to redeem us from the tyranny of Satan Mourning is an attendant as unseparable from man as the shadow from the body He that condoles the death of a dear friend mourns in black for a year How long then shall he mourn that lives as an exile upon earth If he call to mind his manifold sins how can he do less then mourn Or if he seriously think of the dreadful day of Judgment how can he but fearfully consider what he shall be and mourn not knowing the event Or if he fix his thoughts on the many miseries and dangers of this Life should he not mourn considering where he is Or finally elevating his eyes from the residence of mortality can he contemplate the joyes of Heaven and not aspire and sigh with David because his sojourning is prolong'd not mourn because he is not where he would be O my Soul What hast thou been Sinful Where shalt thou be As yet it is unknown Where art A Prisoner in thy Body in a vale of tears Where art thou not Not in Heaven not with God thy Centre but in the way a Pilgrim going towards him Run then that thou mayst comprehend And seeing to be dissolv'd and he with Christ is thy happiness weep with him that with him and by him thou mayst be comforted Here pause a while and then consider To contemn the world is to be poor in Spirit To have Repose of Mind is to be meek after which follows Mourning For if a Man attend to himself and others he shall find nothing but what is lamentable while he beholds his own and all the enormous crimes of the world which is altogether bent to malignities Who then can be so insensible as not to mourn so drie as not to shed one tear O my Soul Is it thou which art so barren If to suffer with Christ be to reign with him to be comforted thou must weep with him If he call thy sins his own if he mourn for thine as if they were his own if he shed tears to wash away thy sinful blotts canst thou forbear weeping Canst thou be so stony-hearted as not to be transfixt with grief seeing his tender Heart wounded and his Eyes shedding tears for thy sins Not one tear for thy self while he showers down so many to purifie and cleanse thy festering Heart soyl'd with so many Crimes O blessed Saviour Thou art the true Moses and hast a Rod to strike as well as to guide wound I beseech thee this stubborn Rock of mine this obdurate Heart that it may bleed with grief and sorrow for my sins That mine Eyes may gush forth with tears for this is the onely grief which I desire this the mourning which produceth Consolation for thou hast said it Blessed are they that mourn for they shall he comforted in this Life with spiritual solace given to true penitents and in the future with perpetual joy in perfect Beatitude Perfect Beatitude Compleat Happiness O! shall I not mourn to find comfort there Or shall I rather seek the fleeting Pleasures and transitory Consolations of worldly felicity which to enjoy is instantly to be reduc'd to mourning Shall I not then mourn and sigh after those Comforts which once obtain'd shall exempt me from all mourning Alass Whither can I cast mine Eye in this vale of tears and not behold an Object that extracts tears and invites to mourning Here I behold manifold diseases There dysastrous and untimely deaths In this place mortal Hatred accompanied by Revenge In that I hear Detractions horrible Oaths and Blasphemies with infinite miseries and calamities And if I reflect an Eye on my self what mutinies of rebellious Passions and disordinate Appetites I discover in my own bosom which made even Saint Paul himself mournfully to cry out Ay me unhappy Man Who shall deliver me from the body of this death that is from a body which causeth a spiritual death to the Soul Notwithstanding all this shall I think to transform this our vale of tears into a Paradise of delights This our gloomy shade and shadow of death into a solid substance of joy and contentation Do I not know that Enosh a Man in the Hebrew Tongue signifies one subject to diseases infirmities and miseries What then is this wretched world but an Hospital for the sick and a House of Lazars with which what suites better than mourning How can I then but reflect on my self and bewail what I am a Child of Adam born of a Woman saith Job and living but a short time subject to many miseries Amongst which shall I live in jollity with the Voluptuous sport with the Libertine gourmandize with the Epicure joy in worldly pelf with the covetous or in honors with the ambitious No I have reputed laughter an error saith the Wise-man and to joy I said Why art thou in vain deluded The end of joy is seiz'd on by sorrow and mourning And it is better to go to the house of mourning then to the house of banquetting Better is it amidst of afflictions to