Abraham sent his Servant to finde out a competent Gen. 17. and virtuous Wife for his dearly beloved Son Isaac I had a special care to direct him the safest and best way and also to bring his business to a most prosperous conclusion and all was for the great love kindeness I had for his Master Gen. 39 I would do as much to a bad Master for the sake of a good Servant and have already done it to Potiphar the Egiptian for the sake of my Patriarch Joseph for I have multiply'd all his substance as well in his house as in the Fields not upon his own account being an unbelieving Heathen but meerly for the love I had for his chast and godly Servant What mercy what care what Providence can be greater then this and is he not a mad man indeed that will refuse to serve so good so liberal and so bountiful a Lord as I am to all those that serve me and who am so careful of themselves Capillus de capite vestro non peribit Luc. 21.28 and of all that concerns them that I can't suffer so much as one hair of their head to be lost The effects of my Providence are so many and so wonderful that I am commonly call'd in Scripture the Father of the Righteous Psal 103. and I likewise call them my dearly beloved Children my Providence promoted the Prophet royal and was favourable to him upon all occasions neither was he ungrateful or unmindeful of my benefits for He gives me this Atonement of his gratefull acknowledgement Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me Bless his holy name Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Who forgives all thine iniquities who heals all thy diseases who redeems thy life from destruction who crowns thee with loving kindness and tender mercies who satisfies thy mouth with good things by him thy youth is renew'd like the Eagles The Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppress'd He made known his ways to Moises and all his actions unto the Children of Israel The Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and prone to mercy He will not always chide us neither will he keep his anger for ever He has not dealt with us as our sins have deserv'd nor has he rewarded us according to our iniquitys For as the Heaven is High above the Earth so great is his mercy towards them that fear him As far as the East is from the West so far has he remov'd our transgressions from us even as a Father doth pitty his Children So the Lord pittys them that fear him for he knows our frame and he remembers that we are nothing but dust Esa 63.16 The Prophet Esaiah thinking the name of Father did not sufficiently express the tenderness of my love because it has been never yet paralel'd by any mortal Parents says Lord thou art our Father indeed Abraham is ignorant of us and Israel does not acknowledge us Thou O Lord art our Father our Redeemer and thy name is from everlasting and tho' they be our Father according to the flesh yet they don't deserve the name thereof 't is a qualification due to thee alone for their love for us is no more then a shaddow to that which thou hast express'd to us upon all occasions my love rather resembles that which a good natur'd Mother bears to her child and therefore I compare my self to the most passionate of the Sex Can a Mother forget her sucking Child that she should not have compassion on the Son of her womb yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands thy walls are continually before me Esa 49.15 Can any Mother speak with a more tender expression of love who will be so blinde so stupid and so far from good nature as not to rejoyce at the very sound of these superamourous words which are able to revive the deadest heart that ever was to all motions of love or devotion what man tho' never so great a drone hearing me give him this extraordinary assurance of my most ardent love and paternal Providence will not run with the spouse in the Canticles after the sweet scent of my perfumes I am a God that speaks to thee and the eternal verity too which was never guilty of the least falshood whose riches have no limits and whose power is of the same nature with the rest of my attributes which are all infinite I am therefore him only thou shouldst fear to offend and in whom thou shouldst place all thy hopes and confidence my words should comfort and rejoyce thy heart the title of honour I confer upon thee should unman thee so far as to take on the heart and spirit of a child of God and the assur'd demonstrations I give thee of my great Love and Providence should breed in thee an everlasting abhorrence of the World and all it's allurements What more shall I say Deut. 32.11 Deut. 1.31 or to what shall I compare the love which I bear unto thee the Eagle of all Mothers is the most tender of her little ones and it 's therefore the Prophet says of me as an Eagle stirs up her nest flutters over her young spreads abroad her wings takes them and bears them on her wings so the Lord has dealt with thee nay thou hast seen how the Lord thy God bears thee as a man does bear his young child in his arms in all the way that ye went until ye came into this place What could I do that I have not done to my People to wean their affections from the World and settle them totally upon so good and so Cordial a Father as I am to them I call them my beloved Children and so they are indeed for thou shalt find as many authentick testimonies as there have been Prophets in the World from the beginning that they are my Children in effect as well by their Creation as by their preservation from all dangers The Prophet Jeremy will tell thee that I have lov'd them with an everlasting love Jerem. 31. and that with loving kindness I have drawn them out of nothing to what they are at present and have preserv'd them as well from their temporal as from their Spiritual Enemies whilst they remain'd submissive to my Laws and gave me the reverence which is expected from dutiful Children to their Parents O ye Nations says the same Prophet hear the word of the Lord declare it in the Isles afar off say the Lord that has Scatter'd the People of Israel for their Sins will gather them again if they will cry to him for mercy and if they continue obedient to his commands he will keep them as a Shepherd does his flock For the Lord has redeem'd Jacob and has ransom'd him from the hand of him that was stronger then He. The same
These are my familiars O Lord wherewith I have so often displeas'd thee rebellious ungrateful and perfidious creature as I am I have been created to thy Image and likeness but alas by my Sins I have made my Soul most like unto the Devils those monsters of ingratitude By my Sins I have often renew'd the bitter Death and Passion of Jesus thy beloved Son Quis dabit Capitimeo aquam oculis meis fontem lachrimarum plorabo die ac nocte Jer. 9.1 O how can I worthily deplore so great an evil who will give water to my head a fountain of tears to my eyes to lament both night and day my misery and malice To have contributed to thy death O Lord is of all other motives the most powerful to replenish my minde with grief and sorrow and therefore do desire to hear from thy self the particulars of it SAVIOVR KNow then that after I had taken man out of the bowells of the Earth with a Faciamnus and created him to my own Image and likeness in order to make him sole Lord and absolute Monarch of the whole Universe with full power to take and tast of all things that a most pleasant paradise could afford the fruit of Life only excepted He the ungratefull and rebellious creature considering the great advantage of his condition and the greatness of his dignity which should be to him a sufficient motive to love obey respect and praise me for ever took thence occasion to mutiny rebell and desert me and enter into a league against me with Lucifer whom I had a little before expell'd Heaven for his thoughts of Pride Ambition and who from that very moment made a vow to deface and destroy my Picture being that he could not annoy my Person This so heinous an offence deserv'd he should be immediately commanded out of that Terrestrial