not perhapps the commaundements of God more worthy to be desired then thousands of gold and siluer where shall we finde a true paire of scales to weigh euery thing out for iust as much as it is that soe we may not thus for euer liue in lyes Men fly as farre as they cann from being deceiued in their temporall states But why fly they not with greater diligence from being deceiued in some what els which imports them more They complaine if they be cosened in halfe the worth of any thing which they are to buy yea and there is noe meanes to appease them but they will needes be seeking a remedy against that abuse And yet they are very ready to loose their soules for a little gaine or for an act of murmurring or some other sinne And we cannot soe much as preuaile with them to the end that they may haue some feeling of it and say I am deceiued let soe great a wrong as this be remoued That soule O men which you are loosing is more worth then all that which can be giuen you in exchaunge thereof what doe you gett by gayning it all if you loose your selues alone what doth it profitt you to see euery body good if withall your selues be wicked what doth it profitt you to gaine and growe great in point of fortune with preiudice to your soules and to be mighty in the sight of men but not to be acknowledged in the sight of God The day will come infallibly it will come when God will destroy all them whoe worke iniquity and for what then will that serue to which they haue most pretended heere O day of giuing accounte for all the daies of our liues how little art thou considered and therefore how little art thou feared And men in the meane tyme runne with the bridle loose and in their teeth for the gathering of this little miserable flower which soe quickly Fades and they see with their very eyes that it is euen slipping from betweene their fingers and yet there is neuer want of some body who hath a minde to hould fast this world whilst still it is flying speedily from them Sir our true repose and our kingdome is not to be had in this world What is this life but a way from our owne houses reaching to the place where theeues desire to cutt our throates since euery day we walke on more and more and it is noe whether els but towards death Now who would be soe absurdly inconsiderate as that when he were to be conducted to execution and that much hast were vsed to dispatch him the delinquent should yet fall into great aflictioÌ„ because lie were not sumptuously cladd or who in such a case would attend to busy himselfe about hearing some relation of the liues of others or would delight himselfe with looking vpon some publick entertainement and pastime Or would put himselfe to study what the reason might be why men put not of their hatts to him with a good graces And yet how many doe wee see through our sinnes depriued of all sense who goeing as we all doe to that resting place of their graues yea and running faster thither then any arrow flyes out of a bowe doe yet detaine themselues foolishly some vpon fine cloathes others vpon a certaine paltry smoake of honour and others who grow angry at the hart because iust that which they desire is not done And yet those very things which they desire are neither such as helpe them to obtaine true felicity not hinder them from falling into eternall misery What in the name of God is this which hath soe blinded vs as that we should make Tyme of Eternity and Eternitie of Tyme For soe haue men despised that eternall blisse which God hath prepared for them in heauen as if it were but temporall and soe haue they lodged all their loue vpon this transitory world as if this were the thing which is eternall How few are there on earth whoe passe through it like straungers as S. Peter saith we must 1. Peteâ— 2. and who fasten their harts vpon the Future as vpon their Cittie and true place of rest Let the tongue say what it will but our workes proclayme vs to be Cittizens of this world since we extreamely desire to be accommodated and exalted heere and so take noe care though we should be but as straungers in the next world Perhaps we are growne to be of opinion that the kingdome of heauen may be obteyned without any great labour or care But the truth is that euen they who take most paines will finde that still they haue enough to doe that still they must continue in doubt whether it will serue the turne or noe and what then will become of the rechlesse person but that he will be sure to loose it Our life is a very match of wrastling and he whoe wrastles as the Apostle saith must wholly vntye and dis-intangle himselfe that he may gaine his crowne 1. Cor. 9. Wee are running for a wager and the Prize is noe lesse then the kingdome of heauen Yet not all they who runne are to haue this Prize but they onely who runne best What a madd man were hee who should shackle his feete and then thinke that he were to carry the Prize which must be giuen to that man whoe runnes a pace And it is not a lesse absurde strange thing that a man should ensnare his soule with the heauy aflictioÌ„s of flesh and bloud which permitt him not to flye vp towards God God commaundes that to him who should strike thee vpon one of thy cheekes thou shouldest turne the other Maâ—â— 5. â— which is as much as to say that not onely thou must not reuenge thy selfe for the iniury receiued but that thou