offered since the foundation of the world but now in the end of the world hath hee appeared once to put away sinne by the sacrifice of himselfe So was hee once offered to take away the sinnes of manie c. Out of the 10. to the Hebrewes For with one offering hath hee consecrated for euer them that are sanctified Out of the first Epistle of S. Peter the 3. Chap. It is better if the will of God bee so that yee suffer for well dooing than for euill doing For Christ once hath suffered for sins the iust for the vniust that he might bring vs to God and was put to death concerning the flesh but was quickened in the spirit Out of the 4 Chap. of the first of S. Peter Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for vs in the flesh arme your selues likewise with the same minde which is that hee who suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sinne that he henceforward should liue as much time as remaineth in the flesh not after the lustes of men but after the will of God Also in the 13. verse Reioyce inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christes suffering that when his glorie shall appeare ye may be glad reioyce A prayer on the death and passion of Iesus Christ O Lord my God since that this faire and goodlie Image according to which man was created was thus through sinne disfigured drawe mee neere vnto thy sonne Iesus in whome thou hast created vs as it were anewe Acknowledge in me thy worke and blot out that which is not thine Behold not that which is from me or from Satan Looke O Lorde vppon the humanitie of thy sonne to take pitie on mine infirmities Consider the punishment of the redeemer and forgiue him his sinnes whome hee hath bought againe Wherefore was it that hee who was so obedient should suffer punishment of disobedience vnlesse it were to saue vs This is he who is the good shepheard who hath brought home the straying sheepe and hath presented before thy face those that were straglers and runagates by meanes of their sinnes O good God therefore looke vppon thy deere sonne spread abroad vppon the crosse bow downe thy head to see thy poore creatures for the loue of whome thy welbeloued yeelded vp his spirit vpon the crosse and hath bowed downe his head Behold his wounded handes and forgiue the offences of our handes See his innocent side whereout ran bloud and water in the day of his passion Alas good God wilt not thou content thy selfe with so pretious and deere a paiment as was payed for our offences Behold the feete pearsed with nailes which neuer walked but in thy lawes and in thy obedience and haue compassion vpon vs which haue walked in the way of sinners O glorious passion that hast slaine our enimie Sathan and hast purchased for vs so great a friend euen the eternall God O what an exchange is made through this blessed and happie Passion when as euerlasting life is offered vnto vs in stead of eternall torment Thy sonne went downe to hell His desceding into hell and hath felt the horrour and wrath that wee had deserued to exalt vs into heauen O death where is thy strength O hell where is thy dread and feare syth Christ hath redeemed vs from both O good God grant me grace nowe that as thy sonne hath suffered for my sake so manie tormentes and rebukes that I also may patiently abide punishment for his name And as hee was stripped out of his garmentes to goe to the crosse so let me be vnclothed of these worldly cares and vncouered of my fleshly affections yea and aboue all of pride of presumption to be arayed with a true faith and with pitifull and heartie affections towardes my neighbours And euen as the same Iesus Christ did make a free confession before Ponce Pilate so likewise before all the iudges of the world yea before all men let me also confesse him when I shall haue neede Pilate the vniust O my God hath condemned the iust But thou iust Lorde haue mercie on me vniust for thy sonnes sake vniustly condemned who was hanged on a tree and made accursed that I might be blessed in him and by him granting me grace daily to die to sinne and to liue to righteousnes So be it Errors contrarie vnto the afore saide Article of Iesus Christes death They that thinke howe he hath made a shewe to suffer and hath not truely suffered in the flesh 1. Pet. 3.18 Item the Schuencfeldians that thinke that the diuine nature hath suffered because that the sonne of God hath suffered in the flesh the diuinitie being vnsufferable They that seeke other sacrifices and offeringes for sinne than the onely sacrifice of Christ once suffered on the crosse for all Philip. 3. They whose bellies is their God which are enimies to the crosse of Christ and would haue a vellot Gospell They that liue in all worldly wantonnesse not hauing anie mortification They that doe worshippe crosses of wood stone or of siluer in steede to worshippe and honour him that was crucified and in place to beare the true crosse which they doe cause the poore martyrs to carie To be short these heere tread vnder their feete the bloud of the couenaunt as it is sayde in the 10. Chap. to the Hebrewes that hauing the knowledge of the trueth doe willingly sinne neither will they amende their liues The thirde daie hee rose from the dead A prayer and meditation vppon the Lordes rising againe NOw praysed be God since that which was esteemed most to be feared of the worlde verie death is now ouercome and destroyed Praysed be the Lorde by whom death hath lost her sting and that there is no more condemnation for vs. Nowe it is that sinne is ouercome sith that Christ is risen For seeing that he was our pledge if death had yet anie power against vs it had kept our pledge But for somuch as hee is risen and was not kept in the graue wee see how hee hath destroyed death and hath brought life and immortalitie vnto light through the Gospell 2. Tim. 1. Our righteousnesse is now manifested for if the righteousnesse of Christ that was giuen and imputed vnto vs had not beene perfect hee had still beene kept by death and hell For death is the reward of sinne Romans 6. Let vs therefore reioyce for such a sauiour Rom. 4. that was dead for our sins and is risen againe for our Iustification This is the cause why the Euangelists and the Apostles haue made thereof so often mention as is to bee seene in the 2. Chap. of the Actes and in the 15. Chap. of the first to the Corinth O Lord giue vs also grace that we bee not drawen away in the desire of earthlie thinges neither yet to bee buried in worldlie cares but that being risen againe with thy sonne Iesus wee may seeke the thinges from aboue Colos 3. euen vntill such
his graces and with his mercie hee doeth crowne vs making vs there to feele it mightilie And by the same doeth blesse and exalt vs in stead of destroying vs. The fifth is that hee dooth satisfie vs and giueth vs that that is sufficient a thing that is speciall vnto the children of God For God is not a niggard in his giftes But as concerning vs the most part are neuer contented So that contentation is one of the great blessinges of the Lord. The sixt benefit is this Renewing and this commeth vnto vs by Christ in whom wee bee made newe creatures and in whom we shall receaue a new and lasting life O how then hath the soule which feeleth such benefites good cause to blesse praise the Lord. A confession and prayer out of the 9. Chap. of the Prophet Daniel WE pray thee O Lord our God which art great and fearefull and keepest couenant mercie towardes thē that loue keepe thy cōmaundementes haue mercie on vs For we haue sinned haue cōmitted iniquitie haue done wickedlie yea we haue rebelled and haue departed frō thy preceptes frō thy iudgementes For wee would not obay thy seruants the Prophets which spake in thy name to our kings to our princes to our fathers to all the people of the land O Lord righteousnesse belongeth vnto thee vnto vs open shame as appeareth this day vnto the man of Iudah and to the inhabitantes of Ierusalem because of their offences that they haue committed against thee O Lord vnto vs appertaineth open shame to our kinges to our princes and to our fathers because wee haue sinned against thee Yet compassion and forgiuenesse is in