let me hear thy sentiments touching the premises and how dangerous it is to hanker after such toys and amusements of Children SAVIOVR O Man If mortals could trace their descents they should finde all Slaves to come from Princes and all Princes from Slaves and therefore I think they are not their crafts-master when they murmur against nature and fortune as if 't were their unkindeness that makes them inconsiderable in the World when it is only by their own weakness that they make themselves so for it is virtue not pedigree that renders a man either valuable or happy It was never heard that I did either reject or choose any man for his quality contrariwise to confound this vanity when I came down from my Heavenly Father's Pallace upon Earth to become man for the Redemption of mankinde I call'd my self by the name of the Son of man Matth. 8.20.24.26 and chose to be born of a poor Virgin for otherwise I was no Son of man Joan. 10. and to debase my self the more I went under the notion of a Shepherd and was call'd so too 1 Reg. 9. 1 Reg. 26. which is a name of contempt in the World Moreover when I was to constitute the first King in Israel I did not seek for one of the most ancient blood but fixt upon Saul who was absolutely of the most contemptable and basest Tribe of the Jews and after him I selected David who was a Shepherd too and the poorest of all his Brethren Matth. 4. And when I came into the World as aforesaid with a design to reform it and spread my Doctrine over all its Dominions Psa 49. Quae stulta sunt mundi elegit Deus ut confundat sapientes ignobilia mundi contemptibilia elegit Deus ea quae non sunt ut ea quae sunt destrucret 1 Cor. 1.27 28. I did not pitch upon the noblest men to give them my commission and make them my Patentees to bring that work to perfection but even upon the poorest and simplest and those too that had their lively hood only by fishing I made my Apostles and Princes of all the Earth thereby to confound the foolish vanity of this World that makes so great and estimable the preeminence of a little flesh and blood in this life where there 's no merit or virtue to be found 'T is certain the original of all mankind was the same and it is only a virtuous life and a clear conscience that makes any man noble for that derives even from Heaven it self which is so bountiful as to cast those favours and blessings even upon the very Heathens when they give their concurrence to receive them for Socrates was no Patrician born no more was Cleanthes tho' he came to that dignity from that low and contemptible Station of an under-Gardiner neither did Plato attain to that great dignity wherein the World had seen him by his birth but by his goodness 'T is most certain also that the beginning of the Nobility of this Age as well as of all other past Centurys had nothing before it so that of all their Ancestours some were splendid others sordid as it happen'd thou mayst very well Judge by David and his Brethren what their Fathers condition was that could afford his Sons no higher fortune then to be private Sentinels in Sauls Army and of Sauls Father too by his sending him with a peice of bread in his pocket to seek both far and near for his stray'd Asses Look upon the Nobility of this present Age and read the memorials of their Extraction thou shalt finde some good some bad some virtuous and some godly some in an eminent and others in a very low condition nor is it any more to their honour the glory of their Predecessours then it is to their shame the wickedness of their Posterity They are all compos'd of the same element and therefore they should not value themselves upon their Nobility of blood as if they were not all of them equal when their primitive Progenitour is unknown and that they can carry it no farther the Herald provides some Hero to supply the place of an illustrious Original there 's the rise of Arms and Families O what a grand folly it is to spend ones life in pursuit of a title that serves only when he dies to furnish out an Epitaph yet Nobility of flesh and blood is a most precious pearl in the eye of the World and indeed it is to be highly esteem'd when it is joyn'd with virtue and accompani'd with the fear and love of God They are the men whom I esteem most in the World Job 1.8 and have so great a veneration for them that I call them my own Servants as also the glory and renown of my whole Flock as thou mayst see by the commendations I gave of Job to the mortal Enemy of all mankinde when he came to give me an account of his travels and of his walking up and down the World hast thou consider'd said I to him my Servant Job that there 's none like him on Earth he is a true Noble-man indeed for he is a perfect and upright man one that fears God and eschews evil a man that were he stript of all his means of all his Children of his health and all his earthly wealth reduc'd to ly upon a dunghil will be notwithstanding loyal and obedient to my commands Mattathias was no less a Nobleman Machab. 2. for tho' Antiochus had depriv'd him of all his great Estate and issu'd out his warrants to take him and put him to death unless he had ador'd his Idols and offer'd them Sacrifice yet he made an open and publick protestation that he his Children and his Brethren would never obey so wicked an order and so contrary to the law of his Forefathers adding that it was neither profitable nor honourable to his Noble Family to relinquish the law and righteousness of God to fulfill the will and command of a frail mortal and sinfull man tho' he were even a King Eleazarus a Nobleman of great Age Machab. 2. but of a far greater courage and of a comely aspect was sentenc'd to dy unless he had comply'd with the same Kings Proclamation to eat Pork which was forbidden them by the law answer'd that he would rather choose a glorious death then an odious sinful life whereupon his neighbours and friends out of a natural compassion would fain perswade him to eat whatsoever he had a fancy to and that they would tell the King of his compliance with his command but he considering the eminent dignity of his old Age and of his ancient extraction answer'd no the Lord forbid that Eleazarus now ninety years old should dissemble and give that great occasion of Scandal to young folks for tho' I should save my life by that sinful means yet I can't escape the hands of the Almighty either dead or alive By what
is said thou mayst conclude that where true Nobility is there virtue must be lodg'd which is the only ornament that can make them grateful to me and give them a true title to a glorious Crown in Heaven but where this is wanting Nobility is in it self and in my sight a meer trifle and perfect vanity he can only brag that he is of the same substance with the rest of mortals and say unto rottenness thou art my Father Pistredinidixi pater meus es tu mater mea soror mea vermi bus Job 6. and unto worms you are my Mother and Sisters He that will behold the Nobility of his Ancestors let him look into their graves there he shall finde the truth of what Job speaks True nobility was never begun otherwise then by virtue and therefore as it is a testimony of valour and virtue in the Predecessours so ought it to be a forceable inducement to the same in the Successours And whoever holds the rank and name thereof by descent only without the Substance of virtue is altogether an Alien to his Ancestours being he can produce nothing of their merits and has nothing to shew for his extraction but an old peice of parchment these are the men I speak of by my Prophet They are made abominable even as the things which they love their glory is from their birth from the belly and from their conception only that is to say they brag and glory of their Ancestours Progenitors and Noble birth whereas having no virtue answerable to their extraction but following their sensual appetites and bestowing their affections upon wicked and abominable delights they are made in like manner abominable as well to me as to all honest and Godly men And in my judgement it is a most foolish vanity in such