art always displease thee if thou wilt arrive to what thou art not For saith he elsewhere wherever thou makest a stop without proceeding any further there thou pleasest only thy self A man must not therefore six a Ne plus ultra to his better thoughts and Actions but go on like this Tree and be continually supply'd with good Desires as that produceth new shoots which as it were grasp the Earth to take a firmer and fuller possession thereof Moreover we finde by experience that when a Tree is slightly planted or its roots decay'd there needs no great storm to overthrow it Such is that man who is not humbly meek and patient One violent puff of anger is able to dispossess him of the Land yea and of his own Soul which cannot be possess'd but by patience nor by any but the meek and humble Now if you demand why the meek are rather said to possess the Land than any other Element I answer While our Saviour was mortal he appeared to his Disciples walking on the waves of the Sea to intimate thereby the mutability of man during this life But after his Resurrection having a glorified Body he stood on the firm Land to signifie as S. Gregory expounds that after this life man shall enjoy a permanent tranquillity and repose in the Land of the Living The Earth patiently as I may say supports all and continues immovable So doth the meek and humble man while the haughty and impatient are inconstant like the Air turbulent like the Sea and crackle and sparkle like the Fire When the like happeneth unto thee reflect thine eye on the sacred Head of thy Redeemer meekly bowing down while the ungrateful Jews revile and blaspheme against him where he saith Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest in your Souls tranquillity in your though is and in fine that solid land that shall render you for ever happy the Land of the living which I now purchase for you the Land of Promise into which I am your Joshua to conduct you from Egypt the World a Land of Servitude to a Land of Freedom and Immunity from feeding on Garlick and Onions to taste the sweet Repast of Angels CONSIDERATIONS ON THE II. BEATITUDE Of the bowing down of our Blessed Saviour's Head HAving in the precedent Beatstude learn'd a lesson of Poverty by the consideration of our Saviours nakedness on the Cross behold here his sacred Head meekly bowing down whereby is expressed the second Beatitude Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit or possess the Earth Now as those Waters which lye next the Shore may be said to possess the Shore at least during a Calm so it can only be affirmed of the meek and patient man that he possesseth his Soul according to the words of our Saviour In your patience you shall possess your Souls and Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest to your Souls a quiet calm and sweet repose To be meek is to converse without giving offence and to bear injuries without thought of Revenge or perturbation of Mind as our Lord did with head meekly inclin'd while the Jews uttered Blasphemies and Contumelies against him Having this Precedent still before my eyes I will resolve in this Book to study meekness and patience not rendring evil for evil but by good to overcome evil And the better to conceive the excellency of Meekness I will make a lively representation to my self of the Vice which is contrary thereto by a swelling and tempestuous Sea whose Billows rais'd by the Winds violently beat against the Rocks on the Shore Foaming thus with fury are the wrathful and impatient Then reflect thine eye on our Lord meekly bowing down his Head like a calm Sea or like a Sheep despoil'd of his Fleece naked on the Cross opening not his mouth but to pray for his Enemies saying Father forgive them for they know not what they do Think what Land it is which the meek shall possess If the Earth thy Body thou shalt have possession of it and dominion over it by meekness while thy Passions are subject to reason Contrariwise the wrathful are so transported that losing as 't were themselves they are cast out of possession of themselves while the Heart swells with Envy the Eyes sparkle with Fury the Feet are running and the Hands ready to execute Revenge like one fallen into a deep River who not able to swim nor touch ground with his Feet is overwhelmed and in danger of drowning Behold the state of an angry and revengeful Man who possesseth not the Land of solid Patience being wholly drown'd in his turbulent Passions loseth himself utterly for a time as a man distraught whom by meekness God should here possess in the Land of the Dying that he may be possessed of God for ever in the Land of the Living which is promised to the meek Let him therefore who is become so absolutely a slave to that passion make this short Ejaculation to the great Exemplar of Meekness O patient Redeemer and meek Lamb who takest away the sins of the World If by beholding the brazen Serpent the poyson of Serpents was expelled how can I behold thee the pure and unspotted mirror of Meekness and yet retain enmity and rancor in my heart If no storms and blustring winds are predominant at Sea while the Halcyon is nestling and brooding neer the shore grant all stormy Passions may be allay'd by thy powerful presence in my heart by thee only who art the solid Land and my total happiness which I beseech I may possess here on Earth by Grace and afterwards in Glory Let Worldlings contend and vex themselves about recovery or possession of Lands of which they must in fine be dispossess'd It is good for me to adhere to God and seek him in the Land of the Living where the humble meek and patient whose Hearts on Earth were a place of sweet repose enjoy him in eternal tranquillity The Kingdom of Heaven is within you saith our Lord And consequently that firm and compleat tranquillity of Heaven begins on Earth by Grace to be perfected by Glory Within this little Kingdom of ours what a commotion is rais'd by wrath what a perturbation by enmity what a rebellion when Meekness and Patience is banished out of the Soul by Passion When such mutinies therefore arise within me whither shall I hasten for redress To whom shall I seek for assistance but to the wounded Head of my Saviour meekly bowing down to give me the kiss of Peace and infuse meekness into my Soul But now alas he is not able by words to command the storm to cease as he did when his Apostles feared drowning No. But will it not suffice to pacifie thee O my Soul enrag'd to behold thy Lord and meek Lamb more firmly fix'd by patience and meekness then by the nails that transfix'd his hands and feet What a commotion
