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 Crucifixion of our Blessed Lord; his quicke sense, and seuerall paynes distinctly felt: and of his vnspeakeable patience, and Loue to vs therein.

CHAP. 69.

THE hower was then all run out, and our Lord IESVS, who, according to that of the blessed Apostle,* 1.1 Thought it no wrong to e∣steeme himselfe equall to his Father, did empty him∣selfe, not only by taking the nature of man v∣pon him, but he did also, humble himselfe with∣all, to death, yea, and to the very death of the crosse, which was the most opprobrious of all others. They had stripped him thrice before, starke na∣ked, in the Court of Pilate. First when they went to scourge him; & then, when they put on the Purple Robe, and after when they dis∣robed him, and led him towards the Crosse, in his owne cloathes. And now(a) 1.2 they did the same againe, but with the addition of two circumstances, which did extremely increase both his shame, and paine. For his garments

were euen baked, as it were, to his sacred bo∣dy, both by the length of tyme, which had occurred betwene his beginning and ending that last, and most dolorous procession of his, betwene Pilats house and Mount Caluary; as also by the weight of the Crosse, which du∣ring part of that tyme, lay with intollerable paine vpon his shoulders; and lastly, by the binding of his armes and hands, both to his body, and to one another. These cloathes be∣ing growne so fast to his flesh, and pluckt off, by those rude hands, with as much rigor as they could tel how to vse, must needs increase his torment to a strange proportion.

It could not also choose, but that his sēse of shame was also raysed to a great height. For before, that sacred humanity was seene, but by as many as could throng into Pilates Court. But now, vpon the top of Mount Caluary (as if it had bene, at a kind of gene∣rall day of Iudgement) Romans, Grecians, Pagans, Iewes, and they of all the Prouinces of the East, Priests, and people, men and wo∣men, of all conditions, and ages, and in fine, an Epitome of the whole world, was present.

For the increase of his confusion, and to hide the hatefull spots of their iniustice, they led, in his company, two murthering theeues to execution, that(b) 1.3 their notorious crimes, might make some impression or influence of bad aspect, vpon the innocency of our Lord IESVS. And to the end that the worst in all re∣spects, might not be wanting to him, they

resolued that his Crosse should stand in the midst of the other two,* 1.4 as in the more hono∣rable place of infamy. This crosse they now brought him to; and as before they laid it vpō him, they laid him now, vpon it. It was al∣ready bored through. And if perhaps they had made those holes, which were meant for his hands, further off from those others which were deputed for his feete, thē the lēgth of his body would beare; they must be faine to add to the rest of his tormēts, that other of the rack, to make thē reach: For their particular cōfort, who for his sake should be afflicted in the same kind, by the persecutours of his Church.

The executioners being there, with their hāmers and nayles, did extend & spread him vpon that hard bed of death; and they transpierst those hands of Charity, and those seete of humility, & purity, with sharpe strōge nayles, driuen in, by a multitude of blowes; making his pretious body the very anuile, whervpon the hammer of our(c) 1.5 sinnes, did by the hands of those crucifiers, beat so hard. If any one of them relented, at the sight of that diuine sweet sadnes, through the compassion, which such an obiect as that, could not easily choose but exact, euen of Ty∣gars; it tended but to the increase of his paine. For the more kind they were, the longer they were likely to dwell about doing that office, and so the more cruell they fell out to be. If, on the other side, as they wōded his hands, with theirs, so they had also in their will, a vehe∣ment

desire of his destruction, and death; that cruelty and sinne of their hart, went streight to his; and wounded him worse, through his loue to them, then, through their hate, they wounded him. So that, whether they were cruell to him, more or lesse, being considered in thēselues, yet in regard of him, all wrought by(d) 1.6 way of increasing torment.

The extreme parts of our body, which be our head, our hands, and our feete, haue all those veines, and arteries, and sinewes, shut vp, and as it were, driuen by the direction of nature, into a narrow compasse, which goe at ease, through larger parts. The fleshly parts of the body, are dull, in comparison of those others; and indeed so dull, as that, compared with these, they can scarce, in effect, be said to feele. Yet who is he, that, if (being a person of honor) he were content that his flesh should be pierced, or but euē the typ of his eare should be publikely bored through, for anothers fault, would not thinke that he had wrought a kind of wonder of loue. But now, the sinewes are they, which are truly sensible, of sharpe, and stinging paine. Whereof we see the expe∣rience, in them who are subiect to the tooth∣ach. Which, as it is the thing that makes dogs mad; so euen men, are little better, if indeed they haue it in extremity; and all, but be∣cause some one sinewe is fretted, by the des∣cent of rhewme, which remaines about the roote of a tooth. The torments therfore which our blessed Lord endured, as before, by his

Crowne of thornes, so now by the nayles of his hands and feet, what were they but great things, which wāt a name; since they were suf∣fered in parts, which were the proper seates, as a man may say, of the sesitiue soule, where the sinews meet; & wherby the whole body after a compēdious māner, might be most afflicted.

