of malice doe so blind the mind that they suffer it not to perceive the truth but are like coloured glasse which maketh white to shew like red and the contrary or like optique glasses which make great things seeme small and small great or those things are a farre off to be neere and they which are neere a farre off Whatsoever thing a man loves fervently he ever judgeth it to be most faire and amiable most beneficiall and profitable most excellent and necessary for himselfe and despiseth all other things in comparison of it Againe whatsoever he hates vehemently hee reputes it the most deformed unprofitable evill and pernicious But if once this black and foule iron be put into the fire that is if a sinner begin to be turned from his sinne and be converted to God according to that of the Psalmist Then the Lord shall make his darknesse light then he begins by little and little by degrees to bee enlightned and by that light to perceive the truth according to that in the Psalme in thy light shall wee see light then the false glasse of his passions being broken and a true one look'd upon which is pure love hee esteemeth eternall things great and temporall small and almost nothing as indeed they are and perfectly perceives that all beauty and forms of things created are not to bee compared at all with the light of truth and wisedome which is in God and is God and therfore cryeth out with St. Augustine I have loved thee too late O thou beauty I have loved thee too late And because Christ saith You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free hee that is so enlightened and freed from the bonds and shackles of concupiscence covetousnes ambition and all other passions by the light of truth shall rejoyce with the Prophet and say Thou hast broken my bonds in sunder I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thankesgiving and will call upon the name of the Lord. Secondly fire as it makes iron cleare which formerly was blacke so of cold it maketh it hot yea so scorching and burning as that it seemeth to bee fire it selfe Great is the Lord and great is his power that a man by nature cold fearefull and timorous not daring of himselfe to speake much lesse to attempt any hard or difficult designe yet being once heated with the fire of Love he can make him as bold as a Lyon who terrifies all others with his roaring and overcomes by his power and that nothing shall seeme difficult or hard to him insomuch as being kindled with this fire hee shall say with the Apostle I can do allthings through Christ which strengthneth me But let us speake of the two parts of the efficacie of this fire severally namely of the power of it in words and in deeds 1 There are many now adayes and ever were in the Church of God Preachers and teachers of great note yet what is the reason that with so many of their Sermons so few are converted that so little alteration of manners and conversation appeareth for still the same vices the same sinnes the same coldnes and dissolute behaviour continueth I can ascribe it to no other cause but that in these Sermons though they be learned fluent and elegant there wants the life the fire and love which onely is of power and efficacie to quicken heat and inflame the hearts of the Auditors I deny not but there are many Preachers who can thunder as it were and beat the Pulpit but they are like Gunnes charged with powder onely and can give a crack as great as a peece of Ordinance but fruitlesse because they preferre not the glory of God and the salvation of soules before the applause of men Saint Peter was no Rhetorician but knew only how to steere a Ship and mend a net and to cast it abroad but as soone as the Holy Ghost came upon him in the shape of fiery tongues and filled him with most ardent love he began presently even in the midst of Ierusalem to preach with such power and efficacie that at one Sermon of his many thousands were converted And yet wee read not that he used much clamor or laying about with his body or banging the Pulpit from whence then proceeded such moving of the Auditors from whence such gaining of soules certainly by this that the holy Preacher was as a fire and his Word burnt like a Lamp as it is said in Ecclesiasticus of Elias his words came from him as from a heart burning and sparkling with Lâ—ve 2. Againe this divine fire hath as much efficacie in deeds as in words God had decreed to subject to himselfe the Citie of Rome the head of the Empire by the preaching of the Apostle St. Peter and to send abroad other of his Apostles some for the conversion of the Ethiopians others of the Indians others to the Sâ—ythians and some to the Brittaines and by them not onely to destroy the Idols of the World but to erect â—nd advance the Trophee of the Crosse to alter the rites of the Gentiles and to subvert the â—yrannicall Kingdome of the Devill If any man should have foreâ—old these things to the Apoâ—tles when they were fishing in the Lake of Genesareth or when during the time of our Saviours Passion they lurked in corners they would have been beleeved no more then dreames or old wives fables yet after a while all these things came to passe and that by no other meanes then the power of most ardent love which the holy Ghost kindled in their hearts for as St. Iohn speaketh Perfect Love casteth out seare and againe Love suffereth all things hopeth all things endureth all things thinks nothing impossible but cryes with the Apostle I am able to doe all things in him which strengtheneth me So that wee see that by the endeavour of these men armed with Love onely Idolatry was expelled the whole world with little labour and Churches of Christianity established every where in alâ— Kingdomes without the force of Armies or warlike provision Thirdly fire hath this property that it softens hard Iron that it may be lengthned out into plates and being made thinue fitted to any forme at the Artificers pleasure It is true that this is a great efficacie of fire in iron yet farre greater is the power of GOD over the obstinate and obdurate hearts of men St. Bernard describes a hard heart thus That is not onely a hard heart saith he which is not terribly afraid of it selfe because it is insensible What then is a hard heart That which is not cut with compunction nor mollified with devotion nor moved with prayers yeelds not to threats is hardened with scourges is unthankfull for benefits unfaithfull in counsailes that neither feares GOD nor reverenceth men All these things were verified in Pharaâ—h who the more he was plagued the more he was hardned and the
therefore thou canst not see him because he is a spirit more high and sublime and more inward then thou art and that thou after a sort stayest without and he within in his most secret and deep retyring place But shalt thou never be admittted into that secret place God forbid Blessed are the pure in spirit for they shall see GOD saith our Saviour who cannot lye and Now we see through a glasse darkly but then face to face saith one Apostle And We know that when he shall appeare we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is saith another And how great will that joy be when being admitted to that sâ—cret place we shall see and possesse that light that shape that beauty even goodnes it selfe then it will plainely appeare how vaine and fading and like shadowes these temporall things were and with which men as drunken and besotted neglected the true and everlasting good things But if thou truly thirstest after GOD and If thy teares have beene thy meate day and night while they daily say unto thee where is thy GOD be not slowe or slacke to cleanse thy heart with which thou must see GOD nor be weary in erecting these degrees in thine heart untill the GOD of Gods appeare in Sion neither waxe cold in thy love to GOD and thy neighbour nor love him onely in word and tongue but in worke and truth for this is the way which leadeth to life DEGREE XI By the Consideration Of the Greatnes of GODS Power by the similitude of Corporeall greatnes GReat is the LORD and of his greatnesse is neither end nor measure Neither is he great only because his height is his omnipotence his depth unsearchable wisedome his bredth mercy spread and extended every where and his length justice like an Iron rod but also because every one of these attributes are great in the magnitude of his infinite latitude altitude longitude and profundity To begin with his power or rather omnipotence This power of GOD hath its latitude which is so placed in him as that it extendeth and stretcheth it selfe to things altogether infinite 1. First it extendeth it selfe to all things which are created for there is nothing in the whole universe from the chiefest Angel to the poorest worme and from the highest heaven to the lowest abysse which is not made by the power of GOD. Allthings saith St. Iohn were made by him and without him was nothing made and a little after The world was made by him 2. Againe it reacheth to all things which shal be made for ever for as without him nothing could have been made so neither shall any thing be made without him Of him and through him and in him are all things saith the Apostle 3. Thirdly it stretcheth it selfe to all things that can be made although they never shall be for so saith the Angell With GOD nothing shal be impossible And Christ himselfe said With GOD all things are possible 4. It also extends it selfe to the dissolution and destruction of all things made For as God could destroy by the deluge all men and creatures upon the face of the earth except a few reserved by himselfe in Noahs Arke so will he be able at the last day to destroy by fire not onely all men and living creatures but Trees Cities and other things in the earth also The day of the LORD saith St. Peter shall come as a thiefe in which the heavens shall passâ— away with a great noyse and thâ— Elements shall melt with heateâ— the earth also and the workes thâ—â— are therein shall be burnt up Great without doubt is â—hiâ— latitude of Gods power which no man can sufficiently admire unlesse he could number the multitude of things which God partly hath partly will and partly can make but who can number such a multitude but he onely whose knowledge is infinite 5. Againe the greatnesse of this power encreaseth much if we consider how great a work it is in a moment to dissolve with great facility the things which are made or as Judas Maccabeus speakes Vno nutu delere at a becke to destroy the whole world Let us then say with Moses Who is like unto thee ô LORD in fortibus among the Gods Now the longitude of Gods power is seene in this that he cooperateth daily with those things he hath made neither is or shal be at any time weary in cooperating for this power of God can neither be diminished weakned nor broken by any meanes being joyned with true eternity the divinity being eternity 1. Many men mervaile how the Sun Moone and Starres for so long time have continued their motions with such swiftnesse and without intermission and it were a thing worth our admiration but that we know that they are carried by Almighty GOD Who beareth all things by his mighty word 2. Others wonder how it comes to passe that in hell either the fire is not consumed with burning so long or that the bodies of the damned should not be dissolved with so long burning And this were not onâ—y to be thought wonderfull but impossible also were it not that he is eternall and omnipotent that makes the fire so to burne alwaies that it shall never be extinguished and so keepes the bodies of the damned in that fire as that they shal be ever tormented and never consumed 3. Lastly others there are that wonder that GOD should sustain and beare all things and without wearinesse support so great a weight almost infinite It is true that a strong Man a Horse an Oxe or an Elephant can carry a great weight but it is for a small time onely but to carry so great a masse for ever without wearinesse passeth the strength of all things created And yet they might well mervaile if GOD had strength by weight and measure as things created have but inasmuch as the strength of GOD exceeds all measure and that he is wholly infinite it is no mervaile at all if an infinite strength beare a great weight or masse without defatigation although it be for an infinite time Let us heare againe say with the holy Prophet Who is like unto thee ô Lord among the Gods The next thing to be considered is the height of Gods power which is chiefly manifested in two things 1. His omnipotencie may be called most high because he onely made most high things Those things which are under the Moone onely GOD made in the first creation and they may by the act of creatures be begotten changed and corrupted for the elements are changed by course according to their parts and of the earth are Herbs and Trees begotten of animals are animals increased and propagated fishes are borne in water clouds and raine in the ayre and comets in the fire But the heaven and starres which are the highest bodies GOD onely created onely preserves neither can the creature have any act
