vicissitudes of these sublunary things cannot deprive me of I mean the Joy to see my self redeem'd from the slavery of sin in a state of salvation and led by the hand of thy Divine Providence to my Heavenly Canaan Season also my Heart with thy Grace that Spirit and Principle of Action which having-wash'd us clean in the Blood of our Saviour furnishes us with strength to persevere to the end in the way of his Commandments For alas what will become of those Vows which I made unto thee when I was surrounded with Fear and in danger of losing my Soul I say what will become of them unless thou O Lord out of the abundance of thy Mercy art-pleas'd to imprint them on my mind fix them in my thoughts and enable mâ— to conquer the Temptations of my visible and invisible Enemies who use all means possible either to terrifie or to decoy me into sin O Lord who succourest the poor and takest pleasure in those that come unto thee with Faith and with an humble and contrite Heart We acknowledge our selves to be weak and miserable Creatures and relie wholly upon thy Grace the proper Medicine to heal and comfort us Search my Heart and try my Reins and grant me that infallible Medicine which dispels the most contagious fumes of sin which will sanctifie my Soul and preserve it safe unto Everlasting Life But grant me also O my God that whilst I beg these Blessings of thee I may be endow'd with such a frame of mind and such other qualifications as encline thee to say Amen to my petitions Prepare your selves O my Body my Spirit and my Soul by the assistance of God's grace to appear before your Master and your God to the end that he may apply that Divine Medicine which will make you whole For how dare I approach the Holy of Holies without preparation and intrude my self a most miserable sinner into the presence of my God Therefore O Lord make me sensible of my want and misery and of thy Majesty and Love before I come to this Heavenly Banquet where I shall eat and drink either my Eternal Health or Damnation REFLECT III. Vpon those Vertues which are necessary for our approaching unto Christ from the Example of the Canaanite the Samaratan and Mary Magdalen TEach me in the trouble of my Spirit and anguish of my Heart with what degree of grief my Soul ought to be affected for its Offences against so great so good a God and what Purity of Body and Soul is required that it may be filled with Divine shame How I may offer up a pure and agreeable Sacrifice too thee having now a mind too much delighted in the vanities of the world and a heart too much led away by them How I may lodge thee in the Temple of my Breast from whence with difficulty I have just now chas'd thy most inveterate Enemies In short the Way for a Notorious Sinner who is without Repentance and without Love to be made Partaker of that Christ who was crucified for him is to defer coming to the Table of the Lord until he is duly prepared lest he commit the most hainous Sacriledge Inspire me then with such a hatred of sin as may confirm my resolutions to abstain from every thing that displeaseth thee and with Passionate desires to love thee alone Give me that humble and contrite spirit whose groans thou dost never refuse I would say Inspire me by thy Grace with the self-same dispositions with which the poor Canaanite prostrated her self at thy feet Look upon me O Lord whilst I approach unto thee as thou didst that humble stranger I would say as a poor Dog who is sufficiently happy when permitted to pick up the Crumbs which fall from the Table where thou feastest thine Elect. Look with compassion upon this poor sinner who like the Samaritan woman being inflamed with a sense of her sins beseeches one drop of Living Water to quench the fervor of her soul and thirst of sin But above all incline me to Imitate Mary Magdalen with that holy penitent let me wash thy Feet with my Tears and by indeavouring to love thee much in some measure answer thy love in forgiving me much Deal with me as with these three Holy Women whom thou hast made the living Witnesses of thy Mercy that by these Examples I may be taught what trust ought to be put in thy Goodness Fit me O Lord for the approaching thy Table and participating of thy Divine Mysteries Give me a lively humble and constant Faith which may produce an Universal Obedience to thy Law the solid foundation of my Eternal Welfare REFLECT IV. Concerning the Constancy and Stâ—â—bility of the Faith necessaâ—â— to a Penitent Soul GIVe me therefore O Lord a lively Faith which maâ— animate all my Actions and notwithstanding my weakness noâ—rish thy Love and thy Grace iâ— my Soul A stedfast Faith whereby I may sincerely believe thâ— Holy Word and when thâ— World allures me with its temptations put me in mind that nâ— man can serve two