Paradise where he was created and liv'd like a petty Prince and where he had all other creatures even the most furious among them at his beck to do with them as he thought fit Accepisti argentum vestes a Naaman sed Lepra Naaman adhaerebit tibi semini tuo usque in sempiternum 4 Reg. 5. He was therefore turn'd off as a vagabond cast into exile and made liable to suffer the punishment even of the damn'd for as he became an associate to the Devil in Sin 't was fit he should be his companion in torment Thou hast heard of my Judgement inflicted on Gehazi my Prophets servant and how for taking Naaman's mony and cloths for the cure of his Leprosy I order'd that for his covetous transgression both he and all his generation to the worlds end should share in his Leprosy as he did in his garments Even so have I decreed against man who had so much affected Lucifers Pride and Ambition that he should be likewise infected with his Leprosy and as he was obedient to his suggestions he should partake of his punishments also Behold the fatal Metamorphosis of man and how for imitating the Devil in his rebellion he forfieted my resemblance to put on that of this most horrid and hideous Monster of Hell Man being made so abominable by sin and so great an eyesore to my divine Essence I in mercy was mov'd not to reflect so much upon the injury done to my Supream Majesty as not to condole the greatness of his deplorable misery was more inclin'd to compassionate his weakness then to be reveng'd of his crime Whereupon to repair his loss I undertook to mediate his peace with my heavenly Father and in order to so great a work I contracted with humane nature so strict an alliance that I became both God and man which was so grateful to my Father that he not only forgave man all his past transgressions but also receiv'd him into favour with all the demonstrations of joy that could be express'd Who would ever expect that so large and so dangerous a breach should ever be repair'd who would ever imagine that two things so opposit one to the other as is the divine to humane nature should come to subsist and remain together not in one house not at one table nor in one bed but in one and the self-same person This is a miracle beyond the expectation of man and indeed beyond th' expression of an Angel for there cann't be any two more contrary then is God and the Sinner yet now what two can be more firmly united or have greater influence then God and man There is nothing more sublime then God Pulvis es in pulverem reverteris Gen. 1. and nothing more vile and despicable then man Notwithstanding God with all humility descends from Heaven to man and man ascends to Heaven with God so that the action of man is the same with that of God and whatever God is said to have done may be justly imputed to man because that I am both God and man Who would ever believe that man to see him naked after his dismal fall and absconding in one corner or other in Paradise for to keep himself from Gods indignation and wrath who would believe I say that such a fordid and contemptable substance should be in time united to God in one and the same Person This was a strange union indeed and a true lovers knot for when it was upon the dissolution at the time of my Passion it did not in the least fail but was rather violently separated to shew what an amorous inclination I had to be still united to humane nature Death indeed might have taken my Soul from my body and break off that union of nature which kept them together Quod semel assumpsit nunquam dimisit Aug. but had not the power to withdraw my Godhead from either of them for that was an union of the divine person which I shall never relinquish having once fix'd upon it with all the tenderness of a most ardent love MAN O Lord I am so much oblig'd to thee for this extraordinary great favour that I am not able to return thee sufficient thanks for the way and means which thou hast taken to redeem me and my very redemption is so great a benefit that no Angelical tongue is able to express it All that I can say is that I am bound by all the ties both of nature and conscience to love thee and stand submissive to thy laws for ever Thou hast deliver'd my Soul out of the infernal Dragon's jaws and without any merit of mine but meerly through the multitude of thy mercies thou hast reconcil'd me to thy self This is eternally worthy of praise But if I consider how and after what manner thou hast done me that unspeakable favour I shall finde that it does exceed even that great work of my redemption Thy works are wonderfull in all their circumstances Mirabilis Deus in Sanctis suis and tho' man when he considers one does really believe that
Earth how necessitous how poor how miserable soever which the damn'd would not most willingly endure nay they would think themselves most happy were they permitted so favourable an Exchange This very Consideration wrought so much upon several of my Saints that there was no course of life so austere but they would undergo My beloved Disciple after he had discours'd of the smoke which ascended from the torments of the damn'd world without end Hic patientia sanctorum est qui custodiunt mandata Dei Apoc. 14.12 and how they had no rest night or day immediately adds here is the patience of the Saints meaning that seeing all the troubles of this life were only temporal and the torments of the other eternal nothing that they endur'd seem'd too much for them See what a penitent posture Manasses had put himself in after his conversion behold how he groans under the burden of his Sins and how he laments his iniquities with such a sorrow that he acknowledg'd himself unworthy even to lift up his eyes towards Heaven so great he confess'd were his offences that he was rather deserving of Hell then any favour at my hands hear his words and thou shalt believe them to be the products of a truly penitent Soul 'T is true says he O Lord I have infinitely offended thee and my Sins are more in number then the Sand of the Sea I am unworthy to lift up my eyes towards Heaven to demand thy mercy I have Sinned O my God I have Sinned I acknowledge all the evil I have done pardon O Lord pardon I beg of thee and earnestly beseech thee do not destroy me with my iniquities do not reserve me to the utmost rigour of the Justice do not condemn me for ever unto the fire of Hell Remember that thou art my God the God of Penitents and thy immense bounty will best appear in me whilst it makes thee to save a miserable Sinner unworthy of thy Grace and gives me occasion to praise thee eternally for thy infinite goodness Behold how the Israelites in their Babilonical Captivity after the taking of Jerusalem cover'd with hair-cloth all their heads and bodys laid over with ashes prostrate on the ground cry out to me from the bottom of their hearts we have Sinned against thee O Lord in not obeying thy word To thee O Lord belongs Justice and uprightness but to us nothing but shame and confusion which our iniquities have deserv'd We have Sinn'd we have done evil we have dealt unjustly O Lord our God in all thy commandments Turn from us thy anger hear O Lord our prayers and our petitions open thy eyes and consider that the dead praise thee not but the Soul which is sensible and afflicted with the greatness of the evils done and performs due pennance for them Psal 6. How full of inward grief and trouble was David for the Sins he had committed O Lord says he rebuke me not in thine anger chastise me not in thy hot displeasure Have mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my bones are vex'd But thou O Lord how long Return O Lord deliver my Soul Save me for thy mercies sake For in Death there 's no remembrance of thee In the grave who shall give thee thanks I am weary with my groaning all the night make I my bed to swim I water my Couch with my tears mine eyes are consum'd with grief Psal 51. Have mercy upon me O Lord according to thy loving kindness according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions Wash me throughly from my iniquity and