thereby a knowing and consequently a love and service of him is necessarily required of us That it is commanded as a speciall duty appeares by many places in holy writ of which I will select a few Seek the LORD and his strength seeke his face continually and Set your hearts and your soules to seeke the LORD your GOD. And GOD himselfe by the Prophet Amos Seeke ye me and live Secondly it was ever the counsaile of GODS Prophets and servants as of King David to his Sonne Know thou the GOD of thy Fathers c. If thou seek him he will be found of thee He adviseth him to know him by seeking him The same King gives the same counsaile to his Princes as also to his Quire and Church-men in the two places before mentioned to shew that neither Prince Nobility nor Clergy are exempt from this duty Againe it hath alwaies bin the practise of Godly Princes and others King Iehosaphat set himselfe to seek the LORD King Hezekiah prayed for those that prepared their whole heart to seeke the LORD King Iosiah when he was yet a child began to seeke after the GOD of David his Father It was also the fame King Davids practise For when GOD said Seeke my race he answers presently Thy face LORD will I seeke And in another place I have set GOD alwaies before me And surely not without reason was this duty either câ—mmanded counsailed or practised for there is a promise of reward annexed we shall not lose our labour but receive much good in seeking to know him In the Booke of Deuteronomie GOD promiseth not onely to be found of them that seeke him but to deliver them from misery and heape blessings upon them King David found by experience that GOD never failed them that seeke him And seeke ye after GOD saith he and your soule shall live And GOD himselfe by the Prophet Esay I said not in vaine to the seed of Jacob Seeke ye me And lastly not to trouble you with many The LORD is good to the soule that seeketh him saith the Prophet Ieremie Lastly it is the end for which Man was created St. Paul after he had beaten much upon the point that a GOD was to be sought out whom men should worship and had made it plaine by the creation of all things who that GOD was came to the end of Mans creation which was to seeke him Man being created for that purpose and end adding that it would be no great labour to find him as being not farre from every one of us He then which shal be negligent in this duty is not worthy of his creation and deserves not to live it being a most absurd and undecent thing for a Manto be ignorant of his Creator having recerved from him the guift of understanding and made capable to know him We see that Rivers naturally returne to the Sea whence they come and all things elso to their first being Wherefore then should not Man returne in his thoughts and desires to GOD who-gave him his being and why should his heart be as rest till be returne to him considering as I said that he made the understanding whereby he might know him the memory that he might ever be mindfull of him and the will ever to love him And now since we have in some sort seene that it is a duty enjoyned by GOD to seeke him that it hath beene the counsaile and practise of many holy Kings and Prophets that we shall not lose our labour but receive benefit by our seeking and lastly that it is the onely end for which we were created let us take a further view how we may so seeke that we may find and know him To the due performance of which act we must observe these cautions 1 That we prepare our hearts carefully and diligently to seeke 2 That we seeke him in sincerity and simplicity without hypocrisie 3 That we be humble and not curious seekers 4 That we seek him in Faith without wavering 5 That wee be earnest and zealous and not cold or luke-warme seekers This carefull preparation of the heart hath ever been commended as most necessary before the undertaking of any pious act and indeed is the foundation and first degree to this seeking Iehosaphat prepared his heart to seeke the LORD as you have seene Iothan became mighty because he prepared his waies And S. Ieâ—ome saith that purgandus est animus ut perspicere illam lucem valeat a man shall never be able to see the clearenesse and beauty of that light if he first prepare not nor fit himselfe before-hand if hee seeke him not in due order It was the Wisemans advice to seeke GOD in simplicity of heart and it is the Pure in heart that shall see GOD. as our Saviâ—â—r speakes The Sun beames shâ—ne brightest upon a cleare glasse and in a cleane heart the beames of Divine grace shine most The uncleane shall not see GOD saith the Apostle Saint Ierome calls the humble Man DEI Templum the Temple or habitation of GOD. He shall not onely see GOD but GOD will abide with him GOD giveth grace to the humble And CHRIST himselfe while he was conversant upon Earth delighted not in great or proud company but chose fishermen to converse with and the Centurions non sum dignus with the Publicans humble confession pleased him more then all the proud vaunts of the Scribes and Pharises He desires not but abhorres to be looked on with curious and prying eyes and therefore St. Augustine writing against the Manichees saith and his counsaile is Compescat se humana temeritas id quod non est non quaerat ne illud quod est inveniat after the fearfull example of Vzza Faith is the beginning of cleaving to GOD saith the Sonne of Syrach And Fides humanae salutis initium saith St. Augustine For by it we understand what soever is necessary for us to know concerning GOD. Now that there is a GOD some Deity all people even the Heathen that had their intellectualls held as a maxime Hee in the Psalme that said there was no GOD said it but in his heart was not so impudent as to speake it out and yet for his thought onely had the brand of a foole This Faith St. Augustine saith Valet ad cognitionem DEI non tanquam omnino incogniti sed quò cognoscatur manifestius And Si quis hic non ambulaverit per Fidem non perveniet ad speciem beatae visionis By it the children of light are distinguished from those of darknesse and per ipsam discitur veritatis scientia et percipitur cognitio Divinitatis By it the knowledge of the truth is learned and of the Divinity perceived Lastly zeale love and hearty affection is of all vertues the clearest sighted and will see GOD soonest For it is the affection to a
thing that drawes a mans desire to see it And yet this vertue naturally depends upon the former of Faith For if Faith be wavering love and affection is soone cool'd Fall from the one and fall from the other quickly For no Man can affect or love that which he beleeves not to be But yet this vertue is so necessary as that without it none can ever attaine to the sight of GOD. St. Augustine saith Quantò flagrantius DEUM diligimus tantó certius sereniusque videamus We shall see GOD the surer and more perspicuously by how much the greater our zeale affâ—ction and love is to him And being thus prepared and fitted with these qualities we must seeke him as the Prophet counsaileth while he may be found Wee must doe it in due time that is while we are in this vale of misery we must seeke and apply our selves to see and know him as much and as soon as we may here that we may see him face to face to our comfort as he is hereafter Time is first either past and that is not we cannot make use of that Secondly or to come and that we know not whether we shall have it to use or no it is onely in GODS power Thirdly or it is present and that we must lay hold of and make use of it Therefore in what condition of what age soever thou art seek the LORD and that instantly And if thou shalt take hold of this time with this preparation no doubt but GOD will be favourable to thee and thou shalt see his face with joy Thou shalt finde him if thou seeke him and the rather if thou doe it early with David or with King Iosias while thou art yet a child and finding him thou shalt know him and being come to the knowledge of greatnesse and goodnesse thou shalt certainly love him which is the chiefe duty he requires of thee And now give me leave to offer to your view a generation that have neither eyes nor hearts aright and with Esay Let me bring forth the blind that have eyes that is to say such as have their sight yet wander like Jeremies blind men and grope at noone day with those in Deuteronomie That have eyes and see not have understanding but make not true use of it for which GOD gave it but it is darkned as St. Paul saith because of the hardnesse of their heart Among which I will set before you the chiefe Woâ—ldlings Ambitious Selfe-lovers Rebellious Covetous and Idle All which sorts of people as I said before have filmes before their eyes that hinder their sight and seeking The love of this World in generall doth so blind the eyes of men that worldlings cannot distinguish betweene good and evill they are not able have neither power nor time to see the true GOD. For the World being once fixed in their hearts they cannot find out the things which GOD made from the beginning that is they cannot think of their Creator And as St. Paul speaketh The God of the World hath blinded their eyes least the light of the glorious Gospell should shine to â—hem and therefore in another place he calls it the darknesse of the World It was this love of the World that caused Demas to for sake St. Paul And St. Iohn affirmes plainely that he which loveth the World hath not the love of GOD in him and therefore neither can nor desires to see him Againe the World as a false glasse deceives the sight it 's a very hypocrite promiseth faire but beleeve it not rather feare the reward of its service for breve est quod delectat aeternum quod cruciat It is impossible to looke to Heaven with one eye and to the Earth with the other It was the dung of a Sparrow or Swallow that deprived Tobias of his sight and the Apostle calls the things of the world Terrena stercora and therefore while we dote on this world and the dung there of falls upon our sight we may be justly reputed blind we grope for the wall like the blind and grope as if we had no eyes we may apply that to our selves which David did unto himselfe The light of our eyes is gone from us while we are in this estate we shall never see God The filme of preferment much darkens the sight and the smoke of honour is so prejudicious to the eyes that it hinders men from the sight of their Creator For though they carrie their eyes loftily yet look they not so high as they should the myst of ambition is so thick before their eyes and the Sun-beames of honour so dazles them that in comparison of a true and cleare sight these may also bee justly reckoned among the blinde Not much unlike to the Ambitious is the Selfe-lover proud and vaine-glorious he is also blind for his eves his sight is wholly reversed and turned inward The Pharisee lost his sight by this vanity and so did Nabuchadonozor and the Angels their blessed vision The proud have not so much as a thought of GOD much lesse a desire to see him but all their desire is to see themselves and that so long in the burning glasse of selfe conceit that in the end they lose their sight And this disease of the eyes begets another worse then the former namely Rebellion For the proud thinks none better then himselfe presently with pharaoh saies Who is the LORD The vice of pride makes the heart rebellious as Ieremy speakes and while a man is in rebellion he never desires to see his Prince It so hardens the heart that it can receive no impression of goodnesse but their eyes are as it were set in their heads as it is said of Ahia in another case They have eyes but see not as Ieremy saith in the same Chapter and as our Saviour seeing they shall see and not perceive because they have closed their eyes And this is that blindnesse of heart which the Apostle St Paul meanes For indeed the cause of this blindnesse is as of all other evills the heart it being to the soule as the eye to the body For the eye is but as a conduit or channell through whose optiques all good or bad desires passe to the heart Riches are as great an eye-sore as any of the former for the eye of the covetous is ever fixed upon a wrong object Avarus est caecus The covetous Man is blind saith St. Augustine and therefore not without cause did our Saviour bid men to be ware of covetousnesse For these terrena stercora of riches the mucke of the World blind the eyes even of the wise they divert the eyes of the mind from seeing GOD. The Prodigall having his porâ—ion went from his Father Place â—â— looking-glasse upward and you shall see Heaven but downward â—nd the Earth is in your sight â—t is not wealth but poverty
