Dominus Iesus mortâ— Crâ—cis ignominiam tulit ad haec tria referri possunt primum filialâ—m obedientiam quae prioris inobedientiae piaculum sâ—lueret Secundum Compassibilem communem miseriam qua Dei iustitiam inflexibilem virgom ferreaÌ„ ad miserecordâ—â— hortabatur Tertium Celeberrimam solenuem victoriam cuius successu ineuitabilis Diaboli mortis potentia in momento gloriâ—se efficaciter erat imminuenda The store-house is opened full of all souereigne l Bonauentuâ—a in Stimulo ameris parte prima cap 10. medecines enter by the windowe of Christes woundes and take from thence Phisicke or remedy curing restoring comforting and preseruing from thence receiue what simples thou desirest what delicate electuaries thou wilt For the merite of Christ suffering is the price of our redemption he was wounded for our transgressions he was broken for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was vpon him and with his stripes we are healed Esay 53. 5. His bloud doth purge vs from all sinne 1. Ioh. 1. 7. And this is the confession of the foure beastes and foure and twentie elders who fall downe before the lambe Thou hast redeemed vs to God by thy bloud out of euery kindred and tongue and people and nation Apoc. 5. 8. 9. And so he is an all sufficient ransome for vs 1. Timoth. 2. 6. which word m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Haec subest verbo huic notio vt sit precium aequiualens quo captiui redempti demittuntur in pristi 〈…〉 libertatem restituuntur Seluecerus in locum Apostoli râ—nsome in the originall but once vsed in the newe testament and in it the proposition where with it is compounded noteth an opposition and sheweth that Christ our deliuerer or redeemer is so sett against Adam the author of all bondage as he is stronger and of greater power then he by whom sinne entered into the world Rom. 5. 17. Now this captiuitie or bondage in which the deuill holdeth man fast bound is threefold The first of blindnes and error For when Eue listened to the contagious and infecting hissing of the serpent that both shee and Adam by eating the forbidden fruit should become like vnto God knowing good and euill Gen. 3. 5. she was ensnared by the first question that euer was n Beda Duo promissa sum mulieri Immortalitas Diuinitas neutrum prouenit fed iumentorum conditio hominum sub vnius similitudinis comparatione damnatione premulgata censetur Arnoldus Carnotensis de operibus sex dieruÌ„ simado illius liber sit de quo non leues suns dubitaÌ„di causae sed censuram omnem Criticis relinquo asked in the world and deceiued by the first lyethen made from whence all their posteritie and off-spring walke in darknes strangers from the life of God through the ignorance which is in them Ephes 4. 18. The second of sinne For whosoeuer committeth sinne is the seruant of sinne Ioh. 8. 34 Nothing more grieuous nothing more base and vnbeseeming a man For as a seruant is not at his owne power and liberty but dependeth wholy vpon his Lord or Master doing that which he willeth and commandeth so the sinner is giuen ouer to the deuill and altogether subiect vnto him and aduersary seeking whom he may deuoure 1. Pet. 5. 8. o Theodericus in Analyse EnaÌ„geliorum dominicalium Seruitus Diaboli 1. vilissima 2. vitiosissima 3. Durissima 4. Necentissima And this estate is 1. most base for hee is constrained to obey infinite lusts which the better sort of Heathen thought dishonorable 2. most wicked for he heapeth sinne vpon sin offence vpon offence euill vpon euill and those contrary each to other and with these vexeth and tormenteth his slaues 3. most grieuous and cruell for the sinner is a drudge to so many deuills as offences 4. most hurtfull for the wages and reward of this seruice is the destruction of soule and body the losse of eternall saluation and endlesse condemnation in hell fire prepared for the deuill and his Angels Therefore partly to make the Romanes ashamed partly to conuict them by the witnes of their owne conscience the Apostle demaundeth of them propounding a comparison of the estate of life in which they serued sinne and that wherin they liued vnto righteousnesse what fruit they had and answereth no other but that whereof they were now ashamed Rom. 8. 21. 22. And it is the confession of the wicked concerning themselues and their endeauours that they were wearied in the way of sinne and destruction and had gone through dangerous wayes and now knowen the way of the Lord. Wisdom 5. 7. The third is of corruption and death For man borne of a woman hath but a short time to liue and is ful of misery Iob 14. 1. the truth of this sentence not words but wounds haue taught Man borne of a p Bernardus in in Hemilia feriae 4. Nebdomadis pa. lib. 2. de consideratione Gregorius Magnus in Moralibus ad 14. cap. Iobi woman therfore with guilt and nothing more contemptible then hee hath a short time therefore with feare so in the very entrance into life he is dreadfully admonished of his departure full of miserie therefore with teares and mourning for the miseries of the body miseries of the soule miseries when hee sleepeth miseries when he waketh For what calamitie can be wanting vnto him who is borne in sinne with a weake body and a barren soule And thus the penaltie of man in a short summe is expressed for after q Leo p 〈…〉 s 〈…〉 3. d 〈…〉 â—io 〈…〉 D 〈…〉 that first and vniuersall ruine thorough which sinne entred into the world and by sinne death went ouer all men none could auoide the rule and souereignitie of the Deuill none shake off the fetters of his cursed and terrible bondage neither could any haue beene reconciled vnto God or had entred into life except the sonne of God coeternall and coequall vnto the father had vouch safed to be the sonne of Man and come to seeke and saue that which was lost Luc. 19. 10. that as by Adam was death so by our Lord Iesus Christ should be the resurrection from the dead and from all the wretchednesse before mentioned hath hee obtained deliuerance for vs of his Father euen then when he offered himselfe vpon the Altar of the crosse and was made vnto vs righteousnesse sanctification wisedome and redemption 1. Cor. 1. 30. But this benefit is not bestowed in one moment but successiuely and by degrees For wee are made partakers of the first freedome or deliuerance 1â— liberasin à caecitaete â—rere when Christ doth call vs by the voice of his Gospell and enlighten our darke vnderstandings with the bright shining beames of his holy spirit For he conuersing heere vpon earth preached deliuerance to the captiues c. Luc. 4. 18. and when hee ascended vp to heauen gaue gifts to men c. Ephes 4. 11. ordeyning
a perpetuall ministerie by which the eyes of the Gentiles should bee opened that they might be conuerted from darknes to light and brought from the power of Satan vnto God that they might receiue forgiuenesse of sinnes and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in him Act. 26. 18. whereof is a notable remarkeable example of the people Publicans and souldiers Luc. 3. 10. 11. and those Iewes who so vehemently desired that Christ might bee crucified and Barrabas a theefe and murderer let loose Act. 2. 36. 41. We obtaine the second freedome when he giueth sauing 2. Liberatio à peccato faith by which we embrace the pardon of our offences and being regenerate the holy Ghost doth so abate and represse the power of sinne that it beareth not rule in vs. And in this sence we are said not to sinne 1. Ioh. 3. 9. because it reigneth not in our mortall bodies that we should obey the lustes thereof so that though in the flesh we serue the law of sin yet in the minde we serue the law of God Rom. 6. 12. 7 23. and so offend not stubbornely and obstinately but bewayle our corruption and bee exercised in continuall repentance For the third deliuerance it shall bee performed when 3. Liberatio à corruptione morte God by his mighty power doth raise our putrified and corrupted bodies from out of the earth vnto glory For then shall we all be Iust Esay 60. 21. the sonnes of God and of the resurrection equall vnto the Angells Luk. 20. 36. That as we haue borne the image of the earthly so shall we beare the image of the heauenly c. And when this corruptible hath put on incorruption and this mortall hath put on immortalitie then shall be brought to passe the saying that is written Death is swallowed vp in victorie r Deridet Apostolus morteÌ„ quae gloriabatur quasi victriu â—cciso seruatore posito in sepulero Arnoldus Carnotensis de oparibus sex dierum O death where is thy sting O graue where is thy victorie The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the Law But thankes bee vnto God which hath giuen vs victorie through our Lord Iesus Christ 1. Cor. 15. v. 49. 54. 55. 56. 57. From hence we may behold as in a glasse the exceeding iustice mercy wisdome and trueth of God iustice for his First vse wrath could not be appeased nor sinners receiued into fauour without a full and perfect satisfaction made for transgressions committed and therefore hath punished the iniquities of all mankind in his sonne neither doth hee acknowledge or receiue any but such as are clothed with his obedience For the offence committed against the greatest good was to be recompensed with the greatest punishment of the offendor that is the extreame destruction of the nature transgressing for the reward of sinne is death Rom. 6. vers 23. Mercy for s Augustinus in meditationibus when we were dead in trespasses and sinnes wherein in times past we walked according to the course of the world and after the Prince which ruleth in the ayre euen the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience c. and were by nature the children of wrath c. God rich in mercy through his great loue wherewith he loued vs c. hath quickned vs in Christ by whose Grace wee are saued and hath raised vs vp and made vs sit in the heauenly places in Christ Iesus c. Ephes 2. 