reward one and common to all the elect For there shall be perfect charity and God shall be all in all For that cause it shall be the common exercise of all to loue and praise God without end or intermission CHAP. 4. BVT in that we haue already aboundantly discoursed of the condemnation and sentence which attendeth impious and sinfull men it consequently foloweth that we speake som-whââ also of the beatitude and reward of good men Now this blessednes iâ that desired and holy Kingdome of heauen and that happy life which God from the beginning of the created world prepared for those who loue and follow him There is no tongue eyther humaine or angelicall that can worthily expresse what that reward shall be or what that life will be But that thou mayst haue some tast and receaue some knowledge of the same I will by the way report that which Saint Augustine wrote of it in certaine of his Meditations O thou life saiâh âe that God hath prepared for those âhat loue him liuing life blessed âife amiable life cleane life chast âife holy life life ignorant of death deuoyd of sorrow life without blot without greefe without anxietie without corruption without perâurbation without varietie and muâation lyfe full of all elegancie and dignitie where there is no aduersaâie to impugne where there is no âllurement of sinne where there is âerfect loue and no feare where âhe day is eternall and one spirit of âll Where GOD is beheld face to âace and with this foode of life the minde is satiate and satisfied without defect It dooth mee good to intende to âhy cleerenes thy beauties delight my greedy hart the more power I haue to consider with my selfe the more doe I languish with the loue of thee with the vehement desire of thee and I am greatly delighted with thy sweete memory O thou most happy life ô thou truly blessed kingdome wanting death void of end to which no times succeede by âge where as the continuall day without night cannot haue time where as the conquering Souldiour accompanying those hymne-singing quires of Angels singeth vnto God without ceasing a song of the songs of Sion hauing his noble heade inuironed with a perpetualâ crowne Would to God the pardon of my finnes were graunted mee and that presently laying aside this burthen of my flesh I might enter into the true rest of thy ioyes and that possessing the most beautifull admirable walls of thy citty I might receiue the crowne of life from the handes of our Lorde that I might accompany these holy quires that with those blessed spirits I might asist the glory of the Creator that face to face I might behold Christ that I might alwayes looke vppon that high ineffable and vncircumscribed light Happy is that soule which deliuered froÌ this earthly body may freely ascend to heauen that secure and peaceable neither feareth the deuil nor death Happy eternally happie my soule if after this corporall death it may be counted worthy to behold thy glory thy maiesty thy beautie thy gates walls streetes thy many mansions thy noble cittizens and thy most mightie kingdome in thy comlines For thy vvalls are of precious stone and thy gates of the purest Margarites thy streetes are of burnisht golde wherein without intermission Alleluia is sunge thy mansions are many founded on squared stones builded with Saphires couered with golden tile into which no man entreth except he be cleane wherein no one inhabiteth that is defiled Mother Ierusalem thou art made faire and sweet in thy delights there is no such thing in thee as we suffer heere and behold in this miserable life They differ very far from those thinges which are daily present before our eyes in this life full of calamitie There is no darknes in thee neither night or any change of time The light of the candle shyneth not in thee or the bright Moone or the beamy starres but God of gods the light of lights the sunne of iustice alwaies illuminateth thee The white and immaculate Lambe is thy cleere delightfull light The King of Kings is in the midst of thee his children round about him There the quires of hymne-tuning Angels there the societie of the supernall Cittizens there the sweete solemnitie of all those that returne from this wofull pilgrimage vnto thy ioyes There the prouident company of the prophets there the twelue number of the Apostles There the victorious host of innumerable Martyrs there the sacred couent of the saints Confessors there the true and perfect Monks there the holy women that haue ouercome the pleasures of the world and the infirmities of theyr sexe There the young men maidens that flying the snares of thys world with sacred manners haue past theyr time in all vertues there are the sheepe and lambes which haue already escaped the snares and pleasures of thys life All reioyce in theyr peculier mansions The glory of euery one is different yet is the ioy of them all common Full and perfect charitie raigneth there because God is there all in all whom they beholde without ende and seeing him alwaies burne in his loue loue laude him They praise and loue All theyr labour is the prayse of God wiâhout end without defect without labor Happie were I and truly happy for euerlasting if after the resolution of thys body of mine I shall deserue to hear those canticles of celestiall melody which are sung in praise of the eternall King by those cittizens of the celestiall country troopes of blessed spirits Fortunate were I and incredibly blessed if I likewise might deserue to sing them and assist my King my God my guide and see him in his glory euen as hee hath dayned to promise saying Father I will that those whoÌ thou hast giuen me be with me that they may beholde my beauty and maiestie which I had with thee before the beginning of the world Tell me I pray thee brother what a day shal that be which shal knock at thy gate the course of this thy pilgrimage beeing ended that if thou hast liued in the feare of God may from death transferre thee to immortality wherein others were wont to feare thou shalt beginne to lyft vp thy heade because thy râdemption is at hand Come out I pray thee a little while sayth S. Ierosme writing to Eustochia the Virgine froÌ the prison and depaint before thine eyes the rich reward of thy present labor which neyther eye hath seene nor eare heard neyther hath the hart of man conceiued the like VVhat day shall that be when as the Virgine Mary shall meete thee attended by all the troopes of Virgins who on the otherside of the Redde-sea the host of Pharao being drowned who bearing a tymbrel shal sing to those that aunswere Let vs sing to our Lord for he hath gloriously honored vs he hath cast down the horse and the ryder into the sea TheÌ shal the Spouse himselfe meete her
