things to come nor height nor deapth nor anye other euent are shal be able to seperate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our lord Yea greater boldnes then this if it be possible to dwel within vs the Apostle here hath offered it in Christ iesu If all the syns were vpon hym and all sorowes in his flesh and yet frō them al God hath heard his praiers why should we not be sure that our syns sorowes they shall be done away Why shuld we not be sure that God him self hath appointed vnto al that mourne in Syon as the Prophet saith to geue vnto them beutye for ashes the oyle of ioy for mournyng the garment of gladnes for the spirite of heauynes Let vs therefore be bold dearely beloued for he was wounded for our transgressions broken for our iniquities the chasticement of our peace was vpō him These prayers are ours these supplications for vs auailable for moe synnes then we are able to commit This is our victory that shall ouercome the world euen our fayth In all miseries and multitudes of woe we are not sonken so deepe in sorow as he that for our sakes made prayers and supplications wyth strong cryinges and with teares and was delyuered from his feare The seconde poynt that we haue here to learn in this example of our Sauiour Christ is to knowe vnto whom we should make our prayers in the day of trouble which the Apostle testifieth in these words that Christ made his prayers vnto hym that was able to saue him frō death A rule to be kept of vs in all maner of our peticions and supplications whatsoeuer to make them knowen vnto him that can graūt our request that is vnto god Thys rule was kept of the Church of God from the begynning When men were once turned from their Idoles then in all their prayers they began to call vpon the name of the lord And God him self at no time doth more sharplye reproue hys people then when they woulde aske of those that had no power to helpe them This lesson that poore Leaper so defiled in flesh had yet humblye learned and wyth a pure hart hee prayed accordingly Lord if thou wylt thou cāst make me whole Vpon thys foundation our sauiour Christ hath built vp all the prayers of his true Disciples adding it as a special clause vnto the prayer that he taught them For thine is the kingdome the power and the glorye for euer and euer Amen Then let vs learne so manye as wyl pray in spirit to make our praiers vnto hym alone who is able to saue vs It is the sacrifice of the new Testament that he hath appoynted vs that we should offer vp vnto him and not vnto other the fruit of our lyps which may confesse his name And because this doctrine hath ben troden downe vnder feete and defited by the man of syn wyth all spiritual vncleanes I beseche you adde vnto this one reason or two more that you may answer the aduersary be able to stand in the day of euill When our sauiour Christ was purposed to teache his Disciples a true forme of prayer a perfect paterne vnto which they must frame their peticions or it is vnpossible they shuld be accepted he teacheth them that their begynning must be frō hence Our Father whych art in heauen What blessyng so euer wee woulde haue or from what plague so euer we would bee delyuered hee alone must be the person of whō we craue to whom thys name callyng doth belong Our Father whych art in heauen If thys name bee none of his hee is no Patrone to bee called on or if we wyll needes call vpon him we geue hym thys name whether it bee his or no. Christ is our good warrant who hath made this the beginning of al christian praier Our Father whych art in heauen Therfore the Idolaters of all ages that haue made thē selues Saintes to pray vnto according to the number of their prayers so they haue multiplied their Idoles the Chyldren of God to whom they haue sacrificed they shall wytnes agaynst them in the day of christ And you my deare brethren agaynst all your enemies defend thus the holynes of your praier that you know no other waye of speakyng then as you are taught Our Father Adde yet vnto this one reason more which you learne of S. Paul and I doubt not but you shall be well established in this present truth We know al and do confesse that we are able to doo no good thing of our selues but all our sufficiencie is of God we are not able so much as to thinke a good thought Yea the very wisedome of the flesh is enmitie vnto all ryghteousnes so true it is that the Prophet sayth Euerye man is a beast in his own vnderstāding And how much lesse then are wee able to offer vp vnto God that most precious sacrifice of praier and thankes geuyng to make it acceptable in his sight if we consult with our own flesh and bloud after the wyl of man so make our praiers vnto God We must needes acknowledge our own infirmities and confesse with S. Paule that we knowe not what to praye as we ought but it is the spirite of God that