Heavenly Paradice but Lucifer who from a glorious Angel was become a Devil having been thrown out of Heaven for aspiring to be equal to God envied that Man should enjoy the Happiness which he had lost and knowing by woful Experience that Heaven could not contain a proud Person he thought himself sure to prevent Man's being admitted there if he could but make him guilty of the same Sin Pride Hereupon he subtilly first began to tempt the weaker Vessel Eve by shewing her the beautiful Fruit of the forbidden Tree telling her that by tasting it she might become like unto God himself and when by his perswasion he had deceived the Woman he made use of her as he still does to deceive the Man Thus Sin like a cunning Thief crept in at the Window of his Eye which he unwarily had set open to behold the Beauty of that Fruit and soon opened also the Doors of his Ears to admit the Enticement of his Wife conspiring with his treacherous Appetite to let in Death at the Gate of his Mouth by his disobedience in eating the Apple which was presented to him by her Then that blessed Union was broken and a Separation made not only between his Body and his Soul by a temporal Death the Sentence whereof instantly pass'd upon him though the Execution was deferr'd but also between his Soul and his God by an eternal Death to which he also became thereby liable and as a Fore-runner of both he and his Wife were driven out of Paradice from the Presence of their gracious Creator Now as the Departure of the Soul from the Body is Death so the Departure of God from the Soul can be no less than Hell for as in his presence there is fulness of Joy so in his absence there must be extremity of Sorrow and as at his Right-hand there be Pleasures for evermore so on his Left there must needs be everlasting Pains and what can the feeling of them be but Hell To this miserable Condition Sin brought our first Parents and from them all we their wretched Posterity became tainted with an original Corruption the Seeds whereof growing up into innumerable actual Transgressions afford no other Fruit but Death in this World and eternal Damnation in that which is to come but God being infinitely merciful would not abandon them to perish for ever in this sad Estate but out of the Bowels of his tender Compassion did with incomprehensible Wisdom find out a way for the Satisfaction of his own Justice and for the Salvation of Mankind It had been utterly impossible for all of them together to have done any thing in the least degree towards the Salvation of so much as one Man for it cost more to redeem a Soul so that they must have let that alone for ever But God contriv'd it by an Union much more admirable than that already mentioned and that was between the Divine and Humane Natures And Adam had no sooner broken the first Covenant of unsinning Obedience which God made with him in Paradice but he graciously made a Second with him and his Posterity in the second Adam the promised Messiah This he afterwards perform'd by sending his only begotten Son Jesus Christ equal to his Father as touching his Godhead into the World for the Redemption of Mankind who being conceiv'd by the Holy Ghost in the chast Womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary became also perfect Man of a reasonable Soul and humane Flesh subsisting to the end that as Man he might be capable to suffer and as God to satifie for the sins of the whole World This was a Benefit so high and so transcendent that neither the Understanding of Man no nor that of Angels is able to comprehend it Here all consideration is confounded and humbles itself with astonishment to see that the Son of God to the end that he might cloath thee with his Grace cloathed himself with our Nature which is a poor torn wretched Garment full of beggery and misery and yet that Soveraign Eternal and Divine Majesty put it on for our sake and though this was exceeding much yet he did a great deal more for us since besides this Humanity which Christ the Divine Word took upon him he underwent so many Sufferings for Mankind and wove this seamless Coat of Grace which he gives us in Baptism with such unmeasurable griefs and torments as never have been suffer'd in all the World but by himself nor ever shall be Nay he did yet more for he not only wove this Coat of Grace with these unspeakable pains but even with his holy death and would end his Life in that very employment of weaving and finishing it to the end he might give that seamless Robe its utmost Beauty and Perfection Here all our thoughts ought to be Silence Amazement Terror Reverence and Admiration with Tears of Love and Contrition That the Eternal Son of God to cloath me with his Grace should cloath himself with my humble Nature and presently load himself with the burden of my sins and then take upon him their Punishment upon the Cross and die upon it for them That the cleansing of me should make him be defil'd with the spittings of blasphemous mouths That the giving me the Life of Grace should make him die the Death of Nature and that in such cruel Torments That for the washing of my Soul he should shed all his Precious Blood And that he should devest himself of all Humane Comfort only to give me Comfort Remedy and even Heaven itself This is a business more proper for our Love than our Meditation more to make us active in his Service than contemplative in our Thoughts and to be expressed more by our Wonder than our Words Yet it is good to meditate upon it that we may love him to consider it that we may serve him and to speak of it that by finding we cannot speak enough we may admire and adore him A Man that does me a kindness has my Thanks and if by his pains and danger he draw me out of any Trouble I shew my Gratitude by acknowledging it There be Laws that order Recompences for a Subject that saves the Life of his King in War or in Peace appointing him to be rewarded with Wealth and crowned with Ensigns of Honour Mordecai only for giving Notice to Ahasuerus that some of his Treacherous Servants meant to kill him was by the Command of that Heathen King cloathed with his own Royal Robe and his most beloved Favourite was made to lead the Horse upon which that Loyal Subject rode about the Streets of the City This was an high Honour easily attain'd so notable a demonstration of Favour so Royal and Majestick a Recompence but for a bare Advertisment Consider now if so much were due to a Vassal who by the discovery of a Traytor had sav'd the Life of a King what shall a Vassal owe to his King who not only hath sav'd him from Death but
their Frailty can permit they need neither desire nor trouble themselves for more and if God shall please to give them any thing beyond that let them decline it with Humility or receive it with Reverence and preserve it with Fear working in all things with resignation and the Counsel of their Spiritual Guide for the Revelations whereby we are to be saved are already revealed to the Church and for the rest though they may be profitable yet they are not necessary to my Design To conclude I offer this Work such as it is full I confess of Imperfections to all that are desirous to improve and go forward in the Spiritual Life with a most affectionate desire of their good earnestly exhorting them to the principal end which the whole aims at namely to know how much earthly transitory things ought to be despised and therefore to flie from Vices to avoid Worldly Delights and to embrace those which are Heavenly and Eternal to practise the Vertues to frequent the Sacrament to Pray earnestly and often and finally to labour and take pains in the Kingdom of Grace that they may come to enjoy God eternally in the Kingdom of Glory AN INDEX OF THE Several Subjects treated of in each Month and Week of this Spiritual Year JANUARY Week I. OF the Frailty of Humane Nature Week II. Of the Weakness of Man and the Miseries of his Body Week III. Of the Miseries of the Soul and its Passions Week IV. Of the Miseries and Sins of each Man in particular FEBRUARY Week I. Of the Remembrance of Death Week II. How much it concerns the Soul to remember Death in the time of Life Week III. The dreadful Call of God to the sinner that defers Repentance till his Death Week IV. The Answer of a Repenting sinner and that we ought to prepare our selves for Death MARCH Week I. Of the particular Account that each man is to give immediately after his Death Week II. Of the Rectitude and Severity of the Judgment Week III. Of the means there are in this Life to prevent the Account and Judgment of the other Week IV. Of the Universal Judgment at the end of the World APRIL Week I. Of the Torments of Hell Week II. Of the Place of Hell Week III. Of the Company of the Damned and of their pain of Sense Week IV. Of the duration of the pain above-mentioned of the pain of Loss and of the Worm of Conscience MAY. Week I. Of the Divine Benefits Of the Benefit of Creation Week II. Of the Institution of Matrimony Of Civil Society and Government Week III. Of the Benefit of Preservation first of our Bodies Of Preservation from particucular dangers Of the Preservation of our Souls Of the Guard of Angels Week IV. Of the Benefit of Redemption JUNE Week I. Of Baptism and Confirmation Week II. Of Repentance and Absolution Of the Holy Eucharist A Prayer Week III. Of Frequenting the Sacrament Week IV. Of the Kingdom of Grace Of the Purity of Intentions Of Purity of Conscience JULY Week I. Of Temptations and the Grace of God in them That it is no easie matter to be sav'd but that it is necessary to fight Of the Grace of God Week II. Of the Glory of the Blessed Week III. Of the Imitation of the Life of our Blessed Saviour and of his Mysteries Of the Mystery of the Incarnation Of the Birth of our Lord. Week IV. Of the other Mysteries of our Lord till his Preaching and first of his Circumcision The Adoration of the Kings Of his Presentation in the Temple Of his Flight into Egypt Of the other Mysteries AUGUST Week I. Of the Baptism and Preaching of our Lord with his Doctrine Miracles and Parables Week II. The Eve of the Passion Of the last Supper and of the washing of his Disciples Feet Of the Institution of the Holy Sacrament Of the Consecration of the Apostles Week III. Of his Agony in the Garden his Death Resurrection and Ascension Week IV. Of the Exercise of the three Theological Vertues Faith Hope and Charity upon Contemplation of the Life and Death of our Saviour SEPTEMBER Week I. Of the Vertue of Religion and of the manner of governing the Cardinal and Moral Vertues by that of Religion Of the Application of Christian Works Week II. Of the three first of the Cardinal Vertues Prudence Justice Fortitude and first of Prudence Of Justice and of good and evil Judges Of Fortitude Week III. Of Temperance the Fourth of the Cardinal Vertues Of the manner of governing the Moral Vertues by the Cardinal Of Judging falsly Week IV. Of Humility and its contrary Pride OCTOBER Week I. Of Liberality and its contrary Covetousness Of Chastity and Abstinence The Mischiefs of Sensuality Of Remedies against Sensuality Of Gluttony Week II. Of Patience Of Anger Of Moderation in speaking and the mischiefs of the Tongue Of Silence Week III. Of Envy Remedies against Envy Of Charity to our Neighbours Of Courtesie Week IV. Of Diligence and Fervency and of the mischiefs of Omission and Sloth NOVEMBER Week I. Of the Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit in general Of Charity the First Fruit of the Holy Spirit Week II. Of Peace the Second Fruit of the Holy Spirit Week III. Of Longanimity and Benignity the Third and Fourth Fruits of the Holy Spirit Week IV. Of Faith the Fifth Fruit of the Holy Spirit Of Continence the Sixth Fruit. DECEMBER Week I. Of Joy the Seventh Fruit of the Holy Spirit Of Patience the Eighth Fruit. Week II. Of Goodness the Ninth Fruit of the Holy Spirit Of Meekness the Tenth Fruit. Week III. Of Modesty the Eleventh Fruit of the Holy Spirit Of Chastity the Twelfth and last Fruit. Week IV. Of Perseverance and Prayer to God THE Spiritual Year JANVARY The First WEEK Of the Weakness of Humane Nature HEAR Son the Instruction of thy Father and learn to fear God who is thy true Father Consider thy beginning if thou desirest to have a good ending Look what thou art and thou wilt see what thou shalt be Know thy self and thou shalt know God Behold thy self that thou mayest behold him thou art blind from thy birth like the man in the Gospel and mayest recover thy sight as he did by putting Clay upon thine eyes That is the matter thou art made of and it had remain'd Clay for ever if the Spirit of God had not breathed life into it Thus thou seest what Humane Nature is and that it speaks nothing but weakness and frailty 2. Would'st thou see how strong it is Look how long it stood Man being created in Innocence scarce continu'd so for a few days some say hardly a few hours His Nature was so perfect and so strong that it was able to destroy it self and without any inward weakness it yielded in Adam and Eve to an outward Enemy What is it like to be now that it is sick and mortally wounded since it ruined it self when it was sound and healthful Man fell in Paradise in the
in excessive apprehension of their own unworthiness which has been the Case of some very devout Souls whose Faith hath failed more out of the Timerousness of their own Nature than through any distrust of God's Mercy or of their Saviour's Merits 10. Would'st thou than escape from both these dangers Consider seriously the Shortness of Life and the Certainty of Death that the time of it when come can by no means be prolonged that the Place Manner and Time is utterly unknown to thee that it will come like a Thief in the Night that we can die but once and if we do it ill there is no second time to do it better that as the Tree falleth so it lieth Examine which way it would fall with thee if it should now be cut down Let these thoughts fill thee with the holy Fear of God's Justice which will keep thee from the Gulph of Presumption Bring forth Fruits of Repentance and entertain an humble Hope of God's Mercy whereby thou shalt avoid the Rock of Despair and looking up to Jesus the Author and Finisher of thy Faith with the Arms of that Faith lay fast hold upon the Merit of his Cross and so shalt thou pass safely into the Haven of everlasting Happiness Let not Life deceive thee but let Death undeceive thee See what St. Austin says The Sinner that would not when he might is not able when he would and being asked the Reason he answers Because by his affection to what was evil he lost the power of doing what was good A Man that has spent a whole Life in sinning will not find it easie to die repenting he whose Life is departing and Death seizing on him is but in an ill condition to grieve for his Sins he is not like to lament and bewail his offences which are hastening on his Death it being more probable his Sorrow will then be for the Loss of his Life In that terrible moment the Sinner will want Time he will want Disposition he will want Understanding and all things fitting for that weighty Business and will abound in nothing but Pain Terrour Anguish and Confusion The Third WEEK The dreadful Call of God to the Sinner that defers Repentance till his Death MEN want time to repent because God justly takes it from those that have so long abused his Mercy and gone on delaying their Repentance to such a time as is rather to be called a Moment than a Time Thou hast provoked my Anger says God to the Sinner thou hast forsaken and cast me off during thy whole Life How can'st thou expect to find me kind and loving to thee at thy Death I gave thee the best time and thou givest me the worst Doest thou think it is so easie to regain that best time which thou didst despise with the worst and in the worst till which thou hast delayed to use it When I gave thee Light and Strength thou imployedst it to persecute me and will it be easie for thee without Strength and without Light to seek me and to find me Is it all one thing O presumptuous Sinner whether thou offendest or pleasest me I have called upon thee and wooed thee with many gracious Invitations and with innumerable Benefits ever since thou camest into the World Is it enough for thee having despised them all and wounded me with thy Ingratitude to come to me when thou art just going out of it And canst thou expect that I will then receive thee If thou art rejected then O sinful Man the Fault will not be mine but thine own If the business of thy whole Life has been nothing but a wilful provocation of my Anger Can there be any thing more unreasonable than at thy Death to expect my Favour Is the Grace of Contrition in thy own Power whensoever it pleases thee Wilt thou be able to do that in the instant of Death which thou could'st not do in so many Years of thy Life Wilt thou be able to do that with a disturbed Judgment and a confused Understanding which thou never didst attempt nor wouldst ever learn while thy Understanding and Judgment were clear and found If the whole Custom of thy long Life has been nothing else but sinning canst thou O Man be so sensless as to look that the end of such a wretched Life should be merit and reward How canst thou hope to die a Saint having ever lived a scandalous Sinner If so many repeated acts of Sin have begot in thee a powerful Habit and an inveterate Custom of despising me Which way wilt thou begin to overcome that Custom when thy Life is at an end If thou hast spoken but one Language all thy Life wouldst thou go about the learning of another quite contrary to it in the Moment of thy Death 2. So long as thou didst live in health thou never wert acquainted with sorrow for sin nor knewest what it was to be contrite and penitent will it be easie for thee to learn and practice these things when thou art going out of the World to which thou wert so averse all the time of thy being in it If thou hast spent it all in the deceits and entanglements of sensual Delights How wilt thou be able to get loose from them and free thy self in that short instant when thy Soul is to be separated from thy Body If then thou wouldst leave them they will not leave thee thou holdest them fast and they stick as fast to thee How will you then get loose from one another Canst thou be willing to leave that at thy death which thou never wouldest forsake nay which thou didst ever run after and hug with so much fondess all thy life I shall be willing to pardon thee O Man but thou wilt not be able to ask me pardon the fault will not be in me O Sinner but in thy self 3. Thou wouldst never think of Death much less think how to dye and then thou wilt not know which way to beg for Pardon because thou wouldst never endeavour to learn and that time must then be spent in dying which ought to be spent in bagging forgiveness Thou wilt not be able because thy Will disturbed with fears will fail thee thy Understanding will be darken'd with Anguish thy Memory afflicted with Sins thy Senses dulled and decayed with a mortal Sickness and finally all thy abilities will be meer disabilities Thou hast wasted all thy life as if there were never to be a death and therefore thou wilt not have power to repent thee at thy death which is the death of Eternal Life Thou never in all thy life didst remember that there is a Hell and therefore at thy death thou wilt either forget it or else be so prest with the fear of going thither that thou wilt not be able to pour down Tears nor send up Prayers to escape it Thou hast lived without Judgment as if there were to be no Judgment without calling thy self to Account as if
Thy fear of his Judgment is so great because that of thy Sins is so little Thou livest in a course of wickedness and committest thy wickedness with boldness and even with greediness and then thou art afraid to be judged and that is because thou art to be justly condemned But thy chief and principal fear ought to be that of offending so severe a Judge and thy chief and principal hope ought to be that of being judged by so indulgent and so loving a Father It is the part of an unfaithful Servant not to dare appear before his Master's face and though he fears him yet he does not love him But a good Servant is glad to come to the Presence of his Master Every Call of his is a joy to him every Command a comfort and he runs chearfully to wait upon him at every knock but an evil Servant is afraid to see him because he was not afraid to offend him 10. Every sin thou committest unless thou repent of it is a rigorous Sentence against thy self every guilty action and every wilful transgression is a Criminal Article whereof thou accusest thy self at that Tribunal How is it possible for thee not to tremble and dread the Judgment and thy Account in the other Life if thou livest without Judgment and without Account in this Repent therefore pray and weep love and serve thy Judge here that thou mayest find him kind gentle and gracious hereafter He is a Judge that suffers himself to be gain'd in this life therefore use means to win his favour before he comes to Judge thee in his anger for thy having slighted and neglected to get his favour when thou mightest have done it Tremble with apprehension to see him in his wrath who may yet be appeased by the means I have shewed thee and who being reconciled first fills the Penitent's Soul with transports of his Love and after with those Joys and Pleasures which are at his right hand for evermore The Fourth WEEK Of the Vniversal Judgment at the end of the World 1. I AM something comforted with your Discourse says the Penitent but I have heard dreadful things of that great Day when all Mankind must rise to Judgment that horrible Trumpet which makes even the Dead to hear how much more the deaf does also make the heart to tremble and confounds the senses with amazement It is no wonder indeed that thou shouldst be dismayed at that which affrighted St. Hierome and very many other holy Men thou mayest very well tremble at that which they were afraid of 2. Who can choose but fear and tremble to see the whole Creation destroyed by the Creator of it and all the World consumed by his powerful hand Who can choose but fear the Signs which fore-run that Judgment those terrible Earth-quakes and horrible roarings of the Sea Who would not fear to see the Elements those preservers of Life to become its furious Enemies and fighting with one another to become the Ministers of Death Who can choose but fear to see the confusion of Mankind some calling on the Rocks to hide them others upon the Darkness to cover them all being full of terror and astonishment to see all sorts of miseries come together to bring our Nature to an end Who can choose but fear to see the Sun covered with a deadly Vail his light obscured that of the Moon extinguished the Stars also falling from their places and