ vpon the a Mar. 15.20 Crosse for vs was nail'd And that his Ghost was readie to b Mat. 27.50 depart The c Luk. 23.45 and Math. 27.45 Sun asham'd his splendant beames ore-vaild As blushing to behold so vile a part NOw call to minde my sinfull soule how the firmament was darkened the Sunne eclipsed and his beames obscured at the bitter Passion of thy Sauiour And meruaile not that the brightnesse of the Sunne vvas dimmed and that his golden beames did not shew forth their glorie vvhen as the Sonne of righteousnesse my innocent Iesus had his beautie obscured and his glory darkened with the clowdes of his grieuous and bitter Passion And if thou consider the cruelty of his enemies and the malice of his foes so virulent in the diuellish cogitations of their hearts and so violent in the bloudy actions of their hands thou maist thinke that the Sunne did as it vvere disdaine to afford them his comfortable heat or deny them his cheerefull light that so their eyes might be ouer-shadowed with darknesse as the light of their vnderstanding vvas obscured with malice But meditate not onely oh my soule on the horrible cruelty of the barbarous Gentiles and on the execrable spite of the bloudy Iewes and that their facts vvere so odious and their deedes so detestable that they seemed to depriue the Sunne of his splendant brightnes and to rob the earth of her chiefest comfort but more often thinke seriously of thy sins meditate sincerely of thy transgressions which darken the light of thy minde eclipse the beames of thy vnderstanding so that thou doest not see to tread in the path of harmelesse piety but doest wander beside it into the dangerous waies of damnable iniquity Wherefore let the light of thine eyes be obscured with weeping and thy heart ake with groaning as outward signes of thy inward sorrow as faithfull witnesses of thy serious and true repentance so that the bright beames of the comfortable loue of thy Redeemer may still enlighten thy heart and the light of his cheerefull countenance euermore shine vpon thee Oh let not the mistie vapours of my grosse offences my mercifull Sauiour so obscure the beames of thy mercy but that their gratious influence may still haue their powerfull operation in my minde and reuiue my dead heart with the liuely motions of feruent and true deuotion Let the vertue of thy Spirit so dispell and dispierce the thicke cloudes of my sinnes that my soule may be cherished vvith the heat of thy loue and see the brightnesse of thy glory But now cease thou my soule to behold the darkned Sun with thine amazed eyes and attend to thy voice of thy crying Sauiour with thine attentiue eares What mournefull tongue can vtter the sharpenesse of his agony vvhat thought can conceiue the greatnesse of his paine Oh how grieuous vvas the extreamity of his pangs vvhich made him lift vp his eyes vnto heauen and his earnest and loud voice vnto his Celestiall Father crying out in this wofull manner Eli Eli lammazabatani my God my God why hast thou forsaken mee Oh how vehement was the wrath of thy angry Father against thee my mercifull Iesu my louing Sauiour how violent vvere the torments that vexed thy body How grieuous were the afflictions that pressed and perplexed thy minde groaning vnder the heauie burden of our sinnes imposed vpon thine innocent shoulders Indeede our haynous sinnes our horrible transgressions moued false-hearted Iudas to betray thee and induced the stubborne-minded Iewes to reiect thee they made thy Disciples to flye for feare and to leaue their louing Master in time of danger they compelled thy head to bee crowned vvith pricking thornes thy face to be defiled with spettle thy body to be scourged with vvhippes they pierced thy hands and nailed thy feete they were the hammer and nailes that fastned thee to the Crosse These caused thy Father to punish thee with the seuerity of his iustice that thou being innocent mightst make satisfaction for our trespasses suffering a shamefull and cruell death to finish the great worke of our redemption and to deliuer our bodies and soules from eternall destruction These made thy louing Father seeme to withdraw his cheerefull countenance from thee because thou didst appeare so deformed to his eyes and vgly in his sight hauing put on the filthy ragges of our iniquitie although hee did alwaies loue thee and could neuer leaue thee being alwaies beautifull vvith the true ornaments of thy owne integrity Oh how should mine eyes water my bed with flowing teares and my heart labour with continuall groanes to weepe for the cruelty of my sinnes and to lament for the tyrannie of my transgressions which vvere such cruell tormentors to
offer vnto thee the wine of my true deuotion vvith the Mirrhe of mortification and gall of hearty contrition But as it might be dolefull vnto thee my soule to heare thy louing Iesus cry out Sitio I thirst so let it be ioyfull vnto thee to heare him take his farewel with Consummatum est It is finished Ioh. 19.30 Oh let the Meditation of this word be more sweet vnto me then the hony vvhich Sampson found in the carkasse of the Lyon vvhen he was hungry Iudg. 14 8. and more delectable vnto mee then the vvater vvhich hee found in the Iawbone of the Asse vvhen he vvas thirsty Iudg. 15.19 For now had my blessed Redeemer fulfilled the sacred decrees of the holy Scriptures concerning my saluation and appeased the wrath of his Father kindled against me for my sinnes Now he had cancelled the Obligation of my infinite debt and not vvith siluer and gold but with his owne most pretious blood purchased my Redemption And by his death conquered death hell and the deuill Oh happy death that hath redeemed mee to eternall life Oh glorious victory although my Sauiour obtained it so dearely Therefore let mee not be carelesse to sell that so cheape which my Sauiour hath bought so deare Let mee consecrate my soule and body wholly to him for they are his owne he hath dearely bought them Direct my spirit oh Lord by the leuell of thy perfect word let the meditation of my heart be day and night in thy sacred law that I may offer vp vnto thee daily the calues of my vnfained lippes speaking of thy meruailous kindnesse early in the morning and telling of thy manifold mercies late in the euening send downe a gratious raine of thy holy Spirit into the furrowes of my heart that the memory of thine innumerable benefits may perpetually flourish in my minde and thine euerlasting praises euermore sound in my mouth for thou alone art my Redeemer oh Lord God of my saluation A Meditation how CHRIST gaue vp the Ghost and of the wonders which were seene at his death MED XIX Strange a Mar. 15.38 wonders at our Sauiours death were wrought The graues did b Matt. 27.51 open and the dead came forth The Temple rent in c Luke 23.45 twaine Dumbe creatures sought T' expresse to blinded d Luk. 19.40 Iewes their makers worth LIft vp thine eyes oh my soule and behold how the countenance of thy Sauiour is couered with a deadly palenesse his sight beginneth to faile and his heart to faint yet a little before the departure of his soule and in his greatest pangs hee cryed out with a lowd voyce as if he had felt no paine saying Father into thy hands I commend my spirit and vvhen he had said thus bowing downe his head and closing his eyes he gaue vp the Ghost Luke 23.46 Now so soone as his blessed soule was dissolued from his breathlesse body the vaile of the Temple vvas rent into two peeces from the top the bottome the earth did quake the stones were rent the graues opened and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose out of their graues came into the holy Citie and appeared to many Awake thou now oh my soule lie no longer snorting in the bed of carelesse security vvhat wilt thou say what wilt thou doe oh my soule Thou seest that the earth trembleth quaketh that the stones doe cleaue in pieces and that the beholders are all amazed at the death of the Lord Iesus Oh! why art thou so senselesse oh my soule and as it were dead without motion at the recordation of the death and meditation of the Passion of thy Sauiour Oh let the sinnefull vaile of the Temples of thy head rend into peeces which couereth the eyes of thy vnderstanding let thy earthly body tremble with horror and thy stony heart cleaue in sunder with terror of thine impietie and now arise thou out of the graue of thine iniquitie let thine eyes waste and consume away with weeping and let thy heart melt away with sighing that thou mayest shew some signes of sorrow for thy sinnes and some tokens of true repentance for thy transgressions which caused the bitter Passion and procured the cruell death of thy innocent IESVS and cry out vvith the astonished Centurion Verely this man was righteous Hee was the Sonne of GOD Mat. 17. Lift vp thy hands crie out with a faithfull heart Oh my gratious Lord my sweet Sauiour and louing Redeemer how terrible were my trespasses how haynous were my transgressions that nothing but thy pretious blood could wash out the staines of mine iniquitie and nothing but thy death deliuer me out of the chaines of euerlasting captiuitie What shall I doe to gratulate the greatnes of thy loue how shall I perfectly rellish the goodnesse of thy mercy how shall I throughly tast the sweetnesse of thy compassion For how doth thy loue exceede in greatnesse how doth mercy abound in goodnes and how doth thy compassion excel in sweetnes that thou being the true and naturall Sonne of God shouldst be made man that we being sinnefull men should be made the sons of God yea when vvee were thine enemies vessels of sinne and vassals of Sathan And that thou being man shouldest be made subiect to the same passions to the same affections to the same afflictions that we are yea obnoxious to death to pay our debt but yet thy life was neuer infected with any sinfull action no not so much as affected with any euill cogitation Oh my kinde Iesu Oh thou innocent Lambe Oh my most louing Lord by how much the more I consider thy calamity by how much the more I ruminate thy mercy by so much the more cause I finde to be faithfully affected towards thee for the greatnes of thy loue and to be afflicted with thee for thy grieuous torments Oh let me behold in my serious meditation and see with the eye of mine vnderstanding how thy most sacred body is brused vvith cruell blowes thy tender flesh mangled with bleeding wounds thy venerable head perfored and pierced with a Crowne of pricking thornes thy beautifull forehead spotted and thy comely haire knotted with coniealed blood thy nosthrils offended vvith stinking spittle and thy blessed mouth distasted with gall and vinegar thy most bright eyes obscured with a vaile thy amiable face buffeted with fists and defiled with dust thy chast eares filled with reproaches thy naked body scourged with whips thy vveary shoulders shrinking and thy weake knees failing vnder the heauy burthen of the crosse thy most holy hands pierced thy blessed feet bored with sharpe iron nailes thy blessed side opened and thy heart wounded with a speare Oh let the remembrance of thy grieuous torments my louing Iesu let the memory of thy bleeding wounds and scornefull reproaches wound my heart with vvofull compunction and pierce into my hardened bowels that they may relent vvith tender compassion that I may feele some sense of painefull sorrow for thy
sake seeing thou hast suffered so much for my sinnes But before thou passe any further oh my soule doe thou not let it passe without earnest meditation how that although the hearts of the tormentors of mine afflicted Iesus were so poysoned with impietie and their hands so polluted with cruelty that they grieued his righteous soule vvith their scornes and reproaches killed his innocent body with their tortures yet that the fury of their malicious harts was so restrained and the violence of their cruell hands so repressed that they could not breake one bone of his blessed body as they did of the malefactors which were crucified with him because the sacred scripture had said they should not and therefore their hands were fettered that they could not Exod. 12.46 Num. 9.12 Zach. 12.10 Wherefore let this meditation comfort thy drooping heart oh my soule and consolate thy fainting spirits in the sowrest fits of any worldly misery and in the sorest conflicts of any affliction that can betide thee that no Tyrant be hee neuer so mighty or his heart neuer so malicious can imagine more in his cruell thoughts or act any more with his bloudy hands against thee then the Diuine prouidence hath predestinated and the counsell of the highest hath alwayes determined Let this resolution be as a pretious Balme to heale the wounds of thy sorrow and as a soueraigne Salue to cure thy soares that they may not fester with dispairefull repining or rancor with impatient mourning Let no dread of danger throw downe the Fort of thy hope let no Tempest of persecution shake the foundation of thy Faith and let no waues of affliction quench the flame of thy loue towards thy Sauiour but let the oyle of his sufficient grace so strengthen the sinewes of thy Faith when it waxeth feeble that thy heart neuer faile nor thy courage quaile when thou art molested with any sickenes or affliction of body or moued with any malady of thy mind being faithfully perswaded that no calamity can betide thee without his will nor no danger can come neere thy dwelling without his good pleasure and that no Tyrants although they be neuer so mighty can do but so much and no more against thee then hee in his wisedome knoweth to be profitable for thee For neither the prophane Gentiles nor the superstitious Iewes could doe any more vnto my innocent Iesus then he vvas willing to suffer who came to die for the sinnes of the people they could not do one iot more then was enacted in the highest Court of the Caelestiall Parliament determined by the secret Counsel of the Trinity confirmed by the euerlasting Statutes of the sacred Scriptures Confirme my mind oh Lord with a stedfast perswasion of thy power and comfort my weake nature with a resolute confidence in thy word that in the time of my aduersitie and day of my