to redeem us from the tyranny of Satan Mourning is an attendant as unseparable from man as the shadow from the body He that condoles the death of a dear friend mourns in black for a year How long then shall he mourn that lives as an exile upon earth If he call to mind his manifold sins how can he do less then mourn Or if he seriously think of the dreadful day of Judgment how can he but fearfully consider what he shall be and mourn not knowing the event Or if he fix his thoughts on the many miseries and dangers of this Life should he not mourn considering where he is Or finally elevating his eyes from the residence of mortality can he contemplate the joyes of Heaven and not aspire and sigh with David because his sojourning is prolong'd not mourn because he is not where he would be O my Soul What hast thou been Sinful Where shalt thou be As yet it is unknown Where art A Prisoner in thy Body in a vale of tears Where art thou not Not in Heaven not with God thy Centre but in the way a Pilgrim going towards him Run then that thou mayst comprehend And seeing to be dissolv'd and he with Christ is thy happiness weep with him that with him and by him thou mayst be comforted Here pause a while and then consider To contemn the world is to be poor in Spirit To have Repose of Mind is to be meek after which follows Mourning For if a Man attend to himself and others he shall find nothing but what is lamentable while he beholds his own and all the enormous crimes of the world which is altogether bent to malignities Who then can be so insensible as not to mourn so drie as not to shed one tear O my Soul Is it thou which art so barren If to suffer with Christ be to reign with him to be comforted thou must weep with him If he call thy sins his own if he mourn for thine as if they were his own if he shed tears to wash away thy sinful blotts canst thou forbear weeping Canst thou be so stony-hearted as not to be transfixt with grief seeing his tender Heart wounded and his Eyes shedding tears for thy sins Not one tear for thy self while he showers down so many to purifie and cleanse thy festering Heart soyl'd with so many Crimes O blessed Saviour Thou art the true Moses and hast a Rod to strike as well as to guide wound I beseech thee this stubborn Rock of mine this obdurate Heart that it may bleed with grief and sorrow for my sins That mine Eyes may gush forth with tears for this is the onely grief which I desire this the mourning which produceth Consolation for thou hast said it Blessed are they that mourn for they shall he comforted in this Life with spiritual solace given to true penitents and in the future with perpetual joy in perfect Beatitude Perfect Beatitude Compleat Happiness O! shall I not mourn to find comfort there Or shall I rather seek the fleeting Pleasures and transitory Consolations of worldly felicity which to enjoy is instantly to be reduc'd to mourning Shall I not then mourn and sigh after those Comforts which once obtain'd shall exempt me from all mourning Alass Whither can I cast mine Eye in this vale of tears and not behold an Object that extracts tears and invites to mourning Here I behold manifold diseases There dysastrous and untimely deaths In this place mortal Hatred accompanied by Revenge In that I hear Detractions horrible Oaths and Blasphemies with infinite miseries and calamities And if I reflect an Eye on my self what mutinies of rebellious Passions and disordinate Appetites I discover in my own bosom which made even Saint Paul himself mournfully to cry out Ay me unhappy Man Who shall deliver me from the body of this death that is from a body which causeth a spiritual death to the Soul Notwithstanding all this shall I think to transform this our vale of tears into a Paradise of delights This our gloomy shade and shadow of death into a solid substance of joy and contentation Do I not know that Enosh a Man in the Hebrew Tongue signifies one subject to diseases infirmities and miseries What then is this wretched world but an Hospital for the sick and a House of Lazars with which what suites better than mourning How can I then but reflect on my self and bewail what I am a Child of Adam born of a Woman saith Job and living but a short time subject to many miseries Amongst which shall I live in jollity with the Voluptuous sport with the Libertine gourmandize with the Epicure joy in worldly pelf with the covetous or in honors with the ambitious No I have reputed laughter an error saith the Wise-man and to joy I said Why art thou in vain deluded The end of joy is seiz'd on by sorrow and mourning And it is better to go to the house of mourning then to the house of banquetting Better is it amidst of afflictions to mourn with our Lord weeping on the Cross than amidst vain joys and transitory delights to exult with the impious Better to shed one tear with thy Redeemer drench'd in a briny flood than a thousand for temporal disasters Ah! me-thinks I see dropps of blood