but of eternall And if ãâã yeelding thy account thou shalt ãâã found to be much indebted alas ãâã horrible shall the anxieties and âârows of thy soule be ô how conââsed shalt thou be and full of vnââiâfull penitence how voide of all ââunsell and destitute of all solace Trulie the perturbation amongst the Princes of Iuda was very greaâ wheÌ as the victorious sword of Caââsar King of Egypt did tyranniâ thorow all the streetes of Ierusaleâ when as thorowe the present payâ and punishment they acknowleââged theyr fore-passed crymes ãâã olde errours But there is no coââparison betwixt that confusion anâ this whereof we now intreate ãâã in that houre what shal sinners doâ whether shal they turne themselueâ who shall defend them teares the are of no force there all repentanââ is vnprofitable in that houre neââther shall prayers be heard nor ãâã promises preuaile or any suretââ be accepted When as the last moâment of life is past there is no moââ time of repent And if the forââsaid finde no place much lesse rââches nobility and honours of thâ world shall helpe for the wise ãâã saith Riches shall not helpe in thâ day of reuenge But iustice shâââ deliuer from death But when the vnhappie soule shalâ see her selfe enuironed with so manie calamities what shall shee doe ãâã what shall shee say in what otheâ âârdes shall shee lament her lamenâââle case then those which in times ãâã the Prophet vsed when he said ãâã paynes of death haue compasâââ mee rounde about and the ââods of iniquitie haue troubled ââee The dolours of hell haue enââoned me and the snares of death ãâã entrapped mee VVoe is me ââetch that I am what circle is this ãâã which my sinnes haue enclosed âee Howe suddainly and when I ãâã suspected doth this houre enâââgle mee howe presseth it vpân mee when I least thought of ãâã VVhat auayle mee myne hoââurs nowe What helpe me my ââgnities What all my friendes âhat profitte will my Seruauntes ââvve bring mee VVhat fruite ââall I receaue of all those ritches ãâã goods which I was woont to ââssesse For nowe a small fielde ãâã seauen foote long must suffice âee and I must be content with the âarrowe roome of a Sepulcher and base winding sheete But that which is worst of all the âches which with so many sweats âauailes I haue grated from others shall remaine heere behind othââ men shall enioy them and consuâââ them in pleasures onely the sinââ which I haue committed in gathâring them shall accompany me thââ I may sustaine condigne punishmeââ for them What shall I doe with ãâã my pleasures and delights when they are past away and naughtâ them remaines but the dreggs in ãâã bottome which are the scruples ãâã remorce of conscience which ãâã thornes prick and teare my miserââble hart and shall crucifie the saââ with perpetuall torments O dulââ not to be indured ô my slouthâââ negligence worthy a thousand mââseries how could it be that forgeââfull of this time I haue not preparâ my selfe to auoid these present calâmities How often was I warned ãâã this day yet haue I shutte vp miââ eares to all counsailes Wretch thââ I am why receaued I not discipline vvhy obayed I not my Maisters vvhy neglected I the wordes whicâ they taught me I liued wickedly ãâã the midst of the church amongââ the people of God defiled my selfe with all sorts of impiety In thesâ ãâã such like lamentable expostulaââs shall sinners deplore their vnââpy fortunes these shall be their ââditations these their consideratiâââ these their confessions âut why trauaile I in vaine who ãâã wise who so eloquent that ãâã sufficiently expresse or describe ãâã sâuerity and rigour of that iudgâânt Wee reade of a certaine deâââed that after his death appeared his friend greeuouslie afflicted ãâã oppressed with great dolours ãâã a dreadfull and lamentable ââce exclaiming thus No man beâââeth no man beleeueth no man âeeueth His friend amazed with ãâã demaunded of him what hee âant by that lamentation to whoÌââre aunswered thus No man beââueth howe strictly God iudgeth ãâã how seuerely he punisheth In âââfirmation of which matter I âââke it not vnprofitable to report âhis place an example of wonderâââ admiration which Iohn Climaâââ reporteth to haue happened in ãâã time to a certaine Monke For saith I will not omit also to relate ãâã History of a certaine solitarie votary which dwelt in Coreb. ãâã when hee had liued negligently long time without any care at all ãâã his soule at length ceazed by a siââânes was brought to the last gasâ And when the soule had wholy fâââsaken the body after an houres ãâã he was restored againe to life ãâã vpon hee besought euery one ãâã that wee should from thence ãâã immediatly depart from him ãâã closing vp the dore of his cell ãâã stones he remained there encloââ for twelue yeeres space speaking no man nor tasting any other ãâã but bread and water There sittâââ hee onely amazedly meditated ãâã that which he had seene during ãâã seperation from the body and ãâã fixed were his thoughts vppon ãâã same as that he neuer changed ãâã countenance but alwayes remâââning in that amazement he silenâââ poured foorth a streame of feruââ teares And when hee grew ãâã vnto his death breaking open ãâã dore of his cell wee entred in ãâã him And when wee humbly ãâã sought him to giue vs one word ãâã ghostly instruction at last we onââ âââorted this froÌ him Pardon mee ãâã man that hath truly the memoââ of death may euer commit sin ãâã wee were strooken with wonâârfull admiration beholding him ãâã first had beene so negligent to ãâã so suddainly changed and by a ââst blessed transformation to be ââde another man Hetherto Cliââchus who was an eye-witnesse of ãâã this who testâfieth that which ãâã sawe in his writings So that no ãâã although it may seeme increââââle to som ought to doubt hereââ especially sith hee is both a true ãâã a faithfull witnes Nowe in this storie there are ãâã thinges which deseruedly vvee ââght to feare considering the lyfe ââich this holy man led and much ãâã the vision which hee sawe ââence sprung that his manner of ãâã which euer after during his ââole life he obserued These therâââe sufficiently approoue that to be ãâã which is spoken by the Wiseâan Remember thy end thou ãâã not sinne for euer Least thereââre my brother thou shouldest ãâã into the like calamities I beseech thee with great attention of mindâ to discusse examine often repâââ these things aforesaid alwaies ãâã euery where present theÌ to thy mââmory But amongst all the rest ãâã graue coÌsideration attentiue mââmory these three things in especiâââ The first whereof is that thou coââsider the greatnes of the punishââââ which thou shalt feele in the hoâââ of death for the multitude of ãâã sinnes wherwith thou hast offendââ the Diuine bounty Secondly ãâã thou diligently wey with what âââsire thou shalt then wish that ãâã
