hill full of horsemen and chariots round about Elizaeus who were the Angells of our Lord who came to defend the Prophet In such sort that if we will take the part of God we shal haue a multitude of Angells on our syde one of which number is able to do more for vs then all the powers of hell against vs. Therefore so great assistance should make vs able to despise the diuell and to lay all vaine feare aside and to giue vs the courage of â—ions â—gainst him in the vertue of Christ Who (u) The sweet and stronge power of our Lord Iesus was a meeke Lambe in deliuering himselfe to death was a Lion in dis-peopling hell ouercomming and binding the diuells and with his arme defending his beloued flock And if any man shall thinke that I haue been to prolixe in this argument let him attribute it to the desyre I haue that thou maiest not be one of the many whom I haue seene who for feare of the Diuell haue giuen ouer the seruice of God I well know that by this enemy some other warres are made euen more cruell then the aforesayd And I also know that in the very extremity of tribulation when already there is growne to be no strength in him that suffers nor wise knowledge in him that guides the shipp and when the infernall Lion and Beare meanes to swallow vp the poore sheep it growes to be comforted and that pitious Dauid Iesus Christ taketh the sheep without harme out of the mouth of the Lion cutting in pieces him that was carrying it away My selfe am a witnesse of greater tribulations then I could possibly haue belieued if I had not seene them and of the meruailous and pitious prouidence of God who doth not in afflictioÌ„ abandon them that seeke him although it be with many frailties and faultes And (x) Note this for thy comfort although I haue seene many of them who feared God to haue byn grieuously assaulted in these fightes I neuer saw one that ended ill And therefore whosoeuer shall find himselfe in these traunces although he seeme conueyed euen into the very belly of the whale let him cal euen from thence vpon Iesus Christ and let him serue himselfe of the good aduise which his Ghostly Father shall giue him And let both of them haue good hope in that good sheephard who gaue his life for his sheep who killeth and quickneth who placeth men as it were in hell and draweth them out aliue from thence For although at one tyme he send troubles at another tyme he taketh them away and that to the great aduantage of him that suffereth the tribulation CHAP. XXXI That the first thing which we are to heare is diuine Truth by meanes of Faith which is the beginning of all spirituall life and which teacheth vs so high things as that they exceed all humane discourse ALL that hitheâ—to is sayd hath byn to giue thee to vnderstand whom thou art not to â—eare and to help thee to these directions which thou hast read It remaineth that now I tell thee whom thou art to heare that so thou mayst fulfill the first word which the prophet speaketh Hearken O Daughter And know that he who deserueth to be hearkned to is only Truth But because there are many Truths the hearing or knowing whereof doth make little to our purpose I tell thee since heere we are to speake of the (a) Note well that when the Authour throughout his whole discourse of Fayth doth speake of Christianity or Christiâ—s he meaneth only such as beleeue professe the holy Catholikâ— Aposâ—olik Roman Fayth as appeareth elswhere aboundantly especially Cap. 4â— Catholike faith which by vs Christians is imbraced that thou art to heare and learne that which God speaketh in his holy Scripture and in his Catholike Church This faith is the beginning of a spirituall life and therefore as I sayd before it is with much reason that we are first admonished by the prophet of that which first it is fit for vs to do since S. Paul (b) Rom. 10. affirmeth That faith comes by hearing This fayth is the first reuerence whereby the soule adoreth her creatour belieuing most highly of him as is fit to be belieued of God For although some things of God may be ariued to by reason which S. Paul (c) Roâ—â— 1. doth call The manifest of God yet the Mysteries which faith belieuedâ— cannot be reached out-right by reason Therefore we say that faith belieueth that which it seeth not and doth firmely adore that which lieth hid from reason And this is giuen vs to be vnderstood by the two Seraphims which couered the face of that great Lord in the Temple which Isaias (d) Isa 6. saw and so also when Moyses came neere to treat with our Lord vpon the mountayne the (e) Ixod â—4 Scripture sayth That he entred into the obscurity or cloude where our Lord was A strang thing it may seeme that God should place his dwelling in darknes since he is most pure and perfect light which endureth no darknesse as S. Iohn (f) 1. Ioâ—â— 1. saith But because he is a light so very bright and so ouershining that as S. Paul (g) 1. Tim. â— doth witnesse he dwelleth in light which is ineccessible he is sayd to dwell in (h) The true reason why we cannot arriue to see God darknesses because no eye created eyther of man or angelâ— can arriue to his mysteries by the force of reason And (i) Note for this cause in regard of such eyes the light is called darknes Not because such light is obscure but for that it is a light which doth infinitly exceed all vnderstanding As when we see that a wheele doth moue with extremity of speed we vse to say that it stirreth not And we speake in this manner because our eyes are not able to hold pace with so swift a motion not because there is indeed any want of motion but for that it doth outstrip the ability of our sight Not only doth our Fayth reuerence God by beleeuing that which reason cannot reach but besides it doth professe him to be so high that howsoeuer God be clearely seene by his owne light in heauen there is yet no vnderstanding either humane or Angelicall which of him can see all that is to be seene No will no delight although they al should be ioyned in one are able to loue him or enioy him as much as there is reason in him both of loue and ioy Only (k) God only truly vnderstandeth God God is he that comprehendeth himself and creaturs when they haue seene and loued and enioyed and praysed him withall the powers of their hart they do reuerence him also by knowing further that in comparison of that which he is and of that vvhich remayneth to be sayd of him and of that seruice which is his due all that which they know of him and which they do for him
and how he carried his crosse vpon his shoulders and was after crucified vpon it with all that which passed there till such time as he recommended his spirit into the handes of his Father and so dved On Satturday do thou rest in thinkng vpon that cruell thrust of the lance into his sacred side and how they tooke him off from the Crosse and layed him in the armes of his blessed Mother and afterwardes in the sepulcher And goe thou accompaning his soule to that Limbus of the holy Fathers and be present at the ioy yea the paradise which there was grannted to them Be carefull also vpon this day to thinke vpon the much greife which the virgin Mother felt and be a faithfull companion in taking part thereof with her For besides that this office is most due to her from thee it wil be full of profit to thy selfe Of Sunday I say nothing because thou knowest already that it is deputed to the consideration of the Resurrection and of the glory which the inhabitantes of heauen possesse and in this thou art to imploy thy selfe vpon that day In (d) This may best be practised by persons who are of good health who liue not in cōmunities not are ordinarily of great pennance otherwise particuler I recommend to thee that vpon Thursday night thou take as little sleepe as possibly thou canst to keepe company with our Lord who after those vexations of his arrest the long way that he went betweene the house of Annas and Caiaphas and after many buffets and scornes and other lewd impieties that were put vpon him did consume the rest of that night in excessiue affliction in a prison