O change the hard Fetters of Fear into the inestimable Chains of Love That dreading thy Justice we may avoid whatsoever may expose us to it and may dwell for ever in the Contemplation of those Good things which thou hast wrought and prepared for them that love thee SECT VIII Of the Agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane NOW there was a Valley between Jerusalem and Mount Olivet of the vast Profundity of 400 Cubits called Cedron from the Obscurity of the place where Foggs and Mists seem'd to dwell in the bottom to such as lookt down into it from the Temple and a h 18.1 Brook running there of the same Name Which Brook sometimes swell'd with impetuous Torrents descending from the hard and lofty tops of Mount Moria and Mount Acra sometimes it trickled with a gentle Murmur in its own Source without additional Waters inviting the wearied Traveller to rest an Emblem of the Vicissitude of Humane Condition and the wavering Image of capricious Fortune whereby a Man is sometimes over-born with Force according to that of David k Psal 69.1 2. Save me O God for the waters are come in even to my Soul I stick fast in the deep Mire where no ground is I am come into deep waters so that the Floods run over me sometimes there is a wonderful Tranquility and Smoothness over the Face of all his Affairs which burys the apprehension of the least Storm At this Water-course being the Sink of the holy City they us'd to cast in every accursed thing as the Powder of Maachah's l 2 Chron. 15.16 Idol which Asa stampt and burnt there the Idolatrous m 2 Chron. 30.14 Altars that were in Jerusalem and the n 2 King 236. Grove that was taken out of the House of the Lord and all the o 2 Chron. 29.16 uncleanness that was found therein Which is the reason of that Metaphorical way in Scripture of understanding Affliction and Troubles by Water and particularly of those Words concerning our Blessed Saviour who after passing this was to enter upon his Sufferings That he should p Psal 110.7 drink of the Brook in the way Nor may we hope to be exempt from it who have given up our Names to be his Followers since in the Torrent of Tribulation are found the living Waters of Comfort which spring up in the Soul unto eternal Life Here holy q 2 Sam. 15.23 David past in Grief when he fled out of his Palace from his Son Absolom and all the Country wept with a loud Voice And now this r Mark 12.35 Son of David passes over it sorrowing in his way to Mount Olivet where grew abundance of Olives to meet the Anger of his incensed Father due to the rebellious Children of Men. The f Gen. 8.11 Olive signifies Peace and t Psal 104.15 Oyl Gladness prefiguring it may be the Reconciliation to which his Sufferings there were preparatory and the Joy they should create to all Believers But to him it was to be the Theatre of unexpressible Dolours and to which the Disciples followed with a sad Heart fearing and trembling for the Words he had spoken u Zech. 13.7 Matt. 26.31 That in this night the Shepherd should be smitten and the Sheep of the Flock should be scatter'd abroad We read at other times they went * Luk. 10.1 before into every place whither he himself would come But the Evangelist has observ'd now they x Lide 22.39 follow'd him as unable to precede in the way of Sufferings for poor Nature abhors the Cross and clings to the Principles of Self-preservation though after he had sanctified it it became more agreeable and they embrac'd it with Alacrity as desirous of nothing more than to bear about in their Bodies the Dying of the Lord Jesus and to be made conformable to his Death believing That in following him they should arrive at the same Glory And our y 2 Cor. 1.7 hope is stedfast that as we are Partakers of the Sufferings so shall we be also of the Consolation At last they arriv'd at a z Matt. Village called Gethsemane scituate at the foot of the Mount of Olives where were many pleasant Gardens into one of which he entred with his Disciples as chusing a place for his satisfactory Pains answerable to that of the first Scene of Humane Misery a Gen. 2.8 where Adam fell and ruin'd Mankind and wherein he might best attend the Offices of Devotion Prayer and Meditation before his Crucifixion Here the second Adam would begin his Passion in order to our Redemption from that contagious Guilt spread over his Posterity by the first Man here he would become obedient unto Bonds and mercifully take our Sentence upon himself that he might free us from all Bondage of Satan and vindicate us into the Liberty of the Sons of God Behold then on this Stage three marvellous Agonies of God and Death Joy and Sorrow the Soul and the Flesh beginning in the Sweat and Blood of our dearest Lord but ending with the loss of his precious Life God and Death were two things very incompatible since God is the first and the most universal of all Lives who banishes from him all Operations tending to Death And yet the Son of God having taken upon him our Nature would suffer in it all the Pains that could attend Death to rescue us for whom he died from the Pains of Death eternal The Joy of Beatitude was an absolute Fruition of Celestial Delights and Comforts without any mixture of what might interrupt it or be displeasing And yet the blessed Jesus would suffer his innocent Soul to be overwhelmed with inexpressible Griefs and to descend by our Steps to the Anguishes of Death to raise us to the greatest Joys of Life There was also a great Duel between the affectionate Love and the Virginal Flesh of Christ His Soul did naturally love a Body which was so b Heb. 10.7 Psal 40.70 obedient to the Will of his Father and his Body follow'd wholly the Inclinations of his Soul There was so perfect an Agreement between the two Parties that their Separation must needs be most dolorous Yet Jesus would have it so and for Witnesses of the Combat takes with him c Mark 14.33 Peter and James and John commanding the rest to d Mark 14.32 sit down and compose themselves till he should go and pray yonder that they might not be moved with any thing that should befall him but keep themselves steady against the Fears of Danger But these three Disciples who had seen his Sublimity in his e Mat. 17.1 2. 2 Pet. 1.18 Transfiguration upon the holy Mount he would have be present at his extream Dejection By that they had an undeniable Proof of his Divinity when they were so ravisht at the Glimpse of it that they desir'd to dwell there By this they were to know the Truth of his Humanity and be able