I never mourn but for my sins nor grieve but for the loss of thee IV. On thy sacred Mouth crying out I thirst I read thou didst hunger and thirst after righteousness that I might be justified by thy Death and Passion Grant sweet Jesu I may ever hunger and thirst after this V. By thy wounded Side I find thou wert merciful giving all thy precious blood for my redemption May I be merciful to thee in thine that I may finally find mercy VI. Let thy pierced Heart most pure and exempt from all fin teach me to prepare a pure and clean heart for thee VII By thy sacred Hands nailed I understand thou wert the grand Peace-maker Vouchsafe to infuse into my soul true and perfect Charity that I may have peace withall for thee and during this life make my peace with thee VIII Lastly By thy Feet pierced with nails I read they are blessed that suffer persecution which thou didst even unto the death of the Cross Grant me grace to suffer for thee to bear afflictions patiently that with thee I may reign eternally Amen O good Jesu to reign with thee is to suffer with thee On the Cross thou art surrounded with the eight Beatitudes Here I must seek them exemplified in thy self on Mount Calvary to find them perfected on Mount-Sion the heavenly Jerusalem I. I behold the Cornel-tree where without leaves to shrowd it the blossom lies naked and expos'd to the blustring winds And on the Tree of the Cross as naked I behold my Saviour poor in Spirit poor in Will and Desire as naked dying as born for us Uncloath thy self then O my soul and be as naked in thine affections to the leafy vanities and riches of this life which is but a so journing for poor mortality II. I see the arch'd Indian-Fig-tree greedy to possess the Land with a thousand shoots which descend to take deep root in the earth And on the Tree of the Cross I behold our Lord meekly bowing down his Head humbled even to the death of the Cross to take possession of the Land of the Living for me an exile by as many shoots as sighs prayers tears and drops of blood as he shed for me a lost sinner O my soul where are thy humble shoots that should descend that they may ascend to the Land of promise where are thy submissive thoughts that should lowly bend to the earth by acknowledgment of thy unworthiness and ingratitude to so good and merciful a Lord Thou art now in possession of a barren Land thy body where thou canst not nor must not take deep root Heaven is thy Land this thy place of banishment Thither let thy thoughts ascend to be deeply rooted by an eternal possession III. I view the Myrrhe-tree weeping drop after drop but when prick'd and wounded it more abundantly distills Thus came I weeping and mourning into a vale of tears like a taper by the wind soon extinguish'd like a spark in the Sea as soon swallowed up like a froth suddenly vanishing and a vapour scatter'd in the air Have I not then cause to weep to prevent a future mourning and acquire a happiness and consolation which is promised to Mourners Then I cast mine eyes on Christ crucified and weeping on the Cross why for my sins Why like a Myrrhe-wee wounded over all his body distilling blood To give light to my glimmering taper fire to my spark substance to my frothy soul and purer air to my dusky vapour Thirdly I will summon my heart and expostulate with my soul why she would be usher'd by her eyes to the aspect of vainer objects yet never made use of them to bewail her sins with tears And if the Myrrhe tree stab'd or launc'd with a knife dissolves it self into tears why doth she not procure by her sighs and prayers that my heart woulded with true compunction may be liquified into tears of grief IV. I seem to behold the Clove-tree hungring as it were and thirsting after the strengthning moisture of the earth which it continually attract Then I seem to hear my Saviour cry out I thirst to express his ardent desire of our Salvation And then O my soul say I canst thou hear thy Lord crying out I thirst and yet present him with no other potion then a cup full of absinth thy sins which are more bitter to him then Vinegar and Gall of which he tasting would not drink O my soul taste and see how sweet our Lord is who to revive and refresh thee which wert like dry and barren earth showred down his precious blood from his wounded body veins and heart till it was totally exhausted O what an excessive thirst did this cause in thy Saviour what a Consummatum est was this what bounty when hereserv'd not to himself so much as one drop of blood O my soul if he gave thee all that was most precious doubt not to say with his royal Prophet What shall I give unto our Lord for all he hath given me what less then an entire heart and soul with all her powers to love honour and serve him V. Next I imagine I see the fruit of Adams Apple-tree cut in two which presents us with a cross which bare the Saviour our of the World in whom I behold as many crosses as stripes and scourges enterlac'd in his tender flesh It was the fruit of the forbidden Tree wherein being eaten were included as many crosses as miseries now incident to wretched man As hunger thirst cold heat infirmities c. which render him miserable and consequently to be pitied O my soul commiserate at least thine own self encompassed with so many frailties casualties and anxieties of mind Turn which way thou wilt thou canst not be long exempted from one calamity or other Wherefore seeing to be Misericors that is to say merciful is to have an agrieved and pitiful heart as it were always bearing a cross let thine he dolor sorrow and compunction for thy sins VI. Imagine you behold the green Fig pick'd and pierc'd by a little Gnat or Fly whence distills a drop as it were of hony And then say O my green hard and immature Heart where is that compunction that is requisite for thee O that thou wert thus pierc'd and wounded with grief for thy fins that sweet delight like a honey-drop might issue forth for while it resides within thee thou canst never come to maturity for where sin predominates Grace must needs be an Exile Then reflect your Eye on our Saviour's Heart wounded with a Spear and say Lord Were not thy larger wounds in thy Hands and Feet sufficient pledges and testimonies of thy excessive Love Why then after thy death wouldst thou receive so deep a wound in thy Heart Ah! If Death were stronger than Love in thee when by him thou wert vanquisht he seizing by Heart Love again even after Death was more powerful by opening that sacred rift whence issued the Sacraments and where the Gate of