extreamely hard with so great abuse by such as kept him that neither had he a mind to sleepe nor would any other man forbeare to lament and weep if he well knew what passed there Which was so much as that S. Hierome saith will not be knowne till (e) Our Lord graunt that we may know it then to our comfortes not to our confusiō the day of iudgement Demand of him a part of his paines and take thou for him euery thursday night some such paine in particuler as himselfe shall addresse thee to For a great shame it is to any Christian if he put no difference betweene that and other nights And there was a certayn person that said Who is he that can find in his hart to sleepe vpon a Thursday night And I belieue also if the truth were known that the same person did not sleepe much vpon Friday night CHAP. LXXIII Of the way which we are to hold in the consideration of the life and passion of Iesus Christ our Lord. THIS exercise of thinking vpon the paces of the life and death of Iesus Christ our Lord may be performed in one of these two manners Eyther (a) How we are to thinke of the passiō of Christ our Lord. by representing to thy imagination the corporall figure of Christ our Lord or by meerly thinking without any imaginary representation And (b) Note do thou know that since the most high inuisible God did make himself a visible man to the end that by meanes of that visible he might conuey into vs the consideration of that which is inuisible there is no question but that it was a very profitable thinge to behold him with corporall eyes that so men might come to behold him with the spirituall which are of Faith if the malice of the looker on had giuen no impediment And without doubt all that which in our Lord was corporall was excellently ordered did carry a particuler efficacy towards the helping of a pious hart to raise it selfe vp towards spirituall thinges Nor was it a small fauour for them to enioy this sight which many Kinges and Prophets desired to enioy but obteyned it not And although we that come after do not enioy this fauour in so complete a manner yet may we not forbeare to help our selues thereby in the best sort we may And to this purpose our Mother the holy Church doth with great reason propose to vs the images or pictures of the body of our Lord that so being stirred vp thereby we may remember his corporall presence and he may communicate to vs by meanes of his resemblance some part of the much which would haue been communicated to vs by his presence And since a picture which is painted without my selfe vpon a piece of wood doth bring me profit without doubt that which is painted within me and in the imaginatiue part of my mind will also profit me by taking it as a steppe whereby I may be raised higher For (c) This is most certainly true and our Lord be blessed because it is so all that which hath relation to our Lord and which concerneth and representeth him doth carry a meruailous force towards the conducting vs towards him And although these thinges may seeme meane to thee yet because they are a way to higher thinges these also must be esteemed high And by this meanesse God will haue them to begin who are humbled and whome by his hand he will aduance to greater matters But they (d) Take heed of too high flying at the first who instantly giue themselues to such high flying thoughts as seeming to be full of tast and more worthy of their consideration may looke for a fall sure inough For as the Scripture (e) Prou. 1◠saith He that goeth a pace will stumble And (f) Prou. 28. he that maketh hast to be rich shall not be without sinne And it happeneth to these men that if they would afterwards returne to thinke of such things as carry proportion with their poorenes they cannot light vpon it because they haue beene entred with such a gluttonous appetit vpon greater matters And so they runne such a kind of hazard as a bird may do which maketh too much hast out of her nest whither it cannot returne againe nor yet proceed by way of flight Therefore it will be fit for vs to beginne at the bottome with the consideration of our sins as hath beene sayd and then with the Meditation of the sacred humanity of Iesus Christ our Lord that so we may be exalted to those altitudes of his Diuinity CHAP. LXXIIII Wherein the way of considering the life of Iesus Christ our Lord to the end that it may be of greater profit to vs is prosecuted in a more particuler manner BEING then retyred into thy Oratory at the tyme which thou deputest to this Exercise first make thy (a) According to that pious forme which is vsed in the Holy Catholike Church Confiteor Deo Ommuipotenti Confession in generall desiring pardon of our Lord for thy sinnes and especially them which thou mayst haue committed since the tyme of thy last Confession and thou shalt say a few vocall prayers according to the former aduice which I gaue when I treated of the
for that is all that he can giue Such is the entertainment that he makes which were sufficient if men would but looke vpon it to make them fly from the Diuell and the World and to draw neere to God as the prodigall sonne did who finding himselfe put to so base an imployment as to keep swine and that he could not haue inough euen of the very food which they fed vpon he grew at last to get his wits againe and to obserue the difference which there was between being in the house of his Father and in that other house of the World and he left the ill condition wherein he was turning home and demāding mercy of his Father which he quickly found Do (t) How we must carry our selues towardes God if we desire to take comfort in his seruice thou also in like manner and if thou haue a mind that our Lord should receaue thee Forsake thy people And if thou wilt haue him remember thee forget thou it if thou wilt haue him loue thee do not inordinatly loue thy selfe and if thou wilt haue him take care of thee do not thou confide in the care of thy selfe and if thou wilt be acceptable to his eyes take no pleasure in thine owne and if thou resolue to please him do not feare to displease the whole world for him and if thou desire to find him make no difficulty to giue away thy Father thy Mother thy Brothers thy house and thy very life for him Not for that thou art to abhorre these thinges but because it is fit for thee to looke with truth and with entire loue vpon Christ and (u) The iust obligation of a Christiā not to faile of one haires breadth in pleasing of him though it be with the displeasing of that creature of the whole world which is most beloued by thee yea and of thy very selfe S. Paul (x) 1. Cor. 3. requireth That (y) We must do nothing nor haue any thing so much at the hart as to estrange vs from conuersing with almighty God they who haue wiues should haue them as if they had them not That they who purchase should be as if they possessed not That they who sell should be as if they had not sold They that weepe as if they wept not and They that reioyce as if they reioyced not And the cause that he addeth is this Because the figure of the world passeth quickly So then do I say to thee O Virgin that thou art to put the world and thy selfe away The (z) Note first because it passeth quickly and the second because it is none of thyne And so haue thou thy parents thy brothers thy kinred thy house and thy people as if thou haddst them not Not but that thou art to reuerence obey and loue them since grace doth not destroy the order of nature yoa and euen in heauen it selfe the child shall carry reuerence to his Father but (a) How this discourse is to be vnderstood to the end that it may not take vp and employe thy hart and diuert it from the loue of God Loue them in Christ and not in themselues For Christ did not giue them as meaning that they should be impediments to keep thee from that which thou shouldest euer be doing which is to serue him S. Hierome relateth of a certayne Virgin who was so mortified in the point of affection towardes her kinred that she cared not much to see a sister which she had though she