overwhelming the Generations of Men. Nothing to be heard but publick Complaints and Lamentations Cries Sighs and Groans nothing to be seen but Fears Dangers Losses Miseries and Confusions 3. Can any one choose but be affrighted to see the dead rise again by God's Command at the sound of that horrible Trumpet to take up the consumed and scattered pieces of their Body to cloath themselves therewith and each one unite it to his Soul that he may appear at the dreadful Judgment-seat of God waiting for the Sentence either of Eternal Life or of Eternal Death Who can choose but be amazed with fear to see the Almighty cloathed in Majesty to come down with the Court of Heaven armed with Justice to be exercised against sin and wickedness Who would not be dismayed to see the Creator hurle flames of fire against all he hath created to see Houses and Cities Palaces and Kingdoms burnt together and finally to see the whole World destroyed in that cruel and dreadful Conflagration Who would not even dye with fear to see so many Angels and so many Devils together divided from one another on the right hand and on the left expecting the word of Sentence to be put in execution The Angels carrying the good to Eternal Joys and the Devils dragging the wicked to Eternal Torments 4. How is it possible not to fear a Tribunal so dreadful a Judgment so terrible and a Sentence so formidable from whence there is no Appeal and the Execution whereof is either Life Eternal or Death Eternal for ever for ever for ever so that they shall know no end of that ever ever ever My Soul is astonished and amazed in the consideration of the Universal Judgment It is dismayed to think and to imagine all this which is but as a Dream thus represented to us in writing in comparison of what it will be and of what we shall see it in effect 5. Grant O Lord that I may tremble bewail lament and sigh deeply for my sins and wickednesses before I hear that killing Sentence pronounced against them by thy Divine lips Grant that my Tears and Repentance my Sorrow and Contrition may make my polluted Soul fit to be washed and purified by thy most precious Blood to the end I may never hear that confounding word Go ye cursed into eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels 6. O give me grace to imitate the Martyrs in Faith the Confessors in Hope and the Blessed Virgin thy most holy Mother and all the rest of the Saints in Charity to the end I may hear that most sweet and most welcome call of Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world 7. Oh that I had never offended thee my dearest Lord that I might not see thee offended Oh that I had ever served thee that I might see thee appeased Mercy sweet Saviour mercy in this Life that I may find it in the Judgment and in the Sentence of the Life to come Prepare me O Lord Jesus for my particular Judgment that I may be able to stand in thy Universal Judgment Have mercy upon me when thou shalt Judge me alone to the end thou mayest have mercy upon me when thou shalt Judge me and all the World together O grant I may live with such care to judge and call my self to an Account in this Life that the remembrance of that other which I must one day give to thee and my earnest endeavour to make my self ready for it may
a scandal to others as this wretched Person is to me Grant that I may detest the Vice but not the Man Convert him I beseech thee from the evil of his ways and so strengthen me in the Paths of thy Commandments that I may never fall away but persevere in them constantly unto my Live's end Of the Benefit of Preservation whereby we our selves have been delivered from particular Dangers Now if the Calamities of others when but look'd upon are a just Motive to us of Thankfulness how much more those we our selves have been freed from by particular Escapes God permitting us sometimes to fall into dangers that his Goodness and fatherly Care may be the more visibly manifested in our deliverance and that we may acknowledge our selves more obliged to remember them with Gratitude and to make him returns of Duty and Obedience Thou mayest be able to relate and express those he has shew'd to thee I will relate those done to my self though it be more easie to have a Sense of them than to express it I shall not need to insist upon his Benefits of doing one good since thou wilt know them by those of delivering me from evil Here the Author reckons up his particular deliverances which I omit to insert Do thou likewise Reader following his Example recount to thy self the chief of those dangers God hath preserved thee in which it concerns thee carefully to remember and gratefully to lay them to heart And when thou hast recollected as many as thou canst say with the Psalmist Praise thou the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his Benefits Who forgiveth all thy Sins and healeth all thine Infirmities Who saveth thy Life from destruction and crowneth thee with mercy and loving kindness I will always give thanks unto the Lord his praise shall ever be in my mouth O praise the Lord with me and let us magnify his Name together Of the Preservation of our Souls But is not the Preservation of the Body from corporal Death much less considerable than that of the Soul from spiritual Death Yes certainly There is no comparison between them for the former is only in order to the latter and when he saves us from any such dangers as those I have before-mentioned they are to mind us of our Mortality and to make us think in what condition we should have been if he had then snatch'd us suddenly out of this World His sparing us longer was only to give us a longer time to repent and to urge us to make use of it to the end that when he shall come again to take us away in good earnest he may find us prepar'd for Death in being reconciled to him by Repentance and newness of Life Thus in all the occasions wherein he delivered me from a Temporal he delivered me also from eternal Death affording me a longer time to break off and to forsake my Sins by a Repentance not to be repented of quick'ning my Faith to lay faster hold on my Saviour least I should be pluck'd away from him as I had like to have been while I was in so great an Error as to presume he would be held by me whilst I was loath to let go my sins as if it had been possible to embrace Christ and the World both at the same time How often when his Divine Majesty was ready to throw me justly into Hell with one hand hath he detained me with the other And when I was already condemn'd by his Divine Justice how often hath he saved me by his Compassion and Mercy How often when I was going nay running to throw my self into the infernal Flames hath this compassionate Lord stopt me in my Career and freed me from Temptations which were hurrying me to eternal Miseries How often hath he driven back the Devil who had seized me and was dragging me away when his Divine Majesty laid hold upon me rescued sustained and receivcd me pardoning my wickedness and embracing me in the Arms of his boundless Charity How often when being blind and foolish I went astray hath he sought me and brought me home How hath he called advertised reproved and counselled me by which means I was recovered and restored How often sometimes sleeping sometimes waking while I was dead to Grace but quick to Sin hath he rouzed me up called me and led me by the hand to make me forsake Sin and return to Grace Who then bound the Hands of his Justice who entreated for me when I was lull'd asleep in that sinful security What was there in me that I should find more favour than those that are taken away from amongst us in the midst of their days and in the heat of their youthful Lusts My Sins cried out against me but the Lord stopped his Ears My offences daily encreased against him and his Mercies abounded as daily towards me I sinned and he did expect me I fled from him and he followed me and when I was even weary in offending him yet his long sufferance was not weary in expecting me for in the midst of all my Sins I received many good Inspirations and Reproofs from his Holy Spirit which check'd me in my inconsiderate course of Life How often did he call me with the Voice of Love How often did he terrifie me with threats and fears laying before me the Peril of Death and the Rigour of his Divine Justice How often hath he followed me with his Word preached How often invited me with Blessings and chastened me with Crosses compassing me about and hedging my way with Thorns that I might not be able to break from him By all these holy Methods he made me at last to see the Vanity the Folly the Deceitfulness and even the Painfulness of Sin l found that it was dangerous and costly as well as slavish to be hurried up and down by the Tyranny of my unruly and vicious Passions I found I had no fruit of those things whereof I was afterwards ashamed and was at last convinced that the end of them was Death nay and death eternal Then did I fully resolve being assisted by thy Grace with an unchangeable purpose to alter my course of Life and to run the way of thy Commandments since thou hadst set my Heart at liberty My Soul escaped even as a Bird out of the Hand of the Fowler the Snare was broken and I was delivered O let me never again be entangled with the Birdlime of sinful Delights from which it is so hard to get disengag'd but grant I may now soar up to those Pleasures which are at thy Right-hand for evermore taking my flight freely to thee and to the Ark of thy rest for the Deluge of Wickedness that hath covered the Face of the Earth affords no safe place for the sole of my Foot O put forth thine hand to take me in to thee as Noah did the Dove
fire consumes it a little water drowns it and even a blast of air destroys it Some have been seen to dye with Laughter others have been killed with Joy one is drown'd with a draught of Milk and another choaked with a Hair nay even a man 's own breath meeting with his own breath hath made an end of him with a Heicough In conclusion man's Body is the death of his very life can any thing be more frail and weak Can any thing be more death Or can any thing less deserve the name of life 3. O the deceit of Mortals that can be cheated with this Dunghill This gross corruptible and miserable part of us drags all the World Captive after it Shall we serve and pamper so vile and so base an Enemy Shall we sweat and take such pains for its Delights and Pleasures 4. No let us not do so Use thy Body as a Subject and let the Soul live as the Prince Ruling in it Let the better part of thee Command and the meaner Obey Let Reason take the Empire and let thy Appetite serve as a subdued Vassal Let Grace rule thy Reason and then let Reason be the Counsellor of thy Soul that it may Govern thy internal Monarchy in Holiness towards God and in Righteousness toward Man The Third WEEK Of the Miseries and Passions of the Soul 1. BUT take heed how thou sufferest thy Soul to Command unless it be obedient to the Command of God for alas neither is the Soul without its hazards The miseries thereof are not less but greater except it be govern'd by the Creator of both Body and Soul The Rational Soul was in its first beginnings sound and strong it became wounded by Adam's sin and though cur'd by Grace in Baptism yet the seed and inciter of sin still remains The Scar of that Wound is not yet worn out and there still remains a hard Exercise and Conflict of