liberty and in freedome why doest thou call him Lord which is fastened to the crosse and crucified like thy selfe Seeing that he who should be a Lord ought to bee mighty and rich why doest thou call him Lord who was poor in his life time and naked in his death But this Prophet whō I call vpon and vnto whome I commend and commit my selfe is a mighty Lord and a king of great power seeing the son lost his light for compassion the stones broke with griefe the vaile rent in sunder for a mystery the graues opened with feare and the Centurion confessed him to be Christ O great God of Israel O great Lord of the house of Iacob◠for this cause thy name is admirable and worshipped in all the circuit of the earth because thy power and dominion is doubled and redoubled more than any mans in the world Cassiodorus noteth vpon this matter That the holy scripture doth neuer call any twise Lord Lord but Christ alone because he alone and none with him is Lord of heauen and earth of life and death body and soule and of peace and warre Wee cannot call Hector the Troian Anchises the Grecian Alexander the Macedonian and Caesar the Romane Lord more than once because they were kings onely of their owne kingdomes but vnto the sonne of God wee say twise Domine domine noster Lord our Lord because his siegnory is so great that no man is able to limit it nor set any bonds vnto it Euery other Prince hath his kingdome limited and set with bonds either to the top of a steeple or couering of a house and if it bee not so let him send a post from thence vpward and hee shall perceiue that his kingdome reacheth no higher which cannot be said to be true of the sonne of Gods Empire seeing it goeth from one end of the world vntill the other and reacheth vp vnto the highest heauen Considering that Dauid calleth Christ Lord Lord twise why doth he call him only once Lord. The mystery of this mystery is that Dauid called him Lord Lord twise because hee should keepe his body from his enemies and cary his soule vnto those which are blessed but the good theefe did call him but once Lord because his intention was not that Christ should keepe his life but only that hee would vouchsafe to saue his soule Why doest thou thinke sayth S. Basil vpon the Psalme that Dauid said vnto our Lord Lord calling him twife Lord but because he was Lord of the truth and of the figure of the church and of the synagogue of the Prophets and of the Apostles and of the old Testament and of the new The good theefe would not call Christ Lord twise because hee would let vs vnderstand that the figure is fulfilled and the truth come that the church is come and the synagogue ended that the Prophets are dead and the Apostles succeeded in their place that the old law is buried and the Gospel proclaimed Why think you doth the good theef call Christ Lord but once but because we haue but one Lord to beleeue one redeemer to worship To say once Christ remember me was to say that hee would haue him and no other for a master to serue for God in whō he would beleeue for his Lord whom hee would obey for a friend whome hee would trust vnto for an aduocate in whose hands he would put himselfe into The second word which the theefe said vnto Christ was Remēber me as if he would say Seeing that I doe confesse thee here before all men to bee my Lord and vpon this crosse acknowledge thee to be my redeemer haue mee in remembrance my good Lord seeing I haue remēbred thee and turned vnto thee Remember me O sweet Iesus seeing thou hast created me remember me seeing thou hast redeemed mee remember mee and seeing thou hast lightened me remember mee and seeing thou hast chosen me remember me for it would auaile me very little that thou shouldest giue me light to know thee if withall thou shouldest not giue me grace to serue thee Remēber me O good Iesus because I am hard by thy side remember me because I beleeue in thee remember me because I trust in thee remember me because I hope in none but in thee and seeing I haue offered my selfe for to be thy perpetuall seruant remember I beseech thee to accept me for thine Remember mee because thou hast raised me from the dust remember me because thou hast made me a Christian remember me to make mee good and remember mee to giue mee heauen and aboue all things I beseech thee that seeing thou hast giuen thy life for me remember me that I lose not my soule O good Iesus giuer of life with my tongue I beseech thee and with my heart I aske it of thee that seeing thou doest shed thy precious bloud vpon the crosse for me remember me that it be not euilly bestowed on mee and when shall thy bloud be euilly bestowed on mee but when it is not by thee accepted for me Seeing thou hast sweat oft for me suffered most grieuous pains for me endured inspeakable persecutions for mee and hast dissembled my abominable offences what doest thou gaine O good Iesus what doest thou gaine if I lose my soule and thou the fruit of thy precious bloud Remember me O Lord seeing that in pardoning my fault and by sauing my soul thou shalt make a Christian people heauen the more enrich thy church spread abroad thy fame and exalt thy mercy Remember the sabboth day said God in the law remember the daies past said Moyses vnto God remember because my life is a wind said holy Iob remēber how I haue walked before theesaid king Ezechias when he was sick and remember me said good Ioseph when he was in prison and remember mee when thou commest into thy kingdome I say vnto thee here now crucified vpō the crosse What should I say O the light of my life What doest thou aske me that I haue not giuen thee and what doe I possesse that is not thine I haue already giuen my money to the iailor my coats to the hang man I haue salne out with my companion who iniuried thee I haue made the best answere that I could for thy honour and therefore I can do nothing more but say Lord remember me Domine memento mei and seeing I offer thee the confession of Miserere that vpō my knees and my eies washed with tears why shouldest thou shut the gates of thy mercy against me my confession being thus iust being condemned for a naughty person as thou art my members disiointed the one from the other like thine crucified vpon the crosse like thy selfe I beleeue faithfully in thee and commend my selfe wholly vnto thee saying Lord remember mee Lord-remember mee and I beseech thee haue pitie on me seeing that in suffering I am like vnto thee I dy for being a theefe and thou for the same cause they
