Oh sinners, though nature cannot m •• e you to sighs, (which is affecte • • y her obiects) let mee winne you by reasons, to ratifie your remorse. If your friends come from far countries to visite you, you imbrace them: if they giue you giftes, you thanke them: if they counsell you, you consent vnto them: What then will you returne your sauiour & my sonne for his curtesies? Hee comming into the worlde, hath shewed you three principall signes of loue, mercie, and pietie. First, hee condescended to your mortalitie. Secondly, hee prouided messengers of your saluation. Thirdly, he gaue you precepts and admonishmentes of your welfare. He came from heauen, to comfort you on earth: hee suffered on earth to carrie you to heauen: he became the lowlyest amongst men, to make you the highest among creatures, hee hath visited you with his graces, giuing ease to your labour, comfort to your afflictions, salue to your infirmities: he hath presented you with gifts, not golde and siluer, which are corruptible, not pomp & honor, which seduce the senses, not securitie and vanitie, which corrupt the heart, but he hath broken his bodie on the crosse for you, hee hath broken his bodie in the Sacrament for you, he hath giuen you the cup of attonement (his' precious bloud) hee hath made you one with God, by being generally condemned by the world, he hath counselled you to rise from sins, to make your bodies vessels of the holy Ghost, to sanctifie your soules in the bloud of his testament, being made & approued iust: therefore you ought to loue him wholy, Americus Card: in prol: suo lib to whō you owe al what you are wholy. If you see an earthly king before you, you fal before his throne you humble your selfe before his iudgment, you subscribe to his law, and obey his ordinances: why despise you then the king of heauens?Math: 8 Phil. 2 to whom princes stoope, and whom the wind and sea obeyeth, to whom all knees both in heauen, earth, and hel are bowed. If you respect works, hee made heauen and earth: if the manner, of nothing: if the purpose, for vngratefull man, who being lord of all by him, will not acknowledge his due homage to him: if you dispose your affections by the wisdom of your gouernors, who more wiser than Iesus? Where the Psalmist sayth, Great is the Lord our God, & mightie his vertue, and his wisdom is beyond number. And again, God is the God of sciences,1, Reg. 2 & our thoughts are prepared vnto him: Who therefore is so wise & mightie as her that by wisdom discouereth al things and by power punisheth all offences? How much wisedome and seuetitie is in this Iudge? Who discouereth the thoughts of the hart,Rom: 1i knoweth whereunto our imaginations are intended, measureth the waight of our sinnes, and how iniquities are chained together. Fnally, all are of him, by him, and in him. If wonders drawe your affections, who were wonderfull, looke on his birth, it is wonderfull aboue nature, without man, of a sole virgine: looke on his name, it is wonderfull: (Iesus) by interpretation, a sauior. Yet more wō ders, a fraile man, and a strong God: a poore mans sonne, and the prince of peace, borne in time, and the perpetuall father of succeeding ages. Yet three more wonders. First, in those things which were spoken of him. Secōdly, in those things which were spoken by him. Thirdly, in those which were forespoken of him by the Patriarks and Prophets. Iacob prophesied his comming long before, The scepter shall not bee taken from Iudah. Balaam called him the starre out of Iacob: they called him the flower, and the branch, on which flower the holy Ghost should haue his resting place. And is not this admirable? Wil you more wonder? Hear Elizabeth prophesie, hear Zacharie prophesie, the shephearde prophesie, the Sages prophesie. Yet more wonders. In his infansy his answeres were admirable, all testifie of him, maruell at his answere, applaud his prudence.Iohn 1 Luke 4 Mirabantur ludei quomodo literas seisset Marke 20 Will you more wonders. The people maruelled at him, saying, He hath done all things wel, hee hath made the deafe heare, and the dombe speake. Loue him therefore as your Lorde, honour him as your king, who is admirable in his conception, admirable in his birth: admirable in his preachings, admirable in his passion, admirable in his death, admirable in his charitie.

And to this loue (O remorselesse lookers on) adde teares, for no man can truelye loue, that is not affected, to see his beloued afflicted.

Come,Anselme come and weepe bitterly with mee, for you haue much cause of lamentation. If loue can diuorce you from ingratitude, come and weep of pure loue: for my son hath therefore suffered, because he loued: if in iustice; come mollifie your hearts, behold an innocent reprochfully crucified: if consanguinitie can affect you, behold your father which hath begotten and chosen you before all eternities, reckned amongst theeues, rent by bloudthirstie men, scourged by the guiltie: if you be abashed to see God so mightily brused, bewail your deadly sins, the causes of his detriment: if you wonder at his humilitie, blame your pride: if you admire his patience, condemn your wrath. As the member that feeleth no griefe, is sayde to bee dead, and the disease which is insensible, is alwayes vncurable: so vnlesse you partake in passion with Christ, lament to see him crucified, sorrowe to beholde his woundes, you are no liuing members, but dead ones: no true sonnes of his, but bastardes: if you suffer wyth him, you shall raigne with him: if you associate him in his passions, you shall partake wyth him in his consolations.

