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.

The incomparable sorrow of Christ our Lord, through his consideration of the dishonour of God, and the sinne and misery of man: togea∣ther with the sight, of what himselfe was to suffer.

CHAP. 56.

NOVV, if it vvould be of such vnsuffera∣ble paine, for Christ our Lord, to be on∣ly absented or estranged from Almighty God (vvhich absēce, is no sinne but only a punish∣ment, and vvhich is not, many tymes', of any offence at all to the diuine Maiesty (but serueth only, for a probation of vertue, and for a preparation to an increase of grace) hovv may vve thinke that it vvould pierce his hart from side to side, to see (as hath been sayd) that God prophaned, his glory disgraced, his lavv transgressed, and all those creatures, vvhom he had created after his ovvne Image, to en∣ioy heauen vvith eternall felicity; to stād novv so neere vpon the tearmes of being damned to euerlasting misery. He savv vvhat Adams happy state had beene, and vvhat a miserable a state it vvas grovvne to be. He savv, that rea∣son vvhich vvas a Queene, vvas novv become the drudge of Passiō. The sinnes of the vvhole

world were to passe vpon his account; nor was the least of them to be pardoned by the Iustice of God, but in vertue of the sacred Pas∣sion, which then, he was about to vndergoe. They were(a) 1.1 all represented to his dolorous, afflicted mind, as distinctly as they were di∣stinct in their being cōmitted; and a million of tymes more cleerly, then the men who cō∣mitted them, did euer see them.

Let a man but thinke, how many sinnes he alone, may haue committed in some one day of his life; and then how many daies he hath liued; & how many of his sinnes he hath forgotten; & how many of his actions, words & thoughts, are accounted sinfull in the sight of God, which yet did not seeme so to him. Let him thinke how many men there are in the towne where he may chance to be; how ma∣ny in the Prouince; how many in the king∣dome; how many in all Europe; how many in all the world, at this tyme. Let him thinke, how many there haue bene in the whole world, throughout all the ages therof, since the begining; and how many there may be, before the end. And who shall now be able once to conceaue of the innumerable sinnes, which haue bene, are, & are to be cōmitted, by all this race of mākind?* 1.2 since the iust man sinneth seauen tymes a day, by veniall sinnes; and many, who goe for Saints with vs, will be found to haue committed many, and many Mortall.

What shall we therfore say, of such wicked men, as drinke iniquity, vp like water?* 1.3

whether they be vicious Catholicks; or blas∣phemous Heretiques; or disobedient Schis∣matiques; or perfidious Ievves; or Prophane Pagans; or bestiall Turkes and Mores? What Legions, what milliōs, what worlds of sinnes must there haue been presented to the soule of Christ our Lord to suffer for? since (for as much as concerned him) he accepted the punishment of them all; and that, by so exact scales of di∣uine Iustice, as that if any one of all those sinnes, had not be committed, the Passion of Christ our Lord had bene so much, the lesse grieuous. And it was to be their fault vvho vvould not, by Faith & Penance, apply that Passion to their soules, if they were not saued therby; and not any defect of the Passion it selfe of Christ our Lord; who savv, & knevv, and counted, and accepted euery one of their particular sinnes; and made (for as much as cō∣cerned him) oblation of an inestimable pay∣mēt, in discharge of the same particular sinne.

Not(b) 1.4 only did he see and suffer for all finnes which already are, and are he••reafter to be cōmitted, but also for all those other, which vvould haue bene committed by them all, if they had not bene preuented, by the Grace vvhich grevv from God, in contemplation of the Passion of Christ our Lord. For no lesse vvas his pretious bloud to be the Antidote, & preseruatiue against all sinnes, vvhich might haue byn cōmitted, then it vvas to be the re∣medy, and cure of such as vvould be commit∣ted indeed. So that euery man did add some∣vvhat

to this sorrovv of our Lord; both good, and bad, past, and present, and to come, vvith∣all their sinnes, vvhether they vvere great or small; of thought, vvord, or deed; vvhether the vvere mortall, or veniall; of omission, or commission; vvhether actually they vvere, or would haue been committed, if they had not bene preuented by this costly meanes.

And if(c) 1.5 novv vve vvill but consider hovv infinitely the nature of God, doth ab∣horre any one single sinne; And hovv strait∣ly our Lord IESVS had obliged himselfe out of loue, to satisfy Gods Iustice for them all. And hovv certainely he savv, that the farre greater part of men, vvould take no benefit at all, by that bitter Passion. But that some would not beleeue it; some others vvould not apply it; yea, and that some would euen blaspheme it, as thinking it impossible that God himselfe should be so good to them. If vve consider that men vvho seriously desire to serue God vvith perfection, are profoundly afflicted, euē for the least discorrespondence to the motion of his holy Spirit; and much more for any small defect, into vvhich, by their fault, they may haue fallen; And vvhen there hath beene question of greater sinnes, there be men and vvomen, vvho haue dyed as hath been sayd, euen of pure repentance & sorrovv for them. And yet hovv fevv sinnes had they to be sory for, in comparison of the sinnes of the vvhole vvorld? And hovv little could they be sorry, euē for their ovvne, in cōparison of the griefe,

