Of the love of our only Lord and Saviour, Iesus Christ: Both that which he beareth to vs; and that also which we are obliged to beare to him. Declared by the principall mysteries of the life, and death of our Lord; as they are deluiered [sic] to vs in Holy Scripture. With a preface, or introduction to the discourse.

OF THE LOVE OF OVR LORD IESVS CHRIST, declared by shewing his Greatnes, as he is God.

CHAP. 1.

THE Loue of our Lord Ie∣sus Christ, to this wretched and wicked creature Man, is such a Sea without any bottome, and such a Sunne without all Eclipse; that not only no fadome can reach it, must not so much as any eye behould it, as indeed it is. And whither soeuer we looke, either vp or downe, or towards any side, we shall find our selues ouer wrought by the bulke, and brightnes thereof. Now(a) 1.1 because the loue of any one to any other, doth take a tincture, from the quality of the per∣sons betweene whome it pasles; therefore the loue of our Lord to vs, is proued heereby, to be infinite and incomprehensible, because the dignity, and Maiesty of his person, is incom∣prehensible, and infinite. It will therefore be

necessary to declare some part of the excellen∣cy of his person. And for his sake, who loued vs with so eternall loue; I beg in this begin∣ning, an exact attention. Because(b) 1.2 what I am to say in this place (being the ground, whereon the rest of this discourse must rise) will both giue it clearer light, and greater weight, and more certaine credit. Nor can any thing, which shallbe deliuered in the progresse heerof, be so high, or deep, or wide, or hard; to the beliefe whereof, the soule wil not be able to flye, at full ease, and speed, be∣tweene the wings of faith and loue; when it considers and ponders well, who it is, of whō we speake.

Our Lord Iesus Christ (being perfect God and perfect Man) as God, is the only begotten eternall sonne of his Father, and wholy equall to him. And because(c) 1.3 he is begotten of him, by an act of Vnderstanding, proceeding out of that inexausted fountaine of his wisedom (as if it were out of a wombe) he is therefore called the Wisedome begotten; the Word, the Image, and the Figure of his Father; from whome, togeather with the Sonne, the Holy Ghost proceeds. And for as much as the Father, could communicate to his Sonne, no other nature but his own; the Sonne is therfore Consubstantiall with the Father, and true God, who only possesseth immortality.

His Essence(d) 1.4 is an infinite kind of thing eternall, and immutable, which doth neces∣sarily exist; and wherein, as in the soueraigne

cause, all other perfections are contained after an vnspeakably sublime manner. And such excellency is resident in that most simple and pure Essence of his, that he is infinitly farre from al necessity of any thing created towards the complement of his owne beatitude. Now concerning the creatures, they haue no being but by him; or rather they haue it not so pro∣perly by him, as in him: Is any man,* 1.5 sayth S. Augustine, able to frame himselfe? Or is any one of the veines, whereby our being, and life runneth towards vs, drawne from any other roote then this, That thou, O Lord, dost frame vs? Thou, to whome being and liuing, are not too seueral things, because supremely to Be, and supremely to Liue, is the very thing it it selfe, which thou art; for thou art supreme and art not changed. And a little before, speaking, to God in the selfe same discourse, he expresseth himselfe thus, in most profound and yet most elegant manner: Thou, O Lord, both euer liuest in thy selfe, and nothing dyeth in thee, because thou art before all ages; and before all that, which can euen be sayd, to haue beene before; and thou art the God, and the Lord of all thy creatures. And in thy presence, do stand the causes of al thinges, which are vnstable; and euen of all thinges which are changeable, the vnchangeable rootes remaine with thee; and the eternall reasons of thinges do liue, whilest yet the thinges themselues, are but Temporall, and Irrationall. Thus sayth S. Augustine: and so infinite is the essence of God; and so abso∣lutly nothing are all those thinges, whose being is not deriued from him, & conserued in him.

Infinite also is his(e) 1.6 Power, and it rea∣cheth to the making or changing of al those thinges, which either are, or els may be; so worthily is he called The Omnipotent. And not only doth he create all the substances of them all; but he doth so truely, and so immediatly of himselfe, frame all their motions; that without his concourse, not so much as any moate of the ayre could stirre. And vpon his three fingers,* 1.7 he so conserues the whole ma∣chine of the world; that if, but for one mo∣ment, he should suspend the influence which he giues, it would instantly runne headlong into that Abisse of being Nothing, out of which it was called, by his voyce.