goodnesse and mercie although he haue ben neuer so great a sinner so as he liue and die a Christian for seeing he pardoned those which would not bee pardoned hee will much rather pardon those which aske for pardon S. Barnard as if hee were in a maze sayth thus vnto Christ O good sauiour O my soules delight if thou wilt pardon thy death why doest thou pardon it before thou bee dead they tooke thy life from thee to the end that thou shouldest forget such a greeuous iniury done vnto thee and make no reckoning to be reuenged It is a tollerable thing to forgiue the iniury done vnto thy self but why doest thou forgiue the iniury done vnto thy sorrowfull mother and thy blessed father not calling the parties offended vnto it Thy mouth is now ready to receiue vineger thy person to be mocked thy side to bee pierced thy bodie to bee buried and yet doest thou make intercession for that wicked people Doest thou entreat for those which crucifie thee and doest thou not remember those which weepe by thee Now that thou hast pitie on the offences of the synagogue why hast thou not also compassion of the tears of thy blessed mother S. Cyprian vpon the passion of our Lord sayth All things end with thee and all forsake thee O sweer Iesus vpon the altar of the crosse sauing only thy patience with the which thou did dest suffer thy torments and thy charitie with the which thou diddest forgiue thy enemies seeing thou doest pray for those which crucifie thee entreat for those which blaspheme thee hold thy peace against those which spit on thee excuse those which accuse thee and pardon those which pardon not thee O my redeemer what a pitifull heart hast thou that considering how the Iewes themselues gaue thee licence to take reuengement on them saying Sanguis eius super nos His bloud vpon vs yet thou diddest not only not vse this libertie giuen thee but forsookest it there pardoned thy iniury O how contrary these two speeches are Sanguis eius sit super nos Let his bloud fall vpon vs and Ignosce illis Pardon them seeing that by the first the Iewes craue punishment of God and in the last Christ asketh pardon of his father for them in so much that the bloud of Christ which they asked to bee against them the son of God asketh that it may be for them What hast thou to do O good sauiour what hast thou to do with the Iews sayth Vbertinus and hangmen and torturers They goe about to condemne thee and thou to saue them they to accuse thee and thou to excuse them they to carry thee to Pilate to bee condemned and thou to thy father that they may be pardoned they to say crucifige crucifige crucifie him crucifie him and thou to say Ignosce ignosce Pardon them Pardon them At what time the son of God hanging vpon the crosse praied on one side vnto his father and on the other side the Hebrews praied Pilate there was a great conflict betwixt Gods iustice and mercie for iustice willed the praier of Sanguis eius Let his bloud fall vpon vs to be heard and contrary mercy forbad it and would haue Pater ignosce illis but in the end mercie had the vpper hand and reuengement had no part therein Whose heart saith Bonauenture would not bleed and who would not loue thee O good Iesus to see thee say to thy father my father forgiue them and not my father examine them and to see that thou doest forgiue theÌ„ without asking yeeldest vnto them without entreaty and pardonest them without amendment It is such a high mysterie sayth S. Augustine and a hidden Sacrament to see the sonne of God release iniurie with mercie and clemencie and not punish their crime with reuenge and that the praier of Ignosce illis Forgiue them preuailed against that of Sanguis eius His bloud light vpon vs that although it may well be rehearsed yet it cannot bee well comprehended and vnderstood CHAP. IIII. Of many high qualities and conditions which the praier of Father forgiue them had in it and how it is meet for vs to follow it in our praiers CVm clamore valido lachrimis efferens preces supplicatienes exauditus est pro sua reuerentâ—â— sayth the Apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrewes chap. 5. as if hee would say When the sonne of God was crucified vpon the tree of the crosse hee made many requests vnto his father with many supplications entreated him praying vnto him with a loud voice and pouring down many tears before him This praier was well heard of the eternall father and very acceptable vnto his diuine clemencie partly because hee who praied was a person worthy of great reuerence and partly because the praier which he made was founded vpon great pitie and mercie It appeareth well that he which praied was of an excellent and perfect condition and hee very mighty vnto whom he praied and that which hee praied of great merit and the manner which hee obserued in praier a perfect platforme of praier seeing that the Apostle in this place laieth down such