Masters A humble Faith whereby I may discern that conformity to this World is the greatest impediment of my conformity unto Jesus Christ In fine an enlightned Faith which may render the Grandeur of this World contemptible to me and demonstrate that the fashion of this World passes away and that there is nothing solid and lasting but God alone For alas my best desires are fleeting and unconstant like the flowers of the field which to day are and to morrow are cut down and wither O Lord who art delighted in acts of Mercy and who alone canst change the heart turn my inconstancy into a steady resolution of serving thee and my irregular passions into an earnest persuit of thy love Let it not suffice me that I am disgusted with worldly things or perhaps estranged from them this may proceed from a spirit of pride or be the effort of my reason But direct my ways and purifie my thoughts that at the same time I am convinc'd of the vanity and emptiness of earthly things I may be also assisted with thy grace to teturn unto thee that my Heart being cleans'd instead of those Legions of Vanities which have formerly possess'd it it may be consecrated a Holy Temple and dedicated to the Service of my God Preserve me from the sweet poyson of the pleasures of this World that sun-shine of Fortune which sooner disrobes us of our Innocence than the most severe blasts of Adversity Let me look up unto no other God or Providence than thine alone Correct me O Lord but with the chastisement of a Son which in the midst of the most glittering prosperity afflicts and humbles us brings our hearts home unto thee and convinces us that we are but Men that is to say weak feeble creatures blinded by our passions and subject to all sorts of misery Take away from me that inordinate love of my self and that original corruption from
whence springs all my Misery 't is from this that instead of serving thee in Spirit and in Truth instead of making thy Glory the end of all my thoughts words and actions I persue after nothing but the gratification of my irregular Lusts Let me be never so rash and so ungrateful unto thee O my God as to fancy my self the Author of those Reflections which I somtimes make when I retire my self from the hurry of this world wherein an unquencheable appetite torments the most happy persons and renders them miserable slaves even by the accomplishment of their most earnest desires REFLECT V. The Thoughts of a penitent Soul fearful of being deceiv'd by the Appearance of a False Conversion WHat am I my Lord and my God what am I but a proud Atome a poor blind creature who continually goes astray when thou withholdst the Rays of thy Grace I deserve to be annihilated if at any time I should attempt the conversion of my self by my own power without the assistance of thy Grace Mortifie in my soul all vain glory every thing that tempts me to too good an opinion of my self but chiefly that frothiness of humour which serves only to divert me from thy ways to deprive me of the benefit of my afflictions and the sweet comfort â—f thy Holy Spirit Give me humility and distrust â—f my own reason let me thirst â—fter doing good more and carâ—al knowledge less lest valuing 〈◊〉 more than thy grace I lose my â—elf and instead of becoming a â—ood Christian become a Phiâ—osopher better acquainted â—ith the Maxims of Aristotle and â—escartes than the knowledge â—f the Cross O how vain and deceitful are â—he thoughts of man unless goâ—ern'd by that Wisdom which is â—rom above by that Wisdom â—hich is Foolishness to the World because it is unacquainted â—ith it by that Wisdom which â—od has concealed from the â—roud and discovered to the â—umble by that Wisdom which â—aughs at humane subtilty and â—cts only according to the grace of Jesus Christ In short 〈◊〉 that Wisdom which is producâ—â— by the Fear of God and whiâ—â— is the beginning and the end 〈◊〉 all true Wisdom Permit me not O my God tâ—â— flatter my self that I hate all siâ—â— because I am perhaps restraineâ— from Luxury and passion Leâ— me not flatter my self that 〈◊〉 am taken off from loving thâ— Creature because my diversionâ— are innocent Let me not flatter my self thaâ— I have mortified my passions foâ— I find them revive with moâ—â— strength then ever and encliâ—â— me to self-love which is thâ— more dangerous decause by jâ—â— stifying these irregular motionâ— it renders me deaf to the dictateâ— of my reason and the holy in spirations of thy grace Let me not fancy my self to bâ— without pride ambition selâ—-love because I despise the World â—â—d scorn to owe those Honours â—ortune has stripp'd me of to â—â—ything else but my ovvn deserts Let me not so much deceive my â—â—lf as to think I am throughly â—â—nverted when indeed I have â—â—ly chang'd the sins of sense â—â—r