persons to beg credit of dead men that deserve none themselves to seek for old titles of honour from their Ancestours they being themselves utterly incapable of any by reason of their base manners and rustical behaviour As for the Wisdom of the world alas 't is but meer folly with me as thou mayst conceive by what I repli'd to the most wise and the most learned men of Israel Luk. 24.25 Stultissimus sum virorum sapientia hominum non est mecum Prov. 30.2 who were in doubt of my Resurrection O Fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Solomon was absolutely the wisest man that ever-appear'd upon Earth yet he owns himself to be more brutish then any man nay he complains that he has not even the understanding of a man Eccl. 2.12 and I really believe him for had he any understanding at all he would not act the Fool to that desperate degree of madness as to give his Soul to the Devil for a transitory and brutish pleasure hear how he speaks of himself I was King over all Israel in Jerusalem and turn'd my self to behold Wisdom and errors and folly but what is man that he should pretend to strive with his King and Creatour too whose wisdom excells my folly as far as light excells darkness The Worlds wisdom is laugh'd at by my Prophet where he says surely the Princes of Zoan are all Fools Isa 19.11 the counsel of the wise Councellor of Pharoah is become brutish how say ye unto Pharoah I am the Son of the wise the Son of ancient Kings where are they now where are thy wise men and let them tell thee now and let them know what the Lord of Hosts has purposed against Egipt The Princes of Zoan are become Fools indeed the Princes of Noph are deceiv'd they have also seduc'd Egipt even they that are the stay of the Tribes thereof My great Apostle and Vessel of election gives an excellent description of the World's folly where he says 1 Cor. 1.18 19 20. the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness but unto us which are sav'd it is the power of God For it is written I will destroy the Wisdom of the Wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent Where is the Wise where is the Scribe Where is the Disputer of this World has not God made foolish the wisdom of this World for after that in the wisdom of God the World by wisdom knew not God it pleas'd God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe For the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom But We preach Christ crucifi'd unto the Jews a stumbling-block and unto the Greeks foolishness but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks Christ the power and wisdom of God Because the foolishness of God is wiser then men and the weakness of God is stronger then Men For ye see your calling Brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are call'd But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and base things of the world and things which are despis'd has God chosen yea and things which are not to bring to nought things that are that no flesh should glory in his presence If the Wisdom of the World be so great a folly with me as St. Paul says is it not an intollerable vanity to delight and boast in it so much as men do and to value themselves more upon it then upon my wisdom which was that of my Saints 'T is a wonderful thing to see how contrary my Judgment is to that of Man some will thrust themselves into an Ecclesiastical State will conceit themselves to be most fit to do the Service of God because they have the repute of Wise men in the World but St. Non multi sapientes secundum carnem 1 Cor. 1. Paul will let them understand that it is not usual with me to choose many Wise men according to the flesh He will tell them also that it is not every worldly wise man that makes a wise Christian no says he but if any man seem wise among you Stultus fiat ut fit sapiens 1 Cor. 3.8 let him becom a fool to the end he may be made wise Vain therefore and of no account is the wisdom of the world unless it be subordinate and subject to that of God And whosoever let him be never so wise in his own judgment will condemn those that have no esteem for the world and are resolv'd to desert it and slight all its allurements to serve me his wisdom herein is a main folly and his prudence meer vanity as he will himself confess one day when he shall come to cry with those who were also wise in this world Nos insensati vitam illorum aestimabamus Insaniam c. Sap. 5. but are now filly wretches in the other We senseless and foolish worldly wise men did esteem the life of
leads to it this is a necessary consequence of that grief hatred of sin for if thou be'st heartily sorry for the evil committed and dost truly detest it thou wilt also have a will to avoid it if not 't is most evident that thou hast neither sorrow nor aversion This contrition to be perfect and effectual must have four conditions it must be interiour Supernatural universal and Sovereign It must be interiour I mean from the heart for the outward expression of grief is at best but a complement and a meer illusion whereby many poor Souls are basely deceiv'd and utterly ruin'd Deut. 4. The heart must be sensibly touch'd with compunction it must be an act of the will thou must convert thy self to God with all thy heart and seek for him with the sorrow and tribulation of thy Soul See how I reprehended the Pennance of the Jews Scindite cordis vestra non vestimenta vestra ait Dominus Joel 2. they made great exteriour signs even to rent their cloths but they were not at all mov'd in their hearts and therefore I told them by my Prophet that they should convert themselves to me with all their hearts in tears and lamentations and that they should tear their hearts and not their garments Both Scripture and Reason does manifest this truth that this sorrow for thy Sins must be lodg'd in thy heart and as thy will was the principal cause of thy Sin so it must be the chief actor in thy sorrow Thy heart must renounce the evil which it has willfully committed and detest the sin which it had formerly affected Thy Grief must issue from a supernatural motive and the reason of it is that an action purely natural cannot be a condign satisfaction to me for thy mortal transgression of my positive commandment thou mayst see by the sorrow of Saul who did not grieve for his sin but for the loss of his Kingdom which God had resolv'd to take from him to give it to a more faithful and obedient servant Antiochus's sorrow was grounded upon the like motive for he did not weep for his sins but by reason of his great misfortunes Afflictions may indeed stir up a Sinner to return to God but they shall never be able to reclaim him from his wickedness without my Grace To obtain which he must detest his sins because they are infinitely offensive to God and a great obstacle to his own Salvation these are supernatural motives without which thy contrition will signify nothing in order to receive the grace of God Thy grief must be also sovereign that is most powerful And the reason for it is that it 's not enough to detest Sin upon a supernatural motive but that this motive must overrule all other that come into thy minde and rather detest sin by reason of the damage it brings to thy Salvation or the injury done to God thereby then for any natural evils which it may produce and be ready to suffer them all rather then commit one mortal Sin This is what Divines call detesting Sin Supra omne detestabile that is to detest it more then all which in the world is capable to stir up thy hatred and detestation In fine Ezech. 