also were a Virgin but contented her selfe to loue her in God Belieue me (b) A soueraigne truth and most fit to be so that as thou canst not write in parchment if it be not well and cleane taken off from the body of the beast that wore it so is not that soule prepared for our Lord to write particuler fauours in it till such time as the affections which rise from flesh and bloud be very well mortifyed We read how that in times past They placed the Arke vpon a carre to the end that two kine being yoaked in front might lead it on and the calues were shut vp in a certayne place And although the kine did low in the way of sighing for their calues yet did they neuer leaue the high way nor turne back nor degresse as the Scripture saith eyther to the right hand or to the left but by the will of God who so disposed therof They carryed the Arke to the land of Israel which was the place where God dwelt They (c) A figur of the old testament excellently applyed who haue placed the Crosse of Iesus Christ our Lord vpon their shoulders which is the Arke where he remaineth and wherein he is truly to be found must not giue ouer nor so much as slacke their pace for these naturall affections of the loue of parentes or children or houses or such other thinges as these Nor are they to be giddy-headed vpon the enioying of prosperity nor to be afflicted for aduersity For the former of these two is to turne out of the way on the right hand and the other on the left But thou art to follow on in the straight way with feruour beseeching our Lord to guide both the one and the other to his glory and to be as dead to such thinges as these as if they did nothing concerne thee or at least not to suffer thy selfe to be ouercome eyther with ioy or griefe howsoeuer they may be felt a little This was figured by those (d) 1. Reg. 6. kine which though they vttered certaine shewes of tendernes towards their calues yet did they not for all that giue ouer to conduct the Arke of God And if Fathers do see their Sonns serue God in some good (e) As when they make thēselues Religious men or women fashion which yet is not pleasing vnto them they must consider what is pleasing to God And although they may sigh deeply for the loue of their childrē yet let the loue of God ouercom that loue And let them offer them vp to God wherin they shal be like to (f) Gen. 22. Abraham who in obedience to God was resolued to kill his only Sonne not caring what his sensuality could say to the contrary And (g) How good is God only he wil be serued as God the naturall griefe which is felt in such traunces as these is to be endured with patience which yet shall not be without reward For as much as our Lord hath ordeined vs to carry those affections and for the loue of him it is that we ouercome them it is like the case of him that suffereth Martyrdome Forget therefore thy people O thou Virgin and be thou like to another Melchisedech of whome we reade not that (h) Heb. 7. he had any Father or Mother or any kinred whereby as S. Bernard saith an example is giuen to the seruants of God that they must so truly forget their
conseruation of chastity that familiar conuersation of men with women be auoyded how much so euer they be of vertue and how neer soeuer in bloud For (a) The examples are infinite and therefore we shall be more faulty if we take not heed the foule and strange falls which haue byn giuen and taken in the world by occasion of this ought to be a continuall remembrancer to vs of our fraylty and a quicke warning at the cost of others whereby we may vnbeguyle our selues in respect of the false security which our pryde would fayne make promise off saying That we should passe on without receyuing of any hurt we I say who are weake wherein others who were so strong so wise and which more importes so great Sayntes were most miserably wounded Who would trust the bond of bloud when he reades of that bestiality which Amon (b) 2. Reg. 13. committed with his sister Thamar with many other as foule examples as this and more which haue hapned in the world to persons whom the brutish passion of flesh and bloud made blind (c) Note this and take thine eyes into thy head And who would trust to the sanctity either of himselfe or any other when he seeth Dauid who was a man made after the hart of God drawne downe by such obscurity of mind into so many and so filthy sinnes by only looking vpon a woman And who will not tremble to thinke of his owne fraylty when he considereth the sanctity and wisedome of King Salomon in his youth and his deformed falles from chastity which did hammer so fast vpon his hart in his old age as to induce him to erect a number (d) 3. Reg. 3. of Idolls and to adore them after the example of those women whom he loued Let no man in this deceaue himselfe nor confide in his chastity either past or present though he find his mind as strong and as hard against the contrary vice as any rock For it was a great truth which the experienced Hierome deliuered to vs That luxuriousnesse of the flesh subdueth soules that are made of yron And S. Augustine would not dwell with his owne sister saying They that will conuerse with my sister are no sisters of mine By (e) There is no way to conquer in this warre but by flight this way of caution all the Saintes haue vvalked them vve must follow vnlesse we haue a mind to loose our way Be not therefore thou O Child of Christ remisse heerein but heare and performe that which S. Bernard sayth That virgins who are truly virgins are fearefull in all occasions yea euen in such as are secure from danger And they who proceed not thus shall quickly see themselues as miserably fallen as formerly by meanes of a false security they were miserably deceaued And although by pennance a pardon of the sinne is obteyned yet reacheth it not to a recouery of the crowne of Virginity which is lost And a poore thing it is sayth S Hierome that a virgin who expected a crowne must be glad of a pardon for not hauing kept it As it would be if any King (f) Note should haue a daughter whom he loued much and vvhom he kept for marriage according to her rancke when the occasion thereof should present it selfe this daughter of his should tell him that she asked his pardon for that she vvas not fit for marriage as hauing vilely lost her Virginity The remedyes of Pennance are miserable remedyes as sayth S. Hierome since there is not any greater misfortune or misery then to commit a mortall sinne for the remedy wherof it is necessary to resort to Pennance Therefore must thou with all vigilancy attend to be loyall to him that chose thee and to make that good which thou hast (g) Because she had vowed virginity promised to him that so thou mayst not try by experience that which is written Know thou and see what a bitter thing it is to haue left the Lord thy God and that his feare did not coÌ„tinue in thee but do thou enioy the fruit as well as the name of his chast Spouse and the crowne which is prouided by him for such CHAP. VIII How the Diuell vseth to deceaue spirituall men by meanes of this enemy of our Flesh and Bloud of the course that we are to hold in keeping our selues from errour THov (a) This excellent Chapter deserueth to be seriously pondred by all kind of spiritual persons art to be aduertised that the fall of deuout persons is not vnderstood at the first no not so much as by themselues and for this it is the more to be feared At the first it seemes to them that by communication with such persons their soules do profit and confiding therein they do often resort to such conuersations and (b) By how insensible degrees may the most spirituall persons come to be sould ouer to this sinne of sense thereby is engendred in their harts a kind of loue which doth captiue them a little and putteth them to payne when they see not one another and with seeing and speaking they are at ease After this it growes that they expresse the loue they mutually beare wherby and by other discourses which already are not so spirituall as the former they take ioy to be talking at