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A20960 Theophilus, or Loue diuine A treatise containing fiue degrees, fiue markes, fiue aides, of the loue of God. Translated by Richard Goring, out of the third French edition: renewed, corrected and augmented by the author M. Peter Moulin, preacher the reformed Church of Paris.; Theophile ou de l'amour divin. English. Du Moulin, Pierre, 1568-1658.; Goring, Richard. 1610 (1610) STC 7339; ESTC S118661 51,058 311

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which God hath giuē you serueth you but to feele griefe more sensibly or that God hath made you great that your teares might haue the greater fall Time which easeth the most ignorant people of their euils cannot it finish the sighes of a person whom God hath so much enriched with his knowledge Shall it not be better to ioy in future good things which are great and certaine then to afflict our selues for euils past which are remediles Herein surely God is offended if in worldly crosses we find more occasion of griefe then matter of ioy in heauēly riches And wrongfully do we complaine of our afflictions seeing we hurt our selues we doe vnderhand as it were confesse that God hath not afflicted vs enough The Psalmist saith indeed that God putteth vp our teares into his bottels as precious things but he speaketh of teares bred of repentance or of griefe to see God blasphemed and despised amongst men For God gathereth not vp obstinate tears which extending themselues beyond their limits occupie the time due to consolation How many times giuing your selfe to reading haue you bedewed the holie scripture with your teares and yet this booke containeth the matter of our ioy And in the booke of Psalmes the tunes wherof you loue and yet much more the matter where you see your own picture and the anatomie of your inward affections Haue you not obserued that all the Psalmes which haue their beginnings troubled and whose first lines containe nothing but profoūd sighes and broken complaints do end in delight and termes which witnes contentment and peace of conscience Let your tears Madame be formed vpon this example and let them end in spirituall ioy Let your faith raise her selfe from vnder her burthen and let the sluces of afflictions which God hath stopped her course withal make her to runne forth with the greater impetuousnes let her take strēgth from resistance Hereunto the meditation of Gods graces will much serue you the which if you coūterballance with your euils they will mightily weigh them downe The onely attention of future glorie which you apprehend by faith can it not digest all bitternesse That faith which filled the Martyrs with ioy in the midst of their present torments may she not in our rest comfort vs against the memorie of passed euils And you who acknowledge what seruitude those people liue in which are dragged into perdition by the inuisible chaines of opiniō and custome can you sufficiently magnifie the grace which God hath giuen you in honoring you with his alliance and enlightning you with his truth Yea and in your life time how many of Gods assistances how many difficulties happily ouergone God hauing giuē you the grace to be alone in your family an example of constancie and holy perseuerance in the profession of his truth hauing made you great that in the contradiction of the world you might be an example of firmenesse and constancie And yet admit your wounds were more grieuous as taking all at the worst our liues being so short they cānot long last for you are not troubled to seeke consolations against death seeing that death it selfe is a consolation vnto vs. For God if he receiue the sighs which wee powre foorth in our praiers much more regardeth he the sighes which our soules giue vp vnto him in our deaths Which being a place of shelter and which putteth our soules into securitie we ought not onely looke for his coming but euen go forth to meete him hastening his comming by our desires by the example of S. Paul who saith that his desire tendeth to dislodge and be with Christ And to say with Dauid O when shall I present my selfe before Gods face For our soules being bound vnto our bodies by two bonds wherof the one is naturall and the other voluntarie if through hatred and contempt of life present we vntie the voluntary bond waiting the time when God shall breake the naturall death then coming shall find the businesse begun and our soules prepared to this dissolution These cogitations Madame and such like haue hitherto giuen you consolation the which although you be sufficiently prouided of and haue alwayes readie many spirituall remedies yet you borrow from other the receipts and haue thought that I could contribute something to your consolation And to this effect hauing heard talke of some of my Sermons vpon the Loue of God you would needs make vse of the power you haue ouer me demanding them of me in writing knowing well that of the discontentments of this life there is no such gentle remouall as the loue of God or more stronger remedy then that