distilling from his Head wounded with thorns and from thence descending to his weeping Eyes to make a mixture such as was in his Heart of blood and water Tears from his Eyes trickling down his pale cheek to ascend from thence to the Throne of his Father to speak in my behalf As David said it may be in the person of Christ Hearken unto my tears And shall I joyn with him in this Petition exhibited for the washing away of my sins and yet not distill one tear Shall the Master of Requests present to his Majesty the Humble Petition of some great Delâ—nquent with tears in his Eyes and the party guilty stand by not onely tearless but also with a merry countenance Nay should he second it with laughter what were it but to make expression of the little or no resentment and feeling he had of his crime and present peril Such is the state of voluptuous sinners who are so far from mourning that they rejoyce in evil-doing spend their dayes in mirth and jollity and in an instant descend to Hell Oh! rather let us sit with the Israelites by the Rivers of Babylon fleeting delights of the world elevate our Eyes to our Heavenly Country and mourning say How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange Country the world into which we came weeping surcharg'd but with one sin and shall we not mourn here overloaden with many Not return to Earth from whence we came powring out if it were possible a flood of tears for the expiation of our manifold crimes The Myrrh-Tree wounded distills abundantly tears so may the Sinner pierc'd to the heart by compunction The Turtle mournes for the absence
Kingdom of Heaven The First BEATITUDE Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven EMBLEME I. The Cornel-Tree Tam nudus natus homo-1 So naked Blossom-like you see A Man is born Ah! but if he In Spirit were as poor Then which ' Mongst Mortals here could I term Rich THis Cornelia or Cornel-Tree in February begins to bloom and bears blossoms long before there is any appearance of Leaves to secure and shrowd them from the injuries of Wind and Weather This is the true Embleme of Man who is born naked and springs forth like a tender Blossome As Job saith Naked came I from the womb of my Mother and naked shall I return From which we may learn this Lesson That as man is born poor and naked in Body so should he be in Spirit that is in Will and Desire seeing that as he brought nothing into this World so shall he not carry any thing out of it Now forasmuch as man is naturally too apt to be over-sollicitous for the things oâ— this World he may learn from this Cornell-Tree That if he make it his first Endeavour to bud and blossome and fructifie in Virtue a short time will furnish him with all the consequent Advantages and Conveniences of Humane Life For this Tree does afterwards plentifully bring forth Leaves to shelter and shadow its Fruit As if it should say according to our Blessed Saviour's expression First seek the Kingdom of Heaven first bloom in Virtue nourish'd by the sap of Grace spreading it self from the Root of Christian Humility into all the Boughs and Branches that is into all your Actions and all other things shall be added unto you Leaves shall not be wanting that is Cloaths to cover you besides other Necessaries which are all in fine but Leaves Nay Honours and Dignities what are they but withering Leaves What Wealth or rich Apparel but Leaves whereof Man is soon despoil'd and left poor and naked What voluptuous Pleasures but Leaves which so soon as enjoy'd shrink up and vanish Oh! what a bleak Autumn and Fall of the Leaf sudden and unexpected is that we find in this our Vale of Misery Who then would not be poor in Spirit and naked in his Affections to the leafy Creatures of this transitory Life that he may bloom to Eternity This is the poverty which lightneth the heart of Man formerly clogg'd with too much care and follicitude With this poverty of Spirit a Man runs freely towards Heaven his Country With this is accompanied Humility which lesseneth Man to himself that he may lie hidden and secure like a Blossom under the Leaves never to be blasted with Pride On this Humility Patience attends and enables a Man to suffer with Christ It is the Enemy and Self-love that surcharge Man with worldly cares riches and vices which are but Leaves without the Blossoms of Virtue These are they which puff up Man with ambitious thoughts that he high aspiring may find a precipice These incite great Spirits to toil and labour yet so as that out of breath even to the World they may happily at last reflect on Christ crucified and in his nakedness read Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Might not he be said to be poor in Spirit that lies gasping and labouring for breath while every minute he apprehends Death at his Elbow ready to stifle him To be as poor in Spirit in another sense is to conceive the like That death is neighbouring as neer unto us which when it comes dismantles the covetous