large And by little little that conuersation which formerly might profit their soules they find to haue taken them prisoners by often thinking of one another and by the care and desire which they haue to meet sometymes and mutually to send amourous presents and sweet recommendations or letters These thinges with other such like fawninges are not agreable to a holy affection as S. Hierome sayth and by these slippery steps from one to (c) In the end they find that euen the very beginninges were naught which â—eâ— at the first they suspected not another they vse to come to such ends as giue them to vnderstand that very much to their cost that euen the beginning entertayning of that conuersation which first they tooke to be a seruice of God without finding any ill motion at all was no other then a meere deceit of the flye Diuell who at the first gaue them security that afterwardes he might catch them in the snare which he had hidden for that purpose And after being fallen they learne that a man and a woman are but fire and flaxe and that the Diuells errand is but to bring them neere one another and when they are so he blowes the bellowes with a thousand arts tricks to inflame them heere with the fire of Flesh and Bloud and to carry them afterwards into that of hell Therefore thou O Virgin fly away from the familiarity of euery man and continue to the end of thy life in that good custome which thou hast begunne to be neuer alone with any man except thy Confessour and that no longer then why lest thou art making thy
and other Vertues which are not so incompatible with their sexe And although we now giue but these for an example or pasterne of the rest yet thou seest the innumerable store of men and women who in euery particuler state haue serued our Lord with a perfect life in the Christian Church Some of which hauing beene sublimed in this world and abounding in al kind of riches and humane prosperity and then at the present possessing much and expecting to inherite great states and kingdomes haue despised all this and to please God the more haue chosen the life of the Crosse in pouerty and affliction and in obedience both to God and men And all this with so great testimony of vertue both in the interiour and exteriour as strooke them to admiration who conuersed with them People there hath been in our Church which as S. Paul sayth hath shined in the world like lampes of heauen and being compared to the rest of the world they are found to excell them beyond comparison which the most obstinate person cannot deny if he will but consider the life of a S. Paul and of the other Apostles and Apostolicall men who haue beene in the Church And since there hath beene so great goodnes in this Christian people as by their workes we find to be euident what scruple can we haue to affirme that either there is no knowledge of God on earth or els that these men had it as persons who were more beloued of God and did serue themselues better of his knowledge and employ themselues more vpon pleasing him that gaue it In no sort can it be sayd that the world is without some such knowledge of God as is necessary for saluation For this were to say that the chief creatures which God made vnder heauen and for whose sake he created all thinges should all be lost for want of meanes which God might giue them to be saued But (c) God is infinitely good God is no such thing as that he will thut the gate of saluation against vs nor can it stand so with the bowells of his mercy and goodnes as that he can be without friends to whome euen heere he may do great fauours and much more in heauen This proofe of our Fayth being taken from the life of Christians was much esteemed and recommended by the holy Apostles in the beginning of the Catholike Church Amongst whome S. Peter (d) 1. Tâ—â— 3. sayth I et women be subiect to their husbands that so if there be any who beleecue not the word of God euen without that word they may be gayned by the good conuersation of their wiues beholdâ—ng their holy manner of life in the feare of God Wher by (e) The heroâ—call vertue of â—eÌ„s hueâ— doth proue the truth of their Religion the force of vertuous life doth well appeare since it was able to conuert infidells which by the preaching of the Apostles though that had beene vsed with great efficacy and euen with working of miracles could not be gained S. Paul sayth That being to goe from one place to another he had no need that they to whome he had preached should giue him letters of fauour to countenance him with those others to whome he was about to preach And he sayth to the (f) 1. Câ—â— 1. Corinthians You are my letter which is knowne and read by all And this he sayth because the vertuous manner of life that they held by meanes of his preaching labours were a sufficient letter to declare who S. Paul was and how proficable his presence was and he sayth That all men did know and read this letter because any nation how barbarous soeuer it be howsoeuer it vnderstand not the language of wordes yet (g) Good life in others is a language which the most ignorant men aliue can vnderstand doth it vnderstand the language of good example and of the vertue which it seeth to be put in practise and thence it is that men grow to esteeme much the man who hath such disciples It is also for this that the same Apostle sayth in another place That seruantes who are Christians should serue their Lords and maisters with so good a will that they might in all thinges do honour to the doctrine of Christ our Sauiour The meaning is that their life was to be such as to testify that the Christian faith and doctrine should be held thereby to be true And how much this point importeth our Lord who knoweth all thinges did teach vs well when praying to his eternall Father and interceding with him for Christians he sayd these words I aske of thee that all they may be one thing as thou O Father art in me and I in thee that all they may be one and the same thing in vs that so the world may belieue that thou hast sent me Certainly (h) Note and liue accordingly this is a great verity which heere the supreme truth hath told vs That if we ChristiaÌ„s were perfect keepers of the Law which we haue the principall commaundment whereof is that of charity we should cause such an admiration in men of the world that see vs we being equall vnto them vnder the law of nature and much superiour to them in vertue that they would render themselues to vs as the weak do to the strong and as the low to the high they would belieue that God dwelleth in vs by seing vs made able to do those things to which their power doth not arriue and they would giue glory to God who is the maister of such seruantes And then would it be fulfilled that we should be the letter of Iesus Christ from which all might take their lessons and that we did set forth and commend his doctrine and that we were a good odour to him since we speake well of him by occasion of the life we lead But (i) Yea euen the wickedest diuell in hell must in his hart acknowledge it to be true thou O Lord doest know that although there haue byn in thy Church very many so alwayes there are some whose life doth shine like a great light which euen the Infidells if they would might be drawen to looke vpon for the discouery of Truth and so to saue themselues yet (k) A wofull thing it is to be a wicked Christian their damnatioÌ„ will be worse then that of Inâ—idells so doest thou also know O Lord how many there are in thy Church which conteineth Christians both good and bad who not only are no meanes to make infidells know and honour thee but rather to alienate themselues from thee and to blind their soules more and more and so insteed of the honour which they should giue thee vpon the hearing the name of a Christian they doe more pestilently blaspheme thee It seemeth to their deceaued iudgement that he cannot be true God or Lord who hath seruantes that liue so ill But thou O Lord hast