clense me from my sin for I acknowledge my transgressions and my Sin is ever before me Against thee only have I Sinned and done this evil in thy sight wherefore contemn not the Sacrifice which I offer unto thee of an afflicted mind and of an humble and contrite heart Behold O man what these great Saints have done to make mean atonement for their Sins and to avoid the everlasting torments of Hell See how they labour'd to mortify their Passions to depress their evil affections and to destroy all their sinister inclinations proceeding from the infection of their sensual concupiscences they knew this to be the only means to weaken the forces of their enemies and that nothing was more effectual to dismount their batteries against them then to chastise their bodies and keep them in subjection by a long and earnest practise of corporal afflictions In Jejunijs multis in multis vigilijs in fame siti frigore nuditate c. 2 Coâ— 11.27 this is the powerful remedy that all my Saints made use of and even my Apostles came to Heaven by the same means for they spent their whole lives in much fasting much watching hunger thirst cold and nakedness My beloved Apostle and Brother St. James tho' he was a man of extraordinary great Sanctity and was therefore Sir-nam'd the Just yet besides other austerities of apparel diet and all other mortifications his exercise of praying on his bare knees was so continual that the skin of them was as hard as the brawn of a Camels knee Philo the learned Jew and famous Philosopher giving an account of the first Christians in Alexandria under St. Mark the Evangelist sent thither from Rome by St. Peter to give a beginning to that Church which he perform'd says he with such exemplary Piety Sanctity of life Simplicity abstinence and mortification that he and his followers mov'd their Adversaries to extreme admiration But to what did all this rigour tend or what might be the end of all these extraordinary mortifications practis'd so exactly and for so many Ages as well by Monks Anachorites and Hermits as by the Founders of Holy Orders and by their Disciples to this very present Age and will continue with my assistance to the worlds end St. St. Aug. L. 1. Confess 5. Augustin will tell thee in these few words the prime motive thereof Moriar ne moriar that is to say I will dy to the end that I may not dy for ever I will mortify my body in this Life lest I should be of the unhappy number of the damn'd for ever St. Hierom is much upon the same point for being in the Desert of Syria he was set upon by the Devil who plagu'd him as he did St. Paul with suggestions of the Flesh but what weapons did he make use of to obtain the victory over so dangerous an enemy the fear of God and of the fire of Hell was an Armour of proof to him against all the temptations snares of so powerful an adversary Hear the relation he makes himself of his several conflicts and brave defence How often says he being in the Wilderness was I burnt up and scorch'd with the extream heat of the Sun how oft likewise was I tempted with the Roman delights tho' I was so far distant from those objects and so low
CHRISTUS LOGNITUR CUM NICODEMO Jo 3. Nicodemus rightly Informed John 3. P. Boucho oxcudit THE ACADEMY OF True Wisdom OR THE SCHOOL OF VERTUE WHEREIN One is your Master even CHRIST Matth. 23.10 A WORK lately Compil'd and brought to its Ultimate Perfection By J. W. Come ye Children hearken unto me I will teach you the fear of the Lord Psal 33.22 ROTTERDAM Printed for the Author 1694. To the most Virtuous and Right Honourable Lord Henry Arundel Baron of Warder and Count of the Empire c. My Lord IF any of the Criticks of this Age should censure my Access to your Lordships acquaintance now being an absolute Stranger to you before I hope he will be throughly satisfi'd when I shall tell him the Perfumes of your Vertuous and Pious Life were so sweet the Commendations given me of your most Illustrious and Antient Family so great and extraordinary Charming that I soon was mov'd to purchase so great and bless'd a Treasure for a Man must not nor can he if he would be a Stranger to Vertue whereever 't is lodg'd being it is that perfect good which makes the complement of a happy life and it also has an attractive power to draw all mortals even the most wicked among 'em to its admiration and praise It 's allow'd by all who pretend to a perfect knowledge of your Lordships Pedigree that Fortitude which we call the contempt of all hazards agreeing with reason was the raising of your first Progenitour and a worthy Prerogative ever since entail'd on all his Posterity Tradition which alone gives life to the best of Historys and which alone can revive in our thoughts the memory and bravery too of pass'd Transactions will tell you that He was one of the greatest Hero's of his Age a daring man who fear'd nothing more than the weakness of being affected with Popular Glory yet did the World extol very much the greatness of his Courage the Wisdom of his Conduct and the famous Renown of all his glorious actions in Hungary where He was imploy'd by his Imperial Majesty against the Turks against whom he often fought and so often worsted that their insulting Courage fail'd them in so great a measure Egesyppus Polouus in his Remarks of Hungaâ—y as his very name became as dreadful to them as that of Talbot was formidable to the French nay it was with them an effectual means to quiet their unruly Children to threaten them with the great Arundels coming His Valour purchas'd him so great an Estimate with his General that he was the only person of all his Field Officers he reli'd upon to manage the most perilous enterprizes of War and such Adventures as were sufficient to terrify the most expert in Martial Discipline He was no less in His Imperial Majesty's favour Who had on several Occasions made experiment of his wise Conduct firm Resolution and great Courage Epran on the South side of the Danube was taken by Sir Thomas Arundel of Warder in the year 1595. for which brave Action the Emperour Rodolphus created him a Count of the Empire and therefore having resolv'd in Counsel to lay Siege to a strong City which the Turks had possessed for several years before He appointed him chief Commander of a considerable Army with Orders to reduce it to his Obedience which he most willingly accepted for he was more ambitious of being reputed Loyal to his Master than made happy with all the Riches and Treasures of the World whereupon he took leave of His Majesty and immediately march'd towards the place where he was no sooner arriv'd after having drawn his Lines and provided all other necessary things for the security and welfare of his Camp but he rais'd his Batterys planted his Cannons and in a short time made a considerable breach in the Walls and then resolving upon a general Assault he call'd a Council of War and spake to them in this manner Gentlemen the War we have in hand is glorious because it is for our Religion We fight against a People that are Gods enemys as well as ours and the work we are upon is both honourable and meritorious for we are certain that He is altogether as powerful to defend us from the annoiance of our enemies Aeternum gloriae pondus operatur in nobis 2 Cor. 4.17 and bring us off safe without the least harm as He is bountiful to reward our Souls with an eternal weight of Glory if we dye in so good a Quarrel moreover our Blood spilt upon so Christian account will undoubtedly move the Heavens to shower down the sweet influences of their continual Blessings upon all our respective Families This short and efficacious Speech inflam'd the hearts of all his Officers and Soldiers so extreamly that they all Vow'd unanimously to follow him though they should lose their lives in the action which he immediately began and marching in the Front of them gave the first on-set like a Thundring Jove in his greatest Storm Ovid Meta. or like an angry Hector in his sharp Conflicts and Bloody Slaughters of the Grecian Legions before the Walls of Troy Ovid Epist or like a furious Hercules