be thus wounded mangled and bruised to cure them Certainly if those Sores had not been mortal and even the fatal causes of the eternal death of thy Soul I had never suffer'd so cruel a death for her recovery Can there be a more considerable or a pressing motive to lament and abhor thy Sins then to remember that they were the only cause of all my sufferances and even of my most bitter death upon the Cross The Jews went once through Jerusalem and bewail'd the destruction of that Royall City and the loss of their King how much more reason hast thou to lament thy great misfortune to have occasion'd my death who am thy King thy Redeemer and he only that can either pardon thee thy sins or condemn thee for them to an eternity of pains O man let this consideration be the constant subject of thy serious meditations it will pierce thy heart unless it be harder and more obdurate then the very Stones This very consideration made one of my faithful servants to say that it is a shameful thing for Christians not to acknowledge the evils which sin has brought upon them when they consider what so supream a Majesty as that of the Son of God has been oblig'd to suffer for them The Son of God says he takes compassion on the miseries of man and weeps for sorrow whilst insensible man who is overwhelm'd with his own sins is not concern'd at all MAN O My dear Lord and Master thou hast said enough to conquer my heart and to bring also the whole universe to admire the greatness of thy love for man For what can be more worthy of our admiration then to behold a God of so infinite a Majesty finish his life under the notion of a notorious malefactor upon a shameful Cross and betwixt two Thieves Had I seen a man tho' he were the basest and most vile amongst the People brought to that misfortune as to be condemn'd for his crime to dy so cruel a death certainly I could not choose but compassionate his condition and condole that his misdemeanours should have brought him to so great a distress If it be then a subject worthy our compassion to see a man of that inferiour rank and condition for his own crimes in so deplorable a state what will it be I pray to see not a man but the Lord of all created things for the Sins of his servants reduc'd to that extremity Can there be any thing more wonderfull then to see even God himself plung'd into so great an abyss of anguishes and pains for the sins and wickedness of wretched Men If the calamity and misfortune suffer'd must be retaliated with a trembling and astonishment proportionable to the worth and dignity of the person that suffers O ye Angels of Heaven who have a perfect knowledge of the greatness and excellency of my benign Jesus our gracious Redeemer and your Creator tell me how great was your grief how stupendious your astonishment how excessive was your lamentation and trouble when you have seen him hang on that hard and uneasy cross The Cherubins whose figures God had order'd in the old Law to be plac'd on each side of the Arck of Alliance look'd then at each other with admiration to behold this bloudy Sacrifice of that innocent and immaculate Lamb for the redemption of mankinde Nature it self stood amaz'd and all creatures were interdicted their inbred inclinations and functions The Principalities and Powers of Heaven trembl'd at the very consideration of the unspeakable goodness of God tho' so intimately acquainted therewith What then shall become of those that do not swim in the waves of so great an ocean of admiration Dominator Domine Deus misericors clemens patiens multae miserationis Exod. 34. or what of those that are not drown'd in the Seas of so great a bounty are not they depriv'd of their senses even as Moises was on Mount Sinai where the figure of this bloudy sacrifice was so lively represented to him that he cry'd out with a loud voice the Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth So much Surpriz'd was he at the view of thine excessive goodness O Lord that he could not forbear praising thy mercy in the hearing of all the multitude of Israel The Prophet Helias cover'd his face as God pass'd by him in the splendor of his glory much more then should all mortals cover theirs to behold Gods profound humility and annihilation Now not overthrowing mountains and spliting Rocks with his infinite power but expos'd to the view of a malignant and most wicked Nation and in so terrible and dismal a posture that even the Rocks and Temple were rent asunder with an excess of compassion What man of Steel what heart of brass will not relent and open his breast to lodge therein the love of so charming so gracious and so bountiful a God O height of charity O profoundness of humility never to be paralel'd O unspeakable mercy O Abiss of incomprehensible bounty O my most gracious Lord If I be so much oblig'd to thee for redeeming me how much more am I bound to thee for the means which thou hast taken to redeem me Thou hast redeemed me with pains with sorrow with scorns with reproaches with nails and thorns and hast been made the derision of men and even the most vile of the whole world However O Lord by thy contumelies thou hast honour'd me by thy false accusations thou hast defended me with thy bloud thou hast wash'd me by thy death thou hast reviv'd me and by thy tears thou hast deliver'd me from a perpetual weeping and gnashing of teeth O heavenly Father how tenderly thou lovest thy Children thou art indeed that good and faithful Pastor thou givest thy self as food to thy flock O faithful keeper who hast laid down even thy precious life for to protect and defend thy Sheep which thou hadst in thy keeping what thanks or what service can I return thee for so great a favour with what tears can I recompence thy weeping or what life shall I bestow upon thee for that pure and holy one which thou hast given for me Alas there is no proportion betwixt the life of man and that of God betwixt the tears of a silly creature and that of an omnipotent Creator 'T is true thou hast not suffer'd for me alone but for all the world shall I therefore think my obligation the less to thee no no for tho' thou sned'st thy most precious bloud for all mankinde yet it was after such a manner that every particular man receiv'd the benefit from thy sufferings In fine thou didst suffer thy bitter and bloudy passion as well for me in particular as thou hast for all in general O my God thy charity was so immense that if but one alone of all mankinde were criminal even for that one man thou wouldst have suffer'd what thou didst for all
such a thing may be expected in this World But all those calamities I now have mention'd are common as well to the good as to the bad Lassati sumus in via iniquitatis perditionis ambulavimus vias difficiles viam autem domini ignoravimus Sap. 5. because they both sail in the same Sea and are both likewise expos'd to the self-same fortune yet I can demonstrate many other miseries which are peculiar to the wicked alone and these are not improperly term'd the Daughters of iniquity whose description will be much to our present purpose because they render the life of the wicked most abominable and their body and minde both subject to a multitude of miseries Hear what they themselves do confess of them Alas say they we have wearied our selves in the way of iniquity and perdition We have walk'd in most difficult and sinister paths during our whole lives for We know nothing of the way of the Lord by this their own discourse we may very well conclude that even as the Just enjoy a kind of Paradise here upon Earth and do expect a far more happy one in the other life so the wicked have in this World their Hell to which a far more intollerable shall succeed in th' other for evil Consciences proceed from Hell without doubt and they steer their course directly to the same Haven where they shall be tormented eternally And their products have proportionable evils deriv'd from several causes some of them are the effects of thy Justice O Lord for thou art a most just Judge in all thy proceedings sometimes thou dost order the sin to be punish'd as soon as committed and tho' thou dost usually reserve the punishment thereof to the other life yet the wicked are very often afflicted even in this life for the same 'T is most certain that as thou dost govern the whole World with a general providence thou dost also moderate every particular therein with a peculiar Providence so that as the number of our Sins does increase our Punishments shall be multipli'd to the same degree This we know by our many and fatal experiences for what were all our disasters hitherto as so many Revolutions of Government such vast alterations and changes in matters of State and Religion the various fortune of so many Kings and Princes Such horrid disloialty in Subjects to their lawful Sovereigns so many stupendious and destructive Famines and Conflagrations such inhumane and bloudy Wars so many pestilential Distempers such cruel Murthers so many private and publick dissentions and jars They were certainly the just punishments of our manifold and most grevious offences to make good what I say that the punishment immediately follows the sin I produce what thou O Lord saidst to Cain for a confirmation Nonne si bene egeris recipies si autem male statim in foribus peccatum aderit Gen. 7. Deut. 7. If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted but If thou dost ill Sin lieth at thy door that is to say the pain and punishment of the Sin is at hand and Moises in thy name says as much to the People of Israel know then that the Lord thy God he is God the faithful God which keeps Covenant and Mercy with them that love him and keep his Commandments to a thousand Generations and repays them that hate him to their face to destroy them He will not be slack to him that hates him he will repay him to his face This word Statim so often repeated in Scripture and which signifies a quick return assures me that besides the punishments thon hast reserv'd for the wicked in th' other World thou hast also some in store whereby to chastise them even in this life immediately after the transgression of thy Law So that as often as they fall into Sin so often they feel the heavy weight of thy just indignation they are tost from one misery into another from one tribulation they fall into another this day brought to the bar for their misdemeanours to morrow condemn'd to dye and the next day shamefully put to death without making any reflection upon what might be the fatal cause of their great misfortune For they do not believe the goods of nature to be thy benefits and consequently not deserving their thanksgiving for them neither do they impute their punishment to thy Wrath nor as laid upon them by thy appointment and this blindness it is which prevents the amendment of their lives If there were no other evil in the World then the afflictions and miseries which attend our bodys it were not so much to be hated neither should our fear be so great to trade and converse therein but seeing our correspondence and freedom with it is so pernicions to our Souls also which ought to be the subject of our greatest care as being the principal part of our essence Pluet super peccatores laqueos Psal 10.6 and a precious depositum whereof We must give a strict account to thee O Lord We are necessarily in all reason oblig'd to estrange our selves from it and more especially for fear to be intangl'd in its Snares which are so numerous that the Prophet says of thee upon the wicked thon shalt rain Snares O what an unspeakable number of snares must be in the world then since they are compared to the drops of Rain that fall from Heaven and they must fall upon Sinners too because they of all men have the least care of their hearts of their senses and consciences they are the least solicitons to avoid the occasions of Sin and the least concern'd for Spiritual Remedys so that being intimately acquainted with the World they can't avoid falling into these Snares which come like Rain upon Sinners O Lord thou dost pour down Snares upon Youth Snares upon old Age there are Snares in every state and condition Snares in Riches Snares in Poverty Snares in Honours Snares in opprobrys Snares in Frindship Snares in the Society of Men as well as in the company of Women Snares in the Solitary Wilderness Snares in Prosperity Snares in Adversity Snares in all our senses In fine the Prophet crys out Snares upon all the Inhabitants of the Earth O Lord hadst thou vouchsaf'd to open our eyes as thou didst those of blessed St. Anthony Athanas. in vita St. Antony We should see how the whole World is spread over with Snares and so close that they touch one another and we would also admire as he did that any one should escape what wonder is it then that so many Souls should perish dayly and that St. Bernard should fay of ten Souls that flote upon the tempestious Sea of this World scarce one shall be fav'd and who shall not hate so dangerous a World who should not fear to live in so dreadful a place who will not strive with all his might and skill to avoid those Snares who will dare go bare-foot among so many Serpents