mourn with our Lord weeping on the Cross than amidst vain joys and transitory delights to exult with the impious Better to shed one tear with thy Redeemer drench'd in a briny flood than a thousand for temporal disasters Ah! me-thinks I see dropps of blood distilling from his Head wounded with thorns and from thence descending to his weeping Eyes to make a mixture such as was in his Heart of blood and water Tears from his Eyes trickling down his pale cheek to ascend from thence to the Throne of his Father to speak in my behalf As David said it may be in the person of Christ Hearken unto my tears And shall I joyn with him in this Petition exhibited for the washing away of my sins and yet not distill one tear Shall the Master of Requests present to his Majesty the Humble Petition of some great Delâ—nquent with tears in his Eyes and the party guilty stand by not onely tearless but also with a merry countenance Nay should he second it with laughter what were it but to make expression of the little or no resentment and feeling he had of his crime and present peril Such is the state of voluptuous sinners who are so far from mourning that they rejoyce in evil-doing spend their dayes in mirth and jollity and in an instant descend to Hell Oh! rather let us sit with the Israelites by the Rivers of Babylon fleeting delights of the world elevate our Eyes to our Heavenly Country and mourning say How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange Country the world into which we came weeping surcharg'd but with one sin and shall we not mourn here overloaden with many Not return to Earth from whence we came powring out if it were possible a flood of tears for the expiation of our manifold crimes The Myrrh-Tree wounded distills abundantly tears so may the Sinner pierc'd to the heart by compunction The Turtle mournes for the absence
art always displease thee if thou wilt arrive to what thou art not For saith he elsewhere wherever thou makest a stop without proceeding any further there thou pleasest only thy self A man must not therefore six a Ne plus ultra to his better thoughts and Actions but go on like this Tree and be continually supply'd with good Desires as that produceth new shoots which as it were grasp the Earth to take a firmer and fuller possession thereof Moreover we finde by experience that when a Tree is slightly planted or its roots decay'd there needs no great storm to overthrow it Such is that man who is not humbly meek and patient One violent puff of anger is able to dispossess him of the Land yea and of his own Soul which cannot be possess'd but by patience nor by any but the meek and humble Now if you demand why the meek are rather said to possess the Land than any other Element I answer While our Saviour was mortal he appeared to his Disciples walking on the waves of the Sea to intimate thereby the mutability of man during this life But after his Resurrection having a glorified Body he stood on the firm Land to signifie as S. Gregory expounds that after this life man shall enjoy a permanent tranquillity and repose in the Land of the Living The Earth patiently as I may say supports all and continues immovable So doth the meek and humble man while the haughty and impatient are inconstant like the Air turbulent like the Sea and crackle and sparkle like the Fire When the like happeneth unto thee reflect thine eye on the sacred Head of thy Redeemer meekly bowing down while the ungrateful Jews revile and blaspheme against him where he saith Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest in your Souls tranquillity in your though is and in fine that solid land that shall render you for ever happy the Land of the living which I now purchase for you the Land of Promise into which I am your Joshua to conduct you from Egypt the World a Land of Servitude to a Land of Freedom and Immunity from feeding on Garlick and Onions to taste the sweet Repast of Angels CONSIDERATIONS ON THE II. BEATITUDE Of the bowing down of our Blessed Saviour's Head HAving in the precedent Beatstude learn'd a lesson of Poverty by the consideration of our Saviours nakedness on the Cross behold here his sacred Head meekly bowing down whereby is expressed the second Beatitude Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit or possess the Earth Now as those Waters which lye next the Shore may be said to possess the Shore at least during a Calm so it can only be affirmed of the meek and patient man that he possesseth his Soul according to the words of our Saviour In your patience you shall possess your Souls and Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest to your Souls a quiet calm and sweet repose To be meek is to converse