the hidden Manna of my Soul its Food and Refreshment in all Conditions in Afflictions my Support in Poverty my Treasure in Reproaches my Glory in Darkness my Light in Sickness my Health in Troubl my Repose in Prosperity my Defence in Life and Health my Joy and Consolation that Christ being thus formed in me I may through Him who giveth us the Victory overcom the Vanities of the World the Lusts of the Flesh and the Temtations of the Devil til He becom my Life in Death and my Happiness in Heven Amen THE Soul's Communion WITH HER SAVIOR The First Book Containing so much of the Gospel-History as relates to the Infancy of the H. Jesus and that time of his Privat Life which passed before He entred on his Publick Ministry Cap. I. Of His Incarnation §. 1. O Holy and Ever-blessed Jesu Eternal Son of the eternal God who didst descend from thy Father's Bosom from the highest Hevens thy Royal Throne to this Vale of Misery that by taking My Nature upon Thee Thou mightest not only suffer and satisfy for Me but also impart Thy Nature unto Me. I prais and magnify thy Name For this thine unspeakabl Lov. I adore thee for thine infinit Wisdom and Goodness I am astonished at thy stupendious Humility and Condescension to lost and undeserving Man Bow the Hevens O Lord once more and com down touch my Heart with thine Almighty Power and having cast out whatsoever may be offensiv to thy Sacred Majesty fill it with thy blessed Presence for ever §. 2. O Blessed Jesu whose Incarnation was so sublime a Mystery that to usher in a matter of such extraordinary Concernment to the World the Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a City of Galilee named Nazareth to a Uirgin espoused to a man whose Name was Ioseph of the Hous of David and the Uirgin's Name was Mary I magnify thy Glorious Name For making thy Spirits Ministers unto them who shal be Heirs of Salvation As the Angels and Arch-Angels prais Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim adore Thee and all the hevenly Host bow down unto Thee not only fitting upon thy Throne but even at the lowest Degree of thy Foot-stool wherunto thou hast voluntarily humbled thy self in thine Incarnation So let me I beseech thee in concurrence with the Celestial Choir celebrat this Mystery of thy Lov on Earth worship the Majesty of thy Glory in Heven til my Life becom Angelical by rejoicing in Thee and in Thy Salvation §. 3. When the Angel came in unto her and said 〈◊〉 thou that art highly favored the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among Women she cast in her mind what manner of Salutation this should be I prais thy Holy Name O Blessed Jesu for the greatness of thine Eternal Lov to this Holy Virgin and to all Mankind in her O make me sensibl how highly I my self am favor'd in this great Transaction since She was thus blessed among Women that all the Families of the Earth might be blessed in her Seed A Salutation of such infinit Importance doth worthily deserv to be frequently revolved in our minds which being particularly brought to a privat Family in Jewry hath prov'd of universal Concernment to the whol World O let me also tast and see how gracious the Lord hath been to my Soul No matter for the Favor of Men so we find Grace with God §. 4. While she was troubled at his saying the Angel said unto her Fear not Mary for thou hast found favor with God And behold thou shalt 〈◊〉 in thy womb and bring forth a Son and thou shalt call his Name Iuses He shal be great and shal be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shal giv unto him the Chrone of his Father David And he shal reign over the house of Iacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shal be no end I prais and magnify thy Name O Jesus for thy great Glory and endless Soveraignty for as much as thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endureth throu-out all Generations O thou Root and Off-spring of David vouchsafe to extend thy Scepter over all Nations and be for Salvation to the Ends of the Earth that under thy Government all Peopl being saved from their Sins may liv and prosper in Peace and Holiness Sit upon the Throne of my heart by the Power and Presence of thy Holy Spirit reign over all the faculties of my Soul subdu them to thy Will and be thou my God and King forever §. 