the hidden Manna of my Soul its Food and Refreshment in all Conditions in Afflictions my Support in Poverty my Treasure in Reproaches my Glory in Darkness my Light in Sickness my Health in Troubl my Repose in Prosperity my Defence in Life and Health my Joy and Consolation that Christ being thus formed in me I may through Him who giveth us the Victory overcom the Vanities of the World the Lusts of the Flesh and the Temtations of the Devil til He becom my Life in Death and my Happiness in Heven Amen THE Soul's Communion WITH HER SAVIOR The First Book Containing so much of the Gospel-History as relates to the Infancy of the H. Jesus and that time of his Privat Life which passed before He entred on his Publick Ministry Cap. I. Of His Incarnation §. 1. O Holy and Ever-blessed Jesu Eternal Son of the eternal God who didst descend from thy Father's Bosom from the highest Hevens thy Royal Throne to this Vale of Misery that by taking My Nature upon Thee Thou mightest not only suffer and satisfy for Me but also impart Thy Nature unto Me. I prais and magnify thy Name For this thine unspeakabl Lov. I adore thee for thine infinit Wisdom and Goodness I am astonished at thy stupendious Humility and Condescension to lost and undeserving Man Bow the Hevens O Lord once more and com down touch my Heart with thine Almighty Power and having cast out whatsoever may be offensiv to thy Sacred Majesty fill it with thy blessed Presence for ever §. 2. O Blessed Jesu whose Incarnation was so sublime a Mystery that to usher in a matter of such extraordinary Concernment to the World the Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a City of Galilee named Nazareth to a Uirgin espoused to a man whose Name was Ioseph of the Hous of David and the Uirgin's Name was Mary I magnify thy Glorious Name For making thy Spirits Ministers unto them who shal be Heirs of Salvation As the Angels and Arch-Angels prais Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim adore Thee and all the hevenly Host bow down unto Thee not only fitting upon thy Throne but even at the lowest Degree of thy Foot-stool wherunto thou hast voluntarily humbled thy self in thine Incarnation So let me I beseech thee in concurrence with the Celestial Choir celebrat this Mystery of thy Lov on Earth worship the Majesty of thy Glory in Heven til my Life becom Angelical by rejoicing in Thee and in Thy Salvation §. 3. When the Angel came in unto her and said 〈◊〉 thou that art highly favored the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among Women she cast in her mind what manner of Salutation this should be I prais thy Holy Name O Blessed Jesu for the greatness of thine Eternal Lov to this Holy Virgin and to all Mankind in her O make me sensibl how highly I my self am favor'd in this great Transaction since She was thus blessed among Women that all the Families of the Earth might be blessed in her Seed A Salutation of such infinit Importance doth worthily deserv to be frequently revolved in our minds which being particularly brought to a privat Family in Jewry hath prov'd of universal Concernment to the whol World O let me also tast and see how gracious the Lord hath been to my Soul No matter for the Favor of Men so we find Grace with God §. 4. While she was troubled at his saying the Angel said unto her Fear not Mary for thou hast found favor with God And behold thou shalt 〈◊〉 in thy womb and bring forth a Son and thou shalt call his Name Iuses He shal be great and shal be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shal giv unto him the Chrone of his Father David And he shal reign over the house of Iacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shal be no end I prais and magnify thy Name O Jesus for thy great Glory and endless Soveraignty for as much as thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endureth throu-out all Generations O thou Root and Off-spring of David vouchsafe to extend thy Scepter over all Nations and be for Salvation to the Ends of the Earth that under thy Government all Peopl being saved from their Sins may liv and prosper in Peace and Holiness Sit upon the Throne of my heart by the Power and Presence of thy Holy Spirit reign over all the faculties of my Soul subdu them to thy Will and be thou my God and King forever §. 5. Then said Mary to the Angel How shal this be seeing I know not a Man Wherunto the Angel answered The Holy Ghost shal com upon thee and the Power of the Highest shal overshadow thee therfore also that Holy Thing which shal be born of thee shall be called The Son of GOD. I prais and magnify the Name O thou Son of God for thine in finit Condescension to becom the Son of Man It is not less Blessed and Mysterious to conceiv Thee in the Heart by Faith than to carry Thee in the Womb of Flesh Send therefore I befeech thee the same Spirit and Power to rest upon mine Affections til Christ be formed in me that thy Humility and Holiness thy Life and Lov may be brought forth in my Conversation and so adapt me to be called the Son of God §. 6. Holy Jesu who for the more rational Engagement of the Virgins Faith didst further acquaint her by the same Angel Behold thy Cousin Elizabeth who was called barren she also hath conceived a Son in her old Age. I magnify thy H. Name Becaus with God nothing shal be unpossibl This Maxim may suffice to silence all the Cavilling Inquiries of human Reason How this should be For the same Power that makes the barren Womb fruitful can with the same facility dispens with those Laws of Nature that render it unlikely there should be a Virgin-Mother And that Spirit which by breathing on them was abl to make dry Bones liv may be very rationaly believed of sufficient Power to impregnat a Virgin 's Womb. And therefore in Considering this transcendent Mystery of my Savior's Incarnation I will rather admire and recount his Goodness and Truth than question his Power or pry into the manner of its Accomplishment and in all his Trials of my Faith or Pati nce my Soul shal say as the 〈◊〉 of the Lord did Be it unto me according unto thy 〈◊〉 §. 7. Upon this Information the Blessed Virgin Mary arose and went iuto the Hill-Country to the Hous of 〈◊〉 to visit her Cousin Elizabeth who no sooner heard her Salutation but the Babe leaped in her Womb and she was filled with the 〈◊〉 Ghost so that she said with a 〈◊〉 voice Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb whence is it that the Mother of my Lord should com to me I prais thy Name For this marvelous Effect of thy
