The root of the divine life is Faith the chief branches are Love to God Charity to Man Purity and Humility For as an Excellent Person hath well observed however these names be common and vulgar and make no extraordinary sound yet do they carry such a mighty sence that the tongue of Man or Angel can pronounce nothing more weighty or excellent Faith hath the same place in the Divine life which Sense hath in the natural being indeed nothing else but a kind of sense or feeling perswasion of Spiritual things It extends it self unto all Divine Truths but in our lapsed estate it hath a peculiar relation to the declarations of God's mercy and reconcileableness to Sinners through a Mediator and therefore receiving its denomination from that principal object is ordinarily termed Faith in Jesus Christ. The Love of God is a delightful and affectionate sence of the Divine perfections which makes the Soul resign and sacrifice it self wholly unto him desiring above all things to please him and delighting in nothing so much as in fellowship and communion with him and being ready to do or suffer any thing for his sake or at his pleasure though this affection may have its first rise from the Favours and Mercies of God toward our selves yet doth it in its growth and progress transcend such particular considerations and ground it self on his infinite goodness manifested in all the Works of Creation and Providence A Soul thus possessed with Divine Love must needs be inlarged towards all Mankind in a sincere and unbounded affection because of the relation they carry unto God being his Creatures and having something of his Image stamped upon them and this is that Charity I named as the second branch of Religion and under which all the parts of Justice all the duty 's we owe to our Neighbour are eminently comprehended for he who doth truly love all the world will be nearly concerned in the interests of every one and so far from wronging or injuring any person that he will resent any evil that befals to others as if it happened to himself By Purity I understand a due abstractedness from the body and mastery over the inferiour appetites or such a temper and disposition of mind as makes a man despise abstain from all pleasures and delights of sence or fancy which are sinful in themselves or tend to extinguish or lessen our relish of more divine and intellectual pleasures which doth also infer a resoluteness to undergo all those hardships he may meet with in the performance of his duty so that not only Chastity and Temperance but also Christian Courage and Magnanimity may come under this head Humility imports a deep sence of our own meanness with a hearty and affectionate acknowledgment of our owing all that we are to the Divine Bounty which is alwayes accompanied with a profound submission to the Will of God and great deadness toward the glory of the world and applause of men These are the highest Perfections that either Men or Angels are capable of the very foundation of Heaven laid in the Soul and he who hath attain'd them needs not desire to pry into the hidden Rolls of God's Decrees or search the Volumes of Heaven to know what 's determined about his everlasting condition but he may find a Copy of God's Thoughts concerning him written in his own breast his love to God may give him assurance of God's favour to him and those beginnings of happiness which he feels in the conformity of the powers of his Soul to the Nature of God and compliance with his Will is a sure pledge that his felicity shall be perfected and continued unto all Eternity And it is not without reason that one said I had rather see the real impressions of a God-like Nature upon my own Soul then have a Vision from Heaven or an Angel sent to tell me that my name were inroll'd in the Book of Life When we have said all that we can the secret Mysteries of a new Nature and Divine Life can never be sufficiently expressed language and words cannot reach them nor can they be truly understood but by those Souls that are enkindled within and awakened unto the sense and relish of Spiritual things There is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth this understanding The power and life of Religion may be better expressed in actions than in words because actions are more lively things and do better represent the inward principle whence they proceed and therefore we may take the best measure of those gracious indowments from the deportment of those in whom they reside especially as they are perfectly exemplified in the holy life of our Blessed Saviour a main part of whose business in this world was to teach by his practise what he did require of others and to make his own conversation an exact resemblance of those unparalell'd Rules which he prescribed So that if ever true Goodness was visible to mortal eyes it was then when his presence did beautifie and illustrate this lower world That sincere and devout Affection wherewith his Blessed Soul did constantly burn toward his Heavenly Father did express it self in an intire resignation to his Will it was this was his very meat to do the will and finish the work of him that sent him this was the exercise of his Childhood and the constant imployment of his riper age he spared no travail or pains while he was about his Father's business but took such infinite Content and Satisfaction in the performance of it that when being faint and weary with his Journey he rested him on Jacob's Well and intreated a drink of the Samaritane Woman the success of his Conference with her and the accession that was made to the Kingdom of God filled his Mind with such delight as seemed to have redounded to his very Body refreshing his spirits and making him forget the thirst whereof he complain'd