are such and so admirable that ãâã man do but attentiuely wey the ãâã of them and vvith an vnderââânding voyde of all perturbation of the minde examine the same hââ shall haue sufficient cause enougâ of amazednes and reason to induââ him to the correction of his erroâ Beeing moued therefore in espââciall by this reason I thought ãâã should doe a worke worthy the lââbour if I proposed some fewe ãâã those thinges before their eyes thââ wil either read or write accordinâ to the imitation of Ieremy that vââderstanding not onely the ãâã which God hath prepared for ãâã loose and wicked sort but also ãâã good which he hath decreed to bââstowe on the godly and iust thââ might forsake the way of iniquitââ that God might receiue them gââuing them pardon of al their sinne and deliuering them from all the punishments which in the book of holy Scripture hee threatneth inflict vpon them The Argument Christian must thinke that hee is a man and a Christian and therfore subiâct to death bound to yeeld a reason of his life past in another world For which cause he shall doe aduisedly if he wey without intermission the horrible and intollerable griefes which are wont to encomber the sinner at the howre of death and the feares and amazements that presently ouerwhelme him vppon the entrance of the lyfe to come At which time neyther the goods of the body nor the goods of Forâune nor any fauour of this world may appease the iust and incensed wrath of God against sinners CHAP. 2. THat therefore wee may begin from matters most apparant and which daily we behold with our eyes goe to my brother remember ââou art a Christian and a man because thou art a Christian be asââred thou shalt yeelde account of thy lyfe when thou art dead Thâ fayth which wee hold and profesââ excludeth all doubt and that it is ãâã experience offering herselfe daiââ to our eyes trulie teacheth vs. ãâã that no man is free from this Chââlice but all must drinke thereoâ whether he be Pope whether Kiââ eyther any other what-soeuer The day shall once come wheââ in at morning thou shalt liue ãâã night thou shalt be dead The ãâã shall one day bee but whether shall happen to day or to morroâ it is altogether vncertaine in whiââ thou thy selfe which nowe readâ these thinges which wee reckon ãâã whole and strong measuring ãâã life by the length of thy desires anâ the dayes by the multitude of thinâ affaires shalt see thy selfe lying ãâã thy bedde full of greefe and sicâânesse expecting euery moment thâ stroake and terrible sentence ãâã death pronouncâd against all manâkinde from which thou canst noâ appeale to any other Iudge But especially it is to be consideâred howe vncertaine that howre iâ for euen then it is wont to fall vpoâ ãâã when it is least expected and ââen a man wholy secure thinkes ãâã of it but rather intending the ââsinesses and occupations of this ãâã complots in his hart howe to âând his longer hoped life in more âââicitie and worldlie pleasures For ââich câuse it is often sayde in the âââlie Scripture that it shall come in ãâã night like a theefe who euen ãâã is vvont to breake in vvhen ãâã slâepe soundest are most secuââ thinke of nothing lesse then ãâã imminent theft perrill which ãâã the suddaine happeneth vnto ãâã Before death himselfe commeth a âreeuous sicknesse dooth vsher ãâã which is to be considered of ãâã all his accidents greefes trouâââs abhorrings angers sirrups deââctions suffumigations pylls garâârismes and sundry other mediâââes The long nights likewise ââich at this time are most vncomâââtable wearisome and full of teâââusnes all which dispose and preââre the way to death For euen as the Captaine that ââill conquer a Fort first maketh a breach with his greater ordinanceâ then assaileth inuadeth and poââsesseth the same So before death grieuous infirmitie beginnes thâ charge which so weakeneth dââcayeth the naturall strength of thâ bodie that it vouchsafeth man nâââther daily nor nightly rest but shââketh all the principall members ãâã his body without intermission ãâã thât the soule is vnable to defenâ her fort any longer or conserue hâââsâlfe in the same for which ãâã shee leaueth her habitation in ãâã body and hauing escaped flyeââ and departeth to another place But when the infirmitie hath prââuailed so much as eyther the sicâ man himselfe or the Phisition bââginnes to doubt despaire of lifâ ô good GOD what perplexitieâ what anguishes what agonies ãâã at that time excruciate teare ãâã hart Foâ then the course or raceâ his fore-passed life is called to minâ then all the images of leauing the representations of those thingâ which hee heere loued his wife ãâã children his friendes his parenââ his riches his honours his titles ãâã âffices and all other thinges which âre wont to bee extinct together âith life represent themselues vnto âim After these the last accidents âhich are coÌnexed with death himââlfe doe assâult which are far greaââr then the precedent The browe ãâã bent and the skin is distent wherââon a cold sweat breaketh foorth ãâã balls of the eyes waxe dimme ââde and through the intollerable ââhemencie of paine are rowled ââcertainly the eares waxe deafe ãâã nose sharpe the nostrills are replete with excrement the face waxeth blew the mouth is contracted the tongue is doubled and can no more performe his office tast perâisheth the lyppes waxe pale the bâeath reinforcing it selfe from the âânter of the breast growes difficiââât and short the hands wax cold ãâã nayles blacke the pulse feeble ãâã faint but of speedy motion ãâã we intermitteth now antlie creeââth the feete die and loose theyr ââturall heate What neede many âordes the whole flesh is turned ãâã corruption and all the members and sences are troubled through thââ hastie separation In this manneâ must a man departing out of thyâ world satisfie for the labours doâlors of others by whom hee camâ into this world suffering in his decease those griefes which his moâther suffered when shee bare him And thus most signal is the propoââtion of mans egresse and ingreâââ into the worlde for both of theâ are full of dolors but that his enâtrance causeth others griefes his ââsue his owne Whilst a man floteth and is toââsed in these perplexities suddainlââ the agony of death is at hand thâ end of life the horror of the graue the infelicity of the body which shaâ shortly be wormes meate are represented to the memory but especiâally of the soule which as yet abiâdeth in the body but after an hourâ or two must be seperated from itâ Then shalt thou thinke the iudgement of God to be present then before thee shalt thou see all thy sinns which shall accuse thee before the tribunall of diuine iustice Then ãâã the length but too late shalt thoâ ââknowledge how loathsome those âimes were which thou so easely âommittedst then with many due ââecrations shalt thou
