liberty and in freedome why doest thou call him Lord which is fastened to the crosse and crucified like thy selfe Seeing that he who should be a Lord ought to bee mighty and rich why doest thou call him Lord who was poor in his life time and naked in his death But this Prophet whō I call vpon and vnto whome I commend and commit my selfe is a mighty Lord and a king of great power seeing the son lost his light for compassion the stones broke with griefe the vaile rent in sunder for a mystery the graues opened with feare and the Centurion confessed him to be Christ O great God of Israel O great Lord of the house of Iacob◠for this cause thy name is admirable and worshipped in all the circuit of the earth because thy power and dominion is doubled and redoubled more than any mans in the world Cassiodorus noteth vpon this matter That the holy scripture doth neuer call any twise Lord Lord but Christ alone because he alone and none with him is Lord of heauen and earth of life and death body and soule and of peace and warre Wee cannot call Hector the Troian Anchises the Grecian Alexander the Macedonian and Caesar the Romane Lord more than once because they were kings onely of their owne kingdomes but vnto the sonne of God wee say twise Domine domine noster Lord our Lord because his siegnory is so great that no man is able to limit it nor set any bonds vnto it Euery other Prince hath his kingdome limited and set with bonds either to the top of a steeple or couering of a house and if it bee not so let him send a post from thence vpward and hee shall perceiue that his kingdome reacheth no higher which cannot be said to be true of the sonne of Gods Empire seeing it goeth from one end of the world vntill the other and reacheth vp vnto the highest heauen Considering that Dauid calleth Christ Lord Lord twise why doth he call him only once Lord. The mystery of this mystery is that Dauid called him Lord Lord twise because hee should keepe his body from his enemies and cary his soule vnto those which are blessed but the good theefe did call him but once Lord because his intention was not that Christ should keepe his life but only that hee would vouchsafe to saue his soule Why doest thou thinke sayth S. Basil vpon the Psalme that Dauid said vnto our Lord Lord calling him twife Lord but because he was Lord of the truth and of the figure of the church and of the synagogue of the Prophets and of the Apostles and of the old Testament and of the new The good theefe would not call Christ Lord twise because hee would let vs vnderstand that the figure is fulfilled and the truth come that the church is come and the synagogue ended that the Prophets are dead and the Apostles succeeded in their place that the old law is buried and the Gospel proclaimed Why think you doth the good theef call Christ Lord but once but because we haue but one Lord to beleeue one redeemer to worship To say once Christ remember me was to say that hee would haue him and no other for a master to serue for God in whō he would beleeue for his Lord whom hee would obey for a friend whome hee would trust vnto for an aduocate in whose hands he would put himselfe into The second word which the theefe said vnto Christ was Remēber me as if he would say Seeing that I doe confesse thee here before all men to bee my Lord and vpon this crosse acknowledge thee to be my redeemer haue mee in remembrance my good Lord seeing I haue remēbred thee and turned vnto thee Remember me O sweet Iesus seeing thou hast created me remember me seeing thou hast redeemed mee remember mee and seeing thou hast lightened me remember mee and seeing thou hast chosen me remember me for it would auaile me very little that thou shouldest giue me light to know thee if withall thou shouldest not giue me grace to serue thee Remēber me O good Iesus because I am hard by thy side remember me because I beleeue in thee remember me because I trust in thee remember me because I hope in none but in thee and seeing I haue offered my selfe for to be thy perpetuall seruant remember I beseech thee to accept me for thine Remember mee because thou hast raised me from the dust remember me because thou hast made me a Christian remember me to make mee good and remember mee to giue mee heauen and aboue all things I beseech thee that seeing thou hast giuen thy life for me remember me that I lose not my soule O good Iesus giuer of life with my tongue I beseech thee and with my heart I aske it of thee that seeing thou doest shed thy precious bloud vpon the crosse for me remember me that it be not euilly bestowed on mee and when shall thy bloud be euilly bestowed on mee but when it is not by thee accepted for me Seeing thou hast sweat oft for me suffered most grieuous pains for me endured inspeakable persecutions for mee and hast dissembled my abominable offences what doest thou gaine O good Iesus what doest thou gaine if I lose my soule and thou the fruit of thy precious bloud Remember me O Lord seeing that in pardoning my fault and by sauing my soul thou shalt make a Christian people heauen the more enrich thy church spread abroad thy fame and exalt thy mercy Remember the sabboth day said God in the law remember the daies past said Moyses vnto God remember because my life is a wind said holy Iob remēber how I haue walked before theesaid king Ezechias when he was sick and remember me said good Ioseph when he was in prison and remember mee when thou commest into thy kingdome I say vnto thee here now crucified vpō the crosse What should I say O the light of my life What doest thou aske me that I haue not giuen thee and what doe I possesse that is not thine I haue already giuen my money to the iailor my coats to the hang man I haue salne out with my companion who iniuried thee I haue made the best answere that I could for thy honour and therefore I can do nothing more but say Lord remember me Domine memento mei and seeing I offer thee the confession of Miserere that vpō my knees and my eies washed with tears why shouldest thou shut the gates of thy mercy against me my confession being thus iust being condemned for a naughty person as thou art my members disiointed the one from the other like thine crucified vpon the crosse like thy selfe I beleeue faithfully in thee and commend my selfe wholly vnto thee saying Lord remember mee Lord-remember mee and I beseech thee haue pitie on me seeing that in suffering I am like vnto thee I dy for being a theefe and thou for the same cause they
play the Apostatae immeadiately after that hee entered into the Apostleship and that Christs goodnesse did much shine vpon him in looking so long for his amendment which Iudas neuer did nor neuer forsooke his theeuing The first thing that the Scripture accuseth Iudas of was that hee was a murmurer and a detractor saying Vt quid perditio haec c. as if hee would say If it bee so that Christ my maister hath made profession of a vertuous man and preacheth pouerty vnto all the world and also reprehendeth sharpely all such as spend any thing wastfully it would bee better for him because he might conforme his life vnto his doctrine to command this ointment to bee sold for a great deale of money and diuide it afterward among the poore and needy Here Iudas doth murmure notoriously seeing hee murmureth at the ointment which was shed and how euilly it was bestowed and at Mary Magdalen which shed it and hee murmureth at Christ vpon whome it was cast When excommunicated Iudas said Ad quid perditio haec hee iniuried the other Apostles which would not murmure as hee did hee scandalized Simon the leaper in hearing such thinges spoken of his maister hee iniuried Mary Magdalen in finding fault with her for spending of the ointment and hee rebuked Christ and noted him to be a curious and a daintie man in suffering it to be spent vpon himselfe Anselmus talking vnto Iudas sayth Tell mee I pray thee Iudas if the shedding of the ointment vpon thy maister was a good worke why doest thou not like of it as the rest of the Apostles doe If pardy it were done scandalously was not S. Peter there to haue reprehended it who was thy ancient and was not S. Iohn there also to haue hindered it and counselled him who was more familiar with him than thou wast O wicked Iudas what iustice is it to sell thy maister for money and yet to hold it for an euill thing to annoint him with ointments Doest thou make a conscience of it that they should annoint Christ his tender flesh and doest thou make it no scruple at all to steale away the almes O blessed Magdalen O happy woman O happy had he ben which had ben worthy to haue ben there at that hour when thou diddest annoint thy maister and my God and happy had I beene when thou diddest annoint him with holy ointment if I could haue tempered and mixed it with my tears and as thou diddest annoint him with an ointment I could haue washed him with my tears I do not so much meruell at the malice of Iudas as I doe at the patience of Magdalen for not regarding what Iudas did the more hee murmured the more hast shee made in annointing him O what a number of murmurers there be now adaies saith S. Ierome in an epistle which say with Iudas Vt quid perditio haec What needeth this losse condemning finding fault at all that which is not done according vnto their will and pleasure in so much that the murmurer thinketh nothing well done vnlesse it be done as hee will Hilarius saith Many murmurers doe murmure at the sumptuosity of churches and at the riches of holy places saying with Iudas Vt quid perditio haec all which wheÌ„ they murmure it is not so much because they see it in the churches but because they haue it not in their owne houses Because the sonne of God dooth represent all holy and vertuous men saith Origen what other thing is ment when hee suffered Magdalen to annoint him and refresh his body but that he would bee well pleased that we should serue all holy and good men and well content that we should vse all courtesie towards them Why dost thou murmure O thou murmurer if thou doest see thy brother ease his body of continuall paine and trauell and recreate somewhat and refresh his bones seeing thereby thou art not preiudiced at al he which iudgeth in euill part of the recreation which his neighbor taketh murmureth at Christ with Iudas seeing that the perfection of great personages doth not so much consist in hauing their bodies broken as it doth in hauing their hearts pure and cleane Put the case saith S. Chrisostome That there were a fault in that vnction yet without comparison Iudas did far more sinne in murmuring at it then Mary Magdalen in doing it or Christ in consenting vnto it Let no man iudge his neighbor saith Barnard Let no man find fault at another mans doing because that murmuring is so odious in Gods sight that oftentime hee which murmureth at anothers doing sinneth more then he which doth the thing The second accusation in scripture against this traitor Iudas was that he was a notonous theefe which was a vice by God in the old law straightly forbidden and with greeuous punishments chastised Ea quae mittebantur portabat Iudas saith S. Iohn chap. 12. As if he would say The office which Iudas Iscarioth had in Christs house was to receiue and take charge ouer all the alms which denout persons did send vnto Christ and to bestow them and deuide them to Christs vse and his Apostles S. Iohns woords