that Vice he advises him not to look upon the Wine for as the Beauty of a prostitute Harlot so the Colour of Wine will inflame our Desires after it Prov. 23. 31. After this method Iob resolv'd I have made a covenant with mine eyes why then should I look upon a maid Job 31. 1. VI. NEXT You must observe this Caution If you find your Heart never so much resolving against and detesting of any Sin yet be very circumspect that you confide not upon the strength of Resolution but earnestly deprecate the Almighty that he would enable you by his Divine Power and that as he has given you the Will so he would give you his Grace to perform it SECT IX Of Vows AS your Resolutios are so let your Vows be rather against the Occasions of Sin than against Sin it self In things Indifferent beware of making any Perpetual Vow but rather let it be Conditional As First That you will abstain from such a thing or perform what you design'd unless you shall be otherwise advised by some discreet sober Person Secondly Add this Caution if thou art guilty of Drinking viz. If I think of it I will not drink Wine this Month. Now if a Breach of this Vow be made though you did not think of it you sin if your Vow be absolute II. THE next Caution concerning Things Indifferent is this Add a Penalty upon the Breach oâ— your Vow which may be to this purpose I resolve to set a-part one Hour in the Day in Prayer for the Church to the End of this Month or else give Alms to the Poor In such a case if we perform either we sin not And the reason of our Penalty is because some Inconveniences may arise which may prove very prejudicial to us and then we have liberty to take the other part of our Vow viz. To give so much to the Poor III. NOW this Penalty we inflict upon our selves must not be too light and trivial but of such consequence as may be obligatory yet not of that ponderosity to be prejudicial For a rich Man to vow he will bestow a small Matter on the Poor is inconsiderable yet perhaps by a poor Man the same Value may be of too large an extent But let your Penalty be according to the Rules of Scripture and Reason and opposite to those Sins which are most prevalent in thee For Example If Covetousness reigns in thee exercise thy Penalty in Alms If Voluptuousness Prayer and Fasting or abstaining wholly for a time from thy greatest Delight and Recreation IV. LASTLY Let your Vows be rather against the External than the Internal Acts of Sin rather against Speaking angrily than being Angry For though External Acts of Sin are worse yet we have not so much dominion over them If your Vows extend to the Performance of Holy Duties let it be as to the Time not the Quantity For Example Should'st thou bind thy self to read such a number of Chapters perhaps thou art tempted to read them too hastily over whereas if thou dost allot thy self so much Time thou art not so liable to this Temptation SECT X. How to Conclude your Meditations FIRST Thou must earnestly beseech the Almighty to give thee Strength to perform whatever thou hast resolv'd to act in his Service This must be perform'd fervently though briefly and humbly from an earnest Desire to act what thou hast promised and resolved and also from an humble sense of thine Inability in the Performance Next express thy Thankfulness and when thou findest any Alteration wrought in thy Hearr to detest Sin give God the Glory and rejoyce not in thy self except it be with trembling at thy own Pride and Arrogancy II. NEXT We are to remember what Parts of our Medtation did most affect us and lay them up so in our Thoughts that frequently we may ponder on ' em Lastly When thy Meditations are ended depart not hastily to thy Temporal Employments Go not from the Presence of the Almighty as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler with alacrity and speed but go vigilantly and warily from Holy Duties The Collects to be said Before or After Meditation O LORD from whom all good Things do come grant to me thy humble Servant that by thy holy Inspiration I may Think those things that be good and by thy merciful guiding may Perform the same through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen GRANT to me Lord I beseech thee the Spirit to Think and Doe always such things as be rightful that I who cannot do any thing that is good without thee may by thee be enabled to live according to thy Will through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen I BESEECH Thee Almighty God look upon the hearty Desires of me the humblest of thy Servants and send forth the Right-hand of thy Majesty to be my Defence against all my Enemies through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen MED I. Confession of Sin 1 John i. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness OMNIPOTENT God my Sins ever appear in my sight and are a Torment unto my Mind every Day I think of thy Judgment because Death threatens me every Hour And when I remember I must appear before the Iudgment-seat of Christ 2 Cor. 5. 10. then I exaamine my whole Life and find it is altogether Vanity my Actions are vain my Words profane and my Thoughts unprofitable If the shadow of some Vertue appears it is imperfect because Original Sin and my vitiated Nature hath polluted it II. IF all our righteousness are as filthy rags Isa. 64. 6. what can we expect our Unrighteousness should be Our Saviour tells us When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you say we are unprofitable servants Luk. 17. 10. And if we are so unprofitable in our Acts of Obedience certainly we are abominable in our Transgressions St. Gregory in his Morals tells us A diminutive Light may shine in Obscurity but being set in the Sun is darken'd Wood not measured may appear strait but applied to the Rule is found oblique The Impress of a Seal may appear perfect in the Eyes of the Spectators and yet be very imperfect in the Eye of the Artificer So that which glitters in the Estimation of the Performer is often-times sordid in the Discretion of the Judger For the Thoughts of God are different from the Thoughts of Men Isa. 55. 8. III. THE Memory of many Sins affrights me and yet there are divers I am ignorant of Who can tell how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou me from my secret faults Psal. 19. 12. I dare not look up to Heaven because I have offended him which inhabits there In Earth I enjoy no Refuge expecting nothing from the Creatures because I have offended the Lord of the Universe My Adversary the Devil accuseth me to the Almighty and desires him the most Just Judge to condemn me to Chains of
must live again that his Life may be remember'd Nor yet is it so much the Terror of Death as the Horrors of a Guilty Conscience the formidable Prognosticks of a Future Etetnity that affrights the departing Soul The Pangs and Anguish of expiring Nature are insignificant to those Stings that attend the Memory of our Crimes The deep Sorrows of the Grave and our being Extinct here for ever are Joys to the Miseries which remain behind but will certainly come IV. INFORM me now thou that art so indulgent to the World and hunts for Paradise in a Park of Sins thou that makest Terrestrial things thy Treasure and foldest up the Riches of thy Hopes in the Bosom of Old Time or the Compass of a Span when those lucid and swift Guides of Life thine Eyes shall wax dim with Age or tired with Pain when every Member shall become Sorrow's Object and those Parts which were so employ'd in the Operation of Sin shall become Instruments of Despair when that delectable Frame that magnificent Darling Edifice thy Body shall by its shivering Qualms and trembling Convulsions consternate its disconsolate Owner how will the Fulgurations of a Future Justice and the Terrours of thy Ultimate End confound thee V. CAN those transitory Enjoyments that allured away thy Immortal Part restore it in convenient time Can those Pleasures which bereft thee of Heaven recover it again before Death puts a period to thy Life Can thy Pomps and Vanities asswage or allay thy deep Sorrows or the Memento of thy Sins the Destruction of thy End Where 's that soft Musick whose select Airs like David's Harp might charm the Cries of a Guilty Conscience and by its skilful Strains drop a pleasant Harmony that might pacifie the Trouble of thy anguish'd Soul IV. WHERE are those expanded Trophies of empty Glories thy Ambition has