amara est memoria tua homini habenti pacem indivitijs suis Eccl. 41. that had conquer'd most part of the World in less then twelve years to see himself seiz'd on by Death and Summon'd to appear before thy most dreadful Tribunal when he desir'd most to live and tast of the joy and delight of all his victories What a heart-breaking will it be to those that employ all their time in building of houses purchasing estates increasing riches procuring dignities making up matches laying out vast sums to use when they shall see themselves even as so many Princes Mules discharg'd of their treasure and turn'd off with backs gaul'd into some nasty stable nay it will be far worse with them for after their long travelling in this World loaden with gold and Silver which had extreamly gall'd their wretched Souls they shall be disburthened at the day of death and sent away with their wounded consciences to the dark and loathsome Stable of Hell there to continue for an Eternity O my Saviour these considerations well meditated are able to mollify a heart of Steel to move any man to a true repentance of his past follys to breed in him an abhorrence of the world and of all its vanitys and make him resolve to employ the remainder of his days in thy Service that art absolutely the best of Masters and whose rewards to thy faithful Servants are far surpassing the pleasures treasures of this deluding world as thou dost exceed the creatures Eternity the Time the eternal joys of thy heavenly Court the short and transitory joys and delights of this Land SAVIOVR HE must be a most perverse and hard hearted man indeed that will not love me after all the several benefits and manifold favours which I have confer'd even in this life upon the generality of mankinde which are in a manner nothing to what I have prepar'd for my Elect in the other for these are so incomprehensibly glorious that eye has never seen nor ear has ever heard neither is man's understanding capable of conceiving their excessive greatness for I am by nature infinitely good amiable and liberal consequently what I have promis'd prepar'd and decreed from all Eternity to bestow upon my Elect must be no less then my self objective as your Divines call it and formaliter the most clear the most delicious the most pleasant the most blessed union and fruition of my divine Essence for all Eternity O the Immense the inestimable the glorious the Interminable felicity of a blessed Soul that shall live and reign with God who is infinite in beauty in glory in power in wisdom and in finite in all his Attributes that shall enjoy clearly and without any interruption his blessed Vision so unspeakably comfortable satisfactory to all her senses and this too for an Eternity A God likewise that is the abundant headspring of all delights the inexhaustible fountain of all goodness the most opulent treasury of all riches pleasures Joy Perfection and of all things desirable or necessary to compleat her everlasting happiness This is the essential and principal reward of the Blessed But besides these there are other innumerable joys which I call Secundary rewards and these are also so great and so many that they do absolutely transcend all measure and number and wilt thou not O man love a God who has lov'd thee gratis and to that excess as to give thee himself all that 's in his power A God that most mercifully lov'd thee when thou wert in actual rebellion against him wilt thou not love the Eternal Father who in the excess of his love for thee did not spare his only and dearly beloved Son but deliver'd him into the power of most cruel Enemies that crucify'd him this was for thy sins alone as well as for those of all mankinde wilt thou not love him that has by the effusion of his most precious bloud free'd thee from the power and unspeakable anguishes of Hell and it 's eternal torments to place thee in the most happy company of his beloved in glory wilt thou not love him who has chosen thee even before the worlds Creation who has call'd thee by his Grace and has predestinated thee in Christ from all Eternity wilt thou not love me who am the only Son of God in whose Faith and Grace thou liv'st who has lov'd thee who has suffer'd for thee who has call'd thee to his Service who has redeem'd thee from the intollerable burthen of the Old Law from the damnable yoke of Sin and from the everlasting thraldom of Hell O man Wilt thou not love me who am so fervent a lover as to purchase thy lost Soul not with the Worlds contemptible Coin Gold or Silver but with the most precious and Sacred bloud of my whole body Wilt thou not love me who am thy Creator thy Saviour and Judge and who was in mercy pleas'd to become thy Brother and Advocate too nay I am so much in love with thee that the day before I departed the world I bequeath'd unto thee my most precious body and bloud to seed thy Soul as a perpetual monument