Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
saint_n	church_n	militant_a	triumphant_a	2,791	5	11.4510	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01209	A treatise of the loue of God. Written in french by B. Francis de Sales Bishope and Prince of Geneua, translated into English by Miles Car priest of the English Colledge of Doway; Traité de l'amour de Dieu. English	Francis, de Sales, Saint, 1567-1622.; Carre, Thomas, 1599-1674.; Baes, Martin, engraver.	1630 (1630)	STC 11323; ESTC S102617	431,662	850

to the end I may praise thy holy name the iuste expects me till thou restorest vnto me my desired repose Behold THEO I beseech you this soule who as a heauenly Nightingale shut vp in the cage of his bodie in which it cannot at wish sing the benedictions of his eternall loue knowes that he could better recorde and practise his melodious ditties if he could gaine the aire enioye the freedome and societie of other Philomels amongst the gaie and flowrie hillockes of the Land of the Blessed and thence he cries alas o Lord of my life ah by thy wholy sweete bountie deliuer my pouertie out of the cage of my bodie free me from this little prison to th' end that released from this bondage I may flie to my deare companions who expect me aboue in heauen to make me one of their Quiers and enuirone me with their ioye the Almightie according my voice to theirs I with them will make vp a sweete harmonie of delicious aires and accēts singing praising and blessing thy mercy This admirable Saint as an Orator who would end and cōclude all he had saied in some short sentence made this the happie periode of all his wishes and desires whereof these last words were a Breefe Words to which his soule was so fixed that in breathing them he breathed his last My God THEO what a sweete and deare death was this a happily louing death a holily mortall loue How we practise the LOVE OF BENEVOLENCE in the praises which our Sauiour and his mother giue to God CHAPTER XI 1. VVE ascend then stepe by stepe in this holy exercise by the creaturs which we inuite to praise God passing from the sensible to the reasonable and intellectuall and from the Church militant to the triumphant in which we raise our selues vp to the Angels and Saints till aboue them all we haue met with the most sacred virgin who in a matchlesse manner doth praise and magnifie the Diuinitie more highly holily and deliciously then all the other creaturs together are able 2. Being two yeares agoe at Milan whither the veneration of the fresh memorie of the great Archbishope S. CHARLES had drawen me with certaine of our Church-men we heard in diuers Churches diuers sorts of musike but in a Monasterie of Nunnes we heard a Religious woman whose voice was so admirably delicious that she alone filled our minds with more delight incomparably then all the rest together which though otherwise excellent yet seemed they to serue onely to giue luster and raise the perfection and grace of this singular voice So THEO amongst all the Quires of men and Angels the most sacred Virgine's loftie voice is heard which raised aboue all renders more praise to God then doe all the other creaturs And indeede the Heauenly king inuites her to sing in a particular manner shew me thy face saieth he my well-beloued let thy voice sound in my eares for thy voice is entirely sweete and thy face wholy faire 3. But the praises which this Mother of honour and faire dilection together with all the creaturs giues to the Diuinitie though excellent and admirable come yet so short of the infinite merite of Gods goodnesse that they carrie no proportion with it and therefore albeit they meruellously please the louing heart 's holy beneuolence to the well-beloued yet doe they not saciate it Wherefore it goes forward and inuites our Sauiour to praise and glorifie his eternall Father with all the Benedictions which a Sonnes loue can fournish him withall And then THEO the soule is put to silence being able onely to admire O what a Canticle is this of the Sonne to his Father ô how faire this deare well-beloued is amongst all the children of men ô how sweete is his voice as issuing from the lipps vpon which the fulnesse of grace was poured All the others are perfumed but he is the perfume it selfe the others are embaumed but he is Baulme poured out the eternall receiues others praises as smells of peculiar flowres but vpon the odour of the praises which our Sauiour giues him doubtlesse he cries out ô these are the odours of my sonns praises as the odour of a field full of flowres which I haue blessed I my deare THEO all the Benedictions which the Church militant and triumphant offers to God are Angelicall and humane benedictions for beit they are addressed to the Creatour yet proceede they from a Creature but the Sonns are diuine for they doe not onely tend to God as the others but they flow from God the Redeemour being true God they are not onely diuine in respect of their end but of their beginning diuine because they tend to God diuine because they issue from God God prouokes the soule endewing her with sufficient grace for the production of other praises But the Redeemour being God produceth his owne