amongst ancient Writers of a famous Painter that depainting the funeralls of a certaine Kinges daughter shaddowed about the circuite of the heirse many of her kinsmen alâies standing with sad and afflicted lookes next them her mother more pensiue then the rest but when he came to delineate the Father he couered his face with an artificial kind of shadow expresâing thereby thât Art was deficient in this place by which new e inuention hee expessed the greatnes of the dolor After the same manner all our vnderstanding art eloquence are defectiue in declaring this vnspeakable benefite of our redemption For which cause perhaps wee might haue done farre better if wee had worshipped the same with silence that in some maner by this deuice wee might expresse the greatnes thereof The benefit of our creation is vnspeakable but of our Redemption more admirable for God created all things with the onely beck of his will bââ for mans redemption hee trauailed thirty and three yeeres he shed hâs blood neyther had he either member or any sence which was not excruciate with a perticuler greefe It seemeth therefore that an iniurie should be done to so glorious a mistery if any man shoulde imagine that he could expresse the same with humane tongue What therefore shâll I doe shall I speake or holde my peace I must not be silânt and I cannot speake Howe may it bee that I should conceale so immesurable mercy and howe may I expresse a mistery so sublime adorable It is ingratitude to conceale it and to speake thereof it seemeth rashnes presumption For which cause I âesâech thee ô my God that whilst I am to speak according to my rude vnderstanding of this thy immesurable glory thy holie Spirit may moue and moderate my tongue like the penne of a ready writer After that man was created setled in the Paradise of delâghts in high dignity and glorâ yea by so much was bouÌd to God by straight bonds by how much he had receaued more greater benefites at his hands he becam vndutiful rebellious of those things from which he ought to haue takeÌ greater cause of loue towards his Creator of the same he tooke greatest occasions to betray him For that cause was hee thrust out of Paradise thrust in exile yea allotted to infernal paines to the end that hee that had beenâ made companion with the deuill in sinne should be also associate with him in punishment Helizeus the prophet said to his seruaunt Giezi Thou hast taken siluer rayments from Naaman therefore Naamans leprosie shall cleaue vnto thee and thy seede for euer Such was the iudgement of GOD against man who wheÌ he had affected the goods and riches of Lucifer namelie his pride and ambition it was iust and requisite that he should be infected with the leprosie of the same Lucifer which was the punishment of his pride Behold therefore man made like vnto the deuill Nowe the diuine iustice might haue left man by al right in this miserable estate euen as he left the deuil without any contradiction expostulation yet would hee not doe so but rather did the contrary chaning his wrath into mercy by how much the more iniury he had receiued by so much the more grace would he shew his loue to mankind And whereas also he might haue repaired this ruine by an Angell oâ Archangel he would com himselfe But how in what form cam he howe redeemed hee vs What humaine tongue wil expresse this vnto vs WheÌ as he might haue com in maiesty glory he would not but he came in great humility pouertie Christ established such friendship betwixt God vs that not only god forgaue man all his sin receiued him into his fauour made him one and the same with him by a straight coÌnexion of loue but that which exceedeth all greatnes he made such a similitude correspondence betwixt himselfe mans nature that amongst all thinges created there might no such coÌformity be found as are the Deitie and humanitie for they are not one the same only in loue grace but also in person Who durst euer but haue hoped that that so wide wound shold haue been closed after this manner who might euer haue imagined that these two things betwixt which there was so much difference of nature offence should so closely bee vnited not in one house not at one table not in one grace but in one and the same person What two things may be thought more contrary theÌ God and a sinner and what is more neerly annexed or more commixt then God and man There is nothââg more high then God saith S. Bâânard theâe is nothing more âile abiect thân duât of which man is foââed Notwithstanding God descended vppon the earth with such humilitie ascended with so much sublimitie froÌ the earth to God that what soeuer God did the same the earth is sayd to haue done whatsoeuer the earth suffered that likewise God suffered Who wold haue said to a man when hee was naked assertained that he had incurd the displeasure of our Lord when hee sought retyring places in Paradise wherin he might hide himselfe who I say woulde then haue said to him that the time should one day com wherein this so vild substance shold be vnited with God in one and the same person This vnion is so neere and faithfull that at such time as hâs humanity was to be dissolued which was at the howre of his passion ãâã was rather strengthned then weakened Truly death might seperate the soule from the body which was the vnion of nature but neither could he separate God from the soule or draw him from the body for such was the vnion of the diuine person that what is apprehended once with so firme an vnion it neuer will forsake And all these thânges GOD would so doe that by this benefite he might inflame vs with more loue towards him and by this example more straightly oblige vs vnto him Now therfore if thou art so much indebted to thy Redeemer for that in his own proper person he would come to redeeme thee how much owest thou for the means it selfe by which hee redeemed thee vvhich meanes most assuredly was mixed with mighty griefes tribulations Truly it is a great benefite if anie King shoulde forgiue a thiefe that punishment which he ought to suffer for his offence But that the king himselfe shoulde suffer himselfe to be tyed to the post and receiue the stroakes vppon his owne shoulders that shold be an vnspeakable benefiâe a bounty beyond coÌparison Ah my Lord for the loue of mee thou wert borne in a stable lââd in a harde manger for mee werâ thou circumcized the eight day for me flying into Egipt thou wert banished seauen whole yeares and for me thou sustainedst diuers persecuons and wert prouoked by diuers mockings and infinite iniuries For my sake thou