to touch him by any pious affection or to cleave to him unlesse he take us up and draw us after him by his power Therefore when David had said I have set GOD alwaies before mee or in my sight he presently addes for he is on my right hand or as St. Jerâ—me me suscepit dextratua Neither are we onely in these three respects farre from GOD that we can neither see him nor easily thinke of him nor joyne to him in affection but wee easily forget him scarce sounding forth his name by praise or prayer the reason is because wee are entangled and taken up with temporall affaires which compasse us round and even overwhelme us This then is the cause why the Holy Ghost in sacred writ as wee said even now so often perswades and counsailes us to seeke GOD. As Seeke yee after GOD and your soule shall live And Seeke the LORD and his strength seeke his face evermore And The LORD is good to the soule that seeketh him And Seeke the LORD while hee may be found and Seeke the LORD in simplicity of heart And If thou shalt seeke the LORD thy GOD thou shalt finde him if thou seeke him with all thy heart and with all thy soule No man of what condition soever is tyed so to give himselfe up to the affaires of the World as not to refresh himselfe with meate drinke and sleepe And if the bodie require such refreshing and repast how much rather should the soule desire food and sleepe Prayer and contemplation one being the meate and the other the sleepe of the soule and by these two are ascents framed in the heart by which wee are to see the GOD of GODS in Sion even asmuch as hee may be seene in this vale of teares Now there can bee no plainer or more easie way for us mortalls to ascend to GOD then by the consideration of his workes For wee cannot properly say that they ascended which by the singular guift of GOD were admitted by another way into Paradise and there to heare the secrets of GOD which are not lawfull to bee spoken or uttered but onely that they were rapt as Saint Paul plainely confesseth in his owne case But that it is possible for a man to ascend to the knowledge of GOD and love of his Creator by his workes that is by his creatures the Booke of Wisedome the Apostle Saint Paul and reason it selfe sufficiently prove seeing the efficient cause may bee knowne by its effects as a Man by his picture or Image And there is no doubt but that all Created things be the workes of GOD and holy Scripâ—ure teacheth us that Man and Angels be not onely the workes but the images of GOD. Being therefore provoked and stirred up with these reasons and having a little ease and rest from other affaires I have attempted to make a LADDER out of the Consideration of the Creatures by which after a sort GOD may bee ascended unto And I have distinguished it into fifteene Staves or Steppes after the similitude of the fifteene Degrees by which men went up to SOLOMONS Temple and of the fifteene Psalmes of DAVID his Father usually called the Gradualls or Psalmes of Degrees THE FIRST DEGREE of our spirituall ascending to GOD is by the Consideration of MAN DEGREE I. WHosoever is desirous to erect his thoughts to God-ward must first begin with the consideration of himselfe For we are every one of us the creature and image of GOD and nothing is neerer to us then our selves And therfore not without cause said Moses Attende tibi Take heed to thy selfe For whosoever shall strictly and narrowly look into himselfe shall finde that he is the very compendium or abridgement of the whole World and by this view with little labour and difficulty he may ascend to the creator of all things And to this search the resolution of these foure ordinary and easie questions wil be necessarie 1 Who was Mans Creator 2 Of what matter he was created 3 What forme was given him 4 To what end he was brought into the World First if thou wilt examine diligently who it was that made thy soule when it was not thou shalt finde that it was GOD and not thy Parents For whatsoever comes of the flesh is fleshly and thy soule is a spirit Not Heaven Earth Sun or Starres for they are corporeall thy soule incorporeall Not Angels or Archangels for thou were not made of any matter but meerely of nothing and none but GOD is able to make something of nothing He therefore without helpe of any others with his owne hands which are his understanding and will created thee And though GOD used thy Parents to the begetting of thy flesh as labourers to a building yet is he the chiefe worke-man and creator both of body and soule For if thy Parents had been the chiefe authors and makers of thee they may as well be able without skill in Anatomy to know all thy bones nerves veines muskles and other things which they are ignorant of they might also be as well able when thou art sicke or lame to cure thee as to make thee like a clock-maker who can take in pieces and amend the watch or clocke formerly made by him But the joyning of soule and body in so strong a tye as that they become one substance is a worke of such transcendence that none can performe but he who is of infinite power Therefore this question is resolved and we may and must confidently affirme that GOD is Mans creator who onely doth wonderfull things And therefore Moses inspired by the spirit of GOD may seeme to confirme this point when he saith by way of question and answer Is not he thy Father he hath made thee and proportioned thee And Job likewise Thy hands have made me and fashioned me and a little after Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh and joyned me together with bones and finewes The Kingly Prophet also acknowledgeth asmuch Thy hands have made me and fashioned me and againe Thou hast fashioâ—ed me behind and before To these I may adde that excelâ—ent speech of that heroicall woman in the Booke of the Maccabees to her sounâ—s I cannot tell how ye came into my Wombe for I neither gave you breath nor life it is not I that â—et in order the members of â—our body but doubtlesse the Creator of the World which formed the birth of man and found out the beginning of all things And upon this it was that CHRIST himselfe said Call no man your Father upon the earth for there is but one your Father which is in Heaven upon which Saint Augustine speaking of his naturall Sonne Adeodatus said to GOD Thou didst make him well for I had nothing in that childe besides the fault Well then If GOD be author both of body and soule if he be thy Father and preserver if what thou
clearely as he is in himselfe and shalt enjoy him farre better and more intimately then thou now dost these created and transitorie things For hearken to Christ who saith Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see GOD. Heare what St. Paul saith Now we see through a glasse darkly but then face to face And lastly heare what St. Iohn saith We shal be like unto him for we shall see him as he is Besides I aske thee how much of the world or of the things belonging to it dost thou enjoy Certainely but a small portion or part of it in comparison of the magnitude before spoken of and this also in short time thou knowest not how soone will'st thou nill'st thou thou must leave and forgoe But GOD in whom are all things thou shalt enjoy for ever for GOD shall be all in all He will be life meate apparell house honour riches delights and all things To which we may adde that GOD is so gracious and mercifull that in this time of thy pilgrimage he forbiddes thee not the comfort of his creatures from which he is so farre as that he created them all for thy service but this he commands that thou use them moderately soberly and temperately and that thou impart them to and communicate them with those which want and that chearefully and lastly that they rule not over thee but thou over them Lay these things together and bethinke thy selfe whether it wil be better for thee in this life to be contented with these created things asmuch as shall be necessary for thy sustentation and in the other life to enjoy GOD the Creator in whom are all things or in this life to so covet them as never to be satisfied and in the other life to be bereft of all these temporalls and those spirituall and eternall also Consider also that GOD is not so farre from those which love him as not to afford them great content and delights in this life and those greater then the lovers of the world find in these created things For it is not written in vaine Delight in the LORD and he shall give thee thy hearts desire and the meeke spirited shall possesse the earth and shal be refreshed c. and the Apostle I am filled with comfort c. And the Psalmist againe In the multitude of sorrowes that were in my heart thy comforts ô LORD have refreshed my soule Of which two last cited places the meaning is not that comfort ariseth out of tribulation joy out of griefe for thornes doe not bring forth grapes nor thistles figges but that GOD doth Minister to those which love him such pure and solid comforts to asswage their troubles as that temporall joyes are not to be compared with them Therefore let this be thy firme conclusion be thus ever perswaded in thy heart That he which findeth GOD findeth allthings and he which loseth him loseth allthings It followeth that by the vertue and power of things created and which GOD hath given to them we ascend to the knowledge of the infinite power and vertue of the Creator There is hardly any thing at all which hath not some extraordinary or admirable vertue power or efficacie in it The earth or stone if it fall from high with what force and violence doth it alight what doth it not crush in pieces what doth it not breake what can resist the force of it The holy Spirit in the Revelation when he would describe the fall of Babylon saith thus Then a mighty Angel tooke up a great stone like a Mill-stone and cast it into the Sea saying With such violence shall that great Citie be cast and shall be found no more The water which flowes gently and pleasingly upon the face of the earth if it be stirred in rivers or swift streames with what violence it overthrowes and destroyes all it meets with not onely Cottages but Gates and Walls and Bridges of stone and what not The winds which sometimes blow sweetly being enraged dash Ships against Rockes and turne up old and strong Oakes and other Trees by the roots What shall we say of fire a comfortable element with what speed a little sparkle of it increaseth into so great a flame as consumes and devoures whole Townes Cities and Forrests Behold saith Saint James how great a matter a little fire kindleth Againe how many vertues lye secret in herbs and stones In some beasts what strength appeares as in the Lyon Elephant Beare Horse and Bull. In others what wit and craft as in the little Ant Spider the Bee and the Foxe To say nothing of the power of Angels of the vertue of the Sun and Starres which are farre from us and looke upon and consider the wit of Man whereby so many Arts are invented as that sometime it is a disputable question whether art should give place to nature or nature to art Raise thy mind then againe to GOD and consider how great power efficacie and vertue is in the Creator the LORD GOD of whom the Scripture saith most truely Moses in his song Who is like unto thee O LORD among the Gods and King David Who onely doth great wonders and Saint Paul The blessed and onely Potentate King of Kings and Lord of Lords for the Creatures have their power onely from him and that so long as he pleaseth Who kept Ionas in the Whales belly so that neither the teeth of the Whale nor the violence of the water could doe him any hurt but GOD Who shut the mouthes of the hungry lyons from touching Daniel but GOD Who preserved the three Children in the fiery hot furnace from the force of the fire but GOD Who rebuked the raging Sea and the furious winds but CHRIST who is true GOD GOD it is that hath no power nor vertue from any but his will is his power and a power that cannot be resisted and he hath infinite power alwaies hath it and hath it in all places all the power of Man being compared with his is not small and little but none at all for so speakes the Prophet Esay All nations before him are as nothing and they are counted to him lesse then nothing and vanity Are not they then unwise who fearing the Creature feare not the Almighty GOD and that trust either in their owne or their friends strength and not in GOD Almighty If GOD be on our side who can be against us and if GOD be against us who can be on our side Therefore if thou be wise Humble thy selfe under the mighty hand of GOD cleave to him in true piety and thou shalt not need to feare what either Man the Devill or other creature can doe against thee If perhaps thou hast fallen from goodnesse and hast provoked thy GOD to anger give no rest to the temples of thy head untill thou hast made thy peace againe with him for it is
