kept in the Tabernacle was a present they received from Heaven eight dayes after Moses had Consecrated Aaron and enjoyned him to offer his first Sacrifices This was in testimony that God approved them and to imprint deeper in the minds of the people the honour and reverence they were to bear unto their High-Priests and to these publick acts of their Religion Afterwards the Gentiles endevoured to disturb these Mysteries and often sought to make us believe that their Gods kept amorous Thunderbolts Sacred flames for the advantage of their Religion and for this purpose they had given names unto some as a mark of the favors they had received from them in their Sacrifices which as they gave out had been often inkindled by their hands Nevertheless these are but Fables and Impiety and Sacrileges afforded no coals of the Sanctuary nor any flames of Heaven like those which fired the Holocausts and Victims of Aaron in the presence of the people who did partake of the Sacrifice Apparuitque gloria Domini omni multitudini Levit. 9. v. 23. as complices of that sin for which it was offered At that time the glory of our Lord appeared on the Altar and in the midst of these Ceremonies Now this glory was but a visible Fire which surrounded the whole Holocaust Et ecce egressus ignis à domino devorâ—vit holocausium adipet qui erant super altare c. Levit. 9 v. 24. and consumed it just in the same maner as the common fire would have done although some Hebrews have invented in their usual dreams First That the face of a Lyon appeared in the midst of flames Secondly That they could not be quenched even in water Thirdly That they were to be kept in a Purple Cloath But their imagination had more resembled truth Fair Analogies of fire with God if instead of amusing themselves on these dreams they had said That this was the most ordinary Figure by which God useth to erect a Throne of Light and Ardor unto his Love which is but a most pure fire without mixture which descended from Heaven upon Earth to cause a general inflagration in all hearts which to speak properly ought to be no other than the Altars of the most illustrious Sacrifices of Love Faith and Religion concerning which God hath been pleased to give marks and signs of his particular presence causing himself to be seen and felt under the form of Fire which of Natural bodies resembleth him the most So that Moses durst say unto his people Deut. 4. v. 21. That his God was a consuming Fire In the first place because this Element hath more resemblance with its Creator in regard of the power and command it hath received beyond others Secondly because as there is nothing more amiable and terrible than fire so there is nothing which equals the goodness God expresseth to the vertuous and the chastisement he implores to take revenge on the wicked Thirdly it is the nature of fire as well as the property of God to enlighten the night to melt Ice to warm those that approach it and to burn such as will touch it Moreover it is the property of them both incessantly and vigorously to act and to communicate themselves without loss or alteration to be most pure simple and subtile to harden and mollifie substances and always to ascend In fine the wisdom of God breaks forth in the midst of sparkling fires his goodness in its ardors and his power to which all is possible in those flames which God cannot resist And as heat and light spring from fire so the Son and the Holy Ghost are produced from the Father as from their Beginning and Origin It is not then without reason God takes veils of fire to cover his Majesty and that he often appears under this shape in Sacrifices since these fires are kindled by his own hand and by the torch of his Love unto which we must approach with the same reverence as to the bush of Moses Areptisque Nadab Abihu filu Aaron thâ—â—â—â—bulis posuerunt ignem incensum desuper offerentes coâ—am Domino ignem alienum Quod eis praeceptum non erat Levit. â—0 v. 1. otherwise we finde nothing there but our own misfortune amongst devouring flames and killing ardors followed by smoak tears and obscurities which form the veil of a dismal blindness We must chiefly beware of doing like Nadab and Abihu who were so bold as to put into their Censor an other fire than that of the Sanctuary For that is to mingle Sacrilege with Religion Heaven with Earth and Piety with Profanations Nevertheless this is the practice of these persons who are so presumptuous as to speak unto God by lips polluted with blasphemies and to touch his Altars with impure hands to kiss his Images with lips withered by wanton kisses and to love the Holy Bridegroom with a heart which they have already sold or morgaged unto his rival God also wants not arms to punish these profane persons he hath killing Thunderbolts and amorous Shafts he hath gentle winds to inkindle fires Sanctificabor in iis qui appropinquant mihi in conspectu omnis populi glorificabor Levit 10. v. 3. and torrents to quench them There are Victims which he crowns with flames and spoils which he reduceth into Ashes and oftentimes the Sacrificers who ought onely to attract Blessings and Dews from Heaven draw upon themselves a deluge of pains and punishments God is the Holy of Holies and he cannot breathe but in Sanctity which is as it were his Element Life and Paradise CHAP. XLV The Pillar of Fire and the Cloud AMongst all the miracles which God wrought for his people Adduxit vos quadraginta annis per desertum c. Deut. 29. v. 5. and continued for the space of forty years during their voyage from their departure out of Egypt until their entry into the Land of Promise the first was That amongst three millions of people there was not any one either sick fainting or weary during all these wandrings and amidst the dangers and incounters not to be avoided by those that make long journeys The second wonder appeared in their Garments which were not in any sort worn out Non sunt attrita vestimenta vestra nec calceamenta pedum vestrorum vetustate consumpta sunt Deut. 29. v. 5. Panem non comedislis vinum siceram non bibistis c. Deut. 29. v. 6. as if they had brought them out of their Mothers Bellies increased with their Bodies They also had no need of Sutlers nor any of those provisions which are necessary for livelihood For there fell every day so well-seasoned Manna as they needed onely to take and put it into their mouths to finde therein all sort of gust and the most delicious taste they could desire In fine Igitur die qua erectum est tabernaculum operuit illud nubes A vespere autem super tentorium
The Vestments of the High-Priest CHAP. 44. The Sacrifices of Aaron consumed by fire from Heaven CHAP. 45. The Pillar of fire and the Cloud CHAP. 46. The Brazen Serpent CHAP. 47. The last actions of Moses CHAP. 48. The last Canticle of Moses CHAP. 49. The death of Moses at the sight of the Holy Land THE HOLY HISTORIE FIRST TOME GOD THE CREATOR FIRST BOOK CHAP. I. Gods First Sally out of himself in the Birth of the Universe THough God was what he is and in the perfect fruition of his Grandeurs before his omnipotent hand had drawn the Creatures out of their Nothing The motives which invited God to create the world yet his Nature required Hommages his Majesty Servitudes his Glory Admirations his Goodness Acknowledgments and his Beauty hearts and affections It was needfull though he were independent of all Beings Immense in his extent Eternall in his duration and Infinite in all his perfections that he should cause himself to be seen and felt by Emanations out of himself It was not sufficient me thinks that God should contemplate himself in the Myrror of his Essence and that without issuing out of himself he should beget his Word in the splendors which flow from his Claritie It was not enough to love himself and in loving himself to produce without change loss or alteration the sacred fire of his Love All these immanent and infinite productions could not exhaust the Treasures of so fruitfull a Nature For in giving it self it suffers no detriment since amidst these sallies and Emanations the Father and the Son in such sort communicate their Nature and perfections the Father to the Son and both to the Holy Ghost that all three by a Common power can act ad extra or exteriorly and they needed to employ but one single word to create not only a World but even Worlds without end I represent unto my self that Nature sigh'd even without tongue or voice The sighs of Nature before she had a being Me thinks I hear her silence and that she saith to God before her Creation Speak then O speak Great God stretch forth thy arm and cast thy looks out of thy self issue forth of the Luminous Darkness which formes thee a day without Night and a Night more resplendent then the day Give some little passage to those Ejaculations and flames which from all eternity are inclosed within thy bosome and which frame therein a Circle of Light and Love Thou needst but open thy mouth and immediatly all Creatures will be obedient to thy commands The least of thy Irradiations will dissipate the shadows and open that abyss in which they are buried It is true that nothing ought to disturbe the peace and repose of thy solitude It is true thou hast and possessest in thy self all that can ever be But thou canst bring it to light and art able without noyse and disorder to break that eternall silence which hitherto hath made thee heard but of thy self In fine thou art a God of Love and this love would be Captive if it had not Sallies and Ejaculations It was not satisfied to remain in thee by eminence and as it were in the source of beauty and goodness but having made its folds within its self by numberless revolutions Dyonys c. 11. divin Nom. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 appellat munifestationem Dei per se ipsum it must descend upon externall objects to attain that effect and property which is naturall to Love viz. that amorous extasy that prodigious effusion and that pompous and magnificent shew which to speak properly is the Torch of Love or rather the Chariot of its tryumph Well then Creatures come forth of the Mass in which you lye confused Heaven Earth Sea Stars Trees Fishes Furnaces of fire and flames The first allarum of Nature vast extents of Air Clouds Abysses Precipices listen to the voice and Command of God of the Word and of their Love O God! O Power O Love what word what speech and what voice we must proceed in order and pursue the same which God himself hath followed The word was in God the Father and this word was God from that beginning which could never begin the Common Spirit of God animated the Father and the Son But in fine this glorious and happy moment which saw the birth of times and seasons being arrived The eternall God seeing no Object out of himself which could deserve his love and besides this Love being incited by a holy desire of communicating it self it was requisite to frame a Copy of the Intellectuall Originall which was in his Idea Love the architect of the World and in his heavenly mind From that instant the world then but a lively vacuum but an universall privation of forms and qualities was chosen as the blanck Table whereon he resolved to draw the first stroaks of his goodness That Nothing which hath but the bare name men give it In principio creavit Deus Coelum Terram Gen. 1. v. 1. became immediatly a fruitfull Abyss of Essences and Nature was ingendred out of it by the sole power of the Divinity First Heaven Earth Water and Darkness appeared in an instant as the Field on which all the effects of a most Amorous and sage Prodigality were to be displayed Terra autem erat inanis vacua tënebrae crant super saciem abyssi Gen. 1. v. 2. It was before any other thing that this tenebrous Compound this confused Medley and this heap of Water and Earth was the object of him who alone was able to chase away its shadows and convert its dust into Gold and Cristall This is the Throne on which the title of Soveraign Monarch and Lawgiver shall be seen ingraved But what this Theater is too obscure to behold therein the birth of the World we must expect the Aurora and the rayes of the day CHAP. II. The work of the six dayes NAture awake The first day of the Creation it is time for the World to rise the Night hath preceded and twelve hours are as it were already past since Heaven and Earth have been in obscurity Dixitque Deus fiat tax facta est lux Gen. c. 1. v. 3. Behold the break of day and those delightfull colours which play upon the waters are the Companions of that light which in Palestine hath already opened the doors and windows of the East and is going to spread it self upon another Hemisphear Nevertheless to finish this Carriere to perfect this course and to round the whole Globe twelve hours more are required And then counting from Evening till Morning and from Morning till Evening you shall find all the Moments which form the first day a glorious day a day illustrious for having first received the light which gives glory and splendor to all dayes Et vidit Deus lucem quod esset bona Gen. 1. v. 1. God himself made even a stand to be
hold these lights and could not contein himself from praysing the attractive charms of this glistring and pompous quality which is as the life of the eye and a most lively representation of the spirit The second day was not less glorious The second Day for it was that in which God chose to raise up the Firmament like a Circle of Brass Dixit quoque Deus fial Firmamentum in medio aquarum dividat aquas ab aquis Gen. 1. v. 5. or rather like a Globe of Gold and azure which might serve to divide the seaven Orbes of the Planets from the empyreall Heaven Now it was in the midst of the waters that this admirable work was formed whether they were necessary to temper the rays and orders of the Stars or that the course and revolutions of a mooving body would be more even and free in an Element so pure and so plyable to all sort of Motions Or finally whether it were for some other reason known only to the incomparable Architect who caus'd his power and wisdome equally to shine in the Fabrick of the Universe The next day God descended from Heaven upon Earth and it was on this day he marked out bounds The third Day and limits to Rivers Streams Seas and Torrents so that the waters retyring some on one side and some on the other Congregentur aquae quae sub Coelo sunt in Deuâ— unum apraâ—cat arida Gen. 1. v. 7. just as they were shut up within their banks Clifts and Chanels the Earth appeared and immediatly her sides were found pierced with Caverns and her back loaden with Mountains and Rocks which rais'd her in a stately manner Instantly her entrals were filled with Stones and Metals and whilst those four great portions of the Earth which divide the World and all the Islands of the Ocean and Seas were Levelled to serve for Empires and possessions of men The hand of God as just as liberall did in the bosome of the Earth uphold the Arches of her Prisons and Dungeons to the end that if the Paradice of Eden was a Garden of delights and pleasures Hell on the contrary might be an abode of dread horror and Misery It was likewise very convenient that as God had mixed Light with Darkness he should create wild places and desarts to render the Gardens Fields and Meadows more delightfull and finally having the very same day given Plants Herbs and Flowers for an ornament to the Earth his wise Providence mingled Thorns with Roses and the most wholesome Herbs sprung out of the same soyl with the Mandrake and Aconite The fourth day The fourth Day having bin as it were the Chariot of the Sun Fiant luminaria in Virmamento Coeli dividant diem ac noctem sint in signa ten pora dies annos Gen. 1. v. 14. Moon Stars and Planets which shine in the Heavens may in some manner be called the day of days since it hath bin the Origin of the fires brightness and flames which are the soul of the Day Then were the frozen and condensed waters gathered together with more light and heat to form the Body of the Planets Et luceant in firmamento Coeli illuminent terram Gen. 1. v. 15. Fecitque Deus dun lâ—minaria magna lumanare majus ut praeesset diei luminaâ—e minus ut traeesht nocti stâ—llas v. 16. Next the Sun Moon and Stars began their courses periods and revolutions and took the tracks and ways which were traced out to them from East to West they began likewise to cast their favourable aspects and from that time their influences fell upon the Earth and they received the Orders and Laws which they have since observed so inviolably and with so great respect But whilst these Torches rowl over our heads for fear lest our eyes should be dazeled at such luminous objects Let us turn them upon the Fift day The â—ift Day Producant eqâ—as reâ—tile animae vtventis volatile super terram sub Firmamento Coelâ— Gen. 1. v. 25. wherein God created the Birds which fly in the Air and the Fishes which swim in the Water One must hear represent unto his thoughts some fair Summers day and imagine that he sits in the cool upon the shore of some Island From thence he must lift up his eyes towards Heaven and behold over head thousands of little feathered bodies cleaving the air with their wings piercing the Clouds and mingling with their flight the sweet Harmony of their warblings He must afterwards behold at his Feet a River full of Fishes armed with scales some of which cut their way neer the surface of the water and others through the midst of the waves some swim aloft against the stream and Current others are carryed down at the pleasure of the winds and by the favour of so sweet and rapid an Element This is that which God took pleasure to see and doe five dayes after the Creation of Heaven and Earth This was the day he chose to people the Air and Sea with their guests which were in so great numbers as since it hath not been necessary to create other species of Birds and Fishes But what the Earth which serves for a Basis and foundation unto Sea and Air would have some cause to murmur against both and might with reason complain as it were of God her Creator if she were abandoned and without Inhabitants Soft a little patience It belongs not unto Creatures to prescribe laws to their Creator Scarce had the Morning brought news of the arrivall of the sixth day The sixt Day Producat terra animam viventem in genere suo jumenta reptilia bestias terrae secundum species suas Gen. 1. v. 24. but at the same instant the Earth opened her eyes unto her Sun and her ears unto the voice of her God This dull heavy and insensible Mass not satisfied to have brought forth Flowers Plants and Trees yet farther displaid it self to produce all sorts of Beasts and Animals Behold the World in her Cradle and Nature in her Infancy The unmoveable Earth round about her Center is sown with flowers tapistred with Turf and Verdures beautified with Woods and Forrests she is stately in her Mountains pleasant in her Valleys delightfull in her Meadows She is rich in her Metals fertile in her Fruits and plentifull by her Rivers and Seas which inviron her on all parts and form her a thousand liquid transparences The Air encompasses her on all fides and serves her for a veil to temper the over-humid Influences of the Moon and the too ardent Rays of the Sun The Heavens like pendent Roofs and rowling Arches are strewed with Flowers Emeraulds and Rubies Hesiod in the genealogy of false divinity What doth remain after all these Prodigies of Power and all these works of Love O Power O Love I cannot condemn his fancy who said that Love produced Heaven out
of following God were resolved never to make a stop upon the Earth untill they were arrived at the proposed end What Progress would be seen in Vertues what advances in the way of Paradise and of Glory Moreover if we had often this thought that Gods Eyes are fixed on all the Motions of the Body and Soul should we find so many Cowardly Idle and Lazy Persons standing with their Arms across and whose Reason is buryed in a shamefull Brutality Is it vain then God Commands us to goe alwaies ascending Equality sometimes very dangereus from one degree to another and not to doe like those stinking Waters which stop in the Mire But sometimes to little purpose doth he shew himself and make himself felt by the effects of his Holy presence no Body sees him and none but an Abraham hath Eyes to know him and Feet to follow him every where It is likewise with him he makes an attonement and it is in his Person he establisheth the King of Men and the Father of all believers Moreover as it is the Custom to impose on things a name Conformable to their Nature and as it appertains only to the Elect and such as are predstinated to have Names which must be registred in the Book of Life and which neither times nor seasons will ever efface so God changed his name which till then was Abram adding to it one Divine Letter and one of those Sacred Ciphers of which Men use to express the ineffable Name of God a very evident Sign that he was one day to take as the Apostle saith his Origin and temporall Birth from Abraham Hieronymus in trad Heb. in Genesim Lipomanus ad Heb. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I adde to these Conceptions of St. Jerom that Names as the most faithfull Disciples of Plato believed being the Chariots of Nature and of Essences It was necessary that Abraham who was the Father of all Nations should have also the Title of it and that his name should be an Illustrious Witness thereof Presently after as if this fortunate and glorious Name had been the Seal of the Contract and of the Allyance which God made with Abraham he would render it more sensible and adde to these Cyphers of Love an Impression of Grief and a Character of Blood Then was Circumcision commanded not only for Abraham but for all his Children and Servants Commandement for Circumcision and in generall for all those that should be numbred amongst his Generations Hoc est pactum meum quod observabitis inter me vos semen tuum post te Circumcidetur ex volis omne Masculum Gen. 17. v. 10. Infans osto dicrum circumcidetur in vobis omne Masculum in generationibus vestris tam vernaculus quam emptitius circumcidetur quicumque non suerit de stirpe vestra Gen. 17. v. 12. provided nevertheless they were Males for Women were exempted from the Law Concerning the time prefixed for the accomplishment of this precept it was not to pass the term of Eight dayes and the proposed End was no other than mens accord and peace with God who foreseeing the War which the Body is wont to wage against the Soul gave a Command to cut off the Prepuce as the Center of the impurest and grossest humors which use to nourish and infire the flames to inkindle the funestous Pyle in which the chastest purities are consumed This is the opinion of Saint Thomas St. Chysostom and Theodoret who adde that the Circumcision of the Jews was but a Corporall Figure of that Circumcision which should be in the Spirit of Grace and in the blessed Law of the Messias who desires not a Sacrifice of Bloud and rigour but of Love whose amiable and holy tyranny is sometimes more violent over the Soul than the Law of the Jews hath ever been over the Body Moreover Circumcision was not only a Figure of Baptism of cumcision sign Peace but a Constant and infallible Mark of the agreement God had made with Abraham Now this ordinary denotation of Love and this sacred Testimony of Peace was to be imprinted on the Body of the Hebrews that the remembrance of the favours God had shewed them might increase their duties of Obedience Piety and Faith towards God Thirdly this effusion of Blood was a lively representation and animated by the Faith of Abraham who obeyed the Voice of one God who presently cast Veils over his Eyes infused Light into his Mind and Fires into his Heart which made him abandon all Creatures to remain under the sole Protection of Heaven In the fourth place this Phlebotomy served to distinguish the Jews from other Nations so that as heretofore the Grecians esteemed all the People of the World barbarous and brutall so the Jews had a Custom to call all those Uncircumcised who would not subject themselves to Circumcision In fine this rigour and this Bloodie precept God imposed on the Hebrews was an effect of the first Disafter which deserved tears and cicatrices of Bloud This was the Remedy which Men had to heal this satall wound which remains still bleeding Now there needed such a healing hand as that of Abraham to receive this Bloudy but efficacious Medicine which was to mollifie not only the Obduration of the Jews but had also a secret vertue to wipe away the stains of that mortall Poyson which the Serpent of Paradise or rather of Hell had vomited into all Hearts This was then a particular favour of God unto Abraham but it was not the last for he gave him afterwards the ultimate assurance that Sara who was 90. years old should be the Mother of a Son Et ex illa dabo tibi silium cui benedicturus sum criâ—que innationes reges populorum orientur ex eo Gen. 17. v. 16. Et ait Deus ad Abraham Sara uxor tua pariet tibi filium vocabisque nomen ejus Isaac c. Gen. 17. 1 Cecidit Abraham in faciem suam risit dicent in corde shoâ— putasue cen enario nascetur filius Sara nonagenaria pariet Gen. 17. v. 17. who was to be not only the Prince but the Head and Father of Nations This Son at the same time received his name from the Mouth of God even before his Birth and the name imposed on him was that of Isaack a happy and pleasing name which sounded so sweetly in the Ears of Abraham as presently his poor Soul being unable to bear the excess of this contentment he felt himself surprised with an Amorous fainting which cast him upon the Earth and left him no words in his Mouth but smilingly to say My God! is it possible that an aged Man a hundred years old should be the Father of a Child Omnipotent God! what News dost thou bring unto these poor Parents what joy what pleasure and what transport in their Souls what will Men say when Sara shall grow great with Child by a Miracle from Heaven what
missus sum qui secit me quasi patrem Pharaonis Dominum universae domus ejus ac principem in omni terra Egypti Gen. 45. v. 8. It is God alone who hath conducted me unto this place and who after all my misfortunes hath raised me on the Throne of Pharaoh to be the chief Ruler of his Dominions and to provide for the necessities of his people in Conjunctures of time and disasters which desolate the whole Land I refer my self unto your selves who are Eye witnesses thereof and you know at your own cost what hath passed You see that I have the absolute Command in Egypt and that Pharaoh though elder than my self doth me the honour to call me his father The name of Saviour which I bear is not a bare Title but the effects sufficiently demonstrate that Heaven hath chosen me to preserve the lines of an infinite number of people whom Famine would have destroyed It is not out of any Spirit of vain glory I open unto you all these Verities But onely to the end you may know that it is GOD alone who hath broken my Chains and who amidst all the disasters of a cruell servitude hath led me even unto Regality I adore all the effects of his amiable Providence and I can onely accuse you as the Instruments and Executioners of his Divine Decrees Do not then apprehend any thing but rejoyce that you have been the Instruments of God in so important a matter For my part I am confounded seeing the triumph of my weakness and the Haven where after so many Tempests I am arrived I look upon you as the Winds and Oares whereof God as a wise Pilot made use to convey me even in the midst of Rocks and amongst so many waves unto the Throne of Egypt Well then my most dear Brethren it is time to Convert your fears and Sorrows into Congratulations and applauses The winds are now appeased the storm is layd Festinate ascendite ad patrem mâ—um dicetis ei haec mandat filius tuus Joseph Deus fecit me Dominum universae terrae Aegypti Descende ad me ne morieris Gen. 45. v. 9. Adhuc enim quinque anni residue sunt famis Gen. 45.11 and the Sun of Jacob is risen in Egypt Take a journey then I beseech you to visit my Father and inform him that Joseph is found that you are sent from him that you have both seen and spoken with him and that he sent you to bring him least some ill might happen to him and that Death surprise him as well in respect of his old age as by reason of the publick miseries which will still endure for the space of five years After this Commission Osculatusque est Joseph omnes fratres sues ploravit super singules Gen. 45. v. 15 Joseph having no other motive which might oblige him to conceal the tenderness of his affections his Eyes were inforced to render that tribute unto Love which without violence they could not restrain Lightnings are too hot to remain inclosed in the Clouds and Clouds are too cold to endure the rayes of the Sun without being melted and dissipated Now the heart of Joseph being like a Thunder bolt wrapt up in Clowds What wonder then if this Thunder break forth and if all the Forces of his heart which were weaker than the Clouds dissolved into Tears in the presence of this Sun Thus was Joseph constrained to shed tears enough upon his Brethren Cumque ampiexatus recidisset in collum Benjamin flevit Gen. 45. v. 14. to estate the remnants of their terrors but in the first place he took Benjamin into his arms and holding him close to his bosome Delicious tears he kissed him shedding tears on his mouth which came from the bottome of his heart and he left him not but to kiss the rest of his Brethren and to witness to them by his embraces and tears the force and tenderness of his affection which was not onely placed on an Innocent but also upon Offenders Alas Fair Spectacle what spectacle of Love what Theater of Passions what kisses what embraces what tears O God! what excess of goodness in Joseph who having been persecuted by his Brethren even to death will take no other revenge of the injury he received than by his Silence by his Tears by his Sighes by his Kisses and by all sorts of benefits Where are then all those pitiless hearts Deadly Vengeances where are those mortall vengeances where those tyrants who know not what it is to pardon when once they are offended where is Joseph And where is he who after a long Contest imbraceth his adversaries who kisses them to stifle all their mischievous designs and who hath tears of Love to quench the fire which nourished their darkest Passions At least there are but few who do like Joseph that is to say without interest without constraint without dissimulation and when they have still the power of revenge in their hands It is said that a Lion hath so discreet and generous furies as we need but cast our selves at his Feet to appease him in the height of his rage But there are more savage and cruell men A more than brutish inhumanity who cannot temper their wrath and in what posture soever we set our selves before them they still remain inflexible If wounds be layd open unto them to excite them to compassion they cast new darts to poison them If a man humble himself they trample upon him if he flatter them they are exasperated If they be intreated this renders them more obstinate Above all they are inexorable and inflexible if it lye in their power to do mischief without fear of receiving any from those that may be their victimes and the Subjects of their brutality And if some Jmage of Pitty Love or Honour touch their Hearts and draw some drop of water from their Eyes and some kindnesses from their Hands or Mouths it is not without vanity and noise This indulgence must be published in all places and it seemes that the whole World ought to be advertised of it as of an universall Jubile Ridiculous ceremonâ—es This pardon then is Shamefully acquired and there are no Ceremonies in the Church and no Formalities at the bar which are not to be observed for the confirmation of this reconciliation and to render this accomodation more remarkable On the contrary Joseph retires and will have no other Witnesses of his favours than those who have been the Authors of his misfortunes He will discover his goodnesse Auditumque est celibâ—i sermone vulgatum in aula Regis venerunt fratres Joseph Gen. 45. v. 16. Et gavisus est Pharaâ— atque omnis familia ejus Gen. 45. v. 16. Dixitque ad Joseph ut imperaret fratribus suis dicens enorate sumenta ite in terram Chanaan Gen. 45. v. 17 Et tollite inde patrem vestrum cognatiâ—nâ—m venite ad me