the naturall goods For whereas a man is a reasonable creature and sinne is a worke made against nature and it is naturall that euery contrary destroy his opposit it followeth that by how much more our sinns are multiplied by so much the powers of the soule are destroyed troubled not in themselues but in theyr toward workings After this manner doe sinnes make the soule miserable infirme slowe and instable to all goodnes but ready and prompt to all euill they make her weake to resist temptations and slowe to walke the way of the commaundements of our Lord. They also depriue her of thâ true liberty and domânion of the Spirit and make her captiue to the world the deuill the flesh and her owne appetites and after this manner shee liueth in harder captiuitie then that of Babylon or Egypt Besides all the spirituall sences of the minde are made slow so that they neither heare the voyces and diuine inspirations neither see the great euâls that are prepared for them neither smell the sweet odor of vertue nor the woorthy examples of the Saints nor taste how sweet our lord is nor feele his scourges nor acknowledge his benefites by which he prouoketh theÌ to loue And besides all this they take away the peace ioy of conscience extinguish the feruor of the Spirit and leaue a man defiled lothsome deformed abhominable in the sight of God and all his Saints This benefite deliuereth vs from all these euils For the Abiss of diuine mercy is not content to haue pardoned our sinnes and to haue receiued man into his fauour except hee also expell all those euills which sinnes bring with them reforming renewing our inward man After thys manner he healeth our woundes hee washeth our vncleannes he breaketh the bonds of sinners destroyeth the yoake of euill desires deliuereth vs froÌ the seruitude of the deuil mittigateth the fury of our peruerse affections restoreth vnto vs the tru liberty pulchritude of the soule giueth vs peace ioy of good conscience quickneth our interior sences maketh them prompt to doe all goodnes slow to all wickednes He maketh them strong to resist temptations of the deuill endoweth them with good works To conclude so absolutely renueth hee and repaireth he our interiour man with all his powers as the Apostle feareth not to call such kind of men iustified renewed or rather newâ creatures This renouation is so great that when it is giuen by Baptisme it is called regeneration and when it is restored by repentance it is called resurrection not onely because the soule is raised from the death of sinne to the life of grace but because in a certaine manner it imitateth the beauty of the future resurrection And that is so true that no tongue of man is sufficient to expresse the beauty of the iustified soule but only that spirit knoweth this that beautifieth the same and maketh it his temple lodgeth himselfe in it Wherefore if thou compare all the ritches of this world all his honours all his naturall graces and all his acquired vertues with the beautie and ritches of the soule that is iustified all of them shall seeme most obscure vild in comparison thereof For as great difference as there is betwixt heauen and earth betweene the spirit and the bodie betweene eternity and time so great also is founde betwixt the life of grace the lyfe of nature between the beauty of the soule and of the body betwixt the interior and exterior riches betweene spirituall and naturall fortitude For all these are circumscribed by certaine termes are temporall and seeme only faire to the out ward eye to which the generall concourse of God is sufficient but to those other a perticuler supernaturall concourse is required neyther can they be called temporall where as they bring to eternity neither any wayes termed finite beâause they deserue God in whose eyes they are so precious and of such value that by theyr beautie they prouoke God himselfe to loue But whereas God might worke all these thinges by his onely presence he would not doe it but it pleased him to adorne the soule with infused vertues and with the 7. dowers of the holie Spirit with which not onelâ the very essence of the soule it selfe but also all the powers thereof are inuested and adorned with these diuine habits Besides all these diuine benefites that eternall and infinite goodnesse of God annexeth an other namely the presence of the holy ghost or rather of the whole blessed Trinitie which entreth into the iustified soule and commeth to inhabite in the same that it may teach her how to vse in due sort so great riches Like to a good Father who not content to haue giuen his riches to his sonne giueth him a tutor also who knoweth howe to administer them well So that euen as in the soule of a sinner Vipers Dragons and Serpents inhabite who are the multitude of malignant spirits who haue taken vp their lodging in such a soule as our Sauiour in S. Mathew affirmeth So contrariwise into the iustified soule the holy Ghost with the whole sacred Trinitie doe enter and casting out all monsters and infernall beasts consecrateth the same for a temple for himselfe and placeth his seate there As our Lorde himselfe expresly testifieth in the gospell written by Saint Iohn saying If any man loue mee hee wil obserue my sayings and my Father shall loue him and we will com vnto him make our mansion with him By vertue of these wordes all the Doctors as well Ecclesiasticall as Scholasticall doe confesse that the holy Ghost himselfe truly and after a certaine speciall manner dooth dwell in the iustified soule distinguishing betwixt the holy ghost his gyfts saying moreouer that not onely these gifts of the holy Ghost âre giuen but that the holy ghost also giueth himselfe who entring into this soule maketh her his temple and habitation fixing his seate in âhe same Hee therefore purgeth âhe same sanctifieth decketh her with his vertues that shee may be a sufficient mansion wherein hee may inhabite The aboue named benefites suffice not except another and that admirable be ioyned vnto theÌ nameâie that all the iustified are made the lyuing members of our Sauiour who were first but dead members For they dyd not receaue the ânfluences from theyr Lord head Christ. Hence doe orher and they very great prerogatiues and excellencies arise For hence commeth it that Gods onelie Sonne loueth them as his owne members and hath no lesse care of them then of himselfe hee is no lesse solicitous for them then for his owne members without intermission hee powreth into them his vertues as the heade into his members Finally the eternââl Father beholdeth them with fauoârable eyes no otherwise then the liuing members of his onely begotten Sonne vnited with him concorporate by the participation of his Spirit and therefore their acââons are gratefull and pleasing as
