The First Word.

ALl Nations did ever in Nature acknowledg, not only a guiltiness of sin, but some means of Re­conciliation [Page 2]to their gods in the remission of sins: For they had al some formal & Ceremo­nial Sacrifices and Expiations by which they thought their sins to be purged and washed away; and the people of Is­rael were prescribed by God himself, what, and how to of­fer their religious Victims: But the proper and true Pro­pitiatory Sacrifice to take a­way the sins of the world, was only Jesus Christ, the Incar­nate Word of the Eternal Father, who much Coveting that Ineffable work of man's Salvation, thought it not only enough to suffer, but before he submits himself to those great undertakings, deemed it also expedient to win the hearts of the people as well by Do­ctrine as Miracles. His whole [Page 3]Life was a continued Lecture and Method of teaching, and because the words of a dying man works commonly a great impression on the affections and judgments of the hearers, therefore being now to seal the Lease of that inestimable purchase with his own blood on the Cross, he delivered such divine Legacies, such Soul-livening words, as ought to survive in the hearts and actions of all true Christians. The first whereof was this, Father forgive them, &c.

The Ex­plication.He called him [Father,] not God or Lord, because he well knew in this condition to be needful the Benignity of a Father, not the Severity of a Judge; the Smiles of Compassion, not the Frowns of Justice. And because to [Page 4]bend God to a Lenity (who was without doubt much in­censed for such grand ini­quities) it was convenient to present the amiable title of a Father: the words seem to imply thus much, I who am thy suffering Son do pardon them, pardon thou also, O Father, their impieties, and forgive me (thy Son) this of­fence, though they deserve it not. Take it to thy compas­sionate Remembrance, that thou art their Father by Cre­ation and Preservation, O then let thy Paternal favour shine upon them, for though they are evil, yet they are thy sons; though they are sinners, thou art merciful.

The word [Forgive] which is the sum of the Petition, may as well be referred to the [Page 5]Punishment as the Fault; if to the Punishment, this Prayer was heard, whilst the Jews for this present iniquity de­served instant revenge, yet was it defer'd for forty years; and if in that interim they had repented, they had re­mained safe and untouched: but because they did not, God permitted an Army of Ro­mans (Vespasian then Gover­ning) to come against them, who overthrew their Head City, and destroyed the Jew­ish Nation, some by the Sword, some by Famine, some sold, the rest Exiled into di­vers places of the earth, as foretold by the Parable of the Vineyard, and of the Kings in­viting of guests to the marriage of his son,Mat. 20.1 & by the similitude of the unfruitful Figtree.Mat. 22.2 If it be [Page 6]referr'd to the Fault,Luk. 13.6 the Prayer was also heard in that relation, for by the powerful efficacy thereof was given to many Repentance and Com­punction of heart, in which number was the Centurion,Mat. 27 54 Luk. 23 48 and those who returned strik­ing their guilty brests, con­fessing him to be the Son of God.

The Persons prayed for, are either h [...]s Manual Executio­ners, those who divided his garments, or those who were the effectual causes of his Pas­sion, as Pilate who gave the sentence, the people who cry­ed out, Crucifie, crucifie him, the Scribes who falsely accu­sed him; or, as we may as­cend higher, the first man A­dam and his posterity. All were involved in the Sin, all [Page 7]are included in the Prayer. And thou, (O my soul) before thou hadst a being, the Lord foresaw thee also to be ranckt sometimes amongst his ene­mies, and thy self not capable of petitioning, he prayes the Father for thee, that thy foo­lishness be not imputed to thee.

And that his intercession might be acceptable, he seems to guild the offences of his enemies with compassionate extenuations, as far as it might stand with his omni­potent Soveraignty, by ad­ding, For they know not what they do. For certainly he could not palliate that inju­stice in Pilate nor that cruelty in the Souldiers, nor that en­vie in the High Priest, nor that foolishness and ingratitude in [Page 8]the People, nor false Testimo­nies in the Perjurers, this only remained, that he might in all excuse their ignorance; for as the Apostle sayes, If they had known it, 1 Cor. 2.8 they had not cru­cified the Lord of Glory.

The Schools have made so many divisions and sub-divi­sions of Ignorance, that there goes as much learning to un­derstand Ignorance as Know­ledg; but their ignorance in condemning the Lord of life was of a very strange and transcendent nature▪ The people knew him to be inno­cently condemned, and Pilate himself sealed it with a pub­lick voice,Luk. 23.14 Mat. 27.24 I find no fault in this man, &c. and, I am in­nocent of the blood of this just man. The Integrity of his Life declared him to be Im­maculate. [Page 9]and sin-less, the greatness of his Miracles pro­claimed him a God, and the whole current of the Pro­phets testified him to be the Messias, and yet they would not acknowledg him to be the Christ, the Lord of Glory: The reson whereof is delivered by S. John, Joh. 12.37 and the Prophet Isaias, because their eyes were blinded, and thoir hearts hardned, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand w^th their hearts and be converted and healed.

But that blindness proceed­ed from an Ignorance which does not excuse, because it was voluntary & concomitant, not precedent. After the same manner are those who sin out of malice, they are alwayes infected with some Ignorance [Page 10]which is hatch't with the sin. The Philosopher said, Every Evil man, is an Ignorant man: And truly it may be spoken of all sinners, They know not what they do: For no man covets evil as it is evil, because the Object of the Will is a thing not good or ill, but on­ly (really or apparently) Good. Therefore they that make choice of evil, do chuse it as it represents the Species and forms of goodness; yea, they apprehend it as the chiefest good: The cause of this is a perturbation of the inferiour part, which doth so clod and darken reason that it cannot rightly discern the Atoms of goodness in things coveted; for he who com­mits Adultery or Theft, would never affect either, [Page 11]were it not for the false good of delectation or gain which couches under Adultery or Theft, not perceiving the evil of turpitude and inju­stice which likewise harbour there. So, that whosoever sins, is like the man, who de­sirous from a high Turret to throw himself headlong into some fierce River, shuts first his eyes, and then com­mits himself to the mercy of the Waters. He that is the Actor of evil, hates the light and labours under a pretended darkness, which being vincible and voluntarie does no way clear the Acti­on.

But wherefore then serves the prayer? I answer, If the words be understood of those executioners that performed [Page 12]only their commanded duties, and probably were ignorant as well of his Inocency as of his Divinity; or of us who were not then existent, or of such sinners who knew not what was then in agitation at Jerusalem: the Lord might most truly then Eja­culate these sweet tones of his Compassion; but if they be applyed to those grand contrivers and actors of that horrible treason, and well knew him to be the Missias, and an innocent man; then it is to be confest that Christs purpose thereby was only to extenuate the sins of his ad­versaries in the best manner he could; for although their Ignorance could not simply excuse, yet it may have the colourable reason of an ex­cuse [Page 13]for if they had wanted all ignorance their offence had been more grievous; and certainly if a better and more probable plea could have been found, he had willingly presented it even for Caiphas and Pilate the worst of all his enemies.

1. Hence may we first learn Christ's charity to be so Su­pereminent, that we may with the Apostle conclude, It pas­seth all knowledge. Eph. 3.19. Neither are our tongues able to ex­presse, nor our understand­ings to conceive the height of it. If any of us labour under any cross of grief, as the pains of our teeth, our eyes, or any other member, we are so pos­sest with a sense of any of these sufferings, that we think [Page 14]on nothing else, nor will scarce admit any negotiati­ons or visits of friends; where­as crucified Christ wore on his head a Crown of thornes, not being able to move with­out excessive grief, nails pierced his hands and feet, from whose borings he drew most bitter pains; his naked body wearied with unmerci­ful whippings, publickly ex­posed to ignominy and cold, throwing on him new sor­rows and new torments; yet as though he contemned those cruelties and suffered nothing being only solicitous for the salvation of his ene­mies, and desiring to avert from them an impendant dan­ger, he presents to his Father this mournful Obsecration, Father, forgive them, &c. [Page 15]If those wicked men had suf­fered an unjust persecution, what would he do? if friends, if kindred had suffered, not enemies, not traitors, not Pa­racides? His heart amongst so many storms of injurious sufferings (as a Rock in the midst of the Sea beaten with unruly waves) stood quiet and immoveable: after the infliction of so many deadly wounds, they deride his pati­ence; and triumph at their evil doings; he speaks not as an enemy striving with his fierce adversaries, but as a Father bemoaning his in­fants, or a Physician his pati­ents strugling with a grievous disease, and presents them to an omnipotent hand to cure their odious infirmities. This is the force of an upright cha­rity, [Page 16]not when one is reput­ed to have no enemies and have peace with all men, but to live peaceably with those that are haters of peace. And this is that Love the Wise man speaks of, that many wa­ters cannot extinguish,Cant. 8.7 nor the floods drown it.

O duri, du­rati & ob­durati ni­mis, quos tunta flam­ma non e­molliat. Bern.As that deluge of sufferings could not quench the flam­ing charity of our Saviour, so the rivers of persecution should not overwhelm Chri­stian Love in his members. A whiles after there issued out an imitating clemency, flaming in the brest of S. Ste­phen the Proto-martyr, which those showrs of stones could not quench, but made him break forth into that sweet prayer,Act. 7.60 Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. After him [Page 17]this divine virtue was pro­pagated to divers holy Mar­tyrs, who burn'd with won­derful flames of charity, not­withstanding the many tor­rents of sufferings and perse­cutions to overflow them.

I may ascend here from Christs Humanity to his Di­vinity; great was his charity as man to his executioners, but greater it was and is as God towards men, who would war with him, and, if if they could, pluck him from heaven and Crucifie him a­gain. Who can conceive the exceeding Love of God to men altogether wicked and unthankful? God spa­red not the Angels in their offences,2. Pet. 2.4 neither was he so indulgent to them as to suf­fer them to repent, but men [Page 18]sinning, and blaspheming and being deficient in their servi­ces to him, he often suffers, and not only suffers them, but in the mean time he feeds, cherishes and supports them; (For in him we live, Act. 17.28 move, and have our being) nay, he accu­mulates many benefits upon them, he adorns them with wit, fattens them with riches, prefers them to honors, and sublimes them to Kingdoms, and in the mean while he pa­tiently expects their return from their wayes of wicked­ness and perdition. Infinite are the presidents of Gods charity towards the wicked, and enemies of his most Sa­cred Majesty.

2. By this we are further taught to forgive received [Page 19]Injuries, and to make our ene­mies our friends: This re­markeable example of Christ should be a perswasive ar­gument to draw us to it. If he as well Pardoned as Prayed for his persecutors, why should not a Christian do the same? If God, the Crea­tor, who is able, both as Lord and a Judge to take a sud­den revenge on sinners, yet is pleased to invite them to favour, and to offer them a free Pardon, why should not a creature do the same? But you will say, It seems adverse to the rights of Nature, that a man should suffer himself to be unjustly trampled and vio­lated in words or deeds, for we see brutish creatures, who are led only by an Instinct of Nature, sharply on the first [Page 20]sight to encounter and de­stroy their enemies: And we have it experienced in our selves when by chance we es­py an adversary, our choler kindles, our blood boyles, and there naturally ariseth in us a thirst of revenge. But he is altogether deceived who does thus reason and he con­founds a just defence with an unjust vindication. For, to oppose an offered injurie, no man forbids, but to revenge it being done, the Divine Law gain-saies, for that appertains not to private men, but to the publick Magistrate; and because God is the King of Kings, Deut. 32 35 Rom. 12 19 therefore he proclaims it, Vengeance is mine, I will repay.

Beasts which naturally rush upon their enemies, cannot [Page 21]distinguish between Nature, and the viciousness of Na­ture; but man, which is beau­tified with Reason, should separate the Nature or Per­son which God created good, from the Vice or Sin, which is evil, and an Abortive meer­ly proceeding from the Divel. Love the Person, but detest the injury; imitate the Phy­sic an, who loves the Sick, but loaths the Disease; which that most holy Aesculapius of all souls hath taught us in the Gospel,Mat. 5.44 Love your ene­mies, do good to them that hurt you, bless them that curse you, &c. pray for them that hate you and persecute you. The reason why men stomack their enemies, is because they are brutish, and have a Commu­nity with Beasts: But those [Page 22]that are Spiritual, and can disband the Passions of the Soul, will rather compassio­nate their enemies, and by a Christian Affability win them to peace, then plot their de­struction: To them the yoke of Christ is sweet, and his burden feather-light, and his commands not heavy; but to the carnal and natural man they seem difficult and weigh­ty through reason of the predominancy of their own corruptions, and because the love of God is not in them; for nothing is impossible to Charity, It beareth all things, believeth all things, 1 Cor. 13.7 hopeth all things, endureth all things.

In holy Writ, we find how the Patriarch Joseph in those times afore the Law,Gen. 45 & 37 marvel­lously loved his brethren, who [Page 23](as enemies) fold him to the Midianites. And how pati­ently David took the enmi­ty of Saul who did much co­vet his destruction;1 King 4 yet when it was in his power to have killed him he would not. And in the law of Grace S. Paul speaks of himself and Co-Apostles, Being reviled, 1 Cor. 4 12 we blesse; being persecuted, we suffer; being defamed, we pray and intreat. ‘There is a known Story not imperti­nent to this purpose in Pe­trus Damianus, of a man whom another most trai­terously had pulled out his eyes, and this Accident had confined him to a Monastry, where he lived a pure and unspotted life, yielding all offices of charity, according to the ability of his person. [Page 24]It fell out this cruel crea­ture who had done this mischievous act, sickned of a languishing malady, and found himself enforced to be carried to that same place where he was whom he had bereaved of sight: His heart gave him, He would never endure him, but for revenge put out his eyes: But contrariwise, the blind man being better instructed, upon his earnest suit was deputed to the ser­vice of the sick man, and he most willingly dedicated to him all the functions of his body, but the eyes, which the other had pulled out; and you would think him all eyes, all hands, all heart to attend this sick man, so much consideration, vigor, [Page 25]diligence and affection he used.’ And what should they here say, who upon the least affront burn with a re­vengful spirit?