high conditions of this praier which Christ made vpon the crosse Whereof although much be spoken yet there remaineth much more not spoken of First then he saith that Christ praied once on the crosse because he saith Cum clamore with a crie and with a high and loud voice because he saith valido strong and that with tears Cum lachrimis and that hee praied and offered his praier at the same time vnto his father and that the quality of the praier was to entreat and beseech preces supplicationes and that his praier was heard of his father at that very instant when hee made it because hee sayth exanditus est pro sua reuerentia The condition and qualitie of the praier which the sonne of God made vpon the crosse which the Apostle toucheth here is very great and worthy to bee marked and obserued with great heed and followed with great diligence for if we faile in any one of these conditions we are said rather to crie out then to pray Theophilus vpon the Apostle sayth That when the Apostle saith that the sonne of God praied with a loud voice vpon the crosse hee meaneth that hee offered and directed his praier with all his heart and with all his will vnto God only and vnto no other For to say the truth hee is said to pray aloud whose mind is not distracted and drawne into many thoughts When the Apostle saith that Christ praied aloud on the crosse and with a strong voice he letteth vs vnderstand with what a feruent desire and great deuotion he praied for there is nothing requested aloud and by crying out which is not either through abundance of loue or ouermuch griefe Both together forced Christ to crie out vpon the crosse that is the great loue he bare vnto his friends and the ouermuch paine
Christ and how he beleeued and of that which the Prophet Ieremy speaketh to this purpose TOnde capillum tuum proijce sume indirectum planctum quiae perijt fides ablata est de ore eorum said God vnto the Prophet Ieremy in the 7. chap as if hee would say O Ieremy my friend and Prophet poule the haire of thy head and then cast it vnder thy feet and weepe and bewaile the Synagogue because now there is no truth in her mouth and the faith of her Commonwealth is vtterly lost Men did neuer poule their heads in holy scripture nor rent their garments nor shed many tears but for very great disasters or pitifull accidents as for the death of Iobs childreÌ„ with all the losse of all his goods for what cause holy Iob shaued his hair rent his garmeÌ„ts cried out with loud cries It is much here to be noted and also necessary to bee known that seeing the scripture saith that the soule which committeth the sin that the selfesame shal endure the punishment why God coÌ„manded Ieremy to weepe with his eies and poule his hair for the sins which others haue committed If Israel do offend fall into the sin of idolatry how is the good Prophet Ieremy to be blamed why is he commanded to poule his hair for it cast it vnder feet Hath not euery man think you inoughto do to weep for his own sins without weeping for other mens sorrows Hugo de sancto victore answereth vnto this doubt vpon those words Defecerunt prae lachrimis oculi mei Thren 1. and saith that there is nothing more natural vnto good meÌ„ theÌ„ to weep for the sins of the wicked The charity of the good is so great the carelesnes ossinners so idle that the iust meÌ„ dofirst weepe for the sins of the wicked then they do weep for theÌ„selues O how many sinners do we see in these daies sporting laughing in the world for whose sins the iust do weep and giue themselues discipline O that it would please the God of heaueÌ„ that the heart of him who sinneth would receiue such griefe as the iust in seeing him sinne I sweare by the law of a good man that none would go to rest at night with sinne nor rise in the morning without grace Is there any day saith Cyrillus vpoÌ„ Leuit. in which a good maÌ„ doth not better himself or any moment wherin he doth not merit considering that he doth imitate the good in that which they do weep for the wicked in that they commit King Dauid did weepe for the death of his deare sonne Absolon and not only because hee was his son but because he saw him die in that euil estate The son of God wept ouer the city of Ierusalem not only because they would there kil him but because they wold neuer ameÌ„d theÌ„ of their wickednes The Prophet Ieremy did weepe very much for the captiuity of his people not so much because they were in captiuity in BabiloÌ„ as because they would not neither for that punishmeÌ„t or any thing else leaue their idolatry the great captain Iosua with all the nobles of Israel wept not because of his own life which was not long but because they saw how ingrateful the synagogue was to god The Prophet Samuel wept when king Saule came froÌ„ the conquest of Amelech not so much because God had depriued him of a kingdome but because hee had falne into such a great sinne Saint Augustine in his Confessions saith thus We do not see good men so much occupied in any thing as in drawing euill men to good life and when they can neither by entreaty nor threatning conuert them then they betake themselues to weep bitterly for them When Ieremy said Defecerunt prae lachrimis oculi mei and when Dauid said Exitus aquarum c. what else would they say but that the eies of the one of them were failed for weeping for the paines which the people endured and that the eies of the other were made a sea of teares for the great wickednesse which he saw in Israel Anselmus in his meditations saith thus O sweet Iesus O my good Lord if good men should not aid me with their holy praiers if holy men should not helpe me to weepe for my grieuous offences what would become