the Lord our God albeit wee haue rebelled against him and haue not harkened vnto the voyce of the Lorde our GOD to walke in his lawes which hee had layd before vs by the ministerie of his seruauntes the Prophetes Yea all Israel haue transgressed thy lawe are turned backe that they might not heare thy voyce therefore the curse is powred vppon vs that is written in the booke of Moses the seruant of God Dan. 27. because wee haue sinned against him The Lorde hath made the plague to come vppon vs for the Lorde is righteous in all his workes which hee dooth But we would not obaie his voice And now O Lorde our GOD that hast brought thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mightie hand and hast gotten thee renoume as appeareth this day wee haue sinned wee haue doone wickedlie O Lord according to all thy righteousnes I beseech thee let thine anger and thy wrath bee turned away from thy citie Ierusalem Heare now O God the prayer of thy seruant and cause thy face to shine vppon thy sanctuarie that lyeth wast for the Lordes sake O my God incline thine eare and heare Open thine eyes and behold our desolations and the citie wherevppon thy name is called For wee doe not present our supplications before thee for our owne righteousnesse but for thy great tender mercies O Lorde heare O Lord forgiue vs O Lord consider and doe it deferre not for thine owne sake for thy name is called vppon thy citie and vpon thy people A Prophecie of the forgiuenesse of sinne which is giuen to the Church by Christ Out of the 13. Chap of Zacharie verse 1. In that day there shall bee a fountaine opened to the house of Dauid and to the inhabitantes of Ierusalem for sinne and for vncleanesse This is it that S. Paul speaketh of in the 3. Chap. to Titus Wee our selues also were in times past disobedient seruing to diuers desires but when the bountifulnesse and loue of God our sauiour towardes man appeared he saued vs. Not by the workes of righteousnesse which wee haue done but according to his mercie by the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the holie Ghost which hee shed on vs aboundantlie through Iesus that wee being iustified by his grace should bee heires according to the hope of eternall life That Iesus Christ hath power to forgiue sins Out of the 9. Chap. of S. Matthew IEsus said vnto the sicke of the palsie Sonne be of good comfort thy sinnes are forgiuen thee And that ye may know that the sonne of man hath authoritie in earth to forgiue sinnes then hee said vnto the sicke of the palsie arise take vp thy bed c. MEDITATION THe greatest aduersitie to the man sicke of the palsie was not his outward palsie for as Iesus Christ did heale the sicknesse of the bodie so would hee shew that it was hee which did take away the diseases from the soule which are the most daungerous howsoeuer men care not for thē so much as for the bodilie sicknesses Health is therefore nothing and it is nothing to be deliuered out of a sicknesse if we be lying vnder the wrath of God if sinne be not forgiuē which is the cause of death and of all tormentes Now when the question is of the forgiuenesse and healing of their sinnes men are ordinarilie much distract or when they doe not consider how necessarie it is or rather when they doe seeke such a benefit there where it is not But the Lord teacheth vs what is the true Purgatorie Purgatorie A materiall fire cannot purge the soule and nothing can make cleane sinne but God onelie which is the soueraigne cleanesse as Micheah in the 7. Chap. of his prophesie and Dauid in the 130. Psalme doe attribute that vnto God as his own to tread down sinne to yeeld grace mercie to poore sinners And to the end we should be assured thereof the sonne of God is come into the world by his bloud hath reconciled vs. Hee therefore hath power to forgiue sinnes for hee is verie God He hath also right to pardon vs for he hath satisfied for vs. Now if anie would charge vs againe for our sinnes We I say which doe beleeue in Iesus it behoueth vs to cleaue vnto him forasmuch as hee is our warrant Therefore there is neither Angell nor anie other creature which hath this power but hee which is God and who hath fullie paied for our sinnes O how rightlie is his doctrine called the Gospel that is to say glad tidinges Seeing that it giueth boldnesse and comfort vnto poore sinners for so much as it calleth vs his children and considering that it declareth vnto vs the forgiuenesse of our offences which would binde vs to eternal death and all through the bloud of the Lambe that taketh away the sinnes of the world not taking them away in such sort as there is no more sinne remaining but that it might not bee imputed Iohn 1.29 Sinne how it is taken away that it might not raigne and to bee short that it might bee forgiuen Let vs therefore take heede of the Diuels temptations which is an accuser that accuseth vs and without ceasing lyeth in waite for nothing more than to throw vs downe headlong into dispaire
Therefore vnto thee O God bee eternall praise and glorie for euermore So be it Errors contrarie vnto this Article The Epicures and all those which thinke that this world is gouerned by aduenture The Manichees and others which doe establish more beginninges than one They which doe not acknowledge Gods prouidence in all thinges in the verie same thinges which seeme strange and little They which put their trust in anie other than in one onelie God They which thinke how GOD hath created some thing to ill purpose and thinke to make it more perfect than God They which abuse the creatures of God not vsing them to his glorie and with thankesgiuing And in Iesus Christ his onelie sonne our Lord. CONSIDERATION THe creation of the whole world together ioyned with a prouidence iustice and woonderfull wisdome is the first witnesse that the Articles of our beleefe doe set downe vnto vs of our GOD to the end to reuerence him and to trust in him Yet followeth there an other more wonderfull witnesse and that presenteth together vnto vs a passing goodnesse and infinite power that is to say the worke of our redemption For to redeeme and to quicken the creature that was lost and to buie him of such a price to wit with the pretious bloud of Gods euerlasting sonne and not to deliuer him onelie from bondage and death but also to communicate with him euerlasting life this is so great a woorke and so singular a benefite as no tongue can expresse nor heart can sufficientlie comprehend it Hence it is that God hath so loued the world that hee hath giuen his onelie sonne to the end that all those which beleeue in him shall not perish but haue euerlasting life Man was therefore created good perfect as it is said in the 7. Chap. of Ecclesiastes But he taried not in this happie estate But following his owne inuentions and discourses with the euill counsell of the Diuell hee was so turned from his GOD and by this meanes cast headlong into destruction as hee made himselfe and his posteritie guiltie of death and euerlasting perdition Rom. 6. For death and all the thinges belonging vnto death as are all kindes of aduersities be the reward of sinne Oseas 13. Euen so commeth our destruction of our selues For asmuch as man abusing his freewill yeelded himselfe a slaue vnto the diuell and by this meanes drew vppon him the iust vengeance of the euerlasting God O What a change and pitious alteration was this when as the Image of God was so defaced in man and that of so noble a creature hee was become vile miserable and full of sinne and filth For albeit that man was fashioned of the dust of the earth yet so was it that the spirit of God if hee had not sinned had swallowed vp that which was of the earth corruptible and had freed man of his weakenesse and putrefaction But hauing chased away from him Gods good spirit Gene. 6. hee remaineth a foule lumpe of flesh and is not now of his nature but dust and clay and his heart from his infancie altogether froward For although that there is but one GOD in whome wee doe beleeue Iesus Christ the matter that our faith onelie looketh on as S. Ierome verie well saith vppon the 4. of the Ephe. Yet so is it that the sonne which is the second