leads to it this is a necessary consequence of that grief hatred of sin for if thou be'st heartily sorry for the evil committed and dost truly detest it thou wilt also have a will to avoid it if not 't is most evident that thou hast neither sorrow nor aversion This contrition to be perfect and effectual must have four conditions it must be interiour Supernatural universal and Sovereign It must be interiour I mean from the heart for the outward expression of grief is at best but a complement and a meer illusion whereby many poor Souls are basely deceiv'd and utterly ruin'd Deut. 4. The heart must be sensibly touch'd with compunction it must be an act of the will thou must convert thy self to God with all thy heart and seek for him with the sorrow and tribulation of thy Soul See how I reprehended the Pennance of the Jews Scindite cordis vestra non vestimenta vestra ait Dominus Joel 2. they made great exteriour signs even to rent their cloths but they were not at all mov'd in their hearts and therefore I told them by my Prophet that they should convert themselves to me with all their hearts in tears and lamentations and that they should tear their hearts and not their garments Both Scripture and Reason does manifest this truth that this sorrow for thy Sins must be lodg'd in thy heart and as thy will was the principal cause of thy Sin so it must be the chief actor in thy sorrow Thy heart must renounce the evil which it has willfully committed and detest the sin which it had formerly affected Thy Grief must issue from a supernatural motive and the reason of it is that an action purely natural cannot be a condign satisfaction to me for thy mortal transgression of my positive commandment thou mayst see by the sorrow of Saul who did not grieve for his sin but for the loss of his Kingdom which God had resolv'd to take from him to give it to a more faithful and obedient servant Antiochus's sorrow was grounded upon the like motive for he did not weep for his sins but by reason of his great misfortunes Afflictions may indeed stir up a Sinner to return to God but they shall never be able to reclaim him from his wickedness without my Grace To obtain which he must detest his sins because they are infinitely offensive to God and a great obstacle to his own Salvation these are supernatural motives without which thy contrition will signify nothing in order to receive the grace of God Thy grief must be also sovereign that is most powerful And the reason for it is that it 's not enough to detest Sin upon a supernatural motive but that this motive must overrule all other that come into thy minde and rather detest sin by reason of the damage it brings to thy Salvation or the injury done to God thereby then for any natural evils which it may produce and be ready to suffer them all rather then commit one mortal Sin This is what Divines call detesting Sin Supra omne detestabile that is to detest it more then all which in the world is capable to stir up thy hatred and detestation In fine Ezech. 18. thy grief must be universal as to all mortal sins without excepting any 't is therefore I order'd my Prophet to tell my People that they must do Pennance for all the Sins which they had committed and if the Sinner shall do Pennance for all his Sins he shall live The reason of it is that mortal Sins cannot be remitted but totally not one without the rest for if thou shouldst reserve an affection for one mortal Sin tho' thou shouldst have an abhorrence against all the rest thou art still an enemy to God and a worthy object of his highest displeasure By this thou mayst perceive how grossly they are mistaken who pretend to be perfectly contrite and yet refuse to pardon injuries to be reconcil'd to their Enemies to restore unlawful goods to avoid the immediate occasions of Sin In a word all those that have any wilful tye to any particular sin shall have the same measure from my hands as Antiochus had for their Pennance as well as his is but imaginary MAN O My most mercifull Lord have pitty upon me and let my poor Soul partake of the wonderful effects of thy great clemency I acknowledge now the great evil which I have done now I see the grievousness of my Sins now I see how few have that true and perfect contrition which is so necessary to Salvation seeing they relapse into their habitual offences so soon and so easily for had they that great sorrow for their Sins they would be certainly more vigilant to avoid them then to prevent the greatest of all misfortunes They would be also more eager to set a stop to the dangerous currant of venial Sins since they are the preludes of a vicious habit and that by degrees they bring us to make nothing of mortals for they do notably diminish the lights of our understanding the sincerity of our minde is overclouded by them our heart over-rul'd the strength of grace and the vigour of virtue made weaker our Soul disorder'd and laid open to all evil impressions 'T is true they don't destroy sanctifying grace but they dispose us very much to lose it All together they don't make a mortal sin but they dispose the Soul to fall into it They don't directly cause death but they create those spiritual weaknesses maladies which bring death with them In a word tho' venial Sins don't break the league and unity betwixt God and the Soul which is grounded upon that happy foundation of grace yet inperceptably they diminish it and by this diminution Charity is weaken'd in us and God by degrees withdraws from us the chief favours of his assistance in all our spiritual necessities consequently having less strength we fall more easily into mortal Sin when we are assaulted by any temptation By this I may easily conclude that whoever is careless to avoid venial sins has not a sufficient abhorrence of mortals for there is nothing so venial but may be through an immoderate complacency dissolution or recreation become of the number of mortals and perhaps of the most capital Sins How then is it possible for those that continue whole hours nay from morning till night in Taverns and Tipling-houses Ranting Drinking Vae qui cogitatis inutile Mich. 2. Vae vobis qui ridetis quia flebitis Dancing and other such like dissolutions to be excus'd from mortal Sins since that God threatens with a woe even those who think of unprofitable things He does the same to those that place all their consolation and felicity in Riches As also to those that in any thing belonging to nature take pleasure to excess Ah! Vae vobis divitibus qui habetis consolationem vestram Et vae vobis qui saturati estis Luk. 6
what a manner of Love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be call'd the Sons of God and be so too Take notice of this O man and consider seriously how I am not content to give thee the bare denomination of my Son for a man may bely his name and act contrary to his qualification and therefore I say thou art not only my Son by name or by any other groundless title but really and in truth thou art so when justifi'd This is a prime favour indeed for if it is so great an evil to be a reprobate and consequently odious to God what an unspeakable happiness it is to be lov'd by him and confirm'd in his grace 'T is a maxime of Philosophy that the more a thing pertakes of goodness the more its contrary will have of evil the Love of God above all things is the Summum bonum of man therefore the greatest evil must be Sin which makes him odious to God and the fatal object of his just indignation and wrath It were a great happiness if thou wert a favourite to thy Superiours to thy King or to some other crown'd head thou wouldst think thy self made for ever but 't is a far greater happyness to be in my favour who am the Ruler of all earthly Potentates the best of Fathers and the chiefest of Lords for all the Powers Principalitys and Dignitys of the world in reference to me are no more then just nothing O Man Cum Inimici effemus Rom. 5.10 thou shouldst therefore value thy self upon this account and the more because thou hast receiv'd it gratis and when thou wert my mortal enemy For as it is most certain that before thy Creation thou couldst do nothing that might induce me to create thee Rudis indigesteque moles 〈◊〉 for then thou wert but a rude lump of clay without any form or fashion even so 't is most evident that after thy relapse into sin thou couldst do nothing which might move me to grant thee the benefit of thy Justification not because thou wert nothing but by reason thou wert an ill man and therefore most odious and abominable to me O Man consider seriously these evil consequences of Sin by it thou art clear out of my favour thou art villified in my sight and banish'd from my presence thou art cast from the converse and company of my Saints and Angells thou art forbidden my heavenly Pallace and because thou hast a far greater love for the Creatures then for me who am thy Creator 't is just thou shouldst be dealt with accordingly thou hast forsaken me to serve them and the Devil too who is the worst of Masters therefore he is licensed to torment thee for an Eternity and 't is but what thou hast deserv'd for offending so good and so gracious a Lord as I have been to thee To this great disaster may be added another altogether as dreadful if not more which is the immortal worm which shall perpetually gnaw the consciences of those miserable and unfortunate wretches in Hell Terra miserae tenebrarum ubi nulius ordo sed sempiternus horor in habiter Job 10.22 A place full of woe and misery the Region of everlasting darkness and confusion where there is no order no rule no union no friendship no joy no comfort no peace no rest no satisfaction no hopes but perpetual horrour lamentation gnashing of teeth rage blasphemy cursing and also all other cruelties imaginable these are the fatal products and punishments of Sin but of all these I discharge those whom I do Justify for when they are reconcil'd to me and whilst they remain in my favour they are no more the Children of wrath and perdition no more Servants and Slaves to the Devil no more inclin'd to obey the dictates of the world and the flesh In fine they are under the wings of my protection shelter'd from the rage of Satan and from the most dreadful rigour of his everlasting torments MAN O Most gracious Saviour I am throughly convinc'd of the truth of thy words I confess that Sin is the greatest of all evils and that the greatest misfortune that can befall a poor man in this world is to lie under the tyranny of so hellish a monster for it does not only deprive his Soul of thy grace but also robs her of all the supernatural treasures and gifts of the Holy Ghost which she had receiv'd in her Baptism and which brought her to that height of honour as to become thy beautiful and dearly beloved Spouse No sooner is she degraded thus and forc'd out of that super-eminent glorious Station but Sin sets on her again to finish what it had left undone he wounds her even to death and after he has taken the most precious of her goods he plunders her of the least considerable as are her natural gifts For man being a rational creature and Sin being an act contrary to reason 't is consonant to nature that one contrary should strive to destroy to ' ther consequently the oftner Sin is multiply'd the more it disturbs and destroys the powers and faculties of the Soul not in themselves but in their operations 'T is by this means that Sin gets dominion of the Soul and makes her run what course he pleases if she has any remaining inclination to virtue Alas she is become so weak so sloathful and so inconstant that she cann't attain to the practise of it Rursum crucifigentes Christum in cordibvs vestris Heb. 6.6 Faciamus hominem ad imaginem similitudinem nostram Gen. 2.6 Cecidit Babilon Civitas illa Sancta facta est habitatio Daemonum Isa 21.9 but if she be solicited to evil she flies at it with as much eagerness as we may see a Cat run at a mouse If any temptation knocks at her door for her consent to a rebellion against thee O Lord she likes of the proposal and gives her assent to the evil tho' she be convinc'd that it is the renewing of thy Passion But Sin stops not here it strips the Soul of her liberty to pay unto thee O Lord the daily tribute of her submission and holds her fast in a chain to follow the beck of her mortal enemies the world the flesh and the Devil and also to please the gust of her unruly Appetites Thus that noble Princess which has her extraction from Heaven and which was heretofore thy charming Spouse the beautiful Daughter of thy eternal Father and the faithful resemblance of the most Blessed Trinity is now by Sin brought to a Babylonish Captivity worse by a thousand degrees and more unsufferable then that of Egypt was to the Children of Israel But alas I finde her condition to be yet worse for all her spiritual senses are wholly Stupifi'd and to that degree that they cann't hear thy voice nor see the radiant light of thy divine Inspirations They cann't smell the sulpherous scent of thy dreadful thunderbolts which are
and condition where wilt thou go what wilt thou do to whom wilt thou call for help To return to life 't is impossible and to ease thy self thou wilt not be able In illa die occidet Sol in meridie tenebrescere faciam terram in die luminis c. Amos. 8. what shall become of thee when I will cause the Sun to go down at noon and when I will darken the Earth at mid-day what wilt thou say when I shall turn thy feasts into mourning and all thy Songs into lamentation when I will bring up Sackcloth upon all mens loins and baldness upon every head and when I shall make it as the morning for an only Son and the end thereof as a bitter day hast thou not therefore a far greater subject then Job to curse the day wherein thou wert born for he was so just a man that my eternal Father glori'd in having so good so gracious and faithful a Servant nay In omnibus his non peccavit Job labiis suis c. Job 1.22 the Holy Ghost avers that he sinned not in all what he had spoken in his troubles and calamities which I had permitted to come upon him not as a punishment for his Sins but as a trial of his patience to make him a worthy president to all mortals of virtue of constancy and of perfect resignation to my holy will in all their afflictions He himself does protest that his conscience did not accuse him yet he was so apprehensive of the strict judgment which a Soul is to undergo at her departing the body that amaz'd at the severity of my Justice he crys out protect me O Lord Dionys. Rikel Art 16. de novis and hide me in hell whilst thy fury passes Whereupon one of my devout Servants affirms that the instant wherein I give judgment of a Soul is not only more terrible then Death but more terrible then to suffer even the pains of hell for a certain time not only to those who are to be damn'd but even unto my very Elect. O man reflect seriously upon this and Judge what will become of a Sinner at the hour of his Death and at the lively representation of all his offences and crimes what a consternation he will be in how he will tremble and shake every limb of him at the very sight of me his Creator and Redeemer whom he had so often offended and injur'd in the course of his sinful life that very presence will be more dreadful to him then the suffering of the pains of hell it self MAN O Most gracious Redeemer I cann't deny what thou sayst of a dying man and of the Anguishes which he shall suffer at the departing of the Soul from his body she shall enter into Judgment alone naked poor and without any to patronize her cause except her good works if she has any to shew her Conscience will be the Deponent the Triall will be either for life or death not temporal but eternal and thou an injur'd Judge shall appear to her in a dreadful Throne to give sentence for her or against her either of Salvation or of her everlasting damnation If she be grievously indebted and not able to ballance her accounts O what a horrible confusion she will be in grief and sorrow sighs and tears dreadful lamentations and crys will be her woful entertainment and the only motives she can produce to mollify thee O Lord but all will be to no purpose her repentance comes too late 't is totally fruitless at that hour all her protestations of amendment will be in vain no bills or bonds of performance will be accepted of no bail shall be taken her lease is out she must remove her nobility her riches her honours cann't obtain for her a further respite of time the sentence is pronounc'd the decree is unavoidable she must submit O the unfortunate Sinner what will he do what will he say how can he express the greatness of his misfortune otherwise then by these words of thy Prophet Psa 18.4.5 The sorrows of Death have compassed me and the flouds of iniquity have made me afraid The sorrows of hell have compassed me about and the snares of Death have prevented me O what a woful circle is that into which his Sins have brought him and unexpected too when he had not the least thought of death what will his friends avail him now his dignities his riches his lands and all that he took most delight in they will remain after him to other Masters that will soon wast and consume 'em in a worse way perhaps then ever he gather'd them tho' that perchance was bad enough The Sins which he had committed in heaping them up are the only companions he is like to have along with him to another world where he is to be tormented for them according to their enormity If I should make my addresses to worldlings in hopes to be farther instructed in this so necessary a matter to Salvation Alas they know nothing of it and which is worse they will not believe it for they live as if they had no account at all to give after death and why should I think it strange being they live in Egypt that is in a land of darkness in a willful blindness overwhelm'd with all sorts of errors where scarcely two are found of one opinion in matters of Faith and manners I am then resolv'd to go farther off and streight into the land of Geshen where the light of verity is allways in its full splendour Non intres in Judicium cum servo tuo Domine quia non justiflcabitur in conspectu tuo omnis vivens Psa 143. and to consult with the Inhabitants thereof in this case they will certainly teach me not only by their words but also by their examples how much this dreadful day of so strict an account is to be fear'd The first I meet with is the holy'st man of his age a man according to thine own heart O Lord yet he is so terrifi'd even at the very remembrance of this accompting day that he begs thee with all the tenderness of a contrite heart not to enter into Judgment with thy Servant and the reason he gives for his request is that in thy sight shall no man living be justifi'd The second that appears to me In vitis Patrum Sect. 2.153 is that most renown'd and holy Arsenius a man of wonderful austerity a man always in prayer always in contemplation yet tho' he was so virtuous and so great a Saint tears were seen to trickle down his cheeks when he was a dying and all his body to tremble in his deep consideration of this reckoning day His Disciples that stood round his poor and hard bed setting him the question why he cry'd and whether he was afraid of death he made answer yes my dearly beloved Children I fear Death and I tremble at the approach of my dreadful Judge
