esse filium hominis Mat. 16.14 I long to hear what Worldlings say of me and of my Kingdom for I suppose that some of them are apt to believe I am John the Baptist others will say perhaps that I am Elias others that I am Jeremiah or some one of the Prophets Noli me tangere Jo. 20.17 Vos autem quem me esse dicitis Ibid. v. 15. Some will think that it 's a folly for mortals to expect admittance to my Kingdom because that after my Resurrection I refus'd the Magdalen leave to touch me or to lay her hand upon any part of my garment But what dost thou say of me and of my glorious Residence MAN I Say Tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi Jo. 6.70 Et regni ejus non erit finis Luc. 1.33 that thou art Christ Son of the living God and that thy Kingdom will never have an end it 's therefore I believe that Scripture calls it the land of the living to let us understand that this wherein we abide deserves no better denomination then that of the dead Alas we know it by our woful experience to be very true for tho' Adam and his Descendants for a long time liv'd each of them so many Ages yet this fatal Epitaph mortuus est which he has entail'd upon all his posterity came at last to shew that as the world is mortal the inhabitants thereof must be of the same nature but as for thy Kingdom O Lord 't is immortal and without any end 't is therefore St. Paul says that this corruptible body of ours shall put on incorruption and of mortal become immortal This flesh of ours which now is so burdensome and does so depress our minde which is now invested with so many inconveniences subject to so many alterations griev'd with so many diseases defil'd with so many corruptions overwhelm'd with such an infinite deal of miseries and calamities shall in thy Kingdom O Lord be made glorious and advanc'd to the height of perfection It shall be endu'd with Seven gifts suitable to thy liberality and to the dignity of thy beloved Servants which are Beauty Agility Fortitude Justi fulgebant sicut sol in regno Patris eorum Mat. 13.43 Penetration Health Pleasure and Perpetuity As for the first gift which is Beauty thou hast thy self declar'd that the Just shall shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father The second is Agility and this prerogative of the Just is no less then the former for by this their flesh is free'd from that lumpish heavy weight which kept their Spirits fetter'd whilst they remain'd in this life and made as light even as the Angels themselves who pass from one extremity of the world to the other in the twinkling of an eye the third gift is Supernatural Strength which does so abound in a glorifi'd body that he shall be able to move the whole globe of the Earth at thy command and give us a dry passage through the main Ocean with as much ease as thy Angel did to the People of Israel through the red Seas to avoid the Rage and fury of their pursuing Enemys The fourth is I enetration whereby he shall be able to penetrate any other bodies tho'never so hard or massy and make nothing to peirce Walls Doors the Earth and the very Firmament tho' it were made of Brass This thy glorifi'd body has perform'd after thy Resurrection for thou didst penetrate the house where thy Disciples were the Doors being all shut and at thy Ascension thou didst penetrate the Heavens also The fifth prerogative is absolute Health free from all pains of this life quit of all diseases troubles incumbrances and all other infirmitys incident to humane nature and shall be perpetually fix'd in a most perfect and flourishing state of health and felicity in no way liable to the least alteration for ever The sixth is Delight and Pleasure which shall be heap'd upon a glorifi'd body to that degree that all his senses shall finde their peculiar and proper objects in a far more delicious manner then ever they could expect in this world for his eyes shall be for ever recreated with the beatifical vision and with the sight of the most glorious and beautiful bodies of all the Saints One Sun is enough to bring a full joy over the whole continent of the Earth as also to depress the raging waves of the main Ocean in its greatest fury it revives the mortifi'd grain and makes it appear with it's green blades to assure the Labourer of it's being alive and sets at liberty all those varieties of flowers and simples which the cold season of winter kept a long time in it's prisons of Ice what joy then shall a blessed Soul conceive when he beholds as many Suns as there are Saints and when he sees himself to be one of them when he sees his hands his feet and the rest of his members to cast forth beams clearer then even the Sun in it's full height His ears shall be replenish'd wiih the most harmonious Songs and Musick of so many Quires of Angels of so many millions of Saints and of so many hundred thousands of heavenly Spirits as St. John in many several places of his Revelations makes mention of O my Soul here I would have thee stay a while and consider seriously what a great satisfaction this is to the blessed If the harp of David were so delightful to Saul and had so great a power as to asswage the fury of his passion and to recal him from that melancholy fit of which the Devil made use to destroy his Soul If the Lyre of Orpheus was able to operate such great prodigies in the World and to win the hearts not only of men but also of the Infernal Spirits if we may believe Poets who tell us that he recover'd his Wife out of their clutches with the sweetness of his melodious instruments If St. Francis thought himself already in Heaven hearing an Angel play on his instrument what pleasure what delight will a blessed Soul have when he hears the sweet harmony of so many thousands of Angels together Tradition which gives life to the best of Historys informs us that the singing of one little bird alone ravish'd a devout Monk to that degree that three hundred years seem'd no more to him then three hours what a sweetness will it be to hear the melody of those Songs which the innumerable citizens of that heavenly Jerusalem sing in praise of thee their eternal King his smell shall be recreated with the most odoriferous scent which comes from those beautiful bodies infinitely more sweet then all the perfumes of the Indies In fine the whole glorifi'd body shall be fill'd with abundance of all kind of consolation the Eyes the Ears the Nose the Mouth the Hands the Throat the Lungs the Heart the Stomach the Back nay the very Intrals and every part of the Body Inebriabuntur ab