prouided a day for thy selfe wherein thou wilt complaine of this offence and say My name is blasphemed vpon your occasion amongst the infidells and to chastize him with seuere punishment who in steed of gathering togeather with thee that which was scattered as he ought to haue done doth eyther scatter that which was gathered or doth hinder it from being so And (l) Let men be as wicked as they will God will stil be iust good then wilt thou make the whole world vnderstand well mough that thou art good though thou haue seruantes that be wicked For the sinnes which they commit displease thee And thou doest forbid them by thy commaundmentes and thou doest seuerely punish them CHAP. XXXV That the very conscience of him that deâ—yreth to obtaine vertue doth testify that our Faâ—th is true and how the desire of leading an euill life doth both procure the loosing of Faith and hinder the getting it BY how much more the witnesse of any thing in question is nearer to vs and well knowne by vs so much doth his credit increase towards the making vs belieue that be sayth true And therefore since I haue â—old thee of some of the meanes which giue testimony of the truth of our Fayth Hearken heere to some others and those not past but present And they againe are so neere thee that they are in thy very hart if thou wilt receaue them and take particuler knowledge of them as thou vsest to take of those thinges which passe there This is grounded vpon the word which our Lord spake If (a) Ioan. 7. any man will doe the will of my Father he shall know whether my doctrine be of God or no. Blessed be thou O Lord who art so assured of the iustice of this thy cause that is the Truth of thy doctrine that thou leauest the sentence which is to proceed vpon it in the hands of whosoeuer will whether he be friend or enemy with this only condition That he who shall make himselfe the Iudge thereof will do the will of God which is but that he should be vertuous and so be saued It is (b) Note this well for it is a wise and most certayne truth certaynely so that if a man should cordially desyre to be good both towards God and towards himselfe and towards his neighbours and would seeke out the fittest doctrine that he could find for making himselfe such if before such an one I say they should lay all the Lawes and doctrines which are in the whole world both true and false to none of which he already carried any particuler affection or passion but did only ayme at the finding out of Truth this man laying aside all the rest would take in hand the Ghospell doctrine of Christ if he (c) According to the true sense therof which is only taught by the holy Catholique Church vnderstood it as a thing which might addresse him better to the end of his iust desires then any other And as he were practising the vertue that he aspired to he would be making experience of the efficacy of this doctrine how fit it were for all that is good for the soule and how wel it were framed for the reliefe of our necessityes and in how short a tyme with how great clarity it did help a man to be vertuous So that such a man comming on by the very experience of the power of this doctrine would confesse as our Lord hath sayd That it came from God and he would also say that which others sayd when they heard Iesus Christ our Lord preaching to them neuer did man speake so well And if euen they who know not Christ by fayth did but heare that admirable charitable word which our Lord himselfe did vtter with so loud a voice If (d) Ioan 7 any man be thirsty let him come to me and drinke and if they would come and make triall of that delicious fullnes and so take experience of this doctrine with desire of being vertuous it is certaine that they would not remain in their infidelity and blindnes But (c) Behold heere the most true cause why Catholik Religion is no more imbraced in England for as much as they are friendes of the world and not of true and perfect vertue nor do they seeke with care the certainty of Truth and the knowledge of God they continue without hearing receauing it And although they heard it yet would it not be receaued by some because it would be contrary to the things which they desire And for this our Lord sayd to the Pharisees certaine wordes which I cyted once before How (f) 1. Ioan. 5. will you be able to belieue since you seeke honour one of another and seeke not the honour which is of God alone And not without great waight of reason did S. Paul (g) 1. Tim 〈◊〉 affirme That some had lost their faith by giuing themselues to couetousnes Not that a man doth instantly loose fayth by committing of any sinne except heresy but for that a hart which is affected to thinges of the world disaffected from vertue when it finds in Christian doctrine certaine Truthes which are contrary to the wicked desires of the same hart and which condemneth vnder so grieuous paynes the thinges which it selfe desires to practise it growes by little and little to seeke other doctrine which may not be of so bad tast in the mouth nor keep such a barking against the ill affections actions thereof And (h) The case of most Protestants who are intelâ—â—gâ—â— so the will being ill inclined is wont to be a meanes of putting blindnes vpon the Vnderstanding and preuailes so farre at last as to make a man giue ouer that Fayth which cryeth out against wickednes that he may follow and belieue other doctrines wherin he may be more at ease and liue how he listes And as this corrupted will is a meanes sometymes to make him loose Fayth that hath it so is it also a meanes to deâ—aâ—ne him from it that hath it not For both these those carry a fastidious kind of mislike against perfect vertue without alleaging in very deed any other cause but only That it is vnsauoury or too highly good so they haue also such a mislike against the Truth of Fayth as being contrary to that wickednes which they loue CHAP. XXXVI That the admirable change which is made in the hart of sinners and the great fauours which our Lord doth to them who follow him with perfect vertue and do call vpon him in their necessityes is a great testimony to the Truth of our Fayth IN how much better case are they who with desire to serue God haue chosen to imbrace this perfectioÌ„ of vertue though al they that serue him do enioy otherwise if they will marke it many testimonyes which Fayth placeth in their hart But especially do they enioy it who serue him with a profiting and
Iesus Lord but by fayth inspired as S. Paul sayth yet not doing that which our Lord commaunded they were not in state of grace it followeth cleerely that a man may haue Fayth without grace which S. Paul affirmeth also in another place where he fayth That if a man should haue the gifte of speaking tongues and should comprehend and possesse all knowledge and prophesie and haue all fayth so farre as that he could remooue mountaynes from one place to another and yet should be without charity all this were nothing And since it is certayne that the gifte of tongues with the rest which is there recounted is compatible vvith mortall sinne it stands not vvith reason that men should make it impossible for fayth to be without charity though it be true that charity cannot be without fayth They are the words of the diuine scripture That iustice is giuen by fayth but that it should be giuen by fayth alone is an inuention of men a very ignorant and peruerse errour Whereof our Lord did warne vs when he sayd to S. Mary Magdalen That many sinnes were forgiuen her because she loued much Which words are as cleare to shew that loue is requisite as there are any in the whol scripture to shew the necessity of fayth And that not only there must be loue in the iustification of a sinner but because loue is a disposition towards the obteining of pardon as fayth is they both must go hand in hand and of both did our Lord make mention in the conuersion of S. Mary Magdalen For at the end of the discourse he sayd Thy fayth hath saued thee go in peace Nor in that which our Lord sayd before That many sinnes were forgiuen her because she loued much would he say that it was because she belieued much