are to be noted wheÌ„ he saith That Iudas caried those things which were sent them wherein he noteth the great perfection of Christ and of his Colledge considering that he asked nothing from dore to dore but did eat only of the alms which were sent them vnto their house The son of God saith Damasceu nor those of his holy colledge were not of those poor which were troublesome and importunate because he busied himselfe more in preaching than in begging for if they had no almes sent vnto them they did eate the eares of the come and the hearbs of the fields We do not read in the course of the whole Gospell that Christ commanded or commended any other matter vnto Iudas his disciple but the gathering of the almes and the charge of those temporall matters in so much that were it much or little which they did send vnto Christ Iudas did both receiue it and deuide it and withall steale the best part of it Chrysostome saith thus If wee marke it well our Lord commended his holy soule vnto his Father his blessed mother vnto Saint Iohn his holy Church vnto Saint Peter his glorious body to Nicodemus and his poore substance and wealth vnto Iudas in so much that hee committed the goods of this life vnto the wickedest man that was theÌ„ aliue It is not to be thought that it is a good sign if our Lord giue any great aboundance of temporall wealth in this world seeing that naughty Iudas â—â—charioth had more wealth lone than Christs whole company and colledge all togither It is much to be noted that seeing Christ had neither house nor vineyard nor land not other rent but onely the almes which they gaue him in the commonwealth also it is to be thought religiously that that which Iudas stole from Christ could not
giue ouer sinning more or lesse why haue wee friends and companions but because they should keepe vs vp with one hand from falling and lift vs vp with the other if they see vs downe S. Barnard in an Epistle saith Let no man leaue off the correcting of his neighbour and friend because he thinketh that by so doing he doth displease him for after he hath considered of the matter hee shall perceiue that hee hath done a good worke because that oftentimes the counsell which they giue vs is more worth thā the money which they lend vs. CHAP. IX Why the good theefe did not chide with the naughty theefe because hee did not loue Christ as hee did chide with him because hee did not feare God there are many notable things brought touching the feare of our Lord. ECclesia quidem magis quotidiè aedificabatur ambulans in timore domini consolatione spiritus sancti saith S. Luke in the ninth chap. of the Acts of the Apostles as if he would say After that S. Steuen was stoned to death and the Apostle Saint Paul was conuerted by so much the more the church of God encreased in building by how much the more shee was founded vpon the feare of our Lord and the church did receiue no comfort but such as the holy ghost did send her Bede vpon this place sayth That the scripture doth aduise vs with a high stile how much it doth import vs that we feare our Lord and keepe his commandements because the primitiue church neuer began to encrease and flourish vntill that Commonwealths began to feare the Lord and seeke for the consolation of the holy Ghost S. Augustine vpon the words of our Lord sayth That in the triumphant church loue without feare worketh but in the militant church loue and feare goe together and a signe of this is that the greater loue I beare my friend the greater feare I haue to displease him Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn saith Although the son of God said Ignem veni mittere in terram which was as much as to say that he builded his church vpon loue yet he tooke not his feare from her because that seeing that there is both mercy and iustice in God wee are bound aswell to feare his rightfull iustice as we are to loue his mercy When God gaue Moises the old law hee gaue it him with great thunders and terrible lightnings and with al mixed it with many threats ordained it with many punishmēts because the Iews should determine with themselues to keepe it and not in any wise to breake it King Pharaoh commanded all the midwiues of the kingdome of Egypt to slay al the male children of the Iews at the time of their birth and because they would not doe it for fear of the Lord the Lord gaue them great riches in their houses The scripture commendeth very much a steward vvhich the king Achab had vvhose name vvas Abdias the vvhich seeing the cursed Queene Iezabel cut the throats of the Prophets of Israel did hide some number of thē vntill all the butchery vvas past the vvhich the good Abdias did not so much for the loue vvhich hee bore vnto the Prophets as for the feare vvhich he bore vnto God When king Iosaphat constituted iudges in all the cities of Iudea he gaue them no other instruction but that they should feare God and be very mindfull of the good of their Commonwealth because that by this means they should bee well liked both of God and of all the people The scripture reporteth of holy Tobias that he began at the same time to weane his son and fear the God of Israel and that hee contracted friendship vvith none nor none vvith him vnlesse he knew that he feared God S. Ierom vpon the Prophets sayth Al holy men and of great perfection doe not only loue the Lord and feare him as their Lord God but doe also refuse to conuerse vvith those vvhich vvill not fear our Lord and for that cause Abraham went from the Caldeans holy Lot fled from the Sodomites We must entise flatter the vertuous man vvith loue fear the wicked peruerse mā with threats because that of tentimes the wicked man doth rather amend his life for seare of hell than for the desire vvhich he hath to go to heauen Irenaeus in an Homily saith That if as God made Paradise he would not haue made also an hel few there vvould haue been vvhich vvould haue serued our Lord very many vvhich vvould haue offended him Because that if an euil mā might enioy the world he would little care if heauen vvere taken from him A vaine vvordly man engraued in a medall of gold the wordes of the Psalme Caelum caeli domino terram autem dedit filijs hominum The heauen of heauen vnto our Lord he gaue the earth vnto the sons of men and hee wrote for a posie take thou Lord heauen for thee vpon condition that thou vvouldst leaue the earth vnto mee O cursed tongue and wicked speech what an vngodly mouth was that which durst vtter such horrible blasphemy for by the rigor of iustice he may iustly be caried into hel who renounceth to go to heauē and is wel pleased to hue in the word Anselmus saith O what a great fauour God doth vnto that mā whō God doth not exclude frō his loue doth not leaue him without fear for the mā which hath both loue and feare in him although he want other perfections neither ought to fear least he should be damned nor distrust at all to be saued We haue spoken all this in the cōmendation of the good theef of his piety charity who did not rebuke the other theefe his cōpamon for that hee was prowd or enuious but only because he did not feare God saying Neque tu times deum Neither doest thou fear God Giuing vs to vnderstand by this that he went down right into hell for no other cause but because he made smal reckoning of Christ And it is much tobe noted why the good theef did not rebuke the other for that that he did not loue Christ as he did reprehend him for that he did not fear Christ Hilarius answereth this doubt and sayth That because loue doth belong vnto those vvhich are perfect and feare vnto such as are not so perfect the good theefe did not persuade the other that hee should loue but that he should feare because the duty and office of louing is of such high quality that although many goe about it yet few attaine vnto it Glorious Saint Peter did persuade himselfe that hee had loued Christ as hee ought to haue loued him and therevpon to take away his vaine-glory Christ asked him three times whether hee loued human which deinand Chirst gaue vs to vnderstand that the merit of loued oth not consist in louing with all our heart but if good Iesus do accept it that thē it is perfect The wil which wee
patiens est dominus indulgentiam fusis lachrimis postulemus ab eo said the holy woman Iudith speaking to the inhabitants of Bethulia in the eight chapter of her booke as if she would say It seemeth best vnto me O ye citizens of Bethulia that we kneele down vpon our knees our hands ioined together and our eies full of teares and craue pardon of our Lord for our sinnes and that it would please him to deliuer vs from our enemies Holofernes the Tyrant had so narrowly besieged the city of Bethulia that within fiue daies they would haue deliuered themselues vnto the enemie if the siege had not been raised or some new succor come vnto thē There was in the same citie a widdow named Iudith who was beautifull in her countenance chast in her body rich in estate and of great fame and credite among the people This holy Iudith perceiuing that the captains of the city were dismaied on one side and the neighbors dispaired on the other said vnto them as followeth Who are you which dare tempt the great God of Israel and will giue your selues to be slaues if he do not deliuer you from the Assyrians within fiue daies Wil you prescribe fiue daies to the infinit mercy of the Lord who hath neither beginning nor ending Doe you not know that such a promise and vow made against our Lord doth rather stirre him to indignation than appease his anger Care not then to load your selues with armes but with larmes care you not to make prouision of victuals but to weepe for your sinnes because you should be more afraid of your sins than of your enemies The warre which you endure and the hunger which you suffer the God of heauen and not Holofernes maketh against you and with no other weapons but with your owne offences and you must learne that the enemies who besiege you are rather executioners of Gods diuine iustice than enemies of your Commonwealth All the time that our forefathers were at peace with our Lord they did well and when they neglected their duty vnto him it went not well with them and as it fared then with them so doth it now with vs in so much that all our paines and trauels come from the hands of God either to punish vs or for to make vs merit Tell me saith Dauid what are wee able to doe what are we able to performe or what doe wee know if we bee not guided by the hand of God If thē our ablenesse must come from God to doe any thing and our strength from him to be able to performe any thing and our knowledge from him if we will guesse aright at any thing in whose hands should wee put our hope but in the hands of his diuine mercy Let it bee so then that there bee a proclamation made throughout all Bethulia that the old men fast the yong mē giue themselues discipline the Priests pray and all weepe together that it would please God to keepe and deliuer not the wals from enemies but our hearts from sinnes All the citizens were very much amazed at that that holy Iudith counselled them and all accepted her counsell by reason wherof within fiue daies Holofernes was beheaded he and his defeated the city vnburdened and the countrey pacified To returne then fitly vnto our purpose agreeablie vnto this aduise our theefe behaued himselfe on the crosse with Christ for