A myrrhine posie of the bitter dolovrs of Christ his passion, and of the seaven vvords he spake on the crosse, composed by Ch. M.

THE SIXT FLOVVER OF THE MYRRHINE POSIE OF CHRIST HIS PASSION.

The whipping of Christ at the Pillar.

Mat. 27. Mar. 15. Luc. 23. Ioan. 19.

IT was comaunded by the old law, when any offender was to be whip∣ped, that according to the measure of the sinne, should the measure of the stripes bee:

yet soe as that the number of the stripes ex∣••e••••ed not the number of fortie, least thy ••rother, (saith the law) depart foulie ••orne before thine eyes. This compassion ••hat law tooke of the whipped, ••hough otherwise it was a law of ri∣gour and terrour, and with this mo∣deration was this law commonlie exe∣cuted and put in practise: where fore S. Paul (who was whipped by the Iewes) saith: fiue times I receaued fortie stripes, sauing one. The Iewes gaue him but 39. stripes at a tyme, choosing ra∣ther to come short of the number of fortie, then to exceed it.

[ 2] But our B. Sauiour found not this mercie and fauour, and that he might not find it, the Iewes gaue him ouer to the Romanes, who were not bound to this law, and therefore did much exceede this number of fortie, of which excesse the Iewes also were cause, because they cried to Pilat to haue Christ crucified; but he not being willing to crucifie him, or to put him to death, caused him by the Romane soldiers so to be whipped, as his whipping might appease their hatred, and make them to talke noe more of

crucifying. I will, saith Pilat, correct him and let him goe. By which it may easelie be gathered that Pilat gaue order that Christ should receaue many stri∣pes aboue fortie, for he knew that otherwise he could not appease the ha∣tred of the Iewes. And besides such was our B. Sauiours charitie to vs, that he would fulfill, the first words of that law which saieth: According to the measure of the sinne shal the measure also of the stripes be: And seeing that he vn∣dertooke to satisfie for the sinnes of all mankind, he would suffer so many stripes in number, as might haue some Kind of proportion with the number of our sinnes. For although one stripe of it selfe, in regard of the value which it receaued from Christ his Diuine per∣son (the person dignifieth the workes of him that doth them) had been suffi∣cient to haue satisfied for all the sinnes of mankind, yet it had not had a pro∣portion to the number of our sinnes, & so diuers Authours affirme that he suffe∣red many hundres of stripes for vs, & could not with fewer satisfie his owne charitie towards vs, nor the hatred of the Iewes towards himself.

[ 3] O what a spectacle was this whip∣••ing to God, to Angells, and to men! ••ehold, ô Eternall Father, thy Sonne ••o equall & Consubstantiall vnto thee, ••nd whoe is not onelie free denizon of Heauen, but also Prince thereof with ••hee, tyed with a cord to a pillar, and ••hipped like a slaue. Doth not this ••ouch thy honour, which is so disho∣••orable to thy Sonne? Behold, ô Eter∣••all spirit and third person in the Tri∣nitie, the body of the Sonne of God which thou framedst of the most pure blood of the Virgin mother, & which therefore was free from all seruilitie of sinne, tyed to a Pillar and whipped as the bodie of a slaue, yea of a male∣factour. Canst thou endure thy hand∣work and masterpiece so to be disgra∣ced? Behold, ô yee Angells, your Prince and Daulphin of Heauen scour∣ged as a slaue: can you hold your hands from drawing vpon these caitifs, who so baselie handle your Lord and Ma∣ster? O man, behold to what a seruill condition thy sinnes haue brought the Sonne of God, and detest thy sinnes, for which he endureth this indignitie. O Sonne of God who art the strong

arme of God thy Father, equall i•• force and in strength vnto him, as om¦nipotent as he, why didst thou per¦mit a few soldiers so to ouer maste•• thee, as to tye thee to the pillar wit•• a rope? If Sampson could be tyed by n•• cords, but burst them all: why did•• thou not breake this cord, that s•• shamefullie tieth thee? But I see wha•• bond it was that tied thee; it was no•• any cord or rope of the Iewes or Ro∣manes making, which could haue tyed thee, had not the chaine and bond of loue and charitie towards vs, bound thee: had not this chaine of loue to man (for whom thou sufferdst all thou suffredst) tyed thee to this pillar, ne∣ther Iewe, nor Gentill, nor all the diuells in Hell, could haue thus tyed thee but as thou wast offered to death because thou wouldst, So thou wast tied, to this pillar and whipped, because, out of thy loue to man, thou wouldst. O loue, seeing thou wast able to tye the omnipotent, tye me also to this pillar, that I may suffer with my Iesus, if not by passion, at least by compassion.

