Clavis mystica a key opening divers difficult and mysterious texts of Holy Scripture; handled in seventy sermons, preached at solemn and most celebrious assemblies, upon speciall occasions, in England and France. By Daniel Featley, D.D.

THE FIRST BORDER: OR, THE PASSION SERMON.

The first presented the Spouse with a Border of gold, with Studs of silver, wrought upon the text, Zech. 13.7. Awake, O sword, against my shep∣heard, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hostes: smite the shepheard, and the sheepe shall be scattered. And thus he put it on:

ILlius Doctoris libentiùs audio vocem (saith devout Bernard) non qui si∣bi plausum, sed qui mihi planctum movet.* 1.1 Me thinkes whilest you are here assembled to celebrate the memorie of our Lords death, I see a great concourse as it were to a funerall Sermon; I shall therefore intreat you, Right Honourable, Right Worshipfull, &c. to prepare rather your hearts to be woun∣ded, than your eares to be tickled; and at this time to lay aside all expectati∣on either of Art or Learning, and yeeld your selves wholly to religious Passion.

It is the observation of St. Austine and Gregorie, that the foure beasts mentioned by St. John, mystically represent the foure maine acts of Christ,a 1.2 or workes of mans redemption.

His

• 1 Incarnation.
• 2 Passion.
• 3 Resurrection.
• 4 Ascension.

For at his Incarnation he tooke our nature upon him, and was found in shape as a Man: In his passion as a Bullocke he was slaine for sacrifice: In his re∣surrection he was a Lion: In his ascension as an Eagle. We here consider him as a Bullock sacrified upon the altar of the Crosse. Which as it is the greatest myste∣ry that ever was revealed to the world: so the Pen-men of the holy Ghost have bin most laboriously employed to publish it in all ages; figuring it in the Law, fore∣telling it in the Prophesies of the Old Testament, and representing it most live∣ly in the history of the Gospell. I have to doe with a Prophesie somewhat darke before the light of the Gospell shone upon it: Awake, O sword, &c. which words in the Prophet are a Prosopopaeia made by God, or an Apostrophe to his sword to whet it selfe, and be stirred up against a man of meane condition in the estimate of the world, A shepheard: yet in some relation to himselfe, my shepheard: of a strange composition and quality, a man that is my fellow: and it extendeth to the smiting of this shepheard, and scattering his whole flocke. The parts are two,

• 1 The Speaker, the Lord of hostes.
• 2 The speech. Wherein observe,
  • ...1 Direction; O sword.
  • 2 Matter. Wherein,
    • 1 Incitation. Wherein,
      • 1 The act, Awake.
      • 2 The object; described by
        • 1 His office; shepheard.
        • 2 Person; which is my fellow.
    • 2 Commission. Wherein,
      • 1 The act; smite.
      • 2 The effect; the sheep shalbe scattered.

First we are to speake of the Speaker, the Lord of hostes.

The Lord of hostes is a name of power, and soundeth like a thunder; his Generall is Death, his great Captaines Plague, Famine, and the Sword, his Arsenall the whole world, and all creatures in heaven, earth and hell his Souldiers, ever ready pressed to fight his battailes. Quantus Deus Dominus exercituum (saith St. Bernard) cui inservit universa creatura? Onely rebelli∣ous man standeth out in such defiance to his Maker, that the creatures which were ordained to be under his dominion, are often awaked, and summoned to be armed for his destruction.

Awake, O sword. As all the creatures are Gods souldiers, so when hee imployeth them against man they are called his swords. The wicked is said to be hish 1.3 sword, and thei 1.4 pestilence also. When the Lord is pleased to execute his wrath, he never wanteth instruments or meanes: he hath a sword for Saul,

and an oake for Absalom, and a roape for Achitophel, and a gibbet for Ha∣man, and a worme for Herod: and thus for the generall.

The particular intent of the Spirit leadeth mee to another consideration, viz. that of this great blow here threatned to the shepheard, God himselfe is the Author: Deus erat qui pastorem percuti jubebat (saith Maldonat) & quod per alium facit ipse facit. Yea, but God never awaketh his sword to smite but for sinne, and in this shepheard there was no sinne of his owne, the sword therefore lies sleeping in the scabbard, and must now bee summoned to awake.

