of vvater and his heart brake in two vvhen hee remembred the vow vvhich he had made in the vvarre and that he could do no lesse than kill his daughter The father then said vnto his daughter O my daughter and sole inheritrize how vnfortunate vvas thy destinie and how vnlucky vvas my fortune in that I must open my mouth and make that promise to such great preiudice to thy life and hurt vnto my house His daughter answered him and said If thou hast opened thy mouth my father to make any vow vnto the great God of Israel let mee bee no hinderance for the performance of it for I vvill like it well onely because I see thee victorious ouer thy enemies And she added further and said only I aske of thee my father that thou wouldest giue mee two months space before thou doest sacrifice mee in the Temple to bewaile my Virginity in these sorrowful mountains with others my companions And when those two months were past the tender virgine bewailing and weeping the losse of her life and virginity vnbestowed the Father performed his vow and sacrificed his daughter Because Iephthe that captaine had that famous victory but yet with vufortunate losse of his onely daughter all the young maids and virgines of the people of Israell agreed a meeting to weepe and lament the death of Iephthes daughter foure daies in the yeare and although the people of the Iewes did omit thinges of greater weight than that was yet they did neuer forget to mourn and lameÌ„t those daies The holy scripture doth promise vs many great matters in this figure of Iephthe worthy to be knowne hard to expound Who is vnderstood by the famous captaine Iephthe but the sonne of the liuing God and redeemer of the world He who said all power is giueÌ„ me in heauen and earth is more valerous and mighty than Ieph the was because that Iephthes authority extended no further than the land of Iury but the sonne of Gods did reach ouer heauen earth The scripture maketh mention that when Iephthe was a yong man those of his countrey put him from his fathers inheritance banished him out of the land and how that in progresse of time hee deliuered them from their enemies and vvas captaine ouer them all That which the neighbours of Gilead did to Iephthe the inhabitants of Ierusalem did to Christ whome they banished out of the Synagogue and depriued of his Fathers inheritance and yet neuerthelesse hee deliuered them from their sinnes and vvas the redâ—emer of them all The truth doth very vvell answere to the figure in this place and the sence vnto the letter For as they which did banish Iephthe out of all the kingdome did afterward entreat him to bee their guide and captaine so those which said to Pilate crucifie crucifie him did afterward on the Mount of Caluary strike their breasts and say aloud Verè hic filius deifuit This man was truly the son of God Who was vnderstood in Iepthes daughter a virgine faire and young but only that flesh and humanity of the Word S. Ambrose vpon those words Speciosus sorma sayth Who is so beautifull who is so pure who so holy as that most sacred flesh vvas and is The daughter of Iephthe was not knowne of any man and Christs humanitie was also vnknowne of man seeing that it was not conceiued by consent of husband but formed and framed by the vvebe of the holy ghost Iephthe did promise to offer in the Temple his only daughter for the victory which hee had obtained against his enemies and Christ did promise to offer vpon the crosse his owne flesh for the victory and conquest vvhich he had against sinnes so that Iephthe did offer only the daughter vvhich hee had begotten and the sonne of God did offer his owne proper body Is it not thinke you a greater matter for a man to offer his owne flesh than that vvhich is born of his flesh Iephthe vvas very loath and grieued to offer his onely daughter and it vvas a great corrasiue to the daughters heart to see her selfe sacrificed by her owne Father but in the end shee vvas more ioyfull and glad of the victory vvhich her Father receaued against his enemies than grieued that her owne life should bee sacrificed O how vvell one mystery doth answere vnto another for vvhen the flesh said Let this cup passe from mee vvith the daughter of Iephthe hee vvas loath to die but vvhen hee said Not as I vvill but as thou vvilt hee was glad to suffer so that that sacred flesh vvas very vvilling to bee sacrificed because that the diuine Word should obtaine victory ouer sinnes Doest thou not thinke my brother that one mystery doth very vvell answere another and that one secret is very vvell compated vvith another seeing that that virgine vvas sacrificed for her fathers honour and that diuine and sacred flesh also sacrificed for the honour and glory of his father Iepthe had a great reuenge ouer his enemies but Christ a farre greater ouer sinne and yet it is to be noted that by how much the greater those two victories vvere so