The Rain-bow shall be in the clouds saith the Text as spoken by God himself And I will look upon it that I may remember the everlasting covenant Here we may say the place consign'd was the Rain-bow on which the Covenant to be remembred was placed and by that Rain-bow was prefigured Christ on the Cross whom his Father beholding is moved to mercy and compassion towards sinners And why should not we wretched sinners whenever we behold or represent to our selves this Rain-bow to wit Christ crucifi'd and fasten'd to the Cross diversifi'd with the several colours of red and white and black and blew c. immediately call to mind what he suffred and for whom he suffred And why may we not upon that representation according to the foresaid Art assign eight several places at certain distances for our better remembrance and practice of the Eight Beatitudes And whereas the Lord said that the Rain-bow should be seen in the Clouds why may not the representation of our Saviours bitter Passion be our Remembrancer how that he was encompassed not only with a cloud but with a total eclipse of heaviness and grief In fine if God said that he would look upon the Rain-bow that he might remember his Covenant ought not we frequently to imagine to selves a sight of him who is the Angel of the Covenant the Prince of Peace and the Mirrour and great Exemplar of patience and meekness When we reflect on his nakedness on the Cross shall we not thence derive a certain memento how poor he was in spirit and so of the rest with a reason why each Beatitude is consign'd to its proper place It will not be impertinent in this place to bring in what S. Augustine says in his Boook of Confessions lib. 10. as having reference both to our subject Beatitude and what we have deliver'd concerning our Art of Memory All of us saith he would fain be happy which if we did not apprehend with a certain kind of notice we could not all desire it with so resolute a will which certain kind of notice may be understood of the Memory wherein the knowledge of Beatitude is renewed AN INVITATION To the Grove of BEATITUDES Emblematically represented by Eight Trees HEre no Sylvanus haunts our Grove Here no prophane wild Satyrs rove Nor in our glades And blissful shades Diana and her Nymphs resort To chase the nimble Deer and sport A fairer wight More pure and bright Than rosie morn that sweetly breathes Appears crown'd with immortal wreathes The Starrie skies With radiant Eyes Are not so beauteous clear and fair Nor for the night and day a pair That glorious shine Shee 's so divine I Beatitude whom you may see Or 〈◊〉 with a Cornel Treâ— Which forward Springs And blossoms brings Ere levie erests to shrowd appear To wanton with the winds for here Vnknown before In spirit poor Beatitude in her retreat Poor in desire hath sixt her feat In Heaven whose store Lasts evermore II. Hence pass along that you may be Blest by your sight when you shall see This fair one sit Whom never yet Blind mortals found Then for her seek A Lady humble gentle meek Whose powerful Hand Doth seize the Land Like is this Arched Tree which sends A thousand shoots for so she bends Down to the Earth Blest by the birth Of humble thoughts which deeply take Firm root in Heaven and happy make For ever blest When shee 's possess'd III. The weeping Myrrh-Tree next in fight Is shading this sad mourning wight for as this Tree Distills so she Drops Orient Pearls which shining are Then Indian Gems more precious far Which never soil Sad Grief 's the foil IV. Move farther yet into our Grove And view the Tree which bears the Clove Bloom'd like a nail You shall not fail To find her where upon the ground She thirsting sits encompass'd round Midst such a plot As yet could not Admit a nanghty weed to grow The sap of Grace shee 's thirsting so Which doth impart Life to the Heart V. Shee 's gone from thence fly fly make bastes To follow her and find her plac'd Vnder the shade A Tree hath made Bears Adam's Apples No time 's lost To split them and behold how crost Is every fruit Which well doth suit With her who wounded deep with Grief Feeles others wants and gives relief And when you see Vpon this Tree Large spreading leaves know she is blest Findes Mercy cause she joyes to vest The naked poore Tangment her store VI. Yet fâ—â—ther chase this glorious wight Be sure to keep her still in sight Whom if you lose Your Hearts repose In bliss is gone See where retir'd Shee 〈◊〉 fits by Heaven inspird With Silver Breast To take her resh Where Figgs upon the Tree were green And hard until a Gnat was seen To be so kind As wound the rind Whose 〈◊〉 drop descends 〈◊〉 were In Aemulation of a Tear Fallne from her Eyes Which you may prize By blessings which each doth impart To wash and cleanse an ordur'd Heart And purifie Th' affected Eye VII Shee 's risen thence pursue her still You shall you must yâ—◠〈◊〉 nill Nor covet less Than happiness Behold this active Virgin sits Where the sweet amorous Wood-Bind knits With clasping Arms And powerful Charmes A neighbouring pair of Stands which fought Blown by the winds till round about It guirdes and bindes And clings and windes Like her who never doth surcease Beatitude to link make peace Vnite with bands Both Hearts and Hands VIII In fine This Lady yet removes Vnto a streading Vine which loves That it may bear In time of year To have her branches prun'd and gyves To bind her Arms for so she thrives Fixt to a wall But seeming thrall Is Persecution which who takes And patient hears be muck forsakes And leaves his hold Of dross for Gold What then is he so gross and rude That covets not Beatitude 1. In Spirit poor T' abound with store 2. Meek to possess True happiness 3. Mourn midst annoy To reap with joy 4. Thirst Hunger still To have his fill 5. Pittiful-kind Mercy to find 6. Pure-hearted see And Blesled be 7. Peaceful in Life Composing strife 8. Suffer and take Affliction make A Crown on Earth in Heaven of Light When fair Beatitude more bright Shall be compleat in God th' Abyss Of joy and everlasting Bliss ASHREA OR The Grove OF BEATITUDES Represented in EMBLEMES THE Eight BEATITUDES Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after Righteousness for they shall be filled Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Blessed are the Peace-makers for they shall be called the Children of God Blessed are they which are persecuted for Righteousness sake for theirs is the
