Selected quad for the lemma: glory_n
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A81748
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A right intention the rule of all mens actions. Converted out of Drexelius to our proper use. / By John Dawson ...; Recta intentio omnium humanarum actionum amussio. English. 1655
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Drexel, Jeremias, 1581-1638.
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1655
(1655)
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Wing D2185A; ESTC R231958
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220,422
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649
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with teare alone gave answer enough tâ— this sense I seeke not honours nor pleasures nor desire any daintinâ— of Dyet My meat is to doe thâ— will of him that sent me that may performe his worke Ioh. 4.3 It will be easie for mee to want a other kind of meate but that mosâ— pleasant meate that meate whicâ— is truely mine I long for with 〈◊〉 greedinesse this I seeke this is 〈◊〉 end this my intention But as noâ— yee see me lye in the Manger 〈◊〉 one day yee shall see mee upon tâ— Crosse And all this shall bee doâ— according to the rule of my Father Will. For as now my Father usetâ— the pride of the Roman Emperour and discourtesie of my Kindred to that end that I may be thrust low into this filthy Cave so hee will use the envy of the Hebrew Priests that hereafter I may bee lifted up upon an ignominious piece of wood My meat is to doe the Will of him that sent me because I seeke not mine owne will but the Will of him that sent me Ioh. 5.30 Because I came downe from Heaven not to doe mine owne will but the Will of him that sent me Ioh 6.38 This is the answer of Christ to us What therefore is that Good Will whereunto the Angels give a blessing of peace Saint Leo very rightly to this demand A Christians true peace saith he is not to be divided from the Will of God Wee must say unfainedly every houre Thy Will bee done O Lord both in me and in all men most perfectly at all times as it is in Heaven This O Christians is Good Will to desire this one thing in all things with all the heart O Lord thy Will bee done This Will this intention of mind the Angels commend Truely hereof Saint Gregory No richer thing saith hee is offered then Good Will Hom. 5 in Evang. This will begets true peace This will the Shepheards brought along to the Cradle of Christ They would goe and seeke they went and sought out that very Infant whom the Angels perswaded them to seeke from hence grew their mutuall consultations Let us now goe even unto Bethlem and see this thing which is come to passe which the Lord hath made knowne unto us And they came with hast This will that most crafty Foxe Herod the Ascalonite wanted altogether which promised that he would both come yea and worship him also Forsooth hee had come to cut the Childs throat not to kisse his knees Lastly in this good will and Right Intention consisteth true peace and quietnesse Doe whatsoever thou canst O Christian thou shalt find a thousand troubles in all things else there is nothing any where so quiet as it should bee without this good will Distemper and innumerable disturbances by the body by the mind by friends by Kindred by Children by Subjects by Servants by Office by Businesse troubles at home abroad at Church in the world in the waters in the woods troubles in recreations and pleasures themselves â—boundance of troubles will environ thee on all sides And though thou composest all things for peace notwithstanding thou shalt find peace no where but onely in this good will which tyeth it selfe to the will of God in an insoluble Band. And this is Heaven out of Heaven or the gate of Heaven Entry Peace to men of a good will good constant safe peace true peace and that none needs to repent One may use that speech of the Vulgar in many other things I had rather have a good quarrell then an ill quarter A good staffe then an ill stoole if the spirit will make a league with the flesh obey the lusts thereof cover every fault of stubbornnesse a very bad peace and farre worse then Warre and discord Therefore there can be no good or safe peace to any but onely to men of a good will and Right Intention CHAP. II. That the deed of a Right Intention can bee recompenced by God onely Act THe rule over the Celestiall Spheres and Starres over all orders of Angels doth not equall the dignity of an Action coupled with vertue For example a halfe penny given to a Begger but with a sound and right intention how highly suppose you is it esteemed in Heaven Put all Kingdomes of the world together both Turkish and Indian and Persian Spanish and French with all their wealth yea with all their pleasures and yet thou hast not pitched upon the full price of that halfe penny The reason hereof is most evident all those things as they had a beginning so they shall draw to their end they are kept in with close bounds on both sides But that halfe penny bestowed upon a poore Begger hath amounted to an eternall value Our light affliction which is but for a moment wor eth for us a far more exceeding and eternall weight of glory 2 Cor. 4.17 What canst thou call lesse then that which is light and but for a moment So one sight for God one groane in earnest for our former offences a cup of cold water offered to the thirsty can I speake any thing less◠〈◊〉 doe obtaine an eternall reward Meaner and great above all measure The wo ke an eternall weight of glory The gold of all the Kings in the World brought together into one place may all be easily examined by the Scales in the space of a weeke nor indeed can it make an infinâ—â—e heape But now that encrease or a halfe penny which we spake of cannot bee weighed throughout all eternity it is infinite But how comes it to passe that this halfe penny is so precious By the grace of God Et cum Deus coronat merita nostra nihil aliud coronat quaÌ„ munera sua which August most truely affirming saith Grace onely worketh all our worthinesse in us and when God crowneth our deserts hee crowneth nothing else then his owne gifts Aug. Epist 105. ad sextum The grace of God maketh a marriage betweene God and the Soule Assuerus the mightyest of Kings which was Emperour of an hundred and seaven and twenty Provinces was yet pleased to take Hester a poore Orphan maid the kinswoman of a captive Iew to his wife and made her a Queene Nor enquire thou the cause This was his pleasure Who now can deny the Children of Assuerus and Hester to be Heires of the Kingdome Our Soule being most poore of it selfe when as wee are not sufficient of our selves to thinke any thing as of our selves 1 Cor. 3.5 yet God makes choyce of her for his Bride through the admirable benignity of his grace From hence the Inheritance of a Kingdome is derived to our Children that is to our actions from hence we shall hereafter Be partaâ—ers of the divine nature 2 Pet. 1.4 For the spirit it selfe beareth witnesse to our spirit that wee are the Children of God and if Children then Heires Rom. 8.16 17. Therefore GOD onely can fully pay the reward of that halfe penny
