A heavenly conference between Christ and Mary after His resurrection. Wherein the intimate familiarity,…

The next point is, that Christ chose Mary to go tell his Brethren, and under the sweet title of Brethren, to deliver this sweet message, I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God, and your God. He telleth them the sweetest words in the worst times.

¹This point differeth from the former thus. The former was, that Christs love is constant, and always the same; but now Christ most showeth his love when we are most cast down, in the worst times, if our casting down be with repentance. He never said Brethren before, but reserved the term of Brethren for the ⟨p. 75⟩worst time of all. The sweetest discoveries of Christ are in the worst times ²of all to his Children. Mothers will bring out any thing to their Children that is sweet & comfortable to them in their sickness; though they frowned on them before, yet the exigency of the Child requires it when there is need, any thing cometh out that may please the Child. The poor Disciples were not only in affliction, being the scorn of the world, the Shepherd being smitten, and the sheep scattered: but their inward grief was greater, they were inwardly confounded, and ashamed to see Christ come to such an end, they were full of unbelief, though Christ had told them, he would rise again, they could not believe; and so what with fear, and what with doubt, and what with grief for their using of Christ so unkindly, and leaving him, certainly they were in a perplexed and disconsolate condition: yet now, go and ³tell my Brethren. We see then, that after relapses, when we be in state of grace, to deal unkindly with Christ, must needs be matter of grief and shame; yet if we be humbled for it, ⟨p. 76⟩and cast down, even then Christ hath a sweet message for us by his holy spirit. Go tell my Brethren. In the Canticles, The Church, the spouse of Christ, had dealt unkindly with Christ, by losing him and forsaking him. Chap. 3. 5. In the third Chapter she had lost him, and sought him on her bed, but found him not, she