desolations of soul Then make a generous resolution for the time to come with a humble resignation to desire or have nothing but with conformity to his holy Will and Pleasure and say O most poor and most enriching Lord who dost invest and cloath all yet on the Cross art naked Bounteous in thy spiritual Graces and Favours yet so poor in Spirit and Desire that thou hast no place whereon to rest thy dying head yet hast promised a Kingdom to those who with thee are poor in Spirit Behold I renounce here whatsoever the flattering World shall allure me with I abandon all rather than forsake thee Nay not only these exterior things but I also desire to be so naked and poor in Spirit as not to have a Memory but to call to mind and think often of thy infinite Mercy and Love towards me no Vnderstanding but to ruminate and seriously ponder thy manifold Sufferings and Benefits conferred on me no Will but to love thee and my Neighbour in and for thee In such sort that being entirely resign'd to thy holy Will and Pleasure I may say with thine Apostle I live now not I but Christ lives in me Were not he in some sort poor in Spirit that should if it were possible live and breathe move and speak by 〈…〉 own Such was S. Paul's in whom Christ I may say lived and breath'd mov'd and spake Contrariwise How rich were he in Spirit in Will and Desire whose Soul should be wholly addicted to Self-love and proper Interest That breathes nothing wherein Christ is concerned but pursues only Ambition a Spirit that swells and puffs up the heart That moves not but by the agitation of a coveting Spirit Like a Silk-worm in fine to involve it self in a web of darkness and oblivion It is a great and shameful abuse saith S. Bernard for Man a poor and abject Worm greedily to covet Riches for whom the Lord of Majesty vouchsafed to bee poor A shame to be always toiling and weaving like a Silk-worm which as it shrowds it self more and more is the nearer death to leave to Posterity a silken web for Pride as a Parent doth often-time his Inheritance after a life unhappily consum'd in avaritious Desires which like a gloomy Cloud had so darkened the eye of the Soul that she which had been infus'd into the Body like a ray from Heaven was even obscurity it self As S. Augustine complains The blindness of mans heart is so great and the inward ear of the Soul so deaf that he desires to have all things but himself which must be such a Self as he may truly say with David What is there in Heaven for me and being poor in Spirit what do I desire on Earth but thee My flesh and heart faints and languisheth my Spirit is poor and enfeebled to all that which this World presents me with Thou O Lord art the God of my heart my portion my God for ever Unhappy then are the avaritious who have a god Gold their Idol but not for ever rich in the desire of earthly trash but unhappily poor in Spirit that aspire not to the possession of that Treasure which no rust shall canker nor length of time consume How can I behold the naked Blossom springing from the Cornell-Tree in cold February and not remember how I came into this wretched World exposed to Hunger Thirst cold heat weariness Infirmities Death Poor Blossom Man How soon blasted how suddenly withered which all thy leafy Riches cannot prevent Who then would not rather be poor in Spirit as naked in his Affections to worldly pelf as his Saviour dying naked on the Cross But naked to enrich me hungring and thirsting there but to save me cold to infuse into my Soul the ardors of his Love expos'd to heat but to quench my immoderate Desires weary to refresh me weak to strengthen me and finally dying to give me a life of eternal Beatitude in a Kingdom which he hath promised to the poor in Spirit I will consider why King Danid is said to have swept his Spirit meditating with his heart in the night Was it not by sweeping to cast out of doors the dust of worldly cogitations and terrene desires which like dust obscures and even blinds the eyes of the Soul Was he not poor in Spirit when he had swept together and cast out the dust of transitory things that he might contemplate the eternal Therefore he said in the precedent verse That he had thought of the ancient days and time of Mans life wherein he enjoys Riches and worldly felicity to which he opposing the Riches of Heaven and Eternity says He retain'd in mind the everlasting years If we have our several rooms in the vast habitacle of our Soul none is so often to be swept as that where intrudes sollicitude to be harboured accompanied with care and anxiety of mind together with fear that presents us with the future losses or crosses which may occur And therefore for prevention all the powers of the Soul are summoned to be vigilant and cautious for the safegard and increase of wealth by which poverty in Spirit and Will is cast out of doors The Second BEATITUDE Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth EMBLEME II. The Indian Fig-Tree Sic suvat esse tenacem-2 So do the Meek to fix their Roots Humbly let down as many Shoots As good Desires which spring from Love Take root in Heaven the Land above THis Tree above all others may be said to be possessed of or to inherit the Earth For the Branches of it bending downwards to the ground no sooner touch it but they immediately take root and grew up into other Trees which afterwards produce others so that in time they spread over all the ground they meet with and yet all though stragling over a great quantity of ground way be sold to be but one Tree Another thing commonly observ'd of these Trees is that they afford a secure retreat not only to the wild Boars and other Beasts but also to the Inhabitants of those Countries where they grow who having garrison'd themselves within them defie all Enemies In like manner a pious and fructifying Soul in order to her possession of the Land of the Living produceth many active thoughts diffuses her self into good actions which yet obeying the check of Humility descends to be more deeply rooted Thus the Meek 〈◊〉 on and lay hold of that which is their heavenly Inheritance de virtute in virtutem passing from one Virtue to another and saying with S. Augustine As yet I follow yet I profit yet I walk yet I am in the way yet I dilate my self yet I arrive not Behold how like this Indian Fig-Tree the devout Soul makes her progress and advances forward still taking new root still laying faster hold never accounting her self secure or that she hath done enough as submitting to the advice of the same S. Augustine to wit this Let that which thou