particular Eas and Satisfaction preferring thy Church before all our privat Concernments or domestick Interests whatsoever §. 5. O B. Jesus tho Iohn 〈◊〉 thee saying I hav need to be baptized of Thee and comest Thou to me yet didst thou persist in thy Resolution of submitting to his Disciplin and Baptism who owned himself 〈◊〉 to carry thy Shoos requiring him to suffer it to be so now I magnify thy Gracious Name For thus expressing how well it becometh us to fulfil all Righteousness O giv me and all that call themselves after Thy Name the Christian Humility of conforming to all the Rules of Godly Disciplin which shall be found requisit for thy Church's Peace and of submitting to any Service how much soever abased that may tend to the Benefit of the smallest in thy Flock or end in the Advancement of thy Glory §. 6. Most H. Jesus who when all the Peepl were baptized didst descend into the River to be baptized among them that thy Father's Declaration being made from Heven in the Audience of a Multitude might be the more publickly known and undeniably confirmed I glorify thy Name Because thy Delights are among the Children of Men. Be present I beseech thee in all the devout Assemblies of thy Saints and Servants and so bless thine Ordinances unto them that the Wil of God revealed from Heven 〈◊〉 be effectualy divulged and obey'd among all Nations And now thou hast thus sanctified the Element of Water to becom Sacramental for the Remission of Sins having in a Symbol purified human Nature of that Guilt and Pollution which thou hadst undertaken to expiat and remov so making good the Baptist's further Testimony of Thee when he saw thee O Iesus coming unto him and said Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the World Lord Pardon those many heinous 〈◊〉 which hav miserably defiled my Life and Conscience since I received Baptismal Grace and so renew thy Covenant of Mercy unto my Soul that I may never so ungratefuly violat the Conditions or forfeit the Advantages of it any more §. 7. O thou Anointed of the Lord who receivedst not the Spirit by measure for being baptized and praying the Heven was 〈◊〉 And the H. Ghost descended in a bodily Shape like a Dov upon Thee And 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 from Heven saying This is my Beloved Son in whom I am wel pleased What could be a more glorious Attendant on thy Publication than so express a Discovery of the B. Trinity Thy Relation to God the Father the Being and Office of the H. Ghost and the Good Wil of the whol God-head to Mankind being jointly display'd therin I prais and magnify thy Name For exhibiting so many Sacred Mysteries as in a littl but accurat Picture which in other Ages were not made known unto the Sons of men Lord let me be ravished and instructed with this marvellous Vision as Thy Forerunner was who openly professed I knew him not but that He should be made manifest to Israel therfore am I com baptizing with Water for he that sent me said unto me Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him the same is He which baptizeth with the 〈◊〉 Ghost And I saw and bare Record that This is the Son of God Enlighten the Ey of my Soul to behold this inconceivabl yet evident Manifestation of the Ever-blessed Trinity and exalt mine Understanding to such a right Apprehension of that Sacred Mystery that all my Acts of Adoration may be duly directed and graciously accepted May the Hevens which were open at thy Baptism never be shut against my Prayers or Praises and since thou hast opened the Kingdom of Heven to all Believers grant the same Spirit that descended upon Thee may abide with Me and thy whol Church for ever that we who are in Baptism adopted Sons of God according to the good pleasure of his Wil may be charm'd and honor'd with the Eccho of that 〈◊〉 from Heven which proclaimed Thee Beloved And since thou my merciful Savior hast made choice of such proper Emblems to shadow forth thy Glory make them suitably impressiv on my Memory and Affections for wheras the Promulgation of the Law was attended with terribl Thunders and thick Darkness to express the Dreadfulness of God's Presence unto the sinful Transgressors of it Thy Preaching of the Gospel of Peace is usher'd in by the H. Ghost in the likeness of a Dov to bring the Oliv-branch of Reconciliation to Mankind and shew what Meekness of Spirit is the proper Badg or Cognisance of thy tru Discipls The End of the First Book THE Soul's Communion WITH HER SAVIOR The Second Book Containing what occurs in the First Year of his Publick Ministry Cap. I. Of His Retirement Fasting and Temtation §. 1. O Blessed Iesus who being ful of the Holy Ghost immediatly after thy return from Iordan wast led by the Spirit into the Wilderness I prais and magnify thy Name For thus chalking out the Way to divine and spiritual Atchievments O thou the only Comfort of all my Solitudes giv me Grace to set apart fit times for Prayer and Contemplation after thine Exampl before I enter upon any great Emploiment that what I undertake with du and devout Consideration may be so blest and accepted by thy Goodness as may render it succesful to thine Honor And whensoever it shal pleas Thee to inspire me with holy Thoughts and Resolutions incline my Heart cheerfuly to follow the Motions of thy B. Spirit that I may never incur the Guilt of Resisting the H. Ghost §. 