in the Kingdom of Glory O happy Torments O joyful Death that is rewarded with eternal Bliss This Knowledge and these Lights will God encrease in thee if thou livest humbly mortified and resigned disposing thy self daily to receive more Grace Of the Purity of Intentions O that I could see my self so secure in this Kingdom of Grace as never to enter into that sad and dismal Kingdom of Sin But how can I be secure so long as I live in this miserable Life so full of Snares and Dangers There can be no security where Man's Will is to act which is so weak and frail and so unsteady The World is full of Snares there are more Stumbling-blocks than Steps We carry within us the Nourishment of our own Miseries and the Source of our Passions is the cause of our Sins and Imperfections But for all that Wouldst thou persevere in this Kingdom of Grace and go with full sail into the Kingdom of Glory Watch then and pray hope and fear trust and persist Let thine Intentions be pure and thy Conscience clean and do all things as in the Presence of God and believe that the end of this short Voyage will be the Haven of the Coelestial Country and of eternal Salvation Let thine Intentions be pure I repeat it again to thee let thine Intentions be pure for thereby thy Passage shall be safe from Rocks and Tempests If thy Intention really be to serve God and to please him in all things thy Practice thy Words thy Actions will also be to please him in all things As Matters go with thee internally so will they also externally If the Tree be good it gives good Fruit and if evil evil Fruit. An evil Tree cannot bring forth that which is good nor the good that which is evil The Quality of the Spiritual Tree is taken from that of the Intentions and the Quality of Fruits and Works from that of the Tree O happy he who has a clean and pure Heart that is a clean and pure Intention O happy he who desires and loves nothing but God and his Service for all the Exercises of such a Man will be to serve and adore him Thus then if thou desirest to persevere and to encrease in the Spiritual Life let thy first rule be to purifie thy Intention for that gives Life to thy Works and Cleanness to thy Heart If thine Eye be single saith God all thy Body will be full of Light as if he had said if the Intention be right the Body of all the Actions will be right and shining in good Example The Light that lightens thy Body is thine Intention if it be pure it enlightens thee if otherwise thou wilt walk in darkness See! how a Lanthorn shines that has a little Candle in it it not only is clear it self but gives light to all that are round about it So the Soul that has a pure holy Intention within it has thereby all its Actions made holy clear and perfect God is to be thy Intention in all thou dost in all thou speakest in all thou thinkest and whatsoever thou dost must be for God with God and through God Of Purity of Conscience If this be thy Intention and thou hast attain'd its Purity thou shalt easily by the Grace of God attain Purity of Conscience also or rather it may be said if thou hast the one thou already hast the other also for what is Purity of Conscience but Purity of Heart and Intention If that be pure thy Thoughts Words and Actions will be so likewise and if they be pure thy Heart and Conscience are so too yet Purity of Conscience signifies not to consent to any blemish or defect in thee and when thou findest any to throw it away presently and to wash it with tears It signifies an attentive Care and Vigilance to purifie the Soul from all Sins and Imperfections small as well as great and not to allow them entrance or let them remain there but to confess bewail and forsake them It signifies an implacable Enmity between Innocency Truth and Sincerity of Heart and Sins of all kinds and a dissent and contradiction to them without permitting them to make any stay in it It signifies an exact care to see and observe what passes in thy Soul and not to tolerate any thing in it not only that is contrary but that tends but to the lessening thy desires to please God It signifies a great disquiet and uneasiness at any thing that offends God and an open War against Sins without having any Contentment or Satisfaction till thou hast thrown them out by Penitence and Contrition Those that live and walk with this hatefulness and with this desire are they which the Saviour of Souls meant when he said Blessed are the pure for they shall see God as if he had said 't is impossible to see God without purity of Heart Let a Man do works that are never so perfect and holy let him be liberal in Alms visit Hospitals pray and suffer as much as he will or do any thing else If his Heart and Conscience be not pure 't is impossible for him to see or enjoy God till he have cleansed and purified them Into Heaven no