art to keepe thy hart prepared to endure an other if it be giuen and still if another blowe be offered to turne the other cheeke that is to prepare thy selfe for enduring iniuries more and more in such sort that the other may be sooner weary of doeing ill then thou of suffering it for thy goodnes is to be greater then his mallice But how then shall hee bee able to make a speedy course in this way who is fettered in the chaines of worldly Honour which requires that we reuenge the iniuries which are done vs. For as S. Gregory saith Noe man feeles the weight of dishonour but he who loues his owne honour And therefore if this loue be not laid a side how shall we be euer able to runne If God commaund that wee must rather dye then committ a mortall sinne how shall we be able to comply with his will heerein if wee cast not of the chaynes of that inordinate loue which we carry to this life Couetousnes is a Chaine which permitts vs not to liue in good neighbourhood with others Enuy is a Chaine Anger is a Chaine and the loue of our selues is a Chaine and roote of all the rest
at length open our eyes And if prosperitie did once tell vs that there was somewhat heere which might content vs let now the gall of tribulation be applyed to our eyes and giue vs light to see that in this world wee are truly miserable and that we are not in our owne Country but in a very painefull banishment and soe raysing first our hartes to heauen let our conuersation be alsoe there This is the end why our Lord hath punished you that you may make more and more account of him the more you see your selfe in want otherwise doe not conceiue that God takes pleasure in your paine but because he is mercifull he hath a tender feeling of your teares Onely he will put this touch of wormewood into your cupp that soe hauing discharged your hart of all humaine comfort you may haue your leaning place vpon him alone God hath taken one comfort from you but it is to giue you another for soe he is wont to doe He hath made you a widow but it is that he may make himselfe your Father since Father of the forsaken Psal 67. is his name Many afflictions will not faile to offer themselues to you in this widowhood and in many things you will finde the want of him who was wont to remedy you in them And in many of your freinds you shall finde little helpe and little fidelity and lesse gratitude but in all these things God will haue you make recourse to him and conferre with him about the troubles you shall be in and that as with a true Father you ease your hart with him And if with that hart you call vpon him and trust your selfe in his hands infallibly you shall meete with a sure refuge in all your difficulties and a perfect guide in all your wayes And in any tymes without your knowing by whose meanes or how it comes to passe you shall finde your busines done to your hand much better then you could haue imagined and you shall then vnderstand by experience how great a freind God is to the afflicted and how truely he dwells with them and makes himselfe a solicitour of their causes And if at any tyme he doe not giue you that which you desire it will be to giue you that which shall be fitt For so doth this celestiall phisitian proceede with them who goe to him for their recovery and whoe haue a greater desire to be cured then that their taste be pleased Depart not you from his hands and cure though it should put you to much paine Desire him not to doe what you will but what he will Let your weapons be your prayers and your teares and they not lost teares for that which our Lord hath taken from you but liuing teares for that our Lord may be pleased to pardon him and to saue you For what doth that superfluous paine serue which they tell mee you giue your selfe but onely for the adding of sinne to paine But now you know that as wee haue no liberty to laugh idely or vainely soe neither haue we any to weepe superfluously But both in the one and in the other we must be obedient to the holy will of our Lord. Why doe you complaine why I say doe you complaine Either you are a sinner and then you are to be clensed by this affliction or els you are a iust person and then you must bee tryed that you may be crowned whether it be the one or the other you must giue thanks to our lord with your whole hart and resolue to loue the end and reason of this correction though the thing it selfe be vnpleasing This we are taught by holy Scripture Hester 5. which relates how Hester kissed the end of Assuerus rod. Let not your tyme passe away in glutting your eyes with teares but for the loue of our Lord apply your selfe to send your hart vp to him and to prepare your selfe for that passage whereby you see others march before It is enough Lady it is enough that you haue already made soe large a feast to flesh and blood Dry your eyes at last and let not that tyme passe in bewayling death which was graunted you for the gayning of life Call to minde that our Lord droue them out of the howse who lamented the death of a yong maide and he said that she was not dead but that she slept For indeede amongst Christiās to dye is but to fall a sleepe till that day come when we shall awake againe to take our bodyes and so to raigne with Christ our Lord both in body and soule And confider that hee for whome you weepe is not dead but sleepes and that in a sleepe of peace