our Nature which is always rebellious till Grace bring it to subjection Our fleshly Appetite commonly governs and draws our Reason after it the Passions live triumphing in our Souls and keep the Vertues in Captivity 2. What mischiefs have been acted by Mankind that owe not their Original to the Passions of the Soul What does not the Devil owe to those fomenters of Crimes and to those Parents of so many miseries What Vanity or what Folly is there in the World that is not derived from the same source Behold the Cities and Kingdoms which man's Passions have set on fire and destroy'd Behold the Cruelties Murders Adulteries Robberies and other Abominations Behold Mortals concurring to hasten their mortality and thinking themselves ruined if they cannot ruine one another All these and innumerable other mischiefs are due to the Passions of the Soul 3. The Wars the Sieges the Battails and the Victories by which men so carefully seek the ways to destroy one another proceed from them Man's Nature being so blind as to call that Victory Happiness and Triumph which is the undoing the consuming and the extirpation of it self Consider those necessary Harms those unavoidable Misfortunes those bloody Cruelties the Killings Robbings Burnings and all those things which so many cannot live without and by this thou seest what Humane Nature is 4. He that poyson'd the Waters on purpose that whole Nations and Kingdoms might perish by them He that envenomed the Dust whereby numberless Persons died infected He that fed his Horses with the flesh of his Guests He that wished the whole Empire had but one Neck that he might cut it off at one stroke He that in a rage cut the Throats of thousands of his Neighbours The Enemies of the Faith that by wild Beasts and by their own Cruelty fiercer than that of wild Beasts tore in pieces and destroyed so many just and holy men so many innocent Martyrs and Confessors All these were hurryed to those Villanies by their Passions In conclusion whatever horrid Wickedness whatever hainous Crime man hath or shall commit proceed all from the Passions of the Soul 5. O how much greater are the ruines of Souls than those of Bodies The Body is brutish it obeys and does not discourse but the Soul hath the light of Understanding which should direct govern and preserve the Body and yet it kindles enflames and destroys the Body dragging it along with it self to utter Perdition 6. What do we see in this World but enormities of the Soul which the Body often pays for upon the Gibbet or the Scaffold The Whip the Rope the Hatcher the Galleys Banishment Imprisonment and many more Penalties of the Body are not sufficient for that multitude of wickednesses which are committed by the Soul It is for the Soul's Offences such multitude of Bodies are punished and yet the number of those Persons whose Crimes are pardon'd or not known doth far exceed that of those that suffer 7. Would'st thou know how great the miseries of the Soul and of its Passions are Measure it by the effects They extinguish the Light of Natural Reason in it and make it to become brutish and unnatural nay bruit Beasts have the advantage in very many things over passionate Men. See how temperate they are in comparison of Men When did the sincerity of Men equal that of the Dove When their Prudence reach that of the Serpent It is manifest never since the Eternal Son of God bids us to be wise as Serpents and harmless as Doves When did the Providence of Man equal that of the Ant It is manifest never since the Holy Spirit sends the improvident Person to learn of the Ant. When did his Meekness equal that of the Lamb It is manifest never since the Baptist gives that sweet Title of the Lamb to the Redeemer of the World 8. When was there ever seen so many Battels and Slaughters amongst Beasts as we see daily amongst Men Who ever saw Troops of Lions making War against other Lions Of Wolves against other Wolves Or of any other wild Beasts against those of their own kind Have our Fields ever had Armies formed of irrational Creatures Only Man is a Beast to his own kind Man is a Wolf to Man nay which is worse Man is a Man to Man for by what more reproachful name can he be called since men make such Wars as the fiercest of Beasts never do 9. When do Beasts practice that Sensuality and Uncleanness which Men are guilty of They content themselves at certain times to pay that debt to Nature which conserves their Kind When did irrational Nature seek to satisfie the Appetites of Gluttony How simple is their Diet how frugal how healthful and how natural This is the life of Beasts while we set our wits on work to procure our destruction by our Food and our death by vicious excesses in the nourishment of our life 10. Free our Souls O Lord from Passions which make them veryer Beasts than the Beasts themselves And what are we Lord if thou leavest us
away that Death hastens and that thou thy self art the Theatre of thine own Tragedy I will not tell thee that Death is coming 't is already come with it thou livest with it thou eatest with it thou walkest and labourest and with it thou sleepest Now since thou sleepest with it Why doest not thou awake with it also An indisposition of thy Stomach the aking of thy Head a pain in any part of thy Body briefly all such like accidents are so many knocks that Death gives at thy Door to rouze thee to the Remembrance of it Lend but thine Ear to hearken and thou shalt hear it call upon thee in the beginning of thy sickness it begins to finish what it has been about ever since thou were born and Death makes an end of thee even in the time of thy very Life It is a powerful Enemy that allows no means to fly to make resistance or to capitulate A terrible Enemy that will neither pardon nor be perswaded nor suffer it self to be entreated nor conquered nor convinced 2. Ah yield thy self to Death before it force thee to yield and to wait upon its triumph Receive it by Meditation before it come to execution accustom thy self to the Thought of Death and that will take away the Fear of Death It is a great Morsel and will not be got down the Throat at once thou had'st need to divide it into parts by frequent consideration that thou mayest be able to swallow it the more easily The Saints by often thinking of it made their Death more tolerable and their Life more religious Their end was always present to them and by that means they made both the beginning and the middle of all their Actions holy To forget Death is a great Mischief and an evident Destruction The unwary and unprovided Soldier is already foil'd and conquer'd 3. Why are so many ruined in their Life Because they bear not in mind the Remembrance of Death Why are so many condemned after Death Because it was never present to their thoughts in the time of their Life They live as if they never were to die they die as if they were never to be judged and yet in one instant they are dead judged and condemn'd 4. Do all the Actions of thy Life as having still an eye to thy Death this will lessen the Fear of thy Account and of the Sentence which condemns to eternal death Woe be to thee if thou stayest till death to begin to live Woe be to thee if thou stayest till thy end to begin to work Woe be to thee if thou deceivest thy self with to Morrow to Morrow to Morrow and art so foolish as to think thy self sure of to Morrow No let thy delays be applied to sin and the present time to repentance to day to day to day nay instantly this very moment bewail thy offences and resolve upon amendment and say to morrow to morrow or rather never never when thou art tempted to commit a wilful Sin 5. Oh how many are now burning in Hell for being such fools as to believe that they should find a to Morrow to repent in and who neither found Repentance nor to Morrow Oh how many are now burning in Hell because they would not repent when they might and afterwards could not when they would Oh how many are there now burning in Hell who delay'd to work out their Salvation while the Light of their Day lasted and afterwards had neither light nor time being seized upon suddenly by the dark Night of Death Fools ridiculous Fools that left the Matter of greatest Importance to be done in the time of greatest Confusion Fools ridiculous Fools to give the worst of their time to the saving of their Souls which is the only Matter of Concernment and the present which is the best and the most acceptable to the damning of them To imploy their Health their Youth and their Strength in sinful Pleasures and to put off their Contrition and Amendment till they are sick and old and feeble In offending the Just the Holy and Omnipotent God they spend all the Years of their Life and to obtain Pardon can afford nothing but the Moment of their death To offend him they give all their Senses Powers and Faculties while they are quick and lively and think them good enough for repentance when they are dull sleepy and stupified They lay the heavy load of Repentance upon decrepid old Age which is not able to bear it self and waste their most active and vigorous Days in vain delights and trifles Finally they lie dead in Sins all the Years of their Life and presume they shall be able to rise to Repentance that is to lead a godly Life in the Hour of their Death 6. Suppose a tender hearted Father pitying the Ruine of a Son justly disinherited and brought to slavery by his many Rebellions should send Messengers on purpose to fetch him home from Captivity to his Favour and to his Fortune provided he return before a certain Day prefixt Suppose they inform him the Road is very dangerous especially near his Journey 's end and that the Evening will probably be very dark and tempestuous What wouldst thou think of him if instead of hastening to his Father's embraces and the plenty of his House he should be so ungrateful to his Father's kindness so forgetful of his past misery and so regardless of his future happiness as to turn into the first pleasant Meadow he spies by the way and if notwithstanding the many earnest Calls of those that were sent to bring him who tell him how the day wasts and that they cannot stay for him he should lie down and loiter out the time picking up Flowers and catching Butterflies till Night force him in the midst of stormy Winds Rains and Thunder-claps to grope for his way alone in the Dark through Bryars Bogs and Precipices where it is in a manner impossible to escape Destruction It is hard to think that any Man can possibly be so stupid and wretched or so wilfully foolish yet thou thy self art much more stupid wretched and foolish than He if deluded by the Pleasure of Sin thou delayest thy Repentance till the Night of Death for He knew the certain number of Hours in his Day but thou knowest not how few there may be in thine nor how suddenly thy Sun may set and leave thee perhaps before thy Noon exposed to a darker and a more tempestuous Passage Again He lies in the cool Shade of a pleasant Meadow but thou probably liest wallowing like a Swine in the Mire of Sensuality or basking in the Heat of Lust in spite of the Perswasions of thy Spiritual Guides that would bring thee into the Ways that are truly pleasant and into the Paths of Peace In short He by the delay of his Journey ventures but the loss of an earthly Inheritance or at the worst of a temporal Life but thou by that of thy repentance wilt loose an