[ 4] But behold (ô deuout Christian) how thy meeke, patient and louing

Sauiour imbraceth the Pillar for loue ••f thee, although he knew how many ••d how cruel stripes he should suffer •• it. Being then tied to the Pillar, and ••eelding himself to the furie of the ••oldiers, you may Imagine how cruel∣••e his tender and virginall flesh was ••rne with whippes. This you may, ••ther by the Soldiers, who were ••uell and barbarous; by Pilat, who ••used him to be whipped so, as to sa∣••sfie the hatred of the Iewes, which ••e knew could not be appeased with an ••rdinarie whipping; by the loue of ••hrist, which could not be satisfied ••ithout a great number of stripes some ••hat proportionate in number to our •• most innumerable sinnes.

[ 5] Stripes then were heaped on stripes, ••shes on lashes: and at the first on his bodie appeared many wheales, then blood issued out, as wine doth out of the grape trodden and pressed: then wounds were to be seene in many pla∣••es; then no place was left for new ••ounds, all was one wound; then blood streamed downe in such strea∣mes, that, as the contemplatiues doe not without cause imagine, he stood al∣most

ankle deepe in his owne blood thē the whippes fetch of the flesh, then the ribbes beginne to appeare; at lēgth the whippers were out of breath Christ not out of patience, the whip∣pers at length want strength, but no mallice, Christ wanteth not Charitie and as crueltie beganne this whipping so crueltie made an end, because they ceased not for compassion, but to re∣serue him for greater torments on th•• Crosse.

[ 6] There was neuer malefactour so crueltie whipped, as Christ was; wha•• crueltie thē was it so cruellie to whippe Christ, who euen by Pilats confession was innocent? and who was so farre from doeing any hurt or iniurie to the Iewes or their common wealth, as malefactours vse to doe, that he be∣stowed as many benefites on them, as he wrought miracles among them.

[ 7] O my sweet Sauiour, ô innocent Lambe, how cammest thou amongest these rauenous wolues, yea cruell Ty∣gres? O Eternall Father! see whether this bodie thus torne with whippes be the coate of thy Sonne or not. O Virginall Mother see whether this his bodie

wherewith his Diuinitie is inuested, be the coate which thou by vertue of the Holy Ghosts shapedst for him out of thy most pure blood; by the coate, which thou madst him, he was specio∣sus forma praefilijs hominū, goodlie of beau∣tie aboue the Sonnes of men: By this torne coate which now he weareth, he hath (as the Prophet Esaie foretold) neither beautie nor comelinesse, but rather seemeth the most abiect of men, a man of sorrowes.

[ 8] O Crueltie of the Iewes and Ro∣manes, who haue so disfigured him! and ô great crueltie of vs sinners, who, when we sinned, tyed him to the pillar, and when we heaped sinnes vpon sinnes, we heaped scourges vpon scourges vpon his bodie, because our sinnes were the causes of these his stri∣pes, and of all he suffered in his pas∣sion.

[ 9] O my soule, if thou shouldst haue seene a greate malefactour thus scour∣ged, thou wouldst haue pitied him, though a malefactour, who deserued the punishment: yea if thou shouldst see a dogge or horse thus torne with whipps, thou wouldst not haue endu∣red

the sight, though he be a brute beast: & canst thou behold thy Sauiour God and man, thy Creatour, thy Re∣deemer, thy greatest friend and bene∣factour, thus cruellie handled, and for thy sinnes also, and not take com∣passion of him? O Christian, no, Chri∣stian, if these so cruell and so many stripes laied on thy Sauiours tender flesh, and for thee also, do not mooue thee to compassion. Yea, ô mā, no man, (because deuoid of all humanitie) if this crueltie towards a man, and not a man onelie but God also, doe not wrest compassion from thy heart, and teares from thyne eyes.

[ 10] Blood shed vniustlie, hath a voice to crye for vengeance on them, that shed it. So Abels blood cried for vengeance against Cain, who vnnaturallie shed it, and out of enuie also, because Abels Sacrifices were more respected of God then Cains were: And therefore God told him. The voice of thy brothers blood crieth to me out of the earth. The blood of the lust shed by the Iewes fell vpon them, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharie, the Sonne of Barachias, whom they murdered betwixt the Temple and the

Altar. S. Iohn Baptists blood which Herod shed cryed more terriblie against him, then his mouth did, when he told him, that it was not lawfull for him to haue the wife of his brother. But with what a shrill voice did this holie and innocent blood of our Sauiour crye against the Iewes, who shed it? It is true, it cried to God for our Redemption and for mer∣cie towards vs. And therefore S. Paul saith, the sprinkling of this blood speaketh better then Abel, that is, then his blood: But it cried for a great vengeance on the Iewes, that shed it, and on their posteritie also, as we see by the ruine of their Temple, Citie, Kingdome, law and Priesthood; Which miserie they worthilie suffer for their crueltie against Christ their Messias, and for the Curse they gaue to themselues and children, when they said. His blood be vpon vs and vpon our children.