1. 2. 3. c. And this is that bottomlesse depth t Bonauentinae De stimulo amoris diuins parte 1. cap. 2. Bernardus ser in 4. feria Hebdomadis Panosae of mercy which cannot bee sounded for the father that he might redeeme a seruaunt spared not his owne sonne not the sonne himselfe Wisdome for God did so temper and intermingle his iustice and mercy in this worke of redemption that he remained both infinitely iust and infinitely mercifull Infinitely iust for he punished our sinnes to the full infinitely mercifull laying this burden not vpon vs but vpon our pledge and suerty Christ Iesus for we all as sheepe haue gone astray we haue turned euery one after his owne way and the Lord laid vpon him the iniquitie of vs all Esay 53. 6. And this is that wonderfull worke of God which the Angels bowing themselues downe with reuerence desire to behold and that misterie of godlinesse dimly shadowed by the two cherubims couering the propitiatorie of the Arke of couenaunt a type of Christ and turning their faces one toward another as desiring to looke into it Exod. 25. 20. Trueth For God requireth the deserued punishment our surety vndertaking for vs hath deriued the same together with our sinnes vpon himselfe according to that decree that the breaking of the serpents head should not be without the bruising of the heele of the seede of the woman Gen. 3. 15. euen Christ whom God sent at the fulnesse of time Gal. 4. 4. and he by death ouercame him the deuill who had the power of death Heb. 1. 14. and therefore tooke vpon him our nature For u Thaeodoretus bare man could not heale so deepe a wound because in Adam all haue sinned are corrupted in the roote and conceiued in iniquity Psal 51. 6. neither was this in the power of any Angell a finite creature vnable to beare an infinite punishment or to vphold it selfe from falling For Angels x Augustinus in Enchiridis cap. 100. Fulgentius ad Trasimundum Regem lib. 2. cap. 2. stand by that grace by which we were raised Such an one therefore was to bee sought for whose benefit might renew wisdome informe and power confirme the creature so as eternall equalitie might iustifie the wicked trueth instruct the ignorant strength confirme the weake and he must be not onely man but G 〈…〉 such an helpe did both our nature and case require For neither could y Augustinus Maiesty without humilitie nor humilitie without maiestie restore mankinde therefore is God said to redeeme the Church with his owne bloud Act. 20. 28. and hee is that lambe killed from the beginning of the world Apoc. 13. 8. who was not taken by the handes of the wicked otherwise then deliuered by the determinate counsell and foreknowledge of God and so crucified and slaine Act. 2. 23. 4. 28. For so it was foretold by the mouth of all the Prophets Act. 3. 21. euen that Christ should suffer neither could it be but that the euent must answer the infallible praediction Luc. 24. 26. So he suffered necessarily though by no necessitie That thus the iustice the mercy the trueth and wisdome of God might be made knowen and our freedome from bondage procured 2 Hereby appeareth how z Bernardus in natale Domini serm 3. 6. grieuous a thing sinne is and how Second vse odious vnto God for deepe must needs those wounds be which could not be healed but by
that which he had forgiuen whatsoeuer he doth the holy Ghost speedily perfitteth seeketh supply of helpe from none other instructeth presently whom he enlightneth maketh vpon a sodaine fishermen fishers of men the ignorant able to teach In this grace expectation is not discouraged by delay neither is there any distance of time between prayer and performance Dauid saith I haue sinned the Prophet answereth the Lord hath put away thy sinne thou shalt not die What should I mention the Ninutites whose repentance found the reuersion of a denounced sentence against them What should I speake of those two transcedent-sinning Kings Achab and Manasses whose repentance such as it was God infinite in mercy refused not And among other examples of mercy this thiefe of whom we now speake offereth himselfe a testimonie of pardon an example of hope who mournefully seeking findeth and asking obteyneth This day shalt thou be with mee in Paradise He came to the crosse besmeared with the k Tanlerus in meditationibus vitae Iesu Christi cap. 43. bloud of others is washed with the bloud of Christ he came bloudily affected and enflamed with crueltie but was made milde hearted compassionate all possessed with loue c. He had but one member or part of the body free and came at the last howre of the day into the vineyard and yet so plyed his worke that he did his stint and receiued the wages before the other c. His prayer was humble and wise asking nothing but grace and mercy God therefore who knoweth the secrets of all hearts in his eternall wisdome heard him and opening the abundant rich treasures of his mercies giueth more then was desired O Lord how incomprehensible is thy goodnesse how gratiously hast thou shewed that thou wouldest not the death of a sinner but that he should turne and liue And by this shewing of loue God hath gotten vnto himselfe a l Granatensis postill paâ—te 2. fâ—ria 5. in câ—na Dom. canone 2. new name for before he was called the God of the righteous as the God of Abraham of Isaac and Iacob and saith that this is his name and memoriall for euer from generation to generation and was named their God because he shewed his sweet loue and almighty power in comforting and defending them after an especiall manner but now when he saith that he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance Matth. 19. 13. is not onely the God of the righteous but of sinners also as those whom he hath saued by his death healed by his wounds and redeemed by his bloud Thus he openeth his bowels thus he offereth to his the abundance of his mercy Adde this if you thinke so good Christian Reader to the like whereof I haue spoken before in the first word and tenth obseruation or doctrine where also the vse and application is set downe yet I would not let passe this exposition conteyning both matter of wholsome instruction and much comfort This day shalt thou be with mee in Paradise It is not to be passed ouer sleightly that Christ promising heauen to the thiefe yea confirming it by oath yet doth neither ease in any part nor take away that corporall torment which he suffered For now hee hangeth pale and wan with a torne body waiting for the last office of the hangman executioner and a little after the souldiers came and brake the legges of him and his fellow to hasten their death Ioh. 19. 32. because it was the day of the preparation before the Sabaoth and that the bodies might not remain vpon the Crosse on the Sabaoth for which there was a particular and speciall law Deut 21 23 and obserued of Ioshua cap 10. 26. yet trusting in their owne righteousnes by vnrighteously murthering of Christ they brake the whole law of God streyning a gnat and swallowing a Camel Math. 23. 24. Wee are not to measure the greatnesse of Gods loue towards vs by the scantling of our sense and feeling the same For oftentimes he suffereth those to bee most grieuously afflicted whom he most entirely loueth The word deuideth and m Lutherus in locis classe 3. titulo de cruce calamitate distinguisheth of Tribulation into the beginning and the end and this direction must be ours and not follow herein our owne conceit which thinketh euery euill wee suffer to be infinite and of euery Mathematicall pricke maketh an endlesse line so vnskilfull is our reason death pestilence famine hatred contempt of the world and such like are indeed euill and if wee doe make reason iudge in these wee must of necessity faint vnder the burden but for helpe wee are to lift vp our eyes vnto the hils and listen to that voyce I am the Lord thy God and therefore we must iudge of the Crosse as it is in relation and reference vnto Gods sauing helpe and louing kindnesse for when the Lord doth sometime hide from vs his fauourable countenance this is no argument of direction that hee hath forsaken vs but of dispensation disposing all things to our good and benefit who absent and present worketh our saluation Iob. complayneth 9 17. he destroyeth me with a tempest and woundeth mee without cause hee will not suffer me to take my breath but filleth mee with bitternesse yet neuerthelesse the man so perplexed is tenderly beloued cap. 42. 8. 12. 1 The vse of this doctrine is twofold first this may serne to abate the ouer ranke censures of wanton heades who iudge all castawayes and reiected of God that are afflicted and from this imagination was that outcrie bred which some made against the Galilaeans whose bloud Pilate had mingled with the goare of the beasts sacrificed and those eighteene vpon whom the Tower of Siloam fell that they were more grieuous sinners then all the rest But Christ represseth this malepert and ouer sawcy censure by adding a wholsome admonition that they who brought this tidings should themselues speedily repent lest they also perish Cursuos affligi patitur Deus rationes à Chrysostomo vndecem afferuntur in Homiliae 1. ad Antiochenos de verbis Apostoli vtere pauco vino c. Luke 13. 1. 2. For the calamities which befall any one should be sermons of repentance vnto eueryone because they are inflicted that by them wee might conceiue the sharpenesse of Gods seuerity against sinne For all who are distressed are not to be thought without difference wicked because whom the Lord loueth hee doth chastice Prou. 3. 10. and by many tribulations wee must enter into the kingdome of heauen Act. 14. 22. Vse 2 The second vse is for instruction teaching vs to seeke out some certaine signes and tokens whereby wee may be assured that in all our sufferings God doth remember his mercy and euen then when hee seemeth to deale most rigorously with vs and of many these few may giue some contentment 1 When he enableth vs to beare whatsoeuer burden is Grineus in commentarijs ad Prophetam