what Saint Jerome saith That it will not suffice to desire Justice but we must hunger and thirst after it Yet never think our selves just enough but must more and more thirst after Justice as our Lord commands He that is just let him be more just and he that is holy more holy Consider what a hunger and thirst that is of the Worldling who still covets more and more Wealth The Voluptuous Man more and more Pleasure And the Ambitious Man more and more Honour Neither of these can have their fill because the Soul is of infinite capacity and therefore cannot be fill'd with all the world can poure into it Unhappy then are those Men who hunger and thirst yet never are satisfied And contrariwise Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness to whom is promised such fullness as shall wholly inebriate and satiate the Soul and Heart whose Capacity is immense and being created to enjoy God is insatiable and restless till it enjoyes his sight As Saint Augustine saith Because thou O Lord hast made us for thee our Heart is never at quiet until it comes unto thee O my soul be ever languishing and thirsting after this compleat happiness Is it possible thou shouldst have such a drought that naturally desiring to be blessed and fill'd with the glory of God thou shouldst notwithstanding hunger and greedily desire things upon earth and not those above O blessed Saviour thou didst thirst and they gave the vinegar and gall but to quench my thirst thou hast promised me the water of life so that I shall never thirst more Give me O Lord of this water for hitherto I have digg'd and sought it in the broken and leaking Cisterns of thy Creatures or in riches dignities and pleasures which never satiate Thou wert hungry after a fast of forty days and the Enemy presented thee with stones to be turn'd into bread But for me if I truly hunger after righteousness thou hast and dost give me the bread of life thy real body to feed and strengthen my soul to life everlasting This is the daily and supersubstantial bread which I should hunger after and for which I daily beg and without which I cannot subsist This was prefigured by Manna which relieved the Israelites in the Wilderness without which they had been famish'd Such is the desart of this world such thy true Body which unless a man eat and worthily eat he shall not have life in him Jesu be unto me a Saviour and redeem me from worldly vanities which like air never fill or satiate an hungry soul Thou art the Way lead and direct me Thou the Life revive and quicken me Thou my greatest and only Good make me hunger and thirst after thee Only after thee because all that can be desired may be found in thee which may incite to love If beauty thou O God art the fairest If benefits thou daily and liberally conferrest them on me If love to invite to love again thine is the greatest As my Creator thou gav'st me a being As my Redeemer thou freedst me from thraldom as a Preserver thou didst and dost deliver me from perils spiritual and corporal Therefore thy Prophet David said My soul hath thirsted after thee the living fountain To thee he thirsted who art the most amiable the most noble and most excellent Good a God and all things To thee he thirsted a strong God a good permanent immutable and eternal To thee a living God operative vigorous intellectual loving and conferring on me innumerable benefits How then can I do less then hunger and thirst after thee who art so good so gracious so bountiful so loving Nay how can I contain my self within the limits of thy Creatures that was created to so noble an end as is the blisful sight of Thee How can I forbear from crying out with thy servant David When shall I come and appear before thy face If I am a pilgrim thou wilt conduct me to my desired Countrey If I am hungry and thirsty thou wilt satiate me with the fruition of thy sight If I am naked thou wilt there cloath me with glory These things have I call'd to mind said David Psa 41. and thereupon I poured forth my soul within my self like a streamling to return to God my Ocean as a river doth to the sea whence it was deriv'd I have dilated my soul and extended her thirsting desire which nothing can satiate and fill but God only Nay more I have poured out my soul upon my self And there alas what could she find but one so poor as not any way able to quench her thirst who is capable of a Good immense Or when I poured out my soul upon my self as water streaming on the superficies of the earth I suffered it not to be suckt and swallowed up by self-love but to stream sorth towards that River which makes joyful the City of God Because I will said David pass on to enter into the place of the admirable Tabernacle even unto the house of God Even as a poor Beggar travelling on the rode in the heat of Summer being very weary leaves the high way to find some good Gentleman's house to be refresht and to quench his thirst so doth David thirsting say He will pass through all difficulties and obstacles whatsoever to arrive at Gods house there to quench his thirst lodg in that admirable Tabernacle But his arrival at the house of God being deferred he resolves to make use of local memory And to this end designs two special places the River Jordan and Mount Hermonijm When he beholds the first it puts him in mind of the River above which makes joyful the City of God and of the Torrent of delight of which the blessed are given to drink And when he casts his eye on the second he calls to mind the holy and blissful Mount of Heaven where God manifests himself to his Angels and Saints Therefore saith he I will be mindful of thee O God from the land of Tordan while I behold this river and likewise when I see the little Mount Hermonijm Who then fixing his eye on Mount Calvary can forget his Saviours sufferings or who can but remember how he hungred and thirsted after righteousness when he hears him cry out I thirst that is to say the salvation of mankind and that righteousness for us sinners whereby we are adopted and made the children of God The Fifth BEATITUDE Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy EMBLEME V. Adam's Apple-Tree Dum detrahis exigis auge Man merciful t' augment his store So cloaths and feeds the naked-poor For giving less he more receaves Such Trees are known by fruit and leaves THere hath such a particular notice been taken of this Tree in the several Countries where it grows that it is accordingly called by several names which yet we shall not give an account of in regard it is not so much the denomination as the Vertues