18. thy grief must be universal as to all mortal sins without excepting any 't is therefore I order'd my Prophet to tell my People that they must do Pennance for all the Sins which they had committed and if the Sinner shall do Pennance for all his Sins he shall live The reason of it is that mortal Sins cannot be remitted but totally not one without the rest for if thou shouldst reserve an affection for one mortal Sin tho' thou shouldst have an abhorrence against all the rest thou art still an enemy to God and a worthy object of his highest displeasure By this thou mayst perceive how grossly they are mistaken who pretend to be perfectly contrite and yet refuse to pardon injuries to be reconcil'd to their Enemies to restore unlawful goods to avoid the immediate occasions of Sin In a word all those that have any wilful tye to any particular sin shall have the same measure from my hands as Antiochus had for their Pennance as well as his is but imaginary MAN O My most mercifull Lord have pitty upon me and let my poor Soul partake of the wonderful effects of thy great clemency I acknowledge now the great evil which I have done now I see the grievousness of my Sins now I see how few have that true and perfect contrition which is so necessary to Salvation seeing they relapse into their habitual offences so soon and so easily for had they that great sorrow for their Sins they would be certainly more vigilant to avoid them then to prevent the greatest of all misfortunes They would be also more eager to set a stop to the dangerous currant of venial Sins since they are the preludes of a vicious habit and that by degrees they bring us to make nothing of mortals for they do notably diminish the lights of our understanding the sincerity of our minde is overclouded by them our heart over-rul'd the strength of grace and the vigour of virtue made weaker our Soul disorder'd and laid open to all evil impressions 'T is true they don't destroy sanctifying grace but they dispose us very much to lose it All together they don't make a mortal sin but they dispose the Soul to fall into it They don't directly cause death but they create those spiritual weaknesses maladies which bring death with them In a word tho' venial Sins don't break the league and unity betwixt God and the Soul which is grounded upon that happy foundation of grace yet inperceptably they diminish it and by this diminution Charity is weaken'd in us and God by degrees withdraws from us the chief favours of his assistance in all our spiritual necessities consequently having less strength we fall more easily into mortal Sin when we are assaulted by any temptation By this I may easily conclude that whoever is careless to avoid venial sins has not a sufficient abhorrence of mortals for there is nothing so venial but may be through an immoderate complacency dissolution or recreation become of the number of mortals and perhaps of the most capital Sins How then is it possible for those that continue whole hours nay from morning till night in Taverns and Tipling-houses Ranting Drinking Vae qui cogitatis inutile Mich. 2. Vae vobis qui ridetis quia flebitis Dancing and other such like dissolutions to be excus'd from mortal Sins since that God threatens with a woe even those who think of unprofitable things He does the same to those that place all their consolation and felicity in Riches As also to those that in any thing belonging to nature take pleasure to excess Ah! Vae vobis divitibus qui habetis consolationem vestram Et vae vobis qui saturati estis Luk. 6
infinitely more sweet unto their Sences then that of Musk and Amber dost thou not see how immense is that light and joy of the Blessed Souls in Heaven which transmits this so unspeakable a luster and beauty unto their Bodies and how can it be less being it proceeds from my beatifical vision and that it is the very same joy which I have my self and which is sufficient to make me blessed with a blessedness equal to my self It 's therefore I say unto my beloved Servant Euge serve bone sidelis quia super fuisti sidelis super pauca multa te constituum intra in gandium Domini tui Mat. 25.21 well done thou good and faithful Servant thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee Ruler over many things enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Take notice O man that I do not simply say enter into joy but to shew the greatness thereof I call it my own joy and that very joy whereby I my self become happy Observe also that there is not a Creature in this world which has not for his final end some manner of perfection and that those Creatures which are indu'd with reason and knowledge have in that perfection a particular joy and complacency which is greater or lesser according as their end is more or less perfect Now thou must of necessity acknowledge that my perfection infinitely exceeds that of all Creatures consequently the joy which is in my self for I have no end or perfection distinct from my self is infinitely greater then the joy of all Creatures and this infinite joy out of my infinite goodness I was pleas'd to impart as well to the Blessed Souls as to the Angels tho' so great and so special a felicity was in no way due unto their humane nature wherefore thou must confess that the joy of Saints which is that of my beatifical vision and wherein my joy and happiness does consist is infinite and that all the contents and pleasures of the world in comparison to it are Aloes Gall and Wormwood The Philosophers will tell thee that by how much a dilectable object closes nearer to the faculty by so much greater is the joy and delight which it produces therein natural reason will convince thee that of all objects I am the most excellent and the most delightful consequently being in the beatifical vision united to the Souls of my Saints in heaven with the most intimate union that can be in a pure creature must of necessity cause an unspeakable joy incomparably greater then all the joys reall or imaginable which can be produc'd by all the creatures that were are at present or will be extant to the end of the world for as my Divine perfection contains within it self the perfections of all created things possible and imaginable so the joy which it causes in the Souls of the Blessed must be infinitely greater then all other joys which either have or can be caus'd by the creature O man here I must reflect upon the main weakness the great folly and the wilfull ignorance of Mortals Helena the beauty of Greece did so inflame the heart of Paris that he made a vow to have her for his wife tho' it should cost the lives of millions of men utter destruction of his whole nation Jacob was so enamour'd of the fair Rachel that he made nothing of fourteen years continual Slavery to purchase the happiness of her enjoyment The People of Israel were so much taken with Absoloms beauty so charm'd with the sweetness of his discourse that they all joyn'd heart and hand with him to dethrone David his own Father their lawful King the best of Princes a man according to my own heart a Prince adorn'd with all virtues a Prince so much extoll'd for his mildness to his Subjects and for his great care of preserving them in peace with all foreign nations A Prince that ventur'd his life to fight a Goliah for the honour and redemption of Israel from the tyrannical yoak of the Philistins Non enim te abjecerunt sed me ne regnem super eos 1 Reg. 8.7 Tulit Joab tres lanceas in manusua infixit eas in corde Absolem 2 Reg. 18.14 O that a whole nation should be so much infatuate as to abdicate so worthy and so gracious a King for the love of a mortal and fading beauty for the sake of an ambitious ungrateful and deluding Absalom but I account the injury is done to me and not to David they have not rejected him but me that I should no more rule over them this is the height of ingratitude and must have a punishment equall to its demerit for Absalom shall dy by the hands even of one of his greatest Admirers and the chief of his favourits as for the People of Israel that gave their concurrence to so unhumane and barbarous an act they shall be rul'd by Tyrants that shall keep them always in a curb and make them absolute Slaves for ever Let all those who finde themselves conscious of so horrid a crime tremble at the hearing of so dreadful a chastisement Mulieres sedebant plangentes Adonidem Ezec. 18.14 The beauty of Adonis had no better success than that of Absalom for tho' the very sight of him drew love and admiration from his beholders yet at length he was to them a subject of great lamentation and sorrow O ye Sons of men