person of the diuinitie who is one substance is the true obiect and foundation of our faith and not without cause Iohn 14.9 For first in beleeuing in him we doe beleeue in God because that hee is God blessed for euermore as S. Paul saith in the 9. of the Romans Secondlie hee it is of whome Moses the Prophetes and the Psalmes haue spoken and vnto whome they haue directed vs as it is also said in the 24. of S. Luke Thirdlie it is hee that the father likewise willeth that wee heare and that is the subsisting Image of the inuisible GOD Colos 1. Hebr. 1. the brightnesse of his glorie and the ingraued signe and marke of his person by whome also the father hath spoken and doone all thinges Lastlie this is the person that hath taken our nature and hee who is called Immanuel God with vs and GOD manifested in the flesh So that this is the cause why S. Paul saith that no man can lay anie other foundation than that which is laid to wit Iesus Christ and that hee woulde not know anie thing saue Christ Not that hee would not likewise know and vnderstand the Father and the holie Ghost but because that in him man knoweth all 1. Cor. 3. both the Father and the holie Ghost as it is said in the first Epistle to the Corinthians and second Chapter 1. Cor. â— And that without him wee can neither know the Father neither haue accesse vnto this light not able to bee come vnto vnlesse the Sonne giue vs both assurance and accesse Euen as Saint Paul teacheth vs in the 2. Encridion 5. Chap. Chap. to the Ephesians ver 18. And as Saint Augustine yet teacheth how manie heretiques doe speake of Iesus Christ vaunting them of his knowledge yet so it is that when a man dooth neerelie looke therein it is found that they haue onelie but the name and that they are but woordes without trueth and effect For where as they will neither speake neither yet vnderstand or teach as it behooueth concerning his Person or teach anie euill concerning his Office So is this a proper gift vnto the Christian Church to knowe with a wholesome knowledge the eternall and liuing GOD that is to say Iohn 17. to know him in Iesus Christ and to call vppon him through him holding Christ for verie God and verie man the onelie mediator betweene God and man That which thing neither the Turkes neither the Iewes neither Papistes nor manie heretickes doe as in deede the diuell dooth labour to raise vp false Prophetes in all times to darken and vtterlie to ouerthrowe the knowledge of Iesus Christ on the earth who is as a signe or a marke against which euerie man gainsayeth euen as Simeon did speake in the 2. of S. Luke But against such kinde of people wee must retaine these Maximes or rules Maximes First that such a mediatour and sauiour is necessarie for vs to haue which was verie God and verie man and who partaketh to the end to bee a meane with the natures of those that were at strife in such sort as hee might ouercome sinne death and the diuell and giue men accesse vnto the light not able to be come vnto Ephe. 1. It was necessarie that hee should bee stronger than all creatures to witte God and the welbeloued of the Father vnto whome wee might be fit and agreeable As of the other side it was meete that the same flesh which had bin ouercome Rom. 8. Esai 53. should haue the victorie and that the flesh which had sinned might beare the
paine the which also hee hath charged vppon him in short that to the end to haue pitie on vs Hebr. 2. he might partake with our flesh with our miseries to the end to make vs his brethren so to carrie into heauen our nature as the gage of our hope euen as hee hath giuen vnto vs a counterpledge that is to say the holie Ghost as Tertullian hath written verie well speaking of the resurrection and of the flesh of Christ When therefore we say that we doe beleeue in Iesus Christ it is not as if we had manie kindes of faith For there is but one God and one faith Ephe. 4. and the father and the sonne are one as it is said in 10. of S. Iohn To beleeue in Iesus Christ But this is that wee beleeue in God according as he hath shewed himselfe in the making of heauen and earth as also in his holie word that beareth record vnto vs how that the euerlasting Sonne of God Iesus Christ taking our nature in the fulnesse of time to bee the mediator of the couenant of our God the two natures diuine and humane being knitte together hee hath reconciled vs to God his father when by his merite and obedience and through his strength and incomprehensible goodnesse hee hath by his death and passion made satisfaction for our sinnes and by his resurrection ouercome death and hell and is ascended into heauē to make intercessiō for vs so as for the loue of him god loueth vs his righteousnes is imputed to vs as if it were our owne God holdeth vs for righteous so be we sure that neither the law hath power to condemne vs against which we doe set this perfect righteousnes of Iesus Christ neither death nor the diuel shall astonie vs for seeing the Christ for vs hath ouercome the world death all that which was feareful In summe we doe beleeue not onelie the historie of the birth passion death resurrection ascensiō of Iesus Christ But euerie faithful persō dooth apply all the benefits that he hath gotten for vs assuring comforting thēselues in his holie louelie promises doe lay hold vppon him as the true Iesus sauing blessing vs hauing prepared an euerlasting saluation and a most blessed life by his pretious blould For what we shall be dooth not yet appeare but we doe know that when he shal appeare V s e. 13. we shal be like vnto him shall see him as he is And whosoeuer hath this hope in him is purified as he is also pure This say I is the first Maxime first foundation that we doe set against the heretikes and others which know not Iesus Christ true God true man It is the wonderful coūsel of God which hath prouided for vs such a mediator and sauiour as did behooue vs to haue Secondlie we doe set against them the agreemēt of the old new Testamēt cōcerning Iesus Christ where wee see how that which the ceremonies of the law had figured was fulfilled in Christ as it is said in the Epistle to the Hebrewes 1. Iohn 3. for so dooth S. Paul witnesse proue how Christ was the end of the law Lastlie we doe set against thē the effects of this healthful knowledge which giueth peace rest of minde vnto the faithful So as manie haue suffered death with great ioy for the name of Iesus Now on the other part the issue of those who haue blasphemed as Cerinthus Manes Arrius and others were alwayes miserable And how soeuer it were that manie times the heresies of those which haue striuen either cōcerning the true diuine nature or cōcerning the veritie of Christs human nature were for a season maintained by violence impudēcie God in this giuing place vnto his iudgements prouing the constācie of his owne yet it is cleare by the Ecclesiasticall Histories how the Lord hath made his trueth dailie to triumph yea that manie times by weake Organes hath confounded the wise men of the world preseruing his trueth the Articles of our faith euen vnto our time whereof wee ought to thanke this good God without ceasing and to beseech him that he will likewise haue pitie also of our posteritie suffer them to inioy this wholesome treasure not suffering that for our vnthankfulnesse and by the damnable and ambitious contentions of certaine wicked members that at this day doe trouble the Churches the trueth should be darkened and this good Sauiour Iesus true GOD and true man should bee misknowne to the world Now to the end that euerie faithfull man might so much the better tast and learne what this sonne of God is and what foundation wee haue to beleeue in him and to hold him for our mediator the holie scripture dooth attribute two names chieflie vnto him Iesus Christ whereof the one is Iesus and the other is Christ to the end that wee may note and marke in the first what is the person of the sonne of God to witte that he is God the sauiour and the word of life manifested in the flesh In the second his Office because that Christ dooth signifie as much as Messias that is to say Annointed which was annointed for vs destined and