ready to drop down upon their criminal and guilty heads the sweet perfumes of thy divine virtues and the rare examples of thy Saints cann't prevail with them no they cann't tast of thy Chalice nor feel thy Scorges nor acknowledge thy Benefits tho' they are sufficient to melt a heart of Steel In fine Sin takes quite away the peace the joy and the tranquility of a good eonscience it does extinguish the fervour of the Spirit and leaves poor man sordid maculate deform'd and abominable in the sight of God and of all his Saints Yet by the benefit of thy Justification we are happily deliver'd from all these plagues evil consequences of Sin and the abyss of thy divine mercies is not content to have forgiven us our offences and receive us into favour but does also expell all those evils which are inseparable from Sin leaving our interiour man in the real possession of his former prerogatives and likeness to God Thou dost heal up our wounds wash off our spots break loofe the fetters and chains of our iniquitys destroy the yoke of our evil desires retrieve us from the slavery of Satan qualify the fury of our unruly passions and the heat of our vicious affections Thou dost likewise restore to the Soul her former freedom and beauty revive her interiour fenses dispose them to the exercise of all good works and to the abhorrence of any that 's bad Thou givest strength to resist manfully all the temptations of the Devil and to go through all the difficulties that might hinder the practise of virtue and their increase of devotion In fine my Sweet Saviour thou dost so absolutely revive and repair our interiour man and all his faculties that thy Apostle Scruples not to call such men Justifi'd Souls metamorphos'd natures new modell'd Spirits Creatures of another stamp This innovation is so great and so much to be admir'd that it 's worth our labour to finde out how and after what manner it is perform'd O my Saviour thou alone canst tell me truly the nature of it and the only one that can impart so great a blessing to my poor and languishing Soul wherefore let me hear thy solution to the matter SAVIOVR THou must know then O man that this so great a renovation when 't is perform'd by the means of Baptism may be call'd Regeneration but if it be done by Contrition and with the assistance of Pennance then 't is call'd resurrection not only because the Soul is rais'd from the Death of Sin to the Life of Grace but by reason it resembles so nearly the glorious beauty of future Resurrection No mortal tongue is able to express the radiant Splendor and supereminent beauty of a Justifi'd Soul 't is a mistery reserv'd to my Holy Spirit who made her so glorious with a design she should be his own Temple and place of residence Were all the wealth of the World all the imaginable dignities and honours of this life all the natural Graces and gifts together with all the acquir'd virtues and all other earthly advantages that can be thought of conferr'd with the beauty and treasures of a Justifi'd Soul all in comparison with her is vile obscure ill-favour'd and of no value No for there is as much difference betwixt the life of Grace and the life of Nature betwixt the beauty of the Soul Justifi'd and that of the body betwixt the interiour Riches of such a Soul and the exteriour of the body as there is betwixt Heaven Earth betwixt the Spirit and the body or betwixt Time and Eternity Because all these are circumscrib'd with certain limits they are temporal they appear handsom to corporal eyes and require only my general concourse to support them whereas the other depends on my particular and supernatural influence and have no prefix'd bounds because I am their object and they are so precious in my sight and of so great an estimate that they provoke even my divine Essence to be ardently enamour'd with their beauty I might have wrought all these wonders with my sole presence yet I would not but was pleas'd to adorn the Soul with my infus'd virtues and the Seven gifts of my Holy Ghost whereby not only her Essence but even her very faculties are cloth'd and adorn'd with those habitual and heavenly dresses Besides all these divine favours and benefits she is made happy with the constant presence of my divine Spirit and of the most adorable Trinity for all resides in a justifi'd Soul to teach her how to manage so great a treasure to her best advantage Matt. 12. wherein I act the part of a most loving Father who is not satisfi'd to have given Riches to his Son but gives him withal a Futor that knows how to Administer them well Luc. 11. Thou know'st that a multitude of vipors Serpents and Dragons I mean of evil Spirits enter into the Soul of a Sinner and makes her their habitation as thou mayst reade in my Gospel but 't is otherwise with a justifi'd Soul for I with my Father and Holy Spirit dwell there and having banish'd thence all evil Si quis diligit me Sermonem meum servabit Pater meus diliget eum ad eum veniomus mansionem apud eum faciemus Joan. 14. and Infernal Spirits we make her our temple our throne and Garden of pleasure as thou mayst finde in St. John where I say if a man love me he will keep my words my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him All the Doctors of my Holy Church as well Ecclesiastick as Scholastick grounded upon these my words do firmly believe that my Holy Ghost dwells in a justifi'd Soul after a certain and peculiar manner and say moreover that he does not only confer his Gifts upon her but comes himself along with them with a fix'd resolution to clense Sanctify and adorn her as well with his constant presence as with all his heavenly treasures O man if all these extraordinary favours be not able to mollify thy flinty heart and force it to leave and forsake the paths of Sin and to gather also all thy Scatter'd affections and lead them towards me who am the most deserving of them I shall add more pressing motives to bring thee to so good so gracious and so benificial a resolution The First that occurs is that all the justifi'd are my living members so that I love and cherish them as my own and am no less careful to provide for them to protect and comfort them then were they all parts of my proper body nay without any intermission I influence them with my inspirations and graces even as the head communicates his vital Spirits into all the rest of its members moreover my Eternal Father beholds them with a gracious eye as being my living members united concorporate with me by the participation of his divine Spirit and therefore all their deeds are
Issue I hope the same favours will attend your Lordship and be the reward as well of your Charitable Inclinations for the Poor in general as of the rare examples of Piety and Devotion you give your Children and which they are faithful to follow as well at home as abroad Moribus vita nobilitatur homo and the rather that they know them to be the essential Ornaments of true Nobility and that without them a Gentleman born is no more than he who is a Clown by his Extraction They know full well my Lord that whoever converses with the proud shall be puft up that a lustful acquaintance makes a Man lascivious and the way to secure a man from wickedness is to withdraw from the examples of it it is too much to have them near us but more to have them in us They know likewise that ill examples pleasure and ease are without doubt great corrupters of manners and as an ill Air may endanger a good Constitution so may a place of ill examples endanger a good Man There be some even of the highest rank who ought to influence their Inferiours with Piety and Devotion that take a Priviledge to be licentious so that the meaner sort are hurri'd on by their ill examples to all manner of dissolution And this perfect knowledg of the present Corruption of this unhappy Land prevents them from hankering after such places or persons and makes them take more pleasure in their Clossets than they can expect to find in their debauch'd Company 'T is this vertuous and godly disposition of your noble heart and Family which mov'd me to bring