is a distinct thing from that wherby Christ is iust And from hence it commeth that although the workes which we did before were meane and of aâ—â— imperfect kind of goodnesse and which had noâ— in them any true iustice nor could deserue 〈◊〉 haue it as being of our owne stocke and store yet those thinges which now we do being oâ—â—â— in the state of grace are of so high valew and are workes so truely iust as that they deserue an increase of iustice according to that of (n) Apocâ— 22. S. Iohn He that is iust let him be yet more iust and they are worthy to obtaine the kingdome of God as it was sayd by (o) 2. Tim. 4. S. Paul That the Crown of iustice was kept for him This vnspeakable benefit do we owe to Iesus Christ but (p) See heer how honourable to Christ our Lord the doctrine of the holy Catholike Church is in the point of workes this is not all For as it is the ordinance of God that no man shall obtaine grace and iustice but by the merits of this Lord so is it also that none of them that haue it is able to increase or euen to conserue it but by their being vpheld by this Lord as a liuing member is by his head as the fruitful branch is by his vine and as the building is by his foundation For although by gayning grace and iustice for them he gaue them as hath beene sayd a good (q) Because God through Christ our Lord would haue it so title by the way of merit to the kingdome of heauen as also that they should obtaine by prayer that which they would aske as they ought yet if they had a mind to enioy the same and to vse it rightly they must not do it like people which would disband from their captaine or deuide themselues from their head or as if they could go vpon their owne feet alone without the help of any other No a soule must rely vpon and be vnited to this (r) Christ Iesus our Lord. blessed head to the end that (f) See the excellent immaculate doctrine of the holy Catholik Church Grace may be conserued to it and that from thence a certaine spirituall strength may come which may proceed and accompany and follow the good works that it shall do and without which those good workes cannot be meritorious as is declared by the Councell of Trent And by this meanes the prayers which that iust person shall make will be worthy of the eares of God and to obtaine that which the man desires Salomon (t) 2. Para. 6. did begge of God That he who should pray in the Temple which he had made on earth might be heard by God from heauen granting that which should be desired And the true and most excellent Temple of God is Iesus Christ our Lord in respect that he is man in whome as S. Paul sayth The accomplishment of diuinity doth corporally remaine That is it remayneth in him not only by way of grace as it doth in the Angells and in holy men but in another fashion of more weight and valew by the way of the personall vnion whereby that sacred humanity is raised vp to haue the dignity of being personated in the word of God which is one of the three persons of the Blessed Trinity This is that Temple whereof Dauid sayd God heard my voyce from his holy Temple And he that in this Temple shall vtter the speach of prayer which is inspired by his spirit and resting vpon him as a liuing member which demandeth succour by the merits of his head which is Iesus Christ this man I say shall be heard by God in the title of iustice as Dauid was and all iust men were who vvere euer heard But the prayer vvhich is made without this Temple (u) That is we must be members of Christ our head by being in the state of grace which requireth that we resort to the sacrament of pennance with harty sorrow for that sin which is past a firme purpose to coÌ„mit no more for otherwise insteed of receauing a Sacrament we should commit a sacriledg by whomesoeuer it be made is a oarse and prophane prayer and vnworthy of the ares of God And not being inspired by Iesus Christ it carryeth not that broad seale whereby 〈◊〉 should be warranted and held for iust in the â—btaining of what it askes And to the end that Christ in the quality of our aduocate may giue â—ispatch to our petitions it is necessary that on â—arth we be his liuing members and inspired to â—ray by him For although his mercy is so great â—hat many tymes he maketh the petitions of his â—ead members to be heard which are they that â—old the fayth of his Church but are not in state â—f grace yet heere we speak only of those which being made in Christ haue the dignity and the â—erit of obtayning what they aske And the hoâ—y Church our Mother well knowing the necessity that we haue of Christ in our prayers is wont â—o say to the Eternall Father at the end of hers Graunt vs this or that O God through Iesus Christ â—ur Lord. This did she learne of her spouse and maister when he (x) Ioan. 16. sayd Whatsoeuer thing you aske the Father in my name he will giue it you Let thankes O Lord be giuen to thy name â—ince through thee we are heard For thou doest not content thy selfe only with being our Mediatour to merit that grace for vs which we receaue by thee nor with being our head which instructeth and moueth vs to pray by thy spirit as we ought but thou also wilt be our (y) He obtayneth that we may be heard by our selues when we aske in his Name Bishop in heauen that so representing to thy Father that sacred humanity which thou hast and the passion which thou didst receaue thou mightst obtayne the effect of that which we desire on earth by our inuocation of thy Name So that as the holy Gâ—ospel sayd When (z) Matt. 3. Marc. 1. Luc. 3. our Lord was baptized the heauens did open themselues to him and although many haue followed in thither after him yet they are opened to none but by his meanes so may we also say that the bowels of his eternall Father which open themselues for the graunting our petitions are opened to Christ And he is the person heard by his Father since the fauour grace vvhere with we are heard we haue by him For if it were not for this as no man would be iust in himselfe so no man could be heard for himselfe And as through the great loue which our Lord did beare vs he tooke our miseryes vpon himself as his owne and he payed for them by his life death so with the same loue vvhich he carryeth towards vs although now he be in heauen if any little one of his be either naked or clad
thou wilt not loose the way to heauen Incline thyne eare that is thy reason for feare least otherwise thou be deceaued thereby Incline it with a most profound reuerence to that which is sayd by the word of God throughout the whole Scripture And if thou vnderstand it not thou art not for that to thinke that the Holy Ghost which spake did erre but submit thy vnderstanding and belieue as S. Augustine sayth that he did that which by reason of the height of that word thou art not able to vnderstand And although thou art to incline thyne eare by giuing equall credit of Fayth to all the Scripture of God because all of it is the word of the same supreme Truth yet art thou to carry particuler respect care to receaue profit by those blessed wordes which (a) A pious and very profitable aduice the true God incarnate spake heere on earth Open thou with deuout attention both the eares of thy body and of thy soule to euery word of this Lord who was giuen to vs for an especiall maister by the voyce of the eternall Father who sayd This is my well beloued Sonne in whome I am pleased heare him Be studious in reading and hearing these wordes and then thou wilt not fayle to find in them a singular remedy and powerfull efficacy for those thinges which concerne thy soule which thou hast not found in euery other of those wordes which God hath spoken from the beginning of the world And this is so with great reason since that which he sayd in other places was spoken by the mouth of his seruants but that which he sayd in the humanity which he tooke he spake in person opening his owne sacred mouth to speake he who formerly had opened and afterwardes did open the mouth of others who spake both in the old and new Testament And take heed that thou be not vnthankefull for so great a blessing as it is That God should be our Maister giuing vs the milke of his word to sustayne vs he who had giuen vs first a being that we might haue somewhat to be sustayned So great a fauour is this that if we had scales wherewith to weigh it and if it were told vs that at the furthest corner of the world some wordes of God were left for the instruction of our soule we were to make light of all labour and danger to heare some few of those wordes deliuered by that supreme wisedom for the making of vs his disciples Serue thy selfe therefore well of this fauour since God hath giuen it thee so neare at hand and desire of him who taketh care to conduct thy soule in the way of spirit that in holy Scripture and in the doctrine of the Church and amongst the writings of the Saints he will seeke out such wordes as may carry proportion to the necessityes of thy soule whether it be to defend thee against tentations as our Lord did fast in the desert for our example or whether it be to spurre thee vp in the search of those vertues which thou wantest or whether in fine it be to know how to carry thy self as thou oughtest with God with thy selfe and with thy Neighbours whether they be thy betters thy inferiours or thy equalls and how thou art to conduct thy soule in prosperity and how in tribulation And finally how thou art to behaue thy selfe in all that whereof thou mayst haue need in the way of God In such sort as that thou mayst say In (b) Psal 118. my hart I haue hidden thy wordes that I may not sinne against thee Thy word is a torch to my feet and a light to my pathwayes And be sure thou fall not into curiosity of desiring to know more then thou hast need of either for thy selfe or for such as are vnder thy charge For whatsoeuer is more then this thou must leaue to them whose office it is to teach the people of God as S. Paul (c) Rom. 11. admonisheth That our knowledge may be with sobriety CHAP. XLVI That the holy Scripture must not be declared by what sense one will but by that of the Church of Rome and where that declareth not we must follow the vniforme exposition of the Saints And of the great submission and subiection which we must performs to this holy Church THOV art to know that the exposition of holy Scripture must not be made according to the wittes or fancies of particuler men for so although it be most certainely true in it selfe as being the word of God yet for as much as concerneth vs it would be very vncertaine since commonly there are as many opinions as there be heades of men Now for as much as it doth greatly import vs to haue suprem certitude of the Word which we are to belieue and follow since we are to lay downe for the confession obedience thereof whatsoeuer we haue euen our very life our businesse were not well prouided for if notwithstanding the seueral opiniōs which men of themselues are subiect to the certainty of this Word might not be lodged in the hart of a Christian To (a) The only Catholike Church of Christ in the vndoubtedly true Intérpretour of Gods holy Scripture the only Catholike Church this priuiledge is giuen that it may vnderstand and interprete the Diuine Scripture because the same holy Ghost which deliuered the Scripture doth dwell in her And where the Church doth not determine we must haue recourse to the vniforme interpretation of the Saints if we will be free from errour For otherwise how shall that which was spoken by a diuine spirit be vnderstood by a spirit witt which is humane since euery scripture is to be read and declared by the same spirit that wrate it Thou art also to know that the declaratiō of what Scripture is the Word of God that so it may be belieued by all men doth not belong to any other but only to that same Christian Church which by diuine ordination hath the Bishop of Rome for her head And esteeme thou for certayne as S Hicrome (b) Let Protestāts note this tremble sayth That whosoeuer shall eat the lambe of God out of this Church house of God is a prophane person and no Christian And whosoeuer shal be found out of the same will infallibly perish as they who entred not into the Arcke of Noë were drowned in the floud This is that Church which the Ghospell commaundeth vs to hearken to and whosoeuer shall not hearken to her is to be held for a wicked person and for an vnbeleeuer And this is that Church of which S. Paul sayth that shee is the pillar and strength of truth And to belieue that this is so that very Fayth infused by God wherof we spake before doth incline and illuminate vs as to one of the other articles and with a like certainty to that which belōgeth to others and as hitherto it hath byn so belieued