in the Lybian Forest beating down the lofty Cedars and the aspiring Oaks that came in his way so did he beat down to the very ground as many proud Turks and unbelieving Heathens as came within the reach of his dreadful strokes He was the very first Person that enter'd the Breach Seal'd the Walls and with his own hands pull'd down the Half Moon and planted the Spread Eagle in its place This no less brave than bold Attempt depriv'd the Enemy of Courage made 'em quit their Posts confusedly and brought so great a Consternation upon the Citizens that they all laid down their Arms Parcere subjectis debellare superbos are two worthy propertys of a Christian Conqueror and beg'd for mercy which he was as forward to grant as they were desirous to obtain it to let them know that as he had the Courage to subdue them he had also the Piety to spare their lives O what unspeakable Joy did the News of the taking of this strong City create in the Emperours Court and indeed over all Europe but especially in all true English hearts What an extraordinary satisfaction was it to them to hear and see their Noble Country-man so highly extoll'd by all the World for so great and so renowned a Victory His Imperial Majesty was no less joyful at the good success of his English Champion neither was he remiss to gratify him for so famous an Action for at his return to Court he created him with all the Solemnity imaginable Count of the Empire and entail'd the same Honour upon the Heirs of his Family for ever with many other Priviledges and special Favours which are inseparable from that Illustrious Title The eternal Wisdom of God declares openly that such will be the Fruit as was the Tree A Fructibus
justly deserved it And if thou shouldst refuse to grant him thy protection yet has he no reason to repine at it But grant me leave O Lord to make known my grievances unto thee when I tell thee of my great difficulty to attain perfection the impossibility I ly under to depress my evilinclinations Thou dost remit me to the powerfull help of thy grace as if it were even at hand and in my power to make use of upon all occasions whereas I am always imploring it nay and often with weeping eyes do I crave thy mercy yet all my prayers are ineffectual I still being what I was an empty vessel void of all grace cold in my devotion weak frail and as prone to vice as ever I was where is now thy promise O Lord where are thy manyfold often reiterated protestations to give a favourable hearing to all poor Sinners at any time when they make their Addresses to thee Ask thou sayst and it shall be given you Mat. 7. Seek and you shall find Knock and it shall be opened unto you For every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened These are thy promises here are thine own invitations however in all submission I presume to say what the holy Job confess'd in the height of his afflictions and what he express'd in the bitterness of his sorrowful and troubled heart Job 30. I cry unto thee says he and thou dost not hear me I stand up and thou regardest me not Jer. Lament 3. I may lament with the Prophet Jeremy and say that thou hast builded against me and hedg'd thy self about with a thick cloud so that when I cry and shout Esai 63. thou hearest not my prayer I may likewise complain with the Prophet Isaiah that the multitude of thy mercies are restrained from me O Lord if what these great and holy men have said be true how can I poor sinfull Soul expect that my prayers will be heard or that thou wilt comply with my earnest and humble request I have more reason to apprehend the severity of thy Justice then to expect the products of thy mercy Esdr 9. for I may well say with Esdras O Lord I am confounded ashamed before thy face for my Sins are multiply'd above my head and my iniquitys have reached up to Heaven SAVIOVR I Am the searcher of all Hearts there can be nothing therein that is not visible to my eyes I have all their thoughts in my prospect and all the actions of men are register'd in my book of accounts I know that thy fears and querelous complaints do proceed from a pious and upright minde and therefore am resolved to give a favourable answer to every particular objection of thine I know thou dost not doubt of the truth of my words but thou would'st fain have the right meaning of them and conceive at full how my words and promises which seem to be contradictory may be justifyed in thee Wherefore take it for a certain truth and an infallible Rule that none who does what lies in him shall perish or ever be abandon'd by God no He is so mercifull a Creator that He will refuse no body the concurrence of his grace for he ardently desires the Salvation of all without any exception of persons as thou mayst easily conclude by that solemn invitation which he gives to all mankinde Come unto me says he all ye that are heavy and I will give you rest as also by that great care which he takes of every particular man even from his Mothers womb Mat. 11. Angelis suis mandavit de te ut custodiant te in omnibus vijs tuis Mat. 4.6 to dispatch one of his heavenly Courtiers with express orders to keep protect and defend him as well from the rage of his insulting enemies as from all other sinister accidents which poor Mortals are incident to This and many more Instances I might produce of the great tenderness that God has for man so that none who is truly a Christian has the least ground to doubt but that he and his only and dearly beloved Son also who has suffer'd so much for men and gave even his very Life to save them from Death everlasting will be ready not only to hear their prayers at all times but also most free to comply with their request But I must give thee to understand that prayer is an act of virtue and therfore it 's call'd Latria so that it is not every petition that can be rightly term'd a prayer for this is an humble demand of decent and necessary things to Salvation As thou art oblig'd to be firmly fix'd in the constant practice of other virtues thou must be the same in prayer thou must never give over but still continue upon the same subject with God And withal if thou dost expect to be heard and to obtain the effects of thy prayer from him thou must add the following councel to my former that is utterly to break off with vice and fall into a virtuous life For what a ridiculous thing it is to think that God will remit thee thy Sins whilst thou art resolv'd not to forsake them but rather to increase them dayly To hope for any mercy at his hands whom thou dost dishonour provoke and offend hourly what dost thou think of it is it not to laugh at the Almighty and to ridicule the Omnipotent If thou hadst dealt so with a terene King or with one of an inferiour degree certainly he would be highly displeas'd with thee and take it as a great affront that thou shouldst crave his pardon for the wrong thou hast done him and which thou art resolv'd not to repent how much more should the God of infinite Justice the Lord of unspeakable Majesty and the Judge of illuminate Wisdom be incens'd against a poor wretched creature that would go so bare-fac'd to affront him By what is said thou mayst understand that the duty of a well-meaning Orator is first to be inwardly griev'd to have ever offended his God secondly to make him condign satisfaction for all his past offences thirdly to purpose firmly not only to avoid Sin but also the occasion which may bring him to it After this worthy preparation he then must make a sorrowful entire and sincere confession of all his Sins to his spiritual Father fulfill exactly what satisfaction he shall enjoyn him If thou dost perform this and live ever after according to these dictates thou shalt undoubtedly obtain from God the effect of thy prayer let it be what thou wilt either the remission of thy sins or a further increase of Grace or any other rational request I must confess that he does sometimes even as a wise and provident Father delay the performance thereof but it is to try the faith and patience of his Orators and to exercise his Elect even the most holy among them that