Awake, O sword; Chereb gnuri. To the act of mercy wee are all apt to importune God with clamours, Up Lord: but to the act of justice if we should provoke him, who were able to stand before him? To this he is enforced, after a sort; to provoke himselfe. Wherein observe, first his unwillingnesse to strike, till he is provoked his sword sleepeth: secondly his hast and resolution to strike when he is provoked, in that he will awake his sword.

He who is here stiled Lord of hostes, is elsewhere named the Father of mer∣cy; and by his attributes set downe in Exod. 34. ver. 6, 7. it appeareth that he is nine to two more inclineable to mercy than to justice. But because from this hope of mercy many are apt to promise themselves impunity, putting ever from them the evill day, I hold it more needfull at this present to shew his haste and readinesse to execute vengeance upon such who presume too farre upon his long suffering and goodnesse. There is a generation of men described by Da∣vid in the 10. Psalme, ver. 11. that say in their heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face, he will never see it. And by Solomon,k 1.5 Because sentence against their evill workes is not executed speedily, therefore their heart is fully set in them to doe evill.

Ut sit magna tamen certè lenta ira deorum est.

To these St. Peter hath answered long agoe,l 1.6 The Lord is not slacke (as some men count slacknesse) but is long suffering to us-ward, (that is, the Elect) whose conversion he graciously expecteth. When their number is accomplished, and the sinnes of the Reprobate which now looke white shall turne yellow and grow full ripe, he will awake his sword to wound the heads of his enemies, and his stay in the meane time is but to fetch his arme the further backe, that be may give the sorer stroke; and to draw his arrow to the head, that hee may wound the deeper. For this cause the ancient heathen attributed to God leaden feet, but iron hands; quia tarditatem vindictae gravitate compensat.m 1.7 Taci∣tus noteth it of Tiberius Caesar, that being displeased with Q. Haterius and Scaurus, but not equally, he fell foule presently upon Haterius, with whom hee was lesse angry, but said not a word to Scaurus for the present, against whom he conceived irreconcileable haired: so God when he is a little offended at some slips of the godly, hee awaketh his sword presently, but layes it downe a∣gaine after hee hath smote gently with it;n 1.8 Hic punit ut illic pareat, & su∣pra omnem miserationem est ira ista: but to the wicked hee giveth line e∣nough, that they may play with the hooke, and swallow it deepe downe with the baite; Hic punit ut illic seviat, & supra omnem iram est miseratio ista. But praised be the Lord of hostes, who to ransome us hath found a man to

wreake his wrath, and turne his sword upon, his shepheard. It is noted ofo 1.9 Trajane, that he would cut his richest robes in pieces to make rags for his souldiers wounds: I shall now propose unto you a man, that to bind up your blee∣ding wounds, hath suffered himselfe to be cut in pieces under the furie of this waking sword. Awake, O sword

Against my shepheard. O magne Pastor animarum (saith Bonaventure) pasce animam meam, & ut pascatur meliùs fac ut ipse pascam. Christ is a mighty shepheard, but yet of a little flocke, which was first pent within the walls of Eden, and thence turned out, wandred on the earth till the flood, at the deluge tooke ship and landed in Armenia, from thence removed to Canaan, and from Cannaan to Egypt, and from Egypt backe againe towards Canaan, and after foure hundred yeeres stragling in a strange land, wandred fortie yeares in the wildernesse, and at last was folded in Judaea. In all which crossings, and tur∣nings, and wandrings, he never ceased to feed and fodder them: to give us his substitutes, as well an example by his practice, as a rule by his precept, to feed, feed, and feed. Alimento, verbo, exemplo: quid est amas me? Nisi quaeris in Ecclesia non tua sed mea, (saith St. Austine) nisi testimonium perhibeat conscientia quod plus me ames quam tua, quam tuos, quam te, nequicquam suscipias curam hanc. But if thy conscience assure thee that thou lovest Christ in such sort, then feed thou his flocke as well with in∣tegrity of life, as puritie of doctrine; learne as well facere dicenda, as di∣cere facienda; that is, as Saint Jerome aptly expresseth it, verba vertere in opera. Thou must have engraven on thy breast as well Thummim as Urim, and there must hang as well Pomegranates about thy garment as golden bells.