of mee wicked and wretched creature O what infinit charity O what vnspeakable mercy saith Ierome vpon Ieremy had our Lord vpon the wicked Synagogue and alwaies hath vpon euery sinfull soule considering that he commanded the Prophet Ieremy to weep for the sins committed by her as though they were his own Wherfore thinkest thou doth our Lord command holy iust men to weepe for our sinnes but because he knoweth better then we our selues that if we haue power to fall into sins yet that we cannot lift ourselues out of them without his grace license Who then is able to obtaine vs this grace but he who is in state of grace It is to be noted that in Ieremies weeping our Lord commanded him first to poule his he are then cast it and tread it vnder his feet and that then hee should weepe ouer them of all which things there is none which wanteth a secrete and a mystery What other things are the superfluou heares in the head but the vaine and light cogitations which are in the mind When he saith That the oftner our heare is pouled and shaued the more they encrease grow what meaneth hee else but that filthy and vnclean thoughts the more they are suppressed and kept vnder the faster they grow vpon vs What doth he else mean when he commandeth Ieremy not to pul vp his hear by the root but only poule it but only that if we be able to resist vncleane thoughts yet wee are not able wholly to subdue them and pull them vp The roots of the heare remaine alwaies in the head and the rootes of vaine desires continue alwaies in the soule if our Lord dooth permit this it is because wee should haue matter wherevpon to exercise our selfe in and occasion to merit the more Then we do pâ—â—â— vp our euill cogitations wheÌ„ we throw them out of our hearts then we spurn theÌ„ with our feet when we return no more to thinke vpon them and then we weepe with all our heart when we repent that euer wee consented vnto them O how happy should I be if I could shaue the superfluous thoughts of my heart could kick at the disordinate desires of my mind could weepe the times which I haue euilly spent for in the latter day wee shall giue as strait an account of the times which we haue euilly spent as of the offences which we haue committed Speaking more particularly seeing that God coÌ„manded the Prophet Ieremy to poul his head as if he had ben a simple man kicke at that which he had pouled weep many tears it is conuenient now that
Nathan the Prophet vnto Dauid the great Prophet Esaias vnto Manasses his holy Prophet Ieremy vnto King Ozias the Prophet Daniel vnto Balthasar and the Satiricall Prophet Helias vnto king Achab. The sonne of God sent a greater imbasie and greater Embassadours vnto the theefe than God the father did vnto the Kings seeing that vnto the theefe which was crucified on the crosse with him he sent no other embassador than himselfe so by this meanes the embasie and the Embassador were all one thing Was it not think you the selfesame thing seeing that it was Christ which sent the message the selfesame Christ which carried it Origen in an Homilie sayth thus The greatest message that euer came from heauen into the world was that of the incarnation and the next vnto it was that which Christ did vnto the good theefe insomuch that by the comming of the sonne of God the gate of glory was opened and in the promise made vnto the good theefe the possession of it was taken The embasie which Iohn Baptist brought vs was that the kingdome of heaueÌ„ was at hand but the good theef saith not that he is neer vnto heauen but that he is within heauen S. Iohns was a great embasie when he said Behold the lambe of God which taketh away the sinnes of the world but that of the theeues was better wheÌ„ he said Behold him here who hath already redeemed the world The embasie that Samuel brought vnto Dauid was good wheÌ„ as of a shepheard he annointed him king but the embasie which Christ did vnto the good theef was farre better because that there passed almost fourty years betwixt the time that the kingdome was promised vnto Dauid and the time that it was deliuered vnto him but the theef had his kingdome promised him at two of the clock in the afternoone and was giuen him presently toward night The reward for bringing thee news of such a great embasie as that of Christs was that is the promise of glory he would let no man haue but he would win it himself insomuch he who promised glory gaue glory was the glory it self O good Iesus redeemer of my soule dost thou well see that in promising glory Paradise that thou doest promise nothing but thy self what meaneth this O good Iesus what meaneth this Dost thou trust malefactors coÌ„meÌ„d thy self vntorouers offer thyself vnto sinners coÌ„mit thy self vnto theeues If thou thinkest thy selfe ouercharged with this theefe giue him the Prouince of Achaia giue him part of Assyria giue him the kingdome of Palestine giue him the monarchy of Asia for in giuing him as thou doest giue him thy selfe if thou were not God as thou art it would seeme that thou shouldest preiudice many Is there any other Paradise but to enioy thee is there any other glory than to see thy face is there any greater contentment than to be in thy company is there any goodnesse but that which commeth from thy hands This day thou shalt bee with me in Paradise where thou shalt see me face to face enioy my essence dwell with my person haue the fruition of my glory thy death shall die and thy life shall rise againe This day thou shalt bee with mee in Paradise where thou shalt be alwaies mine and I will be thine where thou shalt serue mee and where I will loue thee without end where thou shalt leaue sinning and I neuer cease to doe