without giving offence and to bear injuries without thought of Revenge or perturbation of Mind as our Lord did with head meekly inclin'd while the Jews uttered Blasphemies and Contumelies against him Having this Precedent still before my eyes I will resolve in this Book to study meekness and patience not rendring evil for evil but by good to overcome evil And the better to conceive the excellency of Meekness I will make a lively representation to my self of the Vice which is contrary thereto by a swelling and tempestuous Sea whose Billows rais'd by the Winds violently beat against the Rocks on the Shore Foaming thus with fury are the wrathful and impatient Then reflect thine eye on our Lord meekly bowing down his Head like a calm Sea or like a Sheep despoil'd of his Fleece naked on the Cross opening not his mouth but to pray for his Enemies saying Father forgive them for they know not what they do Think what Land it is which the meek shall possess If the Earth thy Body thou shalt have possession of it and dominion over it by meekness while thy Passions are subject to reason Contrariwise the wrathful are so transported that losing as 't were themselves they are cast out of possession of themselves while the Heart swells with Envy the Eyes sparkle with Fury the Feet are running and the Hands ready to execute Revenge like one fallen into a deep River who not able to swim nor touch ground with his Feet is overwhelmed and in danger of drowning Behold the state of an angry and revengeful Man who possesseth not the Land of solid Patience being wholly drown'd in his turbulent Passions loseth himself utterly for a time as a man distraught whom by meekness God should here possess in the Land of the Dying that he may be possessed of God for ever in the Land of the Living which is promised to the meek Let him therefore who is become so absolutely a slave to that passion make this short Ejaculation to the great Exemplar of Meekness O patient Redeemer and meek Lamb who takest away the sins of the World If by beholding the brazen Serpent the poyson of Serpents was expelled how can I behold thee the pure and unspotted mirror of Meekness and yet retain enmity and rancor in my heart If no storms and blustring winds are predominant at Sea while the Halcyon is nestling and brooding neer the shore grant all stormy Passions may be allay'd by thy powerful presence in my heart by thee only who art the solid Land and my total happiness which I beseech I may possess here on Earth by Grace and afterwards in Glory Let Worldlings contend and vex themselves about recovery or possession of Lands of which they must in fine be dispossess'd It is good for me to adhere to God and seek him in the Land of the Living where the humble meek and patient whose Hearts on Earth were a place of sweet repose enjoy him in eternal tranquillity The Kingdom of Heaven is within you saith our Lord And consequently that firm and compleat tranquillity of Heaven begins on Earth by Grace to be perfected by Glory Within this little Kingdom of ours what a commotion is rais'd by wrath what a perturbation by enmity what a rebellion when Meekness and Patience is banished out of the Soul by Passion When such mutinies therefore arise within me whither shall I hasten for redress To whom shall I seek for assistance but to the wounded Head of my Saviour meekly bowing down to give me the kiss of Peace and infuse meekness into my Soul But now alas he is not able by words to command the storm to cease as he did when his Apostles feared drowning No. But will it not suffice to pacifie thee O my Soul enrag'd to behold thy Lord and meek Lamb more firmly fix'd by patience and meekness then by the nails that transfix'd his hands and feet What a commotion
will be in the last slumbers of a dying life to say with the Prophet David In peace will I sleep and rest because thou O Lord hast singularly put me in hope to see an accomplishment of that peace which a soul enjoys or should enjoy on earth Which to acquire a man should imitate the Prophet David who sware and vowed to the mighty God of Jacob that he would not enter into the Tabernacle of his house nor go to his bed nor give sleep to his eyes nor slumbers to his eye-lids untill he had found out a place for the Lord an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob So great was his desire to build a Temple And as great should be my care and sollicitude to build at least prepare a place of repose for my Lord which must be in a quiet and peaceful conscience without which who can give sleep to his eyes or slumber to his eye-lids O my soul when shalt thou be so happy as to say with that peaceful King Solomon Arise O Lord into thy rest