first he desired our redeemer of the world to forgiue him his sinnes before hee asked him that it would please him to take him with him vnto the kingdome of heauen This theef did not say vnto Christ When thou commest into thy kingdome Lord remember me for so hee might haue seemed to aske for heauen before he had asked for the remission of sinnes but he said Domine memento mei Lord remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdome In which words hee first made his confession and then formed his petition What doth it auaile thee to ask of Christ if hee bee angry with thee first make Christ thy friend then aske fauour at his hands For it is the manner and condition of our Lord that first thou giue thy selfe vnto him and then for him to giue himselfe vnto thee Vbertinus sayth That it is greatly to bee noted that the good theefe did not say vnto Christ take me from this crosse help to vnloose me giue me life restore my credite but hee said Lord remember me seeing that thou knowest better what to giue me than I. to aske of thee S. Ambrose vpon S. Luke sayth That this theefe was very happy and glorious seeing hee taught the church how to pray as he had taught the Synagogue how to steale considering he said nothing in his petition but Lord remember mee the which praier although it were short yet it was full of mystery because that we need not to be very importunate with God to win his fauour but remember him of our busines with Domine memento mei What saiest thou good theefe what saiest thou Domine memento mei dum veneris in regnum tuum as if he would say O holy Prophet O Iesus of Galily by the bloud which thou sheddest I beseech thee by the loue with the which thou diddest shed it I pray thee that thou wouldest be mindfull of me when thou shalt come into thy owne proper kingdome If wee will reckon the fiue words they are these Domine the first memento the second mei the third dum veneris the fourth in regnum tuum the fift Now it is to be noted who spake these words that is a theefe vnto whom he spake them which was Christ where he spake them which was vpon the crosse and when hee spake them and it was when hee was ready to die insomuch that if they be easie to be counted they are hard to be vnderstood Hee dooth begin his praier like a curious Orator with this word Domine Lord wherein it seemeth that hee dooth confesse in Christ his Deity and diuinity his essence and power his authority and rule his iustice and liberality Origen sayth If the good theefe should beleeue that Christ was a mighty and great king yet would he aske him no lesse than a whole kingdome This word Lord is a high beginning of a petition for if he who asketh do not beleeue that all things are vnder his mighty hand he could not thinke that he should obtaine any thing O glorious theefe sayth Anselmus and happy martyr what doest thou see in this Lord which is crucified what dost thou see in him on the crosse why thou shouldest commend thy selfe vnto him Who euer saw or heard the like that one which was bound should commend himselfe vnto another which was also bound and one which was crucified vnto another in the same case Doest thou aske that those confederacies and friendships which end in death should begin with Christ and thee in death Seeing hee who should be a Lord should bee at
to suffer it or vvhat eies can weepe and bewaile it sufficiently Venient tibi has vna die sterilitas viduitas said God by the Prophet Esay chapter sixteene as if hee would say When thou shalt least thinke vpon it there shall happen two great mishaps vnto thee O Synagogue that is thou shalt bee made a widdow and also barren vvithout a sonne The space of three thousand yeares in which God vvas married vnto the Synagogue hee raised Patriarkes and Prophets continually in her but vvhen the son of God vvas put to death shee vvas put from him like a naughty vvoman and the Church admitted in her place in so much that from good Friday forward vvhen he died on the crosse shee neuer after vvas great vvith any gifts or graces nor neuer brought foorth any holy man Our blessed Lord vvas his mothers bridegroome and deere sonne also and hee vvas so certainely her bridegroome that Ioseph vvas not more hers vvhen hee vvas betrothed vnto her and therevpon it is that vvhen Ioseph died shee vvas not fully a vviddow but vvhen the sonne of God died shee was fully a vviddow Why dooth the Prophet call her a vviddow but by reason of her sonne vvhich shee lost and vvhy doth hee call her barren but by reason that shee had no comfort and consolation O that the Prophet doth rightly call thee barren seeing that in one day and in one houre thou diddest lose thy husband and vvast bereaued of thy sonne But yet thou maiest comfort thy selfe vvith one thing O glorious Virgine that is that thou needest not vveare a mourning vveed though thou bee a vviddow because thee very stones haue broken in sunder and the heauens haue mourned for pure compassion Magna velut mare est contritio tua quis medebitur tibi Sayth Ieremy in his Lamentations as if hee would say thy griefe dooth so much exceed all other griefes as the sea doth exceed all other vvaters because all men can take pitie on thee but no man remedy thee Ieremy doth highly set forth the dolours vvhich the sorrowfull mother suffered on the Mount of Caluary by comparing her vnto the sea vvater because that as there is no drop of water in the sea which is not salt euen so there was no part of the Virgines heart which did not feele griefe and paine Hee calleth the Virgines dolour Contrition that is a kind of brusing or breaking hee calleth it great and hee calleth it a sea which is bitter in so much that as there is nothing which can bee compared to the sea in greatnesse euen so there is no griefe which can bee compared vnto the griefe which the Virgine suffered There are some griefes and sorrowes the which if they bee bitter yet they are not great and if they bee great yet they are not bitter but the Virgines dolour vvas the greatest in the world for it was so bitter that there could bee none so bitter and so great that none could bee greater What could bee more bitter seeing it went to her heart what longer seeing it continued all her life time O that thy contrition was great like vnto the sea for as there is in the sea both calme and tempest so was there in thy heart at one time ioy and sorrow ioy in seeing thy sonne redeeme the world and sorrow in seeing thy sonne die vvithout iustice What sorrow doest thou thinke should that heart feele in the which at one time there did striue sensuality and reason loue and feare liking and dissiking willing and nilling What sea can bee compared in depth or what water in bitternesse vnto the heart in the which is forged at one time a will to redeeme all the world and a will that her sonne should not suffer For as the sea is deepe and large so the Virgines griefe was deepe because it reacheth vnto the heart and great because it vvas of a great matter and bitter because it was the greatest griefe in the world Barnard sayth That as in the sea one waue followeth another and when they are come to the banke they breake against it euen so in the Virgines mind one sorrow ouertaketh another and one grief ouerreacheth another the which both together breake against the Virgines bowels And shee suffered all these anxieties and sorrowes alone because there was none who might take part of them with her nor any man able to giue her remedy for them Quis medibitur tibi as if Ieremy would say O sorrowfull mother and comfortlesse Lady what Phisition is able to cure thy wounds hauing them as thou hast them so farre within thy heart Who shall cure thee O thou of all other the most comfortlesse because the griefes of the heart are such that although they are easie to bee reckoned yet they are hard to bee cured Who shall heale thee O blessed Ladie seeing thy carefull loue is of such qualitie and the wounds of thy sorrow so great that no man can guesse at the curing of them but hee alone who was the cause of them Who shall ease thee of all others the most desolate seeing that the Phisitian which cured the dolours of the heart is now crucified among theeues and malefactors Who shall cure thee O blessed Virgine or who shall make whole thy sorrowfull heart but hee onely in whome thou hast put it seeing wee know that although Gallen and Hypocrates can purge the humors and let the vaines bloud yet they cannot cure the griefes of the mind Who shall ease thy sighes but only he for whome we sigh for Who shall heale thee O my good Ladie seeing that hee is dead on the altar of the crosse for whome thou doest weepe and hee hath yeelded vp the ghost for whome thou doest sigh Who shall heale thee O my sinfull soule if thou hast lost Christ and fallen from grace Thou must now know that thou hast no recompence for so great a losse Ioine therefore O my soule with our Lady and weep with her shee for her sonne and thou for thy losse because that after his resurrection he may comfort her and helpe thee would haue bestowed them all in seeking looking vpon in hearing and in louing and seruing her sonne O who could haue seene thee in that lamentable houre on foot and not sitting hard by the crosse and not farre off looking vpon him with thy sorrowfull eies kissing his feet with thy mouth and receiuing the drops of bloud vpon thy head The scripture doth not say only that shee did stand hard by the crosse but addeth further iuxta crucem Iesu by the crosse of Christ to distinguish the crosse of Christ from the crosse of theeues for it had been no matter whether a man had been on foot or sitting by those crosses Who should come to the crosse of Christ crucified but he who is also crucified And hee who will come to the crosse must liue like vnto them that are on the crosse vpon which they know nothing but how to