5. Then said Mary to the Angel How shal this be seeing I know not a Man Wherunto the Angel answered The Holy Ghost shal com upon thee and the Power of the Highest shal overshadow thee therfore also that Holy Thing which shal be born of thee shall be called The Son of GOD. I prais and magnify the Name O thou Son of God for thine in finit Condescension to becom the Son of Man It is not less Blessed and Mysterious to conceiv Thee in the Heart by Faith than to carry Thee in the Womb of Flesh Send therefore I befeech thee the same Spirit and Power to rest upon mine Affections til Christ be formed in me that thy Humility and Holiness thy Life and Lov may be brought forth in my Conversation and so adapt me to be called the Son of God §. 6. Holy Jesu who for the more rational Engagement of the Virgins Faith didst further acquaint her by the same Angel Behold thy Cousin Elizabeth who was called barren she also hath conceived a Son in her old Age. I magnify thy H. Name Becaus with God nothing shal be unpossibl This Maxim may suffice to silence all the Cavilling Inquiries of human Reason How this should be For the same Power that makes the barren Womb fruitful can with the same facility dispens with those Laws of Nature that render it unlikely there should be a Virgin-Mother And that Spirit which by breathing on them was abl to make dry Bones liv may be very rationaly believed of sufficient Power to impregnat a Virgin 's Womb. And therefore in Considering this transcendent Mystery of my Savior's Incarnation I will rather admire and recount his Goodness and Truth than question his Power or pry into the manner of its Accomplishment and in all his Trials of my Faith or Pati nce my Soul shal say as the 〈◊〉 of the Lord did Be it unto me according unto thy 〈◊〉 §. 7. Upon this Information the Blessed Virgin Mary arose and went iuto the Hill-Country to the Hous of 〈◊〉 to visit her Cousin Elizabeth who no sooner heard her Salutation but the Babe leaped in her Womb and she was filled with the 〈◊〉 Ghost so that she said with a 〈◊〉 voice Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb whence is it that the Mother of my Lord should com to me I prais thy Name For this marvelous Effect of thy
the perfection of thine impartial Lov to the Souls of men Thou art not deluded with the beautiful Vizard of a Great Estate nor enamor'd on empty Titls of Honor but seeing throu the Veil of such human Additaments and beggarly Inventions dost infinitly prize the naked Souls and Bodies of thy Servants Quicken me I beseech thee to an industrious Attendance on my Calling and a stricter Watchfulness over my Thoughts Words and Deeds those numerous Flocks which are very apt to wander and go astray that my Soul may be precious in thy Sight And tho I walk in Darkness in the Vale and Shadow of Death yet let thy gracious Visitations not only enlighten and refresh me but also draw and direct my Heart to follow these honest Shepherds who in obedience to the direction they receiv'd from Heven left all to go unto Bethlehem and seé that thing which the Lord had made known unto them where they found the Babe lying in a Manger that I also being filled with the like Joy in Believing what they found verified by this Sign which the Angel had given them may boldly publish thy Goodness and Truth together with my own grateful Apprehensions of it as these Shepherds did who when they had seen it made known abroad the Saying which was told them concerning that 〈◊〉 and returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and 〈◊〉 §. 4. And how could they do less having so lately seen a Multitude of the Hevenly Host praising God and saying Glory to God in the highest and on Earth Peace Good Will towards Men. Shal Angels descend to celebrat our Peace on Earth and Shal not We lift up our Eys on High to giv God the Glory Can they rejoice in the manifestation of His Good Will towards Men and Men themselvs be unaffected with such an inestimabl Benefit May I be silent or insensibl while the hevenly Host sing Praises I will prais and bless and giv Thee thanks for ever O my Dear Redeemer for the transcendent Efforts of thy Lov to Me and all Mankind exprest in this Angelick Carol. O be thou graciously pleased to warm my breast with som Sparks of this Celestial Charity that being like unto the Angels in doing thy Will and shewing forth thy Praises upon Earth I may at last be made equal to them in the fruition of thy 〈◊〉 Presence in Heven and in order thereunto let that Lov of God which was thus manifested towards us by sending his only begotten Son into the World that we might liv throu Him even when we were Enemies to God and all Goodness powerfuly engage us to the Practice and Improvement of that Peace thou hast restored upon Earth by transcribing the most excellent Copy of thy Good Will towards Men for if God so loved Us we ought also to lov one another Upon the unfeigned Discharge of which grateful and advantageous Duty the whol Success of His means of Grace and Our Hopes of Glory doth so much depend that without following those things which make for Peace as wel as Holiness no man shall see the Lord. §. 