Heart of Man as well as his Body Why then shall not I prevent him by being disengag'd from the extream desire of Riches and verifie what S. Jerome assures us to be true Caput jam canescit prope est aest as vitae falx acuitur instat messor terribilâ— Gr. Nazianz. That He easily contemns all things who is always thinking that he shall die That if his Body be a flourishing green Meadow Death the Mower is at hand That if it be a beauteous Flower in an instant 't is cropt And finally If his Life be but a vapour it is soon dispell'd Ah! what an earthy substance interposeth 'twixt the Heart of Man and the Sun of Justice And what a dark Eclipse is thereby caused in their Souls who are not poor in Spirit CONSIDERATIONS ON THE I. BEATITUDE Of our Blessed Saviour's Nakedness upon the Cross THe Crucifix or Representation of our Blessed Saviour crucifi'd is a Book wherein may be read the Eight Beatitudes preached by him when he was upon Earth as some conceive on Mount Thabor and afterwards exemplifi'd in him on Mount Calvary At first aspect as your eye reflects on Christ crucified you behold him naked by which you may read the first Beatitude Blessed are the poor in Spirit that is to say poor in Will and Desire of having any thing of this World and therefore he would die as naked as he came into it Teaching us hereby how naked we should be in our Affections ready to be despoil'd of worldly Riches for his sake And so poor in Spirit as to lose our last breath rather then deny our Faith or him by preferring his Creatures before him Consider how poor our Lord and Saviour was in Spirit who did annihilate and evacuate himself taking upon him the form of a Servant And how for thy Redemption he gave himself unto thee and for thee to restore thee to thy self who wert lost and utterly undone by sin Now seeing he may wholly claim thee by right of Creation whereby he gave thee to thy self what hast thou left to render unto him for thy Redemption In the Creation of the World he spake the word and it was done but to redeem Man he spake did and suffered that for which thou art infinitely indebted Say then with the Prophet David What shall I render to our Lord for all that which he hath given me He desires but my self poor in Spirit and naked in mine Affections to the transitory things of this Life which cannot be till I abandon my self whom while I cherish and pamper through disordinate love I shall still be coveting the pelf of the World pleasures dignities and self-esteem so far from being poor in Spirit Will and Desire that I am involv'd and cloath'd as it were with a burthen of earthly Cares and Concupiscences which having cast off by poverty of Spirit we walk more freely towards Heaven our Country A Begger the more naked he appears the more he moves to pity and compassion and with more confidence intrudes to receive an Alms then another in better Apparel So to beg an Alms from God from whom every good and perfect gift descends present thy self as naked and poor in Spirit as thou canst Acknowledg thy self to have been hitherto an unprofitable servant naked as to all desert poor and abject in Spirit not having serv'd him with alacrity in time of afflictions crosses or
of her Mate so may the Soul of the just Man to be united to her beloved Spouse The Hart transfixt with an Arrow dyes weeping so may the sinner wounded by true contrition dye to himself and live to Christ A fish lives by waters and a Christian was born again by water And living in a vale of tears should be like Ros Solis a plant which even in the heat of Summer is alwayes replenished with dew like a Magdalen who obtain'd remission by tears and by tears was accompanied by our Saviour weeping And finally by tears had the prerogative to see him first risen from death The Fourth BEATITUDE Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled EMBLEME IV. The Clove-Tree Sicamor attrahat ardens 4. Be so attractive that no weed Pernicious near the Soul may breed So Thirst and Hunger not in part Virtue 's the Clove bloomes in the Heart THis Tree may in an especial manner be said to hunger and thirst as having such an attractive power that it draws to it self all the heart and moisture of the ground where it grows insomuch that for a considerable distance round about it the Earth is so far from hearing any thing of Grass or other Plants that it is absolutely smooth and bare When the fruit is come to maturity it is not gather'd but beaten down upon the said bare plot and having been left there a certain time to wither it is brought into Europe and is one of the most advantageous Commodities brought from the East-Indies In the Spanish Tongue it is called Clavos in the French Cloux that is to say Nails from its near resemblance thereto and thence in English they are called Cloves At first they are white afterwards they become green and at last they turn red Nay it hath been lately discover'd as a cheat of the Inhabitants who have the