Filij hominum usque quo gravi corde ut quid diligi is vanitatem queritis mendacium Et scitote quoniam mirificavit Dominus Sanctum suum Psal 4.3.4 how long will ye turn my glory into shame how long will ye love vanity and seek after false things But know ye that the Lord has extoll'd the beauty of his Saints and made it wonderful beyond the reach of humane understanding and the expression even of the very Angels for all the beauty of the world aggregated in one creature falls infinitely short of that of my Saints in Heaven how ravishing then must my beauty be which is accompanied with several other perfections that will admit of no limits as with infinite wisdom omnipotence holiness liberality bounty and all that can be imagin'd good beautyful and perfect it 's enough indeed to force even the hearts of mine enemies to love serve honour and adore me Thou art I know a great admirer of perfection tell me then if there were in the world a man as wise as an Angel wouldst thou not be as earnest to see him as the Queen of Sheba was to behold Solomon but if to this great wisdom were added the strength of Hercules or that of Sampson the victories of the Machabees or those of the greatest Conquerours that e're appear'd in this World the courage the devotion the meekness and courtesy of David the friendship of Jonathan the liberality of all the Roman and Assyrian Potentates and the greatest beautys that ever appear'd upon
Earth certainly thou wouldst be totally inflam'd with love for so admirable a Creature thou wouldst never be weary of his company much less of his discourse why then dost thou not love me with all thy heart as thou art commanded Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo Matth. 22.37 Cupio dissolvi esse cum Christo Phil. 1.23 why dost thou not often and ardently desire with St. Paul to be deliver'd from that loathsome prison of thy body to enjoy my sight and company who am really adorn'd with all those perfections and graces in an infinite degree above all earthly Creatures and do confer the same upon all and every one of my Saints in Heaven why dost thou not despise the transitory and sordid pleasures of the world to seek after those of my heavenly Court which can beautify and embellish both thy body and Soul and the rather because I am so free to impart them not only to thee but also to all those that shall be faithfull to observe my commands For if I be so magnificent a Lord and so free to confer my favours in this world upon all men without any distinction so that the wicked may pertake of them as well as the Godly is there any ground then to believe that I have not far greater blessings in store for those alone that are my favourits and dearest beloved If I was so liberal as to bestow gratis such vast treasures as are the manifold benefits of nature upon a People that I was not in the least oblig'd to but on the contrary have suffer'd much at their hands Nec oculus vidit reâ— auris audivit nec in cor hominis ascendit quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se 1 Cor. 2.9 how much more am I indebted to those that have serv'd me faithfully and with the loss of both their lives fortunes It 's impossible for thee O man to express the immensity of the glory which I shall confer upon my Elect in Heaven since that even the benefits which I have imparted to my very Enemies here on Earth are far beyond the reach of thy understanding for my Apostle says that the eye has not seen nor the ear heard neither have enter'd into the heart of man the things which God has prepar'd for them that love him If that be so as really it is why dost thou loyter then in thy banishment and dote so much upon the vaniteis of the world and earthly affairs why art thou so desirous to live any longer in the land of Egypt to gather straw and drink muddy water out of it's stinking Pits despising the headspring of all felicitys and the fountain of living waters why art thou content to beg and gather Alms at every door rather then live in thy heavenly Fathers house where all manner of solid content and pleasure is to be found why dost thou starve with the prodigal Son and feed with the Swine upon Acorns whilst thou mayst fit at his table and eat of the banquet which he has prepar'd for all his belov'd in glory If thou be'st inclin'd to pleasure raise up thy heart towards my heavenly Residence and there thou shalt behold that Supream Good which contains within its self eminently all the pleasures and allurements of all things that can be called good or delectable If this created life be pleasing to thee how much more pleasing must that increated life be which gave it a beginning and without which it cann't subsist one moment If health be a comfort to thee how much more comfort can I afford thee who am alone the giver the promoter and powerful preserver thereof If the knowledge of the creatures be sweet and acceptable to thee how much more sweet and acceptable ought the knowledge of thy Creator be unto thee Cujus pulchritudinem sol luna mirantur Job 38.7 Generationem ejus quis ennarrabit Isa 53.8 If all thy delight be plac'd in beauty I am he whose beauty the Sun and Moon does admire If thou beest taken with Nobility I am the source and offspring of all that can be call'd noble for my extraction goes far beyond the Creation of the world and limits of time If thou delightest in learning here in my heavenly School thou shalt know all my mysteries the profound sense of holy Scriptures thou shalt know the exact number of all my Saints and Angels thou shalt know the Secrets of my Divine providence how many are damn'd and for what thou shalt understand the frame and making of the world the whole artifice of nature the motions of the Stars and Planets the proprieties of Plants Stones Birds Beasts thou shalt not only know all things created but also many more things which I might have created thou shalt not only know them altogether and in the total but clearly and distinctly without any confusion The knowledge of the greatest wisemen and Philosophers of the world even in things natural is full of ignorance deceit and incertainty because they know not the substance of things but through the shell and bark of accidents whereas a poor and silly Servant kept all his life in Slavery nay were he a natural in the world yet in heaven he shall be replenish'd with more learning and knowledge as well of natural as of divine things then Solomon then Aristotle then all the Mathematicians Astrologers Astronomers Philosophers Divines and Doctors that ever were or will be to the worlds end for as St. Gregory says it is not to be believed that the Saints who behold within themselves the light of God are ignorant of any thing without them If thou beest desirous of long life health here thou wilt enjoy life everlasting without any distemper or malady without any danger of death or of any other evil in the quiet and peaceable possession of all manner of pleasure and comfort for there thou shalt rejoyce in what is above thee which is my beatifical vision in what is below thee which is the beauty of Heaven and other corporal Creatures in what is within thee which is the glorification of thy body in what is without thee which is the company of so many blessed Angels so many glorious Apostles so many renowned Patriarks so many famous Prophets such an invincible army of Martyrs a most renown'd assembly of Confessors a vast number of true and perfect religious so many holy Virgins which have overcome both the pleasures of the world and the frailty of their own nature Here I shall recreate and feast all thy spiritual Senses with an unspeakable delight for I shall be both thy gracious and grateful object I shall be a mirrour to the sight musick to the ear sweetness to the tast balsom to the smell flowers to the touch Here In fine there shall be the clear sight of Summer the pleasantness of the Spring the abundance of Autumn and the repose of winter But O man Quem dicunthomines
