for me alone I had béene bounde then to haue gyuen him my loue whollye agayne Why man arte thou so enuyous that thou wouldest haue no parteners of this moste precious deathe with thée but thine owne selfe This were a very malicious desire to exclude all other specially when thy profite and merite shall not be mynished Albeit there bée neuer so manye besides that take commoditie there by I say vnto thée O man and I assure thée that as fruitefully hée dyed for thée if thou wilt dispose thy selfe to be partener of this death as if there had beene no more but thy selfe in all thys world Truth it is there bée many moe besides thée that bée parteners of this death But all they yea if there were a thousand thousande tymes innumerable moe then there be All that multitude shall nothyng mynish any one crum of merit of this most blessed death belongyng vnto thée And agayne if thou take much more fruite thereof then any one of them yet shall they take no impayrement or receyue the lesse bicause thou hast so much Wilte thou sée by some example that thys is trueth that I nowe say When thou séest a torch lyght in an house where many persons bée doeth not that torche gyue as muche light to them all as if there were but one person there Euery person after the quicknesse of theyr sight taketh more or lesse profitte of that lyght then doeth an other but yet he that taketh more hyndereth hys fellowes nothyng in so takyng nor he that taketh lesse giueth thereby anye occasion for his fellowes to take any more And if it be thus of the light of a torche muche rather it is so of the merite of this most gracyous death and of this most precious blud which by the reason of the godhead abundauntly suffyseth for the redemption of innumerable soules were theyr sinnes neuer so many neuer so horrible neuer so abhominable Surely as Sainct Iohn sayth ipse est propitiatio pro peccatis nostris non pro nostris tantum sed et totius mundi Hée was and is a sacrifice abundantly sufficyent for the sinnes of all this world When then for thy sake for thy loue he suffered thys most horryble death which was so painfull that the onely remembraunce of it made him to sweate bloudy sweate and that in so great aboundance that it trickled downe by hys syde vnto the ground If the onely thinking of thys death was so painfull howe paynefull was the suffring of the same in déede Howe might he more euideÌ„tly expresse vnto thée the loue of his harte then by thys means Or what might he more haue done for thy loue as he saith himself quid vltra facere debui et non faci what myght I further haue done whiche I did not for thy loue Thou mayest then fynde héere in this booke great matter of loue Héere is also great matter of hope specially to sinners will vtterly forsake their sinne and amend theyr liues for Christ Iesu sake Doubtles for such he suffered this moste bitter death Pro impijs Christus mortuus est for wicked sinners Iesus Christ dyed And in an other place the same s. Paul sayth Christus Iesus venit in hunc munduÌ„ saluos facere peccatores Christe Iesus came into this world for to saue sinners that will amend theyr lyues O christian soule take thou vpon thée the crosse of pennaunce and bée crucyfied with him then without doubt thou shalt be partener of the the merit of his crucifying and of his most fruitfull passion What shall exclude thée from hys merite Almightie God the father Nay qui proprio filio suo non peporcit sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit illum quomodo non cum illo nobis omnia donauit He that dyd not spare his own sonne but gaue him vnto the death for vs all what shall hée denye vs what greater euidence canst thou aske that almightie God the father wil forgiue thy sin then thys that he would not forsake to giue vnto the death hys own sonne I say his own most dearly beloued sonne of whom hée sayde Hic est filius meus dilectus in quo mihi coÌ„placui This is my welbeloued sonne in whom is all my pleasure What greater euydence and proofe mayest thou desire that he will forgyue thy sinne then that he would put this most inestimable Iuell into such a daunger for thy sake and sende it vnto thys most painfull and shamefull and sorrowfull death of the Crosse. But peraduenture thou thynkest that our sauiour bycause thou haste bin so vnkynde vnto him will not receyue thée vnto his mercy I say therfore forsake thy sinne and accuse thy vnkyndnesse and be sory for it And doubt not but he will forgiue forget thyne vnkyndnesse and receyue thée agayne vnto hys great mercy And therfore he sayth by his Prophet Hieremie when a woman saith he is gone from hyr husbande and hath accompanyed hyr bodye with an other man will hyr husband receiue hir againe As who say that it is not verie lyke but yet heare what comforte he giueth to a sinner tu autem fornicata es cum amatoribus multis tamen reuertere ad me et ego suscipiam te Neuerthelesse he sayeth to the soule of a sinner Albeit thou hast forsaken me and playde the brothell with manye other yet returne thou agayne vnto mée and I shall receyue thée But here thou sinfull soule deceyue not thy selfe Thou mayest dissemble a returning and be not in déede returned And if thou set not thy backe toward all sinne and turne thy harte fully vnto thy sauiour thou arte not returned But bée thou truly returned and doubt not Beholde earnestly the maner how thy sauiour Iesu hanged on the Crosse and thou shalt sée great cause of hope of his mercy if thou thus returne Sainct Barnerd sayth Quis non rapiatur ad â—pem impetrandique fiduciam quaÌ„ do considerat corporis cius dispositionem caput inclinatum ad osculum brachia extenta ad amplexandum manus proforatas ad largiendum latus opertum ad diligenduÌ„ pedum confixionem ad manendum nobiscum corporis extensionem ad se nobis totaliter impendendum Who may not bée rauished to hope and confidence if he consider the order of his body his head bowing downe to offer a kisse hys armes spreade to embrace vs hys handes bored thorow to make lyberall giftes his side opened to shewe vnto vs the loue of his harte his féete fastened with nayles that hée shall not starte away but abyde with vs And all his bodie stretched forcesing him selfe to giue it wholly vnto vs Surely O man he that would thus and after this maner exhibite his bodie vnto thée on the Crosse if thou wilt indeuer thée vpon thy parte hée will not refuse thée but take thée vnto his mercy This most precious bloud that he shed on the Crosse cryeth alwayes mercye for
But the dampned sinner shal endure in hell a more excessyue colde Iob sayth of such transibunt ab aquis niuis ad calorem nimirem they shall be shyfred out of the colde snow brought into the outragious heates O Iesus a tender hand wherin the froste and snowe it hath bene made extreme colde and sodenly is brought into the heate of the fier it féeleth a greater payne but nothynge comparable vnto that shyfting from that colde into that heate whych is in hell The fift our sauior in his crosse hard blasphemous opprobrious words and much insultinge of his enimies against him which doubtles was very paynefull vnto him But the damned sinners shall in hel heare nothiÌ„g els but continual outcryes opprobrious insulting blasphemes of the diuells and other that be dampned Blasphemabunt deum caeli doloribus they shall blaspheme the god of heauen for continuall paine and sorrowes And they shall sée before their faces continually the most horrible and ireful countenauÌ„ce of their immortal enimies the diuells The vi our sauiour wept on the crosse for the sinnes of other as s. Paul saith cuÌ„ clamore et lachimis with crying teres but the damned sinners that would not here wepe with Christ such teares as might washe theyr sinnes shall wepe in hell for theyr owne sinnes such teares as shall skalde theyr bodies and yet they shal be neuer the better Ibi erit flectus et stridor dentium Ther shal be