injoy the leisure and opportunities of meditation devotion and other spiritual exercises and some that are much taken with the strict lives and great piety of Papist-Friers would look home and spond their commendations on the purer Religion and better-order'd lives and devotions of those in this Church that should wholly devote themselves to God However 't is not to be denied but that men are much affected and influenc'd by the place the company the way of living and the outward circumstances wherein they are ingag'd and I believe it might be now as true a proverb as ever Bene vixit qui bene latuit he lives best and most safe who is least acquainted with the world and lives farthest from it But though we want some conveniences for withdrawing from temporal affairs to mind eternity and our souls the better yet we must go to heaven wherever we live Claustrum ubique portate interius Norb. Ab. praemonst we must live to God that we may live with God therefore if we cannot have a material we must have a Spiritual cloister which may defend us against temptations and guide and assist us in doing our duty Such a one is the love of Jesus it will protect us against all dangers and spiritual enemies better than the strongest walls of any Abbey and it will make us devout and zealous in God's service beyond what the exhortations of the wisist Abbot could do Greg. Mag. Dum crescit fortitudo amoris interni infirmatur fortitudo carnis whilst love is strong the flesh is mortified and its lusts are subdu'd August Amanti nihil est difficile nihil impossibile love can do all things of its self it passeth over all difficulties and there is no obstacle which it overcomes not Love can supply the want of all outward helps and advantages let it but be our care to secure love and it will secure us Let us therefore feed and entertain it by reading and meditation Coelum terra omnia quae in cis sunt non cessant mihi dicere ut amem Dominum Deum meum Aug. by frequent prayers and acts of love and by observing and tasting how gracious the Lord is in all his works all things in heaven and earth do incessantly cry to us that we should love God God draws us after him Hos 4.11 with cords of a man with bands of love therefore by love we can best follow him 1 Joh. 3.18 But let us not love in word or in tongue but indeed and in truth and hereby we shall know that we are of the truth and we shall assure our hearts before him Claustrum Animae THE Reformed Monastery OR The Love of JESUS §. 1. Of the positive part of our Baptismal vow MY former disobedience and rebellions against my Blessed Lord and dearest Master I have examin'd and bewailed I have consider'd that by sin I wound and crucifie him afresh and therefore have resolv'd to sin no more never to lift up hand or heart against him But will love be satisfied with this is it a sufficient demonstration of love not to abuse not to injure a friend No sure I must proceed further love requires more than this I must not only abstain from what would anger him I love but I should do that that will please him 'T is part of my duty as it was of my vow not only to renounce the Devil and all his works but also to believe all the articles of the Christian faith and to keep Gods holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my life As for the Articles of the Christian Faith I believe them from my heart and resolve to own and confess them whilst I live I never will dispute or object against them and I hope I should chuse to die before I would renounce any of them as for other less necessary doctrines I will be guided by my Spiritual Governors in controversies I will submit to the judgment of that Holy Church in whose Communion I live and so I will read and ponder Gods Holy Word especially the New Testament that I may know my masters will and be incourag'd to do it not that I may find out new mysteries and maintain the private opinions of a party It remains then only that I should keep Gods holy will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my life And this I also undertake it shall be my daily and constant study and indeavour I resolve to obey to the utmost of my power and I also promise further to manifest my love by free-will-offerings as God shall enable me §. 2. A protestation of obedience But first my love is to appear by doing what is commanded 1 Joh. 5.3 This is the love of God that we keep his commandments saith S. John Joh. 14.21 and he that hath my commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me saith our Blessed Saviour There can be no love without obedience this is its first and chiefest Tryal 23. if a man love me he will keep my words Now then should my beloved Lord ask me as once he did Saint Peter N. dost thou love me Joh. 21.15 would not my heart answer with his zealous Apostle Yes Lord 13.37 thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee I would lay down my life for thee why to this he replies again if thou lovest me 14.15 keep my Commandments Every time a Christian tells Jesus Lord I love thee Jesus answers again if thou lovest me keep my Commandments So that without I observe this I can no ways pretend to love him Therefore I am to take notice of and to amend sins of omission which too too many among Christians mind little or not at all In the matter of sobriety I am commanded whether I eat or drink to do it as all things else to the glory of God and to be contented whatsoever state I am in for chastity I am commanded to know how to keep my vessel in sanctification and honor for acts of corporal and spiritual mercy I am commanded to be merciful as my heavenly father is merciful and to forgive injuries as I desire my self to be forgiven for reverence to my betters I am commanded to honour and obey my superiors Ecclesiastical and Civil in what concerns Divine Worship I am bound to read and pray and mediditate to instruct my self and family to receive the Blessed Sacrament to have a veneration and respect for all things that belong or relate to God and him to love and fear and trust and adore evermore All these and all other duties with the special precepts of the New Testament is the task I chearfully undertake and in the performance whereof I will approve my self a sincere lover of JESUS §. 3. How great a happiness follows our obedience His yoke is easie and his burthen light his Commandments are not