5. Now all they that 〈◊〉 those things which were told them by the 〈◊〉 wonder'd at it but the blessed Virgin Mary kept all these things and ponder'd them in her Heart I prais and magnify thy Name O thou uncreated Angel of the Covenant for the astonishing Power and peculiar Influence of thy Divine Revelations which are usualy attended with a various Effect upon the minds of different Persons Grant Lord I beseech thee that I may not entertain any Discovery of thy Saving Truth or more especial Presence with the short-lived Flash of a bare transient Wonder or fruitless Amazement after the loos Exampl of the un-thinking part of Mankind but rather so imitat the pious Prudence of thy matchless Mother who discreetly observed evry Intimation of thy God-head and carefuly kept in mind whatever might enlighten her Understanding therin as to treasure up all the sacred Notices of thine Eternal Power and Godhead in the safe Recesses of my Heart and allow som Time and Thought to make a du Reflection on such considerabl things as may thereupon be worthily committed to a Religious Memory in my Soul for whoso is wise will ponder these things and he shal understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. §. 6. O Thou Light of the World who wast born in the Night an Emblem of that dark and disconsolat Estate wherinto We by Transgression fell Thou art the Sun of Righteousness by whose Rising upon the Earth the Peepl that walked in Darkness hav seen a great Light and upon them that dwell in the Land of the Shadow of Death hath the Light shined Thy glorious Appearing hath dispersed the Cloud of thy Father's Wrath under which the whol Creation groaned together with those unwholsom Mists of Sin Error and Ignorance wherin Mankind was lost and benighted Thou hast dissolved the Everlasting Chains of Darkness which were justly prepared to bind us in Hell and Despair and once more restored us a Day of Hope to rejoice in the Light of thy Countenance for ever All that is within me doth bless thy H. Name Who hast said unto my Soul Arise shine for thy Light is com and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon thee Lord grant that in thy Light I may see Light let the Light of thy Grace prepare mine Eys to behold the illustrious Splendor of thy Glory And since it is the Night wherin all the Beasts of the Forrest do mov let me hav no longer fellowship with the unprofitable Works of Darkness but rather reprov them by walking as a Child of the Light and of the Day remembring that the Day-spring from on high hath visited us to giv Light to them that sit in Darkness and in the shadow of Death to guide our Feet into the way of Peace which is the Work of Righte usness as its Effect is Quietness and Assurance 〈◊〉 ever §. 7. O thou Prince of Peace who by disposing the States of the Earth to Peace and Quietness at the time of thy Nativity hast shew'd that the gracious Design of thy Coming into the World was to remov the Enmity between God and Man by reconciling them to each other in thy Self I glorify thy Name For so suitabl an 〈◊〉 that what was written by the Prophet Isaiah is fulfilled for unto Us a Child is born unto Us a Son is given and the Government shal be upon his Shoulder and Of the increas of his Government and Peace there shal be no End Lord How coms it to pass that such as call themselves after thy Name be no less Contentious and Bloody than 〈◊〉 who are Strangers to the Doctrin of thy Gospel How long shal Christendom be the Scene of those Tragick Wars and injurious Villanies which Barbarians detest and blush at O Be thou pleased to extend thy Golden Scepter over the Earth that the