he loueth vs. Herefrom I drew backe a long time partly through idlenesse accompanied with some other distractions partly through feare apprehending your iudgement which far surpassing ordinarie spirits feedeth it self not vpon vulgar meates At length after long delay being not any longer able to striue against your instant requests which are vnto me as so many commandements I haue let this discourse come forth in publick vnder the protection of your name to the end that the imperfections thereof may likewise be imputed vnto you and that you might beare also a part of the blame for hauing assisted at the birth of that which ought not to haue seene the light but I shall be easily excused as hauing obeyed you For honor shal it euer be vnto me to execute your cōmandements and to employ my selfe to do you most humble seruice as being your Most humble and most obedient seruant Peter du Moulin A Table of the Chapters and principall points contained in this Treatise of the Loue of God OF true and false loue Chap. 1. fol. 1. Fiue degrees of the loue of God Chap. 2. fol. 24. 1. Degree to loue God because of the good he doth vs and which we hope to receiue of him fol. 28. 2. To loue God for his own sake because he is soueraignlie excellent and chieflie to be beloued fol. 45. 3. Not onlie to loue God aboue all things and more then our selues but also not to loue anie thing in this world but for his sake Fol. 67. 4. To hate our selues for the loue of God Fol. 79. 5. Is the loue wherewith we shall loue God in the life to come Fol. 94. Of the marks and effects of the loue of God Cha. 3. Fol. 102. 1. Marke is that it extinguisheth all voluptuous loue Fol. 105. 2. That it is the peace and tranquillitie of the soule Fol. 122. 3. That it is charitie to our neighbours Fol. 136. 4. And the pleasure to cōmunicate often with God Fol. 153. 5. It is the zeale of the glorie of God Fol. 184. Fiue meanes or aids to inflame vs in this loue of God Chap. 4. Fol. 202. 1. Meanes is the image of vices Fol. 206. 2. The choise of friends Fol. 215. 3. The hatred of the world Fol. 226. 4. Prayer Fol. 238. 5. The hearing and reading of the word of
the name of Christians he hath made vs faithfull ones Herunto you may adde if you will the 4. that he hath adopted elected vs in his Sonne before the foundation of the worlde hauing had care of vs not onely before we were borne but euen before the world was made For if a woman lately conceiuing loue her future fruite much more doth she so when it is borne and embraced in her armes so if God loued vs before wee had any being how much more when we call vpon him and loue him with a filiall loue Now in this grace the lesse our number is the greater is our priuiledge the greater his bountie and mercie towards vs to be like a few wel sighted amōgst a throng of blind men like the portion of Iacob in Egypt alone enlightned in the midst of that darknesse which couered all the countrey like Gedeons fleece alonely watered with his blessing whilest all the rest of the earth is drie and destitute of his grace God hath enuironed vs with examples of blindnesse to the end wee might make the more account of light and that wee should go on in the way of righteousnes whilest the day lasteth whilest he enlighteneth vs by his word All these graces depend vpon one speciall grace which is our reconciliation with God by the death of Iesus Christ it is he that is the conduit-pipe through which the graces of God do flow vnto vs it is Iacobs ladder which ioyneth earth vnto heauen which ioineth man againe with God The Angels ascending this ladder do signifie our prayers The Angels descending signifie Gods blessings Iacobs sleeping at the foote of this ladder representeth the rest of our consciences vnder the shadow of his intercession For before on what side soeuer man could turne his eyes he could see nothing but matter of feare and astonishment If he looked on God he saw a consuming fire and a soueraigne iustice armed against sinners If he looked on the law hee saw the sentence of his condemnation if on the heauē he said I am shut out thereof by my sins if on the world he saw himselfe fallen from the empire he before had ouer the creatures if on himselfe he saw a thousand corporall and spirituall infirmities By the signes in heauen and earthquakes he was seized with trembling and feare then Satan death and hell were the enemies which either drew him to perdition or tortured him with their apprehension But now each man which hath an assured trust in Iesus Christ looketh on all these things with another eye and singeth another song If he looke vpon God he will say It is my Father who hath adopted me in his Sonne If he thinke on the iudgement seate of the last day he will say My elder brother sitteth thereon and he who is my Iudge is also my aduocate If he thinke on the Angels he will say These are my keepers Psal 34. If he looke on heauen he will say It is my house If he heare it thunder from aboue he will say It is my Fathers voice If he consider the law he saith The Sonne of God hath fulfilled it