those of the mind A proâ—â—ane proud and fensual Life 〈◊〉 which I was always tormented 〈◊〉 reflecting on my Crimes and â—â—e remorse of my Conscience â—â—r a life in which my whole enâ—eavour is to gratifie self love â—nd enjoy the pleasures of the World and in the mean while â—se my precious time forget my â—od hazard the salvation of my â—oul obtain nothing but the Moâ—ality of a Heathen which alone â—ill not save me at the day of Judgment O state truly deplorable â—nd the more so because I am â—ot sensible of my condition but rest satisfied without endeavouring after any other Repentancâ— or Conversion REFLECT VI. Vpon the Opposition of a Worldlâ— Life to the suffering Life oâ— Jesus Christ TEach me O Lord that thiâ— sort of life is not the life of a Christian and that the end of Christ's Death and Incarnation was not to instate us in so delicate and effeminate a life as might gratifie sense and indulge the flesh and that all Moral Vertues are but dead Works unless enlivened by the Merits and Vertue of Jesus Christ That unless the inclinations of our hearts are changed it will nothing avail a sinner to reform his outward conversation to â—ate the World without love to God to do works of Justice without sincere Repentance and as the Royal Psalmist has it â—o cease from evil without doing good At the same time O Lord that thou destroyest my sinful Habits plant in my soul such Graces as may be fruitful to Good Works Grant that by a lively Faith I may meditate on the Mysteries of thy Life and Passion That my soul may be deeply affected with them and that it may be my greatest pleasure to contemplate those Sufferings which thou didst willingly undergo for my sake That beholding the Divine infant lying on the Straw and in a Manger the Treasures of Heaven vailed in the Poverty of the Earth I may contemn all those Riches which endure but for a moment and endeavour to obtain those incorruptible treasures which Moth and Ruct do not corrupt which will never fly away That the consideration of that private life in which thou wast pleased to disguise thy self from the eyes of the world may create in me a desire to be forgotten by it that I may retire and employ my self only in the great business of my salvation That rhe receiving of thy holy body and precious blood those sacred pledges of thy love which thou wast pleas'd to leave us when thou gavest thy life for our offences may produce in me a holy horrour at the consideration of the cause of thy Death and a detestation of all sin That I may rejoice and be exceeding glad when I shall be disgrac'd and contemned remembring my Saviour's humility who was set at nought by Herod and the Court where he never appear'd but once and then on purpose to be despised That those Scourges which rent thy Sacred Body those Thorns which pierced thy Precious Head may penetrate my callous heart render me truly penitent and willing for the love of thee to undergo all those rigours of Mortification and Self-denial which are requisite for the subduing of our Lusts In fine that the consideration of thy ignominious death on the Cross on which thou perfectest the work of my salvation in grief and misery may be my only hope REFLECT VII What the Hope of a Penitent Soul ought to be THis is the second Favour I desire of thee for the Merits of that precious Blood which trickled from thy Sacred Wounds and which thou didst offer to thy Eternal Father for the price of my Redemption That thou wouldst be pleas'd to give me a true hope in thy Mercies I say Lord a true hope because there is nothing more common than to abuse thy Mercy by making it an incouragement to sin more securely than for sinners to hope in thy goodness without so much as endeavouring
that these are the Fruits worthy of Repentance these are the Restitutions thou requirest of me and the choicest Victims my love can offer up REFLECT XVIII That she ought to desire of God the Gift of Prayer which is the only means the Soul can make use of to corfirm its wavering Resolutions O God who takest delight in rewarding that servant who has been faithful in a few things supply the indigency of my love out of the abundance of thy goodness Let its shallow streams be swallow'd up in the vast Ocean of thy Divine Charity lose themselves in it and be mixed with it that so it may be always conformable unto thine For I confess my frailty that my Heart is an ungrateful and barren Soil producing nothing but Briers and Thorns unless cultivated by thy Grace Water it therefore O Lord with the Dew of Heaven which gives fruitfulness to the Plants and paints the Flowers which inclines our wills and affects our hearts which after it has produc'd in our Soul Works worthy of Repentance protects them from those scorching beams the flames of our lust