particular Eas and Satisfaction preferring thy Church before all our privat Concernments or domestick Interests whatsoever §. 5. O B. Jesus tho Iohn 〈◊〉 thee saying I hav need to be baptized of Thee and comest Thou to me yet didst thou persist in thy Resolution of submitting to his Disciplin and Baptism who owned himself 〈◊〉 to carry thy Shoos requiring him to suffer it to be so now I magnify thy Gracious Name For thus expressing how well it becometh us to fulfil all Righteousness O giv me and all that call themselves after Thy Name the Christian Humility of conforming to all the Rules of Godly Disciplin which shall be found requisit for thy Church's Peace and of submitting to any Service how much soever abased that may tend to the Benefit of the smallest in thy Flock or end in the Advancement of thy Glory §. 6. Most H. Jesus who when all the Peepl were baptized didst descend into the River to be baptized among them that thy Father's Declaration being made from Heven in the Audience of a Multitude might be the more publickly known and undeniably confirmed I glorify thy Name Because thy Delights are among the Children of Men. Be present I beseech thee in all the devout Assemblies of thy Saints and Servants and so bless thine Ordinances unto them that the Wil of God revealed from Heven 〈◊〉 be effectualy divulged and obey'd among all Nations And now thou hast thus sanctified the Element of Water to becom Sacramental for the Remission of Sins having in a Symbol purified human Nature of that Guilt and Pollution which thou hadst undertaken to expiat and remov so making good the Baptist's further Testimony of Thee when he saw thee O Iesus coming unto him and said Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the World Lord Pardon those many heinous 〈◊〉 which hav miserably defiled my Life and Conscience since I received Baptismal Grace and so renew thy Covenant of Mercy unto my Soul that I may never so ungratefuly violat the Conditions or forfeit the Advantages of it any more §. 7. O thou Anointed of the Lord who receivedst not the Spirit by measure for being baptized and praying the Heven was 〈◊〉 And the H. Ghost descended in a bodily Shape like a Dov upon Thee And 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 from Heven saying This is my Beloved Son in whom I am wel pleased What could be a more glorious Attendant on thy Publication than so express a Discovery of the B. Trinity Thy Relation to God the Father the Being and Office of the H. Ghost and the Good Wil of the whol God-head to Mankind being jointly display'd therin I prais and magnify thy Name For exhibiting so many Sacred Mysteries as in a littl but accurat Picture which in other Ages were not made known unto the Sons of men Lord let me be ravished and instructed with this marvellous Vision as Thy Forerunner was who openly professed I knew him not but that He should be made manifest to Israel therfore am I com baptizing with Water for he that sent me said unto me Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him the same is He which baptizeth with the 〈◊〉 Ghost And I saw and bare Record that This is the Son of God Enlighten the Ey of my Soul to behold this inconceivabl yet evident Manifestation of the Ever-blessed Trinity and exalt mine Understanding to such a right Apprehension of that Sacred Mystery that all my Acts of Adoration may be duly directed and graciously accepted May the Hevens which were open at thy Baptism never be shut against my Prayers or Praises and since thou hast opened the Kingdom of Heven to all Believers grant the same Spirit that descended upon Thee may abide with Me and thy whol Church for ever that we who are in Baptism adopted Sons of God according to the good pleasure of his Wil may be charm'd and honor'd with the Eccho of that 〈◊〉 from Heven which proclaimed Thee Beloved And since thou my merciful Savior hast made choice of such proper Emblems to shadow forth thy Glory make them suitably impressiv on my Memory and Affections for wheras the Promulgation of the Law was attended with terribl Thunders and thick Darkness to express the Dreadfulness of God's Presence unto the sinful Transgressors of it Thy Preaching of the Gospel of Peace is usher'd in by the H. Ghost in the likeness of a Dov to bring the Oliv-branch of Reconciliation to Mankind and shew what Meekness of Spirit is the proper Badg or Cognisance of thy tru Discipls The End of the First Book THE Soul's Communion WITH HER SAVIOR The Second Book Containing what occurs in the First Year of his Publick Ministry Cap. I. Of His Retirement Fasting and Temtation §. 