which was beginning to sly de into Spaiâ—e about his tyme and they were called Ilâ—umimati so farre did this deceite ariue that if this kind of interiour motion came not to them they would not stirre a foot towardes the doing of any thing how good soeuer and on the other side if they had a mind to do any thing that they would be sure to do though it were against the wil of God Belieuing that the humour which they found in their hart was Gods particuler instinct and the liberty of the holy Ghost which did enfranchise them from all obligation to the ordinary Commandments of God to whome they sayd they carryed such an entiere true loue as that euen by breaking of his commandments they lost it not They considered not that the Sonne of God did preach by his owne sacred mouth a doctrine very contrary to this when he sayd If any man loue me he will keep my word and he that holdeth and obserueth my Commandements he is the man that loueth me And againe If any man loue me he will keep my word and he that loueth me not will not keep it Giuing cleerely to vnderstand heereby that whosoeuer keepeth not his word doth beare no loue nor hold friendship with him For as S. Augustine sayth No man can loue that King whose Commandements he hateth Now as for that which the Apostle sayth That (d) Note how the obiection which is made by heretikes vnder the colour of this place of Scripture is soundly answered and at large to the iust man there is imposed no law and that where the spirit of our Lord is there is liberty This is not so to be vnderstood as if the Holy Ghost did free any man how iust soeuer he may be from keeping the commandments of God or of his Church or of his Prelates but rather how much the more this spirit doth communicate it selfe so much the more loue doth it infuse and by the increase of loue the care and desire doth also increase of keeping more and more the word of God and of his Church And as this spirit is most efficacious and maketh a man become a true and feruent louer of that which is good so it further putteth such a disposition into the soule when it imparteth it selfe aboundantly as that the keeping of the Commandements is not hard but very easy so full of gust as that Dauid sayd How sweet are thy wordes to my threate yea more then hony to my mouth Because when this spirit doth place in the will of man a most perfect conformity with the will of God making it to be one spirit with him and doth say as S. Paul doth That he hath the same mind to will and not to will it must necessarily follow that to such a man the obseruation of the will of God is to be full of gust since it is of gust to euery body to do that which they loue And this is so full of Truth as that if the very law of God could be lost it would be found writteÌ„ by the holy Ghost as it were in the bowells of these persons according to that which Dauid (e) Psal 39. sayth That the law of God is in the hart of the man that is iust that is in his will which is according to God And God himselfe sayd as much I (f) Ierem. 31. will put my law into the bowells of theÌ„ From hence it is that although there were no hell to threaten and no heauen to allure and no commaundment to oblige yet would this iust man do that which he doth for the pure loue of God For because the holy Ghost worketh in a man towards God that which nature worketh in the hart of a sonne towards his Father since by his gifte and by his grace we receaue the adoption of being the sonnes of God from hence I say it groweth that such a man like a tender harted Son doth reuere and serue God throgh the filiall loue which he carrieth towards him Vpon this doth also follow a perfect detestation of al sinne and a perfect hope which dispatcheth all feare sorrow away with speed as it may be done in this exile of ours and it enableth him to suffer paine and trouble not only with patience bâ—â— euen with ioy And by reason of the liberty which he hath both in respect of sinnes afflictions abhorring the former and louing the latter he may be called free and that vpon such a iust man there is no law imposed Euen so as if there were a mother who did much loue her sonne and would faine do much for him that law would be of no trouble to her which should commaund her to do those things towards him which her own maternall hart did induce her to And so this mother should not be placed vnder a law or vnder the trouble that she was put to but should rather be superiour to them since she performed that with alacrity which the law commaunded with authority In this sort do they of whom we haue spoken by fulfilling the law of Gods loue yea and there are many who do things to which they are tyed by no obligation their hart flaming vp into a hoater fyre of loue then the law doth any way oblige them to In this manner therefore that of S. Paul is (g) Gal. 5. to be vnderstood If you be conducted by the Spirit you are no more vnder the law Because (h) This liberty of Spirit is very different from the Protestant liberty of the ghospâ—ll by abhorring sinne and carrying a tender loue to that which the law commaundes and being ioyfull in tribulation which are all effects of being guided by the Spirit the law as hath byn sayd is no burthen to such But in breaking any of the commaundments of God or of his Church this Spirit doth instantly fly away as it is written That it departeth from the thoughtes of them who are without vnderstanding and that it shal be driuen out of a soule when sinne commeth into it And as then men are not carried by this holy Spirit so is it impossible but that they should be vnder that weight which the law imposeth vpon such as loue it not and who are weak in suffering affliction and subiect to returne to sinne Let (i) Heere ProtestaÌ„ts are playnly spoken to no man therfore affirme that when he breaketh the commaundment of God or of his Church he hath Iustice or liberty of spirit or loue of God in his soule since our Lord pronounceth him to be a slaue and no free man who committeth sinne And as there is no participation between light and darknes so neither is their any between God and him that worketh wickednes For as it is written The wicked man and his wickednes are detestable in the sight of God I haue giuen thee notice of this so blind errour in the nature of an example by meanes whereof thou maiest
to giue eare to God and of the admirable Language which our first Parents spake in the state of Innocency Which being lost by Sinne many ill ones did succeed in place therof Heâ—â—â—en O Daughter and behold Psal 4 4. and incline thine eare and forget thy people and the house of thy Father and the King shall with delight desire thy beauty THESE words O thou deuout Spouse (a) This Booke was writteÌ„ chiesly for the Lady DonÌ„a Sancha daughter to the Lord of Guadalcaçar who liued not in a Monastery but in her Fathers house though she consecrated her self to God by a vow of virginity of Iesus Christ doth the Prophet Dauid speake or rather God by him to the Christian Church aduising her of that which she ought to do that so the great King may be drawne to loue her by meanes whereof she may be endewed with all happines And because thy soule is by the great mercy of God a member of this Church I haue thought fit to declare these words to thee Imploring first the ayde of the Holy Ghost to the end that it may direct my pen and prepare thy hart that so neither I may speake vnfitly nor thou heare vnfruitfully but that both the one and the other may redound to the eternall honour of God the performing of his holy will The first thing that we are wished to in these wordes is that we hearken not without cause Because as the first beginning of our spiritual life is fayth this as (b) Rom. 10. S. Paul affirmes doth enter into the soule by meanes of hearing it is but reason that first we be admonished of that which we are first to put in practise For it will profit vs very litle that the voyce of diuine truth do sound exteriourly in our hearing (c) We must hear first practise after if withall we haue not eares which may hearken to the saâ—â— within It will not serue our turne that when we were baptized the Priest did (d) According to the ancient custome of the holy Catholike Church put his finger into our eares requiring them to be open if afterwardes we shall shut them vp against the word of God fullfilling so in our selues that which the Prophet Dauid sayth of the Idols (e) Psal 11â— Eyes they haue and they see not eares they haue and they d ee not heare But because some speake so ill that to heare them is no better then to heare the Syrens who kill their auditours it wil be fit for vs to see both whom we are and whom we are not to heare For this purpose it is to be noted that Adaw and Eue when they were created spake one only Language and that continued in the world till the (f) The confusion of tongues grew in punishment of the pride of man pryde of men who had a mind to build vp the Tower of confusion was punished Wherevpon insteed of one Language whereby all men vnderstood one another there grew to be a multitude of Languages which they could not mutually vnderstand By this we also come to know that our first Parents before they rebelled from their creatour transgressinge his Commaundement with presumptuous pride did speake also in their soules but one spiritual Language making a (g) A sweete happy Language perfect kind of concord which one mainteyned with another and each one with himselfe and so also with God liuinge in the quiet estate of Innocency the sensitiue part obeying the rationall and the rationall obeying God and so they were in peace with him in peace within themselues and in peace with one another But now when they rebelled with so bold disobedience against the Lord of heauen