2. 9. Therefore blessed be the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath blessed vs with all spirituall blessinges in him Ephes 1. 3. Vse 4 4. This cherisheth in vs good hope and from hence ariseth a certaine and vndoubted persuasion for the obteining of eternall life for as Christ must suffer and so enter into glory Luk. 24. 26. in like manner we must be saued so many for whom he died he carried our sinnes vpon his body on the tree by whose woundes we are healed 1. Pet. 2. 24. and hath put out the hand writing of ordinances which was against vs and contrary to vs he euen tooke it away and fastened it vnto the crosse and hath spoiled the principalities and powers and made a shew of them openly and tryumphed ouer them in the same crosse Coloss 2. 14. Vse 5 5 Herein is an example propounded vnto vs for imitatition Christ is ledde out of his owne citie to be vniustly executed why should not we then willingly for his sake leaue our houses and children other benefits of this life especially seeing hereafter wee shall receiue a superabundant recompence in heauen Math. 13. 29. And as Christ now ready to enter into his glory left this earthly Citie so let vs willingly forsake this earthly tabernacle and house 2. Corinth 5 1. y Bernardus de Ascensione and that in affection so that we loue not the world in effect that we both in soule and body vtterly renounce it in desiring perfection breathing and endeauouring to bee made one spirit with the Lord and thus followe Christ to the place of his passion and suffering bewayling our selues as he aduiseth the women of Ierusalem and mournefully lamenting the brittle and miserable condition of our estate Luk. 23. 28. When they came to the place which is called Caluary they crucified him They crucified him This kinde of death was alwaies accompted 〈◊〉 base reproachfull and grieuous appointed for a punishment to such men as were of the worst condition and 〈◊〉 Lypsius de Cruce lib. 1. cap. 12. 13. Petrus Faber semesirium lib. 2. cap. 8. desperately wicked Base for seruants and slaues most vsually did vndergoe the same whereof the Crosse carried the name to be called a seruile punishment for the common rascall people of meanest and least reputation such as differed not much from seruantes and bondmen Sometime also it was inflicted vpon free men of no seruile condition but such as were degenerate from their birth dishonesting their stocke by wickednesse and outragious offences as theeues robbers murtherers and such like reproachfull for it is branded with a curse by God himselfe Deut. 21. 23. and therefore was it obiected vnto the Christians by the heathen a Arnobius contra nationes siue gontes lib. 1. to the discredite and infamie of their profession that Christ whom they worshipped for God was nayled to the Crosse that he was a man put to the worst death for his desertes b Miâ—utius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Octanio and the Iewes in reproach call him c Munsterus in annotationibiâ— ad Euangelium 〈◊〉 Matthaeum HeÌ„braite ab ille edituÌ„ quaÌ„ contemptibiles sucre christiani mâ—nifestâ—m est ex Turtul Apolog cap. 16. Sic Christum 〈◊〉 dis 〈…〉 1 per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 voc◠〈…〉 Iulianus Imperator in Epistolis hanged or crucified d Chrysostmus homil 2. epist ad Rom. And hereof it came that if any man of place or qualitie did receiue the Gospell and professe Christ presently in all hast his alliance and kindred and friendes would come and disswade him from his purpose by this onely reason what doest thou worship such an one who was condemned crucisied and died among theeues and suffered so many and so great extremities And out of question from hence proceeded those protestations and speeches of the Apostle confronting as it were the dishonourable and slaunderous reproaches of Christ vsuall in their times As that Rom. 1. 16. I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christ and we preach Christ e Decruce quomodo scandaluÌ„ stalitia sapientia sit vidâ— ForsteruÌ„ in Lexico hebraico in radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Et Seâ—uerceuÌ„ in primuÌ„ caput 1. Epist ad Câ—r PhagiuÌ„ in suis annotat ad Paraphrasin Chal. Deut. cap. 21. Iesus crucified a scandall to the Iewes and foolishnes to the Gentiles 1. Corinth 1. 23. 29. And God forbid that I should reioice but in the Crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ Galath 6. 14. As also those attributes of the Crosse so often mentioned how full soeuer of disgrace they seemed vnto the world and the men thereof as when they name it the shame of the Crosse Heb. 12. 2. and the scandall Gal. 5. 11. And concerning the sharpe and grieuous paine of the torment or to vse the wordes of Innocentius f Lib. 1. de contemptu mundi siue de misaria humanae conditionis cap. 26. in quo de innumevabilibus speciebus agritudinis the vnsufferable sufferance thereof out of all question it was most extreame and painefull if either we consider the manner of the punishment g Augustin in Ench. c. 53. 〈◊〉 Misericordiae genus est cito occidere for the persons to bee crucified were most forceably stretched vpon the Crosse and fastned vnto it by nailes pearcing through their handes and feete and then lifted vp on high or the continuance of their suffering for leysurely by little and little and with much lingring amids most horrible and intollerable paine finished their liues 〈◊〉 the end which is the best in any punishment being deferred so that it was not without cause stiled by the h Actione quinta in Verrem Romane Orator the most cruell and hideous punishment and of others most i Drogo de mysterio passionis dreadfull and terrible and by way of extremity the k Paulus receptarum sententi 〈…〉 l. 5. cap. 17. ad 〈◊〉 Caiâ—cius de arbore 〈◊〉 Andreas Libanius de vniuersitate originibus rep lib. 4. ad opus dici tâ—rtij Hexameri Ciuilians tearme it the chiefest or greatest for so Paulus the Lawyer ranketh the principall punishments vsed in his time Crucifying burning beheading and placeth the Crosse in the highest roome as that which excelleth the rest and hence came that vsuall prouerbe that when any would wish the greatest l Plautus 〈◊〉 Pseudolo dignus mala cruce apud Verâ—ium Flaccum in vocabulo masculin euill he could to another it was in this forme abiin malam crucem goe and be hanged m Paulus recep tarum sententiarum lib. 5. cap. 12. And here it may be enquired but religiously and with reuerence what pretence the Iewes had for there was noâ— cause to enforce and vrge Pilate with such earnest vehemency as they did that Christ might be crucified The answere is easie and offereth it selfe at hand They accused him but falsly of sedition and desire to inuade the kingdome
the wounds of the sonne of God And furder a Augustinus serm de tempore 29. we may vnderstand at how high a rate God doth value the transgressions of man from which debt that we might be deliuered he sent not downe to earth an Angell nor Archangell but God The greatnesse of the remedie bewrayeth the greatnesse of the maladie b Leo I. serm l. de passione Such were the fetters in which we were hard bound that we could not be loosed from them but by this meanes so great was the price by which we are redeemed so great is the expense by which we are cured For what returne could there be from impiety to righteousnesse from misery to happinesse except the righteous had bowed himselfe downe to the wicked and the blessed to the miserable c Augustinus serm de tempore 114. Behould therefore holinesse is scourged for the vngodly wisedome is mocked-at for the foolish righteousnesse condemned for the wicked trueth murdered for the lyer and deceitfull sincerity it selfe drinketh vineger for the wretched sweetnesse is filled with gall innocency is accused for the guiltie and life dieth for the dead Let vs not then be ashamed of the Crosse of Christ we haue victorie and triumph by his death for as he the euerlasting son of God was not borne for himselfe but for vs Esay 9. 6. so the same immaculate and spotlesse lambe of God suffered not for himselfe but for vs 1. Pet. 1. 18. 19. wherefore let vs carefully auoyde sinne and crucifie the flesh with the lustes and affections thereof Gal. 5. 24. least wee seeme to tread vnder foote the son of God and accompt the bloud of the testament as an vnholy thing wherewith we are sanctified and dispite the spirit of grace Heb. 10. 