this pious work newly model'd under the shadow of your gracious Protection The very Title of the Book is able to make your Lordship affect the perusing of it and I am certain the substance thereof will give a further increase to your Devotion and also contribute much to the reducing strai'd Souls to the right understanding of their Duty to God which will redound to your greater Glory being it is by your means it appears to the World out of the obscurity of my Confinement who am Your Lordships most humble and most Obedient Servant Jo. Weldon C.J. THE Preface WHen God the grand Architect of the Vniverse had compleated the vast Fabrick of this visible World and brought out of nothing the Heavens the Earth the Seas and all that is contained within their Prccincts to exhibit as yet a more remarkable instance and a more glorious evidence of his Eternal Wisdom he did fully resolve to start out of the Bowels of the Earth with a Faciamus that Microcosm Man and give him an ascendent power to keep all other Creatures in Subjection He was moulded indeed as to his Body not very unlike to Terrene and Bruit Animals but as to his Soul if not equal with the Heavens and heavenly Spirits at least be was not much inferior to them for its certain that in the whole Vniverse thore's nothing worthy any difference if compar'd with the Soul Gold Silver Jewels Pearls Fire Moon Stars and the very Sun it self which with its resplendent Beams brings a solemn joy over the whole surface of the Earth are of no Estimate in her regard because that with a Word only God gave them all both their rise and their office which was to serve Man and give him all their attendance The wonderful Structure of humane Body is a sufficient demonstration of his Excellency for where as God had created all other things with a sole Dixit as David says he must come himself in person to the Creation of this little great Master-piece Gen. 1 26. first he prepares the necessary matter for this Construction then he Breaths into it the Spirit of Life and after he shapes him to the likeness of the primitive and principal Beauty But to what end It was says Scripture with an effectual resolution to devolve upon him an absolute Supremacy over all the Fishes of the Sea Ibid. 28. the Fowls of the Air and the Beasts of the Earth so that Man even before he was wafted over from Nothing to a Being was openly declar'd Lord of the whole Vniverse and was after introduc'd thereinto at to his Royal Palace already furnish'd with all Necessarys and Varieties both for his subsistence and pleasure But you must conceive that all this Honour was exhibited to him only upon the account of his participated resemblance of the Divine Trinity by which alone he does infinitely exceed all terrene Creatures so that every mortal Man may be deservedly term'd a petty Divinity especially when the Grace of God resides in his Soul Psal 81.6 For you must know that he does not bear this resemblance of God in his Body but within his Soul because that God is a pure Spirit without any terrene medley and consequently can't be perfectly represented by any Corporeal Image It s then within the facultys of his Soul that Man bears that resemblance which gives him an ascendent power over all other earthly Creatures viz. in his Memory Vnderstanding and Will where God is still President and constantly present as in his Image and Throne so steady that he is more intimate to the Soul than she is to her own Substance For the Eternal Father does replenish her Memory with his Omnipotency the Son does illustrate her Vnderstanding with his Wisdom and the Holy Ghost does enflame her Will with his Charity and even as God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost are not Three but One God in Three distinct Persons so the Memory is the Soul the Vnderstanding is the Soul the Will is the Soul yet not three Souls but one in each Body bearing those three distinct Dignitys wherein the Image and likeness of God does shine to admiration 'T is true our Sins may deface this Image within our Souls however they can't utterly blast it for it is an inherent property in the Wicked as well as in the Just but with this distinction that the Righteous are a lively Image of God whereas the Wicked are indeed a sort of an Image of God but a very obscure one however the Divine Bounty is so much enamour'd with the Soul he devoted to himself with the impression of his Image to be his dearly beloved Spouse that he can't be removed thence though the Devil should worm out her consent to debase his Image with all the enormity Imaginable Moreover the Soul leans over and tends towards God her Spouse with so great a weight of natural inclination that nothing in this World is able to replenish her capacity or satisfy her mind but he alone who of his own Nature is Infinite good incircumscript and Immense The Dignity and Excellency of the Soul must therefore be truly great that all th'alluring objects and attracting pleasures of this World can't content her though they may barter her affections for a tract of time and may perhaps now and then
as would occasion their death but I am wholly an Alien to their feelings and do choose rather to side with the Prophet Samuel and in all humility do intreat that thou O Lord wilt be graciously pleas'd to speak to me Not Moises no nor any of thy Prophets for the instructions and lights they may give me be but gifts and Rays borrowed of thy incomprehensible Splendor thou alone without their Ministry canst perfectly instruct me alas their endeavours in my regard will signify just nothing without thy gracious concurrence They may indeed utter some words but unless thou dost influence them they 'l never mollify my stony Heart nor lodge thy Spirit within my bowels Their words may be indeed plac'd to admiration their Rhetorick Charming their Eloquence exceeding that of the very best Orators their Periods mannag'd in extraordinary good order but if they relish not of thy divine Spirit my heart alas will remain as cold as the very Ice They may Cite Scripture fluently to confirm their discourse and quote both Councels and Fathers to the astonishment of their Hearers but they cannot work so far on their understanding as to make 'em conceive the thing they aim at nor bring their Will to the practise of it that enterprize is out of their Province 't is a Prerogative pertaining alone to thee O Lord no mortal Man no the very Angels cannot pretend to it unless they have thy Commission to that effect They may entertain us with a learn'd and pleasant discourse of thy great and adorable Mysteries but thou alone can'st render our understanding capable to conceive them they may tell us of thy Precepts and Counsels but thou alone can'st help us to fulfil them They can shew to us the ready road leading to Salvation but thou alone can'st comfort us in our failings and give us then greater courage to walk therein till we arrive at our journeys end The most they can boast of is to be thy Sollicitors and Agents which thou mak'st use of to exhort us to the practise of this or that other Virtue they may describe unto us the many evil consequences of a wicked Licentious life Ego plantavi Apollo rigavit Deus autem incrementum dedit 1 Epist Pauli ad Câ—rintâ—ios c. 3. v. 6. Tanquam a facie Colubri fuge