both they were punished and we in them In (h) The case is altered such sort that insteed of one good Language by meanes whereof they vnderstood one another so wel there haue succeeded innumerable other ill ones all full of such confusion and darkenes that neyther do men agree with others nor the same man with himselfe and least of all with God And although these Languages do keep no order in themselues since indeed they are but moore disorder yet to the end that we may speake of them we will reduce them to a kind of method and to the number of three which are the Language of the World of the Flesh and of the Diuell whose office as S. Bernard sayth is Of the first to speake vayne thinges Of the second delightfull things And of the third afflictiue bitter things CHAP. II. That we must not hearken to the Language of the World and Vayne-glory And how absolute dominion it exerciseth ouer the hartes of such as follow it and of the punishment that they shall incurre VVE must not hearkeÌ„ to the language of the VVorld for it is al but lyes and they most preiudiciall to such as credit them For they make vs forsake that truth which is indeed and to imbrace a lye which hath no being but only in appearance and custome Heereby man being deceaued presumes to cast Almighty God and his holy will behind his backe and he disposeth of his life according to that blind guide of pleasing the world and so he groweth to haue a hart all desirous of honour and to be esteemed amongst men He proues like those ancient proud Romans of whome S. Augustine sayth That (a) A strange and yet true state of mind for the loue of worldly honour they desired to liue and yet for loue of is they did not feare to dye So much do they prize it as not by any meanes to endure the least word that may be in preiudice thereof nor any thing which may tast or eueÌ„ sauour of neglect though neuer so far of Nay heerin there are such nyceties and puntillios that it is hard for a man to scape stumbling vpon some of them so the offending of this sensitiue worldly man yea (b) A miserable seruitude which pryd hath put vs in and often you shall fal out to offend him much against your wil. These men who are so facile to find theÌ„selues despised are no lesse vntoward and vntractable in passing ouer and pardoning the same And if one should yet of himselfe be disposed to do so what troupes of (c) Indeed they are truly sayd to be false freinds who perswade a man to the perdition of his soule false friendes and kinred will rise vp against him and alleadge such lawes and customes graunted by priuiledge of the world as whereby this proposition may be concluded That it is better to loose a mans fortune his health his house his wife and his children yea all this seemeth little to them since they do as good as say that he must euen loose the life both of body and soule and all the care that he hath both of earth and heauen yea that euen God himselfe and his law are to be contemned and troden
ignorant That (a) Eccl. 7. in the day of prosperity which we haue we must be calling those (b) A safe and most profitable aduice miseryes to mind which we may haue and that we must take in those diuine consolations by the weight of Humility accompanying it with the holy feare of God least otherwise he experience that which Dauid himselfe deliuered Thou turnedst thy face from me and I was troubled Another cause of his fall is giuen vs to be vnderstood in holy Scripture by saying that at such tymes as the Kings of Israel were wont to passe into the warres against the infidells King (c) 2 Reg. 1. Dauid stayed at home And walking vp and down vpon a tarrasse of his pallace he saw that which was the occasion of his adultery and of the murther also not only of one but many All this had byn auoyded if he had gone to fight the battailes of God according to the custome of other Kings and himselfe had done so other yeares If (d) A good lesson to vs Catholike to be sympathizing alwayes with the Holy Church our Mother both in sorrow and in spirituall ioy according to the diuersity of tymes occasions thou wilt be wandring vp and downe when the seruants of God are recollected if thou wilt be idle when they labour in good workes if thou wilt be dissolutely sending thyne eyes abroad whilest theirs are weeping bitterly both for themselues and others and if when they are rising vp by night to pray thou art sleeping and snorting and leauing of by occasion of euery fancy the good exercises which thou wert wont to vse and by the force and heate whereof thou wert kept on foote how doest thou thinke to preserue chastity being carelesse vnprouided of defensiue weapons and hauing so many enemies who are so stout laborious and compleatly armed in fighting against it Do (e) Note not deceiue thy selfe for if thy desire to be chast be not accompanied by deeds which are fit for the defence of that vertue thy desire will prooue vayne and that will happen to thee which did to Dauid Since thou art not more priuiledged more stout nor more a Saint then he And to conclude this matter of the occasions through which this pretious treasure of chastity is wont to be lost thou art to vnderstand that the cause why God permitted that the flesh shold rebell against reason in our first parents from whome we haue it by inheritance was for that they rebelled against God by disobeying his commandement He chastized them in conformity of their sinne and thus it was That (f) Note Lex Taliotus since they would not obey their superiour their inferiour should not obey them and so the vnbridled nesse of this flesh being a subiect and a slaue rebelling against her superiour which is reason is a punishment â—ayd vpon reason for the disobedience with she committed against her superiour which is God Be therfore very carefull that thou be not disobedient to thy superiours least God permit that thy inferiour which is thy flesh do rebell against thee as he suffered Adad to rebell against King Salomon (g) 3. Regâ— 12. his Lord and least he scourge persecute thee and by thy weakenesse draw thee downe into mortall sinne And if with the inward eyes of thy hart thou haue vnderstood that which heere with the eyes of thy body thou hast read thou wilt see how great reason there is that thou shouldest looke to thy selfe and consider what there is within thy selfe And (h) No man can see himselfe exactly but by light from heauen because thou art not exactly able to know thyne owne soule thou art to begg light of our Lord and so to sift the most secret corners of thy hart that there may be no ill thing there which eyther thou knowest or knowest not off by meanes whereof thou mightest through some secret iudgement of God runne hazard to loose the treasure of chastity which yet it doth so much import thee to keep safe by meanes of his diuine assistance CHAP. XIV How much we ought to fly from the vaine confidence of obteyning victory against this enemy by our owne only industry and labour and that we must vnderstand it to be the guist of God of whom it is to be humbly asked by the intercession of the Saintes and in particuler of the Virgin our Blessed Lady ALL that which hath byn sayd and more which might be sayd are meanes for the obtayning and keeping of this pretious purity But it happeneth oftentymes that as although we bringe both stone and wood and all other necessary materialls for the making of a house yet we do not fall vpon the buylding of it so also doth it come to passe that vsing all these remedies we yet obtayne not the chastity which we so much desire Nay there are many who after hauing had liuely desires thereof and taken much paynes for the obtayning of it do yet see themselues miserably fallen or violently at least tormented in their flesh with much sorrow they say We haue laboured all night and yet we haue taken nothing And it seemeth to them that in themselues that is fulfilled which the Wiseman sayd The (a) Eccl. 7. more I sought it the further off it fled away This (b) Take heed of trusting to thy selfe vseth oftentymes to happen by reason of a secret confidence which these proud labourers haue in themselues imagininge that chastity was a fruite which grew from their only endeauour and not that it was a guift imparted by the hand of God And for not knowing of whom it was to be asked they iustly were depriued of it For (c) God sheweth mercy sometyme euen in suffring vs to sal into â—â—nne it had byn of more preiudice to them to haue kept it since withall they would be proud and vngratefull to God then to be without it yet withall to be full of sorrow and humility and so to be forgiuen by pennance It is no small part of wisedome to know by whom chastity is giuen and he is gone a good piece of the way towardes the obteyning of it who indeed belieueth that it comes not from the strength of man but that it is the guift of our Lord. This doth he teach vs in his holy Ghospell saying All are not capable of this word but they to whome it is giuen by God And although the remedies already pointed out for the obtayning of this happinesse be full of profit and (d) We must both worke pray for neither of them both alone will serue the turne that we must employ our selues thereupon yet must that be with this condition that we place not our confidence in them but let vs deuoutly pray to God which Dauid did both practise and aduise by saying I did cast vp myne eyes to the mountayns from whence my succour shall descend my succour is of our Lord who made heauen
groweth to be as it were brâ—â—tish and so euen the sensitiue part of a chist person groweth to be as it were reasonable as the soules of some are so miserably giuen ouer to the flesh that they sayle not by any other star then of their appetite though the nature thereof be spirituall yet they abase themselues to the lamentable subiection of their body being so transformed as it were into flesh that they grow fleshly and do seeme in their wil and in their thoughts to be but a meere lumpe of flesh so the sensuall part of those others commeth so close to their reason that the same doth more looke like reason then euen the very soules of those others do This (a) The doctrin of Chastâ—â—y till the comming of â—â—sus Châ—â—st our Lord was a great peece of neweâ—â— the Sectaryes of this age would now sayn put it out of â—ashion seemeth a hard thing to be belieued but in fine it is the worke guise of God and conceaued especially through Iesus Christ his only Son in this tyme of the Christian Church Of which time it was prophesyed That the wolfe and the lambe the Lyon the Beare should feed togeather because the irrationall affections of the sensitiue part which as cruell beasts would be striuing to vexe and swallow vp the soule should be put in peace by the guift of Iesus Christ and hauing giuen ouer the warre that they were in should liue in amity As Iob sayth The (b) Iob. 5. beastes of the earth shall be peaceable to thee and thou shalt keep friendship with the stones of the earth And then also is that fullfilled which is written in the Psalme Thou man of one consent with me and my guide and familiar acquaintance who diddest (c) A place of Holy Scripture well pondered and applyed eate with me of that sweet food and we went into the house of God