learn Wisdom in the School of my Meekness and mayest grow up with the Nourishment of Men come to years that grow up to the measure of Love which is higher than Heaven The World passeth away and the Lust thereof but the Union of my Love will never pass away but will joyn with Me my most beloved Servants for whom I have appointed a Kingdom that they may eat and drink at my Table in the Banquet of the Dainties of my Paradice CHAP. IX Concerning Inconstancy which a Sinner falls into JErusalem hath sinned a great Sin therefore she became unstable and could find no Rest A Fool changes as the Moon Wherefore seeing every Sinner is a Fool he suffers the Punishment of his own Transgression never continuing in the same state but changing his Purpose every hour He hath departed from his Firmness and Constancy which he had in Me his God and Keeper who change not And therefore he wanders in Uncertainty not knowing whither to go and finding no Rest for the sole of his Foot All his Persecutors over-take him between the straits and he desiring to escape free changes places perpetually until his own Evils take him in Destruction while he is flying away Wo to the Soul that hath departed from Me He will sind Torments every where and day and night Sleep will depart from his Eyes To day the Sinner seeks Friends to morrow he shuns them because they are unfaithful To day he is bent upon Games to morrow he laments because by living riotously he hath consumed his Substance To day he seeks the Honours of the World to morrow he shuns them being marked with Infamy for his Sins What then art thou minding my Son who sittest upon the Wheel of the World which is always turning How is it that thou dost not return unto Me who am thy Safety Vertue and Constancy Hast thou not learned by daily Experience that the Thoughts of Mortal Men are fearful and their Fore-casts uncertain which proceed without Order unto the end Know assuredly my Son that without my Mercy thou art the dry Stuble and a Leaf driven with the East-wind which can no where find Rest Sometimes thou wilt be joyful and anon sorrowful to morrow thou wilt lament for thy Infirmity and the next day thou wilt be terrified with the fear of Death Sometimes the care of Temporal things sometimes Ambition sometimes Thirst sometimes Hunger will torment thee unless thou repent and cast thy care on Me and offer thy self wholly unto Me on the Altar of thy Heart If thou shalt seek Me with all thy Heart nothing shall trouble thee neither Death nor Life nor the World nor Hell nor any other Creature visible or invisible For by the Testimony of thy Conscience thou shalt be as the Lyon that is strongest among Beasts and turneth not away for any I will confirm thee who wast subject to the Inconstancy of Adam thy Father and I will strengthen thee with my most mighty Hand I will make thee a Pillar of Iron and a Wall of Brass against all the Enemies of thy Soul They shall fight against thee but they shall not prevail against thee because I will change thee being a Penitent into another Man and make thee Partaker of my Grace and Valour CHAP. X. Concerning the Remorse of Conscience wherewith a Sinner is tormented MY Son unless thou return to Me with all thy Heart thy Wickedness will correct thee and thy Backsliding will reprove thee for by what things any Man sins by the same he shall be punished It is a just Judgment that the Sinner who hath forsaken Me his God should feel within himself Remorse of Conscience and Anguish arising from the fear of Death and Hell It is a just Judgment that amongst the forbidden Joys of the World wherewith he seeks to be delighted contrary to my Law he should be pierced with the sting of a Heart groaning and foreseeing its own Damnation The Terrors of Death fight against a Sinner though he seeks for Joys neither can a wicked Man have Peace who is reproved by his own Conscience from which he cannot fly This Remorse riseth out of Sin as a Worm out of Timber and shews that I am a just Judge and that the Sinner is a Betrayer who sold me for a small price Meditate on these things my Son and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that thou hast forsaken Me thy Lord and Benesactor and that my Fear was not before thee Dost thou not see that all things fall out unhappily to thee whilst thou flyest from me and that with Anxiety of Mind thou drinkest the troubled Waters of the Egyptians whereas by my Grace thou mayest return into the dearly beloved City of Jerusalem and drink of