2. O thou high and holy One of Israel who hast abased thy self to co-habit with the wild Beasts of the Desert for my sake whose nativ fierceness was so much awed by thy Sacred Presence as left them neither Power nor Inclination to hurt Thee I glorify thy Great Name For submitting to the disconsolat Inconveniences of that inhospitabl Place and Company Lord disdain not to visit the uncultivated Wilderness of my Soul too and subdu therin all those brutish Appetits those untamed Passions that would utterly destroy me til thou bring all the Imaginations of my Heart into Subjection to thy H. Will. §. 3. O my most Gracious Redeemer who didst fast 〈◊〉 Days and forty Nights and 〈◊〉 afterward an hungred I prais thy H. Name For teaching me both the Duty and Benefit of Fasting Lord let me not at any time eat or drink without such a Temper and Moderation as may better enabl me for thy Service but on all the Seasons and Occasions of Fasting prescribed either by Thee or thy Church make me impartialy strict and severe to my self in Communion with thy Saints in Sorrow for my Sins and in Memory of Thy Sufferings denying my self not only pleasant Bread and palatabl Drink but all manner of Sustenance for a time proportionabl to my frailty in Conformity to thine Exampl who in those
Corruptions to renounce no new Nature to put on and yet didst permit thy Fore-skin to be circumcised that we might learn therby to put away all 〈◊〉 and superfluity of 〈◊〉 tiness I prais thy H. Name For this Visibl Sign of that 〈◊〉 Grace we stand in need of Let this thine Infant-Wound O J su circumcise our Hearts purify our Hands and 〈◊〉 our whol Man blameless and undefiled And since there is a Fountain open'd to the Hous of David for Sin and for Uncleanness let the Blood of Christ who throu the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 offer'd himself without Spot to God 〈◊〉 our Conscience from dead Works to 〈◊〉 the living God that being 〈◊〉 from all 〈◊〉 of Flesh and Spirit 〈◊〉 may perfect Holiness in thy Fear To this end I beseech thee mortify the Deeds of my Body cut off the Occasions of Sin and disappoint the Temtations most apt to betray me 〈◊〉 for He is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is 〈◊〉 in the Flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the Heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose Prais is not of Men but of God §. 6. O my Soul Who could imagin so small privat an Action in a Country so remote and an Age so long past should be of such marvellous Concernment to thee and evry Family in the Earth besides I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ for that 〈◊〉 Wisdom and Goodness wherwith thou hast enlarged my Joys in making all thine Actions conduciv to the Benefit and Instruction of the whol World Grant me Grace I beseech thee so to use those Faculties wherwith thou hast enabled me to reflect on and consider Objects so far distant in Time and Place that duly weighing the great Confequence and wide Concernment of evry Thought Word and Deed enrolled in the Volum of Eternity I may becom the more cautious of ordering my Conversation aright til Divine Lov Entire Obedience and Uniform Devotion compleat my Life in this World and prepare a delightful Spectacl for God Angels and Just Men made perfect in the next Cap. IV. Of His Epiphany §. 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of verse 1 〈◊〉 in the days of Herod the King 〈◊〉 there came Wise men from the East to Jerusalem saying Where is he that is born King of the 〈◊〉 for we 〈◊〉 seén his Star in the East and are com to worship him I prais and magnify thy Name O thou Wisdom of the Father for the gracious and 〈◊〉 Influence of the Eastern 〈◊〉 whose Appearance and Motion being wholy 〈◊〉 did attract the Eys engage the Faith and guide the Feet of these Learned Sages in Quest of Thee In deed they are the only Wise men who use their Learning to find out Heven Lord as thou didst illuminat their Souls by a diviner Light to discern the Benefit and Design of that created Star so be thou graciously pleased to accompany the hevenly Oracls of thy Word with such a convincing Power and Demonstration of thy Spirit as shal be effectual to bring in the Fulness of the Gentils to whom thou hast extended the Scepter of thy Mercy as well as to the Jews having made both one and broken down the middl Wall of Partition between us §. 2. O Blessed Jesu who didst withdraw the Conduct of that Star as soon as the Wise men were com to Jerusalem leaving them to be informed by the ordinary Ministry of the chief Priests and Scribes of the Peépl whom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gathered together demanding of them where Christ should be born they said unto him In Bethlehem of Iudea for thus it is written of 〈◊〉 Prophet And thou Bethlehem in the land of Iuda art not the least among the Princes of Iuda for out of 〈◊〉 shal com a a Governor that shal rule my Peépl Israel I prais thy H. Name For the seasonabl Use of Miracls and the transcendent Excellency of the Means of Grace It is unreasonabl to look for Manna when we are once enter'd into the Land of Promise Reclaim therfore I beseech thee all pervers and ignorant Schismaticks from that gross presumtion of temting Thee for new Lights and needless Revelations now thy Will is so expresly revealed in thy Word and let the Priests Lips to whom thou hast committed the ordinary Dispensation of thine Oracls always preserv sufficient knowledg to direct thy peepl in the way of Salvation by that more sure Word of Prophecy which was of old written for our Instruction and is to this day a standing Record taken from the mouths of those holy men of God who spake as they were moved by the H. Ghost And as thou didst lead these honorabl Pilgrims by the Conduct of a Star to the Means of Grace and by the ordinary Preaching and Explanation of thy Word unto thy Self making both those Methods useful in their respectiv places so let thine ancient Miracls confirm and quicken us in the Use of such ordinary Means as are adapted to these later Times for the Light of thy glorious Gospel is as much more instructiv than the obscurer Language of a Star as the shining Splendor of the Day outvies the gloomy Shades of Night this being no less powerful to draw Men from all Quarters of the Earth to thy Worship than that was to invite these few from the East §. 