Kingdome for he raigned over all Kingdomes from the river Euphrates to the land of the Philistims unto the border of Aegypt and they brought presents and served Salomon all the daies of his life he had besides so great wealth that he had 40000. stalls of Horses for his Charriots and 12000. Horse-men besides his Ships trading to Ophir brought such store of gold and precious stones that silver was nothing esteemed in his daies and was given by him as stones in Jerusalem His pleasure also he tooke after such an unlimited manner that delighting in Women he tooke to him 700. Wives princesses and 300. concubines And yet heare what he saith of himselfe after he had reckoned up these pleasures and many more as you may read at large in the Booke of the Preacher after he had well look'd into them behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit and there is no profit under the Sun Therefore you see he found no true rest either in his riches honour pleasures or wisedome nor could he have found any had they beene many more because the mind of Man is immortall and these things are mortall and of no continuance nor it cannot be that the mind capable of infinite good should be satisfied with finite good For as the humane body cannot rest either in the ayre though it be large or in the water though it be deepe because the earth and not the water or ayre is its center so the minde of Man can never rest in ayrie honour or watry riches which are sordid pleasures but in GOD onely who is the true center of the minde and the onely place of rest for it and proper to it How divinely and wisely then did his Father King David cry out after he had gone into GODS Sanctuary and understood the end of the wicked in their prosperity Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none that I desire in earth in comparison of thee GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever Consider this then and thou wilt confesse that GOD is the Rocke upon which thou most rest and relye other things are but vanitie and vexation of spirit which are not things in true existence but in false apparaence they comfort not but torment being gotten with labour kept with feare and lost with sorrow and griefe Despise therefore if thou beest wise all tranâ—itory things least they snatch thee away with them and set thy rest on GOD alone cleave to him with the bond of love who remaines the same for ever Lift up thy heart to GOD in Heaven least it putrifie in Earth Learne true Wisedome by the folly of many in whose persons the wiseman speaketh Therefore we have erred from the way of truth and the light of righteousnesse hath not shined unto us and the Sun of understanding rose not upon us We have wearied our selves in the way of wickednesse and destruction and we have gone through dangerous waies but we have not knowne the way of the Lord. What hath pride profited us or what profit hath the pompe of riches brought us All those things are passed away like a shadow and as a Post that passeth by Againe this foundation the Earth is an Embleme of GOD in another respect which CHRIST himselfe hath explained unto us in the Gospell by his similitude of a house built upon a Rock which though the raine fell upon it the winds beat upon the side of it and the floods attempted to undermine it yâ—t stood firme and unmovable but the house built upon the sand could resist none of them but fell So the mansion of mans soule which consists of many vertues and graces as of so many roomes and chambers if it be founded upon GOD as upon a Rocke thatis if it stedfastly beleeve him if it put its whole trust and confidence in him if it be rooted and founded in the love of him it may say with the Apostle Who shall separate us from the love of CHRIST The soule so founded may be secure because neither spirituall wickednesses which are above it nor carnall concupiscences which are beneath it nor domesticall enemies our kinsmen and acquaintance which are about it shall at any time prevaile against it Great I confesse are the forces and subtilties of spirituall powers but greater is the power greater is the wisedome of the Holy Spirit which is ruler and president over the house which is built upon GOD. Very much and earnestly doth the flesh fight against the Spirit and concupiscences have overcome many strong Men but the love of GOD easily overcometh the love of the flesh and the feare of the LORD the feare of the World Lastly Mans homebred enemies many times draw them by evill example and conversation to the perpetrating of sinne but the soule whose confidence is that it hath GOD to Father and friend easily shakes such friends off and will say with the Apostle I am perswaded that neither life nor death nor Angels nor Principalities noâ— Powers nor things present nor things to come nor any other creature shal be able to separate me from the love of GOD which is in CHRIST JEsus our LORD The second property of the Earth consists in this that it is as a good nurse to Men and other living creatures in bringing forth herbs fruits and other sustenance in plentifull manner for their preservation And this property â—eads us to the Creator who is the true Nurse For it is not properly the Earth but GOD by the Earth which produceth these good things For so the holy Spirit speaketh by the mouth of David He bringeth forth grasse for the cuttell and greene herbe for the service of men and a little after These all wayt upon thee that thou mayest give them meat in due season When thou givest it them they gather it and when thou openest thine hand they are filled with good and our Saviour in the Gospell Behold the foules of the ayre for they sowe not neither reape nor cary into the barnes yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them and the Apostle Saint Paul in the Acts Neverthelesse he left not himselfe without witnesse in that hee did good and gave us raine from Heaven and fruitfull seasons filling our hearts with food and gladnesse Yet is that true which GOD commanded at the Creation Let the Earth bud forth the bud of the herbe that seedeth seed and the fruitfull tree which beareth fruit according to his kind but it is by the power and vertue which GOD hath given it and GOD himselfe by the Earth producing increasing and preserving these things And for this cause it was that King David inviting all creatures to praise the LORD among the rest calls upon fruitfull trees to doe the same and that the three Children in Daniel sang All things that grow on the Earth blesse ye
instruct many men in the way of righteousnesse These also are very acceptable and pleasing to Almighty GOD according to the saying of the wisedome of GOD. He that shall observe and teach them shal be called great in the Kingdome of Heaven Jewels and pretious stones are the workes of a chaste soule of which it is said in Ecclesiasticus There is no weight to be compared to a continent or chaste minde And how this pure Virginity pleaseth GOD we may understand by that which Esay speaketh of Eunuchs upon which place St. Augustine speaking doth so commend Virginity in men and women that he made a long Oration upon it And these be the three workes to which are given great rewards and to their possessors or workers namely Martyrs Doctors and Virgins To Martyrs for the excellencie of their love Greater love then this hath no man when any man bestoweth his life sor his friends To Doctors for the eminencie of their wisedome of whom Daniel saith They that turne many to righteousnesse shall shine as the starres for ever and ever To Virgins for the inestimable and incomparable worth of their puritie for whose sake the Virgin harpers in the Revelation sung a new song which none could sing but they These are they which are not defiled with Women for they are Virgins these follow the Lamâ— whither soever he goeth And not onely the love of Martyrs the wisedome of Doctors or purity of Virgins shall be tryed in the fire of Gods judgement and receive their full reward but all other good workes also so they be done in faith and love and shal be reputed among the golden vessels and be tryed by that fire and receive their reward for to those also Christ shall say at the day of judgement Come ye blessed of my Father take the inheritance of the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the World even to them which gave bread to the hungry drinke to the thirsty lodging to the stranger apparell to the naked and comfort to the sicke or captive Nay our Saviour hath promised a reward to those who shall give but a cup of cold water to any in the name of a disciple in love Thou mayest by this easily understand what difference there is betweene one worke and another and what is more foolish more miserable then in the same place and time wherein if thou beest wise thou mayst get gold silver and pretious jewels thou hadst rather and that with no small labour gather dry wood straw and stubble O that thou wouldst be wiâ—e and understand and provide for the last day when all these things shall be examined and tryed by the fire of Gods judgement when the former shal be commended and crowned and the latter burnt and turned into smoke and ashes Why dost thou now choose that which without all doubt will cause thee to repent that ever thou didst choose it and why dost thou not reject that which with thy advantage thou mayst now cast off when a while hence thou shalt without thy profit nay to thy great disadvantage be forced to condemne If perhaps thou dost not now perceive this because the veylâ— of things present hangs over thine eyes so that thou canst not discerne the pure and cleare truth pray then to God and with earnest affection with the blind man in the Gospell say Lord grant that I may see that I may receive my sight or with the Prophet David Open mine eyes that I may see the wonderfull things of thy Law For certainly it is almost a miracle that workes done in love should become gold silver and precious stones and that they which are not done in love should be converted into dry and seare wood straw and stubble Now come wee to consider the other property of fire Hitherto wee have onely learned from the nature of that Element what God worketh in those which depart this world with good workes or end their dayes with evill Now by another similitude drawne from the same fire wee may understand what God worketh with those whom he calleth from sinne to repentance A sinner is compared to Iron which when it is farre from the fire is blacke cold hard and heavy but being put into the fire it is made cleare hot soft and light Every Sinner wanteth his inward light and walketh in darknesse and in this respect may be well resembled to the blacknesse of Iron for though in the knowledge and commerce with men he may seeme to bee wise and of great judgement yet in discerning the true good and evill he is blind and more miserable then any blind man For a blind man seeth nothing and therfore stirreth not nor is moved without a guide but a Sinner thinketh hee seeth that which he seeth not or taketh one thing for another and judgeth good evill and evill good great to be little and little to be great long to be short and short to bel ong and therfore is ever deceived in his choyce And this is it which the Apostle speaketh of in the idolatrous Gentiles Having their understanding darkned through that ignorance that is in them because of the hardnesse of their heart This is that also which our Saviour in the Gospell so often upbraideth the Scribes and Pharisees withall that they were blind leaders of the blind The Prophet Esay also speaking to the Iewes of his time saith Heare you deafe and looke ye blind that ye may see And a little before in the same Chapter prophecying to them of the comming of Christ who should open the eyes of the blind and speaking of the new Testament in the person of God saith I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not and lead them by pathes that they have not knowne I will make darknesse light before them c. Lastly doe not the wicked themselves confesse as much after this life when paine shall begin to open their eyes which sinne had closed Therefore have wee erred from the way of truth and the light of righteousnes hath not shined unto us and the Sun of understanding rose not upon us Nor is it a wonder that they should be blind who are averse from God in will and mind For God is light and in him is no darknesse saith St. Iohn Whereupon the same Apostle concludeth that He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darknesse And a little after He that hateth his brother is in darknes and walketh in darknes and knoweth not whither he goeth because that darknesse hath blinded his eyes Neither is it the onely cause that sinners are in darknesse because they are averse from God who is the light but because also their owne wickednes hath blinded them as the Wise-man speaketh For the passions of the mind hatred anger envy and the like which are comprehended under the name