much the more greater vvere the prices vvhich they vvere bought for because the one did cost his daughters life and the other his owne What can be deerer than that vvhich doth cost a mans life Pellem pro pelle cuncta dabit home pro animasua saith Iob chapter 2. The Scripture maketh mention in Iob that as there appeared before the iudgement of God many vvicked men the deuill made one among them for good men doe neuer assemble themselues to doe good but Sathan is there also to doe them some hurt Our Lord said vnto Sathan from vvhence doest thou come and vvhither hast thou gone To this Sathan answered I haue gone about all the earth and vvalked through it to see whether I could happen vpon any more that vvere mine Our Lord replied hast thou seene my good seruant and trusty friend Iob vnto vvhome no man on the earth may bee compared And doest thou not know Sathan that Iob is a holy man sincere in condition vpright in his conscience fearfull in that vvhich the law commandeth vvithout malice one vvho continueth till this day in his innocency Thou hast stirred me vp against him that I should kil his sonnes destroy his sheepe and deere and that his oxen should be stolne froÌ„ him and all his vvealth taken from him and that I should depriue him of all his honour Sathan answered vnto this and said Know Lord that a man vvill giue all his vvealth substance vvith condition to saue his life Pellem pro pelle dabit hemo that is A man vvill giue al his sheepe skins all the cowes hides in the vvorld to keepe his owne flesh If thou vvilt trie Lord vvho thy friend Iob is lay thy hand vpon his owne person and fill his bodie with a leprosie and then thou shalt see that hee will bee more
is thankful vnto me for my benefites bestowed vpon him I bewaile my virginity because I haue found none to bestow my virginity on none to giue my innocency vnto none to impart my patience vnto none vnto whome I may communicate my charity nor any one with whom I may leaue my humility in keeping but if I came rich and adorned with vertues in the world so I must return rich again with theÌ„ to heauen The figure which wee haue spoken of saith further that all the maids of Sion did meet in Ierusalem to mourn and weep the death of Iephthes daughter foure daies one after another in the which they made great lamentations so that no yeare did passe in which this solemnity was not obserued It is here to be noted that although there haue beene in the synagogue many personages noble in bloud valerous in warre discreet in the Common-wealth learned in all sciences and cleane and vnspotted in life yet it is not read of any of theÌ„ that after they were dead and buried were mourned for at any other time Al the kings Dukes Patriarks and Prophets were buried by their friends and kinsfolkes and forgotten of them excepted onely the daughter of Iephthe for whose death all the virgines and maids did mourne and weepe euery yeare once by a speciall priuiledge Wee speake all this because that if the daughters of Sion thought it conuenient to thinke vpon and weepe for the death of that virgine once euery yeare should it not bee greater reason that wee should weepe for the death of Iesus Christ euery houre and euery moment of an houre Those virgines did weepe for the death of that young virgine for no other reason but because she was young beautifull and vertuous so that they were induced to make that solemne lamentation rather through compassion than reason What other reason could there bee for that solemne yearely lamentation seeing that the daughter of Iephthe died not for the Commonwealth nor yet had in estimation for any rare vertue aboue the rest Iust occasion and reason doth inuite vs to weep euery houre and euery moment of an houre for the death of Christ considering that he died for the Commonwealth and paied for our offence For the son to say vnto his father Why hast thou forsaken me is to say nothing else but to complaine of vs because wee remember not his precious death as Iephthes daughter was wept for once a yeare Although the sinfull soule doth not remember the death of Christ yet the holy church doth not forget nor omit to celebrate his death once at the end of euery year in the holy weeke And in steed that the daughters of Sion did weepe for the death of that virgin foure times in the yeare the church doth represent vnto vs the passion written four times of the foure Euangelists CHAP. VII How Christ complaineth vnto his father because they did open his wounds through malice as they did stop vp Isaac his wels through enuy HAbuit Isaac possessionâ—â— onium armentorum familiam plurimam ob hoc inuidentes Palestini obstruxerunt omnes putees eius implentes humo Genes 26. The Scripture hath these wordes telling vs of a great discouresie which the king of Palestine did vnto Isaac the Patriarke and it is as if hee would say Isaac was a great and mighty man and