thou and the Ark of thy strength Where is that repose of mind Where that tranquillity of conscience to which thou shouldst invite him to arise and come into his rest he and the Ark of his strength which is his powerful grace whereby enabled thou mayst silence and pacifie thy mutinous thoughts that rise up against thee to disturb thy peace Here I will seem to behold the Kine yoked drawing the Ark toward Bethsames while their Calves shut up were bleating To which they as it were shut their ears and went on not declining to the right hand nor to the left Thus must he do that bears the Ark of strength What are our brutish appetites what disordinate concupiscence what avaricious desires what are injuries that call upon us for revenge but calves that would be suckled and pampered These are they that disturb our peace these that are so obstreperous as to disquiet the soul never ceasing to allure her to return with loss of that peace and rest which is acquired by bearing the Ark of strength and sanctification which is the peace of God that overcomes all sense fortifies the heart in such sort that it resents not injuries and temporal losses or at least bears all with such patience as if it were insensible Such a heart may be both Altar and Sacrifice resembling the Pacifique oblation in the old Law which was an Ox or a Sheep or Goat being a figure of a triple peace with God our Neighbour and our self With God who by our submission and hearty contrition is instantly pacified With our Neighbour resembled by the Sheep who when good is soon appeas'd if bad figured by the Goat when mov'd and exasperated continues a long time as remote from peace and charity as the Goat leaving the fertile Valleys to climb and graze on barren rocks But when Man is such to himself still in motion unquiet anxious timorous and pensive what is he but a Goat skipping to and fro from a barren rock of distaste to a precipice of desolation O my God and merciful Saviour thou art my rock my safety my peace and only refuge From thee proceeds the Holy Ghost from whom springs the fruit of Charity Joy and Peace Send forth I beseech thee thy holy Spirit and these three shall be created and established in my soul Charity to love and have peace with thee and with my Neighbour for thee Joy and alacrity in serving thee and Peace in thee the rock and support of my heart my God for ever in heavenly Jerusalem the vision of peace where to see thee is to enjoy eternal tranquillity which thou O Lord hast purchased with thy most percious blood Amen The Eighth BEATITUDE Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven EMBLEME VIII The Vine Sterilis nisi falce putetur 8 So prun'd a Christian brings encrease To branch too far were to surcease Grow barren when unprun'd What harm Impair'd to spread a larger arm THe Catholick Church in divers places of Scripture is called the Vineyard of our Lord where every good Christian is a flourishing and fruitful Vine And if any Plant or Tree cut or lopt may he said to suffer persecution much more may the Vine the Emblem of a Christian For as the one is prun'd in February a cold and blustring Moneth not impair'd thereby but enrich'd both in branch and fruit So is the other in a time as rigorous when he suffers persecution for righteousness sake Let the Vine dilate it self from year to year in branches without pruning how soon does it become barren Such would a man be that never suffers loss of goods nor feels any grievance or affliction neither in body by sickness nor in worldly substance by persecution or otherwise For seeing it is certain that all who will live piously in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution as S. Paul assures us it follows that they who like a Vine are never pruned in their branching estate nor otherwise afflicted can hardly be numbred amongst the vertuous and devouter servants of God When I behold a Vine in a sunny place pruned and despoil'd of its branches and the residue supported and orderly nail'd and fix'd to a wall it presents unto me a man persecuted and depriv'd of branching superfluities yea and liberty whereby he becomes like a Vine more fruitful not wanting the Sun-shine of heavenly grace to render him as plentiful in Merits as the other in Grapes Now if the Vine to secure it self extend here and there a winding tendrel that clasps about the neighbouring boughs a devout Christian wants not the like while for his support and constant perseverance he produceth like so many tendrels several acts of Faith Hope and Charity All which clasp and wind about the Cross whereon Christ crucified is the Vine of vines Naked like a Vine in the fall of the leaf and prun'd in February Wounded like a Vine