wéeping gnashing of teeth the smoke of the Fyer shal make them for to wéepe the coldenesse of the snow shal make their téeth for to gnashe chytter in theyr heades Yea and that is more merueilous neither the colde shall attemper the heate nor contrarywyse the heate shall attemper the colde but eyther of them shall encrease the violence of the other Euen as in the forge of a Smith the colde water when it is cast into the Fyer causeth the Fyer to be much more fearse and violent The seueÌ„th our sauiour on the crosse had extrem drighnes for the which he coÌ„plained said Scitio I am dry And no maruell though he wer dry after so much payne and trauayle after so much bléeding sweting wherby no moisture almost was left in his bodi But howe vnmeasurable drighnesse shall the dampned soules endure in the fyre of hell The rich glutton that was buried in hel teacheth vs what drighnesse is there for he would haue gyuen all this worlde to haue had one drop of water or lycour to haue refreshed his tongue that was made so drye with the flame of that fyre The eight our sauiour on the crosse had much sorrow and heauinesse If he for the onely remembrance of the paine for to come was in so great an agony that he sweat water bloud who can expresse or think what sorrow and heauinesse he suffred when all the paynes were present presently did oppresse hym Neuerthelesse euery dampned person by the reason of their continuall and euerlasting paynes shall haue muche more sorrow and heauinesse for the which it is writteÌ„ in the booke of Sapience penitentiam Agentes et pretristitia spiritus gementes they verely lamentably repent them selues and for extreame heauinesse of spirite mourne and sorrowe thinking for howe briefe and transitory pleasures they loste the ioyes euerlasting and gate the paynes that euer shall endure The ninth our sauiour on the crosse did suffer muche infamy and shame And specially to deliuer as I said all sinners that would ameÌ„d theÌ„ selues and forsake their sinne from euerlasting shame But such as will not shall suffer theyr owne shame as they haue deserued The true penytent soule shall bée sacyate with perpetuall glory But he that will not repent him selfe shall haue perpetuall shame and infamy Almightie God sayeth to suche by his Prophet Naum Reuelabo pudenda tua in facie tua I wil make open all thy shamefulnesse and euill dealyng in thine owne face And the Prophet Hieremy sayeth saturabitur opprobrijs â–ª he shall bée sacyate with opprobryous shame The tenth aboue all other paynes that our sauyour dyd suffer on the Crosse was to be desolate of all comforte yea of his father and to bée as a person forsaken of almightie God and destitute of all help and succour for the which hée sore complayneth on his Crosse crying vnto his father Deus meus Deus meus vt quid dereliquistiÌ„ me O my God O my God why hast thou forsakeÌ„ me But this forsaking was but for a season for within a short time after he was raised again to immortall glory But the dampned sinners which shall be punished for their owne sinnes in hell shall euer be forsaken and fully be depryued not onely from all ioye comforte but from that moste glorious sighte of the face of almighty God wherein standeth all blessednesse and consummation of all comforte And this shall more pinche the dampned soules then all the other tormentes of hell besides For the which Chrisostome sayth Ego autem multo grauiores cruciatus duco quam gehenuam remoueri et ab duci ab illa gloria I think saith he that to be remoued and cast out from that euerlastyng glory is more gréeuous torments then all the other paynes of hell Fynally our sauiour on the crosse suffered the paynes of death for our sinnes whereby wée had deserued death And therfore he suffered death to deliuer vs from the death of sinne Neuerthelesse he remayned no long tyme in the bondes of death But the dampned sinner that must paye his owne debtes in hell shal suffer euerlasting death not so that the sinners shal haue no lyfe nor féeling in them but bycause that they shall be euer as though they were in the extreme paynes of death and yet they shall haue no perfecte sense of the paynes and neuer dye The paynes shall be to them so vyolent that they shall perish a thousand tymes and desire coÌ„tinually for to dye but death shal flie away from them desiderabunt mori et mors fugie ab eis they shal desire death and death shall fly from them O Iesu in what myserie shall they be in that euer shall couet death and neuer may fully dye The Prophet Dauid speaking of their payne sayeth Mors depascet eos which words may haue thrée senses one is that death shall bée their pastour and heardman hée shall order them and leade them to theyr pastures In hell is two pastures the one is all full of snow the other full of fyre for the whiche Iobe sayeth Ad calorem nimium transient ab aquis niuium they shal walke from the snow vnto the fyre And agayne from the fyre vnto the snow this may be one sense an other may be this they shal be the continuall meate of death as ye sée in the pastures where the shéepe féede They croppe the grasse euer as it ryseth and kéepeth it lowe and so the grasse is euer in eatyng and neuer full eaten In lyke maner death shall continually croppe the dampned persons in hell And he shall euer be gnawyng and eating vpon them and yet they shall neuer be fully consumed The third sense may be this death shall be theyr continuall meate for they shall euer long and desire for to dye they shal euer aboue all other things couet to haue death and their desire shall alway be a lyke freshe and feruent An other comforte and refresshing besides this they shall haue none but whatsoeuer the sense of these wordes be thou mayest well perceyue by them O thou christian soule that if thou shalt come to that place to pay thy debtes of thine own sinnes it shall bée to gréeuous and to importable for thée to sustayne for as I sayde looke any maner of paine that our sauiour Christ suffered on the crosse for all our sinnes If wée be not before our death by such affections as I before did rehearse made perteyners of his sufferyng we shall suffer all the same paynes in hel perpetually And therefore it is a troth we may read in the booke of the Crucifix great matter of woe whiche is the thyrde wryting that we had to speake off Now thou sinful creature haue ofteÌ„ before thyne eyes thys wonderfull booke which as I sayde is wrytten within and with out In the which also thou mayest reade thrée maner of wrytings that is to say lamentation song and wo. If thou wilt begin to lament with Iesu thou shalt therby come to sing with him And therby thou shalt be made so fully parteiner of his passion that the debtes of thy sinnes shall be throughly payde and that thou shalt escape euerlasting woe But if thou doe refuse this remedy and follow the desires of thys world and of the fleshe be thou well assured that then thou shalt pay thine owne debtes amongest the diuils in hell with euerlasting woe From the which he defend vs that for our loue as this day suffered on the Crosse his most paynfull and sorrowfull death our sauiour Christ Iesus Amen Per Iohannem Fyssher Episcopum Rofensem Memoria crucifixi vitia crucifigit Grego Quecumque momorderit astucia sathanae aspiciat Christum inligno pendenteÌ„ August Ize 2. Eze. 3. Abac. 1. Act. 13. â—at 27. Gene. 3. Gene. 18. Psal. 38. Iob. 14. Act. 〈…〉 Psal. 145. Rom. 11. Psal. 47. Psal. 144. Excle 43. Col. 2. Iohn 1. 1. Cor. 2â— Mat. 2â— Iudith 4. 1. Peter 2 â–ª â—â—cob 2. Heb. 4 â–ª Psal. 43. â— Esdrâ—ea 8 Iere. 3. Lamen Hier. ca. 1. Rom. â—â— Luke 2. Math. 27 Math. 27. 21. â— Reg. 19. 〈◊〉 10. Iohn 1â— 1. Iohn 2â— Rom. 5. 2. Tim. 1. Rom. 8. 2. Pet. â— Hiere 3. Hebr. 12. Gen. 4. â— Iohn 2. Gala. â— Col. 2â— Col. 2. Daniel 17. Luke 7. Psal. 21 Ezech. 16. Psalm 31. 2 Reg â–ª 13. Mat. â—â— Mat. 11. Io. â— Esay 14. Apoca. 14. Heb. 5. Math. 22.