management and disposal of this pretious Spice that some time before they look for the arrival of the Ships out of Europe they carry up into the Store-houses where they keep their Cloves several great vessels full of water which in a short time is attracted by the Cloves and adds much to their weight yet so as that neither the Sight nor Feeling can make any discovery of the imposture Behold here the pertinent Emblem of a truly-Christian Soul hungring and thirsting after righteousness and so earnestly attracting the nourishing moisture of Heavenly Grace that there is no entertainment for any pernicious weed of sin so much as to take any root near her But possibly some one will say that this Tree draws all to it self 'T is true it does so but not to the advantage onely of it self For that moisture and strength which it draws from the Earth is diffus'd into the several parts of it in order to the production of blossoms and Fruit. And so it should be with the devout Christian who hungers and thirsts after righteousness what juice he extracts out of the root of spiritual Contemplations ought to spread its vigour into his Life and Actions as he stands accomptable to his Creator his Neighbour or Himself whereby the great Author of all Gifts and Graces may be glorify'd Again if it be said that the Clove-Tree is so attractive as to draw all the moisture to it self for its own benefit In like manner the hungry and thirsty Christian should make his advantages of all things in pursuit of the Kingdom of Heaven and the righteousness thereof Moreover whereas it is the design of Nature that this Tree as well as all other Plants should bring forth their several fruits for the service and benefit of Man he may thence learn that he also ought to render to his Neighbour what in justice is due to him In fine Whereas the Cloves are first white next green and lastly red May they not instruct us confidering our best fruits are but Blossoms that our intentions should be candid and sincere and relate onely to Gods glory And when green may they not as aptly signifie that our better works are but green blossoms not perfect Fruits for want of maturity Lastly what are our works but red Cloves when they are dignified by Christs precious blood Cloves on the Tree must be beaten down to come to perfection and after gathered So must all our works to be humbly presented to the Eye of Mercy not of Justice In whose fight who can be justified The parched Clove is for the use of Man And the work that shrinks up with fear is grateful to God But how shall a Soul have her fill by hungring and thirsting after Justice What satiety what full content can there be in this world Certainly none till it enjoyes the sight of God Hence we may inferr with Saint Thomas that in Virtue there is onely a resemblance of future Beatitude Say our righteousness like a Clove appear white how pure so-ever 't is but a blossom which receiving a tincture of green the symbole of Hope we are thereby inabled to proceed For Hope may be term'd a Clove or Naile by which we are fixt to God in his promise and fasten in his mercy while the red Clove or deep-piercing nail of Justice penetrating the Heart produceth fear to which likewise being as firmly fix'd we freely serve God with fear and exult with trembling Mean while let us seem to hear our Saviour say I thirst whereby is exemplified the Fourth Beatitude Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after Righteousness for they shall be filled CONSIDERATIONS ON THE IV. BEATITUDE On our Blessed Saviour's sacred Mouth saying I Thirst FRom our Saviour's Eyes I descend to his Mouth and seem to hear him say I thirst whereby is expressed this fourth Beatitude For he did hunger and thirst after righteousness not for himself but for us that we might be justified by his Death and Passion And to that end would to satisfie for our sins suffer in all rigour of Justice that it might be satisfied to the full and we endowed with righteousness that we might more and more thirst after Grace never satiated till his Glory appears Consider what Saint John Chrysostome sayes That he hungers and thirsts after righteousness who desires to live according to the Justice of God and wisheth this justice and rectitude of life as well to others as to himself That Justice is call'd distributive which gives to every one his due To God I must render three things viz. Honour as to my Creator Love as to my Redeemer and Fear to him as my Judge To my Neighbour likewise I must render three things Obedience to my Superiour Charity and Love to my equal and Charitable Benevolence to my inferiour in want And three things I must procure for my self Purity of my Heart Government of my Tongue and Order and Discipline in subjecting the body to the Spirit This three-fold Justice must I hunger and thirst after and examine my self wherein I am defective Remembring