had many flockes of sheepe and many heards of kine and many bondslaues both man and woman by reason of which prosperity of his the Palestines did greatly enuy him and did stop vp his wels by casting much earth into euery one of them O that the Apostle said very true when hee said all things happen vnto them in figura seeing that all things that were done in the Synagogue were nothing else thaÌ„ a figure of that which should happen in the Catholicke church For if it were not so there are many things in Scripture which vvould seeme but a iest to write of and a superfluous thing to read If there should not be some deep mystery some hiddeÌ„ secret in this figure what were it vnto vs or what profite should wee receiue in knowing that Isaac had many sheepe kine and slaues What were it also vnto vs if hee had many enemies and that they did shut vp his wels enuy his riches haue an ere vnto his greatnesse considering that it is an old custome that euery rich man is enuied This figure doth lead vs vnto higher mysteries than the letter doth shew and therefore it is needfull to haue a high spirit to declare it and great attention in reading it To come then vnto the purpose Isaac in the Hebrue tongue doth signifie a man ful of laughter and ioy the which ioifull name can agree only vnto the sonne of God and hee only in this world in a high degree can be called Isaac When rhe sonne of God was in heauen aboue and before hee came downe into this world no mortall man knew any cause to laugh nor yet durst not laugh for because that they saw that God was angrywith all the world al the world was in a dump and mourned When God had said vnto Noe the Patriarke Paenitet me fecisse hominem that is I am sorry and repent that euer I made man how could any man dare to laugh and bee merry How durst holy Iob laugh seeing that hee said with many teares Vtinam de vtero translatus essem ad tumulum I would to God I had been buried as soone as euer I was borne His meaning was this O great God of Israel why hast thou brought mee out of my mothers wombe and now that thou hast brought me out why doest thou not destroy me why did dest thou not carry mee presently from my mothers bowels to my graue How could the Prophet Helias laugh seeing that running flying away through the mountains from Queene Iezabel Petiuit anima sua vt moreretur His meaning was Am I better than my predecessors that I should liue rather than they Die then my soule die for because that my life is grieuous vnto me and I would see it at an end How should the Prophet Ieremy laugh seeing that hee said with deepe sighes Quis dabit capiti meo lachrimas oculis meis fontes lachrimarum vt plorem interfectos populi mei His meaning was Who can bring to passe with the great God of Israel that he would make a sea of water of my head change my eâ—es into fountaines of teares to sigh by night and weepe by day for those whom sinne hath deceaued and the sword slaine How could old honorable Tobias laugh when he said Quale mihi gaudium erit quia in tenebris sedeo lumen caeli non video In those pittifull words hee meant to say this What ioy can there be in my heart or what laughter can there bee in my mouth seeing that I find my selfe poore and feele my selfe aged blind and cannot see the light of
gouernours were Romanes who were Gentiles and Pagans How was it possible that there should bee any good in a Commonwealth which was gouerned by such naughty gouernours As in the vnfortunate Samaria they had no kine nor calues left so also the Synagogues Patriarkes and Prophets were at an end and that which was worst of all was that as Samaria was constrained to feed vpon asses heads so the Synagogue was forced to bee gouerned by naughty and wicked men Wee doe not say much in saying that they were gouerned by wicked men for wee might with good reason call them asses seeing they had no discretion to know that vvhich was good nor wisedome to eschew that vvhich vvas naught Doest thou not thinke that Pilate the iudge vvas a very asse seeing hee confessed before them all that hee found no cause to put Christ to death and yet Tradidit illum voluntati eorum Thou doest confesse Pilate that Christ was vvithout fault and yet doest thou condemne him to die Was not the High-priest Cayphas a very asse to say that Christ blasphemed because hee said that hee would come to iudge the vvorld Art thou iudge of the vvorld which is not thine and vvilt thou not let him iudge the vvorld vvho hath created it Was not thinkest thou King Herod a great asse for clothing Christ in fooles apparrell because Christ vvould not giue him an answere seeing that for that act hee should rather haue accounted him wise than otherwise Wherein could the sonne of God haue better showne his discretion and patience than in not answering vnto any iniury and in not misgouerning himselfe in any word Was not all the vvhole congregation and counsell