and Qualities that make it contribute to our design And therefore we shall with Gerard call it Adam's Apple-tre The merciful man which in the Latine Tongue is called Misericors is he who hath a sorrowful and compassionate heart for anothers misery a heart inclining him to relieve and succour such as stand in need of his assistance in their extream wants Such a merciful man may be design'd by this Tree whose Roots being as it were but small threads or fibres do shoot forth leaves that are five or six foot in length and near three in breadth Insomuch that they serve for Table-cloaths and Napkins and being dry'd they may serve for Mattresses and Quilts very convenient and soft to lye upon Behold here the Emblem of a merciful Man who parts with his leafy substance to cloath the naked to relieve the poor to supply the wants of the needy to succour the necessitous This is the man who by his charitable endeavours conceals the miscarriages and imperfections of his Neighbour For mercy when it is the issue of Charity hath the same prerogative with the Parent which is as St. Peter saith To cover a multitude of sins Moreover this Tree which groweth above the reach of an Elephant would continue a low shrub and the Leaves would bend downwards to the ground if they were not cut off from time to time by which means the Tree grows up higher and the Leaves become larger What can more pertinently denote the Merciful man who by a voluntary defalcation of the things of this World is rais'd so much the nearer Heaven I and the more freely he parts with the transitory goods of this life the greater treasure does he lay up for that hereafter By these advantages doth he still ascend higher and higher while others keeping all to themselves do like shrubs lye groveling on the Earth in their covetous desires There is this further Remark made upon this Tree that it needs be planted but once though it bears but one year For it continually shooteth forth new stalks as the old decay and in some Countries they are soon ripe after they spring and the Inhabitants will have ripe fruit from some of the Plants at all times The case is the same with the Merciful man who as soon as he hath done one act of Charity is ready to do another and so successively as if he were oblig'd to exhaust himself to supply others and this from time to time till his own be come to its period and that he leaves the young shoots of his posterity to succeed him in his good works Hereto we may add this further observation that besides this Tree there is only one other that hath a strange property to wit that which way soever their fruit be cut when it is come to maturity the meat thereof which is white as snow represents in the midst of it the figure of a Cross especially if it be cut in thin slices as commonly we do Cow-cumbers Thence is it that the Spaniards and Portugueze think it a crime to put a knife into it and are extreamly scandaliz'd to see it broken otherwise then with the teeth Hath not this some resemblance to the heart of a Merciful man who hath a certain fellow-feeling of the miseries and calamities of the poor whom he views with affliction of mind Which way soever he casts his eye of pity and beholds the distressed he compassionates them as if the like cross of adversity were fix'd in his heart If he behold his Saviour on the Cross his heart is wounded with pity as if the passion were figured in it Again if he view his Neighbour oppressed with wrongs or miseries he is so sensible thereof as if that very cross of affliction were engraven in his heart In a word he sees no man poor whom he pities not no man miserable whom he does not compassionate still like the fruit of this Tree cut bearing in his heart a cross by which he suffers with him Nay more while he beholds Christ in a poor man whom he pities and relieves he bears Christ's shape in his heart whom he likewise relieves Happy therefore is the merciful man that bears such a cross as renders him for ever blessed who no doubt may say with St. Paul God forbid I should glory in any thing but in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ Now fix thine eye on the bleeding side of Christ whose blood issued from a wounded heart where was always engraven a cross not only the instrument of his passion but as many crosses as were the sins of the World And as many as were the acts of mercy and compassion which he produc'd towards sinners Verè pius verè misericors And shall he evacuate not only his veins but likewise his heart Shall he disburse all the treasure of his most precious blood and yet wilt thou be so penurious and pitiless as not to relieve the necessitous with part of thy dross Ah! view and view again that bountiful and pitiful heart that streameth forth at his side and proclaims them blessed who are merciful and promiseth they shall obtain mercy CONSIDERATIONS ON THE V. BEATITUDE On the side of our Blessed Saviour bleeding FRom his sacred Mouth descend to his pierced side which may be likewise term'd a mouth as were all the wounds of his body that speak and proclaim him a bounteous and merciful Lord who having given all the blood of his body and veins for our Redemption would finally suffer his heart to be pierc'd that the last drops of his precious bloud might stream from thence for a fuller satisfaction or rather expression of his infinite Love Whereas the least drop thereof might have redeem'd many Worlds and reconcil'd to his Father as many Nations as he shed drops of blood Consider what a merciful giver was God the Father who so exceedingly loved man that he gave unto him his only begotten Son a Son likewise so good bounteous and merciful that he would annihilate and lessen himself by taking upon him the form of a Servant And after as the Factor did for one precious Pearl gave all his precious blood and life to purchase and redeem thy Soul and thereby obtain mercy for it Which notwithstanding thou shalt never find unless thou also be Merciful To whom To thy self and thy Neighbour To thy self according to the words of the Son of Syrach Take pity and compassion on thine own soul pleasing God Think how many Souls are languishing in sin How many starve for want of the food of Life the Blessed Sacrament How many groan under the heavy burden of sin And how merciless they are to themselves that rescent not the dangerous estate of their own souls To these thou art merciful when thou prayest for them or by word or example endeavourest to reclaim them Thou art merciful likewise when thou forgivest injuries or when thou dost commiserate and condole the defects and imperfections of others Contrari-wise