¶ A spirituall consolation written by Iohn Fyssher Bishoppe of Rochester to hys sister Elizabeth at suche tyme as hée was prisoner in the Tower of London Uery necessary and commodious for all those that mynde to leade a vertuous lyfe Also to admonishe them to be at all tymes prepared to dye and séemeth to bée spoken in the person of one that was sodainly preuēted by death 2. Corinthians vj. Beholde now is the acceptable tyme ▪ now is the day of saluation Mathew xxiiij VVatch therefore for ye knowe not what houre your Lorde doeth come ¶ A spirituall consolacyon vvritten by Iohn Fyssher Bishop of Rochester to his sister Elizabeth SIster Elizabeth nothing doth more help effectuallye to get a good and a vertuous lyfe Then if a soule when it is dull and vnlustie without deuotion neyther disposed to prayer nor to any other good worke may be sturred or quickened agayne by fruiteful meditacion I haue therfore deuised vnto you this meditation that followeth Praying you for my sake and for the weale of your owne soule to reade it at suche tymes as you shall feele your selfe most heauie and slouthfull to doe any good worke It is a maner of lamentacion and sorowfull complaynyng made in the person of one that was hastily preuented by death as I assure you euery creature may be none other suretie we haue liuing in this worlde héere But if you will haue any profite by reading of it thrée things you must do in any wise First when you shall reade this meditation deuise in your mynde as nigh as you can all the conditions of a man or woman sodaynlye taken and rauyshed by death and thynke◠wyth your selfe that yée were in the same condition so hastily taken and that incontinent you must néedes dye and your soule depart hence leaue your mortall bodie neuer to returne again for to make any amendes or to doe any release to your soule after this houre Seconly that yée neuer reade thys meditation but alone by your selfe in secrete maner where you maye be most attentyue therevnto And when ye haue the best leasure without any let of other thoughtes or buzinesse For if you otherwyse behaue your selfe in the reading of it it shall anon lose the vertue and quicknesse in stirring and mouing of your soule when you woulde ratherest haue it sturred Thirdly that when you intende to read it you must afore lifte vp your minde to almightie God and beséech him that by the helpe and succour of his grace the readyng thereof may fruitfully worke in your soule a good and vertuous life according to hys pleasure and say Deus in adiutorium meum intende Domine adiuvandum me festina Gloria patri c. Laus tibi domine rex eternae glorie Amen Alas alas I am vnworthily takē all sodaynly death hath assayled me the paynes of his stroake be so sore and gréeuous that I may not longe endure thē my last home I perceiue well is come I must now leaue thys mortall bodie I must nowe departe hence out of this world neuer to returne againe into it But whether I shall goe or where I shall become or what lodgyng I shall haue thys night or in what company I shal fal or in what countrey I shall be receiued or in what maner I shall be entreated God knoweth for I knowe not What if I shall be dampned in the perpetuall prysō of hell where be paynes endelesse and without number Gréeuous it shall be to them that be dampned for euer for they shall be as men in moste extreame paynes of death euer wishing and desiryng death and yet neuer shall they dye It should be nowe vnto mée muche wearie one yeare continually to lye vpon a bed were it neuer so soft how weary then shall it be to lye in the most painefull fyre so many thousād of yeares without number And to be in that most horrible company of diuils most terrible to beholde full of malice and crueltie O wretched and miserable creature that I am I might so haue liued and so ordered my lyfe by the helpe and grace of my Lorde Christ Iesu that this houre might haue bene vnto mée much ioyous greatly desired Many blessed holy Sayncts were full ioyous and desirous of this houre for they knewe well that by death their soules shuld be trāslated into a new life To the life of all ioye and endlesse pleasure frō the streightes and bōdage of this corruptible body into a very libertie and true fréedom mong the company of heauen frō the miseries gréeuāces of this wretched world to be aboue with God in comfort inestimable that can not be spoken ne thought They were assured of the promises of almightie god which had so promised to all them that bée hys faithfull seruauntes And sure I am that if I had truly faithfully serued him vnto thys houre my soule had bene partner of these promises But vnhappie vngracious creature that I am I haue bene negligent in hys seruice and therefore now my harte doeth waste in sorowes séeing the nighnesse of death and considering my great slouth negligence I thought full little thus sodainly to haue bene trapped But alas now death hath preuented me and hath vnwarily attached mée sodainly oppressed mée with his mightie power so that I know not whither I may turne mee for succour nor where I may séeke now for helpe ne what thing I may doe to get any remedy If I myght haue leasure and space to repent mée and amende my lyfe not compelled with this sodayne stroake but of my owne frée will and libertie and partly for the loue of God putting asyde all slouth negligence I might then safely dye without any dread I might then be glad to departe hence and leaue my manifold miseries encombraūces of this world But how may I think that my repentance or mine amendement commeth now of myne own frée will sith I was before thys stroake so colde and dull in the seruice of my Lord god Or howe may I thinke that I doe this more rather for his loue then for feare of his punyshement when if I had truelye loued hym I should more quickely and more diligently haue serued him héeretofore Mée séemeth now that I caste away my slouth and neglygence compelled by force Euen as a Merchaunt that is compelled by a greate tempest in the sea to cast his merchandice out of the Shippe it is not to bée supposed that hée would cast away his ryches of hys owne frée will not compelled by the storme And euen so lykewyse doe I if thys tempeste of death were not now raysed vppon mée it is full like that I would not haue cast from me my slouth and negligence O woulde to God that I might nowe haue some farther respet and some longer tyme to amend my self of my frée will and libertie O if I might entreat death to spare me for a season but that will not bée death
kyndnesse thou canst shewe but much vnkyndnesse thou haste often shewed vnto him and yet thou art not ashamed Alas man where is thy shame Thincke with thy selfe how many abhominable sinnes thou hast done against his pleasure I doo a certayne thée that the least of them stryketh him more paynefully vnto the hart then any vnkyndnesse that euer was done vnto thée in all thy lyfe For as Sainct Barnerd sayth in the person of Christ when he hath rehersed all the gréeuous paynes of his passion he putteth vnto these wordes Extat interius plauctus pregrauior quum te ingratum experior that is to say but inwardly mourning is much more greuous bicause I perceue thou arte to me so much vnkynd So many sinnes so much vnkyndnesse And the more haynous and the more accustomable that they bée the more abhominable is thyne vnkyndenesse If the least of many of thy sinnes had come to lyght and to the knowledge of men thou wouldest haue béene sore ashamed of them Christ knoweth them and saw thée doo them for Omnia vnda et aperta sunt oculis eius All thinges be naked and open before his eyes and yet thou art not ashamed of all thy vnkinddes Alas man heare what the King and Prophet sayth Tota die verecundia mea cōtra me est et confusio faciei meae cooperuit me All the day long my shame is before mée and my face is couered with confusion Thus sayd this holy Kinge when our sauiour as yet had not suffered his passion for him This high poynte of kindenesse was not as yet shewed vnto this man by our sauiour Christ and he neuerthelesse was ashamed of his sinne Thou hast peraduenture done much more outragious sinne and hast béen much more vnkynde after this his moste wonderfull passion suffered for thy sake then euer that king was that also maketh thy sinne much more horryble Thou hast after thy promise made vnto him falsified the same promise and vntruely broken it by multiplying of many foule and abhominable sinz by oftē renewing of the same Thou dyddest promise once at the sacramēt of baptisme to kéepe thy fayth trueth vnto thy sauiour to forsake the diuel all his works An honest man or an honest woman would be much ashamed to brek their promise specially to theyr friend Albeit the worlde