far worse then that of the Romans which was no other then to indulge their bodies in all that might be pleasing to their Palate Let him yet speak more of his minde to the Romans and thou shalt finde that what enormities he lays to their charge is now adays the common practise of Christians That says he which enhances the esteem of every thing is the price of it In so much that water it self which ought to be gratuitous is expos'd to sale in their Conservatories of Ice and Snow Nay we are troubl'd that we cann't buy breath light and that we have the Air it self gratis And if our conditions be evil our trouble is that nature has left something to us in common But Luxury contrives ways to set a price upon the most necessary and communicable benefits in nature even those benefits which are free to Birds and Beasts as well as to men and serve indifferently for the use of the most Sluggish Creatures But how chances it that fountain-water is not cool enough to serve us unless it be bound up in Ice So long as the Stomach is moderatly satisfi'd Nature discharges her functions without trouble but when the blood comes to be inflam'd with excess of wine or the Stomach overcharg'd with meat simple water is not cool enough to Allay it's heat then we are forc'd to make use of remedyes which remedies themselves are vices And this is the product of heaping Suppers upon Dinners and Dinners upon Suppers without intermission The natural thirst be it never so vehement and not deriv'd from libidinous actions is easily quench'd with a draught of water tho' it be of the River it will suffice but when the palate is grown squeemish we taste nothing that which we take for thirst is only the rage of a Fevour or some other distemper acquir'd by disorder Even the very Women are in some measure guilty of this extravagance for tho' they have not alter'd their natures they have chang'd the course of their lives and by taking the liberties of men they partake as well of their diseases as of their wickedness They sit up late drink as much nay in their very Appetites they are as masculine too in a word they have lost the modesty and other advantages of their Sex by their vices O man are not these the abominations and Crimes now in vogue in that corrupt and licentious Age thou liv'st in What this good moral Philosoper blames in the Romans is it not the common practice of Christians now a days nay they are guilty of far greater crimes for they do not only pamper their Lusts but provoke them as if they were to learn the very art of voluptuousness And wherein is their corrupt nature depress'd all this while for I see nothing deny'd to their craving Appetites no violence us'd to their sensuality no bounds set to their womanish desires They give all the best entertainment they can to their bodies and take no care at all of their Souls It is with them as with an innocent that a certain Noble-man had in his Family She became blind on a Sudden and no body could perswade her she was blind she could not endure the house she said it was so dark and was still calling to go abroad That which the people laugh'd at in her is found to be true in the greatest part of mankinde They are Covetous Luxurious Ambitious and what not but the world shall never bring them to acknowledge it Nay they are the worst of the two for that blinde fool call'd for a guide and they wander about without any and which is worse they will have none It 's a hard matter to cure those that will not believe they are sick This is thy case O man thou hast been told often of thy desperate condition and how thy Soul is in danger to be lost for ever unless that thou dost comply with my instructions and break off that sinful yoak of Satan that brings thee by one evil to make way for another Thou wert told that the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence that to become an Inhabitant thereof thou must of necessity struggle with thy Passions and overcome them too which is to destroy a numerous company of Monsters and the most glorious action that can be undertaken Horatius Cocles oppos'd his single body to a whole Army till the Bridge was cut down behinde him and then leap'd into the River with his Sword in his hand and came off safe to his own party this was a generous act indeed but it is a more noble exploit to subdue thy corrupt nature thou dost signalize thy self when thou art become thine own Master and triumphs over thy passions which have vanquish'd the greatest Conquerors of the world when thou shalt stand like another Hercules and beat down those inbred monsters of thy old man with as much courage as he did subdue the Hidra's and Minotaures then thou wilt arrive at the highest piteh of felicity Be not surpriz'd that I call thy Passions Monsters of nature for they are not only monstrous in themselves but they make the mind that is harrass'd with them very deform'd and most miserable to boot for they leave no place either for Councel or friendship honesty or good manners no place either for the exercise of reason or for the Offices of life If I were to describe the Passion of anger which is the common distemper of all mankinde I would draw a Tiger bath'd in bloud sharp set and ready to take a leap at his prey or dress it up as the Poets represent their furys with whips Snakes and flames It should be sour livid full of Scars and wallowing in gore raging up and down destroying grinning bellowing and pursuing sick of all other things and most of all of it self It turns beauty into deformity and the calmest councels into fierceness It disorders the very garments of those that are slaves to it and fills their mindes with horror How abominable must it be in the Soul then when it appears so hideous even through the bones the skin and so many impediments Is he not a monster of a man that has lost the government of himself and is toss'd hither and thither by his Raging fury as by a tempest He is the executioner of his own revenge both with his heart and hand and the murtherer of his nearest friends The smallest matter will blow him up to that degree that he is altogether insociable and inaccessible He does all things by violence as well upon himself as others It may be then very well call'd the master of all Passions being 't is the most hard to be surmounted Yet Heathens without the assistance of my grace or knowledge of my glory have wholly subdu'd this predominate Passion encourag'd thereunto only by a popular applause and to get the esteem of being perfect Philosophers Plato was about to strike his Servant and while his hand was in the Air
to convince them of their extream folly to serve so faithfully such bad Masters as the World and the Devil who for every pleasure they allow them give them a thousand mortal Stings even in this life besides the unspeakable misery which they shall make them suffer in the other on the contrary my pleasures are solid permanent and bring excessive comfort to the consciences of those that receive them so that as the Propher says Psa 84.10 one day spent in my service brings more advantage to their Souls then a thousand years imploy'd in that of the world and it were-better be a door-keeper in my house then to dwell in the Tents of wickedness Let them know likewise the tenderness of my affection for them and how earnestly I court them to serve me and not to take example by the prodigal Child who had spent all his substance idlely was forc'd at last to feed with the swine and was very glad too to be admitted into their company When in reallity he might sit at my Table feed with my Saints and Angels in Heaven if he had serv'd me with as much care and diligence as he did the World MAN NO man can be grateful to thee O Lord without contemning those things that put the common People out of their wits We must go into banishment they cry we must lay down our lives hate the World and all its allurements begger and expose our selves to reproaches nay 't is often seen that gratitude suffers the punishment due to Malefactors and that Ingratitude receives the rewards of fidelity As thy benefits are many and great so are the hazards of gratitude which is the case more or less of all other virtues and