that is begotten and so reciprocally The Divine Essence is but one it admits of no division therefore whatever honour is paid to one of the Divine Persons is paid to all Three the Ever-glorious Trinity is honour'd by it But then it must be consider'd that JESUS the second Person of that Blessed and Glorious Trinity is not only God but also Man and so Mediator betwixt God and Man so that by and through him we pray we worship we love God As God manifested his love to men in JESUS so in JESUS men offer the returns of their love to God 1 Joh. 4.9 In this was manifested the love of God towards us because God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him and in this is manifested our love towards God that we receive and love and obey that Son With this God is in no wise offended but rather infinitely well pleas'd Joh. 14.21 he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father saith our Blessed Saviour 23. If a man love me he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him and again If any man serve me Joh. 12.26 him will my Father honour Though we owe our redemption to the infinite mercies of God Father Son and Holy Ghost yet in a more especial manner we are ingaged to the Son who personally came down from heaven for us men and for our salvation JESUS is the Author and finisher of our faith he is the Founder of our Holy Religion it is he hath reveal'd those doctrines we are to believe it is he hath given us those laws and precepts whereby we are to live it is he from whom we are called Christians it is he who for us despised the shame and indured the Cross who hath shed his blood and given his life a ransom for ours it is he who by contracting a near relation with us becoming our brother hath caus'd us to be adopted Sons of God and heirs with him of an eternal kingdom it is he who is our Lord and Master and will be our judge and our rewarder if we be faithful to him Rom. 14.9 For this end Christ died and rose again that he might be Lord both of the dead and living saith S. Paul Act. 2.36 God hath made that same JESUS whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ him God hath exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and Saviour saith S. Peter 5.31 All power is given him in heaven and earth and he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet Hence the frequent and urgent exhortations to follow and imitate to serve and obey JESUS Hence those Pathetick words of S. Paul The love of Christ 2 Cor. 5.14 Phil. 3.7 constraineth us and again what things were gain to me I counted loss for Christ yea doubtless and I count all things loss 8. for the excellency of JESUS CHRIST my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ 'T is JESUS hath won our hearts to God 't is he hath reconcil'd us from a state of enmity to a state of love besides that God was justly angry for our rebellions his glories are so bright so amazing his Divine Majesty so high that to love a being so infinitely above us might have been thought prophaneness or presumption Non bene conveniunt nec in una sede morantur Majestas amor respect not friendship is the affection of subjects to Princes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was an ordinary Epithete for the heathen Gods and even the Israelites were amaz'd and terrified at the sight of a heavenly messenger crying we shall die for we have seen God 't is the great humiliation of JESUS hath procur'd and establish'd an everlasting reconciliation and friendship betwixt God and man Rom. 5.8 God commended his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us and now there is neither death Rom. 8.39 nor life nor angels nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God which is in CHRIST JESUS our LORD Therefore for a reward for the great sufferings and abasement of JESUS God hath given him a supreme authority over all the world Men and Angels being made subject unto him because he made himself of no reputation Phil. 2.7 8 c. and took on him the form of a servant and humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross therefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of JESUS every thing should bow of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth and every tongue should confess that JESUS CHRIST is the Lord to the Glory of God the Father Our love and obedience to JESUS derogates nothing from but belongs to God 'T is to the glory of God the Father God hath highly exalted JESUS for his humiliation and for the same cause we ought also to love and exalt him as much as possibly we can because it was for us not only bow at his name but ever kneel and kiss the ground when he only sees us no fear of exceeding here no fear of superstition we can never shew him too much love or respect Psal 72. All Kings shall fall down before him all nations shall do him service prayer shall be made unto him and daily shall he be praised Amen §. 17. 'T is most pleasant and safe to love God A third consideration will be that it is most pleasant and safe to love God Love may cause trouble but it certainly is the spring or parent of all joy and satisfaction He that hath an affection to nothing hath pleasure in nothing could the imaginary apathy of the Stoicks really seize upon any man if he could never be miserable he would also be uncapable of all happiness 'T is true indeed that the love of worldly things in that they are vain and perishing is it self vanity and vexation qui multum amat plus dolet is certainly true of all but the Divine Love He that hath many friends hath many sorrows he that loves many things hath many things to fear for 'T is only God that hath those infinite excellencies which can fully replenish our minds and desires 'T is only God that admits of no variableness neither shadow of turning and therefore 't is the love of God alone that can make us eternally and intirely happy It is reported of a person of great sanctity that an evil spirit confest to him that were it possible for one who loves God to come into hell yet it were impossible he should be miserable but that it would rather sink hell it self and make it disappear or else make it a paradise for him Though the relation