with one consent Which wordes the interiour man doth say to the exteriour holding him in such subiection that he stileth him to be of one soule and of such conformity to his will that he sayth they eate sweet food togeather and go iointly into the house of God For they are in such a league that if the interiour man do feed vpon chastity or prayer or that he fast or watch or performe any other holy exercise finding much sweetnes in them iust so doth the exteriour man also and they are sauoury to him like a sweet food But (d) Note yet do not thou conceaue that in this exile of ours one shall arriue to so great aboundance of peace as not to find sometimes both in this and other particulers some motions against reason For excepting Christ our Redeemer his sacred Mother this prerogatiue was neuer graunted to any But thou art to vnderstand that although there be of these motions in persons to whome God doth graunt this guift yet are they not either so many in number or such in quality as to put them to any great payn but without engaging them to much warre or taking from them true peace they are ouercome by them vvith ease And (e) A significant comparison if in a Citty we should see a couple of boyes togeather by the eares instantly after to shake hands we should neuer say That for that short little bickering the peace of the Citty were broken if it were maintayned by the rest of the people And since euen the Philosophers confessed that there was such a state of soule as this without knowing what belonged to the power of the holy Ghost Let (f) A fortiori it not be hard for a Christian to confesse it and to desire it for the glory (g) We proclaime the Diuinity of Christ by the conquest of our sensualityes of the redemption of Christ and of his power to which nothing is impossible Of whose comming it was prophesied That then there was to be an aboundance of peace And Isay sayth It is as a riuer And S. Paul sayth That it exceedeth all vnderstanding And when the flesh shall be thus obedient and thus tempered then shall we be far from hearing the voyce of her (h) Of sensuality naturall language and out of danger also of falling vnder that terrible malediction which God cast out against our first Father Adam because he bearkned to the voyce of his wife It rather belongeth to vs to make her serue vs and to heare our voyce and as we would do to a byrd in cage so to teach her to speake our (i) Of reason religion language and to make her learne it since she can obey vs with so much readynesse By (k) A sweet fraiâ—e of a long labour which long rooted obedience which she yealdeth to reason she groweth so wel nourtured that if she aske for any thing it is not for the vse of pleasure but for the reliefe of necessity And that voyce we may well heare as God commanded Abraham to heare the voice of his wife Sara who was then so aged and her body so weakned and so mortifyed that now it had no more the superfluityes which others of fewer yeares were subiect to And such a body as that we may trust the more hearing that which it wil say to vs though (l) Note yet we must not giue it so much credit as that the will thereof may be a law But we must examine it with prudence of spirit least that flesh of ours which seemed to be dead do but only counterfeyte the being so least it do so much the more dangerously draw vs downe as we thought it had been more faithfull to vs. CHAP. XVII Wherein he beginneth to discourse of the languages spoken by the Diuell and how much we ought to fly them and that one of them is to make a man proud and so to bring him to great mischeife and errour and of the meanes how to auoyde this language of Pryde THE Languages of the Diuell are as many as be the kinds of his malice which are innumerable For as Christ is the fountayne of all the graces which are communicated to the soules of such as by obedience grow subiect to him so is the Diuell the Father of sinne and darkenesse who by inciting and persuading his rotten sheep induceth them to wickednesse and lies wherby they may eternally perish And because his deceites are so many that the spirit of our Lord alone is able to discouer them we wil only speak a few wordes remitting the rest to Christ who is the true instructour of our soules The Diuell is called by many names to declare the mischeifes that are in him But amongst them all let vs speake of two That of Dragon and that of Lyon A Dragon he is as sayth S. Augustine because he secretly doth lye in ambush and lay his snares A Lion because he doth openly persecute The snare which he layeth to deceaue vs by is first to
gather who liue well although they looke not for it And after the rate of the one increaseth the other Now from a contrary cause followeth a contrary effect as it is written The (u) Eccl. â— wicked hart giueth sorrow and from hence groweth disconfidence and other miseries in company thereof CHAP. XXIV Of two remedies for the getting of Hope in the way of our Lord and that we must not turne coward although the remooue of the temptation be differred and how there be certayne hartes which know not how to be humbled but by the knocks of tribulation and therefore that they must so be cured THE conclusion that thou must draw out of all this is That since it doth so much import to go on comforted with a good hope and with alacrity in the seruice of God thou must procure two thinges towards it The one is the consideration of his diuine goodnesse and loue which he hath manifested by giuing vs Christ Iesus for our owne The other that castng off all slacknesse and sloath thou serue our Lord with diligence and when thou fallest into any fault be not deiected with disconfidence but procure remedy and hope for mercy And if many tymes thou fallest procure thou many tymes to rise For (a) If this be not true what is no discourse of reason will endure that thou shouldest be weary of asking pardon since God is neuer weary of giuing it And since he commaunded vs to pardon our neighbours not only (b) Matt. â—â— seauen tymes in the day but seauenty tymes seauen which signifyeth that we must doe it without limitation much and much better will our Lord graunt vs pardon as often as it shal be asked since his goodnes is greater and is placed before vs for an example which we are to follow And if integrity of life and the remedy which thou desirest do not come so soone as thou couldest wish let not that make thee conceiue that it will neuer come Nor (c) Take heed that such a thought as this do not once enter into thy hart be thou like them that sayd If God send not remedy within fiue dayes we will giue our selues vp to our enemies For the holy (d) Iud. 7. Iudith reprehended such men as these with great reason and she sayd who are you that will thus tempt our Lord For such wordes as these are not to mooue him to mercy but rather to stirre vp his wrath and to kindle his fury Haue you perhaps appointed a tyme wherein our Lord is to shew mercy and haue you set downe the day according to your owne mind Learne to hope in our Lord till his mercy come and be not weary of suffering since patience importeth you as much as life And (e) Note if the straytes be great which weaken thy hope euen (f) A comfortable consideration for English Catholikes which ought to fill our soules with patience and with an humble peaceful expectatioÌ„ of the good will of God those very straites should in reason giue thee courage because they vse to be the very Eue and introduction of the remedy For the houre wherein our Lord deliuereth is when the tribulation hath lasted long and at the present afflicteth most As it appeareth plainly in the case of his disciples (*) Luc. 5. Whom he permitted to suffer during three parts of the night and in the last he gaue them comfort He also deliuered his people out of the captiuity of Egypt when the tribulation which they suffered was growne vp to the highest so wil he do with thee when thou thinkest not of it And if thou conceaue that thou wouldest faigne leade a holy life and perfect life and which all might be to the glory of God thou (g) Examine thy consciéce by this light and see if the case be not thyne art to know that there are some so proud and lofty that there is no humbling of them but vpon the price of temptations discomfortes and falling into sinne and so weake they are withall that they will not goe on in the way of God with diligence if they be not ridden vpon the spurre and their hart is so hard as that they must be hammered vpon with a great deale of misery Nor haue they any caution or discretion but vpon the experience of many of their owne errours In fine they haue a mind which is filled and puffed vp with a few graces and they haue need of many afflictions to make them proceed with humility in the sight of God and of their neighbours Thou seest already that the cure of these inconueniences cannot be wrought but with (h) If gentler pnisicke be not able to cure vs we must be cotent that God do play the Surgeon with vs. burning irons and by Gods permitting men to fall into desolations obscuritics of mind and euen into sinnes that so being much afflicted they may humble themselues and then be freed from their miseries The Prophet Micheas sayth Thou (i) Mich. 4. shalt goe as farre as Babylon and there thou shalt be deliuered and God will redeeme thee from the hand of thine enemies For by the confusion of this kind of life and by these falles in to sinne a man vseth to be humbled and both to seeke remedy of God and to find it which if he had not fallen he might perhaps haue lost by pryde or not haue sought with diligence and greâ—fe Eternall thankes be giuen to thee (k) Amen O Lord who out of such preiudiciall miseries art wont to draw these celestiall benefits and that thou art glorified as wel in pardoning sinners as thou art in making and keeping them iust and who sauest by the way of a contrite and humbled hart him who was not in disposition to serue thee with a hart of innocency and who makest a mans sinnes giue him occasion of being humble diligent and aduised that so as thy selfe did say He (l) Luc. 7. to whome more is forgiuen may loue more that so it may be fulfilled which the Apostle sayth Mercy in iustice maketh that iustice of thyne appcare more glorious as it maketh thy goodnesse seeme more in pardoning and sauing such as haue sinned and returne to thee In another place he also sayth That (m) Roun 8. all things prooue to the good of such as loue God Yea so do (n) Infinite goodnes of our God the very sinnes themselues which they haue committed as S. Augustine sayth But (o) Absâ—â— yet this must not be taken as a ground for thy tepidity or facility in sinning to buyld vpon for that must in no case be done But to the end that if thou fall into so great misfortune as to offend our Lord thou do not yet commit a greater sinne then that can be by dispayring of his mercy CHAP. XXV How the Diuell procureth to draw vs to despayre by tempting vs against fayth and the diuine mysteries of the remedies
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
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