But it may be the objection of some, If we return a be­nefit for an injurie, a bene­diction for a curse, the wicked would wax insolent, and the robbers of Gods glory would become much bolder, the just would be oppressed, and vir­tue contemned: But the case will prove otherwise, for oft times a soft answer breaks the jaws of anger,Prov. 15 and the patience of a good man begets an admiration in the persecutor, and by a religious Alchymy converts an enemy to a friend; neither are there wanting on the earth Political Magistrates, whose care it is [Page 26]according to the severe cords of the Laws, to bind and en­force the wicked to such an obedience, that the just may lead a quiet and peaceable life. But if Humane Justice should sometimes sleep, yet the Providential eyes of God are still open, who never suf­fers the evil to go unpunish­ed, nor the good unrewarded, and through an admirable way, when the wicked think they vex and torment the good, he makes these the more famous, the more illu­strious: Saevisti persecutor in Martyrem, Leo. Ser. de S. Laur. saevisti, & aux­isti palmam, dum aggeras Poenam. The Rage of a Ty­rant adds to the Glory of a Martyr; nothing made Joseph so renowned as the persecuti­ons of his brethren.Gen. 40

Some, to avoid the shadow of a little disreputation among men, and to preserve the smoke of honour, will rather persecute then forgive their enemies, thereby displaying themselves to be void of true wisdom, when as they to shun a lesse evil, fall into a far greater. It is an undenyable axiome pronounced by the Apostle,Rom. 3. [...] Evil things may not be done, that good may come. He that receives an injury falls into the evil of punish­ment, he that revengeth falls into the evil of the fault; betwixt which two there is no Symmetrical proportion, for the punishment makes a man but miserable, the guilt and fault makes a man as well evil as miserable; the first de­prives a man of Temporal [Page 28]felicity, the other robs him as well of Eternal as Tempo­ral. Besides, it is generally held an argument of a noble mind to pardon, and a sign of a mean, & Pusillanimous spirit to revenge. Julius Caesar, that victorious Emperor of Rome, excelled more in Pardoning then Conquering his enemies, of whom Cicero gives this high Eulogie, That he forgot nothing but injuries. O, let not a Heathen under the Law of Nature surpass us in cle­mency and charity under the Law of Grace!

But that which makes men most averse from doing good and praying for their ene­mies, is, their difference about holy things. Religion, which should be the grand motive to Peace and Unity, is now [Page 29]become the main occasion of such rents and divisions a­mong us, as our Ancients never heard of, and Posterity will scarce believe. The Jews were so infatuated in their counsels that they knew not what they did, and many of the Christians are in such a confusion they know not what to hold: some for Paul, some for Apollo, some for they know not whom. And that which is most to be la­mented is, that for some di­versities in opinion, they should pronounce such an heavy sentence upon one ano­ther, as is that of Damnation. If God should censure us as we censure one another, I know not who should be sa­ved. But my hope and praier is, That the Lord will be more [Page 30]merciful to all dissenters, then they are to one another.

The seven Churches of A­sia were all the Churches of Christ, he walkt in the midst of them,Rev. 1.13. Chap. 2.1. even in that Luke­warm Laodicean, he held the seven Stars in his right hand, and though some were more perfect then others, yet hath he a particular charge against the best of them.Chap. 2.4 14. Let the Romanists tell us never so much of their unerring Chair and Infallibility, and let the Cartharists tell us never so much of their Purities, yet there is no Congregation so spotless but Christ may find a blemish in her, no Church so blameless, but that he hath few things to urge against her. Let us not then judge of others, but learn to reform [Page 31]our own errors; nor study how to dispute, but to live well: to that purpose the Apostle's counsel is very per­tinent, Put on (as the elect of God, Col. 3.12 13. 14. 15. holy and beloved) bow­els of mercy, kindness, hum­bleness of mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another, forgiving one another: If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, even so also do ye: And above all things put on Charity, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts.

The Second Word.

The Ex­plication. THe occasion of the Word, is this, When two Theeves were Crucified with our Saviour, one on the right hand, the other on the left; the one aggravating his former sins did blaspheme Christ, and objected unto him an Imbecility,Ver. 39. If thou be the [Page 40]Christ, save thy self and us; the other defended him, and gives this modest check to the blasphemer, Fearest thou not God, Ver. 40 being thou art in the same condemnation.

But the other Evangelists seem to affirm the two theeves to be guilty of blasphemy,Mat. 27.44 Mar. 15.3 [...] how then doth Luke speak but of one?Aug. l 3 de Consensu E­vang. c. 16. Augustine re­solves the doubt thus, Mat­thew and Mark do take there the number of multitude, for the number singular, as it is frequent in holy Writ: And so the Apostle speaks of the Prophets,Heb. 11.33, 37 how they silen­ced the mouth of Lions, how they were stoned, they were hewn asunder, how they wan­dred up and down in Sheep skins, and in Goats skins. And notwithstanding, he [Page 41]which stopt the mouth of Li­ons was only Daniel, and he that was stoned was only Jeremiah, and he that was hewen asunder was only Isai­as. Some think the good thief to have changed his o­pinion upon the hearing of Christ presenting those com­passionate speeches to his Fa­ther, Father, forgive them, &c. But Luke doth evident­ly declare those words to be delivered before the wicked thief began to blaspheme; and this also is consonant to the judgment of another Fa­ther of the Church,Ambros. in Luc. 23 who saith, One only to have blasphem­ed, the other to have as well praised as defended Christ, and therefore rebukes the sausiness of his companion, Fearest thou not God? &c.

Happy thief! as well in regard of his fellowship in suffering with a Saviour, as of that divine light which began to open it self thus un­to him; he was no sooner converted himself, but he be­gins to make a Proselite of his brother. And then pro­ceeding in a good work, and those sparkles of grace in­creasing in his now happy Soul, he confesseth his own sins,Ver. 41. and preacheth the inno­cency of Christ; And we, truly, are justly condemned to the death of the Crosse, for we receive things worthy of what we have done, but this man hath done nothing amisse. Afterwards the Sun of illumi­nating Glory shining more brightly on him, his Soul breaks forth into thi [...] holy [Page 43]Ejaculation, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.

Behold, with what an ho­ly confidence he presents his Petition! He whom Peter thrice denied, this poor Pe­nitent openly confessed, and called him Lord. Thomas the Apostle denies to believe unless he could feel Christ; the thief but beholding him miserably tortured on the Cross, proclaims him boldly (and in the face of his adver­saries) an heir apparent to a Kingdom. He confessed him a Lord whom he beholds na­ked, wounded, grieved and o­penly derided; and he stiles him a King when there was no probability of reigning in him; for Kings only reign while they live, (and some [Page 44]scarce so long) but when they leave off their weed of Mortality, they part with their robe of Majesty.

Neither doth he petition for any thing in particular, but only to Remember him. .i. If Christ did but cast a thought on him, and glance but the gracious eye of his favour towards him, it were a plenary consummation of all his desires, because he was fully assured of his pow­er, goodness and charity.

But what Kingdom is here understood? Not that tem­poral Kingdom on earth which the Jews expected, and yet he had a title to reign o­ver them, and was of the blood Royal of Israel, and therefore the Wisemen after his Nativity made this enquiry [Page 45] Where is he that is born King of the Jews? Matth. 2 And himself told Pilate, Joh. 18.37 Thou saist that I am a King, for this cause am I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. But though he was a King in the world, yet was he not pleased to exercise his So­veraignty, but lived as a Pil­grim among enemies, and re­ceived, instead of honours due to a Royal person, con­tempt and reproach. But the Kingdom here meant, is that Spiritual and Eternal one in the heavens; that, where there is a perfect Beatitude of the soul, by which man is free from all servitude, and the subjection of things cre­ated, and subject only to God, whom to serve is to reign: [Page 46]And that which is intimated in the Parable of a certain no­ble man, Lu's. 19.12. that went into a strange Country to receive for himself a Kingdom, and so to come again. That is, Christ was to pass by the wearisom steps of a bitter death to ano­ther life, there to receive a glorious Diadem, and then to return in the day of Judg­ment, to render every man according to his works.

And that Kingdom, as much as appertained to the Beatitude of the soul, Christ indeed had from his very Conception, but what be­longed to his body he had it not de facto, or in a glorious actualitie (but de jure and in an honourable inheritance) until after his Resurrection; for while he sojourned on [Page 47]earth he was subject to all hu­mane infirmities (sin only ex­cepted) yea, to death it self; but there belonged to him a true glorious body, which af­ter death he was to enjoy: for so he testifieth of himself, It behoved Christ first to suf­fer, Luk. 24.26 and then to enter into his Glory.

And so it is for this King­dom of Glory that this Thief prayes for; his cravings are not temporal or carnal, but his divine and new-fashioned soul aims at things Sempi­ternal and sublime, which makes Christ more compli­able to his desires, for he had no sooner ended his humble and short Petition, but behold a gracious return and grant; Verily, I say unto thee, &c.

He begins his answer with [Page 48]a solemn word [Amen, or Ve­rily] a word which our Sa­viour used in any thing which tended to a serious concern­ment;Aug. Tract 41 in Joan it hath the propriety of an oath: and the reasons why he uses this importunate manner of speaking is, because the thief might well doubt of the promise, were it not for this earnest asseveration.

• 1. In regard of his own person, which could not seem any way worthy of so blessed a reward, or so rich a blessing. For who could imagin so bad a liver to pass so speedily from the Cross to a King­dom?
• 2. In regard of Christs present condition, for then he was the miserable Character of poverty, weakness, and all sorts of humane Calamities. And he might thus argue, If [Page 49]he be not able whilest he lives to perform good offices for his friends, how can he bestow them being dead? This might have been his carnal reason­ing.
• 3. And then in regard of the thing promised, Para­dise, which was then known to belong to the body only, not to the soul.

So is the E­tymologie of it according to the Hebrew, An earthly Pa­radise. It had been more credible if Christ had said, To day thou shalt be with me in the place of Joy, with A­braham, Jsaac and Jacob. Therefore being so many scruples might occur unto this new convert, Christ, to remove them all, confirms the the verity of his answer with this serious Protesta­tion.

And his passage to Para­dise was but short, not a daies journey: He does not say, In the day of Judgment thou shalt be placed on the right hand with the Just; nor does he say, (with the Millenari­ans) after a thousand years sleep thy soul shall enjoy the pleasures of heaven; nor doth he say, Thou must first be refined in the Romish Pur­gatory; or after some months or daies be beatified (and that had been a happinesse beyond his expectation or merit) but, this day, this very hour, thou shalt transmigrate with me from the Tree of the Cross, to the Joyes of Para­dise.

Though it be Controvert­ed by some, what is here meant by Paradise, yet it is [Page 51]the opinion of very Orthodox Divines, That Christ the day after his death, was with his Body in the grave, and with his Soul triumphing on the infernal Spirits in hell: but to neither of these can the name of Paradise be assigned; the grave being but a gloomy re­ceptacle for dead bodies; (where Christ's body only could be lay'd.) and under hell is intimated a place of torments. But Paradise sig­nifies a Garden of delight; in the Terrestrial one there were flourishing Trees, fruit­ful Waters, Salubrietie of air, and all the variety of delious­ness that Adam could enjoy: And in the Celestial one there are glorious and immortal Joyes, frnitions of endlesse Beatitude, an inaccessible [Page 52]light, Seats and Mansions for the blessed. The first was Local and Transient, this is Spiritual and Eternal: The joyes of the other were Cor­poral; the Soul is Beatified in the latter by virtue of the Beatifical vision of God. And this heavenly Paradise Christ promised the thief, and that he would be with him; and so he was according to his Divinity. According to his Humane nature, he was part­ly in the grave and partly in hell, untill the third day, upon which he ascended in a glori­ous and triumphant manner into heaven. But according to the Divine (as he was God) he had an Ubiquitary Being, he was then and alwayes in Heaven, Paradise, and all pla­ces.Ioh. 3.13

Therefore very proper were the words of our Savi­our when he saith not, This day thou shalt be with me in my Kingdom, because that day Christ was not to receive his Kingdom, that is, a per­fect felicity of Body and Soul, till after his Resurrecti­on, when he was to have a body glorious, immortal, im­passible, subject to no servi­tude or infirmity: (neither was the thief to enjoy this fellowship until the general day of Judgment) but in Pa­radise, because that day there was a community of glory to his soul, and those of all true Saints. And this is the per­fect and essential felicity be­longing to the Heavenly Pa­radise. Neither doth Christ say, We shall be there, for he [Page 54]was then, and before that time there, according to the superiour portion of his soul; but thou shalt be with me there, that is, even thy Soul shal also really be, where now actually my divine Soul is; .i. In the blessed joyes of Hea­ven. Learn hence, O man!