1. O Blessed Iesus who being ful of the Holy Ghost immediatly after thy return from Iordan wast led by the Spirit into the Wilderness I prais and magnify thy Name For thus chalking out the Way to divine and spiritual Atchievments O thou the only Comfort of all my Solitudes giv me Grace to set apart fit times for Prayer and Contemplation after thine Exampl before I enter upon any great Emploiment that what I undertake with du and devout Consideration may be so blest and accepted by thy Goodness as may render it succesful to thine Honor And whensoever it shal pleas Thee to inspire me with holy Thoughts and Resolutions incline my Heart cheerfuly to follow the Motions of thy B. Spirit that I may never incur the Guilt of Resisting the H. Ghost §. 2. O thou high and holy One of Israel who hast abased thy self to co-habit with the wild Beasts of the Desert for my sake whose nativ fierceness was so much awed by thy Sacred Presence as left them neither Power nor Inclination to hurt Thee I glorify thy Great Name For submitting to the disconsolat Inconveniences of that inhospitabl Place and Company Lord disdain not to visit the uncultivated Wilderness of my Soul too and subdu therin all those brutish Appetits those untamed Passions that would utterly destroy me til thou bring all the Imaginations of my Heart into Subjection to thy H. Will. §. 3. O my most Gracious Redeemer who didst fast 〈◊〉 Days and forty Nights and 〈◊〉 afterward an hungred I prais thy H. Name For teaching me both the Duty and Benefit of Fasting Lord let me not at any time eat or drink without such a Temper and Moderation as may better enabl me for thy Service but on all the Seasons and Occasions of Fasting prescribed either by Thee or thy Church make me impartialy strict and severe to my self in Communion with thy Saints in Sorrow for my Sins and in Memory of Thy Sufferings denying my self not only pleasant Bread and palatabl Drink but all manner of Sustenance for a time proportionabl to my frailty in Conformity to thine Exampl who in those
him that day One of the two was 〈◊〉 who finding his 〈◊〉 Brother Simon both told him this joyful News We hav found the 〈◊〉 and brought him to Jesus I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ For thine exemplary Clemency and ready Condescension to entertain such as own thee their Master and enquire where thou dwellesf tho it be about the tenth hour Lord incline my Heart not only upon thy gracious Invitation to Com and 〈◊〉 the place where thine Honor dwelleth but to take up mine Abode with 〈◊〉 who hast given us a Taste of thine Omniscience in that thou couldst say to Andrew's 〈◊〉 as soon as thou hadst 〈◊〉 him without any previous Inquiry or human Information Thou art Simon the Son of Jona thou shalt be called Cephas which is by interpretation Peter §. 2. The day following Iesus going forth into Galilee 〈◊〉 Philip who was of 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 unto him Follow me wherupon he believed Iesus of 〈◊〉 the Son of Ioseph to be 〈◊〉 of whom 〈◊〉 in the Law aud the Prophets did write as he soon after acquainted 〈◊〉 using it for a cogent Argument to draw him also to Jesus I prais thy H. Name O thou Redeemer of Israel For the magnetick Power of thy Life and Doctrin by virtu wherof Men are thus drawn to follow Thee like one Link after another in a wel compacted Chain Draw me O Lord we wil run after thee that as wel by mine Exampl as Arguments I may induce others to partake of that Blessedness which those happy 〈◊〉 enjoy who are admitted to convers with Thee 〈◊〉 believing Thou art He of whom the Lord spake unto his Servant Moses on this wise I wil rais them up a Prophet from among their Brethren like unto thee and I wil put my words into his mouth and whosoever wil not hearken unto my words which he shal speak in my Name I wil require it of him §. 