that properly speaking all is due to God and the more any the best Christian returns the more he hath receiv'd and so the more he is indebted but yet God is pleas'd not to require all that he gives nor all that we may give that we may have wherewith to make a free-will-offering that we may have something to give him that he requires not tokens of our greater love and gratitude It was foretold that under the Gospel in the day of Christs power Psal 110.3 his people should offer him feee-will-offerings with an holy worship And David himself under the Law was at his quid retribuam Psal 116. What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me Though the benefits which God vouchsafed his people then were much inferior to those he hath since bestowed upon us for eye had not then seen nor ear heard neither was it entred into the heart of man what great things God would do for them that love him as he hath now declar'd in the revelations of his Gospel though he had tied them to a burthensome and most expensive service yet he accepted their voluntary vows and ingagements and was well pleas'd with them yet he would receive their free-will-offerings and delight in them And sure we are more oblig'd than the Jews to let our love and gratitude break forth beyond the limits of commands and express injunctions and now that God hath open'd to us his rarest treasures his own bosome for to give us his beloved Son he will not reject our free oblations the voluntary acknowledgments of his undeserved and unspeakable mercies 'T is not to be denied without giving the lie to the learning and piety of the best Christians in all ages but that there is in the New Testament counsels as well as precepts some things recommended though not commanded he that sells all that he hath for to buy the pearl of great price and they that make themselves Eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven 2 Cor. 9.6 were not injoyn'd so to do but are well approv'd of and that God who gives a plentiful harvest to him that sows bountifully is doubtless well-pleased with his open handedness and charitable profusion And as it is the best indication of a devout and loving soul cheerfully to exceed what is strictly required it is also the best fence to immure and secure our duty for then when we slack and abate we may be still within our due bounds nay more I am confdent that as it is best and safest it is also easier to give free-will-offerings than only just to pay the daily commanded sacrifice because those proceed from affection these perhaps only from injunction He that is desired to go one mile and goes two or ten finds his way pleasant for love leads him but he that is prest to the same journey and is acted by fear and compulsion while he resolves not to go one foot farther than needs he must will easily be tempted to stay one short of what he should But this is better understood by the devout lovers of JESUS than I can express it Precepts are given to all men as tributes are exacted of all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beat. Doroth. Doct. 1. saith an Ancient guide of souls but as in the world great persons and favourites not only pay the tax but also offer presents and gifts to the Prince so in the Church the most Religious observe not only the precepts but also intimations and counsels and give to God not only what he exacts but also free oblations all that they are able How many thousands of Saints now in heaven have taken this course how many that now wear the bright crown of virginity might have injoy'd the comforts of marriage had not the love of JESUS prevail'd over their natural desires how many who might have possest great estates injoy now the greater treasures of eternity for having made themselves poor to relieve the needy members of JESUS how many who now sit on thrones of glory have chosen here to follow JESUS in meanness and humility when honours and worldly pomps were at their command how many are now rewarded with high degrees of everlasting bliss for having spent their short time upon earth in serving JESUS when they might have spent it upon their own profit or pleasure and how many now living aspire to the same felicities and recompences by cheerfully following the same ways and expressing a sincere and unbounded love S. Aug. by such free oblations Cur non possum quod isti istae Why can't I do what these my Christian Brothers and Sisters have done and do still hath not God done as great things for me as for them hath he not given me the same promises as they had do not I hope to be their companion and fellow citizen in heaven And why then can't I love as much as they did I should therefore and do resolve to make no reservations JESUS shall have the command of all he hath given me of all he hath enabled me to do I shall keep nothing from him which may express my love and gratitude and do him service Dearest JESUS I know I can never do for thee so much as I should and I know that I shall never do so much as I would thou gavest thy self for me and thou wilt give thy self to me and Lord what am I worth and what is the worth of all I can do It is a great favour that thou wilt accept of me and my weak indeavours I know that if heaven were capable of any grief it would be only that we have not lov'd thee enough upon earth when thou fillest our souls with thy Divine and ravishing joys we shall wish we had done nothing here but serve and love thee O give me grace now whilst I live to do what I shall wish to have done when I die let me d◠now I am absent from thee what I shall wish to have don◠when I dwell with thee let me love thee infinitely and without measure Modus amandi Deum sine modo S. Bern. §. 11. Of our obedience to the Church The first instance o◠our love in this way o◠free-will-offerings should be a pious obedience to our Mother the Church not but that it is many ways requir'd but because 't is almost wholly neglected What by pride and refractoriness what by ignorance and indevotion and what by looseness and irreligion that obedience which ought to be paid to those that have the rule over us in the Lord to the standing rules and orders of our Spiritual governors is so generally laid aside that many that would yet dare not press it upon the people and that even they that obey do it secretly and as though 't were dishonourable are in a manner asham'd to own it Hence comes that great neglect of Confirmation that most necessary and Ancient if not Apostolick