more Gods mercy appeared to him by removing the plagues the more he was animated to despise him But whensoever it pleaseth GOD to kindle a sparkle of the true fire of His love in a heart though never so hard presently it growes soft and melteth like waxe nor doth it any way resist the power of it but is of a stony become a heart of flesh and the breath of Gods spirit thawes the congealed snow therof into water We have an example in the Gospell of that woman who being a notorious sinner in the City could not be perswaded either by the admonition of her brother or the chiding of her sister or the honour of her family or her owne disgrace to amend her life yet one of the beames of our Saviour pierced so deepe into her heart and kindled a sparkle of his divine love there so that she was sodainely transformed as it were into another woman insomuch as she being of a noble stocke was not ashamed at a publique feast to fall downe at Christs feet and being wholly turned into tears of them made a bath for his feet and with her owne haire in stead of Linnen wiped them and moved with the vehemencie of that love kissed them and annointed them with a most costly oyntment signifying by these her acts of Repentance that from thenceforth she purposed wholly to devote her selfe to his service and therefore shee worthily heard that comfortable speech of our Saviour Many sins are forgiven her for she loved much And these effects hath the power of divine fire wrought which no hardnes of heart can resist The last property of fire is that it maketh Iron light which formerly was heavy And it is the chief cause that men which are not heated and inflamâ—d with divine love are heavy in heart and to such the Kingly Prophet thus speaketh after some translations Vsquequo gravi corde How long will ye be heavy in heart loving vanity and seeking after lyes and the Wiseman saith the corruptible or earthly body weigheth downe the soule And in Ecclesiasticus A heavy yoake is upon the sons of Adam Which heavy yoake he afterwards explaines to be wrath envy feare trouble and unquietnes and the like which are usually stiled the passions of the mind These doe so loade and burden a man that he looks upon nothing but the earth to which hee cleaveth and can neither rise to seeke God nor to run the way of his commandements But as soone as this divine fire begins to inflame the heart of man those passions forthwith decrease and are mortified and that heavy burthen is made light so that hee is able to saâ— with the Apostle Our conversation is in Heaven and with an enlarged heart to say with King David I will runne the way of thy Commandements when thou hast set my heart at liberty Certainely after our Saviour had said I am come to put fire on the earth w see how light many 〈◊〉 became by casting off the affections and desire of honour flesh and riches insomuch as they cryed with the spouse in the Canticles Draw me we will run after thee O blessed fire which enlightens but consumes not and consumes the ill humour onely if it consume but kills not Who will give me this correcting fire 1. that will take away the blacknesse of ignorance and purge the darkenesse of my conscience with the light of true wisedome 2. That will change the coldnesse of my sloth into the heate of devotion and of my negligence into the fervencie of love 3. Which will never suffer my heart to be hardned but keep it soft with its heate and make it obedient and devâ—ut 4. Which will lastly remove and take away the heavy yoke of earthly cares and will so lift up my heart with the wings of contemplation which nourisheth and increaseth love that I may say with the Psalmist Comfort the soule of thy servant for unto thee ô LORD doe I lift up my soule DEGREE VII By the Conâ—ideration of Heaven that is of the Sun Moone and Starres IT will be no hard taske out of the consideration of Heaven to erect one step for our ascent to GOD for the Kingly Prophet hath done it to our hands The Heavens saith he declare the glory of GOD and the firmament sheweth his handie-worke Now forasmuch as there are two times wherein we should ascend to GOD by the wings of contemplation namely the day and night of the former of them the same Prophet saith in the same Psalme In the Sun hath he placed his Tabernacle according to some translations or as others In them hath he set a Tabernacle for the Sun which cometh forth as a Bridegroome out of his chamber and rejoyceth as a Giant to run his course His going forth is from the end of Heaven and runneth about to the ends of it and there is nothing hid from the heate thereof Of the latter he writes in another Psalme I will consider the Heavens the worke of thy hands the Moone and the Starres which thou hast ordained We will begin with the first Of the Sun which is seene by day the Psalmist in the former mentioned place sets down foure severall prayses or commendations 1. That it is the Tabernacle of GOD. 2. That it is most beautifull 3. That it ever runnes most speedily and without wearinesse 4. That by enlightning and heating it chiefly manifests its power In regard of all which qualities the Sonne of Syrach calls it A merveilous vessell the worke of the most High 1. First therefore GOD the creator of all things according to the old translation of St. Jerom hath placed his Tabernacle in the Sun as in a most noble thing to reside in that is he hath chosen the Sun among all corporeall things as a royall palace or divine sanctuarie to dwell in for though GOD fill Heaven and Earth and the Heaven of Heavens cannot containe him yet he is said to dwell more there where he hath manifested the greatest signes of his presence by working wonders But because in the originall it is said In them hath he set a Tabernacle for the Sun that is in Heaven we may gather out of this place in the Pâ—alme another excellencie of the Sun not contradicting or opposing the former The Sun is a great thing for whom GOD hath prepared a large faire and noble palace for as he would have heaven to be the palace of the Sun wherein he might freely walke and worke so hee would have the Sun to be his owne palace So that as we may apprehend the greatnesse and excellencie of the Sun by this that the heaven is its tabernacle so may we conceive the greatnesse and excellencie of GOD in that the Sun an admirable vessell and then which nothing corporeall is more wonderfull is his tabernacle 2. Secondly the Psalmist to denote unto us the great beauty of
live among most cruel enemies and the danger is that they may be circumvented and taken by them and be deprived thereby of their possession Hence are these complaints Heu mihi quia incolatus meus prolongatus est as St. Jeromes translation and as others Heu mihi quia exulo in Mesech they are both to one purpose Woe is me that my dwelling here is prolonged or Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell in Mesech the Mesâ—kites were Arabian Pagans descâ—ndâ—d from Japhet that is alas that I am forced to live so long among prophane and wicked men But though in this regard men are lesse then the Angels yet GOD of his goodnesse hath wonderfully comforted us in that out of our kind he hath preferred one to be above all Angels and Principalities even CHRIST IESUS blessed for ever And men need not so much complaine of their long living here seeing that while they are here they may many times amend and repaire their lapses and faults and by repentance obtaine remission of them It remaines now that we speake of the offices of the Angels which are five in number 1. The first is that they alwaies sing praises and Hymnes unto their Creator And that we may understand how great account GOD maketh of this service we must consider that the chiefest of the Angels are appointed to this office and these are the Seraphims with whom as chiefe chanters or Rectores chori as we may call them the other Angels doe beare their parts of whom you may heare the Prophet Esay I saw the LORD sitting upon a high throne and lifted up and the lower part thereof filled the Temple The Seraphims stood upon it every one had sixe wings with twaine he covered his face and with twaine he covered his feet and with twaine he did flie And one cryed to another and said Holy Holy Holy is the LORD of hosts the whole world is full of his glory In which place you heare the name Seraphim who are the chiefe of that high order and you see that they cover their face and feet in token of reverence as though they durst not behold his face and you see that they continually flye while they sing to signifie their affection and desire more and more to approach neere to GOD which two qualities are necessary for those which desire to please GOD while they sing and chant his praises to joyne love with reverence and reverence with love which also the Prophet David expresseth in saying Serve the LORD with feare and rejoyce in him with trembling Hence we may learne what honour GOD is worthy to receive from us when the Princes of heaven who are alwaies in his presence and see his face continually dare not neglect their feare and reverence while they praise him neither for their high degree nor for their long familiarity with him And what shall many of us dust aâ—dashes answer when at the day of judgement we shal be reprooved for our drowsines wandring thoughts carelessenesse and irreverence in his service Learne therefore at the least henceforth by so great a patterne to performe thy due prayses and to sing hymnes unto thy GOD with feare and trembling with attention and vigilance and with love and desire 2. Another office of the Angels as some are of opinion is to offer the praiers of mortalls to GOD for so speaketh the Angell Raphael to old Tobias when thou didst pray I did bring to memory your prayer before the holy one and afterwards saith that he was one of the Angels which present the prayers of the Saints and St. John as he testifies in his Revelation saw an Angel standing before the Altar with a golden censer and much odors was given unto him that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden Altar which is before the throne of GOD. And in this the almost incredible goodnesse and mercy of GOD is seene for being not contented first by his Prophets and afterwards by his Son and his Apostles to exhort us to pray and aske but addeth a promise of giving whatsoever we shall require Aske saith he and it shal be given unto you and againe Whatsoever ye shall aske the Father in my name he will give it you And not contented with this promise he addeth that he will give a reward to petitioners When thou prayest saith he enter into thy chamber and when thou hast shut the doore pray unto the Father in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly a reward besides those things which thou hast prayed for But neither contented with this argument of Fatherly goodnesse he hath appointed Angels as it were of his privy chamber that should take care of the prayers of poore men and offer them in his sight What earthly Prince was ever heard to promise reward to those which petitioned him for favour or justice and yet they are made of the same mould as other men are and subject to the same Prince of Princes GOD. 3. A third office of the Angels is to be Gods Ambassadors or Messengers to signifie his pleasure but especially concerning the worke of our redemption for so St. Paul speakes Are they not all the Angels ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for their sakes which shal be heyres of salvation And we see in diverse places of the old Testament Angels appearing to the Patriarchs and Prophets declaring to them what GOD gave them in charge to reveale as also in the new we reade that the Angell Gabriel was sent as a messenger to Zacharie and to the blessed Virgin Mary to the Shepheards to Ioseph and after the resurrection of our Saviour to the women at the Sepulchre and after his ascension to all the Disciples And the reason why GOD who is every where and can easily speake by himselfe to the hearts of men yet would send Angels is that men might understand that he hath a spirituall care of humane things and that all things are directed and governed by him for men are prone enough to perswade themselves that revelations are their reasons and counsailes but when they see or heare that Angels are sent by him and that those things come to passe which are foretold by them they cannot doubt but GOD hath a providence over humane affaires and that those things which pertaine to the eternall salvation of the elect are especially directed and disposed by him 4. Their fourth office is the protection of men either of a particular or of the multitude of men For it pleased the divine goodnesse of GOD to commend the infirmities of mortalls to his most powerfull servants and to set them over men as Schoolemasters or Tutors to children as patrons to clients shepheards to sheep physicians to the sicke defenders of orphans and protectors of those who are not able to defend themselves Of this protection and