himselfe and thence they are infinite 4. He that in a morning for a good space hauing heard in the neighbour woods the sweete chaunting of a great companie of Canarie birdes Linnets Goldfinches and such like little birdes should in the end heare a Maister Nightingale who in perfect melodie would fill the aire and eare with her admirable voice doubtlesse he would preferre this one grouie Chaunter before the whole Quires of the others So hauing heard all the praises which so many different sorts of of creaturs in emulation of one another renders vnanimously to their Creatour when at length one markes that of our Sauiour they find in it a certaine infinitie of merite valour sweetenesse which passe all hope and expectation of heart and the soule as awaked out of a deepe sleepe is then sodenly rauished with extreamitie of the sweetenesse of that melodie ah I heare it ô the voice the voice of my well-beloued The Queene-voice of all voices a voice in comparison wherof all the other voices are but a dume and sad silence See how this deare friend doth spring out see how he comes tripping ouer the mountaines transcending the hills his voice is heard aboue the Seraphins and all other creaturs he hath the sight of a Goate to penetrate deeper then any other the beautie of the Sacred obiect which he desires to praise He loues the melodie of the glorie and praise of his Father more then all the rest and therefore he takes his Fathers praises and benedictions in a straine aboue them all Behold this diuine loue of the Beloued as he is clothed in his humanitie making hīselfe to be seene through the holes of his wounds and his open side as by windowes and as by lattises by which he lookes vpon vs. 5. Yes The Diuine Loue being seated vpon our Sauiours heart as vpon his royall Throne beholds through the passage of his pearced side all the hearts of the sonnes of mē for this heart being the king of hearts keepes his eye still fixed vpon hearts But as those that looke through a lattise doe plainely discouer others and yet are not

this kind of fauour one could desire no more and as the sunne-beames remaine Sunnne-beames notwithstanding that they are reiected and repulsed by some obstacle so God's signified will remaines the true will of God though it be resisted true it is it hath not the effects which it would haue being seconded 4. The conformitie then of our heart to the signified will of God consisteth in this that we should will that which the diuine goodnesse doth signifie vnto vs to be his intention beleeuing according to his doctrine hoping according to his promises fearing according to his threats louing and liuing according to his ordinances and aduertissements to which all the protestations which we make thereof in the holy Ceremonies of the Church doe tend Hence we stand while the Gospell is red as being readie to obay the holy signification of Gods will contained therein Hence we kisse the booke at the Gospell side in adoration of the sacred word which doth declare his heauenly will Hence many Saints mē and women carried in the old time in their bosoms the Gospell written as an Ephitheme of Loue as it is reported of S. CICILE And indeede S. MATHEWES Gospell was found vpon S. BARNABIES breast written with his owne hand Wherevpon in the auncient Councells in the midst of the assemblie of Bishops they erected a Throne and put vpon it the Booke of the holy Gospells which represented the person of our Sauiour king Doctour Directour Spirit of all the Councells and of the whole Church so much did they reuerence the signification of Gods will expressed in this holy booke Certes that great Myrrour of Pastours S. CHARLES Archbishop of Milau neuer studied the holy Scripture but bare head and vpon his knees to testifie with what respect we are to reade and heare the signified will of God Of the Conformitie of our will to the will which God hath to saue vs. CHAPTER IV. 1. GOd hath signified vnto vs so diuersly and by so diuerse meanes that his will was that we should all be saued that none can be ignorant of it to this purpose he made vs to his owne Image by Creation and himselfe to our Image and likenesse by his Incarnation after which he suffered death to ransome and saue all mankind which he performed with so much loue that as the great S. DENIS Apostle of France racounteth he saied vpon a day to the holy man Carpus that he was ready to suffer an other passion to saue mākind and that this would be pleasant vnto him if it could be done without any mans offence 2. And although all are not saued yet is this will the tru● will of God who doth worke in vs according to the condition of our and his nature For his Bountie moues him liberally to communicate ●nto ●● the succours of his grace to bring vs to the felicitie of his glorie but our nature req●●● that his liberalitie should leaue vs in libertie to make vse of it to our saluation or to neglect it to o●r damnation 3. I haue demanded one thing saied the Prophet and it is that which I will demand for euer that I may see the delightes of our Lord and visite his temple But what are the delightes of the soueraigne Goodnesse but to poure out and communicate its perfections