thee good This day thou shalt bee with mee in Paradise where thou shalt see ioy without sorrow health withour griefe life vvithout death light vvithout darkenesse company vvithout suspition plenty vvithout want and glory without end This day thou shalt bee with mee in Paradise where youth doth neuer waxe old old age doth neuer appeare beauty neuer fadeth health neuer decaieth ioy neuer waxeth lesse griefe is neuer felt no vvailing euer heard nosorrow euerseene and death feareth nor This day thou shalt bee with mee in Paradise where thou shalt go from the goulfe to the â—â—auen from the battaile to the triumph from the streame to the spring from darkenesse vnto light from vvaâ—â— to vvealth from a dreame vnto the truth from faith to hope from cold loue to perfect and seruent Charitie This day thou shalt bee vvith mee in Paradise vvhere thou shalt not know how to vveepe but laugh not complain but bee â—oifull nor aske but gâ—â—e not blaspheme but blesse not sigh but sing not hate but loue not mislike but praise not die but liue This day thou shalt bee â—â—th mee in Paradise vvhere thy handes shall touch that which they desiced thy eies see that thâ—â— they looked for thy eares heare that which they loued and thy heart possesse that which hee groned for This day thou shalt bee vvith mee in Parachse vvhere thou shalt nor feare the deceits of the Diuell the cockering of the flesh the vanitie of the world the ambushes of thy enemies the suddaine passions vvhich fall out euery day the necessity of euery hour nor yet the anxiety and griefe of mind This day thou shalt bee vvith mee in Paradise vvhere there is no night which is darke nor day which decreaseth no rough Winter nor troublesome Summer no cold to freeze thee no heat to distemper thee no famine to weaken thee no thirst to make thee drie no death to make thee afraid nor life which shall haue any end O my soule O my heart wilt thou not tell mee vvhat thou doest thinke vpon or what thou doest contemplate on seeing thou hearest not this which is spoken doest thou not marke vvho speaketh it nor vnto vvhom hee speaketh it nor doest thou regard vvhere it is spoken Hee vvho speaketh is the sonne of God hee vvith vvhom hee speaketh is a theefe that which he sayth is that he promiseth Paradise the place vvhere hee speaketh is the Mount of Caluary the houre vvhen hee speaketh is at the point of death and those before whome hee speaketh is the vvhole Synagogue Is it possible that an imbasie accompanied vvith these many circumstances should not bee new and heard For in Scripture there is nothing necessary that is not full 〈◊〉 mystery Certainly this was a very new thing seeing that Christ neuer had this word Paradise in his mouth not from the time of his incarnation vntill the last houre that hee departed out of this world and then hauing no other there but the theefe which bare him company at that time he promised him Paradise O my soule if thou wilt haue part in Paradise behold vvhat a one the sonne of God is vvho giueth it and behold vvhat hee doth vnto the theefe vnto vvhom hee gaue it and as thou diddest see vvhat they doe so doe thou force thy selfe to doe the like O my soule O my heart doest thou not see that our Lord who giueth Paradise is vpon the crosse and that the theefe vnto whom heauen 〈◊〉 giuen is also vpon the crosse therefore that the crucified doth nor giue
Barnard sayth If this that is said Cumipso sum in tribulatione be not performed in thee thinke with thy self that thou doest not suffer that tribulation for Christ but for thy friend and thy selfe and therfore in that case let him help and succour thee for whome thou doest suffer that danger If thou doe not make reckoning of Christ nor thinke on him nor suffer for his sake what hath Christ to doe with thy paint and trauaile If thou do suffer for the flesh let the flesh help thee if thou suffer for the world let the world deliuer thee if thou suffer for thy friend let thy friend giue thee aid if thou doe suffer for Christ to Christ commend thy selfe for if thou doe serue others what reason is it that thou shouldst ask fauour of him Saint Basil sayth What friend had God at any time whom hee forgot or in what tribulation did hee euer see him when hee helped him not Gregory in his Register sayth Hee who did not forget Noe in the floud nor Abraham in Chaldea nor Lot in Sodome nor Isaac in Palestine nor Iacob in Assyria nor Daniel in Babilon doest thou think that he will forget thee in thy affliction and tribulation Remigius sayth If this promise of Cum ipso sum in tribulatione bee not kept with thee thinke that our Lord dooth it either for thy greater profite or his owne seruice for the greater the tribulation is which thou endurest the more thou doest merite for thy soule and if it be not for this cause it is because thou shalt fall into some greater danger from the which our Lord doth keepe his holy hand and diuine succour to deliuer thee And because that the curious Reader may not thinke that wee swarue from our purpose it is to bee noted that the Prophet Helius whose figure we handled was beset with three grieuous persecutions that is with the warre which was in Iury with the famine which was ouer all the land and with Iezabels hatred He durst not preach for feare of the Queene hee durst not goe abroad for feare of the warre hee durst not hide himselfe for feare of famine and hunger in so much that this holy Prophet was so much without hope of remedy that he knew not whether hee should haue his throat cut openly or whether he should die for hunger secretly Our Lord therefore to fulfill his promise Cum ipso sum in tribulatione tooke him out of Iury vnwitting to the