to give a sure Testimony to both as well as learn the Subject of their Imitation and Hope Ye blessed Spectators how different was this Sight from that which so lately fill'd your Eyes when you f Matt. 17.2.3 saw his face shine as the Sun and his Raiment white as the Light and Moses and Elias talking with him He receives no Honour now from the Father and that excellent Voice is silent which proclaim'd him the g Matt. 17.5 beloved Son of God and that his Name was h Joh. 12.28 Glorified in him Nor from his Face do there dart any chearful Rays nor do his Garments appear Glorious nor the Heavenly Courtiers wait upon him but as a Man dastitute of all Help he begins to be i Mark 14.33 afraid to be sorrowful and afflicted shewing in himself what usually happens to those who are no more than Men at the approach of so great a Tempest The Evangelists have in such Language declar'd his Agony as cannot but raise in us the highest Admiration of the Bitterness of his Passion He began to be k Matt. 26.37 sorrowful saith St. Matthew to be sore l Mark 14.33 amazed saith St. Mark to be very m Ibid. heavy say both and yet these Words in our Translation come far short of the n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Original Expressions which render him suddenly upon a present and immediate Apprehension possest with Fear Horrour and Amazement encompass'd with Grief overwhelm'd with Sorrow prest down with Consternation and Dejection of Mind tormented with Anxiety and Disquietude of Spirit This he first exprest when he said to his Disciples My Soul is o Matt. 26.38 exceeding sorrowful and lest they should not fully apprehend the Excess added even unto Death as if the Pangs of Death had already encompast him and the Pains of Hell had got hold upon him He weâ—â— but a little farther before he said the same to his Father p Matt. 26 39. falling upon his face and praying with q Heb. 5.7 strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from Death Nor were his Cries and Tears sufficient Evidences of his inward Sufferings nor could the Sorrows of his Breast be poured forth either at his Lips or Eyes but the innumerable Pores of all his Body must give a Passage to more lively Representations of the bitter Anguish of his Soul and his r Luke 22.44 Sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground according to that of the Psalmist Å¿ Psalm 22.14 I am poured out like Water all my bones are out of joynt My Heart also in the midst of my Body is even like melting Wax His Heart melting as it were with Fear and Astonishment and all the Parts of his Body at the same time inflam'd with Anguish well might that Melting produce a Flowing and the inflam'd and rarefi'd Blood force it self a Passage through the numerous Pores But neither will these Expressions give us a true Sense of the height and bitterness of his Grief unless we also consider the Occasions of it for God laid on him the t Isai 53.6 Iniquities of us all and as we were oblig'd to be sorry for our particular Sins so was he to be grieved for the Sins of us all If then we consider the Perfection of his Knowledge he understood all the Sins for which he suffered all the Evil and the Guilt all the Offence against the Majesty and Ingratitude against the Goodness of God which was contain'd in the Sins of all Men past present and to come If we look upon his absolute Conformity to the determined Will of God he was inflam'd with most ardent Love he was most zealous of his Glory and most studious to preserve that Right which was so highly violated by those Sins If we look upon his Relation to the Sons of Men he lov'd 'em all far more than they did themselves he knew their Sins were of themselves sufficient to bring Destruction upon their Bodies and Souls and at the same time consider'd them he so dearly loved as lying under God's Wrath whom he so truly worshipped and all was heightned with the great habitual Detestation wherewith his Innocent Nature abhorred Sin If we consider all these Circumstances we cannot wonder at his excessive Sorrow For if the true Contrition of one single Sinner bleeding under the Sting of the Law only for his own Iniquities all which notwithstanding he knoweth not cannot be performed without great bitterness of Remorse what Bounds can we set to that Grief what Measures to that Anguish which proceeds from a full Apprehension of all the Transgressions of so many Millions of Sinners Add unto all these Apprehensions the immediate hand of God pressing upon him all this Load laying on his Shoulders at once a heap of all the Sorrows which can happen to any of the Saints that he being touch'd with the u Heb. 2.17 18.4.15 Feeling of our Infirmities might become a merciful High-Priest able and willing to succour them that are tempted And from hence we must conclude That the Saviour of Man as he took upon him the whole Nature of Man so he suffer'd in whatsoever he took in his Body by Infirmities and external Injuries in his Soul by Fear Astonishment and Sorrows in both by unknown and inexpressible Anguishes Behold O ye Faithful the Baptism of your Redeemer and think not any longer the Way strait through which you are to enter into Life Behold how he is * Luke 12.50 straiten'd till it be accomplisht and never do you sink under any Discouragement from working out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling What matter is it how much or what we suffer in this Life so at length we may arrive at a Blessed Eternity Prayer And while we behold our Sins which are the Cause of all thy Sufferings O thou afflicted Jesu Grant that our imperfect Sorrow and Contrition may be heightned by thy Example and accepted in Union and Confederacy with it It was because the temporal Misery of a finite Creature could never satisfie for the Infinite Guilt of Sin contracted by offending an Infinite Majesty that thou vouchsafedst to make an Equivalent Ransom by the Dignity of thy Person suffering In this thy Love is all our Confidence in full Assurance of it we approach the Throne of Grace and we bessech thee That we may find Help in the Time of Need. SECT IX Of Christ's Prayer in his Agony and his admirable Resignation of himself to God WHen the Holy Jesus had tasted this bitter Cup being himself the great Physician of Souls he betook himself to that Universal Antidore which he had prescrib'd to all the World For having commanded his Disciples to x Luk. 22.40 watch with him and to pray lest they fell into Temptation forasmuch as vain is the Prudence of Flesh and unprofitable all carnal Help unless God be present