less admiration hadst thou dealt so rigorously with Angels that are spiritual creatures and of a far more eminent perfection then men can ever attain to To be so severe with poor man who lies groaning under the weight of so many predominant passions and such a number of evil inclinations which do wholly estrange him from the desire and practise of virtue To bring him I say to so strict an account of all his actions that thou wilt not pass by even the least idle word that ever he spoke nor the least moment of time that he has mispent O most gracious Saviour give me leave to tell thee that the rigour of thy Justice herein does transcend my admiration Amen amen dico vobis de omni verbo otioso quod locuti fuerint homines reddent rationem in die Judicij Mat. 12.36 and the more abundantly because I hear thy self say every Idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the day of Judgement If that be so as without doubt it is what a rigourous account must be taken of all dishonest impertinent and scurrulous words what of lies and perjuries what of horrid and abominable oaths what of all hellish imprecations and blasphemys what of all wanton and lacivious thoughts and looks what of Adulterers murtherers and highway robbers In fine what a rigourous account must be given of the whole time of life spent in the works of iniquity All that the best of Orators is able to say of the severity and rigour of thy Judgment will be far short of what it will really be in that dreadful day of thy wrath nay it will not be so much as an empty shaddow to the substance of the matter O what a confusion poor man will be in when he must appear before thy dreadful Throne in the presence of that great assembly of all mankinde and give an exact account of the least idle word he had spoken at this or that time who would not be astonish'd and totally stupify'd at such a reckoning who would dare speak of it but that thou sayst it thy self or who would presume to affirm it but that thou dost thy self confirm it with an Amen Amen What King was ever heard of that call'd his Servants to question for so slite an offence as is an idle word O Christian Religion how sublime is thy perfection how great is the purity of minde which thou dost require of thy Professors how strict is the reckoning which thou dost exact from them and with what severity dost thou chastise even the very least of their evil actions how great will the shame and confusion of Sinners be when all the abominations and sins which they had committed even from their Cradle to the hour of their death were they never so privately acted so carefully conceal'd or so secretly kept shall be discover'd and laid open to the eyes of the whole world If we be so much asham'd to discover our imperfections to a Ghostly Father who is oblig'd to secresy under a penalty full as bad if not worse then that of death that sometimes we have not a word to say Osee 10. how excessive great will our shame be in thy presence O Lord and in the sight of all ages past present and to come O' it will be so intollerable that the wicked shall intreat even the Mountains to cover them and the hills to fall upon them Psal 89. They shall say with thy prophet We are dismay'd O Lord with thy wrath and troubled with thy fury but for what reason because thou hast set our wickedness before thee and hast plac'd them in thy sight 'T is true that in this life Sin does not appear so pernicious to our eyes which makes us be the less concern'd for it but at the instant of death when it shall shew it self with all its deformity Pereat dies inquo natus sum Job ibid. the very sight of it will confound us to such an exremity that we shall curse the day that ever we were born They seem in this life but light and trivial and that makes us not scruple them much but in the day of thy wrath O Lord we shall finde them heavy grevious and insupportable We know by experience that a piece of Timber tho' never so great when it floats in a deep water may be mov'd and drawn from place to place even by a Child we know likewise that the most part of it lies under the water and clear out of our sight but when it is brought upon dry land no less then half a dozen horses will suffice to bring it off then we may perceive perfectly the whole bulk of it 'T is even so with our Sins in the tempestuous Seas of this unstable and transitory life they are conceal'd from our eyes but in the hour of death in the day of Judgment we shall clearly discover their bulk number and weight and shall groan under so heavy and so unsupportable a burthen Then we shall finde a number of our actions which we thought very good to be most grievous Sins 't is therefore thou sayst by thy Prophet when I shall take a proper time then I will Judge Righteousness Who would imagine that the action of Oza 2 Reg. 6.6 when he upheld the Ark in danger of falling was an offence yet O Lord thou hast chastiz'd it as a great Sin with no less a punishment then that of a most disastrous death who would ever believe that Davids numbring of his People was an offence 2 Reg. 24.13 but rather an act of discretion and Policy yet thou hast punish'd him for it with a Pestilence never to be paralel'd 1 Reg. 15.18 Saul was urg'd by his approaching Enemies and by Samuel's long delay to offer Sacrifice this was an act of Religion which is the most heroick and greatest of virtues consequently he thought it should be most acceptable to thee and of force to obtain him a victory against his Foes yet it was a most grievous Sin in thy presence since for that alone thou hast reprov'd him degraded him from his Royal Dignity and cast him off as a lost Soul for an Eternity Achabs action might be look'd upon as the worthy product of a masculine spirit for what is more generous then to pardon an enemy and what can be more divine then to spare his life the chief ground of Davids promotion to the Crown and Scepter of Israel Diligite Inimicos vestros Mat. 5.44 Pater ignosce illis Luc. 23.34 was his Clemency to Saul moreover thou dost expresly command it thy self and thou hast also earnestly pray'd thy Eternal Father to pardon thine enemies Achab having conquer'd Benhadad King of Syria pardon'd him gave him his life and took him up to sit by him in his Royal Chariot yet this action which was so much prais'd and so extoll'd by men was so hainous so displeasing to thee that thou
which was only stop'd for want of Enemies He caus'd seven thousand Citizens of Rome to be slaughter'd at once and some of the Senators being startled at their crys that were heard in the Senat-house let us minde our business says Sylla this is nothing but a few Mutineers that I have order'd to be sent out of the way A glorious Spectacle says Hannibal when he saw the Trenches flowing with humane blood and if the rivers had run blood too would hav lik'd it so much the better O most gracious Saviour how couldst thou suffer such monsters of nature to live upon Earth or how came it that the ground did not swallow them into it's bowels But alas why should I admire such cruelty among men being they were set on by the Devil who has been always a most cruel Tyrant to Mankind but especially when they are deliver'd over into his power We are amaz'd to hear of such unhumame and barbarous actions we are astonish'd to think of that hellish invention of Phalaris to roste men alive in his brasen Bull But alas all these torments and bloudy slaughters are meer toys in respect of what is exercis'd in Hell for the torments there are so great that they can't be express'd and no wonder being that the only pain of fire comprizes as many torments as the body of man has Limbs Joynts Sinews Arteries c. and especially being caus'd by so penetrating a fire in respect of which our temporal fire tho' it were made of all the combustible matter in the world is no more then a painted fire And in those flames of Hell the Souls of the damn'd must burn not for an hour nor a year De cadaveribus eorum ascendet faetor Isa 34.3 Famem patientur ut canes Psa 5.7 8. nor an Age but for an Eternity and have the Pestilential vapours of so many damn'd bodys perpetually at their noses and all that time suffer hunger as dogs which is one of the greatest torments in Hell Quintillian says that Famine is the most pressing of all necessities and the most dreadfull of all evils that Plagues and Wars are felicities compar'd with this affliction If then a famine of so many months or of a shorter time as that which the Inhabitants of Jerusalem suffer'd when they were brought to that distress as to eat their Children be the greatest of temporal evils what must we believe of the famine which the damn'd shall suffer in Hell for an Eternity O Epicures and ye that make your Gods of your bellys give ear unto what the Son of God foretels of you you shall finde it in St. Luke Wo says he unto you who make it your work to pamper your bodys and fill your paunches with the most delicious viands wine that can be purchas'd for Silver or Gold for the day shall come that you shall be hunger-starv'd and with a hunger that shall continue for an Eternity A Temporal hunger may bring men to such extremitys as to eat Dogs Cats Rats Mice Snakes Toads Leather and Dung nay it has already brought several Countrys and whole Cities to that calamity and forc'd Mothers to devour their own Children and men to eat the flesh of their own arms as it happen'd to Zeno the Emperour If hunger be so great a chastisement in this life how will it afflict the damn'd in the other where they shall tear one another to peices not for a year or an Age Apoc. 18. but for an Eternity Consider my Soul how the Devil measures his torments to the damned by their offences and how God commands him as the Executioner of his Justice in-Hell to make them suffer their pains proportionable to the pleasures they took in this life this puts me in minde of a very Remarkable passage of a Noble-man who took all his pleasure in Tilting and running at the Ring this was his constant exercise which he prefer'd even before the practise of devotion and piety so that he was a perfect Worldling without any care of his Soul or the least apprehension of Hell and in this neglect of his Salvation he dy'd his Lady being otherways inclin'd and very much addicted to contemplation always earnestly imploring of God the favour to let her understand the State and condition her Husband was in which was at last granted and he was represented unto her in the same shape as she had seen him alive but not attended by the same company for he was now encompass'd with a multitude of Devils the chief commander of them in her hearing gave orders they should fit their new Guest with a pair of fiery shoes whose flames might reach his very head then he commanded they should put him on a red-hot coat of Male made full of sharp Spikes Camtip l. 2.9.2 Joan. major v. Inf. Exemp 6. Werm Mon. Carthu in fasci morum which might pierce his body in all parts to accouter him like a compleat Champion he commanded a helmet to be put on him with a pointed nail that might pierce his head and be clench'd below his feet and after this a Target was Put about his neck of so great a weight that it might crush all the bones in his body All this being punctually and speedily perform'd the Prince of darkness made a speech to his Officers to let them know that this worthy Person after he had entertain'd himself in Tilting and the like atchievements of valour and gallantry was accustom'd to refresh his weari'd limbs with sweet Baths and then to retire to some soft bed where he usually sported with other dalliances of sensuality wherefore let him now have somewhat of those refreshments which our Palace does afford to welcome so deserving a Person who has been in his life so faithful to serve us and so obedient to our Suggestions whereupon they presently hurl'd him into a fire which was prepar'd for him then forsooth to ease him they plac'd with him in a bed warm'd red hot a Toad of a huge size with most dreadful eyes which clipp'd the noble Spark very closely kissing embracing him in so rufual a manner that he roar'd out like a furious Lion and brought him even to the pangs of death Another man she saw seated in a chair of fire and certain women thrusting into his mouth burning torches and drawing them out at other parts of his body these Women she was told were his accomplices and the instruments of his Sins But what are all these torments to the eternal loss of the fruition and sight of thee my Saviour wherein our Divines do place the everlasting beatitude and Supream felicity of mankinde in the next life St Thom. part 1.7 1 art 4 7.12 art 1. 7.6 art 3. c. for the Angellical Doctor says the sight of God or to see God in his own nature or Essence is the whole substance of our everlasting happiness in the life to come what a deplorable loss then will it