tribulation yea at the houre of my death I may commend my spirit into thy hands as thou didst thine into the hands of thy heauenly Father Oh what a consolation comfort may it be vnto me in my greatest misery to commend my soule into thy custody for there it shall remain in the safe harbor of eternal tranquility no more subiect to misery no more obnoxious to vanity the ioy that it shall possesse is vnspeakable the felicitie incomparable the continuance of it neuer decaying but alwayes durable without any change or ending Receiue my soule oh my louing Sauiour into thy hands that it may be safe vnder the shadowe of thy wings it is thine owne it came from thee and therefore let it returne vnto thee receiue my gift my bountifull giuer But because oh Lord nothing that is impure may appeare in thy sight neither canst thou behold any vncleane thing with thine eie purge my soule with the fire of thy spirit and wash away the spots of it with thy precious bloud that being beautified with the pure white robe of thy mercy Reu. 12.18 it may confidently approach vnto the Throne of thy Maiesty Oh let the affection of my loue be neuer defectiue towards thee and infuse that into me by the gift of thy grace which I am not able to obtaine by my owne strength captiuate all my sences that they may be obsequious to do thy will and frame all the members of my body to performe thy law that being partaker of thy death by true mortification of my flesh I may also be made partaker vvith thee of thy glorious Resurrection by the viuification of thy blessed Spirit A Meditation how the Lord Iesus was buried and of the lamentation of his Mother and other women for his death MED XX. Within a a Mar. 15.46 Tombe which in a Rocke was wrought Ioseph b Mar. 27.90 enshrines the body of our Lord. Wrapt in a c Luk. 23.53 Mark 15.46 cloath which hee of purpose bought Oh happy man that did such loue afford AS there was a wicked and couetous Iudas oh my soule amongst the faithfull Disciples of thy louing IESVS to betray him to a cruell death so there was a kinde Ioseph found among the Iewes who brought him honourably to his graue Oh who is able to relate the lamentation to expresse the sorrow and vtter the griefe of the Virgin Marie mourning for the death of her deare Sonne and other vvomen vvho did behold him vvith their compassionate eyes vvhen like an innocent Lambe he gaue vp the Ghost and bewailed his departure from them vvith floods of teares Now thinke that thou doest heare the Virgine Marie discouering the inward sorrowes of her heart of her grieued and wounded heart vttered out of her dolefull mouth passionate as she was a tender harted woman and more compassionate as shee vvas a louing Mother vvhen shee saw the vvounded and breathlesse body of her Sonne taken downe from the Crosse Let her sorrowfull words penetrate thine eares and pierce thy heart that thou maist bewaile the debts of thy sinnes as she lamented the death of her Sonne in this or the like manner Oh my most sweet Sonne what is my felicity which I had by thee in thy life Is it any thing else but extreame miserie at thy death how is my chiefest ioy changed into sorrow my mirth into mourning how is my reioycing turned into lamenting my cheerefulnesse turned into heauinesse nothing can mittigate my calamity nothing can ease my malady What hadst thou done oh my most deare Sonne what hainous crime hadst thou committed vvhat odious treason hadst thou perpetrated that thou wert condemned to die such a shamefull and bitter death Thy pure hands were neuer defiled with any euill actions and thy harmlesse heart did neuer harbour any vvicked cogitations thine eyes were neuer bewitched with worldly vanities nor thine eares delighted with lewd discourses thy mouth did vtter forth wisedome and thy tongue spake nothing but the truth thy whole life was a Mirrour of piety thy words deserued no reprehension thy deeds were without all
exception Oh how bitter was the malice how horrible was the enuie how blinde were the eyes how bloody were the hearts of the cruell Iewes to crucifie my deare Sonne my innocent Iesus how dolefull is it to mine eyes and dolorous to my heart to behold thy bright eyes obscured with deadly darknesse thy blessed hand depriued of action and thy beautifull feete senslesse vvithout any motion to see thy cheerefull countenance couered with an ashy palenesse thy skinne blacke and blew with blowes and thy flesh mangled with wounds This spectacle is so wofull that I can no longer behold thee with mine eyes and the waues of sorrow doe ouerflow my heart so fast that they stop my words and stay the current of my mournfull speech Now as Marie Magdalene did behold the blessed body of my Sauiour with his mourning Mother so she did not cease to lament his death who had beene so kinde a Master vnto her in his life What a plentifull streame of teares ran downe her cheekes What a spring of sorrow arose in her heart How did her sorrowfull sighes second her heauie sobs How did her dolefull sobs preuent her lamentable sighes Thinke thou doest see her kisse his senslesse hands thinke thou doest see her kisse his breathlesse feet speaking vnto her louing Master with her trembling voice being dead as if he did heare her and were aliue bathing them with her teares and giuing a little ease to her sore diseased heart by vttering these or the like words with her feeble lips Mary Magdalens lamentation for the losse of her Master Alas my sweet Master alas my most louing Lord the staffe of my stay the onely ioy of my heart the sole comfort of my perplexed spirit Alas for me how comfortlesse doest thou leaue mee how sorrowfull shall I bee by being without thee To whom shall I haue recourse for comfort in the straightnesse of my sorrow To whom shall I goe for succour in time of my trouble How lamentable is the view of thy vvounded head vnto mine eies How grieuous is the view of thy sacred hands and feet vnto my sight pierced with iron-nailes and depriued of sense which I so carefully annoynted bathing them with the teares of mine eies and drying them with the haires of my head Ioh. 11.2 and 12.3 Mat. 26.7 But now alas in stead of odoriferous oyntment they are mangled with wounds and spotted with blood Oh wretched woman oh miserable creature because I am depriued of such a louing and welbeloued Master Where shall I find one who will loue me so deerely and regard me so entierly Thou art hee which diddest often vouchsafe to come into my cottage and to sit downe at my Table and didst vouchsafe to honour my poore house with thy gratious presence when alas I was not able to afford thee any such entertainement as might in any sort requite thy kindenesse or recompence thy loue Iohn 11.28 Oh my most sweet Iesu thou didst defend me from the Pharisie who disdained me for my trespasses and loathed me for my sinnes Thou didst kindely excuse mee speaking in my cause and pleading my case when my sister began to be angry with me and to conceiue displeasure against mee Thou didst commend me when I did annoynt thee with a pretious oyntment washing thy feete with my teares and wiping them with my haire thou didst mittigate my sorrow thou didst remit my sins thou didst kindely aske for mee when I was not present with thee and commanded my sister to call me vnto thee Oh what great and how many demonstrations of thy loue how many tokens of thy kindnesse how many signes of thy charity how many arguments of thy mercie Oh my most sweet Lord hast thou shewed vnto mee vvhat a rich treasure of thy bounty hast thou conferred vpon mee When thou didst see my mourning for the death of my Brother thou didst comfort mee in my sorrow thou didst asswage my griefe thou didst weepe with me such was thy kinde affection towards my louing brother such was thy tender compassion towards mee his sorrowfull sister and thou didst not onely shed teares as signes of thy loue but thou didst raise my dead brother out of his graue for my consolation and restored him to life againe for my comfort Iohn 11.35 Ibidem 43. As nothing was more sweet and pleasant vnto me then to enioy thy blessed company so nothing can be more sowre and sharpe vnto me then want of thy comfortable societie But alas sorrowfull words are too weake a medicine to cure my maladie and although I haue cause to say much yet extreamity of griefe vvill suffer mee to say no more Now thou hast heard oh my soule the lamentation of a tender Mother deploring the death of her Sonne and also the pittifull mourning of a faithfull seruant bewayling the want of him who was her louing Master and bountifull benefactor canst thou be so stonie-hearted that thou art moued with no feeling compassion Is thy heart so hard that it cannot giue a groane Are thine eyes so dry that they vvill not yeeld a teare at the meditation of the death and buriall of thy Sauiour who died for thy sinnes and was slaine for thine iniquities I flie vnto thee my most mercifull Lord that thou maist mollifie and moysten my hard and dry heart with plentifull showres of thy graces turne my head into a spring of water and change mine eyes into a fountaine of teares I know not how to excuse my selfe because I haue beene so vnthankfull for thy benefits so forgetfull of thy mercies and so vnkinde vnto thee for thy loue What shall I say but woe and alas for me a most wretched and wicked sinner Who can measure the quantity of mine infelicitie Who can describe the horrour of my miserie Who can quiet the troubles of my minde Who can pacifie my troubled conscience because my hard heart hath not beene touched with any compunction nor my bowels moued with any compassion when I did think on thy cruell death and meditate on thy bitter Passion Oh wretched man that I am oh miserable creature for when others doe mourne at the meditation of thy Passion shed teares and send forth sighes at the remembrance of thy death my hart is so ouer-growne with hardnesse that it cannot be touched with sorrow and mine eyes are so dry without moisture that they vvill not send forth a teare Oh why doe I not sigh sob and weepe in my Meditation of the bitter Passion of my Sauiour my gratious and bountifull benefactor who did abide so many painefull torments and reproachfull taunts for my sinnes and suffered a most shamefull and cruell death on the Crosse for my transgressions How can I excuse the coldnesse of my loue How should I cleare my vnthankfull minde If Death take away my Father or depriue me of my Mother I water my cheekes vvith teares and vvearie my heart vvith groaning I can weepe for the death of a Brother and wring my
hands for sorrow at the buriall of my sister I cannot but mourne when I follow my friend to his graue my teares doe testifie my loue my voyce doth vtter words of lamentation my heart is sadde with sorrow and all my sences are disordered with griefe But alas how is the moisture of mine eyes consumed that they cannot yeeld one teare How obdurate is my heart that it will not groane when I think on the deadly pangs of my Sauiour and when I meditate on the grieuous passion and bitter death of my Redeemer who hath beene more beneficiall vnto mee then any louing Father and more kinde then any tender-hearted mother what kindnesse of a Brother or milde affection of a Sister can equall his loue What friend can be so glad for my prosperitie who of mine acquaintance can be so sad for my aduersitie Who can be so constant vnto me in affection Who can be so faithfull vnto me in compassion as my mercifull Sauiour My Parents gaue me my flesh polluted with sinne and defiled with vices I receiue from my Sauiour Memory Will Vnderstanding and Reason yea what is there in me which is good but it commeth from my GOD My Parents haue beene an occasion to throw me downe into hell but my Redeemer did shed his pretious bloud to bring mee into the Kingdome of heauen Therefore why doe I not sigh and lament for the death of my Lord my Sauiour my Redeemer who is my solace in time of sorrow my consolation in my misery and my refuge in the houre of my necessity But oh my most bountifull Iesu father of mercies I mourne with sorrow and lament with teares when death doth rob mee of my receiue them to dwell in thy Caelestiall Citie which is stored with all abundance But who can describe the beauty or demonstrate the glory of this heauenly Hierusalem for it is made of pure golde the foundation of pretious stones the walles of Iasper the gates of pearle In needeth no Sunne to giue light vnto it in the day or any Moone by night for the glorious presence of the Lord doth fill euery place with his shining brighssetne Reuel 21.18.19.20.21.23 What eye hath seene one sparke of the glistering cleerenesse what eare hath heard one title of the greatnesse what heart can conceiue so much as a graine of the goodnes of this eternall Citie Oh happy are the people that shall enter into thy beautifull gates Oh happy are the Citizens that shall dwell within thy pretious walles for they shall liue with the Angels in eternall peace and security and see God in his glorious Maiestie Entertaine me oh Lord into thy gratious seruice and graunt me grace that I may serue thee all the dayes of my life in feare and honour thee with my loue that when I haue serued out my time as thy faithfull seruant here on earth I may be incorporated into this heauenly Citie and admitted into the freedome of this blessed societie Come oh my Lord IESV come vnto vs quickly and receiue vs to dwell with thee eternally Amen FINIS Soli Deo gloria MOST DEVOVT and Diuine MEDITATIONS OF Saint BERNARD Concerning the knowledge of humane Condition Seruing as so many Motiues to MORTIFICATION LONDON Printed by T.S. for Francis Burton dwelling in Paules Church-yard at the signe of the greene Dragon 1614. A Table of the Motiues to MORTIFICATION Mo. 1. OF the similitude of man to God page 1. Mo. 2. Of the miserie of man and of the examination of the last iudgement page 10. Mo. 3. Of the dignity of the soule pag. 20 Mo. 4. Of the reward of the heauenly Countrey the which all Christians ought to endeauour to obtaine page 33 Mo. 5. How a man ought to examine himselfe page 44 Mo. 6. That a man ought to bee