The Philosophers write, that the Harpie is a birde (hauing a mans 〈◊〉 ) so fell, cruell, and furious, that beeing pressed and assaulted with hunger, she inuadeth & killeth a man: whome when shee hath deuoured, and whose bodie when she hath torne, beeing assailed wyth thirst, she flyeth to the water to drinke, where beholdin • 〈◊〉 owne face, and remembring the similitude of him whome shee slew, shee is confounded with so much griefe, that shee dieth for dolour. Oh carelesse worldlings, except ther be lesse remorse in you than in this creature, looke into the spring of your consciences, lodge in your memorie howe much you haue crucified this Christ with your sinnes, & slain him by your offēces. & though you die not through extremitie of grief, yet let fall some teares to bewayle him tenderly.

Oh let not sinne take hold of you, idlenesse preuent you, or pride consound you, for trees that haue broadest leaues, doo soonest loose them, & men that haue proudest thoughts are soonest deceiued by them. Foolish that thou art, canst thou bewaile thy dead father that begot thee, thy sick sonne that delights thee, thy lost riches that maintained thee, & wilt not thou weepe for Iesus that redeemed thee? Canst thou grieue to see thy flockes perish, thy houses burnned, thy wise slaine, thy daughters defloured: and wilt thou not weepe to see thy God, who gaue these, confounded with tormēts, thy comforter that created these, suffer on the crosse: thy Iesus that lightneth thee, cloathed with death? Oh let not your gronings be hidden from him: praie with Iob, that thou mayest a little bewaile thy dolours, push forth thy teares of griefe, and make them flowe in abundaunce, for laughlng thou descendest to hel, but murning thou ascendest to heauen: Wilt thou haue Christ dwel with thee,Amb. hom: 1. lib. 1 mourn? Wilt thou haue Christe dwell in thee? mourne. Wilt thou haue sinne mortified in thee? mourn: Wilt thou haue grace plentyfull in thee? mourne. O remember that Peter after hee had bewayled his apostasie, found greater grace by his teares, than hee lost by his deniall.

Looke on Dauid the adulterer, hee weepeth, and is restored: Look on Agar the desolate, she weepeth, and is comforted: Looke on weeping Anne, she recouereth her barrennesse.

Looke on mourning and weeping Iob, hee ouercommeth his temptations: mourning Ieremie prophesieth, the mourning Publicane is iustifyed, and mourning Ioseph is deliuered.

Oh teares of great worth, working great thinges with GOD. By teares Marie obtayned the pardon of her sinnes: by teares shee obtained the resurrection of her deade brother: for her teares sake, the Angelles came and comforted her: for her teares sake our Sauiour first appeared and shewed himselfe vnto her.

Great is the vertue and power of teares, which tie the handes of the omnipotent, ouercome the inuincible, appease the wrath and indignation of the Iudge, and doth change and conuert it into mercie.