vain Idols which men use to adore Nevertheless Videns autem Pharno quod cessasset plavia grando tonitrua auxit peccatum Exod. 9. v. 34. Nec misit filios Israel ficut praeceperat Dominus per manum Moisis Exod. 9. v. 35. albeit Heaven is always armed with Fires Flames Thunders Lightnings and Thunderbolts against Egypt and Pharaoh yet all these Tempests did onely shake this Rock but could not overthrow it for scarce did the calm appear but presently this hardned Spirit reassumed his former designs and as if nothing had passed he continued to retain the people to whom God nevertheless was willing to give Liberty CHAP. XIV The Grasshoppers of Egypt BEhold saith Rupertus Rubertus hic what are the Armies of the God of Pharaoh Frogs in the Van Flyes in the Main-body and Grasshoppers in the Rere Fourth Plague but to speak truth all those prodigious Squadrons would have been very weak if he that formed them with his own hand had not marched in the head of all these Regiments Now it was with a Southern hot and stifling wind Ego indâ—cam craâ—l custam in Fines 〈◊〉 qâ—ae operiat supâ— crem terrae Exod. â— v. 4. these last battalions were raised composed of Grasshoppers in so great number that Egypt was wholly covered and wasted by them I know that intire Provinces and Kingdomes have been infected by such creatures and if Pliny speaks truth some of them have been seen in the Indies three foot long and in so great abundance that the Sun was shadowed by them Italy and Africa also have been very often tormented by them and the Cyreneans had a Law which obliged them to warr thrice every year against Grasshoppers first breaking their Egs then stifling them when they were disclosed and in fine persuing them on all sides when they were hatched For the same reason there was an Ordinance in the I le of Lemnos by which every inhabitant was enjoyned to bring every year a certain Number of them which he was to kill with his own hands Deorum ira pestis haec esse intelligitur Pâ—inius However it were this Authour said true when he calls this sort of Animals a Plague and scourge of Heaven for this was a Mortall wound which Pharaoh felt no less rigorous than death it self And when he saw himself on all sides assayled by them Corrodat enim omnia ligna quae germinant in agris Exod. 10. v. 5. and that they did gnaw even into the substance of Trees he conjured Aaron and Moses to ask in his behalf a deliverance from this mischief 〈…〉 〈…〉 Aaron 〈…〉 precavi in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈…〉 Exod 10. v. 16. Seit nunc dimiâ—te peccatum 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Domilium 〈…〉 ut 〈…〉 moâ—tem 〈◊〉 Exod. 10. v. 17. Cruel perfid ousness which he stiled death confessing afterwardes that he acknowledged his fault and most humbly demanded pardon for it Alas how often doe we promise to forsake our Errours and never more to provoke the wrath of God how often doe we say during Sickness Health will afford Remedy to our sins we weep upon our beds we beat our breasts we ask pardon we call the Saints of Paradise to our aid O strange God who sees the heart farr from a perfect resentment and a generous repentance seemes nevertheless to be moved at the noise of these sighes and tears and of all these disimulations His goodnesse cannot be wearied and his clemency enforceth him to hear and grant at last the petitions of a Just man who prayes for some Reprobate Behold Moses imploring God for Pharaoh Egressusque Moises de conspectu Pharaonis oravit Dominum Exod. 10. v. 18. Quo flare fecit ventum ab occidente vehementissimum areptam locustam projecit in mare rubrum Exod. 10. v. 19. he knows that the Graces his divine Majesty shall impart unto this impious person will fall uneffectually into his heart like dewes upon some Rock and that quickly after this Apostate will return unto his former wayes It imports not Moses no sooner raised his Arm and stretched out his Rod over Egypt but instantly a cold moist and Western wind hapned to blow with so much violence that it carried away all the Grasshoppers into the Sea CHAP. XV. The Darkness of Egypt MY God! Magna sunt enim judicia tua Domine menarrabilia verba tua c. Sap. 17. v. 1. said Solomon I confesse that the depth of thy judgements is incomprehensible and that the height of thy thoughts is rather understood by silence than discourse It is yet the stone of scandal and the most fatal Rock on which Faith is very often seen to suffer a dreadful shipwrack and reason remains yet insensible though it beholds on every side a thousand prodigies and a thousand miraculous effects which might serve as a Watch-Tower to guide it into a secure Haven Nothing seems to be beyond the reach of an incredulous minde and Egypt at present can hardly believe what it cannot conceive This blinde Nation would willingly attribute unto Chance or at least unto Nature the punishments which are laid on them by the Great God of Heaven But it is no wonder to see a people following the example of their King I am more astonished at this obstinate Prince who notwithstanding all these still bleeding wounds and by which he saw all his Subjects slain could perswade himself That no force was able to constrain him to release these poor people which he detained in a most unjust Captivity The Thunders and Lightnings of Heaven had but dazling Clarities Extenditque Moises manum in caelum factaesunt tenebrae horribiles in universa terra Aegypti tribus diebus Exod. 10. v. 22. Nemo vidit fratrem suum nec movit se de loco in quo crat Exod. 10. v. 23. Vbicumque autem babitabant filii Israel lax erat Exod. 10. v. 23. Digni quidem illi carere luce pati carcerem tenebrarum qui inelusos custodrebant filios suos c. Sap. 18. v. 4. Nam etsi nihil illos ex monstris perturbabat transitu animalium serpentium sibilatione commoti tremebundi peribant c. Sap. 17. v. 9. which but slightly struck the eyes of his minde It was requisite then to bury him alive in darkness and make him a Sepulchre of one night which lasted the space of three days God commanded Moses to lift up his hand towards Heaven and presently all Egypt was covered with such a thick and dreadful darkness that it was even palpable and this detestable Kingdom seemed to become a prison full of blinde and paralitick men who could neither see one another nor move from the place in which they had been surprised They were all Captives under the rigors of a holy Justice which casting these Criminals under shades furnished the Hebrews with lights which were to conduct them unto Liberty The Houses of Egypt were obscured with darkness
hand of pennance It is there where we ought to gird our Reins for otherwise a God of Purity would abhor to enter into an unclean Habitation into an unchaste Soul and into a Body which serves for a retreat unto the most merciless enemies of Vertue and Chastity We must have Staves in our Hands and Shooes on our Feet like Pilgrims which pass along and seek an abode elswhere than in a forrein Country where we must quit all we have or else either soon or late be forsaken by them Let us make haste then and remember An excellent thought I beseech you that this very day may be our Paschal and our passage from Earth unto Heaven What stayes us in the World our Parents will pass away or else are already gone before Our Friends are not here beneath for the Earth hath none but infidel perfidious and envious people In fine All that is under Heaven remains in a continual vicissitude The face of the Universe changeth every moment and that which sparkleth the most hath but marks of a vain appearance which serve onely to dazle our eyes and deceive our souls Such then saith St. Paul as have wives ought to live as if they had none that is to say Without being fastned unto any inordinate affection Those also who sigh and groan under the weight of miseries as if they had attained to the height of their desires and pretensions those that are on the top of the wheel as if they were under the feet of Fortune and loaden with all afflictions those that heap together riches as if they possessed nothing those that are ingaged amongst Creatures and are inforced to make use of them as if they were severed from them or as if the use of those Creatures were forbidden them This concludes my Brethren That we must break the Chains which fasten us to any other thing than God we must abandon Egypt and depart out of this unfortunate Land where nothing but Plagues Deaths and all sorts of horrors are seen Happy are they who follow God and Moses in the thickest part of the desart out of these tumults and dangers Proscâ—tique sunt filii Israel de Ramesse in Socoth sexcenta fere millia peditum virorum absque parvulis Exod. 12. v. 27. which are so frequent in Cities and Courts We cannot have more delightful company than his Elect who go from Egypt into Ramasses and from Ramasses into the Land of Socoth almost to the number of six hundred thousand foot-men without reckoning women and little children nor even the common people which can hardly be numbred I leave you my dear Reader to reflect on all that passed in this illustrious Departure and during this voyage which was I believe the most famous that hath ever been Nothing but the echoes of their Songs of Victory and of the Benedictions they gave unto their Redeemer were every where heard whilst their Tyrants howled like wolves from whom their prey is taken or else like Ravens which croak upon some dead body Moreover the convoy of the people of Israel was very rich and sumptuous Dominus autem dedit grariam populo coram Aegyptiis c. for they carried with them the most pretious moveables of Egypt as God had ordained them And to this effect he had imprinted on their foreheads and upon their faces I know not what marks of sweetness and so strong and powerfull attractives or as St. Austin beleev'd Sed vulgus