3. The 〈◊〉 men having received so full and plain an Answer from the Priests in the 〈◊〉 of a Truth which neither their fear of Herod nor their own Enmity was abl to suppress continu their Progress toward Bethlehem nothing discoraged either with the disappearing of their Oriental Guide or by the Troubl which the bold and open Declaration of their Embassy had given Herod and all Ierusalem with him I magnify thy Sacred Name O Christ For this their Exemplary Corage and Resolution Be thou the delightful Object and Answer of all mine Enquiries the sole End and Recompence of all my Travel and let my Soul depend on Thee in the greatest destitution of all Outward Helps and Encoragements that those Obstacls which the World is apt to cast in my way being furmounted by a firm purpos of Mind to follow Thee I may throu a du Use of thine Ordinances be brought out of the Maze of Error and Ignorance 〈◊〉 the Knowledg of thy Truth and walk in the right way to thy saving Presence §. 4. O H. Jesu who to reward the Faith and Zeal of these devout Pilgrims didst not only signify to them the Birth of the Messiah in general but conduct them also to Jerusalem and at last when they departed thence attend them even to Bethlehem by the Star which they saw in the East that went before them til it came and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the yong Child was to their great joy I bless and prais thy Name For being found of them that seek Thee according to thy faithful Promise I
be I magnify thy Glorious Name For speaking that Thou dost know and testifying that Thou hast seen tho we receiv not thy Witness I earnestly beseech Thee O Jesus how backward soever Thou findest us to believ when thou hast told us earthly things vouchsafe to tell us of hevenly things and to exhibit as wel the powerful Efficacy of thy whol Doctrin as the indisputabl Truth of the most abstruse parts of it help Thou our Unbelief That notwithstanding my inability to satisfy my Self or Others How the Birth from abov is wrought in my Heart yet I may palpably evidence to the whol World both in Word and Deed What it is to be a new Creature and make it appear that the Spirit of God hath breathed upon my Soul tho I cannot determin the precise Time nor describe the exact Manner of his graciousOperation §. 〈◊〉 O thou Son of Man which art in Heven whither no man hath ascended up but he that came down from thence who to convince us that whatever thou hast suffer'd upon Earth was of thine own voluntary Resolution and Praescience didst expresly foretel as wel the particular Circumstance as the gracious Design of thy Death in these plain Tearms As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but hav eternal Life I prais and magnify thy Name Becaus God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but hav everlasting life I humbly beseech Thee O Jesu since God sent not his Son into the World to condemn it but that the World throu him might be saved establish my Soul in this Faith and qualify me for that happy End of it by an unblamabl Conversation that Impiety may not temt me to Infidelity and Unbelief consign me to Damnation for as thy unerring Truth assures us he that believeth not is condemned already the preposterous Occasion of the Guilt being justly applied to aggravat and ascertain the Condemnation That Light is com into the World and yet Men loved Darkness rather than Light becaus their Deeds were evil for evry one that doth evil hates and shuns the Light lest his Deeds should be reproved wheras he that doth Truth who rightly believs and acts according to the Principls of a sound Faith cometh to the Light wherby his Deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God Cap. VI. Of His Baptizing in Judea and the Dispute that arose therupon between St. John's Discipls and the Jews §. I. AFter these things the H. Jesus and his Discipls came into the Land of Judea where he tarried with them baptizing Prais thou the Lord O my Soul For perfecting the Design of S. John's Baptism by the succeeding Administration of Thine even whilst he was also 〈◊〉 in Enon near to 〈◊〉 becaus much Water was there Giving us therby a tacit yet significant Intimation of thy forwardness to prosecute the Work of our Redemtion which would rather shorten the Night by the hasty Approach of thy Day of Grace than 〈◊〉 the Rising of the Sun til the Setting of thy Morning-Star for 〈◊〉 was not yet cast into Prison I humbly implore thee O Christ let us draw near unto thy 〈◊〉 Ordinances with a tru Heart in ful Assurance of Faith having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience as wel as our Bodies washed with pure Water And Oh! that whol Rivers of Waters might be employ'd and 〈◊〉 for the baptizing great Multitudes of 〈◊〉 from amongst all Nations and Kindreds and Peepl and Tongs throu out the World to accomplish the Number of thine Elect and hasten thy Kingdom §. 