her selfe but for thy sake is out of her selfe why therfore saiest thou Why weepest thou whome sekest thou Doest thou thinke that she can say I wepe for the I seek the except thou first inspire her and say in her heart I am he whome thou we peste for and for whom thou sekeste Doeste thou thinke that she can knowe the so longe as it shal please the to hide thy self But she supposinge that he had ben the gardiner said vnto him Sir if thou hast caried him hence tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him vp O sorowe miserable O loue vnspeakable This woman was so couered with a thicke cloude of wo and sorowe that she saw not the Sun that in the morning tyde arising shone by her windowes and by the eares of her bodye was now entred into the house of her heart But bicause she laÌ„guished in her loue of this languishinge the eyes of her heart became so dym that she coulde not se him whome she sawe For she did see Iesus but she knew not it was Iesus O Mary it thou sekest Iesus why doeste thou not acknowledge Iesus And if thou knowest Iesus why sekest thou Iesus Beholde Iesus commeth vnto the and hee whom thou sekest asketh of the Woman why wepest thou and thou supposest him to be a gardiÌ„er to shew thou knowest him not For Iesus is also a gardiner because he soweth all good seede in the gardin of thy soule and in the hearts of his faithful he planteth euery good Herbe and watereth it in the soules of his sainctes And it is IESVS himself which talketh with the. But therefore perhaps thou doest not knowe him bycause hee corporally talketh with ye. Thou sekest a dead one and therefore thou doest not acknowledg him as liuing Haue I not truly espied that this is the cause wherefore he went from the and why he appeared not vnto the For why should he appeare vnto the for whome thou doest not seke Thou verely soughtest for that which was not and soughtest not for the which was Thou didst seke Iesus and didste not seke Iesus and therefore in seinge Iesus thou didst not knowe Iesus O pittiful and sweete Maister I can not altogether excuse this thy disciple I can not frely defende this her error And yet for all that shee erred bycause she soughte the for suche an one as once she had seene the and for suche a one as she had lefte the when thou wert laied in thy graue For she had sene thy body taken downe dead from the crosse layed in a tombe and so greate sorowe had taken hold of her for thy death that she coulde not hope of thy life And suche sorowe had possessed her herte for thy buriall that shee coulde thinke nothinge of thy resurrection To conclude Ioseph put thy body into a tombe Mary had buried there her spirite also so vnseparably ioyned it as it were vnited it with thy body that she could more easily seperate her liuing soule froÌ„ her liuing body theÌ„ her louing spirit from thy dead body for the spirite of Mary was rather in thy body theÌ„ in her owne body and when she eaftsones soughte for thy body she did then also seeke for her own spirit and when she lost thy body she lost with it her own spirit what meruaile theÌ„ if she had no sense which had lost her spirit what maruail was it if she knew not the which had no spirite where with shee shoulde knowe the Restore therfore vnto her again her soule which thy body hath within it selfe and shee shall recouer furthwith her sense againe and forsake her error But how did she erre which did so sorowe for the and did so loue the Truly if she erred I speake without doubtinge that she wyst not she erred and so her error proceded not of error but of loue and grefe Therfore O mercifull and iuste Iudge the loue shee bare to thee and the sorowe she toke for the may excuse her before the if perhaps she erreth of the. And marke not the error of the woman but the loue of thy disciple whiche did not wepe of error but of sorowe and of loue and said vnto the Sir if thou hast borne him heÌ„ce tel me where thou hast laid him and I will take him vp O how skilfully is she ignorante how learnedly doth she erre To the Angels she said They haue takeÌ„ him away and they haue layed And she said not Ye haue taken him and Ye haue layed him because the angels neyther tooke the out of thy Tombe nor layed the in any place but to thee shee said If thou hast borne him away where haste thou laied him bicause thou indede didst beare thy selfe out of the Tombe and laydsâ—e thy self in the place where thou arte To the angels she said not Tell ye me bicause thee Angels coulde not tell wholy what had ben done of the nor howe it had bene done of the but to the shee saith Tel thou me bycause it is not vnpossible for the to tel that which was possible for the to do for thou rosest againe by thyne owne power that whiche was done of the thou diddeste it thy selfe But what is this Lorde that Mary so often speaketh repeteth this worde Where haste thou layd him For shee had said to the Apostles firste of all where haue they layed him The selfsame answer she spake vnto the Angels Wher haue they layed him And nowe speaketh to the of thy selfe Where haste thou layd him This word wax eth exceding swete in her heart that so abouÌ„deth in her mouth Lertes thy swetenes maketh it more sweete and she dothe this for thy loue sake bycause shee remeÌ„breth that thou