Chap. t, Sect. 6, Book IV. 375 6. They m:cified him, ( i.) they fafiened him on rhe crofs; and then lift him up. Mol. >7 3S· A great quet1ion there is amongfi the Learned, whether Chnfi was fafiened on rhe crofs after it was erected, or whiles it was lying on the ground? I would not rake too much inro thde nicetie;, only more probable it is that lie was fafrened to· It whiles It lay flat on the ground and then as Mofes lifted ttp the Serpent in the wildernefs, fo. wauhe Son of John 3· 14· man lifted up. 'We may exprefs the manner of their acting, and hisfuffenngsnow, as a learned Brother bath done before m; 1VoiV come the barbarom :nh~tmane hangmen, and He>l• <'ntem– begin to unloofe his hands, b11t hoir? alas 'tis not to any liberty, bm to worfe bonds of nai!J: pla~.on chrij!s then jlrip they off his gore-glewed clothes, and wtth them qucj/tonlefs, not a ltttle •f h" P'J!. mangled skin and jlejh, '"if it wercnot enough to cwcifie h:m as ath:ef, unle(s they flea hzm 100 as abeajl; then jlretch they bun out as another lfaac 011 hu owrz burthen, the crofs; that fo they might tdk$ meafnre of the holes, and though the print of his blood on it gave them his trllC length, yet how jlr,Eliy do they t~~e tt longer thm1 th~ tntth? thereby at once both to crucifie awd rac/z. him? that he was tntts Jlrctcht- and rack:,d upon hts crofs, Davtd Pial. ~·· , 7; gives more th.m probdble imimation; I may tell all my bones; and again, all m~ bones a~e Ver. 14. ollt of joynt; whtch othmrife how cott!d tt fo well be as by fuch a Violent jlrctchmg andd,- jfortion? whereby it (eems they had madehim aliving anatomy; mr was it in the lefs fenjib!e, jlejhy parts, of his body that they drive thefe their larger,tcntcrs, whereon his whole weight r~mjl hang; but in the hands ad feet, the mojl finewy, and .confeq~<ently the moft fenfible fleflsy parts of all other; wherein how ntdely and painfully they handle him, appears too by that of David, they dig,gedmyhands and my feet, they made wide holeslikj that of afpade, as if they had been digging in fome ditch: the~oyflrotiS and unufualgreatnefs of thcfe nails tvc have from venerable antiquity; Confrantine the great is faid to have made of them both an Helmet and a Bridle.-How J~ould I write on, W/41 that my tears jhould blot out what I write, when it is no othtr than he that is thus ufed whohath blotted om that Colof. ,,I 4, hilnd-writing of ordin"nces, that was againft me? .. But the hour goes on and this is the great burinefs of the worlds redemption, of which I would fpeak a little more; by this time we may·imagine Chrifi nailed to the crofs, and hiscrofs fixed in the ground, which with itsfall into the place of its fiation gave infinite torture by fo violem a concuflion of the body of our Lord. That I mean roobferve of this crucifying of Chrift, I Jhall reduce to thefe two heads. vi:<.. the-lhame, am{ pain. r. Fonhelhame, it was a curfed death,, CHrfed i<every one that hangeth ona tree. Gal l• , 3 • When it was in ufc, it was chiefly inflicted upon flaves that either falfely accufed, or • treacheroufly confpired their Mafters death: bur on whomfoevcr ir was inflicted, this death in all Ages among the Jews hath been branded with afpecial kind of ignominy · and fo the Apofrle fignifies when he faith, He aba{G'd himfelf to the death, even to th; Ph'! 8 eleath of thecrofs. It was a mighty Jbame that Saui's fons were hanged on· a tree, and , ~.;:.;,:6'. the reafon was more fpecially from the Law of God, For he that is hanged is accurfed of Dour.''' •3; (iod: I knowMofe/s Law fpeaks nothing in particular of crucifying, yet he cloth include rhe fame under the general of hanging on a tree; .~nd fome conceive that Mofes in fpeaking that curfe torefaw what maHner of death the Redeemer ll10uld ~ ~ 2 •. For the pain, it was a painful death; that appears fevera! wayes ; As - -- 1 · His legs and hands were violently racked, and pulled our to the places fined for his fall:emng,_ and then pierced through with nails. 2. By this means he wanred the ufe both of IllShands and feet, and fo he was forced to hang immoveable upon the crofs, as bemg unable to turn any way for his eafe. 3. The longer he lived, the more he endu– red, for by the weight of his body his wounds were opened and enlarged, his nerves and ve~nswere rem and rorn afunder, and his blood gulhed ouunore and more abun- ·danrly fill!.. 4· He dyed by inch-meal (as I may fay) and not at once, rhe crofs was a death long in _dying, it kept him a great while upon tlte rack, it was full three hours betwtxt Cbr;Ifl:'s affixion and expiration, and it would have b~en longer if he had not freely and wiihngly given up the ghofi; it is reported tha~ .Andrew. the Apofile was · rwo whole day~,s on the crofs before he dyed, and fo long mtghr·Clmfi have been, i'f God had not hetghtened it to gi·eater degrees of torment fupernaturally. 1ma~ add to th~s, as ~hove all this, the pains of hi~ .foul whiles he hanged on.tire crofs, .for thcr; alfo Clmfi had Ius agonies, and foul conflicts, thefe were thofe ,J'i,., :;.,<fT,, thofepatns, orpangs of death, from whichPeter tellsusChrifiwas l_oofed. The word Mh ,,, 4 , " ~ e-lfiJI«~
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=