the pure Water of Jordan where thou mayest wash and be made whiter than Snow Wherefore then resistest thou the Impulses of my Love calling and inviting thee to my Friendship Cast away from thee my Son the five Yokes of Oxen which thou hast foolishly bought and take willingly upon thee my one and most sweet Yoke where thou shalt not be wearied with the Prickings of Conscience but shalt find rest to thy wearied Soul Seek the Heavenly Tranquillity and the Peace which passeth all Understanding and rest from that Anxiety wherewith thou art vexed Call unto me and I will answer thee with my Divine Inspirations which will beget true Joys and compose thy troubled Spirit I will comfort thee and speak inwardly to thy Heart if thou return unto me and praise me with Uprightness of Heart when thou hast obtained Liberty and Rest and other most precious Priviledges of the Children of God Despise now the Counsels of the Men of the World who torment thy Heart and follow my one and most healthful Counsel and thou shalt see how I scatter all the Plots of thy Enemies and create in thee a new Spirit whereby thy Age may be renewed as the Eagles that thou mayest enjoy my most lovely Peace and Security CHAP. XI Concerning the Hardness of Heart which a Sinner falls into I Am righteous and I love Righteousness and my Countenance beholds the Upright The Sinner hath rejected me and resisted my innumerable Inspirations whereby I endeavoured to mollifie his Heart And therefore I reject him and withhold my Rain that it drops not upon him I invited Pharaoh by outward Signs which I wrought by the hand of Moses my Servant and by inward Inspirations which he unhappy Sinner felt But when he resisted my great Mercy I suffered his Heart to be hardened more than the Flintstone and the hardest Rocks until he persecuted Israel my People and was drowned as Lead in the mighty Waters I anointed Saul King of Israel when he was little in his own Eyes and followed me like a Boy of one Year old But after he began and continued to resist my many Motions and Inspirations I threw him away so that he fell upon his own Sword and died fearfully
I handled unhappy Judas my Disciple as a loving and faithful Man but after that he resisted my sweet Words and Inspirations and hardned his Heart against me I sent him away so that he becoming like a Devil hanged himself and burst asunder in the midst and all his Bowels gushed out What then dost thou expect my Son who hast sinned and departed from Me Wherefore dost thou continue in the State of Damnation hardning thy Heart lest it should be overcome with my infinite Sweetness and Patience Shall I for ever knock at the Gate of thy House that thy Wildness may be tamed Return O Son unto thy right Wits neither cast thy self into extream Danger so as to make thy Wound uncureable Hast thou not heard that it will be ill with a hard Heart at last and that a Sinner is held with the Cords of his Sins Beware my Son of this great Evil and consider what I require of thee When a Sinner cometh into the depth of Sins he despiseth it but before he despises it he is touched and moved with the inward Inspirations of my Goodness but afterwards by degrees he waxes cold and hath less sense of my Impulses until his stony Heart becoming unsensible he regards not my Admonitions but as an untamed Horse he runs through the Meadows of the World hastening to eternal Fire Wo to thee unless thou return speedily to Me Remember thy Salvation and my Glory which I have prepared for those who repenting in sincerity wash their Garments in my Blood Use now the Remedies of Mercy lest thou be hardned and delivered up to a reprobate sense If thou shalt hearken to me I wilt melt the Ice of thy Heart and my Wind shall blow and the Waters of Compunction shall flow with which thy Fllth shall be washed away Embrace this wholesom Counsel of thy Redeemer who is ready to spare thee and to amend thy Condition If thou return to me I will imprint a sense of Contrition and Love in thy inward Parts and thou shalt rejoyce in the Renovation of thy Heart as Conquerors rejoyce in taking of the Prey and thou shalt celebrate thy Regeneration and being made whole thou shalt sing of my invincible Mercies that are sweeter than the Honey CHAP. XII Concerning Desperation which a Sinner sometimes falls into Consider my Son that there is no other name under Heaven by which thou must be saved but mine Be not deceived in putting thy Trust in the King of Egypt who is a broken Reed upon which if