lay their hands on their breasts and examine their own life and conversation if they finde themselves to be good Christians upright honest in all their ways it shall be well with them in the hour of their Death for they shall eat the fruit of their well-doings but if they be viciously given and found void of all good works they must expect no better wellcome from me then an order to cut them all down with the Ax of Death and to cast them headlong into hell-fire Thou shalt finde several proofs to confirm this assertion in the first Sermon I preach'd immediately after I was baptiz'd there shalt thou hear me recommend Matth. 5.4 and extoll the great advantages of a virtuous life of Poverty Meekness Justice Purity Sorrow for Sin patience in suffering contempt of Riches forgiving of injuries Fasting Prayer Pennance Entring by the straight gate and also of perfection Holyness Integrity of life and conversation and of the exact fulfilling of every particular of my Heavenly Fathers Laws and Commandments There thou shalt hear me say I came not to the World to break the Law but to fulfill the same and whosoever shall offer to break the least of them and bring others either by his ill example or by his erroneous doctrine to do the like should have no place in the Kingdom of Heaven There thou mayst hear me say to all Christians except their Justice did exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees which was altogether in words and outward appearance they could not be saved That they might not serve two Masters in this life but either must forsake God or abandon Mammon That they should decline from false Prophets that usually come in sheep's clothing but are no better then ravenous Wolves in their hearts and that all men should seek to enter by the straight gate but the conclusion of my long Sermon is that the only sign and token of a good Tree is the good fruit which it bears and without this fruit let the Tree be never so fair or pleasant to the eye yet it is to be cut down and burnt that 't is not every one that shall cry Lord Lord at the last day shall be sav'd or enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but only such as did execute really and in Deeds the Will and commandments of my Father in this life Where is there any incouragement here for the wicked to delay their conversion or to put it off till the hour of death in hopes of a good Peccavi I see none for they are all most pressing motives to force them rather out of their iniquity into a virtuous and godly life To be the better convinc'd of this undeniable truth thou must know that life is a time and season of sowing and planting the seed of virtue and the bitter roots of mortifications and pennance and that Death is Harvest time to reap the main profit of that happy Seed and the wonderful sweetness of those bitter roots It 's therefore my Prophet speaking of the manifold tribulations and anguishes of the Just Euntes Ibant flebant mittentes semina sua venientes autem venient cum exultatione portantes manipulos suos Ps 126.6 Tromsijt mesus finita est aestas nos salvati non sumus Jer. 8.20 Non potest male mori qui bene vixit vix bene moritur qui male vixit Aug. Venite bene dicti Patris mei posside te paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi Matth. 25.34 says they were going on weeping and sowing the precious seed of their eternal Salvation and that without any doubt they shall come again rejoycing bringing their sheaves with them and my Prophet Jeremy declares how the wicked shall say in the hour of Death and with tears in their eyes the Harvest is past the Summer is ended and we are not sav'd This was the lamentation of the Jews seeing themselves oppress'd under the slavish and heavy yoak of the Caldeans without any hopes of being reliev'd but it may be likewise taken for the sad moan which the wicked shall make in the hour of Death seeing themselves void of all good works and groaning under the heavy weight of their evil actions then indeed they may cry the Summer is ended the time of our life is now expir'd wherein we might have gather'd a plentiful stock of all virtues and good works but We unfortunate Souls We have spent that precious season in all manner of vices and now that the Harvest is past we must appear naked as we are of all good works replenish'd with evil ones before a dreadful Judge to be sentenc'd to Eternal Death which We have justly deserv'd for abusing his mercy by flattering our selves with a good Peccavi at our last farewell to the World and to all its deceitful pleasures The Harvest is past the Summer is ended and we are not sav'd What can be more terrible How should any Man dare delay his conversion hearing these words and having as many Presidents hereof as there have been Sinners surpris'd by death even in the heat of their wickedness O ye Blessed Souls says St. Augustin who have spent your days in the constant practise of virtue still submissive to the Laws of God always obedient to his commands thirsting after righteousness and justice great lovers of mortification and pennance hear what comfortable news I bring you and what is that You cannot dye an ill death no 't is impossible Orabat scelestus ad Dominum ad quo non erat misericordiam con secuturus 2 Machab. 9.13 De Centum Millibus quorum maia fuit vita vix unus salvabitur Aug. for God will assist you in that dreadful hour and will receive your Souls at their departing your bodys into the perfect enjoyment of my everlasting Glory Whereas the wicked tho' they should make as great a shew of an apparent repentance as Antiochus did yet will they hardly come to a better end for of a hundred thousand that lead a bad life continually to the hour of death scarce one shall be sav'd says the same St. Augustin and his doctrine is grounded upon my words because I have call'd and ye refus'd I have stretch'd out my hand and no man regarded and as ye have made naught of all my Counsels and been deaf to my reproof I also will laugh at your Calamity I will mock when your fear comes When it comes as desolation and when your destruction comes as a Whirlwind when distress and anguish comes upon you then shall ye call upon me but I will not answer ye shall seek me early but ye shall not finde me because ye hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. Prov. 1.24 They would not accept of my Counsel they despis'd all my reproofs therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be fill'd with their own devices The devout St. Bernard confirms this truth by two
of Christians then he did so great was his animosity to both that he murther'd very many thousands of them and destroy'd all their Alters and Churches which were erected and dedicated to my worship and Service will this most wicked and disssembling Prince cry Peccavi in the hour of his death no he will continue his impiety to his last breath which will be the perfect Eccho of his most ambitious and abominable life for receiving a mortall wound in the siege of a Town in the Kingdom of Persia he took a handfull of his blood flung it up as it were into my face with this horrid expression vicisti Nazarene vicisti O Nazarean Cum mens inclinata fugrit ad aliquid non se jam haber aequaliâ—er ad utrum que oppositorum sed ad illud ad quod magis inclinatur fertur nisi per rationis discussionem ab eo quadam solicitudine abducatur St. Tho. thou hast indeed overcome me at last after this he commanded his Gentlemen to put his Corps into a Coffin of lead and cast it into the Sea that his subjects finding not his body on Earth might believe it was carri'd by the hands of Angels into Heaven and seated there amongst the Gods Thou seest by these presidents what a foolish mistake the wicked ly under when they put off their conversion to the very last hour of their life in hopes to have then a hearty Peccavi which may be to me a sufficient Atonement for all their offences and breaches of both my Laws and commandments The Angelical Doctor St. Thomas seems to be much astonish'd at their folly herein for says he when men are viciously inclin'd and taken with a surprize in their evil habits it is out of their jurisdiction to conceive an abhorrence against them and have a love and esteem for a virtuous life unless they make use of their reason to finde out the manifold advantages of the one and the several evil consequences of the other but how can a wicked man that is seiz'd on by Death as he walks in the streets by a tile falling from the top of a house or some other such like unexpected accident make use of his reason in that ample manner 't is impossible and consequently Hac animadversione percutitur percator ut moriens obliviscatur sui qui dum viveret oblitus est Dei St. Amb. Arist whoever neglects his Salvation so far as to put it to such perilous events deserves no mercy at my hands But set the case that an old habitual Sinner should dye of a long and languishing sickness 't is very probable he will never think of me in his latter hour nor have the least feeling of a Peccavi being he forgot to call to me for mercy in his healthful days and this indeed is the usual punishment which I do inflict upon such persons Moreover 't is grounded upon this other Maxim of Philosophy altogether as undeniaable as the former Ab assuetis non fit passio That is to say things which men have dayly before their eyes make no impression upon their hearts the Sun which is the most resplendent and the most glorious Creature that ever was wrought by my hands for the use of men is dayly seen without the least admiration whereas if a Comet appears they are all eyes to behold it A Chirurgion will handle and dress the nastiest wound that ever man had without the least grudge or loathing because he is accustom'd to it A new rais'd Soldier will tremble at the noise of a bullet whereas an old and well-train'd Soldier will never shrink or give ground tho' even Cannons were roaring about him and their bullets flying on every side of him because he is acquainted with such warlike entertainment 'T is even so with a wicked liver in the hour of his death tho' his Ghostly Father his Wife his Children and all his friends were round his bed breaking their hearts and bursting their lungs calling and crying unto him to produce one act of Contrition one sorrowful Peccavi one have mercy on me O Lord he will take no notice of what they say all their exhortations to him intended to bring him to dye a good death will be to no effect he had often heard the like or rather more pressing motives from Teachers and Preachers in their Pulpits yet his heart was Steel-proof to all their fiery words they could never make him think on his Salvation and therefore 't is but in vain to expect he will be sollicitous for it now when the Devil has him fast fetter'd when his heart is over-clouded with the darkness of his manifold and grievous Sins when his understanding is blinded his will altogether corrupted his senses decay'd and the whole commonwealth of his Body and Soul clear out of order by reason of their approaching and dismal separation Thou hast a very remarkable president of this in the old Testament there thou mayst read what wonders I had done in order to mollify the heart of Pharaoh Exod. 9.10 and bring him to a right understanding of his obedience and duty to me who am the powerfull and mighty Jehovah who depress at will and make subject the greatest Potentates of the whole World How I had slain his first-born for refusing to let go the People of Israel out of his Land how I made all the Rivers Streams Fountains Springs within his Dominions run with bloud for the same reason how I cover'd all his Realm with darkness and Frogs which were so numerous that they came in Swarms upon his Table and even into his Bed how I sent a grievous Swarm of Flies into his house and into all the houses of Egypt how I had plagued all the Inhabitants of the Land as also their Cattle which pestiferous Ulcers Boils of which they all died how I had rain'd down such a stupendious shour of Hail upon them as was never seen before or since in the world how I had spread over the whole Land of Egypt Locusts that devour'd and destroy'd all that the hail had left yet all these prodigies could not mollify the obdurate and rebellious heart of Pharaoh till at last my Justice took him to task and drown'd both him and his whole Army in the Red-Seas which was a passage they were to go through to take up their quarters in the unquenchable fire of Hell where they shall repent for an Eternity but to no advantage for their Souls If this discourse so well grounded upon Scripture Fathers and Reason Hos 13.9 as also upon so many presidents out of Holy Writ will not prevail with Sinners not to delay their conversion or put it off to their crasy years I have only this to say Perditio tua ex te Israel let their eternal ruine and the fatal loss of their Souls lie at their own doors However to let them know how much I thirst after their Salvation I will have thee
he will tell us that a vain man is no better then a wind-mil for he will run on if he be prais'd but if he feels not the gale of a popular applause to blow up his Sails he is presently daunted quite out of heart no more will the windmil grinde nor make any meal but according as the blast shall hold favourable blow into its ribbs Dan. 31. so that I may very well compare him to the Babilonians who with a little sweet mufick were made to adore any thing whatsoever 'T is therefore I believe that Holy Scripture says As Silver is tried in the fire by blowing it so is a vain man tried in the mouth of him that praises and the similitude is very true for as Silver if it be good suffers no detriment thereby but if it be otherwise it goes off like a shaddow and leaves nothing behinde it but nasty dross It 's even so with a vain man he is overjoy'd when he is prais'd but if he hears nothing said to his commendation he is heart-sick How many have we seen put beside themselves with joy of their praises and afterwards brought down with a contrary winde of contempt and driven even upon the very borders of despair how many do we see dayly extoll'd in their Sins and cry'd up in their wickedness how many palpable and intollerable flatteries do we hear both us'd and accepted of dayly for I see none give it a repulse as David did Away says he with this Oil and Ointment of Sinners let it not come upon my head We are all created for Heaven and why should we not rather imitate the Citizens thereof then those of this World that are so much enamour'd with it's vanities and so far ingag'd in the follys thereof The Angels and Saints seek for no honour to themselves but leave all to God and shall We poor silly wretches desire so ardently to be glorifi'd for what Psa 9. is it for our dignities for our honours for our vast Estates These I must confess are great matters in the fight of silly Mortals they are Jewels of an extraordinary price and to purchase them they don't scruple to lay down even their Souls in exchange to the Devil for them the Christians in Jewry were so much enamour'd with them Joan. 11. Toan 19. that they would not confess thee O Lord in publick nor make open profession of thy Faith This brought an everlasting remorse upon Pilate's injustice Act. 26. for tho' he knew thou wert innocent yet to keep in favour with the Jews and to continue his place under Caesar he condemn'd thee to dy the death even of the greatest Malefactours Agrippa and Festus were convinc'd of th'integrity and truth of St. Paul's doctrine yet these Remora's diverted them from making profession thereof And does not the same consideration withhold Millions of Souls in this corrupt Age we live in from embracing the means of working their Eternall Salvation O! Nollite esse Pueri sensibus 1 Cor. 14. says St. Paul to such silly Souls be you not Children in understanding and why because it is usual with children to set a far greater value upon a painted table then upon a precious Jewel what are all the honours dignities and treasures of this