Hee that standeth on a profound and deepe pit, sayeth the Philosopher, seeth the stars at noonstead: where hee that standeth on the face of the earth, seeth not one starre in so great a light: In like maner, he that is placed in the deapth of humilitie, teares, sighs, and tribulation, sigheth to heauen, and summoneth God by his cries: but hee that standeth in the light of this worlde, and in the brightnesse of worldlye lasciuiousnesse, can see no star, or retaine anie grace.1 Dionisius. Shall I teach you how to bewaile Christ? First loue him, for loue vniteth things together, drawing all mans interest from himself, and placing it in another: when thou art conuerted into Christ, then mayest thou truely bewaile him. For the losse of things then neerest touch vs, when they are best knowee vnto vs. Those that are one in affection, are one in passiō, one in desires, one in teares, one in loue, one in sorrow, one in minde, one in martyrdome: mockers martyr Christ, penitents weep for him, blasphemeis crucifie him, the sorrowfull are comforted by him, O men, learne and vnderstand this, our Lord suffered of will, not of necessitie, and hee indured of commiseration, we in condition: his voluntarie passion therefore, is our necessarie consolation, that being afflicted as hee was, we may be confident as he was. Will you know the hunger and thirst of this aduocate? Ahlasse, hee scarce found one theese on the gallowes whome hee might taft: his Apostles are fled from him, and hid them in the throng: Peter that promised to perseuer till death, hath denied him. Wherevpon then shall hee feed, if all soules flie him? Nay, howe can hee hope orf loue, where none weep for him? Oh man thou art made iust by the iustice of God? Thou art saued gtatis, and not by thy graces: thou hast none to flie to, but to him in necessities, thou hast no life but it proceedeth from him: vnder the Sunne thou hast nothing but watching, sleeping, eating drinking, hunger, thirst, growth, weaknes, infancy, childhood, youth, age, and all these hee gaue thee. Aboue the Sunne, thou hast inuisible faith,August in Psalm 38 inuisible hope, inuisible charitie, inuisible bountie, inuisible feare in holynesse, which he willingly offereth thee. Oh then giue him teares for his treasures, a small interest for so great riches. Oh yee sinful race of men, what are you but a sacke of necessities? Ahlasse, what necessities are these? Not to knowe anothers heart, to thinke ill oftentimes of a faithfull friend, to thinke well oftentimes of a dissembling enemie? O hard necessitie! yet another harder. Thou knowest not what thou shalt be tomorow. O greatest miserie! yet another harder. Thou must needes die: O harde necessitie! not to wyll that which thou canst not escape? In this confusion what canst thou man? Whether art thou carried? How art thou bannished? Crie and crie out, vnhappie man that I am, who shall deliuer mee from these? Who shall aunswere thee? Who shall helpe thee? Not ambition, for it is blinde: not lust, for it hastens death: not wrath, for it subdueth reason: not the infirmities of the world, for they are all fraile: It must be humble Iesus then, that must heal these imperfectious, recouer these necessities, & determine these daungers, to whom thou no sooner canst offer teares, but he sodainly sendeth remedies. Oh what hart can bee so hardned?August in Psalm 10 What mind so obdurate? What soul so sensles, that beholding a prince in his owne kingdome, amongst his owne subiects, massacred by his owne sonne, wil not grieue at it: by how much reason then (ō you bond slaues of sinne) should you be sorrowfull, that see a prince, not slaughtered in his owne kingdome, but vniustly murthred in the world, not among his subiectes, but his brethien: not by his sonnes onely, but sonnes, seruants, and liegemen: nay, which is more, not for his owne offence, his owne default, his owne errour, but for their sinnes onely who persecute him onely. Oh wonderful charitie, Christ spreadeth his armes to imbrace those that spit at him, openeth his woūds to intertain those that will enter, offereth his bloud to ran some them that shedde it, giueth his flesh to bee eaten, to those that mangled it: he praieth for theyr offences that fastned him to the crosse,August in Psalm 41 he made their sinnes his sinne, that hee might make his iustice their iustice. Oh if there be anie kindnesse in thee (man) thinke on these benefits: looke, looke about thee, consider the waight of thy offences, which stops the Fathers cares, though the sonne crieth, Make Christ sweat water and bloud for verie agonie in bearing them, make heauen, and earth, and all creatures breake out in miracles to beholde them. Iob vppon the deuils request,Iob i was lefte to him to bee tempted, and after his long patience receiued blessinges two folde: but our Lord was whipte, and no man helped him: foulely spit vppon, and no man succoured him: lewdly buffetted, and no man regarded him: crowned with thornes, and no man pittied him: nailed to the crosse, and no man deliuered him: hee cryed, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? and was not succored. Why oh good Iesu, whence came these thinges? For what cause sufferedst thou all this? To what end are all these torments? Why cryed the Iewes, Crucifie, crucifie? Why wert thou poured out like water? Why were all thy bones dispearsed? Why became thy heart like melting wax? Why cleaued thy tong to thy roof? Why diuided they thy garments & cast lots on thy vesture? O Christ, the sonne of God, if thou wouldest not, thou shuldest not haue suffred: shew vs therfore the fruit of this thy passion: It was thy sinne (O sinner) that caused this, it was thy disobedience to God that was punished in Gods sonne: to shew the horrour of thy offence, power was made desolate. Oh stony heart be not so obstinate, let teares drop from thine eyes to recompence the bloud pouring from his wounds: sigh bitterly with him that praied earnestlye for thee. What is this sinne, sayest thou, that inforceth such a sacrifice? That which maketh all men in the world flie from their saluation,August. li: 12 de ciuitate Dei and runne after theyr owne concupiscences without anie feare: that which leadeth men downe to hell, that which blindeth the vnderstanding, that which maketh men like vnto foolish beastes: for as beastes incline themselues to earthly pleasures, so sinners betroth themselues to worldly desires: that which maketh men seeke onely those things which are of the flesh, that which maketh men esteem their belly for their God. Sinners are compared to hogs by their detracting, for as the hogge deuoureth doung, so detracting & sinfull men, other mens sinnes and filthines: For lecherie they are compared vnto a horse:Phil 30 Rom: 8 for folly and slownesse to an asse: for their solicitude & worldlie care, to an oxe: for their curious cō uersations, to an ape: for their inconsiderate boldnes, to a lyon: for their crueltie, to a beare: for their vanitie, to libards: for their crafte, to a foxe. Sinne is the trangression of the laws of God,Numquid potest Athiops mutare pellem suain aui paidus varietate 〈◊〉 and the disobedience of his commandements: Sinne, is the contrarie to nature: sinne draweth vs from the soueraigne good, to make vs subiect to brittle, fraile, and mutable pleasures.Ambrose li. de pa • ad: ho. 32 quest. 133 art. 1 •• ay • 9 Plato in Gorgia Sinne diuideth vs from God. To conclude, (as the Ethnike witnesseth) the sinner is onely miserable: Sinne depriueth man of eternall beatitude, banisheth him from heauen, confineth him with hell, despoileth him of graces, exileth him from paradice. Briefely, it maketh him the most miserable amongest miserable. Sinne peruerteth the order of nature, impugneth our reason, vigeth our sensualitie: sin blindeth the spirite, darkneth the vnderstanding (ordained to contemplate spirituall things:) Sinne soileth and infecteth the solue, depriueth it of her nuptiall garment, and maketh it filthie and loathsome: according to that of the Prophet, Denigrata est super carbones facies eius. Sinne after it hath blinded the vnderstanding, hardeneth the heart, and maketh obstinate in iniquitie: whence commeth the habitude of sinne, which is the extremitie of sinne, and as Philosophers conclude, another nature. Hee that sinneth, whatsoeuer he be, either king in his diadem,Abissus abissum inuocat Psalm 41 Ex frequentatione actu um genetatur habitus Arist Categ Rom. 6 Iohn 8 prince in his purple, poore, in his miserie, he is the slaue of sinne: who therefore by sinne is giuen ouer as a praie to vices, looseth his libertie, and cannot resist his vnhappines. See sinner, see, what horror, what confusion? Look with what foes you are inuironed, that you may knowe the greatnes of your deliuerance: you are vncurable by sinne, & Christ healeth you: you are separated from God, from the Angels, from the Patriarkes, Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs, by sin, and Iesus restoreth you: you are impouerished by sinne, and hee inricheth you: you are made abhominable, and hee blesseth you.