peccatum Eccl. c. 21. v 2. they may thunder from their Pulpits thy dreadful threatnings and the horrid effects of thy divine wrath but 't is thy Sanctifying Grace that alone can soften instruct and illustrate our Hearts They can exteriously water our barren and rebellous Souls but thou alone can'st give the increase cause them happily to comply with the sweet Influences of thy holy Inspirations They may cry out and warn us to fly from sin as from the venom of a Serpent but thou alone mak'st our understanding and will prompt to conceive and practise what they say Let Moises then for bear speaking to me 't is from thee my God I do expect the word which can subdue reform clear my heart from all terrene and sordid affections If I only be outwardly admonish'd and not inwardly inflam'd with the ardent fire of thy divine Love my Souls death may ensue or at best I shall be but a barren and wither'd tree Let me then hear thee speak O Lord and let thy word be no sooner heard but put in execution by me no sooner known but lov'd no sooner pronounc'd but deeply fix'd in the Center of my heart there to produce the worthy fruits of a sincere sorrowful and constant repentance 1 Reg. 3. Verba enim viâ—ae eternae habes Jo. 6. Speak then O Lord for thy Servant hears thee thy words are the happy seed of eternal life let me then hear them to the comfort of my Soul and to the reformation and perfect amendment of my whole life this is a work that will really be for thy greater Glory and my eternal Salvation SAVIOVR HEar my words O Man they are most sweet efficacious and vivifying far exceeding the science of the Philosophers and wise of this World my words are both spirit and life they are beyond the reach of humane understanding they don't affect a vain complacency but delight to be receiv'd rather in silence with all humility and with all the tenderness of love and affection that can be express'd My Servant David was throughly convinc'd of this undeniable assertion when he sent forth these seraphical expressions to my heavenly Throne Beatus quem tu erudieris Domine deâ—ege tua eum docueris ut mitiges ei a die bus malis c. Psal 93. v. 12. Blessed is the man O Lord whom thou shalt instruct in thy Law and teach how he may in the evil days of his mortal life heap up a vast treasure of merits for an Eternity I am the Lord who have taught the Prophets from the beginning and since have never ceas'd to speak unto all Men but alas few answer my expectation Satan has so blinded their understanding so perverted their will so benumb'd their senses that the most part of them make nothing of my words take no notice of my corrections and set no value on my most amorous invitations in order to revive their poor Souls and shelter them under the wings of my paternal and powerful protection from the rage and fury of that infernal and devouring Dragon The most of them are so infatuate as to be more inclin'd to give ear to the deluding Sirens of the world then to the inspirations of their God to the fatal perswasions of the flesh then to the salutary dictates of the Holy Ghost to the ruinous suggestions of the Devil then to the amorous invitations of their Creator and Redeemer What the world does promise 'em is but temporal and of no 〈◊〉 and yet for that small satisfaction they are content to become slaves to it and to lose that glorious title of Children of God and all pretentions to Heaven What I promise 'em is of an unspeakable estimate and of an everlasting continuance yet their hearts are strangely averse to it and seem to conceive as great an abhorrence of it as the people of Israel had against that food which I showr'd down upon them in the Desart Their obedience to the world and their other mortal enemies and their care of pleasing them is more prompt and far greater then what they shew in my service Esay 23. Let Sidon blush and why because that for a small Sallery for a trifle she will run a long way but for the purchase of Heaven for the gain of an everlasting and happy life she will hardly raise up her foot from the ground A man shall labour a whole day to get sixpence at night and perhaps less he will undertake the most vile work that can be nam'd and be at it both night and day and weary himself so extreamly as to be nigh breathing out his life and all
who had kill'd his Master this animal runs at him and holds him fast looking on the by-standers with such a mournful countenance as if he had desir'd Justice whereupon the murderer was apprehended and forc'd to confess his crime for which he was immediately sentenc'd to dy O man If a Dog for a piece of bread had so great a love for his master and was so faithful to him as to lament and vindicate his death wilt thou not be displeas'd at thine ingratitude and principally when a dumb beast reprehends it and teacheth thee to be grateful If that irrational creature was so much incens'd against the murderer of his Master why art thou not displeas'd with those that have slain thy gracious Lord and Master and what are they but thy Sins 'T is true O man thy Sins have taken me have tyed me have scourg'd me have crown'd me have nail'd me to the Cross and were the sole occasion of my bitter death for the Jews could never have the power to crucify me but that thy Sins did both arm and incourage 'em to it Wherefore then art thou not highly displeas'd with them why dost thou not bend all thy wrath and fury against them seeing thy divine Master crucify'd by them before thine eyes and especially since my Death and Passion was design'd to breed in thy heart an eternal hatred of Sin It was in order to destroy Sin that I suffer'd death It was to set a stop to thy feet and hands which are so prone to evil even from thy very cradle that mine as an oblation for their evils were nail'd to the Cross How art thou so impious as to live after such a manner that all my pains taken for thy Salvation will signify nothing Why dost thou not tremble at the very mention of Sin seeing me suffer such cruel torments to destroy and root it clean out of the world How canst thou be so rash and so great an enemy to thy poor Soul as to dare to offend me seeing Heaven open to cast forth its thunder bolts upon thy criminal head and Hell with a dilated mouth ready to swallow thee both body and Soul MAN O My God my King my Saviour my Judge and my only comfort Thou art I confess the Eternal Wisdom and thy words to me are Spirit and Life for they have made me resolve to bid adieu for ever to Sin and to plant virtue where vice was before in great request but give me leave to ask thee what would the benefit of my redemption avail me if that of my Justification had not ensu'd for by this it is that the virtue of the former is appli'd to the diseases of my Soul and even as a plaister tho' never so soveraign will signify nothing except it be laid unto the wound so that heavenly medicine would be of no use or advantage to me if it had not been appli'd by the mediation of this unspeakable benefit to the bruises which I receiv'd in that fatal field of Eden where all mankinde were shamefully foil'd and quite overthrown in the Person of Adam The Sanctification of man does chiefly appertain to the Holy Ghost 'T is his prerogative to prevent the Sinner with the sweetness of his mercy then to call him being call'd