The Popish Writers say that a shepheard should have three things, a scrip, a hooke, and a whistle; but for their owne parts they are so greedy on the scrip, and busie with the hooke, that they forget the whistle, give over their studie and preaching: ac si tum victuri essent sine curâ cum pervenirent ad curam; ma∣king account that all their care is past when they are got into a cure. But the shepheard we speake of was the good shepheard who fed his flocke day and night, and layd downe his life for it: he is the universall shepheard; & ita cu∣rat omnes oves ut singulas. He is here called Gods shepheard, because his di∣spensation is from him, or because he is the beloved of God, and that divine shepheard whichp 1.10 Ardeus thus excellently describeth, Educens è lacu miseriae, conducens per viam gratiae, perducens ad pascua gloriae: and shall the sword of the Lord be against this shepheard? The case is different betweene him and David; there it was quid meruerunt oves? here it is quid meruit Pa∣stor? For he was candidus and rubicundus, candidus innocentiâ and rubi∣cundus passione; sine maculâ criminis, & sine rugâ erroris. Had the sword beene awaked against the wolfe it had beene mercy, against the sheepe is had beene justice; but to awake against this good shepheard seemeth to bee hard measure. The case is resolved by Daniel: The Messias shall be slaine, but not for himselfe, God hath layd upon him the iniquity of us all. O in∣effabilis mysterii dispositio! peccat impius, & patitur justus: meretur malus, patitur bonus: quod committit homo sustinet Deus. Here then you see the first and maine cause of the shepheards slaughter, your sinnes. It is in vaine to shift it off on Judas or Pilat, and most impious to lay it upon

the Lord of hostes. For solum peccatum homicida est: so that I may bring it home to the bosome of every one of you in the words of Nathan, Tu es ho∣mo, Thou art the man that hast slaine this shepheard. O consider this, yee that forget God; doe not so wickedly as to commit a second murder upon this good shepheard, crucifie not againe the Lord of life: every reviling speech to your neighbour is a whip on his side, every traducing of your superi∣ours a crowne of thornes to his head, every neglect of charity to his members new nailes to wound his hands and feet, every blasphemous word a new spit∣ting on his face, every oath a speare to pierce his heart. But what moved him to become our surety and sacrifice? No reason can be given but his will, Oblatus est quia voluit, He was offered because hee would, hee would because hee loved us: and to the end hee might the better undergoe his office, because it became us to have such an high Priest that had feeling of our wants and infirmities, he became man.

The man. The Hebrewes have foure severall words for a man, Adam, Enosh, Ish, Geber; Adam signifying red earth, Enosh, a man of sorrow, Ish, a man of a noble spirit, Geber, a strong man; wee have found a man here in all these senses. Adam, earth as wee; Enosh, a man of sorrowes; Ish, a man of a noble spirit, to encounter all the powers of darkenesse; Geber, a strong man, stronger than hee in theq 1.11 Gospell, which first possessed the house. Behold the man, saith Pilat: but a man of sorrow, saith Esay: nay, a worme and no man, saith David: nay lesse resisting than a worme; for a worme if it bee trod upon will turne againe: but this man went like a lambe to the slaughter: or, if hee may rightly be termed a worme, certainely a silke-worme, spinning us a precious web of righteousnesse out of his owne bowels: yet this worme and no man is Ish, one of noble spirit; and Geber, a valiant man: yea, such an one as is Gods fellow.

My fellow. For in him the Godhead dwelleth bodily, and in him all the Saints are compleat: he is the brightnesse of his Fathers glory, and the en∣graven forme of his person.

—ipse paterni Pectoris effigies, lumen{que} a lumine vero.

Semper cum patre, semper de patre, semper in patre, semper apud pa∣trem, semper quod pater, saith Fulgentius: ex ipso, cum ipso, hoc quod ipse, saith Saint Austine: who being in the forme of God thought it notr 1.12 robberie to bee equall with God; and therefore God calleth him here his fellow. Such a one i•• became him to be, that was to encounter principalities, to come upon the strong man (whereby is meant the Divell) and binde him, and spoile his goods; to grapple with the great King of feare, Death; to say to hell and the grave, Effata; to swallow up the swallower of all things, to destroy destruction, and to lead captivitie captive, and to returne with glo∣ry from thence unde negant quenquam redire.