saidst once Ioh. 11. of her brother Where haue ye laid him for sithens that she heard this word of thy mouth she hath kept it diligently in her heart and hath delighted to vse it in her speache O howe dothe shee loue thy person that so loueth thy voice O how moch doth she desire to see thy countinaunce which so desirously pronouÌ„ceth thy worde And howe gladlye wolde she kisse thy feete whiche so gladly vseth thy sayinges what is this also O good Iesu that she speaketh to the of the And I will take him vp Ioseph feared and durste not take doun thy body from the Crosse but in the night and but askinge it of Pilate but Mary abydeth not Ioh. 19. for the night nor fereth Pilate but boldly pronounceth saying I will take him vp O Mary putte the case that the body of Iesus were layed in the palayce of the high Preist where the cheife Apostle did warme him selfe at the fyer what woldeste thow doe I wolde take him vp O wonderful woman in boldenes O woman no womaÌ„ and what if the Dam sell the dore keeper should askâ— the what wilt thou do I wil take him vp O vnspeakable loue of this woman O meruailous audacitye of a
be shorte I seke not for Angels but him who made me and Angels I seke not angels but the Lorde of my self and of angels They haue take away my soueraigne Lorde him onely will I seeke he alone can comfort me but I caÌ„ not tel where thei haue laid him I looke about if I can see him but I se him not faine I wolde finde the place where he is layed but I fynde it not O wofull Wtoman that I am what shall I do whether shal I go and whether is my beloued gon I sought for him in his Sepulchre and there I found him not I called him but he answered me not wo is me where shal I seeke him where shall I fynd him I will rise truly I will go about I will search in al places I can I will geue no sleepe to myne eyes I will geue no reste to my feete vntil I shall fynde him whome my Soule loueth Wepe ye myne eyes gushe out with teares stynte not walke ye my feete runne about reste not Alas alas whether is my ioye gone where doth my loue hyde him where is my sweete Lorde why hast thou mâ— health forsakeÌ„ me O vnsufferable sorowes O intolerable perplexitie of minde I se troble on euery side what to chuse I know not If I abide next his Tomb yet I finde him not yf I go froÌ„ his Tombe I know not wretch whether to go I know not wherto seeke him To departe from the Tombe is death vnto me to stande at the Tombe is griefe incurable how be it better it is for me to keepe still my Lordes Tombe then to go far from it any further for in goinge further perchaunce at my returne again I shall fynde bothe him takeÌ„ away also his sepulcher destroyed I will stande therefore here will I dye that yet at leste wyse I may be buried nye the sepulchre of my Lorde O how happy shal my body bee if it bee buried nighe vnto my Master O how blessed shall my Soule be whiche passing forth of thys bryckle vessel of my bodie may by and by enter into my Lords glorious Sepulcher My body hath alwaies ben to my soule labour and trauaile my Lords sepulcher shall be vnto me rest and honor Therfore I will not forsake this Sepulcher bycause thus to die it shall be my coÌ„forte and in my death it shall be my reste So longe as I liue I will abide by it when I dye I wil cleaue fast vnto it neither aliue nor dead I wil be seperated from it Alas what a wretched woman I am wherefore did I not then this foresee when I behelde my lorde buryed why did not I stande with him wherefore did I not with trewe attendance keepe the Sepulchre then had I not bewayled his taking away for I had either withstanded them which toke him away or els had gone after them But O woful case I wold haue kepte the lawe and haue let go the Lord of the law I wolde haue obeied the lawe and haue not kept him to whom the lawe it selfe is obediente though with Christe to abyde had not ben to transgresse the lawe but to fulfyl the lawe For the paschal Lambe is not disteined by the deathe of him but is again iterate renewed His corps doth not defile the cleaÌ„e but clenseth the defiled he healeth all suche as touch him and dothe illuminate all suche as come to him But what do I renewe the memory of my sorow I wente I returned I founde the Tombe opened but founde not him I soughte for I will stande therefore I will waite lokinge if happely hee may any where appeare But howe shall I stande alone desolate The Disciples be gone theire waye and haue left me alone weping None do appeare who woulde sorow with me No where doth hee appeare whiche with mee wolde seeke the Maister Here haue appeared Angels but I knowe not for what cause they haue appeared If to comforte me they oughte not then to bee ignorante wherefore I weepe If they bee not ignorante for what I weepe why say they to mee Why wepest thou Do they therefore question with mee to let me from wepinge I beseche them not to swade me to that that they will not counsell mee to that for or els let them kill me What needes mo wordes I will not obey them I will not cease to weepe duringe my lyfe but I finde my lorde But what may I do to finde him whither shall I turne me to whom shall I go of whome shal I inquire of whome shall I aske counsail who shal haue compassioÌ„ on me who shall comfort me who shall Cant. 1â— shew