since he both liued end dyed a good Christian Why should it trouble you soe much that our lord would draw the man whome you loued out of this place which is soe miserable and would carry him into the way of saluation And if he haue left some troubles to you take them vp with a good will soe that he may goe on to his repose And if his absence afflict you much yet be comforted with this that shortly you shall see him againe since our dayes in this life are soe very fewe and one of vs hath soe little aduantage ouer the other in dying a little sooner or later You shall doe alsoe well to conceiue that our Lord tooke him away because hee was well prepared and that he hath lest you heere to the end that you may well prepare your selfe And since you serued our Lord with alacrity in the state of matrimony serue him now in the state of widowhood and in the trouble of that state with patience That soe if then you gayned thirty fold you may now gaine sixty And soe you shall leade a life if not of gust yet at the least of great profitt towards the purging of your sinnes towards the imitation of the Crucifixe and towards a most certaine purchase of his eternall kingdome But for the obteyning of all this you must demaund grace of our Lord with prayers with teares with vsing to read deuout bookes and with receiuing the celestiall bread of the most Blessed Sacrament And soe lift vpp your deiected hart and walke roundly on For before you can gett to heauen you will haue a longe way to make And if you be to enter there this will not be the last affliction which you shall haue For the Iewell which you expect is of soe inestimable a valew it being God himselfe that how much soeuer it cost it can neuer be deere And since you are one day to possesse it you are now to reioyce in the hope thereof And complaine not of your afflictions but say soe great is the good for which I hope that I feele not the misery which I haue Let Iesus Christ our Lord accomplish all this in you as I desire and begg of him Amen A letter of the Authour to a virgin whoe was disposing
he should haue done And this is to walke according to truth giuing that to God which is his That is to say all manner of good without the least mixture of any ill And by this consideration being rooted well in the bowels of a man's hart as a truth which were deliuered by the very mouth of God a man rises from leaning vpon himselfe as from some broken reede and he euer goes leaning vpon him who vphoulds all things He behoulds himselfe and hee sees nothing but that which is to be lamented and he behoulds God in whose goodnes he confides without any feare to be forsaken And for asmuch as God is soe faithfull as that he neuer leaues them whoe goe to him and for that he hath soe great care of them as that infinitely sooner there will be want of water in the Sea and of light in the sunne then of mercy in him therefore doe they runne and fly because God carryes them and they falle not because be sustaines them and they wander not because he directs them and they shall not be condemned because our Lord giues his kingdome to such as become like little children Bee therefore sure my freind that thou vnderstand thy selfe right since our Lord doth soe much expect it of thee And of all that which passes in thee lay the glory aside for God and take the shame and dishonour to thy selfe And place thy hope of being able to proceede as thou hast begun in that Lord who put thee in the way with noe meaning I assure thee to leaue thee in the middest thereof but to carry thee on to enioy the society of his spouses in heauen There doeth he intend to doe thee extraordinary honour and therefore procure not thou to be honoured heere For being taken by the sēt of such an excellēt feast as that it is vtterly against all reason that thou shouldst glutt thy selfe with the basenes of any thing which this world affoardes For there is nothing vpon earth which can sauour well in his mouth who hath tasted though but a litle of that celestiall foode Turne thy backe to all things which thou art soone to leaue place not thy hart on that which is soe instantly to passe away It is very litle which heere thou art able to endure for God yea though thou alone shouldest endure all that which can be endured heere For considering hell which thou hast deserued and heauen with which he meanes thou shalt be rewarded since he hath placed thee in the way thither and againe waighing that which heere he hath endured for thee it is not to be accounted of noe nor so much as to be greately considered which thou either doest or mayest endure for him Esteeme thou God for soe pretious a thing that whatsoeuer he growes to cost thee thou maiest still beleeue it to bee very little yea though he cost thee thy life yet doest thou buy him very cheape In the next world thou shalt see that thou wert not deceiued in the exchaunge which thou hast made but finding them to be treated like madd fooles and miserable persons who lodged their harts and besotted themselues vpon this present world and forgot the promises which God made concerning the future thou wilt giue praises to our Lord in that thou being once deceiued he vouchsafed to vndeceiue thee and whilest thou wert casting thine eyes downe to earth he was pleased to raise them vp to heauen and thou being a slaue to vanity hee made thee a sonne of