Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A85367
|
Good thoughts for every day of the month. Translated out of French By Mrs. D.S.
|
|
1656
(1656)
|
Wing G1082; Thomason E1716_2; ESTC R209652
|
20,927
|
179
|
Enemies after all these reasons and allurements can our Enemies be so odious in our sight Shall wee renounce God our selves and all or shall we love them 4. Two Christians Enemies seem as if they were not of the same flock nor of the same Religion for what means is there to unite under the obedience of one Law two souls that are rent asunder And to joyn together in one belief at the same altar two hearts whose approach to one another is mortal their sight killing their remembrance execrable we are not allowed to hate any but the Devils and the damned who hate one another Examine well if you have no bitterness towards any never suffer that cursed passion to take root in you There is no greater signe of reprobation then not to forgive a soul that hath this mark is marked for Hell S. Aug. c. 74. Enchirid If you forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses Mat. 6. He whom this great thunder awakes not is not asleepâ— but dead The XVI Day Of Example 1. IL example hath damned an infinite number of Soules If we could search hel we should hardly finde any but say such a Man or such a Woman hath damned mee what an account wee are commanded to love our Enemies why then should we massacre souls that do us no hurt 2. They who have destroyed any had best look to their consciences we scarce ever see such come to a happy end what can we hope of Jesus Christ having ravished from his hands and his heart that which cost him so dear 3. O. Fathers and Mothers it were better that your Children had been stifled or that they had never been then to have had you for Parents and for Masters who instead of life have given them death eternal death by your example when they shall accuse you of their loss of Paradise at the day of Judgement what will you answer 4. Let us put on Jesus Christ saith S. Paul that we may be known by his Livery so as all that see us may remember him at present Jesus is dishonoured and as it were despizable in the impurity of his Images he is disfigured in his Members Christians show themselves no longer Christians to see them one would take them to be clean contrary to what they are O my God pardon mee the sins of others which I have been cause of and grant that henceforth none of my actions may contribute to the damnation of any Consider whether you do any thing the sight whereof may make an ill impression upon others Are not our own sins enough Let us not make our selves guilty of the sins of others Salvian lib. 4. de Provid He who by sinning causeth others to blaspheme is guilty of a crime above humane limits The XVII Day Of distrusting our selves 1. THE greatest Saints that defied Tyrants and persecutions have trembled onely at the thought of the estate of their heart before God whereof they saw not any thing They have been heard to sigh and sob at the hour of death in expectation of the dreadfull sentence of Gods justice upon the estate of their conscience not knowing what they were not what should become of them And I alas c. 2. But our frailty is much more extream then our ignorance there is no creature be it never so little that cannot encamp before our heart assail it make a breach in it and take it One sigh one tear one penny c. Man of himself without staying to be summoned or assaulted is very ready to run to his ruine becomes all eyes to deceive himself all hands to enslave himself is betrayed by those very actions which he doth to secure himself what is Man but a Man Lock up a Glass in a Trunk it will be there a thousand yeers without breaking but shut up a Man as long as you please you shall never hinder him from falling losing himself see if you have studied as much as is necessary to know you are your own Enemy 3. To adde to our weakness our selves raise engines against our selves all our sences and passions are continually employed in secret conspiracies And they whom persecutions and temptations could not overthrow have found in themselves an enemy that hath destroyed them So that we are more prevalent against our selves then Tyrants and Devils and we should in some sort fear our selves more then we fear God we should be more afraid of our own weaknesse then of the infinite power of God The Angels fell Adam sinned Judas betrayed and S. Peter renounced his Master Hostus fell into Sensuality Tertullian into Heresie Origen into Idolatry O be alwayes in fear of your self Here you must make provision against dangerous occasions Micah 6. 14. Thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee The XVIII Day Of care of our salvation 1. O What great fools were the Caesars the Pompeys the Alexanders the Princes the great ones of the world that destroyed so many lives spilt so much blood and those at present who spare none leave nothing unexecuted to acquire a little vain honour c. And have neither the wit nor courage to save themselves What doth it profit a Man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul 2. All Creatures â—re made to further our salvation So that as many drops as there are in the Sea c. as many crumbs of bread as I eat are so many obligations to my salvation all this being made for the good of my soul And from the very moment that a Man ceaseth to work for his salvation the Sun should bee eclipsed the Heavens should give over their motion c. All Creatures cease to be profitable to the World for us when wee make them unprofitable to this end 3. And for the most part we aim at nothing lesse wee will do all and do all very well and save all but our own souls this ground must be ploughed this money put out to interest we would have al thrive and do well and wee complain of all losses but this we find by our account great expences laid out upon our bodies and the world so much for a garment so much for a Feast and nothing for our salvation and if our soul were not ours as if it were the soul of one of our mortal enemies so ill we use it or rather as if it were the soul of some beast which hath onely sence and appetite not pretending to any thing further Nay some there are who are afraid one would imagine of being saved so unwilling they are to think of it to be touched by God to endeavour it what bruitishness 4. We must make accompt but of two things in the world to love God and our own salvation and who doth not is as mad as unhappy If I had two souls said Benedict the fourth I would give one for Philip a King who asked something of him against his conscience
my words of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory The XXVII Day Of not deferring 1. I Defer too long to give my self to God as if I endeavored to escape out of his hands is it a misfortune to bee his To morrow to morrow why not now Is it a shame to give over a shamefull life and this hour is it not a good one to make so happy an end The morrow when it is come will it not bee like to day And the heart of to morrow will it bee stronger then the heart of to day O it is either very blinde or very ill disposed 2. What is it that makes me afraid that I defer so long to follow the voice which calleth mee If there be any thing to be feared is it not the delay and remisness wherewith I requite the Holy Ghost and my abuse of so long a patience There is a great deal of difficulty in changing our life to the better I will do it but can that bee reasonable an excuse for a Christian who adores a crucified God and hopes for a Paradise 3. To defer is the future mine Is it a bottom whereof I am master God stayes for me it is true this is in the holy Scripture but how long I shall live and how soon I shall dye that is not hee hath not promised me so much as the morrow and if he had should I fear beginning to day to have a day more of good life wee must have no Buts Let us do sin no more the honour to excuse it and to say that it is reasonable nor God the wrong to avouw that he merits our heart to day yet put him off to the morrow Examine what there is that you have refused God a long time to say I will I will mend and not to do it is to be vertuous in imagination and vitious in effect S. Aug. lib. 3. de lib. arb This is the most just punishment of sin that he who when he hath power will not doe well when he would should lose that power The XXVIII Day Of the Passion of our Lord. 1. AH my good Master is not the rigorous justice of God weary of taking vengeance of my sins upon your person equally innocent and adorable even to the drawing of the last drop of blood out of your veins and as for me I shall be infensible and stupid yet my continued sins and neglect of correcting my self not weary out your mercy It is time that I belong to none but thee and that my conversion be constant there is a term to thy benefits as well as to the number of my sins 2. They tye him feet and hands to a pillar which they force him to embrace Ah my Saviour cries S. Augustine what sweet dying it were in thy arms why doest thou not embrace me and I thee that thou mightest have been my Pillar and I might have received the stripes How many wounds one wound covers another blood on the Whips blood on the garments of the Executioners blood on their hands in the air on the ground my only Saviour are not my sins laid upon thy shoulders Is it not hither that thou carriest the burthen of my crimes 3. What said hee whilst this storm of blows was discharged upon his back I will Father I am here in the place of a sinner I do not repent it who ever saw the like Phisitian to give his life for his Patient He considered all Men what drop Oh my Saviour didst thou destine for me during the effusion of thy precious blood Is it possible that I was then in thy thoughts We must not think that the only Son of God did resigne himself to such excesse of torment that we might resigne our selves to pleasure if I cannot be crucified I will at least dwel under the shadow of the Crosse steeping my pleasures in his pains Isaiah 53.4 He hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows The XXIX Day Of the Son of God as Saviour 1. IF you had been present at his Crucifixion you had seen the fairest