and we have need of a free mind They make real Joys and Griefs to spring up for imaginary Adventures Into the Mind they put Idea's and into the Heart vain Motions which ruine the holy Dispositions that we would establish in a devout Soul The same I say of a Play a Fury which agitates men like a kind of Demoniac Spirit A Man sees his Life and his Death that I may so speak his Fortune and his Misfortune a rouling with inconceivable Transports and Inquietudes His Soul is agitated at the same time with a thousand Passions with Fears Desires Hopes and his Heart is entirely put besides the Seat Is such a Man in a Condition to lift up his Soul to God Such fine Devotions as these are they which are made after having past half the Night in this exercise The Tempest has been over great a long time will the Waves be moving the Soul will be a good while levelling it self and yet after this the Sweetnesses Devotion will not be according to the Palate for thâ— they are not carnal Pleasures of which alone it sensible Whence it comes to pass that young Peâ—ple are very rarely fit for the Elevations of Devotion They are but lately come into the World and all 〈◊〉 it appears mighty fine These Pleasures they gâ—â— down by long Draughts and nothing appears pleasâ—â— unto 'em but what flatters Flesh and Blood whiâ—â— boils in their Veins Hence also it comes that thâ— Constitution where the Blood has the Ascendaâ—â—â— which is the Temperament of the World's Joy is 〈◊〉 proper for Devotion than that which has the Ingredâ—ents of Earth and Melancholy the former is like 〈◊〉 Matter extreamly combustible which takes fire 〈◊〉 the least Sparkle but the latter being more difficuâ— to be moved is less sensible of what charms other and that which pierces through them negligentâ—â— passes it by We ought therefore to draw Men out of this erroâ— They imagine they can divide themselves betwiâ—â— heavenly and earthly Joy but it is impossible In thâ— Rank of unclean Creatures the Law plac'd those Amphibious Birds which both swim and flye and live in 〈◊〉 double Element of Air and Water This is the Eâ—â—blem of worldly Men evermore they swim in fleshly Pleasure and sometimes by weak Soarings they try to get out thence and reach Heaven but it happenâ— to 'em just as it does to those Aquatic Fowls whose flight goes no further than to touch and curle the Superficies of the Water with their Wings and then they forthwith fall down again Delicate and rare says St. Bernard is the Divine Consolation 't is a chast Woman but jealous who deserving only to be beloved cannot give her self to him that runs after strange Women Wherefore Solomon pronounceth Vanity upon all the Pleasures of the Earth whereof he had made a very large Experience It 's for this also that David declares so of ten that he will not have any other Pleasure than that of his God To draw near to God is my Good to be united to him is my All. Forsake all says St. Austin and thou shalt find all for that Man will find all in God that despises all for God's sake Behold here one of the main Counsels which can be given to pious Minds which undertake to dispose themselves to Devotion Renounce renounce thou devout Soul all the Pleasures of the Earth and make choice of Spiritual ones let reading in holy Writings charm thee as worldly-minded People are charmed by their ill Books let religious Assemblies and preaching of the Word divert thee as much as they divert themselves by their criminal Shows let the Works of Mercy toward the Poor and Afflicted be used by thee as the men of the Age use their vain Courses their Sports and their Converse and if thou takest any Recreations and Refreshments let Honesty and severe Vertue be the Governess of all thy Pleasures Meditation HOW unhappy art thou O my Soul to be born in Aegypt and not to be ensible of the blessings of the true Canaan or this reason thou turnest thy eyes so ofâ—en upon the World and at the same â—our that thy Heart should be intite in â—eaven at the time of thy Devotion and â—ravers thou thinkest on Onions Garlick â—nd Flesh-pots which thou didst eat when thou wast the Slave of the Devil and thâ— World Thou hast not yet tasted thâ— delights of Pious and Devout Souls that say I am satisfied as with Marrow and Fatnesâ— Oh! how good the Lord is I have tasted him He brought me into his Banquetting-House His Love is sweeter than Wine and thâ— Honey Let him kiss me with the Kisses 〈◊〉 his Mouth Would to God I were honoured with these secret communication whereof my Saviour makes some Priviledged Souls to partake which fill them witâ— Joy even in the midst of Torments anâ— make them find musick in Prisons and 〈◊〉 the rattling of their Irons Learn O mâ— Soul learn to seek thy Pleasures and Dâ—lights in God he is the Source All Joâ— that comes not from him terminates aâ— length in grief saddness lamentations dâ—spair and gnashing of Teeth What doâ— my heart wish for what does it hunger anâ— thirst after dost thou love Beauty In Goâ— thou wilt find it and God will give it thâ— thy self for thou wilt become glorious anâ— full of light by the commerce thou shaâ— have with him Dost thou love Life anâ— Health He is the well of Life and in 〈◊〉 Light shall we see Light and he will communicate a Life to thee ever healthful and vigorous that is Eternal Life Dost thou love pleasures Lo he will make thee drink at the Stream of his Delights He will fill thee with the Wine prepared by the Divine Wisdom that saith I have mixt my Wine I have killed my fat Beasts He will cause thee to see such Objects as will ravish thee He will make thee hear a sweet and charming Musick in the consort of Angels and Saints who eternally sing the praises of our God After so many Blessings either already received or already possest in hope can I still be at all sensible of the vain Pleasures of the Earth Prayer O My God my divine Saviour come and fill my Soul with those sweetnesses that thou communicatest to thy faithful servants give me the bread which came down from Heaven the true Manna and bread of Angels that makes me taste of pleasures which stifle and choak the sense of worldly pleasures and the taste of sublunary divertisements Let thy Sabbaths be my Feast days Let thy word be sweeter to me than Honey and than the drops of Honey And let the meditation of those joys which thou preparest for me in Heaven ravish me in such a manner that I may be no more either the World's or my own but be intirely Thine Make Heaven to descend upon Earth in my favour Enlarge my heart Make there a little Paradise Shed down upon it so great an abundance of thy Light of
of his Closet we may say he shuts the door to the World saying to himself Get ye gone ye worldly Thoughts retire ye Objects of Vanity and approach not near this place let me rejoyce in the quiet of this secure Sanctuary and suffer me to give my self wholly up to my God The pious Soul after this manner dies many times a day for Death does not more efface the Images of worldly things than Devotion when it takes a Christian out of the World This Soul may say at such a time The World is crucified unto me and I unto the World I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the Life which I now live in the Flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me We need not wonder if the World quits the place in this moment since I suppose that it before took up but very little Room in the Soul whereof I speak God comes to possess it wholly of which he had before the better for the devout Heart ventures to say The whole is in God and God is in every part In this state if by peradventure it casts its Eyes upon the World it looks down from on high and with an Eye of Contempt Alas What are these same Riches says the faithful Soul these Honours and Advantages which frequently terminate in eternal Death to compare with the Riches that God here bestows upon me But near to God himself whom I possess these earthly Goods will vanish and be lost but I will never lose him who holds me and whom I hold and Death which will disrobe the Living of their Pomp will invest me with new Glory The fourth Effect of Devotion is an Alacrity