purchas'd at the easie Rate of only sinning for greedy Honour for which thou hast traffiqu'd and sold Heaven That Sovereignty for which thou enslavest thy self and lost the perfect Freedom of thy Immortal Soul Cannot all thy Grandeur excite thee up a little and by a fumy Power once so formidable and applauded reprieve thee from the unsatisfy'd Grave or a more Eternal Prison VII Where are those Goods of Fortune thou hast forfeited thine Inheritance for whose transporting Lustre deprived thee of thy Eye-sight and render'd thee dimmer than themselves Can they by their utmost Skill neither bribe nor purchase thy Pardon Or will the silent Grave require no other Fee than so rich a Miser Where are all those fine Diversions that divested thee of thy Piety and the Thoughts of thy Creator those pleasing deluding Vanities that swept away all sense of Heaven and fore-sight of thy Future State Are all shrunk into a Tomb and an unwelcom Period Are all thy Jocularities terminated in the Confines of a Sepulchral-Urn and no other Objects left for thy Concomitants but thy Crimes and those Terrours thy Guilt presents VIII BEHOLD now and stand amaz'd ye Adorers of the World more than of the Almighty and view the Portraiture of your End those Ruines you have so smoothly built on Try if your imaginary Felicities are Proof against this Arrow or can protect you from this Invader the only Conqueror of the World whose general Prison is but a Reserve for a worse and its Execution here but a Reprieve for a more durable and yet vital Mortality He that reign'd in Pleasures must expire in Flames and having long revelled it in Sin must expect to riot it in Torments and the misery is that wishing not to live he can never die IX AND yet how foolish and vain are our Desires still after the World How easie and alluringly O Lord are we led by the counterfeit and transitory Pleasures of this Life from Thee We cannot plead Ignorance but fully attest That the Wages of Sin is Death and yet how absurdly do we preferr its Service before Thine whose Recompence of Reward is Life and Immortality But The Period of Profaneness is Eternal Destruction and the Delights of Impiety end in Confusion and yet we eagerly embrace the fawning Proffers of Sin before the never-failing Promises of Everlasting Glory X. Have Pity O Holy Jesu upon the weak Frailties of our Humane and Corrupt Natures And we humbly implore Thee to pardon and forgive the profuse Irregularities of our whole Lives Grant unto us O Lord a perpetual Supply of noble and ardent Defires to run after Thee that the Pomps Vanities and Tinselware of the World may become Objects of our Scorn and Derision and that the bright Splendour of Thy Eternal Glory may create our Ambition to serve Thee all the Days we remain here that we may not for a present temporal Enjoyment in this transitory Life lose the blessed Hopes and future Inheritance of the Saints in Light but at last having finished our Course here we may arrive with Joy and Gladness at Thy Heavenly Kingdom MED XXVI Upon Judgment 2 Cor. v. 10. For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad IT is an Axiom confirm'd by woful Experience That the generality of them which bear the Name of Christians and pretend to fight under Christ's Banner against the Enemies of the Apostolick Faith are by their profligate Impieties the greatest Scandal to that glorious Profession They live in such a Universe of Wickedness as if the Redeemer of the World descended from Glory not to subvert but to establish the Empire of Sin as if the main Design of their State in this World were only to fulfil that voluptuous Maxim of the Licentious Epicure Let us eat and drink for to morrow we mst die II. BUT if these Proficients in Atheism had a serious Memento That there is a Deity inthron'd in Heaven who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity and so jealous of his Honour that he will not remit the least Guilt with Impunity could they be perswaded to devote a few Minutes of the Time which they consume away to finish their Debaucheries to a solemn Reflexion upon that inevitable Account which will be exacted from them at the General Resuscitation when not only their Words and Actions but the most occultest of their Cogitations shall be brought to Judgment it were impossible for them unless given over to a reprobate Sense to perpetuate under the Dominion of their Carnal Appetites and Infections III. THE very Apprehension of the Vengeance to come would fright 'em into an immediate Repentance and produce such an admirable Reformation that living soberly righteously and godly in this present world they might be found Unblameable in the Great Day of the Lord Jesus And what a Day will that be at whose Appearance the Sun shall be turned into Darkness and the Moon into Blood Act. 2. 20. When the Heavens shall be rolled together as a Scroll Isa. 34.
divers Gestures and Expressions which are not requisite or necessary for any but God and the Soul to be privy to Now what Place soever you find to be necessary for this important Duty be sollicitous to make choiee of II. As for the Time the best Opportunity is in the Morning for the First Fruits of the Day being Holy all the rest are Sanctified Moreover our Thoughts being then not polluted with worldly Affairs they are not so liable to distraction and the Body it self is more serene than after Meals and this Duty requires a vacuity in the Stomach not only because the Head will be more perspicuous and apt for Meditation but also because many Passages of Meditation require so much Attention of the Mind and Fervency of Affection that they do hinder Digestion And this Duty being performed in the Morning it will have an influence upon the whole Day But this Rule is not universal for we read that Isaac went forth in the Evening to medirate Gen. 24. 63. And if the Subject of your Meditation be a Sermon then perhaps the properest time is immediately after the hearing of it before your Affections cool or your Memory fail you III. FOR the Duration considering the Parts of Meditation are so many as Preparation Considerations Affections Resolutions and the like And not one of these are to be past slightly over for Affections are not quickly raised nor are we to cease blowing the fire if it flame until it be well kindled Half an Hour may be reckon'd to be the least for Beginners and an Hour for those that are Proficients in this Duty IV. But in this Particular there is Two Rules especially to be observed First That as we ought not to desist from our Prayers before that temper and frame or heart is wrought which is suitable to the Requests of our Petitions so we should not desist in our Confession of Sin till our Hearts are truly sensible and humbled for Sin neither should we slacken our Praises until our Hearts are filled with holy Admirings and inflamed with the Love of the Almighty Now the End of Meditation are Affections and Resolutions therefore we should not desist till those are effected V. SO in Private Prayer when we find our Hearts enlarged by the Effusion of the Spirit of Supplication upon us we are not to desist unless by our persisting in that Duty we omit another to which we are more particularly obliged at that juncture so in Meditation when we perceive the Heart affected we are to continue it But this Caution must be observ'd That in our Enlargements we must not continue them longer than while they flow freely without much Straining and Compulsion for Honey which comes freely from the Comb is pure but forced by Heat and Pressure is not so well relish'd Now if the Heart is dead we must use our utmost diligence to awaken it and when once our Hearts are inflamed and enlarged by holy Affections in an extraordinary manner 't is but an impediment to our Affections to return to the Meditation of those Points that raised them SECT IV. Of the Subject and Method of Meditation FIRST Avoid Controversie for that will convert Meditation into Study and nice Speculations for they are sapless without Nutriment besides being so light they fluctuate in the Brain and want ponderosity to sink them down into the Heart and inddeed were they admitted they are so insignificant as the Heart by its reception could acquire no Affectation But let the Subject of your Meditation be the plainest powerfullest and usefullest Verities of the Almighty as Death Iudgment