before and refuse the meat which he had sent the Disciples to buy Nor was he less patient and submissive in suffering the Will of God then diligent in doing of it he endured the sharpest Afflictions and extreamest Miseries that ever were inflicted on any mortal without a-repining thought or discontented word for tho he was far from a stupid insensibility or a phantastick or Stoical obstinacy and had as quick a sense of pain as other men and the deepest apprehension of what he was to suffer in his Soul as his Bloody Sweat and the sore amazement and sorrow which he profest do abundantly declare yet did he intirely submit to that severe dispensation of Providence and willingly acquiesced in it And he prayed to God that if it were possible or as one of the Evangelists hath if he were willing that Cup might be removed yet he gently added nevertheless not my will but thine be done Of what strange importance are the expressions Joh. 12. 27. where he first
acknowledgeth the anguish of his spirit Now is my Soul troubled which would seem to produce a kind of demurre And what shall I say and then he goes to deprecate his Sufferings Father save me from this hour which he had no sooner uttered but he doth as it were on second thoughts recall it in these words But for this cause came I into the world and concludes Father glorifie thy Name Now we must not look on this as any levity or blameable weakness in the Blessed Jesus he knew all along what he was to suffer and did most resolutely undergo it but it shews ns the unconceiveable weight and pressure that he was to bear which being so afflicting and contrary to Nature he could not think of without terrour yet considering the Will of God and the glory which was to redound to him from thence he was not only content but desirous to suffer it Another instance of his Love to God was his delight in conversing with him by Prayer which made him frequently retire himself from the world and with the greatest Devotion and Pleasure spend whole Nights in that Heavenly Exercise though he had no sins to confess and but few secular Interests to pray for which alas are almost the only things that are wont to drive us to our devotions nay we may say his whole Life was a kind of Prayer a constant course of Communion with God if the Sacrifice was not alwayes offering yet was the fire still kept alive nor was ever the Blessed Jesus surprized with that dulness or tepidity of spirit which we must many times wrestle with before we can be fit for the exercise of devotion In the second place I should speak of his Love and Charity toward men but he who would express it must transcribe the History of the Gospel and comment upon it for scarce any thing is recorded to have been done or spoken by him which was not designed for the good and advantage of some one or other all his Miraculous Works were instances of his Goodness as well as his Power and they benefited those on whom they were wrought as well as they amazed the beholders His Charity was not confined to his Kindred or Relations nor was all his kindness swallowed up in the endearments of that peculiar friendship which he carried toward the beloved Disciple but every one was his Friend who obeyed his holy Commands Joh. 15. 4. and whosoever did the will of his Father the same was to him as his Brother and Sister and Mother Never was any unwelcom to him who came with an honest intention nor did he deny any request which tended to the good of those that asked it So what was spoken of that Roman Emperour whom for his goodness they called the Darling of Mankind was really performed by him that never any departed from him with a heavy countenance except that rich Youth Mark 10. who was sorry to hear that the Kingdom of Heaven stood at so high a rate and that he could not save his Soul and his Money too and certainly it troubled our Saviour to see that when a price was in his hand to get wisdom yet he had no heart to it the ingenuity that appeared in his first address had already procured some kindness for him for it is said And Jesus beholding him loved him But must he for his sake cut out a new way to Heaven and alter the nature of things which make it impossible that a covetous man should be happy And what shall I speak of his meekness who could encounter the monstrous ingratitude and dissimulation of that miscreant who betrayed him in no harsher terms then these Judas betrayest thou the Son of Man with a Kiss What further evidence could we desire of his fervent and unbounded Charity then that he willingly laid down his life even for his most bitter Enemies and mingling his Prayers with his Blood besought the Father that his Death might not be laid to their charge but might become the means of Eternal Life to those very persons who procured it The Third Branch of the Divine Life is Purity which as I said consists in a neglect of worldly enjoyments and accommodations and a resolute enduring of all such troubles as we meet with in the doing of our duty Now surely if ever any person was wholly dead to all the pleasures of the natural Life it was the Blessed Jesus who seldom tasted them when they came in his way but never stept out of his road to seek them though he allowed others the comforts of Wedlock and honoured Marriage with his Presence yet he chose the severity of a Virgin Life and never knew the Nuptial Bed and though at the same time he supplyed the want of Wine with a Miracle yet he would not work one for the relief of his own hunger in the Wilderness So Gracious and Divine was the temper of his Soul in allowing to others such lawful gratifications as himself thought good to abstain from and supplying not only their more extream and pressing necessities but also their smaller and less considerable