grieued and troubled heart weeepeth because there are none more certainer witnesses of the sorrows which wee suffer than the teares which wee weepe with our cies CHAP. VIII Why Christ tooke his mother with him to see him die seeing that she was not to helpe him to redeeme vs. QVi inuenerit auiculam eubantem cum pullis suis tollat filios dimittat matrem Deutronomy 22. God spake these wordes vnto the Iewes which vvere hunters as if he would say If any man goe to the fields a hunting and by chance meet with a Sparrowes nest he may take the young ones so as he let the old one goe in so much that he should neither take her nor much lesse kil her What other thing is it to goe a hunting for Sparrowes nests but to seeke out diuine bookes Origen sayth Who or what is the nest but the booke what the Sparrow but the letter which the young ones but the sences and who the hunter but the Christian which occupieth himselfe in holy Scripture When God commaundeth the hunter to leane the mother and take the young ones he doth plainly aduise vs that wee should leaue the letter in the nest of the holy Scripture and take the meaning Hee doth leaue the Sparrow in the nest which careth not for that which the letter soundeth but for that which the holy Gospell saith Because there bee some such obscure phrases in scripture that they are not onely not to be taken as they sound but also that not to be done which the very letter commandeth When Christ sayth If thy eie doe scandalize thee it was not his meaning that wee should pull out our corporall eies which we see with but the spirituall with the which we damne our selues for Christs sweet law doth command no man to teare his own members but to pul out sinnes by the root When wee loue a child well wee say that wee loue him like our owne eies and thereupon Christ saith if any of thy eies doe scandale thee pull him out Saint Augustine saith That all the Synagogues perdition consisteth because that in the nest of the Scripture they take the mother and leaue the young ones that is they take the letter as it soundeth and take not the sence which is hidden vnder it making more account of the drie barke then of the tender marrow When the Apostle saith that the letter killeth and that it is the spirit which doth giue life what else doth he say but that we should take heed of taking the old Sparrow and that wee should take the young ones which vvas the sence When the sonne of God saith Search the scriptures he meaneth not that we should read the bookes only but that vvee should seeke out the true sence thereof If wicked Arrius had searched out the meaning of those words My father is greater than I am of those other words That they may be one as I and my Father are one there should neuer so many good men haue been persecuted nor so many scandales haue risen in the church by it Seeing that all liuing beasts are created for mans vses and seruice if our Lord had meaned no other matter in the sparrowes nests then the letter speaketh of hee would neuer haue bidden vs eat of the one and not touch the other It had beene a greater losse to the Commonwealth to kill fiue or sixe young ones than one old one but because the giuer of the law did intend rather the mystery which was signified in the sparrowes than the prohibition which hee made when he commanded the young ones to be taken the old one to bee let louse Conformably then vnto that which our Lord commandeth let the curious Reader leaue the letter and take the true sence otherwise it were better for him not to read the Scripture than vnderstand it as the Synagogue doth To come then vnto our purpose what is the nest but the holy crosse of Christ Who the sparrow but our blessed Lady And who the young one but her precious sonne Ezechiel saw a nest put vpon a high tree in which nest euery bird laid an egge and in the nest of the crosse of Christ all the Saints lay their egges that is then good desires of which the sonne of God like a good Henne of euery one gathereth his good worke According vnto the old law the young sparrowes might bee taken and killed and so they did by Christ and wherefore then was his poore mother so grieuously tormented there who was figured in the sparrow seeing she was exempted by law O wicked Ierusalem and cursed Synagogue seeing that in the nest of the crosse thou diddest find the old bird and the yong why art thou not content to kil the young one but doest also torment the mother O holy tree O precious nest O blessed sonne O comfortlesse mother what heart could destroy that holy nest in the which all the holy Trinitie was inclosed In the high nest of the crosse the father was he who commanded the sonne to suffer the holyghost which assisted the flesh which died the foule which gaue life and the bloud which redeemed vs. All this nest was ouerthrowne by the Synagogue vvhen his bloud lay vpon the ground his carkasse on the crosse his flesh in the sepulchre his soule in ioy and his diuinity vnited to all What shal we say of his sorrowfull mother of whose heart there was one peece on the ground with his bloud another on the crosse vvith his skin another in the sepulchre with his body and another in hell whither Christ went with his soule another on the Mount of Caluary vvith those of her family vvhich wept What else shal I say O my soule but that into how many parts her son was scattered the sorrowful mothers heart into so many was deuided Vbertinus saith That the doleful mothers hart was scattered deuided deuided again because that louing her son as shee did better than her selfe shee kept the least part of her heart vnto her selfe Why doe I say that shee kept some part of her heart vnto her selfe seeing that all her heart liued and died with her sonne If the heart doe run to desire that which the cies behold and if whither the heart goeth there goeth also the very bowels to continue where was all the Virgines heart but in her sonne whom she best beloued Because the dolefull mother had no other sonne but him all her loue was fixed in him and because the Iewes found the Sparrow and her young one in the nest of the Crosse they crucified the flesh of Christ and tormented the mothers heart Saint Barnard sayth That if the Virgines breasts had been opened in that sorrowfull houre lamentable day it is religiously to bee thought they might haue found her heart of flesh but not the force and vigour of a heart because her vitall spirits had mortified it and her true loue buried it vvith her sonne O
vnto the hangmen and that because vvee should vnderstand that to the catholicke church there fell the entire and whole coat seeing that shee dooth fully beleeue that Christ is both God and man and vnto the Synagogue there happened his torn coat seeing they beleeue that hee is no more than a bare man Saint Augustine sayth By Christs two garments are vnderstood both his bodies that is his true body made and compacted of his holy members and his mysticall body which are all good Christians and because thou maiest perceaue my brother how much thou art bound vnto Christ know thou that hee did esteeme better of his mysticall body vvhich are Christians than of his owne true body which vvas made of his owne members What vvas his meaning that hee suffered them to take away and teare in pieces the one of his coats and yet neuer touch the other but only that hee is more grieued when any man doth speake euill of his church than to haue laid hands vpon his owne proper person Remigius sayth O how whole and entire hee did leaue vs the vnsowne coat of his church and yet naughty Christians and perfideous Heretikes doe rent his coat into as many pieces as they doe raise dissentions and stirre vp heresies in the church It was Christs holy vvill to die not only without a coat but also not to haue one thred of a coat vpon him which hee did suffer to the great preiudice of his grauity and losse of his credite Who was euer or vvho euer shall bee so graue in his doctrine as the sonne of God vvas and so honest in his person And seeing that Esayas sayth that hee was offered vp because hee would it is to bee beleeued that seeing they could not crucifie him if he himselfe vvould not so they could neither haue stripped him naked vnlesse he had consented vnto it Wherof it followeth in a good consequence that if hee would die for our redemption that hee did let himselfe bee stripped for our comfort What did it signifie that the sonne of God did put off all his garments but that hee did dispossesse himselfe of all his good workes I and thou thou and I my brother haue great need to die clothed and clad to wit vvith our owne faith and good vvorks and also bee helped by others For as for holy Iesus as hee came out of the vvombe of his mother vnited vnto the diuine essence so hee had no necessity of his owne vvorkes to saue himselfe nor of other mens merits to pardon vs. Cyrillus vpon S. Iohn sayth Of as much as the sonne of God did merite praying on the mountaine preaching among the people healing the diseased in hospitals by suffering among his enemies and dying vpon the crosse I say hee did spoile and make himselfe naked of all that and put it vpon vs insomuch that wee are heires of his bloud with which he redeemed vs and successors of all the merits which hee heaped together O glorious inheritance and happie wealth which thou good Iesus diddest leaue to the parishioners of thy church seeing that by the meanes thereof vvee are made sonnes of the Father brothers of the sonne puples of the Holy ghost companions to the Angels parishioners of the church and heires of thy glory O vvhat great difference there is betwixt the inheritance of heauen and an inheritance in the world Worldlings leaue their children store of goods and reuenues and much debate and strife to defend them and many enemies to persecute them but our good Lord in lieue of great wealth did leaue vs his grace and in steed of enemies did leaue vs his merites What should haue become of all the sinners of the world if as Christ died spoiled and depriued of his goods so hee would haue died clothed vvith all his merits What should become vnto prowd men if hee would not haue left them his humilitie and vvhat of cruell men if hee would not haue left them his charitie What end should angry men come to if he should not haue left them his patience and vvhat vvere it of all sinners if hee should not haue left them his clemency Cyprian sayth If Christ would haue ascended to heauen vvith all that which hee merited in this world and not impart it among vs and as it were vnclothed himselfe of them as of certaine garments there should not haue been in the world at this day a church to preach in nor Priest to bee ordained nor Sacrament to bee administred Cyrillus sayth to this purpose If the sonne of God would haue merited for himselfe alone and died for himselfe alone wee might haue said with reason that hee had come into the vvorld and tooke flesh vpon him for himselfe and not for vs. But let such blasphemy bee farre from our tongues and thoughts and farre from our heart because our good Lord died not for himselfe but for vs nor did not merite for himselfe but for vs. Hugo de sancto victore sayth Because that the great Redeemer of the world did leaue vs his garments for reliques and his merites for Treasures the Church his spouse hath at this day Sacraments to giue sacrifices of a contrite heart to offer sweet doctrine to preach and rewards to promise for amendment of life CHAP. IIII. He followeth the authority of the Prophet Osee and speaketh of the garments which Christ left in pledge PArtiti sunt vestimenta mea super ea miserunt sirtem said Christ in the 21 Psalme complaining vnto his Father on the crosse as if hee would say O my good Father thou wast not content only that they should spoile me of my garments and turne me naked to my great shame but also that the hangmen should deuide my coat and the souldiours cast lots vpon him We must see in this place how many coats there were and whose they were and among whome they were deuided because all our saluation dooth consist in being excluded or admitted vnto that deuision There were but two garments in all and Christ was the maister of them and they were deuided betwixt hangmen and souldiours the place where was by the crosse and the manner how was by lots These two garments were deuided betwixt the Gentlemen which kept and guarded Christ and the hangmē which crucified Christ insomuch that according vnto the merite or demerite of euery one of them they receiued their part of the garment Theophilus saith Who are meant by these gentlemen and knights but the vertuous and iust and who by the hangmen but sinners and naughty men O infinit goodnesse O clemency neuer seene before such as thine was O good Iesus vpon the altar of the crosse where thou diddest barre no man of the inheritance of thy sweatings and deuiding of thy merits depriue no man exclude no man nor disinherite no man but there fell aswel one part to the hangmen which lifted thee vp vpon the crosse as to Nichodemus who tooke thee down from the same Isichius