Againe, my fellow, yet a man; creator matris, creatus ex matre, saith Saint Austine: ipsum sanguinem quem pro matre obtulit, ante de san∣guine matris accepit, saith Emissenus. Hee that was the brightnesse of his Father, and such a brightnesse as no man could behold and live, hath

now a traverse drawne over his glorie: the word is made flesh, sepositâ non depositâ majestate, saith Emissenus: naturam suscipiendo nostram, non amittendo suam, saith Saint Austine: ad terrena descendit, & coe∣lestia non deseruit, hic affuit, & inde non defuit: and so be became Em∣manuel, God with us, perfect God, and perfect man: man to receive sup∣plications from man, God to deliver them to God: man to suffer for man, God to satisfie God. Apparuit medius (saith Saint Austine) in∣ter mortales peccatores, & immortalem justum mortalis justus; morta∣lis cum hominibus, justus cum Deo: ne vel in utroque similis longè es∣set à Deo, aut in utroque dissimilis longè esset ab hominibus. To con∣clude this point, Gods fellow to offer an infinite sacrifice for all mankinde, and a man that he might be himselfe the sacrifice killed by the sword which is now awaked to smite him.

1 Smite the Shepheard. Hachharogneh, hacke him, hew him, butcher him. Now are the reines let loose to all the powers of darkenesse, now is the sword flying about the Shepheards eares, now have they power to hurrie him from Annas to Caiaphas, from Caiaphas to Pilat, from Pilat to Herod, from Herod againe to Pilat, and so to Calvarie; and in every passage appears a sword that might cleave asunder a heart of Adamant: yet the Lord of hostes saith still

2 Smite him. Now hath Judas power to betray him, the Priests to con∣vent him, the standers by to buffet him, the officers to whip him, the people to deride him, Pilat to condemne him; and in every act appeares a sword that might cleave in sunder a heart of rocke: yet the Lord of hostes saith still

3 Smite him. Now the thornes have power to goare him, the whip to lash him, the nailes to fasten him, the speare to pierce him, the Crosse to extend him, the grave to swallow him; and in every one appeares a sword that might cleave in sunder a heart of steele: yet the Lord of hostes saith still

4 Smite him. Let no part bee free from torment; not his head from pricking, nor his face from spitting, nor his flesh from whipping, nor his pal∣lat from vinegar, nor his hands and feet from piercing, nor his heart from the speare: yet still the Lord of hostes saith

5 Smite him. The torment of his body was but the body of his torment, the soule of his torment was his soules torment. Now his soule is troubled, saith John; nay, exceeding sorrowfull, saith Marke; nay, heavie unto death, saith Matthew: all the streames of bloud that issued from him on the Crosse were nothing to his drops in the garden: those were forced with out∣ward violence, these were drained out with inward sorrow. Sure (saith one) he was neare some fornace that melted him. Here was a blow that if he had not beene Gods fellow would have strucke him downe to hell: yet the Lord of hostes saith

6 Smite him. The sense of paine is not so grievous as the want of com∣fort. Here all comfort is with-held; the people deride him, and preferre a murderer before him: of his owne people and servants, one betrayeth him, another denies him, all forsake him: all this is nothing in comparison. For friends are but earthly comforts, but that his Father from heaven should

forsake him, here is the sword that cleaveth his heart, and maketh up the full measure of the blow.

In the very heat of his passion hee tooke no notice of any other torment but this onely, that his God had forsaken him. It is wonderfull that never any Martyr brake forth into the like speech, notwithstanding all their ex∣quisite torments: but the reason is assigned by St. Austine, Martyres non eripuit, nunquid deseruit?