O if you knewe howe abiecte & wretched a sinfull soule is, you woulde resist it, (saieth a father,) euen vnto the death. Waries, plagues, famine (the whips of God) sicknesse, dishonours, and aduersity, (the tooles of his correction) howe light trifles are these in comparison of loathsome sinne? Tyrannies, iniuries, oppressions, the fury of the fire, the danger of water, the contagion of aire, the trembling of the earth, finally, all the complements of euils which persecute man, proceed from sinne: so that rightlye it maye bee sayde,Quicquid patimur peccata nostra merue ••• t all that which the wretched suffer, their sinnes haue deserued it. Oh the horrour of sinne, oh the terrible issues thereof: wretched men take heede and looke about you, let your haires stand vpright for verie fright, and let your bloud flie to your heart, to comfort it in the extremity of your thoughts, no punishment can satisfie for it, no death can recompence for it, but the flames of hell eternall in theyr extremitie, extreame in their eternitie.

Oh harde hearted soules, solde and quite giuen ouer to your owne sensualities, beholde the issues of your euill liues, beholde your martirdomes for crucifying Christ, if you reconcile not & weep with him you shall haue perpetuall darknesse without light, you shall be depriued of Gods presence, (a greater tormēt to the damned than may be expressed) fire shall burne you vnquenchably, darknes shall blind you vnseparably, conscience shal accuse you incessantly, deuills shall persecute you eternally, cries, cursinges, and blasphemies shall hant you continually, desolation and discomfort shall detaine you perpetually. Finally, without remorse in life, there is no redemption after death. O Iesus my son, how rich art thou in compassiō, thou onely healest these wounds, & recouerest these harmes. It is thou onely that canst dull the sting of this death, thy bloud onely satisfieth for these defaults. Ah deare Lord, thou art worthie of teares, thou deseruest remorse, thou hast purchased compassion. Oh woful spectacle for men to weepe at, for angels to sigh at. Oh sacrifice for sinne, O attonement for offences, oh seale of redemption. O contemplation to extort teares, to behold innocencie martired with so many and grieuous wounds. Oh libertie taken prisoner, oh truth accused, oh innocencie whipped, oh iustice condemned, oh glorie discruciate, oh life dead and crucified: oh highnesse of charitie, oh basenesse of humilitie, oh greatnes of mercie, oh excesse of bountie. Thou hast wept for all,Granaten. & art bewailed of none: thou hast borne many hurts, to cure a few hearts: thou hast bene a corrosiue to thy mother, to be a cordiall to men: but men weepe thee not, they passe by wagging their heads at my woe, & hiding their faces, least they shuld be inforced to bewaile thee. Theyr hearts are become adamants, & loathing to spende teares themselues, they grieue to grace my teares by hearkning to them. Ah heauenly father, let me consume with sorrow till I see him: let my life passe like a tale that is told: let my soul (that mourneth within me) giue a libel of diuorce to this flesh, that I in spirit may seeke him out, who in the flesh did glorifie me. Thou that rainedst vppon the earth fortie daies, to reuenge thee on the rebellious, open the cloudes of thy compassion ouer mee, that they weeping on mee, and I with them, I may be drowned in them, innocencie may be quickned by me. All Iudah & Israel mourned for Iosiaz,Paral. 15 & shall teares want to bewaile Iesus? See my sonne, I will beare thy crosse on my shoulders, imprint thy passisions in my heart: I will beat so long vpon my breast, that the eccho therof shall pearce all eares: I will sigh so long, till the furnace of my charitie steame out my hart, and the winged chast affections of my soul, soare heauens, search earth, finde my sonne, or forsake my soule. Ah my son, no Absolon a sinner, but Iesus a sauiour. The root of my hope is waxed olde, and the stocke thereof is dead in the ground; When shal these closed eies open to warme him as his sonne? When shall thy breath quicken and cheere my barrennesse, the daies of my desolation are come. The blessedst amongest women, is now the miserablest amongst mothers. Grief hath brought mee to deaths doore, (my sonne) but death will not let me enter, oh then shewe thy deitie to helpe thy mother, and let me die in this desolate flesh, to liue in thy diuine bodie, the ioy in possessing the one, shall temper the losse of the other, and dying in my selfe to giue thee life, I shall liue in death by reason of thy lyfe. O Lorde Lord of my life, how hath zeal made mee presume? no soule meriteth to dwel in this body but thine own: thus impatience in loue, makes mee too much presume for loue: Fruites long time shut in their buds, by rain, deawe, and sunne are made to blossome: riuers closde in then bounds by huge windes, are forced to ouerlope the bankes. The Ostridge by helpe of the Sun and sand, breaketh the shell: ripen then (thou roote of mine) for the raine of remorse hath watered thee, the deaw of compassion hath wet thee, the sunne of my zeale and charitie hath looked on thee, and inflamed thee: rise & rouse thy selfe thou riuer of God, for the windes of my sighs haue summoned thee: ouerbeare death, holye spring of happines, and let the waters of life issue from thee. Breake the shell of death, thou that