maketh request for the Saintes accordyng to the wyl of God and in thys holy spirit alone we must pray if we loke for the mercy of our Lord Iesu Christ to eternall life The spirit that beareth rule in our hart he must teache vs althinges or els we can doo nothing that God aloweth Now the voyce of this spirite that alwayes soundeth within vs it speaketh not thus either Sancta Maria or Sancta dei genitrix neyther S. Paule praye for vs nor S. Peter pray for vs These are but the spicinges of the dronken cups of Rome the soūdes of words which the spirites of errours haue blowen But the holy spirit of God that teacheth vs how to pray it crieth thus in our hartes Abba Pater Our Father whych art in heauen As Christ hym selfe hath beene our scoolemaister of no other prayer so the spirite that he hath geuen vs it knoweth no other sound but Abba Father these are the beginninges of our praiers If we speake not vnto hym to whom doo wee bow our knees If we wyll make the spirite subiect to any other let vs take hede that we greue not the holy spirite of God by which we be sealed agaynst the day of redemption Thus much I haue added to the example of our sauiour Christ who made his prayers to his Father who alone could deliuer him that he might the more assuredly be bold to abide in his steps It followeth in the text with great cryinges and wyth teares Here we haue to note in what measure our sauiour Christ was afflicted euē so far that he cried out in this bitternes of hys soule This the Euangelistes do expresse in moe woordes testifiyng
of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he was greatly afraid all together astonished euē fainting for great anguish of mynde and full pensiue sorowes For his father had broken him with one breaking vpō an other so he kyndled hys wrath against him and accompted hym as one of his enemies The heauy hād of God was so greeuous vpon hym that it brused his verye bones and rent his raines asunder hee coulde finde no health in his flesh but was woūded vnto death as without recouerye The Euangelist hym selfe beareth witnes of this miserye addyng vnto hys lowde crying thys sound of wordes My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Thys sorow because it was not as waged with wordes he cried out alowd because in silence he could finde no case his face was wrinckled wyth weeping and the shadowe of death was vpon his eyes For what griefe coulde be lyke vnto this Or what condemnation coulde be so heauye when there was no wyckednes in his handes and when hys prayer was pure when he was the brightnes of glory and the sunne of ryghteousnes that shined in the worlde yet as it were to see hys daies at an end and his enterprises broken his carefull thoughtes to bee so deepe grauen in his brest that they chaunged euen the daye into nyght vnto him and all light that approched in to darknes thys was a sorrowe aboue all sorrowes When his excellencie was such aboue all creatures that the world was not worthye to geue him breath yet he to bee made a woorme and not a man a shame of men and the contempt of the people all that saw hym to haue him in derision and to shut vp hys lyfe in shame and reproches so vnworthy a reward of so precious a seruaunt how could it but shake all his bones out of ioynt and make hys hart to melt in the myddest of his bowels How could his strēgth not be dryed vp like a potshard and his toūg not cleaue vnto the iawes of his mouth Who hath bene euer so full of wo who hath bene brought so low into the dust of death His vertues wer vnspeakeable and righteous aboue all measure yet was he accompted among the wicked His temperancie in perfect beutye his appetites bridled with all holye moderation yet they sayd of him behold a glutton and a drinker of wyne His behauiour honest without al reproofe and his conuersation vnspotted yet they sclaundred hym as a friende of Publicans and synners and reported him as a companion of theeues He loued the law of his father wyth such fulnes of desire that he would not suffer one iote nor one title vnaccomplished and yet they accused him as an enemye vnto Moyses a breaker of the law a subuerter of the Temple and a teacher of newe doctrines such as were not of god He harkened vnto his Father in all humility loued him with al hys hart and with al his soule so that he was obedient vnto hym vnto death yea euen the death of the crosse yet they sayd of him presumptuously that he blasphemed and robbed God of hys honor He was an enemy of Satan euen vnto death and by death ouer came hym that brought death into the world he hated him with so perfect hatred and held stedfast the enmitie that was betwene them vntyl he had spoyled his principalities and powers and triumphed ouer them in an euerlasting victorye yet horribly they reproched him by the naine of Belzebub sayd he had a deuill and by the