ordained of the father and dwelling in him in all fulnesse that hee should bee our king our sacrificer and our Prophet and Doctor As concerning the first name which is Iesus it was giuen to the Lord not by aduenture but by a heauēlie Oracle declared by the Angel vnto Ioseph as wee doe reade in the 1. Chap. of S. Matthew Thou shalt call his name Iesus For hee shall saue his people from their sinnes The like was said vnto Marie euen as wee doe reade in the first Chap. of S. Luke Thou shalt beare a sonne and thou shalt call his name Iesus Hee shall be great and shall bee called the sonne of the most highest and the Lorde God shall giue vnto him the Throne of his father Dauid and the Angell speaking vnto the shepheardes in the 2. Chap. of S. Luke interpreting this word of Iesus said Behold I bring you tidings of great ioy that shall be to all the people That is that vnto you is borne this day in the Citie of Dauid a sauiour which is Christ the Lord. Moreouer Irenaeus a right auncient Doctor in the second booke against the heresies of Valentinus witnesseth that the Greekes called him Soter that which the scripture called Iesus that is to say Sauiour The which Iesus Christ was in deed straightway declared himselfe so to bee healing the sicke and raising vp the dead Especiallie by this euerlasting saluation and that saluation of the soules which hee hath gotten for vs who is the true saluation of whome we ought to make reckenning of 8. Pet. 1.5 as S. Peter saith that he should be fullie reuealed in the latter dayes Now such a Sauiour was not Iosua how braue a Captaine soeuer hee
doe hide their faces before him And man vnlesse that hee died could neuer see his maiestie yea man such as he is on the earth a sinner and mortall But oh happie and blessed shall that daie be 1. Iohn 3. and this houre ought to be desired of vs when as wee shall see this great God such as he is with a soul altogether cleane and a glorified bodie The knowledge of God from hencefoorth is vnto vs as Nazianzen saith in respect of the spirit as the sunne is vnto the bodie This is a light well liking vnto vs but happie is the soule that shall see him face to face and in seeing him shall liue for euermore In the meane-while let vs put our trust in the sonne who speaketh in his Gospell of that which hee hath seene and hath partaken his secretes vnto vs Iohn 15. as vnto his friendes and louers Vppon the 3. Chap. of S. Iohn God so loued the world that hee hath giuen his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life MEDITATION S. Paul oftentimes saith how he would not boast but in Iesus and the same crucified And in deede if man would consider these thinges at leasure which are contained in this sentence of S. Iohn hee would easilie agree with that which S. Paul speaketh and should finde that there is no knowledge in the world that giueth so much contentation as the knowledge of Gods loue through Iesus Christ in such sort as this sentence of S. Iohn ought to be as a pretious owel which a man dailie weareth about his necke euen so ought wee to imprint in our heartes this excellent witnesse of Gods loue For what are men that GOD loueth them What cause hath the immortall to loue the poore woormes of the earth The righteous to loue sinners The Maister the ingrate and vnfaithfull seruauntes Are wee not of nature the children of wrath Ought hee not without ceasing rather to represent vnto vs the hatred and the iust anger of this mightie God and that because of our corruption And moreouer if GOD had beene affectioned to some iust or excellent men yet say I this should bee greatlie to debase him But O diuine loue Oh woonderfull diuinitie Thou hast loued the world without considering anie certaine world anie Sexe anie Qualitie yea all the creatures which are come of the earth since Adam and Eue men and women great and little poore and rich fooles wisemen And all the cause and occasion that thou hast had to fauour them was not for their beautifull eyes but it was euen thy great and extreme bountie All their righteousnesse is as an vncleane cloth before him Esaiah 64. And their excellencie is but as a flower Esaiah 40. which withereth and fadeth from day to day Therefore it hath pleased thee O God to loue man But what say I to loue What tongue shall not iudge himselfe vnsufficient yea what heart shall not bee vnable to deduct or comprehend this so great a loue which hath brought thee to giue one onelie and innocent sonne to death and that to giue life vnto those creatures that are so vnthankfull and so corrupted Where is it that one shall finde a man in this world that will pledge himselfe euen to suffer death for an other were hee his friend and an honest man Truelie it is verie rare But what O Lord thou hast doone truelie more For thou hast not giuen an Angell or an Archangell but thou hast giuen thy onelie sonne vnto a sorrowfull and most shamefull death for to redeeme thy enemies that were reuolted from thee but alas wherefore is not this friendship alike Wherefore doe wee not loue thee with a burning desire as thou hast loued vs Wherefore complaine wee of a little earth lost in thy Seruice and thou hast not cōplayned at all of the death of thy welbeloued sonne of thy delight when the question was of our redemption When a prince dooth not giue vs his good countenance and fauour then we are sore troubled and greeued and yet in respect thereof we make ah alas but small reckenning of thy loue which art the king of kinges and the eternall God Therefore that which wee doe want is that we doe not sufficientlie tast how much the Lord is good and sweete Seeing now O Lord that thy loue is endlesse graunt vs heartes that may comprehend his infinite goodnesse and that wee may forthwith feele therein an endlesse comfort which may swallow vp all the sorrowes of this wretched life So be it Out of the 6. of S. Iohn Simon Peter answered Iesus Maister to whome shall we goe Thou hast the wordes of eternall life And wee beleeue and know that thou art the Christ the sonne of the liuing God Out of the 3. Chap. of the first to Timothie Without all gainsaying great is the mysterie of godlinesse to witte that God is manifested in the flesh iustified in the spirit seene of Angels preached vnto the Gentiles beleeued on in the world and ascended vp in glorie Out of the 4. Chap. of the first Epistle of S. Iohn Hereby know yee the spirit of God Euerie spirit that confesseth that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God And euerie spirit which confesseth not that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God but this is the spirit of Antichrist of whome you haue heard how that hee should come and now alreadie he is in the world And wee haue seene and doe testifie that the father sent the sonne to bee the Sauiour of the world Whosoeuer confesseth that Iesus is the sonne of God in him dwelleth God and he in God And wee haue knowen and beleeued the loue that GOD hath in vs. Here followeth VVhich vvas conceiued by the holie Ghost borne of the virgin Marie CONSIDERATION THis is not vnto vs as saith S. Basyl in a Sermon which hee made of Iesus Christes humane nature neither for vs much to inquire how Christ is come downe here below And wherefore God is serued with such a meane rather than with anie other For thou man saith hee thou wast lost and so recoiledst backe from the face of thy God that thou couldest not come neere thereunto Sith now that he is so humbled and brought low to come vnto thee wouldest thou dispute much thereuppon Rather acknowledge in all humblenesse this blessing of the sonne of God yea and with as great affection as thou canst or maist who is according to the euerlasting diuine nature ingendred by the Father not made nor created as it is said in Athanasius Creede both without Mother and without beginning but is according to the humane nature a like vnto vs sinne excepted begotten of a woman and the sonne of Dauid In such manner as Sedulius saith in a Hymme The creator of the world hath taken shape of a seruant to the end that hee might redeeme our flesh through his flesh and that those