wants We many times hear of our Saviour's sighs and groans and tears but never that he laught and but once that he rejoyced in spirit so that through his whole Life he did exactly answer that Character given of him by the Prophet of old That he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs Nor were the troubles and disaccommodations of his Life rather his fate than choice for never did there any appear on the Stage of the World with greater advantages to have raised himself to the highest secular felicity he who could convene such a prodigious number of Fishes into his Disciples Net and at another time received that tribute from a Fish which he was to pay to the Temple might easily have made himself the richest Person in the world nay without any money he could have maintained an Army powerful enough to have Justled Caesar out of his Throne having oftner than once fed Seven Thousand with a few loaves and small fishes but to shew how small esteem he had of all the Enjoyments in the world he choosed to live in so poor and mean a condition that though the Foxes had holes and the Birds of the Air had nests yet he who was Lord and Heir of all things had not whereon to lay his head He did not frequent the Courts of Princes nor affect the acquaintance and converse of great Ones but being reputed the Son of a Carpenter he had Fisher-men and such other poor people for his Companions and lived at such a rate as suited with the meanness of that quality And thus I am brought unawares to speak of his Humility the last branch of the Divine Life wherein he was a most Eminent Pattern to us that we might learn of him to be meek and lowly in heart I shall not now speak of that infinite condescention
and Serious Consideration of the Truths of our Religion and that both as to the certainty and importance of them The assent which is ordinarily given to Divine Truths is very faint and languid very weak and uneffectual flowing only from a blind inclination to follow that Religion which is in the fashion or a lazy indifferency and unconcernedness whether things be so or not Men are unwilling to quarrel with the Religion of their Countrey and since all their Neighbours are Christians they are content to be so too but they are seldome at the pains to consider the evidences of those Truths or to ponder the importance and tendency of them and thence it is that they have so little influence on their affections and practise Those spriteless and paralitick thoughts as one doth rightly term them are not able to move the will and direct the hand We must therefore endeavour to work up our Minds to a Serious belief and full perswasion of Divine Truths unto a Sense and feeling of Spiritual things Our thoughts must dwell upon them till we be both convinced of them and deeply affected with them Let us urge forward our spirits and make them approach the invisible World and fix our Mind upon immaterial things till we clearly perceive that these are no Dreams nay that all things are Dreams and Shadows besides them When we look about us and behold the beauty and magnificence of this goodly frame the order and harmony of the whole Creation let our thoughts from thence take their flight toward that Omnipotent Wisdom and Goodness which did at first produce and doth ftill establish and uphold the same When we reflect upon our selves let us consider that we are not a meer piece of Organized matter a curious and well-contrived Engine that there is more in us then flesh and blood and bones even a Divine sparkle capable to know and love and enjoy our Maker and tho it be now exceedingly clogged with its dull and lumpish companion yet ere long it shall be delivered and can subsist without the body as well as that can do without the Cloathes which we throw off at our pleasure Let us often withdraw our thoughts from this Earth this Scene of Misery and folly and sin and raise them towards that more vast and glorious World whose Innocent and Blessed Inhabitants solace themselves Eternally in the Divine Presence and know no other passion but an unmixed Joy and an unbounded Love and then consider how the blessed Son of God came down to this lower World to live among us and dye for us that he might bring us to a portion of the same felicity and think how he hath overcome the sharpness of death and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers and is now set down on the right hand of Majesty on high and yet is not the less mindful of us but receiveth our Prayers and presenteth them unto his Father and is daily visiting his Church with the Influences of his Spirit as the Sun reacheth us with his Beams The Serious and frequent considerarion of these and such other Divine Truths is the most proper Method to beget that lively Faith which is the Foundation of Religion the spring and root of the Divine Life Let me further suggest some particular subjects of Meditation for producing the Several branches of it And first to inflame our Souls with the love of God let us consider the excellency of his Nature and his Love and Kindness towards us It is little we know of the Divine Perfections and yet that little may suffice to fill our Souls with admiration and Love to ravish our affections as well as to raise our Wonder for we are not meerly Creatures of Sense that we should be uncapable of any other affection but that which entreth by the Eyes The character of any excellent Person whom we have never seen will many times ingage our Hearts and make us hugely concerued in all his adventures and what is it I pray you that engages us so much to those with whom we converse I cannot think that it is meerly the colour of their face or their comely proportions else we should fall in Love with statues and pictures