it Is there no remedy against this Evil nor defence against this Danger 2. The Evil is not in being judged but in going unprepar'd to Judgment This imminent danger hath an easy plain and safe remedy by the Grace of God And that is for a Man to judge himself often times before God judge him once for all Wouldst thou not be afraid of the Judgment nor of that dreadful Sentence Judge thy self before hand examine thy self before thou comest to be examin'd call thy self frequently to a strict account humble thy self amend thy Life and at the sight of thy Sins pray and weep and thou shalt go willingly to Judgment and come off safe with thy account Serve thy Judge love thy Judge and obey him in all things before he come to judge thee and thou shalt go contentedly to his Judgment and find thy Judge to be thy Friend 3. Consider that many Saints have desir'd that their Life might be shorten'd that their Death might be hasten'd and that they might come to Judgment thereby to enjoy God They desir'd to be dissolved and to leave this mortal Tabernacle They desir'd this knot of Life might be untied and to be free from the Prison of this miserable and corruptible Body to see their God their Creator and Redeemer whom they loved served and ador'd while they lived in this World They esteem'd Death as Life because it freed them from a dying Life which delay'd their enjoyment of an eternal Life 4. They could not pass to the beatifical Vision of their God without going by the way of the Judgment and Sentence They did as it were die with an eager desire of dying and joyfully embrac'd that Death which brought them to behold the kind the cheerful and beautiful Countenance of their loving Judge They knew they were to be judged by their Father their God their Creator and Redeemer their faithful Friend and their most gracious Lord. They loved him in their Life they sought him by their Death they ador'd him in the Judgment and with an humble confidence in his infinite Pity they hoped for Mercy in the Sentence They knew their offences were many but they had bewailed them they knew though they were Sinners they had lived desirous to please him diligent to serve him and with care not to offend him They knew they could not put their cause into better hands and that the same Person was to judge them who had shed his Blood for them and given his Life upon the Cross for their Redemption They went to offer their Works their Tears and their Repentance unto God yet without trusting any thing in their Works they relied wholly upon the Goodness of God and the Merits of their Saviour 5. For though it be just that the Judgments of the Lord should be fear'd yet it is as just that they should be loved My Father says the holy Soul is to judge me what am I then afraid of My Lord and my God is my Judge How can I choose but hope and trust in my Lord and my God though he be my Judge If he have a kindness for me and I have a reverence for him What can I look for in the Sentence but Mercy and Compassion What Son is afraid to be judged by his own Father if he hath not lived and acted as an Enemy to his Father or if he hath bewailed the time that he was his Enemy What Wife is afraid to be judged by her tenderly affectionate Husband if she hath not been an Adulteress or hath heartily lamented that Injury and penitently begged pardon of her dearly loving Husband What Friend is afraid to be judged by his Friend if he hath been faithful to him or hath shewed a real grief for the breach of his Fidelity Though I be afraid and wretched says a sick Soul I have been desirous to serve thee O my God thy Precepts have been my Direction and thy Counsels have been my Rule if not in the execution yet at least in my intention and earnest desire I hope for mercy from that eternal goodness of God my Creator and Redeemer who dyed upon a Cross for my Salvation He that was so gracious and so loving in Redeeming me cannot but be a sweet and tender Father in Judging me 6. These are the breathings of a Holy Soul Thus said St. Paul and many others when they desir'd to be dissolved that they might come to the presence of God and for the obtaining of that did not fear to put their Cause and Sentence into his hand They feared his Power and they adored his Power They were afraid by reason of their sins and yet they hoped knowing his mercy and loving-kindness Their love conquered their fear because their hearts were inflam'd with that perfect Charity which casts out fear And thus if thou doest desire to have a holy and assured hope humbly resign'd and yet chearful in the Judgment and in the Sentence do that which the Saints have done and thou shalt hope as they have hoped 7. Make account in thy life-time of that Account thou art to give hereafter I repeat it to thee once again keep a Judgment-seat within thy self every day till thou comest to thy last Judge thy self ten thousand times and consider in what steps thou treadest for according to what thou doest in this World thou shalt be judged in the other Strictly observe thy very thoughts and mend what thou shalt find amiss For by this means thou shalt increase that love which casts out fear Do thou judge thine own Actions before God judges them beg light of him to see and know them and tears to bewail them and so with a holy resignation and with an humble confidence thou mayest appear in the presence of God Take good heed to thy Words Thoughts and Actions and square them by the Rule of the Divine Law and of the Will of that Lord who is to Judge thee and strive in this Life to obtain Mercy and Pardon for thy Sins and Miseries 8. Be careful to purifie thy Understanding and to purge it from evil fill it with honest and spiritual Considerations cleanse thy will from corrupt Desires and fill it with the love of thy Creator Let thy Memory be the Store-house of Holy Meditations and then hope and trust love and adore the Judgment of the Lord. His goodness does more desire to Pardon thee than thou dost to be pardoned He is more desirous of thy Salvation than thou art to be saved He is more desirous to deliver thee from that Infernal Dragon than thou art to be delivered Be careful I warn thee once again on what hand thou livest in this life for on that hand thou shalt find thy self when Death carries thee from hence 9. Fear the Judgment of the Lord for it is very just so to do fear humble thy self and tremble but yet hope and be more afraid of the sins wherewith thou offendest him than thou art of his righteous Judgment
defence of his Souldiers They hazard their lives for a pitiful Pay which oftentimes they never get but our King and Captain secures us a certain Pay rewarding us with Life and Glory If they fly over to their Enemy 't is out of hope to preserve their lives but if we do so we run to eternal death and fly from eternal life The War of the World is made by wounding hurting and killing others but the War of God against the World is made by receiving Injuries Affronts Wounds and even Death it self if it be necessary The War of the World is to Conquer by destroying others but the War against the World is to Conquer by undergoing Difficulties and Suffering for God's sake In that War it is Force that overcomes in this 't is Patience The Victories of that War are gotten by pulling down and trampling upon others but in this by debasing and humbling our selves The Triumphs of that War are here upon Earth and of a short continuance but those of this War are to be in Heaven above and to endure for ever and ever Fight therefore couragiously have patience and persevere the Battle lasts but for a while thou art already near the Crown that is to be thy Reward Arm us O thou great Captain of our Salvation for this Warfare with the Shield of Faith the Breast-plate of Righteousness the Helmet of Salvation and with the Sword of the Spirit and grant that having our Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace we may chearfully withstand all Assaults of our Ghostly Enemies keeping still present in our thoughts the Vow we made to thee in our Baptism to fight manfully under thy Banner against the World the Flesh and the Devil and to continue thy Faithful Souldiers and Servants unto our lives end The Second WEEK Of Repentance and Absolution OUR blessed Redeemer and Saviour of Souls did not stop here He thought it not enough to Arm us for the Spiritual Warfare but has also provided a Remedy to cure our Wounds His Divine Majesty knew our weakness he knew our proneness to Vice he knew that like Cowards we should sometimes throw down our Weapons at the feet of our Enemies and basely fly from his Banner for the sake of some filthy Appetite He would not leave our Souls without help but his Compassion seeing our Frailty and Misery was pleased in the very sight of so great Ingratitude to prepare a Medicine for the cure of our Wounds and an Antidote for the Poyson of our Sins by establishing the Doctrine of Repentance and by giving Power and Commandment to his Ministers to declare and pronounce unto such as are truly Penitent the Absolution and Remission of their sins Great was the Love of our Lord in dying for us upon the Cross nor was it less in giving us this means to make his Sufferings effectual to us To pardon past Offences has been seen and sometimes one man to suffer for another but not at so dear a Price as his own Blood For a Person offended to suffer the sight of his Enemies is much when it is to do them good but 't is much more when he knows that they are not only Enemies but that they are ungrateful and despise his Benefits to shed his very blood to make a Medicine for their Wounds This is a pity exceeding all Humane Understanding That there should be care taken in Armies to cure the Wounded and Hospitals for the Sick it is not strange because they are Faithful Souldiers and venture their Lives in Fighting for their King But in the War of the Spirit that the Saviour of Souls should prepare Remedies not for his Friends that fight on his side but for Enemies and Souldiers that desert him that he should admit them again to be new listed under his Banner is a Mercy beyond comparison To pardon Mutineers has been seen in Armies but yet the Heads are commonly punished and the Companies disbanded but not only to pardon such Enemies and Traytors but to call them back to Love to Cure to Reward to Honour and Sustain them with his own Flesh and Blood can be the effect of nothing but an Infinite Charity and Compassion So great is the Benefit of Repentance which giving us a Title to the blood of Christ not only Cures those that are wounded but also raises those that are dead in sins nor is there any thing above the Cure of that Soveraign Medicine unless the Party affected resists the power of it which is so great that it not only cures the Wound but takes away the very Scars and makes those that are recovered more sound and healthful than they were before Behold a Man fallen from a Ship into the Sea and ready to be drowned amidst the Waves see with what eagerness he calls for a Cable with what greediness he catches at the Plank nay the poor wretch would even lay hold on a naked Sword to save his Life though with the loss of his Blood so the Christian who by the Grace of Baptism sails in the Ship of the Church being carried by his Passions throws himself into the World and is sinking in the Tempest of his sins and if he be drowned he perishes to Eternity but as he is sinking he finds this second Plank of Repentance to save him from Shipwrack and by it is drawn up into the Ship again and preserved to arrive in safety at his desired Port. Apply thy self therefore to the use of this Remedy with Humility with an holy Disposition and great sorrow for thy sins and by Faith in the Merits of Christ's Blood and then thou shalt rise up not only cured but crowned Call to remembrance thy sins and make a firm Resolution never to offend thy Lord again Be affected with a sorrow that is pure in its sincerity pious in its intention great in its degree perpetual in its lasting and particular in the enumeration of thy several sins with all the aggravating Circumstances thereof Finally let thy Confession be clear and undissembled with confusion of Face for thy often relapses giving Glory to God and taking Shame to thy self Make use of a Spiritual Guide in all difficulties of Conscience for thy Instruction and Consolation Forgive all Injuries thou hast at any time received which are but a few Pence in comparison of the many Talents which thou hast to be forgiven and remember that Christ says Except ye forgive men their trespasses neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses And not only forgive thine Enemies but embrace them with unfeigned Affection for his sake and by his Example who loved thee when thou wast his Enemy Of the Holy Eucharist In this Preparation of Soul wounded both with Love and Grief and thirsting as the Hart for the Water-brooks approach reverently to the Sacrament of thy Saviour's Body and Blood which that gracious Lord instituted at his last Supper for a continual remembrance of the Sacrifice of himself