bleeding and in Vintage like Grapes in the Wine-press like a Vine with branches extended and fix'd to a wall with his Arms and Feet stretch'd forth and nail'd to the Cross where he lay expos'd to the scorching beams of most severe justice And when I observe the many riffs and chincks in the trunck of the Vine out of which issue the branches I seem to behold my Saviours body full of wounds out of which issued forth his most precious blood But if the Vine have tendrels to twist and wind about what bough or branch soever is neighbouring by what tendrels had our Saviour but rough and sharp nails what support what to lay hold on when he cried out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Ah Sinner it was want of will and desire in thee to suffer with him that made him complain in this manner This he foreseeing notwithstanding all he had suffered was cause of this heavy and sad complaint as if he had said
I never mourn but for my sins nor grieve but for the loss of thee IV. On thy sacred Mouth crying out I thirst I read thou didst hunger and thirst after righteousness that I might be justified by thy Death and Passion Grant sweet Jesu I may ever hunger and thirst after this V. By thy wounded Side I find thou wert merciful giving all thy precious blood for my redemption May I be merciful to thee in thine that I may finally find mercy VI. Let thy pierced Heart most pure and exempt from all fin teach me to prepare a pure and clean heart for thee VII By thy sacred Hands nailed I understand thou wert the grand Peace-maker Vouchsafe to infuse into my soul true and perfect Charity that I may have peace withall for thee and during this life make my peace with thee VIII Lastly By thy Feet pierced with nails I read they are blessed that suffer persecution which thou didst even unto the death of the Cross Grant me grace to suffer for thee to bear afflictions patiently that with thee I may reign eternally Amen O good Jesu to reign with thee is to suffer with thee On the Cross thou art surrounded with the eight Beatitudes Here I must seek them exemplified in thy self on Mount Calvary to find them perfected on Mount-Sion the heavenly Jerusalem I. I behold the Cornel-tree where without leaves to shrowd it the blossom lies naked and expos'd to the blustring winds And on the Tree of the Cross as naked I behold my Saviour poor in Spirit poor in Will and Desire as naked dying as born for us Uncloath thy self then O my soul and be as naked in thine affections to the leafy vanities and riches of this life which is but a so journing for poor mortality II. I see the arch'd Indian-Fig-tree greedy to possess the Land with a thousand shoots which descend to take deep root in the earth And on the Tree of the Cross I behold our Lord meekly bowing down his Head humbled even to the death of the Cross to take possession of the Land of the Living for me an exile by as many shoots as sighs prayers tears and drops of blood as he shed for me a lost sinner O my soul where are thy humble shoots that should descend that they may ascend to the Land of promise where are thy submissive thoughts that should lowly bend to the earth by acknowledgment of thy unworthiness and ingratitude to so good and merciful a Lord Thou art now in possession of a barren Land thy body where thou canst not nor must not take deep root Heaven is thy Land this thy place of banishment Thither let thy thoughts ascend to be deeply rooted by an eternal possession III. I view the Myrrhe-tree weeping drop after drop but when prick'd and wounded it more abundantly distills Thus came I weeping and mourning into a vale of tears like a taper by the wind soon extinguish'd like a spark in the Sea as soon swallowed up like a froth suddenly vanishing and a vapour scatter'd in the air Have I not then cause to weep to prevent a future mourning and acquire a happiness and consolation which is promised to Mourners Then I cast mine eyes on Christ crucified and weeping on the Cross why for my sins Why like a Myrrhe-wee wounded over all his body distilling blood To give light to my glimmering taper fire to my spark substance to my frothy soul and purer air to my dusky vapour Thirdly I will summon my heart and expostulate with my soul why she would be usher'd by her eyes to the aspect of vainer objects yet never made use of them to bewail her sins with tears And if the Myrrhe tree stab'd or launc'd with a knife dissolves it self into tears why doth she not procure by her sighs and prayers that my heart woulded with true compunction may be liquified into tears of grief IV. I seem to behold the Clove-tree hungring as it were and thirsting after the strengthning moisture of the earth which it continually