Let them on their Knees approach him on the Cross and reverently cover his naked Body We cover him when our Charity clothes his Servants and hides the infirmities of his little ones Let them with diligence unfasten the Nails and gently draw them out of his Hands and Feet We draw them out when we freely obey his Will and loosen our Affections from cleaving to the World And when they have thus rescued their adorable Lord let them Nail themselves in his stead to the Cross And this we do when we put off the old Man and Crucifie the Flesh with its Affections and Lusts Prayer O Blessed Jesu whose Sacred Body was laid in a Sepulchre after thou hadst Suffer'd Death for the life of my Soul make me so frequently to renew in my mind the memory of thy precious Death and Burial as may put me upon a serious preparation for my own And since thou didst not design to stay any longer on Earth then till thou hadst made a way for thy ransomed to pass let not my heart be set on any condition how comfortable soever it may appear to my senses which may make my Soul desire to be absent from thee But cause me to grow daily less and less affected towards the uncertain pleasures of Life and more and more in love with thy Eternal Joys Grant me My Redeemer a true Penitent Heart for all my former neglects of Thee Deliver me from the punishment my Sins deserve and from the Sins that deserve those Punishments That when I close mine Eyes in Death I may rest in thee and being absent from the Body may be refresht in the Repositories of thy Mercy So shall my Time be govern'd with thy Grace and my Eternity Crown'd with thy Glory SECT XLIX Of the Sealing and Watching the Sepulchre of Christ NOW the Chief Priests and Pharisees upon mature Consideration revolving all the accidents of the past day and comparing the circumstances of his Words and Actions with the Predictions of the Prophets concerning the Messiah and the wonderful ways by which they were compleated and especially remembring those Mystical words which before they pretended they could not understand and z Vid. Sect. 16 r.s wrested to a seditious intent against their worship of his building again in three days the Temple they should destroy and that he had given such his restoration from the Dead as a a Luk. 14.29 30. sign at their request to convince the World of his Truth they came to Pilate early on the next day that followed the day of the Preparation being the great Sabbath of the Pascal week wherein all other People were at their devotion and Prayers so restless and industrious were the Powers of Darkness to have buryed the Gospel in the Grave of Christ and said b Mat 27.63 64 65 66. Sir we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive after three days I will rise again Command therefore that the Sepulchre be made sure until the third day lest his Disciples come by night and steal him away and say unto the People he is risen from the dead So the last error shall be worse then the first Pilate said unto them ye have a watch go your way make it as sure as you can So they went and made the Sepulchre sure sealing the stone and setting a watch Thus did that obdurate and impenitent People harden themselves by those wonders which should have wrought their Faith and Conversion and justly feared the last error would be worse then the first hereby Prophesying ignorantly against themselves For their Sin became unpardonable because seeing they would not see But blessed be God all their obstinacy has been subservient to the Magistery of his Providence which orders all things prudently by the means of others They thought to have accomplished their malice against Christ and at the same time fulfill'd the determinations of his Will They thought by sealing the mouth of the Grave and setting a strict Guard over the Corps to have buried his Memory in perpetual silence and all the while were giving Testimony to his Resurrection and setting a sure seal to the Truth of his Divinity For securing and watching the Sepulchre with such diligence they have placed the Resurrection the Foundation of our Faith beyond doubt to future Ages and much firmer then if they had never watcht This is that which gives Glory to the Empire of Christ and whereby we perceive its Divine Power and the miraculous extent of its Conquests whose establishments have been so contrary to all humane ways When we consider how he was exalted by the lowest abasements glorified by his ignominies enriched by his Poverty lives by his Death and is Eterniz'd by his Sufferings And that our Religion ever oppos'd by the Wicked is nevertheless Victorious and Triumphant over impiety enricht by its Losses Glorious by its Persecutions establish'd by its Totterings and honour'd by its Wounds This is that which transports humane understanding into an admiration of the greatest of our Christian Profession Prayer O Crucified Jesu the Fountain of Love Let the wonders of thy Mysterious Incarnation and Death set all the Powers of my Soul on work that I may desire and pant after thee that I may Admire Adore and Imitate thee that I may take sweet and Heavenly delight in the Communion of thy Cross that I may with Praise and Thanksgiving receive thee into my Soul attend and watch thee till thou arise with thy Graces there There will I Love only Love always love to entertain thee SECT L. A Reflection on the foregoing History with Thanksgiving for the Death of Christ AND now my Soul thou hast seen this Great Mystery God Incarnate dying on the Cross to make satisfaction to the infinite Justice by the dignity of his Person Suffering in the Nature which had offended whereby thou art raised to a lively hope of obtaining Heaven which otherwise thou hadst lost and been for ever miserable in Hell with what words with what Affections with what Actions wilt thou glorifie the Author of so inestimable a gift as this O depth of Love Abyss unsearchable of the infinite Mercies of God! That God should delight to make his own Son a Sacrifice who would not suffer Abraham to offer his That God should design it from the foundation of the World foreseeing we should stand in need of it and without it perish Everlastingly That God should reveal it when we no ways deserv'd it nor could on any account hope for it and command us to seek the Benefits of it and enable us to obtain them by his preventing and assisting Grace O God Eternal who hast redeemed my Soul by the precious Blood of thy dear Son I am less then the least of all thy Mercies and of all that Truth which thou hast revealed to thy Servant I praise thee I bless thee I worship thee I extol thee I give thee thanks for thine infinite Compassion O Lord God Heavenly King God the Father Almighty O Lord the only begotten Son Jesu Christ Lamb of God Son of the Father that takest away the Sins of the World have Mercy upon me receivâ— my Prayer and unite me to thy self in the flames of Love For thou only art the Saviour thou only O Christ with the Holy Ghost art most high in the Glory of God the Father Glory and Honour and continual Thanks be given to Thee Lord God Almighty The Father the Son and the Holy Ghost for the Redemption of the World by the Death and Passion of Christ whereby thou mightst exalt us to Eternal Life Amen FINIS