falleth from his estate than of him who loseth his wits because that he who is become a foole dooth not remember that euer hee was wise but the disgraced man and he who is troddeÌ„ down doth alwaies bewaile his infortunate mishap To come theÌ„ vnto our purpose there was neuer nation so much made of at Gods hands as the people of Israel was because hee called them his louing sonne his peculiar people his chosen vineyard his enclosed orchard and Commonwealth whom he most of all affected He went for their sakes into Egypt he opened them the red sea he gaue them Manna from heauen hee gaue them Angels to keepe them Priests to guide them dukâ—es to defend them countries to inhabite and great riches to ioy in What did hee not giue them if they asked it and what did he denie them if they requested it seeing that in the day time he made them a shadow of a cloud and in the night gaue them light with a pillar of fire All these priuiledges dured no longer thaÌ„ Abraham Isaac and Iacob liued and the rest of the fathers and with theÌ„ all familiarity died Tertullian sayth That as long as there were holy men among the Iewes they were welbeloued of God but when the people of Israel went worser and worser our Lord did forget them and had no care at all ouer them For as the church sayth Sicut to colimus ita nos visita Is it much that God should be carelesse in doing of vs good if we grow cold in his seruice S. Augustine sayth in an Homilie When the sonne of God came into the world to take flesh vpon him the Synagogue had fallen into decay long before which they shall easily see to bee true who will diligently read the Scriptures For the Prophet Malachias doth call her soot Ieremy drosse Baruch a putrified worm Ezechiel a moth Amos a wild vine Abdias smoke Osee a sinke for as hee was wont to inuent names to honour thee so now hee seeketh names of infamy to discredit thee And like vnto one who is angry and discontented God calleth his people of Israel dregs and sinke and soot and smoke for as the Iewes grew more and more in sinnes so God punished them more and more and quipped and taunted them with new names What greater iniury could he doe to them or what greater reproch could hee vse towards them than call them filthy dregs and rotten lees Fulgentius in a Sermon sayth According vnto the prophecy of Esayas Can you O you Israelites denie mee that there is any thing left of your Priesthood of your royall scepter of your rich temple of your ancient kingdome of your famous people but the lees which smell and the dregs which stinke Christ found very stinking dregs in al the Iewish Priesthood seeing we read of it in the books of the Machabees that they gaue not the roome of the high Bishop vnto him who best deserued it but vnto him who bought it for most money The sonne of God found very rotten dregs in the roiall scepter of Iuda considering that it was vsurped of the Romanes and tyrannized by Herods Christ found filthy grounds in all the Scriptures seeing that the Rabines had falsified them and interpreted them according vnto their owne meaning Christ found the Hebrew tongue stained in lees and dregs and the reason was because that as the vnfortunate Iewes had been captiues in diuerse parts so they spake diuerse languages Was not the Synagogue now become stinking and filthy dregs seeing that there was no vice in the world which was not found in her In the Princes Christ found pride in the Priests enuy in the Pharisies hypocrisie in the old men malice in the young men ignorance in the popular and vulgar sort couetousnesse CHAP. XI How the Synagogue gaue Christ that to drinke that shee her selfe was that is gaule and that which she had that is vineger ECce ignis ligna vbi est victima holocausti Genesis 22. These lamentable speeches passed betwixt the Father and the sonne the sonne and the Father in manner of a dialogue the one asking and the other answering The case was then this that when Abraham had brought his sonne Isaac from among the people and being gone vp to the hill with his hands bound the wood set on a heap and the fire kindled and the sword drawn to sacrifice his sonne he said vnto his Father behold father here is the wood and the fire made where is the beast which shall bee sacrificed To this demand the sorrowfull Father answered this Dominus prouidebit sibi victimam holocausti sili mi as if he would say Take thou no care my sonne take no care for the Lord will prouide a sacrifice which shall be more acceptable vnto him than all the sacrifices of the world This prophecie which the Patriark Abraham vttereth is so excelleÌ„t high that although many haue read it yet very few vnderstand it for although it be short in words yet the mysteries which it containeth are many What meaneth this O old Abraham what meaneth this God doth command thee to kill and burne and sacrifice and offer thy owne sonne and doest thou prophecy that our Lord will prouide for a sacrifice farre better than this which thou doest bring O high mystery diuine Sacrament for the holy man hauing his sonne in a readinesse to be sacrificed the wood prepared to cast him into the fire made to burne him the sword drawne to kill him and a commandement from God to offer him yet carelesly saith that the Lord will prouide another sacrifice Abraham dooth not speake here with the Synagogue his mother for for her the sacrificing of Isaac was prepared which was the figure of a sacrifice but he spake with our mother the holy catholicke church for whom God would prouide another new sacrifice which was Christ crucified in whome all the sacrifices of the law were to end and the Sacraments of the church take their beginning Because all meÌ„ might know that Abraham did not speake of the sacrifice of Isaacs sonne but of the sacrifice of Christ which was to come our Lord said not that hee had already prouided a sacrifice but that he would prouide neither did he say that he would prouide it for another but for himselfe neither that hee would prouide many but one neither that he would indifferently prouide for any but a killed sacrifice laid whole on the altar Theophilus vpon the Apostle sayth That in all the old Testament there was no sacrifice so excellent nor so strange nor so costly as that of Abraham Isaac his sonne And seeing that Abraham the maker of that sacrifice doth prophecie that there shall bee another sacrifice which shall excell his why do not you O you Iewes receiue Christ as a true sacrifice Neither did Abraham say that he would prouide many sacrifices but only one for if we marke it well it was the poore Synagogue which
was loaden with many sacrifices and beleeued in many Christs and offered many Holocausts but the holy church hath but one sacrifice beleeueth but in one Christ and doth offer but one Holocaust Neither doth Abraham say that the Lord would prouide a sacrifice for any other but for himselfe seeing hee sayth Dominus prouidebit sibi for vntill the very instant and houre that his sonne was crucified on the crosse he was neuer pleased nor pacified for the offēce which was done vnto him Neither did Abraham say that he would prouide indifferētly any sacrifice but specially that sacrifice which was called Holocaustum because that in al other sacrifices there remained alwaies one part for the priest to eat of another for him which offered it for to take away But it was not so in that sacrifice which they called Holocaustū because that in it all the whole beast was quartered cut in peeces burnt so being made ashes was wholly offered vnto God Was it not think you an Holocaust a great Holocaust which Christ offered seeing there was no spot in it wherby it should be cast away nor any mēber in his body which was not tormented To come then vnto our purpose it is to be noted that we haue made all this discourse to proue that in the mystery of this word Sitio which end because that the Iewes did but borrow them vntill our Lord should prouide them a sacrifice which by Abraham he promised vnto all the world Isidorus vpon Genesis sayth The sacrifice which God promised to send into the world ought to bee worthy of him vnto whom it was offered and profitable vnto him who did offer it which could not bee by dead calues and the bloud of goats and vnpleasant liquors nor yet with bloudy hands How was it possible that the sacrifices of time past should please the Lord or profit the sinner which did offer them seeing their altars did seeme rather butchers shambles than temples of Priests Rabanus sayth Abrahams sacrifice was profitable vnto himselfe and hurtfull vnto his sonne seeing he should there haue lost his life and because we may know that this is true the Lord did ordaine that Abrahams sword should onely threaten his sonne Isaac and afterward kil the son of God Our Lord seeing what smal benefite should be gotten by the death of that child what griefe it would cause vnto this old Father although hee gaue him license to draw his sword yet hee did not consent that it should come neere the child the which our Lord would neuer haue hindered if the death of that child could haue ben sufficient to redeeme al the world God the Father was older than Abraham and loued his sonne better than Abraham did his yet notwithstanding all this seeing that in that only sacrifice did consist mans saluation he consented that they should take his life from him Esichius vpon Leuiticus sayth That that which Abraham did was only good vnto himselfe alone because hee did accomplish that which was commanded him but when he said that the Lord would prouide a sacrifice vnto himselfe that was profitable vnto all the world considering that by that prophecie wee were warranted and made sure that we should be redeemed by the sonne of God Origen sayth That it is much to be noted how that all the sacrifices of the old law did proceed from two things only that is from the beasts which they did kill and the fruit which they plucked from trees Of their beasts they did offer the head and feet vnto the Lord the caule the flesh and the entralls and of trees incense storax fruit grapes aloes mirrhe oile and sweet odours And God was not content only that euery mā should offer what pleased himselfe but onely of that which God in the law commāded that is of beasts that they should offer the greatest of fruits the best of perfumes the sweetest of mettales the richest of liquors the most excellente If we beleeue the Philosopher in his book De animalibus The first thing that is engendred is the heart and the last the gaule when a beast dieth it is contrary for the first thing that corrupteth is the gaule and the heart the last thing that dieth The Commentator sayth That as the gaule is the last thing that is ingendred in man so it is also the most filthiest and basest thing that is in him Of all liquors the wine is the most precious and contrary no liquor worser than the dregs of soure corrupted wine Doest thou thinke my brother that we haue trauelled in vaine in prouing vnto thee that the gaule is the worst part of the beast and putrified dregs the worst of liquors The end why wee haue spoken all this is because that when the Redeemer of the world was dead with thirst vpon the altar