Sweete thovghtes of Iesvs and Marie, or, Meditations for all the feasts of ovr B. Saviovr and his B. Mother togeither with Meditations for all the Sundayes of the yeare and our Sauiovrs Passion : for the vse of the daughters of Sion : diuided into tvvo partes / by Thomas Carre ...

PONIT 1.

[Consider.] But if son, hyere, heyre of God, God: if kinge, king of heauen, king of maiestie, king of glorie. How becomes he then thus inglorious, thus left, thus lodgd, thus layd? Marrie out of meere goodnesse, free mercy and vndue loue; loue of nations which sought him not, thought not of him; which cared not for him; nay which trangressed his commandements; violated his lawes; re∣belled against his will and pleasure. And that without any neede he had of them, without any interest he pretended by them; out of meere loue and mercy.

[Aff.] Good and omnipotent God! mer∣cyfull and holy and deare father! much much doe we owe thee for our creatiō, for hauing made vs mē, mē the master pieces of the workes of thy hand; for hauing-bestowed

a whole world vpon vs, with all the admirable varietie of creatures comprised therin, for our vse and seruice: but incomparably, much more, now that thou hast sent thyne owne onely son, thy son and heire, the kinge of heauē, equall to thy selfe. Those were great indeed yet earthly ones; but this, is euen the best that heauen had to giue; here thou didst indeede open and bestowe thesaurum tuum optimum, thy very best treasure, so that the mostvastly greedie hart cā neither desire, nor euen imagine any thing greater, any thinge equall to it, or euen bearinge any proportion with it. A son, in whom, thou wast well pleased; for a fugitiue prodigall seruant, in whom thou wast highly offen∣ded: and euen while he was yet actually offending thee, then, euen then, to putt the greatest commendations vpon thy mercy imaginable, then, Isay, thou sen∣test him, (cum adhuc inimici essemus) into abiection and prouertie, into a poore hole of a rocke, to be accompaigned with brute beastes, for that yet bruter beaste, man. I can onely stand amaysed at this strange dispensation and dignation of thyne. To send a son for a seruant: a sainte, yea, the

sanite of saintes, for a sinner, a God for man! what a stronge hope must this needs beget in the hart of a sinner? Resolution. I confide in thee then, ô my dearest Lord, I depend wholy on thy mercy, &c.