of the Iewes a very asse in thy opinion in that they did crie for libertie for Barrabas and procured that Christ should die The Synagogue did not buy Barrabas life so good cheape as Samaria did the asses head because the asses head was bought for money but Barrabas life did cost Christ his bloud It was not worth so much and yet they gaue more in Samaria for an asses head than they did for Christs bloud in Ierusalem seeing they gaue but thirty peeces of money for Christ and fourescore for the asses head To speake morally then men buy the asses head deerely when they chuse for the gouernour of a Commonwealth or Prelate a simple and vndiscreet man because that in all canonicall elections the learned is to bee preferred before the simple and the wise before the vndiscreet There must needs be a great famine in that monastery in which they chuse for their head such a one as is light in behauiour base in linage a foole in his iudgement an asse in his conscience The Prophet did not say in vaine Cum sancto sanctus eris cum peruerso peruerteris For a wise man can bring vp but wise men a wicked man nothing but wicked men and an asse none but asses O thou whosoeuer thou art who doest hear or read this doe not thinke that we call those asses who haue but small or no learning but those which haue no conscience nor no bringing vp for he is often fitter to gouern who hath great experience discretion than hee who is full of knowledge folly We do not call him an asse who is ignorant in Logick Philosophy and Diuinity because that in Vniuersities men learn rather to dispute than gouerne make Sillogismes than rule subiects When a Prelate is vnpleasant in his conuersation hard in charity variable in his opinion slacke in iustice negligent in praier these we call asses and vnworthy of such a calling for for my owne part I had rather my Prelate should be experienced in gouernement than skilfull in learning and knowledge CHAP. XII Christ complaineth vnto his Father that all other martyrs had their paines and troubles inflicted vpon them at diuers times and he his all at once EGressus est frater eius in cuius manu erat coccinum quem appellauit Zaram Genesis 38 cha As if he would say Thamar brought foort◠two children at one birth and both aliue of the which the one they called afterward Zaram which was the last of the two and was borne with a scarlet thred tied at his finger which for a certaine was a strange thing to behold and deepely to be considered of If wee will curiously seeke out the meaning of this figure we shall find that it containeth a deepe mysterie pertaining directly vnto our purpose because it sheweth how soone our redemption began in Christ That two children haue been borne at one birth wee haue seene often and that one should be borne before the other we haue also heard but that the one should haue his finger tied and not the other is a thing that hath neuer been seene nor hard of and therefore by how much the thing is more rare by so much it is the fuller of mystery and secret Deepely then expounding this sigure who were the two children born at one birth but only the humane diuine nature which saued the world The two children whose names were Phares and Zaram did know no other mother but Thamar and the diuine and humane nature did acknowledge no other father but God for as it is an easie matter for a father to haue many childrē so it is a hard impossible thing for Christ to haue many fathers Although those two children were very naturall and neere brothers the one to the other and of one belly yet they were neuer sovnited together as the diuine and humane nature was vnited in Christ because these two were neuer seperated in Christ in his life nor seuered at his death vpon the crosse And as one of these two children was borne before the other so the redeemer of the world was first God before hee was man and was first born of his Father according to his diuinity than he was of his mother according to his humanity We know well that of the two brothers Phares and Zaram the one was born after the other but the diuine birth was so farre before the other that we find no beginning of it because it was Ab aeterno Of these two brothers the first of thē was borne in health pure and cleane and without any marke at all to giue vs to vnderstand that Christs first birth which was his diuinity did returne againe as whole faire and clean to heauen as it came from heauen because it is the natural condition of the diuine essence that how much the straiter his power is ioined vnto it so much the stranger and further it is from all kind of suffering What did it mean that the other brother was born with a coloured thred tied about his finger but that Christ should shed his bloud for the redemption of all the world O good Iesus O redemption of my soule thou doest see well that to come out of thy mothers wombe with thy finger tied is nothing else but to