to justify him and being justifi'd to direct him and leade him on to the end of his course and then to gratify him with a crown of glory wherefore I may justly say that this very benefit is the happy complement of all others for by this man is register'd in the number of Gods children discharg'd of the main weight of his iniquities deliver'd from the dominion and Tyranny of the Devil reviv'd from Death to Life brought from the state of Sin to that of Justice and of a child of malediction and woe he becomes the Son of God and Co-heir with thee in thy Glory Nemo potest venire ad me nisi Pater meus traxerit illum Joa 44. But this cannot be perform'd without the peculiar help and assistance of the holy Ghost as thou hast declar'd to thy beloved Disciple in these words No man can come to me except the Father who has sent me draw him whereby I conceive that neither free will nor the power of humane nature can withdraw a man from Sin and bring him to Grace unless he be help'd on by the vertue of thy divine power The Angelical Doctor St. Thomas commenting upon these words says even as a Stone by its nature still falls downwards and can never ascend without some exteriour assistance so man overpress'd by the corruption of Sin tends always downwards and is powerfully hurri'd on by his inbred inclinations to the love and desire of terene and transitory things but if he be minded to aim higher that is at the love and supernatural desire of heavenly things he must implore the assistance of thy Divine Spirit without which he shall never be able to make any progress in virtue SAVIOVR O Man thou sayst well but I would have thee practise well what thou sayst for 't is the practise and not the discourse of good things that can make thee grateful to me the serious consdieration of this unspeakable benefit should indeed press thee to it make thee most diligent to atchieve it which is a matter of greatest moment to thee for by this thou art reconcil'd to me and cleans'd from Sin which is the worst of all evils and the only evil I most hate and abhor it alone is able to bring my indignation and wrath upon thee Odisti omnes qui operantur iniquitatem perdes omnes qui loquntur mendacium Psal 5. as thou mayst unerstand by my Prophet who says of me Thou art not a God which taketh pleasure in wickedness neither shall evil dwell with thee The foorish shall not stand in thy sight Thou hatest all workers of iniquity Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man Thou seest by this that Sin is the greatest of all evils nay 't is the very root and origine of them all On the contrary to be in my favour the object of my most tender affection is a real happiness the fountain of all goodness and the solid foundation of all other favours and virtues Why dost thou then delay thy endeavours refuse to concur with my holy inspirations If thou wouldst once firmly resolve an amendment imploy all thy faculties to destroy Sin in thee thou shouldst then receive the benefit of Justification by which thou art deliver'd from that pernicious evil and of a mortal enemy thou art made my friend not in a common degree of friendship but in the most supream that can be thought of which is that of a Father to his Son Videte qualem charitatem nobis dedit pater ut filii Dei nominemur fimus 1. Jo. 3. My Evangelist extols this extraordinary favour very highly where he says behold
less admiration hadst thou dealt so rigorously with Angels that are spiritual creatures and of a far more eminent perfection then men can ever attain to To be so severe with poor man who lies groaning under the weight of so many predominant passions and such a number of evil inclinations which do wholly estrange him from the desire and practise of virtue To bring him I say to so strict an account of all his actions that thou wilt not pass by even the least idle word that ever he spoke nor the least moment of time that he has mispent O most gracious Saviour give me leave to tell thee that the rigour of thy Justice herein does transcend my admiration Amen amen dico vobis de omni verbo otioso quod locuti fuerint homines reddent rationem in die Judicij Mat. 12.36 and the more abundantly because I hear thy self say every Idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the day of Judgement If that be so as without doubt it is what a rigourous account must be taken of all dishonest impertinent and scurrulous words what of lies and perjuries what of horrid and abominable oaths what of all hellish imprecations and blasphemys what of all wanton and lacivious thoughts and looks what of Adulterers murtherers and highway robbers In fine what a rigourous account must be given of the whole time of life spent in the works of iniquity All that the best of Orators is able to say of the severity and rigour of thy Judgment will be far short of what it will really be in that dreadful day of thy wrath nay it will not be so much as an empty shaddow to the substance of the matter O what a confusion poor man will be in when he must appear before thy dreadful Throne in the presence of that great assembly of all mankinde and give an exact account of the least idle word he had spoken at this or that time who would not be astonish'd and totally stupify'd at such a reckoning who would dare speak of it but that thou sayst it thy self or who would presume to affirm it but that thou dost thy self confirm it with an Amen Amen What King was ever heard of that call'd his Servants to question for so slite an offence as is an idle word O Christian Religion how sublime is thy perfection how great is the purity of minde which thou dost require of thy Professors how strict is the reckoning which thou dost exact from them and with what severity dost thou chastise even the very least of their evil actions how great will the shame and confusion of Sinners be when all the abominations and sins which they had committed even from their Cradle to the hour of their death were they never so privately acted so carefully conceal'd or so secretly kept shall be discover'd and laid open to the eyes of the whole world If we be so much asham'd to discover our imperfections to a Ghostly Father who is oblig'd to secresy under a penalty full as bad if not worse then that of death that sometimes we have not a word to say Osee 10. how excessive great will our shame be in thy presence O Lord and in the sight of all ages past present and to come O' it will be so intollerable that the wicked shall intreat even the Mountains to cover them and the hills to fall upon them Psal 89. They shall say with thy prophet We are dismay'd O Lord with thy wrath and troubled with thy fury but for what reason because thou hast set our wickedness before thee and hast plac'd them in thy sight 'T is true that in this life Sin does not appear so pernicious to our eyes which makes us be the less concern'd for it but at the instant of death when it shall shew it self with all its deformity Pereat dies inquo natus sum Job ibid. the very sight of it will confound us to such an exremity that we shall curse the day that ever we were born They seem in this life but light and trivial and that makes us not scruple them much but in the day of thy wrath O Lord we shall finde them heavy grevious and insupportable We know by experience