is now full of such lorrells that doo no more regard to break their promise thē for to drīk whē they be drye How often hast thou broken thy promise Alas man learn to be ashamed and saye with the Prophet Esdras Deus meus cōfundor et erubesco leuare faciem meam quoniam iniquitates nostrae leuatae sunt super caput nostrum that is to say O my god I am confounden and ashamed to lyft vp my face vnto thée for our sinnes be rysen far aboue our heads Ye women when there is any black spot in your faces or any moole in your kerchiues or any myer vpon your clothes be you not ashamed yes forsooth syr But I shall tell you where of you ought to be ashamed Surely if your sowls haue any spots of deadly sinne in them for when our sauiour so dearely with his most precious bloud with all these gréeuous paynes dyd wash and wype clense our soules from euery spot of deadly sinne ye should be much ashamed to defyle them againe If you be ashamed for a foule myrie shoo and not of a foule stincking soule ye make more dearer your shooes then your soules If ye be ashamed of a spot in your clothes haue no shame for many great blots in your soules What shal I say but Frons meretricis facta est tibi noluiste erubescere that is to say thou hast takē vpon thée the face of a brothell thou wylt not be ashamed If thou then depely consider how many shameful blots of sinne be in thy soule before the eyes of almightie God all the glorious court of heauen how by them thou hast vtterly broken thy promise vnto god cōmitted so great vnkindnes against this moste louing charitie that was shewed vnto thée for thy loue for thy sake by our sauiour on the crosse I suppose thou shalt fynde matter cause of great shame if any sparkle of honesty be yet left in thy soule Thirdly thou maist here take matter inough of sorrow for here your sauiour pitiously cryeth complayneth of his great sorrowes saying O vos omnes qui transitis per viam attendite et videte si est dolor similis sicut dolor meus All ye that passe foorth by take héede sée whether any sorrow was euer lyke vnto myne Alas to sée so noble a man so gentle so innocent so cruelly intreated in euery parte of his most delicate body And to here him so pitiously complayninge who shall not be sory surely none except hys hart be harder then any flynte stone or Adamant stone These same foure poynts alone may suffice to styrre any gentle hart to sorrowe I say his excelent noblenesse his innocēcie the crueltie that he dyd suffer and his pitious complayning If thou saw O Christiā man thyne enimie thus mangled and wounded it might styrre thée to take compassiō vpon him If thou sawe any Iew or Sarazin thus tormented it mighte moue thée to pittie But much rather to sée thy Lord thy sauiour and for thy sake thus cruelly entreated thus with out any pittie crucified and payned hanging on a crosse should moue thée to compassion For say to me for whome supposest thou that our sauyour Christe Iesus suffered all those gréeuous paines surely for thy sinne Pro impijs Christus mortuus est For sinners Christ Iesus died there was no cause but sinne Thy sinne was the cause of his death Thy sinne gaue him his deathes wound O sinful creature how much cause hast thou for to be sory For thy sinne was the roote foūtayne of all his sorrow yet thou ceasest not dayly by thy sin to encrese his sorrow O what floud of teares dyd the blessed Magdalene shed remembring hir gréeuous sinne She firste conceiued a great dread in hir soule for hir sinne Secondly she was greatly ashamed of hir abhominacyons with in hir soule for she regarded much more the inward shame of hir conscience then the outward shame of the world And therfore she let not in the presence of many persons to come to the féete of our sauiour to shewe hyr selfe a sinner And there tooke great sorrow and wept ful bitterly for hyr sinne Thus after dread and shame followed hyr sorrow And when had shée this dread shame and sorrow truely before that our sauiour hung on the crosse yet she knew not that hir sin was cause occasion of his most cruell death But when shée sawe him hange so painfully on the Crosse and considered that for hir sin he suffered all the paynes hir harte was then so full of sorrow that
sinners that doe thus re-returne And therefore Sainct Paule sayeth Accessistis ad sanguinem melius loquentem quam Abel Ye become and haue returned you vnto the bloude that speaketh more graciously then did the bloude of Abell The bloud of Abell cryed vengeaunce before almightie god As almightie God sayd vnto Caine in the booke of Genesis Sanguis Abell fratris tui clamat ad me vindictam de terra The bloude of thy brother Abell crieth vengeaunce in mine eares from the grounde where it is shead But the moste precious bloude of our sauiour Iesu Christ cryeth mercy for all sinners that doeth repent And our sauiour now before the face of hys father sheweth his woundes sheweth his most precious bloud ceaseth not to procure mercy for them This plainly doeth affyrme the blessed Apostle Saint Iohn saying in this maner filioli hec scribo vobis vt non peccatis sed et si quis peccauerit aduocatū habemus apud patrem Iesu Christum iustum et ipse est propitiatio pro peccatis nostris That is to say Childrē I write these things vnto you to the intent that you should not sinne Neuerthelesse if it fortune any man to sinne wée haue an aduocate for vs Christ Iesus before the face of his father And he is rightuous and without sinne a verye satisfaction for al our sinnes Who thē attentiuely doth beholde this Crucifix verely beleueth that on the Crosse was payd the raūsom of all sinners how may he not fully trust that if he aske mercy for his sinnes they shall be forgiuen him So that here euery sinner may finde great matter and occasion of hope In the Crosse is also matter of ioy Héere is occasion of such excessiue ioy that a soule which verely tasteth it can not but highly reioyce in the same And therfore Sainct Paule did say Mihi autem absit gloriari nisi in cruce domini Iesu Christi God forbid that I reioyce in any other thing then in the Crosse of our Lorde Iesu Christ. Here doubtlesse is great cause for euerye true Christian man to reioyce and specially for thrée poyntes The first is that by the death of our sauiour on the Crosse and sheding of his moste precious bloude on the Crosse we be fully reconciled to almighty God as often as we doe true repentaunce with a fast purpose of amendement Thus Saint Paule sayth ad Col Complacuit per eum reconciliari omnia in ipsum per sanguinem cruicis It hath pleased God the father that by his sonne and by his bloud shed on the Crosse all should be reconciled But you will aske me what meaneth this word reconciled It is as much to sai as to be made attone with almighty God and to be at friendship with hym As two men when they haue bene at variaunce to be made louers together againe So the displeasure which he had against vs for our sinne is taken away And his great wrath against vs is fully pacified And where we were by sin the children of the diuell now we haue recouered to be made againe the children of God and consequentlye the inheritours of heauen O thou Christian man is not here great cause to reioyce If thou haue a ritche man to thy father which had loued thée much and he for thy misdemaner had caste thée out from his fauour and so thou werte in ieopardie to lose thy enherytaunce if by meanes of a brother of thine thou mightest be brought into his fauour againe and be taken for his sonne as thou waste before and restored thereby to thine enheritance haddeste thou not great cause to be ioyous and reioyce that by this means thou hast recouered againe thy fathers loue with all the commodities belonging vnto the same In like manner it is of euery sinner for he by his lewde demainer and by his sinful dealing hath so displeased his father that he is cast out from the fauour of his father and is in perrill to lose his inherytaunce which his most louing father had prouided for hym Neuerthelesse his onelye begotten sonne by his inestimable goodnesse and charitie suffering the most painful death of the Crosse and shedding his most precyous bloude for amendes and recompence of our vngracious dealinge hath reconcyled vs agayne and made vs at one with his father and set vs at a perfecte peace concorde and vnytie And thys is concernynge the fyrste poynte The second by the vertue of the crosse and of his most blessed passyon the power of our enymies be much broken for on the Crosse our sauyour by his death gatt the victory vpō thē for the which Sainct Paule saide expolians principatus et potestates traduxit confidenter triumphans cos in seme tipso Christ Iesus spoiling the mighty power of the diuill hath openly detected