in running and advancing in the Practise of Piety A General flies to the Combat when he sees an assured Victory but the devout Person has other kind of wings which make him fly whither Devotion conducts him He knows not that 't is the drooping and weight of the Body that retains them who are call'd to Travel he has not the Sentiments of the Sluggard who rouls upon his Bed as a Gate upon its Hinges who fight Battles with his Boulster and wages Wars with Sleep and Idleness with a Design to be vanquished He is one of those Eagles of which some think our Saviour spoke Where the dead Body is thither will the Eagles be gathered together He knows that he shall find his Jesus once dead but now alive either in the Church or in his Closet he flies thither with the Swiftness of an hungry Eagle nothing is capable of stopping him Friends Enemies Employs Occupations Prayers Menaces Fears and Dangers all useless for in posting he can surmount all Obstaeles in the way Another Effect of Devotion is a certain Elevation of Soul which I cannot term otherwise than a sort of Extasie whereby the Soul is as it were ravish'd from its self 'T is so knit to the Contemplation of Coelestial Objects that not only it has no more intelligence of earthly things but it has no Sense no Ears no Eyes it sees not it understands not St. Peter while he prayed saw the Heavens opened and a certain Vessel descending to the Earth as it had been a great sheet knit at the four Corners St. Paul in Prayer was ravished even to the third Heaven and the Devout even at this time of day have their Extasie They see with Stephen the Heavens opened they are lifted up to Heaven with St. Paul for they enter into a secret Commerce with God The Soul inwardly is so taken up that it sees nothing at all of what passes without and contributing its whole force to the Contemplation of God no Wonder it has no more for other Objects Blessed are they says St. Basil who are fill'd with and infolded in the Contemplation of this true Beauty since being bound to it by the Cords of Charity and of an heavenly and divine Love they forget their Parents Friends Houses they forget even the necessity of eating and drinking And now why should it not be so in the Offices of Piety when ev'ry day this happens to us in the Affairs of the World While we are strongly fixt to Reading to disintangle a crabbed and knotty matter while we answer an Adversary a thousand Objects pass before our eyes whereof we do not take notice The devout Soul is so shut into it self so well gathered up and compacted that no external thing is able to move it If it prays it is intirely in Heaven if it hears it is wholly tyed up to the Tongue of him that speaks if it reads its heart is always where the eyes terminate themselves if it meditates it is all over plunged in it's subject and if a Flock of Birds of vain and light Thoughts come to soil its Sacrifice as that of Abraham it scares them away incontinently This is that which I understand by the Extasie of Devotion otherwise if you take this term for effectual Ravishments which were the Priviledges of the Prophets and Saints of the first Order I must take an infinite deal of pains to believe that the Holinesses of the Roman Cloyster do oblige God as some would fain perswade us so ordinarily to communicate such extraordinary Graces Now a days we do not see those Devotions which lift up not only the Souls but make the Body to lose its Earth and raise it to the very Clouds Nevertheless if we would believe some who call themselves good Authors there is nothing more common The last Effect of Devotion that I shall mention is a certain Fire that warms the Heart One cannot well conceive it unless one had felt it and I cannot express it otherwise than in the words of holy men Did not our Heart burn within us while he talked with us and while he opened to us the Scriptures My Heart was hot within me while I was meditating the Fire burned then spake I with my Tongue We are told how the Faces of the Saints have been oftentimes seen to be bright and inflamed in the midst of their Devotions which could not proceed but from the glowing and fiery affection of the Heart which manifests it self accordingly in the Countenance This Fire we may call a Fermentation of the Spirits of Piety which not seldom make Impressions even in the eyes And hence it may be came the shining of St. Stephen's Face of which it is said that his Enemies saw it as if it had been the Face of an Angel his Zeal and his Devotion were evident in his Eyes and render'd 'em sparkling Now this Lightning is not without its Rain I mean that this Fire is ordinarily accompanied with Tears The Heart is heated blows up that Heat makes it grow bigger then it self grows tender and at last the Eyes melt into Tears St. Austin represents himself in one of these Illuminations or rather Inflamations of Heart After says he that a strong Meditation
heart into a good condition to hope a good success of its worship Tho never so much prepared it cannot be too good for him to whom we ought to present it It will be an acceptable thing to be receiv'd in this Estate And what on the contrary can we expect in presenting to him an indevout Soul but a shameful and sad refusal God does not hear our prayers unless the Heart be disposed to make them Seek and ye shall find saith our Lord but seek with zeal otherwise ye shall not find God said once I was found of them that sought me not But this does not happen every day this is but one of those singular events whereby general Rules are not established But the Law in common bears Ask and it shall be given Lay hold on the Kingdom of Heaven and thou shalt obtain it To what is not Devotion useful It is of use in all Places all times and all things as well in the Closet as the Church thereby we hear the Word pronounced by men as if it were truly the word of God and receive it as the dry and chapped Earth does the rain Hereby the Consecration of the Divine benefits touches us the thought of God's love inflames us his promises comfort us his threatnings terrifie us and his Consolations have their Efficacy upon us Without this the word which ought to be a two-edged Sword recoyls and turns its edge on the hardness of our hearts and without this we joyn the Sin of Insensibility to that of Impenitence By this we look upon every thing in the Church with veneration the Preacher as the Embassador of the Gospel his Word as the voice of Heaven The Faithful as the Children of God and as it were a Troop of Angels that always rejoyce in his presence the Sacraments as precious vessels the appearance whereof is contemptible but which do contain the Treasures of his Grace and Mercy It 's Devotion that makes our Closets to become little Churches whether the Divinity descends and upon which it extends its Wings like the Cherubims over the Mercy-seat where God speaks to our heart as we speak to his ears where he makes us understand his Oracles and taste his Consolations where he says to us in a still small voice My Son or my Daughter Be of good chear arise thy Sins are forgiven thee Oh! how blessed is the faithful Soul that God honours with such sacred Entertainments Now he does never do this but when call'd upon if not forced by an ardent Devotion These desires of Devotion may be the Eyes of the Spouse whereof it is said Turn away thine Eyes from me for they have overcome me Far be from hence those prophane Wretches that know not the use of Devotion They say that Valour is the Rampart of Estates and the Tutelary Angel of the Publick and of Privates that Liberality sweetens the misfortunes of the miserable that Justice is the nurse of Peace and the ligament of Society that Temperance causes tranquillity of mind and health of Body But say they Devotion 't is alone that is good for nothing but to render the mind weak and effeminate and to depress the Spirits Do not call so universal a Vertue unprofitable without which all the rest are meer shadows for he that having not a habit of Devotion does not refer all his vertues to the Glory of God is a bad good man Do not call that an useless Virtue which