Page:Goldentreatiseof00pete.djvu/104

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thee in the Christian faith from thy infancy: I have redeemed thee with my own blood: for thy sake I have fasted, watched, prayed, undergone tedious journies, sweat blood, and endured many more miseries in the course of my life: for the love of thee, I have suffered persecutions, injuries, blasphemies, and the very cross itself. This cross is my witness, these nails my witnesses, which thou seest imprinted in my hands and feet: to conclude, heaven and earth that did behold my passion are my witnesses. How I have drawn thy soul. How I have redeemed thee with the ransom of my precious blood.

How hast thou esteemed this precious pearl? bought by me with an inestimable price. O generation of vipers, why hast thou chosen to serve my enemy with a great deal of pain, and neglected thy duty towards me, thy Creator, and Redeemer, which thou mightest have performed with a great deal of pleasure. I have called thee, and thou wouldst not answer to my vocation. I have knocked at the door of thy heart, and thou hast refused me entrance. I have stretched my arms upon the cross, and thou hast not regarded me, thou despiseth my counsels, promises, and threatenings. Pronounce, therefore, ye angels, the sentence, and be judges betwixt me and my vineyard. "Quid est quod debui uttra facere vineae meae ut non feci ei?" " What is there that I