Hell and Heaven the Mercies of God our own Sins and the Love and Sufferings of a crucified Saviour Contemplate on that which is most suitable to your Spiritual Wants as in the time of Desertion meditate most of the Love and Mercies of God and thy own Unworthiness c. II. NOW the Rules for Meditation are these Three 1st Preparatory 2dly For the Body of the Duty And 3dly The Conclusion In our Duty of Preparation besides the choice of the Subject we are to be convinced and affected with the Presence of the Deity and to use fervent Prayer for the Divine Assistance Secondly For the Body of Meditation it consists of Three Parts The First is Consideration which is the convincing our Hearts of several Verities appertaining to that Subject whereof we meditate III. IF the Subject of our Meditation be Death the Considerations may run thus Alas O my Immmortal Soul the Manner Time and Place where we shall expire we are ignoraut of generally Mens Lives come to a period sooner than they expect and certain it is whensoever that Hour or Minute approaches we must bid adieu to Honours Pleasures Riches Friends and at last our own frail Bodies c. The Second Part is Affections whether it be Love of God Christ or Spiritual Things despising of the World admiring of the Omnipotency or any other Spiritual Affection The Third Part are Resolutions to perform that which is agreeable to God's Command and to desist from all manner of Evil. IV. NOW that this is the most proper and genuine way of Meditation evidently appears First Because it is not Artificial and such as requires Learning as those Instructions are which advise us to consider the Efficient Final Formal Material Cause of Defunction with the Adjuncts Concomitants and Concatenations c. which though they perhaps may please the Learned yet such difficult words astonish the Ignorant Now this is the Method by which every one that is brought home to God is converted V. AND the first thing in Coversion is our being convinced of some Truths which Conviction raiseth Affections For if the Verities of the Divine Omnipotence end in Conviction and go no further nay if they end in Aflections only and never arrive to Resolutions of shunning Evil and performing of Good Conversion can never be perfected As for Example One is convinced that he is a miserable undone Wretch by reason of Original and Actual Abomination Upon this Conviction Fear and Sorrow are excited yet if these do not operate in us a fixed Resolution of forsaking those Sins we are yet in our Sins and unconverted Thirdly There are several things for the concluding of Meditation which I shall treat of in its proper order SECT V. Of being affected with the Divine Presence WE are to consider God is present in all places as really and Essentially as he is in Heaven For Omnipotency did not create Heaven for his Confinement but to manifest his Glory for the Heaven of Heavens are not able to contain him neither is the Almighty included by nor excluded from any place And though Iacob said Surely the Lord was in this place and I knew it not Gen. 28. 16. yet we must not imagine that Iacob was ignorant of the Verity of it but did not actually consider it but the the Psalmist in the 139th Psalm is perspicuous in explaining and
Darkness for my Sin that would not lay hold on the Means of Grace IV. NEXT The Four Elements in their order accuse me And First The Heavens acquaint me they have supplied me with Light to my Joy and Comfort The Air whispers me I have given thee all manner of Fowl my Region affords to be at thy Command The Water violently speaks I have given thee all manner of Fish to eat And the Earth opens her Mouth saying I have given thee Corn Wine and Oyl to nourish thee but how hast thou abused these Mercies to the Contempt and Dishonour of our Creation Therefore let our Benefits redound to thy Punishment let the Fire consume thee the Water overwhelm thee the Air fann and winnow thee the Earth swallow thee up and Hell devour thee V. THE Holy Angels which were appointed by the Almighty to minister unto me in this Life and to be my Comforts in the Life to come they accuse me for by my Sins I have deprived my self of their Ministry in this Life and Hope of their Fellowship in the World to come the Voice of God's Divine Law accuses me either I must fulfil it or perish to perform the one is impossible and to undergo the other is intollerable VI. GOD the most severe Judge and potentest Executer of his Eternal Law accuses me Him I cannot deceive who is Wisdom it self from him I cannot fly who is Power it self and reigns every where Whither then shall I fly Psal. 139. 7. Even to thee O Blessed Jesu my alone Redeemer and Saviour I hear a Voice which bids me hide my self in the clifts of the rock Cant. 2. 14. Thou art that Rock and thy Wounds are the Clefts in them will I hide my self against the Accusations of all the Creatures VII My Sins cry aloud even unto Heaven but thy blood which was poured forth for my sins cryes louder Heb. 12. 2â— My Sins are potent to Accuse me but thy Passion is effectual to Defend me the Unrighteousness of my Life is powerful to Condemn me but thy most perfect Righteousness is powerfuller to Save me I appeal therefore from the Throne of thy Justice to thy Mercy-Seat but I dare not appear before thy great Tribunal unless thy holy Merits interpose betwixt me and thy Judgment MED II. That the Cross of the Holy Jesus should excite us to Repentance Rom. v. 8. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us BEHOLD my Soul thy Saviour's Sufferings the Wounds of him that was crucified and the Torments of him that expired on the Cross That sacred Head at which Angels tremble is platted with a Crown of Thorns That Face which in Beauty exceeded all Mankind's is spit upon by the Ungodly Those Eyes brighter than the Sun in his Meridian are obscured in Death Those Ears which were accustomed to hear Angelical Anthems are infested now with arrogant Speeches and scornful Reproaches That Mouth from whence proceeded Divine Oracles and dictated to Angels their Celestial Lessons receives nothing but Gaul and Vinegar Those Feet which the devout Magdalen kissed and wiped with the Hairs of her Head are fastened with Nails Those Hands which stretched out the Heavens like a Curtain are now extended on the Tree of Shame II. THAT Body the Deity 's Temple is scourged and wounded with a Spear Nothing escap'd the malicious Jews but his Tongue and that was meekly exercised in Praying for his Persecutors And he who now Reigns in the highest Heavens underwent all this for lost Mankind He felt the Pains of Hell and cry'd out My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me Mat. 27. 46. So great was his Agony and Anguish that he which comforteth Angels stood now in need of one to comfort him III. IF this happens to the Just what shall become of wretched Sinners What measure shall the Almighty take with us for our Offences who is so wrathfully displeased with his well-beloved Son for the Sins of the whole World O God of infinite Mercy take from us these stony Hearts of ours and give us Hearts of Flesh that we may tremble at thy Word and melt at thy Judgments Lord let us not forget thy Acclamations and Tears Thou cryedst from the Cross Behold O ye Sons and Daughters of Men what I suffer for you Was ever Grief so great or any Sorrow like unto my Sorrow But O Thou whose Property it is to have Mercy convert our stubborn Hearts unto Thee MED III. Of the Fruits of Repentance Mat. iii. 8. Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance THE Foundation of a Holy Life is True Repentance and where that is acquired Remission of Sins and Eternal Life succeeds Why then do we deferr our Repentance and procrastinate it from day to day To Morrow is not in our possession and to Repent sincerely is not in our power but when the Judgment-Day is approach'd we must render an Account not only for one Day but for our whole Lives II. ACKNOWLEDGE and bewail thy Sins so shalt thou find God in Christ appeased towards thee I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions saith the Lord Isa. 43. 25. inferring our Sins are enrolled in the Court of Heaven Turn away thy face from my sins begs the Royal Prophet Psal. 51. 9. Demonstating that our Iniquities are in God's sight Be converted unto us O God prayeth Moses therefore our sins do separate us from God Isa. 59. 