compunction and pierc'd with sorrow which before while it was green was not in a capacity to receive the influences of the Sun of Righteousness and consequently could not be ripned till a passage was made for the evacuation of the peccant humour that so the beams of grace might efficaciously work upon it Let us then consider that if this delicate fruit does upon its piercing or wounding distil tears and that in order to its attainment of maturity it is much more requisite that the devout Christian should endure the stings of remorse and compunction in order to his being advanc'd to that perfection which is requir'd in the pure of Heart To this end is it that a Man ought sometimes as Saint Augustine sayes to make his appearance at the Tribunal of his own Soul where his own Thoughts will be his Accusers his Conscience the Witness and Grief the Executioner to wound the sinful Heart Then saith he let the blood as it were of the Soul fâ—w and issue forth by tears Notwithstanding all this Who saith Solomon will glory that he hath a clean Heart True it is no Man should glory herein but give the Glory onely to God Yet since the pure of Heart shall onely see God such purity of Heart is required as is produc'd by the expulsion of sin and infusion of Grace Therefore David humbly desired that his sin might be blotted out and that within him might be created a clean Heart Not a new Heart created but purity therein which being produc'd without any precedent merit of the finners part may be term'd a Creation Therefore Saint Paul tells us That Charity which is the same spiritual quality with Grace is transfus'd into our Souls which gives life and vigour in some sort as the Soul created and infus'd informs and gives life and motion to the body Me-thinks a Fig when but green pierc'd and wounded as it were by the Gnat lies expos'd to the bright and hot beams of the Sun as the Heart of a sinner doth to the Sun of Justice when 't is plerc'd by compunction Ah! what Light of Faith and heat of Love enters through those new â—ade passages of the Contrite Heart by which it becomes as it were a new Heart ripened by Virtue and embellished by Grace Now elevate thine Eyes to behold the wounded Heart of our Lord not with the sting of a Gnat but with a sharp Spear not to receive any light or heat of Consolation but to lay out the entire summ of that infinite treasure of his precious blood besides water to purifie thy impure Soul that thou mayst be blessed and see God thereby to enjoy eternal Beatitude CONSIDERATIONS ON THE VI. BEATITUDE On our Blessed Saviour's wounded Heart HAving in the Fifth Beatitude like a Dove nestling in the hole of a Rock as at the Gate of Mercy entred by Contemplation into Christ's wounded side now make a step farther or rather with reverence stay and view his wounded Heart most pure and clean where sin could never find entrance and say with the Patriarch Jacob Verily here is no other than the House of God and the Gate of Heaven This is the Blessed One pure of Heart who ever had the happy sight of God Consider what it is to be clean of Heart It is to be the Temple of the Holy Ghost To be in the state of Grace that is not guilty of any mortal sin And since the Heart is the Source and Fountain whence our thoughts perpetually flow to suppress all impure cogitations as they are rising is to have a clean Heart when it is accompanied with a pure intention directing all our actions to the Honor and Glory of God And as Saint Augustine saith Whatsoever we do whatsoever we laudably desire must tend to obtain the Vision of God beyond which nothing can be desired Think of the Question propounded by King David O Lord Who shall dwell in thy Tabernaele or who shall rest in thy holy hill And then attend to the Answer which is this He that liveth uprightly and worketh righteousness c. This is a hard saying Must the Heart be so clean as not to have one spot The Child but a day old is not free and in his Angels God found iniquity Who then shall be justified in his sight Or who can be clean of Heart while the All-seeing Eye of Heaven beholds it Appeal then to the pure Heart of thy Saviour rely on his Innocence not on thine own on his merits not on thine Seeing that Vessel of Election said he was guilty of nothing and yet in that he was not justified yet doubted not to say A Crown of righteousness was due unto him which the just Judge would give him I will therefore say with David O Lord turn away thy face of thy severe Justice from my sins And with him add further Shew me thy face that is to say of thy mercy and I shall be saved According to thy great mercy and multitude of thy mercies cancell my iniquity wash me again from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin that I may be clean of Heart to enjoy thy sight O my Soul Keep thy Heart as the Wise man adviseth thee with all kind of custody for out of it saith he proceeds life Keep it pure let not in one mortal sin to defile it for then from the Heart would proceed Death destruction of Grace and