To this let vs add the consideration of this other truth which was once touched be∣fore. That through the perfection and purity of his complexion, and constitution, Christ our Lord had incomparably, a quicker sēse of feeling, then any creature who euer liued. A∣gaine, let it be weighed, how he was a conti∣nuall Maister of himselfe, and was neuer to be put to any such saynting, as men sometymes are subiect to; who by any great excesse of la∣sting paine, are brought from any feeling at all, therof. Yea the reason of Christ our Lord was so farre from being trāsported in the least degree, as that he felt(e) 1.7 the remainder of eue∣ry one of the buffets, which had bene giuen him, and of euery one of the stripes of his bo∣dy, & of euery one of the thornes of his sacred head, and of euery one of the nayles of his blessed hands and feete, in as distinct, and cleere, and seuerall a manner, as if he had suf∣fered but that one only single paine, whatsoe∣uer it were. So also the seuerall causes which afflicted his minde, did neither yeild to one another, nor drowne nor maister them of the body; but euery single griefe of his minde, was as distinctly felt as any one of thē alone could

be. Wheras when others are subiect to seuerall paine, and griefe; the maister-paine is that which carryes away all their thoughts from the rest. As a vehement fit of the Goute, or Stone puts away all remēbrance of an ague; and as a very killing griefe of minde, will make a man forget any bodily paine.

Yet all this paine, or rather all these mul∣titudes of seuerall, and most exceshue corporal paines, (togeather with a cleere beholding of the deadly and vndeserued malice wherwith they inflicted them vpon him) were not of power, either to winde him vp into the due estimation of his owne soueraigne dignity, which was so prophaned; or to let him down into any diminution of his charity; or to make him behould mankind, (which by their sinnes must all be accompted to haue conspired to∣geather more or lesse, to his death) with any other eyes then of endlesse pitty, though, by instāts, they wentin creasing their cruelty. For howsoeuer a man might thinke, that what they had already done, must needs be al which they could doe; and that nothing more remay∣ned to be deuised, which might add to the mi∣sery of our blessed Lord; Yet see a while, how farre the rage, and wit, of cruelty, and of en∣uy, is able to reach. For, by(f) 1.8 rearing the Crosse vp aloft in the ayre, that it might fall with more strength and force into that hole which had bene made of purpose for it in the earth, and that so it might be able to sticke fast therin; what a dissolution must the whole

frame of the body of our Lord, needs find, in all the ioynts therof.

Infallibly the parts of his pretious body were all disioynted. And least it should be thought that this were but a pious, and on∣ly possible imaginatiō, without further grōd; let it be remembred how Dauid said of these persecutors, in the person of Christ our Lord,* 1.9 Dinumerauerunt omnia ossae mea; They numbred all my bones. Which cannot well be done, whē they are fitted to their natural places; but when they are once wel put out of ioynt, they push forth, and appeare to any eye, with ease. And in another place it is said of him in his owne person,* 1.10 Contremuerunt omnia ossa mea, which implyes such a generall kind of com∣motion of all the bones, in the skinne, as so many stones would be subiect to, in any bagg if it were well shaken.

Nay his torments were moreouer of that kind, as that during all those full three howers, wherin he was hanging vpon the crosse, they increased of themselues, by the naturall weight of his owne body. For that weight, made fresh wounds, both in his hands and feete, by making the former grow higher and wider, and the whole frame of his body, more out of ioynt. We(g) 1.11 haue seene already, how the wounds of his head, had bin renew∣ed & increased by those blowes of the Reed; and so also euen, by the very weight therof, they went increasing euery minute. We haue seen how the wōds of his body which were

giuen him by those scourges, were renewed by the often putting on, and off his cloathes. And now they were all increased, by the ex∣cessiue cold, which his nakednes gaue him, through his comming so lately, from that fire of heate, which his flagellation, his coronatiō, his procession, and his creeping, or crawling vp the hill, had cast him into. And that cold was also augmented afterward, by another miraculous accident which was growing v∣pon the whole world at once, as I must short∣ly shew. And heere we see how the weight of his pretious body, doth still increase the torment of his sacred hands and feete, and consequently of the whole body it selfe.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Philip. 2.
• (a) 1.2

  The fomer scornes were put againe v∣pon our Lord, but with cir∣cumstan∣ces which did much increase both his paine and shame.
• (b) 1.3

  Why they lead him in the company of thee us.
• * 1.4

  Marc. 15.
• (c) 1.5

  Our sinnes were they which crucified our Lord by the hands of the Iewes
• (d) 1.6

  All wrought by way of increasing torment to our Lord.
• (e) 1.7

  Our Lord did feel euery one of his paynes as distinctly, as it he had felt but only one.
• (f) 1.8

  The torments of our Lord still increased.
• * 1.9

  Psalm. 21.
• * 1.10

  Ierem. 23.
• (g) 1.11

  How the tor∣ments of Lord were re∣newed.