If a Man had seene not onely with the eyes of his body but of his heart enlightned by GOD the rich Glutton clothed in silke and purple sitting at a Table furnished with all kinds of delicates many wayters attending him and withall had seene poore Lazarus halfe naked full of sores lying at the rich mans gate desiring to be fitted with the crummes that fell from his Table â—ee had seene the rich man whom the World accounted most happy to seeme most abominable in the sight of GOD and his Angels and as vile as the mud and dung of the earth and poore Lazarus to seeme noble and honourable For the first as hated by GOD was hurried by the Devills into hell and the last as beloved of GOD was carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosome But what doe we speake of Lazarus None was ever in higher account with GOD then our Lord Jesus Christ even according to his humanity and yet none ever so humble as he truely reported of himselfe Learne of me that am meeke and lowly in heart For by how much the clearer his most holy soule knew above all others the infinite height of the divinity by so much the more he knew the basenesse of the creature made of nothing and therefore while he was a creature above all others he became subject to GOD and exalted him and therefore also is he exalted above all creatures by GOD. The like we might say of the blessed Angels and holy Saints for there are none more humble then they which are high in the heavens because the neerer they are to GOD the more clearely they see and perceive by how much the greatnesse of the Creator is in distance from the exiguity of the creature Wherefore love humility if thou desire to be exalted Imitate the Lambe without spot and imitate the holy Saints and Angels who as they excell in height excell in humility And not onely doth GOD possesse the highest seat because he judgeth all men but because he excells all in quiet and makes those to be quiet in whom he rests and fits Gods highest seat is his supreme rest for although he governeth the universe wherein are continuall warres and conflicts of elements men and beasts yet he governeth peaceably and quietly nor is there any thing that can disturb his quiet or his contemplation of himselfe wherein consists his everlasting delight Gods proper seat is the blessed spirits upon which it is said by the Psalmist He sitteth betweene the Cherubims and in Samuel the LORD of hosts who dwelleth betweene the Cherubims and GOD is said rather to dwell or sit betweene the Cherubims then the Seraphims because the Cherubims signifie multitude of knowledge and Seraphim the heate of charity now rest followes wisedome and care and anxiety accompany love and charity unlesse it be joyned with wisedome Lastly where Esay saith Heaven is my seat and David The Lords throne is in heaven and all the heaven of heavens are the Lords by the heaven of heavens are understood the spirituall heavens the blessed spirits which dwell in the corporall heavens as S. Augustine expounds that place These heavens saith he GOD causeth to be quiet so admirably that this is the peace which passeth all understanding St. Bernard compares it to a King who being tyred as it were with hearing of causes retyres himselfe and takes his ease and quiet with his familiar servants And therefore by this we may perceive that GOD sheweth himselfe not a Iudge or a Lord to the spirits of the blessed but a familiar friend And certainly it is no small familiarity which GOD shewes to pure minds in this life so that this saying is verified My delight is to be with the children of men Hence it is that the Saints though they sufferd pressures in the World yet in their hearts where GOD is they had peace and therefore ever seemed joyfull and serene and so were For the Truth had told them Your hearts shall rejoyce and your joy shall no man take from you The fourth and last part of the greatnes of Gods Essence is the depth and this is manifold 1. First the divinity it selfe is most deep in him because it is not superficiall or sleight but most full most solid The Deity is not a gilded masse which hath onely gold upon the superficiâ—s or outward part and brasse or wood within but as a whole masse of gold great and immense or rather as a mine of gold so deep that by digging it can never be exhausted nor the bottome be discovered so God of whose greatnesse there is no end is altogether so incomprehensible that by a created mind it can never be so well knowne but that it may be ever more and more understood and it is onely God himselfe which can comprehend this infinite depth because he onely hath the infinite power of understanding 2. Againe God is deep in respect of place for as he is most high because he presides and governs all things and is above all so is he most deep because he is under all things to uphold them Bearing up all things by his mighty word saith the Apostle And therefore he is as it were the foundation and roofe of a building In whom we live and move have our being In that regard most truly said Solomon The heavens and the heavens of heavens are not able to containe thee because God doth rather contain the heavens and the things under heaven as being above the heavens and beneath the earth 3. Lastly the profundity of God is his invisibility For God is light but inaccessible he is truth but most inward He made darknes his secret place saith David and verily thou ô God hidest thy selfe saith Esay St. Augustine sometime inquiring after GOD sent his messengers his eyes from earth to heaven and all things answered them that they were not that he sought for but it is he that hath made us and not finding him by outward things he tooke his search by inward and soon understood truly that by them he might sooner approach to God for he knew the soule to be better then the body and the inward sense to be farre better then the outward and the understanding which is more inward to be better then the inward sense and thence gathered that God who was more inward then the understanding was better then it and that by all this that we understand or thinke it was not God but something lesse then God because God is better then we can understand or conceive Well then if the soule be better then the body to which the soule gives life because that is a body and the soule a spirit and if the eye of the body cannot see the soule because that is without and this within think also that thy God is better then thy soule because he gives it understanding and is as it were thy soule and
what they were to doe themselves or else they related by the swiftnesse of their nature what was done afarre off and that with such speed that it seemed as yet or then not done to those which were afarre off from the place in which it came to passe or else what they conjectured by their long experience would happen or be as many times marriners doe of the winds husbandmen of rayne and physitians of diseases but concerning those things wherin the Devils were questioned and were ignorant they would answer with such circuits and equivocations that when they were false they retorted the error upon the wrong interpreters of them It is GOD therefore onely of whose wisedome there is no end and it is he that delivers true Oracles and foretells truly of all future things contingent and free The next point to be considered is the altitude of the divine wisedome which is so high that it exceeds all sublimity of humane or Angelicall wisedome The height of this wisedome is known by the excellencie 1 Of the object 2 Of the power 3 Of the species or forme 4 Of the Act. 1. The object of Gods wisedome is not onely naturall but proportionate with the divine essence which is so sublime that it is not proportionate to the understanding either of men or Angels and therfore the highest Angels themselves cannot come to the fight of GOD unlesse they be lifted up by the light of glory and this is the cause why GOD in holy Scriptures is called invisible To the King everlasting saith St. Paul immortall invisible GOD and the same Apostle that he dwelleth in light which none can attaine to 2. The power which is an accident in us is a divine substance in GOD and in this respect far more sublime and higher then in us 3. The species is so much the higher by how many the more things it represents and in this regard the Angels are reputed to have higher knowledge by having the more universall and fewer species How great then is the height of Gods wisedome that hath no other species or forme then his essence which is but one and onely enough and sufficient to GOD to represent and make knowne himselfe and all things created or to be created or which may be created 4. Lastly that wisedome or knowledge is accounted the more noble and higher which knowes most things by fewest acts But GOD at one onely sight which is ever most strong in him and remaineth unchangeable in him perfectly knoweth himselfe and all other things and therefore the wisedome of GOD is to be accounted the most noble and sublime Lift up thine eyes then and consider how much thy knowledge differs from that of thy Creators for thou although by many acts and by running this and that way canst not attaine to the knowledge of any one thing perfectly but thy Creator beholds and sees all things and himselfe most clearly and distinctly by one act alone And yet thou thy selfe now lying in darkenesse by the wings of Faith and Love mayst if thou wilt ascend so high that after the laying aside of this mortall body being translated from glory to glory thou mayst see GOD the light in Gods light and being made like to GOD mayst at one view see GOD in eternity in himselfe and thy selfe and all created things together in GOD for saith St. Gregory What shall not he see which shall see him that seeth all things and what pleasure glory and plenty will there be then when being admitted to that inaccessible light thou shalt be partaker of all thy Masters joyes The Queene of Saba when she had heard Salomons wisedome and had seene the wise and orderly disposing of the servants of his house was astonished and cryed out Happy are thy men happy are these thy servants which stand ever before thee and heare thy wisedome and what comparison was there between Solomons wisedome and the wisedome of GOD who is onely wise and is wisedome it selfe and what was the order of the servants of Solomon compared with the orders of Gods Angels of which thousands of thousands minister to him certainely if thou wouldst but apprehend and tast these things but a little thou wouldst relish nothing thou wouldst weigh nothing and there is nothing that thou wouldst not willingly suffer to deserve well of him In the meane time therefore humble thy selfe under the mighty hand of GOD that he may exalt thee in the day of visitation humble thy understanding to faith that thou mayst be exalted to the vision of GOD humble thy will to the obedience of his Commandements that thou mayst be exalted to the glorious liberty of the Sons of GOD and humble thy flesh with patience labours and fasting that GOD may exalt it glorified to everlasting rest It remaineth that we consider the depth of Gods wisedome which seemes chiefly to consist in searching the reynes and hearts that is in knowing the thoughts and concupiscences of men especially in things to come Man looketh upon the outward appearance saith GOD himselfe but the LORD beholdeth the heart and David saith Thou Lord understandest my thoughts long before thou art about my pathes and spiest out all my wayes and the LORD saw that all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart were onely evill continually and I the LORD search the hearts and reynes and When JESVS saw their thoughts and But he knew their thoughts and Why reason you thus in your hearts saith our Saviour And therefore all the thoughts and desires of men although present are so deepe that neither Angels Devils or Men can enter into them but farre deeper are their future desires and thoughts and into these Men nor Angels as they cannot search into so neither can they finde out the way whereby GOD onely knowes them And this David seemes to intimate when he saith Such knowledge is too wonderfull for me that is thy knowledge is so wonderfull that I know not how thou attainest to it and this he meaneth concerning Gods knowledge of thoughts and desires to come as may easily be gathered by that which he said in the first verse of this Psalme It may be objected that God foresees these thoughts in his eternity to whom all things are present or in the predetermination of his will and if it be so then this knowledge is not so admirable for wee also may easily know what we intend to doe or what is present to us But the Scripture plainly saith that GOD searcheth the hearts and reynes and sees there what a man either desires or thinks or what he shall hereafter desire or thinke And this is admirable to understand how GOD by searching the reynes and hearts should see what as yet is not there and which depends upon the liberty of mans will whether it shal be there or no. Therefore as it is proper to the height of Gods power to make something