world but painted stuff acquir'd with a deal of labour preserv'd with abundance of fear and care and lost with as much grief and sorrow I remember in my own days that Monsieur Fouket the greatest Favourite the King of France had was invested with the chiefest honours and dignities that a subject could pretend to and his heart was so swel'd up with Pride that he choos'd for a motte Quo non Ascendam but I remember also that all his ambition and glory vanish'd in one night for the King being inform'd of his design to make bimself absolute Master of the Isle of Rae seiz'd upon his earthly substance both at home and abroad and condemn'd his Person to a Prison during his life whereupon this Jest was made of him and writ under his Coat of Arms Quo non descendam for certainly it was a prodigious toss to be thrown down from the height of prosperity to the depth of Adversity and in one night Now let us consider any state or dignity that we most affect and reason thus many have already mounted up so high but they were forc'd to descend again by the appointment either of Death or of Fortune and which was the greater either the joy of getting or the sorrow in loosing it where are now all those Emperours Potentes potenter tormenta patientur Sap. 6.7 those Kings those Princes those Popes and Prelates who rejoyc'd so much in their days at their own advancement There 's not a word of them now they are clear out of mens memory long since rotten in their graves Now every mecanick fellow may boldly walk over their heads whose faces heretofore might not be seen without a ticket for admittance into their inner chamber of Presence and what does their dignities avail them now only that they are the more taken notice of in Hell if they be gone down so low and the far more tormented by the Devils I can't better compare the vanity of this World then to a mans own shaddow which the more he runs after Omnia arbitror ut stercora ut Christum lucrifaciam Phil. 3.8 the more it flies from him but if he flies from it it will approach him the only way to catch it is to fall down on the ground upon it So We see that those who gap'd after honour in this World are now so far from having any honour exhibited to their Persons that their very memory is clear out of date whereas those who have most fled from it and have debas'd themselves to the very lowest degree of mankinde through an excess of humility are now the most honour'd even by those that were their enemies in this life St. Paul made no more of the World and of all its honours and treasures then of common dung and who is more honour'd now then he even in this World who is more commended and remember'd in this life then he and all others that have follow'd his examples We may conclude by this what a main folly it is to have so great an estimate for worldly honours as to endanger our Souls in the vain and foolish pursuit of them There are several other vanitys in the World which do entangle the poor Children of Adam in a thousand follys which are so many baits the Devil flings among them to draw their Souls into his most dark and dreadful Dominion Some will value themselves upon the antiquity of their Familys some upon their Wisdome others upon their beauty and rich apparel c. most gracious Saviour thou hast copiously instructed me hitherto in all matters relating to my Salvation as far as I have propos'd I hope thou wilt be mercifully pleas'd to
necessary things and that he is firmly resolv'd to break off with Vice C. P. 52. How a Sinner by his frequent relapse into Sin may reasonably fear he never was really contrite for his Sins C. p. 56. That a Sinner must fix his hope in God of whose mercy he can't despair without a mortal offence C. p. 57. The nature and necessary conditions of a true and perfect contrition p. 60. The fatal consequences of Venial Sins and how by degrees they bring a Man to commit Mortals C p. 65. The greatness of Gods Love for Man is a most pressing motive to a sorrowful contrition M. p 67. The means which God was pleas'd to take in order to redeem Mankind is another pressing motive to a sorrowful contrition M. p. 71. What Christ has suffer'd from his Cradle to the Cross was only for the love of Man M. p. 74. His Death and Passion should breed in our hearts a mortal hatred and abhorrence of Sin M. p. 78. Several other Considerations upon the same subject able to move even a Heart of Steel to love God above all Creatures M. p. 82. The benefits of our Justification lays a weighty obligation on us to love God with all our hearts p. 88. Several other deep considerations of the same benefit Mp. 91. The manifold disasters and miseries occasion'd by Sin and how we are happily deliver'd from 'em all by the benefit of our Justification M. p. 95. The manifold and wonderful advantages of a Justifi'd Soul M. p. 99. The benefit of our Justification exceeds that of our Creation and Redemption M. p. 103. The certainty of Death and th'uncertainty of the hour of Death with the several and dreadful circumstances thereof is a most pressing motive to detest Sin M. p. 106. The particular Judgment which is given of the Soul at her departing the Body M. p. 114. How dreadful will the sight of her Judge be to her and what anguishes she shall suffer at her Trial M. p. 120. Of the most strict account which will be taken of the Soul in this particular Judgment M. p. 126. How remote is the Judgment of God from that of Man and of the severity of his Chastisements even in this Life by which we may easily conceive th'unspeakable rigour of his punishments in th' other M. p. 133. Of the Torments which the Damn'd suffer in Hell M. p. 140. Of the Glory of Heaven in what it consists of its great estimate and what we ought to suffer for the everlasting purchase thereof M. p. 148. Of th'everlasting happiness of the Saints in Heaven and of their glorious Prerogatives M. p. 162. The little value that Christians set upon Vertue and how their dissolutions surpass the debauchery even of the worst of Heathens M. p. 173. The Godly feelings and Heroick exploits of Heathen Philosophers will certainly confound the Christians in the Day of Judgment M. p. 188. Of Hell and of th'unspeakable and various Torments which the Damn'd shall suffer there for an Eternity M. p. 201 Of the severity of Gods Justice the rage and malice of the Devils and the horrid confusion of the Damn'd occasion'd by the full Knowledge of their Vanities main Folly and wilful neglect of their Salvation M. p. 217. The wonderful Austerities of Gods Servants as well in the Old as in the New Testament in order to avoid the Torments of Hell will be a main confusion to such Christians as live deliciously in this World M. p. 226. If men be so outragiously cruel one to th' other how excessive cruel must the Devil be to the Damn'd in Hell being a professed enemy to all mankind even from the Creation M. p. 234. An habitual Sinner that puts off his Conversion to the hour of Death in expectation of a good Peccavi lies under a moral impossibility to be sav'd M. p. 248. The Love of God should replenish our hearts to that degree to leave no place for any terrene or carnal affection M. p. 266. An ample description of th'ingratitude inconstancy treachery cruelty and vanity of the World with several presidents relating thereunto M. p. 278. The Lust of the Flesh with its fatal attendance and branches are most abominable in themselves most odious to God and the most destructive enemies of our Souls M. p. 293. Th' only thing that the Nobility should value themselves upon is Vertue how vain is the Wisdom of the World Of Corporal Beauty and Rich Apparel and how th' one as well as th' other has been the ruine of many Millions of Souls M. p. 310. That the State of Poverty is far more advantageous to the Soul than that of Riches though it may not be so pleasant to the mind which is never content M. p. 327. The Charming expressions of Christ and the several employments he takes upon himself in order to save our Souls are able to withdraw all our scatter'd affections from the World and settle them upon him alone M. p. 346. That the World is both a Cheat and a Lyar for his Promises ars false his Honours are vain his Pleasures are Poyson and his Treasures are Soul-Killing Thorns M. p. 368. That they who after all Gods sweet Inspirations loving Invitations and gracious Admonitions do not love him reciprocally shall be in danger of eternal Destruction M. p. 384. A Check to Man p. 391. A Check to the Christian Man p. 395. A Check to the Religious Man p. 402. A Wholesom Advice to Mankind in general p 410. Errata P. 10. L. ult R. remit P. 26. M N. R. hac P. 249. L. 4. R. double P. 254. M. N. R. transiit messis P. 255. M. N. R. quo P. 259. L. 12. R. axiom P. 265. L. 27. R. Prophet P. 271. L. 13. R. no more P. 315. M. N. R. putredini p. 329. L. 26. R. not P. 336. L. 8. R. the. P. 344. L. 27. R. be P. 352. L. 18. R. so P. 368. L. 22. R. doorkeeper P. 371. L. 6. R. martial P. 374. L. 17. R. Micheas P. 376. L. 21. R. were P. 384. L. 6. R. as A Dialogical Discourse betwixt the Saviour and Man wherein all Souls desirous of the Love of God are copiously suppli'd with means powerfull to attain it and to gain the happy accomplishment of their Salvation MAN SPeak O Lord for thy Servant hears thee 1. Reg. 3. grant me a right Understanding to know thy ways and lead my will to walk therein let the sacred Dew of thy divine Inspirations flow down from thy heavenly Throne into my obdurate Heart Psal 118. that I may more easily observe thy Commands and steer my course directly without any Remora towards the Region of everlasting Bliss Loquere tâ— nobis audiemus non loquatur nobis Dominus ne â—orte moriamur Exod. 20. for which thou didst Create my Soul Heretofore the Children of Israel would have Moises only speak to them not thou O Lord fearing thy words might strike such a terrour to their Hearts
Land of everlasting darkness and misery where there is neither rest union comfort or order but a perpetual toil hatred sorrow confusion and horrour they all will unanimously answer our procrastinate conversion our delai'd repentance and our groundless hopes to have a peccavi at will tho' Death should on a sudden surprize us with an Arrest this was the fatal overture through which we fell into this endless misery And it stands with a great deal of reason for the longer a man loiters in his vicious and wicked ways the more obdurate his heart will be and the less inclin'd to produce an act of Contrition nay should his Confessarius break his brain to bring him to it his answer will be that which David gave to Saul when he was to encounter the Philistian Giant Saul would have him to put on his own Armour and to fight with his Sword Usum non habeo 1. Reg. 17.39 but David made answer that he was never accustom'd to it and therefore would not accept of his offer it s the same with an inveterate Sinner let his Confessor cry out Sir one Act of contrition one sincere and hearty Peccavi for God is mercyful and will be the same to thee if thou wilt reclaim and beg him most heartily pardon Ah Sir he will reply I was never bred to that divine Art 't is a lesson I never learn'd 't is a strong weapon against the Devil and all his power I must confess yet I never made use of it and therefore 't is but a folly to pretend to it at present Thou seest by this example O Man that the longer a sinner perseveres in sin the farther he will be from any desire of a true Contrition his heart will grow the more obdurate his Conscience more blinde his Soul so oppress'd with evil custome even as with a huge and weighty Stone that makes her wholly insensible of what concerns her Salvation But if any of such like reprobates should seem to repent 't is to be fear'd that his chief and only motive is the fear of Hell-fire not the reall product of Justice nor any true Contrition Nolo mortem impii sed ut convertatur impius a via sua vivat Ezek. 33.11 however I would not have any inveterate Sinner despair neither would I have him be so careless of his Salvation as to neglect it whilst he has time and leisure to secure it and a saving God who is so easily mov'd to compassionate him and so ready to grant him so grateful a request as is the remission of his Sins and Life everlasting For a resolve of thy last objection that the way which leads to Heaven is both narrow difficult and craggy consequently that thy nature which is very fond of her own ease can hardly be brought to walk therein I answer that it is a million of times more tollerable to strike into that roade tho' never so irksome to thy corrupt nature then to suffer the pains of Hell for an eternity Quam areta est via angusta porta quae ducit ad vitam pauci inveniunt eam Mat. 7.14 Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis onerati estis ego reficiam vos jugum enim meum suave est onus meum leve Matt. 11.28 nay even the pains of Purgatory which are but temporal 'T is true I told thee and am still of the same opinion that Strait is the gate and Narrow is the way which leads unto life and few there be that finde it I told thee moreover that from the days of John the Baptist untill now the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force But thou didst likewise hear me say Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Take my yoak upon you and learn of me for I am meek and humble in heart and ye shall finde rest unto your Souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light For what is of it self burdensome to nature is made easy by the assistance of my grace and is sweeten'd by custom for wherever the Love of God is lodg'd and increas'd to the height and prime of its fervour all Tribulations Persecutions Crosses Losses nay Death it self will be look'd upon as the chiefest favours and blessings of a most loving Father so that there is nothing in the world more to be hated and abhorr'd then Sin which alone can cause the displeasure of God and his fatal Seperation from man MAN O Lord my God! thou art my Life my Treasure and all my happiness but what am I that I should prefume to speak to thee what but a poor and despicable servant a most vile and abject worm far more miserable and contemptible in thy sight then I can or dare imagine Remember therefore o' Lord that I am nothing have nothing and am absolutely the most indigent and sordid of all thy Creatures Thou alone art good thou only art both just and holy Thou alone canst do all canst give all canst fill all and I poor Soul am void of all that can be call'd good for nothing but misery is to be found where Sin predominates Forget not then o' Lord thy miserations to me and vouchsafe to replenish my heart with thy grace that I may carry my Cross cheerfully and follow thy steps with all alacrity whilst I continue my Pilgrimage in this tempestuous and miserable life Thou knowest that of my self I can perform nothing that may be grateful to thee or any way meritorious Psal 142. to my own Salvation wherefore o' Lord assist me with thy grace on all occasions turn not away thy face from thy poor and wretched Creature delay not thy gracious visit withdraw not thy consolations from me lest my Soul should remain a barren and dry Tree and become fuel for that unquenchable fire of Hell O' Lord teach me how I may fulfill thy blessed will instruct me in thy ways that I may walk therein with safety and in all humility Thou hast indeed resolv'd all my objections and hast broke all the chains which might detain both me and all other Sinners in the bondage of Sin and Slavery of the Devil thou said'st as much of virtue and vice as much of Satans rage and of thine own clemency to all poor Sinners as much of the joys of Heaven and of the torments of Hell as are able to move the most obdurate hearts and hasten them out of hand to give an everlasting farewell to th' one and to make their constant and happy choice of the other But alas I know by a fatal experience how weak I am in my resolutions how far from the love of God how much a stranger to virtue and therefore have great need of comfort and strength from thee to go through with what I resolve for the future Thou art my heavenly Physitian from thee I do expect a cure for all