and often to consider what God is what he hath done what he doth and what he will do for us if we love him sincerely as also what we are whence we come whither we go and how easie it is for us to be eternally happy if we will set our affections upon God who deserves them so infinitely Doubtless inconsideration is the cause why God is not loved It is not possible men could resist the charms of his love if they would open the eyes of their mind and of their faith to view them But how few are there that do it How fully is the prophesie fulfill'd Mat. 24.12 Iniquity shall abound and the love of many shall wax cold To how many Christians might our Blessed Saviour say as once to the Jews I know you Joh. 5.42 that you have not the love of God in you How justly might now S. Paul complain Phil. 2.21 all men seek their own not the things which are Jesus Christs And how justly might our Blessed Lord the great lover of men complain in the words of his Apostle I will gladly spend and be spent for you or rather I have gladly spent and been spent for you though the more abundantly I love you 2 Cor. 12.15 the less I be loved Want of love is a very sad general evil among Christians in these worst of times and I hope some will be by me perswaded not carelesly to say that they shall do as well as others but as wise men would in pestilent times carefully to provide Antidotes to prevent or cure the infection But alass how should I perswade others de ingratis etiam ingrati queruntur Physician cure thy self I help to propagate the distemper and therefore am very unfit to prescribe against it Shall the unthankful teach gratitude Shall the Pharisee perswade others when he saith and doth not If it be as one saith qui non ardet non accendit that he that burns not with the Divine Fire of love cannot inflame others with it then I may well cry out with him vae mihi frigenti wo is me unhappy creature who am so far from burning that I am almost quite cold and indeed I know and grieve the defects and imperfections of my love and have writ for my self more than for any others and I heartily wish better hearts and pens would treat of this subject and help that way amongst others to reinkindle that almost extinct fire of charity and devotion in the hearts of men and in mine own who would thankfully use their assistance and heartily pray for a reward to them I have no more to say by way of Preface but that if I have been so unhappy as to write any thing contrary to the Doctrine of the Church I disown and retract it before hand and would blot it out with my blood as for particular persons who may find fault with any thing herein I desire them to pass it by It matters not much if they like not every passage and expression if they do but follow what they judge to be good and approve my design and love Jesus with all their hearts it will be enough for their profit and my satisfaction 1 John 4.9 He that loveth not knows not God for God is Love Claustrum Animae THE Reformed Monastery Or the Love of JESUS §. 1. Of the benefits of God to mankind IT were as easie to find out the bottomless depth of the inexhaustible fountain of the Divine Bounty as to tell the Streams which run from it Gods mercies are over all his works and all things that are made are a demonstration as much of his goodness as of his being I will not therefore undertake to number what is innumerable or to express what we cannot so much as comprehend but only insist briefly upon some of the most general benefits of God to mankind and in the representing of them endeavour to make us read our duty and to inflame our hearts with love §. 2. Of Creation First It is God that hath made us and not we our selves we owe him our very being thine hands have made and fashioned me saith David thine eyes did see my substance being yet imperfect Psal 119.13 and in thy book were all my members written Let us say therefore with the same Prophet 134.16 I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made and let us with him fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker You know that by the Laws of God and of all Nations there is an indispensable obligation upon all children to love and honour their Parents because they brought them into the world now certainly the obligation doubles upon every man in respect to his Father which is in heaven for our natural parents were but second causes under him his own power it was that form'd and created us they ingendred our mortal bodies only he is the Father of Spirits he himself gave being to our immortal souls Therefore let every man pay to his Maker those duties he would expect from his child Mal. 1.6 if I am a Father saith God where is mine honour If from our heavenly Father we have receiv'd our life and being let us pay that respect and love and obedience to him which thereby are become his due But there is yet more in this Creation is not a transient act the same power that once gave us our being doth still exert it self in the continuation thereof When a child is born he subsists by himself his parents need not take any care that he returns not to his pristine condition but we have the same dependance upon God in our preservation as we had in our creation should he withdraw his Almighty hand we should return to our first nothing in him we live and move and have our being Therefore we are the more bound to serve and love him that he not only made us to be but gives us as it were a new being every moment by continuing our life and duration by that Almighty will whereby he effected our first production Now if we consider further not only that God made us but what he made us it will yet inforce those bonds of duty which Creation tied upon us For it was in our Makers power either to make us vile and abject as the vilest of beasts or to deny us those faculties and abilities which are most honourable and most useful to our nature but he made us Men the most wonderful of his creatures in us he joyn'd what heaven and earth had most excellent an immortal Spirit created after his image with the most elaborated the most perfect of material things Take a view of the marvellous organs of thy senses of the curious contrivance of those joints and ligaments which unite thy several members of those various and delicate channels which contain thy blood and spirits in a word of all the parts and passions of thy body which are all made for
