witnesses—"Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee." Christ is also our brother. Gen. xxxvii.: "He is our brother." And He is our spouse, according to that of Hosea ii.: "I will marry thee in faithfulness." Again, "Thou shalt be the spouse of my blood." By Him, we are reconciled to our heavenly Father, and restored to peace. "For He is our peace, who hath made both one."—Ephes. ii. From Him we received the aforesaid gifts: first, a cloak descending to the ankle—that is, His most precious skin;[1] and said to be of delicate texture, because it was woven with stripes, blood, bruises, and other various instances of malice. Of which texture, nothing more is meant than this—"I have forgiven thee," because I have redeemed thee; "see that thou add not to thy offence." "Go," said our Lord, "and sin no more." This is the vest of Joseph—the garment dyed in the blood of a goat.—Gen. xxxvii. That same Christ our King gave to us an all-glorious crown; that is, when He submitted to be crowned for our sakes. And of a truth, "Thy dignity is from me"—even from that crown. John xix.: "Jesus went forth, bearing the crown of thorns." Christ is our champion, who gave us a ring—that is, the hole in His right hand; and we ourselves may perceive how faithfully it is written—"I have loved thee, learn thou to love." Rev.i.: "Christ our mediator loved us, and washed us from our sins in His blood." He gave us another ring, which is the puncture in his left hand, where we see written, "What have I done? How much? Why?"—"What have I done?" I have despoiled myself, receiving the form of a servant. "How much?" I have made God man. "Why?" To redeem the lost. Concerning these three—Zachary xiii.: "What are the wounds in the middle of thy hands? And He answered, saying, I am wounded by these men in their house, who loved me." Christ is our brother, and son of the eternal King. He gave us a third ring—to wit, the hole in His
- ↑ Attempts, like the present, to strain every thing into an allegory, are very frequent in these "mystical and moral applications." It is for this reason, among others, that I thought it right to abridge them; for while the reader's patience was exhausted, his feelings would revolt as well at the absurdity as at the apparent impiety of the allusion.
