the mutuall gift of Men to God and of God to Men. But that which surpasseth all belief He is so absolutely in our disposall that the faithfull communicate him to others The Priests are not onely the Ministers but the Principles thereof they produce him by their word as they do Jesus Christ neither are there any Sacraments in the Church which are not so many channels by which they powre forth the Holy Ghost into the souls of Christians Nay many times they that have him not themselves impart him to others being poor they make others rich and having not the grace they notwithstanding communicate the source for though they lose their sanctity they lose not their power and as it is founded in their Character which can never be obliterated they have alwayes the right to give the Holy Ghost and to remit sins But because I intend to make a particular Treatise of the Spirit of the Christian I shall reserve my larger Discourse of the Allyances we have with him for that place and conclude the present subject with those words of St Leo That the Beleever is obliged to acknowledge the advantages he hath received from Jesus Christ in his Birth by no means to degenerate from his Nobility and to think he ought no more absolutely to dispose of himself seeing he hath the honour to be the Son of the Eternall Father the Brother of Jesus Christ and the Temple of the Holy Ghost The Eighth DISCOURSE Of the principall Effects Baptism produceth in the CHRISTIAN FOrasmuch as Effects are the images of their Causes we never judge better of the power of these then by the greatness of those A great Effect leads alwayes on to a great Cause and this Maxime is as true in Grace as in Nature For if God sometime make use of a weak Instrument to produce a miracle Aliud est enim baptizare per ministerium aliud per potestatem Baptisma enim tale est qualis est ille in cujus potestate datur nō qualis est ille per cujus ministerium datur Aug. Tr. 5. in Joann he raiseth the puissance thereof and by himself supplyes what infirmity would sink under Thence it comes to pass that the Fathers of the Church attribute to Jesus Christ all the effects of Baptism teaching us that 't is neither the vertue of the Water nor the merit of the Minister though both are requisite that justifie the Christian God reserves to himself the glory to act in this Sacrament He it is that baptiseth by the hand of his servants and without having respect to their deserts worketh grace by a Divel as well as by an Angel Wherefore we need not wonder that so common an element produceth such rare effects seeing 't is in his hands who of nothing was able to create all things These effects are almost infinite their number aswell as their greatness astonish us and to observe them well we had need be illuminated by his light whose works they are Nolite contristare Spiritum sanctum in quo signati estis Ephes 4. The most part of Divines are of opinion that the impression of the character is the first effect for he that is baptised wears the Livery of his Soveraigne he is marked with his Seale and from the time of his Baptism there is formed in the essence of his soul a Character that neither Time nor Eternity can blot out He carries it with him to heaven for his glory into hell for his confusion and that which was a mark of his allyance with God becoms a mark of his rebellion against God Men make their slaves wear upon their garments visible Badges of their vassallage and there are some so cruel as to stigmatize their very faces The Divel who is Gods Ape engraves his Character upon the bodies of those miserable wretches that serve him and if we beleeve the report of the Magicians and the experience of the Judges that have examined them there are not any Witches who bear not the shamefull marks of their abominable servitude This proud Spirit imitates his Soveraign as far as his weaknesse will give him leave and he is ravished that the creature who hath given himself to him witnesseth his fidelity by an external and visible impresse since he cannot act in the souls of men he is content to act upon their bodies and he is satisfied when upon the works of the Creator may be seen some characters of his Tyranny But God who is absolute in his State acts upon the souls aswell as upon the bodies and at the same time that the Ministers sprinkle the water of Baptisme upon the body of the Neophytes he imprints an eternall character in their souls This first effect is followed with another to wit the Infusion of Grace for assoon as the words that consecrate us are pronounced the holy Spirit enters into our hearts and there produceth that divine quality which renders us the children of God We know not whether it be equall in all those that are baptised Some are of opinion that the disposition of those that are at age augments or diminisheth it and according as they have more or lesse actuall love they receive more or lesse habituall Grace Some others pass the same judgment upon Infants and are perswaded that the designe of God upon their souls makes the difference of their Graces and that those who are destin'd to the highest degrees of Glory receive also at their baptism a higher degree of Grace This question being not yet resolved every one may abound in his own sense though it seem that as every man equally sinned in Adam every Christian is equally regenerated in Jesus Christ But I conceive our Fall and our Restauration are two Abysses that cannot be sounded and that the example alledged for confirmation of the first is as much conceal'd as the Truth they would thence elicite and extract Therefore not confining our selves to any one of these opinions 't is better to confess our ignorance and acknowledge there are secrets in the order of Grace aswell as in that of Nature which the spirit of man can by no means discover The third Effect of Baptism is the restitution of the Innocence we lost in Paradise Every one explains it according to the conceit he hath of it and there are store of Divines who imagine that man by the vertue of Baptism re-enters into all the advantages of Adam that his will recovers its Perfect freedom his understanding its light and every faculty of the soul is re-established in its primitive vigour and activity But certainly experience gives this opinion sufficiently the lye seeing every day the faithful to their cost finde that their will is a slave to concupiscence and if the assistance of Jesus Christ give them not the mastery there is no temptation but would engage them in a sin Indeed though we should affirm that habitual grace restores us with advantage what-ever Adam despoyl'd us
did not the following surpass it For the Holy Spirit is the Love of the Faithful as he is the Love of the Father and of the Son But to understand this truth we must inform you that the Word being begotten of the Father by the Understanding is his onely Son and that the Holy Ghost being produced by the Will is his Love The Father and the Son reciprocally love one another by this mutual charity they finde their happiness in this common dilection and should they cease to love they would cease to be happie Having a minde to exalt us to their happiness they raise us also to their love and pouring forth charity into our souls they make us capable of loving them For God is so great that he can neither be known but by his own Light nor lov'd but by his own Love the Holy Spirit must enlighten our Souls warm our Wills and by the purity of his flames purge away the impurity of our affections he transforms us into himself to make us happie This holy Love is a particular effect of the Holy Spirit the beams that heat us are an emanation from that Divine fire that burns the Seraphims and the charity that raiseth us above the condition of men is a spark of that personal charity wherewith the Father and the Son love each other from all eternity But that we may not challenge the Holy Spirit as sparing of his favours he hath vouchsafed to be the accomplishment of the Church as he is the accomplishment and perfection of the Trinity For though there be no defects in God though this Sun is never clouded nor eclipsed this Supreme Truth labours under no shadows nor errours this excellent Beauty hath no spots nor blemishes and this amiable goodness be full of charms and graces yet may the Holy Ghost be called the Complement thereof The Father begins this adorable Circle which the Son continues and the Holy Spirit finisheth he it is that bounds the Divine emanations draws forth the fruitfulness of those that cause his production and if it be lawful to speak of an ineffable mystery and to subject to the laws of Time Eternity it self God is not compleated but by the production of the holy Spirit He is the rest of the Father and the Son his person is the perfection of the Trinity and this Divine mystery would want its full proportion did it not include the Holy Spirit with the two Persons from whence he proceeded The holy Scriptures to afford us some light of this verity attribute all the perfection of the works of God to the blessed Spirit They represent him to us moving upon the waters in the