promiscuum innumerabile ascendit cum eis oves armenta animantia diversi generis multa nimis Exod. 12. v. 38. Coxcruntque farinam quam dudum de Aegypto conspersam tulerant fecerunt sub cinâ—ricios panes azimos Exod. 12. v. 39. Habitatio autem filiorum Israel qua manserunt in Aegypto fuit quadringentorum trigenta annorum Exod. 12. v. 40. Hanc observare debent omnes filii Israel ingenerationibus suis Exod. 12. v. 42. Dixitque Dominus 〈◊〉 Moisen Aaron haec est Religio omnis alienigena non comedit ex eo Exod. 12. v. 43. Omnis autem servus emptititus circumcidetur sic comedet Exod. 12. v. 44. Advena mercenarius edent etit ex ea Exod. 12. v. 45. Omnis caetus filiorum Israel faciet illud Exod. 12. v. 47. such secret qualities as thereby they gained the hearts and friendships of those who before were their persecutors So that they desir'd them to burthen themselves with their spoiles and to depart as it were loaded with the booty they had gained from their enemies and pillaged after the victory of a most just warr which was also due unto them as a just recompence of their labours They carried also with them Sheep Oxen and all kind of Beasts Yet had nothing dressed and fit to eat wherefore they were faine speedily to set their hands awork and cause that which they had brought with them to be baked upon Ashes In fine This night when God drew them out of the calamities of Egypt and the bondage of Pharaoh was the end of four hundred and Thirty years which they pass'd therein and all the Children of Israel ought to observe it with a Solemnall worship throughout all generations It was also for this cause God said unto Moses and Aaron that such were the Ceremonies of the Paschal and that no stranger foreign Merchant nor any mercenary Servant or bought with money could be admitted unto the banquet of the Lamb till after the establishment of the Lawes for Circumcision To the end there might be but one Law both for those of the Country and for strangers which were mingled with the naturall Jewes All these conditions were most religiously kept and the Israelites omitted nothing of what God had given in command unto Moses Feceruntque omnes fibi Israel sicut praececeperâ—t dominus Moisi Aaron Exod. 12. v. 50. Et cadem die eduxit Dominus filâ—os Israel de terra Aegypti per turmas suas Exod. 12. v. 51. And so on the same day the Lord drew them out of Egypt according to their Tribes prescribing to them all the lawes they were to observe ordaining them chiefly Sanctification that is to say the offering of the first born as well of men as beasts to the end by this Sacrifice they should have a living and animated occasion to recall into their memory the singular favours had been done them when during the Murther of the Egyptians all theirs were preserved CHAP. XVIII Pharaoh Swallowed up in the Red Sea THE belief of one God Clemens Allexan â—rom 5. and the Evident demonstration of his justice are so inseparable as it would be more easy to meet with a spring without Water a life without a Soul and stars without rayes than a Soveraign nature which had not the power to punish sinners This then is almost as much as to say that there is one God and he is just We cannot even understand the frightfull termes and
which they usually invelop themselves even in the same fire It is allmost impossible that the World can ever enjoy a perfect peace so long as there shall be men for peace it self is very often the mother of warr repose which gives truce unto the soul raiseth in it a thousand thoughts and passions which arm themselves at the beating of the first Alarm and advance into the field upon the first occasion God himself marcheth in the head of battalions and I know not whether it be not for this cause he Calls himself the great God of Hostes well doe I know that he always presides there making use of them to reward some and to punish others and to the end we may take notice that war is one of his scourges and that there be always invisible weapons resembling so many torches which he lights and extinguisheth according to his good pleasure In fine it is a most infallible verity that victory in war though wavering and inconstant in its own nature remains in the hand of God and it is a Bird which cannot take its flight but to that part which is assign'd it by his most holy Providence The Israelites had a powerfull motive to know this verity in the first war they were enforced to maintain against the Amalekites after their passage over the Red Sea This people had for their King and general the son of Eliphas called Amaleck of Esau's race Venit autem Amalec pugnavit contra Jsrael in Raphidim Exod 17. v. 8. of whom they had as it were inherited an implacable hatred against Jacob and the Hebrews who descended from him This was the motive of their taking up arms besides their fear seeing this great multitude led by Moses who marched towards the Land of Promise as if the happy moment were come in which the Benediction which Jacob had in a manner forced from Esau was to be accomplished Methinks when I cast my eyes upon these mutinous troops which forraged the Country and pursu'd the Hebrews with so much fury and animosity I see an army of hobgoblins which are commonly called the inciters of Flesh and Blood which have no sooner perceiv'd a soul out of the Lands of Egypt and out of the empire of carnall and mundane pleasures but they presently take the field to assault her and to disturb her entry into the happy Land which was promised her and into some holy retreat But we must fear nothing since we need but lift up our hands to Heaven like Moses and implore the assistance of that great Intelligence who never abandons those who are inroled under his Standard and fight valiantly for the honour of his name Cumque levaret Moises manus vincebat Israel sin autem paululum remisisset superabat Amalec Exod. 17. v. 11. Yes at the same time that this great Captain lifted up his Arm towards God to implore his aid and to give him a sign that he only expected the victory from him the people of Israel became Conquerors but if he chanced never so little to let down his Hand these poor people would be lost and overcome by Amaleck O God The efficacy of prayer what victory Kings Captains Soldiers entire Legions are defeated by the ejaculations sighs and prayers of one single man what efficacy of Prayer It is Theater where death finds life a Throne where weakness takes force and Majesty a Field where Laurels and Palms are reaped a Sea which hath alwaies prosperous gales and an Air where Graces and Angels incessantly fly Prayer is not only as St. Ephraim saith the monument and Sepulcher of dying men the Sanctuary of the Afflicted the Advocate of Criminals the Seal and Character of purity the Nurse of temperance the Bridle of impatience the Conserver of peace but the Standard also of War and the Soul of all our triumphs who will wonder then if the Amalekites be defeated since Moses who was the most devout ardent zealous and holy Man upon Earth made his most humble supplications unto God for this purpose Manus autem Moisi erant graves c. Exod. 17. v. 12. Aaron autem Hur sustentabant manus eius ex utraque parte Exod. 17. v. 13. But I fear lest the forces of his Spirit might weaken those of the Body and that at last his Arms and Hands stretched out towards Heaven might suffer themselves to follow their naturall propension towards the Earth I assure my self that Hur and Aaron had the same apprehension for behold them on the top of a little Hill Hur on the one side and Aaron on the other supporting the victorious Hands and the conquering Arms of Moses Fugavitque Josue Amalec populum eius in ore gladii Exod. 17. v. 13. whilst Josua pursued and put to the Sword both Amaleck and his Amalekites who discerned in their flight and by their defeat that it was more than a humane Hand which had assailed and vanquished them Behold then the victories of Heaven and Crowns wrought by the Hand of God who will have the whole World to know that there are for his Soldiers Laurels and Palms in his Hands and on the contrary Thunderbolts and Lightnings to dart against his enemies Non ego ó Imperator victus sum sed tuipse prodidisti victoâ—iam qui contra Deum aciem instruere non desinis Deum sequitur victoria ad eos accedet quibus se Deus dacem praebet Theo. lib. 4. hist c. 29. Trajan was not ignorant of this when having been sent by Valens to conduct troops which were defeated under his command he had the courage to say unto him at his return That he had not been vanquished but rather the person that sent him and who was so temerarious as to raise troops against him whose steps are alwaies followed by those of victory The Emperour Theodorus had the same thoughts when having received news in a full Theater and in the midst of the sports used in the Circus that a certain Tyrant his enemy had been overcome commanded all that were present to follow him Niceph. lib. 4. c. 7. to render thanks unto God as unto the Author of this prosperous success France also knows the glorious victory which Clotarius gained after a troublesome and domestique War Gregorius Turon lib. 4. c. 16. 17. by the help of prayer In fine not to search further into former ages and to dis-inter so many Princes who have been either Conquerors or Conquered by this kind of Arms we need but cast our eyes upon the victories of our incomparable Lewis and amongst others on that of the Isle of Ree where like an other Moses he lifted up his Hands unto Heaven in the Chapel of Saumeur and then like Josua he pursued his enemies even to the destruction of their Ships and even into the bosom of the proudest and most rebellious City in the World where at last he might justly say unto his France what God said