thinges togeather by saying He (g) Marc. vâ—â—uno that shall belieue and be baptized he shall be saued The same Lord of ours sayd also to his Apostles when he instituted the Sacrament of Pennance Whose (h) Ioan. 10. sinnes you shall pardon they are pardoned c. and consequently grace and iustice is giuen by this Sacrament since there can be no pardon of sinne vnles grace be giuen withall which is signifyed and contayned in all the seauen Sacraments of the Church And it is giuen to him that receaueth them welâ— euen with more abundance then (i) To which dispositioÌ„ out of the Sacrament there would not be allowed so great a grace though yet still the receaâ—â—â— must haue good dispositioÌ„ if he meane to acquire new graâ—e and not to coâ—â—â—t a new â—acri ledge there is disposition in the receauer in regard that they are priuiledged workes which by the very being receaued do conferre grace Therefore ought they to be receaued and renewed in extraordinary manner as the Catholike Church doth belieue and teach vs. Now (k) This is worthy oâ— great consideration if Fayth were in the beginning of the Church so frequently mentioned preached it was fiâ— to be so because the fayth was then newly planted and the endeauour was to make infidells receiue it and to enter by it as by the first gate which sheweth the way to saluation that when once they were come in they might be informed more particulerly both of what they were further to belieue and what they were to do So also was it necessary in those tymes to expresse after a particuler manner the mystery and high valew of the passion and death of our redeemer Iesus Christ who with extreame dishonour had then byn crucified and how the fayth of this mystery maketh men belieue and confesse That vpon that wood which to outward appearance was so dishonourable that diuine life was hanged and that there in the middest of the earth God wrought by meanes of his death the recouery and saluation of the world This fayth being such doth honour the dishonour of the Crosse and is the exaltation of that basenes which was exercised thereon in a strang and extreame manner For which reason it was fit to make often mention of the name of fayth and that with great respect since it resulted to the honour of Iesus Christ our Lord of whose person and merits she (l) The Church giueth testimony by preaching the height thereof So as if the Scripture say That men are iustifyedly fayth it is not meant as if that alone were sufficient but because it is the beginning and foundation and rote of all that is good as the Councell of Trent defineth and (m) O how true is this they who attribute iustification to fayth alone do but seeke for comfort in their tepidities or in the impiety of their liues desiring to secure themselues by the way of belieuing that their Circle may be the wider in the way of liuing And the peace and confidence of a good conscience which is caused by perfect charity these men will needs obteine without the taking of such paines as the perfection of vertue doth require Yea and they content not themselues herewith but although according to the very truth no man can be entirely certayne in this life whether he be worthy of loue or hate though yet according to the grace verâ—ue which he hath more or lesse he may haue more or fewer reasons of confidence yet these men who giue that certainty to such as belieue according to their owne imagination that they are pardoned by God which a Christian man is to haue in belieuing an article of fayth are people deceaued by the diuell and these things are belieued by such as haue neyther any firme ground of fayth nor any sanctity of life but are haters of all obedience and who being blindfold go groping after the mysteries of God and indeed if they were not blinded the diuell could not so easily deceaue them CHAP. XLV Why our Lord did resolue to saue vs by the meanes of Fayth and not of humane Reason and of the great subiection which we must yield to those things which our Fayth doth teach of the particuler deuotion which we owe in especiall manner to that which our Lord Iesus taught vs by his own sacred mouth THE methode of the words of this Treatise did require that after the first word therof I should declare the second to thee but the order of the sentences whereof the first and the third say the same thing requireth that forbearing at the present to touch the second I now declare the third which sayth thus Incline thyne care By this thou art to note that so great is the height of the mysteries of God and so low poore is thy reason and so easily subiect to deceite that for the security of our saluation God resolued to saue vs by our faith and not by our knowledge And this not without most iust cause because since the world as Saint Paul sayth did not know God by meanes of wisedome but sell impertinently vpon many crrours asâ—â—â—bing the glory of God to the Sunne and Moone and other creatures And because others who by the trace of those creatures came to know God tooke such a deale of pride in their way of tracing the knowledge of a thing so high this light was taken away for their pride which our Lord had giuen them through his goodnesse and so they fell into the darknesse of idolatry and into a multitude of other sinnes such as they had fallen into who neuer had knowne God For which reason as after the fall of the wicked Angells God taking as a man may say a kind of warning by that he would not suffer any creature to remaine in heauen that could be able to sinne perceiuing how ill the creatures serued themselues of reason and because the world as S. Paul sayth did not know God by wisedome he would not leaue the knowledge of him the saluation of themselues in the hands of their wisedome Therefore as soone as the holy Ghost had giuen vs counsaile by the two words already mentioned of Heare and See he doth instantly aduise vs by a third which sayth Incline thyne eare Whereby he giueth vs to vnderstand that we must submit our reason most profoundly not be too confident therin if we meane that our hearing and our seeing which were giuen vs for our good may not be the occasion of our eternal perdition Certayne it is that many haue heard the word of God and haue had an excellent sight and notice of high and subtile things but yet because they rested vpon the curiosity of their sight more then they did â—â—cline the eare of their reason with obedience their sight grew to be starke blindnes they went stumbling in the light of Noone-day as if it had beene in vtter darkenes If therefore
as if it were some great and wholesome Truth A (*) Heresy is one of the most terrible iudgmēts which God inflicts for the punishment for other sinnes great and extreame iudgment of God is this and since he is iust that sinne must needs be great whereof the punishment is such and what this sinne is S. Paul (e) Thess 2. himselfe declareth to vs by saying Because they receaued not the loue of Truth to be saued thereby For if thou consider how powerfull the Truth is of that which we belieue for the helping vs to serue God to be saued soone wilt thou acknowledge it to be a great fault not to loue this Truth and not to follow that which it teacheth and much more to worke wickedly against it How (f) A good and iust consideration far should he be from offending God who belieueth that for such as offend him there is prepared an euerlasting fire with other innumerable tormentes wherewith such an one is to be punished as long as God shal be God without all hope of the least remedy How will he presume to sinne who belieueth that when sinne entreth into the soule by one dore God goeth out by another And what kind of creature a man is without thee O Lord he well knew who prayed O (g) Psal 4◠Lord depart not thou from me For when God is gone we remaine in the first death of sinne which is but an introduction to the second death of infernall paine With great reason did Iob (h) Iob. 6. say Who can find in his heart to taste that which being tasted bringeth death Without doubt it is but reason that since we would not taste of any food which a Physitian whom we belieued should tell vs did carry death therin we should lesse taste of sinne since God hath sayd That (i) Ezech. 18. the soul which finneth shall dye For the Fayth or beliefe which thou hast in the word of God doth not worke that effect in thee which the word of that Physitian doth worke and yet this later both can deceaue and vseth sometymes to do it which God neuer doth And since God hath sayd That he is the eternall reward of such a seruant why doth not this make vs all go towards his seruice with great diligence and courage although we were to passe through many labours and that it should cost vs euen our liues Why do we not loue our Lord whome we belieue to be supreame goodnesse and whom we know to haue loued vs first yea and that so farre as to dye for vs And so (k) Note we should discourse in all other things which this holy Fayth doth so powerfully teach vs and inuite vs to for as much as concerneth it our selues are in great fault for leauing to follow it yea and for doing the very contrary things to it Can there be a more prodigious thing in the world then that a Christian should belieue the things which he belieueth and that yet he should do so wicked things as many of them do In punishment therefore of this that they did not loue the Truth whereby they might haue byn saued putting in practise that which they were taught thereby it is a most iust iudgement of God VVho (l) Psal 65. is terrible in his counsailes ouer the sonnes of men That this Fayth be taken from them they be permitted to belieue errour And if thou do consider how God doth suffer the snare to be prepared whereby Iewes and heretikes are chastised as we haue sayd it will appeare to thee that it is a thing rather to be trembled at then to be talked of Aske any of these that are so peremptory in following the obstinacy of their errour vpon what it is that they ground themselues The (m) Almost all heretikes do offer to shrowd thēselues vnder holy scripture one sort will say that it is the Scripture of the old Testament and the other of the New and thou shalt plainely see the prophesy of Dauid accomplished when he sayth The (n) A passadge of holy Scripture excellently pòdered Table of these people shall be turned into a snare and into a punishment and into a stumbling blocke Didst thou euer see a thing of so contrary appearance as that the Table of Life should be turned into a snare of death the Table of comfort and pardon into a punishment that Table where there is light which guideth men into a way that leadeth to life to conuert it selfe into a meanes of making one loose the way and fall vpon death Great without (o) A holy contēplation of the Authour of much terrour to such as are in heresy all doubt is the fault which deserueth such punishment that a man should be blinded in the light and that his life should be conuerted into death But thou art iust O Lord and thy iudgements are iust and there is no wickednes in thee but that wickednes is in them who serue not themselues well of thy goodnesse and therfore it is fit that they should but stumble vpon the same goodnes of thyne that the dishonour should be punished which they do both to it and thee A great blessing O Lord an extraordinary blessing is thy Fayth being reuered obeyed and put in excution as al reason doth require And a great blessing didst thou bestow in giuing vs thy holy Scripture which is so profitable and so necessary for vs in the way of thy seruice But (p) Note because the wind which bloweth vpon this sea is a wind that cōmoth from heauen and there haue byn some who would needes sayle by the earthly windes of their owne braynes and studyes they haue beene drowned and thou hast suffered it Because as in the Parables which thou O Lord didst preach on earth those men were secretly taught therby who had a good disposition thereunto whereas others were blinded euen thereby through thy iust iudgment so doest thou also gouerne the profound sea of thy diuine Scripture which is deputed for the shewing of mercy to the lambes of thy fold who may swimme therein to the profit both of themselues and others and so also is it designed for the shewing of iustice in suffering proud Elephants both to drowne themselues others also A fearefull and very fearefull thing it ought to be esteemed to enter into the diuine Scripture and no man ought to runne vpon it without much preparation as to a thing wherein there may be much danger to him Let him that (q) An-vnderstāding exercised in humility a lifeled in piety are good dispositiōs for the reading of holy Scripture with profit entreth into it carry with him the sense of the Catholike Roman Church and he shall auoyd the danger of heresy Let him for his further profit by it carry purity of life as S. Athanasius doth aduise by these wordes Goodnes of life and purity of the soule and Christian piety is