1. How great and admi­rable is the mercy and libe­rality of Christ towards all his servants? He, being op­prest with sorrows might not have heard the Religious thief; but his charity had ra­ther be insensible of his own torments, then not to give ear to a miserable sinner, con­fessing his delinquencies. He was silent altogether at the maledictions and revilings of the Priests and Souldiers, but to the humble clamours of a [Page 55]poor penitent, he could not choose but give a gracious Audience. He was silent at their Execrations, because he was Patient, and he was open-cared to the thief's Petition, because he was Merci­ful.

Those that serve Tempo­ral Lords do labour much, but the rewards of their ser­vices are commonly far short of their expectations; and we might observe many who have spun out their times in the Courts of Princes, re­turn home in their declining age either meer Mendicants, or unregarded: But this Holy Prince, and President of true Liberality, received nothing from this Peniten­tial servant, but a few good words, and desires of serving [Page 56]him; and behold, what a Boon he confers upon him? that very day he granted him a free pardon of all the sins he had committed in the whole course of his wicked life. Then he prefers him to Abrahams [...]som, to a Quire of Saints an [...] Angels; Patri­archs and Prophets were made his Associats, and he himself made partaker of that Heavenly happinesse which is Undefinable and Eternal. We read that the Roman Emperors gave vast treasures, sometimes whole Provinces and Kingdoms to their Minions, but this Prince bestowed on his new favou­rite more then they could either reach or conceive. Neither was this goodness of Christ peculiar to this poor [Page 57]delinquent; his Apostles de­serted their small vessels, their nets and cottages to serve him, and then he appointed them Princes over the earth, he subjected to their com­mands Divels, Serpents,Psal. 44.2, 3 Mat. 10 8 Prin­cipalities and Powers, and all sorts of Diseases. And he promises to all that shall leave their nearest relations for his sake, and part with their dearest enjoyments for his service, a hundred fold, that is, a reward incompara­bly greater then those par­ticulars, to wit, Spiritual joys and blessings in this world, and life Eternal in that to come. We might reflect our thoughts on what great things the Lord wrought for Martyrs and Confessors of former ages, how they came [Page 58]to honour by ignominy, to riches by poverty, to great­ness by the infamous punish­ment of the Cross, to immor­tality by a bloody death; and how he would still honor them that honor him. What fools then are those who re­linquish Christ, the giver of all goodness, and sacrifice to Mammon, the author of all evil?

2. We have here also repre­sented unto us the power of Gods Grace, and the Imbeci­lity of the Humane Will; This good thief was a remark­able sinner, and persevered so even to the punishment of the Cross, and in so eminent danger of Damnation, there was none present that could afford him either the solace of advice or assistance: For [Page 59]though he was most near the Saviour of the world, yet he heard the high Priests and Pharisees affirming him to be a seducer, ambitious, and an usurper of anothers King­dom; and he heard his fel­low thief (as it were) bark­ing at him, and there was none that bestowed a word of comfort on him or Christ; but behold the prevalency of Divine Grace! when he was thus bereft of all humane aid, and seemed to have no hope of Salvation, being on the next step to perdition, the Spirit of God shined on him in a miraculous manner, and in an instant so beautified and changed his heart, that upon a sudden he confessed Christ to be an innocent suf­ferer, and the King of the [Page 60]world to come; and checkt his presumptuous companion and perswaded him to repen­tance, and before the staring multitude committed himself to the protection of a dying Saviour. Whereas the other Malefactor (in whom is ex­pressed to life humane infir­mitie) was not at all moved at the strangeness of those accidents; not at the charity of Christ, who prayed for his persecutors, nor at his extreme sufferings, nor at the admonition and example of his fellow thief, nor at the unwonted darkness, nor at the cleaving of the Rocks a­sunder, nor at those who through just astonishment re­turned home striking their brests (all which hapned af­ter the conversion of the [Page 61]good thief) yet was he not at all changed though he had the helps of so many perswa­ding arguments.

Obj. But why was the one inspired at that instant with saving Grace, the other not? both were equally great sin­ners before that time, and but one now a Saint?

Sol. No other reason can be assigned, then why God loved Jacob and hated E­sau? but because it was the will of God: we must be sa­tisfied with that. All other reasons are shut up in the se­cret Ark of God, which we must rather admire in a di­vine honor and humble si­lence, then endeavour to unlock or touch. Shall the thing formed ask the Potter, Rom. 9.80. Why hast thou thus fashioned [Page 62]me? Shall not the Creator of all, make some vessels of ho­nour, some vessels of dishonour, yet all to his glory? which is as much manifested in the con­demnation of the bad, as the salvation of the good. There can be no iniquity with him, for though his judgments are occult, yet are they not unjust.

3. But this Caution we are farther taught by the words: Though we must embrace the example of the holy thief in our Consolati­on▪ yet not in our Imitation. It may minister this comfort to a sad and despairing Soul, That God hath and can par­don a true penitent be his sins never so great; but it must not lead us to defer our re­pentance until the utmost pe­riod [Page 63]of our lives. The con­version of Saul the persecu­tor, and this thief upon the Cross, is become Proverbium Peccatorum, the Sinners Pro­verb, and serves him,Gregor. and satisfies him in all cases. But thou presumptuous sinner that puttest off thy amend­ment upon confidence of these examples, dost but de­lude thine own Soul: It is not safe concluding out of single instances, there is much disparity between thy case and this thief's.

1. Thy time is not the same: When thou canst find such another day, look for such another mercy; A day that cleft the grave-stones of dead men; A day that rent the Temple it self; A day that the Sun durst not see; [Page 64]A day that saw the Soul of Christ depart from his body; there shall be no more such dayes, therefore presume not of that.

2. Besides, thou maist look at the thief as on a Turk or Heathen newly entred into Christianity, Baptized from sin, Confirmed by Christ, so dying and saved; but how often hast thou broke thy Baptismal vows? and with Copronimus defiled thy Font,Eccl. Hist. by rejecting those means which God hath given thee to secure thy interest and hopes of heaven.

3. The thief was not con­verted at last but at first;Cyril. Non in fine sed in prin­eipio con­versus la­tro. as soon as God afforded him a­ny Call he came. But to how many calls hast thou stopt thine ears? O sinful man! [Page 65]How often hath God called thee with a voice of Terror? by Thunder and Lightning, by Wars, Plagues, Famine and other Judgments? How often hath he sweetly called thee by the pleasant promi­ses of the Gospel, by the motions of his Spirit, and by the temporal blessings of peace and plenty? Thou shalt find here that although it hapned to one to receive Grace in his very last gasp (which was a Miracle of Mer­cy, a Prodigie of Provi­dence) yet the other found his judgment; the one Bles­sed, the other Blasphemed; so the one was Saved, the other was lost. And who­soever shall peruse Histo­ries, Sacred or Humane, and observe Quotidian events, [Page 66]shall find very few to end their dayes well, that have loosly ran the whole course of their lives. And as they can hardly escape the furie of a Divine Justice that have acted a negligent and a vici­ous life, so there are but few after a life well spun, but die in Gods fear and are made partakers of his Glory.

Begin then betimes, O man, to become a new man!n="*" Omn [...]m crede diem, [...]ibi delux­isse supre­mum. Hor. make every day thy last day, that thy last may be happy. The Indian Gym­nosophists caused their graves to be made before their gates, that at their ingress and re­gress they might be put in mind of their last day; and happy were we if in the daies of our youth and vanity we spent some time in the medi­tation [Page 67]of our Mortalitie, and of the account we are to make at the day our Souls and Bo­dies are divorced: For that day may be sudden, and give us no time; or distracted, and take away our senses; or cursed, and keep away Grace. Chrysologus, Gregor. a man as full of sin as he was of wealth, being on his death-bed in a bitter Agony cryed out, Inducius velusque mane, truce but till the morning! and with those very words breathed his last. 'Tis not a tear or a groan then can expiate the sins of a whole life, nor every one that saith, Lord, Lord, Mat. 7.21. shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven, but he that doth the will of our Father which is in heaven. Let these Rea­sons then move thee further [Page 68]to avoid all delayes in prepa­ring thy self against the last day:

1. The uncertainty of its time: It was the policy of Julius Caesar never to ac­quaint his Army aforehand with the time of their march, that they might be ready on all occasions; and such is the wisdom of our God that he hath concealed this day from us, that we might al­wayes stand upon our guard and be ready.

2 No time is secure: As no place, no Sanctuary can exempt us from deaths ap­proach (it may come to us in the Church, in the Street, in our beds, &c.) so no time can priviledge from its arrest; in the night as well as in the day, in youth as well as in old age.

3. Sometimes when men least think of it it comes: Whilst the Crocodile sleeps then="*" A kind of a Rat. [...]cknewmon getteth in and [...]eateth his bowels; whilest the Theban Centinel was nodding, Gen. Epi [...]ni­nondas came and thrust him through.

4. All the time alotted be­fore that day is little enough for so great a work: We have scarce time to learn how to live well, saith the Philo­sopher, but we are streight­ned with time to learn the art of dying well, saith the Divine.

5. Thy Preparation for, will be no Acceleration of the day: Our death will not be the nearer but sweeter, the blow will not come the soon­er foreseen,Premedita­ti mali ma­lis ictas. but it will be the [Page 70]easier; thy life and death will be the more comfort­able.

6. That day will be most dismal and Exitial to all un­prepared persons; like that of the man, whom when the King came in found without a wedding garment, who was bound hand and foot and cast into utter darkness.Mat. 22.13 Oh! that any, or all of these Con­siderations might awaken our security, and keep us from sleeping in those sins which will deprive us of Eter­nal life.

The Third Word.

A Question is here to be dis­cust, Why S. John did af­firm the three women to have stood near the Cross of the Lord, when S. Mark 15.40. and S. Luke 23.49. write they stood afar [Page 77]off? But this is soon salved;S. Aug. lib. 3 de Con­sen. Evang. they may be said to have stood afar off in relation of the guard and souldiers who did even touch the Cross; near, because they could ea­sily hear Christ. Or they may be said to have stood a­far off at the instant of Crucifixion, the multitude hindring them, but when his suffering began to be comple­ted, many giving way, they might make a nearer ap­proach.

The sum of the words is this, Being I am now to pass from this loathsome world to my glorious Father, and knowing thee to be destitute of all humane assistances, I commend thee to my most loving Disciple John, he shall be to thee a Son, and thou [Page 78]shalt be to him a Mother. The command was most plea­sing to them both, and S. John speaks of himself in the following words, and from that hour the Disciple took her home.

But S. John was one of them who by his Masters mandate had relinquished fa­ther and mother, all relations and possessions to follow Christ, how comes he now, having forsaken his own, to take the charge of another mother?Mat. 4.22 The resolve is ea­sie; The Apostles that they might follow Christ, dismist father and mother as they were a hindrance to the preaching of the Gospel, ei­ther in regard of carnal af­fection, or worldly commo­dity, but in what concerned [Page 79]their care and solemn duty they left them not; and up­on that account the Virgin Mary was committed to him, having no other visible worldly support. God, with­out mans assistance, could by the administration of Angels have procured her a lively­hood and protection, but it was our Saviours pleasure to have it done by John, as well in regard of an honour to him, as a love to her. God sent Elias to be fed by a widow, not that he could no longer feed him by Crows as formerly, but by this action he seemed to vouchsafe a bles­sing to the widow; so it pleased the Lord to recom­mend his mother to this Dis­ciple,S. Aug: Serm. 26 de Verb. Domini. to demonstrate it was both a remarkable blessing [Page 80]to him, and that he loved him above the rest; and the ex­change was happy, when in lieu of a mother, the wife of a Fisher, he took the mother of a Saviour, the best of wo­men, full of grace, and bles­sed in her Sex.

But,

1. He that diligently ob­serves may gather hence, Christs desires to suffer for our salvation to be infinite and inexpressible, that there­by our redemption might be most full and copious. Other men think it an augmentati­on to their sorrows to have their kindred, friends and al­liances spectators of their death, especially of that which is violent and infa­mous; but Christ not con­tented with his own real pas­sion, [Page 81]which was most cruel and full of dishonour, would have his Mother and this Dis­ciple to be also present, that the Sympathetical sorrows of his dearest might add to, and reduplicate his own personal sufferings. Three Maries and a Disciple stood near the place of his sufferings, that as four Fountains of blood issued from his body on the Cross, so from their mourn­ful eyes might spring four Fountains of tears; so that it is questionable, whether he felt more sorrow for the effu­sion of his own blood, or their tears. Methinks I hear Christ bemoaning himself, The sor­sows of death have compas­sed me,Psal. 17.9 but the sword fore­told by Simeon which should pierce the soul of my inno­centLuk. 2.35 [Page 82]mother, doth as much Lacerate and wound my heart. Most bitter death! that separate not only the soul from the body, but also a Mother, and such a Mother from such a Son!

God so loved the world that he gave his only begot­ten Son for the Redemption of it, and he so loved the Father, that for his honour Rivelets of blood streamed from him, that we should not perish but have everlast­ing life: Yet we give such a disobedient resistencie to his goodness, that we had rather be confounded in the just fu­ry of an omnipotent God, then tast the sweetness of his compassion. One drop of his most precious blood might have been a sufficient Ran­some [Page 83]for the Redemption of more worlds, and yet he would sacrifice all for this one, thereby as well to en­dear us, as fully to satisfie the justice of his Father.