2. Our sins have answered us complaineth Isaiah ver 12. and do accuse us before God's Tribunal Cleanse me from my sins is the Psalmist's Petition Psal. 51. 2. Concluding our Sins in appearance are sordid in the Eye of the Almighty III. SIN is the Distemper of the Soul which moved David to cry out Heal my soul for I have sinned against thee Psal. 41. 4. It is for Sin that we are blotted out of the Book of Life So said the Eternal Whosoever shall sin against me I will blot him out of my book Exod. 32. 32. We are cast off by the Almighty for our Sins which made David deprecate Cast me not away from thy presence Psal. 51. 11. Sin torments the Mind and dries up the Moisture as the Psalmist experienc'd Restore me to the joy of thy salvation Psal. 47. 12. IV. Sin is infectious says the ProPrphet Isa. 24. 5. The earth is defiled by the inhabitants thereof which have transgressed the law Our Sins press us down to Hell else the Psalmist had not broke out saying Out of the deep have I cried to thee O Lord Lord hear my voice 130. 1. Sin is the spiritual Death of the Soul So says the Apostle We were sometimes dead in our sins Ephes. 2. 1. By mortal Sin Man loseth his Creator who is the infinite and Incomprehensible Good therefore to be deprived of him is an infinite and incomprehensible Evil. And as the Almighty is the chiefest Good so Sin is the chiefest Evil. V. CALAMITIES and Punishments are not absolutely Evil for many times from them Good is
extracted Nay they may properly be called Good because they are God's Messengers and proceed from him who is the Fountain of all Goodness Moreover they lead us unto the chiefest Good even Life Everlasting Christ by his Passion entered into his Glory Luk. 24. 26. And Christians by Tribulations enter into Life Eternal Act. 14. 22. And consequently Sin is the chiefest Evil because it draws us from the chiefest Good VI. THE Sinner is accused by his Conscience which he hath defiled by his Creator whom he hath offended by the Sins he hath committed by the Creatures he hath abused and by the Devil who hath seduced him How saving then is Repentance which frees us from such Accusations Let us haste then with speed to such a soveraign Catholicon If thou deferr thy Repentance till Death thou do'st not forsake thy Sins but they forsake thee and it is very difficult to trace out an Example of sincere Repentance at the Hour of Death except that of the Thief upon the Cross. VII FOVRTEEN years have I served thee said Iacob to Laban it is time now that I should provide for my own house Gen. 31. 41. And if thou hast pursued the World and chased after the Vanities of it so many Years it is now high time to provide for thy Soul Every Day nay every Hour and Minute we accumulate Sin Oh let the Spirit every Moment wash it away with Tears of Repentance The Almighty infuses not the Oyl of Mercy but into the Vessel of a contrite Heart He first mortifies us by Contrition and then quickens us by his Spirit of Consolation He leads us into a deep abyss of Grief and brings us back by his Restraining Grace VIII Elias first heard a vehement Wind overturning Mountains and cleaving Rocks and after the Wind an Earthquake and after the Earthquake Fire 1 King 19. 11. At length there followed a still small Voice ver 12. From whence we may inferr That Terrour is the precursor of the Love of Omnipotency and Sorrow precedes Comfort God binds not up any Wounds that are laid open by Confession He Pardons and Justifies none except they Acknowledge and Condemn themselves He Comforts not unless they first Despond And this is the sincere Repentance which God by his Holy Spirit operates in us MED IV. Of Man's Salvation Tit. ii 11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men WHY art thou perplexed O my Soul and why art thou dubious of the Mercy of God Remember thy Creator who created thee without thy Assistance who formed thee in secret in the lower parts of the earth Psal. 139. 15. He who took care of thee before thou wer 't born Will his Providence neglect thee now thou art fashioned after his own Image To Thee the Great Creator does thy unworthy Creature address himself Though my Nature is infected by Satan and wounded by Thieves which are my sinful Corruptions yet my Creator liveth II. HE which made me can renew me He that created me without any Evil can chase all Evil from me whatsoever hath gain'd admittance by the Devil's Suggestions Adam's Prevarication or my own Actions yea though it hath over-spread my whole Substance The Almighty never hated his own Workmanship We are before him like Clay in the Hands of the Potter Had he hated me certainly he would never have created me when I was nothing He is the Saviour of all men but especially of them that believe 1 Tim. 3. 10. He created me wonderfully and redeemed me miraculously but his Love was never so highly expressed than in his Wounds and Passion III. SURELY we were indulgently belov'd for whose sakes the only begotten Son of God is sent from the Bosom of his Father Dear was the Price of our Redemption and great was the Mercy of our Redeemer To make us Rich he embraced Poverty for he had not where to lay his head Mat. 8. 20. To make us the Sons of the Most High he condescends to become Man and doth not after he had accomplish'd our Redemption neglect us but still intercedeth for us Rom. 8. 34. IV. LET my Sins Satan and all the Powers of Darkness accuse me in Jesus my Mediator will I trust who is Greater than my Accusers Let my Weakness affright me yet in his Strength will I glory For the Sufficiency of my Merit I am familiarly acquainted my Merits is not sufficient it suffices me that he is propitious against whom I have sinned and whatsoever he hath decreed not to impute will be perform'd and all Guilt with the Price of his most precious Blood shall be done away V. LET it not then perplex me that my Sins though many and of such a magnitudâ— discomfort me For were I not oppress'd and heavy laden with Sins what need I earnestly request Christ's Righteousness Had I no Distemper I had no necessity to implore the Physician 's Help but I am spiritually sick and He who is the Lord our Righteousness is both our Saviour and Physician Lord I am Sick a Sinner and Condemned and upon the Grand Inquest of my Conscience pronounce my self Guilty but have Mercy on me O my Physician my Saviour and my Righteousness MED V. The Youth's Memento Eccles. xii 6. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth IT was both seasonable and profitable Advice and one of the elegantest and choicest Expressions in the Royal Preacher's Sermon For who is he which is now Young and Vigorous that is certain he shall live to be Old And yet that potent Voice which loudly proclaims to all the World and whose Sound will remain till Death shall be expired is scarce aucible in the Ears of thousands II. 'T IS one of this divine Chanters harmonious Lessons and yet the World thinks it too harsh a Note and is very much displeased with the Tune 'T is strange and an amazing Wonder That the Sweetest and Wisest of Preachers should have so slender a Train of Followers being his Oratory is so Rhetorical and Divine And yet it is so weighty a Text which though they shun to hear understand or read they cannot evade the seeing for the whole Universe is but a Comment on it every Creature we behold preaches this useful Doctrine which we so supinely sleep out with our Eyes open III. NATURE her self carries this Memento in her Forehead and the very Bruit Beasts in this Philosophy can reason with us And it is strange madness that Man should forget his Maker did he but remember himself But alas blooming Youth affects not to be put in mind of Heaven which he is not acquainted with 't would impair his Memory and make him think of his Prayers too often Piety will but chill his Blood Religion makes him look wither'd the Thoughts of Heaven and a Future-State will make him sager than his years requires his Blood informs him he is not yet qualified to turn Divine he may serve his Creator time enough when he is more at