vobiscum c. Exod. 24. v. 8. Moysi autem dixit aftende ad Dominum tu Aaron Nadab Abihu septuaginta senes ex Israel Exod. 24. v. 9. Lyranus Cajetanus Prados in Ezechielé Et viderunt Deum Israel sub pedibus ejus quasiopus lapidis saphirini quasi caelum cum serenum est Exod. 24. v. 10. Solusque Moyses ascendet ad Dominum illi non appropinquabunt nec populus ascendet cum eo Exod 24. v. 2. Cumque ascendisset Moyses operuit nubes montem Evo 24. v. 15 Et habitavit gloria Domini super Sinai c. Exod. 24. v. 16. Erat autem species gloriae Domini quasi ignis audens c. Exod 24. v. 17. Et fuit ibi Moyses quadraginta diebus quadraginta noctibus Exod. 24. v. 18. out of which it never departs but to guide us first unto God as unto the Father of Unions and unto the Author of Wisdome who desiring orderly to rule and govern the whole Universe was obliged to give Lawes and Precepts on which Policy ought to move as the Heavens doe upon their Poles Now it had not been sufficient to have revealed them unto Moses but it was necessary to publish them to all the people to the end they might be obliged to observe them after their reception Moses then declared unto the Hebrews all that God commanded them unto which they all consented crying out unanimously that these Lawes were just and that they would willingly keep them This was like an oath of fidelity after which Moses erected an Altar at the foot of the Mountain and raised twelve steps in reference to the twelve Tribes for whom he caused Holocausts to be offered up unto God by the hands of the first born of Israel which were born Priests in the Law of Nature These Sacrifices being made Moses gathered up in Cups the one half of the bloud of the Sacrifices casting the rest upon the Altar after which he took the Book of the Law to have it read unto the whole assembly who having again accepted it were sprinkled with the bloud of the Victime in witness of the Compact and agreement which had been newly made and which they were inviolably to observe towards God After this Ceremony Moses went up to the Mountain with Aaron Nadab Abihu and seventy old men chosen out of the people of Israel who had the honour to see God at a neerer distance in the form of a young Prince surrounded with rayes of glory who had under his feet as it were a large Throne of Saphirs whose splendor resembled that which we see in the Skies when they appear inameled with Stars sparkling like so many Diamonds It was in this pomp and Magnifick State God commanded Moses to draw neer him and to ascend higher even to the top of Mount Sina where being arriv'd he was incompassed with a great Cloud which covered the whole Mountain and formed as it were a great Pavillion of fire and clowd through which the Majesty of God made it self felt and known and where Moses spent forty dayes and as many nights without either eating or drinking thereby keeping the first Lent which was ever celebrated CHAP. XXXVII The Adoration of the golden Calf NOthing is so great a blemish unto Paganism as to see the wisest and most learned amongst these Idolaters rendring honours and adorations unto wood stone and living creatures And even the first of their Gods who abandons his Throne and changeth his Thunderbolt and Scepter for a Pencil to paint Goats and Hippocentaurs upon the Clouds but it is a more ridiculous and strange spectacle in the time of Christianity to see men and Demi-Gods who having lost all thoughts of Heaven and glory to which they are ordained descending even beneath themselves to adore brutish passions and to set in the place of God and piety infamous Idols Videns autem Populus quod moram faccret descendendi de monte Moyses c. Et fecit exeis vitulum conflatilem Diâ—cruntque hi sunt dâ—i tui Israël qui te eduxerunt de terra Agypti Exo. 32. v. 17. imitating Aaron and the Israelites who seeing that Moses staid long upon the Mountain where God detained him to deliver him the Tables of the Law were so stupid and ungratefull as to make a golden Calf in imitation of the Serapis of Egypt and to take it for their God and Conductor in the remainder of their voyage Did we ever hear of a more brutish blindness and of a more execrable Idolatry These Sacrilegious people who had neither life nor liberty but by Moses means and by the almost continuall Miracles which God wrought for their sake prefer nevertheless their passions before both of them and efface out of their souls all the remembrance of what had passed to satisfie a foolish imagination which made them contemn all manner of piety and gratitude But who would have ever beleeved that Aaron Dixitque ad eos Aaron Tollite inaures aureas de uxorum filiorumque filiarum auribus afferte ad me Exod. 32. v. 2. Quas cum ille accepisset formavit opere fusorio fecit ex eit vitulum conflatilem c. Exod. 32. v. 4. Quod cum vidisset Aaron adificavit altare coram co Exod. 32. v. 5. who had been as it were the Interpreter of God and Moses to work so many Miracles upon the people should serve as the most fatall instrument of their Idolatry Erecting with his own hands an Altar to this abominable Statue and receiving the profane acclamations of all this people who cryed out Behold behold our gods O God of Gods What applauses what congratulations what solemnity I know not whether the Devils have ever celebrated a Sabbath or the Gentiles a feast more full of abominations Methinks I see Lucifer in the midst of his troops when I behold Aaron amongst these people who should rather suffer his throat to be cut by these ungrateful wretches than give way to their impiety Et sedit populus manducare bibere surrexerunt ludere Exod. 32. v. 6. Pro vitulo cum vitulo vitulati sunt Tertul. lib. de Jes contra Psych The Altar of Aaron is an Altar of Sacrilege this High Priest is a prevaricator their Religion is Idolatry Perfumes are changed into Blasphemies and instead of the ineffable name of Jehovah the head of a Golden Calve is seen about which they laugh they leap they carouse they eat and commit a thousand sorts of impurities Alas What Sacrifices what sports Locutus est Dominus ad Maisen dicens Vade descende peccavit populus tuus quem eduxisti de terra Aegypti Exod. 32. v. 7. what festivals Nevertheless God whose goodness is infinite and who was not resolved to inflict the last punishment on these impious people nor to destroy them for ever but onely in case no man should address himself to implore favor for them revealed unto Moses what
always less than that of a whole people Behold Lord the sum of my desires and the most ardent Prayers I can offer it is my Heart which speaks to thee it is Piety which makes me thus importune thee it is my Duty and Honor which are ingaged and I should not have so often received thy benefits if I did not also hope for this Do not then deny me O infinite Goodness and whatsoever thou shalt please to determine Remember that I have ever preferred thy people before my self and that the love I have for them cannot rest satisfied if it obtain not the favor it hopes or if it serve not for an host unto the Sacrifice which is due unto thy most just indignation Was there ever any one heard to speak with a more ardent zeal a more sincere love with a more generous piety a less interressed heart Many there are who would willingly do good but they would have the power to do it like the Sea without trouble and diminution or like the Sun and Stars whose treasuries are not less filled with lights and influences though we receive them on every side or else like a Torch which lights others without being it self either obscured or extinguished But when we must lose what we gave when we must be impoverished to inrich others we do like Hedg-hogs and Tortoises which scarce dare hold up their heads and shew nothing but Bristles and Shells There are others who give but yet with trouble and when themselves have no more need of it or when they have so much that the abundance becomes cumbersom But Charity is a spring which never stops and never ceaseth to run but when she hath nothing left for her self If she be found amongst the Gentiles as in a Leonidas in a Fabius Maximus in the Tegeates in the Horatii in an infinity of others who have sacrificed their lives for their Country and for their confederates These were but slight draughts compared with those of Moses who offered not onely his body and life for a time but even his soul and the pretensions he had to an Empire which shall never have end He deserved also some alleviation of the punishments which were ordained for this people Loquebatur autem Dominus ad Moisen facie ad faciem sicut solet loqui homo ad amicum suum Exod. 33. v. 11. Stabantque ipsi ader abant per fores tabernaculorum suorum Exod. 33. v. 10. Tu autem vade duc populum istum quo locutus sum tibi Angelus meus praecedet te Exod. 32. v. 34. and although God at first seems to refuse it yet either soon or late he will obtain it It was likewise in recompence of this zeal he was so happy as to speak face to face to his God who treated with him in the same maner as one most intimate friend might do with an other The people themselves were witnesses of this Colloquy and every one standing at the entry of his Tent adored God turning himself toward the Pavillion of Moses upon which the Pillar had made his Station and gave light enough to manifest this whole Mystery In fine the favor of favors God shewed unto Moses was in giving him an Angel for his Conductor who marked out to him all the ways by which he should pass CHAP. XXXVIII The re-establishment of the Laws and the Ceremonies of the Old Testament THere are some implacable Spirits in the World which cannot be overcome either by force or mildness which become more obstinate the more men endeavor to bend them and excite them unto pity Ac deinceps Praecide ait tibi duas tabulas lapideas instar priorum scribam super eas verba quae habuerunt tabulae quas fregisti Exod. 34. v. 1. Quo transeunte coram eo ait Dominator Domine Dous misericors clemens patiens c. Exod. 34. v. 6. Defcendebat columna nubis stabat ad ostium loquebaturque cum Moise Exod. 33. v. 9. But God on the contrary hath the Bowels of a Father and a Heart so full of goodness and mercy as he can hardly resolve to punish those injuries which are done unto him And even at present for those who have erected Altars against him and placed instead of him a Golden Calf he re-establisheth Laws as in testimony of the agreement he makes with them in acknowledgement whereof all the most singular of all the names he received was that of Meekness when Moses called him his Lord and his Clement and Merciful his Patient and Sincere God This indeed changed the thoughts of Moses who did not believe that his Master had called him to treat him so sweetly These were the terms he used in speaking unto God upon Mount Sina where this holy Man having withdrawn himself God was as it were covered with a cloud which did onely permit him to see the back of him whom he heard distinctly answering his voice and desires This day was celebrious First Observa cuncta quae bodie mando tibi c. Exod. 34. v. 11. In respect God himself commanded Moses to observe exactly all that he said unto him Secondly In regard of the promises he made him for the advantage of his people Thirdly Fuit ergo ibi cum Demino quadraginta dies quadraginta noctes panem non comedit equam non bibit Exod 34. v. 28. Cumque descenderet Moises dâ—monte Sinai tenebat duas tabulas testimonii ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies sua c. Exod. 34. v. 29. Videntes autem Aaron filii Israël cornutam Moysi faciem timuerunt propè accedere Exod. 34. v. 30. Vocatique ab â—o reversi sunt c. Exod. 34. v. 31. Sex diâ—bus facietis opus septimus dies erit vobis sanctus c. Exod. 35. v. 6. Quisquâ—s vestrum sapiens est veniat faciat quod Dominus imperavit Exod. 35. v. 10. Tabernaculum scilicet tectum ejus c. Exod. 35. v. 11. for the Precepts and Lawes he vouchsafed to give him for this end detaining him fourty dayes dayes without either eating or drinking which being passed he descended from the Mountain with ardent eyes and an inflamed countenance and his hair shining like so many rayes which formed on his head certain horns of light so that Aaron and the Israelites durst not approch him but when he called them they accosted him as an An Angel come from heaven and from his mouth learn'd all that God had said and commanded First touching the Sanctification of the Sabbath Secondly concerning the Offrings and Sacrifices Thirdly as to the building of the Tabernacle the Ark the Candlesticks Basons Altars and Ornaments of the high Priest In fine as to all that concerned Religion and the Ceremonies of the Old Testament CHAP. XXXIX Of the Ornaments and other Utensils ordained for the Sanctuary which were usefull in the Ceremonies of the Law of Moses IT is not enough to look on