appeases the wrath of God and turns away the Tempests flying over States a Virtue which had drawn Sodom out of the Fire had there been found there but ten devout Persons like Abraham who would have Devoutly with him interceded for it a Virtue which saves the Church so often from ship-wrack a Virtue which in the Conscience raises up and establishes a profound Peace and a Divine Light Do not fay that it softens the Mind seeing it confirms the Courage makes men run to death as to a Feast makes 'em to despise Perils and in its occasions mannages nothing wherein the Glory of God is not concerned Meditation SEE one of the causes of my luke-warmness and one of the reasons why my Soul is little devout The necessity of Devotion it comprehends not whereas it knows that Food is necessary for the conservation of its bodily Life It desires nourishment with a great ardour and searches after it with a marvellous diligence But negligent it is in all those things which serve to nourish Piety and the flames of Devotion since it does not beleive that 't is of any great use Thou see'st O my Soul some who save themselves with a languishing Piety and go to Heaven at a very slow pace Thou persuadest thy self that God will not be more rigorous to thee and that there will not be more exacted from thee than from others But alas what an errour and fallacy is there in this reasoning Such an one as thou believest to be in the way to Heaven is a marching towards Hell There is such a way that seems right to man the end of which nevertheless is Death These chill Devotions wherewith People believe God is well paid are oftentimes very fruitless They may think it fine one day to say we have prayed to thee we have invok'd thy Name we have served thee The Lord will not fail to answer I do not know who ye are go far from me ye that are neither cold nor hot I will cast you up out of my mouth Prayer MY God conduct my Soul in the surest path I know not how to sound thy Mercy nor do I know how far the severity of thy Juctice will carry it self and no further I know not whether thou wilt pardon so many People that serve thee with so little Zeal and so much indevotion That which I know is that they are unworthy of thy clemency anâ— that they cannot be saved unless they sincerâ—ly repent of having served thee with so much indifference Let the Candle of my Soul thâ— holy Spirit which has inlightened thy Church in all ages and the faithful at all times inspire me with such frankincense of Devotion as with which I know that one may be saved and without which I know not if one caâ— be saved Kindle my heart that it may be an Altar where an eternal Fire may burn in which all my sacrifices may be consumed and which may make all my prayers as thâ— Perfumes of incense to mount up in thy Presence CHAP. IV. That Devotion is extremely rare and neglected HERE is an Exception to the general Rule that things rare are esteemed nothing in the World more rare than Devotion and nothing more neglected Herein men do not sin through Ignorance they know very well what we have said in the precedent Chapter that without these devout dispositions or Prayers they cannot please God Nevertheless one cannot Express the horrible negligence with which they perform this pious Duty as well as all others
my self before thee with little reverence PART II. Of the Sources of Indevotion CHAP. I. Of Impurity of Life The first Source of Indevotion SInce Indevotion is so great an evil let us try to find out its sources that we may cut up this evil by the very Roots Now one of the principal ones is Impurity of Life nothing disconcerting an heart so as an evil Estate of Conscience nothing more extinguishing the fire of Piety than the loathsom and muddy waters of Sin Fire does not easily take in things soak'd in water Devotion cannot easily be brought to fit Souls penetrated with Vice one flame puts out another and the fire of Covetuousness choaks that of Zeal as the flame of Gunpowder extinguishes that of a Candle Devotion is a certain alacrity of heart that disposes us to draw neaâ— to God with confidence but how should we have this Disposition when we are guilty of the Vice in going to present God with such offerings as we our selves know ought to be abominable to him for we know that God does not care for a sullied and unclean Sacrifice Go says he I hate I despise your solemn feasts your meat-offerings and sat beasts I receive them as the price of Whoredom as the bloud of a Swine and as a Dogs head Alas the most spotless man is not enough so to present himself before God with Assurance and the Prophet could say Wo is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts 'T is impossible therefore that he who has not the Wedding-Garment on whose Vestment is stained with the spots of the Flesh must needs be put into a vast consternation in thinking of him before whom the Stars and the Angels are unclean And how can this Fear or to speak better this Horour agree with Devotion which is all love and all assurance Let us go with confidence says the Apostle St. Paul to all devout Souls to the Throne of Grace that we may find mercy in the time of need To bring to God a criminal Conscience is to bring to him a witness against our selves to make our own process 't is to deliver us up into the hands of his severe Justice We need not therefore be startled if the wicked be Indevout and fly the presence of God And since Impurity of life wou'd do nothing else than take away the Hopes of being heard This would be enough to hinder and stifle all Devotion All the Vertues are interessed and he that would take away hope takes their very life away How then can a wicked creature that knows God will not hear him pray devoutly When you spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when you make your prayers I will not hear your hands are full of Blood It is for this reason that St. Paul would have us lift up pure hands without wrath and murmuring And David says If I had Iniquity in me the Lord would not have heard me 'T is for this cause he professes elsewhere that he washes his hands in Innocency before he goes to Gods Altar And why should God have any regard to the Prayers of those that have none for his Commandments upon these Principles the wicked man says to himself why should I present my self before God Have not my Iniquities barr'd up against me the Gates of Heaven and why should I go to ask of him that is resolved to refuse me Unprofitable Devotions wou'd these be and submissions that wou'd only serve to hasten my Punishment I cannot have the impudence to desire any thing without promising to my self somewhat but I am resolved to bridle nothing within me and to continue in this way of living 'T is better therefore that every one holds where he is Devotion is of a great extent it takes up the whole heart it cannot dwell in a Soul divided betwixt Avarice Ambition Violence Pleasure and the love of the World Wherefore if you sometime see those worldly Persons who refuse nothing to their heart to have their Days of Devotion well regulated and even sometimes to shed more Tears and fetch up more sighs than the Faithful you may without hesitating conclude that these are Hypocrites and pretended Zealots who would pay God with Phisiognomy and Posture and cheat the World with fine Appearances Perhaps some there are who believe they are not such badly devout People when they attone for a Months Debauch with a day of fasting But they deceive themselves for true Devotion is not unequal nor full of Sallies It does not resemble those Summer-Torrents which roul with a head-long impetuosity and do not continue but for a day So that holiness of Life is a preliminary of absolute Necessity to obtain Devotion This Vertue is one of the most excellent Graces that we receive from Heaven one of the most precious Gifts of the holy Spirit but 't is a Pearl which is not to be cast before Swine 'T is an Ennamel only to be layed upon Silver or Gold 'T is in one word a Favour communicated only to priviledged Souls that is to say to the pure and clean in heart But as we shall have occasion to touch again upon