diligent and deuout in performing of Diuine exercises page 48 Mo. 7. A consideration of death page 59 Mo. 8. In what manner a man ought to pray deuoutly pag. 63 Mo. 9. Of the instabilitie and wandering of the heart page 66 Mo. 10. That Sinne is not to be excused page 74 Mo. 11. What a great euill it is not to correct or reprehend others page 75 Mo. 12. How euery man ought to consider himselfe page 83 Mo. 13. Of the presence of the Conscience euery where page 85 Mo. 14. Of the three Enemies of Man page 87. Mo. 15. From whence the flesh of Man proceedeth and what it bringeth forth page 93 Mo. 16. Of the short life of man pag. 96 Other Additions A Most zealous and deuout lamentation of blessed Anselmus sometime Arch-bishop of Canterbury for the losse of his Soules virginitie appliable vnto the soule of euery mortified Christian page 111 A Meditation of S. Bernard concerning the Passion and sufferings of Iesus Christ diuided into twenty and one Sections page 139 The Authors deprecation or Petition for himselfe page 236 FINIS O my Father if it be possible let this Cup passe from me He kneeled downe and Prayed but beinge in an agonie he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was like droppes of blood trikling downe to the ground Luke 22.44 Sit ye here whil I goe and Pray yonder Of the similitude of Man to GOD. MOTIVE I. MAny knowe many things False knowledge and know not themselues they pry into others and leaue themselues The ready way how to know God They seeke God by those outward things forsaking their inward things to vvhich God is neerer and more inward Therefore I vvill returne from outward things to inward and from the inward I will ascend to the Superiour that I may know from vvhence I come or whither I goe who I am and from whence I am that so by the knowledge of my selfe I may be the better able to attaine to the knowledge of God For by how much more I profit and goe forward in the knowledge of my selfe by so much the neerer I approach to the knowledge of God Concerning the inward man Three things in vs whereby wee remember behold and desire God I finde three things in my soule by which I remember behold and couet God But these three things are the Memory Vnderstanding Will or Loue. By the Memory I remember him by the Vnderstanding I behold him by the Will I imbrace him When I remember God in my Memory I finde him and in him I am delighted because hee vouchsafeth to giue himselfe to mee By the Vnderstanding I view and contemplate what God is in himselfe what hee is in the Angels what he is in the Saints what hee is in Men what he is in the Creatures In himselfe hee is incomprehensible because he is the beginning and end and the beginning without beginning the end without end By my selfe I vnderstand how incomprehensible God is when as I cannot know and vnderstand my selfe whom he hath made In the Angels he is desirable because they desire to behold him In the Saints hee is delectable because being happy
accuser and when it shall be sayd of mee behold the man and his vvorkes then I shall reduce and bring againe before mine eyes all my sinnes and offences For it shall be brought to passe by a certaine diuine power that good and euil works shal be recalled to the remembraunce of euery one and shall be seene in the view of the minde with a wonderfull speede and celeritie that the knowledge of them may accuse or excuse the conscience and that so both euery man seuerally and generally may be iudged together Euery man shall be iudged for his deeds And all the secrets of all men shall appeare and lie open vnto all For that which wee are ashamed At the day of iudgement all things shal be made manifest and blush at to confesse now shall then be manifest and apparant to all And there the reuenging and deuouring fire shall burne and consume whatsoeuer heere wee cloake and flatter by dissembling The swift fire shall rage and raigne euery where hauing gotten free scope and libertie And by how much the longer the Lord doth waite and tarry for our amendement so much the more strictly hee will iudge vs if vvee shall abuse and neglect his patience Why therefore doe vvee so earnestly couet this life in which the longer wee liue the more we sinne For by how much the more the dayes of our life are lengthened Nothing more mutable then humane condition by so much the more our faults and transgressions are augmented For euill things do daily increase but good things decay and are diminished Mans state doth neuer stand at a stay but is continually chaunged by prosperity and aduersitie and hee knoweth not when he shall die For as a blazing starre in the skie runneth swiftly and vanisheth away suddenly The shortnesse of mans life shadowed out by a double similitude or as a sparkle of fire is suddenly extinguished and turned into ashes so wee may see this life quickely ended and suddenly consumed For while man tarrieth willingly and liueth most pleasantly in this World and supposeth that hee shall liue long and purposeth many things to be done in long time hee is suddenly snatched away by death and the Soule is taken from the body before hee beware of it Yet the soule is separated with great feare much paine and bitter griefe from the body For the Angels come to take her that they may bring her before the Tribunall seat of a most fearefull Iudge then shee calling to minde her euill and most wicked workes which shee hath done day and night trembleth and seeketh to shunne and auoyd them and to desire a truce of them saying Graunt me the space yea but of one houre Then her workes as it vvere Our works will follow vs to iudgement speaking together shall answere and say Thou hast made vs wee are thy workes wee vvill goe forward with thee to iudgement Vices also shall accuse her with many and manifolde crimes and shall bring many false testimonies against her although one sufficeth to her damnation The Deuils also shall terrifie her vvith their gastly countenance and horrible aspect they shall persecute her and take holde of her as terribly so also horribly desirous to reteine her vnlesse there be one vvho can deliuer her from them Then the Soule finding the eyes shut the mouth and other sences of the body by which shee was wont to haue passage and to bee delighted in these outward things closed The state of a damned soule shall returne to her selfe and seeing her selfe alone and naked stricken vvith exceeding horrour shee shall faint in her selfe and fall downe vvith desperation And because for the loue of the world and pleasure of the flesh shee forsooke the loue of God shee wretched shall be quite forsaken in the houre of such great necessitie and shall be deliuered to the Deuils to be tormented in Hell So the soule of a sinner in the day wherein hee is ignorant and houre in which hee knoweth not is snatched away of death and is separated from the body and proceedeth forward full of miseries trembling and sorrowing and when shee hath no excuse which shee may alledge for her sinne shee fainteth and faileth with dreadfull feare to appeare before GOD shee is shaken and quaketh with exceeding horrour and is tossed and troubled with manifold tempests of perplexed thoughts and dispairefull cogitations the dissolution and separation of the flesh grieuing her and all being remoued out of her sight shee considereth her selfe and that time to which shee approacheth and after a little while she findeth in that that which can neuer be altered nor reuersed Shee considereth throughly how seuere the eternall Iudge commeth and what straight accounts she must make before the seueritie of such great Iustice For although shee haue escaped all the vvorkes vvhich shee could vnderstand yet for all that comming before a strict and seuere Iudge shee dreadeth those more which shee vnderstandeth not in her selfe Feare increaseth when shee thinketh she could not passe through the way of this life vvithout a fault neither that time which shee hath liued commendably is without offence if it be iudged pitty and mercy excluded For who is able to consider how many and how great euils vvee commit in moments of times Sinnes are of two sorts of commission and omission and what great good things wee neglect to doe For as the commission of an euill thing is sinne so the omission of a good thing is an offence For great is the losse and dammage when wee neither doe nor thinke good things but suffer our heart to wander stagger abroad through vaine and vnprofitable things Neuerthelesse it is a very hard and difficult thing to bridle the heart and keepe it from an vnlawfull cogitation Also it is a thing ouer-hard to execute earthly affaires without sinne Wherefore no man can perfectly comprehend and discerne himselfe But being busied toyled with many thoughts and cogitations he remayneth in some measure vnknowne vnto himselfe that hee knoweth not all those things which he tollerateth Why man is at his death fearfull Wherefore his departure out of the world being instant and pressing him hee is terrified with a more exact feare because although he remembreth that hee hath not omitted those things which he knew yet he dreadeth those things which he knoweth not Of the dignitie of the Soule MOTIVE III. OH Soule sealed with the Image of God adorned with his similitude Excellency of the Soule betrothed to him by Faith endowed with the Spirit redeemed by bloud associated with Angels capable of Beatitude heire of Goodnesse partaker of Reason what hast thou to doe with the flesh of whom thou sufferest so many euils Because of the flesh the sinnes of another are imputed to thee and thy vertues reputed as a stained and filthy clout and thou thy selfe art brought to nothing and reputed as nothing The flesh is no other thing vvith
vvhich thou hast so great societie but a fome become flesh clothed with beautie fraile and euery moment decaying But it shall be truely it shall be a miserable and rotten carkasse and meate for the vvormes For how much soeuer it be decked and adorned it is alwayes flesh If thou doest consider vvhat issueth out by the mouth nosthrils and other passages of the body thou shalt neuer see a more filthy dunghill If thou vvilt reckon vp all her miseries thou shalt finde how shee is fraughted and laden vvith sinnes prouoked with vices itching with concupiscences possessed vvith passions polluted with illusions alwayes prone vnto euill and bending towards all kinde of vices full of all confusion and ignominie By the flesh man is made like vnto vanitie because from it he hath drawne the vice of lustfull concupiscence by which hee is held captiue and abased that hee loueth vanitie and worketh iniquitie Consider oh man what thou art from the first beginning The beginning of a proud man and day of thy birth vnto thy latter end and day of thy death and what thou shalt be after this life Truely thou hast beene that which in time afore thou wert not afterwards made of base matter wrapped in a homely cloth thou wast nourished with vnclean bloud in thy mothers wombe and a thin skin was thy best Garment thou camest vnto vs being so clothed and attyred neither art thou mindfull of thy base vile and contemptible beginning beauty fauour of the people youthfull heat and riches haue stolne from thee the knowledge to know what man is Mans vilenesse For man is no other thing but corrupt seed a vessell of vncleannesse and meate for the Wormes After hee is a man hee becommeth a Worme after the worme commeth stinke and lothsomnesse So euery man is turned into no man Wherefore is man proud whose conception is sinne whose birth is punishment whose life is a turmoyling labour and death an ineuitable necessity Why therefore art thou proud oh man Consider what thou wert in thy Mothers wombe Meanes to pull down pride to humble vs. how afterwards thou wert exposed and obiected to the miseries of this life and to sin and after that to become a worm a d wormes meat in the graue Why art thou proud dust and ashes whose conception is sinnefull whose birth is misery life a punishment and death anguish and calamity Wherefore doest thou feed and pamper thy belly with delicate meate and decke thy backe with sumptuous clothes vvhich vvithin few dayes after the vvormes shall deuoure in the graue But thou dost not adorne thy soule with good workes which is to bee presented vnto God and his Angels in Heauen Why doest thou basely esteeme thy Soule and preferre the flesh before her That the Mistrisse should vvaite and play the Mayd and the Mayde beare all the sway like the Mistrisse is a great abuse The vvhole world verily cannot counteruaile the price and value of one soule Therefore the price of the Soule is farre deerer and is at an higher rate vvhich could not bee redeemed but vvith the bloud of CHRIST What wilt thou giue for exchange to redeeme thy soule which doest giue her for nothing Did not the Sonne of GOD The soule of man invaluable when hee was in the bosome of his Father descend from his royall Throne for her that hee might deliuer her from the power of the Deuill The vvhich when hee saw fettered with the ropes and chaynes of Sinnes and forthwith to bee deliuered to the Deuils that shee might bee damned to perpetuall death hee vvept ouer her vvhich knew not to vveepe for her selfe Neither did hee onely vveepe but suffered himselfe to bee slaine that hee might redeeme her vvith the precious price of his bloud Behold oh mortall man for whom such a Sacrifice is giuen Acknowledge oh man how noble thy Soule is and how grieuous her wounds were for whom there was such necessitie that the Lord Christ should be wounded If her wounds had not beene to death The haynousnesse of sinne and to euerlasting death the Son of God would neuer haue dyed to haue cured them Doe not therefore carelesly esteeme the passion of thy soule to whom thou seest such great compassion to be yeelded from such a great Maiesty He powreth forth teares for thee wash thou also euery night thy bedde with compunction of thy heart and continuall streames of thy teares Hee powred forth his bloud for thee shed thou also thine rather then for any worldly affliction to start from thy Christian