e 644 Thin deathof the Crort'c, an iniurie to nature. Of our Sauiours death. when their hands were nayled, and¡hat they tooke the like courfe with our Sa- uiour Chrift, but his Loue had Coordered the bufineffe, that he hadeyes to fee his ownehurts, but not ours. The Prophet Zacharie askes thequeftion,atafunt plagieifla, inmedic* maurum tuarum? What are theft woandsin themidi[ofthybands ? The likeque(tionhe might as well haue madeofthewounds inour Sauiors fide, and his facred feet, but that Manwasabiding in thole thewounds of his hands, In manibara mein fcripfi te , Thaw written thee inmy hands : And thereforemade more reckoningof them. And at thedayofiudgement he faithby the mouth of zachar ra Zubarie, Afpicient adme, gamcruc xerunt, Theypall [Dokevpon mee whom they barepierced. The finner (hall open his eyes, whofe name being written (like a pofte) inthofe hands,ar..d himfelfe worne by them , asaring of remembrance, (hall feehis faluarion nayled to thofe hands,which his fanes had nayled fo fait to the Crofle.Ina word, as in the garden,hauingmorecare ofhis,thanhimfelfe, he laid in an imperious kind ofmanner, Shiite bos abire, Suffer theft todepart. And ontheCroffe hePaidvnto hisFather, inmanna teas Demme, commendo Spiritum mum. Vponwhich place Saint c4agufline faith, That hethere calledthe faith- full, his Spiritand his Soule ;taking no care ofhisowne fpirit or foule ; forthat was vnited fo the Diuinitie.So that in this regard,forthatheheldvs inhis hefelt more the tormentofhis hands, than of any otherpart. Neuer didhumane Nature recciue fo great an iniurie as the death of the Croffe. Tofiatur expounding that placeof Dent. tfrfaledittua a Deo, quipependit in ligno, Curled is he that hangs vpon the tree,faith,That itwas an iniurie done to God himfelfe, that a creature created after Gods owne image, (houlddye on the Croffe, Nefasell (faithCicero) vincirecities Remanot, fcelur,verberare, propparrici- diumnecare : Rziddicam in cruce agere It if a hainom aïl tobinda CitizenofRome, A villanie to f ourgehim, andin a roamerparicide to killhim: Whatfhallit be thentoput himon theCroffe r Pliny faith, That the Romans didlet vp certain Cro(Tes,wher- on they hung thofe dogges, whichdid not giue warning bybarking; when the Gaulus did fcale theCapitol; which furprifalwas preuentedbythegaggling of thegeefe. Satiric'. faith, That whenany onedid dieabad andvnfottunate death, theydidput a Croffevponhis graue. Scaliger reporteth,Thatvpon a time,there wasa ftrangekind ofheadach in Rome, which had fpread it felfe ouer all the Citie, which was fo extreame painefull vnto them, that many ofthem did hang themfelues in their owne garters, chufing rather to die,than to endurethe paine thereof ; andComedid hang themfelues for feareof thatGckneffe, beforeeuer it had feiled vpon them:Whereupon the Senatbeing defiroustopreuent fogreat amifchiefe ,publifheda Proclamation, punif iingtherein thefe defperateoffen- ders with the infamie ofthe Croffe, that di(honourmight cut off that inconue- nience, which lifecouldnot perluade. Now fo great then wasthe loue which our Sauiour Chrift bare vntovs that he depofited in the infamie and reproehof the Croffe, all that honourwhich hee hadgottenhimfelfe byhismyracles, his doárine,and vnblameable life, leauingthemall hanging onthe Croffe,asaTro- phie ofhis loue. Hercule: erected pillars, where hcethought the world had en- ded and extended it's vtmoft bounds,as aTrophieof his proweffeandvalour ; bearingthis letteror infcription,nplotvitra. Our SauiourChrift (hewedhis Loue vetovs to the end, in that his Trophie of the Croffe, with this letter or infcription, No Lomeca»geebeyond this Lout : And therefore the Croire is the North-ftarre ofour comfortand hope. Forwhat canhee denievs, orwhat will not hegrant vnto vs,who on theCroffe (hewed fuch exceeding great loue vnto vs a But fomemanperhaps willaskeme,How canfobad athingbe abletoafford com-
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