this subject in another Rencounter we will not drain it dry here Meditation WHo can express the Evils and the Disorders that Sin has caused in my Soul Who can recount all the Mischiefs wherein the Impurity of my heart ingages me Over and above all other Evils it brings me this too it renders me incapable of Devotion Sin has put a separation between my God and my self and therefore I am dead for God is my life and the Soul of my Soul I am blind for God is my Light Separated from him I am poor for he is my Treasure and makes up all my Riches I am naked for he alone gives me Rayment Sick I am for my health and strength comes from that Sun of Righteousness who carries healing in his wings Sin has rob'd me of him and has ecclipsed him as to me and I continue languishing away being far from the Principle of my Life In this faintness I know not how to produce those vigorous movements of Devotion that elevate the Soul and carry it towards Paradice Sin is a thick foggy heavy Wet that sticks to my Wings it is a Weight which oppresses me arrests all my Soarings and renders all my efforts useless I feel a Laâ— in my Members which Wars and oppoâ—ses it self to the Law of my Mind and makes me the slave of Sin Insomuch aâ— I do not the Good that I would yet I do the Ill that I would not Prayer O Divine Sun of my Soul break out and Dissipate these Clouds Thou great Deliverer break these Irons open this Prison and free me from this Bondage and Captivity Thou art most pure let me not be unclean Almighty let me not be miserable All Life let me not be dead Draw
is rouling or stirring it can neither receive nor reflect well the Image of the Sun so a Soul in continual action cannot receive the impressions of Grace the beams of the glorious Jesus nor the likeness of our great God Thou raging and rouling Sea hold thy self then still and hust stop thy Surges to be the Looking-glass of the Heavens to the intent all those matchless and illustrious lights may penetrate thee and paint themselves in thee How can the knowledge of God said St. Basil enter into a Soul taken up with a crowd of carnal thoughts It ought to be master of its time and its self to be presented to God Pharaoh knew this well since he told the Israelites What ye say come and let us sacrifice to our God proceeds from that ye are Idle Certain I am God does not love slothful People and how should he love idle Lives that will take account of every idle word But yet neither does he love People over busie Martha Martha says he Thou art cumbered and troubled about many things Thy Sister Mary has chosen the good Part. She did not labour about Evil things but too many things She did even good works in doing what she did she served our Lord she prepared him meat and drink If there could be excess in these holy Employments when they hinder us from approaching often enough to the Throne of Grace what must we believe touching the imployments of the World what people will be excluded from the sacred feast of our Saviour Why those men of Business one of whom forsooth bought a yoke of Oxen and will go to try them another has purchased an House and he must needs go see it a third is contracted to a Wife and he will wed her Such Persons will find the Gate shut and barr'd they come not time neither will they find any one to open unto theâ— It will be said to them as it was to others go ye wâ—kers of Nothing I know you not Let us not say the such a way I must go to day to morrow another must do such a thing and finish such an affair afterwaâ— I will think upon God! O my Soul Thy great concernâ—â— to set thee well with thy God 't is to consult him often about the Disposition wherein he is with thee 't is to sollicite his mercy and implore the succours of his Grace 't is to pay him thy just Homages and place all thy inteâ—est in him It is the one thing necessary choose then thâ— good part which shall not be taken away from thee Thiâ— one thing I do forgetting those things which are behinâ— and reaching forth unto those things which are before 〈◊〉 press toward the Mark. Let not therefore the Indevout Person come with his Objection from the multiplicity of his Affairs the most busie steal their moments for Pleasure and whâ— can't they then for a Duty Let no one oppose us with the goodness and innocence of particular Imployments nothing is innocent that renders us culpable before God in estranging us from him But what shall we say of those Persons who create to themselves affairs of vast and mighty importance in the due setting of a Tower or accurate scituation of a Spot who consult their Glass an hundred times to place every thing in its proper order who imploy the best part of their lives in-these Idle Businesses and amidst all this find scarce a minute to consecrate to Devotion I say that these Women are to render an account of all and of the time which they have so miserably squander'd away and of their Beauty whereof they have made so bad a use and of the unjust Division they have made betwixt God and their own Idol seeing they have given all their Hours to the Service of this and to God only some moments of unadvised and hasty Devotion Meditation Wretched Soul how miserable art thou to be obliged to serve perpetually a Body that renders thee nothing but evil for all the good that thou hast done it Thou travellest after many things Thou runnest from one end of the World to the other Thou venturest upon the Tempests of the Sea thou exposest thy self to their fury Thy Body is burnt by the heats of the Sun From Icy Climates thou passest into the Torrid Zone For whole years thou sail'st upon the mouth of Abysses to seek Riches Gold Silver precious Stones and all manner of Delicates If thou dost not do this thou dost somewhat else which is no better and thou sustain'st as great Labours and which are no less vain and all for a Body that is Dust and must return to Dust True it is that to take care of thy Body is a Yoak that God has laid upon thee but thou thy self makest this Yoak infinitely more weighty The Body would be content with a very little if thou would'st serve it as it should be served and by consequence it would rob thee of but a little time but thou givest it all What blindness and what fury is this Whaâ— will return to thee of all thy Labours Thâ— Body for which thou takest so much pains will carry nothing away with it of these Riches which thou amassest for it except a winding-sheet an herse-cloth and perchance will have and hold a short while five or six feet of Earth O my Soul it 's of thee thoâ— ought'st to think and for thee thou ought'st to provide Thou art a Queen and thou becomest a Slave Thou should'st be served and lo thou servest Thou neglectest to gather the true Riches together and therefore thou art poor blind and naked I counsel thee then to get Gold Rayments and Nourishment of him who saith Every one that thirsteth come ye to the Waters buy Wine and Milk without Mony and without price Prayer MAke me O my God to know that thou art the sovereign Good the only good worthy alone to be sought after and worthy alone to be loved that I may no longer run after the vain Shadows of Greatness and Glory Make me to know the true Goods so as I may bestow all my Love and Care upon them So as I may no more make the principal workings of my thoughts to respect worldly Employments So as I may keep my Body under as a Slave that hath an inclination to rebell but that I may serve thee as a Master whose inclinations are ever favourable unto me Let me with assurance first of all seek thy Kingdom and thy Righteousness and then all the rest shall be added unto me Suffer no Ingratitude nor Distrust in my Soul Nor let it doubt of the Goodness of him who has given so many marks of his Care and Tenderness over it How can it fear O my God that thou wilt let it want any thing thou who feedest the young Ravens that cry unto thee and the Lions Whelps that lay them down in their Dens It labours about this Life as if it were to be Eternal and it