loss of the sight of God for Grace is the seed of Glory Let thy Heart be ploughed by Contrition harrow'd and cleans'd from the weeds of sin that this divine seed may be sowen in thy Heart which springs up by holy desires and is ripened by virtuous exercises O my God thou hast commanded me to love thee with an entire pure and sincere Heart Give me I beseech thee what thou commandest by creating in me a clean Heart and renewing a right Spirit in my bowels that I may love thee with all my Soul that my Will may be resign'd to thine without any contradiction with all my Mind and Memory alwayes to think of thee and with all my powers that I may employ them in thy service To perform all these things I must observe four things First Seeing all I am and have Body and Soul spiritual and temporal blessings I have from God I must be alwayes mindfull of his benefits Serve honour and thank him for all love him above all and for him my Neighbour Secondly I must consider the excellency of God And seeing he is infinitely greater than our Heart though we serve him with all our Heart and powers of our Soul yet are we defective and insufficient and must therefore think we never do enough Thirdly We must not suffer the world to usurp the least corner of our Heart by disordinate Love for that were injurious to God as was the placing of the Idol Dagon by the Ark. He is too covetous saith Saint Jerom whom God cannot satiate And he loves God less
Peace-maker and Son of God who fully pacified Justice by suffering death for Man by which redeem'd Mercy likewise had her desire embrac'd with Justice then pacified when she beheld from Heaven our sins severely punish'd in Christ Never could Man have fully conceiv'd the wrath and hate of God against sin had he not expiated the same by the death of his onely begotten Son Nor could we have apprehended his infinite Mercy had he not given this his onely Son for our Redemption Behold his Hands nailed and thereby know how the Hand of Justice being fastned Mercy and she embrac'd and kissing were united by Christ our Wood-Bind whose design was to make our Peace saying I leave you my Peace I give you my Peace not as the world gives I give you Peace For the world charmes and enchants a Soul slumbering in the conceipt of a sweet repose even when she is amidst the harsh discords of impiety yet hears them not nor sees her present danger Which made David cry out Englighten mine Eyes O Lord that they may not at any time sleep in death CONSIDERATIONS ON THE VII BEATITUDE On Christ's Hands pierc'd with nails FRom his Heart ascend to his Hands tran fixt with Nails that he might thereby fasten and stay the Hand of Justice ready to chastise us for our sins while he himself suffered in his Body what our enormous crimes deserv'd Imagine you see a King enrag'd against his Vassal for some heinous offence with his sword brandish'd and ready to kill him Which the Prince his Son seeing notwithstanding the injury as neere concern'd himself comes in and to save the Delinquent receives the thrust in his own Body pacifies his Father begs his pardon and restores the Criminal to the King 's gracious Favour How infinitely oblig'd you will say was this Subject to the Prince Thus did God the Son incarnate interpose himself betwixt his Father and sinful Man And on the Cross wounded by the Hand of Justice for our manifold iniquities pacified his Heavenly Father and thereby was our Peace-maker Consider now if this Subject reconciled to the King should by the Princes means be made a Vice-Roy of some petty Kingdom with charge given him to govern and preserve Peace with Subordination to his Majesty Notwithstanding should this Vice-Roy forgetting all favours and former Clemency rebelliously conspire against both King and Prince What punishment would you think too great for such a Traytor Is not every Man a kind of Vice-Roy to manage a petty Kingdom which is within him What his Passions Are they not at least should be his Subjects Together with his Appetites and Concupiscences which rebell against Reason And as often as Man sins mortally is he not guilty of High Treason against the Majesty of God his Dread Sovereign Who being every way infinite it follows the punishment due is infinite Hence I will conceive a great hatred and detestation against sin and ingratitude to the great Peace-maker my King and Saviour under whom as a Vice-Roy I must govern and be a Peace-maker And that I may the better preserve Peace withâ—n me I will set a Guard over my outward Senses over mines Eyes that they may not behold vain and curious impertinencies nor curiously prie and search into other Mens Actions Over my Tongue that it may not intrench upon my Neighbours Reputation Over mine Ears shutting them against Detractors c. Thus being outwardly guarded I may the better preserve inward Peace by suppressing inordinate thoughts and desires In such sort that having within me a peaceful Kingdom subordinate to Reason God