29. Vse 3 3 Let vs not doubt of the loue of God towardes vs. For how can he but loue those for whom he gaue his beloued Ioh. 3. 16. And this is Pauls comfort who sometime was a blasphemer an oppressor a persecutor that he was crucified with Christ and the life that he now liued was by faith in the son of God who loued him gaue himselfe for him Gal. 2. 20. And one of our d Thomas Bilneius apud Foxis in Martyrologio owne Martyres standing at the stake ready to offer vp his body a sacrifice for the coÌ„firming of his faith and profession of the Gospell there rehearsing the Apostles creede the summe of his beliefe when hee came to the Article of Christ crucified in most submisse and humble manner bended his body lowe to the ground and gaue God most dutifull thankes so great as he could conceiue for this infinite and vnspeakeable mercy who by the death of his sonne had deliuered vs from out of the power of the Deuill by whom we were taken aliue to doe his will Then brethren e Augustinus lib. de virginitate cap. 54. 55. 56. behould the woundes of Christ hanginge vpon the crosse the bloud which hee shed dying the price which hee offered redeeming the scarres which he shewed after his rising his head is bowed downe to kisse thee his heart opened to loue thee his armes spred abroad to embrace thee his body sacrificed to redeeme thee Wonder with thy selfe how great these giftes are wey them in the ballance of thy heart that he may be wholy fastened of thee in thy soule who was wholy fastened for thee vpon the Crosse And they crucified him This was the purposed intendement of the Iewes priestes and Pharisies to brand Christ with the greatest infamie they could deuise and that euen by the f Tanlerus in meditationibus de vita Christa cap. 37. fellowship if I may so call it of those two theeues between whom he was crucified endeauouring thereby to perswade the people that hee was guilty of the same offences for which they suffered and therefore was placed in the g Iansenius in Harmonia Euangeliorum cap. 143. midst betweene them whereof more afterward that so hee might not only be reckned among the wicked but also accompted as the chiefe so foretould of the Prophet Esay 53. 12. Fulfilled accordingly Mark 15. 28. As Christ the Redeemer of the whole world tooke vpon his shoulders the burden of the sinnes of vs all hangeth crucified betweene two theeues is laden with tauntes and reproaches and esteemed publikely for a most wicked one so we by faith in him and through his absolute obedience are accompted righteous For hee that knewe no sinne was made sinne for vs that we might bee the righteousnes of God in him 2. Corinth 5. 21. In which one diuine Aphorisme of the Apostle the whole summe of the doctrine of our Redemption is briefly comprehended For the Redeemer himselfe is by way of description expressed hee knew noe sinne but was pure vndefiled innocent Heb. 7. 26. h Christus filius crat carnis Adae non filius praeuaricaâ—â—onis Adae S. Bernardus in fesso pensecostis serm 2. the sonne not of the sinne but of the flesh of Adam Luc. 3. 38. and in this place the word sinne signifieth the vitious habite inherent in our corrupt nature from which our blessed Sauiour was most free The manner of the redemption made sinne for vs that is a propitiatory sacrifice or offering for attonement a i Augustinus in Enchiridio cap. 41. Chytraeus in Leuiticum phrase of speech taken from the law Leuit. 7. 2. Osea 4. 8. The fruit and benefite that we might be the righteousnesse of God in him for he came to seeke and saue that which was lost Luk. 19. 10. who being in the forme of God thought it no robbery to be equall with God but k Non sumpsit modo formam serui vt subesset sed mali serui vt vapularet serus peccati vt paenam solueret cum poenaÌ„ non haberet Bernardus in serm feriae quartae in hebdomade paen he made himselfe of no reputation and tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant and was made like vnto men and was found in his shape as a man humbled himselfe and became obedient vnto the death euen the death of the crosse Phil. 2. 7. 8. and putting out the hand writing that was against vs fastened it vpon the Crosse Coloss 2. 14. so cancelled and by death ouercame him that had the power of death the Deuill Heb. 2. 14. and dissolued his workes 1. Ioh. 3. 8. For we fell in the handes of the prince of the world who deceiued Adam made him a Captiue l Nam quum dei opere vintulo tenebatur diaebolici operis apparuit filius dei vt illud solueret hoc sanaret Fulgentius ad Trasimundum Regem lib. 1. cap. 5. and tooke vs as his discended bondmen But our redeemer came and the * Captiuator vsurper was dispossessed what did hee m Augustinus serm de 5. paâ—â—bus duobus piscibus The reioycing of faith to the vsurper he layd
the Word cryeth in the wildernesse Repent bring forth fruit worthy amendment of life Math. 3. 8. This doctrine began and was first preached in Paradise when God rebuked Adam and Eua by the law and comforted them with the Gospell q Adam vbies per hoc quod vocat signum dat quod ad paenitentiam reuocat quod requirit apertè insinuat quod damnare iure possit peccatores Gregor Mag. 2. Moral Tertull. lib. 2. aduersus Marcionem Gen. 3. 9. 11. LEX 2. The threatnings denounced and the examples of vengeance executed vpon the rebellious and disobedient should be vnto vs powerfull admonitions for amendment and to this end are vrged by the two chiefe Apostles Paul 1. Cor. 10 5. 6. c. and Peter 2. Pet. 2. 3. 4. c. for he who is mercifull to beare with weake sinners is iust to punish stubborne contemners and so he did manifest himself to Moses Exo. 34. 6. and as it were thundring from mount Sinai God iudgeth the righteous and him that contemneth God euery day except hee returne he hath whet his sword he hath bent his bow and made it ready Psal 7. 11. 12. 3. The certeinty of the last iudgement for because the heauens shall passe away with a noise and the elements melt with heat and the earth with the workes that are therein be burnt vp Euangelium Ponam inimicitiā interte c. hic incipit liber bellorum Domini Rupertus de victoria viri lib. Premittitur Christus qui destruat opera Diaboli 1. Ioh. 3. 8. hac de venturo semine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 primos parentes afflictos maerentes erexit Deus c. what manner of persons ought we to be in holy conuersation and godlinesse 2. Pet. 3. 10. 11. For we must all appeare before the iudgement seat of Christ that euery one may receiue the things which are done in this body according to that he hath done whether it bee good or euill 2. Cor. 5. 10. And if any other thing then much more the remembrance of this may strike terror into mens hearts For it shall be a day of wrath a day of trouble and heauinesse a day of destruction and desolation a day of obscuritie a day of clouds and darknesse a day of the trumpet and alarum against the fenced Cities and high towers c. Zeph. 1. 15. a day of reuelation Rom. 2. 5. and therefore is elegantly called by one of the Fathers Gods r Macarius homilia 4. nam hoc mense herbarū radices quae in terra quasi sepultae iacebant resurgere se ostendere incipiunt inde nomen habet quod tunc tellus recludatur ad profundendum fetus varios hieme conceptos Aprill And then on the one side shall stand accusing sinnes on another terrifying iustice beneath the gulfe of hell opened aboue an angry Iudge within a stinging conscience without the world burning the iust shall scarse be saued the wicked thus ouertaken whether shall he turne himselfe It is impossible to escape intollerable to appeare Therefore what remayneth ô sinner but that thou should with teares bewayle thy life all thy life time 〈◊〉 Anselmus de miseria hominis 4. The sweet fruits and benesits which spring and arise from true and seasonable repentance for God receiueth such who turne vnto him as pardon of sinnes reconciliation the gift of the spirit tranquillitie and peace of conscience arising from faith the hearing and acceptance of our prayers mitigation of punishments and at the last blessednesse in heauen for God doth assure vnto such as truely repent mercy confirmed by his oath Ezech. 33. 11. Therfore let him that wil receiue life which be Augustines words change his life for repentance is the medecine of sinne and effectuall is that religious admonition of Gregory to t Gregorius apud eundem multa sunt huc pertinentia Homil. 25. in cap. 10. primi Regum nourish good hope in vs Dauid fell let no man presume of himselfe and be high minded Dauid rose againe let none bee too much cast downe and despaire But this man hath done nothing euill This thiefe hitherto hath vsed two arguments of reproofe against his fellow the one taken from the paritie of their condition thou art in the same condemnation the other from the right of their desert we suffer things worthy that we haue done now addeth a third reason from the innocency of Christ but this man hath done nothing euill which is in summe thus much none of all those things which he suffereth hath he procured should be laid vpon him for he neuer committed act worthy of death wherefore is there no feare of God before thine eyes who doest so impudently reproch this innocent whom we see vndeseruedly punished and by this malapertnesse shewest that thou art voide of all pietie And God did indeed sundry wayes manifest the vnspotted innocencie of his sonne as by the testimony of Pilate himselfe Matth. 27. 18. 23. 24. Iohn 19. 