power of Satan hee wrought all hys miracles O the depth of all abominations and the bottomles pyt of al vncleanes Who could once haue thought so lothsom a sincke to haue bene couered in the hart of man O God ryghteous in iudgemēt and true in word is this it that the Prophet hath tolde before that the thoughtes of manye hartes should be made open Then create we beseche thee new hartes within vs and take not thy holy spirite for euer from vs. And you dearelye beloued if these were the causes that Christ had to complaine then thinke not that hys cryinges were aboue his sorow to see so nere vnto his hart euen in his own person innocency blamed vertue defaced ryghteousnes troden downe holines prophaned loue despised glory contemned honour reuiled all goodnes shamed faith onpugned and lyfe wounded to death How could he yet abstain frō strong crying and teares when the malice of Satan had gotten so great a conquest If iust Lot dwelling among the Sodomites and seing and hearing such a wicked people vexed frō day to day his righteous soule with their vngodly dedes what shal we thinke of Christ liuing in such a generation But O my brethren beloued of the Lord open the eyes of your fayth and you shal see these thynges they were but the begynnings of sorow What shal we think was his grief of minde for the Iewes his brethren that wer thus poured out vnto wickednes How did hys great loue boyle in sorowes of hart to see their destruction If Moses when he beheld the anger of God against his people in great compassion of their miseries praied earnestly vnto the Lord Forgeue them O God or rase me out of the booke that thou hast wrytten If Ieremye in foreseing the captiuitie of Ierusalē had so great griefe that he cried out O that my head wer ful of waters myne eyes a fountayne of teares that I might weepe day and nyght for the flaine of the daughter of my people If Esay in like aboundance of loue bewayled his brethren that woulde needes perish wyth these words of complaynt Turne away from me I wyll weepe bitterly labour not to comfort me because my people perish If Paule that most excellent Apostle hauyng receiued but his portion of the great loue of Christ called God to witnes that he spake the truth howe he had great heauynes and continuall sorowe of hart for hys brethren and that for their sakes him selfe wished to be separate from Iesu Christ what maner of teares shall wee thinke were those which Christ him selfe poured our whē he wept ouer Ierusalem what sorow of mynde which then interrupted hys speeches made thē vnperfect How deepe was that angry griefe printed in his bowels when he beheld the blindnes of his people and was sorowful for them What maner of affliction was it that in the middest of so great reproches and mockes could neuer bee chaunged but prayed stil Father forgeue them they know not what they do If it bee greeuous vnto vs to lose the thing that is most deare vnto vs in thys earthlye tabernacle howe much more did this sorrowe pearce euen through the bowels of our sauiour Christ to see man taken from him vnto destructiō for whose sake hee would so willynglye sacrifice vp his lyfe This is an other spectacle in which we may behold hys great dolour and anguish to knowe the paynes hee
endured and the causes of his mighty cryinges But thys also dearelye beloued though it were exceding yet it was not all no it was but a taste of griefe in comparison of the rest Behold if you can his person here and see the residue and so you shal know the loue of god His griefe was exceding to see all vertue godlynes so troden vnderfeete and it was yet more infinite to beholde Satan to preuayle against man to his euerlasting condemnation No creature could euer beare such a perct image of a man of sorow But the height and depth of all miseries it was yet behinde the synne that he hated hee must take it vpon his owne body and beare the wrath of his Father that was poured out agaynst it This is the fulnes of all payne that compassed him round about whych no touÌ„g is able to vtter and no hart can conceaue This anger of hys father it burned in him euen vnto the botome of hel of the which anger the Prophet speaketh Who can stande before hys wrath or who can abide the fearcenes of his wrath His wrath is poured out lyke fyre and the rockes are broken before him When the Prophet was not able to conceaue the waight of his anger and his voyce cleaued vnto hys mouth when hee went about to vtter it the hardest of all creatures hee tooke for example that the hard rocke did cleaue asunder at the sound of his words And as is sayd in an other place suche a voyce as maketh the forlorne wildernes to tremble A voyce so ful of terrour in the eares and hartes of the wicked that the sunne shal be darkned at the sound of it the Moone shall not geue her lyght the Stars of the heauen shal fal away