who had kill'd his Master this animal runs at him and holds him fast looking on the by-standers with such a mournful countenance as if he had desir'd Justice whereupon the murderer was apprehended and forc'd to confess his crime for which he was immediately sentenc'd to dy O man If a Dog for a piece of bread had so great a love for his master and was so faithful to him as to lament and vindicate his death wilt thou not be displeas'd at thine ingratitude and principally when a dumb beast reprehends it and teacheth thee to be grateful If that irrational creature was so much incens'd against the murderer of his Master why art thou not displeas'd with those that have slain thy gracious Lord and Master and what are they but thy Sins 'T is true O man thy Sins have taken me have tyed me have scourg'd me have crown'd me have nail'd me to the Cross and were the sole occasion of my bitter death for the Jews could never have the power to crucify me but that thy Sins did both arm and incourage 'em to it Wherefore then art thou not highly displeas'd with them why dost thou not bend all thy wrath and fury against them seeing thy divine Master crucify'd by them before thine eyes and especially since my Death and Passion was design'd to breed in thy heart an eternal hatred of Sin It was in order to destroy Sin that I suffer'd death It was to set a stop to thy feet and hands which are so prone to evil even from thy very cradle that mine as an oblation for their evils were nail'd to the Cross How art thou so impious as to live after such a manner that all my pains taken for thy Salvation will signify nothing Why dost thou not tremble at the very mention of Sin seeing me suffer such cruel torments to destroy and root it clean out of the world How canst thou be so rash and so great an enemy to thy poor Soul as to dare to offend me seeing Heaven open to cast forth its thunder bolts upon thy criminal head and Hell with a dilated mouth ready to swallow thee both body and Soul MAN O My God my King my Saviour my Judge and my only comfort Thou art I confess the Eternal Wisdom and thy words to me are Spirit and Life for they have made me resolve to bid adieu for ever to Sin and to plant virtue where vice was before in great request but give me leave to ask thee what would the benefit of my redemption avail me if that of my Justification had not ensu'd for by this it is that the virtue of the former is appli'd to the diseases of my Soul and even as a plaister tho' never so soveraign will signify nothing except it be laid unto the wound so that heavenly medicine would be of no use or advantage to me if it had not been appli'd by the mediation of this unspeakable benefit to the bruises which I receiv'd in that fatal field of Eden where all mankinde were shamefully foil'd and quite overthrown in the Person of Adam The Sanctification of man does chiefly appertain to the Holy Ghost 'T is his prerogative to prevent the Sinner with the sweetness of his mercy then to call him being call'd to justify him and being justifi'd to direct him and leade him on to the end of his course and then to gratify him with a crown of glory wherefore I may justly say that this very benefit is the happy complement of all others for by this man is register'd in the number of Gods children discharg'd of the main weight of his iniquities deliver'd from the dominion and Tyranny of the Devil reviv'd from Death to Life brought from the state of Sin to that of Justice and of a child of malediction and woe he becomes the Son of God and Co-heir with thee in thy Glory Nemo potest venire ad me nisi Pater meus traxerit illum Joa 44. But this cannot be perform'd without the peculiar help and assistance of the holy Ghost as thou hast declar'd to thy beloved Disciple in these words No man can come to me except the Father who has sent me draw him whereby I conceive that neither free will nor the power of humane nature can withdraw a man from Sin and bring him to Grace unless he be help'd on by the vertue of thy divine power The Angelical Doctor St. Thomas commenting upon these words says even as a Stone by its nature still falls downwards and can never ascend without some exteriour assistance so man overpress'd by the corruption of Sin tends always downwards and is powerfully hurri'd on by his inbred inclinations to the love and desire of terene and transitory things but if he be minded to aim higher that is at the love and supernatural desire of heavenly things he must implore the assistance of thy Divine Spirit without which he shall never be able to make any progress in virtue SAVIOVR O Man thou sayst well but I would have thee practise well what thou sayst for 't is the practise and not the discourse of good things that can make thee grateful to me the serious consdieration of this unspeakable benefit should indeed press thee to it make thee most diligent to atchieve it which is a matter of greatest moment to thee for by this thou art reconcil'd to me and cleans'd from Sin which is the worst of all evils and the only evil I most hate and abhor it alone is able to bring my indignation and wrath upon thee Odisti omnes qui operantur iniquitatem perdes omnes qui loquntur mendacium Psal 5. as thou mayst unerstand by my Prophet who says of me Thou art not a God which taketh pleasure in wickedness neither shall evil dwell with thee The foorish shall not stand in thy sight Thou hatest all workers of iniquity Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man Thou seest by this that Sin is the greatest of all evils nay 't is the very root and origine of them all On the contrary to be in my favour the object of my most tender affection is a real happiness the fountain of all goodness and the solid foundation of all other favours and virtues Why dost thou then delay thy endeavours refuse to concur with my holy inspirations If thou wouldst once firmly resolve an amendment imploy all thy faculties to destroy Sin in thee thou shouldst then receive the benefit of Justification by which thou art deliver'd from that pernicious evil and of a mortal enemy thou art made my friend not in a common degree of friendship but in the most supream that can be thought of which is that of a Father to his Son Videte qualem charitatem nobis dedit pater ut filii Dei nominemur fimus 1. Jo. 3. My Evangelist extols this extraordinary favour very highly where he says behold
ready to drop down upon their criminal and guilty heads the sweet perfumes of thy divine virtues and the rare examples of thy Saints cann't prevail with them no they cann't tast of thy Chalice nor feel thy Scorges nor acknowledge thy Benefits tho' they are sufficient to melt a heart of Steel In fine Sin takes quite away the peace the joy and the tranquility of a good eonscience it does extinguish the fervour of the Spirit and leaves poor man sordid maculate deform'd and abominable in the sight of God and of all his Saints Yet by the benefit of thy Justification we are happily deliver'd from all these plagues evil consequences of Sin and the abyss of thy divine mercies is not content to have forgiven us our offences and receive us into favour but does also expell all those evils which are inseparable from Sin leaving our interiour man in the real possession of his former prerogatives and likeness to God Thou dost heal up our wounds wash off our spots break loofe the fetters and chains of our iniquitys destroy the yoke of our evil desires retrieve us from the slavery of Satan qualify the fury of our unruly passions and the heat of our vicious affections Thou dost likewise restore to the Soul her former freedom and beauty revive her interiour fenses dispose them to the exercise of all good works and to the abhorrence of any that 's bad Thou givest strength to resist manfully all the temptations of the Devil and to go through all the difficulties that might hinder the practise of virtue and their increase of devotion In fine my Sweet Saviour thou dost so absolutely revive and repair our interiour man and all his faculties that thy Apostle Scruples not to call such men Justifi'd Souls metamorphos'd natures new modell'd Spirits Creatures of another stamp This innovation is so great and so much to be admir'd that it 's worth our labour to finde out how and after what manner it is perform'd O my Saviour thou alone canst tell me truly the nature of it and the only one that can impart so great a blessing to my poor and languishing Soul wherefore let me hear thy solution to the matter SAVIOVR THou must know then O man that this so great a renovation when 't is perform'd by the means of Baptism may be call'd Regeneration but if it be done by Contrition and with the assistance of Pennance then 't is call'd resurrection not only because the Soul is rais'd from the Death of Sin to the Life of Grace but by reason it resembles so nearly the glorious beauty of future Resurrection No mortal tongue is able to express the radiant Splendor and supereminent beauty of a Justifi'd Soul 't is a mistery reserv'd to my Holy Spirit who made her so glorious with a design she should be his own Temple and place of residence Were all the wealth of the World all the imaginable dignities and honours of this life all the natural Graces and gifts together with all the acquir'd virtues and all other earthly advantages that can be thought of conferr'd with the beauty and treasures of a Justifi'd Soul all in comparison with her is vile obscure ill-favour'd and of no value No for there is as much difference betwixt the life of Grace and the life of Nature betwixt the beauty of the Soul Justifi'd and that of the body betwixt the interiour Riches of such a Soul and the exteriour of the body as there is betwixt Heaven Earth betwixt the Spirit and the body or betwixt Time and Eternity Because all these are circumscrib'd with certain limits they are temporal they appear handsom to corporal eyes and require only my general concourse to support them whereas the other depends on my particular and supernatural influence and have no prefix'd bounds because I am their object and they are so precious in my sight and of so great an estimate that they provoke even my divine Essence to be ardently enamour'd with their beauty I might have wrought all these wonders with my sole presence yet I would not but was pleas'd to adorn the Soul with my infus'd virtues and the Seven gifts of my Holy Ghost whereby not only her Essence but even her very faculties are cloth'd and adorn'd with those habitual and heavenly dresses Besides all these divine favours and benefits she is made happy with the constant presence of my divine Spirit and of the most adorable Trinity for all resides in a justifi'd Soul to teach her how to manage so great a treasure to her best advantage Matt. 12. wherein I act the part of a most loving Father who is not satisfi'd to have given Riches to his Son but gives him withal a Futor that knows how to Administer them well Luc. 11. Thou know'st that a multitude of vipors Serpents and Dragons I mean of evil Spirits enter into the Soul of a Sinner and makes her their habitation as thou mayst reade in my Gospel but 't is otherwise with a justifi'd Soul for I with my Father and Holy Spirit dwell there and having banish'd thence all evil Si quis diligit me Sermonem meum servabit Pater meus diliget eum ad eum veniomus mansionem apud eum faciemus Joan. 14. and Infernal Spirits we make her our temple our throne and Garden of pleasure as thou mayst finde in St. John where I say if a man love me he will keep my words my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him All the Doctors of my Holy Church as well Ecclesiastick as Scholastick grounded upon these my words do firmly believe that my Holy Ghost dwells in a justifi'd Soul after a certain and peculiar manner and say moreover that he does not only confer his Gifts upon her but comes himself along with them with a fix'd resolution to clense Sanctify and adorn her as well with his constant presence as with all his heavenly treasures O man if all these extraordinary favours be not able to mollify thy flinty heart and force it to leave and forsake the paths of Sin and to gather also all thy Scatter'd affections and lead them towards me who am the most deserving of them I shall add more pressing motives to bring thee to so good so gracious and so benificial a resolution The First that occurs is that all the justifi'd are my living members so that I love and cherish them as my own and am no less careful to provide for them to protect and comfort them then were they all parts of my proper body nay without any intermission I influence them with my inspirations and graces even as the head communicates his vital Spirits into all the rest of its members moreover my Eternal Father beholds them with a gracious eye as being my living members united concorporate with me by the participation of his divine Spirit and therefore all their deeds are