attract Then I seem to hear my Saviour cry out I thirst to express his ardent desire of our Salvation And then O my soul say I canst thou hear thy Lord crying out I thirst and yet present him with no other potion then a cup full of absinth thy sins which are more bitter to him then Vinegar and Gall of which he tasting would not drink O my soul taste and see how sweet our Lord is who to revive and refresh thee which wert like dry and barren earth showred down his precious blood from his wounded body veins and heart till it was totally exhausted O what an excessive thirst did this cause in thy Saviour what a Consummatum est was this what bounty when hereserv'd not to himself so much as one drop of blood O my soul if he gave thee all that was most precious doubt not to say with his royal Prophet What shall I give unto our Lord for all he hath given me what less then an entire heart and soul with all her powers to love honour and serve him V. Next I imagine I see the fruit of Adams Apple-tree cut in two which presents us with a cross which bare the Saviour our of the World in whom I behold as many crosses as stripes and scourges enterlac'd in his tender flesh It was the fruit of the forbidden Tree wherein being eaten were included as many crosses as miseries now incident to wretched man As hunger thirst cold heat infirmities c. which render him miserable and consequently to be pitied O my soul commiserate at least thine own self encompassed with so many frailties casualties and anxieties of mind Turn which way thou wilt thou canst not be long exempted from one calamity or other Wherefore seeing to be Misericors that is to say merciful is to have an agrieved and pitiful heart as it were always bearing a cross let thine he dolor sorrow and compunction for thy sins VI. Imagine you behold the green Fig pick'd and pierc'd by a little Gnat or Fly whence distills a drop as it were of hony And then say O my green hard and immature Heart where is that compunction that is requisite for thee O that thou wert thus pierc'd and wounded with grief for thy fins that sweet delight like a honey-drop might issue forth for while it resides within thee thou canst never come to maturity for where sin predominates Grace must needs be an Exile Then reflect your Eye on our Saviour's Heart wounded with a Spear and say Lord Were not thy larger wounds in thy Hands and Feet sufficient pledges and testimonies of thy excessive Love Why then after thy death wouldst thou receive so deep a wound in thy Heart Ah! If Death were stronger than Love in thee when by him thou wert vanquisht he seizing by Heart Love again even after Death was more powerful by opening that sacred rift whence issued the Sacraments and where the Gate of
was then in the Universe the Earth opening Rocks splitting the Temples Veil rending the Thief reviling and the Jews blaspheming And if at that time the Stars were shining they were like so many Eyes to admire the wonderful meekness and patience of our Redeemer In fine If the corporal Eye dull'd and dazled with a long and tedious aspect of glittering objects If I say that be refresh'd by looking stedfastly on a green Emerald shall not the sight of his sacred Head meekly inclining be as powerful to banish from the inward Eye that dark cloud of passionate wrath that circumvolves and stupifies the intellectual part I will go said Moses and behold this great Vision why the bush that burns consumes not For could he expect less than a crackling noise from a thorny Bush environed with Flames If this were miraculous what is it to behold that very God of Abraham God of Isaac and God of Jacob which appeared in the Bush with a Head meekly bowing down wreath'd with a Crown of Thorns amidst flames of Love burning but not consuming meekly hearing the Jews and patiently suffering while they blasphem'd revil'd and scorn'd him O my Soul what a great Vision is this to iuvite thee to meekness and patience Thou likewise art inclos'd as in a thorny Bush thy Body where for a light injury or small affront thou dost not only burn but art even consum'd with the flame of wrath and indignation sparkling and crackling like a Fire amongst Thorns To prevent the like flames of fury go sometimes to see this great Vision the Head of thy Saviour crown'd with Thorns meekly bowing down and as it were beckning unto thee to come and learn of him to be meek and humble of heart learn to possess thy self and thereby take possession of the Land which he hath promised to the meek and humble of heart God placed in the Clouds his bended Rain-bow that he might be mindful of his Covenant and on the Cross he hath fix'd his only begotten Son whose head meekly bending while he