Verily his delightes are to be with the children of men to showre his grace vpon them Nothing is so agreeable and delightfull to free Agents as to doe their owne will Our Sanctification is the will of God and our Saluation his good pleasure nor is there any difference at all betwixt good pleasure and Good liking or consequently betwixt good-liking and goodwill yea the will which God hath to aduantage man is called good because it is amiable propitious fauorable agreeable delicious and as the Grecians after S. PAVLE saied it is a true PHILANTROPIE that is a beneuolence or a will entirely affectionate to men 4. All the celestiall Temple of the Triumphāt and Militant Church doth resound on euery side the delicious Canticles of God's loue towards vs. And the Sacred bodie of our Sauiour as the most holy Temple of his Diuinitie is wholy adorned with markes and tokens of this Beneuolence so that in visiting the Diuine Temple we behold the louely delightes which he takes to doe vs fauours 5. Let vs then a thousand times a day behold this louing will of God ād grounding ours therein let 's deuotely crie-out O Bountie infinitly sweete how amiable is thy will How desirable thy fauours Thou created vs for an eternall life and thy motherly breast swolen in the sacred dugges of an incomparable loue abounds in the milke of mercy whether it be to pardon sinners or perfect the Iust Ah why doe not we then glew our wills to thyne as a child is locked to the nible of his mothers dugge to lucke the milke of thy eternall benedictions 6. TH●O we are to will our Saluation in such sort as God will's it and he wills it by way of desire must not we then following his desire incessantly desire it Nor doth he will it onely but in effect enables vs with all necessarie meanes to attaine it we then in sequele of the desire we haue to be saued must not onely desire but in effect accept all the graces which he hath prouided for vs and presents vnto vs. It is sufficient to saie I desire to be saued yet it is not sufficient to saie I desire to embrace the meanes conuenient to the attaining of saluation but we must with an absolute resolution desire and embrace the grace which God bestowes vpon vs for our will must necessarily correspōde to God's And whereas Gods will giues vs the meanes to saue our selues we ought to receiue them as we ought to desire saluation in such sort as God desires it and vs. 7. But it fals often out that the meanes to come to Saluation considered in grosse and in generall are according to our hearts liking but considered by peecemeale and in particular they are dreadfull to vs for haue we not seene the poore S. Peter prepared to vndergoe all kind of torments in generall yea death it selfe to follow his Maister and yet when it came to the deede doing and performance waxe pale tremble and at the word of a simple maide denie his Maister Euery one deemes himselfe able to drinke our Sauiours CHALICE with him but when indeede it is presented vnto vs we flie and forsake all Things proposed in particular make a more strong impressiō and more sensibly wound in the Imagination And for this reason we gaue aduice in the INTRODVCTION that after generall affections one should descend to particular ones in holy Meditation Dauid accepted particular afflictions as an aduancement to his perfection when he sunge in this wise O Lord how good it is for me that thou hast humbled me that I might learne thy iustifications So also did the Apostles reioyce in their tribulations in that they

finding themselues sure they put on againe their womans habit and returning to Sea they went to the towne Mylasla in Car●● whither the great S. PAVLE who had found her in Co and had taken her vnder his spirituall protection led her and where afterwards being made Bishop he did so piously direct her that she erected a Monasterie and dedicated it to serue the Church in qualitie of DIACONESSES as in those dayes they were named with such feruour of Charitie that in the end she died a Saint and by a number of miracles which God did by her Relikes and intercessions was acknowledged for such To put on an attire proper to a diuers Sexe and in a disguised manner to expose ones selfe to a iourney together with men doth not onely passe the extraordinarie rules of Christian modestie but is euen contrarie to them A certaine young man hauing giuen his mother a kicke with his foote touched with a liuely repentance confessed it to S. ANTONIE of Padua who to imprint the horrour of his sinne more deepely in his heart saied vnto him amōgst other things my child the foote which serued for an instrument of wickednesse would deserue to be cut off for so great a trespasse which the youth tooke in so good earnest that being returned home to his mother transported with the feeling of contrition he cut of his foote the Saints words had not had such force according to their ordinarie qualitie vnlesse God had added his inspiration therevnto yea an inspiration so extraordinarie that it was esteemad rather a temptatiō if the miracle of his reunited foote caused by the Saints benediction had not authorised it S. PAVLE the first Hermite S. ANTONIE S. MARIE EGIPTIACA did not inhabite