defect can enter nothing but what is clear shall be received into that bright City for a Man must enter there as he is to live there No Man can see God in Glory even though he were in Glory unless his sight be made so clear by purity of Life as to be able by the Divine goodness to be raised to behold God Employ therefore all thy care to cleanse thy Heart and Conscience not to consent that any Sins Passions or Imperfections should lodge there but to throw them out and wash them off with tears I do not say that thou shouldst have none though I wish it but that thou shouldst not entertain them for it is impossible in this sinful Life that a Man should not fall into small and sometimes even into great Sins but whether they be great or small he ought to detest them as soon as they are perceived and not to keep but to cast them out instantly with humble Sorrow Do not go to sleep with Sin in thine Heart before thou hast washed it out with tears Think how unsafe it would be for a Man to sleep with a Viper in his Bosom but 't is far more dangerous to sleep with Sin in the Soul As the Sea casts out dead Bodies so do thou cast Sins out of thy Soul See how long thou canst keep a burning Coal in the Palm of thine Hand and even a less time suffer Sin to continue in thy Soul As in the other Life no Man can see God without a pure Heart so in this Spiritual Life seldom does a Man hearken to God till he hath cleansed his Conscience by casting out his Sins Sins and Passions are troublesome Companions and make so great a noise that they disquiet and deafen the
the Occasion Thou shalt be with me thou that dyest with me shalt go with me but if thou hadst not kept me Company in Death thou shouldst not have kept me Company in Paradise All which are rare Singularities which if they do not shorten the Power of God and his Grace towards others yet St. Austin notes that they may well make Man's Presumption tremble Finally we have more reason to fear in this case God's Justice for that the other Thief was not sav'd though he was so near our Saviour because he had delayed his Repentance till Death than to be too confident of his Mercy who saved the good Thief with so many limitations What is all this but to warn us to do well while we live and enjoy our Youth our Health and our Strength and not to defer our Amendment till the hour of our Death And to make us observe that good living and good dying go together and that evil living and evil dying do so too and that to expect those Miracles when we die which only happened at the Death of our Saviour will instead of making him our Friend while we live most certainly provoke him to be our Enemy at our Death and Judgment Thus Good Works are the probable Signs of a good Death to follow and an ill Death is the sign of Evil Works which went before FINIS A Catalogue of Books Printed for Samuel Smith at the Prince's Arms in St. Paul's Church-yard 1692. THE Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus the Roman Emperour concerning himself Treating of a Natural Man's Happiness wherein it consisteth and of the means to attain unto it Translated out of the Original Greek with Notes By Meric Causabon D. D. The Fifth Edition To which is added The Life of Antoninus with some select Remarks upon the whole by Monsieur and Madam Dacier Never before in English In 8o. 1692. The Wisdom of God manifested in the Works of the Creation In two Parts viz. The Heavenly Bodies Elements Meteors Fossils Vegetables Animals Beasts Birds Fishes and Insects more particularly in the Body of the Earth its Figure Motion and Consistency and in the Admirable Structure of the Bodies of Man and other Animals as also in their Generation c. By John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society The Second Edition very much enlarged In 8o. 1692. Three Discourses concerning the Changes and Dissolution of the World The First of the Creation and Chaos The Second of the General Deluge Fountains formed Stones Subterraneous Beds of Shells Earthquakes and other Changes in our Terraqueous Globe The Third of the General Conflagration Dissolution and means of bringing them to pass Of the Future State c. The Second Edition Corrected and very much enlarged and Illustrated with Copper Plates By John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society In 8o. 1692. A Treatise of Church-Government Or A Vindication of Diocesan Episcopacy against the Objections of the Dissenters in Answer to some Letters lately Printed concerning the same Subject By Robert Burscough M. A. In 8o. 1692. Several Books Written by the Reverend Dr. Rich. Lucas Vicar of St. Stephen's Coleman-street Practical Christianity Or An Account of the Holiness which the Gospel enjoyns with Motives to it and the Remedies it proposes against Temptations with a Prayer concluding