of the crosse they gaue him these two thinges to drinke that is bitter gaule which is the last and worst part of the beast and dregs and vineger which is the worst of all liquors S. Augustine vpon S. Iohn sayth The purest clearest and cleanest of the Synagogue was already ended and gone and turned into vineger and lees by reason wherof they gaue Christ nothing to drinke but gaule vineger giuing vs therby to vnderstand that they did not giue him only that which they had in the Synagogue but also that which themselues were For what was all the Synagogue but soure vineger and bitter gaule It was not without a high mystery that they offered that which they did to Christ vpon the crosse for as the gaule is the last and the vildest thing that is in the beast so the Synagogue was now at an end and at the vvorst of all her life in so much that shee was become nothing els but a gaule of malice and also vineger of couetousnesse Saint Ierome sayth Euen as vineger hath been good wine because it was gathered of the best of the vine so the people of the Iews were somtimes good because they had good mē among them in so much that there is no other meaning in that they gaue Christ wine mingled with mire and soure vineger to drinke but that the people were now corrupted and scarse one good man left among them How came this hap among you O you Iewes that all the wine of your vessels is become soure vineger and all the hony of your hiues turned into bitter gaule Then your wine began to turne into vineger when you would not receiue Christ for your Redeemer and then all your hony turned into gaule when you did defame his doctrine and bereaue him of his life The Synagogue striketh great pity into my heart to see that in time past they did offer vnto their God sacrifices Holocausts and offerings and afterward gaule and vineger and dregs by which cursed and wicked offering they took away their makers life brought their Commonwealth vnto an end CHAP. XII How that the thirst
a new married spouse to bed but the fire of thy diuine loue which shined in her What made those stones seeme vnto S. Steuen hony comoes but that holy loue which burned in his soule Iguis erat calefaciebat se O vvhat a difference there is betwixt the fire which Christ brought downe from heauen and the fire which Cayphas hath in his pallace For S. Peter warming himselfe at it of a Christian became a Pagan S. Paule warming himself at Christs fire of a Pagan became a Christian God send me of Christs fire seeing it doth make me know him and God keep Cayphas fire from me seeing it doth make me denie him For if S. Peter had not warmed himselfe at Cayphas fire the wench would not haue importuned him nor he denied Christ not haue lost the confession of the catholicke faith The Euangelist sayth that Petrus calefaciebat se that is That Peter did warm himselfe at the fire but he sayth not that the fire was able to take his cold from him and therefore the fire which the world hath for her worldlings is such that they are but few vvhich warme themselues at it but many which waxe cold by it S. Peter being from the fire said vnto Christ Tecum paraui iam in mortem me and by the fire he said Non noui heminem in so much that being at supper with Christ he did burne and being at Cayphas fire he was a cold The sonne of God then seeing that there was not below in the world heat which could recreate nor fire which could burne nor light vvhich could comfort nor flame which could giue light nor any thing which might content he brought from heauen with him the fire of his holy loue with the which wee should all be enflamed all lightened and all contented The son of God would neuer haue said I came to put fire on earth if hee had seene that there had been the true fire of his loue vpon the earth but seeing that the fire of the world doth burn and not heat hurt and giue no light wast and not burne grieue and not cheere burn and not purifie smoke and not shine he remembred to bring a fire which should heat all the world Woe be vnto him which will not warme himselfe at this fire and woe be to him who will not receiue light at the flames of his loue because that the only perfection of our saluation dooth consist in offering our selues to God and in louing him with all our heart It is much to be noted that Christ brought at one time fire to burn a sword to cut mēs throats seeing he saith Ignem veni mittere in terram and also Non veni pacem mittere sed gladium to let vs vnderstand that hee brought fire with him with the which his elect should serue him with loue a sword of the which the imperfect should haue feare Hee burneth with liuely flames who serueth God with loue and his throat is cut who serueth God with feare and not vvith loue Whereupon it is that in the arke of Noe there were many little roomes and in the house of God many dwelling places so also in the Catholicke church there are diuers maners of seruing of God he doth serue God much better who serueth him with loue than he who followeth him for feare but in fine so as we doe not offend our Lord be it with loue or be it with feare let vs alwaies serue him He is happy who suffereth his throat to be cut with the knife of feare but he is very happy who goeth to warme himselfe at the fire of his loue for the feare may be so great that he may erre in that which he taketh in hand but he who loueth him much cannot erre in that which he doth According vnto Ouid he cannot erre who loueth a good thing nor there can bee no errour where there is perfect loue Cyrillus sayth If the Synagogue did highly esteeme of the sword with the which Dauid did cut the Giant Golias throat wee which bee Christians ought much more to esteeme of the fire of loue with the which Christ did redeeme vs because it was his loue onely which gaue vs the hope of his glory and ouer our death the victory Leo sayth in a Sermon If they aske the sonne of God what he brought from heauen hee will say loue if they aske him what Art he knoweth he will say loue if they aske him what he is he will say diuine loue if they aske him what hee would haue vs to doe for him hee will say nothing but loue him Basil sayth O what great difference there is betwixt the seruing of God and seruing of the world for the world would haue vs serue him with our person flatter him with our tong giue him of our wealth and also venter for him our soules but the sonne of God is farre from asking any of these things of vs for he seeketh no more of vs but that wee answere the loue which he dooth beare vs and be gratefull for the benefites which he doth bestow vpon vs. Si obtuleris primitias frugum tuarum domino de spicis adhuc virentibus torrebis eas igui God spake these vvorder vnto Moises and then commanded Moyses to proclaime them before all the people as if he vvould say When the Summer shall come and the haruest draw neere if the eares of the first fruits vvhich they offer vnto God should be greene and not drie see thou drie them first in the fire before that thou offer them in the temple Isidorus sayth The giuer of the law to commaund that they should offer the first fruits of all their harnestes and to command them that they should not offer them vp greene but drie and to command that they should not bee dried in the sunne but at the fire and that they should be throughly dried but not burned the Scripture would neuer haue set downe this so particularly vnlesse there had been some my stery contained vnder it Origen vpon Exod. saith That because in holy writ there is no blot to scrapeout nor no letter to be added we must so interpret that which God speaketh that which the law ordaineth that without wresting of the letter vvee may apply it vnto our learning What other thing is it to offer vnto God the first fruits of our corn but to present before him al our desires who dare begin any heroical work vvho doth not first cōsult vvith God cōmend it vnto him vnles they had first craued the fauour of the God Iupiter the Gentiles durst not so much as vvrite a letter darest thou which art a Christian not asking for Gods grace enterprise any thing he stealeth his first fruits frō God vvho taketh any thing in hand not recōmend himselfe vnto God he paieth his first fruits vnto our Lord vvho vvithout his holy grace beginneth nothing for it is hee only vvho vvill
guide our works in his seruice he vvho vvill direct thē to our profit Chrisostom saith vpon S. Luke for God to ask the first fruits of that vvhich vve cut in the field is to ask of vs that vvee loue him vvith all our hearts for that vvhich is not begun vnder him and in his holy name vvill end afterward by the hands of the diuel He doth pay our Lord his first fruits vvho vvhen hee riseth out of his bed doth cōmend himselfe vnto our Lord offer vnto him all that vvhich he vvill doe that day and he stealeth his first fruits from our Lord vvho neither careth for to serue God nor to say any one praier but as soone as hee riseth beginneth to lie and cousin He paieth our Lords first fruits vvho of four and twenty houres vvhich are in the day bestovveth one in thinking vpon him and hee stealeth from God the first fruits vvho hath neither regard of his soule nor thinketh vpon God at any houre It is also to bee vveighed that our Lord is not contented vvith his first fruits of greene corne vnlesse it bee offered vp dried at the fire to giue vs knovvledge that all that vvee doe is nothing vvorth if vve doe not vvarme our selues at the fire of his loue What is all that vvorth vvhich I doe or vvhat am I vvorth vvhich doe it if I doe it not for God Hee doth offer vp all his eares of his corne dried who dooth all his vvorkes for God and hee doth offer them greene who doth them not but only for men vvhom vvee do assure that for those God will neuer pay nor yet men be thankfull What other thing bee the greene eares and not ripe but all our weake and humane actions Greene and hard and vnseasoned are all our workes and therefore wee haue need of the heat of fire to drie them because God dooth neuer accept that which is offered if he who doth offer it bee not accepted He offereth vnto our Lord greene eares who hath no patience in trauels for as the value of gold is knowne in the goldsmithes melting pot so is a good Christian known in tribulation Hee is a greene Christian who doth interprete the Gospell according vnto his owne will and he is a very green religious man who striueth against his superiour because that the true seruant of our Lord should haue no will of his owne nor desire authority nor dare to possesse any thing proper Then we will say that the eare is drie when it goeth easily out of the straw then we will say that a man is perfect when he is weaned from all couetous and worldly things Thou art very greene my brother if with thy humility there bee mingled any ambition with thy charity any enuy with thy pouerty any couetousnesse with thy chastity any wantonnesse and with thy honesty any hipocrisie by reason whereof thou must draw neere vnto the heauenly fire vntill thou hast cast this dreame from thee It is a great sign that the block which lieth smoking in the sire is not throughly drie and the religious person which yet tasteth of the world is not well grounded in religion because the true seruant of our Lord hath his heart as dead to the world for Christs sake as a mans body is dead which lieth buried in the graue