it were hard if this above all the rest should be both painful and fruitless So that tho' we may go currently on with it in smooth way we must yet prepare and resolve if need be to force through all to 't even if the way were cover'd with thorns and Serpents and fall back fall edge we must be gratefull still Grateful for thy sake O Lord and grateful likewise for our own peculiar Interest for it preserves thy favours and gains us a new addition of greater When I speak in the praise of gratitude I pleade the cause both of God and man for without it we can neither be Sociable nor religious There 's a strange delight in the very purpose and contemplation of it as well as in the action when I can say to my self I love my Benefactor what is there in this world that I would not do to oblige serve him Where I have not the means of a requital the very meditation of it is sufficient A man is never the less an Artist for not having his tools about him or a musitian because he wants his Fiddle nor is he the less brave because his hands are bound or the worse Pilot for being upon dry ground If I have only a will to be grateful and the heart to persever I am so and that 's all thou requirest O Lord Let me be upon the wheel or under the hand of the Executioner let me be burnt limb by limb and my whole body dropping in the flames a good Conscience supports me in all extreams nay it is comfortable even in death it self for when we come to approach that point what care do we take to summon and call to minde all our Benefactors and the good offices they have done us that we may leave the world fairly and set our minds in order this is the bare duty of good nature and what common civility requires of us how much greater then must our care be to remember all the graces and favours which We have receiv'd at thy hands O Lord and to be grateful to thee accordingly or if we can't return thee thanks equal to the benefits which thou wert pleas'd to confer upon us let us at least be grateful to thee so far as not to serve another Master for whom thou hast an abhorrence as being quite contrary to thy divine Maxims I have already produc'd sufficient motives and reasons to breed in our hearts a contempt of the World so odious to God and so destructive of our own Salvation I have endeavoured as much as I could to wean our affections from it and from all it's pelf as well for being in themselves vile transitory mutable inconsiderable and dangerous as for the frequent Instructions we have had from thee O Lord to hate despise and consider them as the mortal Enemys of our Salvation I will now add this one reason that tho' the World and all its pleasures and treasures were real indeed and of that great estimate as we make them yet we should not love them because that thy love O God should replenish our hearts to that degree as to leave no place for any terrene or carnal affection It was thy command O Lord to the People of Israel that they should love thee with all their heart with all their Soul and with all their powers tho' they were not so much oblig'd to thee as we are having receiv'd more favours and graces at thy hands then ever they did and having also more knowledge of thy goodness then they could ever attain to how then can we in gratitude admit of any other love How can we cast our eyes or set our hearts upon the creature when had each of us a million of hearts we should in justice consecrate 'em all unto thee There 's not a motive for which thou art amiable but deserves a thousand wills a thousand loves a thousand lives all what we are and all what we have or can prtend to in this World But if we look upon all the titles and motives of love which I have already spoke of and for which we are indespensably oblig'd to love thee how can we in good Conscience love any thing besides thee If we consider seriously the multitude of thy benefits and the products of thy infinite love and goodness to us we shall be oblig'd to confess that had we as many hearts as there are grains of Sand upon the Sea-shore or Atoms in the air all would not be capable to contain that great love which we owe unto thee how then can I divide this one heart which I have from thee amongst so many Creatures and yet this is a plague that follows all mankinde 't is an evil that runs in the blood of all mortals 't is the highest of Ingratitude which is the common distemper of this corrupt Age we live in for some are ungrateful to their Country and their Country no less ungrateful to others so that the complaint of Ingratitude reaches all Men Does not the Son wish for the death of his Father the Husband for that of his Wife c. But who can expect to finde gratitude in an age of so many gaping and craving Appetites where all People take and none give
Saints to be a perfect madness but now our eyes are open'd to see that they were the wise men indeed and We the only fools I can say no less of corporal Beauty Prov. 31. for it is vain and the grace of a fair countenance is deceivable 'T is the fatal cause of the loss and utter destruction of many Millions of Souls it was the vain complacency that Lucifer took in his fading beauty which gave him that irrecoverable overthrow from the height of Heaven to the bottomless pit of Hell hear how my Prophet speaks to him how art thou fallen from Heaven Isa 14.12 O Lucifer Sun of the morning How art thou cast down to the ground which didst weaken the Nations for thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into Heaven I will exalt my Throne above the Stars of God I will sit also upon the Mount of the Congregation in the sides of the North. I will ascend above the height of the Clouds I will be like the most High Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell to the sides of the Pit They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee saying is this the Angel of light far surpassing that of the Stars whose beauty did exceed that of all other Angels but alas it is now chang'd into deformity far greater then that of all the Devils in Hell This gave occasion of David's most humble request to me turn away my eyes O Lord that they behold not vanity 'T is a singular vanity indeed which is both dangerous and deceitful O! had mortals duly consider'd what infinite ruines and destructions beauty has caus'd in the World Psa 4. Psa 118. Favus distillans labiam erecricis ne attendas fallaciae ejus longe fac a muliere viam tuam ne appropinques foribus domus ejus Noviffima autem illius amara sunt quasi absynthiam accuta quasi gladius biceps c. Pr. 5.3.4.8 they would be altogether of David's mind and fly from it as from the aspect of a most poisonous Serpent Was it not the beauty of the fair Helena that laid the famous Troy in ashes and put the pious Eneas to the strait of carrying his old Father Anchises upon his shoulders through the flames did not the most valiant Champions of their Age Hector and Achilles dy upon the same account were not all the Inhabitants of that unfortunate Citty Men Women and Children kill'd and most barbarously cut in peices by the Grecians to take a full revenge for the affront which Paris had done to their King by taking his Queen away I might have produc'd as many Presidents of this nature as would be sufficient to fill a larger volume then this but for brevities sake I will only lay down before thee this single consideration how many Souls are dayly hurri'd headlong to Hell for doting upon this fading and deceitful Beauty how many challenges and Duels how many Jealousies and private animosities how many Strifes and great uprores about this and that other beauty and all this noise is but for a painted Snake so the holy Fathers call it which is fair without and inwardly replenish'd with mortal poison add to this the remedy which a most learn'd Doctour prescribes against the temptation of a beautiful Woman consider says he what foul dross lys under that fair Skin for when the fairest face in the world is either scratch'd or scar'd it will be rather a subject of contempt then of any love An Ague of some four or five days will bring a