fastedst in the desart, and let the sunne of my desire quicken the sun of vnderstanding, be not to long in conquering death, least I loose life in wailing thy death. How long ô Lorde, howe long wilt thou delay? Shall death neuer haue end, because my life may be deuoured in death? Wilt thou not awake like a strong warriour, to conquere these passions with combat with thy mothers heart? Set thine axe to the tree of my sorrowe, let mine eyes which bewaile thee dead, beholde thee liuing; let mine eares, which are scard with mine owne clamors, bee consolated by thy counsels: let mee smell thee the rose, and see thee the lilly richly clothed: let me tast howe sweet the Lord is: let me touch him, whose absence toucheth mee at the hart: let my imagination be the vsher, to present thee, my memorie, the painter, to describe thee, my consideration the fire to kindle loue. Let hell, hunger, thirst, weepe and waile, come thou and ioy with Israel, thou hast not to doo with Aegypt. Come thou corner stone, and let me builde on thee, wed me to death, so thou returne to life, I cannot want thee. I will not misse thee, my loue is so feruent, as it neither measures iudgement, or regardeth counsel, or is brideled by shame,Bernard or subiect to reason: come yeeld me peace with a kisse of thy mouth, and let my importunacy work more with thee than all expectation can require. Lēd me the cloak of thy presence, to diuide the waters of my woes: let thy mother bee as strong as thy prophet, that by praying to our Lorde with teares, by putting my mouth on thy mouth,4: Reg. • by fastning mine eies to thine eies, by closing my handes in thy handes, I may make the flesh of my sonne wax warme: as he warmed the flesh of the Sunamites child, then gasping seuen times I wold kisse thee seuētie times seuen, & seeme more thy louer than thy mother. I wold expostulate with thee of thine absence, and if thy wounds fell new a bleeding, I would wash them with my teares; my hairs should dry them, my lips should suck them, thou shouldest make me more than a mother, in recouering mee an absent sonne. Well Lorde, if thou denyest that I want, I will reioyce in that I haue, I wil symbolise thy body with mine, and quicken thy passion by my sufferance: There shal no sorrow be hid from mine eies, till I see thy eyes open, and till the eies of our Lord quicken mee, the eie of poore Marie shall see no comfort: mine eie shal onely see by supposing thine eie seeth: all pleasures shal be smoake to mine eies, till thy eies doo beholde them: till thy eies bee waking, mine eies shall be weeping, and vnles they grow open,Eccles. 21 I will shut mine eies with sorrow. I will set a sure seale vppon my lips, 〈◊〉 4 till thy lips salute me, & my lips shall become white as the lilly, til thy lips grow crimson like a rose coloured riband.1. b 5 My vnsained lips shal bee tired with praier, till such time I may inioy thy desired presence: my handes shall neuer vnfolde, till the hands of my Lord be extended: I wil neuer deliuer thy bodie out of my hands, till thou deliuer my soule out of her sorrow: I will lay my hand vppon my mouth, till thou speakest, & neuer wil I cease to lift vp my hands to heauen, till thy hands haue imbraced me on earth: till thou put foorth thy hand, I will leane my head vpon my hande, and till thy fingers touch me, my heart shall bee touched with sorrow: the wings of the cherubines touched one another, ô let the wings of my charity touch the wings of my life, both are allied, both loue. They that touched the hem of thy vesture, recouered from their sicknesse, shall not I touch thy bodie to recouer me of my sorrow? The bodie which liueles touched the bones of Elisa, 4. Reg: 13 were restored to life; and shall my hands touch thee, my lippes kisse thee, my loue importune thee, and thou not liue?Arist. libro Phil. 1 All heauie thinges by nature search the center, I am in the abundance of my heauinesse, and cannot descend into the graue: I will glorie in tribulation,2 Corint. 12 so thou grace me in thy life. My soule is in bitternesse, and heauie captiuitie, oh make my burden light, by once looking on mee.Ieremy 6 The Iewes by smiting haue wounded thee, thou by absence hast wounded mee, sorrow and wounds are euer in my sight: touch I thy browe, thornes haue wounded it: kisse I thy cheekes, crimson hath forsaken them, thy sides are wounded, thy hands are wounded, thy feet are wounded, my wounds cannot bee hid till thy wounds be healed,Marke 11 and til thou liue to recure mee, I shall die thorough wanting thee. Thou hast promised that whatsoeuer wee shall faithfully aske in thy name, thou wilt grant it vs. Then ô Iesu, my sonne, my cōforter, I coniure thee by thine owne name Iesus, to blunt and abate the sting of death, to breake vp and dispearse the cloudes of darknes, and appearing like a fair morning starre, quicken the dead comfort of thy mother, and giue a light to this desolate and dismaide worlde. Shew the light of thy countenance, and I shall be whole. O Lord my redeemer, tarrie not, my soule thirsteth after thee my sonne, & as the hart desireth the hart desireth the water brookes, euen so my soule longeth after thee my God. Appeare then thou chief shepheard,2: Pet: 5 thy flocks saint without thee. Apparell thy selfe with life, to apparell our hearts with ioy: my eies long fore for thy sight, oh when wilt thou comfort me.Psal: 〈◊〉 Ies •• 9