the horrors and torments of Hell hath laid on thee at least as great obligations to love him as if he had brought thee out of it after thou hadst been long detain'd therein Therefore I desire thou wouldst bring thy thoughts back again to that unpleasant abode and consider thy self as if thou wert shut up in that dismal dungeon and then express what thou wouldst give to be releast what thou wouldst do for him that should bring thee out of that horrible and bottomless pit I know that they that are afflicted with sharp pains and grievous sicknesses would purchase health with all the wealth they have and I believe no reward would hire a man to hold his hand in the fire but for one hours time therefore I doubt not but that if it were in a mans power he would give this and a thousand more worlds to be brought out of an ever-burning furnace and I am perswaded that if thou wilt suffer thy fansy to be active in framing the black and dreadful scene of hellish horrors about thee thou wilt then heartily say were I owner of the whole universe I would joyfully give it to come out of these ever-burning flames which torment my body and to be freed from this never dying worm the remorses of my guilty conscience which torture my soul but because I have nothing freely would I give my self to him that should bring me out of this woful place O I would follow him any where do any thing that he should command me imbrace his feet kiss the ground they tread on and give him all the demonstrations of a sincere and passionate Love Well thy petition is granted before 't was presented the Love and Mercy of JESUS hath prevented thy request and distress New make good thy vows and resolutions Love and Serve JESUS thy Redeemer and give thy self up wholly to him I know that many may be good Christians without being snatch't out of the fire without these terrors and affrightments but I am shewing what our condition had been without a Saviour what is that gulf of perdition whence JESUS hath sav'd us if we will be saved by him and I mention these terrors of the Lord as S. Paul calls them to perswade men to be motives of an active and vehement Love For 't is too observable that few men seriously consider what Redemption means what it was we were redeemed from else they could no◠be so indevout so disobedient so unthankful to their Saviour S. Paul supposing as I do here that without Christ we were already dead and perish't makes it the reason of that Constraining Love which enabled him and other Primitive Christians to suffer so patiently and act so zealously for JESUS the love of Christ saith he constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all then were all dead as if he should say we were certainly dead irrecoverably lost had not Christ died to purchase life and salvation for us therefore we cannot chuse but love him and it is no wonder if that love be strong and if we are govern'd and acted by it That thou maist therefore love affectionately and live devoutly consider seriously that death the misery of that condition wherein thou wert and ever must have been hadst thou not a JESUS I might add that we were delivered from the power and slavery as well as from the condemnation of sin but this is included in the other it being impossible to be saved from the wrath to come without bringing forth fruits meet for repentance and as it is mercy and grace on God's part so on ours it is matter of duty and earnest indeavour and must be the result and effect of our love first that we offend not and then that we serve diligently and faithfully him that redeemed us from our vain conversation and gave himself for us that we being dead unto sin might live unto righteousness §. 7. How we were Redeemed A further ingagement to love and obey will be to consider the manner how our redemption was effected and the price that was paid for it thus The Blessed Son of God the Second Person of the Ever-glorious Trinity undertook that work himself which none else could perform for us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary In praesepe jacet sed mundum continet ubera sugit sed angeles paseit Aug. Ser. de purific 2. and was made man In this act of his miracles and mercies seem to vie one with another that the God of Eternity should be born in time that the Creator of all things should be the Son of a Creature that the most highest should abase himself to the low condition of a servant that God should become an infant is a miracle of Love which we can admire and adore but never fully comprehend The greatness of God is unsearchable his excellencies and perfections are incomprehensible he is infinitely good powerful wise and holy Man contrariwise is in himself wicked and weak ignorant impure and miserable there is so great a disproportion betwixt God and man Haec est mensura amoris non solum quantum fecit nos quanta fecit pro nobis sed quantillus factus est pro nobis so wide so immense a distance that nothing less than an infinite love could have fill'd up the gulf betwixt those two so different natures and united them into one person 'T was never seen that a shepherd would creep upon all four and cover himself with a sheep-skin to call his flock out of danger and to expose himself for it but the good shepherd did much more When he came to lay down his life for his lost and wandering sheep and gather them into his fold he took on him not only the likeness but the very nature of them he became the lamb of God that he might be the shepherd of mankind Though he was infinitely more above man then men are above beasts yet he became the son of man that he might become the Saviour of men 'T was never seen that a Sovereign Prince would seek to reduce to loyalty the most abject of his rebellious subjects by mixing blood with them uniting their families together but behold the Supreme Monarch of heaven and earth contracts a near affinity with his ungrateful rebels who are as vile and miserable as they are criminal that he may free them from their guilt and win them to their duty and their happiness Proud and wretched sinner thou wouldst be so far from entring into the kindred of meaner persons those that are much thine inferiors that thou canst hardly indure to be in their company and behold the most Glorious and Holy God thine offended Sovereign is become thy near relation is become thy Brother that he may win thine affections and become thy Saviour His life all along was a continuation of his great mercy and humility he