leisure IV. THUS these Temporal Objects of Vanity and Pleasure chase away our Thoughts from Heaven and its Celestial Raptures We can spend the Flower and Beauty of our Years in Vice and think the Almighty will be well enough pleas'd with the Deformity of decrepit Age We can sport and revel our Piety and Time in vain and frivolous Delights and conclude our selves potent enough to compel Heaven and become Religious when we are bowed down with Infirmities and have nothing left us but Repentance and a Tomb. V. WE are so highly pleas'd with the Sweetness of Sense that we are negligent of any greater Felicity and so extraordinary much delighted with the Happiness of Sinning freely that we could willingly embrace that Religion which tolerates Vice most We place all our Devotion with the luxurious Epicure in the Riots of Nature Jolly Meetings are our best Religious Exercises a Sermon is as troublesom and melancholy to us as a Funeral and to hear of our Latter-end in the mid'st of our Pleasures sounds like a Lecture of Death the unwelcome and faint Eccho of the Grave VI. LET the Preacher instruct us never so earnestly to remember our Creator we rather chuse to follow Satan's Doctrine to enjoy this World as long as we can and entertain Thoughts of Heaven at our leisure And shall the Lusts of this vain World O Lord be greater in my Soul than the Love of Thee Shall the temporary Allurements of Sin eclipse the Memory of thy Glory My Life I know is but a Span and yet I beseech thee abreviate that rather than it shoud be spent in a neglect of Thee better this Earthly Tabernacle of my Body be dissolv'd than become a Theatre for Sin to revel in VII LET me pay unto Nature the due Debt I owe her sooner than perhaps she would summons it rather than run deeper in score with thy Justice 'T is far better I should die and be lost in the memory of the World than to forget thee Thou broughtest me at first from nothing not to sin but to serve and fear Thee and has impressed in me a Ray of thy blessed Self that I might not seek my own perverse Will nor pursue this vain World but heavenly Mansions inure me therefore to Thee that I may behold those solid and ravishing Joys and Consolations that is in serving of Thee what Tranquility accompanies thy Grace that so I may no longer follow my own depraved Sense but my Saviour VIII IT is none of the least Sins of our Youth that we are negligent and forgetful of Thee our Creator And no wonder we are ignorant and insensible of the Joys to come that live in such a constant and continued neglect of Heaven Make me therefore O my God seriously to consider that had I the perfect Fruition of all I could wish or long for here I should not only be unsatisfied but in the end find how miserable he is that fixeth his Heart on any thing but Thy Self Teach me therefore so to enjoy the World that I lose not Thee nor the Memory of that Blessed and Eternal Reward Thou hast promised to them that Honour and Fear Thee MED VI. General Rules for a Godly Life Ephes. xv 16. See then that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time because the days are evil EVERY Day Death approaches thee and then follows Judgment and Eternity Therefore think often how thou may'st be able to Answer in that most strict and severe Judgment Look circumspectly unto thy Thoughts Words and Actions for at that great Tribunal thou must render up an exact Account Eccles. 12. 14. Every Evening and Morning entertain thy Thoughts of the pale Messenger and deferr not thy Repentance till the next Day for the Morrow is uncertain but Death is certain and waits no Person 's leisure II. NOTHING is more opposite to Piety than Procrastination If thou contemnest the inward Voice of the Holy Spirit thou will never attain to a sincere Repentance Make it thy business and study to walk in the Law of the Lord. In thy Conversation be Affable and Courteous to all Perplexing to none and Familiar with few To God live Piously to thy self Continently and to thy Neighbour Justly Shew Favour to thy Friend Patience to thy Enemy thy Good-Will towards all and thy Bounty to whom thou art able Always call to mind Three things past the Evil committed the Good omitted and the Time pretermitted And ever bear in mind Three things present the Brevity of this present Life the Difficulty of being saved and the Paucity of them that shall be saved III. LET thy Evening Prayers ascend and humbly confess the Sins of the Day past and think how many are in danger of Hell-fire Let the last Day of the Seven correct and amend what Enormities thou hast committed the whole Week Shew Obedience to thy Superiours give Counsel and Aid to thy Equals and Defend and Instruct thy Inferiours Subdue thy Body to thy Mind and thy Mind to the Will of God Heartily bewail thy past Evils and set not thy Affections on Temporal Enjoyments but fix them on that which is Eternal Mourn for Sins upon remembrance of them and often remember Death that thou may'st cease from Sin Let the Justice of the Almighty keep thee in Fear and his Mercy preserve thee from Despair IV. WITHDRAW thy self as much as thou can'st from the World and addict thy self wholly to God's Service In Pleasures and Delights be vigilant of thy Chastity in Riches exercise thy Humility and in worldly Affairs neglect not Piety Be studious in pleasing none but thy Saviour neither fear to displease any but Him Deprecate Him always that his Will may be done on Earth as it is in Heaven and beseech Him to forgive thee what is past and to guide and govern what he has wrought in thee for the future V. ABANDON all Hypocrisie for God judgeth not according to external appearance but according to the Heart In thy Words take heed of vain repetitions Mat. 6. 7. because for every idle word thou must give an account in the day of judgment Mat. 12. 36. Let thy Words Works and Actions be good or evil they pass not away but remain as Seeds of Eternity And the Apostle assures us If thou sowest to thy flesh of the flesh thou shalt reap corruption but if thou sowest to the spirit of the spirit thou shalt reap life everlasting Gal. 6. 8. Neither Honours Riches Pleasures or Vanities of this Life can attend thee after thy Glass is run out Set a low value upon what thou possesseth but esteem highly what thou wantest VI. LET Holy Meditation produce in thee Knowledge and Knowledge Compunction and Compunction sincere Devotion The Silence of the Mouth creates Peace in the Heart and and the more thou separates thy self from the World the more acceptable thou art to the Almighty Whatsoever thou requestest ask it of God and whatsoever thou enjoyest resign
with Boils and and in a naked and dejected Deformity so I may but conceal my Leopard's Spots and place a Beauty in my Soul which may invite that All-seeing Eye whose radient Beams can comfort all Mankind V. TAKE heed thou Sensualist that now revellest and riottest in the World's Theatre and counter-charms Damnation Wer 't thou but sensible of the terrible Agonies of Guilt the Horrours of a murdering Sin and the cursed Stings thy Pleasures leave behind them how speedily would'st thou list thy self in nobler Services and employ thy Time in better Thoughts Wer 't thou now to expire thy Breath how would the Guilt of an evil Life appale thee when every Sin would represent it self a Messenger of Horrour and the deluding World prove but an infernal Comforter VI. SHEW me in a Glass that Champion Conscience that will not undertake at length to conquer that frozen Soul whose Flashes will not liquefie and blast again that Atlas-Sinner whom gentle Burdens will not at last numerously depress The VVorld is unquainted with a Misery equivolent the Terrours of the unwelcom Grave are inconsiderate to it which could it but relieve the guilty Soul and its tenebrous and silent Regions promise an Immunity from future Miseries how readily would it purchase its Peace with Death and implore its keenest Dart for a swifter Passage Loss of Friends Fortune or Reputation nay Crosses which penetrate the Bone are but slight Scratches to these gaping VVounds Procure me a Schedule of the deepest Afflictions and there is none I imagine except this which is not tolerable to be dispensed with But a wounded Spirit who can bear VII O LORD how Ponderous is the Load of a VVounded Spirit How Formidable are the Stings of a Guilty Conscience and the Apprehensions of Thy Fiery VVrath And how Deplorable is he that involves himself in Sin and becomes insensible of his Guilt till the Memento of his heinous Crimes display it And when Mortality remembers him of a Future-State nothing is his Concomitant but his erroneous Life Oh Omnipotency Thou hast fixed an impartial Register in our