profession Doe not regard what the flesh will but what the spirit may then shall the soule be glorious vvhen she shal returne to her God Yet so if she shall carry no sinne with her from the body and shall wipe away all filthinesse But if thou say this is a hard saying I cannot despise the World and hate my flesh Tell mee where are the louers of the world which were with vs a little while agoe Motions to despise the flesh Nothing remaineth of them but ashes worms marke diligently what they are and what they haue beene They haue beene men as thou art they haue eat drunke laughed and spent their dayes in prosperitie and in a moment are gone downe all to the Graue many to Hell Heere their flesh is bequeathed to the wormes and there their Soule to the fire vntill they two being bound againe with an vnhappy coniunction be ouerwhelmed in euerlasting flames which were before companions together in vices For one punishment doth entangle them in the end whom before one loue had bound together in a wicked deed What hath vaine-glory auailed them their short ioy worldly power and authoritie the pleasure of the flesh deceitfull riches their great householde and euill concupiscence Where is their laughter Where is their boasting Where is their pride and arrogancie Of such great mirth what great mourning After so little pleasure how grieuous miserie They are fallen from that exceeding reioycing into great miserie into great ruine and grieuous torments VVhatsoeuer is happened to them A good catuion may happen to thee because thou art a man of the same earth slime of the same slime Thou art from the earth thou liuest of the earth and thou shalt returne into the earth When that last day shall come vvhich will come suddenly peraduenture it shall be to day The certaintie and vncertaintie of death It is certaine that thou shalt die but it is vncertaine when or how or where because death doth alwayes attend and waite vpon thee euery vvhere Thou also if thou wilt bee vvise Those which fulfill the lusts of the flesh must bee punished with the flesh shalt looke for death euery where If thou wilt follow the flesh thou shalt bee punished in the flesh if thou art delighted vvith the flesh thou shalt bee tormented in the flesh If thou shalt require fine and costly apparell in stead of thy
promiseth saying Verely I say vnto you that whatsoeuer yee aske praying beleeue that you shall receiue it and it shall be performed to you Doe not therefore make slight account of thy prayer because he to whom thou prayest doth not make slight account of it but before it passeth out of thy mouth God giueth that he knoweth to be best for vs. he willeth that it should be written downe in his Booke And we must vndoubtedly hope for one thing of two that eyther he will giue vs that vvhich we aske or that which he knoweth to be more profitable for vs. Thinke therefore the best whatsoeuer thou canst of God and the worst of thy selfe that thou maist thou oughtest to beleeue of him more copiously and amply then thou canst thinke Make account that thou hast lost all that time in which thou dost not thinke of God For all other things are none of our owne but the time onely is our owne Therefore finde leisure to serue GOD and wheresoeuer thou shalt be there be thou safe without danger Doe not wholy deliuer vp thy selfe to worldly affayres but vse the world as if thou vsedst it not In what place or state soeuer thou dost consist cast thy thoughts vpon God and ponder something belonging to thy Saluation in thy minde We must relie onely vpon God Therefore with all facilitie gathering thy minde together dwell freely with thy selfe and walke in the latitude and bredth of thy heart there prepare and make ready a large supping parlor for CHRIST for the minde of a wise man is alwaies with God We ought to haue him alwayes before our eyes by whom wee are liue and vnderstand For we haue him our Creator that we should be wee also ought to haue him our Teacher that we should be wise and the giuer of inward sweetnesse that wee may be blessed and in this wee know his Image in vs that is the Image of the most high Trinitie For as he is he is both wise and also good so also we according to our small measure both are and know that wee are and both loue to be and to know the same Therefore vse thy selfe as the Temple of GOD because of that vvhich is in thee like to God For it is the greatest Honour which can be performed to GOD to vvorship and to imitate him Thou doest imitate him if thou art godly for a godly minde is a holy Temple to God and the hart of a godly man the best Altar Thou doest worship him if thou art merciful He worshippeth God truly that doth the deeds of charitie as he is merciful vnto all For it is an acceptable sacrifice to God to doe good to all in regard of God Doe all things as the childe of God that thou maist be worthy of him who hath vouchsafed to call thee childe But in all things which thou dost God is present euery where know that God is present Beware therefore that neither thy eyes nor thy thoughts be fixed on that which breedeth a sinfull delight neither say nor doe that which is vnlawfull although it like thee neither offend God by any deed or gesture which being present euery where beholdeth whatsoeuer thou doest any where Thou hadst need to watch and looke to thy selfe narrowly because thou doest all things before the eyes of a Iudge which seeth all things cleerely Neuerthelesse thou needest not to stand in dread of him but art secure with him if thou prepare thy selfe to be such a one as he may vouchsafe in fauour to be present with thee but if hee be absent by grace yet is he present with thee by reuengement God correcteth them whom he loueth But woe be to thee if it be so with thee yea rather woe be vnto thee if he be not so vvith thee For God is angry vvith him whom he scourgeth not when he sinneth for he condemneth him in time to come perpetually whom hee doth not amend by scourging vvhen he liueth vvickedly A Consideration of Death MOTIVE VII IT is certaine that Death threatneth thee euery where the Deuill lieth in waite that hee may snatch away thy soule when it departeth out of thy body but feare thou not for GOD which dwelleth in thee if hee yet dwell in thee will deliuer thee from death God forsaketh none but such as willingly forsake him first and from the Deuill For hee is a faithfull friend neither doth hee forsake them which trust in him vnlesse he be first forsaken of them But hee is forsaken when the heart through wicked vile and vnprofitable cogitations roaueth hither and thither with a wandering vnderstanding Therefore thou must with all carefulnesse and vigilancy watch and keepe it that God may rest and remaine in it For in euery Creature which is busied and toiled in the vanities of the world vnder the Sunne Nothing in the world more noble then the heart of man nothing is more excellent then mans heart nothing more Noble nothing is found more like vnto God wherefore hee requireth no other thing of thee but thy heart How to purifie the heart Therefore cleanse the same by pure and sincere confession vnto God and continuall Prayer that thou maist see God with a pure and cleane heart by a continuall looking vpon God In euery place be thou subiect and intentiue to him and frame thy manners that he may be pleased in thee Loue all men inwardly and shew thy selfe louing to all that thou mayst be a peace-maker and the childe of God So thou shalt be a good childe like vnto thy heauenly Father also holy humble and righteous And when thou shalt be such a one be mindfull of mee to commend mee to GOD in thy prayers Woe bee to mee which say those things and doe them not Good words must be seconded with good deeds and if I doe them sometime I continue not long in them I haue those things in my memory and doe not obserue them in my life I haue them in my words and not in my conditions I ruminate and ponder the Law in my heart and my mouth all the day and doe things contrarie to the law I read of Religion in it and I loue Reading more then prayer Notwithstanding the holy Scripture doth teach me no other thing but to loue Religion to preserue Vnitie and to haue Charitie Some body waiteth and attendeth for mee desirous to speak to mee concerning his want and necessitie but I take some idle booke or other Immoderate reading must not let the practise of Charitie nor the exercise of Meditation which this man or that man commends vnto me I read in it and by immoderate reading I loose the practise of the fruits of Charitie the affections of piety the lamentation of compunction and heartie sorrow the profit of the holy Sacraments and contemplation of heauenly things Neuerthelesse nothing is found more sweet in this life nothing is receiued more delicious nothing doth
thy daily consuming life thou mayest see the bright and glorious appearing of that euer-shining Morning whose euer-glistering Sunne shall neuer set nor his golden beames be euer obscured with any cloudy Euening And that thou mayest also see with thy cleere-sighted eyes neuer wearyed in beholding to thy Soules eternall solace to the infinite ioy of thy triumphing minde and constant delight of all thy purified sences the resplendant and radiant beames of the gliftering Sunne of conspicuous righteousnesse in vvhich thou mayest behold the bountifull the beautifull the glorious Bridegroome the Lord Iesus Christ vnited vvith his euerlasting most deere best and onely beloued Spouse whom hee hath decked with his rich and royall Robes adorned with super-excellent and admirable beauty hauing with his owne pretious Bloud yea Wee are clensed by Christs bloud his Heart-bloud vvashed cleansed and rinced her from all the foule staines spottes and blemishes of her former sinnefull deformitie Hee that is one and the same Lord of Eternall glory vvho liueth and raigneth by Times which are vvithout any bounds of measure and whose euer-durable continuance shall neuer haue any ending FINIS A most zealous and deuout Lamentation of blessed Anselmus sometime Arch-bishop of Canterbury for the losse of his Soules virginitie appliable vnto the soule of euery mortified Christian OH my soule sorrowfull soule Iob 14.1.5.7 Eccles 1.13 3.10 Oh miserable soule of a miserable wretched and contemptible Creature Arise out of the bedde of senselesse security and narrowly examine the particulars of thy great and grieuous transgressions Great sins desire and deserue great sorrowes rouze vp thy drouzie vnderstanding let the sence of thy haynous sinnes wound thy heart with such a dolefull compunction that thy deepe fetcht sighes may pierce the skies with the sharpe accent of thy sorrowes Let the greatnesse of thy b Ezech. 18.4.5 wickednesse affright thee with dismaying horrour and deepely wound thee with intollerable dolour The terror of a wicked conscience Thou I say which some-time being made as white as Snow with the c Eph. 2.22 Rom 3.25 and 5.10 celestiall Fountaine and Lauor endowed with the holy Spirit bound by a sacred oath to maintaine thy Christian profession being a Virgin hast beene obedient espoused to Christ thy glorious d Mat. 19.15 25.1.5.6 Bride-groome Alas too well I remember it Oh whom haue I named verily not so kinde a Spouse of my chast Virginitie as a terrible e Wis 17.1 Mat. 16.27 Rom. 2.1 Iudge of my odious impuritie Alas wofull is the remembrance of my decayed pleasure Why doest thou more and more increase the sorrow of the possessor How miserable is the lot of vvicked and hainous offences to whom both good and euill doe breed nothing else but torment and torture For an euill f Wis 17.10 Conscience doth trouble and vexe mee and horrour of that vnquenchable fire doth terrifie me in which I feare I shall burne continually and neuer be consumed The remembrance of a good Conscience and of the rewards of it doth afflict and affright mee vvhich I know I haue lost and shall neuer repossesse or recouer Woe is me to lose to lose that without hope of recouery which should haue beene carefully g Acts 23.16 preserued for euer Oh comfortlesse sorrow to lose that which doth not onely depriue mee of good things but doth also multiply my torments Oh Virginitie now not beloued of mee but lost departed from me thou art now not my onely solace and felicitie but alone my onely sorrow and incurable misery how is thy former beauty changed into disdainefull deformitie Into what deepe pit of calamitie hast thou deiected me Oh thou hatefull Fornication which hast defiled my minde with thy contagious vncleannesse and infected my soule with deadly diseases how and from whence didst thou creepe into my wretched bosome to vexe and molest mee From what glorious and delightfull state of Felicitie hast thou tumbled me headlong to languish in continuall miserie On this side bitter sorrow doth sting mee on the other side extreame pangs and terrible feare doth torment mee while my minde is distracted with heauy meditations vpon my vnrecouerable losses And as my losses are voyd of hope and consolation so my torment will admit no moderation and a Sea of woes doth ouerflow mee But if that which is good and that which is euill doe both alike punish and iustly afflict me so that I often feele the horror of death while I liue in this wretched life my guilty conscience doth tell mee and my perplexed thoughts teach mee that I haue worthily deserued it For thou my Soule disloyall periured against God thy Creator and become a filthy strumpet to the dishonour of Christ thy louing Lord and Redeemer art wofully throwne downe from thy glorious high estate of vnspotted Virginitie into the bottomles lake of loathsom Adultery Thou sometime espoused to the King of Heauen art now become an Harlot to the tormentor of Hell Alas for thee that art cast out of the fauour of God who did so kindely regard thee and art exposed to the malice of the diuell vvho will most cruelly torment thee Nay rather thou vvhich hast cast away God and embraced the diuell For thou being changed most miserably from a vertuous Virgin to a vitious strumpet and an impudent Harlot thou first hast offered an vnkinde refusall of thy first loue to God thy gratious Creator and wilfully and willingly hast prostituted thy selfe to the lust of the deuill a cunning deceiuer and thy cruell murtherer Oh damnable exchange most miserable and more then most miserable alteration Alas from what high seat of blessednesse art thou throwne downe into vvhat deepe dungeon of cursednesse art thou ouerwhelmed Alas how kinde and louing a Husband hast thou treacherously reiected how malicious mercilesse and dreadfull a Tyrant hast thou accepted Ah vvhat hast thou done thou furious madnesse of my doting vnderstanding thou doting vncleannesse and vncleane impiety what hast thou done Thou hast vtterly forsaken thy chaste and faithfull Spouse vvho gloriously raineth in Heauen and hast eagerly followed the Authour of thy odious vncleannesse into hell and in that deepe gulfe of euerlasting darkenesse hast not prepared for thy selfe a Bride-chamber to solace thy selfe vvith thy true and chaste beloued but a filthy Brothel-house where thou mayest bee defiled and polluted vvith incurable vncleannesse What wonderfull horror doth attend vpon thee vvhat peruerse will and lustfull desires hath bewitched thee Oh horrible wonder oh voluntary madnesse How oh God am I fallen into the corruption of such great impietie How oh Lord God shall I make satisfaction vnto thee for my grieuous iniquitie Throw thy selfe downe thou miserable and cursed Creature into the depth of immoderate mourning and misery who hast willingly cast thy selfe downe into the Gulfe of immeasurable and horrible iniquity Let the waight of thy wickednesse ouerwhelme thee let the heauy burthen of thy vnsupportable sorrow