by his Father It pleased God to give him up to the cruelties of wicked men and the sorrows of death and that his Divine Nature though personally and inseparably united to his humanity should for a time suspend the effects of its beatifying union and leave him suffer as a man in soul and body the greatest pains without the least comforts They that saw our Crucified Saviour suffer so patiently as not to open his mouth to complain might have thought that he had no sense of pain therefore he crys out so bitterly My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Why dost thou suffer me to be plung'd into this gulf of sorrow so that I have nothing but anguish within and without Why dost thou suffer me to be almost overwhelm'd by so great a distress and art so far from helping me and from the words of my complaint Psal 22. Lord we had deserved to sink and evermore to cry and groan in the bottomless pit and to rescue us Thou art pleas'd to descend very low and with strong crying and tears to say de profundis clamavi out of the depths have I cryed unto thee Psal 130. O Lord hear my voyce be pleased to hear us dearest Lord when we call upon thee and make thy voice sink into our hearts and there find a cheerful admission and a constant and sincere obedience §. 12. The height Now we have only the heigth of the Cross to look on that is the sublimity the greatness of the torments of Christs crucifixion that in this sense his Cross was very high appears already by what hath been said and yet we may consider further that he being conceiv'd by the Holy Ghost of a most pure Virgin was therefore of a most healthful constitution so that his senses being very quick and apprehensive were sensible of pain beyond other men's and so all the blows and wounds he receiv'd and his being nail'd and stretch'd three long hours on the Cross as upon the rack must needs have been a most exquisite torture Also the vigor of his nature being neither weakned nor spent by age or distempers he being full of strength and in the flower of his age was capable to taste the smart and sharpness of his pain to the very last moment of his life and so 't is written by S. Luke that he cryed with a loud voice when he gave up the ghost to shew that he was still very strong and that his death was bitter and violent to extremity There was likewise an invisible Cross which afflicted his soul and made it sorrowful even unto death his heart was like wax Psal 22. melted in the midst of his bowels and in the midst of so many and such intollerable pains his murtherers shook their heads made mouthes at him scoft at his sorrows by cruel and insulting mockeries and by their tongues and derisions aggravated those sufferings which their hands could hardly increase but that the Cross of Christ was higher in the greatness of it's pains than that of any Martyr of any man that ever suffered is evident enough only by considering who it was that was crucified on it for it was more that JESUS being perfect God as well as Man should shed one drop of blood than that all Men and Angels should for Millions of years bear the greatest torments Lord we were wonderfully made by thy power but we are yet more wonderfully redeem'd by thy mercy Lord what is man that thou shouldst thus be mindful of him or rather what is man that he is unmindful of thee §. 13. What an infinite love is exprest by the Cross Now we have seen the whole frame of the Cross writ all over in blood with characters of love expressions of the greatest kindness for a testimony that JESUS lov'd us unto death Not any sorrow or anguish in his soul not any gap or wound in his body but are as many mouthes to cry aloud in the ears of all men Behold what manner of love God had for his enemies his sinful and unworthy creatures to suffer such things to die in such a manner for to redeem them and make them happy Now let us if we can comprehend the breadth and the length O dilectio quam magnum est vinculum tuum quo ligari potuit Deus Idiot the heighth and the depth of the love of JESUS that love which bound him much harder than the cords of the Jews and nail'd him to his cross much faster than those Irons which pierc't his hands and feet for he that could with one word cast his enemies to the ground could easily have broke their bands and escap't from them but that his love did constrain him and make him desirous and willing thus to die What man would suffer one half of what Christ did for his dearest Benefactor And then how immense and wonderful was that charity which he exprest in suffering the ignominy and pains of the Cross for those that were his enemies and had highly injur'd him and from whom he could expect no reward but only to be lov'd again Let us therefore remember it throughout this whole book or rather throughout our whole life that we have been redeem'd from eternal despair and misery and from our vain and sinful conversation not by any corruptible thing as silver and gold but by the precious Blood of Christ shed with great pain and great ignominy §. 14. Of the eternal happiness Jesus merited for us by his death This love of JESUS is more already by far than ours can answer Could our hearts burn perpetually with those brightest flames of love which beatifie the Cherubims could they contain all the most passionate affections of all Saints both in heaven and earth yet we could not love JESUS so much as he deserves for having died to save us from eternal death and yet he did more he suffer'd death that we might have life that we might have eternal life Not only that we might not be intirely miserable but also that we might be perfectly happy Heaven is the purchase of the Blood of Christ as well as Redemption from hell God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us when we were dead in trespasses and sins hath quickned us together with Christ and hath rais'd us up Ephes 2.5 together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Let us meditate a while upon that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory reserv'd in heaven for us 2 Cor. 4.17 and in it consider the same dimensions as in the price wherewith it was bought the Cross of our Saviour and it will greatly press and increase our obligations to love him It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as S. Paul calls it each word is a part of its dimension First the Breadth it comprehends all joys and pleasures all things that are good and desirable all that can yield satisfaction and create