his owne and when thou wert liuing without any hope of diuine promises he grew to place thee in that way wherein thou maiest hope that he will helpe thee now to liue well and afterwards to dye well And that when this exile is ended he will conduct thee to the land of the liuing which is the cleere fruition of the face of God Where thou shall enioy soe great happines that it belongs to God alone to know it perfectly as to him alone it belongs both to be able and to be willing to giue it And this will our Lord doe not for thy sake but for his owne because hee is good and his mercy endures for euer To whome for all and of all and in all be glory and praise for all eternities of eternities Amen A Letter of the Authour to a person whome he exhortes to bee gratefull and carefull to preserue the guift of the Grace of God It seemes he was in some feare that the partie was returning to sinne I Remember you often and the loue I beare you makes me neuer thinke of you without some feare and trembling at my hart considering the many dāgers wherein your soule may be for which our Lord hath done so much that if he were still in case to be weary without doubt he would now be very weary But he was weary once for all when he tooke our mortall flesh vpon him and from those wearynesses of his doth result that care which now without any wearinesse at all he takes of such as he is drawing to himselfe O Sir how much reason haue you to be gratefull for the good which you haue receiued and carefull at the least to keepe it and fearefull least it should slippe out of your hāds And I sayd Carefull at the least to keepe it because he who can make coniecture that he hath receiued the guift of Iustification must employ himselfe like a diligent negociatour that with fiue talents he may gayne other fiue Improuing that good which God beganne in his soule and getting euery day a new parte in heauen since the gate is open for our getting more and more in euery minute of our life It is most certaine that if we should tell a man that there were a very long way in the steppes whereof there were great felicity to be obtayned yea and that for the making of one single pace they would giue him the worth of a whole kingdome and that though a man should goe all his life time in that way they would neuer depriue him of his rewarde but that still it should holde on after the rate of the first pace which he had made I doe not thinke that in the whole world there is any one worldly man who in this case would not be so great a walker as that he would hardly be euer perswaded to sitt still Now if couetousnesse of visible things be able to worke so great effects what will it be fitt that the loue of that which is inuisible and eternall should worke in our soules but a vigilant care to be still walking on in the way of God with resolutions as liuely and more then they were which we entertayned the first day when we entred into his seruice Who is he that can be so absurdly inconsiderate as not to holde himselfe a deepe debter to Almighty God for the many guifts which he hath receiued from him in recompence as I may say of so many sinnes of
What a sottish thing is it therefore for a man to thinke that hee whoe affects those things which his owne will suggests is able to runne that carriere wherein the seruants of God must runne and whoe because he contents himselfe thinkes that God will also be contented with it and who liuing after his owne fashion will yet conceiue that he may liue soe with God Away away lett vs awake at last for the loue of God lett vs awake before hell-fire awake vs. And lett vs knowe that the kingdome of God is a hidden treasure and that he who findes it must bestowe all that he hath vpon the purchase thereof esteeming himselfe more happy and rich in this alone then in all things els A man who hath a minde to gaine this kingdome is not bound to become bankrupt or to be a beggar but that which he needes is that for the loue of this kingdome hee cutt of all occasion of inordinate loue which he may carry to riches and to honour and to a delicate and delightfull life and in fine to his owne proper will Christ our lord will haue vs all naked that soe we may runne on apace to him who dyed naked for vs. That man is naked who houlds his life and his honour laid vnder and in subiection to the will of Christ our Lord doeing what Christ will and not that which is suggested by pleasure or honour and who makes as light account of these things as if he had them not and is ready to cast them all into a light fire rather then to goe against the freindship of our Lord God by committing soe much as one sinne And though perhaps a man may attend to the improuement of his estate it must not be for the loue which he carryes to it but because God commaunds it If he liue it must not be because he loues life as making that the end of his care but he must keepe it for the seruice of God and sooner throwe it away then offend him If he be to aparell himselfe he must not take counsaile with vanity how he may be esteemed for his cloathes but with the word of our Lord which commaunds that we vse them not with superfluity but for the supply of iust necessity And soe this kinde of man doth not hould himselfe to be his owne but as one who belongs wholly to God He cares not for what himselfe desires but for that which God commaunds