great alteration upon the fairest beauty but half an hours absence of the Soul from the body will make the loveliest face that ever was a most hideous and frightful sight to be look'd upon Issabella Clara was the rarest beauty of her Age but when she dy'd and was in her coffin but two days one of the Grandees of Spain that esteem'd very much her beauty when living desir'd to have a prospect of her face which was then the ngliest that ever man could behold all cover'd with worms and two ill-shap'd ones starting out of her eyes this indeed made the good Nobleman with no less horrour then admiration to utter these words haec ne est illa Issabella Clara is this that fair Issabella whose resplendent beauty had ravish'd the hearts and dazi'd the eyes of all her beholders adieu then to the World and all its vanities this was a Christian Resolution and worthy to be taken notice of by all those who bestow so much labour in procuring or preserving their corporal beauty as tho' all their happiness consisted therein nay many are detain'd even by that only consideration from taking a resolution to serve me so that this precious Jewel as they call it is a great obstacle to their Salvation as it is often the fatal Subject of many a poor creatures eternal damnation But the basest of all Prostitutes are those that dedicate themselves wholly to the extravagance of Embroiderys rich Apparel Paint Gen. 3. Wash Patches perfumes Tire-women c. They have pass'd even the limits of Nature for if Adam had never fallen Men and Women should never have known what belong'd to Apparel It is only a conveniency devis'd to cover the shame of nakedness and other infirmities contracted by his dismal overthrow They are lash'd out into superfluities insomuch that it is now adays only for Beggars and Clowns to content themselves with what is sufficient Their Luxury makes them Insolent and mad They take upon themselves like Princes and Queens and will fly out for every trifle as if there were life death in the case What a madness is it for a man to lay out an Estate upon a Table or a Cabinet a hundred pound for a pair of pendants to his Lady and a far greater Sum for garments that will neither defend her body nor her modesty so thin that one would make a conscience of swearing she were not naked This is the common distemper of all mankind for they take pride and glory in apparel which is as much as if a Begger should glory and take pride in his old clouts that do cover his sores St. Paul seems to be avers'd to this Superfluity of apparel for writing to his Disciple Timothy and setting down a Rule whereby Christians should order their lives Habâ—â—tes autem alimenta quibus tegamur his contenti fimus 1 Tim. 6.8 he says if we have wherewithal to cover our selves let us be content my very dictates and the holy maxims with the rare examples which I have left unto all mortals should condemn their nicety and variety of apparel for I was pleas'd to be content with one only garment during the whole course of my mortal life without Shoes Stockins or a Hat nor even a shirt to my back not for any want for I might have had all the most precious ornaments of the World to adorn my body Qui
Abraham sent his Servant to finde out a competent Gen. 17. and virtuous Wife for his dearly beloved Son Isaac I had a special care to direct him the safest and best way and also to bring his business to a most prosperous conclusion and all was for the great love kindeness I had for his Master Gen. 39 I would do as much to a bad Master for the sake of a good Servant and have already done it to Potiphar the Egiptian for the sake of my Patriarch Joseph for I have multiply'd all his substance as well in his house as in the Fields not upon his own account being an unbelieving Heathen but meerly for the love I had for his chast and godly Servant What mercy what care what Providence can be greater then this and is he not a mad man indeed that will refuse to serve so good so liberal and so bountiful a Lord as I am to all those that serve me and who am so careful of themselves Capillus de capite vestro non peribit Luc. 21.28 and of all that concerns them that I can't suffer so much as one hair of their head to be lost The effects of my Providence are so many and so wonderful that I am commonly call'd in Scripture the Father of the Righteous Psal 103. and I likewise call them my dearly beloved Children my Providence promoted the Prophet royal and was favourable to him upon all occasions neither was he ungrateful or unmindeful of my benefits for He gives me this Atonement of his gratefull acknowledgement Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me Bless his holy name Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Who forgives all thine iniquities who heals all thy diseases who redeems thy life from destruction who crowns thee with loving kindness and tender mercies who satisfies thy mouth with good things by him thy youth is renew'd like the Eagles The Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppress'd He made known his ways to Moises and all his actions unto the Children of Israel The Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and prone to mercy He will not always chide us neither will he keep his anger for ever He has not dealt with us as our sins have deserv'd nor has he rewarded us according to our iniquitys For as the Heaven is High above the Earth so great is his mercy towards them that fear him As far as the East is from the West so far has he remov'd our transgressions from us even as a Father doth pitty his Children So the Lord pittys them that fear him for he knows our frame and he remembers that we are nothing but dust Esa 63.16 The Prophet Esaiah thinking the name of Father did not sufficiently express the tenderness of my love because it has been never yet paralel'd by any mortal Parents says Lord thou art our Father indeed Abraham is ignorant of us and Israel does not acknowledge us Thou O Lord art our Father our Redeemer and thy name is from everlasting and tho' they be our Father according to the flesh yet they don't deserve the name thereof 't is a qualification due to thee alone for their love for us is no more then a shaddow to that which thou hast express'd to us upon all occasions my love rather resembles that which a good natur'd Mother bears to her child and therefore I compare my self to the most passionate of the Sex Can a Mother forget her sucking Child that she should not have compassion on the Son of her womb yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands thy walls are continually before me Esa 49.15 Can any Mother speak with a more tender expression of love who will be so blinde so stupid and so far from good nature as not to rejoyce at the very sound of these superamourous words which are able to revive the deadest heart that ever was to all motions of love or devotion what man tho' never so great a drone hearing me give him this extraordinary assurance of my most ardent love and paternal Providence will not run with the spouse in the Canticles after the sweet scent of my perfumes I am a God that speaks to thee and the eternal verity too which was never guilty of the least falshood whose riches have no limits and whose power is of the same nature with the rest of my attributes which are all infinite I am therefore him only thou shouldst fear to offend and in whom thou shouldst place all thy hopes and confidence my words should comfort and rejoyce thy heart the title of honour I confer upon thee should unman thee so far as to take on the heart and spirit of a child of God and the assur'd demonstrations I give thee of my great Love and Providence should breed in thee an everlasting abhorrence of the World and all it's allurements What more shall I say Deut. 32.11 Deut. 1.31 or to what shall I compare the love which I bear unto thee the Eagle of all Mothers is the most tender of her little ones and it 's therefore the Prophet says of me as an Eagle stirs up her nest flutters over her young spreads abroad her wings takes them and bears them on her wings so the Lord has dealt with thee nay thou hast seen how the Lord thy God bears thee as a man does bear his young child in his arms in all the way that ye went until ye came into this place What could I do that I have not done to my People to wean their affections from the World and settle them totally upon so good and so Cordial a Father as I am to them I call them my beloved Children and so they are indeed for thou shalt find as many authentick testimonies as there have been Prophets in the World from the beginning that they are my Children in effect as well by their Creation as by their preservation from all dangers The Prophet Jeremy will tell thee that I have lov'd them with an everlasting love Jerem. 