Creation of the world finishing by his Fecundity what the Father and the Son had produced by their Power They teach us that it was he that gave motion to the Heavens influences to the Stars heat to the Sun They inform us that 't was by his vertue that the earth became fruitful and that from his goodness she received that secret Fermentation that to this day renders her the Mother and the Nurse of all things living And the Gospel to give this Truth its full extent instructs us that 't is the holy Ghost who by his graces in the Church makes up what Jesus Christ hath begun in it by his travels He is his Vicar and Lieutenant he came down upon the earth after the other ascended up to heaven nor hath he any other designe in his descension then to compleat all the works of Jesus Christ The Apostles were yet but embryo's in Christianity when the Son of God left them three yeers of conversation was not able to perfect them the greatest part of the discourses of their Divine Master seemed to them nothing but Aenigma's his Maximes Paradoxes his Promises pleasing Illusions every thing was a mormo to these timorous spirits ths name of the Cross scandalized them and so many Miracles wrought in their presence were unable to calm their Fear or heighten their Courage To finish these demi-works the Holy Ghost came into the world he descended upon their heads in the shape of fiery tongues to make them eloquent and bold he inspired them with Charity to cure them of Fear made them Lovers thereby to make them Martyrs he cleared their Understanding warmed their Will that light and heat being blended together they might more easily overcome Philosophers and Tyrants Finally he set up a Throne in their hearts that speaking by their mouthes and acting by their hands he might render them accomplisht pieces to the service of their Master And indeed we must acknowledge the Apostles changed their condition after the descent of the Holy Ghost their Fear vanished as soon as they were confirmed by his Strength the Cross seem'd strew'd with Charms as soon as they were kindled with his Flames they found Sweetness even in Torments Glory in Affronts Venit Vicarius Redemptoris ut beneficia quae Salvator Dominus inchoavit Spiritus sancti virtute consammet quod ille redemit iste sanctificet quod ille acquisivit iste custodiat Aug. Serm. 1. Feria 32. Pentec and Riches in Poverty This made S. Augustine say that the Holy Spirit came to finish in Power what the Son of God had begun in Weakness to sanctifie what the other had redeemed and to preserve what Christ had purchased If you seek saith the same S. Augustine what was wanting to the Apostles and what might be added to their perfection by the coming down of the Holy Ghost I will tell you Before that happie moment they had Faith but they had neither Constancie nor Fidelity they were able to forsake their possessions to follow Jesus Christ but they would not lose their lives to glorifie him they were able indeed to preach the Gospel but knew not how to signe it with their blood nor seal it with their death they were vertuous as long as they conversed with the Son of God up on earth but they were not grown up to perfection till the Holy Ghost had communicated to them his graces and adding force to charity had made them the Foundations of the Church the Fathers of the Faithful the Terrour of Devils and the Astonishment of Tyrants Finally 't is the holy Spirit according to the saying of S. John Damascen that perfects the Christians because 't is he that Quickens them by Grace and Deifies them with Glory So that we are obliged to confess that he enters into alliance with them that he is the same to the Church that he is to the Trinity and that after he hath been our Bond our Gift and our Love upon Earth he will be our Accomplishment in Heaven The Fourth DISCOURSE That the Holy Ghost seems to be to Christians what he is to the Son of God IT is not without ground that the Christian is called the Image of Jesus Christ since he is his other Self the one possessing by Grace what the other doth by
enjoy not this quality but after we are instated in the person of the Word nor can we have God for our Father but we must have Jesus Christ for our Head But when Grace hath made us his members Unicum Filium Deus habet quem de sua substantia genuit nos autem non de sua substantia genuit Creatura enim sumus quam non genuit sed fecit ideo ut fratres Christi secundùm modum faceret adoptavit Aug. lib. 3. contra Faust cap. 3. and being quickned by his Spirit we make up one body with him the Father loves us as his children looks upon us as a portion of Jesus Christ contracts an allyance with us that honours us and imitates that which he hath from all Eternity with his Son Thus we are his sons and his subjects he is our Lord and our Father and we bespeak him in the same language our Head doth we call him our Father and our God This Allyance is not only true because founded in Grace Vinculum igitur nostrae cum Deo Patre unionis Christum esse constat qui nos quidem sibi conjunxit ut homo Deo verò genitori suo sic unitus est ut naturaliter in eo sit Cyril Alex in Joan. but so proper that it relates only to the person of the Son agreeing not so much as to the holy Spirit For as he is not the Father of Jesus Christ so neither is he ours and as he hath other Alliances with him so hath he also with us The Father alone is our Father 't is to him that we addresse our selves when we use that name and knowing very well that we are inseparable from his Son we know very wel that the affection he bears us is an overflowing beam of that love he bears him of whom we have the honour to be members Though this mystery be wonderfull and 't is a hard matter to comprehend upon what motive Jesus Christ was willing to procure us this honour yet the condition wherein he found us redoubles the wonder For Adoption hath this advantage above Nature that 't is in its liberty to chuse the most accomplish'd Nature is blinde in her affections as well as in her productions she knows not for the most part what she does her works are many times defective and as if she had lost her light together with her innocence she brings forth Monsters as often as Men In the mean time she forbears not to love her imperfections she hath the heart of a Mother for all her productions and compels parents many times to embrace Monsters because they are their children In this particular Adoption is much happier then Nature it sees what it admits of chuseth upon knowledge of the cause loves that which is lovely and amiable nor does impart affections or goods but to persons that merit them Neverthelesse contrary to all these rules we finde that the Eternal Father adopts children born in sin and having nothing but the Apennage of Adam are rather the objects of his wrath then of his love He goes to seek them in the masse of perdition he separates them from the Guilty to render them innocent and applyes to them the merits of his Son to make them worthy of his inheritance For of all the Favours saith St * Promisit hominibus divinitatem mortalibus immortalitatem peccatoribus justificationem abject is glorificationem quicquid promisit indignis promisit ut non quasi operibus merces promitteretur sed gratia nomine suo gratia gratis daretur Aug. Psal 102. Augustine God the Father was pleased to honour us with he hath continually prevented our deservings he pardoned us in our delinquency heaped honour upon us in our misery To wretches condemned to death he hath promised immortality to the guilty innocence to base contemptible creatures glory to men divinity that we may receive all these favours as the gracious endearments of his mercy and not the recompences of our merits Thus our Adoption is founded upon his goodness he chose us but because it was his good pleasure he hath made us his Children because Christ hath made us his Brethren and in the apprehension of so great an advantage all we have to do is to humble our selves at the sight of our miseries and to give him thanks at the consideration of his mercies But to the end that this grace may appear more precious we must reckon up its Priviledges and allow the rest of this Discourse to its more noble Excellencies The Adoption of men is indeed an Allyance but we may without offence call it an imaginary one it hath no other foundation but the affection of him that adopts and the true or apparant merit of him that is adopted the conjunction is so impotent that it produceth nothing reall in their minds 't is as we have observed a meer denomination constituting no true relation between the two persons it unites and in this particular we must needs confess 't is much weaker then Nature For this tyes men with flesh and bloud her chains are so strong that 't is almost impossible to break them The Father looks upon his Son as a piece of himself the Mother beholds him as a portion of her own bowels nor can the Son die but both of them die in conceit with him Adoption hath nothing of this vigour in it it leans upon interests and as soon as he that is adopted hath no more any hope he hath no more love nor respect But the Christian Adoption is like that of Nature the links that compose it are of Diamond Missus est Filius non adoptione factus sed semper genitus Filius ut participata natura filiorum hominum ad participandam ettam suam naturam adoptaret etiam filios hominum Aug. lib. de Gra. Novi Test and the Grace that supports it is so firm that 't is able to subsift eternally It penetrates the very essence of the soul and cleanseth it from the spots of sin darts a light into the understanding heat into the Will plants the seeds of Glory in that intellectual substance gives it a true right and title to the kingdom of heaven and constitutes an Allyance between man and God so strict and combining that it imitates that that is between the Humanity and the Divinity by the mystery of the Incarnation From the very instant of Baptism the Christian is truly the Son of God the misery of his Nature the shame of his Birth and the Crime of his first Father hinders not Jesus Christ from being his Brother the Church from being his Mother nor eternal glory from being his portion But I wonder not at all that the Adoption of Christians is more substantial then that of men since it is celebrated with greater pomp and ceremony For when a man intends to adopt a child he needs only declare his will and make use of the Princes authority to make his