woonderfull thing that the coniunction of humane nature is made with the diuine without changing of natures also without anie confusion of persons therein For Christ hath so knit the natures together as hee both God and man is in diuine substance but one person with the father and the holie ghost O strange thing wee were not woorthie to be seruauntes and now wee be children and coheires with Christ And now I pray thee good God graunt mee grace in good ernest to acknowledge thy vertue that I may with a burning desire loue thee all the daies and time of my life and that my faith be stayed on my redeemer who was seene in the world and was lifted vp into glorie It Followeth Suffered vnder Ponce Pilate was crucified dead and buried hee descended into hell CONSIDERATION YEe neede not to maruaile that in this Article of our faith wee doe passe from his natiuitie vnto his death For first all his life was a preparatiue vnto death a perpetuall passion Secondlie the death and passion of Iesus was the true witnesse of his obedience and then was ended this true Sacrifice that hath abolished sinne and death Euen as the auncient high Priestes did take of the people that which they had to sacrifice so hath hee also taken of vs our nature and this bodie which hee hath sacrificed on the crosse being the sacrifice and the sacrificer Therefore hee had will to suffer truelie in our flesh and to die that in him we might haue life And that wee may liue and die in him dailie dying to the world to vice to liue vnto all righteousnesse and to his glorie who hath redeemed vs. Death the graue hell are verie terrible thinges yea more than terrible But Iesus Christ hath triumphed ouer death and arising againe hee hath sanctified our graues and hath by his vertue ouercome the sorrowes of hell and hath broken all the boltes and chaines to make free and to set in safetie all his elect so as there is no condemnation vnto those that doe beleeue in him Rom. 8. Away with these sacrifices of these popish Priestes seeing that this true sacrifice made with the shedding of the bloud of the Lambe without spot Iohn 1. taketh away all the sinnes of the world Places of the holie scripture testifying the death and passion of Iesus Christ Out of the Prophecie of Dauid 22. Psalme For Dogges haue compassed me the assemblie of the wicked haue inclosed me they pearced my handes and my feete I may tell all my bones yet they behold and looke vppon me According to the exposition of some as if the should haue said he shal not be ouerwhelmed with troubles and sorrowes For he is the euerliuing sonne of of God of an euerlasting generation But this is for our sinnes and by the counsel of God that it should happen vnto him They part my garments among them and cast lottes vppon my vesture Out of the 69. Psalme I was constrained to restore that which I tooke not They gaue me gall in my meate and in my thirst they gaue me vineger to drinke A prophesie of the death and passion of Iesus Christ Out of the 53. Chap. of Esaiah Surelie hee hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrowes yet did wee iudge him as plagued and smitten of God But hee was wounded for our transgressions hee was broken for our iniquities the chasticement of our peace was vppon him and with his stripes are wee healed All wee lyke Sheepe haue gone astray wee haue turned euerie one to his owne way and the Lorde hath laid vppon him the iniquitie of vs all He was oppressed and hee was afflicted yet did hee not open his mouth he is brought as a sheepe vnto the slaughter as a sheep before her shearer is dumme so hee openeth not his mouth He was taken out from prison and from iudgement And who shall declare his age For hee was cut out of the land of the liuing and for the transgression of my people was he plagued And hee made his graue with the wicked and with the riche in his death though hee had doone no wickednes Vnto the rich neither was anie deceite in his mouth Yet the Lord would breake him and make him subiect to manie infirmities This was Ioseph of Arimathe when hee shall make his soule an offering for sinne hee shall see his seede and shall prolong his dayes and the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand Of the abasing of Iesus Christ in this world Daniel also hath prophesied in the 9. Chap. and 26. verse ANd after threescore and two weekes shall Christ bee slaine and shall haue nothing and some doe translate there shall none remaine to helpe him or hee shall bee altogether made of none effect This death of Christ was figured by the offering of weathers and Lambes and likewise by the offering that Abraham made of his sonne Isaac in the 22. of Genesis The brasen serpent and by the brasen serpent set vp in the wildernesse whome those that did behold were deliuered from the venemous bitings of serpentes as it is written in the 21. Chapter of Nombers This brasen serpent did signifie that Christ should take the forme of a sinner and should bee notwithstanding without sinne That which was set vp on a tree did signifie that Iesus Christ should bee lifted vp vppon a crosse as wee doe reade it in the 3. of Saint Iohn As Moses lifted vp the Serpent in the wildernesse so must the sonne of man be lifted vp That whosoeuer beleeueth in him shall not perish but haue eternall life And to shew in deede that it was not in the brasen serpent that had anie vertue annexed to it but that wee ought to looke more high King Ezechias seeing how the people did goe a whoring after this Serpent â— King 1â— hee brake it in peeces and named it Nehustan that is to say a vile thing and woorth nothing The historie of the passion and death of Iesus Christ wee haue drawen out by the foure Euangelistes especiallie in the 22. 23. of S. Luke THe causes of the passion and death of Iesus Christ The causes of Christes death were first the vnchangeable counsell and prouidence of GOD as it is said in the second of the Actes and the 23. verse Hee was deliuered by the determinate counsel of God And againe the loue of God towardes mankind God so loued the world that hee hath giuen his onelie begotten sonne as saith S. Iohn in the 3. Chapter And wee doe reade in the 5. Chap. to the Ephesians and the 25. verse how hee also loued vs and gaue himselfe willinglie for vs. If wee must come vnto other outward causes of this death and which bee inferiour there is the hatred of the diuell and the enmitie whereof it is spoken in the 3. Chap. of Genesis betweene the serpent and the seede of the woman There is
experience and amongest manie temptations learned the deceites of the Diuell oftentimes said that one day he would put hand to penne to write a great volume against Satan to discouer his wiles and craftes and all the kindes of temptations wherewith hee was accustomed to fight against vs. Besides this hee did dailie aduertise the people both priuatelie and openlie that it was not a thing so light as men thought it to haue dailie Satan at our heeles and an enemie so craftie that spied out but the occasion to sift vs and to destroy vs. Now on a time Luther being requested by a good man who suffered manie tēptations and other vnquietnesse for some comfort Hee wrote this vnto him that followeth in a booke brieflie expounding this sentence of S. Iohn set downe before Satan from the beginning of the world was a lyar and through lyes hath a desire to tempt mankinde Behold how Adam and Eue our first parentes were ouertaken and caught which were created vnto the Image of God For hauing beguiled them through lies hee was therein also a murtherer in that that of the immortall they became mortall Not long after hee set Caine against his Brother Abel and did thrust forward the brother to imbrue his handes with the bloud of his brother And this is the manner and guise of all Satans kingdome Hee began through lying to seduce men afterward hee ceaseth not to stirre vp persecutions against the true faithfull which would not cleaue vnto his lies In the meane while hee bringeth his maintainers to dispaire as it is to be seene of Caine Iudas and others Therefore it is for vs to beware of so cruell and craftie an enemie Let vs also beware and take good heede of his false and dreaming