38o Book IV. j!,.rol\mg unto jjeftt.S'. Chap. 3 .sea.:;: I fate daily among )'Oil teaching in the Temple, andye never laid hani;;;;-,-;-jmt~hi; i; yoHr hour, a"d the power of dar/z.nefs · Now the Prince of darknefs exe;cifed his - power, now the hellilh rout, and malicious rabble of nvenous wolves, affaulted the mofi innocent Lamb in the world; now they mofi furioufly haled him this way and that way; 0 how ungentiy did they handle him? how uncouneoufly fpake they unto him? how many blows and buffers d1d they give him ? what cries, and llwurs, and clamours made they over hun? now they lay hold on his holy hands, and bind them lmd with rough and knotty cord~, fo char they gall the skin off his arms and make the ver¥ blood fpring our ; now they bring him back again over Cedro~. and they make. lum once agam to dnnl(_ of the brool(_ m th~ w~y; now they lead him openly th.ro,ll:gh the lugh fhem of 'lemfalem and carry !urn to the houfe of Anv.u in great· trj<11l?.Ph· 0 m~ foul confider thefe. feveral paffagcs, confi~er them leifurely, and wrt:)l .;~ood ~ttemwn.' confider. them. nil ~hou feelefi fome mouons or alterations in rhy atfdhon •.; 1s not thiS he that IS the mfimte venue, rhe pattern of innocency, the ever- . )lflmg w1fdom ; the honour of earth, the glory of heaven, the very fountain of all beauty) whether of men or Angels? how is it then that this venue or power is tyed with bands, that inn~cency is apprehended, tha.t wifdom is floured and laughed to [corn, that honour 1s contemned, that glory 1s tormented, that he that is fairer than all the children of men , is befmeared with weeping, and troubled with for– row of heart ? furely there is fome thing 0 my foul in thee , that caufed all this : hadfl: not thou finned , the Sun of Righreoufnefs had never been cclipfed. 3. Conuderrhe hurryings of Jefus from AnnM to Cnipha,; thereaCouncel iscal– Mat; ,~.63, led, and Caipr;.u the high Prieft adjures our Lord to tell him if he WM Chrift the Son vcr. 66. of God: no fooner he affirms it, but he is doomed guilty of blafphemy, and fo guilty of death. Now again they affault him like mad dogs, and difgorge upon him all their malice, fury, and revenge; each one to the urmof\ of his power gives him buffers, and ftrokes; there they fpit upon that Divine face with their deyilifb mouths, there they hudwink his eyes, and firike him on the cheek, fcoffing, and jefl:ing, and faying, Aread, who u it ihat [mote thee. 0 beauty of Angels! wasrhat aface to be fpet upon~ men ufually when they are provoked to fpit, turn away their faces towards the fouleft corner of the houfe, and is there uot in all that Palace a fouler place to fpit in than rhe face of Jefus? 0 my foul why do£\ thou not humble rhy felf, at this fo wonderful ex– ample? how is it char there lhould remain in the world any token of pride after this fo great and marvel!Olis an example of humility? furely I am at my wits end, and very much afionillted to confider, how this fo great patience overcomes nor my anger, how this fo great abaung affwagerh not my pride, how rhefc fo violent buffers beat nor down my prefumprion. Is it not marvellous that ]efus Chrilt by thefe means llwuld overthrow the Kingdom of pride, and yet that there lhould remain i~ me the relicks of pride? conlider all thofe night-fufferings of Chrift; 0 cruel night! 0 unquiet night! now was the fcafon that all creatures llwuld take their tefr, char the fenfes, and mem– bers wearied with roils and labours, lhould be refreiJ,ed, but on the contrary Chrifi's membersandfenfeswerethen tormented, they firuck his body, they afflicted his foul, they bound his hands, they buffetted his cheeks, they fpit in his face, 0 my foul thou finnefi in the dark, in covert, in fecret, when no eye is upon thee, when the Sun, that eye of the world is fet, or bid; and therefore all the night .long is Chrill: thu~ tor– memed by thy uns ; not one jot of refl: bath Chriil, not a wmk of.fleep muft fet~e on him , whom thou by the alarm of thy fins difquiered, both at evemng, at mtd-mght, - and at the cock-crow, and at the dawning. . 4· Confider rhe burryings of Jefus from Caiph.u to Pi/ate; .now he fiands before Pi/ate, where he was accufed of [edition, feduchon, an_d ufurpauon. Not only Jews, bur Gentiles have their hands imbrewed in the blood of Chnfi; Pi/ate was delegated Luke 18 3 ' · from Ccf.~r, both of themGentiles, yet nor withour a propheue, Behold we go up to 'le– rufalem, andall things that are written by the Prophets concermng the Son of. man jbal! be accomplijhed; for he jha!l be delivered unto the Gentiles: at the Gent~le-mbunal bemg quefiioned of his Kingdom, and he anfwers both the Jews and Ge~ules t~at they need nor fear l1is ufurpation, My Kin•dom u r1ot of thu world. He gtvc.s Kingdoms ~hat Jo1n t8. 3"· o 1 Cl 11: to are etrJn:d , but he will t'ake away none tha~ are rempora ; . ll'l came no~ 10 the wo: Id robe Ccfar's, or Pi/ate's, or Horod s fucce.lfor, but 1f they had be!Jev~~ to have been their Saviour. Look rhroYgh the Chromcles of h1s ltfe, and we find hfo
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