provoke him The Third TREATISE Of the Christians Head The first DISCOURSE That the CHRISTIAN hath two Heads ADAM and JESUS CHRIST IF Bodies with two Heads passe for Monsters humane Nature may very well passe for a Prodigie in that it hath two Chiefes upon which it depends and that as Adam communicates his Sin to it by Generation making it guilty and miserable Jesus Christ communicates his Grace to it by Baptisme making it innocent and happy 'T is true Nature might have expected great advantages from this first Head had he kept his originall Righteousnesse for our Divines confesse that Adam being Chiefe of all men received Grace not onely for himselfe but for all his Posterity that as his sinne passeth into his children by Generation Grace had passed into them by the same conveyance and that then they had been borne innocent as now they are borne criminall Together with grace he had communicated to them all the Priviledges he had received from God in the Creation Their bodies had been freed from those troublesome maladies that exercise our patience and originall righteousnesse had knit the body so close to the soule that their peace had never been disturb'd by these intestine divisions that set them so much at distance Nourishment had repair'd the radicall moisture that the naturall heat had consum'd and the fruit of the Tree of Life retaining something of our Sacraments had imparted to them a new vigour that had secur'd them against old Age and Death Their soul had not been worse provided for then their body for with Grace they had received all vertues and according to Saint Augustine either they had had the use of reason for their service or they had learn'd with so much easinesse that Ignorance had never been their Torment In this happy condition the Will had been more free then now it is the passions were so subject to reason that they had never been up but by his order Concupiscence that tyrannizeth over the children of Adam Summa in carne sanitas in anima tota tranquilitas Aug. lib. 14. de Civ c. 26. had not enslav'd the soule to the body and though the inferiour part had felt it's naturall inclinations Grace had so well moderated them that they had never undertaken any thing either against justice or honesty Thence it comes to passe that these austere vertues that have nothing else to do but to combate the motions of the flesh had serv'd rather for his ornament then for his defence Thence it followes that Grace had not been the Mistresse of the Will because having no bad inclinations she might have guided her selfe provided she were but supported nor had there been any danger that she that was not yet a Captive to sinne should have the chiefe disposall of his salvation we are not certain that if Adam had preserved his innocence his children had been impeccable neither know we if the sinne of other men had injur'd their posterity and if having lost the advantages of originall righteousnesse in their own behalfe they had lost them also as concerning their successours This condition is so conceal'd that we have nothing but weak conjectures of it every one extolls or debaseth it according to his humour and having neither Scripture nor Tradition for their rule all the world may diminish or adde something to their happinesse 'T is certain neverthelesse Sicut in Paradiso nullus aestus aut frigus sic in ejus habitatione nulla ex cupiditate vel timore bonae voluntatis offensio Aug. lib. 14. de Civ c. 26. that all the torments that came into the world with sinne had never discompos'd his quiet The Seasons had not been irregular the Elements had not bid him battel the Earth had been fruitfull without tilling and thorns that are the fruits of sinne had not dishonoured the face thereof Deluges that drowned the world Drought that makes the fields barren Pestilence that depopulates Cities and mows down the Inhabitants having no other cause but sinne had made no devastations in an innocent State and men being upon good terms with God had found their happinesse under the protection of his Grace having lived some Ages upon the earth Proinde si non peccasset Adam non erat expoliandus corpore sed supervestiendus immortalitate Aug. they had been translated into heaven where Glory consuming what they had of perishable had made them perfectly immortall without passing them through the pangs of immortality The two parts that compose man had not been separated the Master-piece of the Creation had not been ruin'd and the soul reigning with Angels had not beheld her body devoured by worms in the Sepulchre See here a rude draught of the state of Innocence and a slight shadow of the glorious advantages children had derived from their father had he kept originall righteousnesse but the evils he procur'd them surpasse the priviledges in number and quality For his sinne is the source and fountain of all misfortunes we are not guilty but because we are his Members we sinn'd by his will because we lived in his person and the offence of one man is become the obliquity of whole Nature because it was included in him as the Tree in the Kernell or as a River in the Head Quia vero per liberum arbitrium Deum deseruit justum Dei judicium expertus est ut cum tota sua stirpe quae in illo adhuc posita tota cum illo peccaverat damnaretur Aug. This is it that Saint Augustine teacheth us in those no lesse handsom then solid expressions Adam felt the just judgement of God because abusing his free will he was unjustly separated from him and punishment was inflicted upon him with his whole race because being in him as in the stock they had wholly transgress'd with him The same also he delivers with as much or more eloquence in his Enchiridion for searching out the cause of so many evils that assault us he concludes that the sinne of our first father is the originall thereof and that we are therefore criminall and miserable because we are a part of him Thence it comes to passe saith he that being banished out of Paradise after his transgression he was condemned to death with all his Posterity who living in him as in their Principle were infected with his prevarication as the branches wither in their stock and die in their root Thence it comes to passe that all children that descend from him and from his wife the Complice of his offence and of his punishment are the heirs of his corruption This sinne passeth into them by the channell of concupiscence and makes them sensible of a torment which seems the image of their disobedience since one part of themselves is revolted against the other This revolt engaging their soule in vanity and their body in pain leads them insensibly with the rebellious Angels to that last Judgement which will never have an end Let us