2. But there are many con­siderations that arise from a mystery of the three women that stood near the Cross. Some out of a petulan­cy of wit, to maintain Paradoxes and such sin­gularities, have called in question the abilities and fa­culties of women, in the Root thereof, in the Reasonable and Immortal Soul; but no man of Piety and conversa­tion in Scripture can admit such a doubt. Here are wo­men that were sedulous and constant in their religious of­fices [Page 84]to our Saviour to the last gasp:Mat. 28.6 and after that he was interred, they came with a pious intention to see the Sepulchre, and out of a civil respect to embalm his body in the Monument where they thought to find it. When others (even his own Disci­ples) through timer ousnesse and infidelity had deserted their Master, these (like in­separable friends) followed him to his grave, and would not rest there till an Angel of heaven had assured them of his Resurrection. The zeal and piety of women have e­qualled, if not surpassed the best of men; S. Paul testifies in their behalf, that they were great instruments for the ad­vancing of true Religion. At Thessalonica, Act. 17.4. of the chief [Page 85]women not a few; great, and many. Neither do we read of any woman in the Gospel that assisted the persecutors of Christ, or furthered his afflictions, even Pilats wife disswaded it. Jerome writ many letters to divers holy Ladies, for the most part all of one Stock and kindred, and all so Religious, as that he sayes, If Jupiter were their Cousin and of their kindred, he believes Jupiter would be a Christian; he would leave being such a god, as he was, to be their fellow servant to the true God. Woman, as well as Man was made after the image of God in the Cre­ation; and in the Resurrecti­on her sex shall not diminish her glory. Of which she receives one fair beam and [Page 86]inchoation at the Passion of Christ, that women continu­ed in their attendance on him to the last, and that by the ministry of Angels the glad tidings of his Resurrection was communicated to them before any other.

3. And because they were worthy to be known, the Holy Ghost celebrates them by their names and qualities; we will therefore consider who they were and what they were, their Names first; and then their Conditions. There is an Historical relation and observation,Badin de Repub. l. 6 c. 4 That in divers Kingdoms in Europe the Crown did fall at one time upon women of one name, Mary. It was so in Eng­land, Scotland, Denmark, [Page 87]and Hungaria, all four Ma­ries. Here we have but three, Mary Magdalen, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary the Virgin, and yet such three as wear now Immortal Crowns in Heaven. Indeed it is a Noble and a Compre­hensive Name, Mary. It is the Name of woman in ge­neral, according to some of the Learned;Gen. 2.23 for when Adam sayes of Eve, She shall be cal­led Woman, in the Arabick Translation, there is this name, She shall be called Mary; and the Arabick is perchance a Dialect of the Hebrew. But in pure and Original Hebrew the word signifies Exaltation, and whatsoever is best in the kind thereof; and worthily are they to be ever exalted for [Page 88]their diligence and perseve­rance in their devotion. This is also like, if not the same, as Miriam, the sister of Aaron and Moses, that with her Quire of women assisted at that Eucharistical Sacrifice, that triumphant Song of thanksgiving upon the destru­ction and subversion of Ae­gypt in the red Sea.Exo. 15.20 As Jo­shua and Jesus is the same to men, so Miriam and Mary is the same name in wo­men according to some. The word denotes Greatness, not only in Power but in Wis­dom. And great are they in the eyes of God, and to be magnified by men to all Po­sterity.

4. But we intend not to dwell upon this circumstance, [Page 89]but pass to another conside­rable that springs from the Quality of the women, in re­lation to their Spiritual state. We find Mary Magdalen personates the penitent or in­cipient, the other Mary, the proficient, the Virgin Mary, those who are perfect. All three had need of Christ, and to stand near the banner of the Cross. The Incipi­ents that are to war with ma­ny sins and concupiscences, want the guidance and assi­stance of so great a General as Christ, that beholding him struggling with so subtil and malicious an enemy as the old serpent, and openly triumphing over him, they might be animated to fight the Lords battel against all the assaults of the divel, and [Page 90]not to desist untill they have obtained an honourable vi­ctory. The Proficients (who are represented by Mary of Cleophas, who was a married woman, and a mother of sons) had need of him too, least the cares and trouble­someness of this world should choake the good seed sown in their hearts. Christ not content with good works (many and great) which he had formerly done, ascends by the Cross to higher, and descends not from thence, till he beholds a vanquished ene­my prostrate at his feet. No­thing more hurts a Profici­ent, then when he languish­eth in his course, and stifles his proceedings; according to that old Moral. In the way of Virtue, not to go on, is [Page 91]to go backward,Bern. ad Ganinum. as Bernard doth rightly exemplifie in an Epistle, in which he produces an instance of Jacobs Ladder, where all do either ascend or descend, none keeps a fixt station. Those also who are Perfect and Virgins, as Mary and John were (and for that cause the more beloved of our Saviour) I say those do much need the assistances of Christ's sufferings; for they are in an higher condition, and ought much to fear the tympanies and swellings of pride and self-conceit, which can no better way be asswag­ed and taken down, then by looking into the glass of the Cross. There they may find an admirable president of true humility, even Omnipotency it self yielding to most con­temptible [Page 92]sufferings: He, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledg,Col 2.3 per­mits himself to be illuded and reputed may by Herod and his armie: He that sits between the Cherubims, and can blast a star with a breath,Psal. 99.1 and melt a Church with a look, and molder a world with a touch, even he suffers himself to be crucified in the midst of theeves, and to die the most ignominious death, the death of the Cross. Learn hence, O man! not to be proud of thine honor, wealth, learning no, nor of thy Piety it self, but lay them all down at the feet of Christ, and learn to be meek and lowly in heart,Mat. 11.29. for so was he.

5. And lastly we may ob­serve [Page 93]hence the Reciprocal love of Parents to their Chil­dren, and of children to their parents.

1. The Virgin-mother did most accurately demonstrate this, when she stood near the Cross with much sorrow and constancy; and how could she chuse but bestow on him her choicest love, whilest he was not only her son, but also the Son of glory? a Son, that according to his Divine generation had a Father with­out a Mother, and according to his Humane generation had a Mother without a Fa­ther, and therefore may be stiled unigenite, her only be­gotten Son: A Son that was qualified with most special endowments, as well of body as soul, far excelling both [Page 94]men and Angels. And yet even for this Son, she had no inordinate, no impatient grief; but though his Passion was vi­olent & unparallell'd, yet she beholds him with a holy and a Religious Courage, humbly subjecting her self, her son and all to the Divine will and dispose of the highest: There­by giving us this instruction, That we look not upon any natural relations, but with a love subordinate to the love of God, for he hath told us, He that loveth son or daugh­ter above me, Mat. 10.37 it not worthy of me. And that whensoever he calls us to part with them we must not unmeasurably grieve for them, but chearfully re­sign even our dearest com­forts to that God that hath given them unto us.

2. Neither was there a mu­tual retribution of love want­ing on our Saviour his part towards his parent, when not­withstanding he was then in the midst of most di­stracting torments, he forgot not to recommend her to the care of his bosome friend and dearest Disciple.

It is a saying among the Heathens, Diis, Parentibus, & Magistris nunquam red­ditur aequivalens, The Gods, Parents, and Teachers are ne­ver sufficiently gratified. I need not inlarge my self upon this point, even nature it self dictates unto us what love, respect, obedience and assi­stance is owing to those that begate us, and did for us when we could do nothing for our selves. They are [Page 96]therefore to be recompensed by performing these duties to them,Eph. 6.1 Heb. 12.9

• 1. To obey them in all things in the Lord.
• 2 To bear their corrections with submission.
• 3. To reverence them,
  Mal. 1.9
  in giving them all out­ward submission, and fearing to offend them.
  1 Tim. 5 16.
• 4. To che­rish and maintain them in time of need.

This the Apo­stle clearly teacheth, If any faithful man or woman have widows (that is, to their mo­thers or aunts) let them mi­nister unto them, and let not the Church (that is, other Christians) be charged.

The Fourth Word.

The Ex­plication. WE have Expoun­ded formerly the three first Words which our Saviour ut­tered on the Cross about the sixth hour. We will proceed in the following part of this Treatise to unfold four other Words which he spake after the Eclipse and silence of [Page 102]three hours. But it seems very material to declare first what that darknesse was, and from whence and to what end it was caused: Our E­vangelist saies,Ver. 45 From the sixth hour was there darkness over all the earth unto the ninth hour, and then he cryed with a loud voice, ELI, ELI, LAMASABACH THA­NI, i. My God, my God, &c. And that this darkness was produced by the defect of the Sun, is elsewhere expresly no­ted,Luk. 23.45 And the Sun was dark­ned.

But here are some difficul­ties to be solved;

• 1. For the Sun was wont to be de­ficient in the new Moon, when betwixt the Sun and the earth, there was an interposition of the Moon, [Page 103]which at the death of Christ could not happen, whilest the Moon was not joyned with the Sun, which is usu­all in the new Moon, but was opposite to the Sun, and in its fulnesse, for then was the Passeover of the Jewes, which according to the Law began the fourt eenth day of the first month:
• 2. Be­sides, if the Moon was joy­ned with the Sun at the passi­on of our Lord that darkness could not continue for three houres; for the eclipse of the Sun cannot last long, especi­ally if it be a plenarie Eclipse, and abscond the whole Sun; for the Moon moves swifter then the Sun according to its proper motion, and accord­ing to this it could not sha­dow the whole Sun, unless [Page 104]it were for a very short Space, for beginning to recede, forthwith it leaves the Sun free, that it might illuminate the earth with its accustomed fulgour, as you might observe by the last greatest Eclipse that happen­ed in our Horrizon in the year 16.

And lastly there could never be an Universal darkeness occasioned through any conjunction of the Sun with the Moon; for the Moon according to the judg­ment of all Astronomers is lesse then the Sun, or the earth, and therefore cannot by the interposition of its bo­dy, so mantle the Sun, that the whole earth should be darkned.

But if some do object, That the evangelists meant [Page 105]this darkness to extend to the whole land of Palestina on­ly; and not absolutely to the universall earth: That opinion might be easily refel­led, through the testimonie of Dionysius Arecpagita, who in his Epistle to Polycar­pus witnesseth himself to have seen that defection of the Sun, and that horrible darknesse in the City of Heliopolis which is in Aegypt. And Phl [...]gon, a Greek Historian, and an Heathen, doth remem­ber this Eclipse, in these words, Quarto anno ducen­tisimae secundae Olympiadis, Lib. 2 magna & excellent inter om­nes quae antea acciderant, de­fectio Solis est facta, dies ho­ra sexta ita in tenebrosam noctem versus est, ut stellae in caeto visae sunt. Among [Page 106]those great and famous things which fell out in the Annalls of the Olympiads, there was such an Ecclipse of the Sun, that the day about the sixth hour was turned in­to darknight, that the Stars were seen, And this Histo­rian writ not in Judea. Of this Author look Origen a­gainst Celsus, Eus. Chron ad annun Christ. 30.3. and Eusebius in his Chronicle, the same is testified by Lucian Martyr, saying, * search the Annalls, and you shall find that in the times of Pilate the Sun be­ing fled, the day was inter­rupted with darkness; these words of Lucian are quoted by Russiarus, in his translati­on of the Ecclesiasticall Hi­story of Eusebius into La­tin Tertullian also in his Apolegetick, and Osorius [Page 107]in his History, with others,lib. 7. c. 4 do speak not only of Judea, but of other parts of the world.

These things being premi­sed, we may conclude, that though the Eclipse when it is natural, is wont to happen in the new Moon, and not in the ful, but that at the death of Christ was singular and Pro­digious, and caused only by him, who made Sun, Moon and earth: it proceeded not from any natural causes, but from the hand of an omni­potent God; who, as he was able to bring the Moon after an insolite manner from the East by a most swift course to the Sun, and after three houres be reduced to its place again, so he could effect that the Moon should (as it were) stand unmoved under the [Page 108]Sun for that space▪ so that it should not move flower, nor swifter then the Sun. And whereas it is said, that this deficiency of the Sun could not be universall over the whole world, by reason the Moon is lesser then the earth, and much lesser then the Sun; it is granted, that what the Moon could not do, the Cre­atour of Sun and Moon did supply, only by not co-opera­ting with the Sun, in its illu­stration; for without his aid and influence, things Created have no power of themselves to be more; Neither was this darkness occasioned from some extraordinary black and thick mists, as some have imagined; for the Ancients affirm that the stars were then seen in their pro­per [Page 109]Spheares, whereas thick clouds would not only have obscurd the Sun, but also those orbes of lesser lustre, as the Moon and the stars.

Why God would have this darkness to be so Remar­kable, divers reasons are gi­ven, but two especially: the first was to signifie the mar­vellous excaecation of the Jewes,Leo in Ser. 10. de [...] passion [...] Dem. which does to this day, and shall endure accor­ding to the vaticinations of Esay, who speaks thus of the beginning of the Gospel; Arise, O Jerusalem, be bright, for thy sight is come, and the Glory of the Lord is risen up­on thee; for behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: the other cause was to demonstrate the greatness of the Jewes [Page 110]offence, as Jerome teacheth. ‘Heretofore (saith he) evil men did persecute,Jerom Co­mentar. in Matth. vex, and kill the good, now, God himselfe descending to be cloathed in Humane flesh, they dare persecute and Crucifie. Heretofore Citi­zens had discords with Ci­tizens, and from discords fell to chidings, from chi­dings to wounds, from wounds at length to mur­derous executions, but now servants and slaves have risen against the King of Men and Angels, and with an incredible audacity have nayled him to a Cross;’ Therefore the whole world did tremble, and the Sun it selfe drew back it's beames, and hid its face, as detesting so fowl, so facinorous an Act, [Page 111]as to put the Lord of Life to death, and the darkness then was so terrible, that it made a Pagan Philosopher cry out,Aut deus naturae pa­titur, aut mundi ma­china dis­solvitur. Dion. Are­op. either the God of Nature suffers, or the whole World is at an end.