me whom my soul loueth Cant. 2. where he is bestowed where he lieth at noontide where he resteth I beseche you tel him how I pyne with loue and consume with sorowe and that there is no dolor as is my dolor Turne Tren â— againe my beloued turn again Cant 6. my hartes desire and dearling Psalm 50. O amiable O delitable geue againe to me the gladnes of thy comfortable preseÌ„ce Shew me Cant. 2. thy countinaunce let thy voice Psal 90. sounde in mine eares for thy â—0 118. voice is sweete and thy visage is beutiful O my hope confouÌ„d mee not in myne expectation Shew me thy face and it shall suffice my soul While Marye did thus mourn and thus wept as she spak these things She turned her selfe back and sawe Iesus standing and knew not it was Iesus Iesus said vnto her woman why weepest thou Whome seekest thou O thou the desire of her soule why doeste thou aske her why wepeste thou and whome seekeste thou She but a little before with her very eies to the great dolour of her heart beheld the her whole hope to be hanged vpoÌ„ the tree and saieste thou nowe vnto her why wepest thou She the third day beheld thy haÌ„des wherwith she hath ben ofteÌ„ blessed thy feet which she had kissed and whiche she had watered with her teares nailed vpon the crosse thou being her whole sorow saiest vnto her Why wepest thou She beheld the geuiÌ„g vp of her spirit that is to say thy spirite and saiest thou now why wepest thou Yea furdermore she supposeth thy body is stoln away whych she came to anoiÌ„t that by som meaÌ„es she might coÌ„forte her self and saiest thou why wepest thou whome seekest thou Thou well knowest that the alone she seeketh the alone she loueth for that she contemneth all things and sayeste thou What seekeste thou Swete Maister for what purpos I pray that doest thou prouoke this womans spirite for what purpose doeste thou vexe her Soule She wholye dependeth on thee she wholye abydeth in thee All her hope is in the all dispaire in her self She doth so seeke the that seekinge the she can seeke nothinge but the she can minde nothinge but the and therefore perchaunte she doth not know the because she is not in
may be called Isaac wheÌ„ thou shalte obtaine the frute of the spirite ioy and peace This childe at the length thus thou may conceaue if as it is writteÌ„ of Sara that it was not with her after the manner of womeÌ„ and so she bare Isaac all womanly affectioÌ„s so cease out of thi miÌ„d so that thou haue no worke and effeminaâ— thinges in the soule but doest thinges manfully and manfully girdest vp thy loines and hast thy breste fensed with the brest plate of righteousnes and thy self armed with the helmet of health and the swerde of the spirit Yt therefore such womanly maÌ„ners cease in thy life thou begettest a son that is ioye and peace of thy wife vertu and wisedom Thou begettest ioye if thou suppose it all ioy when thou shalt fall into diuers temptations canst offer that ioye a sacrifice to god For wheÌ„ thou Iacob â— doeste come cherefully to God he rendereth to thee that again which thou haste offered sayeth vnto the Againe ye shal see me and your heart shal be glad â–ª and no men shall take your ioye from you So then shalte thou receaue those thiÌ„ges increased which thou shalte offer to God Such a thinge is sette furthe in Luc. 19. the gospel although by an other figure as where it is saied that one receaued a pound for to occupy and get gaines for the good man of the house And if thou bring fiue increased into ten they are geuen to thee thy selfe for a rewarde they are graunted thee Herken what he sayethe Take from this man his pounde and geue it to him that hath teÌ„ pounde Thus though wee seeme to occupye for oure Lord yet the gaines of this matchandise returneth to oure selues though wee seme to offer sacrifice to the lord yet those thinges which wee offer are restored to vs agayne For God hath not neede of anyething but he wold haue vs riche he wisheth by all maÌ„ner of meanes oure wealth Thys manner of doctrine is set furth vnto vs in those thinges whiche happened to Iob Iob. â— who beynge ryche lost all for Gods sake But because hee endured well the fyghte of pacicnce because he was of a stout courage in all thinges hee suffered saying The Lorde gaue the Lorde hath taken away as it pleased the Lord so is it come to passe the Lords name be blessed beholde at the eÌ„de what is written of him He receaued againe saith the texte twise as much as he loste Thou perceauest theÌ„ what it is to loose any thiÌ„ges for the Lorde that is to receaue for thy selfe duble Yea the gospel doth promise som yet more that is it promiseth an huÌ„dred fold to the againe and besides that also eternall lyfe in Christe Iesu oure Lorde to whome bee glorye and empire for euer and euer AMEN A prayer for maried persons ETERNAL GOD and moste mercifull father which of thine inestimable loue towardes man after thou haddeste created all thinges for his vse and comforte woledeste also for his more coÌ„fort ordeine an helper for him of like substaÌ„ce and nature vnto him selfe thereby knittinge the one to the other in felloship inseparable Which institution of holy wedlocke thus made by the gracious contemplacion which thou hadst to maÌ„in paradise to haue it estemed more honorable thou didst