31. and that with loving kindness I have drawn them out of nothing to what they are at present and have preserv'd them as well from their temporal as from their Spiritual Enemies whilst they remain'd submissive to my Laws and gave me the reverence which is expected from dutiful Children to their Parents O ye Nations says the same Prophet hear the word of the Lord declare it in the Isles afar off say the Lord that has Scatter'd the People of Israel for their Sins will gather them again if they will cry to him for mercy and if they continue obedient to his commands he will keep them as a Shepherd does his flock For the Lord has redeem'd Jacob and has ransom'd him from the hand of him that was stronger then He. The same
amara est memoria tua homini habenti pacem indivitijs suis Eccl. 41. that had conquer'd most part of the World in less then twelve years to see himself seiz'd on by Death and Summon'd to appear before thy most dreadful Tribunal when he desir'd most to live and tast of the joy and delight of all his victories What a heart-breaking will it be to those that employ all their time in building of houses purchasing estates increasing riches procuring dignities making up matches laying out vast sums to use when they shall see themselves even as so many Princes Mules discharg'd of their treasure and turn'd off with backs gaul'd into some nasty stable nay it will be far worse with them for after their long travelling in this World loaden with gold and Silver which had extreamly gall'd their wretched Souls they shall be disburthened at the day of death and sent away with their wounded consciences to the dark and loathsome Stable of Hell there to continue for an Eternity O my Saviour these considerations well meditated are able to mollify a heart of Steel to move any man to a true repentance of his past follys to breed in him an abhorrence of the world and of all its vanitys and make him resolve to employ the remainder of his days in thy Service that art absolutely the best of Masters and whose rewards to thy faithful Servants are far surpassing the pleasures treasures of this deluding world as thou dost exceed the creatures Eternity the Time the eternal joys of thy heavenly Court the short and transitory joys and delights of this Land SAVIOVR HE must be a most perverse and hard hearted man indeed that will not love me after all the several benefits and manifold favours which I have confer'd even in this life upon the generality of mankinde which are in a manner nothing to what I have prepar'd for my Elect in the other for these are so incomprehensibly glorious that eye has never seen nor ear has ever heard neither is man's understanding capable of conceiving their excessive greatness for I am by nature infinitely good amiable and liberal consequently what I have promis'd prepar'd and decreed from all Eternity to bestow upon my Elect must be no less then my self objective as your Divines call it and formaliter the most clear the most delicious the most pleasant the most blessed union and fruition of my divine Essence for all Eternity O the Immense the inestimable the glorious the Interminable felicity of a blessed Soul that shall live and reign with God who is infinite in beauty in glory in power in wisdom and in finite in all his Attributes that shall enjoy clearly and without any interruption his blessed Vision so unspeakably comfortable satisfactory to all her senses and this too for an Eternity A God likewise that is the abundant headspring of all delights the inexhaustible fountain of all goodness the most opulent treasury of all riches pleasures Joy Perfection and of all things desirable or necessary to compleat her everlasting happiness This is the essential and principal reward of the Blessed But besides these there are other innumerable joys which I call Secundary rewards and these are also so great and so many that they do absolutely transcend all measure and number and wilt thou not O man love a God who has lov'd thee gratis and to that excess as to give thee himself all that 's in his power A God that most mercifully lov'd thee when thou wert in actual rebellion against him wilt thou not love the Eternal Father who in the excess of his love for thee did not spare his only and dearly beloved Son but deliver'd him into the power of most cruel Enemies that crucify'd him this was for thy sins alone as well as for those of all mankinde wilt thou not love him that has by the effusion of his most precious bloud free'd thee from the power and unspeakable anguishes of Hell and it 's eternal torments to place thee in the most happy company of his beloved in glory wilt thou not love him who has chosen thee even before the worlds Creation who has call'd thee by his Grace and has predestinated thee in Christ from all Eternity wilt thou not love me who am the only Son of God in whose Faith and Grace thou liv'st who has lov'd thee who has suffer'd for thee who has call'd thee to his Service who has redeem'd thee from the intollerable burthen of the Old Law from the damnable yoke of Sin and from the everlasting thraldom of Hell O man Wilt thou not love me who am so fervent a lover as to purchase thy lost Soul not with the Worlds contemptible Coin Gold or Silver but with the most precious and Sacred bloud of my whole body Wilt thou not love me who am thy Creator thy Saviour and Judge and who was in mercy pleas'd to become thy Brother and Advocate too nay I am so much in love with thee that the day before I departed the world I bequeath'd unto thee my most precious body and bloud to seed thy Soul as a perpetual monument of my tender affection to all mankind In fine wilt thou not love me who besides the aforesaid Mercys Benefits and Blessings have given thee so compassionate and so potent a Mediatrix in Heaven as is my most dear and Superexcellent Mother Saluted before my conception in these very words by my Angel Ave gratia plena Luc. 1.28 Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with thee Blessed art thou among Women Blessed is the fruit of thy Womb. Since I the Essential truth do affirm this they must be impertinent and reprobately Wicked who deny her that Special Prerogative Thou shouldst love as much the Holy Ghost for by his Wisdom thou wert Created and by his Providence thou wert govern'd in so much that thou can'st not produce one meritorious act without his divine Inspiration or actual motion Therefore 't is his gracious goodness which gives thee the Will and the Power to perform any good thing 't is He that is pleas'd to inhabit illnstrate and inflame thy heart with an ardent desire of thy eternal Salvation In a word thy Obligation to love and honour the most glorious Trinity is the very same as thou hast to each Sacred Person therein contain'd It being the sole Source and cause of thy eternal Happiness For what the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost have done the very same thing has the Blessed Trinity done being but one the same God in those three distinct persons O Man shall not all these powerful motives replenish thy Soul with divine love even as the Dew of Heaven doth fill the Vegetives with vivifying juice or shall not this make my grace shine in thy Soul as Davids burning Lamps of affection Psa 63.5 which no terene waters could ever extinguish I say in thy Soul that it may disperse those filthy