for me If he be in prosperitie on earth he will say God hath yet better things for me in store If he be in aduersitie he wil say Iesus Christ hath suffered much more hereof for my sake God exerciseth me proueth me or correcteth me or rather honoureth mee making me like vnto his Sonne If he thinke on the diuell death or hell then he will triumph ouer all saying with the Apostle 1. Cor. 15. O death where is thy victorie O graue where is thy sting Thankes be to God who hath giuen vs victorie through Iesus Christ our Lord. If these things buzze and keepe a noise like angrie waspes yet haue they lost their sting If the old Serpent pricke our heele yet is his head bruised If the diuell through persecutions giue vs a false alarme yet belong we to Iesus Christ who hath bought vs and none shall snatch vs out of his hand Who wil feare hauing such a patron who not onely maketh intercession for sinners but of sinners maketh them iust who not only pleadeth for a bad case but also of bad maketh it good because that hee doth not only pray but also pay for vs so that to pardon vs is not onely a worke of his mercie but also an effect of his iustice These obligations vnto the louing God are common vnto all the faithfull But I thinke if each one would looke backe into the course of his life and call to mind the time passed there is none of vs but should finde iust cause to acknowledg besides these common benefites manie particular witnesses of the care and loue of God towards vs Of deliuerances out of many dangers vnhoped for good chances commodious afflictions our purposes crossed but for our good extraordinary meanes to bring vs vnto the knowledge of his truth Shall it be said that the blessings of God haue rained vpon the sands without making vs more fruitful of good works Shall we be like vnto beasts which drink of the brooke without thinking of the spring without raising vp our thoughts vnto God the wel-spring of all blessing Meane while when we say that God doth vs good to the end we should loue him it is not because he hath any need of our loue but because he would saue vs he would that we should loue him because it is impossible to be saued whilst we hate him Moreouer our louing him also is partly his gift for it is he which kindleth his loue in vs. God doth not only giue vs his graces but giueth also grace to demaund them the hand to apprehend them grace to make good vse thereof the vertue to glorifie him for the same in such sort as to acknowledge that we owe vnto him not only those his good things but euen our selues also God doth good vnto the vnworthy but he maketh them worthy by this doing them good his spiritual graces being of such nature as that they transforme such as receiue them This first degree of loue being holy and necessary is not for all that any more then a beginning of the loue of God and as the first stroke of true pietie For he who loueth God but for his profite is like vnto little children who say their prayers that they may breake their fasts and to speake properly they loue not God but themselues Such a loue if it extend it selfe no further is a mercenary loue yea and iniurious vnto God For it may be alwayes thought that the end is better then those things which tend therunto If then the loue of God haue no other end but our owne profit we place the same aboue God and make our interest more exellēt then his seruice Let him then which is come to this first degree of loue if he passe on no further know that God pardoneth vs much if he punish not that which is
to these allurements possessing as saith Saint Paul our vessels in holinesse abstain your selues not onely from euill but also from all appearance and occasions of euill Eschue idlenesse for it is the pillow of vices Let Satan coming to assaile you find you euer occupied Flie bad companie filthy talke books of loue for they are fire-brands of lust the hookes and baits of the diuel None cometh to do euill but by these accessaries yea the euill is alreadie in these accessaries Many will say that they are chast of bodie but their eyes their eares and their thoughts are culpable of lust Yet Christ saith that he who looketh on his neighbours wife to lust after her hath already committed adultery The best companie and the best busines to diuert our minds from this euill is the carefull reading of the word of God ioyned vnto prayer Saint Augustine in the eight book of his Confessions cap. 8. 