Jesus Christ had a minde to humble him by lifting him up and that he might profit by his loss to make him finde his greatness in his abasement For 't is indeed to take man down to subject him to grace to deprive him of the disposal of his Will and to use him as a slave who is no longer master of his own person But 't is also to lift him up to endow him with a victorious grace which confirms his liberty makes him constant in good and in despight of all his weaknesses gives him so much vigour and strength that he meets no enemies he does not vanquish nor any temptations he does not overcome But admit all these reasons did not clearly conclude for the necessity of Grace I conceive Predestination would always be a most evident proof For seeing it is true that God is immutable in his Decrees that the designs he hath laid from all Eternity are not changed in Time Praedéstinare Deum nihil aliud quicquam est quam in illasua quae falli mutarique non potest praescientia sua opera futuradisponere Aug. de Perse nor can all the powers of earth hinder the execution of his will we must confess that Predestination being the first of his Decrees must of necessity be irrevocable He himself says it that he knows all his sheep that no man can take them out of his hands that they cannot be blotted out of the book of Life and that all the malice of the devils cannot destroy those he hath a minde to save If this Maxime be true we must infallibly conclude that the salvation of the Elect is not grounded upon their Liberty but upon Grace and that their perseverance in the ways of goodness depends not absolutely upon their Free-will but upon the assistance of Jesus Christ For if it be true that there is nothing more changeable then the Will of Man and that the state of Innocency set him upon a rock Must we not confess that Predestination would be very uncertain had it no surer foundation and that the salvation of the Elect would run a great hazard did it rely onely upon a sufficient grace depending meerly upon their Liberty Let us confess therefore with S. Augustine that since the Fall of man there is a grace whose effect is infallible that it changeth our Will to convert it gives us strength to combat inspires us with constancy to persevere and securing us from the malice of Satan happily conducts us out of this miserable Banishment to our desired Country The Fourth DISCOURSE Different Opinions of the Power of the Christians Grace THough Man have very many proofs of his Weakness yet hath he more of his Ignorance he knows not that which he sees and that which he touches his Senses are better sighted then his Understanding and they judge more surely of their objects then the Intellect does of his The Qualities of things cloud their Essences every Accident is a veil cast over the eyes of the Soul and he undergoes all the troubles in the world to finde the Sun of Truth amidst the Shadows that cover it But his Ignorance is never more evident then when he seeks for the last differences of things he changes upon all occasions the more he goes on the more he wanders and finding no tracks that may steer him in an unknown path he many times takes Falshood for Truth Thence it comes to pass that we are acquainted with nothing but the Accidents or Proprieties of things and that we fall into Errour as often as we intend to judge of their Essences There is nothing more known to Christians then Grace a man must be a Pelagian to doubt of its vertue all our prayers are testimonies of its necessity and when we intreat of God to enable us to perform what he commands us to do we ask Grace â—â—thout naming it In the mean time Inctinantur ecram corda ut boc velint eo scilicet inclinante qui in nobis mirabili modo ineffabili operatur ut velit Aug. de praed cap. 20. there is nothing more hid then its Essence These twelve Ages men have disputed its power nor is it yet resolved wherein corsists that vertue that makes it efficacious Every one confesseth there are two kindes of Graces in Christianity One Habitual that gives the Christian his supernatural being that lifts him up to the participation of the Divine Nature and making him an Image of Jesus Christ makes him Man and God together The other Actual which elevates him in his operations makes him act heavenwards and renders his works holy and acceptable before God But few know wherein consists the power of this Grace what that is which without forcing our Liberty makes it irresistible in its designes The disciples of S. Thomas believe Grace effectual because it is an impulse of God raising and determining the Will as often as he moves and applies it Primum agens in agendo omnia agentia alia praevenit perficit conservat co quod ipsum omnibus dat esse unde dabit perfectiones concomitantes sequentes ad ipsum esso D. Thom. They ground themselves upon the power of the First cause which ought to regulate his state and guide his subjects according to their inclinations and according to their desires Thence it comes to passe that he inlightens with the Sun burns with the Fire reasons with Man acts necessarily with necessary Causes and freely with free Causes Thence it comes to passe also that he is free in the world that nothing is done contrary to his directions and that applying the creatures in their operations sees all his designs infallibly succeed For these Divines believe not that any thing is to be permitted to Fortune in the Kingdome of Providence nor that the knowledge of God is to be submitted to the capricious fancies of his creatures Therefore doe they put into his hands the reins of his whole Empire they will have him give motion to all his subjects to apply them in their operations and without offering them any violence execute his will by their inclinations If he abandons necessary Causes they produce Monsters if free Causes they commit sins and when he guides both of them in order of Nature or of Grace they are regular in their motions and happy in their productions But being the Principle the Glory belongs to him and the effects they produce ought rather to be ascrib'd to his Influence then to their Vertue This Predetermination of the creature in a supernaturall order is called Effectuall Grace among the Disciples of Saint Thomas and they are so wedded to this opinion that they believe a man cannot dissent from it without renouncing the meaning of Saint Paul overturning the order of Nature robbing God of his Soveraignty and taking from him the infallible knowledge of all events that happen in his State They never think to weaken the liberty of man by establishing the
for all the world that according to the saying of our Saviour ill interpreted it may be carried by violence and without passing thorow the Church a man may scale heaven The desire of their Salvation is the source of these unjust desires They chuse not this side nor embrace this opinion but because they believe it favours their hopes Vanity is mixt with Interest being the children of Adam they imitate the pride of their Father they are guilty of his crime before they are aware nor do they consider that whilst they go about to subject Grace to their Liberty they follow his steps who had a minde to be god for no other end but that he might live an Independent in respect of his Soveraign But were they far enough from the vain oftentation of their first father they would certainly fall into his misfortune whilst they think to avoid it For all Theologie assures us that Men and Angels were lost because their Grace being subjected to their Liberty made them not constant in good they made ill use of their advantage because they were masters of it nor did they fall into sin but because their salvation was put into their own hands Their Fall teacheth us that we can have no weaker support then our selves that the Grace which relies onely upon our own Will is very frail and that sinners that ground their hope upon the certainty of their resolution are very blinde or very proud The Angels were much more illuminated then we their light was much purer then ours their strength was not mixt with weakness These pure spirits were not embodied in flesh and blood and Nature being happily united with Grace in their person banished all disorders that are in the creature by reason of sin In the mean time all these advantages hindered them not from falling the first temptation shook their Liberty because not submitted to Grace The beauty of Lucifer dazled them and struck them in love his promises made them forget those of God and the hope they fancied of raigning with that proud Angel made them side with him in his rebellion All these misfortunes have no other Cause but the weakness of Liberty and he that should ask these wretched spirits in the midst of their torments would receive no other answer but that their Grace was unprofitable because it depended upon their Will Neither are you to object that the faithful Angels were saved by the same succour the other neglected because all Divines are not agreed and 't is disputed in the Schools of the assistance they received to oppose the rebellion of Lucifer The greatest part of the Fathers were of opinion that the mystery of the Incarnation was revealed to them at that instant that they drew force from Jesus Christ that they fought under his banner that they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and that they owe their triumphs to the Sacrifice of his death S. Augustine is of this belief and though according to his Principles Si utrique boni squaliter creati sunt istis mala voluntate cadentibus illi amplius adjuti ad eam beatitudinis plenitudinem unde se nunquā casuros certissimi fierent pervenerunt Aug. l. 12. de Civ Dei c. 9. it seems we must conclude that the good Angels were not recompensed but because their Will made good use of their Grace he unsays it in other places and confesseth ingenuously that they received new assistances and that they were victorious because they were better seconded then the others I know what may be said in answer to this passage but I finde it so clear and uttered in such strong expressions that those that explain it will pardon me if I remain in my opinion and if with S. Augustine I believe