of Sin take from my sight your evil Cogitations The great St. Augustine to this purpose addresses himself thus to a Sinner in Prayer If God should say to a Sinner Behold you have call'd upon me I come but whither Where will you provide a place fit to entertain me Do you think I can brook Tantas sordes conscientiae tuae such an unclean such an unsanctifi'd Soul Should you invite a Servant of mine to your House would not you to save your Credit take care to remove whatsoever is disgustful out of his sight Would not you make it clean set it in order Certainly you would Yet you have the confidence to invite me to your Soul in the manner I now behold it full of Rancour and Malice full of Fraud and Rapine full of Pride and Ambition full of Anger Lust and Blasphemy to your Soul the Center of Iniquities If you have a mind God should enter to inhabit there provide for his coming cease to offend implore his Pardon for your past Transgressions begin to love him as the Seraphins do Love is the Soul of a Seraphin Love ought to be the Soul of your Prayer Secondly Consider the Grandeur the Majesty of God Consider your self how little how like to nothing Consider what God is Consider what you are The Wings before the Face and Feet of a Seraphin are these or the like Considerations That Seraphin upon Earth St. Francis Pray'd in this manner Quid es tu dulcissime Domine Deus meus quid ego vermiculus pauper servus tuus What art thou my Lord my God! What am I A worm thy poor and wretched Servant With what Patience with what Humility do's an innocent and poor Wretch wait at the rich Man's Door With what Submission do's he appear before him With far more Respect with greater Awe should we beg an Alms at the Gates of God's Mercy As the Eyes of a Handmaid or Slave are fix'd upon the Hands of her Mistress as she reads from thence her Instructions what to do Sicut oculi ancillae in manibus Dominae suae So should our Eyes stedfastly regard the Grandeurs of the Almighty and from thence take an occasion to plead for our selves till he is graciously pleas'd to condescend to the relief of our Infirmities Thirdly The Seraphins never Intercede for us at the Throne of Mercy but in Matters that redound to their Maker's Honour and the Good of us Happy were the Christian Soul that would thus state her Petitions Ah unfortunate mistake of many that with the Sons of Zebedee know not what they ask Some desire Health some Riches others to be disencumber'd from the Burden of their Afflictions some Preferments Dignities or Honours But never consider with profound Submission to the inscrutable Secrets of Divine Providence whether the Sickness they labour under the Poverty they are in the Troubles they are oppress'd with their low or mean Condition be not more suitable to the Will of God more conducing to the Salvation of their Souls How many now are tortur'd with unquenchable Flames for the abuse of that Health the Almighty in anger conferr'd upon them For through a just Indignation he grants many Petitions which he according to the Dictates of his infinit Mercy had most graciously deny'd How many with Dives want Water to cool their burning Tongues who had they been contented with a less sensible Poverty then that of Lazarus would now have been Lodg'd in the Bosom of Abraham How many have faln headlong like those Morning Stars Lucifer and his Associates have set in an eternal Night because with the Pinions of an irregular Ambition they endeavour'd to mount above their native Sphere How many had exchang'd the Burden of their temporal Miseries or Afflictions had they born them with Resignation and Patience for an Eternal Weight of Glory Many times the everlasting Happiness or Misery of a Soul is annex'd to a Good or Bad Petition We ought not therefore to square our Requests according to the Dictates of our own inordinate Appetites we ought to render them conformable to the Will of Heaven But whatsoever we importune the Almighty for let it be desir'd with profound Submission in the Name through the Merits of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus Fourthly Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo dabit vobis If you ask the Father any thing in my Name he will grant it you He says we can do nothing without him Sine me nihil potestis facere We can expect Salvation upon no other Account then his Our own Merits avail us nothing but by vertue of his Passion and precious Blood shed for us upon the Cross Quicquid ex me mihi deest saith St. Augustin usurpo ex visceribus Domini mei Jesu Christi quoniam misericordiae affluunt nec desunt foramina per quae Effluant Whatsoever is defective in me is supply'd from the Bowels of my Saviour's Mercy His Blood wants not Channels to convey it self to my Soul It streams yet in greater abundance through his Wounds upon the Cross then through his Pores in the Garden Hence it is that our Holy our Unerring Mother the Church concludes her