come into the world condemned to death Zaram onely who was the figure and the sonne of God who was the thing figured were those who had their finger tied with a coloured thred because he and no other was to die for the world and redeeme vs out of sinne What other meaning had the thred of scarlet sauing onely the shedding of his precious bloud The difference betwixt thee O my sweet Iesus and other condemned persons is this that they are tied in a hempen cord and thou in a thred of scarlet and they about the necke and thou about the finger and they are lead to be hanged and thou to be crucified A thiefe is led away bound with a great tope because he is drawne to death by force but the sonne of God is tied with a small fine thred because hee dieth not by force but of his owne free will for if it were not his good pleasure so to doe neither the Angels nor men nor the diuels were able to put him to death O high mystery O diuine Sacrament who euer saw or heard that before a child were borne or knew what sinne was yet that he should come out of his mothers wombe already condemned What mercy can be compared vnto this that before his mother should giue him milke to sucke his owne father threatened him that he should die crucified Elegit suspendium anima mea ossa mea mortem nequaquam vltra iam viuam saith Iob chap. 7. And he spake them when his children were dead and his body plagued and his goods lost and himself vpon the dunghill and it is as if hee would say My paines and dolours doe so narrowly beset mee about and my griefe is come to that bitternesse that my soule hath chosen to be hanged and my life to come at an end because I am a weary to suffer any longer and doe loath my life Such pittifull complaines as these are and such tender vvordes cannot proceed but from an afflicted and grieued heart and from a man which desireth death Because it is the property of one which is distressed to complaine vnto all those which comfort him fill himselfe with weeping with all those which come to visite him What else would holy Iob say when he sayth Elegit suspendium anima mea ossa mea mortem but that his soule desired to bee hanged and his bones chuse death and his life to bee at an end O holy man thou hast nothing left thee but thy soule and wouldest thou haue it hanged nothing left but thy bones and doest thou desire to haue them dead thou hast nothing left but thy life and vvouldest thou loose it Thou must vnderstand my good brother that Iob did not speake these dolefull vvordes in his owne name but in Christs name vnto vvhome this speech dooth most properly belong Because that from the beginning of the vvorld vntill this day there vvas neuer soule so sorrowfull as his nor neuer body so martyred as his vvas Saint Chrisostome vpon these vvords of the Apostle Fidelis deus qui non permittit nos tentari vltra id quod possumus sayth thus Our Lord is very faithfull and pittifull because hee tempteth no man aboue that vvhich hee is able to suffer nor suffereth no man to haue greater paine than he is able to beare the sonne of God excepted onely vpon vvhome the Father laid in the iudgement of men torment and paine not able to bee indured and withall innumerable temptations What vvilt thou require more in this case but that God the Father laid martyrdome vpon Saints by ownces but vpon his blessed sonne by great loads and burdens Whaâ— great distresse vvas his soule in thinke you and vvhat griefe did oppresse his heart vvhen hee sighed for the gallowes and his body desired his graue When did thy soule desire to bee hanged but vvhen thou diddest crucifie thy blessed humanity vpon the crosse when did thy bones couet death but vvhen thou diddest loose thy life for the elects sake When the Scripture sayth Elegit Hee did chuse it is signified that thou diddest die willingly for vs and when he saith Suspendium his death was signified and withall his determination which he had to redeeme the world and that our redemption should be hanged vpon the tree And vvhen he sayth Ossa mea the multitude of people is set forth which were at his death as well the good as the bad the quicke as the dead the good to see themselues redeemed by him and the bad to see themselues reuenged of him All humane pains are brought vnto three principall heads that is to the trouble and trauell of the body to the griefe and sorrow of the mind and to the losse of life These vexations are woont to happen at diuerse times and also be deuided and laid vpon diuerse persons and hee who hath griefe of body feeleth no sorrow of mind and if hee haue anguish of mind yet not so great that it should take his life from him because our Lord is so pittiful that hee dooth not looke vnto the multitude of our offences but vnto the vveakenesse of our forces God was more pittifull vvith all mankind than vvith his owne only sonne considering that hee gaue