Prayers let thy meat be to do both night and day the will of thy Father which is in Heaven Abstain as he did from all the pleasures of the World take his Cross upon thee and mortifie thy Sin in thy flesh since thy Saviour has mortified it in his If any one loves me says he let him come after me and follow me Alas my Soul how far off art thou from him how imperfect thy imitation and how much dost thou sink below thy example But lose no courage labour walk on let the things alone that are behind and tend to those which are before The holy Ghost that was sent by thy Saviour will conduct thee in the most difficult path as in a smooth and even Country If thou can'st not attain the perfection of that great Example God has set before thine eyes at least approach as near to it as thou art able For in short if thou wouldst be happy with him thou must with him be righteous and holy Thou must enter in at the strait Gate and walk in the way of Mortification to arrive at that life whereof he is both the Author and the Source The Soul of thy Saviour did not only continue void of all sensual Pleasures but it was penetrated by the most piercing Dolours To imitate him renounce fleshly pleasures and submit thy self to the Anguishes of Repentance Prayer O My divine Redeemer my Jesus my Saviour and my God thou wouldst I should imitate thee Thou hast said unto me Learn of me and thy Apostles say Look up to Jesus the Author and finisher of your Faith be ye Imitators of us as we are of Christ It is fit O my Saviour I should imitate thee Thou hast taken mine infirmities that I might glory in possessing thy Vertues But if this be glorious how difficult is that I can do all by thee who strengthenest me and I can do nothing by my self Give me therefore grace necessary to fulfil that which thou commandest me and after this command whatever thou wilt Thou hast made thy self like unto me in taking upon thee my flesh make me like unto thee by giving me thy Spirit I am thy Image O my God but a defac'd corrupted one over which the Devil has display'd his infamous Characters Cleanse me again and repass the Pencil of thy Grace over those effaced Lines of this Image and wash away all the impurities which the World has poured upon it If I cannot follow thee draw me that I may run after thee Give me the wings of thy love that I may flye to thee give me O my Saviour the desire of imitating thee for I would imitate thee I will it O my God but it does not come from a victorious but a slavish will I will it but I do it not and I see by this that I will it not Lord give me both to will and to do My flesh thinks the way thou hast walk'd in rough and uneasie it recoils and starts back at the sight of those Difficulties how wanton loose and wicked is this unhappy Flesh How would it have done hadst thou indispensibly commanded it to walk in the way of thy fore-runner John Baptist to dwell in the Wilderness to have for ones habitation a Grott at the foot of a Mountain or the Trunk or shadow of an old Oak to have a Rayment of hair to dine on Locusts and a little wild Honey for a great meal If thou didst not lead this sort of life thy self 't was to spare us and not make us imitate a life almost inimitable These are only the outfides of Piety which may sometimes be the mantle of Hypocrisie but thou hast given me to imitate the greatest Examples of real solid and internal Vertues If thou command'st me not to wear an hair Garment thou will that I should put on holiness and righteousness bowels of mercy and a patient mind If thou dost not send me into the Desart thou wouldst have me retire into the secret of the heart for to conversewith thee and comprehend the Truth which thou wouldst reveal unto me If thou oblige me not to eat only Locusts at least 't is thy good Pleasure I should oftentimes eat the Bread of Tears and mingle my Drink with weeping Thou wouldst that I make my repasts near the fountain of Haran upon Jacobs Well profound in mysteries full of living Water Consolation and Joy that I seek my delights in thee O my Saviour who art the fountain of Water bubling up to eternal life Thou wouldest that I feast my self with thy Love and that I find no Pleasure but in thee Do this therefore O blessed Jesus Take the taste away from me of all the Wordly pleasures make mine heart to be intirely imployed about these that in imbracing thee I may taste a Pleasure that may so fill the capacity of my Soul as it may cry out in the sense of that sweetness I am filled as it were with marrow and fatness CHAP. IV. What may be accounted innocent Pleasure That Devotion is no disquieting and uneasie thing nor an Enemy to Pleasure IN the foregoing Chapters I have proved that the Spirit of Devotion is an Enemy to sensual Pleasures and not only to those Pleasures which 't is confest on all hands are criminal but to those too that we call innocent ones In this rank I have placed the continual Divertisements whereunto the higher part of mankind give ' emselves up It is time now to explain and unfold a question which may be started here To know whether it be necessary to renousce all sort of Pleasure to be Christianly and truly pious Now in one word the answer cannot be return'd it being one of the most nice and delicate matters in Christian Morality I say therefore first of all That Devotion is no Enemy to Joy it suffers us to distinguish betwixt innocent and sinful Pleasures it is neither fierce nor brutish It ought to be courteous civil sweet and modest It flies softness nor does it invest it self with flowers yet it affects not to appear beset with Thorns nor habilimented with Prickles In short 't is not necessary That a faithful person to be sincerely devout should nourish in himself a pensive and lumpish melancholy On the contrary Piety is all gay and free The Heart of the righteous man is a continual Feast Our Lord Jesus would not have us affect a gloomy Visage or an abased Air he commands us even when we fast and are mortifying our selves to anoint our Heads when we must be seen by men that we may avoid Ostentation in our Piety To know what are innocent Pleasures we are to disâ—nguish with exactness and make a short but general Review over all sorts of Pleasures First all the Pleasures are either of the Mind or of the Senses Among the Senses some are more visible yed to matter others are more disengaged from them Of the first order are the Taste and Touch Of the latter he Sight
and Hearing The more spiritual the Pleasures are the more easie it is to render them innocent The more material they are the more common they are to â—s with Beasts and the more easie do they become â—utish and sinful The Pleasures of touching and taâ—ing are such they are common to us with beasts If â—ee look upon them in themselves they are unworthy 〈◊〉 man and if they be in the least degree exâ—ffive we may say they become brutal Nevertheis it 's certain that these Pleasures for that they are ecessary are innocent in some degrees There are inparable Pleasures and actions necessary for the conservation of Life these Actions are eating drinking and sleeping These Pleasures cannot be enemies to Piety and Vertue God is the Author of them he has put certain Relations between us and their Objects he hath joyned Pleasure to certain Actions that we might love to do them and without perplexity work what is necessary to our Conservation We 〈◊〉 but judge that Honey is sweet and Gall bitter we cannot but find Pleasure in the use of a good eatable and feel a sort of pain in eating any thing that is an Enemy to our Taste 'T is impossible but we must have a great pleasure in drinking after having suffered a long thirst This is not what I call the use of worldly Pleasures for their use is voluntary but it is not so here Now the Christian Dispensation as severe as it is cannot accuse of sin unvoluntary Sentiments We cannot separaâ—â— this Sentiment of Pleasure from Actions that conceâ—â— life And if one could we are not obliged to do it Jesus Christ does not command us to steep all our meaâ— in Gall and mingle our drink with Wormwood 〈◊〉 there be devout Persons in the World that make the Vertue to consist in a privation of those necessary Pleasures and that say O God grant me not to taste any Pleasure in the use of