each distinct Duty In 8o. 1685. Enquiry after Happiness in several Parts c. The Second Edition enlarged In 8o. 1692. The Duty of Apprentices and Servants 1. The Parents Duty how to Educate their Children that they may be sit to be employed and trusted 2. What Preparation is needful for such as enter into Service with some Rules to be observed by them how to make a wise and happy Choice of a Service 3. Their Duty in Service towards God their Master and themselves with suitable Prayers to each Duty and some Directions peculiarly to Servants for the Worthy Receiving the Holy Sacrament Published for the Benefit of Families In 8o. A Sermon Preached at the Funeral of Mr. Tho. Lamb July 23d 1686. In 4o. A Sermon Preached at the Assizes held at Horsham in Sussex August 23. 1691. Christian Thoughts for every day of the Month with a Prayer wherein is represented the Nature of Unfeigned Repentance and of Perfect Love towards God In 12o. 1692. The Plain Man's Guide to Heaven Containing First his Duty towards God Secondly towards his Neighbour With proper Prayers Meditations and Ejaculations Designed chiefly for the Country-man Tradesman Labourer and such like In 12o. 1691. Devotion and Charity A Sermon Preached before the Lord Mayor March 30. 1692. The Christan Race A Sermon Preached before the Queen July 31. 1692. Mr. Thornton's Sermon at the Assizes held at Chelmsford in Essex September 2d 1691. Mr. Gee's Sermon before the Queen Aug. 7. 1692. Dr. Stanley's Sermon at the Consecration of Thomas Lord Bishop of Lincoln January 10. 1691 2. The History of the Roman Conclave Containing the Rites and Ceremonies used and observed at the Death Election and Coronation of the Pope As also an Exact Description of the State of Rome during the Vacancy of that Chair Together with a brief Account of the Life of this present Pope Innocent XII By W. B. M. A. 1691. Medicinal Experiments Or A Collection of Choice Remedies for the most part Simple and easily prepared which being cheap may be made Serviceable to poor Country People By the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq late Fellow of the Royal Society Licensed Nov. 18. 1691. by Sir Robert Southwell President of the Royal Society and the major part thereof Printed before the Author's Death who Deceased Decemb. 30th 1691. To which is annexed a Catalogue of all his Theological and Philosophical Works together with the Order of Time wherein each of them hath been Published respectively In 12o. 1692. Of the Reconcileableness of Specifick Medicines to the Corpuscular By the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq Fellow of the Royal Society In 8o. 1686. Miracles Works above and contrary to Nature Or an Answer to a late Translation out of Spinosa's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus Mr. Hobs's Leviathan c. In 4o. 1683. History of the Original and Progress of Ecclesiastical Revenues By the Learned P. Simon 1685.
manner More just 't is true replys that partial Judge but not more easie for they are many and he is but one The correcting of them could not be effected without difficulty but to chastise the Innocent is very easie I forsake Justice to follow that which is safe and easie and so let Innocence pay for the fault of my Sloth and Remisness And how succeeded the Omission of so faint-hearted a Judge with this cruel Expedient of saving our Saviour by scourging and crowning him with Thorns Much worse than if without any pity or remorse he had given him out to be crucified For the People being hard and obstinate were not softned with the Pains of the Holy Jesus but rather they became more obdurate in their sin seeing that their Passion and Wickedness was more couragious than the heart of the Judge and therefore not doubting to get the Victory over him they cried out more fiercely with loud Voices Let him be crucified Let him be crucified Then the Judge being of himself cowardly and fearful was the more afraid hearing such furious Cries and finding that the matter grew harder upon him was conquered by them and being slothful timorous and unactive resolved to condemn him because he had not the courage diligence and industry which were necessary to save him But Pilate if thou meanedst to condemn him after he was scourged buffeted and crowned with Thorns and after thou hadst shewn him to the People as a Mock-King affronted and abused had it not been a less Evil to have condemned him before and to have prevented all those Pains and Reproaches It would have been a less Evil says he I confess but my faint-hearted lukewarmness used them as means to save his Iâ—nocence and the discourses of a slothful person tend always to his own conveniency and the injury of another Observe what a kind of pity that of the slothful man is and thou wilt find it more cruel then Cruelty