any Man leans it will pierce through his Hand I have overcome the World Death and Hell and therefore he that offends Me and seeks Refuge in the Favour and Delights of Men who are not Partakers of my Victory falls into Dejection of Mind which is a very bitter Punishment He wants my Grace which begets the hope of eternal good things and seeing that he does nothing sutable to the hope of eternal Life he is broken and weakened so that he falls into a most grievous Desperation which resembles the State of the Damned This is the fruit of Ambition which seeks the Honours of Men that are written in the Earth This is the fruit of Covetousness which with an unsatiable desire lays up Treasure in the Earth This is the fruit of Luxury which is drunk with the Pleasures of the Flesh and cares not for the most pure Joys of my Spirit This is the fruit of Anger which makes the feet of Men swift to shed Blood and cares not for being reckoned amongst my meek Servants who shall possess the Land of the Living Moreover this is the fruit of all Sins when Wickedness increaseth and the Soul abhors Good by which Men come to eternal Life What dost thou then my Son Why lyest thou in the lamenble State of Enmity to Me which brings forth the fruit of Desperation hastening Death and Damnation How is it that thou dost not pity thy own Soul which languishes for want of Strength Consider thy Dissoluteness and Madness which makes thee run into Hell-fire and to take no care of eternal Salvation as if thou hadst no hope Thou dost foolishly my Son in despairing and not considering that I am omnipotent and can in a moment deliver thee from the horrible Pit and the miry Clay Cast away from thee the Filth and Weights of Sin which bow thy Back and drive thee to Despair and breath after Me the Author of thy Hope and Redemption and thou shalt be delivered from the grievous Bondage wherewith thou art oppressed and thou shalt be sweetly refreshed with the Breathings of my Spirit Return to me by timely Repentance which begets a Godly Sorrow and also rejoyceth the Soul that is renewed in Me and receives from Me the Pledge of the eternal Inheritance So thou shalt hope and thy troubled Soul sailing through the great Sea shall be kept safe by casting the Anchor of a most firm hope which I have purchased for thee by my most precious Blood and unconceiveable Love CHAP. XIII Concerning Vnbelief which a Sinner is in danger to fall into I The Son of the most high God am the Light of the World and with just Judgment punish a Sinner who hates me with inward Darkness wherewith the Understanding is darkned Which Evil is so grievous and formidable that sometimes an unhappy Sinner by multiplying his Faults departs so far from true Light that he falls into Unbelief He hath departed from Me and loved Earthly good things more than Me Whereby it come to pass that his Will being depraved so corrupts the true Judgment of the Understanding that at length he loses the Catholick Faith So thou mayest see my Son what hath happened unto many Sinners who when they had first believed in me by aggravating the Sins of Covetousness Pride Gluttony or Luxury have erred from the Faith and pierced themselves through with many Sorrows Wo to those that hate my most pure Light whereby the eternal and unchangeable Good is known and preferred before created good things It had been better for those Men if they had not been born For it is extream Unhappiness to err from my Faith and to cast away my Yoke with a darkned Understanding And thou therefore my Son considering what hath happened unto others like thy self return unto me lest perhaps being weary of my immaculate Law thou begin to have hard Thoughts of my Goodness and giving loose reins to thy Heart through the Love of Temperal things thou give thy self up to wicked Doings and ungodly Lusts unto the prodigious denying of my Faith My Son look whither thou art going whilst thou ceasest not to sin be not cruel to thy self in running swiftly to Destruction take heed lest thou despise my Admonitions with which I instruct thee stop not thy Ears being seduced with carnal Love which drowns multitudes of Men into Perdition The time is short traffick till I come to reward thee with eternal Life or with everlasting Fire If