that the good Angels owe not their salvation to Grace Sufficient but to that Christian Grace the Word Incarnate merited for them by his travels Though Man was not advantaged equal to the Angels neither in Nature nor in Grace because they were Hierarchies and one was the rule of the other yet every one confesseth Mans Will was created right his Understanding cleared his Senses faithful and his Passions obedient He felt not those revolts which now trouble our rest the Flesh warred not against the Spirit and those two parts notwithstanding their difference were not as yet enemies original righteousness composed their quarrels and living in good intelligence under the dominion of this prerogative they conspired together mans felicity Sufficient Grace was always offered him whatever enterprise he took in hand this faithful companion never left him she came to his aid as often as he called upon her or rather preventing his desires and his necessities waited his orders and directions Nevertheless amidst all these priviledges miserable man lost himself the first temptation made him forget his duty though he knew that his Soul was taken out of Nothing and his body formed of the slime of the earth he suffered himself to be perswaded that in violating the Laws of God he could make himself immortal Whence think you proceeded this misfortune and what was the cause of so dismal a disgrace 'T was not the strength of the temptation for that was ridiculous and we cannot yet conceive how it could make any impression upon the minde of a Rational creature 'T was not Concupiscence for this infamous daughter was not born before her Father nor had Sin as yet given her a Being 'T was not the refusal of Grace for it was due to man in this state or at least was never denied him 'T was then his Liberty which was the cause of his misfortune his Will which without being forced by temptation corrupted by the Senses or sollicited by the Passions made no use of Grace and so fell headlong into sin If it be true that Free-will was so impotent in the state of Innocence What can we expect in the state of sin And if Sufficient Grace supported by original righteousness hindered not Man from falling What assistance can we promise our selves thence now that it is assaulted by Concupiscence Let us rest our Salvation upon a surer Foundation let us implore some more vigorous Grace let us give our Liberty leave to be over-born by its motions let us grow wise by our Fathers losses and not pitch our hope upon a succout which ruined him onely because he was subject to his Will Grace is changed with Nature as this is not in her primitive purity neither is the other in her primitive weakness JESUS CHRIST is come to be the Founder of a New Order in the world and because he findes men in infirmities which they had during the state of Innocence he furnisheth them with stronger Graces that the Remedie surpassing the Disease may afford them a perfect Cure When he had to do with Adam whose vigour was natural because his Forces were not yet divided he left his Salvation at his own disposal and giving him a Grace
Judge and Executioner In the quality of a Witness he is bound to examine his Conscience to Wrack his Memory to search the inmost thoughts of his Minde the secretest intentions of his Will and to convent himself before himself without Excuse or Flattery As a Judge he ought to consider the Number and the Quality of the crimes dextrously to examine the prisoner carefully to observe the cause of the fault and with Justice to pronounce sentence whereby the Criminal may suffer according to his desert and the party offended receive fatisfaction to his dignity And because soul and body are both concerned in the sin they must be joyntly condemned but the soul being the author of the iniquity and the body but the minister or complice he must begin the correction by an inward sadness mixed with Fear and Love and finish it by an external pain attended with Shame and Sorrow For there would be a kinde of Injustice to separate those in the Punishment that were Partners in the Fault and the Repentance would be imperfect did it not reach the body as well as the soul Having pronounced righteous judgement the Judge must take upon him the quality of the Executioner and execute what himself hath ordained being zealous for the Justice of God betraying Self-love so that he abandon it to Charity and full of anger and indignation revenge Jesus Christ upon his enemy All true Penitents have done thus the Contrition of their spirit hath produced the Maceration of their body and having conceived a mortal displeasure at their offences they have obliged their eyes to bewail them their hands to punish them and their mouthes to confess them They joyned Fastings to Prayer Watchings to Reading Discipline to Obedience that mortifying both soul and body they might obtain pardon for both these offenders Nothing can yeeld such assistance to so good a designe as the consideration of a second quality of Repentance For it takes the name from Pain 't is a Punishment as well as a Judgement 't is mingled with Grace and Rigour In peccatorem poenitentia pronuntians pro Dei indignatione fungitur temporali afflictatione aeterna supplicia non dicam frustratur sed expungit Tertul. and according to the conceit of Tertullian 't is an abridgement of eternal pains The sinner if a believer is not ignorant that his crimes which inflict death upon his soul merit hell he knows very well the decree is gone out the truth whereof he cannot question and that every transgressor that loseth Grace is worthy of the Torments the devil and his angels suffer When he is converted therefore and by the favour of Repentance hath his sins remitted he is obliged in spirit to descend into the centre of the earth to consider the pains the damned endure and then to equalize his sorrow he ought to imitate what he hath seen and to deal so severely with himself that he may satisfie that Justice which inflicts eternal punishments upon his enemies But nothing ought so much to animate him against himself as the consideration of his offence which being in its own nature infinite merits eternal punishments For though the sin be committed in a moment Momentaneum est quod delectat aeternum est quod cruciat Greg. Mag. and the pleasure that accompanies it be but an illusion yet doth it put the sinner in a condition out of which he cannot arise but by Grace which is not at his disposal He falls into this abyss by his own proper motion but he cannot get out of it by his own strength He may defend himself when he is tempted but being overcome he cannot rid himself of his enemy He enters into a slavery that insensibly engageth him into a necessity If Grace which he cannot challenge as his due prevent him not he lives and dies in a very deplorable condition and carries the same minde into hell which he cherished upon the earth Therefore doth the Divine Justice that reads mens hearts and looks rather upon the dispositions then actions of offenders inflict an eternal punishment upon a sin not fully finished and condemns a transgressor to endless torments who had always offended had he always lived But though he should not retain this unhappie disposition till his death 't is enough to merit an everlasting punishment that he hath committed a sin whose malice hath no bounds For Reason tells us there is no proportion between the Creature and the Creator the distance that separates them is infinite and therefore the sinner that forsakes the Creator to adhere is infinite Qui peccat mortaliter vult Deum esse impotentem aut injustum aut insipientem quia vellet Deum aut sua peccata nescire aut vindicare non posse aut vindicare nolle Bern. offers him an infinite injury which cannot justly be punished but by an eternaltorment Indeed he endeavours to destroy God by his offence he would rob him of his perfections and in the minde he is in to content himself he would have God void of light to see him without goodness to hate him without power to correct him Therefore is the Penitent at the sight of so many disorders and injustices obliged to make war upon himself to take Gods part against himself to punish a delinquent severely whose due it is to burn eternally and to continue a torment during his life which ought to continue for all generations The Tenth DISCOURSE Of the Renunciation and Self-denial of a Christian POlicie and Religion in the difference of their designes exact the same dispositions in their subjects Policie will have men prefer Publike interests before Private and to sacrifice their Fortune for the preservation of the State Religion also will have men consider nothing but the glory of Jesus Christ being always ready to immolate themselves in his quarrel Policie will not have men wedded to their goods lest Avarice should make them cowards Religion going a step further obligeth them to a voluntary poverty and will have them really or in affection divorced from their riches Finally Policie will have Subjects renounce their Will that they be more the States then their own Families and depend more upon their Soveraign then on Themselves Religion requires the same duty from her disciples Qui vult venire post me abneget semetipsum tollat crucem suam sequatur me Luc. 9. and will ahve them renounce their inclinations when they are admitted into the Church and Jesus Christ to be the Master of their actions and of their persons All the Maximes she gives us tend to this end all her counsels inspire us with this disposition and it seems the whole Gospel hath no other intention then to make us die to our selves that we may be guided by Jesus Christ And certainly we must confess If there be Rigour in the designe there is much Justice in it For besides that the Church no more then the State can subsist without submission and