O who will giue my head water inough, and a spring of teares for mine eies, that I may weepe daie & night for the absence of my son? Ahlas, ahlas, sorow increaseth in me, and heauinesse swalloweth vp my soule: my teares are like seede in a barren ground, the garden of my delight is become a desart of sorrow, I am like a mother bemourning her child, because he is not. Oh thou angell of peace, come and succour me: Ah my sonne, the happinesse in bearing thee, is buried through the heauinesse in missing thee: and the hope I conceiued of thy life, is preuented by thy lamentable death. Wo is me, I am sicke to the death, to see thee dead, I am sicke for loue, and desire to hasten thy life. Wilt thou lifte the poore out of the dust,Phil.23 and leaue thy mother in desolation? Oh lifte vp thine eies, and see howe the mother lifteth vp her voice and weepeth!Cant: 8 Oh loue, if thou art mightier than death, now shew thy power, lighten the lampe of his life, at the candle of my charitie: Poure the oyle of thy compassion into these wounds, and heale them, breath the breath of life into him by imbraces and kissing: as I claspe mine armes, let him gaspe & breath: as I weep on his face, let him sucke vp my teares: O death, if thou be more pittifull than loue, imprison thy dart in my heart, & ransome my sonne. Ahlas the fairest among men, loue will not lend him me, death wil not grant him me, his mother must be onely kinde, and her best tributes are but teares, prayers, kisses, and wishes. Ah Bethelem, mourn with me, and you inhabitants of Iuda, put on sackcloth, for sorrow is come vppon you, and the voice of the mourner must ring in your streetes, houle and lament Ierusalem, weepe the teares of contrition, sigh, sob, & complaine you, he that loued you lost his lyfe, he that wept for you, is dead for you: hee that praied for you, is plagued for you. Ah crosse that hast made my sonne a martyr, and mee a mourner! Ah crosse that art the meane of my griefe: Ah crosse, the cause of crosse, I must kisse thee, & accuse thee. See, see, thou art honoured by my Iesus name, his purple drops of blud dwel in thee, thou diddest kisse his bodie, his warme bodie, and for these causes I kisse thee. But cruel crosse, since all thy trophies are cause of my trouble: thy titles, the occasions of my teares: let me accuse thee, which hast honored thy selfe, and left me comfortlesse: yet art thou kinde to me in listning my complaintes, and but in bearing the name of Iesus in thy front, thou hast alreadie recouered my fauour. O crosse, the image of mortification,Bernard the tree of redemption, the bond of peace, the seal of the couenant, I will crosse mine armes to imbrace thee. Crosse, all my ioyes to containe thee, I will be a crosse to mine owne soule, if it seeke thee not, and count euerie comfort a crosse, that is not crost by thee. I will crosse the seas of tribulation to incounter thee, & whilst I hold thee holy crosse I will count no crosse too cruell: I that bare my sonne, will holde it for no base benefit to beare his crosse, 〈◊〉 : 4 & the onely glorying in the crosse of Christ crucified, shal be my best blessing: my loue shall fasten mee to my sonnes crosse, and in that he vouchsafed a crosse,Col: 1 I will esteeme no glorie but in his crosse. O sonne, the words of thy wisedome were pricks and nailes to my meditation: these fastned thee vnto me in all assaultes of sorrowe, and those nailes which nailed thy handes and feete to the crosse, shall nail my soul & thoughts to thy crosse, & with my nailes I will dig my owne graue, before I forsake those nails which forced thy hands: Like as a nail in the wall sticketh fast, so fastly shall the nailes of thy martirdome sticke in my heart:Eccle. 27 I will naile vp my soule from all ioy, because the naile that issued from Iuda is broken: my flesh is torne with thornes,Zach: 16 because thy forehead is rent wyth thornes: the thornes of tribulation persecute me, because the thornes of martirdome pearceth, I will hedge in my heart with thornes, because they haue hemd in thy braines with thornes. Whether vnto extendeth my sorrowe? If it was thy loue that madest thee suffer, it becommeth my loue to suffer with thee:Iob 81 and since thou giuest mee an example of patience, why should I not preserue the same? Though the shadow of death ouerspred thine eies, hope saith they shall be lightned: though thy life be nowe like the darke night, it shortly shall be as cleere as the noone daie, yea, thou shalt shine forth and bee as the morning.

The shepheards after great storms wait for faire weather: the souldiers after dreadfull warre, expect happie peace: the sentinell after his colde watch, attendeth, and intendeth his desired and wished sleepe: pleasures are the heires of displeasures, & comfort treadeth on the heele of care. Why expostulate I then with death? who hauing a time to tyrannize, shal at last be lead in triumph: the storms of afflictions shall bee calmed, the warres of rufull wailing, shall haue a peacefull delight: these watchfull complaints and attendings to see my loue, shal at last be quieted, and I shal laie me downe and take my rest, for my Lord shall come, and cause mee to dwell in safetie. Brieftie, all teares shal be wiped from mine eies, deaths sting shall bee dulled, lifes triumph shall bee established, sorrowe shall be disinherited, and maiestie reuiued.