The end of the fift word which Christ our redeemer spake vpon the Crosse Here beginneth the sixt word which Christ spake vpon the crosse that is Consummatum est vz. All is now finished and at an end CHAP. I. Here there are put diuers vnderstandings of this speech CVm accepisset Iesus acetum dixit Consummatum est This is the sixt word which the Redeemer of the world spake at the houre of his death on the altar of the crosse and it is as if he would say As hee ended to take and tast of the gaule and vineger which they had giuen him in the spunge and offered him vpon a reed he said Consummatumest that is That all is now accomplished and made perfect seeing the redemption of the world is ended the malice of the Synagogue fulfilled If we looke curiously vnto it we shall find these words true Consummatum est and few in number but yet the mysteries enclosed in them very many because wee are assured by those words by his holy mouth that we are pardoned of the eternall Father that is that satisfaction is now ended and that wee are now by his precious sonne redeemed Being a rule of the Philosopher Quod omnia quae fiunt fiunt propter finem If Christ had not spoken these words Consummatum est we should not haue knowne so plainly of his own mouth whether al mankind was fully redeemed or whether there remained any mystery of holy scripture to be accomplished But seeing the sonne of God said Consummatū est we may stand vpon a sure ground that there is neither any workes of our redemption vnaccomplished nor any one tittle of Scripture not fulfilled O what a great comfort it is to humane nature that Christ had said Consummatum est by his owne holy mouth For Dauid Ieremy Esay Daniel Ezechiel durst neuer say that sinne was at an end but only that it should haue an end in the time of the Messias the which as it was by them prophecied so it was by Christ fulfilled Septuaginta hebdomedae abbreuiatae sunt super populum tuum super vrbem sanctam tuam vt consummatur preuaricatio c The Angell Gabriell spake these words to the Prophet Daniel chap. 9. as if hee should say Seuenty weekes hence which shall bee accomplished foure hundred and seuen and twenty yeares hence the holy of all holies shall be annointed iustice shall bee perfect noughtinesse shall bee blotted out and sinne ended Compare thou now O curious reader the prophecy of Finem accipiet peccatum with Consummatum est which Christ spake and thou shalt plainely see how it is said only of the sonne of God that he shal redeeme vs and how hee doth assure vs that hee hath already redeemed vs. S. Augustine sayth Who was able to say that sinne is at an end but only hee who died to end sinne It is here to bee noted what is said who speaketh it where hee speaketh it and in what meeting he spake it and for what mystery hee spake it That which is spoken is Consummatum est hee who spake it is Christ the place where is the crosse the time was euen as he was yeelding vp the ghost the cause why was for the comfort of all his church for of al the seuen words which Christ spake vpon the crosse there is none which maketh so much for our purpose as Consummutum est In the first word which was Father forgiue thē what interest had the church in it seeing that Christ spake it onely for the pardon of the Synagogue In the second which was Lord remember mee what had the church in it
seeing it was spoken by the theefe which suffered by Christ In the third which was Behold thy mother what part hath the church therein seeing hee spake it onely vnto the disciple which was there present and to his mother which wept by him In the fourth which was Why hast thou forsaken me what hath the church therein seeing he speaketh only vnto his Father and complaineth of his Father vnto his Father In the fift which is I am a thirst what part hath the church therein seeing that thereby hee dooth shew the exceeding great thirst which hee sustaineth for the torments which hee suffereth In the seuenth vvord which is Into thy hands O Lord I commend my spirit what part hath the church therein seeing the sonne goeth out of the world and commendeth his spirit vnto his Father If we haue any part of all the seuen vvordes it is in Consummatum est in giuing vs knowledge by his owne mouth of the perfection and end of the old lavv and of our full redemption seeing he spake then vnto vs only and forthe end of all our sins vvhich vvere at one time redeemed euen as Christ did end his life and gaue vp his blessed ghost O profound mystery O vnspeakable secret and neuer heard of before in Consummatum est seeing that it is nothing else to say Consummatum est but to giue notice vnto all the vvorld that the church is novv begun and the Synagogue cast dovvne the Scripture fulfilled his life ended His precious bloud is ended the vvhich is so dravvne out that there remained no one drop in his vaines for hee came vvith a determination into the vvorld fully to accomplish all the loue vvhich hee bare vs and to shed for vs all the bloud vvhich hee possessed That is Consummated vvhich I came into the vvorld for and my fathers commandement is also accomplished for vvhom I came into the vvorld to manifest his holy name for so I haue done and if I came to lighten the vvorld to preach I haue preached and giuen it light The greife of my body is ended the torments of my members the persecutions of my enemies the wearinesse of my bones the multitude of my trauels are all at an end All that which the Prophecies prophecied all that which the Patriarkes signified all that which the holy men desired and all that which our Fathers craued of God is finished and consummate The riches of the Temple the highnesse of the kingdome the rigour of the law the purenesse of Preisthood and the honour of the people is at an end The hatred of the Iewes the enuy of the Pharisies the hypocrisie of the Saduces the malice of the Scribes is fully at an end What was euer seen that Christ began which he brought not in the end to full perfection Wee are those which doe hardly begin any good thing and if we doe begin it scarse bring it to the middle and if wee bring it to the middle we neuer end it The sonne of God is he only who beginneth all thinges when he will continueth them as he ought and finisheth them as he lusteth When Christ went to Ierusalem to suffer he said vnto his disciples Ecce ascendimus Hierosolimam consummabuntur omnia quae scripta sunt de me and when he praied ouer the supper he said Opus consummaui quod dedisti mihi and on the altar of the crosse he said also Consummatum est giuing vs to vnderstand by that speech that like vnto a man hee doth giue that which he is commanded pay that which he doth owe and accomplish that which he doth promise S. Cyprian sayth Much greater O my good Iesus much greater is the taking of the torments which thou hast endured than the wasting of the grace which wee haue lost and farre greater is thy paine than our fault and thy offering than our offence and therefore thou doest say Consummatum est because that now the fault of the seruant is ended with the death of the sonne Anselmus sayth O how truly thou doest say O my good Iesus Consummatum est for hauing thy eies broken as thou hast thy shoulders opened thy hands piersed and the world redeemed what doth there remaine to end seeing that thou art at an end Damascen sayth When vpon the crosse the sonne of God sayth Consummatum est If he would haue vsed the rigour of his iustice as he did vse his accustomed clemency had it thinke you haue been much that all the world should haue ended with him seeing the Lord ended and died there which did create it Remigius sayth O bill of paiment O precious money O sure account O acquittance of God which thou doest giue vs O good Iesus when thou doest say Consummatum est seeing that thou doest assure vs by that speech that the bond obligation which the deuil had ouer our humane nature is payd by thee and cancelled and blotted our and also cast into dust ashes Fiue thousand yeares and more we were bound to hell and subiect vnto the deuill but the sonne of God going to the crosse to die he vnbound vs from the seruice of the Deuill and as he went by little and little towards his end the obligation went wearing away in so much that with this speech Consummatum est the soule went out of his body and sinne tooke his end in vs. O high Lord O great redeemer when thou saiest Consummatum est what is that which doth not end seeing that thy life doth end Gods humane life dooth end death to hell sinne to the world idolatry to gentility ceremonies to the law and figures to the Scripture Pope Leo sayth by this word Consummatum est was ended the reproch of the crosse the banishment from heauen the power of the diuell the treason of the disciple the denying of Peter the sentence of Pilate the indignation of the people the life of the sonne and the comfort of the mother O comfortlesse mother O virgine borne without the like what griefe did thy sorrowfull heart feele when thou heardest thy sonne say that his life was ended thou continuing as thou didst without thy sonne What meaneth this O good Iesus what meaneth this With this speech Consummatum est the paine endeth to those which languished in desiring thee the offence of the wicked ceaseth the bloud of thy vaines drieth vp and yet doe not the teares of thy mothers eies end With this speech of Consummatum est All is finished dost thou drie the teares of those which haue offended thee their fill and dost thou make no reckoning of thy blessed mother who vnto the crosse hath followed thee If vnder that speech doe enter all whome thou hast created why doest thou leaue out thy mother of whom thou wast borne Most blessed mother of God certainly is not left out because that here on the crosse is finished and accomplished the quietnesse of her heart the light of her eies the contentment of her