dead serve for a nourishment to the living and to give him a resurrection by an artifice which can find no excuse but in the excesse of that passion that gave it a being Thus we read that disconsolate Artemisia having lost her dear Mausolus Mortui cineres vino commistos ebibit memoriae ejus tam splendidum sepulchrum erexit ut magnifica monumenta deinceps Mausolea ab illius nomine fuerint appellaii Gelli lib. 10. cap. 18. could not satisfie her love but by swallowing his ashes thereby to be united to him and to make him still co-habit with her Her grief spared nothing that might comfort an afflicted wife in honouring the memory of so dearly a beloved husband she employed the most famous Orators of her time to sweeten her sorrows and to make the Panegyrick of him she had lost she erected a staely monument which passeth for one of the seven wonders of the world and having not seen any Tomb that can equal its magnificence gives a denomination to this day to those of the the greatest Monarchs of the Universe But inasmuch as nothing can content the extremity of love and ordinary remedies doe but aggravate a violent sorrow this afflicted lover resolved to drink the ashes of her dead husband Vt esset vivum spirans conjugis sepulchrū that changing them into her substance she might expire with him or he survive together with her Me thinks the Son of God compleated in the Eucharist what love engaged this amorous Princess to attempt For being united to us in this Sacrament and converting us into himself by the mighty working of his infinite Power we may say he re-animates ashes because he raiseth the dead and converts sinners So that of all the alliances he hath contracted with us we must needs acknowledge this the closest and most intimate 'T was certainly a great testimony of his love when he was incarnate in the chast Womb of his Virgin Mother and clothing himself with our flesh took upon him the burden of our sins and of the punishments due unto them it was a consequence of this love when he vouchsafed to converse with us and treating us as his brethren gave us part in the inheritance of his glory It was a proof of his compassion when he became our Advocate to his Father pleaded our Cause before his Throne and to purchase an act of oblivion for all our transgressions mingled his tears with his bloud in the garden of Olives It was me thinks the utmost expression of his love when he became our Surety upon the Crosse loaded himself with our sins to enrich us with his merits and made an exchange with us which cost him his life and procured us salvation Nevertheless all these favours united him not with men and when he was our Brother Cum autem datur in cibum unio perfecta est uniuntur enim in unitate corporis cibus qui cibum sumit Di. Tho. our Advocate our Surety he was not one person with us But in the Eucharist wherein he is our nourishment his love hath found out the secret of incorporating us with him he yet unites man with God he repeats the Mystery of the Incarnation he does that in favour of all men which he only did for Humanity and he works a thousand times one miracle in the Bosome of the Church which he acted but once in the Womb of his Mother For if we compare the Eucharist with the Incarnation we shall find that in the one God is made Man in the other Men became Gods In the one he is united to our nature in the other to our person in the one he is invested with our miseries in the other he apparels us with his greatness But because in all these Alliances we meet not with that of Mother he is willing that his body conceived by the Virgin should be also produced by the Priests upon our Altars that they might be his parents and might boast that the Incarnation hath no preeminence above the Eucharist For the Scripture teacheth us that Jesus Christ in his birth is the work of the holy Ghost and of the Virgin both these persons became mutually pregnant Mary restores to the holy Ghost what she received from him and when she became the Mother of the Son of God he became the Principle The same Jesus in his Passion is the work of sinners they condemn him to death by the mouth of Pilate nail him to the Cross by the hands of the Executioners and despoil him of his honour and his life by the outrages of the Jews In the Resurrection he is the pure work of his Father he it is that draws him from the grave who gives him the recompence of his labours exalts him to glory and makes him raign everlastingly with him But in the Eucharist he is the work of the Priests 't is their word that makes him present upon our Altars their intention that makes him descend from heaven in the name of all the Faithful these are the powerful Ministers that conceive him and bring him forth that this holy Sacrament may perfect all the Alliances the mystery of the Incarnation had begun and that we may have this consolation to know that there is no union in Nature we contract not with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist The Sixth DISCOURSE Of the dispositions the Christian ought to bring with him to receive this Nourishment IF it be a truth that great benefits require great acknowledgements we must confess that extraordinary Mysteries require extraordinary dispositions nor that they must otherwise be approacht unto then with that reverence which is due to sacred things 'T is a Sacriledge to have to do with them with a prophane spirit and we do but expose our selves to the indignation of heaven when we think to partake of them without that preparation their stupendious holiness doth require The Levites were not admitted to the service of the Altar before they were purified The High-Priest went not into the Sanctuary of the Temple till he had expiated his sins by the blood of a Sacrifice neither did the Prophets deliver Oracles to the people till the holy Spirit who spake with their mouth resided in their heart The Eucharist therefore being the most august of our Mysteries obligeth us to very great and reverential dispositions Each quality 't is attended with exacts a particular preparation and all the titles it bears demand of the receivers as many different vertues Inasmuch as it is the most hidden Mystery of our Religion whose wonders deceive our eyes whose lustre dazzles the sunshine of our neerest observation the manner of Christs residing there being altogether imperceptible to our Senses and unconceiveable to our Understandings we are obliged to bring along with us much Faith and little Reasoning a blinde obedience is a Sacrifice that must accompany this oblation of the Son of God upon our Altars and at the same time
as in that of an Elect. This Attribute is not lesse delicate then zealous all transgressions scandalize it nor does any thing bear the stamp of sin that does not offer it violence she hath more enemies then the rest of her sisters and if the other perfections of God are dishonoured by some particular crimes this is by all inquities of what kind soever Those that sin of infirmity and pretend to find their excuse in the cause of their offence dash only upon the power of the Almighty Those that sin out of ignorance and conceive themselves not guilty because they are blind offend only the wisdom of God Those that transgress out of malice and who are less excusable because more enlightned wound only the Goodness of God and though so highly criminal perswade themselves that wronging but one of his perfections the rest will be favourable towards them But all sinners together injure Holiness and as there is not one who turns not his back upon the Creator to embrace the creature neither is there any that dishonours not this Attribute whose principal design is to unite them to their Creator Though Sanctity be thus injuriously dealt with it ceaseth not to be most profitable to Christians and so well manageth their interests with those of God that it produceth all the miracles which so highly advance his Greatness and their merit All the other perfections study more our glory then our salvation Power makes only Kings and when it would draw admiration from mortals Singula Dei Attâ—ibuta singulos Angelorü hominü ordines effinxerunt Marsil Fisci de religione is content to raise Shepheards to the Throne Wisdom makes Philosophers and communicating to them a part of its light gives them the understanding of the works of God Providence makes Politicians or Prophets and discovering to both of them