Worldly things they are hypocrites and have got the maggot of Superstitution in their heads Bâ—â— let us take heed this being a very slippery place Thâ— bounds that separate Innocence from Sin are so delicanâ— as they are almost unperceivable we pass from one 〈◊〉 to the other without minding it The point of separâ—tion is that which distinguishes necessary from superstâ—ous To find Pleasure in eating is innocent To 〈◊〉 for the sake of Pleasure is sinful we are to take noâ— rishment as we do Remedies for necessity only 〈◊〉 this in the way of the World cannot be subject to 〈◊〉 altho Pleasure casts it's self a cross But we cannot â—wardâ— herein without danger There is nothing so well thouâ— as what St. Austin says upon this occasion When I pass from the uneasiness and trouble of hunger to the comfort that eating affords me this passage is straightened with Ambushes by my concupiscence For it is accompanied with Pleasare and there is no other way whereby we can pass to arrive at that comfort which necessity obliges us to seek And â—â—ugh the maintainance of life be the only thing that forâ—s us to eat and drink this dangerous Pleasure comes 〈◊〉 art the way and appears as a servant at the board But â—quently it indeavours to march before with an intent to 〈◊〉 me to do for it what I had design'd to do only for necessity And that which serves to deceive us in this is that necessity has not the same extent as Pleasure hath there being oftentimes enough for necessity when there is but a little for Pleasure We are also frequently uncertain whether it be the need that we have to sustain life that conveys us to eating or whether it be the enchanting deceit of Pleasure which hurries us away Our unfortunate soul pleases it self with this uncertainty and strives to find out excuses to defend it's self The sight and hearing do they furnish us with pleasures more pure and less carnal Brutes are not accquainted with them they are peculiar to men If beasts find pleasure in the sight of certain objects it 's alwayes in relation to tasting and touching whereof alone they are sensible Nevertheless it is certain that among the Pleasures to the Eye and Ear there are many sinful ones and they are those which have a particular and near alliance with the corruption of our heart and mind and are capable of awakening this Corruption Of this order are obscene Pourtraits and Figures lascivious Discourses the sights of Theatres Beauties loaden with borrowed Ornaments accompanied with Gestures Actions and Speeches proper to enflame lust when we use those pleasures we alwayes abuse the Senses for this use of them is unlawful But among the Pleasures of seeing and hearing we may find innocent ones and these are almost those only which come from the hand of God without passing through the hands of Men for man hath this unhappiness that he leaves the traces of his Corruption in what ever he handles There can be no sin in looking with Pleasure and Admiration upon the Beauty of the Heavens their Order their Movement their Light upon pleasant Landskips green Meadows the delightsom obscurity of a Forrest or a River that creeps between two Mountains No fault is to be found with the Pleasure of a murmuring Stream nor in the innocent Musick of a Multitude of Birds that are rejoycing at the return of the Spring None of these Pleasures disturb or disquiet the Soul sweet and not at all violent are their Impressions They are not capable of carrying the Soul from without it's self and therefore they are well enough beloved by Piety These natural and pure Ideas may excite motions of Admiration for the great Creator and Acknowledgement for their Authour and consequently they may inspire Devotion for the Deity Other bodily Pleasures there are which I can't well refer to any of the Senses and therefore we 'l call them Pleasures of Imagination Of this order is the Pleasure of having fine Houses rich Furniture magnificent Apparel a great Train and of having our estate prey'd upon by a vast number of People these Pleasures are not without crime seeing they are not without errour these are pleasures of Imagination and therefore they have delusion in them and if delusion then Vanity and if Vanity then Sin Wherefore the wise man cryes out upon all this Vanity of Vanities But there is more than Imposture herein we find Pride likewise The pleasure we take from this vain Pomp Luxury and Magnificence proceeds from a desire we have to be Great and a pleasure we take to appear so We are very prone to deceive Men and we try to deceive our selves We are like those Dwarfs that affect to set themselves on high places that they may appear the taller And therefore men who have less of merit and true greatness are ordinarily the most enamour'd of these false Grandeurs There are some Conditions indeed from which Magnificence is almost inseparable God who has invested Kings with their Authority doth
meanness of my own Strength or to speak better my Weakness and my Nothing I aim at great things for I aim at becoming one with my God I would become like him I would renew his Image in me I would cleanse my Heart so corrupt with Sin I would rebuild this great House which Sin and the Devil have brought to ruin I would ascend the Throne I wou'd become King and Priest to God my Father Alas my Soul where in thy self wilt thou find strength to do such great things thou who art only Darkness Weakness and Pollution If thou had'st no other Enemy to engage with but the Devil how wilt thou vanquish that red Dragon which hath seven Heads and ten Horns That wicked Serpent at the beginning poysoned our first Parents with the breath of his Mouth And now he infects all the Sources where we drink he lays his Snares in all our Paths and more especially he never makes greater Endeavours to destroy us than when we make ours to unite us to God by Prayer and Devotion then he stirs up all the Fantomes of our Imagination to carry us out from God's Presence He raises the Waves of our Passions and Concupiscence to keep us from that safe Harbour And truly 't is his Interest to do thus for thou never fightest him O my Soul with more Success than by Prayer when fervent and devout so that he mingles Heaven and Earth together to distract thee and instill into thee Sentiments of Coldness Do notflatter thy self if thou dost not see the Enemy with thy fleshly Eyes yet he shoots his fiery Darts at thee he speaks with thee he attacks thee he tempts thee by the mouth of thy Lust which never fails him and has made a League with him But still O my Soul lose no Courage if thou canst do nothing of thy self thou canst do all things through thy Saviour who strengthens thee Watch be sober persevere lay this evil Spirit and drive him far from thee Resist the Devil and he will flee from you He presses upon none but those that give back Prayer AND thou O Lord Jesus my Redeemer the great Spirit of Light oppose thy self for me to this Spirit of Darkness Let the Lion of the Tribe of Juda break the Jaw-bones of that roaring Lion that turns upon me to devour me Let the holy Seed of the Woman break this Serpent's head give me Antidotes against his Poyson Let thy Grace heal the Wounds which his Bitings and Stings have made in my Soul Vphold me in all the Difficulties which that dangerous Enemy makes me meet with in my Spiritual Exercises When I enter into my Closet or thy Temple be like a brazen Wall about me to defend me from the Access of Evil Spirits So as under the Wings of thy Protection and Love I may live during these Moments in a clear and calm Air in a profound Peace by favour whereof I may consecrate to thee all my Thoughts my Will my Heart my Vnderstanding and my Imagination and nothing may withdraw me from thee CHAP. V. The fifth general Direction to help Devotion To have God always before our Eyes THis is a Remedy for most Mischiefs but 't is particularly so against Indevotion I shall say by and by that the Faithful ought to have their hours of Devotion wherein to retrace expresly the Idea's of the Divinity in their Mind and awaken it to remember his Benefits and Graces But this is not what I mean at present