beholds he becomes a meek and merciful God to man who by his manifold sins provokes him to wrath How then canst thou elevate thine eyes sparkling with wrath against them that injure thee and not be pacified when thou beholdest this meek wounded Head bowing down to give thee the kiss of Peace meekly hearing and patiently bearing blasphemous words and wrongs that were so outragious and injurious to Innocence What then should a guilty soul patiently suffer for his sake If His sacred head be crown'd with sharp thorns wouldst thou have thine notwithstanding be encompassed with Roses If his head meekly bow down shall thine be rais'd up by pride or threaten revenge to them that offend thee Finally if his brow pierc'd with thorns be not any way contracted with wrinkles against his enemies smooth thy furrowed brow by meekness and for his sake and according to his example love even those that hate thee The Third BEATITUDE Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted EMBLEME III. The Myrrhe-Tree Tam lachrymosus homo 3 So of himself as soon as born The tender Bahe begins to mourn But after pierc'd with griefs and sears Hee 's more and more distilling tears THe Myrrhe-Tree of it self naturally distil's and as it were sheds tears but more abundantly when it is prick'd and wounded Behold the Embleme and Type of Man who is born weeping as being to use Saint Austin 's expression a Prophet presaging his own future calamities Man likewise naturally weeps for the loss or death of a dear friend so doth a Parent for his lost or deceased Child as Jacob did for Joseph and David for his Son Ahsalon Such tears ought to be moderate according to the saying of the Son of Sirach Modicùm plora super mortuum Weep not much over the dead Temporal losses and afflictions do also force tears from those who suffer them as they did from Job cap. 24. v. ult My harp also is turned to mourning and my organ into the voice of them that weep But when a man sheds tears out of remorse and compunction he is wounded like the Myrrh-Tree Thus was David wounded when he said In the night-time I will wash my bed with my tears What sins how great and enormous soever but may be swallowed up in such a flood as Pharaoh and his Army was in the red Sea Or what Flames can be so great as not to be extinguish'd by such a fountain There are likewise tears of Compassion as Job says I wept over him that was afflicted and my soul took compassion on the poor After this manner David weeps for Saul and Tobias for his Countrey men oppress'd with miseries With like tears of Commiseration we may mourn with our Lord while we meditate on his bitter Passion for as S. Agustine says He is not a true member of Christs Body that weeps not with the Head There are likewise tears of Devotion which issue forth out of an ardent desire to enjoy the happy Vision of God Or when a devout Soul replenished with the sweetness of God mourns for the absence of her beloved Spouse For Love saith S. August is impatient neither is there any moderation in tears unless the Lover may enjoy that which he loves Tears likewise are shed by devout persons when they behold grievous sins committed which are so injurious and offensive to Almighty God After this manner Esdras wept and the Apostles for their Lord when he was so cruelly treated by the Jews as he had foretold saying you shall mourn and weep Moreover tears are shed by those who out of Devotion and excess of spiritual joy even melt with the contemplation of heavenly Mysteries Which kind of joy S. Augustine had experienced when he assures us that the more a devout Soul is filled with holy and fervent desires the more abundantly he weeps in Prayer and mourns as David did crying out Ay is me that my sojourning and abode on earth is prolonged I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Kedar my soul hath been a long time a stranger Therefore my tears have been bread to me day and night while it is said unto me Where is thy God Our blessed Saviour speaking of his Passion calls it a Baptism by which his sacred body was bathed in blood and his face in tears like the Myrrhe-tree wounded on all sides and parts of his body with thorns whips nails and spear Behold him in this sad and heavy plight mourn and weep with him while he exemplifies in himself the third Beatitude Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted CONSIDERATIONS ON THE III. BEATITUDE Of the Eyes of our Blessed Saviour weeping IN this third Beatitude consider a happiness opposite to flesh and blood viz. to weep and mourn which our Lord did many times but never was seen to laugh He mourn'd and wept on the Cross and was comforted seeing by the effusion of tears and blood he was