Prayers Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 'T was he that Redeem'd us from the Slavery of Sin He is the Door of Heaven through Him we must enter which we shall certainly do if Perseverance crowns our Prayers Lastly Perseverance represented in those Wings of a Seraphin with which he is constantly upon Duty Christ many times grants to our Perseverance what he denies to our Prayers The Apostles ran to the Sepulchre of our Lord as well as Magdalen but She only had the honour and happiness of seeing him in Person because She stay'd Had the Cananean left our Blessed Saviour at that sharp Repulse she first receiv'd her Daughter had never been Dispossess'd Neither had Jacob the Patriarch been bless'd by the Angel had not he struggl'd with him till the dawning of the Day God denies us many times or seems not to hear us to try our Patience to make proof of our Constancy and Perseverance to experience the Faith we have in him He seems not to hear us at all Times or upon all Occasions to convince us of our own Misery of what we are our selves if left to our selves Grace would lose its estimate or value Heaven would sink beneath our Care or Consideration if every Sigh or Tear if a few Words altho' the faithful Interpreters of a sincere Intention could obtain what they ask at every turn Coelum vim patitur violenti rapiunt illud We must storm the Empyreum if we have a mind to gain it We must endeavour to take Happiness by force by force of a constant Prayer None will ever have their Temples empal'd with a Crown of Glory that have not persever'd in the Combat Nemo coronabitur nisi qui legitime certaverit We have had an Idea D.
us if they notwithstanding are at the same time bless'd with the beatifical Vision if they see God enjoy Heaven upon Earth certainly there is some proportion between Souls in Prayer and Spirits upon Duty betwixt Souls rais'd above themselves upon the Wings of Devotion and Spirits below themselves upon Matters of Obedience if we have regard to the Concern they are engag'd in their Heaven must be upon Earth If we look upon the Soul as confin'd to the Body she has at least an Antipast of that Bliss these Spirits are perfectly possess'd with since she commences here an Exercise that must never end She beholds the face of God by Prayer who is to be the Object of her Happiness for all Eternity Do not we thus enjoy Heaven upon Earth do not we thus partake of the Happiness of Angels Prayer comes from Heaven Prayer leads to Heaven Prayer makes us happy with Heaven upon Earth O quam suavis est Domine Spiritus tuus in nobis O my Lord and Saviour Christ how sweet is thy Spirit How beneficial is the Spirit thou hast left us the Spirit of Prayer which thou hast recommended to us From the Excellency of Prayer and the Advantages we reap by it 't were easie to conclude the Obligation incumbent on us as we tender our eternal Welfare of having a constant recourse to so Religious an Employment But because among variety of Motives it may so fall out by the Order of Providence that some of them at least may conduce as well to stir up those that will not yet grant themselves so much leisure even as to think of future Happiness as to encourage those that are already bent upon the Inquiry I shall now proceed to shew the Necessity we have and the Manner how we are to Pray which is the Subject of my Second Part. Saint John Damascen defines Prayer to be an Elevation of the Mind to God in which we either beg to be deliver'd from Evil or invoke his assistance upon our selves or Neighbours to embrace what 's Good or pay to him our Homage as our Supreme Lord our Sovereign King 'T is evident from the First Part of the Discourse that the Mind is elevated to God by Prayer the Explication therefore of the Sequel of this Definition shall be a pregnant proof of the Necessity we are in of making such Addresses to him as that we may alleviate the Burden of our Troubles in this World we may invite the celestial Influence of his Grace upon our selves and Neighbours we may acknowledge him as we ought as we are oblig'd to be our chief Good our ultimate or last End We are not I am fully persuaded unacquainted with the Miseries we as mortal Men are liable or subject to Homo brevi vivens tempore repletur multis miseriis said Job who had found the truth of his Assertion by experience Man living but a short time is full of many miseries We know there are Miseries that oppress the Soul Miseries that afflict and torment the Body The Miseries of the Soul are many She is blind erroneous ignorant in the Operations of her Understanding she is deprav'd in her Will which is bent upon Evil which is obstinate perverse malicious at the best more prone to acquiesce to the Suggestions of Sin then comply with the previous Motions of Grace She is corrupted in her Judgment decay'd in her Memory she is weak and feeble in all her Faculties Add to these domestick Evils these in-born Miseries those she suffers from abroad those she