of my tender affection to all mankind In fine wilt thou not love me who besides the aforesaid Mercys Benefits and Blessings have given thee so compassionate and so potent a Mediatrix in Heaven as is my most dear and Superexcellent Mother Saluted before my conception in these very words by my Angel Ave gratia plena Luc. 1.28 Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with thee Blessed art thou among Women Blessed is the fruit of thy Womb. Since I the Essential truth do affirm this they must be impertinent and reprobately Wicked who deny her that Special Prerogative Thou shouldst love as much the Holy Ghost for by his Wisdom thou wert Created and by his Providence thou wert govern'd in so much that thou can'st not produce one meritorious act without his divine Inspiration or actual motion Therefore 't is his gracious goodness which gives thee the Will and the Power to perform any good thing 't is He that is pleas'd to inhabit illnstrate and inflame thy heart with an ardent desire of thy eternal Salvation In a word thy Obligation to love and honour the most glorious Trinity is the very same as thou hast to each Sacred Person therein contain'd It being the sole Source and cause of thy eternal Happiness For what the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost have done the very same thing has the Blessed Trinity done being but one the same God in those three distinct persons O Man shall not all these powerful motives replenish thy Soul with divine love even as the Dew of Heaven doth fill the Vegetives with vivifying juice or shall not this make my grace shine in thy Soul as Davids burning Lamps of affection Psa 63.5 which no terene waters could ever extinguish I say in thy Soul that it may disperse those filthy
digest But what was the end of that Apicius of that corrupter of youth and plague of the Age he liv'd in after he had spent a prodigious fortune upon his belly he poyson'd himself for fear of starving when he had 250000. Crowns in his Coffers which may serve to shew us that it is the minde and not the Summ that makes any man rich But why do I call that poison which was the wholsomest draught of his life his dayly gluttony was poison rather both to himself and others His ostentation of it was intollerable and so was the infinite pains he took to mislead others by his example who went fast enough of themselves without driving It is indeed a horrid shame for a reasonable man to place his felicity in those entertainments and appetites that are stronger in Brutes Do not Beasts eat with a far better stomach have they not more satisfaction in their Lusts and they have not only a quicker relish of their pleasures but they enjoy them without either scandal or remorse If sensuality were happiness Beasts were happier then Men but humane felicity is lodg'd in the Soul not in the Flesh They that deliver themselves up to Luxury are still either tormented with too little or glutted with too much and equally miserable by being either deserted or overwhelm'd They are like men in a dangerous Sea one while cast dry upon a Rock and another while swallow'd up in a whirl-pool and all this from the mistake of not distinguishing good from evil The Huntsman that with much labour and hazard takes a wild beast runs as great a risque afterwards in the keeping of him for many times he tears out the throat of his Master and 't is the same thing with inordinate pleasures the more in number and the greater they are the more general and absolute a Slave is the Servant of them Let Mortals say what they will of him and let the common People pronounce him as happy as they please he pays his liberty for his delights and sells himself for what he buys But who must be the Purchaser Who but the Devil that plays the Host in this world Amos 1. Tob. 2. and will serve them at an inch with what delights or pleasures they desire but will be sure to write up all in his black book and take an exact account thereof at the day of their death then he will not fail to bring in the whole reckoning and charge them with all their mirth shall be then chang'd into mourning and lamentation and if they be not able to make atonement and discharge their accounts they shall hear to their eternal sorrow this thy dreadful Sentence Quantum in deliciis fuit tantum date illi tormentum Apoc. 18. look how much they have taken of their delights so much torment do you lay upon them A wise and discreet Traveller when he comes into an Inn tho' his Host should set before him most rare and delicate meats to banquet at his pleasure yet he will forbear and restrain his appetite meerly in consideration of the price and of the journey he has to go and takes nothing but so much as he knows well how to discharge the next morning at his departure on the contrary a fool will lay hands on every delicate bit that is presented to his sight he will act the