souldiors and did hide him in Carith where no man could see him and sent him meat by crowes to feed on and did prouide him a streame of water to drinke of Wee may gather by this example what a good Lord wee haue and what care hee hath ouer vs if wee serue him seeing that hee doth pay vs for all wee doe and succour vs for all that we suffer for him To come now vnto the purpose all this figure was fulfilled in Christ at the foot of the letter for as Heliac was persecuted by Iezabel so was Christ of the Synagogue and Christ found as great a famine of good men as Helias did in Samaria of victuals Hugo de sancto victore sayth vpon those words of Ieremy Paruuli petierunt panem The bread which the little ones cried for to ear and the lamentation which Ieremy made because there was no man to giue it him was not vnderstood of the materiall bread which was woont to bee in the arke but of spirituall bread wherewith the soules are fed and to say that there was no man found to giue it them was as much as to say that there was no good man left to preach vnto them Chrisostome in an Homily sayth In Commonwealths well gouerned the want of a good man is greater than the famine of bread and wine because we haue seene that God hath sent a famine for the demerits of one man alone and after abundance for one good mans sake alone Ambrose sayth Famine warre and pestilence are much to bee feared in naughty Commonwealths and where there are no good persons for although our Lord doth suffer them to come for a time yet he doth not consent that they should long time endure What goodnesse haue Commonwealths in them if they haue no good men in thē And what want they if they doe not want good men Saint Augustine in his Confessions sayth When I hear a knill rung for the dead my soule is presently driuen into a perplexity whether I should weepe first for the good which die or the bad which liue because there is as great reason that we should weepe for the life of the bad as for the death of the good Now that we haue prooued that the want famine of good men is more dangerous in a city than a dearth of victuals who doth doubt but that the scarsenesse which Christ sound in the Synagogue was greater than that which Helias found in Palestine What good thing or what good man could there be in the Synagogue where the Viceroy Pilate was a Tyrant the famous high Priest Caiphas a Symoniacle the maisters the Pharisies Hypocrites and the counsellours the Sadduces Heretikes and their kings and Prophets all ended The sonne of God did kill this hunger when hee gaue the world a church for a Synagogue Apostles for Prophets a law of loue for a law of feare a new Testament for an old the spirit for the letter the truth for the figure and his holy grace for our old offence What would haue become of vs if Christ had not left so many good men in his church Hee left vs many Martyrs many confessours many virgines many doctors in so much that when Christ died although hee left not the vvorld many bookes to read in yet hee left vs many Saints to follow The figure sayth further that Helias went to hide himselfe in the water-brooke of Carith which was a figure that the sonne of God should come to take flesh and hide himselfe in the entralls of the Virgines wombe and as it was figured in Helias so it was accomplished in Christ because that vnder his humanity vvhich hee tooke vpon him hee did hide his diuinity which hee carried with him When the Prophet Esayas said Verè tues deus absconditus hee knew well that God would hide himselfe for a time and remoue himselfe from their eies seeing that the catholicke Church did acknowledge him and the vnhappy Synagogue was vngratefull vnto him Recede hinc absconde te in torrentem Carith the eternall Father spake these words vnto his precious sonne as if hee had said vnto him Goe my sonne goe and hide thy selfe in the world because thou maist redeeme the world Where thou shalt hide thy power because thou maist suffer thou shalt hide thy wisedome because they may mock thee thou shalt hide thy prudence because they may take thee to bee vnwise thou shalt hide thy iustice because they are to iudge thee like a blasphemer
is which put him into a fright what garbish he tooke from him what skin he stripped him of what is the flesh which hee broiled what is the heart which hee tooke out of him what the liuer and vvhat the gaule which hee kept Although wee speake but a word on euery word yet this seemeth to bee a figure full of great secrets To come then to the point who is Tobias who goeth to recouer his fathers goods but onely all mankind who goeth euery day a iourney to recouer the grace which his father Adam lost Dum sumus in seculo peregrinamur ad dominum sayth the Apostle As long as vvee liue in this mortall vvorld no man can say that hee hath a dwelling place or neighbour but onely that hee is a pilgrime and a way-faring man and the end of our iourney and pilgrimage is to seeke for the grace vvhich our first father lost vs and the glory which our eternall father promised vs. Then wee say a man is a pilgrime when he maketh no abode any where but goeth on and staieth no longer in a place than hee can get necessaries for his iourney If vvee aske a man what hee doth it is an ordinary answere to say that hee either plaieth or doth his businesse or some such like which in truth is not so but his better answere is to say that he wasteth and consumeth himselfe and that he is a dying for a mans life goeth away in playing and labouring Seneca sayth Doth not thy life thinkest thou goe away seeing that euery houre thy life is an houre shorter and euery day a day shorter Saint Augustine vpon the Apostles words sayth