The(f) 1.8 whole race of mankind, is but a smoake, a shadow, a Dreame, sauing that more truly it deserues the name of Nothing, in respect of him. No ball vpon a Racket, no straw in the middest of a huge fornace, no poore withered leafe, in the mouth of a deuouring tempest, can expresse the pouerty, and infir∣mity of all the Creatures (if they were all put into one) when once they shall be compa∣red with Almighty God.* 1.9 And if all the things which are created, haue not the proportion of one withered leafe, in comparison of a whole world, what kind of thinges are thou and I; and in what part of that leafe shall we euer be able to find our selues? The breath of the Nostrils of the God of hostes,* 1.10 makes the whole hea∣uen to tremble. He visites the world in thunder, and earth-quakes; and in the huge voice of a whirling

tempest; and in the flame of a consuming fire; and the multitude of all the Nations, before him, shalbe as some dreame by night. Behold, our Lord is stronge and mighty, like a push of haile, and a whirle-wind,* 1.11 which teares vp; and like the force of an ouerflowing riuer which beares downe, whatsoeuer it touches. His very looking vpon the earth, makes it tremble;* 1.12 his touching of the Mountaines, makes them smoake. His head and haire, are described by snow & wooll;* 1.13 his face by the brightnes of the Sunne; his eyes by the flame of fire; his voyce, by the noise of many waters and of huge thunder claps: & it sends out of his mouth, a two edged sword. He can rule all nations with a rod of Iron,* 1.14 and he can bruise them, like a potters ves∣sell. And he treads the presse of the wine of the fury of his wrath; and in his thigh this Title is written:* 1.15 King of Kings, and Lord of Lords: in comparison of whome, all other Kinges are toyes. And so we see, what is become of a Pharao,* 1.16 a Nabu∣chodonozor, a Iesabell, a Herod, and a thousand others, who haue succeeded them in sinne. When therefore the day of God shall come, it will be cruell, and full of indignation, wrath, and fury; & it shall make the whole earth become a desert, and it shall deliuer vp sinners to be grounde to dust. Such I say, is his Power, and such will be his reuenge vpon the wicked, if they will needs be wic∣ked; but he desires with admirable loue, and procures with a sufficiency of grace, that all the world may be saued, if they will coope∣rate therewith; and the wayes whereby he doth it, are admirable, because his Wisedome is as infinite as himselfe.

In(g) 1.17 vertue of this Wisedome, he doth most perfectly comprehend, not only all the Creatures, which haue, or had, or are to haue any being, (together with all their powers and proprieties) but all others also, which by his omnipotency he might create, if he would. He beholds future things which to him are present), with a most steady eye. He numbers all the Stars, and calleth euery one of them by their names.* 1.18 He weighes out the windes, & he measures out all the waters. He sees the secrets of all harts at ease; He numbers all the paces of all our feet; all the actions of all our hands; all the casts of all our eyes; al the words of all our tongues; al the thoughts of all our harts; all the minuts of all our tyme; all the dropps of the sea; all the graynes of the sand; & all the partes, & motions, both internall, & externall, of all his Creatures, are numbred & disposed, by him. And all this he doth, with one only eternall act of his vnderstanding.

Nay he hath moreouer, the Idea's, or Formes of innumerable other worlds before him; for the composition, & disposition, and ornament wherof, he conceaueth, infinite waies, & meanes. He hath framed the partes of this world of ours, and of all the bodies conteyned therin, with such exact perfectiō, that nothing can either be added, or dimi∣shed, without making it either lesse faire in it selfe, or lesse fit for the other parts therof. The very least of these things, he gouerneth with that depth of Wisedome, and addresseth it to the seuerall ends, by soe apt, and admirable

wayes; that, not so much, as a haire can fall frō a head; nor a sparrow light on the ground; nor a fly, can eyther liue, or dye, but by his pleasure and prouidence; &(h) 1.19 euen that little miserable thinge, doth serue as a part, without which the whole (as hath beene said) would be lesse beautifull. Nothing hap∣pens to him by channce; nothing by surprise; but all things are done by eternall Councell. And (which increaseth the wonder), al this is determined, by one simple act of his; with∣out any deliberation at all; or the interposing of the least delay; and this so perfectly, and so fully, that hauing, with his owne infinite Wisedome, contemplated his owne workes, by the space of infinite ages, he could neuer find, that any thing was not most wisely done; nor any thing which was capable of the least amendment, or alteration.