that a piece of Timber tho' never so great when it floats in a deep water may be mov'd and drawn from place to place even by a Child we know likewise that the most part of it lies under the water and clear out of our sight but when it is brought upon dry land no less then half a dozen horses will suffice to bring it off then we may perceive perfectly the whole bulk of it 'T is even so with our Sins in the tempestuous Seas of this unstable and transitory life they are conceal'd from our eyes but in the hour of death in the day of Judgment we shall clearly discover their bulk number and weight and shall groan under so heavy and so unsupportable a burthen Then we shall finde a number of our actions which we thought very good to be most grievous Sins 't is therefore thou sayst by thy Prophet when I shall take a proper time then I will Judge Righteousness Who would imagine that the action of Oza 2 Reg. 6.6 when he upheld the Ark in danger of falling was an offence yet O Lord thou hast chastiz'd it as a great Sin with no less a punishment then that of a most disastrous death who would ever believe that Davids numbring of his People was an offence 2 Reg. 24.13 but rather an act of discretion and Policy yet thou hast punish'd him for it with a Pestilence never to be paralel'd 1 Reg. 15.18 Saul was urg'd by his approaching Enemies and by Samuel's long delay to offer Sacrifice this was an act of Religion which is the most heroick and greatest of virtues consequently he thought it should be most acceptable to thee and of force to obtain him a victory against his Foes yet it was a most grievous Sin in thy presence since for that alone thou hast reprov'd him degraded him from his Royal Dignity and cast him off as a lost Soul for an Eternity Achabs action might be look'd upon as the worthy product of a masculine spirit for what is more generous then to pardon an enemy and what can be more divine then to spare his life the chief ground of Davids promotion to the Crown and Scepter of Israel Diligite Inimicos vestros Mat. 5.44 Pater ignosce illis Luc. 23.34 was his Clemency to Saul moreover thou dost expresly command it thy self and thou hast also earnestly pray'd thy Eternal Father to pardon thine enemies Achab having conquer'd Benhadad King of Syria pardon'd him gave him his life and took him up to sit by him in his Royal Chariot yet this action which was so much prais'd and so extoll'd by men was so hainous so displeasing to thee that thou
in torments and tortures and that for an Eternity If the People of Egypt fell into despair before the expiration of the seven years Ex Inferno nulla est redemptio Facilis Descensus Averni sed revocare gradum hoc opus hic labor est Varg. being sure of a relief soon after what despair will the wicked be in having an assurance from thy mouth O Lord that their miseries shall never have an end O what miserable and unfortunate wretches are we they will cry what time what powerful means what opportunities of working our eternal Salvation have we neglected The time was that with one cup of cold water we might have purchas'd unto our selves a Crown of glory we might by relieving the poor and other such like works of mercy have merritted life everlasting how great was our blindness our madness and folly to have neglected those favourable occasions of enriching our selves for ever and to suffer those fruitfull years of such great abundance to pass away without making any provision for our Souls Had we been brought up amongst Infidels and Pagans and believ'd that our Souls were mortal as well as our bodies that we were in the same Category with all brute animals whose souls do perish at once with their bodies we might have some kinde of excuse and plead that we knew nothing of what was commanded or what was forbidden by God but being brought up Christians and holding for an Article of our belief that the hour shall come wherein we must give a strict account of all our transactions to God we have been often told by Preachers and Teachers that the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and that we could not attain to it otherways then by the pass-port of Mortifications and Pennance that it was our incumbent duty to depress our unruly Passions and never to be drawn away by our evil inclinations yet unfortunate Souls we were fondly perswaded that Heaven was for us without any pains at all that God was so merciful that he would not condemn our Souls to everlasting torments ' tho' we were never so wicked and therefore we have justly deserv'd that he should deal with us according to the full rigour of his Justice Come then ye Infernal Furies come and rend us in pieces come and devour our unchristian bowels for we have justly deserv'd to be so cruelly dealt with we have deserv'd to be hunger-starv'd for ever being we have neglected to provide for our selves while we had both the means the time and conveniency of doing it we deserve not to reap because we have not sown We deserve to fuffer want and misery being we never laid up any thing in store we often refused the poor and needy their humble and earnest request and therefore we deserve to be deny'd ours We often have clos'd ears to the sighs and groans of the poor and distress'd and therefore we deserve to sigh and lament for an eternity in vain We deserve that the worm of our conscience should gnaw our intrails for ever by representing unto us our criminal and transitory pleasures the great happiness which we have lost by them Erravimus a via veritatis Justitiae lumen non illuxit nobis Sol intelligentiae non est ortus nobis lassati sumus in via iniquitat's perditionis ambulavimus vias difficiles viam autem Domini ignoravimus Sap. 5.6 7 8. the unspeakable torments which we are to suffer for them and their long continuance which will be for an Eternity We err'd and wander'd from the ways of truth and the light of Justice was not with us nor did the Sun of Wisdom shine upon us We weari'd our selves in the ways of wickedness and perdition and walk'd in paths of difficulty and knew not the way of the Lord. What has our Pride profited us and what has the pomp of our Riches avail'd us all those things have pass'd like a shaddow or like a messenger who passes in hast or like a Ship which cuts the instable waves leaves no mark where it went even so we are now consum'd in our wickedness The cruel and bloudy Tyrants who have afflicted put to death thy holy Martyrs O Lord shall be troubl'd with horrible fear when they shall behold them whom they had so unhumanely treated in this life to be so highly honour'd in Heaven they shall wonder at their unexpected Salvation and say amongst themselves with great regret with much grief and anguish of Spirit These are the men who sometime were unto us matter of Scorn and laughter We insipid wretches imagin'd their life to be madness and that then end will be without nonour but behold how they are counted amongst the children of God and how their lot is amongst the Saints such will be the amazement of those mercenary Judges also who have trampl'd under foot the justice and right of thy poor servants on Earth when they shall behold them Judges in Heaven and themselves condemn'd to Hell-fire for their unjust Sentences Solomon's words verifies this Eccl. c. 3. 