It is true that my conscience doth merit damnation and that my repentance doth not suffice for satisfaction But it is certaine that thy exceeding mercie doth surpasse all my vile iniquitie Therefore good Sauiour spare that of which thou art the Saluation yea thou that desirest not the death of a sinner Spare oh spare my sinfull soule for it being vtterly dismayed flieth from thy terrifying Iustice to thy comforting mercie that because the reward of her virginitie being corrupted oh heart-wounding sorrow is vnrecouerable the punishment of hatefull Fornication to her repenting at least may not be vneuitable because it is not a thing impossible to thy omnipotencie neither vnseemely to thy Iustice nor vnaccustomable to thy mercie Both because thou art good and because thy infinite mercie endureth for euer Which art blessed vvorld without end Amen A Meditation of S. Bernard concerning the Passion of Iesus Christ Diuided into twentie and one Sections SECTION I. LEt vs vvho are true Christians graced with so noble a name so high a stile and so glorious a title honour and celebrate with true sorrowfull relenting repenting harts the Funerall Obsequies of our noble Lord Iesus of Nazareth that meeke spotlesse innocent and harmelesse Lambe who did not so much as open his mouth being vnder the hand of the Shearer malitiously accused odiously reuiled innocently and wrongfully condemned of the furious and bloody Iewes extreamely tortured spitefully disdained shamefully spetted vpon and lastly cruelly crucified by the barbarous and brutish Gentiles It is an exployt full of honour full of renowne it is most healthfull and wholsome for our sickly soules that we Christians dayned worthie of such a gracious and honourable Name should reuerently adore louingly embrace valiantly imitate the weake infirmities scornefull disgraces base pouerty painefull labours sore and sorrowfull agonies the deadly pangs of the bitter Passion of our louing Redeemer and sweet Sauiour Christ Iesus the righteous For these are the powerfull instruments and most strong weapons by which the omnipotent vertue and the infinite inuestigable and vnsearchable wisedome of God hath mightily and wonderfully effected and wrought the restauration and renouation of the decayed World the eternall Saluation of vs men yea of vs most miserable and wretched men and the endlesse and vtter destruction of Hell Death and the Diuell Heb. 2.14 Luke 1.71 And in the working of this great worke and admirable misterie of our Saluation the Lord Christ was made lesser then the Angels that he might make vs equall with the Angels hee descended from his Throne of glory that hee might deliuer vs from ignominie Heb. 2 9. Hee being Lord of Lords tooke vpon him the shape of a seruant that he might make vs honourable hee willingly dispossessed himselfe of all his Royalties that he might eternally possesse vs with the euerlasting treasure and full inheritance of his heauenly Kingdome 2 Cor. 8.9 And who is hee if hee could tast his infinite kindnesse but alas who is able to sound the bottomlesse depth of this more then meruailous yea miraculous loue but vvould willingly forsake his goodly earthly possessions leaue all his worldly honours and dignities subiect euery moment to decay and vanity as soone gone as they are gotten disroabe the stout Bride of her gay and gorgious apparell and strip her naked from all her borrowed feathers cloath himselfe vvith the sackcloath of lowly humility cut off his curled lockes and sprinkle his head with ashes that he might truly humble prostrate and debase himselfe cast downe his high lookes curbe his proud aspiring and vntamed thoughts for Christ Iesus his meeke and mercifull Sauiour vvho came downe from Heauen out of the bosome of his Father being coeternall and coequall with him in euerlasting glorie leauing the ioyfull societie of blessed Angels aboue to conuerse here below amongst cursed men nay to abide and patiently to beare the curses and bitter taunts of blasphemous and fiery-minded men SECTION II. THis Lord Christ was tyrannically tortured cruelly crucified for our yea rather for my sins and hath sweetned his bitter crosse to all that zealously loue him faithfully beleeue in him Hee died a most shamefull cruell cursed death on the Crosse that he might deliuer vs from the curse of the condemning and killing Law and taken vs out of the iawes of the deuouring Lyon redeemed vs from Hell from infernall fire and euerlasting perdition Hee shed yea powred out his most precious blood spouting out the same from all the vaines of his pierced and martyred body that with his precious and soueraigne Balme he might salue all our deadly wounds and saue our dying soules He died and by his death killed death that we might liue eternally in him and by him And who may not amazedly admire the incomparable loue of so milde so mercifull and so potent a Sauiour Who cannot at least who ought not with rauished affections to loue and like ioyfull Simeon with both armes to imbrace so magnificent but for vs sinfull men and for our sakes made so humble and lowly and yet a most powerfull Redeemer The dulcet taste of vvhose loue doth farre exceede the Hony and the Hony-combe in sweetnesse And although the least drop of it be sufficient to fill all and euery part of an hungry soule yet it hath in it such a sauourie relish and an appetite procuring quality that the more the desirous soule eateth the more it coueteth the more it feedeth the more eagerly it longeth and thirsteth after it Why should we not patiently suffer and constantly endure whatsoeuer the inueterate malice of the Diuell can imagine against vs or the furious madnesse of vvicked men his wilfull Ministers can lay or impose vpon vs for Christ Iesus his cause for the honouring of his truly and honourable name and for our constant profession of a true Christian Faith Christ passed through the ignominie shame contempt of the Crosse to supernall dignity infinite Maiestie and endlesse glory all power authority was giuen vnto him for the aduancement of his euerlasting dominion both in heauen aboue and in earth beneath by God his heauenly Father all the Angels Gods heauenly Heraulds with ioyfull humility melodious Harmony and with continuall laud and thankes-giuing doe worship and adore his incomprehensible exceeding-glorious and eternall Maiestie and at the honourable name of Iesus let euerie knee be bowed of things in Heauen aboue and things in the darkest Caues of Hell belowe Where is thy glory oh Christian Where is thy reioycing Where is thy boasting not in Nobilitie honour and riches but in the glorious name of thy crucified Lord thy eternall God and euerlasting Sauiour and in the gratious gracefull and sweet name of Christ which is a name aboue all names farre surpassing all Noble honourable and glorious earthly titles and the highest stile of vvorldly Maiestie And whosoeuer is blessed in this name shall be truly blessed here vpon earth and afterward shall be eternally happy in Heauen
Thou didst mildely suffer the temptations and illusions of the Deuill and at last with thy holy word didst put him to a shamefull foyle and forced him like a coward to flie the field Matth. 4.10.11 to make such bickerments more tollerable and easie vnto vs and to instruct vs that whensoeuer Christian warriours shall manage this double-edged sword aright that their common enemie will soone be danted take himselfe to flight and they alwayes obtain a glorious conquest SECTION VII AT length thou camest to the lost sheepe of the house of Israell lifting vp the bright lampe of thy diuine word openly to giue light to the world which was obscured with thicke clouds of sinfull darkenesse that men seeing their sinnes might then sigh for their forepassed iniquities seeke by speedy and true repentance to saue their soules Matth. 5.1.2.3.4.5.6.7 c. And thou also proclaiming the Kingdome of God to all obeying the word didst confirme the verity of thy infallible words with many wonderous and miraculous deeds thou diddest plainely declare the vertue of thy diuinitie and manifest the incomprehensible essence of thy God-head in all things to those which vvere diseased and were affected and grieuously afflicted with many infirmities Luke 5.12.18 Performing all things of thy free mercy without any merits to all nations that by thy gratious words and mercifull workes thou mightest gaine the Saluation of all truly repenting for their sins seeking by thy only mercy to saue their soules But their foolish heart oh Lord was darkened their reason infatuated their vnderstanding blinded they maliciously despised proudly contemned and carelesly reiected thy blessed words behind them neither did they Oh Lord admire no not so much as regard thy wondrous workes which by the Finger of thine owne hand thou hadst powerfully wrought among them except a few Noble Champions which thou diddest chuse among the weake and abiect things of the World that by them thou mightst batter downe strong holds throw downe high Towers that thy inuincible power might appeare in their weaknes so the glory of thy Maiestie might shine the brighter Neither vvere they onely vnthankefull to thee for thy gracious benefits and great kindnesse but they did very spightfully reproach thee oh Lord of Lords and spit out the Gall of their malice against thee plotting in their Diuellish mindes and performing with their desperate hands whatsoeuer their vnbridled lust did command them For thou doing the workes of God which no other hath done how malignant were their words How malicious were their speeches For they sayd in their mad mood and furious folly This man is not of God he casteth out Deuils by the Prince of Deuils he hath the Deuill hee seduceth the people hee is a Glutton and a Drinker of Wine a Friend of Publicanes and sinners Matth. 11.9 Why dost thou weepe oh man why are thy thoughts perplexed and the peace of thy minde disturbed when thou doest feele the sting of venemous tongues or endure the stormy tempest of iniurious words Doest thou not heare what monstrous slanders bitter taunts and opprobrious speeches vvere belched out against the Lord thy God onely for thy cause and thy sinnes yet he did patiently disgest the extreame bitternesse of their cruell malice and did alwayes seeke by gentle mildenesse and workes of mercy to mollifie their hard hearts and to induce them to true repentance If they haue called the Master of the house Belzebub how much more will they call them of his household Mat. 10.25 Luke 11.15 But thou oh righteous and innocent Iesus diddest patiently heare and constantly sustaine their blasphemous words spightfull derisions and taunting speeches although oftentimes they were carried with such a violent streame of raging fury against thee that they assailed thee vvith stones hating nothing so much as thy blessed life and hastning nothing so much as thy cursed death And thou becamest before them as a man vvhich heareth not all and as one that is dumbe hauing no word of reproofe in thy mouth SECTION VIII LAstly they valued thy righteous and precious bloud but at thirtie peeces of siluer betrayed vnto them by thy vnkinde Disciple the sonne of Perdition greedily desiring with extreame hate vvithout any shadow of iust cause to hasten thy cruell death It was not a strange thing or a concealed secret excluded from the search of thy knowledge because the most couert cogitations of euery heart are open vnto thee that one of thine owne Disciples should proue disloyall treacherously conspire against thee and like a Traytour sell thee his gratious Lord kind Master for a small piece of money When as at the Supper where thou didst wash thy Disciples feet thou didst not disdaine to handle wash and wipe with thy most holy hands the cursed feet of that damned Traytor swift to shedde bloud kneeling downe before him Iohn 13.4.5 Oh wonderfull example of humilitie oh patience most worthy of continuall admiration But why dost thou walke with thy out-stretched necke oh earth and ashes Doth Pride still lift thee vp Doth fretting anger euermore molest thee Behold and looke vpon the Lord Iesus the mirror of Humilitie and Meekenesse the Creator of euery Creature the fearefull Iudge of the quicke and the dead bowing his knees before the feet of a man that should traiterously betray him into the hands of his deadly Foes who long thirsted for his innocent bloud loathed his godly life and could neuer quench the raging flame of their furie vntill they had acted the lamentable Tragedy of his most cruell death Learne therefore of him because he is meeke in minde and lowly in heart debase thy high and loftie lookes and let the feeling sence of thy scornfull Pride confound and cast downe thy haughty thoughts and blush at thy furious madnesse and sigh at the inward sight of thy impatient folly This also oh louing Lord was a plaine argument of thy meruailous kindnesse and extraordinary fauour that thou wouldest not publikely detect the mischieuous malice and openly disclose the horrible Treason of thy gracelesse Disciple and odious Traitor but diddest onely in the assembly of his brethren very slightly admonish him to hasten his intented purpose Iohn 13.27 Neuerthelesse neither the sweet streames of thy mercy could quench the burning fire of his fury nor the graces of thy Humility stay the rage of his madnesse but he departing out of the house laboured diligently to bring his wicked designement into act which as yet lay couered in his treacherous heart Iohn 13.30 SECTION IX HOW didst thou fall from Heauen oh cleere-shining Lucifer which didst appeare so bright at thy rising in the morning Thou once wert beautifull with exceeding glory placed in pleasant Paradise where all things were abounding which might breed delight whose happy state did stand still at a stay subiect to no contrary change hauing the Citizens of Heauen for thy louing companions pure Manna of the Diuine Word for thy daily food How art thou now tumbled