face But let us hope that either soon or late these Curtains Veils and Clouds will be withdrawn and that the Angels will one day say unto us as to St. Euphraxia Let us goe my dear Daughter we have lived but too long amidst the night and under the shade of a body Let us goe into the Sanctuary the Veil is taken away and we shall now in peace and at leisure enjoy the sight of the Holy of Holies who is in the Sanctuary CHAP. XLII The Altar of Holocausts BEsides the Altar of Perfumes within the Temple Fecit altare hoâ—ocausti de lignis Sittim c. Exod. 38. v. 1. Craticulamque ejus in modum retis fecit aeneam Exod. 38. v. â— there was that of Holocausts without by reason of the fire and smoak which would have soiled the Tabernacle This Altar was built of the wood of Shittim in the midst whereof a kind of Gridiron appear'd which bore the wood and the flaming Victim and under a vacant place a little hole was made to convey thence the Ashes because fire was alwayes to be there preserv'd evening and morning to immolate a Lamb and the rest of the day some other Victims Behold the Altar for the Passion and Crosse of Mount Calvary which shall never be subject unto corruption were it only for having been the Altar on which the incorruptible body of Jesus had been Sacrificed Cujus cornua de â—â—gulis procedebant c. Exod. 38. v. 2. The four horns of the Altar denoted the four corners of the World where this Crosse was to be preached and the side-Window shewed towards the East the Terrestriall Paradise into which sin had cast as it were wood to prepare a Pile for this amiable Phenix on which he was to be burnt by the flames of his love The Gridiron represented the torments he was to endure with an admirable patience like a Lamb who had been designed to be sacrificed from the beginning of the world This Altar hath also an admirable analogy with the heart of man who like a Salamander was to live in the fire to immolate every hour his Passion like so many Victims and to be full of God and devoid of all affection to creatures incorruptible also in his desires elevated by his faith love and hopes And then the very ashes would serve to conserve the memory of his Masters pains and both day and night fires clarities lights and victims would be there seen consecrated and offered unto God with the spirituall Perfumes and Incense which are the prayers of Saints CHAP. XLIII The Vestments of the High Priest IT were to repass a Needle into a stuff on which the hand of the increated Wisdome had wrought and to which the most learned men of the world have endeavoured to adde some colours If I should touch upon the mysterious garment of the High-Priest of the Old Testament I may only then relate the number of them and observe transitorily what is represented to us under these wonders The first Vestment of the High-Priest was the Ephod De byacintho ve ò purpura virmiculo ac bysso fecit vesses â—uibus indueretur Aaron c. Exo. 39. v. 1. where were ingraven in Pretious stones the names of the twelve Patriarks of the people of Israel who had been the chief of their Race Ipsique lapides duodecim sculpti erant nominibus duodecim tribuum Israël singuli per nomina singulorum Exod. 39. v. 14. and those unto whom God had promised a multiplication It was also to remember them and the twelve Tribes during the Sacrifice and to the end the people reading these names might be excited to imitate the lives and examples of those who had so worthily born them In fine it was a mark that the Priest bore not only the people in his heart but also on his shoulders in testimony of that love which was to be Active and Passive This Ephod also was the figure of the yoak of the Gospell and of that which Christians were to bear in imitation of the first High-Priest who is no other than Jesus Christ whose obedience having reached even to death and whose love having closed his eyes in the midst of torments was also represented on this Vestment The second Vestment was the Rational Fecit Rationate â—pere polymito c. Exod 39. v. 8. which serv'd to advertise the Priest and Consequently the people of their duty It was also as the mouth of Oracles and the Organ of Gods commands and the peoples obligations who might learn from thence and contemplate as in a mirrour the purity both of body and soul and the four Cardinal virtues distinguished in the four rowes of Precious stones and whereof the mixture arrives even to perfection amounting to the number of twelve Fecerunt quoque tunicam superhumeralis totam hyacinthinam Exod. 39. v. 20. Dâ—orsum autem ad pedes mala punica c. Exod. 39. v. 22. Et tintinnabula de auro purissimo quae posuerunt inter malogranata c. Exo. 39. v. 23. Fecerunt tunicas byssinas opere textili c. Exod. 39. v. 25. The third Vestment of the High Priest was a large Tunique of a Violet colour on which he need but cast his eyes to behold and learn the wayes of a Celestiall life most proper for him worthily to bear this Vestment which was to reach as low as his foot and to have Pomegranats and little Bells round about it whereof the one as Rupertus observes represented the preaching of the Messias and the other his Miracles The fourth garment was of fine Linnen which is the true Symbole of Purity without which all Priests never ought to approch the Altar and which they must never put off otherwise their Robe though Celestiall would be without splendor and all the other Ornaments only serve for the preparation and pomp of a Sacrifice abominable in the sight of God who is nothing but purity it self But when a man hath once put on all these Vestments Fecerunt laminam sacrae venerationis de auro purissimo scripseruntque in ea opere gemmario Sanctum Domini Exod. 39. v. 29. he may boldly set the Myter on his head which signifies a strict union with God and the Plate which was born on his forehead with the Sacred name of Jehovah signified him whom we ought to have alwayes imprinted in our minds In fine all the other Pontificall Ornaments of the Old Testament were but figures of those which our High-Priest put on and which all that follow his steps are to use not so much to cloath their bodyes as to put their souls in a condition of presenting Sacrifices unto God not only for themselves but also for others CHAP. XLIIII The Sacrifices of Aaron consumed by fire from Heaven I Know not from whence the Romans and the Vestals had the fire which they so charily preserved in their Temple but that which the Israelites
erat quasi species ignis usque mane Num. 9. v. 15. Sic siebat jugiter per diem operiebat illud nubes per nectem quasi species ignis Num. 9. v. 16. the last prodigy was the Pillar which served them for a Torch amidst the obscurities of the night and for an umbrello to oppose the over-violent ardors of the day It was a Chariot of Fire and a Cloud conducted by an Intelligence which held the Reigns thereof and guided it according to the will of God It was a Barque in the Air more fortunate than that which heretofore carried in artificial fire the hopes of Greece For this Vessel had real Fires its Pilot marked out as some have believed the seasons of the year and the hours of the day and night It was a Standard which accompanied and preceded all the Triumphs and Victories of the Hebrews and at the same time routed their enemies It was the Holy Standard whose Ciphers were Love-nets and Draughts of Clemency it was a Sun in Eclipse and a Cloud where the Sun was in his Meridian The Morning and Evening Stars saw this Veil hanging over the Camp of the Israelites when they were inforced to make a halt and flying when they were to march God himself made sometimes use of it as his Throne Si fuisset nubes à vespere usque ad mane statim diluculo tabernaculum reliquisset proficiscebantur Et si post diem noctem recessisset dissipabant tentoria Num. 9. v. 21. and these resplendent obscurities this luminous night and this day shadowed with Clouds served him for a Veil through which he darted on the people the splendors of his glory and the shafts of his amiable Providence which gave the first motion to the Pillar and conducting Angel Is not this a lively Image of the Holy Ghost who is the Pillar of Saints and of the Church who gives strength unto the feeble and light unto the blinde He illuminates during the night of sin and placeth us under his Wings during the day of Grace This amiable Pillar goes marking out our Lodgings during this whole Pilgrimage and at last will stop when it must take its resting place and make its last retreat under the Canopy of Heaven O Israel Chosen People lose not then the sight of this Pillar it is for thee it is for all and if thine eyes cannot endure the splendor of its Rayes put thy feir at last under its shadow and never forsake it until this Divine Cloud which covers thee pour down into thy heart and until without veil or mixture thou maist receive the clarities which make the Paradise and glory of the Blessed for the rest thou needst fear nothing For there is no person who may not gain a place in Heaven and break all the obstacles on Earth following this most Blessed Guide and never losing the sight of these pleasing Lights The Humble may raise themselves by respect