for tho' I cann't say that I am guilty of any Sin that might deprive me of his grace yet he will scearch so narrowly into the most hidden corners of mens hearts at that departing day that I have great reason to fear he may finde some subject of his displeasure within my breast Another no less commendable for the holyness of his life tells me of a most dreadful example which was in his days exhibited on the Person of one Stephen a Monk a great lover of a quiet and Solatary life This holy man after he had pass'd over several years in a monastical conflict and adorn'd his Soul with extraordinary graces and virtues by his continual fasting weeping and chastising his body with St. Paul lest it should bring his Soul to subjection he went into the desart and built a little cell for himself at the foot of that famous mountain where the Prophet Helias had formerly a most Sacred and heavenly vision a place remote from all worldly consolation almost inaccessible to men and very near a hundred miles distant from any human habitation After he had continued there a long tract of time in the height of all manner of mortification and Pennance and being in his declining Age he return'd to his former habitation where in a few days he fell into a fit of sickness whereof he dy'd Joan. Climachus in Schola Parad graduer but the day before his death he awaked suddenly out of his slumber and looking frightfully towards the right left side of his bed he was heard by all that were about him to say as if he were brought to an account for his past life 't is true that is so but for that Sin I have fasted so many years To another objection he answer'd that is true likewise but for that fault I often shed most bitter tears To another he would reply that 's a grand lye I am innocent of that crime Again he would answer 't is so indeed I have nothing to say against it but leave my self wholly to God's mercy Certainly this was a spectacle able to terrify the hearts of all them that were by and especially for that the poor man was accus'd of what he never committed so eager his mortal Enemies were to get possession of his Soul by endeavouring to push him into despair He was indeed a lover of retir'd and solitary places and a Monk of forty years approbation endu'd with the gift of working miracles yet he trembles at the hearing of his accompts some he denys and some he owns but he relys upon Gods great mercy for a pardon and in this conflict he dyes without leaving any certainty of what became of him or how favourable his Judge was to him at the end of his trial O Saviour of mankinde if such great Saints were so much terrifi'd at the sight of death and so apprehensive of thy dreadful Judgements what will become of Sinners at that hour and of such Sinners as do spend their whole life in the vanities and transitory pleasures of the world of Sinners that make nothing to offend thee by all manner of wickedness of Sinners that live in so great a neglect of their Salvation as if they had no Souls to be sav'd and no account to be given after death If the Just are seiz'd with so great a terrour at the hour of Death what a deplorable condition will the habitual Sinner be in what will become of the weak shrubs of the desart that have no shelter from the raging storms of Death and Judgment when the tall Cedars of Liban are laid even with the ground Si Justus vix salvabitur Impius peccator ubi apâ—râ—bâ—nt 1 Pet. 4.3 18. If the Righteous scarcely be sav'd where shall the ungoldy and the Sinner appear who walk'd all his life in Lasciviousness Lust excess of Wine Revellings Banquetings and all abominable Idolatries what can be safe in Babylon when there is so strict a search made in Jerusalem SAVIOVR THou sayst well O man what will become of a Sinner indeed at the hour of death when I who am the spotless Lamb was seiz'd with so great an apprehension of it Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem Mar. 14.34 that my Soul was sad even to death and terrifi'd to that degree that my body was all in a bloudy sweat But what will become of a Sinner when I shall appear to him who am to be not only his Judge but also a most irrefragable witness against him St. Augustin will tell thee he had rather suffer even the unspeakable torments of Hell Chrys hom 24. in Matth. then to behold the face of his angry Judge And St. Chrysostome declares it were better for Sinners to be struck with as many thunderbolts as the magazine of Heaven can afford then to see that countenance so meek and so full of sweetness heretofore altogether estrang'd from them at that most dreadful hour And if thou wilt give credit to the deposition of a learned Authour he will tell thee that even an Image which was only my representation on the Cross appear'd with such wrathful and incens'd eyes to a congregation of People that they all fell unto the ground senseless without any motion and that they cuntinued in that amazement several hours What a consternation then will Sinners be in when they shall behold not my Image which is at best but a dead figure but my self alive not in the humility of my Cross but seated on a Throne of Justice and Majesty not in a time of mercy but in the due season of a just vengeance not with naked hands pierc'd through with nails but arm'd against them with the Sword of Justice Thus I shall come to Judge and revenge the injuries which they have done unto me I am righteous in my Justice as I am in my mercy and as I have allotted a time for mercy so I will for Justice and as in this life the rigour of my justice is as it were repress'd and suspended so in that point of Death when the Sinners are to receive their final Sentence I will suffer it to break forth like an inundation and drown them all in the deluge of my indignation and wrath Imagine with thy self a great and rapid River that has had it's current violently stop'd these forty years Dan. 7. and now it were to have free passage what a condition the Country round about would be in with what a fury would it overrun the whole land and beat down all before it Citys Towns Villages Castles Trees Walls Houses Men Cattle and all without any resistance Thou knowst that my Prophet Daniel compares my Justice not to an ordinary River but to a River of fire to express the greatness and severity of it thou knowest likewise that the current of this River is frequently repress'd thirty forty years nay sometimes during the whole life of Man O what an infinite deal of
Lucum if I do not weep and lament for my Sins while I have time and conveniency Woe 's me if I do not rise at midnight with the Prophet royal to confess unto thee O Lord Woe is me if ever I wrong bely or bring My neighbour into any evil inconvenience or trouble woe 's me if I do not speak truth at all times or if ever I be found in a ly For the Ax of Death is now perhaps at the root of my Tree of life or at least will be ere long 't is the same case with every one therefore it behoves us all to be watchful to be constantly in the practise of Pennance and in the exercise of all good works in hopes we may be one day of the number of thy beloved in Heaven SAVIOVR O Man Omnia toleranda pro caelesti gloria Aug. had'st thou known what a Supream happiness it is to be of the number of my beloved in Heaven thou wouldst be of St. Augustins opinion and say with him were I to suffer every day the greatest torments that the Rage and Malice of the most bloudy Tyrants could invent nay were I to endure even the anguishes of Hell for a long time to see Christ in his Glory I would think my self extraordinary well rewarded nay I would freely and with all my heart undergo all the afflictions imaginable upon condition to be made Partaker of so great a blessing Let the Devils therefore ly in Ambushes for me let them prepare as many temtations against me as they can contrive let my body be even consum'd with abstinence and constant fasting let hair-cloth chains of Iron depress my flesh let labour and continual toil extenuate my body let watching and lying on the hard ground wither it and make it as dry as a rotten tree let this man exclaim against me and th' other pursue me to death let the cold seize upon me and make me stoop to the Earth let my conscience murmure let the scorching heat of the Sun parch me let my body grieve let my breast burn let my stomack swell let my countenance wax pale let me from head to foot be full of ulcers let my whole life hours days years pass over in tears in grief and in sorrow let the dust inter my bones and cover me all over so that I be shelter'd in the day of Tribulation and plac'd at thy right hand O Lord among the number of thy Elect. O how great will be the glory of the Just and how infinite will be the joy of the Saints when every ones face will shine as the Sun But thou must know O man that the principal joy of the blessed is the peaceable enjoyment and possession of me whom they Behold clearly as I am in my self and that as Honourable profitable and delectable are not divided in Heaven so the blessed Souls have three gifts essential and inseparable from that happy state which correspond to those three kinde of Blessings which your Divines call vision comprehension and fruition The first consists in the clear and perfect sight of me Ego Protector tuus Sum. merces tua magna nimis Gen. 15.1 which I give to the Just as a reward of their merits and by this they receive an unspeakable honour in as much as their works and virtues are rewarded in the presence of all my Arch-angels Angels and heavenly Spirits with no less a recompence then my self The second is the full and ample possession which the Soul has of me who am all her treasure all her delight and all inheritance And the third is the ineffable joy which evermore accompanies this blessed sight and ever-peaceable possession This joy is adorn'd with two singular qualities the first whereof makes it so vigorous and powerful that it excludes all grief all pain and in a word St. Aug. medita 22. all manner of evil This is consonant to what St. Augustin says where he crys on t O Lord the life which thou hast prepar'd for thy friends is a blessed life a secure life a quiet life a life that knows no death a life without sadness without labour without grief without trouble without corruption without fear without variety without alteration A life replenish'd with all beauty and dignity where there is neither Enemy that can offend nor delight that can annoy where love admits of no mixture of hatred or disdain where the day is everlasting where the spirit of all is one where God is seen face to face who is the only meat whereupon they feed without any nauseating hitherto St. Augustin Cicero de Fin. 5. Tuscul Many of your ancient Philosphers were of opinion that the exemption from evil pain and grief was the chief felicity of man it 's therefore that the best of prophane Orators and Philosophers did place the chief happiness of man in the freedom from grief Jero Rodius Diodorus Philoso Perip but here lies their error they Judg'd that to be the Summum-bonum which was only the consequent and product thereof For the love and joy which springs from the clear vision of my divine Essence is so powerful that it 's enough to convert even Hell into Heaven in so much as if to the most tormented Soul in hell were added all the torments of the rest of the damned both men and Devils and that I should vouensafe him but one glimpse of my knowledge that only vision tho' in the lowest degree were sufficient to free him from all those evils both of sin and pain so that his Soul being extasi'd by that unspeakable beauty which he beheld would not be sensible of any grief or pain whatever By this thou mayst easily conceive the omnipotency of that joy which I confer upon my beloved in Heaven which if I should impart to the most damn'd in hell it would convert all his great torments into far greater consolations The Second stupendious wonder which the greatness of my joy produces in the Souls of my belov'd is the manifold pleasures which spring from it as from a most fruitful root Art thou not astonish'd to hear that the happiness of the Souls should cause so many and marvellous effects in the bodies of my Blessed as St. Augustin relates dost thou not wonder when he tells thee that my beatifical vision carries so unspeakable a joy with it into their Souls that it wholly changes their bodies makes them as beautiful as so many Angels resplendent as the Sun immortal as a Spirit and as impassible as even my self What miracles and prodigies it works in their bodies by the redundancy of the unspeakable comfort which they feel in their spirits Art thou not seiz'd with admiration when St. Anselme tells thee that if the body of one of my Blessed endow'd with the four gifts of glory full of clearness splendor and beauty were plac'd in any part or corner of the world it would perfume the whole universe with a fragrancy
a horse we take off his cloths and his trappings and examin his shape and body for fear of being cozen'd And shall we put an estimate upon a man for being set off by his fortune and quality nay if we see any thing of ornament about him we are to suspect him the more for some infirmity under it He that is content in Poverty would not be so neither in Plenty for the fault is not in the thing but in the minde It 's therefore thy Apostle writing to Timothy says command the Rich of this World not to be high-minded nor place their considence in the uncertainty of their Riches Divitibus hujus mundi praecipe non sublime sapere neque sperare in incerto divitiarum 1 Tim. 17. Non proderunt divitiae indie ultionis Pro. 11.4 Divitiarumjactantia quid nobis contulit Sap. 5. Dormierunt somnum suum nihil in venerunt omnes viri divitiarum in manibus suis Psa 75.6 and the ground of his Precept is that Riches shall not profit a man in the day of revenge nor rescue him from the rigour of thy Justice in the day of his death if his sins have put him out of thy favour this the wicked Rich themselves confess tho' too late being already condemn'd to live in torments for an Eternity what has the bravery of our Riches avail'd us nothing at all but have rather increas'd our misery because we made thereof our Gods upon Earth tho' we were often told of their vanity and how they could never afford their Masters any comfort or ease when they were in most need of their help The Royal Prophet seems to commiserate their deplorable condition where he says Alas the Rich men have slept out their sleep and have found nothing in their hands People in their sleep will dream of Mountains of Gold and Silver and think themselves rich for ever but when they awake they finde they are altogether in as bare a condition as before this is the case with the rich whilst they are in this life they do imagine themselves Rich for ever and that their vast treasures will bear them up in all necessitys that shall occur but when they open their eyes in the hour of death they see then that they must depart for another World with as little provision as the poorest beggar in nature I can't but smile to hear the Prophet Baruch laugh at such People where are they now says he those great Estated men those mercenary Judges those deluding Lawyers those flie Attornys those greedy and covetous Merchants those insatiable Usurers that heap'd up such a vast deal of gold silver and that never desisted gathering together Alas they are rooted out of the World cast down into Hell-sire And therefore says St James now ye rich men weep and wail Jacob. 5.1 2 3. c. and howl for your miseries that come upon you now your riches are rotten and your gold and silver is rusty and the rust thereof shall be in testimony against you It shall feed upon your flesh as if it were fire you have hoorded up wrath to your own selves in the last day Tho' he is an Apostle that speaks yet his words are the very dictates of the holy Ghost whereby we may easily conceive the dangerous consequence of worldly wealth and the main folly of them that labour so much to procure the same by injustice and other indirect means and when they are masters of them do not imploy them to the advantage of their Souls but lay out all to support their grandeur and satisfy their Lust I am certain that if an Assembly of the most able physitians of the World had met to determine whether such or such meats were dangerous to feed upon and that they should all conclude they were absolute poyson to the body few or none at all would hazard his health to eat thereof tho' otherwise in sight smell and tast they appear'd sweet and most pleasant And shall not the unanimous votes of all the Saints in Heaven and of all the Catholike Doctors on Earth together with thy most holy and urgent admonitions O Lord be able to remove the disordinate love which mortals bear to this most dangerous Soul-killing vanity Thou sayst by thy Prophet to all mankind Divitiae si affluant nolite cor apponere Psa 61. Qui diligit aurum non justificabitur Eccl. 31. Zacha. 