and the powers of heauen shall bee shaken No creature at all shal yeld his seruice vnto them the elementes of the world shall seeme to melt away This state of misery Christ entred into and soonke down deepe in this confusion and who can expresse his sorow Beyng full of goodnes he had the reward of euyl Full of obedience he was punished as wycked Ful of faith yet had the reward of a synner Inheritour of al thinges Lord of all yet nothing at all to do him duty The King of Kings and Lord of Lordes yet made an outcast and abiect of the people The ruler of all and God of glory yet compassed wyth shame and great confusion The author of lyfe yet wrapped in the chaines of eternall death The onelâ—â— begotten of his Father hys best beloued yet cast off as a straunger and chasticed as an enemy The brightnes of glorye the beutye of the hâ—ghest heauens yet crucified in dishonour and throwne downe into hel O picture of perfect wretchednes and image of miserie how iust cause found he to cry out alowde My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Hys whole body and nature like vnto vs altogether broken with the reward of syn his soule poured out into all calamitie the wrath of his father and condemnation resting vpon him How truly may we here say and confesse the article of our faith He descended into hell How liuely do we see it performed that the Prophet speaketh of The snares of death compassed me and the paynes of hel tooke hold vpon me I found trouble and sorow This was the compassion that hee had toward vs by which he suffred with our infirmities more then Aaron or all the Priestes of the lawe could possibly haue done for vs If we could possibly coÌ„sider dearly beloued as we shuld we wold gladly embrace him as the hie Priest for euer of the new testament when we shal be made of one fashion with hym thorow some measure of his afflictions to feele the waight of our own syns then we shall confesse what cause he had of complayning how dearely he hath bought the honour of the hye Priest Mediatour The Lord lighten the eyes of our mynde that with open countenance we may behold hym who for our sakes endured suche a death of the crosse We should not then neede many exhortations the remembraunce of the latter end would keepe vs safe from syn But let vs now see what the Apostle further teacheth vs whyle our sauiour Christ is in these great extremities what fruit of well doing he hath learned by it It followeth And although he were the Sonne yet learned he obedience by the thinges he suffered Loe dearely beloued this was no litle profit of al his troubles He learned therby how what it was to obey his father that when these thinges rested all vpon hym and yet he could say in meekenes of spirit Not my wyl my father but thy wyl be done â–ª he might haue great boldnes that his obedience was perfect The shame of the worlde the aâ—flictions of the flesh the vexations of the mynde the paynes of hell when these could make him vtter no other wordes but Father as thou wylt so leâ— it bee done what hope what faith did he surely build on that his obedience was precious in the sight of his father This example is our instruction We know then best howe we loue the Lorde when wee feele by experience what we wyl suffer for his sake It is an easy thing to be valiant before the combate or to dreame of a good courage before the hart be tried but indeede to bee vnshaken in the mydst of the tempest and to stand vpryght when the ground vnder thee doth tremble this is to know assuredlye thou art strong in deede and to say with boldnes thou shalt neuer bee moued This our Sauiour Christ might throughly glory of The heauen earth and elementes they were all his enemies his Father in whoÌ„ hee trusted shewed hym an angrye countenaunce He that fainteth not but crieth styl Thy wyll be done O Father he may be bold of his obedience there is no creature can make him falsifie his faith If this be the fruite of our afflictions the Apostle speaketh not without great occasioÌ„ Accompt it for an exceding ioy wheÌ„ ye fall into sundrye troubles For what can bee more ioyfull vnto the soule that is oppressed then to haue this in experience the neither heigth nor deapth shall remoue hym from the Lord. The glory of Abraham was exceding great wheÌ„ he had sealed it with practise that hee would forsake hys country and his kinred and his fathers house at the commauÌ„dement of God to go whether he wold shew him Then he knew by good proofe he was made worthy of Christ wheÌ„ hee could forsake Father Mother house land and all thinges to come vnto him The patience of Iob was not throughlye knowen tyll all hys goodes were spoyled and he left exceeding â—are in that case when hee spake so boldly Naked came I out of my mothers wombe and naked shal I return againe the Lord hath geuen the Lord hath taken away as the