grateful and meritorious to him as being the worthy products of my lively loving and gracious Children and because that all their virtue and power of doing well proceeds from me alone This certainly is a great incouragement to all justifi'd Souls to crave what favours they stand in need of and to ask of my heavenly Father with a great deal of confidence and hopes to obtain their requests being it is not only for themselves they ask it but also for me who am highly honour'd in them with them for no man will deny but what the members do the head does the same what is confer'd upon the one is also confer'd upon the other consequently being that I am the head of the justifi'd what they ask for themselves they ask the same for me My Apostle says Quam diu fecistis uni ex his fratribus meis miaimis mihi fecisti Matth. 25.40 that whoever offends and wrongs my members wrongs me likewise whoever persecutes them persecutes me also whoever honours them or gives them any relief in their distress I own the favour as done to my Self what a main comfort this is to a Just man when he considers that what boon he begs from the Father of Heaven for himself he begs the same for me who am his dearly beloved Son sure this is a principal ground for thee to hope that thou wilt not be refus'd what favour thou dost request of him For when a kindeness is exhibited to one for the love of another the favour is chiefly done to him for whose sake it was granted and indeed thou oughtest to believe that when thou shewest mercy to the poor for Gods sake thou art not only merciful to them but even to God himself MAN BLessed be thy holy name for ever my dear Jesus Capio dissoivi esse cum Christo Philip. 1.23 for thou hast replenish'd my heart with unspeakable joy and my Soul does thirst so much after thee the Fountain of life that she often desires with St. Paul to be deliver'd from the Prison of her frail ungrateful and rebellious flesh to stand in thy glorious presence for ever This I know is the reward of all justifi'd Souls For as thou makest use of thy Justice against Sinners who depart this life without Pennance and dost cast them headlong into the extremity of Hell-fire so thy mercy receives all true penitent Souls into life everlasting And tho' thou canst forgive them their Sins Non sunt condignae passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam quae revelabituâ— in nobis Rom 8.18 quod Momentaneum est in praesenti ct leve tribulationis nostrae supra modum in sublimitate aeternum gloriae pondus operat 2 Cor. 4.17 and receive them into thy favour without communicating thy Glory yet thou wouldst not deprive them of so great an advantage for those that thy mercy does absolve of their Sins thou dost Justify and those whom thou dost justify thou makest them thy Children and those whom thou dost take for thy Children thou makest them thy Heirs and joint-heirs with thy self in thy Kingdom of Glory This is the grand foundation of that lively hope which does rejoyce and comfort the just in all their tribulation for when they see themselves oppress'd with any disasters loaden with afflictions depress'd with infirmities reflected upon by their Neighbours Persecuted by their Enemies they consider seriously and believe that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compar'd with the glory which shall be reveal'd in them They firmly believe also that their light affliction which is but for a moment will work for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory All these favours and graces they receive from thee by the means of their Justification wherefore I must of necessity conclude with St. Augustin that benefit is of a far greater estimate then is that of our Creation the reason for it is that thou hast Created both Heaven Earth with one sole word whereas to Sanctify man thou hast suffer'd all the torments that the malice of men and the fury of Hell could invent thou hast spilt thy precious bloud gavest even thy sweet life to purchase his Salvation If we poor Mortals be so much oblig'd to thee for our Creation how much more are we thy Debtors for the benefit of our Justification for the obligation must be the greater by how much the purchase is dearer I must confess O Lord Nemo scit utrum amore an odio dignus sit Eccle 9.1 that a man does not know for certain whether he be Justifi'd or not being he cann't tell whether he be worthy of thy love or hatred however he may have very probable marks of his Justification whereof one and not the meanest is the reformation of ones life If he who was accuftom'd heretofore to commit several Sins in a day now commits none that man whoever he be is oblig'd to thee O Lord in a high measure in as much as thou hast deliver'd him from so many and such great evils and also hast gratifi'd him with all the eminent favours that We even now discours'd of But if any should be so great an enemy to his own Salvation as to continue his sinful and wicked life notwithstanding these most pressing motives which should oblige the most obedurat of men to love serve and obey thee Terribilium omnium terribilissimum mors Aristot O Lord I beg that thou wilt begin a discourse of Death which is the most terrible of all terrible motives in hopes it may retrive such poor wilful obstinate sinners and force them to comply with thy grace which is never wanting to any that purpose to amend SAVIOVR REmember O man that thou art a Christian and don 't forget that thou art a mortal man and consequently that thou must surely dy for thy fate is already decreed and the decree is unavoidable The Sons of mortall Parents must expect a mortal Posterity Death is the end of great and small Thou art born helpless and expos'd to the injuries of all Creatures and of all weathers The very necessaries of life may procure thy death for thou mayst meet with thy fate in thy dish in thy cup and in the very Ayr that refresheth thee nay thy very Birth is inauspicious for thou cam'st into the world weeping and in the middle of thy designs while thou art meditating great matters and stretching thy thoughts to after Ages Death will cut thee off and perhaps thy longest date is only the Revolution of a few days Death is common to all Men 't is a tribute Mors omnibus communis est Senec. Testamentum hujus mundi morte morietur Eccle. 14.12 that all mankinde must pay to Nature tho' not after the same manner for one may dye at his table another in his sleep a third in the heat of his unlawful pleasures a fourth with a glass
for tho' I cann't say that I am guilty of any Sin that might deprive me of his grace yet he will scearch so narrowly into the most hidden corners of mens hearts at that departing day that I have great reason to fear he may finde some subject of his displeasure within my breast Another no less commendable for the holyness of his life tells me of a most dreadful example which was in his days exhibited on the Person of one Stephen a Monk a great lover of a quiet and Solatary life This holy man after he had pass'd over several years in a monastical conflict and adorn'd his Soul with extraordinary graces and virtues by his continual fasting weeping and chastising his body with St. Paul lest it should bring his Soul to subjection he went into the desart and built a little cell for himself at the foot of that famous mountain where the Prophet Helias had formerly a most Sacred and heavenly vision a place remote from all worldly consolation almost inaccessible to men and very near a hundred miles distant from any human habitation After he had continued there a long tract of time in the height of all manner of mortification and Pennance and being in his declining Age he return'd to his former habitation where in a few days he fell into a fit of sickness whereof he dy'd Joan. Climachus in Schola Parad graduer but the day before his death he awaked suddenly out of his slumber and looking frightfully towards the right left side of his bed he was heard by all that were about him to say as if he were brought to an account