guided by his Divine Laws In the time of man's integrity God was to be regarded and loved first and most of all so it must be still the difference is that then man did it naturally and now by a supernatural assistance he did it then by the grace of his Original Righteousness and now by the grace of the Gospel he did it then without reluctancy now he hath sinful appetites and passions which he must deny and mortifie before he can do it Therefore our Blessed Saviour requires it at the very entrance of his School as a necessary qualification to all that will be his Disciples that they should deny themselves and hate all things in comparison of him Luk. 9.13 If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me 14.20 and again if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple that is he that will own JESUS and he own'd by him must in all things give him the preeminence must relinquish his natural desires deny his own will that he may yield an humble obedience to God he must forsake all things that come in competition with him and even part with his dearest relations and his own life as though he hated them rather than commit what God hath forbidden or disclaim what he would have us profess this self-abnegation Ule satis se diligit qui sedulò agit ut summafrnatur bono this daily self-crucifixion is no act of hatred as the world might think but the greatest kindness we can shew to our selves or others as he that cuts off one of his limbs hates not himself but seeks the preservation of his body and he that casts his goods over-board hates them not but prefers his safety to them so in this case he that parts with his earthly injoyments hates them not but prefers heaven to this earth he that loseth this present life hates it not but loves eternal life beyond it and he that forsakes his friends or parents to follow his Saviour hates them not but loves JESUS above them and seeks to win them to JESUS In this case the promise is verified that he that parts with any thing for Christs sake receives an hundred-fold in compensation and he that loseth his life certainly finds it Therefore hating our kindred and our own lives is otherwise exprest in S. Mat. 10.37 Matthew he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me c. As much as to say that it is only requir'd that the love of God should be predominant that JESUS should be dearer to us than all persons whatever and that in the first place we should love God with all our minds with all our strength and with all our souls for then afterwards the love of our selves and others being subordinate would become regular and innocent §. 20. Of the love of God Now as all sins and miseries proceed from a misplaced love so all vertues and felicities are the product of love well-guided and plac'd on the right object this is as beneficial and advantageous as the other is pernicious that is as S. Sicut radix omnium malorum est cupiditas ita radix omnium bonorum est charitas Serm. de Charit Augustine saith that as self-love is the root of all evil so the love of God is the root of all good the stock whence all vertues do grow The excellency of Divine Love is so great so transcendent Sine charitate fides potest esse sed non prodesse Aug. 1 Cor. 13. that it alone is accepted on its own account and all other things for its sake a faith strong enough to work miracles alms the most expensive and even the flames of Martyrdom profit nothing without love as S. Paul teacheth love it is that makes all good works meritorious in the best sense love it is that gives a value to all other vertues or rather it is love that produceth all good works and vertues as they are so indeed Love is the discharge of our whole duty the fulfilling of the law Rom. 13.10 saith S. Paul love is that grace which renews and sanctifies our natures and abides for ever it is the greatest the most excellent gift of God it is even the Divine Spirit Vnitas Spiritus continet omnia Serm. Pent. Donum est Spiritus Sanctus in quo nobis omnia bona dantur who unites all things within the bonds of love and unity saith S. Augustine and with whom all good things are ever given Divines teach that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son by way of love wherefore he is call'd nexus amoris quo conjungitur Pater cum Filio Filius cum Patre that is in the Language of the Church that in the Unity of the same Spirit the Father and the Son live and reign evermore Charitas qua paâ—er diligit filium filius patrem quae est Spiritus Sanctus ineffabilem communionem amborum demonstrat De Trin. l. 15. or as S. Augustine expresseth it the love wherewith the Father and the Son love mutually is the Holy Spirit and represents best the Mystery of their Incomprehensible Union Now that Divine Spirit which is the eternal love of God to himself is given to us in the grace of love or charity which are one and the same whereby we are all joyn'd together into one body and all united to God therefore in our holding Communion with the Church we are commanded to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Ephes 4.3 and we are taught Rom. 5.5 that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us 2 Cor. 13.14 and that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost are all one so that to come to the highest pitch and finish the elogium of love we may say with S. John that God is love 1 Joh. 4.16 and then we have said all God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him that is God is an abyss of love and goodness by love he gives himself to us and by love we give up our selves to him and are transformed into him Wonder not therefore Deus chari tas est brevis laus sed maâ—na laus brevis in sermone magna in iatellectu c. Aug. Tract 9. in Ep. Johan if the effects of love are so glorious and wonderful when it proceeds immediately from God and is the communication of himself to us when it is the grace of Jesus Christ and the most precious gift of the Divine Spirit when it is the Sanctification of our natures and the bettering and perfecting of the noblest of humane