from darknes into darknes shall they goe The fourth priuiledge is the ioy of the holy Ghost Of that knowledge whereof wee spake before wee sayd that it not onely relyed on the vnderstanding but that it discended also to the will where it poureth foorth her rayes and spreadeth her light So that the soule reioyceth and after an vnspeakeable kind of manner comforteth her selfe in our Lorde So that euen aâ the materiall light produceth of it selfe that heate which wee feele so that spyrituall light createth in the soule of the iust man a spirituall ioy of which we speak according to that of thâ prophet The light is risen to the iust and reioycing to the vpright in hart Many confesse that as in vices there are all kinds of euill so in vertues there are al sorts of goodnes only pleasure excepted which diuers deny to be in the same And wheras the hart of man desireth nothing more then pleasures men had rather haue imperfect pleasure then that which wanteth pleasure with all the perfections thereof But ô vnhappy man if vertue haue not ioy and delight in her what is that which Dauid saith How great a multitude of thy sweetnes haft thou hoorded vp for those that feare thee In which words the Prophet not onely expresseth the greatnes of the sweetnes which is reserued for the godly but also giueth a reason why the wicked do not know the same namely because our lord hideth the same from theyr eyes This sweetânes the godly especially pertake in theyr prayers Neyther is thys ioy onely peculier to them that are perfect but the younger souldiers also of Christ and such as are newly entred into his seruice haue their sweetnes and find theyr ioyes in the way of our Lorde as that sollemne day testifieth appoynted by the Father for his prodigall sonne The wicked are not pertakers of this ioy for euen as he that hath his pallate corrupted with euill humors tasteth not the sweetnes of the meat for that which is bitter he deemeth sweet and that which is sweete bitter So they that haue theyr soule corrupted with âuill and disordered humors of vices and affections and so accustomed to the flesh-pots of Egipt haue no feeling of the sweetnes of vertue but thinke vice sweet and vertue bitter The fift priuiledge is the peace of conscience For a iust man feeleth no pricks or stinges of conscience but reioyceth in the sweete flowers and fruites of vertue which the holy Ghost hath planted in his soule as it were a Paradise on earth and a well cultiued garden in which hee himselfe taketh delight Of this tranquilitie S. Augustine speaketh after this manner Thou that seekest this true rest which after this life is promised to Christians euen here maist thou tast the sweete thereof amidst the most bitter molestations of this life if thou louest his precepts that promised the same vnto thee For thou shalt quickly perceiue that the fruites of âustice are sweeter then those of iniquity and thou shalt more truly and contentedly enioy the goods of the conscience amidst troubles then of the euill amongst delights Hetherto S. Augustine And truly euen as honny is not only sweet of it selfe but also sweetneth that which was before biââer so a good conscience is so iocond merry that it maketh all the troubles and tribulations of this worlde seeme delightfull So great is the fruite and sweetnes of a good conscience as S. Ambrose in his booke of Oâfices is not afraid to say that the beatitude of the iust in this life consisteth in the same His wordes are these The brightnes of honesty is so great that peace of conscience and security of innocence doe make a blessed life The same vnderstood the Ethniques amongst whom Cicero saith thus A life led in honesty and vprightnes bringeth so much consolation that sicknes eyther toucheth not or griefe of mind lightly attayneth those who haue so liued Bias demaunded what in this life wanted feare aunswered A good conscience And Seneca in a certaine Epistle saith It is neuer without ioy and that proceedeth from a good conscience By which it appeareth howe fitly the Phylosophers sentence accordeth with that of Salomon All the dayes of the poore are euill that is miserable a secure minde is like a perpetuall banquet Contrariwise the wicked liue in perpetuall feare and suspition For euen as the conscience is the Maister of the godly so is it the torture and heads man of the wicked which afflicteth and inwardly tormenteth and without intermission accuseth sinners of their wickednes committed and mixeth wormewood amongst all theyr delights For the turpitude of sinne iniuries done vnto other men infamy incertayntie of life feare of death dread to yeeld account and horrour of hel like thornes do teare the harâ of a sinner that when hee is alone he can neuer take comfort So that it is well sayd by Isodore The guilty soule is neuer secure For an euill mind is alwayes afflicted with the stings of his owne conscience then which punishment what is more greeuous Here-vpon S. Ambrose What more greeuous punishment theÌ wound of the inward conscience Is not this more to be esteemed then death then losse then banishment then weakenes then greefe is which is so vnfainedlie true that the Ethniques also had knowledge thereof as many the worthy writings of Seneca Cicero and others doe testifie The sixt priuiledge is the confidence and hope of vertue in which the iust liue of which also the Apostle speaketh Reioycing in hope patient in tribulation This is one of the principall treasures of Christian life this is the possession and patrimony of the sonnes of God this is the secure Hauen and very remedy of all the miseries of this life For this cause the Prophet Dauid sayde thus Remember ô Lord thy promises in which thou gauest mee hope this comforted mee in my humility The effects of this hope are many excellent For it strengtheneth a man in the way of vertue by the hope of rewarde or recompence For the more sure hee is of the pledge of this reward the more willingly he runneth through what soeuer tribulations of this world as with one voyce all the Fathers doe confesse Euery worke saith Saint Ierosme is wont to become light when as the recompence thereof is thought vpon and the hope of the rewarde becommeth the solace of the labour The obtayning thereof doth not in the end onely strengthen vs but it helpeth also in the midst thereof yea in all necessity and worldly misery By this a man is succoured in all tribulation defended in perills by thâs he receaueth comfort in his calamities help in his infirmities sufficient in all his necessities By this we obtaine the grace and mercy of our Lorde which assisteth vs in euerie thing Of this there are diuers testimonies in Scriptures especially in the Psalmes Hope is as it were a secure Hauen