2. Upon this Occasion there 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 between som of John's Discipls and the 〈◊〉 about Purifying and they came unto 〈◊〉 saying 〈◊〉 He that was with thee beyond 〈◊〉 to whom thou 〈◊〉 Witness behold the same 〈◊〉 and all men com to 〈◊〉 Wherupon thy Servant John gave this further Testimony 〈◊〉 Thee O Jesus publickly confessing in the audience of the peepl 〈◊〉 your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 me Witness that I said I am not the Christ but that I am sent before him He that hath the Bride is the Bride-groom but the Friend of the Bride groom which standeth and heareth him rejoiceth greatly becaus of the Bride-groom's 〈◊〉 This my 〈◊〉 therefore is fulfilled He must increas but I must decreas for He that cometh from 〈◊〉 is abov all and altho He that is of the Earth is Earthly and speaketh of the Earth yet He that cometh from 〈◊〉 what He hath seen and heard that He testifieth tho no man receiv his Testimony But he that hath received his Testimony hath set to his Seal that God is tru for He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God which we may boldly rely upon in regard God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him nay the Father so loveth the Son that He hath given All things into His hand and resolvs our Fate shal be according to the Faith we bear Him for He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting Life wheras he that believeth not the Son shal not see Life but the Wrath of God abideth on him I adore thy Sacred Name O thou whom my Soul loveth For the great Understanding this thy Servant had touching the Knowledg of thine Eternal God-head and the whol Mystery of thine Everlasting Gospel which he hath thus clearly expressed in this his excellent Sermon left upon Record for my Instruction Lord I. beseech Thee since a Man can 〈◊〉 nothing except it be given him from heven 〈◊〉 such a measure of thy Spirit and the Grace he conveys from 〈◊〉 into the Hearts of the faithful possess and affect my Soul that I in Communion with thy Servant John may likewise rejoice in hearing the Bride-groom's Voice audibly utter'd in His holy Word and be ravished with delight in the privat Contemplation of the happy Union solemnized between my Lord Christ and his Spous the Church So as at last thou mayst vouchsafe to admit me into the Fulness of that 〈◊〉 which doth attend the Marriage of the Lamb and impart unto me the Interest and Affection of a Friend in the Consummation of thy Glory which wil qualify me as wel to taste of the Pleasures as congratulat the Perpetuity of thine Eternal Lov. Cap. VII On the Imprisonment of St. John the Baptist. §. 1. O My only-wise God and Savior who to render thy Messenger S. John the more conformabl to the Author and Finisher of that Faith which he was sent to usher in by his Ministry didst permit Herod the Tetrach to lay hold on him and having bound him shut him up in Prison that he might as wel be a Precedent of thine undeserved Sufferings as the Precursor of thy divine Person and Doctrin I prais and magnify thy Name For that undaunted
Presence O Blessed Jesu and for the powerful Influence of thy Spirit manifest therin even before thy Manifestation to the World Help me O Lord so to correspond with Thee in thy gracious Visitations as to discharge all the Offices of Lov Friendship and Christian Piety incumbent on me toward all Relations that I also may be a Joy unto thy Servants and they such unto Me as Thou art unto us all And let the voice of thy Salutation sounded in mine Ears by the Ministry of thy Word make me Blessed in believing that there shal be a Performanre of those things which were told us from the Lord as wel concerning the second Coming to judg the World as hath already been of thy first Coming to redeem it §. 8. O my dear Redeemer who in making choice of this Holy Virgin to be thy Happy Mother hast regarded the low Estate of thy 〈◊〉 preferring that before all the outward Pomp and Grandeur wherwith we are too fondly taken to giv us an instructiv Instance that Humility is the Fountain and Fore-runner of Honor for behold from thenceforth all Generations do call 〈◊〉 Blessed My Soul doth magnify the Lord For He that is Mighty hath don great things and Holy is his Name He hath shewed strength with his Arm when He put down the mighty from their Seats and exalted them of low degree to help his Servant Israel in remembrance of his Mercy Lord since the Poor and Lowly in heart are so acceptabl in thine Eys teach me to lov Retirement and delight in Devotion as this Elect Virgin did and make me truly content and happy in the lowest degree wherin thy Providence shal think fit to place me And since thou art graciously inclined to fill the hungry 〈◊〉 good things let her Faith in relying on God's ancient Promises of Mercy which he spake to our Fathers to Abraham and to his Seed for ever her Wisdom in treasuring up all thy Sacred tho Mysterious Verities her constant Obedience to thy revealed Will her exemplary Humility amidst all thy Graces conferr'd upon her and that Spirit of Prais and Thanksgiving wherwith she rejoiced in God her Savior added to her modest Chastity and holy Fear replenish and adorn my Soul and Life in all Estates and Conditions for thy Mercy is on them that fear Thee from Generation to Generation §. 9. O thou Day spring from on high who throu the tender Mercy of our God hast visited us to giv Light to them that 〈◊〉 in Darkness and in the Shadow of Death to guide our Feet in the way of Peace Blessed be the Lord God of Israel For he hath visited and redeemed his Peopl and hath raised up an horn of Salvation for us in the house of his Servant David Lord grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hands of our Enemies may serv Thee without fear in Holiness and Righteousness before Thee all the days of our Life till we acquire the saving 〈◊〉 of thy Salvation given unto thy Peopl by the Remission of their Sins §. 