may quietly inhabit in my Soul whose place as David saith and residence is in a peaceful Heart not disturbed with worldly cares nor embroyled with the Passions of fear and wrath which ordinarily raise a tumult in our little Kingdom But to be a perfect Peace-maker indeed one should be so totally united to God in his affections as not to desire any thing with out him and onely repose in him the onely centre and support of the Soul And remember what Saint Augustine sayes That they are Peace-makers in themselves and for themselves who subject all the tumultuous motions of the Soul to Reason that is to the Mind and Spirit For by subduing and suppressing carnal Concupiscences they become the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth Where being Peace-Makers they are likewise the Children of God and resemble their Heavenly Father to whom it is proper to enjoy himself who is Peace and tranquillity it self extending from end to end strongly and disposing all things sweetly O my soul thou feest what thou shouldst be Now consider what thou art How soon is the little Kingdom within thee disturb'd How suddenly anger disquiets it What perturbations of mind are caus'd when but a lighter cross or slight affliction lights upon thee Yea even an unkind word from a friend breeds a great discontent and trouble within thee And when all succeeds not according to thy expectation thou art so far from being a peace-maker that distracted in thy thoughts thou art vex'd and perplex'd within thy self How then art thou the Child of God in whom he desires to repose Art thou not rather like a whining Babe that for every trifle is crying and thereby disquieting the whole house O blessed Saviour though I dayly say Thy Kingdom come I am yet like that Regulus that little King little in the knowledg of my self and like his Son I lye infirm and weak and subject to my disordinate passions I can do all in thee who strengthen'st me Enable me therefore I beseech thee by thy powerful grace that thy Kingdom may come that thou mayst reign in me and over me the true Solomon and peaceful King that I with all the powers of my soul may rest in peace and be wholly resign'd to thy will Therefore I daily say Thy will be done What is it then can disturb my peace of mind If affliction if sickness or whatever else hapneth be according to thy will or permission it must be done Nay I daily pray it may be done And should I otherwise desire yet if it be thy holy will and pleasure it must be so Why then should not I be a peace-maker and qualifie all passions and disordinate desires which when I have perform'd internally I may and not before make peace amongst others externally O Jesu it was the Will of thy Father which thou didst punctually observe And that which thou didst teach was humility in conversation stability in faith modesty in words justice in deeds mercy in works discipline in manners and not to do but to suffer injuries This is to be a peace-maker and the Child of God This is the peace proclaim'd by the Angels at thy birth-day This is the peace thou didst leave us and with this peace we desire to depart and rest in thee that our peace and Kingdom begun here by grace may by thee be perfected in glory Amen O what a happiness it
was then in the Universe the Earth opening Rocks splitting the Temples Veil rending the Thief reviling and the Jews blaspheming And if at that time the Stars were shining they were like so many Eyes to admire the wonderful meekness and patience of our Redeemer In fine If the corporal Eye dull'd and dazled with a long and tedious aspect of glittering objects If I say that be refresh'd by looking stedfastly on a green Emerald shall not the sight of his sacred Head meekly inclining be as powerful to banish from the inward Eye that dark cloud of passionate wrath that circumvolves and stupifies the intellectual part I will go said Moses and behold this great Vision why the bush that burns consumes not For could he expect less than a crackling noise from a thorny Bush environed with Flames If this were miraculous what is it to behold that very God of Abraham God of Isaac and God of Jacob which appeared in the Bush with a Head meekly bowing down wreath'd with a Crown of Thorns amidst flames of Love burning but not consuming meekly hearing the Jews and patiently suffering while they blasphem'd revil'd and scorn'd him O my Soul what a great Vision is this to iuvite thee to meekness and patience Thou likewise art inclos'd as in a thorny Bush thy Body where for a light injury or small affront thou dost not only burn but art even consum'd with the flame of wrath and indignation sparkling and crackling like a Fire amongst Thorns To prevent the like flames of fury go sometimes to see this great Vision the Head of thy Saviour crown'd with Thorns meekly bowing down and as it were beckning unto thee to come and learn of him to be meek and humble of heart learn to possess thy self and thereby