If a man be asked how old he is or what yeares hee hath he is wont to answere either thirty or fortie or such like which is cleane contrary vnto that which hee should answere for hee should not say he hath so many yeares but that he wanteth so many yeares for if he haue any years at all it bee those which hee looketh for for as for those which are past they are now none of his The Philosopher saith that De tempore non habemus nisi Nunc Whereby hee meaneth that wee haue no time but the present moment because that the time past is already gone and the time to come is vncertain Cicero de senectute sayth What hath a man that hath liued an hundred yeares but only time lost a grieued heart a weary body smal help a loathing life a vading credite and death at his gates O how well the Apostle sayth As long as wee bee in this world Peregrinamur ad dominum seeing that by how much the more wee increase in age so much the more vvee decrease in life And to say the truth to die young or to die old is nothing else but to come to our Inne betimes or late Remigius sayth The Apostle doth call vs pilgrimes and strangers with great reason because he seeth that we haue no goods in this world which are proper to our selues for if euery man would leaue that which were another bodies for a certaine he should be left very naked For sayth Alchimius the Philosopher if the sheep should take thy garments from thee the kine thy shoes the worms thy silke the earth thy linnen the vines thy wine the corne thy bread the trees their fruit the fountaynes their waters tell mee I pray thee of thy selfe and by thy selfe what shouldst thou haue what shouldest thou be worth or what shouldest thou bee able to doe Horace sayth to this purpose Be not prowd like a lion nor exasperate thy selfe like an ounce for if euery one would take from thy house person that which is his there would be no liuing creature more base thā thou seeing that thou hast neither industry to maintaine thy selfe nor weapons to defend thy selfe Wee haue said all this to proue that if Tobias was a pilgrime wee are also pilgrimes But alas alas hee is accompanied with the good Angel who keepeth him and we compassed with a thousand enemies vvhich besiege vs. Doe not wee trow you take our voiage beset with a thousand perils and hindered with as many troubles considering that the deuill doth tempt vs the flesh molest and prouoke vs the world deceiue vs friends faile vs our heart sorroweth our health decaieth and our life daily shorteneth The figure sayth that as Tobias went on his iourney the fish came to the bancke to swallow him vp whereof in the end hee receiued more profite than feare insomuch that by the same fish of vvhich hee thought hee should haue beene deuoured his father receiued remedy What was that great fish of which Tobias thought he should haue been deuoured but only the sonne of the eternall God vvhen he came to redeeme the vvorld The fish vvas bred in the bottome of the riuer and the sonne of God was borne in the bosome of the eternall Father and how deepe soeuer the riuer Tygris vvas yet the sea of the diuine essence is farre more deeper Augustine in his booke of the Trinity sayth Wilt thou see how much more deeper the eternity of the Father and of his sonne is than the sea For it is possible to empty the sea for all his greatnesse but for the secrets of the holy Trinity it is impossible fully to vnderstand The fishe comming out of the vvater droue young Tobias into a great feare but Christ caused a greater feare when hee came into the vvorld seeing the Angels bowed themselues the kings adored him the starres vvere changed the Iewes were mooued and the deuils vvere aseard The feare vvhich the fish put Tobias in continued but halfe an houre but the fear which Christ put the vvorld in dureth vntill this day for being afeard and amazed the Iews and Pagans cannot yet persuade themselues that Christ should be the God whō they should beleeue in and the Lord which shall iudge them When that fish went out of the riuer to the bancke of two which were there present the one which was the Angel knew him the other which was Tobias was afeard and euen so in like maner when the sonne of God came downe from heauen vnto the earth the Synagogue was scandalized and the church receiued him in so much that according vnto old Simeons prophecie this diuine fish came to the shore of the world for the resurrection of the good and the scandale of the wicked Praeparauit dominus piscem grandem vt deglutiret Ionam sayth the holy Scripture Ionas 2. As if hee would say At the very instant when the cruell Marriners did cast the Prophet Ionas into the bottome of the sea immediately our Lord prepared a great fish which swallowed him aliue and which kept him in his bowels safe and sound As before wee met with Tobias and his fish so now wee haue lighte vpon Ionas and his fish whereof the one was greatly afeard and the other swallowed vp by reason whereof wee must seeke out some