theyr frauds and gotten a very triumph of them in his owne person And therfore nothing is yet more tirrible vnto them then is the signe of the Crosse. A blessed virgine sainct Christian had suche a confidence in the token of the Crosse that when shée féelt hyr selfe tempted with hyr ghostly enimy shée marked hyr selfe with the same token and at euery temptation shée gatte the better of the diuils And by this holy token chased thē away put euer to flight Thirdli by the vertue of the crosse of this most fruitful death our hand wryting the which made most against vs was clerly put out Whē where was it written In the booke of our owne conscience there is no maner of sinne that we doe but it is written in the booke of our consciēce And if we repent vs not of the same be hartily sory for it before our death thys booke of our conscience shal be shewed against vs in the dreadfull day of iudgement Neuerthelesse if we repent vs and confesse vs and doe true repentance therfore then by the vertue of this passion it shall be scraped out of the booke of our conscience Therfore Sainct Paule calleth sinne our own hand writing Deleuit quod aduersū nos erat chirographum decreti quod erat contrarium nobis et ipsū tulit de medio affigens illud cruci Christ Iesus he saith put out the hande writing of the decrée whiche was against vs and so withdrewe it fastning it vnto the Crosse. When thou perceiuest O sinfull creature that by the Crosse of Christ and by that most precious bloud which was shed on the crosse thou art reconciled and made at one with God and that the power of thine enimies be greatly represt And fynallly that thy sin which was most against thée was crucified on the same Crosse so that thou maist clearely sée that héere is great matter of excessiue ioy and to reioyce in the most blessed Crucifix Finally in the Crosse is also matter of great comfort when a person hath deserued a great open shame is broght euen to the plunge of the matter and yet by
and clensed from the spottes and mallice of deadly sinne they bée the brighter glasses and more cléerly receyue this loue such also be néere vnto our Sauior for nothing putteth vs farre from him but onely sinne And therefore they that haue more diligently scoured their soules from the rust of sinne be néerer vnto him then the other that so haue not done Such soules also as of their parte enforce them selues to a great loue and to a more ample feruor they doe inlarge the capacitie of their soules to receyue a more large abundaunce of loue agayne those that lesse enforce them haue a lesse capacitie in receyuing and therfore so much the lesse they receyue of this loue Euen as a man that openeth his bosome wyde and enlargeth it is more able to receiue a greater thing into it then hée that doeth not But yet as I haue sayde before of the glasses euery one of the soules receyue as full and as whole a loue of Iesu Christ as though there were no moe soules in all the world but that one alone for the loue of Christ Iesus infinite And therfore wheÌ„ innumerable of soules haue euerie one of them receyued as much the loue of Christ Iesu as to euerie one of them is possible yet hath he still in him self loue suffitieÌ„t for infinite moe this his loue therby is not in any point diminished nor lessened though it be deuided vnto many be the number of them neuer so great None of them that be beloued receiue the lesse bicause of the multitude of his fellowes nor if he had no moe but him selfe he shoulde not thereby haue any more abundance of loue to his parte but according to the cleÌ„sing and capacitie of his soule nighnesse vnto Christ his parte in loue shall be the lesse or more Wherefore good sister I pray you bée you dylygent to scoure your soule cleane and to enforce your soule on your parte feruently to loue your spouse Christ Iesu and drawe nygh vnto hym with entiere deuotion then vndoubtedly you shall be partener to the more plentuous aboundaunce of his loue notwithstanding any other multitude which beside is beloued of him for he neuerthelesse is as studious of you and as mindfull as ferueÌ„ly careth for your weale as though ther wer no mo beloued of him but you alone in all thys world The ninth Consideration THe ninth coÌ„sideratioÌ„ is this wher peraduenture you would obiect to me again say Brother if it bée thus as you say that my Lord Iesu loueth me so much and is so mindfull of me and so feruently enteÌ„deth my weale what néede me to care whatsoeuer I doe he will not cast me away he wil not forsake me nor suffer mée to perish Good sister without doubt as I haue said our sauior Christ Iesu is in loue towards you he is myndfull more louing towards you then I can expresse And sure you may be that hée will neuer cast you away ne forsake you if you before cast not your selfe away ne forsake your selfe But if you giue any place to sinne in your soule and suffer it to enter vpon you verely then you forsake your self and cast your selfe awaye and willinglie destroye your selfe that is your déede not hys for he neuer forsaketh any creature vnlesse they before haue forsakeÌ„ them selues And if they will forsake them selues were they neuer in so great fauour with hym before they then incontinently lose his fauour the which thing well appeareth in his first spirituall creatures the noble Angelles Lucifer and hys compâ—nie which were created in excelent brightnesse and were muche in the fauour of almightie God they presumptuously offeÌ„ded him in pride for the which not onely they lost hys fauour but also their merueylous brightnesse became incoÌ„tinently horrible foule and were expelled out of the glorious kingdom of heauen that they were in and throwen into perpetuall darkenesse into the pryson of hell The first man Adam also who was created in singular honour and was put into Paradise a place full of gladnesse there to liue in comfort of all pleasure the which was done to him for a singular loue that almightie God had towardes him yet anon as hâ— fell to sinne he was in lyke maner expelled out from that pleasure and sent into this miserable world to endure miserie and payne If those noble creatures which were lift vp into so great fauour with almightie God so lightly by their misdemeanor in sin lost his gracious fauour let none other creature thinke but if they admit any sinne to their soule they shal be likewyse excluded out of his fauor For sinne is so odible vnto almightie God that not the dearest friends that euer he had in all the worlde but if there were founde in their soules any deadly sin after death they should neuer be receiued into the ioy of heauen Not the blessed Mary Magdalen for all hir loue towardes him nor yet his owne blessed mother that bare him into this world if one deadly sin were fouÌ„d in their soules they shuld incontinent be throwen into the darke dungeon of hell Wherfore good sister say not if his loue be so muche vppon you and he so desirouslie entendeth your profite that you may doe what you list you néed not to care what you doe But contrariwise the more that he loueth you the more you shoulde take héede vnto your self and beware that you offend him not for so did the blessed Mary Magdalen of whome I spake before Shée notwithstandyng the great loue that both our sauiour had to hir and shée vnto him agayne for the which also hyr sinnes were forgiuen hyr yet after his death shée fled from the companie of men lyued in the wildernesse farre from any worldly comforte in great wayling fasting and prayer such other painefulnesse of hir body was nothing the lesse diligent to kéepe hir selfe warely from sinne for the great loue that our lord sauiour had to hir but for that the more studiously she did auoid eschu euery thing wherby she might run into any displeasure against him The tenth consideration THe tenth consideration is this it were wel done and much it shuld farther this cause if you truly esteme of how little value your loue is how vaine how light howe triflelous a thing it is how few ther be that would much regarde it or set muche pryce thereby for fewe there be or none to whom it may doe any profit or auail Contrariwise you should consider the loue of your spouse the swéet Iesu how exceleÌ„t it is how sure how fast howe constantly abiding how many haue much specially regarded it Martirs innumerable both men and women for his loue haue shead theyr bloud and haue endured euery kind of martirdom were it neuer so cruell were it neuer so terrible No paine no tormentrie might compell them to forsake his loue so desirous were they of his loue that rather