10. Holy Jesu With what Wisdom didst thou delay thine Incarnation so long With what Mercy no longer Thou didst defer it so long that the Scriptures fore-going it might testify of Thee according to that saying In the Volume of the Book it is written of Me to the end all holy Souls in the sundry Ages and Nations of the World might be filled with Expectations Desires of Thy Coming in the Flesh and confirmed in their Faith by the Prophecies accordingly fulfilled Yet wouldst thou not delay it longer that the Over-flowings of thy Lov in the Fulness of Time might satisfy all holy Longings with the Accomplishment of thy wonderful Incarnation in order to our compleat Redemtion I prais and magnify thy Name For the exceeding Riches of thy Grace and Wisdom treasured up in this thy mysterious and sacred Dispensation Beseeching thee that as Thou art the 〈◊〉 of all Nations so to render thy self altogether lovly in mine eys O vouchsafe to com into my Soul in the fulness of thy Compassion for the Pardon of my Sins in the fulness of thy Grace to subdu my Lusts and in the fulness of thy Power to strengthen me in resisting Temtations as thou camest in the fulness of thy Lov to redeem me from their malevolent Influence §. 11. O Blessed Jesu who didst endure nine Months Confinement in thy Mother's Womb til the days were accomplished that she should be delivered that beginning at the Root of our Nature thou mightest throuly cleans its Original Corruption I magnify thy Sacred Name For thy patient Conformity to thine own Laws of Nature attending till her ordinary Time and Method should open the doors of the Matrix for thy Releas Lord moderat that Impatience wherwith we usualy crave any expected Good and that Eagerness of mind which precipitats us into irregular Courses to evade whatsoever we fancy uneasy or troublsom And when I am reduced to any great Strait enabl me with a contented Patience and humbl Resignation to wait on Thee my best Aid and Exemplar for Deliverance in thy good time §. 12. When as his Mother Mary being espoused to Joseph was found with Child before they came together and that just man not willing to make her a public Exampl was minded to put her away privily the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a Dream saying Joseph thou Son of David fear not to take Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost and she shal bring forth a Son and thou shalt call his Name Jesus for he shal save his Peepl from their Sins I celebrat thy saving Name For fulfilling that which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet saying Behold a Uirgin shal be with Child and shal bring forth a Son and they shal call his Name Emmanuel Evidence thy self O Jesus to be God with Us. in making us tender of our Neighbor's Reputation and instead of judging rashly according to appearance let us rather follow the Dictats of thy Grace if not from the immediat Direction of thy Holy Spirit yet according to the charitabl Prescriptions of thy Holy Word §. 13. Then Joseph being raised from Sleep did as the Angel of the Lord had bidden him laying aside all the unkind Determinations of his mistaken Jealousy I prais and magnify thy Name O God For that steddy Faith and perfect Resignation wherwith this thy Servant entertained the Intimation of thy Divine Will who was not disobedient to the hevenly Vision but readily submitted to the Authority of the Message without disputing the Truth or Possibility of the Mystery therin revealed Lord render me more inclinabl to employ my Talent in a hearty Obedience to thine express Commands than spend my Time in the fruitless Disquisition of those unaccountabl 〈◊〉 which thou hast been pleased to reveal from Heven And let his unparallel'd Abstinence who took unto him his Wife and yet
knew her not til she had brought forth her first-born Son not only so shame all mine inordinat Affections and engage me to abstain from fleshly Lusts which war against my Soul as to keep under my Body and bring it into Subjection but withall heighten our Esteem and Emulation of the transcendent Chastity and conjugal Lov of that immaculat Pair whom the King of Heven thought fit to honor and entrust with the Birth and Breeding of his own Son who was not so styled her First-born as to imply there ever was any other succeeding Fruit of her Womb the Mother of God being worthily believed an Eternal Virgin as wel In and After as Before the Bringing forth of that Son whose Name they called JESUS according to the mystical Import of that abstruse Prophecy in the 44th Chapter of Ezekiel This Gate shal be shut it shal not be open'd and no man shal enter in by it becaus the Lord the God of Israel hath enter'd in by it therefore it shal be shut §. 14. O Dear Jesus who in the same Act of assuming our Humanity 〈◊〉 also evidence thy Divinity being as well conceived by the H. Ghost as born of a Virgin I adore thine Eternal God-head For thy great Wisdom and Care in the Discovery and Confirmation of this sublime Mystery of thy Hypostatical Union which thou didst not only transact in Secret by the Message of the Angel Gabriel the Overshadowing of the H. Ghost and the Conception of the Virgin Mary but hast openly ratified by the Report of those Shepherds that had seen a Vision of Angels by the Brightness of the Star which appeared in the Hevens and by the Deportment of the Wise men whom it conducted from the East to Jerusalem by the Testimony of Simeon and Anna in the Templ and that of thy Precursor John the Baptist in the Wilderness All publick and unquestionable Arguments as well to confirm as exhibit the Truth and Import of the Annunciation made in privat to the