Blessings of his Calling The dismal Figure of all Apostate wretches How great an Advantage had this Miserable Disciple to know where his Master was and where he might be found if he had made a right use of it For what does the e Cant. 2.7 Bride in the Canticles desire but tell me O thou whom my Soul loveth where thou feedest and and where thou liest down But abusing his knowledge to his own destruction and so much more wicked then the rest of the People as the Serpent was by being wiser then theother Creatures and for that a more opportune instrument of Homicide to the Devil the Devil makes use of him to destroy the Celestial Man in his Body as he had made use of the Serpent to destroy the Terrestrial in his Soul But Jesus nothing surpris'd at what he fore-knew would come to pass and to give an undeniable evidence that his Death was voluntary and not caused by the Treachery of Man prevents the Betrayer and f John 18.4 offers himself to his Enemies alone against a multitude unarm'd before their Weapons plain and sincere without regard to to their Malice He had formerly g John 12.36 hid himself when they admir'd his Miracles and h John 6.15 departed from 'em privately when they would have made him a King But now he meets them notwithstanding their Hostility because the hour prefixed by the Father was come For as we are not to tempt God by inconsiderate Rashness in our affairs so are we chearfully to resign up our selves to his will and obey him with great readiness of Mind when he calls us to â—â—ffer for a good Conscience and for the Confirmation of his Truth He teaches us Submission is the way to exaltation while he expects to ascend unto the Father from the Cross and lets us learn for the Hope of future Glory to despise all present and Momentary Evils and not consider what it is we suffer but that it brings us to the Father He might justly have reprehended 'em for their Ingratitude and Impiety against so many Benefits he had conferr'd on them or destroy'd 'em with the least breath of his Displeasure as unworthy of Life who came to destroy the Lord of it But now was the time of Mercy and not of Judgment of Patience and Long Suffering and not of Anger and the greatest Evil was to be overcome of Good He asks in the most familiar though convincing manner i Joh. 18.4 Whom seek ye and what would you have Is it an Enemy or a Robber against whom you are come with these Arms or have ye heard of any Insurrection against the State or Rebellion against Caesar that ye have made this great Preparation or do ye come out against an innocent Person who sat daily with you in the k Mark 14.44 Temple teaching and ye laid no hold on him If this be your Intention you might long since have taken him there needed not this Charge and Trouble and Pains But consider what it is to destroy a harmless Man The Blood of the Guiltless l Gen. 4.10 cries from the ground to Heaven and how much more will the Blood of the Son of God They answering said m John 18.5 We seek Jesus of Nazareth And Jesus said unto them I am He. Terrified at which Sound of the Divine Voice they went n Joh. 18.6 backward and fell to the ground The fatal Omen that all shall be cast down that rise up against the Lord and his Anointed but particular Intimation of the Fall of that People whom his Miraculous Works had rendred inexcusable For if he did this in the Form of the Lamb what will he do when he comes in that of the Lion If he did this being himself to be judged what shall he do when he comes to judge the World If he did this when he was to dye what will he do when he shall Reign eternally If such were the Dew of his Sacred Word who shall be able to abide the Thunder The least Rays of Divinity are so powerful in Nature that its very Shadow cannot be seen by us without a holy Horrour and Concern Which is the Reason that even Virtue has such venerable Attractives we cannot approach it without Love and Reverence Yea the Soul of a just Man is the o Isai 57.15 Throne of God the Theatre of his Power the List of his Courses the Field of his Battles and the Palace in which he makes his Abode which is the Cause the Saints have done so many Wonders in the World the p Gen. 7.9 Dan. 6.22 Luk. 10.19 wildest Beasts changing their Natures before them and all the q Gen. 7.19.8.16.9.22.10.21 Elements though insensible seeming reasonable to obey them But the Divinity and Humanity of the Blessed Jesus did so communicate in Effects from his Nativity to the day of his Death that no great Action past but as the Sun shining through a Cloud they gave Illustration and Testimony to each other He was born a tender and crying Infant but was ador'd by the r Mat. 2.11 Wise men as a King and by the Å¿ Luk. 2.13 Angels as a God He was circumcised after the Law as a Man but had a t Luk. 2.21 Name given him which signified him to be the Saviour of the World He fled into Egypt like a distressed Child under the Conduct of Helpless Parents and as soon as he entred into the Country the u Isai 19.1 Euseb de Demonst c. 20. S. Athanas lib. de Incarnat Vrbi Idols fell down and confest his Divinity He was presented in the Temple as the Son of Man but by Simeon and Anna was * Luk. 2.32 38. own'd for the Messiah and celebrated with Divine Praises He was baptised as a Sinner by John in Jordan but the Holy Ghost descending upon him proclaim'd him the x Joh. 3.17 Beloved Son of God He was hungry in the Wilderness and tempted as a Mortal but was supported by his Divinity and the holy y Matt. 4.11 Angels came and ministred to him as supream Lord. A little before his Passion when he was to take upon him all Affronts Miseries and Exinanitions of the most despised and abject he received Testimonies from above and was wonderfully transfigur'd upon the z Matt. 17.2 2 Pet. 1.18 holy Mount And now being to be taken by rude hands they are repell'd by the Majesty of his Person and the Glory of his Presence Seeing therefore they had no Power to take him without his Permission he recovers them out of their Confusion with the same Words saying unto 'em again a John 18.7 Whom seek ye And when they said Jesus of Nazareth he answered I have told you I am he If then you are sent to take him I resign my self I am that Jesus I am your Prisoner let these go their way That the b John 18.9 Saying might be fulfilled which