pan put to the fire The sacred humanity of Christ being put in the fryingpan of the crosse notwithstanding all the torments which they gaue him and all the iniuries and reproches which they spake against him they neuer diminished any part of his vertue for although for the space of three daies his soule was seperated from his body yet they deuide not his Diety from his soule nor from his body Isichius vpon Leuiticus sayth Before that the sonne of God was fried in the frying pan of the crosse his flesh was so raw that it could not bee eaten but after that the fire of his passion did season it vs and frie it there is nothing in heauen more sauerous nor nothing on the earth more profitable Cyrillus in another sence saith There were four things in this sacrifice fire the pan oile and flour These four things were found in the passion of Christ that is the fire which the Iewes kindled to the end hee should dieithe frying pan vvas the crosse which they sought out where hee should die and the oile the loue and charity with the vvhich hee died there for to redeeme the world and the floure his most sacred flesh vvhich there was fried O glorious sacrifice O eternall meat that thou art O sonne of the liuing God seeing that fried and whote and seasoned thou diddest giue thy selfe in the frieng pan of the crosse to the end that all men might eat thee and none excused from seruing thee When the sonne of God said Nisi manducaueritis carnem filij hominis his Disciples being scandalized Abierunt retrorsum dixerunt durus est hic sermo But after that that most sacred flesh was seasoned fried in the frying pan of the crosse it was soft sweer to tast of sauerous to eat and profitable to be taken Sume tibi sartaginem ferream ponas eam murum ferreum inter te eiuitatem said God by the Prophet Ezechiel chap. 4 as if hee should say Goe thy way out of the city and thou shalt put a frieng pan of iron betweene thee and the city because thou maiest neither see her nor shee hurt thee Who euer saw or heard the like that the Lord should command the Prophet to fight with a frying pan and defend himselfe behind the same Tell me O Ezechiel what hurt couldest thou do with a frying pan seeing it hath no point or how couldest thou defend thy selfe vnder it considering that it will scarse couer thy head If thou wilt goe to fight take a launce with thee and if thou wilt go to defend thy selfe from thy enemies take thy Target because the frying pan is fitter for the kitchē thā the warre and better to dresse meat with than to fight O glorious crosse O holy frying pan where the flesh of my God was fried where his bloud was shed where his charitie vvas enflamed where our fault was melted and where his life was ended The frying pan of the Synagogue was neither good for warres nor profitable for peace But thou holy crosse and happy frying pan wast hee with the which the diuell was ouercome God pacified the world redeemed and the heauen opened What thing can I put betwixt thee and mee O good Iesus but this precious crosse frying pan where thou diddest end thy life that my sin might not come vnto thee nor thy punishment passe to me Doe thou not think my brother doe thou not think that God commanded the Prophet to put betweene him and the city a frying pan for any good that it would doe him but for that which the frying pan signified for thereby was signified the crosse and the crucified which should be a mediator betweene God and the world O sweet Iesus O my soules delight where but in the frying pan of thy dolors and griefes and where but in the oile of thy charity and loue diddest thou end consume and fry my enormious sinnes Where but in the frying pan of the crosse where thou saiedst Consummatum est giuing vs to vnderstand by that last speech that there thou haddest ended and made a full account of our sinne and thy anger of our perdition and thy passion of our ignorance and thy life CHAP. VIII Wherein is declared a figure when Moyses did annoint the altar seuen times with one finger and how that vnction was a figure of Christ and fully accomplished in his most sacred humanity DIgito suo vnxit Moyses altare septies oleo vnctionis this is written in the 40 chapter of Exodus as if hee should say In the same day that Moyses did institute his brother Aaron bishop and ordained also his children Priests hee did annoint the great altar seuen times and that with one finger and did consecrate it with oile Cyrillus vpon this place sayth That although all the holy Scripture be full of mysteries yet there is greatest attention to bee giuen when it speaketh of the altar or of a Priest because that that mystery cannot be handeled and not talk of the mysteries of Christ If we doe looke into the words of the text we shall find that that which is annointed is the altar that with the which it is ointed is holy oile and the manner how is with one finger only and that seuen times and that which was further ointed were all the ornaments of the altar These were the qualities of the altar neere vnto it were the holy breads before it burned lampes on the side of it they did put the candlestickes on the top of it the offered sacrifices at the foot of it they shed the bloud behind it were the people ouer against it was the vaile vpon it was the Cherubin about it were the curtaines This altar was made of wood which would not rot there could come none to it but the Priests they could not goe vp to it by steps nor staires night and day lampes burned there other fire which should not be put out Although the altar of the Synagogue had many priuiledges and great freedomes yet it had a counterpeise with it which was that vpō it they slew all the beasts which they did offer vnto God therefore it was sometimes so bloudy so loaden with flies that it seemed rather a bord in the butchery to cut flesh on then an altar of the church Who is the true altar the holy altar and the cleane altar but only the sonne of the liuing God Origen sayth In the Temple of the Synagogue the altar was one thing and the Priest another another thing that which they offered but in the altar of the church the altar where they offer and the Priest which doth offer and the sacrifice which is offered and he vnto whom it is offered is one and the same thing Leo in a Sermon of our Lords Supper sayth In this high supper and in this holy altar the sonne of God is the ultar and the meat and he who inuiteth and he who is inuited
the secōd to make vs clean of al that which we haue already sinned O what small need Christ hath to bee so many times annointed nor by the church helped for from the first instant of his incarnation was annointed not only the altar of his most holy humanity to enioy presētly the diuine essence but also all the members of his holy body were annointed because they might neuer sinne nor neuer be seperated from God The figure of annointing the altar with all the furniture was spoke of none but of Christ nor fulfilled in none but in Christ alone because it doth easily appeare that as the holyghost left no part in his soule nor body which he did not sanctifie and make holy so there was no power in his soule nor body which to our benefite hee did not imploy Wee may better say of Christ than of Moyses hee dooth annoint the altar Cum omni suppellectile seeing that with his feet hee visited the altars of the Temples with his hands cured the sick with his tongue preached to the people and with his heart forgaue sinners The end of the fift word which Christ our redeemer spake vpon the altar of the Crosse These foure chapters are all which the Author left made vpon the seuenth word which Christ spake vpon the crosse that is In manus tuus c. For whilest that he was a making it it pleased our Lord to take him out of this life CHAP. I. How God is the only and true comforter and how hee was Deus vltionum to the Synagogue and is to the church Pater misericordiarum BEnedictus deus pater domini nostri Iesu Christi pater misericordiarum deus totius consolationis qui consolatur nos in omni tribulatione nostra These are the words of the Apostle speaking of the goodnes and mercy of our Lord God as if hee should say Blessed and praised bee the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ who is the father of all mercies and God of all comfort and who is the true consolation of all our tribulations With a high stile and lofty wordes the Apostle doth extoll the greatnesse and power of God in calling him Father and Father of mercies and God and the God of consolations and aboue all that he keepeth them not for himself only but doth succour vs with them in all our tribulations O how happy is the Apostle who vttereth these words and how blessed wee Christians for whom hee spake them and how blessed is Christ by whose merits they were spoken What grauer sentences or sweeter words could bee spoken seeing that by them he maketh himselfe of God our Father of a iudge our aduocate of a Lord our brother of a reuenger mercifull of him which was cruell gentle meek of him which could not be spoken with most affable and of one which was inuisible treatable Thou maist haue pitty on me and I haue pitty on thee and I can comfort thee thou canst comfort me but to haue pitty on all who can doe it but only the father of mercies and comfort all men who is able to doe it but only the father of all consolations If I be sicke one may cure me if I be naked another can cloth me if I be sad a freind can somewhat comfort mee but tell mee I pray thee who is able to helpe mee in all tribulation and distresse but only our Lord who doth cōfort vs in all our tribulations Who sayth by the Psalme Cum ipso sum in tribulatione of whom speaketh the Apostle Quod consolatur nos in omni tribulatione of who was he euer called whom he did not helpe The father of our Lord Iesus Christ is he who in calling vpon him doth open in speaking to him doth answer who being demanded any iust thing doth graunt it By peeces by patches and by crownes men can giue vs of their pleasures and the world his delights onely hee who is the God of all comfort can comfort vs in our distresses and succour vs in our necessities It is much to be noted that the Apostle doth not say the God of consolation but the Lord of all consolation whereof wee may inferre that all comfort which dooth not come of him is dissolute or fained or imperfect Wee should haue great pitty on those men which say Let vs go sport our selues at the water let vs goe walke in a garden who seeme rather to play the Idolaters then to recreate themselues seeing they put all their felicity and case in seeing a greene meddow in the running of the riuer in flourishing trees and to sit in a banketting house Seneca in an Epistle sayth Let no man thinke that consolation dooth consist in that which wee see with our eies or heare with our eares or touch with our hands or smel with our nose but only in that which the heart desireth for no man can bee at rest if his heart haue not contentment With variety of meats the tast is recreated the sight reioiceth in faire sights the hearing is delighted with sweet musick the smell is pleased with aromaticall perfumes and the feeling ioieth in soft thinges but what shall the poole heart doe which neither taketh tast in meats nor pleasure in musicke nor delight in that which it seeth nor contentment in that which it smelleth what other thing saith the church when she sayth Sursum corde but that we should lift vp our hearts vnto God seeing that there is no perfect consolation for them below in the world Al wicked men would bid God much good doe it him with his glory if they could find any perfect case vpon earth for their hearts but because they cannot find it bee he neuer so bad hee sighteth to goe to heauen We say all this because the Apostle saying that hee is the God of all consolation how can any man haue any consolation in this life vnlesse hee giue it him who is the God of all consolation How great soeuer a lord Hector was in Troy how great soeuer Alexander was in Asia and how mighty soeuer Caesar was in Rome notwithstanding Christ was greater in his church because all those Princes were such ouer their cities only but the sonne of God is the God of all consolations What greater pleasure then to giue pleasure to whom thou louest what greater contentment then to giue contentment to whome thou likest Our Lord kept this treasure for himselfe alone and reserued this segniory for himself that is Quod sit deus totius consolationis and therevpon it is that if he will not shew that which hee can doe and impart among vs that which he hath no iust mā should liue cōtētedly nor any Angell happily If as one is lord of many possessions and inheritances he were also of many pleasures and consolations what would wee not giue for them what would wee not bestow to attaine vnto them and vnto what would we not put our selues to take them