Breasts which no fawning Practice can bribe nor Fountain of vulgar Tears silence from recollecting us of Thy Justice and yet what numbers are there whose Consciences like the great Leviathan snap in sunder the Silver Cords of thy Divine Law like Threads of Flax and are so backward from Confessing their Crimes that they are become obdurate in their Impenitence But Lord do Thou teach me as I commit Sin so inspire me with Thy Grace daily that whenever I shall approach Thy Presence I may have no other Sins to testifie against me than those which I possess which if not throughly crucified yet at least sincerely repented of with hearty Contrition MED XII Of Humility 1 Pet. v. 5. Be ye cloathed with humility for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble IF thou do'st but seriously consider the miserable State of Mankind thou wilt easily shun the Temptations of an arrogant Spirit Man the Lord of all Below though he assumes to himself that Pride of Heart yet he is Vile in his Ingress Miserable in his Progress and Lamentable in his Egress He is often assaulted and provoked by Satan's Temptations He is allured by Delights and Pleasures cast down by Tribulations entangl'd by Accusations disrobed of Vertues and ensnar'd into evil Habits and Customs Why then art thou proud O Earth and Ashes Eccles. 10. 9. VVhat wast thou in thy Conception but sinful Corruption VVhat in thy Life but a Lump of Flesh And what after Death but Food for VVorms If there be any spark of Goodness in thee it is not thy own but the Almighty's who is the only Donor of it II. THOU can'st claim nothing peculiar to thy self but Sin which accompany'd thee into the VVorld and therefore if Divine Omnipotence hath inspired into thee any measure of His heavenly Grace give Him the Glory to whom it is most due If thou wilt be Christ's Disciple observe His Doctrine Learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart Mat. 11. 29. And he that observes this Lesson will at length attain to be a Proficient in the School of Humility Our Saviour the Pattern of Humility stiles Himself the Lilly of the Vallies Cant. 2. 1. Inferring That He is the most imbellish'd of all Flowers and springs forth not in the mountainous and lofty proud Hearts but in the low Vallies of the contrite and humble Spirits III. AND the Royal Psalmist tells ye God dwelleth on high and yet he beholdeth the things that are humble both in heaven and earth Psal. 113. 5. If we contemplate with our selves we may soon come to this result That we cannot approach unto that Great Being unless we tread in the Paths of Humility for he that appears vile in his own Eyes is valuable in the Eyes of the Almighty VVeakness and Frailty is entail'd upon Humanity and none can pretend to boast of such an Imbecillity The twenty four Elders Rev. 4. 4. cast down their Crowns before the Throne ver 10. and render unto God all praise and glory And the Seraphims cover their faces before the face of the most Highest Isa. 6. 2. VVhat then should Man do who is the vilest of all Creatures the worst of Sinners and so unthankful to his Creator IV. CHRIST the Everlasting Son of God the Father wonderfully descended from Heaven in great Humility and miraculously condescended to take our frail Nature upon Him and stooped so low as to be crucified for us And what should poor Mortality answer for so high an Indulgence who is gone so far astray from his Maker Behold thou aspiring Soul with what wonderful Humility thy Saviour hath allayed thy Pride And do'st thou still swell with Ambition By the Path of Humility and his bitter Death and Passion Christ entered into his Glory Luk. 24. 26. And dost thou imagine ever to reach Heaven-Gates by wallowing in the haughty way of Pride Lucifer for his Ambition was expell'd Heaven and our First Parents for Diabolical Pride was cast out of Paradise And dost thou think to arrive at Eternal Happiness through a Sea of Pride V. OH let us rather demean our selves with an humble jesus to wash the Feet of others than to seek ambitiously with Satan for the highest Place Let us humble our selves under the Mighty Hand of God in this Life present that we may be exalted in due time in the Life to come Fix not thy Heart upon what thou hast but consider seriously what thou wantest Mourn for those Graces that are absent rather than extoll those Vertues thou hast acquired Conceal with all humility what good Qualifications thou do'st enjoy but confess those Sins thou daily committest VI. AS Fire is preserv'd by covering with Ashes so Charity is secur'd under the Guard of Humility Pride is the Seminary Parent and Nurse to all Sins Exercise therefore thy Vigilance and Care against any Elevation lest by the precipice of
Profession only but our daily Practises too that must proclaim us Heralds of this Faith V. ALTHOUGH our Merits can never reach Heaven yet our pious Endeavours may if they are sincere because there is a Mercy hangs over our Heads that will pardon our Deficiency All the Blossoms and Buds of our Piety spring forth from this Stem and he that either believes or loves his Saviour that died for him cannot imagine he is too much industrious to live well This was the Female Sex's Faith here and she had scarce effus'd it out with floods of Tears when the Infernal Fiend in a Consternation forsakes his hold unable to endure the Eccho of that Sound which was repeated by the diviner Accent of our Redeemer's Lips and this Faith must be a Preservative against Sin and by its diviner Charms chase Satan to his Chains of Darkness 'T is this that prepares Heaven for us that makes us survive our Monuments become Immortal in our Graves and promises Eternity to our Dust and Ashes 'T is this that consummates our Happiness and will safely arrive us where the Blessed Jesus shall receive us into His Glory VI. O MOST Divine Omnipotence Thou sentest Thy Son Christ Jesus to die for us that by Believing in Him we might attain to Everlasting Life He under whom Thou hast put all things in Subjection was pleas'd to condescend to level Himself with them and dethron'd Himself to undergo a Crucifixion for our Souls that we might receive the Benefits of His Death and Passion and be Partakers of His Glory Oh let not those Miseries of our depraved Nature which petitioned Thy Mercy and Compassion make us uncapable of it Let not those that plead Ignorance of Thee but by Thy Miracles be more ardous in acknowledging Thine abundant Goodness than we who by the Manifestation of Thy Love claim an Interest in Thy precious Blood VII BUT grant O Lord that we may live in a perpetual Thanksgiving to Thy Merits who camest down from the Bosom of Thy Father to purchase and save our Immortal Souls To this end do Thou inspire into us that Faith without which it is impossible we should please Thee and with which Thou annexes all other Graces Teach us so to rely on Thy Mercies that we may not neglect the Means or imagine that a dead Faith will conduct us to that Life which Thou hast promised to none but them as work out their Salvation with Fear and Trembling MED XVII Of Love and Charity 2 Pet. i. 7. And to brotherly-kindness charity TRUE and Sincere Love is an inseparable Property of a Pious Person No Christian can subsist without Faith and where that Vertue is Charity is not wanting Where the Lustre of Charity is extinguish'd the Heat of Faith must consequently be quenched Thou may'st as well rob the bright Luminary the Sun of his Light as deprive Faith of the Gift of Charity Charity is the External Act of the Internal Life of a Christian. The Body is dead without the Spirit and Faith is dead without Charity Jam. 2. 26. He is not a Member of Christ that is not inspired with his Spirit and he is not endued with his Holy Spirit that is destitute of the Gift of Charity II. THIS Theological Vertue is the fruit of the Spirit Gal. 5. 22. And by the Goodness of the Fruit the Tree is demonstrated Charity is the bond of Christian perfection saith the Apostle Col. 3. 14. As the Bodily Members are united together by the Spirit so the true Members of the Mystical Body are united by the Holy Spirit in the Bond of Charity Solomon's Temple was all covered with Gold within and without 1 King 6. 