envious Friends Deceivers Beds of Down no better than Sepulchres and Life is but a Death or at best but a long and dolorous Sickness unless God be the Loadstone of our Hearts the Center of our Affections and the Height of our Glory It is a horrible thing to see a Soul left to it self after it has forsaken the Inspirations of God It becomes a desolate Vineyard without Enclosure The wild Boar enters it and all unclean and ravenous Beasts do there sport and leap without Controll God hangs Clouds over it but lets no Dew fall upon it The Sun never looks upon it with a loving Eye but all there is Barren Venomous and near to Hell Blackness of Darkness and eternal Night Melancholy rack'd by Despair Guilt scourg'd by Shame Rage tortur'd with Envy and Vexation stabb'd by Regret and a tempestuous Repentance And if this be the Unhappiness of the present time O! how great will be the Solitude of such a Soul in her Separation When in an Instant she shall see nothing but all the Evils she has done and all the Wickednesses of her Life spread before her Eyes as so many Firey Serpents for which she must answer before the dreadful Tribunal which even now appears before her Eyes Prayer O! just God will there need any Chains to sink it lower than its own Weight has done Will there need any other Darkness to cover the Soul which such a Cloud of Sorrows has already benighted and cast into the bottom of the Abyss of Miseries One Deep calls upon another the Depth of Misery upon the Depth of thy Compassion In the midst of thy Wrath remember Mercy Afford us here such Grace as may prevent Despair for our Sins cannot be greater than thy Mercy and in the Day of Judgment grant us such Mercy as may pardon our greatest Sins SECT XXI Of the Deplorable end of Judas POor Judas under these apprehensions of Shame Guilt Fear Despair Grief Rage Anguish and Torment the reproof of Devils and Wicked Men departed and went and e Matt. 27.5 hanged himself Which judgment was made more notorious by an unusual accident as the Greek Scholiast and some f Euthym. in 26. Matt. Oecumen in c. 1. Acts. Juvencus Hist Evang. Beda de Locis Sanct. cap. 4. others report out of Papias St. John's Scholar that he fell from the Fig-tree on which he hanged before he was quite dead and surviv'd his attempt some while being so sad a spectacle of Deformity Pain and a prodigious tumour that his plague was deplorable and highly miserable till at last he burst in the very substance of his Trunk as being extended beyond the possibilities and capacities of Nature Which reconciles the relation of St. Matthew to St. Luke's of whom the former says he g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 27 5. hanged or strangled himself the latter he h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 1.18 fell headlong and burst asunder in the midst and all his bowels gushed out Such is the real unfruitfulness of Sin and perplexed estate of unjust gain We are afterwards more indigent then we were before and know not what to do with the cursed thing when we have it Such is the purchase of Treason and reward of Covetousness momentary in its Possession unsatisfying in the fruition uncertain in the stay sudden in its departure horrid in the remembrance a certain and astonishing ruin in the end And such is the confusion of all those who are terrified with the remembrance of their Sin but cannot apprehend the greatness of Gods Mercy or build their repentance upon the Divine Compassion Whose sin is reveal'd to 'em but but not the Gospel who are sorry for their loss or what they suffer but cannot Confess Believe and heartily sue for Pardon Prayer O thou most Gracious yet dreadful Majesty Gracious in the dispensations of those means which lead us to believe in thy dear Son as in thy manifold offers to Judas Dreadful in the emanations of thy Justice sealing up his incorrigible and impenitent Heart Suffer me not I beseech thee ever to despair either of thy Mercy for what is past or of thy Grace for the future I am cast down when I consider the misery of the Betrayer but I lift up my Soul to the Mercy of the Betrayed I tremble when I consider the fruits of Sin but am encouraged by those of the Sufferings of my Jesus For whose infinite Merits I implore thine infinite Compassion to deliver me now from a reprobate Mind and in the day of Judgment from Eternal Condemnation SECT XXII Of the Wonderful Providence of God in the manner of Christ's Death NOthing comes by chance in respect of God but all things are disposed by his wise Providence to bring his determinate Council to pass After Judas by his desolation had i Acts 1 20. Psal 109.7 fulfilled the Scripture it was further necessary that Christ whom he had deliver'd should suffer in a manner prefigur'd therein thô not prescrib'd by the Law of Moses For as a k Exod. â—â— 46 bone of the Typical Lamb was not to be broken so neither was any to be broken in the true Lamb the Great passover of the Christians Whereby it was intimated the Saviour of the World should suffer that Death to which the breaking of Bones was usual which according to custom was that of Crucifixion to put an end to the Miserable life of the Sufferer but only in that Death should by the Providence of God be so particularly preserv'd as that not one Bone of his should be touch'd The Psalmist likewise predicting of him they l Psal 22.17 pierc'd my hands and my feet plainly represented he should die the Death of the Cross to which the Hands and Feet of the Person Crucified were affixed In order to this Death which was after the Roman manner great had been the Revolutions and Changes in the World between the Type and Prophesie and the time of the event And Judea that was once m Lâ—m. 1.1 great among the Nations and Princess among the Provinces had now been made tributary by Pompey the Great about threescore years before Christ and a part of a Province of Syria under the care of the President of that Province appointed by Tiberias the Emperor According to which Institution a particular Procurator was assigned to it for the disposing of the Publick revenue and because the President who had the power of the Sword was forc'd to attend the other parts of his Province therefore n Tacit. Annal. l. 15. Tertull. Apologet. cap. 21 Cyprian adv Demet. Josephus de bel jud Philo de legat ad Cajum Justin Mart. Apolog. Eusebius Hist l. 1. c. 10. Pilate the Resident Procutator of Judea was furnish'd with power of Life and Death and administred the Supreme Power as to the Jews This gave opportunity that Christ might be deliver'd to a foreign Jurisdiction and suffer Death after the custom of that