And this was formerly ty­pified in the daye; of Phara­oh, when there was a great darkness over the land of Egypt for three dayes,Exod. 10.21. which was a signification of their superstitious blindness and ig­norance of the true know­ledg of God, and the ob­stinacy and disobedience to Gods Commandment; And as then Meses brought the Israelites from the Egyptian bondage they were in, under Pharaoh; so the true Moses here, Jesus Christ, brings all that believe in him from the [Page 112]bondage of Satan unto ever­lasting happiness.

Let us now come unto the words themselves, (My God, my God, why hast thou forsa­ken me? Psal. 22.1.) and these we find to be taken out of the Psal­mist, and in them Christ complains, in a voice more then ordinary, that he was relinquished of God the Fa­ther, at that instant.

For the better clearing of the sense▪ we must observe, that Christs derelictions of the Father, may be under­stood five several wayes, whereof one only is true and here meant: there were five conjunctions or unions in the Son of God, The first is that of Essence between the first and second Person of the Glorious Trinity, and [Page 113]that as it is natural and eter­nal, so it is perpetual and in­separable; of which Christ himselfe speaks, I and my Father are one, and therefore he said, not My Father, Joh. 8.16. but My God, why hast thou forsa­ken me? For the Father is not called God of the Son, till after, and by reason of the Incarnation. 2. The second is the Conjunction of the Divine and Humane na­ture in the second Person, and this can never be dissol­ved, for what he once took, he never puts off; And the Apostle saies, Christ, (that is God and Man) suffered for us. 1 Pet. 2.21. The third is the uni­on of Grace;Joh. 1.14. For Christ was a Man full of Grace and truth, and this doth and shall remain: The just dy­ed [Page 114]for the unjust, 1 Pet. 3.18 the death of Christ had nothing profi­ted us, if there had been a separation of Grace; The fourth is the union of Glory, for the soule of Christ saw God from its very conception, Joh. 1.14. and according to its superi­our part was already truely blessed,Aquin. 3. p. q. 46. ar. 8. and therefore this conjunction could not be dissolved, because a soule once truely blessed is alwayes blessed; blessednesse being the summ and compendium of all goodness: There re­mains a fifth union, which is that of Protection, whereof he speaks: He that sent me is with me, Joh. 8.29. and hath not left me alone. And this for a short time was suspended, and dissolved, that the ob­lation of a bloody sacrifice [Page 115]might take place for the Re­demption of mankind.

God was able divers wayes to have protected Christ, and to have withstood his Passi­on, according to that prayer of his in the Garden.Marck. 14.36. Fa­ther all things are possible to thee, take away this cup from me, nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. Nay, Christ could have defended himselfe, and commanded Legions of Angels to have guarded his Person.Mat. 26.53. No man could take his life from him: but he laid it down himself; Joh. 10.18. and he might as well bestowed on his body the gift of impassibility, as that of incorruption: But it plea­sed the Father, it pleased the Son, it pleased the Holy Ghost to permit the com­mon [Page 116]decree, that humane cru­elty should prevail against him then; he told his be­betrayers the hour was come,Mark. 14.41. in which the Son of man should be delivered into the hands of sinners, God then so left and forsook his Son, that he suffered his humanity for that Space to be without any consolation, & to endure (for our sins) most bitter sor­rows, yea the torments of hell it self.

And he put himself to those unspeakable sufferings by rea­son of the greatnesse of mans sin, which he took on his body to expiate for us, that we being delivered from sin,1 Pet. 2.24 should live in righteouseness by whose stripes we are heal­ed And as this sin was infinite as being against a person of an infinite value, the Lord God, so the person Satis­fying, [Page 107]was to be of an incom­prehensible dignitie and excel­lency. And though one drop of his precious blood had been an ampler ansom for all man­kind; yet that his passion might be esteemed by us the more meritorious, and gain more Souls, he shed all; because he did undertake for the sins of the whole world, therefore it pleased him to suffer a world of torments, when he laboured under that Dereliction of his father.

1. Learn hence (O man) how infinite and inexpresible was the love of Christ to thee, when he suffered with so much patience and humilitie such wonderful torments for thy sins. His soul was very hea­vie unto death.Man 26.3 There is no Christian but will acknow­ledge [Page 118]that our Saviour was ten thousand times more able to suffer then the most Con­stant Martyr that hath suffer­ed for his Name, and if he were more able to bear whence could it happen that he was prest with such sor­row, such heaviness and such feare? but that he alone suffered more then all the martyrs ever since righteous Abel to this day: this should work an imitation in us to love the bitter cup of repen­tance, and to reject the cups of Consolation and Secular delights, to rejoyce in affli­ctions, and to trample on the seeming felicities of this world. Doth God visit our land with Plague, Famine, War or other judgements? O! remember that these [Page 119]Calamities are but as a drop to that vast Ocean of sor­rows, the Son Gof od suf­fered for us, and that they are far less then our sins de­served; for they are but tem­poral and reach no further then our bodies, but by his sufferings we are exempted from those miseries which might justly fall on our souls and bodies eternally. We then are as prisoners, once condemned for capital crimes, but released again with our lives, and only chastized with some few stripes; have we not then great cause to re­joyce, that we have escaped greater judgments?

2. But though God seems for a while to forsake his friends, and leave them in du­rances, and to withdraw his [Page 210]grace and favour from them; yet his indignation cannot last for ever, in the end he will return unto them, and shew them the light of his gracious Countenance, and be merciful unto them, if they call upon his glorious name in their distresses. Christ up­on the Cross suffered a great dereliction, his Glory was obscured, his divinity seemed to be hid, the light of hea­ven was substracted from him, in stead of a Diademe, he wore a Crown of thorns, in stead of a Scepter a Reed, in stead of a statelyretinue be­longing to a King, they af­forded him the ignominious fellowship of two theeves, thus was he dejected, and scorned, and exposed to all imaginable crosses, but, be­hold, [Page 121]upon his humble expo­stulation, and prayer to God, the sence was altered, and a speedy Period put to all these calamities, the heavens were unmantled, the light appear­ed, his last and worst enemy (Death) was conquered, his body and soul were received in a glorious and triumphant manner into the highest hea­vens, where now he reigns King for evermore.

And the reasons why God sometimes withdrawes his presence from his People, and deferres their deliverance from afflictions, are to hum­ble them throughly, to bring them to an utter denial of themselves: to learn pati­ence, that they might ac­knowledg whence their deli­verance and all benefits [Page 122]they enjoy do proceed name­ly, not from themselves, nor any creature, but from the All-merciful God, and that accordingly they might learn to value and prize his gifts at their deserved excellency, (for we find this generally verified, that benefits easi­ly obtained, are lightly re­garded and soon forgotten) the children of Israel were in captivity about four hun­dred and thirty yeares in E­gypt, but after they had ex­pected the salvation of the Lord, they were brought safely through the Red sea,Exod. 12. by the conduct of Moses. David had a promise to be King of Jerusalem and Judea, but the Lord exercised him by many and grievous afflicti­ons before he came to the [Page 123]Crown,Psal. 119.82. in so much that (he saies) his eyes failed with waiting upon his God; Za­chary and Elizabeth desired of God, both of them in their youth, and many years after, for issue, but their re­quest was not granted untill they were old;Luk. 1.18. the Church Militant for some hundreds of yeares after Christs Re­surrection, seemed to be forsaken and rejected of him, when she was so bat­tered by Tyrants, and so un­dermined by Hereticks, that she was like to be crushed and stifled in her very cradle, she was tryed ten times in the fire, by ten several and distinct persecutions, where­in God seemed to equal the ten plagues of Egypt, and to lay as much on his people for [Page 124]their probation, as he had laid upon others on their behalfe; More Christian blood effused, then in the Sa­crifices of the old Law, for so we read many a hundred, many a thousand made Mar­tyrs in one day, a whole Ci­ty, a whole Army destroyed at one time for the Gospels sake, so that as the Israe­lites formerly went through the red Sea towards the land of Canaan, these through an Ocean of blood past to a Kingdom of bliss. And when the Church had pray­ed and fasted, and suffered so many years, God in the end hearkned to the voice of her lamentation, took her in his Armes, wiped all teares from her eyes, took away all occasion of complaint, [Page 125]made Kings and Queens to be her Nurses, and so made her Glorious in the eyes of man, acceptable in his, and cheerful in her own sight; This ought to work a confidence in all Gods af­flicted servants, that he will not quite desert them; their deliverance will be seasona­ble enough, if they will wait and depend upon him: a cloud on the skie may for a while ecclipse the light of heaven, but that will soon be dissipated, and the Sun will appear.

3. We are further taught by this desertion of our Saviour to fear to sin, and to bewail our offences, the on­ly cause of his great suffer­ings.

What Stoick is so void of [Page 126]motion, but will be sensible to see a friend suffer for him, what he was himself was justly guilty of? what Chri­stian so flint-hearted, that will dare commit a sin, if he does but cast a serious thought on him, who suffer­ed so much, not for his own, but our sins? The Passion of Christ if rightly consider­ed may be stiled a Schoole, where all Martyrs and Saints are made: who would com­plain of doing too much, of suffering too much, of being too much abased or despised, if he do but behold his Sa­viour delivered over, and a­bandoned for him, to such horrible confusions, such in­supportable torments? (O my God, my wounded God! as long as I shall see [Page 127]thy wounds,Nolo vive te fine vul­nere cum te video vul­neratum. Bonaven­tum. I will never live without a wound) who will be clothed with purple and costly silks, and used to softness and delicacy, and see his Redeemer crowned with thorns, and fixed to the Cross? who will not withhold his hands from violences, and rapines, and see Christ's armes distended on the Cross? who will not fetter his feet, and hinder them from running after the unbridled desires of his heart, if he but viewes Christ's feet pierced through with nailes? who will not make bitter his tongue, in subduing the pleasures of the taste, and see Christ have nothing but gall and vinegar to drink? who will not contemn the ayerie honours of the world, when [Page 128]he beholds him that is able to walk upon the wings of Cherubims; take upon him the forme of a servant, and creep among us like a little worm of the Earth? who can delight in any sinful joy, and behold him so sad, so pain'd, so dejected? this then is a sovereign antidote against the venome of our sins, to have our Saviours Image dayly in our hearts, and to reflect our thoughts upon him Crucified in all our actions; When the forty Martyrs were in the frozen lake,Basil. or [...]t. in 40 mar. thirty nine of them had their mindes wholly bent upon the future Crown, and one of them unhappily thought of nothing but of his punishment, All of them remained victorious, [Page 129]except this wretched crea­ture, who soiling the glory of his patience, came out of the poole to dye presently after in his infidelity. So if our suffering Saviour, be be­fore our eyes, in all our tri­bulations and temptations; we shall be more then Con­querours,Rom. 8. but if pleasure or profit be our objects, we turn our backs to Christ, and shall have no share in the benefits of his Cross.

The fifth Word.

FOr the better explanation of This, it is ne­cessary to add the precedent and subsequent words of the Evangelist: After this, Je­sus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst; now there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a [Page 137]spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop and put it to his mouth. The Lord would have a full Consummation of all the Propheticall predicti­ons of his life and death, this only remained according to the Psalmist;Psal. 69.21. They gave me vinegar to drink; Our Lord said, I thirst. The Prophet foretold it, because he foresaw it; the predicti­on or prevision is not the cause of a thing to Come, but the thing to come is the ground of either. The emis­sion of so much blood, could not chuse but provoke an ex­tremity of thirst, (as I knew a man grievously wounded, who called for nothing but drink) which notwithstand­ing he entertained with a pa­tient silence from the begin­ning [Page 138]of his Crucifixion: His flesh had been long unac­quainted with any moysture; his veines, his tongue, his Pa­late, and all his Interiours did labour under a miserable dryness, but, O sad refresh­ment! in stead of giving him Cordials, or pleasant drinks, they offer him that which might either increase his tor­ments, or hasten his dissolu­tion. The summ of all is this: As a little before his affixction to the Cross, they offered him Wine mingled with Gall, Mat. 27. so in the last pe­riod of his life, they brought him Vinegar, that from the beginning to the end he might have a continued Pas­sion, not mixed with any solace or refreshment.

The new Testament is for [Page 139]the most part an explanation of the Old, but in this my­stery of the Lords Thirst, the words of the Psalmist may be styled a Commentary on these words of Christ, I look­ed for some to sorrow with me, Psal. 69. but there was none, and for Comforters, and I found none, they gave me gall to eat, and vinegar to drink, And of such the Lord here com­plains, and saies, I thirst: Hence learn first, O Man!