3. O B Jesus Becaus thou saidst unto Nathanael I 〈◊〉 thee under the Figg-tree he that had lately questioned Can there any good 〈◊〉 com out of 〈◊〉 did believ and confess Thou art the Son of God Thou art the King of Israel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou wast pleased to encorage and confirm with a Promise that he should see greater things than these making this plain Declaration of what sort they should be Uerily verily I say unto you Hereafter ye shal see Heven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man I magnify thy Name O thou tru Jacob's Ladder in whose Person Heven and Earth are united for whose sake the Celestial Spirits minister to the Saints who shal be Heirs of Salvation and by whose Order they either vouchsafe us their hevenly Aid and Protection or withdraw its sacred Influence from us Lord wheras thou sawest Nathanael before that Philip called him when he was under the Fig-tree and which is yet a greater Miracl didst discern his Heart before thou hadst seen his Face make me always apprehensiv that Darkness or Distance hideth not from Thee who knowest my Downfitting and mine Up-rising and understandest my Thoughts afar off til the awful Consideration of thine Omnipresence render me an Israelite indeed in whom is no Guile And I beseech thee let these early Manifestations of thy Divinity so quicken and confirm my Faith in Thee that Thou maist go on to reward thine own Gifts in Me with greater Graces til my present Knowledg of thy sacred Person and saving Office be crowned and compleated with that unspeakabl Priviledg reserved for the Sons of God when it doth appear what they shal be for then we shal see him as he is §. 4. When these Good Men had seen and spoken with the Lord it seems som if not all of them soon after left Him and tho his first Conference with them laid a sound foundation of Faith in their Hearts yet it restrained not their Hands from returning to their former Occupations I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ For graciously dispensing with thy Servants Necessities wherby thou hast given us a satisfactory Intimation that to believ in Thee as a privat Discipl is not at all inconsistent with the honest prosecution of our Secular Emploiments thy Wisdom Justice having made it our Christian Duty as wel as Liberty to be diligent in the business of our lawful Callings However let me never I earnestly beseech Thee yield mine Ear to be bored in the servil Drudgery of any anxious Cares or useless Vanities of this present World having once found Thee whom my Soul loveth Cap. III. Of his turning Water into Wine §. 1. THe Mother of Iesus being at a Marriage which was in Cana of Galilee both Iesus was called and his Discipls to the Marriage where the Lord of Eternal Purity did not only honor the Wedding with his Sacred Presence but also supply the Wants of the Nuptial Entertainment with 〈◊〉 that was made Wine and that in a very liberal proportion far beyond the stint of a niggardly Spirit for there were six Water-pots of Stone containing two or three firkins apiece which he caused them to fill up to the brim with Water and then bid them draw out thence for the Use of the Guests wherof when the Ruler of the Feast had tasted not knowing whence it was he gave the Bride groom this publick Commendation saying unto him Evry man at the beginning doth set forth good Wine and when men hav wel drunk then that which is wors but thou hast kept the 〈◊〉 Wine until now I prais and magnify thy Nâ—me O Christ the inexhaustibl Fountain of Goodness For this Beginning of Miracls which thou 〈◊〉 in Cana of Galilee wherin Thou hast at once so convincingly manifested forth thy Glory that thy Discipls believed on Thee and withal set a Mark of Honor as wel on the Married as the Virgin state of Life I beseech thee bless and sanctify all Persons joined in holy Wedlock visit them with thy supernatural Grace and Power turn their Water into Wine change their Natural Desires into Divine Affections exalt their sensual Pleasures into spiritual Delights and refine their transitory Enjoiments into an eternal Inheritance that by growing up from strength to strength in mutual Lov and joint Devotion their last Days may be their best §. 2. When the Mother of Jesus said unto him They 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 couching under that brief Intimation a tacit Request for the Supply of what they wanted Jesus saith unto her Woman What 〈◊〉 I to do with Thee Mine hour is not yet com As if by such a slighting Answer he seem'd to check her pretended Interposition and Authority in the matters of his Mediatorship which som blind 〈◊〉 hav since endevored to persuade the World is her undoubted Right I prais and magnify thy H. Name O my sole Mediator and Advocat For giving us this covert yet very intelligibl Expression of thy Fore-sight and Dislike of that idolatrous