Saving Health to all Nations and that they submitting to the Kingdom of thine Ancinted and living in Obedience to his Holy Gospel may be saved with the Remnant of the true Israelites and all that confess him to intercede for us at the Right Hand of thy Majesty in Heaven SECT XXXIX Of the Partition of Christ 's Garments and the Irrision of the People IN the mean time the Souldiers who had nail'd him to the Cross and done the cruel part which belong'd to their Office took his d John 19.23 24. garments and made four parts to every Souldier a part and also his coat Now the Coat was without seam woven from the top throughout They said therefore among themselves let us not rent it but cast lots for it whose it shall be that the Scripture might be fulfill'd which saith e Psal 22.18 They parted my raiment among them and for my vesture they did cast lots These things therefore the Souldiers did And what could they do more They handled him most Barbarously to please the cruelty of his Bloody Persecutors They had nailed him to the Cross to make sure of Death which the Chief Priests had so much desired That they had seized the poor spoil of his dying body more out of lust then any great Advantage to show and boast of it afterwards to their Companions And now they seem to be at a loss how to torment him further When behold least any kind of Ignominy should be wanting to the lamentable acerbity of his Death the insulting multitude in a malicious derision call upon him to save himself f Mark 15.29.30 31 32. And they that passed by railed on him wagging their heads and saying Ah thou that destroyest the Temple and buildest it in three days save thy self and come down from the Cross Likewise also the Chief Priests mocking said among themselves with the Scribes He saved others himself he cannot save Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the Cross that we may see and believe g Matt. 27.43 He trusted in God let him deliver him now if he will have him for he said I am the Son of God It is a Divine thing to Sympathize and Humanity requires pity towards a real offender because we are all subject to the same infirmities but much more towards the Sufferings of an innocent Man and cruel mockings to an Afflicted person are as so many darts adding torture to the Soul into whose wounds we should rather pour the Balsom of the most tender and compassionate Speeches For who knows how soon if left of God he may stand in need of the same commiseration But his inhumane Murderers were not satisfied to have loaded him with reproaches during his Tryal and after sentence unless they prosecute him to the very grave and when his light is set ecclipse his Fame The pains of his body they thought too little unless they might vex his departing Soul herein exercising a malice purely Diabolical to pervert him from God in his last conflict They are no longer able to reach his Body with their Hands and now they would blast his Soul with their infectious Breath heaping together in one whatsoever before they had accus'd him of or now would have the ignorant People believe to root out the credit of his Miracles and Doctrine and to imprint in the Multitude a disbelief of his Truth As if they had said ye see now and nothing can be more plain what a notorious Seducer and Impostor he was who pretended to save others and cannot save himself and how little reason we have to believe his commission from God who is thus deserted and disowned by him For he is the God of Glory and not of Infamy the God of Life and not of Death And can he be any other then accursed of his Maker who dies this accursed Death for cursed is every one that hangeth on a Tree Or will God redeem his People by such an accursed wretch In this therefore were fulfilled those several Prophecies h Psal 35.15 16. In mine adversity they rejoyced and gathered themselves together yea the very abjects came together against me unwares making mows at me and ceased not With the ffatterers were busic mockers who gnashed upon me with their Teeth And again i Psalm 3.2 Many one there be that say of my soul there is no help for him in his God But God forbid that to prove himself the Messiah Christ should have descended from the Cross He might easily have done it and the Devil would have been glad of it for then the great work of Our Redemption had been hindred whereas now the grand accuser of our Elder Brother and all his evil Ministers have laboured in vain to suppress the Glory of out Lord. For the more they have endeavoured to diminish it the more it is encreased and and spread abroad in the World They derided him before Cajaphas Pilate and Hâ—rod They bound him as a Thief and represented him as a Traitor They spit upon him as a Toad and thirsted for his Death and to effect it prefer'd a Murderer They Buffeted Mockt and Crown'd him with Thorns They loaded him with his Cross Crucified him between two Thieves in the most Ignominious and Publick place They envyed him the very Title under which he Suffer'd and now all together Chief Priests Rulers Scribes Elders and People and all that had any occasion to pass by or curiosity to come thither except some few faithful exclaim'd upon him and slander'd him to obscure him in perpetual Oblivion But God has confounded all their Malice and the more they have contemn'd him has Glorified him the more and k Acts 5.31 exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of Sins and given him a l Phil. 2.9 name above every name to be ador'd by every creature Prayer O God the Father Merciful and Gracious whose pleasure it is we should confess thy Holy Child Jesus to be the Prince and Saviour of the World I Beseech thee root out of my wavering heart all Scruple Irreligion and Prophaness and from my Tongue Dispute and Blasphemy That whatsoever he has taught to be believ'd I may embrace whatsoever he has commanded to be done I may practise and in the ways of the Cross which he has sanctified I may follow him Lighten mine Eyes with the beams of that liberty which thou grantest to thy Children of serving thee in full assurance of Faith that I sleep not in the Death of Sin Call back my thoughts from their frequent wanderings in those barren Regions where the Truth is doubted and fix me by thine infinite Grace and Mercy that I may ever adore and love thee through my Crucified Lord. SECT XL. Of Christ 's Intercession to the Father for his Crucifiers OUR Blessed Saviour was now in the greatest Agonies to which the Actions or Slanders of his