1. To possesse thy soul in patience in thy afflictions af­ter the great example of our Lord and Master Christ; though in the fourth word there shined his humility joyned with his Patience, yet here it appeares in its proper place. ‘This is it which setteth a seal upon [Page 140]all vertues, even the first in the list, and last in the tri­umph. It is the Crowned Pomegranate which hang­eth among bells in the low­est border of the high Priests robe of the old Law, all was imperfect without the Crown of Patience;’ it is the Salt of the Prophet Elisaeus, which purifieth the polluted waters, and sweet­neth all the bitterness of life, it is the School of Christia­nity. So learned are we, as we have Patience,Ambross in Prov. 19 so much do we participate with God, as we can endure by his example, he hath taken a body, to be able to suffer, and to make him­self the mirrour and reward of sufferours. But we must distinguish true Patience [Page 141]from false. True patience is that, which commands us to suffer the evils of punishment, that it may not enforce us to commit the evils of sin, such was the patience of true Mar­tyrs, who would rather under­go the torments of villanous executions, then deny the sav­ing faith of Christ; and would rather tolerate the loss of all they had, then adhibit any adoration to false Gods, false patience is that which per­swades us to suffer all evil things, that we may obey the law of lust, and to loose e­ternal things, to conserve the Temporal, such is the patience of the Devils Mar­tyrs, who will easily suffer hunger, thirst, cold, heat, the loss of a good name, (and which is to be admired) of [Page 242]the kingdom of heaven, that they might augment their ri­ches, satisfie carnal concupis­cence, and ascend to the slip­pery mount of honours.

It is the innate property of true Patience to continue in a good cause to the end, till by working it hath po­lished us,Ja [...]. 1.1. and made us per­fect men; and that is it which the Apostle declares in the Encomiums of it: other ver­tues cannot long subsist with­out it, in regard of some difficulties which are found in their actuations, which by her assistance, are conquered with much facility;Cyprian ser de patieut. ‘Charity which is the Queen of vir­tues, the ground of peace, the link of unity, & greater then either faith, or hope, or Mar­tyrdom, [Page 143]take from it Pati­ence and it remains desolate, take from it the substance of suffering, and it hath no root, no strength to persevere:’ without this the chaste man cannot resist uncleanness, the just cannot be free from cor­ruption, nor the peaceable, from a desire of Revenge. The Psalmist saies,Psal 9.18. the ex­pectation (or Patience) of the Poor (or humble) shall not perish for ever, but the fruit of it shall be perpetual­ly verdant; the husband-man loses not the sweats of his brow, when he beholds his seed flourishing in the eare; And the patient souldier de­serves as great trophies as the greatest Conquerour, when by the sweetness of his suffer­ings, he doth, as it were [Page 144]trampled on the victories of his enemies; he that endu­reth to the end shall receive a Crown of Glory.Ja. 1.12.

We need no other Motive to induce us to this Royal vertue, then the King of sufferings; Christ Jesus thir­sting on the Cross, for not to speak of all his afflictions and miseries, which conti­nued from his cradle to his grave; this his tedious and vehement thirst is sufficient to enflame our souls with a re­ligious patience in all our tri­bulations. But, least we should mistake the practice of it with (the Romish Saint) Macarius, who hav­ing killed a gnat which prick­ed him,Vitae P. P. (as if he had com­mitted a great act of impa­tience) went for the space of [Page 145]six moneths, exposing his naked body to all the flies, gnats, and wasps of the wilderness, to be revenged upon himself; let's take these few directions.

• 1. To bear a little with our selves, and be content with those condi­tions and callings wherein we are placed: it is the pro­perty of imprudent persons to be weary with the present and ever gaping for the fu­ture.
• 2. To be full of mild­ness and lenity towards o­thers, bearing with their in­firmities: some hath more disturbances then the winding Eruipus hath waves, but what unreasonableness is it, that a man full of rebellions against God, should desire that men and beasts serve him, according to all his hu­mours.
• [Page 146]3.
  2 Sam. 16, 10, 11.
  To suffer calum­ny, and slanderous words, as David did those of Shemei.
• 4. To endure all humane accidents, as sicknesses, loss of goods, hunger and thirst, imprisonments, banish­ments, death of friends and neer Relations, and what­soever hath sadness and hor­ror in nature, ever acknow­ledging that they are but scourges for our sins (which deserves greater) and that none of them happen with­out the permission of the di­vine power, to which we must all submit, that so, the incensed God, being appeas­ed, may vouchsafe us his be­nedictions, and enbosom us as his sons, by his paternal fa­vour.

2. But besides this corpo­ral [Page 147]thirst, the Lord seems to me to intend a spiritual one, and to have spoken these words in the same sense, as those to the women of Sa­maria, Give me to drink. Af­terwards, unlocking the my­stery of his speech, he ad­joynes this, if thou knewest the gift of God, Io. 4.7, 10. and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he will give thee the water of life. When I behold Christ upon the Cross as it were upon the high Mount, looking on so many millions, languishing through the inflamations of their sins, I behold the same Lord com­miserating their sad conditi­ons, and saying, though I truly thirst for the exhausted and dried humour of my bo­dy, [Page 148]yet I more thirst and covet that man at length may by faith acknoledg me to be the true fountain of that living water, and that they may come to me and drink, and so they shall not thirst eternally.

To this purpose are the words of the Prophet. Ho, Everyone that thirsteth come to the waters, Isa. 55.1. and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; come I say, buy wine and milk without money, without price. That you may conceive they are not screw'd to too high a value, he invites you with a second call; these waters are said to be bought, because they are not to be had without some labour and industry, but they are had without any commutation, [Page 149]because they are given freely, neither can there be any price found to parallel the great­ness of their worth; what he first called Water, he after­wards cals Wine and Milk, thereby to display unto us the excellency and perfection of the gift; what is called Wa­ter, is divine Wisdom, which quencheth the flames & lusts of Concupiscence; by Wine is meant that celestial cale­faction which doth warm and brisk the soul, making it to covet things heavenly and sublime; and it is called Milk, because it sweetly nou­rished the Infants in Christ with eternal food.1 Pet. 2.1.

Some thirst, with a most flaming desire, and insatiable greediness after the transito­ries of this world, (which [Page 150]the vulgar call blessings) as honours, wealth, and plea­sures, but our desires must mount higher, and have these three Objects, the glory of God, the honour of Christ, and the salvation of our souls, that these were the vehement desires of Christ, all his works, all his preachings, all his sufferings, and all his mi­racles do voice and speak it. The Prophet cries out. As the hart brayeth for the rivers of water, Psal. 42.1, 2. so panteth my Soul, after thee, O God. My Soul thirsteth for God, even for the living God, when shall I come and appear before the presence of God? Behold, how this King, who was clad with the rags of mortality, and soyled with the vileness of carnal vanities, thirsts after Gods ho­nour [Page 151]and service here, and to enjoy the beatifical vision of him hereafter:Rom. [...].3. Pauls zeal towards Gods Glory, was such, that he would redeem the rejection of the Jews, with his own damnation; to testifie his great desire for their Salvation, he wisht to be anathematized from Christ. He had rather be de­prived of the heavenly Glory then that Christ should be deprived of so great a fault of his passion, which would have appeared in the conver­sion of so many thousand Is­raelites. Now, if Christ, if Paul and others so eagerly thirsted for our salvation, why do we our selves neglect it? Why do we so vehe­mently covet these temporals, which are weightless and mo­mentaneous, [Page 152]and not place our whole effections on that happiness, which is glorious and eternal? The reason peradventure is, because e­verlasting Glory is not em­paled within the dominion of sense: we have not that ex­ternal experiment of it, as of corporal felicity, which makes us earnestly covet this, slightly desire the other; and therefore the natural man (who sees not beyond the Regi­on of sense) perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 2.14 for they are foolishness to him. But he that is spiritual dis­cerneth all things. There must be a spiritual wisdome in us, before we can long for the things above, and this is not to be found in the A­thens of the world, but in [Page 153]the most Divine Acade­mie of Gods Spirit,Jam. 1.5. the Trea­sure and fountain of all true knowledg, who gives libe­rally to all, and reproacheth none. Thither only we must make our humble ad­dresses for this holy Gemme, and not desist in our Pray­ers, untill we have by our teares, and cryes, undeaf­ed the eares of the Al­mighty.

The sixth Word.

THIS implies no more in sound construction, then that the wonderful work of the Passion is now con­summated and completed; for the Father enjoyned the Son, two weighty offices or works, one of preaching the Gospel, the other of suffer­ing for man; of the first the [Page 156]Lord formerly said, That he had finished the work which he gave him, Joh. 17.5, 6. and manifested his name unto men. The o­ther injunction is intimated in these words, O my Fa­ther, if this Cup may not pass away from me, Mat. 26 42. except I drink it, thy will be done. Now he had fully exhausted that bit­ter cup of his Passion, no­thing remained but his disso­lution, and so with an incli­ning head he gave up the Ghost.

But being neither our Sa­viour, nor S. John explained what was Finished, occasion is given us to make such my­sticall applications of the Word, as may be fruitfull to our souls;Aug. [...]om. in [...]cum. One of the Fa­thers affirmes, That in this place is meant, an impletion [Page 157]of the Prophecies foretold of Christ,Esay 7. Mick. 2. and that all those pre­dictions were true; as his conception of a Virgin, his Nativity in Bethlehem, Numb. 23. the apparatition of a new Starr,Psal. 71. the Adoration of Kings, the Preaching of the Gospell,Isay 61. His Miracles, his riding upon an ass,Esay 35. Psal. 21.68 Esa. 53. Jer. 11. Zach. 12. And his whole Passi­on is described by parts, by David in his Psalmes, Esay, Jeremy, Zachary, and o­thers; and this the Lord himself being to pass to his sufferings, spake, Behold, Luck. 18. we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the Prophets concerning the Son of Man, shall be accomplish­ed, which is also here averred, that their Testimonies might he verrified, and received as [Page 158]the dictates of the Holy Ghost.

2. Another of the Fathers understands here,Chrysost. that the power which was permitted to Men and Angels against Christ, was now consumma­ted at his Death; and to this effect he speaks to the Chief Priests and Captains of the Temple, and the elders that were with him, this is your hour, Lu. 22.53. and the power of darkness; now his laborious peregrination, now the con­dition of his mortal life ac­cording to which he hungred and thirsted, and was weary, and obnoxious to injuries, wounds, and to death it selfe, is fully ended and determi­ned.

3. Another makes this Construction, Now the chief­est [Page 159]Sacrifice was Consumma­ted, that, in which all the Sa­crifices of the old Law, as it were, types and shadowes did rest, and into which they run, as Rivolets into the main Ocean: or as the stars, when the Sun appeares with his glorious rayes, see no stars at all, so those typical oblati­ons all vanished, at the pre­sence of this Son of Glory, when he was to be immolated. Concerning these prefigura­tions one speaks thus. ‘Lord, thou hast attracted all things to thy selfe;Leo Serm. 8. de possion dom. for the vaile of the Temple being rent, the holy things of the most holy departed from the unworthy Priests, that the figure might be turned into the truth, Prophecy in­to manifestation, and the [Page 180]law into the Gospel, (and a little after) the variety of carnal sacrifices now cea­sing the oblation of thy body, and blood have made one perfect and entire sa­crifice:’ For in this Sacrifice the Priest is God-man, ac­cording to his Hypostatical union. Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedeck; Psal. 109.4 The Altar was the Cross, which, by how much the more base it was before, by so much the more illustrious and noble it was made after Christs death, the Sacrifice was the Lamb of God, innocent, and immacu­late, of whom the Prophet said, That he was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, Isa. 53.7. and as a sheep before the shear­er is dumb, so he openeth not [Page 181]his mouth. The fire of the Holocaust was his immense charity,Cant. 1.8 which did so flame in his brest, that the floods of persecutions could not extin­guish it; the fruit of the Sa­crifice was the redemption of Mankind, the expiation of the sins of all the sons of A­dam; for,Isa. 1.29. behold he is the Lamb of God that taketh a­way the sins of the world: But here is the difference be­tween the sacrifices under the Law, and this of the Gos­pel, there it was the Office of the Priest to kill, and to prepare the Sacrifice, but here Christ was both Priest and Sacrifice, not that he layd violent hands on himself, but because he willingly yielded to the slaughter, for Gods glory and the propitiation of [Page 162]our sins, their reconciliation was obtained by the blood of beasts,Col. 1.20. here peace is made through the sacred blood of Christ Jesus, not his, as he claimes all the beasts of the forrest, all the cattell upon a thousand hills,Psa. 50.10. and all the foules of the Mountains to be his; not his, as he is Lord and proprietary of all by Creation, so all blood in his; no, nor his, as the blood of all the Martyrs was his, (which is a neer relation and Consanguinity) but his so, as it was the blood of his Cross, the precious blood of his body, the seat of his soul, the matter of his Spirits, and the knot of his dear life.

4. We may further under­stand in this place, that at the death of Christ a great bat­tell [Page 163]was finished between him and the Prince of this world; of which he intimates in those words: Now is the judgement of this world, Jo. 12.31. now shall the Prince of it be cast out: but this battell was judi­ciall, not military, the en­counters were in litigations, not armes, for the devill did strive with the Son of God, about the possession of the world, that is, of humane kind, the Devill had for a long time usurped a domini­on over man, because he con­quered the first man, and en­slaved him, and his whole posterity, and therefore he is stiled the Principalities and Powers of the world,Eph. 6.12. and the Prince of darkness; Neither was he only so called,Psal. 96.5. but al­so termed the Gods of the [Page 184]heathen, for he was publick­ly adored with sacrifices a­mong them, as their on­ly God: but on the other part, Christ, as the true and lawfull heire of the universe, claimed to himselfe the Prin­cipalities of the world, so that at length the battell was decided on the Cross, and sentence was given in favour of our Saviour, where he ob­tained the Trophees of an absolute Conquest, for there he gave a plenary satisfaction to the Divine Justice for the transgressions of all man­kind, for there is returned a greater obedience from the Son to the Father, then was the inobedience of the ser­vant to the Lord; the Son of God was more humbled even to death for the honour of [Page 165]the father, then man was lifted to pride, to the disho­nour of God; so God was reconciled to man through the merits of his Son, when he rescued him from the clawes of the Devil,Col. 1. and translated him into the Kingdom of his beloved son.