suffers from the World from the Allurements of the Flesh from the Suggestions of the Devil She is betray'd to the World by the Concupiscence of the Eyes she is a Slave to Sensuality by the Concupiscence of the Flesh The Devil Lords it over her by engaging her through his Wiles into Pride of Life What must she do to be deliver'd from this intolerable Oppression Whose assistance must she call upon Whose help She is closely besieg'd by her Enemies without she is treacherously betray'd by her Domesticks within Inimici hominis domestici ejus To whom shall she have recourse for Succour or Relief To whom but to the King her Supreme Lord her Sovereign her God To whom shall she send her devout Sighs her penitential Tears her assiduous and fervent Prayers The Almighty gave her Orders to call upon him in the day of Affliction He promis'd her his Aid and Assistance upon Condition she would attribute to him the Glory of the Victory she would return him her Acknowledgments and Homage Invoca me in die tribulationis eruam te Honorificabis me The Apostle grievously infested with an intestine War from the Concupiscence of the Flesh cries out for help to crush the Rebel Infaelix homo quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus Unhappy unfortunate Man what Friend will deliver me from the Body of this Death He do's not desire here as in another place a separation betwixt Body and Soul he begs to be freed from the vicious Inclination of a deprav'd Appetite which he calls Corpus peccati the Body of Sin from whence as from a noxious and pernicious Root spring up so many destructive Branches of inordinate Desires Quis me liberabit Who is it that will destroy this Body this Body of Sin Corpus peccati He calls to mind the Promise of his Lord and expects relief from the Grace of Jesus Gratia Domini Jesu Christi Invoke his Assistance therefore beg he would extinguish the Rebellion of the Flesh Ter Dominum rogavi I have Petition'd thrice replies the afflicted Soul Vt auferretur a me stimulus carnis meoe Neither were his Petitions unregarded the Grace he receiv'd at the Instance of his Prayers enabled him couragiously to withstand all Assaults repel all Temptations to triumph over the Enemies that aim'd at his Ruine Sufficit tibi Paule gratia mea If Prayer prove so necessary to the relief of the Soul in the midst of Troubles incompass'd or rather oppress'd with the intolerable weight of Miseries and Afflictions 't is as absolutely requisite against the Miseries that fall upon the Body the Miseries of the Body being as grievous as afflicting in some proportion as those of the Soul I need not call upon any other Witness then our own Experience to manifest the truth of this Assertion Since that Sin that was unfortunately hatch'd in the Garden of Eden Man that was before Lord of this Universe the Master of the World has now the Universe the whole World against him Nature shook him off as no longer her Darling when once he had revolted from the Allegiance due to her Sovereign and Creator The Heavens ever since have prov'd his Bane in their malignant Influence The Elements that jarr and wrangle with one another meet in the Composition of disloyal Man not to end but to continue their Quarrel that they like Samson may draw after their own the Ruine
of this Philistine The Beasts created for his use and service over whom he was appointed Lord and Master revolt by a joynt Instinct that seems to transcend the reach of a Creature guided only by the blind Impulse of Sense The Beasts revolt the Beasts rebel against him those that haue not Strength in proportion to their Hatred do all they can to shun the detestable Object those that are able to master this common Enemy never meet him but they devour him Were this the Non plus ultra of his Misery it might be said his Enemies were only such as were void of Reason But ah unfortunate Man thou art an Enemy to thy self thou hast Man thy Enemy One levels his Endeavours at the destruction of another In iâ—ineribus saepe Often upon the Road says St. Paul Periculis Latronum thy Life 's in danger Periculis in Civitate as often in the City If thou fliest to the Deserts Periculis in solitudine the wild and unhospitable Groves harbour thy Enemies Put to Sea Periculis in mari thou hast Enemies at Sea If thou return to thy Friends thy Friends are false thy Friends are Flatterers thou art likewise in danger there Periculis in falsis fratribus Devil with Devil firm Concord holds Men only disagree of Creatures rational As if they were not assail'd by Enemies enough besides they do their utmost to ruine one another Where therefore must Man miserable unfortunate Man seek for refuge against the united force of so many pernicious and malignant Enemies Where shall he find a shelter from a Storm that menaces his Destruction on all sides Whither shall he run for succour To God saith St. Chrysostom born up upon the Wings of Prayer Let him flie to the Throne of the Almighty far