things Lamētationes Carmen et vae which is to say Lamentations songes and woe And the same thrée things in lyke maner be wrytten in thys booke of the Crucifixe Fyrst is lamentation and this verie conuenientlye is written in thys booke of the Crucyfixe For whosoeuer will ioye wyth Christ must fyrst sorow with him And by sorowe and lamentation hée may come vnto ioye But hée that will not sorrowe and lament wyth Christ héere in thys lyfe hée shall come fynallye to the place where is euerlastyng woe I saye woe that shall neuer haue ende Héere therfore is written all these thrée lamentation songe and woe Fyrste then wée will speake of lamentation Lamentation aryseth of foure affections eyther of a great feare or dreade or of a great shame or of some sorrowe or els of some hatred When Holophernes with a mightie power was entred into the countrey of Iurie terribly threatned to distroy all before hym the people were in a greate feare and dreade to be oppressed and so fell downe before almyghtie God and with great lamentation dyd call for hys helpe omnius populus cetidit in faciē adorantes dominum cum lamentatione et fletu all the people fell on theyr faces worshyppyng our Lorde with wéepyng and lamentation The cause of this lamentation was the great dreade whych they were in Héere first then let vs learne to dread and doubtlesse thou Christian soule thou mayest héere learne greater matter of dread then the Iewes then were in For the Iewes then were onelye in perill of temporall death thou arte in perill of euerlastyng death Consider man how gréeuouslie thou hast sinned And also behold how gréeuously sinne was reuenged and punished in the blessed bodye of christ And thou shalt anon fynde here great cause and matter of dread The storyes telleth of Cambises the King of Persia that where one of hys Iudges had giuen a false and a wrong iudgement he depriued him of hys offyce and made an other in his place their Iudge after him Furthermore bicause of hys falsehoode he caused him to be slayne and his skinne to be hanged vp before the place of the commen iudgement to the entent that this newe Iudge beholdyng the gréeuous punishment of his predecessor might beware of falshood and alway dread to giue any wrong iudgement In like maner the Image of the Crucifix is hunge vp in euery Church to the entent that we may sée how gréeuouslie sinne was punyshed in that moste blessed bodye of our Sauyour Christ Iesu not for him self nor for hys owne sinne but for ours was he thus cruellye intreated wée were the cause wée committed the sinne But yet neuerthelesse he bare the paynes and burthens of our sinnes vpon his backe As wryteth Sainct Peter Peccata nostra ipse pertulit in corpore suo super ligium crucis And therefore when we behold the Image of the Crucifixe in anye place set vp we should thynke howe gréeuously sinne was punyshed in the body of our sauiour Christ. And there by learne to dreade the gréeuous punishment of sinne Alas man thynkest thou not that thys was matter of dreade This I say that the verie sonne of God was for thy sinne put vnto thys cruell death of the Crosse If thou beléeue not thys thou arte worse then the dyuylles ▪ For as Sainct Iames sayeth demones credunt et contremiscunt the diuilles doe beléeue and tremble And if thou verely beléeue it thou mayest thereby thynke and learne howe muche our sauyour and hys father both doeth hate sinne For sith almightie God the father woulde gyue hys moste dearely beloued sonne vnto suche an horrible death onely for to quenche and to extincte sinne thou mayest bée sure that he hateth sinne very much Our Sauyour also must néedes hate sinne when hée rather would suffer thys moste vyllanous death then that sinne shoulde haue domynion vpon our soules séeyng then that thou knowest that bothe they hate sinne Howe shouldest thou dreade to receue any sinne into thy soule If sinne were so displeasant to almighty God the father that rather then hée would suffer it he would giue his owne sonne vnto death for the expulsion of it How much rather now doth it displease him when his sonne hath suffered death therfore and yet sinne rayneth neuerthelesse and more generally then euer it dyd before Furthermore if sinne was so greuously punished in him that neuer did sinne how bytterly shall it be punished in thée O sinfull creature the which haste done so many great outragious sinnes Surely wher he hath one nayle in his handes féete thou sinfull creature hast deserued one hūdreth And for euery one thorne that he suffred in his head thou hast deserued a thousande And for euery one lash that he felt of the scourges thou art worthy to haue innumerable Who that déepely considerith this that I haue sayde and with an earnest study resorteth often to looke vppon this booke I maruell if he doo not fynde here in great cause and earnest matter of dread Here also may euery sinner quicken his sinne if any be within hist breast for it is maruell that a sinner can with out shame beholde this blessed Image If a sinner call to remembrance his great vnkyndnesse repute the same vnkyndenes any maner of vice I trow that he wylbe much ashamed of his moste vnkynde and vngentle dealing against so louing a Lorde Say to me thou sinful creature wilt thou not looke that other men when thou haste béene vnto them in anye thinge beneficiall I saye wylt thou not looke that they shall be kynde and louing vnto thée againe And if any person be vnkynde vnto thée wylt thou not rebuke him fully and lay it vnto his reproofe to make him ashamed thereof I am suer that thou wylt Now then let me sée wher is thy shame beholde and vew euery part of this blessed body what payne it endured for thy sake Séest thou not his eyes how they bée fylled with blood and bytter teares Séest thou not his eares how they be filled with blasphemous rebukes and obprobrious words His chéeke necke with buffets his shoulders with the burthen of the crosse Séest thou not his mouth how in his dryghnesse they would haue filled it with Asell and Gaule Séest thou not how his backe is payned against the hard Crosse Séest thou not his sydes how they were skourged with sharpe whyps Séest thou not his armes how they were strayned by the violence of the ropes 〈◊〉 thou not his handes how they be nailed iust vnto the crosse Séest thou not his legges how they be wearyed with labour Séest thou not his féete how paynefully they stay and bere vp the wight of his whole body O moste vnkinde sinner all this he suffred for thy sake No greater kyndes euer was or could be shewed to thée by any creature then this which swéete Iesus dyd shewe for thée and for thy sake wher is now thy kindenes againe No
for very payne it myght haue brast O thou sinfull creature If thou can not sorrow come learne of thys blessed woman to sorrow for thy sin Thinke that thy sinne was the cause and occasion of all this payne and sorrow that thy Lorde and sauiour dyd suffer on the Crosse. And not onely she giueth the example of sorrowe but his blessed mother abundantly thē sorowed at his death Sainct Iohn sorrowed Sainct Peter sorrowed and wepte bitterly All the Apostles were in sorrow But wherevnto speake I of reasonable creatures the vnreasonable and the vnsensible creatures shewes a maner of sorrowe The earth quaked The mighty stones brast in sunder The monuments opened the dead courses issued out of theyr monuments All these were moued with compassion And onely thou wretched sinner for whose cause he suffred all this paine and gréeuance hast no pitie nor compassion vpon him Alas howe great is thy hardnesse Howe obstinate is thy harte that will suffer no pittie to enter in to it Uerely thou arte more harder then are the stones for they were moued by his passyon so myghtely that they brake in sunder Petrae scissae sunt When then the harde stones and all the other vnreasonable creatures were thus moued and stirred to take some compassyon of the paynfull death of Christ and yet felt no profite by his death Thou much rather shouldest be moued for whose loue he dyd endure all this gréeuous pains Looke thou therfore vpō this booke thou shalt here fynde great cause matter of sorrow Fourthly if thou canst not sorrowe yet thou maiest here learne to hate Thou maiste learne to hate sinne which was cause of all this trouble It is not for nought that the scripture sayth Quasi a facie colubri fuge peccatū dentes leonis dentes eius interficientis animas hominum Flée from sinne euen as thou wouldest flée from the face of an Adder for as the téeth of the Lion deuoureth the body of man so death doth sleay their soules Sinne is so odious and so great an iniury to god that it was necessary for the recompence of this iniury that the sonne of god should suffer this most paineful death of the crosse Sinne so prouoked almightie god the father so déeply to displeasure wrath to take vengance vpon sinners that without the