He layes all things and himselfe withall to be trodden vpon vnder foot for soe he may hould God aboue his head God commaunds and hee obeyes God directs and hee submitts and as the shadow followes the body soe hee followes the will of God Theis are true sonnes of Obedience to whome it is promised that they shall sitt at the table of God And that as the true sonne suffered by Obedience and entred soe into his kingdome soe the adopted sonnes must alsoe enter in by the same meanes There is noe coulour of reason why a man for hauing obeyed the orders of the great Turke should goe to aske a reward of the Christian Emperour and yet if hee should it would be easy to make him this answeare Let him pay you whome you haue serued And soe will God answeare them whoe liued heere in obedience to their owne appetites when they shall aske him that reward of glory Great thankes doe we owe to Christ our Lord for hauing warned vs of this soe longe before that soe if we will thinke thereon we may not finde our selues deceiued by him who soe deerely loued vs. His aduertissement is this Not euery one whoe saith to mee Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdome of heauen but he shall enter in who doth the will of my Father who is in heauen What neede haue wee of any more since the word of Christ our Lord can neuer faile And who is that man who will not awake with this For the question is not now concerning any earthly kingdome but the kingdome of heauen since noe man enters thither but he who shall haue done the will of God Let this therefore be our study let this be our discourse let vs counsaile men to this and let vs in fine obserue vigilantly if we doe any thing which carryes not true conformitie with the will of our Lord. And because our owne watchfulnes will not suffice lett vs call vpon our Lord that hee may assist vs. Let vs acknowledge our owne misery and let vs cordyally implore his mercie Our lord who must helpe vs is noe such person as that he can deny himself to such as seeke him with their harts And if we did indeede knock call vpon him infallibly he would anfweare open to vs. And he knocks indeede who knocks both by prayer by the practise of vertue And he shall be heard when he calls who was content to hearken to his neighbour when he was called vpon by him and whoe assisted him in his necessities and who pardoned his errours and who neither did ill to him nor refused patiently to suffer ill from him This is the generation of them who seeke our Lord Psal 13. and they shall finde him Let vs therefore goe and runne this carriere For happy are those labours which are endured for the obteyning of this Crowne And they shall soone passe away but their reward is to last for euer Let vs lay vp our treasure there It will be highly enough for vs to possesse God and let vs not loose our tyme for it was not giuen vs to be lost But let vs liue to the end that we may euer liue and soe wee shall passe on from contumely to glory from pouerty to plenty from banishment to our owne country which we shall possesse through the eternities of all eternities Amen A letter to a certaine person wherein is treated of the Loue of God towards man and of that which hee is wont to doe towards the releife of our miserie THE Infant Iesus whoe was borne for our good make you partaker of the blessings which he brings since he tooke those miseries vpon him to which we were subject I beseech him to giue you that liuely fire of his loue wherein you may burne vp with a quick flame since to kindle this loue in vs he came into the world soe poore and soe frosen with cold How much more cold this Infant suffers soe much more warme doth he cloath our harts towards the loue of him And by how much the more we loue him soe much the more doe we desire to suffer for him For loue flyes from taking ease as from a thing which is very contrary to the intention and end thereof For whilest others are seeking for libertie and delight he whoe loues abhors this and desires to be eternally a slaue and to be euer labouring for whome he loues I pray you tell me who constrayned Almightie God to become man noe other thing but onely Loue Who
did euer obtaine saluation vnlesse God did in his mercy cure him first and did take his stony hart from him and giue him a hart of flesh insteede thereof These are the iourneys ends of those wicked sonnes who after that they were receiued for sonnes and treated after that rate Deut. 32. doe forgett their Lord whoe possessed them who made them and who created them And he who trembles not at this doth already giue testimony enough that he is hard harted and hath reason to feare so much the more as he feares the lesse And therefore Sir let vs consider these things as signâ—s of that which is like to follow When we see that the foundations of a wall fall away it is tyme to apply some remedy since wee are aduertised of the daunger Lett vs greately feare the goeing backward in spiritt of one onely day lett vs not suffer a defect though it may seeme small to passe away without punishment And I say though it seeme small for in very deede none at all is soe for the very least of them doth vs much hurt though some of them be greater then other Lett vs resolue that this mischeife proceedes from one of these two causes either not being thankefull for the good receiued or being negligent in