The Christians zodiake, or, Twelve signes of predestination unto life everlasting written in Lattin by Ieremie Drexelius.

The third Paragraph.

AS for the Holy men to be deprived long of this bread of Life, they like true Sonnes of GOD interpret it as a signe of their Fathers high displeasure, and indignation: farre they are from neglecting any occa∣sion of receiving it, for they are not ignorant with how great and Fatherly a providence Al∣mighty GOD hath provided for every severall Creature their proper food; Eagles prey on lesser Fowle, the Whale de∣voures the lesser Fish, the Ly∣ons other savage Beasts, Hor∣ses and more Domestick Cat∣tell feed upon Oates and Hay. And for Man, bread growing

on the Earth is ordained for Food of such as have no higher ambition but to bee sonnes of men; but for those who aspire to become sonnes of God, this bread descending from heaven is their chiefest sustenance; this celestiall bread, this bread of the Sonnes of God, this bread of Angels with an ardent desire, with a humble affection, with a tender reverence they receive most frequently, and rather chuse out of piety to incurre the note of presumption by declaring them∣selves Children, than of ene∣mi••s, out of a too faulty bash∣fulnesse. During which ban∣quet, if our blessed Saviour should addresse his speech in this manner to any of the number of predestinate: Consider seriously what I have suffered for the love of thee, thou mayst well count the thornes my head pierced, but canst never number those torments I have sustained for t••ee in every part of me besides; ••y body was all goard with boudy whips and nailes; but

how much my heart hath suffered is beyond expression. It was little lesse than a death, I suffered for thee even in the garden, when the anguish of my minde drew as much bloud from mee, as the Souldiers afterwards in my fla∣gellation: And now consider with t••y selfe, what mine enemies inflicted on me, when even my best friends spared me not; thou knowest upon how hard a bed I was content for thy sake to ren∣der up my Ghost, and my love (that thou maist know what an ardent one it was) would resolve on no death to dye for thee, but the most bitter and ignominious of all, when it finding none more bitter and ignominious than the Crosse made choyse of it. And thus behold how I have dyed for thee, and have been still ready to dye for thee a thousand times; Wherefore tell me, what wilt thou suffer for mee againe? if thou desirest that my love to thee should be perpetu••ll, thou must love me againe, who have so loved thee. For my part, I

have loved thee unto death, even unto the death of the Crosse, it rests that thou wilt declare, how farre thou wilt extend thy love for me againe. Who now all of that happy company will not pre∣sently answer him, all bathed in affectionate teares, even unto the death, O my most loving Lo••d, even unto the Crosse it self, so it bee thy divine pleasure my love shall extend it selfe: And who shall grant unto me that hap∣pinesse to dye for thee, O Iesus, my sweetest Iesus! or who am I, that I should be thought worthy for to dye for thee! O what a love was this of thine my dearest life, that thou wouldest suffer thus, that thou wouldest dye thus for me, without any the least me∣rit or desert of mine; such sighes as these, such most chaste aspira∣tions use commonly to bee the table talke at this sacred banquet, and thus a soule becomes inti∣mately united unto Almighty God.

For which reason wee place this frequency of Communion (pro∣vided

that our affections be sin∣cere at least, though otherwise not so inflamed as wee could wish) among the principall signes of Predestination. But alas, there are but too too many Christians yet, who whatsoever is delivered to them by way of Sermon, or of written books are so dead asleep in the Lethargy of their deboysht lives, as nei∣ther the examples of the more pious sort, nor admonitions of holy Saints, can stirre them up to a more frequent use of this holy Sacrament.

O Christians, what Rocks of Ice, what deadly cold is that which freezes up your hearts, that thus you avoyd the com∣fortable beames of this all-chee∣••ing Sun? Do you not perceive that this is nothing else than the meere stratagems of your ene∣my, who endevours all he can to extinguish wholly in us the fire of this divinest love, to the end that being all stifly frozen with this pernicious cold of mind, we may live no otherwise

then if we were wholly dead, pe∣rish in the filth and sordidnesse of sinne, and never arrive to the kingdom of the l••ving? but those who love our Saviour Christ with constant affections, are delighted with nothing more than in often repairing to him: for as Cassiodorus saith admi∣rably well, Inaudita est ditectio quae amicum amat, & praesentiam ejus non amat. It is such an af∣fection as was never heard of, that one should love his friend, and not be delighted in his company.