doctrines which commeth forth out of his shoppe the end whereof is vtter destruction To be short let vs take heede of lying and crueltie seeing both the one and the other commeth of the Diuell Moreouer let vs marke that our comfort is that Iesus Christ was giuen vnto vs who appeared to ouerthrow and destroy the workes of the diuell And in deede hee was found the stronger that did buind his enemie Satan and draue away the Prince of the world Against his leinges he hath armed vs with the trueth of his Gospell Against death hee gaue vs life giuing himselfe to bee our Emanuel that is to say God with vs. What greater comfort should wee know to desire For if a man would say yea but Christ is in heauen Behold that which Iesus saith If anie man keepe my word hee shall not perish The doctrine of the lawe accuseth vs and setteth downe before vs our condemnation But the Gospell is the word of life and power of GOD to saluation O miserable and wretched world that forsaketh this pretious word The auncient Fathers haue woondred at a hearbe called Panacea which as some say healed all maner of diseases And seeing manie times we doe see that men esteeme more of some little experience of Phisicke that they shall haue against anie sicknes Why then doe they not commend and praise aboue all the doctrine of the Gospell which healeth vs against death Is it because that the world is so earthlie and lustfull which is not otherwise guided but by fleshlie considerations and neither trusteth in God nor in his promises But wee must feare the iudgementes of God For as they which doe keepe this word shall not feare death So contrariwise they that keepe it not shall see the first and the second death And howsoeuer it seeme vnto men that they passe away with eies closed vp vnto death yet neuerthelesse they doe see death whē the bitternesse thereof and the wrath of God present themselues before their eyes Now concerning the children of GOD they see them dailie dying and themselues also doe die But because their soules learne the word of GOD they see not death For hee teacheth them euen as those that doe goe into darke places by the light who see not the darknesse which is ouercome by the light So a faithfull man which possesseth Gods grace doeth not behold death in his nature and as Gods iudgement but as a sweete sleepe whereby wee doe passe into heauenlie rest and how much the more wee beleeue so much the more are wee assured and certaine against death But the more wee be negligent to heare the word of God so much the more wee lie open to terrours and feares O how strong is therefore the faithfull man who is a member of the Church which staieth himselfe vppon the word of God The great warriers Alexander Iulius Caesar and others hauing braued in the world haue beene famous for their onlie prowes they are dead and those commonlie are the most astonied when death commeth as it is read of Adrian the Emperour The Sorrowes of Adrian the Emperour who at the point of death made such like mournings O poore soule naked and a vacabond into what place goest thou now to yeelde thy selfe Alas what shall become of thee thou companion and ghest of my bodie Thou from hence forewardes shalt haue no more pastime Loe this is the vnquietnesse and vnsetlednesse of the people of this world Let vs pray therefore as in the 90 Psalme that God will giue vs grace to consider the shortnesse of our dayes to the ende we may applie our heartes vnto wisedome A prayer vpon this place Out of the 14. of S. Iohn If any man loue me he will keepe my worde and my father will loue him and we will come vnto him and will dwell with him O Lord who is he which will not loue thee syth that thou hast so loued vs to haue giuen thy sonne for vs Nowe because that thou discernest those which do loue thee in deede from hypocrites when as they loue and keepe thy worde giue me grace yea vnto mee that naturally loue but vice and vanitie to loue thy word vnto me that can doe nothing but in thee and by thee to keepe thy worde and to yeelde obedience vnto thee For what a benefite is it to haue thy companie yea this sweete companie of thee and of thy sonne Iesus and of thy holie spirite which thou hast promised to them that wil yeeld themselues affectionated vnto thy worde What greater mischiefe could happen than to be thrust backe and depriued of such a companie For whosoeuer is not with thee it behoueth that hee be with Sathan that is to say with all euill Because that in as much as thou giuest peace felicitie and life vnto them with whome thou dwellest euen so also is sathan the authour of all euill and of all mischiefe Therefore O Lorde giue me grace to abide in thee as the braunch in the vine to bring foorth the fruites of thy glorie to liue in thee and vnto thee to feele thee daily with all the comfortes that thou giuest vnto thine Let thy good spirite succour mee in my weakenesse Rom. 8.
beholde rather thy creature in thy louing kindenesse Thou hast bidden vs come vnto thee then whē as we sought thee not and thou hast saued vs when we were thine enemies Cast not therfore now away them which seeke thee and with all humblenesse call vpon thee For that that I make my selfe strong with thy clemencie is not through presumption but because of thy promises that doe assure vs of thee thou wilt not the death of sinners but their conuersion and life And to make them liue which were dead thou hast caused thy only begotten sonne to die and wouldest also that he should beare the name of a sauiour Wherefore shall I distrust then of grace Wherefore should my soule liue in sorrow syth that it findeth in thee so great a sweetenes O Lorde my God I remēber the poore Publican who humbling his eies to the ground groning vnder the burthen of his sins and requiring thy mercie went down into his house iustified I remember the poore thiefe who confessing his fault and acknowledging thy sonne Iesus vpon the crosse whereon he was hanged went to paradise I consider also the example of thine Apostle who hauing forsakē his maister three times was not put out of his fauour nor out of his Apostleship because the weeping bitterly he was cōuerted to thee But God grant me the Publicans hūblenes the confession of him that was hanged with Christ the repentance of thy Apostle the holding on the way which they haue held I may with them inioy thy fauour and enter into thy glorie A prayer vpon the same matter O Lorde what man is he that dare speake vnto God Howe dare we aske thee life seeing we haue deserued death Frō whēce commeth this boldnesse to haue our recourse vnto thee whom wee haue offended Is it not thy great mercie that is so noted throughout the worlde Was it not because that thou art slowe to anger and of great clemencie But if thou wouldest enter into iudgement with vs no man liuing could be iustified before thy face I pray and beseech thee therefore O Lorde that thou wouldest vnderstande my gronings and hearken vnto my praiers I was Alas conceiued and borne in sinne and my iniquities are so great in number that I can not knowe them by the one halfe so as O Lorde this burthen would ouerwhelme me if thy mercie did not comfort me But I pray thee chastise me not in thy wrath neither assay thy might against me otherwise I were vtterly vndoone and in the twinckling of an eie thou couldest destroy me in thine anger Chaunge rather my heart that I may be an organe of thy glorie and a vessel of honour in thy house Imprint in my soule all righteousnesse and godlinesse that I may serue and honour thy maiestie I haue wandered like a poore sheepe but bring me againe into thy fold and be thou my sheepheard for euer For Lorde when thou hast brought me to nothing and confounded me Alas I shal not any more blesse and praise thee But if thou be mercifull vnto me I shall render vnto thee thankes giuing I shall vowe my selfe to thy seruice and I will remaine in thy holy temple to worship thee A prayer to aske of God true repentance Almightie God seeing that our sinnes continually crie vnto heauen and when one of them is ouercome an other forthwith springeth vp so that ambition being ouercome couetousnesse doeth tempt vs and couetousnesse