devout Virgin that this first Step towards the Great Act of our Redemtion being alike Glorious within and without might appear worthy to be received of All with full Assurance and contemplated by All with infinit Gratitude and Delight O my dear and gracious Redeemer whose Humanity and Divinity are inseperably united in Thee are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledg being filled with the Fulness of God Grant throu the Dispensation of thy Grace that the same Godhead which dwelleth in Thee bodily may spiritualy abide in Me that as thy Body is united to thy Soul and both unto God so my Body may be incorporat with thine and my Soul enflamed with such a degree of thy Lov as shal be an Earnest of our ever-lasting Union Fill me with great and reverent Apprehensions of that inexpressibl Honor wherunto we are advanced in Our Union with the Deity in regard it is the End and Effect of Thine and let this Consideration disentangl me from all things here below that living the Life of God from which the whol World is alienated by Sin I may enter into an Hevenly Fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ for ever Amen Cap. II. Of His Nativity §. 1. O Thou King of Kings and Lord of Lords who dost dispose and turn the hearts of Earthly Monarchs as it seemeth best to thy Godly Wisdom making that 〈◊〉 which went out from Cesar Augustus that verse 1 all the World should be tared subservient to thy Celestial Decree long before Cyrenius was Governor of Syria revealed by thy H. Prophets touching the place where Christ should be born for in Obedience to the Imperial Edict All went to be tared 〈◊〉 one into his own City and Joseph went up from Galilee out of the City Nazareth into Judea unto the City of David which is called Betl 〈◊〉 to be tared with Mary his espoused wife then great with Child in such a juncture of time that 〈◊〉 they were there the days were accomplished that she should be delivered I prais and magnify thy H. Name For thy over-ruling Wisdom and Providence in making those Occurrences which seem contingent and arbitrary to human Reason instrumental to carry on the good purpos of thy Divine Will so that what the Prophet Micah had fore-told as the Chief Priests and Scribes themselves did readily explain and apply it may at this day serv for the Direction and Establishment of our Faith in the tru 〈◊〉 Lord let that admirabl Concent and Harmony between thy Old and New Testament which is evident in this and many other singular Instances of thy Truth and Power be effectual to convince the obstinat Jews convert the unbelieving Gentils and bring All Mankind to the Obedience of Faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. §. 2. O thou most High Possessor of Heven and Earth who didst humbl thy self to be wrapped in Swadling 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 in a Manger becaus there was no 〈◊〉 in the 〈◊〉 having made choice of a poor Virgin for thy Mother and a mean Carpenter to pass for thy reputed Father both being destitute not only of a numerous Train of Attendants and such like Marks of Worldly Pomp and Grandeur but even of ordinary Conveniences I prais thy Glorious Name For thus taking upon Thee the form of a Servant that thou mightest heal the Error of our Ignorance and Ambition Let the continual memory of this thy blessed Exampl giv an effectual Check to the Vanity of my Mind for the utter extirpation of all the Pride or Avarice incident to my Nature And having dispossessed all sensual Thoughts and beastly Appetits of that Room which entirely belongs to Thee be thou pleased to accept of my poor Heart as thou didst of that homely Stabl to reside in supplying their place with such unfeigned Humility as may render me cheerfully contented in all Estates Lord impart needful Consolation to the Poor a sanctified Poverty of Spirit to the Rich and the abundant Riches of thy Grace to All. §. 3. There being in 〈◊〉 saine Country Shepherds abiding in the field keeping Watch over their Flock by night the Angel of the Lord came upon them and said unto them Fear not for behold I bring you glad Tidings of great Joy which shal be to all Peepl 〈◊〉 unto You is born this day in the City of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord I magnify thy Sacred Name For this admirabl mixture of Humility and Glory wherwith thou O Christ hast beautified and signalized thy Coming into the World for the Ministry of an Angel to proclaim thy Birth is no less Glorious and Sublime than to be an Inmate with the Beasts of the Stabl seems base and mean in our Eys Lord since thou hast vouchsafed to direct thy winged Herald to those vigilant Cottagers that the Poor and Simpl might hav as much Occasion to shew forth thy Prais as the great and Learned I cannot but admire and heartily desire to imitat
Copartnership with the Holy Trinity wherunto the inordinat Devotion of some Superstitious Christians hath erroneously exalted and inshrined thy Virgin-Mother in these later and more corrupt Ages of thy Church Lord I beseech thee inlighten my Soul with such a discreet and tru Distinction between the Honor or Respect I may justly bear to thy Earthly Mother or any other of thy Saints enrolled in Heven among the Spirits of Just Men made perfect and that Homage and Adoration which I am bound to pay unto Thy Self in the Unity of thy Hevenly Father and the Eternal Spirit that while I commemorat the Grace Thou hast conferred on Her whom thy H. Angel hath authorized us to call Blessed among Women I presume not to rob God of his peculiar Honor who declares expresly I wil not giv my Glory unto another And herein I shal best comply with that Advice which She her Self gave to the Servants that attended on this Nuptial Solemnity Whatsoever he saith unto you do it for thence we may rationaly infer That our resolved and activ Obedience to Thy Divine Commands is much more likely to gratify her holy Soul in Heven than any irregular Expression of Religious Worship unwarrantably tender'd to her Self on Earth Cap. IV. Of His Acts at the first Passover §. 