it self If Pilate had condemned our Saviour at once how unjust how severe how cruel soever yet he had spar'd him five thousand Lashes and an infinite number of other Reproaches whereas by being pardoned and defended with such sloth his Pains and sufferings were infinitely aggravated Besides the lightness wherewith this infamous Judge pass'd over such terrible wickednesses was in a manner worse then all the rest for with but washing his Hands in a little Water the President declar'd himself and all the People Innocent and the Innocent Guilty He declared the Innocent Guilty because though he knew and confessed his Innocence yet he suffered him to be Crucified as a Criminal and he Absolved the guilty People because he forbore to Chastise them though he knew their Malice The reason of this is that amongst all the other great Evils of the Sloth Omission and Negligence of Judges this is one that it is very short-sighted and forgetful of all the Mischiefs that it does for it looks with very little or no light at all upon those Evils which either it committeth or permitteth Pilate condemns our Saviour and delivers him into the hands of his Enemies he delivers up that blessed Lamb to those ravenouâ— Wolves he gives them a greater liberty than they had before and not only whips and imprisons him but condemns him also to be Crucified and with a little Water not only washes himself from all these Wickednesses but commends himself and expects to be thought a just an holy and an innocent Judge A City shall be enflam'd with heinous Crimes a Commonwealth shall burn in all manner of loosness and debauchery and a lazy slothful Governour shall in the mean while sleep carelesly whole nights and days and although all those Enormous Crimes are committed because his remisness forbears to correct them yet because he does not act those things himself he thinks he is holy justified and guiltless No do not so do thou strive in thy Person and in thy Employment to act with attention diligence and vigilance abhorring Sloth and Remisness Do not make the sins of others become thine own Crimes through Omission Take not upon thee the Office of a Judg Magistrate or Superiour unless thou hast Vigilance Diligence Zeal and Courage to correct Offences It is not I that tell thee this but the Word of God in the Proverbs as who should say If thou art a Governour and allowest those that are under thy Charge to commit Wickedness thou makest their Faults to become thine own Measure therefore thy strength before thou undertakest such an Employment and having entred into it a Judge take heed thou come not out of it a Criminal Sloth and Negligence are as we have seen hurtful in all Persons but in Prelates Magistrates and Superiours it is the Pest of the Publick for under the coldness and indifferency of Omission there is no Mischief that will not be ventur'd upon all bold daring Crimes being the Consequences of it and it is better to live where nothing than where every thing is counted lawful But in the Spiritual Life Diligence is that which promotes it securing our inward Advancement and our going forward in the way of Vertue for every step that Diligence takes adds Glory to the Crown of our Reward The time of our Race passeth swift away that of our Life flies very fast and which is most dangerous Death hastens and then we shall neither have time to run to work to make satisfaction nor to recover the opportunities we have lost and therefore it is necessary to make use of this present Moment before it pass for it is impossible to be recalled Work while you have light says the Saviour of Souls Work before my Time come in which I shall call you to account and judge you for your Time On the other side while you have light walk and work before the Day-light of Life pass away least having spent your time viciously or idly which is all one the darkness of the Night of Death seize upon you at unawares Can any Evil be greater or equal to that of loitering all the day in idleness and vice expecting the darkness of Night and of Death the punishment of idle vicious and slothful Persons The Life of our Saviour in this World was all working suffering taking pains walking watching teaching putting Men in mind of the account they were to give of the Universal Judgment of Hell and of Glory His Zeal his Diligence and his Goodness not suffering his Charity to be one moment idle Why stand ye here all the day idle said he in the Parable to those that were found in the Market-Place as who should say Can you spend all the Day in sloth and idleness while Night the Sword of the slothful hangs over your Head and will certainly fall upon you If you will not work in the Day how will it be possible for you to work in the Night If you refuse him the Day which is the time of working rightly and with