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
said presently vnto him Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise The naughty theefe did not deserue to haue an answere at Christs hands neither soon nor late partly because it was the sonne of Gods custome not to answer those which did iniury him nor esteeme of those which bare false witnesse against him and partly to aduise vs that it is a point of great discretion not to set by iniurious words Vbertinus saith Why should Christ heare what the naughty theefe would aske him or make account of it seeing that he knew very wel that if he would haue beene loosed it was to steale againe and in stealing againe they would hang him againe In that that Christ would not answere vnto the naughty theefe nor yeeld vnto his petition hee vsed a new kind of clemency toward him to wit that he hindered him froÌ„ sinning any more and froÌ„ augmenting his damnation for if Christ should haue taken him from the crosse and hee haue returned againe into the world by how much the more he would haue augmeÌ„ted his sinne by so much the more he should haue encreased his punishment S. Augustine vpon S. Iohn sayth That our Lord shewed his mercy and pity toward both the theeues vnto the good one in giuing him glory to the naughty one in denying him life for if he had liued longer he would haue sinned more and according to the measure of his offences his torments should haue beene giuen him S. Gregory saith That if our Lord doe for vs that which wee aske wee ought to reioice and if he deny vs that which wee aske him wee must not complaine for if our Lord would haue giuen the sonnes of Zebedet the kingdome which they required and vnto the naughty theefe the life which hee craued it had beene vnto their great confusion and also damnation And because that in these words Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso there are contained seuen words as we haue noted heretofore it shall not bee amisse if that vpon euery word we speake one word because the curious Reader may see how wisely the theefe dealt and how profoundly Christ did answer him The first word which Christ spake vnto the theefe was Amen that is I sweare to thee in truth which word Amen was in the old Testament very famous and much set by and in the mouth of the sonne of God much vsed insomuch that the Synagogue did profit herselfe with that word to confirme that which she sware Christ vsed the same word to sweare that which he spake In monte Hebal stabunt Ruben Gad Asser Zabulon Dan Nepthalim ad malediceâ—dum populum respondebit omnts pepulus Amen said the Lord vnto Moises in the 28 chapter of Genesis as if hee would say It is my will and pleasure O Moyses that sixe Princes of Israel that is Ruben and Gad and Asser and Zabulon and Dan and Nepthalim goe vp vnto the highest of the hill Hebal and from thence they shall begin aloud to curse all the transgressors of my law and in the end of euery curse all the people shall answere Amen When the six princes were come to the top of the hill Hebal they began to curse those which brake the law in this manner Accursed be that man which dare make strange Gods to worship and giue honour vnto them although they be of gold and siluer let all the people say Amen Cursed bee the sonne or daughter which will not honour his father and his mother and let all men say Amen Cursed bee that man which iesting at a blind man shall put his foot before him to make him fall and shall set him out of the way to make him erre and let all the people say Amen Cursed be the man which will take money to kill his neighbour by treason and craft and let all say Amen Cursed bee the iudge who either through hatred or gaine which hee may pretend giueth a wrong iudgement against a widdow and oppresse the orphane and not ease a stranger and let all the people say Amen You may then see that this word Amen was a word of feare and of great rigour seeing that it was vsed to confirme their curses which they did cast vpon the people and not the blessings which they gaue them It is to bee noted that God commanded Moyses the same day to goe vp vnto the top of the hill Garisim with six Princes with him to blesse all those which would keepe his commandements but hee did not command them in the end of their blessing to say Amen as hee did in the end of his curse The synagogue was not worthy of this priuiledge because God kept it for his church which is seene by the promise which Christ made vnto the good theefe wheÌ„ he said Amen I say vnto thee this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise in so much that Christ began to blesse the chosen of his church with the same word that the synagogue ended her curse against the transgressors of the law This word Amen sayth Vbertinus which did serue in the synagogue for a curse doth serue now in the vniuersall Church for a blessing the which word the sonne of God had alwaies in his mouth when hee promised any great matter or spake any high secret Christ did so well like this word Amen truly that his Euangelists and Chroniclers doe affirme that hee vsed it fifty and fiue times and S. Paul in his Epistles eighteen times and it is vsed in the Apocalips also fiue times and in the canonicall Epistle three times S. August vpon S. Iohn saith That the sonne of God was not content to say once Amen but he did ofteÌ„times double the word saying Amen Amen truly truly giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that he did not only speake the truth in that which he spake but also that he was the truth it selfe There is no Angell nor man saith Remigius which can say Amen Amen for although they speake the truth in all that they speake yet it doth not follow that they be the truth it selfe because God did not impart this high priuiledge vnto any but his onely sonne who by speciall grace said Ego sum via veritas vita I am the way and the truth and life Christ did not say I know which way the way goeth but said I am the way for in troth he who is not guided by Christ shal misse the way to heauen Nor Christ said not I giue life but said I am the life because that in the house of God they call it not to liue vnlesse they liue well neither doe they say that man to liue which is not a good man nor Chirst did not say I speake the truth in that which I say but said I am the very truth for euen as the deuill is a bottome without bottome from whence all lies doe proceed so the sonne of God is a fountaine from