for his past life 't is true that is so but for that Sin I have fasted so many years To another objection he answer'd that is true likewise but for that fault I often shed most bitter tears To another he would reply that 's a grand lye I am innocent of that crime Again he would answer 't is so indeed I have nothing to say against it but leave my self wholly to God's mercy Certainly this was a spectacle able to terrify the hearts of all them that were by and especially for that the poor man was accus'd of what he never committed so eager his mortal Enemies were to get possession of his Soul by endeavouring to push him into despair He was indeed a lover of retir'd and solitary places and a Monk of forty years approbation endu'd with the gift of working miracles yet he trembles at the hearing of his accompts some he denys and some he owns but he relys upon Gods great mercy for a pardon and in this conflict he dyes without leaving any certainty of what became of him or how favourable his Judge was to him at the end of his trial O Saviour of mankinde if such great Saints were so much terrifi'd at the sight of death and so apprehensive of thy dreadful Judgements what will become of Sinners at that hour and of such Sinners as do spend their whole life in the vanities and transitory pleasures of the world of Sinners that make nothing to offend thee by all manner of wickedness of Sinners that live in so great a neglect of their Salvation as if they had no Souls to be sav'd and no account to be given after death If the Just are seiz'd with so great a terrour at the hour of Death what a deplorable condition will the habitual Sinner be in what will become of the weak shrubs of the desart that have no shelter from the raging storms of Death and Judgment when the tall Cedars of Liban are laid even with the ground Si Justus vix salvabitur Impius peccator ubi apâ—râ—bâ—nt 1 Pet. 4.3 18. If the Righteous scarcely be sav'd where shall the ungoldy and the Sinner appear who walk'd all his life in Lasciviousness Lust excess of Wine Revellings Banquetings and all abominable Idolatries what can be safe in Babylon when there is so strict a search made in Jerusalem SAVIOVR THou sayst well O man what will become of a Sinner indeed at the hour of death when I who am the spotless Lamb was seiz'd with so great an apprehension of it Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem Mar. 14.34 that my Soul was sad even to death and terrifi'd to that degree that my body was all in a bloudy sweat But what will become of a Sinner when I shall appear to him who am to be not only his Judge but also a most irrefragable witness against him St. Augustin will tell thee he had rather suffer even the unspeakable torments of Hell Chrys hom 24. in Matth. then to behold the face of his angry Judge And St. Chrysostome declares it were better for Sinners to be struck with as many thunderbolts as the magazine of Heaven can afford then to see that countenance so meek and so full of sweetness heretofore altogether estrang'd from them at that most dreadful hour And if thou wilt give credit to the deposition of a learned Authour he will tell thee that even an Image which was only my representation on the Cross appear'd with such wrathful and incens'd eyes to a congregation of People that they all fell unto the ground senseless without any motion and that they cuntinued in that amazement several hours What a consternation then will Sinners be in when they shall behold not my Image which is at best but a dead figure but my self alive not in the humility of my Cross but seated on a Throne of Justice and Majesty not in a time of mercy but in the due season of a just vengeance not with naked hands pierc'd through with nails but arm'd against them with the Sword of Justice Thus I shall come to Judge and revenge the injuries which they have done unto me I am righteous in my Justice as I am in my mercy and as I have allotted a time for mercy so I will for Justice and as in this life the rigour of my justice is as it were repress'd and suspended so in that point of Death when the Sinners are to receive their final Sentence I will suffer it to break forth like an inundation and drown them all in the deluge of my indignation and wrath Imagine with thy self a great and rapid River that has had it's current violently stop'd these forty years Dan. 7. and now it were to have free passage what a condition the Country round about would be in with what a fury would it overrun the whole land and beat down all before it Citys Towns Villages Castles Trees Walls Houses Men Cattle and all without any resistance Thou knowst that my Prophet Daniel compares my Justice not to an ordinary River but to a River of fire to express the greatness and severity of it thou knowest likewise that the current of this River is frequently repress'd thirty forty years nay sometimes during the whole life of Man O what an infinite deal of
didst send him word by thy Prophet that he should dy for it and that He and all his People should suffer the punishment which was to fall upon the Syrians and their King O my Sweet Saviour if thy judgement even in this life be so far distant from that of men what shall it be in that dreadful hour which thou hast reserv'd for the executing of thy divine Justice SAVIOVR MY Judgment is indeed far remote Vas electionis est iste mihi ut porter nomen meum coram Regibus Gentibus Act. 9.15 not only from that of the common sort of men but also from that of the holiest among them Paul was a Saint upon Earth he was a vessel of Election and made privy to the Secrets of Heaven yet he was deceiv'd in his judgment of Timothy for he thought him to be a Saint and worthy of the character and station of a Bishop yet I found him otherwise Apoc. 3. and threatn'd to deprive him of his Church of Ephesus for falling from his former zeal and would certainly take away his Chair but that he repented and did Pennance My dearly beloved Disciple had a great veneration for all the Seven Bishops of Asia the whole Country look'd upon them all as holy men and great lovers of virtue yet in my sight the Bishop of Sardis was so far from being a Saint that his Soul was tainted with mortal Sin the Bishop of Laodicia was a miser poor blinde and naked of all virtue the Bishop of Thiatira was indeed a faithful servant to me as to his own person but in performing his duty to those under his charge I found him guilty in several sins of omission The Bishop of Philadelphia was not indeed fallen from his first zeal Utinam frigidus esses aut calidus sed quia tepidus es incipiam te evomere ex ore meo Apo. 3.16 yet I found wherewith to reprehend him not for committing of evil nor for the omitting of good nor for being remiss in his former fervour but only for his little virtue and charity with another I found fault and told him I would thou wert either hot or cold but because thou art luke-warm I shall begin to vomit thee out of my mouth By this thou mayst see how far different my judgment is from that of men in this life As for the severity of my Judgement even in this life wherein for the most part I make use of my mercy t is very terrible as thou mayst well perceive by what I said to the People of Israel by the mouth of my Prophet nay 't is able to drive thee and even the most obstinate of Sinners out of the ways of iniquity into the path of mortification and Pennance which alone can lead them to Salvation Mark well my words and lodge them within the closet of thy heart as a divine treasure their efficacy is such that if often minded they will exempt thee from the following calamities I will powr out all my Rage upon thee and will accomplish my fury in thee I will Judge thee according to thy ways and will lay forth all thy wickedness against thee my eyes shall not pardon thee neither will I have mercy on thee I will charge thee with all thy misdeeds and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord that smites Nay my wrath shall be upon all the People the Sword without and Pestilence within and Famine too