10. where he says I saw a great evil beneath the Sun that in the Throne of Judgement was Seated impiety and wickedness in the place of Justice And I said in my heart God shall Judge the good and evil and then shall be seen who every one is Here on Earth the wicked sometimes are exalted and the Godly depress'd but thou O Lord shalt in the day of thy visitation rectify those great disorders and grievances thou shalt Separate the wheat from the tares thoushalt place the good upon thy right hand elevated in the Air that all the world may honour and reverence them as being thy favourites whereas the wicked shall stand all in a confusion far off at thy left expecting their final Sentence and the immediate execution thereof O how they shall at that dreadful hour envy the happy state of the Just seeing them so much honour'd and themselves so much despis'd O how will the Potentates and crown'd heads of the Earth be astonish'd when they shall behold their Vassals in Glory their Slaves amongst the Angels and themselves in the same rank with the Devils O my Sweet Saviour St. Chrys hom 24. in Lucam Armabit omnum creaturam ad ultronem inimicorum pugnabit proâ—eo orbis terrarum contra insensatos what shall I think of my self what shall I say what shall I do or how shall I be able to excuse my self in that day of thy wrath when Heaven Earth Sun Moon Stars Night and Day together with all that is contain'd within the precincts of the whole world shall accuse me bear witness of all my evil and cry vengeance against me before thy dreadful Throne nay were they all silent mine own conscience shall fly in my face and accuse me of all my offences even of the least idle word that ever I have spoken Woe 's me then says St. Ambrose St. Ambr. in
In an Age of license to all sorts of vanity and wickedness as Lust Gluttony Avarice Envy Ambition Sloth Insolence Levity Contumacy Fear Rashness private Discords and publick Evils extravagant and groundless wishes vain Confidence sickly affections shameless Impiety Rapine authoriz'd and the violation of all things Sacred and prophane Obligations are pursu'd with Sword and Poison Benefits are turn'd into Crimes and that blood most seditiously spilt for which every honest man should expose his own Those that should be the preservers of their Country are the destroyers of it and 't is matter of dignity to trample upon the Government the Sword gives the Law and Mercenaries take up arms against their Masters Among these turbulent and unruly motions what hope is there of finding honesty or good Faith which is the life of all virtues there is not a more lively Image of humane life then that of a conquer'd City There is neither Mercy Modesty nor Religion and if we forget our lives we may well forget the obligations we have to thee and all thy benefits too But let us consider seriously the multitude and greatness of thy divine blessings deal with thee even as one man does with another The wise man says that gifts break Rocks Victoriam honorem acquirit qui dat munera animam autem aufert accipientium Prov. 22.9 and shall not thy divine benefits move a heart of flesh and if they can steal the hearts of the receivers according to Solomon how come we not to be rob'd of our Souls by thee O Lord For thou dost not only give us thy gifts but also dost bestow thy self upon us as a most precious treasure If we consider the benefits which we have receiv'd from thee in our Creation they are as many as we have members of our bodys and faculties of our Souls If those of our Conservation they are equal in number to the distinct natures in Heaven and on Earth The Elements the Sun the Moon the Stars and the whole World were created for our preservation for without them we could not subsist If we look upon the benefits of our Redemption We shall be easily convinc'd that they are as many as there are evils in Hell from which we are happily deliver'd by thy Passion and total effusion of thy most precious bloud Those of our Justification are no less in number then are the Sacraments which thou hast instituted to increase our Merits and work the Sanctification of our Souls then the Graces and Inspirations which thou dost shower down into our hearts and the divine Examples which thou hast left us Nonne haec opportuit Christum pati ita intrare in gloriam suam Luc. 24.26 which should invite us all to tread with a masculine courage in the same paths which brought thee O Lord into thine own glory All these with thousands of other benefits and obligations which we have receiv'd from thee and by thy Creatures cry out unto us to love thee with all our heart with all our Soul with all our Powers and to trample under our feet this false World with all it's vanitys trifles transitory pleasures But alas We make nothing of all thy benefits We give no ear to all their crys but rather will love the World and tast of its pleasures in as ample a measure as our fortunes will afford us wherein we seem to be worse then even the very Heathens for Aristides tho' he was reputed to be one of the greatest Men of Athens yet he was so avers'd to the Pomp and toys of the World and so affected to poverty that he always wore a course broken garment suffer'd Hunger Cold and Thirst not for any want of means or friends to relieve him but meerly for his own fancy Zeno was nothing concern'd when news was brought to him that he had lost all what he had in the World When An xagoras receiv'd the like news he said no more then if my Goods had not perish'd I had been undone Crates flung his whole substance into the Sea with this expression It is better I drown you then you me Diogenes bid adieu to all he had in the World and took nothing with him but a wooden dish and seeing by chance one drink out of the hollow of his hand broke that also And shall we refuse to do in obedience to thy Commands O Lord for the purchase of an eternal weight of glory what they freely and gladly perform'd to pleasure their own fancies and gain the repute of being Philosophers O madness O ingratitude never to be paralel'd Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi Ps 115.12 Tho' We are thine by so many just titles and thou hast given thy self and all what thou hast unto us yet we never think of what We ought to do for thee nor how We shall express our thankfulness for such and so great benefits This was the greatest care that David took and the sole subject of his most serious consideration what shall I return unto the Lord for all the favours which he has confirm'd upon me But O blessed King and Prophet give me leave to ask thee what are those favours 'T is true he has rais'd thee from the Station of a Shepherd to the dignity of a King He has enabl'd thee to encounter a Giant and to get the better of him too He has often protected thee against the evil Spirit of Saul and has preserv'd thy life from all the wicked and treacherous attempts he made to destroy thee these are great obligations indeed and deserve thy grateful return but are nothing to the benefits which we have receiv'd at his hands his love for us was so great that he suffer'd death to bring us to life everlasting and left unto us for food to our Souls his most precious body and blood certainly these obligations are unspeakable and deserve at least that small attonement of returning back unto him our Souls hearts and bodys for as we had them from him 't is our weighty obligation to let him have them again entirely and free from any love-to the World or affection to the Creatures so that We are to account our selves now and evermore as only his and not our own consequently We are not to debase our love by placing it upon any worldly object but to settle it wholly upon him alone And really if we consider seriously the infinite love which thou hast for us O Lord We shall finde that we have no love left to bestow either upon the World or any terrene object no nor upon our selves for We must know that love consists in action and the more it acts or suffers the greater is the perfection thereof how great then must thy love be O Lord being thou hast wrought such Stupendious works for our Salvation still dost continue to work the like for our preservation the Sun the Moon Omnia subjecisti sub