whence all truths doe spring Benedictio honor gloria potestas in secula seculorum quatuor animalia dicebant Amen Apocalips 5. said the Angels in praise of our Lord as if they would say Let honour glory power and blessing be giuen vnto our God and vnto the lambe his son for euer and euer and the foure beasts answered Amen Also S. Iohn said in the 7. chapter That he saw a company of Saints before God which were so many in number that they could not bee numbred and so many Angels also that they could not be numbred clothed with stoles palmes in their hands and prostrate vpon the ground which said no other thing in the praise of God but Amen Amen Amen O what great mysteries and deepe secrets are contained vnder this holy word Amen seeing we find it in the old Testament and that Christ vsed it and the Angels in heauen praise Christ with it and the church also doth euery vvhere profite her selfe vvith it Doth shee not profite her selfe vvith it seeing that in the end of euery praier shee doth confirme it with Amen Vnto World without end we answere Amen vnto Who liueth and raigneth vve answer Amen vvith this holy vvord the sonne of God began to pardon and vvith the same vvord the church endeth her praier Rupert vpon the Apocalips saith That this vvord Amē is neither Greek nor Latine nor Chaldey but Hebrew and although this word might haue beene turned as other vvordes vvere yet the church did not thinke it conuenient but as Christ said Amen so doth the church say likewise Amen Why did the son of God saith Chrisost begin the pardō which he gaue the good theefe with this word Amen dico tibi but only to assure him that he would fulfill all which he promised him Seeing that it is a custome first to promise that which wee will giue or do and then to sweare and affirme it why did the sonne of God do the contrary swear before he promised the theefe Paradise For when Christ said vnto the theefe Amen dico tibi it was as much as to say I sweare in truth and why would God swear that which he promised and would not be beleeued at his word Cyprian vpon the Passion saith That because that which Christ promised was such a great matter to wit Paradise and he vnto whom he promised such a grieuous sinner who was a theefe he who promised of such small credite who was a man crucified and the place where he promised so infamous which was the crosse and the people before whom he promised so vile who were the Iewes the sonne of God would swear first before he promised If Christ did swear it was not because there was any want in his word but because the synagogue should the better beleeue him August vpon S. Iohn saith That if the son of God would not haue sworn the performance of so great a gift it would haue seemed vnto the Iewes that he had promised it him in a mockage so much the rather because that vntil that very instāt in which Christ said on the crosse Hodie mecum eris in Paradise he neuer gaue it vnto Saint nor promised it in scripture If Christ had not sworn that which he promised who would not haue thought that he had iested in promising credit honor vnto him who had lost his credit to promise life vnto him who was dead liberty vnto him who was bound riches vnto him who was poore and glory vnto him who was infamous Because the Iewes obstinacy was so great and the good theeues faith but yong and weake good Iesus would sweare before hee promised that which he meant to promise because al men might be certain that he who at the point of death confirmed any thing by oth ought neuer to deceiue CHAP XIII How the sonne of God neuer vsed this word Paradise vntill he promised it vnto the good theefe and of many learned expositions of this saying Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso This day thou shalt be with mee in Paradise NOn frustra dixi semini Iacob quaerite me quia ego sum dominus loquens iustitias annunciansrecte said God by Esay chap. 48 as if hee would say I said not in vain vnto old honourable Iacob that he should speak with me alone beleeue in no other because I am the Lord who can say nothing but that which is iust nor demand nothing but that which is holy As God is iust saith Ierome hee sayth nothing but that which is iust and as he is holy he speaketh nothing but holy things because other men besides him neither tell vs aright what wee haue to doe nor aduise vs in time of that which we are to auoid All out friends and counsellors when they doe aduertise vs of any thing doe seeme rather to goe by guesse than bee sure of that which they say and by that means they giue vs counsell after we haue receiued hurt and teach vs the way after that wee haue gone astray God sayth very well that Iacob heard him not in vaine neither did Israel that in vaine which he commanded him seeing that he gaue him the right of the first birth due to Esau and made him sonne in law vnto Laban and gaue him Lia and Rachel for his wiues and made him father of twelue children and Prince ouer twelue tribes O how true it is saith Origen when our Lord saith that hee speaketh nothing but that which is iust and teacheth nothing but that which is right seeing hee maketh those iust who deale with him and maketh those holy who doe conuerse with him And if he say that the obstinate men and naughty be his yet he will not say that hee is one of their number What can the children of vanity tell vs but vain things and what can the children of lies tell vs but lies Who is loiall and faithfull vnto him whome hee hareth or whom commodity draweth awry It is our Lord onely who giueth vs our sight to see with and teacheth vs which way we should goe and taketh away the stones least wee stumble at them and giueth vs counsell in all that wee haue to doe Our Lord saith very well that hee is the Lord who speaketh iustice and righteousnesse for there hath been no man saued vntill this day whom he hath not counselled nor no man lost whome hee hath not deceiued King Roboam who was nephew vnto Dauid and sonne vnto Salomon of twelue kingdomes which hee inherited from his predecessors lost ten of them for no other reason but because hee beleeved not our Lord in that which hee counselled him and by following other young mens humors which pleased his fancy Ieroboam and Assa and Iozias and Achab and Benedab and Manasses which were famous kings of Israel what could they do to get credit what could they doe against their enemies or wherein could they helpe their friends or how could
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