5. And lastly, these words may rightly be applyed to the building of Christ's Church, which was not per­fected and finished until his passion, though inchoated in his Baptisme. Thus Epipha­nius in his third book against Heresies, and that learned and holy Augustine, Lib. 3. haere. 78. in his last book of the City of God affirm and teach,Lib. 22. c [...]. that Eve being built and founded on the rib of Adam, he being [Page 167]a sleep, was a type of the Church, which was raised from Christs side, when he began to sleep through the heaviness of death, and so the Scriptures do notifie, (not without a mystery) Eve to have been built, not formed. And that the Church began to be edified from the Bap­tisme of Christ, the said Fa­ther proves out of the Psal­mist. His dominion shall be from sea to sea,Psal. 71.8. and from the river to the ends of the world; for the Kingdome of Christ which is the Church, began to be built from the water of his Baptisme, in which he re­ceiving the Baptisme of John, consecrated the waters, and instituted his own, which is the gate of the Church, and this he was made manifest [Page 166]through that voice of his Fa­ther heard from heaven; this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear him; from that time the Lord be­gan to preach and to Con­gregate Disciples, who were the first that came to the Church, and although there was made an apersion of Christ's side after death, from whence issued forth water and blood, which signified those two principal Sacra­ments of the Church, Bap­tisme, and the Lords Supper, yet all ordinances had their full qualifications from his meritorious passion; so that the flowing of water and blood from his side, was ra­ther a declaration of the my­steries, rather then an insti­tution most rightly, there­fore [Page 168]it is said, that the build­ing of the Church was then consummated; when he said, It is finished, for there re­mained nothing then but a dissolution, which speedily following, the price of a bles­sed redemption for man was compleated.

1. Learn hence, O man, that as thou art certain those things by their events to have been true, which the holy Prophets predicted, so thou ought'st to be fully assured, that those future things which are foretold by the same Prophets, shall come to pass, though not as yet fulfilled, for they spake not from hu­mane fancies, but from an inspiring Spirit of God, which is ever infallible. ‘Sicut usque ad hodiernam diem, [Page 169]omnia evenerunt; Aug. in Psal. 76. sic et quae restant, eventura sunt, &c. Even as to this day all things have rightly follow­ed, so the things which re­main will undoubtedly fol­low. Let us fear then the day of judgment; the Lord is coming, he that came once in poverty, will next come in Glory.’ And that there be no haesitation in our saith, we have stronger ar­guments on our sides then e­ver our Ancestors had: they who preceded the times of Christ, without any perfor­mances, or external impleti­ons were tyed to believe ma­ny things; we, who have had an experimental knowledg of diverse things already accom­plished, should be induced to credit the rest with the more [Page 170]facility: who lived in the dayes of Noah, did here that the general deluge was to come, and it was demonstra­ted unto them, not only by his preaching, but also by his building of an Ark, not­withstanding they would not believe because they had ne­ver seen such a deluge, and therefore a divine fury fell suddenly on them, now we who know, that to be impleted which the Prophet foretold, may easily believe that he, at whose beck are all the elements, may as well destroy the world by fire, the second time, as he hath done first, by water: And we that find it verified, that Christ raised many from death, and his own body from the grave, may be fully con­firmed [Page 171]that by virtue of his Resurrection our soules and bodies also shall be transla­ted to a state of glory and immortality in the world to come.

2. Observe that though the journey of our Saviours peregrination here was labo­rious, and sharp above mea­sure, yet it received an ho­nourable compensation, it ended in triumph and Glory; it lasted thirty three years, but what was the labour of those years in comparison of Eternal happiness? he was humbled and made a scorn of men, and an abject of the people, for a short time, but God hath highly exalted him,Phil. 2.9, 10. and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee [Page 172]should bow, of things in heaven, things in earth, and things under the earth: But his adversaries exulted to the period of his Passion; Pi­late rejoyced till the instant of his sufferings, because he had preserved his friendship with Cesar, and was then re­conciled to King Herod, but now he and the perfidious Jewes justly suffer in hell-flames for their sacrilegious impieties. Here then the hum­ble, and patient men, may see how good, how propitious a thing it is; to take up the Cross in this life, and to fol­low Christ, their afflictions are but light and transcient, and not worthy to be com­pared with the glory which shall be revealed to them; for when they dye, they pass [Page 173]from a vaile of sorrowes to a Paradise of joyes,Rev. 7.16. where all teares shall be wiped from their eyes: but with the un­godly it is not so, the end of their miseries (if they have any) in this world, is but an entrance and beginning of greater in the other, where is endless weeping, and wai­ling, and gnashing of teeth.

3. Another benefit may be reaped from the third ac­ceptation of the words; for if we mean that the Sacrifi­ces of the chiefest Priest is now finished on the Cross, it followes, that all his disci­ples in imitation of their Master, according to their se­veral talents should offer like­wise Sacrifices to their God; in this sence all Christians are Priests to offer Sacrifices,1 Pet. 2.9. [Page 174]not such as were in the old Testament,i Pet. 2.9 but Spirituall Priests, to offer mystical sa­crifices, which may be pre­sented from all men, as prais­es, and prayers, and other services of piety; the same is most occurately taught us in the Epistle to the Romans,Heb. i3.i5, 16. in resemblance of the sacri­fices of the ancient Law;Rom. 12.1 for there was in them.

• 1. The hallowed to God, which to convert to profane use, was held a nafarious Crime.
• 2. It was to be a thing living, as a sheep, or goate, or the like.
• 3. It was to be holy, that is, clean; for there were among the Hebrews, animals clean and unclean,
• 4. And then the thing hallowed to God, was to be burn't, that it might send forth an odour [Page 175]of sweetness: The like pro­perties must be found in our spiritual Sacrifices,
  • 1. Our bodies ought to be hallowed to God, that we may use them to his honour, not as our own, but his, to whom they are consecrated by Bap­tisme, and who hath pur­chased them by his blood.
  • 2. They ought to be living sacrifices, enlivened with the life of Grace, and of the ho­ly Spirit: for whosoever are dead by sin, are not fit Vi­ctimes for God, but for the devils; our God, who is al­wayes living, and the ever­lasting fountain of life, ab­hors the stinking oblations of dead carkasses, who are profitable for nothing, un­less for dogs and fowles of the Aire. We must then en­balm [Page 176]and preserve the life of the soul, with our best and most religious actions, that we may give a reasonable sa­crifice to our God▪
  • 3. We must be holy and clean; for none shall ascend into the hill of the Lord,
    Psal. 24.3, 4
    or stand in his holy place, but he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart, who hath not lift up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
  • 4. And then we must be well plea­sing, and send up a sweet sa­vour to our God, to that purpose in the old Law, they used to kill and burn the sa­crifie; and this is rightly per­formed in the spiritual Sacri­fice, when carnal concupi­scence is truly mortified, and burn't with the coales of charity; nothing can sooner [Page 177]or more effectually destroy it, then a sincere love to God, for he is Lord and King of all the affections of the heart, and rules them all, whether Fear, Hope, Desire, Hatred, Anger, or any other perturbation of the soul; and love doth not yeild but to a greater, so that when divine love doth possess, and bear dominion over the inmost corners of the heart; then carnal concupiscence gives place, and being mortified, it vanisheth to nothing.

Thence flaming desires, and most pure prayers ascend to heaven, like aromatical per­fumes of precious spices: this then is that perfect and acceptable sacrifice which God requires; and the Apo­stle [Page 178]here exhorts with a most persuasive argument. I be­seech you by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, &c. By his mer­cy, that is, as if he had said, by him, that created you something, when you were nothing: By him that made you his servants, and needed not your service, and when your merits were una­vaileable, blest you with his own; by him that made you to his own similitude, and by this, capable of his love and knowledg; by him that made you his adoptive sons, and co-heirs with his unige­nit; by him that made you members of his body, where­of he was the head; by him that offered himself a full and propitiatory sacrifice on the [Page 179]Cross, to redeem you from servitude, and wash you from all spots and wrinkles; by him, I beseech you, to give to God in stead of dead beasts, lively sacrifice; in stead of their blood, which was but a shadow, and pleased not God of it self, the accepta­ble sacrifice of the spiritual man, framed by faith, to godliness and charity.

4. And then we are here further taught, that we shall be crowned with Law­rels, and Diademes of eter­nal happiness if we fight cou­rageously under the banner of Christ, against our spiritu­al enemies, and never desist until we have obtained the Victory. Christ gave not over until all was finished: If God had given over at his [Page 180]second dayes work, we had had no sin, no seasons; if at the fifth, we had no being; if at the sixth, no sabbath, but by proceeding to the se­venth, we are all, we have all; So Christ, if he had stayd at his Circumcision, or his Agony, or his scourg­ings, our redemption had been imperfect, but by con­tinuing to his crowning and his nayling, and the piercing of his side on the Cross, all was completed that was ne­cessary for mans salvation.2 King. 5.24 Naaman could not be cured of his leprosie, but by wash­ing in Jordan seven times, less could not do it; it is not e­nough for a man to begin, or do some few acts of piety or religion, unless he make; a constant progress [Page 181]therein. Are the Angels weary of looking on that face of God, which they looked upon yesterday? or are the Saints weary of sing­ing of that Allelujah, which they sung to Gods glory yesterday? Is not that song which is their morning and evening sacrifice; and which shall be their song world without end, called still, A new song? Oh! then ne­ver be weary, never give o­ver performing thy duties to that God that never ceas­eth to bless thee; for he (and he only) that continues un­to the end, shall receive a Crown of life.

In vain did the perfidious Jews cry, if he be King of Israel, let him come down from the Cross, and we will [Page 182]believe in him; Nay, ra­ther, because he was so, he would not desert his place; for by his perseverance, his interest to the Kingdome was confirmed, and the work of redemption was consumma­ted in such a glorious manner, that nothing could be defi­cient, to the greatness of its merit, or to enduce us to fol­low so noble a president; to proceed in those actions, that are pleasant and suitable to our temper is facil, and not praise worthy; but to perse­vere in laborious Agonies and sorrows, and in such things as are against the di­ctates of our own natural and carnal affections is indeed difficult, but very laudable. Christ was so enamoured with his divine Father, and [Page 183]long'd so earnestly for the re­demption of man, that all intervening Crosses seemed Cordials to him, and all pains, pleasures: After his Ex­ample we find that Paul enu­merating his own sufferings with those of his Co-Apo­stles breaks thus forth; who is able to separate us from the love of Christ?Rom. 8. shall tribu­lation or distress? shall an­guish, persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed, all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter, Nay; in all these things we are more then conquerours, through him that loved us. From these holy presidents we may learn how to master our afflictions, and to sweeten [Page 184]our persecutions, and to deem them as the embrioes of eter­nal life: We may bear them with all spiritual joy, if we look not on them, but on him, that imposed them on us, who without doubt was the Father Almighty, without whose Providence, not a hair can fall from our heads, and therefore let us with Moses esteem his rebukes greater riches then the treasures of Egypt, Heb. ii. 26. having respect unto the recompence of the re­ward.

The seventh and last Word.

ANd well might he call him Father, because he had merited the name of an obedient Son, to the last mi­nute of his life; and there­fore most worthy to gain at­tention. But here a doubt occures, what we are to un­derstand by the hands of God? are we with the An­thropomorphites [Page 191]to ascribe the form and lineaments of man unto God,Theod. l. 4. c. 10. as if he had eyes and ears, and hands, and o­ther parts and faculties like unto us? far be it, for God is a spiritual substance, of an invisible and indivisible nature, without body, parts or passions, of infinite power, wisdome and goodness: but for the better explanation of this, and the like expression in holy Writ, we must make use of that known adage of the Hebrew Doctors, Lex loquitor linguam filiorum hominum. That is, the ho­ly Ghost in the Scripture des­cends to the capacity of man, speaks man's language, that is, so, as he would be under­stood by man; and therefore presents him in the faculties of [Page 192]the mind of man, and in the lineament of the body of man, not that he hath re­ally either of them, for he is a most pure and a most sim­ple entitie without any cor­pority, or composition. And so, the hands of God, do denote unto us, his wisdom and power, or which fals in­to one meaning, his intel­lect knowing all things, and his will enabling all things, for with these two, as it were two hands, God did all things. The will of God is his power; for all things whatsoever he would, he did in heaven and earth.