conseruing it Saint Bernard saith That the cause why God imparting great benefitts to many without euen soe much as their asking doth yet deny them other inferiour benefitts which they asked afterwards is because they were vngratefull for those greater benefitts and thereby make themselues vnworthy of the lesser Nor is it any new thing that he who vses ill the great blessing which he receiues as if there were noe neede of taking paines to conserue that which is already gotten should loose them Soe that we must now thanke God againe for the benefitts which we haue receiued and let vs employ them well forasmuch as now remaines in our power least wee vtterly loose them all and our selues with them Lett vs be the more remisse in other businesses that soe we may be attentiue to this with all our power When a man diuides his estate into very many parts and payments it growes to be in effect nothing And he who hath receiued particular blessings from heauen may content himselfe with keeping them and growing rich in them though he be not so prosperous in the goods of this world If he haue a minde to comply very punctually with the desire of temporall riches I feare that it will be vpon the price of somewhat els which is more worth For the world is soe full of malignitie 1. Iohn 5. and our forces are so weake that wee are like some little poore candle in the middest of many windes and if we faile to be very diligent to keepe it in they will blow it out Such is the misery of vs whoe liue in this exile And therefore they who haue any braines are wont to feare and sigh and groane with desire to be gone from hence Make you account that this is your cheife estate your honour your safety and your life and place your right eye vpon this and your left vpon other things And if somewhat must needes be lost let it be that which will one day be lost whether wee will or noe how carefully soeuer we may thinke to keepe it And lett that remaine in safety which if our selues doe not loose wee shall be saued for euer Iacob disposed of that wife and those children whom he least loued Gen. â— into the froÌ„t or foreward of his company desyring that if any ill accident should arriue it might rather fall first vpon them then vpon that wife and children which he loued better And euery day wee doe the same in marshalling the parts of our temporall estate For we dispose our selues to loose that which is lesse and to saue that which is more Lett vs therefore resolue that it is better to haue a good conscience then much temporall riches and to haue credit with God then with man and so in the rest And procuring to appease our Lord by penance and confession for that which is past lett vs beginne to make new purposes and lead a new life with fresh courage being very much offended with our selues for hauing beene soe vngratefull to our great benefactour and soe negligent in that which concerned vs most Giue not ouer the exercises of penance of prayer of reading spirituall bookes of frequentation of the Sacraments though you performe them but dryly But aboue all lett there be noe wâ—nt of humble prayer and of a wounded hart For our mercifull Lord who stands expecting that we should goe towards him to doe vs good will come out vpon the way to meete vs and will couer vs close with the mantle of his pitty goodnes And will giue vs new strength that now we may againe beginne to serue him and procure new meritts for his kingdome I beseech his diuine Maiesty that he may soe proceede with you for the eternall glory of his goodnes The bookes about which you aske and which I take to be conuenient for you are the Confessions and Meditations of S. Augustine the Moralls of S. Gregory the Summe of the misteries of our faith by Titâ—leman and Dionifius Carthusianus God almighty keepe you euer A Letter of the Authour to a Canallier his freind whom he perswades to doe his dewry which is to fight the battailes of our Lord against the enemy of God which is the selfe-will of man I Haue vnderstood the reasons whereby you would perswade me that it is more securely fitt for you to dwell in the Citty then in that towne And though indeede they be subtile yet they doe not moue me much For the most certaine of all is that which wee doe after the example of Christ our Lord and which wee obtaine at his hands by prayer and which wee see cleerely by experience and not that which on the other side wee take to bee conuenient for vs through a meere humaine and perhapps a perpetuall kinde of iudgment Who can doubt but that you as being an Inhabitant of that Citty and withall a great fauourer of my meanenesse and desiring much that I should continue to liue there are both Iudge and witnes in your owne cause And therefore the tyme which you spend in seeking reasons were better employed vpon making deuout prayers And it will happen to you as Saint Bernard faith it doth betweene the preacher and his hearers If thou wilâ— perswade saith he thou must doe it more by sighing then by exclaming And though in that which I haue said mee thinks you haue committed some excesse yet in another thing you haue the better of it and you edify mee Namely in your hauing written three letters to mee without hauing receiued any one answeare of myne I esteeme this fauour as much more then speaking by word of mouth as there is difference betweene doeing and saying