and fear the Merciful by the love of Piety the Couragious by Valor the Considerate by Counsel the Provident by the Prudence of Saints the most Solid by Wisdom and such as have the Gift of Discretion by Knowledge and by the various Trials they shall have CHAP. XLVI The Brazen Serpent Quod cum audisset Chananaeus rex Arad qui babitabat ad meridiem venisse scilicet Israel per explorator ◠viam pugnavit contra illum victor existens duxit ex eo praedam Num. 21. v. 1. A While after the death of Mary and Aaron when the people pursued their voyage towards the Holy Land Arad King of the Canaanites had no sooner heard the news of it but he instantly took the field to hinder their further advance It was upon the same way that two years after their departure out of Egypt the Hebrews had sent their Spies into the Land of Canaan and this was the occasion which moved Arad to raise forces in great haste imagining that all these Travellers and Strangers had no other intention than to invade his Territories and render themselves masters of his Country The first conflicts were very prosperous to this Prince At Israel voto se Domino obligans ait Si tradideris populū istū in manu mea delebo urbes ejus Num. 21. v. 2. Exaudivitque Dominus preces Israel tradidit Chananaeum quē ille interfecit subversis urbibus ejus vocavit nomen illius Horma id est anathema Num. 21. v. 3. Profecti sunt autem de monte Hor per viam quae ducit ad Mare rubrum ut circumirent terram Edom. Et taedere coepit populum itineris ac laboris Num. 21. v. 4. Locutusque contra Deum Moisen ait Cur eduxisti nos de Aegypto ut moreremur in solitudine Deest panis non sunt aquae anima nostra jam nauseat super cibo isto levissimo Num. 21. v. 5. and I am confident he would have defeated his Enemies if God had not combined against him according to the solemn Vow the Israelites made to demolish for his honor all the strong holds of this King and to lay so many Anathemaes on them that there might remain nothing but the execrable footsteps and bloody marks of the abominations and impieties which reigned in the Land of Canaan And this they did after a general victory from thence pursuing their way toward the Red Sea and about the Lands of Idumea But in fine these ungrateful men seeing already their promised Palms could not forbear to mingle murmurs with their Songs of Victory and the vexation they had to see themselves so long in a Pilgrimage made them lose the remembrance of him who had conducted them through the desart and rendred them conquerors over their Enemies after he had in a maner inforced the Elements and the most insensible Bodies of Nature to contribute unto their necessities Ah! said they we have too long wandred in this solitary place sometimes upon Mountains and then in Valleys nevertheless after a journey of forty years we have not hitherto reached the Haven And even this Manna which fell from Heaven and which indeed hath hitherto supplied our most pressing necessities is yet but a very slight nourishment and which affords more distaste than benefit Why did we then leave Egypt to come into these desarts and arid places where we have neither Water nor Bread Can we truly represent unto our selves a more unworthy and blinde ingratitude than this But where may we finde punishments harsh enough to inflict on this impious people and darts sharp enough to cause a resentment of so great a disloyalty I could wish that all the Oaths of these perjured persons had been numbred after so many favors and miracles done for their sake and yet behold their Sacrifices their Offerings their Vows and all their Gratitude Why have you brought us hither and why have you delivered us out of slavery to cause us to die with hunger and thirst in this desart
139 Hail plague of Egypt 286 Wretched Harvest of worldly men 152 Hail-storm in Constantinople 268 Hardness of Pharaohs heart 269 Hardness of heart a woful estate 271 Grashoppers of Egypt 289 I. Jacob and Esau 121 Figure of the Christian and Jewish people 116 Jacob Esau 's elder brother and how 137 His agreement with his father-in-law Laban 155 Jacob resolves to send Benjamin into Egypt 207 His descent into Egypt to see his son Joseph 223 The answer he made to Pharaoh concerning his age 229 His death and last words 231 Idols and their subversion 344 Detestable Idolatry of amorous persons 39 Jethro the counsel he gave to Moses to establish Judges for deciding differences between the people of Israel 337 Atheistical ignorance 85 Images of Jesus Christ anciently painted in Temples and Houses in the form of a Lamb 27 Image of a generous courage 69 Image of Gods judgement 86 Image of the lives of men 126 Image of the life and death of Jesus Christ 145 Image of Chastity 184 Image of the World 198 Imagination the effects and properties thereof 156 Unnatural impudence of Cham 48 Inconstancy of created things 113 Dreadful incertainty 135 Incarnation its draught and picture 144 Innocence secured 170 Innocence victorious 179 Inhumanity more than brutish 220 Joseph born of Rachel 154 Joseph sold by his brethren 165 Joseph known by his brethren 214 His lamentations for the death of his Father Jacob 242 Joshua his victories over the Amalekites 332 Isaac his birth 93 The discourse he held with his father asking him where was the victim of his Sacrifice 108 His submission and obedience 109 His mariage with Rebecca 116 Most exact Justice 83 Judges a fair example for them ibid. Judas the brother of Joseph made a speech to him in the name of his brethren 216 Judgements of God incomprehensible 290 Prodigious increase of the people of Israel 247 Jacobs Ladder 141 Jacobs wrestling with the Angel 159 K. Kings of France true successors of Abraham 80 L. Laban is grieved for the barrenness of his flocks 156 His agreement with Jacob and his return unto Mesopotamia 157 Lesson to husbands and wives 17 Leah considerable for her fruitfulness 154 Dangerous liberty 29 Liberality cannot be without freedom 79 Liberality portraict of the Divinity ibid. Liberty of holy Souls 80 Liberty of Esau cause of his misfortune 128 Laws their excellency 357 Their establishment 368 Lot delivered out of the hands of his enemies by the means of Abraham 70 Luxury destruction of souls and canker of body 64 Love its effects and properties 3 Love architect of the world ibid. Gods love never idle 73 Incredulous love 224 Ladder of divine providence 146 Lots wife transformed into a pillar of Salt 89 Irreparable loss 184 Life of man a war without truce 159 Life and death inseparable companions 231 M. Magicians of Pharaoh and their enchantments 270 Admirable magnificence of God 58 Malediction of parents dangerous 132 Malediction of God on the Serpent 23 Malediction of Noah on his son 48 Malice of an eloquent woman 20 Manna of the desart 320 The time when it was to be gathered 323 Mariages subject to many disasters 123 Mariage of Isaac with Rebecca 116 Assured marks of our disposition 126 Martyrdom of love 103 Mixture of fortune 166 Excellent meditation 298 Pleasing Metamorphosis 63 Murther of Abel 27 Michael the Emperor quits his Empire to enter into a religious life 58 Mirror of Essences the motto thereof 29 World error of some Philosophers touching the beginning thereof 8 Monarchy of Adam and Eve over the Univers 19 The world is a Theatre 116 Extreme mortification 145 Motives which induced God to create the world 1 Motives of Conscience 140 Powerful motives to divert the brethren of Joseph from wicked designs 172 Moses 246 His birth and education ibid. His learning 252 His zeal and mariage with the daughter of the Prince of Madian 253 His fear at the sight of the flaming Bush 257 His Commission concerning the deliverance of the people of Israel 260 The certain marks of his power 263 He excuseth himself for accepting the Commission which God gave him 265 The threats God used to him 266 His Embassie into Egypt 267 He is visited in the desart where he creates Judges and Magistrates 334 His last Actions 385 His Testament 386 His last Canticle 402 Mysteries hidden under the Paschal Lamb 300 Man necessary for the world 9 Men eloquent when it concerns their own praise excellent conceptions upon this subject 10 Man the sport of the gods 148 Honest man what he is 163 N. Nature of God beneficent 320 Nature her power limited 269 Nembrod cheif contriver of the Tower of Babel his spirit and disposition 49 Noah his obedience to the command of God 41 His going out of the Ark and his sacrifice on the Hills of Armenia 44 Names Chariots of Essences 74 O. Obligation of fathers and mothers 128 Dreadful obstinacy 271 Oeconomy of the humane body 12 Opinion of Hesiod touching the Creation of the World 8 Original sin 15 Ornaments of the Sanctuary 369 P. Peace and Purity inseparable companions 65 Terrestrial Paradise 16 Paradise first habitation of man 16 Passions their different nature 181 Patience very awful 84 Persecution of modesty 184 Perfidiousness of the world 206 Plague of Egypt 284 Natural causes of the plague 285 Pharaoh King of Egypt makes Joseph his Lieutenant by reason of the truth of his predictions 196 Command of Pharaoh concerning the murther of all the male-children of the Hebrews 248 Pharaoh swallowed up in the Red Sea 304 Plagues of Egypt 275 Antient Policy 356 Portraict of the Justice of God 86 Predictions of Joseph 192 Efficacious prayers 122 Prevision of merits 137 Proclaming of Joseph by his Brethren 172 Promulgation of the Law on Mount Sina 343 Paternal Prudence 169 Punishment of Adam 14 Shameful pusillanimity 69 Putipher his over-great credulity 186 The impudence of his wife and her attempt upon the chastity of Joseph 178 Paschal Lamb 299 Planets the beginning of their courses 5 Pillar of Fire and Clouds 379 Picture of Hell 91 Picture of Fortune 194 Pains of women in child-bearing 23 Prayer the power and effects thereof 122 R. Rachel and her sterility 154 Radegond a despiseth France to become religious 59 Ramerus King of Aragon follows the same destiny ibid. Amiable resemblance between Joseph and Jesus Christ 222 The recompence of Jacob for his services 155 Pitiful reliques of sin 26 Remorse of Conscience 32 Remedies against Envy 35 Reproaches of God to Cain 28 Very just resentments 77 Rosignation of Abraham 101 Angelical resolution of Joseph 181 Rock and its motto 102 Ruben his affection towards his brother Joseph 173 Rivers their bounds and limits 5 River of Charity 80 S. Sacrifices very different of Abel and Cain 28 Sacrifices of Aaron consumed by fire from Heaven 376 Sanctification of the Sabhath 346 Sarah her death 113 How long she lived 115 Scamander i'ts properties effects