the secrets of futurity inspires them with a science which is not learnt in the Schools But Holiness more happy and more powerful makes Saints which are Gods Master-pieces separates them from the creatures and unites them to the Creator transforms them into him or to use the words of Scripture makes commenced Gods by Grace and perfect Gods by Glory 'T is to this height of honour that all Christians are destin'd They bear this glorious title in the Gospel Saint Paul treats them as Saints in all his Epistles and as their sanctity is an effusion of Gods it obligeth them to knock off from all things that they may be united to him and to cling so close unto him that nothing can separate them Therefore is it that the Religion that leads us to Holiness invites us to a Divorce with all things else The Son of God admits none into his School of whom he exacts not this promise The Church who imitates him as her Husband requires this disposition of all her Children when she conceives them in her womb by the operation of the Holy Ghost and the vertue of the waters of Baptism she will have them renounce the vanities of the world and like the Apostles forsake their riches in deed or in affection The first is matter of counsel the second of obligation Multum deseruit qui voluntatem babendi dereliquit à sequentibus Christum tanta relicta sunt quanta à non sequentibus defiderari potuerunt Greg neither is there any creature who is not bound to say with Saint Peter Ecce nos reliquimus omnia I know there are those that laugh at the Confession of this Apostle and with Saint Hierome find it no hard matter for a man to leave all whose whole demeans was but a skiffe and a net But had they well considered the vast extent of our hopes and our desires they would find this man left very much because he bid adiew to all things these two passions could possibly promise him This first disposition is not the only abnegation the Son of God requires of us it serves but for a step to ascend to a more difficult one and having injoyn'd us the contempt of riches obligeth us to deny our selves 'T is not enough to be admitted into his School for a man to forsake his goods he must withall renounce his inclinations and pursuing the evil into its very root offer up his will for an Holocaust Had he been content with the first disposition he had exacted no more of his Disciples then vain-glory had obtain'd of its vassal Philosophers have parted with their goods to defend themselves from covetousness or discontent which usually accompanies great fortunes The Ambitious are so deeply in love with glory that they contentedly part with all riches The Prodigal seem as it were angry with money and the lavish expences they make testifies they more undervalue then prize them But both of them are wedded to themselves the more they strip themselves of their goods the more are they wrapt up in their inclinations and the less they have of avarice the more are they puft up with pride and vain-glory Therefore is it that the Son of God willing wholly to to cure man passeth from Poverty to Self-denial and having counselled us to part with our riches commands us to shake hands with our selves Saint Paul following the steps of his Master teacheth us that they only who have crucified the flesh with the lusts thereof deserve the name of Christians and speaking elsewhere of himself witnesseth that to live to God he was bound to crucifie himself with Jesus Christ He makes them pass for enemies to the Cross who love themselves and not content to declaim against uncleanness makes an invective against those stately sins which including man within himself left him not above the degree of beasts but to equal him with Devils Finally he will have all those who are risen with the Son of God to be taken up with the contempt of the Earth and to be quickned with the desires of Heaven Though this first condition of Holiness gives us occasion to see that there are very few Saints in the world the second which is union with God will more strongly perswade us of it For sin being nothing but a separation from God holiness which is so opposite thereto is nothing but an alliance with God Those that are most united to him are the greatest Saints nor does any thing more gloriously distinguish Christians from Philosophers then this happy connexion Every Sect hath formed an Idea of the supream good and done their utmost to fasten their Disciples to it The Epicures who acknowledge no other good but voluptuousness had no other passion but for this Goddess The Stoicks who adored nothing but the mind spent all their veneration upon this Idol and the Academicks who doated only upon Morall vertue laboured meerly to gain her But Christians who know that pleasure makes none but effeminate that the love of understanding renders men arrogant and that of vertue it self when it mounts not high enough makes only idolaters set
the Captives that pine away for the loss of Liberty in prisons and those Miscreants that are broken upon the Wheel endure the extremity of Torments but because their sin is the cause of their punishment they may be sufferers but they cannot be Martyrs To deserve this Quality Nemo se extollat glorietur de passione nam si attendamus solâ—s passiones coronantur latrones si de passione gloriandum est potest ipse diabolus gloriari Aug. the interest of God must be mixt with Grief and the suffering takes its estimate from the justice of the Cause The Macchabees are Martyrs because they suffered for the Law of God and rather then violate it courageously lost their lives S. John Baptist augments the number of these glorious Champions because he died for the defence of Chastity and is the first victim this excellent vertue receiv'd The Saints who have spilt their blood in the Churches quarrels and have fought against Infidels or Hereticks for the interest of Faith justly deserve the quality of Martyrs and the Christian happily shares it with them because he suffers in obedience to Jesus Christ For when he pardons those that persecute him stifles those just resentments which are occasioned by injuries when he gives Calumny leave to blast his reputation and loseth Goods or Honour because he will not break the Commandments or violate the Counsels of the Son of God Non Martyrium sola effusio sanguinis consummat necsola dat palmam exustio flammarum pervenitur non solum occasu sed etiam contemptu Carnis ad Coronam Aug. Ser. 46 de Sanctis he is not less worthy of the name of Martyr then those that have shed their blood for the defence of his honour 'T is of such a one that we may say Occasion was wanting to his Will and that he had been in the Catalogue of Martyrs had he lived in the time of persecution But not to betray the Cause that I defend I am obliged to say that to be vertuous is title enough to be a Martyr For since Nature is corrupted by sin there is no Vertue that is not accompanied with Grief We learn Vices without a Master we carry the seeds of them in our souls and preventing bad examples we act wickedness before we have seen it But Christian vertues are so difficult that their conquest costs us much labour and travel we learn them with much ado forget them easily preserve them with care neither is it Nature nor Art but Grace and Sorrow that forms the Habit in us They cross our Inclinations we must fight to gain them and seeing wickedness is passed into our Nature Vertues are become our Torments The Darkness we come into the world with clouds the light of our Prudence the infirmities we have inherited from our first Father make the victory over Strength extremely difficult Interest which is inseparable from Self-love is an opposition naturally set against Justice and this heat without which we cannot live and by a deplorable unhappiness entertains the flames of Impurity is an obstacle to Continence It produceth thoughts which stain the lustre of this Vertue motions which trouble its rest so that S. Augustine had great reason to say that of all the Trials of a Christian the most furious was that of Chastity where the Conflict is so long the Victory so rare and the Danger so great I would adde to the words of this holy man without varrying much from his conceit that 't is the sharpest Martyrdom a Believer can endure because he confesseth in another place that to mortifie the Flesh to tame Pride makes up the best part of the Martyr 'T is perhaps upon this ground that the rigid Tertullian who hath defended the advantages of Chastity with the prejudice of Truth it self hath acknowledged this vertue so austere that 't is easier to die for her Majus est in castitate vivere quà m pro castitate mori Terâ— then to live with her As if he would tacitely insinuate that 't is a harder matter to be chaste then to be a Martyr and that a Christian who hath overcome impurity may easily subdue grief If having considered the severity of the Vertues we consider the rigour of the Gospel we shal finde it cannot be obeyed without the badg of Martyrdom Every People hath its Laws and there are none so barbarous whom Nature or Custom have not furnished with some Policy The Greeks lived