come at a call hee sets upon it with sundry kind of Stratagems One while he beguileth it of meat another while hee oppresseth it with thirst now hee altereth his daintier Diet into courses then he teacheth it to endure hunger at a Table full of good cheare One while hee perplexeth it with watchings another while he vexeth it with labours and studies now he wearieth it with troublesome journeys either for the composing of differences or other pious endeavouâ—s for vicinity sake and lastly he exposeth it to many other rigorous exercises fitting his condition to cut off idlenes and excesse that all these things may be both pleasing to God and wholsome for his soule hee stirs himselfe up with the industry of these intentions This myrrhe of repentance gathered from thy Cross my good Iesus I present unto thee this violence I will offer to my selfe 1. That I may dilate thine honour 2. That I may encrease thy love toward me 3. That I may suppresse the wicked rebellion of the flesh 4. That I may condemne and take revenge of my selfe in a pious manner For the right enduring of labours or troubles likewise He which is going to worke or in hand with any busines whatsoever let him use these considerations 1. This busines O God I offer unto thâ—e for thy honour which I will pâ—rforme with care diligently fâ—ithfully â—nd exactly 2. That I may sustain my life to be bestowed in thy service 3. That I may inure my selfe to obedience if the labour be prescribed or commanded 4. That I may shew charity to others if the businesse will profit others also 5. That I may apply my mind to submission if the worke be base and ignoble 6. That I may learne patience if the matter be troublesome difficult and of uncertaine event 7. That with labour I may breake and over-master the flesh which is prone to sloth and wantonnes When adversity commeth upon us when troubles perplexities difficulties afflictions heavines oppresse us when any thing happeneth that is grievous hard to be borne then especially let a Right Intention rouze it selfe And forasmuch as there is scarce any man but hath an hundred occasions even in one day to exercise his patience hee must have a most exact care of this that all things be borne with such an intention as is fit You may find a great many which sustaine the losse both of health and meanes and credit and good name which are sick poore despised but because they suffer nothing quietly nothing patiently nothing but in a stubborne manner because they beare all things no otherwise then because they are constrained to beare them being never but impatient and complayning therefore they deserve nothing but paines and punishment due to untoward people For that which God sends unto them for a Medicine this they turne into poyson In this case therefore let a right intention doe her endeavour that what men must needs beare may be borne with profit and advantage and a vertue may be made of necessity As often therefore as things fall out inconvenient and harsh grievous miserable troublesome he which will not be hurt let him arme himselfe with these intentions 1. This whatsoever it be my God I will patiently suffer that I may conforme my will to thy most holy pleasure forasmuch as I know certainly that this is sent upon me by thee for my good 2. This Lord Iesus I will willingly endure for love of thee and that I may cleave close to thy foot-steps which have shewed me the way before 3. I will both receive and suffer all afflictions gladly that I may bee corrected for my former wicked life and reape Gods favour and the reward of glory hereafter It is the greatest art to bee able to beare all kind of evils well And this learned patience is withall the greatest advantage Before a man change his state to the Ministry or any Ecclesiasticall function There arose a controversie in times amongst learned and religious men what Order of all was the strictest Some delivered one thing concerning this question and some another They concluded that the rigid Brethren of Saint Bruno these of St. Francis his Order the other that others livâ—d the most austere life of all At length one of them when he had heard all their opinions Sin by your favour saith he let me tell you that for your learning yee have judged not amisse but very ill for your experience There is not an Order in all the world of a more strict obligement Rigid Strict then Marriage is and that he began to confirme by diverse arguments This man seemeth to have spoken most truely of all and especially if Matrimony be contracted not with that intention as is fit He which taketh either Queene Mony or Lady Beauty or Madam Nobility for his Wife involveth himself in a world of miseries he bringeth himself indeed into Order but a most cruell one He marrieth a Wife but he selleth his liberty Thus God useth very often to punish a corrupt intenâ—ion experience speaketh that hee which sought for pleasures and riches with a perverse intention should find perpetuall brawling and dissentions Alas what misery like to this then for a man so often to utter this confession against his will I can neither live with thee nor without thee Nec possum recum vivere nec fine te Such a Marriage as this perplexed with Civill warres thou maist not unfitly tearme a lively Protraict of Hell Where no order but eternall horrour doth inhabit Ectypâ—n Iob 10.22 Looke therefore you that thinke upon Wedlock that yee undertake it with a very good intention You must not marry pedigree onely nor onely beauty or mony good and upright manners are to be sought for But especially we must take heed of that that the match be not unequall For this in parity cannot choose but be the Seminary of discord Before all things the intention of both man and wife ought to be right that they come not together as Achab and Iezabel but as Tobias and Sara as Ioachim and Susanna For they which take Marriage upon them in that mannâ—r that they shut ouâ— God from them and from their thoughts and so addict themselves to their owne lust like to Horse and Mule which have no understanding the evill Spirit hath power over them Tob. 6.17 According to Saint Ieroms Translation Therefore let not a mutuall consent bee plighted in Marriage before a right intent Tobias giveth us this brief forme of the same intention O Lord thou knowest that I take a Wife not for concupisence but onely for love of posterity wherein thy name may be blessed for evermore Tob. 8.9 according to St. Ierom. But I turne me unto Clergy men Here I would have sighes and groanes to speake for me Alas I am affraid least happily there be found some which come into the Mâ—nistery not that they may obtaine on holy Office but more liberall maintenance that they