Prince for a night or two but next day when it comes to be discharg'd he is sorry for what he had done and would wish he had liv'd only upon bread and water rather then be put to that vexation and disgrace too as to part with all his mony for his belly The custom of thy Church O Lord is to fast the eve of every great feast and then to recreate their Spirits the next day which is the Festival it self This represents very well the abstinent life of thy good Servants in this World for which they deserve to be nobly treated and made much of in the World to come but the custome of this World is quite opposite for they will eat and drink merrily let the Host bring in what reckoning he will but when payment is demanded and that they can't get off without the Sum laid in his hand Risus dolore miscebitur extrema gaudii luctus occupat Pro. 14 O then all their mirth is forgot and as much asham'd they are at their laughing and ranting as is a dog when his tail is cut off This is the character that Holy Scripture gives of the pleasures of the World laughter shall be mingl'd with sorrow Melius est ire ad domum luctus quam ad domum convivii Ecc. 7 Ubi tristitia ibi cor sapientis ubi gaudium ibi cor stultorum Pr. 28 Beatus homo qui semper est panidus Ibid. and mourning shall come at the latter end of mirth It is for this very reason that the Wise holds it better to go to the house of sorrow then to the house of feasting and the cause why is that where sadness appears there the heart of the wise man is lodg'd but where mirth is there is the heart of fools and for conclusion he gives me this wholesome document happy is the man that is always fearful which is the same thing that the Holy Ghost recommends to every man to walk carefully and upright with God thinking upon his commandments how we keep and observe them how we resist temptations how we mortify our flesh how we bestow our time talents and riches which he was pleas'd to lend us how we labour to make up a plentiful harvest of good works for the obtaining of Heaven what account we could give him if he had summon'd us at this very moment to appear before him O that We were so happy as to make of these good thoughts our frequent meditation I am certain We should have no time to spend in the idle pleasures and pastimes of this World but alas our grand misfortune is that we never trouble our brains with 'em we will rather think of what our Kitchens can afford To see what a number of Cooks what a variety of meats a noble-man will have 't is to be wonder'd that so much provision should be made for one belly and that so many people should be employ'd to bring up the Luxury of all tasts in one dish which is rather like a vomit then a soup but they have their punishment even in this World for from their compound dishes arise compounded diseases which require compound Medicines 'T is the same thing with their mind that it is with their Tables simple vices are curable by simple Councels but a general dissolution of manners is hardly overcome They are overrun with a publick as well as with a private madness The Physitians of old understood little more then the vertue of some herbs to stop blood or heal a wound and their firm and healthy bodys needed little more before they were corrupted
vapours of carnal affections which have in a manner lul'd her into a Lethargy And as thou wert created to enjoy the fellowship of Angels let these demonstrations of all my Favours to mankind in general and to thee in particular kindle such a fire of divine love in thy Soul as when she departs thy body she may ascend to Heaven in it's aspiring flames Nolite voeare vobis Patrem super terram unus est enim Pater vester in caelis Mat. 23. Hast thou not heard what I say in the Gospel to thee and to all men that ye should not rely upon them ye call Father on Earth for you have but one only Father who is in Heaven and is really so in a far more eminent degree then is either Carnal or Spiritual Father whatever For from him thou didst receive thy Soul by his immediate creation and whatever advantage thou hast of nature from thy Parents or from the Concurrence of any celestial and Second causes thou receivedst the same eminently from Him who is the Principal Authour of all things Sin only excepted Thy Philosophers confirm this for they tell thee that every prime and Original cause does influence the effect more then any second cause whatever Omnis causa prima plus influit quam quaecunque causa secunda Arist Ex quo omnis paternitas in Caelis in terra nominatur Ephes 3.15 If thou by all Laws Natural Divine and Positive art strictly commanded to love reverence honour and obey with all submission thy carnal Parents how much more oughtest thou to love honour adore and obey thy Heavenly Father who is the Original of all Paternitys as well in Heaven as on Earth and from whom all causes have their action their motion and their Fecundity The remisness and frequent failings of all mortals in this their incumbent duty gave me occasion to make this sorrowful complaint Malac. 