giuing the effect the name of the cause since it is euident that our Lord hauing asked which of these two debters did loue him most who released the debt it was answered He to whom the more was released and not he to whome the lesse he was to haue concluded his discourse with speaking of loue and not of Fayth And if liberty may be taken for a man to say that he called Fayth Loue tearming the effect by the name of his cause let vs also take liberty to say that in those places of the Scripture where it is affirmed That man is iustifyed by Fayth Loue is to be vnderstood by the name of Fayth by considering in the cause the effect In plaine manner did our Lord speake heer vnles a man be disposed to hood wincke himself in so faire a light and he called fayth and loue by their owne names and both of them are requisite to iustification as we haue sayd already And our Lord did settle the same coniunction when he sayd afterward to his disciples The (c) Ioan. 16. Father himselfe loueth you because you haue loued me and haue belieued that I issued froÌ„ him And fince Fayth loue are both requisite to a man without doubt he will haue griefe for his sinnes as hauing grieuously offended God whome he loueth aboue all things as it is plaine by the example of S. Mary Magdalen and of other sinners who were comuerted to God Now (d) If this be well considered it wil ouerthrow the fancyes which the Caluinish haue concerning Fayth because both these thinges are requisite and others also which flow from them towardes the obtaining of Iustice therefore doth the holy Scripture sometymes name Fayth and sometymes Loue sometymes sorrow griefe of Repentance and sometymes The humble prayer of the penitent who sayth Lord haue mercy vpon me a sinner and sometymes the knowledge of the sinne it selfe I haue sinned O Lord sayd Dauid instantly he heard the word of pardon in the name of God But yet he who should be induced by this to say that sinne is pardoned by a mans only knowledge of the sinne should fall into no small errour since Cain and Iudas and Saul and many others did know their sinne and yet came not to obtayne pardon of it And so farre without all ground is it for them to say That by only Fayth it is obtayned in respect that the Scripture doth in some places make mentioÌ„ of Fayth alone as it is that for the same reason we might also exclude fayth out of this businesse as being vnnecessary because in other places the Scripture sayth That sinnes are forgiuen by pennance other meanes without making any mention at all of Fayth But (e) The doctrine of the Catholike Church concerning this point the truth of Catholike doctrine is this That both the one and the others are requisite as dispositions towards the obtayning of pardon and grace And if any man shall reflect vpon this That Fayth is named many tymes by way of attributing iustice to it and that by fayth we are made the sonnes of God and partakers of the merits of Iesus Christ and such like effects as do accompany grace and charity it is not because fayth alone is sufficient for it but because when the Scripture attributeth these effects to Fayth it is to be vnderstood of that Faith which is formed by charity and which is the life thereof Neither yet must these effects be attributed to Fayth as if necessarily vpon our hauing fayth we must haue loue because true fayth may remayne as hath beene sayd euen when grace and loue are lost which loue as S. Paul sayth is greater then either fayth or hope And when our Lord spake of fayth and loue as well in that passage of S. Mary Magdalen as in that other which we mentioned with his disciples he named loue before fayth giuing the precedent place of perfection to that which was the act of the will which yet after a sort is subsequent if it be compared with an act of the vnderstanding to which fayth belongeth It is also to be vnderstood that although the Sacraments of Baptisme and Pennance are necessarily to be receaued or at least a purpose of receauing them must be intertayned for the obtayning of that Grace which is lost the former by Infidells and the latter by belieuers who after Baptisme haue committed mortall sinne yet is there not in holy Scripture so frequent speach of them as of fayth for the reason which shortly I shall relate But yet neither is the mention of them forborne least any one should thinke that they were not necessary towardes the obtayning of Iustice S. Paul (f) Tim. 3. fayth That God saued vs by the Baptisme of regeneration and renouation of the holy Ghost and that Christ did cleanse his Church by the Baptisme of water in the word of life And it because the Scripture sayth That we are iustifyed by fayth we were to cast away the Sacraments as iustly were we to cast away saâ—th since it sayth That saluation and cleanesse is giuen by holy Baptisme But our Lord doth couple these
BVT thou art further to note that many do find in themselues their own meanesse and that of themselues they are nothing and they seeme to attribute the glory to God for all the blessings that they receaue and they haue many other signes of humility but notwithstanding all this they are full of pride and that so much the more dangerously as they coÌ„ceaue themselues to be most free from it The reason of this is because although they do liue as in the sight of Truth by not attributing those blessinges to themselues yet do they liue in errour by conceauing them to be more and greater then indeed they are and they take themselues to haue so much light from God as that they are able not only to rule themselues in that way but others also and no man is of sufficiency in their opinion to gouerne them They are greatly friends to their own fancy yea and sometymes they make not much reckoning of that which former Saints haue sayd or that which the seruants of God liuing in their owne tyme conceaue They (a) This is still meant of those hereticall Illuminati boast themselues to haue the spirit of Christ and to be gouerned by it and to haue no need of human counsell since God with so great certainty and the vnction of his spirit doth giue them comfort in their prayers They thinke as S. Bernard sayth of other mens houses but that the sunne doth only shine in their own and they defye and despise all wisemen as Golias did the people of God Only he is good in their opinion who conformeth himselfe to them and to them nothing is more troublesome then to meet with a man that contradicteth them They will be the maisters of all men and belieued by al men and they will belieue none The wary discretion of men who are well experienced they call tepidity and feare but as for vnbridled feruours noueltyes full of singularity which are the occasions of tumult these men call the liberty of spirit and the strength of God and they haue almost euer in their mouthes This my spirit telleth me God satisfyeth me in this and the like At other tymes they alleadge the Scripture of God but they will by no meanes vnderstand it as the Church and the Saints haue vnderstood it but only as they list themselues Belieuing that they haue not lesse light then the former Saints nay that God hath taken them for instruments of greater matters then those others and so they make Idolls of themselues and place themselues vpon the heades of all men with intollerable presumption So miserable is the errour of these men that being extremly proud they hold themselues for perfectly humble and belieuing that God only dwelleth in them he is indeed far from them and that which they take to be light is profound darknesse Of these or such as these Gerson sayth There are some to whome it is a thing very agreeable to be gouerned by their owne conceit and they walke vnder the conduct of their owne inuentions or rather they are cast headlong vpon their owne opinion which is a most dangerous guide They (b) Euen in doing of pennance discretion is to be followed whensoeuer excesse therin is vsed and not accompanyed with docility other interiour vertue it is not only suâ—piâ—â—ouâ— but dangerous macerate themselues