conscience by litle and little draweth their vnderstanding vnto blindnesse to the end that it may seeke some doctrine which doth not contradict their wickednes or else because the supreame iudge in punishment of other sinnes permitteth them to fall vpon heresy or whether it be both for the one and the other reason it is a thing to make one feare and to be full of care to auoyd it And howsoeuer this happen not to all wicked Christians since although they be in mortall sinne they do not for that loose their Fayth as I haue sayd before yet in a matter that is of so high importance the very hauing hapned to one alone giueth vs all reason to feare and care that we may auoyd the like occasion Without doubt the hartes of all those eleuen Apostles were farre from any disposition of deliuering Christ Iesus our Lord to death yet because he sayd that one of the twelue would do it they were all afrayd and they sayd Is it I O Lord through a feare least by their frailty they might fal into actions from which they were free at that tyme. Against all such inconueniences the word which we haue here in hand is full of vse Incline thyne eare obeying God and his Church by Fayth And haue not thou a busy and sifting vnderstanding least it be oppressed by Maiesty as such are threatned in holy Scripture that they shal be And (e) Marke well this comparison for it reacheth home they who wil be descanting vpon the ineffable mysteries of God by the poorenesse of their owne vnderstanding and reason shall find it happen to them as it doth to such as fasten the point of their sight vpon the sunne which so they do not only not come to see but rather they loose their very sight it selfe and it is beaten back agayne through the great excesse of the light which they see to the eyes themselues with which they would see it So those men seeking satisfaction by the way of curious vnderstanding and sifting do find themselues full of vnquietnesse doubt For the wisedome of God is not communicated but to such as are little and humble do approach to him with simplicity inclining their eare to him and to his Church and such as these receaue extraordinary fauours by his goodnesse wherewith the soule resteth satisfied and beautifyed by Fayth and good workes like the fayre Rebecca to whom were giuen in the name of Isaac certayne pendents for her eares and bracelets for her hands And to the end that this humble subiection might be so much the more recommended to our vnderstanding the holy ghost was not content with exhorting vs to it in the first word only by saying Hearken O Daughter but be aduiseth to it yet with another by saying Incline thyme eare To the end that men may know that since God doth speake no idle words and that yet he deliuered this doctrine to vs in seuerall words his pleasure was to recommend in particuler manner this simple humble manner of belieuing as the beginning of our saluation and if to this we will add loue it will then be entire and perfect CHAP. L. How some vse to be much deceaued by giuing credit to false Reuelations and it is particulerly declared wherein true liberty of Spirit doth consist IT is not reason that I passe from hence with out acquainting thee with a great daÌ„ger which happeneth to them that trauayle in the way of God and wherby many haue been ouerthrown The chiefe remedy wherof consisteth in that aduise which the holy Ghost giueth vs by meanes of this word Inclyne thyne eare This danger groweth when reuelations or visions or other spirituall gustes do offer themselues to some deuout persons which by the permission of God do ariue many tymes through the worke of the Diuell that for the obtayning of two effects One is that by the meanes of these deceites he may take credit from the true reuelations of God as he hath also procured to shew false miracles thereby to discredit such as are true Another is to deceaue that person vnder the shew of Good now that by other meanes he cannot do it Many of whome we haue read of in former tymes and many we haue seene in these dayes of ours who may serue for a warning to any such person as is desirous of his saluation to put him in feare of being easy in giuing credit to such things as these since some of those very persons who gaue them such credit at the first did afterward when they were free from being so deceaued aduise others to take heed how they fell into those inconueniences Gerson recounteth that in his tyme many of these abuses did happen and he sayd that be knew of many and that some did hold for certayne that it was reuealed to them that they should be Popes And some one of them did leaue the same in writing and by coniectures and other such kindes of proofe he affirmed it to be true And another belieuing vpon the same motiue that he was to be Pope this thought did after settle it selfe in his hart That he (a) Let not a Caluinist mak himselfe mery at this but let him tremble to find how like he is to the Diuel in saying that the Pope is Antichrist should be Antichrist or at least the forerunner of him And vpon this he was grieuously tempted to kill himselfe that so he might not bring such a deale of misery vpon Christian people till at last by the mercy of God he was drawne out of these deceitfull errours and left them in writing behind him for the caution instruction of others There haue not been wanting some in these dayes of ours who held for certayne that they were to reforme the Church of Christ and to bring it to the first perfection or euen greater then it had at first But their being dead without doing it is a sufficient proofe that they were deceaued and that it would haue beene better for them to haue attended to the reformation of themselues which by the grace of God would not haue beene hard then so forgetting their owne consciences to cast their vaine eyes vpon that (b) The Authour meaneth only ReformatioÌ„ of manners for he sheweth in a hundred places that the Fayth of the Church both is for euer must be true thing which God had no mind to do by their meanes Others haue resolued vpon seeking new wayes which seemed to them very compendious for their owne ariuing quickly to God And it seemed to them that giuing themselues to him in a perfect kind of a manner and abandoning themselues into his handes they were so taken and possest by God and so wholy gouerned by the holy Ghost that whatsoeuer came to their hart must forsooth be no other thing but the instinct and light of God himselfe And (c) Much of this discourse is meant by a cerâ—ayne fantasticall hereticall people
himselfe for iust as if a man who were all full of leprosy should account himselfe to be in health We (a) Of the humility which is to be exercised in the consideration of a mans good workes must not therfore be contented to esteem only little of our selues in respect of our sinnes but much more are we to do so in our good workes Profoundly knowing that neither the fault of sinne is of God nor the glory of our good deedes of our selues But that of all the good that may be in vs we are perfectly to giue the glory to the Father of lights from whome all good and perfect gifts descend So that although we may haue a thing that is good we must looke vpon it as none of ours and we must vse it with so great fidelity as not to pretend for the glory which is due to God nor that the hony as the Prouerbe sayth may be found sticking to our fingers ends This humility is not of sinners as the first was but of iust persons Not only is this kind of humility in this world but in heauen also For by occasion therof it is written Who is like our Lord God who dwelleth in the Altitudes and lookes vpon humble things both in heauen and in earth This kept the good Angells fast on foot and disposed them fitly for the enioying of God since they would be subiect to him And the want thereof did thrust downe those wicked Angells because they had a mind to robbe God of his honour This was possessed by the sacred Virgin Mary our B. Lady who being preached for happy and blessed by the mouth of S. Elizabeth she puffed not vp nor did she attribute to her selfe any glory for the graces which were in her but with (b) More humble and more faythfull then all men and Angells put togeather an humble and most faithfull hart she teacheth S. Elizabeth and the whole world that the glory of the greatnes to which she was raysed was not due to her but to God and with profound reuerence she beginneth to sing My soule doth magnify our Lord. This very humility and that which was yet more perfect did inhabite the most blessed soule of Iesus Christ our Lord which for as much as concerned the personall being that he had did not rest vpon it selfe but vpon the person of the Word as it exceeded all the soules and celestiall spirits in other graces so did it exceed them in holy humility being further off from giuing glory to it selfe and from relying vpon it selfe then all those others put togeather And from this hart did that proceed which so often he most faythfully preached to the world That he had receaued his workes and wordes from his Father and that to him he gaue the glory And he sayd My doctrine is not myne but of him that sent me and againe The (c) Ioan. 7.14 wordes that I speake I speak not of my selfe but the Father who is in me is he that doth the workes And so it was fit that the redresser of mankind should be very humble since pride was the rooâ—e of all misery and mischiefe And our Lord resoluing to make vs know how necessary it is for vs to haue this holy and true humility he maketh himselfe a maister of it in particuler manner and he puttes his owne example before our eyes saying thus