Faithful expectant For whom I forget they are cut of from my Hand are cast out of the light of my countenance and reserv'd for Judgment under chains of Darkness But whom I remember to them I am merciful whom I remember to be Merciful to in my Kingdom they are Eternally Blessed in the Presence of my Father Verily therefore I say unto thee that in remembring I will remember thee and with the Righreous thou shalt be had in Everlasting Remembrance Mine Eyes shall always be upon thee and thou shalt abide under the shadow of the Almighty I will defend thee under my Wings and thou shalt be safe under my Feathers Thou shalt be with me to be with whom the Saints have desir'd to be dissolv'd and it shall be there whence neither the a Gen. 3.24 flaming Sword nor Cherubims shall drive thee from an absolute enjoyment For it shall be in the Celestial and Heavenly Paradise the place of the blessed Angels and Saints where God with his Divine Majesty fills 'em with the light of Righteousness and quickens their Spirits with Everlasting Joy Yea thou shalt be the Example and Mirrour of my Mercy wherein every Penitent may see his own condition and know that my Bounty is greater then his Sin if he will truly turn to me that I may receive him and that while there is Life still there is hope of acceptance upon a sincere and hearty repentance and a stedfast Faith And that to the end of the World whosoever shall hear thy Sins were pardon'd may never despair but trust in Mercy and turn to me and seek Salvation and find it and desire it and receive it Prayer O Sweetest Saviour when I consider this Penitent I must needs confess that even Thieves and Barbarians would have serv'd thee better then I had they receiv'd so many Favours and Graces as it has pleased thee to bestow upon me Nevertheless since by the same instance of thy Mercy thou raisest me to a lively hope of acceptance by true Repentance and a strong Faith encrease in me I Beseech thee the Seeds of both making way for my Salvation by thy assisting Grace till my Soul being purified as another Miracle of thy Goodness thou Vouchsafe to receive me to those Blessed Enjoyments which thou hast purchased with thy precious Blood SECT XLII Of the Sorrowful Interview between Christ and the Virgin Mother his Compassion towards her and his Love to Saint John NOW while Jesus was receiving the Penitent Thief there b John 19.25 stood by his Cross the Holy Virgin Mother Sad and Silent with a modest Grief deep as the Waters of the Abyss but smooth and full of Love and Patience and by her side his Mothers Sister Mary the Wife of Cleophas and Mary Magdalen and the Disciple whom Jesus loved When Jesus therefore saw his Mother and the Disciple by whom he loved then it was we may imagine burst forth those c Heb. 5.7 Tears which Saint Paul mentions to have been shed upon the Cross accompanying that Tender and Heart-breaking sight when he began first to behold her with his dying Eyes He would not acknowledge her of whose Sorrows he was most sensible least he might seem to have respected Persons or Affections But having before Prayed for his Malicious Crucifiers and then Comforted the Penitent Thief as a token that all these bitter Sufferings were to intercede for and save Sinners He now turns to his Mother in that manner the apprehension whereof must needs affect the most insensible Heart The presence of Friends is indeed a refreshment to the miserable while there is any comfort to be expected from them and two are better than one because they have advantage from their Society for if they fall one will lift up his fellow But here there was no such conveniency in the meeting which was most deplorable to the Mother standing by who could lend no assistance to her tortur'd Son and to the Crucified Son who by his incessant pains could only augment the grief of his Mother We read when he was a Child and missing but three days She sought him sorrowing among her kinsfolks and acquaintance d Luke 2.48 her Love Admiration and Meditation perpetually attending this mavellous Birth But now she may no longer find him among his Friends for they had all forsaken him and fled and left him environed with whole Troops of Enemies except those few which accompanied her there incited to it by her magnanimous constancy to be present at the Crucifixion of her dear Son For she had said in her heart where she ever e Luke 2.19 treasur'd whatsoever was Prophesied concerning his Person I will wait and expect the Death of my Beloved I will follow him out of Jerusalem tho' with the saddest thoughts and I will behold with weeping Eyes whither they bring him how they strip him how they bore his Hands and Feet how they nail him to the wood and how they lift him upon the Cross and when all this is done and they shall recede from him and stand afar off and look upon him as accursed then will I draw near and stand by the Cross of my Jesus then will I embrace the wood with my Arms and wash it with my Tears and kiss it with my Lips and thô I may not die with him yet will I fix my Eyes upon him to engrave his wounds deep in my Heart I will not now desert him dying who past by all other creatures and Children of Men to come to me the lowest of his Servants and receive from me an humble being But I will see how he goes out of this World who alone know how he came into it and in the miserablest kind of Fellowship will suffer invisibly in my Heart whatsoever he suffers visibly in his Body And thus was fulfill'd that f Luke 2.35 Prophecy of old Simeon which he spake at her Purification That a Sword also should pierce her very Soul Here then we may imagine the saddest conflict between the Soul of the Blessed Virgin and the Eyes of the Beloved Jesus which at the same time they were hastning unto Death were call'd back to look upon his Mother burning in an unutterable Flame of Love O how deep must the rays of that Vision penetrate not only her Heart but her very Soul wherewith the Lord vouchsaft to behold her dying And how opprest with Sighs and overwhelmed with Grief and drowned in Tears did she lift up her Eyes to behold his disfigur'd torn Body with the Blood distilling from the four great Wounds to behold him dying and looking upon her when she was ready to die her self There could nothing be represented to him in this view but the Martyrdom of the Soul of his dear Mother Nor could she do any thing but by most passionate reflections imprint in her heart all the Torments which he suffer'd At last after this most passionate and doleful interview wherein the rays of their