therefore let us shew to God all the love we can and by words and actions protest that we seek to please him and our hearts will soon be possest with a blessed assurance that we are dear to him and he will never be cruel and severe to us 'T is reported of a Religious Person whose soul was griev'd and wounded with doubts and fears and with sadness that while he was one day weeping and praying thus O that I were sure that I shall persevere and never fall from God O that I were sure that God loves me and that I shall one day see his Blessed Face how zealous then should I be in mortifying my sins and doing my duty how cheerfully should I serve God every day and take pleasure in suffering for him how would I despise the world and its vanities and fix my thoughts and affections on things above while he was thus expressing the sorrows of his troubled mind he heard the whispers of a secret voice which told him fac quod faceres do now what thou wouldst do if thou hadst all those assurances With this he found himself so affected and refresh'd that he took it as an Oracle from heaven and in obeying of it found those comforts he begg'd Better counsel I cannot give thee fac quod faceres do what thou wouldst do if thy diffident timorousness and jealousies were confuted by a voice from heaven and they 'll soon be remov'd Let thy meek submission thy sincere obedience and thy free-will-offerings speak thy love to God and thou shalt soon find thy self perswaded that God loves thee dearly and that thy condition is safe and happy Other assurance we are not to expect in this world and this is not to be obtain'd any other way should thy comfort proceed from any thing else but thine humble and devout love to God it would be fansie and presumption whereas so it is well-grounded and never can deceive thee 1 Joh. 4.18 There is no fear in love saith Divine S. John but perfect love casteth out fear 't is never otherwise grace and nature joyn together to make the effect infallible that a Holy Love should ever produce a Holy Peace if we love indeed and in truth 1 Joh. 3.18 thereby not by new and secret revelations we shall know that we are of the truth and we shall assure our hearts before God Love may well work confidence and joy in our souls for it injoys already what it loves it is affectuosa unitas unitiva affectio love is inseparable from its object and the essence thereof consists in their union if not unity Though God be exalted infinitely above all things in a sphere of Glory and Majesty so high that the Cherubim with their many wings cannot flie up to it Qui mente integra Deum desiderat profecto jam habet quem amat Greg. Mag. yet thither love sores up and takes God and holds him as his own so that every one that loves God is already possest of him and may say with the spouse I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine Cant. 6.3 We come to God by love S. Aug. amando non ambulando and to him we are united by love Magna res est amor quo anima per semetipsam fiducialiter accedit ad Deum c. amore Deo conjungimur therefore love is a great thing saith that devout father it brings the soul to God with an holy confidence and makes it trust in him and cleave stedfastly to him and rejoyce in him and represent her needs and beg his mercies with fiducial and devout affections And this is so great a truth that death it self with its pains and sorrows alters nothing of it even then in the last agonies the love of God sweetens the bitter cup and still entertains the soul with joy and holy comforts It was the saying of S. Aug. that because the soul hath willingly forsaken God whom she should love infinitely she is forc'd therefore with grief and regret to forsake her body which she loves too much and that because she voluntarily departed from God who is her life Aug. de Trin. lib. 4. cap. 13. she therefore departeth from the body whose life she is with sadness and much reluctancy Now we may say that when the soul returns to God by love Charitis libertatem donat timorem pellit c. S. Bern. she is freed from this punishment and restor'd to her first liberty she is willing to die for to be with Christ and then comes a cheerful cupio dissolvi O when shall I come and appear before God Happy is he who living doth so manifest his love to God by Piety and Charity that dying he can say with Theodosius Dilexi love hath been the business and delight of my life I have daily indeavour'd by my actions to declare the sincerity of my love to God he is doubtless of the number of those that love the appearing of JESUS and so he goes out to meet him with joy and confidence expecting a kind reception from him Nemo se amari diffidat qui jam amat libenter Dei amar nostrum quem praevenit subsequitur c. Bern. whom having not seen yet he lov'd and worship'd and serv'd affectionately Let no man that loves God doubt of God's Love to him for he that lov'd us when we were his enemies so as to die for us will much more love us when we have for him the hearty affections of friends It is the joy of heaven the joy of the Holy JESUS when his loving kindness hath won and conquer'd our hearts and 't is our greatest joy 't is for us a heaven upon earth when we love him faithfully and fervently with all our souls and affections The love of God brings that peace to the soul which the world can neither give nor take away Her sins which are many Luke 7.47 are forgiven because she loved much §. 19. The Close Now who can refuse to love God when 't is a thing so just and reasonable so pleasant and easie so safe and advantageous something of necessity we must love every mans heart is full of that passion and every mans life is govern'd by it 't is but considering who hath done most for us and whom we are most oblig'd to love who is most lovely and who will best reward our love and we shall soon understand that God is to be lov'd above all things infinitely without measure and if we love our selves as we should we shall easily remove our affections from the world to set them upon God and Eternity upon JESUS and his kingdom Love as we have seen will make it easie and delightful to do our duty Onus sine onere portat Kemp. will make the yoke of Christ light and enable us with strength and courage to bear our cross cheerfully like Christians it will lead us the shortest and the safest way to