and to become Poor that we may imitate thee in thy Humanity Of the Birth of our Lord. Behold now when the appointed time for the Birth of the Messiah was come how the Eternal Son of God the Author of our Nature to Honour and Redeem it after having so long suffered that close Imprisonment in the pure Womb of an humble Virgin was humbly born in the Stable of an Inn and laid in a Manger He was born in a Stable amongst Beasts coming to live amongst brutish Men and he was laid in a Manger that was to be the Food of Souls and in an Inn the common receptacle of all Comers that all might have access to him who was the common Saviour of all Mankind Behold that poor Cottage of Bethlehem already transformed into a Heaven and his supposed Father the chaste Joseph with the Blessed Virgin his Mother kneeling to adore the Child of her Bowels who also was her Maker being the Creator of the whole World Behold all the Evangelical Spirits busie in worshipping the Lord God and in calling the Shepherds to acknowledge their true and eternal Shepherd The Angels sing Glory to God on high on Earth Peace and good will towards men exalting that Humility which had laid itself so low and manifesting his Divinity at the same time that his Humanity appeared Enter thou also with them O my Soul to adore the Divine Son of God who had now cloathed himself with the Nature of Man and fill'd it with greater Humanity and Love than ever till that time it was capable of Come thou therefore with love and lay aside thy fears if thou art a Shepherd to others thou art one of his Sheep This chief Eternal Shepherd comes to call and to seed not only the Sheep but their Shepherds also Draw near O my Soul to that Manger for his Deity and his Humility would have no greater Throne to the end that thou mightest the better approach it Seeing thy baseness his Divine Nature abased itself to the uttermost to the end that the baseness of thine might attain to so high a Greatness and Soveraignty Draw near my Soul be not afraid for his tender Mother holds him out to thee in her Arms and calls thee to his Humanity lest his Divinity should affright thee O Infant God the Joy and Consolation of Mankind O Infant God the Light of Eternity and Comfort of the Universe O Infant God the unspeakable Delight of all Creatures and the sweetest Gladness of Souls Why should not I suffer for thee since thou camest purposely into the World to suffer for me O Immortal and yet Mortal Child wherefore art thou in this Stable wherefore weeping and suffering in this Manger since thou art the Author of Grace and of all that is Graceful the Author of Delight of Joy and Gladness Were it not better O beautiful Infant were it not fitter that Sin that is I should suffer than thou who art Innocency itself Were it not fitter that the wicked should be in pain than that thy Goodness should endure it What hast thou done O tender Infant that thou bewailest the faults of others and makest the punishments of them thine own Wilt thou O sweetest Goodness wash my defiled Soul with thy Tears Wilt thou O lovely Child by suffering Cold inflame the coldness of my Heart or dost thou feel that cold to reproach the coldness of my Devotion O Glory and Comfort of my Soul Would God it were so clean and pure that I might offer it instead of Swathes to enfold and to embrace thy tender Body Would God it were full of Spiritual Flowers and sweet-smelling Vertues that I might lay them in that Manger instead of that straw which was honoured with bearing upon it that Divine Eternal Grain which is the Food and Nourishment of all that is created But O Holy and Eternal Infant I have nothing in me to offer thee but Thorns nothing but Sins and Miseries in my Soul and it is not just to anticipate those Thorns which must one day Crown thy sacred Head nor to begin so early to hurt that tender Body with them O thou that art my Happiness and my Glory how soon do my Sins begin thy Punishment How soon doth thy Love lye suffering between two Beasts dying for the love of Man who within few years art to suffer Death between two Men How soon O my Jesus after thy Birth art thou in the company of Beasts who art to live amongst Beasts and to dye amongst Beasts of a more cruel kind These at thy Birth are much more innocent for how brutish soever they be yet the Ox knows his Owner and the Ass his Master's Crib but they would neither know nor receive their Saviour but first they scourge and buffet and then nail their Redeemer to the Cross Why dost thou weep O Heavenly Child Yet since it is natural to thee to weep because thou hast taken our Nature weep because I do not weep to the end that I may weep with thee since thou sighest let it be because I do not sigh since thou feelest pains let it be because I am insensible of thy pains and let them beget in me a deep sense of my unworthiness that thou shouldst suffer them for my sake Let those Tears of thine become my Remedy and my Rejoycing transfer them from thine eyes to mine and as they wash thy beautiful Cheeks let them also wash my polluted Soul Transfer the love of thy tender heart to this obdurate heart of mine and grant as it offends thee so it may infinitely grieve for having offended thee and desire with passionate longing to adore and to embrace thee Let the thought of that frosty Season wherein thou wert born thaw this frozen heart of mine into a love of thee that sufferedst that frost for me who am benumb'd with one more hard and lasting for that continued some few weeks perhaps but this of my heart has continued many years O that I had suffered it for thee dear Child for the most rigorous frost that is felt for thy sake is Warmth is Love and is not Ice but Fire to kindle and inflame my heart Thou wert born for my Happiness and for my Remedy Grant O dear Lord that such a Repentance such a Sorrow and such a Contrition may be born in my Soul as may prepare and fit me for my Remedy and grant that the light and power of those Beams of Love which dart from the beautiful Countenance of thy Humanity may drive away the darkness of Sin and Infidelity from my Soul which thou camest to banish from thence and may kindle in me such a fire of love towards thee as nothing may ever be able to extinguish it The Fourth WEEK Of the other Mysteries of our Lord till his Preaching and first of Circumcision IT is hard to get out of this Cottage that was honoured with the Birth of our Lord which is the sweetest Mystery and fill'd with the softest
to his Face Let so many Publicans and Sinners so many Harlots and other wicked Livers speak this who repenting were pardoned and the Traiterous Apostle Judas who persisting in Impenitency was Damned Of the Institution of the Holy Sacrament This Gracious Action being finished he holds a most loving Discourse to his Disciples preparing them to see their Master suffer and to bear all those sufferings they were to undergo themselves O how does he forewarn and advise them How does he encourage and instruct them How does he enlighten and comfort them There he rebukes Peter thereby giving a Lesson to the rest and shews them Beams of Mercy even in those Prophecies of Tribulations and Afflictions that were to befal them If he foretel their Frailties and their Failings he also assures them of Victories and Triumphs and that they shall subdue and trample upon the World through the Vertue and Power of his Grace That most tender Discourse being likewise ended he Celebrated the third and last Supper or more properly the admirable and unspeakable Mystery of the Sacrament in which he expressed and Epitomized the Intimacies of his unmeasurable Goodness and Charity To make himself Man and to suffer for Man seemed but a small thing to his Love unless he still remained with Man to be the food of Man O Infinite Charity which contentest not thy self with being our Redemption unless thou also becomest our Nourishment O Infinite Charity who not only offerest thy self to Death to save my Life but who also wilt enter into my Breast to give me a better Life and to defend and free me from a more lasting Death O Infinite Charity who having our Ingratitude in thy thoughts and that thou wert to be condemned by Men to die upon the Cross yet leavest us a benefit which we could not have received but by thy passing first through so great an Ingratitude of Men O Infinite Charity which knowing that my Offences would nail thee to the Cross wert yet providing that remedy for those very Offences O Infinite Charity which knowing that a thousand Injuries and Torments were contriving in the Hearts of Men against thy unspeakable Goodness and Mercy didst yet leave thy self for Food to those Infamous Mouths and having it in thy Power to inflict a severe punishment upon them for so great a Wickedness wert offering them means and expedients of Mercy Goodness and Charity What was Man doing when thou didst institute this blessed Sacrament for him What but preparing the Scourges the Crown of Thorns the Nails and the Cross for thee He was designing thy cruel Death and thou his eternal Life He was contriving Torments for thee and thou Glory for him He was platting a Crown of sharp Thorns for thy sacred Head and thou a Crown of Joys and Eternities for his Lord is it thy Custom to repay Benefits for Injuries and to give Crowns for the Reward of Ingratitude Come hither O devout Souls come and bewail with me so great a Sin Come love with me so great a Love Come with a Spiritual Hunger and offer up your hearts to receive that Divine Nourishment and let whatsoever is in you of your selves go forth of you to make room for this most deservedly beloved Lord to enter Of the Consecration of the Apostles After that our Sovereign Lord and Master had Consecrated the Elements of Bread and Wine breaking the one and giving it them to Eat and pouring out the