above these material Orbs that surround us far above the reach of an Invasion either from the Heavens Elements Beasts or Men. Let him enter In locum tabernaculi admirabilis usque ad domum Dei Let him enter into the place of the admirable Tabernacle let him enter into the House of God Vsque ad domum Dei Oratio humiliantis se penetrat nubes non discedet donec altissimus aspiciat The Prayer of the humble penetrates the Clouds and it shall not depart till the Almighty hath granted the Petition Do the Heavens molest him Prayer saith St. Chrysostom has been a sure Fence against their malignant Influence Plagas coeli irruentis delevit Oratio Prayer has appeas'd the anger of the Elements Tempestates sustulit Prayer has tam'd the savage Beasts Impetum Leonum cohibuit Prayer has compos'd the Differences of Men Bella composuit praelia removit Prayer has discover'd the Snares Men have laid to entrap one another Insidias hominum mala denique omnia delevit Oratio But now again as our Prayers are beneficial to our selves so also are they to others As they are a powerful Engin by which we draw down Blessings upon the Soul against the Miseries of the Soul upon the Body against the Miseries of the Body they likewise are efficacious for the good of our Neighbours whether Enemies or Friends To instance in the First as a more pregnant assurance of the efficacy of Prayer Who was a greater Enemy to Christians then St. Paul before his Conversion You are not I suppose ignorant of the Persecutions he rais'd against the Church in its Infancy when he bore the Name of Saul with the Nature of a greedy and ravenous Wolf that thirsted after the Blood of the Lambs and Sheep of that tender and loving Pastor Christ Jesus You know the bloody Designs he was bent upon when our B. Saviour appear'd to him in the Way with a Saul Saul Quid me persequeris Saul Saul why dost thou persecute me Never Tyrant the most inhumane Tyrant was more violent against Christians then Saul The Fury he was animated with answer'd the Cruelty of his Intentions He was full of Menaces in his Mouth of Rancour in his Heart of Fire in his Eyes of Weapons in his Hands Saulus spirans minarum caedis He travell'd from one City to another to seize upon Christians whom he loaded with Irons whom he dragg'd before the Magistrates whom he cast into Prisons against whom he became as well Executioner as Witness Rapiebat vastabat saeviebat says the great St. Augustine I do not exaggerate or enhance his Crimes when I affirm they were without Bounds or Limits Saul wag'd a bloody War not against Christians only but against Christ himself As Herod sought his Death amongst thousands of Innocents Saul aim'd at Christ amongst thousands of Christians tho' neither could meet with the Saviour of the World He escap'd Herod by his flight into Egypt He could not be assaulted in Person by Saul as being now risen from the Dead as being at this time ascended into Heaven And yet O Crime never to be paralell'd Saul not satisfi'd with that ignominious that painful Death the Jews had lately put our Saviour to extends his furious Rage even beyond the Grave insomuch that our Saviour not brooking the Outrage breaks even from Heaven into unusual Complaints and dispensing no longer with that sacred Silence he had so strictly observ'd in this World in the midst of his greatest Afflictions reproaches Saul's unheard of Cruelty from the Throne of his Glory Saul Saul Quid me persequeris Thus stands Saul a Criminal before us a Criminal of the blackest die Thus I have represented him wich these Iniquities about him to make a deeper Impression in your Souls of the prodigious Efficacy of Prayer and by consequence of the great Obligation we have of Praying as well for our Neighbours as our selves as well for our Enemies as Friends Saul however here so black with Crimes is for all this a glorious Saint is in full possession of an eternal Kingdom is reigning with Christ is an illustrious Member of the Church Triumphant is an Honour to the Church Militant Whence proceeds so miraculous a Change a Change of Name a Change of Nature A Change from Saul to Paul from an extraordinary Sinner to an extraordinary Saint From the Prayers of a Christian from the Sighs Tears and Prayers of a persecuted Christian a Christian persecuted by Saul himself a Christian expiring under a Mountain of Stones thrown at him at the Instance of Saul To the Prayers of St. Stephen we owe this prodigious Conversion While the Jews animated and encourag'd by Saul who ston'd St. Stephen with all their Hands by taking care of all their Clothes were answering to the cruelty of his intentions the Saint lifted up his Hands and Eyes to Heaven rais'd his dying Voice in a lamentable but engaging Accent and as if he had been the Eccho of his Lord upon the Cross cry'd out to Him as he did to his eternal Father Ignosce illis quia nesciunt quid faciunt His Prayers were heard in Heaven Jesus saw the Supplicant Jesus stood visible