Learne (d) Matt. 1â— of me for I am humble and meeke To the end that men seeing their so wise Maister recommend this vertue so particulerly they might labour much in the purchase thereof And seing that our Lord being so soueraign doth not attribute the good to himselfe there may be no man so franticke as to presume vpon the committing of so great a wickednesse Learne therefore O thou seruant of Christ of this thy Maister and Lord this holy humility to the end that according to his word thou mayst be exalted For he (e) Luc. 14. that humbleth himselfe shall be exalted And keep in thy soule this holy Pouerty for of this it is vnderstood Blessed (f) Wats 5. are the poore in spirit for of them is the kingdome of heauen And of this be sure that since Iesus Christ our Lord was exalted by the way of humility he that hath not this doth loose his way And he must vnbeguile himselfe and belieue that which S. Augustine sayth If thou aske me which is the way to heauen I shall answere thee Humility and if thou aske me till the third tyme I shall answere thee the same and if thou aske me a thousand tymes a thousand tymes shall I answere that there is no other way (g) I doubt much that ProtestaÌ„ts are then out of the way if it be but euen for this but of Humility CHAP. LXIIII. Of a profitable exercise of knowing the being which we haue in Nature that by it we may obtayne Humility BECAVSE (a) I beseech you ponder well the foure next chapters for they will teâ—l you â—ewes I thinke thou desirest to obtayne this holy humiliation of thy self wherby thou mayst become pleasing to our Lord I will say somwhat of the meanes how thou mayst procure it And (b) The meanes which are to be vsed for the procuring of the holy vertue of humility let the first of them be to begge it with perseuerance of him who is the giuer of all good thinges for it is a particuler guift of his which he bestoweth vpon his elect Yea and the very knowing that it is a guift of God is no small fauour They who are tempted with pride do wel perceaue that there is nothing further off from their owne power then this true and profound humility and that it hapneth many tymes that by the same meanes whereby they hope to obteine it they fly furthest from it and that by the very acts of humiliating a mans selfe the very contrary which is pride sometymes doth grow Thou (c) Note must therefore as I sayd in that discourse which I made before of Chastity take in hand the obteyning of this Iewell in such sorte as that neither thou giue ouer thy endeauour by saying What shall I get by striuing for it since it is the guift of God nor yet must thou put thy confidence in thy arme of flesh and bloud but in him who is wont to graunt his guiftes to whome he giueth the grace to aske them by meanes of prayer and other deuout exercises The course then which thou art to hold shal be this Consider these two thinges in order The one a being the other a good and happy being As for the first thou art to thinke who thou wert before God made thee and thou wilt find that thou wert a profound pit of being nothing a priuation of all thinges that are good Consider then how that mighty and sweete hand of God drew thee out of that profound Abysse placed thee in the number of his creatures giuing
reason it was fit according to the diuine ordinance that he should pay for vs taking vpon him our place and resemblance to the end that by seeming a debter which he was not and by enduring that bitter chastisement which he deserued not he might take away our deformity and might communicate his beauty riches to vs. And (i) The difference of Christ our Lord the spouse of our soules carthly spouses because no man who seeketh a Spouse can make her good if she be euill nor celestiall if she be infernall nor can he giue her a beautifull soule if it be deformed therefore is it that men seeke spouses which are already vertuous beautifull and rich and vpon the marriage day they go well adorned to enioy those aduantages which the others haue and which themselues did not giue But this Spouse ours doth find no soule either good or faire vnles he make it such And that which we are able to giue him as a Dowry is the debt that we haue contracted by our sinnes And because he was pleased to abase himselfe to vs we haue (k) He tooke our misery that so he might cōmunicate to vs his glory apparelled him so as we our selues were apparelled and he hath so cloathed vs as he is clad For destroying the (l) Sinne. old man vnder the habit which he tooke of a man he hath placed in vs a new and celestiall man after his image And this he brought to passe by these ornaments which seeme to be deformity and frailty but are indeed most high honour and greatnesse since they were able to defeate our so obdurate and inueterate synnes and to bring vs to the grace and friendship of our Lord which is the toppe of all that which can be aymed at This is that glasse wherein thou art often to behold thy selfe euery day to beautify thereby whatsoeuer thou seest deformed in thy soule And this is that figure which is placed on high to the end that whosoeuer shal be bitten by any serpent may looke vp to it and so his woundes may be cured And whensoeuer any thinge which is good doth grow to thee it wil be conserued by thy looking hither giuing thankes to our Lord by the meanes of whose affliction all our blessings are deriued to vs. CHAP. LXX That the exercise of prayer is most important and of the great fruit which is reaped thereby SINCE thou hast already heard that the light which thy eyes are to looke vpon is God humaned and crucifyed it remaineth for me to tell thee what meanes thou art to vse in looking on him Since the thing must be done by way of deuout considerations and by that inward speach which is vsed in prayer But before I tell thee of the course that thou art to hold in thy prayer it wil be fit that I let thee know how profitable this exercise is and especially for (a) The Lady to whom he wrote this booke was not a religious womā in clausure but she liued deuoutly in her owne house yet in state of Virginity and great pennance she was Don̄a Sancha daughter to the Lord of Guadalcaçar thee who hauing renounced the world hast offered thy selfe wholy to our Lord with whome it wil be fit for thee to haue familiar and straite communication if thou desyre to enioy the delicious fruit of thy holy state By prayer we do heere vnderstand A secret and interiour speach whereby the soule doth impart it selfe to God whether it be by way of thinking or by crauing or by thanking or contemplating and in a word all that which doth passe betweene the soule and God in that priuate kind of speach For although to euery one of these particulers there do belong a seuerall reason yet my intent in this place is but only to deliuer in generall how important a thing it is that the soule do intertayn this choyce kind of speach and cōmunication with her God For (b) Pōder this well belieue the truth thereof and put thy selfe vpon the practise proofe whereof it would suffice if men were not wholy blind to tell them that God giueth liberty that all men who will may enter into speach with him once in a moneth or in a weeke and that most willingly he would giue them audience and redresse their miseries and enrich them with fauours and that there should be betweene him and them a friendly kind of conuersation as betweene a Father and a sonne And if he would permit that they might speake to him euery day and if yet further he would suffer that euery day they might do it often and lastly if they might haue leaue to be in conuersation with our Lord the whole day and night or as much of this tyme as they could and would and if he would be well content therewith what may that man be vnles he were a man of stone who would not be highly thankefull for such a liberall and profitable licence as this And who would not procure to serue himselfe thereof as much as it were possible for him as of a thing most conuenient for the gayning of honour by being to treate with his Lord and of delight by the enioying of his conuersation and of profit also for as much as they can neuer come empty handed from him And how shall not this be much esteemed which the most high doth offer vs since it would be set at so high a rate if it were offered by some temporall king who in comparison of this most High and of that which may be obtained by conuersation with him the king is a worme and that which any of them or all of them is able to giue is a handfull of dust Why do not men ioy to be with God (c) Prou. ◠since the delight of God is to be with the sonnes of men His cōuersation hath no bitternesse belonging to it but alacrity and ioy nor is there incident to his condition any petty or paltry miserablenesse to deny the thinge that is asked of him and in fine our Father he is in whose conuersation we were to ioy though no other aduantage did acrew thereby But (d) A strange progresse of Gods loue to wicked stupide man if thou wilt accompany all the other considerations with this that he doth not only giue vs leaue to speake with him but that he begges it at out handes and counsailes and sometimes commaunds it of vs thou wilt see both how great his goodnesse and thirst is that we would conuerse with him and what wicked thinges we be who will not go being desired and hired to that which we ought to go beseeching that we might haue leaue and offering to pay whatsoeuer were demaunded for it Heereby thou mayst discerne how little feeling men haue of their spiritual necessities which are the true ones for as much as he who truly feeleth them will truly pray and desyre remedy thereof with great instance There is