with too extreme fasting they watch too much they trouble and empty their braine with excesse of teares and in the middest of all this they follow no mans admonition or counsell They care not to aske the opinion of them that are wise in the law of God nay they care not to heare them when eyther they do heare or aske their counsell they despise their sayings And the cause of this is that they conceaue theÌ„selues to be some great men and that they know better then all the world what is fit for them to do Of these I pronounce that speedily they shall fall into the illusion of the Diuell speedily shall they fall vpon the stone of offence because they are conducted by a blind kind of rashnes and an excessiue kind of lightnesse And therefore what soeuer they shall tell thee of any extraordinary Reuelations know thou that it is to be suspected Al this sayth Cerson CHAP. LIIII Of some propertyes which they haue whome we sayd to be deceaued in the last Chapter and how necessary it is to take the opinion of others and of the mischiefe that men are brought to by following their owne THOV art to vnderstand that some of them of (a) He coÌ„tinueth to describe those aforesayd heretikes whome I spake in the last chapter are people without learning yea they are cordiall enemyes to men that are learned And if perhaps they haue a little Latin to read and to carry a new Testament about them they do belieue themselues so much conceauing the while that they belieue God and they rest so much vpon certaine light motiues and do answere themselues thereby in such blind errours that how manifest soeuer in themselues they be these men know not how to shake them off and they are so presumptuous and so impossibly to be perswaded that as the Scripture sayth A man were better encounter with a beare from whome they had taken her whelpes then with a foole that presumeth in his fault And yet they haue much in their memory and no lesse in their tongue that saying of S. Paul Knowledge doth blow vp but Charity doth build vp And by this they thinke they haue a pattent to contemne wise men as men that are pussed vp they valew themselues at a high rate as a kind of people that is full of charity The (b) Let heretikeâ— examine theÌ„selues by this rule and they will see their owne extreme pride whyle they marke not that themselues are the men that are puffed vp with the pride of sanctity which is more dangerous then the pride of science as a thing which riseth from that which is better and for the same very reason it is worse though indeed neither science nor good workes do of themselues produce this moath but it is the wickednes of the wicked which taketh occasion to swell by that which is good Since the case standeth so they ought not instantly to contemne such as are wise because wisedome of it selfe is no impediment but that withall a man may be humble and holy Yea to many it hath beene and still is a great occasion of their being so for others to esteeme that they are not so proceedeth from an erroneous iudgment and an excessiue pride in themselues But suppose they were not yet were those others to remember that it is written Vpon (c) Matt. 1â— the chaire of Moyses sit the Scribes and Pharisees do therefore that which they direct you to but do not that which they do Whereas these fellowes do iust the contrary for they receaue not the good
obteineth blessings for vs of greater weight then would haue been if he had but freed vs only from any paynâ— whatsoeuer CHAP. LXXXIX That sinne doth not remaine in iust Persons but that the guilt of sinne is destroyed in them and that they are cleane and acceptable to God IS it possible that the blindnesse of some can arriue so farre as to thinke that the fauour of Christ Iesus reacheth to this that from them in whome they say that sinne it selfe doth still remayne yet not only the punishment is remooued but that also for as much as they say they are incorporated into Iesus Christ who is so beloued by his Father they are beloued and are asceptable and cleane because Christ is so Wel howsoeuer it may seeme to them that it is to honour Iesus Christ to (a) Behold the pleasing mask of this erâ—ourâ— but looke on a little you shall see it taken off thinke so higly of the loue which his Father beareth him as that it â—uercometh the detestation which he carrieth to those persons in whom sinne remaines yet such honour as this is wholy contrary to true honour and to the truth of holy Scripture It (*) Note would certainly be no honour for a Iudge that he should for beare to punish or that he should fauour wicked persons because they dwell with his Sonne For it would appeare thereby both that such a Sonne were no perfect louer of vertue in that he so louâ—d wicked â—â—ruants and that the Pather were no louer of Iustice since he tolerated and loued them whom he ought to punish without any partiall respect They who are to be the acceptable seruantâ— of Christ our Lord must not haue the guilt of â—ortail sinne in their harts since he is the head which giueth the influxe into them as into liuing members of his spirit and grace whereby they leade a life estranged from sinne and like to his For a horrible corporall Monster would that be which should haue the head of a man and the body of a brute beast And (b) They make ous Lord a kind of monster who maâ—â— his liuing memberâ— vncleane sinnefull so would it be a kind of spirituall monster that vnder a head which were iust and pure and full of vertues there should be liuing members which yet were so very contrary to it The branches are fresh and full of fruit when they liue in the vine And by this comparison our Lord was pleased that we should vnderstand that the members which are incorporated to him by grace are like those others enioying benefittes of their owne which they receiue from him and by him that so it may be accomplished which S. Paul (c) Rom. 8. saith That it is ordained by God that they who are to be saued should be conforme to the image of his Sonne But how can there now be a resemblance betweene that head which euer kept the commaundements of his Father and those members which though they may be pardoned (d) By imputation only as the Protestants say not by any inherent iustice and iustifyed are still breaking with a perfect breach the first and the ninth commandment of God Nor is there any participation betweene goodnesse wickednesse nor betweene Christ and such as breake the commaundments of his Father For as much as himselfe did preach That not euery one who should call him Lord Lord should enter into the Kingdome of heauen but he that would do the will of his Father And so far off is it from truth that the fauour of Christ is to be thus vnderstood That they who breake the commaundments should be in the grace eyther of God or of him as that our Lord himselfe sayd Yf (c) Iean 15. you keepe my commaundments you shall remayne in my loue as I haue kept the commaundements of my Father and do remayne in his loue Now who is he that will hope that whilest he breakes the commaundments he is beleued by the Father in respect of Iesus Christ since Christ by keeping those commaundments doth remaine in the loue of his Father (f) But ProtestaÌ„ts would faine mak theÌ„selues belieue that there were no necessity of keeping the commandements and yet forsooth that God and they did loue one another very hartily Without doubt the slaue shall not be loued but by the same way that the Sonne was loued nor will God imbrace with his grace and loue but such as shall keep the commaundments as hath euidently byn already shewed And to the end that no man may be deceiued in this when he had formerly said Be (g) Ioan. 15. you in me and I wil be in you he added afterward Be you in my loue And to declare what it was to be in him and in his loue he said Yf you shal be in me and my wordes be in you whatsoeuer thinge you would obteine you shall aske and it shal be giuen you So that whosoeuer disobayeth his wordes must not thinke that he is in his loue nor that he is incorporated into his body as a liuing member For this sentence of holy Scripture standeth fast The (h) Sap. 4. wicked man and his wickednes is abhorred by God And to declare how they who are his are not to be abhorred but euen in themseues to be loued he sayd to his disciples I say not now that I will pray to the Father for you for (i) The eternall Father doth not only pardon vs for the loue of Christ but when we are iustifyed he doth loue our very selues the Father himselfe doth loue you because you haue loued and haue belieued that I came from him As if he had sayd A (k) Ioan. 14. 