10. of his wife by sending a message vnto him when he sate vpon the iudgement seate admonishing that he should doe nothing against that holy man Matth. 27. 19. the mournefull lamentation of the women of Ierusalem who followed him vnto the crosse Luk. 27. 37. the confession of the Centurion when he beheld the miracles at his death Matth. 27. 54. and the commendation of this thiefe for such an High priest became vs who was holy blamelesse vndefiled separate from sinners and made higher then the heauens Heb. 7. 26. Besides other instructions which the diligent meditation of this speech would afford and doe offer themselues to the deuout consideration of euery Christian soule I will content my selfe now with this one Christ our Sauiour and Redeemer is pure and holy free from all stayne of transgression for he did no euill neither was there any guile found in his mouth Esay 53. 9. hee knew no sinne 2. Corinth 5. 20. And such he is by the qualitie of his nature because he was conceiued without spot by the holy Ghost liued alwaies purely and vncorruptly and so he neuer offended in word nor deed and therefore his name is Iehouah the Lord our righteousnesse Ierem. 23. 6. the most holy Dan. 9. 24. shadowed vnder the type of the Paschall Lambe which must be without blemish Exod. 12. 6. From whence the Apostle frameth his exhortation to keepe the feast not with old leauen neither in the leauen of malitiousnesse and wickednes but with vnleauened bread of sinceritie and truth 1. Cor. 5. 8. And Saint Peter his admonition that therefore we should be holy knowing that wee are not redeemed with corruptible things as siluer and gold from our vaine conuersation receiued by the tradition of the Fathers but with the precious bloud of Christ as of a lambe immaculate and without spot 1. Pet. 1. 18. 19. And the Angell sent to Mary a maiden and a mother when shee put the
by any earthly tongue now left desticute of all worldly comfort yea and of Gods also complaineth and saith that he is forsaken because he was now in the houre of darknesse giuen ouer to the will of his persecutors and had none to help him Esay 63. 5. stucke fast in the deepe myre Psalm 69. 2. compassed about with the sorrowes of the graue and ouertaken in the snares of death Psal 18. 5. And in this word are obseruable two things first the word it selfe vttered secondly the precedent miracle The miracle was the supernaturall and prodigious eclipse of the Sunne for so S. Luke in expresse tearmes Cap. 23. 45. the Sunne was darkned and it is described by the greatnesse thereof darknesse was ouer all the earth or as some translate it ouer all that region by the continuance from the third houre vnto the ninth For the word it selfe the second generall point that is illustrated first from the adiunct of time in which it was spoken about the ninth houre Secondly from the formall termes in which it was deliuered and those expressed both in the originall tongue the Hebrew or rather Syriacke and in the Greek by interpretation Eli Eli Lammahsabacthani that is my God my God why hast thou forsaken mee And in them are considerable first the person complaynant Christ hanging vpon the crosse Secondly the person to whom the complaint is made God the Father my God Thirdly the matter of the complaint desertion why hast thou forsaken me Fourthly the grieuousnesse of the sorrow then felt expressed in the affectionate doubling of the wordes my God my God Fiftly his faith and patience signified in this pronoune my yea manifestly declared while he confesseth that hee is his God of whom he is forsaken Now from the sixth houre was there darknesse ouer all the land vnto the ninth houre For the better and more full vnderstanding of this place we must know that the Iewes in the latter times for before the captiuitie of b Hospinianus de origine progressâ— sestorâ— apud Iudaeos lib. 1. cap. 1. Babylon there is no mention made of houres in the Scripture deuided the c Censâ—rinuâ— do die natali c. 23. Ioh. Garcoeus de sphera mundi tâ—mporum ratione naturall day which comprehendeth the day and the night into foure and twenty houres and these againe into two d Cur in 24. horas dies distribuatur Mestlinus in Epitâ—me Astronomiae lib. 3. twelues so as they reckoned twelue from the setting of the Sunne to the rising and so many againe from Sunne-rising to Sunne-set whereof our Sauiour Christ saith in the Gospell Iohn 11. 9. are there not twelue houres in the day so their six a clocke is our twelue or noonetide And concerning this eclipse it was not naturall but miraculous For first no eclipse of the Sunne e Augustinus epist. 80. Chitraeus in 27. Matthaei Lucas Gauricus in Calendariâ— Ecclesiastico Sethus Calâ—iâ—ius in Isagoge Chronoâ— cap. 48. Garcaeus de Sphera Elias Rousuerus in Isagoges historicae lib. 1. Mestlinus in Epitome Astronomiae lib. 3. falleth out but at the new moone in the coniunction when shee commeth to those imagined knots which the Astronomers call the head and taile of the Dragon and is interposed diametrally between the Sunne and our sight and receiuing in her thicke body the sunne beames keepeth the light from vs and causeth by her shadow darknes in some climates But this eclipse fell out in the time of the opposition of these two lights For the Iewes solemnized the feast of Passeouer the fourteenth day of the first moneth Exod. 12. 6. and they vse f Mensisdicitur quaudo luna lustrata cursu suo solem est consequnia vndâ— Hebraeis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nominatur ficut Graecis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nos moneth appellamus Henricus Wolphius de tempore lib. 1. cap. 3. Lalamantius de tempore cius partibus Varro de linguâ— Latâ—â—a lib. 5. Synodicall moneths the first day of which is the coniunction 2. No eclipse of the Sunne is vniuersall g Lucas Gauricus in Calendario Ecclesiastico eâ— Nicephorâ— Calisto Lâ—cus est historiae suae lib. 1. cap. 31. but this couered the whole earth with darknesse and that by the space of three houres For knowing that the body of the Moone is lesse then the Sunne the shadow it makes is sharper aboue then below in forme of a spire and couereth but a small part of the earth so that they who dwell without the compasse of it doe feele either none or very small defect of light but at this time the inhabitants of the whole earth were enwrapped in darknesse for h Diomsius Areopagita epist. 7. ad Polycaâ— puÌ„ si modo eâ—us sunt quae illi attribuuntur opera Vide iâ— eundem Georgij Pachymerae paraphrasin Maximi Scholia de his Sâ—â—das Iohannes de sacro Bâ—scâ— Iunctiâ—us â—â—â—as vinctus Hero in suis ad iâ—â—um scholijs Apollophanes being now with Dionisius Areopagita in Heliopolis a Citie of Aegipt obserued it and examining it according to the tables of Aridaeus a famous Astrologer in those daies which hee composed of the eclipses of the two lights the Sunne and the Moone perceiued that it was miraculous The constitution of Heauen at the time of the passion of our Lord Iesus Christ who was crucified in Ierusalem In the 34. yeere of his age but according to the vulgar accompt in the beginning of his 33. yeere the third day of Aprill at high noone when the 4000. yeeres after the fall of Adam and Eua our first Parents were exactly compleat and finished Gal. 4. 4. God said vnto the serpent I will put enmitie betweene thee and the woman and between thy seede and her seede it shall breake thy head and thou shalt bruise his heele Genes 3. 15. Christ was partaker of flesh and bloud c. that hee might destroy through death him that had the power of death that is the deuill Heb. 2. 14. The Sunne contrary to nature lost his light in the midde heauen at high noone not farte from the Dragons head when the Sonne of God brake the head of the Dragon at the full Moone at which time the Sunne cannot naturally bee eclipsed and therefore that darknesse was supernaturall The Moone cannot shine except shee receiue light from the Sunne therefore the same now being eclipsed shee at the same time vnder vs was bereft of her light among the Antipodes in Magellaneta neere the tayle of the Dragon when our Lord Iesus Christ felt the stinge of the venemous dragon or olde serpents tayle vpon the altar of the Crosse Saturne now began to arise vpon our horizon with a quaâ—tile malignant aspect and beheld the eclipse of both the lights and by these wee may gather how terrible the face of heauen was at this present Henricus Buntingus in Chronolog in Itinerario sacro 3. All totall eclipses of the