Peace-maker and Son of God who fully pacified Justice by suffering death for Man by which redeem'd Mercy likewise had her desire embrac'd with Justice then pacified when she beheld from Heaven our sins severely punish'd in Christ Never could Man have fully conceiv'd the wrath and hate of God against sin had he not expiated the same by the death of his onely begotten Son Nor could we have apprehended his infinite Mercy had he not given this his onely Son for our Redemption Behold his Hands nailed and thereby know how the Hand of Justice being fastned Mercy and she embrac'd and kissing were united by Christ our Wood-Bind whose design was to make our Peace saying I leave you my Peace I give you my Peace not as the world gives I give you Peace For the world charmes and enchants a Soul slumbering in the conceipt of a sweet repose even when she is amidst the harsh discords of impiety yet hears them not nor sees her present danger Which made David cry out Englighten mine Eyes O Lord that they may not at any time sleep in death CONSIDERATIONS ON THE VII BEATITUDE On Christ's Hands pierc'd with nails FRom his Heart ascend to his Hands tran fixt with Nails that he might thereby fasten and stay the Hand of Justice ready to chastise us for our sins while he himself suffered in his Body what our enormous crimes deserv'd Imagine you see a King enrag'd against his Vassal for some heinous offence with his sword brandish'd and ready to kill him Which the Prince his Son seeing notwithstanding the injury as neere concern'd himself comes in and to save the Delinquent receives the thrust in his own Body pacifies his Father begs his pardon and restores the Criminal to the King 's gracious Favour How infinitely oblig'd you will say was this Subject to the Prince Thus did God the Son incarnate interpose himself betwixt his Father and sinful Man And on the Cross wounded by the Hand of Justice for our manifold iniquities pacified his Heavenly Father and thereby was our Peace-maker Consider now if this Subject reconciled to the King should by the Princes means be made a Vice-Roy of some petty Kingdom with charge given him to govern and preserve Peace with Subordination to his Majesty Notwithstanding should this Vice-Roy forgetting all favours and former Clemency rebelliously conspire against both King and Prince What punishment would you think too great for such a Traytor Is not every Man a kind of Vice-Roy to manage a petty Kingdom which is within him What his Passions Are they not at least should be his Subjects Together with his Appetites and Concupiscences which rebell against Reason And as often as Man sins mortally is he not guilty of High Treason against the Majesty of God his Dread Sovereign Who being every way infinite it follows the punishment due is infinite Hence I will conceive a great hatred and detestation against sin and ingratitude to the great Peace-maker my King and Saviour under whom as a Vice-Roy I must govern and be a Peace-maker And that I may the better preserve Peace withâ—n me I will set a Guard over my outward Senses over mines Eyes that they may not behold vain and curious impertinencies nor curiously prie and search into other Mens Actions Over my Tongue that it may not intrench upon my Neighbours Reputation Over mine Ears shutting them against Detractors c. Thus being outwardly guarded I may the better preserve inward Peace by suppressing inordinate thoughts and desires In such sort that having within me a peaceful Kingdom subordinate to Reason God may quietly inhabit in my Soul whose place as David saith and residence is in a peaceful Heart not disturbed with worldly cares nor embroyled with the Passions of fear and wrath which ordinarily raise a tumult in our little Kingdom But to be a perfect Peace-maker indeed one should be so totally united to God in his affections as not to desire any thing with out him and onely repose in him the onely centre and support of the Soul And remember what Saint Augustine sayes That they are Peace-makers in themselves and for themselves who subject all the tumultuous motions of the Soul to Reason that is to the Mind and Spirit For by subduing and suppressing carnal Concupiscences they become the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth Where being Peace-Makers they are likewise the Children of God and resemble their Heavenly Father to whom it is proper to enjoy himself who is Peace and tranquillity it self extending from end to end strongly and disposing all things sweetly O my soul thou feest what thou shouldst be Now consider what thou art How soon is the little Kingdom within thee disturb'd How suddenly anger disquiets it What perturbations of mind are caus'd when but a lighter cross or slight affliction lights upon thee Yea even an unkind word from a friend breeds a great discontent and trouble within thee And when all succeeds not according to thy expectation thou art so far from being a peace-maker that distracted in thy thoughts thou art vex'd and perplex'd within thy self How then art thou the Child of God in whom he desires to repose Art thou not rather like a whining Babe that for every trifle is crying and thereby disquieting the whole house O blessed Saviour though I dayly say Thy Kingdom come I am yet like that Regulus that little King little in the knowledg of my self and like his Son I lye infirm and weak and subject to my disordinate passions I can do all in thee who strengthen'st me Enable me therefore I beseech thee by thy powerful grace that thy Kingdom may come that thou mayst reign in me and over me the true Solomon and peaceful King that I with all the powers of my soul may rest in peace and be wholly resign'd to thy will Therefore I daily say Thy will be done What is it then can disturb my peace of mind If affliction if sickness or whatever else hapneth be according to thy will or permission it must be done Nay I daily pray it may be done And should I otherwise desire yet if it be thy holy will and pleasure it must be so Why then should not I be a peace-maker and qualifie all passions and disordinate desires which when I have perform'd internally I may and not before make peace amongst others externally O Jesu it was the Will of thy Father which thou didst punctually observe And that which thou didst teach was humility in conversation stability in faith modesty in words justice in deeds mercy in works discipline in manners and not to do but to suffer injuries This is to be a peace-maker and the Child of God This is the peace proclaim'd by the Angels at thy birth-day This is the peace thou didst leave us and with this peace we desire to depart and rest in thee that our peace and Kingdom begun here by grace may by thee be perfected in glory Amen O what a happiness it