1. set not your hearts upon the love of Riches and why the wise make them this answer because whoever loves Gold that is beyond the precept shall never be justifi'd and thou sayst thy self that thy indignation and wrath shall fall very heavy upon rich nations There 's nothing so often repeated in Scripture as a Woe to the Rich and thou dost confirm it thy self with that usual affirmation Amen Amen I say unto you that a Rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 19. What an extream folly it is then to seek so much after so poisonous a bait as are Earthly Riches which may perhaps afford some little comfort to their owners in this World but with an absolute exclusion from the everlasting pleasures of thy kingdom Woe be to you Rich men for that you have receiv'd your consolation in this life so that in the other you are not to expect any Sad news indeed for the Rich and able to settle in their hearts a perpetual abhorrence against so fatal an enemy to the Salvation of their Souls This expression I fear will not at all rellish with many of our Worldlings who account Riches to be their dearest and only Friend nay had I said their God it would not be contrary to truth for their hearts are more enamour'd with them then they are with thee O Lord tho' thou hast deposited thy sweet life to ransom their Souls from the power of Hell Qui volunt divites fieri incident in tettuionem in laqueum Diaboli defideria malta inutilia nociva quae mergunt homines in interitum perdidonem 1 Tim. 6.9 and Death everlasting And yet if St. Paul may be credited they are grosly mistaken and wide from the mark they aim at for where they expect their consolation and pleasure they meet with their eternal destruction and sorrow for He says that they which will be rich do fall into temptations and into the Snares of Satan as also into many unprofitable hurtful desires which do drown them in the Abiss of destruction and Woe Their main objection to this doctrine is what shall become of our Wives and Children if we be not careful to provide a maintenance for them that they may live in the World with as much splendour as the dignity of their condition requires But the Wife man gives them a satisfactory answer in my minde and a notable check to boot for he calls them fools and besides he tells them in plain terms that their great care
confirms it and St. Paul avers that where the love of Riches is once settl'd the peace of God is utterly excluded and this is a greater loss then our understanding can comprehend in a word that man who puts his heart in his treasure has a restless Soul and this is the greatest misfortune incident to mankinde He is like a Clock which when winded up will never leave it's motion till the weights be down 't is the same with him his mind will never be at rest whilst so many cares and anxietys possess it which are to it as weights to a clock that keep it always going so when others are in their sweet repose he is breaking his brains contriving how to manage his money to the best advantage Of all the Plagues that God was pleas'd to impose upon the Egyptians for their many and grievous sins Exod. 8. that of the flys was most intollerable because they were so cruelly tormented by the very creatures they had ador'd for Gods I may say the same of worldly men that of all the Miserys and troubles which God lays upon 'em for their offences this is one of the greatest to be tormented and grievously perplex'd with the cares even of that thing which they adore as their God and in which they place their chiefest felicity And let them use all their skill to forget these cares they can't possibly expell them and this adds much to their great disaster no they will assault them in the morning and shall bear them company all day neither shall they leave them at night no they will enter the bed with 'em and deprive them of rest they shall be the subject of their dreams Qui nocte nec die non dabunt requiem Jer. 16. Quia abstuli pacem a populo isto dicit Dominus misericordiam miserationes Jer. 16. so that I may well compare them to those unmerciful Tyrants wherewith thou O Lord dost threaten the wicked by thy prophet which shall allow them no comfort or ease either night or day This is a very great affliction I confess and the only reason hereof is that thou hast taken away thy peace from so terrene a People plung'd so extreamly in their pleasures without the least care of their Souls or thought of heaven and therefore have they merited a divorce from thy mercy and a continuance of their deplorable state even without hopes of thy commiseration And really if I give credit to what the Prophet Esay says of them their condition is so bad Esai 59. that it can't be better express'd then by his own words They put their trust in things of nothing says he and do talk of vanitys They conceive labour and bring forth iniquity They break the eggs of Serpents and weave the webs of Spiders He that shall eat of their eggs shall dy and that which is hatched thence shall be a Cockatrice Their webs shall not make cloth to cover them for that their works are unprofitable and the work of iniquity is in their hands There 's not a word in all this the Prophet's description of the Rich of this World but contains a mystery by the first that they put their trust in things of nothing we may very well conceive the vanity of Riches which if enjoy'd to day to morrow they may be snatch'd from us and perhaps our lives too for lucre of them And he who takes them from us may likewise lose them soon after with the same damage if not a greater I mean his Soul's loss for ever They conceive labour O what a deal of toil do poor worldlings take to heap up treasures how many perilous voiages to the East and West-Indies how many tedious journeys by land to this and that other Fair how many dangers of being rob'd and of losing their lives too Day and night they are afraid of Thieves nay they dare not trust their own Servants no nor their Wives with the keys of their treasures for fear they should rob them of their money and if any thereof be taken away O what an angry countenance will he put on what curses what Imprecations will he make What a consternation will the whole Family be in every one striving to clear himself will make his earnest Address to the Conjurer and as he is apt to tell lyes being so great a familiar with Lucifer he may make the innocent criminal and the criminal innocent for with him favour goes by bribing and he that gives him most shall have his best word tho' he were the greatest Knave in the whole Pack this is the labour now let us hear th'Iniquity it brings forth is there not a wo pronounc'd to them which draw iniquity with the ropes of vanity The same Prophet says that they break the Eggs of Serpents Pliny the naturalist tells us and our own experience confirms it that the bird which sits upon the eggs of a Serpent by breaking and hatching them brings forth a venemous brood that will most certainly be the utter destruction of her self 'T is even so with a man that sits as it were in brood upon his Riches and does affect them overmuch they will certainly be the death of his Soul and in the interim will make him a most miserable wretch whilst he lives in this World always in fear of losing them for they are as apt to change Masters as the Spiders web is to be broken with the least puff of Wind this wants no confirmation for the man in the Gospel ratifys it who with excessive care and labour had gather'd so vast a quantity of Riches that he was forc'd to pull down his old barns and build new to lay them in and when that was done he bids his Soul enjoy her self being really perswaded he should live splendidly and fare sumptuously upon them many years but his Soul was snatch'd that very night from him and all his great preparations were useless to him This inconstancy of Worldly wealth occasion'd the said prophet to say that the webs of those weavers shall not make cloth to cover them withal nor shall their works be profitable to them and that none but the works of Iniquity should remain in their hands whereby he lets us know that whoever loves and follows these vanitys shall certainly load his Soul with so great a burthen of iniquity that he will sink into the very lowest Hell where those who had glutted themselves with the World's pleasures delights shall be grievously tormented and then they will know that their riches were thorns indeed that not only rent their hearts in this World but will wound their Souls eternally in the other These thoughts are now far from their minds but when their glass is spent that grim Death appears unto them O how bitter will the remembrance thereof be unto those men that have plac'd all their happiness in Riches What a grief was it to Alexander the great O Mors quam
whom he may devour I do grant that the allurements to sin are great and numerous but the motives that I lay before all mortals to adhere to make use of on all such occasions are incomparably more in number and of greater force to repulse all temptations they are also very prevalent to induce 'em to lead a virtuous and godly life The world thou sayst invitest thee to unlawfull and wicked actions but God prohibits them nay he commands the contrary and if thou dost obey him he intails on thee a glorious and everlasting inheritance but if thou hast so little regard of his commands as to trangress them he threatens thee with everlasting damnation and torments The flesh inclines thee to evil but the spirit and reason too bids thee resist manfully such base and rebellious motions the one tells thee that the body is created to be a slave to the Soul not the Soul to the body th' other informs thee what a madness it is to forfeit an eternal happiness for a passing pleasure which ever leaves a sting to pierce and gall thy heart Sodom and Gomorrha were too much led by the flesh but consider well the terrible chastisement they suffer'd in this world yet it is but a shadow to what they shall suffer for an eternity Moreover that gnawing worm of a guilty Conscience should quell in thee all such foul and unlawfull pleasures Thou wilt plead that Satan with the rest of his infernal Confederates never desist perplexing thee with their frequent and strong suggestions and art thou the only man that he assaults no no his quarrel is with all mankind and since that fatal overthrow which he gave our first Progonitors in the garden of Eden he never ceas'd neither will he ever leave off pestering and plaguing their descendants with suggestions to evil Latrare potest Sollicitare potest sed mordere non potest nifi volentem Aug. Angelis suis Deus mandavit de te Mat. 4.6 for nothing makes them so furious and cruel as to see men in a fair way of possessing their forfeited and glorious Seats but thy chief comfort and security lyes within thy own breast he is like a Mastive-Dog at a chain he may indeed bark at thee but can never bite thee unless thou dost come within his reach and consent to thy own destruction Moreover God has deputed an Angel even from thy Mothers womb to protect and defend thee from all such accidents and he will perform his charge if thou wilt but obey him and listen to his wholsome inspirations and dictates If Satan does spur thee on to the Precipice of Sin thy good Angel will teach thee Non coronabitur nisi qui legirtime certaverit 2. Timo. 2.5 how thou mayst in thy conflict secure thy self either by a vigorous opposition or an immediate flight to God for Sanctuary He will also tell thee that thou art created to fight the mortal enemy of mankind and must foil him too if thou hopest to gain a crown in Heaven As for the wicked whom thou thinkest to be of the number of Gods happy favorites because thou seest them prosper in all their ways and that nothing crosseth them that they have plenty of Gold and Silver Horses and all other Cattle in abundance no mortality visits them Prosperitas Stultorum perdet ilios Prov. 1. Non audivit populus mens vocem meam Israel non intendit mihi dimisi eos secundum desideria cordis eorum ibunt in adinventionibus suis Psal 80. Multae tribulationes Justorum Psal 7.20 Non sunt condigâ—ae passiones hujus temporis ad fu turam gloriam quae revelabitur in nobis Rom. 8.18 Rain Wind Storms Thunder Lightnings do pass by them and by all they possess as well abroad as at home but believe me says the wise Solomon that this Prosperity of the wicked which thou dost so much extol and make so great an estimate of as to think them in that to be the Minnious of God will at the cancelling of their life hurry their Souls to the Abbiss of Hell Let the Stiff-necked people of Israel serve for a president to convince thee that I delight not in the wicked They would not hearken to my voice neither would they acknowledge me to be their God and what was the effect of their disobedience and infidelity I withdrew and wholly left them to be guided by their own sensual appetites and they took their self-pleasing courses and follow'd the directions of their own Councels This is the greatest punishment that can be inflicted on a Nation for then their reprobation is sign'd never to be recall'd Many indeed are the tribulations of the Just but my worthy Apostle telleth thee from me that the sufferings of this present time are infinitly less then the Glory which shall be reveal'd in my faithful and devoted Servants hereafter I deal with them on earth as a skilful Physitian with his Patients I cleanse their Souls of all their sinfull spots by giving them to drink of that bitter Chalice of tribulations by which they are disposed to partake of a more abundant grace and brought to a nearer conformity with me who exhausted the same Chalice of its very dregs by this remedy they are secur'd from th' everlasting pains of hell which are incomparably greater and of a longer tract then all the tribulations and crosses that were suffer'd by all mankinde in this world and the same intitleth them my Associates in Heaven to sit at my table to enjoy my presence for ever and all the happiness that my celestial Court can afford Ego quos diligo arguo castigo Apoc. 3. Thou seest by this what unspeakable advantages the Just do reap by their tribulations and how the tenderness of my love to them appears even in the severity of my chastisements No Father can be more indulgent to his Child then I am to the Sinner for tho' the greatness and multitude of his heinous offences deserve no mercy at my hands but rather the utter severity of my Justice yet commonly I for bear with him still expecting his amendment but the longer I let him run in the way of iniquity the more he should be terrified for sins never escape without condign punishment and the longer it is deferred the heavier it will fall at last T is true the sinner has my parole for a pardon at any time when he comes to me with true repentance Qui poenitenti veniam promisi Eundem de die crastino nequaquam certificavi 12. Aug. Terra miseriae terra tenebrarum ubi nulius ordo sed sempiternus horror inhabitat Job 10.12 that is a gift from God and which he is not sure to receive no more then he is certain to live till next day That fatal delay of repentance has replenish'd the Dominion of Satan with millions of poor Souls and if any should set them the question what brought them to that