Irem 31. 33. c. With the outward endowments of the body and things belonging to this life as Abundance of riches Iob. 1. 1. 2. Comfort of friends Gen. 33. 4. for when the wayes of a man please the Lord hee will make his enemies to bee his friends Prou. 16. 7. Dignity and honour as is manifest in Ioseph the first of the posterity of Abraham who is aduanced to the Kingdome Gen. 12. 2. 41. 42. 43. In death When olde Iacob had blessed his children as a father and premonished them of things to come as a Prophet he sweetly falleth a sleepe Gen. 49. 33. The Iewes bury Iehoida in the sepulchre of the Kings in the City of Dauid becaus hee had done good in Israel and toward God his house 2. Chr. 24. 16. Ieremiah honoured the funerals of Iosiab with compassionate mournings all singing men and singing women and all Iudah and Ierusalem lamented for him c. 2. Chron. 35. 25. After death for their memory shal be blessed for euer Prou. 10. 7. Lazarus is carried into heauen by the Ministery of Angels the rich glutton is tormented in hell Luk. 16. 22. Wherfore if any will be happy let him be religious for godlinesse hath the promises of this life and of that which is to come 1. Tim. 4. 8. which Aphorism of the Apostle S. z Beda in suis collectionâ—bus ex Augustinâ— in Epistolas Pauli Augustine stileth the heauenly marriage-song of Christ and the Church his Spouse and what saith the Bride of her beloued his left hand is vnder my head and with his right hand he doth embrace me Cant. 2. 6. for God will not bee wanting to furnish his with gifts temporall for necessity will bestow eternall blessednes vpon them hereafâ—er Do you desire supply of wants in things belonging to this life seeke first the kingdome of God that is the right hand and his righteousnes and all these things shall be ministred vnto you Math. 6. 33. And in another place Wisdom thus speaketh length of dayes are in her right hand and in her left hand riches and glory Prou. 3. 16. And so at the last shall enioy the benefits of the throne and the footstoole heauenly and earthly And about the ninth howre Iesus cried with a loude voyce saying Eli Eli Lammah sabacthani My God my God why hast thou forsaken me There is nothing here lightly to be passed ouer nothing superficially to bee considered let vs therefore come to the complaint of Christ in which two things diligently are to be considered first the circumstance of time wheÌ„ secondly the quality how it was made Concerning the time about the ninth howre sayth the Euangelist which is answerable to our three a clocke in the after noon Iesus cried with a loud voice when now hee was neere vnto the point of death after hee had giuen testimony of great and admirable patience vndergone the sentence both of the Ecclesiasticall Consistory by the high Priest and at the temporall tribunall of the Roman Iudge after his scourging crowning with thornes spitting vpon beating and carrying his Crosse of the scorning and bitter taunts of the Princes and people after the diuision of his garments made by the souldiers And before this all that while wee reade not of any thing spoken eyther by Christ hanging vpon the Crosse or the Iewes who stoode beholding his torments for it is very probable for the space of those three howres in which the Sunne was darkned they were amased and silent but Christ all this while powred forth in his heart earnest prayers with vnexpresfable sighes both for vs and himselfe so performing the office of a true Priest God doth not presently and at the first disburden his children eyther of outward afflictions or giue comfort in inward trials and temptations but suffereth them long and sharpely to be exercised A woman a daughter of Abraham had a spirit of infirmity eighteene yeeres and was bowed together and could not lift vp her selfe in any wise Luc. 13. 11. and another is held in with a languishing sicknesse eight and thirty yeeres waiteth for health lyeth dayly at one of the porches of the Poole a Dâ—piscina hâ—c â—ide Iuâ—â—â—m in 3. Nehemiae B. zamin maicribus annotationitus ad 5. caput Iohannis Beâ—â—â—hesda and could not obtaine the helpe of any man to put him into the water when it was moued whereby many before were healed of their diseases Iohn 5. 5. 7. and one continueth a Criple from his mothers wombe aboue forty b Distuâ—t Deâ—â—â— sanâ—tionem eius vt opâ—ra filâ—â— Dâ—â— manifâ—starentur in â—o Sunt autom morbi aut poena pâ—ccaâ—orum â—e Dent. 28. 59. â—ut fideâ— probationes Iob. 2. 67 aut gloriae Deiillustratio Ioh. 9. ver 3. Georgius Wirth de vita Christi ex 4. Euâ—ngelistis lib. 2. cap. 1. yeeres vntill his feet are restored to strength by Peter in the name of Iesus Act. 3. 17. 4. 22. And God hath his reasons why he doth oftentimes delay and deferre his helpe Of which the first is because he hath appointed in his sâ—â—ret counsell definite times and immutable seasons in which hee will doe that which hee hath purposed So after the accomplishing of foure hundred and thirty yeeres euen the same day God brought his people out of Egypt the land of their captiuity Exod. 12. 21. And when the seuenty yeeres were fulfilled Israel returneth from the captiuity of Babylon and the same night Balshasher is depriued of his life and Empire by Cyrus the Perâ—ian Dan. 5. 30. c De hoc Babilonis excidio Imperâ—â—â—â—â—astatione edicto Cyri Xeâ—â—â—phon lib. 7. de Institutione Cyri. whose spirit God stirred vp by his proclamation to grant freedome vnto the Iewes and liberty to returne to their own Country to repayre the decayed wals of Ierusalem and build vp the ruines of the temple Ezra C. 1. V. 1. 2. which seemed a thing so incredible vnto them that they supposed the Edicts when it was published to be but a dreame d Simile quiâ— accidit Graecis Philippo Râ—ge Macedonibusque deuictis cum Senatus R. T. Quintius Imperator liberos immunes suis legibus osse iubet Nam audita voce praeconis mâ—ius gaudium fuit quam quod vniuersâ—m homines capeâ—ent vix satis credere se Quisque audijsse alâ— alâ—os intueri mirâ—bundi velut somnij vanam speciem quod ad quemque pertineâ—et suarum aurium fidem minimum credentes proximos interrogabaent Liuius Decad. 4. lib. 3. Psal 126. v. 1. The second is the triall of his children Deut. 8. ver 2. and the awakening e Acrâ—bus condimentis irritatur appetitus cibi mora exâ—imulat aâ—get in nobis desiderâ—um consolationis opis diuinae their drowsie spirits prouoking them to earnest prayer for in trouble men visite the Lord and powre out their supplications when his correction is vpon them Esay 26. 16. And from hence proceeded that
quatuor Euangelistis lib. 5. cap. 4. willingly by his incarnation passion death and resurrection to seeke by the preaching of the Gospell and to saue that is lost to deliuer from sinne death and hell and to restore them to righteousnesse and euerlasting life Thirdly by the sending of his seruants to preach the Gospell the power of God to saluation vnto euery one that doth belieue 1. Corinth 1. 24. The ministery whereof is to open mens eyes that they may turne from darkenesse to light and from the power of Sathan vnto God that they may receiue remission of sinnes and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith Act. 26. 18. Therefore when he that great Prophet had opened the will of the Father Luke 4. 18. 19 c. and accomplished the worke of Redemption ascending vp into heauen gaue some to bee Apostles and some Prophets and some Euangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the repayring of the Saints for the work of the Ministery and for the edification of the body of Christ Ephes 4. 11. 12. No benefite greater then this none more pretious For the word taught is a word of saluation a z Lutherus in locis à Theodosio Fabricio collectis titulo de Euangelio seu verbo promissionis word of Grace a word of comfort a word of ioy the voyce of the Bridegroome and the Spouse a good word a word of peace the Chariot wherein Christ is brought vnto vs with his righteousnesse and all spirituall blessings Fourthly By the threatning of wrath and foretelling of punishment against the vnfaithfull and disobedient that by this meanes as with a strong hand he might draw them vnto him so he admonisheth the Iewes vnto repentance by the example of others lest they also perish Luc. 13. 3. 5. And there is nothing more vsuall and frequent in Scripture then this manner of dealing as Leuit. 26. 14. 2. Sam. 7. 14. Osea 4. 1. 2. 3. c. Let vs therefore thirst after our owne saluation that as the Hart panteth after the water brookes so our soule may pant after God Psal 42. 1. For as a Aristoteles de historia animalium lib. 6. cap. 9. Lucretius lib. 6. Nicander in Theriates Oppâ—â—um lib. 2. de venaetione Drusius Miscellarâ—orum centuria 1â— 2. Ioaohimus Camerarius Symbolorum Imblematum Centuria 2. Emblem 40. 42. c. the searchers into Natures secrets haue taught Harts either pursued by dogges in hunting by reason of heate and losse of breath hasten to the Riuers or wearied in fight with the Serpents whom they draw forth with their breath or stung and wounded by them while they lie and rest themselues vpon the ground seeke to some colde fountaine whereby the infection of the venome receiued may bee abated Euen so snch as are wounded and strucken of the olde Serpent must haue recourse vnto Christ to behold him with the eye of faith that they may bee healed Iohn 3. 14. For he b Bernardus in die Natali Domini de fontibuc seruatoris semon 1. is the abundant well-spring of mercy from whence doe now the waters of remission to wash away sinnes of Wisdome yeelding waters of discretion to quench our thrist of grace where wee may draw waters of deuotion to mainetaine the render plantes of good workes of Charity sending forth waters of zeale to boyle our corrupt affections Now there was set a vessell of vineger and they filled a sponge with vineger and put it vpon hysope and put it to his mouth This Euangelist speaketh this as of a c 〈◊〉 in locum Bâ—za in maioribus annotaâ—ionibus ad nouum Testamentum thing vsuall for there was now ready placed a vessell full of this liquor as some thinke prouided by deuoute women vpon compassion to hasten the death of the offenders if necessity so required And Saint Matthew 27. verse 34 giueth vs to vnderstand that there was offered vnto him before this vineger mixed with gall or as Saint Marke speaketh wine mingled with d De hoc myr 〈…〉 pâ—culâ— ex Ribbinis Galatinus de aromis Catholica ver 〈…〉 lib. 8. cap. 