digest But what was the end of that Apicius of that corrupter of youth and plague of the Age he liv'd in after he had spent a prodigious fortune upon his belly he poyson'd himself for fear of starving when he had 250000. Crowns in his Coffers which may serve to shew us that it is the minde and not the Summ that makes any man rich But why do I call that poison which was the wholsomest draught of his life his dayly gluttony was poison rather both to himself and others His ostentation of it was intollerable and so was the infinite pains he took to mislead others by his example who went fast enough of themselves without driving It is indeed a horrid shame for a reasonable man to place his felicity in those entertainments and appetites that are stronger in Brutes Do not Beasts eat with a far better stomach have they not more satisfaction in their Lusts and they have not only a quicker relish of their pleasures but they enjoy them without either scandal or remorse If sensuality were happiness Beasts were happier then Men but humane felicity is lodg'd in the Soul not in the Flesh They that deliver themselves up to Luxury are still either tormented with too little or glutted with too much and equally miserable by being either deserted or overwhelm'd They are like men in a dangerous Sea one while cast dry upon a Rock and another while swallow'd up in a whirl-pool and all this from the mistake of not distinguishing good from evil The Huntsman that with much labour and hazard takes a wild beast runs as great a risque afterwards in the keeping of him for many times he tears out the throat of his Master and 't is the same thing with inordinate pleasures the more in number and the greater they are the more general and absolute a Slave is the Servant of them Let Mortals say what they will of him and let the common People pronounce him as happy as they please he pays his liberty for his delights and sells himself for what he buys But who must be the Purchaser Who but the Devil that plays the Host in this world Amos 1. Tob. 2. and will serve them at an inch with what delights or pleasures they desire but will be sure to write up all in his black book and take an exact account thereof at the day of their death then he will not fail to bring in the whole reckoning and charge them with all their mirth shall be then chang'd into mourning and lamentation and if they be not able to make atonement and discharge their accounts they shall hear to their eternal sorrow this thy dreadful Sentence Quantum in deliciis fuit tantum date illi tormentum Apoc. 18. look how much they have taken of their delights so much torment do you lay upon them A wise and discreet Traveller when he comes into an Inn tho' his Host should set before him most rare and delicate meats to banquet at his pleasure yet he will forbear and restrain his appetite meerly in consideration of the price and of the journey he has to go and takes nothing but so much as he knows well how to discharge the next morning at his departure on the contrary a fool will lay hands on every delicate bit that is presented to his sight he will act the Prince for a night or two but next day when it comes to be discharg'd he is sorry for what he had done and would wish he had liv'd only upon bread and water rather then be put to that vexation and disgrace too as to part with all his mony for his belly The custom of thy Church O Lord is to fast the eve of every great feast and then to recreate their Spirits the next day which is the Festival it self This represents very well the abstinent life of thy good Servants in this World for which they deserve to be nobly treated and made much of in the World to come but the custome of this World is quite opposite for they will eat and drink merrily let the Host bring in what reckoning he will but when payment is demanded and that they can't get off without the Sum laid in his hand Risus dolore miscebitur extrema gaudii luctus occupat Pro. 14 O then all their mirth is forgot and as much asham'd they are at their laughing and ranting as is a dog when his tail is cut off This is the character that Holy Scripture gives of the pleasures of the World laughter shall be mingl'd with sorrow Melius est ire ad domum luctus quam ad domum convivii Ecc. 7 Ubi tristitia ibi cor sapientis ubi gaudium ibi cor stultorum Pr. 28 Beatus homo qui semper est panidus Ibid. and mourning shall come at the latter end of mirth It is for this very reason that the Wise holds it better to go to the house of sorrow then to the house of feasting and the cause why is that where sadness appears there the heart of the wise man is lodg'd but where mirth is there is the heart of fools and for conclusion he gives me this wholesome document happy is the man that is always fearful which is the same thing that the Holy Ghost recommends to every man to walk carefully and upright with God thinking upon his commandments how we keep and observe them how we resist temptations how we mortify our flesh how we bestow our time talents and riches which he was pleas'd to lend us how we labour to make up a plentiful harvest of good works for the obtaining of Heaven what account we could give him if he had summon'd us at this very moment to appear before him O that We were so happy as to make of these good thoughts our frequent meditation I am certain We should have no time to spend in the idle pleasures and pastimes of this World but alas our grand misfortune is that we never trouble our brains with 'em we will rather think of what our Kitchens can afford To see what a number of Cooks what a variety of meats a noble-man will have 't is to be wonder'd that so much provision should be made for one belly and that so many people should be employ'd to bring up the Luxury of all tasts in one dish which is rather like a vomit then a soup but they have their punishment even in this World for from their compound dishes arise compounded diseases which require compound Medicines 'T is the same thing with their mind that it is with their Tables simple vices are curable by simple Councels but a general dissolution of manners is hardly overcome They are overrun with a publick as well as with a private madness The Physitians of old understood little more then the vertue of some herbs to stop blood or heal a wound and their firm and healthy bodys needed little more before they were corrupted