[ 11] And, ô my Soule, doest not thou heare this bloud crying to thee for compas∣sion, it being shed with such paine to Christ, and in such aboundance? doest thou not heare it crying to thee for gra∣titude, it being shed for thee? doest thou not heare it crye to thee for

Repentance, it being shed for thy sin∣nes? Many saie (and experience proo∣ueth their saying true) that when the murderer commeth in sight or neere to him, whom he murdered, the woūds of the murdered, will bleed againe: Thou, ô my soule, hast shed the blood of thy Sauiour, and hast in a manner murdered him, because thy sinnes were cause of his death, behold then his wounds receiued by being whipped at the pillar: approach to him, that he may bleed againe in thy heart, by ma∣king it bleed for sorrow.

[ 12] Marcus Antonius, when Iulius Cesar was killed in the Senate house by Bru∣tus and others, his fellow conspira∣tours, carried his wounded bodie, in which appeared 23. wounds, with his pearced and bloodie shirt into the market place, which so mooued the people, that although Iulius Caesar had vsurped Tyrannie ouer the Romanes, yet at this bloodie obiect they were incensed with such furie against Bru∣tus and his followers, that if they had not quicklie fled Rome, they had reuenged Cesars death vpon them.

[ 13] Thou, ô Christian, hast had in part ••epresented vnto thee the cruell stri∣••es and scourges, wherewith thy Sa∣••iours body, the shirt and garment of ••is Diuinitie, was pierced thou hast ••eene this his shirt all gorie blood with stripes, and yet he was no Tyrant, ••ut a most clement Prince, no vsur∣••er (as Iulius Caesar was) but thy law∣••ull King by descent from his Eternall ••ather, King of Heauen and Earth. What compassion then shouldst thou ••ake on him, seeing him so wounded with stripes that all his bodie seemed but one wound, especiallie he being ••hus wounded for thee and thy sinnes? How shouldst thou be incensed with a heartie Contrition against all thy sin∣nes, which haue thus cruellie handled thy Sauiour, they being the cause of all his sufferances? With what rigour shouldst thou reuenge those his wounds, this his blood shed for thee, vpon thine owne bodie, by austere satisfactions? We reade in the Macha∣bies how the blood of the grape and mul∣berrie was shewed to the Elephants to stirre vp in them a furie and courage to fight in the battayle: let the blood,

ô Christian, of Christ the grape pressed now at the pillar, and more to be pres∣sed on the Crosse, mooue thee to make warre by pennance, against the vglie troups of thy sinnes, the causes of Chri¦stes so many stripes.

[ 14] Many Saints haue imitated Chri•• his sufferance of scourges at the pillar•• S. Thomas of Canterburie our gloriou•• Martyr and primate of England, when he was not able to lay any more stri∣pes on his body by his owne hands, vsed the help of his Chaplin, and cau∣sed him to whippe him till the blood issued out from his bodie aboun∣dantlie. So S. Charles Boromeus, S. Philip. Nerius, and other Saintes euen of our times, haue done, and doe daylie, so to conforme them selues to Christ whipped for them at the pillar, yet how many are there, who haue ne∣uer shed one drop of blood for their sinnes, or for Christ, who yet hath shed flouds of blood for them? how many are there, in whom S. Pau∣les words are verified, yon haue not re∣sisted vnto blood repugning against sinne? How many are there who haue not shed any teares for their sinnes,

for which Christ hath shed flouds of blood?

[ 15] O my soule, be thou confounded within thyself, when thou conside∣rest how much blood Christ hath shed at the pillar for thee, and how litle blood (or none at all) in all thy life thou hast shed for him: and yet one drop of his blood shed for thee is so precious, that it is more worth then all the blood in thy bo∣die, then all the blood of the Mar∣tyres, that euer were, as being worth the redemption of a thousand worlds. O my soule, if thou wilt not euerie day, by chastising thy bodie, shed some drops of blood fot thy sinnes, at least shed euerie daie teares of sor∣row for them: teares of Compassion for Christ his so many stripes suffered and so much blood shed at the Pillar.

Notes

• Deu. 25.
• 1. Cor. 11.
• Luc. 13.
• Deut. 25.
• Iud. 15. & 16.
• Isa. 53
• Gen. 36.
• Psal. 44.
• Isa. 53.
• Gen. 4.
• Mat. 23.
• Mat. 6.
• Heb. 12.
• Mat. 27.
• 1 Maca. 6.
• Heb. 12.