they who fly to save themselves shall all remain in the mountains as the Doves of the valleys trembling in their iniquities their hands shall be disjoynted and their knees shall dissolve into water for the great fear and amazement which I shall send upon them in my wrath Consider seriously now and conclude if my Judgement be so severe and so rigorous even in this life which is the only time for mercy what will it be when mercy is clear out of date and when Justice will admit of no mixture of pitty of tenderness or of compassion when the books of all mens consciences shall be laid open to the view of the whole world when the most secret Sins of their hearts those sordid acts committed in the dark those Sins which through shame were conceal'd in confession or made less considerable with false and Sacrilegious excuses when all crooked and sinister intentions hidden and unknown Treacheries counterfiet and dissembling virtues feigned friends adulterous Wives unfaithful Husbands deceitful Servants false witnesses and all such trash shall be discover'd to their great shame and confusion when In fine Ite maledicti in ignem aeternum qui paratus est Diâ—boio Angelis ejus Mat. 25. Job 26.11.12 they shall behold me feated on a dreadful Throne with a countenance full of indignation and wrath and hear from my mouth these dreadful words depart from me ye cursed into eternal fire prepar'd for Satan and his Angels This dreadful sentence shall overthrow them for ever and cover them with eternal sorrow and confusion The Pillars of Heaven says Job do tremble and are astonish'd at his reproofs If we be not able to hear so few words from his mouth without amazement in puncto ad inferna descendent Job 21. how shall we withstand the thunder of his omnipotent power This voice shall be horrible and of so great a power that the earth in the twinkling of an eye shall open and swallow them down into the bottomless pit of Hell O Man if Ananias and Saphira were struck dead only with hearing the angry voice of my Disciple what a terror will my dreadful and angry voice strike into the hearts of the reprobate Act. 5.1.2.3.4 c. S. Catharine of Sienna was reprehended by St. Paul for not imploying her time to more advantage for her Soul this was at most but a charitable advice givenprivately too yet she said she had rather be disgraced before the whole world then once more to suffer what she did by that reprehension but what is this in reference to the horrour and confusion which my dreadful words will bring upon the wicked in the day of my vengeance If when I suffer'd my self to be taken and led to be judged with these two words I am I overthrew the astonish'd multitude of Souldiers and Rabble to the ground what will my words be when I come to Judge what a terrible fall and irrecoverable overthrow will these dreadful words give to all the wicked depart from me ye cursed into eternal fire prepared for Satan and his Angels Psal 54. for at that very instant the fire of that general burning shall invest those misorable Creatures the Earth shall open and Hell shall enlarge his throat to swallow them to all eternity Psal 139. Then they shall see the accomplishment of my malediction let death come upon them and let them sink alive into hell Coals of fire shall fall upon them
Lord are constantly fix'd upon those that fear him there 's not a step they go nor an action they do nor a word they speak but he takes an account of He is the powerful Protector of the godly the upholder of the virtuous the Defender of the zealous a comfort to the afflicted a refuge to the Just from the Scorching heat of Lust and all other vices a Preserver from all mortal offences their main help in all their adversitys exalting their Souls illuminating their eyes giving them life health and his everlasting blessings O how many kinds of employments do I take upon me for the welfare and preservation of man Apud Dominum gressus hominis dirigentur viam ejus volet cum ceciderit non collidetur quia Dominus supponit manum suam Psal 36.23 24. The Prophet Royal gives me another office which ought mightily to encourage all Christians to put themselves intirely under my protection which likewise adds very much lustre to my divine love for my faithful and loving Servants The steps of a good man says he are order'd by the Lord and he delights in his way Tho' he should fall he shall not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholds him with his hand Consider seriously this amourous expression see what hurt can come to a man that falls upon so sweet and easy and so gracious a cushion as are my sacred hands none at all for I will preserve them so carefully that not even the least harm shall come upon 'em and if any should be so peremptory as to afflict or wrong any that is under my protection I shall take it for an injury done to my self Qui vos tangit tangit pupillam oculi mei Zacha. 2. for He that touches them touches the apple of mine eye Certainly this special care I take to protect the Righteous is a most convincing argument of my great love for them and the command I lay upon my Angels to keep and preserve them in all their ways is altogether as great a proof of my tender kindeness and especially Psal 90. the strict charge I give them to bear men up in their hands lest they should dash their feet against the Stones O Man consider how highly the Righteous are honour'd by me in that I have appointed my Angelical Spirits to bear them up in their Arms What Pope what Emperour what Monarch in the World was ever so well supported Beasts or Mens shoulders at most are enough to carry them but my Angels from Heaven are order'd to bear my Children even in their hands wherever they goe It 's usual with Elder-Brothers if they be not of a moross nature indeed to carry their younger-Brothers in their arms when they are not able to go themselves and this kindness my Angels do faithfully perform to the just as being their Elder Brothers not only in their life time but also in their death as thou mayst read in Scripture Luc. 16. Psal 33. where Lazarus after he died was carri'd by the hands of Angels into Abraham's bosom And my Prophet avers that they surround the Righteous in this life lest any hurt should befal them from any side and I keep a vigilant eye over them my self that no evil may annoy them In fine they shall tread upon the Lion Psa 91.13 14 15 16. and Adder The young Lion and the Dragon shall they trample under their feet because they have fixed their love upon me therefore will I deliver them I will set them on high because they have known my name They shall call upon me and I will answer them I will be with them in all their troubles I will also deliver them and honour them too I will bless them with a long life and shew them my Salvation at the hour of their death When the King of Syria came with a numerous Army to take my Prophet Eliseus Prisoner his Servant felt so great an Agony of trembling and was so terrify'd at the sight of so dreadful a power 4 Reg. 6.17 that my Prophet pray'd heartily I should open his eyes to let him see the far greater number of Angels which were on his side to beat down that vast multitude which came to annoy him whereupon the Servant was animated and seem'd to dare his Adversaries or at least to make slight of them had I open'd thine eyes likewise and set thee the question what dost thou see in Sunamite that is my Church or every Soul that lives in the state of Grace thou wouldst answer I see great Armies of Angels on every side of her O what a puissant Guard is this sure there 's no danger of any disaster falling upon my faithful Servants whilst they are so extraordinary well protected Quid videbis in sunamite nisi choros castrorum Cant. 7. Solomon's Couch was environed with sixty Men of the Strongest and stoutest of all Israel with their drawn Swords in their hands and were all expert in Martial discipline each one well Arm'd at all points for fear of any nocturnal incursions Cant. 3. or insurrections This is only a figure but a perfect representative of