Heaven is as it were opened to such as truly repent VII Sometimes I reflect mine Eye on the Wood-Bind which wheresoever it grows is alwayes binding and uniting branch with branch or winding round about a Tree to teach me that Peace Unity Union and Concord are the special Objects at which I must aim both in respect of God and my Neighbour Love must be like a pair of Wood-Bind shoots issuing from the same stock which lay hold of two neighbouring boughs or branches If by Love I unite my Heart and Soul to God by Love I must likewise be united with my Neighbour And in like manner if I have made my Peace with God I must do the like with my Neighbour offended For as I forgive so I desire to be forgiven And consequently as I have Peace with my Neighbour so I desire God would be pacified So shall I have inward Peace accompanied with outward Charity and Love like a Honey-Suckle odoriferous that breath snothing but sweetness Then I reflect on the Wood-Bind Christ Jesus on the Cross the grand Peace-maker stretching forth his Arms and pacifying his Father justly incens'd against Sinners O what an amorous far-spreading Wood-Bind was our Lord Stretching from end to end strongly by fastning the Hands of Justice and disposing all things sweetly like a Honey-Suckle breathing nothing but sweetness of Peace even for his greatest Enemies crying out Father forgive them for they know not what they do And to the penitent Thief This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise As if he had said I have made thy Peace and prepared for thee a place of Repose Thy remove shall be from a turbulent world and stormy Sea to a quiet and secure Haven O my Soul Canst thou yet be so unsetled in thy Resolves So wavering and inconstant in good purposes Christ is thy Wood-Bind to fasten thee and hath as many bands to tie thee as pains he endured and drops of Blood which he powred out for thy Redemption Consider seriously how infinitely thou art oblig'd How innumerable the ties of his transcendent Love like so many Tendrels or Wood-Bind wreathes circling and clasping round about thee to attract and draw thee unto Himself who exalted from the Earth promised he would draw all things But how In the bands of Adam and links of Charity VIII When I walk into the garden where every Plant invites the Eye to behold and the Heart to consider I oftner cast a glance on the Vine which when I view prun'd and despoyl'd of her branches this think I would move an ignorant Man to Compassion to see a flourishing Vine so cut and mangled and fast nayl'd to a wall that knows not that this kind of Cruelty is Courtesie and favour for thereby it becomes more fruitful The like happeneth to Christians persecuted who in the sight of the unwise seem to be wretched and dye and their departure destruction yet they a little chastised shall be greatly rewarded for God prunes and proves them and finds them worthy for himself saith the Wiseman Then let the true Vine Christ Jesus occurr prun'd and despoyl'd humbled unto death for which God gave him a Name above all names who invites us to suffer with him that we may reign with him in a Kingdom acquired by them who suffer persecution for righteousness sake In a Kingdom which is conquered as it were by force and shatch'd by violence O my Soul thou likewise art a Vine and must be prun'd Nay more if thy Hand offend thee if like a Vine-branch it spread too far by coveting earthly things it must be cut off If thine Eye offend thee by presenting thee with objects of vain delight it must be pulled out and cast from thee That is what ever Creature or whatever delight as dear unto thee as thy Hand or Eye must be deserted and cast off if they with-draw thee from the Service of God or go about to betray thee to everlasting destruction O my Soul there is but one thing necessary the grand concernment Salvation which relates to Jesus that is a Saviour O that thou couldst tru'y say Now I begin to be the Disciple of Christ desiring nothing visible to the Eye that I may find Christ Jesus Seek him then in these ensuing Ejaculatories Vpon Christ's Nakedness O Good Jesu I read in thy nakedness that thou wert poor in Spirit poor in Will and desire of having any thing in this world So poor in Spirit that as thou cam'st naked into the World so as naked thou wouldst depart hence So poor in this World that living and dying thou hadst not whereon to rest thy Head What is then in Heaven for me or what do I desire on Earth but thee O the God of my Heart my portion my God for ever On his Head inclining Against Pride and Impatience O Good Jesu I behold thy Head meekly bowing down while the ungrateful Jews blaspheme and revile thee All which thou enduredst with infinite Patience and Meekness to possess the Land for us Sinners who transported by Pride and Impatience are tost by the waves of violent perturbations Ah! who can behold thee on the Cross humbly inclining thy dying Head Who can be impatient that beholds thee so meekly suffering O my Soul that thou mayst possess thy self and the Land of the Living learn of thy Saviour to be humble meek and patient On Christ's Eyes Against Excessive Mirth O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Eyes distilling bloody tears and I hear thee say Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted If thou O Lord wert comforted by mourning because by thy tears thou wert to redeem me a Sinner Great cause have I to mourn with thee since my sins were the cause of thy weeping and sorrow Great cause have I to weep and bewail my sins that I may be comforted yea and rejoyce seeing by thy dolorous Passions I obtain a full redemption to my Soul On his Mouth Against Fear and Pusillanimity O Good Jesu I behold thy sacred Mouth and hear thee say I Thirst Whereby I learn that thou didst hunger and thirst after righteousness that my poor sinful Soul might be justified What then should my hunger and thirst be but a desire to suffer with thee that I may reign with thee Why then should I fear Why should I be so much dejected Thou art my Captain I must follow thee Thou art the Way I must not leave thee Thou art Life and therefore I cannot live without thee O my God and all things As the Hart thirsteth after the fountain of waters so doth my Soul unto thee On his Side Against Unmercifulness O Good Jesu I behold Blood and Water issuing from thy wounded Side and seem to hear thee say Blessed are the merciful for they shall find mercy Thou O Lord wert so merciful so bountiful that thou gavest the last dropps of thy precious Blood which streamed from thy wounded Heart for my redemption O hard Heart of mine