being vanquished presumption doth solicite vs or some other greedie desire graunt vs grace carefully to walke and to fight this good fight against our selues truely to examine and to sound our selues and so we cōdemning our selues may preuent thy iudgement stirring vp one another to true repentance and amendment of life to the ende that it bee not in vaine that thy healthfull grace may appeare vnto vs and that wee make not sad thy holy spirite and that so O God walking in thy feare we may be made true partakers of the forgiuenesse of sinnes that thy son hath purchased for vs by his bloud shedding that we might growe vp according to the new man and make the olde man to die vntill that we being vnclothed of this mortall bodie we might come vnto that perfection then O Lorde when as thou shalt be all in all and that beeing gathered together in thee wee shall beholde thy glorie in thy kingdome So be it I beleeue the rising againe of the bodie TErtullian an ancient Doctor verie well saith in the booke which he hath written of the resurrection that this article is proper to Christians and is their speciall comfort to beleeue that this flesh shal rise againe at the last day wherof the philosophers Sadduces did but make a mocke But hee who hath giuen vs these bodies can verie well bring to passe that they shal liue againe out of the dust as we do protest that we beleeue not heere giuing place to any thing but vnto faith no not to the speculations of reason Christ is also risen againe being made as it were the first fruites and the honorable head of all those which are risen or heereafter shall bee raised againe For this was through his only vertue This also is the reason that that body which did suffer so much should be likewise partaker of life glorie For Christ hath wholie redeemed mankinde and without this trust we should be miserable we which do suffer so many tormentes in our bodies for the name of Iesus Nowe to comfort and resolue vs more more in this article we must consider of these witnesses folowing Out of the 19. Chap. of Iob. I am sure that my redeemer liueth and he shall stande vp the last of the earth And though after my skinne wormes destroy this bodie yet shall I see God in my flesh whome I my selfe shall see and mine eies shall beholde Out of the 26. of Esaiah The dead shall liue euen with my bodie shall they rise Awake and sing ye that dwell in dust for thy deaw is as the deawe of hearbes and the earth shall cast out the dead Out of the 13. Chap. of the prophet Hosea I will redeeme them from the power of the graue I will deliuer them from death O death I will be thy death O graue I will be thy destruction A meditation of OEcolampadius The Lorde sheweth by this place that if the people had repented they should haue beene deliuered though they hadde bin as it were in the graue alreadie The Hebrewe word signifieth Hel or the graue and is often times taken in the scripture for some great and extreeme daunger as also by the worde of the plague is vnderstood a great destruction S. Paul in the 1.5 Chap. of the 1. Epistle to the Corinthians when he intreateth of the resurrection he alledgeth this place according to the greeke translation of the 70. interpreters rather than after the Hebrewe text and thus taketh it Where is thy sting As preparing himselfe against
made of iron nor of steele but of a weake and variable substance And yet neuerthelesse they dispose not themselues vnto their end neither make anie prouision for those thinges which concerne the time to come The beastes herein doe passe vs as Ieremie sheweth in the 8. of his prophesie For by the skie the Storke knoweth the season of the yeare and the Turtle and the Crane doe marke what time is fittest for their comming and all these byrdes doe well knowe howe that it is not alwayes Summer and that Winter will come But men marke not the iudgementes of God but sleepe in the world as if they should neuer remoue It is a thing verie certaine that wee must all die seeing that wee be all sinners and that death is the reward of sinne as S. Paul writeth in the 6. to the Romans True it is that the scripture setteth downe vnto vs three kindes of death The one is the sundering of the soul from the bodie with making nothing of the bodie vntill the resurrection An other is the death of sinne as it is often said that men which are nourished in their sinnes are dead And Iesus Christ speaking of those which knew not God said Let the dead burie the dead The third is called in the Apocalyps the second death sometimes the eternall death whereunto the wicked shall bee condemned in the last iudgement Now albeit that the Painimes sometimes seeme to haue spoken pretilie of death Yet so it is that two thinges haue made them vncertaine in this matter and vnprouided of sound consolation The first is that they neuer well vnderstoode the cause of death neither the remedie thereof The one whereof was by the fall of Adam the other giuen by Iesus Christ Moreouer they neuer vnderstoode the spring of true life that lyeth in God and in the beholding of his face where of the children of God shall after the resurrectioÌ„ be the beholders both in soule and bodie Although then that Adam before his sinne was created according to the bodie of the dust of the earth yet in deed so it is that if hee had not sinned the diuine vertue and Image of God had swallowed vp in him all corruption and defended him against death in such sort as without griefe when it had pleased God he should passe into heauenlie life But his wilfull transgressing made him with his posteritie seruile vnto death so as hee had receaued for him and for his a most blessed condition if hee had not sinned And as concerning that the death of Adam did not follow for his sinne all at one time it was not but through the mercie of our good God whose will is to preserue mankinde in the meane time punishing sinne in that that Adam and all his rase haue bin and are of one mortall condition full of labor and miserie Wee doe also see the pitifull entrie that wee doe make into the world casting forth a thowsand gronings and sighes from our first ariuall into the world Furthermore euerie one will easilie coÌ„fesse that death is a thing most fearefull that can happen vnto man because that it doeth represent vnto vs at one time the wrath of God and a miserable vndoing of our life whereof naturallie wee are so desirous Behold wherefore wise men are manie times giuen to search out coÌ„forts wherewith to sweeten for vs the sourenesse of death But those that haue not tasted of the word of GOD haue nothing to stay vppon not finding anie resolution but that wee must beare that which is ordained for vs by an irreuocable arrest Manie of the Heathens being indued with a knowledge somewhat higher than the rest and affirming the immortalitie of the soule hold this for a resolution that in the other life the state of good men shall bee happie seeing that here belowe they be ordinarilie subiect to manie miseries And in deede wee must come to this point that by the temporall and present estate one caÌ„not iudge of mens happinesse as also contrariwise they that most doe prosper in this world in earthlie things die oftentimes as brute beastes hauing a soule buried in earthlie things albeit that there is a difference betwixt man and beast because euerlasting death is reserued for the wicked and because the end crowneth the worke Though that in this world a man receaued great giftes of God yet the continuance and all the vertues doe declare and shew themselues chieflie in the Agonies of death Therefore euen as one wretched nature hath brought vs vnto one lyke condition of death so doeth the grace of God make the difference that the one to wit the vngodlie die to their destruction And the other which bee the children of God guided by his spirit and by his word Psal 116. doe die for to liue more happilie so that their death is pretious before GOD. Then let vs say that which is said in the 23. of Numbers I pray God I may die the iust mens death which are assured as Iob saith in the 19. Chapter that one day they shall see GOD in their flesh This was the cause that men were customed to burie the dead with a certaine speciall care For as men locke vp their apparell in a chest meaning to weare them againe euen so are the dead bodies buried in full hope of a certaine rising againe Truelie wee ought well to wish this time where as Christ saith in the 22. of S. Matthew when wee shall bee like vnto Angels in happinesse and in pure conuersation and thoughtes Then shall this be the true fulfilling of our redemption wheÌ„ as we shal be gathered together on high where there is neither cold nor heate Apoca. 