sacrifice of his owne sonne in the gybbet of the crosse he wold not be appeased ne recōciled vnto sinners againe Sinne so deadly wounded blotted the soule of man that with out shedding of the most precious bloud of our sauiour Christ Iesu no lyfe could be restored vnto sinners nor the soules might be washed from the fowle abhominable corruption of sinne Sinne so debarreth and shutteth frō sinners the gates of heauen that they might not haue béene opened but only by the merit of this moste bytter passion suffering this most painfull torments on the crosse Sinne set the gates of hell so wyde open brought all this world into that daunger and thraldome of the diuell that all we should haue béene deuowred of the pyt of hell vnlesse we had béene raūsomed with this most precious treasure that was shed for vs on the crosse-O sinful creature hast thou not great cause to hate sinne that hath brought thée into that miserable cōdicion that by thy sinne thou hast done and committed high iniurie against almighty god and hast prouoked him to vengeaunce That by thy sinne thou hast thus mortally wounded thyne owne soule That by sin thou haste brought thy selfe into the daunger of the dyuill and be dampned in hell perpetually That by thy sinne thou hast shut the gates of heauē against thy selfe Alas man where canst thou fynde greater occasion of hatred If thy neyghbour doe vnto thée but a lyght iniurie thou canst anon hate him yea and so hate him that thou wilt say thou mayest not finde in thy harte to loue him Sinne hathe done vnto thée all these great iniuries and yet thou loueste sinne and canste not hate it Alas what madnesse is this Ioab sayde vnto Kyng Dauid dilegis odientes te et odio habes diligentis te Thou loueste them that hate thée and thou hatest them that loue thée The same worde may well be sayde vnto euery sinner that followeth the course of sinne And lykewyse vyce doeth procure the dystruction of sinners and yet the sinners doe follow after them Our sauiour with all grace vertue procureth the saluation of sinners but him they will not heare nor take any wayes after his counsayle And this is nothing els but an extreame madnesse for they should contrarywyse loue our sauiour that so louingly for theyr weale indured the gréeuous paynes of the Crosse and hate the diuill and sinne which was the very cause of death By thys then you may perceyue that in this booke ye may fynde matter inough of lamentation sith you may read in this booke so much cause of dread of shame of sorrow and of hatred And this is the first wryting wherof we promised for to speake The secōd writing that I said was also writtē in this booke was Carmē that is to say Songe Surely if eyther loue or hope or ioye or comfort wil make a soule to sing here he may take great occasion to sing Fyrst here is great matter of loue and so great that if any person will eyther gyue hys loue fréely or els for some certayne pryce sell it hée that died on the crosse is best worthy to haue it If thou search in heauen in earth one person vpon whom thou maist best bestowe thy loue Thou shalt fynde none comparable vnto Christ Iesus so wyse so myghty so gentle so kynde so amyable far passing all other and there to he is much desirous of thy loue for when Moyses had rehearsed the great benifites which almightie God had giuen vnto man he sayth Et nunc audi quid dominus deus tuus requirat a te nisi vt diligas eū Now here what thy Lord God dooth require of thy parte truely but that thou loue him So now if thou wylt fréely giue thy loue thou canst not more wysely nor better bestow it then vpon him which is so excelent and hath all the condicions aboue saide and there to also is so desirous to haue thy loue And if thou wylt sel thy loue I trow there is none that wyl giue vnto thée more liberally for the same than he hath done Where shalt thou finde him that wyll shedde one droppe of bloud out of his harte for thy sake Where shalte thou finde hym that will giue hys owne soule and lyfe for thy loue There can no more bée asked of any man then that Maiorem charitatem nemo habet nisi vt animam suam ponat quis pro amicis suis. No man can shewe greater charitie then for to put hys owne life in ieopardie for his friendes But thou peraduenture wilt say Syr if he had done this
the meanes of helpe he is deliuered from the same is not this his deliuerance from this open shame a comforte vnto hym yes doubtlesse The noble woman Susanna as the Prophet Daniell telleth all be it she was giltlesse yet for because she woulde not assent to the wretched desyre of two lewde priestes she was by them wrongfully accused and put to great shame for they wrongfully slaundered hir that she had taken an other man besides hir husband and that she had committed adulterye Neuerthelesse when the matter was tryed by the goodnes of almightye God and she was clearelye discharged from this terrible occasion and clearely deliuered froÌ„ this shame it was a great comfort vnto hir The blessed Magdalen which by hir wretched liuing had deserud great shaÌ„e yet when she came to our sauiour Christ and wept at his féete and so by his great mercy was excused of hir shame hir hart was set at a great rest in great coÌ„forte The woman of whom the gospel telleth that was taken in aduoutery by hir enimies so brought before our sauiour Christ there in his presence before al his people hir shamfull dealing was published who may think but that she was sore accoÌ„bred with that open shame but yet wheÌ„ our souiour had confounded hir enimies and deliuered hir from that shame she was restored to much ease and comfort of hyr hart Why tel I this Truly to the intent that we may sée great matter of coÌ„fort in the Crosse for we sinners haue deserued great shame for our abhominable sinne surelye so great that if we verely knew the greatnes of the shame that we haue deserued we might neuer sustaine the remembraunce therof And yet that moste inestimable goodnesse of Christ by that horyble shame that he suffered on the Crosse deliuered vs from euerlasting shame He toke ther vpon hys back all the burthen of our sinne There wanted no circumstances of horryble shame for then the death of the Crosse was the most shamefull maner of death that was put to any villaine It was theÌ„ the most vilanous death to be haÌ„ged on the gebbit of the Crosse. And this was done in no secret place but high vppon an open mountaine that all the people might behoulde and looke vppon hym And he was haÌ„ged ther naked betwéen two théeues as though he were a prince and captaine of misdoers And against the feast of Easter when the most number of people did assemble vnto the temple of the Iewes nigh vnto the Citie of Ierusalem that all the people might commodiouslye resort to gase vppon this cruell spectacle This thing was done also in the open day for from the midst of the day he thus did hang aliue on the Crosse by the space of thrée howres and more And al the strangers as they passed foreby did wonder vpon him The souldiers opprobryously rebuked him The priests with wordes of derision and mockerye assaulted him The théeues that honge besides him blasphemed him Finally al his enimes reioyced in their victorye against him Alas what creature mighte be more shamefully intreated then was our sauiour christ Iesus hanging thus on the Crosse. A troth it is now the Crosse is made honorable by his death but then as I said it was more shameful then anie gibbet or gallows or any other instrument of death And moreouer and besides that he was hanged on the same with the most dispight and villany thâ—â— could be thought or deuised for any creature to be put vnto O thou christian soule Christ Iesus the sonne of God tooke vpon him al this shame for thy loue to the entent that if thou wilt amend thy life and forsake thy sin and do true penance thou shalt by his shame be deliuered froÌ„ al shame His shame shall hide thy sins Hée was there naked and spoyled of all his cloathes to the intent that thou shouldest be couered vnder his mantle fro thy shame And therfore by the prophet Ezechiell he saith ExpaÌ„di amittum meum super 〈◊〉 et operui ignominiam tuam I did spred my mantle vpon thée and so couered thée from shame Let euery persoÌ„ héere think with them selues what déedes they haue done worthie of great shame which if they had come to light and bene openlye knowne thei should haue bene blotted with opeÌ„ infamye here in this lyfe and with out the special mercy of god in the day of iudgement they shoulde thereof haue an open shame before all the world and fyfally in hell an euerlasting shame But from al those shames by the gracious mantle of Christ many bée couered Hée hath mercifully spred his mantle ouer them and kept them from those