Oh my charitie, how much doest thou helpe mee in this? my faith onely presenteth mee wyth all these hopes, as it were vnder a vaile, my hope beholdeth my sonne (& these future prophesies of him (as the chiefest good (which as yet vnpossessed she hopeth to inioy) but thou my charitie makest all these ioyes present, so that I behold effectuallye thinges before thy bee, and craue no interest in beleefe, whereas my loue assures mee all is present. Ah that the aduersitie of an houre shoulde make mee thus forget the pleasures I had in lyfe? when I lulled thee in my lap my son, fostered thee at these teates, followed thee in trauels, fedde with thee in Aegypt: Then, ô then what sweetnes inioyed I in thy presence: what comfort in thy counsels, what courage in extreams? Ah but if it be true, that thinges the dearer they are loued, breed the more hart griefe by their losse: howe can I choose but waile, that hauing had pleasure to wrappe thee in thy swathing bands, must nowe to my discomfort, close thee in thy winding sheete: Can the want of thy companie, the lacke of thy counsells, the muficke of thy preachings, the miracles in thy lyfe, the charitie in thy death be expiated but with another death, or answered with a few sighs? Ah this aduersitie of an hour (in other mens thoughts) is an age in mine. Compare the age of thy pleasure, to one minute of the griefe, and it exceedeth it. The earth for a little trauell rewardeth the husbandman with a huge crop,Tul ▪ Offi. 1; and shal I bee more vnkind than the earth, to the king of the heauens (who as the beam in the glasse, hath inriched my wombe, and annointed me with the oyle of gladnesse aboue my felows) shall I requite his kindnesse & great mercies with a few faint teares? No my charitie shall not let me, my loue shall suffer my griefe to exceed her, and reason shall surrender his Lordship to passion, sufficeth it my son, that in spirit I assure mee of thy life; yet in flesh whilest thou art absent, & dwellest with death, let mee bewaile thee, (for humane weaknesse requireth a little more weeping. Of one spark, (saith the wise man) is made a great fire, of one kernell a large tree, of one grain of mustard seed, a great and grosse number: why then shuld not one care beget another, one tear produce multitudes, one sighe inforce stormes, wherethorough my griefe might bee endlesse in lamenting, my teares ceaselesse in weeping, and my sighs incessant in their doubling? Hanna was troubled in her minde, and wept sore to get a sonne, and shuld not Marie be tormented in soule, and weep instantly that hath left a sonne? Achsah married to Othouiel, humbled her selfe before her father, and sayd, Giue me a blessing, thou hast giuen mee a South lande, giue mee also springes of water. As Achsah to Caleb her father, so I to shee my God;Greg. libro • Dialog. thou hast giuen mee a South land of desolation, wherin the fruits of hope are barre, the blossoms of ioyes are blasted: Oh giue mee therefore a well spring of teares, to water this wast, that my hopes maye ripe by my ruth, and my ioyes maye bloome after their blasting. Iosiah considering the long absence & concealment of the bookes of the lawe, rent his garments for griefe, & wept bitterly: Wonder not therefore ô ye men of Israel, though Marie rent hir heart, rent her hairs, rent hir clothes, for the hath lost & long wanted, the Lord of the lawe, the maker of Moses, the father of the people, the passeouer and pledge of mans redemption. As the hand which is filled with oue thing, can receiue and containe no other thing,August. so my heart being filled with the loue of this absent Christ, the griefe in wanting him, & the woundes that wounde him) can loue nothing better than to lament him: can grieue at nothing else but his want: finally, my eyes presenting his woundes to the consideration of the same, my thoughts are wounded, by dwelling in my heart, my heart is wounded by containing my thoughts, and both are wounded in imagining his wounds: yea, they are so filled with compassion, that they yeeld no place to consolation. Why then begette not these griefefull thoughtes more griefefull thoughts: these teares, more teares: these sighes, more sighes: which hauing onelye emperie in my heart, maye giue place to no ioye, but breake the circumference that incloseth them in in the centre of care, and getting better freedome to produce more, they maye in theyr eternitie make mee more miserable, and my moane more fruitful', my sorrowe more plentifull, thorough the foisons of my misfortune. Ah Marie, thou canst not make thine abilitie aunswerable to thy will, thy life hath limites, and must limite thy teares. Hee that bindeth the flouds that they ouerflow not, boundeth thy teares. Thou hast wept to the vtterance, thou hast no more to vtter: the darknes must once come to an end, the cloudes must at last bee dissolued, and euerie thing must end at his appointed time, and as there is a time to bemoane, so lykewyse there is a time to bee merrie.