21. So our Bodies and Souls which are the Almighty's Spiritual Temples ought in like manner both within and without to be beautified with Love and Charity Let this regent Vertue exercise its Efficacy in moving thy Heart to Compassion and thy Hand to Contribution For one without the other is not effectual III. FAITH receiveth all from God the Fountain of all Goodness and from that Stream Charity as a Channel conveys it to her Neighbours By Faith we are made Partakers of the Divine Nature who is Love 1 Joh. 4. 8. Therefore where Charity manifesteth not Externally Faith Internally doth not inhabit No Man believes in the Lord Jesus which doth not express Affections of Love to Him and none can fulsil that New Commandment except he loves his Neighbour None can really apprehend the Benefits of Christ with a Heart unfeigned which has not Bowels of Compassion to the distressed IV. CHARITY is the Seminary of all Vertues and nothing can be of good growth which proceeds not from that Root And this Vertue truly delineated is the Soul 's Spiritual Relish for unto it alone are all things dulcified all Adversity Pain Anguish Trouble nay even Death it self And And the Wise Man confirms this That Love is as strong as Death Cant. 8. 6. And indeed I think I may invert the Wise Man's Text and with Assurance proclaim That Love is stronger than Death For Love brought down a Saviour to die for us Sinners that the Sting of Death might be removed from us He when he had overcome the sharpness of death did open the kingdom of heaven to all believers Oh let us then embrace this Love and die unto Sin daily that we may live unto Righteousness V. ALL the Works of the Most High proceeds from this lovely Attribute even Punishments Denunciations and Judgments The Two great Luminaries and the Constellations of Heaven illuminate not themselves but us wretched Creatures Fire Air Earth and Water were created for our Necessity The Beasts Herbs Plants Trees Birds Fish and Fowls were all for our Use. And as God has been so gracious to give thee Plenty of these Blessings so do thou distribute to thy Neighbours according to their Necessities And this must be done freely with true Amity Affection and Compassion else all our Charity is nothing worth but will prove like sounding Brass or a tinkling Symbal VI. CHARITY is patient 1 Cor. 13. 4. For no Man is easily enraged with those whom he truly affects Charity likewise is bountiful And he who has been so liberal as to resign his Heart to his Friend will without all question not with-hold from him any temporal Enjoyments for the Relief of his Necessity Charity envieth not it thinketh no Evil is not puffed up and behaveth not it self undecently Next she seeketh not those things which are her own neither is she provoked to Anger she imagineth no Mischief nor rejoyceth not in iniquity but she beareth all things believeth hopeth and endureth all things she refuseth not to do unto others as she desires them to perform unto her Tongues and Prophecies shall cease and Arts and Sciences be destroyed but Charity shall never be extinguished VII LET us then study this Lesson of Love and Charity and howsoever thy Friend or Neighbour be qualified towards thee yet remember
to perceive the Evacuity of those Enjoyments he hath so long rouled himself in to resist the enticing Advantages of Sin and disesteem the glittering Flashes of this Life for that Lustre of Glory Thou wilt impart My God instruct me so to use the World that I forget not Thee Let the Blessings Thou showerest down quicken and encrease not stupifie my Devotion Elevate my Obedience not overwhelm my Thankfulness that so the Follies of the World may become my Derision and the Glories of Heaven my only Ambition that I may never for a fading Fruition in this World hazard both my Soul and thy Saving-Grace together MED XXIV In time of Sickness Mat. viii 2. Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean THIS Prayer was effectual and all Petitions are answer'd by the Almighty if deliver'd with a sincere Faith and a good Assurance Let us now be upon the Grand Inquest Is not Sin a Leprosie Then every Sinner ought to make the same Deprecation He that had been a Spectator of the Leper's Body would not have been amaz'd at his Prayer and yet could he but have inspected his Soul might perhaps have beheld Objects more prodigious and horrible the Corruption of his Blood which had lost its Vigour and proved but an useless help to Nature every part without Vitality by so nauseating a Nutrition instructed his Tongue this necessary though doleful kind of Confident Prayer Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean II. CHRIST whose Bounty and Compassion never fails to demonstrate that the Fountain of his Love was as large as his Power was potent would not reject such a Suit wherein his tender Mercy was so much concern'd and those Members which might have been sooner immers'd than bath'd into a Cure re-assume new Vitality and Complexion by the liberal Bounty of a Touch. Thus the Leper receives a new Body but we read no Lecture of any Operation upon his Immortal Part which perhaps effectually required it But his Successor who was Bed-rid was in a far greater state of Happiness for his Sin and Disease were both healed together III. HOW many be found that like the Leper view no higher than their Corporeal Substance whole Exteriour Part is all their Principles of Religion whil'st the Immortal Part that Spring of Life lies all neglected under Epidemical Infection Our Blood shall enjoy all the Delights that Art can reach or the most Chymical Luxury can extract to supply its Flames whil'st our splendid Part the Divine and Celestial Fire which inspires us lies all extinguish'd and bereft of his Immortal Aliment and can reserve nothing but a dull and hectick Lustre to its Maker IV. THE Anguish of a Limb can attract us to more Devotion in one Hour than all the Concernments of our Souls can produce in a Year and the deformity of the meanest Part will appear an Object of more Disgrace and Dolour to us than those pallid and infernal Forms that attend Sin and disfigure Heaven in us Of all Pestilences this is the grandest and yet least regarded as if Hell were but a Trifle Everlasting Damnation a Pleasure and the Eternal Misery of our Souls a Diversion Shew me that exquisite Beauty that is not Leprous that Innocence which is so perspicuous that it is Immaculate that Pattern of Sanctity which may become a Saint that Infant Man or Woman which is a Stranger unto Sin and then I shall be hold an Amazing Wonder V. DID our curious Veins excell the fragrant Violet whose Odour perfumes the Chymistry of the Air the Dew of the blushing Morn Were our Ancestor Adam's Sin an Alien to our crimson Blood and the Day of our Nativity as perspicuuous as the splendidst Morn immaculate as the new-blown Rose yet the Pollution of our irregular Lives would soon discipline us in this Prayer and the blackness of our occultest Thoughts would silently proclaim our own Deformity and be ready to join with the Leper in this Petition Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean VI. AND yet was there not to be found in those Days a Generation of Vipers that were righteous and clean in their own Eyes that justify'd themselves in their own Impurity and reckon'd all the World but Lepers to them Was not the lofty Pharisee a greater Leper than the poor Publicane though so ambitiously he display'd his proud Plumes His soaring Pride carrry'd more contagious Infection along with it than the other Persons Sins could e'er pretend too He that trusts to the Merit of his own Illustration may infallibly lose Heaven and those Eternal Joys which an humble Assurance doth procure VII O LORD though I am not so vile as some yet I am so vile in my own Eyes that the Leper here is a Pattern of Perfection to my imperfect Soul Lazarus's Corps a Perfume to my ulcerated Heart yet were I far more impotent and fractured than the poor Cripple of Bethesda more spotted with Leprosie than the Nine Unthankful Lepers which were cleansed whose Ingratitude was more odious than their Disease were those Legions of Infernal Spirits ejected by Thy Sacred Word infused in me and were I as execrable as Satan could wish to make me yet I know Thy Paternal Goodness and I do not despond of Thy Almighty Power for Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean MED XXV Upon Death Rom. vi 21. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed for the end of those things is death SINCE Sin must be destroyed who then would make choice of that for his Felicity which shall perish with himself whose End is not only Death but Hell and will be his Destruction not only now but hereafter Indeed were there no hopes that our Reliques should resuscitate again or the Ruines of our Frame resurrect to a politer Shape we might well plunge our selves in Enjoyments here and fix our Felicity in delectable Pleasures Every Person might then be tollerated without Sin to become an Epicure and he that could project new Modes of Luxry would not only pass for being Ingenious but be esteem'd Fortunate II. GOOD Morality would appear all Vice and yet Vice it self would be held no more a Crime but our Happiness not to be Lavish then were a Sin against Nature and he that excelled in Brutality would be render'd most Rational Legal Proceedings would then be a grand Enemy to Humanity there could be no Sociableness but in Confusion and were there no Heaven nor Hell we should pleasantly mingle to a Chaos and obey no other discipline but Riot every Person might then be Atheistical without Scandal To be without the Almighty and his Grace in the World would be render'd no Misfortune for then every Man might depend upon his own Merits without Blasphemy III. Could they which inhabit the Earth die like Bruits and Animals and revive no more the Hopes of not being Damn'd would be a greater Comfort than the Delights of Sin But alas he that enters the Grave now
Almighty and by Legions of apostate Spirits haled away to the dismal Place of Horrour and Confusion where they shall languish under the pressure of intollerable Punishments and by Wonder of Omnipotency shall in Torrents of Fire endure Extremity of Frigidity and in Rivers of Ice be tormented with perpetual Burnings There they shall feed the Worm that never dies and transude in those Flames which cannot be extinguish'd And the Consideration of the Perpetuity of those Supernal Felicities which they rejected for Vanities and of the infinite Continuation of their infernal Tortures will shipwreck all their Hopes in the formidable Gulf of Desperation and plunge them into the bottomless Abysses of the lowest Hell The Prayer O BLESSED Father since Thou art Formidabe in Thy Judgments and Thy Anger is a Consuming Fire since those incorrigible Sinners who despise the Offers of Thy Mercy shall become the Victims of Thy implacable Vengeance and glorifie Thee in unimaginable Pains since Thou hast appointed a Season when an Eternity of Felicity or Misery shall be the Reward of our Actions and we must either stand or fall according to our handy Operations Vouchsafe that the Contemplation of these weighty Verities may be such a prevalent Inducement to the Amendment of our Lives that we may work out our salvation with fear and trembling Let not the pernicious Allurements of this fraudulent World make us negligent of the Wrath to come but let us walk with that aweful Care and vigilant Circumspection that we may appear with Joy in that dreadful Day wherein the greater part of mis-call'd Christians shall be consign'd to an Immortal Ruine and Destruction MED XXVII Upon Hell Isa. xxxiii 14. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burning ETERNAL Death is the dreadful State of the Damned by which they are not only depriv'd of the Presence of the Almighty but are also tormented with perpetual Suffering both in Soul and Body Oh how horrid is it then to incurr the Displeasure of the Divine Omnipotence How strangely infatuated are ye O senseless Sinners to run on so swiftly in the Ways of Sin Tell me Can you freely receive your Wages which is Death and take up your Habitation in Everlasting Burnings there perpetually to abide for ever II. COULD we but obtain by Divine Permission a Visionary Prospect of that incorrigible Miscreant and Traytor Iudas what a Scene of Horror would that be to behold him violently dragg'd by Infernal Spirits and loaded with Chains of Fire his Diabolical Countenance pale and Wan the Voice within him his Conscience Worm-eaten his Pestilential Skin cover'd with Leprosie from whence issues out Stinks not to be endured his Limbs and Body wounded and tormented and his Tongue filled with bitter Lamentations and Execrations What a dreadful Apprehension will the Vision of so deplorable a Spectacle create in thee III. SHOULDST thou in Contemplation fix that dire Object before thine Eyes and upon a strict Disquisition examine him saying Tell me O thou perfidious Iudas what Griefs what Pains and Torments are these thou undergoest What number of Years has thou reign'd in sulphurous Fire And how many Centuries of Ages must thou yet remain buried in Flames and roaring among the Infernal Crew His guilty and amazing Conscience would soon reply The Pains which which I endure are intollerable no intermission for Relief is here to be found but the Torments thus ininflicted are perpetual The least of our Miseries far exceed all Punishments which either the Justice of God or the Cruelties of Men upon Earth did ever execute Despair is our continual Associate and there is no vacant Place for Hopes of ever to be freed for these unexpressible Torments You upon Earth take your Ease you Eat and drink in full Bowls whil'st we want Water to cool our Tongues which are tormented in these Flames IV. Let the Thoughts of Hell's Terrors ever put me in a Method to escape their Fury Consider the Damned in their fatal Circumstances their Life is to die without expiring and their Death is to live in perpetual Punishment There the Tormentor is never wearied the Fire never consumes and the Torments never decrease And this Decree is according as the irrevocable Sentence requires the fulfilling of the Justice of the Almighty and the Reward due to wilful Impenitents and obdurate Offenders that they should never want a sufficient measure of Punishment who were continually glutted and never ceas'd from Sin V. There the least Sin has its peculiar Punishment wonderfully extracted out of its own Sordidness The Salacious shall inhabit in unextinguishable sulphurous Fire continually flaming from their own inordinate Affections The Epicure and Ebrious shall sigh in vain for a little Water to cool their Tongues The Outragious and Passionate shall snarl like mad Dogs and the Malicious and Uncharitable shall corrode their own Entrails The Wealth of the Misers shall be as Goads in their Sides and the Arrogant and Ambitious shall be hurried down from the Precipice of Scorn to the Bottomless-Pit of Contempt The Infatuated shall miserably deplore their mispent Time and pine away with Grief for their not being diligent VI. BUT O what strange Convulsions shall fasten on their Spirits and vulnerate and search the utmost of their Souls When they shall with Amazement behold themselves eternally bereft of the illuminating Vision of the Most Highest When they shall behold themselves eternally exil'd from the joyful and amiable Presence of Jesus that Omnipotence who created 'em to inherit His Kingdom that Saviour who purchas'd 'em to reign with Him in Glory then shall they execrate the Hour of their Nativity and those sordid Associates that enticed them to Ruine They shall exclaim against the Folly of the fraudulent Universe and belch out with a raving Distraction Are these the Products of those infatuated Desires whose empty Enjoyments we esteem'd our Happiness Alas what will our loose Liberties and those fond Delights we so eagerly chas'd after now yield us What Happiness receive we from those fleeting Honours and transitory Treasures we so highly valued They are all fled away as a Vapour and past away as a Morning-Cloud VII BUT the Sting and Torment perpetually endures and plagues our Vitals with Everlasting Anguish Thus shall they roar out but all is deaf to their Complaint Thus shall they lament but no Compassion shall relieve them O dismal Spectacle of a wicked Life O terrible Sequel of a destructive Death perpetually to wish for what they never can obtain perpetually to undergo that which is inevitable O magnify'd be Thy Divine Omnipotence that with such an indulgent Affection gives us timely Notice of our Ruine Save us O blessed Lord from all Impieties Oh save us for Thy Own dear sake Quicken our Minds against the Effects of Sin and with Thy Fatherly Corrections chastise us often that at last the Terrors of Hell may force us into Thy Heavenly Kingdom MED XXVIII Upon Heaven Psal.