importable shames Of this couering also the Prophet Dauid sayth Beati quorum tecta sunt peccata Blessed are those whose sinnes be couered O thou sinfull creature if thou mightst see what shame thou hast deserued for thy sinne thou shouldest recken this a singular comfort But thou séest not the abhominacion of thy sin and therfore thou perceyuest not what shame thou hast deserued Why doeth a common brothel take no shame of hir abhomination what is the cause why that shée regardeth hyr infamye no more Truely as far as I can iudge the cause is for that al the light of honestie is queÌ„ched in hyr shée is so blynded with hyr wretched pleasure that shée is paste all shame and hath not left in hir one sparke of the light of honestye where by shée may value estéeme the horriblenesse of hir offences Shée reputeth more a litle spote in hir kyrchefe or in hir face theÌ„ a thousaÌ„d blots of deadly sin in hir soule But if she had any honesty within hir hart to think how foule abhominable hir lif were surely she wold be much ashamd of hir self Thamar the daughter of King Dauid wheÌ„ hir brother Amon wold haue oprest hir she sayde Noli facere hanc stulticiam ego enim ferre non potero opprobrium meum O my brother saide she doe not this folly for this reproch that ye inforce to do vnto me is greater then I may suffer This woman had some light of honestye within her brest whereby she was moued to resist and to withstande this shamefull déede batwéene hir and hir brother A Romane woman also whose name was Lucretia whom by force againste hir wil in the absence of hir husband one maÌ„ called Sextus Tarquinius had abused hir albeit the thinge was 〈◊〉 yet she was there of so muche asâ—amed in hir owne mind that she might not beare the shame But when hir husband came home she tooke a knife and in his preseÌ„ce slew hir selfe This noble woman had the light of honesty in hir soule she sawe how abhominable a thing it was to commit adultery But a brothell hath in hir no spark of honesty wherby she can take any shame nor she doth not consider the foule abhomynacion of hir wretched life and therefore she is
shamles And in like maner euery sinner that lacketh the light of faith neither considereth the greatnes of his sinne nor the presence of almightye God which looketh vpon the same He regardeth nothing the blessed Angels the which doth behold theâ— abhominable conscience to their great discomfort nor the deuilles his mortal enimies which be ful ioyous of his shameful demainer If the sinner clearely considered al these thinges as they be matter in very déed he would be doubtlesse greatly ashamed of him selfe and in a great discomforte Neuerthelesse a penitent soule that is sore prest and wrong with vtter shame lyke as was the womeÌ„ of whoÌ„ I spake before I meane Susanna and Mary Magdalen the woman that was apprehended in aduoutry I say such a soule being holdeÌ„ in such distresse of shame and coÌ„sidering that by the approbrious and shamefull death which our sauiour did suffer on the Crosse. He that deliuered all true peniteÌ„t sinners from the shame which he deserued for their sinne and that he there by tooke all their sinne in hys owne necke hath great cause as me séemeth to take a wonderful comforte in the most blessed Crosse. So that here also as I said is great matter cause of very comfort of solace incomparable Wherefore to conclude my tale as touching this second writing if eyther loue or hope or ioy or comfort wil make vs sing Here in thys booke of the Crucifixe is great occasion of song If thou first truly lament with Christ thou shalt after ioyfully sing with him and eche of these shal induce other hatred of sinne shall bring into thy harte the loue of Christ dreade shall bring in hope sorow shal bring in ioy And shame here taken for thy sin shal bringe into thy soule perpetuall comfort And thus much I haue sayde for the second writing The thyrde wrytinge that is written in this booke I sayde is ve that is to say wo ve betokeneth in scriptures euerlasting dampnation And doubtlesse this woe may such sinners here reade that neither wil lament nor sing with Christ on the Crosse as hée said vnto the Iews Cecinimus vobis et non saltastis lamentauimus vobis et non planxistis that is to saye we sunge vnto you and you sorrowed not And soone after the Gospell telleth that he reprochfully spake vnto the cities to the whiche he had shewed many great myracles And they for all that did no maner of pennaunce for theyr sinne to such there he tirribly threatneth saying Vae tibi Corozaine Vae tibi Bethsaida wo shal be to thée Bethsaida by thys we maye learne that such whiche will not stir in them selues these affections aboue rehearsed whereby they may lament or els singe with Christ on the Crosse they shall come to euerlasting woe I say who that will not stir in theyr hartes dreade shame sorrowe and hatred of theyr sinne and so truely lament with Iesu eyther els quicken in theyr hartes loue hope reioysing and comfort and so singe with Iesu doubtlesse they shall come to the wo of euerlasting dampnation which woe is the thirde writinge that as we sayde before is written on the Crosse. Behold O thou christian soule the extreme paines that our sauiour suffered on the crosse for thy sinne And if thou wilte not by such aflictions as I now haue rehearsed enforce thy selfe to be made parteiner of the same paines in this lyfe thou shalte in the life to come endure like manner of paines and that euerlastingly where he suffered them on the Crosse for a time Let vs therefore déepely consider what paines he did endure suffer on the crosse The first when he was crucified he was spoyled and made naked of al his clothes And so violently throwne downe vppon the hard tymber and his handes féete cruelly digged in with nailes as he sayeth in the 21. Psalme Foderunt manus meas et pedes meos they haue digged my handes and my féete this he suffered for thy sinne O sinfull creature and if thou wilt not amend thy life be times thou shalt be spoyled of all thy clothes and so cast downe into hell vpon a more painefull couch then was the Crosse. The Prophet Esay saith vnto such a sinner Subtus te seruatur timea et opera mentum tuum verinis The mothes that shall teare and gnaw thy body shall lie vnder thée acd the burninge wormes and serpents shal sprale aboue thée dig away part of thy body O think what an horrible paine it were for to lye in a bed full of snakes adders and todes créepinge and sprawling and byting and pinching thée on euery parte The seconde when our sauiour was reared vp aloft on the Crosse that same hanging there was very paynefull vnto him O what payne was it vnto that most delicate and tender bodye of hys to hange so longe in that tormentrye But where he did hange here but for a time if thou amende not thy life thou shâ—â—â— hang in the gibbet of hell for euermore For be thou well assured that if thou shalt suffer for thine owne sinne in hell thou shalte suffer a more gréeuous tormentry then he dyd that without seasing For as it is sayd in the Apocalipses fumus tormentorum ascendet in secula seculorum the smoke of the tormentries of that place shall ascende by innumerable worlds that is to say without ende The tormentes which he suffered on the Crosse was the nayles the thornes the rops the schourges the speare But the torments that thou shalt suffer shal a thousande folde passe them Looke howe far the mallice and wit of the diuils passeth the mallice and witte of the Iewes so farre excéede the engynes which the diuilles haue coÌ„ceiued and forged for the dampned soules to be tormented Aboue them that the Iewes maliciously deuysed agaynst our sauiour Christ. The thyrd our sauiour endured an extreme heate feruour when he for the great afflictioÌ„ 〈◊〉 agony whiche he did suffer was coÌ„strained for that gréeuous anguish to sweat water blud But this heat is nothing to the heat of the burnyng fyre of hell which neuer shall be quenched Ignis ille non extinguetur As the gospell sayth that fyre shall neuer be quenched The Prophet Esay sayeth Quis ex vobis poterit habitare cum ardoribus sempiternis which of you may continually inhabite with the heates that neuer shal cease O sinfull creature thinke with thy self the largenes of these two wordes Euer and neuer thinke with thy self howe paynefull it shall be euer to be in that brenning fyre and neuer to be released of thy payne If thou shouldest be compelled to lye but one sennight vpon a softe featherbed I suppose thou wouldest be weary thereof But how weary shalt thou be euer to lye stewing and brenning without ceasing The fourth our sauiour Christ endured also colde not onely for his nakednesse but also when his naturall heate by death lefte his bodye