preordinate thy only begotten son to bee borne therin of a moste pure virgin Who also of his fauorable grace to the further coÌ„mendacion of the said institutioÌ„ vouchsaued to be preseÌ„t personally therat with his blessed mother holy Aposties in Cane a city of Galily there wrought his first notable miracle of tourniÌ„g vnsauery water iÌ„to pleasauÌ„t wine in misticall significatioÌ„ iÌ„structioÌ„ of the same state Furdermore hast by the mouth of thy elect vessel Saint Paule declared the state thereof to be the greate misterye and sacramente of that maruailous vnspeakable vniti that is betwixt Christ his Spouse the churche And for as muche as thou hast commaÌ„uded by the said Apostle that the husbande shoulde so loue his wife as Christe loued his congregation And that the wise shoulde so reuerence her husbande as the Church is reuerently subiect vnto Christe her Spouse We besech the that this our matrimony once beguÌ„ne by thy fatherly prouidence as we doubt not thereof may be still prosperouslye continued betwixte vs. So that we may be of one heart and minde to knowe so loue to obey and serue the aboue al creatures as thou woldest vs twain to be one body together to loue and serue the one thother in oure mortall life And that we maye by the aide of thy holye spirite perseuer without strife discord and variablenes in perpetuall amitie and godly loue Charitably in our vocatioÌ„ to liue with oure neighbors instlye in oure occupations with the swete of oure browes to eate oure bread and equally with thanks to receiue of thy handes what so euer thy fatherlye wisdome hath decreed to sende vnto vs Besechinge furderthy godnes that as thou haste by thy bounteous liberality geuen vs frute in this our matrimonye so wee maye bee assisted maintained by thy fatherly benediction aswell to norishe them vp in their bodily life as to instructe them in soule in thy holy Religion to glorifie thy blessed name in this worlde to our lyues end that in the nexte world we may all appeare in the sight of thy heauenly Maiestie to be vnited to thy self in perpetuall felicity accordig to the assured promises made vnto vs through our lorde and sauiour Iesus Christ To whom with the and the holy ghoste be all honor and glorye for euer AMEN A prayer generally for all parsons GRauÌ„t me grace O most merciful father to haue a feruent desyer euer to suche things as be pleasinge to the diligeÌ„tlye to searche them wiselye to knowledg them parfectlye to fulfil them to the land and prayse of thy holye name Guyde thou O Lord my lyfe lyuing and that which thou requirest of me to do graunt that I may haue a knowledg a will and power therto And streÌ„gthe me so to ensue it as may bee to the honor of thy name to the wealth of my neighbour and to the healthe of my soule Make the way O Lorde sure streghte to thee that I fainte not from the neyther in prosperity neyther yet in aduersity that in prosperity I geue me not vnto pride and insoleÌ„cy and that in aduersity I keepe my selfe in hope patience So that in aduersitie I be not borne downe to lowe nor yet in prosperitye I be lyft vp to hie Suffer me not to ioye of any thinge but of that whiche may further me vnto the and to morne of nothinge but of that whiche mighte drawe mee from the so that all heauenlye thinges may be louesom to me and all transitorye thinges lothsom all fleshly thinges yrksom and all greeuous thinges lightesome Let all ioy be tedious to mee that is not in the Let all paine be pleasaunte that is for the Let me not delite to please anye creature againste the nor yet aferde to displease any creature for the. Geue me grace oft to liste vppe my heart vnto the and to leade my lyf streight before the. Make me sone to ryse againe whan I fall away from the and trulye to acknowledge confesse my sinnes vnto the. Strength my faith to aske pardon onely at the and for Christs sake mercifully to obtaine it of the. Make me O father to dred the without desperation and to loue the without presumption Make me faithfull without doblenes chast without fylthines liberall without wastefulnes sparinge withoute carefulnes mery without wantonnes sober without sowernes constaÌ„t with out stubbornes traitable with out childishnes quiet without quareling meeke without murmuringe pacient withoute sâ—ryuinge obediente withoute grutchinge prudente in simplicitye simple in prudence cherefull in charitye and seruisable in diligeÌ„ce Geue me grace to teache my neighbour without presumption to reforme him without his confusion to edifye him in lyfe without offension Geue me a watchinge heart O Lord that no curious thoughte disturbe it make it stroÌ„g that no vnworthy affection peruert it make it constante that no violente assaulte subdue it Graunt me O father vnderstandinge to knowe the diligence to seeke the wisedom to fynde the perseueraunce to keepe the and hope in the coÌ„clusion to embrace thee Let mee here be excercised with thy crosse to my humiliation to recogne thin assistauÌ„ce therin to my consolation to vse thy benifite by grace and at the laste to obtaine thy fruitioÌ„ in glory to the laude and praise of thy blessed name To whome with the Sonne and the holye Ghoste be all honoure for euer and euer AMEN Imprinted at London by Reginalde Wolfe Anno. Do. M. D. LXV