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Myrâ—he cap. 1â— 23. 〈◊〉 which and the other wee must make a difference for the wicked Souldiers as before they pearced his head with a Crowne of thornes so now in 〈◊〉 and contempt they compasse and bind a sponge round about with a wreath of hysope and that according to the manner vsed among the heathen e D 〈…〉 coronandis Homeros Odyssâ—a prim◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vide Fustathium ad locum illum Sic Virgibus Aeneid lib. 1. Crateras magnos â—â—atuunt vina coconant ad quae verbo 〈◊〉 Coronant autem est aut implent vsque ad marginem aut quia Antiqui coronabant pocula c. Iohannes Stuckius antiquitatum conuiualium l. 3. c. 13. 16. whereof there is much mention in ancient Writers and this they put to Christs mouth vpon 〈◊〉 who now was aloft vpon the crosse and by this cuppe which they wantonly and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 him neuer dreaming of any such thing was 〈◊〉 shadowed out both the sharpenesse and bitternesse as also the sauing power of his death and passion For the gall and myrrhe mixed with vineger and wine was a signification of his bitter death Psalme 69. 21. And therefore if so it were the will of the Father prayed that hee might not taste of that cuppe and the hysope wherewith it was compassed did singularly expresse the sauing power of his passion and bloudshedde vpon the crosse For hysope in the ceremoniall Law of Moses was often vsed First in the sprinckling of the Lintell and the cheeke postes of the dores of the houses of the Israelites the might before their departure out of Aegypt with the bloud of the Passeouer Lambe that the destroying Angell might passeouer those houses Exodus 12. 22. 23. Secondly in the cleansing of the Leaper f Leuinus 3. Lemnius de herbis biblicis cap. 26. Leuitious 14. 4. Thirdly in the sacrifice for transgression or sinne offering Numbers 19. 6. Therefore this ceremoniall hysope was a type aâ—d figure of the bloud of Christ when purgeth and clenseth those which belieue in Christ from all their sinnes 1. Ioh. 1. 7. and dooth refresh and comfort them affrighted and cast downe with the remorse of their sinnes Psalme 51. 9. 1. Peter 1. 2. Hebrewes 9. 19. 10. 12. Thus Christ was g Cyprianus de bono patientiae sedde with gall who is the heauenly foode and giuen vineger to drinke who hath offered to vs the cup of saluation God doth oftentimes giue ouer his deare and beloued children into the hands of their enemies by whom they are euill and extreamely handled Thus Caine preuailed against Abell Genesis 4. 8 Pharao did so vnmercifully oppresse the Israelites that they were weary of their liues Exodus 1. 14. Zacharias the sonne of Iehoiada was euill required of King Ioas notwithstanding
determination of the Romanists is vnbloudy inuisible and without all paine and may be offered in a thousand sundry places in one moment Then these two must needes be contradictory 3 Further in the sacrifice of Christ hee is wounded and dieth and his side being opened water and bloud issued forth in the Masse no such matter is performed 4 Adde further the vertue of this sacrifice is infinite the power of the Masse is little and the value small for a thousand Masses will not serue to release one soule out of Purgatory and they may be purchased for a groat or two and at euery corner of the n Scribit Gabriel Biel sibi à quibusdam subleuandae memoriâ— causa traditum esse modum per omnes omnium declinationum casus applicandi hoc modo In Nominatiuo Missa pro. Sâ—ipso Genetiuo Patre matre Datiuo Fundatoribus benefactoribus Accusatiuo Inimicis accusaâ—oribus Vocatiuo Peccatoribus infidelibus Ablatiuo Obtrectatoribus maledicis nos singulâ— peâ—e ades suas priuatas habuerunt aras ad quas pro exiguastipe sacerdos aliquis missaÌ„ caneyet streetes stand Priests who may bee hyred for a little reward to sing Masse in a corner 5 Againe in the sacrifice of the Crosse Christ offered himselfe to the Father in the Masse a Priest vsurpingly taketh vpon him this office 6 Christ is a Priest for euer to reconcile vs to the father by his owne facrifice Psal 110 4. Heb. 7. 16. And then hee eyther obtained his purposed end and so was perfect to which in the same kind nothing may bee added or else hee fayled thereof and so is imperfect which once to conceiue in thought is wicked and irreligious But because it is as great a commendation to know how to end as to begin o Debis Hospinianus histor Sacramentariâ— lib. 5. Sadeel de vnico Christi sacrificio Georgius Milius in Augustanae confessionis Explication parie 2. Artic. 3. de Missa Quo sensu incruentam dicatur sacrificiâ—m Ritherhusius docet in suis ad Guntherum notis de rebus gestis Frederici Barharâ—ssae Let vs for conclusion heare the spirite of God teaching vs by his Apostle Heb. 10. 14. With one offering be Christ hath consecrated for euer them that are sanctified and least we should dreame of any iteration hee said before ver 10. the offering of his body was once made and cap. 9 ver 27. 28. as it is appointed for man that they shall die once and then commeth the iudgement So Christ was once offered to take away the sinnes of many and vnto them that looke for him shall hee appeare the second time without sinne vnto saluation Words demonstratiuely prouing that the offering can no more the second time be reiterated then our death which is a thing contrary to reason yea and in the 22. verse he saide that without bloudshedding there is no remission of sinnes then the vnbloudy sacrifice of the Masse must needs proue idle and vnprofitable for this purpose And albeit they bestirre themselues and striue by all meanes to perswade that these passages are meant and must bee vnderstood of the sacrifices legall and the olde Testament yet these slippery Proteusses p Proteus quis su cur â—â—gatur mutare for mam suam Diodorus Siculus bibliotheca lib. 2. cap. 62. Natalis Comes Mythologiae lib. 8. cap. 7. Homerus Odysseae 4. Proclus Licius de dictis aduersus Homerum cap. 7. Heraclides Ponticus Allegorijs in Homerâ—â—bulas de Dijs though they can turne themselues into all shapes are faster bound then that they can escape For the Apostle sayth not that there was no remission but that there is no remission without shedding of bloud and therefore affirmeth that in the time wherein hee liued no pardon of offences could be but by that bloudy sacrifice And if the sacrifices of the law were not propitiatory but through his bloud why shall that of the new testament bee depriued of this prerogatiue These things are clearer then the day and as bright as the Sunne and of such efficacy and power that the aduersaries are constrained to acknowledge the same truth we professe and closely to take our part that the Masse is but the application and commemoration of the sasacrifice of Christ so from this premisse it followeth therfore no sacrifice for the applying of plaister to a wound or the laying of the rule to the timber is not the rule nor the plaister neither the commemoration of a battell is the battell no more can the application and commemoration of the sacrifice of Christ bee the sacrifice it selfe But how vnhallowed this Romisâ— sacrifice is they may â—aâ—ily vnderstand who will but take the paines to reade ouer the learned Treatises of Caluin noble Mornay Lord of Plesses Chrastonius Hospâ—â—anus Polanus Tilenus Lectius Musculus Whitacherus Humfeedus Sutlinius c. Petrus Molineus siue quis alius in tractâ—tu de Perigrinationibus altaribus sacrificys Lutherus de captiuitats Babilonics missa abroganda c. He said It is finished Hee speaketh of that wonderfull worke now in hand which was the redemption of mankind and saith it is finished because hee had performed and fulfilled all those things which the Law praefigured in the sacrifices and holy rites or the Prophets foretold or God from all eternitie decreed The passion of Christ which he suffered for the saluation of man was predestinated of God by his eternall decree and that for the manifestation both of his mercy and iustice Therefore Peter concerning this point Act. 2. 23. 4. 27. affirmeth that Christ was deliuered by the determinate counsell and foreknowledge of God after he was taken with wicked hands crucified and slaine And against his holy sonne Iesus whom he had annoynted both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and people of Israel gathered themselues together to doe whatsoeuer his hand and counsell had appointed before to be done And this is one of Gods admirable q Augustinus in Enchiridiâ— cap. 100. works making a good vse of the euill because he is the chiefe good to the condemnation of those whom he hath iustly predestinated vnto punishment and the saluation of them whom hee hath mercifully chosen vnto glory For so much as lay in them they did that which God would not but in respect of his power by no meanes could doe that And therefore euen from the beginning of the world the Lord propounded this comforâ— to our first Parents presently after the fall the seed of the woman shall breake the head of the serpent Gen. 3. 15. And when the fulnes of time was come he sent forth this seed his sonne made of a woman and made vnder the law that he might xedeâ—â—e them â—hâ—t were vnder the law and receiue the adoption of the sonnes Galath 4. 4. 5. who for this cause humbled himselfe and became obedient vnto the death the shamefull death of the crosse Phil. 2. 6. 7.