according to the Laws of their Sages The Romanes followed the Twelve Tables and those that had neither Kings nor Law-givers have had for their guide the light of Nature which is a relique of Innocence The Jews were governed by the Law of Moses which if it gave them not strength enough to combat sin it gave them light enough to know and avoid it But the Christian hath so severe a Law that if Love did not sweeten the severity thereof it would drive men to despair and more tragical then Judaism would occasion not onely prevaricators but obstinate and hardned disciples For it hath not one Article which is not a Paradox and which thwarts not the Reason as well as the Inclinations of sinners The First is that to love God aright we must hate our selves and bestowing all our affection upon him reserve nothing but hatred for our selves The second is to renounce our Will that is to say to quit all the advantages Nature hath endued us with not to reason in our Mysteries not to listen to our Inclinations in the practise of Vertues The Third which is not less rigid and seems to violate the sweetest Laws of Nature obligeth us to forsake father and mother and to trample upon the belly of her that bare us to follow the voice of him that calls us to his service But the Fourth which hath to deal with the dearest and most violent of our Passions commands us to pardon our enemies to forget the injuries they have done us and to stifle all those just resentments the love of honour or of life can possess us with Who will not pronounce these Laws so many tortures these Commandments so many Pursuivants making inquisition after our Inclinations into the very inmost recesses of our Wils and one while lopping of love another while Hatred subjects us to as many sufferings as Martyrs undergo whose arms or legs were chopt off by the cruelty of Tyrants This made S. Augustine confess that the life of a Christian was a painful Martyrdom Vita Christiani si secundum Evangelium vivat crux est Martyrium Aug. nor that any man could observe the Laws of the Gospel but must condemn himself to a punishment as grievous as that of the Cross For this reason also will I make it appear in this following Discourse that Christians suffer more then the Martyrs These glorious Heroes of the Church suffered for the most part but in the body their souls were quiet in the midst of
their affections upon the supream good and seeking their felicity in God say with David Mihi autem adhaerere Deo bonum est 'T is in this point properly that holinesse consists he that wisheth any thing else is blind or wretched and he that wasts himself with other desires is not yet fully informed that the supream good is the end and rest of the Christian Therefore is it that Saint Augustine speaking to his Auditors uttered these notable words Let us be grieved to see men distracted with the diversity of their desires Let us see their different conditions which arise from the difference of their designs Let some take arms and seek for Glory in the mouth of Danger hazard their lives to get themselves a Name and place their happinesse in killing and slaying Let others more harmlesse but not lesse ambitious plead at the Barr gain reputation in defending Innocence and aspire to the Glory of Orators being not able to purchase that of Conquerors Let others more humble but not lesse interessed hold commerce and Traffique with Strangers passe the Seas to content their Avarice descend into the bowels of the Earth to dig out Treasures Let others more Innocent but not lesse miserable till the ground master barrenness by their laborious Improvement and at the years end reap a rich and plentifull harvest Let all these different Conditions divide the heap of perishable Goods between them but let Beleevers instructed in a better School protest that God is their portion and that now and for ever they will have no other Inheritance These last words insinuate to us the last circumstance of Holiness which is not true if it be not Constant and pertinent A little to clear this Truth we must know there is no Christian that is not united to God the Character he received in his Baptism is a mark of his dependance Faith which he retains with sin is a sacred tye fastning him to Jesus Christ and gives him the honour to be a member of his Body Charity is a perfect Bond compleating what the others have begun which knits him so close to his Head that their Good and Evill are indivisible But if the Christian intend to be Holy Perseverance must second Charity and this faithfull vertue link them so constantly to the son of God that nothing can separate them Many heard his words admired his miracles loved his person who because they fell off attained not to that excellent title of Saints 'T is this last Condition which Crownes Holinesse the ultimate Character distinguishing the Elect from the Reprobate Finally Absque perseverantia nec qui pugnat victoriam nec palmā victor consequitur Bernard 't is this glorious mark that finisheth our salvation and begins our Beatitude It depends absolutely upon the good pleasure of God and as he refuseth it not without Justice neither does he indulge it but out of exceeding mercy It fixeth our will without constraining it renders it immoveable without taking away its liberty and gives it so much force that it equally triumphs over Griefs that astonish us and pleasures that corrupt us He that hath not this Grace cannot complain nor can he persevere He cannot complain because God denies it not but to his sin nor is his Reprobation founded upon any thing but his Infidelity He cannot persevere because this assistance depends not upon his Merit It being the immutable Decree of Gods good will and pleasure which makes men Saints and blessed It is by vertue of this Eternal ordinance that they resist temptations ouer-rule Tyrants and vanquish Devils 'T is by vertue of this internall Grace that they defie all Creatures and say with Saint Paul That nothing can separate them from Jesus Christ I am sure saith that Great Apostle that Death with his terrors Life with its charms Angels with their beauties Devils with their deformities Things present with their allurements Things future with their promises Heaven with its glory Hell with its torment can never separate me from the love of God And indeed how should they saith St Augustine because Death though never so hideous leads us to Him Life is found in his possession Angels and Devils are the Ministers of his Justice or of his mercy Things present are false Things to come uncertain Hell with God would be my Happinesse and Paradise without him my Torment Or if we will take this passage another way let us say again with Saint Augustine That nothing can separate us from Jesus Christ Not Death because there is none so dismall as to be deprived of his Love Not the Angels because being united to him we are stronger then all Spirits combined together Not the vexations of life because they are sweet when undergone for his Honour and serve only to give us a nearer conjunction to his person Not things to come because nothing can be bestowed nor promised which can countervail him Not Heaven because it is the recompence of those that serve him Not Hell because it is made for none but those that forsake him From all this Discourse it is easie to judge that the perfect Christian is a Saint that he ought to be wholly unbottomed from all things and so closely united to Jesus Christ that nothing can remove him But 't is easie to judge withall that we are at a great distance from Holiness because a small Interest a weak Temptation a shameful pleasure a light Injury separates us daily from him for whom we ought to sacrifice our Interests renounce our pleasures subdue our Temptations and forget our Injuries The Sixth DISCOURSE That the Christian is a Martyr THe condition of Christians would be very miserable did their vertue depend upon their Enemies and were they so streightened that they could not compass the Crown of Martyrdom but must be beholding to the Cruelty of Tyrants But the Peace of the Church hath her Martyrs as well as her Persecution Love is witty enough to exercise their Courage without employing the fury of Infidels Every Christian may without Impiety be his own Executioner and provided he live according to the Laws the son of God hath prescribed him will finde his punishment in his obedience All the vertues of Christianity will assist him in this designe Every Maxime of the Gospel will make a part in his Agony and having practised all that Jesus Christ commands or counsels he may boast though he be an unprofitable servant he ceaseth not to be a faithful Martyr For if it be true that the Cause and the Punishment makes the Martyrs we must confess that all they that live according to the Laws of Christianity may lawfully pretend to this glorious quality because they suffer much and for the height of their happiness they suffer for the Son of God This last condition is so necessary that in the judgement of S. Augustine 't is not so much the Punishment as the Cause that makes the Martyr The Gally-slaves that tug at the Oar