16. whyle since I sayd I will pray to the Father and he will giue you another comforter but do not you conceaue that I will so pray for you as in the world a man desires his friend sometyms to bestow somewhat vpon some others to whome that friend is not a friend so that which he giueth them is only because he loueth the man much that intreateth him and those others are as far from being beloued and accepted as they were before But heere it is not so For the Father loueth you in regard that you haue loued and belieued me and you are pleasing to him and you haue leaue as people which is beloued by his loue of your selues and which enioyeth grace and iustice which is your owne to appeare in his high presence and to aske all that whereof you haue need in my name And that which I aske of him for you is as for people that is beloued and to which the Father doth impart his blesings both because I desire them and because I desire them for you Such are they whome Iesus Christ doth carry incorporated with himselfe as liuing members and for whome he obtained grace whereby they might be pleasing to the Father when they had it not and
after it was obteined that they might bring forth workes which (l) Al this originally by the only goodnes and promise of God through the meriâ—s of Christ our Lord carry a condignity to the deseruing of eternall life as a iust reward of such seruices and as an inheritance duly deriued vpon sonnes And if it seeme a thing disproportionable to the basenes and weakenes of mankind to do a thing which carryeth a proportion of merit to the sublimity and eternity of that heauenly kingdome (m) Note and be no longer scandalized at thyn own conceits for the Catholike doctrine being rightly vnderstood will giue thee no cause thou art not heere to looke vpon a man as of himselfe but as being honoured and accompanied with that celestiall grace which is infused to his soule and so made (n) These are great wordes but it was the holy Ghost which spake theÌ„ partaker of the diuine nature as S Peter (o) 2. Pet. 1. saith And do thou consider him as a liuing member of Iesus Christ our Lord which being incorporated to him doth liue and worke by that spirituall inffluxe which commeth from him and whereby he doth partake his merits Now (p) Note these thinges are so high as that they carry an equality with those other thinges which are hoped for and they are sufficient to enable vs to say with truth That such as liue so do fullfill the law of God and do that which S. Paul required of the (q) Col 1. Colossians and the (r) I hâ—sâ— 1. Thessalonians when he aduised them To liue worthy of God Of (s) Note this inference whome he would neuer haue expected the discharge of so that by the meanes aforesayd it might be performed and that it was more the worke of God then of men For instantly the same Apostle giueth thanks to God For making them worthy of the portion of the Saints in light And what kind of portion this is the Prophet Hieremy (t) Threâ—â— declareth saying My portion is our Lord and therefore I will hope for him And Dauid sayth of God Thou art my portion for euer Of this portion he is worthy who doth (n) Et facere pati magn Christianis est accomplish the law of God by those workes aforesayd and who is found faithfull in those trialls that God doth send him as it is written Our Lord did try them and he found them worthy of himselfe And both for these and those it is also written That God will giue them the hire of the labours of his Saints CHAP. XC That the graunting that there is perfect cleanesse from sinne in such as are iust by the merits of Christ Iesus doth not only not diminish his honour but much more declare it LET no (a) A wise confortable and wel grouÌ„ded discourse man feare to attribute the height of spirituall honour and the aboundance of spirituall riches and perfect cleanes from sinne to them whom the heauenly Father doth iustify by the merits of Iesus Christ our Lord. Let no man thinke that the qualifying of such persons so doth put the honour of the same Lord to any preiudice For since all that which they haue descendeth vpon them by his meanes not only doth not their being so full of dignity dishonour him but it doth publish magnify his honour Since it is euident that how much more iust and more beautifull they are of so much more valew do the merits of him plainely appeare to be who purchased so great a blessing for them which of themselues they neither had nor could procure The Scripture sayth That (b) Thâ—en 14. where the manger is full the strength of the Oxe is made apparent the reason is because by his labour he filled the same full of meate And S. Paul (c) 1. Thes 2. sayth to some whome he had holpen forward by his doctrine and by his labours That they were his honour his crowne in the sight of our Lord. And then how much more will they be the crowne of our Lord Iesus himselfe They who by him are drawn to the honour of being his sonnes and to be full of treasures and blessings which honour is so much the more as those blessinges are the greater Our (d) Our aduersarves make him such a one wheÌ„ they conceaue that he alloweth not that the Saints should be honoured by our inuâ—cations whylest yet themselues do giue the same honour to sinnefull men Lord is not like some persons who are in paine or at least not greatly pleased with the honour or vertue of their seruants as conceauing that it doth obscure their owne or like certaine vaine women who fly from being attended by fayre seruants least so the flowre of their owne beauty should be blasted But make thou no doubt but that Iesus Christ our Lord hath a certaine kind of Charity which exceedeth all humane conceit as S. Paul sayth in (e) In infâ—â—itevâ—n chating of God esteeming our good as his owne and to the end that we might be made rich in graces he left his most worthy life vpon the Crosse The naturall sonne he is of God and we are sonnes adopted through him and he being the only sonne did exalt vs to the title of brother hood giuing vs his God for our God and his Father for our Father as himselfe said I (f) Ioan. â—0 ascend to my Father and to your Father to my God and to your God And so as (g) Ioan. â— S. Iohn saith speaking of the same Lord we saw the glory of him as the glory of the only begotten sonne And he saith also of him That he is full of grace truth Therfore the honour and spirituall riches of these adopted sonnes must be such as becommeth the sonnes of a Father who is God And if grace and truth were made by Iesus Christ as S. Iohn (h) Ioan. 1. saith it was not made that it might remayne alone in him but that it might be deriued downe vpon vs and that we might take some part of his fulnesse and this in such abundance that S. Paul (i) 2. Cor. 9. calleth it a gift which as now we are cannot be related by vs. And to the end that we may know the riches of that inheritance which in his company we may hope to enioy the same S. Paul (k) Ephes beseecheth God To giue him the spirit of wisdome and of reuelation because that blessing is greater then our reason is able to reach vnto Glory and grace and thankes be to thee O Lord for euer who so hast honoured and enriched vs with present giftes and hast comforted vs with the hope of being the heyres of God togeather with thy selfe and who didst carry so great loue to vs as that it wrought better with thee then it did with (l) Iob. 41. Iob That thou mightst not cate thy bitte of bread alone but that the orphane