and preserves them safe unto the Harvest This is the comfortable hope and earnest desire of thy poor servant that which sustains him in this tedious Pilgrimage whilst he languishes with expectation of the Beatifical Vision But that thy Inspirations may have the desired effect upon my Soul that I may receive them with suitable affections that I may prepare my heart for so great favours which thou art pleas'd to bestow upon it With my eyes and hands lift up to Heaven I will meet these Blessings I will forsake every sin which unfits me for them and do all the good thy Grace shall enable me to perform And that the streams of thy Mercy may never fail me a poor thirsty sinner I will continually encrease them with my Tears that is to say Lord by an hearty repentance and an affectionate grief for having so often offended thee And since Prayer is the Channel by which thou conveyest thy Grace and thy Light into our Souls since it is the most fragrant Incence I can offer up unto thee for obtaining of fresh Mercies teach me to Pray unto thee with Reverence with the Adoration of all my Faculties and with my whole Heart And that I may the more devoutly perform this Duty shew me the Necessity and the Advantage of it take away their surprise which the very name of Prayer is apt to produce in me and shew me that 't is not so difficult so tiresom a Duty as some persons represent it to themselves who are ignorant that as in thy House there are many Mansions so there are different ways of conversing with thee some of which require only the sincerity of our Hearts REELECT XIX What the Nature of Prayer is and how faithful a Penitent Soul ought to be to its Resolutions of constantly performing this Holy Exercise 'T Is true Lord that the Prayer of a Devout Soul who has retir'd himself from the World and is fill'd with the Joys of thy Holy Spirit is like a Box of precious Ointment which as soon as ever it approaches the fire sends forth a fragrant Odour and that the Croans of a poor Creature who lies groveling on the Earth who only crawls on in the path of Vertue are like troubled Waters which must be distil'd drop by drop before they will afford any useful Liquor Nevertheress O my God it seems most reasonable that since Prayer is only a lifting up of our hearts unto thee in which we lay before thee our Wants and beg Supplies I say it seems most reasonable to me that she who is tormoiled with the Affairs of the World who finds her self in a languishing Condition harras'd by a thousand Miseries and surrounded with a thousand Dangers is under a more pressing necessity of Praying to thee than the Religious person who is hedg'd about with thy Mercies It appears highly reasonable to me not only that she is under a greater necessity but also that she is better disposed to perform this Duty of Prayer than one who is more habitually devout because she cannot chuse but do it whether she thinks of it or no For if 't is natural for a poor man to ask an Alms for a sick man to bemoan himself and for one in danger to lift up his eyes towards Heaven How much more natural is it for that Soul to pray unto his God who is continually pressed with these three Calamities who is always poor always sick and always in danger the three chief hinges upon which this Duty turns Therefore that I may delight my self in this Angelick Exercise teach me O my God that Prayer is nothing else but a pleasing converse between the Soul and its Creator a Torch which dispels the darkness of its understanding and a Glass which truly represents all its imperfections An Eloquent Preacher who Imprints the Law of God in our Minds a faithful Guide who conducts us safely through the strait Way of our Salvation a sweet Sleep which gives the Soul repose in the Arms of God's Providence a Holy Joy which renders sinful pleasures nauseous and all senful delights insipid in comparison with those of the Cross A comfortable contemplation of our latter end which tames our Appetites with the thoughts of Death which sweetens his approaches with the Expectation of Eternity and an ardent Desire of the Beatifical Vision Lastly 'T is the Crucifixion of our Passions the Mortification of our Self-love and the Resurrection of the Grace of Jesus Christ in our Souls Prepare therefore the Palate of my Soul O my God that it may relish this delicious Manna for the only way to persevere to the end in thy Commandnients in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation to slight the World and all its Vanities and to love thee above all things is to converse with thee by Prayer not only as with our Father and our God but as with our most affectionate and familiar Friend I would say Lord the only way to lay before thee all those Passions which tyrannise in our Minds all those