7. hunger nor thirst but a lasting blessednesse But to whome is death pleasant but to those that doe labour The poore day-laborer is glad that he hath done his dayes labour So is death sweete vnto the afflicted and the remembrance thereof is bitter to those that rest themselues in worldlie thinges The chiefe point is let vs labor whilest it is day and let vs learne to know God so long as we be in this world seeing that in the knowledge of him lyeth our saluation Oh what a comfort dooth a faithfull soule â—inde in that that Iesus hath spoken in the 17. Chap. of S. Iohn My Father I will that where I am those may be there also which thou hast giuen me So then when as wee doe meditate of these thinges in good time death will be sweete vnto vs. And thereuppon it commeth to passe euen as to those whose discourses and thoughtes haue bin sweete vnto them all day long that likewise their dreames bee all the night verie pleasant and quiet But the troublesome men and busie trotters vp and downe haue their dreames commonlie full of vnquietnesse Such like shall the death of those bee that doe incomber themselues with worldlie thinges And as S. Augustine saith What is this but death This is the leauing of the
earthlie bodie and a heauie burden prouided alway that an other burden more daungerous which is sinne doe not ouercharge vs or as saith S. Paul in the third Chap. to the Thessalontans wee must then let our conuersation from henceforth be in heauen whence we doe await after our Sauiour Iesus Christ who shal transforme our bodies and make them conformable vnto his glorious bodie Oh wonderfull mercie of this great God that presenteth life vnto vs not deserued putteth death farre from vs that wee haue merited Oh what light is this word of God that giueth vs light in the graue and in the middest of death maketh vs to see Therefore now the children of God doe no whit feare death But as S. Cyprian writeth in a letter which he sent vnto the Confessors Martyrs of Iesus Christ Hee that hath once ouercome death in his person dailie beateth it downe in his mēbers So as we haue Iesus Christ not onlie a beholder of our combates but an assistant wrestler with vs. And as this good Doctor writeth in a treatise which he made of the mortalitie the onlie way for a man that wil not come to Iesus Christ is to feare death And not to be willing to come to him is as much to say as not to bee willing to raigne with him What trauailer is he which drawing neere vnto his home reioyceth not hauing passed through manie dangerous waies And who is he that wil not willinglie runne out of a house that is readie to fall downe about his eares What pleasure haue we in this world which approcheth dailie to his end and wherein wee buy the pleasures so derely which we receiue in this life What other thing is it but a continuall battaile and a sharp medley wherein we be wounded sometime with enuie sometime with one thing sometime with an other besides the alaromes which doe giue vs in our bodies a nūber of diseases Why shal we not say then with S. Paul in the first Chapter to the Philippians I desire to be loosed to be with Christ Wherfore we praie dailie Let thy kingdome come but only for the desire that we haue to see the accomplishmēt thereof in an other life For as S. Ierom doth largelie declare in the funeral Sermon of Nepotian vnto Heliodor if the Panims haue oftētimes cōquered their mourninges loosing their friends by the simple knowledge that they had that they were mortal Wherefore do we sorow grone with so many sighs teares the death of Gods childrē whom we know to be blessed Iesus Christ wept vpō Lazarus And S. Paul to the Thes doeth not altogether forbid mourning yet is it for vs to behaue our selues more vertuouslie than the Painims not to shewe so great a mourning for men as it were a disparing in vs of Gods mercies And as Saint Cyprian saith VVherfore do we put on our black mourning weedes when as our brethren goe to doe on their white garments to rest with the Lorde Let vs sorow for them rather as absent than dead not as people that we haue lost but that we a wait for to see againe Alas that which is to be wailed for it is that which men doe see in this worlde VVe reade of Xerxes the great Lord and generall howe that hee had a desire one day to viewe his whole armie which was of a maruelous number of people from the top of a mountaine and seeing so manie people began to weepe cōsidering that within one hundreth yeare after there should not be one of thē left aliue But if anie one could not get vp vppon such a mountaine whence he might discouer so manie sinnes as be in the world so manie murthers as be committed so manie cities and realmes as be ruined so manie deceites cousinages as be practised so much pouertie and infirmitie as is euerie where Alas hee should haue great occasion to fetch manie a sad sigh and to shead manie a whotte teare Wee see not in our selues the changes that happen vnto our persons first in our infancie then in our youth then in our full age last of all in our old age and so manie crosses the rest of our daies whereby wee must passe Then that which wee ought to doe is so to mislyke of this life which is but a vapour and a shadow of a true life a traueling and a fraile life that we suffer Christ to raigne and liue in vs to the end that by him wee may haue euerlasting life the which onelie deserueth to bee esteemed and called a life A Prayer O Lord my God if thou hast aduertised the king Ezechias by the Prophet Esai Esay 38. to dispose of his affaires when hee should die much more thy will is that wee going to death should haue regard to the disposition of our soules to present our selues before thee For alas death is certaine but his houre is vncertaine and there is nothing more dangerous than to leaue the soule in this fight doubtfull and vncertaine The sentence of S. Barnard O Lord what a Porter hast thou giuen vs at our passage from this world which will not suffer vs to carie away anie thing with vs But as wee came naked into this world euen so death causeth vs to passe out of the same state Wherefore should wee then tormēt our selues so much in worldlie things O Lord what is it that I should dispose of my selfe It is in thee to dispose of vs it is in thee to commaund and in vs to obay Beare vp our weakenesse through thy mercie For how is it that wee should not bee afraid of death sith the horror thereof hath made thy sonne Iesus to sweate water and bloud Mar. 14. Esai 53. But seeing that it is euen hee who hath also borne our sorrowes and that was wounded for our iniquities what gaine or aduauntage should death haue ouer vs syth that thy sonne Iesus hath saued vs And if thou be for vs who is he that can be against vs Yea man borne of a woman is thraled to many miseries and vanisheth away as a shadowe or flower of the fielde But yet O good God we doe knowe how thou desirest not the death of vs sinners Ezech. 18. thou rather wouldest that we should turne and liue We doe shed heere many teares but thou wilt euen at once make drie all my teares by calling me vnto thee Nowe O Lorde strike heere belowe so long as thou wilt hurt wounde seeing that thou art mercifull and fauourable vnto vs in the euerlasting life to come A sentence out of S. Augustine Rom. 8. What sorrowe or affliction should we feare synce that all thinges turne to thy children for their good Alas who would take much pleasure in this life sith that man liuing in it can not see thee and that all that is in it is but transitorie and miserable Graunt me therefore grace patientlie to awaite thy will that I may