and flowers these outward accomplishments may a little delight the Eye but would never be able to prevail so much on the Heart if they did not represent some vital Perfection we either see or apprehend some greatness of mind or vigor of Spirit or sweetness of disposition some sprightliness or Wisdom or Goodness which charms our spirit and commands our Love now these perfections are not obvious to the Sight the Eyes can only discern the signs and effects of them and if it be the understanding that directs the affection and vital perfections prevail with it certainly the excellency's of the Divine Nature the Traces whereof we cannot but discover in every thing we behold would not fail to engage our Hearts if we did seriously view and regard them shall we not be Infinitely more transported with that Almighty Wisdom and Goodness which filleth the Universe and displays it self in all the parts of the creation which establisheth the Frame of Nature and turneth the mighty Wheels of Providence and keepeth the World from disorder and ruine then with the faint rays of the same perfections which we meet with in our fellow-creatures Shall we doat on the scattered pieces of a rude and imperfect picture and never be affected with the original beauty This were an unaccountable stupidity and blindness whatever we find lovely in a friend or in a Saint ought not to engross but to Elevate our affection we should conclude with our selves that if there be so much sweetness in a drop there must be Infinitely more in the Fountain if there be so much splendor in a ray what must the Sun be in its Glory Nor can we pretend the remoteness of the object as if God were at too great a distance for our converse or our Love he is not far from every one of us for in him we live and move and have our being we cannot open our Eyes but we must behold some vestige of his Glory and we cannot turn them toward him but we shall be sure to find his intent upon us waiting as it were to catch a look ready to intertain the most intimate fellowship and communion with us Let us therefore indeavour to raise our minds to the clearest conceptions of the Divine Nature Let us consider all that his works do declare or his Word doth discover of him unto us and let us especially contemplate that visible representation of him which was made in our own Nature by his Son who was the brightness of his Glory and the express Image of his Person and who appeared in the World to discover at once what God is and what we ought to be Let us represent him unto our minds as we find him described in the Gospel
in private and another wherein though we utter no sound yet we conceive the expressions and form the words as it were in our Mind which I presume is most commonly used in private devotion so there is a third and more sublime kind of prayer wherein the Soul takes a higher flight and having collected all its forces by long and serious Meditation it darteth it self so to speak towards God in sighs and groans and thoughts too big for expression As when after a deep Contemplation of the Divine Perfections appearing in all his Works of Wonder it addresseth it self unto him in the profoundest adoration of his Majestie and Glory or when after sad reflections on its vileness and miscarriages it prostrates it self before him with the greatest confusion and sorrow not daring to lift up its eyes or utter one word in his presence or when having well considered the beauty of holiness and the unspeakable felicity of those that are truly good it panteth after God and sendeth up such vigorous and ardent desires as no words should be sufficient to express continuing and repeating each of these acts as long as it finds it self upheld by the force and impulse of the previous Meditation This mental Prayer is of all other the most effectual to purifie the Soul and dispose it unto a holy and religious temper and may be termed the great Secret of Devotion and one of the most powerful instruments of the Divine Life and it may be the Apostle hath a peculiar respect unto it when he saith that the Spirit helpeth our infirmities making intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered or as the Original may bear that cannot be worded Yet I do not so recommend this sort of Prayer as to supersede the use of the other for we have so many several things to pray for and every petition of this nature requireth so much time and so great an intention of spirit that it were not easie therein to overtake them all to say nothing that the deep sighs and heavings of the heart which are wont to accompany it are something oppressive to Nature and make it hard to continue long in them But certainly a few of those inward aspirations will do more than a great many fluent and melting expressions Thus my dear Friend I have briefly proposed the Method which I judge proper for moulding the Soul unto a holy frame and the same means which serve to beget this Divine Temper must still be practised for strengthning and advancing it and therefore I shall recommend but one more for that purpose and 't is the frequent and conscientious use of that holy Sacrament which is peculiarly appointed to nourish and increase the Spiritual Life when once it is begotten in the Soul All the Instruments of Religion do meet together in this Ordinance and while we address our selves unto it we are put to practise all the Rules which were mentioned before Then it is that we make the severest Survey of our Actions and lay the strictest Obligations on our selves Then are our Minds raised to the highest contempt of the World and every Grace doth exercise it self with the greatest activity and vigour all the subjects of Contemplation do there present themselves unto us with the greatest