and most innocent of all Men dye condemned not only by the judgement of Earth but of Heaven for your sake what thought then would have moved your heart Infinite Majesty why didst thou not stay in thy inaccessible light what need hadst thou of Men and of me in particular whom thou hast brought thrust out of nothing by thy breath Why doest thou not blow them back again into nothing if they are unworthy of thee Is not this a new Subject for thy anger Thou madest us so excellent O eternal Father and we bring thee to this sad condition Ah it is without question because he will bear the title of Saviour before that of Judge He will have me to be the fruit and conquest of so many torments Oh how dear art thou to me in this estate Since it is by this that thou hast shown mee so much love how dear I am to thee But shall I ever be thee and thou me 2. My Saviour permit me not to have any other judge then thy self since thou knowest the price of my Soul thou hast summed it up thou hast paid for it my onely Redeemer suffer mee not to bee engaged in that unhappy eternity where thou art not loved where thy holy Name is blasphemed where in a word thou art no more acknowledged a Saviour 3. Shall I be so miserable as to be told one day since the blood of God was not profitable to thee in thy life it shall never be profitable to thee Though the blood of the Son of God profit me nothing yet will the Creatures at least profit mee No nothing at all It is true can it be possible that I shall one day be told that through my own fault for a trifle for a moment my Saviour shall be no more my Saviour but changed eternally into my Punisher the mildest and most patient of al men towards all others shal become justly terrible and irreconcileable to me The Lamb shall be turned into the Lion what an eternal change never more shall I call him my Saviour Such as I mean to have him to eternity such I must endeavour to have him during life Tertul. contra Marcionem The first goodness of God is according to Nature the latter Severity according to the Cause The XXX Day Of fidelity to God 1. GOD hath not delivered you once onely from great danger from how many perils which might have destroyed your soul or your body you know hath hee brought you up and consecrated you as one of his eyes to the end that you might do him most dishonour dedicating to the World to the service thereof that which he loves most dearly God cannot endure that his servants should go to another Master what dislike have you found of God hath not he enough to satisfie your heart without seeking wherewithall to fill it amongst his Enemies 2. In a miserable condition is a soul greatly advanced from which God withdrawes himself and saith to it for ever thou pleasest mee no more 3. You know the design of God upon you would you be rebellious Hee doth you a great deal of honour to make use of you should you give to others that which God hath designed and reserved for himself By the experience you have of his conduct do you find it ill do you retreat Have you forgotten your fidelity You remember to keep it well to Men who passe away but the God of to day is the God of Eternity How great are the designs of God upon us if you do not hinder them And you are an enemy to your self if you do 4. Enter generously into the designs of God and go nobly whither you are called to God to God who doth you the favour to tell you that he loves you with the love wherewith hee loves the children of Election do nothing unworthy the love of God and of Jesus knowing how good he is to you One good faithful soul alone is worth a Million whose languishing lives are interwoven with relapses penitencies with life death It had been better to have never known God then having known him to forsake him As long as he loves that which he gives he will hate those who despise his gifts Tertul. de Poenitent It is dangerous to despise a benefit which is known he refuseth the giver who casts away the gift FINIS THE TABLE VVeek I. Med. 1. OF the End of our Creation Pag. 1 Med. 2. Of Sin Pag. 6 Med. 3 Of Death Pag. 11 Med. 4 Of the last Judgement Pag. 16 Med. 5 Of Hell Pag. 20 Med. 6 Of the Eternity of Hell Pag. 24 Med. 7 Of Paradise Pag. 29 Week II. Med. 8 Of Faith Pag. 33 Med. 9 Of trust in God Pag. 37 Med. 10 Of love to God Pag. 42 Med. 11 Of our acknowledgment to Christ Pag. 48 Med. 12 Of conformity to the will of God Pag. 54 Med. 13 Of Imitation of Jesus Christ Pag. 60 Med. 14 Of Love to our Neighbour Pag. 66 Week III. Med. 15 Of Love towards Emies Pag. 70 Med. 16 Of Example Pag. 75 Med. 17 Of distrusting our selves Pag. 80 Med. 18 Of care of our salvation Pag. 86 Med. 19 Of the presence of God Pag. 93 Med. 20 Of the account we must give of Gods graces Pag. 98 Med. 21 Of fervour Pag. 103 Week IV. Med. 22 Of the use of the Sacrament Pag. 108 Med. 23 Of our condition of life and employment Pag. 114 Med. 24 Of Suffering Pag. 119 Med. 25 Of Almes Pag. 125 Med. 26 Of humane respects Pag. 130 Med. 27 Of not deferring Pag. 136 Med. 28 Of the Passion of our Lord. Pag. 142 Med. 29 Of the Son of God as Saviour Pag. 149 Med. 30 Of fidelity to God Pag. 157 FINIS