take possession of the Land which he hath promised to the meek and humble of heart God placed in the Clouds his bended Rain-bow that he might be mindful of his Covenant and on the Cross he hath fix'd his only begotten Son whose head meekly bending while he beholds he becomes a meek and merciful God to man who by his manifold sins provokes him to wrath How then canst thou elevate thine eyes sparkling with wrath against them that injure thee and not be pacified when thou beholdest this meek wounded Head bowing down to give thee the kiss of Peace meekly hearing and patiently bearing blasphemous words and wrongs that were so outragious and injurious to Innocence What then should a guilty soul patiently suffer for his sake If His sacred head be crown'd with sharp thorns wouldst thou have thine notwithstanding be encompassed with Roses If his head meekly bow down shall thine be rais'd up by pride or threaten revenge to them that offend thee Finally if his brow pierc'd with thorns be not any way contracted with wrinkles against his enemies smooth thy furrowed brow by meekness and for his sake and according to his example love even those that hate thee The Third BEATITUDE Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted EMBLEME III. The Myrrhe-Tree Tam lachrymosus homo 3 So of himself as soon as born The tender Bahe begins to mourn But after pierc'd with griefs and sears Hee 's more and more distilling tears THe Myrrhe-Tree of it self naturally distil's and as it were sheds tears but more abundantly when it is prick'd and wounded Behold the Embleme and Type of Man who is born weeping as being to use Saint Austin 's expression a Prophet presaging his own future calamities Man likewise naturally weeps for the loss or death of a dear friend so doth a Parent for his lost or deceased Child as Jacob did for Joseph and David for his Son Ahsalon Such tears ought to be moderate according to the saying of the Son of Sirach Modicùm plora super mortuum Weep not much over the dead Temporal losses and afflictions do also force tears from those who suffer them as they did from Job cap. 24. v. ult My harp also is turned to mourning and my organ into the voice of them that weep But when a man sheds tears out of remorse and compunction he is wounded like the Myrrh-Tree Thus was David wounded when he said In the night-time I will wash my bed with my tears What sins how great and enormous soever but may be swallowed up in such a flood as Pharaoh and his Army was in the red Sea Or what Flames can be so great as not to be extinguish'd by such a fountain There are likewise tears of Compassion as Job says I wept over him that was afflicted and my soul took compassion on the poor After this manner David weeps for Saul and Tobias for his Countrey men oppress'd with miseries With like tears of Commiseration we may mourn with our Lord while we meditate on his bitter Passion for as S. Agustine says He is not a true member of Christs Body that weeps not with the Head There are likewise tears of Devotion which issue forth out of an ardent desire to enjoy the happy Vision of God Or when a devout Soul replenished with the sweetness of God mourns for the absence of her beloved Spouse For Love saith S. August is impatient neither is there any moderation in tears unless the Lover may enjoy that which he loves Tears likewise are shed by devout persons when they behold grievous sins committed which are so injurious and offensive to Almighty God After this manner Esdras wept and the Apostles for their Lord when he was so cruelly treated by the Jews as he had foretold saying you shall mourn and weep Moreover tears are shed by those who out of Devotion and excess of spiritual joy even melt with the contemplation of heavenly Mysteries Which kind of joy S. Augustine had experienced when he assures us that the more a devout Soul is filled with holy and fervent desires the more abundantly he weeps in Prayer and mourns as David did crying out Ay is me that my sojourning and abode on earth is prolonged I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Kedar my soul hath been a long time a stranger Therefore my tears have been bread to me day and night while it is said unto me Where is thy God Our blessed Saviour speaking of his Passion calls it a Baptism by which his sacred body was bathed in blood and his face in tears like the Myrrhe-tree wounded on all sides and parts of his body with thorns whips nails and spear Behold him in this sad and heavy plight mourn and weep with him while he exemplifies in himself the third Beatitude Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted CONSIDERATIONS ON THE III. BEATITUDE Of the Eyes of our Blessed Saviour weeping IN this third Beatitude consider a happiness opposite to flesh and blood viz. to weep and mourn which our Lord did many times but never was seen to laugh He mourn'd and wept on the Cross and was comforted seeing by the effusion of tears and blood he was