My Spirit, There are di­vers significations of this word Spirit, in Scripture, which if not rightly appre­hended, may occasion divers [Page 193]errours; it is spoken of God, or of Angels, or of men, or of inferiour creatures. Of God, it is spoken sometimes Essentially, sometimes Per­sonally. God is a Spirit, Jo. 4.24. and they that worship him, must worship him in Spirit and truth. So also,Isai. 31.3. So also, The E­gyptians are men, and not Gods, and their Horses flesh and not spirit; for if they were God, they were Spirit; so, God altogether, and con­sidered in his essence, is a Spi­rit: but when the word Spi­rit is spoken not essentially of all, but personally of one, then that word designeth the holy Ghost.Matth. 28, 19. Go and bap­tize all in the Name of the Father, and Son, and the Holy Ghost. Rom. 8 [...].6. And the Spirit [Page 194]it self beareth witness, &c. And as of God, so of An­gels also it is spoken in two respects of good Angels, sent forth to minister for them that shall be heirs of Salvati­on. And evil Angels,Heb. 1.14. The lying Spirit that would de­ceive the King by the Prophet. 1 Kin. 22.22. Hosea 4.8. The spirit of whoredom, when the people asked counsel of their stocks: And spiritus vir­tiginis, the spirit of giddi­ness, or perversities which the Lord doth mingle amongst the people in his judgment. Of man also, is this word Spirit spoken two wayes; sometimes for the Soul, some­time for those animal spirits which conserve us in strength and vigour,Job 6.4. The poyson of Gods arrows drinketh up my [Page 195]spirit; and also for the supe­riour faculties of the soul, in a regenerate man, as there, My Soul doth magnifie the L [...]rd, and my spirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour. Luke 1.47. And then lastly, of inferiour crea­tures, it is taken two wayes too, of living creatures, The God of the Spirits of all flesh; Num. 16.22. and of creatures with­out life (other then a meta­phorical life) as of the wind often:Ez [...]k. 1.21. And of Ezekiels wheeles; the spirit of life was in the wheeles.

Now in this place, the Spirit of Christ may be taken either for his soul, which is the substantial form of the body, or for life it self; be­cause spiration is a sign of life; and they that breath, [Page 196]live, and when the leave off to breath, they leave off to live. If by the spirit, we understand his soul, this ca­veat must be had; we must not imagine that danger im­pending to it, by leaving the body, as is usual to dying men, who commend their souls in pensive supplications, because they go to the Tri­bunal of the Great Judg, to receive glory, or punishment. Such a commend his soul needed not, because it was blest from its creation, as well in regard of its personal conjunction to the Son of God, as because it left the body in a glorious triumph, being a terrour to whole Le­gions of devils. So that in this sense, the words imply [Page 197]no more, then that his soul which was formerly in the body, as in a Tabernacle, should be deposited in the hands of his father, until he be restored, when the time of restoring should come; but it is more credible, that by the spirit, is here understood the corporal life, as the meaning may be this; I do now deliver the spirit of life, by which I do leave off to breath, and leave off to live, and this spirit, this life, Fa­ther I commend to thee, that thou mayst shortly re­give it to my body; for with thee nothing perisheth, but all things live, who by calling those things which are not, givest them a being, and those things which do not live, gi­vest them a life.

And this construction is most agreeable to the Psal­mist: Pull me out of the net,Psal. 31.4.that they have laid pri­vily for me; for thou art my strength, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Where by spirit is meant life, for he humbly beseecheth the Al­mighty, not to suffer him to perish by the malice of his e­nemies, but that he would preserve his life; the like is evidenced out of those Apo­stolical words.Heb 5.7. ‘Who, in the dayes of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.’ These words cannot be referred to his [Page 199]prayer in the garden, as some interpret, for these,Mark 14. the Lord prayed not with a loud voice, neither was he, nor would he be heard, that he might be safe from death, but to shew that he had a natural desire not to die, thereby de­monstrating himself to be a true man, whose nature ab­hors death; but they rather signifie that he desired not to be swallowed up by death, and that he might only taste of it, and so return to life. And in that he was heard; for he was not long detain­ed in the black vaults of the grave, but had a speedy and a glorious resurrection; So, that here the Lord was not troubled for his soul, for he knew that to be safe, as be­ing [Page 200]beatified from its crea­tion, by a vision of God face to face, but he was so­licit ous concerning his body, which seemed by the sting of death, to be disappointed of life, and therefore prayes that it might not long remain under its tyranny, and in that his request was fully obtain­ed.

Here then we may satisfy those Hereticks (such as the Cerdonites, the Euticheans, & the Manicheans were) which brought Christ upon the stage to play a part, and say he was born, and lived, and dyed in Phantasmate, in ap­parence only, and representa­tion, and not really. For if he dyed not, where is the contract between him and [Page 201]his father, that Christ ought to suffer all this, and so enter into his Glory? is that con­tract void, and of none effect? where is the ratification of that contract in all the Pro­phets? wherefore doth Esay say,Esay. 5 3.4 9 Surely he hath born our sorrows, and he made his grave with the wicked in his death: where is the consummation, and the te­stification of all this? doth not the Gospel here say, And he bowed his head, and gave up the Ghost, immedi­ately after this his last prayer? is that fabulous? God for­bid; in vain had we all been created, if we had not a re­generation in his true death. Christ truly dyed so as was contracted, so as was prophe­cied, [Page 202]so as was related. But this I may boldly affirm, that he did not die so, as other natural men dye; for there is this distinction between them. Christ dyed because he would dye; other men admitted to the dignity of Martyrdome are willing to dye, but they dye by the tor­ment of the executioners, they cannot bid their souls go out, and say I will dye, as he did: I lay down my life for my sheep, [...]. 10.15, 17, 18. sayes he: No man taketh it from me, I lay it down of my self: And De facto, he did lay it down, he diddye, before thetorments could have extorted it from him: Many crucified men lived many dayes upon the Cross: the theeves were a­live, [Page 203]long after Christ was dead; and therefore Pilate wondered that he was already dead: his soul did not leave his body by force,Mar. 15 44. but because he would, when and how he pleased. Besides Christ was not subject to the law of death, which appertained only to them, who were de­rived from Adam, by carnal and sinful generation, he being miraculously conceived of a virgin, by the oversha­dowing of the holy Ghost, and being he was not invol­ved in a general rebellion, and so had not incurred Gods displeasure, it follows, that he was not involved in the general penalty, and so needed not to have dyed by the rigour of any law, as we [Page 204]must. And then when out of his own pleasure; and to advance our salvation, he would dye, yet he dyed so, as that though there were a disunion of body and soul (which is truly death) yet there remained a nobler and faster Union, the Hyposta­tical Union of the God­head, to his body and soul: to this I add death hath that dominion over men, that they have no power to raise them­selves from it; Christ had, for even in spight of death he retained in Almighty power, and delivered his bo­dy and soul by a Victorious and Triumphant Resurrecti­on. So then, as it is true, Christ Jesus dyed, else none of us could live; so he dyed [Page 205]not as others dye: not by the necessity of any law, not by the violence of any exe­cutioner, nor by the sepe­ration of his best soul, (if I may so call it) the God­head, nor by such a separa­tion of his natural and hu­mane soul, as that he would not, or could not, nor did not resume it again From what hath been premised, thou maist learn, O man, First, How that Christ shew­ed his Power, his Wisdom, and his Charity even then, when he seemed to be infirm and void of all consolation. They who naturally dye, do by degrees loose their voice and strength, but he in the last passage of his dissolu­tion, used a louder acclama­tion [Page 206]then formerly. And not only that, but as arguments of his further power, he caused the basis of the uni­verse to tremble, the stones to be cleft, the Sepulchres to be opened, and the vail of the Temple to be disjoynted. All which want not their se­veral mysteries; as the earth­quake and the Scision of the Rocks, signifieth that by the passion and death of Christ, men should be moved to re­pentance, and the obdurate hearts of the obstinate should be cut in pieces, as it appear­ed by those who went from this sad spectacle,Luk. 23. striking their breasts; the apertion of the sepulchres, denote the glorious resurrection of the dead bodies, which were to [Page 207]be raised by vertue of his: The renting of the vail of the Temple, whereby the Sanctum Sanctorum did ap­pear, did imply, that for the merits of Christs death, the Caelestial sanctuary should be opened, and that the ho­ly should be admitted to en­joy the beatifical vision.

Neither did he shew his wisdome only, in these shadowy Mysteries, but also in that he produced life out of death, which was typifi­ed by Moses, when he made the water flow from the flin­ty rock: And Christ for the same cause compared himself to a grain of wheat,Numb. 20.8, 9. that dying fructifieth abundant­ly,Jo. 12.24. for, as from the corrup­tion of that grain sprouts a [Page 208]living stalk and eare, so from his death on the Cross issued a life of grace to many nati­ons; as the first man being gull'd with the sweet apple, infected his whole posterity with death, so the second man swallowing the most bit­ter apple of death, brought all, who were in him re­born, to eternal life. And what shall we say of his cha­rity, which was divers wayes wonderfully demonstrated at the instant of his death: His life, which was the most pre­cious of all lives, the life of a King, the most powerful of all, the life of the wisest, and best of all, the life of God­man, he voluntarily laid down for his enemies, for the wicked, for the un­thankful. [Page 209]From the flames of hell he frees them, that he might make them his bre­thren, and Co-heirs, and empale them within the bles­sed territories of heaven. Is there any then so trans­ported with cruelty to him­self, and so insensible of his own good, as not to enbo­some Christ with a thankful love? Is there any so negli­gent of his own eternity, as not to embrace him with a sweet recordation of his mercies? Lord melt our stony hearts, that they may take the impressions of such divine and unspeakable fa­vours.

2. Here offers it self also to our consideration the great obedience of our Savi­our [Page 210]to his heavenly father, in this recommendation of his spirit, to his paternal pro­tection, whereby is verified, what the Apostle sayes,Phil. 2.8. That he humbled himself, and be­came obedient unto death, e­ven the death of the Cross. It was so admirable, that it had its imitation from his ve­ry conception, and without intermission (like an indivi­sible line) lasted to his very death. Neither was it deter­minated to one kind of work, but extended to all those things, which it pleased his Father to command; to this do those expression of his tend,Jo. 4.34. Jo. 6. It is my meate to do his will that sent me, and to finish his work. I came down from heaven not to do my own [Page 211]will, but his that sent me. And because (Quia per vi­ctimas aliena Caro, per obe­dientiam propria voluntas muctatur. Gregor. mor. l. 35. c. 11.) Obedience is the best of sacrifices, therefore as many works as he did, during his peregrination on earth, so many most pleasing sacri­fices he offered to God Al­mighty. Hence such varie­ties of them; that some­times we find him fasting in the desart, and lodging with wild beasts; sometimes in the frequency of men, eating and drinking; sometimes at home obscure, and silent, and that not for few years; some­times glorious, as well in wisdome. as eloquence; and unclapsing his power of do­ing [Page 212]miracles; sometimes with great indignation, throw­ing the buyers and sellers out of the Temple: some­times (as it were) weak, de­clining from the company of the multitude; all which did require the noble qualities of an excellent soul, which shew­ed him no way subject to the swayes of any passionate will of his own. And as he pra­ctised, so he taught the rule of perfect Obedience. He that will follow me, Mat. 16.24. let him deny himself. Man must re­nounce his own, before he can submit to the will of Christ. The Celestial orbs do not resist the Angels that move them, whether they be driven to the East, or to the West, because they have no proper propensitie, either to [Page 213]one part of the heavens, or to the other, and the Angels themselves are at Gods beck, to observe all his mandates, be­cause there is no repugnancy between their wils and his but seem to be so happily consolidated to him, as if they and he were but one spi­rit. And certainly if we will become Christs true disciples, we must disband our own de­sires, and natural affections, and wholly resign our selves to his dispose, and so become one with him.

3. And lastly, We may make this benefit of this last prayer of the Lord, to use it, as a holy Ejaculation up­on all emergencies, more especially at the hour of death; for if the soul, then leaving the body, fals into [Page 214]the clutches of the Devil,Ab inferis nulla re­demptio. there is no possibility of its redemption (for as the feli­city of the Saints, so the torments of the damned are eternal) but if it happily comes into the paternal hands of God, the potency of enemies is not to be fear­ed; but it will be re-united to the body, and (both of them) shall in the end enjoy a blessed and a glorious re­surrection; And herein lyes an ocean of comfort to all believers, for as Christ the head did rise, so shall e­very member of his mystical body be raised from corrupti­on to incorruption,1 Cor. 15. 42, 43. from dis­honour to glory. It is sto­ried of an Indian King, that when he had been Catechised [Page 215]so far in the articles of our Christian Religion, as to come to the suffered, and crucified, and dead, and bu­ried, impatient of proceed­ing any father, asked only, is your God dead, and buri­ed? then let me return to the worship of the Sun, for I am sure, that will not die, whereas if he had but the pa­tience to learn the following Article, he might hear of his Triumphant Ascension into heaven, and sitting there in Majesty and power on Gods right hand, all the consola­tion of a Christian consists in this principally, that after a troublesome warfare here, he shall be carried to Abra­hams bosome, the Celestial Paradise, to the durable Je­rusalem [Page 216]to his Masters joy, to an inheritance immortal, undefiled, reserved in the heavens, to a rest from his labours, and to behold the glory of God. O how it be­hoves each man then, to secure his interest in those felicities, and daily and hourly com­mend his soul to that God that made it. We are all careful enough when death approaches, to put our houses in order, and dispose of our temporals, but few take a thought for that which is spi­ritual. We had rather with King Asa seek to the Phy­sitian, then to the Lord,2 Chr. 16. when seized with sickness; or with the Pharisees tithe mint and cummin, and leave the weighty Matters of the Law [Page 217]undone; but so we do but present God with maim, not perfect, with dead, not living sacrifices: Nothing can en­ter into the Kingdom of heaven, but what is pure and immaculate, and there­fore our chiefest care should be, if we desire to have admission there, to pre­pare our souls by true faith, and time­ly repentance, without which our pray­ers and tears will nothing avail; for without holinesse no man shall see the face of God. He made our souls spirits, let us not then make them carnal, by feeding on corrupt lust: He made them immortal, let us not murder them with our sins, and deprive them of eternal life. He made them noble and after his own image, let us not make them bru­tish and earthly, by doting on the plea­sures, and vanities of this transitory world. For what shal it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in ex­change for his soul?