acknowledgment so did it demonstrate his Purity and Innocence at whose Sufferings the Elements were thus troubled and was also a sign to that Rebellious People who had so often y John 2.8 desir'd one from Heaven and a sad presage that the light of Truth was shortly to be z Luke 19.42 hidden from their Eyes and that both they and all that deny him should be cast into a Matt. 8.12 outer Darkness All this while the Divine Nature rested that the Human Nature might suffer but it upheld the Humane that that it might overcome Till at last Jesus wholly opprest with the load of his Fathers wrath and quite wearied with the pains due to our sins cryed out or b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matt. 27.46 roared in the most lamentable manner My God My God Why hast thou forsaken me Which violent Ejaculations gave an evident proof of the truth of his Humanity and of the greatness of his Sufferings for the confutation of all future Hereticks who should either deny him to have been Man or to have truly suffer'd in the Flesh The voice of so Dismal and Terrible a cry being a sure sign of an inexpressible Grief and that it proceeded purely from Humane Affections Nevertheless he complains not in the least of his ignominious punishment cruel pains or any other desertion whatsoever tho' there were so few of his friends with him and his very Enemies stood from him at adistance not only as accursed but an infectious Object But he complains only of his being forsaken of God That 's the height of all Sorrows That 's the Abyss of the state of Misery For where God is not all is Hell What could God forsake his Son or did not Christ see the c Heb. 12.2 Joy that was set before him and to which he should arrive through that cloud of Affliction Yes he did But not to comfort him All things were now tending to compleat his Passion to add extremity to his Pains and infinity to his Miseries For it had been determined by the councel of the Godhead that his Glory should encrease his Shame his Knowledge his Grief his Majesty his Misery his Happiness his Punishment O what a d Rom. 8.32 delivery as speaks the Apostle what a desertion and giving up was this Where Strength was the Tormentor Knowledge a Vexation Joy and Glory a Persecution Are all the Sufferings that ever were in the World comparable to those of the Crucified Jesus Or did ever any Martyr before cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me As if he had said O my Eternal Father the Father of Mercies and the God of all Consolation I turn to thee but neither seek nor obtain any Relief or mitigation of my Torments For I voluntarily submitted my self to this burthen and whatsoever thou shalt add to it I will patiently bear Nevertheless tho' thou succourest not my complaints yet will I not cease to declare my Grief least I should endeavour by my silence to frustrate my Enemies of their Joy or seem not to suffer for 'em what I do Who tho' they see my body torn on this Gibbet may yet imagine my mind to be untoucht and that I suffer but as others have done I therefore testifie and with this my speech declare the inward anguishes of my Soul to all these who here afflict me and thus I imprint it in the hearts of all those who shall hereafter believe on me for thy desertion is the height of all my Miseries a desertion properly due to their Persons My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Others invoke thee but once as their God because tho' they want thy Glory yet by their Sins they deny thee But I call upon thee as my God and my God both as partaker of thy Nature and as a fulfiller of thy Divine Will And yet thou castest me away from thee and makest me to suffer the Just for the Wicked at the hand of the unjust Thou deliverest me up to Sinners to be slain by 'em for their Sins Thou severely chastisest thy own Son that thou mayest spare thy Rebellious Servants Behold I am e Psal 88.3 c. counted as one of them that go down into the pit and even as a Man that hath no strength Free among the dead like unto them that are wounded and lie in the grave who are out of Remembrance and cut away from thine hand Thou hast laid me in the lowest Pit in a place of Darkness and in the Deep Thine Indignation lyeth hard upon me and thou hast vexed me with all thy Storms I stick fast in the mire where no ground is I am come into deep f Psal 69.2 waters so that the floods run over me I am destitute of thy Help debarr'd of all Comfort suspended from Refreshment nor does the Blessedness of my Glory relieve me or make my Cross less dolorous Without me are aggravating Circumstances of misery in my Flesh is Pain in my Soul is Anguish intolerable Anguish even unto Death My Flesh is most afflicted because most sensible My Soul is most straitned because most understanding My Flesh grieves and my Soul Grieves and what does not grieve being cast out of the Comfort of thy Sight Tribulation and Anguish Tyrannize over me and every moment by every thing my Sorrows are enlarged I grieve for the Abuse of thy holy Name I grieve for the Trouble of her that bare me I grieve for the Pusilanimity of my Disciples I grieve for the Scandal of all that believe on me I grieve for the Errour of these that crucifie me I grieve for all the Sorrows the Saints have suffer'd or ever shall endure for my sake I grieve for the ungrateful who shall crucifie me g Heb. 6.6 afresh and put me hereafter to the like open Shame But especially for all those who once believing on me shall afterwards apostatize from the Truth there remaining no more h Heb. 10.26 27. Sacrifice for their Sins but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour them That after so many Sweats and mortal Agonies my precious Blood should be spilt in vain and that of so many Millions who might now be brought through the Red-Sea of my Blood out of the Bondage of Sin there is none to give Glory to God but this Stranger and he a Thief who enters with me into the promised eternal Rest Why hast thou delivered me Why hast thou forsaken me Why hast thou subjected me to this Sorrow this Death Why am I destitute of Divine Consolation abandoned to Humanity and deliver'd as a Prey to all the outragious Sadnesses of Mind Are all my Sufferings but for one or hast thou not laid on me the i Isai 53.6 Iniquities of all O! how great and intolerable is the Guilt of Sin for which thou wouldst have my Blood to expiate for which thou hast exposed delivered and forsaken thine