12. saith that when he was vpon termes of rendering himselfe a Christian that which most troubled him was that hee must leaue his fornication and that in this combatfull anguish hee withdrew himselfe into a garden where twice he heard the voice of a child as it were coming from the houses hard by saying Take and reade At this voice he tooke the booke of the Epistles of S. Paul and chanced at the first opening of the booke on this text of the 13. chapter to the Romains where he saith Let vs walke honestlie as in the day time not in riot and drunkēnesse not in chambering and wantonnesse neither in strife or enuie but put you on the Lord Iesus Christ and haue no care of the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof There was enough for him and thereupon were it that this voice came from God or that it chanced by other meanes he resolued to follow the counsell of the Apostle who without looking for any reuelation therupon doth sufficiently manifest vnto vs the wil of God touching the laying off of these desires The second marke of the loue of God THis same loue bringeth forth another effect by which it is to be knowne to wit the peace and tranquillitie of the soule it chaseth away feares asswageth cares sweetneth afflictions For what euill soeuer happeneth him who loueth God he wil euer remember the sentence of the Apostle Rom. 8. That all things turne to the best for them which loue God Euen their crosses becom blessings their bodily pouerty is a spiritual diet vnto them their banishments teach them to leaue the world their sequestring from honors is their approch vnto God their enemies are their Physitions causing them to be warie and to liue in Gods feare Their corporall diseases are spirituall cares death is an entrie into life and a bringing forth by which the soule is deliuered of the bodie as of her last after-birth and cometh forth of a darke den to enter into Gods light The passage through afflictions resembleth the passage of the red sea for the wicked are ouerwhelmed therein they are vnto them forerunners of damnation but the faithfull and Gods people finde that way a passage vnto the land of promise This verie same loue of God will suggest vnto the faithfull this thought Seeing that I loue God it is certaine that he loueth me For Saint Iohn saith that we loue him because he loued vs first For I had not naturally in me any inclination to loue him but it was hee who louing me framed my heart to loue him Now if God loue mee he intendeth my good and he can do all that he will nothing hapneth but according to his will He will not then permit that any euill happen me he will turne my euils vnto good for my saluation he will leade me thereunto through a way thornie vnto flesh but healthfull to my soule Briefly the loue of God excludeth feares and is the prop of our assurance as saith the Apostle Saint Iohn There is no feare in charitie but perfect charitie driueth forth feare This same loue sweetneth afflictions and maketh our Lords yoake easie and tollerable For you shall see by experience that in a house where loue is great betweene the husband and the wife they passe the bad time ouer with content and haue mutuall consolatiō one of another yea to haue a faithfull friend into whose bosome you may shed your teares and powre forth your complaints doth bring a man much ease although it bring no remedy How much more shall the faithfull soule find feele in the loue of his God of God who not onely knoweth our euils counteth our sighes layeth vp our teares in his vessels but who can and will remedie them and not onely remedie them but turne them to good giuing vs in our afflictions not onely occasion to suffer but euen matter of reioycing So the faithfull speake in the 46. Psalm Let the waters of the sea make a noise and let the mountaines shake by the rising of his waues in the meane time the brookes of the riuer shall reioyce the city of God These troblesome waters are the people banded against God as is expounded in the Apocalypse chapter 17. These brookes which in the meane time do reioyce the holy citie are the instructiōs of Gods word whose voice is our consolation For in his afflictions the faithfull will turne aside his eyes from his enemies and from all second causes and will say Lord it is thou that hast done it I receiue this affliction at thy hand make this proue healthfull vnto me and permit not that I euer come to murmur against thee or to kicke against the pricke We swallow with the better resolution a bitter potion when it is presented vs by a friendly hand whose ignorance or falshood we feare not We finde all these things in God who moreouer maketh venomes themselues to prooue good medicines So the loue of God is a retraite and shelter against all anguish it is the groūd of true peace it is the prop of our assurance which causeth vs to despise the threatnings of men to looke on the enterprises of great men and the risings of people with disdaine which causeth vs to find ease on the rack and to looke on deaths face with assurance and take off his maske to see Iesus Christ which cometh vnto vs vnder that shew which maketh the faithful to stand vpright in the middest of the ruines of his country This holy loue made S. Paul to say Rom. 8. If God be with vs who shall be against vs He which hath not spared his owne Sonne but deliuered him ouer for vs how shall not he giue vs all things with him Let vs likewise say He that laieth vp our teares wil not he gather vp our prayers He without whose prouidēce a sparrow lighteth not on the ground wold he permit that our soules should fall into hell for lacke of caring for them Hee who extendeth his care to gather vp our teares yea to count