handes And this they expect vnder such a title of more iustice as that if he deny them any thinge they are complaining in their hartes and do hold themselues agrieued why lest they forsooth seruing him so well he doth them not iustice by denying them any thing Let not this wicked pride seize on thee for (h) How God abhorreth Pride it is now long since God complaineth of it by Isay (i) Isa 58. saying They demaund the iudgements of iustice at my handes and they come to God and say Why haue we fasted and yet thou hast not behold vs we haue humbled our soules and thou hast not appreoued it But to the end that this so dangerous poison may not infuse it selfe into thy soule with others which do also flow frō thēce thou art to lay hold vpon that excellent doctrine which our Lord Christ Iesus deliuered in S. Luke after this manner Which of you hauing a seruant who goeth to plow feedes the cattell and your selfe comming from the field you say instantly to your seruant Goe thy wayes and take thyne ease and doth not rather say Go dresse my supper and make thy selfe ready to come and serue me till I haue eaten and drunke and then thou also shalt cate and drinke Doth peraduenture that maister stand thanking of his seruant for doing those thinges which he commaunded I thinke not Well then let it be so in your case and when you haue performed all those thinges which are inioyned say We are vnprofitable seruants and we did but that which we were obliged to From these wordes thou art to fetch a knowledge of how profitable a consideration it is for a Christian to hold himselfe the slaue of God since our Lord commaundeth vs so to call our selues And yet this must not be done with that kind of hart wherewith the slaue vseth to serue which is a hart of feare and not of loue For as S. Paul (k) Rom. 8. sayth You did not againe receaue the spirit of seruitude in feare but you receiued the spirit of adoption of the sonnes of God wherein you cry out to God say Father Father For as S. Augustine saith the difference betweene the old law and the Ghospell in a word is that which is betweene feare and loue Leauing therefore a part (l) To serue God for feare is lesse good to do it for loue is excellent this spirit of seruility because it belongeth not so properly to the sonnes of God and the spirit also of (m) He speaketh heere of filial fear feare as lesse perfect though it be not cuill since it is the gift of God to feare him euen for the punishments which he inflicteth do thou vnderstand by the name of seruant a person who is subiect to God by more strong and iust obligation then any slaue can be to his Lord how deare soeuer he haue cost him And (n) A faythfull and louing seruant well described looking euer vpon this whatsoeuer he doth well eyther within himselfe or exteriourly he will do it for the glory and to giue gust to God as a true-harted slaue will giue a iust account vnto his Lord of whatsoeuer he is able to gaine So also wil he forbeare to be slack or sluggish in seruing him vpon the present day notwithstanding that he had serued many yeares before Nor will he hold himselfe disobliged from the doing of one seruice in respect that he hath done another But as the holy (o) Luc. 17. Ghospell saith he carrieth a continuall hungar and thirst after iustice For he esteemeth all to be little considering both the much that he hath receaued and which the Lord in whose seruice he is hath merited By this meanes doth he accomplish that which S. Paul (p) Philip. ◠saith of himselfe That forgetting those things which were past he gaue himselfe new spirites towardes the pursuite of that which was then to come He doth also know that from those thinges which he is able to do how great so euer they may be no profit accreweth vnto God nor is God obliged to esteem that which he doth if the works be considered as growing from our naturall power and strength since a man is not able to pay euen what he oweth And therefore doth the holy (q) Luc. 17. Ghospell say When you haue done all those thinges which you haue beene commanded say We are vnprofitable seruants and we did but that which we were bound to do I say (r) How the best man is indeed an vnprofitable seruant and in what sense againe he is not so vnprofitable in respect of God but for as much as concerneth themselues they gaine life eternall as shal be shewed in the next Chapter And in this sort vnderstanding the name of slaue thou wilt find it to be a name of humility of obedience of diligence and of loue And this feeling thereof had the sacred Virgin Mary when being taught by the Holy Ghost she (s) The vnspeakeable humility of the incōprehensible virgin Mary the B. Mother of God answered Behould (t) Luc. 1. heere is the slaue of our Lord let that be fulfilled in me which is agreeable to his word She confesseth her owne basenes she offereth vp her loue and seruice with a liberall hart without ascribing any thing vnto her selfe by way of any other honour or interest then only in being carefull to serue as a slaue in that which our Lord was commanding her for his glory All this did she feele within and this did she outwardly expresse by deliuering her selfe in the name of slaue S. Paul doth call himselfe and prize himselfe by this name when he (u) Rom. 1. sayth Paul the slaue of Iesus Christ And in a word so are al they who serue God to acknowledg themselues whether they be high or low vnles they be content that euen the seruice which they are doing proue to be of more preiudice then aduantage to them Procure therefore to profit by this truth and thou shalt find a powerfull remedy against the danger which groweth by occasion of good workes not (x) There is no danger in good workes but in the vanity of mans hart who doth them from the workes themselues but by the imperfection of such as do them And vse thou to say both with thy mouth and with thy hart very often I am (y) A iust and true acknowledgement which ought to be made by the hart and tongue of all true Christiās the slaue of God and I am so because God is that which he is and for a thousand millions of benefits which I haue receaued from his hand And how much soeuer I might do for him I should neuer be able to pay the least of those paces which he being made man did make for me nor the least of those torments which he endured for me nor the least sinne which he hath pardoned nor any other which he hath preuented
may be a light not only to the Iewes who belieued vpon his preaching to them in person but to the Gentills also who liued in idolatry far off from God And then was it fulfilled which (f) Luc. 2. Simeon that holy Swanne did singe when he said out of his desire to dye Now Lord thou lettest thy seruant depart in peace according to thy worde for myne eyes haue seene thy saluation which thou hast prepared in the sight of all Nations A light to the Gentills and a glory to thy people of Israel If we consider that Christ was placed by the hand of Pilate to be seene first by that people in his owne house and afterward from the top of the Crosse in Mount Caluary it wil be euident to vs that although in respect there came to the Paschall men of all conditions and Tribes as well of naturalls as strangers there must needes be great store of people yet was not Christ therefore placed in the view and presence of all people as Simeon in his Canticle had sunge And therefore Christ was placed in the view and presence of them all when he was preached through the world by the Apostles and their successours Of whome Dauid (g) Psalm 18. said That their sound went out through the whole earth and that their wordes did reach to the very endes thereof For (h) Our Lord is the light both of Iewes and Gentills Of the Iewes he is more particulerly the honour because he tooke their flesh in the pure wombe of the perpetuall Virgin Christ being thus preached was light then and is so now to those Gentills who will belieue in him and so he is both light and honour to the Iewes who also will belieue in him as S. Paul expresseth speaking of them of whome Christ came according to the flesh who is God being blessed aboue all thinges for all eternity Let vs now consider how farre otherwise this was ordeined by God from that which Pilate did intend He conceaued that he but placed Christ in the presence of that people no more and he said Behold heere the man and he thought when they would not let him dismisse him but demaunded that he might be crucified that he should neuer more haue byn seene by any But (i) How different the thoughts of God are from the thoughts of men because the eternall Father saw it was not reason that such a spectacle as that was of his only begotten Sonne being the image of his owne beauty should be beheld by so few and those so wicked eyes or should be presented only to so hard hartes as theirs he ordained that another voyce more loud then that should be sounded forth throughout the world by the mouth of many and they most holy publishers thereof who should also say Behold the man The voyce of Pilate could not sound far off for it was but one and a wicked one inspired by feare through which he sentenced Christ to death He deserued not to be the proclaimer of this word Behold the man and therefore did God command it to be proclaimed by others And that so far from any feare of theirs that rather they did desire and rather they do resolue to dye then to faile of one (k) The courage of the Apostles of Apostolicall men tittle in preaching and confessing the truth and glory of Christ Iesus Pilate was a prophane and foule person for he was a sinnefull and an vnbelieuing man But of the other proclaymers of this word Behold he man I say prophetizeth (l) Isa 52. saying How beautifull vpon the mountaynes be their feet who preach the good newes of peace and of benediction and who say In Sion thy God shall raigne The God of Sion is Christ Iesus in whose person Dauid prophetizeth saying Psalm 2. I am made King by the handes of God ouer Sion that holy mountaine of his preaching his commandment And this King who preacheth the Fathers commandment which is the word of the Holy Ghospell began to raigne in Sion and he was receaued vpon Palme-Sunday for the King of Israel in the Temple which was placed vpon Mount Sion And to the end we may vnderstand that this Kingdome was to be ouer spirituall things it is said by Dauid that he was made King ouer Mount Sion which is the mountain where that Temple stood wherein the worship of God was performed And (m) How the spiritual kingdome of Christ our Lord grew to increase afterward when vpon the same Mount Sion our Lord sent the Holy Ghost vpon his disciples and he was preached publikely in the middest of Hierusalem and in the eares of the High Priests and Pharisees and when by the first sermon of S. Peter (n) Act. 2. vpon the point of three thousand men were conuerted then was this Kingdome of his increased And when more people were yet cōuerted the Apostles did preach and say to Sion Thy God shall raigne As if a man had sayd Though yet this Lord of ours be knowne but by a few yet shall his kingdome euer go increasing till such tyme as that at the end of the world he may raigne ouer all men rewarding the good with mercy and punishing the wicked with the iron rodde of his rigorous iustice This is the voyce of the preachers of Christ which saith Thy God shall raigne And (o) If a preacher will profit others he must begin with himselfe because Christ raigneth not in the hart of an vncleane person for as much as sinne raigneth therein it is not fit that he should preach the Kingdom of Christ to others who will not giue him leaue to raigne in his owne soule Therfore is it that Isay (p) Isa 5◠sayth The feet of such as preach peace vnto vs are beautifull By the feete which are to be beautifull are signifyed the desires of the soule And therfore Christ would not haue the feet of those preachers couered with shoes on (q) These are Sandalles which still are vsed by many holy Orders in the Catholique Church the vper part because God doth place the beauty of them in publike for the example of many But yet whosoeuer hath his feet cleane is to be very carefull not to thinke that himselfe made them so but he must giue thankes to him that washt the feet of his disciples with visible water vpon Holy Thursday and who washeth the soules of all them which euer come to be washed with his sacred bloud It was not therfore reason that so cleane a king as Christ was should be proclaimed by such a filthy mouth as that of Pilate or that there should be but such a proclaimer as could speake no louder and who was but one to publish a spectacle wherein so many and so great wonders were to be declared as were in Christ when he was brought forth to be seene by the people And though (r) The difference betweene a Pilate and a pious