" In this work, with a great variety of
sentiments of a similar tendency, he thus expresses himself:--
"Of so great authority in the heavenly palace is that empress, that,
omitting all other intermediate saints, we may appeal to her from every
grievance.... With confidence, then, let every one appeal to her,
whether he be aggrieved by the devil, or by any tyrant, or by his own
body, or by divine justice;" [Cologne, 1607. Part iii. Serm. ii. p.
176.] and then, having specified and illustrated the three other sources
of grievance, he thus proceeds: "In the fourth place, he may APPEAL TO
HER, if any one feels himself AGGRIEVED BY THE JUSTICE OF GOD [Licet ad
ipsam appellare, si quis a Dei justitia se gravari sentit.] ... That
empress, therefore, Hester, was a figure of this empress of the heavens,
with whom God divided his kingdom. For, whereas God has justice and
mercy, He retained justice to himself to be exercised in this world, and
granted mercy to his mother; and thus, if any one feels himself to be
aggrieved in the court of God's justice, let him appeal to the court of
mercy of his mother." [Ideo si quis sentit se gravari in foro justitiae
Dei, appellet ad forum misericordiae matris ejus.]
For one moment, let us calmly weigh the import of these words:--Is it
any thing short of robbing the Eternal Father of the brightest jewel in
his crown, and sharing his glory with another? Is it not encouraging us
to turn our eyes from the God of mercy as a stern and ruthless judge,
and habitually to fix them upon Mary as the dispenser of all we want for
the comfort and happiness of our souls?
In another place, this same author thus exalts Mary:
"Since the Virgin Mary is mother of God, and God is her Son; and every
son is naturally inferior to his {374} mother, and subject to her; and
the mother is preferred above, and is superior to her son, it follows
that the blessed Virgin is herself superior to God, and God himself is
her subject, by reason of the humanity derived from her;" [Part ix.
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