ruines of Kingdomes Empires inferred in times past in the Christian world by the Hunes Gothes and Vandales testifie no lesse The twelfth and last priuiledge of vertue is the pleasing and glorious death of the Saints For what is more glorious then the death of the iust Precious sayth the Psalmist is the death of the Saints in the sight of our Lord. And Ecclesiasticus In extreamity all thinges shal be well to those that feare God and in the day of his death hee shall be blessed VVhat greater hope and confidence may bee wished for then that of blessed Saint Martine Who vppon the instant of death espying the enemie of mankinde Cruell beast sayeth hee why standest thou nigh mee Cruell as thou art thou shalt finde nothing in me for the bosome of Abraham shall receaue me in peace So the iust feare not death nay rather they reioyce in theyr departure prayse God and in as much as in them lyeth giue hâm thanks for their end for by the benefit of death they are deliuered from all theyr labours and begin to tast the first fruites of theyr felicitie Of these sayeth Saint Augustine Hee that desireth to be dissolued and to be with Christ dyeth not patiently but lyueth patiently and dyeth delightfully The iust man therefore hath no cause to lament or feare death nay rather it is to be sayd of him that likâ the Swanne hee dyeth singing gyuing glory to GOD that calletâ him But the death of sinners is most wretched sayth the Prophet for it is euill in the loosing of the worlde woorse in the seperation from the flesh and woorst of all in the double contrition of the woorme and fire layeth Saint Bernard This is the last and not the least euill as vvell of the boddie as of the soule For it is harde to leaue the worlde harder to forsake the body hardest to be tormented in hell fire These and other such like infinite euills doe torment sinners in the houre of their death which make theyr end troublesome disquiet âeuere and cruell ¶ Of all these thinges the Author entreateth very largely lib. 1 Guide of a sinner chap. 19 20 21 22 23 truly most worthy the reading and obseruation ¶ The conclusion of all those thinges which hetherto haue beene spoken of the priuiledges of vertues CHAP. 16. THou hast heard therfore my brother which and of what kind those twelue priuiledges be which are graunted to vertue in this life which are as it were twelue excellent and woorthy fruites of that tree which S. Iohn saw in the Apocalips which was so planted by a flood bearing twelue fruites euery moneth yeelding his seuerall fruite For what other thing may this tree be next the sonne of God then vertue it selfe which yeeldeth the fruite of holines and life And what other fruites thereof are there then those which wee haue reckoned vp in all this part For what fruite is more pleasant to the sight then the fatherly prouidence whereby GOD preserueth his the deuine grace the light of wisedome the consolation of the holy Spirit the ioy of a good conscience a good euent of hope the true liberty of the soule the interiour peace of the hart to be heard in our prayers to be helpt in tribulations to be prouided for in our necessities Finally to be assisted and to receaue ghostly consolation in death Euery one of these priuiledges is truly so great in it selfe that if it were plainely knowne it should suffice man to loue and embrace vertue and amende his life and it should also bring to passe that a man should truly vnderstand how wel it is said by our Sauior Whosoeuer forsaketh the worlde for Gods sake shall receaue a hundreth fold in this lyfe and possesse lyfe eternall Beholde therefore my brother what a benefit it is that heeretofore I haue declared vnto thee see whervnto I inuite thee Consider if any man will say thou art deceaued if for the loue thereof thou shalt leaue the worlde and all that is therein One onely inconuenient hath this good if it may be termed an inconuenient by reason it is vnsauorie to the reprobate namely because it is vnknowne vnto him For this cause sayth our Sauiour the Kingdome of heauen is like vnto a treasure that is hidden For this good is a very treasure in deede but hidden not to those that possesse it but to others The Prophet very well acknowledged the price of this treasure who said My secret to my selfe my secret to my selfe Little cared he whether other men knew his treasure or no. For this good is not as other goods are which are not goods vnlesse they be knowne by others for which cause they are not goods of themselues but only in the opinion of the world therfore it is necessary that they be known of him that by that meanes they may be called goods But this good maketh his possessour good blessed and no lesse warmeth his hart when ãâã only knoweth it himselfe then if all the world knew it But my tong is not the key of this secret deske much lesse of all those things which hetherto haue been spoken for what so euer may be spoken by humane tongue is much lesse abiect then the truth of the thing it selfe The key is the diuine light and the experience vse of vertues This will I that thou ask at Gods hands thou shalt find this treasure yea God him selfe in whoÌ thou shalt find al things thou shalt see with how great reason the Prophet said Blessed is the people whose God is our Lord For what can he want that is in possession of this good It is written in the book of the kings that Helcanah the father of Samuel said vnto his wife that bewailed her selfe because shee was barren had no children Anna why weepest thou and why doost thou not eate and wherfore is thy hart troubled am not I better vnto thee then ten sonnes well then if a good husband which is to day tomorrow is not is better to his wife then ten sonnes what thinkest thou of God what shall hee be to thaâ soule that possesseth him what doâ you meane whether looke you whatintend you why leaue you the fountaine of Paradise and drinke you of the troubled cesternes of thiâ worlde why followe you not the good counsaile which the Propheâ giueth saying Tast and see howe sweet our Lord is why doe we not often passe this Ford why doe weâ not once tast this banquet Trust the wordes of our Lord and begin and hee afterward will deliuer you out of all doubt In times past that Serpent into which Moses rod was transformed seemed a farre off terrible and fearefull but being neerâ and handled by the hand it returned into his former state Not without reason sayth Salomon It ãâã naught it is naught saith euery buiâer but when he is gone he glorieth The like