the vast wildernesse where they were depriued of hearing Masse communicating and confessing yea of all direction and assistance being young people without a strong inspiration The great SYMEON STYLITE led a life that neuer mortall creature would haue dream't of or haue vndertaken without an heauēly instinct and assistance SAINT IOHN Bishop surnamed SILENTIARIVS forsaking his Bishoprike without the knowledge of any of his Clergie passed the rest of his dayes in the Monasterie of Laura nor was there after any newes heard of him Was not this contrarie to the rule of keeping a holy Residence And the great S. PAVLINE who sold himselfe to ransome a poore widowes sonne how could he doe it following the ordinarie lawes since he was not his owne but by his Episcopale consecration belonged to the Church and the Common The Virgins and wiues who being pursued for their beautie with voluntarie wounds disfigured their faces that vnder the maske of an holy deformitie they might conserue their chastitie did they not in apparēce prohibited things 2. Now the best marke of good inspirations in generall and particularly of extraordinarie ones is the peace and tranquillitie of the heart that receiues them for though the holy Ghost be truely violent yet is his violence sweete delicate and peaceable he comes as a blast of winde and as an heauēly thunder-clape but he doth not ouerthrow the Apostles he troubles them not the feare which they had in hearing the noyse was of no continuance but was sodainly followed with a sweete assurance So that this fire seates it selfe vpon each of them where it giues and takes a sacred repose and as our Sauiour is called a peaceabl● o● gentle Salomon so is his Spouse termed Sunamite calme and Daughter of Peace and the voice that is the inspiration of God doth not in any sort disquiet or trouble but drawes her so sweetely that he makes her soule deliciously melt and runne into him My soule quoth she melted when my Beloued spoke and though she be warlike and Martiall yet is she withall so peaceable that in the discord of weapons and warrs she maintaines the concord of an incomparable melodie What can you see saied she in the Sunamite but troupes of armed men Her armies consist of troupes that is of concords and singers and her troupes are armed men because the weapons of the Church and of the deuote soule are no other thing then Praiers Hymes Canticles and Psalmes So that seruants of God which had the most high and sublime inspirations were the most milde and peaceable that the world had Abraham Isaac Iacob Moyses are enstyled the most milde amongst men Dauid is famous for his mildnesse Whereas Contrariwise the Euill Spirit is turbulent rough stirring and those that follow hellish suggestions apprehending them to be heauenly inspirations are commonly easily knowen being disquieted headie fierce enterprisers and sticklers in affaires who vnder the cloake of Zeale doe turne all topce-turnie censure all the world chide euery one find fault with all things they are a people that will not be directed by or condiscend to any they will beare with nothing but exercise the passions of selfe-loue vnder the title of Zeale of Gods honour The third Marke of the Inspiration which is holy obedience to the Church and Superiours CHAPTER XIII 1. HOly humilitie is inseparably adioyned to the peace and sweetenesse of heart But I doe not terme a complementall ranging of words gestures and kissings of the ground obeissance inclinations humilitie being done as it often fals out without any inward sense of our owne abiection and of the iust conceite we make of our neighbour for these are but the vaine amusemēts of a weake braine and are rather to be termed fantomes of humilitie then humilitie 2. I speake of a noble reall pithie and solide humilitie which makes vs supple to correction pliable and prompt to obedience While the incomparable Simeon Stylite was yet a Nouice at Toledo he could not be stirred by his Superiours aduise who sought to reclame him from the practise of so many strang austerities by which he was inordinatly cruell to hīselfe so that at lēgth he was turned out of the Monasterie vpon it as one that was incapable of the mortificatiō of the mīd ād too much addicted to that of the bodie but beīg recalled againe to the Monasterie ād become more deuote ād prudēt in spirituall life his behauiour was quite other as in the ensuing action he declared for the Hermits which were disperced in the neighbour Deserts of Antioche hauing notice of the extraordinarie life which he led vpon the Pillar in which he seemed to be either an earthly Angell or a neauenly mā they dispatched a Deputie with order to speake vnto him from them as followeth Why dost thou Simeon leauing the high way of perfection which so great and holy Forerunners haue troden follow another vncouth and farre different from all that hath bene seene or heard to this day Simeon forsake the Pillar and sort thy selfe with others as well in their manner of life a● in their methode of seruing God vsed by our holy Auncesters In case Simeon yeelding to their aduise and condescending to their pleasures should shew himselfe readie to descend they had