By this time I know you expect the fulnesse of the blow; vox faucibus hae∣ret, it is death, the ignominious death of the Crosse. Vexed he was before his death, tortured in his death, wounded after his death; hic salus pati∣tur, fortitudo infirmatur, vita moritur. Now the Angels stand amazed at the blow, the earth trembles, the stones are cleft, and the vaile of the Tem∣ple rends, and the people smite their breasts: now are blackes hung all a∣bout the galleries of heaven; the Sunne hath put on a darke vaile, inso∣much that a Philosopher, as farre from his hearse as from his faith, takes notice of this great Gods funerall. And to make up the companie of true mourners, the grave sendeth forth her dead, and corpse arise and enter in∣to the holy Citie: now is his hearse set without the gate, that they that are without, even dogs, may see him, and make songs of him; and lest any should be ignorant whose hearse it was, his title is set up in Hebrew, Greeke and Latine. O tell it not in Gath, publish it not in Askelon, lest the uncircumcised rejoyce to see the glory of Israel obscured: nunc, nunc vires exprime dolor, solitum flendi vincito morem. If it be true, that the Hebrewes have no word for eyes but what serves for springs, it seemeth that all the eyes the holy Lan∣guage speaketh of, should be like springs, wherewith they should bewaile him whom they have pierced: yet there is better use of this than to lament. O consider this and rejoyce; weepe for him, but rejoyce for your selves. When the glittering sword in the hand of the Lord was lift up, and his arme stretched out utterly to destroy you, this Shepheard steppeth in, and standeth betweene, and in his owne body receiveth the blow that was aimed at you. O consider you this, for whom the Shepheard hath suffered such things. First, acknowledge with reverence the singular justice of God, that could not be satisfied but with such a ransome. Secondly, acknowledge with de∣testation the hideousnesse of your sinnes, that deserved so great a ransome. Thirdly, acknowledge the uneffable love of this blessed shepheard that payd this great ransome.

On the other side, consider this and tremble, yee that forget God; yee have no interest in this Shepheards death: looke to your selves in time, antequam exeat ira apprehendite disciplinam, osculamini filium. The Shep∣heard is smiten, if you looke to it in time it may be for you; if not, a worse disaster remaineth for you than befell these sheepe: you shall be confounded, they were but scattered.

The sheepe shall be scattered. This Prophesie hath speciall relation to their temporall flight, but it extendeth also to their amazement and stagge∣ring at the heavinesse of the blow. They trusted that it had beene hee that should have redeemed Israel; but now through his blow they are fallen from their trust.

The Sunne labours in the eclipse, no ray appeares, hee cannot bee

discerned to be the Sonne of God, all candles were quite blowne out this night, unlesse it were, as Allensis affirmeth, that of Virgin waxe; and whether it had any light in it I cannot say, certainely the sword went through her heart too. But disperguntur tantum, non destruuntur oves, these sheepe shortly met a∣gaine, and suffered much with great constancie for their shepheard. Peter and Andrew were crucified, James beheaded, the other James brained with a Fullers club, all martyred save John; yet in all these deathes they were more than conquerours: sanguis Martyrum semen Evangelii, the bloud they spilt was as oyle to feed the lampes of the Church, or as dew to fatten her soyle. Let no man therefore be deterred at the mention of the Crosse; it is like the man in armour that appeared to Josuah, who seemed dreadfull at the first, but in the end proved a friend. O bone Jesu, ubicunque fueris, in praesepi, in horto, in cruce, in sepulchro, non curo, modo te inveniam; O sweet Jesu, wheresoever thou art, in the manger, in the garden, in the crosse, in the sepulchre, I care not what befalls me, so I may finde thee.

Thus have I presented unto you the gift which the first Speaker tende∣red to the Spouse of Christ, a border of gold, with studs of silver: no∣thing remaines but that I worke an embleme of the giver in his gift. Eve∣ry embleme consisteth of an image and a motto; the Image shall be Sul∣pitius, the motto Tullies testimonie of him in his booke De claris oratori∣bus. Maximè grandis, &, ut it a dicam, tragicus Orator; incitata & volubi∣lis, nec redundans tamen oratio; vox magna & suavis, gestus venustus; he was a loftie, and, if I may so speake, a tragicall Oratour; his speech was full and fluent, yet not redundant; his voyce great and sweet, his gesture comely.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The first Ser∣mon preached on good Friday by master War∣berton now Dean of Wels, abridged.
• a 1.2

  Apoc. 4.7.
• h 1.3

  Psal. 17.13.
• i 1.4

  1 Chron. 21.27.
• k 1.5

  Eccles. 8.11.
• l 1.6

  2 Pet. 3.9.
• m 1.7

  Tacit. annal. l. 1. In Hateri∣um statim in∣vectus est, at Scaurum, cui implacabiltus irascebatur, silentio trans∣misit.
• n 1.8

  Bernard. in Cant. Ser. 42.
• o 1.9

  Xiphilin. in vit. Trajan.
• p 1.10

  Com. in Evan.
• q 1.11

  Mat. 12.29.
• r 1.12

  Phil. 2.6.