downe and consorted vvith the sonnes of darkenesse Why hast thou refused sweet Hony to feed on Gall and wholesome food to cloy thy stomacke with stincking dung At that time oh sweet Christ thy Family was cleared thy Houshold purged when such a leaprous person and deadly diseased creature went out into the world from the company of the Angels societie For then at last were the thirsty soules of that blessed company plentifully filled with sweet flowing streames of thy Diuine Word and vvith the most pleasant liquor of thy true celestiall Nectar which thou art alwayes able and euermore willing to giue vnto thy faithfull Seruants when hee was worthily cast out from thy most holy and blessed Family whom thou didst know to be vnworthy to taste one drop of that liuing water which quencheth the thirst of all sinfull soules for euer when thou of thy free loue dost afford them to drinke of that blessed Fountaine be their thirst neuer so great or the people neuer so many which resort to receiue refreshing by it SECTION X. NOW when thou hadst giuen a new Commaundement to thy louing Disciples that they should knit their hearts together with the true vnion of perfect loue Iohn 13.34 and arme themselues with patience against the approaching day of their fiery triall and also hadst disposed the kingdome of thy heauenly Father to thy faithfull Brethren thou cammest to the place with them well knowne vnto couetous Iudas that Traitour which did betray thee into the hands of the cruell Iewes who were as greedy to buy as he was couetous to sell thy innocent and precious bloud Yet thou diddest not audaciously obiect thy selfe vnto suddaine danger or desperately throw thy selfe into perill but thou wert willing to offer and lay downe thy owne life to deliuer vs poore condemned vassals from the heauy doome of eternall death knowing all things which should come vpon thee Iohn 18.4 Oh vnsearchable profundity of thy infinite loue Oh glorious beames of thy gracious mercy For like a tender-hearted Father thou haddest willingly cast thy selfe into suddaine danger to haue deliuered thy Children from some imminent perill or if thou haddest aduentured thy life to haue rescued thy friends from threatned death this without doubt had beene a deed of true naturall affection and excellent loue But that thou shouldest of thine owne accord offer thy selfe to death to saue thy deadly enemies and willingly shed thy bloud to ransome thy mortall foes This oh sweet Sauiour is a miracle of superadmirable kindenesse beyond the compasse of all vnderstanding SECTION XI VVHen thou wert come to the place where wretched Iudas had bargained to betray thee into the hands of the wicked Iewes thou wert not ashamed to confesse the heauy pangs which thou didst sustaine by thy approaching Passion in the audience of thy Brethren which thou wert willing to endure not for thy owne desert but by thy owne desire for our sakes and our sins saying My Soule is heauy euen vnto death Mat. 26.38 So ponderous was the burden of our iniquities so heauy was the weight of mine yea of all our sins layd vpon thy shoulders And there bowing thy knees on the ground and falling downe with thy face on the earth thou diddest in thy bitter agonie offer vp thy humble petition to God thy Father saying My Father if it be possible let this Cup passe from me Matth. 26.39 Indeed that Cup contained a deepe draught to be taken of thee for the health of our languishing soules more bitter then Colloquintida to the mouth or Gall in the maw And no doubt but the bloody sweat which trickled downe on the earth by drops from thy most holy flesh did plainely declare the sorrowes of thy perplexed minde and the anguish of thy sorrowfull Soule Luke 22.44 Oh powerfull Lord Iesus what meaneth or what is the cause of thy lamentable supplication Didst thou not wholly of thine owne accord offer vp thy selfe for a Sacrifice to thy Father and willingly shed thy bloud to pay the price of our ransome Yes verely oh gracious Lord it was thy exceeding great loue and onely mercy that did moue thee so patiently to vnder-goe the wrath of thy Father that thou mightest deliuer vs condemned sinners from his iust and heauy displeasure that by thy stripes wee might be healed and that by thy free and voluntary death wee might be restored to a second and euerlasting life But we thinke that thou didst willingly taste the bitternesse of our miseries and in thy selfe expresse vnto vs a true passion of our weakenesse for the comfort and consolation of all thy feeling members that no man might dispaire or let goe the Anchor of stedfast Hope when our weake flesh fainteth and our naturall faculties faileth but yet the spirit is ready to abide the painefull pangs of any passion and to suffer the conflicts of any affliction whatsoeuer Truly thou didst expresse the naturall weakenesse of the flesh in thy selfe by those tokens vnto vs that wee might the sooner be prouoked to embrace thee with more loue and gratefully to yeeld thee greater thanks Whereby also we are taught that thou didst truly beare our diseases and infirmities and that thou hast not runne through the thornes of grieuous passions vvithout the sense of painefull afflictions For that voyce seemeth to be the voice of the flesh not of the Spirit by that which thou hast added The Spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weake Marke 14.38 And thou diddest openly declare that the Spirit was willing to suffer the deadly pangs of thy grieuous passion when thou diddest goe forth of thine owne accord to meete those bloudy minded persons conducted by their damnable General trayterous Iudas in the night time furnished with lanternes torches and weapons seeking without any cause raging vvith malice to destroy thy harmelesse life and cruelly to shed thy innocent blood and there didst openly discouer thy selfe to their eyes and offer vp thy selfe to their bloudy hands least they might thinke themselues beholding to their bloudy guide and that by his craftie pollicie thou hadst beene suddainely and vnwillingly apprehended For thou diddest not repell or put backe that cruell monster comming to kisse thy most holy mouth but diddest gently put thy mouth in which there was found no guile to his mouth abounding with venome and filled with malice who vnder token of loue pretended nothing but deadly hate and with a dissembling kisse to betray thee into the hands of those who were ready armed to kill thee And although desperate Iudas became his owne hangman Mat. 27.5 yet many doe follow his steps and desperately runne to their wilfull wofull destruction Oh innocent Lambe of GOD how couldest thou endure that such a rauenous Wolfe should come neere vnto thee that came so greedily to deuoure thee What fellowship hath light with darkenesse What agreement hast thou with Beliall But this oh Lord was a deed of thy gracious benignitie and an act of thy exceeding
bounty that thou mightest shew vnto him all tokens of thine accustomed fauour which might mollifie the hardnesse of his wicked heart and quaile the malice of his couetous minde For thou not forgetfull that once hee was sorted among thy Friends had tasted of the sweet fruit of thy former loue admitted into the holy societie of thy faithfull Disciples didst kindly admonish him saying Friend wherefore comest thou Mat. 26.50 And thou wouldest haue smitten the guilty conscience and wounded the hardened heart of that odious dissembler and damnable Traytor with the horrour of his hellish deede and detestation of his execrable fact when thou spakest to him saying Iudas doest thou betray the Sonne of man with a kisse Luk. 22.48 And behold the Philistines are vpon thee Sampson SECTION XII IT did nothing mittigate the rage of their furious mindes nor stay the audacious attempts of their bloodie hands when in the houre of thine apprehension thou diddest throw them flatte on the ground vvith thy omnipotent arme and make them to fall backward vvith the breath of thy mouth yet it was not done to defend thy selfe from the edge of their malice or to make an escape out of their cruell hands but that humane presumption might know that it could deuise nothing nor act any thing against thee but whatsoeuer was permitted by thee And vvho can restraine his eyes from showers of teares and his heart from the ouer-flowing waues of sorrow when he heareth how violently they were carried against thee and how furiously they laid their murdering hands vpon thee and how quickly binding thy tender and innocent hands they currishly haled thee a most meeke Lambe not once opening thy mouth against them to bring thee vvho neuer had offended to a most bloodie slaughter As if thou haddest beene most innocent and louing Iesus a cruell Theefe a cursed Traytor or a bloodie murtherer Their outragious vsage towards thee vvas so farre out of measure and their mischieuous deedes so farre voyde of reason And then oh Christ thou didst not cease to powre downe showers of mercy and to let the honey-deaw of thy aboundant sweetnesse to distill vpon the head of thy cruell enemies vvhen thou diddest vvith milde vvords and gentle speeches calme the burning zeale of thy forward Disciple vvho drew forth his sword and beganne to lay about him in the defence of his louing Master Luke 22. verse 49.50 For hee had no sooner giuen a vvound but thou diddest miraculously heale the hurt Luke 22. verse 51. vvilling him to put vp his sword keepe the peace and make no resistance But such cursed fury had blinded their eyes such stubborne grosnesse ouer-clowded their vnderstanding and such stonie hardnesse had ouer-growne their hearts that neither the Maiestie of the miracle nor mercy of the benefit could chase away the hellish vapours of their franticke furie or soften the extreame hardnesse of their hearts that seeing their Bedlam folly they might haue relented with pittie SECTION XIII THou wert brought before the High-Priests Iohn 18.24 who maliced and hated thy vnblameable life wickedly imagined and cruelly sought thy bloody death When thou wert churlishly examined and falsly accused thy modest reply was voyd of bitternesse and thou didst confesse the truth vvith much humilitie and mildnesse yet they cried out in their raging madnesse He speaketh blasphemous words What neede we stand vpon further triall He is worthie of a shamefull death Oh most louing Lord how shamefully wert thou handled how despightfully wert thou scorned how cruelly wert thou abused of thine owne people They polluted thy amiable face vvith their noysome spettle Mat. 26.67 which the Angels doe alwaies desire to behold and which hath filled the heauens with ioy and shall be desired of the most rich Noble of the people And which not long before shined more bright then the Sunne appeared most beautifull in glory they did beat and strike it with their sacriligious hands They couered it vvith a vaile to floute and deride thee and did cruelly buffet thee with their fists being Lord of euerie creature like a base and contemptible seruant Yea they deliuered thee to bee swallowed vp and deuoured of the vncircumcised SECTION XIIII FOr after they had railed vpon thee with reuiling words and buffeted thee with store of blowes they brought thee bound like a Theefe before the face of Pilate Mark 15.1 requiring in their franticke fit and heate of their furie that hee vvould pronounce sentence of death against thee And they would neuer cease their clamorous voyces neither were their outragious out-cries appeased before thou wert condemned to suffer a most cruell and cursed death of the Crosse vvhich neuer knew sinne or thought any euill And although that vvicked Iudge had certaine knowledge and his owne conscience did testifie vnto him that thou vvere falsly accused brought like an innocent Lambe to the slaughter and that all these things were forged of enuie against thee vvhen those hard-hearted Iewes earnestly desired that a Murderer might be giuen them and haue pardon for his bloody offence and that thou mightest vniustly bee condemned to suffer a most cruell death preferring a deuouring Wolfe before an innocent Lamb and dirty drosse before pure gold yet his words towards thee were without any mildnesse and his deeds quite without mercy filling thy soule with gall and bitternesse when as hee could finde no cause or ferrit out any occasion whereby hee might iustly reproue thee Luk. 23.14 He receiued thee at their hands after they had tauntingly flouted bitterly derided and scornefully disgraced thee and commanded thee to stand in the middest of those malitious scoffers who had vsed thee for a foole to cause their mirth and to encrease thy sorrow Neither did he spare to teare thy vndefiled flesh vvith most bitter blowes multiplying stripes vpon stripes with excessiue crueltie and bleeding wounds vpon wounds without any humane pittie Matth. 26.67 Oh thou beloued Sonne of my God! vvhat haddest thou committed worthie of such barbarous immanitie What haddest thou done worthie of such wofull and bitter confusion In very deede nothing at all I wretched man I alone a most horrible sinner haue beene the sole cause of all thy painefull sufferings my grieuous sinnes haue hardened their hearts and armed their bloody hands against thee I oh Lord haue eaten a sower Grape and thy teeth are set on edge because then thou didst make satisfaction vvhen thou hadst done no iniurie and payd my infinite debt with thy most innocent death But all these iniurious deeds proceeding from malitious hate and acted with cruell hands could not satisfie the vnsatiable impietie of the perfidious vnfaithfull Iewes against thee most righteous and innocent Iesus who diddest neuer cease to doe them good but euermore healed their incurable diseases making the lame to walke the blinde to see the dumbe to speake and the deafe to heare Thou didst cleanse loathsome Leapers cure dead Palsies and raise from death to life Mat. 4.24 Iohn 7.23