of nothing and to call those things which are not aswell as the things which are so is it proper to the depth of his wisedome by searching the reynes and hearts to see that which as yet is not there as if it were already and which without doubt shal be But because as I said before this Treatise is not for dispute but to stirre and lift up the soule to God let this which hath bin said incite thee to awaken thee and to lift up thy selfe above thy selfe and to consider that deepe abysse of the wisedome of God who searcheth the hearts and the inward parts of them seeing many things there which the heart it selfe sees not O blessed Peter when thou saidst to our Saviour Though I should dye with thee I will in no case deny thee surely thou spakest not with a double but a sincere and right heart neither didst thou see that frailty which God did foresee in thy heart when he said before the cocke crowe thou shalt deny me thrice for that skilfull Physician did see that infirmity in thy heart which thou didst not perceive and that proved true which the Physician foretold not what the patient brag'd of But withal give thanks to thy Physician who as he foresaw and foretold thy disease so he infused the most powerfull medicine of repentance into thy soule which sodenly cured the disease Oh thou good gracious and most wise and omnipotent Physician Cleanse me from my secret sinnes How many are there that I doe not bewaile nor wash away with teares because I see them not Let thy grace assist me by which thou searchest the reynes and hearts and those evill concupiscences and evill workes which I see not I beseech thee which seest them to shew unto me and looking upon me with the eyes of compassion produce and bring out of me a fountain of tears that while I have time I may wash them out by bewailing them and thou mayst utterly put them out of thy remembrance by pardoning them and that even for the merits of Iesus Christ my Saviour DEGREE XIII By the Consideration of the Practicall or operating Wisedome of GOD. THis Wisedome hath also foure dimensions Breadth in creating all things Length in preservation Height in the worke of Redemption and Depth in providence and predestination We will begin with the Creation In wisedome GOD made all things saith the Psalmist and He hath powred her out upon all his workes saith the Son of Syrach So that as by the Creation of all things of nothing we may know the power of the workeman so by the admirable skill which we see in every thing we may admire the wisedome of the Creator for He hath disposed all things in measure number and weight saith the wiseman and this is the savour wherewith GOD hath seasoned all things that by the same we might learne how savory and well seasoned the wisedome it selfe is how to be loved and desired All things created then have a certaine measure a certain number and a certaine weight aswell that they might be distinguished from GOD who hath neither measure as being immense nor number as being one and simple in respect of his essence nor weight because his estimate and price is above all estimation as also that they might be good and beautifull as Moses said most truly And GOD saw all that he had made and loe it was very good I All things therefore have that measure which is necessary to obtaine the ends for which they were created nor can there be any thing added to or taken from them but that they will become deformed or unprofitable and in that respect lesse good GOD made every thing saith the Preacher beautifull in his time and a little after to it no man can adde and from it none can diminish Therefore GOD gave a large and most ample measure to the heaven because it might comprehend all inferiour things within its circuit To the ayre he gave lesse then to heaven yet more then to the earth and waters which make one globe and are contained and compassed round with the ayre He hath given a great measure of body to an Elephant that he might carry great burdens even Towers filled with men To a Horse lesse being made onely to carry one rider The Birds he made little that they might make their nests in Trees and boughes Bees and Ants he created least of all that the one might hide themselves in the holes of hives and the other in the earth 2. The same may be said of number GOD created but one Sun because one was enough to enlighten the earth and the day with his splendor and but one Moone because one was sufficient to give light in the night The Starres he would have to be many because when the Sun and Moone gave no light as in their conjunction they should dispell the darkenesse of the night Nor did he onely assigne a necessary number to things in common but appointed the number of parts to every thing in particular so that nothing might be added or taken from them He gave to man two eyes two eares two hands two feet one nose one mouth one heart and one head whereby he became a most 〈◊〉 creature invert but the order and give to any man but one eye and two noses one eare and two mouthes one foot and two hearts and heads and no creature would seeme more ugly more deformed 3 Lastly concerning weight GOD gave to every thing such an estimation as its nature required Besides under the name of weight and esteeme we understand qualities which make things good and pretious And these three make all things perfect 1 A number of parts which is necessary that none be wanting 2 A measure or apt proportion of parts 3 Lastly internall or externall qualities as pleasantnesse of colour in the outward superficies of the body and vertue within profitable or necessary for severall actions But it is a marveilous thing to consider what power GOD hath imparted to some small creatures that it may seeme he had a desire to manifest his power in great and his wisedome in small things Who can conceive the strength and force of a graine of mustardseed which being the least of all seeds and so little that a man can hardly discerne it and yet from it growes so great a Tree that the birds make their nests in it as our Saviour speakes in the Gospell Nor is this onely proper to mustardseed but common to all other seeds within the vertue wherof roots bodies boughes leaves flowers and fruits of great trees lye hidden Certainly if we had not learn't this by experience we could hardly be perswaded that out of so little a seed so great a masse of severall things could ever have risen Who would conceive that in so diminutive creatures as the Ant Gnat and Flea and others the like were feet so nimble and that
and troubles that after this life we may be made partakers of the resurrection of the just to glory and not to everlasting punishment with the wicked The depth or profunditie of the practicall wisedome of GOD consisteth in his providence predestination and judgements Thy judgements are like the great deep saith the Psalmist 1. First that the providence of GOD is admirable is gathered out of this that he ruleth all things immediately and leads them to their ends He careth for all alike saith the wiseman that is his care is over all nothing excepted so that a sparrow falls not to the ground without his providence as our Saviour speakes He that could number the multitude of things in the whole universe might in some measure see the profundity of his wisedome governing and directing all and every thing A King may governe many Provinces by a generall but not a particular providence as having many and severall subjects and therefore hath as is fit many subordinate Ministers under him But GOD so taketh care for singular as all and for all as singular The haires of our heads are numbred by him and his porvidence watcheth over us so that none of them perish The young ravens also forsaken by the dammes are not forsaken by GOD. How securely then may we rest in the bosome of such a Father even in the midst of darkenesse among the monthes of Lions and Dragons among innumerable legions of spirits if we adhere to him in sincere love holy feare a hope not wavering and faith not doubting Neither doth his providence onely reach to every thing and things present but stretcheth from one end to another mightily and disposeth of all things sweetly and he is therefore stiled King everlasting because he hath appointed the order of all ages together with the succession of Kingdomes for ever from eternity and nothing can happen to him either new or not foreseene by him and indeed the thoughts of mortall men are fearefull and our forecasts are uncertaine as the wiseman speaketh because we can give none but uncertaine conjectures of things to come but GOD knows all future things with no lesse certainty then if they were past or present and disposed in his minde before the beginning of the world both the orders and successions of things and therefore in our liturgy wee truly say GOD whose providence is never deceived But because the reason of Gods providence is most secret and his judgements deepe it comes to passe that many seeing much mischife committed among men and unpunished they runne headlong into this opinion that humane things are either not governed by Gods providence or at least that all evills are committed by the will of GOD both which opinions are impious but the later the worse as St. Augustine writeth But they runne headlong into these errors who see onely part of Gods providence and see not the other part and whereas they ought to expect the issue and end of things which shal be manifested to all in the day of judgement they are so bold as rashly to judge and by that meanes fall into most grievous errors And therefore the Apostle cryes out Judge not before the time untill the LORD come that will enlighten things that are hid in darknesse and will make the counsailes of the heart manifest S. Augustine illustrates this point by a similitude If saith he a man in a checkred pavement shall see onely one piece of it wrought and not knowing what the forme of it shall be will dispraise the workeman because he onely sees a piece of it and not the greatest part whereas if he saw it finished he would commend the worke and the artificer it would seeme prepostrous so many seeing the wicked to flourish and the just depressed and afflicted and consider nor know not what GOD reserves for the iniquity of the ungodly or the patience of the good and thereupon breake out into blasphemous speeches either with those in Job He walketh in the circle of heaven and considereth not our matters or with them in Malachie Every one that doth evill is good in the sight of the LORD and he delighteth in them Another similitude in this case St. Augustine also useth If a man either in the beginning or the middle of a verse shall say that it is not good he wil be accounted a foole for he should tarry till all the fillables and feet of it be pronounced before he dispraise it so they are very fooles who dare to finde fault with the orderly providence of GOD before the whole order of it be runne out Wherefore if thou be wise endeavour as much as thou canst that evill be not committed for this GOD commands thee but leave to his judgement why he permits evill his judgement may be secret it cannot be unjust 2. But although the reason of the providence of GOD in governing humane things be a deepe abysse yet the reason of eternall predestination and reprobation is deeper by farre For why GOD should loade many wicked men with temporall goods and suffer their sinnes to goe unpunished in this life and on the other side why he should suffer many innocents to be in want and be unjustly vexed scourged and slaine we cannot finde the cause in particulars or singulars yet in the generall or universall we may probably assigne some cause For GOD oftentimes makes the wicked abound with temporall goods to reward some of their morall workes not intended to give them life eternall or to allure them to repâ—ntance and to bring them to desire and hope for eternall benefits and sometimes punisheth not their sinnes in this life because he will sufficiently punish them in hell and suffers godly men to live in poverty ignominy and diverse afflictions aswell to purge their lighter sins in this world as to crowne their goodworkes the more gloriously hereafter But why GOD loved Jacob. and hated Esau before they had done either good or evill who will search after the reason And this it was at which the Apostle wondred that being twinnes the sons of one Father and Mother GOD should love the one by predestination and hate the other by reprobation And least any man should object that GOD foresaw the goodworkes of the one and the evill of the other the Apostle by way of prevention saith that this was done that the purpose of GOD might remaine according to election and alledgeth or quoteth the words of GOD by Moses I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy c. 3. Who also would not be astonished to consider that Iudas the traytor should persevere so long in good workes and in the end of his life to fall and perish and that the thiefe who all the time of his life should continue in evill workes and in the end of his life to be converted and flee from the Crosse into Paradise But thou wilt say Iudas betrayed