I speak of that continual and as it were habitual Thought of God which is never to be abandoned 'T is a delicate and most spiritual Meditation which comes a cross to rob our worldly Affairs of those Moments which it consecrates to Heaven 'T is a sublime Operation of an Understanding illuminated by the light of Grace that finds God all in all that mixeth him in all our Actions and spieth him out in all Objects 'T is an act of the Soul whereby amid humane Affairs it turns without Violence to God-ward thorough an Habit it has acquir'd It makes all things to be as so many Ladders to scale Heaven and all Objects to put one in mind of God An Artificer while he is working a Traveller in his Journey a Scholar in his Study will find means to sanctifie what each does in causing God to intervene by pious Reflections Let the Lamb follow thee O faithful Soul whithersoever thou goest that thou may'st be able one day to follow him whither he shall go If thou art lying down in thy Bed think on the Tomb of thy Saviour who for thy Salvation was pleased to enter into the Chambers of Death Art thou near falling on sleep think on Christ whose eyes were shut by the sleep of Death An Infant just born will recall to thee the thought of thy Lord's Abasement and Humility in his Birth An unhappy Person that suffers for his fins will bring thee to think on Jesus who suffered for thine One that asks an Alms will ask it for Christ his sake or will tell thee that he became poor that thou might'st be rich In a word out of all things 't is easie for thee to extract an Occasion to think on thy God What shall I say of the Objects of Nature that put thee in mind of him almost against thy Will If thou risest betimes thou canst not see the Sun rising without thinking on him that has made this work and without being reminded of the Sun of thy Soul who pours forth the gleams of his Grace into thy Heart to disperse thence all Darkness The Woods the Rivers the Mountains the Feilds cover'd with harvest Corn the Trees Fruits Flowers all in short will entertain and complement thee with thy God For the Heavens declare the Glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy Work The Flyes and Worms themselves speak this since we see the Divinity showing in them For as St Austin says well this worker in such a manner appears great in great things that he does not appear lesss great in the least of his works We are therefore to form an Habit to our selves of thinking on God even while we do every thing and this will be the true way of doing well what we do and engaging God to do it with us Now there are some Employments which take not the Soul intirely up A workman at his work or a woman in such concerns as are ordinary to that Sex will roul about in their Imagination a thousand Chimerical designs wander up and down every where and think of an hundred things successively But what is it restrains 'em from giving up to God that part of their Soul and Attention which they deduct from their other work why will they not think of their Redeemer of the Obligarions they have to him and the Acknowledgement and Recollection which they rather owe to him than to a vain chat and conversation they have had some where or other or some adventure
Brightness and Splendor thy Light Thou art hid as to thy Creatures and lettest only have a glimps of thee But O Lord purifie my â—es that they may be able to view thee apparently put my â—art into thy wayes that I may seek thee and find thee thou art hidden and estrangest thy self from me I am on 〈◊〉 other part a strayed sheep strayed from thee O be â—ased then to seek me shew thy self to me and hide 〈◊〉 the light of thy Countenance from me Recall me from 〈◊〉 wandrings and let me not be drawn in by the World â—d the throng of it's vain Objects Tye my Soul to thee the cords of thy Love So as I may not be one Moment â—thout thinking on thee and when I put up my prayers to thee I may ever find thee near me CHAP. VI. The first particular Direction To have our hours of Devotion well chosen and ordered AFter these general Advices it will be necessary to give some more particular ones And first I believe that to have the hours of Devotion well regulated is a very great â—p to Devotion Man is a Creature of Habit as well 〈◊〉 other living Creatures An Horse that has been us'd to go one way will not fail to return that way again and when the hours of baiting come he will gâ— no farther so the Heart doth without any guidance or endeavour return by its self to those things which it has been accustomed to do Choose then your hourâ— of Evening Morning Mid-day at nine of clock aâ— three Make a Law for some time never to let those hours pass but to consecrate them to no other thing than to Devotion and without any trouble youâ— Heart will return thither at the same hours Those very Parts which in us are destitute of Knowledge are capable of these Habits When the Stomach haâ— been us'd to eat at certain hours if this be not done it feels somewhat wanting The Conscience being the Stomach of the Soul gives it its meals and if you happen to be wanting it will advertise you on 't buâ— have a care of doing violence to it and being earnest with it to hold its peace When it minds you amidst your Occupations that the hour is come do not deâ— ferr it till another time for it is undone if you put iâ— out of order 'T will no more remind you you youâ— self must be forc'd to sollicit it and then the Soul iâ— in a wretchless condition when the Conscience iâ— asleep when the Heart slumbers and when there iâ— need of awakening it by an express Reflection If you ask me what hours it is to choose and how many I shall perhaps be very much put to it to answer you Good David orders seven for himself Seven times a day do I praise thee Daniel had chiefly three Our Lord retir'd whole Nights together into a Mountain apart to pray Alas it were to be wish'd we could give all out hours to God but the necessities of Nature and the infirmities of the Flesh votâ— it fruitless and I know not what mood and tempeâ— those Devotes might be of who we are told pass whole dayes and nights in Meditation and Contemplation I will pronounce nothing herein and I leave every one to his own Conscience If we cannot give all â—o God certain it is we are to reserve to him the better part and that amongst our hours we ought to set some aside which may be proper to him and never bestowed upon the World The number must be regulated according to the diversity of Strengths and I believe it should increase according to the measure of the progress â—e make in Devotion A Child cannot lift up a Burthen which a vigorous man can carry with ease so that very one must regulate himself according to his â—â—rength 'T is good to eat when we are hungry and 〈◊〉 draw nigh to God when the Heart is warm and as â—ften as it pleases to do so there is no reason for a â—efusal herein But you are to observe that if your oppetite be buried and does not manifest it self you â—o not fail of having your set Repasts and rather love 〈◊〉 eat without hunger than starve your self for want 〈◊〉 Food 'T is the same here If you are so unhappy as 〈◊〉 be deprived of this holy appetite of Spiritual things 〈◊〉 not wait till it comes lose not the hours of your â—evotions and your Spiritual repasts eat without hunâ—er and perhaps your Appetite will be renew'd No â—an in health scarcely but eats twice a day and â—et sick People we see take nourishment much oftener 〈◊〉 observe only that their Repasts are very short and â—â—fie I am of opinion we ought to order the â—â—me Diet to those indisposed Souls which are yet â—ovices in the practice of Devotion We must obâ—â—e them to return oft to it but in short Exercises â—ut such weak Souls may not take a disgust at it If a Clock be not wound up sometimes a day it will â—t go long the weights that are tied to the ropes â—scending to the Earth whither as soon as they are â—â—me the whole Machine stands still The Soul is â—is wonderful Machine made up of its Faculties as of Theels and Springs the weights of the Flesh drawing down Pull it up often if you would have it go Lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees They who look to these Automatous Machines observe daily to wind them up at the same hours otherwise they are put out of Order And this I say is to be observed in the conduct of a faithful Soul All hours are good for Heaven is alwayes open and God's Throne evermore accessible yet some there are more proper than others Those of the Morning are so truly God's that we cannot rob him of them without Sacriledge If God will have the first-fruits of our Herds with much stronger reason he will have the first of our hours And what time more proper to lift up our Eyes and our Hearts to the Sun of Righteousness than that wherein the sensible Sun arises upon the Earth Is it not time then that the Morning-star arise in our hearts and Prayer open the Gate to Grace At what hour with better effect can we lift up our hearts to God than at the beginning of a Race the success where of depends intirely on him In the morning we ought to seal our hearts with holy thoughts and fill our minds with chaste and good Ideas that the Corruption in the World which the rest of the day will by the Senses give a thousand assaults to our heart may find it well fortified This will be a morning-dew which in falling from Heaven upon our Souls will make them fruitful in all good works for the rest of the day This will be an Amulet against the evil air of the World without which we are not to leave our Lodgings nor expose our selves to the rencounter of contagious Objects As God
in an intire Privation of Carnal Pleasures fancies Death as a Messenger that brings him good news as a deliverer that is come to throw down the four Walls of his Prison down to the Ground and will leave a passage free on all sides to flye away to Heaven The Voluptuous they must be dragg'd to death they lay hold on every thing in the way to stop themselves they give place to necessity but they do it with an aukward and ill grace These therefore who multiply the pleasures of their Senses make themselves Chains the breaking whereof will cost them many a groan and many a tear But pious people who have renounc'd the pleasures of life cannot be in pain to forsake the present life since they have quitted that which life has most agreeable I should say here that the Pleasures of Sense are enemies to Devotion because they absolutely take away the taste of the Spiritual Pleasures which the faithful find in the commerce they have with God but that I have said it already and it is so evident both in Reason and Experience We know that those Slaves of sensual Pleasures look upon all that is said of the pleasures of Devotion as mere idle Stories Speak to them of the delights which the faithful Soul tasts when God speaks to it within its heart and during the silence of its passions of the sweetness it finds in meditating on the Love he hath for us and in contemplating on its Mysteries All this will appear to them as Dream and Vision Undoubtedly one is not sensible of the pleasures of the Mind but in proportion as he hath renounc'd those 〈◊〉 the Body And therefore we Christians are all so little touch'd with Spiritual pleasures with Prayer Meditation Contemplation because we are not of those who have perfectly renounced Sensual pleasures In this respect we must confess Rich and Great men are exposed to great Temptations their condition say they obliges them to draw after them a great equipage of Pleasures if it be so they are very unhappy And in prospect to this it may be our Saviour said How hard a thing is it for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Riches and Grandeur are continual Temptations to Voluptuousness and it 's very difficult for him that is always tempted not to yield sometimes But although Moderation and Temperance are praise-worthy when they are kept amid so many Enemies that conspire their ruin it is very rarely so and therefore Devotion is not so common among them who by their Rank fancy themselves obliged to live evermore in Pleasures In short if it be permitted us to draw proofs from Examples as without doubt it ought to be we may easily prove that the Spirit of Devotion and Christianity are enemies to Sensual Pleasures Whether are the Christians of our age that live with a freedom which austere morality calls Libertinage better entred in the spirit of Christianity than the Christians of former ages who led a most severe and rigorous life Many there have been who not finding a retreat secure enough in the World against the temptations of Voluptuousness have gone to seek it in Desarts where they found none but pure and innocent Objects some have worn Sack-cloth as John the Baptist and others residing in humane Society have prefer'd Fastings and mortification of the Body before Pleasures of the Sense Do ye believe that these people were wiser than us or are we wiser than them I know some will not hesitate on the matter but file these Austerities to the account of Fanaticism and Delusion of the Spirit of Errour But certainly this is a rash Judgment for which we appeal to the Tribunal of God to whom alone appertains the right of distinguishing Sincerity from Hypocrisie in such austere lives But would we have an example that is not subject to errour let us look up to our Lord Jesus Christ had his life any thing common with sensual pleasures You see him born in a Stable brought up in the house of a Carpenter you see him fast forty days in the Wilderness you see him live on the Alms of Women that followed him We hear him declaring that he had not whereon to lay his head We see him go on foot and without equipage from City to City And does this now relish of the Spirit of the World and a delicious Life Who can know better what is the spirit of Christianity than our Saviour himself and what are the effects of Devotion but he who was perfectly devoted to his Father after this let none tell me that our Lord was no enemy to Pleasures because he was present at Feasts and Nuptials It were to be wish'd that our Lord Jesus Christ were at all our Feasts We should not see Insolence and Debauchery to reign there Wisdom Temperance Sobriety and the highest moderation would march in his Train Meditation SEeing thou art compass'd about O my Soul with so great a cloud of witnesses run with patience the Race that is set before thee seeing so many so holy so excellent examples have gone before thee thou must follow and imitate them Wouldst thou follow an Elias in the Desart a Moses on the Mountain fasting forty days and not feed but on the bread of Ravens nor drink but of the water of a Torrent But these are particular Vocations that do not refer to thee Nevertheless if any one would imitate John Baptist wear Sack-cloth with him be clothed with Camels hair and eat locusts and wild-honey let 's not say because he is not come eating nor drinking he hath a Devil Have a care of making such rash judgments Those that come to exhort men to repentance must preach up mortification both in their actions and words and habit and food Thou hast great need O my heart both to mortifie thy self and to repent so as it would be very necessary that thy Body should carry Sack-cloath and Ashes But this example of John Baptist does not become a Law and if thy God hath not commanded it thee thou canst not be obliged thereby Behold then another example another model much more perfect which thou oughtest to follow and that is of thy Saviour the pattern by whose traces thou oughtest to guide thy steps Live as he did and thou wilt live well enough The Disciple should not hope to be greater than his Master He liv'd in the World but he was not of the World He eat and drank to give examples of Sobriety He convers'd with men to teach them to speak wisely and piously for he never open'd his mouth but for edification He is the model of all which thou oughtest to suffer to do to abstain from Suffer patiently with him the rebukes and the outrages of the World drink as he did with a spirit of Submission the cup of God's wrath when he shall present it thee do good works with him spend the day in doing good to the afflicted and the night in