1.6 the Son does hear his Father and the Servant does both fear and obey his Lord and Master If I be then the Father of mankinde where 's their love their respect and obedience to me And if I be their chief Lord and Master where 's their fear and dread of displeasing me and transgressing my commandments My Apostle seems to admire so great a neglect we have had says he Hebr. 12.9 for our Tutors Fathers of the Flesh and to those We have paid all submission and reverence and shall not We give a far greater respect to our Father in Heaven by whom and from whom We have our being and preservation If even the very Heathens accounted it a most abominable crime in Children not to obey their Parents or to despise them and not regard their commands and counsels and if in the old Law I have order'd all contumacious Levit. 20.9 rebellious and Avaritious Children to be even ston'd to death without any further Process how much more nefarious a crime it is to be refactory to the omnipotent God and Father and to be so great and so cruel a rebell to him as to crucify him every moment in his dearly beloved Son This is so hainous an offence that I can't but resent it and say by my Prophet will a man rob God of his honour and of all his Prerogatives this is the common injury which the generality of mankinde has done unto me for they have indeed rob'd me even the whole generation of them Hear O Heavens and give ear O Earth I have nourish'd brought up Children they have rebell'd against me The Ox knows his owner Esai 1 2 3 4.23 c. and the Ass his Masters crib But Israel does not know me neither does my People consider me Ah! Sinful nation that they are a people laden with iniquity a seed of evil doers Children that are corrupted themselves and greater corrupters of others they have all forsaken the Lord they have all provok'd the holy one of Israel unto Anger Their Princes are rebellious and the companions of Thieves Every one loves gifts and follows after rewards they judge not the Fatherless nor does the cause of the Widdow come unto them But I will ease me of my Adversarys and revenge me of mine Enemies then shall come the utter destruction and ruine of all Transgressors and Sinners and they that have forsaken me to follow the World and it's unlawful pleasures shall be wholly consum'd They shall be as an Oak whose leaf fades Psal 20 9. and as a garden that has no water They shall be as Tow and Fire and shall both burn together and none shall be able to quench their flames to fulfil the words of my Prophet I shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of my Anger I shall swallow them up in my wrath and the fire shall devour them A Check to MAN O Ungrateful man Gen. 2.7 hast thou not justly deserv'd these dreadful effects of my heavy indignation and Wrath for in the very exordium of the World I created thee to my own Image and likeness I have instructed thee in the Law of nature which thou wert to observe and to regulate thy actions by the dictates and Maxims thereof I have also printed the dictamen of Reason in thy Soul that thou might'st thereby discern betwixt good and evil truth and falshood the Creature and thy Creator But thou ungrateful Wretch and most unworthy of such extraordinary favours hast from the very beginning shaken off my Yoak broke my Chains and hast declar'd openly that thou wouldst no longer live submissive to my decrees no longer obey my Commands neither wouldst thou serve so good and so bountiful a Master but be a Tenant at will to embrace whatever was most pleasant to thy brutish passions and most charming to thy rebellious inclinations wherein thou hast transgress'd the agreement that had pass'd betwixt us broken the Contract violated the Law and hast cancel'd thy bonds wherewith thou hadst bound thy self and thy Descendents to the World's end to live upright faithful and obedient to my Will and to my Commands for ever And what was it that engag'd thee to incur the guilt of so horrid a crime the fear only of displeasing thy silly Wife O ingratitude never to be paralell'd What must a foolish and phantastical creature be honor'd and obey'd rather then I who am thy Omnipotent God and Creator I produc'd thee with a faciamus only out of the bowels of the Earth to make thee happy for an Eternity with the perpetual fruition and vision of my divine Essence but thou hast perferr'd before so immense and unspeakable a blessing a created Good vile in it's self tho' pleasant to the eye and sweet to the taste and what was it 'T is an eternal shame and an infinite disgrace for all mankinde to hear in mention'd 't was no less then to postpone me the Fountain of life and all my Glory for a Trifle an Apple Heavens are you not astonish'd that