vvhich did seize the hart of our blessed Lord, for those very sinnes? Which(d) 1.6 vvas so much greater then theirs, as his knovvledge, & loue of God, & them, & his vnderstanding & de∣testation of all sinne, vvas greater. If vve cō∣sider the seuerall kinds of sinne vvhich (as hath been touched before) vvere distinctly repre∣sented to the minde of Christ our B. Lord; All the sinnes of Idolatry & heresy offending after an infinite māner his most religious pie∣ty; All the sinnes of pride, his profound hu∣mility; All the sinnes of vvrath, his inuincible patience; All the sinnes of cruelty and enuy, those bovvels of his charity and mercy; All the sinnes of gluttony, and prodigality, his his perfect pouerty and sobriety; All the sinnes of abhominable, bestiall, (and not so much as to be named) sensuality, his impenetrable, & supercelestiall purity.

If concerning Idolatry, vve consider that it is either exteriour, or interiour. Exteri∣our vvhen Sacrifice is offred to a materiall ex∣ternall Idoll; & interiour vvhen Christians, or any other do lodge a creature in theyr harts, which though they know, not to be God, yet they esteeme, and obey, and doe more ho∣nour to it, then to God. And if vve consider, hovv for these seuerall kindes of sinnes he felt, and vvas to feele, a seuerall kind of Crosse; an outvvard crosse, to vvhich they vvould cru∣cify his sacred body; and another vvhich vvas inward, to which he crucified his ovvne hart, through griefe and loue.

In(e) 1.7 particular our Lord had his eye, vpō that inflexible decree of God, which dāned so many millions of Angells, for one only sinne. And how for one sinne, he droue Adam out of Paradise. Yea and how, not only for the fault or guilt of sinne, he is so terrible; but e∣uē for the penalty due to any one sinne alth∣ough the fault be put away by pennance, that he inflicteth excessiue paine in Purgatory, if satisfaction be not made in this life. He had besides in his sight the miserable weakenesse of man, towards all good workes, which weakenesse men cōtract by sinne, (besides the sinnes thēselues) and these are the effects & te∣liques therof. And he well knew, that they would make it very difficult for men to serue God, without a great abōdāce ofgrace which he only could tell how to merit for thē. Add to this, that he cleerly saw, all those vast af∣fronts which in that night, and the next day, were to be done to himselfe, with the hideous torments which he vvas sure they would in∣flict vpon him. He also saw the Martyrdo∣mes of all his Prophets past, his Apostles, and other Martyrs which were then to come; the banishment and confiscation of his seruants, persons, and goods, the contempt and propha∣nation of his Sacraments.

There was no place, wheron he could tell how to rest the head of his hart. The Sy∣nagogue was all, in effect, corrupt; and al∣most dead, and buried. His Church vnder the name of Christian not then borne, One

of his Apostles was gone to betray him; ano∣ther would shortly deny him; and the rest, were vpon the point to runne from him. His B. Mother (in whom only he might haue ta∣ken intiere delight) was to suffer martyrdome in her soule, which was to be transpierced with a sword of sorrow. Whithersoeuer he might cast his thoughs, in the search of some little com∣fort, they were bowed, (as it were) and bea∣ten backe againe, into his owne sad hart, which was become a whole Sea of sorrow. How would he grieue for all this, vvho grie∣ued till he wept againe,* 1.8 and till he was troubled, and did groane in spirit, for the only temporall death of Lazarus.

All these things I say, being vvell con∣sidered, and duely pondered; I(f) 1.9 cease to meruaile, that such a generall muster of hell as this, had like, euen vvith the only apprehen∣tion therof, to haue extinguished the pure lampe of his pretious life. Or yet, that it cost him so much shame, vvith the horrour, to see such a vvorld of filth cast before him (vvhich novv he vvas to take vp, and to make his ovvne) as vvas able to put him into expresse Agony. Or, in fine, that it drevv out that svveat, and euen shovver of bloud, as if it had bene to shevv the profound reason vvhich e∣uen all his body had, to blush therat. Or els (according to the deuoute contemplation of holy S. Bernard) as if he should haue shed teares ouer all his body, since his sacred eyes alone, had not inough of the sluce for such a purpose.

Notes

• (a) 1.1

  The true cause of our Lords ex∣cessiue sorrow.
• * 1.2

  Prouer. 14.
• * 1.3

  Iob. 15.
• (b) 1.4

  Our Lord Iesus suffered not only for all the sinnes which were cō∣mitted, but for all those o∣thers also which would haue been commit∣ted with∣out his grace.
• (c) 1.5

  Other conside∣rations which do open the sight of the soule, to dis∣cerne the loue and griefe of our Lord Ie∣sus.
• (d) 1.6

  We shall greeue for onr sinnes after the rate of our know ledge, and loue of God.
• (e) 1.7

  How our Lord was wounded by the conside∣tion of Gods iu∣stice, and bate of sinne; and our great misery.
• * 1.8

  Ioan. 11.
• (f) 1.9

  It is no wonder if such incō∣parable causes of griefe did produce so strange effects in the woun∣ded hart of our Lord Ie∣sus.