that Christ had vpon the crosse was not so much for drinke as to desire to suffer more for vs. EXpergefactus lassus adhuc sitit anima eius vacua est Esay chap. 29. The Prophet Esay vttereth these words speaking in generall of the great trauails and most greiuous thirst which the sonne of God suffered in particular and it is as if he would say The great Messias waked out of his sleepe like vnto a man who had escaped out of a lithargy or some drousie disease whē he beheld the state of his soule he found that she was empty For the Prophet to say that the sonne of God slept vpon the crosse and that after he waked and was weary and found his heart empty seemeth a strange and a doubtfull thing vnto pittifull eares For if it be true that hee suffered how was it possible that he slept and if he slept how could it be that he suffered What is more strange vnto torment than sleepe and what a greater enemy to sleepe than torment Considering that the sonne of God hanged vpon the altar of the crosse his feet bare his hands torne his side pierced his sinews wrested and his bones put out of ioint how could it bee that he should sleepe or take any rest at all He who should hang vpon the crosse as Christ did that is weary wasted bloudy nailed and one ioint drawn from another would he not haue greater ability and inclination to complaine than desire of sleepe The Prophet vttereth foure things in this prophecie the first that Christ did awake out of a sleepe and dreame which he slept the second that he awaked aweary the third that hee awaked thirsty the fourth that hee found his heart empty Of all these foure things the one doth make vs most of all to maruell for to say that Christ was aweary I beleeue it to say that he was a thirst I agree vnto it and that he wanted all comfort I do also admit But to say that he slept there is that which maketh me to wonder because his eternall Father did not send him thither to sleepe but to redeem all the world It is much to bee noted in this place that the famous Augustine sayth against Manichaeus Saepè imo saepissimè in sacris literis circumstantiae scripturarum declarant Scripturam as if he would say It happeneth oftentimes that when the Scripture is darke and obscure that the circumstances before going and comming after doe declare and explain the same Scripture and one Prophet doth declare another and one text another This then being so it is conuenient for vs to find out in Scripture some kind of sleepe and by that we may coniecture and gesse at the manner of sleeping which the son of God slept vpon the crosse and also wee shall know when how and wherefore Christ did awake out of his sleepe Excitatus est tanquam dormiens dominus tanquam potens crapulatus vino sayth the Prophet Dauid Psalm 77. as if he would say Our Lord did awake out of his dreame like a man that is sleeping and hee rose out of that dreame like a man full of power and like vnto one who had drunke wine It is a verefied truth in our Christian faith that God is a pure spirit and a substance not compounded but simple which hath no flesh which may putrifie nor bones which may be brokē nor hunger which may cause him to eat nor stomack to disgest with nor vapours to ascend and prouoke him to sleepe nor yeares to make him old If it bee true that there is no time which can make God old nor meat which can force him to sleepe is it not also true that his sleepe is otherwise to be vnderstood than ours and that he awaketh in another manner than we doe When the Philosopher sayth That sleep is the image of death what else doth he mean but that a man which sleepeth is nothing else but an image of a dead man Mark well the conditions of a dead man and thou shalt find the same in one which sleepeth for he who is in his bed asleepe and hee who is in his graue can neither speake nor heare nor vnderstand those which call vpō them nor feele those which touch them nor offend those which abuse them nor complaine on those which blaspheme them nor reuenge on those which hurt them Who will not say that our Lord dooth not sleepe this kind of sleep seeing we see that in naughty men he doth dissemble their ambition the blasphemies which they speak the adulteries which they commit the incests they go about and the malice which they thinke What is sleepe in a man but to haue all his members at rest And what else is sleeping in our Lord but the suspending of his vengeance and punishment The wicked men thinke that because our Lord doth suffer them to liue in the world and not punish thē that therefore he is asleep that he hath no care ouer the things of this world which is an errour without all doubt for they must know if they know it not that that which wee call in a man sleeping is called in God dissembling Vpon those words of the Prophet Dormitauerunt omnes S. Ambrose sayth Our Lord doth winke at the naughtinesse of wicked men not because he hath a desire that they should sinne but because he hopeth that they should amend which if they doe not the Lord awaketh for their wickednes and laieth his heauy hand ouer thē Whē is our Lord seen to awake out of his sleep but whē he laieth his hand ouer the naughty mā doth chastise him for his errour Euen as whē one will giue another a great blow the higher he doth lift his hand the greater stroke hee doth giue him in the self same sort the longer time our Lord doth stay and wait for the wicked the more rigorously and with lesser pity he doth punish him Whereof thinkest thou doth it proceed that God doth awake to punish thy sinne but because he doth see thee sleepe so long time in sinne Isidorus saith Wilt thou see curious reader that our Lords casting himselfe to sleepe is nothing else but to dissemble at our faults and that to awake is nothing else in him but to begin to punish thy sinne thou maiest perceiue it by that that as the Prophet had said Excitatus est tanquam dormiens hee added immediately Etpercussit eos in pectora eorum What other thing doth the Prophet say vnto vs by these words but that at the selfe same time houre and moment that the Lord did awake out of his sleepe he did put his rigorous hand ouer the Princes of the Gentiles Looke well vnto it my brother looke well vnto it and be not deceiued and if thou think that our Lord is asleepe hath no regard of thy doings take thou heed for it is the temptation of the diuell and that none of the least with the