to the quicke with a patheticall compunction and bathe his bleeding wounds with the streaming teares of thy true and zealous repentance Weepe forth showers of teares and melt thou also my soule with the fire of compassion and sigh with hartie contrition and make deepe wounds in thy selfe with a sharpe point of sorrowfull compunction when thou dost meditate of the bitter Passion of this louely and vvorthy person whom thou seest afflicted vvith such terrible torments and vvounded from the crowne of the head to the sole of his feete that with the plentifull streames of his most precious blood he might wash away the multitude of thy sinnes And now my perplexed soule thou hast seene the sorrowes distresses weakenesse and miserie of thy louing Sauiour as hee was the seede of the Woman ordained to breake the head of the Serpent who cloathed with the base garments of our fraile humanity was subiect to all our infirmities the infection of our sinnes onely excepted and seeing him languishing on the Crosse tormented flouted scorned and villainously handled by the barbarous multitude thou hast had cause to groane sigh and sob moued with a sensible pittie and touched with a feeling and vvofull compassion SECTION XVIII BVt now direct thine eyes from his lamentable miserie and seriously contemplate the mighty power of his magnificent Maiestie and then all thy senses vvill be amazed with sodaine feare and thy selfe astonished with wonderfull admiration For what saith the Scripture Now from the sixt houre was there darknesse ouer all the land vntill the ninth And the Sunne was darkened And the vaile of the Temple was rent in twaine from the top to the bottome and the earth did quake and the stones were clouen And the graues did open themselues and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose Matth. 27. What manner of man is hee what kinde of Person Because Heauen and Earth hath such a Sympathie of his Passion The Sunne mourning vvith his darkenesse for his wofull miserie and denying the light of his beames to the cruell tormentors at the execution of their bloodie Tyrannie How powerfull how potent how auaileable vvas his death which opened the Graues raised and reuiued the dead conquering Sunne death hell and the diuell Oh worke of more then admirable wonder Oh honourable conquest and glorious victorie For in the thickest clouds of his darkest miserie there appeared cleere beames of his brightest Maiestie Know my soule know thou my soule this is the Lord our God Iesus Christ thy Sauiour the onely begotten Sonne of God Christ perfect God and perfect man true God true man who alone vnder the Sunne vvas found pure from the spottes of sinne and onely cleare from the staines of iniquitie among the Sonnes of men And behold how hee is sorted in the damnable ranke of the wicked excluded like a loathsome Leaper from the fruition of common societie reputed as an abiect and one of the worst among the basest people cast out from the vvombe of the vnhappy Sinagogue his Mother like an abortiue proiected out of the wombe of a woman How is hee that was so beautifull aboue the Sonnes of men become so deformed and vncomely to the eyes of them that behold him How are the Ornaments of his amiable feature diminished How is his royall dignity disgraced How is he become a subiect of nothing else but of sorrow calamity and a wofull obiect of lamentation and pitty He is wounded for our iniquities he is bruised for our vvicked offences and is made an acceptable Sacrifice of a most sweet smelling sauour in thy sight oh God of eternall glory that thou mightest auert thy indignation from vs and reuerse the sentence of thy heauie displeasure gone out against vs and make vs Co-heires with him for euer in his heauenly habitation Looke downe oh Lord holy Father from thy holy Sanctuarie and from the high Throne of thy infinite Maiestie and behold this holy Sacrifice vvhich our great high Priest doth offer vnto thee thy holy Childe the Lord Iesus for the sinnes of his brethren and let thy wrath be appeased which our iniquities haue most iustly procured against vs remouing farre out of thy sight the multitude of our innumerable transgressions And let his innocent death pay the full summe of our heauy debt Behold the voice of the bloud of our Iesus doth cry vnto thee from the Crosse begging mercy at thy hands for our many misdeeds pardon for all our haynous sins and speaking better things then the bloud of Abell What meaneth this Oh Lord Doth he still hang naked and nailed on the Crosse Are his veines newly lanced will his bleeding wounds neuer bee stanched Shall his side remaine euermore pierced and his skinne alwayes dyed with bloud Did not his Disciples behold him with their eyes ascending aboue the Cloudes really and royally into the Mansion of eternal glory and now hath he not his residence in Heauen sitting at the right hand of thy Omnipotent Maiestie leading Captiuitie Captiue and giuing gifts vnto men Wee know oh Lord and are certainely assured that our blessed Sauiour ruleth and raigneth with thee in euerlasting glory and yet hee remaineth fixed on the Crosse his wounds still streaming out precious bloud to wash away our sinfull blots All times are present with God because his painefull passion with thee is euermore in action and things long past are alwayes present before thee And we daily see him crucified paying the price of our Redemption in our spirituall contemplation diuine Meditations Know thou oh heauenly and louing Father the Coat of thy true Son Ioseph Alas a most cruell Beast deuoured him and hath trodden his Garment vnder feet in his fury and hath stained al the beauty and disgraced all the glory of it with spots of gore-bloud Behold that rauenous beast hath left fiue pittifull rents in it This oh Lord is the Garment which thy innocent Childe left in the hand of the Aegiptian Harlot chusing rather to loose his Cloake then to forgo the precious Iewel of his vnspotted Chastity by polluting his vndefiled body with filthy adultery chusing rather being spoiled of garment of the flesh to descend into the prison of death then to obey that adulterous voice by which it was very well said All these things I will giue thee if thou wilt fall downe worship me Mat. 4.9 As Ioseph did willingly forgo his cloake when he was allured to haue committed folly with his adulterous Mistris And now omnipotent Lord and gracious Father we know that thy Son liueth raigneth ouer all the land of Egipt in euery place of thy vniuersall Monarchy for he is brought out of the prison of death hell into thy glorious Kingdom crowned with the Emperial crown of eternall immortalitie and hauing changed his Garment of the flesh immortalitie flourisheth for euer being receiued of thee with exceeding glory For hee hath subdued and conquered the kingdome of Pharo and with his owne noble valour
my strength What are mine vnited forces to sustaine so heauy a burthen of worldly miseries with such an invincible minde and peaceable patience as thou hast commaunded How can I saile in this troublesome Ocean but I must needs runne against the rockes of wofull Desperation vnlesse thou be my Pilot and guide my sterne It is fond to put any confidence in men It is vaine to put any trust in Princes For although thou hast called them Gods to teach them how high thou hast exalted them and they indeed are truly honorable that remember thee to bee the author of their exaltion yet by and by thou hast giuen them a cooling Carde to quaile and qualifie their haughtie pride telling them plainely that for all that they shall die like men and returne and be turned into dust as vvell as the meanest of the people SECTION XX. ARE my feet oh Christ like vnto the feet of a swift Hart that I should bee able to follow thee so swift a runner through the thornes and pricking Bushes of thy painefull Passion Doe I not walke vpon the Water alwayes ready to sincke with fearefull Peter vnlesse thou put forth thy powerfull hand to succour me Mat. 14.29.31 But heare my voyce oh thou Sonne of Dauid my mercifull Sauiour infuse the precious Quintessence of thy celestiall Graces into my bosome and then lay thy sweet Crosse vpon thy seruant which is the Tree of Life to them which apprehend it then as I hope I shall runne forward cheerfully and I shall carry that Crosse after thee with great willingnes which thy cruell enemies did maliciously impose vpon thee Lay that most hard Crosse I say vpon my shoulders vvhose breadth is Chastity whose length is Eternity whose height is Omnipotency whose depth is vnsearchable Wisedome Naile my hands and my feet vnto it and make thy seruant oh LORD in all things conformable to thy Passion Graunt mee oh Lord to abstaine from the works of the flesh which thou hatest and to doe righteousnesse which thou louest and in both to seeke thy glory Naile my left hand with the naile of Temperancie and my right hand with the naile of Iustice vpon that high Crosse Graunt my minde continually to meditate on thy holy Law and to cast all my cogitations vpon thee and fasten my right foot to the same tree of life with the naile of wisedome Graunt that the vnhappy happinesse of this life sliding away euery moment may not allure mee like an enticing Harlot to yeeld to the wanton inducements of carnall sensualitie and to weaken his vigour by the intemperate abuses of vnlawfull pleasures Neither let pyning cares pensiue thoughts and suddaine vnhappy chances trouble the peace of it or procure any turbulent motions but let my Spirit as well in the Sunneshine dayes of calme prosperitie as in the blustering weather of stormy aduersitie bee fastened to thy Crosse with the nailes of prudent moderation and Christian fortitude that neither in prosperitie I may soare too high with the wings of aspiring pride nor in the aduersitie bee depressed too lowe with the weight of dispairefull care But that there may appeare some similitude of the pricking thornes which pearcing the vaines of thy head made a passage for thy precious bloud to runne downe to the skirts of thy cloathing graunt I pray thee that my minde may bee so deepely wounded with the forcible compunction of healthful repentance that mine eyes may shewre downe plenty of teares to wash away the spots of my defiled Conscience So mollifie the hardenesse of my heart that it may bee pliaable to receiue the impression of tender pitty so that it may still haue a feeling compassion of other mens miserie Let an earnest zeale to emulate and imitate that which is righteous before thee so pricke forward my minde that I may alwayes place thy perfect Law before mine eyes and walke in the way of thy Commaundements and that in the extreamest fits of my greatest sorrow I may turne vnto thee for my consolation and comfort and that dispayring of my owne merit I may bee relieued by thy Mercy I am well pleased that thou put a Spunge by a Reede to my mouth and that thou giue sowre Vineger to my taste It liketh me that thou shouldest teach my reason by thy holy Word that the glorious pride of the World is nothing else but an emptie Spunge which appeareth more in shew then it is in substance and that the sweetest taste of it is more sowre then vinegar which exceedeth in sharpenesse and all the concupiscence of it more bitter then gall or worme-wood Euen so oh heauenly Father let the cup of Babilon be bitter vnto me let not the pleasant colour of the wine allure me to taste of that poysoned liquor neither let the deceitful sweetnes of it ouercome my vnderstanding nor drowne my reason as it hath done theirs which thinke darknes to be light and light to be darkenes bitter to be sweet sweet to be bitter I dare not drinke of the wine tempered with Mirrhe and mixed with gall because thou wouldest not drinke of it Mark 15.23 For thereby appeared the bitternesse of the enuy and malice which thy furious Foes did beare against thee who would afforde thee no humane pitty in thy greatest extreamitie no not so much as to giue thee a cup of sweet water Fashion thy seruant oh Lord like vnto thy quickning death that according to the flesh I may die daily crucifying my carnall lusts alwayes loathing the thing that is euill and that according to the Spirit I may daily be reuiued imbracing and louing the thing that is righteous and good And that I may reioyce to carry in me the perfect Image of thee my Lord and crucified Sauiour expresse also a similitude of that in mee which the vnsaciable crueltie of the euill ones acted against thee after thy cursed and yet most blessed death Let thy liuely and powerfull Word pierce into my side and wound my hart For thy word oh Lord will sooner enter then a double-edged sword and penetrate deeper then the sharpest speare euen to the diuision of my soule and the marrow inclosed in my bones that in steed of bloud and water there may issue forth continuall streames of loue towards thee and thy brethren So that as thou hast not spared to shed thy heart bloud for me I may alwayes be willing to expresse my gratuitie towards thee Lastly wrap my Spirit in the pure linnen cloth of thy righteous garment in which I may safely rest comming out and going into the place of thy holy Tabernacle and wherewith thou mayest hide mee vntill thine anger be appeased and thy heauy displeasure remoued But the third day after the day of labour and punishment earely in the dawning of the Sabbath day raise mee euerlastingly amongst thy children that in my flesh I may see thy brightnes and be filled with the ioy of thy countenance SECTION XXI OH my Sauiour and my God