advantage and then if ever doth the Soul make its most powerful Sally's towards Heaven and assault it with a holy and acceptable force And certainly the neglect or careless performance of this Duty is one of the chief causes that bedwarfs our Religion and makes us continue of so low a size But it is time I should put a close to this tedious Letter which is grown to a far greater bulk then at first I intended If these poor Papers can do you the smallest service I shall think my self very happy in this Undertaking at least I am hopeful you will kindly accept the Sincere Endeavours of a Person who would fain acquit himself of some part of that which he owes you A Prayer AND now O most gracious God Father and Fountain of Mercy and Goodness who hast blessed us with the Knowledge of our Happiness and the way that leadeth unto it excite in our Souls such ardent desires after the one as may put us forth to the diligent prosecution of the other Let us neither presume of our own strength nor distrust thy Divine Assistance but while we are doing our utmost endeavours teach us still to depend on Thee for the success Open our Eyes O God and teach us out of thy Law Bless us with an exact and tender sense of our duty and a taste to discern perverse things O that our wayes were directed to keep thy Statutes then shall we not be ashamed when we have respect unto all thy Commandments Possess our hearts with a generous and holy disdain of all those poor enjoyments which this World holdeth out to allure us that they may never be able to inveigle our Affections or betray us unto any Sin Turn away our eyes from beholding vanity and quicken thou us in thy Law Fill our Souls with such a deep sense and full perswasion of those great Truths which Thou hast reveal'd in the Gospel as may influence and regulate our whole Conversation and that the life which we henceforth live in the flesh we may live through Faith in the Son of God O that the infinite Perfections of thy Blessed Nature and the astonishing Expressions of thy Goodness and Love may conquer and overpower our hearts that they may be constantly arising towards Thee in flames of Devoutest Affection and inlarging themselves in Sincere and Cordial Love towards all the World for thy sake and that we may cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in thy fear without which we can never hope to behold and enjoy Thee Finally O God grant that the consideration of what thou art and what we our selves are may both humble and lay us low before Thee and also stir up in us the strongest and most ardent aspirations towards Thee We desire to resign and give up our selves to the Conduct of thy Holy Spirit lead us in thy Truth and teach us for thou art the God of our Salvation Guide us with thy Counsel and afterwards receive us unto Glory for the Merits and Intercession of thy Blessed Son our Saviour Amen FINIS AN ACCOUNT OF THE BEGINNINGS and ADVANCES OF A Spiritual Life Written at the Desire of M. L. V. R. The Occasion of this Discourse Mistakes about Religion What Religion is It s Permanency and Stability It s freedome and unconstrainedness 1 Joh. 3. 9. Joh. 4. 34. Religion a Divine Principle What the Natural Life is The different tendencies of the natural life Wherein the Divine Life doth consist Religion better understood by actions than by words Divine Love exemplified in our Saviour His Diligence in doing Gods Will. His Patience in bearing it His constant Devotion His Charity to men His Purity His Humility The Excellency and advantage of Religion Prov. 14. 10. The Excellency of Divine Love The Advantages of Divine Love The worth of the Object The certainty to be beloved again The Presence of the beloved person That Divine Love makes us partake in an infinite happiness He that loveth God finds sweetness in every dispensation The duties of Religion are delightful to him Psal. 63. 2. The Excellency of Charity The Pleasure that attends it The Excellency of Purity The Delight it affords The Excellency of Humility The pleasure and sweetness of an humble temper The despondent Thoughts of some newly awakened to a right sense of things Act. 8. 20. Cant 8. 7. The unreasonableness of these Fears Deut. 33. 27. Psal. 89. 19. Esay 26. ver 19. Esay 53. ver 11. Heb. 7. 24 25. Matth. 12. 20. Cant. 8 7. 2 Pet. 1. 19. Prov. 4. 18. Psal 84 7. Heb. 11. 34. 2 King 6. 16 17. We must do what we can and depend on the Divine assistance I Chron. 22. 16. 1 Cor. 15. 58. Psal. 104. 14. Jer. 4. 3. We must shun all manner of Sin We must know what things are sinful Psal. 119. 9. Heb. 4. 12. Psal. 17. 4. We must resist the Temptations to Sin by considering the Evils they will draw on us 2 Pet. 3. 10. 1 Cor. 4. 5. Isa. 33. 14. We must keep a constant watch over our selves We must often examine our Actions It is fit to restrain our selves in many lawful things We must strive to put our selves out of love with the World We must do those outward Actions that are commanded We must endeavour to form internal Acts of Devotion Charity c. Consideration a great instrument of Religion Heb. 1. 3. To beget Divine Love we must consider the excellency of the Divine Nature Act. 17. 27. Heb. 1. 3. Lam. 3. 31. Psal. 39. 3. We should meditate on his Goodness and Love Eph. 3. 17 18 19. To beget Charity we must remember that all men are nearly related unto God That they carry his Image upon them To beget Purity we should consider the Dignity of our Nature We should meditate oft on the Joys of Heaven 1 Joh. 3. 3. Humility ariseth from the consideration of our failings Thoughts of God give us the lowest thoughts of our selves Prayer another Instrument of Religion The advantages of mental Prayer Religion is to be advanced by the same means by which it is begun The use of the Holy Sacrament