curse the day âherein thou sinnedst and crie woe ãâã those pleasures and delectations âhich by their allurements inuited âee to sinne Thou canst not in ââat houre sufficiently admire at thy ââfe and thine owne leuity who for âings so vaine and of so little moâent as are those which with inorâânate loue thou wert wont to lust ââter hast cast thy selfe into the perââl of enduring such intollerable doâââurs of which in that fatall houre ââou shalt haue no smal experiment or pleasures passing away and the ââdgement of them approaching at which by it selfe was before litââe now ceaseth to be shall seeme ãâã be nothing but that which in it ââfe is great and presently instant ââou shalt think it greater then it is âecause thou shalt manifestly know at length with all his circumstanââs When therefore thou shalt see ãâã things so vaine and light nay raââer filthy that thou art nowe deâauded of so many goods and rowling thine eyes hither and thitheâ thou shalt see thy selfe inuironeâ with so many mischiefes and tribââlations for liue thou canst nâ longer neither is there place for peânitence neyther shall there be aââ time The number of thy dayes ãâã sumd vp They cannot helpe theââ whom with inordinate loue thoâ hast affected Much lesse the Idol which thou adorest why doe I sââ it Yea what so euer thou mâ louedst and such thinges as wereâ greatest estimation with thee euââ these shall most of all torment theââ Tell me I pray thee when thou fiââdest thy selfe forsaken in this perrââ what minde what heart wilt thoâ haue whether wilt thou goe whââ wilt thou doe whom wilt thou caâ vppon it is impossible for thee ãâã returne to life and to leaue it is inâtollerable it is not graunted to aâbide in life vvhat therefore wiââ doe In that day saith our Lord by the Prophet the Sunne shall sette ãâã noone-day and I will darken the earth in the day of light I wil conâuert her festiualls into mournings and all her songs into plaints and I ââll put her as the lament of the ââst begotten and her last as the bitââr day O horrible wordes ô hard ââântence shaking and amazing all ârts whatsoeuer In that day saith ãâã the sunne shall set at noone-sted âor in that houre sinners shall haue ââe multitude of their misdeedes set âefore their sight and beholding the âuine Iustice breaking their threed âf life a sonder some of them shall âe stroken with so much feare and ââârour that they shall be destitute âf all hope and confidence because ââey shall thinke themselues to be âeprobate and holy excluded from ââe mercy of God Put the case they be as yet in the âoone sted that is let them be yet ãâã the race of life which is as yet ââe time of repentance yet will ââey perswade themselues that there âemaineth no time or place for them ãâã repent but that all meanes of âepentance are cut off and excluded âeare is the most powerfull perturâation of the minde which faineth âo it selfe each little thing to bee great and is alwaies afraid of things âbsent as if they were present If a little feare of any thing can doâ this what cannot that true feare doe which is conceaued of so fearefuâ and capitall perrils They are as yeâ aliue placed in the midst of theââ friends notwithstanding begin thââ to feele the paines and punishmenââ of the damned They seeme at onâ time to be both aliue and dead anâ surprized with the griefes of thoâ present thinges which they are ãâã leaue they beginne to feele thoââ succeeding euills vvhich they feâââred They deeme them blessed thââ are left in this worlde and of thâ enuie growe their reasons of new griefe The Sun therefore setteth to theâ at noone day when as to what placâ so euer they turne their eyes theâ shal see the entrance to heauen eueârie way shut against them neythââ shall the radiation of any light appeare vnto them For if they respect the mercy of God they shall thinkâ themselues vnwoorthy to pertakâ the mercy of God If they flie to the diuine Iustice they shall suspect that by it there are due and seuere punishmentes prepared for them ââat hetherto their day was but now ââe day of our Lord is at hand yea ââey shal think that it is already beâânning If they call to remembraunce ââeyr fore-passed life it reprehenâeth them vtterly If they regarde ââe time present they see themâââues a dying If the time shortly ãâã come they see the Iudge placed ãâã his iudgement seate and themâââues exspected to be iudged Now ââuironed with so many causes of are what shall they doe whether all they wend The Prophet goeth forward And will make the earth darke in the âây of light that is those thinges ââat are woont sweetely to delight âee nowe shall most of all torture âee and wound thy minde with tollerable goades of griefe Trulie it is a pleasant thing for a âan in his life time and in state ãâã health to see his Children to ââioy his friendes to order his faâilie to haue many ritches and ãâã possesse with delight vvhat soâer the mind can desire But then ãâã that pleasure is conuerted into griefe For all these thinges aforeâsaid shal teare and tire the miserablâ conscience with terrible tormenteâ and shall be the cruell executioneâ of these calamities It is naturall ãâã euen as the possession and presenâ of a thing which we loue doth âââioyce vs euen so the absence therââof should breede our sorrow and âââspleasure Heere-vpon the sonââ of the dying father doe flie his prââsence and the louing wife hidââ her selfe from the face of her deceââsing husband in his pangs least ãâã presence should augmeÌt his passioâ But although the soule that is pâââsently to be seperated from the boââ is to depart into an vnknowne Rââgion and the way is at hand boââ long and perrilous yet immeasuâââble griefe permitteth not to obseâââ the termes of humanity and ciuiliââ neither giueth him leaue that entââreth his iourney to bid his frienâ once farewell before his departurâ If thou hast at any time good Reââder made tryall heereof thou dooââ soothly vnderstand that I doe eueââ way speake the truth If thou ãâã neuer been entangled in this perril âeast-wise beleeue them that haue ãâã experience heereof For they ãâã saile the Sea as the vvise-man ãâã shew the perrils thereof âf therefore such and so great be ãâã that forgoe this dolefull sepeâââion what and how mighty thinâââât thou shal they be that shall folââw If the euen and vigill be such ãâã shall the festiuall and solemne ãâã it selfe be Tell mee I pray thee what wilt ãâã thinke of that houre when deâââting out of this life thou shalt ãâã that diuine iudgement alone ââked poore without any defender ãâã thy cause and thine onely conââence thy companion and that triâânall shall be so exceedingly seââre and strickt where the case of ãâã or of temporall death shall not ãâã handled