Repentance arme me with strong confidence in thy mercie against desperation AMEN A Meditation how Iesus was sent vnto Pilate MED XI Like an offender Iesus Christ is a Mat. 27.2 bound And b Mark 15.1 sent to Pilate Pilate doth confesse That Christ is c Math. 27.24 guiltles Nothing could be found To proue that Christ their d Luk. 23.14 law did ere transgresse NOw let vs returne from weeping Peter to meditate vpon my louing Iesus who remained all night in the house of Cayphas where hee was scorned with opprobrious words and buffeted and beaten with cruell blowes no man spake in his cause no man pleaded his case hee sustained their iniuries with meekenesse hee did beare their intollerable reproches with mildnesse Now in the morning my innocent Iesus was brought before the high Priest and others who sat in counsell to examine him as a pernicious traytor not worthie to liue but worthie of a most cruell death And after they had reuiled him with proud words and haled him too and fro with cruell hands they cried out in their madnes and roared out in their furie he is worthie of death let him be led bound vnto Pilate that hee may pronounce iudgment against him to die a most shamefull cruell death Oh how was my sweet Sauiour molested for my sake how was his soule afflicted for my sinnes I was the cause that thou vvert conuented before the counsell of the high Priest and my sinnes did send thee to Pilate Oh let mee weepe in the morning when I awake out of sleepe and make my bed to swimme with teares when I lie downe to rest because I haue beene delighted with that as my chiefest felicitie which caused thee to abide the bitternesse of all their crueltie and vvill be the cause of mine owne endlesse miserie vnlesse my wounds be healed and my sores salued with the pretious balme of thy sauing mercie Teach me oh Lord to suffer any affliction for thy sake with alacritie and to sustaine the malice of persecution with cheerefull humility which shal be by Sathan raised against me or by his instruments inflicted vpon me for thy cause Let the patterne of thy perfect humilitie be alwayes placed before mine eyes let the memorie of thy patience neuer depart out of my minde Oh ye vvicked Iewes Oh ye false accusers oh ye lying caluminators oh ye periured wretches How maliciously how vniustly how spitefully how impudently doe yee accuse my Lord ye raile vpon him as if hee were a most damnable traytor ye reuile and curse him as if hee had complotted some horrible treason or inuented some notable mischiefe when as his hands were neuer stained with any euill action nor his heart tainted with any wicked cogitation his words were nothing but verity and truth and there was no guile to be found in his mouth who alone is good the author of goodnesse and the fountaine of euerlasting happines Tell me ye deceitfull and spitefull accusers what euill hath he done what vvicked deed hath he committed Enquire of them vvhom hee deliuered from the vncleane spirits vvherewith they were miserably tormented aske the blinde vvhom hee had made to see demand of the deafe whom he made to heare aske the Leapers whom he clensed and the dead persons whom hee reuiued let them answere your false accusations and ouerthrow the forged testimonies of your criminall obiections Are ye so vvilfull that ye will not acknowledge his mercy are ye so blinde that ye cannot see his miracles If an vngodly man can performe such mercifull deedes then you may iustly accuse him as a vvicked doer and condemne him as a dangerous malefactor Thou seest my soule vvhat cause thou hast to vvater thy cheekes vvith continuall teares and to ouerwhelme thy hart in deepe streams of vvofull sorrow vvhen thou dost thinke vpon the afflictions of thy blessed Sauiour and meditate on the cursed torments executed by the cruell Iewes against thy innocent Iesus Was there euer any Traitor so execrable to men for his bloodie deeds or any vile wretch so odious for his vitious life vvhich sustained so many opprobrious vvords scornfull derisions bitter taunts and grieuous torments as the furious Iewes inflicted vpon my mercifull Iesus Oh my blessed Sauiour and louing Redeemer what did moue thee to sustaine such a heauie burthen of afflictions what was the cause that thou didst submit thy selfe to so many miseries I know my most gratious Lord it did flow from the fountaine of thy vnmeasurable loue in tendring the wofull estate of me a most wretched sinner and because thou vvert moued with the bowels of compassion towards mee a most forlorne and miserable creature Thy exceeding loue vvas the cause of thy admirable humilitie and thy vnspeakeable mercie the soueraigne medicine to cure my miserie Therefore grant me my humble and lowly Iesus vvhich am thy poore and most vnworthy seruant that I may suffer any contempt vvith humilitie for thy cause endure any vile reproach vvith alacritie for thy sake esteeming it my chiefest honour to be scorned for thy loue and accounting my selfe most happie vvhen I suffer any persecution for thy holy name Possesse my heart vvith true humilitie that my thoughts may not thirst after vaine glorie nor mine affections hunt after worldly honour For I know oh Lord that thou doest resist the proud and that thou giuest grace to the humble Iames. 4.6 Pro. 15.25 and I know oh Lord that hee vvhich desireth to ascend to the place of euerlasting glorie must ascend vnto it by the steps of humility Therefore thou vvhich art onely able teach mee that I may be truly humbled so that my minde may not swell vvith pride in time of my prosperitie nor any ambitious thoughts find any harbour in my heart in the time of my peaceable tranquility that I may sing vvith the sweet singer Dauid It is good for mee that thou hast humbled me And that I may more easily learne to leuell my thoughts by the rule of humility inflame my heart vvith thy loue for if my heart be incensed and kindled with thy loue my desires will be ready to performe thy wil and I shall be chearefull to walke in thy vvayes vvhich doest teach mee to be lowly in minde and humble in heart A Meditation how Pilate caused Iesus to be scourged and hovv aftervvard he pronounced sentence of death against him MED XII Though Pilates mouth did Iesus a Luke 21.4.14 iustifie And Pilates b Mat. 27.19 wife the like did testifie Yet c Mat. 15.15 scourg'd he is therewith not pleas'd they crie His bloud on d Mat. 27.25 vs and ours him crucifie VVHen Pilate had strictly examined my innocent Iesus and could finde no cause why the cruell Iewes should so grieuously accuse him but knew that they had deliuered him for enuie and did spite him for malice he was vvilling to haue set Iesus at liberty but the furious Iewes did so greedily thirst after his
innocent blood and so eagerly desired to haue him put to a shamefull death that they cried out in a rage and exclaimed in their fury Set Barrabas at libertie and crucifie Iesus But when Pilate perceiued that nothing could calme the storme of their rage and represse the violence of their madnesse but effusion of his innocent blood then he commanded that my harmelesse Iesus should be cruelly scourged thinking that the streames of bloud running downe from his sacred body would haue allaide the heat of their malice quenched the flame of their fury But alas it was his life that they onely sought nothing but his innocent death could satisfie their bloody mindes yea nothing but cruell death could tame their bruitish rage Matth. 26. But stay here my soule that thou mayest reuiew againe thy innocent Iesus accused vniustly reuiled malitiously spitefully scorned and cruelly scourged by the commaundement of Pilate they crowned his head scornefully with pricking Thornes and did teare his tender flesh with their cruell whips Oh my most louing Lord oh my most mercifull Iesus mollifie my hard hart that it may be wholy dissolued into streames of sorrow with the memory of thy bitter scourging and that my soule may be wounded so that it may send forth deepe groanes at the meditation of thine afflictions Grant me oh my most mercifull LORD that my thoughts and affections may be so seriously affected vvith the remembrance of thy tedious Passion that my senses may be made partakers of thy grieuous paines for I my selfe most louing Lord am nothing able to performe that indeed which I doe desire and conceiue in my minde I doe often times purpose with my selfe to meditate on thy Passion and to thinke seriously vpon thine affliction and to ruminate in my secret thoughts what ignominious crueltie was acted against thee vvhen thou didst finish the worke of my redemption But alas my senses are replenished with such stupiditie and dulnesse that I am not touched vvith any sensible compassion because my vnderstanding is distempered with vaine and fond cogitations and my heart is become so hard that it is vnapt to conceiue any tender affection while I meditate vpon the grieuous paines and muse on the great afflictions which thou didst sustaine and patiently endure to satisfie the vvrath of thy Father due vnto me for my sinnes I cannot taste the sweetnesse I cannot relish the goodnesse of thy passion because the matter is tedious to my corrupted thoghts and vnpleasant to my carnall desires For so vnconstant and instable is my heart so mutable and variable are the motions of my minde that they are both soone distracted alienated and diuorced from that heauenly meditation by swarms of idle fantasies foolish cogitations But from whence oh Lord doe these noysome vveeds grow vp in my hart how is it that they finde such a fertile soile in my minde truly because my heart is not planted vvith thy loue nor my mind furnished with thy graces For I can neuer haue my fill of those things vvherein I take too much delight my minde cannot be drawne from their societie because they haue wonne my fauor haue gotten my loue Wherefore oh my most mercifull Iesus because I loue thee so little and dote vpon worldly vanities so much my hart slideth away from thee mine affections are diuerted from thee and I know oh Lord how prone ready I am to consent to euery wicked motion and how impotent and feeble I am to go about any good action Therfore I pray thee not to correct me in thy wrath nor to proceed against mee with seuerity of thy Iustice but to haue pitty on me a most miserable sinner and to confirme my vnconstant hart with a stedfast delight in thy loue to establish my wandring minde according to the multitude of thy mercies so that no pleasure be it neuer so sweet may be able to allure me to leaue thy blessed loue nor any tribulation be it neuer so bitter constraine me to forsake thy happy seruice driue all idle cares out of my minde purge all corrupt thoughts out of my hart and draw me wholy vnto thee that I may remember with a deuout compassion call to minde with a serious meditation how many what great grieuous torments what scornefull derisions thou didst suffer in thy most pretious body by the commaundement of Pontius Pilate who contrary to the equitie of thy cause and testimony of his owne conscience Ioh. 19.4 commaunded thee to be scourged without all pitty when as he himselfe with his owne words had iustified thy innocency Oh vvhat a flood of teares should streame from mine eyes what groanes and sorrowfull sighes should arise from the depth of my heart how should all my senses be ouer-whelmed with a sea of sorrow when I meditate on the flinty hearts and cruell hands of those tormentors who scourged my louing Redeemer My heart cannot conceiue the outrage of their tyranny my tongue is too weake to expresse their barbarous inhumanitie Who vvere as eager to lay violent hands vpon my poore Iesus as rauenous Wolues are greedy to deuoure a tender Lambe or hungry Lyons to ceaze vpon their prey They make haste to vnbinde his armes and to vntie his hands but it was not done to release him of his cruell bands or to afford him any little ease but that they might strip him of his garments to scourge his naked body with their tormenting whips and to make his veines spout out bloud with their cruell stripes Ah ruthfull spectacle to pittifull eyes and able to haue made a deepe impression of tender compassion in their hearts if they had not beene more heard then Marble What sauage thoughts raigned in their murdering mindes What monstrous indignitie was done vnto my louing Redeemer to be stripped of his garments and to stand naked before such vile and base vassals who cloathed the Heauens with exceeding glory and adorned the earth with admirable beauty Now when they had stripped him of his cloathes they bound him to a pillar to endure their cruell stripes hauing banished pitty from their hearts and imbraced cruelty with their hands somtime they lash him on the backe sometime they scourge him on the brest Now they let their smarting whips flie on his shoulders anon they strike him on his armes they suffer no part of his body to bee free from blowes and they grieue his righteous soule with bitter words whilest yet they are executing their cruell deeds But what Tygers heart harboured in their brest oh my innocent Sauiour which robbed them of grace and they disrobed thee of thy cloathes What hellish fury armed their hands which bound thee to a pillar and scourged thy blessed body how exceeding execrable is their sauage crueltie How rare and admirable is thy silent patience It was I it was I oh my most sweet Iesu which deserued to bee scourged with the whips of euerlasting torments And thou my most mercifull Sauiour