thou shalt take away from the midst of thee thy Sins and thy Idols and return and call upon Me thy God and Redeemer and Preserver I will enlighten thine Eyes lest at any time thou sleep the Sleep of Death I will preserve thee and my Candle shall shine upon thine Head And thou shalt rejoyce in my most pleasant and most blessed Light wherewith I will direct thy Paths in the night of the mortal Life leading thee to my bright-shining Glory in the ways that lead to eternal Life I will open thy Eyes with the Beam of my infinite Light and thou being awaked as it were out of a heavy Sleep shalt wonder how in the by-past time thou didst walk in Darkness and in the Shadow of Death And thou shalt love Me thy Deliverer with all thy Heart and shalt honour Me with the Sacrifice of perpetual Praise Arise speedily my dearly beloved Son arise from the Darkness and Horror of Hell where thou lyest and receive the Light of Heaven which will rejoyce thee before the last night come which will be the last Punishment of Sinners who despise my present Inspirations and Mercies Meditate on these things in the inner Chamber of thy Heart and cast thy Eyes upon Me the Sun of Righteousness who am desirous to enlighten thee and to fill thy dearly beloved Soul with the bright-shining Glory of the Saints of Light CHAP. XIV Concerning the unhappy Death of a Sinner THE Sinner whilst he lives runs through the Fields of the World like an Ox satted for the Slaughter The miserable Man considers not that he will be taken by Death as a Highway-Man lying in wait That being bound in the Chains of Hell he may pay unto the utmost Farthing He drinks he eats he plays he laughs he swears and blasphems and in the very time whilst he is sinning without restraint Sickness and Death comes suddenly upon him and he is called to Judgment O how bitter a Grief is it to be called to Death O how great Trembling and Horror takes hold on the Sinner when he sees that by a most grievous Death he is separated from all things which he dearly loved O how lamentably saith he in that distress the Sorrows of Death have compassed me and the Pains of Hell have taken hold upon me Wo to the wicked Man when he dies upon whom all the Billows of Sorrow and Afflictions do suddenly rush that he may have a fore-taste of the Torments of Hell who did not breath after eternal Consolations Now the riotous Banquets are passed away now the ungodly Games are gone Now Kinsmen and Friends have failed Now Riches profit not and whatsoever was delightful is turned into Matter of Desolation and Despair The unhappy Soul which despised my Inspirations is afraid to go out of the Body into everlasting Flames and flys back as far as it can if so be it may find any that can comfort it in that distress But it resists in vain because the hour of Death is at hand and the time of its giving up all its desireable things which it had in the days of old when it transgressed my most sweet Law All its Sins as a terrible Army are set before it that it may see how sad and bitter an end follows the by-past Joys The Devils like ravenous Dogs stand in expectation of their Prey which is tyed with innumerable Chains of its own Sins that it may be dragged to Punishment The foolish Man when he had time took no care to be reconciled unto Me and in the last hour he hath not any whom he may look to for help All his Persecutors over-take him between the straits and desire cruelly to suck up his Blood and then the Sentence of my Justice being pronounced the Vessel of Wrath fitted for Destruction is halled to Torments This is the Lot of an unrighteous Man whom Evils do overtake in Destruction What thinkest thou then my Son who hast sinned What dost thou expect Is not thy Mind terrified at the hearing of these things which a Sinner dying suffers against his Will Turn then to thy God who can deliver thee from the Wrath to come and comfort thee when thou art going out of this Life by his infinite Grace and his unconceiveable Mercy Be greatly afraid of my Wrath and Justice whilst thou art alive that at thy Death thou mayest find my Fatherly Compassion For they that in their life time fear me as a severe Judge in their Death they find Me as a most bountiful Father Blessed are they who observe my Ways with all their Heart being mindful of their latter end They shall not be afraid of the Terror of the Night when they shall speak with their Enemies in the Gate to wit when they shall pass out of this Life After which will follow the eternal Night of Sinners or the eternal Light of the Righteous whom I have loved Follow me my Son and let my Law cleave to thy inward Parts and the Torment of Death shall not seize upon thee but thou shalt rest in a joyful and delightful Peace FINIS