other men their troubles and paines by peeces and vnto his sonne all at once For hee gaue him sorrow and griefe of mind seeing hee sayth My soule hath chosen to bee hanged and hee gaue him the paines of the body seeing hee sayth that his bones desired death and hee tooke away his life considering that hee sayth Iam non viuam What vnspeakable sorrow and what sea of tempest should tosse and vexe that blessed soule vvhen hee said My soule hath chosen to bee hanged that is that it vvould bee a comfort vnto him to bee crucified What cruell griefe should crush his bones when hee said and my bones death thinking it an ease to see his bones in their graue rather than to suffer such intollerable torment What a iest did they make of his doctrine and how little did they regard his person seeing hee sayth I vvill liue no longer that is that hee vvould forsake vs because vvee are incorrigible and because vvee doe not deserue his company hee vvill not bestow his grace among vs. This speech may otherwise bee very vvell vnderstood because the time vvhich hee did suffer and die in did take from him all that might mittigate his paine and comfort his heart No other Martyr could euer say My soule hath chosen hanging because there vvas none of them vvhich vvanted comfort in their sorrows and helpe in their pains and aboue all this vvas a great comfort to them to thinke for how good a maister they suffered and vvhat a great reward they expected for their martyrdome That vvhich did comfort Martyrs in their Martyrdome did discomfort Christ in his passion For if hee did die it vvas for a lost and peruerse nation and the reward hee looked for
art vnto the children of vanity and lightnesse who doe shew their essence and yet are nothing shew their power and yet can doe nothing shew their wisedome and yet doe know nothing CHAP. XIII Where he goeth forward with the figure mentioned before ADhue sitit expergifactus sayth Esay in the place before named as if hee would say When the redeemer of the world did awake vpō the crosse hee did awake very drie and thirsty which was so great a thirst that it continueth vntill this day it is most certaine that when a man doth suffer many griefes at one time that he speaketh of that which grieueth him most and pointeth with his hand where his greatest paine lieth The anguishes which Christ suffered in his mind were innumerable and the griefes which hee endured in his body were intollerable and that which is most of all to be meruelled at is that his torments being so many and so sharpe as they were yet he complained of none of them on the crosse but only of the thirst which he endured Saint Barnard sayth O good Iesus O redeemer of my soule hauing so many things to complaine on doest thou onely complaine of thirst Thy shoulders are naked and whipped thy hands broken thy head bleeding thy flesh brused and yet doest thou complaine on nothing but of the thirst which troubleth thee and of want of water Doest thou complain that thou art thirsty and not that thou art bloudy hast thou not greater want of thy bloud than of water Seeing the bloud which runneth from thy head doth bath thy face wet thy tongue why doest thou aske againe for water For a quarter of an houre that thou hast to liue doest thou complaine that thou wantest water O that the thirst which I suffer saith Christ is not to drinke wine or water but to see your amendment and carry you with mee to my glory for seeing that I am now taking my iourney to heauen I haue a great thirst to take my elect with mee The thirst which I haue the drinesse which I endure is not so much to drink any liquor as to redeem you and saue you and reconcile you with my Father and therefore if thou haue no pitty on mee yet at the least take some on thy selfe O that I had rather that thou haddest some pitty on thy selfe than on mee because it is a greater griefe to see thee lost than to see my self suffer S. Augustine sayth Thou diddest adde vnto all thy anguishes this word Sitio shewing thereby such a great thirst and representing outwardly the exceeding loue that thou diddest beare me inwardly and vnspeakable charity which caused thee to make but small account of all that thou diddest suffer in respect of that desire which thou haddest to suffer And he sayth further O my good Iesus I know well that thy thirst is not for thy selfe but for me and this thy anguish is for no other cause but for the saluation of my soule and when thou saiest that thou hast a desire to drinke that is as much to say as to suffer more for mee in so much that the care that thou hast ouer me is so great that by meanes thereof thou doest wholly forget thy selfe What meaneth this O redeemer of my soule what meaneth this Thy ioints being loosed one from another thy eies broken thy mother hauing her farewell and hauing complained on thy Father doest thou say anew I am a thirst What pitty may be