the great care which I take to preserve protect the Righteous otherwise how could they being conceiv'd in sin living in a frail corrupt flesh prone to all evil among so many snares and powerfull allurements to evil pass over as many years without the least mortal Sin this is the wonderful effect and chief benefit of my Divine Providence and Protection which is so extraordinary great that it does not only preserve them from evil but changes the very evil which they had carelesly committed into a subject of greater good Diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum Rom. 8.28 because that by this little stumble they got they become more wary more humble and more thankful to me who have withdrawn them from so great a danger and forgiven them an offence against my infinite Majesty This was an occasion of St. Pauls saying Diligentibus deum omnia cooperantur in bonum Rom. 8.28 We know all things work together for good to them that love God If this great favour be worthy of all Mens admiration how much more astonishing will it be that I shew this great Mercy not only to my beloved Servants but also to their Children and to their Children's Children after them as I do solemnly declare in these words I the Lord thy God am a jealous God Exod. 20.5 visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments David is a sufficient President hereof for I did not reject his Children for many Ages and tho' their sins have often deserv'd my abandoning them yet I had patience with them for the love and esteem I bare to David their worthy Father and my faithful Servant When
confirms it and St. Paul avers that where the love of Riches is once settl'd the peace of God is utterly excluded and this is a greater loss then our understanding can comprehend in a word that man who puts his heart in his treasure has a restless Soul and this is the greatest misfortune incident to mankinde He is like a Clock which when winded up will never leave it's motion till the weights be down 't is the same with him his mind will never be at rest whilst so many cares and anxietys possess it which are to it as weights to a clock that keep it always going so when others are in their sweet repose he is breaking his brains contriving how to manage his money to the best advantage Of all the Plagues that God was pleas'd to impose upon the Egyptians for their many and grievous sins Exod. 8. that of the flys was most intollerable because they were so cruelly tormented by the very creatures they had ador'd for Gods I may say the same of worldly men that of all the Miserys and troubles which God lays upon 'em for their offences this is one of the greatest to be tormented and grievously perplex'd with the cares even of that thing which they adore as their God and in which they place their chiefest felicity And let them use all their skill to forget these cares they can't possibly expell them and this adds much to their great disaster no they will assault them in the morning and shall bear them company all day neither shall they leave them at night no they will enter the bed with 'em and deprive them of rest they shall be the subject of their dreams Qui nocte nec die non dabunt requiem Jer. 16. Quia abstuli pacem a populo isto dicit Dominus misericordiam miserationes Jer. 16. so that I may well compare them to those unmerciful Tyrants wherewith thou O Lord dost threaten the wicked by thy prophet which shall allow them no comfort or ease either night or day This is a very great affliction I confess and the only reason hereof is that thou hast taken away thy peace from so terrene a People plung'd so extreamly in their pleasures without the least care of their Souls or thought of heaven and therefore have they merited a divorce from thy mercy and a continuance of their deplorable state even without hopes of thy commiseration And really if I give credit to what the Prophet Esay says of them their condition is so bad Esai 59. that it can't be better express'd then by his own words They put their trust in things of nothing says he and do talk of vanitys They conceive labour and bring forth iniquity They break the eggs of Serpents and weave the webs of Spiders He that shall eat of their eggs shall dy and that which is hatched thence shall be a Cockatrice Their webs shall not make cloth to cover them for that their works are unprofitable and the work of iniquity is in their hands There 's not a word in all this the Prophet's description of the Rich of this World but contains a mystery by the first that they put their trust in things of nothing we may very well conceive the vanity of Riches which if enjoy'd to day to morrow they may be snatch'd from us and perhaps our lives too for lucre of them And he who takes them from us may likewise lose them soon after with the same damage if not a greater I mean his Soul's loss for ever They conceive labour O what a deal of toil do poor worldlings take to heap up treasures how many perilous voiages to the East and West-Indies how many tedious journeys by land to this and that other Fair how many dangers of being rob'd and of losing their lives too Day and night they are afraid of Thieves nay they dare not trust their own Servants no nor their Wives with the keys of their treasures for fear they should rob them of their money and if any thereof be taken away O what an angry countenance will he put on what curses what Imprecations will he make What a consternation will the whole Family be in every one striving to clear himself will make his earnest Address to the Conjurer and as he is apt to tell lyes being so great a familiar with Lucifer he may make the innocent criminal and the criminal innocent for with him favour goes by bribing and he that gives him most shall have his best word tho' he were the greatest Knave in the whole Pack this is the labour now let us hear th'Iniquity it brings forth is there not a wo pronounc'd to them which draw iniquity with the ropes of vanity The same Prophet says that they break the Eggs of Serpents Pliny the naturalist tells us and our own experience confirms it that the bird which sits upon the eggs of a Serpent by breaking and hatching them brings forth a venemous brood that will most certainly be the utter destruction of her self 'T is even so with a man that sits as it were in brood upon his Riches and does affect them overmuch they will certainly be the death of his Soul and in the interim will make him a most miserable wretch whilst he lives in this World always in fear of losing them for they are as apt to change Masters as the Spiders web is to be broken with the least puff of Wind this wants no confirmation for the man in the Gospel ratifys it who with excessive care and labour had gather'd so vast a quantity of Riches that he was forc'd to pull down his old barns and build new to lay them in and when that was done he bids his Soul enjoy her self being really perswaded he should live splendidly and fare sumptuously upon them many years but his Soul was snatch'd that very night from him and all his great preparations were useless to him This inconstancy of Worldly wealth occasion'd the said prophet to say that the webs of those weavers shall not make cloth to cover them withal nor shall their works be profitable to them and that none but the works of Iniquity should remain in their hands whereby he lets us know that whoever loves and follows these vanitys shall certainly load his Soul with so great a burthen of iniquity that he will sink into the very lowest Hell where those who had glutted themselves with the World's pleasures delights shall be grievously tormented and then they will know that their riches were thorns indeed that not only rent their hearts in this World but will wound their Souls eternally in the other These thoughts are now far from their minds but when their glass is spent that grim Death appears unto them O how bitter will the remembrance thereof be unto those men that have plac'd all their happiness in Riches What a grief was it to Alexander the great O Mors quam