For application hereby we are taught religiously and Vse with reuerence to meditate vpon the passion of Christ Now the meditation is threefold First historicall testifying that Iesus the sonne of the Virgin Mary crucified and dead vnder Pontius Pilate is the true Messias promised to the Fathers foretold of the Prophets in whom all things are exactly fulfilled who redeemed the world and gaue a price of r Huius sanguis tam potens ad priuilegium tam diues fuit ad pretium vs si vniuersit as captiuâ—rum in Red-â—â—ptorem suum crederet nullum planè tyrannica vincula retinerent Leo ferm 7. de passione Dom. greater value then the world And in this part of meditation these circumstances are remarkable first who suffereth 2. what 3. where 4. when 5. why euen that hee might deliuer man from sinne the wrath of God and eternall death and bestow vpon him blessing and euerlasting life for there is one God and one Mediator between God and man euen the man Christ Iesus 1. Timoth. 2. 5. The second spirituall s Lutherus in concione de Christi passione meditanda when we considerately and deeply discusse the impulsiue and small causes of his passion with the effects and fruitfull application thereof which being rightly balanced in our hearts doe represent before our eyes 1. The seueritie and rigour of Gods iustice which Christ perfectly obeying the law and susteyning the punishment due to mankind hath fully satisfied 2. The grieuousnesse of the wrath of God against sinne which could not bee mitigated and appeased but by the bloud and death of his onely begotten sonne the greatnesse of the medicine sheweth the greatnesse of the wound Esay 53. 5. 3. The abundant riches of the mercy and loue of God who so loued the world that he spâ—reâ— not his owne and onely sonne but gaue him for vs all Rom. 8. 32. Ioh. 3. 16. 4. The t Vulâ—era Christi Ciuitates Refugij Fidenter dico quod ex me mihideest Vsurpâ— mihi ex vulneribus Domini Bern. serm 6. in Cant. exceeding loue of the Sonne toward vs who willingly the Dietie resting and not shewing forth it selfe did vndergoe so many miseries and laid downe his soule for our sake Ephes 5. 2. The third exemplarie that we should imitate his vertues obedience toward the Father loue towards his Church huntilitie mildnesse patience faith and hope of endlesse glory as both himselfe and Apostles exhort Matth. 11. 29. Ioh. 13. 14. Phil. 2. 5. 1. Pet. 4. 1. c. THE SEVENTH AND LAST WORD a VVord of Obedience and Deuotion LVKE 23. VER 46. And when Iesus had cryed with a loude voyce he said Father into thy hands I commend my spirit and hauing said thus he gaue vp the Ghost THE ANALYSIS THis is the happy End of Christ his passion and as it were a triumph wherein he doth professe God to bee the faithful keeper of his soule and is the last word hee vttered vpon the Crosse In which two things offer themselues to our consideration the word it selfe and the circumstances thereof The circumstances are partly precedent partly consequent Precedent two one of time when he had cryed the other of the manner how it was pronounced with a loude voyce Subsequent and those twofold first of time hauing saide thus second of an Action following he gaue vp the Ghost The word it selfe in which be obseruable 1. the person commending his soule necessarily implied in the verbe of the first person Christ Iesus I commend 2. the commende if I may frame such a word God Father 3. the thing commonded my spirit 4. the place of keeping that which is committed Into thy hands Or according to the vsuall distribution of circumstances Who what to whom when where And when Iesus had cried with a loude voyce This speech Theophilact calleth a word of freedom wherby he procured liberty for vs taken out of the prison of hell and was not naturall for men who are afflicted with long and grieuous torment drawing neere vnto death doe vsually faint and speake with a languishing and scarce audible voice their strength being consumed and wasted a Barnardus sermone in â—eria 4. hebdomadae penosae To die is great infirmity but to die thus great power he alone could lay downe his soule and take it vp againe Doct. Christ willingly by no constraint dyed Ioh. 10. 17. therefore the Prophet by a peculiar phrase of the Hebrew tongue vnusuall in other languages expresseth the same when hee saith that b Renueâ—herus in 53. caput Esaiae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alexius Rharturus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his soule made it selfe a sacrifice for sinne Esay 53. 20. and in the Gospell commending his loue towards vs he doth it vnder the figuratiue name of Baptisme Luc. 12 20. I haue a c De varia vocabuli Baptismi acceptione Damâ—scenus fidei Orthodox lib 4. cap. 10. Baptisme to be baptized with and how am I strayned vntill it be accomplished thereby manifesting his vehement and earnest desire and therefore foretelleth his Disciples how hee must suffer and goeth vp with them vnto Ierusalem the place appointed for his death Math. 20. 17 If hee would not haue vndergone his d Georgius Wirth de vita Christi ex Euangelijs l. 〈◊〉 cap. 39. passion he might haue auoided it which he foreknew and easily made frustrate all the the plots and vtterly ouerthrowne the power of the Iewes Math. 26. 53. but hee yeelded and therfore first goeth into the garden well known to Iudas the traytor Secondly meeteth his enemies who came to apprehend him thirdly asketh whom they seeke fourthly openeth himselfe vnto them vnknowne before fiftly by his word striketh them to the ground and suffereth them to rise againe sixtly reproueth Peter vsing the sword in his defence seuenthly admitteth not the assistance and protection of Angels which he might haue done eightly exerciseth not his almighty power for his escape and safety which hee shewed in healing of Malchus but suffered himselfe to be taken led away vnto Caiphas and Pilate Ioh. 18. 1. 2. 3. c. For so it e Non ex necessitate passio Christi fuit sed voluntaria neâ— captus est a Iudaeis sed à seipso â—blâ—tus quando vult â—apitur quando vult elabitur quando vult suspenditur quando vult tenetur Ambrosâ—n 4. Lucae was requisite both for the effecting of our iustification Rom. 5. 6. 7. and making the attonement with God 2. Cor. 5. 19. The vse of this doctrine is that we should willingly giue our selues againe to him who gaue himselfe for vs. So Paul I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that yee present your bodies a liuing sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable seruice and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renuing of your minds that ye may proue what is that good that acceptable and perfect wil of God Rom. 12. 1.