compared vnto this or what goodnesse equall vnto this Oredeemer of my soule Wee see by this word Sitio that death was sufficient to take all thy dolors and griefes from thee and yet that it was not inough to cut off the loue which thou haddest to redeeme vs. Who is able to say truly that thy loue did end vpon the crosse considering that for the loue of thy elect thou diddest yet thirst after more griefes and anguishes All this Saint Augustine spake Chrisostome sayth When the eternall word said vpon the crosse I am a thirst I doe not beleeue that hee did so much aske for water to drinke as hee did aske for time of his Father to suffer more griefe and torment For as the candle when it is going out doth cast the greatest light so Christ the more his death drew neere the more his loue and charity doth kindle towards vs. Remigius vpon Saint Matthew sayth Although the diuine prouidence did reduce all the trauailes of his life vnto three yeares and that also hee brought all the torments of the crosse vnto three houres yet it is not to bee beleeued that Christ his infinite charity was contented with this short time and therefore I thinke for my owne part that the thirst which hee shewed vpon the tree vvas not so much to drinke of any water of the riuer as to declare and make manifest his loue vnto the world Fulgentius in a Sermon sayth The sonne of God did thinke that seeing his Father had not giuen him charity by waight so hee should not giue him torment by measure by reason whereof hee cried aloud on the crosse Sitio to let vs vnderstand by this thirst that seeing the gifts which hee receiued had no end that the torments likewise which he receiued should not be limitted CHAP. XIIII Of the crueltie and ingratitude that the Iewes vsed in giuing Christ gaule and vineger and how he satisfied for euery sinne in particular DEderunt in escam meam fel in siti mea potauerunt me aceto sayth Christ by the Prophet as if hee would say Being vpon the altar of the crosse full of torments loaden vvith griefes compassed with enemies I had scarsely spoken the word Sitio but they gaue mee gaule to eat and vineger to drinke There is much matter to bee spoken vpon this that is what drinke they gaue him when they gaue it him where they gaue it him why they gaue it him in what they gaue it him and how quickly they gaue it him The drinke which they gaue him was gaule and vineger the place where was vpon the crosse the time was when hee was yeelding vp the ghost the cause why was to helpe him to die they gaue it him in a reed and a spunge and that presently when he had thirst so that all these circumstances doe aggrauate the fault in them Wee find that the diuell made two banquets in this world the one in the terrestriall paradise vnto our Father where he gaue him the fruit of the tree to eat the other to Christ in the desert where he inuited him to stones of the field the which might haue ben ground sifted and so mingled that they might haue been eaten The Iewes gaue Christ worser meat than the diuell offered him in the desart for they gaue him gaule to eat and vineger to drinke which are bitter and soure horrible in tast and mortal in eating For as the Philosopher sayth The truest loue is the loue of children the smell
reuerence of the arke whereby so much the more euery thing was more precious by how much the neerer it was vnto it For the seruice of this Temple there were appointed twenty and foure thousand Priests of the great tribe of Leui whose charge was to panch the beasts offer sacrifice light the lampes and kindle the fire For to keepe the gates of the Temple there were appointed foure thousand porters and for to sing the Psalmes which Dauid made and those which Salomon made there were chosen other foure thousand whose office was also to play on instruments of musicke If the building which Salomon made was prowd and stately so was also the first sacrifice which he offered for he killed and offered vnto our Lord on one day twenty and two thousand beefes and a hundred and twenty thousand sheepe Now that wee haue spoken of the pompe glory and riches of that famous temple wee will tell you in what all this great treasure did end and thereby it may be perceiued how vaine and brittle all worldly glory is and especially that which is founded vpon riches It is a thing much to be wondred at and worthely to be noted that wheÌ„ the Sancta was not rich and when the great citie of Ierusalem was poore with their pouerty they did ouercome all their enemies and afterward with their wealth they were ouercome by them Dauid was poorer than Salomon and Saul was poorer than Dauid and yet for all their pouerty they had more victories ouer their enemies then Salomon and Roboam his sonne in their times whose riches treasures did exceed the treasures of their predecessors Men thinke that the remedy against misery pouerty doth consist in getting much