terrible Objects which fright us all those Frailties which humble us all those Sorrows which consume us all those Griefs which rend us and to delineate all the confusion of our Minds is to come unto thee as holy David did and lay all our Affictions all the burthen of our Souls and all our Prayers at the Foot-stool of thy Throne For alas if our Self-love takes so much pleasure in relating our Afflictions to our impotent Friends who can do nothing but hear and pity them how much greater comfort should it be that we are encouraged to pour out our Wants before a God who if he pleases can help us who is oftentimes more delighted to see a Soul humbled by its Misery than elated with the Eminent Instances of its Vertue Incline me therefore O my God to spend some moments every day
mindful of these Obligations she has laid upon her self and by which she must be Judg'd at the Last Day AH Lord who in working thy Miracles dost always regard some great end Hast thou not restored my Health that thou may'st accomplish the blessed purposes of thy Grace upon my Soul that by a thorough conversion of my Heart unto thee I might pass from this state of death or as the Royal Prophet speaks from the Terrors of Hell to such a Religious course of Life as those Devout Souls led who now sleep in the Lord who did not presume on thy Mercy and from thence defer their Repentance to the last Moment Yes Lord I acknowledge thy Mercy in the midst of thy Judgements and the constant protection of thy Providence in all the Accidents of my life For this is the Reason why thou hast so much Afflicted me so much distressed me so often changed my Desires and my Resolutions that hereby thou may'st wean me from my self And therefore that I may maintain an inviolable Fidelity ty towards thee for the future that I may serve thee that I may love thee and rather die a thousand times than return again to my former Vain Conversation I have Writ this Paper with my own hand as a Register of thy Mercies my most Intimate Resolutions and all thy Adorable Truths That if at any time I should forget my self I might hereby be put in mind of my Duty and that Model of Holy Living I have resolved on if my Faith should falter my Hope should languish or my Charity grow cold and my Corruptions begin to struggle in my Soul the reading of these Prayers and the contemplation of thy Bounty and thy Grace might reduce them to their former temper That if at any time I should forget that Agony which the consideration of thy Justice produc'd in my Mind when like a condemned Malefactor on the Scaffold I was impatient to be freed from the Terrors of Death I might recollect my self by reading of these Reflections which I writ upon this self-same Bed where the Ministers on one side and the Physicians on the other gave me little Hope of my Life or my Salvation where I lay helpless like a poor Beast and could do nothing in this Great Work O thou God of my Salvation in whose hands are my Soul and my Eternal Happiness who didst reprieve me from the Grave and didst crown me with thy Mercies and fill my Soul with Holy Desires who hast renow'd my Age as that of an Eagle who hast promised that thy Anger shall not endure for ever against those who fear thee that thou wilt not punish them according to their deserts but wilt put away their Offences as far as the East is from the West who assurest us that like as a Father pittieth his Children so thou wilt have compassion on us because thou knowest our weakness and that we are but dust that our most steady Resolutions are but as a Traveller who tarrieth but for a night and as the morning dew which soon passeth away Lastly Who workest good out of the evil of our sins and who alone canst convert me I beseech thee therefore to turn my Heart Because my Soul is humbled and overwhelmed with shame and grief for displeasing thee Because my Soul puts its trust in thee and languishes after the enjoyment of thy presence But above all O my God hear my humble Supplication because I have made thee the only Object of my Love and because thy Mercy rejoyces over all thy Works Finally Lord have pity on me because I am poor and miserable and thou art Infinitely Rich and Merciful THE END Advertisemenas A Week of Soliloquies and Prayers with a Preparation to the Holy Communion And other Devotions added to this Edition In two parts By Peter Du-Moulin D. D. A Golden Chain to link the Penitent Sinner unto GOD. Whereunto is added A Treatise of the Immortality of the Soul The History of the Amours of the French Gourt viz. Of Madam de La Valleire Madam de Olonne Madam de Chastillion Madam de Sevigney with several other Persons of great Quality in the Palace-Royal In four Parts Translated from the French Sold by Dorman Newman at the Kings-Arms in the Poultry