1. AFter this he went down to Capernaum with his Mother his Brethren and Discipls but they continued there not many days for the Jews Passover was at hand and therefore Jesus went up to Jerusalem where finding those that sold Oxen and 〈◊〉 and Dovs and the Changers of mony sitting in the Templ he made a Scourge of small Cords and drove them all out thence 〈◊〉 out the Changers Mony and overthrew their 〈◊〉 saying unto them Take these things hence I prais and magnify thy Name O Lord of Hosts thou Mighty God of Sabaoth who for the more publick and notabl Declaration of thy Power didst signalize the very Commencement of thy Ministerial Function by purging thy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an 〈◊〉 Authority from 〈◊〉 gross Prophanation of those 〈◊〉 made it an Hous of 〈◊〉 which was an Act so extraordinary as gave thy 〈◊〉 occasion to 〈◊〉 that it was written The zeal of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hous hath eaten me up May all Places religiously set apart for thy Worship be ever 〈◊〉 in a venerabl manner I beseech thee and in thy Sanctuary let evry man speak of his Honor that dwels there that when we 〈◊〉 upon Thee O God in the midst of thy Templ our Hearts being 〈◊〉 from all Sacrilegious Thoughts of Secular Negotiations which like a Cage of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are apt as wel to 〈◊〉 as keep a place in thy holy Habitation the Templ of thy more especial Presence may be as it ought a Hous of Prayer not a Den of Thievs §. 2. Most H. Jesus When the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou 〈◊〉 these things questioned 〈◊〉 Authority saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou unto us Thou 〈◊〉 briefly make Answer unto them 〈◊〉 this Templ and in three days 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rais it up I celebrat thy Sacred Name For the hidden Mystery and yet most undoubted Truth couched in this thy prudent Reply which became easily intelligibl when thou wast risen from the Dead after that both Jew and Gentil had employ'd their utmost Power and Malice to destroy thee for then thy Discipls not only remembred that Thou hadst said this unto them but they 〈◊〉 understood that to be spoken of the Templ of thy Body which the 〈◊〉 misapplied to their material Templ in the building wherof forty and six years were elapsed I humbly beseech thee O Lord That the actual Accomplishment of all thy mysterious yet most infallibl Predictions may so enlighten the Understanding of thy Discipls in this later Age of thy Church as to engage Our Faith with no less efficacy than it did that of thy primitiv Followers who hereupon believed the Scripture and the Word which Jesus had said §. 3. O B. Jesus tho many 〈◊〉 in thy Name when they saw the Miracls which thou didst in Jerusalem at the 〈◊〉 in the Feast-day yet didst not thou commit thy Self unto them becaus thou knewest all Men I glorify thy great Name For this eminent Expression of the Divinity of the Son of Man who was so far abov the necessity of depending or relying on the faithless or feebl Generation of Adam that He 〈◊〉 not that any should testify of them for He knew what was in Man even while he vouchsafed to be conversant with them upon Earth in the likeness of Men. I humbly beseech Thee O Christ let the same Spirit which rested upon Thee be my Comfort and Support that from 〈◊〉 I lean not on any Child of Man for there is no Hope no Help in them but fully settl my whol Trust in God and commit the Keeping of my Soul to Him in Wel-doing as unto a faithful Creator And further teach me by this thine instructiv Exampl so much discreet Caution both in my Dealings with Men as may prevent the betraying of my Self to their deceitful Practices and in my Deportment towards God as may ever express me duly sensibl of 〈◊〉 Omniscience Cap. V. Of His Conference with Nicodemus §. I. WHen a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus came to Thee O Jesus by night with a privat Acknowledgment of thy Sacred Mission and unparallel'd Miracls which he wanted the Corage to avow in publick Thou wast gracioufly pleased without upbraiding either his Infirmity or Ignorance to discours the Mysteries of Regeneration to him in such a new and unheard-of manner as far exceeded the Knowledg of any Master of Israel I prais thy H. Name For all the profound and singular Excellencies of thy hevenly Doctrin wherby we know Thou art a Teacher com from God and for that convincing Method Thou hast made Use of to confirm it which was of force enough to make a Ruler of the Jews confess No man can do these Miracls that thou dost except God be with him Tho the Laws of Nature do not allow a Man to be born when he is old or enter the second time into his Mother's Womb yet by the Power of thy Grace let me I beseech thee 〈◊〉 born agen not of Water only but of the Spirit too that as I am naturally Flesh born of the Flesh so I may becom really Spirit born of the Spirit and be therby qualified both to 〈◊〉 and to enter into the Kingdom of God §. 2. O most holy and hevenly Doctor who didst represent to Nicodemus the unaccountabl yet apparent Motions of the H. Ghost in the mysterious Regeneration of evry one that is born of the Spirit by this apt Similitude The wind 〈◊〉 where it listeth and thou hearest the Sound therof canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth which drew him that was learned in the Matters of the Law to own his Ignorance in the Method of the Gospel by putting this Question 〈◊〉 can these things