wealth and riches and in hauing abundance of all things the which thing to thinke is a great vanity and a dangerous thing to get for we see many who thinking to bring wealth and riches to their house bring death war and dissention to it and because we may not seeke far for examples let vs looke vpon the Iewes with their treasures and if wee weigh the matter well we shall find for a truth that misery pouerty is not remedied with riches and that the captain of misery is peace and the companion of riches is misery No longer after the death of Salomon but fiue yeares Sesach king of Aegypt did send to Ierusalem seuenty thousand horsemen and twise as many footmen and a thousand two hundred Wagons for cariages and took Ierusalem and robbed the Temple and spoiled king Roboams pallace insomuch that the Temple was not so long a sacking as it was a building The king of Babilon did send his army to Iudea who vsed the matter so well that hee tooke the city and robbed the Temple and led the king of Iudea prisoner to Babilonia and no man was able to resist him or hurt him After this great mischiefe came the king of the Chaldeans who killed the yong men tooke the women captiue set fire on their towres burnt the sanctuary tooke the people prisoners and robbed the treasure The warres which the Aegyptians Chaldeans and Babilonians had with the Hebrews were not because they did hold them for their enemies but only to rob their treasures nsomuch that against the poore Israelites made greater warres their owne riches than all other barbarous nations Let the litterall conclusion be that wee may say truly of the Temple of Salomon Quod Consummatum est seeing that the Temple is at an end Salomon which made it the people where it was made the riches with the which it was made and the sacrifices for the which it was made Of all this we may gather that God dooth not giue vs riches because we should loue them but because wee should benefite our selues by them serue him with them but alasse that which God doth giue vs to serue him withal we doe turne to our owne pleasures and delights Dominus in templo sancto suo dominus in caelo sedes eius sayth the Psal 10. as if he would say The places where our Lord doth most of all abide are in the heauens vvhere he hath his seat and in the holy Temple where he hath his dwelling place Because we should not thinke that the Temple vvhich he here speaketh of is the Temple of Salomon in Ierusalem or of Dian. in Antiochia or of Pantheus in Rome God said not that hee dwelled in euery Temple but he added holy and also his For in the Temple where God must dwell there must be no sinne nor any else with him The Temple which Salomon made vvas very rich and although it vvas a Temple it followeth not that it vvas holy for if it had been and those also which made it they would not haue killed within it the great Prophet Zachary hard by the altar nor they would not haue placed the Idoll Asâ—aroth in it vpon the altar nor they vvould not haue consented that Pompeius should haue made a stable for his horses hard by the altar which vvas dedicated vnto diuine sacrifices Neither was that Temple holy in respect of the Priests and ministers which were in it for if it had beene holy they would not haue had birds at the gate to sell nor bankes for Vsurers nor Christ would not haue rebuked them nor they put Christ to death Neither was that Temple holy in respect of the sacrifices seeing that they were not sufficient to take away sinnes and if there was any profit in them it was not by reason of the sacrifice which was there offered but in respect of the merits of those which did offer them Neither vvill vve say that Salomons Temple vvas holy by reason of the matter whereof it was made because that true and sincere holinesse is not in gold siluer timber stone whereof it was made but in the Christian and glorious Temple which is there assembled and gathered together It followeth then of that which is spoken that God doth not abide euery where where euery man lusteth but where our Lord wil make his dwelling place must be a Temple and that a holy Temple and his owne Temple or els hee will dwell vvith none Where or vvho is the true Temple vvhere God dwelleth but the most sacred humanity of the son of God Wee shall call his deified body a Temple and a holy Temple and his owne Temple because of him and of no other God said at the riuer of Iordan This is my welbeloued son This holy Temple was builded not by the hands of Salomon the peaceable but by the hands and industry of the Holy-ghost in whose framing and fashioning as Salomon spent seuen yeares so the Holy-ghost did endue his with his seuen gifts This our Temple is farre more richer than Salomons was for if his was couered with gold so ours is couered with diuine loue and the difference betwixt those two may easily bee knowne by the difference that is betwixt a simple gilter