all away and that it is sometimes mercy not to remove misery that a place may be prepared for greater mercy The Apostle prayed three times to have the prieke of the flesh taken from him but was not heard because Gods power might be shewne in weaknesse GOD tooke not away from Lazarus the misery of poverty and sores that with the greater mercy he might be carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosome and where would there need the worke of mercy from the rich if there were not poore hungry thirsty naked sicke pilgrimes and prisoners upon whom they should be exercised and if there were no tentations of the Devill where should be the reward for them which withstand them if labours and sorrowes were not where would be the crowne of patience and if no persecutors what would become of the crowne of Martyrdome and therfore in this pilgrimage both of these sayings may be true that the Earth is full of miseries because even sinnes themselves are miseries and great ones and the earth is full of the Mercy of the LORD because conversion of sinners and many almost infinite spirituall and temporall blessings of GOD what are they but continuall and great mercies of the LORD our Creator Let us then give thankes to our good GOD for his mercies in that as our tribulations increase in this our pilgrimage so our comfort increaseth by his mercy to us Thy mercy reacheth to the heavens saith the Psalmist to GOD because there shall be mercy without misery and because mercy shall take away all misery altogether Now the longitude or length of Gods mercy is his long suffering or patience which the Scripture useth to joyne with mercy as a part or species of it for so speaketh the Psalmist The LORD is full of compassion and mercy long suffering and of great goodnesse And indeed the long suffering or patience of our most mercifull LORD is very admirable such as we cannot finde either in masters towards their servants or in parents towards their children though both sorts of them be men 1. And first GOD is long suffering towards sinners expecting them with incredible patience sometimes from their childhood to the extremity of old age bearing the breaking of his Law and the tearing of his name and in the meane time doing them good from heaven giving them raine and fruitfull seasons replenishing them with food and their hearts with gladnesse as the Apostle speaketh And where will you finde among men either a master or a parent so gentle and facile who if he perceive himselfe to be sleighted or abused by his servant or son and that they persevere long in this obstinacie at the last doe not turne them out of dorâ—s But the mercy of the LORD is not overcome by the wickednes of men but it dealeth patiently with them not desiring that any should perish but all men to come to repentance and even making as though he saw not their sinnes because they should amend 2. Againe his patience is seen more in that many sinners by his grace are drawne out of the lake of misery and the mire of dregges and of children of darknesse are made sons of light and from the guilt of eternall death to the adoption of the sons of GOD and called to the hope of the Kingdome of heaven and though they relapse often to their former filthinesse and ingratitude yet are they not forsaken by the long suffering of GOD but are lovingly expected and invited to repentance and if they shall heartily repent at any time they are received to a kisse of peace and attonement and restored to former favour as the prodigallson was of a most mercifull Father It was not without cause that St. Peter demaunding of our Saviour how often he should forgive his brother sinning against him was thus answered by him I say not unto thee unto seaven times but unto 70. times seaven times for he would have us do the same which he himselfe doth in pardoning sinners And he hath set no bounds to his reconciliation but onely the end of our life for as long as we live if it be to 100. yeares or upward yet wee are received at any time before death by a most loving Father if after many relapses we seriously repent there is no repentance comes too late if it be serious and from a heart truely contrite and humble to receive mercy from GOD. But yet no man ought therefore to abuse the lenity and goodnesse of GOD and deâ—erre his repentance from day to day seeing no man knowes what houre or day the soule will leave the body and appeare before the Tribunall of a most lust ludge but rather all men should be invited and allured to repentance by this so great and incredible goodnesse of GOD For if GOD be so gracious towards sinners often relapsing how great will his favour be to those who after they have once tasted of it can never be drawne to be separated from it notwithstanding any tentations beating against them 3. There is also another admirable patience and long suffering of GOD which he useth in tollerating the offences of godly men for GOD of his goodnesse hath made us of enemies his friends sons of servants and heires of his Kingdome being guilty of eternall death and yet such is our ingratitude that we daily render evill for good for if the Apostle said In many things we offend all what may wee say who stand in so farre a distance from the Apostles perfection for wee talke with GOD in our prayers and presently we are distracted by our imagination with other thoughts and as it were turne our backs to GOD What Master would suffer his servants standing before him and speaking to him to turne to his fellow servants as it were in contempt of him and to talke with them What shall I say of idle words of vaine thoughts of unfruitfull workes of excesse in diet sleepe apparrell and play of our negligence and loose cariage in our holy service to GOD of our omission of brotherly correction and of innumerable other offences wherein wee daily offend and yet our GOD is good and gracious and of great mercy to all them that call upon him he beares with this rudenesse and incivility and as I may so speake this foolishnesse of his children which certainely men would not indure at the hands of men for he knoweth whereof we are made and deales with us as a mother with her little childe whom she cherisheth and nourisheth though perhaps it strike her Yet though GOD beare with many of our offences here because they doe not so breake the bonds of his love as to deprive us of the right of our inheritance yet they shall not goe unpunished in the day of judgement when we shall give an account of every idle word unlesse we shall in the meane time wash them away by teares of repentance But to end
justice GOD the just Iudge punisheth the very least offences such as every idle word as we reade in the Gospell Of every idle word that men shall speake they shall give account thereof at the day of judgement Now there are many faults which men punish not either because the offenders make resistance or escape by flight or because they are ignorant of the committing of them and want sufficient proofes to convict the malefactors or because they are corrupted with bribes or favour so that they will not punish them or else they themselves are as wicked as the offenders and so connive at them But GOD is omnipotent so that no man can withstand him and is omnipresent so that none can be hid from him Whither shall I goe saith David from thy spirit or whither shall I goe from thy presence If I climbe up into heaven thou art there if I goe downe to hell thou art there also Againe GOD is most wise and knoweth all things even in the most secret and inward corners of the heart neither stands he in need of witnesses to prove the faults of men when their owne consciences are instead of a thousand witnesses to him Lastly no bribes nor favours can corrupt his justice because hee needs none of our goods nor feareth our favour or displeasure It remaines then that there is no sinne neither great nor little grievous nor light that can escape the revenging justice of GOD unlesse it be washed away before by repentance for by how much the more plentifull his mercy is towards us now in pardoning by so much the more rigid and severe will his justice be after this life in revenging Of this time of repentance the Prophet Esay speaketh In an acceptable time I have heard thee and in a day of salvation I have helped thee which the Apostle thus expounds Behold now is the accepted time behold now the day of salvation And of the other time after this life the Prophet Zephaniah speakes thus That day is a day of wrath a day of trouble and heavinesse a day of destruction and desolation a day of obscurity and darknesse a day of clouds and blacknesse And not onely shall all sinnes be punished but they shall be punished with horrible torments which wil be so great as scarce any man can imagine for as the eye hath not seene nor the eare hath not heard nor hath it entred into mans heart what the LORD hath prepared for them which love him so likewise hath not the eye seen nor the eare heard nor hath it entred into mans heart what GOD hath prepared for them which hate him for the miseries of sinners in hell shall be great 〈◊〉 and pure that is not tempered with any comfort and which infinitely addes to their misery they shal be for 〈…〉 shall I say be many becaâ—â—e every power of the soule and every sense of the body shall have their severall tormentors weigh well the words of the chiefe Iudges sentence in the Gospell 〈◊〉 from me ye cursed into everlâ—stiâ—â— firâ— Depart saith he that is separate your selves from the society and company of the blessed deprived for ever of the visâ—â—n and sight of GOD which is the chiefest and most essentiall happinesse and the last end for which ye were created Ye cursed that is hope not hence forth for any kind of blessiâ—â— for ye shall be deprived of all spring or growth of grace of all hope of salvation the water of wisedome shall no more raine upon you nor the 〈◊〉 of good inspiratioâ—â— the 〈◊〉 of heavenly light 〈◊〉 no more shiâ—e upon you 〈…〉 of repentance shall bud 〈…〉 more in you nor the 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 nor the fruit of good wâ—rkes shall not grow in you for the Sun of my favour shall rise no more upon you hereafter you shall not onely want spirituall good things but corporall nor eternall onely but temporall you shall injoy neither riches delights nor solace but ye shall be like the figgetree which being cursed by me dryed up immediately Into fire that is into a fâ—â—nace of burning and unquenchable fire which shall take hold of all your members and torture them with unspeakable paines Everlasting that is into a fire which needs no supply of fewel to make it burn ever but is kept burning at the appointment of the omnipotent GOD that as your sinne will never be blotted out so your punishment shall never be ended and therefore the Prophet Esay most justly demandeth Who shall dwell with the devouring fire who shall dwell with the everlasting burnings as if he should say no man shal be able to beare them patiently but though they be impatient and desperate beare them they shall and he addes Their wâ—rme shall not dye neither shall their fire bee quenched which words our Saviour diverse times repeats in S. Marks Gospell for there shal be added to the tâ—rments of fire the worme of conscience and of remembrance of this time wherein the wicked might with a little labour if they had beene willing have escaped their punishment and have injoyed everlasting comfort And least any should imagine that the damned by changing of place may receive any ease heare what our Saviour saith Binde him hand and foot and cast him into utter darkenesse there shal be weeping and gnashing of teeth Therefore those miserable creatures being bound hands and feet in everlasting bonds shall lye for ever deprived of the light of the Sun Moone and Starres boyling in the heate of fire weeping and mourning and gnashing their teeth for madnesse and desperation And they which are cast into this horrible and disconsolate place shall not onely suffer the intollerable paines of hell but all kind of penury and want together with shame ignominie and confusion for in a moment of time they shall loose their possessions and riches and bee brought to such want that they shall beg with the glutton in the Gospell one drop of cold water and shall not obtaine it And these proud and high minded men which in this life were impatient of any injury and prefer'd their honour before all other things shall in the presence of all men and Angels a greater never was or will be see all their offenâ—â—â— openly revealed though they were committed in darknesse or though they were hid in secret 〈◊〉 of their hearts for â—s â—he Apostle saith When the LORD shall come who will lighten things that are hid in darknesse and make the counsels of the heart manifest and then shall every man have praise of GOD and without doubt every wicked man shall 〈◊〉 dispraise and condemnation and so great shal be the rebuke and confusion of wicked men in that assembly that St. Bernard is confident that this wil be the most grievous punishment of all others especially to hypocrites and proud men who accounted honour their GOD or Idol in this World But if these fore-mentioned