The(i) 1.20 infinitenes of his Goodnes doth also appeare by innumerable wayes, but es∣pecially by this. That although his diuine Iustice be euery whit as infinite as his Mercy; yet (his Mercy extending it selfe first to vs, euen out of his owne intrinsecall, eternall goodnes to vs, and vpon no originall motiue on our parts) his(k) 1.21 Iustice doth neuer exerci∣se, or imploy it selfe vpon his Creatures, but by reason of some former expresse prouocation from them; and therfore it is most truely said That his mercy is aboue all his workes, and that the perdition of Israell, is from it selfe. What shall we say, in further proofe of his Goodnes, but that

he hauing made vs all of nothing, and being able with the same ease, to make a million of better worlds then this; he doth yet so court & wooe vs to loue him, & to be intirely happy in him, as if himselfe might not be so, vnlesse we would be pleased to graunt his suite. To these miserable vngratefull creatures of his, he doth so deerly, and so many waies communicate himselfe, as that no one of thē doth exist, which doth not, in euery mo∣ment of tyme, participate of his diuine Goodnes, in most abundant and various manner. He seekes vs when we are lost; he calls vs when we goe astray; he imbraceth vs as soone as we dispose our selues to returne, notwithstan∣ding the millions of sinnes, which we may haue cōmitted against him. He(l) 1.22 makes him∣self all in all to vs; now performing the office of a King by commaunding; now of a Cap∣taine by conducting; now of a Mother by cherishing; and continually of a Pastour by feeding vs; sometymes with Comforts, wher∣by we may be incouraged; and sometimes by Crosses, through the ouercomming wherof, we may be fortified and refined. Nor(m) 1.23 is there any one instant in this whole life of ours, wherin, by vertue of his former grace, we may not (euen by some act of our very thought alone) acquire new degrees of grace (as will be shewed more largely afterward) to euery one of which degrees, a seuerall de∣gree of eternall glory in heauen, doth corres∣pond; and euery one of which degrees of glo∣ry

(though it should last but for an instāt) is in∣comparably more worth, them all the pleasu∣res, and treasures, and honours, which euer were, or will be tasted in this world, by all the race of man, betweene the creation of A∣dam, and the day of Iudgment. If we consider this truth as we ought; and if God, of his mer∣cy will inable vs to feele it in our very harts; we shall instantly admire the infinite liberall goodnes of his diuine Maiesty, who would not so much as permit any euill at all in the world, if it were not to deriue more good from thence, then otherwise would haue ac∣crewed, without that euill:* 1.24 For all thinges do coo∣perate to the good of Gods seruants, as S. Paul affir∣mes; and S. Augustine inferreth thereupon, That euen our very sinnes, when they are forsaken do cooperate, as seruing to inflame vs with grea∣ter loue of God, and consequently they be∣speake for vs, more resplendent thrones of glory, in the kingdome of Heauen: then, without those sinnes, we should haue had. So infinite, I say, is the goodnes of God, and so excessiue is his loue, as will further yet ap∣peare, by that which followes, wherby the excellency of the soule of Christ our Lord, as Man, is to be declared.

Notes

• (a) 1.1

  The quality of the per∣sōs which loue each other, gi∣ueth price and value to the lo∣ue it selfe.
• (b) 1.2

  The reason why exact attention. is heere required.
• (c) 1.3

  The generatiō of the Son of God.
• (d) 1.4

  The essence of Christ our Lord, as he is God.
• * 1.5

  Lib. 1. Conf. c. 0.
• (e) 1.6

  The power of Christ our Lord as he is God.
• * 1.7

  Isa. 40.22.
• (f) 1.8

  What a nothing the world is, in com∣parison of God.
• * 1.9

  Sap. 5. Iac. 4. Iob. 14. Psal. 101. Iob. 20. Psalm. 72.
• * 1.10

  Isa. 29.
• * 1.11

  Isa. 2••.
• * 1.12

  Psal. 103.
• * 1.13

  Apoc. 1••.
• * 1.14

  Psal. 2.9.
• * 1.15

  Apoc. 9••
• * 1.16

  Exod. 14. Dan. 4.4. Reg. 9. Act. 12. Isa. 13.
• (g) 1.17

  The infinite wisedome of Christ our Lord as he is God.
• * 1.18

  Isa. 40. Psal. 114. Ierem. 10. Isa. 40.12. 1. Paral. 18.9. Ierem. 1. Iob. 31. & 34. Eccles. 1. & 23.
• (h) 1.19

  A most strange, but most certaine truth.
• (i) 1.20

  The infinite goodnes of Christ our Lord, as he is God.
• (k) 1.21

  How the mercy of God may be sayd to be greater then his Iustice, whilst yet both are infinite. Psal. 44. Ose 13.
• (l) 1.22

  The diuers wayes, whereby God com∣munica∣teth his misteries to vs.
• (m) 1.23

  Con∣sider of this truth with great attention; for it is of vnspeaka∣ble com∣fort.
• * 1.24

  Rom. 8.