other and commanding all to Drink calling the one his Body and the other his Blood and thereby changing not their nature but their use that they might become a Sacrament which should remain in his Church not only for a Remembrance of his precious Death and Passion but also for a Conveyance of the Merits thereof for the Remission of Sins He Consecrated also the Apostles themselves and gave them the Power and Vertue to Consecrate and Ordain others and to send them forth as he did them for the Propagation of his Gospel and for the Administration and Government of Souls This was another admirable expression of the Love of our Lord Jesus to Mankind since whereas he could have taken upon him the nature of Angels and left them Heirs of that rich Possession of Receiving Consecrating and Administring those precious Symbols he was pleased to bestow that Benefit and Priviledge upon Mankind which thereby received Honour and Favour as well as Remedy But Lord I wonder not at that since from the time thou madest thy self Man all advantages were brought to Man by joyning thy Divinity to his Humanity O that as thou hast given to us Bishops and Priests this Dignity we had also the Spirit the Devotion and the Piety of the Apostles And Lord as the Power thou hast conferr'd upon us is what thou hast not granted to Angels and to Seraphins O that the Perfection of our Manners and the Purity and Charity of our Souls were in some degree suitable to that of Angels and of Seraphins But O God we have a Dignity of great weight upon very weak shoulders the Dignity is fit for Angels the Weakness is of miserable Sinners And thou only O Eternal Goodness thy Mercy and thy Strength alone can help and encourage and support our Weakness and Misery Since then O sweet Lord thou givest us this Dignity give us also those parts and qualifications which are expedient for it Since thou hast given us the Obligations help us also with the Abilities since thou givest us the Ministry give us also the Spirit As thou hast made us to represent thee make us also to imitate thee As thou hast given us the Power give us also the Vertue with the Power Suffer us not O Divine Goodness to serve in that High Dignity with Uncharitableness and Indignity If thou wilt not help the Bishops the Fathers of the Faith and the Shepherds of Souls O thou Eternal lover of Souls whom wilt thou help If our Light must enlighten the Souls of others what shall become both of us and others if we want thy Light Thou callest the Apostles and Ministers the Salt of the Earth and if the Salt lose its savour how shall their Doctrine be seasoned If the blind lead the blind shall they not both fall into the ditch Grant O Lord that thy Goodness and thy Love may dwell in us that thy Mercy and thy Charity may burn in our hearts and that the fire of thy Divine Love may break forth from thence to kindle and enflame the hearts of our Christian Brethren Our Blessed Saviour having Consecrated his Holy Apostles to be Teachers of the Faith and Pillars of his Church and having made himself their Minister and their Priest enters into the breasts of those that were to be his Ministers and Priests to become an unbloody Sacrifice in the Altar of those living Temples before he was a bloody one upon the Altar of the Cross They with profound Reverence receive the Lord whom they adore and behold
it condemns him to Death though disswaded by his Wife upon her Dream from having any thing to do with that Just Person and delivers him to them to be crucified since all that was easier for such a mean complying Judge to consent to than to trouble and hazard himself in the further Defence of Innocency Yet that he might remain clear and spotless and honoured in the Opinion of the World in Condemning our Saviour he declares himself not guilty of his Blood and so he washes his hands and satisfies himself with laying the Crime upon others But what greater Infamy can a Judge be guilty of than to suffer the Accusers themselves to write and to sign the Sentence This being done our Blessed Saviour carries his Cross alone for a great part of the way to Mount Calvary and because they thought the time long of his getting thither they make Simon the Cyrenian help him to bear it that he might be there so much the sooner for it was not out of pity that they gave him that Assistance but it was an effect of their Cruelty nor did they intend it for any ease to his Life but for the hastening of his Death In his way to Calvary he is bewailed by the Daughters of Jerusalem leaving this Glory to the Women that they alone wept at the Passion of their Lord their Master and their Redeemer They strip his Body for the cloathing of our Souls and at the same time both Heaven and Earth were cloathed with Grief and Darkness to mourn for the Sufferings of their Creator They with rough hard Nails fasten the Eternal Son of God unto the Cross the Ingratitude of the Jews making him that requital for all his Divine Benefits Those blessed Feet that travelled up and down so many weary steps to seek Sinners that he might save and pardon them Those liberal Hands full of Charity and Beneficence are bored through and nailed by those very Persons whom he came to succour Not to acknowledge a good turn is Ingratitude and Wickedness what shall it then be to pierce both the Hands and Feet of ones Benefactor Then they raise up the Blessed Jesus upon the Cross and allow him the Superiority over two Thieves as fit Subjects for the King of that Royal Throne and by the same action they raise and exalt Man's Nature and advance it in a manner to be Divine When the Son of Man shall be raised up said his Divine Majesty he will draw all along with him It is clear he did so since by his most precious Blood he washed and redeemed them and with his most ardent Love he called and enflamed them O my dearest Lord God who wert wounded and despised crucified and crowned with Thorns and for my sins didst suffer so many torments upon the Cross I beseech thee by the Merits of them all O sweetest Jesus to pardon all my grievous Offences Since thou hast drawn up all draw me up also O most Gracious Saviour Do not suffer that most precious Blood to leave unwashed this Soul which confesses thee and acknowledges thee to be God Thy ardent Charity interceded to thy Father for those very Enemies that crucified thee How much rather then wilt thou be the Mediator and Redeemer of a poor Christian who confesses and adores thy Sovereign Majesty Behold admire and adore thy Suffering Saviour and bewail thy sins the cause of all his Sufferings Behold all Creatures in amazement to see their Creator in so woful a condition Behold the Heavens obscur'd at that Eclipse of his Heavenly Beauties Behold the Earth and all the Elements confounded at the awfulness of his Pains and Torments Behold how the Sun withdraws its Light not to see so horrid a Wickedness and so terrible an Ingratitude Behold even the very Rocks so softened as to cleave asunder in compassion What kind of hearts then are those that remain unsensible Lord suffer not mine to be one of them but let it melt with Love and Contrition to think of thy heavy Torments and of my hainous Offences The Vail of the Temple was rent in twain and shall my Heart be whole Shall not my Breast and all my Bowels open themselves to receive the Blood which thou sheddest for my Redemption Behold the Holy Virgin at the Foot of her Son's Cross who recommends her to the care of his beloved Disciple Behold how one drop of his Blood falling upon the good Thief was to him the Baptism of Life and eternal Condemnation to the Bad who knew not how to make his advantage of it He there made the Divine Nature propitious to the Human that it might be pardoned and by the last of those seven Words which he spake upon the Cross declar'd that by his Blood and Death he had finished the Work of our Redemption Then after having hung three Hours alive upon the Cross He that was the Life of Souls gave them Life by his Death and a Life eternal which Triumphs over Death for ever When he was dead the Souldier with a Spear pierced his most holy Side out of which came Water and Blood representing the two Sacraments and making a wide Door for holy Souls to enter and after other three Hours the Piety of his Friends takes him down from the Cross laying his precious Body in a new Sepulchre which was bestowed on him by the Charity of Joseph of Arimathea So he who during his Life had not a House to rest his Head in was so poor likewise at his Death that he had not so much as a Grave of his own to put his Body in There they sadly lament his loss and burying him in their Hearts as they had done in that Tomb they leave him there embalmed with Spices that as it was Prophesied of him he might be as the Rich in his Death and though there they leave him yet they carry him away with them in their remembrance that we by their example never may forget him After his sad and bloody Passion succeeded his Powerful Resurrection when he had conquered Hell as well as Death and then the Glorious Triumph of his Ascension to the end that Human Nature might not only be Redeemed but also Honoured and Crowned yet before he went up into Heaven he comforted his Mother and the Apostles to whom he several times appeared after his Resurrection to the end that their Joy for it might recompense the Sadness they had felt at his dolorous Passion He examined St. Peter thrice concerning his Love that by three Confessions he might purge away the Shame of his three Denials bidding him as often to feed his Lambs He signified to him by what death he should Glorifie God commanding them all to Preach the Gospel and assuring them that he would be with them to the end of the World Within few days after he made good his promise in sending them another Comforter for at Pentecost the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles in fiery Tongues to the end