If thou weepe tyll thou weepe awaie lyfe, and crie till thy dayes bee consumed and quite wasted, a daie shal come to determine both? What shall I become a comforter? or giue a lawe to my remorse, who cannot comprehend my losse? No mine eies weepe on, whilest I haue a time to liue, giue no tearme to your teares: as fast as you weep them, my braines shall distill them, the fire of my loue shall helpe to distill them, they cannot cease till I die, and beeing dead, what need I seeke to bewaile, his absence, being assured of his presence? Th̄e til I die I wil not cease to weep, that being dead, I may behold him, & whilest I liue, I will count all food vaine, till I feede on his presence. If mine eies growe wearie, my sighes shall assist them, and when both of them are infeebled, my cries shall be inforced: in the hollow of his sepulchre I wil execute these drirements, and I will exclaime so long on death till I make him deafe with hearing me. Make him deafe poore Marie? Ahlas, he is alwaies deafe and insensible, it were a second death to assault him: hee is not tamed by intreaties, tempted by perswasions, bribed by benefits, or allured by lamentations, tearmes please him not, tears pearce him not, it were an endlesse labour, a fruitlesse worke. Oh my sonne, how am I discruciate for thee, I woulde worke, I know not what, to win thee I know not how, I wold end my sorrow, and desire to begin it, I woulde beare thee to thy graue, could I cease to imbrace thee, I would complaine of my desires, so I might appease them, and conquer my affections, so I might command them: but flames that are 'quickly kindled, are hardly quenched, and where oyle seeds the lampe of sorrowe, it will hardly bee extinguished. My sighs preuent my teares, and inforce them to issue, my teares preuent my thoughts, & make them impatient, my thoughtes preuent my reason, and admit no moderation, my reason would preuent all this, but loue preuenteth it: my loue beeing of it selfe firie, will not cease burning till it imbrace thee, flaming, till it find thee out: my charitie is soueraigne of all my delights, she wils mee die to liue with thee: And as in Salomons temple there, there was nothing that was not couered with golde, so is there not anie parte, sense, motion, or action in me, or the liuing temple of my soul, which is not inuested with loue, clothed with charity, which hauing the nature of fire, (which is the most actiue of all elementes) is neuer idle, but reuiueth teares when they are extinct, quickneth sighs when they cease: armeth thoughtes, when they are dismaide: and forceth reason when shee fainteth. As the roote is to the tree, the soule to the bodie, the sunne to the worlde: such are thou to mee, O my sonne: the boughs are not clothed with green, except they bee vnited to the root: the members inioye no lyfe, except they be imformed by the soule: the worlde partaketh no light, excepte the Sunne illuminateth and lightneth the same: so my bodie inioyeth no lyfe except thou liue in mee, mine eyes no delight, excepte thou loooke vppon them, my thoughtes no cleere and perfect vnderstanding, vnlesse thou beautifie and beholde them. Briefely, I cannot bee mine owne without thee, I cannot liue, thou beeing dead, I cannot leaue weeping teares, vntill thou come and wipe awaie my teares. Hee that truely loueth (saith the Philosopher) is dead in his owne bodie, and liueth in anothers: then how commeth it to passe my sonne,Arist: Polit: 1 (if this reason doo holde) that I liue not in thee, who loue thee so dearly? If it be true, that ther are two tearms in all motions, the one from whence the thing parteth, the other whether it is resorted: why is it not this lyfe that hath lefte thee, incorporated in my bodie? and my life which should forsake my bodie, possessed of thine? Our loues are in the highest degree perfect, why haue not then these causes their effects? Why liuest thou not my sonne? Why moue not these handes with mine? Why stirres not this hart with mine? Why open not these eyes with mine? Why speakes not this mouth with mine? Oh my God, except it bee imperfection of my bodie, I know nothing can withdrawe thy lyfe from me. By it I liue, by thy spirit my spirit breatheth, only my life is not in thy body, because it is vnworthie to expresse it, vnworthie to animate thy heart, open thine eyes, quicken thy handes and tongue: and thy life is not in mine, because my bodie is vnable to contain it: yet a sparke of thy spirit is my loue, and a beame of this loue is my desire, which by kisses I breath into thy lippes, which though it actually worke not in thee, yet by effectuall wil, I wish it in thee. What I can giue of my life, I lauishly haue spent on thee, my life liueth in my bodie, though my body liue not, til thy bodie inioy life, the life of my bodie is liuelesse, onely my charitie which is in me, taken from thee (who art the tree' of life, and fountaine of charity) maketh my bodie liuing in spight of my will, and inforceth all my senses (through vehemencie of my spirit,) to worke theyr offices in a liuelesse body, and a hartlesse creature, which liueth onelie by thee, and cannot liue but in thee: so if I liue, I liue forcibly, till thou liue. And to verefie this philosophie (in that I loue thee truly) I leaue my selfe to liue in thee, & onely by the liuing charity which is in me, my handes imbrace thee, as they doo, mine eies bewaile thee with teares, and euerie other parte worketh as thou wouldest. Ah Lord now see I the reason of my deadlie lyfe, and thy wounding death: thou the hope of the disconsolate, art crucified. thou the fountaine of life, art troubled: how can my life then bee fruitfull, who was ingraffed by thee, Or thy death bee but wounding, when thou the fountayne (by whom I liue) art dried vp by death? If of contraries, there growe a contrarie reason, why shoulde I feare? The wicked (sayth Iob) shall neuer departe out of darknesse, the flame shall drie vp their branches, with the blasts of Gods mouth shall they bee taken awaie. What then shall become of the godly? If the wicked dwell in darknesse, they shall inioye light? If the flame dry vp their branches, the children of the righteous shall bee like Oliue branches: if the godlesse be blasted by Gods mouth, the innocent shall bee blessed with his benefites: Then what shoulde I feare? And what not hope? Thou knowest me (ô Lord my father) how I have conceiued in' innocencie, and hated the workes of darknesse: thou knowest my sonne hath suffered in innocencie, let therefore the fruit of my wombe florish, let thy promises be accomplished in Iacob, & thy couenant in Israel.