Peace This Charity which the Apostle here offers as the highest Gift and Fruit of the Divine Spirit is reduc'd into two kinds First that which the Soul bears towards God not only when it begins to be in Grace for that may be with many imperfections and fastnings to worldly things but an excellent perfect and inflamed Charity which with its fire burns up and with its flame consumes all the Dross Imperfections and Miseries which our wretched Nature sends up as in smoke to the Region of the Spirit This excellent and superiour Charity which neither suffers nor allows so much as a consent to the smallest sins nor admits voluntary imperfections and adhaesions to earthly things how little soever they be and which if they come does not entertain them but presently casts them out and bewails them is a great Gift of the Holy Spirit the highest of all its Fruits for this strips the Soul of all that is imperfect and cloaths it with all that is holy perfect and heroical This Fruit of the Spirit is the Source and Original of whatsoever good our weakness is capable of it takes off those Skins that covered the old Adam and adorns us with the Garment of Grace of the new Adam Jesus Christ our Lord. Those Skins are our Passions and Imperfections and this Garment is made up of our Saviour's Vertue This Heroick Charity not only begets but defends the new Man in us it roots out our old customs of sin pulls up those habits of sensual delight and throws out those formerly beloved Vices and Miseries wherewith it hath been choaked up so that the Lord's Inheritance becomes clean and fitly tilled to receive the spiritual Seed namely those Gifts and Graces which God is pleased to communicate to Souls Where God bestows the Fruit of this ardent Charity I count that Soul to be safely got into Port as having by the Grace of our Lord overcome those strong Billows and broken through those contrary Winds that would have hindred its passage because God affords therewith a constancy and firmness in holy Exercises a continual desire and longing to prosecute and to finish its Course and to die in Christ with Christ and for Christ for all things else it neither values them nor loves them nor fears them He that has gotten to receive from God this high degree of Charity is governed in all things by his Hand and punctually follows his Directions for he loves the Name of God and that Love moves and guides informs counsels and accompanies him from Life to Death This Love is that which the Church asks of God for her faithful Children when she says O Lord who never failest to help and govern them whom thou dost bring up in thy stedfast fear and love keep us we beseech thee under the protection of thy good Providence and make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy Holy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen St. Paul had this Fruit of Charity when he said Who shall separate me from the love of Christ Who Neither Tribulation nor Sword nor Persecution nor Death no nor Hell itself which is as if God having cloathed and armed that Saint with this Charity had made him capable to defie all Creatures and all things contrary to the love of his Creator This Charity and Fruit of the Holy Ghost he had when he said That he desir'd to be dissolved and to be with Christ for that his Soul filled and enflamed with Charity which is the ripe and seasonable Fruit of the Holy Ghost waited to be gathered by the hand of the Master of that Garden who planted it in him and had not the Earth for its Centre which corrupts and rots the Fruits that fall upon it but Heaven where he was to be laid up and preserved for ever This Charity and Divine Fruit of the Spirit that Saint had who said I live but not in my self and I so earnestly long after so high a life that I even die because I do not die as St. Paul also said I live yet not I but Christ who liveth in me his Death was Life and his Life Death as he likewise spoke Who shall deliver me from this body of death or from the death of this Body as holding the life of this Body to be no better than death and very death it self to be as life because it was to be a sweet passage to him to Eternal Life All the Saints have held the same for God communicates this high Fruit of Charity either more or less to them all and all of them have suffered this amorous Impatiency which is that the Spouse in the Canticles expresses when she says Encompass me with flowers for I die for love O sweet Death O glorious Life O healthful Sickness O Coelestial Fire which kindlest and enflamest which enlightenest and enamourest burning with delight and by thy consolations changing Earth into Heaven O eternal Jesus O sweet O glorious O loving and powerful Lord grant that I may die of this Wound Grant I may be enflam'd by this Heavenly Fire Grant I may see by this Light and be consumed by this Heat O that I might be turned into ashes in the burnings of this amorous Fire and that I may cease to be in this life to the end that I may be with thee eternally in the other Ah! when a Soul once comes to know and to understand this Love how little does it regard the loves of this World I mean not only those that are light and vain but those also that are allowable if they be worldly for God cleanses and purifies the Soul in such manner from all Propriety although it be of those Affections which are tolerable yet imperfect through their excess that he possesses the Soul totally with his love and from the most inward to the uttermost extent of the heart and from the superiour to the most inferiour parts of it fills it wholly with himself so that if such an one loves his Parents whether Natural or Spiritual he does it in God and for God and if he loves his Brethren whether those of Nature or those of Grace he loves them also in God and for God who orders and governs all his Love This the holy Soul says in the Canticles when amongst other Favours her Spouse had done her she acknowledges that he had ordered and governed her Affections As if she had said though there were Charity in me yet it was inordinate for I loved some more than I ought to have loved them others when I ought not to have loved them and others after another manner than I ought to have loved them I loved more than I ought to have loved because that Affection which I gave inordinately unto a Creature although a Father I stole from the Creator who is my true Father I loved them for that which I ought not to have loved them for that is for mine own Delight for mine own Interest and
upon the Cross purchasing our Redemption by his Death the Merits and Benefits whereof shall therein be assur'd and convey'd to thee as a Pledge and Seal of thy Pardon Apply it to thy self with an humble Confidence in his Promises with a firm Faith that his Blood was shed for thee since thou art admitted to be a partaker thereof That Divine Antidote is not only to be thy Medicine but thy Nourishment and receiving it with lowliness and Devotion thou shalt not only find Grace but the Author of Grace thou shalt not only find the Guide but the Way the Comfort and Support of the Spirtual Life If he be God Eternal the Son of the Eternal Father whom thou receivest into thy Breast art not thou certain that all his Vertues and Attributes enter with him If in receiving him I make him not only my Guest but also my Lord and Ruler I become one with him as the fire which heats the Iron is united with it If his Goodness be in me when I receive him how is it that it does not abolish my Wickedness If his Omnipotency why does it not take away my Weakness If his Love be in me why does it not expel my Luke-warmness If his Purity and Chastity why don't they chase away all my Defilements A PRAYER O Eternal and Coelestial Light O my Redeemer and Soveraign Master and Physician O sweet Spouse of my Soul What is it that hinders the Operation of so great a Light in me but that my Soul is in so thick a Mist of Darkness What is it that can hinder the admirable Effects of thy Grace in me but the wickedness of my ungrateful heart What keeps the Divine Strength and Power from waking but my great coldness and hardness of heart What hinders thee O Heavenly Physician from curing the Diseases of my Soul but that it loves them and abhors the Remedy What hinders thy Sheep O Heavenly Shepherd from receiving the Coelestial Food thou offerest them but their being lost and running astray after sensual Delights the Poyson of their Vices What hinders the amorous Embraces and Favours of this loving Bridegroom but the ungrateful forgetfulness of his Spouse My heart gives it self up to worldly Loves and so does not perceive these glorious Pleasures What keeps my Soul from receiving the Graces and Favours which my King entring into it would bestow but the Passions and Rebellions wherewith it is fill'd What hinders me from hearing the wholsome Counsels of my most wise Instructor or if I hear them from following them but that my Passions make me deaf to his Inspirations or weak and unable to follow those which I have heard O Lord my God and my Redeemer All my Sickness is in my self all my Cure is in thee O my God since thou dost vouchsafe to enter into me stay there and deliver me from my self I am mine own Enemy no body can hurt me if I hurt not my self Free me from that inward Enemy O dear and potent Friend Thou art the strength of Heaven Thou art the succour of the Weak and I am weak Thou art the light of the Blind and I am blind Thou art the comfort of the Afflicted and I am afflicted Thou art the Shepherd of lost Sheep and I am one of them Thou art the pardoner of the Ungrateful and I am even Ingratitude itself What can Cure so great an Ignorance but thy Heavenly Wisdom What can take away or destroy so great a wickedness but thine Infinite Charity What can cleanse so many Defilements but thine ineffable Purity What can give strength to my feeble Soul overwhelmed with Vices but the Infinite Power of thy Glorious Vertues Have I thee here within me and wilt thou not Cure me I will not believe it Lord. Art thou one of those that see their Friends in the Sea of their Troubles and suffer them to be drowned Art not thou He who alone art able if thou wilt to appease a Tempest Art not thou He who stretch'd forth his hand to Peter when he was sinking in the waves Art not thou He who sleeping in the Ship didst awake and calm the Sea when it was ready to be swallowed up Art not thou He who walked'st upon the Waters of the Sea only to help those that were in them Art not thou He who both by Sea and Land in Mountains Towns and Cities wert the Universal Remedy both of Souls and Bodies For to whom thou gavest Grace in the one thou also gavest Health in the other Art thou less able in my Soul than thou wert in Judaea and Palestine Is not thy Power as great to Cure Souls now as it was to Cure Bodies then since thou didst therefore Cure their Bodies that thou mightest the better Cure their Souls Is thy skill less now adays O Omnipotent Physician than it was in those times Does not thy Immense Charity rather increase if it be possible for it to receive any augmentation Does not every one of thy Benefits call a great many more after it Canst thou do any thing else than give more and more and more Art not thou All-powerful O my Jesus Art not thou all Love and Goodness And art not thou infinitely Wise If then thou art both able knowing and willing How is it that I feel not the effects of thy Power Goodness and Wisdom It is true I have very often resisted them all but now I penitently yield my self up to them now I humbly prostrate my self I call I seek and adore the Author of my Remedy Enter into me O Lord my Glory Cast out of me all Humane Resistance and though wretch that I am I did resist thy Vertues I will no longer resist thy Remedies I desire O my God to desire Lend thy helping hand and banish all that can separate me from thee Drive out of me all that Will which opposeth thy Blessed Will O Lord God I believe as another incredulous Person said help thou my unbelief and my obdurate Nature which is the Original of all my harm I believe I will I desire I love I seek I weep O merciful Lord O Eternal and Heavenly Light pardon and banish my want of Love my Coldness my Ingratitude and my Forgetfulness I would fain desire but I know not how to desire I would fain work but I know not how to work but since thou entrest into me O my Jesus work thou in me Separate from me and destroy in me all that hinders and detains me from serving from loving from following and adoring thee Let that Love of thine which was enflamed with the love of me conquer and expel this ungrateful want of love Let thy Light drive away my Darkness and thy Goodness my Wickedness Finally O Lord make thy self Master of me of my heart of my will and of all my Faculties and carry my Soul thy Captive in the Triumph of thine Infinite Love These are the breathings thou oughtest to send forth from the bottom of thy